Ep. 1 - The House of Stone and Light - Closed - Finis

[Dart]

Under the dark lines of her T-shirt, the girl's shoulders fell. The smile slipped from her features and she looked a bit fearful before she simply nodded. Yup. Wrong thing. The rebuke was not... unexpected, not really. He was hurt, tired, and he had what looked like a girder stuck in him, while she was just taking things for what they were as she had learned over the years. Dart accepted it. Live in the here and now.

Her fingers slipped back into her pockets.

A nod. "They're nice," she agreed. "She does remind me of a medic. I should ask them what they're studying. Actually, I think I will, that seems like it would be the polite thing to do. Veronica's pretty awesome too. Mark's funny, but he can be serious too."

She looked back up at him. "I love the view," she said. "Thanks for liking it too. Most- lots of Cybertronians don't... well, they don't see it, sir. Can you believe that water did this? Time and a river, and cut into the ground. If you like light and open spaces, oh, you need to go to Yellowstone. Just to see it. It's something special. Also, they have buffalo. They eat your windshield wipers though, so um... be careful."

The courier realized she was probably rambling and caught herself. Right. Back on track.

"Yes sir," she said. "Not drilling though. Stealing, I'm afraid. Tapping into the pipeline. It didn't prove um... worth the time, I guess, so yeah, we got moved somewhere else."

Dart was quiet long enough for the breeze to ruffle over them both. She rocked back on her heels, obviously thinking about something. Something familiar in his words. Not what he said, but... how he compared the things around him to architecture. She remembered driving through Portland and constantly hearing Pyrotech grumble about this bridge, that bridge, this building and that one. How Cybertronian designs were superior to Earth...

"Did you build them? Structural landscapes?" she asked him. "Back home, I mean."

[Deleted]

The man's expression went a little distant at the mention of the north. He looked out over the dark beach, as if only half-listening. Not far away a small fire was crackling in the firepit. It's warm glow cast an oasis of light upon the sand, within which the three humans were sitting. They fanned the drifting smoke from their faces and laughed as they tried to burn hotdogs on skewers. A small pot bubbled on a spit over the flames.

He glanced at them, wary of being overheard. The courier's question, however, drew him up again. Max leaned back, frowning.

"Hmm. Yes," he said. "Before the war. Designed, constructed - I did both. Then the fighting started. I don't think any of it is still standing now."

He scowled, as if annoyed to find himself lapsing into a conversation. "Anyway. This is an impressive place. That's all I meant to say. Time and a river, huh? They did good work. Maybe I'll make it to Yellowstone next. Who knows."

Moving stiffly, he climbed to his feet. He had to grab an overhanging branch to do so. His holoform did not flicker, but it had grown wan in the past hour or so. Perhaps it was simply the light of the rising moon that drained it of colour. It touched its side, and a shadow of worry crossed over his face.

"I'm putting this avatar into standby," he said. He turned for the tent. "Say your good-nights, or... whatever it is you need to do. I'll be waiting."

He paused. "And... thank them, for me."

[Dart]

The courier was silent, her nose turned once again into the breeze off the river. Simply listening to him; and looking around them. Another point of awe crept in. Could you make something like this place? Construct it with an eye the same way you'd construct a building or a dam, or even an underground bunker? If you did, what would it look like, would it have the same sense of being huge that this place did; that awe of the time, weather, and the river working together to wear down the earth, pebble by pebble, grain by grain.

Would it be alive as this place was, after a while? Would there be things that found their way into it, transforming to fit the spaces, evolving not like animals but... adapting?

Before the war, though. Ages, then. Long gone, where this place on Earth still stood, constructed not on purpose, but simply because of where it was in the world.

She wanted to ask him. More... she simply wanted to listen. Learn, like she learned everything else. Dart knew better than to press or ask, though. Asking questions got into dangerously uncomfortable territory for them, because it just... it would always swing back to the war, and the fact that they were on opposite sides. Pyrotech and others had drilled it into her. You don't ask why. It's not your job. You do, and that is all you need to know.

If he wanted to talk, he would talk.

"You'll go," she said suddenly. "To Yellowstone."

