Shadowfire

Chapter 21

"It appears to be a side effect of the damage done to your circuitry" Ratchet explained after he had finished his examination "with your long term data banks damaged your partially erased memories are surfacing at random, the normal protocols and code that holds them back no longer in place"
"Can you repair it?" I asked, thinking of how I had collapsed in the middle of a firefight, if the situation was more serious, if the rest of the Autobots hadn't been there... I would have been permanently offlined.

"I..." he looked at me, pity in his optics "I don't know. Even if it was possible the procedure would be... Invasive"
"What would you need to do?"
"I would need to rewire major parts of your central circuit boards, install mounds of code to even attempt to replicate your naturally occurring programs- it simply can't be done"

And just like that, I was prohibited from joining my team on missions, it wasn't safe, I couldn't be trusted on a field of battle, and so my family would fight without me.

___________________

"CIA's up my ass about this mystery raid in the Middle East, so time to come clean- was your unit involved?"
"Uh, I'm not sure ma'am"
"As the Director of National Intelligence I'm a really big fan of intelligent answers"
"I can't really tell you definitely, these Autobots are like teenage kids, they like to sneak out of the house every once in a while. Hell" he chucked "my kid is actually here"
"Colonel Lennox are you in command of are you not? If your daughter being here is an issue for you I can get her reassigned" the woman snapped her fingers sharply "like that" Lennox's happy demeanour faded just as quickly
"Yes ma'am I am"
"Stop with the ma'am, enough with the ma'am, do I look like a ma'am to you?"
"Yes ma'am" he snarked

"Optimus, your remember Charlotte Mearing?" Lennox called as they approached my carrier's brother "our Director of National Intelligence"

"At least she's better than that fool Galloway" Epps griped from his position by my holoform's shoulder, the both of us standing back from the confrontation we knew was coming. Lennox too, made a hasty retreat and came to join us.
"What is this? The silent treatment?"
"We've seen that, this is not that" Ratchet said
"Definitely not that" Ironhide concurred "this is worse. He's pissed"

"He's sulking, and plotting. Good ol' Megatron used to do it too" Wheelie muttered from his place by my foot.
"Prime!" Ratchet snapped, and Optimus transformed, staring down the woman.

"You lied to us! Everything humans know of our planet we were told had all been shared, so why was this found in human possession?" He demanded
"We were in the dark on this also, it was Director only clearance at Sector Seven"
"Do not blame your incompetence on your forbearers"
"Our entire specs race of the 1960s, it appears, was in response to an event. Our astronauts investigated a crashed alien ship. No survivors on board. A total of 35 people knew the real plan at NASA. The Soviets managed to land unmanned probes, somehow they must've picked up that fuel rod, deduced the fissionable fuel assembly and then tried to harness it at Chernobyl"
"Why are we being told of this now?" Optimus thundered
"We didn't-"
"You cannot say you didn't know! You are admitting what happened now aren't you? What else are you keeping from us?" Things were becoming heated, and I took it as my cue.
"Director" I nodded my head towards the woman, grinned, then added a "ma'am"
"Private Lennox, you see fit to liaise do you?"
"No, I see fit to advise. It's time to retreat, leave Optimus alone, he'll calm down in time, and then communication will become a lot less tense" only at my words did she look around, take note of all the Cybertronians towering over her like giants, all echoing their leader's anger.
"Right. Good advice Private" Mearing caved, making her exit.

___________________

"The ship's name was the Ark" Optimus explained during debrief "I saw it leave Cybertron myself, it was carrying Autobot technology that could've won us the war, and it's captain- the great Sentinel Prime, the technology's inventor"
"It's imperative that I find it before the Decepticons, our Autobot spacecraft has the ability to get there, we must do so before it's too late"
"You do know I'll have to tell Mearing about this right?" Lennox asked "if you wanted this to be a secret you shouldn't've had me in your meeting"
"The human governments should know" Optimus admitted grudgingly "I said I would keep them informed of our movements until such a time as I see fit to dissolve the agreement between our species. That time may come sooner than we had thought"

"Shadowfire, you will lead the Autobots while I am gone. Ironhide, Ratchet. You'll come with me"

___________________

An hour later found Optimus and I mid argument. I had cornered the Autobot leader in front of his berth, having enough sense to wait until we were out of debrief, knowing that this was an argument best had in private.

"You're just leaving me here because I can't be trusted in a fight, not with me this damaged! Face it Optimus, you're grounding me!"
"I'm leaving you here because you're the only one I trust to take care of things while I'm gone" the Autobot leader thundered, trying to force me to listen.
"What if something happens to you?" I demanded, what if my carrier's brother joined Primus, as my sire had done?
"If I die, you will lead the Autobots" Optimus said, as if it was obvious "Ironhide will help you, together you will keep this world safe"

I thought of my sire, of the, unvoiced, knowledge that I was his heir, that I should be leading the 'Cons now, that they shouldn't be falling apart, that Screamer wouldn't have left everyone he has ever known for grief, for lack of purpose. What would've been different if he had told me, as Optimus had just done, that I was to lead in the event he fell, would I have acted differently? Felt a sense of responsibility overpowering my grief? Would the 'Cons have fought to take me from the Autobots? Would a sense of duty have compelled me to abandon all that I knew to take up my sire's mantle? I wanted to ask, to confess everything to Optimus, but instead I said
"The leader of the Autobots has always been a Prime" Optimus laughed
"I'm not intending to join Primus just yet" he rubbed my helm affectionately "you'll have plenty of time to earn your place, after all- you're already half way there"

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I watched as the shuttle streaked away from Earth, unable to hide the unease twisting its way through my spark. There was something very wrong about this whole situation, and I couldn't shake the feeling that this was a trap. Optimus would end up offlined, as would Ironhide- who had accompanied his old friend; Jazz and Bee remained with me, however, as did Wheelie, the twins and all of the new 'Bots who had arrived during the previous years- Cybertronians like Zeno and Que who were seeking refuge with us, enough that controlling them would be a responsibility.

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::We're entering the Ark:: Optimus told the team through our open commlink channel. I was on edge, lounging in the hangar with the rest of my uncle's- temporarily my- troops, I was terrified that something would go wrong, that they would be up there, in space, and I would be stuck here, on Earth, unable to help them.
::Crash vault opening::
"It'll be alright Princess, you'll see" Wheelie consoled, I gave him a grateful look, glad for the little ex-con.
::By Primus:: Ratchet breathed ::it's Sentinel, he locked himself away to guard the pillars::
::His energon levels are faint but still there:: Ironhide murmured, as if in awe ::Sentinel Prime is alive in stasis::
::Shadowfire, get a team prepped, meet us at the landing site, I'm bringing Sentinel back::