Atonement
Chapter 10-Session
Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers. They officially belong to Hasbro and Takara. I'm taking them for a short spin.
Iacon, Cybertron
Some days Ironhide wondered why he bothered coming back to Cybertron. Well, the most important was Chromia. She wouldn't leave, he couldn't imagine spending anymore time apart. At least he didn't have a political position. His job was helping Kup train new recruits for the planet's civil defense forces, but today, he had a meeting with Ultra Magnus. Apparently he had some news of import to relay. Exactly his words. Ironhide made himself comfortable, well, as comfortable as he could considering it was Magnus's office.
"What's so important you have to see me?" Ironhide said.
"Starscream and Galvatron have been spending a lot of time together recently," Ultra Magnus replied. No point in not getting to the heart of the matter.
"Why tell me?" Ironhide asked, surprised. Usually, the only mechs who wanted his opinion were Optimus or Prowl. Not Magnus, who considered him too rash and temperamental.
"I wanted your advice before I relayed this data to Optimus," Magnus said.
"Why not Kup?" Ironhide pressed.
"SpecOps, think, will not be our best option if matters escalate," Magnus answered. "
"Carpet bomb Vos and Kaon and figure it out later?" Ironhide said.
"Civilian evacuation would be minimal, given the lack of immigrant influx into both regions," Magnus said.
"Mostly security, medical and engineering personnel," Ironhide said.
"I know," Magnus replied. "However, we don't need to destroy two perfectly viable regions to get rid of a pair of problem mechs."
"What does Cyclonus say?" Ironhide asked. "I still don't know how you could choose that. . .Decepticon over Optimus."
Ultra Magnus cycled air, venting it. He did not have to explain that part of his life to Ironhide. It was private. Let others think what they wanted, but it was none of their business.
"I haven't broached the subject with Cyclonus," Magnus said.
"Figure he might switch sides?" Ironhide said, waiting for a reaction.
The quirk in Magnus' expression was all the reaction he received.
"Cyclonus is neutral, and I know where his loyalties lie," Magnus said.
"And you had to frag him to change that, didn't you?"
"My personal life is not up for discussion," Magnus snapped. "You're here to talk about a potential problem."
"Starscream isn't the problem," Ironhide said. "It's Galvatron. You and I both know that. Do you really trust him?"
"I trust Optimus' judgment," Magnus said. "That should be enough for both of us."
Ironhide glared, but didn't say anything.
"Give my regards to Chromia," Magnus said, picking up a data pad, dismissing the other mech. Ironhide walked away, wishing the world would go back to black and white.
88888
Springer sat in Ratchet's chair in the medic's office, staring at Prowl, who was sitting on the other side of the desk. The medic was out in the med bay, working on installing new equipment from Cybertron. Echo was in recharge, and Ratchet had kindly offered the use of his office for the two mechs to "talk," which really meant "get things worked out or I'm taking a wrench to both of you." Springer was starting to take the medic's lectures to heart, but he didn't know how much Prowl was. Like they could talk, but strong emotions, if they started yelling at each other, would upset Echo, and he didn't know how yet to shut off the bond between them. Also not good. She didn't need to feel negative emotion from her carrier, and it would cause more harm than good. And Prowl hadn't even said yet if he was feeling anything from her. The sire-sparkling bond was stronger in bonded pairs, but Ratchet said Prowl should be feeling something. Might as well ask, Springer reflected.
"Have you felt anything from Echo yet?" Springer asked.
Prowl frowned, clearly confused. "What do you mean?"
"You're her sire, there should be a bond there, might be faint, but it should be there," Springer said.
"I don't know," Prowl said.
Springer clamped down on the urge to reach across the desk and throttle Prowl.
"You should feel basic emotions, if she's hungry, or content," Springer said. "Scared the hell out of me the first time I felt it."
"You have a bond with her?" Prowl asked, surprised.
"Carriers and sparklings share a bond," Springer said. "You should, too."
"I guess. . ." Prowl said.
"Either you do or you don't," Springer said. "But considering it's something involving emotion, I wouldn't expect you to owe up to it."
"I didn't recharge for almost four days," Prowl snapped. "During that time, I have to deal with the fact you and the sparkling we created almost died. How am I supposed to react, Springer?"
"Damn it, Prowl, I didn't know. Maybe I did, and I couldn't accept I was sparked. I thought it was a system glitch. . ." Springer said. "The point is, she's here now, and we have to deal with that."
"I was under the impression you weren't going to stick around longer than necessary," Prowl said.
"That changed the instant I felt her through our bond," Springer said. "I can't just leave. Echo needs me."
"You can still request transfer to another assignment when Ratchet says she's strong enough," Prowl said. "Kup could probably use you on Cybertron."
"Prowl, just stop, all right?" Springer said, placing his head in his hands. "Just listen, will you? We have to come to an agreement we can both live with, for Echo's sake. I know salvaging our relationship is probably out of the question, but can we agree to try and get along?"
"I'm willing," Prowl said.