Of Squirrels and Comic Books (closed)

[Deleted]

And there it was. Bee started laughing, planting his hands on his knees as he laughed at the whole situation. Shale was certain that he wasn't exactly having a chuckle at her expense and even if he was she still didn't blame him. She thought it was kinda funny too now that the fright had worn off. He apologized saying he should have warned her about the trigger sensitivity on this thing and for his laughter. Shale simply waved it away.

"I'm not worried about it, if I were you I'd laugh too."

Watching someone else's blunders was always funny. It could still be funny when you looked back on your own silly mistakes but it was always funnier when the joke was on someone else. But it was time to move on. Next stop on the tour: storage. As she followed him she started to look around them.

This base was pretty small all things considered.

She knew there was only so much that they could do on this world but she couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed. But they had everything they needed and overcrowding was definitely not a problem so things could certainly be worse. Shale kept a steady pace behind her little yellow and black tour guide letting him take four stairs ahead before following. This room was worse than the last one, it didn't even look finished yet. Half the floors and walls were just exposed rock and the lights were giving her a slight uncomfortable feeling. It just reminded her of when she was the unfortunate soul that needed to meet the supplier in some shady building that the populous had forgot about.

Then Bee pointed out how he had put the shelves together himself... and Shale felt doubtful about that. Considering the crushed pallets, twisted metal bits, and half the shelves still stacked on the floor she guessed there was a lot more to that story. She'd ask... but they had company.

"Hey."

Shale was mildly surprised at the sudden new voice that echoed in the bare storage room. It took a few seconds of looking around before she finally settled on the other bot. And she thought Bee was tiny. The little red mech didn't look too happy that they were there and didn't hesitate to ask them to leave. Politely... She supposed. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit irked by the stranger asking them to leave and not come back, this was a storage room they'd have to come back eventually.

But Shale hated making waves, and she didn't want that to happen just after a few days on this planet. She lifted a hand in a passive gesture toward the minibot.

"Just having a look, I've only been planet side a few days and needed a tour. We'll leave pretty quick here."

Hopefully that was enough to make the little bot happy and return to his work.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee hadn't expected anyone to be down here. Especially not at this hour. So at the sight of Zoom-Zoom stepping out from around the shelf like some kind of annoyed storage-gremlin? Bee was more than a little surprised. He knew the minibot was in charge of the storage area but... Wow, talk about being committed to the job!

--Uuh hey, Zoom-Zoom.-- Bee would shift his servos to his hips as he looked down at the little bot – who was even smaller than he was! Don't ever come back? What? All they'd done was walk into the room. He knew Zoom-Zoom was in charge of storage but... Never come back? What? He hadn't even said please.

He'd glance to Shale as she spoke, hoping she wasn't offended by the smaller bot – and he really hoped that she didn't think everyone at the Omega Base was like this. The others were more welcoming at least, although the likelihood they'd run into anyone was pretty low.

--Yeah man don't stress it, we're just leaving. Was just showing Shale here where the storage room is. Have a good one. Lets go, Shale.--

It wasn't like he had to take her around the room itself, just as long as she knew where it was. If she ever needed to bring stuff down here? Then she could worry about where it went – and worry about facing Zoom-Zoom again then.

He'd turn on his heel and make his way from the storage room, not wanting to ruin Zoom-Zoom's day further by hanging around, or commenting on how rude he'd been. At least not while he was still in audial range of the minibot! Once they were a safe ways away? Bumblebee would speak. Quietly.

--Sorry about that, Zoom-Zoom is a little... Eeh,-- He didn't want to use the word weird, but doing a non-committal noise paired with a shrug of his shoulders hopefully got the point across. He didn't think lowly of Zoom-Zoom, as rude as he'd found that encounter, hell he barely even knew the bot – but.. That wasn't a very good first impression. Even less of one than Bee had made on Shale!

Staying on the underground level, he'd continue down the corridor in the opposite direction now, yanking open a heavy door which took him a second to open – but once it was? He'd hold it open for the femme once more, like he'd done for the room upstairs. He wouldn't venture in, wanting to hold the door open – which he did with all his weight – so it didn't slam shut behind them. Shale was free to duck inside and take a look around though, if she wished!

The room looked sort of like... A science lab. Only without the typical science equipment such as delicate glass beakers. There were pipes going everywhere, some for ventilation, others going into large steel vats. There seemed to be an area used for loading something, too. Again the room looked like it'd been carved away into the side of the mountain.

