The Diego Diaries: Chaos 2 (dd2 13)
-0-On the scene
Ratchet stood on the thigh of Metroplex looking for the joins in his exoskeleton. His armor was extraordinary and highly polished. He magnetized his peds to Metroplex's armor to walk over the slightly curved rise. Reaching a place where the schematics signaled a major join, the armor beneath his peds was burned and brittle.
The heat required to burn Metroplex's specialized armor was intense. Having transformed into root mode, patches all over his right side and some inside his structure were among the burned sections. Had he remained in city mode, all of them would've been centralized together. The change actually made it easier to remove the ruined parts because they were smaller now.
Kneeling to scan the area both on the surface and below, Ratchet transformed a digit and began to cut the armor off. Below waiting to catch it, a long line of Seekers stood. The armor would be heavy and large. The bots needed to manage this had to be big. Most of those were fighting the fire.
He cut along the join line and watched it slide back, unhitching itself from the underpinning. Ordinarily, this would be a relatively easy operation but some of it was melted to the undercarriage. It would have to be lazered gently and removed small bit by small bit. It would take a while.
-0-In the bosom of love
They sat on a couch side-by-side. Orion, Praxus and Sunspot silently stared at their caregivers. A young couple, mechs who worked in data processing sat on the chairs across from them. No one spoke. Each side watched the other.
"What do we do, Boson?" one asked.
"I don't know, Hardee," he replied.
Each group stared at the other without speaking.
-0-Nearby, one floor up
"Venture!"
The door opened as Miler entered frazzled and upset.
Venture who was sitting on a couch holding a fussy Miracle with three other bots sitting silently next to him looked up. "Miler!"
Miler walked to the couch to kiss each child, then his bond. "What's happening? Are we under attack?"
"No," Venture said. "There was a pipeline rupture behind the Business Plaza. No one was hurt very much. Tie Down and Ravel were among the injured but it was minor. IntraComm said it was so."
Miler looked at Venture with a shocked expression. "That's terrible. Ratchet must be crazed."
"I can only imagine."
"What about the sparklings? Should we go get them?" Miler asked worriedly.
"That might be a good idea. I can only imagine how they jerry rigged their sitter problem," Venture said.
"I'll go get them, Ven," Miler said.
"I'll help you, Grandada," Spirit said getting up from the couch. He took Miler's servo and walked out the door with him.
It was silent a moment, then Rambler looked up at Venture. "What's happening, Grandatar? This isn't good is it?"
"Don't worry, Rambler. Your atar has everything in order. It's only a matter of time," Venture said.
-0-Downstairs
Miler knocked on the door then peeked inside. "Hello."
The two mechs sitting on chairs looked at him with hopeful expressions. "Hi. We're watching the sparklings."
Miler looked at the infants sitting in a row on the couch, their silence as abnormal as the events outside. He grinned. "I came to take them off your servos."
They glanced at each other in relief and rose. "They were good sparklings. We didn't mind doing it but we don't have experience with babysitting."
"They were nice, Grandada," Sunspot said helpfully. He looked from Miler to the two relieved nervous mechs. "Thank you."
The two mechs grinned. "Thank you, Sunspot," they said nearly in unison. They watched as Miler walked over to pluck sparklings up and settle them in his arms.
Spirit took Sunspot's servo and the group looked at their babysitters.
"Thank you for helping Ratchet and Ironhide," Miler said.
They smiled and watched as the little group walked out of the apartment. When they were gone the pair looked at each other.
"They just sat there without making a sound," one said.
The other nodded. "It unnerved me. I think we should wait a little bit before going to the Temple for a spark."
The other agreed. "I think so." They walked out closing the door behind them.
-0-Starscream and Prime
They stood on the edge of Metroplex's pad watching as the fire crews battled the blaze. It was shrinking due to lack of fuel and the relentless assault of water, retardant and dirt that was being dropped, shoveled and sprayed at the base of the flames.
"This is suspicious, Prime," Starscream said as he watched.
Prime agreed. "We need to comb through this."
