[ti]Ep 2[/ti]A Grand (Shopping) Adventure

[Deleted]

(Set day 6, week 3, noon.)

Zoom-Zoom stood in the control room and resisted the urge to wring his hands restlessly. To settle himself, he reviewed the details of about twenty or so emails, double-checking and triple-checking their contents. The orders had gone smoothly. Everything was as scheduled. He knew all this and yet…

Well, it was the first time he was actually organising an excursion, one that involved other Bots plus a great deal of the Omega base's funds so he was extremely keen not to see it mess up. If the minibot was honest with himself, he kinda did enjoy the work in the stores that Prime had assigned him. It had taken a few days to get over the incident that had lead to his assignment, but the job was quiet, kept him away from other mecha. While it was mundane, there was enough thinking involved to keep his processor occupied and not dwelling on things he didn't want to be thinking about.

Still, it had been one thing, working by himself in the storage area, where his screw ups were restricted to himself. This outing was a step up in responsibility, which the minibot really didn't enjoy but it still fell under his position to arrange. The trickle of new recruits had not stopped, they'd seen four arrivals within the span of six days just the week prior. The increase of residents in the Omega base meant renovations, walls were either being broken down or built up to facilitate the construction of new rooms to fit in the new Autobots on a constant basis.

Zoom-Zoom had cared little for the new arrivals and would have been content to ignore them. Except, keeping track and ensuring that was enough of the material needed to facilitate these renovations kinda fell on him now. The job might had started off as just organising and cataloguing the storeroom but apparently flagging that something was low led to a case of 'you noticed this issue, you deal with it, since you know precisely what the state of all our other supplies, might as well get them all sorted.'

Ugh.

So a supply run it was. After acquainting himself with the wonderful world of human requisitioning -NEST had so many manuals on how to do this and what the appropriate channels, going through it had been a processor ache and a half- Zoom-Zoom had scoured the internet for the best possible deals within the base's local area. Given how reluctant the minibot could be when it came to doing extra work, he was surprisingly mercenary when it came to bargain-hunting. It was a holdover from...well, practically everything in his life. Living as gutter trash, he'd learnt how to make one credit go an incredibly long way. During the Exodus, he'd let nothing go to waste, if he could avoid it. It wasn't in Zoom-Zoom to pay extra just for convenience, he'd go searching for the cheaper option every time.

Fortunately -or unfortunately, depending on which way you looked at it- given that Jasper was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, it meant his choice in shopping was severely limited. There was a local homemaker centre on the other side of town which was practically it, the bulk of Zoom-Zoom's purchases had been made there. A small timber yard had a few better deals, so he'd made an order there. Finally, to transport all of this, he'd arranged two small trailers as well.

The the minibot had just needed a few bots to go pick up the building materials and deliver it back the Omega base. Primus, it had felt weird picking out teammates to go do something for him. Given that it'd involve a degree of interaction with humans, Jazz had been picked for his adaptability and friendly and easy going nature. Due to the heightened state of security the Omega base was in and that the second trailer needed hauling, another bot needed to come along. Bumblebee had been selected to go with Jazz, the scout had a great deal of experience with the natives that would undoubtedly be invaluable should any problems arise.

Which they shouldn't.

Primus, he could live in hope.

A briefing had been sent out the day before to the two participants. Its contents had been simple, that a supply run mission had been scheduled for them and they were to meet in the control room at noon the next day. Zoom-Zoom would fill them in on the rest before sending them on their way.

Now all he had to do was wait for them.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee still didn't feel like doing much of anything after his run in with Megatron a few days ago. Seeing Bolo yesterday had helped, but only slightly. He still found himself laying awake and unable to recharge as he thought about it.

Oh sure, getting to see the base where the Neutral Cybertronians lived was neat! But it was who he'd ran into while at said base that'd left him wanting to take a few days off to just sit around and do nothing but read comics and try to forget what'd happened.

Of course he'd run into Megatron. Out of every single Decepticon out there, it was their Warlord that Bumblebee had the unfortunate luck of encountering while alone. He hadn't even really ran into him... No, that would've been preferable to what'd happened! No... Of course, Megatron had the absolute pleasure of finding Bumblebee after he'd tripped over like an idiot and was sprawled face down in a corridor.

The conversation that'd followed had played on Bumblebee's processor over and over for most of the evening, and long into the night. He'd found he actually agreed with Megatron on some points in how to deal with MECH, and Megatron had found it amusing.

