The Diego Diaries: Chaos 5 (dd3 15)
=0=Nearby
They stood on their segways watching the situation. The soldiers had allowed them to come to the site when the fires were put out. Black burnt soil stretched out across the gigantic expansion of Metroplex's footprint. Holes where lines and conduits were placed gaped open, their darkened soil smudged with copious amounts of still blue energon.
The fire crews were doing the mopping up and piles of burned soil, bits and pieces of the stone wall that had been expelled by the blasts and other debris were being removed and piled up for hauling away.
Inferno who was running the show had stopped long enough to give some guarded information about the situation. There was an explosion and energon lines had ruptured. It required the evacuation of the Metroplex District and temporary resettlement of the residents elsewhere.
Metroplex had refrained from transforming until everyone was out, thereby accruing burns to his person that were being treated. They would rebuild his pad, he would return when he could and his residents would be home as soon as possible. Then he left to help with the clean up.
They stared across Metroplex's flat footprint and watched as techs, medics and others worked on the enormous prone figure of the giant. Other giants sat and stood around him, their grim faces telling the tale.
The sky overhead seemed gray and the atmosphere of the city low. Epps stepped on it puttering toward Metroplex with the other soldiers behind him. The scientists after glancing at each other sped off to catch up.
-0-Around the city
"There was an explosion. My bond laid that infrastructure for Metroplex. It was perfect. Metroplex requires and deserves perfection. There wasn't a flaw. Something happened."
"Do you think someone blew it up?"
"I don't know. I just know my bond is an exacting mech. It was laid down correctly."
-0-City Hall in Exile, Labor Council Hall, Industrial Park 1
Ultra Magnus stood beside Jetta at a schematic drawing table as they went over the rebuild for Metroplex. All of the ruined debris and piping would be removed before the noon hour. The electronic infrastructure would take more time. They expected it completed and ready for the critical circuitry and other installations around dark. They were using different alloys in the fabrication of the conduits to make them fireproof and stronger. They would be a test of Wheeljack and Perceptor's genius.
"When can he move back to his platform, Jetta?" Magnus asked his right processor mech.
That bot thought a moment then looked at Magnus. "We can have the platform ready by mid afternoon tomorrow. We want everything to be plug and go. Before, we had his automatic systems help us but we can't be sure this time.
"Ratchet told me that they'll be occupied with his recovery for about six or seven orns. This makes it a manual join."
Magnus considered that. "Take who you need. Talk to Reef at the mustering hall. He'll know who's expert at this sort of reintegration project."
"Already did," Jetta said with a grin. "He has the teams in place."
Magnus felt relief as he stared at the schematics. "Good. Good work, Jetta."
-0-Nearby
Prowl stared at the data and considered the short term plan ahead. They'd arrived at the point where a trip through the Trigger was at hand. A swift meet up in the Expansion with an assessment of the situation was on the books. So was the film of the soldiers, some science trade offs with Earth, the traitor in Sector 7 and a new migration. The Business Plaza wasn't the only thing blown to the Pit.
Their plate was never empty but this felt excessively full. He began to organize the possibilities. The Trigger had to be addressed. The Expansion was on Prime's mind constantly. He was clear that the individuals there were Cybertronians. The omens and meditations were clear.
Prowl sat and began to formulate the next few orns, what would occur and when. They had a lot of things to do and on top of it all they were also searching for a bomber.
-0-Metroplex
He climbed down from the big bot walking to where his face lay cradled on the lap of Kappa. Looking up at her, he smiled. "You've been here for a while, Kappa. You might want to trade duties."
"I don't mind, Ratchet," she said, her voice as feminine as her stature was intimidating. "How is he?"
"He's coming along fine. The replacement of damage is ahead of schedule. We have our best bots on this. By tomorrow morning he'll be fit again. The part that's going to take a bit of time is his replacement armor."
"It will be up to his standards? He sets a very high standard for his armor, Ratchet. He does not shirk his place in battle and few of us can handle such enemies as Trypticon."
"I know. I don't know anyone who can handle Trypticon and I hope I never have to see it," he said. "His armor is at or exceeds his specifications."
"I am glad," she said. "Thank you."
"It's my honor."
"He misses his residents. He expresses all the time the contentment he feels being here and having such a peaceful life after all that we've been through," she said.
