Disclaimer: If owned Transformers I'd be driving around in Bumblebee, not mooching rides to and from college.
A/N: Greetings from the non-air conditioned dorm room! I never knew I'd be so happy for cooler weather! So, not much response on this fic. If I don't get more I'm gonna probably can it and wait for some fresh material. So... REVIEW! It isn't that difficult!
Chapter Three: Of Coining and First Days
Aishe had come to the conclusion that she liked big trucks. For the first fifteen minutes or so she'd been a bit disconcerted by the distance to the ground, but once she got used to the different level of the cab and the humming throb of the engine she found herself enjoying the ride. It was nice to be the one looking out over the tops of all the other little cars instead of worrying about being squashed by the big, bad semi for once.
Prime wasn't much of a talker, but Astrid didn't mind because she was cut from the same cloth in that respect. Her parents had frequently teased her about her strange silence in the car, especially considering how chatty she could be normally. For whatever reason, she felt like she could let her mind wander when on the road. The rushing scenery gave her the feeling that she was doing something, so her get-to-it attitude was appeased, and yet she really had nothing better to do than daydream.
After about an hour, though, Astrid felt that she needed to say something or else the driver would think she was an introvert.
"Nice truck," she said. "Thanks for letting me ride with you."
Her statement couldn't be considered a lie, either. Astrid might not know much about semis, but, judging by the pristine condition of the vehicle, both interior and exterior, she thought such an assumption was a safe bet.
"You are welcome," Prime rumbled, chuckling deep down in his chest. "I did not think it wise to leave Captain Lennox trapped in the same vehicle as two siblings for a trip of such long duration."
"Got that right," said Astrid. "Do you have siblings?"
"One," said Prime in a much softer voice than he'd used before. "He is dead."
"Oh... Oh, I'm sorry," Astrid apologized awkwardly. "I didn't mean to..."
"It is not a problem, Miss Fenner," Prime said, looking over to smile reassuringly at her.
"Yeah, we have to do something about that," Astrid mumbled, adjusting her position in her seat.
"Do something about what?" Prime asked.
"My name," said Astrid. "It's not 'Miss Fenner'. If I was a grade school teacher and you were a little squirt with messy hair, then it would be 'Miss Fenner'. As things stand, it's Astrid. The only people who call me by my last name are my highschool teachers, and since most of them are relaxed enough to go by their students' first names, the last name is a really bad sign."
"Very well, then, Astrid," said Prime. "I will address you by your first name."
"Thanks. I was starting to feel old."
Prime laughed, seeming to enjoy a bit of a private joke with himself, and Astrid felt herself loosening up.
"So, I have a question," she said.
"You may ask," said Prime.
"What's with the Hummer?"
"Hmm? I am afraid I do not understand your meaning."
"The Hummer, Mr. Ratchet's car," Astrid elaborated. "Why is it part of this little moving party? Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful that Mr. Ratchet volunteered and all, but why? If we'd gotten creative we probably could've packed everything into the trailer attached to just your truck and used Captain Lennox's car for passengers."
"Ratchet is... a very good friend of mine," Prime replied, "and of Captain Lennox. We did not know how much there would be to move, so we chose to risk having a little too much in the way of transportation rather than risk underestimating the amount of belongs you would be bringing."
"That... makes sense," said Astrid. Idly, she crossed her legs and, looking out the window, commented, "You know something? Mr. Ratchet reminds me of Doctor McCoy."
"I had never... considered that comparison," Prime said, the laughter back in his voice.
"I don't know why, but he does," Astrid said sheepishly. "Sorry. This is what happens when one is raised by a Trekkie."
"May I inform him of your... simile?" asked Prime.
"Sure,"Astrid shrugged, "just so long as he's not the type to get mad at me over something like that."
"Oh, I do not believe he will take offense," Prime assured her.
"Feel free, then," said Astrid.
