The Diego Diaries: After the Ho-Ho-Ho (dd6 238)

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO OUT LAST NIGHT BUT THE SITE WOULDN'T LET ME! ARRRGGGHHH! Sometimes, it hates me, this place. :D:D:D

-0-Around

They stood at the windows peering inside. They heard about this place and wondered. The mall was mostly closed including this place because of the holidays but the windows were floor to ceiling and the lighting inside the businesses was amazing and decorative even when no one was around. The showroom was tasteful, artfully lit and filled with mind blowing things. Swords that had to be 25 feet long stood tip down in a row, suspended by a means they couldn't see. A row of daggers lay on dark velvet cloth in the window display, their shining blades lit by discreet lights overhead.

They were between two and four feet long, highly reflective and etched with discreet writings of some kind. Their hilts were beautiful, wrapped tightly with highly colored cord-like wires of almost peacock luminescence, reds, blues and greens. On the others side of the shop past the door was another window display and there were tools there for various weapons that were astonishing to see. They were ergonomically designed to fit the hand just so and most of them had some component part, usually the business end, that seemed to be made of some transparent material.

:I heard that they make transparent steel of some kind of quality that only they know. Its hard as it gets and all their stuff is made to be beautiful as well: Todd Baseman said as he stood in front of the windows with several of his compatriots.

:The windows of the habitat are transparent steel: Silvio Lombardi said. "I would love to have a set of daggers from them:

:Ask. You don't have to pay for stuff here: Lawrence 'Larry' Dobbs said.

They were out on their own, having been inexplicably given the right to drive around. They didn't know they were tagged on the system by Jazz and Elita to have every move they made out of habitat recorded. They just knew they could go wherever they wanted. They had even debated going to the jail to visit Jim. That had produced a chuckle as they climbed in and drove out swiftly, heading for a more thorough investigation of the colony.

The counter in the back gleamed with lighted displays of knives, tools and other implements that the company was famous for producing, all of them laid out expertly to showcase their amazing beauty. There was nothing in this shop that didn't have a major component of beauty. All of the designs were hand drawn, refined, then crafted. This was indeed an artisan shop.

:They should be open Monday. We can come then and ask about what they can make for us: Steven Anson said.

:Would they? Make stuff for us?: Larry asked.

:Don't know until you ask: Anson replied. :Come on. Let's go: They walked back to the truck and entered. Driving out, they continued on their way heading out of town toward the Mall of the Tri-Cities and the water park that had been mentioned now and again among the locals at Earth2 as 'having to be seen to be believed'.

-0-CMO

He sat at his computer going through the data to make a preliminary report. In a collection dish before him were four coiled devices that had an enormous number of wires protruding. There were two other devices that looked like simple patches that were attached to their sparks that were also laying there. It was incredible the care they had to manage to have them removed without harm.

He sat back as he considered the devices which he had run through what was being called The Shockwave Archives. It was there that they were discussed for their generative abilities which led to several other areas that discussed the femme program that Jhiaxus had created, information hitherto for unmentioned. He had gone through them and it had been enlightening. Apparently, the tech that created the femme gender was tampered with for Denita and Stormy to create the big frames that the two femmes and several others in their party bore. It was a reverse of the process that allowed them to accommodate a big frame for what should have been genetically at this point, a small spark. The difference was simple. They wanted a femme with a large frame. It had to be tampered with to allow that. It was complicated until the archives explained it.

Why anyone would do this, he didn't know. He also figured that short of strip mining Traachon and the others, he would probably not find out either. He sat back as he considered the situation, then tapped his call box. "Elita."

:Elita here, Mom:

Ratchet laughed. "You little minx, you. Where are you?"

:We're at the Mall of the Tri-Cities checking out the latest embellishments from Needlenose's spring collection:

"Slaggers. How about dropping into the office. I have some news for you and I want you to hear it from me," Ratchet said.

:Is this about the femme thing?: she asked.

"Yes. Your call if you want to hear it," Ratchet replied.

