The Diego Diaries: War (dd7 142)
=0=The newbies
They flew to a planet in a system that was oddly free of the usual debris of the area. It circled a small star which gave a stable light. Three out of the six planets caught in its grip were habitable to a very great degree including the main one where they lived that was green and carried oceans on its surface. The oceans were a mix of water, a high salt content and some chemicals delivered from the hot core by magma tubes that underlay the area. They were almost spa like concoctions where pools gathered in the cracks steaming hot. They were used to heat and generate geothermal energy on world.
A settlement was there, a large urban center that was spread out over a very great area, smaller towns settled in the roving valleys and hills that made up the local terrain. The tallest of the buildings seemed to halt around twenty stories necessitating a large urban sprawl to accommodate the several million who lived here. They appeared to live around the general area of the city center, spiraling out with the topography.
An airport beckoned so they landed, stepped from their many ships, then gathered to look at each other silently. A number of those who lived here, apparently important to the hierarchy walked to the group, halting beside Styre and his officers. One of them walked to Prime, then bowed lowly.
He was an elder, had a lot of tattoos some of which were unknown and looked like he'd worked hard all his life. His low caste tattoo confirmed that. He looked up at Prime. "Welcome, Optimus Prime. My name is Staple and I'm co-leader of the colony. Styre has told us that you're here and that you helped one of our ships. We thank you for what you did and wish to honor you here." He bowed again in the proper and old fashioned way.
"Thank you, Abba. I am honored to be here, to see that our people have done so much for themselves after being alone so long," he replied. Glancing around, he noted a lot of activities, most of it commercial with individuals going about their business.
"Please, Lord Optimus," Styre said. "Come with us. All of you. There's much to talk about." He then led the way for them to follow to a large building nearby where the rest of the leadership waited. All of them walked inside and the door shut.
=0=In a large meeting room a short time later
"They aren't going to be giving an inch, Lord Optimus. They declared war on us and its been a battle ever since. They have tech that gives them some advantages especially with stealth. We keep our distance but they're poisoning the local group about us, telling them that we have plans to take over the sector and that they need to stay with Faber to avoid getting overrun by us," Styre said.
Prime listened even as he looked the mech over. He was an older version of Prowl down to the clan and family tattoos. Prime glanced at the others. They were as grim as Styre. "Tell me about this colony. Tell me about the general will of the people. It is my duty and calling to find all of our people, then bring them to safety."
No one spoke a moment, then another elder, Taboo glanced at Styre. "I don't know about you, Styre, but I'm not willing to stay here with the threat of war and being overrun by Sun Base if there's another way. I'm too old and desirous of peace to go through another ordeal again." He glanced at Prime. "We're divided here about this. Some want to fight them, the younger set and the security forces. Some of us are old enough to remember The Exodus and The Fall. I'm not prepared to start attending funerals."
Some nodded and murmured their agreement.
"What would you suggest then?" Prime asked. Around him his officers were listening, taking in the situation even as they waited for Prime's desires. He had the right and duty to intervene here. It was up to him.
"I suggest that we leave," the elder said.
Some shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't a general sentiment Prime could see.
"Would you be willing to pick up stakes and leave?" Prime asked.
"There's many reasons why that would be a good idea, Lord Optimus," the elder continued. "We've been uncommonly lucky not to have a rift open up and swallow us whole. Even though this is a relatively stable area, there's no guarantee."
"We number millions," Styre said.
"We receive millions," Ironhide said. "We number almost 100,000,000 refugees at our colony city, Autobot City at our base on Mars. We rescue in alliance with Dai Atlas, the Knights and the Circle of light. The Network coordinates it all over the local area and beyond. We have them coming by the thousands every single orn to live on Mars. Cybertron can't take refugees so we do."
"100,000,000. Its unimaginable," Styre said as some of the others nodded. "You can manage this? How?"
"Long ago, a drone Seeker seeded the area and planets nearby. Then it died on one of them. The energon flourished in the volcanic activity of most of the planets at the time and the planet where he died, all of the contents of his seed energon was exposed to air and bloomed. Our home planet, Mars, is nearly half Class A and A- energon. Gliese has to be seen to be believed," Ironhide replied.
It was silent, then the elder, Staple sat forward. "I … I have never had good energon all my life. We make reasonably good energon here but not to that level."
"We dig it out of the ground, all colors, gases and liquids. It takes very little base of that class energon to make oceans of finished product. All of our people are fueled with Class A and A- energon," Jack said. "It allows us to build and refine everything we need."
It was silent a moment, then the Homelanders glanced at each other. A conversation was held off line, then Styre turned to Prime. "This is remarkable. I don't know what we're going to do here but if this is so plentiful, could you spare us? It might help some to think about what they desire for our future. We are a democracy, Prime. We have to take all voices into account."
Prime nodded. "I will commence it right away. What we have to do is figure out what is going on with Sun Base. I want to know if Faber is advancing slavery through their practices. If they are then we will have to stop it. I believe that no one can prosper here in this broken space over the course of time. I do not believe you can live here for the long term and survive. This is unstable space and banned for habitation for a reason. I have to know more about Faber and his group."
"Then maybe a call?" Sun suggested with a grin.
Prime mused on that then glanced at Styre. "Do you have a message frequency we can use?"
Styre nodded. "We can get that."
"I will need it. I do not want anyone in the view that will allow them to think I'm anywhere but on a ship. Route the message through the scrambler, Blaster. Then we can send without them knowing where the transmission is coming from."
Blaster nodded, then walked to a console nearby. After a moment of tapping he turned to Prime. "Its anonymized. Faber won't know it isn't coming from the ship."
Prime rose from his chair, then walked to the console. He sat down and waited for everyone to pull out of view before tapping the send button for the coordinates that Blaster had programmed in already. He waited.
