Zeta Prime
The chair was large and imposing, made of metal, but undoubtedly the softest of ores he'd ever felt, outside of the gestational metallico of a protoform of course. He watched his gray fingers glide over the armrest; one constructed nearly eight million years before, constructed by the greatest smiths on Cybertron for his predecessor, the legend, greatest of their kind, the final Matrix-bearer, Guardian Prime. Zeta looked across his office at a far more recent carving of Guardian Prime, one commissioned by Zeta shortly after the declaration of Guardian's death and Zeta's appointment as his successor. Guardian had led the planet out of eons of warfare, made a binding peace and created a new government that all Cybertronians could abide by, was the face of the golden age, a time of tremendous prosperity, and was on the cusp of expanding that prosperity throughout the galaxy and beyond. That ended over a million years ago.
"Prime?" Very few could enter his presence without him knowing they were coming, Starscream of House Nexus was obviously one of those few. Zeta turned toward the door to see the sleek, athletic form, casually gazing up to see the perfectly formed face bearing that same insufferable smirk he had seen countless times before. Though born from a common metallico pool outside of Vos, Starscream had no problem adopting the airs of nobility even before being adopted into Altihex's ruling house, and expanded the arrogant smirk into a wide insubordinate grin upon locking optics with the Prime. "I'm sorry to disturb you without any sort of notice, but we must speak."
Zeta pulled his gray and orange frame out of Guardian Prime's chair; he could never bring himself to consider it his. He had been selected by the Senate, almost unanimously, to be the new Prime, but in the absence of the Matrix or its divine endorsement of his leadership, there were many who paused before addressing him as Prime, himself included. But Starscream, that proper fop, always addressed him most regally, verbally if in no other way. "What can I do for you Starscream? Is anything amiss in the emirate of Altihex?"
Starscream chuckled lightly as he entered the chamber. "Outside of Vos and Tesarus I don't think I've stepped foot in any part of Altihex in all my life." The winged noble sauntered over to a table with a decanter of liquefied and mildly tainted energon on it, and grasped one of the six goblets resting next to it. "Flown over much of it, I suppose, but nothing down there ever looked appealing enough for me to land." Zeta looked over his guest, subduing a feeling of mild admiration at the form before him. The protective shells that the vast majority of Cybertronians transformed into lent themselves well to ground vehicles; a few minor modifications and the installation of wheels, treads, motors, etc. But every so often a protoform's shell was aerodynamically shaped enough to allow for aerial alternate modes. Starscream was one of those few; arguably the greatest example of those few. His frame truly was magnificent. Zeta was pulled out of his thoughts upon seeing Starscream staring at him, cup in hand. "You don't mind, do you?"
Zeta Prime smiled and shrugged. "Of course not."
"Shall I pour you one?" Starscream asked as he filled his own goblet.
"No." Zeta Prime replied disinterestedly, turning his back on his uninvited visitor.
"Ah, trying to retain your wits when dwelling upon reports of these underground fighting tournaments?" Starscream smiled at seeing Zeta Prime's face turn back toward him in surprise.
"How are you aware of these things?" Zeta asked, cutting the distance between them to a couple feet.
"If you and Sentinel Honorum were aiming for discretion, you should have selected someone other than his dog Prowl to do your snooping." Starscream smirked. "The whispers of these gladiator pits have reached even the audio receptors of nobles. There is even rumors that fights have taken place in Vos itself, mere miles from the confines of House Nexus."
Zeta Prime stared intently at his uninvited guest. "Tell me of these whispers; every single one that has come across your noble audio receptors."
Starscream grinned into Zeta's intensely set face. "Well, the whispers are unreliable, but very entertaining. They tell of secret pits, traveling warriors, mostly miners with strong backs and arms looking to earn some fame and much more energon than they're making in their company towns, and wealthy patrons placing obscene wagers on the outcomes."
Zeta nodded. "No different from the whispers that have reached me."
Starscream shrugged. "Yeah, the whispers can be very disappointing." He eyed Zeta Prime as the leader turned away from him in disappointment and annoyance. "But what I've learned firsthand as a warrior in these pits," Starscream smiled as a stunned Zeta Prime turned back toward him with a disbelieving look etched onto his face, "is far more satisfying." Zeta simply stared for a moment, his mouth slightly agape, and in that moment failed to realize the danger as Starscream backhanded him.
Zeta Prime stumbled back and fell onto a table adjacent to the chair he had been seated in before. "Treacherous lowborn scum!" Zeta whipped around and raised his hands for combat.
Starscream smirked as he too adopted a fighting stance, though one lacking the seriousness of Zeta Prime's. He effortlessly circled around, almost mockingly, displaying the ease and confidence derived from actual recent combat; unlike the stilted stance of Prime's, who was reliant upon countless hours of training and sparring, but for whom any actual combat experience occurred millions of years before. "Ahh, how dare I strike my highborn better? Despite my inclusion into House Nexus, I will always be seen as a common hotspot spawn born of common metallico."
"You're despised for your arrogance, your lack of honor, and your treacherous nature, not for the pit where your spark emerged or the sentio metallico that engulfed it." Zeta Prime lunged at Starscream, and succeeded in tackling his assailant. "Now you will tell me what you know of ufff!" Starscream's forehead crashing into Zeta's nose silenced the Prime.
The lean noble gladiator from Vos then flipped the Prime off of him and sprung back to his feet, delivering a kick to Zeta's face. But the Prime absorbed it well and sprang to his feet immediately. The two traded blows for several moments before Starscream used his superior speed to evade a punch and land his counter square on Zeta's jaw.
Zeta stumbled back and sized Starscream up with a hateful stare. The arrogant shit, there he grinned, bouncing on the tips of his shiny blue feet, hands at the ready but that grin eternally etched on his face. "You're good, better than me, but not good enough to do whatever it is you plan to do and get away with it. Whether by my hand, or after a trial and judgment, your pretty blue spark will be snuffed; that is unless you stand down and cooperate with the investigation."
"I'm not standing down, Your Grace." Starscream smirked. "I plan to kill you, Zeta Decimus, fifth to be called Prime, first to be chosen by the Senate of Cybertron. And I will be getting away with it." Starscream's optics darted toward the door off to the side before returning to Zeta Prime.
Prime turned toward the doorway and saw Ogrus of House Onyx, and Militus of House Macht, the ruling houses of Nyon and Polyhex respectively. "Ogrus Onyx, Militus Macht! Assist me, I am under attack! Get my guards!"
"Oh, we've gotten your guards." Ogrus Onyx held up a glowing, irradiated blade, one still sizzling off the inner energon and mech fluids of a prior victim, the draconic features of his bestial alternate mode clearly displayed on his shoulders and back.
"I was under the impression that you'd be able to handle this." Militus Macht grumbled agitatedly to Starscream.
"I am handling this." Starscream replied, barely hiding his annoyance at having his combat skill competence questioned.
"Just kill him." Militus grumbled, tossing a blade equally 'bloodied' and sizzling as Ogrus's to the floor at Starscream's feet.
