Phoenix

Condition

It was a long time before Andromeda woke again, and when she did she found the gaping hole in her chest had been sealed.

She was in an Autobot base.

It wasn't like the ones she had seen before. The ceiling was jagged, laced with beams and dotted with pale lights. The technology was sparse: just a few computers and a groundbridge.

She closed her optics again, taking a moment to remember.

Green. An escape pod. How had she gotten in it?

Something had happened before that, though. Something terrible. Something important...

Murder.

Suddenly, it all came rushing back. Megatron had killed her. Or at least tried to. Obviously he had failed, considering the situation.

Andromeda noticed with a pang of grief that her spark beat had returned to normal. In fact, she felt quite well.

Her condition had been terminated.

xxx

She didn't open her optics until she heard voices.

"She's awake."

Andromeda blinked, startling her audience.

Two mechs―one she had seen earlier, the other only vaguely familiar―stood closest. Behind them a sleek blue femme turned to see what was going on. Two other mechs stood nearby, though the Captain didn't notice them.

The orange-and-white mech approached. A medic.

"Can you hear me?" He asked. She nodded.

"Good. Follow the light,"

She did as she was told, optics dilating painfully at the sudden illumination. He switched it off again.

"Are you able to speak?"

Andromeda wasn't sure, but she nodded anyway. She wasn't really paying attention to the medic.

Optimus Prime...

She had only ever met him once in person, and he had looked much different then. Still, she knew exactly who he was.

"Can you tell us your name?"

Already, she was on her feet. The medic recoiled, surprised. Andromeda saluted.

"Captain Andromeda of Bay 97 Medical Escort at your service, sir."

The Prime blinked, glancing at the medic.

"Sit down," the medic urged, guiding her back to the berth. She shook him off.

"I assure you, I'm perfectly fine." She told him. "Only... a bit disoriented. I seem to remember something of 'Earth'?"

The Prime spoke now.

"Yes." He said. "A small planet on the edge of the Galaxy. I'm afraid we are all far from home."

"... Cybertron?" She inquired. No one seemed willing to explain it. Suddenly, a voice piped up:

"What rock have you been living under, lady?"

"Miko!"

Andromeda started, looking around. Her gaze fell on three small creatures standing on a miniature balcony nearby. She stared at them, curious.

"What sort of creatures are these?" She asked.

"Humans." The Prime answered. "They are the native intelligence of this planet."

The medic scoffed at his leader's choice of words. Andromeda looked at him.

"... You seem familiar." She said. "Have we met before?"

"I would be surprised if you did." Commented one of the other mechs. "Ratchet doesn't get out much."

Andromeda was about to remember something when she noticed that she was not the only patient there. A mech lay motionless on the other berth nearby. The memory slipped out of her grasp as she moved to his side, knowing instantly who it was.

"Surefire..." She whispered, then looked again at the medic. "Is he...?"

"He's just unconscious."

She sighed a breath of relief. The Captain had lost many soldiers in her Escort, but she wasn't ready to lose her most trusted Lieutenant.

"You've been through a lot of trauma," The medic told her. "You need to rest."

Andromeda shook her head, straightening up.

"No." She said. "I need answers."

xxx

The femme―Arcee―took on the task of bringing the Captain up to speed. It wasn't news Andromeda wanted to hear, but she listened quietly nonetheless.

Cybertron had been abandoned.

The war waged on, with the rocky planet Earth as its new grounds.

And Megatron lived.

Now, Andromeda sat alone in a spare room of the base. She brought a hand up to her chest, feeling the strange calmness left by the absence of her condition.

It was Megatron's doing. He was responsible for both the beginning and now the end of her state.

At one time, she had thought she would be happy to be relieved of her condition. But not in this way. Megatron had tried to kill her.

"I never hated you." She said to herself. The memory of her last minutes on Cybertron had finally resurfaced. "I thought I could change you back, if I loved you enough. I thought I could end the war..."

Tears welled in her optics. She blinked them away, letting her hand fall back to her side.

There was a knock at her door.

"Come in."

It was Ratchet.

They were both quiet for a minute. Andromeda knew he remembered her.

"Fancy meeting you here." She finally said, trying in vain to sound nonchalant.

"I could say the same," He replied. "After your encounter with Megatron, I had thought you were dead."

Andromeda dipped her head, running a finger over the scar on her chest.

"I assume this is your doing, then." She said. "Thank you."

He nodded. There was silence again.

"You have questions."

Ratchet wasn't as surprised as she expected him to be. For the time they had known each other, he had come to admire how well she read others.

"I do." He replied. "But that's not why I'm here."

Andromeda looked at him, feeling her spark grow weak when she saw the worry in his optics.

"When you were brought here, I noticed something... unusual." He explained. "If you don't mind, I'd like to examine it closer."

Andromeda didn't move or speak as he stepped closer, holding up a medical scanner and checking for abnormalities.

There was no hiding it now.

She could see it when his shoulders fell, his concern turning to speechlessness.

"... Andromeda," He breathed, "Did you know that you're―?"

"I know."

He stared at her, not understanding.

"It's a long story."