Then she hesitated and scuffed at the sand again, before immediately unclasping her hands and touching the center of her chest in a quick salute. "Yes sir. Saying my goodnights, I promise, I won't be long, and I know... you're waiting."

Another smile, though. "Yes sir, will thank them for you, promise that too."

Dismissal, she understood that. Her avatar pronked joyfully into the air, expressing her delight at being allowed to just spend that last few minutes she could. She chortled, landed on her feet, and ran down the beach towards the humans and the fire, scattering sand behind her. "Be back in a few minutes," she called over her shoulder.

A few long strides had her down the beach and skidding to a careful stop in the midst of the others.

"Sorry about that," she said. "He wants to just go lie down and sleep. I'm going to go hang out with him in the tent - just keep an eye on him, but..."

"He wanted me to thank you guys for all your help," Dart offered, spreading her fingers. "I- I'm really glad you were here too."

A quick chuckle after that. "He also wanted to know what you guys were studying, or went to school for. Typical Professor moment, heh."

[Deleted]

The three humans were huddled around the small fire, sitting cross-legged or else on sandy towels. Open plastic containers of condiments sat around their feet, while hotdog buns toasted on the warm campfire stones. They were talking sleepily among themselves, but when the courier trotted up they all looked around in surprise.

"Oh - oh, no worries!" said Sarah. She grinned. "You guys are cool, of course we're happy to help. So glad we were there for you to stumble across!"

"I'm in teacher's college," said Mark. He pointed to the dark-haired girl sitting tucked in beside him. "And Sarah's on her fourth year in Psychology."

"I'm enrolled in a laboratory course this year, which is the only way I'd have time to take a bit of a vacation now," she said, laughing.

Veronica held up her hand.

"Second year mechanical engineering at UofT," she said. "I'm nagging everyone to go check out Hoover Dam next."

"Hey, I want to go visit the dam," said Mark in protest. "The dam is badass."

"Will you say good-night to Mr Freeman for us?" said Sarah. "Tell him we hope he feels a little better in the morning! We'll get you guys to the Ranch as quick as we can."

Mark help up a slightly burned hotdog.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat before bed?" he said. "Oh, speaking of which! Almost forgot."

He gave Sarah his stick and stood up, brushing sand from his shorts. Behind him were a pair of life jackets and a grey and red-striped wool blanket, which he also dusted off before offering them to Dart.

"Here, I got these out of the raft," he said. "Should make sleeping a bit more comfortable."

[Dart]

"Wow. Heh, no wonder you guys get along," Dart said to Mark. "Teaching's tough, isn't it?" She settled down for a second beside them, tucking her legs under herself like a deer.

"I'll have to give the Professor guff, he was thinking you were a med student, Sarah. His super powers of intuition have failed him. Wait, no, he'll just laugh back... because um, Psychology is a medical field, right? Wow, I need to get out more. Too many rocks on the brain."

A grin over at Veronica. "Seriously? Whoa, that's also a tough, tough field too. I wanted to see Hoover Dam too, I heard it's amazing, but I don't see it happening on this trip, not after everything. First things first. I guess that'll have to happen someday up the road for me. Hope so, anyway."

Dart laughed again and shrugged and clambered up to her feet. She brushed off sand and stood there. Surprisingly "Oh. Yeah, um, dinner. Wow. I'm so tired I've reached the point where I'm not hungry, but I better. I'll just- it's okay if I grab a bite and take it back with me, right?"

A look of concentration flitted across her features when Mark handed her the blanket and life jackets. "Aw, of course I'll tell him goodnight, if he's not asleep before I even get back there," she said. Blanket over the arm not a problem. She let it drape there and steadied herself before she reached for the life jackets...

Okay, that - that was holding...

There. All of it, she had everything. However, there was a soft warning whirr in the back of her head. It had been steadily thrumming now over the last few hours, and now it was getting to the point where she couldn't block it out, or ignore it. A long ways away she was rocking and twitching, hands curled on her thighs, huffing slightly.

"I guess, um... throw the hot dog on top," she chuckled. "I'll um, try to gracefully balance it on the way back. If I drop it... um... well, there's what, a three second rule?"

[Deleted]

Mark laughed.

"Make it ten," he joked. "You've kinda earned the eight extra seconds."