"Bastards." Zeta Prime grumbled before lunging forward and throwing a punch at Starscream that meant to distract the Altihexian as he continued his charge toward the door. Unfortunately for the Prime, Starscream parried the blow and landed a straight left to Zeta's face. Zeta bounced away from the blow, but remained on his feet and continued toward the door. Ogrus's arm shot forward, his blade tip darting toward Prime's torso, but Zeta twisted enough so that it only sliced his outer right shoulder. Militus's balled left fist landed true though, smashing Prime right in the nose.
Prime hit the ground, but each of his arms was instantly grabbed by Ogrus and Militus, and he found himself being dragged back into the room, listening to Starscream chuckling lightly as they did so. "Let's finish this up and get out of here." Militus grumbled as he and Ogrus dumped Prime back onto the metal floor.
"Fine." Starscream replied as he picked up the blade that Militus had tossed him. "It's nothing personal Prime, frankly I've always liked you, but business is business, and these gladiatorial fights are good business."
"Drop your swords and step away from the Prime!" The no-nonsense voice in the doorway was owned by the purple and black form holding a large plasma rifle.
Prime looked up to see a blurry dark image in his doorway. Ogrus and Militus froze, but Starscream chuckled lightly and addressed the newcomer. "Ah, Rabattus Decimus, how nice of you to join us."
"What in the pit is going on here?" Rabattus roared.
"Rabattus, brother, thank Primus you're here." Zeta called out in relief.
"Come to me, Zeta." Rabattus told the Prime.
"Rabattus, are we not friends?" Starscream asked as Zeta started crawling away from his assailants. "We've always been close, join us and share in the spoils of what we've created. What Zeta threatens to ruin for us."
Rabattus leveled his rifle at Starscream's head. "You ask me to betray the Prime? Even more so, you ask me to betray a member of my own house? He was Zeta Decimus long before he was Zeta Prime. We emerged from the sacred metallico pool of Petrex during the same birthquake, the same pulse." Rabattus continued to stare disbelievingly at Starscream. "Toss me your sword." Starscream shrugged and complied, lobbing the sword toward Rabattus's feet. The darkly colored savior bent over and gripped the blade's handle as Zeta stood to stumble toward him. Rabattus lowered his left, sword holding arm for Zeta to grab his elbow and steady himself. "Easy brother."
"Thank you, Rabattus." Zeta muttered as he got his bearings and stepped back, turning to face his attackers. "You three are under arr…" Prime shuddered, something impacted his upper back. A pain started to emerge from his back, and now one in his chest. He looked down to see the tip of the irradiated blade Rabattus had confiscated exiting through his upper chest, causing sparks and spurts of internal fluids to come bursting out into the air. The three would-be assassins all gasped in unison, watching him as he twisted his head in an attempt to look upon the wielder of the weapon. Had there been another conspirator who had just now gotten the drop on Rabattus? That had to be it. But no, all he saw behind him was Rabattus's face, then upon lowering his gaze saw his dark comrade's hand gripping the blade that had impaled him.
Rabattus planted his left foot on Prime's lower back and pushed him forward while pulling back on the sword, sending his fellow member of House Decimus collapsing to the ground. Zeta once again turned to look upon his betrayer, and opened his mouth to condemn him, but Rabattus's blade sliced into his open mouth. "I don't want to hear it." Rabattus growled, all the while maintaining his rifle on the other three. "I assume you were smart enough to bring swords that can't be traced back to any of you." Zeta listened to his fellow Decimus address his attackers.
"We were." Militus replied.
"Good." Rabattus replied as he looked down and watched the light fading from the optics of Zeta Prime. "Unfortunately I can't say the same about this firearm. But make no mistake; I will have no problem cutting the three of you in half should you try anything. My story would simply be…"
"You came too late to save the Prime and his guards, but you were able to catch us in the act and execute us, yada yada yada." Starscream interrupted. "But you don't want that, or you'd have pulled the trigger already. So what is it that you want?"
"More than just spoils. And, provided your false evidence isn't too set in stone, some patsies to frame." Rabattus replied before raising his blade one last time and driving it down.
Branus Modus
He grumbled and spat in disgust as his most powerful fighters continually failed to best the Juggernaut of Simfur. Branus, head of House Modus, ruling house of Ultrix, as well as every lord in the emirates of Polyhex, Uraya, Praxus, Nyon and Altihex were sick of Ogrus Onyx's prize monster laying waste to their champions. "Engex!"
A servant was quick to enter the balcony and deliver a tray with full decanter and one large, ornate metal goblet. Branus grabbed both, filled the goblet, and slammed the decanter back down on the tray hard enough to make the servant nearly lose his balance. "Now get out!" Branus returned his focus back to the battle pit, just in time to see his three best swordsmen attack the Juggernaut in unison. The hulking robot laughed as they lunged in with their swords, his own sweeping parry with his gigantic broadsword brushing away two of the strikes, allowing the third sword to cut into his side. The large warrior's laughter continued as he used his large black fist to batter away the one successful assailant. The other two continued their attack, but the massive warrior pushed them back several steps, then he himself stepped back and transformed into a ferocious two-legged dragon with a massive cranium and jaws. The beast roared, looked up toward the crowd, and let loose with a stream of flame from his mouth. The fire was solely to impress and entertain the crowd, and to intimidate his opponents; this was a non-projectile weapon contest. Technically even this display was a violation, but as the Juggernaut of Simfur had happily accepted the three on one odds, no one would protest over something so insignificant.
"Lord Modus?" The servant that had delivered the putrefied beverage tentatively addressed his master.
"Why are you back?" Branus barked as he turned his gaze away from the bestial shell of the warrior from Simfur tearing into his warriors and up at the timid servant.
"My lord, there is a holo-summons from Cybertropolis. Lords Militus Macht, Starscream Nexus and Ogrus Onyx are waiting for you." The servant replied.
"Ughn." Branus grumbled as he rose from his large chair. "Don't interrupt me unless the beast kills one of my warriors. If Ogrus's favorite pet can't respect the non-fatality rules of this bout any more than he respects the projectile weaponry rules, then I want Ogrus online and there for me to focus my rage at." With that Branus marched into a secluded room behind his balcony, and despite his order to his servant, he locked the door behind him. He marched to the center of the room where a large mechanical circular table sat, and reached toward a control panel to activate a holo-projector in the center of the table, with the images of Starscream, Militus, Ogrus, and to his surprise, Rabattus Decimus appearing.
"Hello Branus, just letting you know that it is done." Starscream cheerfully declared.
"What is he doing with you?" Branus barked and nodded toward the image of Rabattus.
"Oh, Rabattus, well, he helped us with the dispatching of Zeta Prime." Starscream replied.
"Nonsense!" Branus countered. "Zeta was of House Decimus, Rabattus would never…"
"He did." Militus replied, his tone and authority putting an end to the debate. While they were all technically equals, Militus of House Macht was clearly the one in charge. "It came with a price, but one that is also an opportunity. A percentage of all gates and gambling cuts will go to Rabattus. But on our side, he will open up certain cities in the emirate of Ankmor to our games, including Petrex."
