Prologue
The King's council met practically every orbital cycle, thanks to the sudden commotion of Cybertron's next greatest war. With the rebellion sprouting in Kaon and the other Wasteland Cities, the grand Prime-King needed his advisors more than he needed his sparkbeat. When Flamewar forcibly pulled herself back into the conversation, the Mistress of Law only heard Ultra Magnus's drooling tone rambling and on about the opinions of smallfolk.
"My Lady," the Grand Maester brought her forward, and being the only femme present at the meeting, Flamewar sat up a little bit straighter. "What are your opinions on this rebellion?
Orion Pax was nothing but the son of a once-great house who had lost everything, including any bloodline they wished to have. Flamewar's only belief on House Pax's demise was that they deserved it. Lykon Pax had been a slaver, and though slavery was not illegal -and she knew every law out there- it was highly discouraged among nobles. Only in the Wasteland Cities did Cybertronians buy and sell their own kind.
"Orion," They were all staring at her, and though Ser Ironhide, Commander of the Kingsguard, looked as if his face would crack after another word, whether it was funny or not, Flamewar knew they valued her opinion. After her father had dismissed himself from the King's council, King Zeta Prime had chosen her himself to be his mistress of Law, a rare rank for a femme of any birthclass. "-and my other dearest associates," she chose her words carefully, as to not draw Ironhide's inner ire out upon her. "My opinion is that this rebellion makes a fool of the crown, and of the thirteen we serve. What are we going to do about this useless bastards and their mangy Quintessons? They are nothing but a pack of Drain Deer, waiting to eat through energon chips made of our political bullshit so that they may take control of our situation."
There was silence for a while, and they the King spoke.
"Your words are true, my Lady." He dipped his head to her, stroking was remained of his bent-out-of-shape servos against his shining beard.
"Thank you, Your Grace." She bowed her head, giving a smug look to both Magnus and to the oblivious Lord Ratbat, The King's Master of Coin. The young Grand Maester and Commander sniggered to themselves.
The King let out a hearty laugh. "You do have a way with words, my lady, and for your honesty I commend you. None of my other council members seem to have the audacity that you bring to the table."
They shared a laugh for moment, and they silence fell over the room when the final reaction came forward from Lord Ratbat.
Being Lord of a Keep every Cybertronian called The Labyrinth because it's original name was much too confusing for even the Grand Maester to pronounce. Though some of the snootier Lords and Ladies of Cybertron, all of which belonged to the official faith of Cybertron, thought him mad for keeping the original name on all official documents. The true name of Lord Ratbat's keep was a strange Quintesson word that had too many syllables to even count, and Flamewar was not keen to trying.
"Lady Chromia!" Ratbat called and the Captain of the Furies, the Queen's elite group of female warriors made specifically to protect the Queen and any daughters she had. The Blue Lace, they called her, though Flamewar was sure that underneath all that armor there was no lace. Chromia was being stared at by all but Grand Maester Orion Pax, who was busy shuffling papers. Chromia always stood outside the heavily barred door, refusing to move from her post until ordered by a member of the small council, or her Queen.
Ratbat gave the femme a curt nod, while Ultra Magnus just glared in the direction of the Fury. Both Flamewar and Ironhide undressed Chromia with a wandering gave. The Blue Lace met everyone's gaze with a standing stillness. "I am at your service, my Lords and Lady."
"Retrieve our guest for me would you, my sweet Lady?"
Chromia nodded, and hurried back the way she came.
Immediately after Chromia had gotten out of earshot, King Zeta raised an optic ridge at his Master of Coin. "A guest, my Lord? I do not believe I allow those I don't know into my court. Who is this guest-"
"Primus. . . " Flamewar called out as a thin Seeker approached them his acid green stare moving solemnly over them all. If a Terrorcon was creepy-looking, she would swear again on the God of Light that he was creepier. His entire body was covered in a glimmer that brought both Ironhide and Flamewar's mouths to the floor. He stood tall and elegant, and looked more royal than the little prick Turantulas would ever be.
Behind her Ironhide said some seemingly unheard comment about the young mech and his looks, causing the King to give a chuckle. The hoarse laughter from their King was a surprise to Flamewar, Zeta Prime had been seemingly depressed from the stress of the past few cycles. The sound brought a grin to her face. Though after a moment of smiling, the Mistress of Law tightened her expression, listening to the story of this young mech.
"Your Grace," He gave a bow to the King "My Lords-" He spotted Flamewar and narrowed his eyes. She was used to that reaction, being a femme.
"And Lady, I am Ser Acid Storm, son of Lord Cyclonus and heir to Kaon, and Lord Ratbat has instructed me to inform you of the movement of these rebels." He said the word with such distaste that Flamewar that the word itself to come flying out of his mouth on a glob of spittle.
"Continue, good Ser, I will hear everything." The King replied, in perfect courtesy.
Ser Acid Storm nodded, his harsh stare narrowed at the small group of Lords that -even the youngest- had at least a vorn or two on him. Cybertronians lived a long time, longer than any other sentient creature their race had ever encountered, which was few compared to the amount suspected to live within the endless bounds of the universe.
"Well, this rebellion, my lords is lead by a mech going by the name of the Megatronus-"
Zeta Prime seemed agitated just at the name, and gave a huff of defiance.
