Chapter 12 First Impressions
Author's Note:
Longest...chapter...EVER
I hope you guys like it, and if anybody wants to see what Diego Garcia actually looks like, just put it into Google maps.
Enjoy!
Heat enveloped her as soon as she crossed the threshold of the air-conditioned office building and into the sun. It was a very different type of warmth to Banana; her home was dry and burning, while here was humid and sticky. The breeze was a welcomed relief as it ruffled through her matted hair and carried the salty, refreshing smell of the sea. Sophie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling it fill her lungs and smiling with satisfaction as she exhaled.
Diego Garcia.
She got there. Smack bang in the middle of the British Indian Ocean Territory. She did it, none worse for wear.
Well, maybe not totally 'none worse for wear', she thought, pinching her sore nose with two fingers, feeling for fractures as she followed Daniel to the small Army jeep parked out the front of the large, nondescript grey building. A grassy patch contained a memorial that read Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty.
Sophie had gotten her water, along with food and a much needed trip to the toilet. And so far, she was doing a pretty brilliant job at ignoring all the bewildered stares she had been receiving in the office building. Thankfully, she had been given a long pair of clean Khaki pants and a thin jacket to drape over her soiled white singlet. Sophie carried her own leather jacket and old jeans in one hand and kept Angel's lucky leather belt buckled around her new pants.
"Sorry about the nose," Daniel said, climbing into the driver's seat and fumbling for the keys.
Sophie winced, finally feeling the break beneath her fingertips. Her mind wandered back to the insane battle before effectively blocking it out. "It doesn't look too bent, does it?" she asked when she settled herself into the passenger's seat and showed him.
He shook his head and started the ignition. "Just a little swollen, I suppose. Broken noses usually look a lot worse than they are first off. Somebody set it for you when you were out of it,"
She sighed in relief and stopped touching it, leaning against her hard seat and began absorbing everything around her. It was a medium sized car park surrounded by a dense array of tropical palms, ferns and trees. There was a slight bump as they pulled out of the car park's concreted ground and onto a long, unpaved road of white gravel. It took her a moment to realize what it was; crushed white coral. As they accelerated down the road, Sophie caught flashes of turquoise blue through the thick, green foliage and could hear the sea rumbling in her ears. The wind felt so good against her face that she stretched her arms up into the air and shook her head like a dog, spraying Daniel with sand. He sputtered and she laughed softly to herself, feeling the strangest relief. If she hadn't known this was a military base, it could've easily passed for a holiday destination.
The trees thinned out slightly and the coral road widened, revealing rows upon rows of rectangular, army green buildings.
"These are the Barracks!" called Daniel, slowing down. "This is where you'll be staying; eating, sleeping, etc. You see those large, flat white buildings?" he asked and she nodded, spotting their low roofs easily through all the green. "Those are the cafeterias. You'll be given the schedule for breakfast and dinner later."
Sophie's eyes narrowed as the jeep slowed even further. "I thought we were going past the airstrip, Private."
He looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Ye-Yeah...About that, Galloway- Director Galloway- suggested that it might be a good idea to rest for awhile and-"
She shot him a sharp look. "Did he, now." muttered Sophie quietly, her voice bitter. She then spoke louder and with more confidence. "Daniel, I know that you have orders but you need to understand that the deal I made with our dear Director allows me not to be strictly confined at this moment of time. Hence the lack of restraints."
He glanced hesitantly at Sophie's face and she smiled reassuringly, trying to become the picture of honesty. Her acting skills were lacking but she was quickly discovering Daniel to be a total pushover. Sophie had no doubt that Galloway had put her under house arrest until her position at the base was confirmed. Which would be a very, very long time considering how much the Director wanted her to disappear. It was far better to announce her presence and her knowledge amongst the alien residents of the island to insure her place. That was Plan A. Hopefully she wouldn't have to resort to Plan B, which involved a fair amount of blackmail and threats, but she would if she had too. Sophie was staying.
