The Diego Diaries: Zoom (dd7 302)
=0=The vault room under The Citadel in Iacon, Cybertron
Drift stared at the sword which was gigantic again, though It was as light as before. Stepping forward, he placed It back. It crackled with energy as if saluting him, then it was silent and still again. He turned around to stare at the crowd for a moment, then glanced at Ratchet and Prowl. "You knew that would happen."
Ratchet shrugged. "I'm a gambler. I never lost a round with my regard and belief in Them."
Prowl nodded as Miler stepped closer. "Who did you see, infant?" he asked softly in wonder.
Drift glanced at a pensive Springer who stood next to him with clenched fists, then Miler. "I saw Primus."
Everyone seemed to exhale loudly, then a tiny femme stepped closer, Aqua, daughter of two mechs from Simfur who were staff priests with a home visitation vocation at the Temple on Mars. She paused before them. "Can you tell us, Commander?" she asked with awe. Her genitors were at the stadium to be part of the opening ceremony. Her appa and amma were with her as chaperons, their optics riveted upon Drift as he gathered his thoughts.
He considered that, then hesitated. The warmth suffused him again so he said, "He talked about love. About unconditional love and how we didn't have to do anything to receive it from Him."
"That's true," Venture said as Aqua nodded firmly.
"He loves us, all of us, always. No matter what we do. That's what He said," Drift concluded.
It was silent a moment, then Ratchet glanced at the others. "Do you want to see more?"
Everyone nodded emphatically. Ratchet glanced at Drift, then grinned. "This way then," he said as he began to walk down the aisle toward other parts of the vast room. Everyone followed but Drift and Springer.
:Are you alright?: Springer asked as he took Drift's servo into his own and squeezed it.
:Yeah: Drift said. :I just have to think it over: Drift replied.
Springer nodded. "Okay. Come on."
They walked after the others.
=0=Iacon Municipal Stadium
They gathered in the various large rooms that were set aside for them. Alor and his genitors along with the Band of the Old Army sat together with their instruments and flags. Down the hallway in other rooms were gathered a number of groups that would be part of this, a historical moment for The People. Priests, 200 of them from Simfur and Autobot City would be there to deliver a blessing for everyone and both planets.
At the airfield nearby, a number of Seeker squadrons, several types of big ships, the Seeker Council and Starscream waited to do their part. The Council along with Warlord would do a Primal salute to the crowd. It would be glorious.
Farther down in another of the public rooms were a gathering of 1,200 Immortals, femmes and mechs from both Cybertron and Mars. They would be honoring the beginning and all those who held the faith all through the eons. Battle flags from the first revolution and the Functionalist Overthrow where they led the fight, pictures held of others who lost their lives during the Quintesson Revolution and Overthrow as well as the leadership that still lived of the Revolutionary Council were present. Sitting at a table with Hard Drive who would lead them carrying an image of Guardian Prime was the Empress, two queens who were immortals as well as Sun, Jack, Lissie, Steiner, Delphi, Turbine and Hercy. Chat was constant as they waited together, some meeting and catching up for the first time in eons. When the ceremony was over, those members of the two teams would join their benches.
Down the hallway standing by the door that led out to the stadium proper, Password and his counterpart from the Cybertronian league, Stencil, the referees and officials went over the rules once more.
^..^ A bit later ...
RAP! RAP! RAP!
Everyone glanced at the door which opened. A mech leaned in with a grin. "Sideswipe?"
"That's me," Sideswipe said.
"Your coaches are here," the mech said. He held the door open and into the room walked four little mechs, a bug, a bouncing happy dog and a dog waddling in with his tongue lolling out.
He laughed. "Thanks. We wondered when they'd get here."
The mech grinned, then closed the door.
"What kept you?" Sideswipe said as the kids and animals rushed to the team they loved.
