Author's note: Okay, so this is a bit different, and I'm not sure how it will be preceived. Still, here's chapter 7. And to my guest friend, I know how you feel. I'll try (Emphasis on try) to include more of Miko and Raf (Despite how terrified I am when I do a line of dialogue for them, since Miko is straight up rebel and Raf doesn't seem very moldable like Jack seems to be. No, sorry ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't figured it out just yet, Jack isn't the main character of this story.
It's been weeks or months since the events of what happened in Chicago and at the base, since then I've left the base for some alone time (By that, I mean away from giant robots alone, not away from people alone.) and somehow managed to get myself on this ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean- The U.S.S. Arizona II, a new U.S. Navy project that created a battleship with nuclear attack capability. It can carry up to 20 Tomahawk missiles and still carry ammunition for the twelve 14-inch guns, the same caliber gun as the original Arizona that was sunk in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1942. 'A day that will live in infamy.'
Luck would have it that it is December 7. 'Wonder if the Arizona II will follow it's predecessor...' I thought, alarms going off just as I finished the thought, a whistle sounding over the comm.
"General quarters, general quarters, all hands, man your battle stations! This is not a drill!" I heard over the comm system. Within seconds I was out of the quarters I was sharing with a couple sailors and was headed towards the top deck, going to one of the M2HB Browning .50 cal. machine guns that had been mounted on the side. I ejected a shell, the sound of gunfire all around me. 'Not a drill, not a drill, some dumbass just woke up the wrong battleship.'
Unlike it's predecessor, the Arizona II had a large focus on not just surface-to-surface weaponry, but surface-to-air weaponry as well, including several Phalanx anti-missile systems. There were five times as many 3-inch AA guns as there were on the original ship, not to mention the .50 cal. machine guns. All of the weaponry was being fired at- "Oh no..."
The Decepticon ship was flying towards us, and I opened up on where I thought the bridge was, knowing any damage I'd do with the .50 would only be cosmetic at best. The Phalanx systems on the port side were blazing, spewing the most ungodly amount of lead towards the ship. Even the 5-inch guns were firing at it if they could get the angle to fire at it, neither them or the 3-inch AA guns making a dent in the armor. I abandoned the machine gun and headed towards the bridge of the Arizona II, upon reaching there, the captain glanced at me and paid no regard.
"Captain, our weapons have no effect. The only things that will punch through will be the 14-inch cannons or the Tomahawks."
"Make due with what you have."
"Captain Fernell, I don't-"
"Corporal, you heard the captain, make due with what you have!" the XO spat.
"Commander Lyston, I would recommend you shut the fuck up before you find out what this Corporal can do in a confined space with nothing but his bare hands and a man's head. I was not talking to you, who has never fought anything like this, when I've seen it before."
"I'd watch your tongue, Corpor-" I punched the captain in the back of the head, hard enough that it knocked him out cold.
"Next?" I asked, the Master Chief Petty Officer laughing in the corner.
"About time someone put that jackass in his place."
"Corporal, when we make it back to the 'States, you will be court-"
I grabbed the Commander's head and slammed it into the wall, making sure not to use enough force that it would kill him.
"Who's the next highest ranking officer here?!"
"I am." A Lieutenant by the name of Pliskin said.
"You're in charge. Take my advice, use either the 14-inch guns or the Tomahawks, though I'm sure you don't want to use a nuke just yet."
"Thanks for the advice, Corporal. Master Chief, get on the comm and order the main cannons to get a firing solution on that ship and fire at will!"
"Aye-aye!" The man said, grabbing a phone that ran through the ship's comm system.
"Fourteen-inch cannons one through twelve, get a firing solution on the enemy, I say again, 14-inch one through twelve, get firing solution on the enemy, fire when ready."
I watched six barrels of this monstrous ship's main armament turn and aim at a high angle, all firing at once, pushing the ship to the starboard side. I watched the ship, seeing the explosions wreak havok on the ship's hull. "Lieutenant, I'd recommend going full steam ahead, turning 180 and returning to San Diego, that ship has firepower that far succeeds our own, and we don't want to be around when it brings that firepower to bear."
