This is why Arcee had brought Rodimus, in the end. It's exactly what makes him so infuriating to deal with. When it comes down to it, he just doesn't give in -- he'd rather buckle and break than knuckle under every time. And as much as he might constantly resist Arcee's authority, she knows he cares about this mission. And that's why Arcee knows they need him, knows they need him to keep fighting even though she knows just as well that they can't bear to be down even a single bot.

"Rodimus, we don't have a medic! And right now, I cannot afford -- ugh!"

One of Orion's last shots catches her square in the abdomen, hurling her off her feet with a spray of sand. She knows she's bleeding, energon streaking down her midsection, but it's not nearly as bad as Rodimus or Ultra Magnus -- not nearly as bad as Orion. She pulls herself back to her feet, one hand over her dented plating, her other blaster still pointed up. But the shooting is over now, it seems. She watches Orion go slack against Ultra Magnus, and it feels like her spark's just sunk into her fuel tank.

She's heard of hollow victories before, but she's never tasted one like this.

"Ultra Magnus, how are you holding up?" Her voice is thick and heavy with static, but she resets her vocalizer, trying to clear it away. "Can you make it back to base with Optimus?"