The Diego Diaries: Talley Ho! (dd8 615)
=0=At the Stable
They arranged the new tack, helped the thirteen humans coming along into their particular case, then mounted up themselves. Only seven individuals would be bearing the tack that would allow ten riders to host humans on their jaunts. A grand total of 20 humans would have the pleasure of riding along with the boys in future as they did their long rounds. The soldiers were going to stay with them the whole shift unless something came up for either side and there would be a bathroom break at Earth2 at midway.
Lennox sat in a comfortable chair inside a clear bubble that was contoured to the side of King. The horses were given pride of place, thereby the travel cases were slim, sleek and contoured to their muscular shoulders. Muscular in that they looked like big rangy horses even if the interior was different than that of the normal equine.
Protoform was miraculous stuff.
He was strapped in, there was a device panel before him and he was hooked into everyone in the patrol including the humans with him. The device panel before him held a grid of the colony, showed where they were and had a running ticker in his language of the police bands that the bots operated with. The view before him was unobstructed and it was an amazing thing how when the horse galloped the case held smoothly steady.
The bots tech was astonishing to him as ever.
The humans present checked in with him, then he punched the red button on his console. A monitor came on and in little boxes covering it the faces of the humans with him could be seen. It was going to be one of those moments when it felt like you were inside the video game. They would be able to talk to each other all through the night or change off to anyone or all of the Watchmen including this night Jessine of the Mentor Group.
The horses reached the highway outside the entrance of the Stables, then gathered together. Springer spoke to them over the intercom. :How is it? If you don't tell us the truth and you have a terrible night its on you, slaggers:
Everyone checked in. It was actually much more comfortable and revealing as far as the tech went than the boxes they rode inside of on missions.
:We're heading out: Springer said. :We're going to the far end of things and work our way back. We're on call for any squeals so prepare for mad cross country dashes if they occur: With that, he began to head out with the others following including Jessine for her night ride. They began to gallop along the roadside on the sidewalk, then off into the pucker brush they all began to go.
=0=Earth2
"They went on a patrol," Kyle Davis said as he sat in the bar with a number of the others including several of the billionaires who were in 'deep doo-doo' as some wag said in the comments section of the local in-house newspaper, Earth2 Times.
"I wonder if that only applies to the soldiers at the new garrison," Owen Harris said as he sat with a beer and a plate of finger food. "It might be interesting to see the sights at night without being seen as a human intruding."
"You could get killed. These bastards sleep with their guns," Kyle replied. "The first bar fight you went to would be your last."
"That makes them interesting," Martin Polanski replied. He was sitting near Owen and enjoying himself as well.
"You might think so," Kyle grumped.
"You're not getting into the spirit of this place," Rick Harris replied. He grinned. "This is the freest and best place I've ever lived. Get out more, Kyle." He paused a moment to check his phone. "Rain needs me. I'll see you tomorrow, Dad." He rose to walk to the recycler with his debris, then onward to the apartments down the concourse about a mile away as the crow flies.
"That's a nice thing, them getting along," Kyle said. "I'd about given up."
"That's the difference between you and me, Kyle. I will never give up. Ever," Owen said quietly.
Martin Polaski grinned faintly.
Intel.
=0=Out there
They trotted along the highway leading into City 4, District 13. Many were the former high castes that lived here. It was getting to be a low key area given all the 'feels' that everyone had since the Convocation. They were, however, answering a disturbance at a bar. They hustled toward the bar, halted down the street from it, then jumped off.
"Sit and enjoy the show, boys," Springer said as he hurried with the others toward the fight which was half in, half out of the bar.
Bezel walked to the group, gathered the reins, then led all the horses farther back, a consequence of Yancy's shooting. He ground hitched them, then watched on the street.
Lon sat his horse with Jessine and a couple of youngsters doing Military Police duty with the Watch as part of their Home Guard requirement. The kids relaxed as they watched the mechs reach the brawl, then get into a huge argument with the perps. It was then that the entire group was jumped by the mechs coming out of the bar with a bone to pick with each other. They all then seemed to set 'said bone' aside to jump the common enemy, the Heat.
It became a free-for-all immediately.
:Whoa. Look at that: the habitat soldiers.
:Yeah. Springer's getting slow: Epps said with a chuckle. :Did anyone bring their cameras?:
Everyone did.
Training purposes.
*cough*
Inside the bar, the manager and his bouncers had gotten up off the floor, found their lead pipes and snorted out the door to get vengeance. Stepping into the melee, they compounded the confusion and overall out-of-controlled-ness that was raging unchecked.
It was at that moment the cavalry arrived.
"Look," Jessine said pointing down the street.
Another horse back patrol was showing up heading for the brawl at high speed. Slamming on the breaks as horses skidded to a stop, a good dozen mechs leaped off to land and sprint for the fight. It would look like a boiling pot for a moment, then all the *perps* would be in cuffs howling at the moon(s) with unbridled rage and emotional destitution.
