Optimus walked around their new base, checking out the little area of manuals and books that Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus had constructed to form a safe haven for Optimus. Chuckling, Optimus wandered into the kitchen to see about a snack. The others were outside, he knew, performing their duties. He pulled down a package of jelly beans and he opened them, walking to where Ratchet was sitting.

"What are the others doing?" He selected a jelly bean, biting it in half. He chewed it thoughtfully.

"Arcee is monitoring the weather, Bumblebee is making sure our emergency rocket is in functioning order, Ultra Magnus is taking Rover Two out for a drive and Smokescreen is gathering soil samples."

"It is a good thing, I suppose. It keeps him busy," Optimus said, referring to Smokescreen. "Open up the radio chatter."

...found some fine grains of soil for NASA to analyze when we get back. It's fine, as previously stated, so Chem Lab should be happy.

Hold everything. Smokescreen has discovered dirt.

Laughter filled the comms.

Oh, yeah, Bumblebee? And what are you doing?

Making sure our one-way ticket is still upright, and guess what everyone. It's upright.

More laughter, and then Arcee stepped in.

You know, Smokescreen, I hate it when you open up the comms, because as soon as you say something, Bee's got to step in with his smart mouth.

Optimus, on a whim, pressed a button and spoke into the comm on his side. He chuckled, I beg of Arcee to find a different word to describe Bumblebee's mouth.

The comms exploded with oooh's and laughter. Bumblebee inserted a smart remark, but it was swallowed up in the laughter.

By the way, who even opened these comms? Ultra Magnus laughed over the comm, and Optimus pictured his friend steering the Rover Two back to base, as it was his job to take it out and scope out their little base's territory. It resembled a patrol, but they weren't securing their territory from invaders. They were checking for anything out of the ordinary, like weather Arcee could have missed and anything that blew into the area that could be used and later reported. Also, there was a restricted area that people had been warned to avoid and he was checking if it had indeed been left alone since Smokescreen has problems with authority.

Smokescreen, everyone chimed.

Ultra Magnus chuckled again. Smokescreen, turn off your comm and save everyone from your voice.

Ratchet spoke into his own comm. I can turn the public comm off from here, Ultra Magnus.

Do it.

Smokescreen made a feeble attempt to deny it, but it was too late. Ratchet had turned off the public comm.

Optimus patted the back of his friend's chair the moment an alarm blared. "What is happening?"

Ratchet leaned forward as Arcee's voice floated over.

I'm seeing a storm. It's ugly.

Ratchet looked at Optimus. "I saw the storm report this morning. It was suppose to be bad, but it looks worse."

"Get everyone inside."

ooo

Once everyone was inside, Arcee analyzed the results. "It's going to be worse than Unicron coming down to stomp us. We have to go. Now."

Optimus nodded and he looked at the ones gathered. Bumblebee had been released early to prep the rocket. "Even though we were supposed to be here for thirty-one days, we have to leave day eighteen. Let's roll."

Suits and helmets on and secured, the team walked out. "Limited visability. Stay close," Optimus ordered. He kept close to Arcee, since she was smaller and thinner and could easily be swept away. He was sure that Bumblebee, Smokescreen, and Ratchet could hold their own. Ultra Magnus just plowed through the storm, proving that even though his disability weakened him, it didn't take the large dent out of his strength that Ratchet had expected.

Optimus had been sheltering Arcee when he heard the screech of metal. He shoved Arcee down and got over her to protect her. At his sudden drop to the ground, Ratchet did the same. Ultra Magnus still plowed through, Bumblebee shrieking a warning and running after him. But the metallic shriek was behind him, as was Smokescreen, who, without having enough time to react, was struck with a large metal piece. Optimus cursed and got to his feet.

"Where is he? Check his bio sig."

Ratchet tapped a few commands into the little screen on his forearm. "He doesn't have one. It's gone."

Optimus growled and turned in a circle, hoping to see the mech come out of the storm and into view. There was nothing. "How long will he live in the pressure if his suit is punctured?"

"It is most likely it is, and that will give him less than a minute."

"Gah!" Optimus looked around more, shuffling his feet. "Watch the ground. We don't want to trip over him."

Bumblebee commed to them. "Come on, guys. The rocket is tipping! There's no more time. You have to come aboard."

