"Looks like you're replacing me after all Lauren"

"Looks like, I'm just surprised it's so soon after it was revealed you were alive"

"I know but orders are orders Lauren, tell your Captain about this so that you aren't declared AWOL"

"No problem"

"If not for the nature of the emergency Kerenai wouldn't have even been called"

"So you know the situation Sergeant?"

"Yes ma'am I do, and I can't be part of the mission due to...personal reasons"

"I see, looks like you're going to be giving me a more detailed debrief en route"

"Indeed that's exactly why I came ma'am"

"Okay then let's go, Powerglide you already know the rules, Springer keep an eye on everyone including Powerglide he's still adjusting to the full situation"

"Right"

"Keep up the fight and I hope that when I get back this park is still standing"

"it will be, there might be damage depending on how bad the fire is but it will still be standing"

"Chief also keep communication with the EDC going, considering what just happened here I have a feeling we might need them again"

"Understood now get going"

Karen soon gets onto the military transport and they were off

"Okay Sergeant what is going on here?"

"Three weeks ago we received word from a medical camp that things were starting to get hot in their area and that they would start making daily updates in case evacuation was needed, three days ago we lost complete contact with them and haven't managed to regain it, we also can't get anyone close enough to even see the situation and get new intel on the camp. Originally I was supposed to be part of the recon/rescue team but that was before we had a complete list of all the personnel there, after we got the list I realized that there would be a conflict of interest and I pulled myself out immediately due to the fact that my sister is one of the medical team members"

"Okay that is a valid reason to pull out, what was she doing there anyways?"

"She's actually there on an internship to see if working in underdeveloped places is something she's interested in, she's worked hard on her nursing degree but she also wants to travel so she decided to see if going into places that really needed her was something she wanted to do, unfortunately she won't get the chance she wanted due to the attack"

"You going to make her give up her dream?"

"No but there won't be another internship like this as far as I know by the time she graduates and there were no other places offering her this opportunity it turns out. I found all of this out through my mother when I was the one who had to give her the news that her daughter was in a dangerous situation"

"So what exactly is the mission?"

"The mission is first to rendezvous with your fellow team members after that you're to do your best to get to the location of the camp and determine if there are still people there. If there are observe the camp to see if they're alright and if they aren't to rescue everyone you can"

"Understood sir"

Three hours later Karen was on a transport with the rest of her team and they were making final plans and everyone knew the rules about what to do if something happened to any of them

"So are we clear on everything?"

"Indeed we are"

"Okay then, let's see if we can't sneak into that camp"

The group does manage to sneak into the camp and they soon discovered they would have to liberate everyone but it would take a sacrifice each of them were willing to pay and one ultimately did. During battle Karen managed to get separated and was faced with tanks that were indestructible and also used by enemies of the Cybertronians because it would turn out that while local gangs originally took control of the camp aliens that didn't like the EDC killed the gang members and took over the camp for themselves and never made their demands to the EDC because they were waiting until they had control for two days before making contact. Karen knew what to do though and used her powers to cause an explosion, but in the process she appeared to manage to get herself killed, with only her dog tags as a means to identify her as dead but the camp workers and their patients were freed. The group landed on a vessel that was in the area

"Where's Lt. Kerenai? I have some reports she needs to see about the area that no one knew about until just now"

"Dead sir, there was an explosion, we think the enemy caused it she was in the middle of it, all that's left are her dog tags"

"I see. I will be the one to inform her family personally then, this requires...delicate handling all things considered"

"What's going on sir?"

"There's things about Kerenai you aren't cleared to know about that I do. Now then get cleaned up and then get some rest a full report can come later"

"Sir what are we supposed to do about her tags?"

