The Diego Diaries: Onward (dd6 623)
=0=A few joors later in the Ops Center, Autobot City
Prime sat in the conference room with his senior officers, scientists and General Glenn Morshower. Will Lennox had called him to come and all were gathered to hear the news.
"We have two ringers in the community of humans who are members of the N.E.S.T garrison, Horst Mueller of Germany and Colin Anderson of Australia. They are on the Beta Striker team and work ostensibly for the Resistance," Prowl began as he summarized. "We found our tech in their quarters, ingenuously designed to be difficult to find. There is no corresponding tech at the Consulate where most of their duties are focused.
"The tech includes a micro communications device that was found embedded in books in their possession, a device that can create messages that can then be ghosted out on the backs of our own messaging. They sent and received messages to and from Earth over the garrison's system utilizing these devices which allowed them to go to Earth and back undetected.
"They also have tech that allows them to come and go without alerting sensors, that establishes their signals where they want them to be scanned and not on their person when they come and go as well as creates a screen behind which they can do what they want, go where they want to go and not be seen.
"Understand how it works… it's a device that's worn under their skin, one that bends light to create a blank or null space around them. Dampening if you will sight and sound for someone else around them if they look at them. They don't see the human standing there though they are actually, so that person can come and go without being noted or seen. It works both with those around them and with sensors as well. Given that their signal is registering where they want it rather than on them, themselves, they can do what they want, come and go and not get caught. The security system reads them as being in their quarters rather than marauding around."
:Who made this tech, Prowl?: Lennox asked as he and Morshower sat on the table in chairs, their agitation growing with every revelation.
"This is the handiwork of Jhiaxus and Shockwave. Understand … that you're there existing in the same space as others. You're there like a ghost. You're still there and because you are you still have to stay out of the way of others so they don't run into you. But they can't see you. It creates a blank spot that somehow reflects the rest of the room where the enabled individual is, letting them be present but utterly unseen and undetected. It seems to trick the brain or processor in some way from seeing or even hearing that someone is there. They can do jumping jacks and no one will notice, so completely does it create a 'dampening' of the senses. How? I don't know until its taken from them and deconstructed."
:Then it cloaks them in every way even as they stand in front of you: Morshower asked.
Wheeljack nodded. "It's slagging ingenuous. It has their fingerprints all over it, Shockwave and Jhiaxus. We heard they were working on it but even Sentinel banned it. He didn't want someone to shiv him with it. It's banned tech. No one is supposed to have this stuff. It can create havoc on a society if someone can come and go, doing whatever they want and no one can see. You can't have a free and protected society with this even among us with our fragged up situation, thus it's outlawed tech. Even the Tyrest Treaties bans it."
Everyone glanced at Prime.
Then Lennox stepped closer. :What's the plan then?:
"We have it discovered and outlined. Perceptor and Blaster are working out how we can overtake it without allowing the ringers to know we did. We want to control its outgoing and incoming traffic. That way we can trace this on Earth and know what they have going on with their plans," Prime said. "I do not want them to know that we are in control because they are going to stay free for now, though heavily surveilled. They can send their messages which will be relayed to us. We can read them, create our own and send those onward. The longer we can string both sides along, then the better chance we have of getting to the heart of this cancer."
Morshower nodded. :I wish I could tell you how this makes me feel, Prime. Having infiltration in the teams on Earth is bad enough but this? It's going to be a shit storm when this is known. It's going to be a real problem for N.E.S.T. when the world finds out:
"It shouldn't, for N.E.S.T. anyway," Ratchet said. "I've been reading up and all over the world extremists and racists have been infiltrating armed forces everywhere on Earth. Neo Nazis, extremists of all manner and kinds … bigots. All of them are trying to get their members into the militaries of most of the countries of the world. This isn't limited to N.E.S.T. Consider as well … we found ours and have them corralled."
:Maybe. I'm awfully pissed off about this: Morshower said as Lennox nodded. :I agree with you that the situation should be limited to a few of us. What is the plan about the human guests? They go home in three days and they know:
"I am going to release heavily redacted information to the press here and it will be broadcast to the Earth through the MCA and our broadcast channels there. We are going to give it straight and unembellished. Then we wait to see what happens.
"Sky's report is not due for a while and the interviews of everyone are still underway. The remaining mercenaries will stay where they are." Prime sat back. "I know that will annoy a lot of individuals but for now I want them safe and alive. What is the progress on their interviews?"
