In the Name of Science
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Four – Sunstreaker
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Sunstreaker answered the knock on the door and was surprised to find Perceptor, Brainstorm, and Ratchet there.
"Have a moment to talk? It's about Bob."
Bob's antennae perked at the sound of his name.
"Mmm? Sure. Come in." He stepped aside as the three mechs entered. "Have a seat." They must have discovered something in the scans done in the medical bay the previous day.
Bob, excited to have visitors, immediately rose from his bed on the floor to investigate who had come in. He nuzzled playfully at their hands, taking in their scents and fields and twitching his yellow antennae at them, hoping for a skritch on the head.
Perceptor and Ratchet sat on the berth while Sunstreaker pulled over his desk chair for Brainstorm. Not having any other seating, Sunstreaker pulled up his footstool and sat on that.
"So what have you found out about Bob?" he asked, looking at his pet, who was investigating Perceptor's feet.
"He seems to have reached reproductive maturity. Internal scans indicate there have been considerable changes to his internal structure since the last time he was in the medbay. There is definitely a full-sized spike housed in there along with a reservoir for generative fluid. So it is possible that his behavior is an Insecticon method of seeking out a mate," Perceptor said.
"I see."
"His behavior has been in accordance with that of many organic species, and to a certain degree our own."
"You mean all the cuddly-stuff? Trying to get friendly with everyone after he's ignored them for so long?" Sunstreaker asked.
"Yes," Ratchet said. "Like he's doing now." Bob had moved on from Perceptor and was now rubbing his carapace against Brainstorm's legs and pawing playfully at his feet. That was how it usually began.
Sunstreaker apologized and pulled Bob away from the scientist, and then sat on the rug with one hand on the Insecticon's shoulder to keep him from molesting the guests. "And then he always tries to lead someone over to me after he's gotten all cuddly with them. Any idea what that's about?"
Perceptor piped up. "We unfortunately know so very little about the Swarm and the Insecticons. Though the observation of those that have hunted them, such as yourself, is that the individual hives have a larger, stronger leader. It may be that he considers you the leader of such a hive, and there may be some issue of permission-granting or approval required of the mate," Perceptor theorized.
"Or perhaps the hive leader is supposed to check the chosen mate for suitability," Brainstorm added.
"This is going to make me Mr. Popular, if it's true," Sunstreaker mumbled sarcastically.
"We don't know," Ratchet said. "And of course we're not completely sure that Bob is seeking a mate, though it is a likely conclusion given what we've found in the scans. Have you noticed any other behaviors in him that might suggest it?"
Sunstreaker thought about it. "Nothing off hand. I guess the only way we'd know for sure is if we let him keep doing what he's doing when he's dragging these guys over to me. I've been pulling him away from them. I guess I could let him keep going. Though..." He looked at the others awkwardly.
"I know what you're going to say," Brainstorm said. "We have discussed this and the possibilities."
"I volunteer," Perceptor said flatly.
Sunstreaker choked. "You volunteer? For what?" he blurted. The idea of Bob touching a mech... in that way... if that was what Bob wanted... was just too.. too... No. Perceptor had to be teasing.
But then Perceptor was not one to tease.
"We know so little about the Swarm, and their fecundity is our biggest enemy right now. If we are able to study the reproductive behavior and processes of an Insecticon, we might be able to counter it somehow in the near future." Perceptor said calmly. "I am willing to allow Bob to proceed with me, to the point of allowing him to impregnate me, and then carry whatever is created to term."
"Perceptor? Are you feeling all right?" Sunstreaker asked. "You'd let an Insecticon spark you up?" How could the scientist volunteer for such a distasteful experiment? "That's... that's..." He was unable to finish.
Ratchet leaned forward on the berth. "Percy's equipped to carry, and we all know that Insecticons are able to impregnate regular Cybertronians. There was the case of Oilcan, and that of Lightwave."
Sunstreaker grimaced. As a fighter of the Swarm he knew of both cases. Oilcan had been captured by Insecticons and forced to breed with one of their members, claiming he had been raped repeatedly. He'd been rescued before the brood growing inside of him had come to term, and after rescue he'd immediately had the seven unsparked forms aborted. As for Lightspeed, the missing courier was found dead in a bombed out Insecticon hive along with the rest of the denizens. Examination of his body revealed four Insecticon protoforms within his gestation chamber.
"I doubt Bob will hurt me, at least not intentionally. He's quite docile," Perceptor said.
"But you'd let him frag you?" Sunstreaker asked.
"Yes. I know that such a mating is unorthodox to say the least, but the information we gain might prove invaluable."
"And here I thought I was the crazy one."
"As Bob's owner, you still have a say in this," Ratchet pointed out.
Sunstreaker looked over at Perceptor, sitting calmly in the chair, appearing not the least bit phased by the thought of Bob fragging him to some unknown end.
"Well, if Percy wants to get cozy with an Insecticon, he's welcome to. I still think it's weird though." Sunstreaker glanced down at Bob, who in turn kept eyeing Brainstorm and Perceptor.
"Would it be all right with you? To involve Bob in this experiment?" Brainstorm asked.
"Well, he does seem to be interested in something." He looked at Perceptor again. "If you really want to do this, it's all right with me. Who knows? Maybe he just wants an extra-long cuddle or something."
"We could begin tonight," Brainstorm said.
"I will want to rig Percy up with some transmitting medical sensors first and set up the programs for them," Ratchet said. "But it shouldn't take long."
"And then?" Sunstreaker asked sarcastically. "Hot shower and a polish? A starlight stroll around the windowed decks? A long cuddle and a steamy movie? Want me to send you a file of Bob's favorite romantic music?"
Brainstorm smirked under his mask.
Ratchet huffed.
Perceptor didn't even realize he was being teased. "I don't think Bob would require such encouragements since as far as we know those things aren't a part of Insecticon culture," he said with all seriousness. "Would you prefer to bring Bob to my laboratory later? Or shall I return here once we're ready?"
Arrangements were made after that. As soon as the others left, Sunstreaker accessed the informational database and looked up the cases of Oilcan and Lightspeed and found the stories were pretty much as he remembered them.
Oilcan's report was the longer one and he read it first. The poor mech, a pipeline maintenance worker, had been abducted by three solitary members of the Swarm, taken to their Hive, and kept a prisoner there. One of the three had mated with him six times the first day, and after an orn the same Insecticon mated with him five times more. He'd been rescued shortly thereafter, but the damage had been done. He insisted that the tiny but growing protoforms within him be immediately removed and was doubly insistent when scans determined that all seven were sparkless.
As for Lightspeed, they could only assume the story had been much the same as that of Oilcan. With the mech having been found dead they could not ask questions. The fact that he'd been killed in the bombing of the hive rather than by his captors had put something of a quick closure to his case to prevent embarrassment and too many questions.
Sunstreaker sighed, glancing over at Bob, now lying playfully on his back with a rusted piece of steel in his mouth to chew on. Was Perceptor that willing, perhaps even wanting, to be put into that same strange situation of breeding with an Insecticon?
At least it was by his own choice.
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"In the Name of Science" continues in Chapter 5.
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Thirteen chapters to go! A big thank you to my beta-reader Dracoqueen 22! Please favorite or follow or comment if you're enjoying this little bit of entertainment. Feedback is always welcome.
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Transformers and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of Hasbro and Takara Tomy. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.