"Leave them with me for the moment, I'll make sure they get to her family"

Meanwhile Karen was very much alive but injured. She managed to use her shields to save herself from her own blast but soon afterwords the survivors picked her up and badly broke her left leg. She knew that she wouldn't need medical retirement due to her powers making sure that everything would line up correctly, but it would take twice as long due to the fact that the leg wasn't properly set. She basically considered herself a prisoner of war and she was not happy about the situation but she also knew there wasn't much she could do at the moment

"What about our plans to threaten the EDC with the medical team?"

"That's no longer an option, due to the fact that this person is a soldier we'll simply leave them here while we leave, they are of no use to us"

"Sir what about the American government?"

"Apparently they don't negotiate with terrorists, what makes you think they'll negotiate with us?"

"Well, we could make our demands to the EDC because we are alien"

"No we'll simply leave the soldier to die, they can't do much anyways due to what we've done to their leg, even if the leg heals it will never heal correctly and they'll be of no more use to the military, besides that explosion will probably make them think that the soldier is dead"

"What caused the explosion anyways?"

"I don't know and quite frankly it doesn't matter to me, we're leaving now"

"Yes sir"

The group abandoned Karen to her fate not knowing that she was a survivor. She knew that she was probably declared dead and as such she prepared herself for a very long wait while her leg healed up properly, after that her plans were to go to a nearby town she knew of and make contact with the American government from there

"I just hope that when I finally do get the chance to make contact even if they don't believe me they'll come and arrest me as an impostor until my identity can be proven...this is going to take a while"

Karen's family was told about her death by the Captain in person and while they were mourning Karen's death Karen was focusing on healing and getting ready for her return. Neither side knew it would be a year until Karen could reveal herself because right as she was getting ready to go to the village the country she was in was taken over by the military basically starting a coup and that meant that Karen was stuck where she was doing her best to keep herself free and also helping the proper government get back into power because everyone disapproved of the coup but couldn't do much against the weapons of the military. That meant no one could or would fight, but Karen who was a living weapon had no such fear and knew what to do to help the proper government get back in control like they belonged. Karen didn't give her true name though just in case she or anyone who knew her was ever captured, that ways unless a blood scan or fingerprinting was done no one would know her true identity

"Lauren there's a weapons shipment coming through our area in two days what do you want to do?"

"Let's attack and then take the weapons for ourselves our supplies are starting to run a bit low"

"So we noticed. What do our leaders say about an attack on the capital?"

"Not yet guys, there's a few more things we need to get and we also need a bit more intel before we take any action on the capital, don't worry when the time is right we'll truly go into action"

"Lauren I've been wondering just how and why did you join us in the first place?"

"That's something I can't get into and it's also something not easily explained, however have you ever wondered how I was able to find out about you guys?"

"Actually yes we were, including our leaders for a bit but all of a sudden they just simply said they knew what you were about and left things be"

"Well while I can't go into the full story I can explain that I actually joined you guys initially because you were the ones who found me and were kind to me. I didn't know originally that you were part of the group fighting to bring back the rightful government all I knew was that you made sure my leg was healing properly and that I had food after I mentioned I hadn't eaten in almost a week due to poor hunting. After I was fed and was checked over I decided to stay for a bit to see if there was anything I could do to repay you guys even if it was only helping with medical care or food. Your leaders agreed though they tried to tell me to go to a village to live in but I said that I wanted to help you guys any way possible because there was simply something about the group though I couldn't really identify it at the time. One day I was looking for one of your leaders to talk about a food run when I saw a map and as soon as I saw that map I realized it was the capital city of this place, your leader came back at the same time and simply said that he was an architect and as such he wanted to look at maps of the city in the interest to see how it had been planned. I didn't believe him though and started following him though he was good at evasion, but after two days I managed to sneak into a meeting of your leaders and that's how I found out who you guys truly were. I made myself known and offered my services in more than just medical and food care and we came to an agreement"

"How do you know how to fight?"

"That's part of what your leaders know about me but you won't find out unless necessary"

"Come on we have a scouting mission Lauren"

"Okay let's go"

So the two scout one of the places they were going to attack once they had the weapons but then noticed something that would change everyone's plans drastically