First of His Name

by peteynorth

NOT a cross-over, but a retelling of the Transformers story set in a more Game of Thrones styled society, where your station in life is dictated by the hot spot that spawned you. The lives of a disgruntled miner from Tarn, a belligerent gladiator from Simfur, ambitious royals, a newborn foundling, and many others interweave to give rise to the worlds and the war we all know.

10. Chapter 10

Rabattus Decimus

The transport had been cutting through the clouds for hours, but he could feel it finally descending. Rabattus had been staring at the crate on the floor up near the front of the passenger section of the delta wing premier luxury cruiser that he was currently being transported in. It was furnished exactly as one would expect a royal transport to be furnished, one loaned to him for this endeavor by House Honorum from their personal fleet. A couch actually had to be collapsed into the floor to make room for the crate near the door, but it was accomplished with minimal effort…by the pilot. Frankly, aside from waiting one minute for the task to be completed and another for the crate to be loaded, the actual alterations and preparation had no impact on Rabattus whatsoever. This task however, would likely cost him a day of his time, perhaps more should things go badly…or if they went very well.

And it wasn't truly a cost, it was an investment, the darkly colored royal thought to himself with a smile. So he had to travel to the polar shithole of Polarus, so what? It would ingratiate him into all sides; cement his position as every party's go-between, a position that would offer him a tremendous amount of power and influence. There were risks, no question about that, but if successful, the reward would be beyond measure. "Lord Decimus, we've been target locked." Ughn, speaking of the risks.

"Of course we have, it's a warning, nothing more." Rabattus instructed his pilot through the intercom. "Hail them, follow their instructions, do nothing to antagonize them. They were informed we'd be coming, they'll be unreceptive to say the least, but their hostility will be confined to words and gestures; we won't be harmed."

"Yes sir." The pilot replied. "I've informed them that we'll be arriving at the main Tyger Pax landing pad in a few minutes, I've gotten no response."

"Then just land." Rabattus smiled. "As I said, unreceptive." He chuckled quietly, once again gazing toward the crate sitting near the door. A moment later he felt the shuttle gently rock as it touched down. Rabattus stood up and nodded as the pilot walked out of the cockpit and quickly made his way around the crate and opened the door for the royal, activating the retracted staircase before stepping out to assess the situation outside.

A moment later he reentered the shuttle, a look of apprehension on his face. "My lord, several vehicles are arriving, many mounted with weapons."

"The Pax's feel that an act of war has been committed against them." Rabattus replied calmly. "It's a show of force against a representative of the government they feel betrayed by. They cannot hope to win, and frankly, the majority of them probably have no true desire to fight, but are whipped up in a frenzy. Act calmly, do as you're told, and they will not hurt us." The dark royal delivered a fearsome smile as he walked past the pilot and down the ramp, making sure that the palms of his hands were clearly visible extended out at his sides. Eighteen vehicles sped over the tarmac, all of them armed with cannons mounted on them, and screeched to a halt a few dozen feet from his position, before transforming, the mounted canons now held in hands or on shoulders. "Greetings citizens of The Torus Heights. I am Rabattus of House Decimus and I come as a representative…"

"We know who you are." A well-built but slightly shorter than average dark blue robot growled, the plasma cannon now in his hand, not pointed at Rabattus, but clearly ready to be used. "Sentinel Prime's latest pet sycophant. We saw you whispering into his ear throughout that farce, leading up to the murder of our emir! A far greater Cybertronian than the members of Houses Decimus and Honorum combined!"

"Lord Pax, please, allow us." A slightly larger than average and worn red robot requested. "Ya' should be back within the walls a' Tyger Pax, where yer House's security forces can protect ya'."

"Don't worry Ironhide, there's nothing to fear, is there Lord Decimus?" The blue robot snarled at the visitor. "He's here to smooth over Sentinel's act of murder, to make peace; to try and get us to stay in line. He'll likely offer concessions or some other bribe, or maybe resort to implied or even overt threats, but he's not here to take any action. Sentinel isn't going to attack today, and the attack isn't going to be spearheaded by this cowardly fop."

"None the less, my lord, ya' should not be out here dealin' with this personally." Ironhide insisted. "Ya' need to be kept safe."

"Why?" The young Pax, who Rabattus assumed to be Roller based on appearance, obvious youth and the fact that he had not seen this member of House Pax before, snapped. "I'm not the Emir, I hold no position of importance, I'm as expendable as anyone else."

"No my lord, you're a Pax." Ironhide replied.

The young royal displayed a smile. "And that means what?" He stared intently at Ironhide. "Orion was right. Even Arlon was convinced Orion was right. Hell, has Orion ever been wrong? Ever? I'm no more important than any of you. Hell, I'm the least important person here, I should be protecting you!"

"Lord Roller Pax…" Rabattus finally chimed in, "I completely understand the pain and rage you must feel, the need for action, the need to do anything to honor your fallen kinsman and emir. But threatening and insulting me is not going to accomplish anything. In fact, it's going to stand in the way of progressing to any potential solution." Rabattaus took a step forward toward the enraged young royal, his movements slow, deliberate and completely unthreatening. "You're right about one thing, I am here to smooth things over between The Torus Heights and the rest of the planet."

"Yer gonna tell us that tha' rest of tha' planet stands by what Sentinel Prime did ta' Arlon Pax?" The one called Ironhide growled the sarcastic challenge.

Rabattus lowered his head, and presented his well-rehearsed slow nod and look of deep regret. "Sentinel Prime's action was rash…and most regrettable. I assure you, he recognizes that it was…" dramatic pause, look of uncertainty, suppress that knowing smirk pushing to be displayed, "well, he knows amends must be made." Another pause and a deep look into Roller Pax's optics. "I wish to speak to the members of House Pax, and any of the other great Houses of The Torus Heights. I understand that several of your vassals have come to show support and solidarity."

Roller studied Rabattus heatedly for several moments before finally replying. "Alright, follow us to the gates. Olnius Pax is acting as interim emir until we formally select a replacement for Arlon; you'll want to shovel whatever you plan to shovel his way. Frankly, you should be happy, he'll be far more receptive to whatever you have to say than most other Pax's." Roller turned and made as though he was about to transform.

"One moment, Roller Pax." Rabattus graciously called out, and waited for Roller to turn back and face him. "I came with something…something that House Pax would most definitely want returned to them." Rabattus shifted his head and directed his gaze up at the crate in the open doorway of the shuttle, the pilot standing next to it.

Roller followed his gaze and at locking his optics on the crate, a look of realization and anguish came over his young face. "Is..is that…"

"Yes." Rabattus answered. "There are retractable wheels built into the crate, so it can be hauled by one of your subjects."

"I will carry him." Roller shot back authoritatively, though no hint of malice in his voice. Only reverence and sadness. "I will bring him home."

The crate was lowered, Roller approached it alone, opened it and gazed within for over a minute before resealing it, nodding to Ironhide and transforming, allowing the constable to attached the crate to a hook on his rear portion. A couple of minutes later they were approaching the gates of the imposing Tyger Pax, where another party of dozens of vehicles was arriving ahead of them, a party led by a slowly flying aircraft that was too small to be a shuttle, but seemingly too large to be a Cybertronian. The rest were ground vehicles, speeding to keep up with their airborne leader. The other group reached the gates first, and they all transformed, the plane turning out to be the massive Lugnut of House Boltax. They turned to face the oncoming group from the airfield, who continued toward them undeterred, and in a few moments arrived before them and transformed as well. Roller marched straight up to the enormous noble. "Lugnut, I wasn't aware your shell mode had flight capabilities."

Lugnut nodded. "A fairly recent development, Lord Pax. A more discerning eye than the former House Boltax physicians had noted that my shell mode could accommodate an aerial mode, and it really didn't require much of an alteration from my previous battering tank mode. I won't be winning too many dogfights, but I can decimate Nova Cronum ground forces if it comes to that."

Roller Pax eyed the giant skeptically. "What are you saying, Lord Boltax?"

