The Diego Diaries: Function Over Form (dd6 14)
-0-Out there
They sped back toward their mother ships with three aliens fighters on their tail. The Autobots flew past them to return with Seeker escort as four more alien vessels broke out to cut across the empty space before Prime's armada. They didn't seem the slightest bit intimidated by his presence. The three Autobot ships and their three tails sped onward as the four cut in front to block them.
It was as if Prime wasn't there.
Optimus watched them with a slight sense of mystification.
"They have bearings. I guess," Blackjack's voice could be heard saying.
Ironhide who had bridged back arriving to join his father agreed. "Slaggers. They have no sense."
"Maybe," Hard Drive's voice said over the intracom. "They either fight like this or they have tricks. Look alive," he said to the three ships heading their way. They acknowledged him.
"Launch fighters," Prime said as he watched the groups coming closer together. "Make it significant."
Prowl who was listening from Gamma made the order and out of the decks of the three dreadnoughts, a swarm of three-man fighters emerged. They flew in a cloud toward the situation brewing and as they did, four of the ships veered off to fly across the field of play toward the other side of Prime's armada. They disappeared back into their battle group once more. The three original ships following slowed to a stop as Prime's group met the fighters. Turning almost as one, the entire Cybertronian flight flew onward to rejoin Prime.
"They appear to be looking for a fight, Optimus. I think they want you to drop the first blow against them," Hard Drive was heard to say. "They appear to be provoking."
"That's a costly way to to do it," Ratchet's voice was heard to say. "Losing some of your people is a dumb way to me."
"You have a conscience," Ironhide was heard to say.
"Tennyson's heading back." Blaster turned to Prime. "He's sent the report. Nothing is left intact on either planet."
Prime nodded. "Good," he said coldly. "I want a defensive circle. Make it air tight."
Prowl who was watching nodded, then sent the orders. Outside, the group began to move. They formed into a circle facing outward toward their enemies with the dreads as the heavy artillery. Tennyson joined them helping the titans to form the 'tent poles' of the rather rectangular shaped formation. Others spread out with cruisers turning their guns toward the outside ring of alien ships. By the time they were moved into position, the provoking aliens had returned to their own side. They were at standoff again.
"We need a plan, sir," Prowl said. "What is your thinking for this situation?"
Prime didn't answer a moment, then he looked at the section of the screen where Prowl's face peered out at him. "I think we need to hold this ground. I want teams on the first planet, the one where the leadership lived. I want a flyover to find out what we're looking at. If there's no confrontation about that, then we flyover the other. I want to know the story as it stands now. We are looking at half a million dead here."
Prowl nodded. "I will make it so." He turned to the console a moment to give orders, then turned back. "I've sent the teams. Hopefully, it won't elicit a response. If it does ..."
"Then shoot them after they fire on us," Prime said coldly. "Prevent them from following. They shoot first."
Prowl nodded, then gave the orders. As he did, battle shuttles led by Kup, Hercy, and Springer who had returned to Impactor's Revenge were speeding out with a halo of heavily armed Seeker heavy gunners as an escort. As they did, three equally tough appearing ships broke from the alien lines to follow.
-0-In a classroom in Autobot City
She diagrammed the chain of command for her new students. She enjoyed teaching beginners and held back a number of different topics for herself to do so. Commander Lissie of Iacon was a soldier's soldier and even though her main charge was training the officers' corp, this still held a great deal of nostalgia for her. She turned to the group of newbie soldiers who were entering the information onto their datapads. "This is the way we roll," she said with a grin.
"What about the thing out there, Commander?" a young kid asked. He had just finished Intermediate School, among the first to do so in the colony and was now in college. He wanted to help so he joined the Home Guard. "What can you tell us about it? Do we need to worry yet?"
Lissie who had taken a real shine to the kid grinned slightly. "We have a difference of opinion going on out there. We want what we want and someone doesn't want to give it to us. Until they do, we have a problem. Given that the Prime and his senior officers are there with the fleet, I think we don't need to worry. Certainly not you infants. You're too new to this to be a part of anything martial. You may never be a soldier in a battle. But you will know how to be one for our home protection."
"Amma," he replied, forgetting that he was speaking to his superior officer, "will there be fighting?"
Lissie grinned slightly at the kid, then considered the question. "If Prime can avoid it, he will. He's that sort of mech. He cares about every life. He won't waste anyone."
"Our doctors are first class," another mech said, one who was studying to be a medical technician. "Ratchet went with them."
Partition snorted.
Lissie glanced at him. "Do you have a problem, recruit?"
Partition looked at her a moment, then shrugged. "I don't get along with Ratchet."
"Too bad. Ratchet's a stand-up mech. He's braver than most and he never gives up on a soldier. I've seen him get shot pulling someone out of the line of fire. Few mechs go that far," Lissie said. She knew of the problem because Ratchet had filled her in. She also knew about Ratchet's 'projects'. She was the great aunt to several now and this appeared to be no exception.
"Glad to know he's good at something," Partition said, completely unaware of the effect such a remark would have on others.
