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ArdentAspen — TFP: Renegades
#transformers #transformersprime #gijoerenegades #jackdarby #gijoe #jackdarbytransformers
Published: 2016-08-23 02:01:06 +0000 UTC; Views: 3001; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 2
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The young man sat across from them calmly, for all the world as if the inside of an interrogation room was no more remarkable than his garage. He was out of uniform, but then, they'd picked him up in a grocery store parking lot. Dress uniform probably wasn't on his mind.They'd already been at this for an hour.
"Second Lieutenant," Flint sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I don't know why you're making this so difficult. I'm sure we'd all like to go home and go about our lives, so if you would kindly stop pretending you don't know what I'm talking about?"
"But I don't, sir," the younger officer said politely. "As I said before, the last time I served with Sergeant Hauser was when I was just out of West Point."
"Except I didn't ask you the last time you served with Hauser," Flint said pointedly, "I asked you the last time you saw him." He stopped pacing and dropped into the chair across from the young man.
Flint knew how to read people pretty well. After an hour, folks he interrogated usually started getting tired. After two hours, gaps would start to show up in their stories. He'd never had a session go longer than three hours. But this boy, Darby, he was good. He had a stoic sort of poker face on par with General Abernathy.
"I'm not a second lieutenant, sir."
A change in subject, that was interesting.
"Your file says you are," Flint nodded towards a thick manila envelope on the steel table.
Darby winced slightly. "Ah. You got the abridged one, I see. Sorry. I suppose they wouldn't have access to the full one, would they?" Then, in a less casual tone, he admitted, "I'm a captain, actually. Have been for the last eight days."
Flint's eyes bulged. "A captain?!" he spluttered before regaining his composure. "I think it would have been more beneficial, sir, if you had mentioned this at the beginning."
Captain Darby made an apologetic face. "I apologize for that, Lieutenant Faireborne. Due to the...sensitive...nature of my file, I was advised to not make that public until my superiors had a chance to say something."
"Ah," Flint said when his voice started working again, "That's..different."
Darby shrugged. "Unit E is a very strange place with very strange protocols, sir. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to explain it all even if I was cleared to."
"Unit E," Flint sighed, "That real-life X-Files organization General Bryce is involved with? I should've known." He ran a hand over his face and grimaced. "I still have to ask you about Hauser, Captain. My superiors think you know where he is. For both our sakes, I suggest you cooperate."
Jack nodded his understanding and straightened his spine, losing the casual demeanor he'd picked up for an instant. He'd learned, during official briefings, questionings, and other formal situations, that mimicking the vocal inflections of Optimus Prime -- a bittersweet smile flickered across his face -- granted him a confidence he would not otherwise have had.
"For the record, I would like to state that I find the accusations against Sergeant Hauser to be completely out of character and not at all in keeping with the man I remember," he said, taking pity on Flint enough to say something. "While I am not at liberty to discuss any of my activities in the Unit without clearance, I can tell you that experience suggests to me that there is more at work here than meets the eye. With that in mind, perhaps you can understand my reluctance to share even trivial information."
"You're implying a conspiracy, Captain?"
Darby gave a humorless smile. "Awfully convenient, isn't it, how COBRA happens to turn up at the scene of every Joe sighting just before your people, guaranteeing that you get all your evidence secondhand?"
Something nagged at the back of Flint's mind. This was not the first time the thought of a setup had been brought up to him. He didn't want to think Conrad was capable of murder, but the fact that he wouldn't turn himself in and explain things didn't look good for the sergeant. Nevertheless, Flint's gut was telling him that it might be time to listen to some of the warnings he seemed to be getting.
"Captain," he said wearily, "Are you now, or have you been in the last month or so, in contact with Hauser and his team?"
Jack leaned back and studied Flint's face. "I am not," he answered.
He was being evasive, in his own, polite way. It unnerved Flint. But now they'd been here close to two hours and he hadn't gotten anything new about the Joes out of him. Why were his superiors so determined that he question Captain Darby? He was hiding something, certainly, a lot of things. But wouldn't a higher ranked individual with more experience in interrogations have been a better choice? Lieutenant Faireborne suppressed a groan and stepped out of the room to make a phone call.
***
It was pitch black outside when Jack finally left the building. A semi cab, pale blue and bright red and achingly familiar, was parked awkwardly against the curb. Jack looked around a moment for any sign of a blue motorcycle, but there was nothing.
"Captain," a deep, gruff voice emanated from the cab loudly enough to seem as though it spread through the entire vehicle. There was just a hint of pride in the tone, the barest touch of warmth lingering over the newly-acquired title.
"Commander," Jack returned, startled. "I didn't know you were stateside." He crossed the sidewalk and boldly hoisted himself up onto the running board. The door popped open an instant before he touched the handle, and he swung himself into the cab. Jack wouldn't admit it, but he felt a wave of relief once the door shut, blocking him from the view of the building's dark windows.
"Your emotional state is fluctuating," Ultra Magnus remarked as he pulled away from the curb. "You are, of course, unharmed?"
"Just tired, Commander," Jack assured him. "Tired and hungry. They nabbed me at 6, haven't had dinner yet."
After a long silence on a dark stretch of road, the Autobot spoke again. "I was informed that you were being questioned in relation to the...G.I. Joes? Is that what you call them?"
"Yeah," the captain sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They wanted to know if I'd been in contact with them. If I knew where they were."
"And?"
"I told them the truth: I haven't been in contact with Conrad Hauser. Rafael, on the other hand, has been in contact with Scarlett. But they didn't ask about Raf. So I saw no reason to say anything." Jack leaned back against the upholstery and for just a moment he could pretend that all was as it should have been, that he was leaning against the comforting mass of Optimus Prime.
"I had every confidence in you, Captain," Magnus said firmly. "Do you think they believed you?"
"Oh, of course not," Jack snorted. "Raf traced two secret calls on burner cells while I was there -- he texted me -- and odds are there'll be some unexpected visitors at my place tonight."
"To arrest you for withholding information?" Magnus guessed.
"Or to silence me," the human offered. "I knew we were being monitored, but I still hinted at COBRA involvement."
The engine growled and Jack's seatbelt tightened around him. "That was not wise," Ultra Magnus rumbled. "You've alerted the conspirators that the Unit may have knowledge of their dealings."
"I was supposed to!" Jack argued. "Those were my orders. Get "caught", be questioned, and make some people nervous. It will take the heat off Hauser for a minute and force our mole to move sooner than he wanted to."
"You're the bait."
Flat statement, no emotion. But Jack had trained with Magnus long enough to know it was how he showed concern.
"I'll be alright, Commander. I've got the Autobots."
"I should say so!" Magnus huffed, then fell into a spell of Cybertronian grumbling for the remainder of the trip.
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Comments: 32
given how his character was starting to change by the time they cut the show off (too soon! too soooon!), I get the feeling that he would've gotten a lot more attached to the kids than he was willing to admit if the show had been allowed to continue.
The Awkward Uncle, Ultra Magnus.
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Ultra Magnus carried Jack all the way to the front door of his apartment and tried his level best to prolong their conversation once they got there. Jack suppressed a smile. A conversationalist Ultra Magnus wasn't. Jack figured that the Autobot was hopping Jack would ask to sleep in his cab tonight. Ultra Magnus clearly didn't want to offend him by suggesting Jack didn't want to sleep alone but the conspicuous pillow and sleeping bag in the corner of the big rig's cab was in plain sight for a reason.
