They gave us an hour to get ready. I wondered why so long, but I found out it was because we were waiting for Sky Lynx. It turned out he was on another mission and had just been just recalled. I didn't know it before but he was apparently an Autobot as well.
Anyway, that gave Susan and I time to get ready, and get familiar with our equipment.
We were given what Susan said looked like catsuits. If it were me, I would have said they were more like black wetsuits made out of Lycra. One of the sergeants with us explained that they were flexible armor suits based out of an Autobot-produced material.
I was told the Autobots have been trying to help us upgrade our technology. Foremost, of course, was military material. Ultra Magnus had put Perceptor in charge of the project, and one of the first things that Perceptor produced were these armor suits. Cybertronians, both the Decepticons and the Autobots, felt that humans were too frail to be effective against them and be of any use in a fight. The suits were designed to help with that. They were made of a fabric tightly woven out of almost unbreakable carbon and polymer nanotubes that had a kind of molecular memory. The tubes, once fixated to their final form, would remain in that form unless it was bent or moved by a force from inside the suit, at rates of motion within the human range, i.e. the speeds and range of motion at which a human moves. The upshot of it was that the suit was fully flexible but if hit with an object from the outside moving at, say, 100 miles an hour, or if a pressure of, say, one cubic ton was applied to it, the material wouldn't budge. It would be like trying to hit a person wearing a medieval suit of armor with a two-by-four. The tight weave and the chemical treatment it underwent prevented it from being torn or ripped or penetrated. Their nanotube material and the selectively porous weave, however, were designed to slough off the body's natural heat or keep it in as needed so as to keep the human wearing it at a constant 72 degrees, regardless whether they were in sub-zero conditions, or were air-dropped into the middle of the Sahara.
The skin-tight cut of the suit was also made to be form fitting and self-supporting. Human skin would chafe if a person wore regular clothes long enough - a pinched belt, a tight bra strap or an ill-fitting blouse or shirt would start being uncomfortable eventually. Except for the front zip, the suit had no buttons, zippers, pockets or flaps to break the smooth underside of the fabric, so it rode the person like a second skin, moving with the person's skin instead of sliding against it. A human wearing the ultra-comfortable suit could remain in it for weeks at a time, and not experience any kind of discomfort, except, of course from some minor irritation coming from sweat, naturally-sloughed off skin or other debris. If a human didn't need to go to the bathroom, she could, theoretically, stay in the suit indefinitely. But if a human did need to go to the bathroom... I checked and the one zipper it had in front apparently extended all the way underneath, over and then to the lower part of her back. So, although she might occasionally need to pull the zip open all the way to the back to relieve herself, the person need not take off the suit.
It was because of this skintight design that the instructions on the package said to take off all jewelry and clothes before putting it on. I told Susan this.
"Even underwear?" Susan asked.
"I guess."
"Well, okay. But... you first!" she giggled.
I made a humorous face at her, but started shedding all my clothes.
With my back turned towards her, I took my time and made sure my dress blues were properly hung and then I put on the suit.
It felt like I was putting on a body stocking, and, although it was pretty tight, it was also pretty comfortable. And it indeed stuck like a second skin that fit from the very top of the neck down. The part for the feet was like vibram shoes, with room for each toe. I could actually discern my toenails a little bit - that was how close fitting it was. The integrated gloves were the same thing, which was cool. But I saw in the mirror that it was like that all over. My ass cheeks (and ass-crack) were clearly outlined because of the zipper, but I didn't feel it. The skin-tight design was also the same way with my boobs. At least my nipples and areola weren't discernible. I touched them and felt a kind of shield.
I looked at Susan, and she looked incredible! It was like she wasn't wearing a suit. Instead, it was like, from the neck down, she had covered herself in black paint instead. Thank God the material was matte-black. I could just imagine what the effect would have been like if the suit was in a different color or had a wet or shiny look. She saw me looking and gave me a sexy wink.
I put on my vest. It was stretchable and, when zipped up, it was really tight-fitting. But with the suit, it didn't feel uncomfortable at all. From there, all of my equipment was attached or kept since our suits had no pockets or other places we could put stuff in. My rank and name was on a patch Velcro'd onto the vest. Good.
I slipped on the black boots, with uppers that were shiny and stiff like plastic, and extended almost up to my knees. They sort of had the effect of ski boots, with an articulated ankle joint. Later, I was told the stiff construction would prevent any twisted ankles or things like that.
