Chapter Twelve

Roddy's broad grin faded. "Optimus, don't you recognize me? It's Rodimus Prime. I've come to find you and bring you back home."

"You must have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Orion Pax."

Rodimus felt his fuel pump plummet. "That used to be your name. You changed your name to Optimus Prime a very long time ago." The robot looked doubtful. "Please, Optimus, you have to remember! There are people that need you. I need you." He looked at the floor. "Here," he said in desperation, grabbing Prime's hand and placing it on his chestplate, where the Matrix rested beneath. "You can't tell me you don't feel that!" Roddy felt the Matrix practically pulse with energy.

Prime looked uncertain, and Rodimus let the hand go. It fell limply at his companion's side. "I don't know. I did feel something. I honestly don't remember you, but I feel that I can trust you. Besides, I haven't seen any others of my kind around. If you say you know me, I'll believe you, as crazy as it sounds."

Roddy noticed a green chevron adhered to Optimus' chassis. "Have you been working here?"

"Yeah," Prime shrugged. Rodimus was taken aback by the casual attitude. "The Verderons did a great job of patching me up. They had a sudden slew of patients, and since I have some medical training, they let me pitch in and help. Beats sitting around all day."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Roddy asked gently.

A pause. "I remember being attacked by a Decepticon. Afterward, I woke up and Alpha Trion told me that my spark had been transferred to a new body. Things are rather fuzzy after that. I guess somehow this new body got damaged too." He gestured to the fresh weld marks on his upper arm and torso. "There do seem to be some gaps in my memory, so I guess what you say is true."

"There you are!" Ratchet exclaimed. Mariel was by his side, apparently refreshed by the snack. "The caf had some delicious fossil fuel biscuits. With a bit of adjusting to my energy filter, I was able to ingest them with no problem…" he trailed off. "Optimus! You found him!"

The elder Prime grinned at the approaching medibot. "Ratchet! What are you doing here? It's great to see you!"

Rodimus nearly pouted. "You remember him?!"

Ratchet looked blank. "Why shouldn't he?"

"Because he thinks he's Orion Pax!" Roddy spat.

Optimus slung an arm around Ratchet. "We met in medical school. Used to cram for our exams together." Ratchet raised an optic ridge, looking pointedly at the arm. Rodimus shrugged.

"So you only remember being Orion Pax?" Ratchet asked incredulously.

"Yeah, though this guy says I changed my name to Optimus Prime. Why would I want to do that?"

Ratchet sighed. "It's a long story. Nine million years old, in fact. That's how long you've been known as Optimus Prime."

"Nine MILLION years?! I figured there were a few things that I had forgotten, but that's just incredible. I must be more damaged than we thought."

"Oooooriion," a voice trilled. It was another Verderon doctor. "Newfriends?"

"Hello, Aree." Optimus beamed. "Yes, these are friends of mine. At least, one of them is. I don't remember the other one, but I'm sure he's a friend as well."

Aree bowed her head and scraped her foot against the floor. "Self is Aaarrreeee. Happy to see newfriends." Having observed Skreebo previously, Ratchet and Rodimus knew to return the gesture in kind as they introduced themselves.

Rodimus straightened up from his greeting. He then stopped short and stared at the being in front of him. She was very familiar… violet feathers… a somewhat sad look... "I've seen you before!" he exclaimed. "You were in my dreams!"

Aree folded her wing over her breast and hooted. "Honored! Special to share dreamlink." She gestured toward the Matrix in his chest. "Newfriend and Oooriion share mindheartlink too."

"That's right…" Rodimus looked stunned. "How did you know?"

Mariel explained, "The Verderons are empaths. Aree is particularly gifted in healing mental and emotional trauma. If your friend has experienced memory loss, she would be the best choice for healing him."

Mental and emotional trauma…. "Ratchet, why don't you walk around with Optimus and help get him caught up on current events?"

Ratchet took the hint. "Let's go, buddy. We've got a lot to talk about."

"Hey, listen, guys," Mariel spoke up. "It was really great meeting you, but I've got to get going. Skreebo gave me his blessing to escort you over here, but I'll be in for it if I don't hurry back."

"No problem," Optimus said. "Ratchet and I will walk you back to your wing."

"Is there someplace we can talk in private?" Rodimus asked once the others had departed.

"Newfriend Rodimus follow. Alonespace ahead."

He followed the alien through several corridors until arrived at a small room. "Friend Ooooriiion place," she explained. He looked around. It was nice enough – Optimus was lucky to have gotten a room with a view. It was rather bare, though, as hospital rooms tended to be. Rodimus felt a pang. Optimus should be back on Cybertron, with his friends and treasured belongings. As good as the Verderons had been to him, it was time to bring him home.

"How has he been?" Rodimus asked.

Aree shook her head, her feathers rustling in a halo around her. "Friend Ooooriiion arrived at hurthealplace very hurt. Lifeforce almost gone. Healers fix bodyhurts. I help with mindhurts. Mindhurts very big, some very old."

"Yes, he does have some very old mental traumas. Orion Pax is actually an old name from an earlier period in his life. It was a peaceful, happy period. But then a war broke out, and Orion was nearly killed in an attack. His body was rebuilt, and he was given a new name and a leadership role. There has been nine million years of fighting and stress for him. He is now known as Optimus Prime and is revered by our people, but I think he gives too much of himself and his mental state suffers for it."

