Imperfection

Disclaimer: A sequel I had planned for Imperfect. A day late and a dollar short, but you know. LOL. Many other ideas came out of nowhere, so I had them to deal with. Anyway, this is an AU story that focuses around RoTF. Read and review.

"Traveling through the world produces a marvelous clarity in the judgment of men. We are all of us confined and enclosed within ourselves, and see no farther than the end of our nose. This great world is a mirror where we must see ourselves in order to know ourselves. There are so many different tempers, so many different points of view, judgments, opinions, laws and customs to teach us to judge wisely on our own, and to teach our judgment to recognize its imperfection and natural weakness."

-Michel de Montaigne

"It is extreme evil to depart from the company of the living before you die."

-Seneca

By: VampireQueenAkasha

"Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?"

-Megatron, RoTF

Truth

A sixteen year old Terra sat at a debriefing with her brothers, listening to Doctor Michaels' list of missions that they were to be assigned to. A few of them were taking notes and Terra was eagerly pondering what she would be doing for the first time.

"Now then, come forward and you will receive your target information," Doctor Michaels told them.

"I was excited; this was my first mission, my first chance to prove my worth to my superiors. In my youth, that meant a lot to me. It was before that I had any awareness of the true motives behind my makers and their actions."

Terra was crouched beneath tall grass, observing the village and its inhabitants.

"With Jimmy Carter giving the USSR trouble, Americans and Russians were not on friendly terms with one another as you probably know," Terra continued, "My target was a man named Lazar Pavlov. My orders were to take his life by whatever means necessary, but to make it appear as an accident. He was dealing in black market trades and supposedly had connections with the statesmen. Somehow he was being paid by the businesses of the small town to keep them safe. Or so I was told. Bottom line, they felt he was a threat. If there were to be any witnesses, I had to do away with them in the same fashion. They had to 'disappear'."

Terra was dressed in a coat brandishing the colors and marks of the Soviet Union. To many who noticed her, she appeared to be a soldier for their country. A young one, but that was to be expected these days.

Terra's goggles observed each and every person around her, seeking out the man she was supposed to kill.

"He was to arrive at the village to deal in weapons, but never arrived at his target location. I reported back to my superiors of the situation and they informed me that I was to remain until the target had been neutralized. So I had spent the evening in a hotel. That was when it had happened. I met a young girl, my age. Her name was Yana."

Terra purchased a drink at the bar and stepped outside, only to meet up with a smiling, cheerful girl wearing a thick fur coat and hat.

"Zdravstvuĭte. Vy smotrite poteryali, chuzhoĭ (Hello. You look lost, stranger)!" the girl greeted.

Terra cleared her throat with a small laugh. "YA novichok v etoĭ derevne. YA rodom iz Samary (I'm new to this village. I'm originally from Samara)."

Yana frowned and then smiled and gestured to her own neck. "Gektometr Ponimayu. Vash aktsentnemnogo ... zaputany (Hm. I see. Your accent is a bit...muddled)."

Terra was concerned that this girl would pick her out and her mission would be compromised, but instead, Yana laughed gently and shook her head. "Ne volnuĭtes. YA nekrysa. Chto by vy ni zdes yest svoĭ sobstvennyĭ biznes (Don't worry. I'm not a rat. Whatever you're here for is your own business)."

Terra smiled with relief and gave the girl a slight bow. "Spasibo (Thank you)."

"Kak tebya zovut (What's your name)?" Yana asked.

Terra remembered the false identity papers she had to use should she be required to display them to anyone. "Anastasia Kulik."

"Menya zovut Yana (My name's Yana)."

Terra smiled. "Priyatno s vami poznakomit'sya (It's a pleasure to meet you)."

"Ty vyglyadish' kak chelovek, kotoromu nechego delat' (You look like someone with nothing to do)," Yana said, smiling, "Khoteli by vy priekhat' v magazine moego ottsa (Would you like to come to my father's shop)?"

Terra tilted her head. "Chto on prodaet (What does he sell)?"

"Muzykal'nye shkatulki (Music boxes)," Yana answered.

Terra smiled faintly. "YA lyublyu muzyku (I like music)," she said.

Terra followed the girl with interest at heart, wondering if maybe this was the man who she had been sent to find. It would have been a pity if she was forced to end the life of this girl as well, but that was her mission and she would carry it out.

As they trudged through the evening snow, Terra looked up at three men standing together beside a bar, talking excitedly. As they passed the men, one of them expressed interest in Yana and whistled loudly for her to hear. Yana pretended to ignore them and just smiled up at Terra.

"Staraĭtes' ignorirovat' eti muzhchiny (Try to ignore those men)," she told her, "Oni vsegda zdes' (They are always here)."

"Suka (Bitch)!" one of the men sneered as they stepped into the music shop.

An aged man was standing behind a counter, surrounded by music boxes of every shape, size and color. He looked up at the sight of Yana enter and sighed impatiently. His hands were covered in bits of grease and oil and he was holding a pair of tweezers.

"Ty opozdal (You're late)!" he snapped.