Innocent little Bumblebee. Agreeing with the Decepticon who'd tortured him.. Ripped out his voicebox, tore off his arms and left him for dead? It certainly made him question himself and his values just slightly. Sure, he was an Autobot through and through! That'd never, ever change! But.. He just couldn't stop thinking about it. He had the same views as Megatron when it came to something! That was not cool!

MECH were a huge threat to their kind! They needed to be eradicated and not just forgiven! Sure they were humans, the very thing the Autobots were sworn to protect... But they meant them harm, they'd taken some of their own, tortured them.. They'd already lost someone to them, and it wouldn't be long before they lost someone else. It wasn't like they could have their processor wiped so they could start fresh, since they were humans. Once MECH were done with Cybertronian, who knows what they'd do to the rest of the planet and its inhabitants!

Ugh it was all too much to think about.

Hence the need for distraction so he could stop thinking about it. He couldn't really talk to anyone about it, because the others were probably of the same mindset as Optimus – that MECH could be forgiven. Maybe. He didn't know. Arrrgh.

Distraction.

After yesterdays adventures of not getting a whole lot done, he'd noticed that he had a mission briefing for today, and had given it a half-afted glance over with a vented sigh, before flopping onto his berth and attempting recharge, which hadn't really worked.

Now, it was late morning. The first half of which Bee had spent in a fuzzy half-asleep haze, attempting to read comics and failing. So he decided to re-read what he was actually supposed to be doing today. A supply run? Organized by Zoom-Zoom? This would be good. It was with Jazz, too – and Bee knew and liked him, so at least he'd be distracting enough to keep Bee's mind off things. He was thankful in a way that he'd been picked for this, because although sitting around reading comics sounded fun? It hadn't worked for him yet today, and it wouldn't be too long before he got lost in his thoughts once more. At least this way he'd be outside doing something with others, and wouldn't have time to dwell.

It was almost noon, so he decided to get moving. While he was tired, he had a job to do – and he didn't want to be late! He stood up straighter, adjusted his posture so he looked more 'with it' and left his quarters, making his way down to the Control Room where he was to meet Zoom-Zoom and Jazz.

He'd make his way over to the minibot who seemed to be alone, giving a cheery wave – still standing alert, however. He didn't want to give away that he was tired and didn't really want to be here, after all!

--Hey, Zoom-Zoom!-- He'd nod, glancing around quickly. --Am I the first one here? Spose we gotta wait for Jazz huh before ya tell us what the plan is, eh?-- He was a little early, but not by much. At least he wasn't the last to arrive, though!

[Jazz]

     Jazz was usually one of those who was 'heard before he was seen' types, always making noise one way or another that would alert people to him being on his way. It was just how he operated usually. That is, unless he didn't want to be heard. Then it was tricky. For a bot of his structure, especially with those decorated pedes of his, Jazz should have made a lot of noise. One should never judge a book by its cover and Jazz was certainly one of those cases.

     His frame was bulky and almost impractical for what he did... but he did it well- with the assistance of the lightweight inner armor that allowed him the ability to be almost silent. This was something that never really had a chance to be noticed since he was usually flapping his mouth or blasting his music so everything else was easily overlooked. 

     "Why ya'll waitin' on me?" 

     Jazz was standing off in the corner of the room left of the door where Bee had walked through, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned on that wall. How long had he been there? Probably before ZZ, or right before Bee. Who really knew for sure. His visor had gone unnoticed because it was offline, though as he spoke the blue light brightened and he lifted his helm then started to walk towards the two. He shifted a little, rolling his shoulders back as he uncrossed his arms then lifted a servo to rub at the left one.

     "Man, I dunno how ya stasis so easily in here. I feel like a slept on a crate!" Which wouldn't have been so far from the truth, since- well... he HAD stasised out in the main area ontop of one of the stacks of supplies reading through his datapad with some detail bits in it for something he'd need to know later. No wonder he was a little stiff, but that would work its way out. 

     "Anyway! Here now, so lay it on us, Z-man."

     Honestly, Jazz was just happy to have a reason to get out of the base again. He'd been sneaking out when no one had been looking but that was when he thought he wasn't being watched. Now to have an ACTUAL reason to get out there and burn rubber? He was all for it. Nothing he could be caught red-handed breaking the rules over! Partner outing, mission, all of it was on a green light. Now if only he could stop his idle shifting from one pede to the other as he stood there in wait, looking between the two, to figure out just what they were about to partake in.

