HPDBC Chapter 103 The Heavy Responsibility of a Leader
Chapter 103 The Heavy Responsibility of a Leader
(This chapter is still told from a third-person perspective, but it tends to be told from Optimus Prime's point of view and thoughts.)
Inside the Iron Fortress temporary operations room, three projectors were simultaneously suspended in front of the main screen.
The first layer shows the progress of the registration system restructuring in the outlying urban areas.
The first floor is used for medical station maintenance and energy allocation.
There's another layer, which is a risk report about the Decepticons' expansion.
Jazz stood beside the main screen, swiping through several external liaison requests, his tone faster than usual: "Qingqiu City, Xuanji Lake City, and Tagang Heights have all sent cooperation requests. Ostensibly for governance assistance, they're all actually asking the same question."
Arcee looked up: "The Decepticons?"
"Yes." Jazz pushed one of the papers forward. "They want to know what the Decepticons are now."
The room fell silent for a moment; this question wasn't so easy to answer.
The jack leaned against one side, arms crossed: "If they only ask if it's troublesome, the answer is quite simple."
The ambulance driver said coldly, "Your definition of 'simple' has always been dangerous."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"This is not a compliment."
Looking at the marked expansion points on the main screen, Feiguoshan said, "No matter what they are, they're no longer just a matter within Kalon."
Tongtianxiao stood on the other side, organizing the draft of the code of conduct.
He didn't seem to have much tolerance for the occasional banter that broke out in the room.
"Therefore, the Autobots cannot continue to respond loosely," Ultra Magnus said. "External cooperation, operational authorization, and the boundaries of the use of force must all be clearly defined."
Jack glanced at the draft and said, "This thing looks like it could bury a machine alive."
Tongtianxiao: "It's complete enough."
Jack: "That doesn't comfort me at all."
Optimus Prime stood in front of the table, not joining their conversation.
His gaze lingered on the Decepticons' expansion report.
Those nodes are not just red warning points; behind them are real machines—low-level combat-type machines, old mining areas, military districts, and machines that were once crushed by the old society.
Megatron is not only ambitious, but he also raises his existing anger, which makes him quite dangerous.
Alita walked over to him and whispered, "You're thinking about Megatron."
Optimus Prime did not deny it: "I was thinking about the Decepticons; these two things are hard to separate."
"Yes." Alita looked at the nodes. "They're expanding faster than expected."
"Because what responded to them was always there," Optimus Prime said, "it just hadn't been organized before."
Alita paused for a moment, then said, "Then we need to be faster."
Optimus Prime looked up.
She looked at him and said, "Make up for what needs to be made up."
Optimus Prime nodded slightly; this was what he was thinking about as well.
The term "Autobot" cannot simply be a label attached to someone; it needs to assume real responsibilities—execution, protection, repair, coordination, and rescue—and also have boundaries.
Otherwise, it would be no different from any other armed group driven by slogans.
-
The detective arrived later that day.
He brought a weapon compatibility report and placed it directly in front of Optimus Prime: "The forearm railgun is stable, but you haven't done enough training."
The ambulance driver looked up and said, "Thank you for reminding him how to get himself into the repair shop more effectively."
The detective looked at him: "I was reminding him not to send anyone else in with him."
ambulance:"……"
Jack whispered beside him, "I like him."
The ambulance looked over.
Jack immediately added, "As a weapons expert."
Optimus Prime looked down at the report.
The structure of the railgun has been largely incorporated into the outer armor lines, no longer appearing as abrupt as it did initially.
The forearm armor has been thickened, and the shoulder and back have also been adjusted to withstand impact.
They ensure that when he has to be on the scene, he won't be a step behind the danger.
The ambulance clearly didn't like that explanation.
"You've put yourself on the on-site coordination list three times in a row," he said. "If your understanding of 'leadership' is to use yourself as a public shield, then I suggest you reread the maintenance manual."
The barrier, who had been standing nearby, looked up instinctively upon hearing the name "Block": "You called me?"
Arcee glanced at him, her lips twitching slightly. "He wasn't talking about you."
The panel touched the back of its neck: "Oh."
Flying Over the Mountain couldn't help but chuckle.
The ambulance rolled its eyes, wishing it could send half the machines in the room away for quiet maintenance.
Optimus Prime almost laughed too; the smile was already in his eyes.
If it were still Orion, he would probably have gently followed up with that sentence, making the atmosphere in the room more relaxed.
But he paused for a moment, and finally only said, "I'll be careful."
The jazz man glanced at him, his smile fading slightly.
The ambulance was also looking at him, but its gaze was not reproachful.
They all realized that there were certain things Orion would say that Optimus Prime wouldn't.
