James Savoy hit the concrete hard.

His entire body jarred as his nervous system, now racked with rattling pain, recoiled in an attempt to cope with the impact. He would've guessed, had he been coherent, that he'd dropped some fifteen feet from the sky – but, at the moment, he felt as if he'd dropped out of orbit the pain was excruciating.

His eyes blurred in an attempt to focus as he lolled his head across the ground beneath him, realizing that his hand was oddly empty of the familiar weight of his semi-automatic pistol. His palm brushed against the surface of the apartment complex's roof, in a desperate, light attempt to find the weapon – to regain control. Because everything was spiraling out of control so quickly.

When he finally came to and his vision stabilized, he propped himself up on an elbow and did a sweep of the area around him – Savoy came to the quick conclusion that he'd been lucky that most of the larger debris had bypassed his position and fallen to the earth below; the roof was littered with oddities of metal – street signs, nuts, bolts, screws, pieces of vehicle remains, lawn furniture, and more – each direction that he looked, there was pandemonium.

He didn't see his pistol – instead, his attention was drawn upward as the sun blotted a shadow across his body. Stupid aliens and their stupid, invasive tendancies – he knew, from the beginning, that dealing with the aliens was bad news. Attinger hadn't listened, and it had cost thousands more lives than it had needed. They had to be stopped – them, and all their allies. Human, or alien.

He cocked a brow and huffed, growling in the bottom of his throat as he pushed himself up. He didn't realize at that moment that something was seriously wrong with his leg, or that his hands were bleeding – when James looked down, he saw that his knee was abnormally twisted to the left, and he gritted his teeth to growl an expletive under his breath. Grasping it between his hands, he rolled it back into place with a pop.

James screamed, and crumpled to his good knee – sweat was glistening out of every pore in his body, and he couldn't breathe properly as his body tried to adjust to the arrhythmia of the wound. He gasped for air, dug his fingers into the concrete around him, and closed his eyes – all his years in training began to filter through his mind, ultimately curbing his bodily desire to focus on his wounds and the pain. His trained adrenaline pushed away the thoughts, however, and he was able to stagger to a standing position.

He glanced up again, at the alien vessel now possessing Bogota's skyline. He didn't bother to look to the world below it – he knew it was utter chaos. His ears were ringing in the aftermath of his fall, and he looked across the space between his apartment complex and the other – he saw Yeager trying to regain his composure in much the same fashion as he was. He snapped his neck to lose a kink, and limped towards the fire exit – on his way, he saw everything but his custom pistol, and cursed again.

Shouldering open the door savagely, he staggered down the stairs with a strong gait, gripping the railing with skinned and bleeding fingers. Determination, hatred, bitterness, and rage fueled his steps as he flew down the fire escape, mind dulled to the pain shooting up and down his spine.

Someone was going to pay for this mess – he would be sure of it.


Cade groaned as he put a hand to his head, trying his best to regain his composure after falling some fifteen feet back onto the roof of the apartment complex. Luckily, he'd managed to hit and fall into a roll – experience from his military days – and had absorbed most of the shock from the impact. However, his nerves and the general aging process seemed to scream back at him every area of his body no longer up to par. He was pretty sure he'd either broken or cracked a rib, and his knees hurt something awful.

He propped himself up on his elbows and surveyed the damage – not only was his alien gun gone and no longer an option for use, but he wasn't sure what had joined him on the roof of the complex. If anyone could see any of this, Cade was pretty sure he'd relinquish the reputation of hoarding junk. Because, in every direction; roof or otherwise, junk prevailed.

Cade looked up, remembering what had happened – yes. The alien warship. It had, unexpectedly, produced some type of powerful, oversized magnet that had been released on the city below and pulled everything into the air. Cade, even from the ground floor, had heard the Autobots resisting its pull. He'd been carried upward himself before he'd even realized that the alien tech had been made of metal, and he'd let go some fifteen feet in the air before he collided with the earth and was struck unconscious for the remainder of the magnet's effects.

Regardless, he didn't want to hang around and see if it would go off again. Quickly, he gave himself a pat down in an attempt to shed any type of metal that would be attracted by the device, and once he'd cleared himself, he got up and bolted for the door his family and friends had escaped through moments earlier. He whipped open the door, gripping his side, and hustled down the steps to the best of his ability.

