Have I told you guys how much I love you all? I have? Well, it won't kill you all to hear it again ;P
Thank you SO SO SO SO much for the reviews guys; they're keeping me writing and keeping the updates going fast. Now this chapter was actually pretty fun to write; because there's a little bit of saucy humour in it.
Let's just put it this way…
We all know which part of a male's anatomy a Gear Stick resembles right? ;D
Hope you guys all enjoy, keep up the amazing reviews guys; because it just makes my heart swell to know you guys are reading!
(As always; I am half asleep while writing this, so forgive the grammatical errors: I haven't proof read this yet.)
Wow…she thought slowly, these guys really have been to Hell and back...
Tessa sat motionless on the hand of Optimus; he had just told her everything about the war that took place in Mission city. She had been told about Sam Witwicky and his part in the battle, about their soldier Bumblebee who even now remained the boy's guardian. He'd told her about the loss of their saboteur, Jazz; and about how even in death he had gone down fighting. She now knew about the AllSpark's significance.
…And the destruction of Cybertron…
She looked up to the mighty leader only to see that his eyes were not trained on her; but looking into the distance. Her heart went out to him, but she couldn't stand to see anymore sadness; losing a squad of men was enough for one day.
"Chief," she called up to him, hoping to break him from the revere, "hold up your thumb on this hand."
She patted the hand that she was sitting on, his fingers flat and outstretched. He gave her a confused look, but did as she asked without a word. To his surprise she shuffled to her feet and stepped cautiously over the uneven surface before reaching the appendage. She looked up at him with a serious expression before placing a hand on his thumb. She ran her fingers gently over the metal and gave a sigh.
"I'm so sorry for the things you've all lost, I want you to know that…" then she overstretched her arms and hugged his thumb; glad that she had at least some way to comfort him, "…but I think you should focus the future instead. Don't…forget that we're here for you, all of you…I'm here."
Optimus looked down at her with an incomprehensible expression. She couldn't see him, because her face was pressed against the metal of his thumb, and her eyes shut tight as she spoke to him. He felt a smile creep into the metal plates that made up his face, and he sighed endearingly. "You are wise beyond your years."
She snorted and looked up as him with a smile, "Nah. I'm just better with machines than I am with people. Technology makes more sense than humans." She laughed wholeheartedly, hoping to lighten the situation; looking to the things in their lives that were good and whole. She looked over at the setting sun, its rays casting a vibrant, wicked orange glow over the N.E.S.T base. "I think…Optimus; let's go for a drive."
She looked up at him with a stern look, her amber eyes bearing an almost copper luminescence in the sun. The Autobot looked down at her with a confused expression at first; surprised by her sudden statement. It was, however, quickly replaced with a look of understanding. Noticing that she was still holding his thumb, he decided to tease her a little.
"Well…we could…but you have to let go of my hand." He smirked.
Tess flushed scarlet and vaulted away from his finger like it had just bitten her. "Sorry! I-I forgot that it was your-I mean I didn't-I…Sorry!" she stuttered and stumbled, making the giant robot laugh deeply; feeling a little guilty that his amusement was at her expense.
"I didn't have any problem with it." Optimus chuckled, placing her gently on the ground before him so that he could transform. Once he was in the form of his Peterbilt, the door swung open for her to climb up the side steps into the driver's seat; and the seatbelt snapped over her chest with a click. "Safety first." He teased.
This made Tessa snort in response. "Yeah, like you'd get in a car accident." She scoffed, poking the leather of the seat with a grin.
Optimus chuckled over the radio before starting the engine and making a turn towards the exit of the base.
It was a few minutes before they were on the open desert roads, with just miles and miles of red in every direction and pavement beneath the truck's wheels. Tess couldn't help but be mesmerised by the way the sun slipped beneath the horizon; leaving the sky a dusky pink as stars began to appear like faded, twinkling fireflies. She felt the road rumbling beneath her, and the roar of the truck's powerful engine rang through her ears. Her heart raced at the sheer freedom she was feeling, and neither she nor Optimus had said a word. She leaned over the steering wheel and sighed contentedly; feeling the stress of the day just melting away. But she wanted more than contentment, she wanted freedom; she wanted a rush.
