The Diego Diaries: Chaos 21
=0=Studio in Cultural Center, Autobot City, Mars
He knelt beside her watching her brush strokes. They were sure and deft. She really knew what she wanted but he could see things that needed discussion. Layering paint was still a mystery and so was content arrangement. But there was also something free and sure about her statement and he liked it. She would be easy to teach. He wouldn't have to undo layers of 'things'.
Bluestreak and Sideswipe lounged on the couch watching the two. "Sadee."
She paused and looked at Sideswipe, a look of exhileration on her face. "What?" she asked in her perky little voice.
"Why aren't you in school?" he asked.
"Because my genitors wanted me to get started. They have been trying to get me here for a while but you are in and out so much," she said turning back to her easel.
Sunstreaker shrugged. "We're front-liners. We're on call to protect the city and everyone in it."
"That's why you're both so awesome," she said leaning into the picture to put a touch of umber *just so*.
He looked at her, this little ball of energy who had nothing on her mind but being herself and he smiled slightly. Glancing at Sideswipe, he matched that bot's smirk. Bluestreak grinned. :Now you know what Iacon is going to be like someday:
:Frag, yeah: Sunstreaker sent back. :Just as slagging amazing: He turned back to his student and watched as she did her art, made her few mistakes and created a piece she would call 'Destiny'. She would dedicate it to her genitors and her new instructor, Sunstreaker 'who is just so *awesome*, Ada!'
-0-At the meeting
They worked through the agenda, collecting all the updates and slag that was routinely gathered in such a grouping. As they did, new intell was released from Data Processing in the City Hall. Magnus presented it. "We have 309,257 citizens living here. We have enough housing either in use or ready to be used for 500,000 precisely at this time. More will be made available in Phase Four of the construction.
"In the professions, we have thousands if not tens of thousands of mechs and and the few femmes among us that are skilled workers to augment the present work population that we field. The army stands at 7,500+ duty soldiers with a Home Guard at least 15,000. The Air Armada is now 4,789 and growing. A number of our Seeker population which are not going to be professional soldiers serve in the Home Guard Air Wing both as last line of defense fighters and medics. They are about 367, most of them youngling mechs or conscientious objectors like Breezy and his clan.
"We have scientists, doctors, teachers, a clutch of 23 lawyers and 2 with judge experience, several dozen architects and literally more mechs with entrepreneurial experience that we can count. I imagine that the business community will expand exponentially when they get a bead on the local markets and the local demand.
"We have commercial pilots, specialists in communications, space and on-world telecommunications, robotics as well as energy and material conservation specialists. There is going to be a depth to our skills databases that is heartening.
"Right now, we added 1,200+ new younglings and sparklings to the schools. Herling touched on that already. It could come about that if the population keeps growing that our policy regarding all of our people attending school will necessitate opening another tower just for education. I also have been getting requests for spaces for guilds and crafts to open tech schools and shops to train younglings and adults in their relevant skills. The demand is growing faster than our current programs allow. We have to consider the dearth of technical and vocational educational opportunities beyond our apprentice programs. We have a big demand and its growing."
Prime nodded and looked at Herling. "Will you make the appropriate surveys and recommendations, Herling? We can take it up when you have completed the needs assessment."
He nodded and grinned. "I never thought I would have such worries to attend to. I am extremely happy to do this. Nova and the committee can help. We will have the meeting tonight, Ironhide, if you are free."
He nodded and glanced at Ratchet. "I am free aren't I?'
"Go. Be free," Ratchet said with a chuckle.
"Are you on a school committee, son?" Alor asked with surprise.
"I am. So is Sunstreaker," Ironhide said proudly. "We take our genitoring seriously."
"He does," Ratchet said nodding. He smiled. "Big phony."
Hilarity ensued.
"What about the good of the order?" Prime asked as he slouched comfortably in his chair, his sense of well being teetering off the scale.
"I think we did it all," Mirage said. "I congratulate everyone."
"Suck up," Jazz said glancing at his partner with a smirk.
"Ha." Mirage grinned back.
"Any requests for the afternoon show?" Jazz asked. "By the way, Alor, we would love to interview you at some point. Blaster and I have a show on the IntraComm that features music and we have been playing yours overtime since you got here."
Alor grinned. "Thank you, Jazz. I would be honored."
"Should be the other way around, I think," Ironhide said with a smirk. "Not often you get to interview the greatest musician that Cybertron ever produced."
Hilarity and many raspberries followed including noogies from his ada.
"I think everything is in servo," Prowl said leaning back with a grin. "The next adult football game is in four orns. Iacon and Praxus will play again soon. And of course when that happens Iacon will lose. Again." He grinned at Ratchet. "Loser."
