Starcrossed

by Gatekat

G1 AU, Jazz/Prowl, Jazz/Vortex Jazz is the second creation of a Noble House that's fallen on hard times. He's promised as the subordinate mate to a wealthy commoner in exchange for a great deal of credits. It's only when he meets his future mate that things get bad.

29. Searching

Starcrossed 29: Searching
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Radiance made his way easily through the mess that was the inside of the private home his team had just raided, observing more than anything as mecha he'd trained himself and trusted with his life finished trussing their prisoners up for transport. "Excellent," he praised his second-in-command, Charade, and got a nod in response from the serious, red-visored mech. "This is definitely a main stash, I think you could take Iacon hostage with the firepower in here."

Charade stood up, dusted his hands off, and looked around. "If you were creative with it," he rumbled. "Which you would be."

Radiance chuckled and started to answer, when a vid screen in the next room over set to a live newsfeed caught his optic. He could see weaponsfire and smoke on the screen and he frowned, pushing past Charade to get closer.

Charade followed. "That's been running since we got here, 's in Polyhex, though. Riots."

Radiance's head snapped around. "Polyhex?"

Charade nodded. "Yeah, was listening while we were waiting, you were still out back. Couple noble houses've been razed, most mecha in 'em killed. Guttersmecha desperate for energon, looks like."

Radiance's optics widened behind his visor when he realized why the picture on the screen had caught his attention, finally seeing what was so familiar through the smoke and haze. The Calidar estate. "Take over," he snapped to his second, then turned and ran outside, rolling onto the street and transforming, taking off as soon as wheels hit pavement. ::Pantera!::

::Get Whiplash to get Saxo in the conversation. I don't care how.:: Prowl's voice was tight, commanding in a way Radiance had only heard the briefest hints of before. It was a voice that not only could command a small army, but probably had. It was also a voice that said that the mech was up to his optics in other conversations at the moment, and quite possibly a physical altercation.

Radiance tried to ping Jazz and got the signal immediately rejected, meaning he was too far underground in Special Ops's shielded area, something that Prowl had apparently already tried. His engines growled. "Why does it have to be Whiplash?" he muttered to himself. ::Hey!:: he pinged the matte black Ops mech. It took the routing through several layers and increasing levels of scrutiny but within half a klik Whiplash finally responded.

::Which explosion got you all bent out of shape?:: the Ops commander growled, not hiding that he was having a bad morning too.

::The one that Saxo needs to hear about,:: Radiance said, scowling, unable to find it in himself to really care how rough of an orn Whiplash was having. ::I need him in comm range, right now.::

::Polyhex then,:: Whiplash muttered. ::Give me a klik. I have to pull him out of a room.::

The line went dead, then Jazz was on it. Not actually in comm range, but his signal run through the system that connected the Ops realm to the outside.

::Do you know what's going on?:: was the first thing Radiance asked, holding off on linking Prowl in, wanting to keep the Enforcer's processors as uncluttered as possible.

::Whiplash pulled me and is not happy about it, that's all I know,:: Jazz said.

::It'll be on any newsfeed you want to access. Energon riots in Polyhex, and...:: Radiance hesitated for a moment, not sure how Jazz would react to hearing his creation's designation. ::The estate that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were at has been raided, it looks destroyed.::

Silence.

::Saxo?::

::Where is Pantera?:: Jazz's voice was flat.

::Linking him in,:: Radiance said, and sent the request for conference through to Prowl.

Prowl was on the line almost immediately, the hum of many background conversations to this one audible on the line. ::Saxo. I'll be headed to Polyhex as soon as I finish arrangements. Within the joor.::

::I'm coming with you,:: Radiance and Jazz said in unison.

::I'll get through Whiplash, just tell me where to meet you,:: Jazz added.

::The apartment,:: Prowl said, his tone mildly surprised but not about to argue with his mate on an open conference call with half the precinct brass.

::You are not going, Radiance,:: Motor's rumble stopped the SWAT commander's statement. ::Pantera still has some kin-rights to his creations. You do not yet.::

::Mortar!:: Radiance protested, while Jazz vanished from the line to get through his own commander. ::I have to! You don't need me here, Charade-::

::Is a perfectly capable officer. He's also not you and I need you here,:: Mortar insisted. ::You know full well the workload going on right now. We're lucky we aren't in the same situation as Polyhex. I wouldn't let Pantera go if I had any options in the matter.::

:Radiance, you are needed here,:: Prowl's voice was calm. ::Duty comes first.::

Radiance throttled back on the angry growl that was trying to force out of his engines. ::Request permission to temporarily go off-duty until Pantera and his mate have left for Polyhex,:: he said stiffly.

::Permission granted,:: Mortar said, as kind as possible, not that Radiance cared. ::But Radiance-::

::What?:: Radiance snapped, only barely remembering that he loved his job and wanted to keep it.

::You're scheduled for a few orns off as soon as everything calms down with all the overtime you've put in. I suggest directing your focus on making it calm down as quickly as possible.::

::Will do, sir,:: Radiance said, hitting his breaks, spinning, and setting off towards Prowl and Jazz's apartment.

::Got out,:: Jazz's voice reappeared on the line, this time through his own comm line. ::I'll be home in twenty kliks, Pantera.::

::I'll be longer,:: Prowl warned him. ::Start packing. Extra rations, high grade, small and large credit sticks, weapons. Radiance will be there to see us off but can't join us until Praxus calms.::

::Actually I'll be there before you,:: Radiance said. ::I'll wait outside.::

::I'll be there soon. Pantera, hurry,:: Jazz said.

::I'll do my best.:: Prowl promised, the number of comm lines he was managing already going down. ::Longsight's youngest's mate is a shuttle and flying us to Polyhex.::

There was a pause as Jazz translated that to what he needed to know. ::Understood,:: he agreed before closing the line to allow his mate to deal with whatever he needed to. By the time he arrived at the lift to his apartment Radiance was already there and trying not to fidget.

"Hey," Jazz greeted, tense, not pausing on his way in or checking to make sure that Radiance was following him but for the warm, relieved flare of his field against his lover's. His chassis still had the remnants of hastily-wiped energon covering it, and had worked into the joints of his fingers.

Radiance waited until the lift had closed and began to move. "What can I do to help?"

"Um," Jazz said, holding hand to forehelm, shuttering his optics for a moment before opening them again and taking a closer look at his hand, frowning at it. "We've got a stash of weapons behind the berth, that panel lifts away, that aren't entirely legal. Can you get them loaded and not arrest us? I need to jump under some solvent."

"Sure thing," Radiance patted his shoulder gently, his field rich with understanding and acceptance. "Though I'm fairly sure you're allowed anything you want."

Jazz gave a half-grin. "Yeah. But Pantera isn't, and I definitely can't let anyone else have access to them." The door opened and they stepped out, Jazz shifting uncomfortably in his plating as he moved. "And-" he said, shaking his head again, looking almost overcharged with the movement and the frown that accompanied it. "Got pulled from a room, I'm going to be useless if I don't get this charge out."

"Before or after you clean up?" Radiance asked, trusting that Jazz wouldn't ask at a time like this, even obliquely, if it wasn't okay with Prowl.

"Before," Jazz said firmly, as they stepped onto the smaller lift that took them up to the second level. "Fragging itches."

Radiance nodded and pressed against Jazz's plating as he claimed a kiss. "Hardline is what I can do the fastest."

Jazz nodded and returned the kiss almost automatically as his interfacing dataport spiraled open, then he took Radiance's hand in his own and guided it down between them and let his spike extend against it, aching for contact, for finish. "Valve or hand, I don't care, this'll make it quicker."

