The Diego Diaries: All Around the Watch Tower (dd7 270)
=0=At school
They walked into the building to put their things away, then head for the playground together for the few moments they had before school began. Gathering nervously together, they then put the plan into action. In groups of three or four, they began to walk to the building, down the hallway to the lobby, then casually through the big open space to the doors beyond. No one noticed them because everyone was busy taking care of things, greeting parental requests and other school business, etcetera, so they made it to the long walkway to the street.
They walked out and down the street revealing another flaw for the district to resolve. All of the Sparkling Day schools had sensors at the gates and points of departure that would alert them through their transponders to children leaving without permissions after Orion went on reconn and made it to Autobot City from Terra on his own. The older schools didn't for whatever reason. The kids walked down the street, crossed it, then entered Metro #2 for a Yellow Line train that would take them back to Autobot City. It was decided not to take the stations below the schools because it would be easier to get caught so metro trains down the street it was.
In the Seven Cities nearby, a number of kids walked out of Youngling Day School #15 and made it to the metro nearby to do the same. No one paid attention to them and they wouldn't until attendance was taken and it was noticed that fifty, count them fifty kids from two Youngling Day schools were seen coming in but were now missing.
=0=Autobot City Medical Center
They walked in, family of all size, kind and cross section of the vast and spreading family tree. Two mechs with pockmarks all over their bodies were slightly propped up in the berths as the family and friends gathered in the room. Fortunately, the room was big enough for all of them.
"Oh, my," Ravel said as he stared at the two with intense dismay. "YOU WERE HURT SO MUCH!"
"We're alright, Amma," Springer said with the weird echo of his voice seemingly less odd to him than it was before.
"No," Ravel said as he walked to the berth and took Springer's servo. He reached for Drift's, holding them gently. "You're hurt. Someone hurt you. This is so awful."
"They're on the mend," Ratchet said as he stood by the window grinning at his little ada. "They've been hurt worse falling off bar stools."
"RATCHET!"
Huge laughter greeted that as Ravel sat down in the chair between the berths. He held their servos, rubbing them gently with his thumbs. "I'll hold your servos. It might help you feel better."
"I feel better already, Amma," Drift said with a slight grin. He had a neck brace on and looked sore.
"Who did this, boys. Any ideas?" Hard Drive asked.
"Anyone of our many admirers," Springer said.
Amusement greeted that, then Hard Drive stepped to the foot of Drift's berth. "Tell us about this Cog."
Two mechs lost their grins at the same time.
=0=On the way by train
They sat on their chairs looking calm, like they were going somewhere they belonged. Adults were busy chatting, waiting for their station to arrive or fooling with any number of other things and paid them little attention. They could have been there with any of the adults in their cars. When they arrived at Metro Station #1 in The City, they got out and climbed the stairs to the street. Waiting by the corner for the others to arrive, they watched the traffic, buses of humans going by who waved and took pictures as well as pedestrians heading wherever they were going. It was very interesting and most of them felt odd. Some of them felt like spies. The rest were filled with static energy from the 'sinister sensation' of 'doing a bad'.
Coros saw the last of them come, then they gathered around him. "We go in a few at a time. ICU is where they're supposed to be. Walk to the elevator, then go upward. Hide or spread out until all of us are there. Okay?"
Everyone nodded, then they put their plan to get inside into action. It would take a while but all of them would make it to the elevators.
=0=Youngling Day School #15, Camilus, City 4 in Seven Cities West
He checked his roster, then frowned. Four of his kids weren't here. He sent a message to the office to check. He wouldn't be the only teacher who would.
=0=Youngling Day School, #1, Centurion, Tri-Cities
He checked his roster. Two kids weren't here. Then a student nodded to the backpack on the chair of one of the missing kids. He sent a message to the office.
=0=Elevator to the ICU Unit, Floor 28, Autobot City Medical Center
They stepped off, then slipped into a lounge. Closing the door, Coros gathered them. Then part two of The Plan began. Sil and Coros walked out with confidence to the desk of ICU down the hallway in the lobby. They reached it, then waited for the kindly mech who was in charge of the unit to look down to see them.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
Coros nodded. "Yes, please. We would like to see Commander Springer and Commander Drift. We were told they were here. We're really good friends of theirs.
The nurse stared at them for a moment. Then he commed Ratchet who he knew would be in the building. "If you can wait over there," he said nodding to chairs nearby. "We will get you in shortly"
The kids nodded, then walked to the chairs to sit. It would marvel everyone how they did it with confidence. Like playing hooky and seeking out people in an intensive care unit was something they did a lot.
Like that.
=0=Up there
They laughed together for a moment. Springer had told them of Cog. Jokes were had at his expense though Drift didn't laugh. Nothing about this was funny to him.
Ratchet snickered, then took a call. "I have to go a moment. Wait here and I'll get the plan for your resurrection going." He walked out of the room, past Prowl and Prime as well as the others and headed for an elevator to the 28th floor.
