Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
-Voltaire
-;-
"-But last night's encounter came with a warning." Optimus was saying as Ellie and the remainder of the SRT moved into the main hangar. There was some pompous looking man wearing a well-tailored suit and a pair of thin rimmed glasses watching Optimus speak to who Ellie assumed was the higher ups at the Pentagon, but she didn't say anything as she herded the group over towards the Autobots.
"The Fallen shall rise again."
"The Fallen. Meaning what." Came the tinny answer over the speakers up on the platform in front of Optimus.
"Origin unknown. The only recorded history of our race was contained within the Allspark. Lost with its destruction."
"Excuse me!" the man in the suit called out suddenly from the ground, gaining everyone's attention. Optimus turned to face whoever was calling for his attention, and Ellie could tell that the Autobot leader was wondering the same thing that everyone else was; who was this guy?
"With this so called, 'Allspark' now destroyed, why hasn't the enemy left the planet, like you thought they would?" the man asked, beginning to climb up the provided ladder to get up to the platform in order to become eye level with the Prime.
"Director Galloway. The National Security Director. The President just appointed him liaison." Will said with a roll of his eyes to whoever was on the other end of the screen.
"Well I guess I didn't get that memo."
"Forgive the interruption, General. Excuse me, coming through." The now titled Galloway muttered, pushing through several men, including Graham. Ellie found herself resisting the urge to charge after this moron and get him off of Diego Garcia as soon as physically possible.
"After all the damage in Shanghai, the President is, uh, hard pressed to say the job's getting done." The man stated sarcastically as he faced the camera. "Now, under the Classified Alien Autobot Cooperation Act, you agreed to share your intel with us. But not your advancements in weaponry."
"We've witnessed your human capacity for war. It would absolutely bring more harm than good." Optimus said calmly, bringing one of his fingers very close to Galloway's form in a point.
"But who are you to judge what's best for us?" Galloway asked snidely, leaning against the railing.
At this point, Ellie had given up on playing nice, and was now being physically restrained by Marcus and Eliza. The mocha skinned woman couldn't believe what she was hearing from this arrogant prick's mouth! Who was he to come prancing in and question everything that NEST had done so far to protect the population of the planet from the Decepticons? In her opinion, they'd done a damn fine job, considering everything that continued to cause problems for the Autobots. This was exactly the reason that she'd wanted to become a liaison in the first place! So that NEST wouldn't have to deal with asshole's like this moron!
"With all due respect, we've been fighting side by side in the field for two years." Will interjected, giving Galloway a slightly hard look.
"We've shared blood, sweat and precious metal together." Her uncle added, patting Optimus' pede quickly.
"Soldier. You're paid to shoot. Not talk."
"Don't tempt me." Epps growled under his breath, though the words carried quite well to those around him, including Ellie. A savage surge of approval washed over her, and then she pressed it down. It would be so much more satisfying if it were her doing the shooting. No one would ever expect the CMO to go after the liaison, after all.
"Easy." Optimus gestured lightly at Epps as the man began to walk away, no doubt to cool his head.
"Now. The newest members of your team. I understand they arrived here after you sent out a message into space. An open invitation; come to Earth! Vetted by no one at the White House." Galloway continued.
"Calm down, Elina. You'll do nothing good by causing any trouble right now." Eliza hissed into the mocha skinned woman's ear. "And I swear to God, if you cause any trouble to me or Marcus right now, I have no qualms about handing you over to Robert."
Just like that, Ellie found the fight just drained out of her. The full implications of everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours hit her like a tidal wave; leaving her struggling to stay afloat in the aftermath.
Relaxing in their grip, Ellie carefully pried herself away from the pair of them, and although wary, they let her go.
"I'll see you later. I can't stay here right now." She said dully before shooting Galloway a glare and making her way out of the hangar. She needed to talk to someone, and there was only one person Ellie could think of at the moment that she needed to talk to more than anything else.
-;-
It was still dark in the room; the clock next to the bed read 3: 56.
The phone rang.
Persistent, it continued to ring for a full three seconds before a calloused hand snatched at it sleepily and held it up to an ear.
"Hello?"
"Daddy." The voice on the other end of the line sniffled.
Liam Epps sat straight up in bed, all traces of sleep gone as he listened to the faint sounds of his daughter crying.
"Ellie? Honey, what's wrong?" he asked soothingly, turning on the light so that he would actually be able to stay awake instead of dozing off halfway through what he could tell was going to be a difficult conversation.
"I- they're gone, daddy." Ellie's voice whispered pathetically back to him. "I went to Shanghai and I wasn't there and I could have done something if I was there, and Uncle Rob and I had a fight and I just don't know what to do!"
Liam sighed. He knew that Ellie would eventually have to go through this part of the war, and although he knew that it was very necessary, he had to be honest with Ellie.
"Honey, you knew that when you signed up for this that you would lose someone. Probably more than just someone." He reminded gently. "I'm not going to tell you to come home, but it is your choice, and I will never be disappointed in you if you think you're not strong enough to do it."
"It's not that. I just didn't think that it would be so soon." Ellie replied with another sniff. Liam could already tell that she'd been crying for a good solid ten minutes already, and idly, he couldn't help how much more she would before she managed to pick herself up and carry on.
"Ellie, sweetie, that's war. There's not a lot that we can do to change the outcome of the war. We just do our best and hope that nothing goes horribly wrong so that we don't lose more people that we care about." He soothed, hoping that his flawed advice would help his daughter calm down, if only fractionally.
