He just could not stop staring at that wonderful pulsating glow. It didn't start out slow or weak, as a human pulse would have. Jazz's spark pulse kicked in strong, bright, and steady; as if to say I will never be so easily extinguished. There was not a sound to be heard in the large stone walled chamber, where even a faint whisper could be easily heard from a fair distance. Everyone was holding their breath, watching that incredible pulse.
It was truly a spiritual moment that was suddenly made all the more poignant when Daniel jumped out of Optimus' hand and landed on the platform Jazz was on. Daniel disconnected the auxiliary energon pump, and the spark continued to pulse brightly. Daniel couldn't help grinning as he disconnected the ground lead from Bonecrusher's spark, and closed the armor plating that protected Jazz's spark casing. Daniel then moved up to Jazz's cranial supports and reached into the neck joint to activate the now revived mech.
"Nap time's over slick" Daniel quipped.
The joke was on him though, for Jazz came to with a vengeance swinging for everything he was worth. His first wild swing knocked Daniel off the platform and a good way across the room, where Daniel hit the floor with a very loud wet sounding pop as his right ankle twisted quite painfully. Upon hearing that somewhat disgusting sound, Ratchet immediately scanned Daniel's ankle, and realized that the cowboy boots that he was wearing would help support the injured joint, and other than providing pain killers there was not much to be done about it at this point.
"You want a piece of me! YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME!!" Jazz was yelling.
Jazz suddenly stopped both his yelling and his wild swings, and took notice of his surroundings.
"Huh, what happened? Where the hell'd he go?" Jazz asked suddenly confused.
"Easy, Jazz. Megatron is dead. The All Spark has been destroyed, and while we may never be able to return life to Cybertron, we have been welcomed here by the American Government. We have new friends, and it is thanks to one of those new friends that you are back among us." Optimus told him.
"Primus! It's as if the little slagger was only sent into stasis lock instead of offlined entirely!" Ironhide burst in.
"Who cares, as long as he's alive!" Mikeala piped up.
"Glad to have you back Jazz!" Sam said.
"What the hell? Y'all actin like I was dead or sumthin!" Jazz asked puzzled.
"Not only were you dead, but you were beyond my skill to reactivate. If it hadn't been for human medical advances needed by their own kind, you'd have been scrapped! I'd have sworn it was impossible to save a spark a full five solar rotations after the spark pulse had stopped!" Ratchet informed Jazz grumpily.
"THAT'S BULLSHIT RATCH! NOBODY STAYS OFFLINE THAT LONG AND GETS BROUGHT BACK!" Jazz bellowed in total disbelief jumping off the platform where he'd been reactivated.
Optimus then transmitted detailed logs of everything that had occurred after Jazz was torn in half by Megatron, including the sight of Megatron flinging Jazz in two separate directions upon spotting Optimus. When Jazz received this information transmission burst, he sat down heavily not knowing how to respond.
It took Jazz a few minutes to come to terms with the fact that had this happened back on Cybertron he'd have been scrapped already. There would have been nothing left to reactivate!
"Whoa! Tha's some serious shit! I knew there was a good reason I liked these little bitches!" Jazz said trying to gain a perspective on his second chance at life. Jazz stood up and looked around a bit before finally spotting Daniel, who had slowly and with painful difficulty regained his feet by this time, and was grinning at him. Jazz wasn't quite sure what to say to the strange human that he hadn't even been introduced to. After all, just how DID you express thanks for the impossible? That the man was grinning at him was a good sign, considering that he'd just knocked the man a fair distance across the room.
How the pit am I supposed to thank this guy for savin my spark? I don't even know where to begin, but I know I'm gonna DAMNED sure have his back! Jazz thought as he walked over to introduce himself.
Daniel stood there grinning at the mech that he'd brought back to life. It was a very strange feeling to know that someone else is alive because of something you did. Now he knew why people became Firefighters, and EMT's.
"Yo! I'm sorry for clubbing you like that. I thought I was still in a fight with punk ass Megatron." Jazz said sincerely.
"Hell, don't worry about it. I'm just glad it worked." Daniel replied with a grin.
