A/N: Please read before you skip down to the story:)

I still can't believe that everyone read and liked my strange story. Even after four months, you guys continued to give my 'little' tale reviews and help to make it better, and I just want to give all of you my most humble thanks. These few words can't begin to describe how much I appreciated all of my readers as they stuck with me, Rachel and Jazz. It's super overwhelming with all the support I received for 'Thrown'; I never expected any of my work to be so recognized. Heck, I still can't believe that 'Thrown', which started out on a few sheets of paper while I was waiting for car repairs turned into a 46 chapter story! The past few chapters have made me sad that this story arc is closing, but! There is a sequel in the works as I type this, which of course star Rachel and Jazz and all of our other favorite 'bots. There are a few side stories planned with Rachel and Jazz, along with a few where they are 'helping' cause some trouble for a few of the other mechs.

I wanted to answer some of the questions that have been asked in the reviews.

1. I won't kill Rachel or Jazz. Unfortunately, Rachel is a 'squishy' stuck in a war between giant alien robots, so she's going to get roughed up at times. But with each experience she survives, she will grow and learn to become a stronger, more resilient person instead of falling apart with each stressful situation. Yes, she will still retain her character flaws, that's what makes her more interesting and more realistic and more human, but she will continue to lose her 'damsel in distress' flaw. She just wouldn't grow if she always had to rely on others to bail her out.

2. Rachel and Jazz need to be together in the end. I'm still working out how they will end up together. With different life spans not to mention species, it's a little daunting on how soulmates/sparkmates can be together without one having to watch helplessly as the other grows old and dies. I'm hoping to have a brilliant moment of insight that will fix that problem.

3. Will there be more fluff? Hellz yeah! There will be fluff as long as I keep writing about them. The only snag in this will be how I can get around a human and a Transformer can live happily ever after.

4. The romantic love vs. the physical love question. Ah, well that one is a toughie. I like the romantic fluffiness, and it could evolve into a physical love, except for the hard facts that she's a human and he's a giant alien robot.

5. There will be more interaction with some of the lesser, yet still favorite characters. I will not use anything from TF:TM. I refuse to kill off characters that are my favorites and are important to the story! Ratchet, Prowl, Ironhide, Optimus, Skywarp, Thundercracker and Starscream will all live!

6. What's with Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp's actions? The Seekers have very dark back-story behind them. I have always believed that the Seekers would only put up with all of the abuse Megatron dishes out on them if there was a serious underlying issue behind it and my story "Young Turks" will cover my take on that and what it really means to be a true Seeker, not to mention it will tie in with the sequel to "Thrown".

7. What happens to the Constructions and Soundwave? There is a strange hint here, but you'll have to wait until the sequel for more answers.

8. Sequels?? I've dropped a handful of hints here and there but the big sequel came as a complete epiphany the other night. There is a cross-over between my story about the Seekers, "Young Turks" and the sequel, which at this moment has the working title of "Countdown of the Ancients". "Turks" is an action story with a heavy psychological background to 'Screamer, TC and 'Warp with a healthy dose of Sci-fi and adventure. "Countdown" is also going to be an action/adventure story with an anthropological and wacky science angle. I am going to work on "Turks" for a bit to fill out their story and then I'll dive into "Countdown".

So if you have any further questions or even a plot bunny, email or PM me and I'll do my best to answer or leap to the challenge! One quick note, I'm updating certain mech's alternate forms to correspond with the Binaltech series and using some creative license on some of the mechs.

Once again, thank you guys so much for all of your support for "Thrown" and Rachel!

And now... I bring you the final chapter of "Thrown to the Front Lines". I hope you enjoy it!

Story Arc 5

Epilogue

It took nearly two hours to find and account for everyone in the wasteland that was once Portland. Four Autobots had died in the final battle, making the recovery efforts that much grimmer. While the Secretary of Defense called in three C-17 cargo planes to help transport the wounded back to the Ark, the soldiers he brought with him helped with the search and rescue. Some of the soldiers were nonplused by the sight of the Autobots, but a few were beyond shocked to see giant alien robots.

"Sweet holy Jesus jumping on a pogo stick…" One soldier with a Midwestern accent stared up at a very weary Sideswipe as he carried Sunstreaker over to one of the waiting planes.

Ironhide picked his way over to Jazz and I and carefully helped Jazz to his feet. "Come on. Let's get ya inta one o' those planes an' back ta base."

The soldier turned towards us and gawked, watching the black Topkick gently easing Jazz across the rubble.

I had picked up my makeshift crutch and started to hobble after them when the soldier saw me. "Let me help you, ma'am!"

I gave him a weak smile as he tried to not cringe at the sight of my broken arm. "We've brought a medic with us, so don't worry about your injuries. Once he's given you the once over we can take you back to the Red Cross staging area and they can help you locate your family."

I gazed around the rubble as Optimus Prime and Ratchet led the wounded Autobots into the C-17 planes. My eyes fell on Jazz's back as Ironhide helped him up the ramp and I smiled, turning back to the soldier. "I'm already with my family."

