~In Love and War~
::Chapter eleven::
Optimus paced his office back and forth, not caring about the cracks appearing from his massive foot-falls. Hands clasped behind him, the Autobot leader stopped for a brief instant and looked out the window. He had no idea where Andromeda had gone to, and it worried him. She'd turned off her GPU and energy signatures as not to be traced. Frankly, he was afraid. And that was new for him.
'This is your fault, Orion. You scared her off.' he told himself, 'This is what you get for forsaking Elita...'
Finally, the mech burst from his office, flustered and aggitated. He couldn't outrun or battle his thoughts cooped up in that office. Breaking from the quiet sanctity, he looked around the base. Everyone was either looking at him, or working.
"Optimus," Ironhide approached him.
He put up a hand to his weapons specialist. "Not now, old friend," he began briskly walking for the hangar doors. "I'm going out. I'll be back later."
"Sure, Optimus, but-"
"Ratchet," Optimus barked. "Foreword all my calls."
He medic nodded. "Okay, Optimus, but you should know-"
"Not now!" he shouted. With a quick transformation, the massive semi rumbled from the base and out the open gates, quickly changing gears as he rumbled down the road, anger in his circuitry. Why had she left? She should've told him! Now she ran the risk of the Decepticons finding her. Femmes!
'It's your fault, Orion,' he reminded himself, 'You came on too strong. She's not Ariel!'
With another angry shift into gear, he roared onto the main road.
Andromeda Axellis
Her body burned with newfound pain; not only in her shouders, but deep inside her. Her emotions felt like they had been in battle her entire life. Her spark felt heavy and scarred, as if torn out of her chest and replaced with a burning rock. But her body wasn't the only thing that was hurt.
It was her pride.
All her life she had been praised, honored, respected. She had held her helm high above others, Prime's even, and had been proud of who she was. Her family was special, she was special. Andromeda had been expected to change history.
Now, she was nothing more than an overturned Hummer crying her eyes out.
She tried to pull herself upright, but she couldn't. The pain in her shoulders was fiercly burning. The fuel in her tanks felt soured within her, as if she could vomit. Her crying didn't help either. Her holoform beside her tried to turn the Hummer right-side-up with all her Autobot strength. Finally she just gave up and slumped into the ditch.
She sat there for an hour, crying. Andromeda thought about her life-cycle. How her mother died when she was just a child, how her father trained her in the way of the council. About her first real love, Hotrod, and how he had never returned to her, and about her father's offlining. Many more thoughts about her life-cycle shot around her processor. She tried to ignore Optimus' face in her processor, but couldn't.
She thought about transforming, but decided against it. She run the risk of being spotted outside the base. She'd turned off all navigational systems so Prime couldn't find her-Decepticons didn't even matter. She would rather fight them then face Optimus again anyway.
150 miles North of Diego Garcia
GT Mustang roared down the open road, passing by rice fields and dusty patches of land. His gears shifted quickly as he pushed himself hard. A wicked smile painted a wicked face, an evil spark churning inside him. He'd seen everything. But he knew he'd need back up. She was a Council, after all.
"What is it, Barricade?" the comm-link cracked to life in his alternation mode. Barricade answered the call with a snicker.
"You'll never guess what, Screamer,"
"What?"
He sped on foreword, sirens blaring a fake alert. Cars moved over. "I found Axellis."
"So? I battled her the other day," he growled over the comm. "Your point, Barricade?"
"My point is," the Mustang growled back, "Is that she's alone. She left the base."
Starscream was quiet.
"What do you suggest we do?"
"Wait," Starscream muttered. "Just wait. We need her exhausted, scared and alone. Completely alone. We can't do anything if the Autobots come for her."
"But I want to slag her now!"
"Silence!" he screamed. "Report back to base, Barricade," he said evilly. "And I will process this over."
An hour later
After multiple times of trying to get herself turned over, she was exhausted. Andromeda's fresh pain in her shoulders had turned into a burning scold, as if hot hoil had been poured over her protoform. It made her cry, scream and moan. She blacked out a few times from the massive pain. All her fuel had been had been wasted from her efforts. She was beginning to get low.
