The Diego Diaries: Roamin' in the Gloamin' (dd6 344)
Sorry about last night. I was dragging a leg as my granny once said. By the way, gotv has the new part of the Prime's trilogy up. There was something else going on but I forgot to write it down to tell you. I will try and remember. Getting old isn't for the faint of heart, younglings. Remember that. :D:D:D:D:D
Oceans of love to everyone. -Granny ;)
-0-On their way
They stepped onto the deck of Clipper and walked to the Ops Center, gathering around the table where Typhoon, Fort Max, Paragon who was here as director of the dreadnought projects as well as Metroplex stood. Ironhide and Prime glanced at the forward view port and noted lights in the distance. "What do we know?" Optimus asked.
Paragon turned to Prime. "We have a group of four ships heading this way. They want to see what's going on here. Right now, Clipper and Danny told them who they were and to identify themselves. They didn't, much, so they're coming in to look."
Prime nodded. "Ominous is their leader then."
Ty nodded. "Yes," he said. He turned to watch the monitor nearby which followed the lights that were approaching. They were big ships but their guns were off line.
"Have they spoken to you?" Prime asked Clipper who was sitting at tactical plugged in. His voice was heard over the intercom albeit tinny sounding.
He glanced at Prime. "Only the first conversation. They're radio silent at the moment." He turned back to the screen where he was organizing a number of possible responses to the intruders.
Prime nodded. "Then we watch."
-0-At the same time a long distance away
They watched the huge ships leave, taking with them the tall metallics who had come before and made their demands. They were huge, twice and three times taller than themselves and bore a terrible energy. They wanted what they wanted which was some of their tech and some of their minerals. That meant they had to dig in the earth beneath them, the earth that sustained their minimal demands and filled their souls with light.
They were ancient themselves and highly evolved, more highly evolved than they let the mechanicals know. They showed a facade to them that was projected. The mechanicals who were advanced dimensional beings couldn't breach their facade because they were even more advanced. They appeared to be organic, tall and thin, with androgynous features. They appeared to wear long robes that were plain and simple with few if any adornments. Their settlements were simple, both in reality and in depiction, showing little that would draw someone as technologically advanced as the mechanicals. It was their defense, this ability and their simplicity.
But they weren't simple.
They watched the ships leave, then when they were gone the facade fell away. They glanced at each other, shrugged, then walked back to their lives.
Razorclaw's field commander, Slasher along with his crew had no idea the depth of indifference their threats held for The People. They merely had to call.
-0-Over the waves and onward
Their message went out over the energetic vibration that sounded its music. It was called the universe, The Great All That Is, the multiverse. It was there always, a silvery hum that evolved beings could hear and sense. It was the music of the stars, the very substance of being. It rolled out as a thin feeling of emotion sent by the Great Shaman of The People. It reached those advanced enough to sense it, pausing them in their endeavors to listen and feel the underpinning love that made its lilt move through the cosmos.
They gathered, different groups in the local area that were allies and friends, peaceable sorts that knew all but didn't interfere. They helped on the peripheral, sending their never ending love and and empathetic energetic support to emergent planets like Earth and those who were in the throes of war and self destruction. Had things been different, Cybertron itself would have heard it. But caught in their own pre-ordained self immolation, they were blind to it, the lifeline of support, love and assistance given to them by more highly evolved beings than they were even currently aware of.
All is energy. Energy never dies. No one dies, they just transform. Even organics transformed as their essential essence, their soul and all its wisdom went from one shape into another, one not dependent upon a physical body. The bots knew that and so did many humans, but among most, it wasn't a deeply developed idea beyond vague notions rooted in their religions.
There were many layers to All That Is and not all of them were visible to everyone. Some beings were deeply highly evolved, living in the seventh, eighth, ninth dimensions and beyond. They were limitless but most including the humans hovered in the 3-D to 5-D range. The People were beyond that and could manifest themselves in a range from 3-D and beyond. They were well acquainted with the humans of Earth and other species, helping them from a distance to evolve. Mostly, they were left alone to live their lives peacefully, though they were often asked to assist in different endeavors when the moment called for it.
Now, they let the local group know the escalation of the situation that they were all monitoring. All would be intent to watch the show as it was called. This new player had possibilities, some of them and they would be curious to see what happened when the big metallics came back. They would wait and see.
-0-Out there
Ships came in passing slowly by the big vessels as they made a wide traverse of both. Seekers swarmed out and flew next to them, turning with them as they moved along. The dreadnoughts had to be seen to be believed. Nothing ever created in their understanding of the universe could compare to them. They were the largest ships known, the most powerful and the most loyal to their calling. No one could turn them from their special obligation to the Prime. It had taken Straxus poisoning Metrotitan with a virus to turn him away from that most deeply hardwired urge inside him, his duty to the Prime.
Prime sat in the command chair watching the ships as they flew. Their weapons were down and off line. They were offering no opposition which was smart. There were weapons on the dreads that if fired would chase them back to their fort and kill everything there when they landed. Prime knew it. Ominous would put it together from 'legends' and 'tales' about the big vessels. Hence, his care in checking things over now.
"Ominous to Prime."
"Prime here."
"Nice ships. I thought they'd been killed during the Golden Age or had been lost in space making colonies. Nice acquisition." The voice was deep and cold but smarter sounding than most. This one belonged to a mech who liked books, music and being the boss. He was a smarter than average Decepticon and no one's fool.
"You are mistaken. There are eight of them assisting us in the defense of our colony. That doesn't count nearly 30 metrotitans that can deploy from there as well and several hundred that can do the same from Cybertron. Just so you know."
