The Diego Diaries: Next (dd8 540)
=0=That next morning
Prowl watched the overnight feed noting that a sounding was coming from the Benzuli of a group of ships that had muddled signals. Some of them were sort of Cybertronian but not. He considered them, noting that they were aligned with the Omega Signal which could mean they were heading for Earth if they continued. He took the data wafer and walked toward the door to the corridor that led to their offices. He disappeared as the door closed behind him.
=0=On the Military Airfield of Autobot City, Mars
The Master of the Muster for the day shift was a big grizzled mech named Portibello of Colley Hills in the north of Cybertron. He was a huge mech who was a careerist soldier from back in the orn. He was a mech who had been trained by Kup when the army was still Autobot and the war wasn't even a thought in anyone's processor. He raised a big family on a soldier's pay and had the scars and smarts to show for it. Now he was the Master of the Armed Forces-Mustering, the 'important' one and the one who managed the biggest and most intricate musters, especially those with almost no time to organize.
When the attack to the colony happened he was standing on the air field tarmac watching as invading ships came down out of the sky to begin their invasion. He watched them with an analytical optic, then began to feed information to the Ops Center even as he fell back with his soldiers to organize a defense. He was calm, courageous to a fault and managed to hold them back for a critical half joor until the Prime could begin a defense of the whole colony.
Mechs like Portibello were the backbone of the military, a repository of skills and history, mechs with skill, smarts and more bravery than a battalion. He was a very much admired and veteran mech who loved Prime to bits. Prime loved him back, one of the first veteran soldiers to come over and help him organize and train the army. Now he gathered together a reconn force to go out and trace down a bogey.
"What's the word, Sarge?" a youngling Seeker asked as he gathered around with the others a big mech with a spark of gold for kids.
"The word, Pincer, is to go and find out what's happening, then come back to dinner. I'd be very upset if you didn't," Portibello aka Porter said to the kid, a Home Guardsman in the Air Wing that protected the colony directly. Given that Porter was sending him out with a deeply veteran and heavily armed flight, he was sure the kid would do fine. "That's an order, son."
Pincer who was going on his first 'real' flight grinned. "I will, Sarge. Thanks for letting me go."
"Don't make me regret it," Porter said. He glanced at the big mechs who were grinning at him. "Make sure this kid falls back if anything even signals problems. No arguments. Only obedience. He comes for help if its needed." He glanced at the kid. "You would be that important to the mission, infant, if you remember that the one who brings help saves the lives."
Pincer glanced at the older bigger mechs, then Portibello. "I won't let you down, Sarge."
"That never entered my processor," Porter said.
The older mechs nodded to Portibello, then gathered the kid with them. They walked to one side, jumped to transform, then blasted off together.
Porter watched them go, then walked back to his office which was near the human viewing stand. He would sit there and listen to the chatter in his high tech aerie. He would be the one who would signal for help when the moment came for it to be sent. It was part of his job and he considered it the worst part of all. That meant that 'his boys and girls' would be in trouble.
=0=At Hub 22 at Aerie Hill
He worked at the computer in his office inputting the stats for the Central Office at the Armory in Autobot City for the completed decaorn. The Hub ran all orn and night serving the clientele which was mostly the Home Guard soldiers who were in training during the day. The full time Seekers usually had home gun lockers where they kept their personal arms though those that used anything bigger and longer than their hand guns kept that stuff here. Rockets and other high caliber ammunition was at a moment's notice for those called up or during emergencies.
The mid afternoon had arrived and he had a moment so he sat in his office with its 360 degree windows inputting the statistics that would be sent to Ironhide who would include them into planning reports, those sent to the Ops Center and Flight Center in The Fortress and here in Aerie Hill at the Aerie Hill Flight Command Center where Starscream and Rainmaker had their offices and command.
Out in the hub the usual crowd was there playing cards, studying for colleges and trade schools, eating a meal or flirting. It was the closest thing to heaven that most of them ever came. There was little infrastructure built for Seekers both in and out of the service on Cybertron during the day. They were the last to be supplied, supported or congratulated. Seething rage filled them both before and after The Fall. One was supposed to relieve the other but it didn't. Low castes as ever remained unrelieved.
Here he sat in his office with the images of his bonds and kids around him. His fathers were out in the hub bullshitting with their friends, all of them old timers from back in the orn. His bond, one of the three was coming with a grandchild, the newest baby of his oldest son. They were going for a group picture with his fathers, his bond's fathers and numerous others. It was going to be a surprise for his son when he had it painted into a group portrait by none other than Sunstreaker of Kaon for a Christmas present.
It wasn't lost in irony on him that the jet judo maniac of their past should help him preserve the present for the future.
"Tern."
He glanced up, then rose to walk to the counter. Grinning from audial to audial, 'Grandpa' took the smiling baby from his bond's arms. "Well, how is my sweet baby?" he asked the infant in his arms.
