What Makes No Difference Is No Difference (WMNDIND 27)
(Sorry this wasn't posted last night. I had a dog issue that resolved itself … he was sick. All is well FINALLY! Now on with the show.)
=0=Night time, late
"What do we have so far?" Arcee asked as she sat in the lounge drinking a cup with the mechs who had just returned with another relic.
"The Star Saber, the mirror from Onyx, a cup that never runs out of solid gold energon," Bulkhead said as he considered their 'haul'. "That one is the best one so far for sheer practicality and need. I'm not going to look in that mirror. I might not like what I see."
"You and me both, Bulk," Wheeljack said. "Solus Prime's forge is going to be super helpful in the future. We can make anything we need. The new stuff, that's going to be interesting."
"I hope we get it all. The hard part will be getting the one from Mars and the one from Planet X," Bulkhead said.
Everyone agreed with him.
=0=The next morning
The twins and Bluestreak walked in from a bridge with the last of the artifacts that could be found on the Earth. Everyone had been recalled when the word came back to Ratchet and were waiting with Optimus in the main room beside a table where they would be examined. All night long they'd hunted on the Earth, finding without fuss all of the items but this last one. It was just recovered from Indiana.
Sunstreaker walked with the other two out of the bridge which died behind them. Watching him from the balcony, the humans including June Darby and Agent Fowler had gathered. Sunny held out his servo and in it was a shining object.
Optimus took it, then turned it over and over. He glanced up. "This is very old. It's an image of Primus. Its the Primus Locket. Its considered the first thing ever created by our people, though no one is clear who did. It is accepted that its a living image of Primus just before He left the world behind to slumber. It was the possession of Prima Prime."
Miko and the others who had walked down the stairs to the group listened quietly. Then Miko rapped Prime's ped. "What's the use of t? Can t do anything special? Does t have powers? I know its Primus but what else does It do?"
Optimus glanced down at her. "It confers prestige. Its the first example of Cybertronian art ever known to be created. It is a living portrait of our warrior-creator God. To have it in possession is to give status and prestige of an incalculable amount to the holder. It does a lot without doing anything."
Miko looked at the table. The last of the objects lay there. "We have the Star Saber which is awesome. A cup, a mirror, a book, a talking portrait, a really cool gun and this. What about the rest here?"
Prime glanced at the table where a time piece that was created and utilized by Vector Prime lay. It was of unknown use even to Optimus but felt sentient and powerful. The other objects were equally compelling. There was a small handheld computer that by the glyphs carved into it belonged to Solomus Prime. It would answer any question about the galaxy and beyond asked of it in Primal Vernacular. Because it was language limiting, it was of less danger than it would be otherwise.
Optimus knew as smart as Megatron was, he didn't know Primal Vernacular.
Beside it on the table was a long knife with many glyphs and designs carved into its long blade. It was ornamental and a prestige item like the small portraiture jewel, an item that was carried into the first combat of the world by none other than 13, the unknown and incredibly fabled Prime who was in His own right as famous as any of Them that lived.
Among the Camians, He was known as 'the Arisen' and worshiped as the God they believed Him to be.
Optimus lay the jewel gently on the table next to the long knife. He glanced at the wall and counted out nine found of the eleven items inscribed there. "We have two more to go. Given that this is eight, the remaining are on Mars and Planet X."
"But where," Ratchet mused as the others considered the problem.
"Why not ask the thing? That ball thing?" a voice from below opined.
Everyone looked down at Miko.
"You, young lady, are starting to make me nervous," Ratchet said with a trace of irritation.
"Starting?" Arcee asked as she glanced at him. "Alright. Let's go ask." She shrugged, then glanced at the others. They had no better idea either.
Prime considered that, then walked toward the mountain and the vault levels below. Everyone followed including the humans.
=0=At a vaulted door down deep
Prime stood in front of the door as he coded the lock. It clicked, then he pulled the door open. Stepping inside, lights came on, strong ones that made everything look washed out. Wheeljack and Perceptor came behind him and moved to shelves to place the newest objects on them and activate force fields where they would signal if disturbed.
