Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox is owned by a friend of mine here.

Pandimala: Who is this 'Marquis'? He sounds different.

Authoress: Of course he does. He is going to be awesome!

Pandimala: Let me be the judge of that.

Authoress: Bet you fifty credits that he is going to be awesome.

Pandimala: Deal.

*two seal deal*

AN: Marquis speaks with a french accent. I just can't type accents in so I leave it up to your imagination. =) Now, please enjoy!

Ch. 1: Marquis Arrives

Three Stellar Cycles after the Declaration

Chem's 1st P.O.V.

I sighed as I listened to the dignitaries around me speak. It had been three stellar cycles since Dragonia had declared its independence from Iacon. I was in Vos with Tana as a dignitary to hopefully convince Lord Skyscream that it would be in the best interest of Vos to sign a treaty with Dragonia.

Of course, I was still kind of surprised that I was even here. About twenty solar cycles after we had declared our independence and the fighting began, Pandimala had approached me and said that she needed me to come to Vos as an ambassador, since I was known on Cybertron due to my service in the Polyhexian army. While we had lost the fight that had come against us and Iacon, I had made sure that they remembered who I was and I also taught them that, while Polyhex might lose the fight we were fighting, we were going to go down swinging hard...which we had. My efforts during that time caused me to be known on Cybertron and Pandimala wanted to use that to her advantage to gain the alliance.

I had asked Pandimala if Tana could come with me so she could gain experience from this mission. When I first met Tana, the young warrior in training, I sensed that she would turn into something great with the right training, and I knew that I was the only one who would be able to give that to her. So, I had offered to train her and she, thankfully, had accepted my offer.

"Chem,"

Turning to the sound of a voice that I had to listen to for these past three stellar cycles, I put on my best fake smile as the Vosnian foreign minister walked forward.

"Vosnian foreign minister Galestrom." I greeted back respectfully.

The blue seeker with red, green, and white markings led me away from the crowd before saying, "I'm afraid I have distressing news. A Vosnian noble-mech has defied my Lord's orders and has taken a star-ship to Dragonia to join with Chief General Chaom, and General Pandimala."

A smile played on my faceplate at that. While Vos didn't want to join in an alliance just yet, it seemed like some of its citizens were going to help anyways. "Our cause stirs sparks even on Cybertron. I am pleased." This was a great step. Once the Vosnians saw that others on the planet were willing to help their cause, then they would be more inclined to sign a treaty.

"Lord Skyscream is not. Since Vos must remain neutral in this conflict, he requests a tiny favor from you. Write a message to Chief General Chaom and tell him he must not welcome this mech." Galestrom asked.

I thought about that for a moment. While Galestrom had been careful with his wording, I had already found a loophole to get through the request without offending anybot so I asked, "And this mech's name would be?"

Galestrom frowned. "Marquis."

Marquis' 1st P.O.V.

I grinned as I took an intake of the fresh air. The air was much more pure here on Dragonian than it could ever be on Cybertron. I was so excited to meet the famous General Pandimala. While Chief General Chaom would be an interesting bot to meet as well, I had heard stories all of Cybertron about the famous General Pandimala. The youngling who could fight the best and was as generous and kind as any bot that had ever been online. Of course, I myself was a youngling and, if I had heard correctly, the great General Pandimala and myself were only a forty solar cycles apart in age. She was my idol.

"Redwing to Marquis, you can snap out of it now."

I turned to my friend Redwing, along with the five others that had come with me to Dragonia, and smiled. The red and white car mech was giving me a I-know-what-you-were-thinking-about look. "Snap out of what?" I asked him, curious.

The six bots laughed at that before Optivic, the only femme in our group, said, "Marquis, you were zoned out thinking about 'the great General Pandimala' again. We could tell by the way you were not focusing."

Blackhawk, a black and blue car mech, laughed as well before saying, "We also know because you wouldn't shut up about her on the trip here."

Embarrassment shot through my systems before I said, "She's my hero bots. I mean, I might actually be able to meet General Pandimala of all bots today!"

Power Raid, a mainly forest green jet mech with white accents, smirked at that and said, "Of course, we have to go and meet the consulate first. You heard from those that got sent back. They had to meet with the consulate before they were allowed to see Chief General Chaom. You might not even meet General Pandimala until the war ends."