"-and the only consort of his that we know of is a mech by the name of Ser Starscream, former heir to Breakpoint and the son of Lord Crystos."
"A forgotten House." Ironhide huffed, grumbling curses under his breath.
The young Ser cleared his throat, the commander of the Kingsguard's jeers obviously getting to him. His acidic ivy optics remained calm though, and the Mistress of Law smirked at the motion.
"Not anymore, my Lord. Apparently my informants state that House Crystos has been simply biding it's time since the Beast Wars. They fill this Megatronus's ranks, calling themselves Seekers and the rightful rulers of most all of the Bright Cities."
The exact opposite of the Wasteland Cities, the Bright Cities were the shining glory of Cybertronian and all it's elite had to offer. Iacon, the capital of the planet was the most populous of the Bright Cities, was most certainly the most different from Kaon, the largest of the Wasteland Cities. Flamewar had only been to the large, disgusting city once during the Second Beast War, and she had hated every minute of it. The streets were lined with beggers, and though Flamewar thought that even the poor deserved a fair trial, they whole lot of them deserved nothing more than to be put out of their misery forever.
She gave a belligerent optic-roll before focusing on what the Grand Maester was saying.
"Well, my good Ser, I'm positive that this rebellion will be squashed by Ultra Magnus's troops, and if not the good Lord will keep these rebels at bay."
All the mechs at the table gave a grunt of approval, and the King Nodded. "You may take your leave, Ser Acid Storm, bid Lord Cyclonus my closest regards, tell him I must speak to him in person sooner rather than later."
"I shall, Your Grace, I thank you for your time."
With those final words the young knight hurried off, escorted by The Blue Fury and her impenetrable stare.
"My Lords and Lady, is there anything else you wish to share with this old mech, or shall the Prime-King return to his quarters?" A short laugh spread across the council meeting and almost at once they all agreed that their discussion was over and the King dismissed them with a wide grin.
Ratbat was the first to depart and both Flamewar and Commander Ironhide shared a laugh about it. Flamewar grunted though and departed soon after. Ironhide and Orion, both old friends, were too busy chatting about this and that.
"My Lady," The Commander of the Furies spoke up as the brightly-painted Mistress of Law departed the throne room. "May I speak with you as you walk?"
Flamewar studied the Fury for a moment, her processor buzzing with information. Lady Chromia, The Blue Fury, Commander, she had so many titles the Mistress of Law was sure she was forgetting some. The Fury Commander's armor was a gleaming cyan, and she was easily pointed out in most every crowd. The other two Furies, The Red and The Yellow where also as easily distinguishable, yet somehow Chromia stood out. She held herself high and the magnificent Enegeron blades positioned on both her hips showed all mockers that she could show them the same amount of power and prowess as any mech on the entire planet.
The Mistress of Law only knew of one mech that had been able to beat her, and that had been her fellow Commander, Ser Ironhide of the Kingsguard, and that had been a long, long time ago, and she was sure the pair had gone into different methods of training. Ironhide more one high-grade, and Chromia more with an actual weapon. Of course Ironhide was pphysically strong, otherwise he would not have been chosen to lead the famed Kingsguard.
There was one other, though, that Lady Chromia had yet to put to shame, and that was Ultra Magnus. The hardy blue and red mech was something of ghost, barely ever speaking yet causing plenty of destruction in his wake. He was too busy filing papers to come down to the training yard, and so Flamewar pegged that as the reason for him being the second exception to The Fury Commander's winning streak.
"Of course, Lady Chromia, what is it you require of me?"
"Do not think me a fool, my Lady, you know exactly why, the Princess's escape will be coming soon." The Fury gave her a hard look, one of power, but deep down Flamewar saw fear, stress, all these conflicting emotions running around in just her processor.
Control. Be in Control.
This plan the Fury spoke of, was of a great magnitude, and it brought them either into the face of treason or into the face of death, either way Flamewar would happily go through with it. Flamewar's servos curled into fists and the femme stared daggers, forcibly stopping herself from clawing at the Cyan-armored warrior. Rage a feat best served hot, she liked to say, and Flamewar could do hot, she could definitely do hot. An edged smile crept up her mouth and she gritted her dentas together.
"We will not speak of our little escapade until the moment before, isn't that correct, my Lady?" Flamewar asked through her deep intake of breath. The rhythmic form of breathing brought her rage down to a minumun, yet she still could not forgive the Fury Commander for being as stupid as to speak of it in front of what could have been the entire court. She shook her head.
"Forgive me, My Lady." The cyan warrior cleared her throat before turning her back to the Mistress of Law. "I must return to my duties." The femme hurried off, leaving Flamewar to her thoughts.
Control. We must wait. One of her many sides said
Inpulse. Act now. Another ordered.
Wait for others. You require their assistance to help the Princess. Another rang back to the first two, causing Flamewar to rub her helm, already annoyed with her thoughts.
"Chromia. I need CHROMIA!" She hissed, steaming with anger. Literally- steaming. Smoke rose out of the pipes on her back and the fires within her were growing into a raging fury. She could only think between two choices: two outcomes, black and white, yet the Fury saw the gray in all situations, and it frustrated Flamewar more than anything.
Who would have thought, the Lawmaker needing a Warrior to help her think. Flamewar scoffed. What a smile that would bring to His Grace's face.
The bench she had been sitting on began to melt in the midst of her fury.
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