Daniel sighed and caved in, pressing his foot back on the accelerator and they rumbled towards the airstrip. He knew that it was an awkward situation; Sophie not being able to leave because of how much she knew and NEST's reluctance to work with her. She had been counting on him to be dim enough to not ask a superior. The gamble paid off, even if it made her feel slightly guilty.
Now, Sophie just leaned back and enjoyed the ride, watching the various men and women in their NEST uniforms pass by as the jeep left the Barracks and entered the airstrip. There was another slight bump as it moved off the coral road and onto the runway's long and smooth pavement.
Sophie watched the resting fighter jets parked along the bay area with interest, ignoring the oceanic view on her other side.
"Usually we would be driving on the road behind the airport, but there's no scheduled arrivals or take offs today so driving along the airstrip is fine." Daniel chatted and then noticed Sophie's particularly strong attention to the white building with a large red cross on its roof. "The Medical Bay," he told her unnecessarily.
It was a problem, but not an unexpected one; of course the Med bay would be located near the airport, the busy, general centre of the island. If any soldiers had been injured on a mission they could be moved straight off the plane and into a gurney. This also meant that it had top-notch security; even now Sophie could see security cameras lodged in multiple, unreachable places. This presented an issue, but she was confident that she would be able to work around it.
As the Medical Bay disappeared, Sophie faced forward to the breeze once more and frowned in thought. Just above her eyes, a slow ache had begun to form, slowly tightening before she even realized it was there. She was so used to them. Sophie sighed and was about to close her eyes, effectively blocking off further conversation, when she caught a speck of red in the distance.
She squinted at the growing scarlet spot, and her lips twitched. She stood up in the moving jeep, disregarding Daniel's surprised gasp as she leaned on the top of the windshield while cupping her hands around her mouth and yelling, "ARCEE!"
Her voice was buffered by the wind but the motorcycle continued to approach at speed; Sophie's own jeep slowing to a stop with Private Roger's indecision. Her headache grew, but she brushed it aside and frowned as she watched Arcee race closer, not slowing down.
Just when Sophie began to feel the injustice of being ignored, Arcee's handlebars jammed to the right.
Sophie was convinced that she was going to have to see a replay of their previous accident right then and there when Arcee's new tires locked and she skidded. Daniel was feeling similarly, considering the choking noises he was making. However, as soon as she entered the impossible turn, Arcee used the loss of traction in her rear wheel to control herself so that she drifted gracefully across the airstrip. Sophie listened to the high pitch squeal of rubber against bitumen and watched until Arcee slid smoothly to a stop by her passenger door, facing the same direction as them, none worse for wear.
Sophie snorted. "Show off," she muttered and considered the alien's new appearance while Daniel tried not to go into cardiac arrest. Arcee revved her engine impressively and Sophie shook her head in disbelief. " You've only been here are few hours and you've already upgraded?" she asked. "It's almost like you weren't keen at all on the body I personally crafted for you."
Despite her mocking complaints, Sophie couldn't help but admire the glossy sheen of the smooth and sharp 2006 Buell firebolt sitting beside her in all of its aerodynamic beauty. And if she wasn't mistaken, a strong tint of pink had been incorporated in with the cherry red casing. Sophie found this somewhat amusing.
Arcee made a skeptical, electronic sound through the radio. "I'm sure that my maneuver just now was more than enough proof of how much better my current alt mode is," she told Sophie mildly with her familiarly low and womanly voice. A touch of scorn entered her tone. "That other one, however...Well, let's just say that I won't be getting armor from you anytime soon."
Sophie suppressed a smile and shrugged nonchalantly. "I always thought the homemade look was a nice touch, actually."
"As I can see, sandman."
Sophie shook her hair again and grains of dirt rained onto the pretty Buell firebolt's seat beside her. "Nice Earth reference,"
"Thanks..."
