The Diego Diaries: War (dd6 106)
-0-On World
They flew silently toward the city. Carrying two mechs with him, Hal didn't bother to transform but flew by pedal propulsion. They came to the outskirts of the city, then settled along the main road that led inside, feeding the two outlying areas. One was a utility-type installation and the other was a quarry. The work going on there was continuous and it didn't seem that anyone was under any kind of coercion or threat. That is, it didn't appear so until they began to reach the city itself.
Cutting across a rocky, gravely open space, they began to reach the first habitations. They were work sites, shops and hangars for various industries. The traffic about town was light, seemingly only the types of vehicles that indicated workers. Not many seemed to be really walking around and those who were hurried along, their optics downcast as if to avoid drawing attention to themselves or seeing anything that would get them into trouble.
The three mechs walked along together avoiding those few on the sidewalks as they looked around. The housing appeared to be tall and Cybertronian in design. Though the tall buildings around here were nothing like anything in the colonies or on the home world, they had the hallmarks of typical construction. They also had settled on the top of several that they could see sleek fleet ships of a fighter design with guns pointing in all direction. There were six they counted by the time they reached one of the more open spaces in what appeared to be a well thought out, well designed settlement.
They paused in an open space and began to gather information about the occupation. Dotted at intervals, heavily armed fighters sat on rooftops, their pilots and soldiers hanging around as if waiting out their shift on duty. They were also heavily armed, Cybertronian in origin and a mix of civilians, former soldiers and Decepticons by what tattoos they could see. The three compared their information, then continued onward. They roamed the settlement, noted that about 45,000 lived here, then gathered in a place that was obviously a park but no one was there.
:This is fragged. They have guns pointed at them from all over: Hal said as he watched a crew tending a fighter sitting on the edge of a tall building. They were staring at the ground and for a moment the three had an uncomfortable feeling though they knew the only ones capable of detecting them were others with the same special function. The frequency that they utilized to disappear was the one in the high bands all Cybertronians like them used. It was wound tightly through their design and thus, they couldn't hide from each other. Most Cybertronians without major modification of several vital functions weren't able to reach that frequency without assistance so they couldn't detect them around.
:They're Cybertronians. At least, the worker bees are: Mirage said. :From what I detect, they have every corner of the settlement covered in cross fire. This is going to be a fragger to take apart:
Pardon nodded. :We got what we can here. We have two more stops. One of them has the leadership and Ratchet. We need to locate him:
:We also need to find out if they have an alliance with the acid aliens: Mirage said grimly. :I hope not but they must. They didn't come out of nowhere. Slaggers:
The others nodded, then began to backtrack out of the city. When they were far enough away, they hooked up with Hal and flew back to where the ship was waiting with Jazz. Moving to the ledge where he sat out of sight, the three appeared, startling him. "You could let a bot know," he said with a grin. 'What did you find out?"
"Well, it appears that the soldiers are Cybertronian. That explains our tech in their servos. The Hish must be allied. There are fighters on rooftops all over the settlement. They have every angle covered. Anyone who doesn't have to be out is hiding or home," Mirage said. "We have to go to the other colonies but something tells me that its all the same."
Jazz nodded. "This is fragged."
"It is," Pardon said as they rose to walk to the shuttle. It was a crowded ride to the next planet nearby and a long walk to the settlement from the runabout. It would tell the same story. It would be on the third planet fall that they would find out where the leadership was holed up. It would be the place where they believed Ratchet was held. Scanning the area only muddled the picture. Every scan they got was a Cybertronian.
The ride back in radio silence would be long.
-0-Out there, flying through the darkness
They flew onward chasing down the faint trail of the second possibility on the list. It was cold and dark as they made their way, airlifted by bridge to this locality. Seven huge Seekers heavily armed, their data collecting apparatus working full out blazed through space interlinked. The trail was old and faint, then it strengthened, then disappeared. Halting together, going over the data, they decided that the projected path was the one they wanted.
They had their tormentor.
A bridge ride back to the Prime coincided with Jazz and his team. They bridged in nearly at the same time the shuttle found its way onto the hangar deck of the Salton Sea.
-0-In the human's safe room
They gathered to eat again, their food bridged in for them by micro mini-cons who were assigned the task whenever a ship carried humans on their merry or not so merry ways. The food and drinks were good, the coffee hot, the couches and chairs soft and comfortable, and the 'facilities' clean. Having a break was a good thing for all of them.
Lilly Bolger-Settles sat at the table eating a meal while the men got food, stood by the windows looking out or checking their mail from their special gear handhelds. Things were ever as they were on Mars and Earth. Some more organizations were planning to come to Mars for seminars which required a short presentation by a N.E.S.T. soldier as part of the public relations aspect of their jobs. She would not be here for any of it. She was here with Andrew as he went though the paperwork with the garrison. It was part of his brief as a liaison between the garrison on Mars and the Diego group.
