The Diego Diaries: Zoom (dd7 298)
=0=On the way there
They came out of the bridge into the darkness of space. In the distance they could see two planets zooming up at them. The kids rose almost as one and ran to the windows to look at the sacred space of their home world and empire joined by their family members. Standing there with their faces nearly pressed against the window, the kids watched as Ostia II came into view.
It was a big world, rocky, without a lot of graces but was nearly covered in industrial plants and open pit quarries. It wasn't pretty but it was efficient, its utilization freeing up a lot of physical abuse from happening on Cybertron. It was dark and dirty looking, the planet itself, and it floated freely in the wake of Cybertron.
The other planet came up quickly on the heels of Ostia II. It was Antulma.
Antulma was a secret place, a planet closest to Cybertron in the orn and easily reached by ship. It was also an ultra secret location where a lot of prisons were placed. It was believed that the kinds and types of prisoners held there would be safer than Cybertron. If they got out or an accident happened, then the consequences would be less than on the home world. It also had industry and open pit mines worked by prisoners in the old orns and refugees now who bridged there every orn and left for home every evening. Part of their brief was to remake it into something safe, sound and without the merciless pitfalls workers faced there in the past.
The worst cases of abuse were found among those of the high security prison on world, the smallest one among the many here. That, however, paled before Prison 312-B on Moonbase. The highest profile and most important and/or irritating prisoners went there and among them was Jetta of Iacon for union agitation, breaking curfew and congregating laws as well as treason. To defy the government no matter how just your cause led to treason charges for those brave enough to do so.
Many went in, few came out. Jetta was slated for execution three orns before the moon was liberated by Prime. It would take Jetta a long time to recover from the physical abuse which he did running the femme commando team on world until they all had to flee. The emotional and psychic effects he still retained to ever diminishing degrees even now.
Jessie and the humans were gathered at the end of their safe area and had good views of the two planets. :Ratchet, what were they for?:
Ratchet glanced at Ostia fading away as Antulma came into view. :The first one was a massive industrial park city. They made a lot of steel and other things there that didn't require skill, just brute strength. You got sent there if you were a criminal, a troublemaker, an agitator and the like to work beside low castes that came there because it paid just that much more than the same work on Cybertron. You worked off your sentence and if the charges weren't too much you were exiled onto other planets in the empire away from Cybertron. You weren't allowed to come home after you served. Just another of the delights of The System.
:If you were a political prisoner, a renegade high caste who'd seen the light and wanted to do something about it or a religious protester like Sela or the Missionaries, you were sent to the prison camps on Moonbase. That's where Jetta ended up, he was that good, that powerful and famous as a revolutionary. They were death factories. Jetta was slated to be executed just before Prime was able to rescue them. A lot of renegade priests, union agitators, conscientious objectors, intellectuals, fed up charismatic 'normies' and others of that mode were sent there. That's where Shockwave was maimed and transformed. He used to be a senator with guts who hid dissident scientists before they arrested and harmed him forever:
It was silent a moment.
:I find it hard to believe Shockwave was ever good: Thomas Howell, Lois Morshower-Howell's husband said.
:He was. A good mech. There's always more than meets the optic in a person or bot. Its easy to write them off but there's always more to it than that: Ratchet replied.
:This is awful: Jessie said as she squeezed James Brooks-Spencer's hand.
"This is normal. You have them on Earth all over the place, terrible places of torment and secrecy. These are close to us, closer than the rest of the local group but we're going to start losing them if we don't get them moved faster: Ratchet said.
They began to pass debris, destroyed ships notable amongst it. It followed in Cybertron's wake, pulled along as evidence of vast conflagrations in the past. They stared at it silently, the detritus of past catastrophes. The kids were mesmerized and so were the humans. The individual bots, families, chaperons for the children, others who were along stared at it and it was clear that memories were coming back.
Ratchet watched them closely and though there was grimness, sadness and emotion in some, all of them were composed.
Pulley glanced at his Appa. "Did you see this when it happened?"
Stark nodded. "I was on one of the last ships to leave. Everyone was with me. We had to find each other. I didn't want to leave anyone behind. The whole area was thick with fighting and the ships were hit and breaking up. These ships are caught in Cybertron's gravity and that's why they're still here. I remember it," he said as he glanced down at his grave grandson. "You will never know it. No one will ever experience this again. We have to be better and reach higher. For us to do this is to lose the meaning of love and our own sense of ourselves. Primus and The One didn't expect us to do this. It will never happen again. We will keep our unity this time."
The other elders nodded.
Sil glanced upward at Hercy who was standing behind her resting his servos gently on her shoulders. "You were here, Appa. You were here for the whole thing."
Hercy nodded. "We were. The Quintessans, the Functionalist Council and then the System. I agree with you," he said glancing at Pulley's Appa. "We can't let this happen again. There is no future in disunity or hatred."
