Transformers: Genesis

Reunion

Cassandra changed out of her sweats, and wrapped her hair up in a bun. Fashion wasn't her biggest concern considering she knew she looked damn good in anything. Confidence was one thing she always had, despite all odds. She took the long way, taking her time with a stroll through the calm, cool night. She missed space, but nothing replaces actual gravity. It was nice to walk around again without wearing a clunky space suit.

It really didn't concern her who wanted to see her so late at night, considering how small her list of friends was. I mean, her parents weren't really around anymore, so the closest family she had was Marissa. She knew some names around the base--but no one really seemed to want to talk to her. Her last guess would be some Autobot who wanted to lecture her for breaking so many laws and protocols. Couldn't be Ultra Magnus, he already scolded her within the last 24 hours. She kind of blanked out when she arrived at the door to the bunker, and not a single thing seemed to process in her mind until she laid her eyes onto five very familiar--and very very angry--Aerialbots. Oh shit! She was not about to deal with this now. She turned on her heel ready to haul her ass back, but she heard Silverbolt's loud, obnoxious "Ah-hem!" and physically restrained herself from bashing her head against the nearest wall. Fuck! Was the only word running through her mind right now.

Cassandra stopped, and turned to face them. She knew she couldn't run from her problems anymore now that she was back on Earth. In her mind, she counted who was present, and all of them were here. Fireflight, Skydive, Air Raid, Slingshot and Sliverbolt were all accounted for. Luckily her for, Silverbolt spoke first and didn't seem to care if Cassandra wanted to explain herself.

"We were mourning for so long," Silverbolt said, "we genuinely thought the rumor of your return was a lie. After the first few months we began to accept that you might be dead."

It really didn't occur to Cassandra before the impact her actions had on those around her. And even when she was aware of it, she just didn't care. Cassandra sometimes forgot that, even in the middle of a war, she still had to suffer the consequences of her actions. Cassandra now began to see that she had unintentionally weighed a heavy burden upon the Aerialbots. It was funny really, that being a criminal didn't shove her into reality but rather a simple sentence delivered by the beings closest to her.

Cassandra had assumed they were angry, but Silverbolt seemed to be the only one who openly chose to express his feelings about the situation. The others, however, looked beyond relieved to have her back. And it showed in the way Air Raid rushed her, scooped her up and held her up to a more comfortable height so that she could interact with the rest of the team. Silverbolt stepped away, watching from a short distance and he began to realize that the past, was in the past. Slingshot was now back to being an arrogant asshole, and Air Raid had his partner in crime back. The data pad that was practically glued to Skydive to help keep him busy was nowhere to be seen. Fireflight remained quiet, but the smile he wore expressed what words could not. They all conversed to themselves about her adventure and what has been happening on Cybertron. The team's morale was back. They could rest easy now.

...

"And it just appeared out of nowhere?" Kup's optics stayed glued to the screen. Avani stood beside him, keeping her distance incase the old 'bot took an unnecessary step in her direction.

"Yes." She replied. "It appears to be Deceptions, but I'm afraid I cannot identify him. There are four or five signatures, but all are hidden."

"It's Astrotrain." He said sharply, startling the engineer. "I can't identify who is aboard, but I can tell you it's not Megatron."

"How do you know?" Avani asked.

"He's on Cybertron." Kup replied hotly, and Avani lowered her head, kind of regretting the question. She was still new to all this alien stuff. Kup reached to the keyboard, and opened up a line to Ultra Magnus.

"We have detected Astrotrain, sir." Kup spoke, "I will send you his coordinates. He appears to be going for the forest a few miles out from the base."

"Alright. I will dispatch the Aerialbots." Ultra Magnus replied. He was clearly unaware, however, that among the Aerialbots now was the human female he loathed. Kup was surprised to hear that the gestalt team was om Earth, but kept the question to himself. With Autobot City fully constructed, he was needed to enforce security while Autobot refugees made their way to Earth.

"Avani," Kup addressed, "I want you to find Marissa Faireborn and accompany her and Cassandra Paxton."

Avani could feel the hairs on her body stand up at the name. Everyone knew of Paxton, and nobody willingly wanted to be around her. She recently overheard from the people around her that she was back. A reckless, irresponsible hothead, she surely had a reputation of enforcing fear into her comrades in the wrong way. She was about to question Kup's authority, but stopped herself. This could be a chance to promote her out of surveillance duty. She would have to take the risk.

With a newfound confidence, she made her way out and mentally preparing herself for the events to come.