"We had to wait for the bridge at The Citadel," Sunspot said as he smiled at Sideswipe. Bos, Reflector and Co-D nodded happily. "Everyone is at The Citadel. We got to see a lot of good stuff. We saw Drift go to the Matrix with the sword of Primus and we got to see a lot of stuff including graves."
Everyone in the Praxus Municipal Stadium locker room stared at them. It was silent in the room for a moment.
=0=A gathering room in Iacon
RAP! RAP! RAP!
The room stilled as everyone turned toward the door. It opened and a young mech stepped in. Bowing deeply, he said, "Its time to go to the tunnel, Abbas and Ammas. I will take you there."
Hard Drive stood, then picked up the image of Guardian Prime. He looked at the others. "It's time to go, my brothers and sisters." They began to stand and picked up flags and images. Hard Drive and The Empress led them out, following the youngster to a tunnel to wait.
=0=Another gathering room in Iacon
RAP! RAP! RAP!
The room stilled as a young femme stepped in, then bowed lowly. She looked at them with emotional optics. "I'm here to take you to the tunnel, eminences."
Chrome stood, then picked up the iconic image of Primus he had brought from Mars, one that was made in His lifetime before Cybertron became a place of His repose. "Let us go then, shall we?" he asked sweetly. Everyone gathered, then followed him out, some of them carrying images of their own.
=0=At still another waiting room in Iacon
RAP! RAP! RAP!
The door opened and a femme glanced in with a huge smile. "Time to go, Ammas and Appas."
Alor rose, then looked at the others. "Show time," he said with a big smile.
=0=In a locker room in Iacon
RAP! RAP! RAP!
They glanced toward the doorway. A young referee stepped in. "I'm here to let you know that we're going to the tunnels. Nova Cronum is already there, Lord Optimus. Everyone is getting ready for the ceremony," he said as he nodded his helm in honor of Optimus.
"Then we shall go," Prime said as he stood and glanced at his teammates. He grinned. "This will be a good orn for everyone no matter the outcome."
"You won't get an argument out of us, Optimus," Sun said with a smile.
They walked out of the room following the youngster who led them to a tunnel nearby.
=0=Vault room, Iacon a bit earlier
They looked at marvels, personal belongings of the greatest of the great, images and documents of The Pantheon Themselves, weapons and devices that They had used, ancient books, documents that created laws and the society that they lived in and other aspects of their genius. It was overwhelming to know that things once thought lost forever were here, gathered in the waning days of the planet, gathered to preserve them forever. When they reached an alcove, they stared at the contents.
Several cylinders were there, all of them made of copper, covered in inscriptions and words, some in the Primal Vernacular that hinted at the age and greatness of the devices. Several of them were there, all of them set on shelves that were fastened to the walls that surrounded them.
:What is this, Ratchet?: Jessie finally said.
"This, I will say, is a good thing. These are burial caskets, old ones in the old style. They're ornate in the old fashioned manner. They hold the remains of several historic individuals, leaders, poets, warriors, those who earned a place in history, who were saved from the shelling at The Basilica of the Primes." He gently rested his servo on the most simple one, one that had writing, an Autobrand and images of Iacon and Cybertron. It was simple and compelling. "This is the casket that contains the body of Guardian Prime."
It was intense, the silence, as they absorbed that information. Miler stepped closer, then touched it gently, reverently, the way believers touched Optimus to get his blessing. "Rest in peace, Guardian Prime." He bowed his helm, whispered a moment, then stepped back.
One by one, even the children touched the casket, stepping back to whisper a comment of thanks to the one Prime least known but absolutely integral to the creation of their world. When everyone did, Ratchet glanced at the humans. "That is the casket of Zeta Prime and that one is the casket of Nominus Prime. Nova disappeared and the rest are somewhere. Some caskets were brought here but they're empty. No one knows why but we kept them here as an heirloom of the Nation." He grinned. "This one," he said patting the most ornate of them all, one covered with glyphs, images and even jewels, "is the one for Sentinel Prime."
"He didn't die, though, Commander. Did he?" a youngster asked.
"No."
