The Diego Diaries: Homeward and Onward (dd6 112)
-0-Humans, the night before
They flew back on a shuttle through the bridges to land at the airfield. Waiting for them, a group of trucks were parked around the viewing stands. They were carried there in their box, then let out on the ground. Waving to the affable young soldier who had been their caretaker, the group wearily walked to the group waiting at the vehicles. :It's about time you got here: Judy Fulton said. :Details:
:I need to pee: Bobby Epps said as the others nodded. Huge disgust and laughter greeted that as Judy Witwicky made a cup out of her two hands.
:A word first: Glenn Morshower said as he turned toward Harris. :You were given an extreme privilege. If any of this goes into the general discussion either at Earth2 or anywhere else, then I will have a problem with you. I hope you get the subtext:
The entire group was staring at Harris, some of them with solemn expressions and others with something more grim. He nodded. :I know. Thanks for the adventure. I hope it's only the first one:
:That depends upon you, Harris: Morshower replied. He turned to a vehicle driven by a young N.E.S.T. soldier. Please take Mr. Harris back to Earth2, Corporal:
The kid nodded, then walked to the driver's side of his vehicle. Harris entered with him, then the environmental seal was set. They drove off heading for Earth2 some great distance away.
For humans.
The others watched them go, then turned to Morshower, the Bolger-Settles, John Fulton, Fig Figueroa, Lennox, Epps, and Graham. :We expect details: Barbara Morshower said with a grin.
:We HOPE for dinner and a bathroom break: John Fulton said as they walked to the vehicles for the short ride to the Family Tower. Everyone who could would be there for dinner and a long discussion about what had happened both out there and here.
-0-Humans, morning, after the school rush the next day
They were back, gluttons for punishment as their significant others and spouses said. The group from the night before including Owen Harris along with two others from Earth2 and Brandon Clark from Earth 1 waited to be carried to a shuttle for transport through a bridge to the reclamation out there somewhere so far away it would take a generational ship for humans to even get halfway there on their own.
It was cold and the sun was climbing enough to be a force when Prowl walked past them heading for a shuttle. Following him, Raptor did a detour to kneel down in front of them. "I hear you're coming back for more punishment."
:We can't get enough of you, Raptor: Jessie Landon said as she hugged his ped. :We love you that much:
Raptor laughed. "Ditto, I think is the correct reply." At that moment, Ironhide and Ratchet followed by a stoked Partition walked from the city side of the airfield, then gathered before the humans. Ratchet glanced at Partition, then the group. "This is Partition, my student and a trainee soldier. He and I spent time in the pokey together."
:I heard that you got set free and helped end the standoff: John Fulton said as he looked at the big kid.
Partition blinked with surprise at the remark, then nodded. "Uh … we all did what we were supposed to do, right?" he asked glancing at Ironhide.
Ironhide nodded. "Slagging right."
A ridiculous sense of warmth suffused Partition as he felt the compliment. He glanced at the humans. "Are you coming again?"
:We are. I hear that there'll be fireworks: Lennox said with a grin.
"There will be. I worked it out." Ironhide said as he glanced at his grandfather. "The sappers have mined the settlements, right, Appa?"
Raptor nodded, then smiled. "It's going to be beautiful. A big fiery explosion followed by great gnashing of denta by Imperialis."
:What's that guy like?: Andrew Settles asked.
The group considered that, then Raptor leaned closer. "How do you define evil?" he asked.
At that moment, Optimus Prime appeared, then paused by the group. "Good morning," he said.
:IT SURE IS!: Jessie said. :I GET TO GO THIS TIME! When are the fireworks going to start, Optimus?:
Optimus grinned slightly at one of his favorite humans. "In about two joors. The last of the refugees will be airlifted shortly, then we detonate everything that can be used against us. I expect that Imperialis will not be happy."
"Frag him," Ironhide said as Partition glanced at him.
Partition nodded. "Frag him."
Ratchet felt tingly sparkles of delight filter through him, then he put his arm around the kid, hugging him tightly. "Semper fi, infant. This is going to be an interesting orn."
:How will he take it?: Epps asked.
"Not well. He has a good sized fleet which combined with Razorclaw would be worrisome but in the end, we can trounce him. We just don't want to," Ratchet replied as the others nodded. "We don't care if he doesn't like what we're going to do. He just has to remember we could do it again."
The Master of the Muster walked up to Prime. "Lord Optimus, we're go."
"Thank you," Prime said, then he glanced at the others. "Time to bug out," he said with a grin. Then he turned to the shuttle to walk there with his big long strides as the others hoofed it behind him. The humans laughed as they walked and jogged toward the shuttle where a youngster was walking out with a box followed by another. There would be double the observers so there was double the boxes. They were placed on the ground, then the humans entered, buckling up for the ride inside. They would be placed by the hatch until they reached Salton Sea where they'd be latched in on the forward deck of the ship.