"We have two Seekers that are experts in forensic evaluations of unsafe structures. They also have a very good grasp of what constitutes bomb damage because of it. I offer them to you."
"I accept them gratefully," Prime said.
"I'll bet you good high grade that a high caste is behind this action," Starscream said.
"I would take it but I think you are probably right," Prime replied.
Inferno walked out of the smoke and darkness pausing before the two. "We've scanned the pipelines underground and they're running on empty. It should die down pretty fast now. We'll try to preserve the scene but we have to put out the stream fires and it requires suppressant."
"Try and be careful. We need to know what caused this," Prime replied.
"Oh, I can tell you already. There are blast holes all along the back wall of the Plaza. One of them went off next to the energon transfer station and caused the rupture. Someone either didn't know better than to do that or didn't care. I'll bet my reputation on this being a bombing," Inferno said.
"I think I agree with you, Inferno. But keep this to ourselves for now. I don't want anyone to be afraid," Prime said.
Inferno headed back to run the show.
They watched him until the fires were brought under nominal control.
-0-Ops Center
Prowl stood at the comm station and watched the intel coming in. There were several streams. Three were from the city and one was the early warning system in space that signaled the coming of refugees. They were way off and since they now had space bridges there was more room to maneuver. Urgency was lessened greatly.
He listened as several runners gave him updates. Giving them orders, he watched as they took off heading out into the city to ensure that the displaced families would have a place to stay. That was the biggest issue now. All of the halls and open spaces as well as willing citizens who were ready to take mechs and families in were investigated.
By the time the emergency was stood down everyone who was displaced had a temporary place to stay. When Metroplex was once again settled on his pad they'd be allowed to go back to see what had happened to their apartments and settle back in.
Their belongings couldn't be vetted. The swiftness of his transformation probably ensured that their possessions such as they probably were had been crushed, smashed or bent. That was the one drawback to living inside a sentient being.
-0-At Metroplex
Entire sheets of the big Autobot's armor slid down his body and were gripped by Seekers who were waiting. They were being stacked on flatbeds to be carted off. Since it was original Cybertronian metallic armor of a special kind from back before the Golden Age, it wouldn't be discarded.
It would be smeltered and re-used to finish the smaller areas that demanded attention but the rest would be created anew. The formulations of armor on alien planets without proper metals had been difficult and both sides had struggled in the beginning about what to do.
However, Wheeljack and Perceptor along with Ratchet and some of the great metallurgists in the Autobot Army had developed a reformulation of materials and the smelting process that allowed armor to be made that was as strong, flexible and amenable to transformation as their own. It had saved many a bot over the vorns. It would save this one, too.
Wheeljack and Perceptor studied the discarded armor measuring it with devices to see what they could gather in the smelting process that could be reused. Most of it was still good. Discussing the process with the Master of Metallurgy who was there to gather the armor and assist in its re-fabrication along with Ratchet, a master of metallurgy himself, they came to a plan together.
Trucks began to rumble off heading slowly to the industrial plant farthest out in the city radius. It was the biggest steel fabrication plant and the only one with the space to handle the panels that would be required to cover Metroplex on his recovery. They'd be driving off to the smelters for joors.
-0-Nearby
Sunstreaker and Bluestreak followed by Sideswipe walked into the apartment pausing as they looked at the floor. Orion and Praxus were sitting on Venture's chassis, the two grinning down at their shirt tail relative as he lay flat. They looked up at the twins and smiled.
"LELLO!" Orion said loudly.
Sunstreaker looked at Venture. "Sucker."
Venture grinned. "Says you."
Miler walked from the kitchen where he was showing the little mechs a treat he used to make for Prowl as a small youngling. They were stirring something pink in bowls and smiling broadly. "Sunstreaker. Blue and Sideswipe. Where are our babies?" he asked with a smile.
"We know where Prowl gets it," Sunstreaker said pulling the twin-lets out of his chassis.
Kaon was also retrieved and all were placed on a couch.
