And here we GOOOOOOOO! Into the UNKNOWNNNNN! Nah, just kidding. We all know the 'Bots, lol.
A point of clarity - yes, I want Miri's family to be involved in the story. This is rarely handled in Fanfiction; we forget that our OCs have FAMILIES. Plus, I think it would be cool having a family dynamic on the base to really tie the idea of what it means to be a nuclear unit for the Autobots. I feel like there could be a lot of GREAT MOMENTS of TORTURE for me to be had, YAAAAAY!
Remember to review, review, review! Pwease? Pwetty pwease, peoples? *sobs* Let's kill Megatron with reviews *evil laugh* xoxoxo
It had been like staring into the abyss when Miri had shaken the head officer's hand, his black sunglasses offering no glimpse into his face. He was as nameless and secret as the operation he represented, a fact that Miri wasn't sure terrified her or thrilled her all the more as she'd been escorted into the back of a Hummer. The grip on her elbow had been strong as she slipped into a seat alongside August, her mother and father moving to sit across from her with Dirk beside them.
The seats in the Humvee were hard as a rock, and Miri found herself hoping it wouldn't be a long drive to...wherever they were going. The lack of information on their location and what exactly was going to happen them was a bit unnerving - every person who had ever cared about her was here in this vehicle; there was no one call on if something happened. If they were going to die, then they'd die together, and the legacy of her family would be kaput all in one go.
She was about to settle in beside August, when suddenly every window on the Humvee went suddenly dark from the outside. Panic struck her chest like a gunshot, and Miri flung herself to the window, where a black canvas had been pulled over every ounce of transparent glass available to them. Suddenly dark inside the vehicle's passenger cabin, she exchanged looks with her family, every one of them holding the same uncertain nervousness she herself was feeling.
"What is going on?" Her mother questioned loudly, turning to face the blackened window. "This is completely uncalled for! We aren't criminals!" Wren Otten was not a woman prone to panic easily, but she was a woman prone to overreaction - and this was toppling her resolve like a tower of building blocks swatted by a toddler. She dove for the door handle, her tone rising an octave out of pure fear. "This is not what we discussed -"
Miri's blood pressure was rising as she pressed against the darkened glass of the window. Two loud bangs came from outside the Humvee, against the side panel of the vehicle, effectively rattling the inside. Her mother squeaked, and every one of them jumped in their seats. Miri was half expecting one of the soldiers standing about to holler at them to remain quiet, but was surprised when the collected voice answered her mother's protests, "Only for your protection, ma'am," until his voice fell away and mingled with the general busyness of the escort.
Miri fell back into the seat, unsure of what to say, or feel. This felt increasingly dangerous, unlike anything she'd experienced. Being carted off by an elite arm of the US military hadn't exactly been something she'd prepped for in the event of their business pitch, but, maybe she should've spent more time truly evaluating the "top secret" aspect of the situation. She closed her eyes, feeling a spike of pain run up the base of her neck to the spot behind her eyes, suddenly wishing she'd packed a Red Bull or some other form of caffeine in her purse.
Her gaze opened when she felt a reassuring hand on her knee. Her father offered her a thin-lipped smile, giving her knee a light squeeze of reassurance as he held his wife's hand. Miri held his gaze for only a moment, until he released her knee and moved back into his seat, settling in beside his wife, who was clutching his hand with white knuckles, muttering to herself as she worked her purse onto her lap. Miri released a a slow breath, feeling a mountain of concern wash off her back - if she was here with her family, that's all that mattered.
The vehicle suddenly bobbed, and she heard a door slam. Within seconds, a small plate in the vehicle's wall pulled back, exposing a small look into the front of the vehicle. Miri strained to see as the vehicle started and rolled forward, but the plate's opening was entirely enveloped with the vision of the man whom she'd shaken hands with, his sunglasses now removed and tucked into the collar of his uniform.
He was a handsome officer, with kept hair, clean features, and dark eyes. He was immensely bronzed, obviously from the sun, and his chiseled features showed someone in his early thirties. He was confident and proud, but not in a bad way - he was in charge of this escort and bore the responsibility in the wrinkle on his brow as he assessed his passengers, leaning in a little more to view her father and mother.
This was Major William Lennox, as he'd introduced himself. He locked eyes with Miri, as she was his point of contact for nearly two months. "My apologies for the theatrics, but, unfortunately our interview must be conducted on base. Location's classified, so we have to bring you in dark." Through the dividing plate, he passed along a file folder, nodding to Miri. "I'll need you to sign these before we arrive. Visitor identification for all of you, so please be sure it's visible on your person."
