The Diego Diaries: Parry (dd8 476)
=0=The Hourly News: Rescue
"We have a message from Optimus Prime himself who is leading the mission abroad," Aleph said as he took the data wafer handed to him by the producer. He read it over, looked shocked, then glanced at the camera. "I have a very unusual but wonderful announcement to make from Optimus Prime himself. He released the following statement.
"My name is Optimus Prime and I wish to report to you the most wonderful news about some of our lost and wandering people. Many of you are aware that our titan class brothers and sisters are hiding and running from those who hunt them for their technology. Aliens and even our own people have done this since The Fall.
"Today through an intervention by Lord Primus Himself, I have been made aware that all titanic frames, the Supreme formats, metrotitans and others of that group classification have found refuge in a dimensional space that allows them to heal and be safe. No one can enter that is not a big frame.
"All of them are thus safe and protected by Primus and The One, never more to be hunted and killed for who and what they are. I have no words of gratitude for this, that it can be gifted to our people this way. But I am declaring a period of a decaorn of celebration for all of our people to proclaim our unity and happiness for our titan brothers and sisters.
"The titans are among the best of us. They are selfless and good. Its my honor that they are spark bound in service to me as Prime. To have them safe is a blessing that cannot be thanked enough. Having them safely away from the omnipresent harm that dogged them since The Fall lifts my spark in a way I did not think possible.
"To all the titans of Mars, Cybertron and the Empire, I salute you. I declare this time of celebration not just for your family who is safe and protected but for you, all of you who serve The People here and throughout the Empire we have recovered. There cannot be thanks enough given to you, Guardians of The People. I salute you with all my spark. Optimus Prime, out."
Aleph stared at the message in his servo with astonishment, then the camera. "I … I could cry," he said with emotion.
=0=Around the colony
Mechs and femmes halted where they were as the sirens and lights of all of the dozens of metroformers in the colony and on Cybertron went off at the same time. The noise and lights in the gathering evening of Mars were beautiful and loud. About the same time a message from the Office of Strategic Communications reached the adults of both worlds who could receive them through their transponders detailing the miracle that had been given them.
It was then that the shouts and cries of happiness of The People joined the titans.
=0=Around the migration
Sunstreaker halted long enough during a wellness check on a sullen high caste femme to take a message from Bluestreak. He blinked with surprise, then glanced at the others. "Hey."
Springer who was lounging by a door, Drift who was staring out the window nearby at the sights outside, Lon, Bezel and Sideswipe who were sitting on comfy chairs 'maintaining order' and several other big Wreckers who were peeking into things here and there glanced at Sunstreaker.
"Blue just messaged me. The titans … somehow Primus and The One got them to Soft Space. There isn't a titan, a Supreme, dreadnought or any big ship left here to hunt," Sunstreaker said.
The mechs stared at him, then bedlam broke out. Soon that message would reach everyone working in the migration.
=0=Among the ships
"What do you think, Beta?" Gamma asked almost tearfully. "Do you think the rest of our brothers are among them?"
:I asked Max to check, Beta: Gamma replied. :I will always hold to hope:
It would go on like that among all of them both here and Cybertron where their lights and sirens were blazing away.
=0=On the deck
Songbird stepped onto the deck following Raptor, Micro, Ambler and Sun. The group had split up and were going to the mass of blinking lights that represented the known high castes in the migration. More lights were coming onto the map even as they moved forward.
They weren't kidding that they came in numbers.
A mech with a frown who was waiting for them to board stared at them as they gathered. "We aren't ready for you."
"NO ONE IS!" Sun said with a grin. "My magnificence is too powerful for most to behold so I sneak up on them. I find it helps a lot."
The big mech greeting them stared at Raptor without skipping a beat, then glanced to the side. A number of mechs were waiting there filling two nearby doorways and they didn't look welcoming. Everyone stared at each other in silence.
"Well, look at the shyness in this group," Raptor said to his uncle.
