Sari got her GED, and wants to start college. However, she has some unique needs for a freshman – like, being able to take courses from Cybertron? Her initial interview isn't going too well.
"So, Miss Sumdac?" asked Mr. Travers, the admissions officer. "You would like to be admitted and begin coursework here at Detroit College. He looked through her application. I see you have completed your GED."
"Yes," said Sari. She and her Dad were sitting in the college admissions office. "I also need to be able to take my coursework online, since I will be traveling frequently."
"Traveling?" asked Mr. Travers.
"Yes. In two months, I will be going back to Cybertron. I am a citizen there."
"Cybertron?" He looked at Sari over his reading glasses. "I've never heard of that country."
"It's not a country," she tried explaining. "It's another planet. Have you heard of the Autobots?" He shook his head. Sari sighed. She was beginning to sense this interview was going downhill fast.
"You see, Mr. Travers," Isaac chimed in, "my daughter Sari, is what is known as a technorganic. She is part human, part Autobot. As such, she lives half of the time here on earth, the other half on the planet Cybertron. As you might know, I am the president of Sumdac Systems, and I have set up a communication port for her so she can use her tablet to link up to your college's computer system. That way, she can do her work while on Cybertron. I am confident that everything will work well."
"I see," said Mr. Travers. Sari and her father suspected he probably did not see at all. Quite the opposite, he probably thought they were a couple of oddballs, or someone pulling a prank.
He looked at Sari's birth date. "Miss Sumdac, you are only 16 years old, is that correct?"
"Yes, I will turn 17 in three months."
He put her folder down. "Well, given your age, and your…unusual circumstances, I'm afraid this might not be the right time to…" Suddenly, gunshots were heard. "What was that?" Mr. Travers asked.
"That sounded like gunshots!" said Isaac.
"I sincerely doubt that, Mr. Sumdac," said Mr. Travers, "this is a gun-free campus."
Isaac's suspicions were confirmed when they heard screams coming from outside. "Someone's been shot! Everybody, get away from the windows!"
In the ongoing confusion, everyone in the admissions office hurried to an interior office and locked themselves in. The office director dialed 911. The college's emergency broadcast system went into effect. All huddled inside, worried about what would happen next.
"Dad, I need to help," said Sari.
"Help? How can you help, young lady? You should stay right…" A flash of blue, and Sari transformed into robot mode. "…here?" Mr. Travers' jaw dropped. He stared at her in stunned silence.
"Be careful, my Sari," said Isaac. "I will, Dad." Sari left and went outside.
Leaving the building, she saw the police and Captain Fanzone. "Captain Fanzone! It's Sari Sumdac! I'm with the Autobots! How can I help?"
"You're with the Autobots?" said Fanzone. "OK, maybe you can get in contact with Optimus to get him here on the double. There's a maniac with weapons wandering around the campus ducking in and out buildings firing on innocent people. Tell you what: in the meantime, you go see if you can help out the paramedics. They're trying to get to the wounded." Fanzone used his bullhorn over to the Fire Chief: "Hey, Chief! Autobot on the way over to assist you!"
Sari touched the side of her helmet. "Optimus! Emergency at Detroit College! There's a gunman wandering around shooting innocent people!"
"OK Sari, we're on our way! Optimus out!"
Sari went to the Fire Chief. "How can I help?" she asked.
"We need to get the wounded out of the buildings and the grounds, but that maniac fires on us when we approach them." Said the Chief.
"Let me get to them," said Sari. The Chief gave her a radio unit so they could give her the locations of the wounded and updates on the location of the gunman. She hurried from location to location, picking them up and carrying them to the ambulance. The police radio kept her informed of the gunman's general location, so she could keep herself between him and the victims.
She cradled the victims with one arm and used her Skyboom shield as a tight cover to protect them from the gunman's bullets. They would ricochet off her shield or dent her armor but she managed to keep the victims protected. "Oh Slag! I wish I knew exactly where he was firing from, I could try to shoot an orb at him!" she thought.
One of the women Sari picked up was bleeding from an abdomen wound. "It's going to be OK," she told her. "I was on the way to pick up my son from daycare," she said weakly. "Try not to talk, Sari asked, as she carried her to the paramedics.
As Sari handed the woman to the ambulance personnel, her radio broadcasted that the gunman was entering Martindale Hall. "That's where the daycare is!" she screamed. Sari immediately looked toward Fanzone. "GO!" he shouted. Sari sped toward Martindale on her jet skates.
Martindale Hall is the largest building on campus, shaped like a big "L". The daycare center is located at the long end of the L; as Sari neared the building, she could see the empty playground. Thankfully, all of the children had been brought inside when the alarm was sounded. "He entered the building at the opposite end from the daycare," said the radio. Sari crashed through the daycare window and rolled onto the floor.
Sari's dramatic entrance was met with screams from the daycare workers. "It's OK, I'm here to help! I'm with the Autobots!" she shouted. Before she was able to say more, however, a shot was heard, and a bullet shattered the front door window. The gunman had fired from the far end of the hallway toward the daycare.
"Everyone get down!" Sari shouted. Picking up the receptionist's desk, she carried it toward the door, and set it down to block any further bullets.
Stepping outside the entrance, Sari turned to confront the approaching gunman. "Put the weapon down!" she shouted while walking towards him. The gunman fired at her, but her targeting mod had locked on to the barrel as soon as he aimed and predicted the trajectory of the blast; she used her orb to disintegrate the bullet soon after it left his weapon. She then aimed a larger orb at the semi-automatic to blast the weapon out of his hands.
"I told you to put the weapon down. Now get on the floor!" Undaunted, he pulled out a pistol; she fired a heat orb that burned the pistol out of his hands. Screaming, he grabbed a knife from his belt with his other hand and charged at Sari. She knocked the knife out of his hand and grabbed his wrist, throwing him against the wall. He slumped to the floor, out cold. Captain Fanzone and the SWAT team arrived in the building to take him away.
Sari turned and went back into the daycare. Pushing aside the desk, she looked in at the staff and children. "Is everyone OK?" They still looked frightened, so to help calm them down, she removed her robot helmet to reveal her human face. "My name is Sari," she said. "The gunman has been captured. I came back to make sure you were all OK."
All the staff came up and hugged Sari, thanking her for protecting them from the gunman. Sari spent that afternoon with the children, telling them about her life as a technorganic, being on Cybertron, and living with the Autobots and with her Dad on Sumdac Tower. They liked hearing about how silly Bumblebee is, and how Bulkhead likes to paint.
Captain Fanzone and the Fire Chief recommended Sari for a special commendation. Isaac and the Autobots went up to City Hall to watch the ceremony. Mayor Edsel presented her with a mounted plaque that read "For honor and bravery, in rescuing the citizens of Detroit from a depraved gunman, the office of the Mayor hereby expresses its sincere gratitude to Miss Sari Sumdac."
Shortly after the ceremony, Sari received a personal letter from the Provost of Detroit College, welcoming her admission, and assuring her of access to its database of online courses.
I guess the Provost had a little sit-down discussion with Mr. Travers! Thanks for reading.
