The Winding Road ch. 2

     "I saw her again yesterday," a boy exclaimed to his friend. Three boys were sitting at a picnic table conversing on one of their most popular rumors.

     "Was she on her robosteed again?" Another asked with wide eyes.

     "What are you three goofballs talking about?" They turned to see Mahry approaching them.

     "About the girl raised by robots," the little redheaded boy said in way that it was the most normal thing to talk about.

     Mahry gave herself a small face palm. "Guys, there is no possible way for a bunch of robots to find a baby abandoned in the woods and raise it as their own."

     "Not the woods," the oldest, a blond, explained. "A destroyed town."

     The brunette shook her head. For the past six months or so, there was supposedly a sighting of a girl riding some robotic creature. It was mostly the teenagers and especially younger kids that the rumor was popular with. Mahry had no idea on how they saw a girl, considering the fact that everyone was forbidden to leave the outer perimeters of the Hub.
     The story goes that when the robots or warring humans destroyed a town, another group of robots traveled by and saw a lone baby crying in the debris. They took the child and raised her as their own. There was only one problem with that story…

     "Guys," Mahry started. "What age do you think the girl is?"

     "I heard she's in her teens," the redhead guessed.

     "Uh-huh. Okay, how long has this supposed war been going on?"

     The blond looked at her. "Three years."

     There was a moment of silence when realization took a hold of their features.

     "Of course," a boy with some Asian descent and nice thick black hair started. "Since they're robots, there is a possibility of accelerating her age."

     "Bull cookies," Mahry put her hands on her waist and gave them a look that was only intensified by the glare of her glasses. "You know you're not suppose to go out there. You're not proving anything."

     "I'm telling you, the Robot's Human exists!"

     Mahry's right eye started the tall tell signs of an eye twitch. "You gave her a title?"

     "Well," The black haired boy simply put. "We're still thinking of a better name of what to call her."

     "Hey," the blond stood up looking very happy. "Since she most likely thinks she's a robot, and is pretending to be one, how about we call her Pretend!"

     Mahry just stood there in dumbfounded shock as these boys were getting all excited over a title that was technically, well, unoriginal and lame. But hey, if thinking of stupid names is what will keep them out of trouble, then who is she to ruin their disturbed way of fun? She was rubbing the bridge of her nose when the blond said something that made her stomach turn.

     "I wonder if a human can reproduce with a robot," was the joking voice. "Can you even imagine what the kid would look like?"

     By this time Mahry was getting too grossed out, and with them putting the Katy Perry and Kanye West ET song into the mix…too many images were embedding in her mind. "Just…just no. You're done." She was interrupted by further torment when the roar of a Porsche came rolling into town.

     Raoul looked up as a Porsche came rolling in his garage. "Hey Chad, how's it going?"

     "Same stuff as usual," Chad came out of his car. "Just came for the usual stuff."

     "How's your niece doing?"

     "Oh she's good," Chad gave a warm smile. "My lil' bright ray of sunshine she can be." He tipped down the shades of his sunglasses as a certain woman with chestnut hair came in.

     "Great, you again."

     "Hello to you to Marissa," Chad gave a cheeky smile.

     "What brings you here?" Raoul asked.

     "I'm going to install that device, since you're so preoccupied doing nothing," Marissa retorted. "Astoria is real serious about it."

     Both men watch as Marissa grabbed a couple boxes and left. "Sometimes I wonder if she's secretly a man," Raoul shook his head. "I pity whoever goes out with her."

     "She's taken?" Chad looked a bit stricken.

     The mechanic gave a smirk. "No, and you don't have a very good chance with her anyway."

     Chad turned to look at his reflection off a nearby mirror. Light brown hair with some blond streaks, and stunning blue eyes, Chad thought he looked pretty good. "Why not? I'm better lookin' than you anyway. I'm a lady killer."

     "Well, Marissa must not be a lady then," Raoul laughed.

     Chad gave a small smirk and shook his head. "So what's this device I've been hearing about?"

     Raoul sighed. "Astoria's been wanting to ump up the defense a bit. The device should send out some electronic shrills to halt and temporary paralyze any robotic creatures that enter our perimeter.

     "Uh, is this automatic?"

