The Diego Diaries: Incident: Keeping Keeping On (dd8 259)
=0=The Hourly News, 0900 joors on the TMC
"Good morning, Autobot City, Cybertron, all forward bases and the Local Group. My name is Siri and I have the latest news, sports and weather for you on this day, Second Monday.
"Last night during an altercation at The Golden Horde Bar and Grill in City 5, District 4 shots were fired which injured a horse from the Watch Mounted Patrol. The horse whose name is Rowdy was shot in the shoulder and received a serious wound. He was transported to the Animal Hospital of Terra where he underwent emergency surgery.
"Salo of Plaxus 2 who is a spokesman for the Watch released a statement this morning that Rowdy came through well and is resting at the hospital. He's going to be off duty for a time to heal but the surgeons and follow up physicians predict a complete recovery for him. Whether he returns to active duty as a patrolman with the Watch is unclear. Jacx managed to speak to the officer who rides Rowdy every night on the graveyard shift, sub commander of the Watch, Commander Drift of Kaon."
The scene cut to Drift who was seated in The Diner On The Corner in The City. Around him mechs watched him with amusement and the camera with smirks.
"Commander Drift, what can you tell us about last night and the incident with your patrol horse, Rowdy?" Jacx asked.
Drift who looked at Jacx, then the camera sat back slightly uncomfortable with the attention.
Springer sitting next to him holding a sleeping Tell grinned faintly as he watched Drift's discomfort. It was usually Springer being on the griddle, not his partner.
"We got a call and joined it, expecting what we got, a huge brawl on the sidewalk in front of the Golden Horde. Its a nice place for young families so we hurried to help prevent anyone from getting hurt or shot. Sometimes that happens with someone pulling a gun.
"When we got there we joined in to suppress the violence, then someone pulled a gun. A shot rang out and Rowdy who was waiting nearby with the other horses reared, then nearly sat down from the impact. It took a while to corral him, then the vets came. We transported him to the hospital where they took care of him. I'm grateful to the doctors who did."
"You and Rowdy are a team. What's the teamwork element between a rider and a patrolman like? It takes training and cooperation to do this well and safely. Correct?" Jacx asked.
"It does. Rowdy is a very calm smart horse. He loves the job. When we go to the Stables to get our mounts, he's always running from the paddock to go. He's intuitive and knows what I need and how to respond to things. He's a perfect patrol horse," Drift said. "He was among the first four horses chosen and has been my partner since then. He's always paired with new horses to help them acclimatize, he's so smart and capable."
"I'm sure it was a shock when this happened," Jacx asked sympathetically.
Drift nodded. "It was terrible. He's a good guy, Rowdy. I love him and he loves me. We work together really well. When he got shot I was afraid it was fatal. As it is, he's going to have to work his way back and hopefully he won't be spooked by gunfire. If he is he can't do this. I'd hate that a lot."
"I can imagine. We hope the best for him and we're glad that he pulled through surgery," Jacx said as the mechs and Drift nodded. "Back to you, Siri."
The view returned to Siri in the studio.
"I hope for a happy ending for everyone, Jacx. Good luck to Rowdy. As it was, the arrest of fifteen individuals from that altercation was effected and they're in custody pending arraignment today. Also arrested overnight were a number of sub adults who were drag racing in Kalis on a side street off Tower and 14th Avenue.
"There has been a spate of drag racing by young adults in the colony which is being addressed by Social Services for Youth and the Autobot City Race Track. There's a meeting at the Youth Center in Centurion in which youngsters who wish to drag race and involve themselves in other forms of racing are encouraged to attend. The idea is to make a venue possible for such activities at Autobot City Race Track which will keep everyone out of youth court. Gen-O spoke to Autobot City Racing Association's president, Roiler of Terus 3."
The scene cut to the race track where they were standing together as cars sped by practicing before the night's races. It was the night where the first three races on the card were age grouped from youth, to those who were midway adult to adults.
"Roiler, what's the idea of the meeting at the Youth Center tonight concerning drag racing?" Gen-O asked.
"We're concerned about kids drag racing on the streets. You never know when an elder will try to cross and get hit. Kids love speed and racing but sometimes they don't think it through. We're opening the track to racing for kids three orns a decaorn for three joors. Its the downtime between racing for practice and the actual performance racing at night.
"We asked the professionals to come and speak to the kids who come to tell them about the sport, what they can do to do it safely and their responsibility to everyone to be safe and not to harm the reputation of racing by their antics. It's really been a miracle that no one's gotten hurt by this. As it is, kids are getting arrested and ending up in youth court. This is our attempt to channel their fun and interests into a non-lethal and more organized form."
"The meeting is tonight at the Youth Center in Centurion," Gen-O said.
"It is," Roiler replied. "We're going to have experts there to tell about the plan. We want to have information for the serious kids to help them decide whether this is just fun and games or a pathway to professional racing. The pros are prepared to mentor the kids. The kids have to get their priorities right. Getting into trouble is a losing game. We're prepared to keep them out of jail and maybe help them build on their interests."
"When is the meeting and who can and should come?" Gen-O said.
