Chapter 35 - Like Sparks
(RPOV)
The next two days were a whirlwind of organization.
Optimus just wanted to get on the Primus damned plane. It was almost painful to watch the way he prowled the hangar doors. Waiting.
Finally, finally, he was the first one on. Parked and waiting as the soldiers ran, and every auto-bot loaded onto the two C17's.
::. She's alright Optimus.:: Ratchet sent in amusement, backing up to park just in front of his leader. ::. Mikaela is a surviver and safe at SOCCENT, I hope you used the two days to cool down, Jetfire is an ally, he was simply behind the time.::
::. She is supposed to be under my protection as her guardian, not halfway around the world among strangers.:: Optimus rumbled irritably. Two hours into the flight he snarled in irritation and onlined his holoform, pacing the length of the plane with a thundercloud expression on his face. Auto-bots and humans both wisely staying out of his way.
"What's with him?" Lennox finally dared ask in a barely audible whisper two hours into the pacing, leaning against Ratchet.
"He can still hear you," Ratchet stated in a normal voice, onlining his own holoform. "He's still pissed that Mikaela isn't within a mile of him."
Optimus' holoform finally roared in impotent fury, kicking and punching his own truck form. Ratchet nodded to Ironhide sharply, and two holoforms ganged up on the angry one, pinning him in place and struggling to hold him there.
"Optimus," Ratchet stated in a calm tone. "If you don't stop that you're going to dent your fender. I'll have to pull it out, which will scratch your paint. And then Mikaela will be pissed off at you."
"She should be pissed off at me already!" Optimus roared.
"Droneshit," Ironhide rumbled in amusement. "If you really want to have it out, do us a favour and quit making such a racket against your armour. C'mere boy." Ironhide practically took Optimus' holo by the scruff of the neck and dragged him into the centre of the plane before hauling off and giving the holoform a fist to the belly. "You're distracted, Optimus," Ironhide rumbled in a cheerful tone. "How the hell did you not see that coming?" he gave Optimus a shove. The holoform stumbled for a second before straightening, his eyes an icy, glacier blue and just as warm.
"Round two," Optimus growled, charging forward. The two holoforms proceeded to duke it out until both were lying on the ground, occasionally throwing a weak whack at each other and breathing heavily.
"Just admit that you're helmet over heelstruts for the femme and be done with it," Ironhide rumbled, throwing another whack at Optimus.
"Humans are not open to such things," Optimus growled, whacking Ironhide back.
"Mikaela is not one to be lumped in with a group, none of them are," Ratchet stated mildly. Ironhide whacked Optimus.
"Um, how does that work?" Epps asked quietly.
"At this point? Ratchet does the talking, Ironhide does the hitting. Between the two of them they get Optimus back on track. It's about time he did it too, that bot hasn't off-railed since... anyway." Sideswipe explained calmly, watching the interlude with a grin.
"But..." Lennox frowned.
"Haven't you lot ever gotten so pissed off at something that the only way to get yourself back on track is to just duke it out?" Sideswipe asked in amusement. "Optimus doesn't really have that option most of the time, he's an elite fighter. He can kick my ass. Most of the time he doesn't even try. Doesn't want to hurt others. Pacifist." Sideswipe chuckled.
"She trusted me to keep her safe!" Optimus thundered, whacking Ironhide again.
"Indeed, and then she used the voice of command, ordered everyone to get the hell out of the area and defused a bomb herself. And then revived Jetfire, brought him up to speed and wound up in Egypt. Admit it, even you had the pit of a time defying that command." Ratchet stated amicably. Ironhide whacked Optimus and sat up.
"That's one of the main reasons isn't it?" Ironhide grinned down at the Prime, "She's never actually called you Prime, has she? She hasn't even called you sir properly, has she!?" Ironhide roared with laughter, laying back down again. "All these vorn I wondered!" the holoform howled. "You scrapping honey!"
In silence, Optimus punched him in the side. Ironhide just kept laughing.
"Alright kids," Ratchet chuckled, walking over and hauling them both upright by their shirt fronts. "Either go round three or sod off."
Optimus snorted and caught the older holoform in a headlock, messing his hair for a second before pulling him into a proper, one armed hug.
