Come What May

by Phantom (phantom1313 at tfrid dot com)


Author's warning: This chapter contains violence and rape. I've marked where that part begins. If you don't like reading that sort of thing, please skip over that part.

Chapter Seven

“Hold on, I've almost got it. A bit higher on the left end.. that's it. Okay, let's get this piece welded!” The dark-blue femme strained to hold up the middle as the welder grasped the right end and began to weld the beam into place.

“Say, that beam looks too heavy for you! Here, let me help.”

The small band of tunnel workers turned to gape as the large form of the Autobot leader approached. He shooed off Andromeda and the mech that was helping her, easily hefting the beam with one hand.

The femme gaped at him as if he'd sprouted another head. “Optimus… Prime, sir!” she gasped, catching herself. She'd nearly used his name informally in front of the others. “We weren't expecting you… we haven't prepared—“

“Nonsense!” Prime waved his free hand at her. He made the heavy metal beam seem like it was as light as a feather. Her hands free, she saluted, and he returned the gesture with his free hand. “I thought I'd make a surprise visit and check on your progress. I didn't want to bother with any fuss and fanfare.” He glanced around appreciatively. “You've done even better than I've expected! You're to be commended, Lieutenant.”

Andromeda felt the heat rising to her face and was fervently glad that Transformers did not blush. “Thank you, sir,” she murmured, “but I can't take all the credit. I've got a good team.”

“I can see that. You've all made some impressive progress here. At this rate, the tube will be finished months ahead of schedule.”

Once the beam was firmly welded into place, he released it and turned to his beloved. “Lieutenant, may I have a word with you?” He gestured to a secluded area of the cavern that was being excavated and constructed.

“Of course, sir,” she replied, the formality feeling awkward. They had been kissing rather passionately in her quarters just a few days ago.

“Do you have a completed inventory of the supplies you need?” he asked as they moved away from the workers, who were staring at them.

“Almost, Commander. I have the list compiled, but I'd like to review it with my crew before submitting it. You'll have it on your desk by 1700, I promise.” Satisfied that this was nothing but a business discussion, the workers turned away and resumed their duties.

Once they were out of earshot, Optimus Prime leaned over and whispered, “I didn't come by to check on the project. I had an ulterior motive.”

“Is that so?” Andromeda whispered back teasingly.

“Yes. I was thinking of you, and I just couldn't wait to see you again.”

The femme felt herself practically melt on the spot. He had taken time out of his busy schedule just to see her! Because he missed her! “Was that bit with the beam just a desire to help, or an excuse to show off?”

He grinned, and she could see it in his optics. “I was showing off. Was hoping to impress you.” He flickered one optic sensor in a wink.

“You did,” she assured them, quashing the impulse to reach out and touch his arm.

He gazed at her with a feeling of frustration, wishing he could kiss her. Primus, sometimes he hated his own stupid rules of conduct! He rocked back and forth on his feet, not wanting to leave just yet but knowing he couldn't linger any longer. He had already spent time that he didn't really have. “Listen, I have to go now,” he said softly. “I'll see you later tonight, okay?”

“I'm sorry, I can't,” she sighed. “I'm going to Polonus Two with a few of my coworkers to investigate some new excavation equipment. It's supposed to be state-of-the-art and would really help us out down here. I put a purchase requisition on your desk – I know that's not really your department, but I needed to request a budget extension. I think it will be worth it.”

He nodded. “I'll review it as soon as I return to my office, since you're leaving so soon. If these new excavators are as remarkable as you claim, I'm sure there will be no problem granting the budget extension.” He lowered his voice again. “Can I see you when you get back? I've really been missing you.”

“Of course. I'll see you tomorrow evening.”

Little did she know that there would be some unforeseen delays….

* * * * *

“Optimus Prime! Prime, Commander, sir!”

The tall Autobot leader turned to face the young communications officer as he raced up and saluted. “What is the problem, ensign?” he asked.

“Sir, Commander sir! Autobot shuttle en route to Polonus Two has been attacked and seized by the Decepticons!”

“What?” He could scarcely process the news. “Has this been confirmed?”

“Yes, sir! State officials of Polonus Two extend their regrets that they were not able to help.”

