Fic: Winter Coat (4/?)
Title: Winter Coat
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Hound, Mirage, Jazz
Summary: Hound can see underneath the cold exterior that Mirage uses to protect himself. Knowing what's wrong doesn't make helping him any easier, however.
Warnings: Implications of rape, and death of OC characters including a child
A/N: Thanks goes to naggingfishwife for checking over the story and making sure I didn't post it with any errors or the like.
Mirage had to withhold a groan as Hound entered the commissary, afraid he'd receive another impromptu visit from the scout, or even some sort of retaliation for dousing him with cold solvent last evening. He didn't regret his actions, but he also wasn't looking forward to being on the receiving end of any pranks or fists to the face.
Hound stopped at Mirage's table and smiled at him. "Morning, Mirage, how're you doing?"
"Fine," Mirage said, hunching his shoulders as though to ward off the friendliness.
Hound nodded. "That's good. Hey, I'm sorry I offended you yesterday. I should've thought about what I said before I made the joke, I really wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable or come onto you, I'm just used to making those sort of jokes. For what it's worth, I won't do it again."
"Thank you, I appreciate it. I forgive you for the comment as well; just don't make such jokes to me again.”
"Sure, have a good day, Mirage, I hope we can talk again later," Hound said and walked over to the energon dispenser. Mirage watched after him, mildly surprised that Hound hadn't tried to stay. The surprise turned to resignation as Hound headed back over to the table, then past it. Mirage watched, perplexed as Hound joined several others at another table. He thought Hound had brushed his presence off completely, but the scout looked back over to him and smiled before joining in whatever his friends were talking about.
Mirage focused his attention back on the datapad he had been reading and took a drink from his energon. At least he could resume his work in peace.
---
"Survival training? I have to go out, out there and survive? You want me dead, don't you?"
Jazz grinned while twisting back and forth in his chair like he just figured out the seat could rotate. Honestly, such behavior was unbecoming of a mech of his rank. "If I did, I wouldn't give you the training in the first place. Practically everyone in Special Ops has to do it, I did and I'm still here."
Mirage bit back a retort. It did not serve a mech well to insult his superior. "I have my doubts; I haven't ever spent time in any sort of dangerous or unpredictable environment."
"Not even in those turbofox hunts that the nobles all seemed to love so much?"
"That was different. The hunting areas were controlled. Larger predators were kept out and the only mechanimal species in the hunting areas were turbofoxes and their prey items. I was in more danger getting shot in the faceplate by my hunting party than anything environmental."
"Well, you don't have to worry about being out there alone, Mirage. I'm assigning a partner to teach you some of the ropes to outdoors survival. Hound's not actually a Special Operative, but he has worked with the team before, and he has a lot of experience tracking and surviving in dangerous areas. You'll learn a lot from him."
Mirage's hands clasped tighter together in his lap. Splendid, for the next two mega-cycles he was going to be stuck with the one mech he was trying to avoid. "Yes, sir, I'm sure I will," Mirage said, keeping a neutral tone to hide his displeasure.
Jazz shamelessly grinned, knowing Mirage was unhappy with the training requirement. "You don't have to sound like you're being sentenced to walk across a smelting pit. It'll only be a coupl'a mega-cycles and you'll be back, hopefully. Nah, you'll be back. Hound'll bring you back in one piece." Hopefully with that time alone, Hound's honest and friendly nature could coax Mirage to a friendlier attitude as well. "You're dismissed, I'll brief Hound and we'll put together a plan for your training."
"Thank you, sir," Mirage said, rising from his seat.
"And stop calling me sir. It's Jazz to you, 'Raj."
Mirage hid a flinch at the nickname, attempted a weak smile and left. He briefly considered filing an immediate change of professions; communications probably wouldn't involve any blasted 'survival training', but he dismissed the idea almost as quickly. Getting a transfer would involve far too much paper work, and he'd met the communications officer. No offense to Blaster, but he was worse than Jazz and Hound combined, and after that invitation for a 'night of fun' with him and Tracks, Mirage was staying clear of the pair.
