Chapter Five

The ride back to base was solemn, and quiet. As a psychologist, it was easy to judge people's behavior, and I wanted to help everyone here. However, I knew I had to wait. When we landed, the Autobots were the first to exit the planes and tend to their needs. Will suggested that I get my office set up as soon as possible, since a lot of soldiers were in distress.

"We might have to wait before we hold any official funerals. The families need to be informed." Will sighed. "We lost too many, Maria. Too many."

I rested my hand on his shoulder and offered him a small smile. "If you need me, you know where to find me, alright? I can help in any way I can."

He nodded. "I know,"

I took my leave, stopping in the same room where the gear was held to put mine away before I tended to my office. Once my gear was in place, I headed to my barracks, grabbing some clothing, shampoo, and conditioner before heading to the showers. As I showered, my thoughts kept travelling to the Autobots. The fact that we had alien allies was amazing. These Cybertronians, they were something I could never have imagined existed. I promised myself that I would take the time to get to know each of them better, so that I may gain a better understanding. Besides, I am to be working with the Autobots, why shouldn't I get to know my comrades?

After I had showered and changed into a new set of clothes, I made my way to my office. Already there was a folder on my desk. I braided my damp hair back quickly and sat down, opening the folder. I reviewed the soldier's history, and made notes on what I would need to work on with him. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I looked up as it opened.

"Captain," Will greeted.

"Hey, Will. How are you?"

He sighed and stepped into my office, sitting down in a chair across from me. "There's a lot of tension out there. We didn't expect that many losses, or any at that."

"We never do," I replied, closing the folder and setting it down. "The mission didn't go according to plan, but you have to remember that these are aliens we're dealing with. How much do we really know about them? They're unpredictable, there is no way we could possibly predict every Decepticon movement."

"You're right, Maria. And that's why the Autobots are so important, you know?"

I nodded. "How are they taking it?"

He shrugged. "It's hard to say. I'm sure the Prime is figuring out the meaning of what that Decepticon said, but I don't really know."

"Oh, that's right. 'The fallen shall rise again'. Do they have any idea what was meant by that?"

Will shook his head and shifted in the chair. "No, that's the thing. We're supposed to hold a meeting about it with the General and Optimus. But we're holding off on that until the ceremonies have been done,"

"Well, of course. Will I be allowed to attend the meeting?"

"You are a captain, and you were a witness. So I don't see why not."

"Alright." I sighed and stood up. "Why don't we go for a walk, I want to talk more to the Autobots."

He smiled as he stood up. "Well alright,"

We said nothing as we walked, but rather embraced the silence as something comfortable in our busy lives. When we entered the part of the building where the Autobot's stayed, Will was instantly bombarded with questions and orders. I left him to deal with what he needed to, and walked around the base, looking at everything. I ran into Ratchet on my walk, and he said nothing to me, just watched as I continued walking.

Next, I came across Ironhide. "You better watch where you're going, Squishy. Someone might step on ya,"

I grinned as I looked up at him. "You should watch where you step!"

"Well you see, I'm the giant here, and you know, I might have a slower reaction time. Which means I might not be able to stop myself if I just lower my ped..." He trailed off as he lifted a giant foot over top of me and slowly brought it down. I grinned and stayed completely still. He stopped and let his foot slam on the ground next to me. "Well you aren't very smart."

I laughed abruptly. "Well how rude,"

The weapon's specialist shrugged. "I'm just being honest. It's what I'm good at."

"I'm sure you're aware that being honest doesn't mean you can't keep certain comments to yourself."

I saw him smile, or what I thought was a smile, since I wasn't totally familiar with the facial expressions of these giants. "Oh I'm fully aware, Captain."

I playfully rolled my eyes at him, to which he responded with a deep chuckle. He continued on his way, and I watched as he left. I decided then that Ironhide was certainly a bot I would get along with. He reminded me of my older brother. I smiled softly and continued on my walk. I came across Skids and Mudflap, but they didn't see me. I watched as the twins bickered and tackled each other. Eventually one of the Arcee sisters told them to knock it off, to which they responded with suggestive flirting. As I watched this team of alien robots, I realized how much of a team they really were, to the point where I would call them family. They each had their role, and they knew each other well enough. I turned away from the twins to see Optimus Prime in his vehicle mode off to the side, separate from everyone else.

I approached him slowly. "Hello, Optimus Prime, Sir,"

The passenger door that faced me swung open. "Please, call me Optimus." I smiled and got in the truck, closing the door behind me. "Is there anything I can help you with, Captain?"

"No, not exactly. I just wanted to get to know your team of Autobots a little better. I felt that it would be a good idea especially since we'll be working closely together in the field. I want to understand you all a little bit better, at least."

