Ch 8: The Child pt. 1

The Belt: Sector 167 (League held space):

"This is VX-11187," a vehicon flyer said. "The target has been spotted. Moving in to intercept."

"VX-1183, joining interception."

"VX-1170, joining interception."

VX-1187 received two more bangs from other vehicon flyers in the area. In total, five vehicon flyers would be intercepting the target. They would have their target.

"Confirmed," a voice answered the drone's report. A human voice and overall leader of the search group. "Remember, we want the target alive. Disable the shuttle subject S17-1984 has stolen."

"Confirmed," VX-1183 said, already knowing the orders. But understood the need for them to be repeated. The other intercepting vehicons also sent their confirmation.

The five vehicons moved to the target's location, a stolen decepticon shuttle. Piloted by a being designated as S17-1984. The shuttle's transponder had led them to a tunnel leading into an asteroid.

A deep scan from the vehicons revealed no other way out. The target had trapped themselves in an asteroid with no means of escape. The details were relayed to the command ship, a League cruiser. A moment later, a league corvette was dispatched to aid in the interception.

The vehicon flyers went into the tunnel. It did not take the group long to come to the target. "Target is in sight," VX-1187 reported. He and the others could see the stolen shuttle floating at the end of the tunnel. Scans revealed the shuttle was operating at low power and that there was damage to the engines.

"Target appears to be already disabled," the drone reported as he flew closer to the shuttle. The other vehicons doing the same. VX-1187 attempted to lock a tractor beam onto the shuttle to tow it back to the League Corvette.

Then everything went wrong all at once. The moment the tractor beam latched onto the stolen shuttle, it flickered out and vanished altogether. In its place was a small spheric object about half the size of a vehicon flier.

Confused, VX-1187 did a quick scan of the new object. He detected a power build-up, leading to a critical overload in his last moments. VX-1187 only had one and a half seconds to realize what it was and no time to react.

VX-1187 and the four others were consumed in a blinding flash of light.

Aboard the League corvette, her commanding officer had just a bit more time to react. "Get us out of here," he shouted. "Maximum power to the engines."

The man lurched in his chair for a second as the corvette swung into action. Then, a moment later, he was almost thrown to the ground when a shock wave hit the corvette. Alarms blared as the man righted himself in his command chair and looked at the sensor reports of the asteroid. A third of it was gone now.

The man slammed a fist on the armrest of his chair. "Damn that brat and the bitch that spawned him," he cursed. "He lured us into a trap."

"Sir, I'm picking up a signal," one of his crewmen shouted. "It's the shuttle, and it's coming right for us."

"What?"

From the void of space, a decepticon shuttle appeared, flying straight for the League Corvette. Its weapon systems were activated and targeted at the engines of the other ship. The ship's captain shouted an order, but it was too late by then.

A Burst of energon surged from the stolen shuttle, slashing into the engine section of the league corvette. The decepticon shuttle flew over the corvette as explosions ripped its engines apart.

Now with no one in its way, the stolen decepticon shuttle flew away from the crippled League vessel. Its engines burned at maximum speed.

"Set course for the following coordinates." The lone occupant said in a young voice, his bright blue eyes glimmered with hope. "Activate the transistor drive and jump." In a flash of light, the shuttle was gone.

"Mother, guide me."

League Black Site Research facility

Bedi let out a disappointed sigh. "It would seem subject S17-1984 is far more elusive than we had thought," he said.

Behind him, Shockwave responded. "For a child of your species, he is surprisingly adept."

Bedi nodded. "That he is," he responded. Then, a smile crossed his face. "But I suppose I should not be surprised. He has always been one of my most promising subjects. He has given me two wonderful years of data. If only he had siblings, or his parents were still alive. I would love to study their genetic code."

"Perhaps once he has been recovered, you can," Shockwave suggested. "If he is ever recovered."

"Oh, we'll recover him," Bedi dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Or he'll come back of his own free will. That child may be adept, but he is still a child. He will come back if not for himself. Then, for the others."

The screams of human beings echoed into the laboratory. It would seem one of the experiments was getting messy again. Bedi's smile thinned; he would have to chastise his work staff again.

Valkyrie-3: UNS held space:

"Behind you, Hotrod!" Hatsuko shouted next to Jack.

Jack winced at the loud and sharp noise from the marine commander. From their vantage point, they saw Hotrod react to Hatsuko's warning, turning around just in time for his opponent to lunge at him.

Hotrod quickly sidesteps the bot. In the same motion, he was careful to keep the large metal ball in his hands out of reach of his opponent. But Hotrod was not safe just yet. His opponent whirled around and lunged back at him, attempting to grab the ball.

However, Hotrod held it high up, keeping it just out of reach from the other autobot. Another figure runs up in front of Hotrod, stopping just a few meters from the two struggling bots. "Over here," Wheeljack shouted to Hotrod, waving his hands.

Hotrod saw this and smiled. Hotrod dodged his opponent's attempts to grab the ball for another second or two before launching the ball into the air.

Jack, Hatsuko, and the other spectators, an assortment of humans and cybertronians, watched as the ball arced through the air. Then it started to fall, arcing down on Wheeljack.

Wheeljack jumped into the air, grabbing the ball. The former wrecker landed on the ground with a loud metallic thud, then ran into a full sprint as another opposing team member tried to grab him. He ran past Hotrod, who was now interfering with his opponent, and the other bot who tried to grab Wheeljack.

"Come, come," Hatsuko cheered Wheeljack on, shooting up to her feet. "You can do this, Wheeljack!" More cheers came from the spectators, half rooting for Wheeljack and his team and half for the opposing team.

Jack smiled as he watched the game play out and enjoyed the energy of the crowd watching. However, he could do without all the shouting. Jack shook his head. "I'll have to make an appointment with the doctor to check my ears." He muttered.

Wheeljack, now holding the ball tightly, ran across the field, quickly joined by his third and final teammate, Bumblebee. The scout of the group gave Wheeljack a thumbs up, getting a nod from the other in response.

The third member of the opposing team ran up beside Wheeljack, attempting to take the ball from him. But Wheeljack would have none of it. He pulled the ball back each time his opponent tried to grab it.

The three were quickly reaching the goal. In what might have been desperation, the third opponent tackled Wheeljack to the ground. The two autobots slammed onto the ground with a crashing noise that could be heard throughout the bay. Wheeljack and the other bot struggled for a bit before the latter got the upper hand, pinning Wheeljack to the ground.

Then he went for the ball. Except the ball was not there or anywhere near them. Bumblebee jumped, slamming the ball through the goal. At roughly the same time, the timer for the game reached zero, ending the game. Cheers erupted from the crowd, almost deafening Jack.

