These Paths We Tread (Autobot x OC)

LXXIII. All Fall Down

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Catherine always found it strange how things could work out well on one side, and not so much the other.

Granted, the redhead had expected that Sam wouldn't talk to her—even after a week later. She had punched him, after all, and he was even more stubborn than she could be sometimes. Thankfully she wasn't kept completely out of the loop. Carly, who apparently had the only sense of the two, would call every so often to give an update on the young man. According to the blonde, he had calmed down a lot with Bumblebee around and was beginning to regain some of his old self. The Autobot was happy, too, and Carly was just glad to see her boyfriend smiling so much again. Unfortunately, it wasn't all good news, and Catherine found herself comforting the blonde more than once. Despite the return of his Cybertronian friend, Sam still had intentions of being a "hero" and working with NEST and wanting to be in danger. Carly knew because they'd started to have heated discussions about it. None of them actually escalated into fights, but the blonde had gotten wearier with each call. It worried Catherine, but she kept the hope that it might just pass over like Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had said it would. She told Carly as much, and it seemed to help, even if only a little.

On the other hand, things at NEST were going much better than they had for a while. The most important reason—and possibly the only cause—was that Charlotte Mearing was working with them, and not against them. That wasn't to say the woman wasn't still acting like a crotchety bitch; no, she was still the same old rude Director she had been when Catherine had first met her, but she wasn't trying to hinder their work. In fact, the Director had handled the majority of the investigation with Accuretta Systems and done most, if not all, the cleanup work with a cover story included. Needless to say, that had taken a large load off Catherine's back, and NEST was able to focus on more important matters—like the Decepticons.

Despite the files Sam had brought from the recently deceased Jerry Wang, they hadn't discovered anymore on why the Decepticons attacked him or if they knew anything for sure. The faction certainly wasn't moving like they were aware, and there was nothing more of their involvement with NASA. In fact, it seemed positive that they didn't know the Pillars and Sentinel had been on the Moon until the Autobots had retrieved him. In a way, that was good; it meant they had gotten a head start on the 'Cons, but it also meant the enemy did know about their existence and would no doubt try to locate them. The only good part about that was the Decepticons didn't know the location of their base—Blaster had gone to great lengths to assure their secrecy—and they had staged fake Pillar locations to lead the 'Cons on goose chases around the world. So far it was working, too; they'd gotten word of a few Decepticon sighting at the locations, but nothing serious.

For once in a long while, NEST felt a small sense of ease. They had the upper hand. The Decepticons only knew they had the technology, but it was assured by the creator himself they wouldn't know how to use it even if they got it. And, should humanity decide to give the Pillars a try and use them for good purpose, then they would have an even greater advantage over their enemies. However, that decision was one that would take far longer than a week, and Catherine accepted that much better than she would have had she not spoken with Optimus. That, and she knew the wait would give the Autobot Commander much more time to get reacquainted with his old teacher and also allow Sentinel to become habituated with his new home.

And that was exactly what they had done for the past week.

While Catherine had predicted Mearing might throw a fit, Optimus and Sentinel were able to leave D.C. without resistance and had taken up traveling for many hours a day through the states. It was during those times that the Autobot Commander would teach Sentinel about the world and its inhabitants, and—though no one would dare say it aloud—also bring peace to himself. It was obvious to most everyone on the base that Optimus had relaxed during that week; his optics were no longer as cold or serious or vengeful. Of course he still meant to end the Decepticons once and for all, but it was no longer such a heavy weight that his shoulders sagged. There was a light in his optics that had been missing ever since Elita-1 had perished, and Catherine hoped Sentinel's return would keep it that way. God knew the mech needed the relief.