The Diego Diaries: Onward (dd6 309)
-0-Later that night
"How was the meet up?" Ironhide asked as he got up to carry dishes to the counter.
"One last small thing tomorrow, then I'm free. After breakfast, I have to go and hear final presentations. It's all been interesting," Ratchet said as he began to organize the dishwasher.
"How did it go at the party?" Ironhide asked Sunspot as he helped clear the table.
Sunspot was petting Cousin who was swanning around the coffee table in the living room. He glanced at his big old pa. Ratchet was wiping the table. "It was fun. We got to swim and play. We got to look all around the tower. Then we had food and cake. Sandy got a lot of presents. She really liked what we got her but it was a bit big."
Ratchet turned to him. "Whoops. I tried to find little jewelry. I heard that human femmes like that. How did she like the little crown thing?"
"She really liked it. I think they call it a tiara. Her mom wore that and the set for a moment because Sandy asked her to do it. She liked the whole thing. The diamonds were huge to them. Everyone seemed surprised." Sunspot smiled. "They said they have to have some of us over for a dinner party some time."
"The roof is high enough," Ironhide said with a grin. "How was it around the humans?"
Sunspot thought. "I like most of them. I know them but there were others there that I don't know that well. Amma Judy and Barbara are so nice."
"They are," Ratchet said. "Any homework?"
"NO!" He smiled brilliantly. "FOOTBALL TOMORROW!"
"That's right. The CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLDS!" Ratchet said.
Huge laughter and running around among the smaller set was had. It would be a great time in the house that night.
-0-Owen Harris's office, Earth2
They sat in the office watching the talking heads discuss the surprising pardons of the Daniels, Nast and Galloway. The jury was still out on Thomas Jasper, Nast's 'field commander' but good money was on him getting cut loose as well. Apparently, there was a paperwork glitch that was being ironed out. It wasn't going over well anywhere.
"What's the deal with you and Lou trying to bring them here, Dad?" Rick asked as he sat in a chair sipping a beer. He was heading out for a night time hike with three clients from South Africa in the Valles, then a camp out in the specialized dome sector of the Valles Campground that was ground zero for the Senior Autobots and half their mangy crew when the Autobot Scouts called.
"Lou wants them here to help with the running of this place and to let them live somewhere they can cool off if you know what I mean," Owen said as he muted the commercial. "Personally, I don't care one way or the other. They're his friends, mostly, not mine."
"They'll just bring trouble, Dad. They don't need to be here." Rick stood, then slipped his bottle into the wall slot that was recycling. They were everywhere in the common places and in apartments and barracks as well. Everything was recycled, though none of them knew how it worked. "I have to go. I'll be back about noon tomorrow for the game." With that, he walked out.
"Be careful, son," Mariah called out.
"I will, Mom. Love you," Rick said as he disappeared.
Mariah who was sitting with Allison and Perry looked at Owen. Kyle who was on the phone nearby sat in Rick's seat. "What's your game, Owen?" Mariah asked with a pointed stare.
Owen smirked. "Lou has things he wants them to do and both of us want to push the limits. We want to see how far we can go, especially since there will be new businesses coming out of the meet up at Diego. Ratchet and Prime will have to okay some of them. Then we want to lead the business community and maybe push for another habitat. We want a wall around us so that if anyone gets bounced off world forever, it isn't us."
"What's the possibility that another habitat is going to be built? That's just a rumor thus far, right?" Allison Frazer-Beliveau asked.
Owen shrugged. "I don't know. Someone started it for a reason. Someone has a reason to push it. I believe Ratchet when he says he doesn't know. I'm letting Lou take the lead on this. He's working behind the scenes with some of those who proposed businesses here and when it comes to fruition we will be that much stronger. Jase and Ted will be coordinating those businesses and if something goes wrong …?" He trailed off with a grin.
"What makes you think Prime will allow any of them to come here?" Mariah asked. "After all, those five are mortal enemies of the bots."
"Prime plays a strategic game. Think of it as chess. The board is set up for war. Prime is as smart and self aware as the rest of us. Having us here where he can watch it beats having us out of sight working against him. This is going to be fun," Owen said.