Branus shook his head. "As profitable as that can potentially be, it is also very dangerous. We control our emirates, and are able to keep our activities a secret. Rabattus does not lead house Decimus, Dynastus does, and should word get back to him about these events, he will do what he can to shine a light on what we're doing."
"Rabattus has assured us that he can either keep things from Dynastus's notice, or deal with him if the need arises." Starscream replied.
"We believe him capable of these things." Militus continued. "And he has the resources and ability to create and distribute video feeds of the fights through underground networks."
"He even provided us with better marks to blame the murder on." Ogrus added.
"Again, too much risk." Branus replied.
"Risk, but not too much." Starscream countered. "The video feeds are potentially far more profitable than the gates and gambling."
"What good are these vast profits when word gets out, and trust me, it will get out, and we are arrested and stripped of all titles and holdings?" Branus argued.
"I understand and respect your concerns," Rabattus finally chimed in, "but I assure you that there are ways to keep word from getting out, and I am an expert in these ways."
"We can discuss in greater detail later." Militus announced, bringing the discussion to a close. "Spread the word to the others and let them know that Prime is dead, evidence implicating the anti-nobility group Autobots has been planted, and for now, we're a slight bit safer."
"Sentinel Honorum's subordinates are still poking around."
"Let them." Starscream replied. "They have no one to report to."
"They will once Sentinel is named Prime." Branus replied. "You all know he will be selected."
"And we'll deal with that if and when it happens." Militus replied.
"Very well." Branus replied, unsatisfied but willing to let the debate end for now.
"So Branus," a grinning Ogrus called out, "how are your vaunted warriors faring against Grimlock?" Branus simply switched off the transmission and marched back toward the door. "Engex!"
Xaaron
He couldn't put it off for much longer, but he was unable pull his optics away from Zeta Prime's lifeless form, specifically, those darkened optics that only a few days earlier had been so full of life. He had spent countless hours debating, counseling, or just commiserating with the former Prime over the eons. He had been one of the few that Zeta had confided his secret doubts and fears to, fears of not being worthy. He had been elected by the Senate to be Prime, whereas every single one of his predecessors had been chosen by the Matrix. But the Matrix was missing, and enough time had passed so that every single Cybertronian had long since come to the conclusion that it was gone for good. But despite a sanction from the highest source Cybertron had to offer, Zeta still had had his doubts.
Not that it mattered anymore. While having made mistakes, as well as the end of their planet's golden age fading away on his watch, Zeta Prime had been a just and effective leader. He would never be held in the same regard as Guardian Prime, and likely not revered to the same levels as Primon, Prima, or Prime Nova, but he would present a favorable and respected memory, and will have paved the way toward greater acceptance for future Primes lacking the Matrix. But more than his status as their planet's leader, or the legacy that he would leave, Zeta was a friend, and Xaaron would feel his loss for as long as his spark pulsed.
"Senator Xaaron?" Xaaron's optics darted up toward the door and saw Crosscut, a young senator who had not yet been in the Senate long enough to lose his idealism. "Sir, it's time."
"I know." Xaaron reached out and touched the chest of the dead Prime. "Goodbye old friend." The older senator reached down to the side of the metal slab that Zeta Prime's body was resting upon toward a control panel and flipped a switch. Hover repulsors gently lifted the slab off of the table it had been resting upon and allowed Xaaron to effortlessly guide it toward the door, where Crosscut was watching with subdued sorrow. He stepped aside so that Xaaron could pass with the body of Prime, and followed from a respectful distance down the hallway toward the Senate Forum.
Those filling the forum likely didn't raise their voices beyond a light whisper, but with the multitudes the sound coming toward them was nothing short of thunderous. The thunder ceased the moment the tip of the hovering slab emerged from the hallway, and Xaaron and Crosscut a moment later. Crosscut turned and stepped off to the side to join his fellow senators, while Xaaron continued to the center of the vast room guiding the body of the late Prime. Xaaron pulled the slab to a stop over a table in the center of the room and switched off the propulsion system, allowing it to rest gently on the table. He looked one last time at Zeta Prime before gazing up and taking in the thousands of mourners, knowing that tens of thousands more waited outside. "Good morning." He peered up at the special sections for the ruling houses of Cybertron. In attendance representing Nova Cronum, the emirate that housed the planetary capital of Cybertropolis and the most influential city, Iacon, were Acumenus and Sentinel Honorum, the latter being Zeta Prime's closest friend and his likely successor, possessing a physical stature and physique to make an imposing Prime. In the box next to that of House Honorum was Torenia Pax, a kind beauty that had come to be loved by the entire planet, and unfortunately the sole representative of the ruling house of the Torus Heights, the northern-most emirate of Cybertron. Arlon Pax, the eldest member and head of House Pax was rarely seen, he was brilliant, gracious and had proven to be a fierce warrior during the wars with the southern emirates, but his non-humanoid primary mode had led to ridicule and derision to such levels that the proud noble was rarely seen outside of their city of Polarus, though it was said he visited the polar city of Taenarus to inspect the Tartarun Gates and the Wardens that guarded it regularly.
Representing House Magnus of The Tagan Heights were Delta and Ultra, both massive robots were relatively young, but very promising and would undoubtedly bring glory to their house in the vorns to come. Next to their box was House Maximus of The Decagon, their representatives Pious and Helonix. Xaaron had wondered if the two slender bots would be in attendance, House Maximus was well known for their isolationist tendencies, but the funeral of a Prime was enough to draw them out to the planetary capital of Cybertropolis.
Next to House Maximus was House Ambus, Lords of Tyrest and seated in the city of Centurion, represented by the large and regal Dominus, and the diminutive Minimus, both bearing the distinctive facial adornments that appears almost like the facial hair of alien organic humanoids. In the box next to that of House Ambus was one for House Solis, ruling House of the emirate of Axiom, where the Lord of House Solis, Exponum, was with their youngest member, Elita, who had been brought online in the last birthquake. The young beauty possessed a wisdom and intensity that defied her young age, and would no doubt be a force to reckon with in the future. It appeared Elita had been leaning into the next booth and having a conversation with Lumina Trion prior to Xaaron's emergence with the body of Zeta Prime, the femme head of House Trion, and sole representative from Uraya's ruling House. Though an emirate deep into the south of Cybertron, splitting the polar region with Polyhex, Uraya had not only adopted the values and codes championed by the north, but according to legend, House Trion had been the inspiration for their system of laws and governance. It had been from House Trion that Primon, the first Prime had emerged roughly twelve million years before.
