Whew! Okay I didn't get this up this morning, since it took longer than I thought to write, but oh well! Hope you still enjoy!

Starry Surprise

pt9

The children had almost cascaded from off and out of their Autobot guardians, one after the other. Jack removed his biking helmet as he swung his leg off from Arcee's bike seat and surveyed the room, catching the sight of the unfamiliar bot femme instantly. Miko and Raff meanwhile had jumped their way out from Bulkhead and Bumblebee accordingly. As soon as the Autobots were free from the danger of squashing the children, they transformed alongside one another. Bumblebee was the first to give a quick, cheerful chirp of excitement upon seeing Elita One online and standing. Bulkhead blinked and rubbed his optics.

"Boss, is that who I think it is?" he asked in bewilderment, still blinking with shock. Optimus didn't have to answer his question though because in the next moment, Arcee did for him.

"Elita One! It's an honor," she arched in a small bow respectfully, in total awe of the femme before her. Arcee had met Elita once or twice before on Cybertron, but had never become close in acquaintance. All Arcee knew of the femme was that she was very inspirational and had obtained many victories during the beginning of the war with her elite squad of femmes against the Decepticons. Also, Optimus Prime trusted Elita with his whole spark. That was enough to gain Arcee's respect in itself.

Elita One nodded with a polite smile towards the smaller blue femme.

"It is a pleasure to see you again," Elita said gently, then looked to Bulkhead and Bumblebee. This was when Optimus cut in.

"You already know Arcee. This is Bulkhead and Bumblebee," he introduced them with the following gesture of his hand. Then Optimus looked down to the children.

"And these are our young human allies: Jack, Mikko, and Raphael," he added. Elita One liked the looks of these humans. They were different, for sure, but definitely not unpleasant. Elita One could sense they were a joyful bunch, and if Optimus had deemed them worthy to be in on the secret of their existence on this planet, then they must have been extremely trustworthy. She nodded to each in turn with a serenely professional look on her face that communicated she took them all seriously, but was still pleasant.

"It is an honor to meet you all," Elita said when Optimus had finished the introductions. Jack smiled easily saying a quick, "You as well" while Raf waved shyly. It was just as Mikko was taking a deep breath, no doubt preparing to spill out her first bieurague of questions, that Optimus held up his hand to stop her and said almost hastily, "Elita One has undergone many challenges as of late, and I have still to address to her many of the changes that have taken place since her time of being put to stasis," he explained, "I will take this time now to conduct a private conversation with her regarding what she needs to know. If you wish to have your own audience with her, you may after we finish our discussion," he informed and then turned to go, Elita One moving off to follow him down one of the halls.

After they were gone Mikko piped up.

"Well that was interesting,"

"She was the one you guys all rescued, but who is she Ratchet?" Jack inquired, looking over to the med bot who was putting away utensils.

"An Autobot femme commander who fought beside Optimus many times. He respects her most fervently and wishes that we all show her the same politeness," Ratchet explained, not pausing from his work.

"I've never heard Optimus talk about her before," Bulkhead interjected.

"Understandable, Optimus was under the impression for a long time that she had been destroyed along with the rest of the remaining soldiers on Cybertron. There would be no need to mention her name, especially when the matter had not come up," Ratchet responded. Bulkhead shrugged. It did make sense.

"Alright well how did you know about her then?" Bulkhead asked towards Arcee.

"Elita One was like an Autobot femme icon back on Cybertron. She was the one every femme soldier heard about and looked up to. I came into the fortune of getting to see and meet her twice under rushed circumstances," Arcee explained easily. Bumblebee beeped something and Raf felt obligated to translate, even though the Autobots knew what their friend was saying. Ratchet supposed Raf translated simply for Mikko and Jack to be in on the conversation as well.

"Bee's wondering if Elita One being here means that she is now going to be a part of our team," Raf stated.

