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As it turned out, she only spent a little while talking with Sam. It wasn’t because things had gone wrong. In fact, things had gone inexplicably right. She could barely contain her laughter over how shocked he had been to actually have her pick up, and then things got a little awkward for him seeing as he didn’t actually know what to say now that she had. She’d helped him out by casual asking what was up. That flabbergasted him for moment before he finally said something, and then they started talking like normal. By the end of it all, it was as if they were just like they used to be. Then, at the very end he became quiet, and she waited as he tentatively asked if they were okay. She told them they were, that she missed him, and that she would see him soon, too.
The moment the phone was hung up she’d let out a happy squeal and rolled around a bit. She had her best friend back! She had her Sam back! She didn’t care that things had the potential to repeat themselves, even though she was pretty sure they wouldn’t. Not this time. Not if she could help it. Besides, she wasn’t in love with him, anymore, so there was no need for her to hold back certain things. She could be as blunt as she wanted, and she would make sure he knew when he was being a jerk. Things would work out. She was sure of it.
Unfortunately, at that point she didn’t really know what else to do, so she decided she should apologize to a certain yellow-armored Autobot with the most adorable optics ever for ignoring him so long, and also to thank a certain white knight for always being right. Both replied quickly enough, though it was only Bumblebee that she started to really talk to, and even ended up playing a few games with him before he made her go to sleep—he knew how early NEST soldiers got up. She agreed, and, despite her new flux of happiness energy, she did manage to hit the hay.
Her mood was still good the next morning when Lennox had come a-knocking, and she was all too certain the day would go much, much better than the previous three.
Which was why, as she stood staring unhappily at the sulking—or it looked that way to her—Decepticon sitting behind an Energon field, she wondered how the hell it had come to this.
And here I was hoping to have a good day with Marissa, Catherine grumbled inwardly as she folded her arms across her chest for the billionth time. It turned out the bosses of her boss’s boss had other plans, and wanted to begin interrogating and “evaluating” Barricade now instead of a week later. That, of course, meant she had to be in the room, recording everything she heard on a government-provided laptop, and could also ask questions if they seemed fit. The government might eventually give her questions later on, but for now it was going to be left to the Autobots to get the necessary information. It was a good thing that Jazz was the interrogator then.
Just from the blank, uncaring stare Barricade had as he sat with his shoulders slumped, it would probably take a lot to get anything useful from the mech. She hoped he could sense her little icy daggers of hate that she was mentally burrowing into him. While yes, he maybe deserved a second chance and she had said she might give him said chance, she would still be bitter about their first meeting. He’d tried to kill her for no good reason other than to find the glasses, which was technically a pretty good reason considering their ultimate goal, but she refused to think so. The asshole didn’t deserve it.
“Alright, Barricade. Time we got ta startin’ this show,” Jazz spoke suddenly, catching both her and their prisoner's attention as he strolled over in front of the mech. The Decepticon did not stand, and his gaze soon returned to normal as he grunted in response.
“So, here’s the deal: Ya tell us all ya know ‘bout what’s goin’ on with the ‘Cons and we see if we can’t get ya outta that cell and in ta a room. ‘Course ya gonna have ta have a guard around ya, but it’s better than accidentally brushin’ in ta this Energon field ‘o yours and havin’ yaself scorthed up, am I right?”
Barricade snorted, “If your ‘Masters’ agree to it, you mean.”
“Glad ta see we’re on the same page. So. Let’s get crackin’ shall we?” the white-armored mech smiled with a devilishly sweet tint, and the ‘Con grunted in confirmation. “Alrighty. We’re gonna start out easy. Where’d you go off to durin’ da Mission City battle, ‘cause I don’t remember seein’ ya there.”
“If you must know,” the ‘Con began with a sigh, “it was strategy. I was to circle around to the far side without your knowledge and provide cover fire and guerilla tactics.”
“An what ‘bout after the battle, ‘cause you wasn’t among the remains?”
“With Megatron and the rest defeated, and Starscream fleeing like a coward, I saw no benefit to staying. I fled and hid away until now.”
Jazz was silent for a moment, thinking, and then asked, “Alrighty. Now on ta the important stuff: How ‘bout ya tell me why more ‘o ya buddies have been comin’ down here and messin’ with the place?”
“I think that should be painfully obvious to even the most unintelligent of creatures.”