"House Boltax stands with Tyger Pax." Lugnut announced, and bowed his head. "I know our houses have had some conflicts over the vorns, and that you and I in particular had a difficult first meeting, but our loyalty is to The Torus Heights and its rightful rulers."

Roller continued his unconvinced gaze. "Would you still feel that way if I told you that House Pax stands with Orion Pax?"

"Lord Pax," Ironhide whispered just loud enough for Rabattus to hear, perhaps intentionally, "Olnius Pax has not said that to be the case."

"Perhaps, Ironhide, but Arlon Pax has." Roller replied for all to hear and firmly patted the crate resting behind him as punctuation. He looked back up at Lugnut. "You have expressed feelings of superiority over the common born. You have gotten into a fist fight with Orion. So should we demand safe treatment and complete amnesty for Orion Pax and his comrades, and should House Pax do as Arlon Pax intended and adopt the goals and aspirations of the Autobots, would your loyalty to Tyger Pax still exist?"

Lugnut stared down at the much smaller robot before finally responding. "I do not claim to be in agreement with the sentiments of Orion or those of his newfound affiliation, but I am honor-bound to serve House Pax faithfully, and while I do wander, to my core I am of The Torus Heights, and will fight all those that pose a threat to its borders. You may hear the occasional respectful disagreement from me within proper confines, but ultimately I will be loyal to your house." Lugnut turned and directed his lone optic, truly the only feature on his face, toward Rabattus. "He, most definitely, will not."

"My loyalty is to the planet." Rabattus replied. "I am here to direct my efforts so that what's best for Cybertron, and what's best for House Pax, are not mutually exclusive, Lord Boltax."

A low, deep chuckling came out of Lugnut. "You're kidding, right? Sentinel Prime got bitch-slapped on Cyber-feed and reacted by executing the most respected emir on the planet. What can you possibly do to fix that?"

"Try." Rabattus shrugged. "All I can do is try." They all turned to see the gates opening, and hundreds of armed soldiers looking as menacing as they could toward the one non-Torus Heightsian. Rabattus attempted a disarming smile "I come in peace."

"Of course you do." A voice called out from behind the center cluster of guards, who separated to allow the speaker, Olnius Pax, accompanied by Torenia Pax and the robust Stronghold Pax, to approach. All of the Pax's present, including the youth Roller, had the traditional U-shaped post-protoformal cranial shell crest shared by most Pax's. Even Arlon, with his non-humanoid robotic mode, still possessed this crest spreading over his bestial head. It was a testament to the purity of the Pax metallico pool that so few did not possess this trait. Most other high houses filled their pools with metallico scavenged from all over in an attempt to increase their numbers, but the drawback was the thinning out of traditional familial traits that linked them to their noble or even Knightly origins. Looking on the face of Lugnut Boltax, Shockwave or other faces that bore no resemblance to their ancestors told that story all too well. The only Pax that immediately sprung to Rabattus's mind that lacked this trait was Orion, and as he was not truly a Pax; it would have been odder had he had the trait. Olnius was tall and slender, standing twenty two feet in height. The few times Rabattus had met him prior he had always had a grin etched across his face; this was the first time he had seen the royal with a scowl. "Why are you here, Decimus?"

"Firstly, to return what is rightfully yours." He waved over the crate next to Roller. The beautiful Torenia gasped and covered her mouth at seeing it, and then immediately ran to it.

"I must see him." She cried. "I have to make sure it's him!"

"It's him, Torenia." Roller assured as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "All of him. He's finally home."

"I suppose we should thank you." Olnius muttered as he stood before Rabattus. "Though I fear our house is not in a frame of mind to be grateful to those loyal to Sentinel Prime at this time. Perhaps you should just skip to the other reason or reasons you are here."

Rabattus nodded and bowed his head slightly. "I am here to do whatever is necessary to best serve the realm."

Olnius cocked his optic-brow. "Best serve the realm?"

"It is my function." Rabattus replied. "I am to ensure peace, by any reasonable means necessary. What can be offered to ease the pain of your loss and to reestablish security to your emirate and House?"

"There's the offer of concession." Roller grumbled as he walked past Rabattus and stood next to the other Pax's present.

Rabattus gave a sheepish grin, silently suppressing his annoyance with the youth. A youth who probably considered himself so clever for guessing at the role Rabattus was playing there, but who truly had no more insight into his true motives than any of these other fools.

"Lord Decimus, we want nothing from Nova Cronum or anyone allied with them." Stronghold Pax snarled, his massive shoulders, arms and chest giving the impression of being on the cusp of bearing down on the foreign royal. "Frankly, any offer would be an insul…"

"Amnesty for Orion!" Torenia blurted out.

"Now hold on!" Olnius interrupted. "We are not going to be discussing any more of this out here."

"Wait," Roller shot out, "I agree that the bulk of discussions should be hammered out behind closed doors, but for discussions to even commence, we need to establish that Orion will be safe."

"You're out of line, young one." Olnius scolded, but noted that the other two Pax's present appeared to be of the same opinion as Roller. Appearing as an act to appease his kin, the interim emir looked to Rabattus.

Rabattus returned the look with one of defeat. "I fear that on that point, Sentinel Prime is intransigent. He will concede to almost any other demand, but Orion is to be captured, tried and if found guilty in a Nova Cronum courtroom, executed."

"Then this discussion is over." Torenia growled. "I bid you a safe journey back to your master, Lord Decimus. Please tell him we are busy making any and all necessary preparations."

"Please, don't do this." Rabattus pleaded, by all appearances his sincerity genuine. "I was told by…well, you can guess, I was told to inform you that House Pax is perhaps the most beloved and revered House amongst the common people of Cybertron. And I was told to remind you that at one time, so was House Convoy. Please, make it so that the fates of your houses are not the same."

"And there's the threat." Roller grumbled.

"Come in." Olnius bade the visitor. "We will discuss things, we truly wish to avoid war, but what was done to us…it cannot stand."

Rabattus nodded, subduing his smile with ease. "Of course it cannot." He followed them in.

Reptilion

"I recognize that your visions are growing more and more insistent, Mindwipe," Reptilion growled at the screen, "but you need to recognize that doing the impossible, subverting the natural order, playing Primus…or The Hand if that makes it easier to understand for your tiny southern brain; however you wish to classify what I'm doing here, and believe me, none of those classifications can be considered an exaggeration in the slightest, you need to accept that it all takes a tremendous amount of time. This is no secret, no mystery. I've done in mere years what should take centuries, and you're crying about having to wait another decade or two?"

"You don't have to hear them. To feel them." Mindwipe's voice snarled back through the screen. "If you did, you'd finish! You'd find a way!"

"Lower your voice." Reptilion admonished. "You don't want your fellow Wardens hearing this conversation, do you?"

"Up yours, Reptilion!" Mindwipe whispered harshly.

"I have nothing more to say…" Reptilion noted the proximity sensors alarm alight, and switched it silent before it could create an audible alert, "and I have other matters to attend to. Best of luck my friend, and I will let you know of any updates that I have." He switched off the communications channel, swiveled his seat around, rose to his feet and walked toward the front entrance of his facility. The craft had only just breached his outermost sensors. He had several minutes before they would be at his door.

He remotely accessed his sensor equipment and studied up on the craft approaching him. He was a little surprised at seeing that it was a standard freight shuttle, and not some high-end luxury model. After all, it had been no less than Shockwave of House Torrent that had contacted him, whoever was coming was likely upper class. Of course, in light of recent events, it was best to maintain an extremely low profile when entering The Torus Heights, he supposed. The energon in Arlon Pax's corpse was probably still warm…well, probably not, but as far as exaggerations went, it was more fair than most. Common freight haulers came in and out of the northernmost emirate frequently, nobles and royals in their private shuttles were a bit less common, and far more worthy of notice.

