Fandom: Transformers Bayverse
Author: gatekat and femme4jack on LJ
Pairing: Optimus Prime/Mirage/Alicia Rodriguez
Rating: PG-13
Codes: Slash, Het, Xeno (Transformer/Human), Holoforms, mentions mpreg
Summary: Mirage has a covert meeting with Blaze Master and Getaway, then is summoned by Prime once more.
Notes: Written in the Dathanna de Gray fanverse (community .livejournal .com/ tf_socket_fics)
"text" translated Cybertronian.
~text~ bond/hardline connection
::text:: comm chatter
"text" organic languages
Dark Nobility 7: Of Home and Pleasure
~Ready to meet a couple Zerstörerz that have seen a few hundred vorns of local de-socialization?~ Mirage murmured as Killblade arrived two orn later with orders to take Strong Wind and his socket to meet with Prime as a cover for their actual agenda.
~Absolutely, especially since it means getting a break from the arena,~ the now unbruised Alicia commented from her spot on Mirage's shoulder. ~Will we actually get to see Prime again?~ she asked a bit breathlessly, making a quick check on what was supposed to pass for clothing.
Once Alicia had healed from the physical trauma of Megatron, she and Mirage had bathed and a servant had come to take care of what remained of Mirage's damage. Another had arrived to give her some pampering and 'accessorize' her in another deliriously sexy costume that was mostly made up of swirls of flexible alloys adorning her body, accentuating her breasts and sex. It was a gift, it turned out, from Prime.
He held in a laugh and fell in behind the warrior. ~I'm sure he'll be happy to entertain you any time you wish. I'll pass on a low-priority ping to him if you wish. He is the only other set of hands here I trust you in.~
Alicia blushed, then shivered. ~Mmmmmm ... Prime's hands,~ she purred. ~If he has time before we leave, you won't hear me objecting. I do want to meet the mechs from our universe, but I'm not going to ignore another opportunity if it presents itself. I'm afraid I have a bit of a crush. Are you sure it doesn't bother you?~
She could feel the shock ripple through him at the question. ~Alicia, it is one of the greatest honors possible to strengthen the Prime's spark. I am very sure it does not bother me. The prestige and power that can come of it is not to be discounted either, not in the society we are living in. But only as long as you feel that strongly towards him.~
~Oh...I feel strongly. Feel free to order me to go strengthen that spark any time. I'll be your ever obedient pet. Sharing with him is so hot I can hardly think straight.~
~The time it is not so hot you can't think straight I wish to know,~ Mirage said firmly, protective of her beyond the duty of his coding as a towers noble, but in obedience to that coding nonetheless.
Alicia smiled and nuzzled against his face, unaware of the changes in his motivations in this new world. At home his protectiveness had been largely out of choice. Here is was his duty to protect property, and he was allowing that coding to assert itself. Eventually the two would come into conflict, but for now they were only noticeable to Mirage. ~You will be the first to know. You just are finding a thousand more ways to make me adore you. I love it when you are protective. So, where exactly are we going to meet them?~ she asked as they headed deep into the arena's inner spaces.
~Where the free warriors stay when they have an event to fight in,~ Mirage explained, including a basic schematic of the Grand Arena, where the clade box was and where they were headed.
~Are they expecting us?~ she asked, feeling her excitement build at meeting two people from her own 'home', even if they had never been to Earth and had not likely even heard of her planet or species.
~Of course,~ Mirage chuckled silently. ~I would not drop in on those two unannounced. They are Zerstörerz.~
They traveled through the well-lit, crystal clean tunnels of the brand new arena, seeing only servants who kept their optics downcast and moved to the side for the noble or the occasional warrior on his or her way somewhere else.
~Are the bladewarriors arena fighters, or Prime's guard?~ she asked, actually enjoying the prospect of watching them fight if they had the chance.
~As I understand it, both,~ Mirage smiled at her. ~For warriors, this is where they make a name for themselves, prove that they are good at what they're sparked for. I'm actually looking forward to the events this orn and next. They are exhibition battles, not to the death. The bladewarriors are in some of the cadre events. Ironhide used to appear, but he's long since moved on to training and watching over the Lord Prime.~
~Sounds much more agreeable, like watching sparring back home,~ she agreed as they approached a large entrance that slid open to reveal what amusingly reminded her of some posh locker room for a professional sports team back home.
~That is not an inaccurate assessment,~ Mirage chuckled silently at her mental image. He spotted Getaway almost immediately. Even though he was a warrior, the white, black and dark blue mech with red alt mod glass was barely a hand taller than Mirage. Beyond him was a bright yellow and purple mech that she bet was a helicopter of some kind.
Killblade motioned to the pair and they fell in next to him, keeping a respectful distance from the noble, though Getaway gave Mirage a broad, excited grin.
"Lord Strong Wind," Getaway said with a flicker of amusement in his optics. "You honor us with your visit. If you'll follow us, we have a private room where we can speak freely about the security arrangements you wished to discuss."
The noble nodded with the expected minimal tolerance of being in such a low-class area, but Alicia caught the flicker of Ops communication commands as Mirage made normally inconsequential shifts in his armor and posture.
~He's SpecOps?~ she asked curiously as they followed the two warriors, with Killblade falling in behind them.
~No, but Jazz and I did train him for a time. He has the talents to do well, but not the spark for the work.~
~Wonder if Prime and the others know that? The Jazz here sure has them worried,~ she commented as the entered a private sitting room.
~With good reason, and I doubt he mentioned it. It's not the job he wanted and dropping Jazz's name isn't good here,~ he said, relaxing as the door closed, leaving Killblade just outside, much to the bladewarrior's annoyance.
As soon as they were alone, Getaway latched onto Mirage with a hug that made the noble stiffen, then a heated kiss that made him relax with a soft purr of his systems.
"Good to see ya again, Mirage," Getaway grinned at him with bright blue optics. "How's Chromia and the gang? How's the war going? What kind of organic is this?" he shot questions rapid-fire as Blaze Master chuckled and watched.
Alicia laughed at the energetic, somewhat hyper mech.
~They have language protocols, love?~ she asked, and getting the quick affirmative, she decided to answer a few of those questions herself.
"Hi, I'm Alicia, Mirage's human, from earth, where Chromia's cadre is going absolutely nuts because the war is over."
"The war is over?" both mechs locked on Mirage.
"Yes, it has been over for more than a vorn," he inclined his head. "We have won, though the price is even higher than anticipated. There are fewer than five hundred mechs left, only four hundred of which are likely to survive unification. The Allspark is gone. Cybertron is beyond recovery within my life expectancy. Even in victory we are refugees."
The energy seemed to leave both mechs in an instant, both sitting, looking bewildered.
"Not just refugees," Blaze Master murmured. "Unless a good portion of those 400 are Seekers, we are a species going extinct. How did you get here, and how can I bring Dogfight?"
"The Seekers have joined us and are breeding like petrorabbits in season. There are twenty Seekerlings under a vorn and a half old and five Seekers are carrying," Mirage said quietly. "We have revived the old ways of creating sparklings. Seven sparklings have been born and are doing well, including the one I carried. Three mechs are carrying now. Despite the dangers warned of, no one's been lost, and only three of the new sparks were absorbed. All in two vorns. Recovery will be slow, but it is happening.
"For bringing anyone here, or going back home, the only hope is Skywarp and Skyfire learning enough from scanning us, or Skyfire from home figuring out what he did and how to reverse it."
"Is my bonded carrying?" Blaze Master asked with a flicker in his optics and a twitch of his rotors.
~Is he excited about that prospect or upset?~ Alicia asked, trying to read his unfamiliar frame language.
~I'm not sure. Rotors are harder to read, but I don't think he's thrilled by it, Seeker or not,~ Mirage answered honestly. "Not as of a few orns ago. I know one of the formerly neutral Seekers, Shimmerfire, is courting him to sire her next clutch. I'm not sure if he's agreed to it however."
