The door slid open, and two sets of footsteps could be heard walking in. A pair of pink femmes marched in, their steps perfectly in sync, and approached the large, red-and-blue mech in his study.
He looked up. "Is it time already?" he asked. He had a deep rumble of a voice, one that carried all the weight and wisdom of his significant age. When the twins nodded, the movement in unison, he sighed. "Are they here, or...?"
"No, sir," they replied in stereo. "You must be there with the others to welcome them."
"All right. Arcee, fetch Ultra Magnus and bring him to the entrance hall. Elita, come with me," he commanded, rising from his chair.
Half of the set of identical femmes nodded once, then vanished out the door, leaving her sister standing at rest in front of the desk. The large mech emerged from behind it, padding past her, prompting her to turn and follow.
-
When the twins were reunited, they were flanking the impressive leader of Iacon City, thus, the leader of the Iacon Alliance, Optimus Prime. He had all of the right qualities that made him the capable and revered leader that he was: charisma, patience, wisdom, everything a good leader should have had. He was also popular among those he governed, an added bonus for Iacon.
Beside him was his second-in-command and best friend, Ultra Magnus. A blue-and-gray mech who was as tall as Optimus, but nowhere near as broad, Magnus often advised Optimus as to what course of action to take.
On his other side was Jazz, his laid-back Head of Intelligence. His brightly-colored plating, as well as his vertically-challenged stature, provided him with great contrast to his fellow cabinet members. He wasn't the only cabinet member raised in another city-state, but his non-Iaconian upbringing was the most obvious, in his accented speech as well as his Polyhexian mannerisms.
In a line behind them were most of the other members of the cabinet.
The first was Armorhide, Director of the Military. Alongside his twin brother, Ironhide, who was the Army Commander, he had led the Iaconian Army to countless victories. He was also in charge of overseeing the army drills when they were run outside of the city-state. His military green form was polished and free of all of the marks he'd recieved during his tenure in the army.
Next was Mirage, the silver-and-white Director of the Economy. He ensured that all business regulations were upheld, and spent his time rejecting new regulations. He was one of the wealthier members of the cabinet, had always been, and frequently took time off to socialize with his aristocratic friends.
Beside Mirage was Head of Captial Security Hound. He was in charge of every security service that dealt with Optimus Prime and the rest of the cabinet. Other than that, he really had no business standing with them.
Off by himself was Prime's last cabinet member, the ever-paranoid Director of National Security. Red Alert's appearance suggested his paranoia: his "plating" was made up of tiny, reflective panels that made it easy for him to camoflauge in a crowd. His optics were the easiest part of him to spot: bright, vibrant, burning red. He was constantly checking over his shoulder and running security scans of wherever he happened to be.
"Can't we call this off?" Ultra Magnus sighed. "No one has ever taken the United Territories seriously."
"Maybe we should start takin' 'em seriously," Jazz pointed out.
"That is not your call to make, Jazz," Optimus Prime chastized gently. "The United Territories are as much to blame for the problems that they face as they accuse us of being."
"Quiet!" Red Alert yelped, pointing to where the gates of the compound were opening. "They'll hear you!"
Everyone quieted, assuming a professional-looking stance as the substantially-sized convoy pulled up and parked. There were twelve vehicles in it. One of them had to be the dignitary sent to negotiate, Optimus reasoned. But which one?
The first eight transformed first, revealing four figures that were obviously Praxian, three that could only have been Velocitronian, and one that had to be J'nwanese. The last two in the convoy transformed next, revealing twin Praxians. All ten of them lined up and snapped to attention as the final two transformed.
The smaller of the two was a slight, dark J'nwanese female with bright purple optics. She held a datapad in one hand, a stylus in the other. An aide of sorts, apparently. Which meant that her companion was the dignitary.
He was a white-plated Praxian mech. His gold optics swept over the line of United Territory security guards, then over the Iacon Leaders. His doorwings were in the typical "relaxed" posture, hanging at a slight downward angle. He struck Optimus Prime as the type of mech whom he could reason with easily. Perhaps this was going to go well.
"Greetings!" Optimus called to the mech, who raised his hand in a return-of-greeting.
The lead Praxian approached Optimus Prime and his cabinet, tailed closely by the J'nwanese female. "Greetings, Optimus Prime," he nodded, his Iaconian nearly flawless but for a touch of Praxian accent that was practically unavoidable. "My name is Prowl."
"Welcome, Prowl, to Iacon." Optimus turned back to Hound. "Hound, please some guards join us so that we may escort our guests inside?"
Hound nodded once, then barked something in military code. Several guards appeared, flanking the group as they all merged together.
Prowl looked to his left, at his assisstant. "Eludehcs no ew era?" he asked.
"Ris, sey."
Optimus looked at the two of them, and frowned. Prowl noticed his expression, and turned back quickly. "My apologies, my assisstant has a bit of a language glitch. Barely understands Praxian. You can't imagine how difficult communication can be sometimes."
The red and blue mech nodded once. "Ah. All right. Now, please, if you will follow me..."
The Iaconian Leaders headed inside, and half of the United Convoy did as well. The other half didn't move until the Praxian did, and when he did, he glanced at the female again. "Yb-dnats ot evom ot Maet Ateb llet, langis-og eht Maet Ahpla evig."
"Ris, sey."