Optimus kept up the search for several more beats before Ultra Magnus barked at him to keep his feet moving. The mech grabbed the unwilling Prime by the suit and jerked him towards the ship. Optimus wailed weakly. He hated being jerked around by his older brother, but he knew that Ultra Magnus didn't want to be left behind due to the stubbornness of his captain.

Safely onboard, they launched and met up with the ship that was to take them on the ten-month journey back to Earth. But all the while, Optimus felt like he was leaving behind someone still functioning and crying for them to come back.

ooo

The storm swept the red earth into mounds, concealing everything from equipment to metal pieces as big as Ultra Magnus to half of the Rover the mech had parked to charge. And, due to its engineering and structure, it had fully charged and was ready to roll. But if only it had a driver...

The silence was broken by a sharp voice. Oxygen level: 2%.

The body it was snapping to groaned and a head lifted out of the earth. The helmet was still secure, and the only pucture to be seen was in his abdomen.

Smokescreen slowly got to his feet, whimpering and groaning. A sharp piece of metal that looked like a sewing needle Unicron might use to darn his socks jutted out of him, the pointy end deep in his flesh and possibly poking some organ he would need later. And through the other end was a thick cable connected to a dish used to keep in touch with NASA. Smokescreen cut the cord and touched the needle, giving it a little wiggle. The sharp pain made him gasp, but he knew now that it was just really, really uncomfortable, and not poking an organ or causing any problem except inviting infection and making a bothersome task out of breathing and walking back to base.

Once inside, he guided himself out of his suit to expose his core and cut off his shirt. Then he walked to Ratchet's lab. He had several tools for conducting surgeries, as if the mad scientist of a man would expect Arcee to drop to the ground and end up needing three open-spark surgeries. He grabbed all the tools he could hold in his hands and he walked to a chair. He leaned all the way back, staring at the darn needle in his gut. He wrapped his hand around it and he pulled it out, squeaking and whimpering. Blood trickled out of the wound and he trembled, grabbing a tool that Ratchet had warned him not to stab in his eye (as if he had a habit of stabbing foreign objects into his eyes) as it would leave a tiny hole in it and also numb the area. He stabbed it repeatedly at his belly around the puncture and he dabbed at the wound again. He shifted and he looked at the metal piece, frowning. A piece was missing off the tip, and he feared it was in his belly.

Using the tools he had grabbed, he parted the wound and went at the metal piece still inside him with Arcee's tweezers. He pulled it out and groaned, laying his head back in relief. No more would he have to play surgeon. "Time to finish the job," he mumbled, and he grabbed what looked like a stapler that got mangled by Bulkhead. He stapled the wound closed and he sighed again, falling limp in the chair. What he would give to never move again. But he had things to do...

He took stock of the food he had, discovering more jelly beans that Optimus had favored, and they were the delicious Jelly Belly ones. He devored a few, discovering that marshmallow and popcorn didn't taste as good as he had first assumed. He vowed to never try it again.

After making stock of the meals he had and knowing he could make greater cuts if he needed, he flipped through his friends' possessions, hoping one of them brought their own food for comfort. He scored with Optimus and pulled out the two boxes of marshmallow chicks typically found around Easter. He chuckled and stored them with the other dessert foods.

He sat down in front of his laptop and accessed the video diaries he was supposed to keep. He started recording today's.

"Surprise!" He waved his hands a little, grinning. "I'm still alive. You little shits left me here to die. I hope you're happy. No more will I bother you." He lost his smile and he looked away. "I, uh, guess it's a surprise that I'm still alive. I mean, if Arcee got hit with the same piece, I'd wonder how she could have survived." He lifted the metal piece. "Unicron's darning needle punctured my suit through my bio sig transmitter, so you guys probably thought I was dead...and I didn't die from the pressure, because I was smart and kept the needle in. The blood clogged the hole, too, which was...as it was supposed to, I guess...to clot and keep out infection. So...I guess I'm going to chill on Mars until you guys either come back for me or until I run out of food and die. Thanks, guys. I know who my friends are. Smokescreen signing off."

He turned off his laptop and he laid down in his bunk, staring at the bottom of the top bunk. He got up and peeked in at Optimus', seeing a ragged teddy bear. He grabbed it and laid down to sleep with it, wondering if Optimus was missing it more than him.