Rated: M for adult themes: language, violence, mental rape, character death, mech erotica, torture, gore, and suicidal ideation. This varies from chapter to chapter, so read at your own risk.
Important Note: I started this series of fics before Revenge of the Fallen hit the theaters. This is an A.U. 2007 movie verse fic, NOT a ROTF/DOTM/AE/LK/BB or whatever follows fic.
Disclaimer: The only thing I own in this work of complete fiction is Velocity/Sira and Hardcore. They are mine. Everything else is copyrighted and owned by some really rich people. I make no money from this but wish I could.
XxxX
Full Velocity: Finding Salvation
Chapter 19: Stormfront
XxxX.
He sat observing a female jackrabbit nurse her young, but he did not contemplate the diversity of life in this dry, unforgiving land. Optimus sought solitude to sort his thoughts. The lagomorph family simply gave him something to watch as his processor churned.
The Secretary of Defense and other delegates had finally left the base, taking their self-serving arrogance and contradictory demands with them.
They wanted to question Sira face-to-face, so he gave them her official statement and images of the damage Agent Smith inflicted. Also, he reminded the assembly she was not the accused. Ultimately, he did not want her exposed to these men when her temper and sharp tongue could do more damage than her claws. None of them ever saw her.
Questions were raised about Sira being a shapeshifter. Agent Simmons, the only credible witness according to the delegates, denied seeing her change forms. Agent Smith roared and stammered, the only one claiming a monster stalked the corridors of Alpha Base.
They accused the Autobots of illegal business negotiations and threatened to pull funding. Optimus shrugged and explained he only used laws already in place. Then pointedly commented that relocating to a more hospitable nation might benefit the Autobots. He did not mention how operating under the murky legality made him uncomfortable and would choose another path if he had one.
They threatened to strip Sira of all rights as a citizen, then argued among themselves if nonhumans qualified as citizens of the United States. Optimus saw the opening and immediately decreed her under his protection and jurisdiction. General McKaffee stated the Prime of Cybertron cannot simply claim random people as his citizens. Optimus retorted, "According to the laws of my world, I, as Prime, have the final say on Cybertronian citizenship. You obviously do not want her."
They mumbled about forcing the Cybertronians from Earth. According to the Galactic Charter, Prime pointed out, the United States cannot speak for every other nation, and Earth lacked a unified governing body to officially remove the Autobots without conflict. The furtive looks generals and politicians gave each other told Optimus he hit a raw wire. He did not want to make idle threats, so he left the comment hanging in the air between them. A slow blink of his optic shutters, and most of the men glanced away.
Finally, a quiet, watchful General Pittenger asked what the Autobotswanted. Optimus demanded that Agent Smith be removed from his assignment with an official reprimand, and Agent Simmons would remain their liaison. Optimus made it clear he no longer wanted to work with General McKaffee. Then presented his list of grievances and what needed to change
Several Earth hours later, Optimus felt a little better about their place in their adopted home. They still had a long way to go, but they made strides in the right direction.
Yet, he could not shake the nagging worry that chewed the base of his spinal assembly and pressed against his chest. Something was amiss; something moved against them. These omens drove him to the desert. He needed solace and solitude to replay the meeting, what he missed, where did he slip up.
The mother jackrabbit hopped off, leaving her babies to hide under desiccated brush as a coyote wandered by searching for his next meal. The wild canid stopped and sniffed the air, observing the giant sitting nearby. Optimus waved his hand and barked, "Not today."
The coyote loped off, looking over its shoulder to make sure that the giant did not give chase. There were plenty of young jackrabbits this time of year, and most of them weren't hiding at the peds of the Prime of Cybertron.
The day waned away. Lacy cirrus clouds took on a hint of rose, and the sky turned a deeper blue.
Optimus loathed playing dignitary. He hated it on Earth as he hated it on Cybertron. Whenever some politician needed to be stroked and soothed, he had sent his brother. Megatron excelled at subtle platitudes, able to placate the most obstinate chancellor or senator. But that had been a very long time ago.
As the firmament above deepened to blazing magentas, fiery oranges, velvet purples, then finally impenetrable blacks, his thoughts turned from the present to the past. He visited what he once had and lost. His processor worlds and centuries away, he never noticing one of the baby jackrabbits cautiously sniffing his ped.
The presence of another pulled him from the gleaming memories of his homeworld. He watched the female make her way to him. Sira silently moved on bare feet. A habit of hers he had only recently noticed. Ratchet once scolded her for not wearing foot protection, but she rolled her eyes while removing a shard of glass from a toe.
Sira took her time coming to him. She moved with a grace he had yet to see in any human. Her hair hung free, stirred by the dying wind as her eyes glowed from the rising moon. She belonged to the wild nights of a different world, from a different time.
Moving close to him, Sira ran her hand along his ped. Her presence scattered the baby jackrabbit. She sniffed the air and glanced towards its hiding place.
Optimus held his hand out to her. She jumped on and quickly climbed up his arm to perch on his shoulder.
"You seemed like you were worlds away. Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.
He knew silence would not offend her, but he wanted to share. Optimus chose his words carefully. "I wished Elita was here. I would like to show this to her." He gestured to the dark desert landscape, painted in the blues and gray of night. "There is nothing like this on Cybertron."
Sira cocked her head to the side in an unspoken question. He knew the gesture; she wanted him to continue.