     "Unfortunately no. Someone has to set the alarm off before manually turning on the device. Astoria calls it 'The Shriller'," Raoul sets his hands up in a way of advertisement before noticing the look on Chad's face. "Don't worry. Skywatch specially made it so it won't affect a normal car. Your Porsche will be safe."

     "Right," Chad rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just going to start mozing down to the market if ya don't mind."

     "I told you I don't want to hear assumptions on how they reproduce!"

     They both saw Mahry run by, her ears covered with her hands as some younger boys talking nonsense were chasing her. Whatever they were saying, they were grossing the poor brunette out.

     Raoul chuckled. "Typical. Those boys are getting crazy with that rumor."

     "What rumor?"

     "Oh something about a modern female 'Roy Rogers' riding around on a robohorse 'Trigger'," he waved it off.

     "A robohorse?"

     "Something like that. I think they're on drugs though," Raoul said. "One of them sneaked out and supposedly saw a girl with a robotic quite a few miles back. I think it's like the third or fourth sighting or whatever." Raoul looked at Chad. "You okay man? You look kinda serious there for a moment."

     The soft brunette flashed a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." It was after Chad got everything he needed and put it in the trunk of his car, did he sat at the drivers seat and closed the door. "Slag!"

&&&

  
     Mirage did not approve of this at all. Learning self-defense is fine considering today's world. Learning some tips and tricks of the trade from other bots, also fine. What was not fine is rough housing with a minibot, Cliffjumper no less! It always seemed that whenever Jenifer and the minibot practiced fighting techniques, it always, always turned into them going down on the floor in playful rough housing. It's unlady-like, and borderline barbaric. Being noble meant high standards in everything, including sparring. What the Towers mech couldn't understand is how Prowl, a noble himself in the Praxian lineage, didn't so much bat a doorwing at the sight.

     Speaking of the devil, Prowl then came by Mirage's side observing the horseplay. By this point, the minibot had Jen pin downed as she was trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

     "How does this not bother you?" Mirage tilted his head slightly to the SIC.

     "There's no reason for it to bother me," Prowl kept on looking straight ahead. "Cliffjumper knows what he's doing."

     "Never thought I'd hear Cliffjumper's name in that same sentence," Mirage said. "It's not civil. What is Jenifer gaining from this?"

     "Muscle tone," Prowl commented. "She is gaining strength from this."

     "She could be doing other, more beneficial work," Mirage frowned when the minibot was speaking to the human, lightly putting one of his fingers on her small neck. Cliffjumper then put one of her hands on his neck cables.

     "Interesting," Mirage eyed the tactician suspiciously.

     "And what, may I ask, is so interesting?"

     Still not looking at Mirage, Prowl continued, "He's teaching her our generalized weak spots."

     The noble scoffed. "I don't see what good it will do considering Jenifer can barely even reach a minibot's waist. I highly doubt she'll ever use it," Mirage gave a desperate sigh. "Out of all the mechs here for her to befriend, why Cliffjumper?"

     This time, Prowl faced Mirage. Mirage was from the Towers, which was an extremely high caste society, if not the highest. On the other hand, Cliffjumper was from the slums of Polyhex. Second to Kaon before the war, many of the Polyhexians high society individuals were very corrupt. So it seemed natural for Mirage and Cliffjumper to butt heads. Mirage was raised in a society that was told to never mind the lower caste, and was in an environment that chooses not to bother with the outside world. The Towers were clean and pristine, and everything was easy to get. Cliffjumper was raised with little structure and depended on wits and brute force should the situation call for it. One individual thought of the other as a weak-minded wild barbarian, and the other believed the mech to be an elitist snob.

      The reason why the minibot didn't mind Prowl was because Praxian nobles were considered more humble, and were, for the most part, taught to be open-minded and fortunate to be living the way they were.

     "Jenifer's choice of friends though," Prowl thought of the twins and Bluestreak, and the friendship between those three in general were to be considered something. "Is exotic to our preferences, but she has chosen wisely. And as her guardian and mentor, we should respect that decision."

     Mirage looked out the window to see Jen now clinging to Cliffjumper's back as he was trying, and failing, to get her off. Though no sound could come through the glass, the noble saw laughter from the young woman. "I had a mentor once," he started. "He was of the higher caste, but you wouldn't think that when you look at him."

     "Appearances are often deceiving," Prowl hummed.

