The Diego Diaries: Psy-Ops 33 (dd3 112)
-0-The Residence of the Prime of Cybertron, Autobot City, Mars
They stood in little groups huddled around their child suffused with the feelings of genitors of every species, of every world, of every dimension, everywhere at such times. It was not lost on Prowl that even animals will go back into fires to save their babies. The energy was intense, the atmosphere charged as they checked over their infants together. They were five bonds and a trine. They were beside themselves with emotion.
So was Prowl.
He watched them, quietly filled with elation. This had worked out. Optimus had pulled off another miracle and they had extended their quality into the migration trail to show what they'd do to others who dared to try to damage their recovery as a people. He glanced at the tiniest baby, the one who belonged to the trine and felt a peaceful feeling overcome him. This baby was back with his family.
Prowl would expect this for himself, the elation and joy were the situation reversed. The idea of the babies going out of his daily life stung but not as much as he feared. They would still live here.
The trine looked at him. "You kept him here? In the home of the Prime?"
Prowl grinned slightly. "We, all of us," he said nodding to the smiling teacher trainees standing behind them, "did take care of them here. We took them in and gave them a stable life while we went about planning how to get you back. It was our honor to do this."
"They lived that close to the Matrix," one of them said as the others turned toward Prowl. "Our son was that close."
"The Prime helped care for them. He's rather fond of holding infants and rocking them to sleep," Prowl said with a grin. The babies might be temporary but the images were forever.
"I don't know how you did this. Here? In the Prime Residence?" another asked.
"I am Prowl, his bond," Prowl said. It still thrilled him to say those words.
"I don't know how to thank you," that mech said as the others murmured their agreement. "How can we thank you?"
"Settle in and live your life happily. You can work for the city at a job of your choosing, send your babies to school and go to school yourself," Prowl said waiting for the inevitable reaction.
He got it.
"School ..." One glanced at his bond. "What sort of school? We never got to go to school. None of us. Our babies get to go?"
"So do you," Prowl replied.
The teacher trainees smiled as they nodded agreement.
"The System," one of them began.
"Is dead," Prowl said shaking his helm. "By order of the Prime, by all that is decent, by all those who are dead and gone because of the stupidity and evil of it. It's over. Forever." Then he waited for the inevitable part two of their reaction.
He got it as well.
"We'll work. We'll work hard. We know things. We can do them here. I'll support my bond. He's got health issues and can take care of the sparkling but I'm strong and I can work," a big burly mech said. Then all the others spoke at once nodding and asserting themselves that they, too, would be useful.
Prowl grinned and raised his servo. They all stilled as they stared at him anxiously. "Here is how this works. You'll go with these fine mechs who will take you to the Processing Center at City Hall. They've agreed to stay with you until you're finished and heading for your homes. You'll be asked questions, some personal to help us match families and get clan and tribal information online to prevent taboos and such being broken. Then you can tell them what you can do and more importantly, what you want to do. You get a choice here. Medical will look you over and help plan how to make you fit again. Then you will go to your homes where all the baby things and their beds have been taken already. Did you see the towers coming in?"
They glancing at each other for a moment.
"Those towers are where we live now. We used to live underground but Optimus Prime had a vision and Primus made it clear that above ground was safe for us now."
The room was as quiet as a tomb.
They stared at Prowl with heavy emotions.
"This is a Primus-blessed endeavor then," another big mech said. His etchings indicated that he was very religious.
Prowl nodded. "It is. You're now part of it. You can take time to get used to this place, learn it and go about to see everything. We have museums, businesses where you can get the things you need in the communal economy, places for infants to play. What you need you can obtain in the business side of our life here. There will be a Community Bulletin Board in your new home that will explain literally everything. There's also a link to send your questions so they can be answered by individuals at relevant places including the Offices of the Prime and the Temple Administration of the Temple of Simfur Restored. You can also go to school. If you never have and need to learn how to read and write, there are adult education classes for you to catch up. Half the city has or is involved in them. There's no shame in that.
The shame was in the fact that you couldn't ever go.
"The professions have guilds and unions representing their interests with representatives on the council that runs this city. You have a voice through them on what happens here. Use it. Your babies go to school. There are no exceptions even if they have health or learning problems. We care for and educate everyone even if it means sending teachers to your homes. If they're young, you can stay home with them until they're older. There is great value in that amongst us. That happens because its good for everyone in the long run but if you're fit, choose work you want to do and do it.
"The schools and our extensive daycare system will take care of infants while you work if your schedules don't allow one of you to be home. It is an excellent system that accommodates all kids including those from religious backgrounds. We have all our family's infants in the system and they're excelling under the spectacular skill of our teachers. The younglings who helped with your babies are going to be teachers soon. I will personally attest to their loving care and expertise."
The six aides beamed under the compliment.
"Sparklings go to the Sparkling Day School and older ones to the Youngling schools. Your guides will help you," he said nodding to the kids standing nearby. They grinned. "If you go with them, they will help you."
