By the way, a new Chronicles of Orion: The Tales of Hero is posted in the Chronicles of Orion and it follows this piece. Read this one first. :D
-0-Now, hidey ho!
The Diego Diaries: Shadow Box 16 (dd3 180)
-0-Center table, Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars, mid afternoon
Prowl sat at the table sorting data. The flyover of the fort that Soundwave seemed to be building was conclusive. It was a big installation, very big. There was a large energon producing component, the kind that forts had when they were building up to a campaign. A space bridge terminus was also located there and it was evident that a lot of the coming and going was expedited by it. A steady stream of ships came and went through it as well as along a space lane that had been established by them between there and Cybertron. He had it covered both ways.
Their sensor capabilities were good but only extended so far. Most of their sensors were adapted to face Cybertron and the 180 degree radius of space that way. Since part of two other big arrays turned in a scan that covered every direction out five light years, Soundwave wasn't underestimating the possibilities of being attacked from any direction. But the set up indicated he considered his vulnerabilities lay in the direction of Cybertron.
He was building a fall back place.
Sitting back, Prowl considered the possibilities. Paragon was a rook. So was Soundwave. Prime himself was a king and queen combined. He was the ultimate prize but he had more mobility and power, hence his queen-like ability to slap them all to the Pit.
Prowl considered that. He needed to learn more about chess. He wondered if it was like their own board game of stylized warfare and strategy. Rising, he walked to the doors that led to offices beyond. It was time to discuss things with Elita.
-0-Bluestreak
He came down from the Trigger and stepped off the runabout. The twins had already gotten the babies and were at the studio. He'd checked. Walking toward the city, taking the straightest route to the Cultural Center, Bluestreak made his way to the floor where the studio was. The Dojo was going great guns with new recruits to the Circle and Knights working out with the masters who'd train them to be deadly weapons for the greater good.
He sensed that Sunstreaker was in there so he hesitated a second. Then he continued onward to the studio. Opening the door, he saw Sideswipe on the floor holding blocks for Kaon. That little bot was happily stacking them and telling his atar what he was doing. The little femmes were standing side-by-side watching, their smiles enormous and their dollies held lovingly in their arms. They all looked up with a smile.
"Atar!" Kaon said happily.
Hugs and kisses were had then Blue sat beside Sideswipe to watch.
"How was shift?" Sideswipe asked.
"Good. I want to know about yours," Bluestreak said with a pointed glance.
"We were talking to the human filmmaker femmes about what makes a Cybertronian beautiful and what was considered attractive and sexy."
Blue blinked at him. "For the show?"
"No. Just for Leonora. She wanted to know for herself," Sideswipe said nuzzling Blue's neck.
Blue allowed him to for a moment then leaned back fixing him with a stink optic. "You aren't answering my question."
"We said you were perfect." Sideswipe smiled his most charming smile.
Blue smirked slightly. "Maybe I am. Answer the question anyway."
Sideswipe snorted. "You're getting better at this."
"I am. What happened on shift last night?"
Sideswipe paused a moment to discuss things with Sunstreaker. Then he looked at Blue. "Sentinel tried messing with us, with Sunstreaker mostly."
"Why?"
"Because Sentinel has always had a thing for Sunny."
"You never told me that. Don't let Venture know. He'll have to slag Sentinel prison or no prison."
"He will?"
Blue nodded. "Tell me about this 'thing', slagger, and don't leave anything out."
A pause was held, then Sideswipe looked at Blue. "There's a lot about our life that we don't want you to know. You won't get it and we don't want you to think badly about us."
Blue flinched. "What? Do you get me at all? You can't do anything that would make that happen, you idiot. Idiots."
Sideswipe looked at Blue then grinned. "You're incredibly cute when you're about to slag me."
Bluestreak looked at him with a solemn expression. "You have to hear me, Sideswipe. I mean it. What happened?"
Sideswipe hugged Blue, then he sat straighter. "We did a lot of bad things growing up. We had no one. We were dangerous and big trouble to anyone who was a fragger. We never bothered low castes or even most middle. High castes were fair game. Sentinel liked to slum and he saw Sunstreaker one night. He wanted Sunny but Sunstreaker hated him. He hated that this high caste bum could walk into a place, see a stranger and decide that he would have them."
"Did he ever? Did he and Sentinel ever get together?" Blue asked.
"No. Not that I know of. Sunstreaker tells me everything, even the worst slag ever. He never told me that," Sideswipe said. "They spar, they snark, they stick it to each other. Sentinel is the one with the needs. Sunstreaker would kill him if he had a chance. He used to threaten to put me in prison and throw away the key if Sunstreaker didn't give in. Sunny never did."
"You were in jail. Even prison once," Blue countered.
"I was. I got caught. We used to rob high caste houses and apartments. We lived large off the proceeds. We used to fight in the arenas. I think that's another reason Sentinel wanted Sunstreaker. Sunny never lost."
"I think you need to trade work details. You go do communications and security on the Trigger. I'll take your detail and recruit one of my sniper students, too."
"Sunny will never agree."
