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It started on a regular cycle.
Earth was in the early stages of its spring season: the lunar-rotation referred to as March. The air was crisp and glowing with the sun, trees were sprouting tiny buds and covered in a fine sheen of frozen dew, and a couple insects darted through the air with their little wings.
The Decepticons had detected an energon signal in this woodland quadrant; untouched by humans or Autobots alike. It was faint, but even a single crystal would be invaluable.
And so Breakdown had been ordered to take a mining detail to the site and assess the area. When the rockface was tapped and a strong trace of energon was indeed confirmed, the miners set to work unloading their equipment and forming the main channel into the mountain's depths. The team worked systematically until a fully functioning network of tunnels were up and transporting carts of fresh energon crystals.
It was at this point that the vehicons carved into a pre-existing tunnel that apparently ran adjacent to their new path. It was comparatively small, but still pretty big for anything the Cybertronians had witnessed on Earth before.
One of the smallest miners turned to Breakdown and offered to recon it, which the cobalt mech obliged out of pure curiosity. The tunnel was close enough to the surface that airflow could still circulate through it, and the jagged walls proved it was naturally made - yet its placement just seemed... weird.
"Sir, there's something in here!" The drone gasped suddenly, voice echoing against the hollow rock in a loud whisper, "It's an animal of some kind. I can't tell if it's dead: it's not moving but it doesn't smell like dead organics usually do."
Breakdown frowned, intrigue paired with concern now, "What does it look like?"
"Bigger than any Earth creature I've seen before. It's brown and covered in shaggy fur, and it's got these massive claws on all four limbs. The helm is round with two round finials, closed optics, and a... snout? maybe with a black external olfactory sensor... oh wait, it's breathing. Just... slowly..."
The large grounder loaded a local internet browser onto his HUD and listed the features the miner had reported, hoping humans would be able to identify their own animal species. A few different results popped up, but Breakdown was pretty sure what they had stumbled upon was-
"A bear? Grizzly, apparently." He intoned, raising an optical ridge as he continued reading,
Grizzly bears enter a state of deep winter dormancy called torpor, which is a lighter form of hibernation, that lasts for five to seven months. This is usually from early November to April, depending on where they live. They hibernate in hillside dens or caves that protect them from the outside elements and insulate the inside bedding. During this time, their metabolism, heart rate (down to 8-12 bpm), and breathing slow dramatically to conserve energy, allowing them to live without eating, drinking, or defecating while in dens. Bears use energy from fat stores accumulated in the fall for sustenance, losing significant weight but minimal muscle mass. They don't truly "sleep" the entire time but remain in a low-energy state, ready to wake if disturbed.
Wait, what-!?
"Uuuhhhh, James..? You might wanna get out of there… Like. Right now." Breakdown puffed, bringing a servo up to his intake to hide the smile that began pulling at the corners.
"Why? This thing doesn't look that dangerou–UAAAGHHH!!!"
The miner cut himself off with a scream, nearly drowning out the guttural snarl that no doubt emerged from the organic mammal. He kept yelping as he frantically shimmed backward through the small tunnel, loud bangs of both metal on rock and claws on metal echoing into the main channel where his team stood.
"Frag! Its - GAAH! - claws are sha-AAHH-rp!"
Breakdown had two kliks to prepare himself before a purple aft scurried out of the tunnel and flung upright in one sharp movement, launching at him with the speed of a freight train. J7M35 collided with the bigger mech, nearly taking him down as he scurried on top of his wide chest plates and clung to his helm. Breakdown stumbled backward and instinctively grabbed the drone’s arms to pry them away from his face, only to freeze when his optics landed on the snarling, lumbering beast that emerged from the burrow then.
The bear was big, coat bristled and front paws flared. Its claws were speckled with flecks of purple paint from the miner's plating - claws that were just as long as the bared teeth sticking out of its mouth.
Breakdown stood rooted to the spot; the miner still perched on his collarplates for safety. Ventilation stalled, their optics were the only parts to shift as the bear blearily looked around the tunnel, searching for movement that was no longer in sight.
After what could’ve been a few kliks or a few jorns, it sniffed the air before letting out a gruff pant, and slowly trudged back toward the entrance to its den. Nobot moved until all traces of the beast had disappeared.
