Fourteen
Settling In
"I didn't sleep at all last night; kept seeing Starscream in the dark," Ari grumbled as she sat down with Alexis that morning in the mess hall with their backs to the main entrance. She made a face at the food on their trays but didn't comment on it.
"Is that why I heard screaming at random intervals during the night?" Tyrone asked crossly as he sat down across from them. "The walls in the barracks aren't soundproof or thick enough to blot you out," he added, glaring at Ari who stuck her tongue out at him.
"Actually, I think the second-to-last scream was a 'screaming herself awake' scream," Alexis said, looking at her drowsy friend. She looked back at Tyrone's puzzled expression and explained, "I used to be roommates with her. She used to scream a lot the first year with us because Charlie, the raccoon at the base, used to get into our room and climb all over us in general, but we'd think that Riley would sic Charlie on her in particular. By the end of the year, Marcia, Kina, and I used to make it a game to identify what kind of scream it was, and obviously the person with the most correct guesses would win the desserts of the other players."
"I still hate you guys for that," Ari said, scowling as she stabbed her bacon strips with her fork. "I still hate every little mean thing that you all did…"
"It was sufficient payment for every time you got me into trouble during training school," Alexis replied irritably. "You believe in karma or not?" she added as she began eating the breakfast. Tyrone had his usual Dunkin' Donuts breakfast despite the fact he'd started sleeping the barracks instead of his apartment.
"No, I don't," Ari bit back as she began digging in. "Even though it would help if I knew what 'karma' actually meant, I still don't believe in it." She rubbed her forehead and said, "I would feel much, much better if I was sure that Starscream wasn't around to get me, what with my involvement with NEST and all…"
"Call it a hunch, but I don't think that Starscream is out to get you in particular," Alexis interrupted, vividly remembering how she'd defied him the day before. "You're not interesting enough yet to be of much notice."
"I don't know, it would still help if I knew what his hologram looked like so I could avoid that particular person and leave their stuff alone," Ari said, casting a wary eye around the mess. "For all I know he could either be a general or worse, he's captured Thayer and we're blindly obeying an impersonator."
"Ah, I don't think that, I think he's got a much lower rank than a general. A general or chief of staff would be too conspicuous for his line of work," Alexis replied, shrugging and looking at Tyrone. He looked confused because of their discussion topic, but he could read her expression well enough to know that it was wiser not to ask about it. She wasn't going to tell Starscream's secret in front of Tyrone either. Ari was more of a visual and experience learner, and Alexis was already detailing the best way to show instead of tell Ari. Ari would be unable to hate her for it because it was Alexis not Ari who would receive the most, if any, injuries from the upcoming venture.
"Do you think he might be the one you have to suck up for in order to keep your rank of captain?" Ari asked curiously, using her fork to slice then stab the chunk of doughnut from Tyrone's breakfast. "You're the one with the more interesting breakfast here," she told him when he scowled at her for the theft.
"I hope it won't come to sucking up to another superior. I haven't given up hope in the books yet," Alexis replied, shrugging. Ari snorted, muttered something under her breath before refocusing on the meal before her.
"Hey Aliskevicz… whoa, what the hell?" Mareski said, unexpectedly appearing at the end of the table. He drew back in surprise when Ari glared daggers at him through shadowed eyes. "Did someone stay up late reading old army reports from London?" he teased.
"Come a little closer and ask that again," Ari growled but Alexis placed a hand out on Ari's chest to prevent her friend from lunging out at Mareski. Allowing her friend to pacify her for now, Ari leaned back in her seat and asked conversationally, "So, what's up?"
"I decided that since we've all got the adequate downtime, we should stay in tiptop shape. Timed obstacle course later this afternoon, and winner gets bragging rights," Mareski said, still grinning despite the fact Ari had nearly attacked him a few moments ago.
"Are you serious?" Ari asked while Tyrone winked at Alexis, who rolled her eyes.
"Yep! Figured we might as well, and then do an in-flight exercise or two later this afternoon. Heard about what happened with Cromwell's squadron the other day… talk about a mess," Mareski said, and Ari let out a small squeak while Tyrone sighed and Alexis rolled her eyes at the reminder.
"Thanks for the reminder," Alexis said in a faux sweet tone. Mareski winced and turned to face her, intent on apologizing.
