TITLE: Tipping Point,

Tipping point: the precise instant that momentum swings in one's favor

SERIES: Imperfection Deviation
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)
FEEDBACK: Loved
Author's Note: this story was developed and mostly written long before I got my hands on 'The Veiled Threat'. When I started going through the book I was surprised to note similarities.
I solemnly swear I didn't try to copy the plot. *hand on heart*
And the idea behind some similar sounding parts is a different one any way :)

Now for an apology: my knowledge of Australia comes from books and the internet. I've never been there. I apologize for mangling it already.
I'm also a complete idiot when it comes to physics, astrophysics and astronomy. I claim artistic license and writer's freedom here. My plot beta already winced so loud, I could hear her from a hundred kilometers away :) She's an engineer. I'm not. Sorry…

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Fourteen years had passed since the fateful fight at Mission City and the subsequent destruction of the Allspark. More years since the first arrival of Bumblebee on Earth, followed by several Decepticons, all looking for the Allspark. In those years alliances had come into existence, bonds had formed between humans and mechanoids, and new-arrivals had graced the ranks of the Autobot forces on Earth. Things were ever-changing, developing, and gaining in strength and momentum.

From the team that had been almost wiped out in Qatar to the unit later under the command of Captain Robert Epps to the formation of an international military operation called AIDDE, the Allied International Defense Division of Earth. Headed by General Glenn Morshower, with Epps the field commander and now the rank of major, AIDDE had set up different bases.

The General worked on the same level as Banachek, who was head of Project. The connection and interaction between the two was complicated and would probably cause a meltdown in any outsider who had no idea about the intricacies of such operations. To the two powerful men it was clear that despite Morshower's rank and seniority in the military field, Banachek was the commander of all operations. So far there had been no problems. Banachek only answered to the President, and even the most powerful man in the political structure of the USA knew when to leave the former Sector Seven head of research free reign.

Nevada was Epps' base. He was the commanding officer and no one had tried to argue. He ran the base efficiently and he had the trust of the allies. Nevada was the base where all newcomers were introduced to the unconventional way the military of Earth worked together with their alien visitors, and new residents of Earth. Rules had been adjusted without bending them too badly or breaking them completely. Military life had to be worked into this alliance and so far it had worked well.

Yuma had come under the command of Captain Nathan Carter and was mainly the Constructicons' home base. Carter had migrated from liaison to commanding officer without much of a problem. He was 'on loan' from Yuma Proving Ground, to which the new base belonged on paper, but was actually autonomous territory. The commander of YPG had no jurisdiction, but Carter was liaison to his former base and would work in cooperation. He now only answered to Banachek and Morshower. Scrapper and Scavenger had agreed that the captain was well-suited for this alliance, and there hadn't been any incidents so far. There were few soldiers at Yuma right now, but that would change.

Arctic was still Banachek's headquarters and only semi-military. Arctic had become the main base for the brain pool, the scientists. The Ghost-2 still had her home at the northern-most base. Kyle Walker and his crew had been transferred there.

The human race in general didn't know more about the aliens among them than fourteen years ago, but the governments of Earth had formed their own alliance over the fact of the Autobots' existence. The international team was one sign of that. A new base planned in the southern hemisphere another.

The introduction of Hot Rod as a Prime had caused some waves, though not as high as Hot Rod had thought they would. Ratchet and Ironhide, the two most senior officers, had been surprised, shocked to put it mildly, but they hadn't argued. Being Prime wasn't simply a matter of rising through the ranks; it was a birth right.

"Who would have thought," had been Ironhide's comment. "Kid's going places."

Scrapper, as the Constructicon leader and in Prime's optics of the same rank and position as Jazz, had nodded his own acceptance. The others had simply accepted the change in the command structure, though it wasn't that big of a change. Rodimus Prime still needed to get used to a lot of things, as did the others need to get used to a shared leadership between two Primes, but Cybertron had once been governed by two leaders, too. It wasn't that much of a difference.

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The arrival of four new Autobots within two months had coincided with rather suspicious activities in Australia. For weeks there had been reports about strange occurrences and Prime had finally deployed Prowl and Sideswipe for a recon mission. The Australian government had been included in the knowledge of alien mechanoids on Earth and their military had been cooperating with the US for a while now. Australian soldiers were part of the Nevada and Yuma crews. Captain Andrew Burns had been put in charge of the Australian operation already, so he coordinated transportation of the Autobots with the logistician at Nevada, Trent DeMarco. His Australian counterpart was a man called Lieutenant Cary Monash and both soldiers worked well together.

