The Diego Diaries; Psy-Ops 21 (dd3 101)
-0-Out there
They stepped off the shuttle and walked toward The Fortress beside the construction boss. The big installation had improved even in the short time they'd been gone. They listened as the big foreman began to explain the changes in the installation and the surrounding area.
The turret guns were being placed, two of them fully planted with two more in various stages of readiness. The facility was three fourths the size of the original on Mars and held one less gun emplacement due to its square rather than pentagonal shape.
Beyond the stone fort were the emerging underground hardened bunkers where all of the ships, their support, shops and the Seekers would be housed. All were free to use the Fort as their base for dining and recreation but the hardened underground bunkers would allow the big Seekers to be more comfortable.
Rows of battle cruisers sat nearby lined up ready to depart at a moment's notice. They were armed to the teeth and programmed to lift off when the pilot pressed a two digit code into the main computers.
They walked forward to enter, passing through the force field that was a temporary door for workers and their loads to get through. The first thing that greeted anyone was a smaller version of the rec room Fortress on Mars. It filled a large space and sported comfortable couches and chairs among the tables. Nearby, technicians were working to install the energon bar for food and all of the electronics and monitors that would be available for the residents.
A huge monitor nearby ran a slide show in real time of images of Mars and the city for the garrison. It was morning there and the activity of the colony was entertaining and homey. The Ops Center was to the left and the Med Bay to the right, just like it was before the refit of the facility on Mars. Where Med Bay was at this site, the Flight Center for the Seekers was now on Mars. Instead of a corridor that led off as Central Corridor onward to the underground portion of Autobot City, a huge elevator stood in a stone wall with staircases going downward on each side.
The staircases and elevator led to the five floors below, each fulfilling an important function. The first level below ground held the bulk of Teletraan IV and barracks for the garrison. Rooms functioning as lounges and game spaces were on this floor as well. Below this level were the armory, storage spaces and the underground tunnels that led to the hardened bunkers and a number of utility plants beyond The Fortress itself.
Outside digging in the hard earth, crews were laying the trenches that would house the buried storage containments for fuel energon and the small generation device that would make it. Class A- raw crystals had been gathered and stockpiled next to it, only a small pile given the size of the garrison, so potent was the quality and quantity created of the ore.
They walked to the Ops Center continuing to the middle table then looked around. The main control station was under a huge set of monitors and on them were images of the ongoing projects all around on site. The stations echoed Autobot City, all of them manned by civilian and soldier technicians.
The general plant controls were gathered at the Environmental Station by the door. The next one over was Communications where all of the outgoing and incoming messages began and ended there. Next to it was the Sensor Station where the local and deep space arrays sent their information first.
Other positions were designed to manage other parts of The Fortress pie, all of which were manned by a mix of civilians and soldiers. They were working hard to get things done, troubleshooting the equipment and running scenarios against the looming deadline in a couple of orns that dictated coming online.
"The arrays are up aren't they, Jazz?" Alor asked as he leaned over the shoulder of the Sensor Station officer.
"They are," he answered. "We're getting ready to download our stuff. Blaster and I'll run the operation from here. Mirage will stay at Autobot City to manage that end. We'll be go when the downloads are complete."
Alor glanced around. "Wonderful. When we get back from meeting up with Soundwave, I think we'll be ready to go."
Jazz nodded. "We'll be ready."
Blackjack looked at his son. "Show me the armory you designed, son."
Ironhide walked to the door with his genitors behind him.
Jazz watched them go with a smile. Turning back to the task at hand, he immersed himself into the downloads.
-0-The Fam
They walked back into the rec room waiting for Flint to catch up. "I saw the power plant and the energon facility. It looks stellar."
"That's good news. We're going to the armory. Come with us," Alor said to his brother.
The four of them walked to the stairs to disappear below for a few joors.
-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars
"We can go there through the Trigger and make our way round about to the location. It appears from scans sent by Fort Apache that the meet up spot will be an asteroid. Who do you want to include on the crew manifest?" Prowl asked.
"I want Starscream and Thundercracker for sure. Red Wing can lead the Seeker flight that we are taking with us. I want Ironhide, Flint, Alor and Blackjack for sure. I also want Barron and Jarro as well. Have them touch base with you about the profile I want of Soundwave. I also want Kup, Springer and Drift along as well. Let them decide who comes on the striker teams. I want this to be a bristling affair."
"Have you considered having other figures of the past, figures of authority that can come and show themselves. It could give us a tactical advantage if he saw influential individuals standing on our side," Prowl suggested.
"Who? Neo perhaps?" Optimus suggested.
"I was thinking of her. Also this might be a good time for Alpha and Gravitas to show the flag. Might do Gravitas some good to look stern and loyal to you," Prowl said with a grin. "Then there's also the Temple priests. They aren't slackers and he knows we have the relics now. It might give him a good low burn in his chassis to see that the power and history of our people are coalescing around you."
Optimus smiled slightly. "I like that. Perhaps you can call them together this afternoon for a chat. Include Starscream, too. I want the gathering behind me to be organized and of one processor."
"I'll be delighted," Prowl said with a small smile of his own. "Oh. There was a certain artifact that you had Bumblebee swim down into the Laurentian Abyssal to retrieve. Do you wish that little box to be put on board a ship? I fear you forgot it last time."
"You bring it. I want you there, too. All the seniors. Ratchet and Ironhide as well. We want to show our depth and strength."
"Rampage?" Prowl asked as he rose to go.
Optimus grinned. "I like the way you think."
"I do, too," Prowl said with a slight chuckle. He walked over to his computer on the table nearby and began to make it so.
Optimus on the other servo spent a moment admiring Prowl's elegant aft before turning back to the other zillion things he had to do.
