Searching an entire galaxy had taken its time.
She had spent years upon years trying to find any trace of the Autobots, all the while she had kept updated on the situation on Cybertron, which, she hated to admit, hadn't changed much in the years she had been absent.
She was rescanning the area where the Autobots had disappeared when a small bleep echoed through the room.
Maria, who had been calculating probable routes, threw herself over to the monitor and double checked the signal.
"The Ark!" She screamed, jumping up and down with glee. She tore herself out of her amusement and punched in the coordinates.
Of course, there was a high probability that the Autobots had ceased to function, but even if the Autobots were all offlined, she would still know.
And knowledge was her ultimate satisfaction.
her tour around the galaxies had been satisfactory. she had never really had a dull moment once she got to examine a planet closer.
She was readying the entry through Earth's atmosphere when the ship suddenly started shaking. Maria checked the levels and tried getting the ship positioned for a smooth entry, but the alarm sounded when she tried. the warning flashing across the screen.
Energon levels low. Shutdown immediate!
Maria cursed.
"No! Not now! We're almost there!"
She compiled a distress signal and sent it, hoping someone would get the signal. Decepticon or Autobot... it didn't really matter.
"Alert! Alert! Distress Signal received!"
Bumblebee hurried over to Teletraan-1 and punched in a few commands.
"Where is the signal coming from?"
A series of numbers ran over the screen.
"Signal transmission is coming from a vessel entering Earth's atmosphere."
Optimus Prime looked at the screen.
"Teletraan, can you tell us how many passengers there are in the vessel?"
Teletraan was silent for a moment.
"One life form... Cybertronian."
Bumblebee turned around and looked at Optimus Prime.
"Shall we intercept the vessel?"
Optimus pressed a few buttons on Teletraan, and looked back up at the monitor.
"Can you calculate the approximate landing site?"
"The vessel is going crash in the North Pacific Ocean. Would you like the exact Coordinates?"
"Yes, thank you."
Optimus turned around and looked at the surrounding Autobots.
"Jazz, Seaspray. I'm going to need your help."
Spike Witwicky, who had been standing next to Jazz, spoke.
"Optimus, can I come too?"
Optimus looked at their young human ally.
"Sure. Autobots, transform and roll out!"
******
Maria pulled the steering shaft back in a futile attempt to regain control of the aircraft.
The vessel had run out of energy on the way through the atmosphere. The last battery power had been used to send out the distress signal. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell if anyone had heard it.
The water below her came closer at an alarming speed.
"Come on, come on!" She yelled, still pulling the steering as hard as she could.
She knew that the impact could, in a worst case scenario, completely demolish the ship.
Maria could feel the steering shaft slipping through her fingers. She tried her best to hold on to it.
She was too close. She'd gotten the signal, she was on her way. She wanted to find her dad and her friends. It was not supposed to end like this. She did not want to die on this planet.
She covered her optics when the nose of the vessel finally made contact with the ocean and she was thrown forward into the controls. Every piece of metal in the ship screamed under the sudden stress, while water poured in through every crack in the ship.
The ship turned and rose to the surface, bopping up and down a few times before it started to sink into the murky water again.
******
"Did you see that, Optimus?" Seaspray yelled.
"Yes, It's only a few more miles to the crash site! We need to hurry before the ship sinks!"
Spike grinned, padding Jazz' dashboard.
"That was quite a landing, eh? The splash must have been at least 150 feet!"
"You're right, Spike! The ship must have taken quite a beating. let's hope the passenger is alright!"
Seaspray stopped and turned to look at Optimus.
"This is the crash site! The ship is about 300 feet down, should I pull it out of the water?"
"No, get down there and save the passenger! We can leave the ship for now."
Seaspray dove into the water, enjoying the chance to show off his aquarian skills.
Jazz stopped next to Optimus, allowing Spike a view of the crash site.
"Wow, are those parts of the ship?"
Optimus surveyed the wreckage.
"Yes. It looks like the wings were torn off..."
Seaspray called over the comm.
"I've found the ship's passenger. She's unconscious!"
Optimus looked at Spike and Jazz.
"Bring her up, Seaspray!"
"Did he say 'She'?" Jazz and Spike both asked.
"Yes... He did."
Spike leaned out the window.
"But I thought you said all the female Autobots wanted to stay on Cybertron?"
Optimus didn't look at Spike.
"Yes... But there were more femmes than..." Optimus fell silent.