I turned and helped Susan with her vest and boots. With it on, at least Susan didn't look like she wasn't wearing clothes anymore, and I could look at her now without blushing. Reaching up, I got our helmets from the top of a shelf.
They looked like sleek, high-tech motorcycle helmets more than anything else. The slips of paper inside them explained how they worked.
They were as impact-resistant as the suit. Their edge attached to the neck of the suit and the clear visor would allow all light to pass through, except for those wavelengths that were inimical to the wearer's eyes. They also had photomultiplier filters that would allow the wearer to see virtually in the dark. And with it down, it formed an airtight seal. They had little electric air pumps that would suck air through unobtrusive vents on the sides of the helmet, filtering the air so that only uncontaminated, breathable air was pulled through, and it expelled waste gases at the same time. They even had battery-assisted "oxygen accumulators" that would speed up air intake and accumulate oxygen before releasing it into the helmet. This allowed the wearers to breathe normally even in thin, rarefied air. The instructions said they could even work underwater, extracting oxygen from virtually any fluid, provided, of course, the fluid had any to begin with, and protect the wearer from any poisonous or dangerous substances.
There was also an audio and video system in the helmet, allowing the user to remain in audio and video contact with the outside world via a radio in the collar, as well as a little speaker near the chin and directional microphones on the outside, approximately where the ears should be, which allowed the user to hear and to speak to others normally, even if the visor was down. These were controlled by eight hidden buttons where the person's temples would be - four buttons on each side.
The slip of paper also explained that the thermal heat radiated by the user essentially powered the helmet. A substantial amount of the heat generated by the human body was radiated out through the breath, or from the scalp on the top of the head. The helmet was designed to capitalize on this, absorbing the heat and using it to power the helmet's filters and other electronic equipment. This also had the added side effect of keeping the helmet from becoming hot inside or fogging up.
Susan and I tried the helmets on, and they seemed to work fine. We took them off and hung them from hooks on the back of the vests. Susan also picked up some of her camera equipment, put them in her vest, held my hand and led us out of the room. She read the helmet instructions, which she had in her hand while we walked. She was clearly trying to memorize the key combinations to operate the helmet. I didn't have to - although it was complicated, I seemed to have already memorized it.
Susan sighed. "I guess we're all set then," she said. She gestured to her little car. "Come on, Bee," she said, and we left our room, with Betty dutifully following us.
“You sure you want to bring Betty along,” Susan whispered. “What if she can’t handle..”
I shook my head. “She insisted on coming. I couldn’t stop her. You insisted on coming, and she doesn’t want you to go without her around to protect you.”
Susan sighed and shrugged in resignation. She reached back and patted Betty on the hood.
Arriving at the pad, we saw the rest of the team outfitted just like us. A couple of them ran over to us, and gave us our weapons and equipment, which we dutifully put away in our vests, or on the belts they provided. I cinched my belt around my now-narrower waist, and put on the smaller thigh and arm belts. I was now fully equipped, weapons-wise, but they only gave Susan a knife and a small sidearm (they probably saw Susan’s handgun training in her file so they knew she could handle handguns). I couldn't identify the make and model of our weapons, so I supposed they were also part of Perceptor's "upgrade project." But pains were obviously taken to make their operation and appearance similar to their regular human-made equivalents. What was unusual was a big knife that looked like a cleaver or maybe a long machete. I didn't know what it was for, but I was told it was made from a special laminated steel that could cut most metals - good for use against robotic types.
The air felt a little cool on my face so I instinctively turned up my vest's collar. Then I belatedly noticed that I wasn't feeling cold in my suit at all. Hmmm. I did some experimental jumping jacks and was delighted to find my suit to be fully flexible, comfortable and cool. I grinned at Susan. She copied my moves and giggled. I knew how she felt. These suits were great! We had to stop, though, because of the vests and belts.
I walked over to introduce ourselves to the rest of the team, which we found was called “X Flight,” and we went over what I intended to do. Someone brought out a geodetic-type map, and we went over the details. There were nods all around. Ultra Magnus and some of the other Autobots came over and I explained our strategy. Ultra Magnus agreed.