"Goodbye!" Ari snapped, reaching over and pushing him away. "You can charge me for insubordination or misconduct or whatever later." They watched as Mareski walked away, and then Ari said, "Believe it or not, there are times when I could just… I don't know. I can't think straight."
"I wonder why," Tyrone muttered to himself, ignoring Ari's glare.
The three of them had about fifteen to twenty minutes of silence. Ari alternated between her meal and whatever Tyrone was eating. Alexis ignored their bickering as she slowly ate while perusing the manual to find the desired information. Tyrone was silently pleading Alexis for intervention as he lost a part of his food to Ari's vengeful fork at random intervals. Finding no sympathy, he waited until Ari was coming in for another bite so that he could stab his knife down between the fork prongs and jam the instrument completely. Then he swore quietly as Ari kicked him underneath the table, releasing her fork in the process. Finally, he just pushed the remnants of his breakfast across the table to Ari, who raised her eyebrow in curiosity before pushing it back to him, deciding that she didn't want it in the end.
Muttering incoherent things to himself Tyrone leaned back in his seat. After a few moments however, he leaned forward and quietly asked, "Alexis, hypothetically speaking, if a general, a colonel, and a captain were coming straight towards you, what would you do?"
"I don't know; do I know these magical officers of yours?" Ari asked, not looking up.
"No, let's pretend you don't," Tyrone said, facing Ari now. "What do you do?"
"Run for the hills… screaming," Ari said without hesitation. "Unless Mareski tells me otherwise, I try to avoid anyone I don't know with a higher rank than captain. But if was Major Cromwell," she continued as Alexis frowned; Tyrone was looking past the both of them. "If it was Major Cromwell, I'd punch his lights out, then run," she continued.
Alexis immediately stiffened once she realized that there was another, male presence leaning past her shoulder between her and Ari. She knew it wasn't Starscream; he would've gotten her attention by now, but she still didn't like this stranger being extremely close… plus Tyrone was fighting hard not to laugh.
"Why would you punch the major out in the first place?" a familiar male voice asked conversationally. Alexis closed her eyes when she recognized the voice, and knew Ari would be screaming once again in a few minutes.
"Because he was mean to Alexis and I happen to hate him… wait a sec, who are you?" Ari asked, pausing in her meal to turn around to face the speaker.
Tobias Jackson fought back a grin as Ari studied him for a few moments, her expression turning sour as she recognized whom he was. She pressed her lips into a thin line and then turned back to face Tyrone. "If there's an obnoxious captain hanging over my shoulder, then that means your situation wasn't hypothetical after all and there really is a general and colonel hanging around, right?" she asked, jabbing her thumb into Tobias's face.
"Actually, the general is yapping with some other VIP right now, but the colonel is coming," Tyrone amended.
Ari stood up stiffly. "Then if you will excuse me, I have to leave; I am not ready to face a superior officer and not rip their head off. I am too tired to be civilized," she said, and then left the table, taking her breakfast with her out of the mess.
"What riled her up?" Tobias asked, sitting down in the recently vacated seat while looking at Ari's retreating back.
"I'll tell you later… more of NEST business," Alexis muttered as she heard more brisk footsteps approaching. "Ari, it's only Tobias," she said without looking over her shoulder, assuming that Ari had returned for another spat with Jackson.
"No one told me Aliskevicz was here," Stanton replied calmly as she sat down beside Tyrone, who edged away from the woman. She shook her head when Alexis began to stand up in the presence of a superior. "I'm supposed to be off-duty right now," she said as Tobias snickered.
"That's why she's with us lowlifes rather than the VIPs," Tobias said, leaning on the table. "Now the general on the other hand…" he said, his voice trailing off as he shrugged. "She's coming… I think."
"Nice," Alexis said, finishing off of the last of her drink. Turning around since Tyrone was staring at someone past her shoulder. She turned, and then felt a bubble of excitement and delight build in her chest as she recognized her old friend, a woman she hadn't seen in three long years. "Kina!" she shouted, jumping out of her seat. Kina turned at the mention of her name, and laughed when she spotted Alexis. For a moment, the two of them were young squadron mates again as they hugged each other.
