"I did tell him," Drift starts to say, twisting in his station chair to look intently at Ratchet, "he tried to get me to stay, but I told him it was too important -- "

Except the news about the vote hits Drift at a bad angle, catches him off guard, and his optics flicker, and for a moment he looks a little hopelessly dumbfounded.

"What? He had a -- what?" Why the hell would Rodimus risk losing his position when Drift had sacrificed everything to make sure he kept it? Drift rubs his face again, sitting back in the station chair. "I mean -- no one was supposed to find out, anyway, but -- a vote?" Slowly, Drift pulls his hands away from his face and looks back at Ratchet. "And you voted for him to leave?"