Optimus had gathered the troops in the Decagon to announce the plans. Lumen and Megatron were standing with him in a small separate room, waiting for the crowd to settle in.

"This is it." Optimus said.

"They aren't going to be happy about this, but if you're right, we will have our work cut out for us. No need to complicate things further by infighting." He continued, looking out at the crowd. Lumen found Sprocket and Axle in the crowd. Sprocket didn't look happy, but by the looks of the crowd, she hadn't told anyone else of who had been on the ship.

"Let's go." Optimus said, taking the first step onto the podium to speak to the crowd. Lumen didn't budge until Megatron nudged her in the back, gently pushing her forward.

Optimus began his speech as they came into the light. The crowd went insane, yelling about the Decepticons and the traitor. Lumen involuntarily moved back, but felt safer when Megatron put his hand on her shoulder. Optimus yelled.

"Quiet everyone! They are here for a reason! Everyone has to believe that this is for the best."

Someone from the crowd yelled up at the stage.

"She betrayed us!"

Another voice intoned.

"She threw us off the planet!"

Lumen stepped forward and looked at the faces. She remembered some of them from when they had exiled the Autobots.

She looked at Optimus, who motioned for her to speak. It took her a few moments before she suddenly spoke up, quieting the crowd.

"Yes, I did. I exiled you. I betrayed you." She began, watching their faces go from angry to slightly confused.

"You may have your theories of why I did it. Why I betrayed you. Why I betrayed Optimus… My own father… The reasons are many and some are personal. I was found in Tarn when I was just a sparkling. Under a dead femmebot who had protected me with her own body. Optimus adopted me because everyone assumed the femme to be my creator."

She paused with a sigh, still looking at the crowd.

"She wasn't. My creator was a simple miner who did everything in his power to make sure I had what I needed. Even if it meant that he had to leave me for a while. My memories of him are good! He was a good father, a kind one. He would play with me, read to me, work himself hard and even starve himself so I could eat! That miner was Megatron…"

The crowd went abuzz with murmurs and yelling. Optimus had to yell to get them to calm down again. Lumen waited a moment to continue.

"I don't believe in coincidences. There's too much at stake here. This war has been going on for so many years. Everyone is talking about returning Cybertron to its glory days. But the more I thought of it, the more I realized that the golden years were named so by the wealthy. The people in power. The ones who had more than they could ever need!" Her voice rose. The politics of Cybertron was always a subject that could get her riled up.

"But what started this war? An uprising among the poor? The red-eyed of Cybertron. The ones who could barely feed themselves! You may hate Megatron for what he has done. But he did it out of hate for a system that didn't care about him or the child he thought he had lost. The planet is dying now, and now you have lived in the same conditions as we did. You've gone hungry, cold and tired! You've wondered where your next meal would come from. And you've come to the same conclusion as he did. You will fight for it. You will fight for your right to live and be well."

Lumen watched the crowd. They were now completely silent. She looked from Optimus to Megatron and back at the crowd.

"The reason I did what I did was not because of hate. It was not for want of power. I did it for the damned, the poor and the hungry. I did it for you and me. I did it for Cybertron. This is my home, and I want it to be everything it can be. I have had to make some tough choices, and they were not easily made. I have made mistakes, and they were hard to bear. I will ask you for forgiveness for what I did, and if you can't forgive me, I ask that you at least trust that whatever I do in the future, it is in the best interest of Cybertron."

The crowd was silent for a very long time. The silence felt like the roof was sinking down on top of them. Lumen suddenly felt just as awkward as she had always done on Earth. A few murmurs started bubbling up here and there, but the yelling had stopped.

Optimus continued his own speech.

"Listen up, soldiers. We are facing a challenge bigger than Galvatron. This is why Lumen and Megatron have returned to Cybertron. The Fallen is coming to Cybertron."

Someone piped up from the sidelines.

"Who's to say they aren't allied with him?"

Megatron took a step forward.

"There's a very simple answer to that question." He and Lumen both opened their chest compartments, revealing their respective matrices.

The crowd grew silent again. This time Optimus could continue without interruptions.

"I know you're unsure of all of this, but I ask you to trust my judgment. We are preparing for a war against the Fallen and whatever allies he has rounded up to his cause. We have a war plan ready for both defensive measure and offensive tasks. Megatron will lead the offensive and I will lead the defense. Lumen will be in the Stellar Galleries, directing the battle."

He gave the crowd an unusually hard look.

"I trust there will be no issues with this."

The crowd seemed to agree. Lumen felt a poke on her leg and she looked down to find Rumble standing there, she knelt down and the little spy whispered something to her. She staggered to her feet and gave Megatron and Optimus a quick look before she left the stage.

Optimus looked at the crowd again.

"Your tasks have been assigned to your datapads, along with equipment lists and orders. You're dismissed for now."

Megatron and Optimus followed after Lumen, finding her outside the Decagon, sitting on a half crumbled bench, looking out of it.

"Are you all right?" Optimus asked, kneeling down in front of her.

Lumen shook her head.

"No… Soundwave just reported back. Rumble gave me the message. The Fallen is on his way."

Optimus nodded.

"You knew that, so why are you…"

She looked up at them.

"He's bringing Galvatron and the rest of the Decepticons."

Her hands were shaking and she looked down at the ground in shame.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it would affect me so badly. I'm terrified. When Rumble told me, my first thought was to run. I wanted to abandon it all and just run away."

She balled her hands into fists and growled.

"This isn't logical. He couldn't have brought back Unicron and I wouldn't have cared so much. He's just one mech. Why can't I just look at this objectively?"

She covered her optics, trying to hide the tears. Megatron took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Listen here kid. You can't look at this objectively because he hurt you, and he hurt you very badly. Of course you're scared! Of course you can't look at this with the same logic you always use. You're not detached, you're involved, and it's clouding your judgment! But trust me when I say this, Prime and I will do our best to stop him, he is not going to get to you!"

Lumen nodded quickly and wiped the tears away.

"I'll return to the Galleries. You had better get ready. I'll keep you updated on the development."

Optimus gave her a hug before she left and he and Megatron left.

On the walk back to the Galleries, Lumen's thoughts were still circling around Galvatron when a voice suddenly threw her out of her daze.

"Hey…"

Lumen turned and Saw Sprocket on the other side of the crumbled road. Lumen nodded.

"Hello Sprocket. Have you gotten your equipment?"

Sprocket nodded.

"Of course."

There was a moment of silence between them before Sprocket continued.

"Listen, I just want to say… That was pretty brave of you, to talk to the troops like that."

Lumen chuckled, offering a short smile.

"I honestly don't feel very brave right now."

"No, I get that… I'm still not sure about all of this, but at least I know it wasn't just an easy choice for you." Sprocket said, still keeping her optics on the lithe femme.

"No, it wasn't." Lumen replied, looking into the distance.

Sprocket cleared her voicebox and motioned to leave. Lumen looked at her.

"Sprocket…"

"Yes?" The femme turned her head over her shoulder and looked at Lumen.

"You were my best friend on earth, I hope you know that."

Sprocket smiled and continued walking away, knowing nothing else had to be said right now.