If Iacon is to survive, Iacon must stand firm in the face of oppression. Sentinel Prime's pathetic power grab has proved that the shadow of the despot has only darkened over Cybertron. As Kaon, Helex, Rust City and Nyon are brought under the hand of the tyrant, a pattern has emerged. Capitulation. They bent before the Federal Government did. They gave power away to the centre and paid the price in their sovereignty. If Iacon is to remain under its own government, Iacon and Solus must stay strong and vigilant-
"Your favourite jailbird is in interview room 2," A voice said, dragging Chromia from the opinion piece. She looked down from a chair far too big for her at an equally as small colleague.
"Eh?"
"Slipstream. She's been arrested again."
Chromia groaned and put down the datapad. It wasn't anything she didn't know anyway.
"What was it this time?"
"Booster dealing, low grade. Blades brought her in."
Chromia nodded and thanked Groove, then began to make her way deftly through the room, threading her way around her larger colleagues. The Iacon Police Station hummed with tired, drugged, overcrowded energy, as Chromia's colleagues worked as hard as they could to avoid the work they didn't want to do. Fighting the desire to do the same, Chromia moved to the cell blocks, the wing of the Station that was deepest underground. Chromia hated it. Locating the cells underground made it feel as though the arrested were not to be let out, and they often weren't given how they could be kept in custody for over a month for the most minor infractions. Completely cut off from the outside world, the block was absolutely soundproofed. The interview rooms were conjoined to the cells, for easy access and to avoid an inmate from escaping while being transported inside them. Underground rooms for members of the underground. As she got there, she found her newest partner waiting for her. Taller then Chromia, but built slim, she was ill at ease in the underground rooms, but she did her best to hide it. Her new blue paint job was taking to her badly, as flecks of it were coming off and showing the pink beneath.
"She in, Ariel?" Chromia asked.
Despite barely coming up to her waist, Ariel still felt the urge to wait for her. Chromia carried a presence and air that went beyond her short stature. Stocky, powerfully built and with a blocky one-piece head vent, Chromia certainly looked the part of the hard-ass officer of the law with her blue paint covering her head to feet. The only other colour being the red and yellow of her lightbar she carried on her back.
Ariel nodded sullenly.
"Am I going to be let in this time?" Ariel asked. "I need the experience, shouldn't I see a full interview?"
Chromia grunted. "You might not like what you see, Bareback."
"What should I expect if I never see one?"
A fair point. Chromia thought. Though, if it was "her favourite jailbird", it would be far from a standard interview. With her rookie partner, she walked into the all too familiar interview room with the all too familiar criminal.
Slipstream was massive, much taller than both of them, broad as well. She glared at the two with a hard face and rubbed the empty weapon ports on her forearms, missing the comfortable weight of her null-rays.
"Officer" she rasped.
"Slipstream" Chromia replied. Ariel watched with trepidation. "What you got for me?"
"New Booster Dealers have moved into empty dock warehouses. Their stuff is cheaper, but it's more damaging than what I peddle."
"And?"
"Several neurosurgeons and a couple of spark medics have set up a mind splicing clinic in the Dead End. At least five have been sent to the Iacon Mental Clinic with Anatomical Dissociation."
"Primus". Chromia groaned. She couldn't stand such practices. Mind splicing was a cruel procedure, peddled by quacks and the greedy. Conjunx Endura and others who were extremely close to one another went to have their minds and sparks melded into one, two bodies between one mind. Sold as the ultimate act of devotion and love, it broke the minds of anyone foolish enough to buy into such delusions.
"Anything else?"
"Yeah… They're closing in on Optimus."
Chromia stiffened. "Who are?"
"The CSS"
"Scrap!" Chromia snapped as Ariel watched in wide-eyed disbelief. "Thanks for bringing that in Slipstream. Your charges will be reduced to minor drug dealing. Community service will be fixing the Temple of Prima, I have some friends there. Try not to sell drugs to the priestesses, you damn eejit."
"Much appreciated, officer" Snorted Slipstream.
"C'mon Bareback" Chromia motioned to Ariel. "We had better look into this"
Ariel's mouth hung open.
"What? She was found dealing Circuit Boosters, and we're letting her off with community service!"
"If you object, Officer, I could always withhold information in the future," Slipstream said coldly, looking pointedly at Ariel.
"No, Slipstream. Don't worry, she's new. She'll understand what's going on."
The second Chromia and Ariel left the room, Ariel turned on her partner.
"What the hell, Chromia! Everyone here sings your praises, and here you are letting off criminals!"
Chromia patiently waited out her partner's rant. When she replied, it was with the calm tones of a teacher.
"The boosters her and her gang pedal is low-grade stuff, less addictive, much better than what other cities have. If we imprisoned her, we'd be up to the optics in cheap, dangerous boosters and bodies filling the streets, and we'll lose an informant."
Ariel chewed on this. "But still, to be so lenient-"
"I'm not happy with it either, Ariel. Before the War of Rust, we wouldn't have to use criminals for info gathering. But we need to be practical and work with what we have, this is what you will have to learn if you want to be a good cop."
"You mean a corrupt one" Ariel muttered beneath her breath. "So, what do we do with that information?"
Chromia grunted. Overall, she was happy that Ariel was questioning her, if she didn't, then Chromia would wonder where her spark lied. Motioning her to follow, Chromia made her way to the exits.
"We go and meet Optimus first; he's in the most immediate danger."
"Who's this "Optimus" guy? And shouldn't we tell the Superintendent?"
"No, I haven't put my name on the waiting list," Chromia replied, half-joking. Despite her tone, she was always astute in her debriefs and reports. But the less Prowl interfered, the better. "We'll head to Optimus first, the mind splicing clinic will require a team" The doors to the outside were before them, Chromia had secretly longed for this, offices disagreed with her on a quite literally physical level, outside she felt more room to manoeuvre and a lower chance of being stepped on; always a plus.
