Chapter Nine

I do not own Transformers. Sigh.

Sam went to the human space colony two days a month. He adjusted the batteries, which worked well; the base commander told him happily that the savings more than paid for his medical treatment and the room they held for him. He made notes that he would discuss with Wheeljack and Perceptor back at the Autobot base and with Bert to update designs. He would be looked over by the doctors, who knew to both speak to Sam and to send a report to the Autobot base, though they did not know who they were sending it to. Red Alert would forward the report to Optimus.

To the medics at the space station, Sam was a living miracle. He was over eighty and survived a nasty poison, and was working. To Optimus and Sam's family, their reports were disappointing. The human and the bot family alike were used to the presence bringing Sam back to his normal healthy self. They missed him, and they wanted him to come home.

Sam buried himself in work, behavior his family recognized. He desperately missed his family, his home, his friends, and his former health. He had to learn to compensate for the much lighter gravity, and the longer he stayed in space, the less likely he would ever recover enough to endure the trip home.

Part of the bargain of the neutrals with the Autobots over Sam's rescue and setup was a request that Sam visit the neutral base or be visited by one of the neutrals regularly. As a result, Swoop came to the Autobot base with some frequency. Wheeljack and Perceptor were out often enough that Sam could visit in the lab, but frequently Sam saw Swoop in the hallway that had a large space window. He would use the space ball and walk with the former high priest or stay by the window.

He could talk to Swoop about the presence; there were other topics of conversation that had Swoop making very quiet preparations for a long term goal. Once he remarked to the former high priest,"I find it ironic that the one person I can speak to freely about the presence tried to take it from me."

"I did have reasons for that," Swoop said mildly. They both looked out at the stars. "The presence exposed me to myself, in a way. Had I succeeded, I would have made matters worse, something I still do not like to admit. I find it ironic that I serve the presence more now, than I did when I was one of the high priests. It gave me hope and a stinging reprimand at the same time when it pointed out Megatron to me and then exiled me to space to wait to serve it again.."

"Don't expect me to be sympathetic," Sam said dryly, and sighed. "Strangely enough your meddling made the meld stronger," he added forlornly. "I'm tired, and this project is on a start, a good start, but we have years of work ahead of us yet. We'll have to build and test and build and test, while the Decepticons are either building as well or waiting for us to finish, and planning to snatch the results and us as soon as they know the device is done."

"Considering what Hook did to you, I hope you have plans."

"You may assume so, priest, but you do not need to know what they are." Sam's voice echoed just a little. Swoop took a swift step back. "See what I mean?" This time it was only Sam. "I just hope my current plans work out. I wonder who the courier is. "

Sam did not know that his visits to the window were watched by other eyes.

Sam arrived at the space base in Cosmos a day or two later. By this time his room at the base was furnished with everything he needed, so all he had to do was say, "See you in a few days, Cosmos. "

"Sure, Sam," the shuttle said, and headed back out. Sam walked over to his room, and then to the lobby where the normal shuttle arrivals came in. The shuttle was on time for something of a change, and he started looking for the volunteer Optimus sent.

He knew her as soon as she appeared. He had to wonder just how many at the base knew about this little stunt, even as he hurried, then almost ran to her. "Poppy!"

"Daddy!" she shouted, and they came together in a hug, laughing, watched in amused approval by the base staff. "God, it's good to see you!" Behind her, Bethany dropped Poppy's luggage and grinned. Sam greeted her.

"Glad to see you're back safe, Sam," she said. "I'll look you up later," and she headed off. Sam picked up one suitcase while Poppy took the other, and they headed off to meet the base commander who was waiting by the door and smiling.

Poppy gave her father the quick look-over as they walked, while talking about the arrangements. He had aged just a little, moving a little more slowly, and like the last time he was taken, had lost weight, but not dangerously. To anyone meeting him for the first time, he looked to be in his sixties instead of the wrong side of eighty. He did seem used to the much lighter gravity, while she was awkward with it. At the same time, there was something different about him, and she tried to pin it down as the base commander showed her to her room and then they went to his office.