They rode in silence for a while longer, though it was a far cry from the uncertain edginess that had pervaded the cab earlier.
After another hour or so had passed, Astrid said off-handedly, "I never thought I'd say such a thing, but your semi is really...cool."
.O.O.O.
Outside of a small roadside diner, two men with bright blue eyes watched their human companions eat their dinner through the glass plane of the window. Both holoforms leaned back against the grills of their respective vehicles, their arms crossed loosely across their chests. Their third comrade was sitting beside them silently, unable to use a holoform due to the fact that William Lennox was supposed to be the one doing the driving. A stranger appearing from thin air in such a deserted location would be more than slightly suspicious.
Of the three, Ratchet was the only one who could claim an entirely quiet ride. Optimus had not encountered any problems with Astrid, and found her peculiarly quiet for one of her age and gender. Ironhide, on the other hand, had listened to rather loud human music for almost the entire day, along with the two men's occasional prattling to boot. Surprisingly, though, he wasn't in a bad mood. As it turned out, he'd enjoyed the music, and the two military men had discussed little besides explosives and weapons technology.
Ratchet's holoform's shoulders shook as he chuckled at Optimus's tale of keeping the inquisitive teenager off the scent of suspicion.
"She says you remind her of McCoy from the old human entertainment series Star Trek," Optimus said.
Ratchet chuckled again, looking in fondly at the humans. "She's a clever one, that's for certain. She has no idea how close she is to the mark, and yet her instinct guides her without a glitch."
There came a crackling over the comm system, and both holoforms assumed slightly vacant looks as their true selves listened in on the transmission.
"I like her brother," Ironhide rumbled. "He's a real soldier. Lennox should bring him in."
"I agree," Ratchet said aloud. "What about you, Prime?"
"The boy is young, but he is skilled at his work and on friendly terms with Lennox," said Prime. "I do not think it would be a bad arrangement. And with his only relative living in the middle of a human military compound there would be little need for concern on her part."
"I concur," said Ratchet.
"Still," Prime said, "it is the captain's decision."
"Of course," said Ratchet. "And he still has another whole day to make up his mind."
.O.O.O.
By the time the caravan arrived at the base, the humans were itching to get out and stretch their legs. Astrid talked them into moving all the junk in right away, though, so that the chivalrous but probably exhausted Mr. Prime and Mr. Ratchet could get home in time for a bite to eat. Naturally, such considerations were totally unneeded considering the Transformers' true selves, but the two older mechs smiled fondly on the young woman's consideration regardless.
At least Will was able to talk the weary duo from trying to whip up dinner for themselves in their new home, which was now buried by an armada of cardboard boxes. With a couple calls on his cell phone and a whispered conversation with his car, Captain Lennox arranged a small but very welcome dinner out with a few friends to celebrate the new family on base. The restaurant of choice was a mid-sized affair of the common bar and grill hybrid which provided good, thick burgers with lots of toppings, well-cooked wings and an impossibly large plasma tv that constantly ran the latest sports event. It was crowded and rather noisy, but after the quiet boredom of a two day drive, the ruckus was welcome.
About halfway through the meal, Epps, who'd been invited by Lennox, got an evil smirk on his face and reached casually in his pocket. Bringing his fist down hard on the table, he slammed a heavy airman's coin on the smooth and shiny wood, challenging Fenner to do likewise. Fenner, though, while still a little green, was not new to this routine, and easily responded in kind with his own coin. Epps swore and muttered, though the cocky grin on his face betrayed his pleasure to the young man.
"Guess I'm buyin' drinks," he said.
"Guess you are," said Fenner, grinning like a madman.
Epps opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly there was another muted thwack on the table, dimmed by the surrounding cacophony, and his eyes shot over to where a third coin lay glimmering innocently next to Airman Fenner's. The technical sergeant blinked at it dumbly, finally looking at the small, feminine hand resting beside it.
