The Diego Diaries: Home At Last (372) edited
-0-Around the city
The filmmakers were at the studio putting together the opening episode of the new season of 'Platoon: Autobot City'. Extensive talks with Jazz, Prime's chief communications officer with all things Earth, member of the board of IntraComm and designated interface between the Prime and all of the human's communications requests had yielded a bit more leeway for the company to show the city and her people as it related to the changing situation on Earth as well as other issues.
No one was going to be allowed to be exploited but if the filmmakers wanted to ask questions of those agreeable individuals not on the usual list, they could. The same censorship rules would apply but they could experiment with more points of view. It would take all day long to refine the video, five seconds to shoot it to Prowl and Prime's office, ten seconds for it to be reviewed and sent back. There would be no edits required. It would be broadcast in five Earth days and be avidly anticipated.
Then they would put together the next six from the material at hand all the while getting miles of footage every day. The second year of Platoon: Autobot City would showcase the city's growth as well as sport a more edgy tone. It would blow out the competition once more.
-0-Medbay
Jarro stared at the little bot who was lying in stasis. 'Bob' would remain that way overnight, then be revived in the morning. He was in depleted condition and was according to the three naturalists who had studied him moments before a number of things:
He was an immature Insecticon youngling specimen. They sprouted their interim spikes once they reached post sparkling, pre-sub adult age. He was halfway to his maturity.
He was abandoned. They were aware that when an infant was defective in some way, the hive would abandon or kill them. These sad sparks would be difficult to manage since they lived a collective life even in war. They had no family structure to care for anyone who was small and ill. Elders were given care and attention because they were adult and carried the 'culture' of their species in their minds were taken care of. They tended to care for the 'eggs' and ensure that the young were fit and ready to move along. This one obviously wasn't.
They had no idea why he was dumped rather than killed. It happened sometimes.
Sometimes a youngling would wander off and become separated, thus living a nomadic life that usually ended badly. They were not very good alone and too small and young to figure out how to survive for very long.
They were loyal to a fault and served their master with a single (hive) minded intensity when adult. Infants were capable of doing so, making instead personal connections with their nursery caretakers.
He would probably not reach his full potential. Two of them were convinced that he was just about as big and strong as he ever would be. The other was less certain since he was receiving supplements designed to improve his condition.
He would have died within mere joors if he had not been found according to the data. He was on his last legs from starvation, abusive treatment and solitude.
They had left with their part done. Now it was up to Jarro and his department to determine the mentality of the infant and whether he was sentient on the same level as they were. Studying the readouts on his personal code, they were uncertain. No one had ever been able to crack their speech so talking to them was out of the question. Adults were known to speak Standard but since they were the enemy's ally, not much was known beyond anecdotal remarks from those few who had been around them. They were also said to know a couple of the Decepticons dialects. They were an experiment of Shockwave that had formatted on an organic form on an alien world. They had come to infest Cybertron but little was known beside the fact that they were considered among the populations as horrendous and 'alien' to their sensibilities. Turning to his colleagues, Jarro began to do his job.
-0-On a train platform underground
Ratchet stepped out onto the platform on his search for Ironhide and his posse. Prowler would be a regular rider on the Ironhide Express but he had added a new conductor without clearing it with him. He grinned as he waited for a train to come. When it did, Ratchet stepped on and it pulled out just as another was pulling in. It stopped and Ironhide stepped out, Hero sitting on his arm. She wore her little rose coat and hat, a match up that was drawing more than the usual range of compliments for the little femme. Ironhide stood proudly if somewhat intimidating in appearance as he watched others loving on his daughter. It was among the greatest feelings he ever had to hear someone compliment his infants.
Turning, he walked to the stairs and began to climb upward, oddly following the path Ratchet had used to come to the station. Ironhide would visit the Museum with his daughter so she could tell him about things she had seen there with her ada. Ratchet would be one step behind them all the way.
-0-Earth
"I haven't heard from Trevor today, William," Leigh Smith said as she entered the office of her husband, the Speaker of the House of their state legislature. "Have you?"
William Smith looked up, then picked up his phone. Opening the message file, he smiled. "He sent a text a few moments ago." He opened and read it, then glanced sharply up to his wife. "Trevor is going to Mars for a tour in the new habitat headquarters."
Leigh Smith stared at him, then nodded. "Oh," she said with surprise.
