The Diego Diaries: Chaos 50
=0=Out there
They floated amidst the debris searching for anything that might be of value or resemble a body part. They had found a servo and part of a leg. That had been taken to a toxic bin that was anchored against a runabout. Moving through the field, they were aware that optics were watching. Pausing, looking to the side, Sideswipe noticed a femme staring at him, a youngling of a very pretty type. She ducked down and slowly arose, peering at him shyly. He grinned and floated over.
She was part of a large party on a very large ship. There were many view ports along the vast side and out of them many were the individuals watching. He turned his shoulder showing her the Autobrand. She relaxed slightly, smiling shyly. He put his servo on the window and she slowly pressed hers against his. For a moment, she was peaceful. Then Sunstreaker floated up, an arm in his possession. She ducked down.
:Put that away, you slagger. There's a little femme inside: Sideswipe said glaring at Sunstreaker.
He slipped the arm fragment into subspace and watched as the shy little femme slowly rose and peered out again. She looked at them and then raised both her servos pressing them against the glass. They grinned glancing at each other. Then they put a servo each against hers. She smiled at last, brightly and happily.
-0-At the studio
Bluestreak sat reading the Autobot City Daily News on the datapad in his servos as all around him infants played happily. Hero had meeped and drew his attention. She was overheated so he rearranged her blankets, patting the baby back into recharge. The mechs were hooting and jabbering, their happiness almost palpable.
The little femmes were 'holding babies'. They had two dollies and were trying to rock them. They couldn't rock too much because they would tip over. Lying flat, meeping themselves, Bluestreak would sit them back up and they would smiled ginormously. "You two are impossibly cute," he said as he stepped back. They looked at him, their dollies firmly clutched; then back to 'rocking the baby' they went. Bluestreak turned to go sit again and paused. A human femme and a cameraman were paused in the open door on segways. Behind them grinning sheepishly a camera mech from IntraComm waited.
:Hi. I hope I'm not disturbing you: Lenora said.
Bluestreak glanced at the mech behind her and her crewman, then her again. :Uh, I don't think you are:
:May I come in and talk to you? You are in a trine with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Right?: she asked.
Blue paused a moment, then nodded. :Yes. Come in.:
She drove in with her cameraman on the back followed by the IntraComm mech who was named Con. Pausing, glancing at the infants with a smile, she looked up at Bluestreak. :Would you mind being interviewed for the series we're making? We know you have a lovely family and sometimes you go on missions, sometimes not. Could we get your point of view too?:
Bluestreak paused a moment. Then he took a chance. :Sunny. Sideswipe: For a moment there was nothing, then a faint stirring, the kind they always had when separated by great distance. "What?" he could feel rather than hear. "They want me to speak to them on the film. What do you want?"
A surge of emotion reached him and he could tell that a heated conversation was going on. Then it came to him. "Ok. Be careful." He pulsed back emotion they had come to understand was agreement. He turned and looked at the humans who understood what he was doing. He nodded. :It depends on what you want: he said.
:We want your side, Bluestreak. What is it like to be with two of the toughest, baddest, most awesome front-liners in the Autobot Army?: she asked earnestly.
Bluestreak smiled in spite of himself.
-0-Earlier in the habitat tower
"I think we're missing an entire aspect of this situation."
Everyone turned to look at Lenora. She gathered her guts. "I think no one is talking to the bonds of these guys. What about the other side of their lives? What about families and their babies and kids?"
They looked at her for a moment; then Jack Mellar nodded. "Do it," he said. So she did.
-0-Gamma
They were awakening, their piteous cries sparkfelt. Prime held one as he poured over data while others picked up the slack. Prowl held a tiny mech who could be no older than Hero. He was clinging to a dollie that they had given him from the medical stores. It reminded Prowl of images of tiny infant primates on Earth who clung fearfully to dollies when they were away from their mothers. He looked down the compartment toward the door.
Ironhide was holding one in his arm, the infant nearly asleep again under his expert tutelage. A crewmech who was himself an ada knelt by the others and patted them, talking to them softly as they lay fussing slightly. They were tired and in a strange place. They were responding to the kind energy but the familiar one, the energy of parents was not there to comfort them. It was sad but they coped along.
The last few groups were getting ready to go and soon they would collapse the vortex. They would not be done with this space however. They would be back in force. If the enemy was building a base this close to the traditional path of migrations, they would have to not only police it, they would have to figure out how to get their missing refugees back. They wouldn't be abandoning this area any time soon.
-0-Club Cybertron
They sat with two former Decepticons drinking high grade and asking questions. The place was filled with the lunch crowd and it was like any other place on Cybertron.
"We were told it doesn't matter what your faction was if you get along and follow the rules," Coldspray said.
The others nodded. Two more joined them, all of them leaning forward on their elbows to talk quietly above the sound of laughter, conversation and football playing on overhead monitors.
"It doesn't," a mech said nodding. "I was one of the first to defect. I don't owe Megatron or the Cause slag. No one has been on my case here because I was a Decepticon. No one has denied me anything I set out to do because of what I was. Prime keeps his word. You will have to give your oath."
"We know," Hardtime said nodding. "The system isn't allowed here."
"Frag no," another mech said. "That's dead. I hear Prime's calling a convocation about it shortly. We're voting against it. What about you?"