"I know. But…I need to come home. I need to see you and Leon before I can do anything else over here, daddy."
Liam's heartstrings were being pulled, alright. He could tell that his little girl needed to come home and be with him for a while, if only for a day. He needed to hug and hold her and tell her how much he loved her, because he didn't know when the next time he would see her would be. It was a game of chance that the men in the army played, one that he knew all too well.
And it was only a matter of time before something very bad happened to Ellie.
-;-
The alarms blared, jolting Ellie out of a dead sleep and causing her to immediately tear out into the hall. People and Autobots alike were moving around like ants with a purpose, and all the mocha skinned woman could do was go where she was directed.
Unfortunately, the best that anyone could do for the confused woman was to tell her to get to the Med Bay and get ready for incoming wounded.
The good thing was, Ellie was completely ready for this, and ran down the hall in her pajamas to the Med Bay, somehow managing to avoid everyone who got in her path with little effort. The less fortunate thing was that she now had to get ready to work on the injured men that she didn't even know what happened to.
As soon as she walked through the doors of her Med Bay, Ellie turned into a one woman hurricane of motion. She grabbed a pair of medical gloves and put them between her teeth for a moment while she tied her hair back into a knot, then pulled them over her fingers. Pulling over her tools and various instruments, she then waited next to her operating tables, separated by a thin wall to the rest of her Med Bay.
-;-
By the next morning, it was very clear that Ellie was in no position to be working. At all. She was tired, emotionally exhausted, and it was basically a silent plea to Will that she take time off to gather her wits before the mocha skinned woman was good to go again.
Luckily enough for her, Will was already planning on sending Ellie back to the States for some time off anyway. Not only was she in desperate need of some time with her father, but it was also the fact that her six month time span was up. She now had a week with her family before coming back for another six months.
"Ellie!" he called, jogging to catch up with the woman as she shuffled down the hall, a small cup of coffee held in her shaky grip. He couldn't blame her for having such a hard time now. Some of the wounds on the men that had been brought in from the breach at the centre where the last piece of Allspark was being kept had been some truly horrifying ones. And the fact that she had managed to make it through the entire night without a single complaint was another miracle in itself.
The mocha skinned woman turned slightly, but that was it. She continued moving, her hand still shaking as she held the coffee.
"Hey." He said gently as he caught a glimpse of her face. His paternal instincts were already screaming at him to take her somewhere where she couldn't hurt herself any longer, couldn't be hurt by anything else around them. "How are you holding up?"
"I-" she started before biting her lip. "I need to get out of here for a while."
"That's why I came to find you, Ellie." Will stated. "You're headed over to the States with Optimus and a couple other Autobots. They need to talk to Witwicky about vouching for them if it comes down to it."
"Home?" Ellie asked. The sudden relief that Will saw cross her features made him feel slightly guilty. He supposed he should have let the woman know that this wasn't something that she couldn't visit home for. She just couldn't tell anyone else what she did in her line of work. Besides, there were some very awkward situations he could name off the top of his mind by her possibly revealing anything to her family.
"Yeah. You get a week off, considering you've been here for six months. That's our schedule around here. We should have told you sooner."
No sooner had the words left his lips than he was being hugged by a suddenly teary eyed Ellie.
"Thank you." She whimpered, shaking.
"Hey, no problem." Will said gently, automatically beginning to rub circles in between her shoulder blades. "Go grab your things. The plane leaves in a half hour."
-;-
"Starscream. I'm home."
The name was said with so much venom it was a miracle that the mech being addressed wasn't immediately turned to rust.
The mech himself, all sharp angles and wings, appeared out of nowhere, moving into a kneeling position at the Decepticon leader's pedes.
"Lord Megatron! I was so relieved to hear of your resurrection." He simpered.
"You left me to die on that pathetic insect planet." Megatron growled warningly, raising the smaller mech's faceplates with a wicked looking claw.
"Only to spawn our new army! The Fallen decrees it! After all, in your absence, someone had to take command." Starscream protested, sensing that his spark was going to be ripped from its casing and the contents crushed beneath the much larger mech's pede. However, rather than that, a heavily armored leg lashed out, kicking the smaller mech into a glowing blue pod before lunging forward and pinning the smaller flier to it.
"So disappointing." He rumbled darkly.
"Hatchlings! Hatchlings! Careful fragile!" Starscream chittered, squirming lightly under the harsh servo wrapped around his throat.
"Even in death there is no one in command but mine."
One of the sacs burst, and a tiny, chirruping hatchling fell to the ground, gurgling and whining pathetically as it fell limp.
-;-
"My master, I have failed you on Earth." Megatron said as he knelt down onto one knee. "The Allspark is destroyed, and without it, our race will perish."
"Oh, you have much to learn, my disciple." A wiry frame rumbled, stirring from its position among a metal alcove. Sharp, precise fragments framed the mech's faceplates, and a pair of startlingly crimson optics stared out balefully at its surroundings. "The Cube was merely a vessel. It's power, it's knowledge, can never be destroyed. It can only be transformed."
"How is that possible?" Megatron demanded, a dark curiosity gleaming within his own red optics.
"It has been absorbed by the human child. The key to saving our race now lies within his mind."
"Well then, let me strip the very flesh from his body."
"And you will, my apprentice. In time. For millennia, I have dreamed of my return to that wretched planet, where I too, was once betrayed by the Primes I called my brothers. Only a Prime can defeat me, and now, only one remains."
"Optimus." Megatron realized. "He protects the boy."
"Then the boy will lead us to him, and revenge will be ours."
"Yes…"