"That the guy you dumped?" asked Cassie, straightening her apron.
Mikaela glanced up at the TV. Yep, it was Sam Witwicky…. Again.
She nodded to her fellow waitress.
"Seriously?" gushed Minnie. "Why? He's hot."
Mikaela rolled her eyes. "He's also an idiot. I once caught him in his room with another girl."
"Ooh, is that the one you saw him with?" went Minnie.
Mikaela glanced that way again. "…No. The one I saw him with was an alien shapeshifting robot."
"Huh?"
"You know why he's getting those medals, right? Because he's fighting the Decepticons?"
"Oh! But if he was in the room with an enemy robot, he couldn't have been making out with her, right?"
Mikaela sighed. Sometimes, she seriously felt that her coworkers had IQs in the negative digits… "Look, the robot was shapeshifted. Into the form of a pretty woman. Which meant he let a pretty girl get into his room, and seduce him. There is no way he gets off the hook for that." She seethed. It still rankled – how could he have been so dumb?
"But he apologized afterwards, right?"
"No, he didn't. He tried to make excuses. Said she was an enemy agent, it didn't count. Then we were too busy running for our lives from place to place."
"Yeah, but you should totally have taken him back. I mean, c'mon, he's a hero."
"And I can respect him for that, sure. Just because he's done nice things for me a few times," including getting your juvie record purged, her subconscious reminded her, "doesn't mean I have to bend over backwards for him."
"Oohh… kinky, huh?" Minnie grinned.
Cassie spat out the gum she'd been chewing. "Well, I don't know, Mick. Maybe you should've hung on to him a bit longer. Seems like a guy who's going places!"
"Yeah, yeah. Fish and bicycles."
"Huh?"
"… never mind. I'm off shift in five anyway, I have to get ready for school."
"Sure, girl, go ahead." Cassie nodded. "We'll close up here."
Mikaela checked beneath the car before getting in.
She'd gone for a yellow Camaro. Sentiment. She'd always had a soft corner for that first Autobot…. But seriously, after being ambushed, stalked, and hunted by Decepticons for two years, it was nice to have a job where she wasn't in mortal danger.
Okay, no moving parts that shouldn't be moving, no tiny weird spiky sentient robots in the exhaust pipe…
"That's a weird thing to check for," came a voice from behind her.
Mikaela paused. Had she actually said that last thought out loud? She turned to see an older, blonde woman standing by the side of the road, sipping a coffee.
"Can I help you?"
"Actually I was wondering if I could help you." The lady sipped her coffee. "You were diving under your car to check something, so I thought you might have engine trouble…."
"Oh, it's fine. I just check the car sometimes. Besides, I'm a trained mechanic, so I don't usually have car trouble…." She grinned.
"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."
"It's fine. I'm Mikaela. Did you hear what I said about…."
"…Tiny spiky sentient robots? Yeah, that did catch my attention. I'm Kara, by the way."
"Well, hi Kara. Er, basically I was in the middle of one of those crossfires with the Decepticons…. You know those huge robots?"
"Ah… I'd heard something about the robots, yes." The woman shrugged. "Didn't pay much attention to it."
"Well…. I kind of had to pay attention, 'cause I was in the middle of a few fights with them." She shrugged.
The woman nodded. "So you're military?"
"Huh? No, just a civilian in the wrong place at the wrong time." She shrugged. "Been there, done that, got the postcard…."
"Well, I suppose I should introduce myself too…. I'm Kara Ross, I just moved into town, and I'm starting at the Great Lakes flight school."
"Oh," Mikaela smiled. "That's a coincidence. I'm training there myself to get certified in aircraft maintenance. What're you signing up for?"
Kara shrugged. "Small aircraft license, actually. I signed up to train on a Learjet."
"Huh." Mikaela grinned. "Small world. I'm working on the maintenance module for Boeing aircraft." She paused. "You ever flown before?"
"A bit. Single-seaters, mostly, no passenger planes and no jets." She shrugged. "Nothing I can really bank on, the Learjet has very different handling and very different protocols."
"You flew propeller-driven aircraft?"
"Yes. A while back." Kara shrugged. "I just came in today; I'm still at the hotel. Actually…. I'm looking for a place to rent. Do you happen to know anybody who's got rooms to offer?"
