The Consort Of Peace

The Consort of Peace

A Wang Zhaojun Megop AU

[Part 1]

On horseback playing winds and strings headed to Yin Mountain.

Orion watched through the gap in the sliding door behind which he stayed securely hidden as he entered Sentinel Prime’s throne room. He approached Iacon’s emperor with, who the hidden concubine assumed to be, two of his commanders. To his left a broad-chested attendant, his faceplate hidden behind a thick iron mask and his optics concealed by a pair of burning red visors. His emotions unseen and unreadable unlike the other attendant flanking him. A shorter crimson seeker with a devilish yet self-assured grin resting on his lips, as if this was all a mere shadow play to him.

Orion observed with bated breath as he and his retinue knelt down before Sentinel Prime while looking straight at the gold-and-blue coloured emperor, never averting his glance even once. An act of utter audacity and disrespect like that would usually lead to direct imprisonment at best or execution at worst and yet… His red optics glared at Sentinel as if he were trying to say “Try me. I dare you”.

The concubine had heard and read many stories of him over the years. He was known by many names and titles. The barbarian, the tyrant, the invader, the grey nightmare, the one who dwells on the planet’s surface, the ruthless Deception leader.

Megatron.

"I am pleased to see you, Megatron.” Sentinel greeted the visitor with a sickly sweet smile that was about as authentic as the jade pearls he had gifted to one of his lower ranking concubines earlier that day “So you have decided to take me up on my gracious offer for peace?”

“Don’t pat yourself on the back too much, Sentinel.” Megatron retorted.

No honorific, no title of Prime added at the end. Addressing the emperor only by his first name. Orion thought, a servo placed over his mouth in shock over the visitor’s shameless temerity. The tyrant must either be stupid, blissfully unaware to court manners or view Sentinel Prime beneath himself. Or an unhealthy combination of all three.

"We both know that you would happily attack, chase and terrorise me and my men for another hundred vorns if it weren’t for…”

The Decepticon leader continued, a whirring servo reaching towards his masked attendant, his optics still fixated on the emperor. Orion squinted as he saw the barbarian’s cobalt follower gently hand his lord… something. Something that shone bright and clearly with the colour of freshly mined energon.

“… this!” Megatron continued where he had left off. A tiny, almost unnoticed smirk forming in the corners of the grey mech’s mouth as he was now proudly presenting the mystery-thingamabob right into Sentinel Prime’s face.

Datapads?

Orion’s brow ridges furrowed as he saw Sentinel Prime’s entire frame stiffen and his eyes bulgen at the sight of the datapads.

Is the barbarian… blackmailing the emperor?

Orion, now even more intrigued than before, pressed his face plate against the sliding door’s gap in hopes to get a better look at the happenings inside the throne room.

The emperor shot up from his seat grabbing the datapads in the Decepticon leader’s servo before plummeting down onto the dragon throne once again. Sentinel Prime’s blown optics flicked rapidly over the datapads’ contents, his lips pressed together into a thin line, yet Orion could have sworn he saw them quiver nervously ever so slightly.

“Heh… So you truly have kept these books from me for all these millennia. But…” Sentinel tossed the datapads back at Megatron’s peds “There is no way these are all of the books. Right?”

“The motherload is securely with my men on the surface of Cybertron. What? You didn’t seriously believe I’d bring every single one of these books with me to our peace treaty talks, did you Prime?” The invader spat the emperor’s title out like it was an insult, his optics glowering at the imperial mech with flaming yet unspoken hate.

Sentinel’s servos gripped the arm rest of his throne tightly at Megatron undermining his intelligence, returning an equally hate-filled scowl at the tyrant. Orion was certain he heard a tiny crack of the throne’s arm rests getting dented by the sheer force of Sentinel’s clutches. The Prime clenched his optics shut and took a deep breath. His grip finally showed some mercy upon the poor throne and that sham of a smile returned to the emperor's facial plate.

"Of course not, esteemed guest of mine." Sentinel Prime chirped "In fact, I would prefer it if you kept these books with you on the planet surface. Far, far, far away from any prying eyes and most importantly from the eyes of Iacon’s citizens."

"You want us to keep the books? I am surprised you are not ordering me and my men to hand them over to you in a nice bow so you can personally burn every last one of them." The barbarian answered, a brow ridge raised in scepticism.

"This is a peace treaty meeting, is it not?" Sentinel Prime answered nonchalantly, his chin resting on one of his servos "Meaning, in order to find an agreement we both have to make some sacrifices and compromises. For the sake of peace." the word peace rolling off Sentinel's tongue like honey. As if the uttering the mere word were an irresistable bait used by hunters to catch their prey.

"Very well. So we keep these" Megatron picked up one of the datapads again tauntingly waving it infront of Sentinel "as far away from the people of Iacon, if and only if you keep your armies just as far away from our territory."

"The planet surface you mean?" Sentinel perked up.

"Yes. You let me and my people wander the planet surface in peace. No more wars. No more random military campaigns. No more displacements." Megatron growled.

"And what about you?" Sentinel flung back, helm still lazily draped over his servo, gleeming at the visitors with half lidded optics. Seemingly treating these peace talks like a boring chore. But for all Orion knew this might be nothing but show and calculated acting by the emperor to either put the barbarian and his entourage 'in their place' or to get a rise out of them.

The tyrant's torso straightened, his optics shooting straight back at the emperor.

"What about us?"

"Don't act so naive. Everyone knows about you and your men raiding the mining villages close to the planet's surface. There is no way of gathering energon up in that wasteland you call home. So you attack these poor workers and rid them of their hard mined for energon. If I stop my military campaigns towards you, will you end the raids against these innocent commoners?"

Megatron just waved the datapads in front of Sentinel's face once more his optics never once breaking their gaze from the emperor as he watched the colour drain from the Prime's facial plates like it was a game to him.

"Alright, you make a fair argument." Sentinel hissed, clicking his glossa "But keep the raids to an absolute minimum. Or these miners will demand for their emperor to take more 'direct actions' against you surface dwellers."

"Very well." Megatron huffed, his mind already thinking of alternative ways to provide his men with enough energon.

"Very well indeed!" Sentinel echoed as one of his drones handed him a new datapad - the peace treaty document, Orion assumed.

"Just sign right at the bottom of this document, and this peace treaty will come straight into effect." Sentinel declared, his perfectly rehearsed smile growing even bigger as he tried to hand the charter-manuscript to Megatron.

"Not. So. Fast." Megatron exclaimed, pushing the datapad away from himself "I need proof."

"Proof? Proof for what?" Sentinel asked, his voice breaking, clearly annoyed at the tyrant dragging this meeting out further.

“I need you to prove that you are serious about this peace treaty. I need physical confirmation that you will not turn around and break it the second i get up to leave this room. So I demand you give up something dear and precious to you."

"A collateral. You are asking me for a collateral." Sentinel clarified.

"I am." Megatron answered matter of factly like he was simply stating the time.

"Fine, if it keeps you and those accursed books out of my empire. What do you suggest I give you as proof?"

There was a long pause as Megatron mulled over his answer. Orion felt suffocated by the silence that fell over the throne room and the anticipiation.

"One of your beloved concubines." The tyrant finally broke the silence "If you are willing to give up even one of them, then and only then, will I believe your sincerity about this treaty."