A tiny tri-color baby with tiny wings smiled up at his Appa. "BAI!" he shouted with joy, then chuckled at his own audacity.
Laughter from around the vast room greeted that as great grandparents rose from their chairs to join them. They waited as Tern banked his computer, then walked through the half door to the group with the baby in his arms. They laughed and chatted as they walked out to the photographer to get the images that Sunny had requested to do the portrait.
It would be magnificent when finished.
=0=Bridge Tide in Trigger 1
They waited in the sled arms of Trigger One which was going to send them out to the area where the anomaly appeared to be located. In the middle of a spear shaped flight pattern, a youngling kid waited with excitement to go out with his elders. When the blossom appeared ahead of them they flew out together and disappeared into infinity. It would remain a pinpoint tracing them as they flew toward an unknown and possible threat to their security. They would never be off the radar while they did.
=0=Intermediate School, Iacon
They sat together, Lumi and Saber as they took notes and listened to their civics teacher explain their electoral system and its history on Cybertron in the day to the kids. Now that they were fully franchised to vote, the department added a voting and electoral unit for each of the three levels of their school civics program. A District student had won a seat on the School Board and the Delegate Assembly and it was hoped that more would be active in their government.
Sitting with them were older and younger kids, all of them skills grouped to their basic level of attainment to be assisted toward more and more achievement. Rather than struggle in an 'age appropriate' grouping, they were tested upon arrival, given coursework that aided and abetted their learning in a system that allowed free movement up, down or sideways according to the student's progress. Younger and older kids attended the same classes together.
Sitting ahead of them a younger student worked on creating a chart on his data pad showing the hierarchy of government as practiced on Mars and Cybertron now. At the top was his father and in the middle with the delegates was one of his best friends, Coros. Both he, Lumi and Saber among the others had helped Coros win his seat. They were also helping him with the job, being representatives to groups and others to get the message out.
"I'm here to help you."
Afternoon would pass quietly at school as they expanded their horizons in a place where at long last such dreams were possible for everyone.
=0=Earlier in Prime's office
He studied the information, then glanced at Prowl. "What is your best estimation about this?"
"I'm hoping its not someone who has our tech and used it with their own. Right now we have to be ready for anything. I've asked Rainmaker and Starscream to look into it. We need to be ready for anything," Prowl said.
"Very well. Keep me informed about this, Prowl," Prime said as Prowl nodded, rose, then left the room. He sat back to consider what fresh hell might be coming over the horizon. It would mean they'd have to hurry up to find the follow up migration of high castes that was coming along behind the latest big one just gathered. It wouldn't do for them to be caught by someone with so many question marks. He called for Hard Drive to come back to Mars to talk.
=0=Up there in Bern
"KNOCK! KNOCK!" Ratchet peered inside to spot his patients, two tiny antique mechs sitting on a chair watching the teevee. Nearby working on a tatting a tiny femme looked up to smile. "DOCTOR! COME IN!"
Ratchet entered, then patted all three as an elder toddled out of the hallway followed by a massive son and his massive bond. "Well, LOOK AT YOU!" he said to the four.
They were among his private home patients, a handful of very difficult cases, mostly ancient folks who needed to be specially handled they were so dire. He had come nearly every day for several months to do his hedge 'magic', the electrical stimulation on their desperately low protoform. They were so dire that to walk was to risk broken struts and internal structures. Now they were able to move, eat and keep it down, walk and sit without danger.
"How do you all feel?" he asked as he sat down and began his scans and data gathering.
"I feel wonderful," the tiny femme said. "I can do all manner of things now."
"Can you dance yet?" Ratchet asked with a smile.
She could. She and the little mechs would show Ratchet that they could, though it was still a bit unsteady as they did. Their son and son-in-law would beam at them as they cut the rug and all would enjoy tea and cookies afterwards. They were well and truly on their way back. It would be a nice interlude in the afternoon as the sun beamed into the windows of their apartment.
=0=Out there data scanning
They came within scanning range of a number of ships, big ships heavily armed who gave off weird energy signatures. They flashed their data retrievals, then headed back swiftly to their bridge. They were gone in seconds to safety.
On the ships a big mech with a strange protoform went over the data of the intruders they had managed to gather before they flashed into a bridge to vanish. He was seething with fury that they'd been caught flat footed. He wouldn't allow that to happen again. Diston of Crader Enterprises, the son of Crader himself wouldn't allow that to happen ever again.
=0=TBC 10-09-2022
NOTES ANSWERED TOMORROW! :D:D:D
Sorry. I was so tired ast night I just went to bed. NOW I'M UP AND AT 'EM! My sister and her husband are going on vacation for a month starting this coming Friday so I can write all day long given that I as their minion am on vacation as well. I can't wait for all the time to do this. HUGS, my DARLINGS!