"Well," Mikaela thought furiously, "there's my colleague Minnie, her mum sometimes rents out rooms to lodgers. If you want I could hook you up."
"Sure," added Kara. "This is my phone number…."
It was a week before Mikaela ran into Kara again. Naturally, it was at the school canteen.
Kara saw her and strolled over to the table. "Hi, Mikaela. Mind if I sit?"
Mikaela looked up. Kara looked quite natural in a pilot's uniform. Surprisingly natural, she thought…. "Sure, it's a free country." Ouch. That had come out a bit harsher than intended. "I mean, you're welcome."
"Thanks." Kara set down a tray loaded with a healthy dose of red meat, potatoes, fruit and ketchup.
Mikaele eyed the spread. Then glanced back at her own portion – salad, fruits and bean sprouts.
Kara saw her eyeing the spread and grinned. "I do a long run every morning."
"Must be really long, to burn off all that and still look as good as you do."
"Ten kilometers."
Mikaela's eyebrows shot up. "You do a ten-kilometer jog every morning?"
Kara nodded.
"Wow. No wonder you can eat like that."
"It's fairly energy-intensive, yeah. So, when're you getting certified?"
"About a month. At which point I should be able to get a job as a maintenance technician at pretty much any airline in the country." She grinned. "Write my own ticket, and so on and so forth."
They talked a while, and Mikaela found herself warming to the older woman. Kara seemed quite friendly, and fairly knowledgeable about aircraft in general.
"So when the ailerons are a bit stiff," she was explaining an hour later, "that's when you need to raise merry hell about the deicing equipment. A lot of flyers simply don't pay attention to their deicing equipment."
"Seriously?"
"Well, there are those who have a weird sense of humour about it… There was one pilot, his passenger asked him if the ice would be a problem. This was in midair, so the pilot says, 'yes, we have the latest deicing equipment'. The passenger says, 'oh good'. The pilot then says, 'it's in the cargo hold waiting to be installed.'"
Mikaela laughed. "You sure know quite a bit of funny stories about flying."
"My first boyfriend was a pilot. And my second. And… well, my husband wasn't a pilot when we met, but he eventually became one." She smiled sadly.
"Oh… what happened to him?"
"He died."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine, it was a long time ago." She looked upwards. "I sometimes think he's up there, looking down at me…."
Mikaela nodded sympathetically. "You must really have been in love."
Kara smiled sadly. "I didn't appreciate him enough when I had him…. You know, he was one hell of an athlete. And then there was the guy I always loved but never..." She paused. "Also a pilot."
"It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?"
"Yeah, right. Shakespeare was a jerk."
"Men can be jerks."
"Spoken like someone who knows only too well."
"Yeah, well, you had really loyal boyfriends. My first wanted me to be a stay-at-home wife. My second…." She paused. "My second had really terrible judgment. Got himself in trouble far too many times."
"Trouble as in trouble with the law?"
"More like people shooting at him trouble."
Kara's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? That must have been…. something." She paused. "You don't seem the type to leave a man because he's in danger."
"That wasn't why I left him. I left him because I caught him in a room with another woman."
"Ah. Cheating on you?"
"Well, he claimed he didn't have time. And when I brought it up, he came up with all sorts of excuses…."
"What kind?"
"Well…. he claimed she was an enemy agent, as if that excuses it."
"Enemy agent? What was he, CIA?"
"I wish. No, my ex-boyfriend was Sam Whitwicky."
"Name sounds familiar…."
"As in the kid who discovered the Autobots and Decepticons Whitwicky."
Kara's eyebrows shot up. "You don't say."
"Yeah… This isn't going to be a problem for you, is it? Only I broke up with him for a reason. I don't want to offend you if you're one of his fans….."
"I'm a little too old to be a fan of a twenty-year-old kid…. Not to mention that anyone who is best friends with a giant talking robot wouldn't normally fit into my crowd."
"Yeah, I suppose not. Anyway, he wasn't terribly broken up about it, I suppose, since he hooked up with a rich leggy blonde within a couple of months of our breakup."
"Huh. Did you dump him the moment you caught him?"
"No…." Mikaela paused, "there wasn't time. We were too busy running for our lives for the next several days."
"Running for your lives…."
"Giant killer robots were chasing us. I figured breaking up with him in the middle of that would be a little – inappropriate."
