The Diego Diaries: Hide and Seek (dd6 593)
=0=On the ground in Autobot City
They stood at the windows of their habitat staring into the sky. Somewhere up there were two Trigger space bridges and one very large conventional type working their magic in fixed orbits over the airfield. Circling Saturn where the War World space station was receiving its final checks before transport to the 'Silk Road' near the pathway of the migrations and main flight lane to Cybertron, another Trigger was helping speed things up.
The huge station would be a destination trading post for anyone who came by on the very old and very busy trading route, a place to refuel, get supplies and trade through the barter system. Those who didn't have the cash or trade to get their needs met would have it made so by the grace and order of the Prime of Cybertron. They would retrieve their reputation from the gutter no matter what it took with this glittering shiny marvel of technology.
Such was the power of math.
It would be around Saturn that yet another War World-style station would be put into construction. That one would be moved to the territory that separated Ominous and Razorclaw from polite society to work as a defensive fortification, It would keep the two slaggers from augmenting their troops. All of those with bad intentions coming down the arm from the back reaches of territory still held by the Decepticons would face its glittering guns, the fraggers. They would have that feature to contend with some fine orn when they tried.
So sayeth Optimus Prime.
There was even talk that smaller specially constructed space stations would be built and placed here and there in the solar system with a big one halfway between Mars and Earth. That one would be a science and exploration facility with humans and bots working together for the benefit of Earth. It would be managed, they said, by the Resort At Autobot City Corporation as another destination for tourists to stop and enjoy themselves.
They said, whoever 'they' were.
That was still in the chat stages but what was real and happening now was the bright beam of energy that was pouring into the sky in a tight format to recharge the Triggers. It was streaming out of the geosynchronous energy chamber in a highly secured area on the highway to Industrial Park Cities that fed all of them massive amounts of energy to operate.
Every so often, all flights both in and out of Mars were held up to allow refueling from the chamber on the ground. It was a highly secured and massive building with retractable dome that allowed the stream to shoot upward and hit the refueling ports on the Triggers and the other bridge with pinpoint accuracy. It was one of the few places even the most veteran humans here weren't allowed to enter.
It was critically important, highly secured and only Prime carried the keys that could start it. It was, apparently, part of the duties of a Prime to have them. No one else did. As it was, they were filming the stream which was huge and powerful as it shot upward to link up with precision to the energy ports and docks that were placed underneath the huge machines.
"That's enough energy to power half the Earth for a long time," Sheila said as she watched from the table where she was eating breakfast.
"I'd love to see it but I don't think it's going to happen. I heard that not even Will Lennox is allowed inside," Michio Yamaha said.
It would be a quiet interlude for the two hours it took to power up all three bridges for another six months.
=0=Out there
He streaked into the nebula flying past clouds of dust and energy that shimmered when struck with particles that flew everywhere around them. Inside, his crew sat in their seats watching as Xantium charged ahead jonesing for a fight.
"This mech is the mech," Topio said as he flipped the safety on his gun on and off idly. "Better get ready for some action."
At that moment, a blinding light coming from nowhere struck Xantium causing him to rock violently. Fortunately, his crew compliment was settled and had magnetized to their seats as most veteran soldiers did flying into battle. Xantium bellowed, then straightened his flight path as he scanned for the one who shot him.
"ZEE! YOU OKAY!?" Castle asked as he scanned the big mech. He was the crew's medic slash sniper.
"SOME FRAGGER SHOT ME! THE *FRAGGER*! I WILL *FRAG HIM UP*!" he roared. "GET INTO THE SAFETY CHAMBERS! *NOW*!"
Without a word, everyone in the ship jumped up and ran for the back to slip into the line of safety chambers that were fixed to the bulkhead for the rare moment that one of them shifted from ship to root mode with crew on board. Now was that time. They'd barely slammed the hatch doors shut on their chambers when the area around them began to slide and break up its configuration.
Xantium, Supreme bad ass and bad boy of the Supreme titans was transforming into root mode to slap ass from here to Alpha Centauri.
Nearby, sliding blindly through space, The City of Helex was looking for something to shoot. They caught a flash of something nearby, then swung around in time to see Xantium Supreme snap into place, fully transformed into a giant raging, searingly angry mech. His guns came on line and so did his thrusters as he cast around for something to shoot.
"ZEE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Whirl called from City of Helex.
:I'M GOING TO RIP SLAG APART! DON'T GET IN THE WAY!: he called out, then he began to fly into the dimness with his gun in servo. He was going to count coup if it was the last thing anyone else ever did. He was gone in seconds.
"Follow that mech," Whirl said as he grinned faintly. "Hurry or there's going to be nothing left for the rest of us."
They sped forward following his trail and when they broke clear of a hail of small rocks and ice particles they were able to see the show. Xantium had found a quarry, maybe not the one who shot him but at the moment he wasn't picky. He was chasing a cruiser who was picking up steam. It was clear that they knew he was chasing them.
"Frag," Whirl said with a chuckle. "Look and learn, infants," he said to the others. "We're watching a Master At Work."
Huge laughter greeted that as everyone moved to that side of their shuttle to watch. It would be epic.
