These Paths We Tread (Autobot x OC)

XXXI. Trouble

"Well, I guess you'll find out," he grinned, patting her on the back as they began to separate into their groups, her team joining up with one that was under Bluestreak's command. They were a group of six—four men and two women. Like most of the young mech's groups, they were long range-types, and for that she was glad. It would suit well for their front-liner expertise; Bluestreak's team could stay back, while hers kept the target's attention and then fire when the target was distracted by the long range. That is, if things went well, anyways, and reality tended to not be so perfect. Still, it would be worth a shot, and lucky for them, Lennox was much better at the planning than she was. Already he was formulating a strategy with the others, giving out a quick path of action to follow.

"Try and keep a buddy with you, but if you become a target, split and make it harder for the Autobots. We're going to be using the simulation training room we used before we integrated with the Autobots, so expect explosions, too. "

"Got it. And, if that's the case, some of us snipers can head up to the higher levels to scout if ya need us to," one of the soldiers, a short, dark-brown-haired man grinned, and Lennox nodded in agreement.

"That's good. Just make sure you can bail if they see you. The 'buildings' in the room aren't tall enough to put you out of reach. So whoever are the snipers, you know what to do."

"Roger!" five soldiers, including the one that spoke up, saluted.

"Man, sometimes I wish I'd learned how to use the damned sniper rifles," Epps sighed, shaking his head. "I hate being a ground-pounder."

David clapped him on the shoulder, "Aw, it ain't so bad. Thing is, if you win, you can say you were in the heat and be a hot shot. And if we lose, well, you'll probably die nice and swift so you feel nothing."

"Thanks for the pep talk, David," Jackson replied, rolling his eyes. "How about we just stick with not dying and take out whoever we got as a target. I mean, we got all the guys who took out 'Cons in Mission City with us, so I'd say we have pretty good chances."

"Not to mention we've been working pretty damn hard, so it shouldn't be too bad," Anthony added, nodding, and some of the others did, too.

"Lennox," Ironhide's voice called out, and they turned to find the mech strolling towards them. "Your team will be up first. Your target is already in the room, so once you are equipped and ready, you may begin.

"Who's the target, big guy?" Fig inquired, but the black mech merely grinned.

"In order to keep a degree of realism, we've decided to withhold the names of the target. You'll know soon enough, though."

Groans and sighs came up from the group, but were quickly quieted by their Commander who ordered them to get moving. Ironhide wished them luck as he turned to the other groups. Catherine, meanwhile, pondered over who it was. She already knew Sideswipe and Smokescreen would be in it—she had heard the tactician's name right before the silver mech had been told to "shut-it" by Ratchet in the Medbay. She had a few guesses, though. The Triplets would all make for good targets, as would Knock Out or Swerve. She briefly considered the Twins—no soldier would pass up the chance to hit them with paintball shots, and they would be pummeled if they were in it. Unfortunately, the two wouldn't be able to take it seriously enough to take out any humans, and would be so distracted fighting each other that the match would be over in thirty seconds. They didn't make good practice material.

"So, any ideas on who it is, Ms. Autobot?" one of the men from Bluestreak's team inquired, and though his tone was humorous she raised a brow. He quickly raised his hands up in defense, his grin widening. "I kid! Or, well, mean no insult by it! I, personally, think it's cool you're their liaison. Bluestreak's a great guy!"