Retired Colonel Allan 'Dutch' Schaefer looked around the hanger that he was sitting in with several active duty service members. He couldn't help but wonder about what was going on, because here they were several hundred miles from the nearest ocean, but there were three Navy personnel included in the group. He'd introduced himself and learned the identities and branches of the others in turn.
1st Lieutenant Alexa Woods, USMC, Master Chief Dewayne Banyan US Navy SEALS, Sgt. Mjr. David Johansson, (Canadian) assigned to US Army Rangers, 2nd Lieutenant Richard Morales US Navy SEALS, and 2nd Lieutenant Hiro Takahashi US Navy SEALS. These were the people who had been transferred here to the largest Air Force base on U.S. soil. It was the kind of thing that made him suspicious, because he knew that every one of them were Special Forces members, and he knew that they hadn't been brought here for nothing. Whatever this was about, it was serious enough that he had been forced out of retirement to assist and consult on whatever it was. Having been told to have a seat and enjoy some refreshments while they waited to be briefed, told Dutch that whatever was going on had to be much bigger than he'd originally thought.
Suddenly the monotony of sitting around was shattered by a distant but thundering blast. Everyone at the gathered tables tensed up and were instantly ready for anything. Anything that is except what they saw. A short moment later, a civilian with his dark brown hair cut slightly longer than a military buzz came running into the hanger with a determined expression on his face. He was dressed like a biker, with motorcycle riding boots, black jeans, black T-shirt, and black motorcycle jacket. The civilian dropped into a baseball player's slide and ended up against one of the hangar walls next to an ice chest. Then the man was scrambling to his feet with a large crowbar in his right hand while facing back in the direction he'd come from with an enraged but silent and menacing grin fixed on his face.
Ratchet entered the hangar shortly after Daniel did. The very loud and powerful firecracker which had detonated in one of his tail pipes while he was in recharge had not been a pleasant experience! Now he was going to teach that highly annoying glitched out slagger a lesson he would never forget.
General Mallory, SecDef Keller, Col. Anderson, Capt. Lennox along with many others came running into the hangar almost right on the heels of Ratchet. Several had confused looks on their faces while the others were clearly getting quite pissed.
"Dammit Daniel! What'd you do this time?" General Mallory demanded quickly.
"That miserable slagger stuck some kind of firecracker in one of my exhaust pipes… and now he is going to pay!" Ratchet snarled in mounting rage.
"First you're gonna tell us what ya stuck in my goddamned coffee ya sumbitch!" Daniel shot back in a near snarl of anger.
"I only added a substance that will prevent all that caffeine and the energy boosters from being absorbed into your system! That does not give you…" Ratchet began before he was interrupted by Epps.
"You what? That stuff don't block adrenaline too does it?" Epps demanded quickly.
"Actually it does… why?" Ratchet answered grouchily after analyzing the formula he'd used for a few seconds.
"Oh God!" Maigan exclaimed softly with her right hand going to her mouth and looking at her uncle in mounting horror.
"Oh Jesus Christ!" General Mallory swore softly. "With as much coffee as that man goes through, the headache from withdraws alone will have him ready to kill. Add in the jitters, and irritability and we'll have to lock him in the brig just to keep him from killing half the people on this base!"
"All due respect General… that ain't the problem. Without adrenaline, he's only got a couple of hours to live, if that, and since Ratchet made that stuff to block other stimulants too, there's nothing that can save him. He falls asleep, and he's dead." Epps said quietly.
"What?" Keller demanded aghast.
"Next time you get a chance, watch the movie 'Crank' with Jason Statheham. It was the whole point of that movie. A Chinese poison was used, and the guy had to use overdose levels of stimulants just to stay alive long enough to find an antidote. That didn't work." Epps answered.
"You mean that shit he gave me is fuckin fatal?" Daniel snarled in demanding surprise.