We heard what sounded like a scream from high up in the sky. Looking up, we saw what looked like a very large mechanical pterodactyl circling overhead. It was at least the size of an A300 plane.
"Sky Lynx," Ultra Magnus said. Ahhh!
Sky Lynx swooped down, and, with several beats of its mighty, mechanical wings, it touched down on its claws almost right beside us. To say that he was gigantic was an understatement. Even compared to Ultra Magnus. But then again, he had to be in order to be able to function as the Autobots' transport. He had been away helping to establish NEST’s first base on the moon, and was recalled specifically for this mission.
Up close, he didn't entirely look like a pterodactyl. He was more like a cross between a space shuttle and a flying dinosaur.
"What up," the giant robot said mildly.
"Sky Lynx," Ultra Magnus said, "I'd like to introduce you to Captain RC McKenzie. She will be leading the human contingent of our team."
The big robot's beak turned towards me, and nodded.
"Pleased ta meetcha, Captain," he said via some hidden speakers as his beak didn't move. Now, where did he get that accent?
"Likewise, Sky Lynx," I responded. "Were you briefed about the mission?"
"I have most of it, but not all the details."
"We can brief each other while en route, then."
"In which case, y’all better climb on board." With that, he lowered a ramp, and we all climbed in.
As we were climbing up, some of the others rolling up on ATVs gestured.
"Would you two need ATVs as well, Captain?" one of them asked.
"No need, Private, we have our own transportation." I pointed to Betty and he nodded, not making any further comment.
From inside, he looked like a military cargo plane. It was quite a large cargo hold, however, with lots of extra room despite the thirty humans, our equipment, the Autobots and Betty.
"All right, Lynx," Magnus said. "Let's roll out."
"Hang on, guys," Sky Lynx said, and took off.
-----
Though Sky Lynx transformed into something that looked a lot like a space shuttle, he took off like a conventional plane. However, once in the sky, the rocket engines on his backside fired, and we rocketed to our destination. Apparently, those were live rockets and not just for show.
I could feel a dull thrumming throughout the plane, and it somehow didn't feel right.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Ultra Magnus?"
Magnus nodded, knowing what I was about to ask. "Yes, Captain, I know. The form Lynx has chosen is not exactly suited for supersonic flight, let alone ultrasonic. But don't worry. "
At Mach five-plus speeds, we went up, and past the Karman Line, going ballistic and crossed the length of the country pretty quickly. Sky Lynx had to go ballistic, otherwise the sonic boom might be so bad it would affect people on the ground.
We got there in less than a half hour, and eventually re-entered atmosphere and landed at a large field a few miles from our destination. Lynx lowered his ramp and we climbed down. As soon as we cleared his ramp, he'd take off and start a survey of the immediate area. Being as large as he was, he wasn't going to be helpful in the coming encounter.
I said to Magnus that the enemy had surely seen us land, but he assured me they didn't - Sky Lynx knew some tricks, he said.
The Autobots waited as the soldiers brought our their ATVs. Susan and I waited for Betty, wondering what could be keeping her.
In a few minutes, after everyone was out and ready, Betty rolled down the ramp.
We could see that Betty had changed a bit. It was like her tires were lower now, or rather, it was like she was riding on extended shock absorbers, and her tires were wider, like they were balloons that were puffed out with extra air.
"Wow, Bee," Susan said. "What did you do?"
"I am sorry, Ms. Susan, but my form was not suited to off-road travel. So I made changes. I hope the changes do not displease you too greatly."
"I think you look cool, Bee. Kick-ass cool!" Susan grinned.
"But, Bee," I said, "How? I mean..."
"I do not know myself, Captain," she said. "I knew my dilemma, and thought of ways around it, and I found myself changing..."
I looked at Ultra Magnus, and saw a look of recognition on his face.
"Well," I said, deciding to put this aside for now, "we'll try and figure it out later. Right now, we have something else that's more important."
I was big and tall enough that I could easily manage to climb into the substantially-raised passenger door, but Susan wasn't. Betty helped by tilting to her left, and Susan was able to climb into the driver's side door without too much difficulty.
"Thanks, Bee," Susan huffed, and buckled up.
I buckled up as well and belatedly noticed that Betty's regular seatbelts had been changed as well to four-point racing harnesses.
I took out the map, conveniently rolled up and tucked into a pocket of the vest. I signaled through the window that we were ready, and everyone else made similar thumbs-up gestures.
