Hi everybody! I realized that I had forgotten to leave a partial summary and disclaimer in my last chapters. Hopefully this chapter makes up for that, and even answers a few questions anyone might have. First, I'd just like to say I am a fan of Transformers Prime in its entirety of the franchise. I have a lot of thoughts and opinions on the other versions of the show, but not all of them are positive. So, not to ruin anyone else's fandom (I know how annoying that can be) I'll keep most comments to myself unless anyone asks.

With that said, I haven't seen a lot of Gen. 1, read any of the comic books, or taken the Michel Bey movies to heart (again, I'll try to keep my mouth shut). Criticism is welcome but would be appreciated it if it is constructive…. I'm a little rusty with my writing, so please be gentle. XD

Now, this next chapter takes a bit of a turn from the first two chapters and I kind of stray away from Megatron and Cass. Don't worry, I'll come back to them in the next chapter with lots more stickiness. In the mean time I decided to explore a little bit with Soundwave, and how he feels about all this. I'm also throwing in a little Breakdown and Knockout action in the mix, and how I see their relationship behind closed doors…. Or doors they try to keep closed. O.o

Special shout out to Lightrunner for being the first person to post a review of my story. Thank you for taking the time and I hope I don't disappoint. ;)

WARNINGS: If you are not into yaoi, slash, or mech preg, please do not read then try giving me a hard time in the comments and reviews. You were warned on the opening tab, and you are being warned just now. So, if I'm not your cup of tea that's perfectly alright, but please don't be shitty about it.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any stocks, trades, or licensing from the Transformers franchise. All rights are reserved for HASBRO entertainment.

MERCY

Chapter 3

Blackmail

How could he have let this happen? How could he have been so careless? Eyes and ears of Nemesis his slim navy blue aft. If he really was so great at his assigned duties as a communications officer, then he never would have let Megatron get anywhere near Cass.

Soundwave was a mess with his thoughts. As he marched down the dark halls of the warship he so diligently monitored, his processor was overflowing with 'what if' scenarios. He played back his nightly routine repeatedly over the inside of his visor. First, make sure all daily data files are downloaded and saved properly. Any new, old, minuscule, or important data is separated and stored for further inspection after his rest cycle. Next, he checked all the main rooms for surveillance. This included the main bridge, the communications bridge (where he currently resided), the interrogation rooms, store rooms (which the Vehicons' night off was starting full swing), and the last room he checked was the med-bay. He always tried to avoid this room as long as possible. Almost every time he checks in, he catches Knockout and Breakdown in the middle of an interfacing session. Luckily, this time he caught them at the beginning with some light 'buffing'.

After his traditional internal shutter of this display, he finally averts his attention to the halls, dorms, and flight decks along the ship. He lingered on the flight decks, because he knew that Cass would be there taking in the night.

When Soundwave first met Cass, he was blatantly enamored with the young mech. He never noticed too many of the new drones when they arrived so many years ago. After a while, they all just blend in with the rest of them, but when their numbers started to dwindle the subtle differences between the separate model types began to surface. In fact, Cass was first brought to Soundwave by a not all to bright Vehicon, somehow thinking the smaller mech was a symbiote. The communications officer took pity on the poor drone, and after properly reprimanding the other Vehicon, he graciously made Cass one of his assistants. He was a little withdrawn at first, but after a few weeks of getting settled, Cass proved he was a very smart and capable worker. Soundwave surprised himself with how much attention he was giving Cass. There was no other mech he knew of that was so kind, polite, charming, and unexpectedly honest for a Decepticon. To Soundwave this warranted his protection of the young model, and every night Cass went up to the flight decks he would check in on him. It was always a nice way to end his shift and sometimes he looked forward to seeing the young model enjoying himself.

Soundwave had always held his lack of emotions in high regard. It had served him well through his long, battle filled function, but Cass had a strange power about him. Whenever he was near, Soundwave would always momentarily let down his guard. In a way, Cass made him feel content, and every time the communications officer glanced at Cass, his EM field would gently pulse. The way Soundwave carried himself, nobody near him at the time would've really noticed, but Laserbeak always could. The connected feeling between the two would be so strong, sometimes Laserbeak would jostle on Soundwaves chest and coo positively in response. Even his symbiote liked Cass. Anyone that made her master happy was good in her data pads.

But this night, that sheltered feeling of serenity was shattered the moment he saw Megatron walk up to the unsuspecting drone. He watched with helpless dismay as Megatron cradled Cass and enticed him to take off his mask. Soundwave was still in the communications bridge clear on the other side of the ship. Even if he sent Laserbeak ahead of him, he would be too late to interfere with this chance encounter. He soon became furious with the Eradicons on the flight deck. Why were they just standing there? He called out through his EM field. Say something. Do something! But there was no way anyone could pick up on his transmissions. The field around him crackled with static and Laserbeak shook from the abrupt mood swing.

