"Sorry guys, not telling, primarily because I can't tell you without permission, it's complicated but let's just say that the prisoner I brought back is important to the government, that's all I can really tell you"
"Your computer is designed to give you an alert if it involves the government in some way"
"Exactly, that's why I rushed to see the prisoner, I needed to confirm the connection and discuss where we go from there"
"Very well, for now I need you to go to this location for a follow up question session, stupid video cameras being down"
"Hey you know as well as I that infrastructure won't be completely fixed for another year, at least in regards to electricity and ability to repair security cameras, and another three years for roads to be completely fixed"
"Well...part of the problem this time appears to be water damage and we've always had problems with repairing that kind of damage"
"True enough, at least if it's not EDC equipment"
"Hey, we've been working on it for years now, we just simply haven't gotten approval for whatever reason"
"I'll talk to them and see what the problem is"
"Good, now then, follow up questioning"
"On the way sir"
Five hours later and Allison was finally back at the station
"That shouldn't have taken so long Kerenai"
"Yeah well there are reasons behind that, and no it's not traffic since we don't have any road structures still despite a year of rebuilding, it's more complicated than that I'm afraid"
"Fine, write your report tomorrow, you've been officially done as of two hours ago"
"Nope, need to get this done while it's still fresh in my mind"
"Fine, but don't forget that right now we're on severe overtime restrictions"
"I know sir, oh have you received word yet about Reserve training for this month?"
"Yup, just came in today, you're to report in for two weeks training on the last day of the month"
"That's new"
"Yeah well, forest fires are part of it"
"Oh yeah, forgot people had been pulled in to help fight the California fires recently"
"EDC?"
"Reserve Captain, he was called in for three days when one of the Captains became injured and the unit needed a temporary replacement before they were officially stood down, that stand down was coming anyways since they were reaching the physical limits of what they could do after a solid three weeks on shift and the last three days with a maximum of twelve hours over said three days"
"The loss of their captain just accelerated things"
"Exactly"
"But by how much is the question"
"A week, it accelerated things by a week since the government decided no longer than a month for each Reserve unit called in to fight the fire"
"When was that decision made?"
"From the start this time around"
"You mean that decision has been made later in the call-in?"
"Yes sir, it's all up to command on how long we're allowed in the fight but they sometimes wait until they get a better idea of the situation before making certain calls, this time it's bad enough from the start that they decided only one month maximum, though they're typically rotated earlier this time that unit was far enough out that they were in a good position for the whole month, at least if not for what happened to their Captain"
"Understood, so here's your orders by the way"
"Thanks sir"
"You know the preparation rules for such a thing"
"I know"
"You get to tell the SWAT member"
"Yes sir, he's off duty today so I'll tell him tomorrow"
Suddenly an officer came running in with a paper held up in their hands
"Who hear knows Morse code? I normally wouldn't have a problem but our translator is broken"
"Give it to me, I can read the message, without needing a translator"
"Military?"
"Not quite, but in either case I know Morse code"
"Fine, here's the message"
Message
-.. .- .-.. .-.. .- ... / - . -..- .- ... / .-. .- -. -. . .-. ... .-.-.- / ..-. -... .. / .- -. . -. - / .. -. / -.. .- -. -. . .-. .-.-.- / - - ...- . / .. - - . -.. .. .- - . .-.. -.- / - - / . -.. -.-. / -... .- ... . .-.-.- / -.- . .-. . -. .- .. / - - / -... . / .. -. / -.-. ... .- .-. -. . / - ..-. / . ... -.-. - .-. - .-.-.- / ..-. ..- .-. - ... . .-. / - .-. -.. . .-. ... / - - / ..-. - .-.. .-.. - .- / .- - / -... .- ... . .-.-.- / ... .. -. -. . -.. / ..-. -... .. / .- -. . -. - / .. -. / -.-. ... .- .-. -. . / -.-. .- .-. .-.. - ... / ... . -. -.. . .-. ... - -.
*Dallas Texas Rangers. FBI agent in danger. move immediately to EDC base. Kerenai to be in charge of escort. further orders to follow at base. signed FBI agent in charge Carlos Henderson*
End of message
"I need to get the prisoner I escorted here out of the prison, Fortney, Parker, Johnson with me you're under my direction until further notice per the FBI agent that sent this message, by the way I have to tell you guys that the prisoner I escorted here from Houston is actually an FBI agent in deep cover, he allowed themselves to be arrested to have an actual conversation and not just status updates, unfortunately the FBI has apparently received word that the agent is in danger and needs to be moved to the EDC base"
"That's why you rushed that day, and the government connection you mentioned vaguely"
"Yes, through this message I have permission to reveal that they're an FBI agent since if not for the broken translator this officer would have known already"
"Oh?"