“Very well, ensign,” the commander rumbled in his bass tone. “Try to pinpoint the location of the captured shuttle and notify me immediately. Also contact Springer and have him arrange a rescue squad. He is authorized to prepare the flagship for immediate departure.”

“Aye, sir!” the ensign saluted and rushed off to fulfill his duties.

Optimus Prime turned and headed for the communications room, all the while feeling a dull roar beginning in his head. No! Not his beloved – no, no, no!

Springer had the rescue crew and a small battalion mobilized in record time, but their departure was delayed. Ionized gasses from the Polonus Nebula made it difficult to track any ships in the area, and it was actually seven hours later that the Decepticon ship was located. The small Autobot cruiser was nowhere in sight, and Prime surmised that it was either captured or destroyed. He was willing to bet, though, that the Decepticons had taken prisoners. Their position had been extremely weak since the second Golden Age, and their return from the Gamma Quadrant where the plasma energy had thrown them had been extremely rough – Autobot intelligence had later surmised that Scorponok had entered an unstable wormhole back to the Alpha Quadrant and had nearly been torn apart by its energies. All they could really do now was make a few random attacks and menace several small planets.

Finally all was in readiness, and the small squadron was waiting for the okay from Flight Control to blast off. Grabbing his rifle from subspace, Optimus Prime hurried onto the flagship. Rodimus turned to gape as the command center doors slid open to admit the new occupant. “What the slag?!” he yelled. “Optimus, you are not supposed to be here! You know it's not worth it to send both Primes on such a mission! Cripes, you're the one that came up with that rule! Kup will tear off my head and eat it if I let you come.”

“I'm not leaving, Roddy,” the elder Prime said firmly, starting to pace the floor.

“What do you mean you're not—oh.” Suddenly this whole craziness made sense. “It's her, isn't it? That's why you're so worked up, why you want to come along so badly.”

The red and blue Autobot suddenly whirled and punched the wall with all of his strength, making an appreciable dent. “Dammit, Roddy! Why did this have to happen? It was just supposed to be a stupid routine trip! Now she could get hurt, or – worse.” He choked on the words, unwilling to consider all the terrible things that could be happening to his sweet Andromeda right now. “I've got to save her! Before it's too late.”

“Okay, okay,” Roddy soothed. “Just calm down and take it easy. Panicking isn't going to help anybody.” He supposed it would be all right to bend the rules just this once. Optimus clearly wasn't going to leave until his femme was safe in his arms, and Rodimus was afraid to leave his friend alone in such a state. A slight shuddering signaled the ship's takeoff. They were underway, and whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon.

The three-hour trip was spent mostly with Optimus Prime pacing and Rodimus Prime trying to calm him down. He'd never seen his friend like this before… so agitated, so nervous… so worried. The Optimus he knew always kept his emotions tightly under wraps, using them to his advantage, but now he just seemed lost and confused. Unsure how to deal with this new situation that had cut him off at the knees.

“All hands, red alert!” the ship-wide comm system blared. “Approaching Decepticon ship. All hands to battle stations!”

“Let's do it!” Rodimus whooped and burst out from the command center. Optimus grimly disengaged the safety on his laser rifle and followed suit. Springer was already mobilizing the first wave of attackers as the Aerialbots engaged the tractor beam. Arcee and Sureshot were already firing the flagship's mighty guns. The large Decepticon battle cruiser loomed on the viewscreen. It was big and mighty, but no match for the indomitable Autobot flagship.

“Alright!” Skydive yelled. “Magnetic junction stabilized.”

“Boarding party, do your thing!” Springer yelled, and the first wave surged forward onto the enemy ship. Rodimus moved to stop his co-commander, but Optimus would have nothing of it, shoving his friend aside roughly. Roddy only shrugged – he didn't mind missing out on the action this once. He was certain that the Decepticons would have their hands full with a raging mad Optimus Prime.

Meanwhile, Optimus punched, kicked and shot anything that got in his way. He was possessed by a fury that he had not felt in a very long time. He grabbed a 'Con and shoved his laser rifle under the hapless robot's chin. “Where is she?” he roared.

“Wh-who?” the Decepticon stammered, clearly frightened out of his wits by the furious Autobot commander.

