The Diego Diaries: Shadow Box Returns 2 (244) edited for boo boos :D
-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars
They entered, their optics looking everywhere as they walked across the vast room to where Optimus Prime sat lost in the details of running a vast empire. They paused as Red Wing cleared his throat. "Prime."
Prime started, then looked up nodding. "Red Wing. Are these the Seekers looking to defect?"
"Yes, sir," Red Wing replied as the frightened younglings moved unconsciously closer to Cloud Burst. "They're really young, Prime. Really, really young."
Optimus nodded and looked at them, six dirty gray Seekers with frightened optics trying to look tougher than they were. He arose and they watched him come to stand at an impossible height. They were so young that Prowl who come out of the conference room with Ratchet actually stood taller than all of them. "Welcome to Autobot City. We are very glad you came to us. We have opportunity for you here and possibly relatives. We have thousands of Seekers living and working for the good of our colony and Seekerdom itself. There is a place for you here if you choose it."
The one named 'Hope' stepped forward, tension informing every inch of his being but he held out his servo. "I want to belong. I give you my oaths. I give it to you and the Matrix." They clasped servos, the electrical flash sealing the deal. He looked at the others. "These two are my bonds. These two are my friends. This is my little brother. We … are we going to be okay here?" he asked as fear emerged in spite of his tough facade.
"You are. Give me your oaths. Then Red Wing and the others will help you." Prime looked at Red Wing. "They have information I will need. I would like to talk to them in the conference room. Could you call Silverclaw and Harrier to come? I think it will give them confidence to have Elders there." He looked at the Seekers. "You are young, that is evident. We don't allow very young bots to be a part of combat or fighting. There is a Home Guard for you to be a part of but we protect our young here."
They all straightened. "We can fight. We have. We're here to fight for the colony, right?" 'Hope' asked looking at the others. They all nodded, six small Seekers together.
"We know. I am sure you were very brave, very strong warriors," Prime said gently. "However, we don't exploit our young. There are many things you will need to learn before you even try to qualify as warriors again. There is school and work that might interest you more."
"We can't go to school," Hope's brother said. "We're Seekers. School isn't allowed for us, right Farris?" he asked looking at the bot named 'Hope'. "We can't go to school."
Farris slipped his arm around his brother's shoulders protectively. He looked at Prime almost defiantly. "We can't read and write. How can we go to school even if you allowed it?"
Red Wing ducked his helm in pain as Cloud Burst shifted uneasily, his own angst writ large. Behind them footsteps were heard and all turned to see Starscream, Silverclaw and Harrier approach them. Starscream looked intensely upset. He paused before the younglings who looked at him with enormous surprise. "You can be anything you want!" he said sharply. "You will learn. The doors are open." He looked at the younglings, his facade of rage deflating at their growing fear and unease. "You are precious to us. We do not waste our younglings. Understand that," he said softly.
Silverclaw nodded as did Harrier. She stepped forward. "Who are your clans, younglings?" she asked, her servo gently caressing the cheek of Storm, the youngling brother of Farris.
He looked at her, then his brother. "What is our clan, Farris?"
Farris looked at him, then the femme. "We don't know. We were hatched at a rookery near the Sonic Canyons. They didn't care about clans. We weren't allowed our colors. We are gray because we came that way. All of us."
Starscream looked at them a moment, the faintest of faint memories clawing at his processor. "I … there was a scandal. Megatron wanted more Seekers. He wanted them tied to him alone. I heard something once … I don't remember."
"I do," Silverclaw said hotly. "Megatron wanted more Seekers. He wanted to exterminate the Autobots once and for all, full on attacks by Seeker armadas. He had a breeding program somewhere in the hinterlands run by Shockwave it was said. They were breeding hatchlings in an accelerated program that criminal had devised. Elders who protested disappeared. Genitors were of no consequence, their own feelings given no regard. Hatchlings were taken away and no one knew what happened. You must have been a part of that but I heard the facility was destroyed not long after the Fall."
"Shockwave wouldn't have quit something he wanted to do just because it got harder. He would have kept experimenting," Starscream said bitterly. "These infants must have been part of that program. It may be over but not before he created an armada of younglings without allegiance to or knowledge of who and what they are. You don't have colors but somewhere in your programming is your clan code. We will find it. You will be who you are again. You have my oath," Starscream said almost savagely.
They looked at him and nodded meekly. The femme turned to Prime. "You wish to talk to these infants. We are here to help you," she said looking at the six silent fearful younglings. "You will be safe. Prime needs all the information you have to give. When that is over, we will take you to Aerie Hill where you can be cared for and given a home. You can trust the Prime. He is the leader we should have had, rather than the ones we have been given."
