The Diego Diaries: Sun Dance (dd7 168)
Sorry about last night. It was something that I ate.
:(
HERE WE GO!
=0=Conference room
Faber walked in, tensed, then sat when told. He stared at Hard Drive with a cold expression, then turned it onto Prime.
It was silent a moment.
Prime who studied Faber, checking his aura as he did considered what it would be like not to care about very much, to have no empathy and concern. "Tell us about the graves, Faber."
"What graves?" he asked coldly.
Ratchet stood with a burn deep inside then gripped Faber's arm tightly. Medical response vehicle type rage tightly. Yanking him up, he headed for the door. Out they went in a clatter then headed for the back door.
Everyone in the room rose after a moment of surprise then followed. Ratchet had reached the door then exited, pulling Faber behind him. Faber for his part was silent as he slipped, slid and was dragged along. Down the road they went to the waste lands where the crime scene was finishing up. They walked through the chain link gate toward a hole in the ground, then Ratchet stopped. He let go of Faber who staggered, then turned toward Ratchet with wary optics and an urge to run.
"WHAT GRAVES!? HOW ABOUT THESE GRAVES!" Ratchet said, then he pushed the mech into the hole.
Faber staggered then fell in landing in the bottom where bodies had been removed. Sky who was gathering up his stuff rose to watch along with his team and a couple of forensic doctors. Faber sat a moment, then staggered to his feet, the energon cuffs on his wrists flashing as they touched his chassis.
Ratchet stared at him with an almost surreal sense of calm. "How does it feel to be tossed into a grave without a care? How many graves are there, Faber, before I make your stay permanent?"
Faber glanced at Prime with concern as he and the others reached the grave site. "THIS MECH IS CRAZY! ARE YOU GOING TO ALLOW THIS!?"
It was silent as Prime and the group stared at him. No one moved, no one said a word.
"Did you order them killed? Mechs and a couple of little femmes? What did they do? Serve your tea lukewarm?" Ratchet asked coldly.
The sound of the light breeze ruffling the leaves of trees nearby could be heard as they stared at each other, both sides.
"What are you going to do? Kill me and bury me here?" Faber said with a change of tone.
"What if I did," Ratchet said. "Who would care?"
Faber stared at Ratchet with growing concern, then Prime. "You're the Prime. Are you going to allow this? Are you going to let this fragger KILL ME!?"
It was ever a thought in the minds of Prime, Ratchet and the others who had lived a low caste lifestyle how disconnected and disjointed the thinking of those of the ultra high ranks who could never see both ends of the stick. Faber couldn't understand the irony of what was happening to himself at this moment. All of them had seen these incidents where the mirror was held to the faces of high castes who could never catch on to the hypocrisy by which they lived their own lives.
"What would you have me do, Faber? You do not recognize me as Prime," Optimus said as a burst of fury lit his processor. It flashed out almost immediately.
Faber stared at him. "You're the Prime. You have a responsibility to stop this ,.. LUNATIC from killing me."
"Machlis doesn't recognize him as Prime and neither do you. How can he be responsible to save you if you don't?" Prowl asked as he savored the moment. This for him was RICH.
Faber glanced from face to face with a growing sense of personal danger. He glanced around then turned to Sky. "You there! You're an officer. Do something!"
Sky stared at Faber, the owner of a media empire that routinely broadcast that Seekers were lesser beings than just about anyone else. He had heard it all his life, the propaganda and hatred of his model from this mech's family business. He shrugged. "You don't even think we deserve to live. You hate Seekers even when we were fighting to save your sorry aft. What do you want me to do?"
"Alright. I get it," Faber said with a smirk and a slight relaxing of his body. "You're just trying to scare me into confessing. You're not going to do anything to me, you scum. Prime wouldn't allow it." He glanced at Prime with a smirk firmly in place. "You're a soft sparked Autobot and a fool, Prime. This is all for show."