"I'm not sure if even Optimus knows the answer to that yet, but he will let us know as soon as he does," Ratchet answered, "Now go back to whatever you all do, I'm going to be busy," he announced, now leaning over the ground bridge controls and beginning to work it open. The kids looked at each other and shrugged, all resigning to the fact that if they wanted to talk with Elita One, they'd just have to wait.

Meanwhile...

Optimus Prime had Elita One sit down comfortably in one of the back rooms which Optimus generally used as his downtime room, where he went to think or rest on his own. He didn't call it his berthroom , because it was not where he slept, but it was where he could talk with someone privately and relax without the general disruptions. Elita One was smiling up at him and Optimus was having a hard time not breaking into one of his own as he looked back at her. He had to remain professional, at least until he was finished explaining the rest that she needed to know. And besides, he still had questions of his own for her. He turned, beginning to pace with his hands behind him. Elita One just kept smiling gently, perfectly happy to be alone with him once again.

"Elita I... I need to explain a few things to you," he began. She nodded, waiting patiently.
"Now that you are here, there are rules that should be set, to keep you safe," he expressed, still pacing. Elita One nodded slowly.

"Alright,"

"The Decepticons captured you for a particular reason, and it is for that reason that I believe they will continue to pursue you as long and as hard as they can," he stated.

"My spark power," Elita One supplied.

"Yes, they seek to turn it into a weapon," he responded, "And they won't stop until they've got it," Optimus responded, "My soundest reasoning is that we should keep you here in the base so you are not susceptible to any of their plots. They have not yet found the location of our base so as long as you stay inside you will be undetected," Optimus explained. He could tell however, that his words displeased Elita, for her previously light and happy expression had darkened significantly.

"You want me to stay inside? But for how long? Optimus... that... that just isn't reasonable. Not for me. I see your reasoning, and it is sound. I understand the importance of keeping my spark power away from the Decepticons, but staying locked up in this base, I will go stir crazy, especially when I know you and your soldiers go and fight for the Autobot cause and I can't," she expressed, her voice full of desperation. Optimus' spark ached for her predicament. It seemed no matter where she was or what they thought of, it just didn't ever turn out in her favor.

"I'm sorry, I just don't see any other possibility right now. Perhaps give me a few days to think it over... I may discover another solution, " Optimus suggested, not wanting to crush her hope completely. Maybe there was something they could work out which he hadn't yet thought of. If that was the case, he dearly hoped so. He stopped pacing and regarded her with gentle eyes. She nodded, looking down at the floor. Optimus could barely stand to see her that way. Gently he put a finger under her chin to lift her face to look up at him.
"I only want to help make the best decision for you... I will not even begin to think about what I would do if I saw you harmed," he said softly. Elita One looked up him, optics bright, and nodded, lifting a hand to hold his and bring it close to her chest.

"I know," she replied, "I trust you," she promised.

Location: Jasper, Navada street road

Time: Noon

Lockdown despised this planet. He'd only been stuck on it for a few hours and he hated it already. And Lockdown had visited a lot of planets in his lifetime. His bounty hunts had taken him to many different bizarre places, yet this one had to be one of the oddest of all. He hadn't even interacted with the planet's species, as it was his job to remain completely undercover so as to not attract Autobot attention until the perfect time. Starscream had the whole thing planned out. He and his Decpeticons would cause a distraction and Lockdown would lie in wait, then while the Autobots were distracted, he would sneak inside the ground bridge portal before it could close and find Elita One. So far, Lockdown had been sitting on the side of the road, safe in his decked out muscle car mode simply waiting for Starscream to give him the go signal. He'd been entertaining himself by watching how the humans interacted from a distance. They were just so incredibly primative, acting purely off of emotions, that it was all together disgusting in Lockdown's optics. He hoped that Starscream didn't make him linger too much longer, for his sake. Then...

"Move out," Starscream ordered in his scratchy voice. The directions of where Lockdown was to head flashed onto his dashboard screen. It was time to go.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Ooooooo boy... what's gonna happen next...? Come back and find out! ;)

-Stokin D Embers