-0-A meeting of tacticians
"My phones calls were targeted at those who were in positions to know and find out without trailing the information back to me. I think its critical to put a layer between us here and Earth," Charlotte Mearing said as they sat in the conference room of N.E.S.T. HQ going over the intel all of them were able to dredge up. "My sources tell me that they want to be in leadership of the human business committee and the human colony. They have a number of habitat plans ready to bring forward as well as the big space station between Earth and Mars. Owen is playing the long game, working out a way to worm himself into control."
"That's what my sources say," Epps said. "Everyone at N.A.S.A. knows about the station. It would be the go between for their efforts to stage more habitats on world. They want their 80,000 citizens there because that's basically the tipping point between staying or being pushed off. Right now, the population can be ousted if things break down. Add more and it becomes a more emotional problem for Prime due to the buy-in of Earth."
"We have to track down the rumor," Will Lennox said.
Glenn Morshower nodded. He looked at Joe. "You know more of the asshole side of the situation than I do. What do you know about this rumor, Joe?"
Bowers considered this, the first time Morshower had asked him in for an important meeting or asked for his advice. "I can find out. I appears to be something tied to a corporation called Sen-Sec. They're a multi-national that makes electronics, has an aerospace division and is partners in the space station proposal with others. I'd have to track down the investors, the ties between factions … it's doable."
Morshower nodded. "This is our most important alliance here with the bots. I think you've lived here long enough to understand how important it is. We're going out in five days to inspect an area where the pirates have dug in. Prime's sending a big shooting force to do that. I want you along. I want you to see first hand what we're facing here. This is dire, Joe. What we face is so dire that without them we'd all be dead by now." He looked at the others who looked solemn faced. "Tell me where I'm wrong."
"You aren't," Niall Graham said. "Understand, if we fail here, Earth falls. Think of your wife and family. Think about all that you love and care for. Gone in minutes. That's how important it is to trust you and work together here and on Earth."
"To help with that simple proposition, Joe, I asked someone to come and talk to you about it," Morshower said as he stood. "Come on." He walked to the door and stepped out. Everyone rose and followed. They walked through the rec room, then entered the Ops Center. The doors outside were just closing as a number of big mechs entered. The atmosphere evened immediately. Morshower grinned. "Welcome, gentlemen. I need to have a come to Jesus moment here. I'm glad you came to help."
Springer glanced at Drift, then Morshower. "Okay," he said with a grin.
-0-On the grapevine
"Then we're set for the usual place," Prowl said as he checked his data pad calendar and reminder.
"Sounds good, son. We'll be there. It's going to be a long orn. Maybe this time next year, we can go to Cybertron and watch the game there. I do hope that we find the Omega Keys before then. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Miler asked with a smile.
"I won't complain," Prowl said with a grin. "What have you heard from Amma and Appa?"
Miler's smile faded. "Nothing. I'm sad about that, Prowl. It's all just so sad."
"Don't be, Ada. I'll have someone keep an optic on them. To see how they're doing," Prowl said. "We have to let them make up their processors. As for us, we have a game, then war game, then who knows what. I haven't checked in with Loon yet."
"Perhaps our book club and squad can do the town? I haven't been arrested in a pub crawl in some time, son. I have a reputation to maintain as a gangster," Miler said as he smiled.
Prowl snickered as he looked at his ada's sweet happy face. "That's you, Ada. Gangster." He grinned. "Be here tomorrow and we can have breakfast together at the Diner. Ratchet reserved the spaces for the usual horde."
"Its going to be amazing tomorrow," Miler said. "Everyone is so festive about this. It has to do with Cybertron being one of the teams. I'm so happy for Cybertron."
Prowl grinned. "You and me both."
-0-N.E.S.T. Ops Center
They walked into the pressurized space. "Thanks for coming. You saw the news?"
Cold expressions came over the bots as they nodded.
"We did. I don't pretend to understand your species," Drift said as the others nodded in agreement.
