The Diego Diaries: Trials and Tribulations (dd6 449)
-0-Courtroom
It was deeply silent as they stood where they started absorbing their surroundings, then Prowl turned to Prime. "We did see it. All of it, correct?"
Prime nodded, then hugged Prowl tightly as he stepped into his arms. It broke the spell as everyone turned to each other, most to hug or speak, anything to bring them back to the moment more fully from what was beginning to feel dream like. Kes turned to Optimus. "Son, are you alright?" he asked as Tagg stared at Optimus solemnly. Their son was remarkable always but it shook them to think that he was beloved of The Powers every time it came to them that he was.
"I am fine," Optimus said as he hugged his genitors. "Are you alright?"
"We are," Tagg said as he slipped his arm around Kes.
"I think we all need to sit a moment," Prime said as the room heard him and began to comply. Soon, they were all sitting or leaning against a wall. It was silent and solemn. "I think I need to tell you a few things that will help you assimilate this experience," he began. "The Matrix is a simulation designed for our comfort, one that can handle third and fourth dimensional energetic forms like most of us are with notable exceptions. We come there and They use symbols a lot of the time to tell what They want to say. Sometimes, They add more to the tale then you expected but all of it means something. They can speak of the past, present and future.
"Sentinel, Ratbat, Contrail, and Decimus are safe and they will be treated with love and protection. They are flawed to the point where they represent a continuing danger to all of us, hence these kind of hearings. If the threat is big enough, They step in. All that you said and did there will be honored among us. You do not have to tell anyone or even each other what you felt, saw or did there until you are ready or if you even want to do so. There is no prohibition on telling but there is also no compelling reason to do so if you do not wish it. If you wish to speak now, please do so and I will attempt to help you understand," Prime concluded.
"I am honored to have come," Paragon said. He glanced at Prowl. "Thank you for calling me. I hope you didn't mind that I called Arrow and had him bring our sons."
"No," Prowl said. "I don't mind. They love to see the children."
"They do. They are our future. If you ever feel there is no point to anything, remember them," Prime said.
Lucien and Laslo stared at him. "Do they tell you things without saying so?" Lucien asked.
Prime looked at him. "They do. They also help you come to that conclusion yourself in many forms including feelings and internal dialog. They do not demand. All of us have free will."
Lucien nodded, then glanced at the banner of Cybertron. It held the cupped hands symbol of The One. "I ..." He paused. "I was wrong about a lot, Optimus Prime. I was wrong. I am sorry. They said that They forgive you if you find your way back to the concepts that They hold dear. I thought I knew them, the ideas and ideals of our kind but I realize that I don't. I am sorry, Prime. It would mean a lot to me if at some point you can forgive me for all the things I did and didn't do that made your job that much harder. I am sorry," Lucien said simply.
Laslo clung to his arm as he listened, then glanced at Prime.
"You are forgiven, Lucien," Prime said, surprised himself that he could say so and mean it. They had been implacable toward each other, Lucien for The System and Prime against it. "It is the only way we have to be able to go forward."
Lucien looked emotional, then nodded. "Thank you," he said simply. He looked at Ratchet. "Thank you for everything you did for me and my family. I was there to witness this because you never gave up. If someone held to the Truth it was you, Ratchet. Thank you."
Ratchet nodded. "You're welcome."
"We have to be one," Hercy said quietly. "We never gave up that this orn would come no matter when or how long it took. All of the bad effort and slag is past. What we have is now. All of us together have to be one. There is no other way and if you listened to Primus and The Matrix and still feel other, then you need a padded room."
Springer grinned. "Some of us need one anyway, Old Mech."
It broke the moment's tension as everyone laughed. They sagged with relief and hugged each other, chatting a moment as they felt an urge to stay together. Prime rapped his knuckles. Everyone turned to him. "I would like to thank everyone involved. You brought honor to your Houses and to all of us. Prowl and I will be having dinner at The Pit Stop. I would be honored for all who can join us to attend. If you cannot, there is only my gratitude and thanks. I will be discussing this on IntraComm tonight and thus ask you to keep this under wraps until then. Thank you for your service and friendship."
"Thank you, Prime, for the opportunity of a lifetime," Rainmaker said. "It was an unspeakable honor to accompany you. I am filled with sorrow for the Primes who did not have that access."