"I'm Jazz. First Lieutenant, and second in command of the Autobots. Saboteur, assassin, and recon specialist. From here on out man, I got your back! Bodyguard, protector, defender, champion you name it, that's what I'll be, 'cause I owe you big time!" Jazz said.
"Tell you what, instead of watching my back, how bout you take care of my niece Maigan? I can pretty much take care of myself, but she's the one I worry about." Daniel replied earnestly.
"Yo! I'm there man. Those Decepti-punks want her they gotta go through me first!" Jazz said proudly; glad to have a way to repay the man for saving his life.
"WHAT?! You're giving me a BODYGUARD?" Maigan demanded of her uncle.
"Don't argue with me on this Kiddo! Remember Vietnam; take out the medics and troops die. WE are the medics here, got it?" Daniel told her.
"Ok." Maigan said perturbed, she might have to tolerate it, but she didn't have to LIKE it.
Since Jazz had been filled in on everything that had occurred from the time he had been dismembered by Megatron up until he had been revived, there was now only one question on his mind.
"So Optimus, what we gonna do now that the All Spark is gone?" Jazz asked concerned.
"We have been welcomed here Jazz and we must now try to make the best of things by making this world our new home. Perhaps one day with the help of the humans we can return to Cybertron and restore some semblance of life to it. Until then we will remain here guiding and protecting this world from those that would bring harm to its people." Optimus replied.
"Just out of curiosity, what was this All Spark, and what did it do?" Daniel asked.
"The All Spark was an object of great power that could create, or restore life to a mechanical device. In its fully expanded form, it would encompass 1,953,125 cubic feet, and weighed several thousand of your tons. Once collapsed it was slightly less than one and a half cubic feet and weighed only a few pounds. Only certain few were able to access its power, for an unknown reason it would only respond to those whose spark resonated with a certain type of energy signature. Those who were able to harness the power of the All Spark were able to use it, not only to generate new life, but to heal or even restore life completely. All that remains is this tiny fragment that I recovered from Megatron's spark chamber." Optimus told him as he displayed the small fragment, which was all that remained of the once powerful All Spark.
Daniel was stunned. He had been told only a small portion of the All Sparks true capabilities. It now appeared that it also had some type of spatial or dimensional compression, in addition to anti gravitation or mass manipulation capabilities as well.
"Do you mind if I take a look at that?" Daniel asked Optimus.
Optimus was extremely reluctant to relinquish the last remnant of the All Spark. Then he considered the fact that this human had used some highly unorthodox techniques to reactivate Jazz and had not bothered to consider his own safety while doing so, Optimus relented.
Daniel took the fragment of the All Spark and hobbled over to a workbench that had a specialized magnifier used in repairing or installing microchips. First, he tossed it into the air and caught it, looking at it with a puzzled expression on his face. Then he placed it under the magnifier. Upon examining the fragment under 750-power magnification, Daniel made some rather startling discoveries. When unobserved by anyone else he placed a small drop of energon on the fragment, it vanished! It had been completely absorbed. Afterwards there was no sign of any change what so ever! Daniel decided to keep what he thought he had figured out to himself for the time being until he could discuss things with Agent Bannacheck, and SOD Keller.
"Interesting little piece of hardware, no sign of any type of traditional circuitry at all. I might have to take a better look at it one day when we have more time and I am feeling more refreshed." Daniel said as he handed the fragment back to Optimus.
Optimus was uncertain about what to say. After all, he would not have been surprised if Daniel had taken a sledgehammer to the fragment, nor at this point would he have been surprised if Daniel had said that it could be repaired. Optimus was glad to have it back, even if only to serve as a grim reminder of all that this war had cost them.
"So are we going to turn Barricade back on now?" Sam asked apprehensively.
Daniel looked around the room at everyone, taking in Ratchet's dimmed optics, Sam and Mikeala's apprehension, Maigan's exhaustion, Sam's sweat soaked shirt, and upon adding his own sorry state into the equation decided that it would be best to wait until everyone had gotten some rest.
"I think we'd better do that tomorrow Sport, we're all beat as hell. Besides, we need to do this when Tackleberry ain't around. No offense bud, but if he wakes up and remembers that you were gonna waste his ass, while he was down for the count, he's gonna be far too pissed to reason with, and we need info out of him." Daniel said to Sam and Ironhide in turn.
