The Diego Diaries: War and Aftermath (dd6 360)
(This would have been out sooner but I feel asleep at the keyboard here in the middle of it.) :D:D:D
-0-Out there
They walked into the ship fragment to check for those who were alive or needful of care. The ship was a wreck inside, strewn with holes from shooting and from the battle itself. Things were dripping or sparking but there was no movement in the corridors, the few remaining non-imploded rooms and hidey holes here and there. Medics followed the big mechs with their guns, picking up this and that mech and assorted body parts that had been shot off during the exchange with the two Seekers. When they were carted out and floated to the runabouts heading for Phobos and the hospital there, they came back for more.
A cruiser in relatively one piece, if unable to move listed near two big battleships who were unable to leave as well. A deep scan had reported that they weren't fully manned because a number of soldiers and civilian marauders had bridged away to those ships fleeing before the fighting had destroyed that mode of escape. They were dealing with only a few hundred individuals in the battleships and several dozen in the remaining smaller ships.
:Prime to Springer:
Springer who had magnetized paused his trudge toward a hatch near the top which would lead down into the battleship's maintenance areas. :Springer:
:I am unwilling to allow anymore casualties on our side. Pull off and allow negotiations. If they do not agree, we will begin to destroy the ships until they do:
:Understood: Springer said. He looked at the others. :Prime wants to try gunboat diplomacy. Hop on a Seeker and pull off:
The mechs good naturedly groused with the Seekers who transformed, then towed them off ship toward the Autobot shuttles nearby. Moving away from the ships which were working to turn their remaining firepower toward Prime, they watched the show.
:Prime to remaining Decepticons and civilian allies of Shrike. I am giving you a choice to surrender to us or be destroyed. I am not willing to lose anymore of my soldiers or ships to you. Either give up or pay a high price for your refusal. Hand over Shrike if he lives. Do both things now, or I will end this in my favor. What happens to you is of little consequence to me:
:Do you think he means it?: Drift asked as he sat on the hull of Impactor's Revenge.
:Hard to say. He doesn't want war anymore than the rest of us and frankly, given a choice between us and them? It's not a real choice: Springer replied as the fleet began to target the ships listing and hemmed in all around them.
The fire was intense and targeted. It was designed to destroy the ships as hiding places. Enormous bursts struck the enemy vessels sending shrapnel flying everywhere. Flashes of light, bursts of debris, all of it happened extremely fast, then a small disabled cruiser and the battleship closest to Prime shuddered and began to come apart at the seams.
Hatches opened as mechs flew out, their jet packs taking them to free floating engine blocks, destroyed hulls and internal components, some of which were big enough to be good shelter. Behind them, the little cruiser began to burst into multiple blasts causing even more individuals to abandon ship. The battleship moved slightly on impulse power before the forward section of the cruiser blew up. It burst into flames which then flashed out from vacuum. But the momentum of the segments flung out from it were fast enough to slam into both battleships. The first one shuddered and began to shed sections from low level blasts, sort of the kind one gets when something backs up and takes out a system.
Hatches along the top opened and mechs flung themselves out, some to float helplessly while others sped off with their rocket packs. They were being tracked though they didn't know it and as they found shelter, there were Seekers dividing up their capture even as they lounged on the hull of Impactor's Revenge. Scans followed them, noting that both ships were losing crew swiftly. None of them could reach their flight decks, Prime's ordered strikes making sure of that, but they clambered out and attempted to retreat from view.
:Prime to Springer:
:Springer here:
:Can you bag them?: Prime asked.
:We can. We have them located and the Seekers have the firepower to make them pay if they don't surrender:
:Take their surrender from a distance. No one dies on our side today: Prime said.
"Understood: Springer said. :Here's what we do …: he said as the Seekers all round him transformed, then jetted straight at the enemy with guns blazing.
The fighting was furious but over in a trice. The resistance melted under the hot lead of the Seekers who then began to drag floating mechs toward the medical runabouts waiting nearby. Springer stared at them, then glanced at the others. :We do that:
The mechs with him stepped out and flew with jet packs toward the Seekers to assist. They left behind themselves hoo-haw and laughter, insults and rude gestures for their chief. Springer frowned at them, then stepped out with Drift to assist. Two cruisers down and one battleship. They had another battleship and several other much smaller ships to inspect and no one knew what it would mean. How many were still here before they blocked the retreat, no one was clear. It would be enough to make things exciting he thought as he reached a mech and began to drag him toward the closest runabout. It would take a while to clear the decks.
