Agent Fowler pulled at his sleeves as he grumbled about having to deal with aliens again.

"Alright, Prime. What is it this time?" The man spoke harshly before seeing Adelaide standing near Ratchet. "What in Sam Hill?"

"Optimus found a human in an energon deposit. The Decepticons saw her so he brought her back here before I called for you," Ratchet explained as he looked at the government agent.

"I've seen you before," Fowler mentioned as he looked at the girl.

Adelaide walked over to him. "The military base. I'm a secretary there. You were there last week. Right?"

Fowler nodded. "Yes. So you understand protocol. This is top secret. And I will have you thrown behind bars if you ever utter a word of any of this to anyone."

"I understand, sir," Addie replied with a nod.

"I'm going to need you to come with me."

-

Adelaide sat down at the desk in the little office.

"I spoke with your commanding officer. So you're waiting for deployment?" Fowler spoke as he sat down, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, sir. I'm only a few months out of individual training," Adelaide explained stiffly.

Fowler sighed, folding his hands in his lap. "Alright. Tell me what happened. I need a run down of this encounter."

"I was going for a walk up the mountain and I don't know if I went a different way then I normally do, or whatever, but there was a cave so I went in. Optimus said that it was something called energon, but there was a ton of that stuff throughout the whole cave," Addie started as she crossed her legs. "Optimus came in after. I shouldn't have be there in the first place, so it wasn't his fault."

"Definitely not the place for you to be. Energon is an ore than is refined into essentially the fuel that the Autobots need to survive," Fowler explained.

"Autobots? Is that what they are called? Optimus said something about Decept- um..."

"Decepticons. Yes. They are Cybertronians, though on opposites sides of a war. I had kinda hoped Prime would've explained more."

"In his defense, he was interrupted by the Decepticons attacking him. And, Ratchet, I think his name was. He didn't want to say a word to me, so," Addie replied as she relaxed herself a bit more.

Fowler chuckled dryly. "Ratchet is a bit of a prickly character. I'll let Optimus tell you the details of everything else, but for now, I'm gonna use this chance encounter to my benefit. I'm gonna move your post. You'll be a liaison for the Autobots when I'm unavailable. Just as an inhouse monitor. I can't always be around, so that will be your job. If the bots need human coverage."

Adelaide nodded. "So, will I still be at the base?"

"Do you really want to keep your desk job?" Fowler questioned with a grimace.

"God no."

"You'll have to move closer to the Autobot base. The government will pay for your moving costs, so you won't have to worry about that. We're in the process of outfitting a former missile silo into a base for the bots out in Nevada, so eventually you'll be out there."

"That works for me. I'll go anywhere I need to. I joined the military so I could see the world," Addie admitted.

"You'll get to see plenty. I can promise you that," Fowler replied.

-

"Optimus, are you sure that having this girl around is a good idea? Even if the Decepticons know of her, she's still in danger in here, just as much as out there," Ratchet spoke as he looked at the Prime.

Optimus nodded slowly. "If you are concerned about her height, I am sure it is an issue we will figure out quickly. I do not wish to put her in any unnecessary danger, though I do believe she will be safer with us."

"Good news!!"

All the bots turned to the sound of Fowler's voice.

"You all have a new guide. Adelaide here is gonna stick around to be your guide to Earth. She's trained military, so she knows the ropes with secrets and keeping herself safe," Fowler explained as Adelaide stood behind him a little.

The green Autobot seemed to chuckle. "Maybe she'll be nicer than you."

"Listen, two ton-"

"It's alright. I'm sure we'll all get along," Addie stepped in, her eyes meeting with Optimus's as he gave a silent 'thank you'.

There was a high-pitched whirring sound that came from the Autobot she recalled as BumbleBee.

"I would be down for that! I love going on drives," Addie said with a bright smile.

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"You can understand him?" Fowler questioned.

"Am I not supposed to?" She replied, turning back to Agent Fowler.

