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The humming vibrations along the dark walls sounded nearly melodic.
Well, perhaps only to Tarn.
Anyone else would find the constant, low humming haunting, or unsettling. It was, in a way, and in a way that was perfect for him. Tarn could even match the low frequency and grumbling that made up the vibrations; in fact, he often used the same low pitches to draw his victims into a helpless, anxious stupor. They found it eerie and disconcerting; to Tarn, it was a lullaby before every recharge, and a constant chattering of background noise he could appreciate.
He had been resting peacefully for some time now. Not entirely awake, but still on guard, still alert. Lying stretched out on his berth, his optics offline. The humming sounded distant in his tired audiols, seemed to fade whenever he was on the verge of falling completely into stasis. It was all rather hard not to sleep when he was so snug and comfortable.
One of his sensors flitted, picking up a new, yet distinctive noise nearby. A soft hiss of energy, barely audible. A datapad activated. He needn't open his eyes to confirm the sickly blue glow. For a few seconds, the usual humming filled Tarn's head, but then, a small tapping. Rhythmic. A tap hitting the datapad every... twenty or so seconds. A few longer, a few much less. The same hollow tap-tap-tapping continued for at least two minutes before it stopped all together.
"Am I being too loud?"
Kaon's voice was somewhat contradicting. It sounded so wispy, so airy, as if he were a young thing; but at the same time, there was a certain depth and tone that gave him centuries upon centuries of age. Tarn finally onlined his optics with a whir and looked down. Kaon sat comfortably beside him in the middle of the massive berth, looking back at Tarn blankly. The light from the datapad in his hands outlined the edges of his optic sockets.
Tarn hummed something that almost fit the melody of the vibrations sounding dully around them. "No," he said then, and switched off his optics.
Kaon paused, then gave a small smile. "You are picking up on more minute noises, registering what usually comes off as white noise or inoffensive." He tapped - just like before - a finger against the 'pad. "You are learning well." With that, he turned back around, half-bent over the glowing object.
Tarn sized the smaller mech up. Recently, he decided to amuse his colleague by taking up his offer on communication skills. Just something to pass the time as their ship worked through the yawning void of an empty galaxy. They'd reach their destination in two more days; it had been nearly a week since they started their new mission. They were eager and ready to fight. At least the treacherous scum they were assigned to take care of outnumbered them and were rumored to be heavily armed in a very stable, secure bunker. There was nothing challenging about it - but it would be fun nonetheless.
Kaon had promised to teach Tarn how to focus on and catch low frequencies, those their sensors usually never picked up or bothered to register. How to pick out every different nuance of sound and pitch in a giant mess of thundering and screaming and crying. It hadn't been very easy, but it was something to pass the time. Not like Tarn needed these skills; he was all ready quite well endowed with a powerful arsenary.
Another quiet sound - one Tarn recognized and heard frequently. Their ship had temporarily shifted off course; before he could comm Helex, the noise died and the ship returned to its programmed path. Tarn smirked, and slowly pushed himself up to a sit. Kaon moved aside, cross-legged between Tarn's legs.
"Helex must have either fallen into stasis or was bored enough to allow himself to be distracted."
"Latter."
"Oh? How do you know?"
Kaon continued scrolling through the datapad. "I picked up movement on the bridge. A second person. By the weight and pressure, it was Tesarus." He paused, and glanced back at Tarn. Tarn was staring at him, as if he were calling the smaller mech on his bluff. Kaon kept a straight face as he added, "Vos just commed me to explain what happened."
Tarn laughed quietly. "Though I wouldn't have been surprised if what you said had been true." Before his colleague could reply, Tarn sat forward, shifting more of his weight. He sat closer to Kaon, until the smaller Decepticon was just about sitting in his lap. "What are you reading?" he asked, tiredly.
Kaon mumbled something, distracted. He tapped a finger to the 'pad, the data winking open into a series of images and diagrams. "Information on the Bitrayen fortress I gathered," he explained a moment later. "The design is rather simplistic, but considerably well built and sturdy." He stroked his chin. "I have been looking through the blueprints and schematics for any points of weakness."
Tarn lowered his head, just above Kaon's. Red optics scanned the spinning fortress on the 'pad. He read a few notes on its construction and what his colleague had pieced together so far before sitting back again. "If there is no conventional way inside," he crooned, "we do things our way."
