Scourge's Primary Objective

The female was relieved after the feral invaders had been driven off. Scourge had told her that they instinctively killed any cubs that were either not theirs, or not those of an ally or pack member. She had an emotional attachment to her offspring and wanted to protect them, but knew she could not fight off a lone Sweep that was intent on devouring her cubs--let alone several of them.

For a long time, no feral Sweeps attempted to enter Scourge's "territory." This was fortunate, considering that Galvatron had concocted a complex scheme against the Autobots, and consequently Scourge had little time to spend at the den. He had left his mate with adequate energon, and his cubs could easily hunt for themselves. They had long ago stopped being dependent on their mother's energy supply.

When Galvatron's plan failed, as it always did, Scourge returned to the den to find that his mate was starting to enter cyber-estrus. The cubs were taking a nap in one of the burrows. Scourge realized that he'd have to remain here and mate with her, in order to avoid the possibility of any feral Sweeps in the area doing so themselves. He radioed Cyclonus.

"What is it, Scourge?" Cyclonus asked.

"I'm going to need a week off. There are things that need...attending to," Scourge replied.

"Is it the female? Is she in cyber-estrus again?" Cyclonus wondered.

"Exactly," Scourge told him.

Cyclonus sighed. "Very well, I will see to it that your absence is not questioned."

It went without saying that Cyclonus was not going to go near that female while she was in her current condition. Besides the fact that she was properly Scourge's mate, and it would be dishonorable to interface with her, the fact that she was an Autobot made him want to keep his distance, because he knew that even he would not be able to control himself under those circumstances--and he didn't want to take the chance of impregnating her. Scourge would probably fight him before it ever got to that point anyway. In the meantime, Cyclonus prevented the other Sweeps from going there as well.

For the most part, Scourge and the female mated without interruption. A feral Sweep that looked like it had just reached cyber-puberty recently--and whose beard was just starting to grow--entered the area, but Scourge drove him off.

The female was glad to be in cyber-estrus again, as she craved the attention she got from Scourge while she was in it. The sensations she got from his barbed interface were much more intense than when he serviced her on the rare occasion when she was not in heat.

Scourge didn't exactly feel love for his mate. It was more like lust. But deep in his programming was a subroutine, triggered by mating as well as female pheromones, that compelled him to have concern for, and protect, her as well as his offspring. He did show some outward displays of affection for her, even though he wasn't really sure why.

By the time the female was pregnant, Scourge's first litter had grown to about a third of their full-grown size. They were extremely aggressive and fought with each other regularly. Their parents were starting to become concerned that they would be a danger to the new litter of cubs that was soon to be born.

It was too early to try to introduce them into the Decepticon ranks. Their language centers still hadn't developed enough for them to start speaking yet. And Galvatron would certainly be suspicious. Scourge paced in front of the den nervously, weighing his options. He heard a noise and turned suddenly. To his horror, a Quintesson was standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Scourge demanded angrily. Then he realized that he could not smell the intruder--nor did his other tracking equipment register it. It was just a hologram.

"I'm sure that you want your little problem solved," the holographic Quintesson said.

"What do you know about that?" Scourge growled.

"Relax. Galvatron will not find out. But I can take your first litter off your hands, so that they pose no threat to the ones that the female Autobot is currently carrying."

"I don't trust you," Scourge snorted.

"Let's put it this way. If you do not hand over those cubs to us, Galvatron WILL find out," the holographic Quintesson replied.

Scourge was terrified of the prospect of Galvatron discovering his mate and the cubs, as he was certain his leader would have them all destroyed--himself included.

"Alright, you win," Scourge told the Quintesson.

"Excellent. We will arrive shortly to collect them."

"What was that?!" the female Autobot asked, "Why do you have to give him our cubs?"

"Because if we don't, we'll be destroyed," Scourge told her.

It was a simple matter to locate and collect all three cubs. Scourge had them by his side and waiting when the Quintessons arrived. The cubs balked at having to leave their home, but Scourge uttered a low growl and they reluctantly complied.

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"These are some of the finest specimens I've ever seen," one of the Quintesson scientists remarked, as he examined the eldest of Scourge's offspring. The cub had been sedated to enable the scientist to do his job. None of the cubs were very cooperative and the Quintessons had to take precautionary measures to avoid injury to themselves.

"How ironic that a Sweep that has an Autobot mother is more aggressive and dangerous than its father," another scientist commented.

"Indeed," the first scientist added, "The Autobot programming is completely overriden, enhancing their predatory nature above what it would have been if the mother was a Decepticon."

"They will serve us well," said the Quintesson High Commander, "For after we introduce them into the Decepticon ranks, not only will they destroy the Autobots, but the Decepticons as well."

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"YOU DID WHAT??!!!" Cyclonus exclaimed.

"I had no choice," Scourge said regretfully, "If I refused to hand over the cubs, the Quintessons would have told Galvatron EVERYTHING. Including your involvement."