All Autobots confirm TAR, training in 15 minutes. Mirage, report to bay 23, Sideswipe, bay 37 for weapons assessment.
Kaede hops out of Optimus as the two draw close to Ratchet's medbay. Kaede greets Ratchet with a wave and he reciprocates it before watching Optimus drive off to his own bay to stew.
"Any reason why Optimus is in a bad mood?" Ratchet asks, peering down towards Kaede. Kaede gives a wry smile.
"He's... not too happy with the government withholding information about something super important about your war apparently. Something that had to do with the... Priam?" Kaede replies, rubbing the back of his neck. Ratchet's optics brighten in response and he picks him up this time with his servos, pulling them closer
"What did you find out there?" Ratchet asks, his voice hushed with caution.
"An engine part from it," Kaede replies.
"Was any other part of the Priam attached to it? This single part couldn't have just landed on the planet without burning up in the atmosphere," Ratchet says, his optics searching for an answer.
"Lennox and I were in a Cybertronian chamber, it could have been part of the Priam when that part crash landed in Chernobyl," he reasons.
"What did this chamber look like?" Ratchet asks. A loud honk comes from Optimus' vicinity, causing them to jump involuntarily. Ratchet ignores it and sighs.
"Two catwalks leading to a circular platform in the centre." Ratchet rubs his chin in thought.
"Last I checked, the schematics of the Priam didn't have anything like that," he frowned.
"Think the Decepticons are up to something?"
"Puhlease, they're always up to something," Ratchet scoffs. "We'll have to be cautious going forward with this. Did Optimus feel that something was up as well?" Kaede nods in response as another angry honk is heard from the hangar.
Wendy and Chrys poke their heads out from their respective places, confused at the sound. Kaede looks over before looking back at Ratchet.
"...Shockwave was there," Kaede then says uneasily.
"No wonder he's in such a bad mood then," Ratchet breathes. "Did they fight?"
"Yeah. It was over me."
"They must have been after the Allspark." Ratchet places Kaede on his shoulder and the two walk down to head towards Optimus. "I've never seen him so upset," Ratchet sighs as he stops, looking down towards Optimus' altmode.
"Optimus, you remember Charlotte Mearing?" Lennox calls out as he approaches. A middle aged woman walks beside him with a serious look on her face. Optimus doesn't reply, sitting in his altmode, Ironhide and Jazz standing around him.
"He's in a bad mood, he's not going to want to talk to anyone right now," Ironhide replies, crossing his arms.
"The silent treatment?" Mearing says in a disappointed tone.
"We've seen that, and this is not that. This is worse," Ironhide concludes. A loud honk comes from Optimus once again, as if to tell everyone to go away.
"Do that again and I'll change into my altmode and use my siren," Ratchet warns. Ironhide hits the top of his altmode.
"Prime, make something of yourself!" Ironhide exclaims.
After a few seconds, Optimus reluctantly transforms out, a glare being shot straight down to Mearing.
"He's pissed," Ironhide comments off to the side, noticing how awful that glare was and it landed on Mearing. She looked on with an unamused look.
"You lied to us," Optimus states. "Everything the humans' know of our planet, we were told, had all been shared. So why was this found in human possession?" He points down to the engine part.
"We were in the dark on this also. None of the directors at Sector Seven had clearance about this," Mearing replies.
"So your superiors withheld this information while we were here the past few decades?" Optimus then growls. "We had an agreement that any and all Cybertronian information be told to us," Optimus repeats. "That is what we discussed upon joining Sector Seven."
"And we intend to share that information with you now," Mearing assures.
"Other than this information which we found out just recently, we've been striving to be transparent with you," Haley says, trying to calm things down. "Some of this information just takes a little time as we need to get clearance from our superiors."
"This was a secret few men knew," Mearing then starts. "And fewer still remain alive." A few others began approaching the bay and Kaede, Wendy and Chrys' eyes widened as they landed on one of them. "Allow me to please introduce to you, two of NASA's founding mission directors and astronaut, Dr. Buzz Aldrin. One of the first two men to step foot on the moon." She turns to Buzz Aldrin this time. "Sir, Optimus Prime," she introduces.
"Whoa," Chrys says quietly, leaving the lab fully this time to watch.