"Anything you need," Radiance promised. He closed his hand around the unique ruffled length and plugged into the offered port. He shifted to brace against Jazz's back to guide him into the washrack, a luxury that he was still wrapping his processors around them affording so easily, while he stroked and pulsed. When they were safely in the easily cleaned space, he turned on the magnets in his palm and put his full effort into overloading his lover as hard and fast as he could. Technique and enjoyment were ignored. It was all about giving Jazz what he needed as quickly as possible.

Jazz shuddered, helm pressed to Radiance's shoulder as his fingers dug in and held on, then groaned, hips jerking into the touch and processor going fuzzy with the charge pulses that Radiance was pushing through. "Radiance," he gasped, and in less than a klik, his frame seized and pressed against the other. "Frag-frag!" Jazz shouted, charge racing through him and crackling out into the air, jumping across frames as he shot into dark, coaxing fingers.

Short, intense, and processor-clearing. Jazz slumped for a moment, panting heavily, then shivered and shook himself once more, lifting his head. "Thank you. That helped a lot."

Radiance let go and shifted to catch another kiss while he worked to dissipate the mild charge that had built up in his systems. "Good. You'll need your processors about you." With that he let go and stepped away so Jazz could clean up.

Jazz nodded, grim, as plating shifted and resettled back around him. "Haven't been able to get ahold of anyone in Polyhex who knows details-I doubt there are any. No one's had time to sort things through." He triggered the solvent sprays and stepped into them, holding his arms out. "Join you once I'm done."

Radiance nodded and went to start prepping their weapons cache and not think about the fact that he wasn't going with them as he climbed onto the berth and looked at the metal sheeting of the walls right above the headboard. He ran his fingers around the seam, felt enough of a give to indicate which plate wasn't attached to the rest, and switched the magnets on in one hand and drew back, lifting it away.

Behind was a small storage area, something not uncommon as a feature in security-enhanced apartments like these ones. Inside the unlit space were two rows of weapons all laid out in a perfect order that had to be Prowl's doing. The first were blasters, six in all, the second row contained three heavy riffles. Along each side were enough compatible charges to keep them all firing for a very long time. None of them were armed, a storage safety standard that Radiance was grateful they complied with. Spaced between the ranged weapons were close quarters ones, vibro and energon blades, and those did look fully charged.

It was impressive, even by the SWAT officer's standards. With a low hum he pulled the entire ranged stash out onto the berth, snatched a handful of charges, and started working on getting them loaded.

Every single one was a weapon banned on the open market, and Radiance had seized plenty of these models in his time. He had to give his lovers credit for their choices, and admitted to himself that these were probably the same he would choose as well, if he was ever going to keep black market finds for himself. Distantly, he heard the sound of the washracks powering down, a brief drying cycle, and then Jazz reappeared, walking past him and going downstairs.

Five kliks, and then Jazz reappeared, looking quickly over the weapons and then smiling at Radiance. "Figured you'd know about these models."

"I have to," he grinned at Jazz. "I have to know what's legal, and how to secure what isn't." He paused as he finished the last of the blasters and reached for a riffle. "How much experience do you and Pantera have in handling these in a firefight?" He extended his field, brushing against Jazz with solid reassurance that he only wanted to know for their safety.

"More than I'd like and enough to handle ourselves," Prowl gave a non-answer as he walked in right for Jazz to claim a kiss. "You don't have to come, love," he murmured quietly enough that only Jazz heard him.

"I know, and I am," Jazz said, voice equally low and tone that would take no argument. "You saw everything I left out for you? I split the credit sticks and energon between us."

Prowl nodded and kissed him lightly. "In my subspace." He turned to Radiance, nodded and began the process of checking and stashing the loaded and charged weapons in his frame while handing every other one to Jazz. Only a single blaster went in each subspace, and Jazz received more than half the blades.

"With any luck, the rioting will have quieted down by the time you get there," Radiance said. "It still looks bad, but-" He watched one of the more deadly weapons get tucked away. "I don't want you to need those."

"Neither do we," Jazz assured him.

Radiance nodded, not at all happy about this situation. "Do you have a plan?" he asked, looking to Prowl.

"One or two, depending on how cooperative the locals are," he shivered his frame, settling every plate in place so it looked like he was no more armed than he should be: a single standard-issue blaster, a shock baton and his shoulder launchers, currently folded down. "However it plays out, I'm going to hack into the estate systems and see how many perpetrators I can identify while I look for where the younglings were when this all started." There was a fractional pause before his voice quieted. "I'm going to try and find Amberwave and T'kach as well."

"T'kach?" Radiance glanced at Prowl only to realize that Jazz had the same expression.

"I'll tell you about him later," Prowl groaned at his own mistake and gave Radiance an apologetic look. "Someone else not to look up, okay?"

"All right," Radiance nodded. "I might be stuck in Praxus, but I'm not out of comm range. I've got resources to put to bear on this."

Prowl gave him a painfully sad smile and leaned in to kiss him soundly. "Thank you, lover. We will remain in touch."

Jazz drew Radiance in for a kiss as soon as Prowl had moved away. "Thank you," he murmured, then straightened. "When are we meeting the shuttle?"

"Any klik now," Prowl glanced around, then at Radiance. "You know you can stay here, if you want. If things get bad there are other weapon stashes."

Radiance inclined his head. "Thank you. Though I'm doing everything I can to make sure things don't get bad here." He rose to his pedes and put a hand on each of their shoulders, then slid to the backs of their necks. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"We will be," Jazz said, leaning in to touch their helms together, just as the faint sound of an approaching shuttle became audible.

"We will return to you if it is at all possible," Prowl promised as well, relaxing in the intimacy that was far too early for their relationship but that he needed and wanted very badly. "Keep yourself and your team safe, Radiance. I don't want to come home to have lost you."

Radiance pulled Prowl in to kiss him deeply, then turned to Jazz for the same. "Sounds like the shuttle is here. Go on before I forget why I'm not going with it."

"We'll keep in contact," Jazz promised, before turning and leaving with his mate, Radiance almost having to lock his joints to keep himself from following. Once he heard the lift closing, he headed over to the windows to look down at the street, seeing the waiting shuttle, and not moving until his lovers had climbed in and were safely in the air. He sighed, took a moment to gather himself, stopped watching the newsfeed from Polyhex, and commed his Second to find out where his team was.

SxSxSxSxSxSxSxSx S===================S SxSxSxSxSxSxSxS

By the time they arrived in Polyhex, the noble quarters that had experienced the heaviest rioting and looting had been abandoned by everyone but the scant forces of Enforcers that could be spared for searches and the hazard teams that were still working on the last of the chemical fires that had been started. The shuttle was able to land within visual range of the estate, and Jazz's field teeked grim as he left the shuttle, Prowl right behind him. "Please tell me we have the wrong one and you actually meant that one over there," he said, pointing to a nearby estate that looked hardly touched.

The one in front of them looked like it had been attacked. Certainly with grenades, likely with heavier artillery. The shuttle transformed behind them and gave a low, shocked whistle.

"Thank you for the ride, Windcrest," Prowl told the shuttle, though his full focus was in front of him. He barely heard the response or Jazz's assurance that they would comm if they needed anything. With only the faintest quiver of his doorwings he transformed and drove onto the estate, pinging the local Enforcer data net to find out who the officer in charge was, only to find there was none officially listed, the previous officer having been pulled six joors prior and none having logged back in to replace him.

As soon as they were spotted, though, an Enforcer with officer markings turned around and approached them, giving the universal signal for them to transform back into root mode immediately.

"State your business," the officer, whose ID ping came back as Fielder, commanded. "This area is restricted."

