[ti]Ep 3.5[/ti]Music for the Soul [ Closed | James ]

[Jazz]

Timeline:
Week 2 | Day 2

Summary:
New arrivals. Good thing they got off at the right bus, at least...

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Jazz wasn't sure if the issue with having this new recruit coming to base was due to some weird miscommunication about what base he was supposed to go to exactly, but whatever the reason, he'd gone from having nothing to do, to suddenly being asked to go out on pick up duty to Blackhold. Not that he had a particular issue with it, as it gave him a legitmate reason for being out and about that Prowl couldn't report him for later, but that base had a bit of sentimentality that he discovered now to be.... somewhat bittersweet, considering the circumstances that had come up the week prior. 

Never thought he'd have to think about Gem again, but that was neither here nor there. 

The drive was a welcome travel that proved to be both calming on his nerves with the much more leisurely route he decided to take instead of the main highway that took him through the city. He opted to go around, which took a bit more time, time that he needed to clear his processor before meeting up with someone new that he needed to make a good impression on. 

The racing stripe adorned Elise arrived at the guarded gates, slow with the approach as the security forces stepped towards him to check the information of the driver. After a brief conversation with the one at his driver's side, he stepped back and waved for the one inside the booth to open the gates. While waiting for them to open there was another brief exchange, a nod, a shrug of shoulders, like two friends catching up. Then he took a step back, gestured just beyond the gates a direction to go, then waved him inside. Jazz was sure to not exceed the speed limit, even though the open drive around the airfield would have given him ample opportunity to. But things at base were tense enough, and dillydallying could only be explained but for so long.

Surely Optimus wouldn't like having to check with him periodically to make sure that he hadn't gotten lost in the shuffle. Considering the mood around the bot base lately? Best to hurry this along without wasting more time.

The drive just under the 25mph limit was a grueling march, especially with the added stops at the signs where the roads intersected. Sometimes he had to wait for troops marching across, other times it was vehicles on route to other destinations around the base. To Jazz, who had seen everything from the beginning of their own conflicts, was reminded about how everything here was so much different from their bases back home after the war was in full swing... yet, somehow the same. It was odd to be thinking so much of the past...

Once he finally reached the towards the hanger bay far on the other side of the base was , the doors were opened just enough to let him in upon his approach, then were closed and locked behind him once he crossed the threshold. He pulled to the center and parked, sitting in wait in his alt mode. 

Secrets kept under lock and key. How much of it was this new addition to the team made aware of? Best to wait it out,  as not to cause any unintended heart attacks.

[James Porter]

Porter had arrived at the base a good hour or so before his glorified Cybertronian taxi had showed up. When he was briefed back at his old deployment with the East Coast Detachment of NEST he had not been notified of any useful details pertaining to his new deployment. The best he had received was that his new Commanding Officer was a Special Agent Fowler and that he was being deployed to a place called “Omega Outpost”. A location Porter has never heard of. Nor was he able to find anything out about it. The final part of information he had been given was that he’d be landing at an airbase in Nevada. So from the start it was clear to Porter that this wasn’t going to be a normal deployment.

It was a big enough secret that all of his weapons and equipment except his sidearm had been taken to be dropped off at his new deployment before he had even embarked on his journey. Leaving him with only his clothing and other possessions to transport which was an easy task. However that flight over had felt like a never ending nightmare. A realisation had hit him during the flight that he was roughly going to be deployed in Nevada. Which to his knowledge was a desert region of the country. Which meant he’d be dealing with the bane of his existence, heat. Porter was not built for high temperatures. His homeland was infamous for its cold weather and downpour of rain. Some Brits loved the heat. Many didn’t mind. While others despised it. Porter was in that latter category.

What ended up saving the Lance Corporal from his despair was music. It was something that had always been able to get him out of the foulest of moods and uplift him a bit. Or at the very least calm him down. So it was what he turned to in this hour of need. With a pair of headphones and an MP3 player Porter had been able to elevate his sour mood for the remainder of the journey. The rest of the trip was spent with his boots tapped against the deck of the aircraft.

Once the large military aircraft had landed, Porter went about commandeering his stuff.. The personnel unloading had been given specific orders to get his stuff unloaded and handed to him first. A large backpack, a duffle bag and a silver suitcase were the things he picked up. Another fact that had the man thinking about what this assignment was really about. From there he reported to the duty officer to receive his next set of instructions. Receiving another set of orders that yet again, didn’t explain anything which had at this point not surprised Porter in the slightest.

