The Diego Diaries: Shadow Box 45 Edited for boo-boos :D
-0-Magistrate's Court, New Courthouse Building, Cultural Center, Autobot City, Mars
The bailiffs were plenty but not as plentiful as the defendants. They were overflowing. Sitting silently in rows, they stared at the floor, the ceiling as well as the judge who was speaking to Springer, Drift and other members of the Night Watch as they explained the content and order of the reports from the night before.
Outside in the hallway dozens of family members waited. They stood in two groups, high and low caste because some things couldn't be unlearned over night. As they stood worried and mortified, angry and scared, the elevator opened and a very handsome, very calm Autobot soldier stepped off. He walked toward them and as he reached their groups they parted and stared, knowing his presence could not mean good things.
Prowl entered the courtroom which came to attention at his presence. Calmly, with a grace that he had perfected over a thousand generations of humans for a million different difficult moments, he entered the group that was talking to Semi. Lawyers for the defendants stepped forward and the view obscured, the low voices of all concerned falling into silent internal conversation.
Florus who had once been a very able and reasonably decent Governor-General of Altihex had more experience and could read the tea leaves best of all. This was going up. There would probably be a Prime Hearing in the offing. His mortification was intense and his son leaned against him in an unconscious reaction to the increasingly bleak future before them.
:Atar, why is he here?:
:Because, son, I believe we just earned a Prime Hearing:
The youngling blinked and turned looking at the group up front with fear. :Oh: he said quietly.
The conversation continued, then all the mechs up around Semi turned and walked to sit in their spots in front or alongside the walls where extra legal mechs would wait to do their bit in bigger, more populated proceedings. Semi looked at the stacks of datapads and then the courtroom. "Well, well, look who we have before us," he said with a smirk. "I would be lying if I said I didn't expect this."
No one spoke, even the lawyers who looked stoic. Prowl who was standing by the wall on the left side of the judge stared at the banner of the Primes. It gave him a thrill still. He was nothing if not a patriotic home boy.
"We are here to decide a number of things. We have before us more than just a disturbance of the peace or an unlawful fight. We have before us a larger issue to be determined as well. We have a Prime concern now."
Even the younglings knew what that meant and so did the families who had followed Prowl inside to stand and sit in all the remaining space. There was shifting and whispers, then it faded. Everyone was very still. It was very tense.
"I have before me petitions from your lawyers for a number of things. Some of you are ready to plead guilty and take your lumps. Some of you are going to fight the charges expecting that you will be found guiltless for a number of reasons whose validity is yet to be determined. Some of you are just willing to be tried with the belief that your innocence as victims will be born out by the facts. All of this would be our agenda for the orn but for the simple fact that this is not the first time you have been here for this offense. This is also not the first time that your sniping behavior has been noticed. We have affidavits collected by the Prosecutor's Office that attest that this happens on the job and in school as well. Who is the guilty party will be determined and that will be part of the record because it hints to a larger problem, the idea that the hatred and poison that destroyed our world and nearly all of us has landed here on our peaceful shores.
"I have received a Prime petition and I will grant Commander Prowl the right to speak on behalf of the Prime of Cybertron who has the largest overriding non-personal interest in this case," Semi concluded. He looked at Prowl and nodded.
Prowl moved to the podium and bowed his helm respectfully to Semi. He looked then at the crowd, their energy fearful, outraged, tense, anxious. "I am here to present a petition from the Prime of Cybertron to send jurisdiction of this case to his office so that it might be adjudicated at a Prime Hearing to be held in a timely manner. I am here to ask the court to hold the defendants over in lockup until this takes place as per the request of Optimus Prime."
That didn't go over well.
Florus rose, outrage rising off him like flames but no one got more than a murmur before the gavel fell. "Sit down and hold your commentary. You are represented. Let them do their jobs."
Everyone stilled and Florus sat. The lawyer designated to speak for the group, Endar stood and walked to the open space between the tables and the judge. "Your honor, we are aware of the Prime's interest in this case and are even open to having it heard in a Prime Hearing but holding the defendants over until trial is not only extraordinary but will cause any number of problems for our clients. Jobs, school, family obligations … these are all very real and pertinent."
"I am aware of that, Endar," Semi said nodding. "I just wish your clients were." He looked at Prowl. "Continue, sir."
Prowl nodded. "The Prime has to manage the lives and protection of nearly one million individuals. We, the army and civilian protective forces work very hard to do this. We have enemies in space that work against us everyday. To worry that our unity and peace are being undermined from within is a concern for the Prime that he wishes to discuss through the trial of this case at the Prime level. He is very interested in seeing that justice is done and nothing more. He requests your presence in the proceedings with the aim to have a fair and unbiased judgment about this matter. He bears the Matrix. His honor and integrity as the First Disciple of Primus and someone who has lived with and interacted with the Matrix for nine million years is above question.
"This activity is becoming a personal concern and he wishes to personally hear the arguments himself, to find out the root causes and be a part of the process of reconciliation and unity. As for the incarceration … it is the norm for second time offenders of crimes alleged that involve violence. The Prime Hearing if the court agrees would occur tomorrow at noon. One more night in the jail is not unreasonable given that there was a family in the park whose lives were placed in the middle of this alleged affair."
It was silent a moment. "Endar? Your response?"
"We agree that perhaps a Prime Hearing is appropriate given the nature of the argument laid out by Commander Prowl and we do not fear the integrity of the Prime and his consultation with the Matrix over all matters involving the well-being and progress of our people but incarceration is still a concern. House arrest or remote monitoring would be preferred, sir."
