A/N: So here's the latest chapter folks. Hope you all enjoy it. Sorry if it seems to time skip a bit, but things are starting to get interesting. Next chapter will definitely have the first great hurdle for the developing relationship of Ellie and Optimus. As always, please read and review. Let me know how to make the story more enjoyable for you. Tracy
Chapter Thirty-five
Well this was certainly an unwelcome development, Maestro thought as the email made its way to Dr. Carlisle's account. It was from the head researcher on the rebuilding project. According to him, all bodies of the NBE's would be completely reassembled in sixteen days.
Quickly, he sent back an acknowledgment and authorization for twenty-four hour shifts, including overtime, if necessary.
No doubt surprised with the quickness in reply, the researcher sent back his own acknowledgment and a new estimate that the NBE's would be completely rebuilt in seven to eight days.
Maestro watched the security feed of the researcher's terminal for his reaction and quickly sent back a final approval.
Now, to inform Ellie.
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
She felt surprisingly better when she woke up that morning. Looking at the foot of her bed, she saw Jazz folded up into his standard recharge pose. That was funny, he was usually up before her. Shrugging, she threw back the covers and sat up. Jazz still didn't move. Smiling devilishly, she quickly grabbed a change of clothes, and slipped out of her room.
Noticing that it was still dark, she made her way toward the entrance, just to see if any new texts had come in overnight. She was ecstatic at the message from Maestro, before she sobered as a thought occurred to her.
"Jazz always says it's sometimes better to ask for forgiveness than permission," she muttered aloud.
"Clyde? When's your shift over?" she asked the mech at the entrance.
"Half hour, then I have twelve free hours before I take over the defenses."
"Alright. Would you be able to meet me at the arena when you're done? I want to have a meeting with them and I'm going to need you to leave right away afterwards to send a couple messages."
"No problem Ellie. How long will it take?"
"Shouldn't be too long. Maybe twenty minutes or so."
Clyde nodded before he turned back to his post.
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
Barricade stopped short and read the text again. The girl had requested his presence for a meeting the following afternoon. There wasn't mention of who else would attend, but he knew the Autobots would send a contingent to help protect the girl. The question then became; how could he use this to his advantage without letting Prime's forces know he was manipulating the situation?
Perhaps, he thought, this would provide a means of putting the girl in play against his enemies sooner rather than later.
Making his decision, he sent a text to her acknowledging his presence at this meeting. Next, he sent out the com to his mechs; they would be meeting in twenty Earth minutes to formulate several contingency plans. He wanted to make sure this wasn't some sort of trap.
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
"You did what?" Prowl was enraged. "How could you do this? What were you even thinking to decide on such an action?" He felt a glitch coming on.
"Calm down Prowl," Optimus' quiet order was laced with steel. "Well?" he turned his attention back to the girl as she stood defiantly in the middle of the med bay.
"What? I told you this was always my plan, and now I have a way to get inside without killing anyone," she explained logically.
"And what, exactly, is this non-fatal method you are so convinced about?" Ratchet was curious.
Ellie sighed and fidgeted. "Well . . . one of the tests my uncle always did on me when it was time to replace my legs was to give me some sort of electric jolt that always killed the electronics in my implants. Since he already did it to me, I figured it would probably work on his guys too."
"Do you happen to know anything about the charge he used?" First Aid was curious.
She shook her head in a negative. "But, he always saved copies of everything he did to me inside my implants. Unfortunately, I can't get in to it. Maybe one of you guys could hack into it?" she asked hopefully.
"That still doesn't explain why you held this meeting and set up another meeting without telling us!" Prowl was still livid. He cycled his vents on high to try and prevent the glitch he knew was coming.
"Not to mention all of the problems that could arise from hacking into your implants," Ratchet was concerned.
"Jazz always says it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission!" she defended belligerently. "Besides, I am telling you about it now."
"I should have known," Prowl muttered darkly. His right optic began to blink as a sign of how close he was to keeling over.
"Hey! Don't even bring me into this," Jazz interrupted. "I'm just as clueless about this whole thing as the rest of you."
"Enough," Optimus stated simply. "Ellie, why did you set up a meeting with Barricade and the Air Command?"
"Because we need their help to get us into the base to restore these guys to their bodies."
"Us?"
