Job
Terra waited at the bottom of the loft building and smiled when Sam permitted her inside.
"Terra!" Sam exclaimed, more excited to see her than she would have expected.
"Sam." she acknowledged.
Wheelie and Brains rolled over to see her and Wheelie groaned. "Ahh shit, it's the freak..." he muttered.
"Good to see you too, Wheelie," Terra said, with a chuckle.
Brains snickered and eyed Terra up and down. "I like 'em freaky!" he hissed, giggling, "Real freaky!"
Sam rolled his eyes and picked them both up. "Okay, out of the loft," he ordered, tossing them out onto the porch, "Out!" When he returned, he smiled at Terra. "So, what's it been like working for NEST? Is everything going okay? How about Bumblebee? Does he ask about me at all?"
"Everything's fine, Sam," Terra assured him, studying a table lamp, "I just came by to see how you're doing."
Sam wasn't acquiesced by this, but glanced at a wall clock and quickly gathered a business jacket from the couch. "I'm on my way to some job interviews. Because one of us saved the world numerous times and can't even get a job to save his life."
"Oh." Terra looked mildly surprised.
"Well, talk while we walk," Sam said, walking passed her, "I have to get going."
Terra followed him outside and the two stopped when they noticed the familiar faces of Sam's parents standing there, beside an enormous RV. Judy waved eagerly and called to him, but Sam slowly started to slink back behind Terra, hoping not to be seen.
"Sam!" Ron reprimanded, "Very funny..."
Sam poked his head out from behind Terra with a weak smile. "I missed you guys so much." he said, in a less-than convincing voice.
Terra and Sam walked over and Judy smiled at her. "Terra! It's been so long since we last saw you!" she said, embracing the woman, "How've you been?"
"I've been great, Miss Witwicky," Terra replied, smiling in return.
"And NEST life?" Ron inquired.
"The best I've seen so far. No recent murders."
The two Witwicky parents looked at Sam now. "Ooh! You're dressed up nice!" Judy gushed, "Off to your job?"
Sam smiled weakly. "Actually, off to my job interviews."
"Oh, that's good." Judy tried to be optimistic.
Ron didn't seem so. "That kinda sucks."
Terra smiled and glanced down, trying not to find amusement in Ron's words. Sam scowled indignantly. "It's a temporary thing!" he insisted, "You didn't come all the way to tell me it sucks. It doesn't suck! It's a working progress!"
Ron looked at Terra. "You've got a job," he affirmed.
"Yes, sir, I do."
"Then can you tell me why we put Sam through college if he can't find a job afterwards?" Ron asked.
"Mister Witwicky," Terra said, "The economy is bleak at best and finding a suitable job is a job in itself these days. Perhaps all Sam needs is a proper push in the right direction."
Sam shook his head angrily. "Terra's got a job because she's a trained government assassin! Of COURSE they're going to want her!" He looked at her, waving a finger before walking to the garage. "Cheating. I think it's cheating."
The three followed him.
"Sam, I think for a job interview that you should wear real pants," Judy suggested.
"I think for life, you should wear real pants." Sam muttered, opening the garage door.
What rested inside was a yellow and black Datsun in rather...humble condition. Its paint job was withered and chipped, the windows dirty and the tire caps scratched. Terra's brows went up and Judy and Ron eyed the car in surprise.
"Oh, what happened to Bumblebee?" Judy asked.
"He's off on his missions. I had to get this for backup." Sam told her, fidgeting with his keys.
"Your car has a job, huh?" Ron quipped.
Judy gave him a look. "Stop." She turned back to Sam as he started to get inside. "What does it change into?"
Sam's face was mildly red with embarrassment. "It doesn't change into anything. It's a collector's item, Ma. I got it for a steal," he told her, "It just needs some work. Trust me."
"Indeed." Terra added, touching the hood with one hand. "The Datsun is indeed a collector's relic. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as 'Datson' to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. In 1934, after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. took control of DAT Motorcar Co., the last syllable of Datson was changed to 'sun', because 'son' also means 'loss' in Japanese, and also to honour the sun depicted in the national flag, hence the name 'Datsun'. In-"
Judy interrupted with a shrug. "No, I think it's darling. It reminds me a lot of Bumblebee..." Then, she added in a mildly deadpanned voice. "...if Bumblebee were a sad piece of shit."
