The day I met Chardreau, I had already formed some strong opinions about him.

Even before I had been assigned to him, I had heard his name and seen his face. Who hadn't? He was the only creation of one of Kaon's wealthiest Senators, inheriting his creator's seat in the Senate almost as soon as he'd received his adult upgrades.

And however the Tower mechs tried to dress it up, that was how it had happened. Nepotism was the unspoken norm within the Senate, at least in Kaon and its neighboring city-states. He may have been groomed practically from younglinghood for this position, but by no means had he been elected.

I had been utterly dismayed upon learning that this was who I was to protect and guard with my life. But the Foundry mechs had rebutted each and every one of my requests for a reassignment. This, they reminded me, was my duty, and I was not to spit on the hand that fed me.

Reminded of my debt to them, I held my silence.

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