Neos Mnestis

Part 13: Deuter Fin

        Standing in her quarters, venting deep and heavy, Arcee served the conditions of her quarters. Nothing had changed since she's last been in, filing a report before heading to the scouts' report: heating sheet spread neatly over her berth, stack of personal data pads arranged neatly on her rickety desk next to rows of reports. Sitting down on her berth, Arcee gently wrapped the sheet around her comely shoulders, realizing she no longer needed the little heater. Her upgraded form could conserve enough heat during recharge as to make her blanket, her bonding gift from Springer, a needless redundancy.

        Lying back, tears slowly streamed down the pink femme's silver cheeks. She didn't want this; she wanted her own body back, the one she'd learn to transform in, the one that carried her through the civil war, the one Springer could lift her with a single servo and carry her safely around on his shoulder in. She didn't want to lose the last things that connected her to the mech she bonded with. She may have entertained the thought every-so-often, but she never actually--deep down in her spark--wanted her fantasy to come true.

        Hours later, a tapping on her door roused the unhappy femme and Chromia stepped in. Without adieu the elderly Petrohexian lowered her heavily armored frame down next the Arcee.

         "I suppose that you still want to talk." She still didn't want to.

        "No."

        "Then what?" Arcee began to scratch at the tear streaks on her faceplate, her spark throbbing slightly.

        "Just sit." Chromia's words were soft and reminded Arcee of her own long deceased carrier. The thought didn't help her feel any better since now she missed Springer and Nickel. Curling up against the thick blue side, tears quietly returned to her optics as the older femme embraced her.

        "I miss them." Arcee hiccuped. "Why'd they have to die while mechs like Soundwave and Shockwave live?" Chromia didn't answer. She didn't have an answer to the question she'd asked Ironhide many times. Life wasn't always nice and there wasn't anything anybot could really do about it other than grin and bare it. She'd learned just how hard doing that could get after Petrohex burned and she and Ironhide joined the Autobots.

        Silence infolded the two still bodies.

        "What you say to them if they here?" Chromia eventually asked the tired femme slumped against her.

        "Wha'?" Arcee's voice box was sore from all the crying she'd done.

        "Bots you miss. What you tell them?"

        Arcee thought for a moment. "I don't know." Her next words denied this. "I'd tell 'Raj not to be so foolhardy and sire to get along better with carrier and carrier not to be mad at 'Raj and me for hating the cast system. I'd tell them all how much I love them." Arcee gulped down a breath before continuing. "I'd... I'd tell Springer he should have listened to me and left the Wreckers and stayed away from moonbase three and not have gotten himself killed in action and-and..." She couldn't go on.

        Chromia pulled her closer. "What they tell you?"

        Arcee froze. What would her brother and parents tell her? What would Springer? She knew what they would all say to her: "buck up little femme. I don't want to see another tear roll down those cheeks." The pink femme sat up, straightening her new armor plating.

        "This talk's been really good Chromia. I have lots of stuff to get done though, so if you don't mind..." She stood and helped the elderly femme out the sliding door. "Have a nice day."

        "You too." And the Petrohexian made her slow journey back to her quarters on the first floor of the housing unit.

        The first thing Arcee had to get done was reading through Prowl's report on what had happened after the ill-fated mission she led. Sitting down at her desk proved to not be much of an option with her new frame so she instead began going through the old report files that had stacked up while listening to Prowl's description.

        "Lieutenant Arcee. Because of your drawn out stay in the med bay Commander Magnus considers it proper that I should create this briefing for when you online again." Arcee knew Prowl well enough to recognize the underlying tone of scepticism lacing his rather flat voice. She was almost offended that he would doubt both Knockout's skill and her own knack for survival. Almost.

        "Your unit survived the explosion at Shockwave's lab, the only casualty was the Vehicon scout Fillup. Wrecker Drift was severely injured when the cave collapsed and in fixing him medical officer Knockout removed his plated armor. Drift is yet to be allowed to reattach the plating and currently appears in this form." The white and red mech from the med bay and lift appeared briefly over Arcee's vision before the recording continued. She probably need to apologize for her hostility earlier. "Beyond with no one in your unit received notable injures." That was good to hear.

        "Wheeljack has reported in twice. Most recently to alert us that Itineroec, a small Kaonite craft, is on its way to Cybertron with Wrecker Springer, Paradonian Commander Sandstorm, and two Kaonites claiming neutrality." Arcee's optics widened. Springer.