of foes and allies

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Characters: Dreadwing, Optimus Prime
Location: A glade somewhere in the midwest.
Content Warnings: Injury, (robot) blood + bleeding due to explosions + shrapnel
Plot Summary: Dreadwing is dispatched to collect the latest Iacon Relic for his Lord, and encounters one whom he respects - and one whom he must call foe.

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As soon as Dreadwing reached the prescribed coordinates, his sharp mind immediately began to map out the best places to mount offensive attacks as well as defensive maneuvers, should the need arise. He was not so foolish as to think that the Autobots would not appear; after all, they had had a tendency of late to show up through their ground bridge only a short time after the Decepticons did. He would be prepared. If needed, he could set mines around the area, or utilize any other of his vast arsenal of explosives.

It felt good to feel the wind caress his wings. It had been too long since he had been able to indulge himself in flight. He only wished that his brother were here beside him.

As of late, he had had very little time to concern himself with the mysterious absence of his brother. Skyquake, the split-twin of his spark, and the only other important figure in his life other than their Lord, had not been present when he had presented himself to Lord Megatron upon his arrival to Earth. But he was not dead, no… Dreadwing could feel him still, his presence within his spark a distant and dull ache, ever-evasive when he reached out to him. Skyquake was still in his slumber, then.

(It mystified him that Lord Megatron had not summoned one of his most loyal soldiers to his side from his sentinel’s slumber. Skyquake had been in stasis for millenia now, standing guard over the energon deposits of this world, but there was no reason now for Skyquake not to be here beside him now that they had come to reclaim such a precious resource. But it was not his place to question the will of his Master, and so Dreadwing stayed silent.)

It was his greatest honor to fulfill his Lord Megatron’s desires and perform his duties, and thus Dreadwing had been dispatched to collect this latest mysterious relic of Iacon. The coordinates lead him to a peaceful glade somewhere in the midwest of the North American continent, nestled in the embrace of a valley dappled with red and gold vegetation. To his pleasure, it seemed as if he had reached this place first - all the better for him, for he would hopefully have enough time to locate this relic and be gone with it by the time an Autobot showed up.

Now came the task of actually finding the relic. Dreadwing had come with a handheld scanner that detected high electromagnetic readings - useful for finding devices of Cybertronian origin. He held it up now in hopes it would pick up some hint of the relic (not unlike a human might use a dowsing rod to find water, not that Dreadwing knew what a dowsing rod was).

To his surprise - and confusion - the scanner picked up nothing.

To his further consternation, his audial sensors then picked up the unmistakable sound of a groundbridge being opened.

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The glades were something of limited trees and flat ground. Something that prevents great amount of cover taking, yet he could transform and speed around. Optimus learned about that from the intel from Fixit, better to be on the move while keeping an eye to the sky. From there he had gathered his rapid fire Ion Cannon and his Heat Sword before parting for the groundbridge that activated for them.

Why he was heading out to the midwest? Fixit had determined an Iacon relic was in question and Optimus was the one to pick up the job. It was a small one, that signal was. That vanished when Optimus traversed the bridge. Yet he will never know that and neither the groundbridge operator who got confirmation that Optimus made it through, closing the gate after.

The bridge in the glades opened up with the Autobot leader coming into existence here, soon communicating and shortly after looked the area over. All seemed peaceful. This green landscape, soft hills, blue sky. His optics wandered about the details of this land to admire such beauties. Shortly after gathering in the sights he had pulled free his scanner to try and locate this now non existent signal.

"Strange, I could have sworn that we picked up a signal here... Come in Fixit. Come in Fixit, am I in the right area?" His optics now began to scan the area more completely with him turning. Maybe this relic was a signal jamming kind when activated. That could be useful in their endeavors.

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The moment that his audial sensors picked up the distinctive whooshing sound of a ground-bridge opening up was also characterized by a curious flickering of the scanner in his hand. It momentarily picked up what might have been the Iacon relic he was hunting, but then proceeded to glitch and flicker - and the graphical representation of its location relative to his own seemingly bounced around the area.

What in the name of the Allspark?