----

The giant planes were noisy, but the steady thrum from its massive engines was lulling me to sleep. I flew with Jazz, Optimus, Ironhide, Secretary Granger, and the four bodies of the deceased Autobots and the body of the smaller creature. The larger horde creature rode with us as well, but it was still and silent with its optics never leaving the body of its smaller partner. Optimus and the Secretary sat and talked the entire way back to the Ark, while Ironhide stared at his cannons. I leaned against Jazz and fought to stay awake, while he just sat in silence with an unreadable, faraway expression. I wanted to talk to him, but something told me that now was not the time for idle conversation. It felt awkward in the cargo hold, the air thick with sadness and something else that was unspoken. The Secretary caught my eye and smiled, which made me feel a little more at ease. I leaned in closer to Jazz and shut my eyes; even with the noise from the plane, my fear of flying, and the dark mood of the whole situation, I couldn't help dozing off.

When I awoke later, I was in the darkened medical bay on my corner table hooked up to monitors and bundled up in blankets. I yawned and flinched as a sharp pain in my side reminded me of my injuries. I looked up at the ceiling and let my eyes go out of focus, allowing my hearing to pick up on the noises from the mechs that lay on the other tables. I could hear one mech's quiet and gentle footfalls as he checked on the others in the room: Perceptor. He was the only one rested enough to run the med bay right now. There were so many hums and pulses in the air that I had a difficult time trying to place where everyone was, except for Jazz. I could tell he was close by, and the calm sounds of his spark oscillating soothed me back into a deep healing sleep.

----

I squinted and blinked rapidly as Ratchet flashed his pocket light in my eyes again. I kept from sighing and swung my feet off the end of the table, which only aggravated the grumpy medic into growling at me. "Sit still, Rachel."

I couldn't help sighing now. "Ratchet... I feel fine. Matter of fact, I feel better than fine. Really, I feel great."

I got the 'shut up or I'll glue your skidplate to the table look'. I slumped down in defeat and let him poke and prod at me; I wasn't getting out of this check-up.

I allowed the briefest of thoughts about what Ratchet would do if I jumped down and ran to the lounge, but squelched that idea with the image of Ratchet throwing things at me and going through with his threat about the glue.

"Any other changes in your sight?"

I gave him the most innocent of looks. "Besides the fact that I can see your shining smile right now? No."

He just grumbled and shook his head. All of my attempts at levity were quickly dashed aside. Ratchet still hadn't recovered fully from the loss of the others, and when I tried to carefully breach the subject, I got poisonous glares and was tossed unceremoniously out of the med bay. No matter how much he blamed himself, there was absolutely nothing he could have done to save them. He was able to get everyone else back and in working order even with his lack of recharge, but he couldn't shake his feelings of helplessness, no matter what I, or any of the others had tried.

I looked at Ratchet as he ran tests on me; he seriously needed a vacation. Everyone did, and I wondered if that could be arranged, especially with Megatron in the condition he was in when he fled the battlefield. And the Seekers did not seem interested in fighting… at least for the moment.

"The number of nanites in your body as decreased again, Rachel. Can you still see the energy signals?"

I nodded, "Yes, but its not as pronounced as it was before. I have to squint and focus on it." And I was very thankful for that. It had been overwhelming when we got back to the med bay and I could see all of the energy signatures along with my normal sight returning. "You know, I was thinking about how I destroyed those horde that were going to harm Jazz and I think I understand how I did it."

Ratchet looked at me warily. "How?"

"Well, the first time I saved the hordeling creature, I felt the nanites swirling around us…kinda like I was using the ones in my body to heal it. And when I faced down those five horde, I felt something inside snap and everything felt scalding hot… as if the nanites inside of me were bursting into flame, and as the swirling mists exited my body and attacked theirs." I turned my head to one side still thinking. "I think that when Jazz was threatened, the nanites in me destroyed them to protect us."

Ratchet looked at me curiously before nodding. "Sounds very plausible, especially with the levels of the nanites in you decreasing exponentially every day."

I managed a small smile. "I'm anxious to return to a semi-normal life without any nanites, and I'm thankful that they're leaving."

Ratchet nodded and turned back to the monitors. "I am too. Now lets test some of your abilities from the nanites to see if they've left as well. Let's try your language skills?"

I grinned and recited the Cybertronian 'alphabet' backwards and forwards, my only trouble with it was on the 'letters' that my human vocal chords were never meant to be used for.

"Looks like you're going to keep those abilities." Ratchet mused as he read a few things off of the scanner.

"Last test." He looked at me dead in the eye. "What am I thinking?"

I shook my head, but grinned anyways. "I don't know, but I bet it has something to do with me still kicking my feet."

He snorted. "Fine." He focused on me with his optics narrowing as he tried to speak to me psychically. "And?"

"Nope, I can't hear you or read your mind."

"Good. I don't need you giving me backtalk psychically." He started to remove the scanner pads from my temples. "You do that enough as it is."

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the grumpy medic. "I do not give you backtalk."

He gave me a sideways glance, "Then what do you call that?"

Letting my hands fall into my lap, I frowned. "Point taken."

He started putting things away. "I want to check up on your tomorrow as well, Rachel. But," He looked over the rest of the med bay. There were still quite a few mechs that were in different stages of recovery. "I guess if you want to help out, you can."