Being informed that he was to be picked up at a very specific hanger and to report there immediately to be picked up. One bit of good news he was told however is that he’d need to change out of his uniform and into civilian clothing. Orders that Porter had actually found himself delighted by. Getting changed out of his uniform, the Lance Corporal had donned a simple blue T-shirt along with navy blue shorts and his blue trainers. From that point, Porter made his way over to the hangar. Having taken the time to ask for directions along the way to prevent himself getting lost. Not intending to be late to the meeting.

Once he reached the hanger, Porter was confronted by two guards that asked for his ID. Which he provided. Both guards were satisfied then allowed Porter to go on into the hanger. What met Porter in the hangar was a sight he wasn't expect at all.

A car that was way above his pay grade was just sitting stationary inside the hanger. If Porter hadn’t been carrying loads of bags he would have been scratching his head in confusion. Instead he settled for furrowing his brows and scrunching his scarred face up. Porter couldn’t help but admit that it was a good car. He recognised it as a Lotus of some type which if it wasn’t for the strange situated he was in, he’d smile at seeing a piece of engineering from his homeland all the way over here. However, the reason for its presence here just made no sense to him. His confusion was present in his voice when he shouted out into the hanger.

“Hello?...Anyone home?”

[Jazz]

The hanger had been silent for what felt like forever, leaving the vehicle just parked there like some weird expensive display. There hadn't been any visitors, which wasn't surprising, since this was supposed to be a normal rondevous pick up via custom taxi from here to Omega One. Simple as that, no hitches to be expected. As long as no Decepticons decided to pick a fight it should be rather painless. Good thing for Jazz that his alt mode wasn't as well known as some of the others were, as flashy as he was, he was not particularly out of place with the price range either. He was still one of the lesser recognized while out on the road so it made sense for him to have been the choice at the time, even with the appearance of the newly arrived Decepticon that could have proved to be problematic, but he doubted he'd be sold out immediately- not by one as opportunistic as that snake in the grass. Prowl was also a decent pick, especially with him being very by-the-book and the optimal one to get someone from two points quickly, but with being a vehicle mode representing the law, everyone would have been paying particular attention for all the wrong reasons.

So here was Jazz, force to sit still, which was torture enough on its own. Now he just had to hope this human knew-

The footsteps drew Jazz from his thoughts and he focused on what was going on around him. The steps echoed in the hollow hanger, carrying from one wall to the other, bouncing around in surround sound. He didn't move, merely observing the human as he looked around, seeming confused by the entire set up. Jazz immediately hated this pick up, not for what it was, but because the way he stood around looking for signs of life without actually suspecting the vehicle was more than what it seemed made Jazz realize that he probably had no idea what he was getting himself into. Which, in turn, meant Jazz may have to be responsible for breaking that news to him. 

Well, do it in style, even if it means the risk of shock. Better to thrown him out of the pan and into the flame now prior to his arrival to the base when he would probably have to face Optimus. Pits, did Jazz hate being the bringer of bad news.

The car suddenly revved to life, headlights flashing on as the engine roared under his hood. Gears started to shift, pistons hissed, metal clanked and groaned as the car started to separate from all odds and ends. The trunk space pivoted around backwards, two legs forming from the seam that appeared after parting, the rear wheels clicking into place at the ankles. As the front half lifted into the air, arms pulled out from the undercarriage next, front wheels positioned and locked into postion at the shoulders, and the doors shifted behind them in what appeared as wings esque, which fluttered briefly before flattening and flaring out. The windshield folded backwards and tucked under those doors. Then the hood folded down to form a chest of sorts, different pieces clicking and shifting behind and in front of one another. A head revealed itself during that, lifting up from the small square panel that had been on the hood, protruding audials remininciant to that of something far more feline in looks, even as they angled back and ended in two points. There were no eyes to be seen, just the trademark blue visor which lit up, immediately sending readings of the space around him, including the human before him, into his HUD. 

Standing upright, Jazz stared down at that human momentarily, before finally cracking a smile and crouching down, elbows on his knees as servos settled between them to hang freely. 

"Yo! Sorry for not greetin' ya like this right away but I didn't know how long ya were gonna take, and it's a lot more comfortable idlin' as a car than standin' round. Besides, I'd probably start pacin', and that would be killer on the ears in this metal contraption."

Now to hope the poor human didn't just... keel over.

[James Porter]

*As his echo rebounded off the walls of the hanger, Porter found himself rotating his body around to just look at the rest of his hanger. Not being able to spot a single person or even any equipment for that manner. It seemed the hanger was empty except this out of place Lotus. He halted himself a few feet away from the car. Redirecting his attention back to the vehicle, Porter turned to look at it again. Finally expressing his frustration and confused state with a forlorn sigh. For a moment it seemed he’d need to go back to the guards outside to ask them what the hell was meant to be going on. A sense of annoyance slowly growing within Porter, his confusion and frustration with all of the nonsense had reached its peak. His head shook from side to side so signify how he had felt.