Cass and Megatron both stood above a hidden audio receiver, one of many Soundwave had stashed all over the war ship. The second he heard the warlord give Cass the order to see him in his quarters, Soundwave rushed down the halls attempting to intercept his favorite drone before the inevitable happened. It was a failed attempt to convince Cass not to go to Megatron. To just turn around and find someone to replace him. To keep him safe just a little longer, but he knew the young mech was smarter than that. Cass was in fact naive to the situation, but he wasn't stupid. They both understood the consequences if they disobeyed their leader and he found out, and last thing Soundwave wanted was to make a bad situation worse.

When he finally walked away from Cass, he nearly crashed to his knee-joints. Everything he had blocked throughout the war rose up from every hiding place in his frame and CPU. That was the power Cass had over Soundwave, even if the drone was unaware of it. One minute, Soundwave could easily feel warm and at ease around the sweet drone, and the next minute, which was this minute, he could feel a rush of immediate dread. He hated feeling this way. He hated that he was losing control of himself. He prided himself on his composure and losing his grip on it was draining. He was glad nobody was walking down the halls where he was staggering. He still had a reputation to maintain around the rest of the troops.

When Soundwave realized he was just around the corner from the med-bey, he took a few deep intakes and did his best to straighten himself, all the while Laserbeak tried to help her master by sending him comforting signals. She helped him immensely, and as the communications officer began to feel calm and poised, he patted his chest. Letting Laserbeak know he was alright. Once she was also settled, Soundwave rounded the corner to the hall and stopped in front of the med-bey doors.

He entered the code to open the doors, but nothing happened. He punched in the code again. Nothing. Right then the communications officer remembered he was the communications officer and recalled his brief glimpse into the beginning of Knockout and Breakdown's evening. Any other Cybertronian, Decepticon or Autobot, would be a bit hesitant to step into a room that was being 'occupied' at the moment. Too bad for the CMO and his assistant, because Soundwave was on a mission. Extracting one of his data feelers, he forced the doors to swing open just in time to see Knockout overload. He was bent over and pushed down onto a random medical berth with Breakdown still thrusting into him.

Neither of the two mechs noticed Soundwave had stepped into the room. He slipped in quietly against the wall and waited, oddly patient. This wasn't the first time he walked in on them. This particular duo was always going at it like, as the humans say, a couple of rabbits, and there was just too much work to do on the ship to be courteous about it. Or at least, that was Soundwaves' logic.

"Ah-hah…. B-Breakdown…." Knockout arched his back against his partner's chassis. "D-don't stop…. So…. So good…."

"I'm not far behind you Knockout…." The giant blue mech grunted. "Do you want me to pull out?"

"Mmm…. No. I'm not on a cycle…." The commanding medical officer mumbled as he rode out the last waves of his orgasm. "It's safe today…. Go ahead…." With shaky arms he lifted himself up and placed his servos over Breakdowns, which were gripping the red mech's waist. As Knockout circled his hips invitingly, he turned his helm behind him and mouthed hotly. "And make it a big one…."

"Primus Knockout…" Breakdown increased his pace and pulled Knockout closer to his frame. Even after overloading not more than a moment before, Knockout was quickly building up a second charge. He gasped and called his partners name like a mantra, and with two last hard thrusts, Breakdown finally overloaded inside the medic, whom was pushed over into his second.

"BREAKDOWN!" Knockout cried with wide optics, grasping his abdomen as it expanded from the rush of trans-fluid inside of him. "Ah! S-so…. Full…. Feels…. So good…. Breakdown!"

"Knockout…. Mm…." Breakdown growled through gritted dental plates, and gripped the shivering, smaller mech tighter. "I love you…."

"You too…." Knockout panted. "I…. Love you too…."

Normally when Soundwave intruded on the two lovers, he would make his presence known without courtesy to the situation, but there was something Knockout said before that peeked his interest. So this time he waited and gathered information he thought might be useful. In the near future.

"Can I pull out yet?" Breakdown asked after a long session of air-ventilated pants. "I really want to kiss you, but I can't reach you from this angle."

"Mm…. Just stay there a little longer." Knockout mewled, his optics fluttering in satisfaction. "I don't get to be filled like this to often anymore. Oh…. You feel so right inside me. Please stay there. Just a little more."

"Damn it Knockout…." The blue mech revved his engines. "Keep talking like that and I'll pressurize again."

"Query?" Soundwave waited long enough. "Knockout: Breakdown: Finished?"

Breakdown froze in place. He was used to Soundwave interrupting them before or even in the middle of their interfacing (which Breakdown had never been comfortable with in the first place), but he never caught them at the end. How long had he been standing there? Was he watching the whole time? Despite the former wreckers' reputation for being a ruthless fighter, he could easily be embarrassed.