I brightened up quickly. "You mean it, Ratchet?"

"Yes. I'm going to give you a clean bill of health and I could definitely use another pair of hands." The grumpy medic checked on a still unconscious Prowl.

I jumped off the table enthusiastically, which earned me a glare to which I just grinned. "Thanks, Ratchet. I promise to curtail my backtalk, too."

The doors to the med bay opened up and a large cart being pushed by Wheeljack appeared. "Hey, Ratchet? We've got a small problem."

Tired optics turned to look at the engineer, "What did the Twins do now?"

Wheeljack chuckled. "Actually, it has nothing to do with the Twins."

He pushed the cart over to where I stood with Ratchet; it looked like it was full of body armor for the others.

"I'm having some trouble finding replacement armor for some of the...how shall I put it? Some of the outdated alternate forms, and it's nearly impossible to find suitable parts." He motioned with his head to Prowl. "I don't have enough on hand to fix him, let alone Blue and Smokey."

Ratchet crossed his arms over his chest plate. "So they need to scan something else for their alternate modes. Fine by me. Bluestreak and Smokescreen should be up in a few hours and you can convince them then that they need to update."

I giggled slightly as I realized I hadn't seen an actual Datsun in quite a long time.

Wheeljack rocked back on his heels. "Well, it's not just them. A bunch of us are difficult to find new body armor for."

An optic ridge raised on the grumpy medic's face. "How many are we talking about here, and just how difficult is this going to be?"

The engineer chuckled. "Not entirely sure, but I think it would be appropriate to put out the offer to change alternate forms to everyone."

Ratchet gave a martyred sigh. "Fine. But nothing completely outrageous. I don't want to waste valuable time working on mechs with overly intricate transformation processes."

Wheeljack's head fins flashed as he handed Ratchet a data pad. "Think you can handle that?"

The medic looked over the pad before looking back up at Wheeljack. "Who's this for?"

The engineer's head fins flashed again as he chuckled. "It's for me."

----

"So exactly who has to change?" Sideswipe sat on the edge of the table where Ratchet was examining Sunstreaker. The red warrior was smirking and pestering his twin, "I think you'd look great as a Mini, bro."

Sunstreaker tried to punch Sideswipe, but Ratchet intervened with a muttered threat about welding the two of them together so they could be Siamese twins. The golden warrior ended up just glaring at his brother. "If you even dare to try that…"

The smirking mech took advantage of Ratchet's interference and started to poke Sunstreaker's helmet. "Or what? Huh? Whatcha going to do, Sunflower?"

"You better recharge with one optic open, 'Sides. I'm sure I can find a picture of a Gremlin on the internet."

Ratchet tried to swat the red terror away, "If you don't stop it, I'll toss you out of here on your scrawny aft."

Sideswipe was unfazed as he continued to poke his brother, "What's a Gremlin?"

"It's an egg on wheels." Sunstreaker smirked. "I think you'd look good as a candy-apple red Gremlin."

The bantering quickly escalated into an immature sibling fight, and Ratchet slammed his tools down on the metal table. "I'll turn you both into Edsel's and ban you from the med bay if you don't stop this nonsense right now."

Two sets of azure optics turned to look at the grouchy medic, "What's an Edsel?"

Ratchet grabbed Sunstreaker's chin roughly to examine the healing puncture wound, "Go look it up on the internet."

Sideswipe leaned against the table, giving his twin one final cuff to the head, "So who has to change?"

"Wheeljack, Bluestreak, Smokescreen and Prowl."

Identical optics shared a sideways glance and a mischievous smirk. "Prowl does, huh?"

Ratchet grunted as he prodded Sunstreaker's neck. "Wheeljack thinks we should let everyone update their alternate modes if they want."

Rachel came out of the back storage rooms carrying a large tray with an assortment of tools. Sideswipe took the tray from the young woman and helped her up onto the table. "So has anyone made any decisions on what they want to look like?"

"Smokey has been searching online and Bluestreak has been going over a few car magazines that Spike brought over, but I don't think either of them has made a choice yet. Wheeljack picked a Shelby Mustang with racing stripes." Ratchet dug through the tray looking for a tool. "Prowl won't be online while his recovery systems are working."

Rachel looked over the others thoughtfully. "What about you three? Any thoughts about changing?"

"As mess with perfection?" Sunstreaker smiled arrogantly. "I think not."

"'Perfection' is going to end up as a toaster if he doesn't quit moving around. You don't want this ugly wound to mar your appearance, do you?" Ratchet growled as he tried once again to examine Sunstreaker's wounds.

The young woman sat down next to Sideswipe and smiled. "I wonder what Prowl would pick."

"We could make him a Gremlin." Sunstreaker grinned evilly.

Rachel looked at the golden warrior incredulously. "You're joking, right?"

The Twins sniggered and even Ratchet chuckled. "Would be interesting to see his response to that."

"He'd probably snap and go postal on all three of you if you did that." The young woman looked over at Prowl thoughtfully. "I'm surprised actually. I haven't seen a Datsun in ages, let alone a police car that's a Datsun. He looks more like-" She abruptly stopped talking.

"Like what?" She had drawn the full attention of the others.

She shook her head and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Uhm, like… mall security."