"That was some pass from Wheeljack, wasn't it?" Hatsuko said, looking at Jack.

Jack nodded. He had seen it happen just before Wheeljack had been tackled. He had managed to toss the ball to Bumblebee, so all he had to do was keep the third member of the opposing team busy long enough for the scout to score.

"It was," Jack said, using one hand to cover his ear.

Hatsuko gave him a questioning look. "Something wrong?"

Jack shook his head. "Nothing too bad," he said. "Just a little loud for my taste. Your screaming didn't help."

The marine command gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry,"
She said. "I guess I got a little swept up."

"Don't apologize," Jack said. "It was a good game."

Hatsuko nodded, smiling. "It was," she said. "Wheeljack and the others did good. The other team as well, even though they got creamed." Her smile broadened.

Jack smiled with her. Briefly, Jack eyed the scoreboard set up for the game. It read 4 to 9, scoring in Wheeljack's team's favor. "You weren't bidding on them, were you?" He asked.

Hatsuko chuckled. "Who me?" She said like she was innocent. "We both know that is against regulations." Then she chuckled some more. "But they are our bots, Jack. Why wouldn't I cheer for them?"

Jack nodded, agreeing with her. "True," he admitted. He looked at the trio of Bumblebee, Hotrod, and Wheeljack celebrating their victory. "Their good guys, all of them." His gaze fell on Hotrod. "Even Hotrod is not so bad once you get to know him."

Unknown to him, Hatsuko was giving him a side-eye. "You still haven't let go of what happened, haven't you?" Hatsuko asked knowingly.

A small smile crossed Jack's face. The image of his late boyfriend flashed into his mind, and a warm smile presented to him. "I still miss him."

Hatsuko nodded. "That's to be expected," she said. "It's only been a few months, and he was your boyfriend."

Jack nodded. "Only a few months, uhh," Jack commented. "Feels like it's been longer."

"I've read the reports about what happened," Hatsuko said. She looked over at Hotrod. He and the others were walking their way. "I can see why you hold him responsible. But honestly, it's not his fault."

Jack remained silent, even as the trio of autobots walked up to Hatsuko and him. "Now that was some game," Wheeljack said, crossing his arms. "I hope we put on a good show there for you guys."

Jack and Hatsuko smiled at the autobot. "Oh, oh, you did," Hatsuko answered. "Those guys never got close to beating you."

"It's what they get for boasting like that," Hotrod said. He punched his fists into the air. "We sure showed them. Did you see how I lobe that ball? And then there was the part where two of them were taken at once."

Wheeljack chuckled. "Easy there, kid," he said. "Wouldn't want to get too full of ourselves here. Do we?"

Next to him, Bumblebee smiled. "I apologize about my brother," he said through a laugh. "He's always been like this."

"Bee!" Hotrod protested. "You're supposed to back me up, not stab me in the back. You're my brother."

Jack laughed. "I don't know, sounds like something a sibling would do," he said. "My sisters have gotten to me more times than I can count."

"Not you, too," Hotrod whined.

It took a moment for the laughter to die down. All the while, Hotrod sulked. However, Jack could see the smile on the bot's face. "All right, I think that'll be enough picking on Hotrod for today," he said.

"You make it sound like there's a quota to fill," Hotrod grumbled.

Jack stood up from where he was, stretching his tired muscles out. "I don't know about you guys, but I think I'll be turning in early today," he explained. "Those flight drills they had me do took a lot out of me. The game was good, though. You'll have to invite to see more."

Hatsuko nodded. "Yeah, I can see this lobbing catching on," she explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if a few UNS units have already started their own teams. Honestly, I'm thinking of starting one myself."

Wheeljack smiled. "Good girl," he said. "And I can see some human sports becoming popular among us bots. Namely this football game or soccer. Both seem pretty good to me."

Jack smiled, leaving the group to chat among themselves. He was about to leave the bay when a voice called out behind him. "Hey, Jack." The fighter pilot turned around to see Hotrod walking up to him. "I just wanted to catch you before you left."

Jack gave the bot a wary look. "Did you need something?" He asked. It wasn't often the two were left alone like this, and it was always awkward.

"Nothing too much," Hotrod said, rubbing the back of his head. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out sometime. Maybe tomorrow?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Just the two of us?" He asked.

Hotrod nodded, a smile quickly forming across his face. "Yeah, something like that," he replied.

"This sounds like you're asking me out on a date," Jack responded with a hard edge in his voice.

"What? No, not like that." Hotrod shook his hands and took a step back. "No, what I meant is just a hang out as friends. We don't get to do that much."

Jack relaxed, mentally kicking himself for jumping to a conclusion like that and for the tone of voice he had used with Hotrod. He hoped the bot had not noticed. "I'll think about it," he answered. Then, they turned around to leave the bay.

He heard Hotrod's happy voice calling out to him as he went through a set of doors. "Great, just let me know in the morning."

Jack smiled. He would have to think about Hotrod's suggestion, but it sounded like it could be fun.

Hotrod was just about smiling from audio receptor to audio receptor. "Sounds like things went well," Wheeljack commented with a grin. "Did you get your little date with Jack?"

"It's not a date, Wheeljack," Hotrod responded to the meche. "But yeah, I did."

Wheeljack let out a slight snorting sound. "I was just kidding you, kid," he said. He uncrossed his arms and walked up to the younger autobot. "I'm happy for you. Sounds like things are moving forward for the both of you."

Hotrod nervously nodded his head. "Yeah, at least I think they are," he replied. "I think we need something. You know, to finally break the ice between us."

"You are sure you don't want any of us to be around?" Bumblebee asked. "Things are still a little awkward between you and Jack. One of us could help thin the ice out."

Hotrod shook his head. "No, I think we need some time to ourselves," he said. "No one to act as a convenient barrier."

"If you're sure about that," Bumblebee started.

Hotrod was firm with his answer. "I am."

"Come on, guys," Hatsuko said. "Try to give him a break. If he wants to do this, then let him."

"Thanks, Hatsuko," he smiled at the little human. "It's nice to know that at least someone here supports me."

"Don't worry, we support you, bro," Bee said with a grin. "Just hope it goes well, that's all." Hotrod looked at his friends, seeing the support they were giving him. "Thanks guys," he said. "Wish me luck for tomorrow or whenever Jack takes me up on the offer." He was going to need it.

UNS. Jasper, crew quarters

Jack lay back on his bed, letting out a tired sigh. "Hopefully, we'll set out soon," he muttered. The ships of Omega-One were berthed at the station for repairs from their last mission. The smaller ships like the Jasper had already been fully repaired and given the okay to fly. But from what he had been told, the larger ships like the autobot cruiser Axalon would require a few more days of repair.

