Note: Hound explains how he got to the towers to serve Mirage and the nobles.

...

1 breem = 9 minutes

Mirage and I... our meeting was something of chance.

When I lived on Cybertron, I was a guard for hire, based in one of the largest Polyhexian security companies located on Cybertron's surface. I watched over objects, building entrances, and sometimes very important Mecha from the Senate. During the time Orion Pax was corresponding with Megatronus in the gladiatorial pits, I was sent to the High Towers for a new job. An important noblemech had ordered a guard for his valuable property during transit from a secure train depot located in Iacon to the noble Towers in Altihex. I was due to travel with the crate of valuables, stay the night in the Tower I delivered the crate to, and then travel back to Polyhex the next day.

After traveling from my bottom-level apartment in Polyhex to Iacon, boarding the train was no issue. The train was moderately loaded with nobles, all returning from Iacon to the Towers after business trips. Half of the train was made up of transit cars, the other half stock cars. Those Mecha that could not afford a transit ticket or who were too low in the caste system to sit in the transit cars sat in the stock cars with the luggage and shipping crates. I rode in the rear car with my designated crate of valuables, passing the time talking with service Mecha. Most of them were trapped in indentured work because nobles had paid off their debts.

When the train pulled into the station, I departed with the crate of valuables. The service Mecha were claimed on the platform by lesser nobles, typically a children of a noble mech. In Altihex, the children of nobles were determined to be higher or lower on the social status scale depending on who sparked them. Standing on the platform with the crate, I scanned the crowd for the mech who was coming to claim me and lead me to the Tower. After the platform cleared of Mecha and I was still left waiting, I sat down on a bench, crate beside me. Trains came and went, and I marveled over the crowds of Mecha departing the station; everyone was well dressed, some even with vibrasilk cloaks. It was certainly interesting to watch them go about their daily business.

It was especially amazing for me, back then - I didn't live in the best part of Polyhex because I put most of my commissioned salary into savings. That was one thing my carrier instilled in me. Save money.

I sat on that bench, and the time passed... a televisor in one corner of the stationed sent out notifications as one lunar base crossed the sky. Even after the second lunar base came and went, I was unclaimed. The station whistled with soft air currents through the empty train tunnels.

I was nearly asleep on that bench by the time a servant came to get me. If I had been more awake, the sight of a servant coming for me might have been a bit offending. I was being paid so highly it was expected that some highborn son would come for me, but I didn't care that late into the night. He led me through the station and up onto the street.

Modern buildings were everywhere, but I couldn't see any of the fabled Towers. The Towers look like giant pillars, twisted up into intricate, pointed designs. Some even had airwalks in between. This servant mech led me down the street, and out onto a larger road. We encountered a security booth on the way out of the city proper, and the service mech bought me a day pass to reenter the city in the morning. Once the pass was taken care of, we drove around a breem or so before finally arriving at the estate.

The main tower was huge. The House that hired me was the House of Sight, and they often birthed mechs with rare abilities. Because of this, the House of Sight was one of the wealthier houses. The single tower was made up of three smaller ones, and a beautiful pavilion stretched out below it, with well groomed cybermatter and many, many guards. I don't know why I was hired for this job - clearly they had enough help.

Finally, I dragged myself in, crate in tow. The servant brought me to the central pavilion in the center of the three towers. The towers were arranged to form the points of a triangle, and the pavilion made up the triangle itself. Above us, I remember there was a golden airwalk connected to each tower. The lord himself met with me, and I felt inferior when I saw him. He had his immediate court with him: bonded, private slave, and his firstborn, the mech second only to himself. He introduced himself to me formally as the Lord of Sight. His armor was brilliant white, edged in gold. He wore a white gold cape, framing his strong frame. He was nice and all... but who got my attention... all of my attention... was his firstborn.

I didn't know his name then, but I felt like I didn't need to. He was dressed as excellently as his sire, but with cobalt blue armor edged with gold instead of white. He looked youthful, but I found out later he was almost as old as I. Instead of a light colored cape, he had a cobalt one to match his armor. I don't know any other words than to say he was beautiful. Not in a femme's type of curvacious beauty, but just... perfection. I don't know what to say but that. His eyes were brilliant gold, functioning off of the triple-filtered energon I'm sure he drank.

The lord spoke with me about my accommodations, and it he arranged for me to stay in the lesser of the towers, and that his firstborn would show me my quarters. Of course I was overjoyed, but still embarrassed that I hadn't even received a spray down upon my entrance. Riding in the service car had given me grease patches, cyberdust, and energon crusted feet from stepping in a spilled cube of low-grade. I was led into the nearest of the spiraling Towers by the lord's firstborn, who seemed oblivious to my hidden glances. He was stunning - his armor was polished to a mirror finish, and his steps were silent.

He led me to my quarters and showed me in. I was taken aback by the sheer size of the room. My rented apartment in Polyhex was not even the size of the berthpad they had in these quarters. The door was elaborate, and the rest of the room opened up in windows, showing all of the lights of the city proper in the distance. The berth was off to the right from the doorand it look to be as though Optimus Prime could have laid on it and his feet wouldn't reach the end. The only thing in my mind, though, was this firstborn mech showing me around. He was so alluring, even his EM field was mysterious.

The windows stretched around the entire quarters, and in one corner, a tub of bubbling solvent was waiting for me. I turned to thank him for the hospitality, but my eyes drifted to his aft and back, studying where the armor of his back met his hips. The design seemed vaguely reminiscent of-

He cleared his voice sharply and his eyes flashed bright. His posture stiffened.

"Excuse me?" he growled. "Keep your optics to yourself.

He growled lowly, reaching into his subspace. He threw the keycard for the door at me and turned to leave, but slipped and went crashing into the solvent pool.

