The Diego Diaries: Valles Ho! (dd7 354)
=0=In the Family Lounge, the great lounge of the Family Tower, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars, Cybertron and the Empire of the Primes
Will Lennox flopped into a chair. He'd watched football from Earth on the big screen at the other end of the massive room with a large group of inmates both military and civilian, losing every game he bet on. Walking in with lunch, beer and a desire to relax, he noticed his daughter working away on her computer by the big windows that overlooked the Metroplex Highway and the colony proper on the opposite side of the building from the Military Airfield. "What are you working on, Princess?" he asked as he took a large bite out of his sandwich.
Annie finished a sentence, then glanced at her dad with a smile. "I'm finishing a report that's due on First Monday."
"What's it about?" Will asked.
"Its about the Dead Zone, Daddy," Annie said.
Will considered that even as a number of adults in the room, some of them scientists both visiting and resident glanced her way. "What's the Dead Zone?"
"Its the Null Universe, the Undead Universe," Annie said like it was a normal part of anyone's conversation.
You could have heard a pin drop.
=0=Valles Ho!
They staggered out of their tents, then Ratchet got the call. He turned to The Squad. "Everyone wants us to meet at The Diner. What about it?" he asked.
It was universally approved so they began to gather up camp to bug out. Huge tents deflated down to book size and so did sleeping bags. They tucked them into gear bags along with chairs and fire pits/ovens/cookers that zeroed down to the size of a data pad with the push of a button. It was neat and immediate, their clean up. It would be spotless when they left, part desire to make things nice and part training to leave no trace of your presence. Old dogs learned and then never forgot their new/old tricks.
Earth would've plotzed at the sight and magnificence of it.
Gathering to go, they began to walk past the mini-con campsites. They were still sleeping it off and mostly, no one was around, upright and awake. A few mini-cons were recharging where they fell, one of them in a blackened hole where several fireworks had blasted it out. Scorch marks were everywhere and a burned tent lay shriveled on the ground near the one where all the elders were housed. It was forlorn and hilarious as they ambled past.
The walk down the trail brought them to the 'car park' where runabouts bloomed like flowers. They found theirs, loaded up, then turned to Ratchet. He shut the 'trunk' on his own, then glanced at them. Freezing with surprise, he glanced at them with wariness. "What?" he asked.
"MY BABY!" Docker said, then she launched herself upon him. Everyone else joined Docker as they glommed onto Ratchet in happiness.
Group hug.
=0=Lounge way up there
"Dead Zone … where have I heard that before?" Lennox mused as books and plates were put on hold by eaters/readers to listen all around the room. "I remember. Blackjack was hiding his armada and a few hundred thousand refugees in the Dead Zone. It's in the Benzuli Expansion, right?"
Annie stared at him, then nodded. "UNCLE BLACKJACK WAS THERE!? IN THE UNDEAD UNIVERSE!?"
Will stared at his daughter a moment. "Uh, I don't know about that. I don't remember zombies coming up in the conversation."
Annie stared at her father, then chuckled. "I'm talking about the Dead Zone, Daddy. Not the place with the zombies."
It would be silent a moment or two in the room.
=0=Valles
They climbed in, then began a chase back to the Southern Airport where they got their vehicles. Blasting low over the ground to avoid radar and citations for joyriding, they landed at the airport nearly all at once. Clambering out, they dragged their gear and piled it on the ground.
"WE BEAT YOU!" Ravel said with a laugh heard for miles. "WE BEAT YOU, SUNNY!"
Docker glanced at Ravel, then Ratchet. "I think so, baby boy."
"If it makes you happy," Ratchet said to universal derision. He glanced at the mountain of gear. "Why don't you sub all the personal stuff and then we can get a locker inside the airport to stow this. Why should we carry it around when we can do that and have it here for next time?"
"THAT'S MY SONNY! HE KNOWS THINGS!" Ravel said with a big smile.
Ratchet shot him the antidote.
Ravel wilted only a smidge. He grinned at Ratchet. "I still beat you at horseshoes, infant." He picked up his gear, then headed with pizzazz toward the airport nearby.
Everyone watched him go, then grinned at Ratchet. "Your ada is so cute."