The box next to that of House Trion was for the ruling house of Ultrix, House Modus, and was represented by Branus, a cruel and arrogant leader that wished to have little to do with the other southern houses, and nothing to do with those in the north; though even he felt obligated to attend this event, but he clearly chose to come alone. The section to his left was for the mourning House Decimus of the emirate of Ankmor, the house of the late Prime and attended by Dynastus and Xaaron's fellow senator Rabattus, who by all appearances was taking Zeta's loss extremely hard. To their left was the box reserved for House Macht of Polyhex, the largest emirate on Cybertron and producer of energon, two facts which Militus, head of the house, used to exert his influence over the rest of the planet. Militus met Xaaron's gaze before darting his optics dismissively; ever the elitist. It had been from House Macht that the ancient warlord Galvatron had emerged, though there had long been speculation that Galvatron may not have actually emerged from the sacred pool of Kaon.
The box to House Macht's left was one reserved for House Torrent, the ruling house of Praxus. In attendance for House Torrent were Lightwave, Tidal Wave, Airwave, Shockwave and Soundwave. The house seated in the city of Harmonex was highly secretive, though word of Shockwave's astounding intellect had gotten out. The box to their left was one reserved for House Onyx, ruling house of Nyon, and attended by the head of the house, Ogrus. Another house producing an ancient warlord that had ravaged the planet, House Onyx still honored the memory and traditions of Deathsaurus by altering the shells of their members as well as their vassals into bestial modes. Xaaron finally twisted to take in the box of the final High House of Cybertron, House Nexus, rulers of Altihex. In attendance were Pathos Nexus and Starscream, a common born Cybertronian adopted into the house. Above them sat the senators that they chose to represent their emirates and more importantly, their interests, and above the senators sat the more influential and powerful common-born citizens. The common masses waited outside to mourn their fallen leader.
Xaaron gave them all a weak smile, rotating his gaze to encompass everyone before continuing. "We're all here to bid farewell to our leader and friend. A great and wise example of how all Cybertronians should strive to live their lives. He had flaws, but he acknowledged them and set forth to eliminate them. He strove to put the needs of his planet and his people above his own. He led the way for us; he kept us united through tumultuous times, through periods of doubt and fear. Zeta Prime rose in the wake of the disappearance of The Manifest, and the loss of Guardian Prime, a legend who cast a shadow that none of us could get out from under. Zeta accepted this, understood this, and persevered in spite of it. The mantle of Prime was never about glory for Zeta, it was never about being a legend; it was a duty that he reluctantly took up for the sake of us all. That is a debt every Cybertronian owes him; a debt that can never fully be repaid, but we can try. If we come together as a planet, if we choose a deserving leader and then give he or she the support and resources needed to persevere, we can recognize Zeta Prime's dream of bringing about a second Golden Age. That is the best way to honor our fallen leader, and exactly what he would want."
Megatron
The pick sailed through the dark and clanged hard against the mixture of metal and rock, sending large chunks spilling and small bits of shrapnel flying, revealing a glowing shard of energon embedded deep within the jagged rocks. The powerfully built miner dropped his axe and began digging at the rock, his fellow miners pulling away from the tasks that had been occupying them to watch as the miner set upon the stone and metal with his bare hands. Megatron smiled as he focused on freeing the precious element, they all watched him with envy and awe, marveling at his power, his mastery over nature, and the fact that he was always successful. These pathetic fools from Kaon had spat at him when Terminus had pulled him from the mines of Tarn to work here, just a few miles from Castle Macht. But in his first day he had proved to be worth their best ten.
Megatron's black hands had quickly cleared away nearly all the rock from the shard, one measuring from his knees to his head in length and the width of his waist at its widest. Megatron pulled the glowing stalagmite from its metal and stone housing and hoisted it over his shoulder, turning and giving his Kaonian coworkers a grin as he made his way toward the elevator leading to the surface. "Tarnian filth" the lone grumble was barely heard. Megatron merely laughed, most of these miners had either goaded him into fighting or flat out attacked him, usually several at once, and the results had all been the same. Megatron's courage and power had long been established, he had nothing more to prove.
As he exited the elevator he saw Terminus standing in the sunlight outside the cavern, monitoring the oncoming flow of small shards of precious energon. Megatron widened his grin and marched out into the light, his massive boulder of precious power, one large enough to fuel House Macht for a tenth of a vorn. Terminus noted the other miners around him ceasing everything they were doing and turned his gaze up to see what had drawn their attention. Upon seeing Megatron and his load he could do nothing more than laugh quietly and smile at his protégé. "Is that all you've got for me?"
Megatron laughed as he hoisted his cargo onto the conveyor belt. "It's been a slow morning."
"Clearly." Terminus replied with a smirk, but lost his good humor as he saw the hulking mine manager approaching. "Lose the grin lad, Straxus is coming."
"Slag Straxus." Megatron defiantly snapped.
"Silence boy, you'll be the greatest of us, but only if you shut your hole long enough to live that long." Terminus admonished as he stood and turned toward the approaching manager. "Hello Straxus, fine morning, isn't it?"
"That's Lord Straxus, I was given a title by Militus Macht himself, or have you forgotten?" The rotund robot snapped back.
"Of course, Lord Straxus, I apologize." Terminus bowed his head humbly, gritting his teeth as he watched Megatron maintaining his full impressive stature and locking optics with the low lord.
"What have we here?" Straxus mumbled as he walked over toward the giant chunk of energon that Megatron had mined. "Impressive. What machinery was required to extricate this behemoth?"
"I used my pick axe to discover it, then cleared the rock and metal around it with my hands and hauled it to the surface on my shoulder." Megatron matter of factly announced. "Though I suppose I did use the elevator to get me up here."
Straxus turned and glared at the miner from Tarn. "You hauled this up by hand? The radiation would burn…" the optics of the manager lowered to Megatron's right shoulder and observed the burn marks on it.
"It did…m'lord, but the pain merely tickled and the burns will be insignificant even before they heal." Megatron replied.
Straxus glared at the arrogant young miner. "And what have you done with your mine-issued equipment?"
Megatron's optics narrowed in confusion. "Mine-issued equ…you mean my pick axe?"
"Yes, your pick axe."
"It's back in the mine. I dropped it in my haste to get this topside." Megatron replied, almost challengingly.
Straxus chuckled ominously. "Well, normally such an act of disregard to company property would result in severe disciplinary action, but in light of the fact that this is your first offense, I'll simply take credit for your find and send you back to work." The mine manager glared at Megatron, challenging him to protest.
Before Megatron could say a word Terminus was pulling his arm back toward the mine. "That's more than fair my lord, I'll lead him down there personally to retrieve his axe and get him back to work."
Megatron allowed himself to be pulled, but was seriously contemplating pulling free and beating Straxus to death. "I've had enough of this." The gray miner grumbled as he and Terminus entered the cavern.
"Oh, ready to go back to Tarn, are you?" Terminus sarcastically snapped.
"You've been in my life in some fashion or another since my birth, though I haven't the slightest clue as to why." Megatron grumbled. "Always telling me I'm meant for great things, and yet, I'm forever at the mercy of the mediocre oblivious to their mediocrity!"