Ratchet agreed. "My sons and grandchildren live in one of his towers. I know how much they miss their home. There's few who aren't going to be happy about being home again with him." He began to walk across the empty pad currently being inlaid with infrastructure designed to help him function in city mode. Spotting the humans watching nearby, he walked over to them and knelt.
:Hello, Niall. Boys: He looked at the others. :Hello massed scientists of Earth:
There were chuckles and smiles.
Then Sheila Conroy moved closer. :Ratchet, how is Metroplex?:
:He'll recover just fine. He's the toughest Autobot of them all, bar none,: Ratchet said. :He's also one of the two largest Cybertronians that we know still exist who function in the real world:
:He's about a half mile tall is he?: she asked.
:Just a bit taller than that. He's a Guardian and they don't tend to be small. But among them, he's King Kong:
Epps snorted. :When will he be back in business?:
:He'll be able to seat himself in a day or so, then recovery will take longer but he's in good shape for a bot his age and I don't expect problems:
:Where are Sunstreaker and the trine staying?: Lennox asked with a grin.
"I heard they were camping at Prime's house: Ratchet said with a chuckle. :That should be fun:
:Where are your sparklings?:
:Sparklings? Do I have sparklings?: he asked with a huge grin.
They chuckled.
:I hear you have a femme in the pipeline: Lennox said with a grin. :When?:
Ratchet looked at him for a moment. Pausing to troubleshoot the question with Prime and Ironhide, they came to consensus:
Prime- "Up to you, Ratchet." ...
Ironhide- "WHAT THE FRAG!? NO!? SLAG THEM! THEY DON'T NEED TO KNOW *SLAG*, THE FRAGGERS! NO!"
Ratchet smiled then leaned closer. :Less than seventeen orns:
:Damn. We'll still be here. Will you do the ceremony? The city is a bit bigger than usual: Niall said with a grin.
:Same as usual: Ratchet stood up and grinned down at the little crew. :I'll talk to you later: With that he ambled onward heading for Prime's house and the World of Sparklings (tm) that had taken up residence there.
The humans watched him go, then the scientists as one turned toward the soldiers. :What ceremony?: they said almost in unison.
-0-The Prime Residence
He stuck his helm inside the door. "Well, isn't this cute. They didn't give you too much trouble did they?"
Miler who was holding the femmes in his lap grinned. "We're used to difficult sparklings, Ratchet. We raised Prowl."
"I'd love to hear those stories. It really helps a spark to unburden themselves to a sympathetic audial and I promise not to record a single word. Maybe," Ratchet said with a big smile.
Half a dozen sparklings looked up at the door. Several of them burst into tears and held up their arms.
Chuckling, Ratchet walked in to pick up Orion and Praxus. They clung to him as he walked to sit on a chair. "Thank you, Miler and Venture for looking after the hoodlums. They aren't easy."
"They were good. We played, ate cookies and made a lot of noise," Miler said as he sat with a femme.
Venture sitting nearby held Iacon. "The other mechs are playing around here somewhere."
"Thank you," Ratchet said as the sparklings patted his face to get his attention. "What?" he asked.
"ADA!" Praxus said. Then he burst into tears.
Orion looked at him then Ratchet. "ADA! PAX?"
"Yes, Pax is a crybaby," Ratchet said with a smile.
Orion grinned madly and lay against Ratchet's chassis as his ada comforted Praxus against his cheek. "They're such a bunch of hoodlums."
"I find them fun. They remind me of Prowl before he changed his tactics," Miler said.
"Tactics?" Ratchet asked with surprise.
"He was a bouncy sparkling, running and playing. Then we began to mold him how we were molded because we didn't know any better." Miler rolled his optics. "I can't believe we could be so stupid as to try to quash our sparkling's spirit like that. Anyway," he said venting a sigh, "he got smarter than us, learning how to challenge and leave us in the dust. He was designed to be intensely smart and he was a fast learner."
Ratchet said, "I can see how that might've been a problem."
"He always in the end went his own way. He'd be resilient in his opposition and we didn't know what to do about it. He went to University but he wouldn't take physics and math like we wanted for him. He became all of that and more but he worked as a policeman.