Until then, Omega-One would be grounded. Most of it, anyway. A few chats with the chief engineer told him that Jasper could still be deployed if something came up.

Jack didn't mind the opportunity to relax. But the pilot knew that he would begin to feel stir-crazy after a while. At least the flight drills and patrols kept him busy.

Jack turned to his side, shutting his eyes. It did not take him long for sleep to claim him.

The dream returned. He saw the same woman, beautiful and ethereal like she was not truly of this world. She was so warm and comforting he almost felt like he was back in his mother's arms.

The child was there too.

"He is coming." The woman said in a gentle voice. "The child, you must protect him. He will aid in the days to come. Darkness is coming, my child. You and all my children must be ready."

The woman spoke more, but he could not understand what she was saying. Her voice was becoming muffled, and her image blurred from sight.

Once again, he saw the images of burning worlds. Of war and destruction beyond anything the human mind was ready to handle. Amongst the screams that threw him from his sleep, there was laughter.

"The child is coming. Protect him. He will be of aid for the dark times to come."

Jack woke up with a start as the klaxons roared to life. He shot out from his bunk. The dream quickly faded from his memory as he threw his flight suit on. All Jack could remember was that she was a faceless woman saying something. Burning worlds. And a child whose face Jack could not see.

He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he raced down the corridor and to the hangar. When he sees a technician near a fighter, he runs up to the man. "What's going on?" He asked. The sleep he had was gone, and he was alert and aware. "Are we under attack?"

Valkirie-3 was supposed to be a fortified position for the UNS in the belt. Was the League risking a major battle here?

"I don't know, sir," the technician responded. "I just got the orders to prep the fighters."

Jack nodded and looked at the fighter the man was tending to. "Is this one ready?" He asked.

The technician nodded. "Just finished the final checks when you arrived," he said. "She's ready to fly."

Jack nodded and quickly got himself into the fighter. Getting seated in the cockpit, Jack went through the process of prepping his fighter for flight, including initiating a neural link with the fighter's systems.

Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath like his training had instructed. It helps ease his mind into the link. For a second, he felt a strange sensation inside his head. It was like something was crawling around inside his brain; it was a strange and frankly eerie feeling that one never got used to.

Then, the sensation faded away. Jack opened his eyes and saw that the link had been established. Jack switched the comm system on, activating a link with Jasper's CC.

"This is Cobalt-3," Jack said. "Ready to launch. Statues update on the situation."

A moment later, he got a response from the commander. "We picked a decepticon vessel heading for that station. According to the Autobots, it is a shuttle of some sort."

On one of Jack's fighters' screens, an image of the decepticon shuttle was displayed to him—along with its technical details. The Commander continued with the mission brief. "The Jasper has been dispatched to intercept. The Autobots are sending in the Jackhammer as well." So Wheeljack would be joining them. "Cobalt-3, I want you and Cobalt-5 to act as a Vanguard for us. Attempt to feel out the situation."

He saw another pilot getting into the second fighter in Jasper's hanger from his cockpit view. Jack nodded and asked the question that was on his mind. "Sir, what is going on here? Is this an attempt at a scouting mission against us? Or is there something larger going on here?"

"We don't know," the Commander answered. Not something Jack wanted to hear, but he was not surprised they had so little information to go on. "We can find out more once we intercept that deception shuttle."

"Is this a search and destroy operation?" Jack asked. He checked out the statues of his fighter's engines and weapons. "Or do we try to capture the vessel?"

"Capture, if possible," the Commander replied. "Destroy if necessary."

Jack nodded, understanding his orders and the perimeters. He saw the other pilot giving him a thumbs up from their cockpit, showing they were ready to launch. Jack returned the gesture.

"Permission to launch, Commander," Jack asked.

"Permission granted."

The bay doors opened. Once he and his wing maté were given the go-ahead, both fighters rocketed out of the hanger bay of the Jasper. Jack flew away from the UNS Corvette and sat a course for the decepticon shuttle.

On the sensor display, Jack could see the lone shuttle heading right for the UNS-controlled station. A moment later, another ship entered the fighter's sensor range. Jack smiled a little when the IFF code returned, showing it was the Jackhammer.

The Jackhammer flies between the two UNS fighters. Jack looked out of his cockpit to look at the autobot gunship. Jack saw Wheeljack giving him a thumbs up. Jack nodded at him and looked back at the target on the sensor display.

A commlink came in from Wheeljack. "So, what do we got here?" Wheeljack asked.

"I don't know," Jack said. "Looks like a lone Decepticon shuttle is going for that station. Beyond that, we don't know anything else."

Wheeljack hummed on his end of the link. "I don't like it," he said. "Something must be up. Why would a lone decepticon shuttle be heading for a UNS-controlled station?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I guess we're about to find out," he responded. They flew close enough to the decepticon shuttle to get a detailed scan of the vessel. And for them to bring their weapons into firing range.

"Let's see what you're hiding," Jack mutters, activating a scan of the unknown decepticon shuttle. "It doesn't look like they got their weapons on or any indication they have a lock on us or the station." The shields were down as well. In fact, whoever was flying that thing seemed to have put everything into the engines.

"It's moving fast," Wheeljack commented. "Whoever they are, they're in a big enough hurry."

Jack nodded. He would not dispute that; he could see it clearly enough with his own eyes. Then, an internal scan came back. "Nothing out of the ordinary there either. I'm picking up one life sign. "It's just the pilot, and they're," Jack paused as he read over the readings. He double-checked them to make sure he wasn't reading it wrong. "Wheeljack, have you performed an internal scan of the shuttle?"

"I was just about, too," Wheeljack answered. "Why are you asking?"

"Have a look at the life signs," Jack replied. "I need you to confirm something."

"I guess I could do that. But I don't see wh?" There was a notable pause for a second. Jack knew his suspicions had been confirmed before Wheeljack replied to him. "What in the name of Primus?"

"A human is flying that thing," Jack said. He didn't know how that was possible, but Wheeljack's reaction had confirmed it.

"Protect him."

"What is a human doing piloting a Decepticon shuttle?" Wheeljack asked. "Better yet, HOW are they doing it?"

A good question and one Jack would like to get an answer to. "Well, only one way to find out," he said. He opened a comm channel to the shuttle. "To the occupant of the unidentified Decepticon shuttle. You have entered restricted space of the UNS. State your business here, or you will be fired upon."

For several seconds, Jack and the rest of the intercepting force got no answer from the shuttle, which was still on its course for the station. Then Jack got a reply. "It's you," a voice came through the comm system. "The one mother told me about. It's you."

