The Best Laid Plans

Chapter One


Author's notes: So this is the sequel to An Adjustment of Plans. I've been toying around with it on my hard drive for awhile, in between working on Reconstruction and the (yes, really) next chapter of Masks. Since I have several chapters of Best Laid Plans done, I thought I'd post 'em as a holiday present for my readers.

This story will contain mpreg, sort've, though I subscribe to the theory that Cybertronians are not actually gendered in the way earth organics are. There are also a few scenes of mildly dubious consent that might be triggering to readers who are sensitive. I promise, I'll avoid the worst of the usual cliches. :-)


Frenzy balanced on one foot, and absently swept sand out of the joints of his other ankle with his fingers. At this work site, there was sand, sand, and more sand, everywhere. And where there wasn't sand, there was tidal mud: Stinking, noxious, and full of small organic critters.

Mouth twisted down into a frown, he watched as Starscream landed in root mode on the beach, a few hundred yards in the distance. The seeker flicked his wings as he touched down, then pranced proudly towards Perceptor and Grapple. "And what is the progress on my project today?"

One thing could be said for Starscream: He had a voice that could carry over the noise of a battle, or in this case, the roar of rolling surf.

Frenzy mentally sighed (and then was amused when Ratchet mentally sighed back at him; Ratchet was having an equally tough day in the med bay) and headed for the impending clusterfuck at a quick walk.

"... We can't ..."

"I don't want to hear can't." Starscream said, peevishly, cutting off Grapple's explanation of just why they'd run into trouble driving pylons into the sea bed. "I just want to hear you're done."

"Well, we're not. They hit bedrock earlier than expected, it's harder than expected, and - what, you expect them to bend the laws of physics?" Frenzy snapped, approaching.

Starscream twisted around and frowned down at him, with his best is-that-a-bug-or-a-symbiont expression.

"What?" Unlike the two Autobots, Frenzy had seen Starscream at his worst. He was neither intimidated nor impressed by this facet of Starscream, who was simply in a peevish mood. Starscream's null rays were stone cold. "They're working on it. Adjust your timetables."

Starscream flared his armor, clearly preparing for an epic rant.

"C'mon," Frenzy said, turning his back on the seeker. "I'll show you what we do have done. The tidal turbines are almost assembled. Once the pylons are in, it won't take long to put them in place."

"... oh." Starscream deflated visibly, with a rattle of settling armor.

"And the crews have been working hard on the energon conversion plant, too. It's exactly to your specs. Your design was perfect." Chattering happily (while still mentally grumbling) Frenzy led Starscream away from the Autobots.

Starscream wrangling: One of his very unofficial, but according to Prime, most important, duties. He was so honored.

~Frenzy, presence required at the Ark.~

Soundwave's words were formal, but his tone fond. ~What's up, boss?~

~Explanation, in person. You have done nothing wrong, however.~

~Ah - I'm babysitting a seeker. Can it wait?~

There was a brief silence from Soundwave, and then Starscream looked up and snapped, "Drat it. There's a problem in my lab. Slagging idiots ... just when this tour was actually getting somewhere, too."

~What did you do?~ Frenzy asked, awed.

~Not him.~ Ratchet sounded inordinately proud. ~Your boss doesn't have a devious strut in his frame. Me, now, I get things done the easy way.~

Starscream vanished into the sky, cursing about plumbing leaks as he went.

~Let's just say Glit owed me one, and he can be as sneaky as Steeljaw when he needs to be.~

Frenzy snorted a laugh, and Soundwave clearly shared his amusement by the feelings radiating from Soundwave's spark. ~Okay, bosses, I'll be there in a bit.~


Frenzy could have flown - his foot thrusters were fully operational - but they used a hefty amount of energon. There was no longer a critical shortage of the fuel, but it was still scarce. With resignation, Frenzy approached Hot Rod. Roddy was goofing off, as usual. The big mech had obtained a mech sized fishing rod and was casting a giant silver lure into the surf.

Hot Rod could get him back to the Ark in a few hours, though it would cut into his fishing time.

"Any luck?" Frenzy said.

"Nah. Was hoping for grouper - the Witwickys like it." Hot Rod subspaced the rod and reel. "Whassup, little boss?"

"Need a lift back to the Ark."

"Awesome." Hot Rod cheerfully transformed right on the beach, with little regard for the amount of sand that would end up in his wheel wells. "I am so ready to blow out of here."

Frenzy took a moment to wipe the grit his feet with a rag before climbing into Hot Rod's driver's seat. Soundwave would have had his plating if he'd tracked dirt into another mech's cabin, even if said mech wasn't actually likely to mind. While Hot Rod had a particularly flashy paint job he was, surprisingly, not particularly vain and he didn't seem to mind Earth's ever presence earthiness.