It was almost too quiet a moment then Prime took a step closer. His fists were clenched and he looked intense. "You would be entirely incorrect."
Faber stepped back then glanced at the others. "You have a responsibility to stop this and let me leave this space."
"You had a responsibility to the mechs and femmes that filled these holes," Ratchet said. "You were in charge. There's murdered individuals here and I want to know if there are any other graves to be found and if there are any other individuals who are still alive and in peril."
He stared at Ratchet a long moment, glanced at the others, then set his expression to a coldness that was glacial. "Frag you. I invoke."
Ratchet subbed his gun, jumped into the hole, then pressed it against the mech's temple. "So do I. I invoke justice for the dead and hope for the still living. If you don't cough up what I want to know I will pull the trigger and take my lumps. Do you understand?"
Faber looked at the others who were as statues including the mental health and legal individuals that were here with Prime. No one moved. No one spoke. They stared at him like a roomful of statues. "You won't shoot me. Everyone is watching."
Prime glanced at the others. "You will now leave this space. Everyone."
They stared at Prime with surprise, the civilians, then began to leave. Putting a servo on Blackstone's arm, Hardie nodded. They began to turn back to the building and walk toward it silently.
Prime stared at them as they filed away including Sky and the others with him. Then he turned to Faber and Ratchet. He said nothing more.
Ratchet pressed his gun barrel harder against Faber's helm. "You have to the count of three to tell me about the living and the dead, slagger or I'm going to pull this trigger and take my chances with the Pantheon."
Faber stared at Prime who looked at him with a cold expression. "You won't do it."
"One," Ratchet said as he pressed the gun barrel harder.
Faber stared at Prime. He said nothing more.
"Two," Ratchet said as he slipped the safety off his gun. It made a soft but distinct sound.
Faber was nearly quivering as he stared at Prime.
"Three," Ratchet said.
"STOP!" Faber bellowed.
Ratchet pulled the gun back then leaned in closer to Faber. "I have my gun in servo. If you don't tell me where everyone is I'll not only shoot you but I'll pistol whip you before I do. Do you believe me?"
Faber stared at him with real fear, then nodded.
"Ratchet to Prowl. Come back and be ready to record. Bring the site map from the command table. No one else comes until I give the clear." He stared at Prime. "Don't interfere until he levels, Prime, then I will surrender. I won't until we find everyone."
Prime stared at Faber, then Ratchet. He nodded silently as the sound of Prowl jogging back was heard.
Prowl stopped beside Prime, glanced at him, then Ratchet. "Alright."
"Start talking, slagger. I want every grave, every secret prisoner, every abused living person. If you leave one out no one will be able to save you, that's how fast and well I can shoot. Understand?"
He nodded, then he began to spill his guts. Prowl recorded it. Prime listened to it. The sun shown overhead as the rest of the story began to be told.
=0=Nearby
They stood together, a grim faced tense group. The doctors and legal beagles, the civilians among them looked wretched but the soldiers merely grim. War was indeed hell.
Hard Drive stared at the group across the way, then turned to the civilians. "I suppose that was hard to fathom but we have to find everyone who is missing or hidden away. We have to find all the dead as well. They won't tell so sometimes you fall back to different methods. You might have to have been a soldier as long as the rest of us to understand."
"It's not about that, Hardie," Blackstone said gravely. "It just never ends. The horror never ends."
"We're going to make it, Blackstone," Hardie said. "One way or the other, it ends for all of us. We can't leave here and have one soul fall behind. We never leave anyone behind. Its the Autobot Way."
Coln-2 turned to Hardie. "Thank you, General, for what you do. We just had the hell of homelessness and running. You had that and everything else. I long for the orn when we can all live together and be one."
"You and me both," Springer said. "Ada is in big trouble now."
"I will represent him," Blackstone said. "He will be mine."
They stood together watching the scene across the way, grounder and Seeker, civilian and soldier both.