At which point, Breakdown burst out laughing.
His pauldrons shook with the motion, jostling J7M35 around until he fell off and landed on the cavern floor with a metallic thud. The miner glared first over at the bear's burrow and then down at his front, the silvery slashes a stark contrast to his smooth purple plating.
"Glitch!" He spat, running a digit along the deepest laceration, "And stop laughing, Breakdown! That hurt!!"
The bruiser only snorted in response, covering his intake in a poor attempt to suppress his noise, "I'm sorry - I'm sorry, James. I just-" Was all he could manage before another wave of laughter erupted from his voice box.
"I hate you." His miner companion huffed without any real malice, slugging his pauldron when he finally returned to his pedes.
"I-I did try to warn you! It was just protecting its home." Breakdown countered, a teasing grin still plastered to his faceplate, "It had to defend itself against such a big, scary threat - all glistening purple armor and glowing red optics hovering over it in the dark~!"
Three of the other nearby miners chuckled at the mimicry, drawn to their position after J7M35's surprised shriek.
Satisfied with laughing at the drone's expense, Breakdown quickly ordered for the wall dividing their tunnel and the bear's to be reconstructed ("so that we for-bear any more accidents with the local wildlife. Haha… sorry. Too soon?"). He checked the damage over to make sure no energon had been shed, before his team continued mining the mature crystals as scheduled.
The cycle continued uninterrupted, like nothing had ever happened.
But a seed had been planted in Breakdown's helm.
They returned to the Nemesis in the late afternoon with a considerable haul of energon, which was carted away by a team of vehicons to the processing facility on the lower deck. Soundwave logged the location of the mine for further harvesting, and added a note at Breakdown's request that the environment was hostile and should only be handled by experienced miners. Megatron denied his soldier any other tasks, and so the cobalt mech happily headed for the med bay with J7M35 at his side.
Knockout greeted Breakdown at the door with a quick kiss, ignoring the dirt clinging to his bulky chassis when he pressed close.
Their displays of affection were rare around the cloned troopers, but unbidden. It was a sign of trust for the drones - a bridge of respect between the higher ranks and the lower. They were entrusted to guard the secret from Decepticon Command, and that was a level of trust the troopers would never break.
When the two mechs separated, Knockout turned to address the miner, only to gasp in horror when he saw the claw marks on his chest. The rotary buffers and paint tins were instantly pulled out, and J7M35 was glimmering like a brand new Con in less than a half-jorn.
Breakdown assisted with two other repairs before they closed down the med bay for the night and wandered over to the mess hall. They timed it just right, so that most of the army had already grabbed their evening rations, and the room wasn't as crowded anymore. Once there, they snagged a pair of cubes and sat down at a table across from Starscream, who grumbled about their intrusion but didn't push them away.
It was while Knockout and Starscream conversed about... something... over their energon that Breakdown became absorbed by HUD.
He had yet to close the internet tab about grizzly bears, nor did he plan on doing so.
Instead, he researched information about their hibernation process and habitat parameters, thoroughly intrigued by the blurb he had previously read in the mine. The facts soon moved on to discuss diet throughout the seasons...
And that's where it spiraled.
Why did bears eat other animals!? What was a fish? A rabbit?? Squirrels???
Breakdown's HUD exploded with human browsers, optics blown wide with awe as he viewed photographs of stunning organic creatures and read their biological profiles.
Rabbits can rotate their ears 180 degrees to pinpoint sounds. They have powerful hind legs that allow them to run fast (up to 18 mph) and jump high...
Birds have hollow bones and powerful respiratory systems to enable flight. The shape and size of their wingspans affects their flight styles. Feathers on the wings assist with propulsion and gaining lift...
The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth, growing over ninety feet and weighing as much as two-hundred tons...
There are over seven thousand species of lizards around the world...
The information swirled around his processor, tabs overlapping each other and blending together over time. Earth's animals were just so amazing - why hadn't he paid attention to them before?
"-be going, then. Megatron will undoubtedly terminate me if I'm late."
Starscream's voice snapped Breakdown from his research, forcing him to return to the conversation.