"Buckle up, m'mech." Hot Rod said, a warning that Frenzy didn't need. He was already fastening the three-point harness around his frame.

The nice thing about being assigned Hot Rod as his assistant was that they got places almost as fast by ground as Frenzy could fly. He whooped with glee as the Autobot's acceleration left a rooster-tail of sand in their wake.


A few hours (and, alas, one speeding ticket from and two autographs to the same cop) later, they pulled up to the Ark just as the sun was setting. Hot Rod playfully transformed with Frenzy still on board, disgorging him at the last second and while a good ten feet in the air. Frenzy, who never lacked for fast reflexes, landed on his feet and then thumped Hot Rod in the knee with a pile driver before Hot Rod could jump out of the way.

"Owe!"

"Jerk." Frenzy grumped at Hot Rod.

Unrepentant, Hot Rod asked, "Am I dismissed? Because they're gonna be showing Tom and Jerry cartoons in the rec and there's a huge party planned ..."

"Go." Frenzy waved him off.

After Hot Rod had bounced off - the mech had more energy than a glitchmouse - Frenzy shook his head. He also heard the footsteps of a quadruped frame behind him, and lifted one arm in absent invitation. Steeljaw slid under his arm, resting his shoulder comfortably against Frenzy's torso. Frenzy rubbed Steeljaw's ears, a liberty that the cybercat tolerated from only a handful of mecha. That Frenzy's touch was distinctly sensual and not "pat the mechanimal kitty" in nature was definitely one reason why Steeljaw allowed it from him.

Primus, he'd missed Steeljaw. It had been almost a month since they'd been in the same room for anything other than work.

"Any idea what they want us for?" the cybercat asked.

"You got summoned too?"

"Yeah. C'mon, Ratch' said to meet him in Prime's quarters as soon as you were here." Steeljaw leaned into Frenzy's frame for a moment longer, luxuriating in the contact. They had so little time together. The business of peace was far more time consuming than the business of war.

Frenzy finally, reluctantly, broke off the embrace. They walked side by side through the Ark's corridor. Steeljaw was greeted by every mech they passed; Frenzy was unsurprised when many mecha still looked at him with wary suspicion. Two years of peace, and they still expected him to turn traitor.

"Frenzy! Steeljaw!" Skyfire's greeting included them both, and was cheerfully friendly. The enormous shuttle stopped and dropped to one knee to greet them. "Will you be present on base for long?"

"Dunno." Frenzy shrugged. "Not sure why we got recalled, honestly."

"Well, if you've got time, come see me." This was directed at Frenzy.

"Need small hands?" Frenzy's tone was teasing.

"Exactly." The shuttle nodded firmly. "I need someone to help me with constructing a sparkling frame. Eject has been helping me ..."

"... but Eject is Eject," Steeljaw rolled his optics knowingly.

"And it's a tiny frame." The shuttle held his thumb and forefinger apart, indicating a sparkling frame just larger than two of Frenzy's fists.

"So we have enough cybertronium now?"

"Yep." Skyfire said, cheerfully. "I'm looking forward to having some kids around here."

Steeljaw snorted. "We'll get you some tweezers to pick them up with."

The shuttle laughed, unoffended. "Or at least a pair of waldos. It will be awhile before we can support the growth of full-sized mecha, but symbionts are every bit as much Cybertronian as shuttles are. I will enjoy the children regardless of size. For some, I will simply have to be more careful about where I step."

"Very, very, very true," Frenzy said, with a sudden and very real shudder of startled horror. Skyfire's words had unwittingly reminded him of past nightmares. "Don't worry. I highly doubt anyone will allow sparklings of any size to run loose on the base until they're old enough to keep an eye on what - and who - is above them."

"I would never actually step on a sparkling, Frenzy," Skyfire said, teasing tone morphing into his own form of dismay. "Never."

"Yeah. Well, that's how I lost my sire. Someone didn't look where they were stepping." Frenzy folded his arms across his chest, and looked sharply away from the shuttle. "My progenitor followed him shortly after. They were bonded."

"... I'm sorry."

"Left me 'n my brother alone." Frenzy ground out. "So please. Don't joke about stepping on symbionts. It's really not funny."

"I'm sorry, Frenzy. I really am." Skyfire crouched, though this still meant he towered over their heads. "I didn't mean to ... bring up bad memories."

"Kinda hard to talk to me and not." Frenzy's tone turned bitter, and tired. "Sorry, Skyfire. It's nothin' you did. It's just me. Sometimes, I forget not everyone's been cursed by Primus at every turn."

"I ..." Skyfire sighed, and reached out, and cupped one large hand around Frenzy's shoulders. "Believe it or not, I understand. And if you're going to be around base for any time, I really could use your help on the sparkling protoform - and I'd like to consider you a friend. Silverbolt, Thundercracker, and I are going to go for a long flight next week, just for fun. The Witwickys are going. Would you and Steeljaw like to come too?"

