The Diego Diaries: Festival (dd6 66)
-0-In the dark, nearing midnight
He stood in the cold on the highest tower of Metroplex. Nearby, the switch that would sound the siren that would announce the Solemnities waited. He was the one who pressed it to begin and end, the one who had done it for six, now seven festivals. The night was cold and beyond him glittering like diamonds on a velvet blanket, the colony glowed. Lighted towers surrounded him, their spires reaching into the sky. Apartments were lit here and there, many more of them tonight as they waited for the siren.
He would sound it, then the colony would begin a full orn of personal introspection and family togetherness. The Prime would go to the Temple to commune with the Pantheon and they would all move forward together. It would mean no food at his house but for the kids and his grand genitors. He, himself, would be fasting along with the bond and his siblings.
He had never been very religious growing up on the run. Life had been too hard and he had too much anger about it to feel much good about the Pantheon and The One. Where were They when The People suffered so? Coming here had been a huge positive move for him. He had come around to a better frame of mind in this place of plenty and solace. He was learning something about free will and how he couldn't look upon the Pantheon as a daddy to ride to the rescue on a white horse when their choices turned out to be bad ones. They were the architects of their own situation by their choices, hard lesson that to learn and live through.
Now, he went to the Temple to think and feel the energy of the AllSpark. He was happy that his kids went to classes there to learn about who and what they were as Cybertronians. It would not be possible in his mind to be Cybertronian without a decent and complete understanding of all the things that mattered including the Pantheon and The one.
Life was good now. Life was what it should be and here he was, he alone who would signal the beginning of their most holy orn. It was an amazing thing to him that this should be so. Amazing and good. Ships landed at the airfield, the last ships for the duration of the next 25 joors unless a problem arose. They landed with their lights blinking. He watched them as the moments counted down.
-0-Elsewhere
"Thank you, Amma, for taking care of the kid's food," Ratchet said as he walked out of the hallway. They had taken infants to bed including Reflector who was sleeping over. The three dread kids were staying up to listen for the siren and skype with the six titan kids in Iacon.
"We want this to be an easy venture, Sonny," Docker said as she sat in Ironhide's chair sipping a beer. "Do you want to sit here?"
"If you let me sit on your lap," Ratchet said as he sat on the couch.
Docker grinned. "Do you think I wouldn't let you?"
Ratchet snickered. "Nope. Nothing you do surprises me." He looked at Docker for a moment, then glanced at Appa Ratchet.
"What?" Docker asked.
Ratchet glanced back at Docker, regarding her silently a moment. "I remembered something from the old orns. Something that I don't like to think about very often."
"What?" Docker asked.
Ratchet stared at her a moment wondering if he should answer. "Do you remember when you took in the linens of that high caste cow from the East Side?"
"Which one?" Docker asked.
"The one who brought all that table linen stuff and some other things. Remember her? You spent two orns working from morning to night getting them clean and pressing them so they were perfect. Remember her?" Ratchet asked.
Docker looked pensive a moment, then nodded. "I do. I remember that you were with me. You were so small."
"I was. I remember wanting to help you, Amma. You worked so hard. Appa was so sick then, he couldn't help you either. I remember when she came to get her things. I've never forgotten it," Ratchet said.
Docker nodded. "You should, Sonny. Those orns are over."
"What happened?" Ironhide asked. He was sitting on the couch with Ratchet sipping beer and snacking on fudge and Oreos. He hated to hear these kind of stories but he knew it helped getting slag out.
"She came to the apartment to get the baskets of things. All of them were sparkling clean and ironed. They were perfect. She looked at them and began to complain. She said she wasn't going to pay you what she agreed to pay because you did such a bad job," Ratchet said as fury flooded him, a fury as hot as it was then.
It was leaden in the room as Appa Ratchet glanced sharply at Docker. "You never told me that, Docker. What happened here?"
Docker glanced at Appa, then shrugged. "She was a very unkind person and I told her to take her stuff and leave. She wanted to continue to argue and she told me that she wasn't going to pay what we agreed upon. I told her to leave or I would throw her things out the window. She left and never came back. I never got paid. She got her things in a better condition than they came in. It was long ago," she said. "I've made my peace. You should too, Sonny."
"You were trying to make more money because Appa was sick," Ratchet said. "She was so awful."
Docker grinned slightly. "She lives here."
It was silent a moment, then Ratchet leaned closer. "What? Who and where?"
"I can't tell you, Sonny. You'd find them and it wouldn't be good. Suffice it to say, she isn't the same person she was. She still isn't very nice but she's humbled by her experiences to whatever degree she can be."
Ratchet sat back. "I'll find out. You know I will."
"You won't hear it from me," Docker said. She grinned. "Let things go, Sonny, or you'll be a prisoner of events you can't fix."
"I remember when a gang got burned out that was moving into our tenement district," Ratchet said. "You didn't have anything to do with that did you?"
Docker glanced at her bond. "You didn't burn out that gang hangout did you, Only One?"
Appa Ratchet grinned. "No. I didn't mind that they were. You couldn't play in the streets with them around and I was furious. Did you?" he asked Docker with a smirk and a wink.
"Why would you think that?" Docker asked with a smile. "Me? I'm so small. How could I help burn out a gang headquarters and beat the slag out of the members when they ran out when the place went up in smoke?"
Ratchet stared at his little grandgenitors. "You two slaggers. Need more tea?"
"Don't mind if I do," Appa Ratchet said holding up his cup.
"Amma?" Ratchet asked as he brought the teapot over to their chairs.