Daniel looked lost but remained politely silent through the swift exchange of complete bullshit. Sophie glanced at him apologetically before swinging out of the jeep and onto the motorcycle. An expression of panic flickered across his boyish face. "Hey! What are you-"
Arcee's engine roared fantastically with ignition and Sophie mouthed 'Sorry' to Daniel before they were shooting down the last section of the airstrip, leaving him and his small jeep behind. She felt bad that their little stunt will probably get him into trouble with his superiors. However, her nagging guilt was soon washed away by the exhilaration of feeling the power of such an incredible engine rocketing them down the road.
A moment later, the airstrip widened dramatically and the strange party found themselves in a massive concrete courtyard which bustled with people doing various jobs; recruits jogging, soldiers transporting supplies in green jeeps, and even a scorched jet being towed back to the airstrip. Sophie watched it curiously as Arcee steered to right, simultaneously avoiding the broken jet and drawing them closer to an absolutely massive construct of what appeared to be two aircraft Hangars connected together by a large grey building of several stories.
The pair attracted numerous inquisitive stares yet no one moved to stop them. Sophie's head was splittingly painful now and a drop of sweat rolled down her face in the sticky heat, but she refused to let it distract her as they entered the shade of the closest Hangar.
Inside was large and spacious with high walkways lining the edges of the room. Several helicopters sat neatly on the right side of the space where an assortment of technicians and electricians were currently tending to them. The rafted ceiling was higher than it looked with a single row of powerful, round lights stretched down the centre. They were off; the light from outside providing sufficient light for the workers. The floor was a smooth white grey with the occasional black number and striped line, presumably showing stations of where military vehicles were parked at night. Raised platforms divided much of the space and held various interesting objects.
Arcee's tires hardly squeaked as they rolled to a stop and Sophie clambered off her comfortable leather seat. She moved away from Arcee as a faint whine signaled her transformation. Sure enough, the 2006 Buell firebolt split and separated, moving quickly and smoothly into her other form with minimal effort, as if showing off that she could manage it beautifully.
Sophie studied her briefly, noting that all of her previous jagged angles and bulky armor seemed to have been replaced with a nimble and sleek 10 foot frame with polished red edges cutting from the side of her metal face. Then Sophie frowned. "Could nobody fix your legs?"
Arcee looked down from her purposely complimentary pose and relaxed and shrugged her shoulders, one of them still decorated with the front of her bike mode. "I'm kind of used to it," she told her, and then skated around Sophie on her single leg, uncomfortably close, before continuing further into the Hangar.
Sophie sighed and rubbed her head as she followed Arcee's trail, picking out bits of dried Australian grass from the nest of her hair and trying her best to ignore the surprisingly intense pain assaulting her. The technicians on the black helicopters casted her curious looks, but soon returned to their work. Apparently having an alien with you is similar to having an all-access pass.
"So, is it just you here?" asked Sophie to Arcee's retreating back. She was mostly joking; Sophie was very confident that there were more.
"Fortunately, no." called Arcee, swerving on the shiny floors lazily. "They're in a meeting, apparently,"
Sophie perked up about this. "What about?"
Arcee twisted so that she was facing Sophie, obviously not concerned with bumping into anything behind her. She slowed her pace slightly for Sophie to almost catch-up, but always stayed a few steps ahead. She shrugged in an attempt to appear indifferent, but a frustrated edge had crept into her voice. "I only just got here, remember? Not like they're going to suddenly share every detail..."
Sophie paused in her analysis and considered her. "What about your sisters?"
Arcee glanced at her sharply. "...you remember that, huh?"
Sophie didn't want to explain how she guessed on instinct that Arcee's two siblings were female so she just answered, "Yes,"
Arcee stopped rolling backwards and slumped slightly, sighing rather dejectedly. "You have a good memory," she muttered and Sophie smiled dryly. Only for the past seven years...
"And no," Arcee continued, her previous irritation returning, "They won't tell me a thing about them, but I'm pretty sure they're not on Earth."
"What makes you think so?" asked Sophie, walking past an ice-cream truck.
"I don't know!" Arcee retorted defensively, as if she thought Sophie was ridiculing her. She turned her back on her and began rolling again."It's just a feeling."