"Good night Commander," Jack said firmly, taking hold of the door handle.
The latch resisted a moment and then Jack swore he heard a sigh. The door opened into the cool night air and Jack stepped out.
"Be careful Captain Darby," Ultra Magnus said softly, and there was a lingering emotion that Jack wasn't entirely comfortable putting a name to.
"You know me Commander," he replied with a mostly genuine grin. "I'm the responsible one."
"Given the company you keep that is not a particularly significant comparison," Ultra Magnus replied dryly.
Jack laughed and saluted before turning back to his building. He made it to the front door in the streetlights, noting that a few more were out. This wasn't the nicest neighborhood. He turned the key in the lock and entered the slightly musty interior. He really didn't spend much time here all things considered. Between overseas mission and offplanet deployments he was lucky to have a few days off at a time and most of them he spent visiting his mother or friends or just cruising with Arcee. He dropped his bag in its place and checked the refrigerator.
"Still good," he pronounced the paper container of...well it had been a few days and he could't quite remember what Miko had ordered for them from that Asian place. But it was spicy and creamy and settled the churning in his stomach. He sat down in front of his computer and flipped through his e-mail. There were a few from Bee. Forwarded and encrypted of course. The first layer was a sort of translation that was a generic greeting from a friend. Jack entered the codes and grinned at the wall of text. Bee was definitely enjoying the freedom his new job gave him. There were a few other e-mails. The daily one from his mother. One from Raf about remembering to update his firewalls. Jack rolled his eyes, at least with a friend like that he didn't have to worry about spam.
He took a shower and laid down. His eyes traced over the crack in the ceiling. His body was still alert and his mind was whirling with potential situations. This was thankfully normal for him when he was in a "safe" space so nothing to tip off any watchers. He wondered idly how close Ultra Magnus was hovering. The experienced old camaginer wouldn't risk the mission by scaring off any predators attracted by the bait but he would be as close as possible. It was comforting knowing that there were extra eyes watching.
Jack must have fallen sound asleep at some point because he woke groggily to the sound of his plumbing gurgling in protest. It was hardly a new development. Army housing wasn't known to be the best after all. But something was off. Jack rolled to his feet and muttered under his breath. He couldn't ignore this but just his luck the first activity of the night was as likely to be some other tenant flushing paper as it was the mole. Jack stumbled over to the bathroom and glared down into the toilet. Something blue and viscous was bubbling up from the pipes.
"What in the name of Uncle Sams star spangled shorts..." Jack muttered reaching for the plunger. He got in three or four good thrusts when the blue goo suddenly surged up and ....
"Scrap!" Jack lunged back and reached for his cell to hit the button that would indicate the situation had gotten interesting. Blue toilet goo was not supposed to form hands and fight back against the plunger. But before he could touch the device the goo swept out of the tank and surrounded him. Jack struggled and thrashed as he fought the urge to try and breathe. He switched to a swimming motion as the lighting suddenly dimmed and he felt him self falling but nothing seemed to work until all motion stopped and he was dumped choking and gasping onto stinking concrete.
"Oh! Did Daddy's baby do good? Yes! Yes he did! Now be a good boy and hold the dangerous soldier still."
Jack tried to lunge away from the blue goo that had solidified into some sort of biped monster but the arms stretched and followed him catching him a grip that was far too strong.
"Who are you and what is this?" Jack demanded with a final cough.
The gangly man in front of him seemed to ignore him in favor of praising his creation so Jack studied his situation. They were clearly in the sewers below the housing units. There were at lest six of the goo beasts standing around. The man addressing them had the same basic body type that Raf was growing into. Muscles soft and small from prolonged academia and probably forgetting to eat. Hair short and messy. Eyes squinting, probably needed glasses. From the way he talked and acted around the goo creatures Jack had the disturbing image of what it might look like if Shockwave and Knockout had had a child. Partly to banish that lovely thought from his mind he spoke again.
"Brian Bender," he addressed the chattering man.
"I prefer Dr. Mindbender now," the scientist flashed him a grin. "Now I have dealt with your type quite enough," Dr. Mindbender snapped, his attitude growing worse when he turned his attention away from his creations. "It is time to go to sleep."
Jack turned his head away from the spray of mist but the world darkened around him.
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"What do you mean he's gone?!" Fowler demanded, pacing the command center.
"I mean precisely what I said, Director," Magnus's agitation was evident in his voice and the clipped nature of his words. "His life signal moved abruptly from the housing units to somewhere underground, too fast for it to have been voluntary. I detected other energy signals, but none clear enough to decipher as human."
Fowler's face tightened. It wasn't the kind of attack they'd been expecting, but they'd planned for at least some kind of assault. "Alright Magnus," he said, "Standby for phase 2."
"Sir," an agent near his elbow whispered, "Why isn't Arcee running point on this one?"
Oh good heavens, Arcee. Fowler turned his gaze to the ceiling for a moment as though he might find an answer there and sighed heavily. "Because Arcee is on assignment and couldn't object to Captain Darby's mission until it was already underway."
"Ah." The agent stifled a smirk. "I did wonder how you got this going without having to sign the three page if anything happens to my little brother you have to promise not to run when I shoot you waiver."
"Go make yourself useful, Skinner," Fowler growled, "Get down to the Aerie and tell Esquivel to monitor Jack's vital signs and track him. If we can find these guys' hidey-hole, we can start piecing together who they all are and who's helping them."
He was just restating the same thing they'd all said at multiple meetings and briefings, but it kept him calm and focused. This was not the first time Captain Darby had been down behind enemy lines. If his captors were in a questioning mood, the Unit had exactly six hours to find Jack before he talked.
After the run-in with the MECH splinter cell, Jack had timed himself while undergoing intense interrogation.
"Director, I am losing patience," Magnus's voice cut into his thoughts. "If I do not receive confirmation that the mission is proceeding as planned, or if Captain Darby's vital signs so much as flicker, I will intervene."
A secondary phone in Fowler's coat pocket buzzed insistently as the man moved through the Unit E base, towards the Aerie. Raf and Ratchet's -- though just Raf these days, as Ratchet was being intentionally kept away from Earth by the High Council -- own little technology fort from which they could monitor everything and everyone. Miko joked often that it was like sitting inside Soundwave's head. Not that anyone wanted to guess what that looked like.
The phone vibrated again and Fowler gritted his teeth, ignoring it. He ducked under a low beam over the human entrance to the Aerie and moved to stand behind Raf's chair.
"Progress?" he asked tersely.
"Moving quick, but not quick enough to be in vehicles," Raf only spoke as much as was necessary, keeping his attention on the screens. "Headed for a COBRA pharmaceutical lab."
"Quelle surprise," Fowler grumbled. "Any contacts so far?"
"Mm. Nada, nada, nada...bingo! Secured line from the lab to Washington. Gimme a minute to decrypt it, but I'm willing to bet it's about Jack."
The phone buzzed one more time, and this time Fowler withdrew it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Three text messages from an unlisted number stacked up, waiting.
9:52 _Checking in with resident non-existent government allies. All present and correct
The second message was less formal, and only barely bothered with punctuation and capitalization. Whoever was on the line was getting impatient.
10:18 _Jackdaw triggered panic button. What's wrong
The third message was rushed, employing no particular rules of grammar as it only consisted of three words:
10:30 _where is he
Of all the incidents of poor timing William Fowler had seen in his lifetime, this tied with the top six. He snorted a little at the nickname "Jackdaw". Someday, he'd have to ask Jack how he'd gotten the moniker.
