Jacob and Diego sat the in cockpit silently as the plane ascended. They looked at the navigation instruments and were startled by their speed and the rate at which they were climbing. It was not normal for this type of aircraft, but this was no normal plane. This, was a Cybertronian. The two of them were scared to talk or to move; they had no idea what they were in or what was going on. Brian's wife and kids were still reeling in from what had happened. The youngest had tears rolling down his eyes as he buried his face in his mother's bosom, while the other two just looked around. They were in shock. Sam and Carly could only offer words of encouragement but there was nothing more they could do.
Sam got up from his seat and walked to the cockpit. He needed to know where they were going and when they would get there. He knocked on the door and opened it.
"Are you guys alright?"
Jacob and Diego looked at the man, then slowly at one another, and then back at Sam.
"Did I say something wrong?" Sam asked.
"What exactly are you not telling us? Why were we being shot at, and why did we have giant robots shooting back there?" Jacob said with a whisper-scream.
He was scared of Jetstream listening in on their conversation.
"It's a long story but we're safe now" Sam said.
"No, this is not okay. What is going on and where are we going?" Diego said.
"You guys don't know where we're going?"
Both of them shook their heads from side to side to tell him no.
"I thought you guys were in here flying the plane. What do you mean you don't know where we're going?"
"We haven't touched an instrument since we stepped in here. It's flying itself" Jacob.
"Right, right right. Jetstream?"
There was silence for a couple of seconds before the Autobot responded.
"Yes Sam?"
"Where are we going?" Sam asked.
"We're on our way to Burundi. I have the official flight path planned but we don't need to refuel because I am no ordinary plane" He explained.
"So what are we going to report to air traffic control?" Jacob asked hesitantly.
"Right now I'm flying the route to London, so you tell them that. Once we're out of their airspace, I'm altering our course and signal transponder when we divert to Burundi. I got a fake transponder because they will be monitoring the airways. All you have to do is sit back, report and make it believable. Can you do that?"
Jacob and Diego nodded slowly.
"Good, I will keep you guys updated. Feel free to use the controls at your discretion, but I'm the one flying"
"Seems you guys have got things sorted out. I'll leave you to it then" Sam said.
He tapped Jacob's shoulder twice and walked out of the cockpit.
It took a couple of hours before a rescue team found Savoy and his men. The EMP left them for dead, it cut off their communication systems and their cars; they couldn't operate. Savoy was in the car with the rescue team as they drove back to the warehouse provided for them to operate in. His phone began to ring and he already knew who was going to be on the other side.
"Shit" he cursed.
He picked up the phone and Attinger was on the other end of the call.
"Mr. Savoy?"
"Yes sir?"
"What the hell happened there?" he said with annoyance pouring through his words.
"The Autobots and their human aids got away"
"I heard there was a plane there"
"Yes but they never got on. One of the Autobots turned into a plane and flew them out"
"That's not good. They could be heading anywhere. This is all on you. Find them!" Attinger yelled over the phone.
"Yes sir" Savoy said with a roll of his eyes.
Savoy ended the call and tossed the phone into the back. He had too much on his plate to be bothered with Attinger throwing his power around. They had lost a good number of me today and they had no idea they were headed. The loss he felt was heavy today.
"Dumb robots" he cursed under his breath.
Jacob and Diego went through all the standard checks with air traffic control as they flew through international airspace. Jetstream gave them the information they required; he needed them to be consistent with what he was showing them. They were cleared and went over the ocean and out of their reach. Home free. Once they were out of their radar reach, they heaved a sigh of relief.
"We're free. Out of their reach for now" Diego said.
"Good work guys. I'll take it from here" Jetstream said over the comms.
The two pilots let go of the yoke and Jetstream took full control. He ascended sharply as he changed his route to head to Burundi. He changed his signal to display a different code from what they used out of the States. To anyone looking now, they would appear like a covert military aircraft transporting soldiers or equipment.
Once they got to their cruising altitude high above commercial flight limits, Jetstream turned off the seatbelt sign, indicating to his passengers that they could move freely now. Linda took her last son to the bathroom while Sam went over to talk with Diego and Jacob.
"How are we?" Sam asked.
"We're good. We're moving fast, he's faster than our regular plane" Jacob answered, still trying to process being inside a transformer.
"That's good. How long before we get there?" Sam questioned.
"Enough" Diego answered.
"Enough? What do you mean enough?" Sam pushed.
"We've never been to Burundi before and this plane doesn't have a limit since it doesn't run on fuel so we will get there when we get there"
"Okay" Sam said with a nod. "If you guys are hungry, we have some snacks and food. We bought it on our way here for the first flight"
"That's very kind of you Mr. Witwicky" Diego thanked.