"Patience Megatron." Terminus advised as they made their way toward the elevator. "I've always sensed greatness from you, ever since I happened to be passing through a common hotspot in Tarn during a birthquake and watched as three protoforms took shape, and one of the three exuded an influence…a power, that allowed it to pull much of the sentio metallico from the other two and absorb it into itself, making it twice its original size. That had never been done before." The elevator door closed and they descended into the depths. "You are meant for greatness Megatron, you are meant to show that an entity's value should be derived from their abilities, not where they crawled out of the ground."
"I would be a better symbol of that in the battle pits than in the mines." Megatron grumbled.
"I don't know what you're referring to." Terminus grumbled, keeping his optics straight ahead.
"Don't." Megatron snarled. "I'm not an idiot; I'm fully aware of the gladiatorial circuit. I know that combatants earn five times what they do in the mines even when they don't win. And I know that I would win."
They reached the bottom and the doors opened, prompting Terminus to march out and Megatron to follow. "I'm protecting you, Megatron."
"Protecting me from what?" Megatron snapped, his anger causing some of the other miners to glance his way, but they immediately turned back to their business.
"You're not ready." Terminus declared as he reached down and plucked up Megatron's axe, tossing it to the much younger robot.
"Then train me!"
"It's not that." Terminus snapped back. "Your raw abilities and the street fighting techniques you picked up in Tarn would certainly put you at the top of the pack. But it's the scrutiny that you're not ready for. Bide your time Megatron."
"I'm done biding my time." Megatron growled.
Terminus just chuckled. "Stay in the mines Megatron, it's safer." Terminus turned and noted small rocks rolling down the walls of the cavern, then a noticeable shaking. "No."
The shaking started getting worse. "What is it, tectonic activity? A cyber-quake?" Megatron asked as the other miners started scrambling toward the elevator.
"No," Terminus yelled as he grabbed Megatron and pulled him against the wall, watching as hundreds of tons of rock began falling all around them, "it's a birthquake!"
Torenia Pax
It had been nearly five thousand vorns since she had last sailed upon The Mithril Sea, and high time she did it again. The boat was nothing special, certainly not worthy to set foot upon by most nobles, but Torenia was not most nobles, and while lacking in the fineries, The Garona was a stable craft manned by a competent crew. The trip from Cybertropolis to Iacon had been quick, having taken the fast transit tube, but a nice relaxed sea voyage from Iacon to the Torus Heights would be more than welcome after the tragic circumstances of her trip to Cybertropolis in the first place.
"Fancy seeing you here." Torenia turned to see Elita Solus standing on the wide bow of the boat up front, leaning against the rail smiling at her.
"Elita, I was hoping there'd be someone interesting to talk to on this voyage!" Torenia called out with a broad smile.
"Not sure how interesting the company I'd provide would be." Elita replied as she approached the older femme. "Most Cybertronians still consider me a protoform."
"Oh, the young can often times be so much more interesting than the old." Torenia answered back, and at seeing Elita's outstretched hand, pushed it away and embraced the younger noble. "I know we don't really know one another, but I want us to be close friends, and I'd rather our relationship begin with a hug."
While a little startled by the embrace, Elita reciprocated and smiled. "I'd like that too. I've wanted to meet you for a very long time," Torenia pulled back and gave her an odd look, which caused Elita to chuckle, "well, a very long time for me."
"My ladies," the captain's ill-maintained frame came into view, "we plan to shove off."
"Very good Captain." Torenia replied as she stepped away from Elita. The captain nodded and walked away, leaving the two femmes alone as the crew made preparations and pulled away from port. Torenia and Elita walked forward and peered over the edge of the boat at the liquid sea beneath them. "We've been a space faring species for millions of years, we're capable of super-luminous travel and have all the technological marvels one can dream of, yet traveling using nothing more technologically advanced than buoyancy is such a treat."
"I've heard that most organic worlds tend to have the majority of their surfaces covered by liquid, usually water." Elita commented as she gazed upon the fluid surface.
"Most, but not all." Torenia commented.
"Why have we ceased our large scale interstellar exploration?" Elita asked. "I know we've yet to find another world with naturally occurring energon, but there are many different ways to get around that obstacle."
Torenia shook her head sadly. "After the disappearance of the Manifest, it seemed that all our off-world aspirations dissipated."
"Too bad." The younger femme muttered. "I would love to meet and examine other forms of life."
"As would I." Torenia gasped as a whale broke though the surface of the water in the distance. "Though even for one as old as I am, the life on our world still presents countless wonders."
"Yeah, the mortal species are pretty interesting." Elita agreed, staring at the large ripples in the surface that the whale had left. "And spark-based life is able to watch the species evolve from what I hear. How long does it take for that to happen?"
"Depends on the species." Torenia explained. "Those that reach reproductive maturity quickly can have significant evolutionary changes over reasonably short periods of time, especially if it's selective breeding as opposed to natural selection. Those with longer maturation times can take far longer. Ironically, we'll be passing a great observation point for native non-spark life forms. Insula Avalonius has never produced a spark, but has given rise to many photosynthetic floras, and many species of fauna have found their way to the island as well. There is an energon deposit there, but it's very small and not worth a mining operation or the supplies needed to maintain it. It has, for the most part, remained devoid of the influence of spark-based life forms."
Elita smiled softly as she gazed over the horizon. "Think the captain will let us stop there for a visit?"
"Not likely." Torenia shrugged. "There's always a schedule to keep. But we will be able to catch a glimpse of it."
"Perhaps I'll be able to visit Polarus soon and squeeze details of life on Avalonius and alien worlds out of your polyhistor." Elita grinned as Torenia looked up at her quizzically. "Exponum told me of the genius you have holed away up there in your house."
"Ah, I see." Torenia smirked. "You will always be welcome in Polarus, though unfortunately A-Three is a bit of a recluse. I will try to persuade him to meet with you, but on the rare occasions we do have guests, he goes out of his way to make himself scarce. He frequently uses those times to head up to Taenarus for his periodic visits to the Tartarun Gates."
"Well perhaps I'll just have to follow him there." Elita mused. "Even if he is successful in avoiding me in Taenarus, I've always wanted an excuse to see the Gates."
The two chatted away getting to know one another as the hours passed, until Torenia pointed off into the distance. "Well, there it is, the untamed Insula Avalonius."
Elita turned and gazed at the gray, brown and green island jutting out of the sea. "It is pretty. Hyperious and many other cities in Axiom are filled with all forms of flora; it's so gorgeous and almost magical. I really do wish our species showed the mortals of our world more respect." The sea started to get choppier by the second; the boat started pitching one way and the next. "What's going on?"
Torenia was wide-opticed and worried. "I…I'm not sure."
"My ladies!" The femmes turned toward the captain. "Get inside and brace yourselves! It's a birthquake!"
"A birthquake?" Elita was stunned. It was her first since the one that had pushed her spark to the surface.
"I've never experienced one on the sea." Torenia muttered as she and Elita struggled against the pitching ship to get to the shelter of the cabin. The older femme wrapped her arm around Elita before looking up and seeing a wave towering over them come crashing down.
