The Diego Diaries: Guess Who (dd6 599)
Here is today's piece too as a consolation prize for the site not uploading part 598 :D
=0=Salton Sea
"This gets better and better," Prowl said as he leaned over Prime to tell him the newest intel. Prime sat in his command seat staring at Prowl. "We have Shrike. Hercy and Sun picked him up from the rubble of Pulsar's ship."
Prime grinned slightly, then nodded with satisfaction. "You are good with understatement."
"I know," Prowl said with satisfaction. He glanced at the forward view port map. It was filling in well. "We have a lot of prisoners. Furious Storm is coming in to help collect them. Everyone else is following Xantium. What do you want to do with Beta and Omega?"
Prime considered that. "Prime to Omega."
:Omega here:
"We have rounded up a lot of prisoners and have Furious Storm coming to help. It would appear that the last good intel indicated that five battleships and possibly more are in the nebula. There are fighter transports, many shuttles and cruisers and other vessels. It appears that Pulsar overpowered Shrike and acquired his armada. We are interested in assisting Xantium who has been laying waste to everything he can find."
:I will go in to assist, Prime. I would not recommend Beta to come. He is capable of great things but this kind of fighting is not yet his forte: Omega replied.
"Very well. I bow to your greater wisdom," Prime replied.
:Understood; Omega replied. It would take a few moments for his crew to deplane, then his huge form was seen barreling past them in ship mode heading into the mass.
As he passed, Prowl messaged him. "Xantium is in root mode, Omega" he said.
:Understood:
With that, Omega Supreme disappeared into the density to find and assist his brother. It would in all likelihood be epic.
=0=Nearby getting ready to follow
"Hercy to Whirl, Lissie and Steiner."
:We're here, Hercy: several voices replied.
"No sense letting Zee and Omega have all the fun. I'm going in," he said as he sat down in the engineer's seat next to his pilot.
:Count us in: Steiner said as the others agreed.
"Follow me, then link up sensors. Get a good 360 degree spread going as best we can. Fraggers are going to be found if we have to sift this slag inch by inch," Hercy said as he nodded to the pilot. The ship slid forward followed by three other bristling battle shuttles as they disappeared along the path to the Supremes following the trail of fluids, fuel and bits and pieces of ships that showed them the way.
Oh, and the marker buoys helped, too.
=0=Ironhide
He sat on a bench in the shuttle commanded by his Uncle Steiner. Raptor and Jack sat across from him with grins on their faces. Jack glanced at Steiner who was sitting in the engineer's seat monitoring the tactical sensors. "You should have seen the infant fly out of the shuttle when it got all blowed up. He looked so surprised and fragged off, I wish I had a picture."
Ironhide smirked. "That was no fun whatsoever. I think I hit every piece of debris and small asteroid out there before we got here."
"We coasted along in your wake. Thanks for clearing the road ahead," Jack replied as Raptor laughed. Blackjack the Younger was on Lissie's shuttle along with the twins and the rest of their crew. "Both you and Blackjack were assets to the family legend. I wonder where Sun is?" Jack asked.
"He was picked up by Hercy. I think he wounded a big ship all by himself," Steiner said as he glanced back to the big mech sitting by a view port with his gun.
Jack was checking it out as the responsible commander that he was. He also was the living image of the rest of his relatives. It was amusing to see. He grinned at Steiner. "Sounds like him. Good to know where he is, the slagger."
"What's the ship count so far?" Raptor asked as Ironhide picked up a handheld to dial in to the battle stats that Prowl always ran to keep track of everything.
Ironhide read them, then frowned. "Three of our ships, all shuttles are downed. Springer got hauled out because he took a hit and was disabled."
Jack glanced up at the others. "That's one fine mech, that one."
Everyone agreed. "What else, infant?" Jack asked.
"Well, we have a bunch of ships looking for things. The four of us are still moving but City of Praxus and Impactor's Revenge are scuttled. There's another one, too … hm … its not all clear yet. They have more down than us," Ironhide mused.
"There's that," Raptor said with a grin. "Zee took out two cruisers, one battleship and he's after another. Echoes state that there may be as few as nine battleships and as many as twelve in this group. Good. More for all of us."
"What about the rest? Any other ships around?" Ironhide asked.
"There could be as many as 22 other ships of all kinds. They have fighter carriers and fast shuttles. Some of them are very heavily armed but given they go for speed they aren't as armored. This is going to be fragged to get them all," Raptor said as they broke into a clearing. They froze in their seats as they watched the scene beyond their view ports.
Ahead of them in a relatively clear space a massive humanoid machine was having it out with a massive battleship, one that was firing as fast and accurately as it could considering that it was highly disabled. Coming out of the dust and gas clouds nearby, Omega Supreme in ship mode was firing at it, scoring the sides really well.