This all had me about to burst into laughter, and I stepped into the water help him out. He slapped me across the face, shoved me further in, and then used me as a step stool to get out. By now I was crying, the laughter was too hard to contain... his cloak had come loose, and was floating on the surface of the water. I could see a peek of the skin on his back, flawless and milky silver.

When he caught me looking, he took the arm bracer off his left arm and gave me a black eye with a well-aimed through. Face flushed, he left his cape in the pool and stormed out, slamming the door hard enough to knock a reflector off the wall.

I looked at his armor on the floor, the cloak in the solvent, and I couldn't contain myself. I laughed myself until I couldn't laugh anymore, and then gathered up his things. There was a shower off to the side of the pool and I used it rinse out the cloak. After cleaning it of solvent I hung it up to dry. I washed his bracer and put it with the cloak, to take to him later.

After his cleaning his things, I left my armor on the side of the pool and soaked my grime away. My eye swelled up slightly with the heaviness of the blow he dealt me, but the warm solvent helped to soothe the swelling. When I got out of the pool, I cleaned off my own armor and dressed myself. Folding his cloak over my arm, I went to find him and return the cloak and bracer.

In the hallway outside my room I found a servant to direct me. They instructed I go to the rooftop quarters of the third tower. The catwalk led to the third tower, and I climbed up the stairs to reach the top. It took around two breems to walk to the top. At the top, there was only one door, ornately carved with the sigil of the House of Sight.

I went to it, and as I was about to knock, saw that it was cracked open. Not knowing if that was normal, I knocked on the doorframe and then went in. The main quarters was preceded by a small corridor, and I stood awkwardly at the entrance, hoping to receive a response to my knocking. I called for him, I called for anyone, but there was no response. Looking down, I noticed a thin trail of energon leading into the main quarters. Walking in further, I found the corridor opened into a spacious living space. The room was lavishly decorated in silvers and cobalt blues, and he also had a solvent pool in the corner. Glancing around, I saw a shadow pass across the floor, and I dropped the cloak and armor. By habit, I reached into subspace and drew out my knife. I usually carried it on my hip during work because it scared many petty thieves away.

The shadow stopped at the wall of a dressing room, and I followed it. As I turned the corner to enter the dressing room, an unfamiliar, electric blue mech snarled back at me.

There is a rule in the Towers - if a Mecha can get in and make off with one of the highborn children that are unbonded, it is possible to win a contract with the sires as a deal to ensure their child's safety in return. My knife clearly scared the mech before me into motionless, and he didn't see my left fist as it came in and knocked him to the floor. After assuring he was unconscious, I went to find his victim.

Upon further inspection, I found my mech-by then I had thought of him as mine-on the berth. Gagged, bound, and clearly ready to be done with improperly, he regarded me with fear in his optics. He was nude and wet from an interrupted wash. I cut his bonds and picked him up, wrapping him in his cloak on the way out.

I descended the stairs as quickly as I could, receiving mumbled directions to his sire's quarters on the way down. I carried him the whole way, the poor mechling clinging to my arms for dear life. The strength with which his hands were gripping me with was enough to bind cabling for weeks after.

His sire welcomed me into his quarters, unsure as to why I had his son. I explained what I knew about the attack, and he filled in the rest. There had been a bidding war for his son's spark in bonding, which would make whatever House that bonded with him an equal to the House of Sight.

The mech who attacked was one who had the least amount in his bid, but was volunteering love instead of wealth or possessions-other bids were multiple slaves, transport vessels, and chests of wealth. Since I had saved his son, the sire allowed me one luxury. Being a guard, I would be allowed to stay in his son's quarters through the rest of the night to continue protecting him... one attack almost always would lead to another.

So I turned back around and went up the stairs again. When I entered his quarters, the mech instructed me to set him on the berth. He called a servant, who shut and locked the door.

Next, he called a servant in who cleaned him up and put a cream on his bruising wrists and ankles. After being looked after, he fell asleep, curled up in a swath of blankets and pillows. After assuring he was asleep, I took out my knife and a grinding stone. I sat down on the floor, back to the berth, and waited for the mech lying on the floor to wake. I was going to have quite the 'conversation' with him.

When he did wake up, I fell onto his disgraced frame with violence, an emotion and feeling I had never experienced. I dragged him into the hallway and beat him senseless. I hit him until my fists were bloody and my anger was gone. As my fury subsided I was able to see fully the wounds I had inflicted on him, and I immediately regretted what I had done. After tending to his wounds, I carefully bound his hands, his arms, and all injuries I had caused. I then called a servant, and a team of them took the mech down to be inspected by the private medic kept in the Towers. Entering the berthroom again, I sat down by his berth.

Relaxing into the soft chair, I let my eyes study the sleeping mech before me. My EM field slowly spread out as I let the tension in my body go. Something in my field disturbed his slumber, and he woke up. Softly, he called me to come closer, and he pulled me down into the berth. He curled against my warm frame and softly told me his name.

Mirage.

I asked him if it had any significance, and that's when he showed me his ability. He was able to displace the atoms around his frame, which made him appear invisible to the naked optic. He showed me for only a few moments, but it was still stunning to see.

I couldn't believe that I just arrived at this place and suddenly I was in berth with the mech I found so desirable. It was difficult to contain my excited field, but I eventually fell asleep with him.

In the morning, when he finally woke to the ticklings of the sun, he rolled away from me, stretched that luscious back and stood up. His frame was lithe and muscular, and he went to a window and gazed outside without a care in the world as to who would see. He ordered a servant to come in and he started the morning with a glass of crisp, musical Praxian wine-he offered me some, but I was afraid if I clouded my judgement I would go out of line.

Mirage wore the most teasing smile as he settled into the hot pool...