Prowl
He peered through the one-way window at the red suspect in the interrogation room. Average height, but otherwise a fairly exceptional specimen. Strong, fast, intelligent, and one of the most formidable brawlers that he and his officers had ever seen. It had taken seven officers and Prowl's direct involvement to finally subdue him. The yellow one was still at large, but they'd have him as well soon. As formidable as Prime had been, it was still possible that these two could have gotten the drop and assassinated him. But nobody kills a Prime and gets away with it. Prowl pulled himself away from the window and entered the room. "How this goes is entirely up to you, Sideswipe."
"Hey, that was a birthquake a few minutes ago, wasn't it?" Sideswipe smirked. "Shouldn't you and your thug patrol be at the non-noble hotspots ready to hand shovels, pitchforks and other implements of hard labor to the protoforms that emerge?"
"I would recommend dropping the smart-ass comments and just making with the confession." Prowl replied with no detectable emotion in his voice.
"You know, I've been doing a lot of reading lately," Sideswipe said, ignoring Prowl's threat "mostly old texts regarding the discoveries on extraterrestrial worlds. Did you know that some higher level organic humanoid species are dual gendered like us? One such species is from a planet called Nebulon. One thing observed there is that many fully mature females of the species use some weird water bottles to clean their nether regions. I believe a direct translation is…shower bag. Anyway, I bring it up because for some reason, you remind me of one of these shower bags."
Prowl just sat down at the chair on the other side of the table that Sideswipe was seated at, the suspect's hands chained to a ring on the table. "You're facing execution, and you choose to make stupid jokes?"
"Execution?" Sideswipe questioned, genuinely confused. "For promoting the idea that commoners are as good as nobles and the laws should be changed to reflect that?"
"There's nothing wrong with you having the idea, at least in this emirate, but your latest method of promoting it…" Prowl stood up in disgust, his anger seething its way to the surface. "I'm disgusted by you idealists. You adopt an idea, which in many cases is a just idea, but you then see no limits to what you'll do simply to be heard. Even innocents or those that may prove to be allies to you are simply fodder for your agenda."
Sideswipe peered at Prowl in confusion. "Uhm, OK, this is probably a mistake, but I'll fess up. Though frankly I'm having trouble seeing the big screen of the Imperial Amphitheater as either an innocent or ally."
Prowl snapped. He lunged over the table and slammed his fist into Sideswipe's jaw. Sideswipe's head rolled with the blow, but he instantly snapped back, head-butting Prowl hard before gripping the edge of the table in front of him and hoisted himself up and spun around, delivering a sidekick to Prowl's head that sent the white and black robot stumbling back and against the wall. An instant later the door had been thrown open and a stream of police officers were funneling in, all of them quickly grabbing, punching or kicking the red robot.
"Stop!" Prowl shouted. The police continued their beating. "STOP!" Prowl roared. They stopped and looked at him. "Sit him down and get out." They complied and a moment later Sideswipe and Prowl were alone again. Prowl sat down and looked intently into Sideswipe's optics. "You genuinely don't know why you're here, do you?"
"Uhhhh," a confused Sideswipe muttered "noooo? Uhm, by the way, what I said about the Amphith…"
"Shut up." Prowl ordered. "Evidence implicating you and your brother to the murder of Zeta Prime has surfaced."
"Murder of Zeta…" Prowl watched intently the red robot's reaction, using every instinct and every bit of training he had ever received to discern whether this Sideswipe was telling the truth. "No, wait, we do civil disobedience, not assassinations! You know that!"
Prowl shook his head, not liking the genuineness of Sideswipe's shock and denial. "I know nothing but the evidence."
"What evidence?" Sideswipe demanded.
Prowl considered not telling him, but decided the prisoner had a right to know. "All video recording equipment and most other sensory equipment was sabotaged and fed with falsified or looped data. The only equipment to have recorded anything was a finely tuned radiation detector. Its readings are pretty broad, and some of them can be used to identify spark radiation in the vicinity. In addition to the spark signatures of those of the deceased, we detected identical radiation levels from separate entities, indicating a split spark. That alone narrowed our search significantly, winnowed further by the individuals needing to be capable of killing six guards and a Prime with melee weapons; the vast majority of spark splits result in one or both individuals being extremely weakened and feeble, but not with you and Sunstreaker. So it really wasn't a surprise once we got a hold of you that your spark signature was a match."
Sideswipe stared into Prowl's optics for several moments, his initial look of shock slowly evolving into one of subdued confusion, slow realization, and finally cynical amusement. "How convenient."
"Convenient?"
"Yes, convenient." Sideswipe replied. "My brother and I, who are really not all that technologically adept, manage to subdue every sensory or security measure in place at the Cybertropolis Defense Command Center except the one that would be all but useless in identifying anyone on the planet other than my brother and I."
"Your lack of technological expertise could be overcome by having Blaster walk you through any necessary steps, as he did with the Imperial Amphetheater," Prowl responded, almost absently as he pondered everything, "but perhaps the…coincidence of the incriminating surviving evidence being seemingly…tailor made for your brother and you is unlikely enough to warrant looking at this from other angles."
"Other angles?" Sideswipe asked suspiciously. "Uhm, look, I don't like you Prowl, but even I have to acknowledge that you're a pretty smart guy; too smart to still think I killed Prime."
"What I think is based on what I know, and all I know is the evidence." Prowl growled back at Sideswipe. "Sometimes things that are seemingly too obvious appear that way because they're true."
"Cut the shit, Prowl, you know Streaker and I didn't do it!" Sideswipe snarled. "I have no doubt you can convince the Magistratus otherwise, but you'll never convince yourself."
"I only know the evid…look, I need you to shut up while I consider something!" Prowl grumbled as he stood up and paced around the floor on his side of the table. "The Autobots had a motivation to eliminate the Prime, but perhaps they weren't the only ones."
"There were many dozen we'd like to see eliminated before Zeta Decimus." Sideswipe countered. "Frankly, we really didn't have an issue with him. But that's all moot, as we don't kill."
"Whether desperation or ambition, every cause has a point where the taking of a life becomes justifiable to them." Prowl muttered as he fell deep into thought. "But you Autobots haven't seemed to be that desperate or ambitious yet; as you stated, you guys have been sticking to civil disobedience so far, and killing a Prime is a bit of a jump from there."
"Soooo?" Sideswipe pressed.
"Just shut up and let me think." Prowl growled as he thought quietly for several minutes. Thoughts that had been impossible had slowly become improbable, and were now becoming… "Damn it." Prowl whirled around, planted his hands on the table and looked the prisoner directly in the optics. "What do you know of an underground fighting circuit?"
"What?" Sideswipe was once again surprised. "Forgive me Prowl, I'm used to being interrogated over things I've actually done. Being genuinely innocent of all your charges has left me a bit unprepared with my answers."
"Do you know?" Prowl nearly yelled.
"Yeah, I've heard about them, Streaker has even suggested it would be a great way for him and me to blow off some steam and make some money." Sideswipe replied. "But we didn't actually join any of the tournaments, and the Autobots have nothing to do with the battle pits. It's mainly the southern emirates that hold these events."