The laughter could be heard throughout the entire base and it took awhile before they stopped giggling. Sideswipe stroked his chin as a wicked smirk crossed his face. "For being the Second in Command and trying to appear as a police vehicle, our Prowly does need a new alternate mode, but he needs something that would inspire respect and authority with a healthy dose of fear, wouldn't you guys say so?"

A rare grin spread across Ratchet's face. "Like?"

The red warrior blinked, "You really want to know, Ratchet? I'd think you out of all people, except Optimus and maybe Ironhide would not approve of such an idea."

"He's caused enough trouble to make it worth listening to one of your scatterbrained plans."

Sideswipe put his arm around the grumpy medic's shoulders and led him over to the nearest computer terminal. "Let me show you a few pictures and see what you think…"

----

Bluestreak came bounding into the med bay carrying a car magazine, "Hey Ratchet, I found a form I like and I guess I just need to okay it with you to see if its too difficult for you to work with, but I don't think so, at least I hope its not, because its really neat and-" The young gunner stopped in mid sentence and stared at the backs of Ratchet and the Twins as they peered at the computer screen.

He walked over to the terminal curious to see what had all three of them quiet and not fighting. "What are you guys looking at?" As he peeked over their shoulders, his optics widened in surprise. "Is that-?"

"Shhh." Sideswipe grinned at Bluestreak. "It is, but don't say anything about this to anyone, okay?"

"Uhm, sure thing." He looked back over Ratchet's shoulder still confused about why they were looking at those schematics, but he guessed someone else had chosen that alternate form.

Rachel came over and tapped on Bluestreak's leg, looking up at him with a smile, "What did you pick, Blue?"

He knelt down and opened the magazine carefully to show her the picture of what he had found. "What do you think, Rachel? Is that too difficult for Ratchet to deal with?"

The young woman took the magazine from him and whistled, "Wow, Blue!" She looked up at him and smiled. "I can totally see you as that. What color were you thinking of?"

He reached up and scratched the back of his head in a very shy human manner. "I was thinking silver and black like I am now, but you really think I'd look good as that?"

"Oh, yes. And if I could make a suggestion… I think you'd look good in blue."

Ratchet turned around still grinning in a slightly scary way. "You pick something, Blue?"

Rachel answered before the young gunner could by holding up the magazine to the medic and pointing out the picture boldly. " He wants to be a blue Ferrari!"

----

"I'm going to bring him back online now." Ratchet was removing sensors from Prowl's body and pushing the equivalent of mech life support equipment out of his way. "You might want to get out of the way, Sideswipe. I have a feeling he's not going to be happy when he sees what you did."

Azure optics widened as the red warrior looked taken aback. "What I did? You helped! Slag, it was you that did it, I only came up with the idea!"

Ratchet grinned evilly. "Yeah, but who is he going to believe? Me or you?"

Sideswipe glared at the medic. "That would work if only for one small detail. I don't know how to do that."

Rachel watched the two banter back and forth from her perch on a nearby table. "Why is it such a big deal, anyways? Is Prowl that obstinate about change?"

"It's not the changing part that he will be upset about." Ratchet started to bring Prowl out of stasis lock.

"It's the alternate mode that he was changed to." Sideswipe positioned himself next to Prowl's head with a mischievous grin.

"What's wrong with him being a Mustang?"

"It's the type of Mustang and the coloring of his armor." The red warrior grinned in anticipation.

Rachel looked completely lost. "I don't understand."

"What the dumb-aft is failing to say, is that he'll look somewhat like Barricade except with the red chevron." Ratchet leaned over Prowl's side to monitor him.

Rachel's eyes nearly popped out of her head, but before she could say anything, Prowl let out a small groan and blue optics flickered online.

"It's alive!" Sideswipe crowed loudly and clapped Ratchet's shoulder. "Good work, Igor!"

The grumpy medic swatted Sideswipe's hand away. "How are you feeling, Prowl?"

"I could be better if the red terror hadn't been the first thing I saw." The tactician tried to sit up slowly with Ratchet's help.

"Ooo. He's got a sense of humor now! We should knock him out more often." Sideswipe rubbed his hands together.

Both ignored him as Prowl sat up fully on the table. The groggy mech took a moment to catch his bearing before he noticed something was wrong. He slowly ran his hand down one leg. "I take it Wheeljack is still working on my armor?"

"Not quite." Ratchet shot a glare at Sideswipe who was bouncing on the balls of his feet giddily.

Prowl looked at the medic curiously. "Not quite?"

"Long story short, is that your old alternate form was very outdated, and Wheeljack couldn't find much in the way of replacement armor for you, Blue and Smokey. So we had to change your alternate mode."

Prowl watched Ratchet calmly as he explained. "So what is my new alternate mode?"

Sideswipe piped up before Ratchet could continue. "A black and silver Saleen Mustang."

One optic ridge rose. "A Mustang?"

The red warrior grinned. "A black and silver Saleen Mustang."

Prowl looked at Ratchet, who just smirked. "They thought you needed a mode that inspired respect and fear and I gave the go on the scan. I have to admit that the change went better than I expected and it's a vast improvement than the Datsun."

"So I look like-?"