=0=Out there: Three mechs looking for another one
They flashed past a ship, then another loomed ahead. Whose ship it was, they didn't know but Jack steered toward it so they could they slam into it then magnetize immediately. It was fortuitous all around that they did.
=0=Floating on an ice ball heading toward what looked like open space shortly before
They watched as Xantium flew in with a trio of shuttles. They had no way to get their attention and their calls went unnoticed. That is, they didn't reach Xantium and the boys but they did reach a battle shuttle belonging to the bad guys who sheered a tight turn to come after them.
:Frag: Sunstreaker said as he glanced at the others. They were getting their guns ready even as he began to dig out his hook from the rocky fragment that was their taxi. Shots began to be fired as the shuttle bore down on them but before it could ram the fragment and destroy everyone, the Autobots were free and flying away from it. When the shuttle hit it and plowed on, they would have four Autobot limpet fish clinging magnetically to its side.
=0=Salton Sea
Prime watched the map as it filled in with a tension he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Having peace was a thing that'd been soothing and healing, even in the few times they had to step it up. This was turning out to be the worst intervention they'd made but he was incurably optimistic.
Ratchet watched Prime then the map. Somewhere out there, his old mech and most of his adult family were flailing around. Experience told him two things. It was going to be alright and it was going to be fragged. The only variable was the caliber of the mechs and femmes doing the duty. He was leaning toward things meeting somewhere in the middle. The energy he was getting from Ironhide wasn't good.
=0=Ironhide and Pulsar
He stared at Pulsar, a mech he had seen only on data readouts. The Warrior Elite program that Megatron had started was listed as a war crime by the Autobots and the reformed government. No one had a very good defense against them short of Metroplex sitting on them. This one was worse because he was very educated and very, very smart and tactical.
That could work in his favor or not. Narcissistic egotism glazed with a sense of invincibility was also a byproduct of this program. He'd never met a phase six mechanism who wasn't completely insane, a psychotic maniac, a stone killer and/or full of shit. This one was sort of a number of things and it didn't add up to anything good.
"Prime wasn't being very neighborly, Ironhide."
"Prime has to protect three billion of our people. He hasn't got time for fraggers. Do I have to draw you a picture?" Ironhide said coldly.
Pulsar grinned. "You always were intemperate."
It was silent a moment, then the mess ahead of them cleared and the sight outside caught everyone by surprise…
Xantium came up on the ship he was chasing which was aware of him and had turned guns to face him. Zee was coming over the top and angling down to the ship making their ability to shoot him problematic. He subbed his gun, then reached out his arms to grip the vessel. He gripped it hard and began to rip entire panels of its hull off, flinging them outward as he crept up the vessel's long body.
When he reached midway, he wrapped his arms around it then squeezed. The vessel began to buckle and bend as the massive oppressive power of a Supreme mechanism began to hug the life out of it.
In the vast arsenal and population of the Cybertronian people only a metrotitan or dreadnought was stronger than a Supreme mechanism.
An Autobot battle shuttle came up behind him, then evaded the scene as huge pieces of the cruiser began to shed from the vessel. The stern broke off and fell away, trailing fuel and fire as it disappeared into the darkness. It was then that a flash of light told the story as it blew up and turned to confetti which was flying upward past everyone.
Zee was bellowing, though there was no sound in space, then he flipped over and rolled himself taking the cruiser with him. It was then that it broke in two large pieces and flew away from him shedding its interior contents including widely flailing mechs and the odd femme.
It was surreal and terrifying as Xantium floated in space watching with enraged satisfaction as the cruiser flew away to fly no more. He pulled his gun, shot the big pieces, then headed onward looking for more prey. The shuttle following, an Autobot vessel slowed and began to collect the survivors, some hurt and others not. They were stowing them in chains inside as the ship bearing Ironhide and Pulsar slid by.
"Get us out of here," Pulsar said with a grave expression.
:XANTIUM! COME BACK TO THE FIGHT! I'M CAPTIVE ON A VESSEL THAT'S PASSING BY! DO YOU HEAR ME, ZEE!?: Ironhide called out on a heavily encrypted line that bots shared on the battlefield. :HURRY!:
Xantium slowed, then turned around with his big, big gun. He began to fly back with a grim expression on his handsome face. :I hear ya, Ironhide. Be ready to evade incoming: he said as he broke through a cloud of ice and snow to see the battle cruiser, the twin of the one he just crushed beginning to pick up speed. He grinned, then opened a channel to it. :I AM XANTIUM SUPREME! PREPARE TO BLEED, FRAGGERS!: he said.
Sitting on his command chair, Pulsar glanced sharply at Ironhide who was grinning at the screen. "Call off your dog, Ironhide. He's going to kill you, too."
"You don't get it, fragger. I'm prepared to do that to save Cybertron and Mars. What are you prepared to do now that Xantium Supreme has you in his sights?" Ironhide asked with a grin.
Nearby, flying toward the scene blindly, two enemy battle shuttles bearing unseen two sets of Autobots clinging to them were hunting both the enemy and a way out. They had no idea that a shuttle was cleaning up after a Supreme mechanism, that their boss was being hunted by the same bot for an encore and that the mass of the nebula was getting to be a crowded and finite battle field.
=0=TBC 2-15-19 2-18-19
NOTES will be answered tonight. :D
Its canon about the energy chamber keys and a Prime. :D