He had coffee and fruit there-Poppy learned quickly that the greatest treat in the space base was fresh anything- and they served themselves before he got down to business. "I believe you were to bring something for me and separately for your father," he said. Poppy promptly handed over a sealed folder. He asked some questions, mostly related to football and politics, and she answered all of them promptly. That kind of news was hard to get at the base. "I was told I would be popular if I brought these as well," she said, and produced a pile of DVDs and CDs. The commander grinned.

Soon after they were headed for the infirmary. "Ratchet said for me to tell you he hoped you were behaving better than you used to for Sheena," she said, "or they might not give you any anesthetic when they take the old one out." Sam laughed.

"You'll find out," he said. She snorted, and swept into the infirmary. The medical staff was expecting Sam, but they were not expecting Poppy. One of the nurses took Sam aside to get him ready for his checkup, and Poppy turned to find several of the medical staff looking at her curiously. Never shy, she introduced herself and produced proof that she had the right to get her father's medical information.

That opened the floodgates.

By the time Sam got back from his examination, he found her deep in conversation with the head nurse, comparing the problems of a normal hospital and the infirmary. "And here comes the man who knows more polite ways of saying 'no' than anyone else I ever met," the head nurse added.

"That right?" she said, amused. "Then you're lucky, after some of the stunts he's pulled on his doctor on Earth. "

"Hey, the company paid for Sheena's medical school," he said mockingly. "Putting up with me was the interest on the debt. " He handed the sheet to the nurse. "I've been good, today. I even let them take blood without complaining too much. We have an appointment for the surgeon at nine tomorrow."

"You mean you kept the cursing to a language they couldn't understand?" she asked.

"Hey, that can be a challenge up here," he said, and shot an amused glance at the head nurse, who burst into laughter. "I had to go to Russian once."

"The night nurse is from Yemen," the nurse admitted. "It took a week before we found out they were having cursing contests."

"Don't tell Poppy that," Sam said in mock-alarm. "She'll want to join in, and she'll win." Poppy grinned, knowing he was right; she could curse better than he, a relic of her army days. They left the infirmary with the nurse still chuckling. Sam took her on a tour of the base while they talked of home and how the family was doing. She brought several hard drives that different family members had put together. Lynette was in college now, working on a degree in communications. Sam laughed when he found out Sludge was her mentor and she had already learned more from the brontosaurus than she had in school.

After seeing the medical record, Poppy understood the changes in her father better, and she knew the news she would take back to Optimus was not news the Prime or the rest of the family wanted to hear. Daddy's attitude reminded her of her mother while she was battling cancer.

So she left the subject, and instead they caught up. Sam told her about Hound's question, and his answer. She sobered. "You know, there are a lot of people on Earth who ask that kind of question," she observed. "Especially the dying."

"It is comforting to know," he mused. "Why didn't Bob come with you?"

"He couldn't pass the physical," she admitted. "He wasn't happy. He swore that this time next year he's coming, that he'll be in good enough shape. "Sam nodded, doubting it. He liked Bob a lot. Like he and Mikaela, Bob and Poppy seemed to be lifetime partners, even though they seemed to have a role-reversal kind of life. Bob had steady hours and was the family anchor most of the time, while Poppy's hours were more erratic and her career claimed more time than his did. He was the calm in the storm, and she was the aggressive protector. But Bob seldom exercised, and loved his food. He looked more like Sam's peer than his son in law.

The surgeon listened to their request the next morning after breakfast. "Let me be sure I understand what you need here," she said. "You have this device underneath your shoulder blade. You want me to remove that one and put this one in, either in the same pocket, or on the other side. "They nodded. "How long has this one been in your body, Mr. Witwicky?"

"About a year," Sam admitted. "It's been working for me longer than that, but I had it implanted then. It's reached full capacity, and I need the new one, and to send the old one for analysis."

"So you've been experimenting with this device on yourself," she pressed.