Tyrone winced as both women greeted each other happily. "Do they know each other?" he asked, well aware of how stupid the question was.
Tobias gave him a 'what-do-you-think?' look before saying, "I'm not sure, they just might since they're acting like little kids right now." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and asked, "Why are you concerned?"
"Because I thought I just had to get past Ari when it came to approval of my relationship with Alexis," Tyrone said carefully as he watched Kina and Alexis returning to the table.
Tobias snorted, raising an eyebrow at Tyrone's words. "Best way to get Ari's approval is to pay up front, and then agree with her on anything she says or does," he said, rolling his eyes as Alexis reclaimed her seat with Kina on her other side. Tyrone wasn't sure of what to make of this; he hadn't seen Alexis this…giddy before.
"This is Lieutenant Tyrone Maxwell. He's my second-in-command on the squadron," Alexis explained, still smiling. "This is my friend Kina Skye, Colonel Stanton is next to you, and…"
"Captain Jackson. Says so on his nametag," Tyrone interrupted, managing a smile for Tobias. He glanced at Stanton, wondering how to delicately ask his next question.
"So where's Ari? I saw her a few minutes ago," Kina said quietly, scanning the mess hall. "I also heard her screaming last night, so let me guess: she saw something bad during the day and had nightmares about it last night?"
Alexis nodded, and then said, "It was, um,"
"A Decepticon?" Tobias hissed as Tyrone asked Stanton if she really was as crazy as everyone said, beginning what was promised to be a long and intense quarrel between them. Stanton sensed the need for privacy between the three of them and decided to drag the argument out long enough to distract Tyrone.
"Starscream," Alexis clarified, and Kina leaned in to hear Alexis better. "He returned a week or so ago, left, and returned just yesterday," she explained. "Ari is still unaware, but she supposedly saw him in his true form, but that can't be possible because his hologram was talking to me at the same time she saw him."
"You've spoken with Starscream?" Kina asked, frowning.
Alexis gritted her teeth as Tobias snickered. "You have no idea," Tobias said, grinning broadly. "I think they've done more than just talked…ow!" He swore when Alexis elbowed him harshly in a sensitive part of the ribcage.
"He never knows what he's talking about," Alexis said, and Kina nodded in agreement. "Starscream and I have just talked, nothing else," she added, glaring at Tobias for effect.
"Whatever. So Ari knows about him now, right?" Tobias asked. Off to the side, Tyrone was trying to defend himself from Stanton's biting comebacks, but was failing miserably. Alexis guessed that he had struck a nerve, and Stanton was trying very hard not to let the argument become personal.
"No. I'm coming up with a plan to let her learn about Starscream. She's a visual learner, remember?" Alexis whispered back.
"Be careful; I think the Autobots are staying in the south hangar, and I don't think Starscream found out yet," Kina said. "He might be wired up because he doesn't know where his opponents are when in reality they're under the same roof."
"One thing at a time, Ari first," Alexis said, glaring at Tobias at the same time.
"Alexis?" Tyrone said, interrupting the conversation while breaking away from his argument with Stanton. Once he had her attention, he said, "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I'm going to go find Stryker and see if I can talk to him. If he doesn't listen, I'm going to try and set him straight. He has no right to treat Ari and you like that."
"Uh, okay," she replied, suddenly aware of the three-man audience. "Just one order," she added, and he nodded eagerly. "No… fighting…at all," she hissed.
"Yes, Alexis," he said, and then without a care of the other three, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He stood up, nodded in respect to Kina and Stanton, and then left the table.
Tobias waited until Tyrone was out of earshot before cracking up in laughter. "Starscream must love that," he said, grinning broadly. Kina looked slightly put out as though she knew that there was something Alexis had neglected to mention to her because Stanton also snickered a bit at the mention of Starscream.
"I don't think he's interested anymore," Alexis admitted, shrugging at Tobias's flash of immaturity. "The last time that we really talked, he wanted to know whom I saw as my husband," she said. She glanced at Kina and said, "To make a long story short, Starscream posed as a 401st pilot named Stryker Davis, and I sort of found out who he was, and then we sort of got close. But then he left and I think we're back to the mutual 'friendship' stage."
"He didn't hurt you at any point did he?" Kina demanded, scowling at the thought of the Decepticon getting that close.
