Astrosecond: .498 seconds
Breem: ~8.2 minutes
Joor: ~1 hour
Deca-cycle: ~3 weeks
Nano-klik: ~1 second
Orn: 13 days
Solar-cycle: 93 hours (Cybertronian day)
Orbital-cycle: 24 solar-cycles/93 days (Cybertronian month)
Stellar-cycle: 20 orbital-cycles/480 days (Cybertronian year)
Chapter 10:
Found
"This is the location, Prime." Ironhide pulled to a stop, followed shortly by said prime and their medic Ratchet. They transformed into their bi-pedal forms and their optics scanned the area, searching for the source of the signal.
Their optics landed on the recently revealed cavern in the earth.
"Careful," Optimus rumbled as Ironhide neared, "We do not know how stable the earth is."
Ironhide grunted his acknowledgement as he crouched before the opening, shining his headlights into the pit.
"That's an escape pod," he uttered, shuddering his optics just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
Optimus approached; it was. It was an escape pod.
"A stasis," the Prime confirmed.
Ratchet grew closer, "Can't make out any defining details. I'm the smallest, I shall head down."
"Take care," Optimus warned as the medic sat on the edge of the opening. Some rocks fell, disturbed as Ratchet dropped down into the cave with a loud and echoing thud. It fell silent once again.
"I wonder how long it's been here," Ironhide remarked, "Gotta be one helluva long time to be buried like this, right?"
Optimus recalled how their own ship had come to be buried after crashing, "Perhaps it has been here longer than us."
If so, how long? Before the war? During the war? An attempt to escape from it? Escaped captive? So many different possibilities to consider. Was it Autobot? Decepticon?
Ratchet vented, mindful of the loose rubble and shoved away the earth that covered the opening of the pod. He yanked open the control panel to get to the wiring.
Admittedly, Ratchet felt relieved the tiniest bit at the knowledge that it was a stasis pod; the likelihood of the bot inside surviving was guaranteed unless something went wrong with the systems, but if it sent out a signal to be discovered, then it should still be in good condition.
He fiddled with the wires to open the pod. The door opened with a hiss, revealing a dark inside and Ratchet peered inside to see a large red blanket first. He squinted his optics, only for them to widen at he saw what—or who exactly he saw inside the pod.
He glanced up to the duo staring down that them, unable to produce a sound in his shock.
"Ratchet?" Optimus questioned, worry forming on his faceplate.
"Sparkling," He answered after several attempts to just say the word.
Ironhide's knees nearly gave out under his weight, "A—a sparkling?!"
Ratchet turned back to the sparkling—one that look so very recognisable—and reached inside the pod to tug the neatly tucked blanket away in order to unstrap her. His spark ached, with pain and relief after so long of wondering what had happened to Resonate, here the femmeling was.
The soft orange glow of her optics flickered to life as he started unstrapping her. A yawn followed, and then a blink; she was hardly even online, looking like she could easily drop off back into recharge at any moment.
Ratchet set her against his chassis, and she snuggled close at the warmth his frame radiated. The medic let his companions pull him up.
"Optimus," Ratchet rasps, meeting his friend's optics, "Look who it is."
He uncurled his servo and Optimus came crashing to his knees, shaking the earth.
"Oh Resonate," he whispered, and Ratchet didn't hesitate to hand the femmeling over to the Prime, her uncle in every way that mattered.
"Resonate?" Ironhide asked, frame trembling, "As in, LightChaser?"
"Indeed," Optimus rumbled, brushing a digit over the indigo and white helm as the sparkling mewled sleepily. He rumbled deeply, soothing the sparkling back into some much-needed recharge while her systems worked to get back online.
But she squirmed as a feeling inside her chassis burst to life, it reached for her with an overwhelming number of emotions. It was followed by others, it left her disorientated and she blinked, cheeping at the feeling then shook her helm but grimaced.
A servo reached up to the bump. Optimus hummed, seeing the action. He ran a digit along her neck struts.
The feeling tugged and she squirmed again, searching the area for the strange feeling. She reached hesitantly for the feeling in return. It curled around her, and she purred.
The purr paused the Autobots' walking.
"Bond?" Ironhide questioned, tense.
Ratchet vented and nodded, "They seem to be reaching for her, they must be on…" realization flickered onto all three faceplates, "planet."
"Let us hurry," Optimus ordered and they transformed, heading for base.
Resonate chirped in confusion and squirmed in the unfamiliar sparkling hold, not understanding why the feeling suddenly lurched, taking on an angry tone but despite the anger, she knew it wasn't meant for her. She tilted her helm, curling up in the warmth of the hold and tried to recall what had happened last, her helm really hurt when she tried to do that. So she settled with rubbing the spot and not doing so.
