Happy Friday everybody in my relative timezone! (Happy Saturday everybody in the Auz-land!)
Yep, another update, I've been getting rather sporadic with the updates, but I think in order to save myself struggling to get the chapters ahead of these written in time, I'm slowing the updates down a bit. So... weekdays! And now the shpeel: Billions and billions of energon goodies are currently raining down on Bee4Ever. Because she is far, far to patient with me and my foibles. Also, once you've finished this chapter, if you haven't already, go read her work. Because she is awesome. I don't own anything that you recognize, obviously, I still work for a living ;).
Reviews are my energon. More reviews, more plot-bunnies. Don't ask me why, ask Ratchet, just... not right now. The wrenches.
Chapter 107 – Parachutes and Parleys
(OPOV)
Optimus smiled as his Kae lay curled up, sound asleep in his sleeper. Bumblebee was recharging in front of him, and Jacobs was out cold in Ironhide's cab.
The weapons master and the human seemed to be having a snoring contest.
Optimus roused his sleeping sparkmate as one of the air-crew began walking toward them.
"Right, we're air dropping you in," the man stated calmly, he looked at Jacobs. "I'm assuming that the two of you are chuting together?" he gestured to Kae.
Mikaela snorted.
"Well, we can if you want," she shrugged. Optimus tried not to laugh, she was pouting slightly.
"Nah man, she's a jumper," Jacobs laughed softly. The crewman nodded and handed Kae a parachute. She grinned and immediately started strapping herself in as Jacobs watched her intently behind the crewman's back.
"You'd better not go splat," he muttered to her.
"I haven't splatted yet," Mikaela snorted. She froze. "Crap, I should probably hook into my Exo before I strap in, or Ironhide's gonna wind up having to carry-"
"Nah, I got it," Ironhide rumbled with a snort, Jacobs watched, looking completely impressed as Kae's exo components settled themselves along Ironhide's legs and Bee transformed just as carefully, calmly tucking the duffles under his armour.
Jacobs chuckled and strapped himself into his own chute.
He looked up at Optimus with a grin.
"Set?" he asked with a grin.
Optimus winked his holoform online and nodded somewhat irritably.
"What's that for?" Jacobs asked him curiously.
"If Optimus had been meant to fly, he'd have wings," Ironhide snorted.
"How you stand to be so out of your element is beyond me," Optimus rumbled with a snort of irritation, disliking the way the plane shuddered and vibrated beneath his tires.
Mikaela patted his hood gently and smiled at him.
"Right, the three bots first, then you two!" the crewman called out as the door began opening. Optimus glanced down at his Kae worriedly to find her grinning.
"What do you think?" Jacobs bellowed to her. "You want to hook to the back or run it?"
"I haven't run it in ages!" Mikaela shouted back gleefully.
"Wanna?" Jacobs shouted.
The grin on Kae's face made it almost tolerable that he was about to jump out of a scrapping plane. Again.
"Scratch that!" The crewman shouted suddenly. "Humans first! Go! Go! Go!"
Kae whacked Jacobs and the two of them took off in a full run.
It was actually horrifying to see his Kae hurl herself out of the plane.
It was a blessing then, when the crewman gave him the signal to disembark.
Optimus got out quickly, scanning the airspace for his Kae.
The wind rushing past his audio receptors blocked out the majority of the sound. He couldn't find Kae. Finally, finally he caught sight of a chute opening. A second followed quickly.
Something was wrong.
The chute opened, then lost all of it's shape. Kae was falling, leaving her chute behind.
::. FUCK!.:: Kae's voice screamed over the Primary.
Optimus did the only thing he could think of, he stood straight in the air. Presenting himself as a target.
::. KAE! TO ME!.:: he bellowed.
Then, then the most beautiful of feelings. A levitation field pulling at him. And then his beloved Kae was there, winding herself into his chest plates.
::. To my chamber!.:: he sent to her urgently, covering his chest plates.
He felt her wriggle against his spark chamber, her gentle arms clinging to his frame. Optimus closed his armour around her and released his chutes. They slowed drastically, enough that the air no longer blocked his hearing.
"KAE!" he bellowed.
"Don't shout!" she stated against his chamber. Whoops.