"Actually, the final tally was a sprained wrist and a broken rib," Alexis said, looking at her old friend. "That's not including whatever I incurred from the run at the barracks," she added, glancing at Stanton. The woman had ordered Sasquatch not to tell Alexis the extent of the injuries, and Alexis only had a vague idea because of the amount of time she'd spent in the hospital before heading out to Great Britain.
"Hello Captain Loser," Ari said, appearing out of nowhere and taking Tyrone's empty spot. She looked over Tobias once before announcing, "You look like you just had a good laugh at something. Care to let me in on the joke?"
"Stryker and Tyrone," Kina replied, privately unsure if Ari would understand.
"Kina!" Ari cried joyfully, and did an awkward hug with Kina over the table. Settling back down in her seat, she said, "So Stryker swung by? I stopped by 'cause Tyrone looked all pissed off and I thought there was a fight or something and there was still carnage."
"Nope, he's off to start the fight despite the boss's orders," Tobias replied, still grinning.
"Damn, then I've got to go and find them. First though, how have you been Kina? Did you get my letter?" Ari asked, leaning on the table with one elbow.
"Yes, all sixteen pages of it," Kina replied, smiling slightly. "Other than being scared that one time in London, how was your stay? How have you been?"
"Okay I guess… let's see. I met Tweedledee for the first time, saw Starscream in his true form, and realized that Tweedledum decided to come by the next day just to be annoying!" Ari said, starting her sentence in a sweet tone, and ending with half-yelling in Tobias's face and leaning across the table.
There was a moment of silence. "How much sugar did you have this morning?" Alexis asked.
"No more than usual… oh wait, there was Tyrone's doughnuts. Okay, the usual plus bits of a doughnut," Ari replied.
"How much sleep did you have last night?" Alexis asked even though she already knew the answer.
"Four and a half hours at the most," Ari replied.
"There's the problem," Kina finally said. "Maybe you should get some shut-eye before you complete the physical that Captain Mareski told me about. Then you can sleep after."
Ari frowned thoughtfully, and then said, "Good idea." She stood up and then said, "Just let me know when Stryker or Tyrone snap okay? I want to see who'll win."
"Stryker will… no doubt," Tobias muttered. Then he said, "Wait, Ari? Can I ask you a question?"
"I don't know, does the fate of the world depend on it?" she asked sarcastically, pausing in her tracks and turning around on her heel.
"Yeah," Tobias answered. "Where are Major Lennox and the three NEST personnel who disappeared with him?"
Ari stared at him as though he had just spoken Cybertronian to her. "What are you talking about?" she asked slowly, raising an eyebrow and staring at him in a peculiar manner.
Alexis watched as Tobias's jaw simply dropped open in shock. "Wh… what do you mean 'what are you talking about?" he asked after a few moments of silence.
"What are you talking about? It's not complicated Tobias, I don't know what you're talking about. Is 'NEST' code for something?" Ari slowly said, putting air quotes around 'NEST'.
Tobias was too stunned to manage another reply. Kina laughed slightly before saying, "Ari, we'll let you know if there's a tiff okay? Just try to stay out of trouble yourself."
"Sounds good," Ari said, flashing a smile. She turned to walk away, and then stopped again. Turning around, she said, "You might want to shuffle Tobias down to the infirmary. He's kind of rambling and I think he isn't feeling that great."
"We will," Alexis said, fighting back a grin as Tobias squeaked in shock, his jaw inching down a bit.
Kina looked over his face once before asking, "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to keep that face for long or it was going to freeze that way permanently?"
Tobias turned slowly to face her, his mouth closing. "Do you just like getting under my skin like that?" he asked with all seriousness.
"Consider it paybacks for all the head-butting we did when the Fifty-first paid us a visit," Kina said in a slightly stern tone. "On top of that, you no longer can pull the rank card on me. Sometimes I wonder if you ever realized how irritating that got."
"I think I'm realizing that now," Tobias grumbled.
"Excuse me, colonel?" a male voice said from nearby.
They turned to see an army ensign approaching. "Colonel Stanton, Captain Jackson, Chief Thayer wishes to see you right away," he said, looking at them. "Captain Preston, Major Cromwell wants to see you at 1300 hours. General Skye, Chief Thayer requested to see you at 1300 hours as well." He looked at the four of them and then asked, "Any questions?" Being stared at by four officers was usually a little unnerving for a beginner.
