"That's it Danielle, you're doing great, just a few more seconds, almost there" said a physical therapist holding onto the young woman's arm as she stood for the first time since the accident three months ago.
Her muscles had atrophied from being bedridden. The cardio and stretches that she had started when she was beginning to heal had helped prepare her to relearn walking, but it was going to be a very long journey. Her wounds healed much slower than expected, the tissue and bone damage wasn't progressing as the doctors had expected, so every step she managed to take would be a miracle.
Holding onto the handrails on either side, Danielle panted under the strain of holding most of her body weight with her frail arms. Her knees felt like jelly, her legs unsteady under the weight she managed to put on them.
"Okay, go ahead and let's sit back down. That was amazing, honey! We're going to have Doc check on you before you head out today, okay? Do you want any water before I go get him?"
Nearly collapsing back into the wheelchair, Danielle wondered just how long it would take to get back the full use of her legs. She shook her head to clear the thought, and tried to be grateful for leaving her chair at all. Dr. Tornat had helped her to better define her expectations of mobility in the near future, and to appreciate the little victories where they could be found.
Beyond that, Dr. Tornat had begun trying to move their conversations toward her more repressed troubles. The last time they had met, they had discussed Danielle's ambitions again, with respect to what she had been through already.
"Danielle, do you have any regrets or non-absolutions that you think may pose a hindrance to reaching your goals?" asked the psychotherapist.
She sat quietly, slowly considering her past close and distant. Little things sprung to her mind at first, but they were only harbingers of the demons that came clawing up her throat, dragging up with them the life-altering mistakes and world-shattering grief she kept suppressed in attempts to maintain her sanity.
Dr. Tornat saw her patient's eyes becoming glassey, her neck flushing and breathing becoming ragged at the edges. "We don't have to go into everything at once, child. It's okay to let them out for a little bit though. Just long enough to acknowledge them and we can come back to them later, I promise. You're safe here, the past can't hurt you."
Moments slid by as Danielle fought to maintain her composure while not letting go of what Della had asked of her. Turning inward, she focused on her breath to stay grounded.
"Do you think you could list these impactful events to me? It's not about the details right now, think of it more like titles of chapters, just a few words to identify them by. Is that something you're comfortable doing?" she inquired softly.
Unsure how long she could hold it together once they got going, Danielle took a deep breath and dove in.
"My father was the center of my world, and he died without saying goodbye. I watched my mother wither away into a shell of herself and die, too." She paused for another ragged breath before continuing. "A boy from my childhood, he-" her voice broke as she fought the fire behind her eyes and the gravity in the pit of her stomach. She glared into her balled fists in her lap, concentrating on the pressure of her nails digging into her palms. "That monster ra-".
A gasp wracked her body as she fought to say the word, but the doctor calmly shushed her, seeing the pain that it was causing. She spoke softly to finish Danielle's sentence "He hurt you, as a woman he hurt you, is that this chapter's title?" Danielle nodded and angrily swiped at the hot tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's okay, remember, we don't have to talk about that right now. Are there any others you want to tell me?"
After several shuddering breaths, she charged onward through stuttering breaths and a tight throat. "I moved ac-cross the country to escape it all, bought a t-tiny house, still had my dad's old truck, Raptor, didn't know yet he was an alien. It was okay for a while. Then the Autobots showed up, my world crashed around me again. At the end of it all, Raptor kidnapped me, then tried to… kill me. And in all of it, I had caught feelings for one of these space robots and made him kill Raptor. I can't…. How could anyone forgive that? I don't understand how he can even look at me, I'm broken, selfish, insignifiant. All this pain I cause, and I can't feel any of it myself! The irony… Time and time again, I can't do a damn thing but watch as anything good around me goes up in flames!"
Remaining even-keeled and compassionate, Dr. Tornat had jotted a few notes before setting them aside. "You've gone through so much more than anyone deserves in one lifetime. I don't think any of these events make you a bad person, especially since most happened to you, not because of you. But, can you see what else has happened because of you?"
Not trusting her voice, Danielle sat, one fist on her knee, one hand over her mouth, and shook her head, just letting her tears fall freely to her lap.
Della leaned forward and covered Danielle's fist with her hand. Giving it a tender squeeze, she whispered "You survived."
Five soldiers stood at attention facing Colonel Lennox, standing at ease, while General Reims paced back and forth in front of them. On the furthest wall, Optimus Prime stood watch over the humans, the most competent people on the force they had.
"Soldiers," General Reims began firmly, "you have been hand selected by the three of us standing before you. Colonel Lennox and Optimus Prime now know your names, your rank, your clearance, your strengths, your weaknesses. I know what I expect from each of you, but you have this chance to prove to them that you have what it takes to be part of a mission unlike any other. Not only is this completely new to our military, but to the world as a whole. There will be stringent rules, inextinguishable consequences, and complications that might kill anyone in ways we cannot currently predict." Turning to Colonel Lennox, she gave a curt nod and cast a glance at the quiet giant at the back of the hangar.
