The All Spark (discontinued to be rewritten)

When You Mess With One Bee, You Anger The Whole Nest

Evac paced in the corner for a while, trying to fathom what could possibly cause a human to give off an Energon signal. Optimus was just as confused, but he didn’t seem like he was giving it too much thought.

“Do we tell the others? I mean, it’s kind of hard to hide a brand new Energon signal! You can only lie so much before others start noticing what’s really happening.” He said, chewing on his thumb.

Optimus shifted. “Well, it is your decision to make-”

“No! No, no, no, no! You can’t keep pushing these responsibilities onto me!” He exclaimed. “You can not keep leaving me with this kind of stuff- I-I hardly know what I’m doing!” Evac stammered.

The old bot’s brows pinched together. “Evac, I wouldn’t be giving you these responsibilities if I didn't think you could handle them.”

“Yeah, but why are you giving them to me in the first place? Aren’t you the one in charge down here? Just because the Camp Bots look up to me, and say I'm the one in charge, doesn’t mean I want them to! I especially don’t want everyone else to look up to me!” He insists. “I know I “seem capable” Of leading, I've been told by so many, but I don't think I deserve, or can handle, that kind of pressure and admiration… not like you.”

Optimus let out a hefty sigh before leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chassis. “Leading is not a responsibility I hand to others gratuitously. And I’m not making you make these decisions on your own either. I’m here to help, Skyclash is here to help, and so are many others. I don’t always know what to do either.” He pointed out, looking off towards the large cluster of bots. They were still shouting a barrage of questions at Sky. “Not to mention, you led the search teams so naturally. It’s hard to believe you don’t think you’re capable.”

“Trust me, I know I'm capable. That’s all anyone ever tells me. I just don’t know why everyone is so hasty to put me in that position.”

“Because, Evac, they know I'm far too old and tired to keep this up. I’ve lived for nine million years, most of that time being spent on leading the Autobots and bring peace. And, as you know, I was dead. I’m not supposed to be back in this position. The only reason I stepped up was because Rodimus couldn’t possibly command soldiers here from Cybertron.” his voice was stiff, as though he didn’t like acknowledging his age, or the fact he was meant to be dead.

The fact Optimus even considered taking up the position again was astounding, especially since he didn’t exactly want to be there. The guy had earned his rest, yet there he was, leading the Autobots of Earth once again. In fact, everyone involved in the war had earned their rest. Evac knew he couldn’t fathom what it was like to fight the same group of people for millions of years. He couldn’t imagine the relief they felt when it was finally over, but now the rest of each and every soldier had been desturbed, for fear of another millenia-long war. And those who had been given permanent rest? It seemed their beds had been josstled too.
Evac huffed, slumping his shoulders. “You don’t deserve that. No one does. B-But wasn’t everyone doing fine managing themselves? Why does anyone have to be in charge?”

“You are correct, and knowing the Decepticons were disbanded and completely harmless made things simple. Rodimus, more or less, pointed everyone in the right direction, but other than that everyone managed themselves. If there were any major problems, Rodimus was there to help. Now that the Decepticons are back, someone being in the leading position is crucial. There are too many Bots with too many varying opinions to make rational decisions among themselves. No one being in charge could cause more problems than needed, possibly dividing us even more.”

Evac was tapping his digit anxiously against his arm. Why must everything be so complex? Optimus really had thought of everything, that or had lived long enough to know what works best. That was the one thing Evac didn’t have. He didn’t have the time nor the experience that the Old Bot had. But he had half a mind to try and argue any further. He was sure anything he said would just be blasted into the wall by his cool tone of reasoning.