The Diego Diaries: The Next Orn (dd8 322)
This was meant to go out last night but its damned cold here and I'm helping a cat who has decided to live with me transition from the house I have for them on the front porch to the inside. She sleeps with me at night now on the couch in the living room but she's still uneasy with my two dogs and two cats. The cats rather like her but the dogs don't see well and bark at everything. Take care out there and remember the animals. I love you all so much it hurts. Just remember that. -C
=0=Ops Center, Mars
Ratchet and Prime went over the points he wanted made abetted by Prowl who took copious notes and added this and that factor or fact. Ratchet was scheduled to speak to an emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly that had been convened to discuss the events of the past few days. He would be going on his ambassadorial yacht with Lucien, Springer and Hard Drive in attendance. It would be Lucien's first official jaunt into human diplomacy at this level.
"That is what I believe is pertinent to the Assembly and what might be part and parcel of the commentary when humans return to communicating with Earth and the tourists go home," Prime said.
Ratchet nodded. "They can't fault us for transparency," he said as he gazed at the data pad detailing all the points Prime wanted hit.
"Oh, they can," Prowl said ever the grim (reaper).
Ratchet chuckled, then rose. "Wish me luck."
"I know you will succeed," Prime said as he watched Ratchet walk toward the doorway to disappear. "I have no doubts of that, Ratchet."
"Loon has a way with words," Prowl said, glancing at Prime for a reaction other than cold fury or sadness.
Prime grinned.
Prowl felt relief.
=0=Earth
They arrived at the airport, a vast beautiful ship with the emblems of the Empire on full display. Glancing at the mechs with him, Ratchet grinned. "Do I promenade down the steps or is this a more serious situation requiring decorum or some such slag?"
Springer smirked at Ratchet. "And disappoint your fans?"
Ratchet snickered, then walked to the door. "Here we go," he said. With that, he began to sashay down the stairs to the ground beyond. Doing so, he posed this and that way before stepping down to kneel and speak with the N.E.S.T facilitators who were waiting for them.
Hard Drive, Lucien and Springer followed, listened to the facilitators, then transformed into vehicle mode. The humans climbed in and away they went.
=0=MCA
"Here they come," a man who was moderating the presentation said. "Ratchet cracks me up every time he comes. He's such a fun individual."
"I've talked to him before. He's very smart and decent. He's like someone you would know in your own life, he's that relatable. Good choice for Prime to send. Prime is more formal even in his speech but he's a warm individual as well. Ratchet is the 'human face' of the Autobots or so I've been told," a man said, one who was a consultant for the network on the Autobots.
"What do you suppose Ambassador Ratchet will do today?" the moderator asked as the convoy rolled out of the airport VIP parking lot toward the street and the five or so mile drive to the United Nations downtown.
"I suspect that he's going to be fulsome in his details and tell us how the battle went, that Earth was protected the entire time and that we can't expect perfection. He will emphasize I would think rather extremely aggressive protection in the face of trouble can be expected and that the danger to us is the same danger to them. Motivation won't be a factor in their effort." The consultant watched the screen. "That's General of the Army Hard Drive of Praxus, one who's counted among the greatest of their people as an Immortal. With him is Commander Springer of Polyhex as well as an analyst and senior aide in the Autobot Secretariat of State, Lucien of Iacon. I am not very familiar with him but if he's here he's important."
Earlier …
A rap on the door drew Lucien's attention. He glanced up, then sat back in his chair. Light streamed into the office building, one spared in the destruction of downtown Autobot City. "How goes it?"
"It goes," Ratchet said as he walked in to draw a chair to sit. "We're digging out. How was lockdown?"
"Sudden. Lazlo spent the past few orns in the shelter at the University. My sons were working on the problem. They were in the fighting."
"I heard that they deported themselves magnificently but then they were with Greenlight so they were in good hands," Ratchet replied. "We don't waste our infants. Your sons will do their duty here but they will never do it out there. They didn't grow up in war so even if they'd be brave and good, they wouldn't be good enough if you get my drift."
"I do. Thanks," Lucien said.
"I'm going to Earth in a few. Come with," Ratchet said.
"To Earth? What are you going to do?" Lucien asked as he rose to go with Ratchet.
"I'm going to spackle a few holes and save the relationship. Again." He glanced at Lucien with a grin. "You're welcome."
Lucien followed Ratchet to the elevator with a slight grin in spite of himself.
=Here and now
They pulled into the drive and continued to the usual spot where they parked when they arrived at the huge building surrounded by reporters and spectators. Some were furious and expressed it but most waved to the strange parade and got honks and light blinks back.
Ratchet transformed and the others did as well after discharging their passengers. Crouching to chat a moment with a UN official and his handlers, Ratchet rose, glanced at the others, then began to enter the specialized entryway that was beckoning. The others followed.
Inside, the delegates including a very large contingent of international and national leaders chatted and milled around as they waited. A rap on the dais brought them to order so they began to sit. As they did Ratchet appeared in the doorway, glanced around, then entered to walk toward the podium. Behind him, Hard Drive appeared, entered, then Springer and finally Lucien. They found their places, then waited.