"Hmpf! I wouldn't expect too much cooperation out of him even then! But you do make an excellent point. On the other hand, we'll need some heavy firepower in here just in case he refuses to see reason." Ratchet said.
"We could bring Capt. Lennox's team in to provide that back up. We still have plenty of S.A.B.O.T. rounds for them to use." Agent Simmons put in.
"S.A.B.O.T. rounds, huh? Why not some gelignite while you're at it?" Daniel asked. "Oh that's right; the military discontinued the use of that stuff forty years ago for some reason." Daniel said thinking aloud.
"What's gel, whatever you said?" Sam asked.
"Gelignite. Think of napalm on crack, steroids, and PCP! Liquid hellfire, literally! That stuff can even melt solid concrete." Daniel said with a truly malicious grin.
"Well no use pining for what ya' can't have so we'll just use what we got" Daniel said sardonically.
"I have an idea, why don't we all go grab some supper? Anyone like seafood? My treat." Agent Simmons asked.
"Hell sounds good to me." Daniel piped up.
"I absolutely LOVE seafood!" Maigan said her eyes lighting up.
"I'm in!" Me too." Sam and Mikeala burst in.
"Yes, I believe all of you could use something to eat and a good recharge as well." Ratchet said adding his professional opinion.
"Good. There's a Red Lobster right on the outskirts of mission city. We usually hold a lot of meetings there, so we get great service." Simmons put in.
"Ok, you can call me as vain and conceited as you want, but there is no WAY I'm going to Red Lobster looking like this!" Maigan said disgustedly.
"Um yeah, we ALL need to get cleaned up." Mikeala said looking at Daniel and Sam. The first was covered in splattered energon, and the second was soaked in sweat.
As everyone went to the rooms that had been set aside for them, the Autobots began talking among themselves. Jazz asking tons of questions on the situation, and about plans for the future.
As Maigan and Daniel got to the rooms that they shared Daniel grabbed his duffel bag and began pulling out some clean clothes and hygiene articles while Maigan was pulling hers out of the dresser where she had put them up just a few hours earlier. She had also placed her makeup, hairdryer, and curling iron out by the sink. Daniel tossed the clothes that he was going to change into on to his bed and then turned to his niece.
"You take the first shower, and after you get dressed you can let me know. I'll be waiting outside the door." Daniel told her.
"Are you sure?" She asked, knowing that a REALLY hot shower was one of the few methods of pain relief that her uncle allowed himself.
"Of course I'm sure, besides I'm going to need your help to get this boot off, then I'm gonna slap some Tiger Balm on it to help the swelling." Daniel replied.
Daniel sat down on his bed and stuck out his right foot. Maigan grabbed the heel of his boot in her right hand and placing her left across the bridge of his foot she pulled back and up to help her uncle get the boot off his swollen ankle. Daniel hissed in pain as the boot came off, but otherwise made no comment as he reached into his duffle bag and pulled out his prescription of Morphine Sulfate. He took one pill instead of the prescribed two and put the bottle back up. He then pulled off his sock and looked at his ankle. It was swollen, and starting to turn black and blue. Daniel got out his extra strength Tiger Balm and smeared the strong smelling ointment on his ankle, before stepping outside the room and closing the door behind him.
Daniel lit a smoke and leaned against the wall while he waited for his niece to take her shower and get dressed. While he was smoking, he reflected on his niece. Like he had told his boss, he didn't even fully trust himself around his niece. With a cheerleaders body she was athletically toned, and stood in at five foot eight inches tall. He had seen her eyes twinkle with laughter, light up with glee, and burn with rage. She was the quiet type; mostly keeping to herself, but she did love a good party. Daniel knew that she was going to be dressed to the nines when she came out and that he was most likely going to need several crowbars to beat off the guys that would be ogling her. As that thought crossed his mind, he hobbled off in search of Jazz.
Daniel found Jazz right where he had left him, still in the med bay talking with Optimus and Ratchet. Ironhide had left with Capt Lennox.
"Yo Jazz! Mind if I talk with you for a minute?" Daniel asked from the doorway.
