Blood and Gold

The Numb Truth

With her backpack packed, Ivi sat on the porch, waiting for Jazz to return so she could go over to see her parents before she and Will were sent to the base to be debriefed... again. A few minutes ticked by, and Ivi checked her watch again. He was late. She sighed and glanced over at Will, he had his forehead against the wall, presumably trying to think of anything but what was going on. Or he was sleeping. That was also a possibility. She doubted he had slept a wink last night, not with everything Secretary Keller had told them. She sure hadn't.  "This is not a position you can tell anyone about, not even family."
His voice echoed in her head. Like hell she was not going to tell her parents and Sam. Granted, she wouldn't tell them everything, but they needed to know. Mikaela too, Ivi remembered with a grimace. After the battle, Sam and her friend had become a thing. It was very gross, but Ivi stayed out of it. They seemed to be happy, so how bad could it be? As she daydreamed, the girl heard a familiar, throaty, engine driving up to her. It definitely wasn't Jazz. Ivi looked up and saw the sun glinting off the red and blue flames on the semi truck approaching her. Optimus. Great. He honked and she stood up. This was going to be a very awkward drive. Ivi looked back at her brother, but he hadn't moved. Oh well. The girl climbed in Optimus' cab and said, "Hello, Optimus."
"Hello, Ivi."
She couldn't decipher any emotion in his voice and felt her stomach twist: why was here instead of Jazz? The Autobot pulled out of the driveway and started towards her parent's house, still silent. Oh dear, that couldn't be a good sign. "I noticed neither you nor the Captain were happy," Optimus started, seeming slightly awkward.
Ivi took a deep breath. "Not particularly. This wasn't...expected."
He fell silent again, and Ivi cursed herself, hoping that she hadn't upset him or anything. "Ms. Ivi, I apologize if you feel forced, but I would be honored if you joined the team."
Woah. She blinked, her body going a bit tense. Had he been apart of this whole scheme? "Thank you," She started quietly, unsure if he had even heard, "I just... how could I even help? I'm not exactly strong."
It was true, compared to Optimus and the others, she was pathetic. A small, fragile human amongst gods. "That is not true, you stood against Megatron to protect Jazz. He told me."
Of course he did. "That's what friends do," Ivi countered.
"Even so, you gave me power even when you needed it. I have seen your abilities, and trust me: you are powerful."
She smiled gently, a small warmth inside her. How much of that was true, she couldn't tell, but she let it go. Ivi wasn't going to bug Optimus with her own insecurities, not when it seemed like he deemed them unimportant. "So, what exactly can I expect?" Ivi asked.
He seemed to think for a moment before answering, "You are apart of the team now. We will train you, and teach you what you need to know. Until I find that you are battle-worthy, you will be our liaison with the humans. Is that satisfactory?"
She could tell it wasn't much of a question, but Ivi still said, "Yes, sir."
Optimus hummed softly, and they grew quiet as he pulled up to her house. Ivi climbed out and walked inside, pausing at the door to watch Optimus drive away. That was a painfully awkward talk, but it seemed like one she couldn't have avoided. The girl walked inside, not seeing him turn around and drive back. She found her parents in the backyard, doing lawn care as usual. Smiling, Ivi watched her parents bicker as her mom pulled weeds out of her prized flowers. Her father was doing the same, but to the grass that he poured his life into. At that moment, Sam and Mikaela came rushing down the stairs, hand in hand. What had they been doing in his room? Pushing down the urge to throw up, Ivi turned and smiled at them, seeing them jump at the sight of her. "It's a ghost!" Sam hissed, throwing his hat at her.
She easily deflected it with a roll of her eyes. "Nice one Sammy. Hey Mikaela."
Her friend smiled, but Ivi didn't return it and pulled them over to the kitchen table. "Stay here, I'll be right back."
"We're going to a movie," Sam suddenly started towards the door.
"Okay."
Ivi let them go, not feeling like putting up a fight. She'd probably get the chance to tell him some other day. Maybe. Mikaela gave her a worried look, but followed Sam out to where Bee was waiting. Tears pricked at her eyes, but Ivi wiped any evidence away and plastered a smile onto her face, walking outside towards her parents. "Heya, kiddo!" Her mother called, crazy eyes twinkling.
"Can I talk to you guys?"
It was hard, but she got them to understand. They, for obvious reasons, weren't happy. "Don't let those assholes tell you what to do!" Her mother had protested, but Ivi had just set a hand on her arm.
"This is different, Mom," she reasoned.
Her father was quiet, which usually happened when he was upset, but Ivi couldn't console him or even her mother. This wasn't a safe thing, nor was it something she could tell them all about. They were in the dark, and there was nothing she could do except say goodbye. They both hugged her after she had put clean clothes and other stuff she needed into her backpack. After promising to email at least once a week, since calling might not be a good idea, Ivi saw Optimus was back, parked right in the street. She waved goodbye to her parents and walked back out, climbing into his cab once more. He started to drive off and Ivi had to resist the urge to look back. It would only hurt to see her parents by the door, and knowing that Sam would have to hear it all from them, and Mikaela would hear it from him. Probably better that way. "When we arrive on base, I must ask you accompany me to our hangar. There is something Ratchet and I wish to discuss with you."