"It appears I'll have to learn to endure," Mirage lamented, rubbing his hand over his face in frustration. This was going to be a long two mega-cycles.
---
Hound looked up from the assembled supplies and flashed a smile at Mirage as he entered the supply room. His shoulders were squared and tense and his gold optics lingered along the walls of the room at the variety of items inside it. "Hey, Mirage. I've set up a list of what we'll each be carrying and I've already started assembling my own supplies. The pad with everything you're carrying is on the desk by the door, check it and get everything it says. I'll go over the importance of everything we're bringing when you're done, got it?"
Mirage nodded, optical brows slightly pinched, and turned to where Hound's pointed finger directed him. He picked up the data pad on the small desk and read over it. He set it down when he finished and started going through the room and gathering the instructed items.
"You've already gone over the protocol and methods of survival right? Academically anyway, Jazz wouldn't send you out without a clue, even with a guide."
"Yes, I've been thoroughly instructed in that manner," Mirage replied, slowly looking through the shelves.
Hound nodded. "That's good. Things'll go a lot smoother then. You are going to listen to me on this training exercise, right? I'm not going to take you out if you can't set aside your feelings, Mirage, and respect what I tell you."
"I'm not stupid, of course I'll listen. I want to come back in one piece and I can't do that if I inadvertently get you killed by either arrogance or ignorance. Just because I'm some stuffy noble doesn't mean I can't exercise some common sense," Mirage replied, tone more biting on the last sentence.
"It's not your arrogance or ignorance I'm worried about. We have to work as a team. If you can't do that, you'll end up getting yourself or someone else killed. Mirage, please look at me."
Mirage stopped rummaging through the shelves and turned to Hound. "Yes?"
"This is important. Outside of the base, we're unprotected and we could run into any sort of trouble. I'm more than happy to teach you everything I know, but I need you to take this seriously. I don't want anything to happen to me, and I don't want to see anything happen to you, understand?"
"Yes, Hound. I'll be fine with these arrangements and I will fully cooperate and listen to you."
Hound beamed. "That's all I needed to hear, thanks. Everything'll go fine; I haven't lost a student yet."
Mirage shook his head, turning back to his supply gathering. "You never know, there's a first time for everything."
"Not this time," Hound automatically retorted. "If you're done getting everything, come over here. First rule when going out, check your supplies at least twice. You should always write out what you'll need beforehand to ensure you don't forget something. There’s nothing worse than needing something out in the field and not having it."
---
Within a couple cycles the pair had set off, Hound leading the way while Mirage did his best to not appear too vexed by the situation. Hound led him out of the safety of the protective walls of Iacon and into the unknowns of the uninhabited area surrounding it. The ghosts of buildings surrounded them, what had once been tall and magnificent towers now warped and broken from war.
“It’s a pity that such craftsmanship can be destroyed so easily. Iacon had some impressive architecture. Most of it has fallen to ruin now,” Mirage said as he trailed behind Hound and looked over the remains of what had been the west side of Iacon. Now only the heart of the city remained populated, the rest had been left to ruin.
“Places can be rebuilt, the dead can’t be,” Hound said softly, thinking about all the mechs and femmes that had been in these buildings before the Decepticons had destroyed them.
“Perhaps it’s selfish, but it’s easier for me to focus on the loss of things rather than people. When I think too much about the terminated… I-I feel overwhelmed.”
Hound felt an almost bittersweet moment of triumph at the honesty. He didn’t know if it was the destruction, the isolation, or something else, but it appeared that being out here was loosening Mirage’s vocal processor. “I used to think a lot about the pets a left behind rather than my friends and family similarly. It was easier to cope with losing them than thinking about the people a loved being gone.”
Mirage was silent, and for a few seconds Hound thought the moment of shared understanding was over. “What sort of pets did you have?”
“Three turbohounds, two cybercats, seven retrorats, and a bolt-bat.” Hound smiled. “I got all of them off the street pretty much. Did you ever have any pets?”