"You have a- a coin?" he choked, looking up to see Astrid's barely controlled smile of victory.
"Yep," she said, taking a long sip from her cup. She paused thoughtfully a moment, and then said, "Looks like that'll be two drinks you're buying. I like pop, especially cream soda, but I'll settle for any kind of Dr. Pepper rip off."
Sarah Lennox, who had come at her husband's call with little Annabelle in tow, was now doubled over the table, enjoying the poor man's humiliation. Will himself seemed to be finding more humor in the situation than a good friend should, and Jeremy was just leaning back in his chair with the self-satisfied air of a proud brother.
"Dang," Epps said as he pulled out his wallet and waved over the waitress, "I just got coined by your sister... "
"His little sister," Lennox corrected.
.O.O.O.
After the several days' leave granted to him to get his new living arrangements in order, Jeremy Fenner was forced to return to work, though he did so this time with considerably greater enthusiasm. The day after Epps had been coined by his baby sister, Captain Lennox turned up at their front door again, only this time he came to offer Jeremy a new position. He talked with the captain alone once Astrid was out of the house, and was gravely informed that he was allowed to turn down this assignment, that it really wasn't an assignment until he said yes, but once he made his decision, there would be no turning back. Lennox was also careful to mention that pretty much everything he'd be doing was totally classified, and he would be expected to keep his sister in the dark. Being the boy he was, Jeremy practically leapt at the opportunity of doing anything that even dabbled in the top secret area, and he'd nearly accepted before Lennox could even explain what he'd be doing.
"It's not a desk job, exactly," said Lennox, "but there is paperwork. Really, that's why I'm offering you this. Necessity has sort of created a new position in this area, and I need backup. It is worth it, though."
It took Jeremy all of a minute to sign the confidentiality agreement.
His first day on the job began with waving goodbye to his sister and hopping into the passenger seat of Captain Lennox's gigantic black Topkick. The job wasn't exactly on base, Lennox had explained, and for the first few weeks or so, the captain would be driving him. Jeremy had no issues with this. Any excuse to ride in captain's tank of a car was legit in his eyes. His only complaint was that the ride wasn't longer. Apparently, the super secret government whats-it was located very close to the base.
Lennox was quiet for most of the ride, but as he turned off the main rode onto a broad dirt track, he glanced over at his new assistant and opened his mouth.
"You don't faint, do you?" he asked.
"No..." Jeremy said, blinking. "I didn't when I got my tattoo at least. Isn't that a good sign?"
"Fairly," said Lennox, "but this is way bigger than a tattoo. I'm giving you a head's up, alright? This can be a little freaky the first time. Try not to have a fit or anything, ok?"
Suddenly, Jeremy was feeling a lot more uncertain about his new assignment. What could be so terrifying that the captain would feel the need to warn him about it? He was around really big planes all the time, and just how freaky could any nuclear junk be? As far as he knew those were about the only things the military was involved in that was classified as top secret. Who knew? Maybe they'd bumped into some aliens and all those people in Roswell weren't cracked after all.
What looked like an exceptionally large hanger with extra wings tacked onto the sides loomed into view, the dirt road winding up to a massive set of sliding metal doors. Jeremy was impressed. This place was big, and keeping it off Google satellite maps and such must have involved pulling a lot of strings. It was also very well hidden from the local civilians. There were many unidentified side roads in the area, and no one would bother driving far enough down this particular stretch of dirt to catch a glimpse of the metal behemoth waiting at its end. His imagination began toying with ideas of what must be hidden behind those massive walls.
He didn't have long to daydream, however, as the towering doors slid apart far enough to admit the pick up and Captain Lennox pulled inside. The captain knocked the gear back into park and turned off the engine as Jeremy peered curiously out through the tinted windows. There weren't many lights anywhere close to the ground, but the high ceiling was lined with straight strings of florescent bulbs. The hanger was also strangely deserted. No scientists in white lab coats, no military brutes with big muscles and even bigger guns, not even any equipment as far as Jeremy could see. What could possibly be so top secret about a really big empty room?