Xantium had the ship's forward section in his servos, his claw hand nearly cutting the tip of the ship's nose off in the intensity of his grip. He was using his free hand to rip off bits of the vessel. He bore a couple of direct hits on his side from the battleship's gunners which had apparently pissed him off rather than killed him as they apparently hoped.
As he came closer, Omega began to transform. He did it swiftly for a huge mechanism and his forward momentum carried him directly into the battleship. He gripped it with his arms as he rolled and began to spin. When they connected together pieces exploded off the vessel as it came apart at the seams.
Xantium glanced at Omega and when he collided with the battleship it pulled the nose cone off the vessel. Mechs began to spill out everywhere there was a rip in the fuselage, small dark forms spinning out into vacuum. Some were on fire, a circumstance that was extinguished immediately while others tried to control their trajectory with their own flight modalities.
"What the frag ..." Raptor said as he stared at the sight beyond them, the gun in his servo forgotten.
:Hercy to Steiner and Lissie. Whirl? Are you there?: a voice asked calmly over the intercom.
"Uh, we're here, Hercy," Steiner replied.
:How about we give Salton Sea the heads up? This looks like a major rescue: he said with a slight grin in his voice.
"Done deal," Steiner said. "Steiner and battle group to Salton Sea."
:Prime here:
"Prime, Omega and Xantium are dismantling a battleship. We need major clean up at these coordinates. Do you copy?" he asked.
There was a pause, then Prowl was back. :Its broken up. Are you laying buoys:
"We are. Follow them and hurry. They're just about finished and we could use a bigger broom," Steiner said with a grin.
:Understood. Prowl out: He turned to Prime. "We need to go. Apparently, they have a prisoner problem, too."
Prime nodded. "Furious Storm."
:Furious Storm here, Prime: Starscream replied.
"We have another mass pick up. I will leave this scene to you, then follow the buoys, Starscream. Something tells me that we are going to be running into each other pretty soon," Prime said as the Salton Sea began to leave the scene.
:Understood. Warden Gee-Gee can transfer here through the space bridge on your ship: Starscream replied. :I will contact her and her group:
"Understood," Prime said as they began to pick up debris as they moved along the marker line. They wouldn't take much time to get there and when they did it would be a crowded battlefield for everyone.
=0=Earth2
They gathered in the bus, then found seats. The soldiers, Fulton and McFarlane sat near the doorway. Fulton picked up the microphone that the Resort guides used to give the run down of what they would see as they made their way to Earth2 for the conference which would last a week. The guests loaded up, then the hatch locked and the jetway pulled back, a jetway that was transparent steel for the best view a passenger could have walking through it.
The bus began to pull out to traverse along the airfield until they reached Cultural Center Road nearby. The guests were fascinated as Fulton began to explain what they were seeing. "This is the Autobot City Military Airfield, the first one built here. Before the city grew up around it, there was only The Fortress and it above ground. When it was possible to built on the ground, the airfield was enclosed by various buildings, most of them either habitats or support buildings and living quarters for the local sentient mechs, the Supremes and the Aerialbots. Those who were too big to live anywhere else live here."
They drove onward, then took a turn to go through the middle of the main hangar area that housed the Supremes, the Aerialbots, Astrotrain and the Dinobots. They began to approach a set of hangars that were nearly 1,000 feet tall to allow Omega and his family to walk around inside. The view upward to the roof was vertigo inducing.
None of them spoke a word as they entered the open hangar doors to see inside something that had no equal in the annals of human experience. Kappa was sitting on her docking station in a blizzard of cables and boom arms, all of which supported her when she was in recharge, which she was now. Next to her, Gamma was in repose as well. Astrotrain was walking to the doors at the other end with Sky Dive, his beau and best friend. They were laughing about something as Sky Lynx who was here for the games and a party for Gamma followed them. He was usually posted on Cybertron.
There were trucks and support vehicles driving all around the place either toward a sitting mechanism or toward a station that was empty but being prepped for someone to use.
"As you can see, this hangar has to be very tall to accommodate these individuals when they walk around. The tallest among them is nearly 800 feet tall with the average a mere 686 feet. The two sitting bots are in recharge mode, or sleep. They are the great Gamma Supreme and his sister, the wonderful Kappa. They have duty between Diego and here as well as here and Cybertron. The bots in the doorway are Sky Lynx, the only bot that scares Predaking and two others, the former Decepticon transport, Astrotrain and the Autobot Sky Dive. They're very good friends."
A man who was famous for his fortune and businesses glanced at Fulton. "They're friends but they were on opposite sides."
"Its common here. They work together and are friends, family and soldiers on the same side. Mixed families are very common here. There's no animosity between the factions. Until all are one is their creed and life motto."