“What a complete, utter waste of my day. Fucking morons in command at their finest once again.”

Porter had to admit that something didn’t feel right. Being confronted by the feeling of someone or something watching him or at the very least observing him. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of something like that. He took a few steps back away from the car. Intending to turn around to go to the exit but stopped himself before he could leave as he took a moment to actually think. The cogs in his brain firing up as he attempted to put the pieces of this puzzle together.

The Lance Corporal knew aliens had existed. It was the entire point of the NEST taskforce to begin with. However he had never actually seen them in person. Nor had he been given a lot of information on them. Aside from some “Anti-Cybertronian training” he’d received, he also was given some very basic information on them being large robots that could disguise themselves. It was that fact that made Porter scowl and look at the Lotus before him in a different manner. Could this be one of them

Before he had the chance to properly think on it further, the sounds of moving parts snapped the Englishman out of his deep thought and was greeted by a truly astonishing yet terrifying sight. As the Lotus began to transform, Porter started to run backwards. His eyes were essentially bulging out of his skull, mouth agape as he continued to watch as parts of the car gracefully moved into positions.

“Jesus fucking Christ!”

As he backed up, Porter didn’t even check where he was going. Losing his footing and falling back onto the floor. Only thing that prevented his head from hitting the floor was his backpack which softened the fall. However his mind wasn’t thinking about that or any damage he could have taken on the way down. Instead, his mental capacity was currently stuck in panic mode, Porter’s hands sought out his duffle bag in response to that. Unzipping it in record speed and pulling out his 9mm Glock. One hand slipped its way onto the grip of the weapon while the switched off the safety and grabbed onto the top of it, pulling it back to cock the weapon and allow a round to slide into the chamber.

Despite the record time in which Porter prepared the weapon, by the time he looked back at the alien it had finished whatever it was doing. Finding that it had crouched down in front of him. It even spoken to Porter. For a minute or two he just sat there motionless. That expression from early still plastered upon his face. Not having picked up a singe thing the alien had said.

The Lance Corporal’s heart thought his heart might just burst out of his chest with how quickly it was beating. Spending all his adult life in the military led Porter to think that he had seen enough in the world that there wasn't anything left that was able to leave him in a complete state of shock. He was however, proven wrong during that moment.

“I…I-Don’t…you…how-wha…what…what?!”

In that moment he slowly looked down at his sidearm and then slowly lifted his head back up to look at the Cybertronian. He’d repeat this a couple of times. Confronted by the fact that no matter what, his weapon would not even begin to damage, let alone penetrate whatever armour that alien Lotus had. That weapon was utterly useless. 

At least Porter hadn't keeled over. Yet.

[Jazz]

“I…I-Don’t…you…how-wha…what…what?!”

"Well, you're certainly eloquent. Can't say it's the first time I've left someone speechless, but certainly the first human on record. Congrats. My translator don't even know what to do with all that." Jazz propped one elbow on his knee and rested his chin in that servo, just staring at the human with a bit of a smirk. The weapon being brandished was something to be amused about. Just what had he been briefed on? Surely he had to be aware that a little thing like that wouldn't be more than a flick of a passing pebble on the highway against the metal that made up his framework.

Though the instinct to draw first, ask later? He could understand that. Even if the asking was a little... here and there, and incomplete.

"Over the course of several centuries I've had limbs torn off, my chassis blown in half, my optics ripped out... can't even remember some of the other stuff. I have so many recycled parts on me that I don't think anythin' on me is original anymore. And yet, I still function." Jazz let out a soft chuckle. "Even without knowin' all that, I know ya know that lil pellet gun of yours won't even chip my paint. But in the offchance ya didn't, there's your memo. Free of charge."

Jazz stayed as casual with his posture as possible, not even wanting to stand quite yet. If this human reacted to him like this when he was crouched down, he didn't even want to think what he may say or do when he saw him at his full height- and it wasn't just the really hard tilt of the head backwards or the strain of the neck that he was concerned about. He'd take it slow, give him as much time as needed. If anyone had any questions to why it took so long? He was certain Optimus would understand.

"Just lemme know when ya get yourself together so ya can actually ask questions I can understand."

The servo that had been hanging around with nothing to do finally moved and Jazz shifted ever so slightly- making sure to be slow with everything as well since the human was clearly a bit on edge and probably didn't need anything else to throw him off, but that tense air also posed another issue when there was a dangerous weapon being waved around. While it may not hurt Jazz's frame, it could still hurt someone else, or himself, if there was a misfire or an accidental discharge in the midst of the confusion. So he just moved that servo towards James, index and thumb poised like a pair of pincers, and he made an attempt to pluck the gun away.

