Chapter Twenty

...

Mira had showered and changed, effectively tying her hair into its usual mess of bun and curls. After emerging and finding the only one remaining at the table had been Crosshairs and Prime, she seated herself beside Optimus and started looking through the files the Shield had extracted from the mainframe computer system of KSI. To her surprise, it had found a file marked CONFIDENTIAL, yet unopened. Optimus was staring at the computer screen, a look of intense contemplation on his face.

Reaching for the mouse pad with an eager finger, she gave him a look, "What are you waiting for…?" She pressed her finger against the smooth box, only to have Optimus grab her wrist with such force and speed it shocked it. She squealed, pulled her hand back, and he locked eyes with her. His stare was hot and passionately fervent, and had deep warning. She locked her eyes in his and waited.

"Do not open it just yet," he cautioned her, "Now is not the time, nor place."

She furrowed her brow. "And why not? Don't you want to know what's happened to Ratchet and the Wreckers?" She looked away at mention of them, "I'm almost sure—"

"Sometimes fate has a way of keeping things we should not know from us," Optimus said solidly, "and it is best to let sleeping dogs lie, as your people would say. We will find out what we need to find out when we go into KSI, and only then will we know. It is best not to have preconceived ideas—as preconceived ideas have a way of affecting our judgments and our ability to act," Optimus rose and slipped the Shield out of the USB port of the laptop and stood behind her, slowly draping the necklace around her neck. Then, graciously he lifted the stray pieces of curl from around her face and let the Shield fall into place around her neck. "…patience is a virtue, dear one."

She grasped the Shield between her fingers, Crosshairs looking at the pair of them as if they were royalty. "There's way too much friggin' leadership in this room," he snorted sarcastically, kicking out his chair and rising, "I'll be outside if you ladies need me." Then, surprisingly, he tipped his head to Mira and vanished out the door.

Optimus just blinked, and Mira stood slowly, closing Bryce's laptop. "I'm not sure why knowing about Ratchet and the Wrecker's is so vital to our mission," Mira whispered, placing the laptop under her arm and balancing it against her wrist and hip. She gave Optimus a soft look of submission, "But I'll trust you."

He nodded. "That is all that I ask."

Bryce came out of the den and replaced the phone in the next moment, a green military-style messenger bag draped over his broad shoulders. He then grabbed one of Mira's backpacks, and began transferring out gear onto the counter. He quickly began discarding what they wouldn't need, and replaced what they would in the messenger bag. Optimus asked the next question, "What did you find out, Bryce?"

Bryce glanced at the holoform, "Tommy is set and ready to fly. It'll take about 45 minutes to get out to the airstrip, he has some C5's ready to rock and roll," Bryce shrugged a shoulder.

"And what does he require for payment?" Mira came up beside Optimus on his left. She had Merrick's backpack at hand, "He's not just doing this for free."

Bryce nodded at Optimus, "All he wants is to shake your hand and he's good." This surprised Optimus, evident by the look of curiosity on his face. "There's just a couple of things me and Cade should go over before we leave. Weapons wise. Bumblebee has some stuff out in the big shed, if you're in need of anything," He looked out the window off the living room, "but otherwise we're golden."

Mira nodded, "Okay then. You still have handguns above the fridge?" She walked over, Optimus wrinkling his brow. She pulled the box from on top of the fridge, a beautifully carved black and brown tinder box. Opening it, she withdrew a Ruger .22, and a Baretta handgun. Grabbing the magazines, she replaced the box and headed towards the door.

"Let's roll," she said, swinging open the doors.

...

After trading weapons between Cade and Bryce was completed, they hit the road running. They cleared out of Bryce's quickly and quietly, hardly leaving any trace of movement. They drove out single file, Bumblebee and Bryce leading the way. Merrick had declined Bryce's company, instead opting to ride with Drift

This surprised everyone, and Hound made note of it quickly, "Seems the kid is warmin' up to Drift a bit faster than one could imagine," he said over the communication system set up between him, Optimus, and Mira, "Never thought I'd see the day that Drift found a friend in a little guy."

Mira smiled, and Optimus chimed into the conversation, "It is encouraging, to say the least, that even in a time of desperation does trust establish." Hound chuckled and signed off then, leaving Mira and Cade alone again. Tessa had vouched to ride with Merrick and Drift, insisting that Merrick needed some type of company—and Drift some type of salvation from the wiles of a little boy, since Mira had obvious "military stuff" to do.