"Our creations were here when the attack happened," Prowl said simply. "We are here to help look for them and provide any resources we can towards recovering them."

Fielder looked Prowl up and down, taking note of his official markings as a lowly patrol officer out of Praxus, largely ignored Jazz with his civilian appearance, then shook his head. "Sorry, you're not in your jurisdiction here, and it's restricted to even you. I can't let the family of every mecha who was inside just wander around."

Prowl's doorwings twitched up, but before he could respond, Jazz stepped around him, giving the officer a huge grin. "Hi there," he said, waving, ignoring the unimpressed and dubious look the mech gave him. "Why don't you stop talking, take a nanoklik to ID me, get over the results as quickly as you can, and move," he said, stepping forward, doorwings flared out. "Because I do not have the time to stand around here while you gape and tempt me to arrest you for obstruction of an Imperial agent."

Behind him Prowl smirked, but restrained the snicker to his field where Jazz could teek it.

Fielder glared at him, but did the ID ping. Everybody in visual range knew when he got the results back by the way he nearly jumped away from Jazz, optics bright.

"Ur, right. Yes, Sir. What are the designations and frame stages of who you're looking for?" Fielder was socially backpedaling fast.

"Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, younglings," Jazz said, speaking the names of his creations out loud for the first time since they had been brought here. His doorwings lowered down from the imposing stance but he stayed tense, standing in front of his mate, irrationally wanting to shield him from what he was sure they were going to hear.

But instead, the officer shook his head. "I'm sorry, no youngling frames have been recovered yet, and the few survivors have been adults."

"Do any positive IDs include Amberwave, Raela or T'kach?" Prowl asked, though Jazz noted that the set of his doorwings indicated he had mixed emotions on the answer.

Fielder took a moment to search what few results they had, and shook his head. "We have found none, deactivated or otherwise."

Prowl simply nodded, though Jazz could teek a knotting of energy that meant Prowl was desperate to move because he knew where answers were. Yet it was Jazz who held the rank, so he deferred to his mate.

"Just make sure your team knows who we are and doesn't interfere," Jazz said, and brushed past the mech.

"There are chemical hazards-" Fielder started to say, but Jazz turned and gave him a look.

"I think I know how to identify chemical hazards," he said. "Anything in there beyond a Class III?"

Fielder shook his head. "Nothing over Class I."

"Then we'll be fine," Jazz said, and started to walk, before pausing and look at him. "Oh, and please send your command protocols to my mate, he will be taking charge." At Fielder's shocked expression, Jazz's features softened. "I'm sure there are others in this city who could use your help, and he is more than qualified for this."

"Yes, Sir," Fielder said, and promptly sent the schematics, protocols, and other relevant data over.

"Thank you. I will ensure all relevant reports are forwarded to the precinct chief," Prowl inclined his helm to Fielder before taking off after Jazz, catching up with him in two steps and taking the lead with a purposeful stride that spoke of knowing exactly where to find what he wanted. His comm system lit up, introducing himself to the Enforcers on site, giving directions to the most likely locations that mecha would have taken refuge in and where to dig the command center out so they could hopefully find out what had happened in detail with court-quality information.

Pleasant surprise greeted the information, with quiet gratitude sent back to him over the lines, followed by an increase in determination of the mecha working to clear everything out.

Jazz followed silently through the debris and halls that his mate knew and navigated easily, even as wrecked as they were. ::T'kach?:: he asked, encrypting the comm.

::My second creation. He was raised in Iacon and was being trained under Amberwave.:: Prowl included an image file from the single encounter he'd had with the mech, one that gave little indication they knew who the other was at the time. ::He would have taken up the secondary command position in the kitchen and directed resources from there while Amberwave did so from the primary command hub on the bottom floor.::

Jazz nodded as they picked their way through the wreckage of a collapsed section of ceiling. ::Perhaps the bottom floor was more insulated from damage,:: he said, though his field held little real hope of that. ::I did not realize you knew any of your other creations' designations.::

::It was an accident. Amberwave said one was here when I first brought the sparklings. I chose not to meet him then. Several vorns later I heard a mech speaking about Amberwave's apprentice, T'kach. It took very little from there to piece together his life.:: Prowl paused, his frame stilling as self-hate mixed with loosing himself flickered through his field. ::I did a great deal of damage to my coding when I attempted to raise our creations. I was never intended to be a creator, only a carrier.::

::I thought you were a marvelous creator, and a perfect sire,:: Jazz said quietly, hands settling on his mate's hips from behind. ::Come on, they might be knocked offline somewhere, or hiding.::

::The prize is where Amberwave would have been,:: Prowl leaned into the touch briefly, his field skittering with thanks at the thought that he'd done well. ::Once I log in, I can see where they were before the network went down.::

They moved deeper into the estate, finding the path mostly clear for them, until they were very nearly at where the command center would be, and were faced with a giant section of energon-covered debris that the local Enforcers were already working at clearing away. Most of them stopped and offered brief salutes to the arriving pair before continuing at their work, while one stepped away entirely.

"We're almost through," he said, absentmindedly licking at a drop that was running down his wrist. "It looks like there was an explosion in the energon lines right above this, the collapse crushed several of the mecha who were trying to get in. Lucky timing for a line backup."

"It's more likely an intentional act by the estate seneschal," Prowl scanned the debris field and went to work, Jazz moving alongside him. Quiet words directed those working to more effective use of their energy, but mostly Prowl simply focused on digging. It helped him focus his processors, his systems having become more action centric since escaping Vortex. While it didn't show on the outside, he had never stopped trying to remote access the estate, trying one system and subsystem after another and continuing to cycle through every come channel he knew or could dig up from those who had lived here.

"Think anyone is still back there?" the commander asked dubiously.

"Likely not alive," Jazz said, voice quiet as he accepted a chunk of sheet metal to toss out of the way, leaning in close to his mate once he had, his field steady and calm. "Unless something has caused their comms to malfunction, they are either deactivated or escaped by another means."

One of the Enforcers gave a triumphant cry, interrupting anything the commander might have said in response, and announced that they could see through to the other side from there.

Prowl immediately tried Amberwatch's comm again, along with Raela's, without reply while they all worked to open a gap large enough to get through. Prowl's doorwings were vibrating with pent up need to search further in by the time there was enough of a gap for him to get through. "Azimuth, Casie, Fracture: widen the opening in case of injured survivors. Hook Up, Knocker, Race: check out the primary safety area," he pinged them the location and directions. On the schematic they had it looked like any other storage room. Prowl knew differently from running an estate. In some things the nobility were just too small a group to vary that much.

He stopped for long enough to make sure all six Enforcers were working on their assigned tasks before making his way up to the gap and ducking his way through, Jazz right behind him, and they found themselves in the last section of hall that ended with a door that had been blasted off and was hanging lopsidedly, sparking from where it was damaged.

Prowl started for it, but Jazz's hand wrapped around his arm, stopping him, before he stepped out in front and ducked carefully through the entry, his hand up and back as he looked around inside. After a few moments, his frame sagged just barely and he shook his head, but gestured for Prowl to follow and enter before moving completely in.

There were a scattering of frames on the floor, none that Jazz recognized, though he quietly grieved the loss of the very, very young sparkling that the smaller of adults had tried to shield with her frame. A youngling was among the grayed number as well, but it bore no resemblance to either twin to Jazz's optic. So while Prowl stopped to look the deactivated over, he went for the second doorway, one that led into the maze of servant tunnels, and muttered a curse to himself as he looked down the long, clear, very empty hall. "This one isn't on the public schematics," he said, shaking his head again.

