The Diego Diaries: Redemption (dd3 675)
-0-Conference Room, Ops Center, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars
It was heavy a moment, then Fenix sat back. "I would need access to my clients, Semi."
Semi nodded. "They'll be held in the jail at the Courthouse until they're arraigned in the morning. The docket is pretty full last time I looked at it this evening. It might mean they don't get arraigned until the next orn."
"That's preposterous. Why should my son have to wait another orn?" Como said.
"Because he's just another number on a list," Semi said. "There are no extra privileges here. Haven't you been listening?"
Como sat back with an angry express.
Then Pawz, his bond nodded wearily. "We understand."
Como glanced sharply at his bond.
Pawz looked tiredly back at him. "Enough, Como. Thank you, your honor," Pawz said quietly.
Semi nodded, then looked at Springer and Drift who were standing in the doorway silently watching the show. "Please take the prisoners to the jail, gentlemen." He looked at Kale and Gravity. "Don't make this a problem. Do you understand? Disclosure of your predicament will make your life impossibly miserable here no matter how the case turns out."
They nodded, then rose. Walking out of the room with security, they disappeared into the vast anteroom. Their genitors looked back at the gathered group. Then they stood uncertainly.
Como looked at Fenix.
He nodded. "Go outside and we'll talk."
The four genitors nodded, then left without another sound.
Fenix looked at Prime. "Thank you for the discretion. No matter how this turns out, I concur that their lives would be miserable here or even Cybertron if this were made public."
Prime nodded. "We are about redemption and reclamation now. We do not want to become what we were. We all know how that turned out."
Fenix considered that, then looked at Semi. "Are we still in order?"
"No," Semi said. "This hearing is closed."
Fenix rose, then walked out, the silence following him through the door.
Prime sat back, then looked at the forlorn youngling sitting in a chair at the other end of the table. "If you would go with Drift, he will have the monitor installed. Then go home, Default. Tomorrow, you will go to the Parole Office in the Courthouse to register as a parolee with special circumstances. You will get your orders there."
Default nodded, then Burnoff looked at Prime. "Sir … would it be possible for Default to work for me? I could use someone who's a good electrician. We've known each other a long time. He came to me when he needed help. I want to help him back."
"I think you already have," Prime said with a nod. He looked at Semi who nodded, too. "It will be your call, Burnoff."
Burnoff nodded, then looked at Default. "Come on. Get set up, then tomorrow you can come work for me. That is … if you want to."
Default nodded. "I have to tell the store first. Those mechs were so nice to me. They didn't have to be but they were."
Burnoff then rose. He looked at Armour, then Default's distraught genitors. "Maybe you can take them to the Temple, sir. We can join you when Dee has his tracker."
Armour smiled. "That would be an excellent idea." He looked at Como and Pawz. "Come with me. The AllSpark will help you."
They stood up slowly, then embraced their son. It was emotional and painful to watch.
"I'll be there shortly," Default said to his genitors. Then he left to go with Default and Drift to Watch Substation #7 near the Temple to get hooked up. After that, all would part as he hurried to the Temple to help his genitors cope with the new reality.
Everyone sat at the table, then all of them glanced at Ratchet. "That was good of you to forgive him, Ratchet," Semi said.
Ratchet shrugged. "You have to if you want to live your own life. I can't drag him behind me forever."
Prime nodded. "None of us can," he said rising to go. "Let us call it an orn and regroup tomorrow. This will be on the agenda once the civilians leave. I would like all of you to stay. I think we need to review the Convocation for the good of the order."
"No date set?" Blackstone asked as he paused by the table.
"That is up to the hold outs," Prime said. "If we never have one I will be happy."
"You won't lose," Ratchet said as he looked back at Prime.
"I know," Prime said as he pushed in his chair. "I just would like a peaceful decaorn."
Prowl grinned. "Not likely," he said to general chuckles and agreement.
-0-Moments later
Ratchet slipped into the apartment and sat in his chair next to Ironhide. He was dozing lightly, but woke up to regard Ratchet with a curious expression. "What happened?"
"Default spilled. He confessed to the bombings and took his lumps. The other two, Kale and Gravity are in custody. It could have been slag but it wasn't. By the way … this is classified information."
"Frag. The little fragger confessed," Ironhide said. "I suppose that Prime was Prime and cut him slack."
"That would be correct," Ratchet said with a grin. "He came to Burnoff and they came to Prime to confess. Burnoff helped him. He's going to work for Burnoff in his business."
"Is that a good idea?" Ironhide asked.
"It is. Burnoff is a good mech. Default's genitors are going to stay at the Temple. They're a wreck."
"As they should be," Ironhide replied.
"It's late. Tomorrow is a staff meeting," Ratchet said standing up to stretch. "How are the younglings?"
"Stellar," Ironhide said rising himself. He shut off the monitor, then the two walked to the berth room to retire.
