Karen then went down to the police station because she had to write down a report about an incident involving her and a car shortly before shift and that's when she discovered that the report had to wait because the police had been hacked. Since she was legally herself again even though no one knew about it Karen offered her services

"What can you do about it?"

"Oh I have my ways, and Chief if you allow me to help you can't reveal what you see on your computer because I am allowing you to watch me but it has to be on your computer in your office because that's the only secure computer with the right firewalls"

"Very well then"

Karen is led to the chief's office and she quickly gets to work and the Chief, having been to a seminar recently that involved EDC kids recognized what was going on though he didn't truly recognize the security codes quite yet

"This guy is good, I just happen to be better, after all I have the highest security clearance in the country after the President"

"That's not possible only one person has that clearance and she's dead"

"Sorry Chief Karen Kerenai at your service, had to fake my death to keep others alive, will fully reveal myself tomorrow after I talk to my crew in private at my house. Now then just a little bit more and I should have the hacker's location and the system cleared of any viruses they may have left behind"

Ten minutes later Karen declared the system safe and then gave the Chief the location of the hacker. While officers were taking care of the hacker Karen was filing the report she had come to file originally

"Thomas, where will that happen tomorrow?"

"The station, because that's really the only place I could think of that made sense, and by the way chief you're going to be getting a phone call soon about that because security will be needed"

"Don't worry I already know what to do and how to work things out for that"

"Okay, see the officers tomorrow then"

As she left she heard a few officers ask what that was but the chief said everything would be explained tomorrow. She goes home and starts the preparation to move back to where she belonged which was with Yellowstone and the town nearest the National Park, and there really wasn't much preparations she had to do because she did live like she could move at any moment, when suddenly she heard a lot of screaming and so she ran outside and saw that a house was on fire so she started the emergency services and called for a firetruck and ambulance knowing that both would be critical after that she ran over to help any way she could and that's when she discovered that the family was deaf

*Is there anyone left in the house? *

*Yes our daughter, she's deaf as well, all of us are *

*Don't worry the firetruck is on the way *

Just then she heard the sirens and was relieved so see firefighters, she quickly went to the Captain knowing that he would be the one in charge

"Captain there's still a girl in there, she's deaf as is the rest of the family who managed to get out"

"Thanks for the information"

"No problem...got an extra turn coat?"

"That's a negative, besides we can't involve civilians"

"I'm a firefighter too, off duty but a firefighter"

"Then help keep the family calm if possible"

"No problem, knowing sign language comes in handy in situations like this"

"Good, explain what we're going to do then, we've already alerted others to the fact that the family is deaf so the hospital should be prepared with a certified interpreter"

"Okay then, I'll keep the family in check, you get the girl"

Finally the girl was out and the entire family was on the way to the hospital, Karen then had to give another statement to the police but finally she was finished for the day and simply went to sleep. The next day Karen woke up and made breakfast knowing that her crew would be there early enough that they would need to be fed and she was right

"Okay Thomas what's this all about?"

"This is about my resignation yesterday and who those two people were that came to see me"

"You told me that they were FBI and that you were a case for them"

"That's true. First of all you should know that my name isn't Sarah Thomas, that's a name the government gave me when I had to fake my death a few months ago. Second of all I wouldn't have lied if it wasn't for the fact that it kept everyone safe. Now then as I said my name isn't Sarah Thomas, it's Karen Kerenai...yes the same Kerenai that supposedly died in an accident in December that was staged so that I could escape. You see back when I was about ten I witnessed something making me a key witness, now then we managed to put him away but he escaped and I was told about it so I had to fake my death because the guy after me or his associates could easily kill me. I was in a crash that was supposedly lethal and then flew here and you guys actually know the story from there. Now then we're going to go to the station for an official press conference and that is where I will officially be declared alive again. After that in two weeks I will be going back to my old job in Yellowstone"

"Basically replacing the SEAT that replaced you"

"Hey she was the one who stated that she won't believe my death for two years seeing as how she's a fellow EDC kid"

"True enough"

The group headed to the station and after the announcement that shocked everyone it became a semi-grueling question and answer session most of which Karen answered but a few the FBI answered because they had the answers where Karen didn't

"Kerenai are you looking to return to Yellowstone after this?"

"Yes I am returning to Yellowstone, but that is not happening for two weeks in order to give the station enough time to find a replacement which I will help with the training until it is time for me to leave. I am also hoping that Yellowstone keeps Lauren on staff even after I return because of the fact that I am in the reserves plus if I am injured badly enough I will need someone to step up to the plate until I heal enough to return to duty. Just like I did for the forest service during the arsonist attacks after they lost their SEAT in an accident I hope Lauren is allowed to do the same for me whenever I am unavailable"

"Do your jobs know that you are alive?"

