I am tickled that everyone loved the last chapter. It was my favorite to write so far in this story. I knew that if II could get to the mechling being born that everyone would love him. I had him planned since "A Telling Surprise". I originally wanted him to belong to Allie but then thought better of it when I started developing Prowl's relationship with Tia. I think that it worked out perfectly.
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Allie was looking out over the tarmac from her window. Aura had come to work, the first time in months since her miscarriage, and Allie was pleased that her friend was doing better. She had lost some of her vibrancy but Omega Supreme had been delighted to see his favorite femme return to work and Allie smiled as Omega walked around with Aura in his palm as she yelled orders to her subordinates around her. The seekers had cowered in the corner of the tarmac when she blasted them for their foolish maneuvers and Shalon ran fearfully to hide from the barking terror that Aura always was when at work. Things seemed normal when the femme was in control of the tarmac. She was the perfect chief and commander for getting things organized and ready for missions.
Allie heard a knock and before she could reply Megatron walked in.
"There's been another explosion on Moon base 5." He said flatly. "I guess this rules out Cliffjumper as the suspect." Allie stared at him silently for a moment as she took time to process what he was telling her.
"I will talk to Prowl about what we need to do or any suggestions that he may have that could help us." Allie said with a sigh. She was glad that Cliffjumper had been cleared but it still bothered her that there was someone who was trying to sabotage their efforts at peace. Suddenly Allie had an idea.
"My lord, could this be something else that we haven't thought about?" She asked.
"I didn't catch that." Megatron said.
"I mean what if this had nothing to do with our peace. We have been housing Sara and keeping her here." Allie said thoughtfully.
"You think that this is over Sara?" Megatron asked.
"I think that it could be part of it. I also think it is time for me to go into the field." Allie said.
"What about Optimus?"
"Someone is going to get hurt or killed if we don't stop this." Allie stated. "Optimus would understand."
"And what about the twins? They need their mother." Megatron said gently not trying to upset her or make her think that he was downgrading her to just a consort when he knew she wasn't.
"They are eating on their own now and it would only be for a week." Allie said. "Besides, I have contacts that Sara and Tia do not have. I am also very well equipped to do this."
"I'll let Optimus know and we will see." Megatron said. In truth he knew that Optimus would never allow it but for now he would not argue with the femme.
"Prowl will be back at work full time starting tomorrow. He and Tia are well and I will also have him go over tactics and make suggestions." Allie commented. "He and Soundwave are both very efficient."
"You do realize that Optimus will not be happy." Megatron said.
"I know and I will deal with that when I talk to him." She returned.
"Let me be there when you do. I may be able to help." Megatron offered and Allie smiled at him.
"You know you are losing some of that darkness that you pride yourself for." She stated.
"I still have my moments."
"Yeah, Optimus still worries about what you saw when we did our ceremony." She said with a smile.
"Yeah I can't let him know all my secrets." He stated. "Shalon wants you and Optimus to come for dinner. I can have the twins chairs brought over if we want to make it a family dinner."
"I'll talk to him about it."
"I'm sure Shalon will be pleased."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"TC, is Aura alright?" Skywarp asked perturbed that she was yelling and ordering everyone around like they were fools.
"Warp she has not been at work and her feathers are ruffled because all of you messed with her hangar and tarmac. You know how she is about everything being in a certain order and ready for any emergency." Thundercracker said as he laughed at Skywarp's pained expression. They paused as Soundwave's brood scampered by with Isis, Shadow, and Firefox in tow. They were toddling and were so cute following their older siblings in the hallway. Cassie and Soundwave were staying in their old quarters since Megatron had ordered everyone to stay on base or at the Hall. Security had been on high level since the two terrorist bombings and Thundercracker had hired a young femme to stay with Aura and the twins while Lord Megatron had Prowl and Soundwave investigate the incidents.
"Thundercracker!" Ultra Magnus called out and Thundercracker stopped to allow the larger mech catch up to him and Skywarp.
"You need me?" Thundercracker asked.
"Yes. Lord Megatron and Lord Prime wish to see you and Warp if that is acceptable to you." Magnus said. "I am to escort you since they will want me there as well."
"Very well, Magnus. Lead the way." Thundercracker said as Skywarp nodded in agreement.
"Do you know what this is about?" Skywarp asked.
"I think that Prowl and Soundwave have come up with a plan and we are a part of it." Magnus said. "I am not completely sure however so don't quote me on it." They headed to Prime's office since he had a conference room that adjourned it. When they arrived a small femme showed them into the conference room where Megatron, Prowl, and Soundwave were already seated along with Prime.
