The alarm went off. It wasn't her alarm clock, but the scanner alarm. HYDRA was going after Cybertronian tech. Again. Nikki sighed deeply as she tossed off the covers. It was 7 AM, but she'd been up filing reports till almost 2. Not good for her.

She hadn't even bothered to change her clothes from last night, thankfully for her, so she didn't need to change this morning. She stumbled over to the door, slipped sneakers on, and shuffled her feet as she walked to the kitchen.

Upon arrival, she immediately went for the freshly brewed coffee, poured herself a cup, and guzzled it. She willed the caffeine to kick in as she poured some in a thermos, then headed downstairs to the garage to get to the other two members of her team.

They were already ready to go, and waiting for her. "Morning, sleepy," Laserbeak greeted. She nodded as a reply and got to the Goldenrod. Her gleaming, gold colored, hand-built ship. "You're actually planning on flying?"

"No, I'm putting her on autopilot. I'm nowhere near awake enough to fly," Nikki answered. "You guys ready?" They both nodded. "Let's go." All three boarded, and she took pilot's seat while Laserbeak took co-pilot and Knock Out took scanners, the station directly behind Nikki.

The ship came down gently, and the three burst from it, guns blazing. HYDRA wasn't ready for the assault, but quickly began forming up to stop them. The Strike Team, however, had a reputation for taking down whole battalions with ease. It wasn't like HYDRA had a chance...

Right?

But Nikki was tired, so her swings weren't as smooth, she didn't move as cleanly and quickly as she usually would. HYDRA sensed an advantage and they pressed it. "Your reaction time is slow, Nik!" Laserbeak shouted.

"Actually, I'm on edge when I'm tired, so my reaction time is a smidge faster," Nikki corrected. Well, it sounded almost like bragging. She swung her saber and took out another gun, kicking the user into the car he was standing in front of.

"How much is a smidge?" Laserbeak asked, dodging a shot and sending one of his own back to the shooter.

"About .2 seconds," Nikki answered. She spun to avoid getting hit.

".2 or .02?" Knock Out snarked as he fired a few shots at some stray attack droids.

"Ha ha. You're not funny," Nikki retorted. "My aim, however, is impeccable." She used the Force to pick up a couple trashed droids and throw them away.

"You hit the side of the truck," Laserbeak pointed out.

"I meant to," Nikki clarified. "Why'd you ask? Do you know what's in that truck?" A large, hideous monster broke out of the back of the truck with a bellowing roar. " 'Cause apparently I don't!"