=0=Up there
"What do you think, Coros? Did we fool them?" Sil asked in a soft voice.
"I hope so, Sil," Coros said in a soft voice.
The elevator opened nearby and they froze as Ratchet walked out to go to the desk. He slowed as he saw them, then walked over to smile down at their uncertain little selves. "Well, well. Look who's playing hooky."
=0=Seconds later in a lounge
Ratchet stared at 50 kids who ranged from scared, trapped, resigned and oddly defiant. "This is something. Does the school know you're here?"
"No," Sil said. "We came because we're a team. You never leave anyone behind. We have to know how Commander Springer and The Boss are. They got hurt, right? The news said they were really hurt and in the ICU."
Ratchet considered that a moment. "Follow me." He turned to go and they followed, a long line of tense children. They squeezed into an elevator, then went to the 47th floor where the two were being held for treatment. It was a silent tense ride upward squeezed into the elevator. Ratchet grinned all the way up.
The elevator stopped, the door opened and Ratchet stepped out. He looked at the children who looked at him with concerned optics and deeply sweet, determined faces. "Come on," he said as he began to walk down the hallway. They followed as their optics took in everything. They were, after all, C&A students here. When they reached the door, there were mechs leaning on the doorjamb.
Ratchet grinned. "Make way," he said as he walked in.
Kids followed and followed, crowding into the room until it was chock-a-block. When one last kid couldn't fit, all of them were in. They stared at Springer and Drift who stared back with astonishment.
"What … what's happening?" Springer asked.
"Coros, you're the spokesman, right?" Ratchet asked.
He considered that, then nodded. "I am."
"Then you can tell them," Ratchet said with a grin.
Coros turned to the two. Everyone with him looked at them with emotional intensity. "We came to see if you were alright and if we could help. You told us we never leave anyone behind. You told us that everyone of us is a member of the team, that when someone is hurt you go find them and help them. We're here to help you."
It was silent in the room, then everyone there clapped. It was a spontaneous thing.
Springer stared at them, then Drift who was grinning with amusement. "Uh, that's right but aren't you supposed to be in school?"
A tiny micro mini-con femme with a tiny, tiny voice stepped closer to them. Her name was Echo. "Commander, how could we be in school if you needed us?" she asked with almost painful and deeply genuine concern.
All of the kids nodded.
Springer stared at them, then he chuckled softly. "I don't know either."
They surged forward, fussing with their blankets, organizing their items on the tables next to their berths and asking a million questions relating to their comfort. Then it was silent again. Fifty pairs of child optics stared at them.
Drift chuckled. "I don't know how I'd get through this without your help."
The kids smiled, glancing at each other with pleasure.
"You kids are gold. I'm glad you came by. You can see we're going to be good. We need a detailing and a few orns to mend but we're going to be fine. Extra fine now that you came by," Springer said.
They smiled at him, then Echo leaned in closer. "I can come by after school and read to you. When I don't feel good my Nana reads to me."
Springer, Drift and everyone in the room stared at them with rapt intensity. The cuteness was almost at lethal levels at the moment.
"What does she read to you, Echo?" Drift asked.
"Her romance books," Echo said with her sweet child goodness.
"Her romance books?" Springer asked with a grin.
Echo nodded. "She likes romance."
Springer nearly burst with laughter in a spot in his processor as he stroked her tiny face with a digit. "Your Nana sounds fun."
"She is. I can read to you. I can borrow one of her books," Echo said as the others nodded.
"We can come tonight and bring you things. Everyone gets stuff when you end up in this place. We can bring it and Echo can read to you," a tiny micro mini-con said. He was Tin-E, a very tiny red mech with a spark as big as Mars. "I can bring you candy. And cookies. My Ada makes good cookies."
A moment was taken as everyone decided what they would bring, then everyone stared back at the two wounded mechs.
They glanced at each other, then the kids. "Okay," Springer said.
There were cheers had from all.
=0=Outside in the corridor
Magnus and Ratchet gathered the kids to go back to school. An alert had been made but taken care of by Magnus who was the truant officer for the colony. He stared at the kids, thinking through what he could say that wouldn't crush their tiny sparks. "Next time you kids do this, contact me. I'm the truant officer and I can help you not get into trouble."
Everyone stared up, way up at him.
"We care about the team, Commander Magnus," Pulley said.
O-D nodded. "This has changed everything for us. We have something good to do now. I love this stuff. I don't care if they get mad at me. You always find the rest of the team. No one gets left behind."
The kids nodded as they stared at Ratchet and Magnus with enormous sincerity.
Magnus grinned slightly. "Well, I can hardly argue with that. Come on. Let's get back to school."
The group walked out with Ratchet and Magnus chatting about their efforts, their delight and their sense of responsibility not just to Springer and Drift but everyone. It would be a delight as well for Magnus and Ratchet.
=0=TBC 5-2-2020 5-8-2020