"Elita is my sparkmate." He stated evenly, watching the female's reaction.
She gave him a small, knowing smile. "Ah. I bet you can't wait to see her."
He heard the question around the pronoun and knew she had heard his use of it. For Sira to be so opinionated and stubborn, she rarely made assumptions. "Using biological comparisons, Elita would be considered feminine in nature. But she won't be coming to Earth." To discuss Elita, ripped open unhealed wounds, and he rarely allowed his thoughts to wander to what he lost, but tonight something pulled him down those dark and painful paths.
Sira frowned at him, and he could almost see the thoughts running through her head. At times, he could read her like a datapad.
"Elita was and always will be my sparkmate." He watched Sira's expression fall as she realized the meaning of his words, he winced. Perhaps selfish need motivated him, but he wanted Sira to know.
He continued, desperate to banish the silence around them. "She was killed in an assassination attempt. Decepticons attacked us at a Council Meeting. Ratchet was grievously injured; he ignored his own injuries and tried to stabilize her, but his own energon loss became too much, and he went into stasis lock. I think he still blames himself for her termination."
Above him, stars by the billions blinked and twinkled, yet he could not see the star his home circled. "Elita offlined before I could reach her, before anyone could do anything for her. When she died, I felt - I felt our connection ripping from my spark. My Autobots were able to defend the Council Chambers against any further Decepticon assaults, but the damage had been done."
The words tainted the air like a bitter mist. Optimus refused to add any details; the pain threatened to choke him. Mercifully, his companion said nothing and asked less.
Sira shifted on his shoulder and laid her head against his. Her hand ran along the back of his helm, tracing the grooves and rises. He shuttered his optics and let the small woman console him. Her body heat warmed the crook of his neck as her presence warmed his spark. He hated himself for bringing her into his pain, but she was one of the few he could confide in. He wondered if Bumblebee shared any of his personal horrors with Sam or Mikaela.
Was this why they fiercely protected their humans? Were these small organics a balm to the wounds that the war had inflicted upon them? Optimus didn't have an answer for all his questions, but for an evening, he didn't need answers. He had a sympathetic soul to be with, and that was enough.
XxxX.
A hesitant calm embraced the base after Agent Smith left. Humans and Cybertronians worked together in an odd, chaotic harmony. For a while, the government left them alone, and Sira busied herself keeping books and managing the finances of C.E. Tech.
Today, something charged the air and set her pacing the base. She needed to get out; she needed to feel the freedom of open land. Sira headed upward, planning on a run through the desert.
Instead, a thunderstorm, purple and ominous, loomed in the distance. Fingerlike clouds reached towards her, darkening the sky. Sira watched as the lightning flashed and flickered around the heart of the storm. She didn't need a weatherman or sophisticated Doppler radar to tell her the danger lurking within this tempest. She could feel it pound at her soul, charge through her blood, and light up her eyes.
Tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose in warning as the storm's wet, icy breath replaced the usual sirocco that moved around this region. Turning her face to the wind. It felt as if nature created this storm for the single purpose of wiping all life from the planet.
Lifting her nose, she inhaled. The immediate scents of the dry desert gave away to cleansing rain and sharp ozone. This tempest promised to flood arroyos for miles around, washing away anything trapped on the dry riverbeds. Wrapping her arms around herself, an involuntary growl slipped from her. Thunder rolled and vibrated through the heavens, a booming retort to her useless threat.
The wind whispered promises of power and glory. The storm tempted her with dark secrets and tales of tragedies to come. She ignored the seduction, knowing the frenetic, raw energy of the tempest could not be harnessed.
The squall line charged ever closer, and a lightning strike sent a shiver through her.
Enough.
Taking a last look at the violent beauty of this furious behemoth, Sira retreated before a superior force. Heading underground, she sought out the companionship of a friend.
XxxX
Wheeljack slid into Prime's office. Without a preamble, he blurted out, "I've found evidence of several protoforms entering the atmosphere."
The two mechs raced down the corridor to Central Ops. Wheeljack fell in the chair while his commander stood looking over his shoulder. Calling up the meteorological readings, he pointed out the elevated ion levels in an area currently devoid of any natural phenomenon or human activity. The levels indicated up to four entry paths.
Typing rapidly, he showed the Prime satellite images that contained both perfectly immaculate land and long, burning ruts in the ground.
"Sir, I have calculated the angle of possible entry, and these are photos of the most likely landing sights. As you can see, there are only two actual landing areas. You realize what this probably means?" Wheeljack looked to Optimus, hoping the larger mech would find fault with his discovery.
"Seekers. Send out an Autobot hail just in case, but don't give our location. I need to inform the President that there may be four new Decepticons on the planet. And 'Jack, don't tell anyone that you hacked a military satellite."
XxxX
Author's Notes: Sorry for the late update. Thank you to all who read. Comments and faves are immensely appreciated. Don't be afraid to chat I don't bite.
d8rkforcen1ght7 : Thank you. I have learned a lot about writing since I started this fic sooooo long ago. I have had some amazing betas and RL friends help me polish and hone my skills. I cringe every time I open a new chapter to edit.
Yes, Sira looks a little different. To maintain cohesion from this fic to the next and *cough* the next three parts that are in outline *cough* I had to make changes.
TomRiddlesTwin: Thank you. Simmons has been, seen, and experienced many things. shapeshifter is just a regular Tuesday for him.