The ship headed back toward Cybertron, but Cascade was still a resident of the med bay. Ratchet had fixed the joint in her busted shoulder already, but wouldn't let her leave so she helped by tending to the other patients that were stuck in med bay. Jolt kept her company even during some of his off hours and he often brought her tales of what was going on around the ship during her confinement. It was a welcome relief from the routine of the med bay. They were nearly to Cybertron when she finally convinced Ratchet that she was perfectly fine and he released her from the med bay.
As much as some of the crew teased her about her current size, there were some advantages to it. She was small enough that she could walk down the halls and underneath bots without them noticing her. She could also fit in the vents and help Red Alert with his patrols. Occasionally she would target one of the tall bots and drop down on their shoulders unexpectedly. Their reactions usually got a laugh out of the bots nearby.
When they finally reached Cybertron and the pillar was once again joined with the Allspark, the intelligence heads got together and a plan to hunt for the remaining pillar and any remaining Cons was formed. It became a sweeping multiple ship mission. The first course of action was to sweep all the colonies one by one even the ones they had already checked. After that, if no hint of the last pillar was found, they would check planets that had been deemed most probable based on the science teams extrapolations.
Small groups of Cons were located using this method, but there were only small skirmishes and no sign of the pillar was found. Thus the planet exploration began. It had taken Cascade up until this time to reconstruct some new over armor. This only brought her height up to Hyperfall's waist, but it also gave her back her wings. Right now the ship was approaching planet 5014r3g. Not much was known about the planet as it had not been explored well. What they did know about it was that it was mostly populated with organics. They weren't highly evolved organics either, but mostly flora and fauna so they didn't have to worry about diplomacy. Cascade had volunteered to go with one of the groups as a field medic. Jolt was going with Hyperfall's team as their field medic. Cascade had arranged it that way when she heard that he'd volunteered because she felt he would be better protected with them. Jolt was obviously confused by this so he confronted her when he saw her in the hallway.
"Why am I going with the defense forces?" he asked. "Should you not be going with them?"
"There is no reason," said Cascade looking up at him. "Do you not wish to be with them?"
"No, it's not that," said Jolt. "I'm simply confused. You always go with them. Why is it different this time?"
"They know each other's moves and can react quickly to changing situations," said Cascade. "They will watch your back as not much is known about the planet below."
"Then again shouldn't you be going with them?" asked Jolt gesturing toward her. "You aren't equipped with your full armor."
"I'm going with both Autobots and the Elite Guard," said Cascade. "Sure, they are a less cohesive group, but I can help them combat the unexpected."
"I'm far older than you, I have more experience and you are not as well equipped as you once were," stated Jolt as a matter of fact. "To be honest it would make me feel better if you went with the defense forces."
"I'm more well equipped than I appear," said Cascade waving away his concerns. "My smaller size makes me far more mobile than any of you and I can fly out of reach of danger if necessary. Besides, I'm more concerned about your welfare than my own. I don't have the parts to reconstruct another body for you so you will be going with the defense forces for your own safety and my peace of mind."
"Your concern is misplaced," said Jolt snorting. "I'm not about to be caught off guard like I was with Megatron."
"My concern is placed exactly where I want it," said Cascade firmly as she moved to walk past him. "This might be too forward, but I see you as a friend not an obligation. I take care of my friends."
It took a moment for Jolt to realize what she had said and by the time he went to respond, he was interrupted by a bot behind him and he turned. Ultra Magnus stood behind him having politely requested to get by. Jolt glanced back, but Cascade was already gone.
"You almost interrupted a romantic proposal there, Ultra Magnus," said Pivot from behind him.
"Did I?" asked Ultra Magnus turning to look at Jolt in question.
"No, no, it wasn't like that," said a flustered Jolt. He quickly moved to the side so Ultra Magnus could pass.
Pivot chuckled and patted Jolt on the arm. "No worries, the only ones who will hear about this is the defense forces," he said as he walked by. "You've been warned."
Jolt groaned in irritation at the misunderstanding.