Optimus snarled and pressed the gun barrel harder against the 'Con's metallic hide. 'Fool!' he told himself. 'None of the Decepticons probably even know her name! Ask something sensible.' The Decepticon squirmed in terror and looked like he was ready to lose control of his waste tank. “Okay, creep, where is the brig?”

“Down the third corridor to the right! You can't miss it! Just don't kill me, please!”

Prime tossed the whimpering 'Con aside and headed down the corridor. Normally he'd have some compassion for the frightened robot, but not today. Today all bets were off. He figured he was lucky to find a low-ranking Decepticon – those that had more than the most rudimentary training could withstand some considerable interrogation. He shoved all thoughts out of his mind, only wanting to rescue the captured Autobots, and… her.

“We got 'em!” Springer's triumphant cry sounded. “Okay, 'Bots, back to the flagship! I left the 'Cons a goodbye present, and we've got only three minutes until this place blows sky-high!” Hearing that, Optimus stifled the impulse to check on the rescued prisoners and instead concentrated on clearing a path for them. Red lights began to flash and a klaxon wailed. “All hands abandon ship!” a frantic voice cried over the comm system. Many of the Decepticons would survive. Prime did not begrudge them that. As long as their precious ship was gone, they would be relatively harmless until they could build another one.

The posse of Autobots jogged briskly but orderly through the Decepticon ship, back to their ride home. Prime paused at the junction holding the two ships together and shooed in the rest of his people, wanting to make sure that nobody was left behind. As the last 'bot streaked by, he jumped through the hatch. “Everyone accounted for?” he yelled. Precious seconds were ticking by.

“Attack squadron accounted for!” Springer bellowed.

“Shuttle team present and accounted for, sir!” Twin Twist, one of the captured robots, responded.

“Then let's go! Cut the ship loose and head for open space! We have less than a minute left!” Optimus commanded.

“Aye, sir! Magnetic junction terminated!” Skydive reported.

“We're underway, sir!” somebody yelled through the confusion.

The massive ship ignited its thrusters, racing away from the doomed Decepticon craft. Everyone turned to face the viewport, which now displayed the aft view of the rapidly retreating Decepticon spacecraft. Whoops and cheers filled the cabin as the ship exploded. There was no sound, but a small shockwave traveled through the surrounding space. The large Autobot flagship easily outran the shockwave, ferrying its passengers to safety.

Optimus Prime breathed a very private sigh of relief, stashing his weapon in subspace and hiding his trembling hands behind his back. His second-in-command noticed the attack of nerves and took over, approaching the rescued ship's crew. “Okay, guys, I want all of you in the war room, ASAP.” He herded the small group towards the strategy room, Optimus lagging behind. Rodimus gestured for everyone to be seated, but the Autobot leader elected to stand, face expressionless, too nervous to sit. His second hoped that the nervousness would not be contagious, and he sought to distract the others from it. He folded his hands and sat forward. “All right, people, I want to know what happened out there.”

The group looked at each other, unsure who should begin. Finally, Topspin spoke up. “Things were proceeding according to schedule just fine, Commander, when suddenly the Decepticon ship just… came out of nowhere. We think they were using the distortion of the nebula to hide. They snagged us with a tractor beam; we tried to hit them with our weapons, but it didn't do much good. I guess we're lucky they didn't just blow us out of the sky, but they must have figured that we'd be worth more alive than dead.”

Roddy nodded. “Mmm. Probably wanted to use you all as a bargaining tool.”

“Were any of you abused?”

The assembled group turned as one to face the red and blue Autobot in surprise. They had almost forgotten that Optimus Prime was there.

“Uhhh, not really, sir,” Hauler stammered, surprised at the blatancy of the question. The elder Prime usually tried to cushion the blow of his more painful questions and observations. “We were all interrogated, naturally, but we only got banged around a bit. Twin Twist and Topspin suffered the most damage since they ranked the highest of any of us.”

Roddy's optics narrowed. “What did they want to know?”

Andromeda chose this moment to speak. “Just the usual questions, Commander. They wanted to know the defense capabilities of Cybertron and Earth, and if we had built any more fortress-cities. Seems they've been out of the loop for a long time and are trying to assess our position. We all told them lies, of course, but we tried not to be too blatant about it for fear of angering our captors.”

