Sometime later after the events of the last chapter…
—-
Nellis Us Air Force Base KLSV, Nevada…
Agent William Fowler was having a headache. A headache the size of Optimus Prime, who sounds like one of those famous actresses on TV, and was freaking sitting on top of Bulkhead as the green car drove into the temporarily abandoned Air Base and stopped directly in front of him. And he was not alone. Bulkhead and the reason for his headache was flanked by Bumblebee on the left and - surprisingly - Ratchet to the right. And wait, are those the kids who keep hanging around the 'Bots! What're they doing here?
Lord help his poor soul.
"Hey, Fowler. You good there? You look like you're having a migraine." Miko asked as she and Jack went out of Bulkhead. Allowing the Wrecker to transform without crushing them.
"No thanks to you and your Autobot friends over here. You can't even begin to understand how much red tape I had to put up with just to get this done." Fowler replied. He watched as the rest of them began walking closer to him. He was in a bad mood, yes. But he can't help but whistle in amazement as the once sitting purple femme with a golden hammer attached to her back stand in the centre of all the Autobots with all the pride afforded to her.
He knows a figure of Authority when he sees one.
"So this is her? Your new guest?" Fowler asked as he looked towards Ratchet who was standing at Solus' right side.
"Yes she is. We are here to give her an alt mode so that she can blend in with earth civilization." Ratchet replied.
"Right. Going to one of the more guarded military bases in the Midwest to find her a flashy car to use as a disguise is your idea alright. You couldn't have just driven her around Jasper to find her some truck or something?" Fowler sighed in exasperation before looking at the towering femme looking down at him.
"What you are seeing right now is an example of another breed of Cybertronian, Agent Fowler. Our ally over here needs a vehicle capable of flight in order to get around." Ratchet groaned as he facepalmed at the human's lack of respect for the Prime. Granted, the medic and Optimus did not bother with telling the Agent who she truly was when they commed him. So, it was to be forgiven.
"What? Like those 'Cons? Aren't they the only ones who have that type of bots?" Fowler asked. He watched with confusion as the rest of the Autobots and humans widened their eyes as they hastily looked at the large femme.
Who looked royally pissed.
"As much as your lack of knowledge of my species is understandable. I urge you to resist the will to compare me with those fools. There are many who wield the power of flight on both sides of this long war. In front of you is one who sides with the Autobots." The femme said with such conviction that it made Fowler unconsciously straighten himself up as if he was being talked to by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
"Of course you are. You haven't blasted me to Kingdom Come yet. And I doubt you'll do it anytime soon. What's your name, by the way?" Fowler asked as he shook himself from the chills he got from the femme. He felt like he heard that speech pattern before. But where though?
"My name is Solus Prime." Solus replied.
"What? Ain't you Prime's dead sister?" Fowler asked with surprise. Another loud groan from Ratchet was heard after he said this.
"Agent Fowler, must I explain it all again? Solus Prime is a member of the Original Thirteen Primes who built the groundwork Cybertron civilization thrived on. Optimus meanwhile, is the last of the successor Primes who ruled our planet millions - if not billions - after the era of the Thirteen. They are, save for their shared title as Prime, in no way related in the way you humans think." Ratchet ranted. The medic then looked towards the others who simply watched on in an attempt to get some sort of affirmation.
"Yup. You got that right, Ratch." Bulkhead said as he brought his servo up in a thumbs up position. Bumblebee chirped in agreement.
"We already heard this from you, Ratchet, So yeah, you're right, I guess." Jack said as he looked at Raf and Miko who nodded to what he said.
"But the idea of the two of them being siblings sounds kinda rad though." Miko chimed in.
"Careful, Miko. If Ratchet heard that, he might blow a gasket." Raf whispered to the two older teens. Who snickered at the thought.
Solus meanwhile, frowned slightly. It was kind of a pain in her spark to have to go through the day hiding her true relation to Optimus. But, he requested it beforehand. And as much as they argued about it 2 nights prior, she must honour their agreement. Because she has no other reason not to. Not after what they have gone through after all those years when he was still one of the Thirteen. No, no, that isn't accurate. Solus thought. He is still one of them. Simply in a lesser frame. A weaker frame. But the spark is all the same.
A lesser frame… Maybe she should do something about that…
"Right. Right. Right. I'm wrong, you're right. Now, can we please get a move on? I've got a schedule to keep. I'll show you the hangar where we keep the models big enough for lady Prime over here. And after that, I guess you all better leave. The garrison's gonna come back in a few hours so, chop chop." Fowler said as he turned around and walked towards the large hangar a few feet away. He did not need to look behind to know that the 'Bots were following him. The loud steps would do that, after all.
