The Diego Diaries: Visitations (dd6 63) needs a huge editing
NOTE: Sorry. Fell asleep in my shoes. :D HERE WE GO!
-0-On the steps toward City Hall, The City
Ratchet paused as the top to allow the little trucks to join him. Four drove up filled with humans looking around. Behind Ratchet, a fifty-foot spire ablaze with blue light roared in the thin atmosphere. Apparently, they had sources for fire that didn't require much or any oxygen to burn. They wouldn't know that the bots had literally thousands of compounds formulated for vacuum. Copper sheets were hung along a low wall filled with names, some of which were humans harmed on Earth. Ratchet turned to continue onward heading for the doors which opened to allow them to enter the huge building.
The lobby of City Hall was beautiful, had statuary, what appeared to be antiques relating to their history, and a few displays here and there from the schools. A long counter ran along the middle space separating the public from the officials and their offices beyond. Ratchet paused at the table, then rapped his knuckles. "BLONDI!" he said as he grinned at the worker bees who maintained the desk and did their work at desks behind it. They grinned at him.
A beautiful exotic face appeared, then smiled. "WAIT A MOMENT, RATCHET!" She ducked back in, then came out a second later to walk to the counter to lean on it. "I suppose you want Himself."
"I have guests to appease," Ratchet said glancing at the humans in the cars.
She peered over the counter, then grinned. "Follow me then." She walked to the half gate, let them in, then led the way past a lot of offices toward the big one in the back. She leaned in as Magnus looked up. "Your mom is here."
"Ah, humor," Ratchet said with a grin. He entered with humans following. Blondi walked back to her own office as they did.
Magnus stared at the humans, then Ratchet who sat down in a chair. "These are the journalists visiting?"
Ratchet nodded. "For some reason, the humans came to me and expect me to entertain them."
A ghost of a smirk lit up Magnus's handsome face. "I wonder why," he offered.
Ratchet chuckled, then looked at the humans. "This is my son-in-law, Ultra Magnus, an officer in the command of Prime's general staff, mayor and colonial administrator of this planet and general officer in command of Cybertron and all points in the Empire. He's the boss for the boss."
Magnus stared at the humans for a moment, then Ratchet. "I am, aren't I."
Ratchet laughed. "You are. Tell them something."
Magnus stared at the humans. "What can I do for you?"
One of the humans stood. :Sir, I would like to know what the ultimate plans are for the Earth2 colony? What is your vision of it in light of the enormous volume of the surface of Mars?:
"You want to know if we're going to colonize the whole shebang. Are we?" Ratchet asked as he looked at Magnus.
Magnus glanced from Ratchet to the humans. "I am not privy to the fullest picture of the Prime's plans as of yet but I know that we will house our refugees here when they come or when we find them. Cybertron is in no condition to receive them. That part of our mission is undeniable and non-negotiable."
:You have helped expand the human population here with the addition of Earth2. We were hoping for 80,000 permanent residents here from Earth. Is that still possible?: another asked.
"I am not the one who makes policy. At the moment, the Prime's directive limits the population at Earth2 to 5,000. If there is more I would think it's in your court to make it happen by your conduct now with the population you have. We have caveats about your presence here in large numbers. It's up to you to show us that its feasible as well as desirable to increase or change that figure."
The humans felt the strength that embodied Magnus. He was a by-the-book bot, they were told. He was all business and a dangerous foe, the much feared Tyrest Treaty enforcer. He was massive, the biggest bot short of the airfield that they had seen so far this close up. He was commensurate with Slag, big and powerful, but it was uncertain if he was as tall. He looked at them with a calm but slightly severe expression, one that was appraising and highly intelligent. This mech was no one's fool. He had a frame similar to Prime with notable differences but the power that radiated from him was much like that of his great and lifelong friend, Orion Pax aka Optimus Prime.
:Sir, there have been initiatives in the United States and other places to make closer ties to the colony and government of the Prime. What are your opinions of them?: someone asked.
Magnus looked at him, this gigantic figure sitting at a gigantic desk with the flags of Cybertron, Mars and the Primes behind him. It could be the desk in any mayor's office anywhere else. "We welcome good relations with Earth and her various governments. We welcome any opportunity that is mutually respectful to draw our two peoples together. What they may be I am not at liberty to discuss. Those decisions are the domain of the Prime."
:You are said to be one of Optimus Prime's oldest friends, even into his youth. What can you tell us about this figure who seems to be held in a sort of grace one would grant deities: another said.
Magnus stared at the human as endless streams of memories flooded his processor. They were various, games of football in the streets and the burned out lot nearby that had occupied their time early on. All of the shared books that their genitors got for them using numerous library cards, an act that could have gotten them thrown into jail if caught. The long joors of conversation about what they wanted to do against the reality that they had to work young at hard manual labor. The size of their frame doomed them to the docks as longshoremen, a place where most of their genitors already worked. There were dreams they shared, these two who were both smart and ambitious, eager to learn and see the world.
However, it wasn't in the cards. It was written before birth what they would do with their lives. The injustices that they saw lit a fire in both and when the moment came to be counted, they were. They rose up with the tide of suffering that began to coalesce into opposition around the incompetent primeships of Nominus and criminal brutality of Sentinel.
Orion was a gifted mech, someone with an aura of integrity and authenticity that was apparent to all. He was born to do what he did and as his friend and brother in all ways but one, Deion helped him. They were in the struggle together and through the beatings, arrests, long hours speaking and organizing, the trips to places like Praxus, Kaon and Polyhex that they had never seen prior, they did what they knew they had to do. They selflessly and often painfully fought for the rights of all their people to be free and enjoy the same life the privileged few took for granted.