=0=At the Operational Center of Sun Base
Faber and his son, Fuller sat in his office after having interviewed the ship captains who had been chased off by a Prime. It was disquieting news. Apparently, Optimus Prime still lived and commanded a big arsenal. As they silently mused, an aide glanced in. "There's an urgent message for you, Premier." He stepped back out.
Faber routed the message to his monitor, then tapped it open. The solemn face of Optimus Prime was staring back at him. "Optimus Prime. What a surprise."
"Faber," Prime said. "I would like to know the situation here. I came upon a ship being attacked by two of your own. There were injuries to children and other civilians on board. Tell me about what is going on."
"What's going on, Prime, is two groups having a disagreement. Our settlements here are our own. We've lived here for a very long time, millions of years in fact. We're doing well. Our disagreements pop up, then settle down. Thank you for asking but we don't need attention from anyone. We're self sufficient and self governing," Faber said smoothly.
Prime considered the mech before him, a mech who had spent a lot of time slandering him as he tried to undermine Prime's reign. He had zero time for this one. "Then you would not mind me coming to look around. I have the duty and obligation to find out for myself, to satisfy any concerns that might exist about the safety and well being of everyone who lives on your world."
"No, actually, Prime. You don't. We aren't on Cybertron anymore and we aren't even in the Empire. So we went our own way and made our own kingdom. Thank you for your concern, however," Faber said as the expression on his face hardened.
"The Charter and the Matrix give me overriding authority which you well know," Prime said. "You cannot disallow me from doing my duty. My duty and authority derive from the Matrix and The One. But then you already know that."
Faber stared at Prime as his son shifted uneasily behind him. "You have no authority here, Prime. I would defend this place if you come here."
"I will come," Prime said. "If you were a legitimate settlement then there would be little agitation against me coming to see it. What are you hiding, Faber? What do you not want me to see?"
"I have a lot to do, Prime. I run an empire as well. Or is there even one left? I do believe you were losing when we left," Faber said coldly.
Ironhide frowned. "Fragger. He doesn't know that we won the war and have the Empire back including Cybertron and the local group. Loser. Ran like a coward when the planet needed every hand and now he slags you when the battles are won and the war is over."
Faber glanced from Ironhide to Prime. "Is this true, then?"
Prime nodded wordlessly.
"Then you've been busy. I have, too. I would warn you, Prime, that if you come we will shoot," Faber said.
"Then we better come with a few of our many metrotitans," Ironhide said as Sun and Jack nodded. "We have a couple of thousand now recovered from their hiding places. They have a need to serve a Prime, Faber, just in case you forgot. Its their special function."
Faber stared at Ironhide, then Prime. "We're busy. Nice to speak to you, Prime." Then the transmission cut away.
Prime stared at the screen a moment, then sat back in his chair. "I am going to station ships here with orders to protect this space and this world. I am going to go back to Mars and discuss this situation with my officers. Until then, you have to stay on world and not go anywhere they can find or reach you. Hostages would just lend one more layer of problems to this situation."
Styre considered that. "We have trading partners and commitments."
"We can work that out. Right now, I would like to speak to you in private. I have a personal question to ask about a person we might share in common," Prime said as he stood.
Styre stared at him a moment, then gestured to a small room nearby. "Will this room do?"
Prime nodded, then followed Styre into it. The door closed.
Everyone in the meeting room stared at the door then each other. Then they began to talk almost at once to each other.
=0=Inside the room
"I would like you to tell me about your family if you would, Styre. It is not out of prurient interest that I ask," Prime said.
Styre stared at him, then sat down in a chair. "I'm from Praxus and a very powerful and wealthy high caste family. We've lived there for eons and turned out scientists, economists, bureaucrats and in my case, media moguls. We were as oblivious to the situation as everyone else in my caste. I was part of the problem until it became obvious to me that the state was going full on dictator and we'd be expected to support their propaganda and ignore their ever growing egregious behavior.
"Understand me, Prime … I wasn't a hero but I loved Cybertron. Faber was making his move to overtake media control of the world and as an executive I was cut down in the bloodbath when he finally achieved it. It was an eye opening experience but until we had to leave the world I was still as asleep as everyone else in my caste.
"My family was spread out all over the place. My son, Venture is lost to me. So is my grandson, Prowl and his ada, Miler." He sat back. "I try not to think about such things. Its too painful. In the Diaspora you have a lot of time to think. You have all manner of castes around you and all manner of need. It was … humiliating to find that I had no useful skills. I, a master of the universe couldn't fix a single thing.
"Its all a blur, really. We came here and built this place after a scathing convocation in which Faber, his family and the high caste mechs who were with him wanted to go blindly onward as if nothing had happened, continuing the travesty of The System here. We battled, then voted. Almost everyone came with us. Somehow, I ended up the leader," he said with some still lingering sense of surprise. "We came here and worked together, all of us and built this bastion We welcome all who came to stay.
"Faber and his group did the same. How they did, I don't know. They were no more useful than I was at practical things and I know he and his would be unwilling to learn as we were here. He grew as well but I do believe he did it by ambushing refugees, mining them somehow and making them work as if nothing had ever changed. We're at war, Lord Optimus and I don't mean to lose." His voice had the same cold merciless steel that Prowl had when he was pissed. Styre stood with a grim sense of purpose in his aura. "Who is this person we may have in common."
"I have sent for him now," Prime said quietly.
=0=TBC 11-26-19
Will post notes tomorrow. Had a very, very cold day and of course, that's when you have to do slag outside. :D
ESL:
prurient: (proo-E-ent): If someone has a prurient interest in someone, then it is an interest that is anxious, desirous, usually sexual but sometimes nosy. Its not a welcome interest for someone to get from another.
egregious: (E-grE-jus) terrible, awful.