All Great Power [A Transformers Fanfiction]

Get Back With Pop-Up Wobbly Hairtriggers

"Steve," Secretary of Defense John Keller nodded to the man in uniform as he stepped up to the stage.

"Hello, Mr. Secretary," Steve shook Keller's hand, respectively, before walking on.

John Keller looked over the crowd that was mostly composed of youngsters.

"They're so young," he commented to the Corporal standing beside him.

"They're the top subject matter experts, sir. NSA's recruiting right out of high school these days," the man told him. As the two talked, whispers rose up from the seated crowd as people caught sight of the Secretary of Defense. The whispers all faded when a military man walked onto the stage, dressed to the hilt with his honorary badges and pins.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Secretary of Defense," he motioned over to the side with a respective sweep of his hand and everyone in the crowd stood as John Keller strode onto the stage.

"Please be seated," he commanded, with a motion of his hands. "I'm John Keller," he introduced himself. But instead of giving a long and drawn-out explanation of the situation full of statistics and numbers, he cut right to the chase, a trait that he was both known and respected for.

"Obviously, you're wondering why you're here. So these are the facts. At 19:00 local time yesterday, the SOCCENT Forward Operations Base in Qatar was attacked. So far as we know, there were no survivors from the attack. Only a few soldiers stationed there took leave just a few hours prior," he paused, letting the gravity of the situation settle in.

"The objective of the attack was to hack our military network. We're not sure exactly what they're after, but we do know that they were cut off during the assault, which would lead us to assume that they're going to try it again. Now, no one's taken responsibility for the attack. And the only real lead we have so far-- is this sound," he jerked his arm out to the side to signal a computer operator to play the file.

A muted screeching came from the speaker, filling the silent room with garbled language. Everyone listened, completely bewildered as to what could have such a signal. When the signal record ended, Keller continued.

"That's the signal that hacked our network," he took another pause to thickly swallow his hidden fear.

"The NSA's working at full capacity to analyze it and intercept further communications, but we need your help to find out who did this. Now, you've all shown considerable ability in the area of signals analysis. We're on a hair-trigger here, people. The President has dispatched battle groups to the Persian Gulf and Yellow Sea," his hardened eyes seemed to bore right into anyone who met his gaze.

He needed these people, these young adults, these kids, to know that this situation was a desperate time for the security and safety of the country and everyone in it.

"This is as real as it's ever gonna get. Now I'm gonna leave you to your officer-in-charge. You'll break up into teams and you'll start your work," he scanned over the crowd once again.

He trusted these young adults. They would do well not to let him down. Before he walked off the stage, he addressed his audience with one more statement.

"Good luck to us all."

////.- / -- . / .--. ////

"Come out, come out, Mojo," Jenn cooed as she walked into Sam's room looking for the little dog.

She spotted him curled up on Sam's bed. He perked his overlarge ears up and cracked open his sleepy eyes at the sound of her voice.

"Ah, there you are," she smiled and picked up the little brown dog, cuddling him to her chest, "You want your pain pills?"