Prologue

The sun beamed down in heated glare over the military base of Fort Bragg as the soldiers went about their daily routines and procedures. They practiced their drills and strategic maneuvers for infantry and fire fights, under the harsh instruction of their Drill Sergeants. Some were on leave, returning from the heated desert battlefield in the Middle East to spend time with their families. Others were preparing to ship out in their place, knowing full well there was little possibility they would be coming back. All the while, they ignored the prototype military vehicle that strolled along the grounds.

Inside sat an African-American man dressed in a khaki shirt and camo pants, boots pressing against the pedal to give the illusion that he was driving. His dark eyes scanned the boys, waves of nostalgia bringing him back to his first days at Basic. A smile tugged at his lips as he remembered fondly, and mournfully, the men who'd been with him during those days. Not many of them had come back with him all that time. All that did was leave him with survivor's guilt that prompted him to personally deliver the news to the families of those brave men.

Nowadays he spent his time behind a desk, playing liaison to the most interesting of parties in recent memories. In fact, the leader of said party was currently in his company right now. William Fowler had been assisting Optimus Prime in testing out some of the finer functions of his vehicle mode. Despite the vehicle being in the prototype phase, it proved more than capable in combat. Of course, he thought ruefully, the alien tech that had scanned might have played some role in it all.

"So, Prime," he spoke to the dashboard. "How do you like your new wheels?"

"They have proven to be most effective in meeting my needs, Agent Fowler," replied a sonorous voice. No matter how many times it happened, a small part of Fowler always jumped when the Autobot leader spoke without a mouth present. It was the same with most of the Autobots but Prime's voice carried the deepest bass. As they neared the warehouse that housed the rest of "Team Prime", another baritone called echoed.

"Do you children know nothing of safety protocol?!"

"What in Sam Hill?" asked the special agent. The vehicle opened to find the large figure of the Autobots' latest acquisition, servos on his hips and gaze stern as he stared down at three children. The oldest, a raven-haired teen, looked sheepish while next to him, an Asian girl with pink highlight in her hair glared in defiance, and a poor twelve-year-old sat in frightened silence. The form of Ultra Magnus was apparently deep into some kind of rant that he didn't take the time to address his superior officer. Fowler got out while Optimus Prime shifted into his bipedal form.

His expression betrayed no anger at his second-in-command, only interest as to why he would be yelling at the three humans in the first place. Thus, the Prime felt the need to make his presence known, "Ultra Magnus."

The blue Autobot stopped mid-rant to turn to Optimus Prime, expressing perhaps the closing thing to flustered Fowler had seen since his arrival. Ultra Magnus was known for strict adherence to protocol and procedure, as evidenced by his reprimanding the children for apparently ignoring said "safety protocols." Fowler wondered just what could bring out the wrath of a Drill Sergeant in the Commander.

"Sir," he stood at attention, his tone conveying utmost respect.

"May I ask what Jack, Miko, and Rafael have done that feel it is necessary to reprimand them?"

"Of course, sir," he replied. "After completing my patrol, I returned to base to find the children engaging in some sort of activity. At first, I paid no mind and allowed them go about their business. However, I soon found the need to intervene when their rough-housing nearly caused the destruction of Ratchet's tools which, as you are well aware, are vital to his work. One of them nearly caused what little energon we possess to explode, which could have resulted in serious damage of the base. I felt the need to remind the children that we are guest of the native military and such disrespect will not be tolerated."

"And who put you in charge?" hissed Miko, glaring furiously at the Commander. "You're not the boss of us!"

"I realize that, as natives of this planet, you fall under Autobot protection and thus are exempt from the majority of disciplinary action that would normally be taken. However, did you stop to think that your antics might have caused severe damage, or worse, to this base? Do you in particular ever stop to consider your actions?!"

"Enough," commanded the Prime. "While I do not approve of anyone's actions as of the last few hours, I find that Ultra Magnus is correct when he states that we are guests of the military at this time. As such, actions that may prove harmful to the environment present will not be tolerated under any circumstance. For now, I ask that you retreat to your respective quarters and await Nurse Darby's arrival."

The three children paused to look at the Prime in surprise at his statement, apparently stalling to long for the tastes of the Commander. "Did you not you hear? You are dismissed!" Miko huffed as she stomped off to her room while Jack helped a shaken Raf to his while sparing Optimus an apologetic look. Ultra Magnus turned to his commander, "Is there anything else you require me for, sir?"

"That will be all Ultra Magnus."

The Commander nodded and chose to go work on his ship in order to clear his head of the remaining frustrations. As he disappeared into the recesses of the base, Fowler turned to Prime with a questioning gaze of his own. Optimus appeared to be deep in thought as how to approach this latest dilemma in their human-Autobot dynamic.

The Natives of This Planet…

The other Autobots had returned to find the children still missing and wondered where they were. Their Prime had offhanded mentioned they were likely in their quarters with June but said nothing more on the matter. As such they went about their business, milling around while speaking to each about various issues. Ratchet worked on perfecting the Synthetic Energon formula to accommodate their shortage. However, all activity ceased when June Darby stalked into the room, heading straight for their Prime.

"Where is he?" she growled.

Optimus merely stared down at the woman who, despite her size, always seemed to be capable of instilling some kind of fear in most of his men. Smokescreen instinctively flinched as he remembered the threats she leveled against him after the incident with Jack. Wheeljack, relatively new to her anger, raised an optic ridge in interest while the others looked to their Prime for clarification on the issue. June stood, arms crossed, foot tapping, and eyes narrowed as he looked up at the Prime. Finally, Optimus answered, "If you are referring to Ultra Magnus, he is currently attending to his ship at the moment."