Like that.
Springer who was hoofing around the group bellowing instructions as he limped on a (now) sore ped walked to a pair of paddy wagons that had just pulled up. Grabbing a *FRAGGING PERP* by the scruff of their chinny-chin-chin, he tossed him to a jailer who caught him, then tossed him into the van. It only took a moment to accomplish the rest before Springer and his group were heading back to their horses after getting things organized with the other patrol. By the time he was seated again that group were galloping off to their own fun and games elsewhere.
:HEY! SPRINGER!:
"What, punk?" Springer asked as he began to lead the patrol up the street and out of the city toward Iacon.
:WHAT HAPPENED AND WHERE ARE WE GOING!:
"To jail, Lennox. Be good to me or I'll leave you there with Johnson and the other two idiots," Springer said with a chuckle.
:WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO HAVE THEIR HEARING!?:
"When Prime has two minutes, Epps," Drift replied as they reached the limits, then cut across the open terrain toward a glittering city far away.
It would boggle the humans minds as they flew over the landscape hurdling drifts, running around boulders, then hooking up with dirt roads made by punters taking shortcuts to other places. They would arrive in jig time.
=0=Elsewhere
"Ada, we have a game on Second Friday. Its against Bern Intermediate."
Ratchet glanced at Saber, Santee, Fireball and Genesis. "When?"
"At 1400 joors," Fireball asked hopefully. "Can you come?"
"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," Ratchet said as four big kids hugged him off his peds.
=0=At the Jailhouse now
It was an interesting ride to the Jail at the Courthouse at Iacon. They had a view not that far off the ground that only could be matched by low flying planes. Jumping over boulders and leaping small craters was terrifyingly exhilarating to one and all.
Mostly.
So would seeing the booking process which Springer cut them into through his own optics.
:We're seeing what Springer sees?: Lars Hammarstrom asked as he saw the big mech walk to the back of the van to help with the unloading process like a good dad.
:Yeah. Great, isn't it?: Niall Graham asked with a big smirk on his face.
This was going to be good. It always was.
"How about we just yank the doors open and grab them as they fly out?" Springer was asking the guards. "They were totally ripped when we left the bar. Expect anything."
A jailer chuckled. "When is it ever different?" he asked as he pulled open a door.
His partner pulled open another as a big mech stepped forward then attempted to punt Springer's helm into the outback of the beyond. His ped connected with Springer's rather nice chin, then the big mech made lift off. He flew way up, then fell straight down to land in a pile.
"OH NO!"
Everyone in the posse who'd been taken by surprise glanced at Jessine who was aghast at what had happened.
"STAY HERE, JESSINE!" -everyone of the mechs
The entire posse hopped down then charged.
:What the unholy fuck: someone in a carrier said as the entire place fell into bedlam. The rest of the party leaped out and began to smite the mechs high and low until their energon cuffs shorted and they were free to apply servos (fists) on without any further hindrance.
It was shocking the amount of violence as the big drunk mechs drove the Good Guys™ back toward the increasingly nervous horses. Though they were ground hitched and incredibly well trained they were picking up on the bad vibe that Yancy was feeling as he began to swivel around in the pack. Almost as one they bolted.
Yancy in some kind of horsey flashback of a similar incident sped off and because they were herd animals they ran off with him. The only one who didn't was a very nice roan with a little femme expertly keeping her in good order.
Lon who was helping subdue a slagger glanced toward the street to see the horses galloping off but for a nice roan horse with Jessine holding her in check. "THE HORSES! THEY BOLTED!"
Everyone paused in mid punch to stare at the disappearing horses with the disappearing soldiers, then transformed. They flew through the air to peel out heading after their mounts and cargo. The jailhouse mechs were able to subdue everyone with tasers now that there wasn't a hundred guys flailing in the melee. They let the slaggers on the ground pop around longer than they needed to because all of them to the last mech like horses.
Galloping along behind everyone, Jessine and a nice roan horse made their way toward their fellows.
=0=Walking out of a berth room
Ratchet paused long enough to take the call, then messaged Ironhide as he disappeared out the door. He was wrangling the last little kid when Ratchet did.
Ironhide paused long enough to consider the mess, then messaged Prime.
=0=Walking out of a berth room
Prime took the call, messaged Prowl as he booked it to the door to disappear immediately into the elevator.
Prowl considered the mess, then messaged Central Emergency Services to let them know there was another stampede underway in Iacon.
It was going to be one of those nights, he thought as he walked into Solus's room to tuck her in again.
=0=TBC 1-16-2023
Words for ESL:
Bone to pick: A beef, an argument, a disagreement. Someone who has that has a problem with you and usually is coming to get it settled one way or the other.
Pucker brush: slang for scrubby land, filled with small bushes and brush.
Perps: cop shorthand for perpetrators. Cops have tons of shortcuts.
Heat: criminal shorthand for cops. Not necessarily complimentary.