"That will suffice. However, I request that once I have chosen a most suitable disguise. I may be allowed to test my capabilities in a sparse area far enough so that this "Air Base" of yours would not sustain any damages from my tests." Solus said as she watched the hangar doors slowly open to reveal all the models the base had to offer.
"Why not. Go break a leg. Just so long as that leg doesn't find its way near anything near here. Don't want to write a 50 million dollar cheque for any damages any time soon." Fowler acquiesced. His eyes then landed on the first jet in front of him.
"Right. So, I have around 5 planes here. Some of the best of the best. Don't ask how I got them all in this base. It's classified." Fowler started. He waved his hand towards the jet he was talking about and guided the humans and the Autobots towards it.
"This bad boy over here is none other than a Boeing Super Hornet. With a wingspan of 44.8 feet, a length of 60.1 feet, and a maximum takeoff weight of 66,000 lbs, and a twin-engine aircraft that can cruise the sky around 1200 miles an hour. A cannon with 412 rounds as well as short- and medium-range air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles are included in the Super Hornet's arsenal. In addition, it's got glide bombs, guided bombs, and anti-radiation missiles, a targeting system, a range of radar technologies, and decoys." Fowler explained as the others looked around the jet with amazement.
"Woah… I want to ride one of these to school!" Miko exclaimed. Which caused Jack and Raf to nervously laugh. Since the thought of Miko being in one and parachuting off of it as she lands in the middle of the school's track field isn't that far from what Miko would do all the time.
"Impressive weaponry and statistics. That I can say. However, it has failed to impress me. Do you have any more effective aerial devices?" Solus asked as she walked past the jet. Thoroughly uninterested with it.
"Someone's being picky. But I can't complain. Not really a fan of it anyway." Fowler dismissively said as he moved on to the other jets in the hangar.
They passed by an F-22 Raptor, a Grumman F-14 Tomcat, and an F-15E Strike Eagle. None of them seemed to please Solus for one reason or another. And it caused Fowler to become annoyed and the rest of the bots and humans with him to become exasperated at the femme Prime.
"I don't get it, lady. You got the most powerful sons of guns America has to offer. What more could you want?!" Fowler exclaimed as he pointed a finger towards the Prime. \
"They all are unsatisfactory for my needs, Agent Fowler. Is that not enough of an answer?" Solus seethed. Annoyance flowing through her voice like venom.
Truth be told, she doubted that these jets were big enough to suit her frame. That was the primary reason she did not want them. She also found their weaponry weak for her standards, but she could overcome that problem with the Forge. So, that's a non-issue. Really, the issue was size overall.
"Well, we got one more here. And if it doesn't please your high standards, then I don't know what will." Fowler said as he walked towards the last plane. It was covered with a large tarp that blanketed the whole jet from outside view.
"Mind if you 'Bots help? This thing weighs a lot." Fowler asked. Without any reply, Bulkhead and Bumblebee walked towards the plane and yanked the tarp carefully but quickly. Revealing the largest fighter jet amongst the five shown today.
"This here is none other than the F-111 Aardvark. It's a medium-range supersonic interdictor and tactical attack aircraft that can blast EMPs the size of football fields and has what it takes to carry payloads as powerful as a nuke. Made in the 1960s and saw use for the first time in USAF in 1967. It's the largest fighter jet the Air Force had left to offer. It costs a pretty penny, that's for sure." Fowler explained as he patted the large landing wheel of the jet.
"Hm…" Solus hummed. It was adequate in her optics. And if this is the largest jet out there, then she has no other choice but to use it. Plus, that Electromagnetic pulse emitter is very interesting. That would afford her the ability to stun her enemies with a concentrated shock.
"I will take this, Agent Fowler." Solus said as she scanned the large jet. A bright lavender light that shone from both of her optics passed through the Aardvark. Imprinting into her processor every single detail regarding the jet. It did not take too long for the process to finish. Everyone then saw Solus' frame change so that it matched the parts of the Aardvark. After shifting, Solus' frame stopped.
"That. is. The COOLEST thing I ever saw." Miko exclaimed, she then turned to Bulkhead and asked, "Hey Bulk, think you can do that when you decide to change alt modes?"
"Hahahaha… Maybe, but not anytime soon, Miko. I like my mode at the moment." Bulkhead chuckled.
"Well, what now? Do we go outside and see what she can do?" Bumblebee asked Ratchet.
"That is the best course of action, I suppose. Solus Prime would need some time to adjust to her new form so that she can get comfortable with it." Ratchet mused.
"Hey guys… where is Solus going?" Raf asked out loud as the femme started walking towards the far end of the hangar. Where a white tarped plane that Fowler did not present to them was.
"Why am I getting the feeling that I've seen that in a history book somewhere…" Jack asked as he and the others followed the Prime. The silhouette was strikingly similar to a black bomber jet he'd seen long ago. What was it called again?