"Sure, what's up?" Jazz replied walking over to the man that had brought him back from the dead.
"I want to talk to you about my niece." Daniel told him.
"Sure, what about her?" Jazz asked.
"In case you haven't noticed, she is considered extremely attractive by our standards. She is also young, and I don't want her being bothered by a bunch of little punks that don't know how to think with their brains!" Daniel began.
"Oh, you want me to play chaperone as well as body guard then." Jazz caught on.
"Exactly. She had only planned on being out here for the summer, but with all that's happened I know she's gonna want to stay. That means every punk within five hundred miles is gonna try to get in her pants! I'm trusting you not to let that happen!" Daniel explained.
Jazz knew then that Daniel had called in his favor in a big way, by asking him to safeguard a precious family member from both physical and emotional harm, in effect to help raise a sparkling into adulthood! On Cybertron, there was no greater responsibility or honor then to be asked to help in the rearing of the young.
"You can count on me for this one. I've got you covered, and I'll die again before I let anything happen to her." Jazz told him seriously.
"Thanks! I appreciate that." Daniel replied as he turned to hobble back to his room.
Daniel was standing outside the door, and was having another smoke when Maigan opened the door.
"The shower's all yours." She said cheerfully with her hair still wrapped in a towel.
Daniel walked in and snatching his clothes and grooming items off his bed headed into the bathroom to take his shower. Daniel tried to make short work of his shower, but for some reason the energon just didn't want to come off. When he was finally done and walked out of the bathroom, he was accompanied by a cloud of steam that would have cooked a store full of vegetables! Maigan was at the sink trying to apply her makeup when the mirror instantly fogged over from the truly massive cloud of steam.
"URRRGH!" Maigan growled in exasperation as she looked at the now useless mirror. "Are you trying to fog up the entire planet?" She asked her uncle.
"No, why?" Daniel answered not understanding why she was suddenly ticked off.
"Well you sure did a good job on this mirror!" Maigan retorted.
"Sorry." Daniel said sheepishly as Maigan grabbed her makeup and moved to the mirror over the dresser.
Daniel went to his bed and was looking through his duffle bags for one of the ace bandages that he always had with him, because he was always needing them when he overworked himself, or pulled a truly stupid stunt like he had in reactivating Jazz. Daniel wrapped his ankle and pulled on his socks, and then he put on his Harley Davidson steel toed Riders and zipped up the sides before tightening the laces to provide extra support for his injured ankle. That done he tested his ankle to see how well it handled the weight. Nodding in satisfaction, he brushed his hair, splashed on a small amount of Stetson cologne, and was ready to go.
"Are you ready?" Maigan asked him.
"Yep." Daniel replied as he turned to look at her.
At that moment, Daniel would have sworn he could tell anyone what carpet tasted like. He just KNEW that his jaw was on the floor with his tongue hanging out as he stared at his niece. Maigan was dressed to kill.
She was standing there in a form fitting black glitter top, very wide black leather belt with large silver studs, curve hugging black slacks, sterling silver pendant, earrings, and matching bracelet. The outfit was completed by black open toed shoes with a four-inch spike heel. The overall result was that every curve was clearly illustrated as if displayed on a billboard, and the appearance of a fashion model ready for a night on the town. Daniel closed his mouth, shook his head, and headed for the door.
Maigan smiled to herself as she followed her uncle out of the room. She knew this outfit complimented her physique, skin tone, and hair color, but to see THAT kind of reaction from her uncle told her more than his words could. Yep, she looked good.
They met Sam and Mikeala, as they too were just emerging from the rooms that they had been provided. Sam took one look at Maigan and swallowed hard. Mikeala's mouth fell open when she saw how Maigan was dressed. Mikeala looked great in her blue top, denim mini skirt, and heeled sandals; her makeup was done to accentuate her sparkling blue eyes. Her long dark hair was situated to perfectly frame her somewhat delicate features, but Maigan was in a class of her own. The two young ladies took the lead as the men followed behind.
"Does she always dress like that?" Sam asked Daniel in utter disbelief.
"Pretty much." Daniel replied.
Sam just shook his head trying to get a rough estimate on just how many guys Daniel was going to kill for gawking at his niece.