Lennox looked into the faces of these five soldiers, two from his own NEST sector. " In case you haven't met each other yet; Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Freed, sharpshooter. Master Sergeant Heather Montgomery, support analysis. Sergeant First Class Lionel Archer, area control. Specialist Nicholas Blaese, hand to hand combat. Corporal Sadiyah Ahmad, logistics. Each of you has a talent we need, an ability you've honed to perfection, and you will stay in your lane with this skill. This little unit will need to be harmonized to each other in a way that doesn't require negotiation in the heat of battle, unyielding trust that they will do their part so long as you do yours. General Reims was not boasting about this mission being the first of its kind. This won't be easy, we will push you to limits that you may not come back from, but if you succeed, you might just become part of Earth's last line of defense against the Decepticons. You all know Optimus Prime by now, leader of the Autobots, one of the strongest of his entire kind. Optimus, would you do the honors? At ease soldiers, you'll want to see this."
Wordlessly, Optimus closed the distance between himself and the line of recruits. He knelt down to meet each of their gazes in turn. "Just as every Cybertronian is a composite of living metal, galaxies of systems, and life force, this unit will combine to function as one of us."
He pointed beyond their backs, and they turned toward the far end of the hanager. Scaffolding climbed nearly to the ceiling, surrounding a mostly bare skeleton of metal, wrapped in metalic musculature of hoses and hydraulics. Two dismantled JLTVs lay in organized heaps on the floor on either side of the sparsely plated yellow legs. Two arm cannons hung on chains in approximation of their final attachment points halfway up the structure.
Optimus continued "From the remains of my comrade, research on our fallen, and our technology that I have begun to share, we will build a new kind of soldier. Mechanically, we can duplicate the systems, the calculations, the metal structures. But what makes a soldier a formidable foe is instinct. No algorithm can replace the life force that will hold it all together. Your power will lie in the harmony of your combined spirits. I do not know if we will succeed, but we must try."
General Reims stepped forward, "Well, soldiers, do you intend to succeed?"
Their confidence echoed in unison "Sir, yes sir!"
As the sound cleared from the air, a commotion outside became apparent. The thumps of running boots and shouted orders came, muffled, through the thick walls. A pounding on the inner access door to the hangar was met by Colonel Lennox, holding a curt exchange with the guard there.
Lennox turned back to the General and Prime "Northwest inbound boogie, ten miles out, not responding to hails or directives to leave the airspace. General, orders?"
"Everyone out, to your posts" she ordered, drawing her sidearm to check the magazine and safety.
Optimus COMed to his allies to take defensive positions around the entry hangar and protect the injured and medical staff inside while heading to the front line himself.
Already, NEST had established a reception for the incoming vehicle, turrets mounted and rifles drawn.
Lennox relayed new information from his radio out into the troops standing ready. "Looks like we've got an inbound Apache, still not squawking. Hold your fire until engaged or else follow the Autobots lead."
The fevered thumping of helicopter blades began to wash over the tense soldiers. In full view as it crossed over a far dune, a gray-green chopper sped forward.
"Are you getting any signal from it, Optimus?" asked Ironhide, straining to keep his rockets in their bays as he locked on.
"No, if that's one of ours, it's cloaked its signal." Optimus replied gravely. "Keep steady, everyone." Optimus COMed the rest of his team, "Arcee, Bumblebee, Mirage, confirm positions."
Arcee cracked over the link "South and West sides covered. I have visual of Bee on East side."
A short moment followed before Mirage relayed, "North covered. That inbound doesn't look like it wants to play nice."
Close enough now to see the pilot from the ground, the backwash whipped sand into the air. The machine inched ever closer into the arc of guns. Hovering twenty feet in the air, nose and missiles pointed dead ahead at the soldiers, the sand continued to blast everything in its path. The Apache rotated slowly until it faced Ironhide. The weapons expert grimaced and exposed another triple rocket launcher from his shoulder.
"Make my day" he ground out.
The thundering blades whined as the helicopter turned on Optimus, but then descended the last few feet to land. "Alright boys, fingers off those triggers now, would ya?" The voice came from the strange copter as the pilot flickered from view and the blades slowed their rotation before coming to a jerking halt. Folding up over the tail, every seam burst as a bot transformed and stood up.
"What a welcome party! You really know how to make a bot feel at home!"
"Sandstorm? You could have warned us of your arrival to prevent such a hostile meeting." Optimus chided. "Guns down, he's a friend. Brazen, but we are happy to have another ally all the same."
Sandstorm chuckled, knuckles on his hips."Sorry about that, had to know what kind of heat you were packing here. I must say, I'm impressed, though your team is a little thin. Now I'm really happy I showed up! So, where's the real fight at?"