“Yes, a cybercat. She was a fierce little thing,” Mirage said in a wistful tone. “She could be a troublemaker, but she was loyal to the end.”
“They can be like that. My mechanimals were all so unique and affectionate. I think when you help something in need like that they’re always ready to give you more of their spark. It’s like they know that if it hadn’t been for you they wouldn’t be here.”
“That or they’re developing an attachment to their captor as a coping mechanism,” Mirage teased.
A bark of laughter burst from Hound. “That would explain a few things; although, if my mechanimals really had felt like that, I think they would’ve listened to me a little better at least.”
“Not when you’re so easy to walk over.”
“I’ll have you swallowing those words before we get back. As easy going as I can be, I don’t let anyone I’m teaching do as they want out here.”
Mirage surveyed all of the empty buildings, and the places enemies could be hiding in. “To do so would be suicidal, I imagine. How far would you say we are from base? We’ve been walking for quite some time.”
“We’re only a cycle and a half out. Between the two of us, though, we can hide out easily if we run into trouble. You nervous?”
Mirage frowned, refusing to be baited. “It’s good to have an idea of how far from help we are. ‘Always be aware of your surroundings’ is a rule of survival, is it not?”
Hound nodded. “Yes. You should always keep calm as well, once you start panicking, that’s usually the end of it, especially if Decepticons are about.”
“Believe me, that won’t be a problem,” Mirage said, his mood turning more somber.
Although Hound didn’t know Mirage’s story, he knew that he’d come directly from the Towers. That in itself was unusual. Almost everyone on the base had been involved with the Autobots much longer and were either high ranking officers who reported directly to Optimus Prime, or soldiers handpicked by those officers to serve under them. Hound had been picked by Jazz, despite not being in Special Operations, because of how well he worked with the unit.
Rumor was that it was pull from Jazz and Ratchet that Mirage was here, but Hound didn’t know what the connection between the three were. He’d heard everything from illegitimate family member to secret lovers, and even that Jazz had brought Mirage in to run some illicit operations and be his optics and audios to gather information on the rest of the base.
Hound wondered if part of why Mirage was here was because of how he survived the Towers’ destruction. Between the Decepticon foot soldiers slaughtering everyone in their wake and the seekers laying waste to the city, there’d been so little left of the civilians. There’d been maybe fifty survivors out of hundreds of thousands of nobles, along with any nobles lucky enough to have been away from the Towers when they were attacked. It would take either a lot of skill, or unbelievable luck to make it out of such circumstances. Hound couldn’t help being curious, but he’d never ask. Whatever Mirage’s experiences, those were his to tell when he was ready.
“You don’t have to be so tense, Mirage. Alertness is good, but if you’re too tense, you can get jumpy. Plenty of mechs have made just as many mistakes being too trigger happy as those who didn’t take a mission seriously.” Hound grinned as he decided it was time to begin Mirage’s training. “Since your main function will be to infiltrate and spy, that’s where your first training exercise will start. You’ll try to evade me; I’ll try to track you.”
“Will I be using my invisibility?”
“Feel free to use whatever tricks you got, just don’t waste your supplies to do so, at least this time. We brought just enough to last us out here and maybe a day or more than that. Don’t hesitate to use your supplies however you have to on a mission, but conserve them unless it’s a situation of being caught or killed. If I don’t find you, we meet back here in half a cycle. Now get, you have a klick’s head start.”
Mirage wasted no time, turning on his electro disruptor and running off. His steps were light and quick, hardly giving off any sound. With all of his time out on turbofox hunts, Mirage had accumulated a lot of experience in staying quiet and hidden. He’d also learned a lot from watching the foxes as well. For supposedly being less intelligent, they were tricky creatures.
Mirage knew Hound’s olfactory sensors were highly sensitive, so his first priority was to confuse them first. He planned to hide in one of the abandoned buildings around them, but he needed to fool Hound on which one he was in, and he didn’t have long to do that.