"Heart rate spiking," Raf warned suddenly, "He's in pain, wherever he is."
"Can you determine whether it's an injury or-" Fowler cut himself off. He didn't say torture But the implication was not lost.
"Sorry, Director, my nanotechnology scanners are precise, but they're not omniscient," the boy groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"He's still transmitting, so that's good. I need to finish tracing these calls. New one just popped up: it's a burner cell, the other has some major, major security on the line."
Fowler clenched his fists and closed his eyes for a brief second. He knew, every time he sent Jack out, that there was a chance he wouldn't come back, or that something like this would happen. But he didn't want to be the one to explain it to June.
Quickly, he texted the unlisted number.
10:45 _do not engage. panic button is a trap. continue to next safe house.
"Raf," Fowler took on a more urgent tone, "Can you finish decrypting that data without Jack's nanites amplifying your signal?"
Raf shrugged. "I mean, at this point? Yeah, I'm about 80% done hacking their signal."
"I need better than 80%, Mr. Esquivel."
Thin fingers flew over the keyboard. "Fine. 86%. That's the best I can do right now without alerting them to the hack. It should be enough that I won't lose progress when we pull Jack out." He paused and looked over his shoulder. "We are pulling him out, aren't we?"
Fowler lifted his first phone to his ear, discovering that Magnus was still on the line and as agitated as ever.
"Commander, I'm sending an extraction team to your coordinates. I leave it to your discretion to reveal yourself to COBRA or stay hidden."
"When do they arrive?"
"An hour. The Bridge is down for repairs," Fowler winced as he spoke. He already knew what the Autobot's answer would be.
"That's not good enough, Director. Captain Darby's vital signs are fluctuating. I-" he paused abruptly and the line was silent for three minutes.
"Ah, subterfuge in case of line tracing, I see. Apologies, Director. The extraction team is en route, and I will follow them in."
Raf and Fowler exchanged puzzled looks. "What extraction team? We didn't send anyone yet?" Raf hissed.
A terrible suspicion came over the director and he flipped open the other phone. Sure enough, there under his text warning the other number not to follow the signal, there was one new message.
11:05 _like scrap we leave a Joe behind
Fowler ground his teeth and cursed under his breath. "Sweet Lady Liberty, Duke, what part of trap did you not understand?!"
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"...highly doubt that the Belgian ambasador will take the bribe outright."
A voice as smooth as silk was talking in the distance as Jack fought against the blackness holding him down. He was on a mission. He had to be alert.
"Very well," the voice continued. "But be prepared to deal with the man's cursed sense of honor. It is how they do things in Belgium you know."
Jack was alert enough to note the snap of a cell phone closing and feel the straps across his chest that held him to a cold hard surface. A coil of fear tightened in his stomach as he realized he was strapped to a table. That never boded well. But it meant he was probably where he was supposed to be.
"Now, do you think that the alignment issues can be resolved by altering the density or will we need to re-engineer the entire attachment system?"
A voice answered in some Latin language that Jack didn't immediately recognize and he focused on keeping his breathing even. He didn't think that they were still unaware of his returning awareness but he had to try. The voices droned on working over various minutia and Jack tried to pay attention. His head was buzzing around in the most distracting manner and his scalp itched. And he had to go to the bathroom...The minutes dragged on and Jack began to consider taking control of the situation. He would have to-
"Won't you join us Captain Darby," the smooth voice called out.
Well so much for taking control. Jack mused as he forced himself to sit up. His muscles were weak and flaccid. Some lingering effect of the drugs and almost certainly meant to make him feel weak and give the Baroness an edge no doubt. The straps separated and Jack focused very carefully on not stumbling as he moved towards the table the woman was now sitting at. Jack worked through several sub-vocal exercises as he moved and when he spoke his voice was level.
"Baroness," He said as he slid into the chair. He felt a thrill of satisfaction at the flicker of respect in her eyes. It made up for the near violent shaking of his legs under the table.
"You are a troublesome young man Captain," the Baroness said evenly, with a hint of a smirk of her face.
"Soldiers are meant to make trouble Ma'am," Jack replied crossing his hands in front of him on the table and looking her straight in the eye. She dropped her eyes down to the steaming cup in her hands and Jack felt a thrill of satisfaction.
"But are you a soldier," the Baroness murmured softly, her tone deepening, "or a prisoner of your own delusions."
The satisfaction curled up in his stomach and tried to strangle him. Jack's heart rate spiked as he flashed back to his training. He had pressed Optimus to let him have access to the Primes's combat records and Jack had spent hours listening to the verbal play between Optimus and Megatron. Those recordings were safely in some of the most encrypted computers Unit E had. How did she know them and how did she know to use them on him.
"Now I am certain that you know why you are here," the Baroness said taking a sip of the tea.
Jack waited for her to continue and fought to keep his reactions under control. "You want to know where the Joes are." He finally snapped. Instantly regretting both the statement and the show of weakness.
Her eyes widened in mock surprise and she lowered the mug. "Good heavens no dear boy," she murmured, "I know exactly where the Joes are."
Jack narrowed his eyes and she held up his cell phone in explanation. His stomach lurched. It was a trap. They had stolen the bait from Unit E and used it to set their own. He was trying to decide what response was best when the Baroness leaned forward and rested her chin on her folded hands.
"No, I have no use for whatever out of date information that you probably don't have on the so called "Joes". You see the interests that I represent have larger concerns."
Jack was casting his mind around searching for an escape route. His muscles were growing steadier by the moment and he wondered why he wasn't restrained. The door started to open. Alright, flip the table, break for the door...move ... move...
"Thank you," the Baroness murmured taking the packet from the man who entered and then left.
Jack sat ramrod straight as a feeling of horrible dread filled him. His eyes were locked onto the middle distance as the Baroness placed a series of photos in front of him.
"Now look at this," the woman murmured.
Jack's body relaxed with a spasm and he gasped painfully his body trembling. The Baroness didn't seem inclined to explain his paralysis and he followed her finger to the images. His stomach clenched even harder. Laid out before him were dozens of images of him and Arcee in various positions; riding down the highway, stopped at gas stations, spread out on grassy hillsides laughing with each other. They were from all different sort of cameras with one exception. There did not seem to be any professional level cameras centered on them. It was as if every passive observation they had passed had taken a shot...a chill ran down Jack's spine and he jerked when the Baroness leaned over his shoulder and whispered in his ear.
"Someone has been thoughtfully providing us these, free of charge and without request, along with very, intriguing information about you, and your friends. Someone skilled enough to hack all of our systems externally."
Jack was fighting back panic now and despite the implications of the evidence spread in front of him he knew that the fear was too sharp. He knew his limits. He should not be reacting like this. They were working on him from the outside somehow. He lunged at the Baroness only to be paralyzed again. Now with the cold, irrational, certainty that something unseen was hovering just behind him.
"What I wish to know Captain Darby," the Baroness said as she resumed her seat. "Is who our mysterious benefactor is and what his, her, or its game is."
Jack scowled as he regained control of his face.
"And before you give me your name rank and serial number," the Baroness interjected, "I just want you to know-"
Reality whited out as searing pain ripped through jack's body from his left foot up through his shoulder. It was like nothing he had ever experienced. He wanted to scream by his throat was as paralyzed as the rest of him.
