Meditations

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

"...and in other news today, ground was broken on the site of a new solar power array in New Mexico, following on a design from the Autobot engineer Ironhide. Construction is set to last..."

The television was quickly turned of, leading the aide to turn to his employer nervously.

"Solar power arrays, Energon mining..." Senator Josephine Beller growled. "Next they'll be throwing these things parades like they're national heroes."

"Well, they are delivering on their promises." The aide meekly glanced over his employer's next speech and noted, "They said that we'd be revolutionized in terms of collecting natural resources, and they're helping NASA with..."

"I don't care if they're delivering on their word," Beller snapped with a glare. "What matters is these robots are getting a threshold on our planet, in our soil. We're becoming dependent on them. Pretty soon they'll be running our lives."

The aide looked at her in surprise. "You can't really think that."

Beller cast a steely glance on her aide. "Almost five years ago, this country was hit by the worst terrorist attack it's ever felt. Our president promised to prevent that from ever happening again, to root that out and stop it from ever repeating. Four years later, these things come from space and wage a private war on our soil. People are killed. And what does our President do? He breaks a deal with them, and they dig out a base in a mountain...in a state park. He's fighting one threat and ignoring another, and I for one refuse to ignore it."

"But they seem like good people," the aide protested.

"They aren't people," Beller corrected him harshly. "They're machines, nothing more than walking piles of metal and circuits. And if no one else is going to be a circuit breaker, then I will."

"Twenty thousand years of hanging out on this planet. Exposure to every culture, every language, every nation to rise and fall between then and now...and I still don't understand why you keep on doing stuff like this."

"You act like this is a crime."

"Never said it was. I just don't get why you humans continue to catch food when you can get it a lot easier just by going to a store."

Michael Franklin allowed himself a chuckle as he baited his hook. "Sometimes you just have to do something yourself to get a sense of accomplishment. Catching a fish, gutting it, cleaning it, cooking it yourself in a skillet, that's far from an easy job, but it's satisfying. That and getting away from it all. When I'm fishing out here, I can just sit back and enjoy the world the way it is. No terrorists, no strategies, no discussions over policy, just me and the fish."

Evac cast a glance towards his human friend. "You make it sound like you don't want me around."

"Who said I didn't?" the colonel tossed back playfully. "I invited you along for a reason, Evac, and it wasn't just because I felt lonesome. You saved my life years ago; I won't soon forget that. In my book, that makes you a friend, and I just want to spend time with one."

The rescue helicopter shrugged, and then cast his own line. "Of all the people I ended up helping over the years, it's you who decides to be grateful."

"I'm the only one who knows about all that, remember?" Franklin replied. "We never told them about Atlantis. It's probably better that way."

"I won't argue that point," Evac noted. "Even with that, I'm glad to finally be out in the open. I never liked hiding."

"But you kept it up," Franklin pointed out. "That doesn't sound easy."

"It wasn't." The Earth-born Transformer sighed, his optics dimming for several moments. "Every day I looked at the world around me, I felt like I could do something, intervene, help people. And I wasn't the only one; every time something happened to humanity, a war or a disaster or whatever, Minerva wanted to jump in, help the wounded and injured. I wanted to do it myself, get out there and help people. Hightail hated the idea; they weren't our problems, he said."

"You didn't listen to him, though," Franklin noted.

"Not entirely," Evac confessed. "We didn't get involved in any of your wars; if we had, we could've ended up causing more trouble. But every time there was a disaster, something that man didn't cause, me and Minerva were in there. And every once in a while, when there wasn't a big disaster, just someone in trouble and we were nearby, we helped out."

"Like you did for me." Franklin gestured all around them. "On this river no less."

"Yep." His blue optics blinked for a second as he did a double take, looking at the scenery. "Wait, that was here? I didn't recognize it; looks so different from the ground. But why come here again? If I hadn't saved you, you would've drowned out here."

"Two reasons." The dark-skinned man made certain his line was secure before ticking off his fingers. "One, I'm a better swimmer now. Two, my father and I would come out here every year. It was our trip; me and him against the elements, just us and our wits for a week. Even though he's gone, I still come out here by myself and fish just to remember those times with him."

