The Diego Diaries: Festivale 8 (387)
-0-Early morning
The sun rose slowly, a lightening of the sky the first clue that day was on its way. The night shifts of several groups of essential industries were coming off work and would remain off for the rest of the orn. Night shift would return at midnight and work until game time. From game time through the fireworks, everyone would be off again. Automatic systems would take care of things alerting everyone tuned in if something should become amiss.
-0-Copperton, Turquoise, Burnoff
Turquoise rose early which was his practice on holidays. On this one, there would be no groaning table filled with food and drinks special to that holiday. He sat meditating, a practice he had picked up from human programming from when his son did his big crime. It had centered him and he was grateful for it because he had never come so close to suicide as he had then. Not even the Fall and everything after was enough to make him want to leave his family behind in his bottomless despair. A sound behind alerted him to his son so he turned holding out his servo. Burnoff took it and pulled his ada into his arms. "I have to do it."
"I know. I will go with you, your atar and I."
"You can't. I have to do this alone," he said softly. "I will come back right away."
Turquoise nodded, then watched as his son walked to the door. It opened, he left, it closed. Simple and final. He turned back to the window and began to try to find his internal peace once again.
-0-Outside
He stepped out of his building, the eighteenth in his housing division and walked from the door to the cobblestone walkway that led around the rim of the giant former quarry to the main highway beyond. It was cold, about -100 degrees but was said to warm up to a much balmier -20 later that orn. The sun was weak and the darkness fading as the cold air around him hugged him tightly.
A few vehicles went past, sentient and non as well as the odd pedestrian, all of them introspective and distracted. No one spoke to him and he spoke to no one. He walked out of the district and crossed Metroplex Highway 2. The roads crossed, meeting in an intersection. Cultural Center Road, Metroplex Highways 1 and 2 met at the footpath to the Mare Tranquilitatis, each going in different directions.
One took the Cultural Center Road for two blocks, then it branched off to the north to go to Aerie Hill. Metroplex Highway 2 was the main street that bordered Metroplex and was the main road to Phobos and the turnoff to Cybertron City Highway. Metroplex Highway 1 went right past the Mare turning into Cultural Center road when it left Metroplex's footprint. It was the highway bots took to go to the arenas and it also merged with Aerie Hill Road that led to the Seeker refuge as well.
He passed shuttered shops and restaurants heading for the other Metroplex Highway, number three. It cut through the Metroplex District and merged at an intersection with Temple Road which made up the road that bordered the other side of Metroplex and his mighty footprint. It was the biggest road in Metroplex, his main internal thoroughfare and was the street upon which the trine lived. As it passed the Autobot City Business Plaza, it would merge into Terra Highway, the main thoroughfare that led to that city and other places beyond.
He turned at the corner of Metroplex 2 and walked past the arcade heading for a particular place that he had located on the maps of the city and her sentient and non-sentient locations. He walked there and stood a moment gathering himself. After a moment, he turned and walked down the steps that led to a door. He touched it to turn the handle and found it locked. As he stood a moment wondering what to do, the lock shifted and the door opened a crack. Looking at it, he pulled the door opened and entered into the passage way that would take him to the heart of Metroplex.
-0-At homes here and there
He sat up and looked around, his little blue optics bright. He moved to the edge of his crib and looked around. No one was moving so he did what he learned how to do the hard way with his brother. He put a ped up and swung over. The fall was short and not very hard. He stood up and walked to the door.
No one.
Coast clear.
So he stepped out and 'stealthed' onward.
Spot who was monitoring the situation looked up and listened. Then he crept down and began to stealth too.
-0-Here
Uraya looked at the ceiling watching the light as it crept into her room. The gauzy curtains that were pulled were not so great at keeping out light but they were very pretty. Her room had been designed as were the others as a collaboration of her genitors. Then Sunstreaker had gotten the materials and they had put it together.
It was ultra femme like her sister's room. The furniture was Cybertronian in design but a very mellow shade of white. Her crib was covered in tulle and silk, a lovely bed for a worshiped infant. Her curtains were gossamer and pooled on the floor like clouds. Her toy boxes were white and had her name painted on them. Suns and flowers were also painted there because Sunstreaker liked decorated furniture for children. She had suns and flowers. Iacon had suns and butterflies. Kaon had clouds and bunnies.
