Disclaimer: I only own my OCs...of which there are many here.

Pandimala: *shivers* Who turned down the heat?

Authoress: *under five layers of comforter* Mother nature. Why does it have to be so cold?

Michael: *smirks* You know, there is a way we could all warm up a lot faster.

Authoress: *launches pillow out of comforter fortress* Don't even start with that you aft.

Pandimala: *throws a pillow as well* Precisely. We don't need that from you.

Michael: *laughs* I was talking about training. *looks knowingly* What were you two thinking of?

Chapter 1: Recovery

Dawnbreaker's 1st P.O.V.

As ruler of one of the leading planets of the Galactic Alliance, I prided myself in the ability of those under my rule to think rationally through all situations that may come their way. Our calm and neutral stance had vaulted us to the position we held this solar. Not only did we help lead the Galactic Alliance, but we also served as a training planet for many beings. The most famous of those that we helped train were triple changers. Some of the most volatile and unpredictable bots, our trainers were able to keep their helms about them and had helped thousands of bots who entered our space. Our training, in general, was some of the most comprehensive that a being could receive.

And yet a patrol helmed by my two eldest creations had led me to this situation.

It was regularly emphasized during patrol training that all forms of communication should be analyzed when approaching a vessel. This was to make sure that we didn't end up in this sort of situation. When traveling through space, it was common enough for comms to be knocked out through various methods. Solar Storms, asteroids, and ionic debris to name a few off the top of my processor. So, it was stressed that non-verbal communication should be analyzed thoroughly.

Yet, my eldest creations grew careless in their lessons and threw that training out completely when dealing with the small 'spacecraft' that entered our space.

Its appearance had been strange, given that there were no reports from nearby planets of a similar ship leaving their docks. That had raised suspicions immediately. Most craft of that size could not travel far without needing to refuel and, from the departure reports that we pulled from ships within that circumference of us, that ship had not come from any of them. So, I directed the patrol ship Delta Ray to intercept and communicate with the vessel. Firebrand, my eldest, was at the helm of that specific ship and his training results should have meant that he would be able to react accordingly. Plus, even if he hadn't been able to, then my normally level-helmed and rational second creation, Seabreaker, should have caught the message that the femme had been sending. He, of course, was Delta Ray's ground relay communicator and should have seen the general private message that the femme had been sending.

Yet, they had charged in when they didn't get a response.

A groan escaped my vocals as I thought about the mess we were in. A being had to be living under a rock if they didn't know about the Cybertronian Civil War being fought against opposing factions. Autobots, the supporters of their Council, and the Decepticons, who felt that they were being mistreated and rose against their rulers. The Galactic Alliance chose to not take sides in the war, though we kept tabs on each side and how they acted. Autobots, while more lenient in their interactions, seemed to have lost their purpose as of late. One of the Decepticons, Sunstorm, had been on our planet resting from his journey back to Chaar and so we were able to watch the fateful peace talks with him and record it. Watching the Autobots break the ceasefire and offline the femme was shocking, to say the least.

What was even more shocking, however, was Megatron's reaction. Decepticons were known to take vengeance with no restraint. No hesitation. No remorse. That was why those who turned from the Decepticons, when they would pass through, always seemed to be on edge. However, the leader of the Decepticons had basically given the Autobots exactly what they wanted while ending the fighting. While some might see that as a weakness in the leader, I knew that it took the leader more strength than any had ever shown to do so.

However, in doing that, the Decepticons would now be in a state of heightened awareness. Should word get back to them that Vestium Major, a leading planet of the Galactic Alliance, attacked and almost offlined one of their own without any provocation on the bot's side, then I feared for what we might be dragged into. Did I think that the Decepticons would defeat us and our Alliance allies? No. However, I would be a fool to think that they wouldn't go down without inflicting major casualties against us. Their own ruling Council had brushed off their attack as easily dealt with, and now their planet had just been revived from the damage that war had caused.

"You are brooding," I glanced up at my bondmate as he walked in. "You never do well when you brood."

I shook my helm and waited for him to take his seat next to me before I responded. "Seabreeze, I don't know what we are going to do. Right now, our future is pinned on the reaction of the femme in medbay. It's like our eldest sons just let their lessons go in one audio and out the other. To not check the message system…especially given recent galactic events…What if she demands something outrageous in restitution for shooting her down?"