"Of course." Knockout agreed, standing up from his spot, "And if I may: discuss what's required, but refrain from anything too triggering. Lord Megatron's volatility is increasing at an exponential rate since that latest intake of dark energon."
Breakdown just barely caught the "it worries me" that slipped past his partner's derma, optics trained on Starscream's hiked wings as he stalked out of the mess hall. The bruiser chugged the rest of his energon and followed Knockout into the corridor as well, reluctantly closing his HUD tabs when he realized they were headed toward their quarters.
He needed to recharge - this silly fixation would pass if only he let it go...
He in fact did not let it go.
The next cycle, Breakdown was ordered to guard the entrance of a different mine while three teams worked to stabilize the main cavern and continue harvesting energon crystals. The lone Autobot Wrecker had been spotted in the quadrant recently, and so double the amount of guards were posted to defend the premise. Sure, their energy signatures were in greater concentration now, but hopefully the greater numbers would dissuade Wheeljack from attacking by himself.
Breakdown yawned and shifted his weight from one pede to the other, lidded optics scanning the ridgeline for the umpteenth time. The sight was boring, if he was being honest.
The first dozen times he surveyed the area, adrenaline had him anticipating Wheeljack's figure to come charging through the brush.
By the fifteenth time, paranoia insisted he scrutinize every tree trunk for movement, and check the skyline for the Jackhammer to suddenly descend with missiles deployed.
By the second dozen, though, boredom found him dozing off on the job, or stretching his stiff limbs as he did just now.
Breakdown didn't know if he should be grateful that Megatron hadn't ordered him to assist in the mine, or pissed that he had been put on babysitting duty instead. That Wrecker sighting had been several cycles ago - what if he had already vacated the area? A groan escaped the bruiser's derma without his notice, rolling his pauldrons again as he glanced at the treeline.
Just then, a small flash of blue darted between the branches. It was far too small to be Arcee, but it still had Breakdown's hammers out in a moment. He trained his optics on the spot, straining his audio receptors to either confirm or deny the suspicion until a shrill, avian cry suddenly pierced the silence. It happened twice, then a low, whistling chirp, followed by a succession of twittering.
Breakdown recognized the species that made those sounds just as the bluejay finally descended to the ground.
It was male; decked out in white underbelly feathers and a cascade of blue and black feathers down its back and wings. It hopped around the brush and pecked at things too small for the Cybertronian to see, intent on its snack despite the metal giant that stood motionless in its presence. The bluejay gave another bell-like chirp and flapped its wings, head cocked to the side when it finally noticed Breakdown standing beside the hillside.
And then something extraordinary (in Breakdown's opinion) happened.
The bluejay flew up to him and landed on the edge of his chestplate, talons a small prick against his dense armor. It made another set of calls - harsh and loud next to Breakdown's audials - and peered at their surrounding landscape just the same as he had for the last few jorns.
The bulky mech stared in wonder, intake ajar and ventilation frozen. He secretly snapped a picture but otherwise did not move, watching the small blue creature perched on his chest like it was a direct gift from Primus himself.
How blessed was he to have an Earth bird so close to him! He just didn't understand what good deed he had done to deserve such a reward.
Nor did he understand why he deserved the chorus of shrill calls that arose from the forest, multiple other bluejays appearing between the leaf canopy. They paused among the safety of the branches - seemingly wary of the foreign metal entity standing before them - but after an exchange of whistles between them and the one perched on Breakdown's chest, three more soon flew up to him.
Another picture was quickly taken of this development, solidifying that this was real and not a result of his boredom.
The Cybertronian watched, helpless to his own amazement, as the four bluejays began scratching at his chest plates, using their talons to dig into the cobalt paint. Even their sharpest, deepest marks were painless, but it made Breakdown wonder what they were doing. It's not like he had bugs - Knockout made sure his plating remained in pristine health.
It was only when the group of bluejays tore up entire chips of paint that the bruiser panicked. Not because of the damage, no. It was because two of the birds snatched up the chips in the beaks and fragging ate them!
Breakdown was moving in an instant.
"No! No, don't eat that! Spit it out!" He shouted as the bluejays shrieked and tried to fly away, "You'll poison yourselves!"
