A/N: Sorry for the long absence; when it rains it pours. Anywho, here is chapter three. Please read and review and let me know what ya think! Any ideas are appreciated. Like I said, I'm pretty new at this. Oh, and no flamers--After all, I am a firefighter! ;)

Disclaimer: Don't own TFs; Hasbro does.

Chapter Three: Hi! What's Your Name?

The landscape was foreign, surreal. Instead of earth the ground shone with a metallic sheen. Dezba had never before seen anything like it. She glanced around, staring at the tall, majestic structures that graced the horizon. This place definitely wasn't in any tourist brochure that she'd seen. She stooped down and touched the shiny surface of the ground, feeling the cool, iridescent metal. She stood back up; brushing some dark locks behind her ear and turned full circle amazed at her surroundings. Where was she? Suddenly, a white mist shrouded the landscape and obscured her sight completely. She heard a soft melody play throughout the mist. It was a tune unlike any she had heard. It was a soft, comforting sound that made the body relax and cleared the mind; yet, there was power and strength within it as well. Turning quickly she tried to catch the origin of the sound. "Hello?" she called. "Can anyone hear me?" At first, she didn't think she would get a reply; the melody continued to play growing louder and softer at intervals.

"I do."

"Who said that?"

"I did."

Whirling around once more, Dezba saw a silhouette within the mist. It was a tall, lean figure, human in shape, but that was all she could determine. She involuntarily took a step backwards. "Who are you?"

"You will know with time. But know this: you possess a great gift. Guard it well "She-Who-Goes-To-War." With those words, the figure faded into nothingness.

"Wait! What gift? How do you know the meaning of my name!? Come back!"

Dezba awoke with a jolt, banging the top of her head on a hard surface. "Ooww! What the…?" She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. It had been a dream, a strange at that, but then again she had been having a lot of those lately. The stars winked brightly at her through a glass canopy. To her front, multiple lights blinked and blipped across an impressive console. She turned and placed her hands on the canopy, staring at the sight before her. As far as the eye could see, clouds rolled and billowed across the heavens, like a great airborne sea. Dezba stared, awestruck. Damn! I'm flying! How in the world…?

"It's about time."

The realization that came with the voice hit her like a train. "You! What do want with me!? I thought you were going to kill me!" She exclaimed. All fear felt previously vanished with the dream. This thing had the perfect opportunity to kill her earlier; what was the deal?

"You say that as if you're disappointed, human," the jet chuckled darkly. "I can reconsider." The nose of the craft dipped quickly groundwards.

"Wait, wait, wait! That's not what I meant!" Dezba clenched the pilot's seat with all her might as the jet nosed into an almost vertical position before leveling out. She opened her eyes once the pitch became stable.

"Fortunately for you, fleshling, your death will not come by my hand anytime soon."

"Why do you say that? You sure as hell didn't have a problem threatening me earlier," Dezba replied, remembering the two men in the desert, and her first conversation with the flying being.

"You still haven't fully answered my question," the jet said, a dark undertone hanging on each word. "You will continue to function until it is determined how you know our language."

The black-haired woman didn't reply straight away; instead, she gazed into the depleting night, watching as the stars grew dimmer and dimmer. What did I say, and why did I say it? Should I be grateful to be alive or dread this coming day?

"Nothing's changed any. I still don't know where I learned your language," she stated flatly. An uncomfortable silence ensued. She really wanted to know what she had said, but her gut instinct told her now was not the time to ask.

Thundercracker chose to keep silent and not press the issue further. Answers would come soon enough. It was a puzzling situation, and Thundercracker did not like puzzling situations—they often led to trouble. He watched her from the console, taking in the medium-colored skin, straight black hair, and hazel eyes. Most humans would have freaked knowing they were inside a sentient jet, flying at high elevation. But she continued to gaze out across the sky, lost in deep thought. Very puzzling indeed. Then, the femme turned and faced the console.

"Just what are you, anyways?" she enquired.

"I am a robotic being from a planet called Cybertron. That is all you need to know for now," Thundercracker said. Annoyance creased the woman's features as she crossed her arms.

"Can I at least know your name? If I'm going to live a little longer than expected, I would at least like to know who will potentially kill me," Dezba stated.

Thundercracker chuckled to himself. He was beginning to respect this human. She didn't waste time screaming, panicking or begging for release. No, this human had more or less met him head-on once she was over her initial shock of the ordeal in the desert. He liked that quality. It also meant she was not to be underestimated. To Thundercracker, humans were mostly annoyances, but he also knew that there were some that could pose a severe threat--like the human who had killed Megatron.