-0-Up there
Prowl walked out of the infant room where Sojourner was recharging. A check of the others revealed the same. Kes and Tagg had left earlier after much thanks. Walking into the giant suite that was his berth room, Prowl flopped on the berth. Prime who was there already grinned. "Good thing we have a good box spring set."
"Are you insinuating I'm fat?" Prowl asked with a smirk.
"Nope," Prime said with a grin. "Two down, one contained, two more to go."
Prowl nodded. "I know. Ratchet was forgiving. I'm sorry for his pain."
"I know. But that was then, this is now," Prime said squeezing Prowl's servo. They would chat a moment, then turn in. Tomorrow was rushing toward them swiftly.
-0-At a room in the Temple
They sat on a couch in a simple apartment in one of the sub floors of the Great Temple of Simfur Restored. It was quiet and they were alone.
"I don't understand anything anymore," Como said.
Pawz looked at him, then took his servo. "Our son is a good boy. I don't know how I failed him."
Como looked sharply at his bond, the mech whom he loved more than his own life. "You didn't fail anything. You are good, totally good to me."
Pawz grinned slightly, then leaned on Crater's shoulder. "You're blind but I'm glad. Thank you."
Como rested his cheek on Pawz's helm. "He said a lot of things. I don't know what to think about it. I don't know how he can reject his culture … his inheritance."
It was silent a moment. Pawz I considered that. "He has. I don't understand it myself. I want him to tell me. I need to understand."
"He's a convicted felon. Our son," Como said with a tearful tone in his voice. "How could this happen? We gave him everything. He had our time and everything we could give him."
It was silent a moment, then Pawz sat up straighter staring at the floor for a moment. He looked at Como with emotional optics. "It wasn't enough somehow. It wasn't what he needed."
It was silent in the apartment as they settled together again, their sparks filled with sorrow and fear. They would stay there until their son finally arrived. Then they would sit up the rest of the night talking together.
-0-Morning
"ADA!"
"What, you little slagger?"
"YOU COME TO ME? I NEED KIP YOU!"
Ratchet paused sorting through caps to turn to Orion who was standing in the doorway with a giant smile. He wore a frilly skirt from Hero's collection.
Around his neck.
A hat with a daisy poking up from the top of it was already on his helm. Long socks that a quick google search told him were leg warmers were already on his little legs. All of his outfit was yellow but the flower which a quick google search told him was a daisy. He looked oddly awesome.
"Spud. What the frag?" Ratchet asked with a huge grin of his own.
"I KIP YOU!" he said holding out his arms.
Ratchet picked him up, then they 'kipped'.
Ironhide who paused with Prowler in his arms looked at Orion. "What the frag, Ratchet?"
"He has his own thing going on, Ironhide. Once it was cowboys. Then it was soldiers. Now its … whatever this is. Mech has a style urge," Ratchet said as Orion leaned forward to 'kip' his atar.
Ironhide kissed him back. "Spud, you're a wild aft slagger."
Orion smiled brilliantly, then held up two dollies for a 'kip'. They got them from both genitors.
Ratchet and Ironhide organized the mob, then the grand atars appeared in the doorway. After the meeting, all commanders of all the forward bases would go out to their posts. Until now, they would come in for the staff meetings. No more telecommunications thanks to the space bridges. It was an amazing enhancement to their situation.
Both stared down at Orion.
"What the frag, Ironhide. What has that sparkling go on?" Blackjack asked with a big smile.
"His swurve," Ratchet replied. "Little mech is a marching band all by himself."
"I can see that," Ravel said with a chuckle as he appeared with Alor. "What a marvelous little mech you are, Orion."
Orion preened, then 'explained' his get up: "I COMED THERE. HO-HO HELPED ME! I CHOSEN THEM." He pointed to his hat and the fluffy skirt he wore like a neck ruffle.
"Doesn't it go around your waist, baby?" Ravel asked as he knelt pointing to Orion's tummy.
Orion tried to look at his tummy but the full fluffy skirt blocked the view. His daisy bobbed madly. "I WEARING THIS! I LOVE THIS! FUN!"
Ravel stood, then looked at Ratchet. "He's you incarnate."
"I didn't do this did I?" Ratchet asked with surprise.
"You used to dress up. You didn't have this many flourishes," Tie said with a grin. "But you did like to dress up."
"So its your thing. I was worried a moment there. Thought it came from me," Ironhide said with a smirk.
"It was you," Blackjack said with a grin. "You used to take table runners and scarfs and play dress up. You even had us buy you things to help with the look … hats and scarfs and such. Remember, Alor?"
Alor who was looking at Orion with utter devotion glanced up to nod. "That's true. When we'd go to the theater to see my genitors they would let you dress up with the costumes and stuff."
Ironhide looked at his smirking genitors, then Orion who stared up with a daisy on his helm bobbing merrily. "We better get going. We can't be late."
Hoots and guffaws met that as they turned the herd and walked out, a happily bouncing dog following. The door closed silently behind them.
It was good to be home again.
-0-TBC April 6,2014 7-23-19 4 my dad