"Izvinite papa (Sorry papa)," Yana said, wincing, "YA dolzhen vymyt', i ya budu vniz (I have to wash up and I'll be down)."

Yana disappeared through a door at the left and Terra studied the man before giving him a bow. "Dobryĭ vecher (Good evening)."

The man smiled sourly and returned his gaze to the music box in his hands. "Kak tebya zovut (What's your name)?" he asked.

"Anastasia Kulik," Terra answered.

The man chuckled softly and looked up at Terra from the tops of his eyes. There was no menace there, but instead, amusement. "I kak dolgo tebya zovut Anastasiya Kulik (And how long is your name Anastasia Kulik)?"

Terra smiled back, though she seemed concerned by the man's ability to point out the lie that she had made. "Vy umny (You are smart)."

The man nodded his head. "YA rabotal navoennoĭ sebya. YA znayu,ubiĭtsa , kogda ya vizhu odin (I worked for the military myself. I know an assassin when I see one)." He turned to reach for a set of springs inside of a box. "Pozvol'te mne ugadat' , pervoĭ missii (Let me guess; first mission)?"

"Slishkom khorosho dlya prostogo dogadyvat'sya (Too good for a simple guess)," Terra said, advancing slowly, "Kto vy (Who are you)?"

He held up two hands with a small smile on his face. "Rasslab'tes'. YA vam ne vrag. Menya zovut Pavel. YA rabotayuspetsialistom informatsiyu s obyeikh storon (Relax. I am not your enemy. My name is Pavel. I work as an information specialist on both sides)."

"But I should have understood better," Terra continued, looking at Ironhide. She had remoded her goggles by now. "I felt myself getting too involved in these people. They knew nothing of why I was there and who I was. All they knew was that I had a mission to complete."

Ironhide had been listening intently. "So what happened?"

Terra sighed and looked away. "I was appreciated by Yana as a friend would," she continued, "I was baffled by the way that humans treated one another here in this family. For my life, I was bred to kill and never learn of them. Only kill. But with this...friend, I felt myself feeling...joy."

Yana smiled and offered Terra a music box. Terra looked surprised. "Chto eto (What is this)?" Terra asked her.

Yana chuckled. "Da, glupo. Nadpis' glasit: "mili peshkom s drugom tol'ko sto shagov " (Yes, silly. The inscription reads, "A mile walk with a friend has only one hundred steps")." she explained, "Moĭ otets sdelal eto za vas (My father made it for you)."

Terra looked astounded. "Pochemu (Why)?"

"Vy pokhozhi na cheloveka, kotoryĭ mog by ispol'zovat'drug (You look like someone who could use a friend)." Yana said, with a small smile.

Terra's brow knotted and she studied the object for a long time. Her features seemed to be one of intense struggle before scowling. "YA ne mogu prinyat' takoĭ podarok (I cannot accept such a gift)," she said, quietly.

"Pochemu by i net (Why not)?" Yana asked.

"Potomu chto vasha dobrota menya smushchaet (Because your kindness confuses me)," Terra argued, frustration in her voice.

Yana looked confused now by her distant behavior. "V samom dele (Really)?" she questioned. Then, she chuckled and shook her head knowingly. "Vy ne mogli by vstretil mnogo khoroshikh lyudyeĭ togda (You couldn't have met many nice people then)."

Terra looked surprised by the response before she managed a small, sad smile. "Net, ya etogo ne sdelali (No, I haven't)."

"It changed then. I was foolish and did not see the inevitable. Lazar Pavlov arrived at the village while I was by the stream with Yana. He was arriving to receive his payments and Pavel was a bit short. Lazar gunned him down. Yana and I rushed to save him, but it didn't matter. Yana saw what they had done to her father and that drove her insane. I moved to take the gunmen out, which proved to be simple, but it didn't matter. Yana had been shot."

Terra cradled Yana's bloodied body close, attempting to stop the blood flow. "Yana! Yana! Posmotri na menya! Pomoshch' pridet (Yana! Yana! Look at me! Help will come)!"

Yana's wide, delirious eyes focused on the world around her. "YA...ya ne vizhu. Eto tak temno ... (I...I can't see. It's so dark)..." she gasped.

"If I had not been foolish... If I had not let myself succumb to such weak emotion, Yana would have lived that day..."

Terra carried Yana's body through the snow-driven field toward the military helicopter. The presence of the bleeding Russian girl did nothing to stir an emotional response from the soldiers watching, but Terra's stricken features certainly surprised them.

"Save her!" Terra shrieked at them, "She's dying! You must save her!"

Number Six was watching coldly through his empty mask. "Is it done?" he asked.

"It's done. But save her now!" Terra begged.

Doctor Michaels moved to Terra's side and gestured for a medical team to move quickly. He looked up at Terra and spoke with little to no sympathy. He was obviously not thrilled with Terra's response or her lack of completing the task assigned to her.

"I'll save this girl, but you won't be so lucky," he snapped, "This was supposed to be a simple mission and you screwed it up!"

Terra snarled at him. "The girl is dying and you're so worried about a dead man?" she spat.

"We'll discuss this later..." Doctor Michaels hissed, with venom in his voice.

