Writers: femme4jack, gatekat LJ
Fandom: Transformers Bayverse
Pairing: Shimmerfire/Sunstreaker/Sideswipe/Hgwa Ma-le
Rating: NC-17 for mech/female
Codes: Het, Slash, Xeno (Transformer/human), Twincest
Summary: Sideswipe deems it safe enough for Ma-le to meet Shimmerfire, only his plans for getting the carrying Seeker in a good mood doesn't work.
Notes: Set in the Dathana de Gray fanverse at (community .livejournal .com/tf_socket_fics)
Myi - The name for life-energy in the Lisu language. It is given to them by their creator Wu-Sa. Ma-le believes that Transformers are Swamx (vampire-like spirits or gods worshiped by the hill tribes - I'm not making this stuff up).


Sunny Side Up 11: Wings of the Night and Day


Shimmerfire grumbled, flaring her wings wide as she took off for the short hop to her quarters from her debriefing with Jazz, Prowl and Prime. Even though they hadn't said anything, it was obvious that something huge had gone down while she was on patrol. Jazz wasn't acting himself and Prime didn't look all at ease with his two most senior officers.

It wasn't enough for her to work out what might have happened, but it was definitely enough to say something had.

On top of that, she knew her mates had a socket now, a little submissive female they were quite pleased with. She knew they wanted her to meet the little organic, but clean was the first thing on her processors, then getting her energon, then an overload or three, and then, maybe, meeting the human.

Instead she landed in the main room of the quarters she now shared with the Twins to find them both there, and a tiny organic in Sunstreaker's hands.

"Clean, energon, overload, then tell me it's name," Shimmerfire didn't even wait for an answer before stalking towards her expansive washrack with a flicker of wings that made her paint dazzle even under the light coating of grime.

Ma-le, who had gone all out for the anticipated introduction to the flying goddess who was the mother-of-her-husbands'-children stared wide eyed from her spot in Arun Shwe's hands. She was bathed, her hair artfully done, dressed in the finest of the Thai dresses Kuhn Jazz had purchased for her in Bangkok. She had carefully applied makeup to enhance her features as had been drilled into her by the girls who had served Kuhn Vichai. Silver Mvkang had even provided her with a strange fragrance that he had said the Seeker would appreciate.

Simply put, nothing could have prepared the Lisu girl for how large her husbands' goddess mate was. She was a terrible, awesome sight to behold storming through their quarters.

"She does not look pleased." Ma-le commented as she watched the light catch the gigantic wings before they disappeared into the racks.

"She's not," Sideswipe sighed. "I was hoping several days of flying would have put her in a good mood. She'll be better after cleaning up and eating," he added before skating towards the door the giant nearly half againt as tall as he was had gone through.

"On the plus side, she's a Seeker," Sunstreaker chuckled. "They're a flighty, temperamental lot on the best of days. As fast as that ill mood comes, it can go, and Sides is good at making her happy." He glanced towards the washrack door. "I'm sure carrying six little ones doesn't help her temperament any."

Ma-le shook her head. "She is so very large, but of course her children will be large as well. I would fear carrying so many. She must be very brave."

"She's also designed for it," Sunstreaker shrugged, though he was careful not to jostle her as he skated to the table where he'd been drawing and set her down. "She's going to be in a vile mood once it grounds her, but that won't be for fifty years or so," he added as he turned to get a couple cubes of her special energon from the storage locker.

Ma-le again marveled at the ways of the swawmx. More than fifty years of pregnancy! "Well I'll have to spend the next fifty years learning what relieves her vile mood, Arun Shwe. May I ask you how I can better serve her today? Or are you too busy with your artwork."

"When it comes to making Shimmerfire happy, I have time," Sunstreaker chuckled as he returned with the glowing deep purple cubes. "The glowing stuff is energon, our food. It's also bad for humans to touch. Pure liquid energy and flesh don't mix. What makes her happy is being pampered. Polish her until she shines like the sun and casts rainbows across the room."

"There is a lot of her to pamper," Ma-le commented with an amused tone. "I think I shall be very busy. You said the first day I was here that she likes the same polish as you?"

Sunstreaker flashed her an approving look and nodded. "Yes, there is a lot of her to pamper, but it will be nothing compared to her and six Seekerlings twice your height that will be here when she's fighting fit again in a vorn."