Jack blinked, not catching onto the words he had just heard. It was the sound of the voice that had caught his attention.

"He is coming. The child."

That voice sounded just like a child's. What the hell was going on here?

"Who is this?" Jack said, unconsciously, his voice had taken a softer tone. "What are you doing here?"

The child answered him. "Please, I'm a friend," he said. "I have something important to tell you. It's about the League and the bad man."

Jack didn't know why, but he felt a chill. "Wheeljack, what do you think?"

"About like you, Jack," Wheeljack replied. "Not sure what's going on here. But it's your call. Do we let the shuttle reach the station? Or do we try to disable it?"

Jack did not like the idea of having to fire on a shuttle with a child on it. A part of him supposed this all could be a trick. Sensor readings could be deceived, and faking voices was likely a trivial matter for the decepticons. But a small voice in the back of Jack's mind told him that this was all real."

"Protect the child. He would be an aid in the future to come."

Jack activated a comm channel to Jasper. "This Cobalt-3. We have a development."

Valkirie-3

When Jack felt the link with his fighter disappear, he was out of the cockpit. He walked, almost ran, across the hanger bay of the station. The decepticon shuttle had landed in the bay with no incident, both a relief to Jack and made him nervous. He hoped that he had not just compromised that station.

The shuttle was surrounded by several teams of the station's security forces, marines, army soldiers, and autobots. All of whom had their weapons pointed at the shuttle.

Jack reached the massive crowd and pushed through to the shuttle. There, he was greeted by the station's head of security. The woman turned to face him. "Good you're here," she said.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Something going on?" He asked.

The security chief nodded. "It seems our guest refuses to come out unless you are here," she explained. "Any reason why?"

"I'm not sure," he said. It could have something to do with the fact that on the flight back to the station, Jack had maintained a comm channel with the child piloting the shuttle. It had been at his request, and Jack had agreed to it. The boy's voice had been shaky when he asked that, like he was afraid Jack would say no. Jack could not bring himself to say no.

If this was really a kid, they were dealing with. Then, he was a lone child who had, through one means or another, found his way to the station. Who, if Jack was piecing the picture together correctly, had suffered at the hands of the League. There had been a quiver in the boy's voice when he mentioned the 'bad man'—the kind of fear no child should ever have to know.

The security chief nodded at him. "So, do you think we're dealing with a kid here?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Seems a little unbelievable that a kid could pilot a decepticon shuttle."

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I can't really say," he replied. He bit the inside of his cheek and held a hand over his chest. "But something tells me we are."

The security chief nodded and looked back at the shuttle. "We'll find out soon enough," she said. She activated her comm. "Alright, pilot Jack Witwicky is here. Whoever you are, you can come out now." She paused for a moment as she got an answer from the shuttle pilot. "Yes, he's the one. Yes, he is here. All right, you can talk to him if you want. But once you have confirmed who he is, I need you to step outside that shuttle. Understood?"

The security chief looked at Jack. "He wants to talk to you," she said. She pulled out her communication device wrapped around her ear. "Here." She tossed it at Jack.

Jack grabbed it mid-air and put it to his ear. "H-hello?" He responded.

"Are you the guy that was talking to me earlier?" A child's voice asked. "The one who was flying the fighter. Cobalt-3?"

"Yes, that's me," Jack replied. "You were just talking to me earlier, just before you landed. My name is Jack. Jack Witwicky. Can you tell yours?"

That was pregnant paused over the line. "Toby," the boy responded. "My name is Tobias, but people used to call me Toby."

Jack smiled, glad he was getting somewhere. "Well, Tobias, I mean Toby," he responded to the boy. "Can you come out now that I'm here?"

Yet another paused silence passed over the line. It wasn't that hard for Jack to tell the boy. Toby was nervous. Jack would be nervous, too, if their roles had been reversed. "No one is going to hurt me, are they?" Jack felt a pain in his heart hearing a child say that. No one should have ever asked something like that, especially not a kid. Or the one that followed. "The doctors won't do anything either?"

Jack was glad he was able to keep his face even. He didn't want to know how the others in the hangar would react if they saw him expressing his dismay. (What he didn't know at the moment was that the conversation was being monitored by the station's command staff and the senior members of Omega-1.)

"No, they won't," Jack said. "No one here is going to hurt you. He saw the security chief gesturing at the armed crowd surrounding the shuttle from the corner of his eyes. Jack quickly glanced around to see what the woman told them to do. Relief flooded Jack's mind when he saw most of everyone lowering their weapons, and they all took a step back.

Jack looked back at the security chief, giving an appreciative nod. Then he looked back at the Decepticon shuttle. "You can come out now," he said to the child on the other end of the comm channel. "No one here is going to hurt you."

"You promise?" Toby asked.

"I promise," Jack said. He was quickly met by silence on the comm channel.

Nothing happened for a second. Then, a hissing sound came from the decepticon shuttle as its rampart came down. With a metallic thud, it landed on the deck plating of the hanger.

That was when they saw him. A boy who looked to be between the ages of eleven and twelve with short, light brown hair. He stood at the edge of the entrance leading into the decepticon shuttle, seemingly unsure if he would walk down or not.

Jack tried to get a closer look at the boy. Something was off about the kid, and Jack could not quite place what it was. Hesitantly, the boy, Tobias, stepped forward, then paused as he scanned the room.

His eyes land on Jack, who smiles at him. He motioned for the boy to come out. Tobias gave him a wary nod, walked down the rampart, and steadily made his way for the fighter pilot.

Jack could sense the growing tension as everyone saw the boy. Jack looked at the security chief, seeing a look of-? Jack didn't quite know what it was. It was a strange mix of shock and horror, along with a range of conflicting emotions, which made Jack feel all the more unsettled.

When Jack looked back at Tobias, he saw that the boy was right before him. He saw why everyone was reacting to the kids the way they were.

"You're him," Tobias said, looking up at him with blue eyes. "You're the one mother told me about." Eyes that glow with a faint blue light. Eyes that did not belong to a human. Hearing metallic footsteps, Jack looked over and saw Optimus Prime walking up to them. Tobias's and Optimus's eyes were identical.

Medlab: Observation Room

"You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

If this had come from any other kid, the question might have come off as coming from a nervous child visiting the doctor. After all, no one liked needles.

"No, of course not." The doctor reassured the station's most recent visitor. "Just going to give you a little prick so I can have a look at your blood."

But with this kid. Commander Raymond closed his eyes and tried to push the thought down. He already had enough restless nights, as it were. From the observation room, Commander Raymond and several others watched as the boy, calling himself Tobias or Toby, turned his head to look at Airman Jack.