“Wise plan. In my opinion, you all did very well.” Rodimus looked slowly and carefully around the table. “Anything else of importance?”

“No, sir,” everyone chorused, shaking their heads.

He clapped his hands. “Very well, then. I'll get Kup to debrief you all fully when we reach Iacon. For now, just relax and take a load off. You had a harrowing experience, and we're just glad to have you all back. Dismissed!”

The group rose as one and saluted Rodimus, and then Optimus on their way out. The two leaders exchanged meaningful glances. The elder Prime stopped Andromeda as she turned to exit. “Please wait a moment,” he whispered. Roddy nodded at his friend and wordlessly left the two alone.

The second the doors slid shut, Optimus grasped her shoulders and shook her. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you? Primus, please tell me you're okay!”

The femme struggled to speak, but it came out a bit garbled. She put her hands out to try and stop the shaking. Optimus jumped and realized what he was doing, releasing her. She looked at him and smiled wearily. “I'm okay, Optimus. I'm really okay. Don't look so worried!”

He grasped her face gently but firmly in his hands, staring at her intently, as if looking for something. He then clasped her to his chest in a tight embrace that she thought would crush her. His hand smoothed over her head as he cradled her against him. “I was so afraid,” he whispered. “Afraid that they'd do something terrible to you. Do you know what the Decepticons sometimes do to prisoners?”

The femme shuddered against him. “No, but I can guess,” she whispered.

The large Autobot spoke in a choked voice, and Andromeda realized that he was holding back tears. “I was so afraid… afraid that they would… violate you.” He could not bear to say the word 'rape'. “It happens, you know. And not just to Autobot prisoners.” He heard her gasp at the implied meaning. Could such an abominable thing happen to Decepticon prisoners in Autobot custody? “It's a terrible story, but maybe if I tell you about it, it will help me somehow. It happened about five million years ago. The war was reaching an impasse, and each faction was scrambling to recruit anyone who could walk straight and carry a laser pistol. Needless to say, both sides ended up scraping the bottom of the barrel….”

(Author's note: This flashback contains violence and rape. Please be warned! If you are very sensitive and don't want to read that sort of thing, skip over to the end of the flashback.)
/ / / / /

Optimus Prime walked down the corridor, his shoulders drooping slightly. He was tired after working a long shift, trying to come up with a fresh battle strategy. They were so evenly matched with the Decepticons now that any little victory could make a difference.

He stopped short, feeling his fluids freeze as a shrill female scream echoed through the corridor. It sounded close by! His gaze darted around, searching for the source. Maybe it had come from the brig. That seemed to be a very likely possibility.

Optimus approached the prisoner brig warily, mentally fingering his weapon stored in subspace. If a prisoner had escaped, there could be a major security breach. He inched toward the cellblock, catching sight of a bored guard standing outside. “What is going on here?” he hissed.

“Uh, nothing…” the guard muttered, looking away. Optimus thought he looked very shifty. His instincts were screaming at him that something was very wrong! He pushed past the guard and raced toward the voices at the end of the corridor. He found the energy bars on the last cell deactivated, and the sense of dread nearly suffocated him. Ready to whip out his weapon at any second, he burst through the doorway… and stopped short. The scene before him had shocked him speechless for a moment. It was much, much more horrible than anything he could have anticipated. A female Decepticon – Ballast, he thought her name was – captured several days earlier, lay writhing against the far wall, her hands shackled above her head to a metal bolt, straining with her entire body to push away the burly mech atop her. Two other thug-like mechs held her still, one with a hand over her mouth, as the first one had his fun with her.

Prime's vocal module worked silently for a moment, too overcome with revulsion to speak. Finally he bellowed out, “WHAT IN THE INFERNO IS GOING ON HERE?!!”

The three mechs froze at the holler, looking up. The one atop the helpless femme laughed nervously. “Hiya, Chief,” he stammered out. “We were, uh, just havin' a little fun with the prisoner here….”

