The Chronicles of Orion: Part 10
=0=That night
She stood at the window looking out wondering where in the sky her Ada was. He had left with the fleet and she was very afraid that he was not coming back. Orns had passed and her belief was being undermined by bad memories. Leaving with the army had awakened fears that had been firewalled by the protection and love she had been given in this new life. Her genitors had left her one at a time telling her to stay hidden, that they would come back. They didn't. She felt anxiety suffuse her and so she turned tip-toeing back to her genitors' bedroom peering inside. Trailbreaker still lay recharging and across the hallway so was Rebel. Hound was missing, her sweet and wonderful Hound. It made her uneasy and confused.
The army and the Seekers had stood out to get some of their own back, two Seekers who were missing. She had helped make signs for the city to show them how much she loved them. It had helped. But now she was restless again. Turning and walking to the chair Hound liked best she sat and considered how to feel better. She needed cheering up she thought.
Then it came to her.
If she felt this bad so did others. That would be the new goal for her, her new coping mechanism for this, the latest assault on her sense of comfort in a long line of them. She would help the city cheer up. Picking up the large remote she turned on the monitor and surfed the internet until after a number of keywords she found what she needed. Reading the imperfect translation with her still emerging Cybertronian she found enough information to begin the project that would help her hold together until her Ada came back to her.
She was sure he would. He said so.
It was different this time. He was a soldier.
=0=On the road
She walked with great purpose, her helm held high, her arms swinging with every stride forward. She looked like she knew what she was doing and going there boldly. Very few individuals were on the streets or in the corridors of the city this time of the night. Shift had changed earlier and so she was not stopped as she passed through hub after hub heading toward the place where good things came from. She was a femmeling on a mission and nothing would sway her determined forward momentum.
=0=Nearby
The Night Watch mechs stood in the substation that was near the outlying industrial park comparing notes on a couple of mischevious youngling mechs and a femme who liked to draw pictures on the walls. Apparently 'tagging' was a big deal on Earth and they were upholding the great tradition of younglings everywhere by pissing off the authorities and leaving 'art' all over the place. A short talk with very stern genitors appreared to ensure that the offenders would have a short term career and so they chuckled over the audacity of the young.
As they did a tiny pink and green femmeling walking with great purpose, her little helm held high, her arms moving briskly at her sides passed by. Melano, the officer of the shift watched her go by as he sat at his desk surprise infusing his handsome features. Rising, moving past the three who parted to let him go past he looked out the door. A tiny femmeling, pink and green, her miniscule wings pert and determination hanging over her like a cloud forged onward into the massive corridors that were a feature of this part of the city.
The industrial parks, all three of them were huge and the traffic there was a mixture of massive trucks hauling things and smaller ones carting finished products and parts to other places. The lanes were big enough to allow three heavy trucks to drive them side by side and the illumination, though set at night everywhere else was always bright like noon here. Lights regulated flow. Doors were nearly always pushed back so that the work inside the massive factories and workshops could be viewed as they vented heat and allowed for vehicles to come and go. It was a spectacular sight and one she entered with gusto. Many was the field trip that she had taken with her class under the able and watchful stewardship of Mr. Terradive as they learned about the wonders of Autobot City. She knew where she wanted to go and she paused looked both ways, then began to cross the street.
Melano, jolting out of his stupor broke into a brisk run and caught up with the tiny speck as she was halfway across the street. Tracks for trains that carried monster loads as well as munitions heading for distant outlying armories ran down the middle of the street, so Melano picked her up and stepped out of the way as a fully laden ore train passed by. They stared at it and then each other. "Infant, what are you dong here all alone?"
She looked at him swallowing her innate shyness against the mission she was undertaking and told him. He blinked.
=0=Shortly afterward
Trailbreaker strode down the corridor that lead to Industrial Park No. 1. He had been called from recharge by the Night Watch Substation 4 at the Industrial Park and after it sunk in what they told him he had nearly hovered to the Fortress, a sleeping Rebel in his carry hold. Marching down the corridors passing hubs with as much determination as his daughter he spotted the station and hurried to the door. Looking inside, he saw Silverbow sitting on a chair eating a cookie, her little thin legs swinging freely. Four huge mechs stood around her grinning as she sat, almost as if the idea of a petite little waif roaming the streets seeking to do good deeds was almost too much to imagine. Melano turned and looked at Trailbreaker. "I think you're missing something."
Trailbreaker nodded and entered kneeling down. "Silverbunny ... what are you doing out here?"
She told him.
=0=Moments later
Five mechs and a tiny femmeling walked through the industrial park heading for the special materials fabrication plant that was near to the back of this part of the installation. Following the road, avoiding trucks and train tracks they made their way to the door. She walked purposefully, her arms swinging, her helm held high. She was going to find what she needed to do good deeding and now she had allies. When they arrived they waited in the doorway, five giant bots and a tiny miniscule femmeling. The shift foreman, a mech named Hi-low spotted them and turned walking to the doorway. He glanced at the mechs but they pointed downward to the little green and pink morsel standing in front of them. He looked down and then knelt. "What are you doing here, infant? You could get hurt out here."