"This kind, yes; I've been using another for over five years that wasn't portable," he told her coolly. "It records thoughts and memories, and will be stored in a special recording device." Special is certainly a word that fits the prototype, he reflected.

"All right," she finally consented. "It's a simple procedure, no different than a pacemaker pocket. But I have conditions, and until you agree to them, I won't do it. "She tapped a finger for each condition. "One, you'll stay here for two days, and every non-invasive test I want, I get. Note I did say, non-invasive, scans and such. Your daughter can watch or suit up with me and assist. You will stay in bed for that time, and accept any necessary meds. I will insist on an antibiotic, and if you are in pain, either a trank or a painkiller. And you will behave yourself with my staff."

"For two days," Sam qualified.

She nodded. He held out his hand, and she shook it. "We'll have that in writing, but I'll accept that for now. Let's find a time on the schedule."

As everyone expected, the short operation went smoothly. Poppy elected to watch, which meant she could stay with her father when he came out of the sedative. "Everything went fine," the surgeon said. "The anesthesiologist said he did not think your father was fully sedated, but as he was not moving and not complaining, we went forward. And I assure you, he would have complained." Poppy nodded and went to the holding room. Sam spent several hours there sleeping. When the staff expressed concern over how long her father was sleeping, she shook her head.

"When Dad sleeps he sleeps hard," she assured them. She was watching the monitors, and she knew there was nothing detectable wrong. When the man in the bed opened his eyes, she stroked his face gently and said," Okay?" He smiled sweetly, as the nurse came over and did the standard checks and looked at the wound. Shortly afterward Sam was moved to the regular infirmary. The nurse informed him cheerfully that he did have bathroom privileges, but they expected him to stay in bed for most of the night. Poppy watched, her amusement hidden behind a nurse's bland look, as Sam forced himself to be civil and agree to remaining quiet and leave the IV in. They brought him a light meal and left. "How's the pain, Dad?" she asked quietly. While Sam normally refused pain medications, she knew he did not take pain well.

"You know well that my host does not take pain well," the man in the bed told her, with an echo to the voice. Poppy's belly went cold. She looked at the amused man sitting up in bed. "I have kept control through the procedure for that reason. "

"Haven't you controlled most of his life?" she asked, and welcome anger rose in her. Anger kept the fear away, something she learned in combat so many years ago.

The being currently controlling Sam's body considered the question. "No," it answered judiciously. "No, for the most part, I could only suggest, not control. When your father died in Egypt, the Dynasty of Primes made changes in his mind that reduced my ability to drive him so strongly, before I revived him. I could influence, but not control. That worked out better, as Optimus Prime learned when to see that I was doing so and help. "The man in the bed shifted carefully. "It was not until we were together several decades that the meld became strong enough for me to be more than vaguely aware of daily matters in his life."

"But the Decepticons coming after him, the constant guarding, the way he had to work…"

"My dear one, most of the resentment of the Decepticons was due to the choices your father made, not to me. After all, Megatron and his allies want control of everything that exists, and they have never managed to achieve it in part due to his actions. That led to the constant guarding. When I was forced to prove to that power hungry fool Megatron that I was indeed where I was, I made my host more of a desirable possession, but otherwise he would have been dead and I would have been cast into the void."

"I see," she said numbly. Cast into the void? Maybe she could understand why it clung to her father.

"Do you," it said levelly. "Your father worked long and hard hours for a cause he strongly and sincerely believed in. When he asked, I gave him what I could to help, whether it was ideas, or the power to heal a friend, or the healing he needed. Where in that do you see a reason to blame me?" It shifted again. "And Megatron will never see him as anything but a possession, because it cannot bear to think that anything that is not Cybertronian might be stronger than it is. The only exception I have ever encountered was the Fallen, and I knew the Lord Protector for longer than humans have had written history." It shifted again. "Maybe I should give your father control back and let you listen to him complain," it grumbled.

That won a smile from her. "You know in that case we'd fill him with pain meds." It sighed and drank more of the soft drink.