"All right!" Magnus called. "Autobots! Transform and roll out!"
With that cool high-tech sound I will never get used to, the Autobots converted into their vehicular forms and we went to our rendezvous with Venus de Milo and her friends.
-----
My human team had already deployed into their appointed hiding spots while most of the Autobots stayed hidden below a little rise in the "kill zone." Susan and I sat tight inside Betty, waiting for the opportune time to catch the Venus statue alone.
"Enemy approaching, Captain," one of my guys said over the radio. "I count... thirty-two. That's all of them. They're pretty much bunched up in a group. They're clearly not expecting any opposition. Either that or they're totally clueless."
"I vote for clueless," someone interjected.
"Keep the chatter down," I growled (though I suspect it wasn't as effective as I would have liked). "Report if they are in the Zone."
I called the tall robot on my radio. "Magnus, are your guys ready?"
"We are ready, Captain."
"Okay. Spotters, report!"
"The targets have cleared our northwest perimeter. They've passed us and they're now ten feet into the zone. Fifteen... twenty-five... fifty... one hundred feet... Captain, they're now a hundred and fifty feet in!"
"Deploy your picket line and wait for my order. Magnus, your turn. Go!"
Ultra Magnus raised his arm. "Autobots, engage!"
From their scattered positions, the giant robots came out from behind the hill, with their weapons blazing. Despite their size, they moved remarkably fast.
For their part, the statues brought out weapons as well that looked more like human weapons. But though they looked like conventional guns, they clearly were not, as we saw one of the Autobots hit on the shoulder by what looked like something that came from a rocket launcher. He spun and hit the dirt hard.
Venus de Milo and her companions rushed the Autobots, negating the effectiveness of most of the Autobots' weapons as they were not designed for close-in fighting. Smaller and more nimble, the Venus statue and her friends were able to get under the defenses of the Autobots, and Magnus and his soldiers were only able to hold their own through their sheer power and size.
The fight was largely reduced to fisticuffs, and though they seemed as durable and as strong as the Autobots, they were still smaller and therefore less massive. The Autobots were therefore able to throw them around with relative ease.
Magnus, using his more massive size, easily took hold of one of Venus' robotic arms and, with a well-timed throw, threw the animated statue in our direction. It landed about twenty feet in front of Betty.
I jumped out of Betty and ran towards my robotic nemesis.
"Bee," I called back, "keep Susan inside! Keep her safe!" Later on, I heard from Susan that Betty's doors locked and didn't open despite direct orders from her.
Running over, I saw Venus lying on its face. It wasn't moving. Amazingly, Magnus was able to render her unconscious. Still, I unlimbered my rifle with the sabot launcher.
A kind of anger I didn't know before filled me as I stood over the thing. This was what took away my manhood, what took away what I was. I was literally shaking. But I was a soldier above and beyond everything else, my sense of duty riding herd on whatever I was feeling. I had a mission: get the cube.
I took a deep breath, and looked it over. It... she was wearing the same bikini she was wearing before, but she was wearing high boots this time, sort of like riding boots, as well as a couple of other new things.
She had a knife belt strapped on her thigh and a weapons belt around her waist. She was also wearing a couple of bandoleers of what looked like shotgun shells like Rambo, and a thin rocket launcher slung around her shoulder. She looked real badass, actually. What ruined it was this cheap, nylon blue-and-yellow belt pouch or fanny pack. As I looked at her, I felt something similar to what I felt when I was first hit with the AllSpark lightning bolts. The familiar feeling of warmth.
I kneeled and looked her over. Yes, it's coming from her. But where, exactly?
I ran my gloved hands over her. I couldn't touch anything through the gloves, but the feeling persisted. I realized it was strongest around the fanny pouch so I slung my launcher over my shoulder and unsheathed my big knife.
I sawed through the nylon belt of the fanny pack and had the belt cut in short order. I slipped it from her waist, unzipped the bag and saw her black cube. I called to Betty and Susan, to say that I got the cube. Betty opened her passenger door and tilted herself so Susan could step out. The feeling was coming from the cube. What does that mean?
I was throwing Susan the pouch when a robotic hand reached out to grasp my arm. My throw was knocked off target and the pouch went into the high weeds. "Get it Suze!"
