#transformers smokescreen

BACKGROUND:

Your ship, it was a mini battle ship you'd miraculously managed to steal from Decepticons during your more reckless days, it could hold maybe about… what? Ten bots? And you, being the responsible medic you were, made sure to bring aboard sparklings you'd taken pity on. Endless days of drifting in space, scouring for some or the other energon reserves you could get, it's left a toll on you. You look older than you really are and you've begun to understand the senior medics.

The moment you got that message from Optimus asking all Autobots to come to Earth, it was like a Christmas gift, your faceplates immediately lit up— your own supplies were running low and your generosity appointed you the title of Sire to the terrors that run around your ship, you've been nothing short of exhausted and famished, running on energon fumes in your tanks. It's hectic to keep them in line but their joy, their excited faces and giggles is reminiscent of an era where war was far away and getting energon in your tanks was your only concern.

And you hoped that this new refuge that the Autobots had found— Earth, was enough to provide for you and the sparklings you'd basically adopted. The tenants of your ship who live off your generosity. You don't really want to accept fatherhood. After all, you yourself are maybe just a few vorns older than the two young soldiers. Maybe there were other Autobots, older and more experienced that could deal with them…

But you were hopeful too quickly. The moment your ship entered near the orbit, the massive size of The Nemesis made no effort to conceal itself and attempted to shoot you down immediately. However, you were able to establish communications with the Autobot base on Earth within that time; sending coordinates of your impromptu landing so that you and your group could be taken to the Autobots before Vehicon scouts arrived.

OPTIMUS:

— The moment an Autobot distress call reached the console, everyone quickly huddled around. At first, Prime was skeptical there was a chance it could be a cheap Decepticon trick and it wouldn't be the first time they fell for something like that.

— But even if there was a silver chance that it was genuine, Optimus knew he had to go. It was only appropriate for the Prime himself to be there to welcome Autobots that are new to their temporary refuge, Earth.

— Thankfully, he got there before any Vehicon drones. But your ship is busted, it's far too damaged by the fire it's taken from The Nemesis and Prime knows they don't have the resources at hand to fix your ship… You'll unfortunately have to leave it behind and go with him through the ground bridge.

— When the ship door opens, he sees you. You're… not someone he really recognizes. Smokescreen, who was with him, knew you. So Prime didn't have much of an issue.

— He quickly escorted you out of the ship and he saw the sparklings, he was… Shocked to say the least. Their planet's core had died out, they must've been the last few young sparks to crawl out of The Well. His tone turns somber, he doesn't say a word as he's going through the land bridge with you. It had been far too long since he'd seen sparklings.

— Optimus realizes you'd taken them in and a newfound respect for you swells in his spark. You're young, despite the tiredness on your features, he knows you're not as old and despite this, you're taking up such a big responsibility and from how happy the young ones seem to be, you're doing a good job at it too.

— Once at the Autobase, he will introduce you to everyone and then proceed to have Ratchet run a diagnostic on your systems, a routine check up just to make sure you're healthy and fit. Optimus will then proceed to check up on you regularly to make sure you're getting to know the place better and even mingle with the humans.

— One thing he didn't expect is how… absolutely awestruck the sparklings look at him. Like they're amazed by him. They follow him around sometimes with this wide smile but too shy to really ask anything. It makes him smile a bit. You've told stories of Autobots and their heroics so those sparklings idolize him. He isn't sure on what to feel about being idolized.

— But soon enough, he's like a second father. When you can't get them under control, all Optimus has to do is say a word and they behave readily. It makes you crack your neck at him and look very confused; you've been struggling for cycles with them and all Optimus has to do is say a word? Arcee jokes from the side saying “Power of a Prime.” which honestly, just makes you snicker.

— Optimus gives you counsel. He knows you've been through a lot given you were by yourself with some sparklings within a ship that was barely holding itself together in the midst of a war. He will give you solid advice on what to do with your life.

— He starts to make conversation with the sparklings and he's surprisingly good with them. Optimus tells them stories and they sit there with crossed legs, the human children; Raf, Miko and Jack are there too. Raf sitting on one of the sparklings’ knees, Miko sitting on another’s pauldron and Jack leaning against another one’s servo as they all listen. Story time is a pleasant time at the base and soon it becomes routine. But then they all bombard him with questions, it's like he's being interviewed.

— Optimus helps make the parenting part easier, a lot easier. The Prime wonders how you managed for so long. There's a hint of admiration in his tone when he talks about how you managed with sparklings by yourself in space.

— He gently teaches them how to fight. Optimus knows his own strength so he's rather good at teaching them and he's probably the only one that should be allowed to.

— However, he is worried that the sparklings will end up in the crossfires of battle. He appreciates their presence because they light up the base, it's a lot more lively and they get along well with the humans. But they're not allowed to really leave the base because Optimus is more worried about them when it comes to being seen by humans; he knows they can be careless sometimes.

SMOKESCREEN:

— Imagine his surprise when he saw his old buddy that used to give him a quick fix after getting his aft shot at by ‘Cons left and right! He's elated to see you. But also very concerned because holy frag, you've changed... You're almost as grumpy looking as Ratchet! What happened to you?

