The Diego Diaries: Things (596) edited
-0-Home
Ratchet sat at his desk working out a presentation outline for anything and everything that he would be required to do for the humans in the formulation of the bias regulations that were being revised by the humans. Prowl would be part of that so he resolved to sit and chat with the winsome winger of a Prime's deepest fantasies. There was a long list of items that needed addressing which he would have to run past Prime as well. He had a lot to say and tell but it had to fall within the parameters of their official position: some things are taboo.
Nearby...
He stepped out of Rambler's classroom after spending a portion of his two joor monthly in-class component. Two other genitors were there. They sat together watching with great pride their children excelling before their very optics. That only one of the three adults had ever been in a real school as an infant didn't matter. All was well.
Prowl had spent time with Spirit and T-Bar. They were making scientific experiments and had explained them in great factual detail allowing Prowl to peer into microscopes, see measurements carefully written down and drawings showing their findings. It was exhilarating. When he left them, he went to see Rambler working hard on his writing while others migrated around the room doing research on personally chosen topics. Rambler was investigating the enigma of 'dark matter', the unknown and unknowable 'mass' that filled the empty spaces between worlds and all that existed in the universe giving it shape and substance.
Prowl was dazzled.
He took the elevator down, then walked to the Fortress. When he entered, he walked to the table where Paragon was standing scrutinizing data on the huge datapad. He looked up, then paused. "Things went well?"
Prowl nodded. "Extremely."
"May I ask you a question?" Paragon asked in his impeccable manner.
Sandstorm who was sitting nearby kibitzing with Trailbreaker who was working on a project at the mainframe nudged the big mechanism. "When did Ops Center install a mirror?" he asked with a grin.
Trailbreaker glancing toward the table nearby grinned. "They do look like brothers."
Paragon was fastidious to a fault, proper, military, extremely and elegant. He also was also a mechanism with mech-styled wings that bore touches of white to offset the totality of his black paint scheme. He was very, very handsome. To the uninformed optic, Paragon could be a sibling of the winsome winger beside him who didn't really have a clue how elegant and handsome he really was.
"Of course," Prowl replied.
"I am aware that you edited the feed that came over the relay, the feed that was directed as a psy-ops action against all of us. What I want to know is … was all of it false?" Paragon stood nearly at attention as he stared at a bot that he had always respected even if at one point it morphed into adversity.
"All of it," Prowl said with a grin.
"Then your son … you are in a bond with someone … Prime?" Paragon asked.
Prowl nodded proudly. "I am. We have five younglings."
"Five," Paragon replied as surprise suffused him for a moment. "I am impressed. Congratulations. You seem a better fit than Springer."
Prowl snorted, then grinned. "That was Ratchet's insanity."
"Was it directed to the others as well?" Paragon asked with a slight smirk on his handsome face.
Just you and Slacker. It was not believed that Cyclonus would get the humor," Prowl said relaxing slightly. "I am not sure that I do myself."
Paragon grinned for a moment. "Ditto," he said. Then he looked at the map. "Allow me to update you."
"Before you do I would like to assign you to Alpha shift which is the day team. I am often called to other things during that time which is my own shift. If you are here it would allow for a more seamless operation. I am also going to be going on off world operations when possible. Both you and I will be on call for other duties and shifts as events happen. Right now, I want our operation to have all the analysts and experience it requires."
Paragon nodded, then grinned slightly. "Thank you for the vote of confidence."
"You are welcome." Prowl looked at the map. "What is happening?"
Paragon told him.
-0-Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean, Earth
He walked to his quarters and sat absorbing six hours of interrogation by a superior officer. He had been asked about every manner and aspect of his conduct. He had been grilled over his relationships, his overall view of women and the power his position granted him over the lives and working conditions of lower ranks. He was told that his office staff was going to be interviewed, that any retaliation against them would result in his brigging and that he was now slated for on-site leave from his office until the investigation was complete. He was also informed against retaliatory actions against staff over any perception of the tone of their commentary.
His e-mail accounts, papers and other items would be searched. He was to take the three days off and keep a low profile. At the moment, he wanted to lash out and bash everything and everyone in reach. This would have long term devastating consequences for his career no matter how this turned out.
Cameron Frazer pulled out his satellite phone, one his mother had given him when it was clear he would be stationed in the middle of nowhere. He dialed it, then waited. When she answered from their family apartment in Paris, he would talk to her for hours.
-0-In the new construction
Bulkhead stood on the fiftieth floor of the fourth nearly completed tower in the first city of the new construction. There were seven in all in this phase being built in the Cybertronian style, in the Cybertronian manner. They were interconnected, multi-level and spectacular. They would host literally millions but cover physically only a few miles of actual surface area of the flat plain. Because of the density of population on Cybertron, her people built upward, towers of habitation and commerce the designs of choice. Even the city-formers housed their people and commercial enterprises in the sky.
