“First things first,” he said as I got in and closed the door. “Information about our ops is on a need-to-know basis. You’re expected to follow orders and not question them, even if they don’t seem to make any sense to you. There are good reasons for everything we do, but you don’t always get to know them. You got that?”

When I nodded, he went on. “Second, we’re partners, but I’m the boss here. You’ve got a long ways to go before you’re able to outrank the car you’re riding in. It can happen, but only in the higher ranks. I’m not going to ask you to call me ‘sir’ or salute or fancy crap like that, but what I say goes at all times. Capice?“

“I understand.”

“Last thing. Lorduns have a low failure tolerance. You joined us ‘cuz you’re a Decepticon fan, right?”

“Uh…yeah?”

“We got a lot of those. Just remember what happens to Decepticons if they screw up and we’ll do just fine.”

“Uh…yeah.” Suddenly the Marauders didn’t seem quite so glamorous anymore—but the time for regrets was long gone.