"Well, I don't care how fragged up it is back home," Getaway exclaimed, seeming to have gotten over his shock. "Mirage, I met Jazz here," he continued. "He makes our Jazz seem as harmless as a glitch mouse. I don't think I've ever been so slagging terrified, and I don't get scared."
"No, you don't," Mirage acknowledged, unsettled by the fact. "How'd you cross paths?"
"He sought me out, shortly after we arrived, while we were still under constant surveillance from Prime's warriors. That is actually how we came to work in the arenas. The bladewarriors were assigned to keep an eye on us, and they figured they might as well drag us around to their different competitions and demonstrations. Not that we objected, mind you."
The small mech vented, obviously still shaken up by what he was about to say. "About a decaorn after we arrived he shows up, completely undetected by our watchers, of course. He seemed to know everything about us already, and wanted to know everything we could tell him about the universe we came from, especially about himself and Prowl there. He ... was not kind in his methods. I think I'm lucky to have come through it with an unconsumed spark, and I probably don't need to tell you that he knows everything I did at the time. He hasn't made contact since then, other than subtle ways of letting us know that we are always being watched by him."
"That is Jazz," Mirage nodded. "I'm sure he'll make himself known to me soon. I wouldn't be surprised if he is watching the research to send us home very closely." He paused and considered the pair. "If we can be sent home, will you want to come?"
"Well, I'm fairly certain that my spark will be lunch here if I stay. He pretty much said as much ... once I've outlived my usefulness. As soon as there is a way home, I'm outta here. I don't care for how they treat organics here, either. I like mine free and spunky, and even the free ones here are way too tame and docile," Getaway admitted, eying Alicia hungrily.
"I would return to find my bonded," Blaze Master added with a dark and weary tone. "Our bond is strained to the limit, and it pains me every klik. The only thing that helps is the arena, and frankly, that is not nearly as entertaining as melting Decepticons to slag. Every time I see mech or Seeker who is a 'Con in our dimension, it takes every control protocol I have not to send them home to the Unmaker."
"You'll still have former 'Cons to make nice with on Earth, too" Mirage warned him. "Including Starscream and Soundwave. We are not allowed to slag anyone, 'Con insignia or not, that doesn't fire on us first."
"Starscream and Soundwave? Is Prime slagging nuts?" Blaze Master demanded, incensed. "Megatron's SIC and TIC? Dogfight has the memories of what Starscream did to Vos, given to him by his carrier. I've seen them, too. For that alone he should be turned to scrap, no matter what kind of surrender the traitor offered."
"He didn't surrender, not really," Mirage shook his head with a deep venting sign. "Skywarp gave us intel that he'd been driven insane by remaining partially online in the generators, probably since before the war. So with his trine looking the other way, we captured him. Ratchet confirmed what Skywarp told us and repaired him. He came out of that mostly the mech he was early in his reign and called all remaining Seekers to follow him against Megatron. It was exceedingly weird."
"Frag ... that's ... well ... frag," was all Getaway could say, while Blazemaster was clearly recalling what he had observed of the local Starscream.
"I must admit," the copter began thoughtfully. "He does behave with far greater sanity here. Much of the time, I've had the feeling that he is watching Megatron, and not so that he can take over, since obviously there is no faction for him to become leader of. Seekers here ... well ... my bonded would be pleased with the honor they show."
"Seekers here are what they were meant to be, not what the war and outside forces warped them into," Mirage agreed as he sat and relaxed with the pair. "They are strongly protective even of distant kin, as I found out early in this event. How have you adapted? I can see you've done well in making a living."
"We've done well enough. We are well known on the arena circuit, have taken our turns among Prime's guards," Getaway said with no small amount of pride. "We know the local Ironhide. He was curious about how fighting styles were changed by the war, so we've done some sparring with the old mech. By the way, did you know that he and Chromia are a bonded trine with, of all mechs, a politician named Peacemaker. Have you met them?"
Alicia tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't help chuckling a little at that revelation.
"Yes, though we aren't nearly as surprised as you were he's with Ironhide," Mirage smiled faintly, flashing back to the interactions between them with new insight. "Peacemaker is our Ratchet, without the war."
Getaway's optics cycled. "But ... he is a totally different frame type. You mean Ratchet was a complete rebuild? That's ... frag."
Blaze Master looked very thoughtful, nodding his head.
"He is Ratchet without the wartime medic frame and core programming. But the spark is the same," Alicia noted, "and my guess from what Mirage shared with me is that he has a natural fierce compassion that made the rebuild a far smoother process for him than it would be for many. He has a medic's spark."
"From my contact with him, I agree," Mirage added. "The voice and frame are different, but the will, passion and willingness to fight is very much there. It served him well as a senator, and it served us well as a field medic. Spend any amount of time in a tense situation with him and you'll see all that is Ratchet come out, except for the wrenches."
"I thought rebuilds like that were illegal," Getaway spoke up. "I know the Cons did it all the time ... but ... Prime's senatorial representative?"
"It was and is," Mirage inclined his head. "However we are discussing one of the Lord Prime's closest advisors and friends, someone who had no ability to survive the war and who needed to help. I'm sure Prime agreed to it, after the fact if nothing else."
"Now that the war's over, do you think our Ratchet would go back to being a politician?" Getaway asked curiously.
Mirage cycled his optics a couple times, trying to grasp that happening.
"I have no idea," he finally decided.
"I can't see him getting out of the business of framing new sparklings," Alicia commented. "He is less a grump then than any other time ... well, then and when he and Mik delivered our kid."
Two sets of optics cycled at her, and both sets of jaws slid slightly open.
Mirage chuckled at her across the bond. ~That is going to bring so many questions in a nanoklik when they reboot.~
Alicia smirked, not at all apologetic. ~It is so accepted on base that I forget to adjust my language. Not that I would with mechs from our universe. With others I will be more careful. But who else would I refer to as her sire? It isn't like I'm La Virgen.~
~Don Adalberto de Fernandez de la Torre,~ he responded. ~And I'm sorry, but I do need to keep them from knowing that. They could spread it to people that need to not know, like the local Jazz ... or just about anyone. Please look embarrassed.~
Alicia didn't need to pretend to be embarrassed. She was. Her face heated red and she was silently kicking herself for saying anything that could put her family at risk. She had just felt so happy and relaxed to be among mechs from home, even if they had never set foot on Earth and had never met a human prior to her.
Blaze Master spoke first, still looking bewildered, and spoke to her in the common organic language, slowly, as though she might be someone with limited intelligence. "Did I misunderstand you? Did you just tell us that a Towers Noble somehow sired a child with an organic?"
"No," Mirage gave him a smirk. "The sire was just that, a sire. She refers to my sparkling as her child, and her offspring as ours."
The two mechs seemed to buy it completely. "So you have a sparkling. With Hound, I assume?" Getaway asked with keen interest.
"It takes a sparkbond, so yes," Mirage had a small smile on his face. "Brisa is a vorn old now. Hound already wants to try again."
Before either of the two Zerstörerz could respond, the door slid open revealing Killblade and, suprisingly, Peacemaker.
"Our Lord Prime has requested that I escort Lord Strong Wind and his organic to his private Kaon residence for an orn until he is expected back at the arena." the politician said with a knowing grin.
The sharp, excited intake from Mirage's vents was the next sound, then he stood with all his natural and trained grace. "We will talk again." he said by way of parting to the pair. ::I look forward to it,:: he added privately before leaving to follow Killblade.
~Does this mean what I think it means?~ Alicia asked, practically bouncing up in down with excitement as the entire cadre of bladewarriors joined to form an honor guard around Prime's chief advisor and those Prime had summoned.