"-that any answer that is not exactly what I want will not be tolerated."
Jack glared across the table at her and took a deep breath. "You have no idea what you are getting involved in Baroness."
"Indeed, there is no need to repeat what I just told you Captain Darby." She murmured.
Jack fell silent and glared at her, taking the time to analyze what he could of her physicality under the giant red coat she wore.
"Don't linger too long dear boy," she said after a time.
The pain ripped through him again and Jack was left slumped and gasping. He didn't know how long that lasted before the explosions started but he smiled when the Baroness frowned. He knew the sound of a semi crashing through a wall.
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To say that the Baroness was surprised would have been an understatement. She was completely caught off guard, something that had not happened in a very long time, and that infuriated her. Pushing aside questions of how a semi had gotten into a sub-basement, she dove behind the upended table and snapped orders at the COBRA agents that had not been pinned by debris.
"Shut down the mainframe, you'll electrocute us all!" The Baroness cursed in Russian for several seconds.
The semi sat in silence for a moment, and the agents trained their guns on it, waiting for the driver to exit, provided the crash hadn't killed him. Something twisted in the Baroness's gut, and she glanced down at the scattered photographs littering the floor.
Their anonymous source seemed to be implying that these...things, these Titans were some sort of extremely advanced artificial intelligence that some unknown group of humans had built ages ago and turned loose to fight amongst themselves. Waste of a good project if you asked the Baroness, but she supposed they must've been interested in the social aspect of making robots that thought they were people.
But then, she would also be the first to admit that at times their source's information seemed deliberately worded in such a way as to confuse them or lead them to erroneous conclusions, calling into question their motives once more.
"Stand clear of the truck!" she shouted. It proved to be a wise decision.
There was a crack, like the breaking of a bone, and then a drawn out hydraulic hiss, and the truck shifted. One moment it was a vehicle, and then with a series of gears moving and plates sliding faster than the eye could recognize, a humanoid figure crouched in the rubble.
Anastacia knew it was no use projecting human emotions onto a robot -- even an apparently autonomous one -- but if she hadn't known better, she would've said that was rage in those eyes.
This one wasn't in the photos. If any of the robots were going to show, she'd have expected the small blue one, the motorcycle. It bore some resemblance to the one she'd learned had been called Optimus Prime, but there were subtle differences.
Jack picked himself up from the concrete. His muscles felt like rubber bands, stretched too far and left to flop uselessly, and his legs trembled violently in the aftermath of the pain. The sound of the crash still echoed through his foggy head and he gripped the upturned table for support.
Focus, Jack. Focus: where are they? Count the guns.
Three with highly modified rifles -- probably laser, strong enough to burn a Cybertronian -- pointed at the new hole in the wall. The Baroness still on the other side of the table, looking like she was formulating contingency plans. The big guy with the prod, or whatever it was that had introduced the current into his body, was facing him, watching.
Jack took several slow, deep breaths. He needed a weapon. They would all see him move, regardless of how fast or stealthy he was. It wasn't a matter of if he got shot now, it was a matter of where he got shot. Occupational hazard.
When he raised his head, he found himself gazing into a worried pair of blue optics, tight at the seams with anger. Finding his confidence bolstered somewhat, Jack took a deep breath and gathered himself to spring. Then, several things happened at once.
The COBRA agents opened fire on Ultra Magnus, frantically backing away as the monstrous automaton raised an arm to block the projectiles -- not lasers, as Jack had assumed -- as if they were a mere annoyance. At the same time, Jack dove over the extended table leg. His momentum and a belated rush of adrenalin provided him with just enough force to deliver an audible blow to the Baroness's chin. While it didn't knock the woman out, it stunned her long enough that even in his weakened state Jack could mostly handle her resistance when he went for her firearm.
As this was happening, the one Jack had just labeled as "the big guy" sounded an alarm on his belt and drew a vintage magnum revolver (something that would almost have been amusing under different circumstances) on Captain Darby. Ultra Magnus swatted the three shooters aside like flies, making a disgusted sound deep in the back of his throat as he did, and reached for "the big guy".
There was an almost metallic ringing sound, with the report of a gun following hard on its heels. Everything stopped for a fraction of a second as almost every human present stopped to make sure they weren't the one who'd been shot. Then, as the door shook under the weight of a heavy impact, time seemed to move again.
Jack ignored a persistent stinging in the back of his leg and focused on keeping the Baroness from killing him. She'd recovered quickly, and now knelt on his chest, hands around his throat. Jack struggled to draw a breath and pulled at her hands, but she was strong and he was not in optimal physical condition.
The door finally burst open and a regiment of COBRA soldiers flooded in, only to pause in some confusion at the sight of an enraged metal giant with one of their comrades in his hand. Ultra Magnus allowed a rare smirk to break his stoic features and shifted his weight enough to clear a space in the hole behind him.
A stocky figure marched out of the dust and debris, firing resolutely away on a large, plasma pulse machine gun. The superheated material knocked one soldier back, screaming as it melted through his bulletproof vest. The others scattered, looking for cover.
"Roadblock, assist Captain Darby!" Magnus snapped.
The tension in the room skyrocketed. It could speak?! Of all of the COBRA agents, only the Baroness had been aware that the robots were capable of speech. But she had been expecting vocal inflections not unlike the old-fashioned Siri search engine, not a full range of emotions. It distracted her enough to slightly loosen her grip on Darby's throat as it hit her that she was going to need more detailed information from their mystery contact than just transcripts and photos.
Her eyes found the new intruder and narrowed. Yes, it was Roadblock, which meant the other Joes wouldn't be far behind. Anastacia felt a current of air ghost past her neck and her eyes widened.
The ninja! She'd forgotten about the ninja!
Something struck her, hard, across the chest and knocked her away from the captain. She rose quickly, but a pair of viscous blue arms wrapped around her, pinning her. A bitter laugh left the woman.
"Patient X," she cooed, in control of herself once more, "How nice to see you again. The Commander is most anxious that we return you to him."
"Good for him," Ripcord growled. "Too bad for you, I'm never going back."
The Baroness smirked. "We'll see."
"Hey Duke, found your friend!" Ripcord hollered in response. "Better move, he doesn't look good!"
Jack squinted at the huge creature -- the same kind that had kidnapped him -- and tried desperately to remember where he'd heard that voice before, but as most of his brain had focused efforts on making his lungs work again, he was a bit distracted. As the adrenalin wore off, the stinging in the back of his leg became a burning that was rapidly approaching a dulled version of what the Baroness had put him through earlier.
Scrap, he realized. I'm the one who got shot.
He pulled himself into a sitting position, willing himself to remain as calm as possible, and ducked a few misdirected plasma bursts as he gingerly rolled back his bloodstained pant leg to examine the damage.
Oh.
The bullet had entered near his shin, exiting out the calf. The skin around it was already exhibiting some very interesting bruising. Jack clamped his hands down on the exit wound, praying that no arteries had been nicked, and felt a little bubble of hysteria rising in his throat.
"Well Raf," he giggled nervously as a wave of dizziness washed over him, "You wanted to test reinforcing broken bones with nanites structures. This might be your chance!"
Then hands were supporting his back as a figure in black crouched next to him, tying something around his leg. A voice made deeper by concern and the strain of combat buzzed through Jack's head from the person he was leaning against.
"Dangit Jackdaw, you're not a cadet anymore, why do you still do things like this? You're gonna make me old!"