"Whiner," Ratchet said with a smirk.
"Adult football?" Alor asked with surprise, his enormous sports itch rising to be scratched. Its intensity was only trumped by that of his bond, both of them FANATICAL Praxus Science fans.
"We have two stadiums. One for the infant league and one for adults. We have six teams and in the end, because it is inevitable and because Primus loves me best, Praxus Science will take the first Martian Adult Football Championship. Thus endeth the lesson," Prowl said before a fussilade of abuse and catcalls nearly drove him under the table.
-0-On the way out
They meandered out, chatting and laughing. Neo made a beeline for school along with Nova while Herling discussed a short agenda with Ironhide for the Educational Committee meeting that night in the big conference room in the school tower. "If you can alert Sunstreaker, Ironhide, I will tell everyone else. I see them all during the orn."
Ironhide nodded and grinned as Nitro paused smirking at him. "If you are through," the big Seeker said.
Ironhide snorted and looked at his genitors. "This is the Master of Munitions. He's a former 'Con who saw the error of his ways. He also has a slagging fine daughter."
Nitro snorted and grinned. Holding up his forearm, he nodded to Ironhide's genitors. "You will know us by our sign."
They stared at the reddish orange Autobrand glistening on his armor. "I have seen those all orn. I wondered why they were placed so," Alor said.
"There's a great story to it," Nitro said. "We built a prison and showed our less friendly Decepticon refugess our quality." He glanced at Ironhide with a smirk. "Tell them about the prison riot some time."
They both stared at Ironhide. "Prison riot?"
"It was my finest hour. I ended up in the brig. So did Ironhide. He hit Magnus in the face. You had to be there," Ratchet said wandering out and pausing beside them.
At that moment, Breakdown and Knockout rounded the corner heading for Club Cybertron for the Cybertronian version of a beer. Pausing, staring at Blackjack and Alor with surprise, Knockout gathered himself together. "Well, you never know what you're going to bump into around here."
"I'm surprised you weren't scrapped before now, Knockout," Alor said.
"He can be. Just say the word, Ada," Ironhide said, his optical ridges narrowing.
"Ada?" Knockout said glancing up at a mildly wary and even more amused Breakdown. "Frag."
"Alor, Blackjack, this is my assistant, Breakdown," Ratchet began.
"You have a Stunticon for an assistant?" Blackjack asked with surprise.
"I do and he's a slagging fine one," Ratchet said with a grin.
Breakdown felt the warmth of Ratchet's approval. He nodded slightly to the big red and white bot with the fake chevron. Ratchet grinned and looked at Knockout. "And this is Knockout. He leaves me speechless."
"Oh funny," Knockout said folding his arms over his chassis as he pouted, knowing full well it made them appear sexy. He looked at them and shook his helm. "It would be our luck that you two are his genitors," he said nodding to Ironhide.
"Don't forget it either, you little slagger. I won't be so generous as Ratchet if you ever push me," Ironhide said.
Breakdown snorted and looked down at Knockout. That bot frowned. "You're not supposed to laugh, you slagger."
Breakdown snorted again and nodded to Ratchet. He turned and walked across the Rec Room for the door leaving Knockout behind. The little red bot watched him and then frowned. "Breakdown! What the frag?" He looked at Ratchet and glowered, "You are a very bad influence on him."
"Scat before he finds another bot to frag," Ratchet said with a chuckle.
Knockout shot him a dirty look and walked away gathering his tattered dignity around him. Blackjack shook his helm. "What a slagger that one is. The other? Your assistant.
Ratchet nodded.
"Then there must be something to him," the big bot said watching as Knockout exited the building.
"We have two of his brothers in the brig," Ratchet said slipping his arm through Blackjack's. They turned and headed toward Central Hub and the Armory below.
"Two? Which ones?" Blackjack asked as they climbed the three small steps and turned to an elevator. They entered and as the door began to come together, Ratchet told him. The doors closing cut off the big Autobot's laughter.
-0-Down below
They stood in the Great Armored Room, the main munitions construction room where 20 mechs worked making the weaponry of the day from the list on a large monitor overhead. Some of them were youngling Decepticons and some were civilians who worked making munitions in refugee settlements and on Cybertron. Holi who was Ironhide's right processor greeted them. He praised her and she grinned, patting Ironhide's arm. "He's a big pussycat. I love working here."
"Your bond works here too and I don't suppose that has anything to do with it," Ratchet teased.
"Nope," she said with a big smile. "Cordie runs the train system that delivers things and brings things in."
"Train system?" Blackjack asked, evidently pleased.