~Yes,~ Mirage did his best to remain dignified, but through the bond there was no missing his arousal, anticipation and no small amount of trepidation. ~We are to share with and pleasure the Lord Prime for an entire orn.~
~Santa Maria! I'm going to pass out with excitement before we even get there, love! Oh ... seeing you ... with Prime ... and you seeing me ... and together. I feel like I'm 16 again.~
::You two have made quite an impression on Prime,":: Peacemaker commed privately to Mirage, who shared what he heard with Alicia. ::He has privately been going on and on about sharing with 'the wild earth female' and your how impressed he was with your skills.::
Mirage was honestly startled despite how proud and turned on the news about Alicia made him. ::My skills? I barely made it out the door.::
Peacemaker laughed aloud. ::You subdued Ironhide. Do you have any idea how hard that was on my bonded's pride? And Prime is well aware that if you had really wanted to, you would have killed his guards and been in his chamber. Sometimes the true skill of a warrior is shown in how he is able to hold back, youngster. Not to mention that he was impressed with how fierce your protectiveness is of Alicia. It is very rare to see that kind of socket-bond.::
::If subduing Hide gets out back home I'd never hear the end of it,:: Mirage murmured with a flush of embarrassed heat that wasn't really negative. ::He's not angry with me, is he?::
::He forgave you once you finished him off properly,:: Peacemaker chuckled with affection for his bonded, ::and simply wants a chance to spar with you and regain his pride. Don't hold back. He'll know it if you do. Chromia would like to meet you as well. She has always had a place in her spark for ruthless SpecOps mechs.::
::It would be a welcome diversion to spend time with mechs I know, even by proxy,:: Mirage have the senator a slight smile. ::I understand the three of you are a trine. Any sparklings yet?::
::With Ironhide as our bonded? You'd better believe it, kid. That and a veritable zoo of sockets and their young, many who view him as their very own personal guardian and caretaker. We keep taking in more who were abused, neglected or abandoned, much like Prime in his harem.:: Peacemaker's optics cycled in mock exasperation, before continuing.
::First creation is Chromia's second in command for Iacon security, she is a warrior/guardian like Ironhide, second creation serves as my aid in the senate, and will likely take my seat as Prime's representative someday. Third and forth creations are a youngling and a mechling respectively, and were created with very open protocols to become who they wished to be. So, I take it you know Ironhide and Chromia in your reality?::
::He is still Prime's guardian and our senior frontliner, taught pretty much everyone we have left how to fight. I've known him for much of the war. Chromia leads a cadre called the Zerstörerz, a group of sparked warriors that did a lot of the dirty work that required force rather than subtlety. I haven't spent as much time around her, but we've met.::
::Getaway and Blaze Master told us a bit about both of my bonded. I'll admit, I was saddened to find out that they never bonded in your reality, but it also makes sense knowing what I do of both of them and their dedication to their duty. I have assumed that I did not survive the war there. They mentioned the destruction of the Senate, and it isn't like I have a frame type that would survive any sort of heavy combat.::
::I know what happened to you, if you really want to know,:: Mirage offered, his inflection warning that it might not make the senator happy.
Peacemaker was thoughtful for several nanokliks, and finally shuddered.
::Yes, I want to know. Prime believes, and I agree with him, that there's no reason not to know the truth. This is a different dimension. We are different sparks, and there is no reason that we are fated to follow the same course. The more knowledge we are armed with, the better.::
::I see so much of Ratchet in you. You are not that different, not at the spark,:: Mirage gave him a quirk of a grin. ::You survived the Senate attack. I don't know how it happened, who was bribed, threatened or simply ordered into compliance, but you were rebuilt from the protoform core up. Given a wartime field medic's frame and programming. By the time I met Ratchet, he was as feared on the battlefield as he was off it. Pit of a temper, quick with a wrench to subdue unruly patients and as dedicated to saving sparks as your Jazz is to taking them. One of the very few who will yell Prime down by shear force of will.::
Peacemaker took the information in, then grinned.
::Makes a slag load of sense, to be honest. I almost did go against my creators' wishes to enroll at the academy to become a surgeon after becoming disgusted with politics. Prime actually was the one to convince me to continue in politics as his optics, audios and voice in the Senate. We have been close friends for a very long time. My creators were a former elected governor of Althelix and an educator who both worked as household tutors for Prime and the Lord High Protector when they were Orion Pax and Megatron. I was already a mech, and spent much time in the household myself, where I met Ironhide and Chromia. And the temper part and yelling down Prime parts are true enough here as well. It is actually a comfort to me to know I ... he found a way to be useful. Is Ratchet ... is he bonded?::
~Mikaela once told me that Ratchet said the only one he would have been likely to bond with was Ironhide, but that he wasn't going to come between Hide and Chromia.~
::No,:: Mirage said gently. ::Ironhide was the only one he felt he could have bonded with, but he would not come between him and Chromia. Not that Ironhide would have agreed to bond to him any more than he would have to Chromia, for all the same reasons. The front lines, Prime's cadre, is not a place for senior officers to bond.::
Peacemaker was quiet again, then said ruefully. ::Well, isn't that the truth. We frankly had worries about bonding here, as three of Prime's top advisors and his confidants ... what would happen if someone got at one of us, where that would leave Optimus if the other two were in stasis with grief and shock, or decided to follow, though certainly being a trine protects against some of the worst effects of the breaking of a bond. It is hard for me to imagine myself feeling like I was coming in between the two. A trine with Hide as our hub made so much sense for us, especially with Chromia's lack of desire for sparklings, and Hide's overwhelming desire for the same. Not sure how it would have ever worked without a third.::
::I believe it was because she'd been separated from him, off world with her cadre and largely out of contact, since early in the war,:: Mirage suggested. ::I assume the three of you did not face such distance.::
Alicia noticed that they were approaching an elegant looking transport, waiting for them at a service entrance to the arena.
::How many knew he was a rebuild?:: Peacemaker asked as they approached. ::I'm assuming they faked my ... your Peacemaker's death.::
::I don't know if Peacemaker was listed as dead. That happened long before my time,:: Mirage explained as the boarded the transport and settled in a passenger compartment that made the Swift Sky transport seem mundane. ::It is commonly believed that Ratchet was a surgeon before the war, possibly Prime's personal physician, and received the wartime field medic upgrades as so many others did. Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, Ultra Magnus, Kup know the truth. I suspect Prowl, Chromia, Red Alert, Smokescreen and Springer do, as well as several other ranking SpecOps agents. Starscream, Soundwave and likely a few other former Decepticons as well.
::It is a secret more in that it's not brought up than that it's truly guarded. So many in both armies have secrets that it's socially rude to ask about a mech's pre-war existence before they offer to let you know about it. These orns wartime existence is under the same consideration, though most are more free with that information..::
Peacemaker nodded. ::All makes sense. Listen to me, asking all these questions about myself like some egocentric youngling. It just was a relief to learn that I had survived on your end.:: He chuckled to himself as they were escorted onto the transport. Mirage and Peacemaker comfortably reclined while the bladewarriors remained professionally at attention. Alicia discretely watched the three she knew, concentrating to look deeply as her grandmother had taught her to see the differences in their energy and colors.
They were the same sparks, no doubt, but not nearly as strained. The pain, darkness and sense of 'wrongness' was far less, even with Sunstreaker, with four bothers there to help balance the instability a split spark created. The twin-bond was much stronger, nearly as strong as the bond between Mirage and Hound.