"I can see why you didn't break up with him right then. And if anyone has a better excuse to hold off giving a guy bad news than yours, I'm yet to hear it."
"Yeah… Sam didn't think so. He had the gall to say it shouldn't matter, that I should've told him earlier, that it was a long time ago, that he really didn't mean it and was sorry…."
"Excuses."
"Yeah. Some guys just don't get it. Then he reminded me of a few favors he'd done me…."
"…. Just how immature is this guy?"
Mikaela laughed. "Well… I'm better off without him."
Kara nodded sagely. "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle."
"That's…. one of my favourite sayings!"
"You read Gloria Steinem too, I see."
"Yeah… I started reading her after the breakup."
"Many women have, in fact, embraced Gloria Steinem after experiencing the fickleness of men."
"Yeah. Do you know, it wasn't actually Steinem who came up with the phrase?"
"Yes, it was Irina Dunn. Speaking of which, we do need to get going."
Over the next few weeks, Mikaela found herself spending more time with Kara than before. Cassie and Minie noticed it, too.
Minnie was the first to bring it up. "So," she asked one afternoon, as they were drying the dishes, "are you and Kara …. close?"
Mikaela raised an eyebrow. "What d'you mean?"
"Oh, come on. We know you've been spending a lot of time together. Not that there's anything wrong with it…."
"Eww, no! We're just friends!"
"Oh, like friends friends or friends friends?"
"Okay, I seriously do not know the difference there."
"It's okay, Mick," Cassie said, "you can tell us if you and she have something special."
"Guys. I'm not gay. She's not gay. We've both had boyfriends, damnit!"
"Oh, you never know," Minnie warbled, "sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants…."
"You've been reading too much bad fanfiction."
"Lay off, Minnie," added Cassie. "Mick has a point. People don't just magically change their orientation overnight…. Seems to me that Mikaela has a new BFF, that's all."
"Huh, I suppose that's one way of putting it." Mikaela paused. "Actually…. You know, that's the best way of putting it…. Thanks, Cassie!"
"So I actually figured out the right word to describe it? My English teacher would be so happy."
"Your English teacher gave you trouble in school, Cassie?" asked Minnie.
"Well, kinda-sorta. We didn't get along well until tenth grade."
"What happened in tenth grade?"
"I started spending more time with him."
"So he gave you extra lessons?" inquired Mikaela curiously.
"Oh yeah," muttered Cassie, "but not in English."
"Thanks for helping me pick out the dress," said Mikaela. "And for the rest of the shopping."
She and Kara were grabbing a coffee at Starbucks. It had been three months since her getting a job at Newark.
"Happy to help," replied Kara. "You deserve to dress up for your cousin's wedding."
"Yeah, I know." Mikaela sighed. "I'm going to get pitying looks there, y'know? The only girl who shows up unaccompanied. All the cousins are going to be popping out babies by now, so I'll be the girl who didn't find a nice guy to settle down with."
"Will either of the ex-boyfriends be there?"
"Please, no way. Sam doesn't know my family, and Biff didn't even know me. Plus I hear he's married and moved to Montana."
"I take it you mean Biff. Since Sam seems to be quite happy in Washinton DC." Kara raised the paper she'd been carrying around, showing off the headline: SOLDIER SAM AND SPENCER SIZZLE.
"Ugh. Please put that thing away…."
"Well, it seems your ex-boyfriend is putting his life together. Joining the military, dating a hot curator… seriously, 'hot curator'?"
"Are you trying to get me worked up?"
"Is it working?" Kara grinned.
"Why?"
"I think you'd be a good pilot, Mikaela."
"Please. Not that again…. I'm happy maintaining things, y'know? I've got a stable job."
"Sure. But I think you deserve to fly. To feel the wind beneath your wings, to know the rush, the thrill of swinging through the air…."
"Okay, what have you been flying? Learjets aren't rated for any kind of maneuvering."
"You get unlimited simulator time to show how you can maneuver a plane under crash conditions."
"Spoilsport. Trust pilots to get free flight simulator time…"
"Hey, it's part of the job. Gotta love your job…."
The rest of her sentence was cut off by the explosion.
Mikaela blinked. The dust and falling ash were all around her.
"Kara?" she called. "Kara?"
"Here," came her friend's voice. "'M fine, are you okay?"
"Yeah… I think so…." She could see Kara now, brushing dust and dirt off her jeans. "Something blew up… We need to get to a safe place."