A Seekerling is a sub-adult Seeker. Typically between birth and seventy-five vorns old, a voice she was beginning to get used to as her socket translator informed her mind. A vorn is equal to eighty-three years.

"On the plus side, they should be coordinated enough to fly and socialized enough to talk within a few days of being born," he continued as he turned to bring out his polishing supplies, pausing near the washrack door to listen to his brother's progress on tempering their mate's mood. "I intend to keep you away from them for at least the first year, if not the first vorn. Just because they can walk, talk and fly doesn't mean I trust them to know how not to damage you by accident.

"That's all well into the future," he brought himself back to the subject. "Until they're ready to be born, she's going to need much more of your attention than either of us. Not only is she supporting her own spark and frame, but six rapidly growing ones as well. That doesn't mean you have to be with her like you are with us, you probably won't be by her preference. It does mean that her cable will be connected to you when you are with us so your pleasure will feed her and our sparklings."

A sparkling is a young non-Seeker Cybertronian aged between creation and the first frame upgrade. Also used for a general term for any sub-adult Cybertronian. The androgynous voice in her head informed her.

Ma-le without a second thought began to tidy her golden husband's work area, while privately wondering whether it might not be a good idea for Kuhn Jazz to find a couple (or perhaps 20) other sister-brides to share her duties once the 'little ones' arrived.

"I will be honored to help your mate and your little ones, Golden Sun," she admitted, speaking his god name affectionately in her own language rather than Burmese. An almost-but-not-quite-hidden gleeful look flashed across her face and a shiver ran through her myi-points in anticipation of her favorite duty.

"It's good you like that," Sunstreaker chuckled, his gaze sweeping the room to check that everything was ready. "Her mood's better," he said at random as his movements became more fidgety as he killed time without anything to really do.

Seeing his mood, Ma-le quickly climbed down the ladder from her golden husband's work table to retrieve her own human-sized polishing supplies before approaching him with a shy smile.

"May I attend to you while you wait?" she asked shyly, sensing his almost nervous anticipation for the mother of his young to emerge from the racks and wishing to relax him.

He turned and looked at her, then nodded, some of the tension already bleeding from his sleek frame as he picked her up and put her on the table again. He sat in the chair and turned his back to her, giving her perfect access to the middle of his back, the hardest place for him to tend to himself.

Ma-le smiled, pleased that he was allowing her to care for him in her own small way. She took her first cloth and attended to removing any stray dust or dirt that might have accumulated in his seams or on his beautiful armor plates. Of course, there was very little. He took far too good care of himself. She found one seam that had a bit left over from the sparring he had done earlier that the solvent in the washracks had not dissolved. Her tiny fingers were easily able remove the offending sand and dirt from between his plates using the fine cloth that attracted the dust and dirt to itself.

She then turned to applying his favorite polish with graceful motions. She delighted in simply being able to touch him. Arun Shwe was breathtakingly beautiful to her, and she loved to polish the warm golden armor until she could see her reflection more perfectly than in a pool of still water.

She ran her hand appreciatively across her work before quickly wiping away any of her own oils she might have left behind no matter how thoroughly clean she kept herself, and then leaned in and placed reverent gentle lips against his plating.

"You are so beautiful, Golden Sun," she murmured, before thoroughly wiping away the small mark her lips had left.

The soft purr of his systems at her careful attention rumbled a little higher at the praise, and cables relaxed just a bit more. Oh, how he loved to be pampered and appreciated for the physically perfect specimen he was.

~I've got her purring again,~ Sideswipe's pride in his accomplishment was clear in his mind. ~Ready to try that introduction again as she takes her energon?~

~Of course. The polishing supplies are out and she's ready to impress,~ Sunstreaker replied. "Shimmerfire is ready to meet you now. Treat her as you do us and you'll do fine."

Ma-le felt a mixture of excited anticipation and nervousness. She could tell that it was as important to her husbands that she please their mate as it was to her. Secretly it struck her as a bit odd, considering it seemed that the desire to please should go the other way around, that their female mate should wish first and foremost to please the fathers of her children, but Ma-le did not question it, especially now that she had seen with her own eyes the Seeker's unimaginable size. As always, she reminded herself, the ways and rules of the spirits and gods were very different than those of men and women, starting, obviously, with size.

When Shimmerfire walked back into the room, it was evident even to Ma-le that the huge winged goddess was in a much improved state of mind. Her steps were lighter, her wings fluttered lightly instead of being held stiff and her expression seemed more relaxed with a bit of a smile.

