The Diego Diaries: Insecticons (dd8 327)

=0=The former Energon Storage Facility near the Military Airfield, Autobot City, Mars

They drew up and dismounted. The building looked its same innocuous self with nothing out of the order about it.

Springer considered the problem, then called Ops Center. "Springer to Ops Center."

:Prowl here:

"What grid is the old Energon Storage Facility near the airfield on? We just remembered the bugs," Springer said.

It was silent a moment, then Prowl was back. :Its on the dedicated grid for the prisons, The Fortress, the Airfield and the Armory. Good call. Anything acting up?:

"No, but we'll go look. Let us in from the Center," Springer replied. He walked down the stone path to the door which was held by a massive lock system all places like it bore. It turned this way and that internally, the smooth sound of the mechanism heartening, then the door was open. He pulled it back, drew his gun, then soundlessly walked inside.

The facility was a massive underground dig out which held massive metal tanks that were refilled by pipelines that entered the building at the back. When it wasn't useful any longer due to ungraded systems the colony set it aside for future needs. The tanks and all the feeder lines were taken out, the wall entry points filled with steel against the future for whatever was necessary and it was installed with level 9 prison locks.

When you entered you stood on a platform with metal banisters that led to a long descending staircase. At the bottom in row after row of stasis pods were the sleeping figures of dozens and dozens of adult Insecticons. It was eerie and silent, like the bottom of a well.

"This looks nuts," Smokey said as he leaned over the balcony to see better. Faint illumination lit them from the nightlights that were placed at intervals but all looked well if not downright sinister. "If they ever got out we'd have a huge problem."

"No shit, Sherlock," Hot Rod said almost automatically. He frowned at himself but said no more.

Smokey looked at him with a heated expression. "You're a dumb ass."

Hot Rod glanced at him, then shrugged. He walked out of the building to his horse outside.

"When are you two going to stop being idiots?" Kup asked.

"When he does," Smokey said, then stalked out to the horse he rode standing nearby. Both of them mounted up and waited stone-faced with anger for the others to come.

The mechs inside watched them, then glanced at each other.

"Those two will either bond or kill each other," Hercy said with a grin. "Just for the fun of it, pray for another sand storm. They have to dig out the Temple Precinct when it happens."

"Serves 'em both right," Splice said with a chuckle.

They walked out and called for a lock on the door. When it was made, they mounted up and rode onward to patrol the colony all night.

=0=In an office safe and sound

He slept in his little crib, one with his name and pictures of Cybertronian nursery rhyme animals on it. He slept in the softest blankets his two doting dads could find, wore the cutest garb they could dig out from various children's stores in the colony and bore the best infant armor lotions they could smooth onto his tiny form. He was sweet with sleep as nearby his night sitter worked on their part of the job, getting data entered and arranged for reporting.

Tell of Polyhex-Kaon of Cybertron didn't know that his fathers were out battling the minions of crime and perdition. He just knew that they always came back, smiled at him, then spent the orn doing this and that as they showed him his life here, exclaiming over every tiny thing he did while showing him off proudly to anyone who took the time to look. He was safe, loved and happy.

Soon he would hear again.

=0=Morning

It was bedlam and it was efficient in the big hotel apartment the family was using until their home was available again. Children lined up for inspection and passed. Book bags were given out and everyone glommed their child. Each bore a note explaining their situation and how it would be difficult to feed them breakfast in the hotel. They would each eat a hearty breakfast later along with dozens and dozens of other kids who were in the same boat over this and that thing, a feature that the schools and day care centers provided every day.

"Alright," Ratchet said. "Everyone knows where they go after school?"

"We go to Ammas and Appa's house to study," Genesis said as the two other kids nodded.

"We go to doin'," Orion said with a giant smile.

"You go to the daycare in Tyger Pax with the twinnies and Prime's kids. though Rambler and T-Bar are heading to Iacon to Ty's house by cab. Expect them, infants. The notes are already at school and they texted me that they would facilitate your sorry little afts to the care center until otherwise told under the new busing and cab arrangement," Ratchet said.

Sparkling Day had arranged with the Youngling School in Centurion to receive all students from Sparkling Day and take a quarter of them from there when they arrived on buses to the Big Spring Daycare Center in Tyger Pax. The other three quarters would be divided up between The Haven in Kalis, Happy Home School in Pax and Simple Times in Terra. It would run with the precision of a clock, the plan worked out over the closure times and would be handled by the Unified School District with their usual finesse.

Sunspot would go the usual way and so would the older Prime kids. All of these kids would end up at RTR Tools after school. That left Possibility and Halo.

"Prowl just called me, Sonny," Docker said as she stacked her legislative work and her school books into a satchel. "Posse and Halo can come with me."

"What? You can't do constituent work with those two," Ratchet said.

"We have a daycare at the Legislature," Docker replied. "They can stay there during the general session and come with me to the office during constituent work. The People do so love the babies. As for school, I will leave them with Ravie and Tie."

"How will you get anything done?" Ratchet asked.

"How did we when you were small?" Tie asked with a chuckle. "This isn't our first time working with babies under foot."

"I'll stop in, too," Ratchet said. "Me and Ironhide. When we conclude the staff meeting we can come get the little slaggers."