"You think Drift and Merrick are getting along?" Mira glanced into the rearview, "I don't want Drift to assume responsibility—"

Optimus chuckled at this and the holoform appeared in the driver's seat. He shot her a flashing gaze, on that rocked her to the core, and had her resting against the panel of the passenger's side door. Cade was between them, in one of the seats behind them. "I believe Merrick is good for Drift," Optimus nodded contentedly, "Primus knows Drift needs someone to depart his wisdom on, someone that will listen far more than any of my Autobots can. And Drift will assume whatever responsibility is set upon him as a personal burden, as he always had," he rolled his head to give Mira a 'you-already-knew-that' type of look, "so I am not concerned. Rather, I am relieved."

She sighed, "I just don't want Drift to think he has to watch over Merrick when he doesn't want to. It's not right, and Merrick is not his responsibility, he is mine. Drift is not Merrick's guardian. He can't be." The thought spewed out of her mouth faster than she had anticipated, and Optimus blinked at her and smiled lightly, one hand draped over the wheel, the other resting lazily on the gear-shift on the floorboards. Cade looked between them, listening.

"What makes you think Drift could not assume the privilege?" Optimus challenged lightly, "He seems fond of the boy. I can imagine no foreseeable problems with the match."

"We're not talking about matches, Optimus," Mira quipped, "this is not matchmaker. We're talking life and death stuff here, you know this," she rolled her eyes, "how much discussion did we have about us? This is not something to base off of…a six year old boy's fascination."

Optimus raised a brow, "And why not? I am grown, and responsible for my own actions," he chided her softly, "and I assumed responsibility for a life other than my own based purely on fascination," Mira raised her brows at him as if he were joking. "Do not look at me that way. I am entirely serious."

"You were fascinated?" The word rolled off her tongue as if it were a joke, "You are a Prime. A Prime. You don't make decisions based on fascination with a human."

"Do not tell me what I am, Mira. I am no different than anyone else." He gave her a stern look, "I am who I am because of circumstance, and a desire to see a world through a different perspective, a decision based on action and words. Not privilege." Then, he outstretched a hand over the gearshift and cupped her cheek against the palm of his hand, and stroked her jawline with his thumb tenderly. "Why must you focus so much on my position of power, when all I desire is for you to focus on who I am? You tell us to see you for whom you are, not what you are on the outside. See me for who I am, Mira. Not for my position. For if that is all you saw of me, I would've rather Optimus never have been born."

The holoform slowly began to dissipate. Cade gave Mira a look until Optimus had vanished, the cab no seemingly sucked empty of life. Her stomach began to burn in a falling pit of rage down to her feet at the realization he had referred unto himself as Orion Pax, until she swore she had been hollowed and emptied at his words. Glancing out the window, she swallowed thickly and shot a look to the Bugati before them from the corner of her eye. She saw Merrick's bouncing form in the backseat, and closed her eyes.

...

"Takeoff in twenty minutes," Bryce seated himself along the wall of the huge C5 aircraft some hour later, after having cleared things with the control tower and signed a few necessary waivers. "Tommy is gearing up now."

Mira nodded, and rested her head against the cool metal of the plane, letting her eyes slide closed. Merrick sat beside her, and she draped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. "Alright, sounds good. ETA?"

"Roughly 12 hours," Bryce cringed slightly. Tessa and Cade entered the plane now, ushered in by the pilot, Tommy. He nodded to Mira and playfully saluted Bryce. Making his way through his checks, Cade seated himself on the other side of Merrick, Tessa the other side of Mira. All five of them watched quietly as the Autobots were situated on the plane; a tight fit for sure.

Merrick looked up at her, "Momma," he asked, "where are we going now?" The innocence in his small voice was heartbreaking, and Mira almost choked out a sob. Her poor son, thrust into a war he didn't even understand, against an enemy so much bigger than any of them. She looked at Cade, who wrapped an arm around Merrick's shoulder as well and gave him lopsided smile.

"We're going to Chicago," Cade said cheerily," you ever been there?"

Merrick shook his head. "No," he shrugged, "I haven't been anywhere outside Texas than I can'member," Merrick had actually been many places as an infant, when Mira and Will had been big in NEST some years ago, but the boy was right: he hadn't been anywhere outside of Texas that he would've been able to recollect. It was painfully obvious by the frown on his face.