"Yes the FBI informed them yesterday after they informed me that it was safe for me to come out of hiding"

"Now then are you sure Lauren isn't a reserve soldier like you are and can replace you at need?"

"Yes, you weren't paying attention when that was mentioned in the newspaper but I did in case I could return before her deadline was up"

"Okay then, you know we won't work you as much as possible so that you can pack for the trip"

"Oh I'm basically already packed chief, I do have clothes left to pack and I also have a few items as well that I bought while here but I lived like I could be deployed at a moments notice and didn't really buy anything if it wasn't necessary"

"So you basically only bought a bed, dresser and dishes?"

"Pretty much yes and for the dishes I already have someone who needs them after I am done so I won't be taking those with me"

"Okay then you will get a semi-normal schedule, we'll still give you time to pack up and give away what you need and arrange anything you need to move what you aren't giving away but other than that you'll have a normal schedule. Do you have a place to live once you move?"

"Don't worry I will live at the base during fire season but the FBI actually bought my house when I was 'killed' so that I could keep my home, after I die for real or move for any reason the house will become an FBI safe house because the FBI bought it through places that can't be placed to them for safety reasons"

"Are you sure you should be telling us this?"

"Don't worry, you won't be able to reveal what I just told you, all you'll remember is that I have a place to live"

"What..."

Suddenly everyone's eyes glazed over for a minute and when they were clear again they picked up the conversation pretty much where they left off though they didn't remember the FBI part. What had happened to them was that when Karen was younger she accidentally erased and modified part of Captain Faireborn's memory after a devastating crash and when she meditated that night she found that her powers included modification of memory during times of need which she defined as either something too overwhelming happening and people needing to be calm or if there was information that should not have been leaked leaked but only by her and no major modifications could be made either

"So you have a place to live then that's good, anything else we need to know before you get back home for two days?"

"No sir"

"Okay then"

"One more thing Kerenai though you'll have a regular schedule if things get too severe suddenly we will change your schedule at a moment's notice so that you're safe enough to fly back to your home"

"Wait, I thought I would be taking a plane back"

"We have an extra plane that needs minor repairs but unfortunately we can't have the replacement parts sent here. Instead soon after Yellowstone found out you were alive they mentioned that we could use their place as a holding station and they would take care of the repairs if we sent you back in the plane. After the repairs are done we're going to switch pilots because one of our pilots has requested a transfer to Yellowstone and a Yellowstone pilot has requested transfer to San Fran"

"Okay then that makes sense, I guess you saw I am certified to fly any plane at a moments notice, though I mainly focused on my SEAT certification"

"Exactly"

"Wait so does that mean I'll have a passenger with me?"

"Guess so, I totally forgot about that, don't worry they're also experienced and are actually certified for this aircraft so most likely you'll be the passenger and he'll be the pilot"

The next two weeks were actually pretty average weeks and Kerenai was able to report to the forest service and there she met her new teammate and during the flight they got to know each other pretty well, in fact part of the reason why they got so used to each other was a storm that forced them to land suddenly because the storm was that quick in forming and was also extremely dangerous

"So about how many fires do you think that storm caused?"

"Who knows but since we're not in Yellowstone we can't do much and besides we don't even know if any fires were started"

"You have a point Kerenai...so how mad do you think your teammates are going to be?"

"I have absolutely no idea, I know for a fact that those that are EDC kids will understand but everyone else is a mystery in regards to their reactions"

"We'll be at Yellowstone soon enough and then you'll find out for sure"

"I know and that's what worries me"

Soon enough they were at Yellowstone and Karen's team decided to greet the new team member and tell him where to park the plane so that it could be repaired and seemingly ignored Karen right from the start but that wasn't actually the truth. What Karen didn't know was that they knew she would want to get reacquainted with her plane and that there were two more people she would want to meet as well, OK sort of two people in reality but they considered the two actual people and in keeping with the fact that no one wanted panicked people even if everyone knew about the Cybertronians it was decided that Karen's surprises would have a pilot and driver. Karen met their expectations quickly enough when she saw that the group was getting to know their new team member she went to the hanger and instantly found Powerglide and she simply went up to him and started rubbing him even though she knew he would never feel her or talk to her again

"I missed you Powerglide, and I'm sorry I had to be away for so long"

"Hey everyone understood though"

Karen turned at the voice and was shocked at what she saw

"Springer? I thought you were on Cybertron"

"Well I asked the Primes and Megatron if I could leave active duty and when they asked me what I would do I decided to become a rescue chopper and fight fires like you were doing, Inferno joined me mainly because the two of us are tired Karen, we're so tired of fighting and seeing our friends die sometimes for no real reason. If they need us they'll call but it has to be desperate or we ourselves are under attack for us to fight now and everyone here understands that"

"When did you guys join and get certified?"

