The Diego Diaries: Stuff (dd6 198)
NOTE: Check the ending for my take on Smokey. :D
-0-Around
Keystone sat outside the office of the General who was his nemesis bot. Raptor was doing work inside, getting things organized in his district for Thanksgiving. Everyone in the camps of Cybertron were getting holiday food and drink, programming and the orn off to celebrate a holiday adopted from aliens they would likely never meet. The eight district managers, Raptor included, had gone through a lot of work to get things organized. Food made both here on Cybertron and Mars would be distributed. The entire catalog of football games from the previous seasons on Mars would be released to the public on world along with Platoon: Autobot City, The Bridge series and four movies created by home grown film companies on Mars as well.
Everyone would step down but for the security forces and the military. Those two groups would run very short shifts, rotating in and out of duty so that no one missed very much. It would be the first celebratory moment besides the Festival that they would share with each other, let alone anyone else. It would be highly appreciated by the population.
Keystock was here, waiting to trudge onward. Cargo had gone with Hard Drive to his district on the other side of the world. He didn't know what his brother was doing but he was clear that it wouldn't be fun. They would be released to their family this afternoon, though, tomorrow they would be expected to show up together for the meal in the Central Labor Council meeting room. Hundreds were expected to arrive including Partition and his family as well as Proteus, Vinn and Hobbes' families. Who else would come, he didn't know. It would be an ordeal altogether, he thought.
Raptor walked out, then peered at Keystock. "You ready to move?" he asked.
Keystock stood, then shouldered the bag. The stare he gave to Raptor was cold and determined. "I am going to always be ready."
Raptor grinned, then slapped Keystock hard on the shoulder. "That's what I want to hear. You might just amount to something, infant. Let's go," he said as he walked down the corridor to the rec room beyond.
Keystock followed him as they walked to the tarmac beyond. They would enter a shuttle, then rise into the air to disappear into the frontier of Cybertron.
-0-Elsewhere at the same time
"Wait here," Hard Drive said.
Cargo and three other youngling mechs, the three being Home Guardians getting real world exercise nodded, then watched as Hard Drive slid down the crater to walk to a group laboring in the middle to pull out broken infrastructure from a deeper hole in the ground. It was silent a moment, then one turned to Cargo. "Why are you here? You're no soldier or Guardian."
Cargo glanced at him, then at Hard Drive. "I have to be here. That mech thinks he can boss me around and right now, he can."
"That 'mech' is General Hard Drive of Praxus. You're lucky to have his expertise," another said with a sense of offense.
"If you say so," Cargo said as he studiously watched the general below.
The three mechs glanced as each other, then one looked downward. The crater was shattered glass and dirt, broken in war and still in poor shape. Glancing at one another, grinning slightly, one of them stepped forward, tramping on the dirt around the edge of the crater. As he did, the ground crumbled under Cargo and he fell downward. Sliding and rolling in the dirt, he landed on his back, staring upward at the dark sky.
Hard Drive who turned to see what had happened hurried over. Kneeling, he looked at the stunned kid. "You alright?"
Cargo pulled himself together and staggered to his peds. "I am."
"Watch the edges of things. It's all rotted out from eons of weather and destruction," Hard Drive said as he scanned the kid. "Bumps and scrapes. Nothing more. Come with me and stand over here." He walked back to the group, Cargo following. When he did, he wished he hadn't. It was a mass grave of young people. Cargo stood stoically as Hard Drive got the word, then without a sound, he followed the General and his two aides back up the crumbling side of the crater to go to the next site. They would continue a while before heading back to Mars. It would be a long, long, long afternoon.
-0-Burris and Anders
Anders worked on his recipe for cookies. It was an old traditional favorite among the Cybertronian people and he was a master at it. Using Burris for a taster, he refined the final product, then put the base paste or 'dough' in the fridge to chill. Tomorrow, he would bake, then decorate them with a rich dark frosting and crystal-like bits of tasty confectionery 'sugar', making them perfect. "That was fun. I haven't done that since the boys were small," he said as he went over the recipes of the two fancy salads he was bringing, both of them Cybertronian favorites. They would be put together the next orn in beautiful glass dishes he and Burris had just picked up at The Home Store in Terra.
