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Steve was doing his best to try and explain how Cybertronians could transform so fluidly from one form to another when they arrived at the medbay. Steps faltering and voice cutting off abruptly at what he saw caused an immediate reaction in the two humans resting on his servos. Heads turning to face the room, both girls seemed startled and slightly nervous at the dark, muttering form of the CMO.

A large wrench was in his right servo and what appeared to be an incredibly large scalpel in the other. The poor drone that was being worked on was strapped to the table and whimpering incoherent nonsense, trying to question the cherry mech, why he had those tools if he only needed his visor replaced. Just before the defenseless drone was about to be irreparably damaged, a strong voice distracted the medic and had him pause his actions.

“Excuse me, doctor! I hope we’re not late or interrupting, but we’re here to get started on cleaning this ship of yours.”

Knockout’s posture stiffened considerably when the voice first spoke and he slowly turned to face the speaker while they continued talking. What met his optics should not have been that surprising, all things considered; stranger things had happened (the Second in Command taking a human lover, of all bots, for example) with his time on Earth. Blazing red optics clashed with light blue eyes and his engine snarled at the simultaneously defiant and protective posture of the human woman standing in the servos of STV-318. The other one with the light hair and dark eyes was peaking around her shoulder and STV-318 was trembling.

“The fuck, Shannon?” Tori whispered to her friend, her fingers slowly draining of color with the grip she had on the girl’s shirt.

The barest hint a smirk upturned the corner of her mouth, her eyes never leaving the cherry-red mech as she leaned back towards Tori slightly in reassurance. “I imagine it’s going to take us quite sometime to clean this metal monstrosity. What is it, like five miles long? Maybe seven?” she questioned with a hint of sarcasm. “I was a bit distracted yesterday and I have no idea how far it was from the outside of this ship to where Alexis lives.”

The brunette turned her attention back to the seething, crimson CMO. “Speaking of, I hope you have human sized cleaning supplies and non-lethal chemicals, because there’s no way we’re equipped to handle anything else.”

Knockout processed the tone of the damnable creature in front of him for an astro-second before his hand holding the scalpel flicked harshly in response to the rising anger that suddenly erupted from him again. The drone on the table flinched in pain but otherwise kept silent, terrified that he would receive more abuse if he notified the CMO to the cut on his neck from the sudden flick of said scalpel. Unbeknownst to both of them, the cut to the drone’s cranio-cervical, energon arterial-hose would only get worse and hemorrhage life giving energon if not tended to immediately.

Knockout rattled in rage before releasing the restraints on the berth, without even acknowledging his victim he growled, “Get out.”

The poor drone nodded and quickly clamored out of the room, his steps becoming visibly more staggered and uncoordinated before the medbay doors closed.

The CMO turned his attention back to the creature currently increasing the ‘adrenazole’ and ‘testosterogon’ through his pipelines. A harsh grind of metal came out as he clenched his denta before pulling out one of his still charming but slightly homicidal smiles.

“Ah, that's right, you two are the ‘help’ for today. Well then, let's put you both to work. Clean all of the floors you soiled, then keep scrubbing till you get to the edge of the ship's landing strip. Steve.” The mech in question straightened as Knockout turned his back to them again. Fiddling with a few soiled tools on his work table, he gave the vehicon an order. “Go get the helmets and equipment Alexis used before, it should be in her storage room. Here's the medical pass code override.” He sent the code wirelessly through use of his servo-held scanner while turning back to his operating table, the large scalpel back in his servos and the desire of malice radiating in his optics. “Now get out of my medical bay...”

~*~

Steve walked briskly, juggling canisters of cleaning supplies in one arm and his two human charges in the other. The medical code would expire and be automatically deleted from his processor after its single use to get them back into the room. He vented audibly, thinking to himself;‘Hopefully everything is in here that’s needed; Knockout looked ready to disassemble me at any provocation.’

Tori looked up at him and gave him a soft smile, “Yeah you and me both buddy. What was up with him?” she asked before shooting Shannon a reprimanding glare. “And what was up with you provoking him? Feeling suicidal with the grief of losing Evinrude?”

Shannon snorted in amusement before smirking deviously. “Hey, we've got diplomatic immunity thanks to Alexis. I figured I'd prefer his wrath focused on us rather than that poor, defenseless Vehicon.”