The group jolted with surprise. They turned toward him with concern and amazement. He sat in his chair staring at Lissie with a slight smirk on his face. That was when a big mech two rows over stood, walked to Partition and punched him in the face. As Partition slid to the floor, the big mech walked back to his seat and sat quietly. Partition pulled himself off the floor, then turned with astonishment toward Lissie. "HE HIT ME!"
Lissie who was suppressing an urge to laugh loudly nodded. "He did. Please sit."
Partition stared at her with surprise and outrage, but he sat down.
Lissie stared at each of the 54 mechs and femmes sitting in her lecture hall in the Central Labor Hall Home Guard Headquarters. Then she grinned. "That wasn't nice to hit him, Boulder. I do like your technique, however. Given the circumstances, I'm sure you had a good reason."
Boulder nodded. "He helped my little sister's wounded processor when we came here. He saved her and she's fine now. I didn't like his remarks."
"So noted," Lissie said. She glanced at Partition who was looking more and more perplexed and angry by the moment. "You slandered a superior officer on duty, infant. That cannot be allowed."
"HE HIT ME!" Partition replied.
"He did." Lissie glanced at Boulder. "You may not hit someone in future. I would be most displeased."
Boulder nodded with a ghost of a grin on his face. "Yes, ma'am."
She looked at Partition. "Let me explain a few things about this femme's army. We're not as formal as some. We were the civilians, not the military in the civil war. Therefore, we're less hard aft about protocol and some procedures. After all, many are the soldiers that call Prime by his first name. By the way, none of you have that right yet. That being said … I'm less unhappy about Boulder punching your face than I am in your lack of courtesy and respect for insulting our C.M.O. I'm AM teaching you the chain of command after all," she said turning toward the board.
"Ratchet is in the topmost tier of this command structure and always has been. He got there because he earned it. He's brave, smart, tactical, relentless, and decent. In short, he forgot more about being a soldier than any of you infants will ever live long enough to learn. He got it in combat, endless combat over millions of vorns. You would do well to remember that, Partition. What Ratchet forgot is more than you will probably ever know. Now … shall we return to the important things?" She turned to the board and began to expand on the lists of officers and their obligations.
Partition fumed for a moment, then began to jot things down. Lissie said there might be testing. He for sure wasn't going to flunk.
-0-In a teacher's meeting after school let out
"We have to be cognizant of our students and their behaviors. As usual in a deployment, we have to expect that there will be acting up and tension. Our children's feelings must be met with compassion and love. I'm asking for our entire volunteer staff of room ammas and appas to be available for compassionate assistance. We've been through this before and I'm sure it will happen again. I'm bringing this to the next school board meeting so that we can draw up a policy for our manual. I would like your input for that meeting if you could. Drop me a line in the suggestion box," Herling said as he addressed the auditorium filled with teachers and support staff. They were called to go over a system-wide plan to help the children who had genitors in the armada.
"I'm going to ask Roto to come up and speak to what we should say regarding their questions and fears. Our entire processor staff and that of the colony is online to assist us with this situation until everyone comes home. Roto?" Herling asked.
Roto stood and walked to the podium. The 16,700+ teachers who were part of the educational system and the 20,000+ support staff watched him in the huge auditorium and on monitors from gathering places all over the colony. They had come together in different auditoriums and conference rooms to troubleshoot the situation which as becoming more and more apparent as the children's fears grew. Standing before 2,000 individuals present in the biggest University auditorium, he began to explain the signs to look for, what to do to allay fears and how to discuss the situation in class.
-0-On the flyover
They flew in swiftly covering the settlement in seconds. The entire colony was of one piece which was fortunate for everyone. There were no other habitable places or structures anywhere else on the planet but it was also the smaller of the settlements they would have to scan. As they did, the data flashed back to Prowl on Gamma. Flying over as one, they scanned together, locking their sensors to make sure that every inch of it down 100 feet below the surface was thoroughly understood.
Behind them, the alien ships flew equally swiftly, then veered off as the shuttles descended to work. They were then followed by Seekers who tailed them. Swerving this way and that, the aliens pulled back to lose their tail. They did.
No one shot each other from the encounter.
Yet.
-0-On a ship in the defensive circle
"This is slag," Hot Rod said as he worked at Tactical on Gamma. Nearby, Prowl was working on the incoming data. He glanced at Prowl, then the screen. "We could blast them to confetti."
"Have you done a scan of the ships encircling us?" Prowl asked as he worked.
"No." Hot Rod was antsy and ready to fight. Waiting was not his long suit.
"You should. I think you might find that a poor decision on the whole," Prowl said as he stood with a datapad containing the bad news.
Hot Rod did, then silently agreed with Prowl. He didn't remark. He sat stewing as Prowl turned toward the cameras of the forward screens. "Prowl to Prime."
Prime's face appeared. "Prime here."
"We have a total of the scope of the dead in the first settlement, sir. We are looking at 112,237 deaths."
Prime stared at Prowl on the screen for a long time as he digested the news. "No, Prowl," he said quietly. "We have 112,237 murders."
-0-TBC 5-22-17 edited 5-23-17
ESL:
stewing: being silently angry or upset (its usually a silent thing)
Example: "He sat stewing with silent frustration in his chair at the desk."
Old American expression: Taking a shine to someone means you like them. :D
Example: "I'm really taking a shine to that white kitten."