Steeljaw pointedly nudged Frenzy with his nose.

"I ... yeah, that sounds fun. If they don't send us back out into the field right away." Frenzy felt like a complete aft for his reaction to Skyfire's comment. Both Steeljaw and Skyfire had to think he was an oversensitive idiot, at best. They were just being nice to him, he knew it, but ... well, he wanted to believe that Skyfire really wanted to spend time with him and wasn't just asking out of guilt.

Skyfire's expressive face lit up in a grin. "Then the whims of the commanders allowing, I'll see you tomorrow."


A few minutes later, they entered Optimus's quarters. Prime was well-known for having an open-door policy not just in his office, but in his personal quarters as well. While not exactly prone to partying, he was a very social mech, and he had several of his closest friends and advisors with him when he was off duty at almost all times save actual recharge.

He didn't take lovers. He could have, easily, but he didn't. Ever.

Frenzy was unsurprised to find that Prime's living area was already full: Ratchet, Soundwave, Prowl, Jazz, First Aid, Killaglitch (who was still courting Soundwave, and why Killa and Soundwave hadn't made it final, Frenzy just didn't understand!), Killa's mate and Ratchet's medical assistant Glit, and Rung. Blaster was also there, though none of Steeljaw's symbiotic siblings seemed to be present.

Steeljaw eyed the crowd with his head tilted to one side, then said, quietly, "This isn't about a mission, is it?"

Huh? Frenzy wasn't sure what Steelie was referring to.

"Welcome, both of you." Prime rose from his chair. (Frenzy noted, as usual, that when Prime stood up about half the room to also rose in reaction; there was a clear demarcation between the mecha who saw him as Optimus Prime, and those who saw him as Optimus-who-happened-to-be-Prime. Jazz remained seated; Prowl stood. Ratchet didn't even shift in his chair. Killaglitch and Blaster bounced up like they had springs in their struts. Rung never moved from his seat, and sipped his energon. Soundwave also remained seated; he viewed Prime as his boss and master, but not as a holy supreme pooh-bah of a leader.)

"Uh, thanks." Frenzy allowed Soundwave to lift him up so he could sit on the edge of the only remaining empty chair in the room. Steeljaw hopped up behind him with easy grace, and lay down behind Frenzy, so that Frenzy could use his metallic mane as a back rest.

"Energon?" Prime asked, gesturing at a table that had several options - energon jellies, high grade, and the bright and clean mid grade energon that Starscream's solar plants had recently begun producing.

"Jellies." Steeljaw said. He was no animal, and those who knew him well never doubted his sentience, but he was sensitive about appearances. He didn't like drinking out of a bowl like a dog or having his ears scratched, and Frenzy had very rarely seen him use his teeth and claws in combat if he could fire a weapon instead. (Though Frenzy also had some protoform deep scars from one encounter with Steeljaw, long before they'd become lovers.)

"High grade," Frenzy said, suspecting he'd need it. Soundwave had his emotions closely guarded behind a firm block. Ratchet felt wary and nervous.

Optimus, ever the gracious host, served Steeljaw a generous plate of mid-grade jellies (the best kind, from Skyfire's lab, sweet with carbon and dusted with oxidized iron) and Frenzy a symbiont-sized cube of Sideswipe's best high grade. Frenzy stole one of Steeljaw's jellies, then offered him a sip from the cube of high grade. After a glance at the room, Steeljaw allowed Frenzy to hold the cube up to his mouth so he wouldn't have to lap at it.

"So." Steeljaw said, after savoring the high grade, "I can't imagine you're all here for social reasons."

"Ah dunno, any excuse for a party ..." Jazz drawled.

"No." Prime said, quietly. "This is not strictly a social event."

Steeljaw sighed. "Out with it, boss."

Prime seemed uncomfortable, perhaps even acutely so.

Ratchet harrumphed. "I'll say it. Steeljaw, Frenzy, you two have been in a serious relationship for over two years. You have compatible CNA - indeed, unusually compatible ..."

"What Ratchet means," Rung said quietly, "is that our population numbers are so very low that we are at risk of oblivion as a race. Normally, we would not consider asking this of any mecha, but we must begin reproducing again."

Steeljaw made a small noise, not quite a sigh.

"Some frame types are nearly extinct, as it is - including aerial symbionts. Frenzy, are you aware that you are of very mixed ancestry?"

He blinked. "Don't know nothing about my past. My folks died when Rumble'n I were pretty tiny."

"According to an analysis of your CNA, you carry the markers for both aerial and cybercat ancestry, Frenzy."

"Uh ... I do?"