"Help me unplug and lay Amberwave on the floor," Prowl responded, his voice cool and flat as he worked to untangle and unplug a mech missing most of his chest from the central control station in the room. "I'll update the schematics when I log in."

Jazz turned and joined his mate, carefully wrapping his arm around the wrecked torso after folding one of the doorwings out of the way while Prowl worked at the cables leading into the console, some of which had melted at the ends. "It was probably a security feature, but they'll have to rebuild this entire place anyway," he said, trying to keep verbal conversation calm, unemotional, and not ask about the obvious Praxian build or the mech's apparent post, not until he could get Prowl alone. He already had enough clues to realize that this was the relative that Prowl had entrusted with their sparklings. What he didn't know was how close a relative it was, and how much Prowl cared about him.

Prowl finished with the connections, freeing the frame, and together they lifted it up and away and settled it on the floor. Jazz simply watched as his mate displayed a skill at hacking he had largely forgotten Prowl was so good at. Most of the plugs were useless, but Prowl found a couple undamaged ones that were normally hidden and used them to assess the system's overall condition.

Less than half a klik later Prowl had moved onto removing panels to hardwire himself in.

Jazz stood behind him, hands on his shoulders, letting the local Enforcers take care of the work of removing the grayed frames, his entire focus on his mate. "Anything?" he asked softly after a silent klik, growing tension driving him to speak and break that silence.

"Some can be identified, I have several designations," Prowl reported as he began downloading the relevant data to an evidence drive. "They are very heavily armed for guttermecha desperate for energon."

Jazz frowned, pulled a cable, and reached around Prowl, tapping it against his chest. "Show me."

Prowl spiraled open a port immediately and queued up the images and evidence that indicated weapons heavier than what they carried, thing far beyond the means of most working mecha, much less those from the gutters. ~I believe there were two separate groups involved. The heavily armed mecha were out to kill and destroy, but did little practical material looting and went for larger, expensive items and the highest quality high grade. Those than came behind them didn't hurt anyone, a few even helped those still functioning, but went right for the useful looting. Energon, supplements, repair supplies. The things we know are of highest value to those scraping by.~

Jazz skimmed over what Prowl was showing him, jumping from file to file, watching the progression of the takeover of the estate. ~They hid under the cover of the guttermecha,~ he said. ~Made sure they were the ones who followed and were caught by any Enforcers while they got out and disappeared into the energon riots. They might have even started the whole thing. Specifically targeted and took down one estate at a time-~ He double checked that guess with the reports being logged on the Enforcer net. ~Chose those without a significant private guard. Frag! They aren't just lost or hiding out there somewhere, if they're not here they were taken.~

~Yes.~ Prowl agreed with a grim storm of creator protocol rage brewing until the complete emotional lockdown of his processors. ~The question is now why them, when more valuable youths were deactivated,~ he flashed to the newly separated one. ~They would not have been easy to take. Sunstreaker is still extremely aggressive.~

~They have high quality frames,~ Jazz said quietly, ignoring the unsettling churn in his tanks at the thought of his creation's violent nature. He glanced around at the sparkling. ~That one does too, by the looks of it, but might have been too young to sell for what they want. If they didn't take a sparkling, they're probably not feeding into an interfacing market, a newly separated sparkling will go for mint on one of those.~

Prowl's frame buckled, nearly dropping him to his knees before he caught himself on the consol with locked arms. Shock, both at the information and almost casual delivery stalled his processors in a sea of white that soon turned to horror. Of course he'd known, in the most abstract of ways, that such things existed. It wasn't part of his reality, though, nothing he'd ever crossed paths with, even on a secondary or tertiary level.

~What would they take younglings like ours for?~ Prowl finally managed to get across. It was better to know now, to be ready, than to be shocked by where this would take them when he needed his wits about him.

Jazz's hold around his mate tightened, regret that he'd had to eliminate such a possibility for them strong in his field. ~There are, unfortunately, many different possibilities. Slaves, illegal workers, small frames that can fit in hazardous places most adults can't, youngling pits, mining, being trained to fight...there are more, none of them good,~ he said sadly.

Prowl trembled in Jazz's embrace, accepting both comfort and information as the protocols he'd installed in their very first safehouse fought a battle against the intensity until Prowl put his intentional effort into backing them and his emotional protocols dropped to the background once more. ~We'll need to find as many of the first group, the gang mecha, as possible, and soon.~

~Send the best images you can find of them over to the Commissioner,~ Jazz instructed. ~I'll give him his orders once you have.~

Prowl nodded, gathered a packet of the best images, cross-referenced with the few designations he had, and sent it.

Jazz watched until the commissioner had acknowledged the receipt of it, then promptly sent a comm ping to the mech's private line, immediately getting it rejected. He tried again, more insistently, and the line opened to an annoyed growl that they both heard, Jazz keeping the conversation open to his mate through the hardline.

::Who are you and how did you get this frequency?::

::My designation is Saxo and I got this frequency from a database which stores all city commissioners' private frequencies, which I have access to. My credentials,:: he databurst his ID information over, ::And if you wish you double check my rank and identity, an officer called Fielder has already done so.::

There was a pause, and then a slightly-cowed sounding, ::How can I help you, Saxo?::

Jazz nuzzled Prowl's helm. ::You just received a packet of images from the Praxian Enforcer, designation Pantera, of some of the mecha involved in this orn's violence. If arrested, they are Imperial prisoners, and are to be processed by me alone. You will make sure every Enforcer in this city has the same images, and every mecha taken prisoner for involvement with the riots will be shown the same images and questioned for information regarding them should they recognize any. Anything learned is to be sent directly to myself and Pantera. They are top priority above everything but the safety of the city and her citizens, understood?::

::Understood,:: the commissioner said promptly, and Jazz cut the line.

~That will make the net very tight around them, with any luck they won't slip out,~ he sighed, holding Prowl tightly.

~Agreed,~ Prowl leaned into the contact, openly grateful by his mate's use of authority and more than a bit turned on by it despite the situation. ~Thank you, love. What is the best use of my talents in this kind of hunt?~

~I can get you hooked up to the city's security net,~ Jazz said. ~That's where I'd have you as most useful, monitoring without the pressure of needing to report or engage. What would you most like to do, what would help you?~ he asked, feeling the increasingly intense knot of tension coming from his lover's frame.

~That will work nicely,~ Prowl purred, the option to do something so useful and so close to his spark's purpose easing some of the stress he was under. Monitoring, data searches, cross referencing and analyzing. Those were things he excelled at and enjoyed.

Jazz nodded in understanding and started the loop-jumping process of transferring control of the estate search back over to a Polyhex Enforcer while getting his mate access codes for the city's networks. ~I will do everything I can to bring them back to you,~ he promised, relieved that he could do as much as he could to help his mate. For all the grief he'd caused, at least he could do this much in penance.

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Jazz got the first comm for a potential witness to the mecha they were searching for the next orn, long enough that nerves were starting to fray, and the comm came as a welcome relief and something to do. He drove to a station halfway across the city, leaving Prowl in the precinct building to continue monitoring, and was immediately shown to an overstuffed mass cell, full of battered and grimy looking mecha.

"Which one?" Jazz asked, looking through the crowd.

"That one," the Enforcer who was showing him in said, pointing to a mech who was sitting on the floor, back to the wall, looking miserable.

Jazz cocked his head. Guttersmech, not in overall good repair or health. "What was he arrested for?"

"General rioting and disruption."

"I'd like to take him with me," Jazz said. "If what he knows is true and valuable, I'll ask that he be released."

The Enforcer just nodded, and Jazz waited while the single mech was fished out of the crowd and brought to him.

