There was something of a shortness in the manner of the robot that stood before him, but then Sam Witwicky and Will Lennox had given him the utmost assurance that they were every bit as human in personality and feeling as any random bystander on the street. Yet…yet…
"We acknowledge and understand your position, Mr. President." says the infamous Optimus Prime, his blue optics as unreadable as the sea, and twice as bright. "But I assure you that the Autobots are your best, and possibly your only defense against the Decepticons."
He leans forward and rubs his chin, thinking carefully about what to say.
Prime has a point, and he'd be damned if they ignored it. He's already done away with and made a new contract for the U.S and NEST, revising a few crucial points that the Bush Administration skipped over. But there's still the concern- still the overwhelming tendency to question, for the millionth time, whether this is all really okay, whether the Autobots staying influences in any way the threat of the Decepticons.
"I understand that." he replies, "But the American people still have numerous concerns. Only the losses of life on the U.S.S Roosevelt and the destruction of Giza managed to convince them that you weren't aiming for us as well, and while I've assured the House and Congress that you aren't the threat, don't we risk danger of association?"
He would like to help these robots. He really, really would. But honestly, he's already fighting war, and America is on the verge of break down, and trying to aid in a millennia-long battle fought between advanced civilizations that have nothing to do with them in the first place?
Not only would their help be useless, it would be suicide.
"That danger you face already, given our relationship with NEST and with the sanction we were given after Mission City." says the Autobot, shifting a bit through the webcam. "And even if we had refused to fight for your species, the Decepticons would have eradicated you anyways, simply for the use of your planet's resources. Our races are intertwined, whether the Autobots leave or not, Mr. President. They were the second the Ancient Primes landed here thousands of years ago. It has come to war here, and for that I am sorry, but at this point, there is nothing you can do to avoid it."
It takes all his strength not to drop his face into his hands. Not to give in to the overwhelming truth- the truth that the signs have been saying all along.
"Very well." he tells the robot calmly. "Thank you for explaining this to me. It's about time someone did."
Optimus Prime blinks, and a brief look- confusion? Seems to flicker across his face. He can't really tell. "Thank you for believing us." he replies. "I had not expected you to be so willing to listen- or to trust."
"I trust you." he admits. "You don't really strike me as someone who would lie about this." Or about anything.
He likes Optimus. A lot.
"Then I am grateful for your confidence." he says. And there it is again; that distance, that guarded unconcern.
"You certainly deserve it." he replies. "But there's another concern that worries me- and that is the involvement of Sam Witwicky."
Finally, a reaction. He has the Prime's full attention now, and though he is as guarded as ever, his eyes are trained especially intense on his own. After a brief pause, he asks, "What about Sam?"
It's bizarre, really. The strange bond between the boy and these robots. With the black and yellow one- Bumblebee, he remembers- it was something you could feel as well as see, like the tides pulling on each other. But with Optimus, it was different. It was a mixture of mutual respect and something more. On the boy's side, nothing more than admiration and constant concern, and on Prime's, nothing less than gentle affection that made it clear he was exceedingly fond of him. That was why he was bringing this up now.
"He was even more involved this time than ever. People are going to start making the connection- many people already have. What am I supposed to tell them? And also, if Mr. Witwicky is signing on with NEST officially- which I assume he is- what position does he want? I thought it was something about politics."
"It is being discussed." says Optimus carefully. "And Charlotte Mearing and Will Lennox are certainly ready to have him, but as for the path of his career, only Sam can answer with certainty himself. The Autobots will stand behind whatever decision he makes- even if that decision is leaving all of this for good."
"But you don't want that."
Sam seems to attract Decepticons wherever he goes, even with us gone. After this week's events, I will not let him out of my sight. He will be on the top of their list for quite some time."
"I'll have a meeting with him as soon as possible, then."
"I will make sure he is aware of it."
"Thank you."
The warrior inclines his head. "Mr. President." he says, and then takes a step back from the camera.