Evac gave a small smile. "That makes a lot of sense, actually. A lot of the time I carried around the Key of Wisdom just to remind myself of Methius Prime. I miss him; all three of us do, even if we don't admit it."

Franklin patted the mech's leg in sympathy, knowing what his large friend was feeling. "You've carried on for him, Evac. I know that my father would be proud to see me, finally knowing the truth. I think Methius Prime would feel the same about you."

"Thanks Mike." The yellow chopper's smile widened, seconds before a slight tug on his line caught his attention. "Whoa, I got something!"

The colonel laughed and readied the net as Evac slowly reeled in a good-sized trout, for a human that is. Even though Mike never liked fish that much, this was still a lot of fun.

"Assuming that all goes well with these solar power arrays, we'll have them built all over the planet in a couple months." Scavenger looked up from the blueprints and smiled appraisingly. "You've done good, kid."

"Thanks," Ironhide said, barely containing his pride.

"We'll still have to make certain that it works as predicted," remarked a yellow and brown Autobot. "The design is more than sound, no argument about that, but I'll feel safer seeing it built and operating. Primus help us if the real thing doesn't work as well as the model."

"If it doesn't, then we'll know where to turn." The green and purple bulldozer rose to his feet. "Dismissed."

The two Autobots exited the command office within Autobase Earth.

"Whether it works or not however, you've done a remarkable job, both on it and this installation. A little basic, I'll admit, but it performs the job nicely. You have every reason to be proud," the yellow mech said appraisingly as they walked down a corridor.

The young architect smiled in surprise at his mentor's comment. "Thanks Roadblock. That means a lot coming from you."

Roadblock chortled, slapping his hand on his large student's shoulder. "Don't let it go to your head too much, lad. We don't want you getting any more top-heavy."

The blue Toyota Land Cruiser laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his helm in an unconscious gesture. "Oh, yeah. Gotta be careful about that." Regaining his composure a little, he glanced over. "So, you think there'll be a protest over it?"

"Sadly, yes. Great works are always unappreciated in their time. But they'll come to appreciate them soon enough. Give the humans enough time, and they'll come around. I mean, look at those kids you have hanging around."

"This good?"

"Almost. A little more to the left...there, hold it."

Coby quickly covered his face and turned on his welder, making connections in the joints of his project, a modified Scrapmetal. After a few short minutes, Coby finished up, then pulled away and shut off his welder.

"Think that did it?" Smokescreen had been assisting, providing additional height to the middle Hansen child.

"We'll find out in a second." Coby then looked towards the Scrapmetal's installed cockpit and yelled, "Let 'er rip, Lori!"

Lori gave a thumb's up within the cockpit, and then tested the controls. The improvised Scrapmetal flexed its right arm first, its left second, and then shifted from its hands to its pile drivers. One leg was lifted, then another before it turned its newly-humanized head about and declared in Lori's voice, "That fixed it, Coby, it works!"

Bud let out a whoop. "Sweet!"

The four shared an affectionate chuckle as the Scrapmetal transformed to vehicle mode, its cockpit opening to allow Lori to emerge.

"Now all we have to do is get the armor reinstalled, and we'll be good to go." Smokescreen gently set Coby down on the ground, the young boy giving Lori a smug look.

"And you thought it was a bad idea."

"Yeah, well, don't rub it in," the dark-haired girl countered. "Besides, I apologized."

"Only after I let you drive it while I was doing repairs," Coby argued.

Before the argument could grow any further, the younger Hansen separated the two. "Hey, come on, it worked. Let's just declare victory and paint flames on it, okay?"

Both teens looked at the younger human in surprise, taken aback by the comment.

Smokescreen shook his head in amusement as he affixed the Scrapmetal's armor. "I dunno about the flames; say what you will about these things, they have pretty decent color schemes. But hey, when you're old enough to drive one, go for it."

"Still, we need something to help set the piloted Scrapmetals apart from the rest," Coby mused. "I'll think of something."