Sophie stared at her plated back and sighed, following Arcee once more. For Sophie, 'feelings' weren't enough to decide much of anything. But despite their turbulent relationship, Sophie had begun to think of Arcee as a friend than just a ticket into NEST. Anyway, Sophie had long decided to conduct a bit of 'research'; she might as well look into Arcee's sisters as well.
On a different page, Sophie was beginning to feel concerned about her own precarious situation; she needed to attract some attention quick before Daniel or Galloway hunted her down and stuck her in a cell. She was also desperately needing some aspirin, but all of her medication was in her backpack with her blueprints, and who knew where that could've ended up-
Sophie stopped walking. Her eyes narrowed. For a few seconds, her thoughts miraculously froze like a startled animal, before kicking into overdrive as Sophie slowly swiveled around on the spot to stare at that fucking pink and white ice-cream truck wedged between two helicopters.
There was a long moment of tense silence; Sophie glaring and the ice-cream truck staying rock still. Sophie couldn't believe that she just walked past it without noticing. It was like not seeing a flamingo amongst a murder of crows. The truck shuddered slightly and Sophie heard a quiet whispering. "I think it saw us-"
'"Shhhh!"
"But-"
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hh-"
"Don't 'shh' me, biiaatch! Come over there an kick yo' ass,"
"We ninja right now so shut yo' mouth!"
"You blind or somethin', bro. I say we ditch it."
"See? See! Da's why we didn't get on tha' mission. You!"
They were getting pretty loud now and the truck was starting to shake, consequently bumping the helicopters beside it. Arcee paused to watch as well.
"Aww, no you didn't!"
"Whatchu gonna do, huh? Whatchu-"
There was a long screeching noise as a panel of the truck flew open, as if kicked from the inside, and scrapped against the side of a helicopter. Sophie winced at the sound, and the technicians held on for dear life as the aircrafts began to rock wildly while the ice-cream van had a some sort of weird, internal battle.
"OWW!"
"Well, Da's what yo' get,"
BANG
"MOTHA-"
"Yeah? Howzat feel, bro? Right in da' face."
"Dat's not ma' face!"
Sophie glanced up at Arcee, whose expression was caught between amusement and annoyance. She caught Arcee's eye and Sophie raised her eyebrows, mouthing 'what?'. Arcee sniggered and Sophie shook her head in faint disbelief, returning her gaze to the jumbled mess of pink and white between the dense black. It seemed they were having some issues with transforming.
The doors splintered and tried to retract, but the moving white bonnet got in the way and they clashed loudly. The tires attempted to shift their position, but the only thing it accomplished was rocking the entire mess over into the helicopter on its right, denting it severely.
One of the older technicians wearing a blue jumpsuit and cap on that particular aircraft called out angrily, "Boys! Take it somewhere else!"
Probably deciding it was more trouble than it was worth, the struggling vehicle tumbled from between the helicopters and Sophie blinked as they proceeded to separate into two halves; one white, one pink. Their transformation was distinctly more clunky than Arcee's graceful spins; thick arms forming and two bulky bodies becoming recognizable through the rearranging parts before both of the aliens tripped and landed at Sophie and Arcee's feet with a loud groan. Sophie took a few slow steps backwards and Arcee sniggered again, but then rolled back with her.
"Er..." said Sophie, unsure of how to start. The two robots immediately hushed up when she opened her mouth. For a moment, it was just Arcee and Sophie looking down at them, and them looking up at Arcee and Sophie. Then the white plated one with an ice-cream prop behind his small head gasped in dramatic surprise.
"Oh, hey Gurl!" he drawled from his position on the ground, looking at Arcee. "I didn't see you there, but dayum! You lookin' fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine,"
"So fine," Pink agreed.
"We were just ah, just um-"
"-talkin' all smart-like with Adam over here," finished Pink, pointing with a large hand to the old human technician who shook his head.
"My name's not Adam," he said and started walking away from the scene, hands in his pockets. "Leave me out of this."