"Yep, the message is and I quote 'Dallas Texas Rangers. FBI agent in danger. Move immediately to EDC base. Kerenai to be in charge of escort. Further orders to follow at base. Signed FBI agent in charge Carlos Henderson' that means you need to know the truth to understand just why the FBI is so interested in the prisoner and why they want them moved as quickly as possible, now let's go before anything happens to the agent"
"Okay yeah I would have already known, and you're right, get going since the agent might not even know that they're in danger"
"You're right, I told that agent to get me if they were in danger which means that the FBI knows about the danger but the agent themselves don't yet"
They get to the agent just barely in time, Allison and Parker both took knife wounds in their right and left arms respectively, plus Allison also took a bullet wound in the leg, but the agent themselves were unharmed, when they got to the EDC base the wounds were taken care of quite easily since the wounds weren't as serious as initially thought of
"Thanks for the save by the way, I wasn't even aware of the danger I was in"
"I figured as much since I gave you direct orders"
"Which I would have obeyed had I known of the danger"
"I know, now then we officers need to get back, the orders state that the EDC is to take over your protection until you can get to Washington and FBI headquarters"
"Wait Kerenai, before you go I have something to tell you from the Primes, and just the Primes"
"What about Galvatron?"
"It's about Galvatron, the first thing you should know is that he's on Cybertron, the second...the second is the reason why he's on Cybertron, they said to tell you that Galvatron is Krîǝǘnsoȍņlitho, they said that you would know what I mean, I just hope I pronounced it correctly"
"Close enough anyways that I know what you're trying to say, it's actually pronounced Krîǝǘnsoûòȍņlithȕ, and that's actually very important information about his absence, thank you for this information"
Allison had translated the word she had been told into the English equivalent as terminally ill, Galvatron had basically been sent home to die on his home planet if a cure couldn't be found in time, though he would still be allowed to leave until he was no longer capable either physically or mentally depending on how the illness affected him. On the way back to the station her partners for the agent's protection noticed that Allison was different, and more quiet than she should be not realizing that she was dealing with the fact that she would lose a family member soon enough if nothing could be found to cure him
"Kerenai, are you okay?"
"Not now, it's private, basically family business"
"Fine, but if it starts to affect your ability to do your job we're telling the Captain"
"Don't worry, I'll shake it off before long"
Allison proved herself soon enough not showing what she was dealing with and the next day she informed the SWAT officer about the fact that he would be activated as a Reserve Texas Ranger because of her doing military Reserve training
"I'll let my Captain know and report for duty tomorrow"
"Thanks"
"Thank you for letting me know"
"No problem"
By the end of the month things were settled in regards to the SWAT/ Texas Ranger and Allison was headed off to Reserve training, but she wouldn't finish the two weeks of training this time, a week after she had started training she was called to the office of the base's commanding officer
"You asked to see me sir?"
"Actually it was this EDC officer who wanted to see you"
Allison turned to the officer and saw that it was Captain Faireborn's immediate subordinate, basically if something happened to Faireborn he was in command of the EDC
"Hanson, what's wrong?"
"You're needed back home Kerenai, immediately"
"But Hanson I already have plans to visit home once training is over with, you know that"
"No Kerenai, I mean you're needed home, the true home of your family and you because of the legal adoption"
"Galvatron...he's...they've told you that he..."
"Yes, you're needed immediately Kerenai, you know full well why that is"
"Yes, I am indeed needed back home"
"Am I cleared to know?"
"Yes, but only because it will be announced within a week, Galvatron, one of the three leaders of Cybertron...is dead, he had a terminal illness they were trying to treat and cure on Cybertron, but he died before they could find anything of use. I need to go home for the funeral and a few other things which you are not cleared for"
"I understand, what about Tonto?"
"He doesn't need to know until the official announcement after the funeral, he may be closely linked to the EDC but this is a family matter"
"Very well, your things are already packed and ready for you to pick up"
"You told him to do that?"
"Yes, I wasn't sure if you would listen or not or if you had time"
"Right"
Allison leaves and is soon headed for Cybertron, on the way there she remembered a more recent funeral with one of the members who had been sent to the past with her, and that funeral had evoked memories of their first month and a half stuck in the past
Past
Allison wakes up groaning and shakes her head to clear the mental cobwebs, which also allowed for memories of what had happened to her only moments before, she quickly saw that there were other EDC officers with her awake and as such gave out an order in a barking voice
"Call out and report!"
