The Diego Diaries: Bond(age) (dd6 373)
-0-Elsewhere at the same time
"DAD!"
Will Lennox peered into his daughter's bedroom where she was standing in front of a full length mirror holding two environmental suits up against herself, alternating between them. Three others were lying on the bed nearby. "What?"
"Which one is best for the bonding? I can't choose. Mom had a few things made for me for school and special events. Which is best?" Annie asked as she turned toward him with a hopeful expression.
Will studied them both. "I like the yellow. It's you, Sunbeam. Yellow is your color."
She smiled. "Thanks, Dad. When are we going?"
"As soon and you and Mom get dressed. Hustle, baby," he said as he walked back out to the office nearby where he was doing work over the system.
Nearby, standing in front of the entertainment monitor, Sarah Lennox was checking mail, looking in on the party food that would be served to the group going to the ceremony for lunch at Sciences, coordinating for the trip to the parties and the dinner afterward for the humans here in the Family Tower. There would be about 700 people here. It would have been their high end capacity before the expansion. Now they had a dining room on the third floor that could hold 1,500 in a pinch and was served by swift elevators. "Will."
"What?" he called from the office.
"Are we ready to go? We have to pick up the Earth2 guests." Sarah Lennox glanced at her daughter who looked adorable in yellow. She smiled as Will entered the room and took in his girls.
"You both look great. Let's go," he said as they walked to the door of their apartment in the Family Tower and the elevator that would take them down to the garage on the ground floor. They would be joined by others who would jog along as a few of them were delegated to get Earth2 and Consulate guests of the family. It would be a happy event all around but they had to hurry. Soon the roads to The Fortress would be blocked off by Watch mechs and femmes and the gathering crowds expected.
It was going to be fun, fun, fun.
-0-Earth 1
They were getting ready and gathering to go. The school district was providing buses to take the 357 individuals who were there, regulars and visitors, to The City. It was a happy group filled with expectation and excitement who were going. They filled the concourse with their barking dogs and laughing children, all of them out of school for a 'special event-cultural' which counted as credit for their classes.
The buses were waiting in the habitat environmental entrance, their human drivers as happy as them. All would be going to the bonding ceremony and the parties afterward as honored guests. It was going to be one of the bests things ever. Bluestreak had said there would be dancing.
DANCING!
They gathered, did the usual double check, then walked through the door to the buses. Only dogs and cats along with the small animals and birds that lived there would be left behind.
-0-On the way to Earth2 and the Consulate
They drove in a convoy, ten N.E.S.T. troop vehicles. Most of them were packed with soldiers and their families while the others were free for pick up passengers. The kids watched out the window as the traffic, rather heavy for the hour formed up on all sides. "Dad?"
"What, baby?" Bobby Epps asked as he followed Niall Graham in traffic. All of the kids were with him.
"Have you ever been to a bonding ceremony? Weren't you there when the trine did this on Diego?" Lucy asked her father.
He nodded. "No. I've seen them here since. Its short and sweet. I like it. I saw the film when Ratchet showed us. It was nice and funny. Especially the part where Sunstreaker had to give parental rights to Ironhide. That was hilarious."
Lonnie grinned. "I wish I had been there. The twins are funny. They come around sometimes. They come into the facility to chat. It gives the guests a tingle to see them."
"What do they talk about?" Bobby asked with surprise.
"Usually something that the humans do they don't understand. What we think we see and say isn't always clear. I asked Prowl about it once and he said most of the time if they don't understand what we're saying, they just nod and look like they do," Lonnie said with a chuckle.
"Then you need to learn NeoCybex," Bobby Junior said. 'Bob' was the oldest of the Epps kids, all of whom were fluent in NeoCybex and were trying to learn the major Seeker language as an experiment for the school district. It was something that blew their parents minds when they weren't asking them to translate something into English.
Win-win.
"That day will never come but I'm memorizing a lot of their words. I can pretty much read what I'm looking at if its very short and sweet," Lonnie said.
"Ask us, Aunt Lonnie," James Hoyt said with a grin.
They sped onward heading toward 'the country' and their guests.
-0-Earth2
They gathered at the hatch, those going and those not. Those not were unhappy about it but there was nothing they could do. It was only a tiny percentage of the population that was certified to go out on their own and they weren't among them. Needless to say, many were those who were unhappy. Standing nearby watching the show, Marilee Alton was leaning against a wall, her Autobot City insignia along with the Day/Night Watch flash indicated she was one of the nine officers who worked here under the aegis of the Prime of Cybertron. They were a civilian ex-military special ops group that was an affiliated subdivision of N.E.S.T. but commanded by Springer.
She watched the leadership of the colony, those allowed, and their agitated spouses. The women of the men in charge were working hard to find their way in the informal but intense social life and power structures of the colony. Some of them felt sincere. Some didn't. It was her job with the eight men who were part of the team to keep this place safe, running properly and allow an alternative place for problems to come for everyone who worked here. They wouldn't be swept under the carpet with this team. The leadership knew it and were scrupulous in their dealings.
