The Diego Diaries: Stuff (dd7 324)

=0=Everywhere

"This is an interesting tactic. He took a chance that they'd break out and run everywhere," Owen said as the group turned back to their meeting.

"Prime doesn't do anything without a lot of thought. If he did this, it was safe, reasoned and doable," Sam replied.

"Did Bee go with them?" Lois asked.

"No. But he told me that it went better than expected. There was no fight. They neutralized the areas before going in," Sam said. "They used null rays and EMPs."

"Null rays," Owen said as he mused on the possibilities.

"Bee told me its like getting your soul separated from your body. You feel terrible, worse than that. The EMPs they used are beyond anything we have in human arsenals. They're big enough to take down everything with electronics for miles around them when they land and explode," Sam replied. "All electrical based equipment that is near enough to them is destroyed, everything but them. Its a frequency thing, I was told."

"Who are the two prisoners? Straxus and Emirate Xeon?" Galloway asked.

Everyone glanced at him, then Sam. He shrugged. "Someone terrible probably. Maybe war criminals. I heard something about Straxus and Tyke. I don't know much. No one wants to talk about it."

The meeting picked up at last.

=0=At Amma's house

Smokey sat at the table recounting the mission for his genitors, Moda and Tress. Dev and Smokescreen were there and listened with amusement as the kid animatedly and dramatically told everything.

"Xeon is bad news," Tress said. "I often saw him at the Bureau getting his bribes."

Moda nodded. "Xeon and Straxus. That last one has a lot to answer for concerning Polyhex. I often had to go there and it was bad."

"Well, both of them are in the brig because they messed with OPTIMUS SLAGGING PRIME! The deserved it. Couldn't happen to a worse pair of losers," Smokey said as he ate his dinner. Sitting on the counter catching his optics now and again, two pies were waiting. The sauce was in a pan in the warmer. Nothing like warm sweet sauce for his Amma's BEST PIES IN THE UNIVERSE!

It would be an amusing lunch break for the family. No one was prepared to tell Smokey about the next step in the Pursuit of a Degree for a Journeyman Job for the kid just yet. He had just graduated with his level one degree in general studies …

"Smokescreen the Younger of Praxus."

Herling called out the next name of the graduate from the list of level one degree earners so he rose to walk up the steps to the stage. The graduation was being held in the small theater where the public did their community plays. It was filled to the rafters with families gathered to watch their students receive their honors.

Smokey who was shining like a new penny climbed the stairs to great applause, walked to Herling and took the beautiful plaque that proclaimed him a level one general studies graduate. He shook Herling's servo, turned to the crowd and held it up. As he grinned and joked around there, Devcon, Smokescreen the Elder, Moda and Tress made dozens of snapshots for the family album.

Smokey danced down the steps, then walked to his family to sit. He gave them the plaque, they exclaimed over it with delight, then waited until dismissed to go to a restaurant to eat and celebrate. It would be a great moment for all.

Of course, neither Smokescreen or Devcon would tell his genitors about how he got onto Prowl's shit list and how he was given to Raptor for the duration. At least, they wouldn't fill his sweet genitors on the details.

Otherwise, it really was a great moment for all.

=0=That afternoon at Sparkling Day School, Terra, fifteenth floor, Conference Room 22A

They gathered, the elders, genitors, friends and connected individuals to get the word on the children. Prowl had come along so that Optimus would know what was happening not just to Halo and Orion but about the problem at hand. They gathered to stand along the wall or sit. It was tense and silent when Jarro, Roto and Herling walked in. Everyone greeted each other, the three sat, then it was silent again.

"Well, aren't we a jolly group," Roto said with a grin. "This isn't a funeral. Its a planning session about a problem. Tell us about home and him, Ratchet."

Ratchet relaxed slightly. "He's hurt and puzzled. He knows he has a problem. We don't make a fuss over it so sometimes what he says is a game. Some of his words are buzz words in the family now. What we don't want to have happen is trouble for him or anyone else for that matter who has a disability and has to deal with it. Maybe he'll grow out of it or not. We don't know. We just don't want extra problems because of this thing."

