Thank you for the response to the chapter on Bumblebee and Raf. It is great to know that it was enjoyed just as much as the previous chapters. This one is going to be a bit more one-sided as it will deal with Ratchet and what he is thinking once he exits the Ground Bridge. I hope that this one is a good addition to the story. Gregg.

Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Ratchet emerged from the Ground Bridge in a daze. In the space of less than thirty minutes he had gone from euphoria at the idea that their home planet was going to be revitalized, to the hard reality of defeat. He was still trying to process the concept that Optimus had destroyed the Omega Lock, potentially dooming Cybertron to it's horrific fate. Checking his GPS he changed directions and sped along to the nearby secondary base.

He had been tempted to argue with Optimus about the Prime's decision to almost assuredly sacrifice himself to keep everyone's locations safe, but had realized that it would have done no good. The historical archivist Orion Pax had become a Prime for a reason. And Primus had given the Matrix to Orion for a reason. That selfless act at the base was one of the qualities that had transformed Orion Pax into Optimus Prime. Knowing that, and having it come to the forefront of his thoughts had allowed him to enter the Ground Bridge leaving Optimus behind to his fate.

In his musings he thought of the children. His mind would only use that term because of the human life spans and common terminology, but in his opinion the three children, even Miko, had proven themselves to be the equal of any Autobot he had ever met. He had always held a dim view of humanity in general, but over time that had changed. He had a great respect for Jack. The consistent bravery and willingness to take on any task had won over Ratchet. The fact that the young man had braved the perils of a dead world to bring back Optimus showed just how well Optimus had chosen a protector for the Key to Vector Sigma. Miko was an annoying person most of the time, but she had a loyalty to all of them that would be difficult to match. Bulkhead had told him of the time she had tried to remove boulders from a cave in to save Bulkhead, and wouldn't give up. He had also seen how she had worked with Bulkhead during his recovery from the Tox-N exposure and the shot to the back from Hardshell. He was confident that she would be just as uncompromising in her efforts if any of the other bots were in a similar predicament.

And then there was Rafael. From the start he had been roughest on the youngest of their human allies, yet over time he had come to realize that without the brilliant young human the war would have been lost here on Earth. Rafael gave him the backup he sorely needed in these trying times, and someone to discuss technical, sophisticated problems with. In truth what he had told Optimus some time ago was very true. He needed Rafael. Ratchet could see that without Rafael, the future was going to be very short and bleak for the remaining Autobots.

He sent out a signal and went through a shimmering haze down a long entryway and into a main computer station. Quickly transforming he set to work engaging the super sensitive sensor arrays and downloading as much intel that could be had without alerting the Decepticons, especially Soundwave, of his continued existence. Stealth and being completely under the radar was essential now. Removing a computer chip from his wrist storage compartment he plugged it in and began examining the quick scans of Megatron's new fortress that he had been able to take before abandoning the base. What he saw only confirmed his worst fears. The energy spikes were almost off the charts, telling him that the fortress was fully functional, and also loaded with Energon. Apparently the Omega Lock also provided an abundance of Energon, as well. His amazement at what the Ancient Cybertronians, most likely the Thirteen Original Primes, had accomplished technologically.

"What are we going to do?" he muttered.

He was so unsure of everything at that moment. It was worse than when Optimus had reverted to Orion Pax. At least then there had been hope that they could regain their leader, and also they had their base to rely on without the Decepticons bringing the war fully onto Earth. Humanity was being given a serious wake up about life from other planets, and it was not a good lesson to learn this time.

One serious problem that would have to be dealt with when they could regroup safely was to determine who was to lead them. Optimus was the last of the Primes. Ratchet himself was the oldest and most experienced of those remaining, but he was merely a Medibot and mission coordinator. His dual roles necessitated that he not be the new leader. Bulkhead was a soldier first and foremost, and did not have the patience or wisdom needed. Bumblebee was far too young and inexperienced for the position, and their newest recruit had too much ego to make an effective leader. His mind thought of Arcee and while he respected her abilities, and her good work as Second-in-Command, her brash attitude and desire for revenge at times would be a serious hindrance. That left only one choice in his opinion, and it was one that he was reluctant to voice.

Jack. He had said it before. Jack was much like Optimus was before becoming Optimus. The idealism and desire for making the world around him better was strongly reminiscent of Orion Pax. But Jack also had something that Orion had lacked. A pragmatism that allowed him to see the broader implications that sometimes idealism hid from view. Jack had proven time and again that he had been more than worthy of the almost sacred trust that Optimus had placed in him when he handed the young human the Key to Vector Sigma. Yes, their new leader must be Jack. Now Ratchet needed to be able to convince the others of that, and he knew he would be spending a great deal of time in the coming days and weeks figuring out how to do that.

Ratchet cleared the screens and began running diagnostics on all the bases systems. He needed to know that the base was fully operational, and was lacking nothing. It reminded him of the many hours that he would spend in their old base worrying over Energon supplies and trying to keep the rather primitive human tech from malfunctioning. A pain of loneliness swept through him all of a sudden as he thought once more of Rafael. Of all the humans, he was confident that Rafael was feeling as hemmed in and unsure as he was. But he also was sure that Rafael was already taking in the advanced Cybertronian technology and formulating some interesting possibilities for the future conflicts with the Decepticons.

Conflict. For eons that was all that he and the rest of the Autobots had known. Now Optimus had paid the ultimate price, and all of humanity was drawn into a conflict that could well destroy this world. Five Autobots and three humans were all that currently stood between Megatron and the destruction of Earth. His thinking was going to have to now include the human military, despite his belief that Optimus had shared that human forces wouldn't be able to hold back the Decepticons for long. He was sure that Wheeljack and Agent Fowler had died giving them the time to escape. He could only hope that Nurse Darby somehow got away. He would need her help, too, before all this was over.

"We won't let your sacrifice be in vain, Optimus," he said firmly as he slammed his clenched fist down on a console. "It may take some time, and a lot of sacrifice, but we will not let Megatron succeed."

He settled down to begin the long, hard journey to make that assertion a reality.

A/N: A little different, but I thought Ratchet would be somewhat more introspective, and also try and focus more forward looking instead of dwelling on the apparent loss of Optimus. I hope that the above was realistic enough. It allows me to segue into continuing to look at the other pairings. Gregg.