"Hey Optimus…" she murmured gently against the steering wheel.
"Mm?" the baritone sent a chill up her spine at the tone he used; he sounded as content as she did.
"Drive faster."
He didn't reply to the request, but to her delight the stick shift changed gears and the engine roared as it exercised its raw power. She watched the speedometer's needle slowly climb on the dashboard, her heart racing at the change in pace. She watched the darkening road fly past her, and noticed that Optimus had turned on the headlights; illuminating the rapidly approaching stretch of road. "Yeah!" she whooped, hitting the steering wheel playfully with her hands, revelling in the rush as her body panicked and pumped adrenaline into her blood. "Chief! Crank some music! Something loud!"
Optimus wound down the windows of the cabin and the wind whipped her hair around her face; strands of it coming loose from the messy pile on her head. She cheered happily, the rush burning on her bones as the Autobot turned on the radio and "Animals" by Nickelback roared deafeningly out of the speakers. Fuck yes! She thought happily. Raising her voice, she sang along to the words; happily knowing that nobody would be able to hear her over the lyrics.
No, we're never gonna quit
Ain't nothing wrong with it
Just acting like we're animals
No, no matter where we go
'Cause everybody knows
We're just a couple of animals
She laughed as Optimus revved forward, picking up even more speed. They were totally breaking all legal speed limits right now, but Tessa hardly cared. Driving at this speed in the finest piece of machinery she'd ever worked on was what mechanics like her lived for! She felt her fingers tingle with a familiar itch; God it had been so long since she'd actually driven a car. An idea crossed her mind as the truck rounded a bend and gave a clear view of the almost endless stretch of straight road in front of them that stretched into the now black abyss.
"Optimus!" she yelled over the radio, "I'm begging you to let me drive!"
She placed her hands firmly on the wheel, and felt the truck deign control over to her. She gave an excited yell as she steadied the wheel, and listened to the sound of Chad Kroeger's voice as the words to the song filled the air.
You're beside me on the seat
Got your hand between my knees
And you control how fast we go by just how hard you wanna squeeze
It's hard to steer when you're breathing in my ear
But I got both hands on the wheel while you got both hands on my gears
By now, no doubt that we were heading south
I guess nobody ever taught her not to speak with a full mouth
'Cause this was it, like flicking on a switch
It felt so good I almost drove into the ditch
As the sheer exhilaration of speed pulsed through her, she reached a hand down to the console on her right. Her fingers twined expertly around the gearstick and she went to change gears; but she was startled as the song on the speakers suddenly skipped rapidly.
"It's hard to steer when you're breathing in my ear
But I got both hands on the wheel while you got both hands on my gears"
Confused, she tried to ignore it and instead gently ran her fingers to the top of the stick shift so that she could switch gears to make the truck go faster, but no sooner than her fingers grazed the indented numbers on the shift; the truck jolted and swerved violently. Tessa screamed in shock as the speeding truck slammed on the brakes and spun an almost complete 360. As they squealed to a stop, the radio cut off sharply and the only thing that could be heard was her gasping for breath, her heart hammering at what could have been a near accident.
"Tessa!" he barked anxiously from his speakers, his tone one of distressed concern, "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine. Are…you okay, Chief?" she asked worriedly, checking to see that everything on her body was still attached and functioning. Her voice was a little higher than normal due to her brief moment of fear.
To her surprise, the sound of Optimus' voice could be heard over the speakers but it sounded like hitched breathing; like he was…trying to catch his breath.
"Chief?" she asked again, more concerned this time.
"I'm sorry." He stated quickly, sounding as though he was trying to compose himself. His tone was almost…flustered. "That was incredibly dangerous and I apologise; but I…wasn't expecting that."