Harris sat between Jessie Landon and Brandon Clark. Brandon was well-liked and included in most things going on. He was the Earth 1 rep to the main committee that ran things and at the moment was handling the affairs of the Consulate and Earth2 there. It was Harris's hope that he would be a member some day. They sat on the floor as the vessel filled with command crew and others heading outward. Prowl sat across from them studying a datapad as Wheeljack and Perceptor sat down on either side of him. Raptor and Ironhide were down the cabin while Ratchet sat on the floor nearby. The ship was filled with Prime taking the engineer's seat. Two pilots were on board because he was.
Primal rules.
:They call him Lord Optimus. Why? I wasn't clear that they held monarchical rules: Harris said.
Landon looked at him. :They call him that because its a term of respect for someone as holy as he is. He's their philosopher-king without being a king. He has a huge role in the society but I can't tell you about it. Just suffice it to say, he's given that term by being Prime:
:What kind of society do they have without representation? They have all their rules made by him or a select committee chosen by him: Harris asked.
Graham turned to Harris. :They have a good system. Prime is guided by the Primal Charter and other rules. He's the leader who's assisted by his general staff and committee members representing each major faction and group in the colony and off world. The locals have city committees that take care of each one by electing representatives from each district in the city to meet and discuss things. You can come to them, they'll hear you and if there's merit take up your cause. Those local city committees elect a single representative to meet in a super committee which gathers once a month to hear business or sooner if there's an emergency. Each city has a representative at this super group. If they need to go further, they attend the committee meetings that Prime holds and present their particular thing during the new business section of the agenda directly to him. This is a more direct and faster way to get things done on your concerns than we have. It works really well. People who live here who never had a say before and anyone out there at all can run and be elected:
The ship settled on something, then the hatch opened. The two youngsters picked up the containers, then walked out waiting for everyone else. Prime and the others stepped out onto a busy hangar deck, then headed for the elevators. It would take a moment or two because civilians gathered around Prime to touch him and tell him things. He listened with his usual kindly regard until they gathered into the elevator. The door closed on the hangar deck and its intense activity.
:They have a huge regard for him: Harris said.
:They love and trust him. They know he means what he says and will do whatever it takes to protect and care for them. He's more than just another mech. He's deeper and more important. He's called 'Lord' here by most, especially the older mechs and femmes. They honor with that title: Morshower said. :He deserves it. I don't know anyone anywhere with his sense of purpose and dignity. He's the most honorable and noble individual I ever met:
The others nodded and murmured agreement as the door opened and the bots walked inside followed by the two youngsters carrying the humans. Prowl headed for the command table to figure out the situation as the youngsters clipped the humans into their position forward of command. Outside, through the big windows, the careful choreography of rescue was still going on, though it was a fraction of what it was. Prime sat on the command chair as the others gathered around including a very attentive Partition. Ratchet walked to a lounge chair in front of the humans and sat. He grinned at them. They grinned back.
:Hey, Ratchet. What about that kid with you? The one who was captured too. Isn't he the kid who was shunned?: Jessie asked.
Ratchet nodded, then switched off line to chat. :He is. He's my mech now. I vouched for him and his family. He's sort of on the outs with them and he's crashing at my house. I don't know how long that's going to take to straighten out but I'm game:
:What happened?: Epps asked, nosy as usual.
Ratchet smirked at him and he smirked back. :Well, his folks are high castes who think they're important and he was an obnoxious goofball for the longest time. But getting him into structure with the possibility of selfless service has dented his armor. He's still got a way to go but he's changing. His folks hate that he's in the military:
:I'd hate it too: Morshower said. :I'm glad my kids took another path. You told all of us that you and Ironhide don't want your shorties in the army:
Ratchet grinned at him. :That's true. It's not that I don't sympathize with them and their dreams for their son. I do. I just don't think that they have a chance of changing his processor. He feels part of something big and interesting. He likes the life, the jokes and the camaraderie. As for mine, color me hypocritical. I know. If they really want to be in the army, then we deal then. I just hope beyond hope that the army is the home guard some fine orn and that wars and fighting are over:
:You and me both, hypocrite: Morshower said with a grin.
Both sides laughed loudly drawing Prowl's attention. Ratchet grinned. "We were talking about hypocrisy."
"Of course, you were. I do enjoy when you speak to your strengths," Prowl said with a slight smirk.
"Why, Prowl … you sweet talker, you," Ratchet said to general laughter all around.