[Deleted]

The minibot wasn't left waiting for long. Bumblebee was the first to arrive - well, the yellow scout was the first to announce his presence. Almost immediately afterwards, before Zoom-Zoom could respond to Bumblebee's greeting, the second mech to this expedition spoke up. Zoom-Zoom wasn't certain when Jazz had arrived - he'd been so stressed about this mission that his awareness had shrunk down to just himself. It was possible that Jazz had been there the entire time.

It was a mark of how much his fretting had gotten to him, that the lapse didn't upset the minibot, instead he was just relieved that Jazz was here. The minibot nodded at the two Autobots. "Bumblebee, Jazz," Zoom-Zoom said simply in greeting.

Since they were both here and the minibot wanted this mission done and over already, like yesterday, he immediately launched into it. "I've arranged two shipments that need to be brought to the Omega base, that you'll be going out to fetch," the minibot said. "It should be pretty simple, just driving around Jasper and picking up what we need. I've already made all the arrangements."

"There will be three stops, the first one is to a trailer-hire since you'll both need a trailer to move the shipments. It's on the main street and not that far from the homemaker centre. That's where one of the orders needs to be picked up from. It's mainly indoor building materials like wiring, fixings, plaster, etc. The second one is a little further, on the outskirts of Jasper. There's a recycled timber and scrap yard and you'll be picking up the second shipment from there."

Zoom-Zoom glanced down at his left hand. He was holding a plastic binder - it looked ridiculously small even in his hand. "One of you needs to take this," he said. "It has all the order details and the trailer bookings. You'll need to show the appropriate papers to the humans when you get to the different stops."

It had slipped the minibot's mind completely that Bumblebee would have difficulty communicating humans. He could speak with Bumblebee just fine, it was beyond Zoom-Zoom's consideration that organics would not be able to do the same.

The minibot held out the binder towards Jazz and Bumblebee.

"Any questions?"

Please, let there not be questions. It seemed pretty easy and straightforward to him.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee's attention was quickly drawn away after he'd greeted Zoom-Zoom by the sound of Jazz's voice coming from somewhere behind him. He hadn't expected Jazz to already have been here, nor had he even seen the other bot lurking nearby – then again his processor had been distracted elsewhere. From what he'd seen of Jazz so far... He was so loud and outgoing, so he was honestly surprised that Jazz had managed to stay so quiet!

He couldn't help but beepily chuckle at Jazz's words, shaking his helm and rubbing at the back of the neck. No wonder he hadn't seen him if he'd been tucked away in the corner asleep. Why was he even recharging in the Control Room, anyway?

--Cos we don't recharge in here, man. Ya ain't got your own quarters yet?--

They'd have to rectify that later. But for now? They had a job to do, and Zoom-Zoom addressing the pair turned Bee's attention back to the task at hand.

He was glad that Zoom-Zoom was sort of explaining what they'd been doing – because while he'd read the briefing that'd been given? It'd been exactly that. Brief. It didn't detail the ins and outs of what they were actually going to be doing today, or where they were going.

It sounded simple enough – at least at first. Two shipments, three stops. He knew where the trailer-hire was, given he knew his way around Jasper like the back of his servo! First stop was the trailer-hire... Second stop was a scrap yard. That shouldn't be too hard to find.

What was the third? The base? He assumed so, and would just nod along as Zoom-Zoom continued on with the instructions. As the minibot glanced down to his servo, Bumblebee would follow his gaze and look at the binder.

Show it to the humans. Got it.

Zoom-Zoom was aware that Bee's holoform was mute, right...? Everything else seemed pretty well planned out, though. He hadn't expected the paperwork to already be filled out – that would at least make it a little easier.

As the binder was held out, Bumblebee would lower his servo from the back of his neck and step forwards and take it. It was so ridiculously tiny, and he held it as carefully as he could.

--Questions? Uuh. Two shipments. Three stops. Go from here to the trailer-hire, then to the scrap yard outside of town, theeen back to base, right?--

He'd step back just a little, glancing up at Jazz.

--Your holoform is gonna' have to do all the talking, man. My uh, lack of voice carried over to mine, sadly.-- He tried not to let it show just how sad that made him. He'd been honestly so excited to be able to communicate with humans properly – but unfortunately there was no way to cheat the system, and he'd been unable to talk with Nell when she'd helped him with his holoform.