Miri accepted the folder, thumbed it open, and began passing out the badges as specified. She didn't miss the classified crest of the US military stamped boldly in scarlet on the top of the document. She couldn't help the next question, "If this is so highly classified, Major, why is the military looking for an outsource? Aren't you guys, I don't know, capable of handling your own stuff?" it flew out of her mouth as if it had sprouted wings, and she clamped her jaw shut when her mother shot her a look.
The corner of the man's mouth lifted. "I'm afraid it isn't so straightforward," he unwrapped a piece of gum, popped it into his mouth, and stuffed the wrapper in the front pocket of his uniform while simultaneously offering her a pen. "I can't discuss many specifics with you, but trust me - this arm of the military has bigger issues than handling stuff." He nodded to the dossier as she took the pen, copying her statement with an light jab. "I'll explain more when we arrive, but good question."
Without warning, August reached over and plucked the file from her lap, Miri and the MAjorboth turning to watch his movements. "We don't sign anything until I look at this." He pinned the officer with a narrowed look, before dropping his gaze to the paperwork. He began rifling when Miri turned her attention back to the Major, who was talking to the driver of the Humvee in low, muted tones. He stopped, touched his earwig, and nodded as if the voice on the other side could see.
"How many more of these are there to sign?" She called forward, the vehicle's mass weight ever jostling and roaring as they moved forward. The man looked back to her, and the corner his lips were downturned; the wrinkle in his brow was enough to show that he wasn't entirely certain as to what she meant. Thumbing to the file in her brother's possession, she added, "We've already signed a dozen confidentiality forms, uh...what exactly are we signing away here? Our lives, firstborns, maybe some souls?"
Immediately his face split into a grin. "Can never be too careful with these things," he gestured between himself and her, before pointing back to the file. "Just try not to think about how much paperwork's involved if we do desire to contract with you, Miss Otten. Relax. We'll be at the locale in thirty minutes." Miri looked to her father, who was discussing paperwork with her brother, while Dirk was reaching around him to placate their mother, who hadn't stopped looking nervous.
"Just relax," the Major reiterated. "We won't bite."
The If I tell you I'll have to kill you patch on his arm said otherwise.
. . .
It was exactly as the Major had promised - thirty minutes before the Humvees rolled to a stop. Miri had been checking the clock on her phone the entire time, and Lennox had clocked the trip exactly. While she didn't have doubts as to the military's precision when it came to scheduling, she did have doubts to the Major's transparency. He seemed easygoing enough, if you could count the air of vagueness he carried about him as he squared his shoulders and talked military shop talk with the escort soldiers he'd brought with him.
It felt like an eternity before they'd opened the vehicle doors, exposing the family to sunlight. Again, Miri had to block the sunlight from view, but within seconds a gloved hand had reached for her own, gripping it firmly to help her exit the vehicle. When her sight finally balanced out, she was able to take in the soldier who helped her from the vehicle. He was a broad black man, almost a head shorter than Lennox, with a bald head and expressive eyes. His his was chiseled as well, though he had a stonier expression on his face than Lennox had as she stepped onto the concrete. She caught the identification patch on his chest. Epps.
Her eyes moved from the man labeled as Epps, to take in her surroundings. She found that they'd parked outside of an absolutely massive hangar, surrounded by tall chain-linked fencing with barbed-wire ringing the top on both sides, obviously designed to keep trespassers out and guests in. Beyond the initial perimeter fencing was another, sturdier fence line, this time sporting armed patrols that Miri could almost make out against the sun. Guard towers with lights were like sentries, and it finally hit her that this was not only the big leagues, but this was the major leagues of government property.
Dirk and August came up on either side of her, both of them assessing the exterior of the hangar. "They weren't joking about security," Dirk said bluntly, his neck craned up to take in the huge, black letters which had been stenciled onto the building. "This place is locked down tighter than Fort Knox." Miri looked over to him, then herself looked up to take in the huge door - it had to have been at least forty feet tall, and as wide as an aviation-specked entrance. She didn't recall hearing any planes on their approach.
"What do you think they do here?" August breathed, his tone low as he looked over his shoulder. "I can't believe they'd let civilians on site if it was as heavy as they make it out to be." He tucked the file folder beneath his arm, which contained the papers they'd all signed. He puffed out a breath, before turning on his heel to approach their parents, who were led by Lennox. He looked locked in and stone-faced as the hangar did.