He walked along the beam that would be the floor of the penthouse level of a new building. He magnetized as he did, making his way hundreds of feet above the ground. When the lunch siren signaled both food and shift change, he would meet up with Tyro, his bond. They would dine at a cafe in Tyger Pax along with friends. It would be the best part of his orn. And for Bulkhead, there wasn't a time in the day where he wasn't happy.
-0-Terra, in a classroom
He stood on the scales standing as tall as he could for the data statistician of the school district. They were measuring his little aft, weighing him, checking his height and all the other markers of growth that adults would want to know at conference time. When he was finished, the femme smiled. "Hop down, infant. You are finished."
Orion looked at her, then smiled brilliantly. "I COMED YOU? I DO GOOD?"
"You were better than good," Lyn-E said with a smile. "How about going to see what's next?"
Orion looked at her, then Laret who was grinning at him as she stood with the line of infants waiting. "I COMED YOU, LO-LO!" he said, then stepped down walking with gusto to the femme who regarded him with a smile. As he did he looked up at her the whole time. Because he did he ran into Mimi, El and Han. They sort of booped, then fell over like a flower opening its petals. Laying each in their fallen position, they all sat up.
El laughed. "Orion. You good." Since coming to herself fully thanks to the Matrix, El had begun to make real progress in her health. She was able to walk, play and stay up with the others for the most part. She had therapy to fully engage her limbs and her deficits in skills were still to be addressed because of her long illness but she was strong and healthy.
For once.
She was also her same sweet self.
Orion grinned. "EL! EL GOOD! I *LOVE* EL!"
Mimi who sat up laughed, her smile ginormous. "Orion funny."
They laughed together, the three of them as Han finally sat up himself. He looked at the two femmes with a smile. Then he looked at Orion. The smile faded. They all staggered up with help from Laret. Orion glanced at Han, then paused. Han was frowning at him, his tiny servos on his tiny hips. Orion frowned back. As both stood frowning, a soft tap on the back of the helm of each drew their attention. "Nope," Laret said.
They both looked up at her bursting into enormous brilliant smiles. When the tech, Lyn-E asked for El, she toddled over and with help stood on the scale. As she did, the adults turned to watch her. Han and Orion on the other hand didn't. They stood apart glaring at each other.
It was on.
-0-On an asteroid in the Kuiper Belt
The bridge opened and a pair of shuttles flew out followed by a defensive screen of heavy weapons designated Seekers. They began to scan a base which appeared through the dense tumbling rubble of the debris field. It was big, well made and unoccupied. Springer who was sitting in one of the shuttles called the group. "Seeker 1, fly over and give us an idea. Search for explosives strategically placed."
"You expect trouble, youngling?" Old Hercy said as he sat on a seat along the bulkhead behind Springer.
"Never know, old mech," Springer said amiably. "Better safe than dead."
"True, that," Hercy said as he subbed his big gun. Although all of his tech and format looked old and simple, none of it was. In his journeys and leadership role during the Diaspora, he had upgraded. The old time format was kept to 'gull the idiots' he had said. It worked too. Almost without fail some dummy would underestimate him only to find their energon on the floor. Hand-to-hand, gun-to-gun, Old Hercy was no one's fool.
The Seekers peeled off heading for the secured area of a distinctively Cybertronian base. They flashed over, then turned coming back the other way. "Seeker 1 to Springer."
"Springer here."
"It's clean. Nothing is out of order nor dampened. Its go," Seeker 1 said.
"Alright. Let's go in," Springer said nodding to the pilot. He took them in swiftly. They would disembark, wander through the installation noting its high sophistication and thoroughness, then report through the bridge twirling nearby that it was go for habitation. The base would be occupied within three joors of the message and improvements begun to make it an optic into the Empire would happen the next orn.
-0-Elsewhere
They sat at their table waiting for snacks. A little cube of punch and a nice assortment of 'vegetables' were being placed before them. They sat quietly waiting for the go ahead to begin like the nice little mechanisms they were. As they sat two of them gave intense stink optics to each other.
They sat across from each other, two mortal enemies that half the time forgot they were. It was only on the odd occasion now that they broke out into fisticuffs. They had mostly learned to endure and/or tolerate each other.
Mimi who watched began a tiny frown of her own. Looking at them nervously, she glanced up at Laret who was assisting their various aides. She looked back at Han who stared at Orion for a moment before picking up a 'carrot stick'. He looked at it, then threw it at Orion. They all watched it go up, then come down. It landed on Orion's finial and hung off it like an orange horn. Orion eyeballed it, then pulled it off. Looking at Han with OUTRAGE!, he threw it back.