Knockout, on the other hand, was unfazed. "Oh, hello Soundwave." He glanced over his shoulder with a pleased sultry look on his face. "How long have you been there? Did you enjoy the show?" The CMO wriggled his hips to show just how unaffected he was by Soundwave's presence. Breakdown grunted again as Knockout moved against him.

"Cut that out!" The mortified mech whispered aggressively.

"Request: Clean up." Soundwave ignored them both. "Reason for intrusion: Important task required for medic Knockout."

"What? More work?" Knockout groaned. "This late at night? Can't you ask Megatron if it can wait until morning?" He glanced back at Breakdown with a quirked optic-ridge. "Or at least till noon?"

"Negative." Soundwave strutted over to the other side of the room and turned his gaze away from the duo. "Request: Not ordered by Megatron. Important task: Meant to be discreet."

Knockout stared at him blatantly. "You mean…. You want to keep this off the books?"

With his back still facing the medic, Soundwave nodded. "Conclusion: Correct."

The medic sighed. "Alright." He too nodded, but at Breakdown. Silently, he let his partner know he was ready for him to move, and Breakdown answered him by lightly kissing the back of his helm before slowly pulling himself away. Knockout shuttered as large amounts of trans-fluid mixed with lubricants trailed down his inner thigh. It was still warm and thick when it pooled on the floor around the medic's pedes. "I'm sorry you only got to overload once Breakdown." He smiled through his heated faceplate. "But your first load was quite impressive. How long have you been holding that in?"

"Since the last time we interfaced." Breakdown smirked and bent to one knee to caress Knockout's beautiful thighs. The blue mech took a cloth out from his subspace. He tenderly cleaned the fluid off Knockouts legs, occasionally leaving light feather kisses along the other side of the white strut.

"That was more than a fortnight ago." The red mech purred at the attention. "You haven't tried to relieve yourself since then?"

"My libido isn't as potent as yours." Breakdown lifted his servo dangerously close to Knockout's still exposed and now very sensitive valve. "Besides, I like it when I'm a little pent up. It makes the wait worthwhile."

"Hm…." Knockouts arms shivered as he braced himself on the berth. "I don't think I could ever go that long without an overload. I need release at least once a day."

"Heh! You have absolutely no patience." The larger mech chuckled and stood so he could start cleaning the berth and Knockout's abdomen, which had slimmed back to its normal size. He stopped cleaning, so he could place his arm around the medics' shoulder and whispered in his audios. "Do you at least think about me when you touch yourself?"

Knockout turned around and wrapped his arms around Breakdowns' neck, stepping on the tip of his pedes to do so. He remembered how Breakdown still wanted to kiss him, and he rewarded his lover with equal enthusiasm. "Always…" He whispered over eager lip-plates.

"Reminder." Soundwave snapped his EM field impatiently. "Soundwave: Still present."

"Grrr…. Yeah. Yeah." The medic grumbled and pushed his partner aside. Breakdown blushed profusely. He was still so enamored by Knockouts blissful after glow, he had completely forgotten the telepath was still standing in the room. Both mechs cleaned themselves and closed their interfacing equipment. They decided to leave the pool of lubricants on the floor to clean up later and Knockout easily ignored it when he sat casually across the medical-berth. "Alright Soundwave," Knockout huffed, "what's this special request that is so important it couldn't wait until later?"

"Request: Patient evaluation." Soundwave turned around to finally face the duo again. "ETA: Early morning."

"ETA?" Knockout was growing more impatient. "You don't even know the exact time this patient will show up? I swear Soundwave, if this turns out to be about that confounded chest hugger of yours, I will-."

"Suspicions: Incorrect." Laserbeak fussed over her master's chest. She never really liked the medic. Where others found him vain, she would see him as purely pompous. "Laserbeak: Healthy. Patient in question: Vehicon CA-591-AN. Young model." Soundwave lowered his helm. He almost lost control of his EM field again, when he thought about what might be happening to the kind drone right now. "Reason for exam: Vehicon ordered by Megatron. Spend the night in personal quarters."

Breakdown winced. He knew what that entitled, and he did not envy the drone that got stuck with that order. Of course, Knockout remained impartial, and his frustration did not levy for a moment.

"A drone?" He snarled. "You interrupted me and Breakdown's first simultaneous night off in three weeks to set up an appointment for a drone?! Just send him to the fraggin' double digits when Megatron is done with him! He won't be the first drone to take the walk of shame!"

"Not the first." Soundwave agreed. "Undoubtably: First time for Vehicon."

"Oh…." Breakdown looked a little concerned. "Do you mean it's the first time Megatron invited this drone to his room? Or it's his first-time interfacing all together?"