Steve straightened slightly with that last comment. A budding feeling of camaraderie towards the two humans was beginning to plant itself in his processor. The thought of having ‘friends’ and not just fellow vehicons to rely on and talk with sent a flutter of happiness through his spark.

Tori chuckled, “No I'm glad you went to his rescue, but some warning would have been nice. Steve and I were about to wet ourselves!” She nudged Steve’s arm and gave them both a sly look and then a large grin.

Steve looked curiously at the two, becoming more delighted and comfortable after receiving several flashes of denta as an honest sign of camaraderie. His quick pace slowed to a more relaxed walk as the door they needed came into view. Gently placing his charges down, he then straightened before placing two digits to his temple to initiate the wireless code. Once the door opened they quickly walked in, talking quietly to each other. He stood there for one and half to two clicks hearing the soft rustling of different cloths and the familiar clank of metal. Two cheers sounded before both girls re-emerged holding helmets, rope and other paraphernalia he assumed Alexis had used before. His head tilted with curiosity once he noticed they had on different frame coverings from before they entered.

Both girls stated they were ready to get to work and Steve released a blast of air from his vents, hoping that everything went smoothly.

~*~

Shannon and Tori unanimously agreed to start with the landing strip, deciding it would be best to clean the most dangerous part of the ship and work their way inside. Much to Steve's surprise, he found himself following their requests and instructions without much irritation. The more he thought about it the more he realized it was due to the fact that these two humans were giving him something he―and other vehicons―hardly ever received; respect. The pleases, smiles, and thank yous they gave him set a contented rhythm to his stride as he carried them down the hallway. One woman was gripped gently around the waist and hips in each servo while the containers holding the cleaning supplies and miscellaneous equipment between his elbows and sides as he walked them to the ship's landing strip.

“I feel like a Ghostbuster in this jumpsuit!” Tori beamed, flapping the somewhat baggy arms of the spare jumpsuit she donned from Alexis’ wardrobe. The woman was ¾ of an inch below 5’4” to Alexis’ 5’11” stature, making the jumpsuit comically large.

Shannon snorted, “Maybe a pygmy Ghostbuster, at best.”

Reacting out of habit with her close friend after being teased, Tori leaned over to close the slight distance which separated them and playfully smacked Shannon upside the head.

Not wasting a second, the stricken brunette lunged for the shorter woman and grabbed the back of the jumpsuit, pulling it up and over her friend’s head with ease due to the size. Tori squawked in indignation as she was pulled forward over Steve’s servos and flailed her arms wildly, her cries getting louder once Shannon started lightly smacking her repeatedly on the back of her head.

Supplies hitting the floor echoed harshly down the hall as Steve immediately reacted to the display between the women, assuming the act to be a sign of infighting between his charges. The two squeaked as they found themselves jarred backwards in the sudden and forceful pull of the vehicon putting them arm's-length apart. The quick whipping back and forth of his inexpressible face to look at each of them was a clue that the drone was concerned.

Stammering slightly, he managed to clarify his actions. “I wasn't given orders specifically for you two, but we have very harsh punishment for acts of aggression towards fellow personnel and comrades.”

Tori leaned forward, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “What?” she yelled out to ensure that she was heard over the sudden distance.

Shannon began to laugh which caused the drone to snap his visor back to her, his helm cocked to one side in bewilderment. Having his attention, she waved her hand nonchalantly before explaining, “No, no, no, that was just Tori getting even with me. A love tap, of sorts, because I made her mad teasing her about being so short. I started slapping her just to get even.” Steve continued to stare blankly. She then waved her hands in forward loops trying to figure out how to further explain. “We do that to each other all the time! It’s not to hurt each other, it’s all in good fun.”

Tori piped in, tapping at his digit. “Yeah, we poke fun at each other all the time too. You know, play fighting?”

Steve managed to look dubious despite his lack of face. “So, you weren’t actually trying to hurt her?”

Tori grimaced, a look between exasperation and amusement on her face. “Of course not. But hey, you’ll get used to our antics eventually.” she cajoled, patting his hand and giving him a warm smile in an attempt to comfort the culture shocked mech. “In the meantime we’ll start explaining things more often. How does that sound, big guy?”