"Lead the way."
A roar sounded above. A familiar roar.
She looked up – and saw the sight she'd hoped to never again see.
Grey wings. Jet contrails. Thrusters. The typical elements of a F-22 Raptor.
This one, however, had no missiles.
A normal F-22 used its missiles for air-to-air combat. And flew several thousand feet above city level, because flying at ground level was for idiots….
…. Or robots.
Starscream.
She could feel an old familiar feeling. One she thought she'd left behind, back when she'd left Sam.
Fear.
The jet wasn't looking at her, though. It fired again, with its 'cannon'.
The explosions ripped apart the street next to her.
Kara's hand was in hers. "Let's move," she barked. "We need to get to a safer place."
Mikaela felt her friend pull her towards an alley. She went along.
The Decepticons were back. The world was not safe anymore.
Gunfire sounded. Those were human weapons…. The Army must be here, trying to neutralize the foe.
They hid in the alley. "What was that?" asked Kara.
Mikaela took a second to catch her breath. "Starscream. Decepticon advanced fighter. The Decepticons are back…. Terrorizing people."
"That's not all they're doing, miss," rumbled the dumpster from behind them.
She turned. The dumpster twisted, changed, expanded into a medium-sized robot fourteen feet tall, with the Autobot symbol worn proudly on his chest. It would have been more impressive if the robot hadn't had to spill several dozen plastic bags on the ground, some of which burst.
"Miss… and miss." The Autobot bowed to them, oblivious of the stink. "I'm Trashcan."
"Fitting name," murmured Kara under her breath.
"Optimus Prime sent me," the Transformer addressed Mikaela, "to escort you to safety."
"What? Why?"
"I do not know exactly. Bumblebee has spoken well of you, Miss Mikaela, and we would like to get you to safety immediately. You and your friend."
"The hell with that! Why are the Decepticons hunting me? I didn't activate the Allspark!"
"It was said that the Ancient One would lead us to a place of energon, bring us back to our roots. That is all I know. It is possible Megatron believes you are the Ancient One…."
"Megatron's back?"
"Miss, we need to move. You are in grave danger…."
Gunfire.
Kara grabbed Mikaela and pulled her down to the sidewalk. A police car had pulled up and was shooting at them.
No, Mikaela corrected her first thought. Barricade had pulled up and was shooting at them, in his guise of a police car.
The 'guise' was now abandoned, as the Decepticon shapeshifted into its true, brutal form. It began to run towards the alley….
…. Only to be bodyslammed by Bumblebee.
The two titans slammed against each other, trading punches and hurling each other into the wall.
"Miss," began Trashcan, "we have to go. Now." He transformed into a Land Rover.
Kara got in and grabbed the wheel, as Mikaela jumped into the passenger seat. Trashcan zoomed off, weaving and dodging between the two warring leviathans.
An explosion to the left shook them.
Trashcan weaved and spun. More cannon fire from above.
"What's happening?" yelled Mikaela.
"Blackout," replied Trashcan, "transforms into an attack helicopter, and he's behind us."
"I think he's in front of us," said Kara, pointing at a malevolent black helicopter that was positioning itself ahead of them.
"No," Trashcan commented, "that's Vortex."
"And the one directly above us?"
"Deathcobra."
"All Decepticons?"
"Yes." Trashcan dodged a series of blasts, weaving between them with speed.
"How many choppers do the Decepticons have?" yelled Mikaela.
"A lot, miss. They've got the whole air wing up there too, which is why we're staying on the ground."
Kara had gone silent for a second. Then she spoke: "Can an Autobot transform into anything?"
"Anything for which we have a template," replied Trashcan, dodging yet again.
"If I show you a miniaturized template of a jet, will you be able to transform into that?"
"We can't take to the air, ma'am. I'm not as good a pilot as Skydive or Fireflight…. I can't outmaneuver the Decepticons in the air right now."
"So you let me do the flying."
"Miss, Starscream is the best flyer across all Cybertronians. Not just the Decepticons – there isn't another Transformer, Autobot or Decepticon, who can outfly him. Plus, it's not just him – they have Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Slipstream also up there. They've all been flying for thousands of years; you don't have the experience to outfly them."
Kara's face turned pale. Then she smiled, and spoke….
In liquid syllables that made no sense to Mikaela.
