The Diego Diaries: Visitation Rites 2 (553)
-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars
The party walked their way passing the boxes where the humans stood watching. They knew who Cyclonus was. Hanging out with the mechs in the dojo had made that clear. Paragon was a more subterranean mech and was less known. The pirate was a slagger, a slagging pirate. End of story.
The humans watched them cross the road, walking into the courtyard of the massive structure of the Fortress. They also noted the Cybertronians. They had come out in numbers to watch the arrival. They showed their feelings in the manner of their kind, silent staring disapproval. Even humans found this type of demonstration extremely difficult to bear when it was directed against them among their own kind. Anger was easier. Silent staring disapproval reduced the targeted object to rubble with a single syllable being said. The party walked through streets and the air field lined with throngs none of which said a word. All stared at the three with differing expressions ranging from innocent curiosity to outright raging hatred.
When they disappeared from view, the crowds stood a while before dispersing. They stood in silent groups or talked quietly together. The Watchmen standing around insured that things wouldn't get out of hand but the soldiers felt it wouldn't even if they weren't posted. There was something about the integrity of Cybertronians that spoke to them, something steel hard.
:I would hate to have been stared at like that by that many people: Jessie said quietly.
Lennox nodded. :Silent staring … who knew it could be as miserable as bullets?:
No one argued with that.
-0-Inside the Fortress
They passed a crowd of elders sitting and standing around game tables. They gave their own version of the stink optic to the slaggers. Ramcharger even shook his cane at them, his optics saying all he needed them to know. They walked stoically forward following Prowl. Entering through the huge doors, they passed through the packed rec room enduring the enmity of the soldiers and few civilians who had claimed the space earlier in the morning just for this moment.
Ops Center was its usual spectacular precision and state of the art facilities manned by Autobots and Home Guard mechs and femmes. They looked up pausing a moment, their servos resting on their consoles. Prowl passed them, an elegant ship sailing stately and true through familiar seas. This was his domain, his platform and he ruled it with a firm servo, surprising kindliness and a maniacal determination that nothing bad would happen in their colony to anyone, ever. Pausing at the command table that was edited of anything important but for the high tech everyone knew about, he turned to them and they stopped. The tools in view were advancements on common objects used by all of them including the massive roll out strategic datapad that showed everything out in all directions including space several light years past the visitor's own bases.
It was not lost on them. Slacker looked at the map. "Impressive. I am assuming this is us," he said pointing to a place that showed his base marked along with every stick and stone around him for light years.
"Affirmative," Prowl said coolly.
Slacker nodded. "Well, that's nice to know."
"This is Central Operational Center, Autobot City, one of four. I will not bore you with details but suffice it to say we are networked in several places with fully operational ops centers on this scale." Prowl turned. "As you can see, nothing in the sector and several beyond gets past our notice." He touched the corner of his datapad which was reflected on the massive monitors around the room. "This is your base, Paragon," he said as the location of that fortress appeared on the monitor. "This is you, Cyclonus as well." It appeared also.
"Impressive," Cyclonus said without much emotion.
"This is Soundwave's fall back fortress," Prowl said showing the big installation that was still being constructed. "These are the three he tried to build to intimidate us much earlier. We destroyed them completely."
The monitor reflected three locations. A tap of Prowl's fingers showed images they had taken of the utter and complete destruction. Ironhide grinned. "That was a fun mission. We destroyed them and they haven't come back. Slaggers learned their lesson."
Slacker glanced at Ironhide with a smirk. "I am assuming you were there?"
"I led the mission," Ironhide said. "I enjoyed it. I will enjoy doing the same to you if it comes to that. Probably last just about as long against us as these idiots."
Slacker smirked. "Probably but it would be a glorious end."
Prowl glanced at Prime who nodded. "Follow me and we will give you an overall view of this building, our ability to obliterate you to dust and some of what this city offers our refugees." With that, he turned and the others followed. Turning the corner, he walked to the elevator. Two of them took the party downward where they were given a partial overview of just one of the twenty-seven arsenals, munitions storage facilities and weapons manufacturing stations that the colony boasted. All of the sights they would see were carefully vetted and screened. The images they would take with them were the only ones Prime wanted them to have.
-0-Rampage
He stood in the catering kitchens of his business in the Business Plaza at Polyhex Business Plaza. The menus had been made in consultation with Prowl including the luncheon at The Rookery in Tyger Pax the following orn just before the game. He was ordering the steps, getting his best students on the intricate dishes. Dinner tonight at the Primal Residence would be traditional elegant Cybertronian down the line. The breakfast to be delivered to their guests' apartment in Tower 4 tomorrow morning would be as well. Lunch at The Rookery before the game would be human cuisine Cybertronian style. The exquisite beauty of Oriental cuisine … Japanese, Chinese, Korean would be laid out in all its spectacular splendor. Thai and Vietnamese appetizers along with beers from the formerly most exclusive Cybertronian labels now locally produced by some of the original brewers and available to everyone would be served as well. It would all be planned. There would be four different drinks served during the state dinner tonight and as many more the following night for that elegant sit down before they were sent back.
He would supervise every minute including the waiter's behavior serving, preparing the food and beverages with them. He would join his bond at the game but return here to make food miracles for the Prime and his dinner parties and luncheons.
He would show the slaggers his quality too.
-0-On the way around town
They took the Fortress Metro Station to Tyger Pax bypassing the metro formers altogether. It was enough that they were clearly seen, all six of the city formers as well as here and there glimpses of Omega and his siblings. Climbing the stairs out of the immaculate station, they stepped out into the sun in the city center of Tyger Pax. Pausing to look around, the three noted the fifty foot Christmas Surprise tree in the center of the major intersection, the one that fed the highway through the city and onward to Centurion beyond.