"Only in vehicle form. Other than that, your transformation is the same as your old alternate and you're black and silver now. We even kept your red chevron." Ratchet crossed his arms over his chest plate.

"And the others?" Prowl's voice seemed to drop from cool to cold.

"Smokey's alternate form is a silver BMW Z4 Roadster and Bluestreak is now a blue Ferrari FXX." Sideswipe leaned on the table where Rachel sat giggling. "Gotta love human sport cars."

----

While Ratchet and I worked to get everyone up and on the road to recovery, Wheeljack and a few of the other mechs worked on a handful of rooms situated on one of the lowest decks of the Ark turning it into a memorial for the fallen Autobots. From time to time Wheeljack would come up to the med bay to gather supplies. I had found out through snippets of conversations I overheard that the bodies of the four and the hordeling were already down there, and Wheeljack was repairing them for the funerals. The crypt would house the fallen warriors until their bodies could be returned to Cybertron and buried in the Autobot crypt. But for now their resting place would be here on Earth, safely guarded by the Ark and their comrades.

I hadn't been to a funeral since my mother died, and I wasn't quite sure as to what an Autobot funeral would be like. There was very little on Teletraan 1's archives about how mechs were sent off to Primus and I didn't want to ask about it since emotions were still running high. What I did learn was that the bodies were repaired fully for a type of open casket farewell and special brazier that held an eternal flame was placed at their heads. There was also what amounted to a gravestone set at the mech's feet that briefly detailed their lives. The commanding officer would speak about each of the fallen and then the flame would be lit as a beacon for Primus to find the fallen soldier.

Since Carly and Spike hadn't witnessed an Autobot burial, the three of us decided to quietly add some of the human funeral aspects because they had died on Earth while protecting it and the human race. We framed pictures of the four mechs and had four wreaths made of flowers that corresponded to the colors of their armor.

The day of the funerals was gray and cold with a stiff wind and blowing snow, which matched the somber moods of all the inhabitants of the Ark. Secretary Granger arrived early in the day wearing a sharp black suit decorated with the medals he had received for fighting in Viet Nam. He brought a handful of decorated soldiers with him as well, and four strange boxes.

It was late afternoon when Ratchet deemed all of the mechs in recovery were well enough to attend the funeral with strict conditions to report to him if their conditions worsened. The procession quietly made their way down to the bottom decks of the Ark in order of rank with Optimus leading the way. Spike had already stashed our flowers in the crypt for us to give during the ceremony and the Secretary's soldier's carried their boxes down as well. Carly and I were dressed in all black, and Spike wore a black suit; we had gotten a few questions earlier in the day about it, and I explained that for some human funerals the attendees wore black in mourning.

When everyone entered the crypt, Optimus Prime stood at the head of the room and looked over the entire group before he began speaking. He started with Gears eulogy, reminiscing with stories of the mech's time with the Autobots. Spike nudged Carly and I, handing us the picture and the wreath while Optimus lit the eternal flame in the brazier. We walked up and set the picture next to the brazier and the wreath in front of his gravestone. There were soft murmurings in the crowd as they watched us, and when we turned around, the Secretary had approached with one soldier holding open the first of the four boxes. We stepped back and the Secretary placed a crisp folded United States flag in a frame on the other side of the brazier. Then he pulled out a small velvet box, opening it and setting it in front of the flag. He then turned to face Gears and saluted with the soldiers he brought with him doing the same. It was only after all four mechs were honored that I found out they had been awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor.

Once the ceremony was over and everyone had either returned to the med bay or moved to the common room, we were bombarded with questions about the meanings behind our 'gifts' and what happened in human funerals; Carly and I did our best to explain. She had lost her father when she was much younger and didn't remember much about the funeral, so I was left with detailing what had happened to my parents and what happened with the ceremony and afterwards.

With the closure from the funerals, things slowly went back to normal around the Ark. Moods were still down and some were still tense, but life moved onwards.

----

I had been working in the med bay all day with Ratchet helping him finish up repairs on the others when I realized that I was getting tired. I put the arc welder down and took off the safety visor. "I'll be right back, Ratchet. I'm going to go get something to drink."

The med bay was still fairly full with recovering mechs and the Ark was running on a skeleton crew, but life was slowly returning to normal. There was still a heavy sadness hanging in the air over the loss of the four Autobots, and it would probably linger far longer than any of the physical wounds would take to heal.

My own wounds were healing much faster than they did the previous time when I was injured, which was a blessing since I could then be a real help to Ratchet and Wheeljack. I limped down the hallway and smiled inwardly. I admired the orange titanium walls that made up the hallway. I would never have to count the 493 steps to get from the med bay to the lounge anymore, nor would I ever take my eyesight for granted again. And if I focused I could still see the energy signatures of mech or machine; that 'symptom' would be very useful for helping out in the med bay and when I went back to work in Wheeljack's lab. Although, I was now unsure as to what I would do anymore. After everything with the nanites, I couldn't help but doubt my ability to work.