"Hello," the statue said in that familiar metallic voice. "Who are you, and what did you do to my cube?" She had turned over and was holding my arm in an iron grip. If not for the suit, I think my arm would already be broken in two.
I put my foot on the statue's chest and pushed off, somehow wrenching my arm out of her grip. I guess I didn't know my own strength.
I swung my rifle back up but the statue smashed it with her fist, and pieces of the rifle flew apart. I swung the now-useless rifle like a baseball bat and hit the statue on the side of her head. I moved back a dozen feet.
Like a boxer that was hit on the side of his head, the statue staggered, but she shook her head, shaking off my shot, and slowly stood up. I guess I didn't know my own strength… I was repeating myself.
The statue was tall, but I wasn't exactly a midget. I stood straight, bringing my full six-feet-nine to full display. We regarded each other across the grassy field.
Several hundred feet away, my people and the Autobots were in deadly battle with Venus's robotic statues, but the statue and I were beyond that. Our world had shrunk to just her and me, my simmering anger only increasing, and the statue looking at me, perhaps wondering if I was a midget Autobot, or a large human. I didn't care. All I wanted was a chance at revenge.
I found myself sweating - it was so warm. Something must be wrong with my suit. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I took off the helmet and threw it aside.
I swung my head left and right, freeing my long platinum hair, and the statue was taken aback.
"Well, what a beauty you are. What are they doing now, throwing fashion models at me? I, the goddess of love and beauty having to do battle with such pulchritude. What irony."
"You are not Venus!" I screamed. "You're just an imitation, and not even an accurate one! You're a Cybertronian fake!"
"Oh, deary me. Why so hot under the collar, honey? What have I ever done to you?"
"Don't you know?" I screamed. I felt like I was burning. Something really was wrong with my suit.
Venus looked at me breathing hard. Clearly, she was surprised. But she ignored that, and brought up her launcher. A rocket hit me on my left shoulder and I flew back.
"RC!" Susan screamed.
Thank god for the suit. I would not have survived that if not for the suit, although the suit's shoulder was shredded.
I don't know why I did, but I brought up my right arm, and my suit's right glove exploded and then I saw Venus' side hit. She staggered back, giving me an opening. What did I do!
I brought up my cleaver-like knife, lifted it and brought it down with all my strength. Venus brought up her left arm and I was only able to cut through it partway, maybe a third of the way. The statue-robot roared in both pain and rage, and kicked my legs out from under me. I fell and felt my suit tear some more. The statue backpedaled and stayed out of range of my knife, cradling her injured arm.
Before she could do anything further, I rolled on the ground, got some more distance between us and fetched up against a large boulder. I scrambled behind it, fully knowing it wouldn't provide much protection against the statue's launcher. My movements were starting to become slower, and I was overheating. I groped around my suit's collar and switched it on.
"Susan, come in! Do you have the cube?"
"RC! I got the cube, it's in Bee's glove compartment."
"Get the cube to Magnus! Now!"
"Not without you!"
"Shut up and do what I say, Suzy! Now!"
Susan switched off and I couldn't get her to answer again. I therefore switched my attention to the more immediate danger.
I was still feeling hot and had half a mind to tear off the rest of the suit. But I was naked underneath, so I just kept it on.
I thought of what I did. Somehow, I shot the statue without a gun. "What did I do?" I asked myself, and looked at my right hand. Experimentally, I put my index and middle fingers together but nothing happened. I folded my ring and baby fingers, and extended my thumb like the hammer of a pistol, like a kid playing cops and robbers. But nothing happened. I shook my hand, bent my wrist. But nothing happened. What did I do before!
I needed some sort of weapon so I went for my belt and got out my sidearm instead. Sure, I knew it was one of Perceptor's new-and-improved weapons, but I doubted that it would be completely effective against the statue, so I brought out the high-tech machete as well.
I peeked over the rock and saw the statue creeping up. She was crouched and moving slowly, but going by her expression, she was actually in pain. She had her damaged arm against the "wound" in her side, and they were leaking a clear reddish fluid like motor oil. In her working hand, she had her launcher. She saw me and let loose one of her rockets. Her aim was off and it hit the turf in front of my boulder.
It was my turn, so, even as soil rained around me, I aimed and fired at the statue. Despite my growing lethargy, I was on target and hit her on her torso, walking my bullets from her lower hip to the middle of her chest.