Shaking, Jack grinned. "Hey Duke, didn't talk." The grin faded and the shaking worsened. "Got close."
It occurred to him that the shooting had stopped, but he couldn't devote enough mental energy to that now to work out whether that meant enemies had been captured or enemies were dead.
"Roadblock, help us move him." Duke slung Jack's arm around his shoulders and wrapped his own arm around the younger man's torso. "Careful with the leg, it's bleeding a lot."
A woman's voice called across the space, "Got their files, guys. Though these are probably just backups. Still, every bit helps, right?"
Ultra Magnus loomed over them all, concerned and clearly unsure of what to do. "I can take him," he said gruffly.
"Bad idea, big guy," Roadblock shook his head. "Jackdaw needs first aid now, and we've got what we need to at least stabilize him in the Coyote. If you take him, there's no telling how long it'll be before you get to a safe hospital."
"Don't worry, Commander," Duke grunted as he and Roadblock carefully lifted Jack, "we know what to do. I've known this guy since he was a cadet. He's strong."
"I am well aware of Captain Darby's physical capabilities and limitations," Magnus did his best to keep a growl out of his voice, "I have known him for considerably longer than you."
This was a little bit of an exaggeration, but he didn't care enough to correct himself at present.
Still, he eased to the side to let the Joes pass with the Captain, with Snake Eyes and Scarlett providing extra stability as they moved to where Tunnel Rat waited in their vehicle.
"Wait," Jack ramped, "Can...can you grab the bullet? Miko...collects..." he trailed off with a hiss of pain.
"Tunnel Rat, get the med kit!" Scarlett shouted.
"Hey, what do I do with this one?" Ripcord called, heating the Baroness in his gooey arms. Magnus's smile was positively chilling.
"Give her to me. Let us see how much COBRA values her safety."
Of all the indignities! Oh, this was not to be borne! Anastacia finally managed to grasp the armband she'd been working down her forearm the whole time and pressed a secret button in the clasp, sending a jolt of electricity through both her and her captor. It destabilized Patient X just enough for her to break free of his grip. It was undignified, but she crawled on hands and knees through a gap in the debris too small for the robot to follow through and squirmed out through the ruins of the door. She had new information and new avenues of inquiry to explore. The Baroness could hardly call this a loss in that light, now could she?
Magnus raised a cannon towards the pile of debris she'd escaped through, then thought better of it. One shot wrong could bring the structure down on them all. His first priority now was making sure Jack survived this ordeal.
His second priority would be to find out just whose brilliant idea this whole affair had been and then confiscate his human soldiers until it could be proven that they wouldn't be sent needlessly into danger again. High Council be scrapped: if he had to take them all straight to Iacon to protect them, by Primus he would see it done!
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"Yeah, he doesn't look good," Tunnel Rat observed when Duke tenderly laid Jackdaw down on the bunk in the back of Coyote.
"That's why we brought him to you," Duke said curtly. "We're ready to go Scarlet. Roll out."
"Hey! Hey, hey," Tunnel Rat protested as he worked over Jackdaw's leg. "I need as little movement as possible!"
"If COBRA catches us out here its going to move the Coyote around a lot," Duke reminded him grimly.
"Gotcha," Tunnel Rat focused on his patient. He could tell that Scarlet was doing her best to keep the drive smooth and thankfully Jackdaw seemed to have passed out from the pain and blood loss. "Gotta stop the bleeding. He's lost too much blood. Gotta get him to a hospital. But until we do I can..." Tunnel Rat's hands flew over Jackdaws injury, packing gauze onto the outside and soaking it in sterile formula. "Snake Eyes! Get me the blood plasma mimic," Tunnel Rat snapped out. The ninja obeyed and the medic attached the drip to the wall above Jackdaw's head.
Duke sighed and slumped against the frame of the Coyote. "Anything I can do Tunnel Rat?" He asked when the medic had slowed somewhat.
"Yeah actually," Tunnel Rat nodded. "I don't like the way he's breathing can you elevate his head? I think that'll calm him down some to."
"Sure thing," Duke glanced around for a pillow and not seeing one shrugged. He sat down at Jackdaw's head and eased his lap under the raven black hair. A soft smile erased a few years off of Duke's face and he brushed the sweaty bangs off of the young Captain's forehead. "Hang in there Jackdaw," he murmured.
Jackdaw muttered something and his eyes fluttered. "Ow..." he commented.
"Yeah, right, painkillers here please Snake Eyes," Tunnel Rat held out his hand and plunged the needle into the bandaged leg.
Duke felt his friend relax as the potent medicine hid the pain and damage. Jackdaw's eyes cleared and he began to shift.
"No Jackdaw," Duke said firmly putting a hand on the younger man's chest. "You need to stay down. We're getting you to the closest Unit E hospital but until then Tunnel Rat is fixing you up and your are staying down."
"I seriously outrank you you know," Jackdaw muttered but Duke felt him relax into his lap and laughed.
"Keep telling yourself that kid." He teased. Tunnel Rat signaled him to keep Jackdaw talking. "So how did you get yourself captured by her baronical stuffiness anyway."
"That classified," Jackdaw replied dryly. "Let's just say that I am never going to look at a plunger the same way again."
"One, gross," Duke said wrinkling his nose, "two, did you get what you wanted out of her."
Jackdaw frowned and seemed to muse over the answer. "I really won't know until I can talk to the tech squad. I already did my part."
"That you did soldier," Duke said. If Jackdaw flinched at that he attributed it to something Tunnel Rat was doing.
"Ripcord!" Jackdaw looked over to the Joe who had just entered the rear compartment. "That was you?"
"Yeah, hey Jackdaw," Ripcord forced a smile but Duke could tell that something was bothering him.
"Well thanks for the save," Jackdaw said. "Thanks to all of you."
"Hey," Duke said smoothing out his hair. "We'd do it for any Joe."
"Hey I hate to stick my nose in where it's not wanted-" Ripcord started uneasily.
"No you don't." Tunnel Rat objected without look up and Ripcord stuck his tongue out at the other soldier.
"But I've been thinking -"
"That's never good," Tunnel Rat interjected again.
"That's enough soldier," Duke cut in before the two could really get going. "Continue Ripcord."
"Like I said," Ripcord continued with a glare at Tunnel Rat. "I've been thinking. They tortured Jackdaw but I don't see any marks other than the gun shot and a few bruises."
"Yeah you're right," Tunnel Rat confirmed. "His vital signs say super high stress but none of the usual broken bits."
"Is this really necessary?" Duke demanded with a growl.
"It's fine Duke," Jackdaw interjected. "They are right. There was this big guy with a weird prod. It hurt like the pit but I can't seem to remember him even touching me with it."
Duke did not like the grim look that settled on Ripcord's face.
"Tunnel Rat, did you check his head for fresh scars?" Ripcord asked tightly.
"Hey man priorities!" Tunnel Rat snapped. "Possible concussions come after stopping the bleeding-"
Ripcord frowned and tapped his own small scar and Tunnel Rat's eyes widened.
"But yeah, checking for concussions in totally next priority. Hey Jackdaw I'm gonna, yeah, check for concussions."
Tunnel Rat moved to kneel over Duke's lap and began to gently sift through the thick black hair. After a moment his face grew grim and he gently tilted Jackdaw's head to show Duke a thin deliberate scar across Jackdaw's temple.