"What about his fitness reports and examinations, Ratchet? I know you're on that," Jarro asked.

"He's sound and high end in his construction. Optimal was what Ironhide wanted and optimal he is. He's sound everywhere but in the speech dimension. There's a glitch between his auditory intake, the processor area where sounds become words and meaning and his ability to speak responses or general conversation. Given that Halo has the same problem it would appear that there's a genetic component here.

"Apparently in that part of our CNA, both Ironhide and I carry the same defect or mutation. We're hoping as he and Halo gets older that we can get a better handle on his code. Right now their code is baby code, that is, simple and changing constantly as they grow. Its almost impossible to find any problem that's connected to an immature processor process that might be there because its so fluid and complex. Other than that, both of them are aces in their health and development."

"What about Praxus and Hero? Prowler? Can you compare their CNA to those three and find anything?" Roto asked.

"Been there, done that," Ratchet said. "I even had a code reader search for it but the code taken from both over the week we needed to run it changed so much every day that it made it basically useless. Its hard to find glitches in children, they grow so fast. Adults are easier. When they get Sunspot's age, its easier for children as well."

"Well, the problem is ever changing and we'll eventually figure this out. What we want to do now is work out a plan for bullying. What is his commentary of any on this problem?" Jarro asked.

"I was sitting with him this morning on the train to school ..."

"Ada, lou good me?"

"I good you," Ratchet replied to the little Ironhide botlet sitting on his lap.

He smiled brilliantly. "Lou good me? Lou love, I, Orion?"

"Always. Day and night, night and day," Ratchet sang off key to Orion's delight.

He laughed, then grinned his little pac man grin. "Lou good me. Good me, the shes." Then his grin faded. "Not good me, bad one."

"Are you and Han getting into fights?" Ratchet asked as he marveled that he hadn't been called to school in ages over mini-brawling with The Bad One.

He shook his helm. "No. He bad one."

"Which one?" Ratchet asked.

Orion thought a moment. "Topoo." He considered that, then laughed. "I, ORION SAYED POO!"

Ratchet laughed with him. "Who's Topoo?"

They took a moment to chuckle that Ratchet said poo.

"That one is a bad one. Is there another?" Ratchet asked as Ironhide agonized nearby.

Orion thought. "I not him good. Say? Sayed?"

"That's alright. Tell me about Topoo."

"Topoo bad one."

"Why?"

"He sayed I, Orion not talked good. I not good one."

Ratchet felt his gut sink.

Again.

This was the second time in nearly as many orns that the baby had said this. Ratchet hugged him. "You're a very good one. You're the best one." He glanced at Ironhide who was staring at Ratchet with pained optics. The other kids were in his hold having a party.

Orion stared at Ratchet. "I, Orion good one? I talkeded good? I not dumb?"

Both of them would need traction before they got to the school…

"Well, that's … not good," Roto said with emotion. "I find a lot of improvement with Orion. It's my belief that he's got a short circuit in his auditory and speech centers that scramble what he says. He can hear and understand things. He's bright, smart and able. What he finds he can say is jumbled. He unwinds his words and matches them to some format of coherence with a lot of practiced, learned skill. This does not reflect his intellect. He and Praxus could both use the Pioneer School Program and do well in it." Then he grinned. "I wouldn't if they left here but they would."

"Our little mechs are so tender and small," Ravel said with anxiety. He was sitting between Corr and Chan twisting his servos together with emotion. "They're so small, both of them. Praxus is so young, he's so gentle and quiet. I would fear that they might not succeed given their personalities, then feel a failure if they had to come back to Sparkling Day."

Most of the elders on both sides and Ironhide nodded.

"I hated the upset for Hero and she's much stronger in some ways than Praxus and Orion. She somehow was able to do this thing easier than I think the boys would," Alor said as the others nodded again.

"What's the plan, then, for Orion and these two little mechs? I'm assuming that they don't mean ill intent but being young have caused it anyway," Hard Drive asked as Delphi leaned against him tensely.