I sighed at that. There had been some bots that had come to Dragonia before and had asked to join. They had all said that they had to meet with the consulate, the governing body below Chief General Chaom. What Chaom said was law but the consulate were his advisers and would show him all sides of a choice presented toward him. But, there was a positive to the situation. "Even if the consulate says no, we will have the opportunity to meet with Chief General Chaom and try to convince him about our usefulness in Dragonia's endeavor." I pointed out as we turned a corner. And I immediately stopped. This area seemed way too familiar. And, since I had never been to Dragonia, never mind Scale Heights, I knew that this could only mean one thing.

"You've gotten us lost!" Flare Pyre exclaimed. The red, gray, and black car mech was one for the dramatics. Of course, that didn't mean that he was wrong.

Shrugging my shoulders, I said, "Well, then we just have to ask somebot around here which way we are supposed to go." I then looked around and saw a black, gray, and white car mech walking down the street. Figured he might be the best to ask about this. "Excuse me but could you help us?"

He turned when I walked up to him and gave us suspicious looks before saying, "With what?"

Motioning around to the area around us, I said, "This is our first time to Scale Heights, and Dragonia for that matter, and I am afraid we find ourselves lost. We were hoping that you could point us in the direction where the consulate meets. We have traveled from Cybertron to join the great Dragonian cause."

The mech in front of us relaxed at that and said, "Oh, you're here to join Chaom. Well, I was just heading to see the consulate to give them a message. You can follow me if you want." He then started to lead us. Once we all followed, I walked up next to him and he said, "The name's Beatdrop by the way. I'm a native created Dragonian from Coldice...actually, this is my home town." He then looked at me and asked, "Who are you and were are you from? Since you said you're from Cybertron, I'm curious as to where you all are exactly from?"

...about that.

"My friend here only said we all traveled from Cybertron." Optivic started. "While the mechs here are all from Cybertron, I'm from the planet Vel, and more specifically from a small province called Viral Steeps."

I watched as Beatdrop nodded and that and said, "I've heard of Vel. Never have been there before though." He then turned to the rest of us. "And you mechs?"

"I am called Zantor and I am from Tarn." The red and brown jet mech next to me stated. For a seeker, he had a very deep voice, deeper than any mech I had ever met...and I had met quite a few. It had surprised me when I met him in Vos.

Power Raid then stepped next to me before saying, "I'm Power Raid and I come from Polyhex."

Then, Blackhawk stepped forward. "I am Blackhawk," He then pointed to Redwing. "and this is my twin Redwing. We are from Kaon."

The reaction from Beatdrop that they were twins was pretty much what I was expecting. "You're twins? Sweet. What kind?"

Redwing smiled and playfully punched Blackhawk's shoulder before saying, "Unfortunately, I'm his split-spark twin. Of course, that just means we can have more fun over greater distance."

Their guide nodded as Flare Pyre said, "I'm Flare Pyre and I'm from Iacon."

Thankfully, besides raising an optic ridge, Beatdrop didn't react to Flare Pyre being from Iacon. I had been worried that, because Flare Pyre was from Iacon and the Dragonians were currently fighting Iacon, that Beatdrop might react negatively to him. But, my worry was for naught.

"And what about you?" Beatdrop asked me. "Who are you and where are you from youngling?"

Letting a wide smile spread on my faceplate, I said, "I am Marquis and I come from Vos."

I was not expecting for Beatdrop to stumble in shock before saying, "You're a Vosnian?"

"Ever since I can remember." I responded with the same smile before saying, "Why is it that you react more to me being a Vosnian than Flare Pyre being an Iaconian?"

Beatdrop let out a laugh and said, "Because we currently aren't trying to get a treaty with Iacon. But Vos, well, I am surprised that they let one of their bots out to help us out."

And that told me to keep quiet about how I had left Cybertron until I got in front of the consulate. I hadn't exactly been 'let out' of Vos. It was a long story that I didn't even want to think about until I got in front of the consulate.

The rest of our walk was pretty quiet. Beatdrop was humming some tune that he must have heard. It was lighthearted and it almost mad me want to put a little bounce in my step. But, just before I could give in to my inner need to have fun, Beatdrop stopped humming, and walking, and turned to us while motioning to the building behind him. "The consulate is right through here." He then opened the door for us.

I nodded toward the mech and smiled. "Thank you." I then turned to the others and said, "Well, wish Zantor and I luck bots." The others were just here to sign up so they didn't even have to go through the consulate. But, Zantor and I were here to receive commissions and so we had to go to the consulate.

"Good luck you two." Optivic stated before she led the others to where the normal troops signed up. Hopefully, she wouldn't get them too lost.