     "And that was the first lesson I learned from him," Mirage said. "And the one that will forever be embedded in my processor. The one lesson he taught me was 'There is no greater gift you can give, to anybody, than the gift of an education'." There was then a slight pause. "That saying since then has stuck with me. From then on out I wanted to strove to be as great a teacher as he."

     Prowl looked through the viewing window again. "I say you have succeeded. I'll be truthful though. For someone who has a strong dislike to this planet, you surprised me when you offered your assistance to Jenifer."

     Another melancholy sigh escaped the noble. "She reminds me of myself when she first came here. Scared, confused, and lost everything she knew and loved," then a strange yet familiar look came upon his features. "Besides, I knew my teachings wouldn't be wasted."

      Prowl gave Mirage his full attention now, slightly bemused. "Oh?"

     Mirage glanced at the window, with a calculating finger on his chin. "Nice size cranium, bright if not distant eyes, and not to mention some very fine features. Elegant even, if she would put the effort to dress herself up," he turned to face the tactician. "If anything, she is a Towers stuck in a human body," he looked at Jen again to confirm his statement. "Well…maybe a Praxian noble stuck in a human body."

     Mirage did not fail to notice the slight tick by Prowl's mouth. "I see," the tactician carefully said. "We'll just let them finish up."

     By this time both minibot and human were laying on their backs seemingly chatting. "If I were Sideswipe, Brawn, or even Jazz when he's having one of those days," Mirage started. "I'd sic the drones on them as a wake up call."

    Whatever thoughts both had were interrupted when a very peeved figure entered the control room.

&&&


     "I'd say I showed you whose boss," lazily laying on her back, Jen turned her smiling head to face her companion.

     "I don't think so," Cliffjumper replied, just staring at the training room ceiling. "I had you pinned down for ten minutes."

     "Says the guy who could barely reach behind his back," was the retort. "I'm surprised you can reach your spears."

     "Hey! My spears don't cling onto me like you do!"

     Jen just stared at the ceiling unimpressed. "Uh-huh, sure."
     The minibot brought his hand around and poked her side. "We're not as flexible as you humans are. As a matter of fact, I still get the creeps with the way you sit sometimes."

     They sat in a comfortable silence until Jen spoke up. "Jazz is kinda peeved at me."

     Cliffjumper gave a small grunt. "What did you do?"

     "I was outside with Noshe and multiple times he chased a squirrel."

     "So?"

     "Which would lead us near a town," when that happened, Jen thought for sure nobody was in that area. Granted, it was for the most part wide-open space with a few trees here or there, which would leave the turbo fox and young woman in plain sight for whoever saw. She had no idea had Jazz found out, but nothing could be hidden from Jazz for long.

     "Hey Cliffjumper," there was now a tone of curiosity in her voice. "Have you ever been in a relationship?"

     The minibot propped himself up with his arm to get a really good look at Jen to see if this was some kind of trick question, but he saw no mirth in her eyes.

     "Are relationships on Cybertron very similar to that on Earth?"

     There was a distant look in his cerulean optics. "There was one…vorns ago," Cliffjumper gave a rare sad look at Jen before looking back at the floor. "But she betrayed me."

     Whatever it was he was going to say was interrupted when the training room turned on. The lights went dim and then brighten. Certain areas of the floor came up at different heights like giant blocks. The lights brighten more in an accusing manner.

     The moment the atmosphere of the room changed, Cliffjumper leaped to a crouch by Jen. The young woman jumped up, practically leveled with the minibots face.

     "Uh, Cliff," Jen eyed the shifting room warily. "Please tell me this is part of your training."

     A hidden door on the west side of the wall opened up and four drones came gilding out. From the safety of the window, Jen had seen different types of drones for training. The drones that her and her friend saw now were skinny and angular. These were the drones that were used to perfect the mechs shooting aim, as their slim figures offered few good hits. These had two knee joints. The first knee stuck out as the second knee went back before reaching the foot. Their walk screamed predator. The drones' faces were humanoid with jackal-like features. Because of their physical characteristics, Jen rightly called the Jackals.

     :Cliffjumper to control, turn off stimulation. I have Jen in here!: He growled in frustration. He tried opening a link to Red Alert, but it was jammed. Whoever was in the control room, wanted them to wade it out.