He was winded and sweating to the point of exhaustion when he made the ground floor, and found Elena, Bryce, Merrick, Joshua, and Tessa all awaiting in the foyer. Their alien tech sat abandoned by the elevator – all save the Seed – and Cade realized that they'd come to the same reasoning as he had, and abandoned the metal in fear of the magnet's reawakening.

Tessa looked relieved and terrified all at once as she charged him, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing tightly. Briefly, Cade had the concern about James Savoy in the back of his mind, but ultimately dismissed the threat. If James had survived the aftereffects of Lockdown's vessel, he'd be a few steps behind them, yet. And, as long as they held the lead, he was a problem for later. Instead, Cade just wrapped an arm around Tessa's shoulders, squeezed her tightly, and kissed her cheek swiftly. He fought the urge to let out a relieved sob.

His daughter still holding him tightly, he looked past her to find that Bryce still had Merrick clutched tightly to him. The boy was trembling and sniffling; arms wrapped tightly around Bryce's neck. He was sunburned and filthy, and his clothes were marred with dirt and were torn in several places. The poor kid's hair was ruffled and stuck together with only God knew what, but he was alive – for that, Cade was grateful. He was grateful they were all alive, until he realized that not all of his comrades were present.

"Any word from Mira?" He questioned, and Tessa broke away from him but did not let go. He took her hand and pulled her towards the entrance, peeking his head through the broken glass door to look up at Bumblebee, who stood sentry to his right. Sideswipe was to his left, and looked down at him. He flashed the thumb's up sign, and before Cade could respond, Bumblebee had taken a knee beside him.

The yellow bot cocked his head to the side, and let out a low, slow chirp of what Cade discerned as concern. He nodded and gave Bumblebee the same sign Sideswipe had given him. "We're okay, Bumblebee," he reassured, "any word on Mira and Optimus? The others?"

"Negatory," Sideswipe inserted for his fellow Autobot, "but I would imagine we're going to need an exit strategy. Mira's plan for this location is compromised. Especially now that Attinger and Savoy have us pegged." He sighed and shook his head, looking back down the street, "No word from the others, either."

Cade bit his lower lip and growled out a frustrated moan. "Right." With a final look back up at Bumblebee, he swung back around and pointed at Joshua. "Okay. It's time to split up."

Elena was immediately furious. She frowned and let out a squawk of Spanish disapproval. "Uh-huh," she shook her head, "no way are we splitting up. It completely makes no sense to –"

Cade released Tessa's hand and put one up in Elena's face to end her tirade. "We don't have a choice. Splitting up is the best plan, for right now. The less bodies we have to worry about in here, the better." Looking to Tessa, he let out a heavy sigh and stepped out of the building, to gesture to Sideswipe. "How do you feel about split and run, Sideswipe?"

The bot gave him a snarky chuckle, followed by a smirk. "I say for not knowin' you at all, I'm beginning to like you more and more. We just got orders from O.P. to take you humans and fall back to coordinates." He disengaged his weapon, which swiftly transformed back into his hand, and took a knee.

Then, the Autobot smoothly transformed down into his vehicle form, and popped open a door. His windshield had changed into the See-All, with a blinking orb in the lower right quadrant of the screen. He revved the engine and his radio spit to life. "Let's get to it,humans. 'Lena."

Elena grumbled and folded her arms in front of her, jutting out a hip to shake her hair. Her mane fell farther out of its ponytail, and swept over her shoulder as she frowned at her Autobot friend's vehicle form. "No way, Sideswipe. I'm not leaving Mira out here by herself."

Before Cade could say anything, the driver's side door to the Sideswipe's alternation mode opened smoothly, and out stepped what Cade understood to be the bot's holoform. Tall, broad shoulders, and in perfect physical health, he was complete with rich black hair styled in a quaff, and a leather jacket. Taken aback not only by his sudden appearance but the holoform's massive presence, Cade's brow piqued up only slightly.

Smoothly, Sideswipe's holoform came around the vehicle, and in one swift motion, he grabbed Elena's wrist somewhat roughly and pulled her to him. "I'm not giving you an option, Doc. I don't think Optimus is, either."

He pinned her with a serious look then, and the two of them seemed to have a silent conversation. She relinquished; shrugging her shoulders compliantly before the holoform shifted his attention to Cade. His eyes flickered to Tessa, who was somewhat gaping at the holoform before them, and lifted his chin to Cade. Without word, he pulled Elena to the car, and escorted her into it.

