The Diego Diaries: Processional (dd6 60)
-0-At the Basilica
Most of the crowd once the procession passed turned to follow though there were many that walked to the Basilica to enter and pay their respects. Many stood together watching or talking to others, waiting for whatever reason to return to their homes. The period of mourning would end at midnight when the world would default back to 'normal'. Life would pick up and the hole would close. It always did. No matter how destroyed your own life was, others picked up and moved onward. It was what life did.
Prime walked silently toward the city passing the Mausoleum where he paused to bow in the direction of the marker that would tell the tale of the people murdered. Then he continued as everyone in his party bowed as they passed by. It was shown on the televisions and monitors of several worlds as the procession made its way back to Autobot City and the Temple.
"That was an extraordinary thing. I thought I saw something emanate from Prime, like an energy wave and flash out through everyone," said the moderator of the human panel that was officially hosting the broadcast on the MCA. "Did any of you notice that?"
Everyone nodded, then Barstow sat forward. "Prime and the bots are energetic beings. All of us are the products of energy. It's more visible on them and they can read it in us. It's one of the reasons they know when we lie. Our energetic field … our aura changes color. That was energy from Prime expending itself toward The People. Sometimes on special occasions it happens."
"It wasn't a dangerous thing or ... I'm struggling to say this correctly ... an odd alien thing?" a panelist asked sheepishly.
Barstow shook his head. "No. Its benign," he said. "Nothing Prime does hurts anyone. He's the most selfless decent being I ever met."
"What can you tell us about what we saw, Colonel, that we might have missed," the moderator asked.
"I hope you didn't miss the dignity and respect that's accorded to Prime. He's more than just their leader and defender. I hope that you saw the solidarity of The People with him and this tragedy. Every banner carried was a segment of the society paying their respects including the human community. There were banners for the Resort, the habitats, Sciences, the consulate, and N.E.S.T. They were carried by the bots in their honor.
"The sword is an ancient heirloom of almost unbelievable power that was carried by Prime because its his to use including to honor the dead. There's artifacts that The People hold and which they find every day on Cybertron that can only be handled safely by a Prime. That sword, the Star Saber belongs to a god named Prima. It's so powerful that wielded in a certain manner, it can destroy a planet. The power it contains and can transmit by the manner that its handled by a Prime is so vast it can cleave a planet into two pieces," Barstow said.
"A sword?" a panelist asked with a slight tone of doubt in their voice.
"That sword," Barstow affirmed.
"What if someone else picked it up? What if a human did?" someone asked.
Barstow grinned slightly. "First of all, that sword is nearly 18 feet in length and weighs several tons. Prime has a number of them, some made by RTR Tools and some heirloom that are his alone to handle. All of them are between 17 and 21 feet in length. They're made of cybertanium which is a highly dense form of steel that adds weight to the heft. The blade itself is multiple ply and extremely dense material. There's no way a human can pick up that sword or any other that the bots use. Prime can lift 1 million pounds himself without breaking a sweat. That sword's weight doesn't phase him. I'd also suggest that the heirlooms self protect and when one is found Prime is called to come get it because they respond to Primal energy and no one else. If you tried to move that sword it would know and you'd be sorry."
"Then they're sentient? You're saying they're alive?" another panelist asked.
Barstow considered that, then nodded. "In a manner, yes. All of the artifacts are connected out of this dimension into others. They're imparted by their makers and handlers with some of their essence. They're connected even now and feel in a manner of speaking. That's why they're so dangerous. You'd need a huge hoist and a truck to take that sword away, even if it let you. If it didn't let you, nothing would dislodge it. If it wasn't going with you even bombs wouldn't budge nor harm it. No one would be able to penetrate its secrets because it would kill you if you tried. They can electricute or harm you in the flash of an eye. Only Primes can handle them safely and without harm. They have them on display at the museums or the Temple but most of the time they're locked into vaults for safe keeping."
It was silent a moment. "They have earth shattering tech then," a woman panelist asked. "Tech that can destroy worlds."
Barstow nodded. "They do. Both sides. Prime can with a sword. Ironhide has, himself. Don't ask me how he did it but he did. There's a great story about it, too, I'm told. I'm going to have to have him tell me when I go there next week. They have ships that can destroy worlds with a few missiles and so does Megatron. He doesn't even have to be here to do it. He can program them to find us and its over. That's why the alliance with the bots is so important. Only they have the tech to prevent it."
"They can?" the female panelist asked.
"Yes. They have every dust mote and free-ranging planetoid marked and followed out 8,000 light years and their range expands every day. They can do it and they have. There are those who don't think they're needed but they are. God help us if we ever go it alone," Barstow said.
It was quiet a moment, then the moderator spoke. "Prime is entering the Temple."
The scene changed to the street where Optimus Prime had slowed, then turned into the Temple. The priests and monks followed while the others waited. The Temple had been cleared for him and the priests. They walked up the steps through the waiting crowds, then entered. The cameras lingered on the doors, then began to show the crowd and his waiting party.
"Why is he entering the Temple now, Colonel?" the moderator asked.
"He's going to speak to the Pantheon. It's part of what he does as the leader of The People," Barstow said. "I'm not allowed to say more."
