Ruby (TFP)

Chapter 1

"No...though there is a large, flat elevator that goes up to the helicopter pad at the top of the silo. It was used for either bringing a chopper down or moving supplies, mostly. But no, there are no other points of entry." That was a good thing, as the less access points to this base, the better. "You will also find that the silo walls here are thick enough to hide signals, like telephone signals, which should help protect you from being detected on the outside."

"Given the density of the rock, that would certainly make sense. But it is good that we can be aware of that." Ratchet looked around as there were some cables hanging from the ceiling, and numerous items scattered around. "Seems like you humans aren't very good at cleaning a place before you leave."

Fowler chuckled softly. "I can't really apologize for this mess. I wasn't in charge of clearing this place out at the time, as I was a lower rank back than. But I read the file and the personal were told to leave unimportant things behind. So all the vehicles, weapons, computer data and identifications were removed...but left a big mess behind..." Fowler looked around with a shake of his head. "I can get this place sorted though..."

"We can deal with it, Agent Fowler. It will not be a problem." Ratchet looked at Optimus in surprise as the leader spoke to the man and seemed to not be worried about cleaning up. "I know the mess was caused by humans, but if we clear it, it will be a lot faster, and we can identify anything that might be an issue before we proceed to make modifications to the silo for our use."

Ratchet raised an eyebrow and realized Optimus was right. He was not enthused by the idea of cleaning up after humans, but it made sense. It would allow them to isolate potential problems, make a not of it and be able to fix it once they have the right materials. "Hmm...good thinking, Optimus. I was a little worried, since it wouldn't necessarily be our problem regarding this mess. But finding potential problems as we deal with it is always possible."

Bulkhead nodded in agreement. "I agree as well. I would rather find the problems while cleaning up a mess than finding it later when the issue is so big that we have to do more to fix it. I've dealt with a lot of that when I was a construction worker." Bulkhead glanced around as he noticed large, open doorways into empty rooms. "Hmm...at least we got plenty of space for our own berths. That's going to be good."

"And if the plumbing is good, as Fowler has said, we might even have the room for our own showers." Arcee walked over to one of the doorways and peered inside. It was a very large room with enough space for a berth and amenities. "This one certainly has the size."

Cliffjumper walked over to peer in and smirked. "Oh yeah, definitely big enough." He glanced at Arcee and winked at her. "And big enough for two."

Arcee rolled her optics at him and walked away to keep following Fowler. "I am sure it will be, Cliffjumper. Don't get ahead of yourself." She sighed deeply as she looked around. "But I don't think a tour is really needed, Agent Fowler. It seems unnecessary."

Fowler glanced up at the femme and shrugged before looked ahead. "It might seem like that, but I want to make sure that you all approve of this base. So far, I am hearing good things from you all, so I am going to assume that you will probably take this as your base. I don't know where else to look for you yet, so I hope I don't have to run around the country looking for another location."

"That won't be necessary, Agent Fowler. I think this base will be suitable for our needs for now." Optimus knew that Fowler won't need to look anywhere else now. He was satisfied with this location so far, and it was unlikely another location would be better than this one. It was nice Fowler was walking with them so they could see most of it and hear their opinions. "It has the space we need. I doubt you have an abandoned facility like this one elsewhere."