#ironshell

Dear Everyday Engrossed,

Regretfully, the average day is not very pleasant. Let us observe the schedule of one rookie Autobot, the air command infantry private Jetblast:

7th Cycle 283.

1st Decicycle - Jetblast awakes from rest mode to the sounds of orbital bombardment. He disconnects from his stasis slab, and heads to the commissary to refuel. A mixture of low grade energon and recycled metals provides Jetblast with the necessary strength to keep functioning, and he spends the rest of the Decicycle preparing for his shift. 2nd Decicycle - The bombardment continues, which is bad news for Jetblast as he's on surface duty. He leaves the fortified bunker and sets up in a rusting defile, trying to ignore the thunderous sounds of Nucleon shock missiles impacting the wasteland around him. 3rd Decicyle - After another four groons of bombardment, it stops. Jetblast has just enough time to make sure his audio circuits haven't fused before the seeker attack. A flight of tetrajets storm towards the bunker, and Jetblast is put on the defensive. Despite being a flyer himself, he has no chance in the air against them, and has to make do with the displacer cannon he's been assigned to.  4th Decicycle: The displacer cannon has overheated by now, and Jetblast is reduced to using his inbuilt repeater blasters to try and defend the base. He barely manages to hold on until his ammo stores run dry. Fortunately Ironshell, his replacement, has arrived, and Jetblast has a chance to retreat back to the bunker. 5th Decicycle: Jetblast heads for another refuelling, and spends this cycle resting. The other soldiers in the base share stories and pre-war datacons as they entertain themselves. An impromptu lobbing match is started in an empty ammo warehouse, using an empty warhead. Jetblast doesn't play, but does take part in the betting over the match, and ends up with a few extra recharge tokens. 6th Decicycle: Jetblast heads to the bunker's tunnels, where Rocketfuel has set up an engex still. Jetblast exchanges the recharge tokens for a flask of homebrew, and retreats upstairs, storing it in his personal gun locker. He spends the rest of the cycle playing cards, but this time just for fun. 7th Decicycle: Technically, Jetblast should be in rest mode by now, but a seeker made a lucky shot, breaking through one of the walls of the bunker. While repair bots scramble to fix it, he's called upon to guard the hole along with other soldiers. They get stuck on the outside and have to make a perilous crawl back to the main entrance. 8th Decicycle: Jetblast finally collapses onto his stasis slab, shutting down to low-power rest mode. 9th Decicycle: Jetblast dreams of his prewar life as a courier. 10th Decicycle: Jetblast dreams he'd managed to make the shuttle with the other refugees.

8th Cycle 283.

1st Decicycle: Jetblast is awoken by orbital bombardment once again...

TRIP TO WESTERN STATES: PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA (OAHE DAM), 10:25AM

President John F. Kennedy with Members of Sioux Nation at Oahe Dam Dedication in South Dakota

17 August 1962

Description President John F. Kennedy visits with Chief Ironshell and George Kills in Sight (both of the Sioux Nation) at the dedication of the Oahe Dam and Reservoir, on the banks of the Missouri River, near Pierre, South Dakota. White House Secret Service agent, Dick Johnsen, stands at right in background.