"Gentlemechs, please have a seat." Optimus said as he gestured toward the empty chairs. Ratchet and Starscream walked in after they had seated and took a seat next to Prowl.
"Officers, what is said here needs to stay between us. Allie has offered to go in the field to acquire information regarding what she thinks may be linked with the two incidents on Moon base 5. I however so not think that this is wise. Optimus and I have looked over the investigation reports and agree with Prowl and Soundwave that the terrorist incidents were done from the inside. What we need to decide now is how best to go about protecting our own. We have come so far with establishing peace and now we have families that could be in terrible jeopardy should we chose to ignore what has occurred." Megatron looked around the table at each of the officers here assembled. "I am open to hear suggestions."
"Doc agrees with Allie on this. She feels that it is more than just an inside job. She says that we should listen to Allie. The femmes were designed to integrate among the local races here in the Realm. It would not hurt for Allie to do a short reconnaissance mission. I agree with Prime, a week is too long, and the twins are still too young, but if we let her do a twenty-four hour or even forty-eight hour mission then it could prove effective."
"I am sure that you are right but this Lord Stephano seems to have god connections and if he is behind this then it would be better to protect our femmes." Optimus said.
"But Prime, they have been dealing with this for thousands of years. I think if anyone needs to be in on this meeting it is Allie or even Cassie and Aura. They have valuable information and they know what they are talking about." Thundercracker stated.
"I agree with TC. They are very knowledgeable. Look how they handled retrieving Stephanie. I think by leaving them out then we are hurting our peace treaty more than you realize." Magnus said. "I have worked closely with Allie and her teams for some time now. If anyone needs protecting it is us. They have resources that we cannot even imagine so why are you and Lord Megatron so insistent on protecting them?"
"Because they have stepped down and chosen to be become carriers to help build our race again." Megatron said.
"They agreed to share their power with us. They never fully stepped down. The oracle will not allow them to do that." Magnus said. "If we try to protect them we will only suffocate them. They were designed for war in this Realm."
"We all have to adjust to the changes that peace has brought, Ultra Magnus. It is no different for them." Optimus said.
"No you don't understand. Didn't any of the files that Allie sent you help? They were to assist you in understanding their ways." Magnus said. "I have lived with them. They have an unusual knack for survival. It is how the oracle reformatted them."
Megatron listened to each of the officers as they argued among themselves. Starscream was like Optimus in that he did not want them involved but Megatron could see what Magnus was saying too. He had first-hand knowledge of how one was conditioned to be a warrior and if the oracle had indeed reformatted them to be fighters then who was he to stand in their way. He had always admired fighters, be they mech or femme, and to suppress their abilities could hold disaster for all of them. Even now he sensed a restlessness in both Allie and Shalon and maybe this was what was needed to make them feel whole again.
"I am inclined to agree with Magnus and Thundercracker. They have been here longer and I see no problem with Allie going in the field so long as she abides by the time restraint that we place on her." Megatron said. Optimus rose to object but Megatron held his hand up.
"Prime, she is a warrior. To hold her back would only cause depression and resentment. Let her do this and I think that she will feel more settled." Megatron said softly as others agreed.
"Lord Megatron is right. Even Tia has restless nights now that Jazz has been born. They need to exercise the programming that the oracle has given them. Allie would recharge better and you and her would be at peace with each other." Prowl told his leader.
Optimus Prime looked around and realized that he had been selfish to want to protect his mate because she had changed from just a simple dock worker in Iacon to a savage machine capable of protecting everything she believed in and as he looked at each mech's face he knew that to argue with them would demonstrate how pointless it would be when they all saw what he didn't want to.
"I will give her two days and then I want her back." He finally ceded to them. "I have questioned Cliffjumper and I would like to address this with each of you." Optimus said changing the subject. "Cliffjumper will not let go of his hate anytime soon however, he has claimed his loyalty to me and in doing so he has acknowledged the peace treaty as a viable pact between all factions involved. He has pledged not to instigate any problems between cons and bots and he will abide with the eventual removal of our faction symbols that was stated in the peace treaty. I do want to state that the Autobot symbols were originally a symbol of hope for when we were slaves under Quintesson rule. It will not be easy for our faction to remove this symbol any time soon as I suspect it will be the same for the Decepticon symbol. If I may, I would like to allow a six month extension to the removal if it will meet the approval of the officers in this room. I do want total integration but Cliffjumper has pointed out that he is not ready to remove his symbol and we must allow for time for our mechs to come to terms with the war ending. If we do remove the symbols then I like the idea of at least framing our symbols and allowing them to be placed as a memorial for everything that we have fought for. We must not forget why we fought whether as a bot or con because then our children will repeat our mistakes."