"Primus Kae, don't you ever do that again!" Optimus rumbled in a choked tone, even as he drifted toward the ground.
"I didn't!" Mikaela protested angrily. "I released my chute with Jacobs, my chute completely separated!"
Jacobs, Ironhide and Bumblebee were controlling their chutes, drifting toward him.
"OPTIMUS!" Jacobs bellowed, he sounded terrified, grief stricken and shocked.
"Cover your ears Kae," Optimus rumbled quietly. "I HAVE HER!" he bellowed at the top of his vocal range.
Jacobs sagged in his harness. The raw look of relief the same as his own when Kae had reached his chest.
"WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG!" Jacobs bellowed. Optimus nodded and looked down, another forty feet and he could release his chutes... no... no he had Kae with him. Dropping was a bad idea.
He waited patiently, a hand covering his chest plates until his feet touched the ground. In moments he had his blades out, slicing away the chutes before they could become tangled.
Mikaela squirmed out of his chest plates.
She looked as irate as he felt. He set her down on the ground and she immediately tore her chute pack off.
Jacobs was beside her the next moment, staring at it in shock.
"You didn't do that on purpose," he choked.
"I'm not suicidal," Kae snapped. "That's what I get for not packing my own Primus damned mother fucking chute."
"Jacobs?" Optimus rumbled in a dangerous tone as Ironhide and Bumblebee landed.
"Her cords were cut," Jacobs snarled softly, looking up toward the plane.
"Well, now what?" Ironhide rumbled quietly.
Optimus looked around and vented a deep sigh.
"We continue on," he rumbled quietly. Mikaela shook herself, glared at her chute and shrugged, activating her pack.
"What is it with you and near death experiences?" Jacobs asked her, Optimus looked at the man carefully, he was rather pale.
"People have been trying to kill me since the day I was born. Shit happens, and then you die." Mikaela shrugged irritably. "In other news, now I'm pissed off. Let's go blow shit up."
"That's my niece," Ironhide snorted.
Optimus rolled his optics at them both.
"Well, we gotta call this in anyway," Jacobs sighed, pulling out a phone. He wandered off, carrying Kae's chute pack and holding the phone to his ear.
"Will, yeah, we landed safely thank god, almost didn't... somebody cut Kae's chute cords... with all due respect Major you don't fuck around with chutes... no they were definitely cut... yeah, we'd all appreciate that..." Jacobs read off the serial number and closed the phone. He pocketed it and began walking.
"Lieutenant?" Optimus rumbled curiously.
"I want to find that chute," Jacobs rumbled irritably, "we find it and it makes it easier to find out if those cut cords were meant for Kae or for somebody else."
Bumblebee looked up at Optimus curiously.
"As you wish, old friend," Optimus rumbled, nodding to the scout. Bee grinned and transformed, roaring off toward the most likely spot the chute would have gone.
"You know it's kinda rude to talk without everyone hearing," Jacobs stated rather amicably.
"Which is all well and good, except they didn't say anything," Ironhide snorted in amusement, looking down at Jacobs. The man stared at him. "Bee loves being a scout, at this point all he needs to do is look at Optimus, get a nod and he's off scouting."
"He loves the frontline danger?" Jacobs asked incredulously.
"More he loves the fact that his duties require him to speed everywhere and play a non-stop game of hide and seek," Mikaela stated fondly.
Optimus couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Right, did we land in the right spot? There's supposed to be a delegation coming out to greet us," Ironhide growled, looking around.
"They're over there," Mikaela stated calmly, turning to gesture toward the treeline. "They're waiting for us to stop looking pissed off."
Optimus turned and scanned the area, noting perhaps a dozen humans laying well-concealed in the treeline.
"It is safe to come out!" he called out calmly in Korean. "It is not your people that we are irritated with."
"Well, that's a relief," one of the men called back, he alone emerging from the trees. He walked rather tentatively forward.
"You leave your men behind in the event that we lie," Ironhide rumbled approvingly.
"No offence is intended-" the man started.
"There's none taken," Ironhide snorted. "It's a good tactic. Wise."
The man grinned at him and waved to the rest of the delegation, the men rising from their concealment and striding toward them warily.
Optimus knelt down slowly, bringing his face to the humans' level.
"I apologize that we were not at our best," he rumbled gently.
