Final Project Chapter 10
I do not own Transformers, and never will.
This ends the story arc. Hope you enjoyed the set. I may rewrite this at some point, but for now I will leave it, short as it is.
The Prime took the package Poppy handed him. "So the risk in Sam returning is worse, not better." She nodded. "This is the device?"
"Yep." She sighed, leaning over the rail of the balcony. "The lower gravity and the presence are enabling him to function about like he did when he was here, but here he would be on constant oxygen, and even with that, he'd be pretty sick most of the time. The presence said that it can't sustain him like he is much longer, and that this project must be finished. It didn't say it couldn't keep him alive, but it can't keep him functioning well enough to work if he comes home, and it can't promise to keep him alive on the trip." She was able to say that calmly only because she had time to come to terms with the matter. "But after we kicked Starscream's tail-"
"Go over that with me again," Optimus interrupted. Poppy did. "Sam said they reprogrammed the trine? To do what?"
"I didn't dare ask," Poppy admitted, and paced a little. "I mean, the presence didn't come out again, and Dad seemed more himself, so the device is working. And I thought about it, Optimus. On the time scale of the presence, 'much longer' probably does mean a few more years. And it did say that they would get a chance to say goodbye before they left." She grinned. "And it seems to have picked up a few human vices. It likes chocolate, and it says it has a hard time not being annoyed with its children for making stupid choices. Just like a lot of fathers. "
She snickered at the chagrin in Optimus' body language. "And it said that it was partly responsible for the birth of my brothers because the emotions Dad was feeling were pleasant when they were conceived." At that the Prime broke into laughter with her. She trotted off to deliver a few messages to and from other bots. Sam told her to talk to Bumblebee as soon as possible and pass on some choice jokes.
Optimus went to the prototype's new home and placed the device on it. Light flared, and after a time it died.
"What was that?" Ratchet said, hurrying in.
"That is your device," Optimus informed the medic. They took a closer look at the prototype. It was larger, and the glyphs were clearer. The device was no longer there. "Was your device." They left, and Optimus passed on Poppy's report. "I miss him," the Prime admitted. "I know we have the others, Minnie and Annabelle and Bert are all doing fine jobs, but I miss Sam."
"We all do," Ratchet said, "but at least we know he's alive and working. What would the All-Spark have reprogrammed Starscream's trine to do?"
"That seems to be the question of the day." Optimus said.
The device worked, but not perfectly. Wheeljack was thinking hard about the next step on his device and missed a meteor coming right at him. The others hauled the engineer to the lab. Sam was waiting, but so was Red Alert, who got in his way.
"Sam, are you sure you should-"the security leader said, mindful of Ratchet's warnings.
"Get out of my way!" the meld snarled, and the voice echoed through the lab and was heard halfway through the core. Red Alert, no coward, deemed that being elsewhere was the better part of valor, and so missed hearing the lecture Wheeljack got during his healing about careless idiots who thought more about their experiments than their body's integrity. Perceptor recorded it and played it back periodically when he needed the laugh or when he wanted to embarrass either Sam or Wheeljack.
Swoop visited regularly, but did not try to take Sam to the neutral base until Bumblebee came up, six months later. The visit cheered Sam up immensely. Bumblebee came home with cheerful stories, and saddened. Bee could see Sam was working, and the progress on both devices was progressing steadily, but the faithful bot could also see that Sam was tired.
On the visit to the neutral's base, Bumblebee saw a huge ship being built, and wondered why. Finally the yellow bot asked. Swoop explained that he was obeying the All-Spark's wish. Unimpressed, Bumblebee challenged, "And how do you know that?"
"You have no right to question him," Sam said, and Bee whipped around to look at him. Being Sam's closest friend for most of a vorn, he knew that his friend did not make that statement. "He is following my guidance. Just as Sam is."
"If you cared about Sam…" Bumblebee said hotly, and was stopped by a raised hand and a feeling of power. The former guardian knew he was speaking to the All-Spark, but he did not take back his question.
"You sound like Poppy," the presence snorted. "For shame, you're hundreds of years older, you should know better." Bee could not help but think he sounded like a cranky grandparent. "I do care, and I gave him a choice when I was able. He made it, and he is abiding by it. Yes, I could send him home to die." Both Swoop and Bumblebee winced at the bluntness. "Truth is often ugly, children. " That earned him a nasty took from the priest and the scout. "But Sam would prefer to live his last years working on a project that will mean the ability to make wider choices that his friends would otherwise be able to make, than sitting at home, being cared for and unable to do anything at all. Support him."
