Chapter 176 – The Trick With Re-entries

(OPOV)

Optimus touched his chest-plates worriedly. His mate was further than she had ever been from him before. The pang of distance wasn't new to him, Primus only knew how distant he and Elita had been from each other in the past.

He vented a low sigh of the memory, the multitude of times during their bonding that Elita had been annoyed by the pang of distance, the inability to get further from him. Optimus shook his head somewhat and smiled. His mate was ignoring the inherent pull between their sparks, but that was necessary in her training.

She was to be a seeker, a title that suited her wandering nature and love of flight perfectly. His Kae had been in space for several of the human's hours now.

Optimus turned back to the communications tower and continued to listen to the reports the humans gave.

"Will the auto-bots be willing to share that forcefield technology you used at the Kortes Dam?" Director Mearing asked him patiently.

"We will," Optimus nodded as patiently. "I have noted in your histories times when the waters of the ocean encroach upon the land far more quickly than the cities can be evacuated."

"The Tsunamis, precisely," Director Mearing nodded.

Optimus reached up once more and touched his chest, rubbing ever so slightly at another pang.

"You okay Optimus?" Will called out worriedly.

"Mikaela is walking on the moon," Optimus rumbled calmly. "The distance is taking it's toll upon us both, but it is a distance I fear we must learn to tolerate. Now then, Director Mearing-"

Optimus broke off, bent almost double and falling to his knees the next second.

Agony, pure agony. He reached for his mate and found himself stunned that she was much further than the moon now, further than the solar system!

~Kae!~ he sent in horror. His agony wasn't his own, he had already learned the resistance to the pain of separation. His Kae was in agony!

~Optimus~ her voice whispered weakly. ~Optimus I don't understand, how did I get here... where am I?~

Optimus couldn't get a precise location from his Kae's spark, she was far too distant. He simply knew which way he needed to fly to get to her.

Unfortunately. That direction was a few degrees away from straight up.

(JfPOV)

Jetfire landed on the moon, his granddaughter close beside him. She was rubbing her chest-plates lightly, so he gave her a stern look.

::. No, it's alright, it just twinges.:: she immediately informed him.

Jetfire nodded and began striding to the Ark, while they were here, Sentinel had mentioned he'd wanted more inclusive scans, attempt to see if they could salvage the wreck.

That and the Wreckers wanted to know if there was enough left of the ship to bring the auto-bot flagship back into service.

It was a magnificent ship, after all.

He had won the bet, of course, his granddaughter had taken to space as well as he himself had. Which meant that when they returned planet side Starscream would be the first flier to change his Decepticon insignias to those of the Auto-bots.

His second in command was grumbling about that, but regardless, they had agreed.

Jetfire glanced at the command trine and snorted in amusement.

Starscream was pouting.

::. Shall we settle for simply getting rid of the Decepticon marks?.:: Jetfire sent to him in amusement, beside him, he could see the tiny shudders in his granddaughter's frame as she giggled, the lack of atmosphere ceasing the sound from reaching him.

::. Allow me to be a neutral for a time, before I am to call myself auto-bot.:: Starscream replied silkily.

Jetfire chuckled and waved the trine forward, marching into the hole the Prime and Medic had cut open in the side of the ship to retrieve Sentinel.

Kae was close behind him, and the moment the area was clear, she was exploring, scanning the wreck and obviously learning about her new heritage.

::. What does this do?.:: she sent curiously at one point, looking over the controls to the emergency bridging system.

::. It's the emergency bridge.:: Starscream stated in awe. ::. Yet another article in proof of Megatron's idiocy, it appears to be in almost perfect condition, we could easily repair it enough to act as a ground-bridge...::

::. Ground-bridge?.:: Kae asked curiously, turning to look at Jetfire's second in command.

::. You know how I warp across a few units of space at a time?.:: Skywarp began in amusement.

::. Yeah?.::

::. That thing'll warp you across several thousand units at a time. Enough space to get away from your enemies when you're abandoning ship.:: Skywarp grinned at the femme.

::. That's so cool!.:: Kae practically sang, turning to examine the bridge again. The fliers chuckled, watching the young femme as she explored.

But then, the event that would remain in Jetfire's permanent memories for so long as he remained online.

Thundercracker gave Skywarp a light shove, as trine mates were prone to do.