"You look good," Sunstreaker rumbled as he stood and skated over to her, only to find himself pulled in tightly and kissed hard. A low moan escaped from the golden warrior as he submitted willingly to her demand.

Sideswipe smiled and skated to the table. "Thanks for relaxing him," he spoke softly before picking Ma-le up. "She's not done wanting our attention, but I think I can get an introduction in while she drinks her energon," he grinned a bit more and picked up one of the cubes.

"I'm happy he allowed me to, my trickster," she murmured affectionately to her silver husband, caressing his hand. She was thrilled with both of her husbands, but for very different reasons. On the occasions when she would polished he silver trickster god, he was more likely to simply chat with her about her people and village and in turn tell her stories about his pranks and he and his brother's exploits in battle. His brother, on the other hand, would largely remain silent save the occasionally instructions or noises of approval while she for all intents worshiped his beauty while she worked. Mvkang enjoyed doting on his brother as much as she did, and working as a team to first polish and then pleasure the golden twin was a favorite past time.

As the silver god skated over to the winged goddess with her glowing meal, Ma-le schooled her features to be perfectly humble. As was custom in both her own and the surrounding cultures, she would not speak until she had been introduced.

"Shimmerfire," Sideswipe caught her attention as he lifted the cube.

She made a hum of approval and let a somewhat dazed Sunstreaker go to reach for the cube. "So who's the organic?"

"This is our socket, Ma-le," Sideswipe held her out slightly with the introduction while Shimmerfire began to drink the glowing liquid. "I think you'll like her."

"She polishes very well," Sunstreaker added his own form of approval, his hands never leaving the larger mech. "Good energy too."

Ma-le brought he fingers together at heart-level and bowed. "I am honored to meet and serve my husbands' mate and to assist in nourishing your children, winged shimmering goddess," she stated with only the slightest hesitation, trying to find the correct words in her language for a situation her culture had never prepared her for.

A trilling rumble answered the greeting. "Respectful too," Shimmerfire regarded the human briefly between drinks of her special formula energon. "Perhaps you'll show me while the other sees to my needs."

"Sounds good to me," Sunstreaker rumbled eagerly as he ran his hands up her sides in front of her wide wings.

Ma-le gave a delighted smile. She could feel both of her husbands' relief at their mate's reaction. Their through newly forming bond was allowing her to feel some of their emotions when she was close to them, and the bond was strengthened every time they filled her with their seed, that is to say, several times a day since she had first been brought to them.

"You honor me and my clan, and it is a privilege to share my myi with you." Ma-le said, gazing in undisguised awe at Shimmerfire even as her body began to tremble in anticipation of the trickster's expert attention. She lifted her dark hair that had been artfully braided into long loops, and offered her socket to the gigantic winged mother.

There was a moment where Shimmerfire had to access the datafile and activate various protocols for sharing, but it was barely perceptible for Ma-le before the cable connected and she felt the heady rush of the being on the other end. The majesty inherent in her, the power and glory of a creature born to master the skies and young enough to not have any grasp of limitation.

Ma-le couldn't help her mental gasp as she came into contact with the Seeker. Her husbands had told her that she was to be the first human to give her myi to this glorious goddess, and suddenly she felt wholly unworthy of the honor. At the same time, her body responded to the contact with nearly instant longing.

She looked to Sideswipe and smiled broadly, ready to give herself to him for the spark of his giant mate. She tentatively reached out to him through the new bond with a brush of adoration and longing for him.

He returned with arousal and approval as he walked to the berth and helped the human out of her fine clothing while Sunstreaker got Shimmerfire on the berth. She watched as the warrior began to worship the mother of his children with golden hands and lips on her wings. The rush of pleasure it caused the Seeker flooded her.

Ma-le, already accustomed to Mvkang's desires, freely moved on his silver frame after he lay down next to Shimmerfire. She slid up to his face where she caressed and admired his complex and beautiful sensory fins with her fingers and mouth. She was just about to ask him how he would like to have her when the spillover from Shimmerfire made her freeze, unable to focus on anything but the Seeker's fiery pleasure.

~Plug into her bro,~ Sideswipe was suddenly focused sharply. ~She's never shared. She'll have no idea how to shield.~

~Right, right,~ Sunstreaker responded as took out a cable from his hip to plug into a port above hers.

