The Diego Diaries: Callow Wallow (401 dd8)
=0=The next orn mid morning at The Fortress
He was working in his office when the rap on the door caught his attention. Prowl glanced up. "Starlet. How may I help you?" he asked.
Starlet was a small femme but mighty. She was the Lead Attorney of the Primes of Cybertron and the personal attorney slash advisor on all things legal of Optimus and Prowl. If they had a 'family attorney' it was her.
She was a former high caste who wasn't born on Cybertron but on the run in the Diaspora. Her family had a long term legal background and she was brilliant. She was a personal protege of Barron and highly admired in the legal community of both Mars, Earth and Cybertron.
She was single, single minded and loyal to a fault.
"I have a document from a personal attorney of an individual that I don't know. But its addressed to Lord Optimus and is of a seemingly personal nature." She walked in and handed a data pad to Prowl.
Prowl took it, read it, then glanced at her. "Thank you, Starlet. I will take this up with Optimus. Its a stupid thing that came up and if we need to speak to you about it we will. Don't worry about it for now."
She nodded. "Very well. Please call me if you need me." She walked out the door to return to her office down the corridor.
Prowl watched her go, looked at the pad again, then swore softly. Rising with rising fury, he walked out of his office toward the big one down the corridor, that of the Prime of Cybertron.
=0=On Cybertron
Ironhide trudged after his grandfather and great grandfather. They were traversing the Manganese Mountains to check on the rebuilding of decent housing in the area for those who lived and worked here, the first that would ever be had. He was stewing on the challenge to his School Board sovereignty and the slur that Tempo had made to Prowl and Prime. That slagger was lucky to be alive.
Prime usually took the high road. He wasn't the type who jumped someone over a slight or an insult. At least not to himself. He was a very confident mech in his own sense of himself.
Usually.
He'd been through the fire in a way that few ever faced and had prevailed through his talent, fortitude and dogged belief in his ability to fulfill his mission.
However …
The slur that had been leveled at Prowl was something Ironhide had heard before. Even when Prowl was the robotic maniac that he once was, he never deserved that. The assumption that Prowl came with the Primeship was something that Sentinel had started to needle Prowl and it had found its way into the sunken sagging mentalities of those who didn't know what a self contained buckled up fragger Prowler was.
Prime had nearly come to the edge on the remark, something that Ironhide and the others knew was one of the few things that could provoke such a response. Even facing Megatron with millions of lives at stake, Prime had kept his cool.
Not with Prowl.
Not with his children.
Not with his genitors.
Prime wasn't the soft sparked soft spoken uncertain mech of old. That mech had been tempered in the fire of the Long Defeat and subsequent rise. That mech was there but so was the other one, the one that could do the hardest things that needed to be done when they were required.
"What do you think, infant?"
Ironhide focused on his grandfather's aft in front of him. "What? That you need to go on a diet or what?" he asked to be ornery.
Raptor laughed loudly. "Are you mocking this manly frame? I'll tell you that many were the opportunities presented to me to display my greatness in the sleeping chambers of many a slagger."
"DON'T SAY ANOTHER WORD!" Ironhide bellowed.
"First there was that one on Previs II who wanted my frame so badly that he resorted to having me repossessed. Did I tell you that I was stuck in auto mode because of the blah-blah-blah and bluck-bluck-bluck?"
Raptor would go on and on knowing Ironhide was gagging and choking on every syllable behind him. His own father, Hard Drive would add the odd scintillating detail when it was called for to spice up the recitation.
It would be a very amusing morning for the two of them and living hell for Ironhide.
Only one of every four words he heard was true. Raptor's t-cog did get suck that one time, however ...
=0=Mars
Prowl rapped on the door, then entered. He closed the door behind him.
=0=Callow
He walked down the street heading for his job which was doing data work at the private firm of an old friend of the family. He was hired immediately along with his father who were partners in a data business in Polyhex that helped track untaxed zillions for rich high castes off world back in the orn.
He entered the door, nodded to the worker bees, then walked to his office on the executive wing near the boss's own. He entered, sat down and plugged in. As he did he ran a subroutine to find out everything that he could about Ironhide, his life here, his performance as a board member and anything else that was pertinent. It was a lot and it would take a while to download and sort.
But that was what he did. And he would.
=0=Prowl and Prime
Prowl stared at the floor filled with rage and embarrassment. "I hate this for you."
"I hate it for you," Prime said as he sat in his chair staring at the data pad.
"What do we do?" Prowl said. "I won't permit anything that takes away from your dignity and happiness."
"It is not yours to take care of, Prowl," Optimus said. "There is nothing you can do to make me unhappy. You are the source of my happiness, you, the children and our family. I will defend that with everything I have."
"What then shall we do? We're on modified martial law and this nuisance slag is fully within your right to ignore or put off to a better and less fragged time," Prowl said.