"And stop wavin' that'round, man. Ya could hurt someone."

[James Porter]

As quickly as he had spoken, Porter had ceased and went silent as his shock still had control over the human. Still physically clear by how dead still he was and how his face still clearly showed it. If it wasn’t for the state he was in, the Englishman probably would've cracked a smile and made a witty remark in response to the Lotus however right now that was not to be. Instead, Jazz’s words went right over the Lance-Corporal’s head and it took a good minute or so for him to really mull over the words in his head and process them. Much like he had before when the former vehicle turned into this robotic person.

His suspicion and theorising on the Lotus possibly being one of the aliens he had been briefed about was at least right. Sort of. That was a fact he could take some solace in once he was in a better mindset.

It didn’t take a genius to know his weapon could do nothing. He had already known that before he blurted out that embarrassing response that it could do nothing. Jazz rubbing it in would have annoyed him in any other given situation. However, what was said did reveal a bit. Clearly he was referring to previous battle wounds and such which meant that whoever Porter was talking to was a veteran. While not experiencing anything near extreme as Jazz’s wound, Porter could at least sympathise with the idea of battle wounds. Even if he didn’t understand some of the terms leaving him such as “optic” or “servo”.

Really, Porter was lucky that this alien didn’t feel insulted by the fact the human soldier had pulled out his sidearm. Or if the alien did then he didn’t show that at least. Regardless of whether or not it was out of instinct. He should be thankful in that regard.


The friendly aliens' friendly demeanour and charisma had started to win the human over, prompting Porter’s shock to slowly but surely be washed away. His previous stiff stance changed to something more at ease. Same can be said for his face which took on a more serious expression while he took the finger off his trigger so he didn’t fire. Despite this, he was still alert and had no plans to activate the safety on the weapon let alone put it away yet.

With the opportunity to ask questions now and his shock having now started to fade away, Porter had prepared to make up for his embarrassing display moments before and ask some queries. Since he found his confidence return enough to the point where he can talk without making himself look like a fool. That was until Jazz’s hand slowly started to move. Prompting him to tilt his head to the right a bit as he gave the alien a confused look. Any thoughts about asking questions had now been halted. His brows furrowed as he tried to understand what the Lotus was trying to do. "Erm…what are you doing?”

He felt himself get a bit uncomfortable as the hand grew ever closer. It made him  jump up to his feet from where he had been on the floor, his other two bags forgotten about as he took a few cautious steps back from the metal giant. His eyes widened again as the hand grew closer, finding himself distracted for a moment as he tried to wrap his head around just how this alien's hand was. It was then that Porter had the Glock taken out of his hands. Causing a moment of confusion from the human. "Can you bac-OI!"

Upon having the weapon snatched out his hands, Porter had a boost of confidence as outrage spread throughout him. Someone taking his weapon away from him was an appalling concept to the man so once it had actually happened, all bets were off. As he threw his previous caution and what remained of his shock to the wind, Lance Corporal Porter attempted to reach out and reclaim his weapon. His feelings on the matter clearly laced in his voice and on his face.

“Hey! What the hell! Give me back the damn Glock!”

[Jazz]

"Ah, there we go."

Jazz chuckled softly and shook his helm. He hadn't really pulled the weapon that far away from the human, rather just managed to get it from his grasp and held it there within arms length. So when James went for it he'd be able to touch it, and even take it as Jazz released his grip on it almost immediately. The mech hadn't planned to keep the glock anyway, let alone play a game of keep away with it. Rather, he'd tried to test a method to kick James out his daze, and for all intended purposes, it had worked. 

"Now that we're finally on speaklin' terms, we can cut to the main event." 

Slowly he stood, returning to his full height as he stared the human down- in a matter of speaking, of course, as Jazz only had a visor so James just had rely on the fact that Jazz was, in fact, looking at him judging by the angle of his helm. It would be up to the human how he would take everything, especially what level of comfort he was experiencing. For now, Jazz simply held his frame steady and casual, with one servo fisted against his hip plate while the other raised into the air and started to move as he spoke. 

"To repeat myself simply, I'm Jazz. I've been given the honor by my Leader to come be your personal chauffeur to our very state of the art Headquarters, complete with a few others of my kind. Oh, and a couple humans who may or may not be there dependin' on what time we get back. The route to make our rendezvous is entirely yours to make. I am more than happy to escort ya' round this ol' dust heap if you'd like to know some points of interest 'long the way."