"Come on," he said, gesturing with his head. "Lunch. And don't try to run, I promise I'll just catch you and make your life worse."

The guttersmech nodded, his field submissive and just a tiny bit hopeful. He'd heard, or been told, what Jazz had said. He also remained close to the Praxian civilian frame as they left the precinct jail, reassured by the clear deference the local Enforcers gave Jazz.

Jazz led him in silence until they were outside and heading for the small cafe next to the precinct headquarters that mostly catered to the Enforcers. "What's your designation?" he asked as they walked.

"Temoin, sir," the mech tried not to look too skittish around all the Enforcers. It only drew their attention, and he didn't want to be chased before he got the promised meal.

"You can relax," Jazz said, as gently as he could. "I'm not going to do anything to you. And there's a very good deal on the table right now." They reached the counter and Jazz ordered, then looked at the mech. "Anything you want. You can get extra to take with if you'd like."

Temion tried not to panic at the level of choices he had never encountered before, but survival instincts that had kept him alive this long quickly kicked in. One cube of high grade would fill his tanks and give him a nice buzz, and three regular cubes would keep his entire little cadre, what was left of it anyway, in fuel for most of the decaorn. He gave Jazz a quick glance, just to make sure he hadn't overstepped the offer, but the Praxian simply nodded to both him and the much more subtle glance the server gave him.

Once they had their order, Temoin quickly tucking the regular cubes into subspace, nervous about them being taken away as leverage, Jazz guided him over to a small table in a back corner of the well-lit room, away from the majority of the other mecha. "Simply put," he said, opening a comm line to his mate so he could listen, "So far you're my only witness, and all I want is to know what you saw. You believe you saw three of the mecha that were shown to you. Please tell me what you were doing, and what you saw." At the mech's nervous glance at the Enforcers, Jazz reached over and touched his arm with a comforting brush of his field. His optics glanced towards the subspace pocket with the fuel. "I'm not looking to punish you, here. What is that, a couple decaorns of fuel for you? Less if you're taking for more?"

"Most of a decaorn for my cadre, if we don't have to run from anyone," Temoin said honestly between quick gulps of the high grade, far too well trained at having to consume it quickly or lose it. "I ... I was hiding, sure they were looking for more." His optics flicked to the Enforcers that were studiously ignoring them before settling on Jazz a little more easily. "I was hiding well enough that the five gang mecha dragging three younglings that looked far too nice to be theirs didn't notice me. I could hear 'em arguing about having grabbed too many, that the buyer would only take two."

He shivered and scrunched in on himself. "So one pushed the younglings into the center and they all made circle around them. He told the younglings that he could only keep two, so one would have do die. If all three were still alive in five kliks, he'd shoot one at random." His optics brightened to a near-unseeing level and he whimpered to himself. "There was a yellow one, and he just launched himself at the blue and yellow one, and the red one was right behind him. They…they tore him apart. I never thought anything that young could be that savage. It was over in less than a klik."

Nothing about Jazz changed, field, frame, or expression, and after a moment he lifted his drink and took a deep swallow. "And the gang mecha," he said as he said it back down. "What did they do?"

"Big one laughed," Temoin said, finishing the high grade with a shiver. "Said they'd better charge double for that kind of temperament. Dunno about the others, I...I couldn't really stop staring at that youngling." He shuddered, then glanced at Jazz. "Look, I woulda stopped 'em if I could've, but, with Enforcers everywhere and them with weapons I've never even seen..."

"I know," Jazz said, stopping the rambling. "The details you gave the Enforcer who questioned you about location and time are accurate?"

Temoin nodded readily. He'd risked being charged with the murder of the youngling by telling what he did. He hadn't lied then, he still had no reason too. He wanted those monsters stopped.

Jazz hummed quietly to himself. "Do you know where they went after that?"

"Southeast," he said as he worked to get himself under control with the last of his high grade. "They put the red and yellow ones in the cab of the largest one. One of them laughed about not separating them after what happened last time. Younglings that strong could have walked quite a ways further. They were both in good fuel and repair. They were probably going across the city. Maybe further. Easier to walk younglings otherwise."

"Agreed," Jazz said, and pulled three more cubes of energon out of his subspace, handing them over. "Thank you, that is more helpful than you could know. You have an open tab here for the next joor, and no one will arrest you, the rioting charges have been dropped." He stood. "There are fuel rewards for any more information leading to these mecha, or any of the others whose picture you were shown. Let your cadre know, spread that word."

Temoin's optics spiraled wide, and he nodded quickly. "I will, thank you." He quickly made the extra cubes disappear into his subspace. "Who should be contacted with information?"

"Any Enforcer, tell them it's information for Saxo," Jazz said, and left. ::Love?:: he asked as soon as he was outside, worried by the silence.

::I have no questions, nothing to suggest,:: Prowl responded quickly, a warmth to his tone that Jazz wasn't used to. ::I knew you could interrogate with pain. Now I know you can interrogate with kindness as well. You've grown up so much. I'm so proud of you, love.::

Jazz paused, happily surprised by that answer. ::Well, he wasn't very likely to spread any word along if I'd beaten him up for it,:: he said, trying to sound completely casual despite the fluttering in his spark. ::It sounds like they're alive and together. They're valuable, they won't be killed. We just need to find them.::

::Agreed. I've begun focusing southeastward of the murder site for their likely alt modes. This city does not have nearly the security network that Praxus has. Only the major roadways and wealthy sectors have coverage worth calling such,:: he was both exasperated and making note for if they ever needed to hide again. ::They knew there were no recorders to capture the fight or exactly where they left.:: There was another pause. ::You did well, and you were far kinder than you needed to be. That's the good in your spark, and no trying to say otherwise, my love. You are a good mech.::

Jazz stopped walking, well aware that Prowl could be watching him through one of the cameras lining the street, and likely was, needing that moment of stillness to collect himself back up from the way such a simple assurance left him feeling rended. He'd wondered. He'd had his own unvoiced doubts. ::I love you,:: he said softly, and started walking again.

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At fifty-three joors into the search, Prowl was ready to admit defeat as far as searching via surveillance was concerned. He logged a simple program to keep up with the feeds, look for any of the six known individuals he wanted to find, and ping his comm if any showed up. With a stretch as he stood, privately wincing at how little it took to make him fidgety. He did enjoy being an Enforcer, but it was taking quite a toll on his ability to sit still.

::Saxo,:: the comm ping went to his love.

::Find something?:: came the immediate response.

::That it is time for recharge and I would like to do so with you,:: Prowl responded simply but warmly. ::Do we have quarters already, or should I rent a room?::

::I have a hotel room for us,:: Jazz said. ::Figured you might want to recharge eventually.:: He pinged over an address. ::I'll meet you there?::

::Yes,:: Prowl purred warmly in approval and closed the line to focus on driving through unfamiliar territory. He was well aware of the polite but evident tail he was given to keep him safe and made it easy for the local Enforcer to follow him. Prowl send a ping of thanks when he pulled into the hotel grounds and transformed.

He was immediately tackled by a warm frame that pulled him into a deep kiss. Jazz had been working with street patrols and helping with physical searches in areas that were less protected by surveillance, and Prowl hadn't physically seen his mate yet that orn. Something they were used to, but not in circumstances like this. "How are you?" Jazz asked, touching, teeking, reassuring himself.

"Tired, stiff and missing you," Prowl murmured, gratefully relaxing into the embrace and returning it. "You mentioned a room?"

Jazz nodded. "I kind of splurged," he admitted, taking Prowl's hand and leading him in. "Thought you might enjoy an in-room washrack."