"We have a community rule program here. We have our goals and rules about our behavior and everyone learns them. They learn to respect differences and each other's unique characteristics. We want a broad band of comfort here for everyone. We have so many different kids with sub cultures, religions, family groupings and the like that its a good thing to learn how to get along.

"We have over 297 different languages and dialects among the population from all over Cybertron. Some of them have only a handful of speakers and some of the kids know only those languages. Our children come in all types, makes and models. We have severely disabled kids, kids with emotional traumas and some who were even shot. We have every imaginable child, happenstance and possibility here and thus we create an inclusive and protected space. All of our children learn to care for and about each other.

"The two children involved are new, refugees from Omega Base who came here three decaorns ago. They're small, easily scared and lived a hard life. We're working to integrate them into the group and this is part of their plan, to get along, to appreciate and understand others. Given their hardships, its not a smooth journey," Herling said.

It was silent a moment.

"Do you suspect this is a one off with them? I know we have to have a district plan for bullying. But these two children and Orion … do you see this as a continual thing?" Prowl asked.

"No," Jarro said. "I spent the past two orns watching them in class. They don't know all the nuances of interpersonal behavior. They lived rough with few niceties and need to learn how to behave around others who aren't going to shoot them or steal their food. Food is still a new thing for them, good food and plentiful. I didn't see them repeat the behavior with any of the other children with disabilities nor did I see them do it with Orion on two occasions they could have."

"That's good," Corr said as he glanced around the room with anxious optics. "Don't you think that's good?" he asked.

Springer who was leaning against the wall with a pensive expression squeezed Corr's shoulders gently. "I think so, Amma."

"We're putting the two little mechs on an individualized educational plan for their behavior and a couple of other things that will help them feel more at peace. They're going to be seeing Jarro for counseling, the two and their genitors until they sort this out and assign them to the counseling department here," Herling said as Roto and Jarro nodded. "Orion will continue with Roto and he will monitor and counsel the situation with him. We wanted to let you know and ask about Orion's end of things."

The door opened as Turbine walked in with a baby in his arms.

Orion looked at everyone, then smiled. "ADA! ATAR! LOU!" he said glancing around at everyone. "LOU MY SHES! LOU CAMED! SPLIFF! BOING BOING! LOU COMED ME, ORION!"

The room erupted in laughter as Turbine placed him on the table top. He stared around, then strode purposefully to Roto who hugged him even as he was hugged. Orion glanced around with a grin. "Why lou, Ada? My good. Not bad me."

"We came to see you. We like your form," Ratchet said as he sat back to smirk at his oldest youngest sonny boy.

"Lou like my me?" he asked as he patted his little fat chassis.

"I do," Ratchet said.

"Orion, how's school?" Appa Hardie asked.

Orion strode over to Hardie, then hugged him. "I good me, Appa. I good me. Lou good?" he asked.

Hardie snickered. "I am."

It took a moment for Orion to 'good' everyone and check on their own to him before he turned to Hardie again. "All good."

"Is it?" Hardie asked as he gently stroked Orion's tiny ped. "What's class like? Do you have a lot of friends and get along okay?"

Orion nodded. "Good me. I good them. Mimi, Bleu, my shes. I good to shes. Shes good me." Then he thought a moment. "Good me, dem. Bad one … he not good me. Not my she."

"Who's that?" Hardie asked.

Orion considered that a moment. "Bad one. Him comed here. Not seed him long. Him bad one. Him not good me. I cwied."

"You cried?" Hardie asked sympathetically.

Orion nodded. "I cwied. Then I, Orion pow-powed him."

"You hit him?" Hardie asked as he struggled to hide his grin.

"Him not good me. Not good she. I pow-powed him," Orion said emphatically. "I doed it." With that, he began a kata that defied description. It was half dojo kata, half Kaon Haka and half nonsense. He whirled to a stop, then staggered. Getting a grip, he turned to Hardie hopefully. "Lou likeded my thing?" he asked.

Hardie snickered. "I do. I always will."

Orion gripped his face and hugged him.

His nemesis bots were named Race and Taboo.

=0=TBC 7-11-2020 7-22-2020