::Do you two have any questions before we arrive?:: Ratchet asked, deliberately including Alicia in the question. ::I know Prime intends on conversation and refreshments prior to his and your pleasure. There are things he would like to discuss based on what I shared with him for our conversation, though with as energetic as he was about summoning the two of you, I expect that may not last long. He has never experienced anything like either of you:: he added. ::A second creation noble trained in SpecOps, bonded with a commoner.::
::Much of that is from what Jazz did to me,:: Mirage flicked his armor in a shrug. ::He is exceptional when it comes to reprogramming a mech, and second creations, as I expect you know, are designed to become what is desired of them. I was as good a platform for repurposing as exists. Still am, in many ways.:: He paused and considered the senator for a moment. ::Do you know much about SpecOps protocols?::
Peacemaker regarded the noble spy. ::I know you likely have a hundred or more personality profiles you can make dominant at any time. Which one am I speaking with now?::
::Lord Mirage,:: he chuckled slightly. ::The one that is less of a profile than the others, with mods to handle the nobility as a first creation. It's as close to the real me you're likely to meet shy of a merge. Lord Strong Wind is a cover more than a true profile. I was referring to our ability to rewrite our own code on the fly, and go all the way down to base code, memory wipe and a dozen other things that causes Ratchet to loose his temper every time one of us ends up in medbay. That's what makes an Op something more than just training. Either your spark can take that or it can't. Those of us who can exist as whatever is required of us. Those that can't either fail training or are offlined early on when they can't adapt.::
Mirage looked down, seeming to play with his fingers for a moment. ::Jazz's understanding of that is what made Autobot SpecOps what it is. I'm sure your Academy still believes that it's just a matter of training, conditioning and maybe a bit of code editing. As long as all sides are playing under that belief, it works. Once someone stops, the others are slagged.::
::I didn't bond to a commoner,:: he added quietly, a testament to how overloaded his processors were that he was only then catching up to that point. ::In the military, no one is. I bonded to a ranking special operations officer. It's a long-standing joke he's just a commoner, and it's not much talked about that he's an officer because he hates to use his rank and status, but the truth is he rated me at his rank if he'd asked for me. The world was just fragged to the Pit by then.::
Peacemaker clasped Mirage by one shoulder affectionately, noting the way Mirage tensed slightly before relaxing into the contact. ::I appreciate your openness. Watching you try to figure out what to share and what not to, struggling with loyalty to your own Prime and Prime here. No easy thing. But you didn't answer me. Do you have any questions before we get to Prime's Kaon residence? Either of you?:: he looked directly at the very quiet Alicia. ::I expected to hear more out of the wild earth female.::
Alicia smiled. ::Just thoughtful, watching your spark and energy and thinking about Ratchet back home. Seeing the differences in the bladewarriors; I know three of them from home. And I'm missing Hound, thinking about how he never once mentioned his rank to me. I have plenty of questions, and probably wouldn't stop once I started ... at least until Prime got his hands on me. I want to hear Mirage's questions as much as you do.::
~Not helping,~ Mirage told her quietly, a sense of the pain his processors were in leaking through along with just how much stress he was under on this planet before it was shut away again.
~Forgive me, love, and show me more of what you are feeling so I can avoid making things worse. You protect me from your feelings far too much. I'm not fragile, at least not that way, and I'd have happily deflected the attention away from you anytime.~
~Sharing anything in mission mode doesn't come easy,~ he explained apologetically.
::What if the reason Megatron didn't go insane in your world is because Jazz was never sane and the Unmaker never had to replace him?:: Mirage finally asked, coming close to visibly shuddering to be contemplating that possibility.
::Who knows?:: Peacemaker responded. ::We will likely never know, or perhaps we will, but by then it will be too late. Something is obviously different, and it may be more than one thing. So you know that the Unmaker replaced Jazz with Megatron?::
::Jazz believes so,:: he vented a sigh. ::His reasoning is sound. He hasn't lived as long as he has, or attained the rank he has, by making mistakes of that magnitude.::
Peacemaker tapped his fingers together thoughtfully, but seemed to sense something of Mirage's mood and turned more of his attention to Alicia. ::And what about you, Alicia. Any of those hundreds of questions you want to ask?::
Alicia looked down for a moment, then asked rather shyly. ::I'm curious to know about how the relationship works between you and the organics you mentioned, both in your household and Prime's. When you are caring for so many, do you claim any? Do you have only a few as sockets and the rest are there for their protection?::
Peacemaker regarded her with a serious look, clearly debating how much to say. ::To be honest, most of the organics in our household come to us extremely psychologically damaged, and often physically as well. I guess that is where I exercise the healer traits of my spark. We share with any who desire to, but it is far more like rehabilitation for them. Not that there isn't great pleasure to be found in helping them to learn to feel pleasure and trust again. Many come to us as children. As in organic cultures, we have our fringes and those who are truly sociopathic. There are mechs who ... for lack of better word ... get off on the power they can have over the most powerless, which includes the youngest. There are others who get off on taking energy through pain and terror, some of whom have illegal mods that allow them to take the energy without experiencing the pain themselves. And then there are plenty of cases of the abuse or neglect that is sadly a function of the way some react to being reliant on someone with such low status and so little power.::
He vented, obviously deeply disturbed. ::We have over 300 organics living in our estate, Alicia, and a staff of servants to help us with them. We or our staff claim those who wish to be claimed, share with those who wish to share, but many, honestly, want nothing to do with us, and just simply need to be with other organics who will care for them and help them heal or at least die surrounded by safety and comfort.::
She felt a flicker of something she couldn't name from Mirage and the noble's lip plates curled up in a smile of pure malice that Peacemaker was sure he learned from Jazz.
::I don't suppose perpetrators ID's are recorded somewhere?:: Mirage actually purred across the comm line.
Peacemaker gave Mirage an astute look.
::In some cases, yes. There have been a number who have had cases brought against them. But without sentences of any magnitude, it isn't a real deterrent. In others, they cover their tracks too well if they get word a raid is coming or that Prime intends to exercise his rights to their organics. Memories are wiped, organics abandoned, any signifier simply gone, and those are the good cases. We have to be very careful, because far too often an organic will disappear without a trace should the mech suspect what is about to happen.::
Peacemaker again vented in frustration.
::The majority opinion still holds that what a mech does with his property is his business, and most simply choose not to believe the cases that have been presented, or think it is so rare that it is not worth changing the laws for. As for what you might be able to do about it, Mirage, I need to speak with Prime. He is committed to making these changes through education, example, and legal means, and has been doubly so since he learned what happened in your reality.::
He paused for several nanoklicks, his faceplates openly showing an inner debate. ::The Praxian who was executed first was a member of our household staff. His spark was devastated by what he saw and he took matters into his own hands, for very good reasons. He killed prominent breeders who were catering to some of these fringe elements, and he was caught. Once the Enforcers had the case, we could not protect him, not when Prime has been so vocal about change not coming through violence. We could only hide his family to prevent retribution and cover up all traces of his having worked for Prime's chief adviser and guardian. While you likely would not get caught, should rumors arise of mechs, some of whom have high status, suddenly dying, it is likely point back to Prime one way or another.::
~It's a pity that Jazz couldn't turn his attention here to destroying those sparks,~ Alicia murmured vehemently.
::I understand covering your afts,:: Mirage smiled easily, still carrying the look of a pure predator. ::Death is frequently not the best deterrent, though it has its place. But tell me, what are the odds that anyone of interest in such cases not having far more serious crimes in their past? I am very good at what I do, after all.::
Peacemaker raised an optic ridge. Clearly the idea appealed to him. ::I will speak with Prime about it. If we could get these mechs on legal charges that carry some weight, it could really make a difference.::
::What could I do to help?:: Alicia asked quietly.
The politician gave her a warm smile. ::You are a mother, yes? One of the most difficult issues we face is the sheer number of young that were raised without any organic nurture. It is psychologically very harmful, and it is very common. On top of it, many of those who are bred have come from a long line of those who have never raised their own young. They were simply removed from them at birth. We need organics who know how to parent, how to nurture, to give the young what they need and to help surrogate parents learn how to do the same. Many of those needs are universal across the various species.::
::Prime mentioned that Hound exists here,:: Mirage said a little hesitantly. ::At least mine was quite good with organics, even very young ones, for a mech. He often raised pups and taught them well enough to survive and reproduce in the wild. Yours might have the same talent.::
::We are fairly desperate for help. I know of Hound, and in his own way he is very involved in saving a number of species from destruction. But it is something to consider. It isn't like we don't all have our duties on top of it, and ... well ... the numbers have really gotten out of control, both for us and for Prime. Many of the young we have are terrified of mechs or have other severe psychological issues to overcome when dealing with us. We are considering hiring organic staff as well as more mechs. Now that those of Praxus and Althelix are free, we have that option. Of course, we also could claim some healthier organics to help with the work.::
::Are all those of means who wish to help so overwhelmed?:: Mirage asked, his processor smoothing out briefly now that he had something to focus on.