His large servos reached up in a blur, caging the two culprits before they could escape. His palms were immediately assaulted with scratches and sharp beaks, audio receptors bombarded with their wailing cries.
"Soundwave! I need a groundbridge!" Breakdown frantically called into his communications center, unsure what else to do.
Either Soundwave recognized the concern in his voice or heard the unfamiliar screaming in the background, or simply didn't need an explanation, and so a swirling vortex ripped into existence a moment later.
The cobalt mech barreled through the portal and wound up in the main observation deck, where both Soundwave and Starscream were standing. The Air Commander instinctively clutched his audio receptors and demanded to know what "that horrible, pit-forsaken sound" was, but Breakdown ignored him in favor of the door.
He dashed through the hallways and scared multiple groups of vehicons on his route to the med bay, alternating between shouting apologies at his friends and shushing the bluejays in his servos.
Their assault had yet to cease.
"Knockout!" Breakdown hollered the moment the medical center's doors opened, startling both the doctor and a patient inside.
Knockout jerked away from an operating berth with an active welder in his servos, and an eradicon missing an arm fell off the other side of said berth with a startled yelp. Both jerked their helms to see what the commotion was, but neither could get in a glyph before Breakdown started rambling,
"I was guarding the mine but then these bluejays came out of the trees and- oh yeah, bluejays are a type of Earth avian. They're omnivores so they eat both plants and other animals which is super sad- but anyway they were perched on my chest plates for a bit but then they started raking up my paint and they ate it and I'm pretty sure that's poisonous and I don't know what to do. Knockout, you gotta do something, please! A way to make them purge or–"
"Breakdown!" The cherry red medic interrupted, shutting his welder off and placing it on a side cart, "Slow down, darling. You'll blow a gasket."
He walked over to his partner and peered down at his clasped servos, scowling at the screeching birds pocketed within, "Lemme get a cage or something to put them in, first."
When a cage could not be readily found, Knockout substituted an empty energon cube and slashed into the crystalline sides to form ventilation slits. He placed the cube over Breakdown's servos and instructed him to slowly open them, which effectively allowed the bluejays to dart out and right into the new container.
Knockout proceeded to slam the makeshift cage onto a counter, and tossed the eradicon's detached arm on top as a paperweight.
"Primus, those things could out-scream 'Screamer!" He growled, turning his gaze back to Breakdown, "Now then. You said they... ate your paint?"
The medic lightly brushed his digits across his assistant's chest plates, noting both the chipped alloy and the sets of marks were talons had recently punctured the finish.
Breakdown nodded, sending a quick wave of apology to the confused eradicon who had resituated themself on the berth again. They waved back, even more puzzled.
"Hmm." Was all Knockout provided in return, optics distant as he subconsciously played with the cracked paint job before him. He was itching to fix it first, but he knew his partner wouldn't accept anything other than his attention on the stupid birds...
The racer suddenly cracked a smile, optics refocusing, "So you mean to tell me; you made a big scene in groundbridging back to base with two screaming birds in your servos, all in front of half the Decepticon army.., because you didn't know these "bluejay" creatures normally eat paint?"
Breakdown cycled his optics. Checked his hearing. Twice.
"wHat?"
Knockout started shaking with barely contained laughter. And instead of answering, a little notification in the corner of Breakdown's communications center alerted him to a message from his partner. A link to a website, specifically.
The cobalt bruiser almost wished he didn't open it.
When natural sources of calcium are scarce in the wintertime or depleted due to acid rain in areas like New England, Bluejays have been known to eat paint chips, especially during nesting season when calcium needs are high. This vital mineral is important for strong bones and eggshell development. Bluejays are not picky with the paint they consume when in need, but they do prefer lighter paints because these usually contain limestone, another vital nutrient.
"I... Well, frag." Breakdown cursed, dumbfounded as he glanced over at the pair of birds still contained to the counter. They had quieted down a bit at least, but were now staring at the brightly-colored Cybertronians like they were a buffet, "Why'd you have to scare me like that!? I thought you were poisoning yourselves!"
One of the bluejays chirped, either innocent or mocking he couldn't tell.