He checked the hotdogs that were roasting on sticks around the fire, then picked the one that appeared to be the least burnt. After easing it into a bun he scrambled back up and gingerly set it onto the top of the life jackets.

"Now, just don't trip over anything," he said.

Sarah waved a spoon at her.

"Good night!" she said. "Sleep well. We'll try not to wake you guys too early if we're up before you tomorrow morning."

Veronica took advantage of the courier's laden arms to snap a picture of her with the cell phone, blanket and jackets and hotdog and all.

"Have you still got that?!" said Mark.

She sniggered. "Yeah, sleep good, guys. See you in the morning."

[Dart]

The courier chewed her lip with concentration as the hotdog was placed on top of the pile. Her eyes almost crossed. "Just- just stay. Sit. Stay," she told the processed meat product as it balanced itself among the blanket and life jackets. Automatically, she leaned forward to sniff it.

Did you say that kind of thing to hot dogs? You said it to regular dogs. Sure, why not, worth a try.

"Yep, I--- I do," Dart agreed. "Got it. Even the hot dog, score. Now let's hope I can make it back without dropping everything, but..."

*clickflash*

The courier couldn't help eyeing Veronica and then stuck out her tongue. "Pbththtth," she offered, but it was a bit late.

"S'okay, if you're up, just um, kick the tent or something, we'll be fine," she offered. "Thank you. Won't trip. See you in the morning, guys."

With that, she gingerly made her way across the beach and back up to the tents. Somehow, she managed not to drop everything. Oh wow. Lucky. A gentle nudge of the flap with her foot. "Back," she warned the mech. "One sec. One sec, let me..."

No hands to open the flap, so... duck, and she shoved her nose into the edge, pushing it aside like a dog trotting through a pet flap. "Blankets, um, jacket and look, haha, they gave me a hot dog. Some coyote's going to eat good later, lucky guy."

[Deleted]

The tent was big enough to accomodate two men, three in a pinch. Even ducked over, Dart's head would brush the top of the domed ceiling. It's grey walls and floor were clean and the smelt new, as if the tent had been purchased just for the trip. A mesh draping at the entrance would keep the mosquitoes out, though not the light from the fire. It was dim inside, and quiet.

The man already sat inside, his back to the far wall. He sat awkwardly, his legs crossed. It was not a position a mech of his size class could manage easily, and as a human he still looked hunched and ill at ease in his own form. In grudging concession to the soft tent floor he had at least rid himself of his avatar's hiking boots.

He straightened when she stepped through the flap.

"A blanket and life jackets?" he said, frowning. "They offered them to us for sleepi- what is that?"

Max eyed the hot dog. "Food. I've seen the humans eat that before. Like Miko. That was good of them to give it to you. Coyote - desert dogs?"

[Dart]

"Yes sir," Dart nodded, even as she dropped her burden down, including the hot dog. It somehow managed to stay on top of everything. "Um, wild dogs. Not wolves. They're different looking, smaller, more... grey and reddish. They tend to travel in singles or pairs, wolves run in packs. Coyotes are smart, though, totally opportunists. They're even in cities, like downtown. Pretty amazing adaptability."

"Was totally nice," she said even as she looked at the slightly burned hot dog in the slightly overtoasted bun. "Cool of them to share what they had, sir. Most humans are like that though."

Dart sunk down to the tent floor, folding her legs under her. Then she reached over to nudge the hot dog off the top of the pile and towards the flap so it didn't get accidentally tangled in anything... or stepped on. She made a note to toss it out the door later when the humans were all asleep.

Then the courier just settled down, and eyed him. His frame wasn't built to sit like this, she realized. His human avatar was, but it was like um... a solid, bulky draft horse wearing a too small saddle. He probably wouldn't like her saying that though.

She sighed, and brought her hand up to rub at her nose again, and then she just looked down and realized he was shoeless. Oh. Right. A faint smile crossed her face. She reached her hand down towards her sneaker. Wait, um, did they come off? No, they didn't. How did he take them off? His avatar was a lot more stable than hers, that was for sure. Hmmm... er, maybe just think them off?