Ratchet looked down at the human he'd only been trying to help. Horror at what he'd actually done coursed through his processors. The tears that were now running down Maigan's face certainly didn't help matters any, and he wondered… hoped and prayed to Primus that the human would live long enough for him to come up with something to overpower the formula that he'd slipped into the coffee that he'd given the man.
When the CMO looked over at Maigan, Daniel almost lost it right then and there. He charged forward at the medic in a dead run. Ratchet seemed ready to dodge to one side or another, but Daniel slid between his legs and hooked the end of his crowbar into one of the medic's ankles.
With his left ankle disabled, Ratchet fell forward and immediately rolled over onto his back. Just as he was about to sit up one end of that now infamous crowbar was pointed at his right optic.
"That is the absolute last fucking warning you will ever get about fucking with my caffeine, nicotine, or sugar! Next time… I'll just fuckin kill ya!" Daniel hissed in obvious anger.
"You just better be god damned glad that the shit you gave me tasted nasty as hell, and that I spit it out instead of drinking it. Cause if I'm checkin out thanks to someone else… I'm gonna make damned sure I don't do it alone!" Daniel snarled in a soft but deadly tone as he turned away from the downed medic.
Daniel dropped his crowbar with a clang as he stepped over to his now sobbing niece. "Relax Kiddo… I ain't dyin yet." Daniel said softly as he wrapped his arms around his niece.
"One more thing Ratchet." Daniel said in a quiet but deadly serious voice. "You ever make Maigan cry again, and I will make sure you regret it!"
Maigan buried her face in her uncle's shoulder. Even though she was a couple of inches taller than he was, he was still there, solid, and as stubbornly protective as ever. She'd seen that movie a few years ago, and at the time, she had thought that it was a strange idea for an action movie, but it had been a lot of fun to watch. Now… now she'd almost lost her uncle to something very similar and it scared her to lose him like that.
"Would someone care to explain the robot that almost committed a cold blooded murder?" A woman demanded firmly.
"Well, Lieutenant…" General Mallory began quietly. "We did not plan to reveal our new allies like this, but it seems that Murphy's Law is taking its toll today."
Daniel snickered at that one. "What he means to say is that Harrigan's Law is kicking our ass!"
"Who's Harrigan, and what does his law have to do with this?" A rather large man asked in a slight eastern European accent.
Daniel looked over at the man. He was about six and a half feet tall with a very muscular build, and dark hair that was just starting to go grey around the temples.
"Harrigan was a philosopher… and he only had one Law. That Law stipulates that Murphy was an optimist." Daniel answered with a malicious grin.
"Holy Christ! If 'Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong' is looking on the bright side of things… I'm not sure I want to know just how bad things were for this Harrigan!" Col. Anderson said sourly.
Daniel started snickering as he looked over at the Colonel. "Exactly the point."
General Mallory cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention. Once he was sure he had it, he continued. "We have several of these bots on base, and by sunup tomorrow we'll have a lot more. They don't like being called 'robots', because that's apparently the same thing as calling one of us a retard. The thing is, these bots… the males are called 'mechs', and the females are called 'femmes'… are not from Earth. They are of extra terrestrial origin, and a ship full of them is landing here tonight. You folks have been assigned to this base per direct orders of SecDef to assist in learning how to combat these bots. The ones here are members of a faction called 'Autobots', and their enemies are called 'Decepticons'. They are responsible for what happened in Mission City last week, and the world wide communications black out."
"The Decepticons also caused the destruction of Soccent Air Base in Qatar. It only took one of them to do that in less than half an hour. My men and I were stationed there when the attack occurred. We were also at Mission City when that happened. Let me tell you… they can do a lot of damage in a real hurry. The only things we've found that are effective against them are SABOT rounds." Capt. Lennox added quickly.
"Hey!" Daniel piped up indignantly.
"Well… SABOT rounds and his crowbar!" Epps said with a snicker while pointing at the demented salvage operator.
"Are you crazy or something? If just one of these things can take out an entire military base in less than an hour without any problems, then why are you going around using a crowbar?" Lieutenant Woods demanded of Daniel.
