Ep 05 - A New Ride.

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The sleek little silver and grey Nissan 350 Z looked unassuming enough. Just sitting in the hospital parking lot waiting. But if you looked a little closer you'd notice things were a little.. different. The red symbol on it's hood was the first and most obvious but then you'd see more oddities. The tint of the windows was too dark. The Tires looked too clean for having driven around in Nevada.

But, there was no one there to really look and so Bluestreak sat in the parking lot watching the doors and waited for June Darby to exit. Her Shift should be ending soon after all.

[june]

“Why,” said a very bright and cheery voice, “just look and this lovely little car, all sporty and adorable.” June Darby, who had wandered up from the right rear quarter panel to admire herself in the extremely polished metal, beamed. She was still in her work clothes, fresh off shift and in a good mood because of it. “It looks so sad and lonely and so very lightly used.” She strolled around pretty little sports car, stopping at the driver’s side and patting the hood as though it were a well behaved child of whom she was very fond and, should one have known the nuances of this car, that reaction would have been less puzzling. June tested the car door and found it clicked cleanly open for her and, on its own power, swung open.

“I suppose,” she said as she slipped into the front seat and the door clicked shut behind her, “that I will just have to drive around and keep this very handsome car lots of company." She adjusted the rearview mirror slightly, looking into her own eyes there as though it were looking into Blustreak’s. “Hullo, Blue. How are you?”

[Deleted]

If it was possible for for a care to preen at the praise Bluestreak would be. Once June was seated, buckled and her hands on the steering wheel the little sports car started up it's engine and drove out of the parking lot.

"Hello Miss Darby I'm doing well how was your day? Did you have any were you wanted to go before I take you home? I think Jacks on base with Miko and Raf of you like."

Bluestreak really liked June Darby. Maybe it was simply because she reminded her of other strong feminine people in hir life but there was probably more than that.

"Or maybe get something to eat?"

[june]

“Oh no, sweetie, I’m good. I packed a big lunch at work. Let’s just get to the base.”

It wasn’t like she hadn’t demanded a small paycheck from Fowler to literally pay for keeping a kitchen and sleep area in the base well stocked with provisions for the children. And if there were a couple tubs of Chunky Monkey in the back of the fridge, well frankly June supposed it was the least Uncle Ben could do to make up for her and her son’s life being flipped upside down. She did not, of course, mention this to Bluestreak but as the alien sports car shot off up the street with more control, solidity, and precision than any human driver or man-made car had ever been capable of. And the engine (or rather, Blue’s energon converter) were quiet as an air conditioner.

“How is everyone on base today? League and Optimus recovered any from their wounds?” Of all the Autobots, those two had seen the worst of it off Megatron. League lost an arm and Optimus… well he’d never let on that the damage was bad but the twitch in Ratchet’s right optic gave it away.

[Deleted]

As Bluestreak left the outer limits of Jasper ou picked up speed. Loving the thrill of wind against hir plates. Making sure not to make June uncomfortable with the speed how ever. Humans could only withstand so much g-force after all.

"Well Ratchet's let them leave the med-bay so I think they're okay. It's hard to tell with the stoic types though. Optimus is particularly bad, he's like a less silly version of that Black Knight from Monty Python. "

Maybe Bluestreak shouldn't be comparing hir CO to a lunatic from a comedy film but the metaphor seemed apt enough.

[june]

Transforming alien robots quoting Monty Python. She would have found that more amusing if not for the fact that the Autobots had a chirpy, bright yellow foot solider named Bumblebee and that no one saw the slightest problem with that. It was like a Care Bear with a submachine gun. Your transforming death machine from space named Sprinkles or Strawberry. But moving beyond that, there was the matter of the Autobots and their recovery.

Up until now, the concept of the Autobots as machines had been pervasive, but seeing them… hurt had changed a lot of the lingering impression that they were invincible. League and Velocity and Shadowrunner coming back from the big fight after the powerstation… Optimus even. They’d been torn up, metal and mesh ripped open like cars after a wreck and still wore the welds even now. It had only been a few weeks and June knew that welds weren’t always in mesh.

It was why she’d asked for Bluestreak as her protection detail. Same as the kids – an Autobot for a guardian. “Oh, Optimus has far too much dignity anyway. I encourage a bit of dressing down.”

[Deleted]

For cybertonians non-verbal communication was a vital part of their lives. Humans too to a lesser extent and as a result for those who knew to look reading human body language was surprisingly easy. Slowing down to a more rational pace Bluestreak was quiet for a moment before speaking.

"Oh, Ironhide and Ratchet yell at him all the time but I think he's used to it now....But... Is there something you want to talk about June it seems like something's bothering you. I know I'm a talker but I can be a pretty good listener too."

[june]

“It’s just… I worry. That’s all.”

There was a long silence. Ray was dead. She wanted to talk to someone about the fact that someone, a bystander seen as linked to the Autobots, had been murdered because of that link. Ray had been in precisely the position that Jack, Miko, and Raf (and herself) were in and Barricade had him killed… horrifically. She had to make a physical effort not to tighten her fingers around the curve of the steering wheel. They killed Barricade though, thought June. They offlined the monster that did this. But then she knew, that Barricade being dead didn’t bring Ray back… and it would not bring Jackson (or Rafael or Miko Nakadai) back if some con got it in their head to try again…

No. She would take it up with Fowler or Optimus. Not the little Nissan. Bluestreak didn't need to think about Ray's death. So...

