The Diego Diaries: Interrogatory (dd6 460)
-0-In an apartment on the Tharsis Plain
The weak light of morning filtered into the apartment as Optimus Prime sat at the table of his kitchen cadging a hot cup of energon tea. He felt rather than saw the familiar stranger who stood in the doorway nearby. "Come in and sit please."
Prowl of another place altogether walked in and pulled a chair. Sitting, he watched as Optimus Prime, someone he knew and didn't know rose to fix him a hot cup. Handing it to Prowl, Prime nodded to the Lazy Susan in the middle of the table. "You can put in what you require from those," he said nodding to the scrupulously neat and elegant little containers neatly lettered with the names of their contents.
He did, then sipped. "I'm glad I can ingest your food and drink."
Prime nodded in agreement. "My team is coming this morning. In the meantime, you have to uphold your end of this. My children and genitors along with Prowl's have suffered enough."
Prowl nodded. "Alright," he said.
Prime stared at his cup a moment. "Prowl usually makes breakfast. He likes to cook for us. Whether he likes to cook otherwise, I am unclear. I will cook now and when the children come. I do that on weekends so it will not seem out of order."
"What do I do?" Prowl asked.
"Help them, listen … my genitors take them to school most mornings." Prime rose and walked to the counter to begin a typical breakfast that was human-inspired. It was done expertly with minimal fuss. "You have not told me who you are beyond the barest minimums. I would be willing to hear more. Maybe there is some reason why you and Prowl and your Optimus and me are changing places. Maybe there's something in our biographies that will help us."
Prowl considered that, then nodded. "Very well. I am Prowl of Praxus, a former physicist who joined the Autobot Armed Forces as a science adviser and second-in-command to the Prime. It was a good thing. I got to work with the Son of Primus and use my skills to advance the peace. My genitors are mathematicians of great note and my grandgenitors on my ada's side, Zenith and Shadow are the greatest bridge scientists known. My atar's genitors are priests. Between the Temple and school, I lived a busy and service oriented life."
Prime nodded. "Did you like it? Did you enjoy it?"
"Immensely." Prowl rose. "May I help you, Lord?"
Prime shook his helm. "No thank you. I am nearly finished."
Prowl sat. "I had a wonderful life filled with travel, learning, experiences … all of it was good."
"What about your people? Do they get the same opportunities?" Prime asked.
Prowl nodded. "We are careful to ensure that everyone gets to do the things that fulfill them. It comes from having a god lead you, one who loves you completely. Everyone goes to school, works at what they choose and contributes. We are a peaceful and educated society. Given how long we can live and how powerful we are with or without weapons … it's a good thing."
Prime nodded. "Do you have children?" he asked as he dished up two plates of food. Taking them to the table, he retrieved utensils and sat himself.
"No. I am bonded, however. Jazz of Kaon is my bond. I can only imagine what's happening with him. I know that Lord Optimus will handle it. He is wise," Prowl said as he began to eat. "This is very good. Is this some sort of different Cybertronian cuisine?"
"No," Optimus said. "This is our version of human food. We have many connections to them. They live on the third planet from this sun."
Prowl nodded as he sipped his tea. "We know of them. They're quarantined because they're dangerous and violent where we live. They can range to this planet but not beyond. Lord Optimus has high hopes for them becoming who they should be as opposed to what they are now. Our confederation is composed of peaceful space-going races. No one who is pre-space is allowed to be bothered. We watch them but we don't interfere. They have free will and can choose their destiny no matter how fragged it is."
"You appear to have had a good life," Prime said.
Prowl nodded. "And your Prowl? What about him? If I may ask ..."
Prime considered that. "My Prowl had all the advantages and none of the virtues. He grew up enormously wealthy but his life was a gilded cage. Through force of will and desire, he freed himself and became my bond after a long eventful life. He is a contradiction." Prime thought a moment. "He can be utterly ruthless about an objective, though he never places innocents in danger. He wants to win the war and end it. He wants our people rescued and cared for. He loves our children. He loves all children for that matter. They bring out something deeply good and protective in him, surprising even him sometimes. Our children make a lot of bad things good just by being here. His relationship with his genitors wasn't good all his life but it is now. One set of grandgenitors is still missing and the other found, though they are profoundly set in their ways, upholding the System of Exception to their detriment. They live here and we seldom see them."