Mirage entered one building, dragging his pedes and running his hands along the walls, then running out. Two buildings down and across the road he did so again in another. He ran his hand along the fronts of some and kept running. He knew his time was almost up, but if he could get far enough, he could keep leaving his scent in at least a few more and then hide out.
Two blocks down, Mirage stopped when he spotted twin structures set close together, so close he could easily jump from one window into the second building. Mirage immediately went in, running up several flights of stairs until he was half way to the top of the building. He slipped through the first broken door he saw, running to the window and taking a moment to gauge the distance between it and the window across the way. He judged that it would be an easy jump to make and climbed to perch crouched on the sill. He readied himself, then leapt, catching the next sill and pulling himself in. Mirage looked back, laughing as he felt a moment’s elation. He hadn’t thought this exercise would be so fun. It was almost like he was back home, a child again and playing a game.
Mirage turned to the room, all joy instantly fleeing. He gasped, backing up against the window he’d just climbed through. Three bodies lay across the floor, long dead and covered in grime. Mirage’s vocalizer crackled as he realized this was a family. The two larger bodies had obviously been adults, both mechs. One was crumpled on his side, fists still clenched as though ready to keep fighting to protect his family. The other was curled in a corner, slumped against the wall with the frame of a youngling held tight in his arms.
Mirage tried to calculate how long they had been here. It had probably been half a vorn, at least if they’d died in the time that the city had been attacked. He looked between the family members while thinking irrationally that that was too long to spend apart. He walked over to the mech and youngling, the pair looking lighter than the other mech. With shaking hands, Mirage gently pulled the youngling out of dead arms while mentally apologizing and making promises to quickly reunite them. He walked over and gently placing the little youngling, a mech he could now see, with his other parent.
Mirage turned back to the mech in the corner, and let out a strangled cry of dismay. The protective cover of the mech’s interface had been torn off, and deep scratches marred his body. Mirage’s entire frame trembled and he had to suppress an urge to retch. He turned to the youngling and his other creator, but saw no evidence of assault. He prayed that the lack of evidence meant nothing had taken place.
Taking a few seconds, Mirage steeled himself and approached the final body. He was just as careful with the damaged mech as he dragged him over to his mate and creation. He laid him down, the youngling between both parents and all three finally together after so much time apart. He looked around for any evidence of an interface cover, but couldn’t find anything. He shuddered at the terrible thought that whoever had done this might have taken it with them.
“I’m sorry,” Mirage said with one last look at the three bodies. When he’d exited the apartment, he finally allowed himself the luxury of relieving his fuel tank of its contents and a few moments to mourn for the family’s suffering.
On shaking legs he descended to the bottom floor of the complex. Walking out, he was greeted by a grinning Hound.
“What took you so long up there? I was beginning to think I was going to-” Hound stopped, picking up on Mirage’s distress. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? You don’t look well.”
“I’m alright,” Mirage answered shortly. He was far from willing to explain what had happened. He didn’t even want to think about what he’d seen.
“I don’t believe that. Mirage, you have to be honest, what happened up there? You don’t have to go into detail, the bare basics’ll do.”
Seeing the compromise as reasonable, Mirage conceded to answer. “I-I found some bodies.”
Hound nodded in understanding. “Those kinds of discoveries are never easy. Neither is knowing you can’t do anything for them.” With a gentle touch to Mirage’s shoulder, Hound started leading him away. “Let’s take a break; we’ve been out for a while.”
“I don’t want you going easy on me just because I’m a little shaken up.”
“Building yourself up to manage stress takes time. I know you’ll adjust to handling it better, but that won’t happen overnight, it didn’t with me or everyone else. This isn’t any different to how I’d treat any other recruit.”
“I shouldn’t be this weak,” Mirage muttered, bitter with himself for his own failings.
“It’s not weak to feel, we all go through the same thing with every death. We’ve just learned to endure. You will too, don’t be hard on yourself because you haven’t experienced enough trauma to stop reacting to it. It’s when you stop feeling that you have to worry.”
“I wish I couldn’t, at least it wouldn’t hurt so much if I felt nothing at all.”