Jazz knew he was supposed to get this new arrival from point A to point B, but no one had told him there wasn't to be any in between. At least, if James Porter wanted it. Not to mention that if he ever wanted to just get away from base, it probably could be nice to know what places he may want to hit up for something late night, early morning, whatever. That was Jazz's opinion, but he'd have to see how much of a straight arrow this dude was.

[James Porter]

Unbeknownst to the human, he had played into Jazz’s servos as this little scheme had smacked Porter out of his daze and into a more coherent state of awareness. It wasn’t difficult for the man to reclaim his weapon as his hand successfully managed to snatch it back from the alien Lotus. Hands having found their purchase on the pistol grip as he pulled it out of the aliens grasp. Thanks to the help of Jazz of course who allowed the human soldier to take back his prized weapon.

With his pistol now back in his hands, Porter took a few steps back from Jazz once more and then extended a finger so he could click the safety back on. Not wanting to embarrass himself any further with the possibility of a round being fired and bouncing around the hanger. Jazz standing at his full height had the smaller human feeling a slight bit intimidated. Any feeling of outrage at having his weapon taken had shrank away a little as he observed the mechanical giant.

“Bloody hell. You are really tall aren’t you?"

Now that his wits had returned to the Lance Corporal, Porter took a moment to inspect the robot before him. Despite the vast differences between the two species, Porter found that at the basic level that Jazz was more or less a robotic humanoid. He walked up right, had the same sort of limbs as a human and had the general outline of one minus the doors that served as wings and all the wheels obviously. It was a sight to behold. For a moment, he expected Jazz to do something with his visor as the Englishman thought that they might be sunglasses or some sort of tactical HUD visor that pilots wore on their helmets. But as time continued to tick by he didn’t do anything and kept looking down at Porter.

“Didn’t even need to ask for the alien to take me to their leader. Got robbed of a terrible cliché joke.”

Porter said that more to himself than to Jazz. Not being able to stop himself from making a witty comment or two. Or what he thought would constitute the definition of the word. His right hand lay dormant at his side as it held his weapon, his left on the other hand went to scratch the back of his neck as the human mulled over what Jazz had said. Not only was he going to their headquarters but he was meeting their boss? Porter felt that it would be a lot to take in. Even more so when he is given a more detailed briefing on their reasoning for being on Earth.

“Well Jazz, it's certainly been interesting meeting you and nearly having a heart attack in the process. I’m Lance Corporal James Porter of the Special Boat Service. Currently on loan to the nice people at NEST. But you probably already knew that. I can safely say I didn't expect any of this when I got off that plane. Sorry you had to deal with that embarrassing display on my end right there. Probably wasn’t the best first impression.”

For a few seconds, Porter thought about offering Jazz a handshake but shook his scarred head at the idea. Having realised very quickly that the prospect of doing such a thing wasn’t even remotely possible considering the size difference between the two.

“Glorified Taxi duty huh? That must be fun. If taking that detour will make our journey a bit more interesting then sure. Won't hurt for me to get a good lay of the land I suppose."

[Jazz]

"If ya think I'm tall, just wait till ya see Our Leader and some of the others we got hangin'round- I'm just standard issue. And yeah, that joke's been done enough times over that it's run its course and the well is dry."

Jazz gave a small wave of his servo before letting it hang at his side as he observed the human a bit further. His systems were busy doing their usual behind-the-scenes work that was just habit at this point. He collected data, his visor scanning the human, taking in the visual information needed while his audials recorded the rest. He had already tapped in and gotten the other things he needed for his collection, now it was just a matter of curtesy that he didn't reveal all the cards and allowed James to unveil what he wanted, when he wanted, to his new comrads. 

"I feel ya on the whole giant robot situation, man, so don't sweat it. First impressions are always hit or miss. Can't really say the info you're given is all that great to begin with. Paperwork only does but so much for ya, cause it's completely different to experiece it first hand."

Jazz had experienced many things in his long lifecycle so nothing came as a surprise to him anymore, so he could only imagine what it was for a human to see sentient beings like them, something that Cybertronians saw every day. They came in all different frametypes and sizes, so the awe of it wasn't anything they were new to. A human, a fleshy little being so delicate and squishy faced with mechanical beings from outer space? That had to be something. If only they knew how some of them had come to be, that would really blow their minds. 

"Since ya wanna have the scenic route, shall we get this show on the road?" 