As the red and blue mech finished up applying the armor, Lori turned to him. "Smokescreen, I've been wondering about something ever since that attack a few months back."

"What exactly?"

"Well...when we met you, you called yourself 'Hoist'." She tilted her head. "Why the change?"

A low chuckle. "I was calling myself Smokescreen a long time before I met you guys. Back then, I wasn't much of a fighter in terms of one-on-one, but I got through just fine by being clever. Scrambling guidance systems, hacking computers, I was good with that and building stuff. But with that first upgrade, I couldn't really do any of that stuff except for the building. So I changed my name, went with Hoist. Now with this upgrade from the Key of Wisdom, I can do all the old stuff and more, so I went back to Smokescreen." Noticing the surprised looks from the kids, he raised an optic ridge. "Something wrong?"

"No, it makes sense," Lori answered. "Just seemed a bit...weird that you'd do it so quickly."

"Hey, it seemed right at the time." Finishing up with the armor, he added, "Besides, with us, names don't matter that much. They just make it easier for us to identify ourselves. I wouldn't worry over it anyway; all the other Hoists are probably happier to have one less guy with the name."

"Wait, there are other Hoists?" Bud gaped in surprise.

"Some Transformer names are really common," the operations officer explained. "There's like twenty Ironhides. You didn't think humans were the only ones to have multiple guys running around with the same name, did you?"

The kids looked at one another, and then shared a nervous laugh.

It all looked and felt so different, but so familiar at the same time. Kicker couldn't help but feel a bit creeped out.

He felt almost like he didn't belong here. Sure, he might have saved Earth and Cybertron and stopped everything from being eaten by the Transformer equivalent of Satan... but now he was stuck in a time that wasn't quite his own, where the proper him was ten years younger.

As much as he'd been given a home by Aunt Diana, as much as he was enjoying spending time with Misha, and as much as the Autobots had thanked him and tried to make him feel welcome... he still felt like he didn't really belong. And it wasn't like he could just go home, spend time with his family. Between everything with his father and all he'd been through, he couldn't really see himself doing it. It'd be... awkward.

He wasn't even sure why he was back in Seattle, other than his aunt's suggestion. It felt like a bad idea being here in this park...but what else was he going to do?

"Mom? Is that him?"

"Yes, that's him."

Kicker twisted his body around and stood up in surprise to find three familiar faces looking at him. "Hi...Mom."

"That's gonna be Kicker?" Little Sally couldn't help but stare at the person who would — could — turn out to be her older brother in the future. "Wow, he's gonna get big."

Miranda smiled a little sadly, remembering the angry words thrown at her husband. "Yes, Sally, he is. But he's still your brother...and he's still my son."

Relief showed itself on the teenager's face. "Thanks Mom."

His younger self looked up at him, curiosity in those same yet different brown eyes. "So... you're me? From the future?"

The teen glanced down at the younger Kicker and nodded, a little unsure.

"Do I get to do cool future stuff?" the younger boy asked.

Kicker grew a smirk. "You get to go into space. That cool enough for you?"

"It's okay I guess," Chad replied, brushing it off. "But why come here? Didn't you like the future?"

Kicker wasn't sure how to explain. He took a breath, collected his thoughts, and said, "A lot of bad things happened. To you – me – and everyone. I came back because I thought I could change it."

"Did you?"

"Yeah...why?"

"I thought that when people went back in time and changed history, they were supposed to stop existing or something," Chad explained.

Kicker couldn't help but laugh. "You watch way too many cartoons, you know that?"

Miranda couldn't help but laugh at her son...well, sons. She'd always wondered what it would be like to have another kid. In a strange way, she now knew. And God help her if she ever got used to it.

"This hasn't been so bad. The whole 'being out in the open' thing."

"You mean it?"

"Yes. Now that I don't have to hide myself, I can properly get to know your family. And despite myself, I've gotten to liking your father."

Alexis gave her Mini-Con friend a harsh look. "You suggesting that there's something wrong with my father?"

