NightBlitz

--- SWERVE ---

Swerve had seen rain within Earth media countless times before. So much of their culture revolves around the precipitation of dihydrogen monoxide. It made sense. Without water, much of life on Earth would die. There was so much emotion portrayed in movies and shows when rain is involved. Couples breaking up in a rainstorm. A tragedy from a flood. The joy of children running through puddles. Yet, feeling the droplets against his holoform seemed, what’s the word? Underwhelming.

“You know, I always wondered how our holoforms would react to lightning.” Said Skids.

The bartender turned to the other, horrified. “Don’t jinx it. I think I remember something about circuit burns from Magnus’ projection safety pamphlets.”

“I’m more worried about this little one. He’s been shaking ever since the storm was in audial range.” Said Rung softly, petting the slime in his arms.

Skids nudged his face towards the creature, cooing, “Never seen a mimic this tame before. The wee thing likes ya.”

Swerve inched closure, “It is kind of cute. It’s like an Earth kitten. If the kitten was blue, and it lacked the legs, tail, fur, and a face.”`

“So nothing like a kitten at all,” chuckled Skids.

“Its eyes are yellow so close enough.” Huffed Swerve. “Say, if we don’t find the owner, think we can hide it from Ultra Magnus. We can keep it on my habsuite and take turns feeding it. That means we should give it a name. We should call it ‘Boba.’ Like the drink.”

“I like ‘Bubbles’ better,” the taller mech said.

The phycologist shook his head, “While I do not condone smuggling lifeforms onboard the ship. I do feel like it is our responsibility to ensure its well-being.”

Swerve nodded, “Exactly, that is why if we ta-“ the thunder crackled above. Then the creature let out a piercing cry. “What the Frag was that? What happened? Is it hurt?”

Rung struggled to grip the fluid creature as it wriggled in his arms. “I think that it’s frightened, the poor thing. Maybe we should go inside so it can calm down.”

“Ai. Probably for the best. Rains coming down hard. I don’t know about you, but soggy clothes aren’t that comfortable,” supplied skids.

Just then, a voice echoed across the still busy street, causing the bots to jump. The three turned. The sound was getting closer, until a small bipedal being could be seen barreling towards them.

Puuuuuuuuuuuuyyyyyoooooo!

Swerve gasp. It was a human. A real human. They practically slid in front of them, panting. When they looked up, they were radiating pure joy. In the rain, they looked mesmerizing.

“You found her,” They  said.

Skids and Rung looked at them with awe when the mimic vaulted into their arms. The effect was instant. The creature was purring as the human held them closure, relief on their face.

“You must be the owner,” said Rung smiling. “I am glad we were able to find you. The strength of your bond with each other is quite evident.”

The organic looked up, at all of them. “You have no idea. She is like family and I can’t thank you enough.” They then pointed at the building across the way. A bar. “Let me buy you a drink, it’s the least I can do.”

Rung frowned slightly, “Well you see-”

But he was cut off by the human, “I insist. Come on before we all get drenched,” they said. Their laughter was loud and boisterous.

Swerve looked at his companion, his shake with excitement, despite the fact that he was in his projected form. “Can we? I mean they did invite us.”

“It would be rude not to,” said Rung slowly.

Skids motioned them to follow, “You heard him, let's go.”

The minibot thought to himself. The rush of emotions from the human appearing out of nowhere to the constant pressure sensors triggering against the downpour. It made him feel lightheaded. Maybe this is why so much of human media portrays historic moments in the rain.

--- RUNG ---

Somehow through a whirlwind of events, Rung ended up here, on a remote organic settlement, at a restaurant, soon to be seated next to a human. His companions looked just as excited as he felt. As the most outgoing of the group, Skids looked ecstatic. He was like a sparkling with the way his head swiveled at every sight and sound. Next to him, Swerve had a more anxious expression. No doubt in anticipation from finally meeting a member of the species that occupied his interest.

As for himself, it had been a long time since he had felt this giddy. When he first began his search for the mimics owner, it was more out of civic duty. The creature had obviously been domesticated and it pained him to find such small thing lost and forgotten. He did not expect the sheer force of love and affection the human had for the creature, it was beautiful. Then in an instant, all that love and gratitude was projected onto him when they thanked him, it made his spark swell. There was such intensity in their optics, it felt like for the first time in centuries, he had been SEEN. He simply had to learn more about this individual.

“This is actually happening,” Swerve. mumbled to himself.

Next to him, Skids hung an arm around the man, “Easy there. You’ll be fine. Don’t overthink it.”

The minibot shot a pained look back. “Don’t overthink it. Don’t tell me that. It's like telling my processor to do the exact opposite.”

“Then talk it out bud. It's just a conversation. You're good at those.”

Rung smiled. It was nice to see Skids ease Swerve’s nervousness. His assurances did help as the mech calmed down. Just in time, the human strolled to the table, fabric in one hand and a plate of food in another.

“Here are some towels to dry yourselves with.” They said, passing the white cloth fragments to the mechs, then placing the plate down with a smile, “So the Zatu call this dish a Zeebriska. It’s the closest thing to Nachos I have eaten in a long time, feel free to have some.”

“Thank you, you didn’t have to.” replied Rung

“Though we really appreciate the gesture,” added Swerve. “After all we just re-I mean we just ate not too long ago.”

Wait, was that a smirk from the human? Rung could have sworn he saw their face looked amused, if only for a second. Then they shrugged, “More for me. I was serious earlier. If you see anything on the menu, it's my treat.”

“Thanks. You know, we never actually caught your name.” Said Skids.

The human laughed, “Right sorry, call me Buddy. And you said that you were Skids, Swerve and Rung. Did I get that correct?”