"There are two aerials left alive, and seven cybercats." Ratchet rubbed the bridge of his nose. Frenzy wasn't bothering to hide his discomfort with this discussion, and Frenzy's reaction was clearly making Ratchet a bit cranky. "Both are recessive traits. Bluntly, if you reproduce with Steeljaw, you have a fifty/fifty chance of having cybercat offspring - and those sparklings will also have a 50% chance of carrying the marker for aerials. You are also not pure symbiont; we believe you have a carrier in your ancestry. So does Steeljaw. In theory, you could produce a carrier sparkling, as well. We need more carriers."

It wasn't unheard of for carriers to reproduce with symbionts, nor even particularly scandalous. Still, Frenzy felt Steeljaw's reaction of shock in the flare of his EM field against Frenzy's back.

"You want me to ... breed." Frenzy folded his arms across his chest, suddenly feeling very small.

Optimus crouched before Frenzy, bringing himself closer to the eye level of both symbionts. "We are asking you to consider it. We are not ordering you, or even pressuring you. It is your choice. But - this is something very important that you can do to help your people."

Steeljaw coughed. "If we sire a carrier, do we have enough Cybertronian to support healthy growth of the kid?"

Leave it to Steeljaw to go right to the practical, Frenzy thought with real irritation.

"We do now." Optimus exchanged a glance with Ratchet. "When we analyzed your CNA and determined that was a possibility, we made sure to acquire an extra supply."

"So this is something you've been planning for awhile." Frenzy wrapped his arms around his chest. "I don't know ... I've never even been around sparklings."

"You won't be alone." Killaglitch said, gently. "We'll all help. I have raised sparklings, Frenzy. Soundwave is clan born and helped with the children when he was an older youngling. Ratch' has fostered sparklings and reformats."

Steeljaw offered, "My first master ... he had a sparkling. And one of my sibs did, too. And, well, there's Eject ..." That last comment provoked a snort of laughter from Blaster.

Steeljaw leaned into Frenzy's back. "We can talk about this in private, Frenzy."

Optimus said, somewhat earnestly, "You will both be supported should you chose this. We will help you."

"I haven't even seen Steeljaw in over a month for long enough to have some private time with him." Frenzy's mouth turned down into a taut frown. "How can we even contemplate a sparkling when we're usually half a world apart, working on various projects?"

"That will change." Optimus ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry. I know we have been working both of you very hard, and we are grateful for all the work you have both done. However, we are making an effort to allow and encourage all couples to spend more time together. Prowl has already adjusted your schedules. There is no obligation, no ... pressure ... involved in this change."

No pressure. Right. Frenzy was skeptical. They wanted him to be a breeder.

"I assume I would carry," Steeljaw said, smoothly.

"I ... uh." Frenzy twisted around to look at his partner.

"I have the larger frame." Steeljaw said, casually. "And cybercats have a propensity for carrying multiples."

"Oh, great. Twins."

Steeljaw coughed. "Or more."

"Also - Frenzy, you have been rebuilt several times." Ratchet ran a hand over his optics. "Steeljaw would be the preferred carrier, both due to frame size and due to the fact that I've seen your insides. Your welds have welds, and only some of them are ones I've made. I think you could carry safely, but I know Steeljaw can. Steelie's had some issues with starvation in his past, and it has definitely affected his fuel system and some of his struts, but overall, he's in better physical shape than you."

"Oh." He felt vague relief at the thought that he wouldn't be the one carrying, and then wild anxiety at the thought of the risk to Steeljaw. And he didn't know if he was ready to be a sire. He didn't know how to be a sire. And everyone would tell him what to do, everyone would have their own opinion on how to be a parent, and he was no expert. How was he to know what was good advice, or bad, and they might think him a fool if he screwed up.

He'd also have so very much responsibility for Steeljaw, and for the sparklings. He hadn't been tied to anyone like that since his brother died.

"In either case, the child, or children, would still be yours - both of yours." Optimus said this earnestly. "We will help, but he, or she, or they, will be yours."

Rung said, "Consider how it would feel to raise offspring, Frenzy. You would be a sire. I know you like children; I have seen you with them. You would have a child who was yours, to raise and shape and love. You would form a family with Steeljaw and the child - and the bond between child and parents is generally lifelong. It could be a very happy and fulfilling life. Enriching."

"No pressure, you said," Frenzy said, a bit tartly. He drained the cube of high grade with sudden, reckless, abandon. "I haven't even merged with Steeljaw."

"Ah." Rung said. "Because you are apart so much?"

Steeljaw nuzzled Frenzy's shoulder briefly, comfortingly. "Rung, guys, it's complicated and we're in no hurry for that step. Don't - don't push him. Please. I appreciate you bringing the subject up, because we really should discuss it, but - please. You've said enough."