The next day, Farmee stroked his pearl necklace. He could command a skyship, there was no question about that, but he now had strangers under his command and he didn’t know everyone’s skills. “Nervous, son?” asked the bass voice of Gorfanth. Farmee turned to see Gorfanth and Lardeth standing together.
“…I don’t know why,” he muttered. “I commanded my ship just fine back home. So why am I nervous again?”
“Two reasons, I’ll bet you,” replied Lardeth. “One: you’re commanding a squad with so few people from home. Two: this is a proper combat situation and we didn’t exactly train you to fight other powers. Three: you’re heading to unfamiliar territory. To not be nervous now would be a sign of insanity.”
“But, like we always say,” said Gorfanth, “nervousness does not mean cowardice. And you, Farmee, are no coward. You stepped up to the plate numerous times.” Farmee thought back to his Tour and had to admit, Gorfanth was right.
“Then I’ll step up to the plate now,” he said with the familiar Royana confidence.
“That’s my boy!” cheered Gorfanth as he ruffled his son’s hair.
An hour later, Farmee met with his team, consisting of Adam, Brendan, Death, Delselii, Eelinape, Frenzy, Galvatron, Gorfanth, Henry, Jack, Jandro, Jason, Joshua, Knuckles, Lardeth, Liam, Megatron, Pofomo, Hot Rod, Sam, Tails, and the Doctor. Megatron and Galvatron stood slightly apart from the rest of the group as the Doctor twirled a key between her fingers. “You sure you don’t wanna see inside?” Frenzy asked Megatron.
“Not particularly,” replied Megatron. “One: the interior dimensions may be bigger, but the door is still too small for me. Two: the Doctor is still learning as she goes. Galvatron, Hot Rod, and I will take a rift and meet you there. Three: after that nonsense with the Daleks, the less I see of her home, the better.”
“Can’t help but feel a bit offended that it was the DALEKS that put you off looking inside the TARDIS,” scoffed the Doctor.
“I’ve had enough of your native universe in general, Doctor.”
“Well, if you’re not gonna peek, I will,” declared Galvatron.
“Right, everyone inside!” called Farmee. The Doctor opened the TARDIS and let everyone in.
“HOLY MOLY!” said Delselii.
“What do you think, dear?” Brendan asked Jandro.
“You said it was bigger on the inside,” replied Jandro, “but I clearly underestimated HOW big inside it is! It’s like the bridge of a ship!”
“And there’s plenty more rooms to explore,” said Joshua.
“You’ve redecorated,” mused Death. “…I don’t like it.”
“My TARDIS, my desktop theme!” said the Doctor.
“Well, I like it!” chuckled Jack. “Has that retro future feel to it!” The TARDIS console room certainly had the aesthetics of 50’s science fiction set in the future. Galvatron and Hot Rod peeked inside.
“Nice!” said Hot Rod.
“That’s not actual 21st century tech, you know,” snarked Galvatron.
“Dude, shut up,” grunted Knuckles. The Doctor then went around the console and fiddled with the controls.
“All right, coordinates set,” she said. “Barring any trouble, we’ll get there before the Transformers do. Jason, the doors please.”
“At once, Doctor,” replied Jason. He shut the door, then the Doctor pulled a lever and the time rotor began going up and down while the engines of the TARDIS made their familiar Vworp Vworp noise!
“I never get tired of that!” chuckled the Doctor. She made a few adjustments to keep the TARDIS stable as it went to another universe.
In a port for a city, the people were simply minding their own business. The old walls were still being torn down with one section being preserved for historical purposes. The port itself was circular with a walking bridge spanning the entire length of the waters. The bridge had a pair of towers spaced equally apart, giving the appearance of a face from a bird’s eye view. The people there had long, pointy ears, but they were not Elves. It’s not known what the people really were, though they DO call themselves human. A squad of the city’s law enforcement was joking around with some citizens. As they laughed, a woman spoke up. “Okay, okay, how about this?” she giggled before clearing her throat. She then adopted a gruff voice. “Fear not the men in red. Sure, there are occasional complaints about their overaggressive policing, wanton destruction of people’s property during raids, mass arrests, misplaced loved ones and what-not. Hey, we’re only human! Running a city can be tougher than it looks! Imagine how much worse it would be if the Metalheads were in charge!” Everyone laughed at her impression.