Skywarp brought his thrusters online for a moment to balance himself, as fliers were prone to do.

But somehow, that thruster power shifted the Ark somewhat, moving the ship on an axis they had not expected in a crashed ship.

Kae stumbled against the bridge, not an issue. But Jetfire had forgotten once again (at this point he was beginning to believe it was the all-spark disguising herself) the all-spark's presence within his granddaughter.

A surge of energon and the bridge was active.

A flash of light and his granddaughter was gone.

(SwPOV)

Soundwave could feel his little-sister's agony. By the expression on the little scout's faceplates beside him, Bumblebee could feel it as well.

"Mission: reach for sister," Soundwave immediately commanded the scout before racing from the room.

He needed to reach a particular Prime.

Because if his sister was in agony, her mate would be, as well.

Soundwave literally crashed through the communications doors – he'd repair them later – and dove for the Prime on the floor. The Weapons Master was snarling at this apparent attack, Soundwave only paid that passing heed.

"Prime: Initiate communications with mate!" Soundwave fairly shouted. He reached out and laid a hand over his mistress' mate's chest-plates, and for the first time in his memories, actively reached with his mind for the spark of the bot beside him.

~Little-sister~ he called through her mate's spark.

~Soundwave?~ she whispered.

~Little-sister: too far from home. Recommend: follow spark-pull~

~Soundwave!?~ Optimus' voice demanded in shock.

~Little-sister: too precious to maintain dis-use of telepathy~ Soundwave stated flatly, and to his relief, he felt the bot in front of him relax in agreement.

::. Kae.:: Optimus sent on the primary, every bot attuned to the frequency hearing the desperation in his tones. There was no response, the frequency not reaching far enough, so Soundwave did what he did best, tapping into the Prime's neural network and solidifying his hold in the primary. He encrypted it, ensuring that none outside of the Auto-bot circle could hear it. Then, and only then, he reached for the familiar spark signature of his mistress and sparking sister, bypassing the folds of space, ignoring the limitations of time and sending her the signal.

::. Little-sister.:: Soundwave sent with a pleading tone. A tone that no-bot had heard from him. None but his beloved Nightsong had heard that tone from him.

::. How...:: the Femme Prime whispered on the Primary.

::. Soundwave: master of sub-space messaging.:: Soundwave stated by way of explanation. He was in trouble now, he knew it. Behind him, the presence of the Weapons Master was both horrified and enraged.

Not that he was reaching for the Femme Prime, the Weapons Master's niece.

But the fact that he had without a second thought invaded the fortress-mind of the Emperor Prime.

He would accept the slagging. His sister had become far to precious for him to not. His loyalty circuits were no longer present in his physical form, he was no longer driven or bound to serve the Lady High Protector.

Instead, his spark was bound to protect it's sister, and in any other circumstance, he would have kept the assumptions of the bots around him that he was simply serving the Lady High Protector.

But he owed the femme his life.

And he would give it to her.

(MPOV)

Light.

Darkness.

Pain.

Everything within me, knew that I could find my way home if I could just focus.

But I couldn't focus.

Pain.

That was a lie, all of my focus was on it. The pain, spark-deep pain tearing at me. I couldn't tell direction. There was no up, no down, no point of reference. Only the pain.

~Kae!~

Horror, my mate was horrified, terrified. But there was only pain. I couldn't find him.

And that hurt more.

I onlined as many processors as I could find, trying to bypass the pain in my spark.

It was only then, amid the pain that the words of my advisor-primary came back into my attention.

Ease the ache of separation by the use of direct communications.

::. Optimus...:: I sent softly over the Primary, if I could dull the pain, if I could get a handle on my position I could find my way home. But there was nothing, I could hear nothing, I could barely see.

~Little-Sister~

That was strange. That sounded like...

~Soundwave?~ I whispered. My advisor-primary. He sounded... that wasn't right... he felt like he was intertwined with my mate, riding the bond between Optimus and I to communicate.

~Little-Sister: too far from home. Recommend: follow spark pull~

That was all well and good, but it hurt too much, I couldn't tell which way it was pulling, it was being torn in every direction! Somehow, I got the sense that he understood that now.

::. Little-sister.:: Soundwave's voice sounded on the Primary. Pleading for me to hear him. How was that possible!?