My bondmate shook his helm at me. "Dawnbreaker, none of us know how this femme will react. Could she react as you fear? Possibly. However, putting strain on your systems by worrying about it is not going to do us any good. We just need to be ready to react to whatever may happen once she comes out of stasis. Physis will contact us when she comes to. Until then, we can only prepare. And the first way we can do that is to make sure that the femme knows we are not taking this blunder lightly. I've already called our sons to meet with you. They are waiting outside the doors right now."

Glancing toward the doors, I allowed my processor to go back to the scene we had arrived at once the femme had fallen.

Flashback

The smell of burning metal was permeating the air as we flew to the crash site. When the patrol reported that they fired upon the vessel, I was worried about why a lone vessel, that had not left from any of the nearby spaceports, had suddenly appeared in our space. Was this a prelude to an attack? While we were enjoying peace now, I knew that the Galactic Alliance was not as stable as the front we put up to others suggested. There was political infighting between the Alliance that was growing worse over the stellars.

Majipoor especially had been starting to show hostilities toward us. While they weren't one of the leading planets of the Alliance, they were protected under the banner of Wern, who was such a member. And it was no secret to any of us how close Wern was with another leading member planet; New Quintessa. If this was an attack, we needed to be ready.

As we approached a visual distance to the crash, I expected to see ship parts scattered in all directions with a lifeless being amongst the wreckage. What I didn't expect, as we transformed, was for a femme to rise from the crash site. The damage she was able to take from my creations while still functioning was incredible to behold. Though, it was clear to see that she was near her limit. And angry. Extremely angry. Where was this femme from?

My optics gazed upon the answer to that as she spoke, her vocals sounding heavily damaged. "Next time, check the general comm frequency. Fragging glitches." The triple changer finally lost consciousness and collapsed. However, despite the femme being downed, that did not stop the panic that was now set in my spark. For, before she fell, I had seen an identifying feature emblazoned on her wings.

She was a Decepticon.

How could the patrol have missed those? It wasn't like the femme was hiding her insignias. There was one per wing and they were highly visible even in her highly damaged state. I knew that I needed to react immediately. "We need medical evac at my coordinates. Physis, you will be needed." It was after I made that order that what the femme had said hit me. The general comm frequency. According to her, she had contacted it. "Shadow Grove,"

"Yes sir?" Was the immediate response on the comm.

"Log into the general comm frequency. Has there been any communication in the past thirty clicks?" I had forbidden Shadow Grove access to any of the outward and inward communications during the patrol. This had been a final training for Firebrand and Seabreaker and they needed to be in communication with each other. That meant that Seabreaker, who was in charge of communications, should have been keeping an optic on all communication channels without help. Now, it seemed like that had imploded.

The answer was not long in coming, and it was as I feared. "Several. All coming from the same source. A femme by the designation of Pandimala trying to communicate that she was the vessel that Delta Ray was trying to communicate with. According to her message, all of her communication systems outside of her private comms were down and she was asking how to proceed."

Scrap! My spark felt like it was failing as I heard those words. The femme had been following proper etiquette. Any other solar of the stellar, we would have responded to her immediately and this entire situation would have been avoided. However, it seemed that my eldest creations had forgotten their training, and it might just cost us. With the political atmosphere as it was, then we could not make any mistakes…and now we had made one of the largest ones that our planet had seen in thousands of stellars.

"Sir, are you alright?" I glanced at the seeker next to me when he asked that.

No, I wasn't alright. We weren't alright. However, that was not this mech's burden to bear right now. So, I nodded as the medical teams arrived to move the femme. "I will be fine Gyo. Return to your flight patrol." I then turned to my Military Commander. "Scorchflint, with me back to the palace. We have much to discuss." Right now, Scorchflint would be a level helm in all of this. As my Military Commander, he would have kept an optic on the Cybertron conflict and would be able to advise me on what might come.

End of Flashback.