Regardless of technical difficulties, it was not at all fortuitous that the Autobots had sent along someone to try and fetch the relic before Dreadwing could locate it. He would not return to his Lord and Master empty handed. To his surprise, however, the Autobot that had emerged through the ground bridge was none other than the Prime himself. Optimus Prime was a formidable enemy, as he had learned through past encounters. He was strong, and skilled with both blaster and blade, something that Dreadwing could certainly appreciate and recognise as a mark of a rather worthy foe.

Optimus Prime was also a mech of integrity, at least, and would not strike a bot with their back turned. This gave Dreadwing enough time to scowl down in impatience and irritation at the scanner, give it a few subtle shakes in punishment for its malfunctioning, before turning to face him. Dreadwing was a bot of honor indeed, but he was not above lying - at least, not when it came to something like this. Perhaps if he made the Prime believe he had already found the prize they both sought, it would lessen the chances of Optimus finding it before he did.

“I am not so foolish as to think an Autobot would not come sniffing eventually. I will admit, however, that I had not expected you to come yourself,” And this indeed was true; it was always a race these days to gather up these curious artifacts before the Autobots got to them first, “-But you are too late, Prime! The relic which you seek is already on its way to Lord Megatron, as we speak! You have already failed!”

Still, it was a tense moment. Dreadwing waited, to see what Optimus would do - and was ready to draw his sword or his blaster or his cannon the very nano-second Optimus so much as seemed to be about to do the same.

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His optics narrowed at his equipment that picked up no trace signals of the artifact. Yet he knew that if the Autobots caught wind of this artifact, then Decepticons will surely follow. This will bring his caution up. Nothing was quite right here. From the malfunctioning scanner to his comms system.

This relic could be a trap. The wheels along his legs rolled a bit before locking up once a voice came to him. Someone familiar to the Autobot. One of which he knew held honor and wouldn't attack when someone had their back turned. If this was a trap, why was Dreadwing here?

The Autobot leader turned to face who spoke so freely. Skepticism helped this broad shouldered Prime survive for so long. Even if it was around the more honor bound Decepticons. "Dreadwing, I wouldn't have guessed you would be here of all places..." His optics trailed along the Blue mech's being, trying to figure out what he had on his person. Just that piece of equipment that he held. Was that the source of the disruption? "I am not the greatest in the field of this radar array. But I know that it will require some powerful equipment to throw scanners off designed to search for things." He called his bluff, now to hope that it will work. Surely that data pad can not be a relic capable of jamming signals! If it was, Optimus will have to recover it!

Yet somehow, that last part that Dreadwing said. It was on it's way only meant that it had a big area of effect, hiding itself and the exit it was going for. Think Prime, think. If Dreadwing said he was too late and it was on it's way. Then why doesn't he leave?

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“I was dispatched by my Lord and Master to retrieve the relic that which you likely seek,” Dreadwing repeated, this time more slowly, as if indulging a particularly slow recruit. “As you are no doubt realizing, you were much too slow in arriving. Your Autobots have been rather slow overall as of late, so it should not surprise me that you are, too.“

Still, the blue seeker watched, and waited, knowing very well it would not do to underestimate Optimus Prime. Many in the past had done so and paid for it with their lives if not their reputations, and he did not intend to make the same mistake. It did not seem like the Prime was quite buying his bluff, but Dreadwing was not quite ready to give it up quite yet. It was in his best interests to stall for as much time as he could get. Taking the low-hanging fruit and tossing meaningless insults would have to do, though it rankled his personal ideals.

Once more, when he thought the Prime was not looking, Dreadwing gave the scanner in his hand another shake. It had little effect: the signal he was picking up kept bouncing around randomly, following no discernable pattern and cutting in and out arbitrarily. Clearly, Optimus was also having trouble with his own gear, which he could use to his advantage. The sooner he got his own scanner working, the better his chances of finding the pit-damned relic before the Autobot did… but it would not matter if they both had anomalous readings, now, would it?

So focused was he upon the Prime and upon stalling for time that he did not even notice that his internal communications went quiet. It did not occur to him that this anomaly would be anything other than the result of some landscape factor. What else could it be but something within the environment, perhaps a mineral in the ground, that scrambled the delicate inner workings of the scanners and made it impossible to get a reading?