They shared jail cells, visits to hedge doctors and hiding places when security was after them. They shared stages at rallies, Orion to speak and Deion to protect him. They beat on the doors of the Senate and Councils until it was clear to those inside that to ignore them was to court disaster and when Orion would speak to the councilors and senators, to Sentinel himself, Deion would often share the arrests and beatings that followed. He was there when the Matrix had had enough and rose into the sky to claim Orion Pax as the Chosen One sparking the flame of civil war with the rage and frustration of Megatron. He stayed by Prime's side ever after that.
"Optimus Prime is our leader, our greatest fighting Prime and the best mech I know. We were kids together and we have served though every single event ever since. We, all of us are beyond fortunate that such a mech would arise at such a time and bring about something that has been longed for and sought after for ten million years. I have nothing but respect for him and whatever he asks of me, that will I do." Magnus sat back staring at the humans without further comment.
"Well, I think that's a good start," Ratchet said as he stood. He winked at Magnus who gave a ghost of a grin back to Ratchet. The big medic turned to the humans. "Let's go. Did I tell you that Magnus is my son-in-law? He's bonded to one of my many beautiful daughters," Ratchet said as he walked out with the humans following.
Magnus grinned. "That I am," he said quietly, then began to work on the city and Cybertron with its millions of problems, needs and demands.
-0-On the way to San Jose (sort of)
They traveled onward heading out to the Armory. It would take a bit of time to reach the big Central Armory but they finally rolled into the place and its giant main work room. All around the walls were huge bins and containers with bits and pieces of bombs and ammo that a good dozen kids used to make things. There were huge tables around which they stood composing bombs and other munitions for the armories around the colony. Some of the kids smiled and waved. Ratchet waved back.
Holi walked from Ironhide's office. "Hi, Ratchet. He's almost back. He had to make a side trip."
"Okay," Ratchet said as he grinned. Walking into Ironhide's office, he kicked back on the couch. "Pull up, humans. Ironhide's on his way."
:Is this his office?: a human asked.
"This is where the magic happens," Ratchet said to general laughter. "He's the head of the armories and hubs. The kids out there are trained to make the munitions that everyone uses. This is the main armory but there's three others scattered around that make different kinds of bombs. The other sites make all manner of things including some that require special handling. If they went up, then you wouldn't want to be too close."
:How dangerous is this place, Ambassador?: someone asked.
Ratchet grinned. "There's many containers out there with component parts which unless put together just so are neutral and no problem. Only one of them has detonators." He grinned bigger. "That container is the one just outside this door."
Even Lennox looked squeamish at the thought until heavy treads alerted everyone to Ironhide. The big mech entered the room, then paused. He glanced at Ratchet, then the humans, then Prowler who was sitting on his big servo gumming a big cookie. He shifted on his peds a moment, then slid his big servo and the baby around his back. "Uh … hi," he said.
A moment later …
Prowl sat on his old man's desk chewing on his cookie as his other old man gave him a smirk's smirk. Ironhide who was eating his own cookie affected an air of who cares? He sat in his chair with a half eaten cookie. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to see the Master of the Army. What's Prowler doing out of school?" Ratchet asked with a narrowing optic.
Ironhide threw caution to the wind. "Hero was being tested."
Huge laughter greeted that. Everyone knew the Ratchet-Ironhide collaborations. He grinned at Ratchet. "Little mech is going to tell me about the inventory. He's got some good ideas about it. He's mastered square, triangle and rectangle after all."
"There's that," Ratchet said with a snicker. "Ask your questions, humans. I'm giving them the two dollar tour. They'll probably be back for more."
Ironhide looked at the humans who saw a gigantic heavily armored mech with an oddly attractive face and gaze. His optics shown deeply blue in his black face, one that was pugnacious and bore scars over one optical ridge. He looked lethal and he had a deeply masculine yet oddly cultured voice. He was an enigma to just about every human who saw him but someone that most really liked.
:I understand, Commander, that you come from a very interesting family with ties to show business and the military. Could you tell us something about your family … who they are and what they do?: someone asked.
Ironhide glanced at Ratchet who grinned, then the humans again. "My family has an interesting history and skill set. My atar … uh, my father's family is military going back to the beginning. My … let me see … you want English, right?" The humans nodded. "My father is General Blackjack who's the son of General Raptor and Commander Turbine. Raptor is the son of General of the Army Hard Drive and Commander-Director of Special Operations Delphi, so I have my fathers, my grandfathers and great grandfathers on that side. They were always military.
"My ada or other father, Alor of Iacon comes from a long line of musicians, actors, singers, and artists. There's Alor, my father who is the son of Commander Trooper and Commander Scout of Iacon. His brother is Commander Flint who is military. My grandparents, Scout and Trooper are two of the most famous entertainers in the history of Cybertron. They can do it all. They write books, plays, sing, dance, play almost any kind of musical instrument, teach all of that, and now run the Performing Arts Center that's just about finished being built.
"My Amma Turbine is a member of a very ancient religious sect that knew the Pantheon and Primus and holds their secrets. He's also a Maker. He's got all kinds of skills and knowledge and is hugely respected for it. They were never very big but they were hugely influential. He teaches too. My Amma Delphi is someone who forgot more about special ops than most know. He's deep cover and unbelievably brave. That's my family."
"His family comes from money and power. The soldier side belonged to the highest caste in the Empire. Even Prime would have to bend to them but they never abused it. They never were anything but loyal and true. Rather like you," Ratchet said as he batted his optical ridges at Ironhide. "Unless, of course, you purloin sparklings from their schools like a thief, you slagger. You're wrecking your own image."
"You can't make me feel badly, Ratchet," Ironhide said.
:What about your family, Ambassador?: another human asked.
Ratchet thought about his family, then grinned. "They made forks and spoons."
Ironhide nearly fell off his chair laughing.
-0-TBC 7-13-17 edited 7-14-17