--This is one of the newer additions to the base! Although I don't think we've actually used it yet.. Uuh anyways! This is the Energon refinery! For processing any Energon that we happen to find! Pretty neat, huh?--

[Deleted]

It would seem meeting Zoom-Zoom wasn't on the itinerary of Bee's late night base tour. Shale found she was kind of wishing that they could have skipped that part. Yes, don't ever come back to the room that you would most likely have to return to in the future. That made sense. Regardless the larger femme followed right behind Bumblebee down the corridor. Once out of hearing range Bee made it a point to apologize about how the minibot acted.

That made Shale giggle.

"Bee, believe me when I say that I have seen worse. MUCH worse."

Drug addicts came in all shades of the spectrum and she'd seen some pretty... interesting things in that business. That brush with the minibot was a pleasure compared to listening to some doped up bot scream on and on about how Primus had visited him in one of his 'ventures'. She quickly moved away from those thoughts, she didn't want to revisit that part of her life right now. Again Bee pulled the door open and held it wide for her. She smiled, thanking him before striding inside.

This place was also fairly bare bones. Pipes lined the walls and most of them connected to a large refinery in the back of the room. This was apparently a newer addition to the base. Shale walked forward, hands on her hips as she carefully scrutinized everything.

Now this profession she loved reliving.

With a thoughtful hum she ran a hand over one of the pipes she could reach. Thoroughly inspecting it for a moment she smirked once she was finished.

"I remember installing one like this in a building on the outskirts of Iacon a long long time ago. It was just meant to be a temporary setup but it ended up lasting a few years after the job was done. Thing was a real pain, half of the welding was pretty shoty and I had to redo it. But I got that thing working."

Raping her knuckles against the pipe she noticed several of the bolts were beginning to rust. They'd need to be replaced within the next few weeks otherwise there was a risk of several joints bursting open.

"Looks like a few of the bolts need to be replaced. If I had the right tools I could have them swapped within the hour. But as it stands looks like it isn't mandatory right now."

She shrugged backing away from the wall and turning back to Bee. That was probably - no that WAS the most she'd spoken at once tonight. Work did that to her, even if she was with a complete stranger she could ramble on and on about these kind of things. Her passion could certainly not be discredited.

[Bumblebee]

Bee rubbed the back of his neck at her giggle. At least that was a good sign, right? That she hadn't taken offense to the whole thing. He was debating asking Optimus sometime what they should exactly do about the situation – Zoom-Zoom was in charge of the storage room but he couldn't tell them to not come back! Surely he didn't have that kind of power? What a worrying thought, if he did...

--Aah I don't doubt that ya have! But... C'mon, he coulda been nicer and more welcoming his first time meeting ya! Maybe we just caught him on a bad day.--

Or maybe not, since the minibot himself had said he was having a good day... Ugh whatever. Bee chuckled. Maybe it was just Bumblebee that cared too much about the little things. He did tend to over think and over worry about peoples opinions sometimes, and this was clearly no different.

He would continue to lean against the door to keep it open, optics adjusting to the dim light of the room. He watched her curiously as she moved into the room, tilting his helm as she inspected a pipe.

--Oh really? Ya did stuff like this before? That's awesome! Where were ya months ago when we were settin' this place up?-- He laughed again. --Since we're expandin' the base more, ya should totes ask Optimus if there's anything ya can help with, since ya got some know how on stuff. I bet for sure he would allow ya to come down here and replace the bolts and stuff, since they need replacin'--

Bumblebee found it quite fascinating that she'd done stuff like this before, and how quickly she'd picked up on that things needed replacing in here. She had a passion in her voice, the same kind that Bumblebee got when he talked about his comics, or Raf and the other Autobots.

As she turned back, he would bob his head and move away from the door slowly. Time to move on. He'd keep ahold of it until she'd passed him, just so it wouldn't slam shut – then would lead on down the same corridor and back up the stairs they'd come down moments earlier. Although instead of going all the way up the stairs to the Control Room, he'd turn onto the middle floor now.

--So what is it that ya do, anyway? Ya noticed the bolts needing replacin', so I'm guessing that ya like building stuff?-- He honestly had no idea, but the passion in her voice had given a lot away – but he didn't want to jump to conclusions, and conversation and getting to know each other was nice!

There were many doors along the wall, the rooms that adjoined these doors looked to be empty. Bee wouldn't make a point to go inside them, as there was absolutely nothing to see in them – when he said the base was still being expanded on, he wasn't lying! These rooms would probably be used as quarters for bots that arrived – given that more seemed to arrive each week it seemed, and they had to have a place to recharge, afterall!

