The Diego Diaries: Giving Thanks. (DD6 536)
-0-Water Park
She pulled up a chair to sit with her beer and sandwich. Watching the bonds and company careening out of the big water tube, Arcee grinned. "I'm going in next."
"Where's Magnus?" Ratchet asked as he sipped his own.
"He was asked to come to Earth2 and speak to the kids about government and the like," Arcee said as she grinned at Possibility. He was cocooned in soft blankets in his Amma Miler's arms.
"I thought they had Thanksgiving vacation today," Delphi asked. He had Halo.
"They traded that orn for one at Christmas Surprise, I think. Some of the inmates want to go to Earth for Christmas," Arcee said. "Magnus is pretty happy that they want accurate information so he agreed."
"No doubt," Turbine said with a grin.
-0-Earth2 at a meet up
"Our primes have a lot of functions, both political, religious and secular. They are the unifying figure in our culture and they have enormous prestige. I can't add much more than that at the moment," Magnus said.
A boy raised his hand so Magnus nodded. "Is a Prime like a king?"
Magnus considered that, then leaned closer. "A little. He's the rallying point around which most can come together, the focal point of a lot of different points of view. Even if you don't like the way things are going, you can mostly agree that the Prime is a unifying frame of reference. He doesn't have complete power nor does this one seek it. Some in the past did and got it to our everlasting ruin. Optimus Prime works through a civilian and military committee who help him make plans, adds their expertise and guides him. The decisions are his to make in the end but he never does it without seeking advice and support. He isn't a dictator either.
"We've had Primes from the the beginning, about seven or eight of them,. Most of them haven't been of Prime's caliber and some of them have been disasters and criminals. We've been driven to the brink by bad Primes and its never happening again.
"Our cities have their own local councils who meet to handle lower level city wide problems and to allow the local citizenry to have someone to come to. They elect a single member to meet in a general colonial council once every 30 days if not sooner to discuss the larger picture. After that is achieved things can be brought to the attention of the Prime's committee members or the Prime himself."
"What about the idea of martial law, Commander?" Miles asked from his seat nearby.
"As you know, we are on a war footing with the Decepticon forces led by Megatron who is at present dealing with a force that he has grudges with far away. But because the war hasn't been settled formally we are at a level of readiness that compels us to evaluate threat levels. We are under modified marttial law here, on Cybertron and around the Empire.
"That means that Optimus Prime has a lot of power to do things and to act without seeking formal permission from different bodies to do so. We have to be as flexible as we can without compromising who we are as a people, thus he has only activated those parts now that give him the ability to defend us without taking all of our rights away. We have all lived with that in the past and we don't want to bring it back here and make everyone miserable."
"There was a phase six mechanism by the news accounts that managed to make it to Mars. What were Prime's options and abilities when that happened?" Miles asked.
"We were at the solar rim taking the surrender of a number of individual groups of Decepticons or privateers. Black Shadow, the phase six mechanism that was in the area was going to their bases to talk to them. He was actually there to kill their leaders and take the groups back to the Decepticons when we warned them. They decided to surrender to us than face him and when that happened he slipped in with a group and made his way here.
"He was cloaked but he made it to Mars through our rings of security who had been mustered to get him. Optimus Prime ordered the pursuit and joined it while everyone here on world from our people to yours were ordered to the shelters. Millions of individuals went there and waited. The entire planet has to obey his orders when things like this happen
"Prime had the authority to do anything necessary to defend against this individual. He asserted full martial law, told everyone what to do, then came here to fight Black Shadow himself thereby getting him to leave everyone else alone. He refused so the senior Autobots geared up to go to him and fight to save the planet and everyone here. We defeated him and he is in permanent secured confinement. There isn't anything that Prime can do given his position but unlike most of his predecessors he has never abused his authority. He has something they didn't have in great quantities … honor, integrity and character."
"What would have happened if you hadn't defeated this guy?" a boy in row two asked.
Magnus looked at him, noting everyone's full attention to the question. "He would have obliterated every molecule of this planet, then he would have gone to Earth to do the same thing. There would be nothing still standing anywhere when he was finished. He has the capacity to destroy entire planets and he doesn't care. He personally killed three billion individuals on a planet far from here in the past and hasn't lost a moment's peace over it."
It was silent in the room as several hundred people and a lot of kids took that in. The boy shifted uneasily. "I saw the show with the event. You and others walked out to fight him. Did you feel you would win?" he asked.
Magnus sat back and looked at all of them gravely. "No. Without a miracle which we received at the last moment, there was no hope of winning. You don't defeat phase six mechanisms in the normal manner no matter how many you have on your side."
"You went out anyway," the boy replied.
Magnus nodded. "It was my job to defend and protect."
"Even Earth?" he asked.
Magnus nodded. "Half of our forces were deployed in space around Earth. Even Earth."
It took a moment for the next question to be asked.