"No." Sureshock turned to her human friend. "Just expressing my surprise that I've gotten to liking him, is all."

"Sounds like you guys had a better time of it than we did," Carlos mused, crossing his arms behind his head on the bench he and his friends had parked themselves on. "I don't think my mom'll ever get used to Grindor."

"It's not like you kids were always in the middle of something," the recently-upgraded Mini-Con protested. "At least your father's taken a shine to me."

"Wish my dad could get used to High Wire," Rad grumbled, chin propped on his fists. "He can't even accept that she's a she."

"He can accept the notion of an expanding universe, but the idea of a female robot escapes him." High Wire gave an exasperated sigh. "And I thought we'd have an easier time of things being out in the open, especially with Megatron all but defeated."

"Well, win some, lose some," Alexis comforted the Mini-Con. "No one has it perfect."

"Would be nice though." Changing the subject, Rad turned to his female friend. "Alexis, there's...something I've been wondering about...for a while."

Carlos and the Mini-Cons tried their best not to hear what was coming, expecting the worst.

"What about?" the young girl asked.

"Well, it's about..." Rad nervously continued, the hints of an embarrassed blush growing on his face, and he finished in a low voice, "...Starscream."

The realization dawned on Alexis, and the girl couldn't contain her laughter. She stopped for a second, and then said, "You're jealous."

Rad's blush grew. "I am not...well, I mean..."

Alexis contained herself, and then hugged Rad close. "I admire him, Rad. He reminds me of my father, that's all. So you don't have anything to worry about."

Rad chuckled, nervousness and relief in his voice. "Worried, yeah."

Grindor shook his head. So close.

Sharkticon laid down his mug, the familiar thump sounding off on the counter. "Another one."

The barkeep obliged and the aquatic fighter quickly gulped down his oil, the fourth in a row.

"I'll have what he's having," a familiar voice said as a slight shadow draped itself over Sharkticon's form.

The shark-based Decepticon turned toward the new arrival with a leer. "There a reason why you're here, Starscream?" Before the newly crowned leader could answer, Sharkticon continued. "Don't tell me, you want me to join in on your little movement, try to help out. Sorry, not interested. In case you hadn't noticed, I don't particularly care about you or what you're up to. I joined with Megatron way back when out of loyalty. He lost that when I spent millions of stellar cycles stuck in stasis on that backwater world; the only reason I helped you was because I was fed up with him. So the answer is no, I'm not helping you."

Starscream affixed a neutral glance upon the Decepticon warrior. "First, I only came here for a drink, not a recruiting drive. Second, you're drunk."

"Slagging straight," Sharkticon declared with a drawl, raising his mug skyward as if toasting. He downed a bit before placing it back on the countertop. "Got nothing else to do. I'm an unrepentant war criminal, remember? I'm not sorry for what I did; all I'm sorry for was getting abandoned by old Antler-Head."

"That explains why you suddenly decided to risk everything to help me." The blue, grey and red Seeker gave a mocking grin. "And here I thought you were just a nice guy."

Sharkticon glared at him. "I'm gonna let that slide." He sat up, pushing away his mug. "So now what, you really want me to help you?"

"I wouldn't complain." Starscream took a sip and his optics widened in shock seconds later when the taste hit. "You actually drink this?"

A hand waved dismissively. "Makes me feel better."

The aerial fighter set down the mug, turning to his fellow Decepticon. "Sharkticon, you were a member of the Eclipse Team ages past. You know the members of that unit better than anyone and you've had contact with Megatron and his allies. You could help us find them; maybe convince them to turn themselves in. It'd save everyone a great deal of trouble."

"You honestly think that'd work?" the shark snapped back. "Tidal Wave enjoys busting heads, Slugslinger has fun shooting anything and everything if he gets the chance, Thunderblast enjoys being around powerful people, which includes Megatron, and Shortround's too obsessed with Thunderblast to even think of abandoning her."

"That assumes recent events haven't changed things," Starscream pointed out.

A look at the aerial warrior, back at the drink, and then back at the Decepticon leader beside him. Finally, he groaned. "I'll think about it, alright?"