Once we had arrived back in the reception chamber, Scorchflint had immediately advised me on how this might go…and it was not good. As I had thought earlier, Decepticons were known for taking vengeance on any perceived wrongdoings against them. And this was much more than a perceived wrongdoing. My two eldest had dove straight into a situation without any regard for what else could be happening. They assumed that the ship, since it did not respond in a regular fashion, was a threat and immediately acted against it…her.

"Enter," I spoke loud enough so my sons would know that I was speaking to them. There was no hesitation as the doors opened and my two eldest entered.

First to enter, not to my surprise, was Firebrand. As my eldest creation, he carried himself with a confidence that, most solars, I was glad to see. As my heir, he would need that confidence once he took over leadership of Vestium Major from me. However, from his attitude that I could see now, along with the events of earlier in my helm, I could tell that solar was a long way off. Did he not realize what sort of situation their actions, and inactions, had caused?

At least Seabreaker seemed a little subdued as he followed behind his brother. Usually the more logical of my creations, he had been in charge of communications during that patrol. Hopefully, his submissive approach meant that he knew that he had blundered. However, I could assume nothing. Not with an injured Decepticon currently in our medbay. One that showed no aggression toward us, to begin with.

"Carrier said you wished to speak with us sire?" Firebrand asked me as if he was asking how my solar was going. My anger toward my eldest was slowly increasing. "Is this about the patrol?"

Before my eldest could bring about more of my anger, I spoke. "Yes, this is about your patrol run. Do you two realize the situation that you have placed Vestium Major in?"

"Yes, sir," Seabreaker answered, almost in a whisper.

And that whisper was almost unheard over Firebrand's response. "What situation? So we made a mistake. It was just a Decepticon. For all we knew, she could have been attacking. Never can tell with,"

Seabreeze's servo on my own was the only force stopping me from raising my servo against my idiot of a creation. "Is that how you view this? She could have been a danger so you attacked, regardless of the consequences? Despite your views on Decepticons, she followed procedure! She contacted the general comm frequency as one should when their communications are damaged! Regardless of your beliefs, that means that this attack is squarely on our shoulders! If word reaches the Decepticons before we can negotiate with the femme, then Megatron could demand an exorbitant fee for retribution. And that is a hopeful solution. You do know of the strain that the Alliance is facing, yes? Surely you have at least kept your helm out of your aft enough to hear of that?"

My spark pulsed with anger with each word I said. I needed Firebrand to realize just what sort of damage he caused. His scoff at my questions almost set me off against him. "Of course I do. It is of much more concern than a Decepticon. What we need to do is put this behind us so we can focus on keeping our optics online for real trouble. The Decepticons could barely fight against the Autobots, and they were supposed to be militarily superior. What trouble could they cause us?"

Before I could burst a line out of frustration with my eldest, his brother thankfully spoke up. "You don't pay attention." Firebrand turned to glare at his brother. However, before he could retort, Seabreaker continued. "Any planet hosting a Decepticon or Autobot during those talks saw how hard the Decepticons tried for peace. We heard them negotiate at a level that was unheard of before. They knew just how to talk to the Autobots. Honestly, if the attack hadn't happened, then they could have very well brokered peace."

"And that matters why?" Firebrand still wasn't understanding. While I wanted to lecture my creation, I saw this as a valuable teaching moment. Seabreeze, who was usually the most introverted of our four creations, was standing up to his older brother and showing that he had learned his lesson.

And he continued to do so as he spoke. "Any planet worth their credits would offer to help the Decepticons should they ask for it, just to have the wisdom and strength that the Decepticons would bring. The femme who offlined during those talks was fighting off three of the most infamous Autobots during that surprise attack. And that femme was practically unheard of before then. That would put any of the known Decepticons at such a higher standing. Plus, have you seen a Decepticon fight?"

Firebrand shook his helm. "No, I have better things to do than waste my time on stuff like that."

"Not if you think that way," Seabreeze shot back at his brother. "While our last Decepticon visitor was here, I watched a few of his training sessions with the Air Core. The air superiority that Sunstorm showed along with his prowess with a blade was both amazing and terrifying to watch. I talked to Kite once he departed and he said that Sunstorm admitted that he was one of the least skilled fighters that the Decepticons had. Combine that with the footage we have from the failed peace talks, and I would be worried." He then motioned to me. "Right now, we have put sire in a difficult position. On one servo, he knows that we made a mistake. Plain and simple. However, on the other, he has to show the femme that he has acted as a leader of a planet should."

