OK, so, I've had my fun with TF:Prime (Ratchet's Human). Now I'm going back to G1/comicverse.
I own only Warria Prime (not that she'll be in this story much), Liraz, Hope, Cero, and Felis Prime. Unfortunately, I own no canon characters. Riella (who will show up soon) belongs to T'Reilani.
Prologue: Court Date
The room was enormous. It had to be, to accommodate the crowd of Cybertronian Colonials and Heer-oldec Heralds that had gathered. The sweeping walls and high ceiling tapered toward the front of the room, drawing attention to the judge who stood before them, her silver-blue armor shining, and to the defendant who stood before her, battle suit restricted to the role of simple armor.
The defendant, orange skin glowing and brant swords conspicuously absent from their sheathes on her back, stood tall and proud. She knew what had to be done. She knew what was right, what was just. And she knew that what had to be done was not right or just. But it was necessary. And necessary was the code all Tovinias lived by.
The judge, Warria Prime, Governess of the Cybertronian Colony on Heer-olde, looked down on the small Herald with sorrow. She also knew what the correct ruling would be, just like she knew the ruling she would make. And she knew they were not the same ruling.
Forgive me, Herald, for I do you wrong for the sake of the home we both love, Warria thought sadly, reaching for the Herald's spirit. She lifted one hand for silence, and what little talk there had been in the court room ceased.
"I, Warria Prime, Governess of this Colony and leader of the Heraldic Council, will now judge this Herald," she announced. She stared down once more, her blazing green optics meeting the Herald's equally green eyes evenly, sorrowfully. "Liraz Tovinia, Cadet Herald, apprentice to Master Herald Cero Lotiv, I find you guilty of all you have been accused of. For the crime of Factionist murder and spark-draining, I sentence you to a partial memory wipe and lifelong exile from Heer-olde." This got some murmurs in the crowd, mostly from the people who didn't know the Herald on trial, and the conservatives who did know her and didn't like her much. They would be complaining about her ruling. Traditional punishment for the crimes Liraz had just been officially convicted of was a full memory wipe and exile to the most barren region on the planet, the Sands of the Sun.
The Herald's eyes flashed, but she contained her reaction and disguised her momentary lapse in control with a deep bow, accepting her fate. As she rose, she met Warria's electric-flame-green gaze for a long moment. Then she nodded. She knew what she had to do.
"Your vessel awaits you," Warria announced. Liraz remained where she was as one Herald and one Colonial Guard moved to flank her.
You do only what must be done, and I agreed to this. I still agree to this. It is my turn to do what must be done, Liraz thought, touching Warria's spark with her spirit. She kept her head high as her guards led her away, toward the ship that would wipe her most of memory before dumping her on a world far from her home.
"Amazing," people in the crowd whispered. "She stays in control of herself even when walking to her doom." Others muttered, "How can she stand what she's done?" They all believed her guilty. The one Herald who had fought to protect the Cadet Herald had not come. She, too, had known the verdict, if not the reasoning behind it.
So out of hundreds of Cybertronians and Heralds in the court room, only Liraz Tovinia and Warria Prime knew the truth.
Liraz was innocent. Her court date had been set to condemn her ever since she and Warria had decided on their current course. Liraz was to be exiled, disgraced, her name erased from her family's records, in hopes of drawing out the true criminal.
And if it cost her home, her life, her honor, then so be it.
Any Herald would do that and more for their home.
Well, almost any Herald. There was a criminal out there somewhere, who had just gotten off because Liraz hadn't. But Liraz would deal with him later. After her exile had begun.
Well, I hate to be vague in my descriptions of characters. Anyone wondering about Warria Prime and the Colony should read If Only My Future Didn't Look So Bleak. Please let me know what you think!