They drove onward past a door which opened. Grimlock walked out with a data pad, his latest video game obsession. He paid no attention to the bus which was passing him as he tromped along heading for the doors, too.
"Who is that? Is he a Dinobot? I can't remember which one but he looks like one," someone else said with a slight twinge of unease in his voice.
"That's Grimlock. He leads the Dinobots. They're as deadly and ferocious a group of individuals as anyone you will ever know on this or any other world," Fulton said as Corey McFarlane nodded.
McFarlane grinned as Grimlock glanced their way. Corey waved. Grimlock oddly enough waved back.
The men and women on the bus stared at McFarlane. One of them turned in their seat toward him. "You know that guy?"
Corey nodded. "I do. Small world isn't it."
No one said anything more as the bus passed Sky Lynx, Sky Dive and Astrotrain. They waved back to Fulton and McFarlane as well.
=0=Breaking through a clearing to a sight to see
Salton Sea slid into the clearing in time for a big chunk of battleship plating to strike them near the flight deck. It bounced off to spiral away. Two gigantic mechs were tearing apart what was left of a ship, then turned almost as one to fly onward.
In the middle of the mess was a lot of mechs and the odd femme flailing in the frigid cold. As Prime started to call for their rescue, the outlines of three battle shuttles and two cruisers broke through the darkness, three shuttles heading toward them and to the side of Prime's position, the cruisers. They had no more idea that Salton Sea and three battle shuttles were there anymore than Prime knew of them.
However, it was probably safe to say that as of now, everyone knew about everyone else.
=0=TBC 2-21-19 edited 2-22-19
forte: (for-tay) something you can do really well
NOTES! AT LAST!
Valentines Guest chapter 596 . Feb 19
lol Xantium is so bad ass. I wonder how Pulsar is going to react to waking up with no limbs. Are the bots going to finish watching the live action movies including Bumblebee because that one is actually good and I want to see them react to the G1 designs since that's not how they look like and G1 cartoons don't exist in this universe
me: They will watch and comment on the movie. The G1 designs will be critiqued and some of the locals will like some of the designs. Much will be made of Bee and he might have to speak to it on GOOD MORNING, AUTOBOT CITY! ;0)
Pulsar is going to be pissed but that's okay. Right now, they have to put the armada to bed That is the most fun I;ve had in a long time. LOL! HUGS!
cball671 chapter 595 . Feb 17
I'm back for another review. Oh my this chapter...and Zee. I love Zee. I can see this battle in my mind. I can just see Zee ripping that ship apart. I wonder how the Pantheon is reacting to angry Zee? This is good stuff. Question when are you going to update the Chronicles of Orion? I know its been a while but you gotta love the Squirt.
Me: I love Xantium. I like that he's as uncouth and bad ass as the Wreckers. He's their vehicle of choice in most universes and I would think he'd be as hard core as them. I suspect he'd have a list of tattoos of femme names on his shoulder all crossed out but for the current girl, Kappa. LOL! I think he'd be the guy who rode a motorcycle with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in a sleeve. :D:D
The Pantheon might be a good addition. To the LIST! I love it when they peer in to see what the heck is going on. :D
Orion is going to be coming back in. The Chronicles needs more chronicles. :D Thanks for the reminder. I will see what the little minx wants to do. He's a bit on the sharing side, Our Orion. HUGS! :D
Misty Legionnaire chapter 595 . Feb 17
Did Pulsar's prisoner, Shrike, get out? Being immobilized and such, did he get scrunched/blown up with the main ship or the second ship Pulsar captained from? Is he now on one of the two fleeing cruisers?
Me: He's just gotten picked up. He's still in his cage and still mucho enraged. He was with Pulsar but he was abandoned when his ship got squished by Zee. He's now with the Autobots and will have plenty to say. Maybe after Pulsar gets his deletions, he can be in the next cell to Shrike. LOL! I love this universe.
Do you see the other two Supremes tearing apart the fleeing cruisers? Like tug of war style or using them as baseball bats on the ice/rocks? Or is Zee the only one allowed to do root form in space battles? :)
See is a bad ass and Omega is close. Omega has just joined the fun. Tug of war … I LIKE THAT! :D:D:D
With the new linking functionality of the seekers and Dreads, will Starscream and Prime require a team to be on each dread to help going forward? Or send out scouting Dreads with linked Seekers to penetrate nebula/dense areas so there is no hiding spots anymore?
Me: I think they will. Starscream and the Seekers aren't giving up all their secrets. Given that they can speak together and power linking is a real thing, their communications Seekers would be able to do that. It works pretty well but it isn't infallible. There will always be hiding places but they will be easier to find out now with this technique.
Love the continuing story and look forward to the next chapter.
Me: I am delighted to entertain you. HUGS! :D:D:D