Her mother's face was so pale Miri was concerned. Usually bright and bolstering with confidence, it wasn't like Wren to be so unnerved. She came up to Miri and took her hands within her own, patting them reassuringly while offering a weak smile. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked behind Lennox, who showed them to the small door leading into the hangar. It was held open by Epps, who eyed them with the blankest expression Miri figured she'd ever seen on another human being. Perhaps they are trained to be so unfriendly.
The enormity of the hangar continued on the interior, though Miri was surprised that it was as bare as it was. It was bi-level in a loft-like fashion, with offices everywhere, connecting to a high catwalk which followed the entire length of the building. Offices were built into the eastern and western walls, the southern and northern instead two massive hangar doors which allowed through entrances and exits to the hangar. A few more mobile catwalks, on wheels, were positioned around an open, concrete floor that was immaculately clean and void of any staining - obviously this wasn't a repair hangar.
Supplies, crates, and other military equipment were stacked neatly along the walls, and while it was mostly bare, there was no void of activity - people milled about everywhere, and Miri didn't miss the mass amount of computers and tech floating around multiple stations in the hangar. It bared an eerie, similar feel much like a beehive; alive with everyone going in any which direction with their assigned tasks, but distinctively quiet on the outside.
She was pulled from her observation by Lennox, who guided them farther into the space. His walk was brisk, as if he had somewhere to be, and he led them to the back of the hangar, Miri noticing that the entourage which had brought them here had fallen away, presumable back to tasks about the hangar. Lennox moved swiftly, Miri finding that every one of them had to work to match his determined pace. Soon, they approached a small door at the back of the hangar. Lennox waved a card in front of a reader, and it flashed green, the lock disengaging.
"Right through here," he said, waving them forward. "We'll take you to a secure room, and we can talk about your contract," he nodded at them as they filed past, Miri catching the furrow seemingly etched into his face permanently. He was wound as tight as a man could be, the metaphorical coil keeping him as distant and cold as possible. He was beyond professional - he was sterile, in a manner of speaking to outsiders. "Right this way."
As he moved in front of their group to lead them again, Miri couldn't quite shake the stares their party was drawing. Everyone they passed stopped to look at them, blank and expressionless uniforms that seemed almost dumbfounded that outsiders has been brought on base. Miri got the feeling deep in her blood that this was not only highly unusual, but this was a never, and that none of these people - even Lennox - truly wanted to see them here. There was an unmentioned variable that had landed her family here, though she didn't quite know what.
Another doorway led them to a corridor, the enormity of the hangar lost within its confines. Offices with blackened windows lined the hallway, and those walking whispered in hushed tones so murmured that Miri wouldn't have managed to hear them had they been addressing her to begin with. The only sound, honestly, was the echoing of their footfalls, and the tick of her and her mother's heels on the concrete as Lennox turned to face them, holding open a door to a sealed-off room. Its window, too, was darkened by a black sheet as they stepped inside, Lennox filling the doorway behind them as the door pulled closed.
He nodded to the conference table, outfitted with chairs. "Please, sit down. I'll have Epps join us momentarily with your paperwork -"
Miri turned sharply on her heel, grabbing at one of the chairs for support. "Major, not to be rude, but - what's going on here?" Her brows popped to attention over her eyes as she gestured through the air with her hand about the room, making her point concrete. Her family had started seating themselves when she'd started speaking, though her father jumped out of his chair so quickly to put a hand on her shoulder that it felt otherworldly.
However, the look on Lennox's face was priceless. His brows stood at their full height on his face, his expression completely bewildered at her outburst. While she hadn't necessarily meant to be loud, her tone had risen an octave, and she frowned and shrugged off her fathers hand. "Miriana, sit down!" was the hiss whispered in her ear hotly.
She stepped back from her father. "I'm not sitting down, Dad. Not until I got an answer." She looked back at Lennox. "You can forgive my bluntness, Major, but - you've carted me and the people I love off to some weird desert 'locale' in the middle of nowhere, without so much as an effort to authenticate yourself. For all I know this could be a research facility and you're turning us over to enemy forces!" At the word "locale", she made airquotes, as if mimicking a tone Lennox would've addressed them in. "Not to be rude, sir, but - I don't know your from Adam and everything this family has worked for is on the line. Put yourself in my shoes - you'd be suspicious too, I think, if the roles were reversed." She crossed her arms, statement finished.
