William slid into his bunk, the thin mattress creaked under his weight as he stared up at the dark ceiling of the barracks. His teammates are already asleep. He could hear Gordon snoring softly in the bunk across from him, Troy's breathing steady and even in the next bed over. But sleep is the last thing on his mind. Every piece of information he just uncovered is racing through his enhanced processor, organizing itself into a clear, cold plan.
'In my past life, I watched the movies more than once. Back then, they were just works of fiction conjured by the minds of creative authors. Now I think I know better.' He closed his eyes, recalling every detail he can from the films and animated series he'd consumed as Akira. 'Let's map out the timeline first.'
From what he gathered in the files he managed to gather, Archibald Witwicky's expedition discovered Megatron in 1913. What's important here is the glasses where the location of the AllSpark was imprinted. But as someone who already knew the plot, William didn't need it. Megatron is still frozen in Sector 7's base at Hoover Dam, and the AllSpark is being studied there too.
The Moon landing on 1969 was just a cover to investigate the Nemesis crash site where Sentinel's pillars can be found. That's if anyone on earth has space faring capabilities. So far, Starscream or Soundwave should be preventing just that.
Now it's December 2005 which means that the events of the first movie are about to unfold in a year or two. It also means that the Autobots are en route to Earth to find the AllSpark before the Decepticons do.
'If I stick to the original timeline, thousands could die as casualties in the ensuing battle for the cube. My team could be caught in the crossfire with little to no capacity to fight back. I can't let such a thing to happen... not while I'm around.'
His processors spun in overdrive while looking for the best way to deal with the upcoming storm.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Gain the power and resources necessary to survive and influence the coming conflict. Humanity's survival is a secondary benefit—my own ability to operate is paramount.
PHASE 1: ASSIMILATE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY BEFORE FORT BENNING DEPLOYMENT (NEXT 72 HOURS)
PHASE 2: LOCATE AND SECURE CYBERTRONIAN TECHNOLOGY (IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEPLOYMENT)
Here's where things get complicated. William pauses, staring at the words he just wrote. The Tomb of the Primes in Jordan—according to the second movie, holds the bodies of the original thirteen Primes. Their technology is far beyond anything on Earth. Even a single piece could probably make him powerful enough to stand toe-to-toe with a Cybertronian.
'The Tomb won't be discovered until 2009 in the movie, but since I already know its approximate location from the films. I could move to secure it early. Although that would risk altering the timeline drastically, I could care less about the plot. The problem should be if Autobots found out, they might see me as an enemy after desecrating the grave of their ancestors. But what they don't know won't harm them, right?'
Then there's the Cybertronian in the Smithsonian Museum disguised as an SR-71 Blackbird. In terms of risk and difficultly, this option is on the UP side since William wasn't really sure if the old seeker already kicked the bucket and was only resurrected by the AllSpark fragment or just hibernating.
PHASE 3: MANIPULATE THE CONFLICT TO MY ADVANTAGE
I'll need to gain access to Hoover Dam before the Autobots and the Decepticons do. Using his abilities, he could access their networks and find out the exact location where Megatron and the AllSpark are being held.
'Megatron is one thing, but I wonder if I could assimilate the AllSpark or upgrade my body beyond anything currently possible.'
William could see that Optimus Prime and his team will be arriving on Earth soon. In the movies, they worked with the military after Bee was captured. Ultimately, William could only hope for Optimus Prime to be of the same moral code because Earth would be doomed if caught unprepared.
'My teammates think I'm just a talented soldier. They have no idea what I am, what I'm becoming. And they don't need to—at least not yet.' He flexes his fingers, feeling the faint crackle of electricity dance across his skin.
Somewhere out there, Optimus Prime is flying toward Earth with his team. Somewhere else, Megatron is waiting to be awakened.
Days of back breaking training passed into weeks and soon enough, the six week long RASP training was coming to an end. The final evaluation and medical checks are completed and what remained is the ceremony where the rangers who passed are issued with the ranger tab and the scroll after deployment.
RANGERS LEAD THE WAY OF THEIR OWN ACCORD!
Rangers stood in a small formation within the presence of cadre and leaders, names are called one by one finally receiving their scroll.
"Do not embarrass the scroll." The cadre spoke with solemnity while William gave a simple nod in acknowledgement.
This simple ceremony will not be celebrated afterwards but was followed by assignment orders.
The rangers report back to their battalion for in processing. Paperwork, this could be boring to most but is very important to be done right if you do not want problems in the future. The admin tasks includes verification of rank, MOS, and security clearances. Updating contacts, pay records and leave eligibility. Assigning chain of command and duty position. Signing NDA and assignment paperwork.
The rangers are officially recognized by their assigned ranger battalion and briefed on rules, expectations, and standards.
After the boring day of filling out and signing papers is the fun part of graduating as a ranger, gear issue day. Unlike the standardized army gear, ranger gears are more specialized. It consisted of the plate carrier / body armor, helmet with mounts, night vision, comms, weapons accessories, packs, cold weather gear, and jump gear. Rangers looked like kids on Christmas morning.
Sizing and fitting, testing and tweaking ultimately leads to signing a you lose you pay contract. Which is a bummer but worth it for the gear if only you consider that you'd be fighting gigantic robots with bodies of metal and exoskeleton that ranged from one up to three inches thick.