-0-Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean, Earth
Trevor Smith sat with the rest of the striker team he was affiliated with listening to Epps, Graham, Lennox and a couple of techs from NASA explain the facts of life in nearly zero atmosphere, gravity less than one third of Earth and other delicate issues of survival. He was absorbed with the lectures, the demonstrations and other information. It helped. He had sent a message to his parents telling them that he was going off world. His dream had come true.
So had theirs.
Sitting in Ops Center on Mars, Jazz put the vetted message into the "Smith, Corporal Trevor" file where every communication from the young man be it written or spoken would reside. It would only reach its intended recipients when he or Elita vetted it. The human would not be able to send a single message to Earth without it being screened. Distance would be given as an excuse for the delay of any verbal messages sent and received as the censors secured them for transmission.
Smith had sent a message to his family that he was going to be stationed on Mars at the new HQ and would be out of contact for a few days. His parents had sent a text back acknowledging the message and wishing him well. There was nothing beyond parental concern. Jazz wasn't sure that they would do more than that but it would be a good way to trace the message he was sure that his parents would send to everyone in their local network. This news would also be big enough to send out into the greater underground system so Jazz set two spider programs on the text source and waited. When they sent out their news to the underground network beyond, the spiders would trace everything. They would be able to build a map of the enemy right away.
-0-On the road
Ironhide walked through the hub heading for street level in Phobos. The new armory and depot was operating beautifully and about to serve the thousands of professional and part-time soldiers who lived there. He had been thorough in his approach checking stores, arrangements, deliveries, staff and work schedules finding nothing in the arrangements that forestalled their security. Sitting on his arm watching everything with a gigantic smile, Hero enjoyed the show. Ironhide stopped along the way explaining things to her. Some of it was over her helm but Ironhide explained it to her carefully.
"Atar … why do you do this?" she asked.
"It's my job," he replied as they turned to walk for the stairs that would take them out of the lower levels of the armory. As he climbed upward an elevator came downward. When the three cleared the stairs and headed through the station to the street, Ratchet was looking around the lower level of the armory.
-0-Earth
"This is the way the mask fits," Epps said demonstrating. He wore the entire kit which had his name on the pocket area. All of the gear fitting him carried his name in some part of it so that no one else could wear it and find themselves dead picking up the wrong stuff. "It seals the moment it touches your face. The edge fits over the hoodie. The light panel in the right hand lower corner of the mask will give you the all clear if the seal is good or not."
They nodded, then put them on themselves. The experts checked the newbies, Smith and four other soldiers, five civilians and a couple of techs along with the rest of the Alpha teams who were going to be checking systems at the habitat for syncing with Diego. All of the contacts of the N.E.S.T. HQ on Mars would sync through Diego, then go to the other relevant sites including the Pentagon and foreign N.E.S.T. centers.
When it was clear that the uniforms were go, they took off their masks and stowed them in their duffel bags. "You will keep your gear fit and if there is even the slightest hint of trouble with it, you don't go out. You take it to the Ops Center and the techs will bring it to Sciences and the bots for repairs. There will be loaner outfits available in case of emergency but you won't be able to leave the habitat unless there is one. The gear is made to your specifications and that is the difference between living and dying. Don't be stupid or a 'hero'. The death is swift and terrible in nearly zero atmosphere."
Lennox stepped back and let Graham do his part. "What we want to discuss now are the bots and interactions, especially the Prime. You will be doing duty shifts but you will also be able to go into the communities and see things. You will be able to interact with the population who are aware of you and have taken precautions to make sure you aren't stepped on or hurt. You have to be aware that you are a guest on their turf and they have priority. They are very considerate of us and take good care to keep the relationship good between us. We expect that you will do the same. I want you to know that the protocol requires that you go into the city with a regular. One of us. You can't venture off on your own without someone who has been there before. Alpha team are the ones you draw from. They will teach you how to function and how the city works. They can introduce you to the bots as well. Those bots are our comrades and friends. Some of us love them like brothers. There are femmes too. They have earned respect. You have to show it and act accordingly. If not, you are scrubbed. It's that simple."
They nodded, all of them listening without comment. Smith stood next to the other newbies, all of whom had accepted that he had chosen his own faction … theirs and would be an asset. After a couple of days of coldness and anger, the soldiers had pulled together at the prospect of going to Mars.
