The Diego Diaries: Go (655)
-0-In the brig
The prisoners sat on benches waiting for assignment to the cells nearby. It would be a few joors before they were taken to Autobot City and what appeared to be a major prison there filled with Decepticons. No one had a clue what the city was like but the sound of it was grim. There were zillions of Autobots, Supreme formats, city-formers, rogue Decepticon traitors who were now Autobots, Seekers and their families as well as who knew what?
Rising when they were told, they walked to cells. Stepping over the floor railing that was part of the security system, they turned and held out their wrists. The jailer shook his helm. "Those don't come off until you get to Autobot City."
The bars went up and so did the invective. The jailer with his clutch of civilians who were part of the justice and prison system on Mars walked to the door and beyond. The civilians were there to learn how things worked in the less controlled real world beyond their colony.
It was fragging scary.
-0-Elsewhere in the sector
Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars
Ships landed, the last bunch of them. As the occupants stumbled or walked off, Kappa and her siblings were working to remove the vessels to other locations. They were several miles south of Autobot City at the new landing place for ships. Trucks and transports were there to take processed refugees to town. They would be taken to the old triage center north of the Hu An habitat where they would be helped onward by the residents and others who would be waiting for them.
It would be a strange and incredibly welcome new world.
-0-Nearby
Hu An Habitat, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars
She stood by the great dome of their habitat watching as throngs of metallics moved about outside nearby. There was a reclamation going on of the Cybertronians who had come this way to find sanctuary. She watched it with a mix of feelings. Behind here was the usual homeland conditions that met anyone who came to a Hu An world. There were trees everywhere but for areas where food was grown. They were vegetarians who lived in lush green forests and jungles in their home systems.
Traders by choice, they were incredibly skilled with nearly everything they undertook, their finished products highly valued in their trading zone of influence. They were peaceful but enormously capable of defending themselves. When the metallics came they fought the only conflict that they had ever lost in the entirety of their existance as a species.
They were some of the few who were not struggling under the yoke of the metallic's rule, the few who had gotten off world and didn't have a way to go back. Rescued by Prime, the 300 who lived here first were a greatly respected part of the community. They, themselves respected the Prime and his people. They understood his great goodness and assisted the colony where they could.
The 400 who were new were struggling.
Behind Harper in the clearings beyond they were expanding their gardens. There were more mouths to feed and there would be new infants. Four were coming along with a couple in Harper's group as well. They would require care along with everyone else. There would also be an expansion that would double their current habitat space allowing for farming on a scale that would not be seen by their kind anywhere but the home system. They would be able to further develop the plants that Prime arranged for them to get from Earth into something more like the ones from home.
It would be a help to the homesick population and a distraction for Harper. Her skill with plant genetics was nearly unparalleled among their people. It was the reason that she and Larc were chieftains at their relatively young age. She turned and walked back into the vegetation disappearing from view.
The reclamation outside continued unabated.
-0-On the Salton Sea, in a lounge
They sat with their peds up lightening the load. Sipping their beer, they looked around. They were on 'stand by-medical clearance' which meant without Ratchet's okay, they were stuck here.
"Ada better let us go," Sideswipe said checking the wound on his ped. "I have a score to settle."
"We need to go back and take out that planet with the acid slaggers," Sunstreaker said with a nod. "I don't want to see that slag happen to anyone else. Have you seen Smokey's feet?"
As they chatted Smokey and Lon walked in redirecting to where the twins sat. Pulling up chairs, they parked. "How are you two doing? We lost track of you in the fighting," Lon asked.
"We pulled back into the ice and boulders," Sideswipe said. "I still got shot in the ped, the fraggers."
Lon nodded glancing at his arms which were pockmarked with medicinal putty. "The acid monsters were terrible. I thought we were goners for sure."
Smokey nodded. "If Hercy hadn't had a beacon we would have been."
"What happened? I heard a bit here and there," Sideswipe said sitting back to enjoy the first battle story two of the greenest Autobots around had lived to tell. Sunstreaker nodded.
Lon glanced at Smokey who nodded back. "You tell them. I'm still freaking out over the crawly things."
Smokey nodded, then looked at the twins as other soldiers pulled up chairs to sit at the table next to them. He felt self conscious a moment, then gathered himself. "We were fighting in the mess. I remember seeing you two firing around a boulder. Then we were on a ship. I don't remember how. We were clobbered somehow." He looked at Lon who shrugged. "I remember coming online in a hold.
Lon nodded. "Sandstorm was really bad off. Hercy and Kup were there along with Springer and Drift. Then you and me. We were in a hold on a ship going somewhere but we didn't know who or where. When the door opened and they came in, they were the strangest looking freaks I ever saw. Organics with tentacles around their heads and ugly freakish monsters that dripped acid."
"We know them," Sideswipe said. "They're allies of Megatron. We have some in stasis. Fraggers. We even killed a whole bunch in a shoot out in an earlier migration. Killed a giant one too. Ugly fraggers. I hate them."
"They took us to a planet and dumped us out. It was jungle everywhere. We had to find higher ground for Hercy's device. We made it to a clearing and there were these pod things all over the place. Kup kicked one and they exploded. These incredibly disgusting things flew out and tried to crawl up us to our faces. They were slimy and awful. It was the worst thing ever," Lon said with amazement still in his voice.
"They climbed us. They tried to get to our faces!" Smokey said with amazement of his own. "It was the worst thing. We had to kill all of them. Then we found high ground. That's when the monsters came."