Duke fought back a string of curses and his mind whirled trying to decided if they should change course.
"Okay, the patient objects to whatever you are keeping from him," Jackdaw finally pointed out and Duke sighed.
"COBRA is fond of putting chips in people's heads," Duke said grimly. "The exploding kind."
Jackdaw fell silent and if possible his face went paler. But after a moment he spoke. "Can they track it?" He demanded tightly.
"It's almost a given," Duke informed him.
"We can't go to the Unit E facility like this," Jackdaw tried to say firmly but his voice cracked under the strain, "and I can't put a civilian hospital at risk."
"Look, there is only so much I can do for you-" Tunnel Rat tried to protest. "Won't the Unit E place be shielded?"
"Have Scarlet contact Raf," Jackdaw instructed. "Inform him of the situation and suggest that his little friends might be able to help. Until we get a response do not, and that is and order, do not take us near the Unit base."
Ripcord looked at Duke for confirmation and the man nodded curtly.
***
"Ep! Ep! EP!," Rafael yelped as he read the screen. "Is he asking what I think he is? Does he think I can reprogram the nanobots on the fly? I would have to tell them to attack anything that isn't Jack! And that would wreck havoc with his microfauna! They don't even have a weapons systems I would have to have them adhere to the surface of the chip and self destruct...carry over the code line from the base imprinting function to the next level."
Agent Fowler watched the young man with a wry smile. He had no doubt that Raf would have some sort of workable solution soon.
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Scarlett glanced at the rear view mirror and raised her eyebrows. The semi truck -- the one that was most definitely not a normal truck -- followed closely behind, very nearly tailgating them. Of course, having been military intelligence, Scarlett had come across mentions of the beings codenamed "the Neighbors" before. But this was the first time she'd ever seen one in the flesh...er...metal.
"Hey boys, I think you might want to give your friend's friend a status update," she grunted, swerving to avoid a pothole. "And get him off our bumper! If I hit the brakes, he's gonna be in our backseat!"
The other Joes glanced at each other and grimaced. Duke tapped Jack's shoulder, distracting him from the curse he'd been about to yelp as Tunnel Rat tightened a strip of gauze.
"Jackdaw, what rank is your giant buddy? Whatever else he is, he's definitely military."
Jack tried to smile at the sergeant's question and the perceptiveness behind it, but it came out as a painful gritting of teeth. "He's a commander," he gasped, "Though rank works a little differently where he's from."
"And where is he from?" asked a distinctly uncomfortable Roadblock.
"Classified," the injured man answered dryly.
Duke raised a brow and muttered something about mouthy ex-cadets getting in over their heads, then opened the Coyote's communication network to tune it to the frequency the big rig had contacted them on.
"Coyote for Big Blue, comeback? Commander, did you pick up any of the radio chatter about Jackdaw just now?"
"I did, sergeant. Kindly do not refer to me as "Big Blue". Technicians at the Unit are nearing a solution."
"But?" Duke asked, hearing the hesitation.
After a pause, Ultra Magnus spoke again. "But the process would severely weaken his immune system. He would need to be kept in quarantine until a higher dosage of nanites could be integrated into his system."
Ripcord's face twisted in confusion. "Nanites? Wha-?"
He tried to think like a robot. "White blood cells? Is that what he means?"
Pale, Jack shook his head minutely. "No," he whispered, "Nanotechnology that augments the immune system and promotes self-repair on a cellular level. Very useful for places with unknown airborne elements."
"I did wonder why that scar wasn't fresh if they'd only had you four hours," Tunnel Rat admitted. "Nanites do that too?"
Jack made as if to answer, then groaned and reached up to clutch his head. "Hey Duke?" he asked in a shaky voice, "Would I be able to feel it if they started tracking me?"
"Yes," Ripcord cut in flatly, "You would. Whatever your Unit guys were gonna do, they better do it now."
***
"I hate this!" Raf ran his fingers through his close cropped hair until it stood upright, the way it had when he was a little boy. "It's way too risky!"
"You created a virus that Megatron's #1 Spymaster couldn't detect and hacked an entire database when you were twelve and a half," Director Fowler said sharply, "This should be well within your capabilities."
"Deployers are different!" Raf snapped. "If I program something wrong with those, the neural net has subroutines to fix it. If I program something wrong with Jack's head at stake, he could go...squish!"
Then for the time being, we must watch where we step.
The words rose unbidden to the young man's mind, and his shoulders slumped.
"Alright, I'll give it a try," he groaned.
"Not good enough, soldier," Fowler pushed, waiting for a response.
"I am doing the best I know how!" Raf protested, "That's what I've been doing, and that's what I'll continue to do. But I cannot guarantee success!"
Under his breath, he muttered, "I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker."
"I'll take what I can get, McCoy," Fowler replied in a decidedly dry tone.
***
Ultra Magnus kept as close as possible to the Joes' vehicle. He didn't like the idea of sacrificing the nanites to destroy the chip, but the fact of the matter was that only Jazz would have been capable of neutralizing the explosive without harming Jack or using nanites. And for tricky political reasons, Ultra Magnus could not be seen or heard contacting Jazz, lest the Council begin to ask questions about other Autobots he supposedly did not know the locations of.
"Dr. Esquivel," he began, "Assuming the procedure works as theorized, Captain Darby will be in need of replacement nanites quickly, given the state of his leg. If my nanites would be of any help, I will gladly donate them."
"But they're not programmed for humans, Commander, Fowler protested.
"Didn't stop him last time," Raf mused. "Okay Commander, if you can strain all the energon out, go for it. Tunnel Rat can put them in the IV."
"Wh- Last time?! What do you mean last time?!" The Director sounded almost outraged.
Magnus would have grimaced if he'd been in Bot mode. "It was during the siege of Jasper, Director. It will be different this time. He won't have to ingest the nanites this time."
"Oh thank Primus!" Jack cut in, weak but relieved.
The voices of several Joes, scolding him for moving, trickled over the line.
"Esquivel," said Magnus, "Whatever you're going to do, do it now."
***
"Doing it now," Rafael's voice echoed back to the back of the Coyote with a little static as Scarlett turned up the volume. "It'll take a few minutes, so try to be patient. Oh, and Duke?"
His tone turned grim and apologetic.
"Hold him down. This is going to hurt like the Pit."
Duke scowled. "Roadblock, gimme a hand. Kid's stronger than he looks." I hope.
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Jack's eyes were closed and his breathing had the artificial evenness of meditation and Duke forced a grin as Roadblock took up a place on the other end of the bench pining the young officer's legs to the bed. Tunnel Rat slipped something that looked like a mouthguard into Jack's mouth muttering about keeping his tongue.
"So when-" Tunnel Rat began only to cut off as Jack's body suddenly arched and a strange low, choking groan seemed to rip itself out of his throat.
Duke grunted and doubled over, bringing the full weight of his body down to keep Jack pinned. "Hang in there kid," he muttered. He had Roadblock fought the thrashing for what seemed like a long time before it suddenly got easier. Duke glanced up and grinned. Snake Eyes was crouched in the middle of Jack's chest with his fingers buried in various places that Duke cold only assume were pressure points. Jack was still making that sound that wan't quite a scream or a groan.
"Okay!" Raf's voice cut in again. "The signal is dead. You are clear to get to the nearest hospital. I am sending you coordinators and they are prepping the ICU. I estimate your travel time as thirty minutes."