Prowl considered something quietly before nodding and speaking further. "I had been investigating this fight club, but somehow my cover was blown."
"Shocking." Sideswipe quipped.
"It's possible those responsible for these gladiatorial tournaments sought Prime's death." Prowl mused. "If they knew who I was and what I was doing, they'd know that I answered to Sentinel Honorum, who answered to Zeta Prime." He peered intently at Sideswipe. "We have no knowledge of who is running these games, much less evidence that they had any hand in Prime's murder. But maybe there's a way for us to prove your innocence and get something on these guys…together. Find and enlist your brother; my officers and I can't get inside that circuit undetected, but a pair of hooligans will fit right in."
Terminus
It was dark. It was soundless. Nothing to see, nothing to hear, the air so thick with dust and debris that even smell was non-existent, but touch, that sense was in full effect. The pain of crushed legs was overwhelming, as was his equally crushed left forearm. He wasn't dead, but he knew that being this far down, this injured, he soon would be.
"Terminus." The voice was weaker than he'd ever heard it, but it was still sheer power.
"Huuhhh, here." Terminus replied. His optics were overcome by the sudden burst of light cutting through the cracks. It took a moment for Terminus's optics to make any sort of sense of the light bursting through the darkness, and with the dust, even once accustomed his optics had difficulty making anything out.
"Once I free you, will you be able to walk on your own?" Megatron's voice, back to its full degree of power, cut through the tiny cracks in the rocks separating them with the light he was no doubt providing.
"Nuuhh, no. Legs crushed."
"Then I'll carry you." Megatron roared as tons of rock started shifting around them. The pain in what was left of Terminus's legs increased exponentially, but as he started to cry out he felt the majority of the weight pressing down on him rising off. A moment later he felt a large, powerful hand gripping his upper left arm just below his shoulder. "Come."
"Wait." Terminus had to struggle to get his words out. "What of the others?"
Megaron paused. "If they live and can move of their own volition, they're welcome to follow us out." Terminus watched as this robot, one whose birth he witnessed, transcend into a force of nature and power his way through the insurmountable mountain of rock, metal and energon with only one free hand.
"You…you can't pummel your way to the surface, Megatron." Terminus watched as Megatron turned his head toward him, his red optics glowing brightly in the darkness, enough to barely reveal a smile etched on the arrogant powerhouse's face. Terminus smiled as well; Megatron had always loved a challenge, and had yet to face one he couldn't surmount.
Megatron continued forward, but stopped and called out like thunder. "If any of you Kaonian bastards are still alive and wish to remain that way, let me know your location now!" Weakened cries started coming out from all around them. Megatron grumbled before setting Terminus down and heading out toward the voices calling out for salvation.
Terminus watched as Megatron performed the impossible, moving chunks of metal and stone that were many times his own weight, effortlessly swatting away landslides of debris, and pulling out survivor after survivor. Seeing the physical magnificence acting on behalf of his fellow downtrodden furthered Terminus's long held belief that Megatron was meant for the same sort of greatness as Guardian Prime. His moving of the unmovable, his shrugging off injuries incurred to save others only made it clear that as Primon the Abdicator found the ultimate worthiness in Gallus Honorum, Terminus had found the same in that impossibly powerful protoform three birthquakes back. After less than an hour, Megatron stood over Terminus and eighteen other living souls, the lights on his frame and the blood-red optics glowing through the pitch. "Alright, now we ascend." Megatron turned and started battering away at the mountain blocking his way toward the elevator shaft. Terminus dragged himself along the ground after him, but was soon lifted up by several of the other miners as they all followed Megatron.
Megatron finally reached the elevator shaft, which as expected, was filled with debris. The continued obstacle only elicited a smile from Megatron. "Follow behind me, try to keep up, and if Terminus fails to reach the surface, his failure will be shared by all of you." With that Megatron started powering through the rocks, punching and tearing holes through the thick metal walls of the elevator shaft to push the debris through. It was ponderous and slow going, but after several hours they had reached surface level. All that stood between them and freedom was a third of a mile of stone and metal piled floor to ceiling.
"This will be more dangerous than the shaft." Terminus advised Megatron. "In the shaft you pulverized in the direction from which the danger would be coming. Here you will be powering through the rocks in front of you, while billions of tons are falling down from above."
Megatron nodded, and began examining the cavern for an answer. He found it in the form of a large mining cart. He hoisted the seventy-foot long cart effortlessly and twisted it upside down. "You and those carrying you will be under here, right behind me so that I can keep you from being crushed." Megatron then glared at the miners holding Terminus. "Keep up, and keep him safe." Megatron turned and marched quickly toward the wall keeping them in. "Let's go!"
Again the undertaking was slow moving, but as before Megatron proved to be up to the task, battering their tunnel to freedom. There were times when the weight of the stone and metal pushing down on the cart was far too much for the other survivors to endure, Megatron would turn, get under the cart himself, and push up, wedging through the impossibly heavy load, and then continuing on. More hours passed, many moments of doubt to be had for all, but the hulking Tarnian continued without pause, battering until his hands were shredded and continued battering. Megatron's fatigue was beyond apparent, to the point of physical shutdown, but still he persisted, only pausing for a few moments at a time. With a roar to focus his rage, Megatron threw one more punch, a punch that resulted in daylight breaking in through the newly made hole. Megatron paused just long enough for a grin. "Time to make our exit." With one hand Megatron gripped the lip of the cart, then lowered his other shoulder and powered through the last wall of rock.
In an instant all the surviving miners barreled though the final wall of rock and metal, collapsing on the ground and into the light. Terminus's optics struggled against the light, but he saw Megatron tossing the cart away and turning upward, knowing what was to happen. Looking up at the still standing Megatron, Terminus's optics cleared enough to look beyond and above him, at the tumbling boulders that were starting to fall down upon them all. Though well aware of Megatron's greatness, what Terminus was witnessing now was an absolute impossibility. Megatron turned, and using speed, agility and power that Terminus had never witnessed before, watched as the Tarnian battered every falling boulder away, shattering most, and keeping all of the survivors safe of anything beyond spraying pebbles and debris. "MOVE!" Megatron roared as he fought off the landslide.
Despite Megatron's earlier orders, the other miners abandoned Terminus as they got over their panic and scrambled away. Megatron glanced down and grimaced as he saw Terminus still in peril. "Slagging cowards!" With that, Megatron leaned down and grabbed Terminus by the upper arm with the two remaining fingers and thumb on his left hand before lunging out of the way of a vast boulder, diving and sprinting, rolling and utilizing speed and agility that few if any other Cybertronians possessed, Megatron and Terminus evaded the avalanche until finally they reached a point where the rockslide stopped.
Megatron released Terminus and collapsed to the ground. Terminus looked into his young protégé's optics and smiled, a smile that was returned by Megatron. The old robot's gaze soon drifted beyond Megatron's head, where he saw Militus Macht standing next to Straxus. Terror shot through Terminus as he saw the intense look on Militus's face. He had struggled to keep Megatron's combat prowess from the notice of the House of Macht, going so far as to relocate him to the mines of Kaon, but all his struggles had proved fruitless. Megatron noticed Terminus's diverted attention, and turned his body to look toward Militus as well. The noble warlord's optics glowed brightly as he considered the recent display of Megatron's awesome power.