O
Much to Sam's chagrin, his parents drove him to his first interview. Terra sat in the back with him and tried to help get him prepared for his interviews by discussing important factors that he would need to know. Most of the information she gave him was just common sense, but some of it was quite useful for him. Sam considered also factoring in his medal awards and meeting with the president into the equation, but Terra simply made a face at that. Sam caught the look and frowned.
"What?" he asked.
"I don't think that would work," she said, "However, you are old enough to decide for yourself."
Sam smiled to himself. Well, he thought it would.
In the hours that went by, Sam failed one interview after another. Terra did what she could to offer him encouragement, but Ron superseded her with remarks of his own. The day was spent on this focus alone until Sam finally reached his last interview.
"Accuretta Systems..." Terra mused over the name of the building.
"Well, I've only failed at least ten different interviews," Sam grumbled weakly, "Might as well add another..."
"Sam, you'll do fine, I promise," Terra assured him, smiling, "You always do."
Sam climbed out of the car. "Yeah, after I get beaten a few times."
"Good for you." Terra said, grinning, "Looking on the bright side already."
Sam made a face and walked to the building, taking a deep breath before entering.
A few hours went by and Terra had gotten in on a game that the Witwicky's orchestrated of seeing just how much she knew. Terra actually enjoyed being quizzed on these things because she loved sharing the knowledge others may or may not have known. To her, it meant that they were genuinely interested in her abilities. They didn't see Sam approaching the car later while Judy inquired about Natural Selection.
"Natural selection is the gradual, non-random process by which biological traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers," Terra explained, "It is a key mechanism of evolution. The term 'natural selection' was popularized by Charles Robert Darwin born in February on the twelfth, who intended it to be compared with artificial selection, what we now call selective breeding. The term was introduced by Darwin in his influential 1859 book On the Origin of Species, in which natural selection was described as analogous to artificial selection, a process by which animals and plants with traits considered desirable by human breeders are systematically favored for reproduction. The concept of natural selection was originally developed in the absence of a valid theory of heredity; at the time of Darwin's writing, nothing was known of modern genetics."
Variation exists within all populations of organisms, be it biological or non - biological. This occurs partly because random mutations cause changes in the genome of an individual organism, and these mutations can be passed to offspring. Throughout the individuals' lives, their genomes interact with their environments to cause variations in traits. The environment of a genome includes the molecular biology in the cell, other cells, other individuals, populations, species, as well as the abiotic environment. Individuals with certain variants of the trait may survive and reproduce more than individuals with other variants. Therefore the population evolves."
Sam poked his head in the driver's window to his father with a grin. "I got it!"
"Really?" Judy exclaimed, delighted. "That's great!"
"I need to stop by and see Carly," Sam said, "She'll definitely want to hear about it."
"It's just as well," Terra agreed, "I am meeting Ironhide later. I must return to NEST."
Sam looked at her with a groan of protest. "Already?"
"I'm afraid so. Duty calls."
"You know, you used to be against serving the government," Ron said, as they pulled into traffic, "What changed your mind?"
At that, Terra smiled and glanced out of the window. Sam caught the look and rolled his eyes. "Dad, she's got herself an object of affection working with her," he said. Then, he added in a surreptitious tone. "A very BIG object of affection..."
"Really?" Judy grinned back at Terra, "Terra, I didn't think you had it in you. When do we get to meet this guy?"
Terra chuckled sheepishly. "You already have."
Sam didn't want her to tell his parents of her somewhat-secret thing with Ironhide and give them a reason to freak out. So instead of letting Terra tell them, he interrupted with a groan. "What she does with whoever she wants is her business, now can we please change the subject?"
Terra gave him an odd look in response.
"Okay," Judy said, grinning, "How about Terra tell us some more brainiac stuff. Ron might learn something."
"Ha-ha..." Ron muttered.
