The Diego Diaries: Roamin in the Gloamin (dd6 341)
NOTE: Just so you know … this heifer is now 7,400,000+ words from part 1 to 6. I think I've edited about 100,000. More or less. LOL! I consider that job security. :D HUGS to all of you for making it possible. -Me, tip-tapping away.
On the way: Lennox
They drove out of the airfield heading for Fortress Road and the long drive to the Earth2 facility. Lennox drove the Walters, the Cutters and Nast and his kids while Epps had the other kids. Graham, The Tactful and Polite One, drove the Daniels party. They sped across the field darting around small, medium and giant ships as well as the dance that went along with maintaining them. Seekers were here and there with some leaping up to transform and fly away.
They reached the road, waited for traffic to allow them in, then headed for the junction up ahead and the left turn onto Temple which would turn into TransWorld Highway Road eventually. It would lead from where the Consulate was located, past Earth 1 and 2 toward the actual highway itself which circumnavigated the entire planet. It was quiet as they slipped in and made it through the light at the junction. Following a couple of big format Cybertronians in vehicle mode, they got in the far right lane and headed out.
Cutter glanced at Lennox, then looked out the window. :How far until we get there?: he asked.
:The facilities are grouped near each other and they're on the additional highway that melds into the TransWorld Highway that goes all around the planet. No one can be more than 25 Cybertronian miles away. Earth 1 is 12, the Consulate is 13 and Earth2 is 13 and a half miles. A Cybertronian mile is two earth miles so you live 27 miles from the closest city. This city covers about 1,200 square miles now all told and there are many ways to get around. The underground system reaches all three of the habitats but it won't be opened until the inhabitants show they're reliable. Earth 1 is scheduled to have their underground opened in about three months. We have one to N.E.S.T. that allows us to get anywhere we need to be due to the work.
"The underground feeds the entire colony and reaches even the Industrial Parks. Some of them run only in circles for their local city while others go circular routes around every place in the colony. Some branch out to different places and only run back and forth from a hub location to that place and back again. The trains have the system on the walls in NeoCybex, English and French. Those are the two languages of the United Nations under whose charter all of us operate so that's why that's so. A lot of the locals are learning French, too, just because: Lennox said.
:Some of the kids speak their language, I was told: Cassie Cutter said. :I was led to believe that it was never going to happen that any human could read, write and understand their speech:
:Kids still have an elastic brain: Lennox said as they slowed a bit as traffic began to gather. Ahead on the right was the Mausoleum. :That's where they bury their dead. Its the Mausoleum of Cybertron at Mars. They have another on a terraced hillside in the Crater District:
:I thought they couldn't die: Lyle asked.
:They can if they're hurt or sick. But they don't age. They can live forever if they don't get shot or take a fall. They conquered death long ago: Lennox said as he withheld the part about Mortilus. :The facility up ahead is the Primal Basilica where Primes and other important individuals are buried or honored. The building next to it is the Shrine of the 13th Prime. It's holy ground and you need special permission to enter. The Basilica and the Mausoleums are open to all humans. The others aren't:
:You can enter: Clark Walters said.
:They trust me: Lennox said as they drove past the Basilica. :Over this way is the junction that leads three directions. Straight ahead takes you to the urban centers of Tyger Pax, Kalis and Centurion. The right fork leads to Terra and the Terra Hub. The other one goes to the Big Frame Repair Yard which is a new road: They drove onward.
Nast and his kids didn't have anything to say. They stared out of the windows silently.
-0-On the way: Graham
The Daniels sat quietly as they followed Lennox and the other adults. They were watching everything as they merged into heavier traffic heading for the highway that would take them to Earth2. Graham glanced to the right. :This is the Temple District where the Temple of Primus is located as well as a number of locations for the Monastery and Circle groups, too. Those are the main philosophies and religious groupings of the Cybertronians and none of them are open to you to visit:
It was silent as they finally began to see something that didn't look like a utility facility or public works installation. Though they were immaculately maintained and enclosed with fences, they were what they were. :Ahead is one of the two cemeteries, the Mausoleum of Cybertron at Mars. Up ahead is the Basilica of the Primes and the Shrine for the 13th Prime. You can visit the first two but not the last one. It's off limits for now and maybe forever. It's up to Prime:
They continued. :That road takes you to the Tri-Cities, the Terra Hub or the Big Frame Yard. If you go to school in the system, your bus will take you to Youngling Day School which is down that road: he said nodding to the giant roundabout that they flew past. Three roads spanned out and disappeared into the distance. They could see a city with its glittering spires down one but nothing else on the others. :That's Tyger Pax. The twins live there. Beyond is Kalis and after that, Centurion. Centurion is where the Day School is located. My son goes to school at Sparkling Day but its in Terra:
They continued onward
-0-On the way: Epps
The kids sat in the vehicle in the back while Clay Cutter sat in the passenger front seat. They stared out the windows. Tinsley turned toward the front. :How many of the cars around us are alive?:
:Probably nearly all of them: Epps said.
:There's some really hot cars out there: Clay said. :I have a Lamborghini. My dad gave it to me for my birthday:
Epps smirked slightly. :That format is popular here. The twins are Lambos. I've ridden in every kind of hot car there is. I like them:
Clay glanced at him. :What was the deal with the robots back there?:
:First of all, they're not robots. They're autonomous robotic entities. They can think and feel and they're alive as much as the rest of us. Some of them are rugged and meant for battle. They like to fight. The Dinobots love fighting: Epps began.
