“Oh… oh, my,” stammered the femme’s voice over the intercom. The door began to open, slowly grinding along on its lengthy tracks- it was designed for someone much larger. She quickly appeared within the opening frame, her wings tucked down along her back, her hands twisting at each other in anxiety.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” the ancient Autobot began. “I’m Ironhide, here from the local Autobot garrison.”

She trembled in place, her unease obvious. “Uh… huh…”

“Are you the protoform batch initiator of one Airazor?”

“Y-yes. Did… did something happen?”

“You don’t need to be alarmed, ma’am. She’s perfectly safe.”

“Oh, Primus, she got arrested,” she gasped. “Was it simultronics? I think that Split-S girl is into them.”

“That’s not the case, ma’am. Airazor is in no trouble at all.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because Airazor would like to serve her planet by joining the Autobots.”

Her eyes widened. “I see,” she whispered. “Come in.” Ironhide treaded into the house slowly, letting the femme lead.

Airazor, who had kept herself out of sight around the street corner, slipped in through the closing door. She crept slowly towards the stairs, perching herself at their top, just within auditory range of the sitting room.

Her mother’s voice echoed up the stairwell. “What is this, some kind of recruiting ploy?”

“No, ma’am. Airazor herself expressed interest in joining. She’s old enough to enlist, but young enough that I needed to speak with you. We’re required to interview the protoform batch initiators as part of the-“

“It won’t happen,” she said firmly. “Not ever.”

A pause between the voices.

“I met him,” said Ironhide.

“You-“

“And it wasn’t some scrappy hand-shake thing, either. My unit was pinned down in Altihex, stuck in a trench. Eight solar cycles without Energon, and a handful of bullets between us. ‘Cons parked in the ruins, in the hills, in foxholes. Then he came in… he saved us. He pulled us out of that ditch and he carried us back to camp. I don’t know what you think about the Autobots today, and I honestly don’t care. But I mean it from the bottom of my heart when I say that Sky Lynx was a hero, in every sense of the word.”

“I don’t need you to vouch for his moral character. And I don’t see what he has to do with-“

“He couldn’t have done any of those things without you.”

Another blast of silence.

“N-no, he… he couldn’t have,” she admitted.

“Airazor has the potential to be a hero, too. I’ve seen it. All you need to do is let her.”

Surely, that had won the argument. Now she could finally have her say. She raced down the stairs and skidded out next to Ironhide.

“He’s right!” she added. “I could do it! I know I could!”

Upon seeing her daughter, the femme’s optics narrowed and her fists clenched shut. “Young lady, this is not the kind of thing to throw yourself at-“

Airazor was still emboldened by Ironhide’s speech. “Oh, what? And the dead-end jobs you want me to get are? I could make a difference out there! I found out what the real world is like today, and I know I could make it a better place! But you’ll hardly let me out of your sight!”

“Because I don’t want to lose you, too!” her mother screamed, slamming a fist into the table. She doubled over in anguish, tucking her hand beneath her heaving chassis as she began to sob openly. “I… just… you’re… all… I’ve… got…”

Airazor had figured that out long ago, but it still shocked her to see her mother so broken. Ironhide put a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you sure you still want to go through with this?” The question was not asked softly, as if for clarification. It was grave and dark, loaded with severity.

Airazor’s mouth hung open. What was she supposed to do? Had she moved too fast? Earlier that morning she had seen her father’s statue and felt nothing. Now, she was about to sign away her life to his profession.

It’s not that simple, she told herself. I learned that I’m nothing, just a tiny speck of dust, in a great big universe. Nobody cares about a speck of dust, that’s nature’s law. But somewhere along the line, someone decided that a speck of dust might be worth saving. They didn’t care about nature’s laws. My father saw the bigger picture, but when he fought nature, nature won.

“I… I made him,” her mother wept. “And he’s gone. He’s never going to come back. And I made you…”

Slowly, Airazor extended her arm, spreading her fingers around her mother’s shoulder joint. When she was certain she was not about to pull away, she tightened her grip and pulled herself down, until she could see into the ice-blue optics that they shared.

“I grew up a lot today,” Airazor croaked. “And I know you’re afraid, and, honestly… I am, too. But I saw what the world really looks like. And I can’t let it stay that way.”

Airazor stood, leaving her mother slouched over the table.

“Let’s go,” she whispered, and began to turn towards the door. A hand shot forward and tangled itself around her wrist, its grip loose and fading.

“I… made… you,” her mother cried. Airazor moved her own hand up, linking the fingers between her own.

“I promise,” she breathed. “I’m coming back.”

***

Cybertron’s sun hung low on the horizon, low enough that the streetlights had popped on. Airazor hung at the designated flier altitude for the highway and obeyed the speed limit, which were both things that her flier mode hated. The hauler in front of her was chugging along as best as he could, but was clearly having trouble keeping up with the recommended speed. Airazor, desperate for some sort of meaningful movement, fed more fuel into her jets, pulsed her strobe indicators, and cruised into the lane alongside him.

“So… what’s going to be my first mission? What about that Cryotek guy you mentioned?”

Ironhide took a moment to respond- perhaps managing his speed was distracting.

“Oh, um, no. Cryotek’s one of the mob bosses here in Iacon. He’s dangerous, but we’ve got bigger problems.”

“But… he was behind those guys who kidnapped me.”

“You know, we’re not the only Autobots out here, right, kid? There are some brave sparks out there tracking down ‘Tek as we speak.”

“Then, what are we doing?”

“Your father’s work.”

Airazor was not sure how to respond, and Ironhide had nothing more to add. They remained silent until they reached a crater-like depression on the edge of the city. At its center was a fortress, which was much larger than it seemed on the news.

“The Autobase,” murmured Airazor.

“Yep. The most militarized place on the hemisphere. Now, don’t act outta line in here, okay, kid? Keep quiet and don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. Until you get Branded, you’re a tourist. Folks don’t like tourists ‘round here.”

“I think I can do that.”

“You’d better, if you don’t want to get shot.”

Even though they were still far from the center of the crater, they arrived at a tall gate, complete with a guard. The mech held an assault rifle in one hand and what looked like a holo-torch in the other. Ironhide slowed to a stop, transformed into his robot mode, and held his hands out to his sides. Airazor did the same, skidding on the unfamiliar pavement. The guard clicked a button on the mysterious device, which then produced a thin beam of light. Tilting his wrist, he guided it over Ironhide’s body, after which it made a pleasant beeping sound. He followed by scanning Airazor similarly, but the device did not make a sound.

“Identify,” growled the guard.

“Airazor. She’s with me. New recruit,” Ironhide explained.

“You’re pulling a greenhorn into the Autobase?”

“It’s for the Prime mission.”

The guard’s eyes widened. He hooked the scanner onto his waist and fumbled for another small device, a simple block with a plunger. He pressed the button, and the gate opened. Ironhide transformed back into his hauler and chugged back up to speed, with Airazor applying far less effort to the task.

“That wasn’t so bad,” said Airazor. “What’s next?”

“You meet your new boss.”