--Other than that though? Seems simple enough, what do ya think, Jazz?--

[Jazz]

     Jazz had stood back and watched the exchange between the two, listening as quietly as he could. He knew this stuff was important so it was best not to try and interrupt, but paying attention as well seemed to be a little bit of an issue. But hey, he managed. This was required knowledge being given. Now the binder? He didn't know what that was all about until it was explained and he watched Bee step forward to take it.

     The saboteur was caught off guard by the sudden question from Bee, his processor having started to go elsewhere once he had gotten the basics of the mission he was being sent on with his favorite scout. Well, less mission, more scavenger hunt where all the spots were already told to them...

     His visor lit up brightly and looked between the two. 

     "Holofor- OH! That thing, yeah, gotcha."

     Jazz hadn't had much time practicing with his holoform, but he figured that this was as good of time as any to try it out. He had been able to acquire enough in the way of human knowledge to probably make the interactions alright, but the touching? Now he knew humans did that but there was no way his was solid enough to pull of anything to that magnitude. Nope.

     It wasn't that he could just back out of this now. The task was easy enough. Go and fetch things. Easy enough. No questions needed.

     "Yup, got it. No questions on my end, either." Jazz locked the digits from both of his servos together and folded them behind his helm. "It's a simple enough task. I'll have to follow your lead where everythin'. Should go nice an' easy and get us back home before dinnertime."

[Deleted]

Zoom-Zoom's hopes had been in vain. There were questions.

He squinted at Bumblebee as the mech rattled through the stops. No, that wasn't quite right. He'd missed one. Come on, how hard was this to get?

"No, after the trailer hire, you head to the homemaker center," the minibot frowned as he handed over the binder to Bumblebee. "Then to the scrapyard. Then back to base." He thought for a moment and pursed his lips. "You'll need to return the trailers too, I'd forgotten to include that. Make sure you don't damage them."

The next thing Bumblebee brought up completely derailed Zoom-Zoom's thoughts. Bumblebee couldn't-? Oh, his voice. Another thing the minibot had not considered and he privately noted it down in case something came up in future. But it seemed that Jazz could fulfil the speaking role on the mission, so they could work around it.

Though it did not fill Zoom-Zoom with confidence, the way Jazz spoke about holoforms, as if just remembering what they were. He gave the mech a doubtful look then slid a look over to Bumblebee. The scout was more familiar with humans and all he could do was hope was that would be enough to get them through this.

At least Jazz didn't have any questions of his. "Well, if that's everything, I guess you can going."

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee curiously held up the binder as it was given to him, almost as if he figured that holding it up at a distance would make it easier to read the contents – not that there was anything of any real interest in there, just boring details of the trailer hire and the orders that'd been placed. Although his attention would quickly shift back to Zoom-Zoom as he corrected Bumblebee and the mistake he'd made, and he'd lower his servo back to his side.

--Oh, right! Yeah! Trailer hire, homemaker center, scrapyard! Got it! Sorry!-- Maybe he was more distracted than he realized. He had heard Zoom-Zoom say that, but had totally spaced when repeating it back to him. It seemed Jazz wasn't entirely with it, either, as he had failed to correct Bumblebee when he'd said it. Ah well, between the two of them they could work it out – they would have to, given Bumblebee's lack of voice!

--Trailer hire. Homemaker center. Scrapyard. Base. Back to trailer hire.-- He chirped this quietly to himself, almost as if repeating it a second time would ensure he wouldn't forget it. It was all simple enough, really, and he was sure once they were out and about? He'd wake up a little more because they had a job to do - and he fully intended to do everything right.

--Yeah, I think that's everything! Shouldn't take too long, right? Be back soon, I guess! We'll yell if we have any issues or anything.--

He'd shift then into his alt-mode, his Holoform appearing in the driver seat after a moment, although it was obscured by the tinted windows – the all-important-binder resting on the passenger seat. He wasn't sure what Zoom-Zoom had meant about them damaging the trailers. They were literally just going to be driving around Jasper and then along the outskirts after that. It wasn't like they were going to be racing or doing anything that could damage a trailer.

Well, at least not until they were on their way back from returning the trailers.

Maybe.

With that, Bumblebee would set off down the tunnel and toward Jasper. He knew where the trailer hire was, as he was pretty much an expert on the town, and would head straight there – knowing Jazz would be close behind.