While neither Prowl nor Sideswipe found more than faint traces of possible Decepticon activity, the crash of the Cybertronian shuttle pre-empted all attempts to get a closer look at those tracks for a few days. They had picked up the coded message from a shuttle heading for Earth, requesting assistance since they were running out of energon and had way too many sparks aboard to sustain them all for much longer.

Optimus had been relieved to hear of more survivors, even if they had practically limped here on the last leg of their shuttle's capabilities. The landing had been at night, in the middle of the Australian Outback where only a few indigenous mammals and reptiles had witnessed the almost-crash. Soldiers of AIDDE had swarmed the area, Jazz, Sideswipe and Prowl had welcomed the new-comers, and a C-17 had been readied to transport the protoforms to Nevada.

Jazz had flown back with the new Autobots, answering questions patiently as the mechs tried to get their bearings. Even aboard the transport plane they had started to refuel. By the time they had arrived at the Nevada facility everyone was much more stable, but not enough for Ratchet to be satisfied and clear them immediately.

Forty-eight hours later, with the new-arrivals briefed on recent events, Prime had immediately sent off Jolt to meet up with Prowl and Sideswipe while Perceptor had joined the Constructicons on the Ark to assist with connecting the almost ready battle station to the humans' systems. Blaster had launched himself into orbit and connected to a Stark Industries satellite to use as a hub. Without disturbing the hybrid technology's systems he had inserted several data cables, plugged himself into every important and sometimes even not so important system. He was by now interfaced with the SI satellite drones to keep an eye on matters in the solar system, guiding the small unmanned crafts steadily to their final positions to complete a complex network of surveillance. The moment the Ark was ready, he would transfer control over to her. Until then he kept an optic on matters, so to speak, as well as inserted himself into the communications network of Earth. Blades had at first joined Nellis in the disguise of a Chinook helicopter, but Prime had reassigned him to Australia. It played well into the character of the only Protectobot to make it to Earth so far since sitting around doing nothing wasn't his strong point. If there was a Decepticon to be fought, he wanted to be there.

Australia had offered itself as a new site for a base and it had been chosen because of the wide-spread Outback, an area where mechs could easily hide and a base would remain a secret for a while. It was where the shuttle of the new-arrivals was now stationed. It would undergo major reconstruction and serve as an addition to the two Ghosts.

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Optimus was alone in the large conference room at Nevada, mentally flipping through the reports Ratchet had given him on the new-arrivals.

Perceptor was a very valuable addition to the Ark's team and he had had no problem accepting the Constructicons as their allies. Perceptor had one of the most astute minds of Cybertron, had always been a scientist right down to his spark. The war had thrown him a little since he was no warrior, had never been and hadn't become one throughout the battles either. His contributions to the Autobot cause had been on a scientific level.

Blaster's survival, together with all his symbiotes, now gave the Autobots an edge since Blaster was somewhat of a counterpart to Soundwave. His presence in Earth's orbit assured a better surveillance, a better access to communications around the planet, and he was invaluable in establishing a line of communication to the Ark and into deep space.

Blades worried Prime a little. He was one of the former Protectorbots, mechs assigned for specific purposes, mostly to guard and protect either individuals, groups or specific targets. They were defense specialists and highly skilled in their particular field of expertise. They had never liked the word 'bodyguard' for their job since they worked such a wide-spread area. The team had come together from rescue mechs, emergency response teams and law enforcement under the leadership of Hot Spot. At the end of the war Optimus had heard of five survivors, including Hot Spot, but only Blades had made it here.

And Blades was former law enforcement with an intense hatred of everything Decepticon. He wasn't alone in that hatred, Optimus knew, but Blades would jump into the middle of a fight with no regard for his own life just to off-line the enemy. It had made for some tense moments with Barricade, who didn't back down from a challenge, nor made any peace offerings. Jazz hadn't interfered, but he had been close just in case. Optimus knew that to diffuse the situation, Blades had to be stationed somewhere else.

Australia was remote enough.

Jolt was more of Hot Rod's age, but with less scars from the war and a lot more troublemaking energy. He was a competent soldier, a good warrior, and he wielded a mean electro-whip. Ratchet recalled him from teaching lessons and Jolt had shown himself to be quietly competent when it came to repairs and the medical profession. Optimus knew that having someone with even the most basic medical skills around was always a bonus. And Ratchet had volunteered to pick up his teachings should Jolt wish it.

