Housebreaking Not Required

[Sheba]

A Scuxxoid ship headed for Earth was being pursued by the Aerialbots.

"Come on! I know you're smuggling SOMETHING!" Silverbolt radioed to the Scuxxoid ship. "Prepare to be boarded!"

"NO WAY!" the Scuxxoid radioed back. He tried using evasive maneuvers to shake his pursuers.

"That's it, I'm going to MAKE him stop," Slingshot fumed. He blasted at the ship.

"Oh, no!" the Scuxxoid shouted. The ship was entering the atmosphere!

"Looks like it's going down!" Silverbolt said, "Let's follow it!"

The ship crashed heavily in a rural area of North America. The Scuxxoid survived, and exited the craft, coughing.

He did not realize that a large hole had been torn in the side of the ship on impact. And something scurried away from the wreckage.

The Aerialbots landed and apprehended the smuggler. "Alright, you're coming with us," Silverbolt told him.

"Awww, gimme a break! My kids need the money!" the Scuxxoid complained.

"I'm going to see what he's smuggling," Skydive stated.

"Wait, no, you can't go in there!" the Scuxxoid objected. He was unable to stop the Aerialbot and sighed as he sat and waited.

Skydive returned moments later. "There's nothing in there," he said, "It's all empty."

"EMPTY?" the Scuxxoid shouted, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

***

Something small crept towards a large, old barn. It was dark outside, but the creature was well-adapted for low light conditions. It wanted someplace warm to rest, someplace sheltered. It squeezed under the lowest rail of a wooden fence to gain entry.

A few cows mooed as they bedded down. The creature sniffed the air, then padded past the stalls. The smell in the pens didn't appeal to it at all. But it was drawn to the smell of food. The hayloft attracted it, and it climbed the ladder and pawed at the light, fluffy straw. Its sharp hearing detected the squeaks of a rat. It pounced, grabbing the rodent in its jaws and wolfing it down whole, headfirst. Satisfied with its snack, the creature pawed at the hay until it made a nice deep indentation. It turned around like a dog or cat settling for the night, then curled up and went to sleep.

The creature slept for a long time. It was nearly dark again by the time it awakened. It yawned, stretched, then decided to get up and investigate its surroundings more closely. It easily leaped down to the floor from the edge of the loft. It heard the cows being moved back into the barn for the night. Curious, the creature stayed hidden but watched.

A middle aged woman took one of the cows into a larger stall that had a stool and a bucket in it. The cow stuck its head in a pail of grain and munched away as the human sat and began milking the cow. The sound of the liquid hitting the bottom of the pail that sat below the udder startled the creature. Then the smell of milk filled the air. Though the creature had not tasted that particular substance, its senses told it that it would be delicious. Fearing discovery, it hung back still, in the shadows.

A young girl, who couldn't have been much older than 7, walked into the stall. "Can I help?" she asked the woman.

"Sure," the woman replied, "Here, you take a turn."

The little girl grasped the udder awkwardly, but was able to send a few jets of milk into the pail.

The creature uttered a sound that was suspiciously like a mew.

"Grandma, is there a cat in here?" the girl asked.

"We don't have one anymore, remember? The last one died of old age two weeks ago," the woman replied. "We were going to get a new one tomorrow, cuz the Hendersons' cat had kittens."

"Yeah, you're going to let me pick," the girl replied.

The creature was very curious now. The sight and sound of the child made it less nervous. It started to wander to the very edge of the shadows.

"Grandma, there's something there!" the girl exclaimed. She had seen something in the shadows.

"Is it a cat?" the grandmother wondered.

"I don't think so. It's too big to be a cat. Maybe a dog? But it doesn't sound like a dog, either..." the girl said, "I'm going to see what it is."

"Be careful. It might be a raccoon, and those can have rabies," the grandmother cautioned.

"I won't get too close if it's a raccoon," the girl said. She stepped away from the cow, who didn't seemed concerned in the least at the creature that was mere feet away. "Whatever it is, it's not scaring the cow."

The creature edged towards the child, still in the shadows, but sniffing to try to familiarize itself with the odors it was taking in.

"Come on. I won't hurt you," the girl said. She squatted down, holding out her hand. The nervous creature hesitated, then slowly made its way to the girl.

The harsh light of the incandescent bulb hanging from the ceiling finally cast itself on the creature and the girl could see it. Bright ruby optics, glittering with curiosity. A prominent brow on a greyish-white face that seemed touched with a hint of blue. Two sharp-looking batlike wings, colored very light blue. Dark cobalt-blue body, powerfully set and yet small. Greyish-white hands tipped with bright pink claws. The creature was no bigger than a small-to-medium-sized dog.

"Grandma, what IS that?" the girl wondered.

"It...it looks like some kind of robot," the grandma stated.

The tiny robot mewed again, a chirping sound. It slowly moved closer and nuzzled the girl's hand. Its rough tongue lapped at her fingers, causing her to giggle. "That tickles!" she said.

"Well, it seems friendly," the grandma stated, "I wonder where it came from."

By now the creature had rolled onto its back and was letting the girl scratch under its chin. It was uttering very loud contented purrs.

A rodent stirred in the corner. The creature was up in a flash and pounced quickly, snapping its jaws and dispatching the rodent in one bite. It then came up to the girl and dropped the rat at her feet, uttering a chirp.

"Well, whatever it is, it's a good mouser," the grandma remarked.

The creature began nosing at the bucket full of milk, sniffing at it.

"I think it wants some milk," the girl said.

"Well, I didn't know robots liked milk, but get the old dish and I'll pour some for it," the grandma said.

The girl went into the next room and came back with a water dish meant for cats. The grandma poured some milk into it and the creature began lapping eagerly.

The strange white liquid was tasty, full of fat, and rich in energy. The creature lapped up every drop and then licked its chops.

"Can I keep him?" the girl asked.

"We'll see," the grandma replied.

***

"That Scuxxoid was smuggling WHAT?" Rodimus Prime exclaimed.

"A Sweep cub," Silverbolt reiterated.

"That's ridiculous," Rodimus Prime said, "Where would he have gotten one? I don't think Scourge is in the habit of letting his minions' offspring be sold to the highest bidder."

"No, but Swindle might," Air Raid pointed out.

"Point taken," Rodimus said, "And now you say this thing is loose?"

"Yep," Silverbolt said.

"Well, we'd better go find it, before it causes any trouble," Rodimus Prime stated, "Autobots, transform and roll out!"

TO BE CONTINUED!