HIGH COUNCIL OF THE STRATOCRACY

While the Grand Architect is the highest and only absolute authority of the Stratocracy ruling Cybertron, he is still just one mech and he alone can't personally oversee everything. Some decision-making power is therefore delegated to his High Council, which is the highest authority in the world in the Grand Architect's absence. Twelve mecha together dictate the complete workings of the functionist hierarchy:

• Councilmember One-of-Twelve Tyrest, Convener
• Councilmember Two-of-Twelve Drivetrain, Auditor
• Councilmember Three-of-Twelve Avalon, Authenticator
• Councilmember Four-of-Twelve Mindgame, Moderator
• Councilmember Five-of-Twelve Contrail, Enumerator
• Councilmember Six-of-Twelve Megazarak, Enactor
• Councilmember Seven-of-Twelve Sigil, Curator
• Councilmember Eight-of-Twelve Halogen, Disseminator
• Councilmember Nine-of-Twelve Heretech, Inquisitor
• Councilmember Ten-of-Twelve Highbrow, Evaluator
• Councilmember Eleven-of-Twelve Xaaron, Mediator
• Councilmember Twelve-of-Twelve Rage, Castigator

The role and titles of the twelve seats remain the same no matter who fills them. Their responsibilities are not over individual territories, like members of the Cybertronian Senate, but rather total control over entire aspects of government from top to bottom. The Grand Architect handpicks each Councilmember, and can also fire any of them at any time. Some have managed to stay for a good long while, with Tyrest having been the longest. Former members include Beta Trion, a Councilmember in the Mediator's seat not long after the establishment of the Stratocracy.

The Council convenes less regularly than the Senate according to the whims of the Grand Architect and their respective agendas. Usually, they would not concern themselves with individual criminals, but high profile revolutionaries have a way of getting themselves noticed. With the rise of heroes in Iacon, not all that far from the political center of the Golden Dome, many Councilmembers are rightfully nervous. So far, no attempt to put down these insurgents has worked, and they know a threat to their rule when they see one.

With the kind of power the Council collectively has being nearly equal to that of the Grand Architect, they are in theory capable of working against him and seizing power for themselves. This has never happened specifically because he arranges his appointees to fight amongst one another too much to effectively arrange a coup. It is a ruling body of cutthroat, ruthless politicians with social networks and legal infrastructure positioned like armies on a battlefield, each jostling for control through domination over others. They prey on the weak, and the Grand Architect has never been seen as weak. Typically when he attends a Council meeting, he presides over them in silence, giving nothing away, forcing them to vie for a bit of attention until he either speaks up and makes the final decision for them or simply leaves to let them compete amongst themselves. This inefficiency, like many other aspects of functionism, may just be by design.