198. Sanctuary
Mornings in the sanctuary started between five thirty or six depending on: what was in quarantine and needed medication; who was under house arrest till they could either blend with humanity or the arrangement of a pickup could be made. Between the new shipment two weeks ago and the insanity of yesterday, Raoul allowed himself to sleep in till six.
Cleaned, dressed, and feed with a watch strapped around his wrist to inform him when the mechs turned human woke, he started feeding the creatures in quarantine. He typed in the security code to open the door leading to the male Lapras enclosure. The six flipper aquatic predator from Gliese 667 Cc had an actual scientific name, it was long and about impossible to translate into something pronounceable for human vocal cords to manage. Hence the most current nickname, original it had been Plesiosaurs.
Raoul stepped carefully onto the fake turf, the door hissed shut behind him, totting a pail of live sunfish. A sharp head broke the surface of the pool, wet tough skin a molted gray, with four bright forward facing amber eyes, and sharp tough beak. Coal was a size smaller than the two adult females already on the grounds, his shell mostly black broken with spots and lines of deep red.
"Breakfast, Coal," he said soothingly, slowly approaching the adult male. He eyed the submerged shell, taking in the cracks filled with biograde plastic that was slowly being replaced with keratin. "You're looking good today." Raoul placed a hand in the pail, capturing one of the small fish, careful of the sharp spines lining the back. He tossed it at the end of the pool, the scales shining bright gold before it splashed and flopped stunned.
Coal stared a minute more before serenely gliding towards the floundering fish and snapped it up in his beak. Raoul approached the shallow edge of the pool and submerged the bucket of fish, watching the aquatic predator for sudden movement. They mostly ate small fish, amphibians, and mollusks but they would drown larger animals when able, stashing them till they rotted a bit.
He slowly backed up to the door, typed in the simple code and left. Raoul made sure the door had locked before heading towards the elevator. Coal was the last on the first subterrain level, where they kept the larger creatures. All that was left was to check on the insects.
The watch chirped, glowing a steady orange. Raoul pressed the third sub level, listening to the elevator purred as it descended.
The third level had been designed for humanoid habitation, rows of rooms, three different kitchens, two med bays, a few quarantine rooms, public style restrooms, and a Jacuzzi tub. He walked along the warm sand color halls and knocked before walking into the med bay. "Morning, mechs."
"Raoul! I'm tall!"
Raoul laughed, swinging Lotus up, tugging the blanket more secure around the mech turn child. "I see that. So, who is up for a shower?"
68. Mirror
Oil Slick wiped the mirror clean of condensation with an used towel. He felt better after the shower, human... but at least he was clean. This morning had been trying and certain function of human anatomy were just gross. It was one thing to download the information, it was another to experience it all together.
His hair was longer and heavy when wet, falling in a straight black curtain almost to mid knee. It was a safety hazard, and while he no longer could continue with his current experiments in his old quarters, Raoul had offered him complete use of the labs on the floor below them. The only reason he could deduce for the extreme length was to utilize as much extra mass as possible in the transformation. Fracture agree, and added that when they turned back they would be in protoform instead of armored. Armor was superficial, the protoform nanites would produce fresh armor given time. It was the reason they blended in, old armor would be shed, they would travel in protected curled pod, scan a new form and the nanites would built a new exo-structure. While the protoform mass kept the same, the extra material would have been shed.
Still, losing a hundred and some pounds of raw material weight did not explain the compression. Unless this somehow triggered the use of sub space. He toyed with the idea before spacing it, turning to his reflection.
Raoul had dug out some simple black and white exercise gear for them to wear. It hung off his lanky frame, bellow the sharp flat planes of his hips and off one shoulder showing off the sharp point of his collar bone. Simple flip flops, a simple leather thong on flat thing leather with texture bottoms.
His face was long with a sharp angular chin. His nose was aquiline, sharp; Raoul teased that it was hawk. He had pale thin lips, the upper soft and a tad wide that gave familiar toothy sharp smiles. Bright eyes, sharp green in color, chartreuse, right between green and yellow, narrow and heavy lidded accent with black short dart brows. High side wide cheekbones and small ears.
His face, his frame... long slender fingers and taper nails somewhat reminiscent of his sharp claws. Green had been his original optic coloration, his black hair had a subtle shine and the warm gold kiss of his skin all a part of his color scheme.
Oil Slick slumped resting his brow against the cool glass of the mirror, eyes shut as he breathed. Alright, he was human. Now to gather information and fix that fact.
Title: FD 252. Theory
Characters: OC Fracture, OC Lotus, Oil Slick, Howlback, Raoul,
Genre: Au, ficlet
Rating PG-13
Notes: Fracture theorizes on the radius of the change going by the necessary element of money over breakfast. Oil Slick snarks his way out of a breakdown and snuggles with Howlback, Lotus adds his two cents.
"I was thinking in the shower," Fracture stated, twirling around his bowl of strawberry wheat square thing, Raoul called it cereal and milk, "that this event is likely confined mostly to the states of California, Oregon, Nevada, and what is that weird shape state above Nevada?" He questioned and took a bite, chewing. Crunchy, slightly sweet, sort of like rust sticks?
"Idaho," Raoul replied. He stopped and rubbed his brow. "Really Fracture? You are going to theorize at the breakfast table?"
"It keeps me from panicking that I can no longer simply squish annoyances," Fracture offered and continued eating his breakfast. It wouldn't be the first time he offered a thought for consideration during refuel.