"The subjects that are taboo are about the relationships they have, their religion and/or lack of it, their family life and/or lack of it and a number of places that are off limits." Lennox turned and pressed a remote, a big monitor coming to life. "This is the Temple and its Precinct. That area is taboo and off limits unless you are with any member of the Alpha Striker team. Any questions of religion or personal ethical philosophy that aren't volunteered by someone who is in authority are off limits.
"Their families are also off limits unless they volunteer information. Some of the bots are great friends and comrades, their families the center of their lives and their interest in keeping them safe paramount. They have been through millions of years of war, some of them and they have been harmed by the fall of their planet and the hardships following. Running, being hunted, losing everything and everyone they loved has harmed them but they're good and resilient. If they volunteer information, good. If not, honor that.
"The person of the Prime and all that relates to him beyond the basic information we give to you is off limits from questions and speculation. Suffice it to say, he is a truly unique individual. He's venerated for many reasons among his people. Don't ask about it. Accept it and move on. He is off limits.
"They are really proud of their colony and all of the cities that they have built. Over 2.5 million bots live here and at any time anywhere up to a million newbies can arrive unannounced. They have a city life filled with activities and their culture is fully on display. Most of the population are civilians but a huge number of them are soldiers, either Home Guard volunteers or professionals with more experience and guts than any of you will ever experience anywhere. They are the baddest asses ever and they fear nothing. They work with a precision that will make you drop your jaws.
"They are lead by an Alpha team of Senior Autobots who are phenomenal. Optimus Prime is the leader of everyone and everything. He is the political, religious, moral, ethical and military leader of everyone. He is the only legal leader of Cybertron alive. His staff includes Ironhide, Master of the Army, his parents, General Blackjack and Commander Alor, Sub commander Prowl, second-in-command of the entire army, Ratchet who is Chief Medical Officer of the army and colony and their ambassador, Jazz and Elita-1 who are saboteurs and intelligence chiefs, Ultra Magnus who is city manager of the entire colony and a general officer in the army, Starscream who is Commander of the Air Forces among others also advise the Prime. There are others both civilian and military and you will meet them as time goes by.
"There are giant bots like the Aerialbots and the Supremes and others that are even bigger like Metroplex and Fort Max. The place has thousands of Decepticons and their families who have surrendered and are working hard in the colony as assets. You can detect them because they wear an Autobrand on the underside of their left forearms. Most of the civilians sport Autobrands on their left shoulders. Soldiers wear them on shoulders or their chests. Some of them are specialists and serve on different teams with different specialties. The Wreckers for instance have their own brand. You can look them up to learn them and I recommend it. The more you know, the better you will function.
"They love their city and take good care of it. There are lots of things to do including the last playoff in the football league before the championship of the world. They love their schools as well and support them and their students. There are lots of stupendous science fiction things going on but you'll get used to it. The amenities are a lot like our own. You will find a lot in common with them. They police themselves, the Night and Day Watch is run by the Chief of Planetary Security, Springer who is also the Chief of the Wreckers, their last chance suicide special ops team.
"There are groups here that are old and venerated. The Knights of Cybertron, the Circle of Light, the Missionaries and others … they are all part of the city and history of these people," Lennox said. He paused a moment. "We … all of us who know them love them. We love these people. It is an honor to be able to live on Mars. You have been given a great honor. We expect that you will understand that and carry yourself with the kind of character and dignity that befits the service and our alliance. This is an honor for you to come there." He looked at all of them. "Are there any questions?"
It was silent a moment, then a civilian nodded. "Major? Do we get to see the game when its played?"
Lennox grinned. "Hell yes."
It lightened the moment considerably.
All of them gathered their gear, then turned and walked out of the hangar heading for Cosmos who was parked nearby waiting for them. They entered and sat, their gear stowed at their feet. Smith sat with the others in the special section all of the ships that came to Diego featured for any human passengers. The hatch closed, the ramp retracted, then Cosmos lifted off. He was gone in seconds.
-0-Over there
Ironhide walked along the street carrying his daughter, his son recharging in his carry hold. It was warmer than usual but still many degrees below zero. The traffic was steady and the foot traffic as brisk as ever. Delivery trucks drove past heavily laden with produce and beverages from the Guilds for the various stores and restaurants. They pulled over from time to time as mini-cons jumped out ready to deliver the day's necessaries for commerce to continue unabated. Rolling heavily laden hand trucks down ramps, the mini-cons who had organized their own delivery service, On-Time Trucking, took their loads into businesses up and down the street.