When the four of them reached the med bay, Agent Simmons was waiting for them. He had grabbed a shower in the locker room. He was wearing a very expensive custom tailored Italian suit. Even Sam and Mikeala had to smile in appreciation at just how well the man cleaned up.
They were about to discuss the traveling arrangements when SOD Keller walked in grinning like the Cheshire cat. He glanced around the room before spotting Daniel, and heading straight for him. Then Keller stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned and looked straight at the two girls, who started fidgeting nervously.
"Who is she, and what the devil is she doing here? When did we open this mess up to celebrities?" SOD Keller promptly demanded.
"Yo! She's with me. Where she goes I go." Jazz answered somewhat belligerently.
"I'm Maigan Brewer, Daniel's niece." Maigan said more than a little nervous, thinking that she was about to lose the coolest job on the planet.
Keller looked back and forth between Daniel and Maigan for a couple of seconds.
"You're related to HIM? You have my complete sympathy young lady." SOD Keller apologized.
"HEY!" Daniel protested as everyone else, Autobots included, started laughing.
SOD Keller just couldn't help himself, that opportunity was a once in a lifetime, and there was no way that he was even going to try to resist cracking that joke. Daniel even had to smile, and admit that he'd been gotten good.
"So, what's up Sir?" Daniel asked when everyone quit laughing.
That got Keller very serious very fast. "First off, your suggestion worked. I mean to tell you it worked like a charm! That crazy little tin can went ballistic when we started questioning him. Not only did he give us the information we needed but also he revamped our firewalls and security protocols. The problem is, NOW what the hell do we do with him? We can't just turn him loose to run amok. So, I thought I'd talk with you and these folks here and see if we can come up with some type of solution to this problem." SOD Keller explained.
"Well we were about to go to dinner, Sir." Agent Simmons told him.
"I'd invite you along at my treat but I've already overdrawn my account by several hundred bucks." Daniel said.
"Oh, you don't worry about that now. You work for us, and we got you covered on that count. That goes for you three young 'uns too." SOD Keller said. "Besides, we can still grab something to eat, IF I get to treat ya." Keller continued in his southern drawl.
"But," Simmons started, but Daniel interrupted him.
"HEY! Never turn down a free meal when the Boss Man's buying!" Daniel told Simmons seriously.
"Just where were y'all plannin on goin?" Keller asked as he noticed how everyone was dressed.
"Red Lobster?" Mikeala quietly suggested.
"Sounds great to me. Let's go." Keller answered, and then he realized just how many were going, and asked the obvious question.
"How are we all gonna be traveling?" he asked finally.
"I will drive Sam and Mikeala," Bumblebee piped up.
"Hey, a class act like yourself has GOT to go in style, so you can sit and profile with me, cuz the Jazz Man is the coolest one of the bunch!" Jazz said to Maigan as he transformed into a '08 Pontiac Solstice with custom alloy rims.
"I'm driving!" Maigan shrieked with a huge smile as she feasted her eyes on the sleek silver ride that Jazz had become.
At this point Daniel got a very strange look on his face as he studied the Autobot leader.
"Hey Boss, you feel like riding in a semi?" Daniel asked with a strange grin on his face.
"Any particular reason why we're gonna ride in a semi?" Keller asked.
"Yeah, you and I need to have a little talk with Big Rig on the way." Daniel stated.
"Hmmm, ok." Keller replied.
"Agent Simmons can ride with me; I have some things I'd like to discus with him as well." Ratchet put in.
Agent Simmons was quite nervous about that prospect but reluctantly agreed. Everyone loaded up and prepared to leave. They made a very strange convoy as they rolled down the highway, with Jazz taking the lead followed by Bumblebee. Optimus came next, with Ratchet playing rear guard. The Autobots were not going to take any chances with the safety of Robert Keller. Not that they wouldn't have protected anyone else in the same fashion, they simply took a few extra precautions because of who they were escorting.
