[audio]

[notalkodarkness]

[In her rush to get up out of the unfamiliar bed, Christine's hand presses against the communicator and turns it's audio feed on.]

What? What is this?! Where .. Oh, my God .. Raoul? RAOUL?! Hello?? [There is a brushing of fabric on fabric as she finds her feet. Oh, if you could only see the level of shock on her face right now!! A soft gasp!My

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[heavyweaponsbot]

[The giant alien robot is on his way back to his quarters, down on deck 5. It's been a long day of punching bees, and trying not to break gym equipment. He's a bit tired, a bit cranky...

... and really didn't expect to bump into a panicked-looking human female running around deck 6.]

What is wrong with you?

[notalkodarkness]

[As if running into a bee the size of a welsh pony wasn't bad enough, now the poor lamb is going to bump into a robot? Yeah, this just isn't getting any better for her.

Christine reels backward as she runs into the large metal frame, dazed as she stumbles back against the wall. She is very nearly hyperventilating as her horrified gaze sweeps upward over the metal creature before her. With a whimper her hands fly over her eyes and she shakes her head, ringlets fanning around her face.]

Oh, God .. wake up Christine .. It's all just a dream ..

[Her hands fall from her face, and she stares up at the beast, tears streaming down her cheeks.]

Just a nightmare .. this is all just a nightmare..

[heavyweaponsbot]

[It's probably not at all comforting, the way he stares down at her. But this kind of panic isn't exactly... what he's used to seeing.]

This is not a dream, female.

[He looks confused, if it's any consolation. And takes a step back, his head tilted. There's not really a way for him to look nonthreatening, considering his intended purpose as a soldier, aside from that.]

What is the matter?

Sorry for the delay!

[notalkodarkness]

[Well she'd appreciate the effort, in any case. His declaration that she isn't caught in some strange nightmarish dreamscape doesn't do too terribly much for her nerves, a hiccuped sob catching in her throat.]

But then .. those things were .. Then you are ..

[She notes that he's not moving any closer, and she hardly thinks that she has any sort of chance outdistancing it if it chases her, so this is a small comfort. She can't even begin to fathom what sort of a creature this is standing before her. At his question, her chin quivers and she sucks in a sharp breath, just this side of hysterics.]

Where am I?! What sort of a place is this?! I .. I was asleep in my bed .. I thought, perhaps, my Angel had brought me here, but he'd not .. not anything like this!

[Overwhelmed and just a tiny bit out of sorts? Oh, yes!]

S'okay!

[heavyweaponsbot]

I am real. Yeah. You learn to deal with it.

[He's never been all that comforting of a 'Bot. But, really, there's no malice in his tone, just plain fact. He stands perfectly still, though.]

You are on a ship. No one knows how we got here. Or why.

[Ironhide snorts.]

It is no one's fault, but the captain's.

<3 I love your Ironhide, btw.

[notalkodarkness]

[His explanation is to the point and leaves both little to argue and so much to question.]

Real .. then all of this .. those .. those bees are real. Oh, God.

[Christine grows very white then, falling back a bit to lean heavily against the wall. Everything tilts rather precariously for a moment and she closes her eyes, swallowing thickly.]

I'm on a ship .. with .. [She swallows again, looking up at the large, foreign creature. Her next words are soft and plaintive as she shakes her head in a futile bit of denial.]

I want to go home .. I ..

[wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup]

a-aw ;o; Thank you

[heavyweaponsbot]

[The old warrior frowns. Was he... not supposed to say that? Was he supposed to lie, or... something? She looks ill - a little like Ratchet, that night he ingested too many bits of gelatin.]

You going to offline?

[While he hasn't come closer, he does crouch slightly, to peer at her. Even if he's only around 7' tall here, he's still massive, compared to most humans.]

Calm down. I am not about to harm you, female. We protect your kind.

As for the rest, we all want to go home.

[notalkodarkness]

[Poor Ironhide! Honestly, if she were in better sorts right now, she'd really appreciate just how delicately he's handling himself right now with her!]

Off .. offline? I d-don't under .. understand ..

[Then he crouches and for a brief moment Christine thinks that she is about to die, until he makes no further move to approach her. Slowly, she remembers how to breath again and exhales shakily. She listens to what he says and swallow tightly, forcing herself to breathe.]

