The Diego Diaries: The Next Morning At Unidad (dd8 350)
=0=Unidad, City Hall
"Carly, Inferno is outside and he wants to speak to you."
Carly Brooks-Spencer-Witwicky glanced up from the work on her desk. "Inferno?"
Maria Cho who was her office manager nodded. "He's also wanting to see Sam."
They glanced at each other, then rose. Walking out, they stepped out of the City Hall and made their way to the cab stand nearby. Entering a programmed cab, they gave it directions, then made their way to the environmental doors that led outside.
=0=Gathering at the outside doors
A crowd began to congregate to stare through the huge windows into the environmental entrance where five fire trucks were parked, each loaded down with humans from The Family Tower, The Resort of Autobot City and other places. It was festive among them as they sat on the vehicles, some of the older celebrants inside the cabs.
When Carly and Sam drove up Inferno in pretender gear was waiting. They climbed out of the cab, then walked toward him staring between the huge handsome man waiting for them and the mob outside.
"What's this, Inferno?" Sam asked.
Inferno grinned. "This is a shivaree. Hop on board. We're going to do the colony." With that, Inferno disappeared.
Glancing at each other, they walked to the door to exit with the cheers, laughter and applause of the crowd. Once outside, they walked toward the truck they knew was Inferno, clambered upward topside to sit with their parents and friends, then out the door they went. It would be the beginning of a colony-wide tour of the entire Martian settlement.
=0=On the way to the Medical Center in Metrotitan
Ratchet walked along the sidewalk in the city that was home to nearly every single component of the City Administration, Public Works, the Unified School District, Emergency Services, the Unified Fire Department, museum, military, business warehousing, parking lots for every vehicle owned by every colonial department including the bus yard for the schools and bachelor housing for every mech/femme who had a job with any of these different groups.
Towers in the city were dedicated to different things including medical, educational and the Watch. Some were the small apartments or even barracks of the locals who lived here as preferred. There were the usual amenities, bars, restaurants and groceries, but it was a town site with purpose. As he approached the big building that was the medical center of this bustling place the sound of fire engines could be heard blaring along the main highway that ran through the middle of the cityscape.
Sirens paused traffic and pedestrians everywhere as the trucks slowly rumbled toward the cities beyond, passing through Metrotitan on their way onward. Humans were stacked up on them and they waved and called out to everyone who waved back.
Inferno slowed to a halt beside Ratchet. "You coming onboard?" he asked through his radio.
It was unanimous. He was onboard. Then they carried onward toward The City.
=0=Ops Center about the same time
Prowl watched the cameras from Metrotitan telling the tale. He grinned. Shivarees were pretty funny and looked like fun, something that he had to pencil into his orn given his background. That Ratchet had been pulled in didn't surprise him. Loon had a way of becoming a spectacle.
After the game First Friday they would go out on the town with the Squadâ„¢ and make one themselves most likely. It had been a while and the towns needed to blow off steam. There would likely be a lot of fights in the bars and restaurants of the colony over the weekend in this, a predominantly aggressive male population. Loon would find all of them, of this Prowl had no doubt. After fixing a camera to follow the group wherever they went, he walked back to his desk and sat as the monitor nearby charted their progress.
It would be highly, highly amusing.
=0=On board
Ratchet sat straddling Inferno's cab like he was riding a bantha. He smiled and waved like a debutante on a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as they drove through the city heading toward the road that led past the other titanic cities. Humans were perched all around him as he waved to Horseback Patrolmen and the odd Public Workman getting things together to go do something useful.
It was cold and sunny but all the humans were warm in their gear. They were perched safely on the trucks as they drove with more speed toward Metro District 2. It would take a while to make the circuit.
=0=At a warehouse in the Industrial Parks Cities
"I saw a news flash that the Fire Department is shivareering Sam and Carly," Raptor said as he waited his turn to take shots at the hoop. "Apparently Ratchet got dragooned into it."
Huge laughter and pointed remarks took care of that bit of news.
"Old Mech will find a way to make a spectacle of himself wherever he can," Ironhide said with admiration. "He's got no shame."
"Alie told me that they're going on the town after the game, the Squad. I know that Springer and the boys are going to be busy with the rowdies and all. What about boys night out, too? We can celebrate our first win. Boys and femmes night out," Blackjack said as he passed a ball to Chromia.
"I'd love that. I haven't danced with Maelstrom in a long time," Chromia said as she dunked the ball.
"How does he dance?" Optimus asked as he caught the ball thrown to him by her.
"Like a D-8 CAT," she said with a laugh. "He's perfect."
Huge laughter and agreement greeted that assertion.
=0=On a fire truck progression wending its way through The City
"So how's married life?" Ratchet asked.
:Its about the same as unmarried life but now we have to worry about who gets each other's stuff when the divorce happens: Sam said as he ducked Carly's fist. :Its really good. I'm just glad the wedding is over:
:Now we have James and Jessie on Valentine's Day: Carly said. :I can't wait:
"She looks ravishing in red," Ratchet replied.
:She does: Sam agreed as they pulled up to a light beside a fully loaded set of tour buses.
Both sides stared at the other with delight as cameras flashed all over the buses. Windows were pounded and hands were waved when the traffic light came on, the sirens sounded and the conglomeration began to move forward. The buses would turn left at the junction in front of Tower 1 and the fire trucks would hurry onward to grace Aerie Hill with the madness.