"How are the kids and Mrs holding up after the incident?" asked Jacob.
Sam turned his head to the side so that his eye glanced at the Banks family before he gave an answer.
"I don't really know. We are all still processing it. It all happened so fast. I don't know how we're going to do a burial service" he whispered. He didn't want Linda or any of the boys hearing him discuss.
"Yeah, it's going to be tough without the body" Diego said.
"Yeah" Sam agreed.
"Who said the body wasn't here?" Jetstream said through the speakers above them.
They all jerked initially, they never expected someone to speak. It spooked them.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.
The metal panels under their feet split vertically as cool jets of air exited the retracting metal. They all moved to the extreme edges of the pathway as the metal opened up. Then a case rose from the open panels, showcasing Brian's body preserved in a freezer. The part covering the top of the case was glass, allowing them to see his head. The rest of the case was metal. It was cold, very cold; to the point that the temperature in that place dropped as Jet preserved the body of his best friend.
"Jetstream…" Sam said, lost for words. This was beyond honorable.
"That is incredible" Jacob remarked as the case began to lower itself into the depths of the plane.
"That is an honorable gesture from you" Diego commented.
"He was my brother from a human mother. It is the least I could do to honor him"
Sam placed his hand on the wall of plane as he held tears back. "Thank you Jetstream, thank you"
That was all he could say.
"You all should get some sleep. It's already night time. You need rest" Jetstream advised.
"I can sleep peacefully knowing that you're at the helm" said Diego.
The three men spread out, the pilots walked around a bit to stretch their legs before returning to the cockpit. The families ate and found comfortable positions to take up and sleep in the seats available. Jetstream had miles upon miles of ocean ahead of him to fly for hours. It gave him ample time to relive most of his memories with Brian. Every moment was going to be cherished.
****************************
Hours flew by and day broke, the sun warmed Jet's metal skin as it rose from the horizon. He rolled the shutters up slowly, allowing the sunlight to beam into the cabin as they all started waking up one by one.
"Rise and shine sleepy heads" he announced calmly through the speakers.
With prolonged yawns, movement began in the seats as people began going through their morning routine.
"Heads up everyone, wheels down in about 2 hours. We will begin our descent to our small airfield shortly"
Jacob and Diego gave him the coordinates to where they were going to land and established communication once they were within range. The people on the ground were shocked with how fast they arrived. They thought they would be a few days away. When they landed, the person who was expecting to receive them appeared. His name was Tugiramahoro. He was a man in his late twenties, a toned physique and was dark chocolate in complexion. His hair was neatly cut, he wore an open orange short sleeved shirt to expose his white singlet. He had light blue jeans on and brown boots.
The plane landed on the rough ground strip and jet did his best to make the landing as smooth as possible. The plane taxied and came to a halt. Jacob and Diego got to the door and brought it down as Tugi came to receive them.
"Welcome to Burundi. My name is Tugiramahoro. But everyone just calls me Tugi for short" he introduced himself to the Americans. He shook Sam's hand firmly as he got down.
"Nice to meet you Tugi" he said, screwing up the pronunciation. "This is my family, my wife Carly and my daughter. And this is the wife and kids of my good friend. That is Linda, the oldest boy is Richard, then Allen and Damon"
"It's a pleasure to meet you all" he said with a lovely smile. "Come, we must go quickly. I trust your flight was long. You need food, rest and new clothes" he said leading them forward.
The whole group began to move as Diego and Jacob tagged along.
"I was not expecting you for another day or so. You flew in very fast" he remarked.
"Yeah. You could say that"
Ron had made a few calls ahead of time before Cemetery Wind got to him. Tugi was one of those calls. He was a friend of a friend and he volunteered to help get them settled in. They already had a house on the edge of town prepared and it had a lot of land they could use for whatever they wanted.
"No luggage?" Tugi asked.
"None. All we have are our documents and clothes on our backs" Sam responded.
"Alright"
Jetstream watched on from the runway as the families were led away. He created two fake pilots and an airhostess as the door retracted and he taxied to the old rusty hangar on the strip. Tugi led them to an old battered truck with a white canopy over the truck bed. It was used to transport goods but this time it would be transporting people. The wives, Mary and Damon stayed in the cab while the boys toughed it out in the back.
Jetstream was rolled into the hangar and the doors closed. There was nothing but silence, leaving Jet alone to his thoughts. He just wanted the families to be safe and have a normal life, well whatever normal could be for them now.
************************************
A week had passed and the families had settled in. They got their documents into the system; the house was being put in order, and jobs were a high priority for them. They looked for any way they could apply any of the skills they had to support their livelihood. But there was one thing left to do before they could fully transition. They bought a coffin and dug a grave at the back of the house. It was time for Brian to be laid to rest.
