The Diego Diaries: Boxers (dd6 33)
-0-An auditorium
Ratchet concluded, then turned to Prowl. That worthy stepped forward, then stared at the humans. "I am Prowl," he said.
Ratchet who watched noted that Prowler loved to say that to humans and note the thrill that usually went up and down their nervous system. He did too, sometimes. Prowl was indeed a great name.
"It is my duty to keep the entire operation of the Autobot Armed Forces running, be a resource for the Prime in all areas and at all times of his brief and keep Ratchet out of jail," he said with his usual imposing, calm and direct manner.
Huge laughter greeted that. Ratchet grinned. "He does that by sharing a cell." More laughter. :Nice one, Prowler. I see you're experimenting with humor again:
Prowl stared at Ratchet a moment, then turned back to the humans. "Ratchet has explained things well and there will be others to add to your training. I would just like to say that you are ambassadors for your people to ours. We are here together learning about each other. For the humans that we know already, we have respect and affection. It is up to you to earn the same standing even as it is our responsibility to be courteous and neighborly ourselves. Understand, when we go out it won't kill us. You don't have the same good fortune. Everything we do with humans here is built around the concept of safety.
"We are aware of you. Now it's your turn to be aware of yourselves, your surroundings and the activities going on around you. We expect that you will obey the laws here, respect restrictions and inform us of anything that you need so that we can assist. It is indeed a new day for both sides and we want it to stay a good one. That is up to you by virtue of your presence here. We lived here well and peacefully before you came. We would like that to continue." He glanced at Barron who moved to stand with them.
"My name is Barron and I hold the Prime's Brief. I am the chief law enforcement officer and legal director of this colony, Cybertron and the Empire. I am here to tell you about your legal rights and status in the colony. First of all, you do not have diplomatic immunity. If you break a law, nothing in your current status will exempt you from facing consequences. The other humans here, those of the first group hold Cybertronian citizenship by Primal decree, so there are different circumstances for them than there are for you.
"If you were to come here with nefarious intenstions, such as stealing technology, you would be arrested, held, charged, and tried. You would face and serve a sentence imposed by the court if found guilty. There would be appeals to the Prime, the appellate process we use but there would be no special circumstances given to you because you are human. Even the Consuls have limited autonomy. They also will face court if they break a set of rules that were outlined in the agreement that led to them coming here. We do not believe that someone who represents their people should be granted a get out of jail pass for their actions.
"Our system gives you representation and is applicable to all of you. If you break the law there will be consequences," Barron continued. "You can go over the charter with your legal department or you can meet with the Consulate who will be your main legal representation in matters that are criminal. Understand, you have only very limited immunity as a consul and none as a civilian here. We have only a limited number of treaties between your civilizations and ours, so we don't have to hold to your conventions. You cannot come here, act badly and expect to walk away.
"There are areas that are off limits for various reasons and we expect that you will hold to them. Our society is very open and our human neighbors greatly welcome. However, the prison, Temple, Monastery of the Clavis Aurea, and various technological installations are off limits. You also cannot enter a home without invitation. You may also not study us formally without submitting your thesis to Sciences and have it reviewed. We expect that we are different and your curiosity both professional and personal will be piqued. However, we draw the line at that kind of scrutiny."
Ratchet grinned. "It may sound grim to you right now, the outlining of the offenses if you will, but it's necessary. We need to know that you will understand, obey the restrictions and understand the risks and consequences if you break the rules. I hope that you ask questions as we go as well."
Someone raised their hand, a happy human female. "What about the holidays and football? What about trips out of the system and the race track? What can you tell us about that?"
"If you live here, you can go. Right now, the adult league is finished with their season and so is the infant league. Rugby is going strong and basketball is being organized. Our performing arts center is nearly complete and that is available to you. Information on holidays both human and Cybertronian are to be found in the Community Bulletin Board folder of the same name. You are not required to serve any of them but they're fun and some of them are human in honor of our relationship. The Festival of Primus is coming up in July, Earth July, and it's not available to you. You will be confined to the habitat but the scene will be playing on television with some edits."
"Some of the humans here get to go there," Harris said from the front row.
"Some of the humans here are great friends of long standing with Autobot Nation. You n00bs have to earn that entry," Ratchet replied. "We have Christmas, New Years for you and for us, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the odd party together. Halloween and Christmas are celebrated because they're nice children's holidays and our children deserve fun. Thanksgiving is a good thing to do anywhere, anytime with anyone. Being thankful is universal. There are other holidays across culture on the human calendar and I would suggest coordinating with them." Ratchet glanced at Hildie and Jarrod with a grin. "The birthday of Angus Optimus Wilkerson is a holiday among the humans here and we have taken to it ourselves."