Lennox's gaze flittered from her to the family, who were starting at their relative as if she'd spontaneously combusted. Her father was so tight-lipped that his face had turned a light shade of red, and her one brother was rubbing his forehead with his hand. The other was just simply hiding his face. Her mother was unmoving, clutching to her purse with knuckles so white they matched the sterile color of her dress. The culprit herself, however, wasn't in the least bit deterred - she stared at him soundly, her face like a hard stone. It was almost laughable, her dismissal of authority.
Oh, the 'Bots are going to love this. "I can understand your concern, Miss Otten, but there are protocols here -" he started, gesturing to her with open, placating hands.
She threw up her hand. "First off, it's Miri. That woman over there you can address formally." She shook her head at him. "Major, I know you have your orders and formality and whatever else you do here in the military, but quite honestly, we are just people here. You're a person, just like us. We don't need formality to be impressed by what you're doing. I just want you to be transparent with us, because that's kind of what we're about." She flickered a look between him and then the patch on his arm, and pointed at it. "I know there are things you can and can't say, but - don't treat us like trespassers. We come in peace." her tone implied that she was lightheartedly teasing him, though her expression was genuine.
Lennox was mildly grateful for her breakaway from formality. He heaved a breath of air and reached up to scratch the back of his neck, and Miri saw the coil that had been the Major suddenly wind a few notches. A level of stoniness fell away from his face, instead replaced by the look of a serious man with a lot on his plate. He looked back to her, clapped his hands together, and then gestured to the seat she'd grabbed earlier.
Her expression softened a little more. "Thanks for your reassurance, Miri," he stressed her name, "but to be honest with you - there is no such thing as too careful here. To be quite frank, this operation is beyond your traditional level of classified." Miri slowly drew herself back to the chair, swiveling it to face him. She took a seat, adjusted her blazer, and crossed a leg over the other. He called for Epps to join them on his walkie, and then moved to a seat adjacent from the family.
Her father was the next to address him. "Major, we gather what you're putting down here - stuff here is of vital importance to the military." He looked back to Miri, then to then Major once more. "But that still doesn't dissuade my concerns. If this is so detrimental to US government affairs, why are you looking to outsource to civilian contracts? I have no doubt you boys and girls are capable of handling your own resources on a domestic and international level." He turned when the door to the room opened, exposing the man named Epps, who'd arrived with their entourage.
He had a file box of paperwork under his arm, and a laptop that was precariously balancing on an open palm. His expression was just as unreadable as it had been before, albeit a bit softer, but Miri noticed he'd shed an outer layer of his uniform - both metaphorically, and physically. Nothing but a black t-shirt clung to his seemed-to-be-chiseled-from-marble body, revealing dog tags that swayed and tinkered together when he moved across the conference room.
Depositing the box before Lennox, Epps also handed him the laptop. Lennox made sure to carefully place it in front of him, adjusting the screen to sit perfectly straight. A few silent moments passed as he clicked away at the keys, his face blank as his eyes moved back and forth, studying. After a brief moment, he nodded to Epps and rolled his hand, signaling the black man to begin.
"A'right," Epps began, his accent pointed. "Ya'll real, let's get real. NEST deals with a high level of technological R and D that the US has not made standard across all our forces," he looked between them, making sure the family was following. "Really, very little of what goes down here is out. We are as under the radar as ya'll can get." He opened a file, and slid it across the table to the Major.
Lennox snapped a look up over the laptop's screen. "The short way around things is that we deal in government secrets that just about any government on the planet would try to use against us, if it came down to it. We exist to make sure that doesn't happen, and to handle things internally without the rest of the government worrying about it. We try to keep to ourselves as much as possible and produce a lot of own resources" He bobbed his head, searching for words. "But, most of the time we find that most of our productivity falls through the cracks in the design phases and is rarely capitalized on."
Miri's eyes widened, and Dirk raised his hand. Lennox and Epps both acknowledged him silently, with looks. "So do you have government oversight?"
Both men nodded, before Epps raised a hand and waved it side to side, in an "iffy" gesture. "Yes and no. We report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they vette a lot of our assignments and projects, but mostly we operate on unofficial orders that it's better to ask forgiveness than permission." Lennox shot him a look that was so unpleasant it made the man's brows rise, before flecking a look between him and the laptop. "Well, in more or less words," Epps finished with a mutter.
Dirk's lips turned up into a smile. "Gotchya. Ya'll are the wild cards of the army." At Miri's frown, he shrugged a shoulder and dismissed her with a satisfied grin as he sat back in the air, lacing his fingers behind his head.