"Somebody cut chute cords," the man nodded. He turned to look at Kae. "If it is revealed to be one of my people, please let me be the first to offer my heartfelt apologies."
"I rather doubt it would be one of your people, of all the enemies I've made, the Korean people I hope have not become part of that list." She smiled. The two of them bowed to each other. The man relaxed and nodded.
"I hope that I am not presumptuous to ask that we continue with the clearing," he stated tentatively.
"No, we are more than glad to have been asked on this venture," Optimus rumbled with a small smile. "I have been given to understand that children walk these fields, we are glad to help see to their safety."
"Just so long as you don't mind that I'm gonna be usin' them mines for target practice," Ironhide added with a smirk.
::. Found it!.:: Bumblebee sent gleefully. ::. I'm on my way back.::
Optimus nodded.
"My scout reports that he has found the faulty parachute and is en-route back to our position, once he has returned, by your leave we shall begin." Optimus rumbled calmly.
Behind the spokesman, one of the younger of the delegation cheered. He put his arms down quickly as Optimus looked at him.
"My apologies-" he started.
"No apology is necessary," Optimus rumbled with a small smile, turning to watch as Bumblebee sped toward them, spinning around and transforming. He leaned down and handed Jacobs the parachute.
"Sorry, I had to cut one of the lines to get it out of the tree," the scout apologized. "But I kept the line the people finally got out of the trees!" he turned to look at the delegation excitedly. "Hi I'm Bumblebee!"
"What's got you so excited little-brother?" Mikaela laughed at him.
"I found one of those minefields and it's just packed!" Bumblebee chirped excitedly. "I bet three rell that Ironhide can have that entire field going sky high with one shot!"
"He covered ninety kilometres in that amount of time?" the spokesman asked incredulously.
"Ninety clicks!?" Bumblebee demanded. "No, it's ten clicks that way!"
"He found another field!?" the man demanded. "My deepest apologies! We had provided these co-ordinates so that you could land safely!"
Optimus looked down at the man, he looked well and truly upset.
"Mr. Sing," he rumbled gently, "what is it that is truly bothering you?"
The man looked up at him with a defeated expression.
"We had hoped to greet you cordially, you are doing our country a great favour, and yet you arrive to us hiding in fear, and wind up dropping in a danger zone." Ironhide snorted, and the humans looked at him somewhat apprehensively.
"Boys," Ironhide rumbled with a small grin. "Try to look at the positives, you greeted us apprehensively, yeah, but you're unarmed and still fallin' over yourself apologizin' for scrap that ain't your fault. 's far as I'm concerned you can't get much more cordial than that."
Mr. Sing stared at him. Ironhide grinned and knelt down, looking at the man.
"Bear in mind that I'm warrior class," Ironhide smirked. "As far as I'm concerned, you folks greetin' us and not shootin' at us is cordial."
"I'm the ambassador to possibly the most controversial guests this planet has ever seen, walking around without people glaring at me is a definite plus," Mikaela added with a low laugh.
The men stared at her, and a good few burst out laughing.
"So shall we begin our day with a bang?" Ironhide rumbled with a shit-eating grin.
"By your leave," Sing grinned, nodding to Optimus. He turned to Bee. "Lead the way most excellent scout."
Bee chirped gleefully and folded into his alternate form excitedly.
"Do you have transportation?" Optimus rumbled curiously.
"I was informed that I should ride with you, and that there would be jeeps air-dropped for our utilization." Sing stated calmly, he promptly glared at the skies. "However it would seem that our scheduling leaves much to be desired. My men are prepared to make their way back to our base."
"Drone shit, you ride with me," Ironhide rumbled with a grin. "Bee, use that AT modification the soldiers showed you."
Bumblebee promptly transformed back and frowned in concentration, folding himself differently.
"Did it work?" he called out curiously.
Optimus stared at his scout and began laughing. He looked like he could drive the entirety of Cybertron without once transforming into a bipedal form.
"I am surprised you have not made this your form," he rumbled in amusement.
"It cuts my speed," Bumblebee stated grumpily.
"Good, means I can keep up with you," Ironhide snorted. He disengaged Kae's exo and folded into his own truck form, opening doors and dropping tailgate. "Hop in boys!"
