CLASH!

BANG!

SCREEEEEECH!

Begrudgingly, Rachel rolls out of her bed and grunts as she stretches her very sore limbs. With sleep-deprived eyes, she gazes at the alarm clock by her bed and feels every bit of willpower inside of her sink at the numbers it read.

5:38 a.m.

Her first day off in nearly a year of living at the Autobot base and someone decided it was a good idea to start wreaking havoc in the main hangar. Rachel lets out a large yawn, then slowly waddles towards the coffee pot near her fridge. It was already starting to brew a cup of caffeine. While she's waiting for the pot to finish brewing, Rachel quickly gets dressed and brushes her teeth. She grabs a watch off a charger by her sink and slips it on. It flashes blue on the screen, revealing the Autobot symbol on it before switching to a simple digital watch face. "Never gets old." She mutters to herself before leaving the bathroom to retrieve her cup of wake-up juice.

Taking a deep breath in, Rachel exits her room and heads down the hall to the left. The closer she became to the main hanger, the louder the banging and screeching became. It didn't take long to realize she was more or less right about the 'wrecking' part as two of her favorite bots were tossing around a massive ball of twisted and mangled pipes. 

A.K.A. the lob ball.

One bot was mostly white, accented with red and green stripes. The other was completely green, but both sported bright cyan blue optics. They were part of the crew called Wreckers, and they specialized in hand-to-hand combat, advanced weaponry, and, obviously, wrecking anything that needs it. The white mech currently held the lob ball and a smirk was on his faceplates.

"Hey Bulkhead, betcha can't catch this!"

With that, the mech chucks the wad of pipes towards the green bot, designation Bulkhead. He catches it easily, but the force of the hit makes him slide back a few feet. Bulkhead lets out a deep laugh and holds the ball in one servo. "That was a good one, but you still can't out-lob me!" With his dominant servo, Bulkhead sends the ball flying straight towards his companion, who swiftly ducks out of the way. It crashes against the wall behind the white mech and starts to fall...

Straight towards Rachel. 

The woman only looks up as it falls, not moving a muscle.

Sure enough, it stops just a few inches above her head, and she simply lifts her cup of coffee to her lips and takes a sip. "Your reflexes are getting a bit slow there, Wheeljack." She comments.

The white mech, designation Wheeljack, pokes his helm from behind the mess of pipes. "I could say the same to you, lil' lady. Or you're a little too trusting in my supposed 'slow reflexes'." Rachel raises her cup and nods.

"Touche."

Rachel moves out of the path of the ball now as Wheeljack sets it down. A large yawn escapes Rachel as she heads towards the stairs that lead to the platforms that allow Rachel to be eye-to-optic with her cybertronian friends. Bulkhead arrives near the walkways first and sticks a single digit out as a small fist bump. Rachel presses her fist against it before yawning once again. "Why are you up so early? I thought this was your day off." Wheeljack walks up and scoffs.

"Lennox gave this one a day off? What was he thinkin'?"

Rachel smirks and shakes her head. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he said I needed to take a day to rest." She pauses to drink more coffee and releases another mighty yawn. "However, it seems two particular mechs decided to wake me bright and early with an immense amount of clanging, banging, and failing to catch a lob ball..." Both of their optics go wide, and they swap guilty looks with each other. Rachel only leans against the railing with tired eyes. She hadn't truly slept well anyways with nightmares plaguing her all night long.

With a shake of her head, Rachel waves at them with her empty hand. "Don't worry about it. Didn't sleep well anyways, and now I have more time to do whatever I want today."

"Or to catch up on your studying."

A gruff voice comes through from the back of the hanger as a certain yellow mech walks in. Rachel slightly glares at him, then sighs. "Nothing to study for, Ratch. Midterms are finished and grades are in. Two hundreds, a ninety-five, and a ninety-two." Wheeljack turns to Ratchet, and Bulkhead follows his lead. Both hold wide optic expressions. Ratchet only narrows his own and locks optics with Rachel. She stands, arms crossed, ready for the twenty questions.

"Finals."

"Three months."

"Dates."

"Two are to be determined, one on Thursday the 26th, and one the next day."

"Times."

"Once again, two are to be determined, Thursday is at 3:30 pm, and Friday is at noon."

"Homework-"

"Finished two days ago-"

"At three in the morning."

Rachel stops dead in her tracks, noticing the icy tone in Ratchet's voice. The two Wreckers were now watching Rachel carefully. The woman can only sigh and shake her head. "Has my performance been affected? Have my reflexes slowed to the point of endangering my friends? My crew?"

Ratchet starts to stutter in response, but Wheeljack pipes up. "Look doc, give the kid a break. She's surpassed everyone's expectations and kept up with her classes." Bulkhead steps forward as well, standing between Rachel and Ratchet. "Come on, Ratchet. You've got nothing on her, and Lennox has already given her the day off. Let her have some fun."

After a moment of silence, Ratchet huffs and turns away. "Fine! But don't come crawling to me when you can't pass your science exam." Wheeljack slightly turns to look at Rachel, a small smirk on his face. "Don't think ya need his help anyways, Rache." Bulkhead laughs and turns towards Rachel as well. "So? What'dya have in mind for today?"