[Jazz]

     Trailer hire, homemaker center, scrapyard...

     "Then to the scrapyard. Then back to base. No, after the trailer hire, you head to the homemaker center. You'll need to return the trailers too, I'd forgotten to include that. Make sure you don't damage them."

     Jazz had caught the look from the minibot and instead of being curious about it he just flashed one of those 'we got this' grins. The exchange between them wouldn't be for long since he had turned his attention back to Bee then pretty much signaled them off. When Bee shifted into his alt mode and started off, Jazz did the same and went after him, figuring that he would just follow close behind as to keep both an optic on the kid on where he went, as well as to keep the conspicuous nature of the two vehicles down to as much of a minimum as possible.

     Of course, silly Jazz forgot that whole holoform thing.

     "Ya know? I just thought of the looks the two of us are prolly gonna get when we show up- as we are- to pick up trailers and pop'em on our bumpers. As though we don't attract enough attention enough." There was a small chuckle from Jazz and he pulled off towards Bee's driver side a bit as he cruised down the otherwise deserted road. It was then that he spotted the reflection of his holoform in his side mirror and remembered that silly little thing. Not that it mattered much this way since he drove with his windows that were so darkly tinted that they danced on the fine line of street legal.

     "Almost forgot!" There was a soft 'blip' sound over the comm as Jazz activated his holoform in the driver seat. Wouldn't that have been a sight if he had opened the door at the first stop and there was no driver to be seen! No doubt the police would have been called and the conspiracy theorists that Jazz had heard about would have been all over it.

     "Alright. Trailer hire first. And we gotta remember to not... damage them? Jus' what did small fry mean by that one? I hope he doesn't think we're gonna be broad sidin' one another like a pair of sumo wrestlers in the ring."

     Trailer hire, homemaker center, scrapyard...

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee's Holoform had appeared in the driver's seat the moment he had shifted into his alt-mode. It was second nature to him now to use it when leaving the base – even though nobody could actually see in through the dark tinted windows; he was well known, and seen often enough around Jasper due to the school runs that he would never, ever risk revealing what he actually was. Thanks to a short lesson from Nell, and lots of practice on his own time? He was actually pretty good at using the thing – lack of voice aside.

The holoform tapped idly on the steering wheel as Bee made his way down the otherwise deserted road. It didn't take long for Jazz's voice to pipe up over the comm, and he chuckled quietly in return.

::Eh, the people of the town are used to me bein' around. You though? Ya might get a few stares like last time,:: He thought back to the tour he'd given Jazz just a few days earlier, the people of Jasper had all been seemingly fascinated by the Lotus – and had stared at Jazz more than Bee! Other than a few glances, and curious second glances, though? The people seemed to leave well enough alone – and he hoped that would be the case when the two sports cars drove through the town with trailers behind them. ::Honestly, I'm more worried 'bout the Holoform and interacting with people part more than anything. Can't say I've been out and about with the thing much.::

They'd work it out. They'd have to! Jazz was good at the whole talking thing, so at least one of them could communicate with the humans. That was honestly his main concern here... The talking part. He was nervous, but wasn't showing it - nor would he. At least not till they got there. 

::As for not damaging the trailers? That's just Zoom-Zoom being Zoom-Zoom, I think. Since if we mess 'em up it'll come back to him or something. Even though that don't make any sense, since we'd be the ones who damaged 'em. Eh, he's probably just worried. Ain't like we're going to trash 'em, right?:: He'd laugh at that – he did fully intend to see this job through to the end, going to each location needed without breaking any rules, or driving like a maniac from point A to point B. Sure, once they'd returned the trailer he might have to beg Jazz for another race back to the Omega Base, because they technically never got to finish their last one... But that would be once everything was completed – which hopefully wouldn't take too long at all!

[Deleted]

Located on Jasper's main street, Sally's Trailers had a cheerful blue sign announcing its location. It had six parking spots - and all were open so the two Autobots would be spoiled for choice and could park wherever they desired. Business was slow today… and just about every other day. Jasper wasn't exactly a hot-bed for activity. Well, human activity that is. Plenty of Autobot activity occurred within the sleepy town, its human residents generally unaware of the extra-terrestrial activity it had attracted.

Four trailers sat outside a large shed at the other end of the parking lot, waiting to be hooked up to a vehicle and used. A small square block contained the reception area. There was one brown couch placed perpendicular to the door for customers to wait on, just in case the place was ever busy. It barely looked used. The walls were painted a drab pale cream.