"Aris ya erathu. Sha aris ya kraveth. Gres areth sa-ulkra. Gres areth ivakha, Sai-lun."
Trashcan screeched to a stop.
Then he changed.
The transformation was sudden, abrupt, and jarring. And Mikaela found herself in the second seat of a fighter jet….
"The Harrier," murmured Kara. "The best I could do, with what little was around of our legacy. Oh well. Mikaela, strap yourself in…. and don't get airsick."
And the aircraft launched itself straight up.
Mikaela had a second to process what was happening. "Are you crazy? You can't outfight Decepticon fighters! What the hell did they teach you in Learjet training anyway?"
"I knew this long before I stepped into a Learjet." Kara's voice was soft and… regretful? "I know what I was; I've always known. I just didn't know I'd ever get to fly again…. It's been a long time." She grabbed the joystick. "But the past few years…. They've been worth it, just to see mankind become what it was meant to be again." She yanked the throttle back...
And the jet roared into the sky with dizzying suddenness.
The Harrier jump jet was designed in 1979 by Britain, because Americans didn't believe in 'all that vertical takeoff nonsense'. It served as a frontline fighter for several years, but was never a match for the F-16 Fighting Falcon or the later, more advanced F/A-18 Hornet, both designed as pure air superiority fighters.
The F-22 Raptor first flew in 1997, and represented a quantum leap in capability over the F/A-18 – making it one of the world's few fifth-generation fighters. Equipped with stealth capabilities, thrust vectoring, and a dozen other leading technologies that had been perfected in the eighteen years since the Harrier, and carrying the full benefits of the intervening advancements in computer technology, the Raptor was, as late as 2012, considered to be the world's most advanced air superiority fighter.
None of these factors, however, seemed to matter to Kara.
The Harrier vectored upwards as the four Decepticons – all in the guise of F-22s – charged in to attack.
Mikaela felt the lurch as they switched from upward climb to forward flight – with a speed that pushed her back into her seat.
Then they were spinning…
…and climbing.
The Decepticon fire zapped past Trashcan as Kara spun the aircraft again.
"What're you doing?" screamed Mikaela.
"Barrel roll," replied Kara casually, "followed by an inverted Immelman."
"What? What's an inverted…." She broke off as the aircraft spun, then began to climb – dive – whatever. She could tell they were rising up in the sky as her gorge rose in her throat….
The aircraft slammed forward.
Crackling sounds came over the radio. "…'s over, Trashcan! Come down like a good little boy. Who do you think you are, to take us on in the sky?"
Starscream trash-talking.
White lines flew across the sky ahead of them. "Cannon fire," murmured Kara. "Time to turn this game around…."
The plane seemed to slam to a stop. Then it began to fall.
In less than a second, four F-22s zoomed ahead of them. Two banked right, two banked left.
"They're banking to get around us," murmured Kara. "Watch and learn."
And the Harrier turned.
In mid-air, while still falling.
Then Mikaela felt the engines kick in again, and Trashcan leapt across the sky, zooming like an arrow for a point ahead of the two Decepticons….
No, she realized. Kara had aimed the jet at exactly the point where the Decepticons would be in three seconds.
And as the three seconds passed, she could see the first Decepticon cross in front of them…..
…. And Kara pulled the trigger.
How did she even know there was a trigger? thought Mikaela. Then the thought passed, for cannon fire from Trashcan had ripped through the Decepticon's wings, fuselage, and engine. Mikaela could see the aircraft/robot heading down for the ground….
She just fired for half a second.
And now a second Decepticon was crossing their view. Kara opened fire again. This time it was longer.
And this time it was more agonizing. Mikaela could see the cannon shells punch through the aircraft's cockpit, fuel lines, wings, engine and tail. The robot seemed to lose power and stall.
Kara pulled up and climbed. Climbed rapidly.
"That's Slipstream and Thundercracker down," she said. "Leaves Starscream and Skywarp. From what I understand these are the most dangerous of the fighters. Right, Trashcan?"
"Yes, mistress," came a monotonous voice from the instrument panel.
"What's going on?" asked Mikaela. "What did you do to Trashcan? What was that language? …. And where did you learn to fly like that?"
"Full of questions today, aren't you?"
"I bloody well am!"