"Very much so," Prowl held back a moan and allowed his mate to guide him into the building. His field wrapped around Jazz warmly, happy and affectionate while Jazz took him through the building and entered a code to their room, only letting the weary slump to his frame show once they were inside and the door closed. "I can't believe we haven't found anything yet," he sighed. "I thought for sure..."

"So did I," Prowl admitted, drawing his mate close and simply holding still for a lingering moment to take comfort in each other. "Primus, if we didn't have the kind of resources we do..."

"We'd have less than nothing," Jazz said, shaking his head, holding him just as tightly. "Come on, I think some hot solvent will help, I'd like to just stand in there with you for a while."

Prowl nodded and nuzzled him before they moved towards the washrack, never losing physical contact as it was turned on and they stepped under the warm spray. Prowl allowed himself to groan, his armor expanding and loosening to allow the solvent deep inside his frame.

"Tense," Jazz murmured, slipping fingers beneath plating, pressing against tension cables. "Didn't you at least stand up and walk around once that whole time, or did you completely forget to take care of yourself?"

"I remembered energon, but not to stretch," Prowl groaned more deeply at the attention. "There was a time not that long ago that I could sit still for orns at a time without more than a cube of mid grade to keep me going."

Jazz was quiet for a moment. "More than orns," he said, working his thumbs up and down the back strut. "But you don't have to, and your frame isn't in that kind of shape anymore. You-need-movement," he said, accenting each word with a hard push.

"I'm remembering that," Prowl felt his engine roar in anticipation of a workout. It was an Enforcer's pursuit engine and his frame was now a match. While he'd never need movement like a true racer, everything about him was about strength, power and action now. It was not a change he had managed to integrate yet. Part of him would always desire the physical stillness of immersion in the data networks and guiding them.

Jazz smiled and revved his engine in response. "Is that how you feel like stretching your frame back out?" he asked, then more seriously, "You feel up to that? Not just for me?"

Prowl moaned at the vibrations. His hands found his mate's and extracted them from under his armor so he could turn around and all but pounce on the mech he loved so much. Lips wet and locked, glossa tangled and Prowl's hands found Jazz's doorwings as he backed Jazz against the washrack wall.

They were both panting through fluffing and contracting their armor by the time their mouths parted enough to speak.

"Not just for you, love," Prowl murmured, faint shivers caressing his armor as he reached one hand down to tease Jazz's spike cover. "Was I the last to touch you, the last to bring you pleasure?"

"No," Jazz admitted. "Radiance-" He moaned softly and pushed into the touch, cover sliding away. "I was too charged up, he helped."

"Good," Prowl's voice pitched lower as he kissed along the line of Jazz's jaw while his fingers played around the spike housing, circling it and teasing the head. "You have no idea how hot it makes me to think of him pleasuring you. That he's good enough for you to turn to when I'm not around."

"He is, he absolutely is," Jazz purred, tilting his helm back for his lover, running his hands over every part of Prowl's frame that he could reach. "For you too, I think."

"He does fill an emptiness I had never been aware of before," Prowl murmured as his fingers and lip plates continued to tease. "It feels good to contemplate a triad."

"He's not going anywhere, and neither am I," Jazz said, spike pressurizing into the knowing fingers, both thrilled and relieved that the stress surrounding them was still something he could help lessen when they were alone. His hand crept down, slid alongside Prowl's, and then dipped between his lover's legs, teasing at his valve cover. It slid open smoothly with a welcoming moan for the touch.

"You can have that, or I can keep my hand where it is while I fill you, pound you into the wall," Prowl's voice was rough with desire.

Jazz groaned deeply. "Promise you'll make it rough," he said, leg sliding up his lover's body, hooking around his hip. He pulled Prowl into a kiss, slow and deep. "And when you're done," he murmured, "I'll lay you down on the berth and rock you until you can't stay online."

"I know what calms you, love," Prowl promised, his spike pressurizing between them smoothly and quickly to rub against the valve platelets and cover itself in lubrication.

"You always have," Jazz breathed, moving his hips, rubbing against the length. He nipped at Prowl's jaw. "D'you wanna see if Radiance wants to listen? Or just us?"

The hard rev Prowl's engine gave was all the answer either needed. Prowl pinged their lover, carefully marking it as non-critical. Jazz grinned and rested his head on Prowl's shoulder, playing his fingers along his mate's backstrut as the comm was accepted, Jazz patched into the call, and the concerned sound of their lover's voice came over it.

::How are things?::

::No progress since the last time we commed, but Pantera finally realized that taking a break is good for him,:: Jazz said.

::That doesn't sound like the Pantera I know. He would never forget to take breaks,:: Radiance said fondly.

::No more often than you,:: Prowl teased back. ::But we actually called hoping you are somewhere private at the moment.:: He dropped his harmonics to a low pitch and hummed, giving no doubt as to what he had in mind. ::I have this lovely Praxian pinned against the washrack wall, rubbing my spike along his valve, his spike in hand, and we were hoping you'd join in, at least verbally.::

There was a startled, silent moment, and then a brief, ::Hang on,:: before the line cut.

Jazz chuckled, nuzzling against Prowl's neck, and after just a short wait, the connection ping came back in.

::Please, please tell me you haven't started,:: Radiance said.

::Not so much as twitched,:: Prowl purred. ::Saxo, what do you think of playing out one of his fantasies? Let him talk us through it, motion by motion.::

::As long as you have enough energy to pound me good and hard when we're done if that isn't what he wants,:: Jazz purred. ::Otherwise yes.::

::I'm Praxian, love. Of course I have the energy for it,:: Prowl teased with a nip to Jazz's neck. ::So, our dear Radiance, what shall we do?::

:It sounds like Saxo needs a pounding,:: Radiance purred. ::And you are certainly the mech for it, Pantera. But you know how much I enjoy slow teasing, working up so slowly that it almost hurts to not give. Will you tease him for me?::

"Yes," Prowl's answer was almost breathy, adding his voice to Jazz's pleasures even as he transmitted over the comm. He slowly rocked his hips, sliding the ridges and lines of his elegantly carved spike through the swollen mass of Jazz's platelets and against the sensitive valve rim. "He's far too young to last like we do, to want to last, but I'll bring him to overload positioned just like this. His leg over my hip, his back against the wall, and my spike just rubbing between his legs. He's such a sight when his pleasure's building."

::That sounds so lovely,:: Radiance said, voice thick with arousal. ::You'll forgive me if I don't hold myself to similar restraint. Want to hear you in your desperation, Saxo, every moan and plea.::

Jazz whined, holding Prowl tightly, rocking his hips along the hardness. "Has to be until I overload?" he asked, already quivering at the thought of how long that was going to take.

"Or until Radiance says I can drive into you," Prowl growled, shifting both his hands to Jazz's hips to hold him still. His mouth found Jazz's neck and nipped at it. "It feels good though, doesn't it? To feel me against you, so intimate but not yet joined."

"Yes," Jazz moaned. "Radiance..."

::Don't worry, I'm going to make him hold out for this one,:: Radiance said to Prowl. ::We'll get him trained, you and I.::

"Frag you both!" Jazz gasped, but his field clearly accepting of what they were planning. His hips twitched uselessly in his lover's hold. "I'm an elite trained agent and this is cruel!"

::But so intimate,:: Radiance said. ::Calm, Saxo, focus on the way it feels to know that your lover, your mate, is touching you like this. Something so hidden, and beautiful, hot and flush.::

Jazz inhaled, vented, relaxed, and shivered. "Yes, it's good," he whispered, neck bared. "'Tera..."