"From a fellow space traveller, it's a true honour," Buzz Aldrin replies, looking up at Optimus in awe. Optimus soon gathers himself from earlier, his angry spout having disappeared, optics relaxing from its glare. Optimus kneels down in response in respect.
"The honour is mine," Optimus replies formally.
"Our entire space race of the 1960's, it appears was in response to an event," Mearing explains. "Our astronauts investigated a crashed alien ship. No survivors on board."
"We were sworn to secrecy by our commander in chief," Buzz Aldrin adds.
"A total of 35 people knew the real plan at NASA. The Soviets managed to land unmanned probes. Somehow they must have picked up that engine part."
"We believe the Russians deducted that the part was a fissionable fuel assembly, believed they had it mastered and harnessed it at Chernobyl," Haley explains.
"We went on six missions in all. We took hundreds of photos and samples, locked them away forever. And then the moon program was shut down," Mearing says.
"You said that that engine part was a part of an Autobot ship," Lennox then pipes up, recalling what Optimus had said back in Ukraine. Optimus nods.
"The ship's name was the Priam," Optimus says. "I watched it escape Cybertron myself, before it had fallen. It was carrying an Autobot technology that could have won us the war, and its captain."
"Who was this captain?" Mearing calls out.
"The Great Alpha Trion," Optimus replies. "The technology's great inventor and leader of the Autobots before me. Although the Autobots were much less known for war time when he was leading." The sound in his voice is nostalgic and his optics dim only for a moment before resetting his vocaliser. "It's imperative that I find it before the Decepticons learn of its location." There's unease in his voice, as if Optimus already knew that the Decepticons knew of its location already. "Our two scientists, Brainstorm and Perceptor, were on the Priam before its crash so they know the location best." He stands up. "I'll prepare the relay team for departure to Earth's moon." He nods to Mearing and Buzz Aldrin before walking off. Jazz walks up to Optimus, meeting his stride.
Kaede and Ratchet make their way back to the medbay as everyone disperses.
"Do we have the resources to take a trip into space?" Jazz asks. "I don't think they're gonna be too keen on spendin the money on us."
"We can have Wheeljack make a temporary spacecraft for one Autobot with enough room for Alpha Trion. Brainstorm still has his aerial altmode and will be able to lead them to the ship," Jazz says. "And the Xanthium's been in hiding for the past decade since we landed here."
"I take it Ultra Magnus won't be too keen on letting us use it for this mission, so we'll be spending the next few days in project mode."
"...Alright, I'll let the science division know. They'll probably be excited." Optimus hums as Jazz runs off. Optimus continues walking before making his way to the medbay.
Kaede hops off of Ratchet's shoulder onto the worktable as Optimus walks in. Ratchet cleans a tool off with a cloth as Optimus sits down at the medical table.
"You done with your bout of anger?" Ratchet asks, not meeting his optics. Optimus grumbles as Kaede approaches him with tools.
"Here, lemme help," Kaede says, hopping onto the medical table. "They scuffed you up pretty good," they say quietly. Optimus doesn't reply and instead lays down so Kaede can fix his paint and scratches. After half an hour, Kaede pulls back, finished and Optimus sits up. "You good?" he asks. Optimus nods before activating his holoform beside Kaede and pulling them into a hug from behind, the two sitting down on the med table. Ratchet rolls his optics but gives a fond smile at the gesture, Kaede pats Optimus' arm and smiles softly as Optimus nuzzles into the crook of their neck.
He lets out a long and heavy sigh, holding him there for a bit. There's rapid footsteps outside of the medbay and Chrys pokes her head in.
"CADE!" she whispers loudly. "We're building a SPACESHIP-" She cuts herself off as soon as she sees Kaede being squeezed by Optimus. Optimus lifts his head from Kaede's neck and Chrys and Optimus make eye contact briefly. She gives an awkward laugh. "Anyway, I'm gonna go work on it now."
"Have fun," Kaede calls out before she shrinks away and runs off. "So a spaceship?" Kaede hums.
"It's a small retrieval team," Optimus says.
"Are you going? Up there?"
"No. Perceptor and Brainstorm will be going, I will be here to monitor," he says, nuzzling into Kaede again.
"Easy," Ratchet warns, side-eyeing Optimus.
"I'll take Kaede back to their apartment if it gets too much," Optimus grumbles from Kaede's neck. He sighs, holding Kaede close.
