Chapter 84
-0-Autobot City, Mars
They began to gather at the entrance to The Fortress, their gear bags and boxes stowed on Silverbolt, Cosmos and Sky Dive. The other Aerialbots were staying due to their physical debilitation. The three who were fit would ferry most of the Autobots back to Diego Garcia and return here when they were finished. In a few days, the Aerialbots and Cosmos would shift off to Diego and take up their station there.
Hound with a sleepy Silverbow in his arms stood outside Ops Center waiting with Trailbreaker for Prime to walk out. He was bent over a schematic of the next phase of Autobot City, so they waited nervously. Silverbow who was laying against Hound's shoulder stroked his armored neck with her servo, absently seeking and receiving warmth and comfort by the action. Swaying gently as he held the little femme, Hound waited anxiously for Prime. Finally, Trailbreaker squeezed his arm then walked onto the Command Deck. "Optimus?" he asked.
Optimus turned to him, giving Trailbreaker his attention.
"Optimus, I think we have a problem," Trailbreaker said.
-0-A few minutes later
They sat in a conference room off Ops Center, four little mechs, a tiny femme and their anxious companions. Trailbreaker stood by the door shifting from ped to ped as Hound sat on a chair with Silverbow leaning against him on his lap. The little white and red mechs stood beside the table. Spirit sat on Prowl's lap, T-Bar leaned against him as they sat on the couch while Rambler stood as close to Prime as he dared, his anxious face telling his story as he wrung his servos together in fear.
They had gathered in the room, the children and the mechs who had been their helpers during processing over a situation that had arose and demanded delicate handling. Ratchet and Ironhide who were sitting on the other side of the table looked from one to the other, already convinced as to what to do for the little children.
"When we took her to the children's quarters, she got hysterical when we said we had to leave her," Hound said softly. The femme, hearing his words burrowed into his chassis looking over her shoulder with fearful optics at everyone in the room. He hugged her, kissing her helm. "She's bonded to us. What are we going to do?"
Prowl looked at Prime with a helpless shrug. "What are we supposed to do with this? These little mechs and the femme don't have anyone."
"We do not know that yet, Prowl," Prime began as he gently squeezed Rambler's servo.
"I asked the survivors," Prowl said. "These children have no surviving family, all nine of them. They didn't make it out of the ordeal. These are legitimate orphans."
Prime was silent a moment, then glanced at Ratchet. "What is your opinion on this, Ratchet?"
Ratchet considered the anxious silent infants. "They're bonding out of pain and fear, seeking solace and comfort from you, the first individuals that have given them both. I think depriving them of the mechs that have given them a sense of safety would be very detrimental to their recovery. Right now, they don't feel safe without you in their optical range. They cling to you and feel desperate when you aren't there.
"I think that we have a special circumstance here and we have to do the right thing. We have to take them with us and you need to, all of you, step up. The infants need support and they've chosen you."
Prime leaned back as he glanced at Prowl with a quizzical expression. "These are three traumatized children."
"Nothing I haven't seen before," Prowl said.. "It's up to you."
Prime grinned slightly. "Thanks."
Prowl grinned back.
Slightly.
"You're welcome," he said.
Prime looked at the little femme falling into recharge in Hound's arms. He looked at the three little mechs that watched him closely, their anxiety an almost physical cloud around them. Then he nodded. "I agree."
Rambler looked from one to the other, then walked to Prime, putting his little servos on Prime's arm. "What's going to happen to us?" he asked, his face and voice betraying his fear. "I have to save my brothers."
"You are coming with us," Prime said, squeezing the little mech's servo.
"My brothers, too?" he asked, glancing at the two silent mechs leaning against Prowl.
Prime nodded. "You will all be coming with us."
Rambler put his head down on Prime's arm, his shoulders sagging with relief.
Prime pulled him into his arms and held him,. He looked at Prowl. "This is going to be hard. You know that."
"Who else better to know that," Prowl answered with a slight smile.
"Who indeed," Prime replied, rising to head for the door. He carried Rambler in his arms as the others followed.
-0-On the way to Diego Garcia
Silverbow who was sitting on Hound's lap holding Trailbreaker's thumb in her servo watched the other mechs with unblinking optics. They sat around the hold of Cosmos. Sideswipe and others were flying back through the vacuum toward the garrison that was now home.
In the hold of Silverbolt, lying on duffel bags as they recharged, three little mechs slept the sleep of the completely exhausted. Optimus Prime sat next to them, his arm around Prowl's shoulders as they talked about what they had to do with the children.
Ironhide who was sitting with Ratchet watched them, amused out of his peds that they'd beaten him in the sparkling arms (and legs) race. Three for them to his one. That Prime, he was one virile mech he thought with a snort.