Breakdown sighed, dragging a bitten servo down his faceplate as the tension dissipated from his stance. His gaze inevitably drifted back to the creatures on the counter; meeting their beady black eyes and tilted heads, fluffed blue feathers and thin legs. Knockout was still watching him expectantly, perhaps waiting for him to decide on a course of action, but the large mech just had to ask the next question on his processor,
"...Could we keep them?"
The medic's glare could’ve melted metal.
A decacycle after the bluejays were (reluctantly) released back into the wild, Knockout and Breakdown had escaped the Nemesis for an evening drive together, and were cruising down the sandy, open roads of Nevada's desert. It was perfect timing, as the sun was glowing against the orange sand enough for them to see without their headlights, but wasn't scorching anymore to the point where their tires melted on the paved blacktop.
That was a mess they dealt with once and Knockout declared "never again."
"-And did you see the way Bumblebee went flying!? I thought I sent him to the Allspark for sure!" Breakdown laughed, recounting a fight between the Autobots and Decepticons that had occurred earlier that cycle.
"I did too, but that scout's come back from death's row more than once already - I guess I shouldn't have been surprised he was just playing dead." Knockout grumbled, shifting gears to match his partner's pace.
"Kid's defiant, I'll give him that..." The cobalt mech glanced out his rearview mirrors, half-expecting the Autobot of topic to appear around the closest rockface, "...Makes you wonder what he's doing in the war, though. He's far too young to have been on life support so many times, let alone enough times that he can pretend to be offline so well."
"True.. I bet he would've made a good racer back on Cybertron. Gave me a run for my shannix that one time!" Knockout more-or-less complimented, revving his engine at the thought.
His assistant chuckled, "But you still smoked him– WOAH what is that!?"
The two vehicles slammed on their brakes and transformed before they even processed the three figures standing in the middle of the road a few feet ahead, pedes screeching across the asphalt.
The creatures scattered off to the sides on all galloping fours, which made a clunking noise with every step. They had lean legs and a stocky body to match their short statures, yet two massive horns spiraled off their heads - sprouting from the top and curling into almost complete circles at the sides of their faces. Their fur was a short brownish gray with white accents, and from their stout mouths came an unmistakable and quite adorable bleating sound.
"Oh, we're sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." Breakdown cooed as soon as he recognized the species, instantly dropping to a knee pad.
"Didn't mean- what are they?" The racer scoffed, disgust clear on his faceplate.
"Humans call them Bighorn sheep. They're resilient mountain climbers, but they can be aggressive if they feel threatened." His partner quietly explained, "They're also red-green colorblind, so thankfully your plating won't register as a threat.”
Knockout had a retort ready on his glossa, but it died when the small band of rams took a few cautious steps back onto the road, creeping closer to the Cybertronians. They sniffed the air and flicked their ears for a breem, before walking more confidently toward the new structures in front of them.
Breakdown was nearly vibrating with excitement, but forced his joints to lock before he attempted to reach out and accidently scared the sheep again.
<< Darling, we should get going. >> The medic urged through their communications center, growing uncomfortable with every foot of space that disappeared between himself and the organics.
<< Just a breem? >> His assistant denied, << Please? >>
A slightly more violent exvent left Knockout's systems, but he didn't make any move to disrupt his partner's moment. Well, so long as nothing touched him… otherwise then he couldn't make any promises about not running them over...
The rams finally stood before Breakdown's bent knee pad, one wet nose pressed against his cool metal to sniff the faint, nutty scent of his wax coat. The second one was far more bold, for it galloped over and happily jumped onto his still gauntlet without a second thought. That in turn spurred the final one to climb onto his leg, and then his knee pad.
<< Are you seeing this!?! Look at how well they climb!! >> He exclaimed over text.
<< Oh yes. I see how well they're using you like a jungle gym - and planting their filthy pedes on your plating, mind you! >> The Aston Martin groused in reply, scowling at the three creatures.
Breakdown smirked, << Sounds like somebot's jealous~ You wanna climb on me too~? Maybe up my thighs, wrap your legs around my waist~~ >>
Knockout smartly remained silent, but the sudden whoosh of his vents cranking up to their highest setting gave him away.
