For the Race-Prime Protector.

Chapter One.

EDIT: Rating: M for sexual content and some violence in Chapter Two

A/N: This is not a sequel to "For The Race. This is a version of the "For The Race" story with the addition of an idea of Phoenix13's, this addition itself suggested by Lady Threarah. Phoenix13's idea is used in her story "Male is as male does." To enjoy this story fully, you should have read "For The Race" and I strongly advise reading at least a few chapters of "Male is as male does." The premise is the same as in "for The Race" but with different circumstances.

For The Race-Prime Protector.

Although he was a robotic lifeform, and thus it should have been impossible, Ratchet had, at least theoretically, a headache.

Nobody was quite sure why the AllSpark, (which, it seemed, had been hiding its energy inside Sam since the Mission City battle) had chosen that moment to express itself, or how it had chosen to express itself. Even Sam could not explain how or why it had not only turned him into a Cybertronian, but into a femme Cybertronian at that. Ratchet was only too glad that Sam had been so shocked by his transformation from organic male to mechanical femme that he - no, that should now be she – had curled up in a ball and then promptly dropped into recharge. Hopefully, she would be recovered enough by then for Ratchet to talk to her about what had happened, and what it would mean for the only femme on a Base full of mechs – which was not the obvious human assumption.

Mikaela and Bumblebee had been there too, and the two were currently sitting by the recharging femme, talking amongst themselves, since a query about what had happened had been met by Ratchet with an equally frustrated "I don't know yet, give a mech some time to work it out!"

At that moment, Ironhide, who had been present at the event but had left upon seeing the result, came back in with Optimus Prime in tow. Ratchet almost groaned aloud. Considering the role of Primes in relation to the femmes, Ratchet would have preferred that Optimus find out once Ratchet had had a chance to talk things through with Sam first, but judging by the look on Prime's face, that was not going to happen.

"She's recharging, it's been something of a shock for her," he tried to explain as Optimus reached the head of the bed. Optimus raised his head enough to pierce Ratchet with an intent blue gaze that shut the medic up before reaching down to the recharging form and gathering her upper body into his arms as he used one hand to stroke a finger gently down the femme's face.

That one touch to the face was enough to awaken Sam, and she unshuttered her optics, which focused on Optimus' face. She looked confused for a moment, but she seemed to register her position in Optimus' arms just as the Prime stroked one cheek again. Her eyes widened, and she let out an unusual but obviously terrified shriek, and began to struggle violently.

"Hey, let her go, you're scaring her! I know she's the only female of your kind here, but stop mauling her about!" Mikaela shouted at Optimus.

Ratchet readied himself to scoop Mikaela out of danger, for he knew that anybody else talking like that to Optimus about one of his femmes had better be ready to take the consequences, and humans were fragile. However, Optimus neither raised his voice to Mikaela, nor moved to touch her, but instead he obeyed, lowering Sam back down and moving back. Sam immediately stopped yelling and struggling, but hitched herself to a half-crouch, her optics darting to every mech in the room nervously, one hand and arm half-raised to deflect any further attempt to touch her.

"Please explain more fully what you mean." Optimus asked Mikaela. "In our society, the mech in charge is responsible for the well-being and care of the femmes in their group. I was attempting to show this position to Sam by my actions."

"Perhaps on Cybertron, being picked up and cuddled by the Prime is reassuring and even familiar to your femmes, but kindly remember that Sam was human less than six hours ago." Mikaela told him. "Not only is he likely terrified that he's gonna get raped, but mentally at least, he's still a human male, and you're a male too! I know there's no prejudice about same-sex relationships in Cybertronian society, but in human cultures there's still a stigma against that, especially if you're straight, which Sam was."

"I would never force anybody. That is taboo in Cybertronian culture," Optimus rumbled, his tone suggesting he was shocked that she had even suggested the possibility.

"Yeah, it's not acceptable amongst most human cultures either, but it happens," she countered. "And the fact that you understand the concept enough to find it shocking suggests that as rare as it is, it has happened in your culture too. Am I right?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," the Prime replied.

"Yeah, well there you are. And maybe you understand your responsibilities to the females of your kind enough to try and implement them, but Sam doesn't. Until very recently, she was human, a human male, with no knowledge of the existence of Cybertronian femmes, let alone their role in your society."

"Then I shall explain it to her," Optimus said resolutely. Recalling how Optimus sometimes explained too much, with no thought for human foibles, failings, feelings, and attention span, Mikaela shook her head in censure, holding one hand up to reinforce her rejection of that idea.

"No, that may be too much in too short a time," she said. "I think you should explain everything to me, and then I can explain it to Sam." As Optimus opened his mouth to object, Mikaela held up an admonishing hand, having anticipated this. "Look, she'll still be thinking like a human, and believe me, in human society, a female can present the same things to another girl that a male suggesting might be taken the wrong way. You have access to our internet, look up "innuendo," "gender roles", "Freudian slips", and "sexual suggestion" and you might get an idea of what I'm trying to tell you."