“Ya mean that they’re lookin’ for somethin’? Well, I was hopin’ maybe ya might fill us in on some o’ the details, ‘Cade. Ya don’t wanna let a mech down, do ya?”
The ‘Con gave Jazz a look, “Your attempts to woo me into a sense of safety are terrible and discharge-worthy. Furthermore, you disgrace our kind by resorting to this planet's dominant species’ language just to satisfy that little insect’s duties.”
“Just tryin’ ta lighten the mood is all,” Jazz hummed, unfazed. “But a word a warnin’: this ‘lil lady is gonna be ya only way ta get outta this cell, ya know. She’s ya connection ta the top, so ya best show a ‘lil respect if ya don’t wanna stay in here.”
“I would rather rot to the core than become the flesh bag’s lap dog,” Barricade growled back, and turned his hot, red glare onto the redhead when she snorted.
“A little respect goes a long way,” she sang as she typed, meeting his optics with a raised brow once she’d finished her sentence.
“Courageous, aren’t you with your pet protecting you. Tell me, does the wound still hurt?” he purred, but she only smiled back.
“Actually, no. It doesn’t. How about that one I gave you?”
“Please. Nothing more than a sting from a turbobug. I suppose I should have finished you off back then—perhaps I wouldn’t have such bad luck now.”
The conversation was abruptly interrupted as Jazz suddenly spoke in Cybertronian with a harsh tone, one which made the Decepticon scowl, but make no reply. The white-armored Autobot looked to Catherine next; his optics and his emotions saying she should really not be talking. With both subdued, the Autobot retracted some of his harsh demeanor, but the casual banter was no longer there.
“I’ll ask again, Barricade: why are they still comin’? What are they lookin’ for?”
The ‘Con smiled slightly, revealing a few fangs, “That’s more like it, Autobot. If you must know, I’m not entirely sure. They are indeed looking for something—my communication links have told me this much. Whatever it is, it’s being kept secret from anyone who hadn’t original heard what it is.”
“Why? Did Megatron order it before his deactivation? O’ is it Starscream?”
“Both are equally plausible. Megatron always had secrets—things he never spoke of— and the Decepticons you’ve encountered are ones that have not been seen for some time. However, Starscream is also a good choice. It is possible he found something that might empower him here and get the others to follow him.”
“Ya should know some ‘o the info then. Ya ain’t a low-rankin’ ‘Con, Barricade.”
“You forget our faction isn’t built upon trust and the pathetic kindness that yours was. As I said, Megatron would keep much to himself and act in secret. As for Starscream… Well, he doesn’t trust anyone.”
“So ya have no idea what they might be lookin’ for?”
“No, but whatever it is, it’s powerful enough to keep them coming. They may have paused now, but it is only because they cannot afford to lose more troops or gain your attention. They will return, however, and it will most likely because they have found a trail. This is only the calm before the storm, Autobot.”
Jazz was quiet for a while before he spoke again, “So why’d ya ask for amnesty, then? If ya ‘Cons got somethin’ so great up ya sleeve, why join the side ya know is gonna lose?”
“Because,” he snorted, his uncaring expression returning, “I have no guarantees what they want will work. Megatron was growing insane, and Starscream is a power-hungry fool prone to rash actions with great consequence. It’s very possible he chases a myth, and then the faction will crumble. And even if it exists, you Autobots have proven you are more than capable of beating the odds. It makes it plainly obvious to see which side is safest to be on in the aftermath. Furthermore, if I hadn’t asked, you and your Masters would still be hunting me now.”
“Ya have any way ta find out what we want?”
“They cut me off long before I awoke on that plane. Starscream may be a fool, but he’s not stupid enough to let ‘traitors’ like me know their plans.”
There was a long pause of silence, prompting Catherine to glance up at the two, particular at Jazz who was staring straight at Barricade like he was testing him. There was coldness in the blue shine of his optics that she didn’t recognize and almost sent chills down her back. She could only imagine what the actual recipient of the stare was feeling, but again, she couldn’t tell just from the Decepticon’s gaze, which was unmoved, and she did not want to touch at any feeling he might have. It final ended, though, as Jazz’s stance became less tense.
“For ya sake, I hope ya ain’t lyin’, Barricade,” he spoke, the friendly demeanor from before returning, and Catherine knew they were done. For now. “We’ll be back ta visit ya again real soon.”
“Make sure you put in a good word for me with your ‘Masters’,” the ‘Con smirked.
Jazz turned, casting a cool look back, “We’ll see.”
