The Diego Diaries: Chaos 15 edited
=0=Out there
"What the frag is going on?" Ironhide asked. He knew Ratchet like he knew the inside of his own optics. There was something off about the moment. He stared at both of them, then turned marching to the hatch.
"Ironhide!"
He turned and looked at Prowl who stood as officiously as he could. "Prime said wait."
"Either tell me what you're holding back or hang his order." Ironhide glared at both of them.
:Better tell him: Ratchet told Prowl.
"Alright. We contacted the leadership out here and they told us who they were. They are Cybertronian soldiers protecting Cybertronian civilians with Seekers, ex-Cons and Autobots."
"That I guessed," Ironhide said nodding.
Prowl glanced at Ratchet. Ratchet stepped forward and rested his servos on Ironhide's shoulders. "Ironhide … I guess I will just tell you. The code word back from the first send was 'ebony'."
Ironhide stared at Ratchet, Prowl, then Ratchet again.
-0-Across the way
"What is the situation here?" Optimus asked.
Alor handed Prime a datapad. He studied it carefully. "You have 110,000 or more to move."
"I know it's a lot," Blackjack said worriedly. "We removed populations from danger and brought them here to save them. We don't know how many you can take but none of us here will leave until and if everyone else goes first."
Prime looked at him and nodded. "We can take them all. Now if they are ready."
The group stared at him a moment, then Blackjack shifted slightly. "All of them?"
"Yes," Prime replied. "Everyone. When can they go?"
Blackjack stared at him a moment and then glanced at the others. They were as stunned as he was. "They can go now. I … I just have to say the word."
"Then get ready to say it," Prime said. As he did, the hatch sounded as if someone had magnetized to it. Before he could take even one step the hatch slid back and a bot entered followed by two more. They magnetized and the hatch slid shut, the ship automatically represurizing.
Ironhide looked at the group until he found the two he wanted. He stared at them, at the two who had haunted his dreams for literally millions of years. They stared back unable to do more. Ratchet stepped closer and looked at Ironhide. "Ironhide … are you alright?" he asked.
The big bot stared at his genitors, his entire being suffused with shock and emotion. Across the space clutching Blackjack's arm, Alor stared with disbelief at his son. "Ironhide," he whispered. He stood a moment clutching his bond, then he lurched forward gripping Ironhide's face in his servos. "Ironhide!" he cried as he stared at his son, at his face, his body, his optics.
Ironhide enfolded his ada in his arms. He gripped Alor as tightly as he could. "Ada," he whispered.
Ratchet stared at them a moment, then looked at Blackjack. "Blackjack," he said painfully.
That bot looked at Ratchet and blinked. "Ratchet?" he asked in a pained voice. "Ratchet?"
Ratchet nodded and walked to him gripping him in a hug. Huge arms enfolded Ratchet.
"Atar!"
They turned and looked at Ironhide who was holding his ada. "Atar, you're alive!" Ironhide said tearfully. "You are alive!"
His father stepped forward pausing in front of his son. Reaching out his servo, Blackjack gently touched Ironhide's shoulder, the one that bore the glyph of his own name. "Son," he whispered.
Ironhide turned and gripped his father, hugging him tightly. Alor glanced at Ratchet, blinking. "Ratchet. Oh Primus … Ratchet?" he asked incredulously.
Ratchet hugged Alor tightly. "Ali, I'm so glad you made it. Ironhide has missed you so much. He always thought it was his fault that you were stuck in Praxus and he couldn't find you."
"Oh Ratchet … you were stuck outside of Vos and Simfur. We all knew it. We just ran," Alor said. "We ran and prayed."
"I should have known that this whole thing was you and 'Jack. I should have known," Ratchet said with a chuckle. They looked at Blackjack and Ironhide who clung to each other tightly. "We have to get all of you out of here. Now."
Blackjack paused staring at his son. "Ironhide, I missed you. I never believed you were at the Matrix. I never allowed myself to believe it. But I never allowed myself to believe I would ever see you again. That was too much to hope for."