Within minutes he could see the two robots that had exited the craft approaching his front door. They were big, both of them. The silver appeared to be about twenty-four feet in height, and the blue was just a bit shorter, and both broad. As they got to within a hundred yards of the facility he recognized the blue one, Soundwave. Hmmm, made sense. Another member of House Torrent, but who was the silver brute? He'd be finding out momentarily as they finally reached his door. He opened it before they had an opportunity to press the sensor. "I'm not a fan of visitors, but Shockwave has always impressed me, and unlike other intellectuals, has had the courtesy to leave me the hell alone unless it truly is worthwhile. So come in, but be ready to get to the point. Despite what you may think, I truly am busy here."

Soundwave nodded and the silver one smiled. "Sounds fair, we'll cut to the chase." The silver one replied, he was even more intimidating up close. His frame was…perfection. Reptilion couldn't help but stare intently at the perfectly formed, perfectly shaped frame. It was ideal for raw physical power, lightening speed, and looked to be able to withstand damn near anything. The newcomer waited until Reptilion's evaluation seemed to be finished and their optics locked once again. He apparently was accustomed to being admired. "We've heard that you're brilliant, resourceful, discreet, reliable, open to taking on new projects, and perhaps most importantly, devoid of…ethical limitations."

Reptilion smiled. "You heard right. Come in." The scientist stepped away from the door and allowed the two visitors into the building. He gave them a tour of the facility, but made sure to keep them away from any work related to his true calling; his true destiny. "As you noted, I am discreet, but I need to know who I'm working for." Reptilion nodded to Soundwave. "I recognize him, who are you?"

"My name is Megatron of Tarn."

"Never heard of you." The scientist led them into a secondary lab with impressive work on display, though not his most impressive work.

"I'd rather not have been heard of in most circles, so I suppose that's good to hear." Megatron replied.

"Well, don't be too warmed by the news either." Reptilion shot back. "I'm a bit of a shut-in, so it doesn't mean much." He rounded a table and stood on the other side of it from the visitors. "What is it that I can do for you?"

"We've been tasked with…" Megatron smiled, "causing mayhem. High casualty, heavy destruction, by means untraceable, or rather, traceable to another party."

"Ahh, you are some devious bastards, aren't you?" Reptilion chuckled. "I'm intrigued, hell, I'm excited, but I'm not cheap."

"We're not poor." Megatron replied with a grin.

Reptilion glanced over at Soundwave and nodded. "No, of course you're not." He then looked back at Megatron. "Anything specific in mind?"

"Well," Megatron considered, "creative, but ultimately something that a ragtag group of commoner dissidents would be capable of. Granted, a fairly well organized group of dissidents with at least one top tier scientist in their ranks,"

"Two." Soundwave interrupted. He noted a questioning look from Megatron and elaborated. "Wheeljack. Engineer, originally from Kaon, graduated top of his class at Ultirex Technoversity, offered employment at Castle Macht but fell off the grid after declining the offer. His work while at the Technoversity was…most impressive, even Shockwave has expressed admiration of his work. As a mechanical engineer he would have few peers, and he was with Orion Pax while freeing the Autobot prisoners."

Megatron nodded and turned back to Reptilion. "Make that two top tier scientists in their ranks. In fact, I suppose given the reputation of Perceptor, there's really no limit to how creative or destructive you want to be."

A knowing grin came over the scientist and he looked directly at Soundwave. "So you wish to turn public perception against the Autobots and their new poster boy."

"Is this a problem?" Soundwave asked. "We were assured that you being of The Torus Heights or being common born would not pose an issue."

"Ha!" Reptilion belted out. "Of course it won't be a problem. I have no loyalty to the Pax's, and as for me being a commoner, I couldn't care less about the Autobots. Just don't go expecting me to bow down and m'lord you every time you walk into my facility."

Megatron smiled at Soundwave. "I like him."

"Give me a few days to think about this. While I don't give two shits about honoring the Pax's, I do have to worry about avoiding their detection." Reptilion replied. "It should also give me a bit of time to run through some ideas for you."

"Of course." Megatron replied. "We'll leave you to it then. Thank you for your time."

Reptilion escorted them out, and after watching their craft ascend into the sky, he walked back into his facility and headed directly to his main lab. It contained only three activated batch tubes at the moment, but they were progressing with exceptional promise; these first three clones, the first of his swarm. His brilliance at manipulating sentio metallico, spark radiation and donated CNA, as well as other factors was finally paying off. The theories weren't technically original, but ancient databases that he had derived the ideas from were so decayed and…alien, that they offered him little more than just the spark of the idea. The research, the work, the achievements; they were for all intents and purposes his. Though his work was still only in the initial stages, in time his dream of unleashing wholesale death upon the planet would be realized. And until that point, he could help Soundwave and this Megatron in their quest to unleash incremental death a few hundred sparks at a time.

Ultra Magnus

"I am Delta Magnus, Emir of the Tagan Heights, I've traveled non-stop from Citidel Magnus and I demand an audience with Sentinel Prime." Ultra Magnus watched through the open door of the cockpit as his older kinsman, who was seated next to the pilot, announced their intentions into the speaker on the control panel. "I will be happy to verify any authentication code or submit to any security screening, but I will not be kept waiting!"

It was good to see Delta directing his righteous indignation in the correct direction for once, and not in the service of his mad red witch, a red witch who was seated across from Ultra in the passenger section. A red witch who was staring intently at Ultra with a slight smile on her long attractive face. Ultra Magnus turned and met her gaze, causing her smile to widen slightly. "You are pleased by your Emir's decision to confront Sentinel Prime."

Ultra nodded. "Of course I am. Sentinel Prime's abuse of power is a travesty that possessed no justification from a legal or ethical basis. He broke the law, not for the first time, and if unchecked, not for the last. It is our obligation, as Magnus's, to stand for the law. This is what the Emir of the Tagan Heights is meant to do."

The Mistress of Flame's smile broadened even further. "But Delta Magnus is meant to be more than just the Emir of the Tagan Heights."

"Enough." Ultra interrupted. "I may agree that Delta Magnus would make an excellent Prime; hell, I do agree. But first he needs to prove himself as an emir. He should not be considered above that role until he proves himself worthy of that role."

"Your thinking is so standard, so middling. Adequate for all but a tiny few situations." The Mistress nodded to Ultra Magnus. "The destiny of Delta Magnus is not for your middling considerations. He is exceptional, as is his fate. What you insist he do may be what's appropriate for a typical emir, but it will likely endanger the Devourer of The Devourer."

"Bah, I'm done with your nonsensical mysticism." Ultra waved his hand. "We have real problems in the real world. Our Prime is proving to be a tyrant, and Delta Magnus is one of the few on the planet capable of reeling him in, or if need be, taking him down."

"Your prodding may push him into sharing a fate with Arlon Pax." The Mistress of Flame replied as the shuttle gently rocked on touching down on the tarmac.

"Perhaps, but that's the downside of courage." Ultra Magnus replied with a smile of his own as he stood up and prepared to disembark. "He wouldn't make much of a chosen one without it, but having it might get him killed. It's all a trade-off, Mistress."

"I hope you two are getting along." Delta Magnus said with an arched optic-brow to the two of them as he walked out of the cockpit and prepared to exit through the now-opening door. The three were soon marching across the tarmac of Guardian Spaceport in central Cybertropolis, the busy grounds crew hustling about their tasks but sending respectful bows as the newcomers passed. Other travelers were scurrying about, and the three soon caught sight of a group wearing the garb, medallions and other trappings indicative of Vicars of The Hand, the highest echelon of religious leadership in the Faith of The Hand. Icy glares were exchanged between the group and the Mistress of Flame; Ultra Magnus had little doubt these holy men bore little or no animosity toward practitioners of the more mainstream and moderate faiths that worshipped Primus, but the Temple of Flame that the Mistress represented was renowned for its vehement refusal to respect the right of other religions to exist, even other sects of Primus worshippers.