“Fun?” The word was spoken softly, but there was a deadly edge to it that caused the other two mechs to back away nervously. The first one still didn't get the hint. “Fun? FUN?!!” Optimus roared. “You call this fun?! Come here. I'll show you fun!” Arms that could crush a cinder block seized the mech by the shoulders and pulled him off of the female, throwing him violently against the wall. Before he could recover, the mighty Autobot leader struck him across the jaw with a right hook. “Come on!” he jeered. “Aren't you having fun yet?” He gave the male a strong knee in the abdomen, causing his victim to double over. He then stomped a few times on the thug's back as the injured mech struggled to protect himself.

Prime caught sight of the other two mechs trying to sneak away. “Where are you going? The fun's just getting started!” He leapt after the other two and cracked their heads together, then kicked their fallen bodies. He was shaking with rage, and it was all he could do to reign himself in before he dealt them a fatal blow. As much as he wanted to throttle them, killing them wouldn't undo what had already been done. “Get out!” he hissed, pointing at the door. “You are no longer Autobots! I am banishing you from Iacon, now and forever! And if I catch you back here again, I swear I will finish what I've started!”

The three picked themselves up from the floor, dazed and battered but relieved to see that they had a chance to escape. They raced for the exit as if the devil himself was on their heels.

Optimus Prime stared after them in fury, hands on his hips. They deserved so much worse, but he was just glad to wash his hands of them. A soft sobbing noise caught his attention, and he realized in his rage that he had forgotten all about the violated prisoner. The imprisoned femme was still chained helplessly to the wall, mercuric tears running down her face. The sight wrenched at him. He pulled his laser rifle from subspace, adjusting its output to a finer, more controlled beam. The prisoner cried out softly in despair at the sight, and Prime realized that she was afraid that he would shoot her. “Don't move,” he said firmly. He aimed and fired, and the chains and the metal bolt securing them were obliterated. The captive lowered her arms, the shackles trailing broken chains from her wrists. She covered her face and sobbed.

Prime wracked his CPU, trying to think of the best, or amy way, really, to make the situation better. “Optimus Prime to Ratchet,” he radioed his Chief Medical Officer.

“Ratchet here,” the groggy reply came.

“I know you're off-duty, Ratchet, but this is an emergency that requires your expertise. Please meet me in the brig ASAP, and bring the black kit with you.”

There was a stunned pause. “The black kit?!” The CMO himself had coined the phrase for the forensic kit that was brought to a rape scene. “Yes, sir, I'll be there in no time!” He was up and moving before the sentence was out of his mouth.

Optimus paused, then activated his communicator again. “Optimus Prime to Alita one.”

“Alita One here.” Her voice also sounded like she had been pulled out of recharge.

“Alita, I've got a serious situation that requires your, um, feminine touch. Could you meet me in the brig? It's very urgent.”

“Of course, Prime. I'll be right there.”

Once that was out of the way, Optimus turned back to the femme, who cowered and sank to the floor, trying to cover herself. It was then that he realized that she was nude. He set about trying to find her armor coverings, all the while keeping his optics studiously averted. The chestplate was practically under his feet, and when he picked it up he realized it was bent. It had been ripped from her. Fighting down another wave of anger and revulsion, he bent it back into shape as best he could and handed it to her. She took it wordlessly and put it on, seemingly relieved to be partially covered. Optimus finally spotted her lower covering known as a sodpiece discarded in a corner. One set of hinges was bent, and the other was ripped away completely. He knew that it would not hold well, but it would do for now. He brought it over to her, looking away while she did her best to attach it.

Prime found himself at an absolute loss for words. What could he possibly say to comfort her? He knelt by her side, reaching out, and she tried to scuttle backwards, optics wide with fear, bumping into the wall. “I won't hurt you,” he whispered. “I promise that nobody will hurt you again as long as you are here.” He looked down. “I'm so sorry that this happened. Nobody deserves this. You may be our prisoner, but you still have rights.”

“Th-those three. Will they be back?” the tear-streaked femme stammered, seeming terrified.

Optimus Prime's hands curled into fists. “Not if they want to survive,” he growled. “I do not allow such a thing to happen in this army. They will never be welcome here again.” He realized that she still had the shackles around her wrists. “Sit tight, and I'll go get the keys from the guard.”

“NO!” The explosive word took him by surprise. Ballast gripped his arm with impressive strength for such a frail-looking female. “Please don't leave me here alone! Please!”

