[2441]
In case you missed it last time, this story only has a moderately happy ending.
There. Now you've been warned in bolded letters. I feel better.
Most of this story has very little action. This is fairly obvious here. Please stay with me... action-y scenes do eventually come up. I promise!
I'm Alex Ronald and this is your local radio station, 95.7 Star FM, the voice of PowellRiver. It's been confirmed that all access to the peninsula is being monitored, so be prepared to deal with government agents if you plan on entering or leaving PowellRiver. Some people have reported seeing some government vehicles with American licence plates around town too, so be on the lookout. We'll be keeping you posted throughout the day.
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Bluestreak
A quiet beeping rouses me, and I can hear Danny's quiet swearing. Something about it being far too early to deal with everything. She grabs the bags she packed the day before and walks out of her condo to where I'm parked.
"Do you mind if I put this in your trunk?" She holds up the larger of the two bags, "It just has clothes and toiletries in it."
It hardly looks heavy enough to cause any problems. "I don't mind at all. What's in the other bag?"
Danny looks at her little green bag and shrugs, "Everything that I need. A spare set of clothes, rain jacket, cell phone, passport, visa, debit card, keys, first aid supplies, protein bars, water bottle, as well as a paintball handgun and ammo."
I find myself silently approving Danny's travel supplies. She is carrying the human equivalents to much of what I always have in my subspace. Of course, I have a great deal more than what could possibly fit in her backpack, and a lot more lethal weapons, but overall everything is very similar.
"You travel well prepared Danny. Not many would think to bring such a variety of supplies."
Danny carefully sets her larger bag in my trunk, and I subspace it once she closes it. Just to keep it safe, and that way if I have to transform it won't get caught in my joints and ripped to shreds.
"I've always been overly cautious when travelling, though I wouldn't bring the paintball gun if I was going on a plane. That would be a really dumb idea."
Danny sets her backpack on the passenger seat before walking around to settle in the driver's seat. "Do you mind if I drive, at least until we reach the 19 Highway?"
"Of course not. You know this area far better than I do, and I wouldn't want to get us lost. What is the highway like?"
Danny looks surprised when I start my engine without the use of her keys before shrugging it off and pulling out of her parking space. She carefully drives around to the front of the building before pulling onto the road and driving slowly through the residential area.
"The 19 highway is the main highway on Vancouver Island, and if it weren't for the intersections along it then it would be classified as a freeway"
Danny pulls out onto a busy street, swearing as the driver beside us almost sideswipes me. I cringe internally at the term, hastily shoving thoughts of a certain energetic red warrior and his enigmatic yellow twin out of my processor.
"What is a freeway, and how is it different from a highway?"
Danny smiles, oblivious to my internal conflict. "Well, not many people actually know the differences between the two. My parents had me take a driving course over here though, and it was one of the first things they taught us. A highway can be as small as one lane going in each direction, doesn't usually have a speed limit above 80 km/h, and has intersections instead of on-ramps. A freeway is usually more than two lanes going in each direction, has some kind of divider between opposite lanes of traffic, has on-ramps instead of intersections and stop lights, and the speed limit is usually over 100 km/h. Freeways are also a lot flatter than highways, and have banked corners to make things easier."
As we drive towards the highway I quiz Danny on anything I can think of that she would be able to answer to help keep my thoughts focused on the present. We eventually get to the highway, after quite a few turns and near accidents I learn that Danny can swear in French and German as well as she can in English.
"Do you want to drive now? The next hour is basically just staying on the highway until we get to the right exit."
I contemplate the wide, empty expanse of road before us. "Sure. It'd be good practice, not that I'm not a good driver or anything, but technically I haven't driven around in this alt-mode yet."
Danny slowly takes her hands off the steering wheel, "Okay. This is kind of weird for me." She's staring at the wheel, seemingly fascinated by it as we go around a wide turn. "I'll just pretend to drive if someone tries to pass us. I'd rather not attract any unwanted attention, and a car driving itself down the 19 Highway would certainly do that."
I slowly pick up speed until we're going about 30 km above the speed limit, confident that I'll be able to detect any government officials before they can catch me speeding.
Danny glances at the speedometer, "Last time I went this fast I was in Germany," she says casually.
"Why were you in Germany?"
"I was on an exchange. The family I was staying with took me to a wedding, and to Switzerland. The mother liked driving at around 140 km, and the father liked driving at around 190 km. The autobahn, that's what their freeways are called, doesn't have a speed limit unless you're going through a residential area or there's some roadwork being done."
The rest of the drive passes quickly, Danny telling me all about her exchange and how strange it was to be in such a different place. I can't help but compare it to my own travels to different planets. The comparisons are rather similar. Different landscape, language, customs, history, and even different day-to-day lifestyles.
Danny looks up as we pass another of the large green signs, "This is our exit! Slow down and pull into the turning lane. If nobody's coming in the opposite direction, just make the turn." I do as she says, and we are soon driving through a city that, to me at least, looks remarkably similar to the one we just came from. "Do you mind If I drive now, Bluestreak?"
"Of course not."
Danny drives us through the maze of houses, apartments, and malls to the ferry terminal. "This one is called the Duke Point ferry terminal, and we're going to end up at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal." When I ask Danny how to say Tsawwassen, she says that she's never heard the proper way to pronounce it. She advises "sounding it out," but I still get the feeling I'm saying it wrong.
We end up waiting for approximately one hour and fourty five minutes before the ferry pulls in. This one is considerably larger than the previous one, and has multiple vehicle levels. We get to go on the upper level, though Danny looks nervous. She keeps glancing around and can't seem to focus on anything.