"Pollution, those drugs. They prevent me from the healing," it sneered, putting down the drink. "It was not until you were almost mature that I began noticing more." It smiled mischievously at her. "I admit to being partially responsible for the births of your brothers. I was able to sense emotions that were strong by that time, not just the extreme ones, and those that led to their conception were quite pleasant."

Poppy stared at him, before beginning to giggle. The giggles became a full fledged belly laugh. "My- mother-"she managed to say between laughs, "would have tried to brain you for that-"and finally gave in to howls as she pictured her mother's outrage.

"I was not sure he would ever recover from her death," it said, becoming sober. "There was nothing I could do; I was not part of her, like I am of him. Not until the download, when I could communicate so much better, did he finally begin to recover. Then those Decepticons fools snatched him and treated us like the crown jewels, locking him away and gloating over us-"it hissed. "Megatron is not a Prime! It was the Lord High Protector, and at first he did his job well, until the Fallen corrupted him. Leaving us with that blasphemer! That any mortal being could consider taking my role!"

"Optimus tore Fixer to pieces and you made the sparklings yourself," she said with all the calm she could muster. The assurance worked, as the meld that held her father took a deep breath and settled. She handed him a candy bar she had kept aside as bribery for her father and the meld laughed.

"Bribery will get you everywhere," he mocked, but he unwrapped the candy bar and nibbled. "Humans live so intensely," he added. "My children have emotions, and when those emotions are strong, they are stronger than yours, but they do not feel as intensely as humans do. Perhaps it is your short lifetime." It rubbed over the IV and frowned over it. "This is annoying. Permission to use the waste facility, scolding to stay in bed. You'll excuse me a moment," it said with dignity, and she went to the door and looked away, fighting her amusement, as the meld went to the bathroom. When it returned, it grumbled, "Humans are so messy."

She gave up and giggled, and he growled before relaxing into an amused smile. She went to get something to eat and brought it back with her. "So what's it like most of the time for you?" she asked, and bit into a hamburger.

"I am not here," it said, and gazed into nothing. "I cannot describe it to you," it said finally. "There are no words. Your father has been there with me, when he visited the Primes and a few other times. He is one of the very few who can tolerate my touch; I was fortunate that it was he who was with the Prime that day."

"There are others?" Poppy asked.

"Did you ever wonder why your father made it easy for James to leave home?" She shook her head. "He was one. His daughter was another. I was not so melded to my host then; he would have survived my leaving him and going to a younger host, but when he discovered my intention, he prevented me. He said, correctly, that it was not a solution, and only put his child at risk. He did not know that the distance would not have mattered, had he died then."

"Risk?"

"His grandfather's father was judged insane when I tried to communicate with him. Sam came close; it was the need to revive Optimus that gave him a focus, until the Primes intervened. He feared the same madness for his child. "

"But James was never a fighter, never a leader like Dad," she objected, and sipped her tea.

"It is the ability to communicate that matters, a way of being able to look at oneself and others and know how to get ideas out. Fighters like yourself and your younger brother would never be able to accept me; you would go mad, and quickly. The ways of a diplomat are most suited to my needs. I believe one wise man said it was the ability to sooth a beast with words while picking up a rock. Sam is very good at it. The current success your brother enjoys it partly due to that ability. Minnie is good at it." The being went back to nibbling on the candy bar, eating it slowly.

Poppy chewed that over in her mind as she finished the hamburger and peeled her orange. "So how are you coming through so well now? Dad told Mom once that communicating with you was like a human and a cat communicating. And that he was the cat."

She was startled by its hearty laugh, after which it shifted in obvious discomfort. "As I said, a unique ability to communicate. That was very perceptive of him. And accurate." It sobered. "We have melded that closely. It was a matter of time, I believe, but it's not good for me to be so much in this reality. It cannot last. Here, with you, the beloved daughter of my host, I can function easily. In a group, or with my children, I am more prone to irritation. "

"You want to smack the crap out of them," she translated.