-0-Ratchet
He walked through the wards listening to students diagnosing and suggesting treatment plans for the patients that were here and there in the different wards. Some were recovering from surgeries and others from accidents. Life went on in a population their size and many were the mishaps to be dealt with on a daily basis. There were long term problems slowly being overcome and the odd chronic condition to treat symptom by symptom.
They were doing well.
Ratchet watched Gold Wing who was doing the rounds with them, posing histories and asking for suggested treatments. The students were dedicated and very seriously attending. They would make a great addition to the profession.
He continued down the corridor to walk into the office of the Officer of the Day, the doctor who supervised the Emergency Medical Department that shift. The bot in question sat at the desk going through stacks of datapads as he did the numerical side of medicine. Taking a moment to watch, Ratchet walked in, then sat.
The Officer of the Day looked up and frowned. "What are you doing here? Did you come to make things difficult?"
Ratchet frowned slightly. "Do you need that?"
He put the datapad down then sat back regarding Ratchet with suspicion. "What do you want?"
"I want to know how its going. I haven't held a department staff meeting lately because slag is coming in faster than I can duck it. How's it going?"
"Fine."
"How fine? Do you need support? Are your shifts conducive to having a life? Do you have any concerns that you need to express? That kind of fine?" Ratchet asked.
"My only concern is your concern for my concerns," Knockout said folding his arms over his chassis.
Ratchet considered that then shook his helm. "You're hopeless. You're part of a team working for the resurrection of our species. Everything is still balanced on the edge of a blade and you're still being an aft. What's wrong with you?"
Knockout leaned forward fixing Ratchet with a hard expression. "You. You're the problem. You and your get even mania. You and your power trip."
"Is that so? You're Shift Commander of Emergency Medicine for this city five orns a decaorn. I trust you enough to give you a real job. You get to command a staff and spend the remaining five orns working on research projects and managing the medical supply system for this entire colony. Those aren't small things, you jack aft."
"To you. I was a full fledged doctor in the Decepticons before here. I was called to attend to the top officers including Megatron. I was respected."
"You forget," Ratchet said sitting up straighter. "Respect, real honest to Primus respect is earned. You don't get it by birth, the size of your wallet or your name. I don't care if you *nursed* Megatron when he got a boo-boo. You're a work in progress here. I don't turn over responsibility to someone just because he says he was important. You have to earn your place. I don't trust lives with buffoons or blowhards. You've earned what you're doing and still your slagging ego stands between you and being an honest to Primus adult."
Knockout sat back. "You give me. You. Give to me. Pretty tall and wide of you to do that. I'm a full fledged doctor of great and varied experience. Yet you feel you have to dole out crumbs to me."
"What does it mean to do medicine with the Decepticons? Did you participate in torture? Did you take bots apart for the cheap thrill of it? Can I trust you after all that or are you incorrigible? You've been given a lot of responsibility and latitude to work because you've worked hard and earned trust. Do you want me to throw that over and let you be a slagger? Keep talking, Knockout. There's plenty of bed pans for you to wash if you want to be a Decepticon all your slagging life."
They stared at each other.
"I'm doing fine. Have you had complaints?"
Ratchet rose then walked to the door. Hesitating a moment, he looked back. "No. I came here to congratulate you. Thanks for the *chat*, slagger." With that, he continued on to the elevator and beyond.
Knockout sat a moment, then many moments longer. He vented a sigh, then tossed the stylus he held onto the desk. "Slag," he said quietly.
-0-School
They sat together in the break room discussing this and that. Others came and went, the friendly atmosphere a perk greatly appreciated by the practitioners.
"Ironhide seemed better this morning," Terradive said sipping his energon.
Roto glanced up from the cookies on his plate. "He was. The infants were, too. Apparently, they have lights around their windows that are really beautiful. I think we need to take a look and see about getting them for the classrooms. I'd love to see the city bathed in lights. All kinds of them."
"I like that idea. We have such big windows in the classrooms. It'll add to Christmas Surprise. I like that holiday. I'm thinking of asking some of the humans to come around the classrooms to talk about it, maybe taking questions from the new infants. There's a lot of good talk about the city being dressed up by public works," Terradive said.
"I know, Terri. I think that's a good idea. I'm going to call Specialty Fabrications-Lights, Metal and Non-Metal. That's where I got that lamp in the living room, the one like my genitors had. Maybe they can give us a heads up. There's a lot of conversation going on about the lights. Prime has them. So do a few apartments in the Metroplex District."
"Family, I'll bet," Terradive said with a grin. "At the bottom of all change and strange happenings you'll find Ratchet."
Roto grinned. "I hear ya."
The timer buzzed so they rose, then washed out their cups in the sink. With a kiss and grin, they both walked out to wage education with the cutest, most vulnerable population of the city once more.
-0-At the Aerie
"What are those?"
"Lights."
"I can see that. What are they for?"
"Christmas Surprise, I'm told. You do this." Sky Warp walked to the windows, then began to place the magnetized streams of lights along the top, sides and bottom of the long one that faced their home. He stepped back to look at them. They were a continuous stream of lights bunched like grapes. They were coiled into beautiful lines of clear glass that was as hard as steel. It wasn't. It was transparent aluminum. It was lighter and threw off light better. He looked at Starscream and Thundercracker. "Turn off the lights."
Starscream toggled them off. Turning back, he watched as Sky Warp wielded a remote. They came on throwing beautiful light and a tranquil sense of warmth and calm into the room. They stared at them as Sky Warp smiled. "The infants will love this."
"I love it," Thundercracker said as he stared at it glowing beauty.
"So do I," Starscream said as he watched the colors change slowly.
=0=TBC 2012 (11) edited 8-1-17 12-11-2022
Transformer Factoids:
The voice actress for Arcee on Transformers: Prime is the voice actress for the brown female M & M in their commercial.
:D