"This is a ferry much like the other one we took, so why are you so nervous?"
Danny looks briefly at my radio before quickly looking around again. "I've never taken this ferry, and it's a lot bigger than the ones I'm used to. That, and the fact that I'm a very paranoid traveller, means that I'll probably be this nervous the whole ride."
I start talking to her. Just random thoughts that come to mind. I make sure to talk quietly enough that people passing by won't be able to hear me over the ferry's engines. Slowly Danny focuses on what I'm saying instead of what's going on around us, and I can feel her relaxing.
In what seems like no time at all the announcement informing everyone the ferry is docking comes on, and Danny smiles at me. "Thanks, Blue. That really helped." Then she looks nervous again, "Do you mind if I call you Blue? I won't if you don't want me to. I can come up with something else, or just call you by your full name."
Last time I was called Blue was when I saw Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, and it brings back memories that I struggle to suppress. "Maybe something else?" I manage to say, my voice sounding a little strained.
Danny winces, "Sorry. Don't worry though, I'll be able to come up with something really different no problem."
She leans back and closes her eyes as we wait for our lane to start offloading.
As soon as we pull off the ferry we speed up. The road widens more than it ever did in Courtenay. Two lanes turn into three, into four, into five, and that's just going in one direction! It's like a human sized version of one of the great roads that used to cross Cybertron.
"Hey Bluestreak."
Danny's voice drags me out of my wayward thoughts.
"Yeah Danny?"
"What was your job? Back on Cybertron? Did you even have a job?"
"No. I- I wasn't even a fully-framed mech before the war started, much less one capable of working."
I see Danny wince again, and a tense silence settles between us. I see her go to speak several times, but she never actually makes a sound.
"Do you mind if I turn on the radio?" She asks quietly, looking incredibly nervous.
"Not at all." She pushes a few buttons and a variety of nice sounds fills the air. I see Danny noticeably relax and a small smile curves her lips as she mouths the words to the song. Something about it being "nine in the afternoon," with "eyes the size of the moon." I don't understand most of what is being said, but the sounds are nice.
Then another song comes on, and another, and another, and pretty soon and hour has gone by in relatively companionable silence.
Suddenly Danny speaks up, talking just loud enough to be heard above the music, "I could call you Beau."
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Danny
"I could call you Beau."
Did I just say that out loud?
What am I thinking? As if Bluestreak would want me to call him Beau, he might be worried his comrades would get the wrong idea. Would his team mates even think that that is a possibility?
Stupid.
"If the name reminds you of your old car then you do not have to call me that."
I can't help but laugh a bit, "Bluestreak, you've lost so much more than I will ever be able to comprehend. The fact that I called my car Beau and it's now gone is nothing in comparison. I'll call you Beau, if you don't mind of course."
I wonder what he thinks of my seeming need to give him some kind of nickname. Does he think I'm a total weirdo?
"I do not mind at all, Danny. Is Danny your full name? Or merely a nickname like Beau?"
Oh dear. Why does such a simple question always make me so sad? I hastily reach up and wipe a tear away, hoping Bluestreak didn't notice.
"Danny? Are you alright?"
Of course he noticed.
A ragged laugh escapes me. "I'm fine, and one would think that, by now, I'd be able to answer this question easier." Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths. "Daniel was my twin sister. She was killed a few years ago when we were staying with some friends in the states. Someone broke in to the place we were staying at while I was out at a meeting, and our friends were at work. She was attacked and killed, and we never found out who did it." Thank the stars Bluestreak is capable of driving, I don't think I'm in any position to right now. "My actual name is Samantha, but I figured I'd honour my sister by having everyone call me by her nickname." I give a weak shrug, "We looked so similar, some people just assumed I was her anyways." I reach over to my backpack and grab a tissue, trying to stop the tears that are steaming down my face.
Bluestreak doesn't say anything while I try to get myself back together. He waits for me to stop fidgeting and put the used tissues in my backpack before speaking. "I didn't have any siblings, such family arrangements were rare on Cybertron, but I have lost close friends. I cannot apologize for you loss and expect it to make you feel any better, as others seem to do, but I can say that I understand what you are going through. If-" Bluestreak hesitates, as if he's not sure he should continue, "-if you ever need to talk to me about it, I will be here to listen."
I almost start crying again. No one, not my parents, not my friends, seem to understand exactly how deep the loss of my twin goes; and here comes Bluestreak, a mechanical being that's not even from Earth, saying the most honest and thoughtful thing anyone has said since my sister died. Nothing can truly convey my gratitude, so I settle for a simple "Thank you."
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"Hey Boss-bot. Guess what I just picked up?"
"Heyz man, I picked it up too yah know."
"Course I know! We're twins dumbaft!"
"What is it Skids? Mudflap?"
"We're picking up the Bot's signature!"
"Yeah Boss. It's not too far from us!"
"It's gonna come cross the border at the white tunnel thing."
"It's called the Peace Arch yah glitch-face."
"Who you callin glitch-face?"
"Who'd yah think?"
"Prime to Ratchet."
"What is it? I'm busy."
"The twins have picked up our Bot's signal. I need you to go with Ironhide via human aircraft to the nearest suitable landing strip to pick him up."
"Of course Prime. I will inform Ironhide."
"Hey Boss. We do good?"
"Yes. You did good."
"Yah are talking bout both of us, right? No way this dumb-aft did better than me!"
Sorry if the last bit was confusing, what with there not being any way to tell who's saying what. That is slightly intentional... and those two's accents are killing me. I hate accents. Especially typing them. Bleh.
Thoughts?