Yep. That was it. She had mismatched socks, one grey and one lavender. The grey one had a hole in the toe. She wiggled it, peering with fascination at her toes, and then sighed and settled back on her hands. Her eyes half closed a bit; she was obviously tired herself.

"Miko's a human friend of yours, aren't they?" she wondered. "I mean, a real human, not just- a name you picked."

[Deleted]

Max nodded.

"A real human," he said. Then, since it was highly likely most of the Decepticons on Earth had at least heard of Miko anyway, he added, "Not a bad kid. Spirited."

To put it mildly.

Outside the tent the pops and crackles of the fire were quiet, muffled. The humans rustled through the cooking pack and laughed, though in hushed tones now. They were evidently trying not to disturb the occupants of the tent. Insects droned in the scrub brush and mesquite trees, which cast faint shadows on the roof of the tent where the moon shone through their fern-like leaves. A moth fluttered drowsily at the top of the tent, drumming its wings against the fabric.

The man listened carefully to the soft voices around the fire for a minute or two, his brow furrowed.

"Seems like they won't check in on us if they believe we're asleep," he finally said. He turned his gaze to the courier and regarded her critically. "How hot are your systems running now? Energy levels?"

[Dart]

"Aw, I thought so. That Miko is a real human." She looked over at him, obviously a bit delighted with the idea. "Heh. Spirited? You know, think most kids are," Dart replied. "Young animals of any species sort of are into everything. No self-preservation sometimes, they have to explore it all and um, chew on things, sir. Then again, if I was a human, I guess aliens would be as neat to me as uh... well, as humans are to me."

Even seated as she was, the courier was watching, listening. Her nose tilted to lead her more than her eyes tended to. A sniff towards the top of the the tent, she watched the moth, and then she looked over at him. "No. They probably won't until morning."

"Honestly, sir?" she admitted, and shifted her weight, still keeping her legs tucked under herself. "I'm trying not to move much... but... it's getting to where it's pretty bad. Was hot out today, and yeah, I'm really starting to run low. I- I really could use to shut this down for a while. It's sucking a ton of power, and just keeping it solid in places isn't good."

"I didn't realize how much oh, you have to pick up stuff," she said, and rubbed at her nose again with the side of her hand. "I can't believe it's made it this far."

A chuckle. "Yay for the rubber bands and paperclips, I guess. We can't shut them down, can we? I mean, I guess they have to stay up just in case something happens, just idle?"

[Deleted]

The man nodded again.

"Correct," he said. His voice took on a businesslike tone as he spoke. "Shut them down and all it would take to arouse suspicion is one glance inside the tent. It would be difficult to re-project them over this greater distance as well - quality and accuracy would be lost. Easier to just put them into what is essentially a stand-by mode. They'll still be projecting and connected to your generator, but they will draw less power. They won't move until we restore a full connection. They're essentially frozen."

He spread his hands. "Put them to 'sleep', and no one will know the difference."

With a glance at the blanket he added, "Those supplies will make it more convincing. Freeze your avatar, and I'll do the same. Then I'll escort you down to the river. It's dark now. The night should prevent anyone from getting a visual on us. I don't imagine other humans will be travelling the river at this hour."

[Dart]

The courier listened quietly, obviously intent. She was taking his words seriously, and his knowledge of the generator systems. Wish I'd had more than a crash course in this...

It made sense. It was the oddest thing to be this far away and tucked somewhere else. She felt both places; but what had gotten her through the day - focus on the people, on the humans, keep your focus on the moment. She doubted though that she would have ever attempted to go this far herself with no urging. It had shifted from just playing with the generator to survival, and Dart had survived many things just keeping on her feet and running forward.

However, she'd been quietly stressing off and on all day; trying not to muse on the limitations, simply hoping it held together, but... ugh, now that they'd settled and were no longer right in view, she found herself exhausted. All right, so what he was saying was that it was like invisible cable attached between point a and b and that to drop them would lose the contact point to this place, in the here and now. Then again, she had a feeling if she dropped it, she'd never pick it back up and that would be bad. Keep going, get to that station, and then...

Cross that river when you get to it. All she could do.

Determination flickered in her eyes, in the shift of her shoulders. A moment later Dart was digging through the supplies offered. She pushed one of the lifejackets towards him, and then after a moment, she shook out the blanket and offered it to him as well. "Here," she said, and then turned back to her own lifejacket.

