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"Well, here we go again," Arcee muttered as her sensors detected another group of Decepticons ahead.

"Didn't take 'em long to regroup." Ashanti nudged Jack's shoulder, pushing him into a side-corridor, and tugged on June's arm, pulling her into cover as well.

The rest of her team split up, some joining her and others taking cover in the opposite corridor.

"How many?" June whispered.

Case peeked around the corner and shrugged. "Uh, I'd say...enough."

Arcee did a quick visual sweep as she ducked into cover beside Jack and his mom. "Fourteen Vehicons and thirty-two of the humanoid ones."

The 'Cons pointed their guns at her. She unloaded with both shotguns before ducking back around the corner and racking the pumps.

"Okay, Fourteen Vehicons and thirty humanoids."

The 'Cons opened fire, sending countless streams of energy and projectiles zipping past. Arcee held her guns up and stayed out of the line of fire, waiting for it to stop long enough to lean out of cover and whack a couple more of them.

Loud, clanking footsteps--the Vehicons charging down the corridor.

"I've got this one." Case pulled a cylindrical grenade out and stepped into the open to lob it.

One of the Vehicons appeared around the corner just as the grenade left her hand. She froze for a split-second, staring slack-jawed as the grenade struck the 'Con's crotch and deflected straight back toward her.

"Scatter!" Arcee dropped her shotguns, scooped up Jack in her right hand and June in her left, and bolted.

The grenade detonated. Its shockwave staggered her and she fell to her knees. Shrapnel peppered her backside and she hunched over, covering Jack and June with her body. She looked over her shoulder and found the 'Con regaining his balance and shaking his head as if to clear it.

Ashanti and her team were sprawled on the floor but picking themselves up or scooting away from him, raising their guns and taking aim.

He pointed both cannons at Arcee. She pulled the pistol from her hip and drew a bead on his optic strip.

Ashanti's entire team emptied their clips into him. He staggered backward as the explosive bullets blasted small chunks out of his chest armor, but remained on his feet.

Arcee shifted her aim and punched a round into the right side of his head. A fist-size hole burst out of the left side and he slumped over, twitching for a few seconds before the last of his systems failed. A glowing blue pool of energon spread across the floor from under his head.

Arcee turned back to Jack and his mom. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Mom?"

"Great. Nearly killed by a dick-bounce. I'm just peachy." June blinked and shook her head, and leaned over to take a quick look at the intersection.

Jack patted her shoulder and looked up at Arcee. "You okay?"

"Got some shrapnel in my ass, but I'll survive." Arcee rushed back to the intersection and picked up her shotguns. "The clock's ticking."

"How much longer?" Ashanti said, crouching in front of her and leaning out just far enough to aim her gun.

Arcee checked her internal chronometer and winced. "Under six minutes."

Ashanti grumbled a string of curses. She leaned farther into the corridor and shouted, "Did you hear that? Less than six minutes before the reactor blows!"

"Easy enough to reverse once we dispose of you." Starscream's voice, sounding as if he were speaking from the far end of the corridor, with everyone else between him and the intruders.

Typical. Arcee clipped one of the shotguns to her back and grabbed the detonator. She turned to look into Jack's eyes. If I push this button...if we don't get out of here in five minutes...

She had lived for centuries--hardly a long time compared to other Cybertronians, but still...

Jack had lived for sixteen years. Barely a single heartbeat compared to the amount of time she'd had.

He gazed back at her and his face turned pale. Then he braced himself and released a long breath. "I know you'll get us out of this. Do what needs to be done."

June flicked her eyes back and forth from Arcee to Jack, and seemed to realize what was about to happen. Her mouth opened slightly and her face turned white, but she didn't protest.

Can't put this off any longer. If the 'Cons get past us and stop the meltdown, this was all for nothing. Arcee put her thumb on the button and gave Jack one last look.

"Get ready." She waited for him and June to run to the end of the corridor and squeeze themselves into a doorway. "I love you."

Click.

The floor lurched, knocking her off her feet, and a blast of heat enveloped her. For a few seconds, her entire world was nothing but fire. Then the flames dissipated, leaving her in partial darkness.

Smoke, she realized a moment later. Smoke had filled the corridors. She glanced to the left and found Jack and June on the floor, gasping for breath.

A cold sensation rose up inside her. Oh, hell. Humans need oxygen.

