The Diego Diaries: There (652)
-0-Out there
When they found the Wanderers they were reaching tough sledding. The space junk was beginning to become thick and slow going again. Seekers in the rescue flight magnetized to the hulls of the vessels. Red Wing entered the lead ship and was met by half a dozen mechs and a small femme. "I am Red Wing. We came to bring you in."
Corlie-1 held out his servo and they shook Cybertronian style. "I'm so glad to see you. We have no where to go. We heard Prime and came but some ship, a big one has followed us for a while."
Red Wing nodded. "We know. They're predators. They like to kill things. You're safe with us. We'll take you to the colony and you can get settled there."
"We're wanderers," the little femme said. "We never get to stay anywhere. It's been a really long time since we have even seen other Cybertronians."
Red Wing looked at her, a strained little femme who stood wringing her servos. "You will be safe with us. We take in all manner of bots. It's time you hooked up with your own kind again." He looked around the corridor, then turned to Corlie-1. "I will let Prime know we have you." He paused for internal communication. :Red 1 to Prime:
:Prime here: came the immediate if somewhat static-filled reply.
:We're on board. They have been space bound and have little experience living on the ground or even among other Cybertronians: Red Wing replied.
:I see. I will speak to them over their comm system: Prime replied. He turned to Hound who made it so. "Corlie-1, this is Optimus Prime."
"Prime," Corlie said with great relief. "Your Seeker commander, Red Wing is here."
"Good. We have sent shuttles to protect you as you come to our location. I would like to speak with you and allow our medics to see to your group. Anyone in need of medical attention can be assisted. When everyone is ready to go, we will send you to the colony with Seeker escort through space bridges. Do you understand?"
Corlie stood a moment absorbing the enormity of Prime's words, then nodded. "Yes, sir. Thank you."
"Red Wing, please attend to them and bring them to the Salton Sea. I would like to speak with Corlie-1. The Phobos and Kappa Supreme have just arrived with the rest of the fleet. They can receive attention and whatever is necessary when they arrive here too."
"We're on it, Prime. Red Wing out." He turned to the anxious younglings, then nodded. "We're going to go now. Follow us. Can your ships do that?"
Corlie nodded. "Yes, sir. We'll follow you," he replied as Red Wing turned to the door.
The big Seeker paused in the doorway, then turned to them. "You don't have to be afraid again. You are home now." Then he stepped off, transformed and flew away.
The hatch slid shut, then Corlie turned to the others. "We better get going. We have to leave here and the Prime wants to speak to me."
"What if they don't want us to stay, Corlie?" the anxious little femme asked. "What if they don't think we're Cybertronian enough?"
"This is the Prime, Sofi. He'll let us stay. I will convince him," Corlie said. They turned and walked back to the bridge where they would follow the shuttles and Seekers waiting in space for them.
-0-The Fleet
A big battle group came through the raging energy of a space bridge. Four battleships, three tankers, two large fighter transports, Phobos and Kappa Supreme followed by Xantium made up the bulk of the group. They slid to a stop holding place near the mass of ships that were zedalready there waiting for them to arrive. Behind them, a flood of Seekers began to come. There would be nearly 500 of them to supplement the 300 who had come with Prime. They would be a fast response team for any close quarters fighting that might erupt.
Officers from all over the fleet transported over to the Salton Sea through space bridges on board their vessels. Seeker flight commanders came too joining Starscream who had bridged in from Autobot City to go over the plan with the command staff. As they began to gather the Wanderers appeared through the rubble along with their Seeker escort. They slowed, then held their own position. Every single mechanism on board the vessels was watching out the windows in awe at the sight before them.