Tick. Tick. Tick.

It was then that he heard it: the quiet, almost imperceptible noise of a ticking bomb. Dreadwing knew three things then: that there was an explosive device, possibly plural; that the Prime likely had not heard it yet; and finally, that the explosives, likely planted throughout the area, were certainly not his.

A normal Decepticon would have turned and fled immediately, content to allow an Autobot to be blown to smithereens. One might especially be pleased to leave Optimus Prime to his fate, considering how long the war had gone and just how many times Decepticons had tried and failed to eliminate him. Dreadwing was not a normal Decepticon. Certainly he was known for setting mines and had been responsible for blowing up Autobots by setting traps such as this (and one would be wise not to ask him just how he classified such behaviour as honorable), but they had both clearly walked into a trap set by an unknown entity, one that could pose a threat to both their causes. He was left with a moral dilemma.

The ticking transitioned to a solid telltale beeping. The seeker reacted. “DOWN!” he bellowed, launching himself at Optimus and forcing him to the ground, shielding him with his own frame just as the explosives detonated and the world descended into a hellish landscape.

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Lord Megatron, being dispatched, collecting relics... "Repetition won't get you anywhere Dreadwing." If he is repeating something, surely he has something to hide! But what is it? Was it a ruse to keep Optimus still for a trap?

He began to walk to the side in an attempt to keep any traps from activating or making a shooter have to change how they aim constantly. His head ducked down a tad bit to let his shoulder armor rise above and protect him from the sides. "Megatron's tyranny will soon end. You know that, right?" Soon his gaze followed the landscape while keeping Dreadwing in his sights. What, what is going to happen here?

Sadly the ticking sound went unnoticed as Optimus focused on Dreadwing, half expecting a blaster to be yanked out and aimed at him. His servos flexed slowly, anticipating the grip of his rifle. Yet they splayed open when Dreadwing yelled at Optimus to duck. That sent him into confusion. Why would he tell him to dodge a shot or take cover from a trap? It made no sense and placed the leader into a state of confusion that was hard to understand right at tha-

Before Optimus knew it, he was beneath Dreadwing who used his own body while the world around them exploded. The deafening booms roared about around the duo. If Dreadwing protected him, why were there... Oh... It was a trap for the two of them!

The blasts lasted for a while before falling quiet. The large mech beneath the blue one grumbled a bit while his audio receptors rang painfully. Unlike a hangover you'd expect, it was just focused on an intense headache and muffled voices. Slowly his senses came back to him while looking up to Dreadwing who laid ontop of his being, "Wha- what?"

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Dreadwing came back online after several moments of blessed unconsciousness to a multitude of error messages insistantly pinging his HUD, and a wave of absolute agony.

The force of the multiple explosions had sent debris, mostly of lithic and floral variety, in every direction and with such speed that he now had multiple puncture wounds. His back had borne the majority of it. If he had not been in extreme pain he might have pondered the ridiculousness of being skewered by large splinters of wood, but as it were, he was biting back an agonized groan. The debris had absolutely shredded his wings, a most painful thing for a seeker indeed, but apart from that, there were only a few wounds that he would deem to be a major issue. He could not transform much less fly like this, but he had survived worse before. The pain he would have to bear with gritted dentae.

Beneath him lay the Prime. Because of his split-second decision to leap upon him, Dreadwing’s body had shielded him from the worst of it, and the most damage Optimus seemed to have was cosmetic scratches, dings, and dents. Relief flooded through him - and then confusion, for what reason did he have to be relieved? He had just put his life on the line for the greatest enemy of the Decepticons, when he could have stood by and watched Optimus Prime be blown to bits.

Ah, but there it was. They may have been enemies, but Dreadwing could not allow any bot to walk into a trap to certain death (unless, of course, he’d set the trap and was the one with the detonator, which, in this situation, he most certainly was not), much less Prime, who, if anything, deserved a much better end than being blown up. He was relieved because Optimus had proven himself a worthy opponent and a bot of honor, and, if circumstances had been very, very different in the war, Dreadwing might have been able to envision himself following him. 

Yes… that had to be the answer. It was the most logical and parsimonious answer.