Prowl nodded. "That sounds terrible. What happened to you that such a thing could transpire? Why are you here and not there, on Cybertron?"
"We were never free. We were held under the boot heel of oppressors in our most developmental and vulnerable stages and we never recovered. How can you be free when you never were? The oppressors were overthrown but the lessons they taught us were never examined, nor was our propensity to believe what they told us. We were a traumatized people from the beginning and only now are we rebuilding that which has been destroyed, both Cybertron and our own sparks."
Prowl stared at him, then nodded. "I am sorry for that."
A sound nearby caught there attention. Two tiny femmes were standing in the doorway holding servos. They walked in and lay their helms on Prime's leg. He petted them gently. "You are up early."
Sojourner nodded. Then she stared at Prowl. "Who is that, Atar?" she asked.
-0-The break of dawn on Cybertron, far far away
-0-Autobot City
"What do you mean, Sojourner?" Prime asked.
"That mech. He looks like Ada but he isn't." She looked upward at him as Solus stared with unblinking optics directly at Prowl. "He doesn't feel like Ada."
Prime glanced at Prowl who shrugged, helpless to add anything useful. "Can you tell the difference between this mech's energy and Ada?" Prime asked.
Both of them nodded, then glanced upward. "Where is Ada?" Solus asked in her tiny Minnie Mouse voice.
"Ada is working. This is a friend of Ada," Prime said. He picked them up and set them on the table. "Sit here and I will fix you breakfast."
They sat side-by-side staring at Prowl who stared back. Then they watched their big old pa work out the logistics of their tiny food. As they did, their brothers walked in including Miracle. They hugged Optimus, then stared at the familiar stranger. All of them could see and feel the difference, too. As Prime turned to explain, he got it at last as well. The aura around Prowl, that which signified who he was to all who saw him was slightly different. It was slightly off. "This is …" Prime paused.
"Ferrus," Prowl said. "I'm sometimes called Ferrus. Something about a stiff rod up … my back." He grinned slightly.
Prime felt the ghost of a smile but it never reached his lips. "Ferrus, these are our children … Rambler who is oldest, then T-Bar, Spirit, Miracle, and our daughters, Solus and Sojourner."
"I'm glad to meet you. I'm going to be here for a short while but not for long, I hope," he said as he acknowledged the kids.
"Are you going to stay with us?" Spirit asked as he leaned against Prime's leg.
"He is. Ada is off world doing things for the Autobots. He will be home soon. Very soon," Optimus said soothingly. As he did, the door opened and he could hear his genitor's voices. They walked in, hugged the kids, then glanced at their son as they took in the stranger. "This is Ferrus. He's going to be here a while. He represents another group of Autobots out in space. Prowl is going to be off world a few orns so we are making due."
"We can help you, son," Tagg said as he kissed the little femmes. They smiled upward at him, sitting on the table like two tiny fairies on a lily pad.
"Let us help, son." Kestrel looked at aka Prowl. "You bear a powerful resemblance to our son-in-law, Prowl. I am amazed myself."
Prowl/Ferrus grinned slightly. "I will take that as a compliment," he said to two people he knew very well and loved dearly. They were good friends of his own genitors.
Breakfast was well in servo when the call came to meet up in the conference room in the Ops Center. Leaving with reluctance for the work of clean up and gratitude his genitors were there to do it with the children, Prowl and Prime slipped out after he hugged and kissed his children and genitors. The door closed quietly behind them.
Tagg stared at the door as he helped the little femmes finish their food. "What an amazing coincidence that he looks so much like Prowl."
Kestrel who was cleaning things up on the counter nodded. "Really amazing and strange. Like his tattoos and etchings."