Zantor and I then followed Beatdrop inside and I was surprised to see that the building was simple. Of course, it really shouldn't have surprised me now that I was thinking about it. The consulate wasn't like the Council back on Cybertron. First of all, the consulate didn't have any power. They were more like counselors for Chief General Chaom. They advised him but Chaom held the power to actually but word into law. Of course, he didn't have absolute power. The people of Dragonia would decide when they did not want Chief General Chaom in command anymore and he would step down if they asked. Most single rulers could not rule fairly due to the amount of power that they had. But, the Dragonia government had set up a single ruler system where the citizens still had a voice in how things were run, just not too much where the citizens were corrupted with power.

When the three of them entered the room where the consulate met, I noticed that all ten of them seemed to be paying attention to the speaker up front, which was a short mech who was actually close to Optivic's height. "Excuse me." Beatdrop stated to get the consulate's attention.

The speaker of the consulate glanced up at us and said, "Ah Beatdrop, here with another message from Chem? And who are your companions here?"

Beatdrop nodded and stepped forward before handing the speaker a data pad and saying, "Here you go Plena." He then motioned back to us before saying, "These are Zantor and Marquis. The two of them want to join our army as officers."

I could immediately feel a change in the atmosphere of the room. From the air of annoyance that I could feel, I had a feeling that the consulate was used to having many bots come in and ask to be officers. They were probably tired about it too. But, I knew I was destined to be here so I was not going to give up. So, instead, I smiled and waited for them to respond.

They seemed to study Zantor and I for a moment before a white jet mech said, "Mechs, if we issued a commission to every bot who has come to be an officer, our army would have more officers than troops."

The others nodded at that and I found myself starting to become desperate. I just had to meet with General Pandimala. Even to see her, just for a portion of a nano-click, would be a great honor. My friend and I had to convince the consulate of giving us a yes. If they gave us a no, I knew that our chances of getting into the army were slim, though not impossible. "Please, allow me to argue our loyalty to your cause."

The eleven bots in the room glanced at each other and I had a feeling that they were talking to each other over a private comm line. Made sense. They were going to discuss whether or not to let them speak. Of course, I had no doubt that they would allow me to speak if any one of them had been influenced by the example of Pandimala as I had.

My prediction was proven correct when a white car mech with gray markings said, "We will hear you out."

"Thank you." I responded before I started my story. "As you may or may not know, I am a noble-mech from Vos. In Vos, most nobles only care about themselves and how they are going to be able to get ahead in the game of politics. When I heard of your cause and what you fought for, I knew that I had found my calling. So, I found a mech who sold starships and bough the Unité with my own credits." I then mentally winced at the memory of buying the ship. "A lot of my own credits and I traveled to the other city states to find others like me, who were wanting to come and join the Dragonian fight as well. When I had arrived to my last stop, Kaon, I received a message from Lord Skyscream to return to Vos."

Flashback

I sighed as I followed Galestrom across the hall. It had only been three cycles since I had arrived back in Vos and he was in one of his 'I'm-ruining-his-plans' moods.

"Why do you show such sympathy for these Dragonians?" Galestrom asked me when he suddenly stopped and turned to face me.

Putting my servos to my hips, I immediately said, "They suffer from taxation, without representation, and unfair governance!"

Galestrom, in return, gave me another of his looks, this time a 'did-you-just-say-that' look, before saying, "And what is wrong with that?"

Um...yeah, I did not think of who I was speaking to when I said that. Once I figured out what I would say, I snapped my digits and let out a laugh before saying, "I was joking. It is because they are fighting our bitter enemies, the Iaconians."

"Very good Marquis." Galestrom stated in response to my fix up. "But you cannot go. If Lord Skyscream approved of your plan, Iacon would declare war on us. That cannot happen," He then drew closer to me and said, "at this time. Understood?"

I nodded in response.

End of Flashback

"I understood that Lord Skyscream secretly approved of my plan." I continued on. "But Galestrom could not say so. I determined to sail to Dragonia, and glory, immediately. That night, properly disguised,"

"Modified, like a femme!" Zantor let out with a laugh.

We had gone through this so many times it wasn't funny. "I was wearing a merchant's cloak!" I scowled back at him for what seemed like the hundredth time since our journey began.

He simply smirked at me. "Whatever you say my friend."

Shaking my helm, I continued on. "Thank you. I sneaked back to the Unité and we set sail for Dragonia." I then took a pause before saying, "Unfortunately, our navigator's calculations were incorrect and we landed miles away from our destination, in your state of Agarath. Still, delighted to finally reach this blessed land, I prepared for a warm welcome. Happily, we identified ourselves as allies, not enemies, so our ship was not destroyed. The town's people invited us into their homes, gave us directions, and sent us to make our rendezvous with freedom and liberty. And three solar cycles later, we are here in your city of Scale Heights. Humbly offering our services to yourself, Generals Chaom and Pandimala, and your citizens."

