Newer World Order

Chapter 11: Lovebirds and Lunatics

"Hey, Miko." Arcee walked over to her and Jack's favorite spot at the top of the mesa near the Autobot base and sat beside Miko.

"Hi." Miko glanced up at her, smiled, and returned her gaze to the sunset.

"I'm a little surprised to find you here." Arcee and Jack liked to watch the sunset from the old stomping grounds whenever they could, and also sunrises, on the occasions when he got up early enough. Miko, on the other hand, usually spent her time off playing video games whenever she wasn't hanging out with her friends.

"I needed to find someplace quiet and just ... take things in."

"I hope you didn't get any bad news." Arcee stared down at Miko for a moment. "Your parents ...?"

Miko grinned. "They're still arguing about it, but I think they're going to let me stay. At least, I hope so."

"So do the rest of us. You've become a valued member of our team, as well as a close friend." Arcee turned to watch the sunset. "I'd hate to see the gang broken up."

"It could still go sour, but I'm getting a good vibe from my family. Mom's firmly on my side, and I think Dad's starting to come around after he saw us in action yesterday. One of the things they were talking about is the legal hoops they'd have to jump through if they do let me stay. I mean, Jack and Raf and I are already on the payroll as 'Special Consultants,' but I'm not sure how we could keep getting directly involved in the fight without a bunch of contrived excuses. Maybe my parents would just have to sign a waiver or something, but there might be a lot more to it. Still, I'm hopeful."

"Glad to hear it." Arcee smiled. "At least Jack's mom has decided to jump right into the thick of it with him, so she probably feels a lot better about letting him stick around since she can be there to help watch his back."

"Heh. I don't think my parents are ready to put themselves in the bad guys' sights, though my dad kept pretty cool under fire, and I heard Mom didn't completely freak out, either." Miko shrugged. "Well, I made my case to them as best I could. All I can do now is wait. But like I said, I've got a good feeling about this." Miko glanced up at Arcee again. "By the way, how'd June's first day of combat training go?"

"Jack and I were with her the whole afternoon, and now we're following her to the lounge so she and Jack can unwind." Arcee laughed softly. "The poor woman's exhausted. She'd never fired a gun before she went undercover with McClory, and today Ashanti had her on the firing range with several pistols and rifles. On her first attempt, she hit the target once and missed all the other shots completely. She improved a lot, though, once she got used to it."

"Well, at least she didn't run around pointing the gun straight up, like that time she tried to play one of the Call of Duty games with Jack." Miko giggled. "How'd she do with the hand-to-hand stuff?"

"That's the part that really wore her out. She learned the moves pretty quickly, though. Ashanti seemed impressed. She's planning to have June put her armor through its paces tomorrow, teach her how to use the jetpack in combat, and whatnot."

"Good. I hope we can all go on the mission, once the ship is built. It just wouldn't feel right if we weren't all together."

"It sure wouldn't." Arcee focused her attention for a moment on the feed from her remote-controlled body's optics and grinned suddenly. "Clayton just joined us in the lounge. Looks like he might be hoping to keep June company."

"Ah." Miko smirked. "I think they'd make a cute couple." She aimed a shit-eating grin up at Arcee. "And if he's gonna be spending time with her, that'll give you and Jack a chance to go back to your quarters and fuck like rabbits."