Price
--
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Optimus made sure the cargo bay was empty, then locked the door behind him.
The Autobots were safe for the time being, or as safe as they ever were sharing a planet with the Decepticons. If anything came up, Teletran-1 would notify him.
Optimus reminded himself of that, sternly. It was so easy to-
NO.
Optimus sighed through his cooling fans, and allowed his shoulders to slump. His friends were safe, and he needed this.
Few of those friends except for Ironhide would have recognized the doubtful mech Optimus relaxed into when he was alone. Second-guessing his actions had always been a part of his program, but the Matrix of Leadership didn't allow it to show often.
On the battlefield and among the Autobots, he was the Prime because someone HAD to be. The Matrix had chosen him, and logically Optimus knew that he was a good leader.
That didn't stop him from wondering at the Matrix's choice sometimes...
The fact that the Matrix WAS fallible, Optimus kept to himself.
.
Optimus shifted into vehicle mode, unhitched his trailer, and dispatched Roller. The small gray vehicle paused at the head of the trailer's ramp, red strobe twirling as he surveyed the cargo bay. Seeing no one but Optimus, he beeped a greeting, then rolled down onto the floor. He did some laps around the room. Optimus watched him, engine idling.
Roller was as dedicated an Autobot as any, but he was painfully shy, and had no protoform to transform back to. ...He didn't even have vocal processors.
.
A nudge at his right front hubcap brought Optimus back to the present, and he looked down.
Roller beeped and whistled a few times.
"I was thinking," Optimus told him.
Two beeps.
"No little one, I'm all right."
Whistle-beep.
"I was thinking about you actually," Optimus smiled down at him.
Beep.
"Well, I was wondering if you were happy being with me all the time. If you'd let Ratchet examine you, he might-"
Roller cut him off with a panicked squelch of static.
"NO," Optimus said firmly, "-I will not send you away, Roller. I love you very much. I would NEVER send you away."
...Beep.
Optimus sighed, and wished hadn't brought it up. One mile forward, and two miles back. Roller didn't change.
Then again, without a protoform, how could he?
Just how much did the spark depend on logic circuits, anyway?
Roller pondered none of these questions. He snuggled against Optimus's right fender, and rested the dark gray barrel of his gun turret on the semi-truck's front bumper.
.
"Ironhide, I need to talk to you."
"Sure Prime, what's on your mind?" the large red mech replied, agreeably.
"Alone."
Ironhide studied Optimus's optics for a moment, and his smile lost some of it's casual sparkle.
"The armory work for you?" Ironhide asked.
"Perfectly," Optimus nodded.
They relocated, and Ironhide took down one of the laser rifles from a rack on the wall. He ejected the power cell, and began breaking the weapon down.
"I've been thinking about Roller," Optimus began.
Ironhide winced mentally, but looked up to listen. His hands continued disassembling the rifle without missing a beat.
"About whether you should take him to Ratchet, you mean?"
"Yes... he's still scared, Ironhide. I can't- -no, I WON'T force Roller into a protoform if he doesn't want one, but I'm still not sure how much he understands. I think he's lonely, but he says he's happy with me..."
"You know what I think, Prime. Drag 'im in and get it over with. If he don't wanna be a transformer, he can always stay in vehicle mode," Ironhide pointed out.
"I know, it's just-" Optimus began.
"Prime," Ironhide interrupted, "-can I say somethin'- -ya know, as a friend?"
Optimus broke off.
"-What is it?"
"Roller ain't the one who's scared here."
Optimus's eyes flashed, and he crossed his arms in front of his grill. He said nothing.
"You may be right," Optimus admitted after a long pause, "-but that doesn't change the damage I could do to Roller's mind if you're wrong."
"It's your call, old buddy," Ironhide said, unscrewing the laser rifle's barrel. "-All I'm sayin' is, if Roller was MY combine partner, I'd get his transformation gears unstuck," Ironhide picked up a small brush, and began cleaning the trigger mechanism.
Optimus glanced at the disassembled gun, then looked quickly away.
"Ironhide, do you remember the first time you deactivated someone?" he asked.
"Yeah, Prime. I do," Ironhide nodded.
"Roller doesn't know what that feels like yet."
"Well, you're the one who keeps bringin' this up..." Ironhide shrugged, uncomfortably.
.
-tbc?-