"Both." The telepath suddenly felt his EM field flux, and he quickly withdrew his thoughts, hoping neither mech picked up on his outburst.

"Has this drone been labeled battle sufficient?" Knockout crossed his arms over his chassis.

Soundwave again recovered himself. "Negative."

"Then I can't help you." The medic snubbed his helm up right. "If he's not a battle drone, and he's not seriously injured I'm not allowed to even give him advise on cosmetic repairs."

"How young is the model?" The larger mech placed his servo over Knockouts' shoulder.

"Vehicon CA-591-AN registered: Currently youngest mech on Nemesis. Time of creation: Unknown. Estimated age: Between 4,000-5,000 years."

"That is young." Knockout was a little surprised by the answer. "But he's still at the adult stages of his creation. He should be more then capable of licking his own wounds, even if it is his first time."

"Come on KO," Breakdown squeezed his partners shoulder encouragingly, "It's not like we've never helped out under the table before."

"But not with a drone!" Knockout sneered. "Our supplies maybe more plentiful then the Autobots, but they are still dwindling." The red mech stared the third in command down. "And unless you can give me a good reason why I should waste any valuable resources on a drone that has no other occupation on this ship other than 'pleasure-bot', I'm not going to do it."

Shaking his helm hopelessly Breakdown sighed, and diverted his attention back to the silent mech. "I'm sorry Soundwave. Knockout does have a point. Unless the orders come from Megatron himself we can't look at the poor kid."

"Terms of request: Nonnegotiable." Soundwave was as stonewalled as Knockout, and he walked closer, so he could gaze at the insensitive medic, visor to faceplate. His frame loomed only a few steps away and his visor lit up with bright Cybertronian writing. Breakdown leered in closer to Knockouts' face and carefully examined the text before reading it aloud.

"Decepticon Warfare law: Section 209. Paragraph 5: Any and all mechs, ally or prisoner, that are registered as a bearer are here by prohibited from the activity of interface until the end of the war. All bearers will be individually evaluated for conception and assigned to a designated sire for repopulation."

Before anyone could ask why this was so important Soundwaves visor flashed again and lit up with two new files. They were registered medical and technical files on the two lovers.

"Medical officer Knockout: Registered as sire." Soundwave pointed out for them. "Medical assistant Breakdown: Also registered as sire."

"What are you trying to get at Soundwave?" Knockout didn't like were this was going. He uncrossed his arms and placed a servo on one of Breakdowns' then nuzzled their helms together. "If you're trying to expose our relationship in some kind of smear campaign, you're wasting your time. Megatron will know if you manipulate those files in anyway, because I presented them to him myself after I had compiled them." He laced his thin digits in between Breakdowns', and kissed his cheek, causing the giant mech to blush again. "Plus, our fraternizing is no secret to anyone. You'll have to do better then-."

Soundwave didn't let the medic finish. He immediately pulled up a previous recording, and it made Knockout's energon run cold.

"I'm not on a cycle…. It's safe today…. Go ahead…."

Knockouts grip tightened around Breakdown's servo. His optics froze wide open in place and his tanks tremored so much he nearly purged. Breakdown noticed his partners distress, and he placed his free servo over Knockout's chassis and pulled him close for a partial embrace.

"You…. You can't…." The medic shivered in utter shock. "No…. Soundwave please…. You can't…."

"Soundwave," the blue mech was just as distraught as Knockout, "You can't be serious. Are you seriously going to blackmail us if we don't comply? Do you have any idea…?" He paused, trying not to raise his voice while he was so close to his now frightened lover. "Do you have any idea what Megatron will do to Knockout if he finds out he both falsified records and lied about his conception equipment?"

"He'll split us up…." Knockout nearly cried, and if he wasn't so blindingly furious, he would have. Instead he glared at the silent flier in front of him but ended up resigning to his whim. "You win, Soundwave. Delete the audio and I will examine the damn drone, but make sure he gets here before noon or he'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Satisfied, Soundwave retreated to the med bay doors. The doors swung open, but before he left the CMO stated one more input. "I can't believe you would actually blackmail us…. You of all mechs…." He then slid off the berth but didn't walk too far away. Breakdown had slipped behind him and wrapped his large arms around Knockout's waist and chassis protectively. It was an endearing and sweet attempt to calm the anxious mech, but it had little effect.

"You should know Soundwave, I do feel bad for the kid," Breakdown refrained from growling at the third in command, "but the trouble you're going through for this one drone is going to churn the water. Sooner or later it's all going to come back to bite you in the aft…. I hope he's worth it."

Without turning around, Soundwave stepped outside the bay doors. Before they closed tight behind him, he replied sternly to the former wrecker. "Affirmative."

-END-