Optimus couldn't help but chuckle at Sing's gleeful expression as his men cheered and flocked to Ironhide, the majority climbing into his box with broad grins and holding tightly to the bars and straps Ironhide sent out from his frame for them.
The younger group of humans were grinning and holding tightly to Bee's frame.
"So how fast do you think you can go like this?" one asked rather conspiratorially.
"Anybody object to me finding out?" Bumblebee replied just as quietly, grinning like a mad-bot. Optimus chuckled at them and casually folded into his own truck form as Kae quickly integrated into her exo.
"Autobots, Roll out!" he rumbled with a smirk as his Kae caught hold of his own frame, opting to ride balanced on his chassis rather than try to squeeze into his sleeper.
Bumblebee took off like a bot out of the pit, spraying dirt clods as his passengers whooped and cheered. Ironhide snorted his amusement at the scout's antics, roaring off behind him. Optimus chuckled again and took off somewhat more sedately, easily pacing the two bots across the rough terrain.
"How do you manage this terrain!?" Sing demanded incredulously. "With no offence intended, you do not seem to be a rough terrain vehicle!"
"That's 'cause you've never seen Optimus open it up!" Ironhide called out over the radios with a snort.
"Open it up!" Jacobs howled gleefully.
"Objection Mr. Sing? Kae?" Optimus rumbled with a snort.
"I'm solid back here!" Kae called over the radio and behind him.
"By all means," Sing stated wide eyed. Optimus let loose a vicious grin.
"Ironhide, Bumblebee, engage temporal forcefields, Maximum Overdrive!" he ordered. The two bots promptly began howling, engaging forcefields and really taking off, their human passengers safe within the fields.
Optimus smirked and let them get a head start before lightly switching gears.
His own tires began spewing sod and dirt as he threw his engine's power behind them.
Kae let loose a battlecry, and that spurred him on further, catching up with his bots.
"Gully jump!" Bumblebee howled, showing off his forcefield skills and throwing himself over it.
Optimus snorted and revved up some more.
"No, if you want to see jumping," he rumbled with a vicious grin. "Kae! Solid?"
"SET!" Kae called out, and he could hear her grin. Bumblebee screeched around to watch, staring incredulously as Optimus threw a ramping forcefield in front of himself.
Ten feet in the air, the gravity on this planet was ridiculously light, after all.
The humans in his cab were howling as he landed, Kae was laughing.
"You're both showoffs," Ironhide called to them, driving over his own forcefield bridge.
"Minefield starts in eight hundred metres," Bumblebee called out. Optimus slowed, driving to park beside his scout. Kae lightly stepped down and stood patiently beside him as the humans disembarked and the bots transformed.
"Prime gets first shot?" Ironhide rumbled curiously.
"However our scout has made a bet that you can chain blow this field in one shot, my trusted Weapons master." Optimus rumbled in amusement.
"True," Ironhide rumbled musingly. He looked at Bee. "Well with that being the case it's your aiming call youngling."
Bee grinned and onlined a holoform target in the middle of the field.
"Weapons hot!" Ironhide roared, bringing a cannon online.
"Final objections?" Optimus rumbled politely, looking at Mr. Sing.
"Let's see what happens," the man grinned. Ironhide aimed for a split second and let off a shot. Optimus quickly focused on his Weapons master as the gruff, stern and standoffish bot promptly began giggling, the humans cheering as the single shot set the explosives off in a chain of blasts.
The dust began to settle and Optimus calmly began scanning the area, looking for any remaining mines. Bumblebee watched him gleefully, bouncing slightly as the lot of them waited for the results.
"There are five mines remaining," Optimus rumbled calmly. "They did not detonate due to a sixth in the chain, which was a dud."
"Scrap," Bumblebee snorted, he looked at Optimus.
"Without doubt there will be more wagering throughout the day, I will keep score," he rumbled with a snort. Bee grinned.
"Your turn my niece," Ironhide rumbled with a grin.
"Which cannon?" Kae asked curiously.
Ironhide thought for a second.
"Try cannon ∂Beta three∂." he rumbled musingly. Kae stared at him. "It's about time you learned how to control it anyway," Ironhide grinned at her.
"Okay..." she murmured, concentrating and bringing the cannon online. "Although I'm pretty sure you're just saying this cannon so I'm blown on my ass..."
