Well HOWWWWDY! I'm BAAAACK! I think.

For those who were SO SO SOOOOOOO kind to leave a review to my tentative come-back post, I LOVES YOU SO MUUUUCH. I appreciate everyone coming back to Mira's story and not totally writing her off. It's been awhile but I haven't EXACTLY lost my touch *dusts off keyboard*

I HAVE SO MUCH PLANNED FOR TLK THAT I NEEEEEEEEEEED TO FINISH THIS! GAH! Not to mention the GINORMOUS plot twist I have ready to go for the end of this story. MUAHAHA! You'll just have to stick around and find out. HUGEST OF ALL THANK YOUUUUUUS to ZabuzasGirl for being my sounding board and getting me back into this story.

SOME THINGS - my writing has changed a lot, as it has a habit of doing in this story. You can clearly see my evolution of growth in the chapters of this fic. I'm okay with that. Never perfect, but ALWAYS GROWIN'! Also, this chapter is just a comeback, so it's not huge, but I REFUSE TO LABEL IT AS A FILLER. I REFUUUUUUSE! Think of this as my metaphorical "getting back into the saddle."

ALL ZE LOVES AND CUDDLES FOR ZE REVIEWZZZZZ...I so appreciate them. If we could break 700 reviews before the end of the story I'd be BEYOND THRILLED and we'd have DEFEATED MEGATRON. BTW, all grammar errors belong to him and Starscreamer. *evil laughter* xoxoxoxo

The wind, coupled with the slightest change in atmospheric pressure, was enough to lodge a stone of worry in Mira's throat as she approached Lockdown's vessel, which continued to hang in the sky like a foreboding nightmare. If she hadn't been so focused on trying to push mental images of the ship from her mind, she may have noticed that the Earth beneath her was falling away rapidly beneath the rocket boosters, which she could hardly hear beneath the rampage of her heart against her ribcage.

Going into battle was not something she was unfamiliar with, though now it seemed to have its own consequences not previously recognized. She she approached the vessel, she thought of Merrick, and Will, and all the friends and family she'd lost in NEST - Will, Ironhide, Epps, the Wreckers, Ratchet. Even Jazz, who hadn't even lived long enough to see the formation and dissention of the union between Earth and Autobot. So much had been born and lost in so short a timespan that it was hardly calculable.

Don't focus on the past, Mira. The dead bury their own. The thought tossed around her mind until she came upon the vessel. She regulated the rocket boosters in her feet to a normal hovering capacity, the information soaring by her eyepiece at such a rate that it was almost incomprehensible. Briefly she wondered if she'd ever become accustomed to the influx of information, though it hardly mattered - she'd need to cope, and quickly, if she was going to be any help to Optimus.

The best access point inside the vessel would be from the top, though she had no way of knowing where or how Prime had breached the ship. She killed the rockets, and dropped onto the tethering deck of the vessel, where she'd fought the slobbering semi-organic canines from Lockdown's gallery of horrors. It took her a few seconds to stabilize herself, and she managed to trigger the CAST system to scan for Optimus' energy signature. It didn't locate it, coming up with an empty reading.

Figures he'd kill his sig, she nodded to herself and began to scan the side of the ship for any break in the Cybertronian plating that would be big enough to allow her entrance. Her suspicions of breaching from the top proved correct - she spotted a small gap between the plating near the ceiling of the vessel, and pressed herself against the ship to begin feeling for handholds. Find them, she began her ascent, not bothering to notice the altimeter blinking in her eyepiece.

She had no concept of how long it took her to scale the side of the vessel, but it didn't matter. She came upon the clearing and hauled herself into it, finding that she had to entirely squeeze her body past a support that was roughly the size of a sequoia tree. She flattened herself against the wall as much as possible, scooted herself past the beam and then steadied against it as she surveyed the ship.

Mira swallowed a dryness in her throat she had hadn't realized had formed, only to press a fist to her sternum, in an attempt to stop the pain erupting in her chest from the throb of her heart against her ribs. She ran her tongue along the front of her teeth and reached up to finger a fallen curl around her index finger, more out of nervous habit than anything as she surveyed the ship. The automated sentries she remembered were scattered about but hardly numerous; it would be easy slipping by since they weren't actively expecting her.