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Hound, Mirage, Jazz
Summary: Hound can see underneath the cold exterior that Mirage uses to protect himself. Knowing what's wrong doesn't make helping him any easier, however.
Warnings: Implications of rape, and death of OC characters including a child
A/N: Thanks goes to naggingfishwife for checking over the story and making sure I didn't post it with any errors or the like.
Mirage had to withhold a groan as Hound entered the commissary, afraid he'd receive another impromptu visit from the scout, or even some sort of retaliation for dousing him with cold solvent last evening. He didn't regret his actions, but he also wasn't looking forward to being on the receiving end of any pranks or fists to the face.
Hound stopped at Mirage's table and smiled at him. "Morning, Mirage, how're you doing?"
"Fine," Mirage said, hunching his shoulders as though to ward off the friendliness.
Hound nodded. "That's good. Hey, I'm sorry I offended you yesterday. I should've thought about what I said before I made the joke, I really wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable or come onto you, I'm just used to making those sort of jokes. For what it's worth, I won't do it again."
"Thank you, I appreciate it. I forgive you for the comment as well; just don't make such jokes to me again.”
"Sure, have a good day, Mirage, I hope we can talk again later," Hound said and walked over to the energon dispenser. Mirage watched after him, mildly surprised that Hound hadn't tried to stay. The surprise turned to resignation as Hound headed back over to the table, then past it. Mirage watched, perplexed as Hound joined several others at another table. He thought Hound had brushed his presence off completely, but the scout looked back over to him and smiled before joining in whatever his friends were talking about.
Mirage focused his attention back on the datapad he had been reading and took a drink from his energon. At least he could resume his work in peace.
---
"Survival training? I have to go out, out there and survive? You want me dead, don't you?"
Jazz grinned while twisting back and forth in his chair like he just figured out the seat could rotate. Honestly, such behavior was unbecoming of a mech of his rank. "If I did, I wouldn't give you the training in the first place. Practically everyone in Special Ops has to do it, I did and I'm still here."
Mirage bit back a retort. It did not serve a mech well to insult his superior. "I have my doubts; I haven't ever spent time in any sort of dangerous or unpredictable environment."
"Not even in those turbofox hunts that the nobles all seemed to love so much?"
"That was different. The hunting areas were controlled. Larger predators were kept out and the only mechanimal species in the hunting areas were turbofoxes and their prey items. I was in more danger getting shot in the faceplate by my hunting party than anything environmental."
"Well, you don't have to worry about being out there alone, Mirage. I'm assigning a partner to teach you some of the ropes to outdoors survival. Hound's not actually a Special Operative, but he has worked with the team before, and he has a lot of experience tracking and surviving in dangerous areas. You'll learn a lot from him."
Mirage's hands clasped tighter together in his lap. Splendid, for the next two mega-cycles he was going to be stuck with the one mech he was trying to avoid. "Yes, sir, I'm sure I will," Mirage said, keeping a neutral tone to hide his displeasure.
Jazz shamelessly grinned, knowing Mirage was unhappy with the training requirement. "You don't have to sound like you're being sentenced to walk across a smelting pit. It'll only be a coupl'a mega-cycles and you'll be back, hopefully. Nah, you'll be back. Hound'll bring you back in one piece." Hopefully with that time alone, Hound's honest and friendly nature could coax Mirage to a friendlier attitude as well. "You're dismissed, I'll brief Hound and we'll put together a plan for your training."
"Thank you, sir," Mirage said, rising from his seat.
"And stop calling me sir. It's Jazz to you, 'Raj."
Mirage hid a flinch at the nickname, attempted a weak smile and left. He briefly considered filing an immediate change of professions; communications probably wouldn't involve any blasted 'survival training', but he dismissed the idea almost as quickly. Getting a transfer would involve far too much paper work, and he'd met the communications officer. No offense to Blaster, but he was worse than Jazz and Hound combined, and after that invitation for a 'night of fun' with him and Tracks, Mirage was staying clear of the pair.
