The Diego Diaries: Buzz (dd8 135)
=0=Inside looking out
They stood at the windows watching the swirling swarm of what had to be millions and millions of butterflies and what seemed to be brilliantly colored moths. They swirled, landed on everything as they flapped their amazing wings, then gathered again. They flew off into the direction they came taking their astoundingly loud buzzing sound with them. After a moment it was quiet.
Magnus cracked the door, then peered out and upward. There were none to be seen and there was nothing left behind to tell that they'd been there but the ringing in their audials. All of them stepped out pausing together in front of the building. It was dead silent everywhere around.
"Well, there is a presence here and they make their mind known," Ratchet said. "A hive mind is a formidable force as everyone in the group focuses on one thing and one thought. Somewhere in that group, Magnus, is a leader or leadership core. We have to find it." He glanced at Onyx who was staring at the sky. "What do you understand, Elder?"
Onyx and Totem glanced at him. "There's a presence here. They made a statement, Ratchet. They came to make a statement of who they are. These are incredibly advanced beings. They have no words for conflict. None."
"A key component for a type five civilization is the ability to traverse dimensions, rather like our titans. That means massive cooperation and peacefulness. What do you think? A type five?" Ratchet asked Onyx.
"Easily," he replied. "I feel their energetic signature and its about as high as I've ever seen. I would be surprised if they were less and not if they were more," Onyx replied.
"What does that mean now and here?" Magnus asked. "How does that help us with our problem?"
"First of all, it saved everyone here. This level of sophistication almost never resorts to violence. Rather, if they felt you were in need of killing them they would allow it," Totem said.
"Really?" Sunstreaker asked with surprise.
Totem nodded. "They would then come back with their body after you did what they felt was obviously your need to accomplish. They would hold no grudge, but understand you as a lesser developed being. Understand, they would also have no ego involved in this because they would be past the pettiness of egotism."
"You could kill them and they would let you?" Sideswipe asked.
"Yes, given they can recreate themselves again, they would leave the body, allow you to vent and achieve what they believe you require, then recreate their body when you were finished. There is no hard feelings. They just understand that your primitive impulses needed assuaging and would allow it," Onyx said as Totem nodded.
"Frag," the twins said almost together.
"We're dealing with highly advanced beings here, ones that understand us as primitive and lower in development. There would be no hard feelings and they wouldn't hold that assumption as a statement of superiority, but rather as a fact," Totem said. "They were here to make themselves known to all of us and to let us know they are considering what is going on. It will happen in their own time. It could be that it takes everyone of them to make a decision like this. Until then, we have to wait," Onyx said.
"What's your read on the others, Onyx?" Ratchet asked. "Reset and all."
Onyx conversed with Totem off line, then glanced at the group. "They have no idea about this and there was some death when they arrived, hence the domes to contain the violence. I don't believe they'll be amenable to any solution including leaving here but we have to go. No one can stay here, Ratchet. This is a very unique and beautiful planet. Its species are so brilliant. We have to leave and marker this planet so no one ever comes here again."
"Ah, easy, peasy then," Ratchet said with a chuckle. "Frag us that we never get the easy ones."
"Where's the fun in that?" Hercy said with a grin. "What now, Magnus?"
"We have to speak to them," Magnus said grimly. "Let's go."
They walked toward the administration building grim faced and determined. Before they even reached it the doors opened and armed mechs stepped out with Reset. Both sides stopped just before each other and it became very tensely silent.
"We need to discuss what we're going to do when they contact us. They operate on a hive mind and are going over what we have discussed with them through the Seers. Right now, the only option available is to leave here," Magnus said.
"We don't want to leave," Reset said.
"That won't be an option. This is a protected world and you know it. No one stays here to cause any problems for them. They can destroy you if they wanted but they haven't. We are going to enforce the laws of our people in relation to the right of sovereignty for species and worlds that are sentient and advanced. This planet is both," Magnus said.
"You don't have authority here," Reset said. "This isn't Cybertron and we don't have to obey Primes."
"I beg to differ," Magnus said coldly. "You need to start preparing. We're leaving and you're coming. Its either my way … or the hard way."
The menace that came off Magnus was incredible as he stepped closer to Reset. His gaze on a good orn was hard for some to meet who didn't know him as well as the bots around him and now was no exception. The mechs with Reset stepped back nervously.
"Frag you, Magnus," Reset hissed.
"We're going to wait as long as the hive needs to come to a conclusion. Then we're all leaving when we negotiate a retreat from here. No one will be left behind. The rules of space, of developing worlds and Cybertron still apply and will be enforced. Warlord," Magnus said.
Warlord stepped closer. "Here."
"Go up and cover our retreat. If anyone fires on us, shoot them," Magnus said as he bore his gaze into Reset. With that, he then turned his back and walked toward the dirt road that led to their camp. The sound of Warlord transforming to blaze into the sky was enormous and echoed off the still buildings all around.