"He is," Ratchet said as he picked up his gear bags. "Anyone else need an antidote?"
They all did because it raised the fog. They ambled to the airport with infinite good cheer, even Granny, then crammed their stuff into two large lockers that would be their home base for camping in future. The metro would take them to the Temple Metro and a short walk to The Diner On The Corner.
=0=The Diner
They sat in the diner, a herd of mechs waiting for their better halves to show up. Children sat on laps or the table chatting with the big mechs, especially the bachelors. When the others walked in, the bedlam was immense. After monkey motion, a lot of short stories and hugs, they sat, ordered, then grinned at everyone.
"What was the loud bang last night, Ada?" Springer asked as he lounged against Drift's shoulder.
"A mini-con nation was having a bash for their ammas and appas. Someone lit a firework that lit all the others. I wish you could've seen it. I think we're wasting fireworks shooting them into the sky. It was more beautiful and awesome at ground level."
Huge laughter and a lot of agreement greeted that as their food and drinks began to come. They organized to eat, then Raptor glanced at the 'civilian' members of the group. "How was camping? Have you ever done it before?"
"Not with the Squad," Edict said as the other civilians nodded. "I had so much fun."
"What did you do, Edict?" Burris asked.
"Well, we told ghost stories, made smores, ate food catered by drone, played horseshoes, we danced and sang bawdy songs, told lies … I'm rather good at telling lies," he said with a touch of pride, "then most of us got slag faced."
Everyone stared at the dignified mech that was Edict, then he got a near standing ovation from everyone. If he could've blushed, he would have.
"I can attest to that. Edict, Madura and the others might be civilians but they can hold their beer," Arcee said with a chuckle. "They can't stand up but they can hold their hootch."
"I'm proud of you, Maddie," Proteus said with a chuckle.
Lucien, Burris, Vinn and Partition stared at Proteus. Partition grinned though the others still struggled with self destructive actions that didn't advance a person. Their idea of advancement was a straight path to their goal. Their bonds wanted experiences and belonging so this was a golden path to the door named Acceptance and Normal.
Lucien shook his helm. "You had fun, Lazlo. That's all that matters."
Lucien got a standing ovation. What was the best part of it, he felt incredibly pleased inside. It didn't show up on the outside but they all could read his energetic aura.
Lucien The High Tone Slagger had joined the Normals of the world at last.
Who knew?
=0=Up there
Annie stared at her father, then glanced at the comm station nearby. "Daddy, can I call Uncle Blackjack?"
Will who was still stuck on the zombie part nodded. "I guess. He might be busy so don't get him out of anything."
Annie ran to the comm channel, opened the list that Family Tower maintained of numbers for those bots who they usually conversed with, then input Blackjack's number. It began to beep.
=0=Diner
Blackjack paused his fork, then took the call. :Blackjack here:
:UNCLE BLACKJACK! THIS IS ANNIE LENNOX! CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION?: the voice said.
Blackjack grinned. :Sure, Annie. What do you wanna know?:
:DADDY SAID YOU WERE IN THE DEAD ZONE AND HID THERE WITH REFUGEES! I HAVE TO DO A REPORT ON IT AND THE BENZULI! CAN I TALK TO YOU PLEASE?:
:What does your atar say?: he asked.
"Daddy, Uncle Blackjack wants to know if you don't mind if I ask him about this?" Annie asked.
"If Blackjack wants to, you can. If he says no, then accept it. Okay?" Will asked.
Annie smiled. "Okay." She turned back to the screen, then pulled a data wafer. It began to record. "Daddy says its okay. Can I record what you say so I get this right? He also says if you don't want to its okay and it is, Uncle Blackjack."
By then, Blackjack had cut everyone into the conversation. :I don't mind, sparkling, though some of it is classified:
:Okay: she replied. :What's the Dead Zone like? Is it the opposite of this universe? You have to be dead there to be alive? That's what I found out:
Blackjack considered that. :You know there's as many dimensions as there are possibilities to live. Its unlimited:
:Yes:
:Then this is a universe that's the reverse of us, mostly. Its definition of what's alive isn't our own. It has other kinks but that's a good way to consider it. It lies in a region of unstable energy, Sector 221-B where you can go in and disappear forever. Its forbidden to our people but when you're running for you life you take chances. We kept a lot of our people alive there for eons:
:I BET YOU WERE HEROIC!:
The room snickered as Blackjack grinned with some small pride. :We tried:
Huge laughter greeted that as everyone quieted to listen.