The giant robot took a couple steps forward, making sure he was well and clear of the human before dropping to the floor with one servo pressed against the floor, swinging his pedes out to the side. His lower frame twisted around, ankle wheels folding into position as the rears while the rest of his upper frame collapsed in on itself, helm tucking into his hood as shoulder wheels turned sidewards on his shoulders followed by the doorwings that angled backwards and downward more correctly. Once all the moving metal had fallen into place, the Lotus was once more before the human, the driver's side door open for him to slide into. 

"Just toss your bags in the passenger seat and slide on in."

[James Porter]

“I have a feeling that their height is somewhere within what I would consider the “ridiculous fucking high” category. I can already tell my neck is going to start hurting from how often I have to look up. You’re probably right on that one.”

Oblivious to the scans that Jazz was carrying out on the human, Porter turned to his right. Nothing was in the path ahead of him aside from the wall of the hanger. Before he could do anything else, Porter needed to properly make sure his weapon was safe and get that round out of the chamber. Raising his right hand again, he moved his left hand back onto the weapon as he began the safety procedure.

“Unless you’ve been confronted by aliens that are more than twice the size of you than I don’t think you’ll feel me on that one, big guy. Would you be surprised if I told you that outside of basic instructions telling me where I needed to go that I was not informed of anything. None of the brass told me I’d be meeting the robots that this taskforce was formed to deal with but had never encountered. Or at least me and the lads on the East Coast never did.”

With that Porter turned his head to look back at the direction his weapon was pointing. First, he made sure the weapon's safety was on before he pressed the magazine release button. His left hand then slid the magazine out of its housing and stuffed into one of the pockets on his shorts. From there he then glided his left hand onto the top of the weapon, slowly sliding the barrel back to expose the inner workings of the pistol. A round would then fly out of the barrel and land on the floor. Rolling away from him. Porter angled the weapon so that he could see inside the barrel, double checking that the weapon had no other rounds inside it. Just to be safe, Porter performed the action by sliding the weapon's barrel back several more times to ensure there were no rounds in it.

“Yeah just let me finish up with this.”

Satisfied that the weapon was no longer armed, let his left hand slip off the weapon and lowered his right arm. Walking on over to where he last saw the bullet. Porter bent down to pick it up with his left hand and dropped it into the same pocket that he had left his magazine in. Ideally he would have just put the round back in the magazine but he didn’t like the idea of making Jazz wait any further.

Porter made his way back to where he had dropped his stuff. First, he shoved his Glock back into the duffle bag he had retrieved it from and then zipped it up. Halfway through the process of slinging his bags onto himself when the sound of Jazz transforming reached his ears. Distracted for a moment as his attention became focused on Jazz. A spark of curiosity and awe was present in his eyes as he watched the alien turn back into the inconspicuous Lotus. Even now, he was still blown away by the whole transformation and the speed it happened at. Truly was a sight to behold. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Porter finished grabbing his bags and marched over towards the waiting Lotus.

“Alright. Hope there’s enough room for all my rubbish.” Coming to stop right next to the driver’s door. He started the process of stowing his suitcase onto the passenger seat followed by his backpack. With a hesitant look, Porter then got into the vehicle. The idea of being in a car that drives itself around leaving the man with a strange feeling. More so when he's the one sat in the drivers seat. That’s not even mentioning the fact the car was a living thing. Getting into the driver's seat and instead of putting his duffle bag on the passenger seat he instead rested it on his lap.

“I’m ready to leave when you are Jazz. I hope this place has something good to offer besides the endless miles of desolate wasteland that we call a desert.”

[Jazz]

Jazz let out a small snicker at the comment about 'aliens more than twice you're size', keeping commentary to himself for the time being since he was busying himself with securing his weapon. Jazz just waited and listened, doing his own thing in the process. He was combing through the various music channels silently, keeping his radio turned down as not to disturb anyone. Was there anything good? Some things on the classic channels sounded good, and while he knew all the ones that were being played, there were only a few that he actually liked enough to keep. He caught the tail end of Thriller, just at the part where Vincent Price made his contribution, and hummed to the rest of it. 

He was pulled out of his little single man party by the introduction of the suitcase and backpack on his passenger seat, the weight being what alerted him first. When he finally acquired his driver he was fully aware and paying attention as to make sure he was able to properly address any concerns the human had. 

"I may be a smaller vehicle, but I have the capability to pack away much more in my cab than you'd think." The music mech noticed that he kept hold of his duffle bag, choosing not to address that. If he wanted to keep it close that was his business. For all Jazz knew it contained something valuable that he wanted to have hold of. "Know in cartoons when they pull out those ridiculously sized items out from behind their backs or from places where there aint no way they'd fit in real life? Think of it that way." 