"The meeting is at 1700 joors at the Youth Center on Marydale and 15th Avenue in Centurion. The doors open at 1630 for everyone to have a chance to come in and chat. Food and drink, professional drivers and mechanics as well as officials from the track will be available. If you don't come and get with the program, you're playing with fire," Roiler said. "My own son was drag racing and he's going to be grounded from here to infinity if he does it again. Needless to say, Teo is now a member of this group." He grinned at Gen-O and Gen-O grinned back.
"Thank you, Roiler. The meeting is at 1630 at the Youth Center in Centurion and every youth in the colony who is drag racing in the streets is encouraged to come," Gen-O said. "Back to you, Siri."
Siri grinned as the image returned to her. "Sounds good to me. My brother, Tern needs to be there. Right, Tern?" she asked with a wink. "In other news, the hunting party tracking the Decepticon group that harassed the solar system a few orns ago is still being tracked in the area of the Benzuli known as The Ruins. A party of six Autobot ships left three orns ago to pursue them.
"The party and their prey have been caught in a situation at the opening of the track that leads through The Ruins due to an energy floe that erupted and prevented the Decepticons from fleeing back to their home fleet. Trapped on this side of the barrier which is expected to dissipate in short order, both the pursued and the pursuers are currently traversing a nearby nebula.
"The nebula is old but offers some safety from pursuit. Its believed that both parties are fleeing toward the farthest edge of it possible that will allow bridging without repercussions from the radiation in the area. It's also unwise to bridge too close to such unpredictable areas due to the energy of a bridge perhaps attracting an eruption.
"The area of the Benzuli with all its danger is forbidden territories for Cybertronians and has been off limits to our people since the beginning of our space going orns. Given its deadly nature, no one is allowed there though some refugees have braved it to hide from Decepticon pursuit. Among those who've been most successful is Commander Alor of Iacon. Jacx spoke with the Commander earlier."
Cut to Alor getting ready to leave for Nevada.
"Commander, you were in the Benzuli near the Barron and not that far from the several access points into the energy floes that are forbidden for Cybertronians to navigate. What were you doing there?" Jacx asked.
"We were there from the Exodus when Cybertron fell. We were deployed and couldn't come back so we gathered our fleet and headed for our people who were fleeing every which direction. A large number of them were flying toward the Benzuli which is NEVER a good idea. We followed, gathered them, then found suitable planets to settle. We continued to gather them as they came or were found, protecting them with subterfuge and other tactics by the 'Cons until the glorious orn that Prime found us there."
"What do you suppose they're experiencing there, the pursuit group and the Decepticons?" Jacx asked.
"Lots of radiation and turmoil, probably. We've added our own intel to the databases they can use so we know that our group following the 'Cons are going to be safe. That doesn't mean that its easy because as navigator you have to be on your peds. The nebula nearby is an old star eruption that's pretty dispersed but its good camo when you're being followed. I suspect that they'd run for it until they get clear enough to bridge," Alor said. "That's what I'd do."
"Then you expect them back soon?" Jacx asked.
"Its hard to say. You need distance between you and the active area. Also, we don't know much about the Delta Quadrant the nebula extrudes into because of the problematic stuff which kept us from checking things out that direction. We can only guess how far they have to travel to reach a stepping out point but I have faith in them. Some of the best soldiers we have are in the group."
"Thank you, Commander. Back to you, Siri."
The camera came back to Siri in the studio. She smiled at the camera. "We're going to be giving updates as things develop. Right now, we need to check the weather, a short version before we take a break with the Community Bulletin Board. There are road closures near District Eight to allow construction traffic to move freely for the next four joors. Also, the geosynchronous energy bridge is going to be used for a flight of drones shortly so air traffic will be halted as long as that's necessary. What about the weather, Dani?" she asked.
Dani was a sub adult Intermediate School student who was studying part time at the University in the Communications department before graduation shortly. She was hoping to have a career as a network journalist and the kids had to start somewhere. The camera cut to her. She was small, slim and completely delightful.
"Thank you, Siri. Today, the weather is going to be cold. A front is moving along the north pole of Mars bringing lowered temperatures. A wind system is supporting it which is going to extend toward the equator for the next two orns. We expect a drop in temperatures here at the colony of as much as 100 degrees."
=0=At the Resort, in the lounge having a drink before a round of golf
"What the hell. 100 degrees?" Alberta Jenkins said as she sat on a chair with two of her friends, all of which had come to the Resort with their families. Day two was going brilliantly as they waited to be called to golf on what the wags back home called the 'most far out golf course in the solar system'.
They were right.
"We wouldn't last ten seconds out there. I wonder what its like to live here all the time in these terrariums and worry if they'd ever fail or break," Larinda Perkins asked. She and the other two were teachers who were nearing retirement and decided to go out with a bang.
"Consider how far down the permafrost goes here," Sally Ryan said as she mused.
Science teachers always science.
Larinda laughed. "That's the last thing I'd consider here," she said as she eyed a nice looking man nearby. "Now that …"
They laughed, ordered more snacks and when they got called to golf would have the time of their life inside a 'terrarium' that had a controlled temperature between 75 and 85 degrees depending upon the time of year.
=0=TBC 09-24-2021
permafrost: living in Alaska, you can only dig easily down about eight feet before you reach permanently frozen earth. :D See? Permafrost. :D
I took a pain pill last night and between hallucinating, I slept from the moment I took it until just about now. :D:D:D No more pain pills for me. :D:D:D