"Only you two, and now her," Optimus finally sighed.
"Yeah well, we all learn in time," Ironhide murmured gently, clapping the younger holo on the shoulder. He turned and walked back to his truck form, lightly running a hand down Chromia's form as he went. She onlined her own and followed him, winding an arm around his waist.
"Eventually," she said with a smug smile. Ironhide smirked and kissed the tip of her nose before they both blinked out.
Optimus went back to pacing, but now his stance was more impatient than infuriated. Even the agitation in his steps decreasing with every minute that ticked by.
At least they were getting closer. Ratchet glanced over at the soldiers, there was confusion in their eyes.
"Uh..." Epps started quietly. Optimus' holoform looked up at him. "Can I uh..."
"Just ask, Epps," Ratchet snorted quietly.
"What's Ironhide been wondering?" the man asked curiously.
"What turns his head!" Ironhide snorted. "Figures it'd be a femme strong enough to boss him around."
"Ironhide!" Ratchet protested immediately, shooting a glare at his old friend.
"What?"
"Tact, Ironhide, tact," Chromia piped up with a low laugh, onlining her holoform and lightly stroking his paintwork. "It is far more tactful to state that she is a femme who does not demand him to maintain the mantle of leadership in her presence. She lets him be Optimus!"
The plane was silent but for the roar of the atmosphere and engines. Will was nodding thoughtfully, but then the Major was a happily bonded man. Epps still looked confused.
"So..."
"She is the third individual within several of your millennia," Optimus rumbled quietly. "Who has ever treated me as an equal."
(MPOV)
They were coming today. I paced.
The soldiers watched me warily, I was making no attempt to hide the predator's stalking grace that haunted my steps. In reality, I prowled around the outside of my cage of tents. The boundary of where I was allowed to go for my own Primus damned safety.
They were coming today. I paced.
Jetfire transformed and strode toward me, looking like he was ready to start up a conversation. Instead, he stopped, watching me with sudden wariness. The soldiers had watched in shock as he'd taken a step back, turned around and transformed again. Parking in his spot and sitting there very, very quietly.
They were coming today. I paced.
Two enormous planes touched down. I paced. They said 'don't go to the plane'. I didn't go to the plane. I paced back and forth now, watching auto-bots driving down ramps. Where was he?
Finally, finally the familiar blue and red flames emerged from a plane and drove slowly down the ramp, driving forward. They said 'don't go to the vehicles until they were certain of their identities.'
Fuck them, I'd know those revs and spark resonation anywhere.
I took off running, ignoring the warning shouts and climbing onto Optimus' hood in three steps, sitting on him and leaning against the window, holding on for a second as he transformed and gathered me in his hand.
"Mikaela, you are supposed to make sure I am not a Decepticon in disguise," Optimus rumbled in irritation, looking down at me with narrowed optics.
"Horse-shit," I retorted snappishly. "You are the only bot that idles at twenty-seven hundred RPM and has a five level hertz resonation that still pulls through as a pure tone."
We glared at each other for a long moment, before we both relented. Optimus delicately raised me to his shoulder and I squirmed into my spot, the one where I could touch his cheek, but he could still see me.
Twenty some feet below, Colonel Baldwin saluted Lennox before exclaiming.
"It's about bloody time you got here! She's been scaring the hell out of the men! Since when do women stalk around camp in fatigues and four inch heels looking like a caged friggen tiger!? Even that Blackbird is leery of her, and his gun is triple her size!"
Ironhide and Ratchet glanced at each other for some reason and crashed against each other, roaring with laughter.
"I am so sorry I lost you," Optimus rumbled softly.
"Bull," I said in a far calmer tone, "you didn't lose me, I got space bridged. There is a difference. Element of surprise gets all of us, but you are going to give me your transmission wavelength, the phones here are all in bloody Arabic! Next time I vote we get me lost in China, where I'll have a fighting bloody chance of knowing where I am. And it's not a desert."
Optimus snorted back a bark of laughter, he reached up and ran a gentle finger down my arm.
"It is good to have you back on my shoulder, Kae," he rumbled gently.
"Did you leave my polisher at base?" I asked curiously.