-0-Ocean
They noted that the ships flying underwater had turned once again heading away from Diego Garcia as they tried to elude Ironhide and his teams. They were deep and fast enough that the sounding devices were always just a bit behind. It was worrisome that they might turn the wrong way at this rate if they didn't locate the slaggers any faster than this. Ironhide was huddled over the data screen before him considering what they might do and where they might hit landfall.
The ships changed direction and began to fly toward Africa again as a group. The bots flying under Ironhide's command changed with them in hot pursuit.
-0-On world
The streets around the crash site were starting to look better as the debris began to recede along with the levels of fluids in the ditches all around. Omega had been lifted and flown away. The heaps of soil that would need burning grew as the night began to fall around them. Huge light arrays flooded the area with illumination as crews began to pull the chunks of rock and metal out of the Courthouse. It would take a lot of work just to clear away the damage before they could begin to work on rebuilding the half destroyed building. In the meantime, court would be held in the command center of the prison where the short term prisoners were held pending hearings, trials and the like.
Teams were also nearby pulling art and artifacts out of the dirt, sand and mud. IntraComm fared the best though it would be a while before a replacement broadcast tower was available. It was being fabricated in the Industrial Park City. The Professional Building had lost part of its rear facade but that was mostly cosmetic. Omega had lost a lot of speed when he finally reached it so the slam was only bad, not brutal. The galleries of the Museum were destroyed and as they waited to move on it, reclamation crews picked among the debris for artifacts and art. It was painstaking and slow going.
The work went onward even as the day ended, bringing with it solitude from the crowds.
-0-Earth2
They watched the monitors and televisions all around as the work was profiled on the local on world system. The damage had done a lot of harm and word had it that prisoners from the enemy fleet would be arriving at the airfield at the Prison. More and more bad guys were out there holding out. The Prison was an off limits area so no one really knew the story there. They just knew it was ground zero for their nightmares.
The security presence in the colony was accelerated but few could know how much. All humans were ordered to stay in their habitats until the all clear was given. Until Ironhide nailed the lid shut on the 'Cons on Earth, everyone had to stay home near their shelters. If they ever broke free of Earth and headed back here, there would be dead everywhere. It would be tense in the human community for a while longer.
-0-Here and there
They divided the kids up with Venture taking the twinnies, Kaon and his own son, Prima. Kestrel and Tagg had the Primal kids. All of the kids belonging to Ironhide and Ratchet were still at home living there while their ammas and appas fussed over and cared for them. A brief message from Ratchet had stated that all was well at their end, they were 'mopping' things up and it might be either real soon or close to it before they were home.
The big kids were a great help with the little ones but it was still a hard thing because they weren't together. The family was everywhere but home and their house felt empty. Orion 'helped' his ammas as they took care of the chores. An endless stream of questions followed him as he followed them. All of them had to do with 'when dem comed to me, Orion, amma/appa?'
No one had a good idea.
-0-Earth
They hovered over a deep section of the ocean trying to get a bead on the ships which had stopped fleeing. They were deep down in the dark water doing who knew what? It was terribly frustrating. Ironhide was bitching about things with Ratchet. :We got them pinned to the map but they're deep and with short of a metrotitan to take us there, I don't want to try to scope them out: he said.
:I hear ya. We have standing room only here. The 'Cons made the mistake of calling Prime's bluff. He's not the same soft sparked Autobot he used to be:
:Yeah. He's a good bluffer: Ironhide said.
:He shot up two cruisers, took over a battleship and is in the middle of the second one. Most of the crew bridge jumped out of here while the shooting was taking place. We have maybe 500 troops left with most of them either penned in or shot up. They don't appear to be the surrendering kind: Ratchet said as he watched another patient coming as they took his most recent one away. :This could have been worse, much worse:
:Do you have Shrike yet?: Ironhide asked.
:Not yet. I don't think he bit it but you never know. I'd like to verify he's a goner before assuming something that might be wrong: Ratchet said. :That slagger has no fear. Prime is opening up on a troop carrier that's dead in the water nearby. The slaggers aren't even shooting back. They're jumping ship like rats:
:You're insulting rats: Ironhide crabbed as they sat in their ships watching the ocean below them as the last reading of the enemy moving below indicated. It would be a while before they noticed nothing was down there. The enemy shields had regenerated and the four ships had flown the coop.
Ironhide when he found out would be personally extremely pissed.
-0-TBC 5-19-18 edited 6-2-18
ESL: trice (ter-ice) something that's over in a second.
Watched the wedding and I have to say, very nice. If you ever find a person who looks at you like he did her, grab them. My dogs and cats do. ;) Well done, UK. You're welcome. ;)