I online my optics to find Groove gazing at me. He's still next to me on the berth, relaxed, a slightly pinched expression on his face from the discomfort in his spark.

"Hey, you." I press a kiss to his lips. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." He smiles against my mouth, I can feel it. "I can't wait for this trip to be over. It's sucks to be this far from home."

"Yeah, I know. Me too."

I'd love to luxuriate in his arms for a while longer. All day, even. But I can't.

Today, Rachel begins her pre-trial interviews. Two days from now, the trial begins.

Still, I'm going to sneak another ten minutes. Maybe fifteen.

At least that's my plan until someone pounds on the door. "Up, lovebirds!" I recognize Frenzy's voice. He sounds almost gleeful. I guess he's relishing in getting everyone out of berth in the most violent way possible. "Daylight's wasting, and the fleshies'll be here in thirty!"

I groan into Groove's neck. "Can we ignore him?"

"Not if we want to keep our door, I think." He catches me by the chin and tilts my face back up to kiss me again. "I'd love staying here with you all day, but duty calls."

I groan again, loudly, for good measure. "When we get back to Cybertron, I'm stealing both you and First Aid away for a few days, and we'll do nothing but laze around in berth."

"Nothing?" Groove teases, grinning.

"Almost nothing," I correct, as I finally manage to tear myself away and get up. Groove's got my hand and isn't letting go, so I pull at him to get him out of berth as well. "Come on. Maybe we'll beat the line at the dispenser."


Dear diary,

Waiting sucks. I spend half the time being nervous and freaking out, and half the time plotting and planning.

Thank goodness for Groove. He's keeping me sane. I don't know what I would have done if I'd had to leave both of my Protectobots on Cybertron.

The humans help as well. Rumble and Frenzy are playing poker with Dominic, to everyone's apprehension, but it seems to be going okay. And Jack's been watching the twin sets spar, shouting encouragement at all of them in equal measure. It's terrifying to watch, but I know it's a good way for them to burn off some energy. Sunstreaker's not comfortable in this situation, and sparring helps. Especially when he and Sideswipe twin-tag Runabout and Runamuck.

Rachel's been cooped up in a meeting room all day, various bots succeeding each other in there with her. She spent by far the longest with Optimus, but neither Starscream or Soundwave have been in there yet. I know Thundercracker's asked if he can be present for Soundwave's interview, as an emotional support. I hope she'll allow it.

I'm kind of dreading my own interview. Hopefully I'll manage to say enough to help Soundwave and Starscream, without incriminating myself in the process.


I collapse into Groove's arms with a tired groan.

"That bad, huh?" He pulls me close and nuzzles my neck.

"I thought that woman was supposed to be on our side. She was picking holes in all my arguments." I lean forward until the weight forces him to sit down on the berth. "My processor's fried."

"It's her job to make sure you're prepared. You know the prosecutor might do much worse."

"Ugh. I know." I turn in his arms until we're both comfortable. "You're lucky you don't have to testify."

"I guess." He's smiling, I can hear it. "So, did she find any holes in your arguments?"

"I'll have to work on them a bit more, yeah." Rachel had seemed determined that every flaw be exposed now instead of later, which is probably a good thing. Even though it exhausted me. "So I won't be much company tomorrow."

"It's fine. I have guard duty anyway. If I can manage." He sighs. "Streetwise isn't having this much trouble. It's unfair. I asked Ratchet, and he said it's probably to do with me having merged more often. Since we're together, you know? And now my spark is accustomed to it."

"I'm sure it doesn't help that I keep piggybacking on your bond either." I sit up so I can look him in the optics. "Should we stop that?"

"No way." He shakes his head, as if the words themselves weren't enough. "I love what we do. We're not stopping anything. Besides," his hand travels up my leg, "I find myself craving your spark too. All the time. So we're not stopping." His expression turns mischievous. "In fact, I want you right now."

I lean down to kiss him. "You know there's nothing I want more right now. But I have to talk to Starscream again. I just came by for a small break away from everyone."

It's so easy to forget to mind my words when I'm around the others. Especially mecha like Bluestreak and the twins, who've known me all along. Earlier, I found myself discussing the base on Diego Garcia and how it compared to this one with Sunstreaker. Jack was looking at me strangely the whole time.

He may be two hundred years too young to remember the base, but I'm sure he's read Alice's hand-me-down books. And I bet there's a full account of which bots were here at which time in the army records, which he'll no doubt have access to at this point. Which means he'll know that there was no Cynosura on Diego Garcia.

I need to be very, very careful.

I turn on my front and pull out the datapad. "Want to distract me? I've got a shopping list a mile long, and I need to find drop points for all of it."

Groove chuckles. "Sure. I like shopping with you. Too bad we can't go to London again."