-0-Far away
They sat at a table in The Residence eating breakfast. It was a very strained affair for Prowl. Joining them was Sentinel. They chatted politely, then Sentinel took his leave, kissing Prime before he left. The door closed behind him. It was silent a moment, then Prime sat back. "I am sorry if Sentinel's presence sets off some sort of reaction in you that is harmful. He is not the one to whom you owe grievances."
"I know," Prowl said, "but its easier said than done, the forgiveness business. Sentinel was a very bad mech, more so than I can tell you, and I considered myself close to him once upon a time. A very bad time."
"Tell me," Prime said as he sipped his tea.
Prowl considered that, then threw caution to the wind. "I was the SIC for three or so Primes. Nova who ignored me, Nominus who dumped everything on me, Sentinel who used me when he wasn't ignoring me, and Optimus who treated me with grace and dignity. Sentinel was a rogue who liked to … what is it humans say? Notch his belt. He picked a prey and chased them until they dropped. I had a couple of relationships that were slag. They fizzled out, mercifully. Then I fell onto Sentinel's sensors when he ascended and it was tough fending him off. I didn't want a relationship, he did and in the end I gave up caring one way or the other. It was a terrible relationship, abusive and unsatisfying. In the end, we ended and it was like the skies turned blue again."
Prowl stared at Prime who was listening with compassion. He didn't know how he felt about that, the idea of pity and mercy, but he liked the look. Any look on Optimus's face he liked. Even if it wasn't his own Optimus. "He liked to slum … to go to the hardest and worst clubs, get drunk, fight, play cards, frag around … I don't think Sentinel liked being one of the few and privileged. He liked getting his hands dirty as they say. He liked danger, dangerous mechs and dangerous practices. He set his sights on a mech called Sunstreaker who is a split spark twin and a holy terror."
Prime nodded. "I know him. I know mine, that is. He's a very good artist who teaches art at the University of Iacon. His brother is a battalion commander in my army."
Prowl stared at him trying to cipher the strange information, then shook his helm. "Our Sunstreaker is a twin who was abandoned in Kaon at a Youth Center, broke out when he could with Sideswipe, created one of the most dangerous road rage gangs on Cybertron, and when it all went to slag joined the Autobots to get even. He's hardcore and the ada of my three grandchildren."
Prime nodded. "Very strange isn't it, the differences and the similarities."
Prowl nodded. "It is."
"We are going to the Temple in Simfur when the meeting is over. We need to go to the Citadel and meet in the big conference room. The team might have some news," Prime said as he stood. "Call me Orion in their midst. I give you leave. They tend to be deferential, which is one of the reasons I admire Sentinel so much. He is not." He walked to the door, then waited for Prowl to stand and follow. They walked out, down the corridor to the public rooms and out to the vehicle waiting for him. Entering, they sat and his driver began the short drive to Autobot HQ and a possible answer for all of this.
-0-The Fortress
They walked into the rec room and onward to the Ops Center, heading to the conference room where everyone was gathering. They entered it and the door closed as everyone put their processors together to solve this intractable problem.
-0-Citadel, Iacon
They reached The Citadel, then walked to the Primal Entrance where he usually arrived to avoid crowds. Walking inside, Prowl stared at the familiar and unfamiliar individuals and designs, buildings and equipment that greeted him. Up a glass elevator they went, then down a hall lined with offices and individuals working hard. They bowed to Prime as they passed, smiling at him with pleasure at his presence. It was becoming obvious to Prowl that Orion Pax/Optimus Prime was deeply and profoundly loved and respected here.
They reached a big conference room, then entered. As they did Prowl froze. Sitting or standing around the table with datapads and odd tattoos, Prowl could see the usual suspects … Wheeljack, Perceptor and a couple of techs he remembered from meetings with his own dimensional counterparts. What shocked him were the others waiting, all of them wearing Autobrands conspicuously. Waiting for Prime was Shockwave, Soundwave and Jhiaxus.
-0-TBC 9-3-18
ESL
cadging: to obtain something. Like a cuppa. :D
conspicuous: (cun-spick-you-us) easily seen or detected
intractable: (in-trac-tu-bl) something that doesn't appear solvable. Also, something that doesn't seem to end. "The Sahara is an intractable desert."