"Shortly after your 'death' we came back the day of actually and when we found out we just...broke and knew we needed to get away from the war"

"Then it looks like I'll be going to the lodge to catch up on Inferno sometime soon"

"Actually he comes here on a regular basis to give us heads up about anything he thinks we should know about, he tries to visit us at least twice a day sometimes more if he can manage but most of the time the updates are via radio. In fact he's supposed to come up within a few minutes anyways because he likes to meet any new team members that might come in so that he knows what to expect and also gets to know the people in case someone isn't here that he would expect and the only person available is a new person"

"So this ways he already knows who's authorized to be on base and will know to alert people to suspicious activity"

"Exactly Karen, so the FBI told us the full story when they revealed the truth but they can't tell us how you coped during that time period"

Karen quickly spilled all to Springer when suddenly she heard another familiar voice

"So this is your replacement John"

"Yep, this is Carl, seeing as how I wanted to transfer to San Fran and he wanted to transfer to here at pretty much the same time it all worked out"

"I thought that another pilot was supposed to be here"

"She is now where's..."

The chief stops talking as soon as Karen gets out of the hanger

"Hey Inferno been a while"

"Same to you Karen, next time don't pull that stunt"

"Hey I wouldn't have pulled that stunt if you all weren't in danger"

"You know full well we can take care of ourselves"

"Oh yeah? I would think that the FBI would have informed you about the weapons the group had at their disposal"

"Come on you know normal weapons don't harm us"

"Specially designed weapons do though and they had those weapons Inferno. One of those weapons was the same type of weapon that killed Powerglide I couldn't take the chance that they would find and attack the base killing my entire family that was on Earth, only those on Cybertron would have been safe and you guys know how much I care about my entire family be they on Cybertron or Earth"

"You're right, sorry we never got those reports though so we didn't know that we were in danger as well we just assumed that you didn't want to risk your firefighting family even though we could have protected them"

"That's strange I thought that the FBI gave you the entire report about the weapons the group had"

"Either way it's good to have you back Karen"

"And it's good to be back chief"

"Have you kept up your qualifications?"

"As best as possible yes"

"Good, now then we're going to have to get used to you again so we're going on a training mission in two hours, that gives you enough time to fuel up and do a basic run"

"Works for me, what about you Carl?"

"Works for me as well"

While that was going on something no one was expecting to happen was happening. Everyone knew that about six years earlier Powerglide had been killed in battle but that actually wasn't the truth, what really happened was that he was put in a unique stasis that was supposed to be permanent. What no one knew though was Karen using her powers had sparked something that took a while to kick in when it came to Powerglide's memory and personality cores. Powerglide had slowly been waking up and remembering who he was and what had happened to him, however he had never managed to stay awake for very long, though he did manage to wake up long enough to realize that he had been modified and was now doing another job. He also realized that Karen was the one who was supposed to be his pilot but that something had happened though he didn't know what, but that day the day of Karen's return he had finally fully woken up because Karen had unknowingly let out a bit of her power when she touched him and he had gotten the full story about Karen's disappearance and he also knew that he was most likely considered dead. He also realized pretty quickly that he could no longer transform but he knew that Karen or one of the other two Cybertronians could help fix that problem easily and would also report to his commanding officers that he was alive. He started to leave the hanger while the group was still talking outside

"...we'll also do some drops just to make sure you remember everything Kerenai due to the fact that I have no proof of you keeping up your qualifications"

"Did you hear about the extended fire season in California?"

"Yes what about it?"

"I was the one that replaced...why is my plane moving?"

Everyone turned at that and the plane was indeed moving and that's when the plane spoke for the first time in almost six years

"Springer, Karen, Inferno where are we?"

(Softly) "Power...glide?..." (louder and running) "Powerglide!" *how are you alive? We all thought that you were dead, killed in battle almost six years ago *

*I'm not exactly sure myself Karen, one moment I was fighting and the next I'm here, I've been slowly waking up for almost a year now but it's been slow going though you should know I have all my memories. I was wondering why can't I transform? *

*We took your transformation cog out when we thought you were dead, killed in battle, we had you transform one final time force ably so that you could become what you are now though you dusted crops for four years until I could get my pilot's license and be old enough to join the fire service *

*What about the military? *

*I'm in the reserves, like I have been since I was five *

*I'm guessing my comms are busted too? *

*Yes they are but we can contact the group now if you want *

*That would be great Springer thanks *

*Powerglide, after we fix you up what do you want to do? I understand if you wanted to go into battle again though you've been out of action for almost six years *

*No, I was thinking about leaving the battlefield after that battle anyways and besides I'm still going to be fighting out here it will just be a different battlefield, one that some might think is more important *

*Well we'll still be activating everything that was deactivated just in case trouble reaches us here *

*Good to know, now I think we need to switch back to English *

"So got it out of your system yet?"