=0=Moments later
"I don't know anything else. If I did I would tell you," Faber said as he glanced from Prime to Prowl. "Call him off. There's nothing more I can tell you."
"Who else, slagger? Who else knows anything more?" Ratchet asked. He pressed his gun against Faber's helm again.
"My Amma. Then Drummer. He's head of security. He would know. He would know better than anyone. He did the executions and runs the detention facility at the mines," Faber said.
Ratchet stared at him, then lowered his gun.
Prowl glanced at the group by the building nearby then called Drift and Springer. They hurried to the scene. "Take him to the Center and have someone forward him to the prison for solitary confinement. No one sees him without my permission."
Springer nodded then glanced at Ratchet. "What about Ada?"
"Come to the Center when you drop him off. We'll reconvene in the conference room. Tell everyone to go there," Prowl said.
Springer gripped Faber and pulled him out of the hole. Then he and Drift marched him to the group who followed them inside. There were only the three of them here now. It was silent a moment, then Prime walked to a box and sat down on it heavily.
Ratchet subbed his gun. "I surrender to you and will do what you require. I can give you my weapons here, Prowl, or inside. Your call."
"Let's sit a moment," Prowl said as he walked to a box to sit.
Ratchet stared at both of them. "I'm under arrest then." He grinned faintly. "I surrender to the inevitable."
"What inevitability, old friend? The endless cruelty and insanity of their point of view or your willingness to go to jail to save someone who might need immediate attention?" Prime asked as he glanced up at Ratchet.
"Both. Neither." Ratchet sat down on a crate opposite both. "I spotted a trend. I wasn't ready to play games with someone else's life. I don't mind going to jail. You meet such interesting people there."
Prime felt a faint shadow of a grin appear as he glanced up at Ratchet. "You are impossible."
"Well, he is a loon ..." Prowl offered.
Ratchet glanced at Prowl with immense fondness. "Whiner."
The sound of the breeze ruffling the trees nearby was soft and pleasant as they sat together. Three old friends and another crisis. The sun was warm on their armor. You could almost think things were going to be good some fine orn when everyone was indeed one.
=0=TBC 12-29-19
NOTES! :D:D:D
moosekababs chapter 167 . Dec 28
Honestly, i think i feel the worst for ratchet and optimus in this situation but ratchet especially. he's so strong; if i were in his situation i would have done my best to get things sorted, but i can almost guarantee that i would have started crying by now. just the idea of how much stress hes under just running the show at sun base makes me want to cry and curl up in a ball. Everyone on the senior staff is so strong. Its really astounding. I have nothing but respect for them. I cant imagine I'd last long in any of their places.
ME: I know. Ratchet is so tough and he's always a glass half full. Sometimes you get tired of it and you cut to the chase. I love these guys. Consider the enormity of their losses but they still have great values and desires to help. That is one of the zillion things that make me love them.
what baffles me is that these guys dont even seem interested in learning where the discrepancies lie between their own misguided thinking, qnd the reality the bots are trying to make them understand. I have differing political opinions and beliefs than other people but at least when faced with 'the opposition' and the grandiose claims that are sometimes made (i.e. the one didn't make you) i dont mindlessly beat my head against a wall trying to 'convince' them of my ideas. I stop and ask them to explain their ideas to me, so i can at least start to understand what they think and how our ideas clash.
ME: Asking others about their thoughts and ideas is the best way to find common ground but this kind of mindset is damaged goods. Pathological people don't care about anything that can't advance them like fairness and love. I really feel for them. It must be ghastly. If they could even know they were that empty, that is.
Machlis and Faber seem to have absolutely no interest in doing that. They're literally just in denial, and it's like they dont even realize it. Its like they dont listen to what they say or what they do. Don't they find it strange, at all, that EVERY HIGH CASTE that they recognize who sympathizes with low castes is a class traitor? don't they find it the least bit odd that theres no one who ISN'T a caste traitor that they know who has sympathies for the lower castes? it's absolutely wild that they don't recognize the strangeness of their situation and the alienating thoughts they have.
