Tales of the Intermezzo - Hazy Days
                       A Transformers Universe Story
                     copyright 2010 by Dave Van Domelen
                     based on properties owned by Hasbro
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     "intermezzo - n. A brief entertainment between two acts of a play."
          - American Heritage Dictionary

     Arcs of electricity died out as they spread through the Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution, carrying with them the
subtle spatio-temporal distortions of the recently opened Space Bridge.  The
one human who might have been present to witness them was currently
unconscious and out of the way, but after he was found by the next shift,
careful sifting of the security systems would find the traces of the
extraordinary event.
     For a long moment, there was silence save for a few lingering pops of
electricity, then a mechanically synthesized voice crackled to life.
     "So, the old fart's finally gone, eh?  Good riddance," sneered a Phantom
II.  "Surprised he didn't take out half the roof first, though."
     "Hey, some respect, Flattop!" a Concorde SST elsewhere in the hall
protested.  "Jetfire was an honest-to-Primus Seeker."
     "Seeker or not, he's missing some processors, Silverbolt," a WWII-era
F4U Corsair sneered.
     "Ransack?" Flattop sounded shocked.  "I thought you'd lit out for Africa
years ago!"
     "No, you senile old Decepticon, that's the OTHER Ransack," the Corsair
sighed.  
     "If you'd rename yourself Blitz like I suggested, this wouldn't keep
happening," the Space Shuttle Enterprise chuckled.  
     "I'm disguised as an American plane, Raker, how does 'Blitz' even make
sense for that?" Ransack sighed.
     "I think you're all forgetting something very important," Silverbolt
interjected, more than a little peevishly.  "With Jetfire and the other
Ransack gone, we no longer have five for Pentanochle."
     The small community of the "Hazy Days Cybertronian Retirement Community"
fell silent at that thought.
     "I suppose we could try that 'Poker' thing the squishies play when they
think their bosses aren't looking," Ransack suggested.  
     "Yeah, like I'm playing a bluffing game against three Decepticons,"
Silverbolt retorted.  "How about 'Spades' instead?  At least that way ONE of
you'll be on my side...."

     In all the hubbub surrounding events that soon followed in Egypt, no one
noticed that several decks of cards had gone missing from the gift shop.
Every so often though, in the years that followed, the janitorial staff would
find aces of spades hidden in the most bizarre places on several of the
displays....

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Author's Notes:

     Not so much a story as the equivalent of a one-pager, inspired by
someone wishing that an Apollo Command Capsule TF would be made.  My first
reaction to that was, "A little too old to be a disguise, really," but then I
thought of Jetfire in the Smithsonian, and had this mental image of every
single display turning out to be a retired Cybertronian of some sort.  :) I
poked around the Smithsonian's webpage to see what vehicles were in the same
building as the SR-71, and ran with it.  The players in this case were G1
Silverbolt (Concorde SST), G1 Micromaster Flattop (Phantom II), G2 Ransack
(Corsair, named Blitz in the European release) and Sixwing component Raker
(space shuttle).
     And yes, Decepticons will cheat at cards.  Especially crotchety old
Decepticons.