“Okay,” he agreed, sitting back down beside her. He took her arm, noticing how delicate she was, and began to pry at the shackles. Within moments, he had ripped both of them off of her with raw force. She watched the spectacle with wide optics, astonished at his power.

“Prime! I'm here!” a feminine voice called.

“Last cell, Alita!” he replied.

A moment later, the pink commander of the Autobot femmes appeared in the doorway. Prime stood and approached her, talking in a low voice and gesturing to the huddled figure on the floor. Alita's optics grew large and horrified, and she gasped and covered her mouth, darting a gaze at the femme in the cell. She approached her slowly, arms spread to show she meant no harm. Ballast flinched and tried to back away, having faced the femme commander in battle and obviously feared her. “It's okay,” Alita soothed her. “I'm here to help. Nobody will hurt you.” The Decepticon began to sob once more, and the pink femme folded the purple one in her arms, holding her. Optimus breathed a quiet sigh of relief – he was so glad Alita was here. She could be much more comforting in such a situation than he was. He just felt too awkward to be of much use.

A few minutes later, Ratchet arrived, the infamous black kit in hand. The brutalized femme once again looked afraid, but everyone reassured her that he was here to patch her up. Ballast began to haltingly tell her story as Ratchet briskly yet gently began to gather fluid specimens and set about his repairs.

“Wait a minute,” Optimus stopped her at one point. “Did you say that all three took turns with you?” The femme's silent nod was enough to convince him. He suddenly wished he had those three in front of him once more – he hadn't pummeled them nearly enough! And he was going to have a serious talk with Prowl about that shifty guard who had let the three thugs inside in the first place.

After several hours of painstaking repairs by Ratchet and gentle counseling by Alita, there was nothing more to be done. Optimus once again took the femme commander aside. “I'm going to let her go, Alita.”

“You are?” she looked surprised. She knew that Optimus had hoped to make a prisoner exchange, and that her release would put them at a disadvantage.

“Yes, I am,” he said firmly. “She can't stay here now. It's just too dangerous for her. Besides, I think she's been through enough already.” The femme nodded in agreement. That was an understatement. “And I'm going to escort her back.”

Now this she could certainly object to. “Optimus, no!” she exclaimed, not caring if she was using his informal name in the wrong situation. “It's too much of a risk. Everything could fall apart if you were captured. Let me go. I'm more expendable.”

“Hell, no!” he exclaimed, and it was obvious that he wasn't standing on ceremony either. “I certainly don't want the Decepticons getting their hands on you, especially after what happened here. They might just decide to extract a little 'revenge' on you. I am not taking that risk. I'm going. End of discussion.”

Alita knew that stubborn look of his far too well, and she figured it would be useless to challenge him at this point. It was like talking to a brick wall. “Okay, have it your way, but keep sending out a homing signal. If you get captured, terminate the signal and I'll know to send help.”

Optimus did not reply, and she knew she had gotten her way at least in this small matter. The Decepticon was ready to go, and Optimus took her firmly by the shoulder, guiding her.. Alita watched them go, then headed to the communications room to track his signal.

“Where are we going?” Ballast asked, but her captor did not respond. She was beginning to panic again when she reached a door. It opened to reveal… the outdoors?! She turned to face the Autobot commander, speechless.

“You're free to go,” he told her, not looking at her. “It's the least I could do after what's happened. I will escort you to within one megamile of Darkmount to make sure that your trip is safe.”

The femme looked at him fearfully, not sure which would be worse – to return to Darkmount with Optimus Prime shadowing her, or to go by herself, when those evil mechs could be laying in wait for her. “Okay, let's go,” she said nervously, still not quite able to believe that they were releasing her.

Prime let her take the lead while he hung back slightly. He most certainly did not want to become a Decepticon target. They traveled most of the way in silence. Finally, several short megamiles from Darkmount, the femme found some of her courage returning and snarled, “So much for the vaunted Autobot code. This would have never happened in Megatron's brig.”

Optimus was quite curious but kept his tone even. “How so?”

Ballast laughed derisively. “He obviously has better control of his troops than you do. Any female Autobot prisoner can be threatened or slapped around a bit, but if she is violated in any way, there is a terrible punishment. Megatron has decreed that any male to do such a thing is to be immediately castrated.” Optimus mentally winced at the thought and had a compelling urge to protect his 'goods', but he was in alt mode. “Needless to say, it's been very effective.”