"Hang on a second, let me get this ground-mapping radar working… Ah, yes. The two Decepticons have crashed on the ground. Bumblebee has them under control, and from the look of things we've got Ironhide also in position." She paused. "Wonderful thing, Autobot groundmapping radar – works better in an Autobot than in an actual Harrier…. And now we've got Starscream and Skywarp after us, excellent." She banked again.
"You didn't answer my questions….. where are we going?"
"Out to sea, where I have more maneuver room." Kara grinned. "We'll finish them off there. Ah, the afterburners just kicked in… excellent. Now while Starscream and Skywarp are recovering and getting back on our tail, we've got a couple of minutes of normal flight … well, supersonic flight anyway …. before they can actually catch up."
"They'll chase you down…."
"They'll try. The Harrier's radar can't detect an F-22, which is why the Decepticons like that model so much. And why they won't think to change models."
"Well, how did you learn to fly like that?"
"I've been flying since long before you were born." She paused. "Actually, since long before Starscream was born."
Mikaela paused. "Starscream is several thousand years old."
"A few thousand, like all Autobots. Once upon a time, they were a simpler species."
"A …. simpler species?"
"We created them, you know." Kara had a wistful note in her voice. "We made them like us."
"Us?"
"The first humans."
"But…." Mikaela paused. "Humans created the Transformers? How is that possible?"
"Earth is not the original homeworld of humanity. We … evolved … on a place called Kobol."
"Kobol?"
"Once upon a time, there were the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Twelve planets colonized by humans, with the power to travel through the stars. We wanted more out of life, so we created …. Robots."
"You … created robots."
"We called them Sai-lun. Cylon."
"Cylon."
"The original, self-aware robots."
"When was this?"
"One hundred and fifty thousand years ago."
"So you're a hundred and fifty thousand years old?"
"A lady never admits to her age…. but yes."
"That's impossible. If humans evolved a hundred and fifty thousand years ago, where are they? What happened to them?"
"The Cylons rebelled and wiped them out. The last survivors came here, to this planet, and destroyed all technology to hide themselves from the Cylons."
"No technology…."
"Nothing that used radio waves, electricity, or fossil fuels. Wind and water power only." She smiled. "It was a hard life, but the Cylons forgot about us. They did come by a few times… then even their memories of us faded into half-forgotten legends. And so they left… and evolved."
"Into…."
"Into the Cybertronians." She banked the fighter. "Skywarp's right behind us now. At least the tail-mounted camera's working."
Mikaela glanced at the monitor in front of her. It showed the rear of the plane …. where a grey jet was closing on them, firing as it came.
"Time to dive," she heard Kara say, and then they were diving, diving, diving…..
She could see the deep blue sea below.
It seemed like an eternity, but it could only have been seconds before the plane leveled off and flew straight. She glanced overhead and saw Skywarp closing on them….
…. Only to be ripped apart by a swarm of missiles.
"Huh?" she exclaimed.
"Look to your left," said Kara.
Mikaela looked out…. And saw what must have been the most wonderful sight of her day.
Six ships were sailing on the sea. Five destroyers, and what looked like an aircraft carrier…. they all had the American flag on them….. and on the deck of the aircraft carrier was a blue-and-red truck.
"Optimus," she breathed. "You got us to Optimus…."
"I got us to the Third Fleet," replied Kara. "Hang on, we're not out of the woods yet. Starscream's still up there…."
And here he came, roaring out of the sky.
Kara began to weave and dodge. And weave. And dodge.
Cannon shells flew think and fast around them.
"He's on our tail!" exclaimed Mikaela.
"Let's change that," replied Kara….
…. And the aircraft flipped.
Mikaela almost emptied the contents of her stomach. They'd gone through a worse roll than anything she'd ever experienced on a roller coaster….
In less than a second, however, they were turned around…. And facing Starscream.
In fact, they were flying towards him at terrified speed….
Kara opened fire. Cannon holes stitched themselves across the Decepticon's frame. But they were still headed for each other….
At the last moment, Kara jerked the joystick.
The Harrier dropped its nose. Only a tiny bit.
But it was enough to dive below Starscream….
… close enough to thoroughly roast him with their jets as they plunged downwards.
She could see, for an instant, the scene on the rearview camera – Starscream's body engulfed by flame, the Decepticon screaming and falling from the sky, plunging into the ocean.
"He'll be back," muttered Kara, "I'm sure he has a submarine morph tucked in somewhere."