Silverbow, gathering her nerve told him.
=0=Moments later
Five mechs and one tiny femmeling walked with great purpose back to the Night Watch substation. She carried a thin sheet of pretty metallic paper that bore the colors of the Prime. Behind her Trailbreaker carried a box filled with more paper and thin lightweight metal dowels. The Night Watch mechs stopped by their office and looked at her. She smiled. "Thank you for helping me. I appreciate it."
Trailbreaker smiled and looked at the mechs. "Thank you."
"Thank you," Melano said smiling. "This is the most fun on shift we've ever had."
The others nodded as well. Silverbow, warming to their praise looked at them and stepped closer. "When we get this made we will come and show you."
They looked at her and smiled. "We count on it," they said.
With a grin and a nod Trailbreaker stepped forward, his little femme walking along with him. She followed waving at the mechs as she walked toward the hub that led to home. They watched the pair go.
"I can't wait to write this up for the overnight file," Melano said chuckling.
"That is the cutest little thing I ever saw," another said turning and entering the station. The others followed. The night had reached its apex. Nothing could top that.
=0=At home a short time later
They sat at the table working on Silverbow's project together. Rebel was back in his bassinette and all was quiet again. Trailbreaker sheered the papers with care as Silverbow made the connections to the metallic rods. She had listened to Trailbreaker explain that she was not to go wandering in the city at any time orn or night again. She was to always ask either him or Hound before she ever left their sight again. They would all go together he said.
That is when she told him why she felt that she had to do this thing. He listened and then cuddled her, holding the little femme as she hugged him tightly. There was little conversation between them and their daughter about her old life. They knew just enough to know it was a hellish thing. Knowing what little they knew made both he and Hound restless with upset so they let Silverbow alone hoping she would tell what she needed when she could.
They were obviously wrong.
Composing a message, Trailbreaker sent it to Hound and waited until reply came back through the delay. He was as appalled as Trailbreaker and included a message for Silverbow as well.
She was overcome and cried.
=0=The next day
Trailbreaker walked to the schools with his babies, Silverbow carrying her projects in her servos. She had labored over them and they were perfect. Entering the Fortress they walked to the school after waving at friends and waiting as Silverbow and Spirit hugged each other as they always did. She showed both Spirit and Sunspot her project, demonstrated it and enjoyed to a ridiculous degree their praise of her. She smiled and leaned against Trailbreaker's leg as they looked at the things in her servos. They were wonderful.
Turning, waving to everyone she followed Trailbreaker to the corridor that would land them at some point at the school. Dropping Rebel off at the Sparkling Day School they continued to the Youngling Day School where they both entered. Trailbreaker, asking Silverbow to wait at the center tables walked to her classroom with the big box. Entering, sitting it on a table he began to explain Silverbow's Most Excellent Adventure the night before. By the time he concluded telling Terradive the project would be everyone's task when school began.
Trailbreaker walked out with a smile, hugged and kissed his daughter and waited with her until school began.
=0=A joor later
She stood in front of the class holding her project. She smiled at Mr. Terradive who watched her with fascination. Nodding to her, he sat back with three other teachers to listen. Silverbow, staring at her peds for a moment turned to her classmates. "Last night I had an idea," she said and then explained her idea to all the students. She pointed to the box on the cabinet nearby. "That is what my Atar and I got from the Specialty Frabrications plant. They are the colors of our Prime."
They looked at the box and then Turbo turned and smiled at Silverbow. "What are they called, Silverbow?"
She grinned and looked at Mr. Terradive. Ducking her face shyly behind the things in her servos she looked at them over the tinselly frou-frou. "They call them pom-poms."
Mr. Terradive smiled.
=0=Three joors later
They lined up to go to the airfield to see the flotilla return. They had put up long panels they had decorated with signed servo prints telling the soldiers that they loved and missed them, that they were happy they were back and the Seekers saved. The signs lined the Fortress walls all the way to the airfield. InstraComm had broadcast hours of programming about the rescue mission, the stories of the families and friends, the hopes of the city and the efforts of the younglings to do their part.
They broadcast the time of return and everyone who could which was nearly everyone in the city made their way forward to watch. The schools lined their younglings up and out they went. They passed through crowds of citizens who smiled at them. They noted the strange pretty blossoms of color four of the youngling classes carried and how when shaken they shimmered.
Silverbow, walking with her class all of whom sported pom-poms watched the citizens. They were smiling. They were happy. They were cheered up by the 'cheerful leaders' who were going to the airfield to wave them in joy for their genitors and friends coming back.
Cheerful leaders.
Mr. Terradive, doing research on the subject while his students made their pom-poms chuckled to himself when he reached a site talking about a practice called cheerleading. Somehow, the way Silverbow said it sounded better and so they made their way to the airfield to do their part in their victory. All was well he thought as Roto joined him with a sparkling in arms. All was very well indeed.
=0=TBC
2012 (30