"No! Adam!"
"Come back, Adam!"
"Wait, Adam!"
"ADAM!" they wailed together and broke out into loud, boisterous laughter. Well, thought Sophie, watching them roll around on the floor, this is unexpected. Eventually, the pink Autobot sat up, wiping his protruding blue eyes to rid the imaginary tears of mirth.
"Aw, man. He cute"
"True dat,"
Arcee sighed and put a hand to her face, as if embarrassed by such a crude example of her species. "Guys, please."
"Don't worry, baby, you way cuter," assured Pink as he got to his feet with what seemed to be his brother. When standing, it was easy to see their almost comically round bodies with large forearms and big feet in comparison to their tiny heads. They were both about as tall as Arcee, but far more burly. Sophie moved slightly out of the way once more.
"You bet your sweet ass," added his brother while Pink switched on some music with a heavy beat, bopping his head to the rhythm and sashaying around Arcee. "Hottest chica around!"
"The only 'chica' around, Mudflap." she corrected tiredly and then smacked Pink hard on the head as he glided, making the music warble. "Turn that off, Skids."
The music cut out and Sophie looked at Arcee inquiringly. She sighed and slumped again, looking a bit forlorn. "The only femme on Earth," she told Sophie sadly.
After a general noise of agreement, Skids seemingly noticed Sophie's presence for the first time. "Lookie here!" he exclaimed, he and his brother leaning in while Sophie backed away, head hurting. "Baby, no fair, you already got a pet. We be lookin' for one for ages!"
Sophie stopped moving and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me?"
"Look at it; hair like a cheeia pet,"
"I'm not a pet,"
They ignored her statement, apparently moving onto another subject. " You remember us swoopin' in and rescuing yous? After yo' beezer all broke? We do."
"We was badass," Mudflap informed them, "Ask anybody,"
"I seem to remember things differently," said Arcee dryly. She stood up straighter and smiled exultantly. "It was us who took down Scorponok."
It was the beginnings of an argument if she ever heard one, so Sophie swiftly cut in. "What was that mission you mentioned earlier?" she asked.
To her surprise, the twin's upbeat demeanors dropped instantly; Mudflap scuffing his two-toed metal foot against the ground with a screech and Skids scratching his head, just behind his mouse-looking ears. With this, Sophie suddenly noticed another striking difference between humans and transformers. Like there weren't enough already. Cybertronians, when they moved or even felt emotion, were always making some kind of sound, whether it be an electronic clicking, a low humming, or groaning of metal parts shifting as they moved. Even Arcee was doing it, though admittedly a lot more muted than the twins. Sophie found this interesting, and wondered if humans seemed quiet to them.
Arcee pulled Sophie from her reflection with her next question. "Yeah, and have they told you anything about the meeting they're having?"
"Nah," said Mudflap, looking put out. "We not 'important enough' apparently,"
Skids nodded. "Total bullshi-"
"And the mission?" interrupted Sophie before they could go on another tangent. Despite how amusing it was, their attempts at imitating gangster culture was starting to grate.
They shrugged, great shoulders heaving. "All we know is dat not everybody is here,"
"Including the Boss-man," added Skids.
"Boss?" Sophie asked.
Suddenly, the twins struck an impressive pose and their voices deepened. "Optimus Prime," they chorused together with Arcee, whom said the name normally while smiling slightly.
Sophie studied their blatant admiration for their leader nodded slowly. Interesting. "Right."
"'Right'? Pshhhh!" Mudflap scoffed. "He famous,"
"Not here," reminded Arcee.
"Ah, yeah!" said Skids, clicking his fingers as if an idea came to him. He beckoned them closer and lowered his voice. "Youall want ta' know 'bout da' meetin' right?" They nodded. "Well, it just so happens that yours truly knows how to ge' in there all stealthy and shit."
Sophie arched an eyebrow. "You mean sneak in?"
"Yeah,"
"Without anybody noticing?" Arcee confirmed.
