"Okay Karen you're going to have to get extra training in order to control your abilities and we'll also design a necklace that should also help"
"Thanks Prowl, but where will I get the extra training?"
"The military, originally we were going to start sending you off when you were ten per the President's orders but due to your abilities you're going to have to go in five years early, however you are not going to get pilot training until you're old enough to start training in the civilian sector it's for everyone's safety and that's period"
"I know, everything has been either for my safety or the safety of others I've known that since I was four...Prowl what happened to my birth parents?"
(Sighs) "I guess you have a right to know, we were wondering when you would ask actually, your parents were EDC officers at a station when something happened that caused it to explode, they stayed on the station to minimize what damage they could giving you to another officer so that you could make it back to Earth alive, all of this happened when you were two months old"
"I see"
Karen went to her room and processed what happened over the next several days and it was not a good situation with her newly discovered powers but finally she calmed down and actually talked to her adoptive family and both sides agreed that whenever she was home they would talk about her birth parents but for the moment they now had a necklace for Karen and a date for her to leave for training
"Who gets me first?"
"The Marines, now then some of what you'll be learning will cross train with most of the branches but there will also be things that won't cross train but all the military branches will know what you've already been trained in so that you're not trained again in something you already know. After the Marines you have school so you'll do training in the summers and then afterwords maintenance training after the main training, and some of the training will include special forces"
"I understand, so when will I leave for Marine training?"
"Two days"
"Understood...man I'm going to get it as an obvious kid training with eighteen and nineteen year olds, sometimes seventeen if given parental permission"
"The Marines at Paris Island will keep things under control they've already received word about your coming arrival and situation that forces you to come early, they get a yearly briefing on you actually in case something like this happens that forces you to start training early"
"That's actually good to know because now I know that they know about me and what I might currently need considering my age"
"Yes, but they will also treat you like a regular recruit for the most part but they know better than to push it initially"
"Works for me"
Two days later Karen was on the bus headed for Paris Island and everyone else was curious about the kid but didn't ask questions initially figuring that they either made a mistake or had family at Paris Island and this was the only way to visit them. When they arrived at Paris Island and saw the kid being treated as a recruit though that's when the problems for Karen started, though the Drill Instructors did try to keep things to a minimum, and part of that was the fact that Karen wasn't allowed to do certain things due to her age and size, part was that they were strict about bullying and hazing that was done to any recruit, and the last part of it was that Karen was given special hours to learn how to control her new found abilities in private not only so that no one was accidentally hurt but also so as to not fuel anything else about being given special treatment just because she was a kid, though all of the recruits kept quiet during swimming lessons because they actually approved of her learning how to swim at a young age but that was the only thing they approved of
"Instructor Grayson I know I'm getting firearms training but what exactly am I being allowed to learn?"
"Just the handgun for now, rifles and bigger guns will have to wait until you're a bit older and taller"
"What does my age and size have to do with anything?"
"With age comes size and with size comes muscle and muscle strength if trained and conditioned properly"
"Oh, my arms won't be able to handle the rifles yet because of how short I am and as such I don't really have the muscles required to hold up the rifle properly"
"There's also the fact that your arms grow as your legs grow and you also don't have the proper arm length to properly hold the rifle"
"I get it, it's another thing that I'm restricted on for everyone's safety"
"Exactly, but don't worry in a year or two you'll be learning about weapons, just don't expect a lot of people to understand or like it"
"Don't worry I understand, I'm pretty young for training like I am, as far as I understand even my fellow EDC kids don't get this kind of training"
"Exactly, they do get some training by qualified instructors but you're a special case, they have to wait until they're the correct age to get military training, but weapons training begins typically at about age seven for the rest of the EDC kids and everyone starts with the handguns, every make and model too because you never know when you won't have access to a standard model that you practice on regularly so knowing how to use other makes and models will help you in the long run"
"They also get self defense training starting at about age six, age five if requested but for me it's actually mandatory I know how to defend myself from a young age, including methods only military personnel use"
"You're a high risk victim aren't you?"