"I don't care if he does. You've done your last shift at the prison," Bluestreak said, The Expression on his face that usually read 'DON'T FRAG WITH ME!' plain to see.
-0-Ironhide
He walked down the wide steps of the underground station entrance and stood on the platform with a handful of others waiting for different trains to come. He himself was heading for Terra and his tour in the Sparkling Day School. They'd be having conferences in about a decaorn and he had to have his allotted required time on the books by then. Ratchet had already done his stint there and in the Youngling Day School for Sunspot.
He was behind.
The orange decal train came and stopped, its doors sliding open. Several got off and he got on with two others. The doors slid shut and he was off. He stood by the door, his servo gripping a hangar. Inside his hold, Hero drowsed in the heated interior of her old pa. She had all she needed to make it through the two joors he'd be helping in the school. All of the crouching, holding, handing out and picking up would be cushioned by her old pa's body. When it was over, they would leave and head out. Hopefully, she would be sound asleep by then.
AND Ironhide would have bearded the lion's den once more, leaving with his sparkling firmly inside her home away from home. It would all be good.
-0-House Caucus Meeting, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC, United States of America, Earth
They sat around their conference table, the seven members of the House who had joined forces across committees to thwart Autobot interests. The meeting with Autobot Ambassador Ratchet was three days away and already sides were drawn in the press and media about what would be best for the country.
They were firmly anti-Autobot and anti-alien, these members. They didn't like the idea of them having such influence, their products making entire industries obsolete and the imagination of the public being so firmly behind them. It was maddening.
"I think we're pretty organized. We have to make sure that we keep the narrative during questioning. This Ratchet is a very good speaker and can turn things around on a dime. We also have to continue to press the idea that there are sinister motives behind the concealment of their leader, Optimus Prime rather than strategic."
They all nodded. They would continue to work together on their questions and the follow up effort after the meeting itself. They were going to control the narrative and change the minds of the people of the world if it took every penny their wealthy backers could conjure.
-0-At the edge of Autobot Autonomy
They were coming in hot, their transitional forms blazing with burning accretions, trailing icy cometary debris and the aura of a force of nature. They flashed past Fort Apache without an acknowledgment, heading on the original beacon signal of the army from the beginning.
Alor who scanned them sent word ahead. Then he sat and grinned, going back to what he was doing until the final moments of his shift ended and they could go through the bridge for a few orns at home.
It couldn't come too soon. There were sparklings out there with their names on them.
-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars
The message from Fort Apache reached the overnight dump and landed in the queue. It would be read as it usually was by Prowl the next morning. Anything that didn't have a priority code was put in the cache for senior officers aka Prowl to deal with on their own time without a sense of priority rush. Right now, that winger was walking out the door with Optimus as they finished shift and headed for the schools for their kids. Optimus would get the older ones. Prowl would get Miracle.
It would be just like any other day on Mars.
Probably.
-0-On the beacon run toward Earth
They flashed with gathering speed as the beacon took over navigation of their transitional forms. They were on target to land at Diego Garcia and find themselves back in the fold once more. The beacon flashed their designations ahead to Diego and the Officer of the Orn as well as his counterpart, the human Officer of the Day. That man would receive the message first.
He would opt to walk to the Embassy and check in with his alien counterpart about the newcomers. His counterpart would read their designations, then look them up in the Autobot Army Personnel Database as he was a Home Guard recruit on duty at the Embassy to learn about humans. He didn't know who the newcomers were but when he did, he would signal Autobot City Ops Center for clarification over the handling of 'special circumstances soldiers'.
Which they were.
The transitional formats coming in on the sensor nets like guided missiles.
Those ones.
Autobot City Ops Center would receive his inquiry and that mech would know the score. He would personally comm Prowl who would tell Prime who would gather Ironhide out of finger painting to take a shuttle to Earth.
Like that.
-0-Three joors later
They stood on the sandy beach just outside the base, Colonel Fulton with them along with half a dozen heavily armed Wreckers including Hot Rod, Drift, Springer and Kup. The optics of the bots could see the bright flares of the transitional formats in space beyond the atmosphere of Earth. The humans would take their word for it. When they were finally visible in the sky tracking systems all over the planet were watching. The images of their skyward transition would be broadcast live worldwide but not their landing and transformation.
They came screaming across the sky and with a jarring thud that lifted and scattered the humans around, they landed in the sand with pinpoint accuracy. Kup who was watching with his stogie in servo shook his helm. "Well, this marks the turn of a new era in our history so far. And I can't say its a good turn. Not yet."
Prime nodded. "I hear ya."
The formats lay in the sand, then began to transform. Rising, becoming ever taller, they began to unwind and grow themselves into several different kinds of transformers. They were of a kind that none of the humans had ever seen nor knew even existed. One of them, the biggest turned around and glared all at everyone and everything. Then he nodded a greeting. "Prime. Hot Rod. Me, Grimlock glad to see you again."
What Prime, Hot Rod and the rest thought was anyone's guess.
-0-TBC 2013 (2) edited 5-5-19