Rachel shrugs and finishes her coffee. "Well, besides getting some food real quick and another cup of coffee... Nothing. I didn't really plan anything for today." Wheeljack and Bulkhead exchange a look. It's the kind of look that said they already knew that, but just wanted to make sure.

"Well, Ironhide is mining energon in Greece. Wasn't one of your extra credit assignments a report about Ancient Greece?" Rachel nods her head, thinking it over. She knew if she didn't take them up, then she would end up either sitting in her room playing video games with Raf and Sam, or studying... or sparring with Lennox, but that can wait for later. She couldn't wait to finally lay him out flat on the mat in revenge for the nearly thirty times he has done it to her.

"I've never been there, so that sounds like a great idea! Plus, I'll get to see one of my favorite mechs." Rachel starts down the steps as she finishes, but she catches Wheeljack pretending to stab an imaginary dagger through his spark. "Ouch, Rache. Right where it hurts." The woman laughs and shakes her head. "You're all my favorite. It'd be cruel to only have one." Wheeljack gives a soft laugh and Bulkhead echoes it.

"We'll be outside when you're ready."

Rachel waves as she makes her way back to her room. She had about thirty minutes before sunrise, but soft light was already filtering through her blinds. She quickly begins brewing another cup of coffee while adding extra supplies to a camo backpack at the end of her bed. She always kept it ready with supplies and extra clothing in case anything on these 'trips' turns sour. Of course, there was also a lighter, paracord, a survival knife, a hatchet, flint and steel (in case the lighter runs out or doesn't work anymore), extra ammo, a few magazines (no, not the reading kind), a sketchbook, pencil bag, a cybertronian tablet, and a couple of small knife-like objects that held many cybertronian engravings.

Specialized weapons made by Ratchet for Rachel.

Rachel adds in a couple nutrition bars, fig newtons, and a handful of fruit snacks. Just before zipping it shut, she quickly runs to her cupboard, snatches out a fresh bag of goldfish, and throws it in as well. Sure it looks like snacks for a seven-year-old, but after eating MRE's and astronaut food for a year, you splurge a little bit.

Slinging on the backpack, Rachel grabs her cup of coffee, slaps a lid on it, and heads out the door. A smile is on her face as she makes her way through the main hangar and out the large doors. The sun was still hidden, but the gentle light it was already giving off illuminates the fog rising from the ground. Men were already scurrying about or running in formation from an early morning training exercise. A few mechs were roaming around as well, including three femmes.

The Triplets of Terror as Rachel likes to call them.

"Hey, Rachel. Where you off to so early?" The blue one asks, designation Arcee.

"Isn't it your day off?" The purple one adds on, designation Chromia.

The pink bot nods her helm, designation Elita-One.

Rachel shrugs and gestures to the two Wreckers that were standing next to a large alien spaceship that matched Wheeljack's color scheme. "Those two tin cans over there woke me up, and now we're heading to Greece. They'll help Ironhide with the mining, I'll take some notes for a research paper I have due next month. Maybe get a bite or two."

Arcee raises an opticbrow at me, and the other two just shake their helms.

"Rachel, even on a day off, you're still doing work." Elita-One says, and Rachel chuckles.

"What can I say? Besides, it's why you love me, Eli."

With that, the triplets carry on with their duties and Rachel makes her way toward the two towering mechs. She takes a swing of her coffee as she nears, admiring the large ship Wheeljack and Bulkhead were standing next to. It was by far one of her favorite space crafts on site, and not just because her favorite wrecker was the one who constructed it. As the sun slowly begins to rise, the light bounces off the white exterior, causing it to shine brightly. 

The Jackhammer.

Wheeljack gazes down as Rachel arrives. He drops to one knee and offers his servo. "Ready to go, kid?" Rachel only nods before carefully stepping onto the outstretched servo. "Always. I was waiting on you two lovebirds to finish chatting." Bulkhead laughs and presses his servo against the side of the ship. Whirring echoes from it, and the back of the craft begins to open. Wheeljack lifts his servo to his shoulder, allowing Rachel to climb onto it, then he makes his way to the back of the craft in order to board it. 

Once inside, Rachel takes a deep breath and sits carefully on Wheeljack's shoulder pads. Despite her best attempts, fatigue was starting to sink in, so she drinks more of her coffee quietly. Wheeljack and Bulkhead take their seats in the Jackhammer. Wheeljack looks carefully to the side, making sure to not knock off the human sitting there. He could already tell she was faking the energy, but he knew better than to pry. Rachel would start to speak when she felt safe, and when it was time to do so. Wheeljack flicks his optics to Bulkhead, who nods. He already knew as well, but Rachel needed this time without anyone bothering her.

Carefully, the mechs take their seats in the only two chairs in the cockpit. The craft was small compared to others on base, but it was Wheeljack's baby, and Rachel loved it even more because of that. Wheeljack types a few things, then realizes something. "Uh, Rachel? Might want to scoot closer to my audio receptor. The belt will crawl right over you if you don't." 