"Jack is still spasming!" Duke snarled out as he tried to hold Jack's head still.
"The chip must be programmed to self destruct if the signal is cut off suddenly," Raf muttered. "Look, I don't think it can actually give the kill signal and the nanobots are breaking down the chip as fast as they can. Just keep him from injuring himself until the chip is fully dead."
"Understood," Duke said through gritted teeth as he felt the Coyote accelerate towards whatever destination Scarlet had received. Suddenly Snake Eyes stiffened and slid off of Jack's chest. Duke glanced at him curiously and then realized that Jack had stopped struggling. His relief was short lived however as he saw the soldier's chest stop moving. Tunnel Rat reached up to touch Jack's neck and cursed.
"He's flat lining!" The medic snarled. "Roadblock, get me the AED! Duke CPR now!"
Duke moved to take up the position he had learned years before he had joined the Army. His coach had insisted that every member of the team know First Aid basics. Duke began to pump down on Jack's chest.
"No!" Raf's voice cut in over the radio. "That kind of shock will disrupt the nanobots and they haven't finished with the chip yet! It's going to take another three minutes at least."
"Jackdaw should be good with the CPR until then," Tunnel Rat asserted, pulling up a timer on a watch he pulled out of one of his numerous pockets. "Roadblock, switch out with Duke when the timer hits zero and keep it up until it zeros again then back to Duke."
"Understood," Duke grunted.
"I have the new batch of nanobots ready," the Commander cut in, "But I will need one of you to remove them and transport it to Jack's IV. We can pullover at the next-
"Yeah, that won't be necessary," Tunnel Rat interjected with a smirk. "Snake Eyes is already on his way over."
"What? Ah, I see." the Commander said. "For the record I find this behavior highly inadvisable for a human."
"Yer assuming that the ninja is human," Tunnel Rat muttered as he added some solution to the IV.
Duke shot the medic a look as he waited for his next turn.
"Jackdaw'll need some air now," Tunnel Rat said, ignoring the look as he handed over the breathing barrier.
Duke took it with a nod, affixed the mask on Jack's face and firmly breathed in a lungful of air. Cold air flooded the chamber as Snake Eyes returned with what looked like an over-sized syringe with a small blob of quicksilver rattling around in the bottom.
"How many nanobots is that anyway?" Tunnel Rat asked as he held up the IV bag for Snake Eyes. "Hey Radio Man. I'm gonna add in the new nanobots now. That okay?"
"No!" Raf cut in urgently. "Don't add them until I give the signal. I don't want them to get caught up in the self destruct signal."
"Gotcha," Tunnel Rat confirmed. "Waiting for your signal." He set aside the IV bag and they crouched down to wait.
Duke and Roadblock kept up alternating the compressions on Jackdaw's chest, checking between each break to see if he was breathing on his own. After what seemed like an eternity Raf broke in again.
"Okay the chip is dead dead, it was sending a counteracting signal that was overriding his SA is his heart beating on it's own now?"
"What?" Roadblock asked but Tunnel Rat shushed him.
"Negative Radio Man. I'm gonna use the AED now and then put the new nanobots in."
"That sounds good." Raf confirmed.
"Snake Eyes, get his shirt off. Everybody else get back!" Tunnel Rat snapped. He pulled a device the size of his hand out of his pocket and removed two blue stickers from the side.
"Didn't those things used to be the size of a purse?" Duke asked tightly.
"Yeah, and have wires?" Roadblock asked as they watched Tunnel Rat attach the stickers to Jack's now bare chest.
"COBRA really has made a lot of significant contributions to the medical world," Scarlet said grimly.
"Stinks that they are, ya know, evil." Ripcord commented.
The little box instructed them that a shock was advised and to stand clear. Tunnel Rat hit the button and Jackdaw's body jerked. The box told them to wait while it scanned and then chimed happily.
"Ha! It worked!" Tunnel Rat crowed. "His heart's beating on it's own again and..."he hovered his hand over Jack's mouth, "he's breathing too!"
A rough cheer went through the Coyote and Roadblock grabbed Duke in a hug.
"Thank you for your assistance," the Commander's voice announced, with obvious relief. "I will accompany you to the hospital and stay with Lieutenant Darby until he regains consciousness."
"That sounds good." Tunnel Rat agreed as Snake Eyes decanted the nanobots into the IV drip.
"Wish we could hang around till the kid wakes up," Roadblock said reaching out to brush Jack's hair out of his face.
"Too dangerous," Duke reminded him. "We'll just have to wait until he has a chance to contact us."
***
Three weeks later the Coyote was rolling down a highway in some fairly busy section of farm country. They had just passed a gold/brown sheriff's cruiser in their RV disguise and Ripcord was angling to get around a large green tractor.
"Hey Duke," Ripcord called back. "Can you use your farm boy powers to get this harvester to move over?"
Duke snorted and didn't remove his had from where it covered his eyes. "That's a disc rack, not a harvester and he's already as far over as he can get on these soft shoulders. Ease back, we don't want any attention from the law."
Ripcord grumbled and Duke grinned.
"Hey what's with that guy?" Ripcord demanded. "He's got to be doing ninety."
Duke groaned and looked out the window. A sleek blue motorcycle ridden by a man in jet black leathers was catching up to them and the sheriff's car had taken note. The bike easily over took them and slowed just enough to pop a wheelie as it passed. The rider waved and gave them a thumbs up. Duke burst into laughter and returned the gesture. The sheriff's car roared to life with sirens wailing and lights flashing. The blue bike dropped back down on two wheels and fishtailed tauntingly at the officer before accelerating around the tractor with the car following hot on it's tail.
"No way that old crown vic catches them," Ripcord scoffed.
"Stay whole Jackdaw," Duke said with a grin.
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seven years later
"Daddy?" a little round face peeked around the edge of the doorframe, almost sheepishly.
The lieutenant-colonel paused, setting his duffel bag back on the bedspread and turned to smile down at the four year old boy.
"Hey buddy! Got your suitcase all packed?"
The child shifted from foot to foot for a moment, then shook his head. Sensing that something was bothering him, Jack crouched and beckoned his son closer.
"Hey, Ori, c'mere. What's wrong, huh?" He jostled the preschooler playfully. "Where'd my smiley Ori go?"
Orion "Ori" Darby scrunched up his nose and pouted. "Do we have to go to Cybertron? I wanna stay with Gramma! Or Baachan and Jiichan!"
Jack chuckled and stood, balancing Ori on his hip. "And they would all love for you to stay with them, but Gramma and Pop-pop are helping out in Haiti this week, remember? And Baachan and Jiichan have to know you're coming in advance. No surprise visits."
"What about Lil?" Ori suggested with what he hoped was a winning smile.
"Buddy, Aunt Lil is twelve. I know that seems like a big kid to you, but that's not old enough to babysit for two weeks. She's staying with Aunt Arcee while we're gone."
Now Ori was frowning. He leaned against Jack's shoulder, fingers tracing over the faded scar on the man's temple out of habit. "How come we can't stay with Aunt Arcee?"
"Because," Jack answered patiently, folding a dress shirt and slipping it into the bag, "Mommy and I promised Grandpa he'd get to see you and your sister this week. He hasn't seen you since you were babies."
"I don't a'member Grandpa," Ori sulked.
"You will," His father turned to kiss the preschooler's forehead. "Grandpa is pretty hard to forget."
Suitcase packed, he set his son down and gave him a gentle push.