     Around the room the four Jackals had them surrounded. Wary, the minibot did a quick observation. They were acting strange. Jackals were the most aggressive drones by their default programming. These here were just idly watching the two sentient beings, non-aggressive like it was the norm. Whoever was in the control room, not only knew how to jam his distress signal, but also knew how to completely re-program the Jackal drones. There were three mechs on the Ark that are capable of doing both with relative ease and efficacy. One of those mechs was Mirage.

     Anger boiling into his processor, Cliffjumper lunged at one of the drones. In doing so, he left Jen wide open. The Jackal easily dodged the minibot, but with it's back turn the red warrior impaled its back with his spear. The drone went down and Cliffjumper had only a second to realize it was too easy when he heard his friend shriek.

     As soon as Cliffjumper left her, a Jackal snuck up behind Jen and lifted her off the ground. If she had not been human, or thoroughly trained like a soldier would be, then Jen would have acted accordingly. Since she was an untrained human, the fight or flight instinct kicked in and Jen panicked, for neither was an option for that moment.  

     "Jen!" At the sound of her name being called, the dark blond snapped back to the present. She looked at the drone holding her and spotted a big cable jutting out like a 'c' behind its neck. Jen gave a quick prayer and lunged at the cable. Both hands firmly grasping it, Jen felt the lower half of her body roughly go over its shoulder, and was now hanging on from behind.

     Cliffjumper tried vainly to get to her, but the aggression levels of the two remaining drones rose up and prevented the minibot from advancing, and they grabbed each of his arms. With a mighty heave, Cliffjumper smashed the two drones together and ran for his friend before they even hit the ground.

     At this point Jen's grip was steadily slipping. As gravity kept on pushing her down, the cable line she was hanging on started to come loose. The Jackals elbow kept on coming back and ramming into her left knee. Finally the cable snapped, and the young woman would of hit the floor like a rag doll if it weren't for Cliffjumper lunging for her.

     The drone gave a final spasm before dropping to the floor with a metallic thud. Jen had her arm somewhat around Cliffjumper's neck, her forehead resting on him. "I think," she said a bit shakily. "We're done for today."

     The minibot's hold on her tightens. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. He had actually left her wide open; exposed, vulnerable. He let his temper get the better of him, again! And Jen paid the price. He turned around when the sound of a door swooshed open, and three figures came in. "Mirage," he growled.

     "It wasn't my idea," the noble said flatly.

     "Well if it wasn't you then…" Cliffjumper glanced at Prowl. Surely Prowl would never, though capable of, reprogram the drones with his ward in here, would he? He glanced down at Jen who was staring at Jazz with a knowing look. Then he remembered what Jen shared with him. Now the pieces were together, but the question remained, "Why?"

     The saboteur stepped closer to the two on the ground. His gaze was fixed on the human. "What if Cliffjumper wasn't here?" His voice was calm with no obvious anger. "What if those were Decepticons?"

     Clearly chastened, Jen pointed her nose down. There was nothing to say. Cliffjumper growled, "Well I was here with her!"

     "And yet you left her completely wide open," Prowl added. "You might as well have not been here."

     The minibot was taken aback. He never meant to put his friend in jeopardy. If those drones had malfunction, then who knows what damage they could have done. "But why would you let Jazz do this? Why would you, both of you, endanger her? !"

     Prowl's features remained neutral while Jazz appeared a bit peeved, but remained quiet. Mirage shook his head and left. "Jenifer never was in danger in the first place. There are times action has to be taken for a lesson to be learned. You very well know that Cliffjumper."

     In the past, Cliffjumper had a major fight with Bumblebee and forcefully punched the young spy. There were no serious injuries, but Ratchet made Bumblebee pretended he had suffered an internal injury. The red warrior felt terrible, but he did learn, for the most part.  

     "I also wanted to see how you would react if my ward really was in danger and I wasn't around. I must say, I am extremely disappointed." The SIC ignored the death glare he was getting. "Jenifer," the human slowly gazed up at him, unsure. "What you did was risky given your stature, but I am impressed. Your knee is undamaged?"

     "It's nothing," she said.

     Jazz looked at her. "We're not mad at ya Jen. We're sorry for the scare, but ya really could have been hurt. Ya have to be careful here," there was a pause. "And outside." He gave a small smile, showing no hard feelings. "We cool?"

     "…Yeah."

     Prowl nodded and turned to leave. "You get double monitor duty and clean the dinobots cave for exposing my ward, Cliffjumper. Jenifer, you get to help me in my office for being careless outside."