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-O-
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“Ugh! That whole thing with Barricade was just—ugh!” the redhead growled as she threw herself backwards on her bed, Teletraan in his phone form clutched in one hand.
“I can’t believe he actually surrendered! I mean—I wouldn’t have thought he would considering… you know,” the voice of Sam Witwicky resonated from the drone’s speakers.
“Don’t remind me. I still don’t like him for that,” she huffed and lifted her free arm to examine the scar. “It doesn’t hurt at all or anything, but it does look weird still and just the whole trying to kill you and me thing.”
“Did you at least learn anything?”
“Pssh… No. I bet he is lying, too, despite what Jazz said. Still, he deserves a chance or whatever. He might even get out of his cage eventually so I’d kind of have to give him one. I guess. Argh! You have no idea how lucky you are right now, Sam.”
“Oh, I know,” he teased and she rolled over to shoot a glare at the phone.
“Yeah, yeah, Mr. I-got-it-good-over-there. Gets to sleep in on weekends, stay up late all night, doesn’t have to worry about Decepticons, has his Mom making good home-made food, and he’s not single to boot! Lucky duck. Speaking of relationship status—subject change powers, go! Anyways, how’s it with Mikeala? You still her boy-toy?”
She could tell he was uneasy as he replied, “I’m not her boy-toy! And we’re, um, we’re doing good, actually…”
“Sam,” she began with a sigh, “you don’t need to feel awkward about talking about her. I am completely and utterly okay with it. I mean it. You’re not that cute, anyways.”
“Ouch! That hurts, Catherine!”
“Oh, it’s not you, Sammy. It’s that clean-shaved chin of yours. I like a real man with some facial hair. It gives them that rugged look like how Viggo Mortenson and Gerard Butler have it, and you just don’t cut it, Sammy. Can’t even grow a mustache, poor baby,” she grinned, and she could just see him huffing indignantly on the other side.
“I can grow one! I just have to shave every morning, thank-you very much!”
“You mean your legs?” she replied at once, laughing when he quickly rejected her. “Ah, but no, seriously, I’m okay with it. Really, I am. I’m glad you’re happy with her. You need someone to make sure you don’t become a dull, dull boy with all your little boy hormones. I bet Ratchet would just have a field day with you.”
“Oh my God! Catherine! Really? Come on! This is not a conversation I’m going to have with you!”
“Sam, I’m at a base surrounded by adults of both sexes with more hormones than you’ll ever produce in your lifetime. Sex jokes are like a must around here. And, dude, you’re like seventeen now. You should be all about the ‘that’s what she said’ or some other sexual innuendo jokes or something.”
“I just happen to be a gentleman, thank-you very much!”
“You still scream like a girl,” she laughed, and, after a few moments of silent treatment, she added, “Oh, Sam, don’t be grumpy now. I’m just doing my job as your best friend ever. I have legal right to tease you as much as I want, no matter how much it hurts that adorable little pride of yours. Also, you leave yourself wide open, amigo.”
He sighed in defeat, “Alright, alright. You’re right. As usual. But jeez—do you have to be so brutal? And what about you, hmm? I hear from ‘Bee you’re getting friendly with the Autobots. Huuuh?”
“What? Dude. Sam. That’s… That’s like—urgh. That—dude. They’re my friends. I mean just—Dammit, Sam! I’m going to have to wash my brains out with acid now! Ugh! You asshole!” she wailed.
“Me? You’re the one who thought of them like that! You’re nasty!” he laughed, victory finally in his grasp.
“Touché you slippery bastard, and yes, I’ve been getting ‘friendly’ and only friendly. Except with those two little farking poser turds! They’re so damn annoying!” she growled, imagining herself throwing a shoe at them whilst they annoyed her.
“Skids and Mudflap? I’ve heard of them. Ha ha! Sucks for you! It’s karma, I tell ya. You shouldn’t tease me so much,” he purred, no doubt waggling his finger at her.
“Oh, har har. Watch yourself, Sam. Bumblebee might not be at our base, but he is still under Prime—and thus NEST’s—jurisdiction, and since I’m going to be liaison eventually, I will have some authority over him. You just might find yourself punked by a yellow Camaro one of these days!”
“Pssh. ‘Bee wouldn’t do that to me.”
“Sam, you seem to forget I am very good at making friends with Autobots. I think it’s quite within range for me to swoop and steal your transportation,” she purred and could almost smell the fear coming from him.