Jack sat up, coughing and sucking in labored breaths, and gave her a thumbs-up as he helped his mom stand. There was still enough air, obviously--but that wouldn't last much longer.

Arcee turned, looking for Ashanti's team. Wherever they were, she couldn't see them through the smoke. Before she could scan for life signs, one of the humanoid 'Cons emerged from the smoke and aimed a rifle at her.

It looked similar to the EMP rifle Ashanti had used on the Scraplets. Possibly the same one that had knocked her out at Groom Lake, allowing Jack and June to be captured.

Shit. One zap from that thing, and I'll be completely useless. She whipped her shotgun up.

The smoke behind the 'Con swirled and parted as something moved through it. Ashanti appeared behind him, slipped her left arm around his neck, and jerked him backward. His arms flailed, exposing his chest.

Ashanti raised her right hand.

Her fist clutched a huge, serrated Bowie knife.

She plunged it into the 'Con's chest, all the way to the hilt, piercing his spark, and he thrashed and screamed as arcs of energy spat out of the wound and jumped to his arms and hands.

She yanked the knife back out. The blade, designed to cause more damage on the way out than on the way in, ripped vital components from his chest, and he collapsed, energon vomiting from the hole she'd just punched in him.

Two more of the humanoids stepped out of the smoke and froze at the sight of Ashanti and their dying comrade. She glared at them, stepped over the body, shifted the knife to her left hand, and pulled her P90 from the holster on her back.

They pointed their guns at her.

Arcee aimed her shotgun at the one on the left. At the same moment, Ashanti drilled the other one through the right eye. His head snapped back and he toppled over, firing his guns wildly into the floor and walls.

Arcee blew a gaping hole through the remaining 'Con's chest and stormed past him before his body hit the floor.

"In case you're wondering," she yelled, "your control center was just vaporized. Try resetting your reactor now."

Starscream's enraged growl came from somewhere beyond the smoke.

"You might want to clear out of here." Arcee laughed. "This place is gonna fry in about five minutes."

"Then you'll burn with it!"

Running footsteps. Sounded like all the 'Cons at once, storming her position.

Arcee checked her ammo; one round left in each shotgun, twelve in her pistol. She had two extra clips for the handgun, but that was it.

Ashanti and her team took positions a few yards from the intersection, resting on one knee and keeping their aim steady, and waited.

Arcee glanced behind her and found Jack and his mom. She crouched, aimed her pistol at the intersection, glanced over her shoulder and said, "Stay under cover."

Still coughing, Jack nodded and gave her another thumbs-up. He and June ducked back into the doorway.

The smoke parted and all of the Decepticons emerged. The remaining Vehicons pointed their blasters at Arcee and the smaller ones covered the humans with their arm-mounted machine guns and Arcee with their EMP rifles.

Uh-oh. Arcee fought to keep her expression confidant as Ashanti's team opened fire. She almost shifted her aim to the human-size 'Cons--if she got zapped by two dozen of those EMP guns, she doubted that she'd ever get up again--but she stayed focused on the Vehicons. Their huge directed-energy weapons would incinerate the humans one shot, so they had to be taken out first.

Aw, screw it. She hung the pistol on her hip, charged straight toward the six Vehicons, and pulled her shotguns.

The 'Cons opened fire.

She kicked her legs out from under her, hit the floor and slid toward the nearest pair. Their beams seared over her head and moved downward as they tried to correct their aim.

As she slid between them, she jammed her shotguns under their chins and sent a 140mm round through the top of each Decepticon's head. After a quick glance to either side to reacquire her targets, she whipped the gun in her right hand around and smashed it into the back of a humanoid's skull, sending him reeling straight into a shotgun blast to the face from Dawson.

Clanking footsteps alerted her to the rest of the Vehicons charging from the left. She flung both shotguns at them, spinning the weapons into the nearest 'Con's legs and tripping him. She whipped the pistol off her hip and drilled him in the optics as he fell.

The 'Con directly behind him grabbed the body and held it up, using it as a shield while firing at her. She jumped to the right and the beam lanced past her, missing her by mere inches. She fired several shots at him to prevent him from locking onto her, then shifted her aim to one of the others and popped three rounds through his optics.

She snapped her gun toward another Vehicon and kept firing--then her gun clicked and the slide locked in the open position. She grabbed one of the spare clips, ejected the spent one at the same moment, and shoved the fresh magazine in, all in one motion.