Subspace was an interesting thing to explain to the commonfolk. The reference seemed the easiest way to do so. Hell, Jazz didn't even know the whole science behind that stuff- afterall, he wasn't a scientist or engineer who probably would turn the simplest explanation into a ten-book series or something.

"Sorry to say, this place is pretty much just what ya think. Ain't nothin' cool that goes on in this one-horse town. This place reminds me of one that we got back on our planet called the Sea of Rust. Ain't shit there, either."

Jazz revved up his engine to indicate that he was ready to go not that everything was situated. Two troops outside ofthe bunker heard the sounds and opened the bay doors, allowing the bright sunlight to pour in. Once they had enough clearance Jazz started driving, steady as to make sure he was able to stop in time if someone or something crossed his path. Once he cleared the gates of the base, however? 

Pedal to Metal. 

Jazz revved and off his went, going from the crawling speed of 10mph to the road speed of 55mph in an instant, kicking up dirt and dust behind him. 

Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay! came over his speakers at full blast all of a sudden.

"I hope ya don't mind the momentary ear candy, but I love this song!"

[James Porter]

For a moment, Porter did wonder if he should use the seatbelt to secure his stuff that was sat upon the passenger seat. Worried that his luggage might start bouncing around. It was only when the Lotus began talking again that Porter’s thoughts were stopped in their tracks as he twisted his head to look at the stereo. His face contorted into a confused expression as Jazz went onto explain a little bit about how he can store things. “Right…” The comparison he used got a light chuckle out of the Englishman as he tried to imagine the big robot doing exactly that. “That sounds too ridiculous to even be slightly true Jazz. I’ll have to believe it when I see it.”

The claim was just so outlandish that he had to believe such a thing to see it. Logically, the concept was just something so unreal to the Human. Trying his hardest to just simply wrap his head around such an idea. It just didn’t seem even remotely possible. But then again, at the end of the day Porter isn’t a scientist.

“Boring ass towns are the perfect place for shady government bases to be built near. Well…in this case I guess it would be an alien base but that’s besides the point.” Porter rested his arm on the window sill of the driver's door. Head turned to look out the window and watch as Jazz began to make his way out of the hangar once the doors had been opened. “Just hope it has a good bar and some decent restaurants at the very least. It needs something to be even slightly redeemable.”

“Sea of Rust huh? Guess something like rust makes sense for you guys. Probably a dumb question but what exactly is it? Is it a literal sea or ocean? Or is it just in a metaphorical sense and it’s just a bit of land that's like a glorified scrapyard?”

Once they got past the gate to the airbase things got more interesting. Hearing the engine rev followed by the kick the vehicle made as Jazz shot forward in speed activated some juvenile part of the Lance Corporal’s brain that loved hearing the revving of an engine and being a fast car. A large smile formed on his face as Jazz left the base in his dust.

As the speakers started up, Porter found himself slapping his duffle bag and nodding his head in sync with the song.

“I don’t mind at all! Having some decent music playing ain’t a bad shout at all.”

[Jazz]

Jazz would answer James after the song. For the time being he was enjoying just cruising and playing his music as loud as he dared. Normally he would have had his windows down, but the tint prevented anyone from the outside that they may happen to pass along the way to notice that the driver wasn't exactly driving and make headlines as a self-driving vehicle that would need to be covered up on top of everything else they were already dealing with. He'd been given this task, he wasn't gonna blow it. 

He'd been able to slip under the Decepticons and MECH's radar this long with his alt mode being unrecognized. Ruining all of it because he wanted to have his windows down would surely get him frowned at, not to mention damage what bit of pride he had. So he waited, volume turned up so they could enjoy Crazy Train within reason for human hearing where it would be enjoyable but not dangerous to the human in his cab. Jazz had to be extra careful with his ability, knowing that even the smallest tune of a decible in the wrong direction could spell trouble for all.

Once the song was over, Jazz turned down his radio so he could speak again without the music being an interruption.

"Phew, good song. The radio stations here can really deliver the goods sometimes. Anyway, yeah." Rewinding to before they'd been jamming out, he began. "Aint a dumb question, your seas and oceans are far different from ours. So what we call the Rust Sea is mostly called that because of the color. It's the wasteland left behind after one of our City-States fell during the war. It's one of our most dangerous places on Cybertron. Miles of surface liquid with of hazardous weather conditions from nuclear winds to plasma bolts. It's not a fun place to go through and most of us with enough sense stay clear of the area. As for this ol' rust bucket, can't say that there's much of anythin' interestin' that's local. Could always ask the kids at base, but if you're lookin' for fun with a decent scene, you'd be best off cruisin' Vegas."