Some of the doors were closed, the keypads outside lit up – as if indicating that these rooms were occupied or at the very least, in use.

--These are some of the personal quarters. Ones with the doors open obviously aren't taken, although I aint too sure who ya would talk to about setting yaself up in one. I'll show ya where mine is just incase ya ever need me!--

Okay he just wanted to show off his cool room and all his stuff, but if she did ever need a friendly familiar face? At least she'd know where Bee's quarters were. He moved quickly down the corridor past all the doors, until he came to a stop outside one that had a crude wooden sign above the door, with “BUMBLEBEE” in scrawled on writing that looked like it'd been done with black paint.

He'd type the code to unlock the door, humming as he did. The door slid open and Bumblebee would step inside.

Hanging from the ceiling were CDs that were tied with string, along the walls were shelves that had empty cans and bottles of various different types, as well as various pieces of cool looking glass. There were some also paintings that looked to be a rough scribbles of Bee, and a tiny stickfigure that said “RAF” - Bee was no artist but he did love to try and paint. To everyone else, most of this stuff would be considered junk, but not to Bee. He loved to collect things, it seemed, and was proud of everything in the room. Along the walls were scraps of cool looking metal, some of which he'd salvaged from the Ark itself. There was a tiny human sized desk in one corner which had a computer, no doubt belonging to Raf. Science projects in various stages of completion littered the floor, and two lava-lamps. One blue with green lava, and one yellow with black lava. Along the far wall was a berth with a simple mesh – which was where Bumblebee recharged. It wasn't a huge room by any means, but Bumblebee had made it his own.

--Welcome to my humble abode!-- He beepily chuckled. He didn't know what 'abode' meant, but he'd heard it on TV and it sounded fancy. He loved his room, as simple as it was, and took great pride in showing it to people.

[Deleted]

The youngster was amazed that Shale had done something like this before, asking where she'd been several months ago when the base was just beginning. She cut a smirk before she replied only half snarkily.

"Floating around space in an escape pod knocked out cold."

It was the truth, though she was sure that'd been a rhetorical question. With renovations on the base happening she'd certainly speak with Optimus about helping in that endeavor. Her field slightly flickered with anxious excitement at that thought. She was sure there wasn't a bot alive out there that hadn't heard of Optimus Prime, and while she didn't religiously follow the war and the fighters taking part in it she'd at least heard about the last surviving Prime.

She wondered if Deuce was right and just how epic his voice would be.

Shale followed behind Bee at a steady pace, pausing for just a moment as he turned into the middle floor before following him. This would probably be where everyone went about their own business, if the top floor and bottom floor hadn't had anything like that. There were really a lot of open doors, at least it wouldn't be too crowded. That thought made her a little sad.

Then Bee asked a question.

A damn loaded one at that.

Shale did her best to hide it but her field still betrayed her, bleeding some of her shame and self directed anger out. She would keep her... 'side job' to herself, at least until she felt ready to tell someone. She didn't want Bee judging her, not when she felt like she was actually starting to make friends with him. Primus knew she couldn't avoid it anymore and he was pretty fun to be around. For now she'd just stick to what she was built to do.

"Well, when I was sparked they put me right to work. With this heavy build I was slapped right into wreckage hauling. Leftover slag from build sites, demolition sites, places hit by natural disasters. It was my job to handle the heavy duty clean up. But when things got a little more complicated and I was having trouble making ends meet I started branching out."

She rolled her scared shoulder before continuing.

"A lot of the mechs I worked with taught me about construction, so I started putting that to use too. Turns out I was pretty good at it."

Another smirk, she was pretty proud of all the things she'd done back home. It did make her a little mad that they'd now gone to waste but there was literally nothing she could do about it. What good did it do to get mad over it? It wasn't anyone's fault the planet was dead. Well, no, it was SOMEONE'S fault, she'd just never call him out on it. Or even look directly at him, or in his general direction.

Then they came to Bee's room, or at least it was according to the wooden sign above the door. Once he swung it open with a hum Shale hovered in the door in awe. There was just so much in this room to take in at one, the little bits hanging from the ceiling and the baubles that lined the walls. Little scribbled pictures of Bee and what was supposed to be Raf according to the pictures. She was sure the little human didn't look QUITE like that. The small deal and computer no doubt belonged to Raf, unless Bee was extremely dexterous and just liked to use it himself.Pieces of junk all over the floor hindered her movement a little, thus she was content to just step from outside to stand in front of the door.