"We had that before and here we are again. There are deeper issues here that I am not clear the Magistrate's Court can manage toward the goal to make peace happen. We have tried before and there was leniency granted but here we are again as I have already stated. I am open to the possibility that a Prime Hearing will reach into the heart of this problem and affect change that helps all involved resolve whatever is the cause of our disturbance. I agree with the petition, Prowl," Semi said nodding. "I grant it. You will stay in jail until noon tomorrow when you will be brought to these chambers or one designated for the Hearing and this case will be heard. I am decreeing it so. This court stands in adjournment."
Prowl bowed his helm and with immense dignity and calm exited the room. He passed silent bots filled with all manner of emotional energy, then walked past Springer who smirked at him. He smirked back and went to the elevator and the world beyond filled with menace, family and possibilities.
The courtroom was quiet a moment, then Florus stood up. He stood silently, then everyone else joined him. The bailiffs nodded and one opened the door that led to the jail in the basement below. It once held the treasures of their people as this was once the Museum of Cybertron. Now it was the palace of law and the main lockup for the city. They disappeared, the door closing behind them.
The families walked out stunned and fearful, worried and anxious. They didn't speak to each other but they were observed by Night Watch officers all the way to the street.
-0-Ops Center
"How did it go?"
"We're on for tomorrow. Semi is good to go. He's a great judge."
"Good," Optimus Prime said with a softly vented sigh. "Maybe this will be the end of it."
"I hope so too," Prowl said as he sat and they began to refine the plan to take the prison camp and save the lives of the innocent.
-0-CMO's Office, Autobot City Medical Tower, Autobot City, Mars
He clicked off the image that he had designed himself and grinned. The encryption on that file was something that even nuclear weapons couldn't budge. He had designed the protoform of his infant all alone. It was spectacular. It was stupendous. It was that far up the awesome scale.
It was in such lock down that he wasn't even sure he could open it up to view.
A chat with Wheeljack about the situation and his request to make the thing two orns before separation occurred with a grin and three snarky comments. 'Jack would take care of it himself, building and boxing it up so only he would be in the know.
He was that kind of mech.
Few knew that he and Wheeljack had once dated, having a raging good time drinking, dancing and fragging around. When that passion got overrun by the amazing awesomeness of Ironhide, they had remained BFF's anyway. He was one of many mechs who had gotten a bit of the wango-tango that was Ratchet. Over the millennia, their friendship had matured into the mellow tight configuration it was now.
It was all good.
"Hey."
He looked up and grinned. "Hey, yourselves."
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe walked in and flopped down, their casual awesomeness a never-ending wonderment to their old pa. "What's this about another sparkling?" Sunny asked in his usual direct way.
"It's true. Ironhide needs a replacement for when Hero goes to school. He's seeing sparkling traps everywhere and he knows eventually they'll snare her. Big femme."
"Her or him?" Sideswipe asked with a big grin.
"Both. Little femme is a spark breaking femme fatale," Ratchet said.
"She is," Sunstreaker said, an almost comically serious expression on his face. "What will this one look like? Ironhide?"
"I'm not telling. The price of another sparkling was me running the show and no one, and I mean no one knowing until the unveiling on naming day."
They looked at Ratchet, then smirked at the same time. "Ironhide won't allow that. He has to hold your helm or his aft will fall off," Sunstreaker said.
"You hold his. Aft or helm, I don't care. He's on the record. No one sees this infant but Wheeljack who will make the protoform an orn or so before and Gypsy and her team who have already sworn to silence. Omerta, boys. Or I will be hard to live with."
"And you aren't now?" Sideswipe asked.
"You haven't seen me mad," Ratchet said grinning at his mouthiest oldest sparklings.
"I don't know. The prison riot was pretty awesome. Speaking of riots … why the FRAG do you and Prowl get loaded and go on a spree when we aren't around to come too?" Sunstreaker asked with a side order of RAGE.
"Because Prowl and I are old school. You younglings aren't old enough to handle the awesomeness of our swerve," Ratchet said with a big grin.
That received the scorn and derision it deserved. "You are so full of slag," Sideswipe said. "What do you want us to do now? Anything in particular besides rub it in to Atar that he can't see the protoform or the sparkling until the naming ceremony?"
"You read my processor," Ratchet said with a wolfish grin.
They grinned back.
-0-At the armory under Terra
"HEY!"
Ironhide paused and turned, waiting for Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to catch up. "Hey."
Both mechs swooned over Hero who grinned at them, waving her little arms happily.
"She has no tattoos. How did we get this far without tattoos?" Sideswipe asked.
"Put her Autobrand on tonight if you can come over. Ask your warden," Ironhide said with a grin.
They both snorted. "Speaking of wardens, I hear Ada is sparked. You two are getting embarrassing, you do know that," Sideswipe asked with a grin as he let Hero grip his pinkie digit.
"Embarrassed by the virility of your old atar are you?" Ironhide asked with his usual smug grin that usually got shot down immediately. This time was no exception.
They stood looking at each other with grins. "Why are you two running around?" Ironhide asked as they turned to walk toward the train station nearby.
"We're on Combat-Standby. The mission coming up. Are you going?" Sideswipe asked as they paused to let a forklift go past with the orders of bombs that had just arrived for stockpiling.
"I am. So is Prime. There are aliens there that need special handling. You'll get the word. He wants to make sure they get saved," Ironhide said as he led the way to the platform. Three mechs boarded a train marked with a green placard. That meant it would go from here to Aerie Hill, then end up at the air field before going to the Temple Station and back to Terra.
"Sounds like a problem," Sunstreaker said as they waited.
"Could be. Better not," Ironhide said as their train pulled in. They climbed aboard and were gone in seconds. They would wander with Ironhide until school was out having the time of their lives.
As usual.
-0-TBC For Pip
2013 (2)