"Behind you!" Jack shouted.

Arcee whirled and found one of the humanoids aiming his EMP rifle at her. She blew his head off and turned back to the oncoming Vehicons.

Suddenly, she was face-down on the floor, twitching, barely able to move. In the corner of her optics, Ashanti and Deedee crouched beside her, using her body as cover, and blazed away at the 'Cons. She counted seven humanoid 'Cons sprawled on the floor, their bodies perforated, still-molten metal dripping from the holes and energon spreading across the floor.

"Jack," she grunted, trying to move her head.

"He's busy." Jensen's voice, coming from behind and to the left.

Arcee managed to turn toward the sound--and almost screamed at what she saw: Jack struggling with one of the humanoids, his hands clamped onto his rifle--and the 'Con swinging him around like a toy, bashing him into the wall again and again. Somehow, Jack managed to keep his grip on the rifle while kicking at the Decepticon's built-in gun to keep it pointed away from him.

Jack! Regaining control over her functions bit by bit, Arcee pushed herself onto her hands and knees.

The 'Con slammed Jack against the wall again. Jack's eyes lost their focus and he almost fell to his knees, but he shook himself out of it and kept his hands on the EMP rifle. He braced his feet against the wall and pushed, sending the Decepticon stumbling backward, toward Jensen. When they reached him, Jack lunged, snatched Jensen's sidearm, and jammed it against the 'Con's chest.

Before the Decepticon could react, Jack emptied the clip into him. The bullets punched through his armor and traversed his body, ripping through his spark chamber and exploding out of his back. His glowing red optics faded out before he hit the floor.

Jack wrenched the rifle from his hands and stared at the body for a split-second, shocked at what he'd just done.

"Get under cover, kid," Jensen snapped, yanking the pistol from Jack's hand and returning it to his holster.

Jack shook his head abruptly, looked around and seemed to suddenly remember where he was. He ducked behind Arcee, smiled and reached up to stroke her cheek. He hefted the EMP rifle, stepped past her, and zapped one of the three surviving Vehicons.

"How much time left?" June's voice, from behind and to the right.

Arcee checked her chronometer and gasped. That can't be right.

"What? How long?"

"Barely a minute. What the hell happened?"

"One of them 'emped' you before we could drop 'em all," Deedee said. "Hold on--did you say one minute?"

"Yeah." Arcee managed to scoop up her gun and began firing at the 'Cons, who'd taken cover around the corner. Not that there was much point in it, now. "I'm sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry..."

"We're not dead yet." He emped another 'Con and drew a bead on a third.

"Arcee? Can you hear me?"

Her jaw dropped. "Optimus?"

"Our comms are working again, as are our weapons. Whatever you did, it was successful."

Damn it, why didn't I think of that five minutes ago? "Optimus, you need to get out of here. This place is less than a minute away from going up like a supernova!"

"We have almost reached your position. Call Ratchet and request a ground bridge."

"I'm on it." She established a link with the Autobot base. "Ratchet--lock on to my signal! Bridge! Now!"

Up ahead, the remaining Decepticons--including Starscream and his two cronies--turned abruptly to the right. A look of confusion crossed Starscream's face, and quickly turned to utter horror.

"Say hello to my little friend," Optimus rumbled.

One of the Vehicons turned to fire at him--and was hit by hundreds of incendiary rounds in mere seconds. When his lifeless body toppled over, his chest looked like Swiss cheese and parts of his back resembled a lace doily.

Starscream bolted down the corridor directly ahead of Arcee, followed by Knockout and Breakdown. They disappeared around the corner at the far end.

A greenish flash of light erupted behind Arcee. She glanced over her shoulder and grinned with relief at the sight of the ground bridge opening.

Prime's weapon shredded several more Vehicons before the rest turned and ran. He stepped into view, holding what looked like a gigantic helicopter minigun.

"Daaaaaaamn," Deedee shouted, grinning.

Bee and Bulkhead appeared from behind Optimus, turned the corner, and started to pursue the fleeing 'Cons.

"No!" Arcee shouted, and they stopped. "There's no time--we need to evac now!"

Optimus dropped his minigun and transformed into his truck mode. His doors opened and he said, "Jack, June--get in!"