::Not to the same extent that we are. Many are more willing to give their credits rather than their time, which is useful as well, but what is truly needed are those who are not put off by interacting with badly damaged organics. Others are quietly supportive, might take in a dozen extra that aren't too damaged outside what they might normally have in their household, but do nothing beyond that because they are afraid of backlash. We are in a fairly unique position of being close to Prime, which protects us. Everyone expects Prime to show the kind of example he does in taking some hard luck cases. Though I doubt many realize that his harem is truly a shelter.::
~Alicia, are you ready to try and teach how to be a mother?~ Mirage asked gently, a thread of emotion in the question saying he'd protect her if she wasn't.
~I feel compelled to help. Just observing a natural mother with her child would be helpful. It would be good for Esperanza to spend time among other children, as well, if we are here long term. The idea of having help from the local Hound is very appealing, too. We make such an effective team back home, after all.~
::Have you had much luck in recruiting organics from worlds where it is normal to raise their own young to help teach yours? Even three or four with a solid grasp and experience with being a creator would make a significant impact if they focused on training.:: Mirage asked Peacemaker.
::Recruiting off world is complicated because Prime and I have been so vocal about our desire to ban imports. Quietly, behind the scenes, it is a very good idea.::
::You might find what you need among the new imports, the first generation organics brought in,:: Mirage added thoughtfully. ::Or use middlemechs to buy. I'm sure among your quieter supports would be those willing to buy and organic here or there under direction. Have you had much contact with Storm Front? He seems to be a sympathizer, or a potential one at least.::
::He is a sympathizer. Contributes credits, and has taken in organics after they have been rehabilitated over the vorns. Both of the felines he has were originally with us, and both did beautifully with him and his bonded. He also is particularly benevolent to the feral colonies.::
::How long does Prime intend us to be here?:: Mirage asked suddenly, his mind making an abrupt lateral shift in focus. ::We could use some of it for instruction if you send for Esperanza.::
::I'm sure Prime would be happy to keep Alicia around as long as you wish,:: Peacemaker chuckled. ::Prime does keep a number at his residence here, and we brought a few of ... I shouldn't say favorites, but there is no way around the feeling. They could at least get to know Alicia, talk about possibilities. I'm certain it would not be difficult to talk Prime into bringing both of you back to Iacon for a time, as well, where the bulk of his harem is kept. We'd all appreciate seeing Alicia with her pup ... or is there another term you prefer, Alicia? It would do our sparks good to see one being cared for as nature intended them to be.::
~I would love for Esperanza to come. This is by far the longest I've been away from her,~ Alicia quickly said, sounding almost desperate. ::We usually say child or baby, but pup does not bother me a bit,:: she replied to Peacekeeper. ::As long as no one refers to me as a bitch. Bad connotation in my language.::
~Only I can get away with that,~ Mirage teased her, sounding a bit more like the mech she knew and loved.
~Well ... yes. That is because I'm your bitch, and don't you forget it,~ she replied with a surge of affection.
Her lips twitched in a smile. ::For the life of me, it is so hard to imagine our Prime back home with a harem of any kind, though it does sound unbelievably sexy and I'm sure there would be organics lined up at the door to join.::
::I have no doubt,:: Mirage chuckled silently. ::But our Prime has been changed a great deal by the war. He is not what he used to be, no more than I am what I once was.::
Alicia felt her giddy excitement returning as they approached what could only be described as a formidable yet beautiful penthouse on the top of the highest towers in Kaon. The transport docked by one of its pointed spires, and their guard arranged themselves along its ramp. Alicia found herself giving the twins an extra look as they disembarked, finding it strange to not hear Sideswipe's fun-loving humor or Sunstreaker's irritation, but realized all of that likely happened over comms. She couldn't help but to give both of them a warm smile as Killblade led them down the ramp and through the arched, crystalline hallways designed for mechs far larger than any of them.
"I'll take them from here, Killblade," Peacemaker put an easy, friendly hand on the frontliner's shoulder. The large blue mech barely twitched in response but slid off to the side, out of the way, and let them pass.
~I don't think I'll ever get used to how this Ratchet touches so much,~ Mirage commented. ~Especially me. Ratchet hates me.~
~I agree with the touching. It shows his natural care and affection, which he turned toward wrench throwing when he realized that was more effective with warriors. But Ratchet does not hate you, love. I've never seen that energy coming from him toward you, and once you were carrying, his energy was tremendously affectionate and, for lack of better words, paternal. He felt he needed to protect organics from you, but he feels the same way toward the Twins, and is quietly very affectionate about the two as well.~
There was a buzzing along the bond for a moment as he worked that out, which shifted to indistinct muttering. ~He does a very good job of fooling some of us,~ he finally decided, not entirely sure he believed her, but the idea that she was lying settled even less well. ~A very good job,~ drifted into a long silence. ~Not that I ever cared to look past the snarling, threats and insults.~
~He snarls, threatens and insults Prime and Ironhide as well. I saw it once while I spent time with Mik. You just take a look in my head if you don't believe me. Abuelita's gift doesn't lie, lover,~ she said gently.
~I believe you,~ he said gently. ~It's just difficult to believe.~
The far more physically affectionate version of Ratchet led them through a number of corridors to a lift that took them to Prime's private apartments in the Kaon palace. Peacemaker palmed the security pad, and the door slid open revealing a truly comfortable residence, far warmer and less sterile looking than other places she had seen. She could clearly see the influence of Prime's organic-centric core programming and spark on his private space.
They were several paces inside before the Lord Prime came into view, lounging on a plush daybed like construction that was low to the ground, even for Mirage. With Mirage too busy folding himself prostrate before the Lord Prime, neither noticed the subtle motion Peacemaker made, or the short, private comm conversation that stopped Prime from waving off the formalities. Peacemaker, obviously, understood how important it was to Mirage.
"Rise, Mirage of the Autobots," Prime rumbled warmly in welcome, the voice drawing Mirage to his feet as much as his own power. "I am pleased you could come."
"I will always come when called, Lord Prime," Mirage said demurely, his optics not quite on the living god before them.
~You really are nervous, aren't you, love?~ Alicia said tenderly, even as her own arousal flaring bold and bright to the sensors of all those in the room. Hearing that rumble again was enough to make her whimper.
~He is Primus given form,~ he trembled in matching arousal. ~The Lord Prime is God.~
"Mirage," Prime extended his hand, silently summoning the noble forward. "I like your fire. I have a world that bows and kneels. Few who will look me in the optic and tell me what I do not wish to hear. Somehow, you are able to do both."
"Yes, my Lord Prime," Mirage managed breathlessly as he came right to the point where their energy fields could brush against each other.
"And you bring with you such a lovely gift to share," he continued, standing up to bring them even closer, reaching out a single finger to run down Alicia's body as his fields flared against Mirage's "I have never met an organic like your little fighting bird, and saw things within her mind that I had never even considered possible in sharing."
"She has taught me much as well, Lord Prime," Mirage shivered as their fields brushed, mingled and flared, kindling their arousal as clearly as any words or actions. "She is amazingly beautiful, even for her kind."
Without words or permission, Prime extended his cable to plug in to Alicia, still only touching Mirage with his field. He motioned Mirage to do the same. Then he closed the remaining distance between them, placed his large hands under Mirage's aft and unceremoniously hoisted him up to kiss him passionately as the noble's legs dangled in the air.