"We could see the organics in the trees. They can shield themselves but we could see them when they moved or with infrared. They were watching and assessing us. Then a zillion of their acid monsters came up the hill at us," Lon said. "We killed them with rocks. That's how we got so hurt, the blood stuff flying everywhere."
Sunstreaker nodded. "You have to use what you have."
"They took all our stuff. They know about subspace," Smokey said. "Hercy had knives hidden on his body and the beacon. They didn't find them or we would be dead."
It was silent a moment, then Sideswipe leaned forward on his elbows. "What do you think of combat? I want to know how you really feel, not what you think you have to say to us or anyone else."
Lon sat back considering the question. Smokey looked at him, then nodded. "I like to fight. I like it. I just don't like these monsters. You hurt one and their blood burns you," Smokey said.
"You can't choose your opponents. I spent several thousand years going around the universe learning how to incorporate fighting skills into my personal arsenal from everyone I could find including organics. You wouldn't believe what's out there and you have to be prepared to fight anything that comes at you."
They both nodded. It was quiet a moment, then Sideswipe leaned forward again. "Tell me about your fear."
"I ..." Smokey paused a moment. "It was terrible. I was scared and exhilarated at the same time. You know?
Sunstreaker nodded. "Being the right kind of scared keeps you alive. The wrong kind will kill you."
"Are you scared in battle?" Lon asked leaning forward himself. He had been terrified, then training took over, that and being with the other mechs. He was loathe to tell them because he wanted and needed their approval.
"Not anymore. I suppose I might have been back when. Maybe. I can't remember," Sunstreaker said. "We've been at this all our lives. When it wasn't the Autobots, it was the road gangs in Kaon. We have been warriors since we were born. I don't really remember the last time I was afraid of nearly anything."
Sideswipe nodded. "Anyone who tells you that they aren't afraid sometimes is a liar. Sunny and I have done this so long that I don't think we can feel fear anymore. We look forward to combat and we're slagging good at it. We have always been against the wall. It was always him and me. We're slagging good at this. We're a team. We enjoy it but I don't know if you two are cut out for it. Not the way we are."
"I want to be a warrior. I think I was born for it. It's my destiny!" Smokey said leaning forward passionately. "I want to be a warrior more than anything."
Sunstreaker looked at him. "You weren't born to do this. Neither of you have been at it as long as us. The newbies worry the leadership. The Home Guard is for you. You won't be so likely to get killed there as with the regulars."
"I'm learning and I have skills," Smokey persisted. Lon nodded, looking at the two with the most earnest expression.
"No one can fault the two of you for guts," Sideswipe said with a grin. "Did you do what you were told? You didn't run off on your own did you?"
"No," they both said at the same time.
"Good. Until a senior officer signs off on you do what you're told," Sunstreaker said. "What does Dev say about you?" he asked glancing at the handsome youngling sitting across from him.
"He doesn't want me to be a warrior," Smokey said with a slight pout. "I told him that I was going to be one."
"When you aren't in chemistry class, right?" Sideswipe asked with a smirk.
Smokey frowned more deeply, an altogether handsome thing. "He's got me in college. Its fragged."
"Be glad you have someone," Sunstreaker said without sympathy. "I would obey him."
"You hardly obey Ironhide and Ratchet," Sideswipe said with a grin.
Sunstreaker smirked slightly. "Don't tell them," he said glancing at his brother. Then he looked at Smokey. "What's this slag I hear about you and Roddy?"
Smokey sat back with a slightly defensive expression. "What did you hear?"
"I heard that Devcon and Smokescreen aren't terribly happy. I heard that they invoked and you're on a short leash," Sideswipe said as he crossed his arms over his chassis, a smirk of amusement forming on his handsome face.
"Yeah? Well, that's fragged too. I told them I want a life as a soldier and as a … a …"
"You want to frag when you want to. Am I close?" Sideswipe said glancing at Sunstreaker with a grin. Sunny was smirking at the youngling who sat uncomfortably. Lon was watching both with a slight grin of his own.
"What's wrong with that? Don't tell me you don't. Or didn't," Smokey said with a slight indignation.
"They're in a trine bond," Lon said glancing at Smokey.
That youngling nodded. "I know. You get to frag when you want to. What's wrong with wanting someone? I have needs too you know."
Sunstreaker smirked as Sideswipe laughed. "We aren't arguing with you. We aren't are we?" he asked glancing at Sunstreaker.
Sunny sat with a wolfish grin. "Nope. What about you?" he asked looking at someone who had entered the room and paused behind the two younglings.
They turned to look, then one of them froze. Devcon smirked, then shrugged. "You really want an answer?"
The two younglings found an excuse and limped away. Dev sat and pulled a deck of cards from subspace. He began to deal, these the official deck of Autobot City. It was the one with Prime as the King, Prowl as the Queen, Ironhide as the Jack with Ratchet as the deuce. A poll in the early orns of the colony had chosen those from a raft of pictures. They took their hands, checked them, then tossed some cards down.
Dev who sat with a smirk on his face looked at both. "How many, boys?"
Sunstreaker shook his helm. "Is this what we have to look forward to some orn with our own younglings?" he asked as he took two.
"Count on it," Dev said as he dealt Sideswipe three.
-0-TBC March 18, 2014 edited 3-3-14
NOTE: I won't assume that everyone overseas reading this knows all my homespun sayings. :D Someone who is green is someone without experience or testing. Lon and Smokey are green at fighting because they don't have experience yet.