The silent stare-down between the religious representatives was short lived as they continued marching toward the capital spires just a couple miles from the spaceport. Ultra Magnus recognized another group heading toward the spires, a ragtag assemblage of nomads the young Magnus recognized to be of the now defunct House Kozminius. Legend…or history, given the age of events the two frequently blend into one another, but according to both legend and history a handful of Nyonian noble houses were obliterated by Saurus Onyx prior to and shortly after the start of his initial rebellion. House Kozminius was one such house, scattered throughout the other emirates, occasionally finding sanctuary but never finding a home, and having a sickly protoform or two sent to them in crates by a laughing House Onyx after each Vectoral Pulse. Ultra Magnus glanced over at his kinsman, specifically to a crest in his cranial shell, one possessed by the both of them but that wasn't a traditional trait of House Magnus. According to the elders of House Magnus, there was an ancient House where the crest was a common trait, one that like the Kozminius's was destroyed by Deathsaurus, though not a Nyonian House. The lands of this House straddled the borders of Tyrest and the Tagan Heights, and required the Nyonian warlord to leave his borders to wipe out…and that's exactly what he did. As tragic as the story of House Kozminius was, at least they still existed. At least their ancestral pool wasn't befouled and obliterated; at least their house lived on through survivors and new protoforms. Oh, there were reported survivors of House Convoy, even tales of rescued sentio metallico and even a protoform, but nothing of substance ever emerged of those tales. There had been records of surviving Convoys, but they seemed to have vanished millions of years ago, and nothing on record to support the tales of spirited protoforms or metallico; though given the non-Magnus crests he and his kinsman shared, perhaps some of it had been added to their pit. Magnus chuckled at the thought, quickly realizing that crests like his were not unique to House Convoy, and that any perceived lineage to what many considered the greatest high house in Cybertron's history was the stuff of commoner daydreams.

Ultra Magnus noticed that the Kozminius's grew excited by something they saw ahead, and he directed his gaze forward as well. "Good, word of our arrival did get through to him." Delta exclaimed just as Ultra caught site of a large delegation approaching them with the powerful Sentinel Prime at the center of it. To the rest of Cybertron, Sentinel Prime was a hulking giant. To Delta and Ultra Magnus, he was simply less small than the rest of the population.

"Emir and Lord Magnus, welcome to Cybertropolis!" Sentinel Prime announced loudly and amicably to them from a hundred yards out, stretching his arms out wide and shattering the hopes of the Kozminius's that he was there to meet with them. "And who is this with you?"

Delta Magnus smiled and they all bowed as they continued walking to cut the distance to the Prime. "This is the Mistress of Flame, High Acolyte of the true faith."

They finally reached one another, the thirty foot Mistress smiling down on the twenty-six foot Prime. "It is a pleasure to meet you, your grace."

Prime smiled back up at her. "The pleasure is mine, Mistress." He then waved them back to a large ground transport parked on the outskirts of the spaceport. "I normally prefer to transform and travel on my own steam, but I feel that after a long journey you should be permitted to travel in a little comfort. Plus, I'm not entirely sure that the Mistress of Flame transforms into something capable of travel."

"That is most considerate, your grace." Delta Magnus replied, and a few moments later they were all seated within the large transport.

"This will take us directly to the capital spires." Sentinel smiled at them from the other side of the walkway. "Truth be told, Prowl insisted that I use this transport as opposed to traveling myself. He fears that between possible Torus Heights loyalists and commoners sympathetic to the Autobots, attempts may be made against my life. I say let the attempts come, but the idea of living with a worried and agitated Prowl hovering around is more annoyance than I care to deal with, so here we are my friends."

Ultra Magnus turned and looked intently at Delta, who did not meet his gaze, but undoubtedly felt it. "Your grace, we are friends, and it is the duty of friends to let each other know when they feel the other is…wrong."

Sentinel Prime stared at Delta Magnus for several seconds before replying. "You disapprove of my handling of the Arlon Pax situation."

"That…well your grace, that would be an understatement." Delta replied.

Sentinel continued his stare for another few seconds, but nodded slowly and smiled again, a smile that possessed far less comfort than the one on display just moments before. "It was hasty, and had I to do it all over again, I probably would not have reacted as I did."

"Probably?" Ultra gasped, earning him a stare from Delta.

Sentinel nodded. "The execution, even of an emir, was justified. But yes, I probably should have waited for the heat of the moment to have cooled. It would have seen less as me lashing out."

"Your grace, there was no trial." Ultra Magnus muttered again. "There was no conviction, only a sentence carried out."

"What purpose would a trial have served?" Sentinel replied. "He confessed to the crime. All of Cybertron witnessed the confession, and everyone on this planet will attest to the fact that is was given in the absence of coercion or trickery. Guilt had been established, the punishment appropriate. I would agree that a greater span of time separating the crime and the punishment may have been prudent, but the fact is, the punishment fit."

"Was it just anger, or were you trying to shut him up?" Delta pressed. "He wasn't backing down in his support of Orion Pax,"

"It's just Orion!" Sentinel snapped.

"If you insist, your grace." Delta Magnus nodded but continued. "But however you choose to address him, he possessed the loyalty of House Pax, he had come to be admired by many nobles, and to the commoners in and around Rodion, he has come not just to be considered a hero, but the only symbol of justice they'd ever known."

"And that was before his affiliation with the Autobots." Ultra Magnus added, and then continued on. "Without Arlon Pax's endorsement, Orion all but legitimized the Autobot movement. With the unwavering support of arguably the most respected emir on the planet, well, that raises what was merely a minor annoyance the previous day to a force that could pose a very real threat to your power base." Ultra held the blazing glare of Sentinel Prime and went on undeterred by the silent rage of his leader. "So, with all due respect your grace, was there motive beyond the carrying out of a spontaneous sentence to a convicted…er, well, not convicted, but confessed prisoner? One couldn't help but notice he took fuller advantage of the opportunity to voice his final words than the prisoners you had been able to…prepare for execution."

"Careful brother." Delta Magnus whispered.

"These are questions that need to be asked, brother." Ultra replied, maintaining his gaze on Sentinel Prime. "Due process was circumvented,"

"Due process?" Sentinel Prime snarled, a sadistic grin coming over his face. "An underground movement has been building for years, one bent on full scale civil war, one that was on the cusp of exploding at that very moment, and I did what I did to quell it!" The leader seethed. "I did what I did for the good of Cybertron!"

"I don't doubt that you believe that,"

"Ultra, that's enough!" Delta snarled before turning to the Prime. "I apologize your grace, we admired Emir Pax a great deal, and it is difficult for us to accept his passing. For one as ancient, influential and respected as Arlon Pax to be killed in such a way, well, all of us are left with questions. Being Prime, you do what you must, and you're right, the sheer magnitude of your job is such that when necessary you should be able to bypass the procedures that bind the rest of us. Perhaps this was one of those necessary situations. But anyone, especially those of us in House Magnus, feel an obligation to question things when someone like Arlon Pax is killed." Delta was employing his most diplomatic tone. "Ultra meant no disrespect."

Sentinel Prime stared at Delta Magnus for several moments before finally replying. "You saw what transpired, you heard the confession, you witnessed the open defiance, and you claim to know what was truly at stake." He turned to Ultra. "You wanted to know whether there was another motivation beyond simply administering justice that drove me to kill Arlon Pax? Of course there was. You yourself acknowledged that with his final vocalizations Arlon had given the Autobot movement a level of legitimacy that could now threaten our society. I silenced an enemy of the state. If you have a problem with this, bring it up to the Senate and see how far you get." The shuttle finally stopped in front of the Capital Spires, and Sentinel Prime immediately stood up. "It was good seeing the two of you again, and to have met you, Mistress, but if you'll excuse me, I have work to attend to." He took a step toward the door, but stopped and turned back to Delta Magnus. "Next time, leave your kinsman in the Tagan Heights." He then marched out onto the sidewalk.

The three remained in the shuttle, watching Prime shrink away as he departed, eventually disappearing through the spire's door. At that point Delta turned to Ultra. "What were you thinking?" He roared.