"Nope, I'm good. C'mon Captain, we've got time," Kina said, standing up gracefully and gesturing for her friend to follow. "Let's see if Maxwell can obey your orders huh?"
"I don't think so, especially since Stryker is involved," Alexis grumbled as she got up to follow Kina.
Stanton eyed Tobias and then said, "Let's go. We can get you down to the medical ward after we see what Thayer wants."
"I feel fine. She just has to be lying!" Tobias whispered as Stanton steered him from the mess by placing a hand on his shoulder. "I just know it!"
"Aliskevicz can't lie that well," Stanton said. "That would be like Starscream proving his turncoat nature and fighting for the Autobots instead. Possible, but very highly unlikely."
She didn't speak again until they reached Thayer's office. Instead of waiting for an invitation, she walked right in, flopped into a desk chair and closed her eyes. She ignored the ' thanks-for-waiting-for-me' look Thayer shot her from his side of the desk. Tobias decided to pace nearby, and she didn't have to be empathetic to sense his anxiety. "You think we're biting off more than we can chew?" he finally asked nervously.
Stanton gave him a 'what-the-hell-do-you-think' look and he raised his hands in surrender. "Forget about the size of the task, we don't even have sufficient forces to bring down the Decepticon leader," she said quietly. "They've been fighting their war for millennia. The longest war in our history lasted three hundred and thirty-five years, and there wasn't even any fighting! Even I'm not sure about that one," she said, toying with a pencil on Thayer's desk.
"Plus, Starscream may have assets of his own here right now, and we wouldn't know it," Tobias added despite the fact that he didn't want to add to the colonel's concerns.
"I don't want Galloway in on the gig," Stanton added as Thayer offered her a drink, which she declined. "He screwed up once, and another error could cost lives."
"He's your friend, remember?" Tobias reminded her. "Also, you've screwed up more than once," he gently added, but shut up when Stanton glared at him.
"Then why didn't he tell me the names of the other potential victims? Does he not trust me anymore? I wasn't going to shoot him when we were at Diego Garcia, I was just going to drive the point home," Stanton snapped, looking flustered at Thayer. "Or am I being a hypocrite, demanding trust from him if no one can trust me?"
Thayer avoided her question. "You need more planners if you're thinking of another operation as well as Johnson's approval," he warned. "That way, we can avoid a repeat of last time. On top of all that, you need to stop and think about what you're doing. You're suggesting that we go after the Decepticons, specifically Megatron."
Stanton raised an eyebrow and said, "Didn't it only take a seventeen year old high school kid to take him down the first time?"
"Yeah, after the entire downtown of Mission City was ripped up. Plus he had tons of help," Thayer said, finally sitting down in his chair. Stanton counted to ten in her head, curious as to how and Thayer stood up again once she got to nine.
"NEST is trained and prepared for this sort of thing," Tobias said slowly, but Stanton interrupted him.
"How many fliers? I don't think the Decepticons are going to hang out on the ground long since the air provides not only an escape but a method of attack because of the advantage of height," she said curtly. She put her forehead in her hand and fell silent.
"Um, back to participants. Will Wilson be in too?" Tobias asked.
"No. He almost died last time. Captain Preston, even though she may fight against it, will not participate either. This time, I'm going to take volunteers. See who is crazy enough to go for it," Stanton replied without looking up.
"Then you'll be starting with a limited number of applicants," Thayer warned. "Not everyone knows everything."
"I know. Tobias, I'm not going to say 'I told you so', but," Stanton began patiently.
"I know. She must have a goldfish for an ancestor because obviously she had no idea what I was talking about," Tobias snapped crossly. "Now I'm worried because I have no way of contacting Major Lennox or the other three. Sorry ma'am, consider yourself short four personnel, two soldiers and two pilots."
Stanton rolled her eyes when a knock was heard at the office door. "Your first and last mistake was placing trust in Aliskevicz to hold on and remember that sort of information," she shot back as Thayer stood up and went to answer the door.
"I think that part of the personnel can be resolved tonight," Thayer said calmly as he opened the office door and allowed his visitor to enter.