Elita Solus
It took some internal adjustments that Elita had never performed before, but she eventually managed to adjust her optical settings to project light to help her cut through the murky depths of the Mithril Sea's bottom. What was revealed was wondrous. Cybertron was the only planet that they'd come across that was the source of both spark-based life and abiogenesis, and aside from a few notable exceptions, the species springing from the two sources of life had coexisted for countless eons. Of course, that didn't stop a forty-foot organic shark that had been drawn to the lights from setting upon her. The beast was gigantic and extremely powerful, but was made of flesh and cartilage, and while able to grasp and pull Elita away in its jaws, a few strikes from her metal fists punctured its flesh and shatter some cartilage, causing it to release her and dart off through the depths.
Elita sank back to the bottom, assessed the damage that the shark had caused her and determined it to be inconsequential, and began peering through the muck once more. She wasn't sure which direction she should go, but she was sure that if Exponum, who had tried to dissuade her from this foolish journey, ever found out about her situation he would never let her live it down. She could likely contact him for help, but only as a last resort. Elita would exhaust every opportunity to get out of this predicament on her own steam before contacting the One, or leader, of House Solis. Unfortunately, she had no idea of what the protocol for this sort of situation was. An odd ping caught her off guard, but the sound was followed by a series of repeating pings. She studied the code diligently before realizing what it was. The Mahpop Code, an archaic maritime numeric code that Exponum had instructed her on many years before, one that she fortunately still remembered well enough to decode, though even if she didn't it wasn't hard for her to triangulate the source of the signal. But she was pretty certain that the message being conveyed was something along the lines of 'passengers and crew of the Garona, rendezvous on the northern shore of Avalonius'. The coordinates were a bit tougher to decipher, but as she'd already considered doing, she triangulated the source of the broadcast.
An hour and a half later Elita's head cut through the surface of the sea, and with only a few more seconds of trudging she was on dry land. Several members of the crew gawked at her as she approached the haphazard assemblage of what little they were able to salvage from the ship, and the Captain finally addressed her. "Good to see you m'lady, seeing as you appear to be undamaged, I might actually manage to avoid some prison time."
"We were caught up in a birthquake, there was nothing for you to have done differently." Elita assured the disheveled mariner.
"True, but when a commoner captain loses or damages a noble passenger, excuses become meaningless." The captain replied.
"Well, you have nothing to fear in regards to this noble passenger." Elita smiled. "Has Torenia Pax resurfaced?"
"Aye, she made it to shore nearly an hour ago." The captain replied. "Headed up into the mountains, said she was going to bring back some energon."
"I'll go see if she needs some help." Elita responded, looking up toward the lush jungle. "Can you point me in the direction of this energon deposit?" The captain provided the young noble with the directions as best as he could remember from stories of other mariners who claimed to have visited the island, and Elita set off to find Torenia. The foliage was thick and though predominantly green, there were vibrant colors of all shades mixed throughout the jungle. It appeared that the life forms that were making a home of the island were relatively small, and very timid; Elita only occasionally caught sight or sound of the beasts scurrying about.
The cavern that supposedly had the vein of energon running through it was up ahead half a mile, but Elita's attention was drawn to a closer, smaller cave off to her right. There was an odd green glow flickering on the rock and metal inner wall of the cave, one that Elita couldn't help but be drawn to. As she approached the mouth of the cavern she could hear gentle, feminine whispering from within, and realized that despite the lowered tone it was a voice that she recognized. "Torenia?"
"Oh good, it's you." Torenia's voice echoed back from within. Elita entered the cave and made her way in, following the pulsing, but fading green light. The green pulsing faded completely as Elita came upon Torenia Pax kneeling over a blob of metal that seemed almost molten and liquid, though it failed to spread as a liquid does and given the comfort Torenia possessed touching it, the level of heat it generated was far less than that of molten metal. "I hope that whatever bond we've developed is strong enough for me to ask an impossible favor of you, Elita."
Elita scrutinized the shape and noted that it was gradually taking on a humanoid appearance, and that chunks of metal were dislodging from the floor and cave walls and being sucked into the new form. "What is…" she then watched as Tornenia lifted one part of the shape, one that appeared almost head-like. "Primus, is this a protoform?"
"Yes." Tornenia replied soothingly as she gazed lovingly into the slowly forming face of the newborn in her arms.
"But…but there's no spark life on this rock, there's no sentio metallico." Elita commented, watching in awe as the protoform continued to take shape, incorporating more metal drawn from the cavern.
"You're right, there's none." Torenia replied. "I was drawn to the spark, and mourned upon realizing that there would be no way to get it to a breeding pool soon enough. It would die, and there was nothing I could do for it but watch." Torenia looked up and smiled. "And then it started using the metals from the cavern."
Elita shook her head in confusion. "But metals can't be used to form a protoform."
"A-Three once told me that a strong enough spark could make a body of nearly anything." Torenia looked back down on the newborn.
"Strong enough spark?" Elita commented, shifting her gaze from the protoform to the other femme. "Does that have anything to do with the green glow I saw coming in here?"
Torenia nodded. "That is related to the favor I mentioned as you entered." She turned her head back up and gazed imploringly into Elita's optics. "This island is still technically Iacon. Even without knowledge of his spark, the sheer size and build," Tornenia nodded to the form for Elita to take note, and the femme from Hyperious saw the overall physique taking shape, the impressive stature, the narrow waist, the massive chest and broad shoulders, "would cause the Honorums to place him immediately in the mines."
"Place him in the mines?" Elita was shocked. "It's Nova Cronum, not Polyhex. They don't force anyone to do what they don't want to do."
"No, the emirate of Nova Cronum is not nearly as bad as Polyhex, nor is its energon production as lucrative. The Honorums have been trying to catch up to the Machts for eons in that regard, and while they likely have similar deposits of the element, their ethics in regard to the workforce have traditionally kept them from similar levels of success in their mines. But they've been slowly catching up, and while I cannot prove it, I fear it may be due to the loosening of these ethics." Torenia stroked the protoform's head gently. "I am unwilling to take the chance with this one. So I ask you, Elita Solus of Axiom, will you please tell the captain and his crew that I have found my own way off of this island, and tell no one of what you have seen in this cave?"
"I…I will. Of course, but I assure you that all this isn't necessary." Elita replied.
"Perhaps you're right, but I'd rather play this safe." Torenia smiled, relief clearly etched on her face. "And I've grown a little attached to this little guy." Elita looked back down and chuckled at the protoform. Torenia looked down and nodded. "Well, not so little."
"So what will you do, take him back to Polarus and raise him there?" Elita asked.
"Yes." Torenia gazed deeply into the indentations where the protoform's optics would take shape. "I will name him Orion."