Her tone was gentle and kindly. The younglings nodded and turned looking up at Prime. Storm straightened his posture. "What can we do to help you, sir?" he asked with more courage than he actually felt.
"I will take your oaths, youngling," Prime said as one by one they gave it to him. Then he nodded gesturing to the big conference room. "Let us go in there and talk, all of us together."
With that, they all walked in to sit and talk for a few joors.
-0-At the airfield at Polyhex
They had gotten all of the mechs who had taken care of the pair through security and into their shuttle. It would be a tight fit, the crew who had come, the ailing mechs and their dedicated 'boys'. Elita walked to the security booth to distract everyone so that they could begin to filter in for the takeoff. The airfield was crawling with bots, small devices going here and there as well as stacks of cargo piling up as exhausted mechs struggled to move it. The security chief was frazzled but attentive as the hard aft standing before him asked question after endless question.
Jazz waited with Chromia as the rest of the crew sauntered in making it to the ship. They had an servo on the arms of both Tagg and Kestrel waiting for the moment when a security vehicle moved off by their ship allowing them a straight shot. As they did another vehicle came up alongside where they stood and parked blocking their view and path to safety.
-0-In the conference room at Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars
A pensive Prowl and Ratchet stood by the wall watching as the painfully young Seekers began to tell their tale. They were part of a group that had been raised industrially at a rookery near the Sonic Canyons. They were accelerated in their growth which had complicated their development. They were children inside the bodies of older mechanisms. Megatron had disallowed the process due to the failure of downloading adult programming and information into the younglings to enhance that part of their development as well as furthering their usefulness on the battlefield.
There were younglings with adult bodies, adult information bases and mental problems because of it in the air wings of the Decepticons. They were not successful in battle, many of them dying trying to fulfill what they were not capable of doing. Most of them were pulled off combat and assigned security or messenger duty behind the lines.
The group before Prime were the last known hatched from the facility before an energon shortage made the program impossible. It was unknown how many youngling Seekers were out there struggling with forced adult programming, adult sized bodies and hatchling sized personal development.
It was a nauseating thought. That the architect of this war crime lay in stasis below them was of little solace.
Prime leaned forward, images of infants with adult bodies laboring in the vision he had during Festival filling his processor. It was deeply disturbing but he kept his voice calm. "Tell me about Paragon's fortress and base, Farris, if you can."
He nodded, then pulled a data wafer from subspace. "I have the diagram of his base and it will have the strength he fields now as opposed to what is coming. There are a number of armadas and battle groups heading his way, sir. He's gathering his strength so he can attack Cybertron, consolidate that place, then attack you. That is what they talked about there."
Prime took the wafer and gave it to Prowl. He turned and put it on the screen. It showed a growing base with a fortress dug in, hardened bunkers for Seekers, ammunition and energon production as well as a growing airfield and space for expansion when others came. It was pretty impressive for a small group in a short time. "How many, Farris, does he have in his command and do they follow his leadership?"
Farris thought a moment, then Storm spoke. "They have over 8,500 soldiers, sir. They had almost 300 Seekers. Six less because we left them," he said innocently.
Prime nodded and squeezed the youngling's servo. "You were brave to do that. I wanted you to come before. I am glad you are here."
"It was my fault," Storm said with anguish. "I was afraid to come here. You were here and there's so many Autobots."
"You must put such fears and thoughts behind you, youngling," Harrier said gently. "We are beyond happy to have you, your family and your friends here. We cherish our people and the Prime respects us completely."
Prime nodded. "You are a brave youngling, Storm. Don't worry about that."
He looked at them, then Farris. "There are others coming."
Farris nodded. "Two big battle groups are coming, some with Seekers. At least two armadas as well. They are composed as far as I heard of ships that field fighters among others. They are filled with shock troops. They don't know what's going on in the Empire and Soundwave is struggling. I heard they want to talk to Paragon, then go talk to Soundwave. Whoever gives them the best deal gets their services or so I heard."
Prime considered that. "Then it might be a good idea to hit Paragon before he gets settled in with more troops. Eliminating a possible choice would turn them back to Cybertron. That would be the only downside to attacking Paragon."
"How about telling the incoming that it would be better to come to us? How about sending images and films to them along with updated messages from Rampage and the rest?" Ratchet said. "If we can peel off a bunch of the newbies, then it won't matter if they land with Paragon or not."
Prime sat a moment, then nodded. "PsyOps the frag out of them before they get here. Does the data include their trajectories, Prowl?"
Prowl checked the data and nodded. "It's there. We can send messages that way and see what happens. That will still give us time to hit Paragon. It might be an optic opener if they get to Paragon and find a smoking pile of rubble. It will give them a taste of the opposition they will be facing."
Prime nodded. "What can you tell us about Paragon and the leadership?"