Before Firebrand could continue to put his pede in his mouth, I spoke up. "Precisely. Plus, those who are rising against us could see this situation as a chance to gain an ally in the Decepticons because we attacked the femme. The longer we wait to pay restitution to the femme, the longer they have to work." I then let out a vent. "Thankfully, we have some time on our side. No planet will approach the Decepticons without complete proof and a statement against us from the femme. And make no mistake, word of this will have already left our space."

"Do you think it will reach the Decepticons?" Seabreaker asked nervously.

Thank Iussa that Seabreaker was understanding the severity of this. "We hope not," Seabreeze answered. "With a mass movement of Decepticons back to Decepticon space, and more specifically to their new capital world of Pyrovar, few should be in this sector of space. It is quite a surprise that this femme is near here at all. Most will be taking the direct route to Pyrovar. However, given Decepticon connections throughout known space, then it won't take long. We must act quickly."

"And that starts with your punishments," I took over while sitting up a little straighter. "For now, you are both restricted to the palace until we meet with the femme. No exceptions. Also, you will both be grounded. No taking to the air. And you will each be serving five hundred cycles of community service, without your alt modes, once the femme is well enough to meet with us."

"Yes sire," Seabreaker accepted.

As glad as I was that he was taking this so well, I was not done yet. "Finally, the rest of your punishment will be decided by the femme once we can talk with her." I then sent a glare to my eldest. "And I will hear no complaints about this. You had best hope that the femme is the merciful sort."

"You're putting your heir's fate in the servos of a stranger?" Firebrand yelled. The mech needed to watch his tone. He was on thin ground with me as it was right now. "Just how scared are you of one femme? Maybe you,"

"Leave now Firebrand and take some time to think," I interrupted his rant. He was about to dig himself into trouble that he would not be able to remove himself from. "My word on this is final. There will be no debate."

While it was obvious that he wanted to argue with me, Firebrand seemed to finally realize that he was getting himself into more trouble for he simply shook his helm before storming out. Once he was gone, his brother glanced back up at me. "He's upset that he's failed you, sire," Seabreaker seemed to feel the need to explain. "He has been working so hard to show you that he is ready to take over, that this has been hitting him hard. Fire just doesn't know how to sort through this."

"While that is understandable," I agreed with my second, "This is another lesson that your brother will need to learn as a leader. While yes, this was a mistake, we need to show that we take offenses seriously, no matter who may commit them. Given the gravity of what happened, I felt like placing some of the power in the femme's servos was the best move. It would allow the femme to take retribution to the point where the Decepticons will be satisfied that we have not belittled them. Given the recent debacle that those peace talks became, the Decepticons will be on guard. Showing them that we are sincerely sorry for what has happened will keep them from joining with those who are against us."

If I was expecting Seabreaker to leave at that point, I would have been surprised when the mech continued speaking. "Sire, where are the twins right now?"

And that was another helmache…but for a completely different reason. His two younger siblings, twins, had heard about the situation of course and, while my youngest was indifferent to what was going on right now, her brother was the bundle of curiosity that he always was. And if he was interested in something, it was only a matter of time before he dragged his sister into this. "Until the femme is ready to meet with us, I have ordered the two of them to stay away from the medical wing. While Lightbeam is taking this just as she normally does, Grinchain has been trying to sneak in to see the femme at every nano. Scorchflint has had to set up guards just to keep an optic out for him."

A vent came from Seabreaker before he brought a servo to his faceplate in exasperation. "Only he could find a way to make this situation worse in the opposite way. We don't know how the femme will react when she wakes up and if he is in there when she does, it could put him in danger."

"Exactly," I agreed. "If you would, keep an optic on both of them until we can talk with her."

"Yes sire," Seabreaker agreed before he motioned to the door. "May I be excused to my quarters?"

"You are excused," I granted. Once he was gone and the door was shut, I slouched against my throne. "What sort of mess are we in right now?" I asked my bondmate.