A loud moan escaped Alicia's mouth as she was hit simultaneously by their desire for one another.
She felt Mirage trying to organize his processors enough to say something, but he was far too consumed by the mouth against his and the powerful, thrumming engine vibrating his chassis in just the right way.
All he had in him was a nearly silent whimper of need for more.
Prime rumbled with a combination of desire and amusement at the trembling, needy noble whose finely crafted legs and arms were wrapped around his waist and neck. He broke off the kiss and looked at the moaning organic with a smirk, taking one hand off Mirage to pluck her off of the spy's shoulder and hold her so close to his face that she could feel the heated air from his intake.
"Is he always this eager?" the deep voice rumbled.
Alicia didn't have words to respond. Not with the desperate desire blasting her from Mirage and the deep, but no less passionate, wickedly plotting arousal coming from Optimus. She could only look at his deep blue optics and send him image after image of what she was aching to see him do to her mech while she went along for the ride ... literally.
Mirage caught enough of it to shudder and angle his helm so he could kiss, nibble and lick the powerful neck cables before him. "Please..."
Prime shifted Alicia to his shoulder, binding her to his large frame with caressing cables that began teasing her flesh. With brute strength he pulled Mirage even tighter against his frame, reveling in the way the sleek, elegant noble's energy field flared and merged with his.
"All good things are worth waiting for," Prime rumbled into Mirage's audio, sending vibrations down the noble's frame, causing him to shudder with a deep moan.
The gigantic mech gracefully turned around and laid the trembling Mirage out on his dayberth, and then used his cables to deposit Alicia on his chassis.
"I want to watch you pleasure your wild earth woman. Charge me with what pleases her the most. If I am satisfied, I will spike you," Prime smirked and knelt at the base of the berth to watch his show.
~Up for being spread and bound?~ A quickly implemented shift to a more dominant-natured set of protocols and Mirage managed to organized his thoughts enough to pull up memories of what had given him the greatest charge, his gauge of how well she was pleased and pleasured.
~Dios Mio, yes!~ As excited as she was by the prospect, it was being on display and giving a show for Prime that was really turning her on at the moment, and she couldn't wait to get her show in return.
With a long, tender kiss, Mirage lowered her to the berth before accepting the fine, soft string from Prime that was just perfect to bind her the same way he had the first morning she'd woken between the two hardlight avatars. It brought such delicious memories up for both of them.
~You are so beautiful, my love,~ she whispered, relaxing into having her arms bound above her. ~Do you feel how much he desires you? I can't wait to feel him take your valve,~ she purred, a vision swilling through her head of Mirage prostrate before Prime again, only this time the giant was taking her lover's presented valve from behind.
Mirage could only manage a blindingly hot flash of desire in response, but still he took his time, playing the edge of the velvet rope around her breasts while her legs were still free.
Prime rumbled his approval of the scene being set before him, dipping freely into Alicia's mind to take the proper references before playfully giving his own commentary. "So the wild earth woman is captured by the hunting noble, and bound for him to take his pleasure on, all for the viewing pleasure of the king." The room vibrated with his laughter.
Both smaller beings trembled with desire from that voice being directed at them, but Mirage quickly turned his attention back to teasing her, pressing the rope with carefully calculated pressure between her swollen mons to slid against her clit and across the slick opening to her body.
Alicia's voice became low and taunting even as her limbs trembled in anticipation of what the teasing promised. "What, you going to capture me and then just play with the rope?" Pulling hard against the restraints against her hands, she pulled her legs up to wrap them around Mirage's wrist, trying to force him closer.
"I believe you have a saying, about cats and their food," Mirage purred deeply and brought his free hand over to pin her legs wide, her knees even with her hips and flat on the berth. "I have no reason to hurry, and every reason to take my time."
She grinned wickedly, and then closed her eyes and fell fully into the fantasy of Prime spiking her presented mech hard, while she lay hidden underneath, sucking, licking, and worshiping his spike. ~Yes, no reason to hurry at all,~ she purred, licking her lips in anticipation.
A low chuckle vibrated the air above her as she was fully bound with the soft rope. Mirage kissed her again, holding to her mouth as he caressed her lips with his glossa, asking for admittance there, while his finger teased her clit and one of his cables lubed itself with her juices.
The tender, yet claiming kiss from his much larger mouth brought her fully back to the present, thoughts of Prime suddenly shifted to the background as she opened her lips to take in the tip of his large, invading glossa. She felt as though her very heart was trembling at the kiss, at just how deeply she loved and desired Mirage, everything he was with all of the contradictions. Her hips began slowly rocking into his finger as her slick sex bore down on the probing cable.
The position, the kiss, the velvety rope all had her recalling the strong, silky flesh of her lovers' hardlights, followed by the passionate claiming penetration by their real forms that morning so long ago. It had been the first time Mirage had mentioned siring a child on her, planting the seeds of an idea that claimed her imagination as vividly as their hot fluids had spilled on her body in an concerted effort not to claim her body too soon.
She could feel Prime drinking up that memory, along with many others of the magic that regularly happened between the two bonded mechs and the human whose heart was completely owned by them by her own choice. So too, she could feel the flickering of well-concealed grief and pain from Mirage. It wasn't enough that Prime was likely to recognize it, but two vorns with the fluid mind that was her noble mech, Alicia had studied hard to understand his moods and how they fluctuated, to grasp all the major contradictions, how they interacted and where they came from.
She'd learned fast according to Hound, but he'd also warned her that even bonded and the thousands of vorns he'd had with Mirage only gave him a good understanding, not a perfect one. His bonded was simply too adept at rewriting his code and protocols, even very fundamental ones, at a moment's notice, implementing them without even a soft reboot much of the time.
Abruptly the warmth of Mirage's frame was absent, drawing a whimper of objection from her chest.
"I seem to remember we did a few other things that morning," Mirage ... or rather Adalberto ... slid a hand down her torso, teasing the edge of her breasts before continuing down.
Alicia arched into the delicious touch of the well-manicured, exquisitely talented hands. A rare, but fabulous treat. For as accustomed as she was to making love to mechs, her body still craved flesh. By deliberate consensus, they all waited long enough between indulging her with their hardlights that when they did, her pleasure was especially intense.
She became aware of a set of blue optics watching them intently, venting heavily.
With a rumble of approval Adalberto slid his slender finders between her legs, hungry for her pleasured cries and energy. He leaned forward, still fingering her slick sex, and claimed her mouth hard and deep.
"This is Don Adalberto de Fernandez y de la Torre, Esperanza's sire," Mirage told the Lord Prime easily, drinking in the pleasure even as he shunted the energy to his leader.
She arched her back again, hands clenching their bonds, toes curling as spasms of pleasure rippled up her spine and down her legs, her body tightening on the skilled fingers. She was straining against the ropes, wanting nothing more than to run her hands all over his lean, muscular body and embrace his hips with her long legs.
"What is it like to be so fiercely loved by one of them?" Prime asked as Alicia's moans began to echo through the chamber.
"Strange," Mirage admitted, unwilling to even try and withhold from the Lord Prime. His fans kicked up a notch as the feedback from hardlight avatar and socket reached him and he commanded Adalberto to sink fully into her slick, hot body. "It's a little like what Hound has shown me of how sockets feel to him. It isn't as ... unpleasant to charge."
Prime was suddenly kneeling behind Mirage where the noble knelt by the berth. Two great arms embraced Mirage from behind, running down his slender body to rest on his panel.
"It appears rather pleasant to me, Mirage, having your spark charged not simply by what you are doing to her, but the innate way she feels about you. What did you do to make her feel this way?" Prime rumbled in Mirage's audio, both teasing and intensely curious.
For a long moment all Mirage could do was moan as he pressed up against the much larger frame, his interface panel sliding open without conscious thought.