"Well, Chicago is beautiful," Cade reassured him with a wink, "your Ma has been there, right, Mira? It's a beautiful city."

A soft smile played onto her lips as she remembered it before the war, so serene and perfect. Now it was like an ugly scar had ran directly through it and had shattered all of its flawless beauty, "It is a beautiful place, Merrick. You'll like it. Lots to see."

"I sure hope so," Merrick said, his voice flat, "because Texas is boring. It's all field and hot and...flat."

This threw them into a chuckling fest and Tessa snickered girlishly, "You'll appreciate it someday, Merrick."

"Yeah. Texas is a good place to raise a family," Bryce chimed in, "A decent state. Wide open spaces, friendly people. Beautiful sky. Priceless there, really." Bryce nodded to Cade, "Ain't that right, Cade?"

Mira glanced over to him, and then lowered her gaze to the floor of the plane. The engines began powering up and the plane began to tremble with energy. Cade scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, and then a figure was before them, a man dressed in a pilot's suit with a headset on. He gestured for Mira to stand. She did so.

"General Lennox," he extended a hand, "My name is Everett Heart. I'm in charge of navigations," the hatch began to close loudly beside them with a shriek of gears and clanging metal and Mira nodded. "The pilot would like you and Optimus Prime's assistance in the cockpit, if that's all right."

She nodded, flashing a look at the semi. "Of course. We will join you." He nodded and touched the headset, muttered something into the microphone, and gestured for her to follow. Walking passed the Western Star, she rapped on the fender with a knuckle lightly and looked up to the window. "They need us in the cockpit, Optimus."

The holoform appeared beside her. Feeling awkward after their conversation earlier, she thought it best to just pass by him quietly, but he stopped her. A strong palm pressed up against the side of the truck, blocking her from moving forward. Rippled with muscle and thickness, she didn't dare defy his gesture, and faced him. "I apologize for what I said. I did not mean to correct you so...harshly," he had a tender apology in his voice and in his icy eyes, "You know I would never intentionally hurt you."

She gave him a soft smile and then touched his cheek with her hand, "I know. I forgave you as soon as you said it." Then, dipping under his arm, she cast a look over her shoulder and around the side of the truck to Merrick, who had taken to sitting in between Cade's legs. Bumblebee was before Cade's feet, sitting cross-legged, actively teaching some type of hand game to Merrick.

Bumblebee was a blonde with shimmering highlights, and was a youthful 23 years old. He had a blond goatee around his mouth, matched with immensely blue eyes and soft, fair skin. He possessed freckles and wavy hair, and was extremely broad shouldered. He reminded Mira of a surfer stuck on the beach the way he wore a beaded, Autobot insignia necklace and a no-sleeved black t-shirt, with faded blue jeans and boots. She smiled as Tessa learned the game as well, Bumblebee quirking and clicking and clapping his hands with a smile to offer them much-deserved praise. Mira must've not realized she was smiling, because Optimus was chuckling beside her, arms crossed over his thick chest.

"They are quite a sight, aren't they?" He whispered deeply. His baritone melted over her like honey, and she nodded slowly, turning as he did. They wound their way between Crosshairs and Hound, towards the cockpit. The pilot called overhead to prepare for take-off and the engines wound up with a shriek of possessive energy. Slipping through the cockpit door, Optimus enveloping the entire doorway behind her, the navigator, and co-pilot acknowledged them with a nod.

"Sir, ma'am," the co-pilot said to them formally, "pleasure to make your acquaintance. Skyloft's the name. Glad you could accompany us up here. Everett here is in need of some coordinates on exactly where you need set down."

Mira glanced at the map spread out across the man's knees, him with a pencil and logbook. She came up beside him and began scanning the map with her eyes and then pointed to Chicago. "Just outside Chicago works, if you can get us in a private landing strip off the charts, and out from beneath radar." The man looked up at her quizzically and she raised her brows from behind her glasses, "Can you manage it?"

He shot a look to Optimus, and then to Skyloft, who nodded once, extremely firm. Then Everett shrugged a shoulder and touched the headset around his ears and nodded twice, "Yes ma'am. I'll get you close."

"How close?" Optimus asked seriously.