"Of course! You really don't think I'm going to try this on my own do you?"
"With you, it wouldn't surprise me," Jukes was sure to chime in.
"So what is this plan?" Optimus wanted to know.
"Generally, we'll have Maestro trap as many people as he can inside and evacuate the lab where the bodies are. Those people who remain outside, we'll have to either subdue or capture."
"Mm-hmm," the prime nodded dubiously. "How do you recommend we do that?"
"Like I said, shock them or pick them up and put them somewhere safe. In case you haven't noticed, you guys are like a hundred times bigger than humans, so I figure you guys could probably pick them up easy enough."
"It is against every tenant we hold sacred to deny humans their right to choose."
"You aren't denying their right to choose, you're protecting them from getting hurt when they make the wrong choice," Ellie replied with the logic of a child.
"So why do we need the help of the 'Cons?" Sideswipe wanted to know.
"'Cause they have fliers and a little bit of a selfish interest in making this work."
"We have fliers too," First Aid informed quietly.
"Since when?"
"They are survivors from the Eight Track," Ratchet informed.
"Oh. Still, they might not be healthy enough in time," she pointed out. "Besides, even if they are, they can act as insurance against the Deceptacon fliers to make sure they don't try any sort of double cross."
"How do you suggest we guarantee the compliance of the Air Command?" Prowl demanded as his optic stopped its blinking. As much as he hated to admit it, her plan did have a decent foundation. It definitely needed to be fleshed out a little bit more, though.
"You want to give them Starscream back," Optimus surmised when she looked quickly over at the recharge table.
"Well, we can't give them Megatron 'cause his body isn't there. So, Starscream seems to be the best alternative, especially since Jazz and Ironhide both said that he was an easy leader to defend against."
"You are bound and determined to get me into trouble, aren't you?" Jazz demanded amusedly.
"Well, you did say that," she defended.
"It might work," Optimus mused thoughtfully.
"What?" the others chorused as a distinct metallic "thud" was Prowl's response.
"Oh! Is he alright?" Ellie asked in concern.
Jazz, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe laughed uproariously as Ratchet knelt by the downed tactician and brought him back online.
"Yeah. He's fine. He just glitched. Does it all the time," Jazz informed in between chuckles.
"Glitched?" she was curious.
"It's the Cybertronian equivalent of fainting," First Aid answered.
"Oh. I think," she wasn't quite sure how to react to that.
"Alright guys! Human talking here," Epps interrupted. "Might I point out that if any of this is going to work, someone is going to have to nose around in Ellie's head?"
"Yes, I was thinking about that. Perhaps we can get Bumblebee to do it," First Aid suggested.
"Why Bumblebee?" Optimus wanted to know.
"Well, they already have a spark connection of some kind, plus he's a spy, so he is equipped to 'hack' into other databases," the young medic informed.
"How can they have a spark connection? She's a biologic, she doesn't have a spark," Sunstreaker pointed out from his berth.
"I remember reading something that might actually make sense," Epps, surprisingly, spoke up.
"You see, humans have an electrical impulse running through us called a bio-electric current," he started. "I'm guessing that your spark is, essentially, the same thing.
"Now, everyone has a unique bio-electric signature, so maybe hers is just more compatible or something to his spark's electric signature."
For a few minutes, no one said anything. Epps and Ellie both began to fidget uncomfortably until Ratchet finally broke the silence.
"That is an entirely plausible hypothesis."
Optimus nodded his agreement before he brought the subject back to the issue at hand; "Very well.
"Hound, we need someone to take over for Bumblebee. He is needed here to see if he can access her implants. Elita One, send a text to Maestro to request a complete schematic to Dr. Carlisle's base as well as the standard protocols for various evacuation procedures. We need to know if there is a way he can evacuate the lab where the Cybertronian bodies are, and also somehow seal the other doors at the same time. We want to keep the humans he has been lying to as safe as possible.
"Prowl, Jazz, Jukes, you need to develop several plans to get the medics inside of this lab and minimize the risk of casualties, both human and Cybertronian. Make sure to allow for both scenarios of with and without Deceptacon aid.
"Anyone else have anything?"
"I do. Will you help me pick out who else we're going to restore?" Ellie asked him hopefully.
"My Autobots, of course," Optimus started.