"That makes it even for all of us. Joe, here," Morshower said as he nodded to Joe Bowers who tensed as he did, "is trying to figure out what's what. When you go out to inspect the pirates, all of us are coming to watch. Joe has never been in combat and he's never heard a shot fired in anger. I don't say that to shame or belittle his contributions to this man's army but I think its a terrible deficiency to have in a situation like we face. Tell him why its colossally important to preserve, protect and grow our relationship."
The big mechs stared at Bowers, then Drift knelt down. "I'll cut to the chase. I was a Decepticon. I was a very, very bad one. Ruthless and without pity. We didn't care. Whatever we were told, we did. It was a miracle of Primus and The One that I was able to get off that merry-go-round and find another path.
"It sort of amazes me that you think the Decepticons wouldn't destroy the Earth. You held him. You harmed and humiliated him. He decimates his own troops, kills one out of every ten in front of the others while everyone watches. He destroyed his own planet. He massacred and murdered his own people. What's so special about all of you that you'll be spared when he didn't even do it for his own species?" Drift stood. "I admire you slaggers. You're small but you have spark. You stand up against us even though its a forgone conclusion that in the end, if the forces of Megatron were ever gathered in sufficient numbers, it would be over in seconds. It would literally be that fast. Why would you invite that even accidentally?"
"Infant is right. I'm caste exempt. When I was separated, Earth was still a swamp. You were still monkeys or however that works. Or maybe you weren't even there at the time. I'm so old I remember the beginning as much as any. I've fought the kind of Megatron every era presented all my life. The Quintessans who introduced caste slavery, the Functionalists who institutionalized and streamlined lined it and the System of Exception which made it so awful that it was the last straw.
"What's so precious about you that Megatron will spare you that we didn't possess, his own people? I was part of a struggle they called The Immortals. If you can't believe any of the mechs here and the humans with you who get it, then believe me. I will never leave here because if any of us do, you will die to the last man, woman and child," Hercy said solemnly.
"If you can't believe the soldiers here who know what they're talking about, then believe us. Think about all that you love, everyone, every place, everything. Think about them burning without us here to prevent it. You're either with us or you're no better than Nast and the Daniels." Hercy stared at him with a direct stare, one that had faced down the worst enemies of The People and lived to tell the tale.
"We can go home to Cybertron now and rebuild it for everyone. But if we leave it means the front door is open. Razorclaw has a quarter of a million soldiers and ships within striking range. More groups have dug in as well, pirates and killers. This place is overwhelmed with energon. There's not a space on any surface of this solar system that won't be overrun with Decepticons, pirates and marauders looking to secure it. You were lucky that we came," Springer said.
"Optimus, Ratchet, Jazz, Bee and Ironhide followed the trail. Think about this if you can't be bothered with the rest. The AllSpark could have landed anywhere. It's capable of knowing what It wants because It has reason. Ask your wife. She knows. Consider out of all the universe and all its possible resting places, It chose Earth. Then ask yourself, why did It come to Earth? Was it an accident? A coincidence? Or was It drawn here to draw us, too, and save your species and your planet from extinction? My money is on the last one.
"There's no such thing as a coincidence. You might argue about luck but coincidence? Not in my book, not over the eons that I've been at this. Think about the odds of it, Bowers. Then get on your knees and thank whatever god you believe that it happened," Springer said with a solemn expression.
It was silent a moment, then Morshower looked up at the mechs. "Thanks, boys. See you at the game."
"We count on it," Springer said with a grin. "It beggars the question. If mini-cons kick our afts in the middle of the game and you aren't there to see it, does it really happen?"
Huge raucous laughter greeted that as the humans stepped back, then the hatch closed. The outdoor one opened, the mechs waved to the humans, then walked out together.
Standing by the windows watching, Epps grinned. "I love those guys."
Morshower nodded. "Thank God they love us back," he said as he turned to Bowers. That man was solemn and silent. "I need that information, Joe, but I need to know I can trust you even more."
Bowers stared at Morshower, then he nodded. "You can, Glenn," he said at last.
The outside doors slammed shut once more.
-0-TBC 3-26-18 01-19-2022