=0=On the buses
The flutter of conversation subsided as the buses turned left to go toward Terra. A couple from Japan and a couple from Mexico who had made friends during the stay so far compared their pictures as a couple from France, one from Denmark and the other from the United States settled back in their seats.
"That was Ratchet on that truck," the Dane said. "I would recognize him anywhere."
"What is he doing on a fire truck with those humans?" the French woman said as she peered over the top of the seat to see the Danes.
"They're doing a shivaree for that couple that got married, someone who's the mayor of Unidad and that kid, Witwicky who met the bots first," the woman who was from the United States said. "In the old days they did that to newlyweds to celebrate the wedding. Its sometimes called a serenade or a belling. In Kentucky they still do it. A lot of places in rural America do. Its a community stamp of approval for the marriage."
"What is its not approved off?" the Danish woman asked.
The American grinned. "Then its mockery full stop instead."
It would take a moment for the bus crowd to take that bit of news in.
=0=The Hourly News at 1200
"Good afternoon. I am Capset with the afternoon news, sports and weather," a handsome mech said. He was a new reader and had the mid day shift. Morning was programming like "GOOD MORNING, AUTOBOT CITY!" and the Sports Table after two joors of the news. Mid afternoon until after dinner was straight up news. The evening was a mix of news and news programming. Aleph usually led that with his gravitas and background.
"Today, the Office of the Primes released a report detailing the attack just recently past led by the Decepticon renegade Paladin. It detailed the steps taken from the moment that the battle group was discovered crossing The Ruins in the Benzuli Expansion until the aftermath of the attack. After a period of fact finding, the collating of officer's reports including the Home Guard actions removing the entire population of our colony to the shelters underground, the report is finished.
"Paladin, a phase six mechanism began a traverse of the Benzuli component called The Ruins after deciding to defect from the Decepticon Rim Command. It's the most dangerous and unpredictable portion of the Benzuli Expansion that is charted and known to us. It's forbidden territory and always has been since our species has been space going. It's a vast rupture in the space time continuum and as such cannot be predicted for dangerous energy floes that strike out of the ruptures on a regular basis. Some of them are so vast they can destroy an entire planet or star in seconds.
"It was discovered that they had bridge technology comparable to our own but holding an advantage given the speed they could jump. They cleared The Ruins, then disappeared off the sensor grid that's maintained in all directions for 290,000 light years. The moment of reappearance put them in the orbit between Neptune and Uranus in this solar system.
"Lord Optimus met them with a fleet that was powerful enough to disperse or destroy them but they again bridged further into the system before combat or negotiations could commence. When they came on the sensor grids again, they were in the third tier orbit of Mars. Dispersing battle shuttles, they took out the two Triggers that they saw in orbit and disabled the smaller one. It was just before then that the fleet with Prime began to bridge in pursuit and managed to get half the armada back to Mars before the Triggers and Autobot City Space Bridge were disabled or destroyed.
"From that moment forward it was a battle overhead. Some of the enemy fleet landed on the Military Airfield in The City and from there combat ensued across the colony. Some was street fighting, furious hand-to-hand in some cases while other battles raged overhead in the towers of the cities. Battle shuttles and fighters were launched and met with equal force by Prime's armada and the Home Guard. Eventually, the metrotitans would assist in the defense.
"Master Cyclonus of the Monastery of the Clavis Aurea along with the Home Guard Flight stationed at Aerie Hill Military Airfield defended the Monastery, the Resort and Aerie Hill, disallowing any damage that wasn't more than cosmetic to that area of the field of combat. The Standby Armada fought the fighters and battle shuttles, some of which crashed into towers, a school and businesses in The City and Terra. Those are under reconstruction. Of all the damage of the attack, the Consulate of the United Nations for Earth was the most damaged. The timeline for its reopening is three and a half decaorns.
"The plan that the Prime laid for the defense of the colony was sound. What was unexpected was the speed by which the enemy moved. Director for Strategic Communications, Senior Commander Jazz of Kaon said that the technology isn't new but is enhanced. He stated that Sciences have salvaged tech that will be studied. Countermeasures and enhancements of our own technology will result from that.
"There will be a report given to the Colonial Legislature by the Prime and senior Autobots will sit for committees involved in colonial defense for questions. Those hearings will be televised on Channel 34, the legislative affairs channel. We will take a break here for The Community Bulletin Board messages, then return for more details of the report on the attack on our colony."
=0=At a warehouse practicing while the news plays on the radio nearby
"Who's the lucky slagger that gets that duty?" Ironhide asked.
"Why we all do, infant," Hardie said as he dropped the ball through the net at half court without touching the sides.
=0=01-23-2022
Notes:
shivaree: (shiv-ur-ree) Its an old fashioned thing where you go to the newlyweds house on their wedding night, drag them out of their bed and drive them around on something that makes a lot of noise like a fire truck in their underwear. They have to sit on the outside so that everyone watching can see how embarrassed they are. Its hilarious and fun. A shivaree is the thing and to shivaree is the doing of the thing.
D-8 CAT: a bulldozer which is ubiquitous in construction of larger sized things. Its a heavy medium sized tank truck with all manner of greatness built into it. My dad was a maestro with them. They are a formidable piece of equipment.