     Despite the fact that helping Prowl was completely boring and uneventful, Jen was fine with that. Cliffjumper on the other hand looked out raged with the insult to injury.

     "What? !" He got up and bunted the down drone, blaming it for what had happened. He had no intention bringing Jen in the training room to spar ever again.

&&&


     Humans are, and forever shall be disgusting creatures, Starscream concluded. Earth and all it's inhabitants are nothing more than insignificant beasts at best. The only good useful thing about Earth was the resource it provided to make energon. Out of all the organic planets Starscream has been to, this mud ball of a planet held the most with resources.

     The war to control Cybertron has been going on for too long. Far too long to the point that they had to steal from other planets for the energon they need, for Cybertron's was dwindling. The last Starscream heard, Shockwave found a way to recycle resources that they had to make energon. The lieutenant still depended on the Earth group to send in energon via spacebridge whenever possible. If possible, really.

     That itself was becoming more and more cumbersome. The human group, Skywatch, was becoming increasingly annoying. With Skywatch, less and less humans each day are fighting. It was a shame really. Starscream actually enjoyed watching them kill and beat each other. It was so amusing.

     The seeker commander strode through the Nemesis hallways, passing his comrades. With every week that infernal human group was getting stronger. So much so that it would eventually be risky to stay out in the open. When raiding, the Decepticons have around four to five hours by a human town, four to three hours by an industrial plant.

     These disgusting carbon-based midgets were somehow stealing their technology! Starscream bared his teeth and clenched his fist. How? What lead do they have? It's sure not the Autobots, for they were at risk as well.

     It will only be a matter of time before they find their answer. Megatron already made Soundwave commission a facsimile that was already working its way into Skywatch, and unknowing of what truly happened to it.
     Facsimiles, cloned copies of organics with ranging life spans depending on how well they were manufactured from the batch. It is an ingenious technology for the Decepticons to infiltrate into enemy lines. So ingenious, that Starscream felt it shouldn't be wasted on this human group unless it'll give them an advantage to destroy the Autobots. Starscream often questions Megatron's actions.

     Where was the leader that promised a better time and era for Cybertron?

     There was a metal swoosh of a door opening and closing in the room Megatron was in. "What do you want Starscream?"

     The seeker's ember optics brightens a bit with irritation. "Why do you care about the infernal human group? Why waste or resources on it?"

     Megatron gave him a bored gaze. "They have our technology and are using it against their masters."

     "Everybody knows that! Let the humans play with their toys, and maybe it will explode in their faces," Starscream said.

     "It's of Decepticon origin."

     The second in command let out a huff. "Our concern should be defeating the Autobots and restoring Cybertron to a time before Autobot Elites corrupted it."

     "That is what I'm getting at Starscream. We need to get them from the inside out to do it efficiently," Megatron tapped at the keyboard. "We already have that assigned to someone." A malevolent smile was upon the warlord's features. "Fortune has been smiling upon us when we found the first human to deploy. As for the Autobots, another human is now ripe for the taking. It is now just the matter of getting her."

&&&


     "It's been eerily quiet in the med-bay area," Powerglide commented. He along with some of the others, including the Wreckers, was in the rec room.

     "Let's make a betting table to see if something will happen," Smokescreen took out a datapad. "Any offers?"

     Roadbuster toss some purple disks on the table. "Three credits that Wheeljack is working on something."

     "Four credits that he is going to lose his left hand again through said invention," Tracks added.

     "Six saying Grimlock is going to come in with a tantrum," Brawn smirked.

     Topspin gave an awkward smile. "That shouldn't count. Everybody could win that bet!"

     "Ten credits for the human doing something stupid," everybody turned to Twin Twist. "What?" The Wrecker exclaimed. "Oh come on, that's a given. The human is bound to screw something up, and I'm not just talking about the med-bay."

     "That human has a name," Powerglide frowned.

     "A name you have yet to call her by," Bluestreak added. "I don't appreciate you insulting her Twin Twist."

     "It's not insulting if it is a known fact," the Wrecker bluntly putted.

     "Hey!" Brawn exclaimed a bit outraged. "You try being five foot two and around 'bots that can step on you!"

     Bluestreak looked a bit insulted. "Brawn, Jen's not that small for a human."