“But why would Megatron make such a rule?” Prime wondered. “What does he care if an Autobot female is abused?”

He could hear the mental shrug in the femme's tone. “I don't know. Maybe because there are so few females left. Maybe because he has some perverse respect for them. Mind you, he has no problem with offering females better treatment or even a release in exchange for some 'favors', but nothing that is nonconsensual.”

Optimus Prime was absolutely fascinated with this unusual look into Megatron's motives and the way he operated his army, but they were out of time. “Here we are,” he said. “One megamile from Darkmount. You should be okay from here. And for what it's worth… I'm sorry.”

The femme transformed to robot mode, looking as if she was going to say something, then changed her mind. She ran down the road to Darkmount as if demons were chasing her. Optimus watched her go, a heaviness creeping over him. If Megatron treated his female prisoners better than the Autobots did, what did that say about the Autobot cause? Could their noble code possibly survive? He swore then and there that only the most honorable and dedicated warriors would be let in to the Autobot ranks, and some of their policies would have to be revised. If they were to win this war, it had to be the Autobot way, or their victory would mean nothing.

/ / / / /

Optimus Prime came out of his recollection to find that he was still holding his beloved Andromeda in his arms. “You see why I was so afraid for you. Megatron may have some scruples, but Galvatron is just a wild card. He is capable of anything and everything.”

“It wasn't your fault, what happened to Ballast,” Andromeda told him, hugging him tightly. “Don't blame yourself for it.”

Optimus sighed, looking miserable. “But it is my fault. I should have never let such horrible mechs into the Autobots in the first place, and I should have made sure that they had proper discipline.” He sighed. “None of that matters now. What really matters is that you're safe.” He rubbed his forehead against hers in a classic Cybertronian sign of affection. “I was so afraid I'd never see you again, that I'd never have a chance to tell you how I feel.”

Andromeda felt a sudden sort of breathless anticipation take hold of her. Optimus tilted her head back slightly so he could look her directly in the optics. “Andromeda, I love you more than words can say. I love you so much that it frightens me. I scarcely know how to handle such strong emotions. Sometimes, out of nowhere, I find myself getting choked up over nothing because you mean so much to me. If I seem distant at times, it's because I just don't know how to deal with it. You are so precious to me, and I never want to lose you.”

Andromeda felt happy tears start to leak from her optics. He loved her! “I love you too, Optimus,” she whispered lovingly, caressing the side of his head. “I think I've always been in love with you. The very first time I laid optics on you, when I came back from my first deep space mission shortly before you crash-landed on Earth, I knew I was in love. I also knew that I could never have a chance with the magnificent Autobot leader. Even if you didn't have Alita, I knew you could never love someone as young and insignificant as me. I tried to make the feeling go away, to find happiness elsewhere, but none of those relationships ever worked. I just couldn't forget about you. When you lay dying in that cavern, I thought that a part of me would die with you. And when you asked me out, I felt like Primus himself was smiling at me. All of my dreams had finally come true.”

Optimus stared at her incredulously. “You've loved me for most of your life, then,” he whispered, and she nodded. “I don't know how I came to deserve you.”

The femme smiled at him as happy tears streaked down her cheeks. “You won me by just being yourself. I know it sounds crazy, but that cave-in was the best thing that happened to me.”

Optimus looked like he was going to reply, but then he thought better of it and removed his mask, letting his kiss speak for him.

Finally, when they both came up for air, he began to sing to her softly, “Come what may, I'll always love you. Come what may, I'll always care.”

She smiled at him. His singing was rather tuneless, but she did not want to change a thing about him. “Where did you get that from? An Earth song?”

He paused, thinking. “I'm not really sure. It just seemed appropriate.”

She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. “Well, I liked it. You should sing for me more often.”

He smiled in return, holding her in his arms. “I'd rather hear you sing. Why don't you sing that love song that you sang to me after the cave-in? I've always liked that one.”

As her clear soprano voice began to fill the room, he held her close and shut off his optics. It was a perfect moment, and he never wanted it to end. Now that she was safely in his arms, he never wanted to let her go.


end of Chapter Seven

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