Rachel wakes up to a loud crashing noise, causing the girl to blink her eyes open tiredly. Another crash and she sits up straight, rubbing her eyes of sleep. A muffled voice echoes into her room before a louder smash makes her room shake. With a yawn, she slowly slips out of her bed, slides on a comfy robe, and shuffles to her door. Opening it, she gazes down the hallway on her right. 

Right then, a shout and bang can be heard on her left, and she sighs before making her way out of her room. She closes the door behind her and wraps the robe around her center a bit more. Slowly, she walks, or waddles to a point, before making it to the entrance into the main hangar.

Just as she steps out, a shadow falls on her. Gazing up, she spots a large ball, seemingly made of colorful metal pipes wrapped together, crash into the wall, then begin to fall right at her.

However, just as it nears her face, it suddenly stops. "Woah there!" A gruff voice says as a head pokes around from the ball. The large audio receptors on this mech stood out, and the girl huffs. She hadn't moved a single inch, she just stared at the ball with tired eyes. Lowering her head, she shuffles out from under it, then turns her gaze towards the bot. 

"Wheeljack.... Of all the times to be lobbing, you and Bulkhead have to do it in here... on my first day off in two months....?"

Said bot smirks, placing the ball against his hip and letting his hand dangle on the other side of it, his arm holding it firmly in place. "Now what is Major Lennox thinking by letting you off for a day?" This causes Rachel to smirk slightly, and she puffs her chin up a bit. "He figured if I didn't slow down, I'd end up taking your place in the field, Jackie...."

The bot lets off a soft chuckle as a rather large green bot walks over and slaps his back. "I guess that's what we get for waking her.." He says, his voice playful. Rachel gazes up at him, tilting her head. "Never wake a sleeping kitty, am I right?"

Rachel makes a pouting face, then smirks. "Careful, this cat's got claws that can cut even your hide into pieces, Bulkhead."

Said bot laughs, and Wheeljack laughs as well. "Alright, you win this time, kid." The Samuri bot kneels down. "How about you go freshen up, then we take a spin in the Jackhammer? She's been itching to fly lately, and it's a great day for it."

This makes Rachel perk up drastically. "On it!" She rushes away, but she catches the faintest, "Works every time" from Wheeljack. This only makes her smile bigger. Of course it did! Who would say no to flying in an alien space ship!?

After moving in almost three months ago, Rachel had constantly asked Major Lennox to allow her to join N.E.S.T. and, surprisingly, for a while, he refused. He wanted her to continue college first, but the girl was not having any of that.

Finally, he agreed, but only on the fact she would do at least one class at school, and the others could be online. She wasn't confined to base, as they already had agents at the school to keep an eye on her. Now they were there to protect her.

However, nothing made her feel more protected than flying around in a large spaceship with one of her favorite Autobots.

Said Autobot lobs the metal ball and Bulkhead one last time as Rachel darts back into the hangar. She was wearing her typical outfit of boot-cut blue jeans, cyan blue shirt with an Autobot symbol on to top left chest area, and black sneakers with neon green speckled on them. Her face was bright as her hair was now brushed and up in a pony-tail.

"Let's go, you wrecker!" She said. Wheeljack salutes with two fingers to Bulk before kneeling down and offering a servo for the young girl. She doesn't hesitate to jump on and easily catches herself when he stands. "Look's like you're finally getting used to me picking you up."

Rachel huffs, then sits down. "Well, after over two months, I'd hope so." As they leave the hangar, the girl sighs as the morning sunlight hits her skin. The breeze was cool but the light warmed her. 

Lowering her gazes, she instantly smiles at the sight of the Jackhammer. 

It's white and red paint job glinted in the morning light, and Wheeljack smirks. As they walk closer, a soldier standing by it salutes up to Wheeljack, who in turn gives a respectful nod. "Sir! Your ship is ready for deployment! Fully stocked on Energon."

Wheeljack smiles, and kneels down. He lowers his hand to allow Rachel to hop off, and she slips the soldier a twenty. "Thanks, Phil. We owe you one." The soldier chuckles, pocketing the cash. 

"More like fifty, if you ask me." He gazes up at the bot, who huffs in response and rolls his optics. "Fly safe, you two." Is all he says before walking off. Rachel calls out to him. "Remember! IF they ask where we are-"

"You're scouting for energon, yeah, yeah. Now get going before I change my mind!" Phil shouts, waving a hand behind him as he continues walking back towards the hangar.

Rachel gazes up to the mech with a wink and a thumbs up. He chuckles, then walks around back. The large door opens up and the two partners in crime swiftly make their way in. 

As soon as they step in, the door behind them shuts and Wheeljack makes his way to his seat on the left. As he sits, he lowers his right servo. Rachel easily jumps on, then braces herself as he quickly raises his hand. He comes to a sudden stop, slightly launching the girl. 

