What Makes No Difference Is No Difference
Forgive the absence of diacritical marks on some of the words below. My keyboard probably has them but I can't find them. HELAS! :*}
=0=Relics (WMNDIND 27)
It was evening when Optimus Prime walked from a bridge into the night lighting of the fortress under the mountain. He'd been out with teams hunting and retrieving relics. Walking to the command center of the openly designed ground floor with Ironhide, Magnus and Nosecone, he paused by a table. Laying on it were the relics retrieved thus far. The Cup of Micronus and Portal Portrait of Guardian Prime were safely in his quarters but there were two other things besides the one he had in subspace. He paused by the table as Ratchet walked over with Perceptor.
"What was found, Optimus?" Ratchet asked with a hushed voice.
Prime unsubbed a square case, then placed it beside two other objects just recovered. The first was a highly ornate, very big handgun retrieved from Paris, France …
It was night and the city was lit up with its usually array of lights and beauty. They'd crossed a bridge to the Ile de la Cite, then parked out of the way waiting for darkness to fall. It was a slow thing but when it was, then was the time for Jazz and Mirage to move. Nearby a wall that ran through the grounds was a buried blinking light. After discussing what to do, they decided to default to holograms. If anyone saw them they could derez and no one would be caught. Two rather brilliant cars parked some distance away would be just that … two cars.
It would take a lot of work and listening as they began to dig into the heavily clay earth. By the time they reached the relic it was late and very few if any people were around. Bending down to retrieve the artifact, Jazz's hologram was unable to pull it out. Without a power pack it would stay there.
"What do you think?"
"Go get it, Jazz. I'll let Ratchet know we need to move."
Jazz swiftly transformed, hurried to the site just as his hologram disappeared along with that of Mirage. Bending down, he jammed his servo into the hole, then pulled out a big ornate and very unusual hand gun. Brushing off dirt, he turned to see a bridge appear. Without more than a hurried attempt to cover the hole, he sprinted toward it and disappeared inside.
Mirage's hologram appeared, then finished the hole before it derezzed in time for Mirage to drive right into the bridge. All of it disappeared almost immediately. When the workers came to do their job in the morning there would be a messy area near a stone wall that would need smoothing out. It would be attributed to scandalous kids or vandals. It would be a minor source of irritation to an organization rebuilding the great cathedral after a catastrophic fire in 2019…
It lay on the table gleaming in the light, its long barrel and grip carved with symbols and words that only Prime could read. It was even older than the form of Vernacular that Ratchet could read. After discussion with Optimus when it was brought in it was decided it was the personal firearm of Vector Prime. What it was doing on Earth was anyone's guess.
Beside it having been found by Ironhide, Nosecone and Magnus in the Swiss Alps …
"Frag, this is thick," Ironhide said as he ripped at ancient ice that had formed several feet deep over the place where a relic was signaling its presence. They'd slipped and climbed up a steep crevasse toward a place where ice had formed when warmed snow had run off. It was very deep, plastic-like in texture, the dark dirty ice, and formed in thick ropes that were as hard as steel.
Magnus and Nosecone watched him as the ice began to really give way. As they did they noted a cornice of ice above him, ice that seemed blue it was so pure crack. It was creaking and crackling, then slide downward. "Look out, Ironhide," Magnus said as he and Nosecone jumped to one side.
The chunk of ice hit Ironhide and down he slid to the bottom of the crevasse where he lay a moment buried in it.
Magnus and Nosecone crept down and pulled it off, pulling Ironhide to his peds.
"Slag. That hurt."
Magnus looked up the narrow ravine, then began to climb back upward. "Let me for a while," he said as he began to tear out the ice again.
It would take a while and several more ice blocks would let go and fall away. By the time they reached the ground where it was buried, it would take a lot of ax work to get to it. Pulling it out, Magnus held it up. It was enclosed in an ornate and very ancient case. "I'm not opening this. Optimus can. It looks Primal."
"Call a bridge, Nosecone. Let's get out of here," Ironhide said as they walked down the slippery slope toward flat ground. When they arrived there they would leave by bridge and meet Optimus on the other side at the Fortress …
The ornate case was like a book cover for a delicate object held within. The case was covered in jewels, none of which came from Earth or would come from the solar system itself. Glyphs and little objects were carved and etched into it, mathematical looking equations and symbols of time. This was an object of Onyx Prime.
When they arrived, Prime took it and wiped it gently with a cloth. Laying it on the table, he studied the cover. As he did everyone in the room took steps back. Especially when at last, Optimus opened the case. It glittered in the light, the beautiful bejeweled object, then lay back gently. Inside was a gleaming object of great beauty. Optimus looked at it closely, then retrieved it from the case. Holding it up, it showed itself to be square, plainly but beautifully edged in a gold substance and in the middle of the framing was a magnificent shining mirror. "This belongs to Onyx Prime."
Magnus stepped closer to look at it. The mirror surface wasn't reflecting Optimus. "It doesn't reflect?"
"No. Its a seeing device. It calls up things from the past or future. It does not reflect the here and now."
"So we can see what's coming and what's past but not what we're facing now," Ratchet asked.