Angus who was sitting on Prowl's servo heard his name and looked up with a big smile. Everyone smiled back.
Barron looked at his list, then looked up. "We have a colonial alarm system that lets everyone know when to go to the shelters. It works and you must obey. Go to the shelter nearest to you. There is a big one below this structure. Don't try to locate anyone, just go. We will scan for everyone to account for them. If you have questions, call my office and we will attend to them. Always ask first. That should be your mantra until you learn how to live here. Ask us or ask anyone else in the human community. They will help you too."
"Percy? 'Jack?" Ratchet asked as he glanced around the room.
Wheeljack grinned. "Don't touch anything. Don't try to fix or figure something out. Everything is alarmed to tell us if you do and you'll get the boot. Permanently. Pairs of humans and bots will be working here in this facility around the clock and they will be the first consult on problems. The humans are people we have trained over a period of time and some are the spouses or family members, even friends of the permanent human community. The bots with them were chosen for expertise and size. They will be micro-mini and mini-con mechs, all of them under 16 feet.
"We will provide trips within the system and beyond as the moment demands. I would suggest that you enroll in the University of Autobot City to increase your education which even though I'm sure its great already will be … lacking?" Wheeljack asked with a grin.
"That goes without saying, Wheeljack," Perceptor said with a nod. "I appreciate your credentials. I have reviewed your files and even though you are tops in your field on Earth, you might want to increase your understanding of the possibilities here. There is a lot of tech and science that you won't be allowed to view or learn but there is also a lot you can, especially as it relates to helping Earth with all its many problems. Your colleagues at Sciences Habitat will be a good resource. All of them attend classes at the University. I strongly support that you do as well considering the level of tech and theory that is common here.
"We will include you where appropriate but you have to earn that spot for complete trust. Your colleagues have. I am sure you will too. In fact, we are going to Trypticon in two orns and we would be ready to take some of you with us. Five at most," Perceptor said as the crowd shifted to speak excitedly together.
"That's the big vessel orbiting Saturn, right?" Harris asked as he mentally made himself one of the five.
Wheeljack nodded. "It is. He's a sentient vessel with severe deficiences considering he was created by the Decepticons but he is now a science platform for our children's schools and mid system staging. We will be happy to give you a tour of it so that you can compare and contrast your adult educational attainments against our elementary school students." Wheeljack grinned. "Excuse me if I find that funny a moment. No offense."
"I would take some myself," Hildie said as she turned her camera on Wheeljack, "but I've been there and I have to say you have a point, 'Jack."
Wheeljack grinned at one of his favorite humans. "When you stop learning, you die."
There was a general agreement in the room. Ratchet turned to Wheeljack. "Anything more, Maestro?"
"Nope," Wheeljack said with a grin.
Ratchet turned toward Kup and Hercy. "Commander Kup and Commander Hercy, meet the newbies. Since you came to kibitz, what nuggets of wisdom do you have for the new kids on the block?"
Kup glanced at Hercy who glanced at him. Both shrugged to general snickering. Hercy stepped closer to stare at the humans. "I like the humans who live here. They're stand up. They're good. They fit in. They don't have an attitude and they help us and each other. I hope you do the same. You're lucky enough from among all your people to be here and to live side-by-side with an alien lifeform like us. This can be the best days of your life or the worst.
"Don't go into the clubs or bars without a soldier escort. We[ve had a tough life and some of our people are still adjusting to life here. They don't always pay attention to the floor. Our colony is safe and our policing forces are alert and helpful. The Day and Night Watch bear these symbols on both shoulders," he said turning one bearing the tattoo toward the crowd. "Don't hesitate to seek assistance. We have horseback patrols and beat cops and we practice community policing. You should be fine if you use your common sense. Ask before you do something that isn't clear. It beats getting hurt." He looked at Kup who shrugged again. "That's all," he said stepping back to lean against the big windows again.
Ratchet grinned. "These two bots are among the oldest and most knowledgable Autobots in the army. Hercy is Ironhide's mentor and Kup is the surrogate dad of almost everyone around."
"Great granddad," Prowl said as he stood beside Ratchet with folded arms and a gimlet optic. "Great, great, great, great, great, great, granddad ten thousand times removed."
Laughter greeted that as Kup grinned at Prowl. "You know me well."
No non-Cybertronian in the room would know how much.
That was when Autobot Sunstreaker entered the room and walked to stand beside Prowl.
-0-TBC 6-10-17 edited 6-12-17
Leoness: I love Ratchet talking to humans too. He uses humor and an easy manner to get his points across. He also likes them. More to come because this group is going to be a nosy bunch.