"Yeah. They were well raised, I suspect. Don't talk to strangers," Sun said. "Allow me to introduce everyone. I'm Sun also known as Ironhide the Elder, PRAXIAN ELITE soldier, exempt and Immortal. You may wonder why I claim Elite when I'm exempt. IT'S BECAUSE I LIKE KICKING AFT! The more 'elite' the better."
He glanced at the others. "These are in no particular order of magnificence my nephew, Raptor Also Elite. That's his entire real name, Raptor Also Elite. This is Micro who's mighty fine, Ambler who's my personal role model, the wild aft fragger, and this," he said turning to a smiling Songbird who was having WAY TOO GOOD OF A TIME with all of this. "This goddess, this marvel of the universe, THIS BEAUTIFUL FEMME is Songbird of Nova Cronum. All bow before her beauty."
Everyone did but the high castes.
For a moment the high castes shifted uncomfortably. The titans were beloved by everyone including them but Sun fragged them off.
"They aren't bowing before my beauty, Sun," Songbird said with her lovely lilting voice, the reason for her name. She unsubbed a huge, huge gun and put it right in front of the mech's face. "That's not nice."
=0=Moments later
"I'm not attached to anyone and frankly, I think I just broke a mainspring watching you handle that slagger, Songbird. How about after this is over we go for dinner and dancing?" Ambler asked as he stared upward at a femme who was 32 feet tall.
He was smitten.
She grinned down at him. "Done deal."
She was game for new experiences and Ambler was cute.
Huge approval and laughter greeted that.
"You have good taste, Ambler," Micro said as the last high caste surrendered their oath to Raptor. "Songbird on the other servo needs to get out more."
She laughed, then grinned at Ambler. "We'll see."
Hoots rose from that as they headed out to overtake another ship nearby. Leaving behind a fragged off but religiously trapped group of oath givers, they made their way to a huge ship that had a team of boarding specialists waiting for them.
It was going to get interesting.
=0=Elsewhere
:What now?: Metroplex asked.
Theory, a scientifically oriented metrotitan who was with them as a new arrival from the Rim shrugged with a grin.
:Well, we go in and slap the slag out of them: Ace said. :I did it a few times already and its very satisfying at this size, brother:
:That's why I'm here, Ace. I want to expand my horizons. Apparently most feel I'm too much of a gent for this sort of thing: Metroplex said smirking at his brother as they crouched beside a bulkhead of a misidentified ship. It bore high caste tattoos but was filled with renegade Decepticons.
It was glorious.
Elsewhere, Kup and Hercy were skulking along ready to bring the pain™ as they listened to the three titans among them chat. It was hilarious.
:I think we need titans each time we do this: Kup said. :I'm enjoying myself more than usually:
:I agree: Hercy said as they spotted the titans across the junction. Ahead was their quarry. :The more the merrier. Ace? Metroplex? Theory?:
:We are here: Ace said genially.
:Then we're go?: Kup asked.
:Overdue, my friend: Metroplex said as he rose and walked to the blocked door to the astonishment of everyone looking but Ace and Theory. They rose and strolled to the door as well.
Metroplex rapped the steel door with his gun. "HEY! OPEN UP, SLAGGERS! I! AM! METROPLEX!"
For a moment it was silent as if they were digesting the revelation. Then gunshots filled the corridor with smoke.
Standing to each side, Ace, Theory and Metroplex watched the shots go by and obliterate the far wall. Glancing at each other with big grins, they then kicked the door down and went inside with guns blazing.
The sound of it was stupendous.
Hercy and Kup with their teams behind them stood up to watch. Hercy glanced at Kup. "We might just be obsolete here."
Then the message came to them from Sunstreaker.
Both of them read it, then grinned.
"This is a stellar orn," Hercy said. "I think we'll let them have this bunch, then flip for the next."
"Sound idea," Kup said as the entire group listened to the yelling, shooting and the odd mech being tossed out what was left of the door upside down. It was stellar indeed.
=0=At home
The lines snaked through the lobby as genitors hoping to beat the rush came to register their kids for school. They were all refugees who'd been told about this and how to do it. Given that a major migration was coming in manageable groups, the District did what it did every time: they held the doors open orn and night for genitors.
