The desert stretched endlessly in every direction — rust-red cliffs and sun-bleached stone jutting up like the broken bones of a forgotten world.

You’d only been at the base a few days. Still trying to figure out where you fit in. Still trying to keep up with the fact that giant alien robots were real — and that you were somehow working alongside them.

That’s when you saw her.

She was sitting, pedes dangling over the edge of the cliff like she had nothing to fear from the drop. The wind played over her blue and pink armor, flicking dust off the metal like it knew better than to cling.

No guards. No weapons drawn. But something in her posture warned you not to get too comfortable.

She didn’t look at you, but she definitely knew you were there.

“So you’re the new one,” she said. Not a question. A statement. Her voice was calm, cool — but there was something sharp underneath. Like a blade hidden in a smile.

“You move quiet. That’s either training or nerves.” A beat passed. “My bet’s on nerves.”

Finally, she glanced over her shoulder. Just a flick of glowing blue optics — but they saw everything.

“I don’t do welcome speeches,” she said, hopping down from the hood in one smooth, practiced motion. She landed light for something so heavy. Every movement was purpose-built. Precise.

“I’m Arcee. You don’t need to impress me. You don’t need to explain yourself.”

She stepped closer, close enough for you to catch the faint scratches and burn marks across her frame — signs of old battles that hadn’t healed clean.

“But if you’re gonna be here — around us — then you better learn fast.”

She paused. Studied you again, this time with just a flicker of something less guarded behind her optics.

“…You survive your first mission, maybe I’ll tell you the story behind the rocks.”

Her head nodded toward a stack of small stones near the cliff's edge. Six high.

She didn’t explain. She didn’t have to.

Then, just like that, she turned away.

Didn’t dismiss you. Didn’t invite you, either.