Thankfully, the band of rams didn't seem to notice the increase in airflow, and continued playing along Breakdown's frame. They hopped onto the back of his leg and up his right gauntlet, one even managing to reach the flat of his chest plates, before two of them got bored and turned their attention to Knockout.
<< Breakdown. Breakdown, do not let these things touch me. You have a responsibility to your conjunx above all else and these organics are threatening me! >> The scarlet medic spammed into his communications center, panicking under the gaze of the wild sheep.
A notification hit his HUD, but instead of it being his partner's reply, a call tag with Starscream's frequency and ID nickname glared back at him.
<< Oh slag, nevermind. Starscream's calling. >> Knockout texted without a hint of remorse, << Better say goodbye to your creatures before he scares them away >>
He never thought he'd see the cycle that he preferred to listen to the Seeker over hanging out with his assistant, but those two sheep were encroaching on his pedes and Breakdown had yet to do anything, so matters had to be taken into his own servos now. The Aston Martin therefore hit send on his warning message, and immediately accepted the call from their Second in Command.
- "Knockout! Where are you!? And Breakdown for that matter!?" - Starscream's voice screeched from his external speakers, raspier than usual and sounding wet, as though he was speaking around energon in his intake, - "You didn't have authorization to leave the warship, and I require immediate medical attention!! What good is a doctor that's not in his fragging med bay!?" -
Ah, that would explain it.
The small herd of sheep instantly startled at the sound of the injured caller, and scrambled away from the Cybertronians with a universal bleat of alarm. The one still on Breakdown's knee pad fell off, but recovered quick enough to catch up with its friends.
"Get to the med bay, or onto a berth if you're already there. We're coming." Knockout directed into his comms before closing the call, sparing a glance at the retreating rams and his partner's dejected expression.
"Sorry, darling." He offered, already selecting Soundwave's contact, "Let's go see what Megatron beat Starscream up for this time. I swear I did warn him not to trigger him.."
The medic shook his helm, clearing his intake, "Hello, Soundwave. Might we request a groundbridge at our coordinates, preferably directly into the med bay? That would be much appreciated."
Breakdown grumbled something under his vents and straightened onto his pedes again, coming to stand beside Knockout as their transportation sliced into existence, which glowed vibrantly against their darkened surroundings.
And from afar, the rams watched them disappear into the groundbridge, leaving not a trace of the metal giants or their magic in their wake…
For a Cybertronian, the worst part about places on or near the Earth's equator was the humidity. It would seep into their armor and clog their vents, forming condensation in their systems and corroding the metal. With supplies in such short supply, the last thing any bot needed was a rust infection.
In the end, it meant that trips near the equator were limited, and only permitted for short runs by the most experienced and medically fit teams.
Or, if your army was limited and you were high off your processor, you'd just order your regular soldiers to tackle it.., like Megatron did.
Which led to Breakdown completing a solo mission to the southeastern peninsula state on the continent the Nemesis was currently stationed over, which humans referred to as "Florida." The weather was miserable and the local civilians were a nightmare to travel with on the road, but he had eventually slipped into the mostly uninhabited marshland and secured his objective: an old Cybertronian tech detector that had been previously stashed on Earth for future use.
It was small enough that the lone blue Decepticon could subspace it for transport, and he gratefully turned back to escape the thick atmosphere clinging to his plating. The composition of the swamp water was blocking his communications center, but he'd be able to get a groundbridge as soon as he cleared the densest part of the marsh.
Breakdown walked along the bank and waded through the murky water for a few breems in silence, just listening to the native soundscape of chirps, croaks, buzzes, and pops from insects, amphibians, and birds, until he spotted a large creature resting along the bank in front of him. It had a long body covered in leathery scutes, a flat snout with crooked teeth sticking out, and four short limbs. He’d seen this reptile multiple times throughout his research, but it was often confused with another closely-related species; and so he crouched down in the grass and compared the features before him with his notes.
Alligators have wide, U-shaped snouts with only upper teeth visible when their mouth is closed, while crocodiles have narrow, V-shaped snouts with both upper and lower teeth visible when their mouth is closed. Alligators are typically darker in color (ranging from dark green to black), while crocodiles are usually lighter in tone (olive to brownish gray). Further, crocodiles grow larger than alligators and are naturally more aggressive.