“That’s pretty good!” laughed a law enforcement officer. “All right, how about-?” The laughter died when they heard a Vworp and what sounded like metal shifting. They all turned to see Hot Rod, Megatron, and Galvatron shift to robot mode and land near the tower as the TARDIS materialized.
“Unauthorized Port Arrival!” called another law officer.
“Detain them!” called their commander. They rushed off to where the Transformers and the TARDIS landed. Farmee and the Doctor led everyone out, then they heard the sounds of gun safeties being disengaged. “HAVEN CITY PORT AUTHORITY!” shouted the commander. “HANDS ABOVE YOUR-!”
“About time too!” snapped Farmee, thinking quickly. “That uniform’s filthy!”
“What?!” protested the Commander.
“And that gun!” snapped the Doctor as she tore a gun out of a private’s hands. “Who taught you how to clean it?!” She pointed out the carbon build-up in the barrel.
“Gotta say, I didn’t expect Project: TARDIS and Project: Cybertron to be witnessed by a sham of a platoon!” grunted Farmee.
“Project-?!” asked the Commander.
“Special Military Projects from Haven City Command,” Megatron said in a droning voice. “Project required outside help from Commander Farmee of Beyond City Command and Special Agent, designation: Doctor.”
“And I have to say, I didn’t think any branch of Haven City’s law enforcement would be so disorganized!” snapped Farmee. “Who’s in charge of this unit?! They should be ashamed of themselves!”
“I’M in charge here, and I didn’t get any notice of any military project!” snapped the Commander. “Let me see your authorization!” The Doctor handed over her psychic paper and the Commander read the credentials. His face blanched when he saw what he needed to see. He returned the paper and saluted. “Apologies, Commander Farmee,” he said. “I was not informed of your arrival.”
“And would an enemy inform you of their arrival so you can do some last-minute cleaning up before their invasion?!” snapped Farmee. “I need a drink after this fiasco! Where’s the nearest watering hole?!”
“Over there, Sir,” replied the Commander. “The Naughty Ottsel, run by Precursor Daxter.”
“Fine! Don’t bother with an escort! I’ll go there myself! Get your men in order!” Farmee “angrily” led his team off the bridge with the Transformers marching like military machines under their control. The law officers blinked.
“…Sir, pardon my Metal Head, but…what the hell just happened?!” asked the private.
“As the Precursors are my witness,” replied the Commander, “I haven’t the foggiest notion.
Once he was sure everyone was far enough away, Farmee released a breath. “That was some quick thinking, Lad,” said Liam.
“I was reminded of a similar situation back home,” replied Farmee. “It felt appropriate at the time.”
“I did a similar thing during a mess with a race called the Haemovores during World War II,” recalled the Doctor. They then arrived in front of a saloon with a grinning rodent’s head.
“The Naughty Ottsel,” remarked Megatron. “Run by a human that took a bath in a substance known as Dark Eco and turned into an orange furred hybrid of an otter and a weasel, hence the name Ottsel.”
“Lord Megatron, quick question,” said Frenzy, “how do you know so much about this city?” Megatron winced.
“I…well…” Megatron finally sighed. “Jak II: Renegade was my favorite game of the Jak and Daxter video game franchise.”
“…Big bad Megatron…played video games?!” yelped Death.
“That was when I was an Autobot during the Great War!” protested Megatron.
“HEY!” called a voice. Everyone looked around. “Down here, you dinguses!” Farmee looked down to see what he presumed to be an Ottsel in pants and wearing goggles on his head and a frown on his face.