At first, Linda couldn't believe that Brian's body had been brought with them and broke into tears. At least she and her boys could say a proper goodbye. They came to the hangar, and Diego, Sam, Tugi and Jacob transferred the body into the coffin and began to drive home. Once they had put some distance between themselves and the hangar, Jetstream transformed into his vehicle form and began to follow. There was no way he was missing his best friend's burial.
He followed their vehicle back to the house, where they took out the coffin and placed it on a dressed stand. The grave had been dug, a tombstone had been carved, and men were around to lower the coffin. Linda wore a black dress, and the boys had black shirts and pants on. Sam, Carly and Mary put on as much black as possible, and Diego and Jacob were also present for the funeral.
Linda officiated the whole thing, tears running down her cheeks from the moment they brought Brian's body. The boys didn't fare any better; tears streamed down the sides of their faces as they came to terms with not being able to see their dad anymore. Sam did his best to comfort them and promised to be the father figure they needed for as long as he breathed. Jetstream parked behind them and watched; he was full of pain, anger and grief. He blamed himself for bringing Brian into all this. If he hadn't, the kids would still have their father.
The service only lasted about an hour and he was lowered into the ground. They all went into the house for the night as the coffin was covered, but Jet didn't leave. HE was there until the men were done working and left. He just kept on staring at the tombstone; his head filled with so many what-if scenarios where Brian survived. He was there for three days before anyone said a word to him. No one really knew what to say to a grieving 7-ton warrior robot.
Linda walked to Jetstream cautiously in the cool of the evening; the black Dodge Viper had been left to the elements for a few days now. She placed her hand over his dust-covered handles and opened the door. He was confused; what did she want to do? Did she want to blame him for all this? If she did, he would not shy away from it. He was the cause. Linda took a deep breath and a big gulp, then placed her hands on the steering wheel before she finally broke the silence.
"When my husband told me he made a friend at work, I never thought it would be an alien from space" she started.
"He couldn't stop talking about you for days; he brought you up almost every night when we spoke. You two had a special bond. He spoke about you even more than his other friends; he even told the boys bedtime stories about you. He was truly happy when he spoke about you" Linda said as tears began to roll down her face.
A low hum left the vehicle, expressing Jetstream's emotions.
"But what I'm trying to say is that you're one of the best things that happened to him. He loved you like a brother in arms. I know you might be blaming yourself for what has happened but don't. He told me he would lay down his life for you and you would do the same for him"
"Keep on living your life Jet. And honor his memory in everything you do. Through them, he lives on"
"Thank you Linda. It means a lot to me"
She nodded and took her hands of the wheel as she cleaned her eyes.
"What do you intend to do now?" she asked as she sniffled with her nose.
"I don't know. I plan to lay low for a while as we work through this ordeal"
She nodded her head. It was a solid plan.
"I hope we're not interrupting anything" Sam said as he led his family and the boys to meet Jet.
"Not at all" Linda said as she stepped out of the car.
Jetstream transformed into his robot form, evidently becoming taller and bulkier due to the parts he gained from his new aeroplane form. He went down on one knee and looked at them all for what may be the last time.
"We just wanted to thank you Jet for all that you've done for us. You protected us, flew us out of the country and helped us start a new life here. It's all because of you and the rest of the bots" Sam said.
"Thank you for what you did for my Dad" Richard said.
Jet looked at the small human and nodded. His words warmed his spark more than he knew.
"It was the least I could do for him"
"What are your plans?" Carly asked.
"I'm going to disappear. Coordinate with the rest of the bots and crack this whole thing. But for now, I must go"
"Will we ever see you again?" said Sam.
"I don't know. If fate brings our paths together once more, then so be it. But if it doesn't, then this is good bye"
"We understand. You have done your best for us and our safety" Linda said.
Jetstream's optics looked at all their faces one last time before transforming back into a Viper. The sky had begun to darken as the sun faded from their view. His lights came on and his engine roared in their ears one last time. He reversed and rolled off the property, giving them one last rev as he went further from them.
Sam's phone was notified as he checked to see a good sum of money dropped into his account and a notification about a crypto currency.
'I don't know if this would help but it is suspected to blow up. I'd suggest investing in it' the text read.
"You sneaky bot" Sam said with a grin.
"What is it?" Carly said.
"Nothing. Everything is fine. Everything is just fine" he said with a relaxed smile.
They watched Jetstream drive off until their eyes could no longer see him, then walked back into the house one by one. This may be the last time they ever get to see a bot again, but this is far from the end of their story. It was only the beginning of a new chapter.