Enemy of my Enemy

Chapter 4: The Far Side of the Moon

"How much longer?" Jack said as he watched Starscream extract Optimus from the tangle of inert Insecticons.

"Until we pass behind the moon?" Screamer pushed one last bug away and nudged Optimus's unconscious body into the room. "We're only a few minutes away."

Bumblebee let out a series of beeps and honks. Jack glanced at him and turned to Arcee.

"Just a couple minutes left before he finishes the last of my parts," Arcee translated. She flicked a worried glance down the corridor toward Knockout's lab, where Bulkhead's badly damaged body floated. "Then he'll need to start working on the parts for Bulkhead."

"There won't be enough time." Jack's heart pounded and he glanced around, tried to keep his breathing steady, and locked eyes with Arcee. She stared back at him, eyes wide and mouth agape, clearly trying not to panic and failing.

"Shit." Her mouth quivered. "I won't be able to keep you safe."

Jack put his hand on the wall and pushed, sending himself drifting over to her. He caught her outstretched hand and she pulled him toward her.

"We can hold out for a few minutes. Or however long it takes us to reestablish the connection with Earth."

"Kid," Ashanti said, then hesitated.

"What?" He glanced at her and wondered if he even wanted to know what she was gearing up to tell him.

"It'll take longer than that." Ashanti held his gaze and shook her head slowly. "Assuming a velocity similar to the Apollo missions, we're looking at forty-five minutes of communications blackout."

"What?" A cold shiver ran through Jack and his breath almost caught in his throat. He tried to shake it off. "No, this ship's got to be faster."

"If the main engines are performing a burn." Arcee shook her head and her optics opened wider. "And if we've already settled into orbit, they won't be. Assuming we're not simply passing by the moon and heading out into deep space."

Come on, Jack, pull yourself together. He put his hands on her shoulders and gazed into her eyes. We'll get through this. We've got to get these parts back to the base or she's dead. We'll get it done whether she's able to stay connected to her Pretender body or not.

He took his helmet off and let it float beside him, and cupped Arcee's cheeks in his hands. "We'll be okay. And so will you." He kissed her. Only for a second or two, as much as he wanted the odd yet intoxicating sensation of her metal lips on his to continue. He pulled back and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She smiled back, plucked his helmet out of the air, handed it to him, and turned all-business again. "If anyone has any ideas on how to turn the ship around ...?"

"Not without mounting a full assault on the command deck." Starscream pulled himself through the door and drifted toward the lab. "With us being down three people, I wouldn't recommend it."

Bee fired off another burst of beeps, hums, and whirs.

"Maybe," Arcee muttered.

"Maybe what?" Jack secured his helmet and arched an eyebrow at her.

"The Nemesis has a space bridge. We can use that to get back home."

"Wouldn't that leave the base's coordinates in the ship's computer?" June stared at the newly-manufactured parts and wrung her hands.

Jack grinned. "We can bridge to low orbit, just inside our ground bridge's range, and Ratchet can bring us the rest of the way." Before we burn up on reentry, I hope.