She fell into the car, and turned to face the window, her eyes darting to Cade, then to Bryce, and then to Merrick and Tessa. Sideswipe nodded to Bryce, who rubbed Merrick's shoulder and whispered into the boy's ear. He perked up only slightly, wiped his nose with the back of his hand, and sniffled again. Cade noticed that his eyes were swollen, and his face was marred with dirt.

Before Merrick could be transitioned to Sideswipe's awaiting arms, there was a rumble that set in beneath Cade's boots that worked its way across the air and drew their attention down the street. For a moment, Cade wondered if it was the ship overhead, and looked up. But, much to his relief, it was indeed coming from down the street – and, the release of pressurized air from a braking system, and the loud, rasp of a semi engine reassured everyone present that the intrusion wasn't an intrusion at all, but a welcome addition.

Bumblebee let out a squawk of relief, and Cade squeezed Tessa's hand before he moved around Sideswipes front to welcome the vehicle to their entourage. Optimus slowed the Western Star to a halt beside the curb, and popped open the driver's door – and, fortunately for them, Mira Lennox dropped out and jogged over to them. Cade was about to address her when Bryce and Elena both converged, and attacked her from both sides in embraces of their own.

She took a moment to console them, and received a now sobbing Merrick who clung to her like a frightened starfish. She rubbed his back and rested her head against his, eyeing the group and stepping onto the curb as Optimus nonchalantly went through his transformation. Cade watched him from the corner of his own observation, amazed at how such a marvel of science would be so flippantly overlooked after having witnessed it a great number of times.

Once Optimus was finished, he glance dup at the vessel overhead. He did not waste time with greetings. "It is imperative that I face Lockdown, before things escalate farther than they already have." He then touched the side of his head, to where Cade assumed his communication hub was located. "Away teams – fall back from your current position and rendezvous at these coordinates. Our position is lost." He then added, "Dinobots – maintain your heading and establish a perimeter. Any and all prototypes stay inside the city, no matter the cost."

Joshua looked up to the bot, and eked out, quietly, "And what's your plan for this?" He gestured to the Seed strapped to his back, then threw his hands into the air in an exaggerated surrender to his current state. "You don't expect me to carry this thing around, do you?"

Mira stepped up, and touched him on the shoulder. "No, we don't." She motioned for him to unstrap it from his shoulders, and he did so. Mira planted a soft kiss onto Merrick's shoulder, whispered something in his ear, and set him down to his feet beside her. He clutched to her hand and buried his face into his side, cowering from the stares of the group around him. "I will take the Seed out of the city, with Bumblebee, and make sure it is safe."

"The rest of you," Optimus said with his commanding ore, "will fall back out of the city and make sure you are well away from Lockdown's vessel, and the prototypes." He gestured up to the ship with a finger, "No more devastation must come to this city."

"And Galvatron?" Bryce dared the next question, "You intend to leave him unchecked?"

Optimus sighed and looked back down to the humans, shaking his head. "For the moment, Galvatron is the lesser of the two evils befalling your world. When the time comes, we will deal with him. For now, however, Lockdown remains my priority." He looked down to Mira, and gestured to the Seed with a finger. "You must keep this safe, Mira. Thousands of lives depend upon it."

Cade chose in that moment to study Mira. She looked up at not only her leader, but also her friend, with an empty look of sorrow and displeasure in her eyes. Cade had seen it before – she was disappointed, and Cade could imagine it was because Optimus did not trust her to stand by his side as she had in times before. But, also, he could see the pride and righteous anger in her eyes; the desperation to fight and the anguish of her current plight.

Intentionally, Cade had tried his best to ignore the underlying bond between them, but it was strong and present in this moment and could not be denied. These two were closer than friends, but they were not lovers. They were allies, and birthed from the same mold of war and desperation – they were soldiers, who had washed the blood of their enemies and their friends in the same pool, and had drawn upon the other to overcome the pain and sorrow of loss. Together, they were kindred spirits – they were one in the same vein.