Since word spread that we could get resources from Earth, I haven't had a moment's peace. Everyone wants something. I spent an hour with Skyfire and Starscream, writing down names of chemical compounds and rare metals, and then another with Soundwave. Rumble and Frenzy added their own list, but since theirs was mainly made up of games and toys and prank materials I feel safe ignoring most of it. Streetwise had a long supply list of tools and materials for construction, and Reflector added their own list of scientific equipment that I'm sure Wheeljack will be happy to see. And then Sunstreaker pinged me a list of maintenance stuff, polishes and waxes and cloths, which had me adding linens and blankets by the dozen. There's little that's soft on Cybertron.

Groove stares down at the completed list, optics wide. "Wow. I guess it's a good thing we have three shuttles."

"I think we'll need to come back for some of this stuff." I check off the iridium and the cesium from the list and set up a drop point for Astrotrain in Poland. "There's no way we'll fit it all otherwise. Besides, we can't really send them off that often. They're supposed to be here."

"Yeah, I guess." He pulls the datapad closer. "Come on, let's make some sense of this."

Shopping is a good distraction. I've managed to forget – mostly - about the trial and Rachel and how the heck I'm going to keep Soundwave and Starscream safe by the time there's a knock on the door. It's a perfunctory knock at best, since Sunstreaker just walks in anyway and crawls up on the berth, plastering himself on top of me.

He's heavy. But it's also really nice.

"Hey, you." I lift my head enough to rub the back of my helm against the top of his. His exvents are warm against my back. "What's up?"

"I'm supposed to come tell you that Rachel is done with her interviews and has called us all to the common room," he mumbles, voice muffled by my plating. "And I've decided that staying here is a much better option."

That's worrisome. Especially since Sideswipe isn't here. "Where's Sides?"

"Sparring." He doesn't lift his head. "Runabout and Runamuck."

I can't see his face like this, so it's hard to get a read on his emotions. Sunstreaker's an expert in keeping his tone neutral. But Groove is wearing a slight frown next to me, and that's enough to make me apprehensive. Still, I try to keep my tone light. "Did he piss them off, or did they piss him off?"

"Neither." He sighs. "That lawyer."

Wait a goddamn minute. "She talked to you?"

"Yes."

Groove looks confused now. "I thought she was just going to talk to the witnesses. Hang on." I can see it in his optics as his focus turns to the bond for a moment. "Huh. Streets says she's talked to him too, and Hot Rod and Kup. It seems like she's talked to everyone."

I will myself to stay calm. I like Rachel, but if she's messed with my twins' recovery somehow… "Sunstreaker, what did she talk to you about?"

"The war. Our opinion on Prime's actions, and Megatron's. Why we're loyal. Who we think are to blame. That kind of thing." It feels like he's pressing even closer to my back, if that's even possible. "Can I just stay here?"

"I think we need to hear what she has to say," Groove says slowly. "Want me to go check?"

Sunstreaker's arm darts out, grabs Groove by the shoulder. "No. You're staying too."

That's kind of charming. I'm glad Sunstreaker's coming to trust more mecha. But Groove's right, we have to go. I try to shift under Sunstreaker's weight. It's completely impossible.

I meet Groove's optics. He looks as worried as I feel. "Maybe we can stay for a few minutes?"

Sunstreaker huffs an agreement, and suddenly relaxes completely against my back. I hadn't realized he was that tense.

None of us say anything. It's enough to be together in that shared space.

At least until we're interrupted again. This time it's Optimus Prime himself walking through our door.

He smiles slightly when he sees us. And because he's Optimus and Optimus is awesome, he doesn't say anything about how Sunstreaker haven't brought us back yet. Instead, he sits down next to the berth and puts his hand on top of us. From the way Sunstreaker shifts, I'd guess Optimus is stroking his back.

"Soon we'll go back home," he begins, deep voice soothing. "We'll put this behind us and go back to rebuilding our planet. The Constructicons will have built enough housing for all of us. There will be more bonding ceremonies, and more sparklings born." He chuckles lightly. "Ratchet will complain about the increased workload, and will start keeping energon treats for them in a drawer in his clinic again, like he did before the war."

I can feel Sunstreaker moving a bit on top of me. It feels like he's turning to face Optimus.

"We'll regain more of Cybertron. When the basic needs for construction in Pax Novum are met, we can expand. Maybe rebuild another town. Set up a racetrack. Maybe build museums and galleries and libraries. There will be room and time for mecha to practice music again, to sculpt, to write, to paint."

Sunstreaker shivers.

"Mecha will be able to become what they want to do. Train as whatever they want, regardless of what they've done before. Soldiers can be teachers. Construction bots can be medics and nurses. Racers can be barkeeps." Optimus moves enough to be able to rest his forehead against Sunstreaker's plating. "Warriors can be artists."