Opposite the door was the reception desk and seated behind it was the owner of this small business. Sally was a large, middle aged woman with a thin, no-nonsense face framed with short, brown hair. Her stern blue eyes were scanning through the morning's newspaper. She was wearing blue jeans and a simple green checkered shirt.

Should anyone enter the office, accompanied by a squeak from the door, she'd look up and away from the newspaper and greet them with a bland, "Welcome to Sally's Trailers, how may I help you?"

[Jazz]

     Jazz hadn’t had too much practice with his holoform, but at least he’d had enough to move around with it and have it seem at least a bit natural. And natural to someone with a sports car? Be one of THOSE people. Once all was in place, Jazz’s drivers side window opened and a black leather sleeve clad arm stuck out of it, hand strumming against the top of his door while the other hand was tapping on the steering wheel in beat with the music that was blaring out of his sound system.

     ‘Revvin' up your engine
     Listen to her howlin' roar
     Metal under tension
     Beggin' you to touch and go’

     The sign caught Jazz’s optics and he commed to Bee. ::Aha! Stop one, here we go.:: Sure enough he pulled into the parking spot just tot he side of Bee, turning his wheels quick enough to get a few stares from some of the other patrons that were around. He made a fool of himself, but hey… he was a sports car, and from what he had seen of organics? They didn’t exactly drive his alt mode type carefully- no matter what sort of price tag it had. It just had to be fast, loud, and eye-catching.

     ‘Highway to the Danger Zone
     Ride into the Danger Zone

     Headin' into twilight
     Spreadin' out her wings tonight-’

     The music cut out and the door to his driver’s side opened. Jazz’s holoform stepped out and ‘closed’ it behind him. He pulled his blue tinted sunglasses off his face and pushed them to the top of his head, just above the blue bandanna that covered his forehead. His holoform’s long black locks hung loose to his lower back, blending in with the black leather jacket he wore. The white sleeveless shirt beneath it bore the number ‘4’ on the front with his trademark stripes from collar to waist. He tucked one fully ringed hand into one of the pockets of his blue jeans and kicked one black leather booted foot to get used to the odd ground placement. He had several rings on each of his fingers, including a full finger armor on his left middle and what looked like five or six metal or hemp braided bracelets between his two wrists. He looked to Bee, smiling as he waited on him to hurry up so they could get their first stop over with.

     “Come on, kiddo! Daylight’s wastin’.”

[Bumblebee]

Bee, thankfully, had had quite a bit of practice with his holoform. Nell had been kind enough to show him the ropes, and he had the 'acting like a person' thing down, and moved like a natural after a lot of extra practice on his own time. Thankfully that little incident where the holoform had lost all his clothes in front of Nell had yet to happen again, nor was there any real danger of it happening in future. The only thing that didn't work - and he'd tried a few things to try and get it to work - was the talking out loud part. Sadly, it seemed his broken vocalizer carried over onto the holomatter humanoid, which was to be expected.

That was the only thing he'd been even remotely worried about, but all that worry vanished once he knew Jazz would be right there with him, doing all of the talking on his behalf. Or so he hoped, anyway!

The drive into Jasper was the same as it always was. Boring, and dusty. Well, boring until Jazz started blasting his music!

Bee wasn't being as 'out there' like Jazz as they drove. No loud music blared from his sound system, and he kept his windows rolled up. He was mostly just doing it to keep up his own appearance, though, as he was a frequent sight around the town - and if he started copying Jazz and blaring music and drawing attention to himself by being loud? He would probably get into trouble with Raf's teachers for causing a nuisance, not to mention Fowler would no doubt hear about it somehow!

He saw the sign to the trailer hire - then again he drove past this place almost every day so he knew that it was here – and pulled into the parking lot. He internally cringed at Jazz drawing yet more unnecessary attention to the pair, but wouldn't comment on it. Making a mental note to teach him to behave around Jasper in future.

He waited in the car, the hands of his holoform gripped the steering wheel as he took in a deep breath – psyching himself up. The worries he had about not being able to talk were coming back, and he almost didn't want to get out of the car at all. But Jazz had other ideas, and it was Bee that had the binder with the information needed, after all. Plus, Jazz's holoform couldn't exactly... Hold it.

He could do this.

They could do this.

He hoped.