The room agreed as they gathered to go, walking out into the gathering darkness of night. Sitting on his appa's arm, Sunspot hugged Raptor's helm. "I loved those lights that landed on Primus, Appa."
"I did, too," Raptor said with a grin. "Maybe sometime Uncle Optimus can explain them to us."
He eventually would.
-0-At the diner
They were there filling the space, families and friends of long trials along with newer friends, allies and comrades. Sitting together, Devcon and Smokescreen considered their conundrum. They were going to wait until the next morning to file the charges that were going to be levied as part of the invocation. Now wasn't the moment. They were filled with emotions like everyone else and they didn't want to spoil the moment. Moda and Tress wouldn't be told either until it happened. It was an automatic that if someone had transgressed an invocation, they would be arrested. Smokey would be under house arrest at his genitor's home until this was resolved. It would be the first defiance of an invocation that either of them had known about in their lives. It was a good thing that there was law to take care of things. This was an ancient and seldom trod road.
The conversation was peaceful and a lot of them were thinking about what had happened even as the energy of unconditional love still permeated everything about them. It would for a while, Optimus knew and he was glad for everyone there. Conversation was bright, cheerful and dinner would be a joy for all of them. They would linger when they were finished, reluctant to walk away from the encounter and the feelings they had for each other as a consequence. One of the most remarked parts of this over the next few orns was the lack of animus that anyone still held for the defendants. The punishment had come to fit the crimes. It was a relief to know that there wasn't any Pit and that the four weren't languishing in it. It would astonish them for a while that they felt that way. Everyone would remain surprised for a long time.
Everyone but The Powers. It was intended that this would be so.
-0-Late that night
They walked to the lockup and went through the several security levels. Down the path they went, Gee Gee and her warders. She had been at the hearing and was still feeling the warmth of The One. This had somehow turned into an emotional and arduous venture, coming to the barracks that had held the defendants to gather their affects. He had told Decimus's son that his father had been recalled and the shock of his expression had made her feel something of his pain. He had sat without sound in the conference room at the Center, armed only with his bluster and protected by three priests who had joined him. He was the real son of Decimus, not adopted. There were several of those but she would tell them tomorrow when she wasn't so conflicted with new and old emotions.
Contrail had adopted children and so did Sentinel. They would find out then as well. Ratbat had none, keeping his spark solitary to the bitter end. They reached the gate and entered, drawing attention from other barracks who watched them. It didn't matter what time it was for the inmates. Time bled together and they were up at any hour of the orn and night as their was no barracks curfew here. They watched as the gate opened and everyone walked inside. The barracks awaited as they entered and the lights came on. For a moment, there was no sound or signs of movement, then they came out, one of them carrying a small box.
Motormaster and the others stood at the bars as nearby Scorponok, Blind Spot, Sideways, Stiletto, and several other slaggers including Turmoil watched. "HEY! WHAT'S UP WITH THEM!?" Motormaster called out.
Gee-Gee slowed, then walked to his bars. "What do you want to know, Motormaster?"
"What's in the box?" he asked with his usual lack of tact and propriety.
"All that they owned," Gee-Gee said. "They had their hearing and it concluded today."
"What happened?" Stiletto asked with a growing sense of disquiet. "I heard it was Special Circumstances."
"It was," Gee-Gee said. "The Pantheon weighed in. I was there. They were recalled."
It was silent as a tomb as the groups around them digested that bit of news. Wild Rider and Dead End stepped closer. "The Pantheon took them? Where? To The Pit?" Rider asked with a tight voice.
Gee-Gee stared at him. "There is no Pit. They said so. They took them back to the Matrix. The AllSpark and Matrix Themselves showed up. They took all four of them away."
It was ghastly, the silence. Turmoil who was listening glanced at the others. "What's the status on our trials? Are we Special Circumstances, too?"
"Not that I know of, but then … anything can happen can't it," she said grimly. "Think about it and decide how long and how well you plan to live." With that, she continued onward heading for the gates and the real world beyond. As she did, she carried a datapad addressed to Prime only. It was a datapad made by Sentinel Prime for Optimus. She would give it to him in the morning at the Senior Autobot and Community Leadership Committee meeting.
