"Fortress One, this is Izzy Randal," she said, the green trimmed veritech soaring gracefully above them, "requesting permission to land." "This is Fortress One," Vanessa Laird answered calmly, "permission granted." There was a pause, "Is Commander Hayes aboard?" "Yes, I am," Lisa used her helmet radio to jump in to the conversation. The brown haired officer smiled slightly as she dryly added, "The reports of my being assigned away from here were greatly exaggerated." "Glad to hear that," Kim Young agreed even as she checked the status board. "Lane is open, you're free to land." A few minutes later and the canopy of Izzy's fighter was opening even as the elevator lift brought them down into the guts of Fortress One. The mammoth super aircraft carrier was several times the size of any aircraft carrier ever built, containing living quarters, repair facilities and much more for it's veritechs and destroids. "Well I'll be...looks like we've been invaded," Izzy softly murmured as she saw the pink and white autobot who was moving about the massive chamber beneath the deck, lead by Captain Claudia Grant. "Not invaded," Lisa said to her firmly but quietly, "she is our new Autobot liason officer, you know." "Yeah, yeah," Izzy smiled as she unclipped her helmet, calmly tucking it under her arm as they neared. "Captain," she saluted. Claudia returned it, the dusky skinned officer smiling slightly as she said, "Welcome back, you two. How did it go?" "About as well as could be expected," Lisa smiled wryly. She looked up, "Nice to see you again, Arcee. Any problems getting aboard?" "None, ma'am," Arcee answered, her lips raising up in a slight smile, "we met as planned and I jumped aboard." She looked over at Izzy, "You're certainly looking better than the last time I saw you, officer Randal." "Izzy," she corrected with a strained smile. "And yeah, considering I was nearly a drowned rat that time..." "But you were a heroic drowned rat," Arcee teased. "Heh," Claudia fought back a smile. She looked up at Arcee, "I'm sorry to say I've shown you all the places that your robot mode can fit. The rest of the ship isn't quite large enough for you to walk through." "Understood," Arcee nodded. Izzy nearly suggested that Arcee go to car mode, since she probably could make it through some of the corridors that way, but held back. For all she knew, Claudia didn't want Arcee to see any more of the vessel. "Well," Lisa said briskly, "I need to get out of this uniform." Silently she added, 'And find a bathroom. I was too annoyed to look for one earlier...' "And I need to go have the doc take another look at me," Izzy sighed. "I promised I would, in exchange for flying Commander Hayes out." "Good Luck," Arcee said, "if your doctor is anything like our Ratchet, you're not getting away without some poking and prodding." "Ain't that the truth," Izzy agreed as she and Lisa headed off. "Nicely done," Lisa murmured, "you were even civil towards her." Izzy shrugged slightly, "Well she did save my life. It's kind of hard to be snarky to her, under the circumstances." They reached the locker room, where both of them stripped off their flight suits and Lisa ducked out for a bathroom break. "Welcome back, ma'am," the trainee pilot said, her red hair falling into her eyes. "Thank you," Izzy nodded, looking at her name tag, "Ensign Isavia." "Lana Isavia," the young woman gave a slightly distant smile as she added, "formerly with the military police." "Destroid pilot?" Izzy wondered as she smoothly stripped off her flihgt suit and got out a fresh uniform from her locker. "Yes ma'am," Lana nodded eagerly as she continued, "though I'm hoping to become a veritech pilot eventually." "Well, good luck," Izzy said as she adjusted her uniform collar. Lisa entered, walking over to the locker her own uniform was waiting in. Her eyes widened a little on seeing Lana, then gave her a frosty smile. "Officer Isavia," she said flatly, "it's been a long time." Lana winced slightly. "Commander Hayes," she saluted then nodded to Izzy, "excuse me." With that she left, retreating at a quick pace. "What was that about?" Izzy had to ask. Lisa sighed softly as she explained, "Before coming here, Isavia was with the military police, at a base I was on." Izzy joked, "And she busted you for something?" "No," Lisa's smile was utterly without humor, "she posed as a friend while relaying reports on my life to my father." "You're kidding me," Izzy looked startled. "No," Lisa shook her head, "apparently one of her reports got mislaid and Claudia found it before passing it on to me." Izzy shook her head, "And she seems like such a nice kid, too." "She's a very good actress," Lisa agreed. Meanwhile, Fortress One changed course, moving close enough to shore to worry a few crew members. Up on the deck Claudia yelled over the sound of the surf, "If you prefer, we could use a veritech in guardian mode to lift you off." Arcee shook her head as the Autobot crouched on the deck, readying herself. "It should be fine," she said firmly. "All right," Claudia said, "but be careful." "Always," Arcee smiled. With a single fluid motion the transformer threw herself off the deck and towards the shore, her body shifting as she did so. By the time she hit the ground she was in car mode, and with a thump she was off, the pink sports car cruising away. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Claudia muttered, shaking her head. Coming up behind her Lana waited a moment, then politely said, "Captain?" "Isavia," Claudia nodded as she turned to the younger woman. Seeing the faintly pained look on her face claudia continued, "Let me guess, you ran into Commander Hayes before I could talk to her." "Yes ma'am," Lana sighed. Claudia sighed softly. "I love the woman like a sister, but she can certainly nurse a grudge," she remarked. "I'll try to find a way to break it to her that you've left her father's faction in the RDF." "She has every reason to distrust me, ma'am," Lana noted respectfully. She looked out at the ocean in determination, "I suppose I'll just have to earn her trust." "Good luck," Claudia said, "you may need it." "Thanks," Lana smiled wryly.
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