"Well you tell him to get his metal but over here, right now."

"Did I miss something?" Wheeljack inquired.

"Beats me," answered Arcee. "Last time she got like this, well let's just say it was the first time any of us had seen Smokescreen actually afraid of something."

"I wasn't afraid!" he protested.

"May I inquire as to why you wish to speak with him?" Optimus raised an optic ridge.

"You know damn well why! And shame on you for not doing anything about it."

"Nurse Darby," Ratchet called from his workstation. "Would you care to enlighten us on the issue that has you so upset?" He flinched when she turned her glare on him but she relented nonetheless.

"That Commander of yours yelled at the kids! Now I realize what they did was dangerous but that didn't mean he needed to act like some crazed drill sergeant and scare them half-to-death. Poor Rafael was crying his eyes out because he was harsh with them. Now I demand that you bring this Ultra Magnus here so I can give him a piece of my mind."

"If I may suggest an alternative," Optimus replied calmly. "Ultra Magnus is simply not accustomed to human nature nor is he accustomed to situations that require anything less than military action. I do not condone his reprimanding the children but I do not believe adding more strife to the conflict will benefit us either. As such, I suggest that he be allowed to spend time with the children off base when Decepticon activity does not demand our attention."

"Uh… Optimus," Bulkhead interjected. "I don't think that's such a good idea." Bumblebee beeped and whirred in agreement. "After all the last time that happened, well…"

"Smokescreen put Jack in danger," June turned her glare on the new recruit, who flinched under her gaze. "That being said, I doubt Ultra Magnus would do anything as reckless as bring the children along on a mission intentionally. If he's willing to try it without yelling at the children then we can give it a shot."

"Then we are in agreement?"

"Yes," she replied. "Ratchet, could you call the children here for a moment?" The medic nodded and did so while Optimus summoned Ultra Magnus to the base. Within minutes of each other, the children and Commander were present, thick tension as Miko glared at the Commander who only responded with his usual calculated frown. June stepped in to Optimus servo so she could get a better look at Ultra Magnus. She cleared her throat, "Now I'm sure you all know why you're here. Optimus and I have discussed a solution that will benefit everyone and prevent any more tension."

"You're kicking 'Mr. By the Book' there to the curb?" Miko asked in hopeful scorn. Jack elbowed her to remain quiet as the Commander's optics narrowed at them. Raf still looked as fearful as ever of the blue Autobot's wrath.

"No," Optimus replied. "Nurse Darby and I have decided that it would best if Jack, Miko, and Rafael were spend some time with Ultra Magnus when he is not otherwise occupied. It is my hope that you will come to an understanding of one another during this time. It will, of course, require that you do not attempt to aggravate Ultra Magnus and,"—he looked to his second-in-command—"that you remember the children do not fall under the same protocols as the others."

"Good luck with that," snorted Wheeljack.

Sparing a momentary glance at the Wrecker, Ultra Magnus replied, "Of course, sir."

"No way!" Miko shouted. "You want us to spend time with him?! Is this some kind of punishment?"

"In a manner of speaking," June replied. "The only reason you're at each other's throats is because you haven't taken the time to get to know one another. So now you'll get to and maybe discover some things you might like about each other. And I expect you all to treat this with utmost seriousness. Understand?"

"The children nodded."

"Good. Now apologize."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Mom?"

"Apologize for causing the ruckus that caused this in the first placed. You are as much in the wrong as he is, so I expect you—especially you, Jack—to take responsibility and own up to your actions. Now apologize?"

"We're very sorry," Jack went first. "It won't happen again, sir."

"R-right. We didn't mean to upset you." Raf said.

"Whatever," Miko grumbled. "Sorry, I guess."

Ultra Magnus nodded.

"Good," June smiled, turning to the Commander. "Your turn."

Ultra Magnus looked dumbfounded, "Pardon?"

Immediately the smile left her face as she ground out, "Apologize. Like I said, you're just as much in the wrong, so you are just as obligated to apologize as they are. You shouldn't have yelled at them like some mad man. They're still just children and they make mistakes. Now apologize."

Ultra Magnus still seemed unconvinced as he processed this woman's logic; it made sense in some places but he found no need to apologize. "I find no need to do as I was merely pointing out the harm their actions could have caused. So long as they are guests of this base, they are obligated to act in accordance with—"

"Don't you lecture me!" June shouted. "If you're really a stickler for the rules then you will do as I, a medical professional, says!" The Commander blinked as he pondered this as well. True enough, medical personnel superseded the usual chain of command. He felt the need to remind her that only applied in situations that required medical expertise but the look on her face stopped him. He looked to Optimus Prime for his personal commentary on the matter. The look in his superior's optics told him there was little alternative.

"Perhaps," he began, "my reprimand could have been far less hostile than it appeared."

June huffed, "Close enough. Starting tomorrow you four will be spending some time together and you'd better make progress or else…" With that, she sent them back to their rooms while retreating to her own. The eight Autobots sat in silence as they contemplated what just happened. Ultra Magus turned to Optimus, an unasked question in his gaze.

"It is best that you do not aggravate Nurse Darby."

"Duly noted, sir."

A/N: I hope no one seemed out of character.