Game-Changer

Chapter 1: From Out of Nowhere

The door burst open and two medics charged through, followed by a gurney propelled by three more medics and two camo-clad airmen. One of the men paused to hold the door open for Arcee, in her vehicle mode, engine turned off to avoid startling everyone around her, pushed by a third airman.

On the gurney, a black-haired head lolled, jostled by the movements of the frantic medics.

"Obviously, we can't enter the operating room." The woman pushing Arcee slowed as the medics rushed their patient down the long hallway. "I'll take you to a waiting room."

"Thank you, Airman." Arcee kept her voice low, but that was the only control she exerted over it. Had she been physically capable of crying, she would've let the tears flow and not given a damn who witnessed it.

"Any time. And please, call me Carla."

"Okay, Carla. Would you be able to take me to a secure comm system so I can contact my base? My internal comlink was damaged in the fight, and my autorepair system is busy with higher-priority functions."

"Sure." Carla passed a door, made a right turn at the next, and guided Arcee down another long corridor. Some of the base's medical staff hurried back and forth, only a few of them giving her more than a cursory glance. The personnel here had already been briefed on the existence of Earth's newest residents and their battle to protect their new home.

Minutes later, Carla opened one last door and pushed Arcee inside. The ceiling was high enough for her to shift back into her primary mode, which she did slowly, trying to keep the noise of the transformation to a minimum. She bumped her head on the ceiling and crouched before taking a quick look around. Several couches and chairs lined three of the walls, with a table in the center, and a large TV hung on the fourth wall.

Carla pointed at the TV. "That screen is connected to a computer with video phone capability. Just make sure it's set on HDMI-4."

"Thanks." Arcee sat in front of the TV, looking at the CPU tower on the shelf beneath it and the keyboard on the wheeled cart to the left.

"You're welcome." Carla walked over to her and reached up to touch her shoulder. "We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything about your friend's condition."

Arcee tried to smile. "Thanks."

Carla nodded, smiled, and walked out the door. Arcee waited for her footsteps to fade away and contacted the Autobot base.

Optimus Prime appeared in a new window on the screen. "Arcee, how are you holding up?"

"I'm ... in one piece."

Prime's next words came in a much softer tone. "How is Jack? Are his legs ... as bad as they looked?"

"I don't know for certain, yet. He'll probably be in surgery for a while. You saw his legs, though. It's bad."

Prime closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment. "How did this happen?"

"It was an ambush. I picked Jack up at the hellhole he's stuck working in, and was bringing him home. Barely drove a mile before the Decepticons dropped on us. A dozen Vehicons came out of nowhere and surrounded us." Arcee shook her head. She didn't want to remember those terrible moments at the end of the battle. She wanted to delete it from her memory.

But if she did that, she'd lose more than a traumatic memory. She would lose the rage it inspired in her, and the need to make the 'Cons pay for what they had done.

So, she forced herself to describe what had happened. But she also remembered the more pleasant moments before the ambush.

She felt it was the only way to avoid losing her fucking mind.