With practiced ease, the girl flips, then lands and springs forward into a roll across the large seat. With a laugh, she stands and brushes dust off her sleeves. "Geez, big guy. You need to dust this girl every once in a while."

Wheeljack huffs. "When you find a feather duster big enough for this bad girl, gimme a call." Rachel laughs, then quickly rushes forward and leaps up. Wheeljack makes a 'woah' noise before catching her and lifting her to the dash of the ship. She huffs out a thanks before moving closer to the window.

The mech begins typing a few things as a screen pops up, then he lowers his hand to an area with three switches and a lever. He clicks on two of the switches then smirks. "Ready?" Rachel turns to him and nods, her face sparkling in joy. Clicking the last one on, he presses a large red button on the screen and the engines roar to life. Air hisses out of the metal sides as they shift, as if stretching, before moving back into place. 

Gazing up, the mech flips a few more switches, his optics slightly flickering down to the form of the girl gazing out the window. He smirks, then lowers his hand and gently presses the lever forward. 

The girl slightly squeaks as the ground slowly moves down and the ship begins to float. She gazes down at the tiny humans, her heart racing. No matter how many times she has done this, Rachel never got over flying. Wheeljack lifts his hand to level behind her, and he makes a 'psst' noise. The girl turns, then huffs. "Alright, alright. I'm coming."

She slips onto his servo and holds onto his thumb as he moves it back to the seat. She then slides off and leans back against the backrest of the chair before gazing up and giving Wheeljack a thumbs up. 

"Nah-ah. I finally went ahead and installed a belt for you so if we make another sudden stop, you don't break something again." He reaches over and flicks a switch on her chair, making the area around Rachel on the backrest flip. An X shaped belt snakes over her and clicks into place at her gut, and from the bottom of the seat, part of it lifts up and forces the girl to sit. "Wow! Thanks, Jackie!"

The mech smirks. "Heh. No prob." He gazes forward, hand steady. "Now, you ready?" The girl nods, leaning back against the seat. The mech presses the lever forward, and Rachel lets out an excited 'Whoop!' as they are launched forward and up into the air. Wheeljack places his servo onto the wheel before him and, once they reach the right altitude, he pulls it down and makes the ship do a back flip.

Rachel laughs, hands up and hair slightly swaying as they go upside down. Once they are level again, Wheeljack slows it down and allows the girl to unbuckle and return to her spot by the window. "So, where to?" He asks while pressing a few buttons. Through the window, Rachel watches as the Jackhammer slowly seems to disintegrate, turning invisible to the naked eye.

"Hmmmm...." Suddenly, a large map appears on the window before her, and she takes a step back to gaze at the world. A few colorful dots appear on it, and if you pressed one, pictures of her, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Sideswipe, and a few others would appear from that destination.

"How abooooouut......" She rushes over and jumps up, landing her index finger on Greece. "Greece! I don't think we've been there yet!" She turns to Wheeljack. "And I think Ironhide is there on an energon search! I over heard that Ratchet picked up a trace yesterday."

Wheeljack slightly glares at the girl, then gives her a devilish smirk. "You.... 'overheard', huh?" Rachel slightly flushes, then holds her hands behind her back, slightly trying to dig into the dash with the tip of a foot. "W-Well... O-Okay, maybe not 'overheard'..... b-but it's not my fault when they talk and don't see me innocently walking by......"

Wheeljack can't help but let out a single, loud laugh. He then slowly presses the lever forward before lifting a servo to tap on the small image of Greece. A voice echoes in Cybertronian through the cabin. "Destination set: Greece."

Leaning back, Wheeljack relaxes and Rachel gazes out the window as they flash through the clouds. She could barely spot the cities as they flew over them at break neck speed. She sits down, then turns to Wheeljack. "So, Jackie. Tell me another story from your Wrecking Days on Cybertron!"

'This human.....' He thinks, rolling his optics. "I've told ya all of them already." He sighs. "I don't know what else to tell you. Maybe Ironhide can give you a story once we get there." Rachel huffs and gives the mech a pouting face. "Boo.... Fine."

Wheeljack frowns as she brings her knees to her chest and she gazes out the window. Something was off about her, and, as much as he didn't want to poke at something bad, he knew if she kept it bottled up, that wasn't good.

He was speaking from experience after all.

"Hey, kid." Rachel turns to him, a soft smile dancing on her face. "What's eatin' ya? Never seen you this quiet before." Rachel's eyes slightly widen, and she turns her head away. Normally she would have nagged him for a story, but she really only asked to distract herself from her nightmare...

The real reason she woke up so early.

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A/N: Sorry this is a little shorter than my typical stuff, but I wanted to get you guys another chapter out before I leave tomorrow. I'll be gone for a few days, so I will try to get one more up for my other story soon. 

No promises!

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Thanks for reading <3