Prime picked up The Magnificence off a shelf, then looked at it. "Magnificence, where are the two missing relics among those we are searching for?"
It was silent a moment, then activated. Rising out of his hand, the golden globe began to emit light. It shot out and began to etch on the wall near the door a map of two different places. Primal Vernacular was coded into the maps, details of locations of the two objects in question. Then the light faded slightly as it returned to Prime's servo to rest gently again.
He read the maps as Perceptor and Ratchet stepped closer to look at them.
"That one is Mars. That is the huge canyon there, the Valles Marineris. The other must be Planet X," Perceptor said.
"What's the objects though?" Miko asked. "Ask it, Optimus."
"I'm afraid if you do what it'll be," Arcee said as she leaned against a shelf.
Prime felt it as well but was silent a moment. Then he asked. "Magnificence, what are the objects at each location?"
It rose and moved to the wall to etch into it more glyphs. When it was finished it came back to Prime's servo. Prime stared at the wall, then stiffened.
"What?" Ratchet asked. "I can't read Vernacular this old."
"The objects are the Enigma of Combination and the Requiem Blaster," Prime replied.
It was silent among the mechs for a moment. Then Bee glanced at Prime. "I thought they were myths. How did they get here?"
"I do not know, Bumblebee. That part of the puzzle has not asserted itself yet," Prime replied grimly.
"What are these things?" Miko asked. "What's a Requiem Blaster? It sounds rad."
"It isn't, Miko," Bulkhead said with a grim expression. "Not in the slightest."
=0=Prowl
He received the message with surprise and foreboding. The system Prime inhabited had just become infinitely more dangerous. Artifacts of the Prime were being dug up there, dangerous ones and two of the worst were still not claimed. In fact, they fell within the territory of the enemy. He considered their situation, then rose to make things happen. Calling the scientists together, he gave them one simple problem to undertake above all the others.
Get a functioning space bridge that can reach Earth built and operational as soon as was possible. In the meantime, he began to make a map of the sectors of space in which they were locking down control. Within its borders were several dozen Autobot forts and bases. Among them were also the camps, colonies and resting stop over places for migrations coming their way and the now 10,493 refugees that they were taking care of in that stronghold.
Many, many more were coming.
It was worrisome.
=0=That same evening
They found the public campground administered by the Bureau of Land Management and set up camp. It wasn't glamping but it was good. Cots kept them off the ground and one of their tents held their work area. They would sleep in one big one, eat and work in another and stay for as long as it took. Two telescopes were sticking out of the flaps of yet another tent, set up to look at the sky.
"We have to match these images to the rocks around here. These are Jasper images," Shane said as he looked at the motorcycle pictures again.
"What if this is just someone trying something experimental, Shane?" Lyle Simpson asked. "It could be that."
"There's things about this bike that don't match up with what a bike needs. We've been through this. Something odd's going on and we have to get on top of it. There's a lot of potential for our scientific futures if we find out that maybe, just maybe there's something going on here," Shane replied.
"I'm sick of the disinformation. They need to tell us about the UFO's," Marc said as he checked his internet spiders to see what oddities they dredged up given the tight search parameters they were given. "Listen to this."
Everyone paused their various activities to glance Marc's way.
"Indiana. News reports today indicate that three people were chased by a ship. It was black, spiky and fast. They were crossing their farm to get to the river to swim and a low flying ship of 'unknown origin' was disturbed as it was scanning the ground. The people said that they were flashing a light on the ground as if they were looking for something. When it saw them it sped toward them, flew over and went straight up so fast they could hardly see it go." Marc glanced at the two. "What do you think?"
"I think it all fits. How it does, I don't know but it feels like its part of a whole. Someone is here. Someone is looking for something. Someone who's here isn't from Earth," Shane said. "I can feel it in my bones."
They would spend all night looking at the sky, getting a bead on the usual objects to set a baseline. In the morning, they would notice that two of them weren't 'normal'.
=0=TBC 2-2-2021