"Except Ironhide, since his body looks to be all rusted out."
"Of course. Definitely not Sentinel Prime. He betrayed us once and caused the complete destruction of Cybertron. If we restored him, he would just be destroyed again."
"Yeah, I don't like him. He's sneaky and he's trying to get the rest of the guys to unite against me," she admitted offhandedly.
"That does not surprise me, I am sorry to say."
"Well, I think we should restore Shockwave."
"What? Why Shockwave?" Sunstreaker demanded.
"'Cause he's a doctor too, and if we restore him, he can help restore the others."
"I am uneasy about restoring any Deceptacon," Optimus admitted.
"It's been a long war," the girl consoled as she put a comforting hand on his foot. "Maybe it's time to start healing. It might just be that doing this will give any Deceptacons that don't believe in that cause anymore a reason to leave."
"I wouldn't trust any so called converted 'Cons as far as I could toss Devestator," Sideswipe answered vehemently.
"I didn't say they'd change sides to the Autobots, I just said they'd leave the Deceptacons," Ellie clarified.
The Autobot leader looked down at the child thoughtfully. She was right. It was a long war and it was far past time to start healing. "Perhaps, Ellie, it would be a shorter list to decide who we will not restore."
"Well, there's three on that list by my count," she smiled up at him.
"We should not allow Soundwave to be restored either."
"Why?" the shrillness of her request informed him she did not agree with the idea.
"He is the Deceptacons' communications officer and a spymaster. If we return him to functionality, he will be able to access just about any database on Earth, including those of our allies."
"But if we don't restore him, but do restore his mini's, then they'll cause a lot more trouble trying to get him back than if we just restore him so he can keep control of them," she tried to argue on one breath.
"No, Ellie. He is far too dangerous. You cannot restore him."
The way she jerked her hand from his foot and hugged herself made Optimus' spark shift uncomfortably in his chest. Then, when she looked at him as if he had just told her that her favorite superhero was a liar, he felt his spark plummet. He never wanted to hurt her, but he had to stand by this decision; restoring Soundwave would hurt the Autobots far more than she realized.
The sound of metallic footfalls interrupted his thoughts as he watched her turn and run toward them. Her reaction told him it was Bumblebee she was running toward.
"The femmelet didn't look too happy about your decision, boss," Sunstreaker pointed out.
"No, she wasn't. Regrettably, it was a necessary decision."
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
Bumblebee was curious about what had made his little translator upset so suddenly. Tentatively, he opened the bond fully on his own end and was swamped by the girl's emotions as he scooped her up to his neck. She turned her head into his cables and hugged him fiercely, desperately fighting the tears she wanted to shed.
He sent a feeling of warmth and understanding along the bond to her and was amazed when she answered with her own feelings of warmth and gratitude. Then, he was there, seeing and hearing the meeting through her eyes.
The download took only a moment, much like a data burst, however, this was decidedly not a data burst. It was an empathic exchange, he realized. Excitedly, he rushed into the med bay and went straight to the white board. Sending her the message to hold on tight while he spoke with Ratchet, he popped off the cap to the dry-erase marker and hurriedly started writing.
"Ellie showed me what happened. Think it was an actual empathic exchange.
"Anyway, willing to try to get into her implants. However, don't think will need any sort of data connection. Let me try a remote through our bond, think it will be safer for her."
"How is that even possible?" First Aid was curious.
"We can answer that!" Sideswipe volunteered. "If you share a spark, like me and Sunstreaker do, you can also experience what the other half of your spark is feeling."
"Including the experiences that caused those feelings," Sunstreaker finished.
"Bumblebee! She's only twelve Earth years old. That hardly sounds appropriate," Jazz teased.
In confusion, the scout looked back over what he had written, then compared it with every nuance file of American culture he had compiled before he found it.
"Get your processor out of the gutter," he scribbled as he made a rude noise. He felt his spark lighten when the girl giggled.
"So, do you want to get into those files my uncle downloaded into my implants first? Or do you want me to try and work on your vocal processors?" she asked as she regained her composure.
"What do you mean by working on his vocal processors?" Ratchet demanded.
Bumblebee cooed at her and nuzzled her arm.
"Please don't be mad at me Ratchet. I just want to help," she started.