:On our way. Elita out:

Ratchet sat back as he considered the story thus far from the information recovered and the femmes still in stasis. This was going to be a strange conversation.

-0-Moments later

They walked in, big, rangy, strong femmes and took a seat around the big office, relaxing onto chairs and couches as Ratchet tossed cans of candy. When he sat with his own, putting his big peds up, he grinned. "Allow me to assimilate this much beauty for a moment."

The femmes snickered. "That's us," Elita said. "What's up, Ada?"

"What's up, Ada?" Hero echoed with a huge smile.

"A NEW HAT! You did well, my padwans," Ratchet said as he picked up Hero. He hugged her, then opened his hatch. "Go here, baby. I have to talk dull stuff to your sisters."

She looked at them, smiled, then disappeared into the hatch. Ratchet sat back as the hatch closed, regarding the femmes in the room with a grin. "Well, I wanted you to know that I figured out the big femmes, Denita and Stormy, and I wanted to tell you about it myself. That's because I'm a good ada with only your best interests in mind."

Both sides grinned at each other, then Arcee stood up to pace like she always did on this subject. Ratchet watched her a moment, then began. "I've been studying the internal scans that we made of them when we put them into stasis. They have to stay that way until we figured out their special function. It was slagging hard but I, Ratchet the Healer, Ratchet the One of His Kind-"

"That's true," Elita said with a grin. "What did you find?"

"A couple of wires that didn't belong where they were," Ratchet said. "It was easy to overlook, so small and nondescript were they, but they were the head of the trail back to this place," he said as he pulled open a desk drawer, reached in for two shiny pairs of coils with dozens and dozens of wires protruding outward. He dropped them on the desktop with a grin. "BEHOLD! This is some serious tech removed from behind their optics."

Elita reached for one and examined it, handing it to Chromia who looked like she wanted to eat it. "So this is the big deal."

"It is," Ratchet said. "I think its straight out of the aft end of Jhiaxus and before him, the aft end of some unknown alien scientist. You know he never met a scientific advance that he didn't want to steal."

"Fragger," Chromia said as she tossed the device onto the desktop. "I need to disinfect my servo."

"What now?" Elita asked. "Tell me more."

"What this does is two fold. It's a trans-dimensional device that's also capable of creating extremely good, and I mean extremely good pretender shells," Ratchet said. "They can move between this dimension and others, particularly if the dimension is stable and calm like null space, which I believe is their preferred staging area, and then back again. They're invisible while this device works and only become visible when they form a pretender shell or shed it back to themselves again. It is powered in some unknowable way by their spark which is fed with this," he said as he dropped the several patches on the desk.

"Frag," Moonracer said as the others nodded.

"When I was searching the stuff recovered from Jhiaxus I came across something else. Someone finally decrypted the passwords and opened up new files that include the files on you, which I have personally moved to my own database from the Shockwave Archives. I padlocked the slag out of them so I alone could access that part of his swill and no one would be the wiser," Ratchet began.

"They're files on us, right?" Chromia asked.

"You and the others," Ratchet said. "You were given numbers in his research so you can't be really identified but there are clues to me about this. There were over 2,500 different mechs used to try to inject gender into the population."

It was silent with shock for a moment. "I knew there were others but that many?" Arcee asked.

Ratchet nodded. "You weren't alone. There were many. He worked on it a long time and he managed to manipulate our CNA into something altogether different. He was looking for a way to inject a change into our general population CNA so that femmes would appear 'naturally' through the process of living and creating families with you as the injection points. The CNA splices that he used to do this with all of you were injected into the subjects of his process, you, making the essence of difference available if you sparked or sparked someone else. It wasn't enough that there would be femmes in future, femmes that were easily visually different. Those that were manipulated at the time, meaning you as ground zero, would have to jump start the process of them being accepted in a natural way by the public. He achieved that by changing your basic energetic signature, your aura. His point was to make you femmes right away even if he couldn't change your appearance to one.