"I've never understood his beeps and bleeps."

"I don't know it just made sense to me," Addie shrugged, looking at her superior. "Look, I'm up for anything. And I'll try to stay out of your way."

She glanced at Ratchet as she spoke, getting the feeling that out of every bot there, he would be the hardest to please.

"Well, Adelaide," Fowler spoke again. "Welcome to Team Prime. I need to get back to the Pentagon and fill out some extra paperwork. I'll let you all get acquainted."

"Thank you, sir. Safe travels," Addie said with a nod.

"So, you're a soldier then?" Bulkhead piped up, drawing the attention of the dark haired human.

She gave a nod. "I joined so I could see the world. Also because it sort of runs in the family. My parents were in the military, and a bunch of my family members are active members. Was born to do it."

BumbleBee excitedly beeped which made her laugh sheepishly.

"No, I haven't done much yet. I just got out of my individual training, and then I got assigned to desk duty. Not much fun, but I try not to complain."

Optimus hummed with a nod. "Well, you're here now. And I am sure you will have plenty opportunity to see the sights of this planet."

"Oh, please. Energon scouting isn't some sight seeing tour, Optimus," Ratchet chided with crossed arms.

"You may be correct, but we can still be kind to our new friend. If she is to spend her time with us, I find it to be a wise idea to make her feel welcome," Optimus spoke with an almost chastising tone.

The medic just scoffed as he turned back to his work.

"Don't mind him. He's always like that," Bulkhead spoke up.

"It's alright. It's an adjustment. I'm curious though. I've only gotten bits and pieces so far, so is it okay for me to ask about this war you're fighting? And who are the Decepticons?" Addie asked as she sat down with her legs crossed.

The other bots turned their gaze to Optimus, save for Ratchet who was too busy futzing with his tools.

Optimus gave a curt nod before beginning. "The war was started over a long standing suffering through the governmental system that ran our planet. There was much inequality, and one whom I once considered a brother led the rise up against the old guard. Originally, I stood with him in his ideals, until his greed corrupted him. He vowed to have his revenge against me and all those who he believed had wronged him."

"That would be Megatron. He's the leader of the Decepticons," Bulkhead piped up.

"Over time the war continued over the possession of the energon on Cybertron. Eventually, after war ravaged our world for eons, Cybertron became uninhabitable. We had to leave our home, but we have found refuge here on Earth. We have been keeping the Decepticons at bay while we search for energon here on your planet."

"Why is there energon here? If it's from your planet, it shouldn't be on Earth, right?" Adelaide questioned.

"You are correct. Energon is not naturally occurring on your planet. However, late during the war, both sides began transporting their energon spoils off world. With time, these deposits were covered by the earth. Now we scout for these deposits. Energon is our life blood. It also fuels our weapons. It is a necessity for us Cybertronians," Optimus continued to explain. "We do our best to keep low profiles as to not disturb the human population."

"Yeah, probably a good idea. People would freak out, guaranteed."

Ratchet scoffed. "I find it absurd that you humans think you're the only species in the universe."

"Well people tend to believe things that they can see. We like to have proof of things. Well, most of us anyway," Addie mumbled the last part with a shrug. "But also, if you were to come out and tell the people that there was an alien race of robots, that are ten times our size, fighting a war on our planet? I don't think it'd go over well."

Ratchet merely rolled his eyes and went back to his work.

"I don't know how much help I would be in all of this," Adelaide joked as she sat down with her legs crossed. "I mean, I could yell at Megatron if you really wanted, but past that, not sure I can do much else."

"Now that I would love to see," Bulkhead said as he chuckled at the thought. "Though we haven't actually seen Megatron in almost a year, but when we do, we'll let you know."

Bee made a few clicks and then whirred in laughter.

"Hey, don't under estimate the mom voice. I've got it mastered," Addie shot back with warm smile.

She felt much more comfortable now, like she had just made some new friends.