His holoform would finally move, reaching across to the passenger seat and grabbing the all important binder, before moving from the car and closing the door behind himself. The holoform wore a black tshirt, covered by a plain black bomber jacket with the zip done all the way up, and simple but scruffy dark blue jeans. He had a blonde mop of hair, and blue eyes that immediately cast downwards after smiling weakly at Jazz – making a point not to draw attention to himself so that people wouldn't talk to him.

He'd make his way to the door of the building, pulling it open for Jazz so he could go in and greet the woman behind the desk. She didn't seem too thrilled to see them, no doubt due to Jazz's music, but hopefully that'd keep the attention off Bee and his lack of talking.

While Jazz dealt with the woman, Bee would flip open the binder to the first page where all the details about the trailer pickup were laid out - and would place it on the front desk, hoping Jazz would take it from here and direct the woman as needed as to what they actually wanted.

Bee, meanwhile, would take an awkward half-step back to stand behind Jazz, tugging nervously on his sleeves as he continued to stare downwards at the floor. 

[Deleted]

Sally's forehead creased slightly at the sight of her two customers. They...certainly looked little like her usual clients, who usually needed trailers for camping or farming needs.

Still, she didn't let that put her off. City folk, she decided. And that was that, settling the matter. Urban people were just plain strange in Sally's world but so long as they had money to spend, she didn't have a problem.

Even if they were a little weird. She glanced between them, somewhat confused as Bumblebee placed the binder in front of her without a word and then shuffled behind the other. "How may I help?" she repeated again patiently, one eyebrow furrowed. She peered at the upside down page and as soon as she spotted the logo for her trailer hire, the confusion lifted.

"Oh, you're here for the booking?" One hand quickly turned the binder around for a moment so she could scan the page and confirm that there was a receipt and payment. There was a code for a quote as well, she mouthed the letters to herself and then nodded as her memory was jigged.

"Give me a moment," Sally said. She replaced the binder back onto the table and flipped open a receipt book that had been lying on her desk, next to the newspaper. Once she found the correct entry, she shut the book and looked back up at her two customers. "Have you gentlemen hitched a trailer before?" she asked before frowning at them again and remembering that wait, these were city folk. "I'll get them set-up for you."

She would fetch a pair of keys from underneath her desk and then would nod at the door, while she collected safety chains and shackles from the wall behind her desk. Should Bumblebee and Jazz send their holoforms outside, Sally would soon join them, unchain the trailers then direct their alt modes to reverse towards two of the trailers. Quickly and efficiently, she would have the trailers hooked up to them in no time and they could be on their way again.

[Jazz]

     “Nope, sorry! Neither of us ever hooked one up before. I tried once but it ended up comin’ loose in the middle of the road and caused a big stink with traffic behind me! I’ll just leave this stuff to the pros who know what they’re doin’ from now on, thanks. Kinda got two left hands when it comes to stuff like that.”


     Somehow, the thought of these trailers being hitched to a muscle car and a sports car was mildly amusing to Jazz. Good thing he wasn’t too worried about dings in his bumper or else there would be a problem.


     While Sally went about dealing with the trailers and safely out of hearing range, Jazz leaned over and nudged Bee’s holoform. It was only a brief touch, as Jazz hadn’t had as much experience with solidifying this odd thing he had to do as quick as a blink, but it was just enough to get Bee’s attention. “You’re doin’ awesome, kid. Don’t be so tense, yeah? Perfect job so far. Optimus will be proud'a'ya.” A flash of a smile then he left to follow the nice lady outside.


     “Okay, so ya want us to just back up to the trailers and ya hook us up?” He figured as much, but it never really hurt to ask. He’d go first, give Bee a little time to breathe and come down from the tense air he was surrounding himself with. Jazz would make his way over to his alt mode and get into the driver’s seat then… well, pretend to ‘start up the ignition’. He had already pretended to drive all the way here, so doing the same with backing up came almost as naturally. It paid off to watch a lot of those music videos and sitcoms that Bee was so interested in.

     So as he ‘put the car in reverse’, he turned in the seat to look out of the back window and placed his right hand on the headrest of the passenger seat and eased his way into reverse. He turned the wheel this way and that way until he could just go back straight towards the trailer, waiting for the woman to indicate when he could stop. He didn’t pay attention to what Bee was doing, figuring that the kid would probably be doing much of the same so they could carry on to their next stop in their grand adventure.