The Diego Diaries: Titan 8 (542) edited
-0-Elsewhere
They sat in front of the monitor watching the near catastrophe unfolding outside. Glancing at Tagg, Kestrel shook his helm. "This is horrible, Tagg. Poor Orion. He has so many worries and scares."
"He has the Matrix, Kes. Don't forget that," Tagg said glancing at his bond. The infants were in recharge so they sat watching the unfolding events in the nearby city of Terra. They had spent some time standing on the verandah that circled the Residence watching the flood lit plain as the giant ships came down to land. They were here because their son had called to them. It was as surreal and incomprehensible for them now as it was back on Cybertron.
"We should wait up for Prowl and Orion if they come home for a breather. Maybe we can fix them dinner or something," Kestrel said anxiously.
"We can wait up, Kes, but Orion will want us to sleep. We will be managing the little ones for a while," Tagg said as the scene became filled with giant ships once more. Their son was being interviewed so they quieted.
-0-On the ground
"Sir, what is the status of the situation thus far?" Lim-Lee asked as she stood on the dirt mound with Optimus Prime.
"We have four new mega-titans who just arrived towing an injured sibling. He was unaware of his situation and nearly slid into Terra. Fortress Maximus prevented that by rising to intervene. Metrotitan is now in the care of CMO Ratchet who is certified to work with these big frames. He is going to be repaired and will recuperate on the pad west of Terra until he's ready to seat himself here in city mode. His siblings, Acroplex, Metrobase and Metrocon will be doing the same thing sooner. City Engineer Jetta and his team have been laying in the infrastructure and support systems for them to join us south of the Fortress."
"Do they want to do that and if they do will they host residents? How many residents can they host if this comes to pass?" Lim-Lee asked.
"They have asked to do that. They are extremely tired and wish a peaceful life, the one they were designed to fulfill. There are bounty hunters in the universe that hunt and kill them for their technology. I consider that an abomination so I am sending a message into the galaxy for them to come to us for safety and shelter. We are a better people when our own come home to us. Metroplex and Fortress Maximus are very happy they are here and are assisting them.
"As for their residential capacity, they are able to host over 5,000 individuals each for a total of a minimum 20,000. They have business capacities as well along with a portion of their infrastructure dedicated to governmental service. They are asking to be of service to our people and host. I am grateful and honored to grant that request. I feel strongly that we must save our own people wherever they are and this is a great orn when four of our mega format brothers come home to us."
-0-Industrial Park City, Mars
He stood with others watching the screen at the extraordinary sight of mega-titan ships returning. He was subdued and conflicted, his inner turmoil combating his sense of self honed over a selfish privileged lifetime. Everyone around him had a view of their place, which many of them had chosen for themselves against what he had been taught to believe. He himself lived with his genitors since the death of Commotion. That scenario played over and over, the idea of Commotion running toward the humans to save them odd and unlikely to his jumbled emotions. That wasn't what had happened. Commotion was acting out like they all did. But this time he was dead.
The humans had sent condolences to the family of Commotion which they had accepted almost gratefully. Default didn't personally believe that Commotion had done that but he wasn't going to rain all over their sorrow with his own ideas of the truth.
Sio had been seeking to talk to him and so had Gravity. Gravity was due to be released soon enough if he wasn't charged. Default had no idea if he was going to be. He didn't want to talk to any of them. He didn't even talk to Kale. They worked at their jobs, came home to their genitor's apartments and stayed out of sight. What it would mean when Gravity was released, they didn't know. They just knew they didn't want his kind of trouble now.
He turned walking back to his job, his menial labor. Never in his life was he ever more happy to be doing something than right now. As he did Metrocon, Metrobase and Fort Max were sliding Metrotitan back toward the fully lit blinking figure of Acroplex.
-0-On the airfield nearby
The humans drove across the Military Airfield on segways heading toward the Autobot City Interplanetary Airport and Civilian Airfield across the way. Driving through the freight boxes and busy ship traffic, they arrived at the human entrance entering as the lock sealed behind them. Once inside, they parked and walked to the nearby array of space bridges.
The airport was the location of the bridge array that fed different locations all over the solar system. There was the short distance inner planetary bridge that would take them from Mars to Luna. There were the longer range outer planetary bridges as well that led to the farthest reaches of the settled system as well it was reported on the grapevine Cybertron itself. The building was busy with various activities as they walked to the bridge to Luna Base. Pausing, those going turned to the soldiers who weren't as well as Mearing and Simmons.
Shaking hands, the group made chat, then turned when the attendant fired up the bridge. It swirled, then settled. Morshower turned to Epps, Graham and Lennox. :Fulton and I along with the families will come over for the game and Christmas Surprise. Keep me advised about the situation:
They nodded, then watched as Morshower, Fulton, three Generals both American and British as well as several world leaders walked into infinity and disappeared. Lennox sighed. :I'm hungry:
So was everyone else. They headed out for the Sciences Habitat and a late night sandwich and much appreciated beer.
-0-Acroplex Command Center
Ratchet ran the last diagnostic, then glanced at a group of doctors waiting. "Ace isn't so bad. He's going to need a lot of handwork that you bunch can manage. He has armor to replace and a bunch of upgrades that I will show you. All in all, he's not bad."