With this in mind, Chromia had to resist a sigh of relief as she and Ariel stepped out into the bright lights of Iacon. Delicate, white high rise buildings stretched as far as the eye could see, the roads triple decked and somehow still in deadlock. Behind everything lay the Great Dome, in which were held the Celestial Spires and Iacon Government. The Police Precinct was comparably low slung and compact, conjoined with two other buildings, equally as stocky creating a U shape with a large communal courtyard between them. Rather than make a line for the triple decked roads, Chromia pulled Ariel aside towards the fire department.
"Before we go, Ariel, we need to meet some friends of mine" Ariel nodded and dutifully followed Chromia. Chromia knew what her mentee needed, even when moving she was not allowed to stop learning, and if she wasn't asking questions, then Chromia certainly would.
"Now, Ariel. How are we ordered?"
Ariel started and; feeling slightly condescended to, she began to recite what she was taught in the academy.
"The rescue services are all under one command but are separated into city territories under their own commander. Under no circumstances can the central government enforce their rule in a federated city-state without the express approval of the cities Senator, unless…"
"That's enough," Chromia said, satisfied. The Fire Department Bots were much bigger than the smaller cops, and Chromia looked positively minuscule. Ariel felt out of place in such an area, but Chromia walked around like she owned it, her and Ariel's blue showing up distinctly against the bright red of the Fire Service.
"We're going to meet one of the highest up in the Fire Department. Hot Spot. Total boy scout, but-" Chromia's optics went wide, and a smirk broke over her face.
"Windblade!" Chromia shouted. "Over here!"
Her voice carried to a bot that looked as distinct and separate from the other Firefighters as herself.
"Chromia! For the love of Primus, try not to get trod on!" Replied Windblade as she made her way carefully to Chromia and Ariel.
"Hah, just try it, you big softy. Put you on your back within seconds." Chromia motioned to Ariel, standing awkwardly off to the side. Ariel had watched Chromia as she talked, and the expression on her face was the softest she had seen of her. "Windblade, This is my newest partner, Ariel. Ariel, this is a useless piece of scrap called Windblade."
"Ah, Ariel! My Condolences!" Windblade giggled. "If only you could've got someone who knew how to laugh'' Ariel tried her best to grin as Windblade gripped her hand. Windblade held a grace about her, with envious poise and balance. Taller than Ariel, but on the small side, she was given a presence through an elaborate headpiece that established her as a Cityspeaker. Instead of bright red of the Firefighters, Windblade wore a custom livery of crimson and black, non-uniform, and the kibble she held on her back indicated she transformed into an aircraft of some kind.
"Wow, even the precinct counsellor abuses me" Chromia replied as Windblade grinned. But Chromia's face hardened as she turned back to Airel, as though she remembered a grim duty she had to do. "I need to give you some instructions," Chromia said seriously. "If you get into trouble, if you end up being followed, if something happens to me, I want you to be able to confide in Windblade, she will protect you."
Windblad's smile evaporated, her mask melting to the concerned look she had beneath. But she nodded anyway.
"Windblade, Ratchet, Medix, Hot Spot, First Aid, Lifeline. Those are the ones to trust, Bareback" Chromia told
"Chromia, what do you-
"Sorry, Blue. I got to go" Windblade motioned to the fire department building. "I've got to go over patient notes before the next session."
"No problem. Maccadams as soon as we can?"
"We'll try, but don't count on it. Stay safe" Windblade gave a small, sad smile to Ariel that didn't reach her eyes, which held a steely glint. "You chose a funny time to join the Emergency Services, bareback."
"C'mon Ariel, let's get to Optimus."
Ariel was quiet as they left the compound, mulling on what such a meeting meant. Reaching the road, Chromia transformed and sped away with her lights blaring and siren ringing. With trepidation, Ariel did the same. Chromia's small, manoeuvrable alt mode darted between traffic with ease, while Ariel's had to count on others to get out of her path. Chromia loved this part of the job, getting to the crime was more enjoyable than dealing with it, and a form of serenity fell over her as she drove. Sadly, Ariel seemed determined to break her serenity.
"So, what the hell was that about?"
Chromia sighed. "Just a precaution. Things are changing" She circled around protesters piling around a government building with ease. "Elections are coming up. Sentinel is on the fast track to becoming the next prime. I don't want to think about how he would use the police."
"It sounds like you think he's already won."
"He has, Ariel. Burying your head won't change that, control of the military means he can break electoral laws with impunity. All we have right now is Senator Solus to keep Iacon safe, as you said yourself."
Ariel felt as though she was out of her depth. Chromia ploughed ruthlessly on.
"Personally, I think Solus should call for independence before Sentinel comes bearing down on us"
"Please stop," Ariel said. "This talk is making me anxious"
Ariel had hoped Chromia would change the topic after that, but instead they continued their journey in silence, which Chromia was grateful for. Ariel was truly out of her depth on political matters and she racked her brain module to find something else to talk about.
"Learn a lesson, Bareback" Chromia said, as though she had read Ariel's thoughts. "Start to value silence like the rarest engex. You won't get it often in this job. If it's not your superiors on your chassis for thinking, it's some jumped up little eejit trying to get away with littering."
"I don't like it," Ariel replied honestly. "Back at my old job, there was too much alone time."
"No such thing, Bareback. But I'll keep it in mind" Chromia replied. They drove on until they got to a run-down apartment building on the outskirts of the Iacon space docks. Ariel recognised them, she knew some who lived in such an area. Chromia transformed and spoke into the intercom to gain access.
"One Inspector Chromia, here to see Orion Pax?