Red Wing rapped on the forward view ports of Corlie's ship. He grinned. :Corlie, go to the hatch and I'll transport you to that ship: he said pointing at the Salton Sea. :Prime is there. When you finish talking to him I'll bring you back. By then the medics will really have had a chance to help your people:
The youngling nodded, then turned to go to midship and the hatch. Several bots walked him there discussing their amazement and the impossible hope that this could be a good thing for them. Maybe they would have a home yet. The hatch opened and they looked out. Red Wing was hovering in the air before them. :Step out and climb on, Corlie:
The young mech hesitated, then complied gripping Red Wing tightly. The big Seeker gently shifted away, then picked up steam as he flew toward the landing deck of the Salton Sea. When he arrived a mech from security, a Home Guardsman named Moris took him into servo. They walked to the elevator nearby as Red Wing transformed and followed them. They all entered the elevator and rode up, Corlie shaking with emotions and weariness.
"Are you alright, youngling?" Red Wing asked.
"I … I'm just so tired," the youngling said as he stood shaking.
"Red Wing to Prime. I have Corlie but he's shaky. I think it might be good to have a medic meet us at the bridge," Red Wing said.
"Affirmative," Prime replied.
The ride seemed to take forever but at last the door slid back. The bridge was enormous with stations all along the curved wall of the ship's prow. Enormous windows along with enormous monitors gave the overall situation report to the Prime who stood up as Corlie walked toward him. There was several dozen individuals there, officers of Prime's task force who were waiting to go over the plan to take Trannis out. Corlie didn't know that. He just knew that he was shaking and couldn't stop. He was embarrassed and emotional. The three paused. "This is Corlie-1, Prime. I don't think he feels very well," Red Wing said with concern.
Ratchet who stepped out from the group took the youngling's arm gently, steering him to a chair where he sat heavily. Scanning the youngster, Ratchet dialed up a digit and injected him in a neck line. The youngling winced, then relaxed. "That feels good. What is it?"
"A sedative," Ratchet said as he continued to scan the mech. "You are emotionally distraught and the idea of being safe is overwhelming you. You could use a good meal too." He looked at Prime who stared at the youngster with a concerned expression. "He's stabilized but I would have someone else fly his ships in. I can imagine the scene is just about the same over there as well. I have sent medics to the ships already."
Prime nodded. "Thank you, Ratchet. Youngster, I am Optimus Prime. We are very relieved to have you with us. We need to know who you are and what you have experienced. We are trying to locate and retrieve all our lost people. Do you feel well enough to talk?"
He nodded, then sat straighter. "Yes, sir. I'm … I'm Corlie-1. I'm the captain of our group because the others aren't well. We are Wanderers. They call us that. Other aliens. No one will let us stay anywhere. Our group got separated in the Fall and we ended up in space where there aren't many of us if any. We are good at things … fixing them, working. We worked at trades until we had to move on. For a long time we were allowed to follow a path of stops where we would work and get what we needed. Then pirates and criminals came … they were like us and we weren't welcome anymore. We were desperate when we heard your call. We came. We were followed. I was afraid we wouldn't make it. We're low on everything. We don't fight. We're Primus Peace Mission … all of us. I mean … our genitors were. They were part of the effort to save Cybertron. We fled with everyone else. We don't ever really know how to be Cybertronian anymore. We work where they let us and flee when they won't. We just leave."
A slow burn filled Ironhide as he looked at the youngster who had been leader of their group by default. "What about your elders? Your families and friends? How many are you and were is your leadership?"
"We are 700. Our elders are not well. We don't have access to medical treatment so some of us tried to learn. We make things like protoforms but we know we aren't up to standards. We have always looked for more Cybertronians, for colonies or settlements but there never were any. No one out our way is Cybertronian. We looked. Hard."
Corlie looked as if he would cry for a moment, then he gathered himself. "We need a lot of help. We want to be with other Cybertronians but the ones we tried to talk to were pirates or Decepticons. There are some out there and they didn't help us. We fled. We're not in very good shape." He sat with his helm hanging, defeat written into every line of his body.
Ironhide stepped forward gripping the kid's shoulder. "You must be some kind of great captain to flee all that trouble and keep your group together. I'm proud to meet you, Corlie. You're a smart brave youngling to manage what you've done."
He looked up at Ironhide with emotional optics. "I did my best."
