When We Dared The Dawn

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Army Brat

Jade Delilah Rivers was one of those rare people that really did have a great many good characteristics about them. Like any human being, she had her flaws - but anyone who knew her could never deny that she was sweet, giving and indiscriminately kind to everyone around her. A rare, shining star in a sky full of determinedly cynical black holes.

Patience - luckily for her companions of the day - was also one of her personal qualities.

"I don't get it," the voice of the young woman on her right moaned for the umpteenth time, dragging her bulging suitcase from the monstrous black pickup truck with an annoyed expression plastered all over her brown, freckled face. "Seriously, Jade, I get that my brother lived with you guys - I get that - but why am I coming to stay in some kind of military base in Wisconsin with you? What's the point? I can just as well go get an apartment. Or go back to Mexico, or something... I just don't get it!"

Jade sighed heavily, dropping her forehead into her hand for a moment and pinching the bridge of her nose to regain some of her rapidly dwindling sanity. "Because your dad wants you to, Leiana," she explained as tolerantly as she could. "I have told you this, hon'."

"Yeah, but -"

"Leiana, ¡basta ya!" a louder, frustrated male voice came from inside Ironhide, and Jorge Figueroa jumped down from the mammoth vehicle a moment later. "Jeez, kiddo, do you never stop talking?" he complained good-naturedly, hauling the remaining suitcases from the back of the truck and slinging them over his muscular shoulders. "¡Callarse, chica!"

Eighteen-year-old Leiana Lopez folded her arms obstinately, her lower lip protruding. "¡No, Papa!"

And entertaining as she knew their banter would have been to an outsider... Jade still had to turn away.

Carlos's younger sister was mischievous, abrasive, and spoke in Spanish at completely random intervals; she had long, dark brown curls, held back by a black headband; dark, suntanned skin - and, as Jade had already seen from the journey from the pickup point, a bit of a foul mouth. The solid gold cross that Jade had recovered from Carlos's broken body still hung around her neck, even three years after he had been put to the grave, and she had an idiosyncratic smirk that graced her face whenever she was amused or pleased by something.

Like Carlos.

She was far too much like her brother for Jade to be entirely at ease around her at the moment, but she guessed that the feeling would fade in the end. She owed this to Carlos... to take care of his sister, when he no longer could.

Now that her mother was sending her out by herself into the big wide world, Fig had asked that his daughter come to stay with the Autobots and their companions, thinking that not doing so would be depriving his daughter of a truly amazing opportunity in life - Optimus had been only too happy to indulge their long-time ally in his request, seeing as there was plenty of room at the fantastic new base that they had been granted.

There was still the... small matter of informing the impish adolescent that most of her new 'roommates' were giant alien robots, of course... but, Jade shrugged to herself with a confident smile, how bad could it be?

Patting Ironhide to convey her gratitude for his being silent and allowing her to drive him back from Missouri - where they had picked Leiana up from, as her mother had driven her there to prevent an gruelling drive from Mexico to Wisconsin for either party - she took one of Leiana's sports bags from Fig and turned back towards the gates.