"What is that?" Slacker asked curiously.
"Decorations for a major children's holiday borrowed from our allies on the next world over," Alor said with his arms crossed and a firm expression on his face.
Slacker nodded. "Nice," was all he said in reply.
"This is Tyger Pax named in a colony-wide competition as was Centurion," Prowl said nodding toward the glittering city in the distance, "and Kalis which is beyond Centurion. The cities of Terra, Pax, Luna and Cyrstal City were named in competitions in the public schools."
"You have schools," Cyclonus asked.
"Its required for all sub adults and there are adult education programs as well as apprenticeships, mentorships and University. Anyone who wants it can get it," Blackjack said.
It was silent a moment, then Cyclonus nodded. "Impressive," he said quietly.
"Yes it is," Starscream said. "My own children attend the Sparkling Day School. They play sports and have outings to museums and libraries."
The three looked at him a moment, then Paragon nodded. "That would explain the number of what appear to be public buildings."
Starscream nodded. They had discussed disclosing personal children, then decided only Prime's infants would remain anonymous. They would so due to state security reasons. No reason to pour gasoline on Megatron's already deep enmity toward Prime. The others would be highlighted, especially Seeker infants to underscore the danger of attacking here. It was a commonly know fact that Seekers would fight to the last moment of their sparks to defend their infants and they didn't hatch infants unless they were secure and prepared to do so. "We provide well for our infants. They are the future of our species. They have art, music, sporting opportunities. They even take dance lessons. There is nothing we will not provide for their well being including the epitaph of all three of you if you make the mistake of attacking us or anyone coming here for sanctuary. I have spoken."
Rainmaker nodded. Starscream had just bound Seekerkin to the defense of all the infants of this colony with their last gasping wheeze. Rainmaker's nod made it binding law. No one watching didn't understand that too.
"Follow me," Prowl said as he walked them around the city center passing silent staring civilians and the odd soldier going about their business. When they passed families, genitors quickly picked up their infants holding them as the group passed. Their disdain was heavy on the three visitors but they were stoic. They followed silently, their optics missing nothing. When they went down the metro entrance they had seen everything that was planned for them to view in Tyger Pax.
-0-At the stadium
The grounds keepers worked hard making the pitch immaculate. They had already bussed the stadium rows, all 240,000 individual seats. Now they were going over the field itself. It was spectacularly neat and marked. Camera crews from IntraComm were there checking installations and views of their cameras. There would be 187 of them all over the field to catch every little detail everywhere. The jumbotron at the end of the field would be lit up with faces, views of the games, the plays, messages and images of the city decked out in its Christmas Surprise splendor, another much appreciated highlight of the city.
Public Works crews worked along the top edge of the stadium raising flags, emblems and banners of teams, city states, Cybertron and the Primes. They snapped in the wind as the morning slipped into the afternoon. The sun was bright in this, a mid spring orn. Spring lasted eight months on Mars, the longest season of all. Summer and fall along with winter were shorter with winter the shortest of all. The weather for the next orn was going to be awesome. Sun all orn long, light winds that shouldn't interfere with passing and temps reaching nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
The speaker system that would give the play-by-play to the crowds attending was checked as well. It would be checked in the secondary site outside of Terra where the special holographic equipment would be running to project a game so real that it was interchangeable with the stadium where the game was actually being played. The same system would be running in the Autobot City Public School Arena next door as well. Given the number of those in attendance, plans were made to build another stadium near to the new city construction to allow viewing of three games played each football weekend in the new season upcoming. Given that there would be twelve rather than just six teams, it would be possible to play three adult league games each game weekend and make a more complex lengthy schedule.
But that was for later. Right now, they had the FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE SLAGGING WORLD to plan. That was more than enough for now.
-0-New construction
They stood at the lip of the haul road that led into the new construction. Seven new cities were being built, all of them in different stages of construction. They were easily seen to be of Cybertronian design, the rounded and square shapes so familiar to their cultural ideal of architecture clearly seen. They would be part of an addition to meet the projected needs of 20,000,000 individuals. They were no longer thinking in hundreds or thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. They had to plan for millions. The Knights had confirmed that 20 million had been evacuated before the Fall. It would be madness not to anticipate their return here.
"How many individuals will this array of cities accommodate?" Paragon asked.
"We are thinking ten million with additions we have on the books to double this number. We intend to connect these cities with those," Jetta said nodding toward Tyger Pax, Centurian and Kalis. We want our own aesthetic here too to preserve our cultural heritage and let the younglings know what it was like living on our home world. We will build more here and over there connecting them with aerial roadways and pedestrian walkways. We plan for it but this construction itself now can only accommodate one and a half million civilians."
"You expect them," Paragon asked glancing at Prime.
"We do. Them and more," Prime said.
Paragon nodded. "They will come and we will not delay them. They have free passage as ever though our territory."
Cyclonus nodded. "Our grievances are not with them, Prime. They need to come here."
Prime looked at them. "They will," he said coldly. "Unmolested. We are more than ready to protect them."
"We know," Paragon said. He glanced around. Then he paused. "I see that you have taken care with a lot of the important things."
They all turned to look in his direction. Prime nodded. "Shall we go?"
They all did.
-0-TBC December 16, 2013
NOTE: Watching Sprint commercials with James Earl Jones and Malcolm McDowell voicing girl drama is killer. :D Google it on the internet if you haven't seen it. :D:D:D