The Diego Diaries: War (dd6 98)
-0-In the dark
Ratchet came back online in a dark room. Automatically switching to night vision, he looked around. Sitting next to him like a frozen statue, watching Ratchet as he slowly came to himself was Partition. Ratchet sat up slowly. "Frag," he whispered. "Null rays. How are you, kid?"
"I'm okay," he whispered.
Ratchet ran a swift diagnostic, then scanned Partition. "You'll be okay in a minute. Slagging null rays. How long have you been sentient?"
"A minute or two," Partition whispered back. "I don't know where we are."
Ratchet glanced around, then switched to off line chat. :We're in a holding cell of some kind. Listen to me and swear on the life of your ada that you'll obey me no matter what, no matter how stupid or wrong it may seem:
Partition nodded. :I swear:
:You let me do everything. I've been caught before. I'm still here. Understand?: Ratchet asked as he searched the kid's face for clarity of thought. He had it but he was scared.
Partition nodded. :Yes:
:I'm going to keep us together and get us out of here. Understand, Prime will move heaven and earth to get us back. If I say something about you or me that isn't true, act like it is. I'm going to do a lot of lying. Try and support me. You're not to do a slagging thing on your own. That's an order, recruit. Do you understand?:
Partition nodded. :I understand:
:You're going to find out being a soldier isn't all fighting, drinking and telling lies. It's about strategy and outsmarting the other slagger. Have you seen them?:
Partition shook his helm. :No:
Ratchet stared at the kid, then squeezed his servo. :It'll be alright. Are you sorry you're a soldier?:
He stared at Ratchet, then gathered himself. "No," he said aloud.
Ratchet grinned, then squeezed his servo again. They leaned back. As they did, Partition held Ratchet's servo like the scared kid that he was.
-0-At the scene of the scam
Ships came in with Seeker escort, their guns bristling. They were prepared to obliterate anything that came near them. Landing, Hercy and Kup jumped from their two shuttles with guns drawn, then ran for the shelter that was lying around in pieces. Several mechs were scattered here and there, lying either stunned or unconscious. Mechs poured out, medics and Gypsy, running to the wounded.
Hercy walked to the shelter to examine the debris. A blast had taken it out sending the team with them into the air. Landing here and there, Springer and his mechs had been far enough away to keep their arms and legs intact. What else might have been caught up in the flash, he didn't know. He pulled a meter, scanned the area, then contacted Prime. :Hercy to Prime:
:Prime here:
:I have bridge residue, Optimus. Can someone scan the trail back to the source? Maybe Xantium? He should have the tech:
:Stand by: Optimus said. He glanced toward Tactical where Raptor was working hard on the problem. A tense Blackjack and Ironhide stood over him watching. In the box nearby, the crowd who had come were silent, grim-faced and worried. Harris glanced at them, then the three big mechs at Tactical. Raptor finally turned to Prime. "It traces back to the colony, the first settlement of the three, Optimus."
"Prime to Hercy."
:Hercy here:
"It traces back to the settlements. What is the situation among the team? What is their status?" he asked tensely.
There was a pause. Then Hercy was back. :We have injuries. Fortunately, the device went off before they were too close. Drift needs a new optic and Springer probably feels like a flight of Seekers are revving up in his helm but other than a few burns and jolts, all survived to fight another orn:
The relief across the bridge and inside the box was incredible. Ironhide turned to Prime. "What now?" he asked tensely, his fists balled and his affect ferocious.
"We get them back," Prime said grimly. He turned to an equally grim-faced Prowl. "I want everything that stands between us and the next two sectors blown to slag."
Prowl nodded, then turned to Sensors. "Scan for anything that might scarcely qualify as a life-form, then let me know."
The young femme at Sensors nodded, turning to the console to work.
Prowl glanced at Fire Control. "Load up." He touched a button on the datapad. "This is Prowl. I want Moonbase and Phobos to form up on Salton Sea. Everything forward move off. I want a clear path to shoot. Omega, bring your family forward. I want a straight line of fire formed now. Receipt requested."
:Omega Supreme to Prowl. Understood. Complying now," a deeply masculine voice complied.
:Xantium to Prowl. Are we going to shoot the slag out of something?: another deep masculine voice asked, though there was inherent humor and blood lust in it.
"Affirmative," Prowl said. "Stand by."
:Gotcha: Xantium replied.
:Kids: Lennox said with a slight smirk.
:What's the joke?: Harris asked.
:When the big ships come forward to shoot the shit out of this area, the youngest one is Xantium. The others were built to protect areas and cities or to do other jobs including diplomacy and transport. Xee was built to break things: Graham said with a grin.
The group alignment outside began to change as ships and Seekers moved away from their locations in the battle formation. Other things began to appear, huge things like the other two monster battleships and the seven Supreme mechanisms. Prowl pressed the comm button. "Check in now."
:Gamma on station:
:Kappa here, Prowl:
:Beta checking in:
:Alpha ready:
:Omega: on station:
:I am here, Prowl: Zeta replied with his cultured voice.
:LOCKED AND LOADED, PROWLER! TELL ME WHEN! The rest of you, watch what Omega and I do, then do it yourselves. Okay?: he asked over the open line.
Agreement, with much amusement was had.
Prowl smirked, then glanced at Prime who was brooding in the command chair. "Your call, sir."