"What do you know about things, Sunstreaker?" Venture asked as Orion pressed his nose structure happily and painfully against the big winger's chassis.
"Not much. They have the fire about under control. Metroplex is getting help. All of us are homeless. Nothing but the usual," Sunstreaker said moving to the window.
Below the activity was still brisk and the lights at the arena were on full blast.
"You can stay with us," Rambler said from the kitchen.
Sideswipe peered around then grinned. "I get your berth."
Rambler laughed. "You can recharge with me," he said with a grin.
"Done deal," Sideswipe said as he walked back into the room. "We'd like you to watch the sparklings. We can help. They're moving refugees and we can carry slag."
"We will," Miler said grinning at Kaon. He bent down and picked him up cuddling him. "Ask us something hard."
"We will," Sunstreaker said with a grin. "We'll be back." With that, the three walked out.
Venture looked up from the floor. "When are the cookies done?"
"I can help you, Uncle Miler," Sunspot said getting up from the toys he was playing with.
"I sure could use the help, Sunny," Miler said with a grin. The two walked into the kitchen and cookies were had later.
-0-At the arena
Mechs walked through the mass of bots looking for particular ones. They were grouping bots with friends and family to thin the herd of homeless individuals. Some of the elderly would be spending their homeless periods in wards in the hospital. They'd be given a good safe place to stay and help would be nearby. Nearly 223 of them left with soldiers.
A huge space was opened at the Labor Council Hall in a building underground that served as the meeting and office space for guilds and unions both construction and crafts-oriented.
Measures were taken to make a comfortable space for 1,500. There were other spaces being readied elsewhere as they sought to find space for nearly 5,000 individuals.
Ops Center was in talks with the Housing Authority to open spaces in the new construction but that would require fixtures and furniture as well as final electrical wiring for electronics and appliances to be made. Just the furnishing aspect would take longer than the estimation of Metroplex's recovery time.
It was perplexing.
-0-At the scene
"Metroplex, can you near me?"
Giant optics illuminated. "I hear you, Doctor."
"Where do you hurt? Do you hurt?" Ratchet asked as he stood near the giant's face.
"I do not feel pain. Thank you for that."
"I'm glad, Metroplex. I'm going to be removing armor. You'll feel tugging, maybe a bit of a twinge here and there but the pain magnitude will be infinitesimal. We're going to be rebuilding your injured areas and putting you back together. We're smelting your replacement armor now."
"Will it be up to combat standards?" he asked.
"It will. We're reusing your old armor and making the durable stuff that we use for everyone in this condition," Ratchet replied patting the bot's cheek.
He vented a soft sigh. "Thank you." He was silent a moment. "Doctor, when can I return to my pad and expect my residents back?"
"I think in three orns. You'll be able to transform but some of your systems will be off line waiting for the welds and de-fragging of software to finish. You'll be recuperating and we'll expect that you take it easy and mind the doctors."
He smiled slightly. "I will."
Ratchet patted his face gently. "Thank you, Metroplex for being an inspiration. I wish you could know how much we admire and love you."
The big bot looked at him. "It is I who love and admire everyone. Children play in my park. Families live in my towers. I have been so lonely for so long. I am happy here. I am sorry that there will be destruction of property inside. I tried to minimize it. I think there will be only so much damage. I miss my residents."
"They miss you, too. Don't worry about stuff. Those are things. You let everyone get out safely when it hurt you to do that. You're my hero," Ratchet said.
Metroplex looked at him a moment, then nodded slightly. He off lined his optics and relaxed.
Kappa who held his helm looked at Ratchet. "Thank you, Ratchet," she said.
"Thank you, Kappa for finding us. This wouldn't be a Cybertronian city without all of you," Ratchet said. "I will do my best for our boy here."
Kappa looked at Metroplex. "And he will do his best for all of us."
Ratchet looked at the big bot lying quietly before them. Then he grabbed a tool kit before beginning his climb to the top of Metroplex's hip where a burned panel was waiting for him.
=0=TBC 2012 (9) 4-23-2022