I smiled as a cheer rose up in the air and the members of the consulate gave us an applause. I think that I may have gained their approval. That would be a great thing for our final audience with Chief General Chaom.

The head mech, the short one up front who had greeted Beatdrop, cleared his vocals and I paid attention to him. "Most entertaining sir, and we thank you deeply for your interest, but this consulate must give you a no."

Shock filled my systems. I had received a no from the consulate. This would not help me with my meeting with Chaom. I was in such a shock that I didn't move until Zantor pulled me back. Without a word, I followed him, trying to figure out how I could convince Chaom of my usefulness.

"Marquis," The main mech up front called to me. I stopped and turned back to him. "we may have said no, but you will have your meeting with Chaom tonight at a local bar called Slapjack's." I nodded and was about to leave when the mech continued. "You are in luck though. General Pandimala just returned from a skirmish in Clariot Springs and will be with General Chaom tonight."

Nodding, I walked out of the room and quickly went outside. When I got outside though, my faceplate broke out in the largest of grins. While I had received a no from the consulate, I had received the best news ever.

"Don't even start Marquis." Zantor warned with a look.

...That was too late. "I can't wait for tonight! I'm going to finally meet General Pandimala! I can't wait!" I grinned so widely that anyone passing would think that I was an insane foreigner.

Zantor groaned at my outburst and said, "Just remember that you need to convince Chief General Chaom that you are going to be a benefit to him. Don't spend the entire meeting being a fan-mech to General Pandimala."

And he was right, of course, I had to show Chief General Chaom that I was going to be loyal to both him and the Dragonian cause. That wouldn't be helped if I was being a fan-mech to General Pandimala. "Very well," I said with a depressed sigh. "I will try as hard as I can to not be like that. But, it will be difficult." The two of us then went to our lodgings to make preparations for the meeting tonight.

Later That Night

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

"I dread this Chaom, Vox." I stated with a sigh as Chaom, Vox, and I sat in Slapjack's, waiting for these two mechs from Cybertron to come for their meeting with Chaom. "These preening foreigners here to play at war, with no understanding of that for which we fight. They only come for the claim to say they fought against the Iaconians and to battle. They want energon spilled, not freedom or equality." I then let out a sigh. "Many of our troops refuse to fight under them, and no wonder. They seek only glory, with no understanding of our cause."

Chaom nodded and said, "The consulate contacted me and said that they have given these two a no. Given what the consulate has given a yes to, which is pretty much anybot with a fragging title and some credits, these bots must really be the bottom of the heap."

Nodding at that, I picked up my cube of low grade and leaned back in my chair. Thankfully, I didn't have to come to many of these, since Chaom was my face mech. He had to go through all of the interviews and he would record them and send them to me so I would make the final decision. This was one of the few that I had been to. The last four that I had been to had all been turned down. Hopefully, this one would be different. I had just returned from a battle and I was in no mood for preening foreigners. Actually, I wasn't in the mood for anything against our cause or me. I had quite enough of that earlier from our own troops.

Flashback

I sighed as I walked through the camp. While I was officially the Chief General of the army, only a trusted few knew of this. To everyone else, I was simply a general. But, being a general still gave me a strong sense when around others and, as I walked, I noticed that everyone seemed to snap to attention, or scowl and walk away, depending on who they were. While most bots from most states were glad that I was a general, and that Chaom was in charge, some did not like to be commanded by a femme, and a youngling at that.

"Move, move, move!"

I turned around at the sound of a youngling younger than myself yelping before I frowned. Two younglings that I had met a few solar cycles ago were running in my direction with three adult bots following behind them. The three adults did not look to happy with Flarewing, a red, yellow, and orange seeker mech, and Shutterfrost, a dark blue and blue-white car mech, and the two younglings seemed to not want to be near them.

The two of them seemed to not look where they are going because, within a few nano-clicks, they crashed into me and, while I stayed standing, they fell to the ground and the three adults stopped in their tracks. Now that they were closer, I recognized the three bots. The silver and purple boat femme was called Silverslate, the red and neon yellow truck mech was called Shortwave, and the black and blue car mech was called Stryker.

Stryker and I had a stare-off for a moment and I was not backing down. I had to affirm my authority with the adults and this was a perfect opportunity, though I would be talking with Flarewing and Shutterfrost about antagonizing the adults. The two soon hid behind me.

