The Diego Diaries: Mission (dd6 590)
=0=Early morning on the way to muster
It was inky dark in The City as the mission group coalesced on the airfield. The night sky was a velvety black dappled with stars of the galaxy uninhibited by ground lights. Beyond in the heavens the light of two Triggers in parking orbit over the colony could be made out along with the usual satellites and ship traffic doing the business of the Autobots. Hidden by the Triggers from easy detection, another huge bridge, conventional in design flew beside them compliments of the Decepticons come time back.
Towers beyond outlined themselves against the sky, a vast forest of them with many apartments showing lights, mechs and femmes coming from or going to work while others were up for any number of reasons. There were night owls among the bots as well as humans. Traffic and signage lights glowed in the cold darkness and the night lights of public buildings including the Temple some distance away made the scene less scary and more 'normal'. Any human who lived in a city would recognize this place right away, the familiarity of it would be that much like home.
There was traffic around the airfield but the streets were devoid of most. A number of delivery trucks were driving here and there, bringing wares or whatnot to the business community, many of whom ran their operations all night and day long. A horse patrol was chatting with soldiers near Club Cybertron, catching up with friends before they reported to the Master of the Muster. Seekers were gathered at their usual blast off spot, chatting and laughing together as they waited to be called to go. Soldiers walking past stopped to chat, then moved onward as small vehicles drove everywhere doing everything that was necessary to launch.
Three Supremes, Omega, Xantium and Beta were already on the line with Phobos as a medical platform, Salton Sea as the command ship for Prime and Furious Storm, a renovated 'Con ship that was going to hold Starscream and the Seeker command from now on. Prime and the others were still in the Ops Center as Ratchet ambled along, data pad in servo as he considered the situation as it pertained to him. There would be the massive medical capability of Phobos, the runabouts on the Medical Auxiliary Transport ship that would come with them, the one which carried all their fast rescue and transport vessels that would bring wounded to him on Phobos, literally dozens of field medics, triage specialists, emergency specialist doctors and nurses, orderlies who knew how to shoot and fight, orderlies that didn't, medical technicians and three priests.
It was the usual quota of science and spirituality that helped him get the job done. They were loaded with supplies, parts and chutzpah. All in all, they were ready to go.
Ratchet aimed toward the Salton Sea where a lot of mechs he knew were gathered. He would stop by and shoot the shit as the humans said while the amma and appa of Sil of the Mentorship program walked across the tarmac heading for the same ship, The Salton Sea. Capo and Buros were two of the three reporters with a mech, Stamina who wrote military news for the Autobot City Daily News was the last. They halted beside Jazz who grinned at them. "You made it."
"Reporting in as ordered," Capo said with a grin. "I suppose this is our ship?"
"It is. We're going aboard shortly. I'll show you where you can set up. A word, though. Given its a mission that hasn't been announced we'll be checking your stories before you put them out. Prime always announces these things after they conclude and we don't want anyone to be afraid so we control information until its okay to release," Jazz said.
They nodded.
"Understood," Stamina replied.
They chatted a while as mechs came and some went, mostly pilots to pre-flight their vessels. By the time Prowl and the others could be seen exiting the courtyard of The Fortress, most of the mechs had their assignments and were ready to go. As the leadership got closer, the Seekers lifted off and were headed for space to form up. It was foreboding and exciting for everyone as they began to enter their ships in earnest, the usual compliment of humans joining them on Salton Sea as well. In minutes, they would be on their way.
=0=The Hourly News, 0339 AM on the TMC, Martian Time
"For the last six joors, the Autobot Armed Forces have been preparing a battle group to attend to a mission in space. What there is known of the flight is as follows. The Office of Strategic Information and Communications headed by Commander Jazz of Kaon states that a combination Decepticon and civilian battle group has been spotted on deep space radar making their way in a roundabout manner to the space occupied by Razorclaw and his coalition near Episilon Eridani, 10.5 light years from our local sun and a sector cordoned off by the forces of the Prime.
"Some time ago, the Decepticon combiner leader, Razorclaw of Tarn settled in this location and was boxed in by Autobot forces who maintain a demilitarized zone between our local space and the sector they're allowed to occupy as per the orders of Optimus Prime. It was stated that they'd be allowed to remain as long as they didn't give any threat to anyone in our local space or in the surrounding sectors of their base. A matter of balance has been achieved and is maintained through the vigilance of the forces that occupy that DMZ, the titanic figures of Typhoon, Dangerous, Genesis, Quasar and Fireball, all dreadnought class vessels along with the metrotitan ships, Quadrus, Saber, Santee, Verilus, Lumi and Tru who are stationed there. The Dreadnought Class super ship, Clipper maintains the balance of power near Caminus in the Tau Ceti system.