"My designation in your language, fleshling, is Thundercracker," the Decepticon replied.

"Thundercracker, huh? That's an interesting name," she mused.

"No more than yours."

"What's that suppose to mean?" she asked heatedly.

"Am I to understand that your designation is Dezba Ray Collins?" he added casually.

"How in the hell do you know my name?" she demanded, sitting up straighter and balling up her fists. Her hazel eyes flashed with anger and wariness. First, she gets kidnapped, then almost murdered, then saved by a giant alien robot whose intentions may or may not be hostile, and now said robot had suddenly turned psychic? What the hell? Could this night get any weirder? Thundercracker's voice jerked her out of her reverie.

"Simple. I scanned your body and compared the results to the records that you humans keep within your primitive 'computer' systems. Your security systems are absurdly incompetent and your species insist on documenting every little physical detail," the jet said matter-of-factly.

Dezba gaped at him open-mouthed. Well, I should have guessed that a super-advanced alien robot would more or less be able to take any information it wanted from our computer systems. Damn technology. I would have loved to have seen you try the same thing with paper files! "Point taken," she said begrudgingly. "So where are you… taking…me?" She yawned. Wow, it's been one hell of a night.

"You will find out soon enough, human," Thundercracker answered. "I suggest you recharge. Who knows? This may be your last chance."

"Gee, thanks," was the sarcastic reply. He watched as she settled herself into the seat, slowly giving in to her exhaustion. She was an interesting human, indeed. Once he had determined she was deep in recharge, Thundercracker resumed his search on this strange human. As he said earlier, he had scanned her while she was still passed out, storing every scrap of information he could about his captive. Name, address, school, driver's license, medical records there was nothing the Decepticon left uninvestigated. There was a specific reason why this human could speak Cybertronian, and he was going to find out. He was pretty certain she had no experience with the Autobots; her reactions in the desert and recently in his cockpit negated that theory. To further complete his file on Dezba Collins, he decided to extend his research to her family as well. Hmmm…Single sparkling family unit. Daughter of Darren Collins and Anaba Richards. Darren Collins was killed before the child reached her fifth year of existence. Hmmm, Thundercracker mused. So her father unit now is not the one who sparked her. However, before the Decepticon could continue, he was interrupted by a sudden flash of violet light. A jet identical to his alt mode, the F-15E Strike Eagle, appeared at his right wingtip, black and violet paint glimmering in the morning light.

"Hey TC! I was getting worried. You were due back at base three cycles ago. The Autobums didn't hold ya up, did they?" Skywarp asked.

"No, although I wish it had been them. It would have made this reconnaissance mission a whole lot easier," the blue Seeker drawled.

"What makes you say…Whoa, TC! Wait one astrosecond! Why are you transporting a squishy?" the black jet demanded. Skywarp rolled over onto his left wingtip, studying the sleeping creature in the blue Eagle's cockpit.

"That's the reason for my holdup," answered Thundercracker. "I'm taking the human to Starscream." The blue Seeker hesitated for a moment before continuing. "She knows our language, Warp."

"You're jokin', right? I mean, how's that possible? Organics can't even hear some of our frequencies, let alone speak 'em. I think your audio receptors need recalibrated, my friend." Skywarp barrel rolled lazily on the warm air current.

"Wow, Warp. You actually said something half-way intelligent. Maybe Starscream's finally rubbing off on you."

"Hey!"

"Hear listen for yourself, since you don't believe me," the blue jet interrupted before he could hear further protests. Thundercracker quickly transmitted the recorded events from the previous night as well as all the information he currently knew about the human. He watched amusedly as Skywarp's engines stalled for the briefest instance. Funny, that's exactly how I reacted. Warp, always was one that had to see to believe. Swiftly, the black jet regained himself.

"Primus TC. That's just…weird," Skywarp murmered after a small silence, replaying the incident over again in his CPU.

"That's why I'm taking it to Starscream: one, to keep the Autobots from finding out and two, to see if Screamer has any insight."

"What about other humans? Won't they be curious over her disappearance?" Skywarp questioned.

"I don't think so. Two other humans were trying to kill her when her transmission reached me. I find the whole set of circumstances…interesting."

"Well, here's something else you can add to that list."

"What's that?"

"The human radio broadcasting network where our little friend is from just declared her dead by suicide."