She nudged it into the far corner until it was near the flap.

The courier looked a bit uncomfortable and unsure for a moment. She glanced at him, then at the walls of the tent... it took a few seconds before she nodded and stretched out on her side. She was obviously not too sure about being off her feet, at least in a way that she couldn't leap up from on a moment's notice.

Finally she sighed, curled up and crossed her arms, lying mostly on her chest, long legs stretched out behind her. Dart had crossed her arms, and then slowly settled her chin on her hands, on top of the life jacket. Her nose was tipped into that gap in the zipper, where she could catch a bit of the breeze.

"Okay... stand by mode, sir," she murmured and closed her eyes - hold. There, right there...

With a soft rattle of her spoiler, she finally lifted her chin and looked over at the mech across from her. "Got it," she murmured. "I think I got it."

[Deleted]

The last thing that Dart would hear in the tent was the rustle of the blanket as the man silently lay down and settled himself in for the night.

In the cave...

All was dark. A little moonlight shone into the entrance of the shallow cavern and illuminated the sandy beach outside of it. But deeper within the gloom was nearly impenetrable. The sound of rushing water echoed hollowly against the rock.

The big mech across leaning against the wall shifted and stirred.

He was little more than a silhouette as he settled back against the rock, resting his weight against his treads. His red optics lifted and fixed themselves down upon her face.

"Good," he said.

It was the first word he had spoken. His voice was pitched deeper than the man's had been, rumbling from the massive chest, but it carried the same neutral inflection. The mech took his rifle from his knees and dug his elbow into the wall behind him. Laboriously, he climbed to his feet, his joints groaning. The stench of raw electrics and spilt fuel hazed the air, sharp and acidic. Beneath the armoured plating things rasped, and fuel dripped.

He braced himself against his forearm for a moment, his rifle dug into the sand. He leaned on it heavily as he marshalled himself, intakes heaving through filters clogged with fluid and clotted sand. Then he gestured with the weapon, sweeping its muzzle towards the wide entrance of the cave.

"Down the beach," said Maximus. "I'll be right behind you."

[Dart]

First instincts first, Dart drew a long, chattering suck of air into her intakes. Her olfactory systems skipped into high alert. She'd been smelling it all day, the air was saturated with the reek of injury, with the slow gurgle of fuel, but... she hadn't really been concentrating on it much. It took too much for her to think both places; to try and keep up the disguise so many miles away down the canyon, to interact with her environment and the humans and Max himself that she'd actually managed to distance herself a bit from it.

Not any more. It stunk. A soft snort escaped her, then another, her spoiler flattening up against her lean shoulders.

She could taste it. Every draw of the air today had built up the glaze of scent in her systems.

Dart's first response was that she was running low on fuel; what resources they had back at their base were used by Pyrotech first, and she was left to scavenge a lot on her own. Her second thought was to recoil a bit; the mech was leaking out all over the cave floor. Patches of dirt absorbed it, but on the stones and rocks it left an oily film.

Again, she simply wondered how the mech was functional. Standing like this, with an actual moment to simply look at him; not just in an utter panic trying to respond to the right orders so she didn't end up a smear on the wall, Dart realized Maximus was nearly as massive as Megatron himself. Armored... well, like a tank, of course. A tank with terrible wounds and something stuck in him.

Slanted blue optics met his, and then she turned her head so that they broke contact. Dart was careful not to look him straight in the eye.

She let him gain his feet before she clambered up on her own. She rocked back and forth from foot to foot; her systems frantically trying to pull air. Warnings barked at her in several different places and the courier staggered a step and had to touch a hand to the stone behind her before she fully regained her feet. Her optics flickered a darker blue and then she braced herself, shook herself with a rattle and chatter of plating.

The mech was still waiting, and she nodded. "Understood, sir," she said. Everything in her was telling her to break into a trot; get things moving, air flowing past plating. Instead, she quietly turned and stepped forward with her long-legged stride reined in. She was constantly gulping at the air though, panting like a thirsty dog.

"Down the beach," she repeated, and padded out of the cave and into the sand.