Carry The One

Orion Pax pt 2

Bulkhead rumbled through the ground bridge, transforming as it closed behind him. I ended up in his hand as he sulked forward.

"No sign of energon spikes," I told the doc who was working on the ground bridge control.
"Arcee or Bee find a space bridge?" the bot rumbled underneath me.

"They haven't yet reported back," Ratchet mumbled, not looking up from the screen.

"You alright?" Bulk asked, genuine concern laced in his voice.

"Hmm?" he finally looked up. "Yes. Yeah, let's just get you to the next quadrant."

There was a faint pinging from the main computer system, drawing our attention to it.

"What is it?" I asked as Ratchet typed away.

"A high - frequency signal.... With an embedded message.." he isolated the source, enlarging it. "For me."

"Optimus?.."

"Starscream!" he exclaimed, the con's picture appearing. "'I have obtained information regarding your leader. Bring medical kit, come alone.'"

Bulkhead dropped me off at the catwalk. "Man the bridge while we're gone."

I nodded, watching as they walked through the bridge. I waited patiently, the rumble in my stomach not going unnoticed. I hadn't eaten since before Optimus and I left to engage the decepticons before all of what happened... happened. Thinking of Optimus made me think of what it was exactly we were looking for, which made me think about how much I missed resting on that red shoulder.

The spark in my chest clenched also, the dark energon Megatron provided had been empty for a while now, and my levels were depleting. I'd need to get energon, and soon, if I wanted to stay on my feet.

I sighed, sinking to the ground, hugging my knees close. "Optimus..." I muttered, my throat aching in an effort to choke back the tears. "Miss you so much.."

~---~

"The decepticon space bridge is located right here," Ratchet stated to the group, enhancing a signal. "Deep within an energon mine."

"Adjacent to a raw fuel supply." Arcee nodded. "Clever. What's our intel?"

Ratchet and Bulkhead looked at each other before doc muttered a response. "A... reliable source." he vented air, looking towards us humans on the catwalk. "So, do we have a consensus?"

"Do we even know if humans can breathe in your atmosphere?" June argued.

"I'll hook Jack up," Fowler assured her. "Completely state of the art. I still have connections at NASA."

"It's... too dangerous," she argued again.

"Mom," Jack pleaded walking toward her. "I know this is hard, but Optimus risked his life to save our planet, and he's not even human. We owe it to him."

"Mrs. Darby..." I called quietly, calling all of the pain I had been in the past few days to my eyes. "I understand your hesitancy in allowing your son to complete this mission. And understand, if I could I would take his place in an instant. But he is the only one who can help my bot. Please..."

Arcee walked forward. "I don't want you to think for one moment that I'll allow him to travel unchaperoned."

"Not everyone is destined for an ordinary life," Ratchet called. "Optimus Prime was once Orion Pax, after all."

The woman sighed, turning to Jack with tears in her eyes. "When you were little..." she choked out. "You always wanted to be an astronaut."

"We will ground bridge directly into the energon mine." Ratchet ordered the next second. "And make our way to the space bridge chamber, neutralizing any decepticon forces we encounter. Once we secure the space bridge, we will send for Jack. Stealth must be an absolute priority."