“Bluestreak,” she said, to distract herself, “I’m really sorry to ask this, hun, but are you male or female? The others flip flop when they talk to you or use non-gendered pronouns. I mean I know that strictly speaking it doesn’t apply to Cybertronians but the others all…picked one…I guess?” Oh smooth, June. “Sorry. I suppose I’m asking what pronoun you would like me to use.”

[Deleted]

What ever was truly bothering June she wasn't going to let it go right now. At least not to Bluestreak and the sniper had a suspicion what is was anyway. So, change of subject she want's change of subject she gets. This one at least Bluestreak didn't mind talking about.

"Well, you can use any pronoun you like but I haven't picked one because there isn't really any that apply."

Maybe it was because Praux was gone but Bluestreak was the only Praxian left with this build design. Prowl and Smokescreen both were of a different make. The best running theory was that the sniper was a new build that hadn't had a chance to become more common.

"When we deal with species like humans who have multiple genders we pick a pronoun that best matches our... model type, I suppose. But since I'm the only one of my 'type' and no one's ever seen any like me before we don't have a word for me in Cybertonian there's no word for me in any other language."

"It's more a linguistic thing than anything else. The way I appear androgynous to humans is just a funny coincidence. "

[june]

“Well, that puts me on the spot a bit, Blue.” June pretended to take a turn off, Bluestreak signaling exactly 200 meters ahead of the curve, and maintaining a perfect 60mph. Bumblebee, she noticed, did the same thing. Speeding tickets were not, apparently, allowed among the Autobots and with good reason. She sighed. “Because to me you’re… well it’s honestly hard to pin a gender to you. I mean, Bumblebee’s the exact same way. There’s nothing about him that’s a… ‘him’ really.”

She could not believe she was having this conversation. “Okay,” she said, taking this subject head on. “Arcee… is feminine. Even Velocity is feminine. Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead, League… masculine. I dunno their voice types and build fit the sexual dimorphism for humans but… you and Bee seem one way one moment and the other the next.” She sighed again harder, ruffling her bangs slightly. “In so much as things like gender stereotypes and cultural bias play into my homogenizing a complex alien culture and dumbing it down to suit my own. Wow. There’s no easy way to do this is there?” And as far as I know I’m either being really offensive or Bluestreak sees gender as something as culturally important as… haircolor, and I’m quibbling about an aesthetic issue… or just linguistics.

“Blue,” she said at last. “Is it okay with you, at least until you pick a pronoun, provided that you even do, that I think of you as female? I’m just advocating for the girl’s club here, I suppose.”

[Deleted]

It was possible that the pleased hum that came from Bluestreak was audible to even June. As far as Bluestreak was aware females were the stronger of the two genders and ou was flattered that June would think of hir as such.

"I think I'll stay the way I am, I like me this way but I like it if you referred to me in the feminine."

That and it would confused the ever loving slag out of Fowler to hear her call Blue a girl.

[june]

“Like you said, Blue, its just linguistics at this point.” June patted the steering wheel again, wondering if that looked peculiar to any of the other drivers on the road. “Never ever, would I push you to change a thing about yourself… and point of fact when I started talking about this that never even occurred to me but… can you change model type? Just that easily? Like, if Optimus decided he just really wanted to be... Arcee’s model would he swap pronouns or does it work like that or…?”

Aaaaaaaand, you just suggested Bluestreak’s commanding officer and the Autobot’s military and moral leader get a sex-change… essentially. Good job. Let’s abandon, oh so very quickly, this train of thought June Darby. And she did. Rapidly.

“Never mind,” June said, hastily reaching for the radio dials, then stopping because she was afraid that the radio dials might be a bad thing to twiddle with. “It’s not about you picking a single thing, Bluestreak. I adore you as you are and thank you much for putting up with my mammalian obsession with gender identification. That’s what I meant. Can we turn on the radio?”

[Deleted]

Bluestreak couldn't help it ou laughed. The mental image of Optimus as a Femme, dear sweet primus that was priceless. Ou would have to tell the others when they got back to base.

"Well we could if we really wanted to but it wouldn't be easy. Just getting the raw materials and then all the reprogramming to be able to use a diffrent body. It's easier said than done."

Well here was a safer topic of conversation. Bluestreak wasn't as well versed as say Blaster but ou certianly enjoyed earth music.

"Sure pick what ever you like. I had Blaster show me how to get satellite radio so we can listen to just about anything you want."

[june]

June fiddled with the dials and sure enough a crystal clear radio signal piped cleanly into the cab. Well how about that? She found her favorite, but worst reception radio station – a 24 hour classical music channel – and was delighted to find that it came in perfectly clear through Bluestreak’s radio. Alien technology up to and including boom-tube style teleportation and instant transformation and sub-space physics and she was impressed by a clear radio signal. Well, lesser humans would have fallen over dithering at the prospect of giant alien robots so she was allowed to take her moments where she found them.

“Now, I don’t know Blaster very well. He showed up with you, Jack told me, but who is he to the Autobots?” She glanced in the rearview again. “I get that he’s more of a techie, comm. specialist isn’t that right? More of a ‘base of operations’ guy like Ratchet?”

[Deleted]

Oh, Bluestreak liked this music, softly humming along to the music but trying not to disturb June's obvious enjoyment of it.

"Yeah, Blaster a Communication 'bot but he's also kinda special ops. Sorta, He spies on the con's communication, hack their signals, make Soundwaves life as miserable as possible."

Well, making Soundwave miserable was more of an added bonus to Blaster.