Bee and Bulkhead shifted into vehicle mode, and Ashanti's team ran to them. Chang glanced at her watch as she threw herself into Bulkhead's back seat.

"Only a few seconds left."

"Roll out!" Optimus surged forward. "Maximum overdrive!"

The other 'Bots punched it, roaring full-throttle toward the bridge vortex. Arcee didn't waste time running a diagnostic--with the lingering effects of the EMP added to the Scraplet damage, if she tried to transform, either nothing would happen at all, or she would fall apart.

So she simply ran.

Brilliant light overwhelmed her optics a split-second after she transitioned to the far end of the bridge--then the shockwave hit, slamming into her back and rocketing her into the wall. When she picked herself up, the ground bridge had closed and the three other 'Bots were on their sides or upside-down, having been rolled by the blast.

Shaking, Arcee crawled over to Optimus. "Jack! Are--"

"We're okay." He pushed the door open, crawled out, and reached in to help his mom out. "Got the seat belts fastened just in time."

Arcee put her hands behind his back and embraced him gently while June staggered away, giving Optimus enough room to return to his robot mode.

When Arcee finally pulled back, she looked into Jack's eyes, smiled, and stroked his cheek.

"Is everybody okay?" Bulkhead said, sitting and leaning against the wall.

"I think we're all in one piece." Ashanti reached up to pat his hand. "Thanks for the lift."

"Any time."

"You okay, June?" Arcee reached out to touch her shoulder gently.

"Jack and I should be checked out thoroughly." June crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. "Especially Jack. After what they did to him, there could be lasting damage if we don't get him to a hospital."

"I'll bridge you back to Groom Lake," Ratchet said from the main console, and punched in the coordinates for the human base.

While waiting for the portal to open, Arcee and Jack met each other's gaze and smiled. She leaned closer and they kissed, not even noticing whether anyone was staring at them.

After what they had just survived, a little thing like that didn't even matter.

#

"You still haven't had those fixed yet?" Jack said, waving a hand over the gouges left all over Arcee's body by the Scraplets as he and June stepped out of the Groom Lake medical center's front door.

"I wanted to be sure you were okay first." She crouched in front of him and leaned over to hug him. "You are okay, right?"

"I was terrified that the 'Cons might've implanted something in my head, but the doctors didn't find anything. Nothing but the kind of injuries you'd expect from having a robotic centipede the size of your middle finger shoved up your nose and rooting around in your brain. Plus smoke inhalation and assorted scrapes and bruises. And a bump on the back of my head where that humanoid beaned me."

"I was also worried about possible permanent damage," June said. "Amazingly, it's nothing that won't heal, given enough time. The doctors did say that Jack needs to take it easy for a while, so no more getting shot at, okay?"

Jack chuckled. "Well, I'll try to avoid it. Can't make any promises, though." He turned back to Arcee. "So, how'd the debriefing go?"

"General Sanchez showed us the base's explosion. It was recorded by a surveillance satellite that was keeping an eye on the area. The blast was over a mile and a half across, launched sand and dirt two miles into the air, and left a crater nearly a mile deep. Good thing there weren't any inhabited areas anywhere near it. I guess Burcham--or whatever his real name is--wasn't kidding about all the energon under the base."

"Jesus." Jack's jaw dropped and he shook his head. "Glad we weren't there for that one."

"Me, too. One or two more seconds and we wouldn't have made it."

June's face turned pale.

Arcee winced. Probably shouldn't have mentioned that. She put a smile back on and tried to change the subject. "Well, I should head back home. Repairs, and whatnot. Ratchet's gonna be extra cranky because I put it off for so long. Wanna come, or would you rather finish settling into your temporary quarters here?"

"Well, almost everything we own is still at the house, and we can't go back there now that the 'Cons and whoever else knows we lived there." Jack shrugged and smiled. "Guess I'll tag along. It'll give us time to talk."

"I'd like that." Arcee activated her comm and contacted Ratchet. "Arcee here. We--"

"Yes, ground bridge. Coming up."

Arcee exchanged an amused glance with Jack. Oh, yeah. Extra-extra cranky. She looked at June and said, "How about you? Heading back with us, or staying here?"

"Actually, I've been offered a position on the medical staff here, and I need some time to think it over." June shrugged. "The pay's definitely better, and I can't go back to work at the hospital in Jasper because the Decepticons or MECH could find me there." She snorted and shook her head. "Decepticons. MECH. I'm talking about this stuff like it's normal."