"You would carry the CNA and then it would disperse throughout the population in a more natural manner. It would be accepted because others would see you and see femmes, eventually becoming 'normalized'. That you didn't change to look like it was a flaw that eventually made him drop the program altogether. It was a thing he couldn't change so he got tired of trying and pursued some other heinous thing.

"In summary, he couldn't change your direct appearance but he changed your aura, the thing that announces us to each other before we even meet. He failed to change you outwardly, you, the proto-generation, but he changed you inwardly, thus changing how everyone perceives you. You see yourself as you originally were but you're projecting a changed energetic aura that announces you to others as a femme. I can only guess how difficult that is for you."

It was silent a moment, then Lancer shifted. "Then how is it that Gypsy and the others look like they do?"

"You're first generation, changed but unchanged. The other mechs went on with their lives, bonding and having families. That's how the CNA changes ended up in the greater population through the birth of infants, some femme, and that's why femmes are such a small portion of the total. Since the femme CNA is designed to create the differences, sexual dimorphism its called, and a smaller frame among other changes, it was passed on through those of the 2,500 who had families. It was a small number to start with and it created only a small number thus far of Gypsy-style femmes. Not everyone carries femme CNA. I do because of Amma Docker. Ironhide doesn't. It still isn't as wide spread as it would be otherwise. It's not a natural mutation.

"When they began to have infants, they put femme sparks into mech frames because they didn't know any better. The femme sparks died because they were too small to live in mech frames. It was only after research that the femme frames began to be made for what everyone thought was a naturally occurring genetic mutation in the species. It wasn't. As time went on, the mutation changed to accommodate femme or mech frames but oddly enough, now when a femme spark is placed in a mech protoform, it doesn't die. It adapts like a chameleon, changing to a mech. If this were better known, there would be more femmes because the CNA would be understood and planned for. Now, femme sparks mutate into mech and there is no difference when they're born and grow up. It once again signifies that we are truly a genderless species no matter what they did because the sparks do that."

Arcee stopped pacing. "Could you summarize this, Ada?" she asked.

"Sure. There were 2,500 or more of you who were reformatted to become femmes. It was only partially successful. It was a big enough population to add femmes into the greater species in small but visible numbers but it didn't do more for you ground zero mechs than to confuse others about what you are. Even though you're a mech in looks and mannerisms, you bear the CNA that adapted your aura to femme. That was done to the proto-generation to begin to have the population accept femmes. It didn't adapt anything else about you because it wasn't designed to do that, though Jhiaxus thought it would with enough tinkering.

"Because life marches onward, the victims became genitors, the CNA adapted to become whatever protoform it was given after a lot of death, then the mutation spread into the population. It's no wonder that most of us seldom, if ever see a femme. The process is still seeking to spread. As time has passed, the femme protoform-type has morphed along with the tastes of the day. In only a few vorns, the femme type was changed from you, who were the process of injection, to the type of femme that Gypsy and Hero emulate. The CNA did what it was designed to do. Evolution … its a process. Albeit, a slow one. I think last survey before The Fall that femmes of the Gypsy model made up only 3% or less of the entire population."

It was silent in the room for a moment, then Elita asked the $64,000 question. "Then why don't the two of them look more like Gypsy than us?"

"That's the rub," Ratchet said. "They should but they don't. Their CNA reads the same as Gypsy and others. But they don't look the same and their spark didn't morph to mech due to the size of their protoform nor did it die. Someone is holding back. These two femmes have Jhiaxus written all over them. I want to know what's up here."

"You and me both," Arcee said as she slammed her fists together. "Give them to us. We'll find out for you, Ada, then you can put them back together."

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea. These are Traachon's daughters and they're fanatics. They wouldn't give up a thin dime under that kind of pressure. I believe it. Remember … Waldeen is their brother," Ratchet said. "I'm going to bring them out and have them meet up with Prime at the Center."

"We want to be there," Elita said.

"I want you there. As for the two … they're going to jail and there will be a trial. They made a pact with Harris, I believe, and that alone is worth punitive stasis for treason." He grinned. "By the way … Traachon is in the jail for breaking his parole. He doesn't like his job, apparently, so he didn't go for a couple of orns. That mech wants to fight."