"I don't know," he finally managed to gasp out, his entire frame already charged with desire to be taken, to offer himself to his Lord Prime and know his frame brought their god given form pleasure.
"When she overloads I will take you, if I can stand to wait that long. I don't want you to lose your concentration, after all. But do not hurry her. I want to feel how high her energy will go." Prime's voice, even whisper quiet, vibrated through Mirage's frame. The giant mech kept his hand off of Mirage's spike and valve, but close enough for the noble to feel their heat.
A low, quiet whimper escaped Mirage, even as he did as he was bid.
Adalberto lowered his mouth to Alicia's breast, licking, then nipping at the sensitive skin as he continued the slow, even thrusts designed to drive her pleasure to the peak slowly.
"Oh God, Mirage. Want to touch you ... please let me touch you," she moaned, pulling on the ropes as she tried to push her spread and bound body hard into his, to make the thrusts harder and faster, to make him take her, claim her, own her.
"Not yet," Mirage hissed, trembling in the Lord Prime's grasp. His own desires bordered on blinding, but he intended to fulfill the request of the mech behind him to the limit. "Not until you can't stand it anymore," he added, pressing back into Prime with as much need as she pressed toward his hardlight. "Not until I can't take any more."
Alicia's entire world became Adalberto's hot, hard cock, long and almost too thick, just as she liked it, moving in her not quite hard enough. Her body was shaking, her spread and tied up legs twitching, desperate for more. She vividly remembered sucking Mirage off as Hound had taken her hard from behind, and suddenly Optimus was rumbling with laughter as another avatar, a tall, muscular man with intense blue eyes and silver hair was kneeling over her head, leaning over her to kiss Adalberto fiercely before turning his attention to the woman below him.
She didn't hesitate to stretch her head upwards to lick at the offered cock, or swallow it eagerly when he shifted his angle to press the tip against her parted lips. All three groaned in pleasure from the emotional echoes as much as the physical ones.
It felt so right to have two males, two mechs, one larger and dominant to Mirage.
With a quick plea to Mirage, her gag reflex was shut down by her nanites, and she took the swollen shaft deep into the back of her throat, sucking on it and massaging the head with her larynx before swallowing him even deeper. Like Mirage, Prime's hardlight had his own scent, and she breathed it in deeply as his balls rested on her face. The silver-haired man ran his hand over her breast and to her abdomen, finally pushing against her clit with two strong finger's in time with Mirage's thrusts.
~Please ... please ... take him now,~ her thoughts were garbled, more sensation than actual words.
She sensed, rather than saw her mech move into a completely submissive position at the base of the berth, prostrate, presenting his valve to be taken from behind, which Prime did grabbing the smaller mech's hips and claiming him in a single sharp thrust.
The rush of pleasure, both physical and emotional, washed over her from Mirage, and she was struck again just how intensely reflexive was his desire to serve the Lord Prime, to be close to him and please him. The noble keened and bowed his backstrut, pushing his body against the powerful frame taking him with a spike only just small enough not to damage him. Language was largely garbled from him, but the fundamental reaction was undeniable.
How he managed to continue to command his hardlight to thrust into her was something she could not comprehend as the overwhelming sensations and feelings slammed into her from her mech. Yet he did so perfectly, finally abandoning his slower pace to begin the frenzied, pounding rhythm she had been desperate for. Without any idea of how it had happened, her bonds were suddenly loose and she wrapped her legs around Adalberto's hips and arms around the second set of hips poised over her head, massaging his smooth ass to encourage him to join the rhythm.
Her desires did not go unnoticed and Prime's hardlight leaned forward to close one hand around the back of Adalberto's head to pull him forward and claim his mouth as completely as his real body claimed the noble's valve. Then he began to thrust into her mouth proportionally as hard as he was taking her mech's valve.
The extreme sensations from a multitude of sources, but especially Mirage's sensations and emotions at being taken by his Lord Prime, quickly drove Alicia over the edge, her body exploding into climax, her mind screaming in pleasure because her voice could not.
Mirage's hardlight dissipated with a half-thought for Prime's to take his place between her legs as his full focus shifted to what was happening to his own frame. The rhythmic slide of Prime's thick shaft in and out of his valve, lighting sensors that rarely saw contact. The warmth of the much larger frame completely covering him. The brilliant pleasure of feeling how well Alicia had fed Prime's spark.
It all added up to a quickly building overload that was wiping his mind and awareness clean.
All that was left was a wordless begging for more, to be turned over and his spark taken as the physical overload hit, to be worthy of being kindled by the Lord Prime.
Alicia had completely lost awareness of herself as she desperately clung to and kissed the muscular man taking her so urgently. With commanding strength he turned her over and pulled her hips up in the precise position Mirage was in, and pounding her from behind. She no longer knew the difference between herself and her mech. Her sex was his valve, the heat dominating his frame was the hot, well built body taking her body, his desire to be sparked by the Lord Prime was her hunger to be impregnated by the same. As far as she knew, she was Mirage, and she utterly belonged to the same Lord Prime she had teased and played with days before.
Above them, Prime grunted, the pleasure from both beings he was thrusting into taking a toll on his ability to hold back. "Overload with me," was whispered as thick, hot fluid shot into their bodies, triggering an intense release of energy. All three voices cried out in unison, their pitches and sounds mingling into a pleasant resonance as they came down.
When socket and noble came back to awareness, Optimus was lounging on the dayberth. Mirage was between the Prime's great legs, leaning back against his abdomen, one of Prime's arms around his torso. Alicia was held by the massive mech's other hand against his red and blue chestplates.
"That was amazing," Alicia said, giving a relaxed laugh as she curled into the utterly safe feeling of Prime's chest.
"It most definitely was," the large mech rumbled, still lightly stroking both his lovers. "Your desires were ... unexpected."
"Mmmm, what desires were those, big guy?" Alicia asked, thoroughly back to her normal personality as she traced the flame patterns on his chest with her fingertips.
"To have me sire your next child," he rumbled, his EM field flickering in content pleasure at her attention.
"I ... I wouldn't presume ... I wasn't quite myself." Alicia felt completely shaken as she recalled exactly what she had been feeling as they had overloaded together. She knew that wanting Mirage to sire her child had been shocking enough, even on base. To presume to desire the same from Prime?
"It's all right, little one," he rumbled soothingly, and she felt Mirage reach out on their bond to do the same. "I am honored by such a desire, whether I fulfill it or not. Though I am curious, is it yours, or his?"
Alicia had to think about it. When the feelings had happened, she truly hadn't been able to tell the difference between herself and Mirage. She finally had to answer, "I don't know."
Prime nodded and shifted his focus to Mirage. "And you?"
"The desire was definitely mine," he admitted, his systems picking up slightly in anticipation of the rejection.
"You are already bonded," Prime pointed out.
"With the Lord Prime, a bond is not needed," Mirage controlled his trembling.
"Easy," Prime ran a comforting hand down Mirage's plates. "Tell me more. It is something I have no knowledge of."
Mirage pressed into the contact and hummed softly. "I do not know the exact details. I would assume that it is similar to creating a new spark between bonded mechs. Strip down to protoforms so the spark chambers can touch fully. A long, slow buildup to overload, merging close to that point. And intent on both sides." He paused and brushed his fingers over his chest armor. "The new spark chooses who will carry it, based on size, strength of spark and some level of randomness. With the Prime, the other mech will always carry."
"And your Prime has done this? It is difficult to fathom. The Matrix of Leadership is fiercely opposed to the idea of any sparks being created this way. How did your Prime come upon this knowledge?" Prime continued to gently caress Mirage's chestplates even as Alicia sent her assurances and comfort over the bond.
"Over a half metacycle, the Allspark was destroyed, Jazz extinguished, the last Prime extinguished, the Matrix of Leadership torn from his chest and turned to dust long before. During a battle with Megatron to prevent him from bringing a harvester ship to Earth, one of our human allies also died. He said he met the earlier Primes, all those whose memories live in the Matrix.