"It appears I'll have to learn to endure," Mirage lamented, rubbing his hand over his face in frustration. This was going to be a long two mega-cycles.
---
Hound looked up from the assembled supplies and flashed a smile at Mirage as he entered the supply room. His shoulders were squared and tense and his gold optics lingered along the walls of the room at the variety of items inside it. "Hey, Mirage. I've set up a list of what we'll each be carrying and I've already started assembling my own supplies. The pad with everything you're carrying is on the desk by the door, check it and get everything it says. I'll go over the importance of everything we're bringing when you're done, got it?"
Mirage nodded, optical brows slightly pinched, and turned to where Hound's pointed finger directed him. He picked up the data pad on the small desk and read over it. He set it down when he finished and started going through the room and gathering the instructed items.
"You've already gone over the protocol and methods of survival right? Academically anyway, Jazz wouldn't send you out without a clue, even with a guide."
"Yes, I've been thoroughly instructed in that manner," Mirage replied, slowly looking through the shelves.
Hound nodded. "That's good. Things'll go a lot smoother then. You are going to listen to me on this training exercise, right? I'm not going to take you out if you can't set aside your feelings, Mirage, and respect what I tell you."
"I'm not stupid, of course I'll listen. I want to come back in one piece and I can't do that if I inadvertently get you killed by either arrogance or ignorance. Just because I'm some stuffy noble doesn't mean I can't exercise some common sense," Mirage replied, tone more biting on the last sentence.
"It's not your arrogance or ignorance I'm worried about. We have to work as a team. If you can't do that, you'll end up getting yourself or someone else killed. Mirage, please look at me."
Mirage stopped rummaging through the shelves and turned to Hound. "Yes?"
"This is important. Outside of the base, we're unprotected and we could run into any sort of trouble. I'm more than happy to teach you everything I know, but I need you to take this seriously. I don't want anything to happen to me, and I don't want to see anything happen to you, understand?"
"Yes, Hound. I'll be fine with these arrangements and I will fully cooperate and listen to you."
Hound beamed. "That's all I needed to hear, thanks. Everything'll go fine; I haven't lost a student yet."
Mirage shook his head, turning back to his supply gathering. "You never know, there's a first time for everything."
"Not this time," Hound automatically retorted. "If you're done getting everything, come over here. First rule when going out, check your supplies at least twice. You should always write out what you'll need beforehand to ensure you don't forget something. There’s nothing worse than needing something out in the field and not having it."
---
Within a couple cycles the pair had set off, Hound leading the way while Mirage did his best to not appear too vexed by the situation. Hound led him out of the safety of the protective walls of Iacon and into the unknowns of the uninhabited area surrounding it. The ghosts of buildings surrounded them, what had once been tall and magnificent towers now warped and broken from war.
“It’s a pity that such craftsmanship can be destroyed so easily. Iacon had some impressive architecture. Most of it has fallen to ruin now,” Mirage said as he trailed behind Hound and looked over the remains of what had been the west side of Iacon. Now only the heart of the city remained populated, the rest had been left to ruin.
“Places can be rebuilt, the dead can’t be,” Hound said softly, thinking about all the mechs and femmes that had been in these buildings before the Decepticons had destroyed them.
“Perhaps it’s selfish, but it’s easier for me to focus on the loss of things rather than people. When I think too much about the terminated… I-I feel overwhelmed.”
Hound felt an almost bittersweet moment of triumph at the honesty. He didn’t know if it was the destruction, the isolation, or something else, but it appeared that being out here was loosening Mirage’s vocal processor. “I used to think a lot about the pets a left behind rather than my friends and family similarly. It was easier to cope with losing them than thinking about the people a loved being gone.”
Mirage was silent, and for a few seconds Hound thought the moment of shared understanding was over. “What sort of pets did you have?”
“Three turbohounds, two cybercats, seven retrorats, and a bolt-bat.” Hound smiled. “I got all of them off the street pretty much. Did you ever have any pets?”