On the way to the restaurant Jazz and Maigan got to know a little about one another, and in spite of herself Maigan found herself really starting to like the smooth talking, scrappy little mech. Ratchet and Simmons discussed Sector Seven's treatment of Bumblebee, and the plans to deal with any Decepticons that might be captured in the future. Simmons had explained that there was nothing personal in their treatment of the yellow mech; it was merely the only effective method available to immobilize a Cybertronian, plus the fact that Simmons had his orders, which must be followed. When Ratchet discovered that Simmons planned to work with the Autobots using the same zeal in which he had formerly pursued them, Ratchet couldn't help but realize that Simmons was going to follow orders no matter what it took to carry out those orders. If his instructions meant that, he had to break a few laws then so be it. Simmons WOULD get the job done. That was something Ratchet could understand, and agree with, especially when Ratchet considered that this obsessive individual was now on THEIR side.
The three-way conversation inside the cab of the Peterbuilt was of an entirely different caliber.
"First off, I'd like you to clarify my position in this messed up outfit. Just exactly what are my responsibilities, to them and to us, meaning humanity in general, and the U.S. in particular." Daniel stated as he cranked up the diesel.
"Son, the way I hear it, you are doing things that they didn't think was possible. Now I want you to help them in any way, and every way that you possibly can. If that means that you somehow find a way for them to go home, then that is exactly what you do. These Autobots are officially allied to the United States government. They have promised to lend their assistance to any nation in the world, which has Decepticon problem. I don't want ANY secrets kept from them. You are to learn as much about their technology as you can, WITHOUT causing any damage to the friendly ones!" Sod Keller said lecturing Daniel firmly.
"For our part, we will be glad to teach you everything we can about our technology, although you seem to know quite a lot about it already. We will not be returning to Cybertron, even if we had the All Spark, there is much to be done here. We Autobots will help your people find alternate forms of fuel so that you are no longer polluting your environment. We will help guide your people until you are able to reach the stars on your own." Optimus said in a somewhat fatherly tone of voice.
Daniel was doing the driving. It was a very good thing he was, because his next statement nearly caused Optimus to stall out, as his primary systems rebooted.
"So does that mean I don't wait until the Decepticons are done for, before I start rebuilding the All Spark?" Daniel asked Keller.
"Son, don't even joke like that. That thing was destroyed, and while I still ain't too sure exactly what it meant to these folks, I do know that it was damned important." Keller stated angrily.
At this point Daniel had to do some fast footwork with the clutch and gas pedal to keep the engine of the big semi running.
Optimus rebooted rather quickly, but even so, he was so overwhelmed with questions that he didn't know where to begin.
"Daniel, you have already accomplished something we could never have done on our own by giving Jazz back to us. Do you really believe that there is a chance to rebuild the All Spark, when even we do not understand the technology behind its construction?" Optimus asked quietly.
"All bullshit aside Big Rig. That thing is supposed to be huge and heavier than hell when it's in its full size, right? Well that little piece you got, didn't expand, it also didn't get any heavier. That means that some parts of it are still working. Maybe, just maybe it has a self-repair sequence. I dropped some energon on that chunk of yours when I looked at it. It sucked that stuff up like there was no tomorrow. I'm not going to make any guarantees at this point but I think we might be able to kick-start some type of regeneration mode in that thing. It may take a few hundred years for it to rebuild that much mass, but I don't see any reason why it shouldn't. Besides it can't hurt to try." Daniel explained earnestly.
Optimus was silent for several moments as he considered what Daniel had said.
Primus! If he's right then it may one day be possible to return life to Cybertron. But what if he's wrong? I must not tell the others about this until we know something for sure. His methods are unorthodox, but effective nonetheless, I will wait and reserve judgment on this until I have more to go on. Optimus thought to himself.
"I will let you try to rebuild the All Spark. I insist however that you do NOT say anything to any of the others. I do not want to give them any false hopes. Is that agreed?" Optimus asked trying desperately to keep a renewed sense of hope from showing in his tone.