Lennox, however, once again jerked him from his contemplation by whacking his palms down on the steering wheel and issuing a long, steady breath. "Let's get this over with." Then he popped open his door and hopped down.
Cautiously, Jeremy followed his example, watching his surroundings warily the entire time. He eventually followed his commanding officer to the front of the vehicle, turning to look at another set of huge doors leading out of the main hanger to one side. Slowly, almost like they were afraid of startling the military personnel outside of them, the doors slid open, and then for a moment nothing happened.
Then something moved.
Something big.
Something really big.
Several somethings that were really, really big.
Jeremy was left to gawk helplessly as three tremendously huge, human-looking machines walked into the room. Behind him, he heard a curious series of clicks, whirs and clanks, and he spun around to find Captain Lennox's Topkick transform into yet another impossibly massive robot. Dimly, he realized that he'd ridden all the way from Ohio in it.
"Airman Fenner," Captain Lennox declared, "meet the Autobots."
All eyes, and optics, turned to the stone-still human gaping up at the giant robots surrounding him. None of them rushed him, but expectance hung heavily in the air. At one point he realized that he was expected to speak, so he wetted his lips, cleared his throat and managed to squeak out a very wise and appropriate response.
"Big."
.O.O.O.
Juggling two cans of pop, a very full trash bag, and a long list of the items still to be unpacked, Astrid danced her way around the many boxes barricading the floor until she reached the kitchen table. Just as she moved to set down the cans, though, there came an innocent little ding from the oven and the two pop containers clattered to the floor, making pleasant, musical notes as they impacted with the hard, shiny tiles.
"Shnaahhp," she growled around the pen in her mouth.
She dumped the trash bag on the floor next to the rolling cans and spat out the pen in order to set it and the list on the table. Two out of five wasn't bad, was it? Unable to attend to the pressing matter of the cans, one of which had ruptured and was now leaking sticky stuff all over her nice clean floor, Astrid whirled around to deal with the oven and its more than likely charred contents. It would be just her luck if the blasted homemade pizza she'd slaved over that evening was now extra-crispy. At least it would be in keeping with the day's running score of disasters.
First she'd tripped halfway down the stairs and nearly broken her neck. Then the older-than-dirt microwave that they'd imported from their old house finally bit the dust. Naturally, that little incident had occurred as she was trying to nuke a Hotpocket for lunch, and the evil old appliance had taken her meal with it. After that, she'd spent the afternoon dropping heavy items on her toes, getting shocked by electrical equipment that had seen better days, trying to coax her possessed computer into connecting with the internet and opening a box that had several very personal family items that she just wasn't ready to deal with yet.
And now, to top it all off, there was soda all over the floor that she'd spent a good hour scrubbing the day before.
At least the pizza turned out alright. Still, though, she wanted, no, needed a chance to cry and scream out her frustrations. Sure, she'd helped do all these things with her parents (when they were alive) but just the massive amount of stuff that needed to be done was simply overwhelming. And she didn't have anyone there to just give her a friggin' hug. Her parents were six feet under, her friends were half way across the country, and her brother was off doing who knew what for the military. Personally, Astrid thought she'd earned a chance to bawl for a while.
Just as she was about to succumb to the inevitable angst of the stressed-out teenager, there came an obscenely cheery honk from a car horn outside, and Astrid hauled herself to the door just in time to see her brother step out with a ridiculously big smile on his face from what looked to be a very expensive car. Immediately, her thoughts flicked to dollar signs and she did a quick run through of their monetary assets in her mind. She wound up calculating that the car in front of her was either stolen, or meant that she and Jeremy would not be eating for a couple months.
"Jeremy..." she began shakily.
"Isn't awesome?" her brother beamed. "Pontiac Solstice. And don't panic, I didn't buy it, and I didn't steal it either. This is what you might call... a perk... of my new assignment."