Everyone nodded in agreement to Optimus' proposal. Megatron bowed his helm in acknowledgment to Optimus' words. In truth he wasn't ready to part with the symbol that had become to mean so much to him and he could see Cliffjumper's reasons for wanting to keep something that had become a part of himself.
"Prime, will Cliffjumper agree to take orders from the officers regardless of faction?" Megatron asked.
"He has agreed though I still insist that Ironhide be the one that he stays under." Prime replied.
"It may not be an option." Megatron said. "I need to know if he can be dependable and reliable to come through if it means someone's life."
"He will be there." Optimus said. "Cliffjumper may be a rebel but he has always pulled through when it counted. He will not sacrifice his reputation just because he is having trouble coming to terms with change. Besides I think that the officers should know why he has such an ingrained hatred for the cons." Optimus paused to make sure he everyone's attention. "Cliffjumper is a survivor of Tiger Pax. I was there when they pulled his body out of the debris. He lost his creators, mate, and sparklings in the battle and when the ashes settled he vowed to be an Autobot just so he could fight against the seekers that leveled his home. It is why I do not recommend he be a part of the ground air patrols unless Ironhide or Hound is with him. He is having to change everything that kept him going through grief and I think he never got over losing his son and mate. Please, if you have to engage him, be respectful enough to understand that even if he doesn't physically instigate anything he will always be verbally abrasive. He was like that even in our ranks so advise your subordinates to be aware of this."
"I will make sure that everyone is respectful of his situation." Soundwave said. He had suspected deep scars concerning the mech and Optimus confirmed his telepathic prognosis.
"With that out of the way, is there any questions?" Megatron asked.
"Yes, once Allie has Intel what will be the course of action?" Starscream asked. He was concerned for Kiki and Starburst as much as the rest of the families.
"I have already called everyone to the base or to the Hall. I have also asked that Prowl and Soundwave to keep security at high levels. Red Alert has taken over the Chief Security position at Moon base 5 and since then he has done exceptionally well. Prowl is overseeing security measures here aided by Soundwave and the Constructicons. We have not made any decisions until we know exactly who is responsible. I promised Prime that we would not react until we were sure and besides if there is someone who has a grievance then they need to be made accountable for their actions." Megatron looked at everyone in the room. "If you find the culprit he is to be turned over to Prime, Magnus, or myself. We want him alive for questioning and we don't want to cause alarm until we are sure of his motives and if there are others that might share his views."
Everyone nodded in understanding and Prime dismissed them. As each filed out Megatron walked toward Prime.
"Do you think this was productive?" He asked.
"Very. I am sorry if I have seemed selfish. I only wanted to protect my family." Optimus said.
"I understand. I think I have the stronger urges than you my brother. I can't even think about Shalon in danger but being a con for so long I do understand the desire to fight." Megatron said. "If the oracle programmed them to fight for the people's rights then who are we to stand in the way?"
"You are right brother but I still will not recharge peacefully until she is back safe in my arms."
"As will I when it comes to Shalon's safety."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"I wonder why Prime called a meeting." Cassie said as they watched their sparklings play in the nursery. "I hope that they decide to let us go back to our house. I hate being cooped up here at the Hall."
"I know. I wish everything would settle so I could take the twins to my mountain home." Allie said as she fed Orion. He was on a growth spurt and wanted to feed more often. He still liked to nurse and seemed to be closer to her as Roddy adored his sire.
"Megatron mentions to Soundwave that you might go into the field." Cassie said.
"Yes. I suggested it since Sara and Tia won't be able to go." Allie said as Orion kneaded her breast as he fed.
"Do yo think it wise?" Cassie asked.
"They will not let me so it doesn't make a difference." Allie answered.
"They just want to protect us. Is it so bad to let them?"
"No but I know that I can get the Intel I need if Optimus would just let me." Allie said.
"Is it that or would you go after Lord Stephano?"
"I don't know but if the opportunity arises then I am not going to pass it up." Allie replied.
"Just be careful Allie. There is a lot more at stake now that we have families." Cassie said.