"Our way may also prove a problem. Because the outer shell of the Bitrayen fortress is made with a considerably strong alloy."
Tarn sneered. "Vapor and his men are too stupid to have built that fortress," he insisted. He quickly remembered Vapor's ugly mug when he saw his record for the first time. He was missing two of his front denta and also had a lazy optic. It was a wonder he and his men hadn't fallen apart yet. Though Tarn supposed they turned to the Autobots to keep that from happening.
"It was an old Autobot outpost before Decepticon troops overran the Bitrayen moon and drove them out. They had infiltrated the base, however, through a small network of spies that let them in once the Autobots' guards were down," Kaon continued. "After the war bled out into the neighboring galaxies, Bitrayen was abandoned. They took everything, except the fortress - tearing it down for spare parts was a difficult and tedious task. Which is why they figured it was best left to wear down through time."
"I see," Tarn mumbled. He moved forward, pressing his chest against Kaon's back, and carefully poured over top of him. Kaon bent under the extra pressure, just an inch. "Doors must have been left open for Vapor and the others when they arrived, then. Possibly a tear or hole, even."
"Perhaps, though we would have caught that by now," Kaon said. He switched to the next page, displaying rows of text. Most of it strings of numbers. "Vos believes if we can find a way to break down the properties of the alloy, we can easily walk inside as well. Though finding the proper chemical to do the trick remains unknown as of yet."
Tarn's body hummed lowly as he curled forward, chest continuing to slide along Kaon's back. He reached an arm around the smaller officer's side, placing a large finger on the 'pad. "Have Helex take a look at this. I'll comm Tesarus to take his shift."
They went back to their silence, each speaking with their respective comrades. The growling hum still pouring from the walls. Kaon finished sending the data to Helex as Tarn spoke again, "If we can find a way for Helex to use his smelting agent on the alloy, we should have no problem."
"Assuming we have the chemicals on us needed to apply to his agent for it to work."
"Either way," Tarn said, "we're going to get inside. And if not, we'll smoke Vapor out. He may have an unlimited supply of weapons, if the rumors are indeed true, but he's too dumb and old to know how to use them properly. I wouldn't expect any different of the six other traitors and NAILs he's travelling with."
"Right," Kaon agreed. He had full confidence in his teammates. After all, they never failed and lost a target. He scrolled through the 'pad; a flash, and scribbling of data. "I'm running a program of Vos's that will analyze the blueprints and information on the fortress, point out any theories or possibilities we might have missed."
Tarn smirked. "Always thorough," he said, pushing chest to Kaon's back. He heard something, then, though it... "Did your..." He hesitated. "Did your spark skip a pulse?"
Kaon kept his gaze on the 'pad. "Perhaps," he said.
"It was..." He brushed against Kaon's back. Heard it again. No, rather, it was what he didn't hear. Kaon's spark had been releasing regular, calm pulsations up until a second ago, when that steady rhythm seemed to fall back a second before taking another to catch up. It didn't take him long to realize it was an affectionate-type response to his touch. Nothing to do with his power of speech.
Tarn chuckled then stretched, once more lying like a lazy cat over Kaon. Careful not to apply too much weight. Just as Kaon's spark skipped a pulse, the larger mech quickly pushed a wave of energy from his sig field into Kaon's. The response was a shudder beneath him, but the smaller Decepticon welcomed the warmth. Silently, Kaon returned the gesture with small but appreciative tendrils of his own energy, mingling into the overwhelming thickness of Tarn's. He could feel them, however; like a hand stroking softly along his frame.
Tarn's low hum matched those of the vibrations in his room. However, Kaon was not affected in a way like the others, like their victims. He had found them to be equally relaxing, and the steady flow was comforting. Usually, too much noise resulted in too much thinking. Nonetheless, Tarn continued sending thrusts of energy into Kaon's field, until he could hear little pops of fizzing electricity. The smaller mech curled up beneath him, molding himself against his leader's arched torso.
Kaon returned each pulse of energy with his own. Though not as strong as Tarn's, they were equally effective. The big lug was purring like an overgrown kitten, and his hands fell to rest on the smaller 'Con's thighs. They continued this constant looping feedback of energy and unspoken words; exhaling, Tarn pushed his chest against Kaon's with a surge of power. Inhaling, Kaon returned the same, rolling up against Tarn's frame.
