The Diego Diaries: Scrutiny (dd6 60) needs a good edit. :D
-0-New York at the Terminal for transit to Mars
They had gathered in the terminal getting through security on their way to the screening that everyone going to Mars had to pass. Their luggage had been inspected along with their identities and papers. Now they were past the barriers that would lead off world. The doors leading back out shut and locked, part of the security system in place by the bots. They had purchased the space and modified it to suit their elevated profiles both in scrutiny and security.
Moving up with 400 other humans who were going for vacations on the two ships that would carry them onward, ten news people partaking of a 10 day visit that would allow them to write and broadcast what they saw also joined the line. Some of them were world famous and some weren't. They represented 5 countries and all of them were well known broadcasters on their home systems. Here, they were just more tourists going to the hottest and most spectacular tourist attraction in the universe.
Moving along, they were passed through customs before entering the waiting area where the jetways were being prepared. Outside, like huge raptors were two big ships with the lettering 'Autobot City Touring Company, Primal Colony of Mars, Cybertron and the Empire' lettered on them. On the tail section of each was the Autobot sigil, the enigmatic face of the first Autobot. It was an excited group that filled the room staring at the ships that would take them around the inner planets before reaching Mars.
A lady who was handling the group picked up a microphone. "May I have your attention?" she asked as the room turned to her and silenced. She grinned. "I'm Hannah, your facilitator between here and Autobot City. I'm going to have you board the ships as you're called. Please check your boarding passes and wait until we call your number. Enter the jetway and go to the ship. The first 200 will be going on this ship," she said pointing to the one on the left. "The rest on this one," she said pointing to the other. "Find your seat and take it. When everyone is boarded then we can go. Those who bear the numbers 1-25 for ships one and two, please enter the jetway. Stewards will await you when you reach the hatch doors."
A number of the big crowd shifted through the mob to reach the jetway. They were happy, excited and ready to go. Chatting with Hannah, they walked in and onward through the transparent jetways to the ships where they were directed either left or right according to their pass. When everyone was on board, Hannah hung up the comm gear in the area, locked the doors, then walked to the ships to take one to Mars.
-0-Moments later at the NYC port of departure
The two big ships rolled along the tarmac together to the 'launch pad', a cleared area nearby with a huge circle painted on its asphalt surface. This was where the ships would wait one after the other for the all clear from the tower. When it came, they would enter the circle one at a time, then lift off, immediately, straight upward into the sky. It would only take seconds for them to roll into the circle, jump upward to end up in space. For the humans on board, it would be the most thrilling reverse bungy jump they would ever take.
Hannah on ship two walked to the front, then took the microphone. "Welcome to Autobot City Touring Company's flight 102 to Autobot City, Mars. I am Hannah and I will be your guide and head steward on this flight. I would like you to remain seated with your restraints fully clasped. No one will be allowed to walk around the cabin in transit. If there is a problem or emergency, please press the call button on the arm of your seat and we will attend to you. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the view. It's priceless. We shall be reaching Autobot City in exactly 55 minutes.
"In the meantime, let's go over the rules for this flight. Everything you're asked to do is for your safety and that of the other passengers. We're at present at the upper troposphere of the Earth and will be heading into free space in a moment. Understand, the area outside of the cabin is lethal and you wouldn't survive more than a minute or so if you were out there. If for some reason you were retrieved anyway, the debilitation would be so severe that you would wish you weren't rescued.
"Our vessels are designed to be deep space voyagers and also, they're designed to self protect should there be a problem or accident. They have the capability to transform their features to protect the cabin where we reside. If there was a problem, the ship would self protect. Given that Lunar Base is located nearby, they would be on the scene in seconds. Also, there would be a bridge response from Mars possibly in tandem with Luna Base.
"For now, let's go over the safety features of this vessel. We're presently on our way to do a fly past of Venus. We will travel on a course that will allow us to circle Venus, utilize a slingshot effect to pass Earth, then jet straight away to Mars. At no point in our journey will we be off the sensor grid of Luna Base, Diego Garcia on Earth, the Midway Array which we shall pass nor Teletraan III in Ops Center at Autobot City on Mars. We will be monitored as all of our journeys are by the principal bases who will feed the information to the Emergency Flight Center and the Flight Command Center at Fortress Maximus in Autobot City. They have control over the flight pattern of this ship and the duty to issue rescue teams if there is a problem. Anyone who fears a problem on this journey should relax and know that there is only a 2 second gap between rescue and a problem while in flight.
"This vessel is designed to take heavy fire, resist strikes well past ten times the speed of sound and fly without full engine capacity. None of the hatches will open while in flight unless coded to do so by the pilots, all of whom are veteran Autobot soldiers and pilots of great skill and ability. As we go, I will tell you the sights and explain what we're looking at. We have four cabin attendants who can assist you. Let us know how we can help you. Now, if you will turn to your left and look out the windows," Hannah began as they flew with a speed that didn't even seem apparent toward the cloud shrouded planet of Venus, the sister of Earth.