The hallway was very quiet and the lounge was completely empty. I sighed as I pulled my sweet elixir of soda from the fridge, still pondering my place in life now: could I go back to being an engineer with the knowledge that even if something was created for the greater good it could still be used for evil? And how would I fit back in with society now that I know about aliens and the Autobots? Would it even be possible to go back to my old life? And how would I explain Jazz? I couldn't very well expect him to be my car, especially with him being my soul mate. I giggled softly to myself as I wondered if he would get jealous if I bought another car and I made a mental note to ask him later.

I was lost in my own thoughts as I sipped my soda and walked back towards the med bay. So lost that I didn't notice the mech walking down the hallway behind me and quickly closing the distance between us. Not like it would have mattered much at the time, because even if I didn't have the limp there would be no way I could out run him.

I snapped out of my thoughts and froze in the middle of the hallway when I heard his icy voice. "Figures you would be smiling and happy with yourself. You managed to kill four of us, four of my friends, with that poison you convinced everyone to wear." Cliffjumper spat at me coldly. "I bet you've already got your next plan to eradicate us in the works. And yet, Optimus still allows you to live here and Ratchet has you helping on repairs."

I didn't move as he walked up behind me; I could feel his hate coming off of his body in red-hot waves. "So what did you cook up with the Decepticons to kill us with this time?" He walked around me and faced me, sneering. "Hmm? Don't play innocent with me. I know you've been working with the Decepticons, that's why you keep saving those slaggin' Seekers."

"I'm not working with the Decepticons..."

His optics narrowed and he leaned in to glare at me. "Oh yeah? Then explain how Devastator and Megatron had those frakking nanites of yours?"

"They copied my designs for-"

"Copy my skidplate! You're frakking collaborating with them!"

I stepped back from him, wishing someone would come down this hallway and scare him off. "I am not!"

He growled and stepped menacingly towards me. "You lying little glitch!"

I stumbled backwards and wondered if I could make it past him and run for the med bay. "I'm not lying." I took a few steps to the right and wondered if he would chase me if I ran.

"They should have left you to die back at the Decepticon base! Then the others would still be alive!"

I bolted past him but he was quicker, and he knocked me to the ground. I skidded across the hallway and tried to get up; Autobot and good guy or not, I had to get away from him. I only made it up on my knees before he had his gun drawn and aimed at me.

"Cliffjumper! I didn't kill them and I didn't want them to die! I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" I stared at the barrel of the gun, now panicked that he was mad and over emotional enough right now to kill me without a second thought. "I didn't want any of this to happen!"

"What in Primus' name are you doing, Cliffjumper?!" Windcharger had appeared down the hallway and stopped cold at the sight of us.

I could hear the safety on his gun click and I shut my eyes and turned my head away from the enraged minibot. "Stay out of this, 'Charger!"

Windcharger ran down the hallway. "Stop it, Cliffjumper!"

The shot rang out in the hallway, the sound echoing and bouncing over the titanium paneling. I looked up and saw that Cliffjumper had turned slightly, a thin trail of smoke exiting the muzzle of his gun. His facial expressions slowly went from pent up rage to abject horror. I turned to look at Windcharger and gasped. The red minibot stood very still as he held a shaking hand up to his chest plate and felt the gaping wound that was spilling energon quickly.

Time stood completely still as the two looked at each other, their expressions flashing over their face plates from horror to shock to betrayal. Windcharger fell to his knees with a dull thud, his optics never leaving Cliffjumper's face.

The alarm system broke the deadly silence and time quickly sped up. "ALERT! WEAPONS DISCHARGED IN SECTION A-5! WEAPONS DISCHARGED IN SECTION A-5!"

Cliffjumper didn't move until Windcharger coughed up energon that spattered down his front and onto the floor and then he started to panic and ran backwards a few steps. Windcharger sat down hard on his heels and coughed again, bringing up oil and energon before he sagged to the floor. Cliffjumper's optics widened in dismay before he flipped around, transforming and peeling out in the hallway. I got up shakily to my feet and ran towards Windcharger, shoving my hands into the gaping wound and trying to staunch the mess of bleeding lines. Energon was quickly pooling around the minibot and I screamed for Ratchet.

----

"I need you to tell me what happened, Rachel." Prowl tried to get the shocked young woman to answer him, but the best she had managed to do was look at him in utter disbelief. She would look at him for a few moments before her attention was drawn back to the table a few feet away where Ratchet and Wheeljack worked on Windcharger, trying to stop him from bleeding out on the table.

"Rachel? Please, I need to know what happened." Prowl's calm voice couldn't break through her catatonic stupor.

Red Alert burst through the med bay doors in a full paranoid rant, "Prowl! You have to see this. I should have known that he was a sleeper agent for the Decepticons! And I have all the proof on the security cameras!"

The doors to the med bay opened up again and Optimus Prime and Jazz entered, while the security director accessed the video feed. Jazz quickly walked over to Rachel and put his arms around her, and she began to sob uncontrollably. "He said it was all my fault… and then he shot him. He just shot him! He was so mad at me and- and he just shot him!"

Jazz tried to quiet her by speaking softly to her, while the video feed brought up the events that took place in the hallway.

"I'm not working with the Decepticons..."

"Oh yeah? Then explain how Devastator and Megatron had those frakking nanites of yours?"

"They copied my designs for-"

"Copy my skidplate! You're frakking collaborating with them!"

"I am not!"