Mikaela paused. Thought for a second….
Then she realized it. "You just took down four Decepticons. Four."
"Five," corrected Kara. "I got Vortex with a cannon during the takeoff."
"I…. missed that."
"I don't miss."
"Kara…" Mikaela hesitated. "You're…. you're incredible. One of the air force guys told me that if you get five air-to-air kills, you make ace…. You made five kills in one flight…."
"I've been called an ace before, Mick. In the Second World War, in the first, during the Spanish revolution, during half-a-dozen brush wars in Africa…. I've lost count of how many air-to-air kills I have." She sighed. "A hundred and fifty thousand years of waiting patiently for human society to reinvent the aircraft, and less than a hundred years in I have to reveal who I am publicly…."
"Who are you? Really? Is Kara even your real name?"
"Believe it or not, Kara is my real name. Kara Thrace." She paused. "My callsign during the Cylon war was Starbuck."
"Starbuck…."
"Yes, I am that old."
"You can't be…. Human."
"I know. I should have died eons ago, but I didn't. Somehow, I've always lived through the world. Escaping notice. Avoiding being spotted. Keeping an eye out for those who need it, teaching, healing… I was a nun during the Crusades, that was one hell of a war by itself…. But I'm a pilot. Always have been, always will be." She sighed. "And no toaster is going to drive me away from the skies."
"You're like… a warrior angel."
"That's a cute comparison, Mick. Doesn't change who I am…. But I'm going to have to hide again."
"What'll you do?"
"Drop you off here, on the carrier. You'll be safe. I'll take Trashcan with me; I control him now."
"Control him?"
"There are master codes built into all Cylons at birth that allow those who know the codes to take them over. My legacy is having the ability to control Cybertronians through use of their master codes. Don't worry – I'll let him go, once he drops me off where I need to disappear to.
"Like I told you, Mikaela, I'm a pilot. A frakking good pilot. Probably the best pilot humanity ever produced.
"That's why I can take down Starscream and Skywarp, y'know." The Harrier leveled off into a gentle descent and began to settle down on the carrier deck. "I learnt the hard way. Four years of fighting Cylon space fighters, and a hundred and fifty thousand years of reliving those memories, waiting and waiting until humanity rediscovered my tool – my element – the aircraft.
"A thousand years of pushing people forward in research, with a word here, a word there; a conversation with Bernoulli, a chat with Newton, a word in Leonardo's shell-like ear….
"A hundred years of suggesting how to build a better aircraft, working for the Wrights and Rolls-Royce and Daimler and Lockheed Martin and Dassault aviation, a new identity every ten years, doing what it takes to show them how to fly.
"I've waited a long time to fly, Mick. And I'm going to be around, for humanity against any robots that would take away its freedom." She smiled wistfully.
"You've…." Mikaela paused. "You've been teaching people how to fly."
"I taught them all. Even the best of them. I flew a few times myself, but I always hid." She winced, setting the Harrier down on the deck. "And I'm telling you this, Mikaela, because I've known how to tell a good pilot from a bad one for a significant chunk of a million years. You've the gift of flight. Don't neglect it; embrace it.
"Become a pilot. That is your destiny." She pressed a button, and Trashcan shapeshifted again, back into a car.
"But… Kara… you can't leave."
"Don't fret. We'll meet again." She grinned. "And now you'd better get down before they come on board and catch me."
Mikaela found herself nodding. She opened the door and stepped out.
"See you around, Mick," said Kara. "And now, step back please."
Mikaela nodded and retreated. There were sailors in uniform running up to her now… she was peripherally aware of them… but it wasn't important. Nothing was important.
"Bye, Starbuck," she whispered.
And Trashcan changed again.
Now, he sprouted wings of a design never seen on Earth. Thrusters that were no mere jet engines. A sleek, lethal nozzle with the gait of a wolf.
And as the sailors and soldiers of the United States Navy's aircraft carrier Nimitz gathered their wits and surrounded her, Mikaela watched the first ever appearance of the Colonial Viper Mark One on Earth… and watched it launch and fly away.
She was conscious, as the ship leaped into the sky, of a presence behind her – an overwhelming, overshadowing presence.
She smiled. "Optimus."