:What about that Prime and the scientist he took with him, a really bad mech … Jhiaxus?:
:Well, Nova was a terrible prime who wanted to conquer the universe and rule everyone because he thought our life and species was that superior. He had a mad scientist with him, several, and they decided to go out and begin. They crossed into the Dead Zone of the Benzuli Expansion and disappeared long ago. We had to have another Prime and it went downhill from there. I can't tell you much about the area or the group that left. Suffice it to say, we still don't miss them:
:Wow:
Blackjack grinned. So did everyone else.
:It would be a while before Uncle Optimus became the Prime then. He's the BEST PRIME EVER!:
Blackjack chuckled and so did Prime. :I won't argue about that. He's sitting right here in front of me:
:Is he there?:
:He is. Want to talk to him?:
:I WOULD LOVE THAT!:
:Here you go:
:Uncle Optimus? Are you there?:
:I am, Annie:
:What was Nova Prime like? Did you like him or what? Was the scientist as bad as he seemed? All of them are so different from you. YOU'RE THE BEST PRIME EVER!:
Prime felt warmth suffuse him as he listened to the sweet human girl speak from her heart. :Thank you, Annabelle. Nova was a mech who did not understand his responsibility to our people. He should not have left. He should not have decided to conquer others. Losing him in the Benzuli was a mystery but a good one in the long run. He did not have the best priorities and I did not respect that. Other than that, I have no real opinion of him. He was what he was:
:If he left he took the Matrix, right? But you have the Matrix? How did that happen?:
Prime considered the inscrutable Matrix. :You understand multiversal singularities, right?:
:Yes. Its like Primus. It is something that can exist in more than one dimension or universe at the same time. Primus can exist on all of them at the same time. That's why He's so powerful and is our warrior god. He's that awesome:
The mechs and femmes grinned and chuckled.
Prime grinned, too. He loved when little kids, human and bot interviewed him. :That is true. When the Matrix decided to leave Nova, It could. It could also remain with him and not diminish Itself by doing so because It was in more than one place at the same time. It can be all that It needs to be all the time. The Matrix came back to us and found Its place in the Matrix Chamber in the High Imperium in Iacon so that It could choose me during the Choosing Ceremony. It can do whatever It wants to do and we cannot do anything about it:
:It chose you. It did an awesome thing when It did because you're an awesome prime. Thank you, Uncle Optimus. Will you tell Uncle Blackjack thank you please?:
:Consider it done: Prime said as the child signed off. He leaned back with a grin. "That child has me down pat."
HUGE laughter and more agreement than usual greeted that.
=0=Up there
Annie signed off, then checked her recording. Smiling, she rose and fed the data into her computer. Closing the lid, she looked at her father. "Can I go to the Terra Mall? Everyone is going to Chipotle for lunch. I can take a cab and be back before dinner. Okay?" she asked with a big smile.
"Uh, okay, baby. Let me know when you're inside," Will said.
Annie hugged him, then waved at everyone else as she ran for the elevator and the ride down to the cab stand outside. When the elevator door closed, the group in the lounge glanced at each other.
Sheila Conroy frowned slightly. "She didn't ask them about the zombies." Then she grinned. "I want to go to school with her."
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
=0=TBC 8-15-2020
I wish you could know how indescribably beautiful it is here today. Its in the low 70's, the breeze is warm and soft and I'm sitting in the backyard under an umbrella typing this. Its hard to believe that there's anything wrong in the world at this moment. Just know how profoundly you are loved. =Me
NOTE:
Jhiaxus: Gee-ax-us (A mad scientist and criminal responsible for many crimes including shadow play, empurata and gender introduction into the genome. That's just part of it. Hated by Arcee. Hate is just too small a word for it. In one book, she's driven to complete madness by it.)