"They were valid questions that required answering." Ultra replied, equally angry. "He's a murderer, and his victim was the most honest and noble individual on the planet. Whatever Arlon Pax did was nowhere near worthy of a death sentence, and it sure as hell should not have been carried out then and there!" Ultra leaned in closer. "And frankly, my emir, I've been struggling, fruitlessly I might add, to formulate arguments meant to discredit what was said by either Orion or Arlon. I look at them, then I look at him," he nodded toward the open door, indicating Sentinel Prime, "and I'm not liking the side we've chosen. So, my emir, THAT'S what I was thinking."

The Mistress stared appraisingly at Ultra for a few moments before finally speaking. "Sentinel Prime is a fool unfit for his title, but he was right about one thing." Both Magnus's turned and looked at her. "Next time, we should leave him at home."

Soundwave

Tensions in The Torus Heights were definitely raised, there were long, suspicious stares directed at their descending craft, but Lugnut had done as instructed and they were permitted to land on the House Boltax landing strip without question or any real scrutiny. He and Megatron remained seated in the cockpit, waiting as they had been instructed to do. "How far do you trust him?" Megatron quietly asked as he studied the grounds crew keeping their distance.

"Reptilion?" Soundwave replied. "He was definitely hiding something, his anxiety levels rose as we approached certain areas of his facility, but his interest in doing business with us was genuine."

Megatron smiled. "Reptilion undoubtedly has many secrets, he has benefactors outside of us. But no, I was actually referring to Rabattus. How far do you trust him?"

"I don't." Soundwave replied. "He is competent, there is no question there. I trust him to accomplish any task that is in his best interest. But I have no doubt he would betray any of us should it benefit him in the least." He looked and started intensely into Megatron's optics. "And you should know that he despises you. He despises all common born, even Starscream Nexus."

"So it goes beyond mere arrogance then." Megatron muttered as he noticed something in the sky. Soundwave turned to follow his gaze and noted a luxury craft, one far smaller and of lower quality than the personal crafts of House Torrent, descending from the sky and landing on the tarmac. "Good, he's here. I can't wait to get out of this frigid shithole."

"Believe it or not, it actually gets much colder than this in the Torus Heights." Soundwave stated, a statement that Megatron chose not to respond to. They watched in silence as the massive Lugnut ducked out through the open doorway and strode forward. A moment later Rabattus Decimus followed him out and the two briefly chatted before they nodded to one another and Rabattus headed toward the craft Soundwave was piloting. Seconds later Rabattus was entering the passenger section. "Greetings Lord Decimus."

"Greetings Lord Wave." Rabattus cheerfully said as he poked his head into the cockpit. "How long before we're back in Kaon?"

"In the upper atmosphere at this craft's top speed, it will take us six hours." Soundwave replied.

"Ughn, I guess that'll give me a few hours to recharge." Rabattus declared mirthfully before turning to the robot in the co-pilot seat. "Greetings to you, Megatron of Tarn."

"It is good to see you again, my lord." Megatron answered with a smile. "How went your dealings with the grieving Pax's?"

"Not well," Rabattus chuckled, "not well at all. But I'd rather not discuss the Pax's anymore; Soundwave has enjoyed your company all day, mighty Megatron, come back here and discuss your progress with me." Megatron nodded, and a moment later he was in the passenger section, though close enough to the doorway where Soundwave could have listened in even without his enhancements. "So tell me how your meeting with Shockwave's secret scientific colleague went."

"It went well, he definitely seems eager to work with us." Megatron replied. "With the untraceable munitions and operatives supplied by you, House Macht, House Modus, House Onyx, Swindle and now with whatever Reptilion can whip together, we will have the entire planet quivering in utter terror and calling for Autobot sparks."

"Good." Rabattus smiled. "Most excellent."

"I must ask, my lord." Megatron pressed. "Could this not work against us? In light of recent events, the Autobots have definitely overtaken our fighting circuit in terms of Sentinel Prime and his security forces' focus. Our efforts to turn the planet against them will likely be very successful, and lacking the support of the populace, they'll likely be wiped out quickly, leaving Prime nothing to focus on but us."

Rabattus smiled and laughed lightly. "Very true, Megatron, you are a very clever commoner. I've already made mention of this to Soundwave, but I think I can trust you with it as well. Yes, the public will turn against the Autobots, but they will be equally terrified of Sentinel Prime. He is a very high strung puppet, and I plan to play him to our benefit."

"Playing both ends against the public, create chaos from all sides so that in time the public turns on them all?" Megatron smiled. "If only there were somebody in a position to solve all the problems. To put our chaotic house in order."

"If only." Rabattus chuckled.

Megatron leaned his smiling head back and stared at the ceiling of the craft, and while he didn't say anything, Soundwave felt a wave of clarity and amusement emanate from him. He then felt a thought-message being sent his way, and permitted it. He felt Megatron's laughter tickling his brain, laughter surrounding the words 'All hail Rabattus Prime'. Soundwave's optic flared, and he allowed himself an internal chuckle at their companion's ambition as well.

Roller Pax

That one hurt. Roller groaned only slightly as he lifted his body off of the training floor. "Best three out of five."

Roadbuster chuckled lightly before nodding and once again squaring up across from Roller, both of them taking on combat stances. They both shot their hands out tentatively, feeling their opponent out and testing for any potential openings. After nearly a minute of circling, Roller sensed and opportunity to take Roadbuster down and lunged. Roadbuster defended, revealing the opening to have been a trap, and after a series of twists, grips and pulls, Roller once again found himself flat on his back. "Damnit!"

"Be charitable to yourself, lord Pax." Roadbuster pleaded. "You know the moves, you formulate good strategies, but it'll take years to develop the metal-memory to the point of it being second nature. And until then, you'll be playing catch-up with me and any of the other guards."

"Years?" Roller grumbled. "How old was Orion when he left for Nova Cronum?"

Roadbuster shrugged. "A few months."

"Yet I remember him mopping this floor with all of us." Roller replied. "Does his metal have a better memory than mine?"

The large red Inferno walked over chuckling. "That kid was so strong, so fast and so durable that even if his metal couldn't retain anything, he'd be mopping the floor with us."

"Your brother is a specimen." Roadbuster said as he gently cupped his hand over Roller's shoulder. "I mean, he tossed Prime aside as an afterthought." The room suddenly went silent, and Roadbuster lowered his head. "I apologize Lord Pax, I didn't mean,"

"No apologies, you said nothing wrong." Roller calmly stated, a small smile crawling over his face. "The image of Orion manhandling Prime is the only thing bringing any level of joy to my life."

"Lord Pax?" Everyone turned to see A-Three standing in the doorway. "Your friend Dion is holding for you on the main line. Perhaps you'd like to take it in your suite?"

"Why didn't he just contact me via personal frequency?" Roller muttered.

"Probably testing the waters, giving you an opportunity for privacy in case you need it." Inferno replied. "Just know that Olnius has Tyger Pax under lock-down for the time being, so no sneaking out. If your buddy wants to hang, he's going to have to come here."

"Yeah, yeah." Roller muttered as he walked past A-Three and headed toward his suite. Once the door sealed shut he switched open the channel with the holding call. "Dion?"

"No…brother."

"Orion!" Roller gasped, and sat down close to the speaker so that the conversation could be kept as quiet as possible. "Brother, what are you doing, they can trace your signal!"

"It's…it's more than I deserve to hear you call me brother." Orion replied. "I am no longer worthy, I have brought all of this upon us. I have been nothing but a curse to House Pax."

"Enough of that bullshit, Orion Pax!" Roller snarled. "You and that piece of shit Sentinel Honorum are the only ones that think that! The rest of us consider you a gift! Now get the hell off the wire and relocate, because they're tracing you as we speak!"

"No, we've got a communications wizard in our ranks." Orion replied. "By all appearances, you really are receiving this call from The Wolf at the Door."

Roller chuckled and relaxed a bit. "Yeah, Blaster, right?"

"Yeah." Orion replied. "You've studied up on the Autobots?"

"Well yeah, since last night I've done nothing but read up on your band of merry men." Roller answered with a pained chuckle. "My brother the Autobot."