"Yes… I am crazy! So I'm not allowed to own a gun. That's why I use a crowbar, and I'm damned good with it too!" Daniel answered with a smug grin. "Ask one of them… this ain't the first time I've put one of these oversized suckers on their ass." He added pointing his right thumb over his shoulder at Capt. Lennox and his men.
As Starglide entered the hangar where many of the humans that she knew were located, the first thing she noticed was that Ratchet was sitting on the floor making some repairs to his left ankle. Her optics narrowed in suspicion as she quickly looked around and took note of the discarded crowbar still lying on the floor of the hangar, the puffy eyes and tear streaks on Maigan's face, and a trace of Ratchet's paint on the hook of the discarded crowbar. Nothing seemed to add up to what might be considered normal. For one thing, Daniel was grinning, which was not all that unusual, but Ratchet wasn't complaining like he usually did and that was unusual.
"What happened?" Starglide demanded in a no-nonsense tone.
Maigan turned to see the one bot that she knew could solve just about any problem she dealt with. She quickly ran over to the femme who immediately bent down and picked her up in her right hand. "Ratchet… Ratchet tried… tried to kill my uncle." Maigan said as the femme lifted her to face level while she started crying all over again.
"What?" Starglide demanded in a hiss as she focused on the CMO.
"Ratchet you have two seconds to explain." Starglide said in a tone that would not accept no for an answer.
"I added a formula to a cup of coffee that I gave him. I didn't realize that additive would kill him." Ratchet said morosely as he continued to work on his ankle.
"What?" Starglide snapped out as she stepped forward, grabbed the medic by the throat in her left hand, hoisted him in the air, and held him there. "I watched you give Daniel a cup of coffee in the meeting earlier. I thought you were trying to make amends for destroying a can of his coffee the day before yesterday. If that isn't the case, then this had better be no more than a very sick prank!"
"I created a stimulant blocker to put in it. I didn't think about making sure that it wouldn't block adrenalin as well… if he'd actually consumed it, then yes, it would have killed him." Ratchet replied honestly as he bowed his head to look the femme in the optics. He didn't need anyone to tell him that she was thoroughly torqued. The fact that she was holding him completely off the ground with a single outstretched arm told him that.
"So if Daniel didn't drink that concoction, what happened to your ankle?" Starglide demanded suspiciously.
"That slagger got me with that pit spawned…"
Ratchet did not get to finish what he was saying before his head was slammed into one of the over head girders supporting the roof of the hangar.
"I have told you not to use that type of language around me, and I was not joking!" Starglide hissed as she punctuated each word by slamming Ratchet's head into the girders above.
Suddenly Starglide jerked Ratchet forward until he was directly in her face. Nose to nose; she glared at the CMO while the medic's feet still didn't touch the floor because of her greater height. "If Daniel only damaged your ankle with that crowbar of his, then you should count yourself lucky and blessed by Primus! His capture of Skywarp indicates just how dangerous he can be with that tool."
"Yo, I thought Junk-man was gonna kill him!" Epps piped up seriously.
"That does not surprise me Sergeant. What does surprise me is that both of them are still alive! Both Daniel and Maigan have explained Daniel's temper to me. I have also received some information from Optimus regarding the type of anger that Daniel has, so I am well aware of just how violent this could have become." Starglide said with out removing her glare from the medic in her left hand.
"I will warn you only once Ratchet…" Starglide began firmly while staring the Medic in his optics. "Do not provoke Daniel again! I don't care what you believe to be proper procedure; Daniel is physically glitched with a temper that is much greater than yours. So if you do provoke him and somehow manage to survive his wrath, you will then have to face mine! Is that understood?"
"Yes." Ratchet answered simply, because he knew that Starglide wasn't bluffing in the least, he also knew that she wasn't one to be angered lightly.
"This is the second time that you've deliberately provoked Daniel that I know of, and that will stop now, is that also understood?" Starglide said almost the instant she had received a response.