"We did," Optimus rumbled, "but we did bring your toolkit along."
"Excellent!" I sighed in a relieved tone, "you wouldn't believe how rough that jeep over there is running! I swear they drove it through a dune instead of over it!"
(OPOV)
Optimus looked at the Femme sitting comfortably on his shoulder and couldn't help the rumble of laughter that burst from him.
"We're going to be going out a bit further into the desert and setting up our own base camp away from the antenna farm," Lennox called up to her apologetically.
"Did you bring your own jeeps?" Mikaela called down.
"Um, no, we brought fuel though," Lennox called up.
"How about some spare parts?" she asked curiously.
"Lots of those," Ratchet rumbled beside Optimus.
"Good," Mikaela nodded, "half of those poor things have taken a right shit kicking." she stood on his shoulder and took a running leap, fairly flying through the air to land lightly on Ratchet's shoulder as everyone stared at her.
"It's the great flying fleshbag!" Skids called out suddenly. Mikaela barked out a laugh and looked Ratchet in the face.
"You made sure he didn't fly off the handle right?" she said calmly, turning to look at Optimus with a mischievous grin. "We weren't supposed to destroy stuff."
"There are a few handprints dented into some planes," Ratchet shrugged.
Mikaela snorted, shaking her head.
"Where are my tools?" she demanded, "half those jeeps aren't going to make it very far, and I think I found the guy who keeps burning out all those clutches I've been replacing."
Ratchet laughed and walked toward the plane, picking up and carrying an enormous case of tools, looking for all the world like he was carrying a lunchbox.
"Let's get to work then," he rumbled cheerfully.
(MPOV)
"Bloody sand gets everywhere," I muttered several hours later, dismantling the carburetters on my sixth jeep of the day.
"Mikaela!" Ratchet called out, startling me just enough that I hit my head on the hood.
"Ow! Ratchet, what's up?" I asked, rubbing my head as I walked toward him.
"Prime needs to talk to you," he grinned down at me, "you don't have a concussion."
"Okay, where is he?" I asked, wiping my hands off.
"Right here," Optimus rumbled, striding carefully over a dune toward me before transforming into his truck form. The passenger door clicked gently open. I automatically stripped off my oily coveralls and climbed in, thankful that I was at least wearing shorts and a tank-top beneath.
"Where are we headed?" I asked calmly, snapping the seatbelt into place.
"West."
"Sunset?" I smiled at the dashboard. Optimus chuckled softly, the vibrations once again shooting directly to my abdomen. I idly caressed the butter-soft leather of his seats as we climbed higher into the dunes, not even realizing I did until a small shudder rippled through the cab.
"Optimus, are you alright?" I asked worriedly, sitting forward and listening to the familiar, smooth revs of his engine.
"Your hands are gentle," he murmured.
"So this feels good?" I asked with a small smile, sitting back and running my hands over the seats again. A low moan rattled through the cab.
"You behave," Optimus rumbled gently.
"Sorry," I murmured, folding my hands in my lap.
"You know that was cruel an orn ago," Optimus chuckled suddenly, slowing down and turning toward the sun.
"Beg pardon?" I sat somewhat forward in confusion.
"Teasing everyone on that motorcycle of yours, I think Ironhide intends to thank you somehow, he and Chromia were interfaced all night last night."
"Wait, wait," I said incredulously as his air-brakes hissed, "Slow down for those of us with inferior processors, the lot of you got hot and bothered by me on a motorcycle?" I hopped out of the cab and watched him transform.
"Two separate units working in perfect synchronicity? You forget that Ratchet isn't the only one who can smell your pheromones." Optimus crouched down carefully and sat on the edge of the cliff, offering a hand toward me. I blushed and lightly sat in his palm, allowing him to delicately deposit me on his leg.
I squirmed slightly to rest against his abdomen, one leg dangling along the inside of his thigh. "So what did you want to talk about?" I asked curiously, craning my neck to look up at his face, "it's been a long time since we last ran off to talk."
An enormous, gentle silver finger wrapped lightly around my waist.
"I am so sorry I lost you," he said again.
"Do I seriously have to kick your ass-plates to get you to quit that?" I grumbled, delicately folding my arms around his finger. Optimus chuckled darkly, his spark resonating with a private memory.