Optimus looked at him. "It is part of the triptych modality of Onyx. We live in the now and its always moving but the past is fixed and the future still to be determined. If you see the future its one of many possibilities while the past is one. This is a very dangerous relic to be laying around."
"How does it work?" Magnus asked.
"I believe it works this way," Optimus said as a memory came to mind. When it did, the image appeared on the mirror. Both of them watched it, then it ended.
Magnus glanced at Optimus. "That was us playing ball in the street as children."
Optimus nodded. "As long as I wanted to have the memory, that's how long it will play out. It will show the truth, all of it." He was silent a moment. "If we were to seek the truth of what happened, how the world was manipulated and who did what to whom, this is the device by which to get the only truth, the actual truth."
"I can see why it would be problematic," Ironhide said. "They could find our weaknesses and exploit them, seeking out our family and friends."
Prime nodded. "That is true. We could also seek them in the future to see who survived and where they are but I am too afraid to do that."
It was leaden in the room.
"I wouldn't like to know until I can do something about it," Magnus said grimly. "You must put that and all of this in a safe place."
Ironhide glanced at Magnus. "Are you coming to Bali?"
Magnus nodded, they walked toward the bridge where Nosecone waited. "We have this, Nosecone. Take a break for now."
Nosecone nodded. "I will. Thanks."
Ratchet walked to the control and set it for the beautiful island, watching as the two entered, then disappeared. Shutting it down, he walked to the table. "We have a cup from Micronus that delivers unending amounts of Class A+ energon, the Magnificence, a book of dangerous knowledge from Quintus Prime, the Star Saber, a gun of unknown destructive powers that was Vector Prime's, a portal portrait of Guardian Prime and last, a time and truth dealing mirror of Onyx Prime." He glanced at the wall with the inscribed locations. "We have ten more things to find, some of which are on Mars and Planet X. One item each on those planets. It could be worse."
Optimus nodded as he stared at the gun. "It could be very much worse. We could have missed all of these things."
"How many of them require a Prime?" Arcee said as she sipped a cup of Class A+ energon. It was a small cup given how much energy Class A+ energon contained.
The Cup, the Quintus book, and the Star Saber require a Prime," Optimus said. "Vector's handgun, the Guardian Portrait and the Mirror do not."
"Then we better get to it. We have eight to find here including the Bali relic. Then we have to figure out how to get to Mars and Planet X to get the other two. Primus only knows what they are," Springer said.
Ratchet set a bridge to another relic, then watched as Springer, Drift and Bee left through it. It shut down after them. Staring at the bridge, Ratchet then turned to Prime. "I would suggest that we put these artifacts into the deepest storage we have, Optimus. The more secure they are the better we all will be."
"We can arrange the security of the devices," Perceptor said.
Prime glanced at the things on the table. "I agree. There are others in my quarters. We can bring them after we put these to rest. I am going to keep the portrait and the Star Saber in my quarters. I may have need of both in time."
With that, they gathered the relics, then followed Ratchet into the mountain.
=0=Bali
They arrived in the darkness beside the inky dark ocean. A moon, nearly full played on the waves. It was eerily beautiful as only an organic watery world can be. They took a moment to look around, checking sensors to tell them that they were alone. Nearly two miles away was a resort but the humans who might be here during the day weren't at night. The lapping of waves was the only sound as they took their bearings.
Magnus stared at the meter in his servo and found the relic's location. He nodded toward a number of big boulders bordering the ocean. "It's under those rocks."
Both mechs walked toward them, then halted to ascertain the difficulty before them.
"It's about six feet down under this big one. We can roll it away, then dig it out. Its a big thing whatever it is," Magnus said.
"Alright," Ironhide said as he glanced around the rock, then gripped it tightly. Tugging on it, it budged a bit.
They both bent down to dig around the base, noting the rock went down a long way. Together, they gripped it and it began to move. Tugging and pushing, they moved it a few feet away, then stared down in a deep wet sandy hole. As they did, the waves of ocean water began to roll in and slowly they started to fill it.
"We better move it," Magnus said as he knelt down. Reaching into the hole, he began to scoop out sand. It came out and the water rolled in. "This is fragged."
Ironhide grinned. "I know. But you're doing a slagging fine job."
Magnus snorted. "Thanks," he said as he halted digging. Gripping around, he felt a long smooth handle. Tugging it gently, then hard, he pulled it out. It was a golden and silver artifact that any Cybertronian would recognize in seconds. Magnus was holding the Forge of Solus Prime in his giant servo.
"Well, that's amazing," Ironhide said. "We better get this back together, then hit the road."
"Please do," Magnus said with a grin.
Snorting himself, Ironhide grunted and groaned as he slid the boulder back into the hole. Water spurted out around the sides as he did, drenching him. "Time to go," he said. "Ratchet. We need a bridge."
A bridge burst open nearby so they walked to it to disappear. When it closed nothing but tracks and disturbed sand would tell the tale. By morning after an evening of waves and silence, even that much would be gone.
=0=TBC 01-30-2-21 PART 27 will be POSTED on MONDAY, 02-01-2021
