The Diego Diaries: Down Time (273) edited for boo boos

=0=At the Residence of the Prime

And that is when Spot really saw Dawg. The big pit bull stood at point, his optics riveted on the big pile of bulldog that was sitting on the floor in front of Sunstreaker. He moved forward, his optics fixed on the big burly dog, then paused before him.

"Spot," Sunspot said as he walked closer.

Then Spot moved. He jumped forward, then jumped back, his body filled with tension. Dawg just looked at him, then Sunstreaker. Bluestreak rose and picked up Sunspot, an alarmed expression on his face. Sunstreaker looked at Spot, then Dawg.

Spot stood rigidly, then leaped on Dawg. He landed on him then turned and ran for the door. Reaching it, he turned and ran back leaping on Dawg again. That worthy merely looked at him with a WTF!? expression as Spot lowered his torso even as his butt stayed in the air.

The entire adult population in the room had accessed the Teletraan III's databases at the same time and had reached the conclusion that Spot wanted to play. Sunstreaker who had intuited it smirked. "Dawg isn't a fireball, Spot. We're going to have to get another dog to play with you." He pulled Dawg next to him and that worthy licked him.

It was love at first swipe.

"Spot."

The dog paused looking at Ironhide. With reluctance, he walked to Ironhide and climbed up onto him turning to sit and stare at the fat round morsel sitting on the floor with a tongue lolling out and a gimlet optic fixed upon him.

Dawg wasn't impressed.

"Well, at least he minds," Ratchet said with a smirk.

Sunspot walked over and hugged Spot. "You wanted to play," Sunspot said with a smile. "You're so nice." (pet, pet, pet) "I bet you and Dawg will be really good friends." (pet)

Dawg looked at Sunstreaker in that 'tongue lolling, don't give a frag, I'm with you' look the breed was noted for. Sunstreaker smirked. "I've seen the same expression on Kup's face."

Everyone snorted.

Sunstreaker looked up at Blue and Sideswipe. "Thanks," he said simply.

"We thought a mech's mech's dog would appeal to you, Sunstreaker. We studied a lot of dogs but we kept coming back to this one. They are a really good dog and were warriors in the past. Now they are good family dogs. The sparklings will love him."

Orion and Kaon who were focusing like cyberhawks got up and walked to him, both of them confident because of Spot. Putting down their cups, they reached for him. Taking a soft fat ear, they felt them. Then they patted him, bending to touch him on the back. Dawg shifted and looked over his shoulder at Sunstreaker with an expression of 'oh crap'. Sunstreaker grinned and rubbed the soft folds of his face.

Orion moved to climb on Dawg like a pony but fell off. When he did, Spot jumped down and walked over sniffing Orion to make sure he was alright. Then he gently took his helm into his mouth and carried him to the side setting him down gently. Orion stood a moment, his optics twirling. Then he looked at Spot with a slight frown. "Spot bad. Spot did bad."

Everyone looked at Orion. He noted that and gave his usual response to moments like this. He gave a face splitting smile.

Chuckles broke the attention and the beat moved onward. The dogs were introduced together, the beginning of a rapturous friendship commencing and spent the rest of the visit lying side-by-side in the sunlight from the big windows.

By the next orn, Dawg would have a set of identifying marks that proclaimed his awesomeness to the universe. He would bear on his muscular shoulder the Autobrand. Under it would be his name in copper tones: Dawg. On the other shoulder would be the Wrecker brand, Wreck 'N Rule! under it in red glyphs. He would be as badass looking as as they came because they would make their first public appearance, Dawg and Sunstreaker at The Sparkling Center. There they would pick up the specialty item of a big thick leather collar with silver spikes and a tag that read, "Dawg. Wrecker. Bad Aft."

Everyone would know who the amiable, loving, gentle, unassuming, beefy, incredibly muscular, shambling dog with the tiny corkscrew tail was. No one would be prouder than Sunstreaker.

-0-That night

"And I think that Spot has a best friend now. Beside me," Sunspot said as he was tucked into the berth, Spot lying beside him.

"I think so too," Ratchet said with a smirk. "Of course, you are his bestest best friend."

Sunspot nodded cuddling up to Spot, his arm around the big dog's body. "They sure liked to play. Spot is faster though."

Ratchet snorted. "I think that goes without saying, Sunny Bunny. Good night."

"Good night, Ada. Atar," he said with a smile.

The two walked out, the night light off as they left the darkened room. Entering Orion's, they lay him back down and tucked him in. The same was done with Praxus. Ironhide who was holding Prowler looked in on Hero. She was standing in her crib bouncing. She smiled. "A!"

Ratchet chuckled as he lay her down and tucked her in. "It's getting hard to get a word in edgewise with this one."

Ironhide smiled. "That's the advantage of servos on. Little femme is getting all of the advantages with her old dad."

