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“So this is where you’ve been.”
Minimus flinched and turned around from the polished glass, servos tensed behind his back. Megatron let the doorway slide shut behind him as he entered the room.
Recognizing the visitor, Minimus’ frame relaxed and turned back toward the view. “Yes, I come here occasionally to think. I try to wait until there’s nobody occupying it.”
Megatron gave a curious glance around the large observatory. It was a large room with a window three times his height and stretching into a curved half-dome towards the rest of the ship. There was plenty of space for chairs or telescopes to be put down, but nothing furnished the area. It was mostly silent except for the constant hum of the ship’s engine.
“I can imagine it would be popular for that,” he said. “What have you been thinking about?”
The small mech looked solemnly up at the vast expanse of galaxy surrounding them. He sighed. “About the past, I suppose. Looking at mistakes and trying to learn from them.”
“Ah. A topic we all must visit, I suppose.” Megatron replied, walking further in to stand next to the small Ambus.
They stood there for a few kliks, shifting from side to side. Minimus’s thoughts were now pulled away and caught by his captain beside him, suddenly unable to remember what he was worrying about. When he was just getting comfortable with his presence, Megatron patted him on his shoulder and stepped away.
“I suppose I’ll leave you to it, then.” He looked away from Minimus with an odd expression on his face. “Come down soon, I know how easy it is to get lost in your own mind.”
Minimus watched him walk away with an empty feeling in his chest. He listened to the mech’s heavy steps as--
--As all the lights in the observatory shut off.
Megatron gaped at the now dim lights before going to try the keypad at the door. It didn’t open.
“Oh dear,” voiced Minimus.
“Oh for Primus’s sake…” Megatron clicked his helmet and commed Rodimus.
“What did you do?” He asked with a certain ferocity.
Rodimus picked up and answered after a couple kliks of shuffling. “Heeey, Megs! Don’t get mad, but I think Brainstorm just accidentally took aboouuut…” There were more shuffling noises, this time coupled with hurried questioning before he returned with a result. “All! All of the ship’s power.”
“Rodimus!” Megatron growled, his sparkrate already going up.
“It’s cool! Don’t worry your bucket off, we’ll just turn on the emergency back-up and stop by the nearest trade-planet to refuel. Just hang tight till we get it back on, ‘kay? Don’tbemadbye!” Before he could reply Rodimus hung up on his co-captain. When Megatron tried to comm him again, he found it went automatically to the message receiver. His contact had been put on silent.
“What’s going on?” Minimus asked.
“Another one of Brainstorm’s experiments drained the ship. They’re looking for the emergency generator right now.” He said plainly.
Megatron then gave a sudden, hard punch to the door. He grumbled in frustration when the door didn’t even dent from the force of the large mech.
Minimus sighed. “Don’t bother. Since the observatory has a higher risk of being damaged than the rest of the ship, its door is airlocked and double sealed. We’d have a chance of breaking it only if I was in my Magnus suit.”
Megatron hit the door again anyway, just for good measure. After no such luck he stared at with defeat before returning to the window with Minimus.
The smaller mech tapped his ped nervously. “You know it’s going to take him at least a few joors to even find the back-up.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it. Sometimes it takes him a quarter of one just to find the ship's control panel when he’s overcharged.”
They were silent for a moment.
“Right about now I’m wishing I’d at least brought my datapad with me,” Megatron said.
Minimus nodded. “Then we could have gotten some work done while we’re here.”
Megatron dug around in his subspace pocket. “Instead I only have this.” He retrieved a sealed container of high-grade.
Minimus’s optics bugged as soon as he recognized the fuel. “I-- Megatron!” He said, scandalized. “There is a time a place for that sort of thing, and this surely isn’t it.”
“Oh, calm yourself, Magnus. I was only planning on having some to relax, not get blasted.” He swished it around in it’s cube and pretended to ignore the Ambus’s watchful gaze.
“You can share with me, or not. It doesn’t particularly matter.”
Minimus eyed the container as Megatron popped off the top and lifted it to his intake to have sip.
“A-and you know what he said!?” Minimus stammered.
“What?”