Whoever it was that was reaching for her could come to her if they wanted her. She would tell them, but she didn't know where she was.
Optimus and Ratchet headed straight to the med-bay when they returned to base as Ironhide was left to do all the informing of what had transpired.
The Prime shifted, servo laying over his spark and thus sparkling hold, still full of awe and disbelief. After so long, after failing LightChaser's final request, Resonate was finally with him again.
He staggered, Ratchet grabbed his arm and led him to the berth where Optimus lent his weight against it.
"Ratchet," his voice was but a murmur.
"I know, Optimus," the long-time friend soothed, "She's safe."
A beat, "May I have permission to scan?"
Optimus shuddered his optics, venting deeply before retracting the door and reaching inside the hold to remove Resonate. She hasn't awoken from her recharge and so simply lay curled up in Optimus' servo.
There was no need for Optimus to set her down and so once Ratchet had done his scan, Resonate's helm, which was bumped and dented, was fixed before she was placed back into Optimus' sparkling hold, but the door was kept partly ajar.
Not a moment later, Arcee came rushing into the med-bay, optics wide in disbelief, "Is it true?"
Ratchet nodded his helm toward Optimus. Arcee approached with permission and peered into the gap, cooing as coolant gathered in her optics.
Elita-1, Prowl, and Jazz came walking inside. On Prowl's servo were Will Lennox and Robert Epps.
Arcee looked up from her cooing at their arrival, she looked only slightly sheepish to which Jazz grinned at her before peering at the sparkling too, "Primus."
"She's tiny," Robert commented after he and Will had been set onto the berth by Prowl.
"That is typical of sparklings," Prowl answered, "How old is she, Ratchet?"
"Twelve stellar-cycles, she's been in that stasis pod for a very long time."
Arcee keened softly in horror. There was a look of horror on all their faceplates in fact.
"Stellar-cycles?" Lennox questioned. "What would that be in human terms?"
"As we've discussed before, a single stellar-cycle is approximately four hundred and eight earthen days which is equivalent to a year for us. She's… sparklings are classed as such for one hundred stellar-cycles, but we have days which are ninety-three hours long; an orbital-cycle, a month, which is twenty-four solar-cycles. We have twenty orbital-cycles in a year. But if we went by your years, she's roughly sixish but our cycle of life doesn't correlate well to yours, Will." Ratchet explained. "So, it's difficult, six is a roundup."
"So, she's really young?" Epps finalised.
"That is correct," Elita-1 confirmed, stepping up beside her sister and cooing like Arcee had done. Optimus peered down at the two femmes in amusement.
"Hundred stellar-cycles and she'd only twelve of them—" Will grimaced, looking pale. All he could see was his own baby girl who was turning four this year.
"How is she?" Jazz turned his attention to Ratchet.
"I believe she may have stasis amnesia which will resolve itself, but it is hard to tell. Still, if so it will typically clear up within a solar-cycle or two," Ratchet answered.
"What about her parents?" Robert asked, then a beat, "Uh, if you guys are like us that is."
Arcee snorted, "We are, don't worry, Sergeant. Certain bots are capable of carrying a spark. I for instance would be a carrier, for I would carry the developing spark. A creator, in your terms, would be the designated male, but a femme or mech could be a creator, much like either could be a carrier too."
"There is no physical—" Elita-1 eyed the two humans, "—sex, that takes place. Just two bonded combining sparks to form another."
Neither of the two males were put off by the improv sexual education—would be even be called sexual education for Cybertronians?—and instead were eager to learn more. Most of the N.E.S..T recruits wanted to learn more about their otherworldly friends in fact.
"Her carrier was a femme named LightChaser," Optimus began, optics gaining a faraway look that got the other Autobot's sympathetic glances, "She was my sister in every way but creation. Her carrier, Steeldust, helped raise me while my own struggled to juggle work and myself. My creator died before I had even completely disengaged from my carrier's spark."
He vented; it had been so long ago now.
"LightChaser passed during an attack on the base not even three orns after giving birth," Ratchet continued in Optimus' stead, "Or thirty-two days in your time."
"That's—" Will wasn't sure what to say, knowing he would be distraught if something happened to Annabelle and Sarah.
"What of her father?" Robert asked.
Optimus sighed, "She's bonded so she was likely with him at the time of being jettisoned."
Those that hadn't been there upon the discovery all sucked in vents at the implications. At the implication Resonate had been upon the Nemesis at the time of their battle which led them to earth.
"Are you certain?" Prowl asked, the normally stoic Autobot's wings trembling.
"You speak as if Soundwave is cruel to his own," Elita-1 remarked, perhaps more callous than intended by her wince that followed.
"Soundwave?" Will demanded.