She nodded her understanding, and released Merrick's hand. Instantly, the boy's mouth dropped open to let out muted cry as his face contorted in anguish and tears began to fall from his eyes. He reached out for her, taking a clumsy step forward to intercept his mother – but, before anyone could reach the boy, Cade ducked down before him and swept the child up in his arms, and held him away from his mother. Cade understood what needed to happen in this moment, and he stepped back and gestured with a jerk of his head for Tessa to do the same.

The group of Autobots watched passively as their two leaders met silently in a war very much unlike the one surrounding them. They were battling internally with one another; a struggle of power and friendship that tore through their eyes severely to betray their stoic aura of calm. She was bucking his leadership in posture alone, unsatisfied with his orders and desperate to help in other ways more prominent, and he was doing his best to quell her intense stare. Cade swallowed back a breath, content to just observe, before Optimus Prime took a knee before his friend on the curbside.

However, much to his surprise, Mira was the first to speak. "You do everything in your power to stop Lockdown," her usual timbre of confident passion was quelled now, instead quiet and smooth as she looked up at her friend, stepping towards him carefully. "But your first and primary goal is to come back to me, Optimus Prime. I just got you back – and I am not ready to let you go, again."

She stopped just before him, and reached up with a hand to brush her fingers across what would essentially be his cheek. Tessa shared a look with Cade, one that was brimming with tears as she covered her mouth with a trembling hand. Elena and Bryce were standing together, Bryce rubbing her back carefully as tears streamed down her face. The air was somber and foreboding, as if a plague had taken the life of the world around them – there was a deep, harrowing reality facing them now as the two leaders before them engaged in a passage of rights. That reality being this – Optimus Prime might not return from this fight, and Mira Lennox may never again be his second in command.

Prime said nothing for a long moment, which welled a lump of concern in his throat. And then, when the Commander broke the stare with his officer, Cade felt a sniffle begin to tickle his nose as a sob threatened to eke from between his lips. Cade understood – Optimus was facing the reality of his current plight, and it was becoming more and more worrisome to the Autobot that he might not survive this ordeal. He seemed more hesitant in his expression than Cade would've imagined for a leader so noble, but he understood – sacrifice, for a cause that had betrayed him, was unfathomable.

He then stood, looking away from Mira, and shifted into his alternation mode, leaving Mira standing on the curbside. A spark of anger ignited in Cade's chest, but before he could step forward to address his concern, the holoform circled in front of the Western Star and strode out to meet Mira at the curb.

Before anything else could transpire, Mira threw herself at the man now materialized before her, and he welcomed her with open arms. He was easily six foot five, probably close to the three-hundred pound mark of nothing but pure, unadulterated muscle, and easily enveloped her frame. Even from his position behind the scene, Cade could see the holoform holding tightly to the woman before him, and he folded his head down to rest his forehead on her shoulder, but not before Cade witnessed the face of Optimus Prime fold into that one of despair.

That was the moment Cade chose to turn away, in more of an effort t o quell his own emotions than not.


The ship, much like Cybertron itself, was cold and lifeless. Barren from any sort of sparkling life or promises, with was pristinely managed and superbly maintained. The dark matter drives alone were testament unto the care and dedication put in the vessel, as well as a omen to its capabilities. The crew log – as well as the cargo manifest – shed a further spotlight on its long, ardent, and vastly successful career.

As Galvatron skirted patrols and delved deeper into the sky-worthy ship, he couldn't curb his appreciation for the technology merged so beautifully with Cybertronian engineering. Considering his current plight of being cursed with human technology and materials, it was a relief to be surrounded by materials and mechanics that would vastly improve his quality of life. Yes, he told himself – this vessel would serve him well for his intensive purposes. Not only would it make a marvelous vessel for flight, it would do him good to see to much-needed upgrades and reforming.

Silently taking down the guards hadn't been difficult – though not primarily Megatron's style of combat, the gladiator could be stealthy when he needed to be. While Galvatron strove to put into practice all of Megatron's principals and programming fed to him subconsciously during the construction of his new body, he could not help but feel that much of it was dated and ancient methodologies – there was so much more to the simple-minded ways of a tyrannical gladiator. World conquest was only a partial victory, as he had seen from Megatron's memory banks from the fiasco involving Sentinel Prime.

He had learned quietly as Megatron fed him specifics of his new body that would be mingled with the war-lords ideals. Much of it was the same – power, conquer, rule. But, it was interesting in the aspect that Megatron also, at one point in his lifecycle, had desired to restore Cybertron to its former glory and see it into another Golden Age, where bots were free and the planet was thriving. For this, Galvatron was confused – why make others free to choose who to follow, when it was so easy to extract from them submission?