Seabreeze shook his helm and leaned it against my own. "Not a good one to be honest. However, we will get through this. Something tells me that this femme is going to change things around here."

While I did agree with my mate, I had to worry. Would that change be for the better or worse?

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

What the frag happened? The last thing that I remembered was that I had been flying toward Pyrovar when I found myself passing by Vestium Major. Then everything seemed muddled together. Why were my wings feeling like they were being placed through a shredder? Frag I just needed some answers…and maybe some rest. I knew I was pushing myself to return to Lord Megatron as quickly as possible, but I seemed to have pushed myself a little too far.

"I know you are awake,"

That got my spark racing. I immediately forced my onlining procedures to hasten before quickly looking around. "Frag that hurt," I grumbled as I rubbed my helm. While I was still cautious about where I was, I could at least see that I was in some sort of med bay. In that case, I knew that I could take a nano to gather myself. Where was I? Remembering that I had heard a set of vocals, I glanced around some more until I locked optics with a mech that had a similar build to Breakdown. Though, if I had to pick him an alt mode from Earth, it would be a military medical armored vehicle. Not sure which one, but something that is heavily armored. "Where am I?"

A concerned look crossed his faceplate before he answered me. "Vestium Major. More directly, you are in a medical room in the Vorassus Palace in the capital city of Tocania." Well…at least I knew what planet I was on.

"I guess that's a start," I responded to him as I placed a servo against my helm. Frag, it seemed like everything hurt. Everything. Why couldn't I remember what happened?

"I'll go and get something for your helmache. While I am gone, my assistant, Zipple, will take down some basic information." He then motioned to a door that soon opened to reveal a younger-looking bot about Knockout's size. However, this Zipple did not look like he wanted to be here. great. Hopefully, my first impressions were wrong. "I'll return in a few clicks."

Zipple nodded and things stayed quiet between the two of us until the door shut. Once the medic was gone, who I just realized I did not get his designation, Zipple sat on the med berth across from me. "Alrighty designation?"

"Pandimala,"

"Gender?"

"Femme."

"Age?"

I had to think on that for a nano to remember that I was currently twenty now. "Twenty."

A frown appeared on my faceplate when he rolled his optics at me before writing in my answer. What the frag was that for? "Race?"

Wait…what the frag was I supposed to answer for that? I mean, it wasn't so cut and dry with me. But, I figured the safest bet would be to say that I was Cybertronian. "Cybertronian."

Well, at least he didn't roll his optics at me this time. "Any previous injuries?"

"You don't have that kind of time," I honestly answered him. And he didn't. Frag, just the stuff that I had been through in this dimension was more than most bots saw in their entire existence. let alone all the crap I used to get into when I was back with mom.

He gave me a disbelieving look. "Really?"

Thankfully, before I got into an argument with this young bot, the medic returned and shook his helm. "Zipple she's a Decepticon. The Decepticons are currently fighting in a civil war. Their list of injuries is going to be more than we have time for in this click." The medic then turned to me. "Though if you could send me an itemized list of those injuries later that would be beneficial for your future treatment."

Wait…future treatment? What the frag was going on here? "What do you mean by that? Why am I even here in the first place?"

The silence that fell between the two of them told me that I was missing something pretty significant in my memory banks. After a click of the two having a silent conversation between them, the medic let out a vent. "Zipple, go back to the desks. I'll take over from here." I watched as the young mech walked out. Once the doors closed, the medic turned back to me and gave me a long, studying look. "What is the last thing you remember…Pandimala?" He had to pause to look down at Zipple's notes from my designation.

I thought as hard as I could about what I last remembered before answering, "I was flying to Pyrovar from Cybertron. I had to take a detour because of a solar storm some locals on Antilla said had popped up. I think I was passing by this planet and I am drawing a blank after that." I didn't like having gaps in my memory. It reminded me of Paul blocking my memories, which he had no right to do. While that might have kept that information out of those three's servos, I knew what his real intent was. He wanted to control me and who I shared the information I had with. Thankfully, Michael had put a block on his block that, while it couldn't allow me to access those memories from before Paul's interference, did allow me to access everything after Michael intervened.