Ratchet who was looking at a datapad filled with data for the report he had to write glanced at Ironhide. "What?" he asked.
Ironhide glancing back at Ratchet shook his helm. "Nothing."
-0-At the base in Diego Garcia
They walked off the shuttles carrying gear and four kids, heading for the hangar beyond. Prowl who toted a satchel full of work datapads also carried Spirit who was deeply recharging. They walked together as he held the servo of T-Bar. He was considering what they'd do about putting the mechs to bed in their tiny quarters in the Embassy.
Behind him carrying a groggy Rambler, Prime was in discussion with Ironhide about the upcoming day's agenda that included the weekly Senior Autobot-N.E.S.T. staff meeting in a few hours. The soldiers would be present and probably a few extras, civilians with a project and other non Autobot individuals. The problem was keeping the children low key. He, himself would provide the cover story on their presence.
He would lie.
They walked into the hangar heading toward their berths and catch up with those who had stayed. Beyond the hangar, across the tarmac hidden in the shadows of Cosmos's empty hangar a camera with long range lenses snapped away.
-0-Later that day
Prowl sat at his station in the Ops Center preparing the agenda for the meeting. When he arose he looked down. Three little red and white mechs were standing there looking up. Prowl smiled.
So did they.
Hound and Trailbreaker were standing outside of the wash racks as a tiny green and pink femme in Hound's arms waited for the three mechs inside to finish. They walked out, pausing to exclaim over the femme who sat shyly with a slight smile on her face.
Sideswipe who followed them stopped to chat as he sheathed his swords fully. He grinned, tapping her nose structure with his digit.
She smiled leaning shyly back into Hound.
"My brother, Sunstreaker, did your paint. Aren't you the cutest femme on planet Earth," Sideswipe said.
Hound grinned. "She's the only one right now," he said, leaning in to peek. "Everyone out?"
Sideswipe nodded as he moved aside for them to enter. He stood at the door watching as Hound and Trailbreaker carefully explained everything. Then they set a barrel on its end, placing her on her peds on top of it. Regulating a spray, they began to wash her, soaping her up, then gently spraying it all away.
By the time they were done and she was wrapped in a towel, Sideswipe had decided that little youngling femmes were alright, too. He walked onward to the hangar to prepare for his duty shift.
-0-The Senior Autobot-N.E.S.T weekly staff meeting
They drove inside the hangar to park by the door of the conference room. Wheeljack and Perceptor were there with plans of some kind. Long range deep space sensor something or other they'd heard as they moved the ladder and began to climb upwards. Crossing the table to sit on their chairs, they kicked back to listen to the conversation. That is, the conversation that was in English.
Prime and Prowl entered to walk to their places, greeting everyone there as they did. Ironhide and Ratchet entered as others arrived who had a place at the table for the meeting. Then the door opened once more as another human walked in.
Coming around the table, stilling conversation as he did, Jase Daniels walked to the ladder and began to climb upward, crossing the table's expanse to halt beside the soldiers. Epps, Lennox and Graham looked at him without rising from their chairs.
"What are you doing here, Daniels?" Lennox asked none too politely.
"I'm here for the meeting. I've been given permission to attend these weekly meetings." He looked at Prime. "I appreciate you telling your guards to let me come in. I would've hated to call General Morshower."
Prime who was looking at him with an expression somewhere between indifference and disgust shrugged. "You're late."
"My apologies," he said as he looked around for a seat on the table top.
Ironhide who was looking at him as if he were a cockroach in his salad slapped an empty cartridge box on the table. "Here, Daniels. Sit on this."
Daniels stared at the box with a faint smell of munitions emanating off of it glanced at Ironhide. "Can I assume that this is an empty box?"
Ironhide shrugged, smiling a humorless smile. "You can. But you know what they say … assuming makes an aft out of you and me."
Ratchet smiled. "Finally, an Earth saying I can get behind."
-0-In a room nearby
Bluestreak sat on the floor with a little femme sitting on his lap and an art stick in her servo. Bluestreak was holding a piece of cardboard and the little femme was drawing on it. Nearby, playing with a set of wooden blocks of all shapes, the three mechs were building a copy of The Fortress of Autobot City. Helping them, Bumblebee and Hound lay on the floor as the chatter of children and the peaceful atmosphere in the room drew others in.
Some sat around reading their datapad novels, absorbing the good vibe while others quietly discussed the building techniques being used by clever little mechs. Still others discussed the use of color in portraits by talented femmes.
For the first time in the lifetime of most of them, they could sit and interact with children of their own species. They could see, talk and touch them. As they did, they found something else happening. They found themselves loving them.