Stanton was on her feet and scowling the moment Simmons came into full view. Tobias immediately backed off for the inevitable confrontation. A nerve twitched in Simmons's jaw before he turned around back to Thayer and said, "I'm sorry sir, but I just remembered a prior obligation…"
"Simmons, sit down," Thayer ordered, and the man reluctantly obeyed as Stanton sank down slowly into her own seat. "Now, before anyone does anything, I think it would be best if the two of you got over your problems, and talked it out like the civilized people you are. That way, we can be sure of no backstabbing, assassination attempts, or any kind of trickery that you may be planning to do to the other. We're risking everything as it is, we don't need your squabbling to wreck it further. Neither of you will participate in the mission until you both apologize and make your peace. After the mission, if it even does go through, you can go back to hating each other if that'll make you happy."
"I'll do that only if we actually decide to go ahead with the plan," Stanton said coolly, ignoring Simmons.
"Simmons, do you still have contact with your old Sector Seven comrades?" Thayer asked, ignoring Stanton's response and focusing instead on Simmons.
"Why?" Simmons asked suspiciously as Stanton perked up in the seat beside him.
"Because this is your chance to redeem yourself. You want it or not?" Thayer asked, sitting down behind his desk. Stanton and Simmons were both facing him now like children in front of the principal receiving a scolding while Tobias hovered behind them like the concerned parent.
"Fine, I'll take it," Simmons said. He hesitated, and then asked, "She'll get her driving and flying privileges revoked before I say anything right?" He ignored Stanton's scowl that was aimed at his back
"No. Pretend she doesn't exist for a few moments. Now, have you or have you not been keeping some form of contact with any former Sector Seven personnel?" Thayer asked.
"There are very few of us left because you've had most of the old Sector Seven personnel arrested all through last year," Simmons snapped.
"Yet for some odd reason, we found a Sector Seven cell in Europe, Major Cromwell leading the pack," Thayer replied, raising an eyebrow. "I'm still waiting for another old Sector Seven group to pop up on another continent."
"You know, early on in NEST, we did run into old Sector Seven guys. No offense sir, but they caused the most trouble after the Decepticons," Tobias volunteered from where he was standing.
"Answer the question Simmons. It was only myself and a few others who wanted you to stay with the government this time around," Thayer snapped, his patience wearing thin even though it was only mid-morning.
"Send me the emails of the other guys," Stanton interrupted, but examined her fingernails when Thayer looked up at her to order her to be quiet.
"Fine. There are three Sector Seven cells that are still active as far as I know," Simmons said, finally relenting. "The first is in Montreal, Canada, the second is in Mission City, Nevada, and the third is in Ushuaia, Argentina. They never received the orders to deactivate, and I would have sent the orders if someone hadn't booted me out of DC before I could," he said, glaring at Stanton towards the end.
"The government already forcefully deactivated the one in Mission City last year. It started out as a hunt for a fugitive, and the fugitive fled back to the base," Thayer said calmly. "Now why is there one in Argentina?"
Simmons looked as though he was on the verge of denying information, but a glance at Stanton's vexed expression seemed to convince him that the truth would be better. "Um, we sort of found, uh, another one of the Transformers by sheer accident in the ice shelves in Antarctica. Since um, Witwicky found NBE-1 in the Arctic, we thought there just might be one in the south too… Colonel, you don't look very happy," Simmons admitted, edging away from Stanton when she narrowed her eyes at him. "We established the base in Argentina because it was easier than setting up something in the Arctic."
"So tell us, do you happen to have one under your bed as well?" Stanton snapped, gripping her armrests as though to get up.
"No!" Simmons shot back.
"Knock it off you two," Thayer cut in, still grumpy about the fight that had pretty much disrupted his once peaceful morning. "Now I'm going to speak with the Autobots this afternoon after I see General Skye about her new assignment. For now however, Stanton, stay away from Simmons and vice versa. Simmons, when I'm there this afternoon, I expect you to be there as well so you can explain this missing Transformer of yours."
"Can I be there?" Stanton asked innocently. When Thayer glared at her, she leaned back and muttered, "Tobias, you're going to be my eyes and ears. Just keep it low-key."
Tobias sighed. He knew better than to get wrapped up in the still-standing hatred between Simmons and Stanton.