"Look at her," Stryker started, "the youngling femme general from Coldice. Every bot knows nothing good ever came from there."

There were many things that I would take from others, but this was not something I would let pass. So, I stormed up to him, his other two companions retreating, and gripped him just underneath his shoulder armor before lifting him into the air and glaring straight into his optics. "I hope you are as good at fighting Iaconian soldiers as you are chasing young ones." I growled before throwing the mech to the ground. I then turned and looked at the two younglings before smiling and saying, "As for you two, come with me." They nodded slowly and followed me as I walked away to make plans for our first attack.

End of Flashback

When the door suddenly opened, I glanced up and raised an optic ridge when I saw a red and brown jet mech and a dark blue mech with yellow shoulders. From how they looked, they were the two mechs that the consulate said were coming. Zantor and Marquis. Zantor looked like he could be a good major general or even a lieutenant general. But, I didn't see much more for him on the ranks.

The other mech, however, was peeking my interest greatly. This 'Marquis' had an air about him that seemed very familiar to me. It was filled with hope and excitement. There was something about him that gave me hope that this was all going to turn out alright. But, I would see with this interview. I knew that Marquis would be too focused on Chaom to notice me observing him.

When the two of them walked up, Chaom, Vox, and I stood to greet them. To my surprise, the one called Marquis seemed to be staring at me in some sort of awe before Zantor elbowed him and he looked to Chaom. "Chief General, it is an honor to meet you."

"The honor is mine Marquis. Thank you for coming so far to join our cause." Chaom responded like he should. The five of us then sat down around the table.

Marquis' 1st P.O.V.

Scrap! I had already almost messed this up. When I had come up, I had been so in my thoughts about finally seeing Pandimala in the bot that it was only because Zantor elbowed me that I remembered to greet Chaom first. But, it was so hard. Here, right next to me, was my idol...my hero. It was hard to focus on Chaom.

"Allow me to introduce two of my aide-de-camps;" Chaom started. "General Pandimala, and General Vox." He motioned to Pandimala and the dark blue and dark gold car mech, who I was assuming was Vox.

I smiled and bowed my helm slightly slightly before saying, "I am Marquis and this is my friend Zantor."

When Chaom brought his servos together, I watched. He seemed to be somewhat taken aback, and I wasn't sure why. I figured that this meeting would be like an interview. But, so far, we had just gone through the introductions and Chaom seemed to be off. What did I do?

I grew even more curious when Chaom gave a quick nod before saying, "I must apologize sir. I'm afraid you'll find our troops greatly inferior to those of your own country."

"General please," I started. He had gotten me all wrong. "I am here to learn, not to preach. And in many ways, I feel like this is my country. The happiness of all children of Primus is deeply bound up with the happiness of Dragonians." I then paused before smiling. "I bring to you my sincerity and my good will, no ambition or selfish interest. It is my deepest hope that this planet will become a cherished and safe asylum of virtue, of tolerance, and of peaceful liberty."

When Chaom, Vox, and even Zantor looked shocked at my statement, I was okay with that. But, when General Pandimala simply smiled, I had a feeling that something was off with this whole thing. When I had first arrived, I had seen something was up between Pandimala, Chaom, and Vox and now I was even more sure of it.

"Marquis, please continue." Chaom stated after a moment of staring.

But, I decided to take a chance. "No thank you Chaom. Not until the real Chief General makes themselves known." I stated with a smirk before leaning back in my chair and putting on a neutral look.

It was so hard to though. Zantor looked like he was going to have a spark attack and Vox and Chaom looked like they were going to have a panic attack. But, it was the reaction of Pandimala that kept me smirking like an idiot. That reaction? Well...

She was smirking right back at me.

"Marquis," Zantor started to whisper, "what are you,"

"I am impressed Marquis." Pandimala interrupted Zantor with a smile. "You are the first to ever join the Dragonian forces, who did not already know, to discover that Chaom is not the real Chief General. Tell me, what gave him away?"

I smiled at her in relief and excitement, relief that I was right and excitement knowing that I was to hold a conversation with Pandimala. "Chaom seemed to hesitate after I greeted him and introduced both myself and Zantor to him, like he was communicating with somebot else. Also, he reacted too strongly to my proclamation about why I am here, which is completely true of course." I then smiled. "Chief General Pandimala, I must say that it is the greatest pleasure of my existence to finally be able to meet you."

While the look of shock on Zantor's faceplate grew and the looks of panic on Vox's and Chaom's faceplates grew, Pandimala's grin grew wider. "The pleasure is mine, my dear Marquis. Now, please tell me how you came to be on Dragonia and looking to become an officer in my army."