"Love you, my beautiful Saxo," Prowl moaned, his lips traveling along the offered cables as his hips continued to slide back and forth, reveling in the tiny tingles of sensation so different from any other intimacy. "Your throat tastes so good, your submission, trusting me to bring you pleasure, trusting Radiance to want nothing but our pleasure, is so hot."

"I trust you with my life, both of you," Jazz murmured, shivering from the tiny sensation zaps that the textures of his lover's spike were causing. The charge build from each was barely more than a brush of static, a slow, tantalizing pace. "Faster?" he moaned after just a few kliks.

::A little,:: Radiance agreed, his ventilations already harsh from his charge. ::It'll blow your processors, Saxo.::

"It will," Prowl agreed, shifting to tease his fingers into Jazz's hip joints as he sped up his thrusts and found Jazz's lips for a heated kiss. "You feel amazing, love. Imagine doing this with Radiance behind you, sliding his spike opposite mine. His hands holding you still so mine can play with your doorwings. Your moans are so sweet, intoxicating to us both."

Jazz groaned, finding Prowl's mouth for another clashing kiss. "That would be so hot," he finally managed. "Knowing your spikes were rubbing together between my legs. After I overloaded-" He broke off with a long, low moan, and gathered himself again, fingers clutching Prowl's back. "After I overloaded, you'd pierce me together, stretch me."

"Yes," Prowl moaned into the kiss while Radiance moaned across their comms. "Fill you so tightly, so full of us."

::Let you feel what a triad means in the berth,:: Radiance moaned again, a bit of static in his transmission. ::Oh Saxo, we'll make you feel so good for letting me close. Does Pantera feel good, rubbing between your legs? I bet he knows exactly how to move to hit every sensor just right, just enough to stimulate but not enough to make you shake. Not yet.::

"I will, when he lets me," Prowl picked up easily, shifting his stance a fraction to cause a bit more stimulation without speeding up. "I'll make you scream my designation as you overload around nothing, your valve desperate to be filled, and then I'll drive myself inside you and pound you until there's a dent in the wall and you and can't even beg anymore."

"Want that," Jazz gasped. "And it's so good, Radiance, he's so good, teasing just like you want, please, please-"

::Not yet,:: Radiance said. ::Not yet, lovely, your mate knows what I want, knows how badly you need to want it first.::

Jazz groaned in a mix of bliss and frustration, still pinned by Prowl's hands. "How long?"

::He'll know,:: Radiance said, and his voice was wavering and tense. ::I've pushed him to that edge, held him there without letting him overload. He's so hot like that, makes you ache to be in him and feel his ecstasy. Pantera,:: he moaned. ::Tell me how he looks, how he feels, going to imagine my spike right next to yours.::

"Optics have gone off, his mouth open, jaw slack, helm back to give me his throat," Prowl moaned, shivering with the pleasure building inside him. "He feels amazing, taut and wanting so much, but not there. Not yet. He's impossibly slick. You'd slide right along, rub against me, sparking a few more joules of charge."

::Primus,:: Radiance moaned. ::Everything charged and touching and grinding. Hot and wet and hard, the trust of a triad and being bared to your lovers as they are bared to you, Saxo, we'll give you that, we'll take you between us.::

Jazz shuddered in Prowl's hold. "Lover, lovers-not enough, more, 'Tera!"

::He won't give into begging,:: Radiance gasped. ::He's doing what I'm telling him, waiting until you're right on the edge, giving you hardly enough to push you over, overload you without satisfying you, preparing your frame for his pleasure.::

"It's worth it, love, it's so worth it," Prowl promised, repeating it as a mantra for his young mate as Jazz clung to him with a low sob of need. Prowl had never denied him like this before, but he could feel how hot it made him, hear how hot it was making Radiance, and that was all that enabled him to stay still without breaking Prowl's hold and driving onto his spike.

The comm went silence but for panting, gasping moans while Radiance listened to his lovers and they listened to him, Prowl moving slowly, carefully, coaxing, until Jazz's frame was trembling with unfilled need and the slowly-built charge that was now making the young mech run burning hot.

::How is he doing?:: Radiance gasped suddenly, sounding like he was moments away from his own tilt over the edge. ::He sounds beautiful.::

"He's ready to break, lover," Prowl moaned, his lips near Jazz's audial. "He's shaking as hard as you are. So full of need, he's being so good for us. You don't have much longer if you want to overload first."

::No,:: came the immediate answer. ::I'll let go when you pierce him, when I hear your cries together. Want to hear you in pleasure together, so much. Let him break.::

Jazz almost sobbed to know that release was so close and forced unfocused, pleasure-bright optics online to look into Prowl's. "Please."

Prowl could only moan, his field flaring hot and bright with need as he shifted his grip and sped up significantly. He lifted one hand from Jazz's hips and closed it around the ignored spike between them. "Overload, my mate. Cry out so we can hear you. As soon as you let go, I'll be inside you, driving you to a second and third and fourth peak."

It took just moments, nothing to them, of pressure that was harder than the teasing, brushing strokes, and fingers around his spike, finally bringing some relief to the aching metal, and Jazz screamed, valve clenching desperately for something to grip as it shuddered and spasmed in an overload that was almost painful in its intensity and the emptiness. His hips bucked, grinding against the length, desperate to sheath his lover and hear Radiance's overload.

His next cry was as much relief as bliss when it mixed with Prowl's roar of finally burying himself deep inside his mate. With a growl Prowl shifted his grip to Jazz's hips again and lifted him up, driving into him deep, hard and fast and using gravity to make each thrust deeper. Jazz wrapped his arms around Prowl's neck and shoulders and held tightly, face pressed against his frame, sobbing with each push, dizzy and all but lost. "Radiance-" he managed to gasp, reaching for their lover.

::I'm here,:: Radiance moaned. ::Pantera-tell me he's slick, and hot, and how deep-not much longer I can't hold-please, tell me, want to feel it with you.::

"He's beyond slick, lover. He needs to be filled in a way I don't," Prowl panted, his pleasure soaring even as he sought to drive Jazz to a second overload before he let go. "Slick and scalding hot and I'm in so deep. I can feel you in here with me, stretching him further than he'd even been before. Driving me mad as you rub against me inside him. He loves it but I need it. Please, lover, let me hear your cry out. Let me heard you call his designation with me."

::That's all I need,:: Radiance moaned, as Jazz cried out and arched, valve clamping down around Prowl, and at the same moment, a bright rush of static came over the comm line as Radiance shouted. ::I'm there!:: he cried. ::I'm there, I'm right there against you, I'm-I'm-oh, close close-I-I-aah!::

If there was more, it was drowned out by the sound of Radiance's scream of Jazz's designation, ecstatic and burning across the line, harmonics that pitched it right to Prowl.

It was all the Praxian could take, wanted to take, and one further thrust and he let go, roaring for Saxo, then Radiance as he filled his mate, thrusting into the trembling, overloading valve with each pump of crackling fluid and continuing to thrust deep and hard even when his overload was spent. He moved to Radiance's encouraging moans and purrs and Jazz's cries, keeping his promise to pound his lover into the wall, going until Jazz's final overload dropped him offline, limp in his arms.

::He's offline?:: Radiance asked, knowingly and purring deeply.