“Catherine. You, uh… you know I love you, right? And that you’re the most amazing person in the world, right? ‘Cause, uh, you are. Like, for real. Seriously. No Joke.”
“You may stop groveling, Sam. I have retracted my punking plans, so you can relax. I couldn’t do that without me being there, anyways.”
“Ugh. That’s even worse… By the way—when are you going to be able to visit? I know it’s confidential, but you said Teleturanasaura-something was, uh, ‘safe’ for you talk about the super-secret NEST stuff, right?”
“It’s Teletraan, but nice try, and he is safe, and I don’t really know. I think Lennox said we’d be staying here for about eight months to complete training and preparations, then we’d start the whole ‘holiday breaks’, so I guess probably not until next year. Man, I’m going to miss your Mom’s Christmas goodies! I love her brownies…”
“Well, whenever you’re able to come, I’ll make sure she makes some then. It sucks you won’t be able to come back for forever, though. It’s really boring around here when I’m not out with ‘Bee or Mikeala…”
“No manly buddies?”
“Yeeeah… Apparently having a girlfriend does not make you ‘one of the guys’. I think it had the opposite effect. Of course, ‘Bee’s little stunt with Trent-dirtbag didn’t help…”
She laughed, “Oh yeah! You wrote about that in one of your e-mails… Jerk got what was coming for him, and don’t worry ‘bout it, Sam. It’s High School. Once everyone’s all grown up they’ll be friendlier. At least, that’s what my NEST buddies are showing me.”
“So I guess being a NEST employee is a pretty good life?” he hummed, and she snorted back.
“Please. You do not want to work here. All the government ‘overlords’ are so overlord-y, you have to work your ass off even more than a wrestling workout, and you have to deal with all the unfriendly people, not to mention Autobots who act like children sometimes! And I’m not even official!” she exclaimed and fell back on her bed again, frowning. “I kind of dread the day I become the actual liaison and have to do paperwork and settle arguments—uuuuugh.”
“I don’t suppose you can quit?”
“No. Not really. Not after all the trouble I went through to get here, and my pride wouldn’t let me either. Nope. I’m going to stick it out and do my best. Besides, I still gotta figure out the whole you-know-what thing,” she replied, holding up her free arm to activate her powers, lighting up her arm with the glowing, blue lines.
“True… Well, just don’t forget to come home and visit once in a while, okay?”
“I won’t… Although considering my parents are gone, my ‘home’ isn’t actually there,” she snickered. “Huh, that sounds bad, doesn’t it?”
“You have your reasons, so it’s cool, and you know you’re always welcome to stay here if you want. My Mom would love to have her ‘other kid’ around. Dad, too, although he’d never admit it.”
She smiled, “Your Mom and Mrs. Lennox will probably have to fight for me then. She’s determined to make sure I stay with them during breaks.”
He laughed, “That would be the fight of the century! Whatever work’s is cool. He doesn’t live far, so we can still hang.”
“Yeah, definitely. I can’t wait.
“Same.”
“And Sam?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s good to hear from you.”
“Yeah. You too.”
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-O-
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Days began to turn into weeks very quickly after Catherine’s reunion with Sam, and it wasn’t long before weeks turned into months. It was as if everything was rushing to finish before some horrible catastrophe was to come, although there were so signs of such impending doom. Still, the pace around NEST seemed to increase rapidly, and it was a wonder how anyone kept up. One thing was for certain, though: the days of relaxation and easy-going were done and over.
When one month had gone by, it was finally time to integrate both sides into teams. Autobots and Humans would finally be working together, and there was definitely some awkwardness to the whole situation. Most humans were okay—having become accustomed to their presence after so many months of being here—but some were still uneasy amongst the gentle, metal giants. They would work together, though, and that would have to do for now. Catherine felt a little bad for some of the Autobots, though. She knew many of them—mostly the younger ones—were very eager to work with the humans.
One such mech was her little Steeljaw. Due to some cruel irony, most of the humans seemed more afraid of him than even the intimidating Ironhide, and she soon found out it was because he was basically a gigantic, metal lion rather than somewhat human-looking. It was silly, but the young mech understood and refrained from being forward or showing his disappointment.