Smiling back at her, I started to retell my tale of how I came to hear of the Dragonian cause and how I escaped from Vos to come here and join up with her and the Dragonian army.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

"And I sneaked out of Vos modified as a femme!" Marquis stated to me with a smile.

Though I tried to, I could not hold back the laughter that was caused by that last bit. I could just imagine Marquis disguised like a femme and it was hilarious. This mech had done so much just to come and help us fight our fight, risking all that he owned and held dear to himself just to help our revolution. Plus, like Vox and Chaom, when I was around Marquis, I felt like I was around family, like Marquis was a brother. I felt like I could relax and be myself around him, nothing to hide.

Calming down from my laughing, I motioned to Marquis and said, "You must tell me more my dear Marquis."

He smiled a giant smile at me and continued to talk. As I listened to him, I could not stop the feeling that I was feeling from taking me over, and I didn't mind. This Marquis was going to be great. I was now even more grateful that the consulate did not have the power to turn away bots coming to help, that it was my job...Chaom's by default, to sift through the recruits for officers.

Once, I would have said that I could tell what a bot was like when I first laid optics on them. This time, though, I was ready to admit that I did not always know. Marquis, I had known that he was letting off an air of hope, but I never suspected that it was this far deep in his programming. The mech was filled to the brim with optimism for our victory and hope for our tomorrows.

When he finished, I knew what I had to do. "Marquis, Zantor; I am most pleased by this meeting with the both of you. Now, you are waiting to see what our final decision is?"

"Cyber-kitty went bye-bye?" Chaom stated groggily as he woke up. I couldn't stop myself from smirking at that. Everyone besides myself and Marquis had fallen asleep during Marquis' recounting what I wanted him to.

Laughing slightly, I said, "No Chaom, there is no cyber-kitty here, but I am about to give Zantor and Marquis here my final verdict."

That got them all real serious real fast. Since Marquis and I had been the only ones to stay awake the entire time, they had no idea what my true reaction was to Marquis. "On the matter of accepting Zantor and Marquis into the Dragonian army as officers, what is your decision?" Vox asked me. I had no doubt that he was recording this for later use, a habit he had picked up from his ex-surveillance solar cycles with the Iaconian army, which was where the two of us had met.

But, back to Marquis and Zantor. "Zantor, I hereby give you the rank of lieutenant general in the Dragonian army. You will meet up with General Scallion at his camp in Bighton Forest tomorrow mid-solar cycle." Zantor smiled at that and nodded his thanks. From the relieved look on his faceplates, I was guessing that he had assumed I would turn him down because the consulate gave him a no. I then turned to Marquis, the mech that, while only knowing him for a few cycles, I had already created a sort of friendship bond. "Marquis, I hereby give you the rank of general in the Dragonian army. You are to join Chaom and myself when we go to our base at Sandstone Canyon tomorrow in the early cycles."

I smiled when Marquis practically beamed with gratitude. He was the kind of bot that I was grateful to have in my army. But, I still had to test him. If he could not lead troops in battle efficiently, then he would be useless as a general, no matter how much I thought he deserved the post.

Sandstone Canyon-Marquis' 1st P.O.V.

I was so excited to be a part of the Dragonian army. Not only was I a general, but I had met General Pandimala and learned that she was actually the Chief General, though it was a big secret and I took an oath not to ever say it out loud, in a message, or any of the other sorts of communication.

After adjusting how I was seated, I turned to Pandimala and said, "I am ready."

Pandimala, though, let out a chuckle before saying, "Patience my dear Marquis. As dear as I hold you, you must prove yourself in the field before I give you bots to command."

Despair went through my systems at that. I wanted to help so bad but I couldn't do that yet. "Forgive me Pandimala, but then how can I serve our cause?"

She smiled and put her servos on my shoulders before saying, "My friend, I'm certain opportunities will present themselves."

I nodded and stood before walking to sit on a rock outcrop against the side of the canyon with my lunch. Unfortunately, rations were the lowest low-grade that was possible, due to supplies being short, and I knew that I was not the only one to not like having to have it all the time. But, I had a learned a special trick back home to allow me to drink my low grade like it was the best grade I had ever had.

The feeling of someone staring at me caused me to glance to the side and I saw two bots quickly look away. One was a forest green and orange jet mech named Forest Dash, and the other was a red and neon blue car femme named Nightingale. They didn't look too happy and I figured that it was about the low grade that was our meal. And, with the way that they quickly turned away from me, I also figured that they were talking about me. Of course, I could also bet about what. I had heard the name that people called me when they thought I couldn't hear. 'General Pandimala's little Vosnian pet'. That was the name that they said in connection to me.