"A perk?" said Astrid.
"Yeah," Jeremy said, gazing over the sleek curves of his new vehicle. "A nice one."
Astrid slumped against the doorframe, too tired to question and too tired to even really care. "Whatever. I made dinner. It's still hot... amazingly."
Of all the brothers in the world, Jeremy was not always the fastest on the pick up when it came to his sister's emotions, but it was blatantly clear to him at that moment that all was not well in the Fenner household.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing together in concern. "I know you don't care as much as I do about cars, but even you can appreciate a hot ride like this..."
"It's just been a really, really long, bad day," said Astrid. Pushing her hair from her face, she laughed weakly and shook her head. "You know that kid story Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? Well, I just lived it."
"I'm sorry." Jeremy's shoulders slumped.
"Aw, it's not your fault," said Astrid. "I'm sorry for not being properly excited about your 'hot' new ride. It really is pretty sweet."
"You don't know the half of it," Jeremy muttered under his breath.
"Eh?"
"Nothing. So, what's for dinner?"
"Pizza."
"I thought you hated ordering food over the phone."
"I do, and I didn't have to."
"Does that mean...?"
"Yep. Better come while the gettin's good." Astrid turned with a hint of her usual smile and went back into the house, probably to mop up the spilled pop and fetch a replacement for it. Whether or not she'd replace the one that hadn't exploded was another issue. Her brother seemed to have had just a little too good of a day...
Jeremy stayed outside a moment longer, sliding over to 'his car' and giving it a cautious pat on the hood.
"Is your sister ok?" asked the car in an electric baratone. "I can just chill out here for a while. No big deal."
"No, no, no, I'll get you into the garage first," Jeremy assured him. "Something about leaving a giant alien robot..."
"Mech."
"Right... mech sitting out in he middle of my driveway makes me nervous."
"Whatever. I'm cool with it."
Sliding into the driver's seat, Jeremy shook his head, muttering under his breath about talking cars and evil fighter jets. Out of the open door came Astrid's high soprano singing a song Jeremy was sure had never been played on a regular radio station. "How did I get mixed up in all of this?" he asked himself.
"Ya said yes to Captain Lennox," said the car. "Why? Regretin' your decision?"
"Oh, no! No, no, no, not that," Jeremy said, whipping his head back and forth fast enough to jolt something loose. "You guys are awesome. I'm just still a bit... confused."
The car laughed. "That seems to be a pretty common thing with you humans."
"Thanks for, ah, volunteering, by the way," Jeremy said, giving the steering wheel a careful tap. "Babysitting a human can't be that much fun."
"I think ya'll are as 'awesome' as you think we are," said the vehicle. "Besides, Optimus asked me to keep an eye on you specifically, bein' new an' all. Never can be too safe with Decepticons on the loose."
"Still... thanks," Jeremy said.
"You're welcome."
As he stepped out of the car and started for the door that led to his dinner, Jeremy smiled back at the car and waved.
"Night, Jazz."
"Night, Jeremy."
A/N: They are filming Transformers 2 and 3 right now on my brother's base. He is gloating. I hate his guts... but I'm really hoping to get more juicy info before I gut him. Wink
Review Replies:
Stephanie: Thank you very much! Hopefully I'll get enough reviews to not get depressed. I'm glad you like the dialouge! I have fun writing it! Thanks again!
GodisGod!: Thanks for your review! Ok, Optimus isn't fitting in anywhere. His holoform is. It's a fairly popular idea in fanfic, and just about every Transformers story I've read has at least references to holoforms. Blackout uses one in the movie, as does Barricade. Does that help? I'm still adjusting to college. It's a huge transition for me, and I don't agree with a lot of the junk they're shoving down our throats in First Year Seminar. And I haven't forgotten you! Just been busy... Homework. Is. EVIL! Thanks again!