Miko was not one for complex thought.

That isn't to say that she's stupid, far from it. She had been top of her class back in Tokyo- at one of the best schools in the country. She had been playing instruments since she was a toddler, and could think quickly when under pressure. Miko was smart, she just preferred not to utilize it.

Thinking was exhausting, and complex thoughts? Quite honestly a bore. Why rack your brain with demanding equations when your fingers could slide down guitar fretts to the back-breaking chord progressions of your favourite band.

The sixteen year old did her best to avoid overthinking. Hell, that was kinda the whole idea of moving halfway around the world. Unfortunately, the world got a whole lot bigger when she moved to Jasper Nevada, and the universe loved to throw curve balls at her.

Miko stomped down the stairs, descending deeper and deeper into the lower levels of the military base. The bunker was nice, she supposed. Regretfully human sized, but it would do. She had wanted to show Bulkhead her new room, but the hallways, albeit high, were not tall enough. And so he and the other Autobots had remained above her head in Unit E, while she climbed down into the stronghold.

She exited the stairwell, swinging the door open with a struggle. This door in particular loved to get stuck. It beeped loudly as she passed through it, its built in security demanding to know why someone had dared to open it. It continued to beep for several seconds as she walked down the musty hallway, before finally growing quiet when it inevitably swung shut again. This part of the bunker was always quiet, most soldiers and generals residing on a separate, more military-esc wing. The walls alternated between stone and a cream colored drywall in a seemingly random order. As if the construction of the bunker involved workers picking a random spot and throwing plaster over the walls. The stone floor was far from soundproof, and her boots echoed down the tunnel. 

Miko sniffed the air, the now familiar scent of bleach and sweat wafting over her. 

When Agent Fowler had first shown her and the other humans the underground part of the new base, she was at first amazed. Then they had gotten to the abandoned floor that Fowler had assigned to them, and June had promptly complained. 'My son will not be staying in this mold ridden basement!' she had spat. To which Jack had assured her that he would be fine. Miko was also disappointed, and she was not afraid to let that show. How did they go from a bunker that stretched the height of a mountain to a claustrophobic, glorified apartment building? But hey, a free room is a free room, anything that kept her closer to the Autobots and further away from her host parents was a win.  Also, the mold smell went away after a while.

She arrived at her door and typed her code into the padlock under the doorknob. 

1 - 9 - 8 -4

The door made a loud clicking sound as it unlocked, and she turned the handle, carful not to open it a second too soon and lock herself out, which had happened before. These doors made her want to bring in a chainsaw and carve out a passageway herself, though she doubted even a chainsaw could break those metal menaces.  

The apartment was surprisingly nice, with high ceilings and okay lighting. There was a decently sized living area, a kitchen, and two bedrooms- each with their own attached bathroom. There wasn't a laundry room, she had to drag her clothes up to an entirely different level for that. They couldn't have made it easier for her, apparently. 

She had the bedroom on the left. The room on the right side of the apartment, formally belonging to Raf, was all but deserted. She assumed that he had left the essentials in there in case he ever wanted to visit the base again, but she didn't imagine there was much left. He had taken most of his things back to his family's house after the Autobots left. Then it was just her.

Jack and his mom had the apartment across the hall from her. He, on the other hand, decided to stay. Although he treated it more as an office now that he was working with Fowler on who knows what. Rarely ever there. On the off chance he was free he was usually too tired to hang out. June spent all of her time in Jasper, and Raf with his family. Jack and Fowler were work buddies now. Her host parents never cared to check in. That was fine. She didn't like human company that much anyway.

But Bulkhead was too busy for her too. That one stung.

Miko plopped herself down on the couch and thought about what Knockout had told her, her mind racing. Starscream was dead? But how? Knockout hadn't felt like explaining the details to her. She never liked Starscream, figured no one really did. But, it was odd for him to suddenly just be gone. Poof. See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.

That was a little insensitive, she guessed. 

Still, she wasn't expecting that from Knockout. Sure he was a Con, or used to be, or whatever. But he wasn't exactly the 'suddenly murdering his superiors' type. At least that's what she gathered.

Internally she scolded herself. Why had she broken down crying in front of him? That was literally so embarrassing. crying in front of the new recruit? She should be making him cry! Order of seniority and all that. She outranked him in Team Prime. Or was it Team Bee now? B Team? She didn't know. Regardless, Bulkhead would be disappointed if he knew she cried to a Con. She was a Wrecker, she was better than that. 

But Knockout was here, and Bulkhead wasn't. Knockout checked in on her, not Wheeljack. The Wreckers had left her behind.

Bulkhead be damned, Miko began to cry.

A/N - A shorter one than usual, but I know if I leave this in my files until I'm happy with it it will never get posted. Chapter lengths will most likely very from now on depending on what I feel makes sense for each chunk of the story.