But Bee was proud of it, she could hear it in his beeps and clicks as he welcomed her. She laughed briefly, pushing a large piece of scrap away from her path to keep from crushing it.

"It's very nice Bee."

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee was surprised she'd answered, it had been a rhetorical question, but the answer was interesting all the same. He couldn't even imagine what that was like... Floating around in a pod out cold? It sounded terrifying. He'd arrived on the Ark, and once that'd gotten close to Earth he'd gone on ahead in a pod of his own, but he was fully conscious – and due to the comms, he wasn't alone. He was lucky, he'd never really truly been alone. Well, except for after the torture with Megatron and he was left for dead... But that was something he tried not to think about!

As for his other question? He had picked up on the shame that bled from her field. He wouldn't question it though. Everyone had their stories, and if she were comfortable enough to tell hers one day? Bee would listen with genuine interest – but he wasn't one for judging others, nor did he want to pry anything from her that might make her feel uncomfortable, so he'd just nod. His field remained calm, and happy.

--Wreckage hauling sounds like fun!-- He chirped happily. He meant it! While scouting was fun and all, and he loved his job, it wasn't constant work and he got bored fast. At least with things like wreckage and construction? There was always work to be had. His processor hadn't connected the 'branching out' and her brief feeling of shame together. He was too innocent, too naive.

--Least there shouldn't be any shortage of work for ya around here, there's always somethin' that needs building or repairing it seems!-- He tried to sound cheery as he spoke, but the truth was.. They didn't really have the supplies to keep up with the demand, or at least be able to fix things properly. A lot of the repairs were temporary patch jobs. But maybe Shale could use her expertise to fix things up so the patch jobs lasted a little longer.

Unlike Shale, he moved further into his room. He moved with expert precision over the things on the floor, not even having to look down as he walked.

--Ya like it? I'm glad!-- His field radiated happiness, his beeps reflecting this. --It really aint much, but it's mine! Well, and Rafs! Not that he recharges or anythin' like that in here, but he hangs out in here a lot!-- He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling as he peered around. Maybe he should clean up in here sometime... Nah, it was all part of the charm! Plus he didn't know he'd be having a visitor!

--We should keep goin' on with the tour huh? Still lots to show ya and stuff.-- As much as he wanted to show her every single CD, glass bottle, scrap of metal and awesome-shaped-piece-of-glass and tell the stories behind each one? That was for another time when it wasn't the middle of the night when they were in the middle of a tour.

He'd make his way from the room, waiting until Shale followed and then he would lock the door behind him. Again, he'd move down the corridor past the various closed and opened doors.

--I aint sure if ya been shown this but I'll show ya anyway, just incase.-- He shrugged as he continued down the corridor, unsure as to what Ratchet had shown her – if anything. Medics were busy people, after all! They were past all the rooms that were obviously intended to be personal quarters, and there was a large double door on the left.

Again, Bee would hold it open for Shale. He had good manners, afterall! There was nothing too flashy inside, the floor and walls of this new room were tiled, and there were drains all over the floor. There were a few shower-heads, as well as more hoses. Nothing fancy like personal buffers or huge vats of wax in here, just simple shower-heads. It was pretty obvious what this room was.

--Aaaand here we have the wash-racks. Sorry for all the borin' places I'm showin' ya... But they do need to be seen I guess! I'll show ya somethin' really cool after this to make up for the boringness.--

He should've left his room till last, that was the coolest room in the entire Omega Base! Well, so Bee thought so anyway. Still, there were a few really neat places in the base left to see which would hopefully make up for all this boring stuff.

[Deleted]

"Yeah, well I found it enjoyable at least. There aren't many things more enjoyable than watching a building collapse on itself from well placed explosives. Meet a few interesting mechs 'cause of it too."

Shale was enjoying this little trip down memory road. It gave her a sense of peace in such troubling times. It helped that she was in such good company right now. It was refreshing being around someone young like Bumblebee, helped being around a friendly face after so much loneliness. He pointed out how the base almost always had something to be repaired or installed. A soft chuckle and she leaned against the frame of the door.

"And here I thought I wouldn't be of any use 'round here."