"No," Ironhide rumbled with a snort. ∂Now, my niece, the trick with cannons stronger than your frame, is to brace it with a temporal field.∂ He knelt down and began gently adjusting her stance, explaining each action she needed to take.
"Now take aim and fire," Ironhide grinned, hovering a hand behind her, just in case.
Mikaela took aim and fired.
Perfectly.
"Scrap it all!" Bumblebee called out as the mines exploded.
"What?" Kae asked curiously.
"He's just complainin' 'cause he's not as quick a learner," Ironhide snorted. "Right, we'll cover more ground if we're in two teams."
"Indeed," Optimus rumbled, nodding. "Objections Mr. Sing?"
"To covering more ground?" the man laughed. "No, I am honoured that you are so interested in coming to our aid. Wo Ling?"
"I go with Bumblebee?" the man grinned, bringing out a set of maps.
"Indeed, you guide through the east, I will guide the west, rendezvous at base one for the evening meal," Sing nodded.
Ironhide clapped a gentle hand on Bumblebee's shoulder.
"You're with me," he rumbled with a smirk. "I don't get near enough time to spend with my nephew teachin' you to shoot."
Bumblebee promptly whooped gleefully.
"Let's roll," Ironhide smirked at the humans riding with him, folding into his alt form.
Optimus glanced down to see Jacobs looking up at him curiously.
"You and Kae are with me," Optimus rumbled with a smirk. Jacobs promptly began hooting gleefully himself.
Weapons Master and Scout roared off, Optimus could barely hold back his snort of laughter at the topic their conversations began taking.
"Where to next?" Jacobs asked with a broad grin.
"Ohh..." Mr. Sing promptly pursed his lips, he looked down at his map, up at the sun. Optimus watched them in amusement, scanning the map's co-ordinates. "This way." he stated cheerfully. Pointing. The closest field. Optimus couldn't help but grin.
"Permission to scout ahead?" Mikaela asked him sweetly.
"Is there anything I can say that will convince you otherwise?" Optimus snorted. He watched his Kae in amusement as she put on a mockingly serious frown. As if there were anything that needed working out.
"Probably not, no," she snorted. That was his Kae.
"Communications," Optimus ordered calmly.
"Aye sir," his Kae nodded calmly you hear me alright?.:: she added over the comm link. Wait...
She grinned at him, brought out a scanner from her exo and glanced around, getting her bearings before running off.
::. Mikaela how-.:: Optimus rumbled flatly.
::. You know how I never go anywhere without my i-Pod?.:: she asked cheerfully.
::. But...::
::. As it turns out if you hotwire my i-Pod into the Exo I can use the sender, too.:: she stated cheerfully.
"She is just like her little-brother," Optimus snorted to the humans, letting Kae hear.
Kae began laughing.
"Isn't it the other way around?" Mr. Sing asked curiously. "Her little brother is like her?"
::. Oh heaven forbid.:: Mikaela sent to him.
Optimus desperately tried to not snort in amusement.
::. Kae to Optimus.:: Mikaela sent to him cheerfully.
::. Go ahead Kae.:: he rumbled with a snort.
::. Is that an order Optimus?.:: she asked cheerfully.
::. What? No.:: he snorted.
::. Good. Kae to Optimus.::
::. Go ahead Kae.:: he rumbled, watching the humans.
::. I know you were watching, does the exo make my aft look big?.:: she asked him with an absolute tone of innocence. Optimus couldn't help it, if she was going to play that game he was putting her on speaker.
::. No.:: he rumbled regardless.
::. Good.:: she stated with a grin. Optimus put her on speaker.
"Kae to Optimus," she sent after a moment.
"Go ahead Kae," he rumbled with a grin.
"Are you guys coming or you just gonna stand around all day gossiping like old ladies?" her voice rang out with a broad grin. Optimus snorted and reached up, covering his vocal processors. A moment of silence.
"Oh you didn't," Mikaela's voice stated flatly. "You put me on speaker you right prat!?"
"Sorry Kae," Optimus rumbled, it was all he could do to not laugh.
"I can feel you laughing Optimus," her voice stated wryly.
That's all from me folks, see you monday! (Or tuesday in Ausiland and thereabouts in the world... Later!)