We sat in comfortable silence for a time, watching the desert slowly dim into glorious reds, oranges and golds.
"Have you discovered how to trigger the All-Spark's knowledge from your mind?" he asked suddenly.
"Sort of?" I said uncertainly, "It eases off when I'm doing something familiar, it's when I'm learning something new that the symbols go crazy. It's not like it actually shuts off."
"You still see them?" Optimus looked down at me with concern in his optics.
"Ever since I touched the cube splinter," I looked up at him calmly. "It's... actually it's fascinating now that I know what it is, anytime I'm working on an engine or helping Ratchet patch one of you lot up they start labelling parts." I leaned back against him and grinned. "I'm learning anatomy in Cybertronian, double education. It's the dreams that are crazy though."
"Dreams?" Optimus asked in amusement.
"I've started dreaming in Cybertronian," I laughed, "it's the weirdest thing, I wake up and listen to Ratchet speaking english and it throws me for a loop."
How much do you understand?∂
Enough that it gives me hope, I was never very good at languages.∂ I chuckled at his amused expression.
"It still doesn't feel right though," I mused, "It's like I'm learning this in preparation to speak a language I should already know... if that makes sense." I frowned. "The symbols and the language don't jive, like writing english words in the Cyrillic alphabet."
"There are a thousand variations, what do you think your's should sound like?" Optimus chuckled. I sat silently, frowning at the sunset. "Kae?" Optimus asked gently.
ΩIt should sound like a language spoken in truth,Ω I said finally. Optimus flinched. "Optimus?" I looked up at him worriedly.
"You... that..." he murmured, "Impossible..." his eyes looked as though they were a million years away.
"I'm sorry if I've offended you," I murmured contritely. He shook his head minutely and looked down at me.
"It has been a long, long time since I last heard that language spoken aloud." Optimus rumbled softly. "So long that I might have forgotten it." He gave a low cough, as though clearing his throat. "How have you been sleeping?"
"Not too badly, I guess," I shrugged.
"But?"
"How do you figure there's a but in there?" I looked up at him with a lopsided grin as the sun dipped below a dark horizon, the sky a fading, brilliant red.
"You are tired."
"I'll live," I said gently, running my hand gently along his finger.
"We should get back," he murmured, I nodded and hugged his hand for a second before sliding down to the ground. I climbed into his truck form and buckled myself in, listening to the soft music playing over his radio. I drifted to sleep, feeling secure in the warmth of Optimus' cab.
(OPOV)
Optimus drove smoothly down the dunes, enjoying the feeling of having his Kae sleeping in his cab again. He rumbled to a halt and stared at the sight before him.
A deactivated Decepticon scout.
"Prime, keep it low," Ratchet said warningly.
"How did it find this place?" Optimus rumbled in a dangerous tone, onlining his holoform. He walked forward to look at the metal scorpion.
"Scout," Jetfire answered immediately, "bin in the deserts a while by the look of it."
"Look at it's tail!" Epps shouted suddenly.
"I'll be damned that's the same one that attacked us!" Lennox bellowed. He jogged over and drew his gun, shooting it a couple of times. "That's for Fig, and that's for Donnelly."
Epps crossed his arms and nodded satisfaction.
Optimus walked to Scorponok's spark chamber and stared. It was cold.
"You should be proud o' that girl," Jetfire rumbled with a nod, "felt it coming in her recharge, took it out clean in one shot."
Ironhide crossed his arms and nodded approval.
"MIKAELA TOOK IT DOWN!?" Optimus roared, the girl in question jerked awake in his cab and got out, walking toward the group of holoforms and soldiers.
"Yes, I did," she said calmly, she glanced up at Ironhide before locking her gaze with his. "I looked it in the optics at twenty feet and saw nothing but the intent to kill."
"What in Primus' name were you doing twenty feet from it!?" Optimus bellowed at the femme. He strode toward her until they were standing toe to toe, enraged beyond even his own belief. His Kae, his reliant had been twenty feet away from a Decepticon Symbiont!?
"Standing my ground," she snarled back at him, looking up and refusing to back away so much as an inch.