:THAT WAS THE DINOBOTS!?: Cora Cutter said in surprise.
:Yes, it was: Epps replied.
:I DIDN'T HAVE MY CAMERA!: she bemoaned. :What a pile of crap. I need a camera:
:Why?: Epps asked.
:Because I have a great Instagram page. I want to put pictures of my own there. I have a lot of followers who want me to do that: she said as she sat back with a slight pout.
:If you post things without permission from those in the pictures, you can be in real trouble here: Epps said. :Exploitation is a huge no-no. Besides, its problematic if you get to go out. The bots in the facility aren't there for you to bother. They're there to make things work. You respect them or you explain it to Prime:
It was silent, then Cora sat closer to the cabin of the vehicle. :How big is Optimus Prime. We didn't come up to his ankle:
:He's between 28 and 30 feet tall: Epps said. He personally wasn't completely sure himself.
:What's the deal between him and Prowl?: she asked.
:What do you mean?: Epps asked casually.
:You know. Them being together and all: Cora asked.
Epps considered the question with all its charged particles. :They have a bond. They're together. They have a family and kids. That's the way it is here: He decided to let them talk. They would.
-0-Arrival
There was a crowd at the habitat doors of individuals who came to greet the new arrivals or to stare at the infamous group that was now going to live here. There were over 5,000 people living at Earth2 and all of them had a purpose and place, families excluded. Every recruited adult there supported the work and the facility. Now, two more bosses had arrived with their infamous children who had been searched out on the internet by many who found their social media posts. The four criminals and their families were also an unknown possibility themselves.
The four vehicles drove in, the doors shut and the atmosphere changed to Earth-type immediately along with gravity. They pulled up, showed the passengers when they could step out without masks, then jumped out. Epps, Lennox and Graham helped the newbies pull their masks and gathered them for the nearby lockers which would hold them in their individual named slots for use when they were cleared.
Owen Harris, Hamilton Brown, Lee Jameson, and Steve Baker were gathered together and walked through the doors to welcome the newcomers along with Pierre Beliveau and Kyle Davis. Waiting inside were their wives. They shook hands and chatted a moment, all four of the main newcomers and their children, then everyone turned toward Lennox. "Thank you, Major, for delivering them. We'll take it from here."
"Glad to hear it," Lennox said with a grin as he glanced toward the luggage in the trailer behind the last vehicle.
Everyone pitched in to unload the vehicle and put it on a cart pushed out by Jim Johnson and Sam Hedges. They moved it toward the pile, then glanced at the soldiers. Lennox grinned. "Got you doing the grunt work do they?" he asked.
Johnson paused, then turned toward Lennox. "You got something in mind, Lennox?"
Lennox grinned. "No. Just carry on. Its amusing."
The temperature of the room dropped several degrees before Owen stepped between them. "Thank you, Major. We can do the rest of this."
Lennox grinned at Harris. "Glad to hear it. We gotta run," he said as the three smirked their way back to their vehicles. They waited until the baggage was loaded, trundled in by the two mercs, then the doors closed. When the light was go, they went.
Harris watched them go, then turned to the silent group gathered around him. "Welcome to Earth2. Let us help you settle in, then we can talk. You kids come with us. We'll show you your homes." He clapped Bill Nast on the shoulder, then led the way to the executive wing of the facility where apartments for the directors and board members were assigned. The kids followed, their eyes wandering as they made their way to their new life.
-0-On the way back
"What do you think?" Epps asked over the intercom of the vehicle he was driving. He had his mask off and was relaxing from the tension. The others were as well.
"I don't know," Graham said. "They were mostly silent all the way there. Nast and his kids feel like trauma to me. I almost feel sorry for them."
"I hear ya," Lennox said. "I read that, too. What about the kids?"
"They talked about their life back home and here. They want to be famous for being here. They're pissed about their phones. They're the most spoiled entitled kids I ever met. It's not going to end well," Epps said with a grin.
"I hope they don't find out about the youth gangs here," Lennox said with a snicker as they drove swiftly into the gathering mid afternoon traffic.
-0-Near the swimming pool, Earth2
Jaycee Jameson, Rain Harris, Lilly Brown, and Camilla Baker watched as a group of kids they knew for the most part from their own hermetically sealed world of privilege wander around the concourse. The Nast kids weren't known to them but the others were. In the world of oneupmanship and privilege, they were competition. They also weren't very good friends back home. It wasn't going to improve itself here, the four thought.
"Cora and Tinsley … what the hell," Lilly muttered quietly as the group saw them and began to come their way. "Here we go. Are we in agreement?" She looked at the others who looked at her, then nodded.
"Hey!" Tinsley said as the group minus both boys walked up to them. They stared out the window, then turned to the four. "We just got here and settled in. How does this work? It looks like a farm."
"It is," Lilly said with mild offense. "We're learning how to grow things on other planets."
"We saw a robot," Cora said. "What are robots doing inside here?"
"Those are the deck hands. They manage things and they're … nice. They're not robots," Camilla said. "You have to treat them really well and they're not here to do anything for us. They help run this place."
Terri glanced around. "What's the deal on school? You go to their schools, right?" All four nodded. "How do we go there, too? Is it hard or what?"
They stared at the newbies feeling mildly irritated, then Rain leaned forward a little. "Have your parents sign you up. It isn't hard one bit."
The other three nodded in agreement.
It was war.
-0-TBC 4-28-18 edited 5-14-18