Almost immediately Ma-le felt Arun-Shwe's presence next to his mate's in her mind and the pleasure calmed. She could half-watch as he taught Shimmerfire how to shield the connection and realized that her husbands did the same when they connected to her, protecting her from the full power of their nature.

Cables slid out from Sideswipe's neck and caressed her body, urging her to spread her legs above his mouth. The soft, warm metal of his glossa slid out to caress her sex, teasing and exploring as it pleasured her.

Ma-le closed her eyes and drank in the rapture of Mvkang's attention as each sweep of his glossa sent tingles from her weeping depths throughout her body. She had learned quickly not to be shy about her cries of appreciation, not that she would be able to suppress them. It pleased her husbands to know that even their simplest touches possessed her, transforming the submissive wife into a primitive creature, wild with need for them. His sensuous cables wrapped around her and supported her as she wantonly arched her back, moaning as the sleek glossa teasingly thrust into her before returning to its sensuous caresses of hypersensitive skin and folds.

Next to her Shimmerfire finally really acknowledged her as fresh energy flooded her spark for the first time, and far more important to her programming, strengthened the new sparks orbiting her own. With a guiding thought from Sunstreaker, Shimmerfire sent a wash of pleasure to Ma-le and drank in the response.

Ma-le breathed in sharp, little gasps as Shimmerfire, with the golden god's guidance, sent regular pulses along the connection. She could feel the new understanding of something that had never made sense to the young Seeker, a sudden voracious hunger for an energy the winged goddess had never before tasted, and which was desperately needed for the life she carried. It awakened a maternal energy in the Lisu girl, and she gave herself fully and willingly to the need, freely sharing not just the exquisite, perfect pleasure given to her by her silver trickster, but the emotions that connected organic mothers on an instinctive level - joy, empathy, compassion, and a tender awe at being part of the ancient dance of creation.

Ma-le was so caught up in Shimmerfire's own sensations and needs, both new and familiar, that she nearly forgot her own body when suddenly the teasing, tingling glossa delved deeply inside her, filling her as fully as his silver spike, swirling and probing the moist heart of her tender flesh. She writhed and shrieked her surprise when a wild eruption of ecstasy made her convulse around him in the first of what was sure to be multiple glorious peaks for sake of the goddess and the lives she carried.


Shimmerfire relaxed on her front on the berth, wishing her mates were there rather on punishment detail, but more than happy that Jazz had guard duty rather than Tread Bolt. Even if he wasn't in a very pleasant or talkative mood, at least she could say she honestly respected him. The tiny human perched on her right wing was a negligible, if oily, weight, but the way Ma-le worked the fine polish had long since lulled the Seeker into a contented rumble and privately grateful that she'd consented to it.

Ma-le carefully moved to the next part of Shimmerfire's wing, and began first to carefully clean and remove any particles of dirt before applying the polish the goddess and Arun Shwe preferred, using a level of pressure that seemed to please the gigantic Seeker as she made the wings shine. Already, the rainbow reflections on the roof and walls were that much more brilliant from the part of the wing she had already attended to.

She had largely worked in silence, enjoying her own thoughts and the occasional sounds of pleasure from the Seeker. But she kept finding herself wanting to ask about the young the gigantic mother was carrying.

"May I ask you a question, Kuhn Shimmerfire?" she finally asked quietly while she worked.

"Sure," she responded with a pleasured rumble.

"What is it like to be carrying so many children? Is it way of your people to have so many at once, and to have more than one father?" She asked quietly, intensely curious about the gigantic winged goddess who had selected Ma-le's husbands as her mates.

She was careful to continue her polishing without interruption, enjoying the reflection of the beautiful colors on the Seeker's fearsome form.

"It's draining," the Seeker answered first, her chassis still relaxed. "Very draining to support six sparks in addition to my own, and make the frames. From what my carrier told me, it was more common to have one, three on occasion, but that was when Vos was still standing and our wings filled the skies. He warned me that I'd likely carry six or even nine at a time until there are enough Seekers that we aren't at risk of disappearing.

"Most of us lived in trines, three Seekers that do everything together; live, train, fight, breed. Having more than two sires, your trinemates, is unusual for a clutch, but when our numbers are low, it becomes a lot more common. The number of Seekerlings are somewhat dependent on how many sires there are. I could have had nine, if there had been another mech or two that I liked for it."