Ironhide grinned. "Wanna go for a ride?" He didn't have to ask twice. The four would spend the next three joors taking trains here and there all over the city as Ironhide explained the armories, hubs, depots and other arrangements that had come from his own fertile imagination.
It would be glorious.
-0-Medical Building
"That wasn't funny, Breakdown."
"I thought it was. You need to dial up your sense of humor, Knockout."
The smaller bot looked at his Onliest Only One and frowned. Things hadn't been normal since they came here and the idea that Breakdown might not need him made a spot in the middle of his spark flutter just thinking about it. He walked over and looked at the chore Breakdown was doing. They had had a 'beer' at the Club and gone on duty together. They were on the same shift now and even though every other orn he was in the emergency room, he still spent most of his work time hanging with the bot shooting the slag and getting the check list done.
It was awesome until it wasn't.
-0-Studio
They sat together looking at a large roll out datapad upon which examples of art glowed with great beauty. Most of them were Cybertronian but Sunstreaker had begun to download images of human art that appealed to him. Sadee sat on her servos and knees scrutinizing the images as Sunstreaker explained them, showed how different techniques had created them and otherwise mentoring the perky little femme.
"These are pretty nice," she said pointing to two impressionist paintings that were side by side. "I really like these."
Sunstreaker nodded. "You know, humans go on and on about what makes great art and what doesn't. They sort of have a fragging circular firing squad about it. I know what appeals to me and what I like. If I said that around some of the human critics, they would laugh at me."
"Only once," Sadee said looking up at him with a big smile.
He snorted and grinned at her. "Slag yeah," he said as they touched the screen and new images appeared.
Sideswipe and Bluestreak lounging nearby reading and playing video games inside their processors merely smirked.
Sunstreaker was enjoying himself. Bluestreak was catching up on his stories and both of he and Sideswipe were tied in Level 7 of the Cybertronian dual player video game, 'Frag The Decepticons'. All was perfect in their world.
-0-Nearby
They came out with the soldiers taking their first foray into the daytime world of Autobot City. They were shown how to find the bots they had been given permission to follow. They had no gear with them at the moment. Today, they would go out into the city and learn it. Today, they would be able to put details to the grid map they had designed to locate places quickly.
Will Lennox stood on his segway, the others huddled around him. They were listening as he gave them the layout of the land. "Behind me are the housing districts. They house the great quantity of citizenry that live here. We are over 300,000 bots so I'm told. All but 5,000 of them live in the former quarries. The first quarry, Mare Tranquilitatis was named in a school contest. The kids name things around here.
"The center of the former quarries are common spaces for all. To the left of me is the Metroplex District. Metroplex is a sentient being and he is to be treated with absolute respect. He knows when you come and go. Understand that. He doesn't intrude but he is aware of his body and what happens inside the environs.
"Beyond is the Autobot City Business Plaza. It is a major business venue but it has been closed for a few orns. It had an explosion."
"Orns?" someone in the crew asked.
"Days. Remember, the day here is about a half hour longer than on Earth. The times you want to contact Earth because it is say, noon, here … it could be midnight there. Beyond Metroplex is the Industrial area and over there," he said pointing to the dome of the Science Habitat, "that is where the scientists here live. We live there when we come here with new people but we have our own quarters in the tower where you all are. See the bigger dome farther on?"
They turned and nodded.
"That is the Temple. You are forbidden to go there. I can't stress it enough. That is sacred space. Only Optimus Prime can tell you if its okay to go there."
"Can you? Go there, I mean?" another crew member asked.
Lennox nodded. "We can. We have free run of the city. We have their trust. You don't. It could end your project if you decide to be a smart ass and break the few rules that they gave you to follow. They are not negotiable." He turned slightly. "That is the Fortress, the first building here and a great deal of it and the city extends underground.
"The airfield is four times bigger than the last time a human group came here. They are amazing builders and make incredible structures swiftly. Beyond the city are two arenas. The one you see over there," he said pointing, "is the first they made and now its for the schools. Beyond that is the municipal arena and it sits 200,000. If you continue beyond it, you will end up at Aerie Hill, the Seeker enclave."
"Will we be able to go there? I would love to meet Starscream," another said, the rest nodding.
As he listened, Will, Bobby and Niall watched as a massive mechanism walked beside another heading toward the City Hall. They were talking together, every so often one or the other chuckling. Glancing at each other, the soldiers smirked. "I don't know about that," Lennox said as Starscream and Optimus Prime passed by, nodding to the soldiers are they did. "Starscream is sort of the reclusive type, don't you agree?" he asked looking at Niall and Bobby.
The two grinned and nodded back. "I would say that," Niall agreed with a chuckle.
The other humans didn't have a clue.
=0=TBC
2012 (9)