The Diego Diaries: Avalone (dd8 273)
HERE! A TWO-FER! :D:D:D
=0=City Hall Annex, Economic Development Department, Terra, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars, Cybertron and the Empire, Postal Code 123-B7-4411
Caro sat at his desk sipping his morning 'coffee' while going over the financial news as it came up on his dedicated news feed monitor. He had an exhilarating weekend to say the least and now he felt the buzz even still. He and Payload had gone to dinner to celebrate the bond, a nice romantic evening at a great restaurant followed by overnight at The Hotel Praxus in the city of that name before The Big Event happened after that.
The kids were taken care of by the enlarged family then and now that half of Payload's family had been found destitute and starving out in the Diaspora. It was the shock heard around the world when the Bureau of Refugees social worker found him on the job supervising the construction of a power station node that would light up the next five major housing construction sites.
"Are you Payload of Kaon?" the beautiful femme asked as she looked upward at the brawny mini-con former maniac.
"I am. What can I do for you?" he'd asked as the group with him paused to listen, the snoops.
"Oh, the question really is … what can I do for you," she said with a glorious smile.
Moments later …
He stood on the rim of the huge ditch they were making for the foundation staring into the desert distance as he struggled to find a way to assimilate something he never thought he'd ever know or feel, the salvation of half of his large exuberant family.
His father and femme mother, two brothers and their families and his three outrageous hilarious older sisters with their families had been found in a dying settlement eking out the last bit of a living possible. Their colony which was large and part of the 20,000,000 refugees that the son of the Emperor had mentioned was overrunning their planet's ability to provide. When the Autobots came it was in the nick of time.
Now his family was here.
He thought about them and how they were intensely against his participation 'HURTING OUR PEOPLE!' in the Decepticons. His father had railed especially. He was a former Autobot soldier who had a family support and did so to the best of his ability. With his tiny pension and his hard knock determination, he had.
They didn't know he was here. They wouldn't know about Caro and the children. They wouldn't know how hard he worked for the new world order and The People. For the first time in his life, Payload of Kaon was deeply afraid.
=0=Later that afternoon
Caro sat next to Payload holding his servo. The children were in their carryholds babbling to themselves as they played with toys there. "Wait until they see how wonderful and glorious you've made your life, Payload. Wait until they see the children. Wait until they find out that you represent all the Guilds on the Senior Autobot Committee with the Prime. Wait until they see your Autobrand. How proud they'll be."
Payload glanced at Caro who was the love of his life. He was young, mid caste and so sweet. He'd seen things in Payload that no one else outside of his family ever did. Caro never heard the fights, the slamming of doors, the shaked fists of his life when he claimed his faction.
He never saw the sorrow in the optics of his family, his siblings who loved and looked up to him even though some were older. The disappointment in his elders who were still missing apparently. "I love you, Caro. You and the kids are the best thing I ever did for myself. I just hope they can forgive me. I should've been there with them."
"A lot of mechs think so, too. They wanted to be there now but at the time it wasn't meant to be. Some things fall out the way they should. You needed to find out how much you missed and needed them. You love them and that's enough. We'll find common ground again. I'll help you.
"You're a changed mech, Payload, a beautiful wonderful mech. I would never have bonded with you if you weren't. But I love you forever and when I'm with you and the children I feel so happy. Your family will feel the same way and you the honor, the real deep honor of helping them find their way here. See?" Caro asked with hopeful optics.
Payload pulled him in for a hug, then kissed him. "I love you. You're the one."
"And you're my only one," Caro replied.
The door to a big ward opened as a doctor stepped out. He grinned. "Payload? Your family can see you now. They want to a lot."
Payload stood with a scared expression mingled with hope. He took Caro's servo then walked hesitantly to the ward where his entire rescued family was being treated together.
Autobot Medical Center had programs for heavily traumatized families to be in the same wards for their treatment. It helped their feelings and progress.
Payload opened the door then straightened his posture. He walked in with Caro behind him, their servos grasped together as they entered.
Inside the room were a number of berths, all of them spaced around the huge room with sunlight streaming in through the giant windows all rooms and wards had. Lying on berths, he stared at his family, his genitors, his brothers, sisters and their families. It was as if time hadn't passed but they had utterly. He didn't have to be a doctor to know that they weren't well and some of them looked like slag.
He dropped Caro's servo to hurry to his father and mother, both of who lay on berths side-by-side. "Ada? Atar? I'm here. Payload."
Optics opened, helms turned here and there but most of them didn't rise to the name.
His ada did. "Payload. That's the name of my son."
"Its me, Ada. Your son," he said as he petted her servo, a tiny care worn hand that had caressed most of the hurts of his life away back in their little apartment in Kaon. He glanced at his father who was staring at him with some comprehension. He turned to the mech and petted his face, smoothing it gently. "I'm here, Atar. I'm going to take care of you, all of you. Wait until you see the house you'll have now. I built them myself."