Whether Optimus looked up the terms she had suggested or not, she wasn't sure, but his response was to lower his hands for her to climb into, which she duly did. "Very well," he said, "but I will need to speak to Sam about it soon." Mikaela climbed into his hands with a nod.

"After I've talked to her," she said. Optimus' response to that was to nod and straighten up, walking out of the med bay without a further word or look back. Once he was gone, Sam relaxed her guarded position, looking beseechingly at Bumblebee.

"Can someone explain to me just what's going on?" she pleaded.

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Mikaela returned an hour later, with a worried frown the only blemish on her beautiful face.

"Okay, Sam, you need to understand the situation concerning femmes on Cybertron," she said. Sam had been unable to go back into recharge during her absence, the experience of waking up in Optimus' arms having unnerved her so. She nodded, indicating that Mikaela should continue.

"On Cybertron, femmes have always been rare, throughout their history." she explained. "They are also, although this was not always seen as welcome, the only other source of new sparks – known as sparklings - via a process known as Sparkmerge, other than via the AllSpark."

"Hey, waitaminute!" Sam said nervously. "You mean he wants me to bear his children?"

"Sam, if you don't understand the way their society arose, you won't understand anything else," Mikaela told him. "Now shut up and listen."

When she was sure Sam was listening, Mikaela carried on talking. "As I said, femmes were not common, it was something like two or three hundred mechs Sparked via the AllSpark for every femme, though records suggest the AllSpark was producing as many as one femme for every twenty mechs by the time the war started, suggesting that the AllSpark was aware that it may not be available for quite some time," she continued. "How many of these femmes survived was unknown, those that did would be a bit younger than Bumblebee."

"Because of this situation, in a group of Cybertronians, femmes could be vastly outnumbered by mechs. To prevent fighting over the femmes within the group, and to protect them from the amorous attentions of whichever mechs might be around a femme at the time, it was decided that the head male – in this case Optimus – would be the mech who would look after the femmes, make sure they were safe, care for them, and be their protector."

She swallowed, for there was no easy way for her to tell Sam the next part. "In return, the leader could choose which one they spent their nights with, some of their day time with, and sometimes shared a berth with."

"You mean I have to sleep with him?" Sam said in horror. Mikaela shook her head but it was only a half-negative, part of it was confusion.

"Optimus promised not to force you, and I believe him, but if you do not accept his protection, he must, by tradition, throw the responsibility of overseeing your welfare open to every other mech on the Base, and you are just one of two femmes on this Base. Believe me, if he throws it open, you'll have every other mech on this Base vying for your attention. He doesn't want to do that, not in the current situation."

"Two femmes?" Sam said, seizing on that for a possible source of redemption, but Mikaela's bitter laugh dashed that hope.

"I'm the other one, Sam, and it's an honorific at best. I'm a female by human standards and to a certain extent by his. I have fought alongside him, in Mission City. I have accepted his protection, I can sleep in his room and polish him in return. As you know from polishing Bumblebee, that can bring relief, but it's an honorific title as much as anything else. He acknowledges that I'm a femme fighting companion in his group. But he would love for you to accept his offer, and is willing to compromise due to your unusual situation."

"In other words, I gotta accept his offer or he'll throw me to his mechs, and it'll be open season on me?" Sam cried.

"No, Sam, he won't let anyone else force you either, but he has lived by his customs all his life. Let me tell you his compromise, and then you can make suggestions I can take to him. Believe me, Sam, as a girl with no Pa to look after her in her teenage years, a protector is something I'd have jumped at. At least listen to what I have to say."

Sam nodded, so Mikaela continued. "Optimus accepted that you need time to come to terms with your new gender, species, and status, so he's agreed that for three more months you are to be considered Ratchet's patient, still recovering from what has happened. That means that Ratchet is charged with protecting you and ensuring your well-being, and as the healer-patient relationship is a necessary one, nobody can come after you, not Optimus, not any other mech, and as Ratchet is your healer, not Ratchet either. On top of that, as someone who may be in special need of his protection, if something arises that leaves Ratchet unable to protect you, Optimus will do so in his stead, while expecting nothing in return."

"Three months? Is that all?" Sam wailed. At that point, Ratchet spoke.

"Don't look too far ahead, Sam. I can do a psychological assessment on you in that time. If I decide I need you to have another three months, I can, different people take different times to adapt to difficult situations, and yours is unique. But please do attempt to adapt, Sam, Prime and the other mechs will only wait for so long, and in this unstable war situation, we do not know what will happen."

"Are you saying that if I take too long they'll decide for me?" Sam asked, even as Ratchet shook his head.

"No, Sam, no-one here in this Base will force you, but you must remember that those within this Base are not the only ones who are on this planet. Starscream and his Decepticons are also on this world, and although I know Optimus can control himself and his mechs, Starscream and his own mechs are an unknown quantity." Ratchet explained.

"Okay, yes, I see your point. If they never find out, it'll be too soon." Sam said.

Perhaps it was better for everyone in the Autobot Base's peace of mind, that they were unaware that Starscream and his mechs were already aware of Sam's changed status, and were already making plans to exploit it.