"Wow," Miri's mother murmured. "I didn't think anything that loose existed in the government." She looked over at her husband, with an expression that belied her usual confident self. To Miri, it was unmistakable: What are we doing here, John? Miri could see the wheels turning in her father's mind as he processed everything the two officers were telling him, though you wouldn't have guessed it. Finally he leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table.
He ran his tongue across his teeth, making a smacking sound that confirmed he understood what they'd implied. "So tell me where I fit into this, fellahs." He nodded to Lennox's laptops. "And tell me what exactly brought us here, and why out of all the dozens of folks out there to bring in for an in person meet and greet, you choose M.A.D. Design and Development." He circled a finger in the air, signaling the lot of them. "We aren't exactly what you call conventional, or properly outfitted to take o military contracts of this size, from what you're rooting at."
A darted look down the laptop stole Lennox's attention for the moment, but he didn't hesitate to address her father. He set his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together beneath his nose as he weighed his words. Miri didn't think she'd ever seen a man contemplate his response so carefully, but that's why she assumed Lennox was a Major in one of the government's most secret branches of military - he was a man of little words and more action. After a beat he locked eyes with her father, and lifted a shoulder lightly.
"To put it simply, Mr. Otten," he released a sigh. "We someone solely dedicated to putting into play our research. And I won't lie - it's advanced." He looked between all of them now. "But, we need someone who has way more experience in execution than we do - my people need to be ready to go to arms at any moment; I can't spare soldiers for R&D. I need a team on the ground that can handle the logistics of design, development, and ultimately, delivery." He hesitated, "Plus, having the cover of a civilian contractor working out of our base has its advantages."
Her father nodded, leaning back in his chair. He crossed a leg, setting his clasped hands on his knee. "You want someone without military convictions working on your projects. You want to do it cheaply, too, and make nice with the eyes on the outside." Miri immediately reached for August's file, flipped the envelope over, and clicked the pen she'd been given from Lennox, scratching notes immediately. "You want us to be your cover."
Lennox smiled thinly, nodding at her father's statement. Miri's mind was frantically at work, not really certain how her father had managed to stay so collected about the whole ordeal. August was rooting through his own notes, which he'd taken on a legal pad produced by their mother, and Dirk hadn't stopped his stare down with Epps since the soldier had stopped speaking. Miri's heart hammered so quickly against her ribs she feared it would drop out on the table.
The Major gently edged aside the laptop, gingerly almost, before leaning forward. Miri paused, watching him. "From what we've been able to ascertain from our end is that your company has made a name in working on singular projects at a scale that would bely your capabilities. You've taken contracts with 3M, General Motors, General Electric, and Johnson and Johnson, all beneath market value. You've kept a modest profile despite your success. That kind of anonymity is exactly what we're looking for." He singled a look at Miri, as if about to address her concern lightly. "You keep to yourselves. NEST likes that about you. Immensely." He abruptly looked down at the screen, eyes scanning and posture straightening.
Her father looked back at them, his expression showing that he'd already made a decision. She'd seen that look of calm in his eyes before, and the twinkle of delight ebbing in from the edges of a small smile. What had made him so successful - so valuable as a contractor - was his inability to be afraid of a challenge. He liked the hard jobs, an all the red tape they promised, because most red tape could be cut by shaking hands with the right man and saying the right things. Plus, he promised confidentiality by keeping his management all within the family, and taking in hands that were unafraid to sign hefty confidentiality notices.
Miri didn't think the last applied. They'd have however many hands they needed at their request, who'd already signed their souls away to the devil that was government. Now all that remained was the last nail in the metaphorical coffin - figures.
There was a long silence before Miri circled her last note, largely and with purpose. It was a big number, but if signing their private and corporate lives away to the government was involved, there was really no number too large. Tapping the tip of her pen to the note, her father's eyes flecked there, before she looked back to the Major, who was now staring at her note. Sliding the folder back in front of her, Miri suddenly slid it down to the Major, who caught it with a slap of his hand, in a manner that would've been no less expected from a super soldier of secrets. He glanced at the note, then his gaze rose to her.
"How far away from that figure are you?" She challenged him, brow rose.
He smiled. "Oh, that's more than doable." Standing, he pressed something on the keyboard of his laptop, picked it up to balance in his hand, and then rounded the table to shake hands with her father. "Let me introduce you to the job, before we sign on the dotted line." He looked over at Miri. "Your XO could learn to negotiable a little harder, though."
Her father smiled and chuckled, slipping his hand into his other pocket, "You haven't even seen her negotiate yet," before clapping the man on the back and matching his pace to the door.