Almost silent steps announced the arrival of one of their human allies and he didn't really need to scan to know who it was. Will Lennox had a very unique aura around him and he was easily identified by those who had worked with him for so long. Like all mechs who knew Lennox, Optimus was aware that scanning the hybrid would only result in backlash and processor aches. Lennox didn't take well to unwanted or surprise scans.

Runes played lazily over his skin and alert eyes met blue optics.

"Hello, Will," Optimus greeted him. "I am surprised to see you."

Lennox shrugged. "I'm in no hurry."

The human hybrid and Ironhide had planned for two days of away time. Ron Witwicky had a friend who owned a remotely located cabin that was perfect for someone who couldn't be seen outside and among his own kind any more. Both had been there before and had taken Ron's friend up on the offer to use it whenever they wanted. He himself wouldn't be able to since he was currently in Europe and would be there for five more years because of his job.

"Anything?" the former Army Ranger wanted to know.

"No." Optimus smiled a little. "I doubt you will miss out on whatever Prowl's team discovers. Ironhide won't miss an update."

Will chuckled. "I'm working on that." He grinned.

Mechs couldn't blush and Optimus wasn't an innocent when it came to bonds and sparks sharing a connection. He knew what Will meant and he allowed himself an amused grin. For someone who had had so much difficulty with this unique relationship, Lennox had grown very much into it.

"Happy birthday, Will," Prime said, catching the human off guard.

Lennox shrugged. "Yeah, well, not something with a lot of meaning any more."

"It is one of your customs, Will. Despite your changes you can still honor your culture."

Lennox's expression was hard to read, but he was more closed off than before. "It loses its meaning, Optimus. As a human you know you will die one day. You know that the average life span is somewhere around eighty to ninety, depending on your genetic bonus points. There are people over one hundred years old, but that's not the regular occurrence for us humans. You celebrate each year. When you're a kid you can't wait to be older. When you grow up you don't want to be reminded of your growing age. For me that's no longer something to worry about, right?"

His smile was far from humor-filled and he didn't look happy. Optimus knelt down, serene optics gazing at the distraught human.

"My kind doesn't celebrate the day of one's birth. We don't bury our dead. We don't return to a grave. I find your customs curious, but they are your customs and they serve a purpose. Families celebrate to come together. I believe you have a family and you have friends. You might not be able to gather your birth parents around you, but the ceremony of a birthday doesn't state them as a necessary addition, am I correct?"

Will nodded.

"I believe Major Epps already congratulated you, like many of your men."

"Not 'my men'. I'm no longer in charge, Prime."

"For them you are. You have a special place among them, like you have a special place with us. I don't see that ignoring your culture and your celebrations will help you on your path, Will Lennox. You are a hybrid. You are part of both our worlds, so your heritage comes both from Earth and Cybertron. Celebrating your birthday, accepting well-wishes, is part of that."

"At least for the next hundred years?" Lennox quipped. "Because after that it gets repetitive…"

Optimus chuckled. "Yes, maybe." He held out his hand and Will touched one finger. The runes formed Optimus Prime's name on his own fingers. "Happy birthday, Will Lennox."

He smiled a little. "Thank you."

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Ironhide was waiting for him outside the base, a massive black shape against the glare of the early morning sun. It wasn't a hot day, but still the desert looked very uninviting. It would be nice to leave all of that behind for a while and enjoy the cooler mountain forests.

"And the rain," Ironhide muttered when Will mentioned his thoughts.

Lennox chuckled. Last time it had rained the whole time, which had led to a lot of time spent inside the cabin. Fun time, too.

"It's winter, 'Hide. Rain's now snow. Hope you got your snow chains with you."

Ironhide looked unimpressed, but he transformed and Lennox climbed inside. They drove off with Will behind the wheel as the stand-in driver and Ironhide actually driving.

As the desert made way for more greener scenery, Lennox felt himself relax more and more, too. It was nice to leave the military life behind, even if it was only for a few days. He didn't mind the snow that could be expected. By tonight they might have to shovel their way to the cabin – or in Ironhide's case simply walk there and leave suspicious tracks.

Lennox didn't mind the weather. He wasn't susceptible to cold any longer. He could sit in the snow in his birthday suit and not feel much of it. Of course, that birthday suit would look like someone had spray-painted the Allspark on him, but who cared?

He smiled a little.

Two days in the snow, with no one around, just him and his partner. Yeah, it sounded like a plan.