They nodded, then glanced around. "Where are his symbionts?"
"Getting repairs at the Flight Maintenance Center in Hangar Central," Ratchet replied noting that all of the symbionts from each ship were there gathered up by Astrotrain and Roadie. They would be cared for down to new finishes on their armor. Then they would return to help. "Tyke's crew is in the hospital under guard. He wouldn't surrender and neither did they, the slaggers. They had to be taken by hand."
"Are they infected too?" a youngling processor doctor asked.
"They are as long as he is. What he is they are too. They are after all part of him and his mentality. Don't get me wrong. I was there when they built Titan. He was the last one, the best of the best supposedly. But he was young, the others were out on their jobs. He had no supervision. At least, not enough. He hung out with the wrong crowd, the brat." Ratchet grinned. "I love this format and I love Tyke. He reminds me of Xantium on steroids."
They grinned, the 'bad boy' of that family someone well liked and admired by all in the room. "When will he come back on line, Doctor?"
"When he is free of the virus and ready to behave. I won't have it any other way. I have the last word on this and I won't take chances," Ratchet said as he rose. He walked to a monitor and touched the screen. Routing the data he had collected, the screen showed a schematic of Acroplex. "Ace?"
"Ratchet?" a deep sonorous voice asked.
"We're ready to divide up and work out some of your first steps to refit. I'm going to fix up Base and Con first. They are going to be taking up residence south of here. You will too when we put you back together," Ratchet said.
"Prime said we can host. I am very happy to hear that," Acroplex said.
"Me too. I take my kids to the park Metroplex made. That is one fine bot, your brother," Ratchet said with a grin at the interface panel.
"He is our leader and brother," Acroplex said. "It is so good to see him and Maximus again."
"What you said," Ratchet said with a chuckle. He turned to the panel. "Here's what we're going to do, Ace," he said and then he told everyone.
-0-Nearby
"OTHER ADA!"
A voice called out of the berth room nearby. Ravel and Tie who were watching the news on the monitor in between dozing comfortably jolted. Ravel rose walking to the berth room. Orion was sitting up on his big boy berth, a dollie hugged to his tiny chest. "What, my baby?" Ravel asked gently.
"Where Ada? Where Atar? They come not me. I come not them. We come not ..." He paused staring at his fingers as he worked out what he was trying to say, then looked up at his grandada with a tearful expression. "Why not come me, Ada and Atar?"
"Oh my," Ravel said picking Orion up. Taking a blanket, he wrapped the infant, then walked out to sit.
Tie looked at him. "He can't sleep?"
"He misses two mechs who aren't here," Ravel replied as he gently rocked, rubbing the infant's back as he did. "This will be a long hard time for our infants, Tie. We must help where we can."
Tie who was looking at Orion's tearful face as he lay on his grandada's shoulder nodded. "Poor babies. What a hard life being the infants of soldiers."
"It is," Ravel said as he rocked Orion. It would be a long night.
-0-Trine
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe stood together on the blasted pad giving security to the remarkable site. Nearby kneeling as he talked to engineers, Fort Max prepared to reseat himself. Transformed to ships once again, Metrobase and Metrocon were back at their landing sites getting the once over from Ratchet and his teams. They were not in very bad condition and would be easier to repair, refit and upgrade on their permanent sites.
Jetta and his workers were slaving and had been for several orns on the open space south of the Fortress. North of the Tri-Cities, four ships would sit in city format adding to the beauty and 'Cybertronian-ness' of the colony. Their spires would be as numerous and beautiful as Metroplex and their diversity equal to his own. It would be a remarkable sight to see them in a format that they once inhabited on Cybertron and her colonies in the Empire. How Titan would fair was another thing and no one made bets.
"What do you think? Seeing four cities between us and the Fortress will be strange," Sideswipe said as he rolled around his brother in skate format, his swords sliding in and out as he did.
"I don't know. I miss a Cybertronian skyline. I liked living in Metroplex and now Tyger Pax for that reason," Sunstreaker said as he watched mechs loading trucks for the repairs on Acroplex.
"I know. You know that the rest will come. Optimus is making a call," Sideswipe said.
Sunstreaker looked at him, then nodded. "Good. Frag Megatron. He will be more than sorry to try and come here."
Sideswipe nodded as both turned to watch Bluestreak come their way. He paused, then grinned. "The infants are all asleep. You might want to pick a time in the morning to go see them. The schools are closed in Terra tomorrow to allow the emergency crews to work. Half the underground between here and the Tri-Cities as well as the Industrial Park has been collapsed and the road needs rebuilt."
"Max showed them why he's the mech," Sunstreaker said with a nod. "Are the genitors helping out? We have a football meeting tomorrow after lunch."
Bluestreak nodded. "They're being awesome as usual."
"No doubt," Sideswipe said with a nod.
They chatted together in the shadows of Acroplex in ship mode as all around them workers came to assist. Some would take things in and out of Ace, Base and Con. Others would begin to repair the broken infrastructure even as others began to haul away broken earth and rocks.
It would take a while.
-0-TBC December 5, 2013
NOTE: Acroplex is really called Acropolex but this is simpler. :D Dramatic license is awesome.