He paused as a beverage delivery passed into Club Cybertron, then continued onward toward the Mare Tranquilitatus. By the time he reached the corner of Metroplex Highway 1 and Cultural Center Road it was nearly time for lunch. Hero who was telling her Atar all of her most important information including how much she liked walking around with him chatted away oblivious to the fact that her Ada was hot on their trail.
-0-On the Military Airfield
They landed and suited up, checking their gear as instructed. When the veterans had ensured that the newbies were go, they turned to line up at the door. The hatch opened and the ramp slid out silently in the quiet near vacuum of the planet. Lennox turned and nodded, then stepped out as everyone followed him. Epps was last. When they were clear, the hatch closed as the ramp slid up. Cosmos who was starting his weekend this orn transformed behind them. They turned and watched, the newbies dazzled. He grinned and nodded, then turned and walked toward the hangars and bunkers north of them.
:Let's go: Lennox said hoisting his bags and weapons. Turning, walking to a flatbed parked nearby, he tossed his stuff on and sat on the edge. The others joined him, then the truck moved off crossing the air field to pull out on Fortress Road. The traffic felt like any morning transit in a city on Earth but most of the vehicles around them were sentient. They stared at everything and everyone as they drove through the city passing behemoths walking along the streets, humans on segways going here and there on their way to the habitat.
As they reached the corner of Metroplex Highway 1 and Cultural Center Road, they turned right and drove down Cultural Center Road toward the two gigantic habitats at the end passing Ratchet on the way. He was snorting along the road on a mission but waved to the soldiers as they drove past. Smith looked at the famous being and was amazed once more how big they were. They continued onward to the habitat passing the greenery-filled one of the other aliens his family wanted gone, the Hu An. He would be living next door to them for the foreseeable future. It was hard to wrap his mind around but he sat looking at the exotic but oddly familiar city around him as they continued onward to the glittering domed facility that would be his new home.
-0-At The Pit Stop
Ironhide walked in and found 'their table' pulling up a booster seat for his daughter. Sitting her on it, he considered that her helm was still way below the level of the table. Picking her up again, he sat her on the table and sat himself. He pulled Prowler out of his hold and lay him gently on the table top. Hero smiled at him. "Ada and I did this afore."
"Afore?" Ironhide asked with a grin.
She nodded. "We ate fries. I like them. Ada likes a samich."
"Samich?" Ironhide asked mesmerized that his daughter could speak her mind and he could understand it so well.
She nodded and smiled. "Ada likes wings."
"Wings?" Ironhide asked. A slap on the helm caught his attention. He looked up and blanched slightly. "I hear you like wings."
"Rings. Onion rings," Ratchet said pulling up at chair.
"ADA!" Hero said reaching out for her ada. "You came."
"I did," Ratchet said picking her up. He hugged her, then set her back down. "Have you ordered yet?"
"Nope," Ironhide said. "We were waiting for you."
"Liar," Ratchet said with a grin. "I have been chasing you all over town."
"How is the bug?" Ironhide asked to change the subject.
"He's going to be released to Sunstreaker today. I want the usual," Ratchet said looking up at the smiling waiter who knew them by sight. When they had all ordered, Ratchet fixed Ironhide with a gimlet optic.
He fixed Ratchet right back. "You can't rag on me, Ratchet. You and Hero skipped school the other orn too," Ironhide said.
"I had just gotten back and she was in a bad way," Ratchet said leaning forward. "She was in a bad way. She isn't now."
"Doesn't matter. Little femme needed me, right?" he asked looking at his daughter. She was sitting on the table watching them like a spectator at a tennis match. She smiled brilliantly, her little red rose hat looking chic and jaunty.
For a tot.
"You are a big doofus, Ironhide," Ratchet said sitting back with a smirk. "She goes to school tomorrow no matter what. Toughen up or get used to my boot up your aft."
"You can't make me feel badly, Ratchet," Ironhide said glancing at his children with a smile.
"Wanna bet?" Ratchet asked.
Ironhide considered that a moment, then swallowed hard. "No," he said.
Ratchet merely grinned.
And shared fries and 'wings' with a certain smiling femme.
-0-TBC July 20, 2013