He has started to stop himself from speaking.
At this point, the police car pulled up its operational guidelines, its tone serious: "I suggest separating on-site coordination and the use of force into two separate authorizations. The Autobots cannot intervene in local disputes without clear rules, otherwise the old department will immediately seize on the overreach of authority."
Tong Tianxiao nodded: "Agreed. Guidelines must precede expansion."
Jack: "If you two get together, you'll eventually write a manual about the Autobots."
The police car looked at him: "If a manual can reduce accidental injuries and overstepping of authority, then it is necessary."
Jack shrugged: "I didn't say it wasn't necessary, I just hate it."
The jazz finally smiled: "That's the honest truth."
Optimus Prime incorporated the suggestion of police cars into the draft.
"We've split the authorization into two sets," he said. "On-site coordination prioritizes security and information verification. The use of force must meet one of three conditions: a clear threat, protection of the parties involved, or emergency intervention."
Tong Tianxiao acted swiftly and immediately incorporated the terms into the process.
Alita added, "The execution teams also need to be layered. Maintenance, information verification, on-site protection, and evacuation support should be separated."
"I'll lead the mobile unit," Arcee said.
Flying over the mountain immediately followed up: "I'll go with you."
The barrier was a beat slow to respond, then spoke up: "I can too."
Arcee looked at them.
Baffle quickly explained, "It's not that I have to follow you. I mean, heavy support might come in handy."
Fly over the mountain looked at him, then at Arcee, and his expression instantly became very interested.
Arcee said expressionlessly, "Don't even think about it."
Flying Over the Mountain: "I haven't said anything yet."
So don't say it.
The jazz was holding back his laughter so hard that his shoulder armor twitched.
Optimus Prime should have been smiling, but this time, he simply looked down to confirm the division of labor within the mobile unit.
He quickly suppressed that slight sense of ease, as if it had never surfaced.
-
The update from the judicial center arrived in the evening.
When Jazz relayed the message to Optimus Prime, his tone was very soft: "She's passed another test."
Optimus Prime looked up.
[Low-privilege appeal entry synchronization rules: Pilot program approved.]
[Basic Legal Framework and Public Safety Low-Level Course: Entering the trial phase.]
[Tiered access to career entry materials: Still under review.]
……
[Draft Proposal for the Establishment of the Cybertronian Comprehensive Basic Academy: Review Records to be Retained.]
Optimus Prime looked at the few lines of text, his expression softening, but he didn't speak immediately.
These things may not seem grand, but rather small and intricate; however, they may one day become the means for other machines to survive.
She would always reach into the most easily overlooked and most troublesome crevices to pry out the things that were really putting pressure on certain parts of the machine.
As Optimus Prime looked at the update, the light in his eyes became much calmer and gentler.
He knew she was tired, but she kept going.
It's hard for him not to be moved by her.
Instead of becoming the center of attention under the spotlight, she started from the root causes and the small details.
Optimus Prime opens his private frequency.
He wanted to send a message like, "You've worked hard, take care and get some rest."
The character stops in the input box.
He looked at it for a moment, then deleted it.
Change to: [I saw the trial notification. Great job!]
send.
This sentence is more appropriate, more like what he should say now.
After a long while, the vector finally replied: [Don't praise it. The fourth version is still being rejected.]
Then another one popped up.
[And why are your Autobots' code of conduct being copied to the judicial authorities? I just saw it!]
Optimus Prime, upon reading this, finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The smile was fleeting; the jazz musician beside him only caught a glimpse of it.
"What did she say?"
Optimus Prime turned off the radio: "She's questioning our copy coverage."
The ambulance driver scoffed, "Her questioning is quite valid."
Jack looked at Optimus Prime: "See, I told you there would be an Organic Annoying Manual."
Tong Tianxiao: "Code of conduct is not a manual."
Jack: "You're writing a manual more like this."
The room relaxed slightly.
Optimus Prime quickly suppressed his smile.
He replied to the referrer: "This involves the boundaries of the use of force and requires judicial opinion."
Soon, the reply came: "Okay. I'll watch it later."
late.
Optimus Prime stared at those two words for a long while.
They all seem to be putting off saying a lot of things.
Greetings, concerns, explanations—things that weren't appropriate for the official frequency—Orion used to say those things more easily.
The current Optimus Prime would first consider whether this statement would cause her trouble, whether it would be misinterpreted, or whether it would make her already complicated position even more difficult.
Upon assuming the throne, he was asked: Your judgments, actions, and silences will no longer belong solely to yourself.
At that time, he answered, "I admit it."
Now he began to truly understand what that sentence meant.