Starscream shrugged. "Fair enough; you know where to find me." He slugged down the rest of his drink and left after leaving behind his payment.

Sharkticon watched him depart and turned back to his mug, feeling just a little sober. "Not like I have much else to do."

"I'll say this right now: the public seems to be warming up to all of you. Senator Beller still isn't too fond of you 'bots, though."

"You and I both know you can't please everyone, Mr. President." Optimus shook his head. "And even with the PR from everything we've promised and provided thus far, I doubt they'll ever get used to us."

The American Commander-in-Chief laughed. "At least we can be honest about it. At any rate, I'm glad I've got one less secret to worry about."

"As do I, Mr. President," the Autobot leader admitted. "Meanwhile, we both have jobs to do."

"Don't I know it." A slightly humorless smile. "Until next time then."

The line cut off and Optimus leaned back in his seat, venting his exhaust out in a manner similar to a human sigh.

"They never said this job would be easy," Sparkplug spoke up, leaning against the audio port.

"The most worthwhile jobs rarely are," the white and red mech replied. "Admittedly, I'm starting to see why Magnus is more content being a soldier than an administrator."

"Finally, he sees reason," Ultra Magnus quipped dryly as he entered the Prime's office, a large ivory Mini-Con walking beside him.

The Mini-Con smirked. "He's not whining nearly as much as you do."

"I don't whine," Magnus countered. "I just prefer being on the sidelines."

"I know. I just think you can step up is all, feel more comfortable in administrative work. Same as Prime."

"Knock Out has a point," Sparkplug conceded. "You did just fine without us around here. Speaking of, you patched up?"

"Despite what Ratchet says, yes," the carrier assured them. "But he's convinced that I need an upgrade."

A nod from Knock Out. "Wouldn't hurt. I mean, you are about due. That modular construction of yours might save you from a little trouble now and then, but it's gotten a bit out of date. Even I know that and I've been stuck on Earth for years."

"Perhaps," Magnus acquiesced. "Still, I feel a lot better now than I have in a long time."

"Enjoy it while it lasts." Their leader rose to his feet. "I have an odd feeling we're going to be back in the storm soon enough."

"So Kicker's back visiting with his family, leaving you alone to yourself."

"Yep."

"And you decide to spend a little time with me of all people. No wonder you don't have a social life."

Diana Masters gave her friend a critical look and asked, "Accepting your invite to soak in a hot tub isn't being social?"

Lucy Suzuki giggled. "Never said it wasn't. Just that you need to do more than that around here."

"Well, just wait 'till I get settled in," the former and future teacher promised. "It took us both a little while to get used to college, as I recall."

"You sooner than me," her archaeologist friend replied. "Between that and the Transformers, you've got to be the most easily adaptable one of the two of us. I'm still amazed how much they came to like you."

"They're good people," Diana explained staunchly, tucking a bit of hair behind one ear. "Doesn't matter that they're robots, despite what that nutjob over in Washington thinks."

"Well, I'm not about to argue with you." A smile crossed the Japanese-descended woman's face, carrying a hint of wonder. "I still have trouble believing it; Atlantis, Mu, Lemuria, all of them Cybertronian ships. You think they'll find them?"

"Probably." She shrugged. "Don't think they're on Earth, though; Mu and Lemuria left based on everything we've heard. I don't even know if there's an easy way to track them after all this time." She sighed, sinking a little into the swirling hot water. "We'll figure it out, though. Eventually." Changing the subject, she shrewdly looked over at her host. "So, I hear you and Mike are dating now."

"Well, we haven't gotten serious or anything..." A slight blush, and it wasn't from the heat. "...but yeah. Jealous?"

"A little," Diana chuckled and admitted, "I might've been the most popular, but you always got the guys."

The two old friends giggled for a second. "Don't sound so sad. You sound like you'll never find one."

"Who said I won't?" She leaned back in the tub. "I'm sure I will. Someday."

Lucy sighed, and then leaned back herself. "I hope so."

Diana remained silent, but couldn't help but think wistfully, "So do I..."

The End