“Yes, a cybercat. She was a fierce little thing,” Mirage said in a wistful tone. “She could be a troublemaker, but she was loyal to the end.”
“They can be like that. My mechanimals were all so unique and affectionate. I think when you help something in need like that they’re always ready to give you more of their spark. It’s like they know that if it hadn’t been for you they wouldn’t be here.”
“That or they’re developing an attachment to their captor as a coping mechanism,” Mirage teased.
A bark of laughter burst from Hound. “That would explain a few things; although, if my mechanimals really had felt like that, I think they would’ve listened to me a little better at least.”
“Not when you’re so easy to walk over.”
“I’ll have you swallowing those words before we get back. As easy going as I can be, I don’t let anyone I’m teaching do as they want out here.”
Mirage surveyed all of the empty buildings, and the places enemies could be hiding in. “To do so would be suicidal, I imagine. How far would you say we are from base? We’ve been walking for quite some time.”
“We’re only a cycle and a half out. Between the two of us, though, we can hide out easily if we run into trouble. You nervous?”
Mirage frowned, refusing to be baited. “It’s good to have an idea of how far from help we are. ‘Always be aware of your surroundings’ is a rule of survival, is it not?”
Hound nodded. “Yes. You should always keep calm as well, once you start panicking, that’s usually the end of it, especially if Decepticons are about.”
“Believe me, that won’t be a problem,” Mirage said, his mood turning more somber.
Although Hound didn’t know Mirage’s story, he knew that he’d come directly from the Towers. That in itself was unusual. Almost everyone on the base had been involved with the Autobots much longer and were either high ranking officers who reported directly to Optimus Prime, or soldiers handpicked by those officers to serve under them. Hound had been picked by Jazz, despite not being in Special Operations, because of how well he worked with the unit.
Rumor was that it was pull from Jazz and Ratchet that Mirage was here, but Hound didn’t know what the connection between the three were. He’d heard everything from illegitimate family member to secret lovers, and even that Jazz had brought Mirage in to run some illicit operations and be his optics and audios to gather information on the rest of the base.
Hound wondered if part of why Mirage was here was because of how he survived the Towers’ destruction. Between the Decepticon foot soldiers slaughtering everyone in their wake and the seekers laying waste to the city, there’d been so little left of the civilians. There’d been maybe fifty survivors out of hundreds of thousands of nobles, along with any nobles lucky enough to have been away from the Towers when they were attacked. It would take either a lot of skill, or unbelievable luck to make it out of such circumstances. Hound couldn’t help being curious, but he’d never ask. Whatever Mirage’s experiences, those were his to tell when he was ready.
“You don’t have to be so tense, Mirage. Alertness is good, but if you’re too tense, you can get jumpy. Plenty of mechs have made just as many mistakes being too trigger happy as those who didn’t take a mission seriously.” Hound grinned as he decided it was time to begin Mirage’s training. “Since your main function will be to infiltrate and spy, that’s where your first training exercise will start. You’ll try to evade me; I’ll try to track you.”
“Will I be using my invisibility?”
“Feel free to use whatever tricks you got, just don’t waste your supplies to do so, at least this time. We brought just enough to last us out here and maybe a day or more than that. Don’t hesitate to use your supplies however you have to on a mission, but conserve them unless it’s a situation of being caught or killed. If I don’t find you, we meet back here in half a cycle. Now get, you have a klick’s head start.”
Mirage wasted no time, turning on his electro disruptor and running off. His steps were light and quick, hardly giving off any sound. With all of his time out on turbofox hunts, Mirage had accumulated a lot of experience in staying quiet and hidden. He’d also learned a lot from watching the foxes as well. For supposedly being less intelligent, they were tricky creatures.
Mirage knew Hound’s olfactory sensors were highly sensitive, so his first priority was to confuse them first. He planned to hide in one of the abandoned buildings around them, but he needed to fool Hound on which one he was in, and he didn’t have long to do that.