"That might be helpful," Docker said as she grinned at Ratchet.

A rap on the door was heard and when opened the smiling face of Possibility aka Posse riding on the arm of his appa could be seen. Ven stepped in with his father, Styre and ada, Stealth, then grinned. "Our baby is going to go with you, Docker and maybe learn some civic lessons. After the meeting we can come get him and Halo if you want. No one is going to be overburdened with this."

"We can stay with them, Ven," Styre said.

"You have your volunteer job at the Senior Center in Vos Tower, Ada and Atar is going to gather information for his column at the general session today. Its going to be alright. We've done this for years," Ven said as he set the tiny Prime look alike on the floor.

Posse ran to Halo, a trip that took a moment to hug her tightly. She hugged him back.

"Awww," Ratchet said with a smirk. "A match made in heaven."

Snickers met that as last minute data was checked to ensure continuity. Then everyone grabbed their kids, walked to the door and upward to the sidewalk and the short trip to their bus stop and cab stand. By the time everyone was loaded up and/or walked off with their guardian, it was time to go to The Fortress for the meeting. Humans could be seen buzzing there from the highway and from the Family Tower nearby. It was a leisurely walk with everyone studiously avoiding glancing at their home tower being buzzed and hammered just behind them.

=0=Inside the meeting

They gathered and sat, some with food and others with their gear for the first staff meeting in a while. There was a lot of business besides the attack and the agenda was long. Prowl slid them around the table, then sat.

"Posse is with us," Ratchet said.

Prowl glanced at him. "Thanks. I would've kept him but I have to go out and do inspections and sign things."

"He and Halo are good to go," Ratchet said.

"With me," Ironhide replied.

"You're coming to Cybertron with me, slagger," Raptor said. "We have a lot of turf to cover."

Ironhide stared at his grandfather, then vented a sigh. "Its safe to bring them. It's not like it once was."

Prowl smirked. "Sniveler."

The room filled, the door closed and everyone settled as Prime did in his chair at the front of the table. He glanced at Prowl, then nodded.

"We need the short and sweet over the assigned repair tasks. We'll start with Springer. Give us the policing report as well," Prowl said.

"We were concerned with the old energon depot outside with the Insecticons inside in stasis. We rode over and inspected. All is well. It's on the prison grid so its going to be safe," Springer said as he rerouted heat to Tell who was sleeping in his hold. "As for the police side, we have a few individuals who were blotto from the shock and had to be helped home. Some were unnerved and showed it with fights and rants here and there but overall it was good. The lights coming on is major. Huge."

Prowl nodded, then glanced at Jetta. "How did that go?"

"We rebuilt the destroyed infrastructure utilizing back up lines we placed here and there in frost heave areas. We figured after monitoring the frost heave situation that power might be disrupted so we built almost up to specs a series of alternate lines in those areas in case they interfered with the power grid. Adding what was needed to that already there cut a good decaorn off our situation. I can't stress enough how that foresight helped us. We're looking into it as a system wide possibility going forward to ensure that things don't go down too long in future," Jetta said as his brother, Mack nodded.

"That's great news, Jetta. Please let everyone know how much we appreciate this and the foresight of it," Prowl said as Prime nodded.

"How are the building restorations and rebuilds going?" Prime asked.

"We've finished all of the damaged buildings, mostly having to do with holes and strafing. The train hub is nearly dug out and we're going to be expanding the new footprint to get things ready for the utilities and so forth," Fort Max said. "We have a handle on everything including the Consulate. It'll also be expanded and made more outdoors friendly with a dome for a park and garden area. Humans love that and we want to add it. All of the human habitations will be either built from the start or expanded with that in mind from now onward.

"The tower here is getting its structural integrity attended to. It'll probably be stronger and more true than it was before. The upper floors are being torn down and all that's found salvaged. We can bring that here for a pick up by those who live there. Effort is being expended to do that," Max continued. "We're still out from rebuild but it'll go fast once things are torn out and fitted for it. All of the tenants have told us what they want and we will build it including what you and Prowl told us, Optimus."

"Thank you, Max," Prime said. "We appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness during this occasion."

"We want to do right by everyone," Jetta said quietly.

"For now, the Consulate, the Train Hub Station and The Pit Stop are the main problems along with the block in Terra. The Day School will probably be ready to be inhabited again in about six or seven orns. The work is going well and the testing is sound," Max continued. "All of the smaller projects including the rebuild of the energon line from the Consulate junction to the big one before District 4 will be finished in about the same amount of time given how much testing must be done with the sign off. We'll call you for that when its ready."

Prime nodded. "Thank you very much. This feels less terrible than it would appear."

"We're going to rise up again, Optimus and all of the things we can do to make it right for everyone we'll do," Magnus said as everyone in the room nodded.

"Thank you, old friends," Optimus said quietly.

=0=TBC 12-18-2021

Frost heaves: Frost heaving is an upwards swelling of soil during freezing conditions caused by an increasing presence of ice as it grows towards the surface, upwards from the depth in the soil where freezing temperatures have penetrated into the soil.

If you live in the northern tier of the world you know about these. They can make a stretch of highway a roller coaster and when they thaw they can make holes. Ah, joy!