She said more to herself rather than Bee. But the show- err tour had to go on. She dipped back into the hall before Bee shut the door and followed after him back down the hall. More open doors leading to empty rooms before they reached a set of double doors. Again Bee held them wide for her, such a little gentleman. She smiled at him before she stepped into the tile. Wash racks, nothing special. Just shower heads, drains, and more hoses.

The hoses left a bit of a sour taste in her mouth, still a little irked about earlier. She still smiled as Bee apologized about showing her all the really boring stuff around the base first. Shale just shrugged.

"Gotta be done Bee, I didn't know where all this stuff was. If I'm honest I've just been mulling around the top floor trying to keep my processor from shorting out with all this new info."

She'd only discovered the rec room after stumbling on it by accident. Shale lightly pat Bee on his shoulder, smiling softly at him.

"Thanks for showing me around, I'll be sure to remember where everything is. Though I probably won't be in here all too often."

She waved her other hand in the air to indicate the wash racks. Clean wasn't really her thing, she wore her dirt and grime like some kind of badge. She'd be dirty all the time after days of work and that was how she knew she'd done something productive that day. Besides, who worried about being clean all the time? Dirt was natural, nothing to be afraid of.

"I'm holding you to that promise Bee."

She gestured to him with her index digit before turning and stepping back out into the hallway. Tonight was nothing like she'd hoped it'd be, but she was thankful for that.

[Bumblebee]

--Aw man, ya got to watch things explode?-- He perked up at that. While he stayed far away from explosives himself, 'cos afterall, he didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone – especially the humans that came to the base – they were fun to watch, and he'd seen plenty on the TV in action movies! Sure he'd been around explosions back in the war, too, but he'd been running for his life from point to point to deliver messages back then, not stand around in awe as things got trashed.

Controlled explosions sounded fun though!

He chuckled at her comment about her not thinking she'd be of any use. Even if she didn't have any notable skills, there would always be work around for her to do. Even fun fun fun janitorial jobs. He was kinda sorta glad that she knew about construction, and was kinda sorta hoping to be put on a shift with her at some point in repairing or building something just to see how it was done properly! Bee was always eager to learn, and after his little mishap at building shelves? He had a lot to learn.

--And hey don't thank me for this! It's all good! Happy to do it, with everythin' being expanded on, the last thing we need is people running around getting lost in here. That and it gives me something to do! Plus I like helpin out.--

He noticed that she hadn't gone into the wash-racks very far. While Bumblebee liked to rough and tumble and one would think that being younger he didn't mind the dirt? He actually took pride in his appearance. Nowhere even close to the standards of a certain Decepticon Medic (And who could match Knock Out?) - but due to the fact that Bee quite often made the school run to pick up Raf, he wanted to be presentable. There was also the fact that he stood out being bright yellow, and relished in the stares as he drove around. Not that he'd judge anyone who chose not to wash themselves, but there was something icky feeling about being covered in dirt.

--Oh don't worry!! Next thing on the tour will more than make up for all this!-- His field beamed with happiness. He wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it!

He'd move down the hallway now, a little faster than before. He moved with purpose, as if excited about what was to come. The hallway would loop back around to the stairs and he would go up to the floor that had the Control Room. Instead of going that way, though, he would make a left and go down another smaller corridor into a very, very large room indeed. The hanger.

In this room was what looked to be the skeletal remains of a very large ship. It'd been completely gutted, and looked worse for wear and in a state of disrepair. Construction skills or not, there was no fixing this. There wasn't much left of it at all to even begin fixing.

--The Ark.-- He said simply, gesturing out with one servo to the ruined ship. If she didn't find this exciting then there was something wrong with her. Bee came here a lot because it was quiet, and he liked playing make-believe and reliving days gone by (the happier ones, anyway). Shale may have recognized that Bee had taken a few cooler looking pieces of it and proudly displayed them in his room. The Ark was what'd gotten a lot of Autobots from Cybertron, and carried them safely to Earth. It meant a lot to Bee, and it represented even more. It showed how far they'd come.

He wouldn't move further into the room, instead watching and waiting to see what she did and how she reacted.

[Deleted]

Shale couldn't help but chuckle at Bee's wonder. Controlled explosions were quite the spectacle indeed, even she found that true. There was this sort of magic in watching an old building crumble into itself without damaging the others around it.

"Yeah, I even placed a few of the explosives on one of them."

She didn't mean to boast but Bee's enthusiasm was contagious. He waved off her thanks saying it not only benefited her but it gave him something to do. He also just liked helping people. Shale had to admit she was glad she'd run into him tonight, even if the way it happened wasn't ideal. Bee then dashed out of the washroom and back down the hall determined to keep his promise of excitement.