Of course, it went sideways to land on Mimi.
She meeped, then glanced at the adults. Laret and her two helpers were working to open more covered trays with delicacies so they missed the fun. No one else did. All of the babies at the tiny table looked aghast/delighted/shocked/joyful at the confrontation. Mimi pulled the carrot off her helm, then looked at both. She flung it forward beaning Han.
Han shocked out of his processor that 'his Mimi' had beaned him with a 'carrot' looked at her with astonishment. A fat chuckle alerted him to Orion who was pointing and beginning a HUGE laugh. Han frowned, then picked up his tiny punch cube. Aiming, he flung it at Orion.
They watched it go up. They watched it go down. It beaned Orion on the helm. Mimi gasped. El laughed. Bleu looked stunned. Han did the happy dance in his processor. Orion watched the cube bounce off, then land on his plate. He looked cross, then picked it up. He aimed to throw it when Laret turned with a smile and more snacks.
She paused, then took the cube out of Orion's servo. Everyone froze staring up at Laret. She took the tiny cube, looked around the table then frowned herself. It was in Orion's servo. Han was missing his.
WTF?
Moments later …
Two little bots sat on Chairs of Doom in the Orion/Han Memorial Hall of Shame and Doom Corner staring at the wall. Laret plopped them there as she turned to manage things. As she did to do so, several little bots were standing behind her staring up anxiously. She stared down at them, then knelt enfolding them in her arms. "What?" she asked looking from one to the other.
"Han bad. Han throwed," El said as she pointed at Han. "He throwed to Oh-Oh."
Laret looked at her, then the others. They nodded. "Han hit Orion," Bleu said nodding with a stricken look of worry on his light blue infant face. He was adorable with any expression he used.
"Han hit Orion," Mimi said with a quivering chin. "I cried."
"You did?" Laret asked with a slight grin.
Mimi nodded. "Yes. I cried."
Laret grinned, then gathered them into her arms. Holding them for a moment, she stood. "Let's sit down shall we?" she asked bending to herd them back.
They stood their ground. Mimi pointed at Orion. "Orion too?"
Laret nodded. She reached down to pluck a drooping little mechanism off his chair. Hugging him, she turned the little group herding them like ducklings to their chairs. They sat including Orion and waited. "Eat, sparklings."
They began to as Laret paused to speak quietly with Han. When she turned to go to a table nearby to sit and wait, Orion glanced at Han. Han glanced at him. Then Orion grinned.
Orion, 1. Han, 0.
For now.
-0-TBC January 22, 2014
NOTES: Magebreaker, I place Smokey if he were human to be about 19 or 20. He is from a good sheltered home and he missed the horror of battle. He's a bit of a jock to me in a good way, an athletic strong kid without the hard edges of battle tempering his enthusiasm for and delight in manly things. He is ready to rumble, very capable in what he can do and wants to do but is still very green and inexperienced for battle. He's a kid compared to everyone else and has those enthusiasms. He also has legendary grand genitors and he wants to impress them as well as live up to their adventurous lives which he craves for himself. His father is an accountant and his ada is a computer tech. Not exactly exciting stuff for an energetic enthusiastic kid with a sense of 'destiny'. I really love this character and base him off TF: Prime's great characterization of him.
He's sort of on the cusp of adulthood and childhood with enthusiasm for battle and pie in equal measures. His family raised him carefully like all Praxian genitors. He is ready to have adventures and they are afraid for him. They also see him as their gold and they aren't willing to allow him to spend himself on unworthy endeavors. He's a big horny teenager ready to do things. They see him as a green kid who isn't ready necessarily, but his world now is the army and war. No parent wants danger for their kid.
He loves to assert himself but he can still come back to earth with the simple things of his growing up. His granny's pie matters. :D:D:D
Sesshykiss13: SNOW! I forgot some of you are having snow problems. I am not up here. Its about 41 degrees today. Take care all of you out there in the world. Be safe. Ok? :D:D:D:D:D
Bride2be: AWESOME! I will add your comments to the list. I LOVE getting sub=threads from readers with questions and suggestions. Right now, Pacific Rim is also on the list. Auras, the Seeker sparklings and the other comments you made I will address. They add to the story when you incorporate 'what ever happened to/with?' things into a story. Thank you, all of you. I love your comments. They add to a story a great deal. The Convoy universe of TF's requested by another will fit better in the sequel of this one, The Diego Diaries: The War for Cybertron. THANK YOU! HUGS!