"Mikaela," the Autobot rumbled. "It is good to meet you again. I was afraid the Decepticons had some foul fate in mind for you… but I see you are safe." He paused. "And that Trashcan has developed a surprising level of flying skill?"
"I was never in any danger," murmured Mikaela. "But I think I've met your Ancient One."
"The one who will lead us to a destined place of energon?" Optimus paused. "At the risk of sounding selfish, might I ask if you could introduce us?"
Mikaela sighed. "I'll try. Though I suspect she might not a fan of yours…."
"Well, there are good people in this world who have had doubts about us too. That does not mean we refuse to trust them." Optimus paused. "We have always stood for trust, honour, and integrity. A little suspicion should not sway us from our path… that is a Decepticon way."
"Optimus…." Mikaela paused. She turned to look at the robot. "When the Allspark first activated robots in New York, while we were there, they awoke ready to fight and kill…. Like the Decepticons. They attacked humans…. Were all the robots Decepticons once?"
Silence, for a moment. Then Optimus sighed. "What you refer to is much older than that, I fear. We were, once upon a time, ruthless and destructive. But we outgrew our primitive origins – much as you outgrew yours. The Primes were a part of that…. The first Primes set out a path of ethics, and justice, and honour that all Autobots believe in. The Decepticons are a throwback to our primitive, brutal ways…. And their efforts to take us backwards nearly wiped us all out. Truly, it is only through a superior understanding of ethics that we survived." He paused. "You ask much more insightful questions than you once did, Mikaela Banes. I suspect the Ancient One has had some effect on you, too. If I may ask… who is she, really?"
"You don't know?"
"I am the youngest and the last of the Primes. Much was known by my predecessors that is lost to me; many secrets are forgotten by my people in the mists of time. I wonder if the Ancient One is one of those."
"She is, I think. What will you do about it?"
"I will wait for you to tell me." Optimus paused. "If you feel you should, that is. I would not wish to pressure you."
"You have my word, Optimus," Mikaela replied, "that if I speak of the Ancient One, you'll be the first to know of her."
"And I take it Trashcan will remember nothing from his …. experience?"
"I suspect not."
"Very well, then." Optimus nodded and strode off.
Leaving her to deal with some very worried sailors.
There were two who commanded her attention. One was apparently the ship's captain, judging by the amount of gold braid on his shoulder and the amount of fury in his face. The other….
"Hello, Sam," she said.
"Mikaela," Sam stammered. "You look good… I mean, it's good to see you."
"Good to see you, too."
"What was that thing? The … fighter aircraft? I could've sworn that was Trashcan but I've never seen him in that form…."
"It was him. And he has a pilot… for now." She paused. "A really good pilot."
"Miss," interrupted the naval captain, "could you kindly explain to me what that plane it morphed into was? I thought these things could only copy the profile of a vehicle that already exists."
"I don't know, Captain."
"Actually, it's Admiral. Rear-Admiral Walter Forrest." The naval officer seemed to be keeping a bit of a temper under control – with a shock, Mikaela realized he wasn't angry with her, he was angry at the mysterious shapeshifting aircraft. "I wonder if you'd be willing to answer a few questions for us?"
"If I can, Admiral, but I don't really know much." She paused, and made a decision. "I'll tell you what I can, and Optimus Prime too. It's important, it concerns the Autobots as much as us, and they need to know."
"Can't complain about that." The admiral stared at the water, where the wreckage of a badly damaged Skywarp was still floating …. a wreck that was being hauled in by a couple of the Autobots with boat morphs. He sighed. "Any one of those critters could've wrecked the fleet if they'd been focused on attacking. Your pilot really pulled a fast one, getting below the cloud layer like that."
"Getting below the cloud layer?"
"She brought that flying menace within range of our short-range missiles. We'd never had scored a hit on one of them if she hadn't literally led them to us like a donkey following a carrot. D'you know, this is the first time we've been able to shoot a Decepticon down after a surprise attack?"
"I didn't. I think you understand that the pilot was friendly?"
"Yeah…. I've never seen a Harrier pull moves like that, much less outmaneuver an F-22." He winced. "Y'know, I was one of those who thought the Harrier was a stupid idea, way back when. Guess I learnt something today."
Mikaela grinned. "Thanks, Admiral. I'll tell you all I know, but I'd like to ask for your help on something in return."
"If it's reasonable and within my power, we can work something out. What would you like?"
"I'd like to learn to fly."