     "Puh-lease," Tracks scoffed. "Five-two is generous."

     "Twenty credits saying that I'm going to tell Prowl about this betting table," Kup strutted in with Drift.

     "What betting table?" Smokescreen gestured to the credits with his hand not occupied by a datapad. "We're being charitable and giving away some of our credits," he smiled. "Aren't we allowed to be generous once in awhile Kup?"

     The old veteran swished around his cygar looking at the mechs before eyeing the table. "In that case," He then grabbed all credits and shoved them in a bag he had subspaced. "Don't mind if I do." He tossed one credit on the table, and it swiveled before it laid flat. "Treat yourself to something nice," he then left the room.

     Drift looked at the others. Some mouths were agape, while some look deflated. "So…what was the bet about?"

     "What's going on in the med-bay," the diversion tactician subspaced his datapad. "It's been pretty quiet."

     "Oh."

     "What to do you mean, 'oh'?" Brawn growled at the sword slinger.

     Drift merely shrugged. "They were giving Grimlock a checkup."

    "Did Wheeljack lose his left hand?" Tracks interjected.
     
     "His right actually."

&&&


     "I do not like this," Red Alert commented to Jazz within the monitor womb. "The Decepticons have been far too quiet."

     "Red, ya know we can't attack them on a fly without a reliable plan," Jazz replied. "One of their bases is underwater."

     "And there is another one on land somewhere," the security director looked down at the exposed panel. His system has been acting fritzy to his displeasure. Wheeljack and Perceptor had given him two options to fix it. The first option was that they could take the system apart, and leave the security down for a few hours. The other option was using that human to go into the tight area to tighten the wires that came loose. Red Alert wasn't happy about either option, at least with the second one the alert systems will still be operating.

     "Maybe you're putting too much concern into it," the woman's voice echoed out to them. "Maybe the Decepticons are worried about something else."

     Red Alert rapped on the panel, creating a vibration where Jen was. "I say you pay attention to what you're doing and keep your mouth shut to what you don't understand."

     "Well excuse me princess! It's not my fault you brought your pitiful war to my planet!"

     Jazz grabbed Red Alert's shoulder before the security director would do something. "Ya been nagging her for over an hour. Just let her be for awhile."

     "You hear the way she spoke to me?"

     "I'm doing you a favor!" The echo replied.

     Jazz sighed. Both of them were crabby, and rightly so. Red was upset about his security system, and Jen's blood sugar was low.

     "No, we're doing you a favor by letting you stay here!" Red shouted. "You should be fortunate!"

     "You know what? Fine! Maybe I should leave!"

     "At this rate I would love to never see you again. Where we have been fighting and doing work, you are just sitting on your fleshy butt! So if you do go I'd say good riddance you miserable pest! You are nothing more than a burden."

     "Alright enough!" Jazz yelled and there was silence. "Red, go to the rec room and get yourself some energon."

     "You can't kick me out of here! I have to make sure this insufferable human does her job!"

     The saboteur set a hand on his shoulder. "Please brother. Both of ya need your space, and I'll make sure Jen finishes efficiently, okay?"

     Red Alert huffed, but reluctantly left. "Don't pay any attention to him Jen. Red doesn't mean half of the things he says when he's stressed like this."

     There was a pause, then, "You two are brothers? As in, biological brothers?"

     Jazz gave a goofy smirk though Jen could not see it. "In your terms, yeah. We're not twins, but we are related."

     "So does that make Prowl and Bluestreak brothers?"

     "They're cousins, actually."

     There was a clang. "How could I not know this for the two and a half years I was here? God, I'm horrible!"

     Jazz chuckled. "We may have family units, but unless they're twins or bond mates, our units are not as strong as yours. It's rare."

     They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until there was a distinct clicking noise. "Got it!" The woman rejoiced. The screen had then ceased its jumping, and was clear of any noise.

     Thirty seconds after that, the alarms sounded, and Red Alert barged in. Jazz hit a teal button, and the loud speakers came on. "Decepticon activity a mile away from the Ark eastbound."

     "How many are there?" Jen had crawled back out.

     "Primus, they might as well have sent for the whole battalion," the security director cursed.

     "Looks like we're going to need the dinobots for this," Jazz then turned his head down towards Jen. "Jen, get yourself to the med-bay. You, First Aid, and Perceptor are the only ones at the med-bay."