"They were very delicious, Andi," Burris said as he sat in his chair watching his bond do things with a sense of happiness, something he hadn't seen since they arrived. "How do you feel?"
Anders glanced at him, then paused in his effort to clean up the kitchen. "I feel lighter, Burris. I feel better and more engaged than I ever was. This place has been a revelation to me. I think even if we can, I will live here rather than Cybertron. Cybertron has many sad memories for me and frankly, if I can be truthful, Only One … I'd worry that there'd be dangers for you from the past."
Burris stared at him, then nodded. "You're probably right. What do you think about the boys?"
Anders walked over to sit on the couch beside Burris. "I think that if we have any chance of being a happy family again, its here. I'm so happy that the Generals have the boys."
"They aren't cut out for that sort of life, Andi. Even if you throw The System out of the equation, they weren't raised to accept that sort of life," Burris said.
"Then they have to shape up," Anders said with an uncharacteristic edge to his voice. "That ship has sailed as they say and the new one has no use for drones. Those boys can show as much character as Bezel. That young mech has found his way and a very fine bond as well. I'm very proud of him being a Watch officer and going with the army on rescues. What a fine way to serve The People."
"Bezel has always been different. Lon is a very good mech but he's also different," Burris said as he mused on both.
"Different is good," Anders said. "Keystock and Cargo will change or they will have an unhappy life. I want them to be happy and sensible. I want them to be a benefit for everyone, especially themselves. But I'm also prepared, Burris, to allow all of you to be who you are. If that means you have to have a hard life and no friends, then that's your burden. I won't be a part of it."
Burris stared at Anders, a mech he had been matched with in a dynastic bond, yet had grown to love with every inch of his spark. "You mean it."
Anders' expression turned to an agonized emotion, then resolved into determination. "I do. Do you wish to go with me? I'm going down a road I've never traveled in a strange land. I don't wish to go alone."
Burris turned to him, then gripped his servo. "You will never be alone, Andi."
"I always was, Burris. You were so wrapped up in the business," Anders said. He touched his servo to Burris's face. "You have to bear responsibility for what you did, Bur. You have to accept that what you did was wrong and try to atone. I will help you."
Burris stared at him, then the floor. "The ship … things on Cybertron. You want that acknowledged."
"I do," Anders said. "You know its the right thing. There were a lot of mechs and femmes hurt. It cannot be ignored any longer. Look at our boys. Two of them are living stuck in the past and one of them, the one who wants more can't go forward because we hold them back. We have to show our children the way. I have to know that you will and that you see the need, too."
Burris sat back, holding Anders servo. "I will try," he said quietly. "I don't know how to look at all that my father and his father and his father did and be ashamed."
"Think about it, Bur. I will help you," Anders said as he sat closer. They would sit together and talk for a long time as they waited for Keystock and Cargo to come home.
-0-At the Home Ranch
Ratchet worked out the base energon for the cookies that he was making. He filled a rectangular pan, then pressed them down, filling the bottom. Taking a number of bags of different kinds of candy and 'chocolate', he spread them out on top of the dough layer. The candy layer was thick but not as thick as it would have been if he hadn't eaten a bunch of it for 'tasting purposes'. He grinned. "So far, so good." Taking the last of the dough, he covered the candy covered confection, then smoothed it. Carrying it to the stove, he put it in and set the timer. "One down, one to go."
Walking to the counter again, he looked at the bowl of 'browned coconut. Picking up a bowl filled with a thick melted chocolate, he poured it in and began to stir. Adding a few candies because he could, he began to put them on the tray in small balls. "I don't know how you're going to turn out but you look good. Maybe," he said with a smile. When he had the tray covered, he put it into the freezer to stay overnight.
