Like she suspected, Strongarm had a burr on her rotator. As she treated it, she told Optimus, Kup, Prowl, and Windblade about what Chromia told her. \u201cSounds like she\u2019s put a lot of thought into this,\u201d muttered Prowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019d say she\u2019s been thinking about it before this all went down,\u201d remarked Strongarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s raised some good points,\u201d remarked Kup. \u201cI mean, how much longer do we actually have?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s such a problem,\u201d growled Windblade, \u201cwhy don\u2019t us old fogeys all go for medical euthanasia?! Because we\u2019re not stupid!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, anyone who chooses to die like that,\u201d snapped Optimus, \u201cis stupid in your book, Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf they refused the options available to them, yes!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven if those options have a low chance of survival?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOptimus, I don\u2019t know if you remember the war stories, but we had a few low chances of survival during our youth! That didn\u2019t stop us from fighting!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWindblade, this isn\u2019t the same thing!\u201d argued Prowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh no?! What\u2019s the difference between facing death by firearms or by a serious illness?! You can die in either case, but you fight on regardless!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot everyone who fights wins, Windblade! Not everyone came back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut enough of us did, including Chromia! I don\u2019t get why she wants to die after surviving a war!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChromia, why are you insistent that she doesn\u2019t do this?\u201d asked Kup. Windblade hesitated before explaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHave you guys ever heard of the term \u2018Amica Endura\u2019?\u201d Only Strongarm\u2019s head was still as everyone else shook their heads. \u201cIt\u2019s like a Conjux Endura, but it\u2019s only between friends. A sort of platonic marriage, if you will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd Chromia\u2019s your Amica Endura?\u201d asked Optimus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExactly. She\u2019s my best friend and we survived through so much. Believe it or not, I was once prejudiced against Cybertronians and joined the Camien Liberation Front. It\u2019s thanks to her that I got over that prejudice. I felt like I owed her. Now she\u2019s dying and I can\u2019t do anything to help her when she needs it the most!\u201d Windblade was letting her tears fall by then, born of both frustration and sadness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s\u2026it\u2019s infuriating, this whole situation.\u201d sighed Kup. \u201cUnfortunately, the French have a rather sad but accurate phrase for something like this. C\u2019est la vie, that\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s bullscrap!\u201d Windblade sighed to steady herself for her question to Optimus. \u201cWhen\u2019s she gonna do it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWednesday afternoon at 4,\u201d answered the young Prime, \u201cand she\u2019s requested you and Kup be there when it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe has?\u201d asked Kup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGiven that we\u2019re prepping for a space journey, and considering the actual size of the Repair Bay, it would be impractical for everyone to see her. However, I\u2019m allowing for requested visitors to go if they want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want,\u201d declared Windblade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe too,\u201d rumbled Kup. Optimus then got a look of contemplation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou know, I think we can bring someone else along,\u201d he mused, \u201cone of our allies that she hung out with a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4 O\u2019clock, Wednesday afternoon came too quickly for Windblade\u2019s liking. She, Kup, Ratchet, and Optimus gathered around Chromia\u2019s berth. As Ratchet prepped the necessary machinery for inducing medical euthanasia, Chromia spoke with everyone else. \u201cThanks for being here,\u201d she greeted with a sad smile on her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our pleasure, Chromy,\u201d chuckled Kup. Her face then turned sour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo it\u2019ll be your pleasure to watch me go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNonononono! I meant\u2026!\u201d Kup then saw her wicked grin. \u201cAh HA! I knew you\u2019d get me one day!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI taught her well!\u201d chuckled Windblade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMore like I taught YOU,\u201d reminded Chromia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Yeah, you did. Chromia-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not gonna try to talk me out of this, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would, but the thing is, it\u2019d sound like begging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou? My Amica Endura? Beg? That\u2019s hardly befitting a Camien!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not befitting of any soldier,\u201d remarked a voice. A human woman then came out from behind Optimus\u2019 head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCommander Topaz?!\u201d yelped Chromia. Her smile almost lit up the room. \u201cSo good to see you again! I don\u2019t think you told me the results of that little health scare last year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m sorry for not telling you. It\u2019s just been so busy after the whole Unicron fiasco that I couldn\u2019t find the time to tell everyone.\u201d Optimus set her down on a little table near the berth. \u201cI was diagnosed as prediabetic, so I went keto to gain control of my blood sugar. Let me tell you, it\u2019s worked wonders! Thanks to that little change, I got a new lease on maintaining my health!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s wonderful! Congratulations!\u201d Chromia\u2019s smile then faded. \u201cI\u2026hope you don\u2019t think less of me for-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would never dare think less of you, especially not for this decision. I will admit, I\u2019m not too fond of it, but I respect your choice. So should you, Windblade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can,\u201d mumbled Windblade. \u201cChromia, after all you\u2019ve done for me-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWindblade,\u201d interrupted Chromia, \u201cyou owe me nothing. You never have. I was proud to call you my Amica Endura. Topaz, it was a pleasure to work with you in Mobius\/Cybertron relations and to assist you in all joint operations we did together. Optimus, it was an honor to be a part of your life and to be commanded by you. Ratchet\u2026\u201d She trailed off when she saw Ratchet simply standing by. \u201c\u2026It\u2019s ready?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnfortunately, yes,\u201d mumbled the old medic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, let me just say this to you, it\u2019s still an honor to have been treated by you. Remember this, you\u2019re NOT my executioner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026I\u2019m not sure if I could ever accept that. I never did with those I had to euthanize.\u201d Ratchet then turned to Optimus. \u201cWe\u2019re ready on her word and yours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChromia,\u201d asked Optimus, \u201cyou\u2019re absolutely sure about this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, Orion, I am.\u201d Chromia then tapped a button and the berth leveled itself out. There was a window in the ceiling that showed off the sun as it shone down on her. \u201cYou may give the word.\u201d Optimus hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Ratchet\u2026do it.\u201d Ratchet pressed a button and the machine near the berth started shutting down all electrical signals in Chromia\u2019s body. She smiled, being at peace now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give my love to Ironhide and Firestar, shall I?\u201d she offered. Her Spark then lost cohesion without the electrical signals keeping it going, resulting in it fading away. Once it did, her optics went offline, and her body faded to gunmetal gray. Her armor then shifted before settling on her robot mode. As her body laid on the berth, one could still see her peaceful smile on her face. There wasn\u2019t a single dry eye in the Repair Bay as the truth set in; Chromia was dead, reunited with her husband and daughter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Like she suspected, Strongarm had a burr on her rotator. As she treated it, she told Optimus, Kup, Prowl, and Windblade about what Chromia told her. \u201cSounds like she\u2019s put a lot of thought into this,\u201d muttered Prowl. \u201cI\u2019d say she\u2019s been thinking about it before this all went down,\u201d remarked Strongarm. \u201cShe\u2019s raised some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,667],"tags":[146,337],"class_list":["post-4274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transformers-mobian-chronicles","category-transformers-mobian-chronicles-arc-17-living-stories","tag-sonic","tag-transformers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4274"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4275,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions\/4275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}