Real Armada

Frozen Battles and Warm Connections

Cassie leaned against the counter at work, her mind once again drifting to Jetfire. Despite all the chaos in her life, he always found a way to make her smile and tease her, which kept her going during her long shifts. It had only been a month since she was thrust into this world with the Autobots, but it felt like she had known Jetfire forever.

"Hey, Jetfire," she called out through their bond, feeling a warm flutter in her chest as she waited for his response.

"Cassie," he replied, his voice teasing as always. "Getting bored of work already?"

She grinned, wiping down the counter. "Something like that. I've been thinking... you've told me a little about your job as vice commander, but you never mentioned whether you've been to Earth before. What's it like?"

There was a brief pause before Jetfire replied. "Funny thing about that, sweetspark—I've actually never been to Earth. Optimus sent me straight to Cybertron after I was stationed here. But I've heard about Earth, though... and now I'm more curious about it, especially because you're there."

Cassie's heart skipped a beat at his words. "So, you've never actually seen Earth? Well, I guess that explains why you didn't know what ice hockey was," she teased.

Jetfire chuckled. "Yeah, you'll have to give me the rundown on this hockey thing. You said you're obsessed with some of these players—what's the story there? Is there a specific 'look' to these goalies you like? Should I be worried?"

Cassie rolled her eyes, already feeling her cheeks warm at his teasing tone. "Oh, come on! It's not like that. I mean, I do have a thing for goalies... they're kind of cool, you know? They have so much responsibility, standing there as the last line of defense, stopping pucks flying at them at crazy speeds."

Jetfire's laugh echoed in her mind, clearly enjoying how riled up she was getting. "Ah, so you are attracted to these goalies then? I should be worried."

Cassie groaned. "No, it's not like that! Well... maybe a little." She bit her lip, trying not to let her flustered state show through their bond. "Okay, okay, maybe I had a crush on a few of them, but it's not the same. They're, like... I don't know, legends!"

Jetfire hummed teasingly. "Sounds like you've got high standards. Should I be worried that you'll only like me if I stand in front of a goal?"

Cassie couldn't help but laugh. "You'd probably make a terrible goalie. You'd knock the entire net over just standing in front of it."

"I'm insulted!" Jetfire shot back, clearly still enjoying himself. "But I think I'll stick to flying and fighting instead. You'd have to show me more of this hockey thing if I ever make it to Earth. Maybe I'll get into it."

Cassie smiled, leaning against the counter, imagining the day Jetfire could see Earth and maybe even try to understand her strange fascination with hockey. "Deal. I'll show you all the best games—if you can keep up."

"Challenge accepted, sweetspark," Jetfire said smoothly. "But tell me more about what you like. You mentioned something about space too, didn't you?"

Cassie's face brightened. "Oh yeah! I love watching NASA space shuttles blast off. It's one of my favorite things. You know what NASA is, right?"

There was a moment of silence before Jetfire replied. "Uh... no. Care to explain?"

Cassie chuckled. "Okay, so NASA is our space exploration agency here on Earth. They build rockets and shuttles to explore outer space, send people to the Moon, stuff like that. I've always loved watching their launches. The sound, the power—it's incredible. You can feel the ground shake from miles away when they take off."