Mirage entered one building, dragging his pedes and running his hands along the walls, then running out. Two buildings down and across the road he did so again in another. He ran his hand along the fronts of some and kept running. He knew his time was almost up, but if he could get far enough, he could keep leaving his scent in at least a few more and then hide out.
Two blocks down, Mirage stopped when he spotted twin structures set close together, so close he could easily jump from one window into the second building. Mirage immediately went in, running up several flights of stairs until he was half way to the top of the building. He slipped through the first broken door he saw, running to the window and taking a moment to gauge the distance between it and the window across the way. He judged that it would be an easy jump to make and climbed to perch crouched on the sill. He readied himself, then leapt, catching the next sill and pulling himself in. Mirage looked back, laughing as he felt a moment’s elation. He hadn’t thought this exercise would be so fun. It was almost like he was back home, a child again and playing a game.
Mirage turned to the room, all joy instantly fleeing. He gasped, backing up against the window he’d just climbed through. Three bodies lay across the floor, long dead and covered in grime. Mirage’s vocalizer crackled as he realized this was a family. The two larger bodies had obviously been adults, both mechs. One was crumpled on his side, fists still clenched as though ready to keep fighting to protect his family. The other was curled in a corner, slumped against the wall with the frame of a youngling held tight in his arms.
Mirage tried to calculate how long they had been here. It had probably been half a vorn, at least if they’d died in the time that the city had been attacked. He looked between the family members while thinking irrationally that that was too long to spend apart. He walked over to the mech and youngling, the pair looking lighter than the other mech. With shaking hands, Mirage gently pulled the youngling out of dead arms while mentally apologizing and making promises to quickly reunite them. He walked over and gently placing the little youngling, a mech he could now see, with his other parent.
Mirage turned back to the mech in the corner, and let out a strangled cry of dismay. The protective cover of the mech’s interface had been torn off, and deep scratches marred his body. Mirage’s entire frame trembled and he had to suppress an urge to retch. He turned to the youngling and his other creator, but saw no evidence of assault. He prayed that the lack of evidence meant nothing had taken place.
Taking a few seconds, Mirage steeled himself and approached the final body. He was just as careful with the damaged mech as he dragged him over to his mate and creation. He laid him down, the youngling between both parents and all three finally together after so much time apart. He looked around for any evidence of an interface cover, but couldn’t find anything. He shuddered at the terrible thought that whoever had done this might have taken it with them.
“I’m sorry,” Mirage said with one last look at the three bodies. When he’d exited the apartment, he finally allowed himself the luxury of relieving his fuel tank of its contents and a few moments to mourn for the family’s suffering.
On shaking legs he descended to the bottom floor of the complex. Walking out, he was greeted by a grinning Hound.
“What took you so long up there? I was beginning to think I was going to-” Hound stopped, picking up on Mirage’s distress. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? You don’t look well.”
“I’m alright,” Mirage answered shortly. He was far from willing to explain what had happened. He didn’t even want to think about what he’d seen.
“I don’t believe that. Mirage, you have to be honest, what happened up there? You don’t have to go into detail, the bare basics’ll do.”
Seeing the compromise as reasonable, Mirage conceded to answer. “I-I found some bodies.”
Hound nodded in understanding. “Those kinds of discoveries are never easy. Neither is knowing you can’t do anything for them.” With a gentle touch to Mirage’s shoulder, Hound started leading him away. “Let’s take a break; we’ve been out for a while.”
“I don’t want you going easy on me just because I’m a little shaken up.”
“Building yourself up to manage stress takes time. I know you’ll adjust to handling it better, but that won’t happen overnight, it didn’t with me or everyone else. This isn’t any different to how I’d treat any other recruit.”
“I shouldn’t be this weak,” Mirage muttered, bitter with himself for his own failings.
“It’s not weak to feel, we all go through the same thing with every death. We’ve just learned to endure. You will too, don’t be hard on yourself because you haven’t experienced enough trauma to stop reacting to it. It’s when you stop feeling that you have to worry.”
“I wish I couldn’t, at least it wouldn’t hurt so much if I felt nothing at all.”