"Yo' know it,"
Arcee and Sophie looked at each other, and then back at Skids and his twin, whom were jiggling excitedly.
"So," said Skids, his strange, alien features arranged in a way that suggested a mischievous smile. "You in?"
The meeting was taking place in the second Hangar, adjacent to the one they were just in. Sophie remembered that the massive sliding door on the hangar had been closed when she and Arcee had entered the courtyard, presumably locked. Therefore, the only way in there was through the building that connected the two hangars together. This was according to Skids.
Sophie watched the colorful group of Autobots as they slouched along the large but human-sized corridors, having to bend to fit. Before, she had her suspicions on how they would ever be able to pass, but seeing them now as they slipped around tight corners and ninja rolled along the straight stretches of red carpet, bickering all the while, she realized that the Twins must have done this quite a few times. Arcee was having the least success, continually bumping her head on the ceiling and having to bend awkwardly low on her single appendage as they ascended a set of stairs. "I hate this," she muttered and glared at Sophie behind her as she followed the group comfortably.
Sophie smiled, but it felt strained. She could feel sweat trickling down her back and her hands were clammy. She focused on the office doors they passed and the occasional photo frame, which she picked up off the floor and put back on its hinges from it being hit by Arcee. Never before in her life have she had this constant tension around her head, squeezing like a band until it hurt. Usually it would just come in waves; a headache or migraine in the morning which would eventually fade away in the afternoon, or the other way round. This had gotten progressively worse since she first met Arcee, and then increased dramatically at her arrival at Diego Garcia.
Curiously enough, this suggested that being around the Cybertronians was making shit worse. This was as unfortunate as it was puzzling, but it didn't change a thing. If anything, it further implied that the island was the right place for some answers and a definite solution to her problem.
"Soph!" hissed Arcee and Sophie's head snapped up.
"Huh?"
They all shushed her and Sophie blinked. She was standing on a high platform overlooking the entirety of what must be the second hangar. Unlike the first, the space was open and clear of other platforms, excluding the one lining the edges, which was what she was standing on, and the one in the rough centre of the room. It was huge, about 30 feet in height, and shaped like a square with one end cut off and staircases leading up either side. It held several desks, computers, and one large screen which appeared to be the only source of light in the dark room.
Sophie's breath caught in her throat as she spotted a huge transformer standing in the glow of the screen. Arcee yanked her down before she could be seen, nearly tripping Sophie on the mass of tangled, thick wires coating where they hid. The platform creaked ominously with their sudden movement and the three bots seemed to hold their breath, staying the most quiet as Sophie had ever seen.
The noise ceased, and when it was clear that no one had been alerted to their presence, they all sagged with relief. Sophie sat crouched next to Arcee whom was laying on her stomach beside her, peering through the railings that kept them hidden and becoming instantly absorbed in the meeting. Sophie glanced over her plated back to see the twins struggling with each other to get the better spot; right next to Arcee. Sophie's eyes widened when she spotted the bright yellow CAUTION tape hanging from around Skid's neck like jewelry.
Her head whipped around and she immediately found where the tape had been torn from the entrance they had stumbled through. The tape continued to wrap around the flimsy barrier that kept workers from falling off.
"Hey! Hey!" Sophie urgently whispered, but they weren't listening as they scuffled, making the platform groan again. She pulled a twig out of her hair and threw it at them, miraculously hitting Mudflap in the eye. He looked at her indignantly and she jabbed a finger at the metal mesh that was holding them all up. "Is this going to hold?"
He waved a white hand at her unperturbedly while his brother pushed his ice-cream down so he could see. "Yeah, it's cool. Just as long yo' don't make any sudden moves."
Sophie stared at him incredulously, but all of the Autobot's attention was suddenly on the meeting. She sighed and squinted through the fence as well, watching the meeting along with the others.