Jack gave the young boy a reassuring smile, squeezing his hand tightly. "It's okay," Jack said. "No one is going to hurt you. I promised you that."

"It seems our little guest has attached himself to our favorite fighter pilot," Wheeljack commented. He, Optimus, and Aelita were in the room, using their Holo-frames.

"Can you really blame him?" Hatsuko said. "Jack might be the first bit of positive human interaction this kid has gotten in lord knows how long." She gestured to the boy on the other side of the observation room. "Just look at him. What in the hell did they do to him?"

"I don't know," Commander Raymond said. "But I can venture a guess who might have done it."

"Let me guess, some nutcase of a scientist?" Wheeljack said. "Believe we know the type, and this looks right up his alley."

"Shockwave," Optimus said.

Raymond nodded. He had read the files on the decepticon scientist. "I'm sure you do," he said. "But he is not the one I am talking about."

The doctor took a sample of the boy's blood. "There," the doctor said, patting the boy on the shoulder. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Tobias shook his head as a smile wormed its way across his face. "No, it wasn't," he said.

The doctor smiled and looked at Jack. "Keep an eye on him," he said. "I'll be right back."

Jack nodded and looked at Tobias.

A moment later, the doctor came into the observation room. "So, what do we got so far, doctor?" Commander Raymond asked the man.

The doctor walked up to the commander. "Not a whole lot," he said. "But what I have found are – interesting, to say the least."

"Interesting?" Aelita said. "How?"

"Let's just say if I ever met the one responsible," he started. "I will be tempted to break my oath to do no harm." He held the vile, holding the boy's blood. "I'll try to have the results back to you as quickly as possible." Then the man left the room.

"Until what do we do with the kid?" Wheeljack asked. "We can't keep him locked up forever. Can we?"

Commander Raymond would never allow that to happen. Not with God as his witness. "But we do have to follow standard quarantine procedures."

Wheeljack looked like he wanted to say something, but Optimus stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. "We understand, Commander Raymond," he said. "We would also like to assist in finding out more about this boy. When your doctors are done, would you forward the results to our people so we can analyze it ourselves?"

Raymond nodded. He had hoped to ask the autobot leader for help in this mystery. "I'll do you one better," he said. "I'll have the doctors send any samples they take. The more eyes we have on this, the better. I might even convince my superiors to let your people examine the boy."

Optimus nodded. "I shall inform Ratchet to prepare for a special guest," he said. His gaze had wandered to the observation window.

"It still makes me wonder what kind of sicko did this to him," Wheeljack said.

Raymond had a few ideas of who. "I think we can find out," he said. He activates a comm to Jack. "Pilot Witwicky."

Jack nodded as the comm link was deactivated. The commander had insisted he carry a comm link into the room. He had just been given his first set of orders since Tobias had come aboard the station.

Jack looked at the young boy. Studying him closely, the boy looked around the room with curiosity filling his eyes. But also tripartition. He wasn't just looking around out of curiosity. He was looking for ways to get out.

At a glance, the boy looked like an ordinary human child, perhaps on the pale side, but just a regular old kid. You just had to ignore the distinctly non-human cybernetic eyes in his head. Eyes that looked like they had been torn right out of a Cybertronian's head and placed inside the kid.

But there was another detail Jack had noticed while watching the boy. The lines that crossed the boy's body. He could see them on Tobias's arms and hands, on his face down to his neck. Jack suspected the lines went through his whole body. They glowed with the same blue light as his eyes, and Jack could see white dots of light pulsing along the strange lines. There were no curves in these lines, but they appeared to branch off in sharp angular lines. They almost reminded him of circuit lines.

Not for the first time since meeting Tobias, Jack wondered what had happened to this child. What sort of twisted human being had done this? Or were they human? Jack would find out soon enough.

"How are you doing, little guy?" Jack asked the boy.

Tobias stopped looking around the room and turned his attention to Jack. Who had to stop himself from flinching at seeing those blue robotic eyes. Tobias smiled at him. "I'm okay," he said. "Thanks to you, the doctors haven't tried hurting me."

Jack smiled back at the boy. Internally, he was wincing. The sincerity in his voice was not something Jack wanted to hear. "I don't know what I had to do with it," he said. "I already told you the doctors wouldn't hurt you."

The boy's smile grew, but there was a sadness about it. "I know," he said. "You wouldn't lie to me. Mother told me you would protect me."

"Mother?" Jack questioned.

"The doctors here are nothing like the ones I know," the boy continued. "And they are nothing like the bad man."

Seeing his opportunity, Jack asked the question. "The bad man?"

Tobias nodded. "Y-yeah, he's the one that did this to me," he said. He gestured to his arms and eyes. "And all the others, too. He. He scares me."

Jack nodded. He didn't like making the kid think of this 'bad man,' but Jack had his orders. Not to mention, he wanted to know who this man was. "Do you know who this 'bad man' is? Do you know his name, or can you give me a description?"

Tobias looked at him with a curious look on his face. "You were told to ask me," he said. "Weren't you?"

Jack could not hide his surprise. "How did you?"

Tobias looked over at the mirror across the wall. On the other side was the observation room. "I know," he said. Then looked back at Jack. "They want to know about the bad man."

Jack thought about diverting the question. Change the subject and come back to the question later. But looking at Tobias, Jack knew that wasn't going to work. "So do I," he said. "You have to understand what this bad man did to you. It was wrong." Way more than just wrong. It was. It was. Jack couldn't think of anything to describe what the bad man had done to the boy.

Tobias nodded. "I know," he said. "It's why I call him the bad man. And I'm not the only one he does this too. I've seen the things he has done. H-heard the screams." The boy's voice had dropped below an inaudible whisper.

Jack had to resist the urge to wrap the boy in a tight hug. To tell him he didn't have to worry about the bad man anymore. Jack would keep him safe. However, Jack didn't know how the boy would react. How would he respond to any form of human touch?

Jack, though, tightened his grip on the boy's hand. It wasn't hard, but gentle-like. A firmness that assured the boy he would be safe. Tobias looked up at Jack. The fighter pilot could almost see the tears come down from Tobias's eyes.

Jack had one fleeting thought. Conner would have protected him, too.

After a moment, Tobias nodded and looked away. "His name was Tamil Bedi."

Even though Jack felt his blood turning to ice, he smiled at the boy.

Guest questers, later the night

With a heavy sigh, Jack sat down in front of a terminal. Tobias had been cleared from the med lab hours ago. Since then, the young boy had been taken on a tour of the station with Jack as his guide (it went unsaid there had always been a pair of guards within reach, but thankfully out of sight). Again, Jack was struck by how quickly Toby's mood had changed.