"Is that it?" Ratchet said as they turned and walked to the living room. Plopping in a chair, he smiled at Ironhide who sat carefully, his son arrayed on his arm. "You should have one to complete the experience. You're a very good atar."

"I can raise them. I'll even clean out their trap door but I can't borne 'em," he said with a grin.

"Priss," Ratchet said with a grin. "He's pretty beautiful if I say so."

"I thought Prowl was going to throw a rod." Ironhide grinned. "Mech is fun to watch."

"He is. We're going to tie one on probably. Thought I would warn you," Ratchet said as he relaxed.

"I'm going to consider myself warned," Ironhide said with a grin.

-0-Elsewhere

"So … what do you think?" Prime asked as he sat on a chair by the window. The family was tucked in, the genitors settled and they were in their enormous suite. The lights of the airfield glowed outside the enormous windows.

"I think that Ratchet is a mad mech but I love him like a brother," Prowl said pausing from making up the huge berth, a pillow waiting to be fluffed in his servos. "He's good for me. He makes me laugh and we can talk about things."

"A person needs someone to confide in," Optimus said nodding.

"Differently than you and me, Optimus," Prowl said sitting on the end of the berth. "I don't have a thought in my helm that you don't have access to. No one is more dear to my spark than you. You are my first and best confidante. I think what I'm trying to say is … Ratchet is the avenue down which I can go that no one else can steer me. I get arrested with him. Me, Prowl, gets drunk and arrested. We brawl. We laugh and tell lies. Its fun." He got up and walked to Prime straddling his lap. "You are the dearest spark in my whole life. You are dignified but there is a side to you that I get that no one else does. The side that is fun and funny, calm but hilarious. I get that. I am the luckiest mech in the universe."

Prime looked at him and grinned. "Are you going to tie one on any time soon?"

Prowl grinned. "Probably." He stood up and picked up the pillows. Optimus watched him as Prowl always noted. Prime liked to watch him, to admire his beauty and elegance. He loved Prowl with all his spark. Watching him was part of the grand bargain that he never believed he would ever have this side of the Matrix.

"I meant to ask you … how did the trial of Burris turn out?" Optimus asked.

Prowl paused and turned smirking slightly. "Ironhide and old Granny Pants was there to enjoy the show. They got more than they bargained for," Prowl said as he began to relate the proceedings.

-Earlier, Magistrate's Court, Autobot City Courthouse, Cultural Center, Autobot City, Mars

The door opened and Prowl entered. Walking to the witness stand, he paused and nodded respectfully to Semi. The bailiff stood. "Do you, Prowl, promise to tell the truth without falsehood or subterfuge?"

"I do," Prowl said.

The bailiff sat, the Prosecutor stood. "Sir, you are the Second-in-Command of the Autobot Armed Forces, bond to Optimus Prime and in charge of the colony and Mars when the Prime is off world. Is that correct?"

"It is," Prowl replied calmly.

Cavalier consulted his notes. "Could you tell us about the circumstances of your command and the events that led to the arrest of Burris please?"

Prowl nodded. "I was in command of the Operational Center when the teams left to begin the repatriation and rescue of a vast migration that was being menaced by Decepticons. The Prime was in charge of the mission, itself a vast array of ships, personnel and other assets. Since he was in the field, I was in command of all of his responsibilities for the duration.

"We were receiving 25,000 individuals of varying degrees of debilitation every five joors. We had to absorb them, gather data, house, medically treat and secure them as they came in relentlessly. We had a migration of 559,000 all told that were in dire straits. There was no room for foolery. When the refugees came in they were taken into servo by trained teams who have a check list of items they are required to transmit to refugees. Principle among them is the emphatic statement and assertion that the System is dead. It is outlawed by Primal Decree. Burris knew that but chose to ignore it."

"What happened then?" Cavalier asked.

"He was making trouble and holding up the flow of repatriation. He was demanding to see the Prime and for some reason refused to understand that Optimus Prime was off world. I came to speak to him and asked for his concerns. He was emphatic that he wanted to see the Prime and that the idea of having to take his turn was repugnant to him. I reiterated that the System was over, never to return. He then made his threats to me."

"What were the threats as you perceived them?" Cavalier asked.

"Burris with his friends, Demetri and Claxon listening told me that there were many high castes in the city and their concerns along with them would not be put aside. He said it would be well for me to understand their resolve and their numbers. They mentioned there were probably others as well who held his views and implied they would be organized into opposition. His final comment was that he had made a promise to do what he intended to make his wishes realized."

"You took that to be a threat?" Cavalier asked.

"I did. We were in the midst of a crowd of war ravaged individuals and they were watching. I felt that the situation at that moment was fluid and required resolve. I believed at the time that Burris was implying organized opposition to the Prime's rule and it was disturbing to the hosts around us who had just arrived from the migration. I was responsible for helping them feel safe and calm."

