Exile
Part 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin.
Ignoring his internal com wouldn't work. Bumblebee was being rather insistent, and if he wasn't so tired, he would have gone down to ops and done something about it. As it stood, Optimus Prime was going to get his chance to go to ops, but not for the reason he desired.
"Yes?" he finally asked.
"Sorry to wake you Boss Bot, but we have an incoming Priority One message from Cybertron," Bumblebee said.
Optimussighed. "Can Ratchet take it?" "Nope. Sorry, but it's for your optics only," Bumblebee answered.
Optimus Prime rolled out of his berth, stumbling towards ops. The young Prime sighed. What could it be this time, he thought as he walked over to the computer, punching in his access code.
He was greeted by the sight of a grinning Jazz.
"Sorry to wake you Optimus, but we kinda forgot to let you know what's going on. . ."
Optimus frowned.
"Is everything all right?"
"You're getting reinforcements. They should be there. . .Sometime. . .uh. . .what day is it there?
"Wednesday."
"Oops," Jazz said, grin slipping. "They should be there sometime today then. . .sorry."
Optimus cocked an optic ridge.
"Jazz, what is going on there?"
The Elite Guard second-in-command's grin appeared again. "Everything's fine. Mostly," he said. "Can I call you back?"
Optimus counted more than 15 Earth minutes passing by, staring at the blank screen, arms crossed in annoyance. Finally, the screen lit up again with the image of Jazz.
"Sorry about that," Jazz said. "Had to get Ultra Magnus back to his quarters. It's been an interesting few days, with discipline slipping and all. . ."
"Is he all right?" Optimus asked.
"Just fine," Jazz said. "Still a little tipsy, but that's nothing compared to the other night. Look, it'll all be explained when the new crew gets there. I gotta go. I've already said too much."
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Optimus would've chalked up his late night conversation with Jazz as a hallucination, except the shuttle parked across the street from their home proved it was not. And who disembarked was an even bigger surprise.
"You can shut your mouth now," Ratchet said.
"What?" Optimus said, surprised the ancient medic could sneak up on him so easily.
"Yeah, Boss Bot," Bumblebee said. "Don't wanna look stupid in front of the Chosen One."
Optimus tried to look dignified, but it was hard, considering Bumblebee was standing beside him, trying to elbow his leader. Ratchet scowled, and Bulkhead was watching the whole spectacle with interest. Prowl was nowhere to be found.
And now he found himself standing optic to optic with Rodimus Prime, the bot allegedly on his way to one day replacing Ultra Magnus.
"To what do we owe the honor?" Optimus said, offering a hand.
Rodimus clasped the the other Prime's hand, offering him a wry grin.
"The honor is all mine," Rodimus said. "You have no idea what a relief it is to get away from Cybertron. . ."
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Optimus showed the other Prime around their new home after introducing the crews. Rodimus' team included Ironhide, the medic Red Alert, Hot Shot and Brawn. His own team promptly gave themselves the day off, without his permission, to show the other group the wonders of Earth. Although what that entailed, Optimus wasn't sure he wanted to know, especially because it was Bumblebee's suggestion.
"So. . ." Optimus said, once they found themselves back in the rec room.
"So what brings us here?"
"Yes," Optimus said. "This planet isn't exactly a top of the line assignment."
"This planet is my penance," Rodimus said. "And because of my. . .temporary lack of good judgment on my part, my team was sent along, too."
"You're here as punishment?" Optimus asked.
"Yes."
"What did you do?" Optimus said, curious.
"Rendered Sentinel Prime speechless for the foreseeable future," Rodimus answered. "Look, I'd love to discuss this more, but it's getting late, and I have a crew to settle. I better get back to the ship."
"Sure," Optimus said. "See you tomorrow."
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The next few days flew by with a frenzy. The crews meshed better than Optimus could have imagined, and he still wondered what exactly landed the other Prime on Earth.
He got his chance when he found himself on a break from patrol with Ironhide.
The red bot caught Optimus staring.
"If you're gonna ask, ask," Ironhide said.
"How do you know what I'm going to say?" Optimus said.
Ironhide sighed.
"Because we've been here five days and nobody's actually asked, so I might as well tell you. I wasn't there, but I heard all about it," he said.
"What happened then?" Optimus said.
Ironhide shrugged. "Don't know what was Sentinel said to set Rodimus off, but you know that really big chin Sentinel has?"
Optimus nodded.
"Well, Rodimus busted him right in the chops. Broke his jaw. Right in front of Ultra Magnus," Ironhide said. "And here we are."
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