"I remember being angry but in some parts of my processor I was proud of him. He went out and took hold of his life. He was tough, our Prowl. I wish I'd said so much earlier in his life that I was proud of him. He was such a brick wall that it took the Diaspora to come to my truths about him and about us. This life we lead is a blessing and shouldn't be ours. But it is and I'm on my knees in gratitude," Venture said. "This life is a blessing."
"I think so, too. Who would've thought that we could have our families back. There are so many who have including me and there are more coming. I got the heads up that a new migration is heading this way and its huge. Then there's the group in the Expansion that Optimus believes is ours. This life is getting to be exciting."
"The bombing. It was a bombing wasn't it," Miler asked with concern.
Ratchet considered that. "Someone making a statement. Optimus will find them. This city is more secure now than it was before. I miss having Metroplex there. It will be a good thing when he's back."
Venture agreed. "I know."
"Your office is in his city administration sector isn't it," Ratchet asked.
He grinned. "I can't wait to see the wreckage."
"He has the capacity to transform and minimize the damage inside of himself because he's designed to be a city residence mechanism. I hope and expect that there will be less damage than you think," Ratchet said.
"I hope you're right. I left my personal computing device in there," Venture said.
"Your left processor," Miler said.
He agreed. "I also have a lot of pictures and video of the little mechs and Miracle on it."
"That's why I store them inside my personal databases," Ratchet said.
"Point taken," Venture replied with a grin.
-0-Outside
The lights overhead came on and the ones brought in from the mines illuminated the area as they worked. Digging up tons of earth, they transported it out. It would be taken to the brick factory where it'd be burned in the giant kilns.
Toxic waste ended up there to keep the precincts of the city pristine. Large piles of culverts waited insertion into the ground connecting the gigantic mechanism resting nearby with his life support system below ground.
Jetta watched nearby with Elita-1, sipping energon as they watched the process. It was getting dark outside but the progress was doing well. The debris and soil had been cleared. The heavy digging and infrastructure building was underway.
"How long are you going to be here?" Elita asked.
"Probably all night," Jetta said. "I think I want to see how this goes. They might need some revisions or something."
"You hate not being present at things don't you," she asked with a grin.
He looked at her and shrugged. "I'm hopeless and you knew that going in."
"I did," she said with a chuckle. "I'll keep you company."
"Good," he said.
They stood together in the spotlights and watched as the pad began to take shape.
-0-That evening
They walked to the residence together riding up the elevator alone. "Then we're in agreement on the agenda?" Prowl asked as he look at his ubiquitous data pad.
"I think so," Prime said leaning wearily back against the wall. "I will be glad to hear from Wheeljack and Perceptor on the tapes."
Prowl glanced at him. "I agree. When we get the bomber we can assess threat more fully. I don't know whether this is a single individual or a group but I'd lay real shanix on betting that it was done by a high caste."
"I would not take the bet. We have to do something about that and make it clear that the system is over. I think a convocation is in order at some point."
"I think you're right," Prowl said as the elevator stopped. They stepped out and walked to the big doors of their apartment. Entering, they halted at the sight. Infants were everywhere, younglings either playing with them or with each other.
Nearby reading the local newspaper, 'The Autobot City Daily News' on a data pad, Venture looked up. "Hi."
"Hi," Prowl said moving in to scoop up Iacon. He cuddled her then glanced at his father. "You have a few extra infants I can see."
"Yes. Isn't it glorious?" Venture replied as Miler leaned around the corner with a smile.
"You will not get an argument with me," Optimus said scooping up Uraya.
-0-In a hospital ward
"How do you feel?"
"I feel good, Ratchet. My helm doesn't hurt now."
"I'm glad, Atar. How does your arm feel?"
"It's a bit sore. How is the store?" Tie Down asked.
"I haven't been inside yet but the front of the Plaza is in good shape. The back is full of holes," Ratchet replied.
"Who would do such a thing, son?" Ravel asked with a worried expression.
Ratchet took Ravel's servo, one that had only known hardship and work until now. He squeezed it, the servo that had given him love all his life. "I don't know, Ada but don't worry. Ironhide and Prime are on the trail."
"Then it will be alright," Tie Down said glancing at his bond. "Don't worry, Ravie. Our Ironhide will find this mech."
Ratchet grinned at the sweetness.
=0=TBC 2012 (9) 4-23-2022