The Diego Diaries: Down Time (279) edited for boo boos

-0-The following morning

Ironhide and Ratchet walked from the schools heading for Ops Center and the special military meeting Prime had called for the Alpha Team. The usual community-military meeting had been canceled, the events of the night before and new intel in the overnight dump requiring security for the proceedings.

Need to know only.

They entered the big room and walked past any number of hardworking dedicated professional and civilian soldiers doing their duty for the planet. Prowl waved them to the conference room so they detoured. He followed as did several others. Then the door closed for some time.

-0-Blackstone

He sat in his office collating what they presently knew. Jade was a former sex worker if that was the reference on Cybertron. Cybertronians had many nicknames for this job but no real designation. It was what it was. A job. Since the Diaspora he had worked in honorable professions using his education and intellect to run computer systems and other data entities. He sat back and considered the trade Jade had formerly plied.

Prostitution wasn't a despised profession on Cybertron oddly enough. There was enough poverty and inequity that a mech taking that route wasn't dismissed as a lesser being because of it. In fact, there were many who had gone on to amass great wealth and influence, some of them making great bonds with the high and low. It wasn't the act itself that brought about the disgust he felt himself. It was the fact that for many, that was the only road open to them.

Jade would not be condemned in the city for what he once did. No one would care about that. What would rise in the bile ducts of all concerned was the inequity that created his profession. Blackstone considered all of it and concluded that Jade's former profession would be sealed by the courts. It was irrelevant to the case at servo. This was about an abused child taking revenge on his attacker. This had nothing to do with what followed. If Jade was going to have a chance to have a life here, it would be on his own terms. There would be no cloud of past events hovering over him if he had anything to do with the legal proceedings.

Blackstone looked at his data and the list of things he asked to be undertaken on behalf of his client, then bent to his work bringing his formidable intellect and integrity online to save a lonely kid from prison.

-0-At the meeting

Prime glanced at Prowl who picked up the datapad. "We have a number of items on the deck and all of them are 'secret beyond secret'." The security designation made everyone sit a bit straighter. "First of all, there was a murder at the prison last night."

Everyone glanced at each other, then turned to Prowl. "What happened?" Jetta asked solemnly. "And what design flaw allowed this so I can fix it?"

Prime nodded. "We need to extend sensor grids farther out, perhaps as much as five miles. Any shooter with a good gun is lethal for fifteen miles. Experts like Bluestreak can drill a target from fifty miles out with his long guns. I want that fixed."

Jetta nodded. "It will be done."

"A youngling mech from the last migration, name to be kept undisclosed for now took a rifle and drilled Retro through the helm," Prowl said in a calm police-type voice. "He had joined the Home Guard to learn how to shoot and borrowing his practice rifle went to the prison and killed the deceased. He had apparently done recon on the deceased's habits learning them well enough to be at the right place at the right time."

It was silent a moment. "He committed first degree murder as the humans say. Premeditated then," Elita said.

"He may have extenuating circumstances that led to a diminished capacity even though there is premeditation," Ratchet said. "He was one of Retro's victims."

They all sat back considering that. Then Jazz nodded. "Good riddance."

"No one will argue with that," Prowl said nodding. "What is bad among many things is another high caste is murdered."

Arcee shrugged. "They had better stop being fraggers, then it won't happen."

"That's hardly a course of action, Arcee," Magnus began, "that can be counted upon."

"No," Arcee said with a slight smirk. "But it can be a warning. Don't harm people and you won't get harmed."

"We are getting mechs and femmes with histories we can only guess at. We have to expect in a large city that things are going to happen. So far our crime is petty, mostly high grade influenced. What we don't need is a lot of killing. This is a city for all our people to live in equally. If they believe that they are in jeopardy, then unrest will happen," Optimus said quietly.

"What is happening to Burris?" Ratchet asked glancing at Barron who was present for this part of the meeting.

"Burris is on orn three of his sentence. He is not happy and is making all manner of threats to organize protests. If he hears of this, his paranoia will be out of bounds," Barron replied.

"We are interviewin' low and mid caste individuals, Optimus, and it looks pretty bad for those who had the colony on Veris 1. There is evidence of slavery and brutality against the lower castes by the high castes. Some of the victims were just lookin' for a place that was safe and were sucked in. Others were just lookin' to refuel and leave. They didn't," Jazz said.

Optimus nodded and glanced at Barron. "I would hope that you handle this matter in the proper legal way and decide within the law whether we have charges to make. It is my assertion that no matter where our people are during my tenure as Prime, I have the responsibility to protect them and redress their hurts and grievances whether I am there or not."

"That is correct. It is in the charter of the Primes, Optimus," Barron said. "No matter where our people are and no matter what they did or do, you are the state and you are still their legal Prime. You have a duty and responsibility to them and to those harmed."

Prime nodded. "I thought so. I feel it in conjunction to the Matrix."

"We will have all the reports forwarded to your office, Ratchet's and Blackstone's," Prowl said making the notation.

"The autopsy is probably done by now. Ashbury will write it and send it with relevant images to everyone," Ratchet said nodding.

"Good," Barron said. "I will send briefs about the progress and direction of any charges against Burris and members of his colony when they are formulated."