"In regards to kidnapping yeah I am very high risk thus the reason why I need all the training I can get should anything actually happen"
"Well graduation starts in about two weeks and then you're going home, since you've started your training so early you aren't allowed to deploy until you're eleven originally you were going to be on summer deployments immediately but because of your age..."
"Don't worry I understand and to be honest waiting until I'm eleven will actually help me in the long run because I will still be a kid but I won't be as young as before and I might be more easily accepted due to the fact that I am at least a little closer to age to join up with parental permission then now and besides even then I think you'll start me on Coast Guard missions more than likely"
"Yeah you're probably right"
"Plus I can't really do any Air Force training until I turn sixteen"
"Ah the whole wait until you can qualify for a pilots license in the civilian world"
"Exactly, and it makes sense too because by that time I will have most likely finished growing having hit puberty"
"Then it's perfectly understandable that they have decided to wait to train you in the piloting aspect of the Air Force, though I bet there are other things they might teach you"
"True enough, but for now like you said in two weeks I graduate and then go home until it's time for school, then I will only be allowed summer training which means my training period will be accelerated a bit"
"Where will you be heading next?"
"I have no idea to be honest"
"Okay, well at least when you qualify for your pilots license you won't have to really do much pilot training except in special circumstance like with the Coast Guard where they have special requirements and other specialty choppers and planes amongst the armed forces"
"True enough"
So two weeks later Karen graduates with the rest of her class and goes home to simply spend time with her family and continue her self defense training getting ready to join school in the fall. She also showed her family her improved control over her abilities
"Wow you've improved so much just by having a little bit of military training"
"Yeah, I think part of it is that I have to have extreme discipline when in the armed service so I applied that to my control over my abilities...unfortunately it's not perfect yet"
"Hey from what we've discovered your control will improve with both practice and age, and part of that is because your powers will basically grow with you"
"Oh didn't know that"
"That's alright we only recently discovered that ourselves, but you've already made great strides in getting your abilities under control you only missed three targets this time instead of all five"
"You have a point it's not much of an improvement but it is an improvement and if I remember correctly even with the targets I missed I didn't hit anyone else instead"
"See you understand better than you probably thought you would"
"So relax for the rest of the time and then off to school in the fall?"
"Exactly, though your self defense training is going to continue probably for the rest of your life...or well a good portion of your life depending on how your health is as you age"
"Agreed, oh can I use the range for shooting practice?"
"What are you shooting?"
"Well I found myself most comfortable with a Glock 19 but of course you'll make sure I can handle all the other handguns as well"
"I'm surprised you don't like the Glock 17 that seems to be the most popular Glock"
"Didn't fit well in my hand, part of that might have been my age and my preferences might change as I grow but for now it's the Glock 19 that I'm most comfortable with"
"You know that when you officially join the military you'll have to use a Beretta M9 or Sig Sauer M11"
"Actually I think you should read my military contract a bit closer you'll find out a surprising fact"
Karen leaves to practice her shooting while her family looks at her contract and discovers that she would be allowed to use whatever weapon she was most comfortable with no matter the make and model, the reason why was because of the fact that she would be so used to so many different weapons it was best for her to use a weapon she was most comfortable with because it was going to be her back up piece even if she served in the front lines
"Okay the President must really like her if he's allowing that"
Marissa speaks up then realizing that the Cybertronians hadn't known a certain aspect of EDC kids going into the service
"Actually that contract is for all EDC kids when they join the military, the reason why is because except for a few people the first time someone will handle a service pistol is in the military so they aren't familiar with the different makes and models of handguns in the first place but EDC kids are exposed to shooting from a young age and as such exceptions need to be made when it comes to the service pistol, the rifles not so much"
"And because we make sure that they know every make and model even if they're forced to use a service pistol they haven't touched in a while it won't matter to them because they already know the weapon system"
"Exactly Optimus, now then I give Karen an hour before she's done with the shooting range and then I think she'll either decide to relax for the day or do self defense training before relaxing but either way she's just about done with training for the day"
"And we now officially have a new routine to get used to at least until she completes her basic military training"
"By the time she goes into spec ops training she'll be fourteen years old at the rate we're going"
Everyone pauses at that thought and realizes exactly what Prowl was thinking
"Um we might want to talk to the President about upping the time line in regards to her basic training"
"Well he did mention accelerated programs for the summer since we have to keep her in school, but maybe she can get her basic training in before school starts because some of this crosses over to the other branches correct?"