::. How...:: I whispered, clinging to consciousness. I could feel myself fading...

::. Soundwave: master of sub-space messaging.:: my advisor informed me flatly. He was reaching for me with my mate, he was carrying the signal!

::. Optimus...:: I whispered. I'd give anything to hear his voice...

::. Kae, my Kae.:: my mate's voice whispered, the pain began to ease somewhat, I could feel my focus returning.

::. Keep talking!.:: I commanded my mate. I didn't know how long this would last, but I was getting my focus back, registering the stars around me.

::. What do you wish me to say, my Kae?.:: my Optimus whispered desperately. ::. What do you wish me to tell you?.::

::. Anything!.:: I commanded my mate. My spark still felt torn, but my processors were shunting the pain to the side, now. I had no direction, but I needed no direction. I was drifting, but I wouldn't be for long.

There were rocks floating around me. I was floating toward a rock...

A rock... several rocks...

For Primus' slagging sake!

Anger. Anger was strength.

::. Slag sake I just got bridged to the slagging Kuiper belt!.:: I snarled on the Primary. I turned around and there it was, our sun. The largest appearing star, because it was the closest.

That was the direction I needed to go.

I brought my thrusters online slowly at first, begging all the deities that were listening that they weren't damaged – I couldn't risk a systems scan – and felt myself begin to move in that direction.

Then, the location that wasn't painful to touch.

The location of my advisor-primary as he helped to strengthen the bond between my mate and I.

Direction achieved. I threw every ounce of power I had into my thrusters and streaked toward home.

(SsPOV)

Starscream stared at the place the femme had been.

Terrified.

Emergency bridges never activated on their own, for one. More to the point though, evacuation bridges never transported the evacuee less than several thousand units from the ship.

The femme would be in agony. Slag. If the femme and her mate died, he'd have to go right back to serving Megatron.

Which wasn't really an option.

The only options at hand? Find the femme and bring her back alive. Or prepare to die.

His trine mates knew it the second he thought it, and by the look on his elder's face, Jetfire knew it too.

It required little to no thought after that. Skywarp and Thundercracker were his trine mates, when needed they thought together. And thus, the three of them streaked out of the auto-bot's destroyed ship and scattered into the solar system. They would use their traditional pattern for searching for a specific spark signature.

Step one. Fly out to the inside range of an emergency bridge.

Step two. Circle the area, increasing their perimeter until they found her.

Simple, to the point.

Starscream ran a few calculations in a secondary processor and streaked toward the most likely position an emergency bridge would direct it's evacuees. Somewhere with cover. Of course. Stupid brilliant Sentinel and his stupid brilliant damn near sentient programming on the bridges!

Either behind one of the planets, or amid the ring of stellar dust that was obviously a failed planet.

Hopefully she was no further than the fifth planet, it's sixteen odd moons would be an excellent hiding ground. Certainly that was why Megatron had chosen it.

The fifth planet and she would have a chance of making it back on her own. A slim chance, but a chance none the less.

Starscream couldn't bear the thought of her pain should she be in that outer ring of stellar dust. It would ensure her sensors going on the fritz, for what of her sensors would work of course. For what of her systems would work. He highly doubted the femme had ever bridged before, it tended to mess up your systems when you didn't know what was happening.

Starscream felt the first pang of sympathy in his spark for another, the first in a long time. The Primes were newly bonded by his reckoning, he couldn't bear the thought of being so far from Warp and Cracker so soon after their bonding. It had been hard enough learning how to be able to leave the room for that first few orn, or leave the planet after the first vorn of their trine bonding...

Starscream shuddered. The Primes should have held off bonding, of that he was eminently certain.

::. Skywarp in position.::

Starscream couldn't help but smile fondly. No doubt Warp had skipped across space to get into position. Dear little cheater that he was.

~Love you too, Screamer, let's find the Prime's little Femme~

Starscream nodded firmly to himself and pushed his thrusters a bit more, circling the fourth planet and allowing it's gravity to slingshot him toward the inner dust ring, the humans' 'asteroid belt'. He'd check his section first, Warp already running his scans along the ring.

Nothing.

The fifth was no luck either, it was time lost as he surveyed each enormous moon, and struggled to scan through the gaseous planet as Skywarp and Thundercracker reported her lack of presence amid the farther planets.