Kaon loved bunnies.
She stood up and looked down. It was a long way down but she was go. Putting up a tiny ped, she swung over and fell. She lay a moment, then bellowed.
For her.
In the living room, two sets of optics perked up at the sound of a tiny weep. Rising, they both rushed forward heading toward the sound. They crunched each other to enter the room but they found her on the floor. She was crying because her winglet hurt. Dawg licked her and Bob bounced on his legs in agitation. Dawg turned and headed for the trine while Bob moved to stand over her, his face turned under to watch her.
Sunstreaker bounded in, Dawg following and paused as he saw his daughter underneath the bug. "Bob?" he asked as he hurried in. Bob moved back and nudged Uraya. Sunstreaker picked her up and noted her winglet. It was slightly crunked. "Babe!"
Bluestreak entered along with Sideswipe. "What?" He knelt and looked at Uraya. "Oh slag. She's bumped her wing out of joint. Call Ratchet."
:ADA!:
Ratchet nearly levitated as the call came through. Sitting up, glancing around madly, he answered. :WHAT!?:
:Uraya dislocated a winglet. What do we do?: Sunstreaker replied.
:Bring her to the hospital emergency. I will be right there: Ratchet said as he jumped up. Ironhide turned over and looked at him. "What's up?"
"Uraya dislocated her wing," Ratchet said as he hurried out.
Ironhide jumped up and watched as the door closed behind Ratchet. Then he turned and looked at the window. Sitting there sharing a cookie with Spot, Praxus sat on a tiny chair. He smiled. "ATAR!" he said with joy.
"Praxus," Ironhide answered with a smirk.
-0-On the way
It was a short walk to the hospital and he entered the doctor emergency code into the elevator. He nearly levitated in the near zero gravity that got him to the top in no time. Entering, he considered what he had to do and as he did Sunstreaker entered with Sideswipe and Bluestreak. Blue held Uraya who was crying loudly. He took her and put her on the berth gently injecting code that would allow her to relax without pain.
"Where are the other babies?" Ratchet asked as he noted all three were there. The twins patted their carry holds so Ratchet relaxed. "Alright. What happened?" he asked as he turned the tiny twiglet over onto her tummy.
"I think she fell out of bed trying to get out and landed on her wings," Sunstreaker said as he moved closer to the baby. He looked intense, homicidally intense. "Dawg got me. Bob was protecting her."
Ratchet nodded as he examined the wing. It had popped out of joint, easily enough done with developing infants and their more malleable protoform. "This is an easy fix but she will be sore for a bit. I will give her as much code as she can tolerate for it but handle her easily for an orn or two." He looked at all of them. "She's too little for drugs. I will have to download over write code for the pain. It will not be as effective but its all we got for this."
He looked at the joint, traced the slipped seal, then gritted his guts. Moving the winglet gently, it slipped back into joint. Sunstreaker looked ready to pass out as Sideswipe turned away. The tiny snap was gross making and none of them looked too well including Ratchet. "There. Its back in. I am going to make the seals stronger by adding extra metal at two sites so that it holds better. The metal will slough off as she gets older and grows." He transformed a digit and began to make micro welds with a slim bit of metal he subbed from his internal stores. It was over in seconds. He patted her little bottom and gently folded her winglets. "All good."
He took the blanket from Sunstreaker and lay it on her. Then gently, he picked her up swaddling her. Handing her to her ada, Sunstreaker looked her over with an intense expression. "Thank you, Ada," he said, his expression filled with an incredible array of emotions.
"Its all good, Sunny," Ratchet said. "Babies explore. They will get boo boos. Don't make more of it than you should."
He tucked her into his arm, then nodded. It was clear he wouldn't be taking the advice. They stood a moment absorbing the trauma, then Bluestreak hugged Ratchet tightly. He was hugged back. "Dawg and Bob have earned their keep," he said with a smile. "They were taking care of her and Dawg got us."
"Spot keeps the younglings in line too," Ratchet said with a grin as they turned to walk back to the elevator. "They make a lot of stuff bearable."
"They do," Sideswipe said nodding. They entered the elevator and disappeared.
-0-elsewhere
He walked down a long corridor that was dark until he stepped forward. Lights came on to show him the way and disappeared behind him. He reached a door and as he did a figure stepped out of a nearby darkened corridor. "You want to see him?" he asked.