Black Rock Desert
Days pass and the shuttle is ready. Epps, Chrys, Wendy and Kaede had asked to go to the launch, watching from afar as Perceptor drives out to the launchpad. Brainstorm follows closely behind, hovering in his altmode before reaching the shuttle and transforming.
Chrys watches with dark bags under her eyes, shaking from caffeine jitters.
"Did she sleep at all these past few days?" Kaede asks Wendy quietly. Wendy sighs irritably and drags a hand over her face.
"She's only gotten an hour of sleep each day, I kept trying to drag her to bed but she wouldn't budge," Wendy huffs. "I had to have Ironhide force her to nap just a tiny bit."
"Well, at least she'll get a good night's rest now," Kaede sighs. "If she doesn't, let me know, I'll see what I can do to make her get some sleep."
"You better," Epps huffs. "Had to poke her a few times to keep her awake. It's a good thing I got assigned to do fuel lines. Might as well work at NASA."
Standing behind them and watching was Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Jazz, Arcee, Optimus and Wheeljack. Wheeljack was there to monitor the launch and make sure everything went smoothly. Arcee volunteered to go mainly to drive Wendy there, her optics trained on Wendy rather than the shuttle. Jazz stood on standby as communication back to base, keeping a line open with Prowl.
"This is the first time any of us are going off planet," Jazz breathes. Optimus hums in response, optics staring at the shuttle.
"Are you sure it will fly?" Optimus asks Wheeljack. Wheeljack nods.
"We did a few virtual tests to make sure everything was in order, but with three Cybertronian geniuses in the room and Chrys and Agent Epps being our guide with Earth metals, fuels, whatnot, we've managed to make a shuttle good enough for two trips. To the site and back in case entering the atmosphere again goes wrong," Wheeljack replies.
"Everything good over there?" Jazz then asks over the comm. line.
~Everything's a-ok!~ Brainstorm's voice came through. ~Percy's heading into the shuttle to make a few adjustments and we should be good for launch!~
Optimus lets out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Nervous?" Jazz asks, glancing at Optimus.
"I have not spoken to Alpha Trion since- It has been a while," Optimus says, feeling uneasy. "The last encounter with my mentor had been... hostile."
"I mean... I guess he'll be happy to know the Allspark is here with us," Jazz says lightly. Optimus doesn't reply this time, he only stares out towards the shuttle, arms crossed.
~Launch is in five minutes.~ Perceptor's voice comes through.
"We're ready on our end," Jazz replies. The minutes pass and Jazz begins to countdown from 10 before the shuttle begins to lift off with a blast of its surrounding rockets, pushing up from the ground at a high speed. Brainstorm flies beside it, heading upwards at a safe distance. As the shuttle goes higher and higher, the rockets propelling it then detach and fall towards the earth's surface. The shuttle leaves the atmosphere, activating its engine and heads off towards the moon. As the group watches it disappear, Chrys shuffles for a moment, about to collapse.
"Jazz!" Kaede calls out, grabbing Chrys. Jazz goes over immediately, a worried look on his face. "Can you let Chrys sleep in your altmode?"
"'M fine," Chrys mumbles.
"Of course," Jazz says hastily, transforming into his altmode. His holoform appears, opening the driver's door and steps out. He goes over to Chrys and picks her up, bridal carrying her to the backseat. Chrys' face proceeds to go cherry red with the small ounce of consciousness she has as Jazz looks down to her with worry, setting her down. "Take as long as you need, alright? I can set some tunes for you to help you sleep if you need," Jazz says. Chrys nods with bleary eyes before Jazz gives her a soft smile and shuts the door softly. Jazz leans against the outside of his altmode, giving a soft sigh.
"We need to fix her sleep schedule," Epps says off to the side. Kaede hums in agreement. "Had to do that with my girls when they were having trouble sleeping."
"She's not a kid," Jazz replies.
"But it might help," Epps says. "I'll talk to her and see what I can do, might need your help though."
"Why me?" Jazz asks.
"I think you know why, man," Epps replies.
"She'll probably listen to you," Wendy then pipes in. She then looks off towards where the launchpad was. "So do we just stay here for a few hours until they get back?"
"Yup," Epps replies.
"...Fun," Wendy says.