MAINFRAME SYSTEM UPDATE: ENERGON SUPPLY 10% AND COUNTING IMMEDIATE REFUEL ADVISED
ALTERNATION MODE DAMAGED; REPAIR ADVISED
MAIN-FRAME ENGINE TUNE-UP REQUIRED FOR TRANSFORMATION
"Yea, yea, I hear you," she muttered. "Can't a royal get any peace around here?"
Her holoform sat in the grassy ditch, hand on her alternation mode. She thought about the day her father had awarded her with a new mode to scan; on her 17th birthday. It had been a Cybertronian speedster, complete with fuel-injection and ten different speeds. It also had come with a huge music system. Andromeda smiled softly. Such a sweet memory.
A release of air from brakes from above made her jump.
Her first processing was that it was Optimus, but then she looked and saw that it wasn't. It was a huge 2011 Chevy Silverado, with a man and a small boy inside the cab. Andromeda rose to her holoform legs and shielded her eyes from the sun. The men pulled to a stop from their slow crawl.
"Are you alright, miss?"
She squinted. "Uh...no, acutally, I am not."
The man got out of the truck. "I see you overturned," the boy followed him out. "Are you sure you're not hurt? Looks pretty nasty to me."
"I am fine." Andromeda climbed the ditch to meet him. "Would you mind calling for assistance? I can't get my bo...car turned over. It needs repairs to function."
He looked surprised. "Uh...sure, I can call my brother. He's got a tractor that can get you turned over in no time."
'Thank Primus,' She nodded. "Thank you."
"You look like you need a bed and shower," he chuckled. "Hop in. I'll drop you off at home with my wife and daughter. Alex can make room."
Andromeda had no idea how far her holoform could stray from her body. Her systems were hardly strong enough to make it work, but enduring well. She decided against it and told him: "I think I'll stay here and wait for that tractor you mentioned. Thank you, though. It is most kind of you."
"Well, okay," the man slipped back into the truck. "I'll go and get my brother and come back here. Should take about thirty minutes."
"Alright. Thank you."
He nodded and the truck sped off.
Optimus Prime
He was stuck.
Not physcially, but in choice. Optimus had traveled far enough north to come to a cross-roads. He wished she'd kept her GPU on, but she'd turned it off. He had no way to track her or to follow her, much less find her. Optimus had tried sending messages, but he knew she had rejected them, much less read them. With a sigh, the semi rolled backwards an inch or two and made a decision.
He went right.
Andromeda Axellis
As she sat under the hot sun, she couldn't help but miss him. Them. Her comrades, her team, her friends. It had only been two or three days, but it had felt like an eternity. She felt connected to them. Perhaps it was because they shared the same insignia, the same place in their battle. Or maybe it was because of the kindness they had bestowed. Whatever it was, it was making Andromeda miss them more and more. Especially Optimus.
She told herself she was stupid. How many times in three days did she dream-cycle him telling her how beautiful she was? Or how special? How many? Countless. And when he had, she had chickened out and ran away. Optimus must've been so confused and hurt by her he couldn't process straight. Curse her stupid past! Andromeda feared she had ruined her only chance of love.
Andromeda called herself a fool. She loved Optimus. Everything about him. His smile, his optics, his personality. The mech possessed such a sweet aura that she couldn't get over. He was strong, sensitive and wise. Optimus was everything she had ever pictured a mech worth being. And she'd had him in her arms and ran away. She was a fool. No, worse than that. She was a royal fool.
She passed the time waiting for the man and tractor by couning how many times she had been wrong. Most of them was when she was still young, when she thought she had the world under her thumb. How many stupid choices she'd made in Council meetings, how many suitors she had turned down. How many times she had counted the stars in wait for her prince to sweep her off her servos.
Finally, the rumbling off the tractor ahead made her look up. Her systems alerted her to incoming friendlies. Andromeda's holoform stood and climbed the ditch, planting her booted feet on the shoulder of the main road. The Chevy stopped next to her.