Jazz turned off of the roadway a couple miles from the base, merging onto the highway. He slowed down to make sure no one was in his way, blinker on, and checked to see that he was clear. Once he made sure it was okay, he went onto the highway and increased his speed to keep up with the little bit of traffic that was around.

"Good time o'day. Not much traffic. Still gotta make sure to follow the speed limit or our resident Enforcer will have my rivets for it." 

[James Porter]

That makes two of them then since after he had finished speaking the man from across the pond went silent. Enjoying the music alongside the Lotus. His head nodded forwards and backwards with a smile as he synchronised himself with the song. Crazy Train had been a song he’d always loved and was glad to see that the alien robot had a good choice in music. At some points he even spoke up to sing along during the chorus or other parts of the song he knew from his memory. Those parts he couldn’t remember the lyrics to he would just hum the tune instead.

That shared music taste was certainly something that gave Jazz a tick in Porter’s list of decent things about the robot. So it was a shame when the song had come to an end but he fully expected Jazz to put on another song but instead received a response to the question he had nearly forgotten about relating to that Rust Sea place that the Cybertronian had mentioned.

“You aren’t wrong. It’s a brilliant song! Radio stations can be fifty/fifty honestly. Really depends on where you are and what the local music taste is like.” Porter leaned back against the seat in silence as he settled down for the explanation of the Rust Sea.

It took a few minutes for Porter to properly take in that description given to him. What he was left to imagine didn’t paint a pretty picture in his mind. One thing he could take away almost immediately was that their homeworld had turned into some sort of war zone. If outright mentioning the war hadn’t clued Porter in then Jazz talking about nuclear winds certainly did. Porter partially knew that the aliens that had come to Earth were at war with another group that was very similar to them since that’s what he had been briefed on upon joining NEST. That however, was all Porter was told when it came to that conflict.

His face turned grim. War zones weren’t new to the Englishman but something like this was an entirely different level of hell that he’d ever been in. One which he hopes he’d never have to experience. “Fucking hell. That’s… appalling. Don’t want to see what sort of fighting caused such a disaster like that. Sorry part of your homeworld is in such a sorry state. Is that why you guys have appeared here on Earth?”

As the conversation changed to talking about the local town again, Porter nodded his head and turned to look out the window. Hoping in vain that he’d spot something interesting. A few seconds after that he snapped his head back round to stare at the stereo. Giving it a double take. “What?!” His face twisted in outrage. Eyes shooting wide as he gave Jazz an incredulous look. Kids being on a military base wasn’t a foreign concept. Many bases back home had families on them however this wasn’t no normal base they were heading to after all. It was a top secret facility as far as Porter knew which meant civilians shouldn’t be on it. Especially children.

“Let’s rewind a little bit. Are you telling me there’s kids at the base? Please tell me that you’re just pulling my leg and that this a joke. No fucking way is there a bunch of kids at a top secret or what I assume is a top secret base that has aliens and military personnel working at it. Jesus Christ…”

To signify his despair at learning of such a breach in security, Porter let his face collapse into one of his hands as he comprehended the consequences of such a monumental mess up.

“I can at least be thankful for the lack of traffic. I guess.”

[Jazz]

"Wish I could say I was, ma'man, but I'm as serious as a skip in a sparkbeat, heart-attack for ya human-folk. From what I was able to gather, the kids were an accident adventure, just like being here on Earth was... kinda the same thing," Jazz replied. "But I agree with ya. War ain't a place for kids to be in the middle of."

Same said for their species, even if their young sparks were greatly different from those of the Earthlings. The idea of anyone being created for a purpose of war was something he'd never agreed with, though that was far out of his control. He could only try to make it as easy of a transition as possible.

"Wish they weren't there, but they're safer with us than out and about where the Decepticons may be able to find 'em, so I guess we got our hands tied."

Even so, it was refreshing to have them around. They gave their otherwise very mechanical frames something more that even Jazz knew they'd been missing out on since the war began- a sense of humility, in a way. A reminder of what they were trying to protect, something far greater. To Jazz, it reminded him just how much their war had fucked up the entire Universe. Both sides were at fault for all of this, something he and Optimus had discussed before. He'd left the Autobots more than once over disagreements with Leadership decisions and his own clash of views. 

Jazz had come into the war from a unique place that gave him a broader understanding than just 'good and evil' as many believed this to be. It was part of the reason why he was such a good double agent back then.

"Time of day plays a factor in the traffic. Peak rush hour? We'd be sittin' for hours. Since I was your liason I made sure to plan the arrival time. You're welcome." There was a small chuckle over the dash before it fell silence again for a brief moment. "Partner up with me and I'll get ya right were ya need to go with the top fourty countdown to keep ya entertained. Better than flyin'."