Exigence

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin.

Outside, standing on the mesa that housed their base. Breaking the rules, but Optimus Prime didn't care. He was thinking about Megatron, and how close he'd come to crossing a line he did not want to cross. But he had. How much blood was on his hands? He held them up, staring, then letting them fall to his sides. He knew he should be inside, with the others, but he felt he would be out of place with the revelry of their gathering. One of the human children, Miko, had started asking him questions when she saw him earlier, all the words coming out in a rush, but Ratchet had gently chastised her, telling her it could wait until later. The two boys were much more considerate, hanging back, leaving him alone. Ratchet's threat was the only reason he joined them. He was glad for the news of two sparklings and the addition of the other three Autobots, but his spark was heavy with a burden he did not want to accept.

He was beginning to think of himself as Optimus Prime. He answered to the name. Maybe it was out of habit, but he still didn't remember. Then there was they way they acted around him—all but a few looked at him with awe. Ironhide treated him with respect and familiarity, but he did take into account he did not remember him. Ratchet did the same. The green twin, Springer, stayed out of his way, while Hot Rod didn't push, gave him his space, and accepted him as he was. He hadn't seen much of the other mech in the past few days because he was either out on patrol, sitting with Kup, or spending time with Blurr. No doubt Hot Rod was probably enjoying himself with the speedster at that very moment.

"Something the matter?"

Optimus whipped around, surprised the other mech was able to sneak up on him.

"I see I haven't lost my touch, or you're just so deep in thought you didn't hear me coming," Hot Rod said. "You're missing an interesting party. Blaster is having the time of his life with all the new music the kids brought him, and he's playing tunes from home. . .well, I guess this is home now. It's good to hear though. Like at least a little part of Cybertron is still with us."

"I was lost in my thoughts," Optimus said. "I'm not in the mood for a gathering. What about you? I'm surprised you're not with Blurr or your brother."

Was that just a little tiny hint of jealousy, Hot Rod wondered. Interesting. But food for thought later. "I did spend a little time with them, but right now, Blurr, Bumblebee and Bluestreak are probably still in the middle of an argument about who is the fastest bot among them. Springer has gone off with Bluestreak, and things inside are starting to wind down," Hot Rod said. "And I figured maybe you could use the company."

He sat down on a rock beside Optimus.

"Who is the fastest among them?" Optimus asked.

"Blurr," Hot Rod said. It was the truth. "But I'm almost as fast. I won every race I entered on Velocitron, except for the one where I raced against Blurr."

"Do you miss racing?" Optimus asked.

"All the time," Hot Rod said. "It's not the center of my world anymore, but I do miss it. Too bad this world is just made for speed, but has imposed speed limits."

"You could speed when no one is around. At night," Optimus said.

Hot Rod gave him a sidelong glance. "I can't believe you just said that," he said. "So if I do speed and Ironhide or Ratchet find out, can I tell them you said it was OK?"

"I am their Prime," Optimus said.

"You starting to believe that yet?" Hot Rod said.

"Accepting the truth and believing it are two different things," Optimus said. "I know in my spark it's the truth, but accepting it. . .that is not so easy."

"I can't imagine what you're going through," Hot Rod said. "I know Ironhide and Ratchet are trying to give you time to adjust, but that isn't a luxury we have."

He rapped on Optimus' helm with his knuckles. "You're still our Prime. That hasn't changed," Hot Rod said. "You know how to lead. You just need to trust that."

"I'm glad someone has confidence in me," Optimus said.

"I do. So do the others. Springer, too. He's just an aft sometimes to get me riled," Hot Rod said. "I just wish Kup was awake already. I want to know why those three are here and not the Xantium and the rest of the crew."

Optimus was intrigued, too. Three days had passed since the crash and Ratchet was keeping the ancient mech in stasis. Ironhide had asked if it was for Kup's benefit or Ratchet's own. He'd answered first with a wrench to his mate's head, then explained Kup needed that time in stasis because it was allowing him to heal faster. Now all they could do was wait until Kup was ready to be brought out of stasis.

Then he noticed how Hot Rod's optics dimmed as he received a comm from someone, and grinned.

"C'mon. Ratch and Ironhide have turned in for the night. Blaster won't tell on us, and we're going to go race," Hot Rod said.

88888

Blurr smirked. Hot Rod couldn't wipe the grin off his face. Knock Out was smugly pleased with himself. So was Tracks. Bluestreak's expression was somewhere between mortified and happy. Only Bumblebee had the decency to look ashamed that he'd done something wrong. Optimus and Springer were with the little group, but they were off to the side, as they were only accessories to the previous' nights illicit activities. They were lined up at something less than attention in front of Ironhide. It was just before 0400 and the weapons specialist was not happy. The bunch of them had been out racing. Ironhide only knew because Fowler had called earlier, asking if any of his bots were unaccounted for because he'd gotten passed by a familiar-looking Bugatti Veyron and Dodge Challenger. There couldn't be that many Veyrons in the area, could there? Especially that shade of blue?