He had been so shy and hesitant with the doctors, still polite and kind, but he had kept his distance where he could. However, Jack saw a much more lively and excited child during the tour. For Toby, one thing after another caught his attention, causing him to run off more than a few times, and Jack had to chase after him.

A couple of times, the fighter pilot had almost lost sight of the young boy somehow, though Toby had always managed to keep in sight of Jack. The station crew seemed to have taken to the boy's presence well enough. A few looked uncomfortable around the boy, whether because they didn't like having a kid in a military station or because of what he was, which was hard to tell. But most appeared to be accepting of Toby, letting him look around and smiling at some of his antics. A few even indulged a couple of his questions.

Jack wasn't aware of it, but he had been smiling throughout the tour. Even though he found it hard to keep up with the child, he enjoyed watching over Toby. The boy was a boundless bundle of energy.

Eventually, though, the boy did tire himself out. After a big yawn from the boy, Jack decided it was time to take him to the guest quarters for some rest. Toby had protested, wanting to see more of that station and its people, but the frequent yawns had not helped his case.

Still, though, Jack could not help but give him some leeway. The pair had made one last stop at one of that station's mess halls so Toby could get a bit to eat. The boy had eaten a good hearty meal (perhaps the first one he had in who knows how long). The chef had even broken into his special store to give Toby a scope of ice cream. A special treat for a well-behaved boy, the man claimed. But Jack saw the soft expression on the man's face.

After that, Jack took Toby to the guest quarters that had been assigned (it would be Jack's assigned quarters for a little while as well). For whatever reason, Toby had gotten quite attached to him. Something about mother telling him he was a good guy. He had yet to ask about that.).

Toby was now curled up in a warm bed, fast asleep. Jack watched him for a few minutes to make sure he had fallen asleep (and to make sure he was safe). Jack switched the terminal on, allowing it to connect with the station's network.

A minute later, the image of Commander Raymond appeared before him. "It's about time," he said. The commander was wearing an amused expression. "The boy kept you busy?"

Jack smiled and rubbed the side of his head. "Toby is a lively kid, that much I can attest to," he replied.

Commander Raymond. "Kids can be a handful. Believe me when I say that," he responded.

"You have kids, sir?" Jack asked, curious about the man.

Commander Raymond shook his head. "No, but when I was younger, I did have to babysit more than a few times," he explained. "A lot of kids where I grew up, and most of the adults were away for one reason or another. I and the other older kids had to pitch in."

Jack nodded. "I see," Jack said. Until today, he couldn't get that. He had been the youngest sibling among three, and he didn't know a lot of kids back then. But today, after watching over Toby, he was beginning to see some of it.

"But enough about that," Commander Raymond said. "I trust our guest is sound asleep."

Jack nodded. "He is," he replied.

"Good," Commander Raymond said. "We just got the results from the doctors, both human and autobot. We also got a result from a background check on the boy."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage that?" He asked. "All we got was just his name."

"We ran a DNA analysis," the commander answered. "If the boy was a citizen of the UNS or affiliated colonies. We have his record."

Jack nodded. He had forgotten everyone's DNA was registered at a young age, a means of identification. "When does the meeting start?" Jack asked.

"Now," Commander Raymond said. "I called everyone together when I heard you were taking the boy to the guest quarters. We were just waiting for you. I figure you want to know what we know."

Jack nodded. He wanted to know but was unsure if he would be given the clearance for that information. "Thank you, sir," he said.

Commander Raymond nodded. "Just make sure your end is secure," he said. "We don't want any of this to get out. Not before we have a chance to dig through the information ourselves."

Jack nodded. "Give a minute," he said. A minute later, he had re-established a link with the Commander, this time on a secure channel. "My end is secure."

"Then we can get started," Commander Raymond said. The image shifted to show a conference room. Sitting at the table were the senior staff members of the station and Omega-One, along with other figures Jack was not familiar with. His best guess was they were intelligence agents.

In his holoframe form, Wheeljack greeted Jack with a wave. Jack waved back at him before the meeting started.

"Doctors, you may begin at your leisure," Commander Raymond said.

The doctor at the front of the table nodded. Next to him was an autobot, who appeared in the room as a hologram. Both doctors stood up and went for a terminal on the other side of the room.

"Thank you, sirs," the human doctor said. "My partner and I spent some time together analyzing this data, and the conclusions we have reached are," he paused. "Are startling, to say the least."

The autobot next to him, Ratchet, if Jack corrects with the names, nodded. "Whoever did this to this sparking is a demented and twisted genius. Much like my friend here, if I ever meet the being, my oath as a doctor will be tested."

"Dully noted, doctor," Commander Raymond said. There was a slight edge of annoyance in the man's voice. "Now, can you explain what exactly this Tobias is?"

Both doctors looked at each other and back at the people around the table. "As far as we can tell, this boy is some kind of Human/cybertronian hybrid." The human doctor said.

Jack blinked briefly, trying to register what the man had just said. A human/cybertronian hybrid? How was that possible? They weren't just two separate species but made of entirely different compositions.

Before anyone else could wrap their heads around it, Jack spooked up. "Excuse me, doctor," he said. Both doctors looked at him expectantly. "But did you just say Toby is a human/cybertronian hybrid?"

After a moment, the human doctor nodded his head. "I did," he said. "And make no mistake, this was a conclusion the both of us reached."

"And independently, might I add," Ratchet said.

Jack nodded. "But how is that something like even possible?" He asked. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think our two species are exactly compatible."

Ratchet crossed his arms and scoffed. "Please," he said. "Don't fill our heads with such absurd notions. This boy,"

"Tobias." Jack corrected for the meche, almost wincing at his tone of voice.

If the autobot doctor was surprised by the correction and tone, he didn't show it. But he did use the boy's name. "Tobias was not born like this. He has been modified."

"Modified?" Commander Raymond said.

The human doctor nodded. "As far as we can tell, young Tobias was born as a full human. The records we have on him prove it." To prove his point, the doctor activated the terminal and brought up a profile on Tobias.

On Jack's terminal, he saw the same profile pop up. It showed a picture of a younger and more human-looking Tobias. Next to that picture was a catalog of information. His date of birth, his parents' names, blood type, and even the school he had been attending.

"According to the records, Tobias Wiggens was born on the asteroid colony of Neo Tuscany on July 17th, 2664." Jack ran the numbers in his head that would put Tobias at the age of twelve.

"Neo Tuscany?" Hatsuko said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "That sounds familiar, but I can't place where."

"Probably because it made headline news a few years back," the human doctor said. Tobias's profile vanished and was replaced with a news article. Skimming through the article, Jack remembered the incident reported on by the news.