"At this point, I'm not entirely sure what to do, Corporal, so I'm going to go with your suggestion, Ensign, you heard the man, turn one-eight-zero to the port side and RTB."
"Aye-aye, sir!" the young-looking officer said, manning the helm and steering the ship around to get away from the hostile ship.
"Corporal, meet me in the captain's quarters, Master Chief, lock up the former captain and commander in the brig for recklessly endangering the crew." Pliskin ordered, and I saluted before heading to the captain's quarters.
I waited about ten minutes before the new 'Captain' came in, looking at me.
"Look, I don't know how, but you said you fought this thing before?"
"Not the ship, but those operating it, and the ones operating it could take out a whole division of tanks if not more before they fall. If they're that strong, how strong do you think that ship is?"
"Ship? You mean..."
"No time, get us back to San Diego and maybe I'll tell you."
"I talked to our radar operator, they aren't showing up anymore. It looks like we're in the clear."
"Do we have a line back to the mainland?"
"Yeah, why?"
"... I got a phone call I thought I'd never make..."
The Captain nodded, motioning to the phone on the desk. I grabbed the phone and punched in Jack's cellphone number.
"Jackson Darby speaking..."
"Hey little brother. I need you to get to Grayhound and tell the guys that I've run into our friends."
Grayhound was our code name for Optimus Prime.
"Got it, get to Grayhound, get the boys and girls ready for the dance... That it?"
"Yeah. See you in San Diego." I said before I hung up. I just gave Jack the order to inform Prime that I'd run into the 'Cons, and prepare them all for a fight. I also gave him which side of the 'States I was on.
"Care to let me in on the secret?"
"Yes. Yes I do. It's best as few people know what that thing was as possible. Tell them it was a new training target the Navy rigged up, whatever it takes to keep them blind."
"Blind of what?!"
I sighed, looking at him. "That there are aliens on Earth. Autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. Nobody can know. Those who do are under the Autobots' protection, and the Decepticons would kill them on sight."
"So... I take it that these Autobots are the good guys?"
"And the Decepticons are the bad guys. Right. What we found was the current Decepticon HQ, I'm hoping we crippled it enough that we can get away from it."
"Right. My lips are sealed, no reason to worry about it on my end."
"Good man." I said.
The rest of the ride back was uneventful, though we continued to watch the skies every time we could see. It took us five days and sleepless nights to return to San Diego harbor. When I got off the ship I found Jack waiting on the street, as well as a very angry woman in her thirties.
"Who are you and why did you contact my son?!"
I looked at her and then at Jack, then back to her. "Look lady, we've been watching sky for the past five days because of something that ran an attack pattern on us. No ID signature or anything, so I think before you start yelling, you should just give me a ride like Jack has no doubt asked for and let me calm down a bit before you start up again, because at the moment I'm tired as hell, hungry for something that actually tastes like food, and wanting to catch up as for what happened with the gang in the months I was gone, and overall I could kill just about anybody for any reason because I'm not in the mood to be fucking around, ma'am." I told her, adjusting my USMC baseball cap and looking her in the eye, the rings under my eyes apparently really dark judging by the gasp I got from her. "Now as for who I am, my name is Corporal Mitchel Daniels, United States Marine Corps." I said, extending a hand. She shakily accepted the handshake, finally calming down a bit.
"I... guess since we're both heading back the same way I may as well give you a ride..."
"Thank you, Ma'am." I said, following them to their car and getting in the back seat.
"Jack, why didn't you tell me you had a friend who was a Marine?"
"It... didn't cross my mind?"
I slipped into unconciousness after hearing that.
DREAM FLASHBACK
I was running, always running. If you walk, you get blown in half by a mortar shell, if you stop, you get gunned down, if you slow down even a little bit, you're risking your life, even in the tall trenches. I ran down a trench heading to a command bunker, not slowing even a little. Just as I was about to enter the bunker, an artillery shell exploded behind me, launching me into the wall and knocking me out. In what seemed like a split second later, I was inside a bunker, on a cot, some generals and high ranking officers squabbling about how to break the enemy lines.