Like in the restaurant, little bits of rock were pinged off the statue, but it wasn't really making any kind of impact other than that.
Frustrated at the ineffectiveness of the gun, I reloaded, clicked it to automatic and fired at full auto.
I didn't count on the gun firing like a machine gun, so I inadvertently used up the thirty-round clip in one burst three seconds long. Looking over to the statue, I saw that I was effective. The statue's right leg was "bleeding." I clipped on a new cartridge, and made sure the gun was now on semi-automatic.
The statue looked at me and screamed. She raised her launcher, but before she could fire, an Autobot rammed into her side.
-----
It was the first time I saw this particular Autobot. By it's lines, it was a female Autobot, the only one I'd seen so far, and a very shapely one, too.
It... she had tackled the statue. She did it easily as she was more massive than the seven-foot-tall statue, about the height of Perceptor, but she was less bulky than any of the others, her lines and dimensions more akin to a slim human female rather than a blocky human male. She wore a banana-yellow helmet with what appeared to be little horns that she used to ram the Venus statue. She wore it over what looked like short-cut straight brunette hair. She also had a very human-like face that looked similar enough to Susan's that you would have assumed it was just Susan wearing makeup, a wig and a robot costume. But the robot was at least as tall as Perceptor, and her face, neck, upper arms and thighs, though quite human-like, were colored dull chrome.
Her lower arms were encased in something like squarish, banana-yellow forearm guards over black elbow-length or opera gloves, and her torso was encased in a banana-yellow one-piece breast and back plate (something I would later find is called a "cuirass") that looked like a Volkswagen’s passenger cabin, leaving her waist and hips free of any robotic attachments. The bulge of the cabin's roof gave her chest the impression of breasts.
She wore what appeared to be banana-yellow bikini bottoms and oversized knee-high boots shaped like yellow car fenders over black thigh-high stockings. Hanging off the outside part of the boots and attached to the back shoulders near the yellow pauldrons (armor pieces for the shoulders) were car tires. And on her back was what appeared to be a yellow car hood divided in two, and looked like a beetle's opened elytra or wing cases. She looked like a sexy June bug, but because of the black and yellow motif, I guess she looked more like a honeybee.
It's got to be...
Susan ran over and grabbed me around the neck.
"You okay?" she asked, helmet faceplate up, and kissed me.
"I think so..."
"Bee!" Susan exclaimed to the yellow Autobot. "She's not hurt. Let's go!"
The yellow Autobot looked towards us and, in a moment, with that sound that I was already familiar with, she changed into Susan's yellow beetle. She backed off the prone, unmoving Venus de Milo statue and zoomed to us. With me helping not at all, Susan pushed me inside the passenger side - not a small thing given my size, and she climbed in through the other door.
As soon as we were in, Betty zoomed away, her over-inflated tires making the ride extraordinarily comfortable given we were running over rocks and broken turf.
I touched my collar again and switched on my suit’s throat mike. "McKenzie to Ultra Magnus." I had to labor to keep myself moving. I was so tired!
"I am a little busy at the moment, Captain," I couldn't miss the ironic tone.
"We have the cube, Magnus," I said, "and we incapacitated the thing."
"The Venus de Milo simulacrum?"
"Who else?"
"Excellent work, Captain. Where are you now? We will come and get you."
"We're at a hillock northeast of your position, and we are mobile."
"In that case, make your way to the extraction point. Sky Lynx will bring you back to base. Get the cube away from here and bring it to Perceptor. Immediately."
"You guys will be okay?"
"Oh, I think your people and mine can manage, Captain."
I nodded at that, which Ultra Magnus would not have seen, of course, but it was so much trouble to just even say "yes."
I switched frequencies. "McKenzie to Yellow team," I struggled to say.
"Yes, Captain."
"We have the cube, Sergeant, and have incapacitated the Venus statue. We are evacuating the cube now. I'm leaving you in charge of X Flight."
"Acknowledged, Cap'n."
I collapsed back into my chair. "Bee," I whispered, "get us to the extraction point, as fast as you can."
Susan and I felt the car bump up and our speed increased. The car seemed higher off the ground than before.
The extraction point was over several small hillocks a few miles away, and Betty obviously made adjustments to herself again to get us there more quickly. Which was good, because I wasn't feeling right. I hoped we got back really fast.