"What in the slagging Pit were all of you thinking?" Ironhide asked. "You endangered Fowler, could've blown our cover, all over a little joy-riding."

"Fowler wasn't hurt and we didn't even run him off the road so what's the big deal I mean it's late and no one's out so. . ."

"Do you want to give away the location of our base to the Decepticons?" Ironhide asked. "Why don't you just lead them back next time? I should make you all scrub the base with human toothbrushes. I'll think of something later. Get out of my sight."

The younger mechs all filed out, leaving Optimus and Ironhide alone.

"Have something to say?" Ironhide asked.

"Haven't they earned the right to blow off some steam?" Optimus said.

Ironhide twitched. He was right. Slightly.

"Maybe, but not like that," he said.

"Then how do we maintain discipline while allowing those we serve with to express and enjoy themselves occasionally?" Optimus asked.

"It's very fine line," Ironhide said. "I was never a civilian, so I've always looked to others to provide the outlet while I help maintain discipline. Kup has been both a civilian and served in the military, so he could give you a better answer. Then there's you—a civilian before you became Prime. I think you'll have to find your own way on this one. Just like you did with fraternization. Ultra Magnus looked down on it, but you turned a blind eye as long as it didn't interfere with our duties. It's late. Go get some rest. I don't want Ratchet to know I've been one."

Five minutes later, Ironhide let himself into their quarters, lay down on the berth, snuggling up against Ratchet.

"Where have you been?"

Slag.

"Blaster picked up an anomaly while monitoring some old frequencies, and wanted me to take a listen," Ironhide said. "It was nothing."

"Liar," Ratchet said.

"I'll find out eventually," Ratchet said.

88888

0830. Early for a Saturday morning, but Ironhide didn't mind being up. He was in the med bay with Ratchet and Knock Out. They were going to bring Kup back online, and decided to do it before their human charges arrived for the day. The Decepticon medic watched the monitors while Ratchet completed the process of waking up the ancient mech. Moments later, they were disconnecting him from the monitors and watching as his optics onlined and he tried sitting up.

"Easy, old-timer," Ratchet said, easing Kup back onto the berth.

"Ratchet?" Kup asked.

"I'm afraid so," Ratchet said, smiling. The smile vanished when Kup looked at the mech standing beside him.

"Knock Out changed sides? Not surprising," Kup said. "Who else is here?"

Ironhide walked up, clasping hands with Kup as he sat up again.

"All in good time," Ironhide said. "We've been wondering why you three came in a shuttle, and where is the Xantium?"

Kup crossed his arms. Two could play that game. He didn't risk his neck stealing a ship and disobeying orders to travel half-way across the galaxy to get interrogated by a youngling.

"Where is the shuttle? Is it intact?" Kup asked.

"We burned it to keep the Decepticons from getting their hands on it," Ironhide asked. "Was it important?"

"The shuttle doesn't matter. Something we were carrying on that shuttle is more important than you can possibly imagine," Kup said.

"What is it?" Ironhide asked.

"Where is Optimus?" Kup asked.

"Recharging," Ironhide said.

"Then wake him up," Kup said, standing. "Or I'll do it myself."

Ironhide shoved him back down on the berth. "There's something you need to know," he said. "Optimus isn't himself. . .something happened. . ."

Kup knew that. He'd been having dreams for weeks. Dreams about Alpha Trion, a mech he thought died on Cybertron, followed by dreams of something happening to Optimus. Then came a coded message, for him, from an A3, on Cybertron, that he needed to get the package he'd been entrusted with to a planet called Earth. He'd showed Ultra Magnus the message, told him about the dreams, and Magnus told him flat-out he was not leaving the Xantium. So Kup did the exact opposite of what he was told. The instant they made planetfall at the Autobot colony Artaere, he'd asked two of the mechs he trusted the most, that could be discreet, and they procured a ship and moved the package and left. Ultra Magnus was too busy kissing aft and promising to help fix space bridges to notice they were gone. The commander of the Wreckers had not been happy. He threatened coming after them, but he didn't. The only communication they received after that was short—Prowl wishing them good luck.

"Something happened to the Matrix," Ratchet said. "It's empty, and Optimus doesn't remember being Prime."

"You better start at the beginning," Kup said. "I need to know what happened if we're going to have any chance of fixing this."

"What do you mean?" Ironhide asked.

"All in good time," Kup said with a wry smile, throwing Ironhide's words back at him.