— And then he sees what happened to you. He literally takes a step back when he sees sparklings. But he is happy, he's got a wide smile. He's no longer the youngest in the group now! Smokescreen is rejoicing.

— The moment you're done with your check-up with Ratchet, Smokescreen makes his appearance to catch up with you. He is younger than you. The first thing he probably says is about how you look like you have rust in your joints like Ratchet to which the medic death-glares at him and Smokes just… nervously chuckles with instant regret.

— Smokescreen is the one that fills you in on the current situation once Optimus is done introducing everyone. He also excitedly shows you and the sparklings around the base.

— He teases you and calls you a ‘Sire’ while you sit there with a scowl on your face. You're too young to be a Sire! You're not accepting that title for the life of you so Smokescreen teasingly calls you a Sire most of the time.

— He's sort of… disappointed with how you've changed though. You're no longer fun-loving and eager like you used to be, it's like the weight of responsibility sucked out the whimsical part of you!

— But don't worry, Smokescreen knows what to do! When the sparklings are engaged with Optimus, he and you go for a quick race or two depending on what story Optimus is closing to say. It doesn't matter if he loses this one though, he just wants his friend to be himself once again.

— He's the fun older brother to the sparklings (Wheeljack is the fun uncle). Smokescreen insists that he can handle the sparklings and takes them out on drives sometimes, only ever on the periphery of Jasper though. You just pray that they're well-behaved because you know damn well Smokescreen will not be able to handle unruly sparklings.

— Also, he teases the sparklings sometimes. They huff and taunt him back. He's getting jumped. Help him. It was a bad idea to make fun of them because now he's being verbally assaulted by a group of children who seem to have no remorse whatsoever. He's losing horribly.

— He also spars with them! Optimus said it's important that they learn how to defend themselves so Smokescreen took the liberty of training them and Optimus hesitantly agreed. But he sort of… messed up once and Optimus sort of… uh… revoked him from that post- But we don't talk about that! Smokescreen does spar with you though and there's no mishaps when that happens.

— He’s surprisingly responsible when it comes to the sparklings’ needs, immediately coming to you when their fuel tanks are low. Also, he would definitely carry one around against their will just because he can. Smokescreen is the fun but annoying older brother, he enjoys annoying them. The sparklings have extremely mixed feelings about him.

— The race car can see how much you've improved since you've come to the Autobase. You're so much happier and calmer. It makes him feel relieved because you looked like a stressed out mess when he and Optimus found you! It's like he's getting glimpses of his old friend again and he's happy with those crumbs.

— He's also in-charge of babysitting duty when you're busy. Smokescreen loathes it but hey, at least the humans are also there with him. Cue human children and Cybertronian sparklings having a cultural exchange.

RATCHET:

— He was the first to see the distress call after Agent Fowler mentioned something about the main console beeping. Ratchet couldn't believe it at first, leaning in closer to make sure he read the data correctly. He called everyone over and informed Optimus immediately about the distress call. He knew that ship… And he hoped, Primus, he hoped it wasn't a trick.

— The second your group along with your escorts; Prime and Smokescreen entered the ground bridge, Ratchet’s face had a rare smile upon recognizing one of his students.

— But then he saw the sparklings excitedly following behind Optimus and his optics widened, his smile fell— not into a frown, he was just surprised. Ratchet hadn't seen sparklings in so very long. The medic is also concerned on whether or not the energon they have in storage will be enough for everyone.

— Oh you poor thing. He can see the tiredness in your optics with how dimly it glows. You're probably running on fumes. He figures he should catch up with you and probably give you a check up, it's not easy to dress your own wounds. He can see your rough patchwork and is quick to chide you for such shabby dressing as he's fixing you up better.

— Ratchet is happy to have another medic around, especially someone he knows and had sort of trained for a short while. You're immediately given the title of Assistant Medical Officer; not because you're necessarily a good medic but because you're the only other one around.

— Despite your skills being rough, Ratchet will hand it to you, you are a resourceful medic which is a lot more beneficial during wartime in his optics. After all, a little bit of practice can help smoothen your skills but resourcefulness comes straight out of your processor.

— The two of you mainly work together. Smokescreen watches over the sparklings as the two of you are busy patching the team up. Your presence also means that Ratchet could go to the field now but before that, Ratchet has to teach you how to operate the ground bridge.

— It's just like old times, Ratchet is teaching you how to use the command module at the console as well as ground bridge control. Since the sparklings are mainly attached to you, its best if you're not the one to get injured. But Ratchet is the more experienced medic. So you and Ratchet take turns staying at base.

— If you're injured, Ratchet is going to repair you quickly because other than you and Optimus, no one in this base knows how to get sparklings under control.

— Speaking of sparklings, Ratchet is like their stern mother. He's scolding them when they don't listen to you and urging them to obey. They're intimidated by Ratchet and they… surprisingly start listening to him. The grumpy medic is baffled himself.

— Ratchet is constantly scolding them when they do something reckless or dangerous. You do check ups on the sparklings but Ratchet also does them sometimes, mostly because he's lost practice with sparklings and should probably reeducate himself. You're teaching your teacher when it comes to sparklings and he appreciates it.

— He does not tolerate talk-back from them! Unlike Smokescreen, Ratchet knows how to use his vocalizer.