"He was the Great Liar. My appa calls him that," another child said as many others nodded.
"He was what he was, infants. Sometimes they all can't be Optimus or Guardian," Ratchet replied.
Everyone agreed to that, then Ratchet smiled. "There's so much more to see but we just got a text to go to the bus. We'll go outside and see the city from the plaza, then go to the stadium. Prowl will lead you. I hope he remembers the way out."
"Oh, I do," Prowl said as he walked through the crowd. "I stayed sober."
Huge laughter greeted that as Ratchet followed everyone out. He punched a code, then the vault door slid shut. Prime would be signaled by this action and then send a new code long distance. It would take him alone to open this, possibly the most impenetrable place in the known universe.
Outside …
They walked out to the plaza, heading for the steps across from The Citadel that led to the busy street beyond. On the vast plaza were statues of the Primes, the Pantheonic ones and those who reigned after them. Standing side-by-side, over 100 feet tall, Optimus and Guardian Prime looked out over the city beyond. All of them bore their colors and seemed to be real to those who walked past them with awe.
They reached the steps, then Ratchet turned to them. "Everything you see before you was destroyed. The Citadel was destroyed down to the second floor level." He turned to look at the city before him. "Our very great people did this. All of this. In that direction is housing, tower after tower for our people. This way," he said sweeping his arm to the right, "is the commercial part of Iacon. We've redrawn the maps and plats to make it better. The towers that are finished are so many. Families that require help or comforts live there. The camps are that way. Millions of our people live there waiting so patiently for their turn for a home."
Lights filled the sky as the camps in the distance and the towers nearby that held residents offered illumination into the sky. Some beyond them were in various states of construction and everywhere they looked banks of lights showed the power of their effort. Beyond them, the sound of trains could be heard, the restored overland trains that brought and took away things now to the benefit of the workers.
A metrotitan could be seen in one direction and others, the original three in another. Beacon lights on construction and the titans flashed constantly, allowed ships that passed over or hovered to lower or pick up materials to know where they were located. A pulse could be felt by those watching, a pulse of resurrection as they watched with amazement and emotion.
Venture glanced at some of the children. "See that building over there?" he said pointing to a massive tower off the square. "That's the commerce building where I work when I'm here. All of our nation's business is done there and at the offices in Terra."
"That's the Day/Night Watch Tower for Cybertron," Prowl said pointing to another. "That's the Department of State and Justice. Barron and Ratchet run those departments here and on Cybertron. The Citadel is my domain. All of us work together to protect everyone and to help rebuild everything. That over there is the Department of Statistics. Its there that everyone is being listed so they can find their families. It's there that we map where we go to find everyone."
"That's the Autobot Military and Civilian Medical Center which I command," Ratchet said, then he smiled brilliantly. "I command two. Prowl commands one."
Prowl turned to Ratchet, then punched him in the stomach. Then he turned back to the bemused and surprised crowd. "Shall we go?"
Huge laughter and the tut-tut of his ada greeted that, both Ratchet and Prowl, as they walked down the steps to the bus waiting for them. They entered, Prowl and Ratchet last. Prowl sat, then grinned at Ratchet who smiled back like the sun. "So ..."
"So, let me give you the word," Ratchet said. "We're going to the stadium and all of you will go to the Prime's box including the two of us. We're going to have the mechs, Springer and Drift take all of you infants to your tunnels. You'll be wired into me and if you go to do something I'm going over the wall with you. You're wired into all of us so you can't get lost at the end when this place loses its mind. Stay at your tunnel entrance so we can get you. 'K?" he asked with a dazzling smile.
Everyone laughed and agreed.
Ratchet glanced at the driver. "Garcon, the stadium please."
The driver who was a hoot stepped on the gas and surged forward. Ratchet who wasn't braced flew backward and landed on his aft. A few strategically placed peds would hold him onto the floor until they arrived at the Iacon Municipal Stadium.
It would be glorious.
=0=TBC 6-14-2020