Suspicion

Terra awoke in the middle of the night.

Closing the music box that she had playing, she stepped from her room and down the corridors of the base, listening to a familiar, frantic voice speaking to Mearing. She could pinpoint various heart signatures with her goggles and high brain scans. When she noticed the faces of Carly and Sam, a small smile lit her lips. She also spotted Wheelie and Brains among them. Lennox had also joined in on the conversation, apparently attempting to vouch for Sam and Carly.

"Terra!" Carly smiled and seemed happy to see the older woman.

"Miss Spencer." Terra acknowledged, bowing her head.

Mearing glanced at Terra. "You know them too?"

"Yes. Sam Witwicky is a friend." Terra answered, glancing at her briefly. "Carly is his love interest."

"I'm - " Sam began.

Mearing glared at him now. "I don't care who you are. If you breathe a word of what you see in here, you will do time for treason. Do you understand me?"

Sam simply smiled, but there was a biting edge to his voice. "I'll take my orders from the Autobots. I know them. I don't know you."

"You will." Mearing promised him.

They followed her and Sam looked at Terra with disgust. "By the way... "Health and Human Services?" he quipped. "Who the hell came up with that one?"

Terra smiled somewhat. "I tried to tell them..."

They were escorted to Mearing's office and the young couple received a biting lecture from Mearing while Terra stood on the sidelines. Every time he tried to talk, Mearing would interrupt him and he wouldn't have a chance to get a word in at all.

"We've sent agents to your office," Mearing said, standing behind her desk. "A case has been opened and you will be sent home with Autobot protection."

"And that's it?" Sam demanded, stunned. ""What if they come back?"

Wheelie and Brains hopped onto Mearing's desk.

"Oh yeah!" Brains yelled with glee, "The gang's all back together again!"

Without saying a word, Mearing reached beside her, removed a handgun from its holster and placed it onto the table. "Get off my desk, please." she ordered.

Brains hopped back down with a mutter of "now she's pulling out guns. She's serious".

Sam watched him go before scoffed in disbelief. "What do you envision for me? I go home now? I go back to work? I make copies? I mean-"

"This is a unit for veteran intelligence officers and Special Forces, not for boys who once owned special cars." Mearing told him, smiling with a rather offending look.

Carly furrowed her brow. "That's a bit harsh isn't it, ma'am?"

"Don't call me ma'am. I'm not a ma'am."

"Well, you're a woman aren't you?"

Sam glanced at Terra, who stood in a corner of the room. He needed some kind of word from her, but she merely shrugged her shoulders sadly. There was nothing she could do - within legal limit - to persuade Mearing otherwise. After all, the woman seemed dead-set on her opinion of him. His eyes fell on the numerous trophies, medals and awards that lined cases in her office.

"So-o-o, are those yours?" he asked, hoping to use that to his advantage.

Mearing's eyes followed his finger and she nodded. "Yeah. CIA."

Sam smiled and leaned back, playing it cool. Terra made a pained face at that. "I only ask 'cause I also have a medal, from the President."

Mearing didn't seem impressed. "Yeah. Great. So, it's not that complicated, right?" she said. "No one gets to work with the Autobots unless I approve it."

Sam looked disappointed.

Carly took his hand and tugged him a little. "Come on, let's go. You've done what you came for."

Terra started forward as well and Mearing rose, fitting her gun behind her. "With all due respect, young man, I appreciate what you did," she told him, though she showed very little actual gratitude, "But you're not a soldier. You're a messenger. You've always been a messenger."

Carly scowled at her. "He's a hero."

The two left her office without another word and Mearing turned to Terra. She started to say something, but Terra turned with mild disrespect.

"I have to sleep now." she replied.

Mearing simply let out a sigh and covered her forehead with one hand.

Outside in the hangar, Ironhide was waiting for Terra to finish up whatever she was doing. She preferred to sleep with him, which he had no complaint over. However, Sentinel approached him and his attention was taken away from waiting for a few moments, perhaps surprised that the Autobot leader would approach him.

"Sentinel. Recharge can be done anywhere in the hangar." Ironhide offered.

Sentinel's optic ridges furrowed. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Terra." Ironhide replied. "She is going with Sam and making sure he returns home safe."

"Hm. What is she to you?" Sentinel queried.

Ironhide wasn't sure he liked the question. It was laced with accusation. "What do you mean, sir?" he asked.