The silence in the prison as the news spread by the grapevine would be a first.
-0-Later that evening at IntraComm
He walked out with Prowl, holding his servo tightly. They slowed as Optimus stared at the sky. "The AllSpark … you are aware that He embodies The One, that the AllSpark is the vessel in which His Essence is safely among us?"
"Yes," Prowl said. "I'm still internally reverberating."
"I know," Prime said. He looked at Prowl. "I feel sorrow for them. I feel sorrow for all of us but I also feel intense hopefulness. They are never far. I always feel Them when They come. They are well pleased with us. I do, however, hope we do not have another of these for some time to come." He stepped forward walking with Prowl toward the Mare Tranquilitatus.
"We don't," Prowl said as they continued down the sidewalk heading for home and family.
-0-2200 on the TMC, all channels including those of the humans on world
"We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring this special message from Optimus Prime," the announcer said.
Everyone sitting in front of a screen or listening to a radio paused to see what was going on. Optimus Prime's beautiful voice and handsome grave expression appeared. "Good evening, Autobot City, Cybertron, The Empire, and all outlying bases. I am Optimus Prime. I come to you tonight to tell you of a happening that touches all of us. It was one long in the making and has concluded today as per the laws and regulations of our people.
"For the past several orns, a series of trials were held at the Autobot City Courthouse here on Mars that were long in the making. The defendants had been discovered and brought here, given excellent counsel and complete access to all relevant information and then the trials commenced. The defendants were Contrail of Vos, Ratbat of Kaon, Decimus of Capital City, and Sentinel Prime of Tarn. They had been captured and held as defendants to answer for a long list of war related, criminal and civil indictments. Now it came time to hear their cases which I did in congress with No-a of Nova Cronum, a federal high court judge here on Mars and his fellow federal judge, Semi of Helex.
"The crimes alleged were so great that this would be a criminal hearing with Special Circumstances. For those who do not know what that means, it is simple. The hearing would be held here with a court, a panel of judges and every opportunity for both defense and state lawyers to produce their cases. They also chose to have a citizen jury to offer insights and advice into the proceedings. The verdict would first be mine to levy, then the Pantheon Themselves including Primus and The One could make Their presence known and have the final verdict. The offenses being of the gravest nature required more than my own efforts to ensure that justice was given to all involved including the accused.
"The trials produced a guilty verdict for Sentinel, Decimus and Contrail. An abeyance order was made for Ratbat pending a full and complete psychological profiling of his processor, something he had resisted until now. It was then that the trials were suspended pending the period of waiting that usually transpires for Pantheonic intervention or not. It was the next orn when They weighed in.
"It is my duty as Prime to maintain our people and the integrity of our species. I am aided in this complex task by the Matrix. I am able to journey there for advice and They often come to me to do so as well. All of us, the audience and those involved directly in the trials ended up at the Matrix in a construct made for us that included the presence of Primus and the Pantheon. There was much discussion and in the end, representations of the Matrix Itself and the AllSpark decided. They were recalled.
"Family members of the four have been notified. The four are in the arms of The One and they will be ever and eternally safe there. What I do not want to see is disquiet or riotous celebration of this outcome. I know that many of you have grievous reasons to be happy about this. That is one thing. Causing havoc is another. It is also going to be important to me that the families of these individuals do not suffer from guilt by association. We are a better people than this.
"Justice, as much as can be achieved, has been done. I am honored to have served The People and I will always do so. I thank everyone involved. It was a life altering experience for all of them. We are now facing a new future. Let us go forward together in peace and unity. It was a searing lack of both that brought us to this condition. If you wish to be heard about this, file your comments on the form in the Office of the Prime sector of the Community Bulletin Board and I will arrange replies as best I can. The Temple and Monastery are open now orn and night for as long as you need them to be there. It is with pride and love for all that I say to you, until all are one. Good night."
The scene changed back to the Emblem of the Primes, then the shows, music or talk that was playing before.
A number of things would happen. Prime would be deluged by requests. The entire Empire would party like it was 1999. Periodic, Rockwell and other relatives of the four would be obliterated with surprise and dismay.
Optimus Prime would sleep like a baby. For the first time in vorns.
-0-TBC 8-20-18