The others began to leave until Ratchet was left. "I'm the Prime's chief negotiator. You know the rules and laws. You wrote them. You have no standing. If you want a shoot out we can give you one and you will lose it. We have twenty Seekers and a good three dozen soldiers. Magnus has given you the word. I would consider what you do next very carefully. We've been through too many wars to be afraid of you. You would do well to be afraid of us if you try to make this into a pissing contest. I guarantee you will lose it." With that, Ratchet walked off to join the others who were nearly gone from view. When he cleared the range of their guns, Warlord roared overhead toward the camp as well.
They would watch them go, then go back inside the building. It would be quiet in the colony for a while.
=0=At camp
They gathered for the word, set up guards, then walked toward the other group in the dome nearby. Magnus left with the Seers and Hercy while the others gathered around to sit.
"Then you're telling us those fungus things and the butterflies are the apex species here," Lon asked.
Ratchet nodded. "They are. I've seen so many things in my day. There was a planet where the species that ruled were clouds. They floated in the sky and when they caught a ship or something flying they surrounded it and ate it. It might take a long time but they pried the ships open, pulled out anything inside and digested it over a long period of time."
The mechs and humans stared at him without comment though their thoughts were clear on their faces.
"Uh, that's not anywhere near us is it?" Smokey asked.
"Nope," Ratchet replied. "I remember going to a planet that was mostly desert and there were huge round white balls sitting on the ground. Some of them had markings on them but apparently when they got full grown those were lost, like spots on baby fawns. We landed and walked around. The landscape would change as we went but we couldn't figure out how. The balls were rolling after us. They were so cute. They didn't hurt anyone but they liked it when someone would drop by. It wasn't very often."
"How did they defend themselves or did they need to?" Devcon asked.
"I asked them. They sort of made pictures appear in your processor. They pile up on someone and hold them until they behave," Ratchet replied. He smiled a dazzler. "Isn't that great?"
Sunstreaker snorted. "Sounds like a barrel of laughs."
"What's the weirdest thing you ever saw, Ratchet?" Gavin Pritchard asked.
Ratchet thought a moment. "I think the first time I ever saw Ironhide sing in the Temple for his Amma was it. Oh, you mean in space?"
Huge laughter greeted that.
He thought a moment. "I remember being on a planet with a very strange atmosphere. It would create a doppelganger that was as real as you and me. It would follow you around and mimic your actions. It was the most gut wrenchingly weird thing I can remember. Oh wait. There was that time Megatron made me into a wall hanging in his ship. That time."
It was silent a moment.
"What happened?" Bezel asked in a very small voice.
"Which one?" Ratchet asked.
"Well, how about the doppelganger then," Sideswipe asked.
"They faded away when you left. The planet had a small tendency for vampirism and would create these slaggers by drawing off a tiny portion of your energy," Ratchet replied.
"Why?" Lon asked.
"It was lonely," Ratchet replied with a straight face. "Truly. It was lonely. Did I tell you space was weird?"
"What about the wall hanging thing?" Niall Graham asked.
"Ah," Ratchet said. "I was captured by the 'Cons and brought to Megatron. He was so upset that I didn't tell him what he wanted that he cleared a space on the wall of his cabin and pinned my sorry aft to it."
"WHAT?!" Everyone but the twins because they'd heard the story before. They sat in their chairs staring at Ratchet with grins as they admired him with god-like admiration.
Like that.
"I sort of hung around for a while," Ratchet said with a smile. "See what I did there? Then I decided if I was going to be there a while I'd bore his sorry aft off. I talked nonstop, everything and nothing. I sang every song I knew and recited the worst poetry I could remember. I asked him questions, asked puns, did it all. It was slagging magnificent."
"What did he do?" Lon asked as Kup grinned to himself.
"Well, he decided to redecorate and threw me in the brig. I managed to escape because of this," he said as he held up both servos. They immediately transformed into everything they could and appeared to explode to those watching. The several different cutting torch elements helped in the overall affect.
Everyone sort of leaned back, then sat up again when they transformed back to digits.
"He didn't think to do something about that?" Sandstorm asked around his laughter.
Ratchet shot them a dazzler. "No. He's handsome but not too bright, Our Megatron."
"Handsome is a matter of taste," Sunstreaker said. "Now me? I can get it but old Bucket Head?"
General agreement met that comment.
"You got away? How?" Smokey asked with his usual laser focus and intensity.
"I cut a hole in the wall of his ship, cut another one and another until I reached the outside. Then I dived off and landed on another ship nearby. Did I say he was in port? It was a matter of cutting holes until I reached a hangar deck, then I flew away. See?" he asked with a dazzling smile.
"Which one did you use, Commander?" Bezel asked. "Which cutter?"
Ratchet grinned slightly as he pulled up a torch he used on the sides of titans. "Why, this one," he said as he lit it up and nearly burned everyone sitting around the fire pit for ten feet around.
That one.
=0=TBC 4-10-2021