Skywarp was cheating. Dear little cheater.

The sixth, 'Saturn', the humans referred to it as. He was rather fond of this planet, it's rings were immensely fun to play in, hide in. It's moons a veritable gravitational playground. That wasn't for this moment. He raced toward the stellar dust ring around the solar system and almost offlined in shock as the femme streaked past him.

::. Femme!.:: he bellowed, turning right around and racing after her.

::. Can't stop can't stop can't stop I'm not stopping!.:: she shouted back, racing for her home planet.

::. How the slag are you functioning!?.:: he bellowed, sending out the signal to his trine and his elder that the femme had somehow managed to streak right past him!

::. Explain later I gotta move!.:: she shouted, already becoming a speck in the distance.

Starscream shook his head and streaked after the femme.

She was moving too fast.

::. Slow down!.:: he shouted at her, the nice thing about space travel, was the complete lack of reverse forces, you could go as fast as your boosters could fling you, there was nothing but the occasional gravitational field and planet to slow you down.

::. Can't stop, keep going!.::

Spark-shock. Starscream rolled his optics and pushed himself as quickly as he could to try to catch up with her. She was going too fast for re-entry!

::. Yeh're goin' tae burn up in th' atmosphere if yeh don' slow down granddaughter!.:: Jetfire shouted at her. ::. Now engage yer reverse thrusters! Yeh're already pas' th' fourth planet!.::

Starscream synced his processors in relief to see the femme finally begin to slow, but couldn't help but shake his head. What a waste, so much for the femme becoming a seeker, no doubt she would avoid going into space like the cybonic plague now.

(MPOV)

::. Yeh're goin' tae burn up in th' atmosphere if yeh don' slow down granddaughter!.:: My grandfather shouted at me. ::. Now engage yer reverse thrusters! Yeh're already pas' th' fourth planet!.::

Fourth planet. Mars. I was almost home, the pain was receding, I was almost home.

But there were two things I needed to return for.

Number one, I needed to get back to my Optimus. Now.

But secondly. I had no doubt that for some reason, I'd have to keep my advisor-primary, who had just managed to get me focused enough to get back, from being slagged.

Probably by Ironhide, he was the most obstinate.

There were some proverbial helms to be rolling soon.

Not that I was going to literally beat my uncle up... much.

I'd avoid it, anyway.

I finally caught sight of my home planet, dodging our moon and fairly diving into the atmosphere.

Oh. Wow that was way too fast. It was hot, really hot, not as hot as my casting had been, but damn that was hot! I switched to my air-pusher engines and began working to slow myself down in the atmosphere. Still too fast, I aimed for the ocean, offlined my optics and compressed my frame a bit more as I hit the surface of the water.

Steam surrounded me, bubbles forming around my frame.

Whoops.

I hit bottom and transformed to my bi-pedal frame, fairly running along the bottom of the ocean toward my mate. My spark hurt.

Finally, I made it to the point that my helm was above the water, then my shoulders.

People were pointing and screaming as I made it up onto the shoreline, I had no idea why, the people of Washington had become familiar with me wandering around the city... ah well. I transformed into my Optimus' alt-mode and screeched out, driving as straight as I could toward my mate.

Closer, closer, I could feel it in my spark, I was getting closer to my mate.

Finally, finally I drove down the ramp into our headquarters and screeched to a halt in the entrance bay.

"State your purpose!" one of the soldiers shouted, there were weapons aiming for me.

I didn't understand.

I winked my holoform online, knowing it looked as ill as I felt.

"Jackson what the hell!?" I demanded flatly, glaring at him.

"That's Kae!?"

"What the hell happened to your paint!?" Will bellowed at me, running in from the corridor.

I turned around and groaned. I was black, my paint burned off and seaweed dangling from my frame.

I looked rather like a Decepticon at the moment. Bugger.

"Long story," I grumbled, driving forward as Will waved me into the clear areas. I transformed and fairly collapsed against my mate as he strode as quickly and carefully as he could toward me.

To the pit with privacy, my Optimus' chest opened against mine, our sparks reaching out and tangling against each other.

Home.

I offlined my optics and allowed our mutual relief of togetherness to sooth the tear in my spark.