"Not much information is being released about the foe except to say that the forces going to speak with them are designed to overawe and get them to leave. They're also more than sufficient to make short work of any among them who think that they may continue into the Prime's sphere of influence or any part of the Empire that's in Autobot hands. More information will be released when the situation is clearly understood and the participants identified. Reports will be forthcoming through the news division of IntraCom.
"They've been working on the armada for six joors and will be standing out at 0400 on the TMC. In exactly 22 minutes, they'll be leaving and hopefully will be returning in triumph later this afternoon. The Hourly News will be covering the fleet when it leaves and when it returns. All information about this mission will be shared as released. Right now, we'll take a moment to review information from the Community Bulletin Board about road closures near Unidad Habitat and the roundabout intersection rebuilds near the Mall of the Tri-Cities. Also, club news and the menus for schools will be scrolled on the chyron news crawler that accompanies this broadcast at the bottom of the screen as well. We'll be back in a moment," Candide said as the camera left him to show the board.
=0=0400 on the TMC
They had begun to leave, Seekers and small ships that would do duty in battle. Shuttles, small heavily armed fast fighters, something new to the arsenal getting its first test here climbed up into the sky from their stationary parking spots on the flight line to disappear into the night. Next came the battle cruisers, all of them big, heavily armed and stocked with whatever was needed for the order of battle, soldiers, small fighters and guns. It was then that the three Supremes rose up to disappear making room for the three battleships, Phobos, Salton Sea and Furious Storm. They motored up to disappear as well taking a backseat in the order of flight as everyone found their place at Trigger 1.
Miler who formulated their position glanced at Wheeljack at the conn, then nodded. "We are go, 'Jack."
"Good," 'Jack said, then called open call to the fleet. "Mission 1, you're go in the order of flight. We'll keep the door open. Good hunting and come back in one piece."
"Roger that, Trigger 1," Revo's voice could be heard as he sat at the pilot's station on Salton Sea.
As the blossom of infinity opened, the battle group began to move. 500 Seekers flew into the bridge, the spear tip of the weapon Prime was bringing. Behind him came the shuttles and fighters, then the battle cruisers, the Supremes and then the three battleships. Into the storm they flew, then the singularity fell to a pinpoint as the tunnel of time and space took them to their planned and perfectly executed location on the other side of the Orion arm.
=0=There
They flew out of a huge energy storm, the Seekers immediately making an array. Behind them everyone else came and found their place almost instantly. The space around them was the remains of a gaseous nebula and thus, the readings were the typical blur and crackle of information distorted by masses of energy all around them. They linked up and the picture cleared. Far ahead of them, a large battle group commanded by a ferocious smart mechanism was heading their way. They were at the point their commander wanted Ominous and Razorclaw to be.
He wasn't going to get what he wanted.
=0=On Salton Sea
Prime sat on the command chair watching out the forward view ports all of the swirling and shining energy beyond it. With their multi-faceted optics, there was little that they couldn't find a setting to see even when humans were feeling their way around in the darkness. He'd seen this sort of thing a million times but each time there was a reason to be constant and aware. He idly wondered if he would ever be able to see the beauty of a nebula without wondering what it was hiding.
Nearby, Capo, Stamina and Buros sat watching him and everyone else. All three of them were veterans of such ventures so they weren't afraid. They were intense in their interest in what was happening and took notes from time to time, recording their impressions, what was going on, who was doing it and what was expected.
Nearby in their 'war cocoon', the box designed to protect them even if the ship blew up, Will Lennox, Bobby Epps, Niall Graham and Gavin Pritchard sat in comfort, belted into their seats in the front with the best view. Sometimes in the middle of havoc, it was almost too good of a view. They watched the mechs, the darkness of the nebula, dark to them and waited. Something bad was coming and they were going to see it up close and personal.
Oh, joy.
Close by watching as well, a figure stood. She was human, middle aged, nondescript but pleasant appearing. She wore a long yellow dress and a sweater but no habitat gear. Her hair was a faded red and her eyes kindly but missing nothing as she watched, too. She was average height but sturdy appearing, no one who would stand out in a crowd but rather similar to everyone else you might pass on the street but not really notice. It was instructive that she watched behind Prime and even as she did, no one else on the bridge noticed her back.
Ratchet walked onto the bridge, passing her without a glance, then paused beside Prime. "How is it? Are we there yet, Dad?"
Prime grinned. "We are on time and in place. They are not here yet. Prowl says they are on the sensor net, however."
"Well, that's special," Ratchet said with a chuckle. "I'm going back to Phobos. Anything you want me to tell Granny for you?"
Prime grinned. "Nope," he said with a chuckle of his own.
"Okay," Ratchet said as he walked back to the elevator. "Bring the hurt, Optimus."
Prime watched Ratchet go, then turned back to the forward view. As he did, he didn't notice the human female. Neither did Ratchet. The figure watched a bit longer, then disappeared from the deck.