Keller was shocked. He had reviewed the files that the government had on Daniel. Everyone who had dealt with him at an early age knew that his I.Q. was phenomenally high, and that he had the intelligence to design a small atomic detonator while still a freshman in high school. This caused all kinds of concern among various agencies in charge of counter terrorism and homeland security. The man didn't realize that his every move was closely monitored by several agents simultaneously, his phones were tapped, and his computer was under constant scrutiny. Every move he made on the web was watched and followed. Every e-mail, blog, and instant message that he wrote was also read by several agencies along with the person it was meant for. Keller knew from his file, that Daniel was smart enough to excel in any field that he chose to enter, he just never did make a choice, and now it was too late for him to do so. Thus, he was watched for signs of possible terrorist activities. There was one major in congruency contained in Daniel's file however; he was supposedly fiercely patriotic. No one had been able to figure that one out; therefore, they dismissed it as a ruse on Daniel's part. Keller was now beginning to believe otherwise.
Keller was thinking about all of this when a realization hit him, with the force of Ironhide's cannons!
"YOU WEREN'T GONNA TELL 'EM ABOUT YOU BEIN ABLE TO FIX THAT ALL SPARK WERE YOU?" Keller demanded more than pissed.
"Not until I had discussed it with you first. And before you chew my ass out, I'd have done the same thing if I'd been workin with a bunch of Brits." Daniel said simply.
"But, but the Brits have been our allies since WW1!" Keller sputtered.
"Yup, but they're not Americans, therefore they will have their own agenda, and look out for the interests of their country first." Daniel replied.
"Look let's get one thing straight! As far as the President of the United State is concerned, these folks are U.S. citizens, with full rights and privileges. That is in addition to retaining their naturalization from Cybertron. The ones that haven't shown up yet are also citizens even if they don't know it. Now you may feel that you're serving U.S. interests by trying to help us more than them, but you need to keep in mind that they ARE your fellow Americans! That means that they deserve every bit of help that you can give 'em, ok?" Keller demanded trying to be reasonable.
"If that's how you feel about it, then I won't bother to hide anything else from them again. Period." Daniel said seriously.
"Good! I want it to stay that way." Keller insisted. "Look I'm not tryin to bust your chops here. I'm just tryin to get you to understand what these people mean for us. I'm not just talking USA here; I'm talking the whole world. I'm talking mars colonies within MY lifetime! Maybe even a visit to this Cybertron of theirs. I want those possibilities, for all of us. Ok?" Keller continued.
"Yes Sir." Daniel replied seriously.
The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful as every one was taking the opportunity to relax and get to know one another in a more casual setting. Suddenly a very loud but deep series of thumps could be heard as Jazz cranked up his sound system. Some cities had initiated ordinances against overly loud stereos, but Jazz would have been stopped in ANY city under the excessive noise ordinance. The bass that was pounding from Jazz's speakers had such push behind it that Optimus' windows were visibly vibrating. Daniel and SOD Keller could also feel the vibration through the seats of the semi. This was a volume that could easily be used as a weapon.
"If he busts her eardrums with that shit, I'm gonna bust his head!" Daniel said getting pissed about the danger to his niece.
Optimus contacted Jazz and had him tone it down to something that would not be detected by earthquake monitoring stations in the next state over. When they finally arrived at the restaurant, all of the humans were ravenous having spent many hours of hard work building up a monstrous appetite.
This particular Red Lobster had a smoking section, which pleased Maigan and Daniel to no end. Simmons and Keller had a beer while the others were drinking iced tea. Daniel knew better than to drink while on his medication, he might be crazy, but he wasn't a fool. Everyone had ordered their favorite seafood, and were not concerned with prices. Maigan and Sam were tanking up on a ton of crab legs. Mikeala was getting her fill of a shrimp combo. Simmons had the surf and turf, which was a T-bone steak and grilled shrimp. SOD Keller had ordered the Admirals Feast, which consisted of a lobster tail, crab legs, smoked oysters, and shrimp, plus a couple of sides. Daniel went to town by ordering the Admirals Feast, a dozen raw oysters, crab legs, and the shrimp combo.
Everyone else had long since finished eating, but the salvage operator was still going strong. No one Maigan included could figure out just where in the hell Daniel was putting all that food. If he had thought about it, Daniel wouldn't have been able to explain it either. He hadn't been able to pack it away like that since he had been sixteen. He had his old appetite back for once and he was taking full advantage of it. He had just cleaned the last of the plates in front of him. He was thinking of getting desert, when Maigan shot him a look that would have left Ironhide quaking in his armor.