"That's why coming here was optional," Kaede says. "Luckily, I planned ahead," he says, patting Epps' shoulder. Kaede then runs off to Optimus' trailer, Epps following after. Not wanting to be left alone, Wendy goes off with them.
As Kaede reaches the trailer, he opens it up to grab the portable barbeque and a cooler full of drinks and food. There's a few camping chairs and tables off to the side and Kaede begins to pass all the things out to Epps and Wendy. Arcee pokes her head nearby in her holoform.
"Need some help?" Arcee asks. Kaede motions towards the barbeque and they all walk off, setting everything down in a shady area nearby.
"Damn, if I knew we were having a barbeque, I'd have invited Lennox and Noah," Epps whistles.
"Yeah, it was super last minute," Kaede says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Figured if we're gonna be stuck in Nevada for a bit, might as well try and have some fun and not starve." Kaede takes out a rack of ribs and a new bottle of dry rub, setting up the meat. There's corn and store bought potato salad set out on the table. "Beers and waters are in the cooler."
Once the food is all cooked and eaten, the group sits in their chairs, waiting for the relay team to return. The door to Jazz' car opens and Chrys gets out, stretching like she'd had the best sleep in her life, a large imprint on her face from the seat.
"We saved some food for you," Kaede says, motioning with their hand to the food wrapped in tinfoil. Chrys yawns, rubbing her eye.
"Thanks," she says.
"Have a good rest?" Epps calls out. She nods.
"Yeah, I really needed it," she says, glancing over at Jazz, who leans against the table. She walks towards the table with her food. "Thanks for uh, letting me sleep in you," she then says to him. Jazz gives her a smile.
"Anytime," Jazz replies. "If you need a nap or somewhere to just hang, my altmode's always open." Chrys feels her face heating up so she clears her throat and smiles. Kaede can't help but smile at their interaction before feeling a hand on his shoulder. He looks up to see Optimus in his holoform, a worried look on his face.
"Can we talk?" Optimus asks softly. Kaede sets down their beer and gets up from their chair, the two walking off to somewhere more private. They make it to the trailer and Kaede sits down at the edge, kicking his feet. Optimus stands in front of them, arms crossed, brows furrowed.
"Everything alright?" Kaede asks, kicking Optimus lightly. Optimus sighs before dropping his arms.
"You'll be meeting my mentor soon," Optimus says. "He'd be considered what you call a father figure," he explains. "Our relationship was not... on the best terms, due to my actions during the war."
"Like... bad things?" Kaede asks.
"More or less the whole... Allspark debacle," Optimus says irritably, covering his face with his hand.
"A pretty big decision," Kaede says. Kaede reaches out, taking Optimus' hands into theirs. "I'm sure he'll... be forgiving now that the Allspark at least isn't lost," Kaede says. Optimus looks down, refusing to meet Kaede's eyes. "I really can't give you a lot of advice on this, Oppy," Kaede says quietly. "My parents and I have a good relationship, but I guess the best thing I can say is to just communicate." Kaede then eyes him. "Which sometimes... you aren't good at," Kaede teases lightly. Optimus grumbles and Kaede laughs lightly before pulling him in for a hug and pecking his cheek. "Sometimes being the stoic, closed off leader thing gets a bit old." Optimus sighs.
"Old habits are a bit hard to kill," Optimus murmurs into the nape of their neck.
"Would you be willing to try for me?" Kaede asks quietly. Optimus hums, kissing their neck this time.
"I can try," he replies. There's a comm. link ping and Optimus raises his head, playing it out loud from his altmode.
~This is Perceptor and Brainstorm, we've reached the Priam. Most of the ship's been searched but it seems the Decepticons were unable to find the chamber.~
"Is Alpha Trion in there?" Optimus asks.
~Accessing it now, we've had to restore power to the ship since the backup power's been out for decades.~ Perceptor replies. A few moments pass.
~He's here!~ Brainstorm's voice exclaims. ~He's been in stasis for a bit, super low on energon.~
"Bring him to the planet's surface and we'll revive him at base," Optimus orders.
~Understood.~ The comm. link deactivates and Optimus pulls away from Kaede, a focused look on his face. Now Kaede is the one with the nervous look on his face.
"I guess I'm meeting your mentor before you meet my parents," Kaede says out loud in realisation. Optimus looks at them and nods, Kaede gives an awkward laugh. "I hope he likes me."