ME: I have noted that people who never get held to account believe this sort of way. They had a whole life where they got what they wanted without consequences. I don't believe they can change how and what they are.
also, i think is cute that Machlis thinks he could do anything about Hardie. as if hardy couldn't take him out with both servos tied behind his back. that's real cute. I get the feeling that Machlis is too young to know what the war with the quintessons was like.
ME: I agree completely. Inflated egos tend to believe they can do everything and be everything and those kind of people are dangerous because too often they're incredibly incompetent.
(deep sigh because high caste stupidity)
ME: I know. I would love us all to get along. :D:D:D
anyway. hopefully ratchet and the family can still get some time to celebrate christmas surprise. with the addition of prowls grand-genitors, i think it will be a lovely and exciting holiday! :D
ME: They will. Right now, its all about tactics and getting the job done.
Thank you for another great chapter! Happy new year!
ME: YOU'RE WELCOME AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU! :D:D:D HUGS!
moosekababs chapter 166 . Dec 28
what losers! gosh, sometimes it really amazes me how little self awareness people can have. Hopefully, a good long stint in the prison will teach these idiots that the real wealth in the world is love, and that the entire time they manned their empires they were almost guaranteeing that for all the money they had, they had the opposite amount of love. I bet it would be rightfully maddening to sit in a prison cell and watch everyone on the outside flourish and live in a way you thought only possible by being rich. to suddenly havr the world turned on its head like that would probably be terribly distressing, i think, and that's probably what it would take to break these guys from their greed-induced stupor.
ME: BWHAHAHAAHAAA! YOU READ MY MIND! If they only knew that the only real currency anywhere is love. The only way you get more is to give it away.
Anyway, I'm glad to hear you had a good christmas! I hope the last little bit of 2019 treats you well, and that 2020 is a year full of love and good fortune for you! happy holidays!
ME: I hope so for you, too, honey. You guys are my treasure. Have a great 2020, too. :D:D:D
leoness chapter 166 . Dec 27
I have 2 narcissists in my family that I no longer speak to for my own health and sanity. You write their mindset chillingly well.
ME: I have one. You have to let them go. They will kill you. I have an uncle that is so deranged that I can't believe he's lived this long with this kind of attitude. I've had a huge interest in delusional people. They all remind me of my Uncle Jim. :D:D:D HUGS, darling.
leoness chapter 165 . Dec 25
Merry everything, arctie!
ME: MERRY EVERYTHING AND HAPPY ALL OF THE STUFF NEW YEAR TO YOU, MISS KITTY! :D:D:D HUGS!
moosekababs chapter 162 . Dec 21
Ratchet's such a good guy. Its a shame these people are willing to judge him... though then again i can understand that their hatred comes from fear. It makes me feel bad for them a little. I'm enjoying my first actual day off in ages, and having another great installment of this story is the cherry on top! So thank you! I hope you have a WONDERFUL Christmas break! Be sure to take some time to relax for yourself as well! you deserve it!
ME: You have a great insight into people and their hangups. There's two paths in life, love and fear. I prefer the first. Enjoy your fun and know you're loved. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D:D:D
leoness chapter 162 . Dec 21
I crochet, and I make very geeky stuff. Harry Potter scarves. Firefly hats. Autobot baby blankets. Avengers dollies. Currently working on the 4th Doctor's 14 foot scarf.
I have had no less than 8 friends/family/coworkers send me baby Yoda patterns since the Mandalorian was released!
ME: OMG! I've seen them. They're to die for. You are a very clever person to do such things. My mom was left handed so she couldn't teach me that stuff but I still knit for fun. :D:D:D HUGS!
Megatron Owes Me Money chapter 162 . Dec 20
I want a baby Yoda too!
ME: I DO, TOO! He pushes all my nana buttons. :D:D:D