Jack grinned. "You'll get used to it." He frowned. "Speaking of jobs, mine's probably history. Even if we could go back to Jasper, a medical leave of absence only lasts so long before you get canned."

The ground bridge crackled into existence at the far end of the parking lot, well away from any parked vehicles. Arcee and Jack walked toward it, and June followed along for a moment.

"Not that you'll miss it," Arcee said with a chuckle.

"Oh, hell, no, I won't miss it. But I'll have to find another way to bring in some extra money. And then there's school."

"Yeah," June said, "since you're a target now, you can't go back there, either."

"I won't really miss that place, either. Though it's kind of a shame that now I'll never have a chance to get even with Vince for all the crap he dished out to me."

"Well, you may not need to." Arcee snickered. "I've been checking up on current events in Jasper, and if the rumors are true, Vince was recently caught watching clown porn and punchin' his munchkin."

Jack's jaw dropped and June burst out laughing.

"I shouldn't laugh at that, but I can't help it." June's face turned red.

"It's gonna take a belt sander to get that image out of my head." Jack shuddered.

Arcee grinned. "So, Jack, Vince will probably be on the receiving end of a little torment, for once."

"Glad to hear it. I'm usually not a vengeful guy, but that bastard had it coming."

"And on that note, I should let you two take off." June gave him a quick hug. "I'll catch up with you later."

"See you soon, Mom."

Arcee smiled and waved before stepping through the portal. She found Miko, Raf, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee in one corner, facing a large TV. Bee's shoulders slumped and he let out a startled beep. At the same time, Miko threw her hands into the air and whooped.

"Hah! In your face!"

"Wow. Smooth move, Bee." Raf reached over the back of the couch to nudge Bee's arm. "Rocket right between the legs and nothing but air. Next time, aim a bit higher."

Miko jabbed at her controller and giggled--then suddenly she lurched back from the screen. "Hey--what the hell?"

"Looks like you got sniped while you were...um, not paying attention." Raf chuckled.

Bee pointed at her and released a series of honks that sounded like laughter. Miko arched an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, Raf, what'd he say?"

"He said that's what you get for teabagging him."

Arcee shook her head, but chuckled. "Teabagging, Miko? Classy."

Miko rolled her eyes. "Adults."

"Good to have you guys back, finally," Bulkhead said, waving.

"I heard I missed some major action," Miko said.

"A fair bit, yeah." Arcee winked at her. "If you refrain from the teabagging, I'll make you a copy of a few of the highlights for your scrapbook, straight from my video logs."

"Sweet!"

"Here's a preview: Jack took out one of the human-size 'Cons himself."

"Really?" Miko stared at Jack.

"Yeah." Arcee grinned and stroked Jack's cheek. "He was magnificent."

Jack blushed, but also looked troubled for a brief moment.

"Alright," Ratchet said from off to the right, "if you two can pry yourselves apart, I need to get to work on your wounds before something falls off." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder, at one of the tunnels leading out from the hub.

Arcee raised her hands. "Okay, okay, I'm going." She glanced at Jack and blew him a kiss before following Ratchet down the tunnel. "See ya later, babe."

#

"So." Ratchet put away the last of his tools and turned to stare at one of the monitors. "You and Jack."

Arcee arched a brow plate and took a moment to look herself over before speaking. The chunks the Scraplets had taken out of her skin had been repaired, but a few traces of the damage still remained. The scratches and seams would finish healing within the next few days, though. Her internal systems weren't at one hundred percent yet, but with some rest, she would be as good as new.

"Yeah," she finally said. "Me and Jack." She gazed back at Ratchet and waited for his reply.

"I'm merely curious. Just wondering...why?"

"Why not?"

"Well, aside from the fact that our bodies don't work the same way theirs do, humans are so...small. And fragile." Ratchet crossed his arms over his chest, turned to her, and cocked his head. "And squishy."

"Ratchet." She raised her brow again. "Don't make it weird."

"Oh, perish the thought!" He rolled his eyes. "This is, of course, perfectly normal. I would never suggest there was anything out of the ordinary about it." He grumbled something and pointed at her. "I gave your autorepair systems a head start, but you'll need to rest so they can finish their work and your body can recharge. I want you to stay right where you are until tomorrow morning, at least."