His reasoning could only conclude, as he ducked into the bridge, that Megatron had been a fool that had tasted freedom as a slave. Unchecked, the gladiator had risen in his own glory without ever having served anyone other than a governmental power. It was quite different serving political reign than an individual's ideology – Galvatron, for months, had sat idly by as humanity had fiddled away with their engineering to receive his new body. He had been a slave to their progress and their primitive understanding of technology and mechanics, and he had been subject to their intentions. Yes, humanity had scarred him and now dared to destroy him.

He had not been like Megatron. Megatron had served a system; a political body, and not a person. His own desires and visions hadn't been overruled by those of another, no. He had been created in a society, and had served his purpose, only to break free and be his own bot. They were very different, indeed.

Galvatron had been a slave. Megatron had been a byproduct of a civilization's political agenda.

It wasn't difficult to bypass security and render the ship's internal defenses useless – in a matter of moments, Galvatron had the ship at his command, and had sealed himself inside the bridge. From there, he assumed control of the targeting systems, and had positioned the vessel directly over the city. What remainder of energy the Seed possessed, he was able to track – and it was glorious to know that not one of those mindless, scurrying Autobot's had known where he had gone. It was a matter of time, now, before Earth would taste his revenge.


If ever Optimus Prime had felt his Spark seize to a complete stop within his chest, it was now. He could hardly force air into his intake system as the small, human woman looked up at him; blue eyes brimmed fully with tears. Her face was red and stained with a mixture of bruises, dirt, blood, and sweat, and what remainder of clothing she wore on her body hung limply in a myriad of torn pieces.

It was dangerous to allow oneself to be overridden with emotion in moments like these. Always, he had tried to maintain a stalwark approach to battle – it was easiest to ignore the circumstantial outcome when faced with a plight of such catastrophic scale. As a leader, it was a learned skill, to remain calm and face whatever destiny was before you. Doing the impossible – doing what no one else could bring themselves to do – was what made leaders. Greatness, after all, was earned and not given.

He had not become Prime by sitting idly by and waiting for others to take actions. No, he had taken action, all those eons ago while sitting under the guidance of Alpha Trion. He had torn his own homeworld apart under the ideology that every bot was free to make a choice – was free to choose the path to freedom, or to lay aside arms, or to abide peacefully. He had abandoned that same world to save not himself, but his people – to save hope for what would come in future generations. Optimus Prime had dared the impossible, only to dodge the catastrophe, so many countless times, that he was mostly steeled to it.

But now, as he realized that the greatest danger this world had ever known stood before him, he could hardly muster the strength to turn and fight the war that no one else could. Everything within him wanted to walk away from here and leave Earth to its demise. He was tired of fighting an impossible war, with impossible odds, and impossible resources. He was ragged from defending a world that didn't want his defense. He was tired of fighting an enemy only to have him rise countless times.

He had always risen in the face of challenge and taken it head-on. He was Optimus Prime; leader of the free Autobots, chosen one of the Matrix – he had no choice. But, as the sparkling title had worn away under the haggard tinge of war and burn of exhaustion, he began to realize that he was a mech with one simple ideal – he wanted peace, and freedom, for his family and friends. He wanted restoration to his world, and safety for this planet that had served as his home away from Cybertron. He had shifted from the grandeur to the doable.

Despite his dwindling strength and lack of faith in the cause of Earth, he knew he could not surrender this world, or his cause, to Lockdown – or the Creators, whoever they were; or Galvatron, who would surely ravage the world with his malicious intentions and greed for power. If not simply for his own peace of mind, but for the woman and her human friends standing before him now – for the Autobots that stared at him with such faith and hope that it was moving even while drowning in unmoving possibilities. He could not let them simply perish; who was he to condemn a world plagued with his war and his people's politics? He could not – not only because he felt responsible, but because that was not the way of Autobots. It wasn't the way of Orion Pax, or the Matrix, or his world. It wasn't the way of Optimus Prime.

While the outcome of Cybertron hadn't been his choice, the outcome of this world would be.