"We can see that, Corlie," Prime said. "We are honored to receive you into our colony. We will take you there and get you and your people all the help they need. We have remarkable doctors who can fix anything. You will find a life there that you deserved back on Cybertron."
He looked at Prime with a hopeful expression. "We can work. We know a lot of things. We … we can't fight. It's not our way but we will defend. We will help you defend."
Prime nodded. "There are many Missionaries and Circle mechs and femmes in our colony. They are part of the Home Guard and do a lot of good for our people. They will help you and your group settle in. All you have to do is follow the Seekers through the space bridge and they will help you. We will send mechs to pilot in your ships."
Corlie nodded, then rose slowly with great weariness. "I never thought this orn would come. I think I'm dreaming. We have been so lonely, sir, so lost."
"You're home now, youngling," Ironhide said, his voice gruff with emotion.
"Red Wing, will you delegate someone to fly the ships and lead this group home please?" Prime asked.
Red Wing nodded, then paused. He looked at the Home Guard security youngling standing nearby. "Can you take him to the hangar deck? I have someone waiting there to take him back."
The Home Guardsman nodded solemnly, then waited as Corlie turned to follow him. He paused a moment, then looked at Prime. He bowed his helm and held it a moment in deep respect. "Thank you," he said tiredly. Then he turned to follow his guardsman out.
It was silent a moment, then Ratchet shook his helm. "I hate what we have become. That youngling should be worrying about school and not this. Frag Megatron to the fragging Pit. And Trannis too," he said, his voice filled with malice.
Prime nodded. "At least we know there aren't too many out in this sector. They would have seen them." He looked at his troops, senior officers of great skill. "Kappa? Xantium? Are you online?" he asked.
"Kappa here, Prime," a lilting femme voice replied.
"Frag yeah, Prime," Xantium said. "Who do we slag?"
It was the right response for the right moment. They all gathered around the table to go over the plan together.
-0-Through the gate and on the ground
The ships landed, their gear nearly sagging to the ground. The ships seemed as exhausted and weary as those inside. The ships were swarmed by mechs and femmes that came to assist the occupants. Seven hundred individuals give or take a couple were on board and in some cases dire condition. Runabouts carried elders and youngsters to the hospital tower while others were taken by truck to Metroplex Femme.
There were sparked individuals, one of them in bad shape. There were four infants who would need new protoforms. The ones they bore were more of the rescue kind rather than permanent. It would take expert examination to see if they could refine the ones they bore into something that would transform over time and medical intervention into a lifetime protoform. If not, the spark chambers of the infants, all of them tiny babies would have to be transferred into new ones. It would be scary and difficult but not impossible.
The ships that bore all of the creations and possessions of intellectuals over the eons would be preserved until the owners decided what they would salvage. They were filled with books, art, artifacts and personal possessions, all of it created on their journey. This group of Missionaries were from the Science Institute of Praxus and the University of Iacon. Even if their lives languished a bit in the miasma of their journey, their intellects flourished.
Corlie stood in a line with his bond and their infant, one of the four who would have to be evaluated. He was exhausted, miserable with relief and concerned for his people. His genitors were taken to the hospital for treatment. He had gently helped his group through the initial step down. Some of them wailed and others stood mute, overcome that such a prospect could at last be theirs.
A tall mech approached him, then gently took the baby. Nestling it in his arms, he looked at Corlie. "I'm Winter. I'm a Peace Mission mech from Polyhex. All of us know you are here. We're going to help you."
Corlie looked at him and nodded. He was numb. His bond looked at Winter, then looked around. "Are we really here?" he asked in a quiet desperate voice.
Winter nodded. "You are. Come with us. We will take care of you," he said as they turned to look at a crowd standing nearby looking at them solemnly. They stepped forward and were engulfed in the open arms of their fellows. They would be eased into the new life gently. They would live in the same tower as many other Missionaries and when they were up to it, they would help the colony too. It would be the first ground based home they would have since the Fall of Cybertron eons in the past.
-0-TBC March 15, 2014 edited 3-31-14