Ironhide nodded as he wiped his optics. "It's all okay now. We came to get you and bring you to the safest place for our kind to live in the galaxy."
"Where?" Blackjack asked. "Prime said we can come, all of us. We can come now. Ironhide, we're protecting 110,000 bots of all kinds."
"You say that like it's a problem," Ratchet said with a grin. They all turned to look at the smiling bot.
"Ratchet, what the frag happened to your paint scheme?" Blackjack asked with a smile.
It was the right remark for the right moment.
-0-The Trigger Control
"This is Trigger Control, Prime."
"Wheeljack, we have a situation. We have 110,000 bots that have to come through now. They are ready and their ships can come through as you order it. Prowl is coming back with the runabout and will handle the reclamation at your end. I am going to have the schematics of the migration sent. I want you to organize the situation for maximal re-entry."
"Affirmative, Optimus. We're waiting," Wheeljack said as he turned and whistled loudly. "Get ready for incoming," he said as everyone jumped up and ran to their stations.
-0-Prime and the Migration
He turned and looked at Alor. "If you send the data the Trigger team can get the ball rolling."
Alor looked at him a moment clearly attempting to sort out the possibilities in that simple statement. Then he turned and walked to a computer punching in the data. He looked at Prime. "Do you want it just sent through?"
Prime nodded. "Please."
He looked at the button a moment and pressed it. The data shot out flashing through the tunnel of energy that ended in safety.
-0-Trigger Command
"I have it," Perceptor said. He rose and with datapad in servo walked to the work table nearby. They began to organize a migration of a group that would increase their current population by one third.
-0-Out there
Prowl stepped into vacuum and headed for Omega. He entered and after a moment the huge mechanism swung around and shot into the vortex disappearing inside. When he was gone Prime turned to Blackjack. "We need to send for your ships. Perceptor will arrange them. Prowl will have the colony waiting for them. Let them know it's time to go."
Blackjack turned and nodded to Alor. That big bot turned and began to send the messages that would raise from the many worlds where they waited all the hopeful individuals of the exile. By the time Wheeljack sent his plan through to Blackjack's ship, the ships were beginning to gather in the darkness.
-0-Prowl
He stood in Ops Center calling down the rescue. Bots pausing in their 'weekend' activities hurried to their stations all over the city. He calmly issued orders as Jazz gave the word on The Hourly News. It played on a monitor nearby.
"We have just received an emergency call from Prime regarding a migration that will be coming in to us in about a joor. We sent Gen-O to see Jazz, the Information Officer for the Senior Command to give us the latest and to ask what if anything the colony can do to help."
(Cut to Ops Center)
"This is Gen-O with Information Officer, Jazz. Jazz, what can you tell us about the situation?"
"We have a migration comin' that tops about 110,000 individuals as well as a large number of soldiers and Seekers. They were discovered near the Benzuli Expansion and will be reclaimed through the spacebridge."
"That is a lot of bots, Jazz. How can we help?"
"We will be needin' civilians to come out to assist in gettin' our new mechs to their accomodations, health care if needed and through the process. Just like before, we will be needin' you to come. They will be here in roughly one joor," Jazz said. "Out in the usual place, that is where we will need ya."
"Has Prime released any information on the configuration of the group? Where they might have come from on Cybertron?" Geno-O asked.
"We don't have a great number of particulars yet to release but will soon. Prowl is gettin' the hard stuff done before we get to the details. I am sure there will be friends and family in this group just like the others and it will be posted on the Community Home Page under the Bureau of Refuges. Check later today or tomorrow."
"Thank you, Jazz. Back to the studio with Lim-Lee," Geno-O said to the camera.
Prowl turned back to the main screen of Teletraan III. On its massive surface the icon of the space bridge vortex gleamed, details of information rolling across in neat lines. As he watched, the first surge of ships began to come through.
-0-At the apartment of RvI
Bluestreak entered the apartment and nodded to Ravel and Tie Down. "Ravie? Tie? I am being called up to help in a new migration that is coming through the Trigger. Apparently they were ours on the other side."