He looked over at Optimus, pale. "Very close."

...

They landed the next dawn quietly. After saying good-bye to the pilots and using the Shield to cancel any trace of their presence in the log systems of the C5, they departed towards the city limits.

It was a quiet drive, one that was welcoming for sleep. The humans slumbered quietly with their respectfuls; Bryce with Bumblebee, Merrick and Tessa with Drift yet again, and Mira with Optimus. Crosshairs had taken in Cade, simply because the guy seemed interesting and in desperate need of some man talk that wasn't with a walking haiku, or a gunspitting commando. Crosshairs seriously doubted he would want to talk to Optimus, since Optimus seemed to barely talk to anyone without rocking the boat and putting his foot in his mouth lately.

So, Crosshairs, now with Cade in the driver's seat, drove behind Drift, watching carefully as night threatened his headlights. Optimus lumbered behind him ever carefully, Mira obviously asleep. Cade was still awake, surprisingly, watching the darkness around him and extremely tense. Crosshairs decided to break the ice.

"Something eatin' at you?" He asked, optimistically. He had somewhat of a hatred boiling within him at these humans, but Crosshairs had decided long ago that Mira was good. She possessed grace and helpfulness, willingness. She was almost as inspirational as Optimus was when it came to their cause, and he'd made up his mind that any friend of hers could be tolerated, if not someday liked. "You seem pretty quiet, mate."

Cade looked to the radio. "Nah, nothin' worth talking about, I guess. I don't think you'd understand."

Crosshairs chuckled, "Try me."

He released a heavy breath, "I don't know if you guys have this on your planet, but, have you-y'know, have you ever liked someone?"

Surprised, he replied, "You mean a sheila?"

"A woman, yes."

This erupted an arrogant laugh, "Oh, mate, is that your worries? A chick?" he almost wanted to smack the man upside the head, he'd been married before, hadn't he? Crosshairs had never tried to understand human emotions, they were complicated, and had never understood their concept of love either. On Cybertron you found the one you loved, charged with them, and you were set for life. It wasn't exactly rocket science, but something told Crosshairs this situation of Cade's involved someone a bit...unique.

"She's...she's not exactly normal," Cade said roughly, with enough hinting to solidify Crosshairs' musing. This made him curious, if not...concerned. Cade had no idea what tree he was barking up, to use a human analogy. He downshifted slightly as Drift slowed, breaklights flashing briefly. The gearshift dropped down a click and then he repressed the accelerator.

"I getchya," Crosshairs confirmed, "and to answer the first question, yeah, I did have a sheila once." He didn't know what was coming over him-this human had absolutely no right to be anywhere near his memories and past experiences, he had forfeited that right by simply being human.

Crosshairs had lost faith in these humans, save Mira. They had stabbed his people in the back, and that was enough to repel him and keep him introverted here on this planet. Really he worked for no one other than Optimus Prime by sheer necessity, and had forced himself to stay on this planet after the Prime had sent a distress transmission asking for Autobots to land. He'd been welcomed by humanity for only a brief few months, and then that welcome was brutally crushed by the expiration of the team from the government.

They'd killed his pride. His friends. His leader. They'd killed everything that had meant something to Crosshairs, here on this world, but mostly they'd killed his spirit for exploration, adventure. Once he had thrived on discovery, exploration of the stars. Now he hated the very prospect of having to travel and chance trust again-Cade's people had crushed his resolve, and that was something Crosshairs did not just give up.

So, for him to be exchanging his past with this human, Cade Yeager, was extremely...rare. But, he felt something inside his spark telling him that Cade needed this, and so did his other friend, the one that wasn't "exactly normal", as Cade had tenderly put it. So, he'd...humor the man.

He remembered, so long ago, an image that he'd sworn so many times that he would forget. But, everytime he remembered he so vividly, as if it had been yesterday she'd been ripped from him at the hands of the Star Seekers, so brutally torn away. He'd been unable to save her, unable to find her for so many eons until he'd heard of her death in the mire of Kaon, beside Prowl, the chief of Cybertron's police. He'd only been able to identify her Autobot insignia, which had long ago suffered a unique scarring to the plating from a skirmish at Crystal City.

He'd tossed that insignia into the Mithric Sea.

"And?" Cade prodded.