The scene at the Temple was quiet and reverent. Inside, the small party walked to the railing to wait while Prime went down the steps to the Well and AllSpark. The priests, monks including Cyclonus and other workers in the field of good doing watched him, then the AllSpark as it began to turn. Energy crackled over its beautiful surface as he got closer.
Cyclonus and his mechs moved closer to the banister to watch the AllSpark. It was acknowledging Prime. As he paused by the Well itself, the AllSpark began to glow. Then a mass of light filled the room itself and no one could see.
Outside, the light could be seen as it rolled outward and upward through the doors of the facility. The crowd murmured, then bowed toward the Temple. It was incredibly quiet and expectant outside. Inside, the aura of the AllSpark filled the room. Prime glanced around and noted that everyone else there appeared to be blinded and stilled. He moved closer, then the room disappeared. In its place was the shore of a vast sea, one he had seen his people walk into and out of before. Standing before him was a mech with a simple format and a haggard air about him. He nodded at Prime, then Prime nodded back. "Hello, Optimus Prime. I am Sander."
"Sander," Prime replied. It was evident to Prime that this was a Functionalist, though one who worked rather than ruled. "How can I help you?"
Sander grinned slightly. "You already did when you destroyed our planet. We were going to be pillaged for parts when you made the only decision that you could for us. I am here to tell you that we're glad you did."
"You are in the Matrix? All of you?" Prime asked.
He nodded. "We are. All of us went together. It was a homecoming, Optimus. Everyone we ever loved was there to greet us. It works that way. We are safe and happy. We ask, all of us, for you to not grieve over what you had to do. We understand and have gratitude for your decision."
Optimus felt a huge burden lifting off his shoulders with those words. He nodded. "Thank you. I had no other way to protect you."
"We know," Sander said with a grin. He transformed before Prime, shedding his shell from his past life to assume his genuine form. It was beautiful, a light blue in color and immaculate. "You see me as I truly am, not as the mech who came to the world to learn something."
"What did you learn, Sander?" Prime asked.
"Unconditional love. Service to others. Perserverence. Forgiveness," he replied. "I learned the best lessons and I am here for all of us to say thank you. Thank you for coming to try to save us. I am here to tell you that we all are at peace with the Matrix."
Prime nodded. "Thank you, Sander. Tell them that they will not be forgotten, that they are always going to be loved and missed."
Sander nodded, then he smiled. "I will. Farewell, Optimus Prime," he said as he faded away. The room's brightness dimmed as Prime turned to look at the others. They were adjusting to normal light again. Prime glanced at all of them, then the AllSpark. "They are well. All of them are with the Matrix. They came to tell us not to grieve, that they are happy and safe."
"Then all is well," Lauren said with a nod. He turned to the others. "Praise, Primus, for His mercy." Murmurs from all there echoed that sentiment as Prime walked up the stairs, then toward the doors beyond. They would follow and as he rejoined the procession to continue onward, the priestly group would stay at the Temple.
Cyclonus watched Prime walk to the gates and rejoin the group. They began to move again. He glanced at his partners, three mechs who were senior in the monastery. :He went to the Matrix. I have never seen that before in a Prime:
The others nodded, then one replied. :He is The One Who Comes:
Cyclonus stared at him, then turned toward the AllSpark. It was turning slowly in its suspension field as inscrutable as it was before. Nothing seemed changed but for him, everything was.
Prime continued to lead the procession until he reached his apartment tower again. Turning to the silent crowd, he pulled the sword, held its hilt blade upward against his face in salute to them, then walked into the building. The funeral was over. At midnight, the official states of mourning would be concluded.
-0-Aftermath
They walked back, some stepping out of the crowds to transform and drive through the open areas. Now and again, a Seeker or two would step out, transform and blast off, sometimes with children in their cockpits. It was orderly and subdued as the crowds dispersed heading for wherever mechanisms went when they were heading out.
The commentary continued on the screens this time with famous people and politicians weighing in. A moment or two with the Resort management imparted the degree of hurt this event had caused as the coverage continued to Earth.
On Cybertron, the funeral was watched, the moment absorbed and the loss weighed. Tomorrow, they would get back to it raising the corpse of their planet back to the light. Right now, they would reflect together in families and other groups until at midnight, the moment of remembrance was completed.
Life always moved on.
-0-Nearing midnight
Prime stood by the windows of his apartment watching the lights of the military airfield as ships came and went. Overhead, he could see the satellites of Teletraan and other complex systems that facilitated everything that they did. In a few moments, the Festival siren at Fort Max would roll out and signal the end of the memorial period. Then they would move onward.
Prowl slipped his arms around Prime's waist, hugging him from behind. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I am fine," Prime replied. "A mech named Sander came to me and said that everyone was safe and that what they pursued when they came here, they learned."
Prowl evaluated that. "That's a good thing then. There should be something good come of this."
Optimus nodded. "There should."
The siren then roared, its echoes rolling over the landscape to every place beyond. The solemnities were over.
-0-In an apartment below
Ratchet and Ironhide glanced at each other as they lay in the darkness on their berth. "Goodnight, Only One," Ratchet said at last.
Ironhide who had laid waiting for the siren, unable to sleep before it sounded, nodded. "Goodnight, Ratchet."
It would still take a while to fall into recharge.
-0-TBC 7-9-17 edited 7-11-17