"Hm? I know that jet. I asked for that before the other 5. I didn't know that the guys from Langley sent it here too." Fowler remarked as he watched Solus take the tarp off of the jet.
"No way…" Jack, Miko and Raf said in awe.
"Hm? What is it?" Bulkhead asked the trio. The answer he got was from the government Agent though.
"That is an SR-71 Blackbird. One of the finest pieces of art ever made during the Cold War. a shame that it's a shell of itself. Every single component inside it used for military purposes has been stripped from its insides. It's a museum relic now. But, since I didn't really understand how you 'Bots choose your disguises, I thought to pitch that into the lineup. Who knows, it might help." Fowler explained with a shrug. He then walked towards the same hangar doors he just opened and began showing them all the way out. He also told them the best location to try out those 'tests' the Autobots wanted to do.
None of them seemed to notice Solus' optics lighting up and scanning the Blackbird into her processors.
—-
"Arcee, I have a request."
The blue femme raised her head as she gazed at her leader with curiosity glowing through her optics. She was called here to the main room by Optimus while the rest were outside getting Solus Prime a new alt mode, testing out Solus Prime's physical capabilities, and seeing the Forge in action. They are the only ones here.
"What is it, Prime? Or should I call you Optimus now? Since, for the first time ever, you aren't alone anymore." Arcee quipped. She was lighthearted in intent, but then she realised her joke might have been miss-timed since the larger mech in front of her suddenly looked… melancholic.
At least, it looked like Optimus was melancholic. She only caught the briefest of changes in her leader's optics. Nothing in his face changed. Maybe she was seeing things.
"And that is why you are here, Arcee." Optimus replied. Smoothly masking his emotions before he spoke. "Solus Prime has come from a period long before the dawn of Cybertronian civilization. She may have been told of the history of our planet by Megatron, but I fear that our longtime foe merely twisted that history in order to convince her to join the Decepticons."
"Meaning, what she knows is a lie?" Arcee summarised.
"Half truths." Optimus corrected, "I need you and Ratchet to join forces in order to tell her what truly happened. All of it. From the end of the reign of the Thirteen, to the beginning of the Great War." he then turned to the main console and started bringing up every single datafile containing Cybertronian history for Arcee to skim through.
"Why not let Solus scan through these data files? Why not let her read it all and allow her to make her own thoughts about it." Arcee asked as she walked towards Optimus' side.
"...Solus Prime is known for her explosive temper when it comes to seeing injustices done to others. A blessing, and a curse." Optimus briefly explained. His optics not even leaving the console.
"Oh. I see…" Arcee said as her optics grew wide in realisation. "Wouldn't want broken monitors and machinery scattered around the base either."
Had it not been for the fact that she witnessed some of the Decepticon atrocities, Arcee would not have understood that kind of reaction from the femme Prime. Those cruelties done to others by the 'Cons would arise that uncontrollable rage a bot like Solus. Her anger is so legendary that it was one of the more significant things known of her when she was deified by some distant colony far away from Cybertron.
Caminus, was it?
"There is another reason as to why I wish the two of you to explain this all to her.
I need the two of you to keep her company while Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and I look for more energon." Optimus explained.
"More energon? I thought our last mission in the desert gave us enough to last us months?" Arcee asked.
"Things have changed. With Solus Prime now in our base, I have concluded that it is not enough to sustain us for that long." Optimus said as he finished moving all the data files into one folder for easy use.
"Right, bigger mech, bigger needs. I was expecting a Prime like her wouldn't need that much energon to consume since you clearly don't." Arcee surmised.
She was second in command, meaning she was in charge of the energon rationing while Optimus and the others scoured for more. To her surprise, it was Bulkhead that needed the most energon. Not the red mech in front of her. In fact, Optimus uses less energon than Bumblebee. Only being beaten out of last place by Ratchet and herself, the lowest consumers among all Autobots present. One due to the fact that they are a medic and need only enough to function, not fight. The other because they are small in frame and have - compared to larger mechs - little energon reserves.
"The Matrix of Leadership not only provides the wisdom of the Thirteen. But also a fraction of their power. As such, I do not need any more energon than I currently consume." Optimus said as he moved away from the console and towards the exit of the base.
"Then that explains why Solus needs a lot. She doesn't have the Matrix to rely on for more fuel." Arcee filled out the blanks. She did not need to be told where Optimus was leading to, so she just followed.
"That is correct." Optimus said before he transformed into his semi truck form and drove off into the tunnel that leads out of the base. Arcee transformed as well into her motorbike alt in suit. Their destination being the Air Force Base.
"Was it a good idea to leave Solus Prime anywhere near Agent Fowler? He isn't exactly the most level headed human out there." Arcee asked as they drove through the tarmac under the Nevada sun.