Deciding to go and try and cheer the two bots up, I stood up and walked over. They, of course, had a look of shock appear on their faceplates before they started to drink their low-grade like they were not just staring at me. "Bottoms up my good bots." I said in a cheery voice before taking a swig of the low grade. Smiling once it was down, I said, "This reminds me of most wonderful high grade mixed with platinum flakes I have ever had." I then took a gulp before saying, "And it reminds me of the most beautifully played Flanelian Pipe I have ever heard, sheer heaven!" I then took a quick drink of the low grade before motioning to Nightingale's energon. "Nightingale, Forest Dash; what do you have there?" They both looked down at their cubes and frowned. "I dreaded drinking this energon, until I imagined it was my favorite energon." Smiling, I then asked, "What is your favorite energon?"

The two looked a little confused before Nightingale finally said, "Well, my brother makes the best high grade with rust sticks."

Nodding and smiling, I said, "Then take a drink my friend, and think of your dear brother."

She nodded and took a drink before smiling and taking more. Soon, Forest Dash was doing the same. Feeling accomplished, I walked back to the rock I was sitting on. When I sat down, I glanced over at Pandimala and she smiled while giving me a short nod of approval. Feeling accomplished, I continued with my cube until it was empty. While it had not tasted the best, it was definitely still drinkable.

Our respite didn't last long though, as Zarron, one of Pandimala's top scouts, ran into the camp at top speed. Something had to be up and I knew that I needed to hear. So, I quickly got up and ran to Pandimala's table that she was sitting at. I arrived at the same time Zarron did.

"Pandimala, we have trouble." Zarron started while trying to calm his intakes.

Standing up, Pandimala asked, "What's wrong Zarron?"

It took Zarron a few nano-clicks to catch his intakes before he said, "Iaconian soldiers heading this way. They must be planning on taking Scale Heights."

I watched Pandimala took this information in. After a click of silence, she turned to me and said, "Prepare the troops for battle. I must contact the consulate and Chaom and tell them to evacuate just in case we cannot keep the Iaconians back."

Chaom had left Sandstone Canyon the previous night to meet with the consulate about Iaconian movements. But, they had not thought that they Iaconians would try to take Scale Heights. This was news that Chaom and the consulate needed to hear. "I'll get right on it." I stated before sending out a call to our troops to prepare for battle.

A Cycle Later

Blaster fire flew all around me as I navigated the field. The fight with the Iaconians was not fairing well so far. Our troops were very inexperienced and were barely holding their own. I was on the outer right flank of our troops and I was holding them together as best as I could. But, I knew that I could not waiver in my watch or they would panic. If they did that, then the Iaconians would decimate them.

"Marquis, sound for a retreat. The Iaconians have our troops outnumbered.-Pandimala"

I hated to retreat. If we retreated here, that could only mean one thing. "But Pandimala, Scale Heights will be lost. The moral of our troops will be impacted.-Marquis."

I dodged a blaster shot aimed at my helm before I got a message back. "I know. But, the city is of now strategic value. Chaom and the consulate, along with the citizens who have chosen too, have fled to Pith. We must keep the army intact to fight another solar cycle.-Pandimala"

"Affirmative.-Marquis" I responded before turning back to my troops. We needed to keep our soldiers alive to fight again. So, I yelled out the order. "Right flank retreat!"

I stayed with the front line and provided cover fire while the rest of the troops of our flank retreated. Thankfully, these troops were not facing heavy fire or they would be in more trouble than the normally would be. If they had panicked, than many more would have fallen.

Once the last of my flank retreated, I motioned to the line I was with to retreat and was about to join them when I noticed something was off about the middle platoon of soldiers. They were starting to panic. Their lead, Brigadier General Hollow Point, had been offlined and now her troops were in a panic. I knew what I had to do.

Transforming into my vehicle mode, I sped across the battlefield until I arrived in front of the troops. Once there, I transformed back into my basic mode before turning to the troops and saying, "About face bots! Retreat calmly!" None of the troops were responding to my orders. They were in a panicked flurry of processor and I knew that I had to get them to calm down. Running closer to them, I stopped before I yelled, "Retreat calmly!"