"Thank you, Barron," Prime said nodding. "We have a military meeting now. Thank you for coming."

Barron rose and nodded respectfully. "It is my honor to serve you, Optimus." He turned and walked out, the door closing behind him.

"That mech has impeccable manners. Too bad Burris doesn't. He wouldn't be in jail if he had a shred of the integrity that bot has," Ratchet said.

Everyone nodded, then turned toward Prime. He sat back. "We have a problem," he began.

-0-In a classroom

Orion stood in the sandbox, a spoon in each servo. He had made a 'castle' of sorts and was admiring the view. It was lumpen and sort of box shaped. He had put toys on it so they would have a home. He loved it. He was proud. Sand was hard.

Standing nearby looking at it, considering it with his own critical optic, Han pondered the meaning of the lumpen shape. His favorite toy was stuck in the top of it. He had brought it from home and had forgotten to take it with him to the next stop in his plan, dancing. Now that he was back and on a cookie break he had noticed his favorite toy sticking out of a pile of sand in the box.

Walking toward it, he paused at the edge of the box. Orion looked up and saw him, a slight frown crossing his little brow. "You. Go you."

Han looked at him and a slight frown crossed his little brow too. "You bad."

Orion blinked. "No. You bad."

Han stepped over the edge of the box and walked through the soft beige stuff to pause by the castle. Then he reached over to grasp the toy. A rap by a incensed sparkling stopped that action. Rubbing his helm, Han looked at his nemesis, Orion who stood glaring at him, a spoon quivering in his servo. "Ow," he said with gathering fury.

Orion grinned, then set his peds just as he had seen his atar do when chasing them. He raised his spoon-filled servos in a 'ready-get set-go' position just like his brother, Sunspot had done chasing them. Then he waited, a determined expression on his comical little face just like his old dad. "Go, you. I want go you."

Han looked at Orion, then frowned darkly. Looking at his servos, he had no weapon beyond his cookie. He put that in his mouth and bent down to pick up a little truck and a small shovel. Looking at Orion with a determined expression, he charged.

-0-Conference Room

"We have verified that the three battle groups that Paragon had gone out to meet are going to be digging in. They have found an asteroid that is big enough to construct a base. They have energon in the fragmented debris of the scatter field. They also have a free range of commuications for other Decepticons to be contacted. This puts them in a pincer position on the route to disrupt. This also gives Paragon allies with which to become an annoyance to our efforts," Prowl concluded.

It was silent a moment. Then Ironhide leaned forward. "We need to take out that base. Either that base or Paragon. They might think they have a great plan going but slagging either one of them or both will undo it."

"I agree," Blackjack said. Alor sat beside him calculating the problem to the nth degree, his analytical abilities on a par with Prowl. He was once the Autobot's 'Prowl'.

"That would be a good thing. I would slag Paragon because he is the weaker of the two, probably has greater stores of energon and is closer to us," Alor said as dozens of plans began to coalesce in his calculations files.

"That would probably be a better plan than going to the others. It would help us with the two migrations coming this way. There are also Arks in the mix which appear to have an as yet undetermined number of soldiers aboard," Prowl said.

"We have sent Seekers to the migrations for intel and other information, Prime. We should have data back on the bullet express line in a couple of joors. It will be decrypted as soon as it arrives," Starscream said nodding.

"Good," Optimus said. "We need to know what we're facing." He glanced at Magnus and Jetta. "How is construction coming along?"

"We are ahead of schedule on the three new sites. We are trying to build them together so that we can have as many begun as possible. When they are framed and ready for interior construction, we are going to concentrate on five towers at a time, completing them before turning to the next. With concentrated effort on a few at a time, we can have finished housing ready starting tomorrow faster than our normal rate of construction," Jetta said. Magnus nodded.

"Good. We don't know what these migrations encompass but they might be big. Right now, they are just echoes on the margin of our sensors," Prime said.

-0-At the school

Han charged Orion with a determined expression. The little black bot blinked, then doubled down. He got ready as Han got closer. Then Han stepped on his castle, bogged down and fell flat on his face. Lying face planted in quicksand, a toy and shovel in his servos, he wallowed.

Orion shocked that Han had destroyed his castle stepped forward and began to beat on him with his spoons. Their titanic struggle continued silently as one concentrated on getting up and the other concentrated on keeping him down.

Nearby with their own cookies paused halfway to their tiny mouths, Olo and Mimi watched the battle royal. They glanced at each other, then as one walked to the sandbox to watch. As they did, they blocked the view for Neo who was helping El and Kaon nearby.

-0-TBC

04-20-13

NOTE: An observation. I watched Dark of the Moon from the opening to the butt shot of Carly. I don't dare watch more for this story might be impacted. I find that Bay is an anomaly. His dystopian view of Cybertron is not matched by G1, G2, most of the novels and Transformers Prime. There is no sunlight or sunny streets and plains. There is no sensible organization to the buildings. They reflect a metallic sensibility but not a livability to me. All of the universes even when they are gritty and down in the dirt reflect the G1 sensibility in art and form. They are livable, well lit and organized. Bay's universe is more alien, more metallic and more removed from human sensibilities but to me as interesting as it is, it is an outlier. It makes me feel better about things that I hold to tradition and he goes down his own road. :D :D :D