"Brother, I'm…I know you're going to tell me it's not my fault, but it is." Orion replied. "I saw Arlon after it happened, I could have…I should have…"

"What, kidnapped him?" Roller snapped. "We both knew Arlon Pax…hell, I knew him better than you. But we both knew him well enough to know that when he saw you following that little jailbreak of yours, he knew exactly what he was going to do, and I'm sure he had a notion that Sentinel may have reacted as he did. And even had he known Sentinel would kill him, do you honestly think he'd have done anything differently?" The dark blue royal posed. "And do you really think he'd have let you pull him away? I mean, I know you're strong and all, but he'd have hind-kicked you through a slaggin' wall had you tried that nonsense, and you know it! This is not your doing, it's Sentinel Honorum's. All you did was the right thing; to quote our father, never apologize for doing the right thing."

"I hear you. I even agree with you on some level." Orion despondently muttered. "But ultimately had I not been there; had I not done what I did, Arlon would be alive."

"No, he wouldn't." Roller quietly responded. "Yes, his spark would likely still be pulsing, but he would have witnessed the execution of citizens only guilty of fighting an injustice in the only non-lethal manner left available to them. He would have witnessed it, and been unable to do anything to stop it, and that would have weighed on him. Yes, because of what happened, he died, but he died fighting for justice, and he died defending someone he loved. He died whole." Both Roller and Orion barely quelled a sob. "He died for a just cause; your cause. It's now up to us to make sure he didn't die in vain."

"Us?" Orion asked. "Roller, Cybertron needs House Pax, and House Pax needs you. Stay strong, but don't do anything that can endanger the House."

"Look, you don't need to worry about me." Roller shifted in his seat. "How are you? Last I heard, prior to the broadcast, was Elita telling me that you'd been forced to kill someone, and then you charged off into what had to be a trap, and then you simply vanished. Hell, I thought you were dead until I saw you storming the Senate."

"It's been…yes, it's been a difficult couple of days." Orion said sadly, but then a slight laugh came through. "I got beat up too."

"How many?" Roller asked.

"One. Unarmed, fair fight…yeah, he'd been enhanced, but otherwise as fair as can be." Orion answered. "I got my ass handed to me."

"Impossible. One guy?" Roller questioned. "Not buying it, pretty-boy. Who could pull that feat off?"

"Gladiator from Tarn." Orion explained. "And I'm glad it happened. Ratchet said I needed a lesson in failure, and I walked awa…well, I survived it anyway, so I guess it's a good thing. But enough about me, what are you planning on doing? I'm serious, you can't do anything that will endanger the house!"

"Olnius is going to knuckle under like a bitch." Roller grumbled. "I'm not going to be a part of that. Don't worry, I'll make it clear that I speak only for myself."

"No! It won't be seen that way!" Orion snapped. "I'm common born, my defection to the Autobots can be explained away. House Pax can distance itself from me; and that's what they'd better do! But you, you're one of them, down to your CNA. You defecting will be seen as a reflection of the house. The royals and nobles will turn on you, all of them. You may think you're only facing down Sentinel and House Honorum, but if you go rogue, all Houses will stand against House Pax. It's understandable for House Pax to be enraged by what's happened, but you are to stand by whatever decision the House makes. You must do this to protect them! Promise me brother."

"Orion…" Roller paused, his thoughts conflicted, "I want no harm to come to our House, but I cannot sit by and do nothing. I cannot allow this to pass."

"Brother, I need you to hold the fort." Orion replied sternly. "I know it's a sacrifice, I know I'm asking a lot of you, but you must stand down. Stay strong, play the long game, do not react!"

"Are you giving me an order?" Roller asked, but without the hint of a challenge.

"No…well, yes." Orion replied. "I don't mean to presume anything,"

"No, I'm not mad. You're just really good at it." Roller chuckled.

"Well, I'm a cop, so, you know." Orion replied. "Look, I know you pretty well. Well enough to realize that there's a seventy percent chance that you'll tell me what I need to hear to believe you'll be good, and then set off to do something impulsive."

"Something impulsive?" Roller growled. "I seek justice, is that impulsive?"

"Well, yeah." Orion replied. "I thought it was pretty apt. I was about to say stupid, but figured impulsive was a better option."

"You stormed the Primus-damned Senate and threw hands with the Prime!" Roller blurted. "You don't get to accuse me of being impulsive!"

"Meet me brother." Orion pled. "Let us discuss this face to face."

"Oh yeah, great idea." Roller replied sarcastically. "Do you want to swing by here with your Autobot buddies? We might get twenty minutes of conversation in before the planetary military blasted their way in. Or should I swing by your abode, because clearly Prowl isn't going to be paying attention to my movements."

"Oh, like Dion can't smuggle you out of the Torus Heights." Orion replied. "I only hope your strategy for getting out of Tyger Pax has advanced since our first foray into Polarus."

"That went off without a hitch until you got all chivalrous and picked a fight with our new best friend Lugnut Boltax." Roller quipped.

"What?" Orion asked. "What do you mean new best friend."

"Lugnut was hear a few hours ago, swearing that he and House Boltax were with us til the end." Roller replied. "He seemed sincere."

"He wasn't." Orion grumbled. "Do not trust Lugnut, I'll explain when we meet, but his loyalties are definitely not to House Pax or The Torus Heights. And obviously we'd meet somewhere neutral."

"How about Hyperious?" Roller suggested. "Word on the street is that the Emir of Axiom might have a soft spot for you…or at the very least he has a soft spot for someone who has a soft spot for you."

"Which is why we can't pick Axiom. While not well known, my…friendship with Elita Solus likely isn't a secret, and even if I didn't have reason to believe Prowl was watching her, I would not endanger House Solus in such a way." Orion replied. "I'm thinking the emirate of Nyon. Specifically Gygax. More specifically, the Gygaxian Academy of Sciences."

"Primus, is that place even real?" Roller asked. "I mean, I know it was the spearhead of some attempt to modernize Nyon a few million years back, world class university in the heart of beastland and all, but it barely got off the ground and was abandoned."

"Not quite abandoned, but close enough so that it'd be easy for us to get in and out without being noticed." Orion clarified.

"Uhm, I thought you Autobots were REALLY hunted in the south." Roller pressed.

"After last night, we're really hunted everywhere." Orion replied. "How soon can you get there?"

Roller paused. "I can be there tonight. Like in six or seven hours."

"Great, I'll meet you there." Orion replied, relief clearly evident in his voice. "Be careful brother."

"You too." Roller replied as he closed the signal. He would need to contact Dion immediately, but he would need to do so in person. Despite Inferno's threat, he would be sneaking out of Tyger Pax now. He walked to the door and activated it to slide open, revealing A-Three on the other side. "Primus!" The startled utterance blurted out.

"No, just me." A-Three replied in a deadpan manner as he stepped into the room. "Close the door."

"Look A-Three, I would love to chat, but I need to…I need to do something." Roller grumbled.

"Your brother's impersonation of Dion is good, but not that good." A-Three stated as he peered out the window. "I have a question for you, Roller Pax." The ancient robot turned and stared intently at Roller. "Are you your brother's keeper?"

The confused Roller stared at A-Three for many moments before finally answering resolutely. "Yes, I am."

"Good, because despite what he thinks, Orion Pax will need you." A-Three answered. "I am going to tell you a story. My story. And Gallus Honorum's story. And within those stories lies a prophecy. Upon hearing the prophecy you'll understand ultimately whose stories these truly belong to. And hopefully you'll agree that actions, drastic actions, need to be taken to ensure this person's story continues. Now sit down and listen."

