CHAPTER THREE
The Ark, Earth
Optimus Prime stood in the command center of the Ark, staring down at the two techno-organics Sari and Kicker. The pair had just informed him of their desire to find Sari’s “father” Isaac Sumdac, whom they believed was being held at the facility that Sari herself had been created in.
Since returning to the fold of things and being caught up to date, Optimus had been informed on Sari and her mysterious nature as a techno-organic. Until now, he had not had much of an opportunity to dwell on the matter, instead focusing on the activities of the resurgent Megatron and his Decepticons. Now that he was being presented with the matter in person, he was starting to realize just how heavy the connotations of Sari and Kicker’s mere existence were.
“I understand that the matter of your father’s safety is important to you,” Optimus said to Sari after a long moment of contemplation. “I also understand that the means of your creation, and why you were created in the first place, cannot be ignored.”
Sari perked up at this, exchanging a surprised glance with Kicker. Clearly, this had not been the response either of them had been expecting even if it was the one they were hoping for. “So… does that mean you can…?”
Optimus nodded. “I can arrange for a small team to take you to the site of Project: Cadmus and hopefully find your father. While we can’t spare too many bots for this kind of endeavor, I believe it is too important for us to ignore.”
“Awesome!” Kicker turned to Sari with a bright smile on his face. “See? Told you they would pull through for us.”
Sari smiled back, though it was more carefully optimistic than his. “That’s great,” she said to Optimus. “That’s really… this is more than I could ask for.”
“Just give me a moment to get everything arranged,” Optimus replied. “Then you can leave as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Prime,” Kicker said. “This means a lot to us.”
“I understand,” the Autobot leader said. “Hopefully, you will find Mr. Sumdac safe and sound, as well as any answers you may still be seeking.”
“I hope so too,” Sari said quietly, already wishing that time would speed itself up just a little faster.
Metroplex, above Earth
“So, how’s Grimlock holding up?”
Ratchet glanced over at Bumblebee, who was standing in front of the C.R. chamber containing the dormant Dinobot leader in question. Grimlock had been severely injured by Scorponok at the same time as Bumblebee and had yet to emerge from the chamber.
“Physically, he’s fine,” Ratchet explained. “However, something has been keeping him stuck in the forced stasis lock Scorponok placed him under when the two of them clashed. I thought for sure he would have been out before you, especially since you were a lot worse off than he was. I still haven’t figured out what’s wrong with him.”
Bumblebee frowned behind his faceplate as he continued to stare at the C.R. chamber; Grimlock’s face was barely visible through the fogged window. He was about to ask Ratchet if someone else had gotten the chance to examine the Dinobot when the doctor’s comm started to beep.
“Gah, what is it this time?” Ratchet muttered, setting down his tools before answering the call. “Ratchet, here. What do you need?”
Bumblebee could not hear who it was on the other end nor what they were saying. Judging by the grimace that was slowly starting to take over Ratchet’s face, he figured it wasn’t making the medic happy.
“Uh-huh. I see. Interesting. You do know that he just got out of C.R., right? I told him he still needed a couple mega-cycles before he could even so much as arm-wrestle with Sideswipe.”
From this, Bumblebee was able to decipher that the conversation was about him. This did not make him feel any better.
“Oh, sure, it might sound like it shouldn’t be that dangerous, but given our track record, it will probably end up that way.” Ratchet sighed as he ran a hand over his helmet crest. “Look, can they wait for at least one mega-cycle? Just one. I would feel a lot better if… okay. Okay, good. Sure, I’ll tell him. Signing off.”
Ratchet then turned around to face Bumblebee, moving quite suddenly that it startled the yellow Autobot. “Prime wants you to help Sari find her father.”
“Sari?” Bumblebee asked.
“I said, Prime wants you to—”
“No, no. I heard what you said. It’s just that… the last thing I remember before shutting off was Scorponok capturing her. Were you guys able to rescue her?”
“Clearly, or else you wouldn’t be helping her,” Ratchet said. “Anyway, Prime wants you to meet with him down at the Ark in about a mega-cycle. Your systems should be back to standard working order by then. You’ll still need to wear that mask though.”
“Fine by me,” Bumblebee said. “So, uh, how am I gonna get down there? I doubt I could handle an orbital jump at the moment….”
“Primal and his crew are due for a supply run,” Ratchet said. “You can hitch a ride with them.”
“Great. Awesome. Where can I find them?”
“Their ship should be in Hangar Alpha.” Ratchet squinted his optics as he looked towards the door. “Though I could have sworn I heard Primal yelling some words that are definitely not suitable for protoforms….”
* * *
“I was hoping you would have handled this a bit more maturely,” Convoy muttered as he stared at the fuming Primal Major.
The current leader of the Maximals did not pay attention to him, instead glaring at his predecessor who was standing before him. Although it had been some time since Leo Prime had been “rescued” (for lack of a better term) from Planet X, his presence aboard Metroplex were only known to a select few, including Convoy, Elita-One, and the two Autobot Primes. Primal had been deliberately kept out of the loop knowing that his reaction to seeing the rogue Maximal would have been… less than pleasant. Convoy had hoped that easing Primal into a meeting with Leo Prime would have mitigated any anger the former held for the latter.
Clearly, his approach had been severely flawed.
“You have a lot of brass bearings to show your face around here,” Primal growled to Leo Prime, who stared back at him with an impassive expression. “After what you did — abandoning us to form your own anarchist movement, putting the fate of this very planet at risk — how can you expect any of us to forgive you?”
“I don’t,” Leo Prime said quietly. “All I ask is that you give me a chance to make things right.”
Primal snorted. “As if that could ever be enough. We’ve given plenty of people second chances — hell, the Autobots even gave Megatron a second chance. And look how that’s turned out….”
“I understand that you’re hesitant to—”
“Hesitant doesn’t even begin to describe.” Primal turned sharply to face Convoy. “Throw him in the brig where he belongs.”
“Elita’s given me a commanding position in the Earthforce,” Convoy replied. “You can’t give me orders.”
“Yeah, well, technically I have seniority over you in that capacity. In any case, he’s a criminal and we have no business associating with criminals.”
Convoy refrained from making a remark about that statement, as he was sure he could think of plenty cases that contradicted it, and instead said, “Optimus and Rodimus have already given him clearance to help us. His former followers are still at large and they think his connections to them — and other benefactors — may be of use to us.”
“Is that right?” Primal asked. “Then I look forward to giving the both of them a piece of my mind the next time I see them.”
“Good luck with that,” Convoy said. “I’m sure that’ll go very well for you.”
Primal glared at Convoy but said nothing as he turned and stormed out of the room.
Shaking his head in disappointment, Convoy shifted his attention back to Leo Prime. “Somehow, that went simultaneously better and worse than I expected.”
“Frankly, it’s more or less what I expected from him,” Leo muttered. “I’ve always known Primal to have a disdain for people who go against the causes they are supposed to stand for. It makes sense that he would take issue with me for my recent actions.”
“Maybe so, but he’s going to need to learn to tolerate your presence and to work with you. Otherwise, we’re going to have a fractured team, which will only work in the Decepticons’ favor.”
Leo Prime looked at him. “What do you think I can do to convince him?”
Convoy shrugged. “You know the tired old saying: ‘Actions speak louder than words.’ I feel that’s your best shot at showing him that you change of spark is genuine.”
“And how am I going to do that?” Leo Prime asked dryly. “Get him a Forging Day gift?”
“Well, as I said, your old Mayhem buddies are still on the loose.”
“So?”
Convoy smirked. “So maybe now is a good time to bring them to justice.”