"Optimus," he tells him, nodding.
And then the camera line is cut.
He sighs and leans back in his chair, drumming his fingers on his desk, and is left to mull over in silence what he has heard. He trusts whatever Optimus tells him on subjects about the War- even given his cold civility. When Sam first introduced them on his tour of the NEST base years ago, and it had been explained that Optimus was both a Commander in Chief and a leader himself, his respect for the robot had only grew.
He was just like him, in those terms, at least.
The more he learned of the Autobot, the more fascinated he became. And after getting to know Optimus, learning of how he lead half a planet and such a huge military, learning all the impossible choices he had to make and the things he had done- he had never stood more in awe of anyone in his life.
Here was a creature that had to be a symbol of hope in a time of utter darkness; here was a being that had never given up hope or quit fighting, even when Cybertron's last city went dark.
And to retain his character and his goodness after all of that; after battling and killing to many mechs to count and fighting a bloodless battle till the world was lost, he still remained good.
It blew his mind every time he thought about it. It demanded his respect, and he hoped desperately to learn from this great creature; to be for America what Optimus was once to his world.
But then there was a distance between him and the Autobot, something he wasn't sure they'd ever overcome. In fact, he had noticed, that distance was everywhere; between him and his army superiors (not that NEST had many), and the personnel- everyone.
Except for Will Lennox. And except for the boy.
There was obviously a strong friendship between Lennox and Epps and NEST soldiers from the old days, but it was harder to notice until someone snubbed an Autobot and Will blew up in their face, or until one of them nearly got hacked by a Decepticon till the Autobot came roaring out of nowhere to blast it to pieces.
But where the boy was concerned…
It was as if he was everyone's kid brother.
And now, sitting here in his office, really thinking about it for the first time, he realized it.
The Autobots didn't get close to anyone because they were afraid to.
Maybe afraid wasn't the right word. Maybe there wasn't one. But either way, the facts still fit. If these beings were as human as the boy claimed them to be, as human as he himself had seen them, then they must have felt sorrow like all humans do. And they had seen their entire planet wiped out.
Whole generations of their world had been lost. Family, friends, lovers- all gone. The Autobots and the Decepticons, in their raging war, had lost everything. And yet neither of them could never stop, least the one thing they had left be taken.
The Decepticons would never cease to be power-hungry, to try and consume everything. And the Autobot would always try to stop them.
They had probably been left behind living by everyone they knew. Here on Earth, the few that were left had already seen more losses in their dwindling ranks, and if that wasn't hard…
It made sense. They didn't want to get too close because they had seen too many perish. Kids, elders; it had probably made no difference in their War. That was why they seemed so cold, that was why what most people mistook for mechanical indifference was really something they did to keep more pain away.
And then there was Sam.
He didn't know why the boy meant so much to them, other than the fact he had helped save the world so often. There was an open, almost twin-like relationship between him and his bodyguard, and one of obvious friendship with the others. They never tried to hide the fact that they cared about Sam. It was almost as if they hadn't even tried to prevent it.
So why was it? Did they just like him out of coincidence? Was it because they owed each other, or was it something forged in the fires of the plasma cannons that erupted around them in battle, when they depended on each other most?
That was the one question he couldn't think a proper answer of. Maybe the Autobots themselves didn't even know. But some way or another, he had wormed his way completely into their hearts- sparks- without even trying. And they seemed to have let him do it with eyes- optics- wide open.
He's starting to see what John told him the minute he took office; Sam Witwicky was really something. Wildcard, he had said.
"Um, I was wondering if I could be their ambassador, or something." he says a week late, shrugging. "You know- someone who can sort of bridge that gap and show the world what they really are, that coexistence is possible- someone not just doing this for money or for a fancy car." He grins sheepishly. "Guess I've already got one of those."
He smiles, surprised, amazed, and impressed all at the same time. Wildcard, indeed.