"What do you mean?" Coldspray asked.
"Will you vote for or against it in the convocation?" he asked again.
"Against." He paused a moment. "You mean, we get to vote too?"
"Sure," the same mech said with a grin. "You are going to be living here. Take advantage of this place. For the first time in our lives, we get to do what we want. Oh, and remember. There are slaggers here who are still in the brig at night. Barricade and Scorponok for example. There is also that damned Stiletto. He's a king fragger. Avoid them. Don't get pulled into their slag. Let it go. They're in the can and you are out here. Stay out here."
They nodded.
-0-Ratchet
He walked among the rows of patients getting the worst cases ready to go through with Kappa. The end of the emergencies was over and the line of ships left to go were those without major incidents aboard. Kappa was going to be going through with the next group so Ratchet got ready to leave the ship to go to Gamma and help with the infants.
All of their cases were stable, though three were critical. They would survive he thought gruffly. Slaggers had taken a lot of patching. His handiwork was good and they were young. Just about the best formula for survival a mech could ask for. Turning to Goldwing, he nodded. "You got it well in servo, Goldie. I'm proud of you and the team."
They all paused and looked at him, grinning from the hard earned and well meant compliment. "Thank you, Ratchet. We can handle this through to the hospital. We can meet you there."
"Good," Ratchet said looking around once more. "I'm going to help with the babies."
"What's going to happen to them?" Gypsy asked. She had floated over from Xantium to assist.
"Prowl has commandeered them for now. He's going to keep them together until we get their genitors back," Ratchet said.
They looked at him especially the younger ones. "What can we do to get them back, Ratchet? There must be nearly 2,500 of them in that mess."
"We'll get them back. We have the Matrix," Ratchet said. "We've spun miracles in the past with less." He squeezed the youngling's arm. "You all did good. I'm proud of you. I know it was scary but you didn't fall apart. You are a good team. I will meet you on the other side." He nodded to them and walked to the door donning his jet pack. With a grin, he turned and stepped through the force field to wend his way back to Gamma.
They watched him go. "I will never get used to this," the youngling said. "I don't know how he does it."
"He's done it all his life," Gypsy said nodding. "He loves his soldiers."
They nodded. "You'll get better at it, youngling," Goldwing said. "Don't get used to it. When you do, you die."
The youngling looked at Goldwing, himself the veteran of many battles and nodded. Then they turned back to their patients to wait their turn. When it came, they would disappear swiftly and at the other end, willing servos would be waiting.
-0-Out there
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe stowed the last identifiable portion of someone's anatomy that they could find. Kup and Springer were sitting magnetized to Xantium's hull so they turned and glided over. Magnetizing themselves, they stared down at the pair. "Some of us do the work. Some slag off. No justice: Sunstreaker said with a grin.
Springer snorted. :Some lead. Some are led. Get used to it:
:So ..." Sideswipe began sitting next to Springer, magnetizing to the hull. :Do you lead or are you led?:
Springer well aware of what he was saying glanced at the big youngling. :You know I don't frag and tell:
Enormous guff met that remark. Sunstreaker sat beside Kup magnetizing to the broad gleaming hull of Xantium. :Drift:
:What?: that handsome bot answered from somewhere in the mix.
:Tell me something. Do you lead or are you led?: the big yellow Lambo asked with a wolfish grin.
:What?: came the answer.
Sunstreaker looked at Springer with the same grin. :I just checked with Drift. Apparently you are the led:
Enormous slag met that remark.
Drift appeared from over the hull of Xantium walking magnetized to pause beside them. Looking down with a grin, he considered the four slaggers before him. :I am assuming you are talking about our face life. Coming for tips are you?:
Slag was ginormous.
Sitting, relaxing a little, he looked at Springer who was leaning back resting on his elbows, his long legs stretched out before him. :You're supposed to defend me, you fragger:
:You're on your own, Slick: Springer said with a grin. :What's it look like on your side of Fat Aft?:
:Who are you calling fat aft?: a deep masculine voice asked from beneath them with great humor.
Enormous slag followed.
:I think you hurt Xantium's feelings, dumbaft. Slag your own ride home: Kup said with a grin.
Springer smirked and shrugged. :You gotta admit. Compared to Kappa's very nice shapely aft, Xantium is a whale:
Slag was huge including that from beneath their peds.
:So how is it going?: Springer asked his sparring partner and all around frag buddy.
:It's pretty much clear. Fluids, fuel and microbits are all that's left that way: Drift answered nodding over his shoulder. It was quiet a moment. :Any word on how we're going to be getting the hostages out?:
:Nothing so far: Kup replied as he sat chewing on his stogie, his optics fixed on a passenger vessel nearby which was moving forward to get into line to leave. :You can count on us being a large part of whatever Prowl and Prime have in mind. Gonna get them out. Sparklings need their adas:
:Fraggers. When I saw those babies floating out there, I could have massacred an army: Sideswipe said. Sunstreaker nodded. :Imagine that being the girls or Kaon:
:I can't: Sideswipe said.
:We'll get 'em. That's what we do: Kup said staring at the stogie in his servo.
:Frag yeah: Sideswipe said dangerously.
:You go first: Drift said looking at Springer. :I hear you lead:
The slag was ginormous.
=0=TBC
2012 (10)