"Aw, poor little man," Elita said with a grin. "How about us escorting these two femmes to the Ops Center for you, Ada? You know … femmes forever and all that."

"I like that," Ratchet said with a grin. "What I want to know is simple. Are you all going to be alright?"

They glanced at each other, then Arcee shrugged. "As alright as I can be. I'm a MECH! I'm a mech and frag the world. I want first crack at Jhiaxus if we get him even if he's from the other dimension. Killing him no matter where he's from will be therapeutic."

Ratchet grinned. "You're my daughters. Mama gets first crack."

They laughed as they stood, then Chromia grinned. "You have to arm wrestle me first."

"Well, frag," Ratchet said as he led the way to the door. "I concede already."

Laughter followed him as he walked to the elevator. They entered, then went down to a recovery room on the surgical floor. Having stashed the alien parts in his subspace, Ratchet was ready to bring them around. He grinned at Carlo, head of building security who was reading a newspaper as he waited for Ratchet. "I have my daughters for escort, Carlo. Thanks," Ratchet said.

Carlo grinned, traded quips, then walked out as Ratchet bent over Denita. He checked her and her data, then began to code the return to real life. He did the same with Stormy, then watched a screen as the process of revival began. The moments seemed to drag before their optics on-lined. When they did, both flinched, rising in reflex. Restraints for that purpose held them down as they glanced around themselves wildly. "Relax. We just brought you out of stasis," Ratchet said as he checked the monitors again. He looked at both of them. "You and I are going to walk to the Ops Center and if you make any weird moves, all of these outstanding individuals here will happily break you into kindling. Do you understand?"

The two stared at Ratchet a moment, then gave curt nods. Ratchet pulled plugs, released bonds, then watched as they both sat up stiffly. "This will pass. When you're ready to walk calmly to the Center, we go. By the way … your transformational cog, your interior communications systems and your special function nodes are removed and shut down." He unsubbed one of the silvery devices. "Just so you know I'm not kidding," he said as both of them stared at the device. "Stand if you're ready."

Both of them heaved themselves up, stood a moment, then turned to him with defiant expressions. Elita grinned. "I don't think they like you, Ada."

"To know me is to love me," Ratchet said with a snicker. "We're walking out. Frag up and you will never know how much these femmes want to mess you up. No love is lost here by anyone."

Ratchet walked to the door with the femmes following, two of the team on each side of them. Down the elevator they went, then out onto the street followed by a mellow Maelstrom. Apparently, nothing he had heard bothered him one little big. It was busy with traffic both pedestrian and automotive as they walked in the cold bright day along the highway. The two glanced around but said nothing to anyone as they followed Ratchet. Pausing at the lights at Fortress Road, they waited. Ratchet glanced at them. "You might want to know that your atar is in jail for breaking his parole. Your ada is facing collusion charges out of what you did and no one is a happy camper. Your brother probably will be jailed as well depending on the ongoing investigation but for now, he's free. Imagine that." He stepped forward and crossed the street with the others following.

Across the courtyard and into the building they walked, passing through the rec room to the Center itself. It was a whirl of activity as usual as they headed toward a conference room door. Entering, Ratchet walked to sit beside Ironhide. The room was filled with senior Autobots including the elders of Ironhide's family to the different leaders of groups and divisions that showed up every orn. Included were also Alpha Trion, Neo, a pensive Chrome, and Maddow.

Denita and Stormy were shown their seats. They sat silently, nothing about them showing an inch of give, something that everyone expected. They stared coldly at Maddow, then Prime.

Optimus Prime noted them and their unbending aspect. Then he glanced at Blackstone. "Counselor, are you prepared to undertake a defense of these two femmes?"

"I am, Lord Optimus," Blackstone said. Sitting with him was Coln-2 and a solemn-appearing Barron.

"Stormy and Denita, you are here today because of your actions in relation to a series of bombings and adventures on Earth that have cost our people dearly. We are going to ask you to explain yourselves and we want you to understand, the charges you may face because of them are of the most severe kind and could lead to grave penalties up to and including punitive stasis."