There was a pause, then: "I think that is an excellent idea. One that not many of your officers have decided to do themselves." I peered at the radio, and realized that he was speaking through that. "Do you have any questions for myself?"

"Actually yes. Could you explain your home planet to me?"

He sighed. "Cybertron. Of course. There is quite a large amount of history, so I will try to limit what I tell you as best I can. While there have been many years of civil war, there once was a time of peace. During that time, there were no Autobots and Decepticons. We were an advanced society, with a government similar to your own. However, our planet was small, and soon we reached carrying capacity. Some Cybertronians left in search for something more, or at least something different. Others, however, wanted power over the highly populated planet. Megatron being the most important individual with the desire for power. Of course, his ideas were accepted by some, and refused by others, thus causing the split between us, and eventually led to the civil war."

"This might sound odd, Optimus, but I do not think Cybertronians are that much different from us humans. Of course, there are many differences, don't get me wrong. But I feel as though we think the same way, and have relatively the same emotions. It's interesting."

"You are a psychologist?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then I suppose you would know."

I laughed. "Thank you, Optimus, for sharing. I certainly appreciate it. " I turned to leave, and rested my hand on the steering wheel. "And thank you for fighting for us humans." And with that, I left Optimus to himself.

I entered my office to see Will in formal uniform, waiting for me. "We're holding the ceremonies now."

I nodded, then gestured for him to follow as I headed to my barracks so that I may change my attire. I did so quickly, then left my room, and the Major led me in silence to the Autobot wing and to the outside, where already soldiers were lined up. After a few minutes, coffins were carried out, and we all saluted as the American flag was carried past us. My heart went out to the men and women that lost their lives, and the families that they could no longer go home to.

Suddenly, several helicopters landed on our base, and Will ran to intercept the group of men before they could enter the building. Immediately I was angry, since they interrupted a funeral procession for our soldiers. I ran to catch up with Will, and came to stand by his side. What was the meaning of all this? One man stormed past a security gate, flashing a piece of paper in the face of the soldier positioned there.

"Director Galloway, what an honor." Lennox said. "I'd love to show you around, but you have to be on the classified access list."

"I am now," the director stated, slapping the piece of paper to Lennox's chest as he walked by. "Presidential order, Major. I got a message for your classified space buddies. You guys made a mess of Shanghai."

So that's what this was about.

The men continued inside, and Lennox wasted no time in giving a tour. "So this is where we communicate with the JCS," he said, motioning to the ledge where several computers were hooked up. Optimus was currently moving just below it. Will pointed further inside. "And this area serves as the Autobot hanger."

"Secure link to JCS is up, Major!" A soldier called. We then made our way onto the ledge in order to perform our meeting with the JCS. The director followed close behind, trying his very best to observe everything and take it all in. "Secure line to the Pentagon is now open." I positioned myself out of the way of the camera, next to the railing of the ledge, giving me a good vantage point to observe the meeting with the Pentagon.

"General?" Will said as the image of General Morshower came into view.

"Will, I saw the Shanghai op. We had a rough day out there." the General said solemnly.

"Yes, sir." Will said. "We have intel that I believe warrants an immediate debrief. Now, with your permission, I can't let you see him, but I would like you to hear from the leader of the Autobots."

"Proceed." General Morshower said, nodding his head slightly.

Everyone turned to watch Optimus Prime as he began to transform to his bi-pedal form. I still found it amazing to watch the gears shift into their place. I realized that it was probably something I could never get used to. As he finished transforming he glanced briefly at the director before turning to face the computer on the platform.

"General, our alliance has countermanded six Decepticon incursions this year, each on a different continent. They're clearly searching the world for something, but last nights encounter came with a warning." He paused to play back the voice of the Decepticon we took down in Shanghai. "The Fallen shall rise again."

"The Fallen. Meaning what?" the General asked.

"Origin unknown. The only recorded history of our race was contained within the AllSpark, and lost with its destruction."

"Excuse me!" the director shouted from the ground. Optimus turned to look down at him, and I leaned over the edge of the railing to look. "With this so-called AllSpark now destroyed," he paused to climb the stairs up to the ledge. "why hasn't the enemy left the planet like you thought they would?"

Will turned to the camera. "Director Galloway, our National Security Advisor. The President just appointed him liaison." He rolled his eyes.

"Well I guess I didn't get that memo." General Morshower mumbled. I took a step away from the railing, carefully watching this director.

"Forgive the interruption, General." Director Galloway said as he pushed past soldiers to reach the camera. "After all the damage in Shanghai, the President is hard-pressed to say the job's getting done." He glared at William before turning to Optimus. "Now, under the classified Alien/Autobot Cooperation Act, you agreed to share your intel with us, but not your advancements in weaponry."