He stared down at Mira, so overcome with emotion for her that he shifted down into his vehicle mode and ignited the holoform. It was the only true way he knew that would curb the need inside of him to know her as fully as he desired to. His bond to her was deeper, it seemed, than the very core of his persona – he was wired to her as much as he was wired to himself, and that was due to the Matrix. It seemed to call to her, and its Shield, and pulled him forward every step the holoform took. With each step, he saw everything that he had ever wanted for Cybertron fulfilled in the promise of her future, and in every breath he realized she was the Orion Pax he had left behind – raw with potential, and so eager.

Before he could even take another breath, Mira threw herself into him and wrapped him securely in a tight embrace. She buried her face into his chest, her finger digging into the holoform's shoulders, and she stood on her toes as her body gently let out a sob that he could feel straight through his Spark. He couldn't think of anything else to do beside stand there, and once he felt sure that she wasn't letting go, he wrapped his arms around her to embrace her, fully.

Holoforms were unique in the sense they looked like humans, but they didn't possess many of the same functions of them. Every touch felt new and unexplored – the rise and fall of her chest against his, the way her nerves moved, how her hair seemed to thrive in pleasing him by caressing his chin so perfectly. Her touch was almost electric and sent sparks of life down the holoform's spine – or, what would essentially be a spine, anyway. Optimus could even feel the implants in her arm and temple, in how they moved so kinetically throughout her body – she was a living merge of his world and her own.

How could he leave this behind, knowing that he may never again get to experience something like this? The very thought of leaving Mira behind to continue the legacy of his people through her calling almost drove him to his knees. She had said Alpha Trion deemed upon her the title of Countess – could he possibly forsake her in such a crucial time? His processor began to spin wildly even as his vehicle form sat idly strong – he bypassed most of his energy and strength the holoform, willing himself to be every bit of human as he could be.

Without any thought, he lowered his head onto her shoulder, and pulled her closer, willing himself to breath. However, it was an incomplete function – the air caught in his chest, and he felt the holoform's throat close. Burning pain, akin to stinging pricks from that of a needle, bombarded the holoform's eyes – Optimus Prime realized that he had the sudden urge to cry. He couldn't stave off the emotion, so instead, he broke his resolve and allowed the process to come, doing his best to stifle it in vehicle-mode by releasing a sharp hiss of pressured air from the automatic brakes. Heat suddenly spiked through both his forms, and he had to ignite a cooling fan in the truck's engine.

It was as if a weight lifted from his shoulders – weight eons old, that he carried alone for so long. It felt it slip away, as he stood against her, willing himself to be strong when he was tired of being stalwart. Mira herself had stopped crying, and just held him as he cried bitterly into her shoulder – her hands released their steely grip on his shoulders, and instead one of them moved to lace around his neck. The other she wrapped around his waist and squeezed him reassuringly, taking a light step backwards to support the extra weight on her legs.

Somewhere in his subconscious he was aware that his team of Autobot brethren were watching him, but he did not mind. Instead, he refocused his efforts on gathering his emotions, and lifted his head from Mira's shoulder to lock a stare with her. She held his attention with a firm gentility, her expression empathetic. Then, her brow lifted understandingly, and she reached to cup the holoform's cheek in her hand just as she'd done before with his Cybertronian form. Her head tipped to the side as her eyes searched his own, and he knew that she understood.

The corner of her mouth lifted in a gentle smile. "Come back to me, Optimus Prime," she said quietly, squeezing his shoulder with her other hand, "I need you," she continued, before she glanced back over her shoulder to the awaiting team. "We all need you."

Without anything else, she stepped in, stood on her toes, and dusted her lips against the holoform's cheek so lightly and brief that it took him almost a full thought to process what she had done. Heat spiked into his gut and up into his Spark, fueling it to thrum loudly, and igniting the Matrix with a burst of energy so strong that it almost rocked him backwards. He stood, brows raised in surprise, as she stepped away from him and smiled at him with a light quirk to her lips.

He nodded his understanding to her, and clapped a fist across his chest to rest over what would be considered the human heart. "I leave with you not a promise to return, but a promise in knowing that my faith is with you, and that hope has returned to light our darkest hour. Until all are one."

"Until all are one," Mira echoed him, nodding her understanding.

Optimus studied his charge once more, and dipped his head to her, and extinguished the holoform. The last thing he saw from the reflection in his mirrors was Mira watching him go, until she turned to address the team he had left under her leadership.