They stared at him without comment. Ratchet glanced down table to the pair. "Punitive stasis requires the removal of your spark from your body and the destruction of your protoform."

They glanced at him sharply, then looked back at Optimus. He stared at them, then leaned forward on his elbows. "There is a myth going around that I am some sort of soft-sparked Autobot. I do not mind having a reputation of mercy and unity but over the vorns, I have come to accept to some degree that there are things that must happen to protect the greater good. It would be a mistake for you to assume that because I prefer mercy that I'm unwilling to go the other way."

They stared at him, shifting slightly, but said nothing.

"Please discuss your findings, Doctor," Prime said.

Ratchet turned to the femmes. "We discovered how you do what you did." He pulled the several devices from subspace, then laid them on the table. "These are pretty ingenious. They have two functions, are deeply nondescript in appearance and hard to notice where they were placed. Partial overgrowth by protoform made them hard to spy. But spied they were. These devices allow you to journey between dimensions and exist there without harm. You do need a portal to travel within them, going from Earth to Mars, for instance, but between dimensional barriers? Not so much. Once you're in a dimension, you can manage to form a very high caliber pretender shell to move around. You used both of these to go to Earth and back and its my belief you used these attributes to plant or set explosions around the colony that caused harm and suffering to innocent victims. Tell me where I'm wrong."

They sat stone-faced and silent in their chairs. Around the room, tense mechs and femme watched equally silently.

"Your family is in disarray. Your father was put on a special release program that allowed him to leave the prison and live at home with your ada. He had to work every orn and stay within the law. Two orns ago, he decided that he did not want to work and did not go. He also did not call his probation officer. He was arrested Christmas Surprise Eve and resides in the jail pending trial today. Your ada, Millow, is

under investigation for the same actions as your atar and we expect an arrest to be imminent. It would be in the best interests of you and your family to tell us the truth. Your situation is dire and I will not minimize the potential for you to pay the severest of prices for following the path of your father. This is not a small settlement or colony in the Diaspora. I am the Prime of Cybertron, the First Disciple of Primus and not some colonial administrator who can be run over. I am as serious right now as its possible to be."

It was deeply silent. Denita glanced at Blackstone. "You are representing us?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Stormy asked.

"Because I give you my solemn oath," Blackstone said.

They stared at him, then Prime. "We want to talk to him alone."

Prime nodded. "Springer, take them to the small conference room next door. Soundproof it but leave the window open. Intervene if they make any advances on Blackstone. Use extreme prejudice if necessary."

The two femmes stood and walked to the door followed by Blackstone. Springer left with them and the door closed. Prime sat back. "Impressions?"

"I think these two are a dead end. Maybe they can be leverage against Traachon," Raptor said. "I've seen their kind. They would rather be dismantled than tell."

Delphi nodded. "I agree. I would like your opinion, Maddow."

Maddow looked terrible, but he gathered himself. "I don't believe that they will give. They've been raised in Traachon's own ideology and they are fanatics. My … Traachon did some very bad things during the Clampdown and a lot of suffering came out of it for a lot of individuals. I have no hope that they will tell you anything."

"What about Millow?" Prime asked.

"Only if you play the hardest of hard ball. If they are to be tried and if found guilty, I believe Millow will only break his silence if the femmes face punitive stasis. That will be what it takes. I don't believe Traachon would be moved but Millow would. Traachon is not … right in his mind."

The door opened as Springer leaned in. "We have Millow."

"Bring him in," Prime said.

Springer stepped inside making way for a very handsome mech to enter. He paused to take in the crowd, then walked to the chair offered. He sat in an almost supernatural sense of composure. He stared at Prime and Prime stared at him. "We know, Millow, how it was done. We have removed the devices from your daughters. What do you say about that?" Prime asked as Ratchet moved the devices to the center of the table for Millow to see.

He stared at them silently for a moment.

-0-TBC 1-5-18

The difference in size and height in a population between male and female is called sexual dimorphism