"Indeed, believe it or not, Major, but Megatron and I introduced Soundwave and LightChaser before the war when everything was still peaceful protests," Optimus explained, "I was there for the bonding ceremony and I was the first person LightChaser told that she was with Spark."
There were many things on Ori—Optimus' mind.
Like the fact he was Named. Never in a billion stellar-cycles would he ever consider himself Prime worthy and yet, the Priestess claimed otherwise, the All-Spark claimed otherwise, the Markings that had etched themselves upon his frame said otherwise.
And so, who-was-once-Orion-Pax was now Optimus Prime.
"Orion?" LightChaser's voice brought him from his thoughts. Knowing his sister from different sparks still called him by his old name brought a sense of easiness to him. He vented.
"Chaser?" he glanced up, meeting her optics.
She smiled softly, dropping into the seat beside him, "Big day, huh?"
He can't help the snort and she burst into giggles, falling against his frame. He leant into her, and they fell into silence.
"Are you alright?" her voice was quiet, tender.
"A…lot has happened within the last solar-cycle," he says, trying to find the words he wanted to use to describe everything, "I…do not feel that I am worthy."
"The people who tend to think as such always surprise," she remarked, "I mean, look at Megatron, the brutish mech is absolutely soft for sparklings and younglings. He practically melts at the sight of them."
LightChaser giggled and Optimus can't help the chuckle. It was true.
But the sound of his sister's laughter trailing off brought him concern.
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah, not wrong, so to speak," she smiled secretively, "But I have something I'd like to share, and I need your help on how to tell Wave."
Optimus cocked an optical ridge, amused but more than happy to help, "And what would that be?"
She leaned close and whispered into his audials with a cheeky grin, "Guess who's carrying?"
Holy frag.
When the sparking finally roused from her much-needed slumber, she found herself still within the unfamiliar sparkling hold, but it hummed with familiarity. She wondered who it was.
She whirled and tapped on the door listening to the deep rumbling the bot made in response. She giggled, watching as the door opened and a servo lay in wait. Resonate slipped onto it, chattering and clicking curiosity at her strange surroundings.
She was reminded of Knockout's medical bay on the Nemesis and whistled. Then her optics rose to the mech that held her—oh! Orion! It was him!
Excitedly, she cheeped and chirped, watching as the mech smiled, lifting her up high so she could cling to his faceplate. Resonate giggled, cooing as she touched and explored Orion's face.
Wanting the mech to know she remembered him, Resonate pulled her cyber-kitty toy out and waved it. His rumbling grew louder—her entire body shook with the force, and she giggled, nuzzling into the sound.
The sound of approaching pedes has Resonate turning and oh! Arcee! She cheeped loudly, excitedly, wiggling in Orion's servo until he let her climb onto Acree's servo.
"Oh sweetling," the blue femme cooed, "It's been so long."
It has!
But where was creator?
She gave an inquisitive whirl, poking at her bonds. She was rushed with love and assurance. That was all she needed and so Resonate settled in Arcee's servo, happy to be carried around and introduced to lots of bots!
When they had awoken on this planet three years ago, it was a jarring change. But immediately the family unit was hit with the harsh realisation that Resonate was who knows where.
She was alive—they would feel it. She was still within the stasis pod and had been sleeping as long as they had been—and still was. But they had no idea where she could possibly be, Soundwave couldn't track a muted bond of someone in stasis.
So, they searched—all the Decepticons worked to try and locate the pod when they could, but they got nowhere and after three years on this organic world, they were beginning to lose some hope of ever finding her.
Then the earthquake hit and just like that, the pod's signal came online.
It was a miracle by Primus himself.
Soundwave with the assistance of Thundercracker and Megatron, headed for the locations as soon as they'd picked up the signal but once they arrived at the pod nestled in a cave and already open, they knew the Autobots had beat them to her.
Soundwave let out a harsh vent of air in controlled fury. His cassettes also expressed their anger and annoyance via their bonds. Ravage was released and he sniffled at the interior to catch her fresh scent. His ears perked up as he did.
~I've got it~
"Follow it then," Megatron ordered, seeing Ravage's reaction, "No doubt she'd within the Autobots base. We'll try and make contact while you get a visual."
Ravage nodded.
"Autobots wouldn't be willing to keep her with them if they know she'd got a bond with you, right?" Thundercrack questioned, arms crossing as a frown made itself known on his faceplate.
It was Megatron who answered, tilting his head. "I don't believe Optimus would, nor his medic. But the others would likely try to keep her there, no doubt."
Soundwave vented quietly, "Autobots: likely to contact us in regard to Resonate."
His insides were boiling with anger, he wanted to punch something, break something, but he reframed from doing such, it would get him nowhere closer to Resonate. He had to only be a bit more patient. She'd be back with them soon. Whether the Autobots agreed or not.