"I mean, what is the hybrid to you on a personal level?" Sentinel asked, his optic ridges drawing together.

Ironhide frowned at him. "She is...a friend."

"I see." Sentinel murmured, his features taking on a more disgusted appearance. "A friend on this planet means allowing her to to inappropriate things with you?"

Ironhide looked stunned. "Excuse me?" he growled.

"Take your tone down, soldier!" Sentinel whispered, with warning. "I saw you two the previous night and have been the few nights I have been here. What you are doing with that...thing is disgusting. It's a disgrace to our race and I should have you tried for it."

"What Terra and I do is no one's business but our own!" Ironhide spat.

Sentinel's optics narrowed. "What you do IS our business." he said, vocals dripping with venom. "That... thing is no Cybertronian. She is the flawed product of a deranged mind and has no place among either of our kind."

"I'm not hearing this." Ironhide snapped, turning and walking away.

Sentinel watched him go and his optics flickered with anger.

oOo

"I'm sorry what happened, Sam."

Terra's words didn't exactly help the young man feel any better about it, but he tried to smile as he gathered a gallon of milk from the fridge. Bumblebee was inside the loft, watching his friend with piteous blue optics.

"Eh, this blows. That lady officially kicked us out." Wheelie grumbled.

Brains took a seat on the couch. "Yeah. Witness protection program sucks."

"Yeah, but we're a whole lot safer with big yellow and his cannons, 'cause that dog can't protect crap." Wheelie pointed out.

Terra looked at Sam and stood at attention when he turned to her. "That woman, she called me a messenger. Can you believe that?" he grumbled. "After everything I've done, I'm a messenger."

"That woman has little words of merit." Terra replied.

"Easy for you to say. Look where you are."

Wheelie stood up on the couch. "Oh, I believe it. I tell you, Sammy, we feel the same way," he told him. "The disrespect on this rock is criminal."

Sam nodded, taking a drink. "We should do something about it."

"What would you suggest?" Terra asked.

"I need to know why they're killing humans. I say we call in the expert."

Terra thought about that for a moment before wincing with a sigh. She knew who he meant.

"Sam..."

"We have to try something!" Sam insisted.

"...Very well."

oOo

"Is he picking up?"

"I've only just been on the second ring, Sam."

"Come on. He can't be THAT busy!"

"Wealth does things to people."

"I know that, Terra. Don't rub it in."

"I'm not, I - Oh, hello, Dutch."

Sam and Terra were in a phone booth, attempting to contact Simmons for hours that following morning. Finally, Terra offered Sam the phone.

"Simmons." she said.

Sam took the phone. "I called you because the Decepticons are back. I want to know why, and I need your help."

"They're back? Well, that's good for business."

Terra rolled her eyes behind her goggles. She could hear Simmon's voice on the other end. Sam glanced at her briefly before he continued with Simmons. "What if I told you I know a fifty year old alien secret that nobody ever told you?" he suggested.

"Do not tempt... my addiction. I have gone through withdrawal, kid."

"Withdrawal, he says..." Terra muttered, shaking her head.

"Don't take the risk. I'm rich, why should I? Do not. Relapse." Simmons murmured over the phone. "I won't. Do not let the demons win."

"Simmons..." Terra said, "As much as it pains me, we need your expertise."

There was a heavy, reluctant exhale over the phone before Simmons finally gave in. "What kind of... secret?"

Sam smiled at Terra before he responded. "Apollo. Moon. Aliens. Cover-up. Future tech. Assassinations. That kind of stuff."

"Ohhh, Apollo..." Simmons gasped.

"So you'll do it?" Sam asked.

"You got me, hook line and sinker, kid." Simmons said. "I'll do it."

oOo

They had set up an entire workstation in the loft. Terra assisted with the heavy lifting for the most part. When Dutch struggled with a heavy CPU, she lifted it with ease and carried it over to where Simmons was; going through newspaper clippings, printed documents and various other data information.

"You've got to break this case down," Simmons said. "What we have here is an astronaut epidemic. MIA. Dead. Died in a car accident. Killed. DOA. Car death. It's like these guys can't drive. They can fly into outer space, but they can't drive a car."

Dutch regarded Terra with a smile. "You lift well."

Terra arched a single eyebrow at him.

There was a knock at the door and Sam moved to answer it. His supervisor, Bruce Brazos was behind the door, holding a folder.