"No," Stark said. "If we don't learn that and change, all of us, then we may not deserve to survive." He glanced at the humans who were turned in, all of them. "You have two paths. The path to this and the way of Light. I hope you choose better than you seem to be doing now. I watch your news. Its like old times for us to see what you do. Try to be better."
The humans stared at him, then some of them nodded. As they did, the sporadically lit force of nature that was Cybertron could be seen in the distance.
Everyone watched it coming closer at they sped forward. Sitting in their chairs watching the civilians and the humans, the other mechs were silent. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were watching the kids.
Tia, a tall femme with a gray paint scheme and black accents glanced at them. She considered what was outside the window. "Were you here when this happened, Abba?"
Sideswipe rose to look out the window. It was coming, the beautiful home world of their greatly longed for return, the great body of a living god that he revered. He nodded. "We were the last ship to leave, all of us," he said as he glanced around the room at the silent soldiers. "Most of us." He looked out the window. "It was the hardest thing that we ever did leaving Primus in this condition, at the mercy of a tyrant. All of our people needed us but the only hope we had was finding the Allspark and bringing it back.
"The Decepticons launched, too, heading for the same goal. We searched so long, eons of time, sometimes in groups and often alone. It was so lonely," Sideswipe said softly. He looked at the kids. "We did it for you. We did it for Cybertron. Even though we were homeless, all of us for what seemed like forever, we never gave up. We kept going because our people needed us, all of us. They were helpless here and everywhere else. We had to do this and then come back to find them and help them. They suffered and because they did, so did we."
Tia stepped closer and hugged him. "I wasn't born then. I was born in the Diaspora. I never knew what Cybertron really was but I always wanted to come back. This is Primus. Right?" she asked as she stared up at him.
Sideswipe nodded. "This is Him. He is everything."
The others murmured and nodded.
"This place is for all of us. We'll find our people and bring them to safety. We'll have Mars and the Empire worlds back again. Everyone will be safe. No one will be lost or hungry. You infants only have to go to school and learn. Play, be children, be your best self. The rest of us," Sideswipe said glancing at the hold filled with mechs, "we got this."
They nodded silently, all of them.
Tia walked to the window. "I'm glad to be here. It's like coming home after being away a long time."
Kup sat forward and slipped his arm around her. "Home's a little rough but its getting better. Don't be upset by what you see because its still being restored. Some fine orn, you'll come here and you'll see the places that your family lived and meet all the good people. The only thing that really matters is them. That's our treasure … them and you infants."
It was silent as they reached the planet, then flew into one of the deep canyons that led down into Cybertron and its multi-layered surface. The descent showed repairs ongoing and the remains of catastrophic destruction. They watched it silently, then Sil turned to Ratchet. "Commander?" she asked almost tearfully.
"What, infant?" Ratchet asked as he leaned forward toward her.
"DOES PRIMUS FEEL PAIN? IS HE HURT?" she asked, then burst into tears.
Ratchet pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried. The kids looked nearly tearful and the adults grim and solemn. "I do believe that Primus has a spark that lives on another plane of existence most of the time. He is here and He is everywhere. Remember? He's a multi-dimensional singularity."
She looked at Ratchet. "I wish it never happened. I wish He never got hurt, Him or anyone. He gave up everything for us. We learn it in school and Temple. This is sad."
Sela got up and walked to her, kneeling before her. "It is but now is a new moment. We transform. Remember?"
She nodded as she swiped away tears.
"We transform and begin again. Its what life does. Right now, we have our unity and we're coming here to celebrate ourselves on sacred soil. There's no time to be sad anymore. We have each other, we have a very great Prime and our friends and soldiers are with us. All will be well in the long run. All of us will do our parts and in the end Cybertron will have a star and the local group will, too. Your future is the balm that everyone seeks. A good future together for all of us."
She hugged Sela tightly, then the ship which was lowering through levels came to a vast open space that was Iacon. It settled on the deck of the airport, then powered down. Sela stood with Sil in her arms. "We're home again. Its celebration time. All will be well. This is temporary."
Prime who was listening quietly stood up, then glanced around the hold. "I am glad you all came. Each of us have our own sorrows and memories but for today, let us put them aside and celebrate this moment. Our people are great, all of them. They are good and they are great. This is temporary. Come with me. We are home now." With that, he walked toward the hatch.
Everyone gathered their things, then began to walk out. When they were cleared from the area where the silent humans stood pensively waiting, a soldier walked in towing a large gravity cart modified just for their comfort.
Ratchet grinned at him, then the humans. "Your chariot has arrived."
=0=TBC 6-8-2020 NOTES AND SICH TOMORROW as my old dad used to say. :D:D:D
ESL
conflagration: a fight that ends in obliteration. A conflagration is a war with no rules, where anything that the mind can conjure happens. Like the war for Cybertron.