A vent escaped the medic before he shook his helm. "While it would make things a lot easier if what happened didn't happen, we are honest bots here, despite our mistakes. Here is what happened once you entered Vestium Major space." He then told me about everything that happened to me. As he mentioned certain events, some corresponding memories would come into place. The arrival of the patrol ship, the disregard of my general comm message, and having to fly for my survival. All of that pain. I felt my vents start to cycle as I tried to calm myself. But, I couldn't. I felt myself in that same panic. That same pain. "Femme!"

I barely heard the mech's vocals as I tried to rationalize this. But, every time I tried, all I could focus on was the sound of the jets closing in on me, and blasters firing at me. I needed to make sure I dodged everything! I needed to return to Lord Megatron! I needed to,

A flinch traveled through my chassis as I felt a servo connect to the back of my helm. "Ow, did you have to hit me that hard?" I grumbled as I held a servo up to my helm. Thankfully, that helm-slap did seem to snap me out of the panic my systems had just sent me into. "Thanks for that though."

"You're welcome," The mech responded with a nod before he continued. "So, I am assuming that you have remembered everything that has happened?"

"I was shot down," I let out with a growl. I had done everything as well as I had been taught and I had still been shot down. "Why?"

The medic shook his helm. "That's not for me to answer Pandimala. The royal family asks for an audience with you once you have recuperated enough to move about without too much strain."

Wait, they were asking me? That didn't make a single bit of sense. They were the rulers of this planet and, while I would never bow a knee toward them, that didn't mean that I wouldn't respect them on their planet. Did they feel responsible for this? "Why are they asking me?" I questioned the mech. "Oh, and what's your designation doc?"

He looked at me with obvious confusion on his faceplate before he answered. "My designation is Physis, Chief Medical Officer of Vestium Major." This was their fragging best medic! Working on me? There was something that I was missing. There was something I was missing. "And what do you mean by that question?"

Was he having one over me or did he not understand what I was asking? "They're royalty. And this is their planet. Why the frag would they have to ask to have an audience with me? Shouldn't I be the one trying to have an audience with them?"

The two of us stared at each other, yellow optics on green optics, before he vented. "I can't say yet. It will be a part of the talks." And right before I could move to get this fragging meeting over with, the medic pushed me back down. "But you are in no condition for that kind of talk. The fact that you have healed even half as well as you have in seven solars is a miracle in itself."

Wait wait wait…What the frag did he just say? "I've been unconscious for seven fragging solars?" I growled as that thought stayed in my processor. Frag, that was even more time away from my Lord. I needed to get off of this planet as soon as I was able. Maybe I would sneak out in the middle of the night and fly off before anybot could do anything?

"You should be lucky you were only out that long with the kind of damage your chassis took!" He snapped back at me with the tone that all medics seemed to get. "Major system failure in every fragging part of your chassis. There were several times when we thought you weren't going to pull through. We finally got you to this point by putting your most damaged parts into medical lockdown once we had them stable."

I felt my optics narrow as he said that. There were parts of me on medical lockdown? What the fragging hell did that mean? "What do you mean part of me is on medical lockdown?"

To his credit, he didn't flinch at the glare I sent his way as he answered. "Your wings and t-cog were almost unsalvageable. However, once we got them repaired, we knew that your systems would need time to adjust to all of the new plating and cables we had to replace. Since they were the most damaged areas, they were returned to a stationary state and medically locked so they can not be used until they are unlocked."

I felt an emptiness creep into my systems as he said that. My wings…my t-cog…I couldn't use them. While my t-cog honestly wasn't as big a deal since I didn't depend on it to defend myself, my wings were another story. The last time they were in that state was before they popped. I couldn't go through that again. Not again.

Then, the logical side of my processor caught up to what he was saying. No wings plus no t-cog meant I was stuck on their planet until he approved of their healing process. While I knew that the dark energon in my systems was already helping in repairing my chassis from what they did, I knew it would still be too long. Every nano that I was stuck here, doing nothing, was too long away from Lord Megatron. I was supposed to return to him. He was waiting for me and I had stopped making progress.