"We're here," the man smiled. "Jerry'll get you out in no time."
She gave him a single nod. "I'm relieved. I thought I would have to walk back to town. How far is it?" She probably hadn't gone too far out of Diego Garcia, considering she could hardly drive through her tears. The man rubbed his chin and thought a moment.
"Well, Diego Garcia is that way about fifteen miles," he shrugged.
Her eyes widened. "Really? I didn't think I had come that far,"
"Yea, well," he shrugged. "Many don't." he turned to the tractor and walked over to help Jerry latch the chain to the back of the tractor. He walked down the ditch and attached it to her brush-guard.
"Be careful," she cautioned. "That's a very sensitive are...expensive guard. Please, be careful."
The man nodded. "Sure thing," Once it was ready for pulling, Jerry climbed back onto the tractor and gently accelerated it. The man went to the right side and began pushing. Andromeda and the boy, Alex, helped.
After twenty minutes of trying to free the Hummer, it budged. Andromeda internally tried to help without being noticed. She was able to distribute her weight lightly enough to rock back onto all four tires. The chain in front of her went slack, and her holoform stepped inside.
She tried to start herself. She sputtered and groaned, engine whining. Finally she started, but her 'Check Engine' light popped on, and alarms went soaring through her processor. Alerts and warnings flashed before her optics. Andromeda read most of them.
ALTERNATION DAMAGE, 75% SEEK ASSISTANCE
DEFENSIVE ARMOR IN NEED OF REPAIR
NANNITE REPAIR SYSTEM INITIATED
"Try driving out," the man shouted. "Give 'er some gas!"
Andromeda did. She approached the ditch and climbed the ledge with ease. Her body groaned and her shoulders ached with a dull, throbbing pain. Her shocks felt tired. Andromeda was in need of one of Phoenix's tune-ups. But she wasn't going back.
"Yikes," Jerry chuckled. "Looks like you need some fixin'," he looked to his brother. "You think Pop could figure this out?"
He nodded. "Probly. Where you headed?" he asked her.
Andromeda lied. "Uh...that way, for awhile. I'm not quite sure."
He laughed. "Oh, then that's it! You follow us back to my place," he jerked his thumb behind him. "My wife'll get you cleaned up and we can take a look at your car and send you on your way. Sound good?"
"You are most kind..." she didn't remember him giving her a name. He caught on.
"Clark," he nodded. "My brother Jerry, My son Alex."
She nodded. "My name is Andie," she said quickly.
"Well, Andie, that's a nice SUV you got there. We'll try and fix 'er up right as rain. We'll go slow until we get to the farm."
She nodded.
The tractor, the Chevy, and the Hummer lumbered slowly down the road, farther and farther away from base.
Optimus Prime
INCOMING TRANSMISSION-PHOENIX
::What is it, Phoenix?:: Optimus
Ping. ::Just got word from Ratchet:: Phoenix ::The human Secretary of Defense has suggested a celebration for our men,:: Phoenix ::They have requested our presence in holoform::
Optimus sighed to himself.
Ping. ::They are waiting for your reply:: Phoenix
He wasn't ready for this. How could he be with a lost femme and stressed processor? Optimus was not in the mood for a celebration; whatever kind. ::Tell them we accept,:: Optimus ::When is this?::
Ping. ::Wednesday evening:: Phoenix
'Three days to find her,' He sighed again. ::All right:: Optimus
Ping. ::You still haven't found her yet, have you?:: Phoenix
::Not a trace,:: Optimus ::But I am not giving up. She can't be far:: Optimus
Ping. ::She loves you, you know. She's just too hurt to tell you:: Phoenix
::I'm not phazed:: Optimus
Ping. ::I'm glad. I couldn't of chosen a better suitor for her myself.:: Phoenix
This made him smile. Maybe there was some hope.
But now, he had a femme to find.
Before Wednesday.
The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
~Psalm 28:7