"Jetfire should have gotten you out of the area, not given you neural fibres for you to stand and fight!" he bellowed, he turned to go shout at the bot in question. He jerked back in shock as Mikaela's hand flashed out and caught the front of his shirt, hauling him right back.
"And if that thing had reached where it was aiming and taken out Jetfire's spark!?" Mikaela shouted right back at him, "Then what!? Do I run to the tower that was it's first target!?" She swung him around with force, her free hand flying up to point at the antenna farm. "And once that's been destroyed where do I go!? If you even think for one nanosecond that I will ever back down and hide behind another like a common coward YOU ARE SORELY MISTAKEN!" she finished in a full bellow.
Optimus almost collapsed in shock as she bellowed at him. Energon flickered over her skin, crackling in her hair and sparking between her fingers. The nanites went into hyperactivity, growing and darkening her hair again until it reached her waist; the only damages they could ascertain.
Her eyes snapped with anger, glowing their rich, mesmerizing blue-green colour.
"We made a deal to never lie to each other, do you want me to lie now Optimus?" she snarled, "Do you want me to tell you that I'll run and HIDE!? I WILL NEVER RUN FROM DUTY!" she finished in a bellow again.
They stood in silence, toe to toe and surrounded by shocked auto-bots and humans. A goodly few were sitting wide eyed, sprawled in the sand.
Mikaela continued to glare up at him in a true fury, apparently not even noticing that her hand had remained fisted in the front of his shirt.
That's what she hid away from the world!? Optimus thought in awe. He stared at the first Femme to have ever, ever shouted him down.
And she was absolutely correct, too.
Damn it.
Of their own volition, his arms snapped up to ensnare her, crushing her to his chest. He bent down and buried his face in her hair, smelling the vivid, sweet scents that were purely Mikaela. She stood rigidly for a long, spark pounding second before she sagged into his arms, her own lightly winding around his waist as she buried her face into his shoulder.
"Whoa," Ironhide finally rumbled.
There was silence for a long moment, until it was shattered by Ratchet bursting out into a rich peal of laughter, Ironhide quickly joining him.
"I'm sorry," Mikaela whispered into his shoulder, he could feel her shoulders drooping. The bitter tones of guilt and remorse began to touch her scent.
"Don't be," he murmured into her hair, holding her even tighter. "Don't you ever be sorry for being yourself Kae."
"Pitfire," Ironhide gasped out between guffaws.
"Did she just..." Will asked in a shocked, quiet tone.
"Yes she did," Ratchet laughed harder. "Damn, but I thought I was doing well. Mikaela's been letting me win, bugger she's good."
"Look at that, didn't even raise her hand," Sideswipe added with a grin. "Little Sister's one hell of a force to be reckoned with if she managed to hold that back."
Optimus tightened his arms around the femme, and was shocked once more when she did the same, burrowing herself into him.
"They're going to be ribbing me for days," she mumbled into his chest with a low groan. Optimus fought desperately to hold back the bark of laughter, and failed miserably.
"What do you expect?" he demanded, pulling back to look into her eyes with a broad grin. "You out-shoot Ironhide, out-race most of us, heal with barely any effort, shout me down and still claim to be the least of us?"
"I am the least of you!" she protested immediately, "Look at me! I don't even reach the shoulder of your damned holoform!"
Optimus couldn't help himself, he reached down and scooped her into his arms as she squeaked in surprise.
"My Kae," he said softly, looking up into her eyes. His chin touched the bared skin of her stomach. "you will never be the least of us."
Mikaela smirked and leaned down.
"Well then if you're so keen on trampling our laws of physics you can lift that engine for me while I get that damned clutch in place," she said with a low laugh.
"You should be getting some rest," Ratchet piped up.
"Rest is for the dead," Mikaela stated patiently, "I've got one more jeep to finish before we can roll out. Let me down you great bully!" she laughed, squirming in the holoform's arms.
"We only needed three!" Lennox exclaimed suddenly, "you've got five already finished!"
"You're taking the best of their jeeps," Mikaela said calmly, "Can't very well leave them with nothing but crap!"
"No, you've resurrected five jeeps from the deadpool," Bear laughed as he walked over. "But they will get used and trashed, I promise." he added.