     "Yes sir," Jen whistled for Noshe and they zoomed off.

     "This is unlike Megatron," Red Alert commented. "He never sends out all his troops at once. That's just plain careless!"

     He was right. Already on Earth the Decepticons outnumber the Autobots, but the warlord knows they were still capable of fighting back. Jazz opened a private comm. link and ordered two of their soldiers to remain here.

     "I'll be back Red, just keep your optics peeled on your screens."

     "Don't have to tell me twice."

&&&


     Prowl ducked down as shrapnel flew over his head. It's been fifteen minutes and already the land they were standing on was becoming full with craters. Nearly all of Megatron's forces were here, but something was off.

     The Decepticons weren't going full force. Skywarp was playing keep away from Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, occasionally shooting at the two. It was as though he was merely playing. The dinobots were at it with the constructicons, and Slag just nearly gored Hook.

     Another bomb whistled through the air as Prowl was taking in the sight, dodging gunfire while firing his own. Despite the groundforces, and excluding Megatron, the seekers were the biggest threat in any battle. The strategist glanced up at the sky. Where was Thundercracker? Seekers always fight in trines. Always, unless this wasn't a fight for them. But why…

     : Red Alert to Prowl, do you copy?:

     : You're soft, but I can hear you. What's wrong?:

     : The monitors have all fritz suddenly! Is Soundwave out there with you?:

     The SIC darted his head around, scanning the area once again. There was no sign of the third in command. Then he knew. Now it was all the matter of getting back to base as quickly as possible.

     : Red Alert, put the automotive guns on full sensitivity. We've been set up.:

&&&


     "How many injuries do you think we'll get?" Jen was pacing on the med-bay floor. Noshe was lying down, head following her form. "I mean, Ratchet can only do so much on the field."

     "We won't know till then," First Aid added. "In any case, you just handle the basic patch work on the lesser injuries, and we'll handle the rest."

     "Um…do you mind if I run to my room for a moment? I want to get my backpack."

     "Be quick," First Aid said.

     Out in the hallway, Jen speed walked to her room. She went to one of the corners and pulled out her dull blue-grey 'emergency' backpack. Her family made a habit of having a bag since the start of the invasion. She couldn't explain why she needed it now, but Jen had a weird urge to get it. Who knew how long she'd remain in the med-bay.

     Once everything was gathered, Jen and Noshe came back out in the hallway. The atmosphere was different. Jen could not put her finger on it. The quiet that was originally there was now replaced with a sinister motive that should only belong to horror movies and stories. The woman knew it wasn't just her because Noshe was visibly tense as well. For reinsurance, Jen glanced up to the nearest security camera. The small red light that was always on was now off. That was strange. She knew that red light was on right before she entered her room.

      Jen found her gaze drawn in the direction of the rec room. Her worn Nike shoe took one step towards that direction when Noshe gave a warning growl. "Right, we should get back."

     Walking much faster than before, they were heading back towards the med-bay when a noise came from above. It felt like a low boom that left everything vibrating a bit. Red Alert must of felt it too because alarms were now blaring, and lights were flashing red. Jen and Noshe took that cue and ran as fast as Jen could. Jen heard noises in the vents above them. Panic raced through her, but mellowed slightly when the noises went past them. The dark blond gave a short scream when two things fell from the ceiling.

     "You think this is the human Rumble?" A red mech asked. Both were about a good three feet taller than Jen.

     "It's the only human I see here Frenzy," the blue one replied. He gave a cruel smile towards the woman. "Now either come to us willingly, or we'll be more than happy to take you by force."

     "Yeah, we would just hate to ring that pretty little neck of yours."

     Before she could do anything, Noshe flung Jen on his back and ran in the opposite direction. They just about entered the rec room when a black mass came out of nowhere and rammed itself into the turbo fox. At the speed Noshe was going, the impact knocked him down and Jen flew off and roughly landed on the floor, causing a metal equivalent version of rug burn in areas that her wrist bands couldn't protect real well.

     She shakily got up and was greeted by a panther with red eyes staring at her. She gasped as her memory quickly went back to the time she was lost outside, trying to find her way back to the Ark. She could have sworn she was being watched by something not natural. "It was you."

     Ravage gave a low growl. He remembered her well. The human can't be all that weak if she survived that illness that plagued her. His thoughts were interrupted when Noshe slammed into him. Ravage got up and lunged at the smaller sleeker form, only to find himself shot on the side.