"Considering that I'm close to having an breakdown myself," Oil Slick admitted, pushing his bowl of milk towards his brother, "I'm rather interested in having him finished and provide a distraction. " He rubbed at his upper arm before stilling the motion.
"Brother?"
"I'm fine Howl', finish up your breakfast."
Fracture frowned, watching his fellow scientist dismiss his younger sibling and the tell-tale nervous tracing of the scars down his arm. "You really are going to have a nervous breakdown," he said concerned. "Frag, try talking to your creator or something?" Shrike was rough, crippled, and burnt out from old and current drug use but he was shockingly good with his creations.
"Later. Back to your theory... which would be easily answered by, did this affect Rev up in Michigan," Oil Slick drawled turning and gave Raoul a cool level stare. "Or Redguard in Australia, if we are considering a downwards shift and Russia as too high." He glanced down and shifted, allowing Howlback to snuggle against his side, tossing his sibling's shoulder length black hair.
"Checked in with both of them shortly after. Rev is still a cobra hatchback and Redguard wants details. Whatever is going on, it hasn't reached the east coast or outside the nation's borders."
"Any word on this affecting the Autobot army of peace and senility?"
Fracture snorted, nearly choking on his cereal as he took in Oil Slick dead pan face and Raoul's stiff look as he tried not to spit out his own cereal. "You are an aft, 'Slick," he coughed out and sipped his juice, apple, and took a moment to breathe properly. "I am in total agreement, considering their esteem leader gamble to win the war was to leave our race bereft of a new generation." Fracture paused, and amended, "to his knowledge."
Really, it was more amusing to think of them as an actual army. Autobot rebel guerillas more like it, they had competent individual mechs, Jazz, Ironhide, but none of the group discipline. Taildust would have skinned the mechs in Optimus army for half of what they did. The tiny skimmer did not accept psychological torture amongst his troops. Fracture really wished that his commander had successfully wooed Mirage over into their little fracture when they spy had been among them.
"So, this was caused by a signal?"
Fracture broke out of his musing, turning to Lotus, who perched on the edge of the table, legs crossed under him. The kid was too short to comfortably reach the table, and the high chair was degrading and Raoul could care less if the kid sat on the furniture. "A signal?"
"Has to be. Our fuel is process and collected in the sanctuary from solar collectors, it couldn't have been tamper with. Howlback hasn't left the base since his alt mod does not have a human equivalent," Lotus blushed, tangling his fingers in the long slender braids, and babbled "I'mrealgear."
"And such your components are made from different elements, barely even metals," Oil Slick continued the line of though, gaze thoughtful. "Your firewalls and coding are also mostly different accept for a few necessary systems. Programming dealing with the spark is the same in all frame types. So if they had created a signal virus tailored to that coding it would radiated and affect all other program in seconds."
"Acceptable... I was thinking more on how many prototypes they could possibly have and the distribution of them to cover the most space with finite numbers." Fracture hummed and grinned. "Well that might make it easier. We go through our programming figuring out what we can disregard out of hand, like thrusters."
"Weapon systems, they differ to much from mech to mech," Howlback said softly. "Integrated verses loose debate considered, most of us at the base don't have weapons incorporated into our frames. I have holds for my chakrams but they don't draw any power. That not even working in fuel types."
Fracture nodded before pausing, swiveling his head as the door opened, body tensing . The pair that walked in, one bipedal and the other a quadruped had been in the file from Bandersnatch. He hadn't meant them as a mech, both had kept to the wildlife refuge. He couldn't remember either of their names. He relaxed, catching Oil Slick's optics and chuckled as the other settled from alert to curious.
"Morning Sulu, Sephanos," Raoul greeted, leaning over to scratch the quadrupeds thick grayish blue fur around the large elongated triangle shape ears. "So, we'll go over the footage later tonight and call Miles to check on his surveillance." He patted the compact beast on the rump, chiding it into motion," Go on Seph, I'm not feeding you cream."
"So weapon systems and propulsion are immediately tossed out the window. I want to plot a map so we need to get the coordinates of the Autobot and Decepticon to give me an area to circumference and starting points to dig in others finances." Fracture ignored the others, labeling them as non-threats and returned to his current idea. "Oil Slick? You have more knowledge in systems then I do, could you get a list of possible candidates?"
"It will give me something to do besides mourn my high-grade still, it going to end up flat." Oil Slick leaned back in his chair, eyeing the humanoid covered in a short plush pelt with bright rosettes patterns. "Poisonous," he said cheerfully and reached over, finger tips just brushing fur. "Alkaloid base toxin, can I have a sample?"
"What is up with you and toxic playthings?"
"I am a chemist, it is what I do," Oil Slick responded cheerfully.
"It's what gets you in trouble."
"How about no. Sul'aruin isn't giving you a sample and fuck, that still isn't going to blow up or anything now you're not tending it is it?"
"It won't blow up. Promise, though we should dissemble it," Oil Slick sighed. "Such a waste, I just started that batch."
"Special batch?" Fracture questioned. 'Slick made some strong beverages; his special brews had a sharp bite and interesting side effects. Flying dream was a favorite, the brew overriding equilibrium and leaving them in giggling messes.
"Test batch."
"Ahh."
"So, who up to getting personal quarters?"
Rev is a 1979 Ford Mustang Cobra Hatchback
Redguard- is a real gear and the groups medic and I'm leaning to a possible telegraph - This Phelps' Electro-motor Printing Telegraph from circa 1880 - as his alt mod. He is the oldest of the earthen All Spark mechs with in the group.