There's a tiny, tiny noise coming from Sunstreaker's vocalizer. If I didn't know better, I'd call it a whimper.

"But first, we need to get through this," Optimus murmurs. "We need to give Rachel what she needs to represent us. We need to stick together, work together, support each other. And right now, much as I'd prefer to stay here as well, we're all wanted in the common room." He pulls back a bit, optics looking at something over my shoulder. I'd bet it's Sunstreaker's face. "Will you join me?"

Sunstreaker sighs, and slowly shifts off me. "I guess."

It's a relief to not be stuck underneath him anymore. All my vents open, in an attempt to cool me down from the overheating I hadn't even noticed.

Optimus clasps Sunstreaker's hand and pulls him up. Puts one hand on his shoulder to guide him out of the room. Doesn't let go, as far as I can see.

I get up off the berth. "Optimus has a thing with words, doesn't he?"

Groove laughs. "I'm sure that if Megatron had been less insane and more willing to listen, Optimus would have been able to talk him around long ago." He stands up and takes my hand. "Come on. Let's go join them."

The common room is already crowded when we arrive. Everyone seems to be here, sitting on the containers or on the floor, leaning against the wall, standing in open doorways. In the front of the room, near the entrance, stands Rachel. She looks tense, but not stressed.

"Thanks for coming," she begins, as soon as Groove and I have settled on a container. "I know it's been a long day." She straightens almost imperceptibly, looks around at all of us. "I've conducted my interviews with everyone, and I believe our chances of getting through this are good. I think we can get the judges on our side, can make them see that Optimus was acting in self-defense, that Starscream and Soundwave were acting under duress. But there's a condition to all this." Her face turns stern. "You need to cut the crap and stop lying to me."

I know I'm not the only one who's staring.

Rachel smiles, though there's something grim about it. "You're keeping secrets. Don't think I haven't noticed. You're not as discreet as you think you are." She snorts. "Also, you've underestimated exactly how much knowledge has been preserved from your last visit. We know a lot more than you think, and I can figure out a lot more." She points at Runabout and Runamuck. "You're related. So are Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, for that matter." She looks at Bluestreak and Skywarp. "You two act like lovesick teenagers, and you're not the only ones here who are romantically attached to each other." She frowns at Optimus. "You're all armed, even if it doesn't look like it." Finally, she looks at me. "And even though I haven't quite been able to puzzle it out, I know there's something weird about Cynosura. I know she has a history with Earth. And I need to know what it is."

I go cold all over.

Rachel looks at Prime and sighs. He still looks floored. "Look. I know why you're not telling me everything. I know your instincts are telling you not to trust, that everything you say is likely to be used against you. Frankly, it's a good instinct. But I ask you to consider this." She points behind her, at where Dominic and Jack are guarding the doorway, guns held in relaxed grips across their chests. "Those weapons are as much good against you as a paintball gun. And I'm here with only two guards. Meanwhile, I know there's an Intergalactic Alliance spaceship in orbit around Earth that is keeping Earth Plus on its toes and giving Ameryn Clarke all manners of headaches. I know that Earth Plus pulled in favors and contracts from all over the planet in the time after you first contacted us about this to build the best planetary defense system our technology's capable of making at this time. And I know every single weapon is pointing at that Alliance ship." She looks around at all of us again. "We consider you our allies in this. We're trusting you. And I ask that you return the favor, and trust us."

Ratchet stares at her. Then he chuckles, of all things. "Oh, you're definitely a Lennox. Will would be proud." He leans back against Optimus' chest, all pretense gone. "Fine. You're right. On all counts. We pair up, trine up, group up. We form bonds and families. Skywarp and Bluestreak are newly bonded, which is why they can't keep their hands off each other."

Skywarp seems to take this as permission to pull Bluestreak closer as well, putting his arms around his waist and burrowing his face against Bluestreak's throat. Bluestreak's grinning widely.

"We're not fool enough to come into a situation like this unarmed," Thundercracker says. He's moved closer to Soundwave, close enough to almost be shoulder to shoulder. It's not subtle, but I guess it's not meant to be. "Concealed weaponry seemed the best solution." He frowns down at Rachel. "Will this be a problem?"

"Are you kidding?" She snorts. "If I could hide a weapon inside my body and transform it out at will, you bet I would be armed too." She looks around again, somehow managing to meet every pair of optics. "We're not telling this to Ameryn Clarke. Or anyone else, for that matter. They don't need to know. I do. I can't have the opposition digging up something on you and blindsiding me with it. And in that respect…" She takes a step in my direction, staring up. "What's your deal, Cynosura?"