Prime nodded. "Open a line."
Blaster complied as the bridge crew waited with extreme tension and fury.
"This is Optimus Prime. You have our people. You tried to kill others. I am most displeased. I will give you a sample of my displeasure. Watch and be instructed." Prime glanced at Prowl, then nodded.
"This is Prowl. I am sending you coordinates. Stand by," he said as he glanced at Sensors. "Anything that we must be careful to leave in one piece, Mila?" he asked.
The little femme, a Home Guard doing duty in the real world shook her helm. "No, sir, This is a very sterile portion of space out to the coordinates you requested. Beyond that, I would have to scan."
"Thank you, Mila," Prowl said calmly. He glanced at Prime who nodded. Pushing the button, Prowl gave the command. "Armada, fire at will."
The fury of ten monster ships erupted and flew forward, brilliant lights, plasma beams and shells flashed out in a continuous stream. The sensation of missiles and energy beams leaving the ship could be felt by a very slight tremor underfoot as the most brilliant and amazing fusillade ever witnessed by the soldiers and civilians in the box erupted. It seemed to continue forever with each new burst rivaling the last. Fast and furious, the devastation flowed forward in a nearly endless stream until Mila at Sensors glanced toward Prowl. "There's nothing left, sir," she said.
"Please reconfigure the charts, Mila, then put them on the screen so we can see them," Prowl said.
It wasn't destined to last long, the vast nearly square area of defoliated devastation just created. There was nothing big enough to register on the screen as noteworthy for the sensors to build. It was a vast area of shimmering energy and dust whirling like a stream over rocks. Eventually, the areas all around it would bleed in and fill the vacuum but for now, it was what it was. A brand new portion of a very vast and ancient universe that had come into its own through the fury of unleashed energy.
Prime glanced at Blaster, then turned to the screen. "Whoever you are, you have some small sample of the fury that I can give to you if you do not return my people and leave this area. If one person in the settlements or the two prisoners that you hold is harmed, I will visit such devastation upon you that you will wish you were never born. Answer."
It was silent from the other end.
-0-In a dark room somewhere
The door opened without warning. A bright light flashed off blinding both their optics. Rough hands gripped them wrapping them in chains, then metallic bags were shoved down over their helms that were designed to prevent their specialized sight. They were led out, shoved and dragged along to an elevator. Ratchet felt the terror in Partition, then pulsed him calming energy. :Don't be afraid. I'll take care of you. Just do what I told you:
The fearful energy lessened in Partition's aura as they reached somewhere, then were pushed out to walk forward. Halfway to somewhere, they were pulled up short. There was the sound of machines around them so Ratchet figured they were in a control center. A voice began to speak.
"Who are you and why didn't you leave when we told you to go?" it said.
Ratchet analyzed it. "I am Ratchet and this is my comrade. I'm a doctor and he is my assistant. We came to help those that were hurt. We were there to answer a disaster beacon. Let us go. We aren't here to cause trouble. We came to help others."
It was silent a minute. "Your Prime. Tell me who and what he is."
Ratchet heard feet shuffling nearby. "He's the leader of our people. He's the moral center of our world. He commands a great empire."
"He has destroyed a great swath of our local area with his ships," the voice said.
"He's coming for us. It would do us both good to just let us return to our side," Ratchet said. "We are doctors."
"Your Prime is coming to harm us and we won't allow it."
"You have our people. Give them up and we leave. We have no interest in staying here. It's too dangerous for anyone. Most of this area is off limits on our charts to shipping or travel," Ratchet said. "You can have it once we rescue our people."
"This area is ours and the settlements are forfeit," the voice said. "You would do well to understand that. I am uninterested in what your Prime wants. No one will trespass here. You will not get what you want."
"Then you misunderstand the resolve he has to get all of us back," Ratchet replied.
"I can have you dismembered and returned to him in a bag," the voice said.
"I wouldn't," Ratchet said.
"Why is that?" the voice asked.
Ratchet pulsed calm to Partition. "This youngling is a relative of the Prime."
It was silent a moment, then the voice spoke again. "Is that so?"
"He is," Ratchet replied. "He's his nephew. He would be required to undertake a vow to chase you to the end of the universe if you cause any harm to this youngster. You would do yourself a lot of good to send him back. Drop him off with a beacon. If you harm him, there will be no place safe for you that he won't find you."
It was silent a moment, then someone big dragged both off toward the door. Entering the elevator, they went down, stumbled down a corridor, then were shoved into the same room they came from. Chains were removed, then the bags yanked off. A bright light flashed at the same time. Bent over from the brightness, the door slammed behind them. After a moment of struggle, both sat down side-by-side.
:Are you alright, infant?: Ratchet asked.
:Yeah," he said taking Ratchet's servo again. :What are you doing?:
:Getting you out of here. Understand, you have to get out of here: Ratchet said. :Your job, Partition, is to go back and tell them everything you can. You have to be intel for the Prime. Do you understand?:
Partition stared at him with a mashup of emotions, then nodded curtly. :Okay:
Ratchet leaned back, relaxing his body to be ready for anything. :Good. Now try to keep calm, infant. We're going to get out of this. I promise;
Partition sat back to stare at the doorway in the darkness across the way. He would do so holding Ratchet's servo.
-0-TBC 8-18-17 edited 8-22-17