"Fantastic." Arcee sighed. "You know how much I hate sitting on my ass."

"Well, I'm sure Jack will be happy to keep you occupied." Ratchet rolled his eyes again and walked off. He stopped at the tunnel leading back into the hub. "Well, here he is. Imagine that."

"Hey, Ratchet." Jack nodded at him and headed for the table where Arcee lay.

"Be gentle with her." Ratchet continued on his way, leaving Jack with a slightly bewildered expression.

Jack shrugged and resumed his course toward the repair table. "Honey, I'm home."

Arcee laughed and sat up. "Hold on a sec." She slid off the table and stretched out on the floor so Jack could reach her more easily.

"That's much better." He leaned over to kiss her. "How're you feeling?"

"Pretty damned good, now." She grinned and held his hand. "How about you?"

"A little sore here and there, but I'll survive." That troubled look crossed his face again.

"Hey, what is it?"

"Well...when I was trying to fight off that one 'Con..."

"Yeah, the one you perforated with Jensen's gun." She smiled and nudged his shoulder. "Which was awesome, by the way."

"Maybe. I've just...never taken a life before."

"It's war. He was trying to kill you--and he would have, if you hadn't pulled the trigger in time." She brushed his hair away from his eyes.

"That's what I keep telling myself."

"And even if you hadn't, I would have." She nodded at the floor and he sat and leaned against her. She let her hand rest gently at his side. "That's the main reason I wanted to obliterate that base. I know it would've been a good idea to take it intact and find out exactly what they knew, what they were after, how deeply they've infiltrated your military, and what they'd stolen from Groom Lake. Or just let Starscream's and Megatron's factions duke it out, then go in and mop up the survivors. But I had to blow that place off the map and wipe out as many of those bastards as possible."

He turned to look up at her, and she met his gaze before continuing.

"Because they hurt you. I had to make them pay."

He reached up to caress her cheek. "Well, I'm glad you're on my side."

"Me, too." She chuckled.

They remained silent for a few moments before Jack spoke up again.

"So, uh, how're things going otherwise? Are Ashanti and her team okay?"

"Amazingly, none of them were hurt during the fight, aside from smoke inhalation and whatnot. I think Ashanti will be okay, eventually She held it together until after the debriefing, then she started crying and couldn't stop. She's taking some time off for bereavement, but the general said there's a promotion waiting for her when she comes back."

"Not much of a comfort, I imagine, but at least she'll be in a position to help fight the Decepticons."

"Yeah, her whole team actually did okay. So did you. Looks like Optimus and I--all of us, really--underestimated humans." She smiled and nudged Jack's shoulder. "Maybe you'll be riding into battle alongside us sooner than we expected. Not just getting caught up in events, I mean, but as part of a team."

"In any other case, I wouldn't consider that something to look forward to. But for you, I'd dive into any fight without a second thought."

She hesitated. She still didn't like the idea of Jack putting his life on the line every day. But on the other hand, he had kicked ass in that base. She smiled and nodded.

"Well, with both of us taking on the Decepticons, I'd say they're totally fucked."

Jack burst out laughing. "That's my girl."

She grinned. "I think beating them just became a little more possible."

"I hope so." He looked up at her. "Hey, if this war does end sometime soon, what will you do then?"

She stared at him. "I...never even thought about that before. The war started long before I even existed. It's all I know--I've been fighting the 'Cons my entire life, ever since day one. I can't even imagine what it would be like not to start each day knowing there's always another battle to fight."

"Well, I hope you get a chance to find out." He grinned. "Maybe we could buy a house and move in together."

"Heh. It'd have to be a big house. We'd have to make payments. Which means I'd have to get a job. Wow. I don't know if I could handle that."

Jack snickered. "I just pictured you flipping burgers at KO."

"Jesus Christ!" Arcee shuddered, but laughed with him. "I think I'd prefer being shot at."

He laughed for a moment longer and shrugged. "Well, General Sanchez would probably figure something out. Like, have you guys working with Ashanti's team to take down human terrorists or arms dealers or whatever. And maybe he or Agent Fowler could work out some sort of internship for me so I can keep working with you."

"I hope so. And I hope you're allowed to. I mean, the age thing doesn't make much sense to me because I was even younger than you when I started fighting, but I know it's a big deal to humans."

