Chapter 513: Chapter 513
The Diego Diaries: Phase Six 10 (513) edited
-0-On the ground at home
He moved a small ship carrying it with relative ease. He had been awesome in his helpfulness thus far. He had been promised a joy ride through the solar system by Xantium when he got back and the migration was completely locked down. Even with his usual dim bad attitude, Grimlock was finding the city and its many inhabitants a lot of fun. He hadn't been happy to be left behind from the military group heading out though.
"WHY ME, GRIMLOCK NOT GO WITH PRIME!? ME, GRIMLOCK CAN FIGHT GOOD! WHY ME, GRIMLOCK HAVE TO STAY HERE AND SORT OUT SHIPS?!"
Xantium who had paused on the way to transform and leave grinned down at the tiny boy raising hell at his peds. He knelt scooping Grimlock into his servo. Holding him, he stood again. "Look around, Grimlock. This we will protect," he said as the little mech got a birds eye view of the city and colony from nearly 700 feet above ground level.
He, Grimlock looked around enjoying the view. "Me, Grimlock like this place."
"Slag, yeah," Xantium said as he looked at the little bot. "You help out and I'll take ya on a joyride around the system. We can raise the Pit and stop at the forward bases for some fun with the bots."
Grimlock looked at Xantium, his main handler. "Slag not come?" he asked hopefully. "Slag is not fun."
Xantium nodded. "Sure."
"Me, Grimlock will help."
He did. A lot.
Slag on the other servo stood to one side and bitched.
-0-On the ships with Ironhide's crew
He walked through the ship with Target and his exec, Source. The troops did what they were told and when each section was secured, those areas where the Decepticons were held were sealed. A Seeker specialist in data collection was working on the total numbers of prisoners. They would know shortly. Ironhide reached the command deck, then changed the command data. The ship officially became Autobot.
-0-Prowl
He sat at the command table working out the endless data of the migration and the military actions going on both here and beyond. There were 200 prisoners coming through the aperture in a moment and he was needed at the lock up at the prison to see them in. They had room for 800 prisoners in the fenced yard beyond the cell blocks. It had been put up some time before in case of events like this. It would hold a lot of them but not all. The outstanding number was still being calculated.
Silo and his second, Magec along with the other officers would find themselves in the prison proper. There was room in Cell Block B and C for them. Block A would be off limits for now. Having the Stunticons in that space was all they could tolerate in concentrated stupidity at the moment.
:Hub to Prowl:
:Prowl here:
:We have the Silo group, sir: the Officer of the Orn said as Kappa began to descend from the sky.
:On my way: Prowl said as he rose. Picking up a smiling chatty Prowler, he turned walking for the door. He slid Prowler into his carry hold and disappeared.
-0-Going down
Kappa lowered herself onto the ground and settled on her gear, the blasts and rumbles of a space mechanism shutting down roaring into the thin atmosphere of Mars. Dust flew, then settled quickly all but for a haze of extremely fine particles that would take their fragging time. She was getting ready to drop her ramp and open her doors when Prowl arrived. He moved to the guards and Officer of the Orn to wait.
Inside sitting on a chair under guard, Silo and Magec waited with expectation. They had seen through the portholes a number of things they had not expected.
That is, everything they saw.
Space around the planet was filled with ships and satellites, communications relays and other things unknown as well as The Trigger, a massive incredible surprise. The ships of the refugees were thick in orbits as well as others, purpose unknown. The orange red surface of a big planet beckoned to them and as they began their descent, the two saw the city come into view.
Cities.
There were multiple cities gleaming, extensive industrial plants working and highways filled with traffic. Fortress Maximus was settled nearly next door to Metroplex, both Autobrands gleaming on the burnished sides of the two behemoths. They saw arenas, two of them, what looked like the Temple of Simfur and other things not easily determined from the upper elevations.
They sat staring outside taking in the most amazing Autobot military settlement that they had ever seen. Neither had seen such a development outside of Cybertron from either side since before The Fall. It was unsettling. It was magnificent. It was startling. Neither had much to say, then Magec leaned back. "I'm ready to give an oath. What about you, Si?"
Silo looked at him with a hard expression. "Are you so easily bought off?" he hissed.
"Frag yeah. I was a machinist before the war. I want to be one again. I also want to watch real Cybertronian football in a real Cybertronian city. You can take the Cause and shove it up your tail pipe, pal."
They were on each other in seconds. They were pulled apart faster. It would only be a matter of time and opportunity before Magec had a chance to declare his fidelity to Prime and the Matrix. It would take Silo longer.
-0-Evening in the city
The migration went on into the evening as the sun began to dim in the distance. There was a construction project to the east past the prison with trucks coming and going, sentient and non. The march of exhausted, exhilarated, unnerved newbies was constant. The number of subway trains was doubled to make sure that they could handle the crush of an estimated 350,000 out of a finalized number of 1,049,287 expected new citizens thus far.
The city of Tyger Pax was filled with activity as families and individuals were taken to their new homes and settled. Many were the families and individuals who were wandering the blocks and blocks of towers and businesses checking them out, trying to understand what bounty untold was like after lifetimes of hard scramble and privation. The supermarkets were crowded with incredulous mechs and femmes walking around. It was difficult to understand and even more so to know that they could have what they wanted and their only payment was working at a job if fit and able. Those that weren't were not thrown out. They were helped.
Mech after femme after mech walked out with bags and boxes of things they could only dream about heading home to apartments that were only for high castes everywhere else to sit and gorge themselves as they watched IntraComm and their continual coverage of the rescue. They had information for everyone new including the idea of schools for adults and mandatory education for infants. There were endless tips and suggestions for the newbies about the city, its amenities and a detailed discussion of the Community Bulletin Board that ran every three breems.