-0-Mars
Ratchet sat at his desk staring at a pile of stuff that needed doing. Outside, grumbling as he worked, Partition was doing filing. Given that Ratchet intimated that he wouldn't do the job right, Partition was DETERMINED to do it perfectly. The sun shone in brightly though it was cold outside. Everyone was back on track after a long month of misery and angst. That would still be part of the background noise but he was sure he wasn't the only one glad that things were rolling along again.
Human nature. Bot nature.
-0-Cybertron
Prime flew through the darkness with Ironhide and Inferno to inspect the detention centers for local troublemakers in a number of locations. He would be at it with his crew until dinner time.
-0-Ops Center
Prowl sat at the table working as usual. There were no signs that anyone was targeting Functionalists here or their distant cousins, members of Guiding Hand sects. So far, so good. Right now, his biggest unknown was ten journalists from Earth spending ten orns here.
He hated journalists.
Snoops.
It would be a long quiet afternoon for Prowl of Praxus.
-0-At the Autobot City Interplanetary and Municipal Airport, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars, Cybertron and the Empire
Clear jetways rolled to the vessels to attach automatically. Inside, Hannah and her attendants were getting ready to deplane the passengers. She picked up the mike as the crew began to secure the doors for opening. "Welcome to Autobot City, Mars. The Prime of Cybertron bids you welcome. For the moment, remain seated. When the jetway is secured and your team is here to take you forward into Immigration, then you will be excused by rows. We remind you that this is a zero tolerance environment and that if you disobey the rules or do something that falls outside of our procedures and safety protocols, it's absolute that you will not live through it.
"To the left, you will be able to see the Autobot City Hangar District where aviation along with on-world imports and exports are managed. This as well is the location of the homes of some of the largest Cybertronians living and working here, both Aerialbots and Supreme mechanisms. This is also the district where the Dinobots live.
"Ground crews work here to keep the ships running and as you see on the flight line between the big hangars, there is always a ready response team of military ships ready to lift off in case of emergency. The rapid response teams that constitute troops are on call at all times. This is a martial society and you would be hard pressed not to meet someone who is either a soldier themselves or is family or friends with them.
"Beyond the District that away," she said pointing forward as everyone turned in their seats to look, "is the city itself. It's the oldest city here, the first one built and most of the locals call Autobot City just 'The City' as a shorthand. The towers that you can see from here are those of Fortress Maximus or Fort Max on the right side and Metroplex on the left."
The spires of both were glistening in the sunlight as the humans peered through ships and bots outside to see things. "This is one of the most busy high traffic airports in the solar system. It's never quiet. Millions of tons of cargo and supplies come from here going to Cybertron and the forward bases while other things return. All of the products sold in the Autobot Outpost chain come from here and soon, there will be different things added that are being made on Cybertron as the industrial base is rebuilt there. The manufacturing base here is phenomenal. You will be shown all of these places in detail with out-of-resort tours by bus.
"This is a cityscape of over 20,000,000 Cybertronians, most of whom came by migration fleeing war and harassment in the galaxy. The People as the Cybertronians call themselves are always looking and rescuing their people wherever they're found. They also rescue others. There are two alien species living here among them … the Hu-An and us. We're aliens here too." She grinned as the thought struck everyone oddly for a moment. "There's also on occasion other species stopping in here to refuel or chat. This is a very cosmopolitan place."
Lights signaled the hatches were secure so Hannah began to move them out. "Everyone in these two rows, please stand and turn this way." They did and began to migrate out of the ship a couple of rows at a time. As they did they walked through transparent jetways into the world outside. Some paused, some took selfies and all of them were delighted. They continued inward until all 410 individuals were in the terminal. As they went inside, another 400 were walking through it on the other side of a rope barrier to board and leave for home. Some of them waved at the newcomers telling them that the place was amazing and others wished they could stay longer.
The newbies waved back, then continued onward to the numerous stations where they would have to go through Immigration. Watching nearby, Will Lennox, Bobby Epps, Niall Graham, and Jessie Landon were gathered. They would be arranging the news people's visit here because they were going to be going outside of the habitats. That required experienced handling.
"We get to be famous again," Epps said with a grin.
"We're already famous," Lennox said. "Someone told me that they saw my face on an advertisement for soap in China."
The two laughed. "Could be worse. They could be advertising condoms."
"THAT I might get behind," Lennox said with a smirk. "Let's get them."
They walked to the crowd and were enveloped by the newcomers. They were worldwide celebrities on Earth even if they were supposedly secretive special ops officers in their respective militaries. It would take a while to get the ten but they would and as the humans began to board buses for the Resort the ten humans garbed in survival gear would be boarding the new heavy duty vehicles that N.E.S.T. was testing for a company back on Earth. They would be buzzing out ahead of the buses all the way to the turnoff for N.E.S.T. HQ.
-0-TBC 7-10-17 edited 7-12-17