Terra closed her eyes with a sigh to steady her breath. "I should not have been surprised what happened next..."

Terra was sitting in her room, goggles removed. She sat in the corner in the shadows, her head hanging. Doctor Michaels stepped up to the glass and sighed.

"Number Seven, that girl is dead," he said, quietly, "I did everything in my power to save her. I'm sorry."

He waited for a reaction, but received none and turned to go. Clearly he wasn't as sorry as he claimed to be. Then, Terra's voice filled the air. It was soft, cold and enough to chill his blood and straighten the hairs on his head.

"Do you have a family, sir?" she whispered, barely audible.

Doctor Michaels looked back at her. "Both my wife and child are dead, I'm afraid," he said, calmly; he was used to this type of talk from her by now, but something about it was different this time, "It's not good to dwell on it."

Terra peered up at him from her bangs. Her violet eyes seemed to shine in the dark. "I won't kill you, doctor," she whispered, her voice empty of emotion and yet broken, "One day, I'll have you experience the same thing that I did. I will destroy and erase everything that you have ever known or loved. I will have you forever known the meaning of pain and more. That is a promise, doctor Michaels. Believe me when I say that."

"It was fleeting, but it was a friendship that I had lost. I failed Yana and her father. I should have been more attentive to my mission, but I was not. I then decided to devote only my life to my mission and nothing else. I would never again fall prey to emotions."

"And that is why you go out of your way to protect Sam, isn't it..."

It wasn't a question so much as it was an affirmation. Terra didn't respond to that.

Terra sat in the gym, listening to the cold voices of the two scientists. She knew what doctor Michaels was doing; he wanted her to feel nothing and hold no connection to the human world. That was fine with her.

"Come on, Number Seven, show us what you're made of!" one of the men sneered.

"Nah, she can't do anything!" the other hissed, "She doesn't laugh. She doesn't cry. She's just creepy as hell!"

"I knew then that I could never be accepted by humans," Terra continued.

Terra sighed and closed her eyes. She glared ahead as a nurse took her blood. "Everyone in this place is unhappy..." she said, coldly, "Since they're unhappy. They're probably looking for someone worse off than they are."

Ironhide held Terra in his arms and brushed a finger beneath her chin. "Terra..."

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Terra shifted at the words before she smiled sadly up at him. "Don't lie to me."

Ironhide looked stunned. "You don't believe me?"

"I don't think you believe yourself."

"What do you mean?"

Terra sighed and gave him a knowing look. "I believe that you THINK you may love me," she told him, "But in reality, you may feel a mere connection with me for other reasons that go beyond your own thought process. You subconsciously connect to me because I am different from other human beings and have a precise frequency that pleases your own. Had I been a simple, common human like Mikaela, would you have felt the same?"

Ironhide wavered slightly; it looked so unusual on him. Finally, he sighed and shut his optics, clearly hurt.

"Do not misunderstand, Ironhide," Terra argued, gently, "I care for you, truly I do. But in a world like this, a relationship with me would never be possible. I am human and you are Cybertronian. It would be folly on your part."

Ironhide scowled at her. "I can handle myself, Terra," he snapped, "I don't care what they think! Why would you push me away after all that has happened?"

"Stop assuming!" Terra spat. Her anger cooled and she closed her eyes before looking at him gently now, her eyes filled with pain. "Because my heart could not bear another loss. I almost lost Sam and Mikaela. If I lost you..."

Ironhide immediately calmed and brought her close in his arms. "Terra, I'm going nowhere." he said, smiling. He pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm here to stay."

Terra actually smiled now.

"Want to go topside and watch the stars?" Ironhide asked her. "I hear they are quite bright tonight."

She laughed a little. "A star shines due to thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in its core releasing energy that traverses the star's interior and then radiates into outer space," she told him, "Also characteristics of a star are determined by its evolutionary history, including diameter, rotation, movement and temperature. A plot of the temperature of many stars against their luminosities, known as a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (H–R diagram), allows the age and evolutionary state of a star to be determined and-"

Ironhide smiled and pressed a finger to her lips. "A simple 'yes' would have sufficed." he teased.

The two later stepped up to the surface to observe the night sky. It was clear and filled with millions of stars. Terra smiled as she observed them.

"One can truly appreciate the beauty of the stars," she said, "They shine brightest in the dark sky."

"Indeed," Ironhide told her.

They were silent for a long time.

"Terra?" Ironhide finally said.

"Yes?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Terra smiled slightly. "That makes me happy, Ironhide."

"And I do love you."

Terra was quiet, unable to answer for a moment. When she did, she sounded uncertain. "Truthfully, Ironhide; I would not know how to express such a feeling."

Ironhide grinned broadly. "Then maybe it's time I showed you?"

Terra's eyes widened slightly. Then, she lowered her head, clearly uncomfortable, but more because she had no experience in the area of expressing love. "I don't know how to tell you this, Ironhide, but I've never..."

"Then let me show you."

The concept of nervousness was foreign to Terra as she didn't often experience it, but now, her eyes reflected nothing but the emotion as she followed him back below the deck.