It was comforting, warm, neither pushing past each others boundaries. For a while, that was perfectly fine. Kaon stilled suddenly when Tarn dragged one hand up his abdomen, along the very edge of the generator on his chest. He said nothing, just tapped two fingers twice against the plating. Sent smell slivers of energy with each tap into his chassis. Kaon hesitated a moment, his EM field reflecting the apprehension. Then, quietly, the latches along his generator and cuirass clicked. The small Decepticon watched as Tarn pushed away plating and armor, until his large digits were reaching inside, filling--
He could both feel and hear Kaon's spark flutter in its chamber. Tarn brushed a cheek to the side of Kaon's helm, nudging. Commanding. The chamber door parted at his fingers, and Kaon's spark carefully floated forward. Ever so gently, it rolled against the still fingers, both testing as well as surrendering. The large mech chortled then, somewhat carelessly, took the shivering spark in his grip, squeezed.
Kaon gasped and fell forward. Small stripes of electricity danced at the edges of his shoulder coils. He raised his hands instinctively, to pull himself free, but then Tarn made a sound and suddenly Kaon's spark was relaxing again. His hands lowered, more demands for submission from Tarn threading through his field. He calmed, then, still slouching. Tarn kept a free hand on his hip, and Kaon could hear his own chestplating groan and hiss as they parted. The hand on his hip guided him to sit back, and the smaller Decepticon nearly released heavy jolts of electricity from both his field and coils as Tarn's spark brushed right against his plating.
The waves of energy were stronger now, and more convincing. Not that Kaon needed any persuading. Even with Tarn strangling his spark in his hand, he wasn't afraid. Just a little, well... shocked, so to speak. Tarn continued passing streams of silky and prickly data into Kaon's field, both ordering him to stay calm while demanding more. Kaon absorbed everything like a sponge, obeyed every command. He allowed Tarn to manipulate his spark with both his hand and his mental prowess, giving him just what he needed and thensome. Though he was kind enough to make this equally pleasurable for his colleague as well.
The cycle continued, both releasing and absorbing energy. With both the extra power injected with each wave as well as the fact Tarn was choking his spark, it didn't take long for Kaon to reach the edge of overload. However, he tried to keep steady, refused to crash as heavily as he computed he would given the intensity of their coupling. Then, with some effort, he sat back, and began to slightly roll himself against Tarn's spark. That got him a nice moan, something deep-throated and very happy. He continued grinding his body against the larger mech's chassis and pulsing spark. The grip around his own was weakening; Kaon was being very distracting.
Kaon overloaded first nonetheless. He fell forward with a loud cry when one final squeeze to his spark initiated release. Energy poured from his system and into Tarn and the atmosphere warm and thick around them. The remnants of his own overload were enough to shove Tarn right toward the edge.
Though he would still need a little push.
Even feeling boneless and exhausted, Kaon carefully removed Tarn's limp hand from his chest. Spark slipping back into its chamber; as plating closed, he forced himself onto shaky hands and knees. Turned around; Tarn glared too-bright optics down at him, but said and did nothing, still heaving and waiting.
Kaon stood on his knees, quickly placing shaking hands to Tarn's shoulder tires. Face to face with that maskplate. He let one hand quickly drag down, and then fingers ran over the surface of the spark. Shocked and hurt a little, but Tarn was moaning, and that was enough. Kaon worked both smooth and hard circles into the spark; he pressed a chaste kiss to the tip of his comrade's chin, before dragging his tongue up the length of the mask toward his optic ridges.
It was enough, wonderfully enough, and Tarn growled. He squeezed Kaon's hips tightly and fell against him as he overloaded. The released energy splashed into Kaon's tired system, but he rode it out. His tongue tracing a wet line along the spike of Tarn's crest.
When everything finally settled and the energy waned and the vibrating hums steadied their processors, Kaon sat back and off of Tarn. The large spark disappeared beneath thick plates of metal. They had been left uninterrupted; Vos, Tesarus, and Helex working diligently with no new updates or concerns.
Tarn worked out a few kinks in neck and shoulders; with a grumble, he laid back down, heavy against the berth. Kaon stretched his long legs and arms, cycled moist air, then settled back in his spot between his colleague's legs. He gathered up the datapad again, switched it on; bent over to read any new progress and continue studying the alloy's properties.
Tarn listened to the humming surrounding them in his large, dark room. He offlined his optics. Relaxed. Both he and Kaon stayed like this for some time, as the Peaceful Tyranny soared lazily through the calm darkness.