Ratchet was an up and comer in the political ring of Cybertron. He was the ideal senator, what power should be assigned with if you will. He had come from nothing, scraped and scrounged to rise through the ranks, put himself through schooling, and then he became one of Cybertron's most brilliant doctors. He opened a clinic in Crystal City that was devoted to treating whoever walked through it's doors and it was the only clinic that was known to not ask for your caste rank. He ran the place pretty much by himself until he picked up traction and he was getting anywhere between 100-300 patients a day and he had to hire some extra help. He put practically every penny he could into this clinic.

Ratchet was of course most proud of his accomplishment with this clinic, but he felt like he could do so much more. After much a lot of public support and deliberation he decided to run for a seat in the senate and was thrilled when he won by a landslide many people citing that they believed the accomplished doctor would do more good than the old mech he replaced ever could.

With this he left his beloved clinic in the hands of First Aid, a trusted colleague of his, before leaving for Iacon to throw himself into the political ring of Cybertron in hopes to bring about change.

Within his first few years of ascending to the Senate he had made reasonable headway into paving a way for programs to give the lower castes more paths to easily get more resources like better quality energon, better work, and education, and boy did his new found peers hate him. He was treated as a threat and a force to be reckoned with.

Everything was going as Ratchet had planned but then a group of other Senators had cornered him and fragged it all up.

He had been working on drafts for propositions of his own when he was abruptly reminded of how he is one and the corrupted are many. Three of them had shown up to his office with two stacks of paper in hand. One was a bonding contract with the Optimus Prime, the next Prime to come into power. And the other was a bill that would make it illegal for his clinic to stop recording caste rankings of patients with the majority of the Senate backing it in signatures.

That was two days ago, and now he had merely an hour to consider their terms. The contract or the bill. This was truly it. He had spent the last two days reading through the thick stack of papers, looking for any loopholes or fine print but it was truly straight forward and the hidden threat in the words was very much legal as it wasn't even written down.

He was to accept the proposition of an arranged marriage to the New Prime and effectively step aside, or they would see to it that the clinic that he worked most of his life to establish would be shut down because there was no way in hell he would continue to operate if he recorded caste rankings. If that clinic shut down, thousands of people would lose access to healthcare…

He bit his lip looking down carefully at the paper critically. The new Prime- He was said to be young, only about Ratchet's age. Ratchet didn't really call himself young. He had extensive schooling and contributed to several medical journals. He had written several books on subjects such as mental illness, rare diseases, the brokenness of the medical system, and more. A total of 6 full length books. Not to mention the extensive essays on a variety of medical things. He held a large handful of degrees and certifications simply because he was fascinated with all the ways he could potentially help. He was a VERY accomplished mech…

Of course the majority of the people he worked with had been in office when he was sparked so he would be young comparatively…At least he wouldn't be forever binding himself to someone who has no connection to what was currently going on... On the contrary, the Prime is the most widely seen figure in all of Cybertron. Possibly egotistical. All of the people he knew here were also greedy assholes that liked flaunting their power. The Prime being like that? All too possible… He would even go with probably.

Ratchet wasn't one to talk about it but he wasn't thrilled with the idea that once he was bonded to the Prime there wouldn't be any way for him to seek someone out that he truly cared for either… But on the other hand, countless people losing access to medicine, energon, and much needed treatment was a death sentence to thousands of innocent lower caste individuals…

That clinic also worked with all the hospitals in a 500 click radius, reusing supplies that they were going to throw out.

There was also the fact of who had what to gain with this arrangement.

The other Senators had more to lose than him by bonding to the Prime. He was pretty much constantly in the spotlight, as he was the individual with the most influence and power on Cybertron. If one of the other Senators was to bond with the Prime, they wouldn't be able to do their shady dealings, go to their fancy clubs, and most importantly they would be stuck under the optic of someone that would constantly have much more power and influence than themselves. And who knows what he would be like. Primus forbid he was angry and violent behind closed doors.

There was also the fact that Ratchet would lose his Senate seat and he would have to step aside as Cybertron's Head CMO and exchange those titles for the high rank of Primal Consort.

Either way he was going to lose his seat. He accepts the bond contract and gives up his seat for a higher title, or he loses his influence and foothold in the citizens fragile trust.

If he chose the bill he would also lose any momentum for the programs he was currently trying to create. Something that he truly believed could change Cybertron for the better… And if he didn't pick up more momentum for the things he was trying to deliver on, another greedy asshole would only take his place and he would be left with nothing accomplished. He could lose everything he already had if he didn't agree to this…

An angry fist came down on the desk next to the paper with a dull thud as pins and needles prickled at his cheeks. His optics burned a little with tears. He officially had no choice.

There had to be a brighter side to this… as the Prime's conjux, he would have a little bit more leverage. He didn't have any shady things going on so there wasn't any worry about that. Perhaps Ratchet could… perform some favors in exchange for some favorable nudges towards his goals. Yes… this may work.

So be it that his hope for any romantic happiness would be the sacrifice. If the Senate wanted his spark, then they could have it. So long as he could keep working on bettering people. If they were going to take this happiness from him then that was all the more time and energy he could put into chipping away the corruption. Bit. By. Bit.

His optics seethed as he signed the paper in the appropriate places. Fine. He'd just use this as a stepping stone. Let them trap him like a caged bird; it didn't mean he was going to be silent, he thought as he scratched his signature on the last line before looking at the clock. Just in time he supposed…

He took the contract in hand, standing from his desk and walking over to the shredder in the corner. He hesitated, looking down at the bill and at the contract. He steeled himself. He was certain this was the way to change. He lowered the bill into the jaws of the machine, watching the blades chop it up. He straighten himself, taking a deep breath in, and began to make his way out to the main chamber with his decision solidified.

There was no going back now.