One by one each officer gave their identity and then one person gave her an update as far as they knew the situation
"Right, let's get to the nearest town and go from there, but first I want all of you in civvies just in case we've done temporal travel"
And so they soon got to the nearest town and discovered that Allison was correct that they did a time jump, into the past, once that happened they immediately set up a camp outside of town to regroup and make plans for getting home and what they would do until they could get home
"Okay, now that we know our situation here's what we'll do, I am taking overall command, and you know I have that authority to do so, I am pulling my rank for safety reasons. However for general day to day things the person who has the highest rank can be in charge, but when I pull rank and it's obvious that means I'm in charge. We're also going to try and find a way home and never stop looking, even if we fail to do so ultimately, and then finally we're going to help wherever we can however we can, join in the hunt for fugitives from the law, we'll also fight if we can. However we are not to bring attention to ourselves to prevent people from finding out that we're from the future, that means getting clothes for this time period, and we buy weapons for this time period as well, but if EDC enemies find their way to this time period we can totally use EDC weapons against said enemies"
"Kerenai, are you sure you're able to hide your special abilities?, you yourself have admitted that the defenses are sometimes automatic"
"I should be fine guys, but I'll still be careful, now come on we have things to work on to fit in this time period"
A week later and they met the Lone Ranger for the first time, but not by actually speaking with him, instead they were making plans when suddenly a sheriff mentioned the Lone Ranger was asking for help in the form of a posse and so they worked with him for the first time but deliberately didn't meet until the second time they had a reason to work with him, but even then they didn't work together for long, but at the third meeting he would demand explanations from the group because he had noticed that the adults seemed to take orders from an obvious kid, and all of this took place in the span of two weeks. Soon after that the group was separated for a month before being able to reunite and truly stay together the rest of the time adapting and helping wherever they could
Present
"That was certainly an interesting time"
Soon enough she was on Cybertron, and the day after her arrival was when they held the funeral for Galvatron. Once the funeral was finished with she and the Primes had a talk about her leadership duties that she knew she would have to take up
"So what are we going to do about this problem? I am willing to leave the Texas Rangers and the Army Reserves now to take up my leadership duties, but that means that our original plans for the aging issue will have to be scrapped and we'll need to come up with a new plan, I am also willing to take time off of both jobs with the President's permission for a month or two to keep up my duties as one of the leaders of Cybertron"
"We have a third option, regular updates and any paperwork that all three have to sign sent to you through couriers to wherever you are, with closer relationships with the President so we know if you're on active duty or not so we know where to send the paperwork"
"Okay, I can tell from the way you mentioned that option that all three of you have been talking about such a scenario for some time now, maybe even before Optimus and Galvatron went missing for a time"
"Yes, we've been thinking about this such scenario since you were nine years old and we sent you to England for the summer because of danger that you weren't aware of, all three of us were at risk of dying and only the fact that you're our legal daughter and a leader in the laws of Cybertron allowed us to be even slightly calm"
"Okay, we'll start with the third option and if it seems that it's not working we'll discuss the other two options again"
"Okay, for now you need to get back to Earth before us, we have things to settle here before going back ourselves, sorry about interrupting your training by the way"
"It's okay, the military understands family emergencies, I am considered on emergency leave until I report back to the base and it won't count against me at all within the unit, especially since they'll be some of the first to find out through the news"
"Well, you still need to get back"
"I know"
Allison finished the training with the group understanding that Allison was in mourning thus while she was engaged it wasn't normal, she needed some prompting at times to complete the training but complete it she did
"Allison, are you okay for police work?"
"I'll give myself a day Tonto, if I have problems I also have emergency leave built up with the Texas Rangers, they already know about the loss of family so that will help"
"That's right, it was in the news the day of the funeral, when I saw it...well you know how I probably reacted"
"Yeah, I have an idea alright"
The regular two days off actually would help Allison deal with her grief a bit better and actually make her capable of performing her duties as a Texas Ranger, during those two days she actually thought back to an active shooter situation in her sophomore year of high school
Sophomore year
She was in her science class when suddenly they all heard shooting and Allison, knowing how quickly things develop started leading her class to safety through running out of the building, but what she didn't know was that the running option would be canceled only minutes into the running phase. As she knew corners were blind she went first and started to clear them to run but suddenly she saw the shooter coming in their direction, though not actually seeing them and knew that the direction they had been heading in was now blocked off
"Back, get back, go, go, go, go"
She led them to a different location and realized that they were essentially in trouble with almost no way out, but fortunately her family had prepared her for this situation so she knew what to do
"Come on, in here, hurry"
She led them into a classroom which only teachers could normally open with their ID's but Allison's school ID also allowed her to open any classroom in the building, that was because as an EDC kid she needed that ability for just such a situation as she was in now, all EDC kids had that security feature inputed into their school ID's and it was refreshed every year as they were given a new ID for every school year. Once they were inside the room she started stacking desks against the door and also turned out the lights and secretly also activated her shields, once that was done she talked in a whisper giving instructions which the teacher allowed since the teachers themselves had been taught that any EDC kid in their classes were in charge in these kinds of situations
"Turn off your phones, now,wait...Josh turn yours to silent, you're going to be the link to the outside world, alert people on either Facebook or twitter about the situation, police should hopefully be monitoring those sites, if not now than hopefully soon, give them status updates every five minutes. I'm going to be the primary line of defense with this fire extinguisher, however the rest of you get ready to fight as well"
Ultimately the fighting option wouldn't be needed, however she also wouldn't undo the barricades until the police came and identified themselves as police in two different ways since the policy had been introduced when she was only seven years old and a gunman pretending to be a police officer managed to get into a room killing everyone in there because of announcing themselves as an officer
"Police are here and are safe"
"Prove it!"
"Summer cove"
"Cold waters"
"Hawaii summer"
"Okay you win, it's real"
They undo the barricade and school is dismissed for the rest of the day because of the incident
"So, we need a new plan"
"No, the current plan we have for these incidents is still effective"
"Fine, but if this happens again we'll need to reevaluate"
"I know"
Present