"Sorry chief it's just..."

"I know, I was one of the people that were told when you transferred here and besides how long has it been since you actually spoke one of your two native languages?"

"It's been a while"

"Figures, oh by the way you know the uniform policy that you mentioned?"

"Yeah has a decision finally been made now that it's known that I'm alive?"

"Yes, you will have two uniforms per branch and they are waiting in your room"

"Good to know, does my town chief know about me?"

"Yes she does and she wants to talk to you about something after you get back"

"Okay...wait she?"

"Yes she, the old chief retired while you were hidden and another chief took his place now then about the group you were hiding from..."

"They've been known to attack public servants, shortly after I took the main boss away I was unintentionally at a fire because I was visiting with some non EDC kid friends and there was faulty wiring that started a fire. The group after me found out and when I tried to help even a little with the firefighters they shot at the group killing one firefighter and injuring two others, an officer and paramedic were also injured in the shootout and the only reason others weren't hurt or killed was because SWAT came and defused the situation rather quickly and they stayed on scene until they were sure it was safe. Afterwords when I found out what had happened I decided to stay away from first responders if at all possible until I made my decision to become a SEAT pilot, when I made that decision the FBI and I came to an agreement that they would discreetly watch me and my crew when possible and they would let me know if any danger was present so that I could leave if necessary"

"Like last winter"

"Exactly chief like last winter"

"Well at least you're home and after we get some training in I'll give you time off to meet the chief that wants to talk to you"

"And if there's a fire?"

"That's when Lauren will take over after all she is your replacement whenever you're away on assignment for the military"

"Wait Lauren, do you even have a place and a job for whenever you aren't here?"

"Indeed I do Karen, you see I was in the same grade as you throughout the school years but I knew I wanted to be a firefighter since I was six, my dad was an EDC officer until he died when I was seventeen but my mom was a firefighter until shortly before my graduation and shortly before I started school she took me to her workplace one day with dad and her both having the day off but she had some paperwork to fill out so she came in on a day off to do so because it was actually paperwork to return from medical leave after she broke her wrist some weeks earlier during a rescue. We stayed at the station for a while and I got fascinated with her job, and I've been fascinated ever since. After I graduated I decided to become a firefighter and a SEAT pilot like you because I remembered seeing a forest fire when I was twelve and knew that I wanted to be part of that so I also got SEAT certification at around the same time as you did but in a different National Park thus the reason we never met during training, when I heard of your 'death' I decided to transfer here working during fire season here and being a firefighter in a nearby town during the off season"

"Oh have you met Kevin then?"

"No, I decided on another town to work in and they understand that I might have to leave on occasion to help here during fire season whenever you're away because after it was revealed that you were alive I went to my boss and explained that while I might not be needed during fire season there was a chance because of the fact that you are in the reserves and he understands that having a brother in the reserves himself"

"So he understands that you might be called in during fire season if something comes up and I'm deployed for any reason"

"Exactly and he won't even need to get a replacement firefighter whenever I'm replacing you because we're such a big station we always make sure to have at least two extra firefighters per shift in case someone winds up injured or the fire is bigger than first expected and we need as many people as possible out there and the extra firefighters stay at the station unless otherwise needed, the same goes for paramedics as well"

"Well that's good to know, sorry I took over before you even got a chance to fly with the team"

"I'm just glad that you're alive, and besides I'm going to stay here and help out however I can for a few days so that I can get in some training with everyone including you Kerenai"

"Um you'll never fly with me though Lauren"

"Actually that's not completely accurate because while I am a spare SEAT pilot there might be times when the fire is so big there are more than one SEAT pilot's needed"

"Oh...didn't think about that"

"That's what I thought"

"Okay you win"

Just then everyone heard a distant explosion so everyone turned towards the sound and both Springer and Inferno transformed just in case while Karen ran to the edge of a lookout point and activated her contacts and scanned the area to see what it was and she quickly found out

"Someone put a grill tank too close to an open flame for too long and the tank exploded...and now it looks like a fire's started and spreading fast"

Just then there were more explosions like the first and Karen started tracking them and quickly realized what was going on

"Chief! I think we have an arsonist on our hands because this is deliberate and in too many places to be an accident we're going to need some back up on this"

"On it Kerenai, okay everyone let's move, Inferno I technically have no authority over you but get yourself back over to the lodge in case we call for an evacuation"

"Understood"

Meanwhile Karen turned back towards the group who were already in their assigned planes and started running

"Powerglide start up and we're going to do a move and jump just like we practiced when I was younger and had to get out of situations quickly!"

Powerglide moves towards the edge of the runway building up speed and half way there Karen jumps in like old times never having forgotten due to the fact that whenever she was with the military she would practice that move at all times possible and quickly gets into the pilots seat