"Neo Tuscany was a rather minor colony, all things considered," the human doctor droned on. "Barely had a population above fifteen thousand. Nonetheless, on September 4th, 2671, the League chose the colony as a raiding target. By the time UNS forces had arrived on the scene, less than a thousand people were left alive in the colony. Most of its population has been killed or taken by the League."

Again, Jack did the math, concluding it had been three years ago. Meaning Tobias had been nine when that raid occurred on his home. Worse, Jack realized, the boy had been in the hands of the League for more than three years.

"What has become of the colony since then?" Optimus asked.

"Abandoned," the human doctor said. "The survivors had emigrated deeper into UNS space. No one wanted to stay in the place where all their friends and family had been taken from them. Nor has anyone tried recolonizing the asteroid. However, a small mining presence is left there."

Optimus nodded. "I understand," he said, leaning back in his chair.

Hatsuko turned her head to face the two doctors. "So, Toby has been in the hands of the League since then," she summed up the brief report. "And judging by how he looks now, we can guess where in the League he was sent." Both doctors nodded. "Poor kid snatched away from his home and made into a genuine pig for the League's experiments."

Not just that, Jack thought to himself. He had been in the care of Bedi the league's most notorious scientist.

"Indeed," the human doctor said. "As for how the League and the decepticons managed to do this. We cannot say for certain. My colleague and I have some theories, all of which will be outlined in a written report."

After a while, Jack started to tune out the conversation as more and more information was revealed about Tobias and how his body had been altered. He would not get a good night's sleep that day.

Three days later

The next few days had been interesting, to say the least. However, Jack was not sure if that was a good thing. More was revealed about the station's guests as more tests were run on the boy.

Between tests, Tobias would always be found close to Jack, which would earn the young fighter pilot amused expressions and jokes made at his peril. Jack didn't mind it too much; sure, it was odd that the boy had gotten so attached to him so quickly. But Jack figured that had to do with him being the first person to show the boy some human decency in three years.

"Watch this kid," Jack was taken out of his thoughts.

Jack felt a tugging at his shirt. Looking over and down excitedly, he saw Toby pulling at his shirt sleeve. The boy was pointing his finger across the bay. Jack looked over where Toby was pointing his finger.

Right as Wheeljack made an over-the-back score in his game. "Did you see that?" Toby asked excitedly.

Before Jack could respond, another person had joined the conversation. "Did I ever?" Started by the newcomer, Jack turned around to see a familiar face. The minicon Jix rolled up to them. "That was another amazing game from Wheeljack."

"Jix, I didn't realize you were aboard," Jack greeted the minicon. "I haven't seen you in a while."

Jix smiled at him. "Oh, I've been around," he said. "But we minicons tend to go around unnoticed. You know with how small we are."

Jack would have thought that would have made them more noticeable. He puts that thought to the back of his mind. "So, what brings you here?"

"Just wanted to meet our guest," Jix said, looking at Toby. The boy was watching the minicon with both curiosity and wariness. "I heard about the stuff done to him."

Jack nodded. "It's a lot," he said. Baring the obvious, the continued tests had shown that more had been down to the boy. Some of the implants Toby had dated back several months to years. Surgical scars show the oldest implant had been revealed to be around two and a half years old.

According to the doctors, Toby could have easily qualified as a form of cyborg if it had not been for the cybertronian augments he received. (Technically, he could still be one.)

Jix nodded as he rolled over to Toby. Jack felt an arm curling around him. Jack glanced quickly at Toby, seeing the boy acting shyly around the newcomer. He was looking at Jack for approval.

Jack smiled and nodded at the child. "He won't hurt you," he said. He looked at Jix. "He might be a little strange, but Jix here won't hurt you."

"I'm not strange," Jix said with a smile. "But he is right, I won't hurt you. I promise, my name is Jix. What's yours?" He reached his hand out to Toby.

Toby hesitated for another second before taking the minicom's offer of a handshake. "Tobias," he answered with a wide smile. "But you can call me Toby."

Jix smiled. "Toby, it is then," he greeted the boy back. Both shook hands. "So, what can you say, Toby? I know this is a great game we can play together. Want in?"

Again, Toby looked at Jack for an answer. Jack nodded. He didn't see anything wrong with the idea. It would be nice to see Toby acting like a normal kid. Jack had imagined that he wouldn't get to do that much until recently.

Toby smiled, slid out from where he sat and walked up to Jix. "Come on," he said, taking Jix's hand.

As the pair moved off, Jack heard footsteps moving towards him. He looked over and saw Wheeljack. "I see Jix found his way here," he said. "Haven't seen that little guy for a bit."

Jack nodded. "He seems to be doing fine," he said. Jack looked over at where the minicon and Toby were as they began their little game. They were quickly joined by what Jack guessed were other minicons.

"Good to see he's still around," Wheeljack commented. "And look, he's even made a new friend."

Jack smiled. "And so has Toby," he said. "It's nice seeing him make friends."

Wheeljack nodded. "Probably not many chances to network where he came from," he commented drily. "Speaking of," Wheeljack looked down at Jack. "Has he said anything about where he comes from? You know the place where?"

Jack shook his head. "He hasn't said much," he said. "I don't think he likes talking about that place."

Wheeljack nodded. "Can't blame him," he said. "If I came out from one of Shockwave's pit holes, I wouldn't want to talk about it either."

"I think he's coming around to it," Jack said. A good thing, too. Since the higher-ups were hounding him for any intel, Toby might have on the League. "What about things on your end? Tobias came in on a decepticon shuttle. Maybe there is some data on it."

Wheeljack frowned. "Not much luck there either," he said. "I don't know what our new friend did to that thing. But left the logs a mess. We can't make heads or tails of the stuff. But the boss still wants us to comb through the thing."

Jack nodded. "Then after that, it's ours," he said. Once the autobots were done with the decepticon shuttle, they would hand it over to the UNS to do whatever they wanted. Jack would not be surprised if the thing were shipped off to R for study.

"That was the deal," Wheeljack said.

"Sorry if it seems like we're taking your stuff," Jack said. "Even if your enemies made it. It should still have gone to you guys."

Wheeljack scoffed. "Don't sweat it, kid," he quipped. "Believe me when I say we've gotten our hands on plenty of con ships before. Might even still have a few for a rainy day. Losing out on one more isn't going to hurt us. Plus, this is your people's chance to learn firsthand what con tech looks like without blowing it apart first."

Jack nodded. "Still, it does feel a little wrong," he said. He looked back at Toby playing with the minicons. "You think we'll get the people responsible?"