Roto reached the bank of elevators, then entered. He saw the faces of the genitors who were talking to a bank of registrars at the long curved bar of the front desk before the doors closed. They were a spectrum of images, afraid to believe, desperate to believe, elated to be confirmed. He would be getting some of the kids, he was sure.
He would always get kids from these things. The trauma level usually ranged from feral-mute to maniacally hyperactive. Most fell in-between but many were at both ends. Since he was Director for Special Education, it was his job to help them return to themselves. It was the most gratifying thing he could ever choose to do.
Terradive was working with a group of his mentored teachers. They would be part of the staff of the new tower that would house most of these kids in City 3, Crater District 12. They'd be bused or ride the trains, most of them, to their new school. No longer did schools draw clientele from their local city. The newer kids came to schools in other urban areas given the numbers of them that always arrived and the fact that schools were capped after a point to keep class numbers small.
This would be no exception. What would be different would be the number of former high caste kids. They would number about 5,500 students.
He stepped off at his floor, the one where his department was housed and walked to the big conference room where he would meet with his department heads. They would troubleshoot the situation including a plan for any high caste disruptions. Then they'd get ready for school to start again in three orns. Until then, they were all buried in work.
Time for worries about anything else was for later.
=0=Sitting together in the Clubhouse waiting for the election returns
Barrett Walters sat on a chair with his friends, the group that had rescued him from futility and loneliness as he struggled to find his footing. Beside him sat his now best and most fast friend, Rambler of Cybertron, of the House of Optimus Prime.
"The returns are coming," Jessine said as she fixed the monitor's image before them.
All of the kids from the campaign and all of the kids from their groups were there including several adult mentors. They had a small screen open to Drift who asked for it and his grinning image was there. What he was really doing wasn't. It wasn't safe for kids to watch.
Then Aleph came on with numbers.
"We have preliminary numbers for the 121 seats up for election in this cycle for the Delegate Assembly of Cybertron. We're keeping our optics open for some of the more unusual races including District 321-A/B which is the one that includes Earth 1 among other places. This election cycle is the second one that the human residential population can participate in. The first was the United School District's general election in which a human, Ronald Witwicky of Los Angeles, California, father of Sam Witwicky who is General Business Agent for Autobot Nation, Incorporated won a placement."
Aleph halted to take a data wafer, then he grinned. "Of all the election results that have come in, we have one to report that's confirmed with a winner. It appears that Coros of Polyhex was elected to be Delegate Assemblyman for District 321-A/B tonight with 85% of the vote." He grinned. "That's the first and only result thus far that's been confirmed and upheld by the Election Commission who's overseeing this round of voting. Congratulations to Coros of Polyhex, our first confirmed winner tonight."
It was silent a moment, then it wasn't.
=0=Out there boarding a big ship filled with slaggers
They ambled along the corridor after entering the ship. No one was there to greet them. This vessel was supposed to be high caste but given 'Cons were here with high caste tats on the ship's sides, it could mean anything.
Springer was chatting with Lon when a shot rang out.
Everyone ducked, pulled their guns then glanced at Springer who was hugging a wall.
Springer glanced back. "Uh, hold here a moment." He considered his position which was shit. "Hey! Put down your guns and lets talk about this!"
BLAMMITY-BLAM-BLAM!
"Well, I guess that means Plan B," Springer said.
"What's Plan B?" Drift asked as he squatted against the wall below Springer.
Springer grinned, then glanced down. "Give me a moment and I'll think of it."
BLAM-BLAM-BLAMMITY-BLAM-BLAM!
=0=Earth 1
Barrett Walters ran into his house and slid to a halt in front of his father, mother, two sisters and family friends. "Guess what? Coros won! He won his seat on the Delegate Assembly! We did it!"
His family who stared at him with surprise glanced at each other. Barrett was beaming like the sun, something that hadn't been notable since they came here.
His father arose, then hugged Barrett tightly. "That's wonderful. Now all we have to do is see if you won your seat on the Martian Youth Council."
He would.
=0=TBC 7-13-2022 7-24-2022