The rest were generally accepted very well, their personalities proving to be easy to get along with, except for a few anti-social persons, and once the initial week of integration had passed, teams were assigned. Each Autobot would be given a group of humans they would “train” with, either giving them experience fighting an actual Cybertronian, or working with them in simulated battles. Autobots would have multiple teams— seeing as the humans greatly outnumbered them—and Catherine’s was assigned to Ironhide, with Lennox being the leader of the stronger of the two front-line fighting units. She had hoped to maybe get Jazz or Sideswipe, but she was content with Ironhide. The old mech was a good teacher, and always had the welcoming war-veteran grandpa demeanor about him.
Catherine was thankful Steeljaw was able to be assigned a team, although not a fighting one. He was to be sent out to aid the guards protecting the shard further out on the island. There he would patrol around, using his more advanced sensors to check for danger. It also helped the men and women there were more tolerant of his form and eventually came to enjoy his presence. Of course, he always preferred to be around his creator and brothers when he was off duty. Unlike him, the little drones stayed within the Med Bay or with her—their mischief temperament having been quelled by Steeljaw— as Teletraan always did. The little guy was very useful for communications, and her team approved, as they thought he was another “experiment” with the shard like Steeljaw.
And so the new schedule came about: workout in the morning, and Autobot training in the afternoon and evening on every other day. She still kept up her lessons with Marissa, and those too seem to speed up, but this time it was for a doom that was very much so real and coming ever closer. She’d finally been informed that she would be instated as the official NEST liaison in February, so it was imperative that she finish her lessons within the few months remaining in the year. Of course, that meant mental hell for Catherine as she was forced to finish her studies up with everything, and actually going around with her teacher to practice her duty. There was one nice new thing to her studies, though: she now had Optimus or Jazz joining in on their lessons.
Now that she’d gotten through the normal lessons and learned most of what she needed for NEST, she needed to learn more about the Autobots’ requirements of a liaison. While it wasn’t the best of times spent with them, she did enjoy their presence, and both Autobots were incredibly patient as she attempted to understand their alien customs and culture as best related to human ones. One of the more troublesome ones was the whole ‘spark mate’ business, and for better understanding of it and a few other things, they directed her to Ratchet. Otherwise, most of it was easy, as their social aspects weren’t far off from human ones, and their government was akin to ones found in the past. Whatever the case, she learned and could work with it to help solve problems.
Despite Barricade’s presence at the base, she still worked with her Allspark powers. However, she didn’t dare try actually using them. Rather, she spent her Sundays with Ratchet, Jolt, and her creations studying sparks, hoping that the absorption of the knowledge would allow her to create one in the future without having to “borrow”. She was given many diagrams of all of the sparks on the base, noting every difference she could—it was difficult when she couldn’t read “wavelengths” like Ratchet could. Her organic body just couldn’t assess the data like his central processor could. To her, they all looked like wavy lines, and she couldn’t “feel” the wavelengths with it being a hologram. She refused to quit, though, studied anything and everything, and listened to any talk of what Ratchet might have to say about them. It would all work out in the end—it had to.
Of course, things got a little awkward around base when Barricade was finally allowed to walk around at the end of the month, although with a guard at all times. None of the younger mechs were given the job. Even though the mech had apparently not lied and had been the picture of excellence in behavior in his month-long imprisonment and interrogations, he was still not to be trusted with the less experienced. The ‘Con—or rather, neutral now—took it with disinterest, as if it were the obvious course of action, and spent most of his days either in his new quarters or wandering around on the Autobot side. It did nothing to soften his mood—not that Catherine expected him to suddenly become a happy, honorable mech—and he was always coarse, sharp, and sarcastic to whomever happened to meet him. Thankfully, the redhead managed to rarely ever encounter the ‘Con, and if she did, the guard made sure to keep him moving so that if he said something it was snarky, but short. He was also still ignorant of her powers, of which she was assured when she finally decided to reach out to his emotions once, and of which she was relieved.
Even with such a busy life, she did manage to find free time to spend with her friends, and to continue strengthening her renewed friendship with Sam. While she couldn’t call him all the time, she did as much as she could. It was technically a “no-no”, but Teletraan was a safe and secure line, and she was never found out—except by Jazz who warned her not to call so much. It was strange, but she felt as though things were actually better now; it was so much easier to talk to him, and she didn’t feel the need to have to talk in a certain way and not do something stupid. He enjoyed it, too, if his laughter was hint enough, or his kind, loving comments when it wasn’t all just fun and games. Of course, it wasn't the love of a lover. She had meant it when she said she was over him, and now it more of a platonic love. She soon realized that was exactly what she wanted from him. Sam was her best friend, and that was how it was meant to be.