"Thank you, sir," Cavalier said sitting.

The defense advocate stood and looked at Prowl. "That seems very thin evidence with which to draw a conclusion, sir." He stepped forward. "We have a mech admittedly high caste with the usual expectations but he had just come off a migration in which suffering can cause ill temper and bad behavior. I would think, sir, that you would have taken that into account and resorted to less than the extreme measures you took."

"There were starving mechanisms all around us. There were injured and traumatized everywhere while Burris was making his scene. He was disturbing traumatized individuals with his assertions and threats. He himself was in fit and fulsome condition. He had suffered no ill effects of the migration and neither had anyone on his ship. That is, those who weren't stowed in the hold."

It was silent a moment. Then Semi leaned forward. "The hold?"

"We found thirty individuals stowed in captivity in the hold of his ship, individuals that not only were in poor condition but also bore the marks of mistreatment. They were crammed into a hold with very little food while those in the ship proper had all the amenities they could want. It would appear that there was abuse of low castes and deprivation of mechanisms in the colony they had on Vector 1. His intentions were clear to me then and they are now. He was a threat to the peace and still is."

Semi sat back. "This seems to be the makings of another case. Am I to assume that, Cavalier?"

He glanced at Prowl who nodded slightly. "The military were the first to receive these reports about possible atrocities on Vector 1. This ship and two others are part of the case we are building regarding these accusations. We have been working with their intelligence and medical officers to ascertain what exactly happened there. Right now, it looks like there is evidence that slavery, abuse of individuals, unlawful incarceration and other actions were taken by the high caste population against those low castes unfortunate enough to go there thinking they would be welcome. We are still investigating. The low caste individuals are having a hard time expressing their experiences. It was extremely traumatic."

Semi nodded. "Then we have a problem here. I can understand your need to remove this individual from the scene because of his actions. Mr. Ombre, I will drop the threats charges, but I am finding facts for the disturbing the peace charge. I want you, Burris to be held over in the jail for five orns for that charge." He looked at the bailiff. "Take him to the jail, please."

The bailiff took Burris's arm and he blustered his way out of the room. His advocate watched him go, then turned to Semi. "Sir, I appreciate your decision in part but I would have liked more time to establish my case."

"I realize that this is an unusual proceeding but I have discretion. Your client is freed of the greater charge but had deserved time for the lesser. I will file this case with Barron and see that you get a Prime Review. He will decide with the Matrix if I am unjust in my findings." He looked at Cavalier. "What can you tell me about the individuals in the hold?"

"We have been working with medical on this group," Cavalier said.

Everyone turned to Ratchet. He blinked. "Ratchet, please step up," Semi said.

Prowl and Ratchet passed as the big medic took the stand. The bailiff swore him in. Semi looked at him. "Do you have any preliminary reports to make about this matter, Ratchet?"

"I have forensic doctors and mental health working with the thirty individuals mentioned. I am less aware of the other two groups at this moment. The information I do have now is that they were used to do all the menial work of the colony. They were a group that was looking for shelter and a chance to settle somewhere in peace. They were worked hard, given little to eat and very little medical treatment. There is on a couple of the bigger mechs evidence of electrical shock that is systematic enough to have been punishment devices applied often."

"I want to know more about the others. I fear that if this is true, we can have a real problem on our servos. We live here in peace, all castes. We won't be having this discord now. I want evidence and findings that meet the standard for formal indictment or exonerating evidence on my desk before he leaves jail. If he did incarcerate anyone on his ship the way you charge, there will be further charges filed. In fact, I recuse myself because of conflict with this hearing. I don't want any bias involved here. Send them to Barron. He isn't going to judge this. He can be the facilitator."

Ratchet and Prowl nodded. "Very well."

-0-In the Prime Residence

"I will see to the Prime Review with Ombre. This got cut off short unexpectedly and I want the option of hearing all of his positions and arguments," Optimus said rising to walk to the berth.

Prowl nodded. "There are a lot of high castes here now and the word is they want their own settlement."

"There will be no way," Optimus said sitting to lay back on the berth.

Prowl joined him and called off the lights. "That's what I told them. Or someone. It feels months ago."

Prime nodded and took Prowl's servo into his own. "What do you think of the new sparkling?"

Prowl grinned. "I think Ratchet's out of his processor. But I think he has great taste in protoforms."

Optimus snorted and grinned. "I think he does too."

-0-Trine

He found a pillow big and soft enough for Dawg. He put it by the window of the berth room. Putting Dawg on it gently, he knelt and petted him. His collar was hanging nearby as they gathered to go to recharge. Sideswipe and Bluestreak watched Sunstreaker as he arranged his dog's recharge. They were ecstatic. Sunstreaker was already calmer and the dog, a big easy-going beast was settling in with ease.

It was a win-win.

-0-TBC

2013 (4)