Elita Solus

It was still referred to as a workshop, but the term didn't accurately cover what the enterprise had become over the years. Erector may have started out as a small time smith, but word of his craftsmanship, his creativity, and his ingenuity had spread, and soon his small forge had expanded into the complex that Elita was walking into now. Employees scurried around, looking over blueprints, engineers pushing grand designs with little regard to practicality or budget, project managers trying to reign their aspirations in to better fit what the existing customers want, salespeople counteracting their attempts by promising to sell anything and everything that can be produced, demand planners trying to force the project managers and salespeople to recognize lead times and begging the engineers to work excess or obsolete inventory into their plans, and floor level workers putting it all together. It was a manufacturing plant that could rival many of those in the Tagan Heights. But Elita wasn't there for the industry, she needed Erector himself, to do a job more reflective of his smith-roots than his current status as the proprietor of an engineering firm.

Elita marched up a set of stairs and into a narrow hallway, toward the large office at the end of that hallway. She knocked gently on the open door, marveling at the disparity between the large room and the miniscule robot it was made for. Erector, the eight foot tall orange/yellow robot behind a desk more appropriately sized for him, looked up and was startled at seeing who was visiting him. "Lady Elita, it is an honor to have you here." He stammered as he stood up from his chair and walked around the desk, displaying a bow as he finally rounded it. "What is it that I can do for you?"

"I have need of your skills." Elita smiled. "It is a small task, but I will pay you well for it."

"I would be happy to provide any service you like, my lady." Erector answered with a smile as well.

Elita nodded gracefully, her smile in place, but there was a nervousness. "Body adornment; a brand really."

"Excellent." Erector smiled. "A symbol of House Solus, perhaps your House words?"

Elita gently shook her head. "No, nothing related to House Solus."

"Ah, just standard ornamentation?" Erector questioned, a puzzled look on his face. "I'm flattered you came to me, but any tattoo parlor could likely handle this."

"You're the best, and I want it done right." Elita said as she strode further into the room and took a seat on a full-sized couch against the wall. "I want a symbol attached to my upper chest-plate, on the lighter shade of pink."

"That's certainly no problem." Erector said as he stepped closer and looked at the area to be worked on. "And what would you like there?"

Elita paused, not eager to witness Erector's reaction to her response. "The face of the Common Man."

Erector raised his gaze, meeting her optics with widely stretched ones of his own, a look of surprise and disbelief on his face. "My lady, surely you jest."

"I do not." Elita replied calmly and politely, but leaving no room for doubt that she was serious.

"My lady, I…you can't…there's no way." Erector stammered. "What you're asking, it's, it's taboo. You would be an outcast, a pariah to all nobility, and I, well, the good fortune I've experienced for years would be a thing of the past. Please rethink your request."

"I am not doing this capriciously." Elita replied. "This is something I insist you perform."

"My lady, if you truly respect the cause of the Autobots, then you wouldn't be able to force me to do something I am hesitant to do." Erector responded. "And if you still feel as though you can obligate me to do it, then perhaps the symbol isn't as fitting as you would think."

Elita stared down at the floor a moment, and then nodded. "You're right. I cannot force you to do something you do not wish to. I thank you for your time, Erector." Elita stood up and turned to leave.

"My lady, please understand that it pains me to turn you down." Erector then looked down as well. "And it humbles me to see you willing to take a stance for a cause that would run contrary to your well-being. I lack your courage and integrity. It is a cause that is in my own best interests, and I lack the courage to display my support."

"You have courage, Erector," a voice from the hallway said calmly, and the both of them turned to see Exponum One standing in the doorway, "but we must let the cause foment, gather strength, before we can lend our support publicly. Until that point, we use our positions to aid them without endangering those positions. You can serve them as an industrialist, I can serve them as an emir, but neither of us are any good to them if we're in prison, and it's unlikely that those who would replace us would be of any assistance to the Autobots. Though…" he emphasized as he gazed intently at Elita, "measures can be taken so that should we lose our positions for whatever reason, we can influence who it is that replaces us, and make sure that the support we offer to the cause lives on."

"You are wise and kind, Emir One, and I am unworthy." Erector bowed.

"I like flattery as much as the next person, Erector, but believe me, you are not unworthy." Exponum replied, still locking optics with Elita. "All are worthy, at least until word and deed remove that from them."

"What do you mean by influencing who it is that replaces you?" Elita asked.

"You're a smart young femme, I think you can guess what I mean." Exponum replied with a smile.

"Young being the operative word." Elita answered. "Much too young for the house to vote in as One should anything happen to you."

Exponum shrugged and gave a light chuckle. "Well ideally we'd both be quite a bit older before that would ever come to pass, but even now, in your youth, you possess the wisdom, compassion, intelligence and leadership charisma to be a great One, an opinion which I have recently made known to the rest of the house."

"My One…" Elita gasped and bowed her head, "I am not worthy."

"Did you not listen to anything I said to Erector?" Exponum replied with a grin. "Besides, you're not that young. You're beyond the age of self determination, and a full vectoral pulse older than Orion Pax, who to hear the whispers of the common-folk, should be the next Prime."

"Ha!" Elita gave a spark-felt laugh. "The Hand, Primus and the Senate gathered before him to offer the Matrix on bended knee wouldn't be enough to get him to take on that honor. Being the center of attention is the greatest of tortures for sweet Orion…" Elita's good humor quickly faded as her gaze fell to the floor and she pondered Orion's fate for the thousandth time that day, "my poor, tortured Orion." She whispered, then looked up at Exponum. "I should be with him."

"You are with him, my dear." Exponum replied. "We all are; and he knows it, wherever he is."

The silence stretched for several seconds before the two noticed Erector staring back and forth between the both of them in wonder and awe. "You…you really know Orion Pax?" He was unable to hide the admiration in his voice. Elita and Exponum both laughed.

Militus Macht

"Had you done what you were tasked to do, what you assured me you would handle, none of this would have happened!" The voice of Sentinel Prime raged through the speaker on Militus's desk. "But you failed! You had months to accomplish this, yet you failed! A simple Primus-damned task that you slagging failed to accomplish! And now, this minor pain in my ass is a smelting hero; a veritable demi-god to the unwashed masses! Autobots that had been plaguing our way of life for years who should be empty husks now are free to continue their bullshit! Oh yeah, they've also reached hero status with the peasants too. And me, not only do I look ineffectual, but I execute the most beloved emir on the planet!"

"If anything, killing that soft-sparked beast reestablished respect for you in the south." Militus replied.

"Shut up!" Sentinel roared. "I couldn't care less what southern twits think of me! A Polyhexian could respect the hell out of me, but they'd still cut my spark out given a chance!"

Militus rolled his optics before responding. "Your grace, I apologize for my failure. Please know that you have my full support in any and all future action you will take against the Autobots or House Pax."

"Not that it's any of your concern, but the situation with House Pax will be smoothed over." Sentinel snarled. "Orion is not to be considered a member of their house. He is a rogue and a traitor, and will be hunted down and eliminated as such."

"Just tell me what you need of me." Militus offered, catching sight through his office window of a shuttle descending in the darkening sky over the landing platform of House Macht.

"Nothing at the moment, but be ready to obey any future commands I might have!" Sentinel grumbled. "And be sure to accomplish them in the future. I will tolerate no further failure, Emir Macht!" With that the connection was severed.

Militus pondered his situation for several minutes before a knock at his door tore him from his thoughts. "Come."

In walked Rabattus Decimus, Soundwave and Megatron. "Greetings Emir Macht. It is so goo…"

"Enough." Militus interrupted Rabattus's flowing greeting. "I've had my fill of pretty platitudes for the day." The emir of Polyhex looked up at Megatron. "Cutting it a bit close, don't you think? You're scheduled to fight in a few hours."

"Aye, tighter than I'd like, Emir Macht, but I'll have no problem getting to the arena on time." Megatron replied.

"Go." Militus waved the gladiator away. "Go win me money and prestige to partially offset your utter failure in Rodion."

"Aye, my lord," Megatron replied, barely subduing his desire to lash out, "it will be my honor."

Militus watched as Megatron left, then turned his gaze to the two royals. "I always imagined the day after the death of Arlon Pax would be one of celebration for me; instead I've spent it dreading an irate call from our irrational Prime, before receiving that call and being chewed out. Frankly I expected worse from him, but a full day of apprehension wears away at one's spark." He muttered, staring down at his desk. "Do I want to know what the three of you have been up to?"