"Philistines!" Mikaela grumbled as Optimus laughed, tossing her in the air for a second so that he could hold her cradled against his holoform's chest. His spark thrilled when she curled tiredly into him.
Optimus gently carried her into his sleeper, laying her gently in the bunk and holding her pinned in his holoform's arms until she was sound asleep.
She woke again when Optimus began driving after the soldiers.
"We're only going a couple of miles out," Optimus murmured to her. She rose and sat in the passenger seat regardless.
"I can't believe Chance forgot my boots!" she said suddenly. "I'm going to be wearing four inch stilettos for Primus only knows how long!"
"In fairness, they look incredible on you," Optimus rumbled quietly.
Mikaela ran gentle hands over his seat again, an idly soothing, openhearted touch. Optimus couldn't help the quiet hum that escaped him. Her hands slowed and stilled, her breathing slow and steady once more.
Optimus parked carefully, doing his best to keep his Kae asleep.
She woke regardless, the second his air-brakes hissed.
"Sleep, Kae," he rumbled softly.
"When the work is finished," she murmured gently, she gave his seat a gentle stroke as she got out of the cab, walking toward the soldiers and catching hold of a rope as it swung toward her.
"Kae! Pull!" Lennox shouted. She set her feet and hauled back, pulling an enormous pole into the air as three others stabilized it. Ratchet transformed and casually leaned on the pole, sinking it down into the sand with a grin.
Optimus transformed behind his medical officer, leaning down and delicately picking up one of the poles.
Kae grinned up at him and caught the bottom, delicately placing the end of the pole in it's proper place before backing away slightly. Optimus pressed the pole into the sand and watched in amusement as his Kae shimmied up the pole, carrying a rope.
"Kae what the hell!" Epps shouted up at her with a grin, "you got monkey blood in you or something?"
"All yours Ratch!" Kae shouted with a laugh, locking herself onto the pole and tying it off, she slid back down and walked to the next pole
"Mikaela has the same 23 chromosome makeup of a human being, Apes have 24," Ratchet began patiently. "You all have a similar makeup."
"You hear that? The medi-bot's calling us monkeys!" Epps grinned.
"I'll take monkey over insect!" Mikaela stated with a grin, grabbing the rope Chance handed her and scurrying up the pole.
Optimus walked carefully toward her and gently held the dew sheet in place as she tied it off. She smiled at him and slid down the pole again, rapidly puttering around the base camp and doing whatever task the soldiers called over to her.
"How is her energon signal stronger?" Optimus rumbled to his medical officer.
"She still has neural-fibres along her nerves, feeding off the energon," Ratchet grumbled. "Kae!" he called out.
"Ratchet!" she called back, glancing up at the medi-bot as she worked her way through putting up one of the tents.
"How long have you had those neural-fibres stuck in you?" Ratchet growled.
"Um, how many days have I been in the desert. Three now I guess."
"Out, Mikaela, Now." Ratchet stated firmly. She sighed and cupped her hand over her wrist. The fibres withdrew smoothly, delicately wrapping themselves around her wrist. She took the heavy bracelet off and tossed it to the medi-bot.
"Thanks Ratch, now I feel bloody deaf!" she grumbled, she reached up and rubbed an ear irritably, digging her feet into the sand.
"You don't need the extra input, you need sleep, you can have them back in the morning." Ratchet snorted.
Mikaela sighed and stretched as the soldiers bunked down, Chance trotted toward her with a broad grin, holding a large handful of netting.
"You brought my hammock!" Mikaela laughed brightly, throwing her arms around the soldier. He laughed and ducked into her tent, emerging a minute later with a grin.
"NOW sleep," Chance stated with a smirk.
"I dunno what it is with the lot of you and sleep," Mikaela grumbled, rolling her eyes. She glanced up at Optimus with a small smile. "Good recharge," she murmured softly.
"Sweet dreams," Optimus rumbled gently, transforming and parking beside her tent. She reached up and ran a gentle hand down his fender, she turned and did the same for Bumblebee before walking into her tent.
All but the men taking first watch bunked down immediately, and the sounds of soft snores filled the area.