=0=Pulsar
He sat on his command throne and watched the forward screen. A huge group was waiting at the coordinates. Who it was, whether it was Ominous and Razorclaw combined, he didn't know or care. He'd been doing this a long time. This should be of no consequence either. His ship flew with efficiency and speed toward the next step in his plan to build an empire. As he watched the forward view port, a nondescript human female materialized behind his chair.
=0=TBC 2-10-19 2-19-19
NOTES:
Valentines Guest chapter 589 . 7h ago
How much of the IDW universe is canon in your story? Because you've mentioned pieces of it before, mostly about Prowl and Prowl has a lot of drama in the IDW universe like with his exes Tarantulas and Chromedome (he really upgraded in boyfriends when he landed OP huh lol) and all the shady special ops stuff he did when he was head of spec ops and it would be super interesting to see one of the good guys wrestle with ghosts from his past like how the high castes did. Also OP and P hate each other in IDW so that's pretty funny considering their relationship here. Can't wait for the next update. Sorry for dumping all my ideas and questions on you. Sincerely, that one guest who keeps writing about P&P (because they're the best) and Valentines Day
ME: I use all the universes in the story, pillaging all of them that I can find. I love them all and the trick is making them fit together. The relationships between characters in some of them is different and sometimes adversarial. Prowl could ring Prime's neck sometimes and he's so manipulative and Machiavellian that I love him. Tossing tables and desks is his thing. I like to take those foibles and make them running jokes. Ratchet is a swinging party guy and Prowl is a cold hard nosed bastard sometimes. Prime has a habit of turning himself in to the humans for everything and on and on it goes. Springer and Drift HATED each other when Drift joined the Wreckers. Its a hoot to try and make them seem plausible given the range of portrayals they have. I use all unis for this epic. LOL! I love that he has boyfriends in other portrayals. I love that aspect of this world.
There is going to be more introspection of the characters besides the 'Cons. Scar has that going on himself. Prowl and Barricade were a part of that, too, and I'm going to develop more including Drift in relation to Springer who doesn't give a damn now what Drift was or did, that's how complete those two are together.
Your ideas and questions are AWESOME! Everyone is welcome to comment and suggest. This story is sort of interactive that way. If I can use them and fit them in, I do. Some of my best notions came from readers. All readers commentary is welcome. HUGS, honey. :D:D:D
Guest chapter 589 . 21h ago
And here I thought your fingers have frozen in the Alaskan cold, since the updates have been scarce since December. But it is just the amount of snow then...
I was wondering if the bots ever downloaded the language files from the insecticons they captured? If they did, could Bob talk?
Thank you for continuing this, and good luck for digging yourself out of the snow banks!
ME: BWAHAHA! We're getting more snow but its gotten warmer. HUZZAH! I never thought about that. Brilliant idea. Bob is sort of special ed, poor little baby. He's been neglected, starved, kicked out and freaked out so it will be interesting to see if anyone can do that. I'll have Sunstreaker look into it since Bob thinks he's his mommy. :D They already concluded that Bob is stunted but maybe another check up is in order. SEE! READER INPUT! BWAHAHA! IT'S GREAT! :D:D HUGS!
Guest chapter 589 . Feb 9
lol the idea of prim and proper Prowl of Praxus getting bonded to the PRIME OF CYBERTRON in the Cybertronian version of a Vegas shotgun wedding/elopement and his grandgenitors clutching their pearls in horror is hilarious. Could you imagine a romcom scene where one of Prowl's exes objects or tries to stop the ceremony and Shadow and Zenith invoke on their rebellious grandson lol. (ps I'm the one who mentioned they never had a ceremony and Valentines Day and I never actually thought you would respond to my reviews but thank you for responding and liking my dumb random thoughts. Love this series!)
ME: I do, too, especially since you put that image into my brain. Maybe they can get wasted in Vegas, go to the chapel and tie the knot human style. BWAHA! I love a cinematic mind. I actually see the story as a movie in my head just as you do with the romcom thing. LOL! I wish I could show the movie I see but since I can't, I try and write it as close as I can to it. I'm adding Valentine's day because its such a good way for Ratchet to goad Prowl. As for Prowl's grandgenitors ... it sort of explains his Gothic youth. LOL! I love your ideas and comments. None of them are dumb or unwanted. Its my mantra to always try and reply to every note. Hugs, honey. Glad to have you with. :D
leoness chapter 589 . Feb 9
aw, hercy. and darn it! you would think the pioneer school would do better adjusting for a smart little mech with a vocal glitch.
ME: Hercy is a good guy. He's actually designed after my Uncle John who was just like him, a WWII Marine, Marine MP and Oregon state trooper. He looked like a Prussian drill sargent and had a personality and heart like a kitten. LOVE him and he's Hercy's inspiration. :D:D That school needs to get it together. Orion is not going to be left alone if Ironhide has any say and I love it when he says so. LOL! HUGS!
HUGS EVERYONE!