“Right on the money,” said Swerve. “So how did you end up out here?”

“I can ask you the same thing. I haven’t met another human in years.’m a courier. I deliver mail and other goods to remote settlements across the system.”

Swerve lit up, “You’re a regular adventurer then.”

Buddy smirked, “Something like that. Though I am stranded here for the moment. My ship's electrical systems got fried during a stellar storm in the Bybax System, with it, all navigational and communication equipment was lost. I haven’t been able to fix it since.”

Skids tilted his head, “Isn’t that two star systems away. How did you get here?”

“Hitched a ride with a Gren cargo freighter for three-quarters the way, then I piloted the rest.”

“No way you could have steered your ship on sight alone.” Skids gasp.

“Give me some credit. I had a calculator too.”

The other clapped, “You got skill, bud. I’ll give you that.”

Swerve shifted in his seat, “Yet you said you're still stranded?”

“It wasn’t exactly a soft landing.” they said. “I can handle structural repairs, it’s just I am clueless when it comes to anything software related. So I am grounded until I can find someone to fix the damage or I need to abandon the craft.”

The minibot nearly jumped, “Maybe you can come with us. We might have people that can help with that.”

“Swerve,” Rung warned. It's not that he didn’t want to help this individual, but it would be against ship policy to bring an alien race aboard. It was one thing, bringing a mimic. Those were non-organic, requiring little to no maintenance. This was a living, breathing sentient.

“Come on, Rung. Don’t you feel a little bad for them. We just need to convince Rodimus and Drift. Then Magnus will have to agree. You know we have room and the resources.”

“Look guys,” Buddy said, catching the bot's attention. “This is obviously a hot subject for you. I don’t want you to get in trouble on my behalf. If you really want to help, send me to your superiors and let me try to try to hash out a deal.”

Skids scratched his head, “Well, it might be a little more complicated than that.”

Everything paused. In an instant, the three autobots conversed over their comm units.

:Swerve: We should tell them. ::

:Skids: Okay, so you do it. ::

:Swerve: What? Why me? ::

:Skids: You were the one to offer our help. Gotta follow through. ::

:Swerve: What if I spook them. I mean, Cybertronians are universally hated around here. ::

:Skids: You just don’t want them to hate you. ::

:Swerve: You. You’re the worst. ::

:Rung: That’s enough, I will tell them. However you will be the one to appeal to Ultra Magnus. ::

:Swerve: Fine. Just promise me that you’ll back me when UM asks what happened. ::

:Skids: Course. ::

:Rung: You have my support. Now we have kept our guest waiting long enough. ::

Rung checked his internal clock. Their conversation lasted less than a minute. The human was still consuming their meal. He cleared his throat, taking hold of his glasses. “Buddy, there is something important we have neglected to mention.”

A quick glance to his fellow crew members. Both leaning in for the big reveal. Swerve looked like he was about to go offline at any moment, while Skids barely could hide a grin. Back to the human, they hummed in response, brow raised.

Rung frowned, “The truth is that we are Cybertronians disguised as humans.”

Dead silent between the three of them. Rung tracked her expression in real time. From the furl of the brow, widening eyes, and swallowing in quick succession. What he did not expect was an abrupt laugh. “Noble. I knew you weren’t human but cybertronian? It's an honor.”

Skids laughed along with the human, “You’re pretty clever. I like that.”

Swerve was on his feet, “You knew!? When? How?”

They shrugged, “As soon as you introduced yourselves. You see, we humans have a knack for picking up differences in our own. For example, ” Buddy held out a hand to Swerve. “May I?”

Swerve’s EM field was surging. Rung looked around, fearing the other xenos might pick up such a strong signature. Evidently, none seemed to notice, or at the very least contributed to the storm outside. It did not help that Skids was nearly keeled over from his giggling. “Sure,” the minibot squeaked.

Buddy cupped two hands around his one. “Incredible. Such a tightly knit hard-light matrix. Sorry, off-topic. For example, your skin may feel the same as mine, but it doesn’t have any blemishes. Signs of natural wear and tear. We also have small hairs across our body and we produce oils and pheromones. While humans aren’t normally conscious of those facts, the absence of it can be disconcerting.” They let go, “Apologies if I made you uncomfortable.”

The minibot’s projection flickered, but he shook his head, “No. Not uncomfortable. Never been better.”

Rung did not realize he too was leaning in with their explanation. “Fascinating. And this is an ability that you share with the rest of your species?”

“It’s not really an ability as it is an aspect of our psychology. Anything that can be described as human-but-not-quite makes us incredibly uneasy. Hone in on those traits, and you have a better chance of determining friend from foe, or in this case,” Buddy winked, “deciding if these nice strangers are actually aliens.”

Rung coughed, ignoring the frazzled EM of Swerve, “Yet you don’t seem upset at all.”

“Not in the slightest. If anything, I am impressed. Humans are a good choice. Squishy, unassuming. Not to mention, practically pocket sized to the rest of the galaxy.”

“Pocket size?” Skids wheezed. “Did my translator short, or did you admit your entire race was tiny?”

Buddy threw their arms up, “Of course I did. It’s almost comical how nearly everyone I come across has to look down at me. I am willing to bet my ship that in your true form, I can fit in the palm of your hand. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You got me. Though, I can think of a few species that are larger than us.”

They chuckled. “Because that is a reassuring thought. On a serious note, is that why you don’t want me to speak with your captain?”

“It’s not so much as the captain, as it is his Second in Command,” explained Swerve. “You see, our SiC is stickler about rules. Some of those rules are very specific in how we handle contact with other aliens, especially organics.”