"Yes, it is." Ratchet said simply.
Starglide nodded her head before setting the Medic down and turning her full attention to the young woman in her right hand. "I promise you that Ratchet will not do such a thing again. He might be stubborn, and he certainly has a temper, but he's not nearly foolish enough to incur mine." She said reassuringly.
"Thanks." Maigan said with a nod of her head while she still tried to get herself under control.
"You're very welcome." Starglide answered with a light smile. "Now, I think you should stay with me for a while. The two of us can get to know each other better."
Maigan nodded her head and tried to relax before she sat down in Starglide's hand. She took a deep breath while trying to get her sobs under control as Starglide turned to leave.
"So are you one of the commanding officers for these 'Autobots'?" Lieutenant Woods asked curiously.
"I am to an extent. I command the Autobot Air Contingent, such as it is. Most of those who are able to fly, have chosen to side with the Decepticons." Starglide replied as she turned back around to look at the soldier.
"We haven't been introduced yet, but I am Starglide, and it is a pleasure to meet you." Starglide said smiling as she knelt down to properly greet the soldier.
"Alexa Woods, 1st Lieutenant assigned to 4th Recon, First Force Reconnaissance United States Marines." The woman replied with a smile.
"Yes, I've read your file Lieutenant Woods, as I have all of the others here as well, and I will freely admit that I am looking forward to working with you. Having a few more females or femmes on this base will be most welcome. Once you are finished meeting with your commanding officers, I would like to talk with you, and get to know you better." Starglide said with a smile.
Alexa smiled lightly. "I think I can manage that. Besides… we can always use a bit more estrogen in the air to counter all the testosterone floating around."
Starglide started laughing merrily, and even Maigan couldn't resist a snicker at that response.
Right then, Daniel started getting some strange looks as his pocket started howling.
"You set a recording of Chinook howling as your ring tone?" Maigan asked in disbelief.
"Yup! Can ya think of a better way to get my attention?" Daniel said as he pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open to answer it.
As Daniel stepped out of the hangar to talk to who ever was calling him, Maigan only shook her head with a sad smile.
"That was the sound of a wolf! How does he have a recording of that with a name attached to it?" Sgt. Mjr. David Johansson asked dubiously.
"He had a wolf as a pet. Well half Alaskan Tundra Wolf and half German Sheppard. His name was Chinook. He was totally deaf by the time he was two, but he was still a good friend. He died a couple of days ago." Maigan said sadly.
"Well I'm a Cannuck, so I know a bit about wolves. A hybrid like that… you could end up with the intelligence and cunning of a wolf, along with the mean streak of a German Sheppard. That's not a combination I'd want to deal with." David said with a frown.
"Believe it or not… but that's exactly what Chinook was like. Chew 'em up first and find out who they were afterwards." Maigan shot back.
Maigan was about to say something else when Daniel walked back in grinning like the maniac he was. Or rather he was grinning like a mad scientist who had just found a very real method of global domination! Her mouth dropped open when she saw her uncle grinning like that, because she was sure that whatever the cause was… it could not be anything good.
"Would you care to explain why you are looking like (Untranslatable Cybertronian) who just found a thousand objects comprised of technology far more advanced than anything we might have dreamed of?" Starglide demanded suspiciously.
"That was Darrel. He was just letting me know that he got the Shelby finished. Now I get to go pick it up and put her through some paces on the way back here!" Daniel said grinning even wider.
"What Shelby?" Maigan asked in confusion.
"Just one that I traded him for. That's now packin a Formula One engine and transmission!" The salvage operator cackled.
General Mallory's eyes shot wide and his mouth dropped open as he sputtered and stuttered for several seconds. "You had an F-1 drive train crammed into a Shelby? What year and model?" The man demanded in shock.
"1968 Cobra GT-500!" Daniel proclaimed proudly. I don't know what the colors are yet, but I'll find out soon enough."
"May God have mercy on anyone in front of you." General Mallory said quietly.
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