Prime glanced their way with a grin. "May we have some decorum here? The ranks."
Ratchet looked at Partition who was following the exchange with gathering amusement. "Hey, Partition. You're a rank. Do you feel like we're taking away your soldierly dignity with our little jokes?"
Partition looked around himself, at the soldiers who were watching with grins on their faces. He looked at Ratchet. "No. I think this is funny."
Laughter greeted that. Ratchet grinned at him, then the humans. "Nice try. My mentor youngling there is a dedicated soldier. You can't corrupt him."
:No. We leave that to you: John Fulton said to great acclaim across the bridge.
Partition grinned as he looked around. Everyone was laughing including Prime. The tension was gone but the feeling of family and belonging was still here. He felt it creep into his spark, the sensations of pleasure and higher purpose. It was exhilarating to him as he basked in the warmth of the group around him. These were real soldiers, mechs and femmes of enormous experience and talent for what they did. They did it with a sense of confidence, mirth and integrity that he had never experienced before. He felt like he was home among them.
"I think its time to go over the settlements to wrap up the rescue. Please send out data flights, Starscream," Prime said as he turned to the big Seeker who was sitting at Flight Command with a highly amused Rainmaker and two of his handsome sons. "We would like to light this candle an orn or two early if we can, Starscream."
"My pleasure, Prime," Starscream said as he sent the message.
Partition stared at the Seekers, especially Starscream who he had hated and feared all his life. They were here and they were colleagues. It was slightly unsettling even as it was thrillingly interesting. He walked to the console, then turned to one of Rainmaker's sons. "Can I talk to you?"
Switchblade, tall, outgoing and ferocious in combat nodded, then followed Partition to the front of the ship away from the others. Ratchet watched them, then tuned in just in case. Something told him that he was watching the retooling of Partition in real time. He trusted that. He just wasn't that firm about the youngster's tact. They turned to each other as Partition gathered his thoughts. "I was wondering … why did the Seekers come to Prime?"
"Megatron lost his processor and put a kill on sight order on us. We came here because Starscream called us to come. We stay because this is home, a place where we're valued and not treated as slag to be used, then thrown away." He noted Partition's tats. "You're high caste."
Partition considered that. "Was. I was. Prime outlawed it."
"That's good. You know, we fight for everyone. Some of us got hurt in this battle. We do it for everyone. It's good that you're with us. Some still aren't. They won't win. We're tired of being nothing and having nothing. We're one here. Especially in the army and air force. We do a service for everyone. I suppose you feel weird about Starscream."
Partition nodded. "A little. We hated him and now he's here."
Switchblade nodded. "We felt the same about Prime. We felt the same about high castes. We have to put that aside and find common ground. We're all one, all of us, or we're nothing. Megatron wins when we keep the things going that divide us. Your caste made us suffer. But here we are, working together for the common good. That's how it has to be. That's how it should have been."
Partition stared at him, then nodded. "I'm trying. It's hard. My genitors don't feel the same way."
"Then you have to help them," Switchblade said. "My genitors are my heroes. Rainmaker is my atar. He's the greatest. Your genitors will come to their senses but it helps if you try to help them. Don't give up. You aren't the first one to wake up this way. Lots of high castes in the army and home guard have the same problem. Don't give up on them. Love will find a way."
Partition nodded. "Thanks, Switchblade."
The big Seeker grinned. "Until all are one. Remember that."
Partition nodded, then both turned toward Prime who was talking to Prowl. The news was back. The third settlement farthest from them was clear and all was taken that was wanted. Prime turned to Ironhide. "Light it up, Ironhide," he said.
Ironhide nodded, then hesitated over the button that would trigger the explosions waiting to be seen on the forward screens. He turned toward Partition. "Recruit, get over here."
Partition startled, then walked to Ironhide. Ironhide looked stern. It felt intimidating. "This explosion is controlled. I designed it with my grandfather, General Raptor," he said. Around the deck, all of the officers, humans and others at their duties watched the two. "If you press this button, it sends the signal. Ships are going to film it. The settlement will blow up. I want you to press that button, watch the demolition, then give me your assessment. Understand?"
Partition stared at Ironhide, the screen, Ratchet's grin, Prime's nod of encouragement, the several generals who were watching with great amusement, Rainmaker and Starscream's smirks, Switchblade's slight look of envy and everyone else. He looked at Ironhide, then nodded. "Yes, sir," he said, then he pressed the button. They all turned to the forward screens to watch the mayhem. It would be just that.
Beautiful controlled mayhem.
-0-TBC 8-29-17 edited 8-31-17
-0-NOTES
ESL: The ranks: usually an expression used to describe anyone who isn't part of the officer corps.