"I don't know if I'm mad at you yet. Tell me what you meant about working on his vocal processors so I can decide."
"Well, Bumble told me that you keep fixing his vocal processors and it hasn't been permanent yet. So I wanted to just see if maybe my size could find something you couldn't."
"How, exactly, did you intend on finding something I might have missed?"
"The only way I know of figuring out how something works is to tear it apart. Maybe I could tear his apart and you and First Aid could help me figure out what keeps messing up?"
"Alright. I'll help you, if he's willing. But, Bumblebee, you should know we have no idea how she will react to having her implants hacked. So it's up to you which you want to do first."
"How long?" the scout asked.
"I don't know about the intel gathering, but the vocal processors could take up to three hours or longer. Even then, there's no guarantee it will work."
"Let her work on my vocal processors. It will help forge a stronger bond that might improve the chances of success with the hack."
"Alright then, take that empty berth. It's going to be painful, so I'm going to have to put you in to medical stasis," Ratchet began to order as he gently scooped the girl off the scout. "In the meantime, everyone else needs to get out. You too Sideswipe. And if you, Sunstreaker, should start, I'm going to put you in a medical stasis too."
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
One thing that Soundwave had learned in the time he had been with the girl was how to read her. The fact she did not agree with the prime's decision to not restore him gave him hope. He knew she wouldn't outright lie to the Autobot leader, but he also knew she would find a way to keep her word to him without disobeying the letter of Prime's order.
The other thing they were discussing; a bond? Between his Ellie and the scout? Was it possible that the human's bio-electric signature was compatible to spark energy? He turned his processing power to figuring out the probability that it was true. He left the problem about Prime's order to the girl. If nothing else, he had absolute faith the girl would figure out a solution.
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
Ellie was sitting on Bumblebee's chest when First Aid brought him back online. She smiled in greeting when his optics came back online and he raised his head to look at her. Well, okay, so he was looking at what was sitting on his chest, but still, it was her, so he was looking at her.
"Don't try to talk yet," she told him when he seemed to brighten after he identified her. "Ratchet says you need to give it a couple hours to reset. Turns out that one of the crystals inside of the processor relay was cracked. We had to replace it 'cause it fell apart when we took the specific board it was on out to look at it."
"I never would have discovered it if she hadn't insisted on opening your vocalizer," Ratchet agreed, leaning into his field of view.
"He wants to know what affect the new crystal will have on his voice," she translated.
"Probably a change in timbre and pitch, but otherwise, it should be fine. You should maintain your accent and speech patterns unless you want to change them," First Aid answered from the prone scout's other side.
"He wants to know how long he has to wait to start talking."
"Maybe six hours or so. Then, for the next twenty-four, you should try to use it sparingly. And try not to yell or scream within that time. It may just prove enough to shatter that new crystal too," Ratchet ordered.
Bumblebee nodded and levered himself up to a sitting position as he kept a protective hand around the girl. He looked at her and cooed with a questioning sound.
"I'm ready if you are.
"He wants to know if I'm ready for him to try and hack into my uncle's files," she informed the medics.
"Wait. Let's get Livewire in here to monitor her. We don't want to take the chance if something goes wrong," Ratchet said as he nodded to First Aid.
Ellie sighed in exasperation. Like Bumble would let anything go wrong. She knew he would protect her from anything bad, he told her he would. She just knew she could trust him, Boomer too, even if Optimus didn't. She didn't need Livewire to babysit her.
Bumblebee made an electronic coughing sound as he gave the equivalent of a robotic snort before he nuzzled the tiny human in his hand.
"Careful with that voice box," she cautioned.
"Fortunately, that particular sound does not come from the processor we just repaired," Ratchet informed as First Aid walked back in with Livewire following.
"That's good then."
"What was he laughing at?" Sunstreaker was curious.
Ellie shrugged, "I was just thinking that Bumble wouldn't let anything go wrong and I knew I could trust him. So maybe I was just a little annoyed that Ratchet thinks I need a babysitter."
"You are a baby, so deal with it," Livewire admonished good-naturedly as First Aid lifted him to the berth.
"Can we do this now? I really don't like the idea my uncle was using me to keep his mean secrets," she said, ignoring the comment.
"Very well, you can proceed," Livewire permitted as he kept his medi-scanner trained on her head.