If he'd been able to make a face, he would've been a glowering glare, "Don't push your luck, human. I still hate your race, remember that." He tapped the brakes again as Drift did so ahead of him, but then retained his speed as Cade rested his arm against the ledge of his window. He watched the radio, waiting.

"Sorry," Cade said, slightly apologetic.

Crosshairs snorted, "Yeah, right." Then, feeling somewhat like an afthead, continued with his thought, "Anyway. Her name was Mythia. She was an Autobot defense gunman, high in the ranks, too. Best shot you could ask for in Iacon," he chuckled at the thought of her shouting orders and manning the defense cannons so long ago offline, "She was a heckuva femme."

Cade looked down, "She's dead, huh?"

Crosshairs was quiet a moment, "Yep. She was killed by a form of Cybertronian space pirates, Star Seekers we call them. Dismembered. All we could identify was her insignia." His voice trailed off.

"I'm sorry," Cade said quietly, his voice obviously sincere. Mira had said that he'd lost his wife when Tessa had been born, roughly 18 years ago. So, he and Crosshairs weren't so far apart afterall, a fact that disturbed Crosshairs more than comforted him. He wanted nothing from these humans, and absolutely did not want to be close to them at all. "That's rough, Crosshairs."

"You ain't had it so easy either, I've heard."

Cade looked away coldly out the window. "Emily was...Emily was a long time ago." He said roughly. Ouch, he'd touched a nerve, something he hadn't wanted to do. Quickly changing the subject, Crosshairs added to Cade's first thought.

"So...this chick's ailing you that much, huh? What she do?" He couldn't think that Mira had done anything, if that was for sure who they were talking about. But anyone with optics could see that Cade had the hots for the chick, that was for sure. Why exactly Crosshairs didn't know, but he'd seen that look before in mech's and human men alike, and it was intensely strong.

"Nothing. She did absolutely nothing but walk right in my life and flip it upside down."

"Hmmm...Mira does that. She's good at it."

"I dunno how she did it, I honestly don't! One day she hands me a camera and asks me to finish it, and the next? I'm tossed into a robotic war of the millenia-" his voice cut out by an abrupt realization and he shot a look to the radio. "-how'd you know it was Mira?"

Crosshairs chuckled sarcastically, "It ain't hard to notice, Cade. I wasn't formed yesterday." Feeling slightly like a jerk, he comforted Cade, who was now an embarassed, bright red wreck, "but, then again I'm...then again, it isn't too noticeable between humans. If it makes you feel any better, she likes you too."

He glared at the radio. "Nuh-uh. You're lying."

"And why would I lie? To you?" Crosshairs snapped at him, "I'm not like your kind, Cade Yeager. I'm not a lying, egotistical, thieving and murdering frag-off. I'm actually decent." His voice dripped with sarcasm, and then he spat back at him, "...take my word for it. She does."

The conversation dropped after that, and Crosshairs made the drive in silence until Cade's breathing stabilized into a light snore. He rolled his eyes.

Humans.

...

They arrived in Chicago just two hours before dawn. Optimus had set the rendezvous point just a few blocks from KSI, in an overly large shipping yard. They'd parked and allowed their human counterparts a few hours more rest until the sun was touching the horizon, and then he gently nudged Mira awake. She rolled over on her side to face the driver's seat, eyes hardly open. A yawn escaped her as she pulled her body tighter together in a ball, if possible.

A sigh escaped her. "Primus. I can't believe we made it."

"We have. It's time to rise, we have much work to do."

Mira sat up and the door to the cab popped open. Cade and Bryce were already outside, Tessa hardly awake and a yawning ball of exhaustion. Her eyes were red and puffy, and Optimus felt sorry for the human children-he had not meant to bring younglings into such a mess of adult affairs. He pushed the agonizing guilt away, reasoning that he could not change the course of events no matter how much he would so desire.

He watched her from the cab, and listened as they made plans. They'd find shelter for the day and stake-out KSI for security and find their best way in before making any sudden entrances. She told Bumblebee and Bryce to cross-section the city for any abandoned warehouses not far from KSI, and implied Bumblebee run the scan, and he complied willingly. Then she told Bryce and Cade to find some type of food for them to eat, but to keep low. She and Tessa would remain with the Autobots until business hours, and then plan some-type of cover-story. It was beginning to show, her leadership; he noted. Beginning to show quite nicely.

The Matrix within him thrummed, as if in approval.