She looked down. The ship's innards were endless, like she recalled, expanding downward into a blackened hole easily decipherable for Cybertronians, but not for humans. Remembering her prison in the Terminus, she shuddered to think what Lockdown kept in the bowels of his vessel, and drew her mind away from such imaginations - she had to find Optimus, before Lockdown and Galvatron could.

There was small platform some twenty feet below her position that she could drop down to, which would put her on level ground with the rest of the ship. Sucking in a breath, she mustered the courage in her gut to take the leap, and did so. The CAST system flashed a warning to her and ignited the boosters to break her fall. She killed them as soon as she pulled up to a hovering stop, dropping onto the platform with force. She tucked her arms into her body, rolled across the platform, and came to a hard stop when her body collided with a solid object.

She moaned, black dots dancing across the perimeter of her sight as the world began to level from her thrashing roll. Her military instincts kicked in and she pumped herself up with one arm, using the other to touch the implant by her left eye - it had already started identifying energy signatures in her immediate locale. She stayed low, and immediately advanced to cover, squatting behind it to puff out a breath.

Mira ignored the salt of her sweat burning her eyes, jerking her head to move the hair from her face. She recalled the protocol for activating her weapons, and did so, preparing them for a fight that would, inevitably, come. Puffing out a few breaths in an attempt to level her breathing, she rolled out from behind cover, propping up the cannon in her palm of her armor, anticipating retaliation. Her eyes scanned for bogies, but found no enemy installments.

Her eyes floated to and fro down the platform she'd fallen to, but found no presence of sentries or patrols. Odd. Lockdown should have his forces scattered an on alert. She replayed scenarios in her mind, recalling tactics from her days beside Will and Optimus at NEST - this was just so unusual. You're used of fighting sentient bots, Mira, her mind was spinning, Lockdown's forces are automated, for the most part. Automated...

Letting down her guard, she hauled herself up, keeping low to the platform as she advanced forward into the open. All the muscle her legs and shoulders possessed were burning in pain. Her senses were alerted, and the adrenaline spiking through her blood was almost intoxicating - she could taste it on her tongue, the ache of her breathing felt all the way to the depths of her bones.

Squatting around the corner of the railing, she peeked around and saw one sentry, its back turned to her, walking in a slow pace. A scanner rolled on beside it in a Cybertronian sphere, scanning the platform in front of them, looking for invaders. Sucking in a breath, Mira extended a leg around the corner, shifted her weight onto it, and froze - waiting for a reaction. Her breath hitched and it felt as if her blood stood still. She counted three solid seconds, and when they didn't respond to her prsence, she popped tall and hauled off across the platform, turning right into the junction she remembered took her to the Terminus.

The atmosphere hung like a damp blanket, making the perspiration on her brow unbearable. She used her tongue to lap at the dripping sweat over her top lip, and stumbled forward when something rocked the platform behind her. Looking right, she ducked into a gap between two specimen cages. She swallowed a small breath and pressed herself against one of the cages, bracing her foot against the other to steady her trembling body. Straightening her back, she tipped her head out only slightly, enough to get a brief peek of the platform she'd already traversed.

She relaxed immediately upon sight of the familiar figure, pressing a hand to her armored chest. Optimus graced the platform as if he'd taken possession of the entire ship, shoulders back and fingers flexed over the hilt of his sword. His cobalt optics scanned the darkened platform strategically, the atmosphere itself seeming to stop and take notice of his presence. Mira could feel the Shield thrum harder within the depths of the armor, sensing the presence of the Matrix so near - and her heart settled upon sight of her Prime, who advanced steadily, sword at his side.

Mira peeked again, daring another look. She wasn't entirely prepared to face the wrath of Prime discovering her whereabouts aboard the ship - not yet, anyway. A dryness set into her mouth as she took in the full stature of Optimus Prime, towering some forty feet into the air, looking magnificent and so at ease despite his presence behind enemy lines. She so loved that about Optimus - his stalwart coolness in times of duress always had set her at ease. Even without him knowing she was there, it still did.

He was so unafraid, so confident in his mettle. Resting her head back against the specimen cage, she released a slow breath and mustered up every ounce of courage her gut possessed. Standing lithely, she pushed her hair from her face, shook out her curls, and turned to step from the shadows of her cover. The heat of the Shield sent a pleasing warmth across her nerves, so much so that she almost felt relaxed as she stepped fully into view.

His recognition was instant. "Mira?" was all he dared, the familiar baritone teetering between disbelief and reprimand. Immediately those stunning optics zeroed in on the small form of Mira Lennox, who looked up at him with all the courage and obstinance a soldier could show a superior officer.