"I will," Bumblebee mumbled.
"Oh, Bee, don't be like that. I'm okay, really I am." Sam leaned against his friend, and Bumblebee made an effort and responded to the attempted comfort.
A year passed, and Minnie came up with Bluestreak. She and Wheeljack got along wonderfully well, but she argued with Cliffjumper and called him a ninny when it snipped at Bluestreak. The bot left in a huff and only returned after she left, which cheered up the rest of the base no end. Somehow her questions and observations gave Wheeljack a better perspective on how to curb his elaborations. Sam e-mailed her later to say she probably speeded up his completion date by a year.
Oscar came up the next year, bringing Ironhide. Ronnie resigned from NEST and was working with Annabelle. Ironhide told Sam privately that he might take over from her in a few years. Her other assistant was not a leader. Oscar was acting as the human liaison now, though Ironhide did not think he was doing as good a job.
Sam was well aware that other eyes watched. The Decepticons were conspicuous by their absence. Searcher, who was happily settled on Earth, gifted Swoop with means to spy effectively on Megatron and some of his minions. Swoop shared the information with Sam and let him decide what to tell the others. Everyone in the base knew that Megatron almost killed Hook for what it did to Sam, and for not talking about his contact at the human prison colony. The prison was disbanded, and a thriving industrial colony was beginning. Red Alert kept an optic on the place.
Sam carried an energon cube to Red Alert when he came to talk to Sam about his next supply shipment. The security bot sipped at it while talking. Right before it left, it asked, "Hey, this tastes a little different."
"Guess what," Perceptor said smugly. Red Alert almost dropped the cube. "Yep. Second glass. I got the first one, and I beat Wheeljack." He grinned. "Wonder who won the pool."
"Mine's working," Wheeljack said, annoyed. "It just hasn't made a full batch. When I do, I'll throw a party, see if I don't." Sam just smiled. Red Alert thought the smile looked a little strained, but decided not to bring the matter up as the two scientists started arguing which machine the neutrals would get. He went to get word to Optimus.
Optimus ruled that Swoop could choose which energon machine the neutrals got. Swoop deferred to Sam and agreed to come over to the party Perceptor and Wheeljack were organizing.
"You'll be ready," Sam said. Swoop nodded. They were at the window, looking out. "You see that asteroid there? It hasn't moved in several days."
"Ah. I wondered where the lookout was. Have you told Red Alert?" Sam nodded. "So everyone will be ready. Our allies are already here. Everything will be coordinated by the time Wheeljack's machine has made enough energon for the party. "
They all gathered in the hall outside. Everyone was excited except Red Alert, who was muttering about safety and an expected Decepticon attack. Wheeljack called him a party pooper when he wasn't in hearing range, causing a blast of laughter. Everyone had a cup, and everyone sipped and talked and snickered. Sam was in his ball and by the window, looking out. Wheeljack saw Swoop slid over and murmur something to Sam that made him smile, before the dinobot excused himself to leave.
Then there was a crash. The entire room shuddered. Sam yelped as his ball rolled back from the window. As soon as he was clear, the window shattered. The entire room gulped energon (not even in battle situations did you waste good energon) and hauled out weapons as Megatron came through, snatching at Sam.
He was blown back by at least fifteen weapons at point-blank range. That gave the other Decepticons a chance to find a way into the asteroid, which they gleefully did, yakking about the stupidity of Autobots and the chance to get a source of energon.
At that time, they discovered that they were trapped between the Autobots inside the base, coming out, and the Dinobots who were coming up behind them. Grimlock landed on Megatron's back and proceeded to convince him that the attack was no surprise to anyone. Snarl, Slag, and Swoop, along with a few other neutrals, were targeting other Decepticons, while Sludge came into the hall and stood over Sam, poised to defend.
"Let me go when I tell you to," Sam told Sludge.
"What do you mean?" Just then Skywarp appeared, looking utterly lost. "Let me go," the meld repeated, "and warn Optimus that I'm coming, with a unwelcome guest." With that he moved just far enough from Sludge that Skywarp could reach him. Sludge was sending the message, distressed, when they disappeared.
