This is a series and a fandom that has always held a very special place in my heart. I first started watching this show when I was 8 years old, and I don't know why, but it really resonated with me. I didn't fully start to appreciate it more until I was around 12, but I can honestly say that this show helped get me through some dark times in my childhood. It was my shield, and it inspired me to start drawing fanart and writing fanfiction even before I had ever heard of those terms! I came up with the concept all my own! :)
So, as I'm sure you can imagine, this story has had some major changes and lots of rewrites over the years, but I think it's finally to the point where I want to start sharing it with the world. It is by no means the only one of it's kind, but it's my attempt at integrating an OC into the show, and I've very much enjoyed it's creation. So, I hope that others will be able to enjoy it too!
Also, in case anyone is wondering, the cover art was done by me and is what my character looks like after she gets her beast form, which is based on a black serval. They are rare, but they do exist! :D
Depth Charge surveyed last night's destruction with a grim expression. It was a real shame. In his opinion, the Spartans had always been a great asset to Colony Omicron, and as he alone understood, were never a threat to any of their neighbors. It was just too bad no one else could look past their fear long enough to see that.
Fear was a powerful driving force, and at times like the night before, would be enough to cloud the logic circuits to the point where even Maximals would go against their better natures. With the remains already collected and properly disposed of, Depth Charge and his team were scanning the area for any possible, although not probable, survivors and/or salvageable equipment.
"Hey, I think I found something. Over here," he suddenly heard Cybershark call out.
Depth Charge hopped down from the pile of debris he had been standing on, and made his way towards where he heard the voice. He found Cybershark poking through what could only be described as a hovel. Even though the Spartans were no longer with them, he still couldn't help but find their living arrangements appalling.
"What is it?" he asked, ducking into the tiny apartment.
"It looks like some kind of missile scrambler," Cybershark told him, rotating the item around in his hands. "The guy who lived here had engineering experience, right? Maybe it was something he was working on for the defense department?" he suggested.
"Possibly, why don't you put it with the rest of the salvage. We can test it later when we get back to headquarters to see if it's functioning," Depth Charge told him.
However, before Cybershark could do as told, Corlatta suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"What did you find?" she asked excitedly, on the off chance that it was a survivor. She had been hoping to find someone alive all day.
But Cybershark shook his head. "Just another piece of potentially useful hardware."
Corlatta's expression visibly fell.
"Oh. Oh well. Give it here and I'll put it with the others," she sighed with resignation.
"Why are you so anxious to find something alive out here?" Cybershark asked with a mild tone of skepticism.
"Because, I can't stand the thought that an entire race of transformers was really just eliminated in a single night! It's a terrible thing when one Cybertronian extinguishes another, especially when it's a whole–" Corlatta didn't get the chance to finish, because at that moment, Depth Charge cut her off with a harsh shush.
"Shh, quiet! Do you hear something?" he asked suddenly.
The three transformers stopped moving and listened hard.
"No," Cybershark said with annoyance after a moment.
"Wait, there it is again," Depth Charge told them.
"Oh yeah! I hear it too," Corlatta added with a smile. They could just make out the high pitched whine of faintly muffled crying coming from deeper inside the small dwelling. "It kind of sounds, like a baby," she realized.
Depth Charge moved as close as he could to the origin of the sound before finding himself standing in front of a wall.
"There's nothing there," Cybershark announced with exasperation.
"I'm pretty sure it's coming from inside the wall," Corlatta argued, pressing her auditory sensors up against the surface.
"Hmm, maybe it's a trick wall. Stand back for a second," Depth Charge told her.
He began feeling around the edges of the partition, until his fingers suddenly caught on a hidden latch mechanism. He pressed it and the divider swung open. Revealing to everyone's surprise, that Corlatta had been right! Inside the space, curled up in a small, hidden compartment, was a baby transformer, currently sobbing her eyes out!
She stopped crying as soon as the door came open, and after a moment of squinting at the sudden bright light, realized that these people were not her parents! Her eyes went wide with terror and she let out a small gasp, and – although futile – tried to squirm away from the intruders deeper into her compartment.
"Aw, it is a baby!" Corlatta chimed merrily. "The poor thing is scared to death. Is it a Spartan?" she asked, studying the infant robot.
"Well, most likely, considering where we found her. Let's see," Depth Charge stated, reaching in to pick up the squirming toddler.
The baby froze at the sight of the hand, before deciding she wanted none of it! With a squeal of displeasure, she threw her little arms up defensively and instinctively created a force field around herself to keep him at bay.
Depth Charge's fingers came in contact with the energy bubble with a zap! He quickly pulled his stinging digits away with a hiss and automatically began to rub at them to ease the pain.
"Yep, she's a Spartan alright," he told the others. "Come here you!"
He reached in faster this time, not giving her a chance to react, and succeeded in grabbing and yanking her out. The baby screamed and whined, thrashing around in a feeble attempt to get away. And when that didn't work, she inadvertently loosed several energon blasts from her hands, making the others dance around trying to avoid them.
"Hey, Hey, Hey! Calm down you little scamp. I won't hurt you," he tried telling her, gripping her tighter and holding her out in front of his face.
She was so small that he could easily cup her in his hands. She stopped squirming and just stared at him for a moment.
"That's it, see? I'm not such a bad guy," he assured her in the best 'soothing' tone he could muster.