"Yes and since she's not going to be able to learn how to fly the planes until she's sixteen the Air Force has decided she can do the rest of her basic training before we get to them and that includes spec ops training"
"Maybe we can combine the two because those skills will also interact between the branches"
"Wait are you saying you want Karen fully trained within three years?"
"Yes Captain Faireborn that's exactly what we're proposing"
"What about her?"
Suddenly another voice speaks up because Karen had forgotten a few things and overheard enough of the conversation to understand what was going on
"Yes what about me Optimus?"
"Karen..."
"You're making plans without even asking me about it"
"We wanted to discuss it between ourselves before asking, we would never push you Karen surely you know that"
"Indeed I do, and besides while I was doing basic training with the Marines I was sort of wondering the same thing, especially considering I won't be able to touch several of the weapons for a few years and the planes and helicopters are also off the list, even though I already make a pretty decent mechanic if you ask me"
"You've only begun your training young lady"
"Yeah and who was it that fixed Rumble yesterday while both you and First Aid were in surgery fixing up Perceptor and Wheeljack was also unavailable?"
That gave everyone pause at that
"Karen how long have you secretly been studying and practicing?"
"Um...since I was about four, I even helped at Paris Island when given the chance don't know why they didn't tell you guys though"
"Okay, now then Karen since we can't finish the discussion without you what do you want to do in regards to your training?"
"I want to accelerate my training as much as possible especially considering that what I learn in one branch can either be completely applied to another or with a few modifications depending on the branch. I know for a fact that for the Coast Guard when I do Rescue Swimmer training I need to be taught a bit more than what the Marines taught me, I have no clue what the Army, Navy or Air Force requires of me in regards to swimming but at least I have the basics down...sort of"
"What exactly do you mean by sort of?"
"I'm better without equipment than with though I can swim with full gear on, just don't expect me to be as fast or able to hold my body up for as long, and I was on a extremely light pack because of my age and current limitations, I'm also not very graceful either but I can stay afloat long enough to get from one side of the pool to the other, and that's including the middle of the pool I might add, though I got extra swimming lessons because of my age and the fact that there were some things the Marine DI's kept me from due to my age and size...not my fault I'm not quite tall enough for the obstacle course yet but give me a few years and I'll be able to do it"
"So you want to finish what basic training before you start school and then go through an accelerated program for special operations training for what you can until you're old enough to handle the larger weapons?"
"Exactly, and I think I should go for the Coast Guard next but that's up to you guys and besides I can't do any Air Force training until I turn sixteen because of the requirement I have to qualify for my pilots license in the civilian world first"
"No you have to be old enough to qualify for a pilots license in the civilian world, there's a difference"
"Okay you have a point...um why can't I do basic training with the Air Force until I can qualify as a pilot in the first place? I know that there are plenty of other jobs in the Air Force that I could learn in the meantime"
"We know but that was the decision of the Air Force and we won't go against them"
"Okay, well in the meantime I still have a lot of training to go through"
For the next three years they fell into a routine of Karen finishing her basic training in all military branches that allowed her to and then went on to what Special Operations training she was allowed too, for Pararescue training because she had the basics down already and a few other things all she needed was some advanced medical training that she would need as what most people called PJ's. The routine that the family fell into after she started school was that she would go to school during the year and then cram what training was required in the summer, by the time she was seven she had gone through all the training she had needed to in both the regular military and spec ops so all she needed now was maintenance training and some of that included doing regular missions with the Coast Guard as either a rescue swimmer or boat team member