Wheeljack put the neutral's machine in Cosmos and the shuttle took off. Swoop and the other neutrals followed. Megatron sent Starscream and Thundercracker after them. The Seekers followed, but they did not attack or fire, and when they were out of sight of the asteroid, they left. Cosmos delivered the machine safely to the base, and headed back, wondering what they were going to do with that big ship. By the time the shuttle returned, the battle was over.
"What do you mean, Sludge?" Optimus Prime was standing just outside the shield to the base when he got the message from a very upset Sludge. Ironhide was standing beside his Prime, sputtering.
"That's all he said, and then he moved to where Skywarp could get to him and they were gone!" On the word, the air in front of the Prime shimmered, and Skywarp appeared. The teleporter was carrying Sam, still in the space ball. Optimus grabbed the ball as Skywarp collapsed. Ironhide was on him the next moment, securing the Decepticon and hauling it into the shield, heading for the brig as fast as the weapon's specialist could haul.
"Get us to the prototype," Sam said, gasping between words. Optimus moved, sending a comm as he went. The Prime released the ball and threw it aside, not caring at that point where it fell, and got to the prototype's room in record time. He set the heaving human by the door. Sam staggered the few steps to the prototype.
Light flared. The Prime had to turn away from the brightness. He saw Bumblebee, carrying Ronnie and Poppy. When the light died down, all of them rushed into the room.
They could not see Sam.
Then beside the prototype were two forms. One was a young man, with dark hair, bright eyes, and a mischievous smile; the other was simply light. "Sam?" Bumblebee said. Optimus echoed him, voice very soft. It was the Sam that revived Optimus standing there, just beyond his gawky youth.
"Sorry, guys," Sam said. "We pushed the limits pretty hard to get here on time. If everything went right, Swoop and the others have their machines."
"But Skywarp can't teleport this far!" Bumblebee blurted out. "How?"
"We gave him a major boost. Poppy remembers when we healed Skywarp." She nodded, tears running down her face. "The trine was reprogrammed to help us finish the project and allow the machines to stay with who we gave them to. They'll be back to their normal obnoxious selves after that. You can kill Starscream now, Poppy." She laughed through her tears.
"Prime, I am not staying, but I do leave you the means to reproduce," the light said. "This is a matrix, the Matrix of Sparks, and the prototype, which is a Cube and holds the information we have downloaded into it. I am going back to Cybertron."
"The ship," Optimus said slowly. "That's why Swoop and the neutrals built the ship." The light pulsed.
"You will not take the war back to Cybertron," it said, and the voice was final. "You will return, in time, but it must have more time to recover. I go to speed that recovery. Sam. "
"Poppy, Ronnie, I did want to say good-bye, but I have to go. Your mother is waiting for me. Don't mourn. I am part of this," he indicated the new Cube. "Everything in my lifetime, from my first milk belch to my last problem with constipation," Ronnie choked, his own tears streaming, "is on that thing, and that means that in a way, I'm immortal. Oh, and ask Jimmie about your baby sister."
With that parting shot, they were gone.
Looking up at Optimus, fire starting in her eye, Poppy said, "Did he say baby sister?"
"He did, " Ronnie said grimly. "What baby sister?"
"Ask Jimmie," Optimus said hastily. Bumblebee was already gone.
Epilogue
They still held a memorial service. The official story was that Sam died on the base, and was cremated to facilitate returning the remains home. Jimmie contacted Belinda and she came home for the service, bringing Mikaela and explanations. Optimus marveled how the child seemed to cheer the older siblings, though they respected the mother and adoptive father's wishes and did not confuse her with the truth about her parentage. As Belinda said, that could wait until she was old enough to understand.
Changeling became Wheeljack's apprentice and helped build both his own second frame and the first sparkling body. The Matrix of Sparks gave the first sparkling years after Sam died. The Decepticons moved further away in space, and the Autobot's space base grew until there were almost no Autobots left on Earth. NEST was taken over by the United Nations. Ronnie took over the company when Annabelle retired five years after Sam's death.
The neutrals were gone and not seen again in human space. The Autobots took over the base when their own was overwhelmed by the bots coming from Earth.
And in a area no living human or cybertronian could ever detect, a young couple met again.
You waited long enough to get here. The woman laughed.
I had things to do. The man took her in his arms and smiled down at her.
Yeah, well, it's time and more than time to move on. I missed you, you dork.They shared an easy kiss.
I missed you like you will never believe. For a long time they just held each other.
You have time to show me now. They moved off into the mist.
Yeah. All the time in the universe.