"No, you probably don't. Plausible deniability is a tremendous asset, especially given the tenacity and creativity of Prowl." Rabattus replied. "Just know that we are acting in our collective best interests."

"So be it." The mentally and emotionally exhausted Militus replied dismissively. "You are both welcome to the hospitality of Castle Macht."

"Thank you, lord Macht." Rabattus replied. "But it is best if we're not seen here."

"Then go home." Militus snapped as he stood up from his chair. "I don't care what you do, but never question the security of my house. Word of your presence here will not leave these walls." With that he marched past the two royals and exited the room.

Orion Pax

The Hall of Ancient Mega Fauna was beyond impressive, possessing recreations and fossilized skeletons of all manner of the ancient dracosaurs that once ruled the planet. Orion peered up at an impressive specimen, a carnivorous bipedal terror with a large cranium possessing enormous clamp-like jaws lined with razor-sharp daggers. When alive the beast would have measured fifty feet from tip of the nose to the tip of its tail, its long powerful legs allowing it to run up to fifty miles per hour, and its slender but powerful arms reaching out at the prey it ran down and pulling it into the clenching death of its jaws. Orion imagined the hunt and felt for the poor organics forced to battle for every second of their survival. Of course, that description could be used for this new life he had created for himself. He looked over at his companions, Jazz and Bumblebee, as they too took in the exhibits of the monstrous creatures.

"So what happened to these guys?" Jazz whispered, but the silence of the room enabled Orion to hear the question despite being a couple dozen yards away.

"Went extinct, like, twenty five million years ago." Bumblebee replied.

"How?" Jazz asked. "Asteroid impact or something?"

"What?" Bumblebee asked. "An asteroid impact can kill a handful or so animals, but it can't create a planetary extinction."

"Uh, yeah it can." Jazz replied. "A big enough rock can kick up enough debris to cause a nuclear winter."

"What? What's that, and how can a long winter wipe out all of the dracosaurs?" Bumblebee asked skeptically. "Yeah, a bunch, but not all species all over the world."

"Naw man, you're not thinking about it the right way." Jazz explained. "Our sustenance comes from Cybertron, organics get their sustenance directly or indirectly from the sun."

"What? Now you're just messing with me." Bumblebee replied. "They either eat plants or animals that eat plants. And plants come from the ground."

"Plants get their energy from photosynthesis, which comes from solar energy." Jazz clarified. "You block out the sun for a few months, you get no plants. No plants, no herbivores, no herbivores, no carnivores. Boom, no dracosaurs."

"It's a good theory, but the evidence suggests they were hunted to extinction." Orion interjected.

"Who told you that?" Jazz asked skeptically.

"The Polyhistor of Tyger Pax." Orion replied, an answer that silenced and humbled the commoners who had relied on their own efforts in various public libraries for their own educations. "These fossils are fairly intact, but the vast majority of dracosaur remains, especially those of the truly gigantic species, were obliterated. Crushed and ground to powder, only identifiable by the tiniest of pieces. And it appears as though any consumption of their remains was done by other creatures their own size or smaller who scavenged their remains afterward. This suggests that whatever killed them was not only large enough to destroy their bodies, but uninterested in eating them."

"So spark-based life." Bumblebee replied, scared that he may be right.

"That's what the little amount of evidence we have suggests." Orion replied, continuing to study the exhibits as he did so.

"Wait, how big are we talkin' here?" Jazz asked. "Like a planet full of Omega Supremes?"

"What's an Omega Supreme?" Bumblebee asked.

"Damn, man, get an education kid." Jazz grumbled.

"I'm a year old, and unlike lord Pax over there, I didn't grow up with a polyhistor!" Bumblebee growled. "So back off!"

Jazz chuckled lightly. "Alright, sorry kid." Jazz looked up at Orion. "Well, continue Lord Pax, the floor is yours."

Orion chuckled lightly. "Some were roughly the size of Omega Supreme, from what I've been told anyway. Despite hailing from The Torus Heights, I've never been to the Tartarun Pits. But yes, his size in most cases, but there's evidence of destroyers much larger. Based on impact craters some paleontologists believe to be footprints, it would be as if a spark gave life to a large building, or even a small mountain."

"OK, now you're messing with us." Bumblebee shot back in disbelief. "Even a green spark couldn't give life to something that big."

"You're right." Orion replied. "An ignis superious couldn't bestow that much life-energy. My polyhistor suggested the possibility that in the very distant past Vector Sigma's initial pulses may have been more akin to bursts, eruptions, giving off fewer but more powerful sparks of life; more ignis superious's than what we see today, and perhaps a few sparks of even greater power. A-Three used the term ignis deva, apparently the term means divine or something similar in a long forgotten language. He theorized that as the eons passed, the power levels seemed to level off, to stabilize into something similar to what we see today."

"Damn," Bumblebee muttered, "and I don't even know what an Omega Supreme is."

Jazz chuckled. "I can't even imagine something so big that its shell mode is a mountain."

"Well, their existence is speculation at best. Nothing more than lots and lots of crushed dracosaur bones to suggest they ever existed." Orion clarified.

"And I thought A-Three did a good job of deflating the balloon after blowing it up." Roller's voice cut through the darkness. Orion turned toward Roller, A-Three, Roadbuster and Ironhide walking into the hall, and ran to them, embracing Roller. "Brother."

"Brother." Orion replied quietly. He then looked to A-Three and went to hug him as well, then turning to the Pax guard and the constable of Polarus, he shook their wrists. "My friends, it's so good to see you. Thank you for escorting Roller." Orion then turned to Roller. "I thought you'd be coming alone."

Roller looked over at Jazz and Bumblebee. "I thought you'd be alone too."

Jazz chuckled. "In the last twenty-four hours our recruitment numbers have gone up at least a hundred-fold. We ain't lettin' nothin' happen to our new poster-boy here."

"Roller, A-Three, Ironhide, Roadbuster, this is Jazz and Bumblebee." Orion made the introductions.

"He's not your poster-boy!" Roller snapped, then looked to Orion, an odd expression on his face. "He's a promise."

"What?" Orion asked.

"He's referring to a promise I made." A-Three chimed in, clearly trying to change the subject. "One made to Sentinel Honorum." The old robot smiled and nodded. "And it's time I made good on that promise."

"Orion, we need to leave." Jazz nervously uttered, inching his way toward Orion.

"Relax, Autobot, it was less a promise to Sentinel Honorum, more a threat." A-Three clarified, the clarification only marginally relieving Jazz's anxiety. The older robot then turned back to Orion. "You and I must leave."

"Leave?" Orion asked. "Where to?"

"For you, somewhere safe." A-Three replied. "For me, a quest to retrieve…something. I will leave as A-Three, I will return as someone else."

"You guys aren't taking him anywhere." Bumblebee warned. "Orion, I know you think they're your friends, but what we're seeing is a royal and his subjects trying to abscond with the most wanted Autobot on the planet."

"Look guys, you have to see it from our perspective. You represent the nobility; we represent a society without a nobility. And Orion Pax is a huge black eye to the nobility. And you're trying to whisk him away." Jazz said to the Polaruns.

"Abscond is better than whisk." Bumblebee whispered.

"Shut up." Jazz whispered back.

"Gentlemen," A-Three raised his hands in an attempt to calm things, "I promise you, we have nothing but Orion Pax's best interests in mind."

"Enough." Orion stated authoritatively. "I requested this meeting to convince Roller not to do anything rash. We're not here to protect me."

"I'm sorry brother," Roller stepped toward Orion and slapped a hand against Orion's chest, "but we are." A light sizzle sound could be heard, and Orion was overwhelmed by power for less than a second, immediately followed by a numbing that spread quickly through his body. The shorter Roller seemed to grow, but Orion quickly realized that he was collapsing to the floor. He looked up at the robots, his brother and friends, all erupt into action as his vision started going black. "Back off, we're taking him with us!" The sounds of scuffling faded away to nothing.