The rest of the journey to the landing strip involved some harried explanations of various nuances of the women’s behaviors, culture, interests and curiosities. The dialogue between the three would gradually get interrupted more and more with shared laughter, the chuckles from Steve becoming relaxed and genuine as they trudged onward.

At the ship’s vestibule blast doors, Steve set them down again and the two went about the trial and error of reading the handwritten activation and use instructions they found inside one of the spare helmets.

Shannon stared blankly at Tori as the woman had the helmet donned on her head. The helm looked like the hybrid of a full coverage bike, fighter jet pilot and astronaut helmet. It completely covered her head and had a rubber neck lining, creating a seal and having a hose coming out the back of the head. The woman had figured out the valve without too much difficulty, following the chicken-scratch of Alexis’ handwriting. The instructions seemed more for the jet pilot's own use than anything else. This required some translation on their part to figure out what their friend had written down for how to use the helmets’ the built-in comms. The blonde was currently tapping at the interface attached to the base of the rubber neck collar, while air gesturing. She was clearly growing weary of speaking without being able to relay what she was saying to the other two since the airtight seal of the helm made it impossible to be heard otherwise. The visible area of glass that was the visor, showing from forehead to upper lip of Tori’s face, gave a comical expression of silent fuming anger. Her mouth flapped quickly while her brows furrowed. Her tapping and scratching at the comm interface panel became more furious as her other hand waved and shook in a fist. Suddenly she succeeded in establishing communications making the other two flinch as she screamed into her microphone out of frustration.

:―body hear me?!: her voice rang into Shannon's helmet speakers and the radio, cranio-audio relay of Steve’s processor.

To Shannon's luck she wore the helmet halfway as more of a hat at the moment, not completely robbing her of her hearing when Tori had succeeded in establishing the radio frequency. Poor Steve on the other hand doubled over for a few seconds.

Shannon held the helmet in front of her shouting into the area of the microphone like an old walkie-talkie, kay! Jesus we hear you, loud and clear, or at least we used to before you made us deaf!:

w!: Tori flinched from the reciprocation of shouting into a mic.

Steve watched wearily as the two began to laugh like ‘glitched-whelps’ over their established comms and in his head. The two then made odd faces and fluctuations in the pitches of their voices. They also proceeded to follow each stream of nonsensical dialogue with ‘Rodger-Rodger’ and a surprisingly accurate mimic of the sound of radio static.

He vented a sigh of relief when the two’s antics finally died down and they went about fiddling with the other controls of the small O2 backpacks.

:Woah, Shannon, let's not get high off oxygen okay?: Tori admonished when she noticed her friend shoved the helmet onto her head and had cranked the regulator valve to 7.

After Tori fixed it to a reasonable pressure, Shannon smacked at her hand, :Hey just because you worked a few O2 tanks when you had that internship at the VA hospital does not make you an expert on this crap! Speaking of―: She tightened the clamp on her friend’s helmet closure straps and connective harnessing to ensure the helmet was actually going to stay on her friend’s head.

Tori acknowledged the mistake and began to look nervous. :Shouldn’t we wait for Alexis or something? You know how protective she got that first and only time she took us bungee jumping…: She frowned, doubt and a flood of anxiety about what they were about to undertake suddenly washed over her.

Shannon rolled her eyes :We followed the instructions on these things exactly and I’m glad she isn’t here. She completely talked us out of skydiving just for that reason.:

Tori continued to frown and slump over in doubt, :Yeah we’re exactly how high up again?: She shrugged weakly.

Shannon placed a comforting and firm hand on her friend’s shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes. on’t think about it like that. We have rope and carabiners and Steve’s magnetized pedes to keep us safe. Besides, it's not like we’re jumping off the ship, we’re just going halfway out there and scrubbing our way back.:

Tori sighed and fiddled with the adjuster straps of her suspension harness and Shannon's as well. :Good thing she didn't talk us out of those several rock climbing sessions. Otherwise you couldn't get me to do this at gunpoint!: Her tone of fear and frustration was emphasized by pulling too tightly at Shannon’s pelvic straps. Giving her friend a wedgie, and making the woman yelp. Shannon retaliated by pulling up Tori’s harness in a similar wedgie.