It must have been enough, because the baby remained relaxed, and only tried to crawl out of his hands to get closer to him. However, Depth Charge tightened his grip and continued to hold her away from his face.
Now that he was able to get a good look at her, he could see that her armor was in the shape of a cute, little black sailor outfit with blue and silver accents. She had a big blue bow across her chest and another one that was perched up behind her head. The bow strings looking like hair as they fell down around her shoulders. Where the defining details of a nose and mouth should be, was instead covered with a blank face plate. Above that, her big yellow optics were busy studying him, shifting back and forth methodically.
"Oh my, the poor little tyke must have lost her parents. What are we going to do with her?" Corlatta asked her commander and role-model.
"I don't know. Nobody expected to find any survivors so there hasn't been a protocol set up," Depth Charge explained.
"Well, if you ask me, maybe we should just put it out of its misery," Cybershark suggested coldly.
"How can you say that?!" Corlatta demanded with outrage as she took the infant in her arms.
"She's only a baby! She's completely innocent and deserves to live just as much as you or me!" she lectured angrily.
"Corlatta, nobody is going to want that thing around let alone be willing to raise it! What is it going to do? It'll probably just end up dead in a worse way later if we don't do something about it now!" he reasoned.
"Well then, how about we raise her?" she suggested haughtily before Cybershark could stop her.
"No, no – no way! We are not taking that thing home with us," he decided flatly.
"Why not?" she defended.
"Because, Corlatta! We already have a million things on our plate right now, and we can't afford to raise a baby! Especially a freak baby!" he told her.
Corlatta sighed out her resignation. She knew he was right, but at the same time, they couldn't just leave her to die! They had to do something, and that's when she turned to Depth Charge with a desperate plea in her eyes.
"What, you want me to take her home?" Depth Charge asked her skeptically.
"Why, that's a wonderful idea!" Corlatta brightened, handing the baby back to him. "You have that big residence you live in all by yourself. She can keep you company," she suggested.
Both Depth Charge and Cybershark then dove into a veritable litany of arguments against this idea, but Corlatta would hear none of it.
"You're the one who found her, so now she's your responsibility. So, unless you come up with a better idea, it looks like we have no other choice."
Corlatta smiled up at him as the baby finally succeeded in wriggling out of his grasp and climbing higher to wrap her arms around his neck.
"Besides, it looks like she's already taken a shine to you," she added with a mischievous grin.
. . .
It was evening by the time Depth Charge arrived home. The baby was still clutched around his throat as he shut the door behind him. He had a hand placed gently underneath her to support her balance.
"Lights on," he said, and the lights inside the room obeyed and flickered to life.
"Well kiddo, I suppose this is your new home, for now," he told her, pulling her off his neck and placing her on the ground.
She peered around the room hesitantly, as though she weren't sure if she should risk exploring. She took a few slow steps forward, and then turned around to gaze up at Depth Charge as if to say 'now what'?
"You're probably tired from all that struggling you put up earlier, aren't ya? Let me go get you an energon snack to replenish your energy," he said and left the room.
When he returned, he found the baby curled up on his arm chair. Although, she wasn't sleeping. She looked alert and slightly nervous, her big eyes roaming the room until they fixed on him and the small cube of energon he was holding.
He held it out to her, and she uncurled herself enough to take it from him. She pressed the cube up to her face-plate, and Depth Charge watched as it slowly grew smaller. It seemed as though she was absorbing the energon directly through her super structure. When she was finished, she re-curled herself and sat, staring up at her new guardian.
"You've had a pretty long, hard day. Don't you feel sleepy?" he asked her.
She lowered her head in response and looked away. She seemed tired, but at the same time, still too nervous and scared to sleep.
"So, can you not talk at all yet?" he asked, kneeling down in front of the chair.
Babies were really rare on Cybertron, so Depth Charge didn't know too much about them. Not a whole lot of transformers were motivated enough to take the time to reproduce offspring based on their own spark CNA. Apparently, Cybertronian reproduction was a very complex and arduous process, and many felt that just building new adult transformers was easier.
However, to his surprise, the baby responded by shaking her little head. He sat and stared at her for a moment, making sure that he actually saw that.
"Wait, so, can you understand me?" he asked.
She blinked at him for a moment, and then slowly nodded. He sort of chuckled in surprise.
"Well, wha-da-ya-know? You're a pretty smart kid. Would you mind if I sat with you?" he asked smiling.
At that, the baby got up and moved to the far right side of the chair, as if to make room. He laughed, picked her up, and placed her on his lap after he had sat down.
"Well, you might not be tired, but I sure am," he told her, kicking out the recliner and lying back with a satisfied groan. "What a day!"
After a minute or two of sitting in his lap, Depth Charge could suddenly feel the baby move. She carefully climbed up onto his chest, laid down on her stomach, and curled up right under his chin. It didn't take long before he could hear her breathing go slow and even, evidence that she was able to fall asleep. He couldn't help but smile at the idea that she felt safe enough around him to sleep on him.
"Maybe when you get a little older and start talking, you can tell me what your name is. For now, sleep tight kiddo, you can rest assured that you're safe with me," he told her, lightly stroking her back with one finger.
She sighed happily and he smiled again. "Lights out," he said quietly, and the lights dimmed before he drifted off to sleep himself.