The Diego Diaries: Out there on the edge (dd6 397)
-0-On Kappa at the solar well
They held in place, their vastness stupefying to those presently watching them from Kappa. Metroplex and Typhoon were grinning broadly as they carried on an off line conversation with both Thrasher and Invincible as they walked with Prime and his officers to the bridge in Kappa. She was laughing as she weighed in as well, filling the two in on Mars, Cybertron and the project that they had volunteered to undertake. It felt good against their armor, the happiness of the big frames as they stepped through and walked out on the deck of Thrasher.
A tall mech waited for them with a grin. He knelt down on a knee and bowed his helm. "Lord Optimus, I am Thrasher and I am yours to command. Whatever you wish me to do, that will I do."
"Stand, Thrasher," Prime said as he halted before the giant mech.
Thrasher stood and gazed at Prime with emotion. "I never believed the orn would come when I would see a living Prime again. To hear that Cybertron is back in the hands of the Autobots is a revelation that reverberates among our people elsewhere. Tell me what you wish and I will do it."
Prime extended his servo and they gripped each others wrist in the warrior shake. "I need your greatness to help put forward a project that will benefit a species that requires much help to assuage great need. Have you been given the plans and rationale for the effort ahead?"
"I have," Thrasher said. "Hosting aliens and growing things within our confines is a new direction of an old plan. We are looking forward to it and to find peace and harmony among our own kind. That so many of us are on Cybertron is a prideful thing among our frame. We are here to serve them and you without question or reserve."
Prime felt the warmth that always surged through him in the presence of the big frames. Both of these mechs were that in abundance. "Is Invincible here as well? Does he bear pretender tech as well?"
"Most of us do now. He is coming," Thrasher said. "We can meet him wherever you wish."
"Perhaps the bridge," Prime said. He turned to Ratchet. "Can you diagnose their needs there or do you require another spot?"
Ratchet looked around, then back to the two. "I can plug in anywhere but the bridge will do."
"Come with me," Thrasher said as he walked down the corridor. Lights came on as he passed, going out when they walked onward to the elevator banks nearby. Entering, they were up on the command deck in no time. Stepping out, the lights came on as Thrasher walked to the flight console and sat. He turned in his chair. "Do you wish us to wait here or go there for repairs?"
Ratchet considered that. "How much difficulty will it take for you to set down in this configuration? I'm assuming you will do some transformations in the descent?"
"We can do it many different ways," Thrasher said as another big mech walked from an elevator, crossed the deck and knelt on a knee before Prime.
"Lord Optimus … I am Invincible. Command me," he said in a deeply cultured voice.
Prime turned to him and held out his servo. "Rise, Great One, and be welcomed."
Invincible stood, then gripped Prime's servo. "I am honored to be here. I am honored to be chosen to do this."
"We are honored to have you, Invincible. The prodigals return to the fold," Prime said with a grin.
Invincible grinned, then nodded. "A good comparison to our rather lamentable life since The Fall. Now, we can do what we were created to do … serve The People and you."
"We have plans," Ratchet said. "Right now, I think I want to diagnose both of you, then decide if you can land and be worked on there or do it here." He walked to a console, plugged in, then disappeared into the data.
It was silent, then Ironhide turned to both. "We heard you were in Soft Space."
Thrasher nodded. "Its a strange cloud-like existence filled with healing, soft lights and the feeling that you will never be more safe or loved anywhere but there."
"How hard was it to leave?" Ironhide asked. "It sounds like a place to be."
"It was hard but it wasn't. Our function is paramount but there was encouragement there, somehow, to go and grasp life again. That place is still there but we are needed here. I was heavily damaged when a wolf pack found me and helped me to go there. We can move between dimensions. We're multiversal singularities so that isn't much of a problem. It was being here that was. Fortunately, that dimension was located and the word sent out to come. Some of us hiding in plain sight were prevented from leaving on our own or right away but the Titans are looking for all of us."
"There were about what … fifteen of you in total? How many do you know about?" Raptor asked.
Thrasher nodded. "There were. We have six here with the infants, the two of us and two more in Soft Space. Five more are known. It's just a matter of moving them onward into safety and that's the province of Terror."
"Terror?" Blackjack asked.
Thrasher nodded. "He's a fighting mechanism of the titan class. It's his only function. He's our general, our warrior of warriors. He's relentless and as dangerous to those who would seek our harm as anything you could ever know. He's finding the lost, figuring out rescues, then putting them in place. He organized and directs the wolf packs."
"Sounds like my kind of mech," Raptor said with a grin. "So you're telling me that he's a smarter, taller, better looking Xantium?"
"Now, General … that's my mech you're talking about," a chiding voice filled with amusement said over the intercom between ships.