She approached him, shoulders back, and Optimus felt his optic ridges widen at the sight of her. He hadn't really taken the time to notice the femme since her literal transformation aboard the dropship. It felt so odd - and so pleasant - to see her in Cybertronian armor. It fit her perfectly, illuminating every part of her that he'd come to admire. The soft, blue glow of the emblem over her heart cast a hue across her face that startled him mildly, making her look as transcendent and ethereal as many of the stars he'd seen.

He felt the Matrix ignite upon registering the presence of the Shield, though Optimus had to collect his thoughts as she came to a stop at his feet, a light smirk dotting her features. He looked down at her, almost unsure as if she'd actually been real. He shuttered his optic ridges, making sure his sight was actually correct and that Mira was actually standing before his feet.

He was propelled back into reality when the warmth of her hand pressed against his plating, sending a spike of heat through his core. It only takes one small touch from you, Mira. Only one. "Optimus," she looked to her hand, still against his foot, "don't be angry, I..." she paused and looked up at him, lifting her hand away from the plating of his foot to draw it back to herself. She rubbed the palm of it against her other hand, as if relishing in the touch. " - I couldn't let you face Lockdown alone. Not after everything - not like this."

A flash of anger pulsed through his senses, stoking heat in the core of his sparkchamber. Mira had always been foolish, putting her life after that of others, even during their days within the folds of NEST. But, he realized, her selflessness and recklessness with her own life was one of the things he so loved about her. Whether human or Cybertronian, she always set the life of another before her own. He realized it was one of the very characteristics that had made him a Prime, and one of Mira's own person that had made his spark choose her as his second, his charge, his...own.

His anger tempered immediately upon sight of the genuine concern within her eyes. He could feel no anger toward her, only relief that she was alive. He knelt, lowered a hand, released an exhale of air from his system when she stepped into his palm. "I believe I'd have better luck moving stars than I would arguing with you, Miriam," he so loved saying her name, hearing it in his voice. "But we must hurry. The sentry's double back frequently, I want to find Lockdown unsuspecting with the element of surprise on our side," he glanced over his shoulder, checking the platform for enemy presence. "Up you get."

He lifted his hand to his shoulder, where she'd so often spent hours beside him. Effortlessly she slipped back into the familiar place, her hand immediately finding the engraving on the side of his helmet plating. Her felt her soft fingers absently trace the Cybertronian lettering of the Primes, which sent a spike of warmth to his sparkchamber. He could, even from her perch, feel the throb of her heart within his core.

"Lockdown will be on the bridge," he stated plainly, tightening his grip on the sword's hilt. It was heavy within his hand, but hardly bothersome. What bothered him more was the concerned look on the femme's face as she stared at it, a stony look on her features. For a moment she seemed lost, and he turned his head slightly to consider her. He was expecting her to respond, but instead, she pulled her attention up, as if staring into space. Her found her intense concentration almost adorable.

He realized she was reading information from the CAST technology. "It's Galvatron," she said quietly. "He's here. Close." She dropped her gaze only briefly, watching the armor transform itself back over her hands. When it finished, she nodded ahead, and pointed an armored finger back in the direction from where they'd both come. The Shield suddenly soared with a burst of energy, and she adjusted herself onto her haunches, stabilizing herself against his shoulder armor.

He was mystified by her transformation. She was the confident leader he always imagined - she different than the Mira of the past, but so much the same that it was almost staggering. He was never one to gape, but he couldn't help but be engrossed in the new femme before him. He couldn't imagine her being any more Cybertron - his spark couldn't take it!

"Well?" she reached down, her armored finger tucking beneath the plating if what would be his chin. She pulled gently, drawing his attention back to her. "Didn't you hear me? Let's roll, Optimus," the implant transformed back over her eye, hiding half of her magnificent features. She raised a brow, locking her eyes with his optics, as if silently prodding him forward.

He couldn't help the rumble of a chuckle that escaped from him. It's hardly the time, Prime, was the thought that passed through his processings, but he couldn't help the lighthearted smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth. He flipped the sword's hilt in his palm, lifted it to his side, and set off at a run down the platform, the ship's bridge locked in the pathway of his mind.

"Well said, my friend," was the only thing he could say as he rounded the corner, the human femme giving him a teasing smile.