Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any of the characters in it. The only characters I own are my OCs.
Five Days Later
Optimus knew that they technically should have had this meeting a lot sooner. With the threat of Sector Seven, the loss of a Decepticon prisoner, and the addition of a new human ally and a new Autobot team member, there was much to discuss. Of course he had wanted time to mull over the recent events before discussing them with Ratchet, Ironhide, and Jazz, and Jazz had wanted to try to see if he could find any information at all about their escaped prisoner. He had agreed with Jazz's thoughts that someone, possibly Ultra Magnus or Prowl, would have some sort of backup to their databases where Moonraider would be mentioned. Elita was present at the meeting as well, though Optimus had already discussed all of his thoughts with her.
They were going to have to finish discussing their current situation involving the humans and Sector Seven first though, before that topic could even be brought up.
"Bumblebee and Sideswipe are at risk being on guardian duty," Ironhide stated. "Bumblebee especially since Sector Seven already knows what he looks like in alt-mode."
"We would be putting Aly and Zoe at risk if Bumblebee and Sideswipe were removed from being their guardians," Ratchet pointed out.
"The humans are putting us at risk! Their government is already after us and the Decepticons have proven that they're willing to use them as bait against us. The fact that one acts terrified to be around us and the other has already proven that she'll throw herself in danger certainly doesn't help things. They're as defenseless as a sparkling, and probably even more fragile than one! We'd be better off distancing ourselves from them."
"Chill 'Hide," Jazz shook his head. "The humans are fine. You heard what 'Bee said, Aly attempted to help him fight Starscream. Even then we don't need them fighting with us. They're just good to be around."
"You are correct in your statement about the humans being fragile and more defenseless, Ironhide. But Jazz is correct. Our human allies do not need to be fighting with us, but we need them as our liaisons. The day will come when we will have to reveal ourselves to the humans, and we will need the help of our human allies to convince them that we mean no harm and only wish to protect this planet," Optimus stepped in.
"Do you believe that the other humans will listen to them and believe what they say?" Ratchet asked. "They're not considered adults by their species's standards and they are still quite young."
"They'll need to be taught and trained," Elita spoke for the first time during the meeting. "They don't know much about our species and that information could be beneficial to them."
"Aly never seemed interested in learning about our culture in the past."
"Did you ever ask her if she was interested?" Elita glanced at Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide. The silence from all three was enough for her answer. "I'll ask the girls if they want to know and I'll teach them. I need something to do since I won't be fighting, and I'm sure that at least one of them would be interested."
"Then that is settled." Optimus nodded. "Jazz were you able to learn anything about our former prisoner?"
"Not a lot. From what I've heard back from Prowl on her record, she's a Decepticon spy. She's infiltrated several bases, some were attacked after she left, some weren't."
"Do we know why some were left alone?" Elita asked.
"Nothing definite. Though I did find it interesting of the few that weren't attacked, they all had one thing in common."
"What?"
"Forest was there. It could just be a coincidence, but there was a rumor in Forest's file about him being spotted with a Decepticon several times in the past."
Optimus frowned, "Was that rumor ever proven?"
"No, but it is a little suspicious considering that he keeps running off and he arrived shortly after we lost Moonraider."
"We have no proof that he is doing anything related to her. Unless there is concrete evidence that he is aiding an enemy, I do not want to accuse what could very well be an innocent mech. We do not need any animosity building on this team, especially not when we are facing new threats."
"I don't like this," Ironhide grumbled. "If he is helping her, we're letting him get away with it. We don't know where his loyalties lie with her in the picture or what she could be planning."
Optimus couldn't help but think that Ironhide was being more difficult than usual to reason with. His friend had always been easy to anger and tended to be a little less trusting of others, but it seemed to be worse lately.
(I'm betting that he misses, Chromia.) Elita mused through their bond. (You know he and my sister are easier to get along with when they're together.)
(Then perhaps we should hope that she arrives on Earth soon.)
(I'm sure 'Mia is already on her way. She'll be missing Ironhide just as much as he misses her.)
"Ratchet, you repaired Moonraider. Would she be in any condition to launch any attacks on any Autobots?"
The medic thought for a moment, "She could try, but I'm doubtful any would be successful. I only repaired her life threatening injuries, the rest were mainly cosmetic. One of her door wings was bent, which would make transforming painful, though Forest would be able to straighten that out himself – if he is helping her. Her weapons were deactivated as a safety precaution and they should still be that way, so any attacks would have to be one-on-one." He thought back to her escape. "She's quite agile, so I imagine that she could be a tricky opponent in a fight depending on who she would be fighting."
"So she has a chance at attacking a single opponent that would be on a similar or lesser skill level as her own," Elita summarized. "Though the question is whether she would want to. The Decepticons will no doubt want her dead and she knows that if she attacks any Autobots, we'll find out about it and find her. If she wants to avoid capture and death, she would want to remain hidden."
"It would be impossible for her to remain hidden though. Eventually she'll have to find a source of energon in order to stay online," Ratchet reminded.
"Unless someone is helping her and bringing it to her," Jazz concluded. "Which brings us back to the possibility of Forest helping her. Though really I don't see what he would get out of it."
"If he is helping her, perhaps Moonraider convinced him in the past that the two of them were friends and he cares about her," Elita suggested. "Or perhaps the feeling is mutual. I'm doubtful that we'll know for sure unless Forest tells us or we find evidence to question him."
"We will keep a close watch on things," Optimus decided. "If there is evidence that Forest could be potentially aiding an enemy or he is caught, he will be dealt with. Until then, he is to be left alone. It is imperative that we stand together right now. Forest could prove to be a useful asset to our team, and I do not wish for him to believe that he is unwelcome here."
(You don't seem too concerned that we could potentially have a traitor amongst us.)
(I could say the same to you.)
(The only reason I'm not concerned is because I think that you're thinking of another scenario. What is it Optimus?)
(If Forest does care about Moonraider, I do not believe that he would want her to remain alone as a rouge.)
(Do you think he'll go rouge as well?)
(It is a possibility, but I do not think that is what he is going to do. I believe that eventually he will try to bring Moonraider back here.)
(Moonraider would have to truly care for him as well, for him to be able to convince her to come here. Either that or she'll have to be desperate enough. I could see that eventually happening though. She has to know that she won't be able to spend the rest of her life hiding from all Cybertronians, except for potentially Forest.)
(Which is why I believe that one day we will find her here again. The only question is when.)
A/N: And this brings us to the end of When We Stand Together. I plan on writing a sequel to this story sometime in the near future. If you are interested in seeing what happens with Forest, Moonraider, and the rest, add me to your alerts so you'll know when the story is up. I want to thank everyone who has followed this story. I hope that you all have enjoyed it! This story has been in the works for a long time now it feels like, the original version that I took down before I did this rewrite was my first Transformers fanfiction. So this story has provided me with a bit of a learning experience in writing and developing characters. I hope to improve even more with that in the sequel.