"They sent the boy back to his body, the Matrix of leadership reformed in his hand, brought Prime's frame to life with the knowledge of how to ignite his spark once more and put the Matrix of Leadership in his chest. Not long after that the human, Sam, demanded that Prime take him to Jazz's repaired frame. They did something that brought him back. They also worked out that Sam was invested with much of the energy the Allspark had contained and a direct connection to Primus.
"Sam told Prime that he could spark on others without a bond."
Prime's optics cycled and he vented hard in surprise. "I'm not sure which of those things to be most shocked by, but I think it must be that an organic was impregnated with the energy of the Allspark and lived to tell about it. What is it about organics from your world, Alicia?"
"Nothing but timing, honestly. We happened to live on the planet that the Allspark landed on, we happened to have developed sentience and then an appropriate level of technology to be useful, if primitive allies, and Sam ... well ... he is just Sam. No one really gets why it is him, except that at all the right moments, he shows incredible bravery."
"It is suspected by our scientists that they are more unusual than most because they developed sentience while the Allspark was on their world," Mirage spoke up. "They are not sure, but the timing is correct. It seems unlikely that it would not affect a race at the tipping point of sentience."
"Ok, so, we are a little special," Alicia corrected herself with a flash of warmth and excitement at learning something she had not known. "I wonder what would be found on Earth in this reality, without the influence of the Allspark, not that I want Cybertronians anywhere near my planet here, no offense."
"None taken. A wise sentiment considering. So, has it been tried? Are any mechs actually carrying sparks from your Prime?" Optimus asked thoughtfully.
"Blaster carried and the sparkling is in her first frame. She has a host spark. Sideswipe was next. Hot Rod has a Prime spark, Primus help us. Starjumper and Jazz both have sparklings by Prime as well." Mirage smiled and off-lined his optics as his processors drifted back home even as he was being held and stroked by one he was quite willing to never leave. "Smokescreen is carrying as well. Ratchet and Ironhide both will wait until things are more settled with the former factions."
"And why would you wish to risk yourself to do this with me?" Prime asked gently.
Mirage let out a venting sigh, though he was relaxed. "I've carried once already. Now that the protocols are active..." he paused, struggling for the words. "Out of devotion, to you, to my people, for the future. The drive is much lower here, with so many alive, but to return home kindled by a true Lord Prime ... it would be an incredible boon to us."
Prime regarded the mech he held thoughtfully. "But if you returned you could be kindled by your own Prime. Do you not consider him to be a true Lord Prime? I am aware of what you explained to Ironhide and Peacemaker, but I want to hear more from you."
"He is more High Protector than Prime. He has been for a long time. The changes to lead us through the war, to ensure our survival, have changed him. Even Alicia can feel the difference between you. Our Prime commands respect. You ... you are still Primus given form," Mirage vented softly. "Back home, I would not be sparked by Prime. I have a bonded. I would never ask."
"Yet he still holds the Matrix of Leadership, and Primus deigned to return him after his spark extinguished. I have had to make many compromises for the survival of my people as well, Mirage. Compromises that have resulted in the kind of abuses Peacemaker explained to you on your way here. I have allowed our people to become callous to the suffering of others out of fear of the potential insanity of my brother." Prime rested a suddenly weary head on Mirage's helm.
He was quiet for a moment.
"I will not say no to you, nor am I saying yes. If you find no way home, you realize that the one you carry could never be the next Prime on this world?"
"I did not know, however the desire has little to do with logic or plans, or even possibilities," Mirage stroked the high priest's fine armor. "It is simply a desire. I am a second creation. With the reproductive protocols active, it's all but a reflex to desire the strongest co-creator to create a new spark with. There is no stronger spark than yours, no better co-creator where the protocols are concerned."
"It is odd to know your systems are behaving a bit like the organics that so many of our kind look down upon. And now, in your reality, you are far more like them in behavior and it is how you will survive. It is ... unsettling to me because of the inherent risk and how low your numbers are, but also understandable. Will those in your reality have the ability to forge the frame types that have been lost?" Prime asked, running fingers over Mirage's plating, as affectionate and tender now as he was dominating before.
"To an extent," Mirage leaned into the touch, humming in warm contentment at the affection. "The new spark tells its carrier what kind of frame it belongs in. We can make what we still have the specs for, do some guesswork on what we remember but don't have details of anymore. Ratchet knows many of them, but a spark has to want it. We're hoping that at least one of the sparks Prime kindles will ask to be a priest."
"If you are able to return, at the very least we will send you with detailed specs for every frame type you are missing, and possibly some hand picked volunteers representing those missing types. What is your Ratchet's take on why no carriers have extinguished when according to the records one would expect 30-40%?" Prime asked, gently stroking the now sleeping Alicia on the back. Between the heat of his plating and soothing presence still in her mind, she didn't stand a chance.
"I believe Jazz," Mirage gave the answer he'd begun to realize was true for many, many things. "Vector Prime was the driving force to ending the carrier form of new spark creation. I never asked why directly, but I would speculate Vector lost someone very important to him at spark separation.
"Jazz agreed that there are risks, that carriers and new sparks do extinguish, but the odds are closer to five percent once you factor in a good medic, close supervision and the strength of free sockets who have chosen to be claimed. Fifteen to twenty percent completely unsupervised for a first time carrier without their bonded with them. The dangers were exaggerated, the clean, safe politically controllable nature of the Allspark was lifted up as a better option. The population believed it."
"The Allspark certainly has been used politically," Prime rumbled, clearly not happy with what Mirage was implying about Vector Prime, "but it was a gift from Primus because fatalities were so high. The records are clear about this from multiple sources. Things must have been bleak for Primus to create such a gift. Are your scientists investigating how to harness the Allspark power within the human boy? Or does your Prime believe his only purpose was to resurrect himself and Jazz?" Prime was obviously dubious about that.
Mirage smiled faintly. "They are studying him, though to be honest it is not something I have kept completely abreast of. There is no doubt that he has done far more than resurrect a couple mechs. He has brought back valuable knowledge, and for the first time since our Prime lost his first socket early in the war, he has claimed one. Whatever else Sam brings, that had been a great boon for us."
Prime pulled Mirage closer and quietly spoke into his audio, "So Peacemaker commed me about your ideas for dealing with our most undesirable elements. How would you most like to serve while here, since your loyalty to your own Prime seems to have extended to me."
Mirage's optics dimmed slightly, unaccustomed to such a choice. His entire functioning other people had told him what to do, what to be, and he was comfortable with it. He lowered his helm to the Lord Prime's chest, listening to the life there, to the heartbeat of his sleeping socket, to the whispers deep in his processors of what brought him joy, or at least what he interpreted as such.
"I would serve you as I served my Prime," he answered after a very long moment, half surprised he'd been granted that much. "I am a fine spy, saboteur and assassin, Lord Prime. I have often set up Decepticon officers and scientists to appear to be traitors. I am a skilled interrogator, though I have little ability as true torture, much to Jazz's annoyance. I would make your enemies go away within whatever restrictions you wish to place on it."
"You would go back to doing what you did during the war, even though here you have back the noble life you lost?" Prime asked gently.
"Yes, Lord Prime," Mirage answered quietly, a little afraid he'd made a poor choice. "The nobility is my sparkright, but the silent hunt is what Mirage is," he began tracing the fine filigree and detail work on the Lord Prime's armor to sooth himself in an act that was by definition one of devotion. "If anything, this has shown me just how little of my original code is left."
"Then I would be pleased to have you in my service," Prime gently placed Alicia on a pillow on the floor and reclined all the way back. "To bring down those doing the greatest damage later, but for now, to feel those lovely fingers in the gaps of my armor. I have a soft spot for beautiful mechs touching whatever they wish to touch," Prime rumbled with a lazy smile.