"Don't mind if I do, Sonny," Ratchet said to his grandson.
Ratchet poured their cups full remembering as a child running to their tiny apartment from the street where they would sit on the stoop to talk to neighbors. He would fill their cups and walk carefully down to give them to both. He remembered the happiness of the moment, the heat from the hot summer's night, the conversations from bots who were lost to the wind now. He remembered staying with them when his genitors worked late to fill an order at the shop, the one owned by someone else who made the benefit of their incredible talents. All of those were golden to him, the foundation of his character as a grown adult Sitting the pot back on the stove, he sat down again. "I could be a very bitter mech if I let myself go. Good thing Festival rolls around every so often to remind us that doing that wouldn't be good for us. What do you feel when you see her, Amma?"
"Pity," Docker said. "She had everything we didn't have but love."
The door opened. Ravel stepped in with others following. Alor, Blackjack, Scout snoozing in his carrier, Flint, Scout the Elder, Trooper, Chan, and Corr entered to find a place to sit. Chan smiled at everyone as Ratchet rose to bring out refreshments. They had only a few more minutes until eating ended among them. "What are we talking about?" he asked sweetly.
Ironhide grinned. "How lucky we are," he said with a glance at Ratchet. Ratchet grinned back.
-0-At a card game and boozer at Drift and Springer's house
Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Drift, Springer, Hercy, Kup, Roadbuster, Hot Rod minus Smokey, Bumblebee, and First Aid sat around the kitchen table playing cards, stuffing themselves with takeout food and beer as the countdown came closer.
"What did Moda say when you came by?" Springer asked with a grin as he antied up for the pot.
"He said Smokey's out of circulation until his grades show up next week," Roddy said with a chuckle. "I told him. He's pushing it with his atar. Moda will invoke and he did. Smokey is the stubbornest kid I ever met."
"More stubborn than you?" Roadbuster asked with the ghost of a smile.
"Maybe not that but he's better looking," Hercy said with a snicker.
"Frag you. All of you," Roddy said laying down his hand. "Eat that."
Sunstreaker lay down a better hand. "I would but this tastes so much better."
"Not as good as this," Hercy said laying down the winning hand. He raked in the pot. Given that it was a brownie-like confection much admired on Cybertron, it was one sweet victory. Literally.
-0-The Residence
They sat in the huge room chatting together after a big dinner. The children were in bed along with the twinnies and Kaon. Blue was staying over to help with the children while the twins were out playing cards before going on night duty with Springer and Drift once the siren sounded.
"Tomorrow will be a busy orn," Blue said.
"We put the short meeting for the general staff up, after the Temple visitation," Prowl said. "That frees up a bit of time with the kids. Amma Docker and Appa Chan got together and ordered food for the children. There will be prepared meals for all the kids. They had them delivered this afternoon when I was out."
"That's good. I don't want them fasting until they're sub-adult. It's a hard thing for adults," Blue said as Miler, Kes and Tagg nodded.
"We will help you with them and Prima. Tomorrow will be wonderful," Miler said as Venture nodded.
"I hear that Turbine will be following behind Prime as he walks to the Temple. There hasn't been a Maker present to attend to a Prime like that in generations. It's going to be a great orn for everyone tomorrow. It will be a good way to pay homage to those who were lost as well," Venture said.
Everyone nodded as Prime walked into the room. He paused as out of the darkness, the sweet clarion call of the siren could be heard.
-0-On the tower
He walked to the box, then opened it with a key only he had. He watched the time ticking away and when the moment was exact, he pressed the red button inside. A clear toned siren sounded as he held the button for the full minute he was required to do so. It rolled out in all directions into the night time of Mars.
Earth 1 …
"There it is," Jarrod said as he finished a report.
Hildie was reading in a chair nearby, waiting like most of the inhabitants for the siren to sound. "It is," she said as she listened to the siren in the distance.
The Consulate …
Sam Witwicky stood at the window with Carly as they watched the night stars. They were engaged now, though no plans were made for the wedding. The only thing firm was their resolve to marry here. Optimus Prime would be asked to do it again. "This is a beautiful night, Sam. This is a beautiful place. What a lonely sound that siren is," Carly said as she squeezed his hand.
Sam nodded. "It is," he said. "Tomorrow, I'm going to the Temple. Come with me."
"Will they allow it?" she asked.
He nodded. "For me they will. The AllSpark and I go way back," he said with a grin.
The Family Tower …
Most of them stood by the windows staring out onto the alien landscape that was as much home as Earth. In the distance, the twinkling lights of the Resort and Monastery pushed back the darkness. The last ships had landed earlier and the airfield was oddly still. Thelma Lennox looked at her son. "Thank you, Will, for letting me be here. We are so proud."
Will who was holding Annie nodded. "Thanks for coming, Mom."
Earth2 …
They stood by the window in his office, the three staring out into the dark skies. It was haunting, the sound of the siren piercing the dark night. Most of the habitat was up to listen to this, the first Festival they were present for. Perhaps in time they would be among those waiting on the steps for Prime to leave the Temple. Perhaps in time they would be there to receive the blessings with The People.
Rain hoped so and so did Rick. Owen Harris had his own thoughts.
-0-TBC 7-16-17 edited 8-1-17
NOTES: The story about the rich woman coming to their house to get her stuff, then doing what she did is a true story. It happened to my mom. I was the little kid watching. Sometimes, the best lessons you learn about forgiveness and tolerance come from the worst moments.
Happy Festival of Primus, my dears. :D