"Well, let 'em try to stop me. If all else fails, I'll just Miko it and slip through the ground bridge when nobody's looking."

She chuckled. "If you can do it as well as she can. I swear, it's like she turns completely invisible."

"Yeah, maybe she can train Ashanti's team to be ninjas."

She grinned and checked her chronometer. "Say, the sun'll set in a couple hours. Wanna sit up on the helipad and watch it?"

"Sounds good. I think we could both use a couple hours of peace and quiet." He raised an eyebrow and aimed a mischievous grin at her. "Yeah...just you, me, the sunset...and a few gallons of car polish."

"I don't think my motorcycle mode will need that much."

"I wasn't talking about your motorcycle mode."

She waved a hand over her body. "Polishing all this will take quite a while."

"Yeah. It will." He wiggled his eyebrows, stood, and dusted the seat of his pants off. "I'll meet you up top in a bit. Just gotta grab a sufficient amount of polish from the supplies room." Grinning, he headed off down the tunnel.

"Ah." Arcee suddenly realized what he had just suggested. "Oh!" She stood, grinned, and walked to the tunnel, somehow remembering to move slowly so Ratchet wouldn't get any grumpier. As Alec Hardison might say...Heeeey!

#

"Arcee, what did I tell you?"

"Relax, Ratchet. It won't kill me to ride the elevator up top and take in the sunset." Arcee headed for the cargo lift.

The main console beeped softly. Ratchet shook his head as he turned to the console and accepted the incoming call.

General Sanchez appeared on the main screen. "Good evening, everyone."

"General." Optimus smiled and bowed his head slightly.

Arcee changed course and joined him and Ratchet.

"I wanted to update you on a new development. We've just received a message from the Decepticon who went by the name of Howard Burcham." Sanchez held up a tablet, turning it toward the camera for a moment to show them a text file on its screen. "It's a list of people on this base that are humanoid 'Cons in disguise. Well, allegedly, that is. It's possible that he really did have a change of heart and is trying to atone for his past actions, but it's also very likely that this is an attempt to make us suspect and distrust each other."

Optimus exchanged an alarmed look with Ratchet and Arcee. "This definitely needs to be investigated, but it should be done carefully."

"I agree. On the other hand, everyone here at the Lake is aware of the Decepticon infiltration of the base, so they should understand. Still, we'll have to be delicate. This is a slippery slope. Could turn into a witch hunt if we're not extremely careful. Also, we don't have a means of actually detecting these human-size Decepticons--which are called 'Pretenders,' by the way, if what Burcham said is true."

"I believe we can help you with that; we should be able to detect them with a thorough scan. We should also be there to back your people up, in case any of these Pretenders go on the offensive once they're discovered."

"Sounds like a plan."

"We will be there shortly. We'll need to get started before they find a way to evade our scans."

"Thank you. Until then." Sanchez nodded and signed off.

Arcee pointed at the ground bridge tunnel. "I should--"

"No, Arcee." Ratchet speared her with a frown. "You'll take it easy until further notice." He waved a hand at the elevator. "It's not the end of the world if you sit out one mission, especially after being barely two seconds from getting vaporized on your previous one. Go enjoy the sunset."

"Well...okay." Arcee turned back to the elevator, but Optimus's voice stopped her.

"Jack will be with you soon. Bumblebee is helping him gather the car polish you'll be needing." A very slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Ah. Uh, about me and Jack..."

"No explanations are needed. Such a thing is rare, but it has happened before." Optimus rested a hand on her shoulder. "None of us can afford to let this endless war dominate our lives. After everything we've been through, we all deserve some measure of happiness, something to remind us that there is more in our future than death and destruction."

"Thanks, Optimus." Smiling. Arcee turned and walked to the elevator. "I'll see you later."

The lift took her to the helipad. She walked across the pavement and picked a random spot to sit, propping herself up on her right palm and facing the sun. It was still well above the horizon and its light hadn't yet taken on that faint reddish evening hue.

Beautiful. The sky was so blue, with wispy clouds just beginning to turn orange.

Smiling, she waited for Jack to arrive, looking forward to spending a few quiet hours with him. As much as she disliked being out of the action, it wouldn't hurt to take the night off.

Yeah. Just enjoy it while it lasts, before anything else goes horribly wrong.