"Oh my," Ravel said as he stood in the kitchen making sippie cups for infants. Orion, Praxus, Iacon, Uraya, Kaon and Miracle sat on the floor watching him with ginormous smiles and great expectations. "What can we do to help, Bluestreak?"
"Well, I am hoping you can watch the sparklings for a bit longer until Venture can get off at the City Hall. He's got to go back later but he's coming to help you until the twins find out if they are needed yet."
"We can do that," Tie said looking up from the floor where he sat with the sparklings.
"Are you too tired?" Bluestreak asked taking sippie cups from Ravel, handing them to sparklings.
"No," Ravel said sitting on a chair. He reached for Iacon and sat her on his lap. Holding her cup, he smiled. "How can this be tiring?"
Bluestreak snorted and grinned. "Ask the twins," he said.
-0-Out there
They watched the first group go through disappearing into the energy cone almost immediately. Beyond them more ships arrived, all of them gathering in the darkness as ordered. It was silent a moment, then Ironhide looked at his father. "I want both of you to have Ratchet give you a check up," he said glancing at Ratchet. That big bot started then raised his arm. A beam of light hit Blackjack running from helm to ped. Then it scanned Alor.
Ratchet checked the preliminary data and looked at Blackjack. "There's a couple of things that need repair, 'Jack. We can schedule it when we get there. Ali, you seem to be in good order. Mostly."
"Good. You will be taken care of when we get there," Ironhide said. "I don't want an argument either."
They both looked at him, their son, their only child and felt numbness settle into their bodies. They had last heard from him when he was telling them to flee. He himself was leading a group to meet Prime at Simfur. The Prime was going to launch the AllSpark into space, so dire was the situation.
They were home trying to organize an evacuation of civilians in Praxus and the surrounding area when the strike came. It was almost unfathomable even for soldiers of their experience. They ran from their house calling for everyone to run for the airfield. Death rained down upon everyone and even though they managed to save a lot of lives and flee too, leaving was the hardest thing they could do.
Nothing could be done for Praxus. It burned with the fury of napalm. They had to find refugees and lead them to safety. They did. They found a place with dangerous energy and built a sanctuary, rescuing as many as they could find, giving them shelter.
They did it with 1,500 soldiers and more than 320 Seekers. They made everyone who dared to venture their direction pay dearly. That was their lot in life until a moment unguarded when a message streaked through space and landed on their steps.
"Who are you? - Prime"
"Ebony."
In the blink of an optic, the world was changed and where there once was duty and the moment, now there was hope and a future. Their beloved Ironhide, their son was before them and it was dumbfounding. "You won't get an argument out of us, Ironhide," Blackjack said to his son. Alor nodded silently.
-0-On the ground
They came down out of the sky, gleaming ships that shown no sign of combat. They landed as instructed and emptied as well. Lines of civilians waited and officals taking information flitted throughout the mass of returnees. They asked about Prime and were told he was on the other side helping them to return. They stood staring transfixed at the sight of Cybertronian towers, Cybertronian bots of all manner and size and most of all, the Temple.
They walked through the process and were guided to their new homes, a quarry turned habitat that could hold their entire migration. They would come and come, joors would pass before the last five ships would come through the aperture and the giant deadly blossom was allowed to collapse.
By that time, there were small lines of individuals, all of them dazed, some confused, others deliriously happy moving toward their new future together. When the last five ships landed Prowl, Jazz, Springer, Kup, Drift, Starscream, Thundercracker, Jarro and Barron would be waiting to greet them.
When Prime walked down the ramp followed by Ironhide and Ratchet, Blackjack, Alor and their command crew, all of them would be stepping out into a new world.
-0-Far away
Across twelve planets and a moon or two small and large explosions commenced. The last thing that Alor did before the ships turned to run for safety was to set the detonator charges. All of the settlements, all of their effort would be vaporized. Nothing would be left in one piece. Anything that could identify them was either destroyed or packed up in a cargo hold. When the dust settled there would be nothing to tell the Decepticons or anyone else that the ghost ships of the Benzuli Expansion had been Cybertronian.
It would remain a mystery forever.
=0=TBC
2012 (9)