"Kappy deserves only the best. I could tell you stories about Zee, Kappy," Raptor said as he grinned at speakers nearby.
"I am sure you can. Maybe even some Zee hasn't already told me," she replied with a chuckle.
They gabbed a moment exchanging information before Ratchet pulled the plug and turned to them. "I think you're slagging fine for the age and wear you've had. Maybe we can import a few pounds of Soft Space and make me obsolete."
"You mean you aren't now?" Prowl asked before a cuff to the back of his helm took care of that.
Ratchet laughed, then turned to the two who were grinning at both. "How do you want to do this? Here or there? Your command will be my wish as well."
They had a chat with Ty, then a short sweet conversation with Prime here and Jetta over the comm channel to Mars before deciding that home was where the heart wanted to be. Walking to the command chair, Optimus sat, then grinned. "This feels good."
They laughed loudly as Thrasher took the pilot's seat and Invincible turned it over on board his own deck to the drones who were his arms, legs and pilots. He sat in the navigator's chair, then glanced at Prime. "We can land partially transformed given that we have to slot together. Thrasher will go first, transforming his base to match the pad Jetta has built. Then I will descend onto mine. We can settle, transform into each other, then begin to make the rest. Most of my infrastructure will be off limits since I have the functionality of the facility and the dome to maintain as well as hold stores for the facility. I will provide one fourth of the space the aliens will use to work and live, but the rest will be maintained securely to run the facility and all its functions."
Prime nodded. "I give the operational control to both of you. Please work with Jetta and Public Works to make this happen. I have been working on this project for some time now, especially with designs and implementation of the basic steps require to land you. We have landed big ships on world many times but never two dreadnoughts together or even alone in as intricate a manner as this. This is new territory. I give you leave to do what you will. Flight Command at Fortress Maximus will be your control."
"Max is here then," Invincible said as he turned toward Prime.
"He is. He was the first to come, then Metroplex." Prime glanced at Ratchet. "We better all hold on."
"Have you told Autobot City?" Ratchet asked as he gripped a chair.
"This entire project has been kept under lock and key. The formatting of the pads was part of that effort. I recorded a message to be played once it was discovered what we were needing to do to help both Thrasher and Invincible get repairs and medical attention. It will be played on the news." He glanced at Prowl. "Please let Mars know we are coming and have the recording released to the public please. Give them the lead time to receive us."
Prowl nodded, then walked to Communications. Plugging in, he sent the requisite messages, then walked back. "It's done."
-0-The Hourly News, Mars
"And we just received a message from the Office of the Primes. This message is about the arrival of two ships on world and we will play it now," Aleph said as the screen changed to the Seal of the Primes. That, too, changed as Optimus appeared.
"Good morning, Autobot City and everyone in the colony. This is Optimus Prime and I am here to tell you that shortly from the moment of this broadcast, the colony will be supervising the landing of two dreadnought class ships returned to the fold from hiding all these long endless vorns. They are Thrasher and Invincible, two of the most fabled members of their class to ever grace Cybertronian history. They will be landing south of Terra and north of the human habitation districts. There has been construction there for some time as the City Engineer, Jetta of Iacon worked out the pads upon which both these mechanisms will rest.
"They have just arrived at the solar well and I am presuming are in good health. We are honored and delighted to have them here and willing to work for the betterment of the colony and our people. The airfields will close within fifteen minutes of their arrival in orbit of Mars and will stay closed during the entire time of their descent. Once they are secured and settled, the ban will be lifted. Highways are being closed in a tight radius around the sites and I would like everyone in the area to go inside buildings or stay away entirely. Given their great size, the energy displacement of their landing will be extreme.
"When they have accomplished that and their infrastructure support is in place, the project that I have asked them to participate in will be announced. Until then, stay back and stay away. Anyone who cannot follow these directions is placing their life in danger and will be arrested. I am very happy that two of our own are once again home and in due time, I expect that you will be able to tell them as well yourselves. Until then, keep back and keep safe. Until all are one," Prime said and then it was back to the news where they would discuss this, then send teams to film a stupendously amazing event not seen since the age of exploration after the Functionalist Dominion was put down.
Billions upon thousands of billions of tons of sentient steel would be descending from the sky casting long shadows over the city as millions of Martian Cybertronians and thousands of humans would stare from windows and safe distances away. Two monster ships would blot out the sun as they made a maneuver for the ages. Among them on the ground, having bridged to the closest safe spot nearby, the steps of Terra, Jetta and his crews would be watching both come in with the same sense of awe as everyone else.
Ratchet would be watching them with a critical optic as he made a list of slag to fix.
It would be awesome.
-0-TBC 6-28-18 edited 7-1-18