"You lying little glitch!"

The others watched the scene unfold in disturbed silence and when the sound of the shot replayed, the young woman jumped and started to shake uncontrollably. "He said it was all my fault…he was so mad. And then he just turned and shot him. It's all my fault, if Windcharger hadn't tried to stop him… then he'd be okay…"

Ratchet walked over to the others wiping the energon off his hands with a cloth. "He's going to be in a lot of pain for awhile, but he'll live. The shot missed his spark entirely, but it destroyed the controls for his pain receptors and his recovery systems. I'll have to replace all of it by hand."

All optics were on the screen watching Cliffjumper run and transform in the middle of the hallway, fleeing and exiting the Ark as fast as he could. Red Alert put his hands on his hips and frowned, "I should have know he was spy for the Decepticons, with all the times he started fights with the others… it was all there just under our noses!"

"How do you want to handle this situation, Optimus?" Prowl looked at the Autobot leader. "Shall we go after him?'

Optimus Prime was quiet for a few moments before he answered. "We'll give him time to cool down and let him come to his senses. He knows what he did was wrong and he'll come back once his head clears." He turned to look at the others that were present. "It's been a hard time for all of us and it's obvious that he's not handling the loss of his friends. I'm sure that the heat of the moment just overwhelmed him and fortunately, Windcharger will be all right. We'll deal with him and the consequences of his actions when he's had some time to think about what he has done."

Red Alert muttered something about not being listened to and Ratchet nodded before heading back to Wheeljack and Windcharger leaving Jazz, Rachel, Prowl and Optimus Prime by the terminal to Teletraan 1's video cameras. With a sad shake of his head, Optimus looked over the small group that stood around him. It was very difficult for them to come to terms with the loss of their comrades from the battle, but everyone would need to move on before Megatron could plan an attack again.

----

"Hey Larry, take a look at this." The construction worker waved over his foreman to the area he was surveying for damage. "What do you make of this?"

A few of the workers climbed over the rubble to see what was going on. Amidst all of the broken concrete and debris was a set of construction vehicles in different stages of disrepair. "Kinda weird that these are out here, there wasn't any road work or construction goin' on in the area and I don't see a company logo on them."

"Yeah. That is pretty weird. Maybe they're left over from the military?"

The workers looked over the machines taking note of all the damages. "I don't see anything that marks them as military, and they make sure everything is covered."

"They're pretty beaten up… do they still work? 'Cuz we could use them if they work."

One of the men hopped up inside the front-end loader and turned the key; with a few loud splutters, the engine turned over and the vehicle started up. "Looks like they work, Larry. Ya want to leave them here or take them back to the lot for the night?"

"Eh, lets take them back to the lot for tonight. We'll gas 'em up and get them ready for work tomorrow." The foreman ran his hand over the pockmarked metal on the side of the bulldozer and shook his head. "Really weird colors for equipment, maybe that was part of the owner's logo. I mean, who would paint stuff like this purple?"

----

It was a few days after the incident with Cliffjumper and Windcharger, and things started to seem normal again. "So what's this meeting about, Ratchet?" I looked up at the grumpy medic as we walked towards the conference room.

He gave a non-committal shrug. "Not sure. Optimus just wanted all the senior officers present for this meeting but he didn't specify why."

"Then why am I attending it?" I was more than a little confused. The senior staff meetings weren't open to everyone and usually no one knew when they were held, but that was to keep two certain mechs from interrupting them.

"I don't know." Ratchet had been in a better mood earlier today, but when he got the message about the meeting his attitude turned sour.

Realizing that I wasn't going to get any more answers from him, I shut up and tried to keep up with his long strides. His foul mood made him oblivious to me struggling to keep up with him.

Ratchet knocked on the conference room door, waving at me to hurry up. I limped up to him just in time as Prowl opened the door. It was going to take a bit to get used to Prowl's new black Mustang form, but it did fit his quiet and calm demeanor and you couldn't help but feel a deep respect. I smiled at him as he held the door open for us. "Hi Prowl, how are you feeling?"

"I am doing well, Rachel, thank you." His optics gave Ratchet a brief but cool look before he pointed out my seat. "There is a place for you next to Secretary Granger, Rachel."

The Secretary caught my eye and waved me over, smiling broadly. I walked over to him and he gave me a bear hug. "Glad to see you up and about, Rachel! I was worried that you wouldn't be able to make this meeting."

I smiled at him. "Ratchet said I'm healing up quickly, and I've already started working again in the med bay. A little limp and a few aches and pains aren't enough to keep me down anymore." I set my crutch to the side as he pulled my chair out for me. "Though, I am curious as to why I'm here."

A grin threatened to pull at his lips, but he stifled it quickly, sitting down in his chair and straightening a stack of manilla folders. "You'll understand why shortly, Rachel."

The Autobot officers filled the room quickly, and I was surprised to see Jazz walk in. He wasn't supposed to be back for another day or so, but I assumed his mission ended early. I gave him a smile and a wave from my spot next to the Secretary. He smiled back and pointed to himself before crossing his hands over his spark then pointing to me. I blushed and giggled, miming the sequence back to him. Secretary Granger laughed and leaned over to me. "Looks like you have him wrapped around your finger."