Shale smiled and followed after him picking up her own pace to keep up with the little scout. They first started toward the control room but her guide then took another small hall of to the side. Shale tucked her arms closer to herself as she followed, the hall wasn't too small but she didn't want to risk running into a wall. The small hallway then opened into a VERY large room, a hanger.

Wherein the Ark - or what was left of it - rested.

The massive ship was nearly picked clean, the mangled skeleton visible in multiple places. No doubt the crash had damaged the ship but this wasn't caused by that. They must have used parts from the vessel while building the base. The last time she'd seen The Ark it was slowly drifting away from her as her pod went another direction.

She'd made it back.

Took longer than she thought it would, but she'd made it back.

It hit her then, she was really alive. After watching so many others be shot out of space she was the one who had made it back, roughed up but alive. Shale stepped father into the hanger her steps echoing off the empty walls. Shale laughed softly, a sort of sad and incredulous sound as she looked up at the once glorious ship.

"I never thought I'd see this ship again."

She muttered shaking her head. Shale rubbed her neck as she gazed at the framework of the ship. This was definitely cool.

[Bumblebee]

--Well, it aint really a ship anymore. But.. Yeah, this is it.--

He beeped quietly, looping his arms behind his back. Even though he was more than used to this sight, it was still amazing to him. His gaze lingered on the skeletal remains of the ship, before he would turn his helm to look at Shale. If his mouth wasn't covered by a guard, she'd see that he was smiling. Her reaction was good. She hadn't dismissed it as nothing, nor had she gotten weirdly over-excited over it. She was quiet, and seemed to be appreciative of it.

--We had to take it apart to help build the base, so that's why it is the way it is. But it's nice, in a way! Little parts of it all over, so it continues to help the Autobot cause! I like to come here to read comics sometimes because it's so quiet up here. So if ya ever needin' space? This is the place to go!--

He hummed in thought, trying to think of what else he had left to show her on the tour. He'd shown her pretty much everything he could think of – and aside from going door to door to peoples personal quarters to introduce her to everyone? He couldn't think of anything else left to show, which was a shame as he was enjoying her company. It was too late to introduce her to the others anyway, and she'd no doubt meet them all over time anyway. He didn't feel it was needed to show her the Medical Bay or the Control Room, as she'd have seen those already, plus they passed them already. Although he'd take her to them again if she asked!

--So uh, ya got any questions about anything? I pretty much showed ya everything there is to see. The base is pretty small but there are plenty of places to keep to yaself, so it don't really feel all that small.--

He'd copy her action, raising one servo and rubbing the back of his neck. He was debating taking her back down to the personal quarters and just telling her to pick one for herself. It wasn't like they were fighting for rooms, they had plenty of free ones, so he didn't see why she couldn't just have one. Maybe he'd do that. Bee could just pass it along to Optimus or Red Alert or whoever was in charge of that side of things, and if he got in trouble? No big deal. At least she'd have a room and wouldn't have to pass out in the Rec-Room again, because that can't have been comfortable. 

[Deleted]

The ship was everywhere.

Little pieces of it all throughout the base, still helping with the Autobots cause. That gave her a sense of peace. Knowing even the wreck of the ship that brought so many here found a use after its crash. Maybe she could find her own place here too.

"I'll definitely remember that next time I need some quiet."

She was used to controlled chaos, she was used to hearing people shouting and loud background noise. She'd learned to live with it, but even then she needed quiet time to herself now and then. To sit alone with her thoughts. Shale would probably be frequenting this place in the days to come.

She had a lot of thinking to do.

That was the base in its entirety, she didn't need to see the medical bay - that'd been her very first stop on arrival - and she'd mulled around the control room for days. Shale would like to have a room of her own but how she went about doing that she wasn't quite sure. Questions? She couldn't think of any...

At least about the tour. She turned back to Bee.

"Just one.... um, what's a comic?"

[Bumblebee]

--Trust me, ya will need some quiet!-- He laughed, lowering his servo from behind his neck and loosely folding his arms across his chassis. He shifted his weight so he was favoring one hip more than the other, glancing to her, then back to the Ark. Things got pretty loud around here sometimes, especially with those two ex-convicts! Then there was Miko, too. How could such a tiny thing be so loud​?