She paused with a confused expression. "…Expecting what?" a worried expression crossing her features as she shuffled forward in her seat, placing a hand concernedly on the dashboard. To her surprise he made a sound that was something akin to a cough.
"It doesn't matter, it was just-" he cut himself off, and Tess realized that he was listening to someone speaking on his Com-Link.
The Com-Link was something she had learned about the Autobots that had fascinated her; it was a communication network accessible only to them. Even being in the cabin of their vehicle forms while they used it wouldn't allow someone to hear it. Not to mention that Tess suspected they probably spoke in Cybertronian over the link, therefore even if someone did hear them using it; they would probably have been entirely unable to understand a single word.
After a few moments, Optimus crackled the stereo to life; his voice coming from the speakers. "We need to get back to N.E.S.T… Something has happened."
Her eyes widened in horror, "What? What happened; is anyone hurt?" she exclaimed, her hands clenching at the seating stressfully. However Optimus couldn't tell her because Ratchet, who had been the one to communicate to him over the Com-Link, hadn't given him specifics; he'd just informed Prime that they needed to return to base as soon as they could for a matter of great urgency. "Well, we'd better get going then. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine now. Just…let me drive the way back, agreed?"
Tessa sighed and leaned back in the driver's seat. "Sure, Optimus; if that's what you want."
She had to admit that she felt a little ripped off. It had been so long since she'd been in control of a car; what with N.E.S.T carpooling her to and from the base (when she didn't stay overnights from working late), or the Autobots being the ones to take her somewhere. She just hoped that this hadn't made Optimus think she was a bad drive, because she wasn't! When it came to cars, her pride was her downfall because she hated to be outdone by others who thought that they knew better. In a way she supposed it was a flaw, but she didn't see any harm in being proud of the things she was good at.
After all, in this Autobot/Decepticon war; her ability to fix things was all she had to offer them.
As the two drove back along the stretches of road towards Diego Garcia, she noticed that Optimus had chosen to have the radio on instead of conversing. Soft music played through the cabin; and in a way it made Tessa concern.
"Optimus…are you mad at me?"
The radio clicked off and he responded to her, sounding confused. "Mad at you…? Why in the name of Cybertron would I be angry with you?"
"I dunno, I…must have done something to make us almost crash. I'm usually…a really good driver…"
To her surprise, the radio uttered a chuckled before a cheeky tone came through the speakers; a smirk detectable in the voice. "I can assure you, Tessa; I have no doubts about your ability to…handle a vehicle."
The tone inflected in his voice confused her, if not made her a little curious; but she didn't comment. She decided to just sit back in the seat and try to give her muscles a chance to relax. They drove in silence for the rest of the way, but as they pulled up into the base and Tess went to remove her seatbelt; she felt it jam to get her attention.
"Tessa…" the speakers murmured gently, "I want you to know; you have never, ever done anything to make me angry with you. Transparent honesty like yours is hard to find on your planet. Do not lose what makes you…you."
She gave a smile and ran a hand gently along the seat. "Thanks, Optimus. I'm glad…" With that she climbed down from the truck and onto the tarmac. No sooner than her feet touched the ground, Optimus transformed back into his robot form; looking almost regal in the moonlight that bathed the base. It didn't take long for them to reach the hangar where Lennox and his men had congregated; all of the Autobots were there too. Epps looked up and caught sight of them.
"Finally! We were waiting for you two!" he exclaimed, motioning for them to approach the others; he looked incredibly distressed.
"What…what's happened?"
The look on Lennox's face gave her cause to worry; he looked worried and wary. Almost like he was unsure of what they could do; whatever the news was it didn't look like it was going to be good. Finally he looked between Optimus and Tessa before speaking to everybody. "The Decepticons have stolen the last piece of The AllSpark…"
Oh shit…she thought, that is definitely not good…