"What are you trying to screw up your pancreas again?" Maigan asked her uncle.
Daniel had to stop and think about her question for a minute. Then he realized just how much food he had put away.
"No, actually I can't believe I ate that much my self. Not really sure why, but something sure gave me a major case of the hungries." Daniel said sheepishly.
"You mean you don't eat like that all the time?" Mikeala asked.
"Nope. I usually only eat one meal a day and a light snack at another time." Daniel told her.
"Son, are you feeling ok?" Keller asked.
"Yeah, better than I have in years, to be honest." Daniel said with a grin. "I guess working with robot aliens agrees with me."
Daniel had a smoke while drinking one last glass of tea, before he and the others left. Keller paid the tab, which had to have been phenomenal. There was not a lot of conversation on the trip back to Hoover Dam because most of the humans were too miserably full to do much talking. Strangely enough, the only one not too stuffed to talk was the one who had eaten the most. Daniel was chatting with Optimus trying to get a feel for the large Autobot leader. The basic topic of discussion was what Optimus found interesting about Earth.
It turned out that the musical interests of the Autobot leader were nearly as varied as Daniel's. Classical one minute and easy listening, or a light smooth jazz the next. Daniel tried hard to turn Optimus onto heavy metal, but SOD Keller drew the line at listening to Metallica, or Iron Maiden.
When they got back to Hoover Dam, everyone had decided to call it a night. The Autobots were in need of a good recharge and the humans were exhausted. The humans said their goodnights and headed off to their rooms, or homes in the case of Keller and Simmons.
Maigan was in the bathroom getting her sleepwear on while Daniel got into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Daniel was examining his ankle when Maigan came out in her pajamas. She walked over to look at the injury, and came to a sudden stop.
"That looked a lot worse than that just before we left." Maigan said confused.
"I know. It doesn't hurt near as much as it did then either." Daniel replied still looking at his ankle.
The injured ankle was still a little swollen, but the bruising was already starting to fade to a disgusting yellow. Neither of them could figure it out so they dismissed it from their minds thinking that it must not have been as bad as it originally seemed. They turned out the lights, got into their separate beds, and went to sleep.
Two and a half hours later Daniel woke up. He didn't wake up because of a muscle cramp in his back the way he usually did several times each night. He woke up because something was nagging at him, and he couldn't figure out what it was. He went into the bathroom and got dressed. Then he eased his way out of the room leaving Maigan sleeping peacefully.
Daniel first went and checked on Chinook, the old wolf hybrid was doing just fine and some one had used a water hose to clean his pen around the wrecker. He had plenty of food and fresh clean water, so there was no problem there. Daniel then headed to the med bay.
As he stood there looking around the massive room, his eyes fell on the stasis locked Barricade. THAT was what was nagging at him. Daniel went over to the platform that Barricade was laying on and climbed the roller stairs, with his knees grinding loudly. When he got up to where Barricade was, he stopped to look at the state of repairs. The weapon systems had been deactivated, along with the communications module. The armor panels were those of a protoform fit to Barricade's size, but those would be reshaped as soon as Barricade was reactivated. Daniel knew that the only thing left was to reach in and turn the big sucker on, which is exactly what he did.
Daniel didn't consider that Barricade might attack, or try to escape from the med bay. Nor did he consider being taken hostage. He just followed his gut feelings and reactivated the now repaired mech.
There was a loud click in his mind as his primary systems started booting up. Barricade reviewed the last few things he remembered. Megatron had tried to kill him. A human had somehow saved his spark by conducting field repairs. Then that same human had attacked an Autobots in his defense! Apparently not just any Autobot either, the human had successfully attacked the Autobots weapon specialist, and had been about to kill that mech when the others had interfered! Then Barricade remembered the amount of damage that he had received, and ran a diagnostic. Everything was at 100 except for weapons, communications, and armor. The problem with his armor was easily remedied. Barricade simply reloaded the specs of his alt form and the armor shifted in to proper configuration. All of this occurred in less than a second.
Barricade onlined his optics and sat up looking around the med bay.
"Morning bright eyes. Did you have fun playing 'Sleeping Beauty'?" Daniel quipped.