If I was stuck here, then I was going to take every advantage that I could to make sure that this time was not wasted in vain. I remembered a few things from my studies with the others about foreign powers, but I needed to know more. This planet was going to be my temporary home for the foreseeable future and I needed to make sure that I did not embarrass my Lord as his representative now. And that meant that I needed to know more about where I was. As any strategist worth their reputation knows, you should always familiarize yourself with your surroundings before making any rash decisions. Right now, I needed that more than ever. "Could you get me data pads about Vestium Major and the Galactic Alliance?"

He looked suspicious at my request but, to my surprise, he didn't say anything to that end. Instead, he gave a nod before he spoke. "Yes, what are you wanting from them?"

"Everything."

Grinchain's 1st P.O.V.

It wasn't fair. Sure, they were a few stellars older than me. And they were further in that stupid training than I was. But I was fascinated with the Autobot Decepticon war. Utterly fascinated with it. It was amazing to research just what the Council back during the 'Golden Age' of Cybertron was able to get away with. While the Galactic Alliance did not support any side in this war, it was easy to see that the Decepticons were right to raise grievances against the Autobots.

The conditions that were revealed when neutrals would ask for sanctuary, in return for memories, were some of the most horrid that we had ever seen. Not only that, but some even had physical proof in their memories of trying to better themselves and being stopped cold by the higher-caste bots. Honestly, it was amazing that none of the Alliance noticed the discrepancies during their visits to the planet. The starvation, the almost lawlessness of the outlier city-states, and the brutality that they had to live in just to survive solar to solar were horrendous and yet fascinating at the same time.

But then, as their war dragged on longer and longer, the Decepticons lost their way. Instead of fighting for their rights, they became ruthless shells of what they were. They didn't hesitate in breaking galactic law just to appease their own goals. It was sickening to look at. Of course, they weren't the only ones. From the evidence and testimonies that the Alliance had in their databases, the Autobots were in some dark times as well.

Near the end of the most recent campaign that the higher command had been involved with, however, that morality shifted again. While not as drastic as what was seen during the main fighting, the change was significant enough to bring about peace talks. If anybot had suggested that the Autobots and Decepticons would have peace talks in even my existence, I would have thought that they had lost a part of their processor. However, as reports had been sent in from across the galaxies, there was more than enough evidence that it was possible.

"What are you doing?" I stood straight as that voice came from behind me. Frag I had been caught!

Turning, I let out a nervous chuckle at Bastof, the guard assigned to the medical wing. "Ah, nothing much. Just stretching my leg struts a bit."

The mech gave me a disbelieving glance and I knew that my excuse hadn't worked. "You can do that in the opposite direction, mech."

"This is a bunch of slag," I grumbled with a shake of my helm. "I just want to talk with the femme. Five clicks. That's all I need. I just want to hear her story! My brothers got to interact with her already,"

"When they shot her down," Bastof reminded me. "Of which they are already receiving punishment for and will receive more once the femme can meet with your creators."

"Details," I huffed, though I knew he was right. But, it still bothered me that I wasn't allowed to meet this femme. I wanted to meet her. From the little I could squeeze out of Gyo before sire put me on lockdown, the femme was able to take one frag of a beating. From what he told me, most bots wouldn't have stayed online with even half the injuries that the femme was able to take. I needed to meet her! "Come on, just two clicks? In and out with nobot the wiser." I then gave him my best begging optics.

However, his spark had to be on lockdown because he just gave me a plain glance back. "I would be wiser. And the answer is still no mech. You do realize the situation right now with that femme? We can't risk anything happening until at least she meets with your creators. That means that you are going to turn around and get back to the other parts of the castle before I call this in officially." His look then hardened. "And if I hear any more about you trying to get down here without your creators' permission, I'll make sure Scorchflint assigns you so much training that you don't get to meet the femme until every other bot on Vestium Major has gotten the chance. Do I make myself clear?"

The glare I was sending him would hopefully melt him where he stood. "Very," I grumbled in response to him before I turned and walked away.

Frag them all. What if she didn't want to talk with me after she talked with my creators? That was especially since I would have to be in the room with them along with my elder brothers and my twin. Oh, the bot is royalty? 'I can't talk to him unless there are fifty other bots around and I have to watch what I say.' It happened every time we got a visitor. Whether they be Autobot or Decepticon. I would get a few questions answered by them before they would clam up. I wanted to just have a regular conversation with the bots that came. Get to know them.