Y-you .. p-protect? You would easily be the victor against anything I could name .. Might I ask what you protect us from?

[Slowly, she seems to be regaining some form of composure, even if she's still dreadfully fearful and confused.]

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He is mildly annoyed, having to play nice with the new arrivals. But, then again, mildly annoyed tends to be Ironhide's default setting. He grunts, searching his processor for the right wording.]

Fall unconscious. Eh... pass out.

[Millennia of using Cybertronian terminology is hard to shake. He leans his arms on his knees, in a pose he copied from the soldiers back home.]

From threats that endanger your lives.

[He picked those words carefully. If she's this panicked over him, probably wouldn't be best to mention, or try to explain, Decepticons. Hey! He's learning tact! Sort of.]

[notalkodarkness]

[As annoyed as he is, he is doing beautifully in this situation! She listens as he clarifies his own words, blinking a few times before shaking her head once.]

No .. No, I think I am fine. A bit overwhelmed, but alright.

[Understatement of the year award goes to.. She listens rather intently, eyes still a bit large, as Ironhide explains that his kind protects her own from things that might endanger their lives. She would give him props for wording himself so delicately if she knew, be assured.]

A-are such threats so common that a c-creature like you need be prepared? I've never seen anything like you before .. in all my life ..

[heavyweaponsbot]

Good.

[The medic is a robot, anyway. And it doesn't even look vaguely humanoid. She'd probably be even more frightened if he had to drag her up there.]

In my world, they are common.

[That's the truth, at least. If she really wants to know more... But he doesn't think he needs to elaborate.]

I am an Autobot. We remain hidden... normally.

[notalkodarkness]

[Christine can't help but note that the creature seems relieved that she is not going to drop away in a faint. In truth, so was she. She didn't want to imagine falling into a faint in such an unfamiliar place as this, without any notion as to what would happen to her. Her eyes search his strange face as he maintains his position and tells her that such things are common on his world. Her eyes widen slightly, but she remains silent until he trails off, her own voice soft and slightly awed while still remaining respectful.]

I should say so .. I cannot imagine many would react far differently than myself were you to make yourself known openly. Nothing I have read .. no stories I have ever heard .. nothing made any sort of reference to beings like you ..

[She swallows tightly and pushes forward from the wall slightly. She hadn't missed the reference that he was from someplace else, and though the thought of something so vastly outside her own world is terrifying, it is also intriguing.]

You said your world .. do you .. do you mean you

[heavyweaponsbot]

[Ironhide stares right back, his good optic focusing on her. The right one - covered in scarred metal, only half-open - is tracking somewhere slightly beyond her. It's probably disconcerting. He doesn't notice it anymore.]

Usually they shoot. Not offline--pass out.

[He says it casually, deadpan - almost amused. There aren't many weapons that have an effect on his armor.]

Yeah. Most of us are from other worlds. It is accepted fact, in this place.

[notalkodarkness]

[She searches the creatures face as it speaks, noting the damage that seems to heavily score one side of the metal. She understands her own times' weaponry on only a basic level, learning what she has through text and theatre replicas. Though he was unlike anything she had ever seen, nothing she knew of could have done any sort of damage to him.]

It is not unknown for .. a.. a human .. to act rather foolishly when scared .. Not all of us run away ..

[She offers a rather weak smile, perfectly aware that she was a prime example of the latter. It slips a little as he tells her that most here come from other worlds. She pales, but not nearly so much as she had before.]

There are many others on board this ship?

[heavyweaponsbot]

[Ironhide snorts. It's an amused sound, not a derisive or threatening one.]

Yeah. Some of you run forward.

[That was a joke. Along with being comforting, the weapons master is rather poor at making jokes as well.]

Many. Never tried to take an accurate count, but there are enough to fill a small town... I think.

[notalkodarkness]

[Was that amusement on his part? Christine thinks so! She smiles again and nods, her expression a bit apologetic as much as amused.]

Yes .. well, I would never claim that we are the most intelligent of beings at every moment. We are rather .. rash at the least of times.

[She listens as he tells her that there are many people on board the ship and breathes out softly. It's not the answer she would prefer to hear by any means, but it is an honest answer.]

Do you think, perhaps .. there are others I know here? That there is any chance of that?

[Her voice is soft as she asks, searching his alien face for some kind of reassurance.]