The pink and white car raced along the shoreline, silver metal flashing in the summer sun as she enjoyed the feel of wind and water. Reaching the predesignated point the car swerved, leaping right off the edge of the road even as it underwent a startling transformation. Hurtling through the air segments of machinery shifted, moving and changing until an almost entirely different being formed. With a metallic clang Arcee came down on the deck of Fortress One, the female Autobot rising cautiously as she stood on the armored aircraft carrier. She looked oddly like a human female, her robotic design giving the impression of hips and bust, though like all Autobots she was also clearly a warrior. "Welcome aboard Fortress One," Captain Claudia Grant smiled as she offered a salute to their honored guest. "Ma'am," Arcee returned the salute, having been briefed on human military customs. She knelt to be closer, "Thank you for greeting me, Captain. I'm well aware of how busy an officer like you must be." ‘Well, well she's both polite and powerful,' Claudia thought to herself. "It's no trouble at all," she said then added with a slight smile, "I'm rather looking forward to having you work with us as a liaison." "As are the Autobots," Arcee agreed. She looked curious, "I would have expected Commander Hayes or possibly Officer Randal to meet me." "Ah, well," Claudia actually looked a bit sheepish as she explained, "actually, they're both off base for the moment." "Oh?" Arcee asked. "Debriefing with command," Claudia shrugged. Arcee nodded, "Ah, I understand. Dealing with high command can be... interesting." Claudia was the one who looked curious this time as she asked, "I thought the Autobots only answered to Optimus Prime?" "On Earth, yes," Arcee sounded amused, "but on Cybertron we have to deal with the Autobot High Council going over everything we do. Field command is still Optimus' but..." "Ack," Claudia made a face, well aware of the sort of complications an over active command could cause a field officer. Arcee paused, looking out at the sea a moment. A bit hesitantly she asked, "Did Officer Randal recover from her encounter with Megatron?" "She's fine," Claudia reassured her, "if fact, if I know her she's probably out getting into some kind of trouble right now." 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 "Oh my god," Izzy Randal nearly purred as the green haired young woman circled the plane in the underground hanger at Area 51, "I want it!" Commander Vince Grant looked amused, his black hair cropped close to his head and uniform regulation neat. "As soon as one's ready you're one of the first up to get them," he reassured her cheerfully. "I am impressed," Izzy murmured as she circled the modified veritech. The sleek plane sat on a testing cradle, connections running from it to a bank of machines. The outer skin felt slightly different than the usual composite armor, ringing slightly when she tapped the metal with her knuckle, and was cool to the touch. The wings had been swept back slightly, the regular missile mounts beneath them built up, while underneath the cockpit a slightly larger autocannon waited for it's deadly purpose to be realized. Finally mounted on the slightly bulkier rear were a set of secondary engines, twin thrusters that almost seemed to quiver with restrained power. "The autocannon's been modified to handle a new grade of ordinance," Vince revealed, "we hope it'll be more effective against Decepticon armor." "Like Megatron," Izzy nearly purred. "Exactly," Vince agreed, "or any of the other new heavy hitters that have arrived from Cybertron." He smiled, "And they'll have a much harder time shooting you down again too." "Good," Izzy clenched a fist for a moment, "I'm looking forward to it." She looked back at the boosters, "Are they to improve air speed, or space shots?" "Bit of both," Vince admitted, "they can boost your air speed, and in a pinch they can be used to achieve near orbit, but they're still pretty touchy pieces of tech." "Not perfected?" Izzy raised a eyebrow. "They're ready," a flat voice cut in. Both turned to see a man in a labcoat enter, his eyes hidden behind glasses and his manner stiff. "Izzy Randal," Vince jumped in, "I'd like you to meet Dr. Emil Lang, our expert on what we're calling Robotechnology." "It's a honor to see you again, sir," Izzy nodded. Dr. Lang smiled slightly, "We could just call it Transformers physiology, but I suspect our Autobot allies might object." "Either that or Gloval would," Vince noted. "Sorry for not calling ahead, sir," he added just a bit nervously. "It's all right," Lang flashed a slightly odd smile, "I had actually hoped to have Miss Randal be one of our test pilots, but alas her assignments didn't allow it." "Damn," Izzy admitted, "I would have enjoyed that..." Before Izzy could continue on they all heard a door slam up the hallway, hurried steps slowing as they neared the lab itself. Looking fairly composed Commander Lisa Hayes opened the door, but something around her eyes told Izzy she was angry. "Lisa," Vince nodded, his own expression stating that he was quite aware of her mood but was politely not going to mention it. "I was just showing Izzy around the latest designs," he said to her mildly. "Thanks," Lisa's smile was a bit forced, "I don't want to imagine the sort of trouble Izzy could get into here on her own." "Hey," Izzy protested. "It's good to see you, Commander," Lang nodded, "I had heard a rumor you might be returning to this facility." A flash of something very like anger appeared in Lisa's eyes then was quickly suppressed bu a steely will. "That rumor has been greatly exaggerated," she answered him mildly, "I'm quite happy at my current post." "That's what Claudia tells me, too," Vince agreed quickly. Quickly assessing the stress in her friend's face Izzy made a snap decision. "I hate to cut the tour short," she said, "but we're supposed to have a VIP at Fortress One later today. Wouldn't do for us to be late." "She's right," Lisa quickly agreed. Turning to Vince she said, "Thank you again for showing her around." "It's been a pleasure," a smiling Vince told Lisa then added to Izzy, "and I hope we'll see you again." "I'll look forward to it," Izzy told him then she nodded respectfully to Dr. Lang and said, "thank you, sir." Lisa and Izzy left, both women quiet until they reached the elevator up to the hangar deck. "Thanks for getting me out of here," Lisa said to Izzy quietly. "No problem," Izzy responded as they smoothly rose. "If you don't mind my asking," she asked, "what did your father do to piss you off?" "What makes you think it was him?" Lisa asked. "Who else?" Izzy asked simply. "Heh," Lisa half smiled. "My dear father the Admiral," her voice had real bite, "wants to reassign me here, to keep an eye on me. He thinks Gloval's been a bad influence..." "He can't do that, can he?" Izzy looked alarmed. Lisa felt oddly touched that she cared. "Don't worry, Gloval can override him,' she said, "though I suspect it'll make dad hate Gloval even more." "Tough," Izzy said firmly, "we can't afford to lose you."
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