"Nine?" Ma-le paused for a moment, using a cloth she had on her shoulder to wipe the perspiration off her brow from her work, taking care not to let any drip on the wing underneath her.

"I'm big enough to carry nine," Shimmerfire explained, "though it would be difficult even under the best conditions and the Seekers that came of it would be small. With six they'll be average sized, while with only one it would grow to be as large as I am, maybe larger."

"I am thankful Wu-Sa spared you that. I helped my mother while she bore her children, a brother and then two more sisters. She was worn out just by one at a time, and she only had to carry them for nine turns of the moon. We had very little food, and we always made sure she got extra, but it still was very difficult for her," Ma-le smiled, thinking of her family, no longer hungry and never to be hungry again, not for a thousand years!

"How did you select Mvkang, Arun Shwe and Kuhn Jazz to be the fathers of your children? Forgive me, I cannot remember the name of the other."

"The other Autobot Seeker, Tread Bolt," Shimmerfire answered. "He won the right, defeated me in the air, after Sideswipe and Sunstreaker agreed to be my mates and make a Seekerling with me. After that I sought out Jazz. I chose all three because they are sleek, fast and deadly. Lightly built too, for grounders. All important traits for the Seekerlings if they are to fly well."

Ma-le grinned, thinking of the things the shaman had said about the three gods whom she had shared pleasure with. Deadly warriors all, though none more so than Jazz who was still sitting quietly doing his work in another part of the spacious room.

"I am certain you chose very well, Kuhn Shimmerfire. Our village shaman told us amazing things about all three when he consulted with the ancestors and spirits. All three are deadly warriors. I wish I had known to ask him about you when I was in my village," she considered the satellite phone her father secretly hid. Perhaps she would be able to contact them sometime soon and ask her mother to consult with the shaman about the others she had met since arriving.

Thinking about her home, she was reminded of the Seeker goddess saying that her own homeland was no longer standing. "May I ask what happened to your homeland, Kuhn Shimmerfire? To Vos?"

"I was born after it fell," she answered, pain lacing her voice as his optics powered down. "The city-state that the Winglord, the master of all Seekers, ruled, protected by his warriors and guided by his trine. A city built of crystal in honor of the air," her voice dropped to nearly a whisper as memories from her carrier and generations before flooded her processors. "What happened ... the Winglord went mad. He turned to war when Megatron called on him. We lost so many. So, so many. The spires were destroyed, Vos shattered with all the hatching grounds and history. My carrier blamed the Winglord, said that Megatron destroyed Vos and Starscream let him. The Autobots say much the same."

Despite saying it, it was obvious to those who heard her that it wasn't something she could completely make herself believe, even if she didn't disbelieve it either.

Jazz, even more than Ma-le, listed with rapt fascination to an abbreviated story that held much of the same information that Skywarp's had, but came from a very different, very distant source.

Ma-le felt deep sympathy for the goddess, whose wings trembled beneath her. "I feel grief at your loss, Kuhn Shimmerfire. Losing ones homeland and ones people is a powerful, horrible thing that can so easily make those who are left behind forget who they are and who Wu-Sa made them to be. I am honored that I am wife to those you chose as mates and fathers to help rebuild your people," her words were formal but heartfelt.

She continued work in silence for a moment, unsure of whether to ask another question, but found herself quietly adding, "The nation my people live in also was betrayed by those who were supposed to lead and protect it. My people have lost many, if not most of our villages. Mine still stands, and has a chance, thanks to Kuhn Jazz," she looked briefly at the silver god of death, and noticed that his visor was bright and he was watching them. She gave him a shy smile and returned to her work, moving to yet another section of the great wing.

She worked for a time in silence, putting extra tenderness into her care of the goddess's wing, making it gleam. "Your coloring is beautiful, Kuhn Shimmerfire. I've never seen anything like it in my whole life," she quietly commented as she finished the first side, picking up her cloths and polish and making her way carefully to the other side.

"Primus gives each Seeker a gift, something that is theirs alone," Shimmerfire rumbled softly with the pleasure of being pampered so well. "Many of us take our designations from it. Shimmerfire is mine because I shimmer, and when I call on it, it can blind my enemies with a brilliant fire. My carrier was called Sideflare for his ability to warp a short distance to one side in a flare of fire."