And I immediately flinched when a blaster shot whizzed past my helm, barely missing me. "Whoa!" I called out in shock before I had to dodge a flurry of shots that were fired near me, each one a close miss. Finding inspiration from all of the misses, I turned to the troops. "Look!" They stopped and looked at me as I said, "The Iaconians cannot hit the broad side of a star ship!" Instead of being inspired by that, like I had hoped that they would, they turned and ran some more. I had to maintain order or they would all be killed. But how?

To my surprise, the familiar forms of Nightingale and Forest Dash ran next to me and I reached out and grabbed them before turning them to me and saying, "If we panic we are lost! Help me maintain order. I am counting on you!"

The two of them looked at each other before nodding and so the three of us made our way around to the troops who were running and finally formed a line to cover the retreat. That could not have gone any better. The troops were finally starting to listen and were holding off the Iaconians while the rest of the troops from the middle retreated. Once they were out of harms way, I motioned to the remaining troops to retreat. "Courage friends!" I yelled out. "We will have our day next time! To fight, to win! Freedom! Freedom!" I was the last one to the safety area but, just as I was almost to safety, I cried out in pain as a blaster shot slammed into the back of my lower right leg and ripped a hole in it. The force of the blast forced me to tumble over a hill and the last thing I saw was black before I went unconscious.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

Where was he? I had been looking around the wounded for half a cycle and I had yet to find Marquis. The last time I had seen him, he had been helping the troops at our center retreat since Hollow Point, Primus rest her spark, had offlined during the battle and the troops had started to panic. He had definitely proved he could lead the troops. Now, I just had to find my dear friend. I had looked around almost everywhere around where are wounded were being kept but I had yet to find him. Fear and worry about his condition were starting to creep into my helm.

"General Pandimala!"

I turned to the voice and saw that it was a black and blue car mech called Incisor, one of the colonels stationed here at Sandstone canyon. "Yes Incisor, what is it?" I asked him.

He ran up to me before saying, "I found him. I found General Marquis. You had best bring a medic."

My spark felt relief that Marquis had been found but worry found its way in there and my optics widened as Incisor said that I should bring a medic. What had happened to my friend? "Balm! With me now!" I yelled to my personal medic and dear friend before turning to Incisor. "Lead us to him now!" I ordered.

He nodded and Balm and I followed him until we ended up not far from the battle field and through a crevice until I saw Marquis leaning against the back wall of the crevice. He had multiple dents that probably were caused by the fall he took to end up down here, his communicator looked trashed, which explained why he had not received any of my inquiries about his location, and, the most notable wound was a large hole in his lower right leg.

"Marquis!" I yelled as I raced up to him, while Balm was gathering her medical equipment, and knelt to the ground next to him.

He smiled right back at me, though the pain was obvious in his faceplate, before he said, "It appears the Iaconians have welcomed me to Dragonia with a blaster shot through the leg." He then winced from the pain.

I could feel the worry flow through my systems as I said, "Balm will look at it immediately."

"Perhaps later Pandimala." Marquis refuted, much to my surprise. He then winced before continuing. "The troops,"

"The troops are fine." I said with a calming gesture to Marquis. When he groaned and almost fell forward, I caught him and helped him lean back against the wall before saying, "The army will survive to fight another solar cycle." When Marquis let out a groan of pain and briefly offlined his optics, I put a servo on his shoulder and said, "Don't move. Balm!"

Balm ran over to me and knelt down next to Marquis' injured leg before she started the repairs. Turning back to Marquis, I said, "This is Balm, my personal medic. She will take care of you." Then, to Balm, I said, "Treat him like you would my family."

I then turned back to Marquis and smiled when I saw that he was smiling at me, through the winces of pain that his leg was giving him. I knew that this battle had forged a bond between us and I doubted that any force in the universe could take that bond away. We were family now, and, like a brother, I would protect him with my spark.

Authoress: Hand it over Pandimala. *holds out empty bag*

Pandimala: *groans and puts fifty credits in bag* I admit it. Marquis is awesome.

Marquis: Why thank you femmes. I didn't know you thought so highly of me.

Authoress: I love him.

Marquis: Does this mean you won't torture me like you do everyone else? Please?

Authoress: Well...

Marquis: *hopeful look*

Authoress:...no. I have to have fun with you. It is too good to pass up. =)

Pandimala: *puts arm around Marquis' shoulders* Don't worry Marquis. You'll get used to it. Just look at me. I'm still alive.

Vox: Barely.

Pandimala: *frowns*

Authoress: Go Vox!

AN: And here is another chapter of the Revolution! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Marquis is the bot that I am going to be mainly focusing on during this, as well as Pandimala, and he will be the main character in a story that is going to follow this. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to give me a holler. Until then, please drop a review, even to say hi! =D