(He ignored the small voice at the back of his mind that informed him that that wasn’t quite the whole of it. He quite resolutely banished it from his processor. He didn’t have the time nor the patience to deal with such… ridiculous thoughts.)

“These bombs were not mine,” He managed to choke out, once the pain subsided to manageable levels. “I had only just arrived when you came through your bridge - these were not mine. I did not set these bombs,” It suddenly seemed important that Optimus know this. It was incredibly important. He wasn’t quite sure why, but it was.

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Having Dreadwing ontop wasn't so bad. There were no knife wounds, hidden blasters aimed at his gut, treacherous happenings. Instead he shielded the Prime. Dreadwing had shown a bit more of his honor while Prime looked around, trying to make sense of it all. Until the weight of Dreadwing became a bit much and so he helped shove Dreadwing off of him.

"You risked saving me..." The Prime must have thought that that meant something a bit more than just fighting on fairer grounds later on.

His gaze went out to the destroyed landscape while he rose to his pedes, still unsure of what is happening, "Dreadwing. I must ask, why did you jump ontop of me?" His sense of surrounding helped his rifle into his hands while he scanned the surrounding landscape for any more possible threats. They were lucky to have survived this. He wants to be able to confront who had laid a trap for these two.

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To distract himself from the fact that his wings were now shredded and he likely would not be flying anytime soon, he tried focusing upon Optimus. What he’d noticed however, once he’d done his cursory check to see if the other had been injured, gave him pause. Had Optimus Prime always been so… bulky? When had the Prime gotten a frame upgrade? Dreadwing had distinct memories of Optimus being only slightly taller than himself, but the bot currently beneath him could tower over even Megatron. He frowned in confusion, his browplates furrowed at such a perplexing mystery.

Optimus shifted beneath him, causing the injured seeker to groan as his injuries were jostled. “Nngh..! Do not move-” But of course, Prime did not, wriggling his way out from underneath the Decepticon; the movement left Dreadwing shaking and trying his hardest not to keen from the sheer excruciating agony of it. He spent the next few moments recovering from being jostled around, wheezing slightly in pain as he huddled on the scarred forest floor and wishing he could detest Optimus.

His next words took him by surprise. Did the Prime really want to have this conversation now? Dreadwing stared at him incredulously, as rivulets of energon dripped down his mangled back, and wished he could be anywhere on this pit-damned planet but here. “Your sparkfelt thanks,” He spat pointedly, “-Are not needed. As it is, Megatron will likely have my head for this. I likely have earned these wounds as punishment, for not only did I walk into a trap like a complete imbecile, I did so to throw myself on top of you.”

If he’d let Optimus die this day, allowed him to walk into what was clearly a trap set for Cybertronians with intent to severely harm or even kill, he likely would have been rewarded for eliminating the Autobot leader and putting an end to the war once and for all. That, or throttled, because it was known that Megatron wished to snuff the spark of Optimus Prime personally. But he had refused to stand by and allow Optimus Prime to be blown to bits, and for reasons that most certainly were treasonous, even if they had also been honorable. Dreadwing didn’t particularly want to think on the matter any further, or puzzle over his motivations, not when he suspected his motivations suddenly went opposite to the good of the Cause.

Evading the question was his best bet. Luckily for him, he was particularly adept at the mental gymnastics required to avoid having to think about things like this that put his morals and ideals in direct conflict with his loyalty to his Lord.

There were no more explosives, but it was not long before the sound of approaching helicopters in the distance broke the tense quiet. Dreadwing bared his dentae at it, feeling all the more foolish. Of course it had to have been a trap set by the humans, and the humans with a predilection for experimentation on Cybertronians at that! Who else would it be, unless the Prime's human allies had decided to violate whatever treaties he had with them? 

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The Prime had scoured the area with his prying optics, in search of more bombs that may lay in wait. If Dreadwing wasn't the culprit, then they have a common enemy they must be aware of. Even if it means teaming up for now to reduce the likelihood of the other falling. It was something that was stressful when you have fought the same enemy for so long. Yet some how, the Prime puts his trust in Dreadwing.