Farris glanced at his bonds, then Prime. "Arrow and Paragon are together. They are really close. Really close, like bond close. I never saw a grounder-Seeker bond before."
"They happen," Ironhide said. He had entered quietly and stopped beside Starscream whose expression was filled with malice and revenge. "Nitro is in one."
Prime nodded. "Do you believe they are bonded?"
"I don't know. It seems like it. They've been a team for a long time."
"If we could grab him, Paragon would feel the pain," Silverclaw said with malice of his own.
"That will be evaluated," Prime said nodding. He looked at Farris. "Continue, youngling."
"They are never apart and he does the field leadership for Paragon," Farris said. "The others are pretty good soldiers but no one who I can tell you much about. We weren't close to them."
They continued getting details about the set up of the base, the ability of the opposition to provide ammunition and weapons under a sustained siege and other details. When all the questions had been exhausted, Prime looked at them, all of them with a kindly expression. "I would like to know what it was that made you come across. I know you, Farris and your trine were ready to come when we were last together. I understand staying for your brother and friends. I want to know what it was that was effective to bring you over."
Storm looked at Farris. Then he looked at Prime. "I want to live in a city where you can go watch football. I want to walk around real streets. It was so great watching everyone be happy. Everyone got along. That was amazing. All those Autobots and Decepticons together." He looked at his brother. "Farris and his bonds have been so worried about us all staying together." He looked at the other five, then Prime. "We were together since we were hatchlings. Whenever they tried to separate us, my brother would risk himself to keep it from happening. I don't want to worry about my brother anymore." He looked at Prime with anxious optics.
"You won't have to," Prime said kindly. "If we were to send out images and statements by Decepticons to the incoming fleets, what do you think will happen?"
One of Farris's bonds looked at Farris, then Prime. "We know it will work." He paused. "Do we get to live in a house too? In a tower? With rights and all that?"
Prime nodded. They glanced at the Elders who nodded too.
The bond, Cardinal looked at Prime. "That will matter. Some of us have never had nice things. We've never lived in a nice place with rights and things. We have always been hungry and dirty. Tell them that things are nice here. We can tell them can't we, Farris?" he asked anxiously.
Farris nodded and looked at Prime. "We can help you."
Prime sat back and nodded. "We can figure all that out when we are sure you are well and settled. Ratchet is our medical chief for the colony. He will make sure you get someone to help you fix anything that needs attention. Your Elders and these mechs," Prime said nodding to Starscream and the seven Seekers who had gone out to bring them in, "they will help you too. Go with them. Listen to them. You will be alright. Then we can see what you can do to help us."
The younglings looked at each other, then Storm smiled. "We will help you. We gave you our word. The Matrix wants us to do that. Is it true about the Temple? About the AllSpark? Megatron and Paragon want that so bad."
Prime smiled. "It's true," he said. "The Temple is there for you and so are the priests. You should go there if you need to and they will help you."
"We saw priests on Cybertron," Storm said remembering. "They were working in the mines."
For a moment the room was silent as a tomb, Prowl shifting in distress, then Prime nodded. "Thank you. We will see about saving them."
Storm nodded and smiled. "We can really help you. Just ask us."
Prime squeezed the youngling's servo. "We shall. Now, you need to follow your Elders. They want to take care of you."
The group stood up and with smiles of relief and expectation walked out the door to go to Aerie Hill. It was silent a moment, then Ratchet burst into flames. "WHAT THE SORRY FRAG ARE WE AS A PEOPLE THAT BABIES ARE EXPLOITED FOR WAR! WHAT THE FRAG!?"
No one spoke a moment, then Prime glanced at the steaming medic. "Ratchet, are there personnel who can manage these infants?"
Ratchet nodded. "Yes. I will alert them at the clinic at the Hill. I will also put an emergency call in to Jarro to do an full scale expedited profile of them to figure out their age and mental condition. If they are struggling as infants in an accelerated body and adult programming download, they will be in need of a lot of help."
Prime rose and paused staring at Prowl a moment. "Are you alright?"
"We have to find the priests, Optimus," he said in his distress. "They know so much of our history and culture, if they die we lose a connection to the pantheon that can't be replaced."
"I know," Optimus said. "We will find them and bring them out. We have a linkup now." With that, he turned and walked out, the others following.
When the door closed, Prowl turned to Ratchet. "What are we going to do?"
"We get them here. I have you both meet me in the emergency room and we go from there. Or, you tell him when they land and meet us at the emergency room. No sense in making him suffer until they come here. What if Primus forbid something goes wrong or they are delayed?"
Prowl nodded. "I hate this."
"I know," Ratchet said quietly. "Join the group."
-0-TBC
2013 (3)