::Yes,:: Prowl purred just as deeply as he gently began untangling his frame from Jazz's and shifting so the worst of their mess could be rinsed off by the still-hot solvent. ::That was very enjoyable to have you join us.::

::Intensely enjoyable. It was not what I was expecting when I received your comm request,:: Radiance said. ::I swear you two are going to make me lose my job. Charade was pretty sure I was being murdered for a moment.:: There was a brief hesitation, almost too short to be noticed. ::I'll be out there as soon as I can. And not just because...but you know that.::

::Oh, lover, you should have said you were working. There would have been another call,:: Prowl chided him gently. ::I do know. I wish you were here too, but duty first, love. Duty comes first. I'm not keen on the idea of Mortar out to get me, you know,:: he added a bit teasingly as he turned the blowers on to dry them off. ::How are things going in Praxus?::

::You think I was going to just turn an opportunity like that down?:: Radiance hummed. ::Seriously, what is use of training a Second and a team if they can't take over when my lovers comm me all hot and heavy like that. Plus Mortar's a pushover, he adores you. Praxus is fine, it got a little tense with Enforcers being jumpy that anyone might start riots here as well, but so far, nothing. Busy as Pit busting weapons dealers though,:: he sighed.

::Anyone new to the game?:: Jazz's voice suddenly joined back in, taking his own weight back onto his pedes. ::The gangsters here had some nasty equipment they might be looking to sell before it IDs them somewhere.::

::No, I'm sorry, these are busts we've been tracking for vorns. I will let you know if there's a new merchandise flood anywhere, though.::

Jazz sighed, wrapping his arms around Prowl and nuzzling. ::Thank you.::

::We'll comm you again if there's any news on this end, or when I take another break,:: Prowl cooed, promising another very enjoyable call if Radiance hadn't made it to Polyhex yet. ::Have fun on your weapons busts in the meantime.::

::Fun,:: Radiance repeated dryly, but both his lovers knew fully well how much he enjoyed his function. ::I look forward to whichever comes first, take care of each other.::

::We will,:: they promised in unison, and the comm line cut.

Jazz pulled Prowl into a soft kiss. "Come on," he murmured. "Let's go lay down. Thank you for cleaning up."

Prowl simply hummed his contentment on several levels and collected his mate against his side for the short walk to their berth overlooking the well-lit wealthy district that hadn't been hit. When they were both settled, Prowl circled a tentative finger around Jazz's dataport. It wasn't like they really had anything secretive to talk about, but it was a comfortable habit in stressful times and unfamiliar places.

The warm, grateful flare to Jazz's field told him his lover had been wanting the same thing and the port spiraled open under the touch as Jazz reached to take Prowl's cable in hand, first lifting it to his lips in a soft kiss, and then clicking it into his chest. ~You miss having him here,~ Jazz said softly, without judgment or any kind of ill feeling.

~Yes,~ Prowl acknowledged with a brush of affection and thanks for the acceptance. ~I'd long thought Praxian was just a frame. I know better now. But more than a third ... it's ... I try very hard to never mention the twins around you.~

~I know,~ Jazz said, touching their helms together. ~I appreciate that, more than you can know. I'm so sorry I could never be part of your life with them. And I'm so glad he could be. Can be.~ He sighed. ~I love you, I want you to have everything you need.~

~You provide everything I need, love,~ Prowl insisted. ~You provide most of what I want.~ He x-vented gently and tipped their faces for a tender kiss. ~You're even growing quite fond of the idea of including Radiance in our lives completely. I don't need a third, but he does make me feel more complete to have with us, as part of us.~

~You have a coding advantage over me,~ Jazz murmured. ~It's still hard to imagine him meaning as much to me as you do, or to think I ever might someday feel that strongly about another. I do care for him, deeply. I want him in our lives. I've...~ He paused, a flicker of indecision in his field and over their hardline. ~I've been studying code, noble code, and seeing what I can do with what remains of the conformation coding. If my chosen wants a triad, so will I.~

~Oh love. I would much rather this comes naturally. Even if we were not hiding from a powerful mech, it is a huge step, and not to be taken lightly.~ Prowl kissed him again, softly. Despite the words and the truth behind them, there was no hiding that it warmed Prowl that Jazz would even think of it. ~You do not need to love him as much as you love me, so long as you do love him before he is triad. I know it is difficult to contemplate doubling your vorns and more before deciding, but it is normal to take such time. Love, trust me when I tell you that even if he is never allowed closer than he is now, I am grateful for what you allow us.~

Jazz's faint smile was almost wry. ~What could be more natural than using the coding I was kindled to sustain?~ he asked. ~I was meant to bind myself to one mech and want to shape myself to his desires. It...just so happened that I chose that mech myself, instead of allowing one to be chosen for me. But I will leave the coding alone. We have centuries, and a full courtship to learn to love him, and him us.~

~Thank you,~ Prowl felt tension he hadn't notice creep into him dissipate. ~We have both been so badly damaged by coding we did not choose. He has no grasp of just how little freedom either of us have. I don't ... I don't want him disgusted by what he sees when we let him in.~

~You really think he might be?~ Jazz's focus sharpened.

Prowl could only nod for a brief moment. ~Love, you haven't integrated into commoner society. What we are, what we were raised to think is so normal, it horrifies most of them. It's why pre-progs are thought so badly of. They don't want to admit to themselves that their spark is free because of simple luck.~

Jazz was quiet for several kliks, turning that over in his processor while stroking his fingers over Prowl's doorwing. ~It's...little better than slavery, isn't it,~ he finally said. ~Gilded slavery. Nobles believe a pre-prog's spark is of lesser value than a sparked one, which is worth less than a kindled one. They treat pleasurebots and servants as a disposable resource, but their own creations have almost as much directive coding.~ He huffed. ~If we tell him, and he cannot handle it, we still have each other.~

~Yes, and we will move on,~ Prowl said firmly. ~Physically or simply emotionally, we will always have each other. I am testing him, seeing how he reacts to related subjects. I believe he will accept us. I intend to be sure before we are that vulnerable.~

~He is sparked, himself,~ Jazz murmured thoughtfully, and with a gentle nudge, pushed Prowl onto his back, moving over him, stretched out and settled between his legs. ~Albeit into a sparkling frame and with little directive coding. He knows worse things about me than that I am a noble, or you a seneschal, and still cares for me.~ He drew Prowl into a deep kiss that was returned with a warm embrace. ~I have seen him treat broken pleasurebots with compassion.~

~As have I. He is a good mech. I have little doubt. He cares deeply for us already. It is just so much. I am risking you when I tell him. I can not be too careful of that moment.~ Prowl moaned softly into the contact and held his love tightly. ~I simply wish to be sure of his acceptance before I tell him.~

Jazz grinned, nudging his hips forward. ~You could always tell him, delete the memory, and tell him again,~ he said, teasing fondly. ~It will be fine, no matter what happens. My love?~

"Mmm?" Prowl hummed, collecting his attention for the subject shift.

~I have not heard my designation in your voice in far too long,~ Jazz said, one hand running down his lover's frame to rest at his hip. ~Nor have I said yours as often as I would like. Prowl, my beautiful Prowl.~

~I know, my Jazz,~ he allowed the sadness to flow. ~I wish I felt safe enough to use it far more often.~

~Shh, I know,~ Jazz murmured, soothing. ~Do you remember that night, the first night he took me and broke me,~ he pressed soft, loving kisses all over Prowl's face. ~Prowl, you whispered to me, 'Jazz, my Jazz,' ... that moment was the happiest I had ever felt in my life.~

~I remember,~ Prowl shivered. That memory hurt, but that his mate could remember sweetness in those horrible, painful joors soothed it considerably.

~You make me happier than I could have ever dared to hope for, once,~ Jazz said, voice low and soft. Prowl felt the light brush of a charged cable over his interfacing dataport. ~May I? I want to help you into recharge, and hear our designations cried out together.~

~Yes,~ Prowl moaned and spiraled it open without hesitation. ~Just having you in my arms helps my recharge, love. This, this is bliss.~