Steve shook his helm at the ridiculous interactions of his two charges. ‘Today is going to be a loooong cycle…’

:O (Eek) — Description
Steve was doing his best to try and explain how Cybertronians could transform so fluidly from one form to another when they arrived at the medbay. Steps faltering and voice cutting off abruptly at what he saw caused an immediate reaction in the two humans resting on his servos. Heads turning to face the room, both girls seemed startled and slightly nervous at the dark, muttering form of the CMO.

A large wrench was in his right servo and what appeared to be an incredibly large scalpel in the other. The poor drone that was being worked on was strapped to the table and whimpering incoherent nonsense, trying to question the cherry mech, why he had those tools if he only needed his visor replaced. Just before the defenseless drone was about to be irreparably damaged, a strong voice distracted the medic and had him pause his actions.

“Excuse me, doctor! I hope we’re not late or interrupting, but we’re here to get started on cleaning this ship of yours.”

Knockout’s posture stiffened considerably when the voice first spoke and he slowly turned to face the speaker while they continued talking. What met his optics should not have been that surprising, all things considered; stranger things had happened (the Second in Command taking a human lover, of all bots, for example) with his time on Earth. Blazing red optics clashed with light blue eyes and his engine snarled at the simultaneously defiant and protective posture of the human woman standing in the servos of STV-318. The other one with the light hair and dark eyes was peaking around her shoulder and STV-318 was trembling.

“The fuck, Shannon?” Tori whispered to her friend, her fingers slowly draining of color with the grip she had on the girl’s shirt.

The barest hint a smirk upturned the corner of her mouth, her eyes never leaving the cherry-red mech as she leaned back towards Tori slightly in reassurance. “I imagine it’s going to take us quite sometime to clean this metal monstrosity. What is it, like five miles long? Maybe seven?” she questioned with a hint of sarcasm. “I was a bit distracted yesterday and I have no idea how far it was from the outside of this ship to where Alexis lives.”

The brunette turned her attention back to the seething, crimson CMO. “Speaking of, I hope you have human sized cleaning supplies and non-lethal chemicals, because there’s no way we’re equipped to handle anything else.”

Knockout processed the tone of the damnable creature in front of him for an astro-second before his hand holding the scalpel flicked harshly in response to the rising anger that suddenly erupted from him again. The drone on the table flinched in pain but otherwise kept silent, terrified that he would receive more abuse if he notified the CMO to the cut on his neck from the sudden flick of said scalpel. Unbeknownst to both of them, the cut to the drone’s cranio-cervical, energon arterial-hose would only get worse and hemorrhage life giving energon if not tended to immediately.

Knockout rattled in rage before releasing the restraints on the berth, without even acknowledging his victim he growled, “Get out.”

The poor drone nodded and quickly clamored out of the room, his steps becoming visibly more staggered and uncoordinated before the medbay doors closed.

The CMO turned his attention back to the creature currently increasing the ‘adrenazole’ and ‘testosterogon’ through his pipelines. A harsh grind of metal came out as he clenched his denta before pulling out one of his still charming but slightly homicidal smiles.

“Ah, that's right, you two are the ‘help’ for today. Well then, let's put you both to work. Clean all of the floors you soiled, then keep scrubbing till you get to the edge of the ship's landing strip. Steve.” The mech in question straightened as Knockout turned his back to them again. Fiddling with a few soiled tools on his work table, he gave the vehicon an order. “Go get the helmets and equipment Alexis used before, it should be in her storage room. Here's the medical pass code override.” He sent the code wirelessly through use of his servo-held scanner while turning back to his operating table, the large scalpel back in his servos and the desire of malice radiating in his optics. “Now get out of my medical bay...”

~*~

Steve walked briskly, juggling canisters of cleaning supplies in one arm and his two human charges in the other. The medical code would expire and be automatically deleted from his processor after its single use to get them back into the room. He vented audibly, thinking to himself;‘Hopefully everything is in here that’s needed; Knockout looked ready to disassemble me at any provocation.’

Tori looked up at him and gave him a soft smile, “Yeah you and me both buddy. What was up with him?” she asked before shooting Shannon a reprimanding glare. “And what was up with you provoking him? Feeling suicidal with the grief of losing Evinrude?”

Shannon snorted in amusement before smirking deviously. “Hey, we've got diplomatic immunity thanks to Alexis. I figured I'd prefer his wrath focused on us rather than that poor, defenseless Vehicon.”