"Okay."
The drive passed quickly, and Ivi was more relaxed as Optimus drive into the base, the military police letting him pass easily. The Autobot drove over to a large hangar on the far side of the tarmac, a safe distance away from the rest of the humans. As they got there, Optimus let her out and he transformed inside. Ratchet was there, already transformed and focusing on some consoles and other equipment set up in a corner. Jazz was off to the side, silent and dark. Must be sleeping, Ivi figured as she walked over to Ratchet, Optimus behind her. Without any warning or greeting, the Autobot picked up some device and held it near her, watching as a blue light went up and down her. Excuse me! He was scanning her! Ivi frowned, but stayed still until he stopped and turned back to his console. Alright then. She tilted her head as the funny symbols that characterized their written language passed across the screen, and Ivi wondered just what he was doing with that information. "I told you so, Prime," Ratchet finally said.
The girl turned to look at Optimus, and the broody Autobot nodded. Ivi was not in any mood to put up with this crap. Just as she folded her arms across her chest, Ratchet finally looked at her. "Forgive me, Ivi, but I had to be certain."
She just stared at him, hoping he would elaborate. "Ah, Yes. You probably have no idea what I'm referring to."
"Why did you scan me?" Ivi finally asked, praying that he would just give her some information.
The giant robot seemed amused as his face tried to mimic a smile. "Yes, that. Here," Ratchet held out his hand and Ivi reluctantly stepped up.
He set her on the workstation and she saw symbols and what appeared to be a bar graph. "Based in your abilities, and your remarkable recovery when wounded, I started to question whether or not you were human, or in fact another race that I have previously met before."
Her blood ran cold and Ivi cast him a worried glance. "And?"
"You are both, maybe. Half of you is without a doubt alien, but I cannot say for sure about the rest. Your structure is complex and I cannot scan DNA, as I have tried in vain to."
Alien. So, maybe she wasn't human, but that didn't answer her questions. She was just going to have to ignore the sinking feeling in her heart and listen to Ratchet. "What am I?"
"Archaen," Optimus answered.
Archaen? "They are a race much like humans, except they have the ability to manipulate matter and energy like you have displayed. Typically, they live thousands of years, same as the Cybertronians."
She was sixteen, so there was no way she could attest to to that, but the power was for sure the same. "Are they...good?" Ivi asked.
How bad could they be if they mixed with humans? Granted, that wasn't sound logic, but she had to have hope. Until Ratchet and Optimus shattered it. They shared a look, one that verged on two parents debating whether or not to tell their kid something was wrong. "Some are," Ratchet dully stated, turning back to his console.
Oh, Ivi looked down and just listened as Ratchet typed away. "Also, Ivi, I do believe there is something you should know: you and the Captain do not share any genetic patterns."
Yeah, that sounded 'bout right. If she was alien, how could they have the same parents? It wouldn't change the fact that they were brother and sister, it was how they had been raised. They just weren't family. "Okay," Ivi muttered.
Ratchet glanced at her, almost in concern, but Ivi kept her eyes lowered. She was so overwhelmed she couldn't even feel it. The girl was just numb. They let her leave as Will found her, leading her to a small on base apartment. "It's only temporary, but I pushed for it. You can't really be with the others since you don't have actual military training and you aren't really in the Air Force," he rambled on, but Ivi was too distracted.
Did he know? When he pushed open the door, Ivi looked at the studio apartment, trying to smile for Will, because she knew the hell he had to go through to get this for her. Usually only officers and families really got to live in on-base housing. She set her backpack down and turned to him. "We need to talk."
His jaw set and he held up his hands. "Before you ask, just listen: you're still my sister. None of this changes anything, you have nothing to worry about."
So he did know. A weight lifted a bit off of her; at least she didn't have to actually let the words leave her mouth. She was an alien. At least partly. "I just needed to know," Ivi whispered and Will hugged her.
"Yeah, I know, now get unpacked, kiddo. Debriefing is in an hour. Also, you'll need to change into these and put your hair up."
Ivi nodded and let him leave after he handed her the bundle of clothes that had sat on the dresser. Her eyes drifted around the bland colored walls. It was only temporary, but this was her home now. The girl put her clothes in the wooden drawers that sat by the bed, not even filling up two of them. She left her other stuff in the bag and changed quickly. It was all black: cargo pants, a tank top, socks, and boots. When she walked, she felt something moving in one of her pockets and found an ID card and lanyard with a label saying 'wear me'. Ivi tore off the note and put it on before throwing her hair up into a high ponytail. She looked really weird -or felt like it- and Ivi didn't waste a moment longer in front of the mirror, heading out quickly. She had expected to find Will, but he wasn't there, and Ivi realized with a twinge of embarrassment that she had no idea where she was supposed to go. A few people were walking to the Autobots hangar and Ivi decided that would be the best bet, starting on her way when she heard someone familiar call to her. "Hey, kid!"
The cop, but he was wearing her outfit but in brown. "Now I seriously think you are stalking me," Ivi said, not even joking.
It was a bit creepy, but his smile was too kind to be anything sinister. "I'm joining the task force!" He announced, and she wasn't sure why.
Hopefully it wasn't because of her. Still, Ivi just smiled along and they walked to the hangar together. This was going to be a wild ride.