I watched Jazz sit down feeling completely giddy and light. "He's got me wrapped around his fingers."

"Ah, young love." He chuckled as the few remaining mechs took their seats around the table.

Optimus Prime stood at the head of the table and looked around the room. "I know I've called this meeting on short notice, but we need to address some rather important issues facing us right now. As everyone is aware, we had an altercation a few days back involving Cliffjumper and Windcharger. Cliffjumper had fled right after the incident and I believed that once he had time to cool off, he would return to us. Unfortunately, that has not happened and all attempts to contact him have failed. He's turned off his radio and his GPS locator, making it all the more difficult to find him." He looked over to Ratchet. "Can you give us an update on Windcharger's condition, Ratchet?"

The grumpy medic shook his head. "Other than him driving me slaggin' crazy… he's fine and will make a full recovery, unless he irritates me to the point of deactivating him. You'd think he's channeling both Gears and Huffer at the same time."

There were small chuckles from the entire room and Optimus Prime nodded. "It's good to here that he will be fine." Ratchet gave the Autobot leader a belabored look. "Even if he is testing your patience."

Optimus then looked over to Secretary Granger and myself. "Our second order of business today deals with a proposition made to the Autobots by the Secretary of Defense and the United States government. Due to our involvement in the battle for Portland, they are wanting to open lines of communication between our two races." He picked up the data pad that was in front of him. "The Secretary has drawn up a treaty for us and the government to discuss and make acceptable changes to and he has appointed an ambassador for us. That is if she will accept the position."

Secretary Granger patted me on the back and I blinked and looked at him in confusion.

He smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. " You've been with the Autobots for almost a year now and I believe you are the right person for this job."

"But… I'm just an engineer- a scientist, not a diplomat." I stammered and flushed, feeling all the eyes in the room upon me. "I don't know the first thing about being an ambassador."

He slid a manilla folder over to me. "You can still be an engineer, but I and your government need you as a liaison between our two peoples. You are the most qualified candidate on the planet to do this, Rachel."

"I won't force you to accept the position, Rachel, and I want you to know that we want and welcome you to stay at the Ark. Primus knows how much you are appreciated here as both a scientist and a friend, but I agree with the Secretary. You are the most qualified candidate, one that we know and trust explicitly, and we would be grateful if you were to be our liaison." There was a smile in Optimus Prime's voice. "You do not have to answer now, you can take as much time as you need to think this over, Rachel."

I looked around the room at the others in a state of mild shock. Jazz was giving me his most disarming smile and a thumbs up. Ratchet was even grinning at me and I realized he knew about this all along. The smiles from the others around the room made me blush and I nodded my head. "All right. What do I have to do?"

Secretary Granger opened the file in front of me and pulled a pen out of his suit pocket, handing it to me. "I just need your signature on these to start. Then when you get back, you'll have to take a boring class about required protocols. We'll have to get an updated set of finger prints and background check…same things you had to do when you worked at the government lab."

"When I get back? Back from what?"

The Secretary didn't answer me but pointed out where I needed to sign on the handful of pages in the folder. I looked over the contents of the folder while Optimus Prime concluded the meeting and walked over to the Secretary and I. "I'm very glad that you decided to take the position, Rachel, and I would also like it if you would consider a secondary position as an assistant science officer to Wheeljack and Ratchet. With all that you've done to help and assist with repairs and your study and research with the nanites, you have proven yourself to be a great asset to us."

I smiled up at the Autobot leader. "I'll do my very best, Optimus."

Jazz had walked over to us and saluted Optimus Prime with a mischievous grin. "Permission to take leave, sir."

Optimus Prime saluted back. "Permission granted, Jazz. You have thirty days of leave."

I looked up at Jazz and wondered why he never mentioned anything about him taking a vacation…

"Permission to steal our new science officer and government liaison to accompany me on leave."

I giggled as Optimus Prime granted his request again. Jazz was grinning like the Cheshire Cat as he turned and looked at me. "So where to you want to go for our vacation?"

I smirked. "I can think of a few places that you'd love. Carnival is about to start in Rio de Janeiro and Venice, and Mardi Gras is coming up in New Orleans…"

----

They drew more than a few stares as they followed behind Jazz and Rachel. Most people would never see a high performance Italian sports car in their lifetimes, let alone three driving together on the interstate. The Porsche had gone by with little attention, but a red and a yellow Lamborghini Diablo and a dark blue Ferrari FXX were difficult to miss on the open road.

Sunstreaker opened a private radio channel to ask the all important question, "So what did you do to Prowl, 'Sides?"

The red warrior feigned a wounded tone, "What makes you think that I did something, dear brother of mine?"

Bluestreak giggled. "'Sides got a vacation for all three of us Ok'ed."

The golden warrior sighed. "For some reason, I highly doubt that."

"Oh come on, Sunny. You'll love New Orleans and its atmosphere. And if they find a way to get to Venice, just think of all the art work you'll get to see!" The smirk in Sideswipe's voice could be heard over the radio. "Plus, someone needs to keep them out of trouble."

-fin-

Thanks to everyone!!!!

Stay tuned for the next adventure with Jazz and Rachel, "Countdown of the Ancients"