Steve straightened slightly with that last comment. A budding feeling of camaraderie towards the two humans was beginning to plant itself in his processor. The thought of having ‘friends’ and not just fellow vehicons to rely on and talk with sent a flutter of happiness through his spark.

Tori chuckled, “No I'm glad you went to his rescue, but some warning would have been nice. Steve and I were about to wet ourselves!” She nudged Steve’s arm and gave them both a sly look and then a large grin.

Steve looked curiously at the two, becoming more delighted and comfortable after receiving several flashes of denta as an honest sign of camaraderie. His quick pace slowed to a more relaxed walk as the door they needed came into view. Gently placing his charges down, he then straightened before placing two digits to his temple to initiate the wireless code. Once the door opened they quickly walked in, talking quietly to each other. He stood there for one and half to two clicks hearing the soft rustling of different cloths and the familiar clank of metal. Two cheers sounded before both girls re-emerged holding helmets, rope and other paraphernalia he assumed Alexis had used before. His head tilted with curiosity once he noticed they had on different frame coverings from before they entered.

Both girls stated they were ready to get to work and Steve released a blast of air from his vents, hoping that everything went smoothly.

~*~

Shannon and Tori unanimously agreed to start with the landing strip, deciding it would be best to clean the most dangerous part of the ship and work their way inside. Much to Steve's surprise, he found himself following their requests and instructions without much irritation. The more he thought about it the more he realized it was due to the fact that these two humans were giving him something he―and other vehicons―hardly ever received; respect. The pleases, smiles, and thank yous they gave him set a contented rhythm to his stride as he carried them down the hallway. One woman was gripped gently around the waist and hips in each servo while the containers holding the cleaning supplies and miscellaneous equipment between his elbows and sides as he walked them to the ship's landing strip.

“I feel like a Ghostbuster in this jumpsuit!” Tori beamed, flapping the somewhat baggy arms of the spare jumpsuit she donned from Alexis’ wardrobe. The woman was ¾ of an inch below 5’4” to Alexis’ 5’11” stature, making the jumpsuit comically large.

Shannon snorted, “Maybe a pygmy Ghostbuster, at best.”

Reacting out of habit with her close friend after being teased, Tori leaned over to close the slight distance which separated them and playfully smacked Shannon upside the head.

Not wasting a second, the stricken brunette lunged for the shorter woman and grabbed the back of the jumpsuit, pulling it up and over her friend’s head with ease due to the size. Tori squawked in indignation as she was pulled forward over Steve’s servos and flailed her arms wildly, her cries getting louder once Shannon started lightly smacking her repeatedly on the back of her head.

Supplies hitting the floor echoed harshly down the hall as Steve immediately reacted to the display between the women, assuming the act to be a sign of infighting between his charges. The two squeaked as they found themselves jarred backwards in the sudden and forceful pull of the vehicon putting them arm's-length apart. The quick whipping back and forth of his inexpressible face to look at each of them was a clue that the drone was concerned.

Stammering slightly, he managed to clarify his actions. “I wasn't given orders specifically for you two, but we have very harsh punishment for acts of aggression towards fellow personnel and comrades.”

Tori leaned forward, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “What?” she yelled out to ensure that she was heard over the sudden distance.

Shannon began to laugh which caused the drone to snap his visor back to her, his helm cocked to one side in bewilderment. Having his attention, she waved her hand nonchalantly before explaining, “No, no, no, that was just Tori getting even with me. A love tap, of sorts, because I made her mad teasing her about being so short. I started slapping her just to get even.” Steve continued to stare blankly. She then waved her hands in forward loops trying to figure out how to further explain. “We do that to each other all the time! It’s not to hurt each other, it’s all in good fun.”

Tori piped in, tapping at his digit. “Yeah, we poke fun at each other all the time too. You know, play fighting?”

Steve managed to look dubious despite his lack of face. “So, you weren’t actually trying to hurt her?”

Tori grimaced, a look between exasperation and amusement on her face. “Of course not. But hey, you’ll get used to our antics eventually.” she cajoled, patting his hand and giving him a warm smile in an attempt to comfort the culture shocked mech. “In the meantime we’ll start explaining things more often. How does that sound, big guy?”