His words will be interpreted, and so will his silence.
The distance between him and Megatron will be pondered.
Every public interaction between him and the vector is subject to scrutiny, interpretation, and examination.
Even his brief smile seemed like it shouldn't linger too long in front of too many machines.
His personal emotions are finding it increasingly difficult to find a suitable place.
-
Late at night, the operations room was finally half empty.
An ambulance was forced to handle a machine that had become overexcited during training.
Jack and Detective are still working on the heat dissipation solution for the railgun in the weapon adaptation process.
Police Car and Skydawn continue to revise their operational guidelines.
Alita was in charge of organizing the order of cooperation in the city for the next day.
Jazz sat quietly next to Optimus Prime, a rare occurrence for him.
Only two items remained on the main screen: one was the Decepticon expansion report, and the other was the draft of the Autobots' code of conduct.
After watching for a while, the jazz musician suddenly said, "You know you haven't been laughing as much lately, have you?"
Optimus Prime remained silent for a moment.
"Know."
"I'm not blaming anyone."
"I know."
The jazz man tilted his head to look at him: "You're saying 'I know' a lot more often now."
Optimus Prime looked at him.
Jazz shrugged: "It's just recording a phenomenon."
Optimus Prime stared at the main screen for a while before saying, "Some things can no longer be said the way they were before."
"Because you're Optimus Prime?"
"Because they'll take it as something Optimus Prime would say."
The jazz murmured for a moment, then asked, "What about Orion?"
The name settled in the room like a light, old part.
Optimus Prime didn't look away: "He's still here."
He simply had fewer and fewer opportunities to speak first, so he didn't say those words, and the Jazz didn't press him for details.
After a while, the knight pushed another report on him.
"There's still no progress on the leadership module leads."
Optimus Prime took it; the report contained almost nothing.
No clear location found.
[Information conflict in old files.]
[Some related records have abnormal permissions.]
[We recommend continuing to monitor this.]
The name has been given, and authority has been assumed, but that older, deeper recognition still hangs in the balance somewhere.
Optimus Prime looked at the report, his mind as calm as a still lake.
He didn't think this would allow him to temporarily shirk his responsibilities; on the contrary, he couldn't see himself as a leader who had already accomplished his task.
He must bear the consequences of every step he takes; he cannot rely on ancient symbols to prove himself, nor should he rely on the expectant gaze of all to make decisions for him.
Jazz whispered, "Megatron is probably keeping an eye on it too."
"I know."
"here we go again."
Optimus Prime finally looked up at him this time.
Jazz shrugged: "Record the phenomenon."
Optimus Prime looked at the old file numbers of the conflicts on the report.
He knew, of course, that Megatron would be watching the leadership module, and that Megatron wouldn't let that gap slip by.
The Decepticons are expanding, and there are increasingly more responses to this.
The fact that the leadership module was not in place is more than just an opportunity for Megatron.
That would be a battlefield.
As Optimus Prime thought of this, the optical mirror dimmed slightly.
He still remembers many times when they stood in the same direction, seeing the same decay of the old system, discussing the difficult realities, yet facing them together.
But now, their answers are changing.
He archived the leadership module report, reopened the Autobots Code of Conduct, and found the last item still blank.
Optimus Prime paused for a moment, then wrote:
[Automotive companies may not, in the name of protection, deprive those they protect of their choices.]
The jazz officer glanced at that line and his brow furrowed slightly: "This one will be troublesome."
"Yes."
"It will be more complicated to implement."
"I know."
The jazz looked at him and ultimately didn't utter those three words again.
Optimus Prime has confirmed the submission.
[Autobot Code of Conduct: Initial Archive]
Outside, the light in the Iron Fortress at night was cold and quiet.
His responsibility wouldn't stop there; he stood up.
The several machines in the operations room that were still waiting for confirmation looked up at him.
"Starting tomorrow, follow the guidelines."
"Automotive people should guarantee that citizens still have the right to choose."
There was a moment of silence in the room, then Tongtianxiao was the first to nod.
Alita looked at him, her expression unchanged. Jazz didn't laugh, he just let out a soft breath.
Optimus Prime looked down at the guidelines on the table.
Orion is still here, but now, Optimus Prime must speak first.
He hoped that the gravitational vector could see this.
He still had his doubts and those personal emotions, but he could no longer put them before his responsibilities.
He also wished she could stand closer to him.
This thought... didn't even seem like the kind of desire a leader should have, so he didn't voice it.
He simply turned off the message that hadn't been sent yet on his private channel and looked back at the code of conduct.
There are still many things to do after tomorrow.
As for those unspoken words...
Let's do it later.