For hour after hour Grace had endured the constant whooshing of the C-17's engines. Her and the rest of the British pilots, and some troops, had taken off at an RAF base and were headed for Diego Garcia. The flight had already been long, and she had still got 3 more hours until they landed. She knew very little about the place they were headed, except that US and UK forces had deported all it's inhabitants in the 60's to make a huge military base.
She frowned and turned to the rest of her men. They were clad in smart new uniforms, bearing the NEST insignia. Secretly, she was dreading this. Not because she was scared, but because she was probably going to see a lot of these young men recieve horrific injuries...maybe even die. She scolded herself for thinking like this. It wouldn't help. That's what they were here for, it was their job. Plus they had these Autobot things she'd been told about on their side. At least they had a good chance.
She regarded Jimmy for a moment. The man was slumbering lightly, perched next to her on the bench that ran along the fuselage, his head back against the wall. Maybe she should take a leaf out of his book? Sleep was advised by Sergeant Epps, after all.
...
An abrupt bump awoke Grace. The almighty whirr from down-powering jet engines assaulted her ears. She grumbled, leaning forward and dropping her head into her hands.
"C'mon Little Miss Sunshine! We're here!" Jimmy wiggled her shoulder enthusiatically. Curse him for always being so excited.
"Piss off you tool!" She smiled and shoved him playfully, and he ran off toward the rear of the plane with a smirk on his face. The rear hatch opened, and they filed off down the ramp. The brightness of the outside made Grace's pupils dart into small dots. She shaded her blue eyes with a hand curved just above them until she got used to the light. The heat was pleasant, it made a welcome change from rainy England.
Her senses tingled. All around her, hangars, vast in size, stood tall and proud. The odd F-22 scattered close by, and Chinooks landed not too far away. Her attention was drawn to a man walking towards them, accompanied by Sergeant Epps. He began to address them.
"Welcome to Diego Garcia guys!" His tone was mock happiness. He looked amongst the people stood before him. "And girl..." He sheepishly grinned, and a few titters ruffled through the men. Grace sighed, rolling her eyes. She would only let him do that once.
"My name is Major Lennox, follow us, and uh we'll get you introduced to the 'Bots" He reffered to himself and the sergeant. They were led to a hangar. Inside Grace could not help but notice all the soundproofing, and there was a lot. This place was huge! She then was taken aback by the strangest sight.
A Peterbilt truck sat by a large metal platform. It was painted blue, red and orange with flames running down the side. She could not help but wonder why such a vehicle would be on a military base... admittedly, she thought, it looked very important. They followed Lennox inside the hangar and up a metal staircase to the platform. A big black pickup suddenly roared in, tucking itself next to the truck. She looked at it, impressed by the sheer size of the thing. Her dad had once bought an old full-size Chevy pickup, but this was much bigger, almost matching the truck in size.
Their ascent stopped, and Grace stood close to the railings, observing the trucks. As the others mingled around on the platform, she heard strange, deep noises. They were hard to describe, almost like the noise a light makes when there is a powercut. An electrical humming. It was coming from the direction of the trucks, but she dismissed it. There were a lot of loud aircraft on this base that could mess up your hearing sometimes.
She turned to face Lennox, who had somehow elevated himself higher than the rest of them, and Epps who stood next to him.
"Now" He began, "What you are about to see is incredibly top secret. There are serious consequences for anyone who has devious plans here, but it is vital you know who your allies are. Not all of you will accept this straight away. The two trucks situated before you are Autonomous Robotic Organisms, Autobots, as we refer to them. The Autobots mean you no harm, no matter how intimidating they may appear. We have been working with them, as you know, for the past 3 years."
He stepped off his little platform and took a step toward the edge of the railings near Grace. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introdue Optimus Prime and Ironhide" He gestured to each one after saying their names.
Lennox smiled as Grace and her comrades watched the scene literally unfold before them.
They were moving. Not just moving, shifting parts. Separating, re-attatching in different areas, forming legs, arms. A giant metal hand punched the ground. She was practically right next to the black GMC pickup, that was now finishing off it's transformation before her bewildered eyes. His own eyes scanned the room. They were bright blue lights, as were the other 'Bot's. He though, the Peterbilt, was taller. She couldn't take her eyes off the both of them. Slowly, the group shuffled back a couple of inches. Wether it was from fear or just to get a good look at the things Grace didn't know...probably both.
The Peterbilt, Optimus, had a hard expression, but shortly it subsided to a softer one. Ironhide's expression, however, remained a gruff stare. He was intimidating to say the least. Optimus began to speak, his voice was deep, low and controlled. He was definitely their leader. What with a name like Optimus Prime. Grace became uncomforatbly aware that the GMC was staring at all of them. His eyes stopped on her. She stared back, face blank, a little nervous yet intrigued all the same. She looked at his bulky figure, he was riddled with scars and atop his powerful looking arms resided two massive guns. Her eyebrows raised, a small grin peeked from the corner of her lips. She should have been listening to what Optimus was saying, thereagain, she didn't think any of them actually were.
Grace's eyes shot to her left and sought out Jimmy, who looked a little timid. She then looked back at Ironhide. He had taken a step back, allowing Optimus full attention of the humans. For a big metal robot he sure was quiet. Optimus mentioned something about superior artillery that allows them to need little or no assistance on the battlefield. He then gestured to Ironhide, who had powered up those big cannons of his. Grace could feel the heat from one, and began to wonder how on earth they worked.
"My chief weapons specialist, Ironhide, has seen millenia of battles. He is an experienced soldier, but above all, a reliable ally and friend." He said, turning slightly to face the 'Bot. Ironhide recoiled his cannons, and stood hands on what would be hips in relation to the human form.
Just as Optimus carried on, two small cars zipped around the corner of the giant hangar doors. One was bright green, the other orange. One tooted it's horn as the both of them swooshed in and out between the Autobots. Ironhide seemed instantly infuriated. His cannons twitched in preparation of transformation. Somehow, both cars smashed into each other, half transformed and landed in a pile in the corner of the hangar. Optimus pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, Grace found the human-like gesture very humorous, and allowed a smile to creep onto her face. It was quickly washed away as Ironhide boomed. "Get OUT!" He shouted at the pile of metal. The two cars began making excuses and bickering with each other, then a few punches were thrown amongst them.
This was all very bizzare to Grace. Never had she encountered such an informal induction to a base. She liked it.
Ironhide's cannons transformed and whirred angrily. "GET. OUT!" He screamed at the two small 'Bots that had almost re-arranged themselves. They ran off like naughty school kids. Ironhide puffed and grumbled, his cannons still rotating, left, right, left, left, right. He stood at the door for a moment, then stalked back towards the platform.
"Skids and Mudflap...two of our...less.. professional 'Bots" Sergeant Epps informed the group. "They're harmless really." He tried to sound convincing as a few 'What the hell just happened' faces stood amongst the group.
'I'm going to like it here' Grace thought to herself. 'I'm going to like it a lot'.
They began to descend from the platform. The Autobots stood still as the airmen- and woman, filed past their huge feet. Amongst excited chatter between the boys, Grace tailed at the end of the group, taking one last look back at the giant forms before going off to be escorted to her accomodation for the night. Blue lights faded as the 'Bots transformed.
...'Amazing'.