"Than what, Optimus?" Spike asked. Optimus didn't answer.
Optimus tried to calm himself. Maria had disappeared so many years ago. The was no chance it was her. None at all.
Seaspray resurfaced, pulling the damaged femme up to the surface with him.
Optimus transformed, using the trailer as a raft. He gently pulled the femme up on the raft and knelt next to her, removing stray seaweed from her frame.
Optimus couldn't believe it. The small black and white femme was really her. For a moment, he wondered if he was offline, recharging... Maybe it was all a dream.
He checked her vital signs, relieved to find that she was still alive.
Jazz let Spike out and onto the raft. The boy moved closer to the female. She was differently built. Less bulky than the other femmes he had seen. Optimus hadn't spoken a word.
"Optimus... do you know her?"
"Yes... Spike. I know her."
"Maria..."
"Yes, Jazz."
Spike looked at Jazz.
"Maria? Isn't that a human name?"
"They're very similar. But in our old language, Maria means fragile." Jazz put his hand behind his head, looking down at Spike.
Spike looked back at Optimus, who had finished removing the seaweed from the femme.
"Who is she?"
"She is my daughter, Spike."
"What?"
Jazz transformed and climbed up on the raft, securing a chain to the trailer and tossed it to Seaspray.
"How can you have a daughter? I didn't know you... well... reproduced." Spike mumbled the last part.
"We do not reproduce in the same manner as humans. There are several ways to build new cybertronians. You have seen us build the Dinobots, they are tough and have personality. But they're not perfect. The Arialbots were built on earth, but their personality came from Vector Sigma. That is how you create adult soldiers with intelligence and personality. But Sparklings..."
Optimus sighed, taking his daughter's hand.
"Sparklings are built by one or two parental units. They are then infused with a little bit of their spark to give them life. Sparklings are made with love. I found Maria in a war-torn city. She was almost dead, and her parent was destroyed."
"But.. She is your daughter?"
Optimus looked at Spike.
"A sparkling can be created with just one parental spark. But a second spark will complete it. She was a half-spark when I found her. I adopted her by completing the process, giving her a part of my spark."
Spike looked down at the femme.
"Is she going to live?"
Optimus smiled behind the mask.
"Yes. her processes are rebooting. It may take a while before she starts up, but Ratchet will check her when we get back to base to make sure she doesn't have any internal damage."
*******
Maria's systems booted up and her optics focused on the ceiling above her.
"Ah, you're finally awake."
Maria recognized that voice. She turned her head and looked at the white medic standing next to her.
"Ratchet?" She grinned.
"None other! Just relax, I'll go get your father!"
Ratchet left the room and Maria sat up slowly, allowing her equilibrium sensors to recalibrate.
"Maria..." She turned her head and looked at her father. Behind him, a small pale creature followed. Optimus stood in front of her and offered her his hands. She gladly took them, allowing her father to help her down from the table.
"I can't believe you're here... Elita told me you vanished. I feared the worst."
It took a few moments for her to understand the language he was using. Her optics flashed as her system updated with the clumsy human language. Her translation processors recognized the language and readied her system for translation.
Maria wanted to say something. She had so much to tell, but didn't know where to start.
"I missed you..." She started, her optics falling down to the organic creature. She leaned over, staring at him.
"What... is that?"
Optimus laughed.
"I'm sorry. Maria, this is Spike. He's one of our human allies."
"You keep pets?" She looked up at Optimus.
Spike looked offended.
"We're not pets! We're helping the Autobots against the Decepticons."
Maria looked back at the flesh creature.
"Helping? With what? Your carbon based forms are hardly a match against any sort of weapon!"
"Maria! What kind of first impression is that?" Optimus laughed.
Spike rolled his eyes, mumbling.
"A bad one."
Maria didn't take her optics off the squishy one.
"No offense, but would you mind terribly if I had a moment alone with my father?"
Spike rolled his eyes again and left the room, unhappy with being exiled from the conversation.
Optimus sighed, looking at his daughter as she watched the human leaving the room.
"Maria... The people of this planet are our friends."
She finally looked up at him again.
"I'm sorry. I am not much for squishy creatures."
Optimus laughed.
"Elita told me you left Cybertron." He said, changing the subject.
"I did. Not entirely the way I imagined I would, but I managed to get away."
Optimus led his daughter out to the others.
"Tell me all about it!"