     "Bluestreak!" Jen was about to run to him when a foot slammed down in front of her. She looked up to see whom the foot belonged to. Prowl had showed her pictures of varies Decepticons. The one Decepticon here was very distinct. It was the third in command, Soundwave. The cold red visor stared down at her, and Jen felt herself shrink.

     Bluestreak fired many shots with his rifle. All shots landed on Soundwave. The Decepticon barely cringed and returned a few shots of his own back. Bluestreak dodged most of them, but one of them got his rifle, and it was thrown out of his grasp.

     Soundwave then took the initiative to bend down and reach out towards Jenifer. Jen scrambled out of the way before a sword almost cut into the Decepticon's arm. After Soundwave recoiled, Drift used his sword to block an oncoming attack.

     "Run!" He shouted.

     With Noshe appearing Jen hopped on his back and ran back to where they came in, only for a table to fly in and block their way out. Jen turned and saw Rumble and Frenzy grabbing Drift. The white mech did a roundhouse kick to shake them off before he caught and severed Frenzy's hand with his sword.

     Noshe jumped to the side when Soundwave gave a half-hearted lunge at them. Bluestreak lunged at the Decepticon TIC, but the Decepticon was quicker, and quickly dashed behind the grey gunner.

     Jen gave a shout when one of Bluestreak's doorwings got torn off right from its hinge. Jen knew how sensitive those doorwings are, and to have one suddenly torn off?

     Jen couldn't do anything since Ravage started giving chase. The only escape was the entrance leading outside. Jen figured she'd hide out there until help arrived.

     The woman held on as Noshe darted out the door. All seemed well on the outside, but the dark blond got the most horrible case of goosebumps that shivered up her spine when a huge shadow came over them. Timidly, Jen turned her head to see what is was and wish she hadn't. According to the pictures she has been shown, the build was a seeker. She knew of Starscream, Prowl had made sure of that, but the woman couldn't exactly remember the names of the other two. This one was almost all blue, so there was only slight relief that it wasn't the Decepticon SIC.


     Thundercracker loomed above the human and her pet. He was just about to head in the Ark when she ran out. Perfect. Looks like the others managed to herd the human out just as planned. Megatron's orders were to grab her relatively unharmed; Hence, why him and not Skywarp. Thundercracker assumed his lord must have a really good plan what to do with the human, if he's willing to put some effort into retrieving her.

     He reached down to grab her when the turbo fox darted out of his grasp. Okay, this fox was not part of the plan. Turbo foxes are skittish creatures by nature, if Thundercracker could find a way to scare the animal so much that its instincts will kick in, so much so that he'll ditch the human for his own chances for survival, then that'll make the job easier. The seeker got lower and emitted a low pulse boom to shake them up. It almost worked. The turbo fox jolted to a quick dead turn, nearly throwing the human off, but quickly gathered its wits before she could finally fall.

     "Slag!" He seethed.

     Jen just barely got her wits about her when she caught something green in her peripheral. "Noshe! The forest!"

     The turbo fox did not even hesitate. In ten seconds they just entered the woods.

     Thundercracker's ember eyes brighten in surprise. It was the inherent programming that all seekers have when it came to going where their wings were useless. He would try, but already knew Megatron would be disappointed.

&&&


     Within the forest Jenifer could hear seeker engines roar above the treetops. She knew that if they were to stand there, they'd be caught. Noshe knew that too, for his instincts were telling him to go deeper into the woods. The pair swiftly prodded through the forest. Even on a planet full of organic materials, Noshe barely made any noise while moving. It was only when they no longer heard any noise that they stopped.

     Jen dismounted and glanced around. She was lost. With a twist of her wrist she checked the time: 5:34pm. That means they were walking in the forest for almost two hours.

     Jen plopped down on a rock and hid her face in her hands. "That was too close," she let out a shaky breath. "Better comm. Prowl."

     She was about to push the call button when a female voice distracted her.

     "J-Jenifer? Is that really you?"

     Dark blue eyes snapped wide open, Jen knew that voice. She jumped up and flung around at such a speed she almost fell over. There standing a few yards away was a figure she was all too familiar with.

     "Mahry?"

&&&

Who knows what lies beyond the curve of the road.