"He would want that," Optimus said. "It would be an advantage to him. I do believe I want to settle this. I will tell you that violence is not the answer and I should have known better. However, he tried to hurt me by shaming you and I will never allow that. No one attacks those I love without push back. That it involved my servos was my mistake."
"He's a jackass. He doesn't contribute to anything. I have no problem with someone being tired of working and taking a few years off. That's not the problem here. He's not doing anything because of his entitlement. He came here only six decaorns ago and already he's doing this. This is high caste entitlement trying to make trouble for you and when he does that he makes trouble for everyone.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, Optimus. Of all of us everywhere, as precious as every life is, you are irreplaceable. No one else can claim such a distinction. Without you, we are done." Prowl stared at him for a moment. "This is so ungrateful."
Prime nodded. "Some are slow learners, Prowl. I will give him what he wants with caveats. I will only give him a small portion of his grandiose demands. Please get Starlet. We will take care of this."
"I don't want you to have to … to … bend a knee. I don't want you to have to acknowledge this slag. It enables him," Prowl said as he rose.
"Then we work around that part," Optimus said.
Prowl stared at him, then walked to the door. He left and the door closed slowly.
Prime considered the list of demands, sorted out what he was prepared to do, then mused on the rest of it for himself. Starlet would come shortly and they would make the arrangements together.
Starlet would be as furious as Prowl was, as embarrassed as a former high caste and as worried for Optimus as anyone else, this young femme who looked upon Optimus as a father, a friend and a mentor of the highest degree. Then she would go with Prowl to do battle for him.
=0=Later that afternoon
They sat in the conference room, Starlet and Prowl along with two attorneys, Bendu of Ramona 2 and Corser of Capital City. Corser was a very famous and capable personal injury attorney and Bendu was his son born in the Diaspora. Both of them represented Tempo who was not allowed to attend the meeting by Prime's command.
"Then we're in agreement?" Corser asked.
Prowl who looked dangerous leaned forward on his elbows. "Agreement? On the selfish entitlement of the loser that's your client? No. On the minimum amount the First Disciple of Primus has to do to get this stalker off his back? Yes."
They both stared at Prowl with discomfort.
"We're just trying to get this behind both of them," Bendu said.
"I just want you to know if this fool comes around the Prime again I will arrest him for stalking. I consider this an incredible affront to the dignity of the office of the Primes and the Prime himself. Your client had better be briefed on the laws regarding the System. Something tells me that this clown is going to be expecting to stand in the front of the line again. That ship has sailed," Prowl said with a frigid tone.
Both of them stared at Prowl, then Starlet who was equally cold.
Corser stood. "Thank you both. The sooner this is behind us the better."
"Is that so," Prowl purred with malice.
Bendu stood and with his father walked out of the room, glad to be gone from the fury of the two.
Prowl watched them, then glanced at Starlet who looked upset. "Thank you, Starlet for your wisdom and your friendship."
She patted Prowl's servo. "Its my honor. I hate this."
"So do I," Prowl said with feeling.
=0=Back on world
Ironhide walked to Ops Center, then crossed the room to pull up a chair at the table. He sat in a sea of bad energy. "What happened?"
Prowl glanced up. :Temp sued Optimus for the fight at the cafe:
:What?: Ironhide asked with great surprise.
:He wants a public humiliation in return for not pressing criminal charges against him for assault and battery: Prowl said as he sat back in his chair. Fury was rising in him again.
"This is fragged. Where is he?" Ironhide asked as he stood.
"His office," Prowl replied.
He watched as Ironhide walked to the corridor nearby, then down the hallway to Prime's office. He vented a sigh, then returned to his job.
Ironhide rapped on the doorjamb, then entered to sit on a chair.
Prime glanced up, then grinned. "Come in and sit."
"Don't mind if I do," Ironhide said. "What the frag is this slag? That little slagger wants a piece of you and he said what he said? What upside down world are we living in?"
"I laid hands on him," Prime said. "That was my mistake. No matter how you line it up, that's never a good idea. Its not in keeping with who I am and want to be."
"But its understandable," Ironhide said.
"Perhaps, but violence breeds violence. If there is no standard, then anything goes. I do believe we have already been there and done that. No one has the right to swing on anyone because they said something. Not even me. If he had a gun, then its different. But he did not and here we are."
"What's this slag about a public humiliation?" Ironhide asked.
Prime grinned slightly. "Sometimes what you want is not exactly what you get."
Ironhide stared at Optimus. "Maybe but nothing replaces a good blaster."
For the first time since he received the note, Optimus Prime grinned and meant it.
=0=TBC 3-31-2022 4-12-2022
HAPPY LAST DAY OF MARCH! April Fool's Day is tomorrow. I hate that day. Some of my family are huge into practical jokes. Usually against me. Pray for me. LOL!
ESL
scintillating: (skin-til-late-ing) interesting, titillating, exciting, witty, clever