“He said, he said that he was checking on the furnace!” He folded his little green servos in hyperbolic irritation. “As if I’m an idiot! We don’t even have a furnace, nor would it be his job to check it.”
Megatron hummed thoughtfully swished their high-grade in its cube. “Did you ever find out what he was actually doing?”
“I...” Minimus tapped his chin in thought, “I don’t remember. I believe he may have been hiding some contraband, my memory’s a bit off.” He unfolded his arms and leaned back on them, gazing out at the stars . “In hindsight it wasn’t worth getting so worked up over.”
The captain hummed. “Most of my issues feel like they could have been handled better, nowadays.” His face softened as unpleasant memories visited him again. “Some more than others.”
A small hand nervously tried patting Megatron’s raised arm in consolation, but just ended up knocking what was left of the engex and having it spill a bit out of its container. Minimus felt the sticky liquid splash a bit onto his servos. “Ah,” he said, “damn it.” He shook it a bit to try to at least get it dry.
Megatron chuckled at his clumsiness and set down the drink before it stained anything. “In all honesty, I didn’t realize there was any truth to what Nautica said; about you being a lightweight.” He himself decided to wipe the residue off on his leg. “I can see why you stay away from drinking, especially unsupervised.”
“My apologies,” Minimus said, “I did try to say no, but you… Y-you and your words .” He waved at nothing. “Always using them to win people over. Got too much practice, is what I say”
“Oh, I don’t know about that, Minimus Ambus, it did not take much to win you over. In fact, I might argue that it hardly took any persuasion at all.”
Minimus groaned and looked up. “Yes, I know, I’m not exactly a difficult person to influence, in a casual environment at least.” He looked up to the ceiling. “I’ve gotten softer, though. Even now I could probably do something with the Magnus suit, maybe find the g-generator faster.” For a second his face was fierce, like he was back in battle. “But, for now I’m just,” he looked back down at himself, “just this. If I was Magnus all the time I would be prepared but,” he clenched and unclenched his servos, “I would also be a shadow, wouldn’t I?”
“A shadow?” The other mech asked.
“Oh, you know what I mean.” Minimus spat. “First it was Dominus, then it was Tyrest, and now it’s just Magnus. I always feel like I’m copying someone, and even if the crew doesn’t see it that way…” He sighed. “I feel like it’s best, if I just went back to being just Magnus, but then I’m pretending to be someone else, aren’t I? And to be honest,” he winced shamefully, “I like being Minimus once in awhile. It gives me a break to just exist, you understand?
There were a few moments of silence from the both of them. He almost went to apologize for his emotional drabble when he jumped at the sudden feeling of a large hand going to rest at his backstrut. Minimus looked up at his friend.
Megatron was gazing ahead. “I know what you mean, trust me. A few million years of leadership will have you experiencing inadequacy almost constantly.” Megatron was looking down at him, his face kind yet sympathetic. He trailed his hand up to Minimus’s neck, making the green mech shiver at the contact. He didn't notice the reaction, continuing his path to his face and cupped his jaw into his palm.
“Whether you are Ultra Magnus, Minimus, or both, I want you to know that you are irreplaceable to your crew and your friends.” He smiled warmly. “Regardless of whoever came before you should do what you think is best for yourself, my friend. There is no shame in being whoever you are most comfortable.”
The smaller mech was frozen at the statement. He seemed to try and find the words to reply to him, but found his mind unable to due to a fuzzy processor and his sudden fluster. Instead he smiled back at his captain and leaned his helm into the touch before quietly saying, “Thank you.”
Megatron chose not to continue the conversation and pulled his second-in-command closer, letting him rest against his chassis in comfortable silence. His frame provided a warmth Minimus found he wouldn’t mind being pressed up against a few more times.
Eventually Rodimus would get the power back on and they would have to get up and make sure everything was in running order. Eventually they would have to pretend like nothing ever happened and act casual or face the other mechs’ incessant teasing. Eventually they would have to be honest with their feelings and decide what to do.
Eventually the ex-warlord would be put on trial and most likely killed for his crimes.
But for now they could bask in each other’s company without thoughts of their mistakes or battles and watch the stars slowly pass by.