Going Green

Chapter 7: A Talk with Prime

"Excuse me?"

"Frag rhymes with slag," Verdant muttered in response.

Optimus looked around uncomfortably before nudging Verdant's shoulder gently. "Excuse me, Verdant?"

"Hmmm?" her tentacles curled around Optimus's leg and constricted. "Is the motor oil running?"

"Ahem!" Optimus pulled against them and nudged Verdant again, this time a bit more roughly. "Verdant."

"Sir!" Verdant shot to her pedes, optics wide as she snapped out of recharge.

He gestured to his entangled legs. "I could use some assistance."

Verdant immediately withdrew her tentacles in horror and shut them up behind her back. "I'm so sorry, sir, they have a mind of their own when I'm recharging."

"It's quite alright," Optimus assured her. "I didn't want to wake you, but now that we have come to that anyway, I would like to speak with you."

"Oh, of course," Verdant gestured to her chair. "Would you like a seat?"

"I don't believe I would fit."

She looked around worriedly. "I can find something else to ac-"

"I am fine standing," Optimus told her. "I would like to discuss Ultra Magnus with you."

"Oh," Verdant tensed. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his helm. "Not definitely. Ultra Magnus has had a difficult time getting along with the others in our base due to his rigid beliefs in the rulebook. I understand that the two of you get along well. Is there anything you could tell me that would help Ultra Magnus adjust?"

"Ugh," Verdant frowned. "I've never seen Ultra Magnus bend to the will of others without good reason. I'm not sure what would help, sir."

Optimus looked disappointed. "How do you manage to deal with him?"

She shrugged. "I know that Ultra Magnus is "

Optimus nodded. "I think it would be best for everyone to adjust to each other if you were around more... I have not seen much of you since the monitor systems were completed."

Verdant bit her derma. "It's awkward in the base... and I have a lot of work to complete on my ship, sir. But if you think it's best, I will go."

"Don't feel pressured, the choice is entirely up to you," Optimus assured her. "And for the record, Ultra Magnus is very strict with policies and procedures, but I would prefer it if you called me Optimus. The 'sir' is not necessary."

"Yes sir-I mean-Optimus."

He smiled. "Would you walk with me back to the base while we talk?"

"Yes, Opt-i-mus." Verdant winced. It sounded wrong to refer to a Prime so casually.

"Did Ultra Magnus fill you in on the predacon situation?" Optimus questioned.

"You mean the one we sent to the attic?"

Optimus shook his helm. "Not particularly. I was referring to a predacon fossil that the Decepticons were discovered excavating. We're not sure how it managed to find it's way to this young planet, aside from some far-fetched theories regarding Unicron, but we believe that Shockwave is using these remains to clone predacons, much like one we sent to the artic."

"Artic," Verdant muttered, filing a short audio recording into her memory banks. "Well, I'm sure the predacons are here due to Shockwave's older clones. He used to send them out to planets ages ago to secure resources. I looked it up after our first encounter with the beast."