The Diego Diaries: Home Again(649)
-0-Salton Sea
Sandstorm was carried to the medbay on a stretcher by medics. Trailing behind them were the rest of the party. Limping, feeling the burn, all of them made their way to where medics would apply those treatments as they had against the injuries they had incurred. As they walked ahead, Smokey and his Grandada walked slower. They were talking together internally.
:I don't even remember most of it, Ama: the youngster said.
Devcon nodded. :I am sorry you even had to be there. This is not what we wanted for you:
:I know but its my destiny! It's what I wanted all my life … to be like you and Appa:
Dev slipped his arm around the youngling's shoulders. :We know: They continued onward to the medbay.
Behind them, stepping onto the hangar deck of the great vessel, Harper stood alone. She was huge, muscular, had a rope of jet black hair as big around as a strong human's arm and a piercing gaze. She was angry it was clear and not comfortable around the metallics.
Jazz who had come to take her to the bridge approached. He was only about four or five feet taller than she was. "Harper? I'm Jazz. Come with me. Larc is waitin'." He turned and began to walk to the elevator. Harper followed silently behind.
-0-Medbay
Smokey sat on a medberth as a medic went through his wounds. There were some that were deeper and more painful than others. There was a lot of spray wounds. They were debrided, packed with healing and protoform stimulating compounds, then sealed with medical putty. It was troweled into the wound, then smoothed until it looked although discolored like the rest of the armor around it. It would be sloughed away as the wound healed, replaced with new protoform and exoskeleton armor.
"Tell me what happened, Smokescreen," Dev said as he stood beside the berth watching his grandson getting patched up.
"We were overrun and ended up on a vessel that took us to a jungle covered world. We were attacked by acid monsters. I thought we were goners until a ship came out of nowhere and blasted them. They pulled us off and we were facing them killing us rather than the monsters. It was intense."
Devcon looked at the open excited face of his grandson, a face filled with determination and fear, pain and gungho. He loved it, once the face of a sparkling, youngling, sub adult and now full grown mech. He would do anything for this youngling. It would be a while before Smokey had combat again, if ever. Dev would get the lowdown from Kup and Hercy. They would tell him the unvarnished truth about Smokey's performance. If it wasn't up to par, he would personally break a rule and teach the youngster what he knew to help him survive. Then he would make sure that like all the younglings who were raised outside of war for the greater part of their lives that Smokey would not have real combat duty again.
Like the youngling Seekers and grounders who filled the ranks of the Home Guard, he was not hard enough, not seasoned nor would he ever be the way the regulars were. He had not honed his skills in eons of combat against terrible odds on all manner of worlds like the regulars. If they participated like the regular soldiers they would die. It was a brutal reality that a lot of them railed against. But it was the truth.
He stood beside Smokey listening as he told his tale of his first battle. It was a miracle of Primus that he had come back to tell it. The takeaway for Devcon was that Smokey wasn't clear yet that it was.
It was a slagging miracle.
-0-Bridge
Harper followed Jazz off the elevator and across the huge deck of command to a table where several metallics sat. Standing by the table was someone she never expected to see again. Larc turned to her and they embraced holding each other for what seemed like hours. Then Harper looked at Larc, at the greatest friend she had ever had. :You are alive:
:As are you, Harper: Larc smiled, a handsome effect overall. :We are safe. Where are your people?:
:These are metallics. We are not safe from them: Harper said looking around herself with loathing on her face.
:They are our saviors, Harper. They came to get their people and rescued us from the Decepticons. They are led by a great leader: Larc countered nodding toward Optimus Prime who had stood up waiting patiently for introductions. :He didn't have to save us but he did. We have a habitat with plants growing there. We have infants. One is born and four more are coming. Come with us and be at peace for now:
:I cannot be at peace, Larc. You of all here should know that: Harper said.
:Then come and take what you can to ease your mind, Harper. Trust in me when I tell you, this is the place from which we reclaim our people and our systems. It will happen: Larc said gripping Harper's arms.
Harper stared at Larc, then Larc turned. "Optimus Prime, this is my great friend, Harper. She is Chief of the Lowlands on my home world. We grew up together. We are of one heart."
Optimus Prime nodded. "I am honored to meet you, Harper. I am honored to host your comrade, Larc and her people. They have been exemplary and we are elevated by their presence."
Harper looked at him, then the others. "Your kind came to our systems and killed us. Your kind enslaved us and my family … my children … they are there alone without me. I don't know if they live or not. My heart is torn into pieces. I strain to see a difference between you and the others."
Prime nodded. "I can understand that. We have suffered the same travails ourselves. Our own home world and all of the related places that we loved and where we lived are lost to us too. We reclaim our scattered people in bits and pieces here and there. We are all orphans of the storm. But we offer you and yours sanctuary and the hope that when the tide turns the waves will wash them away from your shores too."
She looked at him without comment, then turned to Larc. "I have four hundred with me, many of them elders and infants. We fled the fighting and missed the rendezvous with you and the others."
"We didn't make the rendezvous, Harper. They took us and enslaved us," Larc said. "Your people are my people. My house is your house. Honor us by coming to our land. Our door is open to you and yours forever."
Harper nodded. "I will come. Our people will come. We are weary."
