Chapter 161 – When the dust settled
Sideswipe P.O.V
The trip to Luke Air Force Base following our brief but intense battle with the 'Cons, had been in silence. Even Sunstreaker knew better than to talk now.
It had gone wonderfully and yet – terribly - at the same time. As I glanced around the room at the sullen and serious expressions on everyone's faces, I couldn't help but question if we'd made the right choice in following through with it.
Most of us escaped with minor injuries really. Prime had coped the worst of it, but the kicker was, his injuries had been inflicted by the one he loved – Phoenix! For a moment, Arcee's pretty face flashed through my processor and, though my feelings for her were something I had not long accepted as being real and something I wanted to pursue with her, I could not imagine what it would feel like to have her deliberately attack me, the way Phoenix had Prime. I can only imagine what Prime must be feeling now. I suppressed a derisive snort. /Then again, he very rarely lets you see how he is really feeling anyway!/.
I stared silently at the Boss Bot who sat unmoving and expressionless. Rachet's dermas were tightly drawn together as he concentrated on repairing Prime's scorched, dented and battered frame, welding some of the holes in Prime's body from Phoenix's fire balls. I inwardly winced. Those fire blasts she could command were bloody hot, burning hotter than – well, any fire I've ever come across! It wasn't like your everyday fire. I felt a fond smile spread across my dermas. /Then again, Phoenix was not your everyday femme/. She had controlled and aimed her shots carefully, but she also had to make it look realistic. /Mission accomplished/.
I leaned against one of the tall metal poles within the private hanger we had been granted access to, and allowed a small sigh to escape my dermas. I shifted on my pedes and folded my arms across my chest. No one was speaking. Sunstreaker sat not far off from me cleaning some scuffs off his paintwork, brooding in silence. Jazz would get up and pace about every few minutes by the hanger door. Every now and then he would glance back at Prime and then to Ironhide who would simply shake his helm almost imperceptibly.
Ironhide stood by Prime's side out of Rachet's way, his arms folded across his chest, a stern expression on his face. /Probably replaying what he'd do to those 'Cons if he had his servos on them!/. Bumblebee was out doing what he did best – scouting for information. Prime continued to sit. Motionless, withdrawn, and quiet. He had hardly spoken since Phoenix did what she had to do and took flight, only giving the order to transform and roll out, head for here.
While I could appreciate the gravity of what had just happened, I could not stand the silence any longer and chanced to relieve the tension. ''Loved Phoenix's jet judo moves on ol' Screamer, hey bro?'' I directed my rhetorical question towards Sunstreaker who simply looked up at me and grunted. ''Something I think we might be able to perfect, whatta ya reckon?''
Sunstreaker didn't get a chance to answer before Rachet and Ironhide cast me a disapproving look and Jazz spoke up. ''Do ya think they took tha bait? Do ya think it worked?'' Jazz's usual laid back attitude was gone, and I could tell he was concerned. Afterall, he was the one who had helped concoct the plan in the first place.
Ironhide's gruff voice spoke up as Prime remained silent, staring off into the distance, not reacting to anything we had said. ''Bumblebee maintained surveillance following Starscream's departure and Phoenix's withdrawal. He has commed back to me to inform me she headed northeast following the attack to the Petrified National Park.''
''And?'' Sunstreaker spoke up for the first time, beating me to asking the question. Despite knowing Phoenix for a short period of time, I could tell my bro was keen to learn what had happened to her.
Ironhide looked to Prime. ''Starscream sought her out – as we had predicted and planned.'' Prime's optics shuttered, but he remained impassive and still.
''AND?'' Sunstreaker's voice rose higher in worried anticipation, voicing what we all wanted to know the answer to.
Ironhide's voice was calm, though his optics gave away how he felt. ''She left with him in a south-easterly direction towards the Gulf of Mexico. Bumblebee lost visual and, as per our plan, no effort was made to contact her via comm.''
''Then she is now truly on her own.'' Prime's voice sounded almost detached, as though it were not really him speaking.
Rachet gave Prime a small smile as he finished welding a plate into place. ''It has all gone to plan so far Prime, perhaps everything else will go just as smoothly.''
''Tha's right Prime,'' Jazz spoke up, some of his confidence returning, though perhaps just to try and make his leader feel better. ''Phoenix knows every detail of tha plan. For pit's sake, she helped come up with it! She's been briefed an' prepared as well as can be about all tha slaggers she is likely ta come across and how she might handle them. She is smart, brave an' don't forget her powers! Of all of us in this room, aside from yaself of course, she stands tha best chance of success – an' you know it.'' Jazz eyed Optimus very carefully. ''Besides, there is always tha fail safe if things should get fragged up, don't forget that.''
Optimus did not respond, he merely continued to stare out of the hanger door, as though he was waiting for Phoenix to walk through them at any moment. Rachet stepped back from Prime, casting a critical optic over his work. ''Well, you're repaired for now. Not my best work but it will have to do under the circumstances.''
Prime simply gave a brief nod and rose to his pedes. He strode over the entrance of the hanger, coming to a stop in the middle of the door. His servos clenched by his sides, his frame taught with tension and his optics scanning the horizon. It was not hard to see he was only just managing to keep it all together but - he was. My respect and admiration for the mech just ramped up a few notches – if that was even possible.
Sunstreaker came to stand beside me as he too looked at Prime. ''So, what is this ''fail safe'' they just mentioned bro?''
A single word, holding great determination and ferocity, drifted across the room in reply, as Prime continued his lonely vigil. ''Me.''