-0-Water Park
"And Partition is trying to fix up his brothers," Greenlight said with a smile. She was lounging at the pool while Arcee and the other femmes were taking on the boys on the slides.
"That's because he takes after me," Ratchet said with a giant smile.
"Pity him, poor infant," Turbine said with a chuckle.
"Frag all of you. By the way, spread the word. Next Thanksgiving the project is barbecue," Ratchet said. "I plan on winning. Whoever cooks the least in each household entering is the one who cooks the dish. They have to do it on the spot. I'll even have categories for side dishes."
"I'm waiting for you to have a beer contest," Firestar said as she held Halo.
"That's a good idea. NEXT TIME! That is, next time after bread," Ratchet said with a grin. "Ironhide is going to be putting his bun appreciation to good work because I'm not making anything like that."
"You're such a whiner," Ravel said with a smile. "I tried."
He ended up being dumped in the pool by his son.
-0-Earth2
"That's why the femme population is so small. We don't care what anyone thinks about it either. Gender is a construct for those who have or need it when around us. It's not even an idea in our thoughts otherwise because we don't care. We also had a lot of slag at Diego from individuals hung up on it. Again, we don't care," Magnus said with his calm unruffled lack of emotion.
The crowd was mesmerized by him and the kids thought he was the greatest thing ever. Everyone was fascinated by the massive mech.
A little girl raised her hand. "Commander, if there's no girls or that sort of thing, how do you find someone and how do you decide who is good looking or not? We have a lot of rules among the humans. Some humans are really mean to others about their looks and stuff like that. How do you do that among your people?" she asked. She was small, quiet and smart, this kid.
"I know that there is a lot of bullying going on in your societies and some kids have body image problems. I find that too sad for words. No one has the right to tell you anything about how you look or how they perceive that. You are the captain of your own fate and no one can hurt you unless you allow them to do so. As for us, we like who we like and we know who is beautiful in our own opinion. My bond, Arcee is beautiful in our society and to me.
"If you would hold to the idea that your the majority of your opinions should stay in your head and you don't have the right to say what you want to anyone anytime you wanted to, you would all be a lot better off. I don't hold to bullying. Bullies are cowards. Bullying on and off line is cowardice. If you believe that you're ugly because someone says so to you, then you need to drop that person forever. Choose your friends wisely, believe in who you are and know that cowards make you smaller to make themselves taller. They aren't." He leaned in closer to the child. "You aren't being bullied are you?"
She grinned. "Not here."
Magnus nodded. "Good. We don't allow it anywhere. We have no tolerance for the abuse of others. Just so you know," he said sitting back. "Just so everyone knows."
"Commander, what about the murder? When will we be able to leave here to go around the colony?" a boy asked.
"We are pursuing the felons and we will capture them. As for the rest, that will only happen when we know you are safe. Until then, stay in," Magnus said.
The conversation rolled onward.
-0-A joor later
They walked into the apartment and put the cow down on the floor. The kids had been parted out and they were here with only the big kids and each other. Ratchet glanced at Ironhide. "What an afternoon. No kids. Where are you kids going today?" Ratchet asked as he watched them raid the fridge.
"We want to go to the movies and the club, Ada," Fireball said. "Tru is meeting us there."
Ratchet grinned. "Ah, young love. Have at it. Be home or wherever at a good time and take a cab."
"We will. Appa and Ammas want us to come by and maybe we can stay the night. The titans are coming with us," Genesis said as he stacked a sandwich high.
"Sounds good. If you need an alibi call home," Ironhide said as he sat in his chair and relaxed.
The kids laughed, wolfed food, hugged everyone, then left.
Ratchet and Ironhide watched the door close, then stared down at the floor. Robby was standing there looking back at them through a thick fringe of hair over his forehead. "That is one slagging fine cow, Ironhide."
Ironhide laughed, then squeezed Ratchet's servo. "Thanks, Ratchet. He is. Three cows in the family. The only time we had more pets was when Amma liberated that slagger's zoo. He didn't take care of the animals there so he took them home and kept them. We're all suckers for an amimal down on its luck."
"I hear ya. I once had a tick bug for a pet. Did I ever tell you the story? I found him in the cushions on the couch where I slept all the time I was growing up," Ratchet said as he began to warm to the story.
"Slagger," Ironhide said with a big grin. "Robby, attack."
Robby stared at him with a placid expression, then walked to the window to lie down on the bed there for Spot. Spot would allow it and the beginnings of a great friendship with both him and Cousin would begin.
In the meantime, the old folks made good use of the time alone …
"That is so good. Ironhide."
"I know."
"You're a good mech, Ironhide."
(Tiny preen) "I am aren't I."
"That should do it." (Big grin by someone with a red aft)
"I think so, ba-bee." Ironhide picked up the root beer floats and walked to his chair to hand one to Ratchet. He sat and grinned. "Channel four, Ratchet. The monster truck championship title for the world is on."
It was.
Sometimes life could be really really good.
-0-TBC 12-4-18 edited 12-22-18