They looked at the kids, then Prowl. One of the mechs came to him and held out his servo. "We owe you. If you need anything, call on me. I'm obliged by my family honor to answer. It may be anything at all. I will come."
Several more stepped forward to shake Prowl's servo. When the trine stepped forward, Prowl grinned. "We didn't name any of them. I called this one 'baby'. I kept him with me most of the day because he was so new. What is his name?"
They looked at Prowl, then the infant looking up at his ada with unblinking optics. "His name is Prima.
Prowl smiled. "A beautiful name. Are you religious?"
"We are," the mech said.
"Then you might want to know that the Temple has been restored here. The Well, the Flame and the AllSpark are in the Temple Restored near Metroplex."
They looked at Prowl with disbelief, then tears came.
"This is a miracle," one of the mechs said.
"That's the name of our son," Prowl said with a chuckle. "And I have to agree. This is a miracle wrought by hard work by all our people and Prime's vision. You're most welcome here."
They bowed their helms in gratitude, then filtered out with the aides.
When everyone was gone, Prowl vented a soft sigh. "I may have to stuff Spirit's teddy bear in my hold for a while," he said with a slight smirk to no one in particular. Then he headed back to Ops Center and his part of the recovery.
-0-Later that evening
The trine stood by the window of their new apartment. The view was astonishing. The quarry that formed the basis of the development design was before them, groomed and filled with places for mechs to sit and children to play. It had night lights which pooled here and there all the way around the vast indentation. There were steps that went down from every tower, wide and broad.
The towers themselves were astonishing. They ringed the vast crater, at least thirty or more by their count and all of them had inhabitants, the lights of many apartments already shining in the darkness. Some of the windows had colorful lights that added beautiful changing arrays of color to the glory of the view.
They'd been through the intake, found they had jobs waiting for two of them, given their information against the future hope of reuniting with their still missing family and headed to their homes which they were told had been personally chosen and inspected by SIC Prowl. It'd been almost too much to consider as they walked into the spectacular lobby heading for the elevators that lined one wall.
Others were there, some of them introducing themselves. They were ecstatic that the refugees had been rescued and told them so. Two of them offered to be guides that next day and they agreed, thus beginning a life long friendship between families.
The apartment had been beyond their experience. They were hardworking mechs from Slaughter City living on the fly on the run and never having anything of note. Now they had a large apartment, three berth rooms including their own trine sized and a view that only high castes could manage in the old life. It was brand new, sparkling and complete. The unknown luxury of a personal wash rack and a kitchen with energon dispensers was numbing.
That it was Class A energon their guide had said was extraordinary. Whatever was available was their lot in the past and no one in the trine had ever had anything like it. Class C was the best anyone could remember in their life.
They had seen the baby's room which was already set up apparently under the personal direction of Prowl. There was a crib with things already for Prima. There was a dresser filled with blankets and towels and a closet that had a shelf for toys that Prowl had placed himself. The creation of this room had been made over two orns so that when they arrived the transition for their son was smooth and gentle.
"This place is a miracle."
"Prowl said his son's name is miracle."
"They have a Prime sparkling. I've never heard of a Prime sparkling before."
"There has never been one before. Primus loves this place. We're so lucky. We have to work hard."
They all agreed. "We will."
They would stare out the window, then move around their new home placing Prima into his crib before settling down to enjoy the first good grade of energon any of them ever had before. They would do so in the living room watching The Hourly News. They would see themselves land at the Air Field and fly up to the Residence of the Prime. It would be and stay surreal for a long, long time.
-0-At City Hall
They stood in line together, two femme younglings who'd been rescued with the hostages. They were small, one a Seeker and the other a grounder. They were young, silent and alone. All around them were adults, most of them big and all of them in the same boat. They'd been part of the group taken by Overlord and now they had to become yet again citizens of a colony that would hopefully last longer than the others. This one was mighty and powerful, the genius of the Prime and the hard work of their people infusing it. This one had potential.
A voice called to them and they glanced back, moving forward toward it.
A femme with a nice smile stood at the doorway. "Hi. I'm Blondi. I'm here to guide you to an interviewer who will help you. All you have to do is answer the questions as best you can and then we can get you settled. Any questions so far?" They shook their helms no. "Are you two together?"
"We are now," the taller of the two said. The other one, a shy little thing nodded in agreement.
"Okay. Then come with me," she said holding the half door open.
They stepped inside where numerous stations were set up with city personnel interviewing refugees. They walked to one and sat on the chairs as Blondi patted them. "Ruba will help you." She walked back to the door to leave.
Ruba was a big mech who looked like a construction worker but was actually a data strategist for the city administration. He managed all of the raw data that came into the city every day pertaining to non-military information and was part of the intake process when refugees came. He looked at them measuring them against placements in his helm. "Hi. What are your names?" he asked pulling up at screen to begin.
The little femmes looked at each other, then him. "My name is Aurora. This is Inspiration."
"You can call me Inspire. My family did," she said.
-0-TBC 2012 12-13-2022
The two little femmes are the creations of Kaekokat. :D :D