"Okay, scout. Go help your sister pack, alright? We're leaving pretty early in the morning."
As Orion trundled out of the room, a taller figure slipped in and wound her arms around Jack's neck.
"Hey, lieutenant-colonel," she smirked, tracing the scar as Ori had done, "You've got company outside."
Jack smirked and leaned down for a kiss. "If it's Raf," he muttered, "I'm not signing off on a portal gun just so he can impress the scientist from Griffin Rock."
Miko laughed and pulled back slightly. "Yeah, he's smitten. But it's not Raf."
"No?"
"Uh-uh." Miko's eyes twinkled as she extricated herself from Jack's grip to lay out her dress uniform for the following morning. "Give you a hint: He's a real American hero," she said in a singsong tone.
Jack laughed incredulously. "What? Why didn't you say so?"
On the scrubby half-lawn of the Darby house, perched awkwardly between the driveway and the cobblestone path, a tall blonde man waited. The years were beginning to show on his face, and there was a scar across his right eye. He relaxed visibly when Jack stepped out onto the lawn. The men shook hands, foregoing salutes for the moment.
"The Commander of the G.I. Joes," Jack shook his head and whistled, then snapped a brief salute. "Haven't seen you for a while, sir."
Duke's rough features creased into a smile. "There you go again, acting like you're still one of my rookies." He leaned back to examine the younger man critically. "Oof. Full uniform and armor? What kind of trouble are we expecting up there?"
Jack's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. "We? I wasn't aware you would be accompanying us?"
Duke grimaced apologetically. "Not me, but Ripcord is going." He lowered his voice. "Frankly, it's more for his protection than yours."
Jack found his gaze wandering to the scar and winced. "The war isn't going well," he guessed. "Commander, you could've called me! I've been on nothing higher-security than diplomatic missions for the last three years!"
"No." Duke shook his head firmly. "I saw the files. You've been through enough, Jackdaw. You've got a wife and kids. I wasn't going to pull you back into the Joes while they were still babies: I owed you that, at least."
Jack sighed. "Alright, what's the deal with Ripcord? Same as always?"
With COBRA having actively declared war on the Joes and all their associates in the last two years, suspicions piled up about those who survived their experiments. Ripcord often found himself the target of rumors, prejudices, and distrust, due to his Bioviper abilities.
"There was a raid on COBRA Island. Things went south, people are asking the same kinds of questions they used to ask about the "Springfield Four"." There was a bitterness in Duke's voice that seven years hadn't washed away. "Once the uproar dies down, we'll put him back on regular missions."
Fair enough. Jack knew it was probably safer for Ripcord on Cybertron with him and Miko and the rest of the Earth/Cybertron Diplomatic Core team. Still, the High Council ran on favors. The only reason Jack and Miko were getting an audience was due to their dual citizenship and a decades old debt owed to Ultra Magnus. In exchange for information about the so-called "Intruder Empire" that had been supplying COBRA with weapons, the senators would likely want something from them. Having Ripcord there would likely give them reason to argue that the Joes as an organization owed them the favor.
"If they help us, it'll be for a price," Jack warned the Joe Commander. "And I can't predict when or how they'll collect. Can Ripcord deal with that?"
"He'll do what he needs to do."
A meaningful look passed between the men.
"Alright." Jack nodded. "And we'll have an answer about the Intruders, with any luck, in two weeks' time."
Duke nodded in return and started to head back to his car. "Understood. We'll be waiting on Cyber Branch's report at Unit HQ until then. And Jackdaw?"
Jack smiled, knowing what was coming.
"Be careful," the older man finished, as he usually did.
"Will do, sir," Jack took a step backward and, after a brief internal debate, gestured towards the house. "Stay for dinner? I don't think you've met the kids."
"Not officially, no," Duke smirked. "Wish I could stay, Jackdaw, but I've been here too long already."
"I understand." Jack crossed his arms, glancing at the sky out of habit, looking for drones, planes, anything that could be tied to COBRA or the Decepticons. "Stay safe, Commander."
"Well," Duke answered dryly, "I'll do my best."
"Da-deee!" a high-pitched voice echoed from inside. "Dinnerrrr!"
"Just a sec, Emiko," Jack called back.
He turned back and saluted Duke, who returned the gesture.
"One way or another, we're coming back with help, sir." Jack said firmly.
"The Baroness still has a beef with you, kid," Duke raised a brow and ducked back into his car. "The fact that she hasn't been able to get near you and yours speaks well for the "help" you have in mind."
The car pulled away and Jack stood watching it for a few more minutes before slipping back into their small house to listen to Ori and Emi having a spirited debate over whether the onions on their pizza were actually worms.
Of course, their mother was confirming their suspicions with a completely straight face.
"Wha- no! Don't tell them they're eating worms, you're as bad as Tunnel Rat!" Jack laughed, and shut the door behind them.
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I like how the two of you crafted what could be a fanfiction all on it's own in the comment section XD.
it's an amazing read though 
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You're welcome 
You should try and combine them all into a story
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If Foxbear is okay with it, maybe someday
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Great story and artwork
I hope to see this continue. I thought he was going to say that he's been in contact with "Duke:"
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I know, if he said "Duke" it may throw them off
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(Oh nice; based on the last Joe movie, I suppose?)
Teal grimaced (or would have if she had been in human form) as she raced across the countryside shadowing Ultra Magnus. The Joes had been compromised and she knew that whomever had done it would be going after Jack Darby to find out what he knew and silence him after they found out. Flint had made two calls after releasing Captain Darby; one to his superiors and one to her to warn her of the potential threat to their best lead on where the Joes were. Teal knew that she needed to tread carefully; she couldn't hope that Jack remember her from the few bried encounters she had had with him when Optimus was still around and had to proceed with extreme caution if Arcee was around, as she remembered how possessive the femme was of him.
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Actually, it's based on the show G.I. Joe: Renegades. Did you ever see that one?
It was totally one giant homage to the A-Team. One or two of the episodes I can remember basically being rehashes of A-Team episodes, but that just made me love it even more.
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That's one that I'll have to find, I suspect. Sounds like my kind of show.
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I wish it had run longer. It aired right about when TFP did, on the HUB.
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Okay, that will help some.
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It's sort of meant to go along with this one
ardentaspen.deviantart.com/art…
Although a different time line of events, I guess.
Drawing Jack in the general style of G.I. Joe: Renegades was a bit odd though. Facial proportions change a little between a cgi look and the Renegades look. Or at least, that's been my experience.
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I've noticed this with other artists too. Will admit Jack looks a little more narrow than he did on Prime...
I miss Prime.
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I was basing his face partially on Duke and partially on Flint's character models, but also trying to keep the general skinny feel Jack always had.
That kid was tiny, good gracious. Not as small as Miko or Raf, but I think he still had some growing to do.
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I think it was more in relation to the giant multi story robots. If I recall he was about the same size as his mother, and that was probably just to keep the impression they were mother and son. But he did look rather lanky, even at the shoulders.
Come to think of it, even Fowler was kinda skinny. Not at the torso, but limbwise.
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Could've been animation oddities, I suppose. I read on the tfwiki that there were so many weird things that happened when they tried to animate Fowler that when a fan asked why his eyes would randomly be half closed sometimes, the animators replied that he was hung over for about half the show.
This explains some of his crabbiness with the bots...
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I always assumed it was for the amount of paperwork and red tape the team inadvertently causes Fowler.
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