Burnoff turned to look at the figure, then paused. It was Scamper, Metroplex's autonomous vehicle symbiont that was his optics and audials in the greater world beyond. He was a big bot, gray and boxy indicating great age in design. He was also intensely loyal, fun and funny and a great bot to race around with.
"I do," Burnoff said as emotion circulated through him like electrical short outs. He guessed that Scamper being a part of Metroplex probably knew who he was. He didn't seem to act in any way different than he had heard from others who visited so he gathered his guts together. "Please."
Scamper nodded and opened a door gesturing the youngster to go in. Burnoff nodded, then stepped inside. The door closed and as it did the lights came on to show a giant room filled with consoles and other essential devices working on their specific goals and duties.
Burnoff looked around, then spotted it, the panel of bright lights that signaled the interface between the miracle mechanism and anyone coming to speak to him. He paused, then walked closer. "Metroplex … sir. I have come to talk to you please."
"You are welcome," a deep sonorous voice replied.
Burnoff considered the rising tide of fear and shame inside his helm, then with effort pushed it aside. "Metroplex, I came to apologize to you for what I did when I put you and everyone in the city in danger with my actions. I am the one who set the bombs."
It was silent a moment, a moment that seemed to drag on forever. Then the deep voice spoke. "I know."
Burnoff stood a moment nearly short circuiting. No one was supposed to know outside of a handful of individuals. He had not been informed that Metroplex knew. "I didn't know you did."
"I did. Your ada came to beg for forgiveness and ask to take punishment for you."
Burnoff felt the same torment rise again, the image of his sweet gentle ada begging for punishment in his place a meteor impact on his soul. "I didn't know."
It was silent a moment, then he spoke again. "I will tell you what I told him. You cannot ask for what you already have."
Burnoff stood a moment trying to understand the statement in the muddle of his mind, then he stepped closer. "I don't understand." He knelt, then he lay flat on the floor. "I am so ashamed. I am so utterly sorry. I wish I could undo it. I wish I could do something for you that would tell you the magnitude of my sorrows."
The lights dimmed a bit, then he spoke again. "I am already aware. Stand."
Burnoff got up with uncertainty, his optics filling with tears. The light panel blinked its infinite array of colors all of them some noble aspect of the great spark called Metroplex.
"I am ancient, even for our people," he said. "I have seen too much hatred and war. I am content here. I am happier than I have ever been. Children play in my parks. Families live in my confines. There are businesses that hold the skills of our people and return to this place something of Cybertron. I have stepped away from our people too long. When the Prime called to me too I came happily. We are one. We are united. You cannot ask for what you already have. I forgave you the moment this happened. Now you must forgive yourself and work for the betterment of our kind."
Burnoff stood a moment, then stepped forward tentatively. He opened his arms and embraced the panel pressing his cheek against the lights. He felt an energy embracing him back, a deep strong energy of something wise and good. "I will do that, Metroplex. I will make you proud of me and I will do it for all of us. Thank you for your mercy."
Metroplex surged energy to the distraught boy. "Primus will come today. Embrace him and remember this moment. You cannot ask for what you already have."
Burnoff stepped back and nodded. "Thank you. I will not forget it." He stood a moment, then turned and walked out going back the way he came with a lightness of spark he thought he would never feel again.
As he left Metroplex considered the youngling. He would be good for their people. He had learned something from this. He had good genitors. With a lightness in his own spark, he returned to the happy process of maintaining a quality of life for his beloved residents.
-0-On the street
Ratchet and the trine walked back toward Polyhex Tower in Metroplex District chatting and unwinding from the hoo-haw. Ratchet watched as Burnoff walked past nodding to them with a smile. He smiled and nodded back continuing onward with his own younglings.
-0-In an apartment in Tower 18
He opened the door and stepped inside, his genitors rising slowly from the table where they sat nervously waiting for his return. He paused and smiled, then walked forward enveloping them in his arms. They stood together, his genitors crying. He himself felt reborn.
-0-TBC August 4, 2013 Starfire201: You and me both. The bugs had a long time to tunnel. :D I love the snarkiness of the Seekers and the hopelessness and comedy of the prisoners. Hugs, honey. :D