Aree hooted softly. "Yes, I see same. Old hurts, sadfeelings. Alone when not alone." Rodimus nodded. For a woman who had only known Optimus a short time, she knew him a lot better than many of the soldiers that had served by Prime's side for their entire lives. Optimus was indeed surrounded by crowds but emotionally lonely. "I see recent hurt. Mindscape torn. Mindscreams. Mindvasion. Newfriend Rodimus toohurt."

"Of course! The Voracian demon! You're absolutely right. Optimus and I were both attacked by a mental vampire awhile back. Things have been so crazy lately that I forgot all about it. It was really awful. The creature attacked our minds and took control of our bodies. I've been able to recover fairly well, thanks to a few sympathetic ears of my friends, but I should have known that Optimus was still suffering." Aree was bobbing her head, presumably in agreement. "To tell you the truth, he's seemed to be depressed for as long as I've known him. He doesn't deal with his emotions or personal needs well, and in trying to deny them they end up overwhelming him."

"Self healed some mindhurt, still more mindhurt. Body nothurt. Ooooriiion and Op-tee-muus selfunknowns."

Rodimus pondered that statement. Prime's body was healed. His mind was still suffering (no surprise there). But what was she saying about Optimus and Orion? Selfunknowns… he didn't know himself anymore… or one was a stranger to the other? Yes, that made sense. "So in other words, Orion does not want to acknowledge the part of him that has become Optimus. Do you think he wants to remain Orion and hold on to the part of himself that was carefree?"

"Newfriend Rodimus knowledgefeels!" Aree waved her wings excitedly. "Op-tee-muus mindhurt. Ooooriiion mindimage nothurt. Optimus go, hurt go."

He groaned. "Then we have a problem. I'm all for letting Optimus enjoy himself free of worries, but he's got a whole life that he's trying to forget. Hiding that part of himself won't make the pain go away. I'm hoping that remembering who and what he is will be a step in the right direction."

"Op-tee-muus and Ooooriiion twosplit. Should be samesame. Mindscape not bleeding, still torn. Must selfheal now."

"Listen, I really appreciate all you've done. I don't think Optimus would've made it this far without you. I really wish we had someone like you on our medistaff." Aree ruffled her feathers again, looking flustered but rather pleased. "What do you think the best thing for him would be at this point? Can you help him any further here, or would he be better off at home?"

"Heal little more mindhurt. Twosplit cannot heal. Ooooriiion must samesame Optimus."

"And for Optimus to reunite his Orion and Prime personas, it would be best if he was back on Cybertron, seeing familiar people and surroundings. With your permission, I'd like to leave with him tomorrow."

The woman chirped. "Morrow good. Give medicine, hurtcovers," bandage plates? "then home go."

They chatted for awhile, making plans for Optimus' pending release. Despite their language barrier, Rodimus could sense Aree's impressive skills and concern for her patients. She had gotten Optimus to trust her with his mental well-being, something which had eluded nearly everyone close to him. She had gone a long way toward healing the damage over the years caused by Optimus' self-imposed isolation as Autobot leader, as well as the more recent wounds caused by the mental vampire. They both agreed that Prime's amnesia may have originally be caused by trauma, but there was no longer any physical reason for it to continue. The elder Autobot may be using his younger persona to shield himself from the painful memories and experiences of Optimus Prime. Rodimus couldn't help but feel glad that Aree freely discussed Prime's condition with him and was open to his suggestions. He wholly approved of patient confidentiality, but when it came to Prime, it occasionally seemed to be counterproductive.

They decided to take a walk on the complex grounds, where they discovered a very pleasant surprise. Mariel rushed up to them, grinning ear-to-ear. "I've got great news! Skreebo talked to the planet's elders, and they want to meet you! I know you probably want to get going soon, but they've found a really nice place for you to stay the night. And I've been dubbed as an official ambassador so I can help communicate!"

Rodimus looked at Ratchet, tailing behind her, and they exchanged a shrug. Rodimus had been enjoying the break away from his leadership duties, but first contact with a new species' government was extremely important. Fortunately, it went much better than Roddy expected. The elders were all pleasant, and though they had to follow the usual greetings and customs, there was little pomp and circumstance involved. Several elders spoke a better version of Standard, which facilitated communications greatly, though Mariel was on hand to translate if needed.

The Verderons put on a small function, exhibiting some native clothing and dances. The Autobots were presented with several parting gifts and the use of an executive suite for the night. Best of all, their expert stellar cartographers were able to indicate several warp gates in the area that would shave days off of their journey.

They were finally also able to get answers as to the aftermath of the shuttle explosion. After some inquiries, the Verderon elders learned that a group of "salvagers" had been trying to expand into new territory. They had come upon the shuttle wreck and gathered anything useful, including spare parts and metal. They had also found Optimus but did not know precisely what he was. Assuming that he was some sort of droid, they brought him back to their home sector to sell.

Fortunately, their first stop was Verderon Three, where an inhabitant of Verderon Seven was visiting, looking to acquire scrap metal. The Verderon's empathic powers told him that the being recovered from the shuttle was in fact sentient and alive, although his lifeforce was nearly extinguished. The Verderon brought the injured being back to his home planet for treatment. Rodimus was doubly pleased to learn that this Good Samaritan was in fact Aree's lifemate. The Autobots finally returned to their suite, exhausted but pleased with the way that their first contact had gone.