"There is no need to fear, Arcee. I have already briefed Solus Prime concerning who he is and what his personality is like prior to their journey." Optimus answered. They were then contacted by Ratchet at this point.
"Optimus, do you read me?" Ratchet asked. A slight panic in his voice.
"Ratchet, what's the matter?" Optimus asked.
"Solus Prime has found an alt mode for herself. An F-111 Aardvark. She tested the weapons systems at a nearby butte close to the Air Base. And that she blew off an eighth of the total mass of said butte." Ratchet explained. He then sent pictures shot from his optics and sent it to the two Autobots through the commlink. A large stack of smoking rubble laying beside the western side of the butte was the most prominent feature visible in the picture. Alongside the looks of amazement in Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and the humans present there.
"Dear Primus." Arcee remarked in awe. The leader of the Autobots saw Solus achieve far more impressive feats other than wrecking the side of the mountain, meaning he's nonplussed about it. Rather, he noticed that there wasn't a hint of finality in Ratchet's report.
"Is that all, Old Friend?" Optimus asked with concern.
"Sigh, no not at all. Solus left afterwards and flew up into the air towards who knows where. She's probably halfway around the world right now." Ratchet replied.
"Or simply nearby." A new voice said.
"Huh?!" Arcee exclaimed as she looked up to see a large jet soar through the sky at breakneck speed. Optimus and Ratchet became tense. The medic especially so. Optimus and Arcee were about 300 miles away from the test site near the Air Base. She blazed through that distance in 7 minutes tops.
"By the Allspark… the power of the Ancients is truly a frightening thing." Ratchet said.
"Solus Prime, it appears you've found a suitable alt mode." Optimus coolly remarked.
"I have. It suits me well and provides adequate firepower. Though, you of all others know that this merely hinders my true strength." Solus said as she slowed down in a speed that allows her to hover above the two Autobots below without leaving them behind.
"The Matrix of Leadership enlightened me to your feats of power and strength. While the technology of this planet is less than primitive - in Cybertronian standards - it seems that it has not weakened you in any significant manner. You have not lost your edge after millenia." Optimus said.
"That is what I wish to believe. However, I cannot tell if what you say is true just yet. I need more time to adapt to these changes. Hopefully, you could help me with that soon enough." Solus said. Which caused question marks to appear in the processors of the Autobots present.
"Pardon?" Optimus asked. He didn't relish the thought of whatever Solus had in mind. Because the last time they talked alone, they had a… a disagreement.
"I suppose that as the last of the lineage of the successor Primes," Solus emphasised the last part, "You would be the one who is most capable of assisting me in this new environment. Am I not correct, my junior?"
Optimus frowned at what Solus was trying to do. In the perspective of the other Autobots present, Solus was pulling rank and had every right to do so because. Well, she was right. Optimus was clearly the most knowledgeable when it comes to the femme Prime and had the skills to deal with her in every sense of the word. Also, Solus was a legendary figure in the optics of Arcee, Ratchet and (apparently because of technicality) Optimus. Denying what she wants is very hard unless you have an inexcusable reason to do so.
"I am afraid I cannot help you in the way that you wish, Solus Prime. I have taken up the responsibility of scavenging more energon to accommodate your arrival. Whatever reserves we have cannot last in the face of your permanent stay in our base." Optimus reasoned.
"Well, if that is the case. Then allow me to go with you to provide a helping hand in your mission. It is my fault that you are forced to undertake such an endeavour." Solus countered.
"I am afraid I cannot allow that, Solus Prime. As chief medical officer of the Autobots on this planet, I cannot allow you yet to take on any missions. As of now, you are still in the monitoring phase. Wherein you are observed for any illnesses and injuries that have not shown themselves yet. Also, you are still not used to your new form. I advise that you stay in the base for a few days before setting out. " Ratchet intervened. He was nervous in interjecting in the conversation between the Primes, but as a medic he had to take a stand.
"Besides," Arcee added in an attempt to dissolve the tension between the two Primes, "Ratchet and I can help you in any way you need while Optimus and the others are out there collecting energon. We can assure that our assistance is the best of the best."
"...Very well. I shall accept this change." Solus acquiesced. She wanted to spend more time with her brother despite the argument they had a while ago. But she understood that Optimus was using this as a means of distancing himself from her. And as much as that annoyed her, it was better to just let Optimus do what he needed to do and give him time to recollect his thoughts.
"I do wish to have a word with you once you return. In private, of course."
However, that did not mean she was going to back down.
Solus then flew off towards the Air Base that was already in the sight of Arcee and Optimus. Effectively having the final say in the conversation. Optimus could only sigh in a mix of annoyance and nostalgia as he thought that Solus did not change at all from whence he last saw her aeons ago.