I don't want to do this. But I don't have much choice at this point, other than trusting her. Ratchet subtle nod in my peripheral view is enough to get me going. I sigh. "Was there a mention, anywhere in those sources of yours, of a woman named Isobel Harrington?"

"Sure," Jack replies, not leaving his stance by the door. "The psychologist. Alice wrote a lot about her in her diaries. There's a source from Parker Jamieson, too, though she tended to keep things more quiet."

"What about her?" Rachel asks, curious now.

I steady myself and take a step away from Groove, transforming as I move. Then I call up my holoform.

"Because I'm Isobel Harrington," I reply as I solidify in front of them, the spitting image of a woman they've only seen pictures of in sources two hundred years old.

Rachel looks surprised. Jack looks shocked.

"I was born on the seventh of June, at six o'clock in the morning," I begin, because it looks like I'll have to convince them. "I had a brother, Jeremy. He killed himself. PTSD from active duty. I first met the Autobots when Lennox hired me and brought me to Diego Garcia." None of this is personal, though. It's probably all in my file. So I look at Jack. "I remember when Alice's son was born. I was in Ireland then, living by myself with my dog. I talked to her. She was over the moon."

"You're Isobel Harrington." Rachel sounds disbelieving. "How the fuck are you Isobel Harrington."

Well, at least it seems that she believes me.

"The 'Bots came and got me. Said I was needed, brought me to Cybertron. Had an accident on the way that led to me being injured." I glance at Ratchet. I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to tell. "I don't remember much of my… transition."

Rachel shifts her focus to Ratchet as well, eyebrows pulling together slightly. "Ratchet?"

There's an obvious bond conversation going on between Ratchet and Optimus before Ratchet nods. "I can explain some of it, though some of it is beyond me." His optics meet mine as I lean back into Groove's arms. He pulls me close, closer than we've been with the humans around so far, close enough that I can almost feel the thrum of his spark against my back.

"Isobel was severely injured on the way from Earth," Ratchet begins. He's also much closer to Optimus than he was before. I can see Rachel's eyes flitting between the now obvious couples surrounding her. "We were afraid she wouldn't survive. In desperation, we brought her to a… holy artifact… of sorts." Optimus smiles wryly at the words as Ratchet continues. "We didn't know if it would work. We had hopes that Vector Sigma would be able to help. Vector Sigma has ensparked frames for us before, we wondered if it was possible to enspark her somehow."

Rachel raises an eyebrow. "I assume it worked."

"Don't make the mistake of thinking it's an easy solution," he counters. "It took nearly a hundred of your years, a lot of work on her frame, and memory input from all of us. And she still lacks memories of her time on Earth. So yeah, we managed. Vector Sigma managed. But it's not something that's on offer to any human."

Jack moves, pulling my attention. "So… They made you a robot?"

"Yeah." I grin. "Wild, isn't it?"

"Very." He looks at my alt mode appreciatively. "You any fast?"

Which is how I end up speeding up and down the runway, carrying a human for the first time. And now I'm really grateful to Arcee for those driving lessons.

Jack whoops loudly on my back. I put on an extra burst of speed down the stretch of the not-quite-tarmac just for that. This is fun.

Dominic is already waiting his turn when I slow down, practically bouncing. Groove is grinning at me from the doorway. "Having fun, Belle?"

"You bet." I rev my engine teasingly. "Want to race later? We never got to test how fast I can go."

Jack whistles as he gets off me. "Man, I would pay to see that."

"What do you say, Optimus?" Dominic calls. "Any of your mechs feel like letting out some steam?"

I rev my engine for the fun of it, and Optimus laughs. He barely has the chance to agree before Hot Rod's transforming next to me, rocking eagerly on his wheels. "You ready for this, Cynns?"

I laugh. "Just for that, you're on."

I don't have much of a chance of beating Hot Rod at this. But at least I can give it a go.


Dear diary,

This day ended so much better than I had expected.

Turns out I am faster than Groove. Not by much, but I am. I'm faster than Kup and Cliffjumper too, and I can keep up with Ratchet. The others all outrun me, some of them by quite a lot.

Hot Rod was way ecited that he could keep up with both sets of twins. He's seriously fast. He also blushed all the way to his helmline when Prime complimented him on it. There's still a bit of hero worshipping going on there, apparently, even after spending three weeks in space together. But it also looks like one word of praise from Prime is accomplishing the same as three words of correction from anyone else, which means that Hot Rod is less… I'm going to go with exuberant, though he hasn't actually changed much. It's sweet.

I had a lot of fun with the humans. And none of them made a big deal out of any of our secrets. I even noticed Optimus taking Rachel aside for a few minutes, gesturing to his chest. She looked decidedly surprised, but I bet him carrying is now part of the defense.

I almost managed to forget about the trial completely for a while. No such luxury after tomorrow.

I hope we're ready.