"We've witnessed your human capacity for war." Optimus said sternly, pointing a metal digit at the director. "It would absolutely bring more harm than good."

I couldn't help but nod my head. Optimus certainly knew what he was talking about, and it seemed that he knew more about humanity than he let on.

"But who are you to judge what's best for us?" The Director challenged.

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief as I looked at Will. Was this guy serious? The complete disrespect he had was unbelievable. Will caught my glance and only shook his head.

"With all due respect, we've been fighting side by side in the field for two years." William said.

"We've shed blood, sweat, and precious metal together." Robert Epps added from the ground next to Optimus.

"Soldier, you're paid to shoot, not talk." The director shouted to him smugly.

"Excuse me, who in the hell do you think you are, director?!" I demanded, storming over to face him. "You have no idea what it's like out there in the middle of a war, you should have no say in any of this. Just because you were appointed to this position you think you run this place? You have zero experience in the army, on the ground, fighting like we do, so I suggest you do yourself a favor and gain a little respect for the soldiers here. Especially the leader of the goddamn Autobots." I was fuming, and the director took a step back in shock at my outburst. Even Will was surprised. As I kept approaching the director, a metal hand came from nowhere to block my path.

"Easy, Captain." Optimus said gently. I made eye contact with him before stepping back.

"My apologies." I muttered. Though, in all honesty, I was not at all sorry for what I said. Optimus rested his hand on the railing, and I came to stand right next to it, finding comfort in the calm composure the leader carried.

"The newest members of your team." The director continued. "I understand they arrived here after you sent a message into space, an open invitation to come to Earth, vetted by no one at the White House."

"Let me stop you right there, Mr. Galloway. It was vetted right here." General Morshower informed him. "And in my experience the judgement of both Major Lennox and his team has always been above reproach."

"Well be that as it may, General, it is the position of the President that when our national security is at stake, no one is above reproach." He paused. "Now, what do we know so far? We know that the enemy leader, classified NBE One, aka Megatron, is rusting in peace at the bottom of the Laurentian Abyssal, surrounded by SOSUS detection nets and a full-time submarine surveillance. We also know that the only remaining piece of your alien AllSpark is locked in an electromagnetic vault here on one of the most secure naval bases in the world. And since no one can seem to tell me what the enemy is now after, well, there is only one clear conclusion! You!" He said, motioning to Optimus. "The Autobots! They're here to hunt you! What's there to hunt for on Earth besides that? 'The Fallen shall rise again'? It sounds to me like something's coming. So let me ask, if we ultimately conclude that our national security is best served by denying you further asylum on our planet, will you leave peacefully."

"Freedom is your right. If you make that request we will honor it." Optimus responded smoothly. I couldn't believe this conversation was happening. "But, before your President decides, please ask him this: what if we leave and you're wrong?" Optimus stepped back from the platform and watched the director sternly.

"That's a good question." Lennox said.

The director and his group of men took their leave of the base, much to everyone's pleasure. I paid little attention to what else was discussed between Morshower and Will, rather, I was watching Optimus. He was leaving the ledge and was walking over to the Autobot hanger. I raced down the staircase and made my way over to him. "Excuse me, Optimus Prime, may I speak to you for a moment?"

The Prime stopped and crouched down so that he was closer to my eye level. "What is it you wish to say, Captain Roskowick?"

"I, uh, I just wanted to apologize to you...the disrespect the director had for you was unbelievable and completely unacceptable...I want you to know that we aren't all like that."

He chuckled softly. "You do not need to worry, I am quite aware of the goodness that humanity possesses. Your words with the director prove that, and I appreciate your willingness to stick up for my Autobots. All I ask is that you be careful, men like that do not take kindly to those who challenge them."

I nodded. "Of course. But at the same time I cannot stand by in situations like that..."

"I understand."

I sighed and glanced back towards the ledge of soldiers before looking at Optimus once more. "So what happens now?"

"Now, we wait for orders from your government on what we are to do. But I find that we Autobots are in need of more allies." He paused. "I plan to seek out the human Sam Witwicky. Perhaps if he were to speak on our behalf your President would be more lenient. Sam was with us from the beginning, I only hope that he is able to help us."

"Would it be alright if I came with you when you go to speak with Sam? I could explain to him what will likely happen to the military in the next while based on the discussions of the meeting."

"I don't see why not. Although, Sam has never met you, I am not sure how he would take to a new individual."

"Optimus," I said, smiling. "I'm a psychologist, it won't be an issue."

He smiled. "Very well."