It was silent a bit as they finished their traverse, then headed back the way they came. The voice came back. "Thanks for the chat, Prime. See you around the neighborhood."
"If you come back, I will have you destroyed. These ships are permanently stationed here. You try to reach Razorclaw at your own peril," Prime said. "Prime out."
They watched the ships disappear into the night, heading for their base in the darkness. Soon, there would be another fort out there, one located near Caminus. It would be Fort Fury, named by Raptor in honor of an 'amusing human in that Marvel Comic Universe'.
Fort Fury it was.
Prime rose, then glanced at Paragon. "Any word on the timing regarding the new fort this way?"
"We've finalized the plans and are making a lot of it prefabricated, then will transport it more completely made. We have a small hard rock planetoid that's held by Tau Ceti very close by. It's got what we need and we're going to excavate there shortly. Jetta would know more. Once the utility part is finished, it won't take much time to bring the fort in and set it up. Prowl is adding it to the line up for personnel and supply."
Prowl nodded. "It will be soon."
"Good," Prime said. "When it is, one of you can return to your usual location, Clipper. I will leave it up to you which it will be. A dreadnought and a fort should be security enough for this situation. Something tells me they will be less rather than more likely to push their luck now that they have seen both you and Dangerous."
Ty nodded. "That's the point. Clipper is staying here. Danny will redeploy to the DMZ but be on call to come back if they get stupid."
"You never know," Prime said. "Though, Ominous is not like most of them. He's smarter and more self aware than most."
"Well, here's hoping he's smart enough not to tangle with us," Ty said. They chatted a moment, then most headed back to see if the intel on the other problem was back.
-0-In an art room at Sparkling Day School
"I doed this, Ada. I putted this here. I doed this here," Orion said as he began to reassemble the colorful clay for his little house project on the little plate which had his name already baked on. This was part of his 'home and family' unit in health, the unit where they studied families and homes. They were at that basic a level of educational readiness. "I goed to the thing with my … my thing. He booped me. He owed me."
Ratchet grinned at the hooligan as he patted the rather cohesive 'sand' into shape. A slightly lumpen and tilted shape it was. "Is that so. Can I kiss it?"
Orion glanced up at Ratchet. He smiled, then pointed to his nearly non-existent nose structure. Ratchet leaned forward to kiss it. "How's that, Spud?"
"I, ORION, LIKEDED IT! YOU KIPPED ME!"
"I did. What comes next?" Ratchet asked as he looked at the little shape.
"I doed this."
He doed.
-0-Autobot City Processor Health Hospital and Outpatient Center. The City: Waldeen
He sat in the sun room absorbing the light. He had remained here since The Event. His father, Traachon was an outpatient and his ada, Millow, was stonewalling the world. He had no way to reference what had happened to him in a manner that fit the world view he had held his entire life. He had been raised to be religious and he was. Mostly. He attended all the shrine events, the Temple as well and observed all the holidays and obligations, though until here he had never felt any of the blessings. He had grown up with stories and teachings about the Pantheon, Primus and The One. He believed like a lot of others did, shallowly, narrowly and obligatorily. The depth that many had, mechs like Turbine or Prowl was missing.
Maybe it was hard to reconcile privilege like he had with the admonitions and teachings of their belief system. Maybe on some deep level he knew better but he didn't give it a lot of thought. Life was too busy and demanding. He had surety from his family, his wealth and the idea that it was always like this. Prejudice ran deep in him, learned from his rigid family upbringing and two genitors that doted on him and his siblings. He had no idea how the other 99% lived because it wasn't allowed. He wouldn't have anyway because he never saw the need. It was the way things were, always had been and because of that, they would remain so.
Then the Apocalypse came and everyone bugged out.
He had gone with the family ahead of the flames and swords. They managed to get away well provisioned and given their relative luck until the Decepticons drove them off, they would have remained content and oblivious. But it wasn't to be. They tried but the Pantheon had stepped in.
Primus and everyone.
They were all there including the Primes that weren't as celebrated by The People through the Temple, those of the Guiding Hand. Quintus Prime. Solomus. They were there and They made it clear that EVERYTHING HE EVER BELIEVED, THOUGHT AND DID WERE LIES PUNISHABLE BY RECALL. He saw the Functionalists disappear, fading into infinity or wherever they went right before his optics. He stared at them vanish with a mere wave of a servo and thought without a shade of doubt that he was next. He stood rooted to the spot, holding himself with his arms as he watched the unbelievable do the unspeakable. He was sure he was next, then he wasn't. They said change. They banned his entire life before his optics and he was terrorized to his core when they did.
He had to change everything. Nothing his genitors, his family and the cultural life he lived was to continue. All of it was wrong. They had said so. He had to change.
How?
The door opened as Ratchet stepped in. He had come by after getting Orion back in the groove to see his holdovers. Traachon was sitting in another room nearby, reading a book as calmly as anyone else. He was not considered a safe bet for release yet. His earth shattering event hadn't surfaced yet. He was still flat in his affect. They had chatted a moment, then Ratchet walked out. When he did, Traachon returned to his book.
Ratchet stared at Waldeen, then walked to a chair next to him to sit. They were silent a moment, then Ratchet turned toward the big youngster. "Waldeen, how are you doing today?"
He looked at Ratchet. "I don't know," he said.
-0-TBC 5-2-18 edited 6-4-18
optimusprime101: the new aliens are going to be unknown for a bit yet. The new ones that are above will be explained in the next two parts. :D all in its time, as my granny used to say. (Usually when I whined to her when the Thanksgiving turkey would be done) :D