The large mech lifted his rifle to peer through the iron crosshairs. It aided little in terms of seeing at distances, yet having those two points helped his focus be placed on the incoming humans. The explosion happened and the rescue crew were so eager and that fast? It unnerved Optimus to the point where he turned to Dreadwing with his rifle lowering, "We can exchange words of thorn later. For now we must escape this place." His optics fell upon the battered Dreadwing and his blueness. All that damage had him worrying if he could fly, walk, or bite Prime's head off with his words.

"I have a hunch this has to do with MECH... Those explosions they have set up were meant for us. How damaged are you?" Prime looked over the blue mech, half expecting a grumble of distaste or a curt reply. Either way, he wouldn't want an organization like MECH to acquire a Cybertronian and learn many of their secrets or worse yet, weaponry. It was unnerving for him and that had his optics facing those inbound helicopters.

"I may have to fight dirty..." He stashed his rifle before crouching and scooping up the loose dirt beneath him, wanting to slow the helicopters down with non lethal methods. He knows that humans ride inside of them and crashing in them will be disastrous.

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Dreadwing could barely move much less stand and fight, the pain was so great. He’d forgotten how devastating injuries to the wings could be. Seekers had many sensors embedded in the plating of their wings, and Dreadwing’s were no different; not only was he rendered flightless by the damage the explosives had wrought, so to was he hindered purely due to agony. He bared his dentae and grit his jaw, and was acutely aware of how vulnerable he now was, hunched over on his knees. He could barely move much less think about standing to fight.

Optimus could terminate him right now and eliminate an enemy, and he would be completely unable to defend himself. Optimus could leave him here to the mercy of the humans, and have one less thing to worry about in the future when he walked out onto the battlefield. Yet… Dreadwing knew he would not do either of these things. The Prime was an honorable mech who still held tight to his ideals, even when others would have struck him down if he were in their place.

The inquiry towards his physical state was met with a very long and unimpressed stare. “I just jumped on top of you to shield you from an explosion. I assure you, I’m perfectly fine apart from the major injuries,” He snapped. Even injured as he was, his acidic comments seemed to be unharmed -- if anything, his sarcasm had an even greater edge. Snappy comments were a form of self-defense at times, and right now, he had to make use of all he had. 

His unlikely companion stooped to the ground, and Dreadwing watched incredulously as he subspaced his weapon to… he stared in disbelief. Optimus Prime was going to fight dirty with literal dirt, apparently. “Yes, a handful of dirt should stop them. Well done, Prime,” he drawled, “You do realize what these particular humans do if they get a hold of you, yes?”

Eventually, though, the sound of the helicopter rotors drew closer and closer. “You should go now, while you still have the chance,” Dreadwing said then, his voice less waspish and tinged with… concern? What reason did he have to be concerned for an Autobot, much less the Autobot leader? He forced the thought away. “There is time for you to get away, or hide.” 

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With so little damage and still able to move around so freely without any pain. So the Prime decided to take advantage of that while Dreadwing is still recovering. His optics turned back to the large, damaged Seeker to look him over before gazing back at the helicopters. What to do? He huffed a bit with his mask folding into place to protect his face.

The wheels along his legs rotated a bit before he locked them into place. The ground right here was too rough for a grounder to transform and roll out. He will have to get out of this spot to speed away. Yet Dreadwing he knew not of his ability to transform and fly off. This only made him hold this rather large clump of dirt and rocks tighter before he glared at Dreadwing.

"Would you rather I outright shoot them and give these people a leverage to use against us? Non peaceful aliens have arrived on Earth and are killing humans. Then we would have an entire planet hunting the both of Autobots and Decepticons." He gazed back at the nearing helicopters, gritting his dentae behind his mask. He knew what MECH were capable of. "I am not leaving you. Here to fall victim to MECH... Can you call your in your ground bridge and I help you to it before it is too late?"

Once Dreadwing was close to his groundbridge, he could then part ways of the Seeker to let him be tended to by the Decepticons. While he himself would be able to maneuver more easily than his friend could. Yet how long could he sustain evading maneuvers? The large clump of dirt was realized and the arm that had the hand at the end wrapped under Dreadwing's arms to lift him up slightly against the bulky Optimus. Either his legs were too badly damage or Dreadwing can flex and get a few dozen kicks to Optimus' aft, he will move him along now rather than spend time and deal with his arguments.