--Not many people come up this way so it's awesome. But on the offchance that there's someone up here who aint me? There's empty rooms down by the storage area, or ya can always hang in ya quarters, since that's kinda the point of em really.--

He paused then, lowering his arms and shaking them out before resting them on his hips. Yeah he definitely had to let her pick a room for herself. Bee would hate to not have his own space at the Omega Base. Then again the others probably benefited from Bee having his own room just as much as he did, given the amount of random Earth junk he collected.

Her question made his field blip with happiness, and he'd swivel so his whole body was facing her. She didn't know what a comic was? Then again how could she? Even Bee didn't know what they were until he'd arrived on Earth, and that was after Raf had shown him!

--Oh! Comics are really cool!-- He chirped. --Ya know that cartoon that was on the television earlier? The uhh... Show with all the bright colors?-- He added, just incase she thought he meant the show with that enthusiastic man with the crocodile. --Well they're like that, but in a book! They come in parts, so ya start with issue one, then ya gotta wait for issue two to come out and stuff! The waiting is the hard part!!-- He beeped a mile a minute, clearly this was an exciting subject for Bumblebee, and it showed! --They have all sorts, too! Like super heroes and stuff! One guy called Spiderman, he's really cool! Can shoot webs outta his arms like this!-- He'd pull his servos from his hips, quickly bending one knee and thrusting both arms out - holding them palm up with the middle digits of each servo (given he only had three fingers!) curled into his palm, thumb across them. He'd keep his knee bent slightly as he fired these invisible webs at the wall above Shale, before laughing and standing up straight once more, servos returning to his sides.

--There's some real cute comics too but I aint into those ones. I'll show ya some of the ones I have if ya want? We gotta go back down that way anyways since ya need a room for yaself. How about ya lead on eh? Then I can see if ya learned anything on this tour?--

His field was positively radiating with happiness now. He really wanted to show her his comic book collection, of which he had a few now! But he would be okay with her leading them back to the floor with the quarters and him showing her another time if she didn't want to look right now. It was late, afterall.

[Deleted]

Bee was right, she'd need this kind of quiet in the coming days. Earth had just smacked her in the face and she knew it wouldn't let up any time soon. And maybe if she found Bee up here they could just sit and talk for a little while. And if it was anyone else she'd be able to find peace in any of the spare rooms by storage or in her own - which she still needed. But it was nice to know she always had a place of solitude here.

The sudden spike in Bee's field mildly startled her. Seemed she'd asked the million dollar question. He excitedly told her about these comics, books like that brightly colored program on tv. These 'superheroes' filled the pages of most of them and Bee made it a point to mention this... 'spider human' or something along those lines. Then he took it upon himself to show her just how this spider human shot these webs of his. The pose was dramatic, and far too funny. Shale couldn't hide her laugh as the little scout demonstrated.

"Sounds interesting."

She finally managed after her own giggle fit for the evening. Her curiosity over these comic books he seemed so passionate about was growing as he went on. But it was late and she had yet to acquire a room for herself. She could just have him help her pick one then be done with it... or she could take another lesson on human pop culture.

Room or comics?... Room... or comics?

"Well, I don't think I'll be resting tonight after all this excitement."

Shale crooked a smile before heading back toward the door, leaving the Ark in its silence. Back down the hall and to the second floor it was. To the door with the little wooden plaque hanging above it.

"What else can you tell me about these books?"

She asked over her shoulder as she turned a corner keeping her pace relaxed so Bee could keep up. Shale didn't really expect this to be one of her first lessons about this new planet she'd found herself on, but she didn't think it was a bad place to start. And she had to appreciate Bee's passion about it. Anything that kept such a young bot happy at a time like this had to be something significant.

Or maybe Bee was just that naive... Shale decided to stick with significance.

At his door she paused to let him open it and go in first. Navigating his 'collection' would be a little difficult for someone her size but if worse came to worse she'd just push something out of her way. Hopefully Bee preferred his things moved around a little as opposed to stepped on.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee would follow Shale from the Hanger. He wouldn't give her any hints of where to go, not unless she asked! He wanted to see if she'd been paying attention to the tour of the base, and what better way to test that than telling her to take him somewhere they'd already been?

--Well ya do need to rest! I would've thought the tour woulda tired ya out some!-- He beepily chuckled at that. Then again the talk of comic books had undone any and all hope of Bee getting a decent nights recharge tonight, even if she didn't find them interesting like he did? The fact he would be showing her his collection would make him want to re-read all his favorite parts.