The rest of the journey to the landing strip involved some harried explanations of various nuances of the women’s behaviors, culture, interests and curiosities. The dialogue between the three would gradually get interrupted more and more with shared laughter, the chuckles from Steve becoming relaxed and genuine as they trudged onward.

At the ship’s vestibule blast doors, Steve set them down again and the two went about the trial and error of reading the handwritten activation and use instructions they found inside one of the spare helmets.

Shannon stared blankly at Tori as the woman had the helmet donned on her head. The helm looked like the hybrid of a full coverage bike, fighter jet pilot and astronaut helmet. It completely covered her head and had a rubber neck lining, creating a seal and having a hose coming out the back of the head. The woman had figured out the valve without too much difficulty, following the chicken-scratch of Alexis’ handwriting. The instructions seemed more for the jet pilot's own use than anything else. This required some translation on their part to figure out what their friend had written down for how to use the helmets’ the built-in comms. The blonde was currently tapping at the interface attached to the base of the rubber neck collar, while air gesturing. She was clearly growing weary of speaking without being able to relay what she was saying to the other two since the airtight seal of the helm made it impossible to be heard otherwise. The visible area of glass that was the visor, showing from forehead to upper lip of Tori’s face, gave a comical expression of silent fuming anger. Her mouth flapped quickly while her brows furrowed. Her tapping and scratching at the comm interface panel became more furious as her other hand waved and shook in a fist. Suddenly she succeeded in establishing communications making the other two flinch as she screamed into her microphone out of frustration.

:―body hear me?!: her voice rang into Shannon's helmet speakers and the radio, cranio-audio relay of Steve’s processor.

To Shannon's luck she wore the helmet halfway as more of a hat at the moment, not completely robbing her of her hearing when Tori had succeeded in establishing the radio frequency. Poor Steve on the other hand doubled over for a few seconds.

Shannon held the helmet in front of her shouting into the area of the microphone like an old walkie-talkie, kay! Jesus we hear you, loud and clear, or at least we used to before you made us deaf!:

w!: Tori flinched from the reciprocation of shouting into a mic.

Steve watched wearily as the two began to laugh like ‘glitched-whelps’ over their established comms and in his head. The two then made odd faces and fluctuations in the pitches of their voices. They also proceeded to follow each stream of nonsensical dialogue with ‘Rodger-Rodger’ and a surprisingly accurate mimic of the sound of radio static.

He vented a sigh of relief when the two’s antics finally died down and they went about fiddling with the other controls of the small O2 backpacks.

:Woah, Shannon, let's not get high off oxygen okay?: Tori admonished when she noticed her friend shoved the helmet onto her head and had cranked the regulator valve to 7.

After Tori fixed it to a reasonable pressure, Shannon smacked at her hand, :Hey just because you worked a few O2 tanks when you had that internship at the VA hospital does not make you an expert on this crap! Speaking of―: She tightened the clamp on her friend’s helmet closure straps and connective harnessing to ensure the helmet was actually going to stay on her friend’s head.

Tori acknowledged the mistake and began to look nervous. :Shouldn’t we wait for Alexis or something? You know how protective she got that first and only time she took us bungee jumping…: She frowned, doubt and a flood of anxiety about what they were about to undertake suddenly washed over her.

Shannon rolled her eyes :We followed the instructions on these things exactly and I’m glad she isn’t here. She completely talked us out of skydiving just for that reason.:

Tori continued to frown and slump over in doubt, :Yeah we’re exactly how high up again?: She shrugged weakly.

Shannon placed a comforting and firm hand on her friend’s shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes. on’t think about it like that. We have rope and carabiners and Steve’s magnetized pedes to keep us safe. Besides, it's not like we’re jumping off the ship, we’re just going halfway out there and scrubbing our way back.:

Tori sighed and fiddled with the adjuster straps of her suspension harness and Shannon's as well. :Good thing she didn't talk us out of those several rock climbing sessions. Otherwise you couldn't get me to do this at gunpoint!: Her tone of fear and frustration was emphasized by pulling too tightly at Shannon’s pelvic straps. Giving her friend a wedgie, and making the woman yelp. Shannon retaliated by pulling up Tori’s harness in a similar wedgie.

Steve shook his helm at the ridiculous interactions of his two charges. ‘Today is going to be a loooong cycle…’