Wheeljack looked off in the same direction. "Trust me, we will," he said. "Not while Primus is my witness. The kid mentioned a man named Bedi. I heard Hatsuko met the guy where we were trying to retake the gravity projector."

Jack nodded. He had heard about that. "He's one of the league's top scientists," he explained. "And one of their most infamous. The experiments he's done are the stuff of nightmares. Genetic engineering, cybernetics, biological, whatever you can think of he's had his hands in it. But they all have one thing in common: more human suffering than one man has any right to cause."

"Sounds a lot like a human-shaped Shockwave to me," Wheeljack said.

Jack nodded. He had read the codex on the decepticon scientist. Considering his hand in creating a certain planet-killing weapon, Jack had been curious about the meche. He could easily spot the parallels between Shockwave and Bedi. "He's something like that," he said. "I never met the guy, though, or seen the results of his experiments." Until now.

Wheeljack nodded. "Well, too bad," he said. "This one I can't punch or take a swipe at with my swords. It would make too much of a mess. And Prime's got this thing for wanting people to stand trial for their actions." He scoffed. "For people like him, I say just deal with them."

Having met Toby, Jack was starting to come up with that idea. Jack opened his mouth to say something. A hand on his shoulder stops the young fighter pilot. He looked over and saw Hatsuko.

"Hatsuko?"

She was smiling at him, but Jack could tell it was forced. "A meeting has been called," she said. "At ten 10:00 hours tomorrow. They want you and Toby to be there."

Jack frowned.

The next day, the conference room

Holding Toby by the hand, Jack entered the conference. The two were greeted by the senior staff of the station and of Omega-One. Jack and his young companion were waved over by Hatsuko, who had two seats available next to her.

Jack nodded at her, happy for the offer. Walking over with Toby next to him, Jack looked at Commander Raymond, trying to read the man. His commanding officer gave him an apologetic expression.

At the front of the table was a young man that seemed vaguely familiar to Jack. He sat down next to Hatsuko, with Toby sitting beside him.

Hatsuko looked at Jack, trying to give him a reassuring look. "Don't worry," she said. "I won't be that bad." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

Before Jack could reply, he was interrupted. "Now that everyone is here," the young man at the end of the table said. "We can call this meeting to a start. As some of you may know, I am special agent Issac."

"We remember," Wheeljack said in his holo form. "But I thought you worked for Earth Security. What are you doing out here?"

Issac nodded at the autobot. "You did meet me on Earth," he said. "That is true. I, however, work for a special department of UNS Intelligence, Sector Seven."

Jack and the rest of the UNS personnel stood up straight at the name. All except for Commander Raymond and the station's commander. "Did I hear that right?" Hatsuko said. "Sector Seven?"

Issac nodded his head. "That should give you an idea of the weight of my visit," he said.

"Can someone tell me what this Sector Seven is?" Wheeljack said, looking around the table. "Judging by how everyone is acting, I guess these guys mean business."

Commander Raymond was the one to explain. "Sector Seven is a special branch of the UNS Intelligence Service. They were established sometime in the early twenty-third century. However, some speculation may have put them at an earlier date. They have been given certain broad discretion to deal with threats to the security of the UNS, both internal and external."

"When you say certain broad discretion," Optimus said, rubbing his chin. Judging by the tone of his voice, he already knew his answer and did not like it. "Would that mean?"

Issac nodded. "We have been given a wide range of freedom to operate," he answered. "But we still answer to someone within the UNS chain of command and are still beholden to the UNS."

"And who do you answer to?" Wheeljack asked.

"I answer to my handler," Issac said, a slight grin forming. Wheeljack gave him a rather displeased look but held off any more questions. "I was not sent here to answer questions about my organization and its merits. I have been sent here because of recent developments here at Valkyrie-3."

"And by developments," Hatsuko said, turning her seat to face the S7 agent. "You mean the arrival of a special guest to this station."

Almost instinctively, Jack leans over to protect Toby. Looking at the young boy, Jack was surprised to see him acting strangely calmly. Even a slight smile on the kid's face was almost serene.

"Correct," Issac said. "As I understand it, this Tobias Wiggens is an escaped experiment of the League. By his own admission, Dr. Bedi had a hand in the experiments down on him, if not having conducted the experiments himself."

"Okay, and what does that have to do with you being here?" Wheeljack said. "So, what, he escaped from one of the League's research facilities?"

"Quite simply, the boy may know where the research facility is," Issac said. "With his help, we could strike a blow to the League's R efforts, and we may even be lucky enough to capture Dr Bedi."

"So, what?" Wheeljack said with a harsh edge in his voice. "You've come here to interrogate the kid?"

"Wheeljack," Optimus warned.

Next to Jack, Toby receded into his seat. Jack didn't realize it, but he was leaning out in front of the boy, offering protection. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Hatsuko tensing up.

Commander Raymond held his hand out to placate the group. "He never said anything about that," he said to Wheeljack and everyone else at the table. "And to be clear, neither I nor the station's commander would ever allow for that to happen." The man sitting across from him, presumably the station commander, nodded.

"I do apologize if I may have implied anything like that," Issac said. "But the truth remains. This boy could give us valuable intel."

"Then how do you propose we get it out of him?" Wheeljack asked.

While the debate continued, Jack looked at Toby to see how he was doing. It was easy enough to tell the boy was nervous. Jack could not fault him for that. But what surprised him was the look of determination he had.

Toby noticed his staring and looked at him with those blue cybertronian eyes. Toby nodded at him. In an instant, Jack knew what the boy wanted. "You sure?" He whispered to the kid.

Toby nodded. "It's what I came here for," he replied.

Jack nodded and turned his attention back to the conversation. Wheeljack was still talking back at Issac. "How can you even do something like that?"

"All I'm proposing is we." Issac paused when he noticed Jack raising his hand. "Something to say, pilot Witwicky?"

Jack lowered his hand. "Yes," he replied. "I think our charge here has something to say." He gestured his hand to Toby.

As all eyes fell on the boy, he shrunk back into his seat out of nervousness for a second. But a quick glance at Jack had his courage coming back. Toby took a deep breath and looked around the room. "I know where the research lab is," he said. "And I can tell you where it is. But you got to promise me one thing."

Special agent Issac looked intrigued. "Name it, and I can see what I can do."

Again, Toby looked at Jack. The young man nodded at him, smiling at Toby. The boy looked back at Issac. "You have to promise me you'll rescue the people there. The other people like me."

"Is that all you want?" Issac asked. Toby nodded at him. "Then you never had anything to worry about. Our plans had always included rescuing any captives and test subjects held by the League. Our top priority will be the safety of the League's victims. Of that, you have my word."

Toby was silent for a second, then he nodded. "Then I can help you."