The two hugged again, then Larc turned to Prime. "I would like to take them to the colony, Prime. We are happy to have those that are lost here with us again."
"It is our honor, Larc. If you want to we will send you back by bridge. Go with your colleagues. Assess what you need to meet the needs and comforts of your new population so we can green light the construction. We are happy to help you," Optimus said with a nod.
Larc grinned. "Then all is good, my friend." Larc turned to Harper. "Follow me. I will show you the way." Larc nodded to Prime, then turned to walk to the elevator. Harper stared at Prime, then turned without a word to follow. They exited together.
Prime turned to Jazz. "Can you supervise their return?"
Jazz nodded, then walked to a console to link in with Harper's ships and supervise the bridge. In ten minutes they would be through and entering orbit around Mars.
"Not very friendly," Ironhide said as he sat back down again. "But then, I doubt I would be either."
Prime nodded. "Megatron has a lot to answer for."
The ship gathered itself, then moved forward, Seekers forming in gangs ahead of them to seek out the enemy and their missing people. Onward into the darkness they went and then they were gone from view.
-0-Back in the home space
Their ships burst out of the bridge and entered a lane around Mars in a high orbit. Fort Max acknowledged them, then told them how to enter air space for landing. Larc flew the ship and the others followed. Six ships set down at the civilian landing strip that had been started south of the Autobot City Interplanetary Airport where tourists to Mars landed to come for visits. It would take a moment to sort out what they needed right away, then they would step out to gather for the walk to their new home.
It was cold but tolerable. They didn't need to breathe unless they wanted to so they didn't. They listened as Larc explained the sights and gathered them for the walk to the habitat whose brilliant green lush interior across the way was a solid contrast to the sandy sameness of the terrain. They gathered and began to follow Larc. They would be halfway there before the Hu An who lived here hurried out to help them. It would be sad and joyful at the same time.
-0-Prowler
He sat on a blanket on the floor in front of the chair that was Appa Ratchet's home away from home. Appa had therapy soon on his wrists and knees at the Outpatient Clinic at Metroplex Femme. He had his routine worked out which was highly pleasing to everyone in the family. He helped take the infants to school. He 'helped' at RTR Tools with his happy chat and by reading the Autobot City Daily News and the other papers from other cities to Ravel and Tie as they worked. At mid morning, he would leave to go to the library past the Fortress, the main branch itself to help with the cataloging and shelving.
When that was accomplished, he would bring lunch to RTR Tools and share it along with chat. After that, he would take a nap in his chair relaxing as the work went on around him. He could recharge in a bass drum, such was the life of work on Cybertron that he had been on call nearly orn and night all his life. That he took all the work he could to help provide the education that Ratchet was able to have was a matter of pride for him. His grandson was a doctor. Enough said.
When the nap finished, he was ready to pick up the children especially if their genitors were deployed. Venture and Miler took the trine's infants and Miracle. Kes and Tagg took the little mechs. Prowl kept Sojourner. Ravel, Tie and Appa Ratchet took Ratchet and Ironhide's passel of younglings. Sometimes they would shift them depending on everyone's schedules but they did what Cybertronian extended families did. They pitched in with the little ones and left their stamp on them forever.
Today, Appa Ratchet would watch Prowler. He would take him with him on his errands and journeys here and there. When he came back with lunch, Prowler would sit on his great grandfather's lap and eat the bits that Appa gave to him. He would be as happy as a clam.
So would Appa Ratchet.
-0-Far away
They huddled in their ships cold and hungry. They were allowed to make their own energon after those that had been detailed to work were finished. The rest were required to stay on board their vessels until they were needed. No one was allowed to communicate nor were they allowed to be a problem. A few beatings had impressed the need to obey into their helms.
A base was being built and they were the main labor force. They found among the civilians specialties and skills needed. Those were working now. When they were finished for the orn, they would be allowed to come back and those among the group who understood the kind of materials used to convert to energon would be allowed to go look. They would make it, everyone would eat and another evening without the hope of hope would pass.
Optimus Prime was out there. Most of them believed he would come. What they feared were the Decepticons when Prime came. They were the chips in the hands that would be dealt. Their lives were the antes of bets made between the leadership as they played them as pawns in their machinations. It was terrifying to consider what might happen. It was terrifying to consider that they made it this far only to fail.
The stars and constellations of a strange sky shown around them as they waited for their family and friends to come back. They made the best of it for their elderly and their young. They were good at it, making it appear that things would be alright. It was all they could do right now.
-0-TBC 3-12-14 edited 3-14-14
-0-Notes
Chapter 16 of The Chronicles of Orion is up too. :D
Maraluch: OOPS! The predators are complex. I will check that out and fix it. Feel free to police my predator references. :D:D:D As for Harper and the others … they are able but she doesn't care about differences as of yet. She was driven off from her world and there will be details. The Hu An will be doing their own mourning and retaliation. But for now, until Harper talks to Larc and sees how the Autobots treat them, she is ignoring distinctions. She just wants to kill every metallic she comes across. War is hell. For her, its worse than that. I love that you are always there, my dear Maraluch. Between you and Guest (whomever you are, my dear Guest) you make this better. HUGS!