Caro watched Payload with enormous emotion. This was going to be alright, he thought.
It would be.
=0=In his office a couple of orns later
Payload was off for a few to take care of his family who'd come to sentience and recognized him. There was no recrimination or anger, just joy, love and happiness. Payload elected to sit with them that night and fetched everything they needed. He helped clean their armor as they lay exhausted in bed, bring them food and drinks and cover them with blankets.
They were moderate to severe rated in protoform wasting but the type that responded well to treatment. They would be in the hospital for another week before they could transfer to an assisted facility for another decaorn to three for rehabilitation and treatment. He would take the time to be with them.
Caro himself was back at it in his office noting with surprise some of the information coming from Earth over the news feed. He reviewed it, took other feeds into consideration then walked out of the room heading for Venture's office.
=0=Warren and Sam
They bridged in, then walked to the elevator to go up to Ultra Magnus's office in the Annex in Terra where it had finally been moved. Caro and Venture had contacted them then they blitzed over from the New York City offices. Getting out on the top floor they walked down the long corridor to the huge office that dominated the floor.
Before they were halfway there they were riding on the servos of staffers who chatted with them happily. Entering the office they were taken into Magnus's own and set on his desktop. Leaving them with a laugh, the two men glanced around to see grim faces everywhere they turned.
:We're here, gentlemen. What do you need to know?: Warren asked as Caro got little couches for them to sit upon.
"Have you see the feed this morning? Or the news?" Magnus asked.
:No. Not yet. We've had calls all morning: Sam said as he sat comfortably.
"Oh," Caro said. "Well …"
=0=There
Ratchet rose from the command chair and walked to the console nearby. He checked the energon levels of the massive ship with interest. "We're at 49%." He keyed a communications channel. "How is the system holding up under the download of energon?"
:Its holding well. We're fixing the remaining leaks and monitoring the welds that we've made for the shunts. All is well now, Ratchet: Penuri said. He was a structural integrity specialist of the highest order brought in to make the re-energizing of the ship possible.
"What about pushing up the flow? Can we raise the energon download without causing problems?" Ratchet asked.
:Give me a moment: he said.
It was silent in the command center but for the machinery. Everyone was working at their stations to be ready when the ship was brought out of enough sentience to allow him to help them with systems actions without being awake enough to flail or cause damage to his already debilitated condition.
:Ratchet, we can raise the flow. I'm going to need a couple more ships to begin. Once we do I think we need to continue. When he's refueled to the minimum normal level of energon then the pressure on the system will even out: Penuri said.
"Then go for it," Ratchet said. "The sooner the better. I just got word that the Decepticon bases are having movement. I think they finally picked up that we're here."
:On it: Penuri said with conviction.
=0=Elsewhere
"Commander."
"What?" A big handsome mech rose from his command table where he was working on reports. Walking to the console nearby, Jackmin leaned down to look at the sensor screen. On it were a number of lights that indicated a number of ships, some of them massive in size. "Run the data and tell me what this is."
The mech sitting at the console did then both of them stared with a level of concern they hadn't felt in some time at what it said.
"Frag," Jackmin said quietly. "Get me on line with the commander of Base 4."
He would.
=0=Prowl
He sat at the desk in Ops Center at The Fortress going through the zillion tasks that were falling into his lap as they worked to bring Avalone home. It was then that Ratchet walked out of a bridge toward him. "What now?"
"I have a video for you that you might like," Ratchet said. He sat then placed a data player on the table between them. "I've been searching for information to help us figure this out. I found this and other things but this one is the biggie. By the way, he was attacked by pirates and had to crash but it was only 300 years ago. The rest of the time from The Exodus he was hiding in stasis on a nice planet in the boonies. He killed the pirates before he crashed, by the way." Ratchet punched the button to play and it did.
Prowl and Ratchet watched it, staring at the bio-mechanical beings walk around the titan, try to touch things without being able to, then walk directly into the ship itself through the hull. When it ended Prowl sat back with a look of ENORMOUS rage on his face.
"Well?" Ratchet asked.
"Well … I think its time to kick some ass around the planet," Prowl said with a dark murky tone.
Ratchet smiled his best most dazzling smile. "Okay," he said through the smile.
=0=TBC 10-12-2021
ESL
eke: (eeeee-k) to barely make something last, to live in the dregs of extreme poverty.
eking: (eeeee-k-ing) to do the above. The act of doing it.
Debilitating/debilitated/debilitate: (dee-bil-ih-tayt-ing) something that is debilitating is something that slams you so hard that it threatens your continuing. Debilitated means you're already harmed. Debilitate means to harm someone.