"Procured your information, Witwicky." he announced.

Sam nodded and took the folder. "Thank you, Bruce."

He started to shut the door, but Bruce placed his foot between to stop him. "Now...would you let me see one right now. One time."

Sam squinted at him. "Quick."

"Very."

Sam allowed him inside and Bruce eagerly regarded Bumblebee. Terra arched her brows at him and looked at Sam questionably. "So...this is your supervisor?" she asked.

Bruce offered his hand. "Brazos." he said. "Nice to meet you."

Terra shook his hand. "Terra. I am pleased to see Sam doing well with his current job."

Bruce grinned at her. "Oh, Mister Witwicky is the brains of the whole thing."

Terra looked toward Sam, who shifted with mild embarrassment before turning to Simmons. "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. It says NASA launched it in 2009," he said, "See, forensics show Wang may have messed with the code, preventing it from mapping the far side of the moon, which is also the dark side."

"So this headgear..." Bruce regarded Terra's goggles. "Government grade. Fucking awesome."

Terra nodded. "Yes, it was given to me when I was made."

"Made?" Bruce looked awestruck. "So the government makes super-soldiers?"

"Used to."

"No. Way. I knew it!"

"They infiltrate us, intimidate us, coerce us to do their dirty work. And once they're done, kadoosh. A double-tap to the cerebellum." Simmons was ignoring what went on between the two.

"So humans are working for the Decepticons." Sam said.

"I don't think this is about the Decepticons looking for something on the moon. I think it's about something... they wanted to hide."

Bruce balled his fists and performed a silly little dance. "Come to Daddy. Come on, throw down."

Terra sighed and shook her head, looking up at Bumblebee. The Autobot waved a hand and played back a message through his radio. "Did you eat a lot of paint chips when you were a kid?"

"Come on, superstar!" Bruce coaxed, waving his fists in Terra's face.

Terra quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted, sweeping his legs and flipping him flat on his back. Simmons and Sam watched the sight with dismay as Bruce laughed like a happy child. Terra made a face and released her grip on his arm. She shook her head with pity.

"Sir!" Simmons snapped. When Bruce looked over at him, the man shook his head. "We are having a pretty high-level alien Intel confab here, that I don't think you're cleared for, errand boy."

Bruce stood up. "Yeah, you're right." he said. He grinned at Terra and Bumblebee. "Awesome. They're both bitching."

"Time to go, Bruce." Sam told him, pushing the man toward the door.

Once Bruce was out of the loft, Brains transformed from a laptop and swatted some smoke from his body. "Hey, I'm smoking over here." He began to download information into a printer. "Downloaded missing Russian cosmonauts. Turns out the Soviets canceled a manned mission to the moon. The moon!" Several pages began to print out as he was speaking. "In 1972. And two of their cosmonauts went into hiding in America. And I just found them alive!"

"You're a genius, Brains!" Wheelie praised.

Just then, Carly stepped into the loft, carrying bags of groceries. She looked stunned to see what was going on, and Bumblebee stumbled ack with shock, smacking his head on the chandelier. It snapped off the roof and he scrambled to catch it before it smashed into pieces at his feet.

"Oh, that was smooth, Bumblebee." Brains remarked.

Bumblebee hid his face behind his mask with embarrassment. "Missed it by... that much."

Sam smiled weakly at a dumbfounded Carly. "Hi."

"Would somebody care to tell me what the hell's going on?" Carly demanded.

Simmons frowned at her. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Carly snapped, glaring at him.

Simmons' brows arched. "Who am I?" He glared at Sam. "Who is that? Dutch! Frisk her!"

Dutch smirked a little. "Certainly."

Carly held a hand in his face and spoke severely. "Don't touch me." she warned, when he advanced. When Dutch immediately retreated back a bit, Carly looked at Sam for an explanation. "Sam? Can I please get an explanation? What in the hell is going on in here?"

Terra licked her lips. "Miss Spencer, perhaps I can - "

Sam held out a hand to stop her before he spoke sheepishly to Carly. "Angel. Uh. I was working. I'm sorry about this."

Carly immediately left the loft and Sam followed.

Wheelie threw his hands in the air. "Great! We're homeless."

Terra looked down at him. "You could stay with us at NEST."

Simmons chuckled in disbelief and stood up. "She lives here? Wow." he exclaimed.