Ma-le began carefully removing any dust with one of the electrostatic cloths Sideswipe had provided her with, her fingers able to fit it into seams and crevices in the Seeker's armor that others could not reach. "Is your ... carrier ... is she, I mean is he still among the living, or has his myi returned to Wu-Sa?" Ma-le tried not to think of her own parents, whom she ached for, as much as she was so very much enjoying her new life.

"He returned to Primus two vorns ago," Shimmerfire said softly, not bothering to hide how much it still pained her. "He bought me enough time to get ahead of the Decepticons hunting us so I could make it here. Said I was more valuable to the future than he was, since he was old and smaller."

Ma-le silently wondered how gods could suffer so much loss, yet it was obvious that their lives were as full of pain and suffering as that of any mortal, but compounded by the length of their existence. She glanced again at Jazz, wondering if the fact that Shimmerfire was now under the protection of the god of death, and indeed, was carrying his children, meant the Seeker's losses were at an end.

"I am glad you have new life in you to soften such bitter loss, Kuhn Shimmerfire. Are you able to tell anything about them yet? Will they have similar gifts from Wu-Sa...Primus, I mean, as you and your carrier?"

"Mmm, at least one or two will," Shimmerfire purred, a deep rumble of pleasure as she made an effort to focus on the sensations and not on old pain. "They often follow family lines. I'm sure the three Sideswipe and Sunstreaker sired will have blades like mine, since all three of us have arm blades of some kind. The one Tread Bolt sired is likely to be small and stealthy but not that agile. Jazz's unusually fast, agile and unbreakable. I'll know more as they grow, especially once their sparks detach from mine and transfer to their bodies in about five metacycles.

"They'll be able to tell me their names within three metacycles, what their gift is within days of taking residence in their frames. The real advantage to Seekers is when they're born. Within a few days they'll be able to walk, talk and fly. It will be an advantage for them to be raised by Seekers, but even at that point they'll grow up knowing exactly what they are and how to do it. Even if they never see another Seeker, they know how to be Seekers."

"Children are the greatest gift, Kuhn Shimmerfire, and it will be my honor to share my myi with your spark and theirs as they grow," Ma-le smiled softly, continuing her tender care of the mother-goddess's wings. She could not help the wave of pure desire that settled deep inside her at the thought.

She wondered when her own body would begin showing signs of new life? After all, her husbands filled her with their seed every time they shared. It was bound to happen soon if it had not already. Her cycle was certainly several days late. She tried to imagine what children of the twin gods would be like. Her own people had descended from golden twins, a son and daughter of Wu-Sa. Perhaps she, like her ancestress, the golden twin's daughter who married the tiger spirit, would be the mother a whole new people.

Shimmerfire hummed in pleasure, letting silence reign for a time before speaking. "So what kind of mate do you want to sire you young?"

Jazz's face snapped up from his datapad and focused on the pair once more, ready to intervene or explain if need be as Ma-le opened her mouth and blinked several times in confusion, pausing in her polishing.

She could not even fathom the question, or how to answer it. She wondered if perhaps the goddess was testing her honor and her loyalty to her husbands. "I would never allow another to put his seed in me, Kuhn Shimmerfire, now that I am married. To do so would dishonor my husbands, and I'm sure they would protect me from someone forcing his will. But my cycle is already late, so I am hopeful that I am with child already." It suddenly occurred to her that there was one other who had recently had put his seed in her, when he had been in the holoform that still haunted her dreams. She looked suddenly at Jazz, her eyes wide at the realization. According to the moon cycles, it was much more likely to have been his seed that had put a child inside of her.

Jazz put his datapad down and walked over to the berth that looked even larger with him there.

"We can't give humans children, not even in holoform," he said gently in her native language. "The question was not for honor or to test you. To have children, it will need to be with another human."

Ma-le stared at Jazz, tears starting to form in her eyes, shock and realization setting in. She would never have children. Never know the joy of having her husbands seed grow into new life inside her. No wonder her husbands had a mate of their own kind to sire children on.

"Forgive me," she said suddenly, sliding down from Shimmerfire and quickly climbing down the ladder they set up for her against the berth, with the intent of running as quickly as she could toward the small apartment set up for her to cry in privacy. She would not dishonor Jazz or her father or her husbands by showing her grief in front of others. It was too much to take in, and the girl had suddenly reached her limit of shock and confusion.

"What's with her?" Shimmerfire looked after the retreating human in confusion.

"Culture shock," he shrugged. "Best to let another human female calm her down," he added as he comm-ed Sarah Lennox.