"Exactly," it admitted. "And I do not have that right. They have the right to make stupid choices. But I must stay close to the surface in order to keep your father functioning well. The poison did great damage to him, and his body's ability to sustain itself is aged. You remember his parents at his age. "Poppy did. "Even I will not be able to sustain him much longer. We must finish this project."

"And come home?" she asked, her voice quivering. The being reached out and touched her cheek gently.

"We will have a chance to say good-bye before we leave, your father to join your mother and I to where I must," it promised her. "But it will not be in a manner you expect."

The meld did sleep that night and Sam woke up. Poppy was relieved. The tests finally ended. The surgeon was astonished at how well Sam was healing, and when the test was over, she released him. Sam called Cosmos as soon as he was released and they headed for the Autobot base. Before they left, Poppy showed Sam his present from Ironhide.

"I'm keeping the original," she informed him. "I have it now." Sam nodded. Once they were on board, Sam introduced Poppy to Cosmos, and the questions began. They were so busy talking that they did not see the threat until too late; it appeared when they landed. Poppy and Sam got out in the hanger. Suddenly there were three bots in the hanger with them, one of them on top of Cosmos. Skywarp had a hand on Starscream, who was snatching at Poppy. Unlike Sam, Poppy was issued a space suit, and she had tucked her laser into the belt. She had it out and severed Starscream's arm, the one holding Skyarp, within a moment. Starscream screamed. Skywarp was panicking when suddenly he quieted. In his ball, Sam was leaning against Skywarp, and instead of screaming or panicking, Sam had a predatory smile on his face.

"Shut up, Starscream," he said, his voice echoing.

"How dare you speak to me like that, you maggot of a human!" Starscream howled, and Poppy shot him again, this time in the face. He yelped.

"I am not Samuel," he said. "Why are you here, Starscream? Lord Megatron left orders for this base to remain undisturbed until the device is complete." Thundercracker jumped off Cosmos to help and was promptly attacked by Wheeljack, who had come to greet Sam and meet Poppy. They tumbled away from the humans and the rest of the trine as Cosmos transformed and joined the fight.

"How did you know that?" The meld laughed. "I'll kill her if you hurt Skywarp!" The seeker aimed at Poppy, who was aiming at him.

"She is much more likely to kill you," the meld growled. "No, Poppy, leave the Screamer alone for now, he's acting against orders. Why are you here? What do you want from me?" By this time Thundercracker was subdued by the two Autobots and all of them were listening.

"Skywarp," Starscream said, and reached for his arm. Poppy burned him briefly again. "No! Wait! Skywarp's blind, and if we can't get the optics fixed, my brother will be abandoned-I can't lose my brother again. Hook's in no shape to fix anyone after what Lord Megatron did when we found you gone. Please, we'll do anything." Thundercracker nodded.

"You will do as I tell you," the meld said, and Starscream and Thundercracker both stilled as Skywarp had. "Have the sense to follow your orders next time," Sam said after a moment, and stepped back, drawing Poppy with him. The two Decepticons were gone. Then Skywarp came and grabbed Thundercracker before both of them were gone. Sam slumped within the ball as Cosmos and Wheeljack snatched up the two humans, cursing at losing the trine.

"Don't worry, they won't be back," Sam said, as he was carried inside, too tired to try to stand or even move much.

"Why did you let them go?" Cosmos wailed. Poppy joined in the complaint.

"Do you question me?" the meld snarled. Everyone shut up and got Sam to the lab. He got out of the ball and said, "Sorry, guys. When something comes to me for healing, the presence rarely says no. It also reprogrammed them-remember, they said they'd do anything to get Skywarp healed, so they gave us permission. "

That information calmed the bots down; Poppy grumbled under her breath but otherwise bullied Sam into bed and came out cheerful, ready for the attention the space bots were more than happy to give her. Only Perceptor, staying behind to work and in case Sam needed anything, wondered, "Reprogrammed them to do what?"