"Do you bloody idiots ever shut up about your damned strategies? I swear, I'm starting to wish that shell did me in."
"Good to see you're alive, Mitchel." a general said.
"Like you'd want it any other way, General Maccarran."
"Did you get the letter?"
"Yes sir, should be right here..." I said, reaching into a pocket and finding a hole in the bottom. "Oh dear..." I mumbled, searching my other pockets, and finding it in the last pocket I had. "Here we are." I said as I handed the letter to the general.
PRESENT
I woke up slowly, trying to make sense of what was so damned important in that letter.
"I swear I'm going to have to talk to Ratchet to figure this stuff out..." I mumbled.
"Who's Ratchet?" Jack's mom asked.
"Er... Nobody, just a codename for a buddy." I said, my stomache growling loudly. "I could have swore I ate before I got off of that ship..."
"We can stop somewhere if you want-"
"No, don't mind me. Despite what I said earlier, I'm not that bad a guy, and I can wait a while before I eat..."
"Alright..."
It took a couple days to get back to Jasper because we didn't have a car that could pull an all nighter all on it's own (And it was late), so we had to stop at a motel before we started up again, continuing on to Jasper. And by the end of it I was questioned almost to death by this woman, who I learned her name was June. I was happy when I saw Fire waiting for me at the house, so when I got out of the car I immediately headed for her and started climbing in. "Thanks for the ride, ma'am." I called to June, ignoring her pleas for me to stay for a while.
"You know, when I left, I never thought I'd be coming back here this soon. Thanks for being here Fire... Can we please get back to the base?"
I could literally feel anger radiate from her as she hesitantly complied, and when we were out of earshot of any people she finally spoke. "Really?! You just up and left?! Do you have ANY idea what we've been going through?!"
"I do not need this shit... Look, working with giant robots is fun and all, but I still have a country to serve, and I needed some time away from you guys. It'd be pretty funny if I call someone a slagheap in the middle of a conversation, don't you think?"
"Right, and that's why you called Jack instead of me or Killshot-"
"Leave my brother out of this, he's got enough on his plate."
"Your brother?"
"He's close enough, alright? Look, I'm sorry I just got up and left, but we both needed time, if nothing else then for what to make of the whole 'giant robot having a crush on a human' thing."
"Uh-huh. You didn't think about it at all, did you?"
"Not really. Here and there, when I wasn't worried about being blown out of the ocean by the Decepticon ship I reported..."
"Right, the same ship we found no trace of. Mitch, you're-"
"The fuck?! What do you mean you found no fucking trace of it?! We hit the fucker with at least six 14-inch shells, armor fell off of the bastard, what do you mean there's no god-damn trace of it?!"
"Mitch, I'm not saying it didn't happen, but the lack of proof leads us to believe..."
"I know what I saw." I said, remembering what I saw as I looked across the water when I manned the M2HB. There was an aircraft carrier in the distance, split in half, slowly sinking, the destroyer escorts it had getting mowed down by blaster fire from the Decepticon ship, which was turning towards us.
"I'm not-"
"Enough! Enough with the fucking 'I'm not saying' shit, that bastard destroyed a goddamned aircraft carrier and it's escort ships, I am NOT about to think that didn't happen when I saw it happen with my own eyes! And by all means, do enlighten me on what the hell happened while I was gone."
"Alright, one of Bulkhead's buddies came to visit, come to find out it was actually a 'Con in disguise, trying to give them the location of our base, we destroyed an energon harvester that the 'Cons dug up and used on Bulkhead, and, oh yeah, your little bro decided to get in a street race using Bumblebee!" She spat, and I laughed.
"Did he win?"
"NO!"
"Damn. What got it started?"
"You're never going to guess."
"With him being 16 and having Arcee around, I don't think it's money so... Oh God... If he was trying to impress some girl, I'm going to have his hide nailed to the door of my room back at the base..."
"Get your skinning kit."
"Get him on the line... Now."