Mostly.
The door opened to the drive through outside, a huge covered space to allow big vehicles to enter and leave. Walking out, she headed to Will Lennox's vehicle, the first in the line of N.E.S.T. troop carriers that were inside. Pausing by it, she watched as he stepped out. He grinned. "Hi, Mary. How's the day going?"
"Better if we could go," she said with a smile. "Sam and I drew the short straw."
"Sorry," Will said with a grin. "Watch it on the monitor, then come to the parties tonight."
"We are," she said as the leadership walked up to Will.
"Major, has the party changed their mind about who can also come?" Owen Harris asked.
Will shrugged. "Just Cynthia Tomas. This is a private occasion so they get their say. It's not personal. They just don't want to have so many humans they get hurt. You ready to go?"
He nodded, then waved to Cynthia nearby. She came forward and with Monica and Zak Hadden, Hamilton Brown, Mark Jameson, and Kyle Davis, they entered two of the vehicles followed lastly by Owen Harris. Rick Harris had been invited separately and was already heading toward The Fortress. They entered, everyone walked back in, then the hatch sealed. Almost instantly, the vehicles were cleared to go and they did. When they were outside, the hatch closed and the space evened out nearly instantly. Anyone inside could go outside into it and live.
Several women fumed together as Marilee walked back to her job. She grinned. Sometimes, you can't get what you want. It was a nice feeling to have as she disappeared back inside to head for the big lounge where the facility occupants were gathering to watch the show on five giant monitors provided for just such occasions.
-0-In the back
Cynthia sat next to Carly Brooks-Spencer and Sam Witwicky, both good friends now. Across from her was Owen, Hamilton, Kyle, and Mark Jameson. Several soldiers and their families occupied the space as well as they pulled out to head for The City. In all the vehicles, there were humans gathered up to go who were on the approved list. All of N.E.S.T. and the Family were approved along with their extra guests and family. It was festive and happy, with expectation for who knew what. All they knew was that some city-states and their micro-cultures had various ceremonies that differed for each, built up by varying circumstances, religion, poverty for a few, and limitations of their culture. Praxus had one that was very old and required what to them were controversial promises made to each other. They were all excited to see what happened, then come back until later for the drive to the parties. The same humans were going, no more, no less.
Cynthia rubbed her now short hair as she sat with her helmet in her lap. Many of the women who were cleared had affected shorter hair because of the helmets, a trend that was much discussed on Earth in the social and entertainment media. It was just easier to manage here. "This is going to be great. What an honor to come."
Kyle glanced at her. "I don't know. This is going to be strange. But then, that's why we're here, to learn about things and grow."
Cynthia nodded, then glanced at Carly. "I heard that you and Sam are going to have a ceremony here with Prime officiating. Any idea when? I think we need more parties."
Carly grinned. "We'll let you know, Cindy. I agree with you about the parties. I heard that the bots really know how to party."
"They do. They dance and sing. They tell jokes and laugh. It's like being down at the Grange Hall on Saturday night. They're fun," Sam said with a grin.
"Leonora is filming the entire thing and its being broadcast on world on channel 37. It's not bound for Earth until she makes it an episode for Platoon. By the way, she said she has episodes on line for Platoon that include all the habitats."
"When?" Owen asked with surprise. "I haven't heard a word."
"You won't until she works out the schedule. Roll with the flow, Owen. This place is more informal than Earth and I like it that way," Carly said.
Sam nodded. "The bots are that way. That's why this is a dream place to live. They have structure but they don't have their heads up their asses like a lot of humans. They don't have hierarchies. They call Prime Optimus, they do things less formally and they get it all done without making enemies. That makes them ahead of the curve for me. No ass hat bosses to butter up while you try to do your job."
"Are you including us in that assessment?" Hamilton Brown asked.
Sam shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. Personally, I think you need to listen more to your people."
"What have you heard?" Kyle Davis asked.
"It's what I see," Sam said. "You have some of the best and smartest humans in your habitat but you treat them like shit. Take Zak and Monica Hadden. Word has it that they're on your shit list for forgetting to mention that the Hu-An asked and got them permission to come to this. If you had spent a moment learning how things are done, you would have known that the Hu-An treat their friends like family and that inviting them along in their party is part of their culture. They wouldn't be here otherwise. Zak and Monica have made that good a friends with them and that benefits the habitat. It's just that you're too up your own asses to see and know that."
They stared at each other for a moment, then Owen sat back. "Thanks for the heads up. We don't pretend to know everything."
"Then don't get on the backs of those who are learning for everyone. Right now, Monica and Zak know more about this place than you do," Sam said. "I like them and consider them friends as well."
"Noted," Owen said with a tight grin.
Sitting in the driver's seat beside Annie and Sarah, Will Lennox grinned. He would grin all the way to The City.
-0-tbc 6-2-18
More to come. I have to walk the dogs before it gets too hot. :D:D:D