He was silently glad she'd kept her pace relaxed as they walked, being stabbed yesterday meant his hip was still aching. Not that it'd slow him down any, and Ratchet had done an awesome job of repairing it – you'd never know just by looking at him that he'd had a blade lodged into his hip – but there was still a dull ache that'd take a few days to fully go away.

--What else can I tell ya? Welllll... they're really small! Since they're for humans!-- He laughed again. Bee's unique optics meant he could read them with zero issue at all, but turning the pages was a problem – it was doable, given Bee was a smaller Cybertronian, but it was still a fiddly process and he didn't want to tear the pages! He often had Raf hold the comic for him, and they'd both read or act out the parts, with Raf turning the pages for Bee. --Uh, but Raf has printed out some of my favorite pages REAL big for me, to make it easier. I'll show ya those ones, but they aint the full comics! Just pages, but they will give ya an idea!-- Printing full comics onto the larger paper would be faaar too expensive. Raf had said something about printer ink being more expensive than gas for cars! Which was nuts!

--There's all kinds of different ones. With lots of different super heroes! Lots of genres, too! Like some are real cute, then there's some scary ones... and then there's some which are super violent with blood and stuff in them! Raf aint allowed to read those ones though, but he told me about them!-- Bee actually really wanted to read those ones, as he was super curious - but he didn't want Raf to get in trouble with his parents. Maybe Miko could get them... No, nooo.. Bad idea!!

As they arrived at his door, his field would beam with pride. She remembered her way back and had gotten here without asking for help! Then again Bee was an expert at giving tours if he did say so himself, so that wasn't surprising! She'd learned from the best! He'd lean forward to input the code to unlock the door into the keypad.

--Good job on finding ya way back! When ya bored of comics I'll come with ya to find a room for yaself! Since I meant what I said about ya needing to rest.-- He'd hum as he moved quickly into his quarters, making a beeline over to the berth and kneeling down, reaching under it. He'd pull out a tiny box that was almost overflowing with human-sized comic books, then would lean further in to pull out a few larger pieces of paper, which looked to be A1 sized. The edges were a little worn in places, seemed Bee looked at these pages a lot. 

He'd scramble up to his pedes, and held the larger papers out for Shale to look at or take if she wanted. On them were various random pages of what looked to be Spider-Man who he'd spoke of earlier, as well as a few other characters that weren't. The pages were nothing special. They were bright, colorful, and full of action poses. In one of them, Spider-Man was holding a human female in his arms, in another he was shooting some guy with huge metal octopus arms with his webs! All very generic comic book hero stuff, but Bee was super excited all the same.

--The guy in the blue and red? That's Spider-Man! See how he shoots the webs? It's so cool!! I keep meaning to put these bigger pages on the wall but I aint got any room!-- He laughed again, optics wide, and his gaze lingered on her expectantly – he wanted to know what she thought!

[Deleted]

Once the door slid open and the young bot made his practiced way to the other side Shale began her own journey across. She made careful steps around each piece of metal, and it was here that she noticed some of the pieces matched the Ark in color scheme. Seemed Bee took a liking to them and brought them in here for his own enjoyment. Carefully adjusting the position of a fairly large piece roughly halfway to the destination she stepped around it and from there it was - thankfully - a fairly straight shot. Shale joined Bee just as he returned from rummaging under his berth to produce a small box.

Wow they were small.

She decided not to even try to pick one up, ripping it would be terrible. Bee reached back under to retrieve larger pages with certain pictures on them, Raf must have made those for him so he could enjoy them easier. The youngling then held them out toward her so she could see them. Pictures of a human in a form fitting red and blue costume, one with a woman in his arms and another of an epic battle between said masked crusader and a human with metal limbs on his back.

This wasn't what she was expecting with this Spiderman, but she wasn't disappointed.

The colors were bright and the images were actually exiting. She could see the appeal in this. The corners were a little worn from use she noticed. Bee must love these certain pages.

"It's certainly interesting Bee, I kind of like it."

She said looking up from the page to the bot holding them. She'd take it herself but she didn't want to risk ripping them. Her hands were larger than the scouts by a fair amount, she could easily tear the pages if she wasn't careful enough. His field radiated even from here, it might even reach the door right now. He was happy, and so was she.

"Do you have others?"

She was curious what other heroes and their adventures he kept record of. There had to be more than one in that box... unless there were that many just on Spiderman. Either were possible, she had no idea how long the friendly neighborhood spider had been running for. For all she knew it could have been a very recent item in Earth's history.