There was what seemed to be a damaged audio file playing on the large screen; badly distorted and warbling drastically. "Lennox to command-" pshhhq "- do you read me-" shhtiksh "-hello? Do you-" shhhh-
A soldier with broad shoulders and dark skin switched off the recording from his place next to the screen. "That was our most recent attempt at re-establishing the communication network with our field team," he informed the hulking black Autobot before him.
"Still shit then?" he replied bluntly, his deep gravelly voice quipped slightly with an accent Sophie couldn't name. He was far taller than Arcee and the twins; 26 feet at least. His chest was wide and strong, but immediately flowed into his thick, tree trunk legs, making them appear longer with the absence of a torso. When he shifted, Sophie could see his strangely flexible feet, lined with many uneven toes.
The soldier sighed and leaned back on a desk, crossing his arms. "Still shit," he confirmed, "Any progress on your end?"
"Not at all, I'm afraid." smartly said a completely different voice. The big one moved his bulk to reveal a smaller, elderly looking Autobot. "Which is very disturbing, indeed! The only ones that could possibly have the technology to sabotage our communicators are-"
"Decepticons," growled the other one. The flat, nose-like feature on his face scrunched up with displeasure.
Sophie glanced at Arcee and nudged her armored shoulder. Arcee looked at her with slight surprise and spotted the unspoken question in her eyes. "Ironhide," she stated, her voice quiet but no less clear as she pointed the two transformers out for her. "My old trainer. And Wheeljack; crazy scientist."
Sophie had a feeling that the short explanation was somewhat biased, but let it go without a comment as the human soldier sighed once more and ran a hand over his bald head. "I'm really not cut out for this," he stated, looking annoyed, "It should Lennox here, doing briefings, and me out there, shooting things."
"I know exactly what you mean," said Ironhide darkly, a hint of rebellion creeping into his posture.
Before the artillery with legs and the trigger-happy human could conduct an impromptu mutiny, the blue Wheeljack cut in frantically. "Lads! Come on now, we still need to discuss the mission, don't we?"
Everybody perked up, but Ironhide remained stubbornly uninterested. "What about the mission?" he scoffed, already moving away with his large joints creaking in their Cybertronian style. "We can't hear anything about it thanks to the damn network. Besides, what would they say? The Arcee sisters have already been located and-"
"What!?" Arcee shrieked suddenly, making Sophie and Twins jump in shock. Before anybody could stop her, Arcee leapt from her cramped position and was about to either hurl insults or jump over the railing when the platform gave a deafening creeeeeeeak and the thin mesh broke through. Right between Sophie and Arcee.
Arcee lost her balance and slammed onto her side, causing the walkway let out another long scream. She swiftly slid down the dangerously declined slope; her clawing hands making the angle even steeper before falling through the wide gap. Sophie glimpsed Arcee being caught in a length of wire, tangling around her wheel, before Sophie's own side of the platform dipped deeply. She made a grab for the railing, but it was rusted through and she yelped as broke in her hands and suddenly she was falling too.
She heard the twins start to call her name, then realized that they didn't know it and trailed off awkwardly into "Cheeia pet..." and "Fuzzmuzz..."
Funny, the things you notice in these kind of situations, Sophie thought distractedly while the rest of her brain sat in shocked silence as the shiny, hard ground rapidly rushed up to meet her. Just before her imminent death, something hooked her foot and she cried out when her still-in-motion body weight nearly snapped her spine as she came to an abrupt halt in the air.
She swung wildly for a moment and heard a couple more panicked yells before a whole lot of clanging and clashing as something hit the ground near her. Sophie swerved in the air and spotted Skids and Mudflap in a groaning pile next to her; Mudflap's ice-cream light flickering on in the semi-darkness. She then craned her neck upwards to see Arcee's three digit hand clutching Sophie's boot. Arcee herself was hanging above Sophie from the wire that was wrapped tightly around her wheel. Her bright blue optics glanced down at her and she murmured "Sorry..."
Silence rang out through the hangar and Sophie couldn't even begin to imagine how stupid the entire scene must of looked. Sophie sighed; this was not how she wanted to announce her presence, to say the least.