Looking at the mess, he smiled. "NOW FOR THE DINNER PART FOR TOMORROW!" He grinned. "The work never ends."Walking to the cupboard, he pulled out about a dozen bags of buns he had picked up at the bakery. Checking his garlic and parsley flavored butter that he made himself … that is, he mashed up 'garlic and chopped parsley' as directed by the video, then mooshed it into different shaped small bowls. That accomplished, he was finished. "I worked my fingers to the bone," he said with a chuckle as he took another swig of a flavored vinegar 'spritzer'. "Candy stuffed cookies, coconut 'haystacks', buns and butter. Even Primus would be pleased." With that, he walked to his chair to sit and watch the news before Ironhide got back from Moonbase at Cybertron and the kids came fogging in from the buses and cabs they took now. Life didn't get better than this.
-0-On a dimensional plane sitting on a rock watching the fool's parade
"What do you think his odds are for winning the cookie contest, brother?" Solus Prime asked Prima.
"Slim to none but the cookies do look good," Prima said with a chuckle. "I do have to say, his never say die attitude is commendable."
Solus nodded. "I asked Vector who actually won the contest and this is what he told me," she said as she leaned in to tell him. A comet streaked past, its energy flashing large around them along with a fog of crystallized water particles.
Prima nodded as he listened. "Is that what he said?"
Solus nodded. "He did."
"Well, it will be entertaining. Shall we go tomorrow?" Prima asked.
"I think so," Solus agreed. With a grin, both faded from this dimension. The comet continued onward by itself.
-0-TBC 11-22-17 edited 11-26-17
-0-NOTES
My take on Smokescreen, Devcon, Moda, Tress, and Smokey of Praxus
I had adults and then babies but I had no continuing character teenagers until Smokey came along. I love the way TF: Prime portrays him. He's an enthusiastic teenager just like Strongarm and Sideswipe are on the cartoon show, TF: Robots In Disguise. I wanted the full range of age from elders to babies and in between. Smokey has these characteristics for this story:
He's a teenaged kid.
He's an Optimus Prime fan boy.
He wants to be with the big bots and has a lot of hero worship and enthusiasm for the job and his elders. HE LOVES BEING A SOLDIER AND HAVING ADVENTURES!
He's from Praxus and because of that, he's part of a religious and culturally proud family.
Devcon scared everyone enough that his low and mid caste grandson got a fabulous education just like his father did. No one bucks or denies Devcon and Smokescreen.
He had been in a hostile environment all his growing up, attending high caste schools and the like, so the adults in his life were especially concerned and connected with him. Though his grandparents were often away, they made sure that their little mech had all he needed.
He goes to the warmth when he's hurt or upset. Even though he tries hard to assert himself and he does, he can still be swayed by the warmth of his appa and amma and the pie that he loves that Dev makes for him because 'only you can, Amma."
He's been cocooned, has been invoked for not doing his duty to school which they can … his father already has once for his slipping grades ... and as such is still on his way to fully independent adulthood from the late teenaged life he now occupies. He does stand up for himself and he does want and love Hot Rod, his first real flame. But he's also a kid and as such, he goes to the warmth.
Smokescreen took care of finding out what happened himself, asked what Roddy wanted from Smokey and fulfilled his duty as a Praxian elder toward his grandson. He invoked to prevent this from escalating into a bigger mess to allow the two to figure this out within the structure. Devcon didn't go, he did. Dev let him because he knows he's too invested and might punch Roddy just because this is his only grandson.
Smokey probably is spoiled by the unconditional love he gets. He reminds me of my nieces and nephews. When they were young, they would on occasion ask for something and look at us like we were gods who could fulfill it. We always did because they were so good, they never asked often and we didn't want to let them down.
Smokey is a kid, a bit on the spoiled side because of the unflinching willingness for his family to take care of him, a byproduct of his culture as Praxian, and his own teenaged angst. First love, TRUE LOVE! never goes easy. Roddy is older and experienced. Smokey is young and not. This would catch his family's attention. That Roddy still lives is a testimony to their growing willingness to allow the kid to make his own mistakes. But only to a point. It could be worse. They could be from Stanix. Or a mini-con village. ;)
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D