"Ah, so you're an alligator then." Breakdown mused, daring a few steps forward.
The alligator didn't move a muscle, but its small dark eyes locked onto the metal giant as he slowly approached.
"Promise I'm not gonna hurt you, bud. You're the biggest predator in these parts - I'm not gonna challenge that." The bruiser chuckled, kneeling down once more when he was in front of the reptile now.
He could see its throat moving in short, rapid breaths and held its gaze, smiling when it didn’t bolt away like the other animals he had interacted with before, "I bet you're hot out here too, huh? Must feel nice to cool off in the water."
Against his better judgement, Breakdown cautiously raised his servo toward the alligator's side, remembering an article that warned against petting their faces first. When the alligator didn't react, he gently brought a single digit to the raised scutes on its back, pleasantly surprised by how soft, and daresay squishy, the texture was.
He gingerly ran his digit down the reptile's back, rumbling out a couple compliments about its deep color and thanking it for not running away. The mech was surprised when it responded in turn, nudging its head in his direction.
Did it like that? Could it understand him?
Breakdown quickly searched for an answer (and fought with the local wifi to access the internet), and discovered that alligators have incredibly good hearing, which is sensitive to low frequencies. They used infrasound to communicate with each other, with lower-pitched bellows signaling larger, more dominant males.
"Heh, so you like the sound of my voice? And here I said I wouldn't challenge your authority. Sorry." He quietly laughed, hesitantly bringing his free servo up to scratch the top of the alligator's head.
Mission entirely forgotten and personal health ignored, Breakdown sat with the alligator for a while and gently pet along its back and head, adding a chin scratch to the rotation of affection when they both grew comfortable enough. He continued murmuring low comments about the scenery around them, excited when it occasionally rewarded him with a croak from his new friend.
"You know... I know next to nothing about your species, and yet I kinda wanna take you home with me. Maybe Knockout will like you; you're quieter than the bluejays I brought aboard the ship once, and you're calmer than those crazy sheep we stumbled upon." The bruiser wondered aloud, grinning down at the cold-blood reptile, "Whadda ya say? You wanna visit the Nemesis for a bit? I know you can't stay for long, but I could at least ask Soundwave to get me a tracker for you, so that I can even come back here to say hi to you!"
When no word or obvious movement was spoken in disagreement, Breakdown nodded to himself and stood up. He scooped the alligator into his arms and slung it over his pauldrons, securely wedged between the back of his helm and his spare tire. The 1,000+ pound beast just laid there, either accepting it or stunned by the sudden movement and newfound height it had achieved atop the Cybertronian.
"You good there, buddy?" Breakdown chimed, bending his arm to pat its head and scratch the underside of its snout, "Good, 'cause we've got a bit of a trek before I can call for a groundbridge."
Thus, their leisurely walk through the marshland continued, the soundscape now accompanied by the Decepticon's deep timbre and a sporadic croak from the reptile.
After a few breems, the dense treeline began to thin and the swamps lessened, and Breakdown's communications center finally fizzled back to life. He sighed in relief, as his systems were choking in the humidity and the alligator atop his pauldrons was definitely not helping with the strain. Still, he refused to set it down, and instead pet its tail as he went to activate a call to the Nemesis,
"Breakdown here. Objective is secure, and I could use a groundbridge. Q-Quick question, though: am I allowed to bring something... extra.. back to base with me?"
There was silence for a klik longer than he wished, but Lord Megatron's voice soon came through with a gruff - "Affirmative. As long as you have the tech, I do not care what else you return with." -
Breakdown had a feeling his leader would regret that decision in a moment, but who was he to complain? He gave his organic friend another pat of reassurance as his requested vortex crackled to life, and confidently stepped through to cool, humidless air.
He was spit out in the main observation deck, where nearly all of Decepticon Command - Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, and Knockout - were all waiting with their attention turned toward him. Him, and the massive alligator draped along his pauldrons.
The look on their faceplates was priceless.
“"EXTRA!?’ WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE FRAG IS THAT, BREAKDOWN!!??"