Bluestreak taking a break from work to check on the infants and their grand genitors walked out of the tower where Ravel and Tie Down lived. He had stopped in to deliver a medication for Appa Ratchet. He was watching The Hourly News with incredulity and hope. "He will get my Docker won't he, Bluestreak? The Prime will won't he?" he had asked the winger with enthusiasm. "Look at what he's done here. Docker, Chan and Corr will be here too at some point won't they?"
Bluestreak had hugged him. "Yes. You came didn't you? Optimus knew he had to get you since the Festival. He'll get everyone. We can bring Cybertron here too. We will not leave anyone alone."
They had chatted, then Blue had left, the buoyed spirits of the ailing patriarch a warm feeling in his spark. He took the Metro 1 train to Tyger Pax for a moment. Walking through the crowded streets filled with gawkers and ecstatic newbies, he felt a good feeling deep in his spark. He reached the corner of Fifth and East, then crossed entering his new building.
It was a crowded elevator up to the top floor. When he stepped off he saw individuals coming and going in their apartments. Some just stood in the doorways watching everyone else with varying expressions of amazement, surprise and incredulity. From the depths of despair to the pinnacles of relief, everyone was restless with amazement. Blue nodded, chatted and reached his home. Entering, he shut the sounds out then walked to the window.
Below, the sights were astounding. A mass of teeming Cybertronians with hopes and dreams were patiently waiting their turn into the holy land. They had come at the sound of their moral leader, their Prime. They had suffered privation, hunger, terrible fear and a hopeless sense of loneliness for normalcy. Now they were here protected by their army, the Seekers and Optimus Prime. It had been too much to hope for that this could turn out in any manner whatsoever. They had come here to suffer in the company of their Prime, parked in yet another refugee camp, another temporary place of refuge for however long they could hold it. That it would turn out like this was beyond most of them.
They walked forward when they were asked to, took amazing cubes of energon when they were offered and when they reached the front of the line, they answered the questions asked. They walked off into a new life that most would take a while to assimilate. This one felt permanent. They all hoped so. It would take a while to believe it. Most of them felt like they were dreaming. All of them hoped to never wake up.
Bluestreak looked around at their new apartment and felt something of what the city felt. Hopefulness and the stirring of unity to something bigger than themselves surged in his spark. He walked to the door and left heading back to the gathered masses once more. He would take side trips off and on to see about all of the family's infants and their newest oldest member but he would stay with the effort for the next three orns.
-0-Out there
"What is the status of the last group identified?" Prime asked Jazz as he sat down at the tactical table again.
"We have some indication, Prime, that there are some out there hiding who they are," Jazz said. "We're goin' to those ships that appear to be so to check them out. Shooting is a possibility with that issue. For the other group, its one ship, a 'Con transport of the usual type, heavily armed and armored. They're a small group, no more than ten mechs all together. We should be able to run over the slaggers relatively easily."
Prime nodded. "Open a channel, Blaster."
He did. Then Prime girded himself. "Decepticon ship, this is Optimus Prime. Identify yourself or die."
There was a pause, then a guttural voice sounded over the comm links. "I am Carnivac, Prime. Long time no see. Where's Springer? That slagger owes me one."
Jazz glanced at Prime, then looked at the data screen. "Oh frag," he said softly.
-0-Ratchet
The human women who had come along were dozing in their chairs on the shelf in Emergency Suite 1. Ratchet was in and out supervising treatments and transports. Returning, he paused by them and grinned. Rapping the shelf gently, he watched as they came to themselves. Jessie sat up. :Hey, Ratchet. Sorry we dozed off:
:No problem. I'm going to send you back with this patient: he said nodding to a mech sitting on a med berth getting a shoulder repair.
:You don't have to do that: Sheila said as the other two nodded.
:I know but I am. You need to eat and recharge. This is going to happen for orns. You can miss a lot being here. The real story is in the city: Ratchet said. The mech nearby stood up with a medic.
Ratchet turned and took a box down from a shelf. He put its contents to one side for usage, then turned to the humans. He took them gently placing each inside the box. The women stood holding the edge of the box's side as they stared out. Ratchet turned and the group began to walk outside.
Down a corridor they went, the women staring out at the view. There were long lines of patients standing, sitting, lying along the walls with attendants, medics and others working to make them comfortable, prep them for help and care as well as comfort them.
It was an astonishing sight to watch and they did, Mikaela, Sheila and Jessie. By the time they reached the hangar deck the mech was walking better than he had when he staggered into the emergency room. The tech helped him into a shuttle, then turned reaching for the box. Ratchet handed it over, then grinned. :Get some rest. Doctor's orders:
:We'll see you on Mars, Ratchet. We love you!: Jessie called and the others nodded waving. "THANK YOU, RATCHET! GOOD LUCK!: Jessie called out as the hatch began to close.
Ratchet chuckled, then replied. He watched as the shuttle rose up, then headed out to join the line to go through the bridge. He watched until it had, then turned to go back to the sick, sad, dire and discomfited. He would not step away again for two more orns.
-0-TBC November 13, 2013
The Temple of Simfur is named after mashing up the name of Simon Furman. TF wiki said: "Chris Ryall named Simfur after, of course, writer Simon Furman. This sort of thing sometimes happen. Speaking of Furman, it can not be a coincidence the Aligned-crew wrote Grimlock as hailing from the city named after his number #1 fan."