When order was restored, the Secretary General spoke. "Thank you for your attention. It is my honor to introduce Ambassador Ratchet of Autobot Nation to speak to us of the events of the past few days. We are happy to have you and your colleagues here, Ambassador, and hope that you also address the silence that occurred between Earth and Mars, a silence that still lasts. We also hope to hear your plans for the future to deal with such situations and how Earth can more fully be a part of the solutions. Without further ado, Ambassador Ratchet of Iacon, Ambassador Plenipotentiary for the Autobots and Optimus, the Prime of Cybertron."
Ratchet touched the Secretary General's tiny hand with a digit, then watched as he took his seat behind him. Turning to the crowd, he hooked into the sound system. "Mr. Secretary General, delegates to the United Nations from the many countries of the world, national leaders and interested parties, I bring to you the salutations and good will of Optimus of Iacon, the Prime of Cybertron, the First Disciple of Primus and the bearer of the Creation Matrix, the Autobot Matrix of Leadership."
=Mars, Ops Center
"That never gets old," Ironhide mused.
Prowl nodded as he sat beside him tensely. "I know."
Prime who was watching the screen with them grinned slightly. "No, it does not."
=UN
"I am here today to tell you of the situation as it's played out over the course of this week and perhaps share with you how much and well we monitor the Empire of the Primes. Our Cybertronian empire is massive and although about less than half of it still is held in the hands of the Decepticon faction, the parts that matter are held by us. We have the capacity to watch the universe up to 300,000 plus light years in all directions of this solar system. We can spot anything that moves in this sphere and know in advance when its going to be trouble or not.
"Our sensor arrays are in space with expediters that allow us to spot and analyze in nearly real time anything that we wish to see. Given that ground zero is Mars and this solar system and that Cybertron is 800 light years away, we have covered three ways to Sunday all of the area that is ours and beyond. It runs around the clock, our systems and the warning beacons that trigger scrutiny by our Science teams. Among them due to refugee return are those who created them and are in the process, daily, of refining, restructuring and expanding our net.
"We detected a group heading through a forbidden zone called the Benzuli Expansion. As nearly as we could tell, it was a massive, massive star nursery in the dim past that held a lot of enormous stars, some many millions of times larger than your own. It would appear from our calculations that several of them exploded together for whatever reason going super nova as you call it, thereby taking out a large section of the stars that were there, smaller and even greater all at once. It was the most powerful detonation of power we've ever detected in our nearly infinite sojourns in space as a species.
"Because it did it appears to have ruptured the very fabric of time and space. There are unpredictable energy floes there that can strike out without warning and destroy everything in their path. We've removed all of our refugees from that area because of this and know that if anyone passes through it they must be either escaping a greater evil or they're Decepticon armadas fleeing the faction.
"One of those was detected moving slowly through heading toward the pathway up the Orion Arm that leads to us. They were the group that did a flyover of the Earth and Mars, scouting ships collecting data for their commanders about the road ahead. We chased them but they had enhanced bridging tech and eluded us. Waiting for them to come, we prepared everyone for the eventuality that they could arrive in our home space easier than anyone else we've faced.
"The bridge tech is streamlined and bears the stamp of a war criminal that we have hunted for a long time. Its not different from what we use but rather has a faster send and return capability. Given that, they were able to jump from the portion of the Benzuli where they were held several days, the aptly named Ruins, to this system where they appeared together between Neptune and Uranus.
"We bridged to them with overwhelming force and before we could engage or they leave, they bridged to Mars itself. When they arrived all of our people and every human on world were in the shelters where it would take nuclear detonations to harm them, so strongly are they built for this purposes."
Ratchet gauged them as he talked and saw that they were raptly listening. That was good he considered as he continued.
"When they arrived they attacked our Triggers, the two massive bridges that are in stationary orbit over the colony. We launched our defense forces toward them even as the Triggers declined in orbit and crashed into the desert north of the prison. It was then that the engagement of battle became furious.
"The fleet led by Prime was still at the first contact point and had to return with speed to Mars from Uranus given that our bridges were inoperative. Until then our home guard and forces that defend Mars had to take the full force of the attack.
"I realize that the world is full of experts and arm chair generals. I would like to reiterate … World of Warcraft does not constitute military expertise. Our air wings alone can field 800,000 plus experienced Seekers. We have 47 titan class and Supreme class vessels serving either as soldiers or as housing for our people. All of them can transform on a dime to become warriors and all of them did. We also have dreadnought class ships who were on their way, bridging themselves in. The battle, however, was over when they arrived.
"In our society which is classed as 'heroic', we have millions and millions of warriors and those with military experience. They are in the reserves with over two million serving in the regular army, marines, air force and special operations either full time, part time or in the Ready Reserves. We have ships of all manner and type and all the technology that gives us advantages few have. We've seldom met a foe that could take us on as equals given the nature of our being and the strength of our technology.
"It shouldn't be a worry for you that we were in this position. The enemy never had a clear idea of what he was facing when he came and he did so to his everlasting regret," Ratchet said with a grim tone.
=0=12-12-2021