I felt Firewall shake for an instant, apparently shocked with how forceful I was about it just in speech. I grabbed a headset and heard Jack pick up the phone.
"Jackson Darby, your ass is glass, do you hear me?!"
"Woah, Mitch, what happened between the time you got back to now?"
"I learned of your little race. One, you didn't win. Two, and this is the biggest one, you did it to impress a girl. Use. Your. Brain. If she's got you wound that tightly around her little fucking finger, then we have a serious problem here, bud. Prioritize. School first, team second, girls third, and that's if they aren't what I'm afraid this one is. Who does she hang around with?!"
"Uh... Vince..."
"And what does this Vince do?"
"Er... Bully me..."
"Jack... Little brother... put your mother on the phone... ASAP..."
I heard some commotion before I heard June answer. "Hello?"
"Hello ma'am, this is Corporal Daniels, your son just informed me of a bit of a big issue that I want to take care of. I requested to talk to you so I could request to be allowed to put him through a bit of a... 'vacation' shall we call it, though I'm sure your definition of vacation and mine differ substantially."
"Oh? And what is this 'vacation' you're planning?"
"A three month long Marine training course, everything from just general PT, to hand-to-hand, to bayonet combat. I'll supply everything, he just needs to bring his person and the clothes on his back. If nothing else, it'll teach him discipline and how to defend himself. If he suffers any injuries, I will accept full responsibility."
"Hmm... How much will this cost?"
"Free of charge, given the nature of the issue. I need a refresher on the basics anyway, so I'll be running through it with him."
"No changes of clothes?"
"He'll be assigned a series of uniforms, one for each type of environment I intend to have him train in, and three changes of PT clothes."
"This is starting to sound expensive, are you sure-"
"Ma'am, your son is like a brother to me, and I lost the first person who was ever that close in Afghanistan a few months back. If I think he needs to learn, and you're willing to let me teach him, I'll spare no expense, you don't even need to be concerned. Though I'm sure he's going to find the MRE's interesting to say the least."
"Well... Alright, I guess it can't hurt... too much..."
"What did you just agree to?!" I heard Jack ask.
"I'll be there in a bit. Ask him if he wants to keep his hair."
I heard her ask him right after that as I told Firewall to head back.
"OF COURSE I WANT TO KEEP MY HAIR!"
"I'll be sure to grab a box on my way back." I said, getting a chuckle before we said our goodbyes and the line went dead. I took off the headset and heard Firewall laughing her metal ass off, not able to believe what I just did. "What?"
"Jack is going to be so fragging angry at you..."
"Dumbass should have known I'd have found out sooner or later."
"I thought he was your brother, now you're calling him a dumbass."
"Just because he's my brother doesn't mean he isn't a dumbass. Fucking... Look, I put up with this shit in high school, I know what happens. I was never good enough for the girl, and when I was, I knew what kind of person she was, so she wasn't good enough for me. I don't want Jack making the same mistakes I did."
"Uh-huh... Such as?"
"Letting some dweeble-dick motherfucker pick on you when you can knock that sorry son of a bitch back into his place: The bottom of the fucking totem pole. I finally got tired of it and knocked the hell out of him. Last day of senior year, best memory I have. The look on his face... Priceless. All this pacifist bullshit in this country and even the teachers and security personnel were telling me to beat his ass, and that I did. Butch MacGregor. Meanest son of a bitch I knew, and I took as many punches as I threw. Difference was I hit a whole helluva lot harder. And the little bitch was using a pair of knucks... fucking brass knuckles and I whipped his ass with bare fists. Coulda swore he would have waved just like the other flags on the flagpole if someone put him on the line."
"That's... wow."
"Yeah... Let's go get this idiot."
Author's Note: So... not much to say here. Reviews, tell me what you think, what I could improve, etc. Oh, and I'm going to spare no verbal demeaning during the little section where I have Mitch training him with the weapons at the end of the three month thing. Trust me, stuff has happened during this time, I'm working on the details of what the team's fought (And this WILL be out of order, as I'm having Convoy happen after Predatory. OOPS spoilers.)