But, from how stubborn everybot was being mixed with how badly my brother had fragged up, then this would be another bot in that category. Scared off from talking with me, really talking with me, because of my family. Perhaps the bot would be different? However, I wouldn't bet on that. This was fragging messed up!

"Careful brother," I jumped out of my circuits when my sister's vocals suddenly came from next to me. Her smirk told me that she knew exactly what she was doing. "You're going to blow a gasket getting all angry like that."

I sent her a glare at that. "Oh, hilarious Lightbeam. Think of that all on your own? What are you doing in this sector anyways?"

"Trying to stop you. I might not like a lot of the decisions that our creators place, but you going against this one would be stupid. And as much as I make fun of you, I know you aren't stupid." She responded with a roll of her optics.

I gave her a disbelieving look at that. "You? Listening to our creators? Since when?"

My sister was like the poster femme of delinquency and hearing her say that we should listen to our creators was something I did not expect to hear. At all. This solar was almost worth it just because of that. I wasn't sure what sort of fate came with the Decepticon in the medical wing, but it was making everything crazy.

"Since this is bigger than just our planet," She growled back at me. "Look, listen to me, or don't. That's your call. However, just think about what sort of mess Firebrand and Seabreaker have made and ask if you want to add to that? Or if that femme down there would be any more willing to talk to you if she learned that you were disobeying orders from our creators? If she has any sort of processor on her she won't want to talk to you after that." Lightbeam then shook her helm before walking away.

Wait…that was toward the doors to go outside. "And where are you going? I thought you just said we should listen to our creators about this? Doesn't that mean that we should be staying inside as they asked as well?"

She glanced back at me with a smirk. "Only about our interactions with the femme, brother. And since there are more guards around the medical wing now thanks to you, I should be able to go out with a better chance of not getting caught." She then disappeared around a corner.

Fragging femme. She planned this. And while Bastof said he wouldn't make an official report on my attempt, he was probably going to tell Scorchflint about it off the record, which would mean even more bots were going to get pulled to watch the medical wing. Honestly, my sister sometimes terrified me.

Arriving at my room, I entered the code to get in before I walked in. While it would be a pain in the aft to wait, I knew that I didn't have any other choice now. Between the guards and my sister, I consciously knew that it would be against my best interests to try again. But frag did this sting. An obvious Decepticon, right here and without knowledge of me yet, and I couldn't go talk with them without major consequences. Hopefully, the femme would be open to talking after finding out who I was. Sometimes, being royalty was slagging annoying.

Authoress: Cuddle time is approved. Even if you did break into this room when you weren't supposed to.

Michael: *smirks* Bribery does have its good moments.

Authoress: *glares* Don't ruin it. Plus, you will have to leave once I start bringing in bots from the section of the story we are on.

Michael: I am assuming that is the reason that Pandimala is no longer with us here?

Authoress: *nods*

Michael: Then I shall enjoy every second.

AN: And here is the first official chapter after that debacle of a prologue! I honestly wasn't expecting to update this until Valor was a little further along, but I needed a break to get myself back in tune with that timeline. So, I am going through and working on stuff that isn't on hiatus and that includes this one! I'm not sure what I will work on next, but I'll probably start on whatever that will be tomorrow.

But, enough of that. It looks like this chapter is setting up something interesting. Dawnbreaker and his bondmate know that their creations screwed up majorly and are worried about how this will play out. Pandimala, of course, is angry that she has been delayed in her trip longer but is going to use this as best as she can. And then we have our twin troublemakers from Vestium Major. Looks like those two are set up to be important as well. We shall see in the upcoming chapters though. Until then, which might not be for a while since this won't be a focus, here are the names of the next chapters!

Chapter 2: Far From Home

Chapter 3: The Guide

Chapter 4: (of course, you'll find out next time!)

And that is all for now! Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to read this! I do appreciate every one of you! If you would like to leave a review or leave a review to say hi, go for it! I do try to respond to those as soon as I can. Well, until the next time we meet, TTYL! *blasting an amazing version of Ode to Joy in my earbuds*