Sam wasn’t the only target of her attention, though. After regaining her friend, an energy within her she didn’t even knew she had awoke; it made the passing weeks and months easier and more enjoyable even at their hardest. Talking with people was easy and she couldn’t recall seeing many unhappy faces. Oh, she had no illusions that they weren’t there, but for the most part, she was surrounded by allies. Her team, especially, whom were all her brothers and uncles with Lennox as her father, of course. She managed to make good friends amongst the other humans, and even found herself spending time after training with them rather than just the Autobots.
That wasn’t to say she didn’t spend time with the Autobots at all—no, she still spent much time with them. Ironhide and Jazz became the forefront of her attentions, the older mech being her combat teacher, and the latter being her brother-guardian. She made sure to visit many of the younger mechs, too, whom had begun to become fond of her as well, although Skids and Mudflap were generally—if not always—avoided. They had yet to understand she loathed their “groveling”, as she put it. She sometimes had the sinking feeling they knew she hated it and it was payback. Thankfully, Jazz or one of the other mechs would come to her rescue. Optimus even helped out by reprimanding them once, which kept them away for about a week before they were up to their old antics again. Even Bumblebee attempted to help by giving her tips, but they were usually too much, and so the two of them namely ended up just talking about random things. He was the same ‘Bee as always, and was just another addition to the Autobot family she had formed.
There was one letdown amongst the joy, though she refused to let it get to her as much as possible: Sideswipe. She didn’t know why, or, at least, exactly why, but the mech had become distant. It had started about a month after she’s reunited with Sam, and she had to wonder if it was because she’d spoken too much about her friendship with him and maybe the mech had become jealous or felt as if he were being pushed away. It wasn’t true, of course, but whenever she tried to get anything from the silver mech he would assure her everything was fine and change the subject. That is, whenever she was able to find and talk to him.
He had taken up seemingly ignoring her, which was the greatest source of the disappointment. Slowly, but indefinitely, their time at their “spot” started to become nonexistent. At first, it was only because of scheduling, but soon, even when he had time, he would reject her asking for “talking” with some random, but plausible excuse. Eventually, she only ever met him a few times a week, and by the time the second month had gone by it was down to nearly once a week. Not to mention she rarely saw him in the halls anymore, and sometimes he only paused to greet her and then rolled off as if he had something to do. It hurt more than she thought it would, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She had a feeling it wouldn’t do any good, especially when she’d felt him clam his emotions up when she’d tried for the first and last time.
His painful absence made her thankful things were very busy around NEST, and it only got busier as the major holidays of the year began to roll closer. Although they were on a super-secret base, a Thanksgiving dinner was held, and while not everyone celebrated, they did enjoy the food. Then Christmas came from right around the corner, though no one could really go get presents and not everyone celebrated it either. The lack of snow for some didn’t help either, but wet sand did nicely for “sand-ball” fights, and there was a general atmosphere of holiday cheer amongst the crowds. And when the favored day of the year came, much celebration was made amongst the teams, and there was merriment to be had. The New Years that followed was equally enjoyable, even though there was no beer to make it even better, but soda did just fine.
While celebrations died down for some, Catherine’s continued as January rolled in and her birthday came with it. Her team and friends happily celebrated her being nineteen—unbeknownst she was really seventeen—and the cheers would continue on for the next few days as the General gave them the news that she was going to be instated as the official liaison. She wasn’t sure whether to cheer or groan, but she was at least glad that Marissa would stick around for a few more months to make sure she did okay and that she could handle the job. She thanked God for that, and was all too happy to have the woman by her side as she began her new duty, listening to complaints once she was finished with her training, and talking with Marissa, whom had begun to act as the temporary NEST liaison as well.
And then the third month came tumbling in, showing no signs of time slowing down thanks to a message received from the Wreckers at NASA. Apparently, more Autobots were coming to Earth and would be arriving within a few weeks. No names had been said aloud, but some mechs were already getting excited for the four new arrivals. Catherine was not quite as excited, discovering the paperwork and issues involved, but she was able to manage through with the help of Marissa and Optimus. Again, she thanked God for their help.
Yet, despite her distractions and Sam there to listen to her woes and help cheer her up, she still couldn’t help feeling the great absence of her silver companion, and became more and more determined to find out why. She didn’t want to lose any more friends, and she was going to make sure of it one way or another— whether he wanted or liked it or not.
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