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Dreadwing remained hunched over in a defensive position, incredibly reluctant to try moving. He absolutely detested being laid so low and vulnerable, incapable of standing with his head held high and his sword (or ion cannon) raised: instead he was helpless and defenseless, and had to rely upon the mercy of an Autobot. That was perhaps the biggest shame of all, one that, if any other Decepticon learned of it, would surely cause him incredible embarrassment that would surpass the embarassment of having walked blindly into a trap laid by squishy carbon-based meat sacks.

The helicopters grew ever closer and closer. The seeker bared his dentae, furious with himself for landing himself in this entire situation… yet, he could not regret taking the brunt of the explosion for Optimus. One of them might yet get out of this alive and unmolested by humans looking to take by force knowledge that was not their right.

“Surely whatever treaties you have with your human allies include an allowance for self-defense. They have a history of attacking first,” Dreadwing gave Optimus a sardonic look, while still somehow managing to be surprised at the other’s reluctance to harm the native population. “Do not tell me you neglected to negotiate for self-defense clauses, Prime. Please do not tell me you did not add in a pit-damned self-defense clause.” Surely the Prime could not have been so stupid!

There was a brief moment as Dreadwing attempted to ping the Nemesis, before he sneered. “There are no communications. They must have blacked out the entire area so that their prey, once incapacitated, could not call for help.” As was the preference of this particular group of humans: they prefered their victims laid out on a platter. “If I wish to call for a bridge, I will need to get to the edge of that deadzone.”

“Prime,” He then said, frustration finally bubbling over. “You would be wise to leave now while you still have a chance. Rest assured, you do not have to worry about Cybertronian technology falling into their hands. I have… methods, as a last resort.” The humans were not the only ones with explosives. Dreadwing would sooner die than allow himself to become a test subject for their sadistic whims.

But of course, the Autobot was too stubborn to accept such a thing. Optimus dropped his handful of dirt and came to stand behind him, and the seeker twisted around (that hurt) to stare suspiciously at him. “What are you- don’t you dare touch me…!” He hissed, EM field flaring out in warning, but by then the Prime had gotten his hands beneath his arms and was physically hauling him up. Dreadwing let out a static yowl of agony as his injuries were jostled by the movement, but eventually, the pain subsided, and he found himself propped up against the Prime’s strangely bulky and tall frame.

Though abandoning downed comrades was a standard practice in situations where it came down to one’s own safety, the seeker, historically, never had. Dreadwing supposed it would figure that the Prime’s honor would dictate that he not leave any bot behind, even if that bot was a commander of the enemy’s faction. “You are ridiculously noble,” he uttered through clenched jaws, “Insufferably so.” He did not have to speak of how strange it was to him for Optimus to refuse to leave him behind.

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The Prime hefted Dreadwing along while glancing back at the encroaching helicopters. They were not the friendly type to be looking over your shoulder as you hightailed it out of there. He looked back to Dreadwing as he carried the wounded soldier along. It pained him for some reason, to see Dreadwing, an experienced and loyal being in this state.

His words were still sharp and yet Prime allowed them to go by, "Self defense is in the treaties and I can see that you are in no condition to fight back." From that he helped Dreadwing move onwards while glancing ahead of the terrain, helping the large mech over large clumps of terrain and even lifting him up for his legs to get some rest while they moved as fast as they could.

The news of a jamming signal to the Nemesis was distressing. He quickly checked... It too was jammed. They will need to get out of this radio deadzone before calling in a bridge. Escorting Dreadwing to a safe enough region to groundbridge him through is the Prime's priority. Optimus didn't want to let Dreadwing be all smug with his last resort idea just to be rid of Optimus and get him going, "Soldier, you have fought for a cause and have stood out from the countless Decepticons I have fought. You hold honor and values while others were not so prestigious. Have you considered taking a look at what is aboard your ship Nemesis, observed what state of the Decepticons have become?" He asked while hefting the large mech up some to hasten the pace, "I am not letting someone of your stature be taken down by something so vile like them behind us... I am getting you out of here. So, should I carry you on my back or transform and haul you?"