Rachel slightly shakes her head and blinks. "Oh! Good point. I don't need that much protection, thank you." With a soft laugh, Rachel scoots closer to Wheeljack's helm, carefully grasping his audio receptor to steady herself. Once she was settled in, Wheeljack presses one button, and belts form in an x-shape over his shoulders and across his chassis. They lock into the chair by his hips. Bulkhead does the same and smirks. "Ready to go?"

Rachel nods enthusiastically, drinking more of her coffee. "Ready as I'll ever be!" Wheeljack smirks as he brings up the controls and starts the Jackhammer's engines. They roar to life and growl to an idle. Rachel can't help but giggle like a school girl on field day. Wheeljack and Bulkhead both smile. Wheeljack quickly brings up Ironhide's coordinates on a large projected map that was in the center of the large windshield. 

"There he is, in Greece... but something's wrong." Wheeljack's voice lowers as he eyes Ironhide's icon. Rachel narrows her gaze as well. The dot right below Ironhide's face on the map was red, which usually meant bad signal. Bulkhead pipes in. "Perhaps he's in the mine? There's always bad signal when you go below."

Rachel shakes her head. "No, this mine was fairly open. He shouldn't have a signal issue... unless..."

Everyone waits for a moment, not saying anything but all thinking the same thing. For a while, nothing happens. Rachel started to wonder if Bulkhead was right and Ironhide went beneath the surface. Then-

*ding*

It changes to purple.

"He's under attack." Wheeljack states plainly. He quickly lifts the Jackhammer off the ground, and Rachel grabs ahold of his audio receptor. She closes the lid on her coffee and pushes it into a holder on the side of her backpack. "Get me down there to your coms." Wheeljack nods and moves his servo up. Rachel quickly jumps on it and Wheeljack guides her down towards the dashboard. She jumps off swiftly and rushes towards the communications area. Despite the large buttons, Rachel makes quick work of launching between each to send a call out to Ironhide. His face appears on screen right as Wheeljack turns to Bulkhead, "Hang on!"

Wheeljack slams the wheel in gear and sends the Jackhammer flying through the air. Bulkhead, his servo behind Rachel, steadies the human as she stumbles. "I gotcha, kid." He says, helping her back on her feet. Rachel nods her thanks and quickly turns to Ironhide. "Hide! What's going on? What's your status?" 

The black mech grunts before launching a few more missiles from his canons. "Not good, but not bad either. Mostly grunts that seemed to catch wind of this energon deposit." A blasts nails his shoulder, making him stumble behind cover once more. The shift in view gave a clear shot at a certain white and black mech that just appeared on the scene. Rachel stiffens, and Ironhide growls before ducking back behind a wall.

"Barricade's here. I could use a little help."

Wheeljack nods. "We're already on our way. It was originally for a field trip, and now we have to save your tailpipe." Ironhide huffs, but a smirk was on his face. "I'm sure the kid wouldn't mind having the chance to let loose a bit without anything holdin' her back, ain't that right kiddo?" Rachel's eyes narrow, but she nods. "I could use some anger management lessons according to Fowler."

That gets a laugh from Ironhide, but Wheeljack watches the human carefully. His readouts on her were showing her temperature rising, as if the saying 'blood boil' was being taken literally. Despite her attempt to hide it, rage was seeping through. Ironhide apparently can't see this, and simply states, "I'll try to save some 'hide for you to kick." Then he signs off. They were only about three minutes out. Rachel was already setting her backpack down and pressing something on her wrist. Before he could ask, Rachel's watch suddenly releases nanotech that coats her arms and slips beneath her clothes. 

Ratchet's armor.

Wheeljack starts to reach over, but Bulkhead grabs his wrist. They lock optics and Bulkhead shakes his helm silently. Wheeljack doesn't question it for now, but retracts his servo instead. They were landing soon anyways, so he needed both servos ready. Bulkhead already had the weapons system activated, now Wheeljack just needed to set the autopilot and get ready for a fight. Rachel was already sifting through her pack and had daggers laying out in front of her. They were slightly slowing and held cybertronian engravings. Once again, Ratchet's design it would seem. 

"Alrgiht. Get ready. Thirty seconds to drop." Wheeljack states. Rachel stands, racking a large rifle, loading it with glowing blue rounds. Wheeljack can't help but smirk at that, as that was his own design. Energon infused explosive rounds, lethal to cybertronians, but human sized.

"Ready."

Rachel jumps into Bulkhead's open servo, daggers on her hips and backpack resting on the dashboard. Other small objects line her waist, including grenades, spatial imploders, and emp bombs. 

All Wheeljack's design.

Rachel holds tightly onto Bulkhead's servo as he stands and makes his way to the back of the ship. Wheeljack joins them as they near. The canons were already blasting as they slow to a stop. Wheeljack raises his servo and places it against the wall. It triggers the bay door to open, and a fire fight awaits them below.

"Let's kick some 'con aft!"

Wheeljack can only chuckle as Rachel launches off of Bulkhead's servo before anyone could react. The two wreckers quickly follow, blasting their way into the battle below just as their human friend did before.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I LIIIIIIIVE and I'm back with more chapters. It will be a slow process, but I found my spark to write again. So yeah, enjoy