"I saw your wedding," Harris said as he sat down with a laden plate and a cup of coffee. "It was very nice."
Lilly grinned. "I had a unique wedding. I won't ever forget it."
"Did Prime give you citizenship too?" he asked.
She nodded. "He did. The early group, most of us, are part of the dual thing. I'm so glad to have met them. Here I am on Mars, standing out with an alien armada who protects my planet. I don't think it gets better than that."
"There are those who say that none of this would be necessary if they had left," Harris said. "No one would have really noticed us."
"That's not true, of course," Lilly said. "They would have. We live in an energon-rich area. That's their life's blood. They would have come. It was inevitable. That the bots came too, that they care enough about us to protect us, that's gravy."
Lennox picked up his phone that was blinking. He read the text message, then looked at the others. "Jazz and the Seekers are coming back. Hurry up and take care of business. If things light up, I don't know when we're going to be back here. I'm taking some of the food with me. Hit the head, too. Bath room breaks might be thin on the ground shortly."
They ate swiftly, hit the bathroom, then signaled for pick up. A mech would come, carry them to the bridge, then settle them on their safety spot. They would be settled just in time to see the big mechs come back onto the deck.
-0-On the deck
They rode up, gathering together to brief Prime. Ironhide, Raptor, Blackjack, Alor, Hard Drive, and the others were already there, alerted by Prowl when the hangar deck indicated all had returned. They gathered around Prime as Prowl put the maps on the monitors. Jazz turned to the Seekers. "You go first."
Red Wing nodded, then turned to Prime. "We followed the trail after being sent there by bridge. It's faint and fades in and out. We've extrapolated that they came this way. I believe its the second individual on the list, Prime. We've discussed this and all agree that this is the one we believe it is based on the evidence at hand."
Prime nodded. "Thank you, gentlemen." He glanced at Jazz and the three mechs with him. "What can you tell us about the settlements?"
"They're under surveillance. They posted heavily armed fighters at regular intervals on the roofs of the settlements. No one is out if they don't have to be. The teams are Cybertronians, a mix of civilians, soldiers and Decepticons from the tats we could see. Slaggers have the three places bottled up. On the first world, we discovered their headquarters. Its a heavily fortified civilian structure with a lot of underground possibilities. No one was around but the settlement is so strongly buttoned up it didn't require much supervision, Prime."
Prime nodded. He sat a moment brooding over the news, then glanced at Prowl. "I think I need to talk to him again. Now that we have the picture, we need to clue him in. Any suggestions otherwise?"
No one had one to make so Prime turned to the forward monitor and sat back squaring his shoulders as he did. His mechs gathered around him, facing the screen with cold implacable will. The image flickered on. "This is Optimus Prime. I wish to speak to the leader of this pirate faction."
The strangely metallic voice was on almost immediately. "I am here."
"I have asked you to give up my soldier and the civilians. I am without interest in the settlements. They are yours when we take the civilians. I have a responsibility to them that I am honor bound to fulfill. I am not going away. Again, give up the civilians and keep the settlements. If you do not do that then I will bring my armada there and there will be great death and destruction."
"That will include your civilians, Prime. Hardly a win-win," the voice said.
"You misunderstand what I am saying. We live in a dangerous section of the galaxy. If others see that I do not undertake to protect my position, they will see no reason to fear me. I will have to deal with incursions on a daily basis. If I leave this alone, then that is my future. Even if I have to destroy everyone to destroy you, it resolves that problem. No one will come near us if they understand that we are not afraid to lose everything to gain more."
It was silent a moment. "You are bluffing."
Prime sat a moment considering his strategy and the individual with whom he was sparring. "That is for you to decide, Imperialis."
The silence stretched a moment, then the voice was back. "I am unaware of who that is. Is that some word in your language for an opponent?"
"It's your name. I will personally carve it on your tombstone if you defy me further," Prime said.
"Let me think on it, Prime. As for your insinuation that I'm this person, continue it if it makes you happy." The link was cut.
"Fragger," Ironhide hissed as he clenched his fists. "I'm going to kill him. No one else."
"We got under his armor," Jazz said. "What he does now will determine if he lives or dies."
Prime nodded. "I am good with both."
-0-TBC 8-23-17 edited 8-28-17
ESL: There are expressions in American casual English that express something. 'Icing on the cake' means something extra that makes something better. EX: "I work at the mill and they provide lunch, which is the icing on the cake'."
If something is extra good, its gravy. She talked about the bots protecting them which is the main point. The bots being here is the 'gravy' or the 'icing on the cake'. There are a zillion expressions in American English. :D