"I did them earlier," Prowl said with a slight grin…
=0=At the Prison Control Center, the room where the human holding stations were situated
Prowl watched as a box was pulled out of the wall and carried to the conference room next to the big room where the human mercenaries were being held in protective custody. The first one was Todd Baseman, a nervous but ultimately belligerent individual. Prowl sat, stared at Baseman a moment, then leaned closer. "I want to know what you know about the murder of Silvio Lombardi. Someone is killing mercenaries and I want to know why."
Baseman was standing next to the window of the little plexiglas-like container. :How the hell would I know? I didn't like Silvio. He was sucking up to Owen Harris and getting on everyone's nerves. He went his own way and we didn't cross paths often:
"When did you last see him? Make sure you think about your answers. We have security cameras all over the place," Prowl said. "Lying would throw a very dark shadow over you."
Baseman stared at him. :I saw him at lunch that same day. He was eating with some girl he was chasing, someone from Brazil who was working at Earth2. He was happy and they had a conversation before she left to go back to work and he headed toward the gym. After that, I never saw him again:
"Who did he associate with besides her? Did he have problems with anyone? Did you know of any reason why someone would kill him or even have arguments?" Prowl asked.
:He didn't associate with us. Harris liked him and so did Rick. He hung out with them. Harris was grooming him for bigger and better things, I think. He was spending time with that girl and I don't know about the rest. He didn't confide in me. He didn't confide in any of us. He just worked the angles to become indispensable to Harris and his son.
:Beliveau liked him as well. They both spoke French and Italian with each other: Baseman said. :I have no idea who killed him or why. Someone has a problem with mercenaries. This is the second one. What are you going to do about that, Prowl?:
Prowl considered that, then leaned closer. "I'm going to keep you locked up here until we find the killer. Unless, of course, you want to go back there and take your chances..."
Baseman glared at him but didn't add more. He was carted out and Prowl's 'favorite' mercenary was brought in case and all. He was put on the table, then the youngster walked out to wait in the hallway.
It was silent a moment as Prowl and Jim Johnson took the measure of the other. He walked to the edge of the case, then paused there to stare at Prowl with hard appraising optics. :I would hate to be you:
"Why?" Prowl asked, his demeanor bored, cold and professional. The cop Prowl from Praxus was here, large and in charge.
:Think about it. You're fucking cars. You eat oil. You blew up your world and you have fucked up relationships. How fucked is that?: Johnson asked. He wasn't afraid. He was safe in the container unless Prowl picked it up and shook it hard. He was at this moment having spent a day in the can ready to take that chance. James Johnson hated the Cybertronian people.
"And you? You're in jail again. You don't appreciate being one of eight billion that can live on another planet. You have no sense nor do you have appreciable masculinity in any degree I would consider necessary to be considered a man. You lie, trash talk individuals who are light years more advanced and you work for a basket case like Harris. You even got kicked out of N.E.S.T for being a bigoted half wit. I find you hilarious. Please … continue," Prowl said.
Johnson glared at him, then walked to the couch to sit. He stared at Prowl. :You may have fooled some but you won't fool me. Even if I knew what this was about and who was doing it, which I don't, I wouldn't tell you, bastard. Whoever it is is still a human. Semper fi:
"Then maybe we put you back and test my hypothesis that someone among the humans is hunting and killed the mercs. You can be the bait. If they kill you, I'm right. If they don't, you're still Jim Johnson, half a man." Prowl leaned closer. "How about it? Want to go back? Want to see if someone is stalking you? Ready to stick a knife in your gut without being seen in a habitat filled with cameras? I need a test subject dumb enough to do that for us."
Johnson grinned at Prowl, a visual devoid of humor. :I wouldn't tell you if they were sitting here in this box with me:
"Then you volunteer? You're stating that you're the killer," Prowl countered.
Johnson's smirk faded. :No. I'm just saying that I'm no snitch:
Prowl leaned in again. "Guess who else isn't a snitch? The killer."
The interview was over at that point...
Ratchet snickered. "Nice work."
"I try," Prowl said dryly. "We didn't get anything of value from them but it was rather entertaining to try."
Prime nodded. "They stay there until we figure this out."
Morshower sat down again heavily. :When will you release the story, Prime?: he asked.
"I have sent a statement to IntraCom and they will play it on The Hourly News shortly."
They sat together waiting for the broadcast. They wouldn't have to wait long.
=0=The Hourly News, 1200 hours on the TMC
"Good afternoon. My name is Aleph and here is the news. A statement from the Office of Strategic Communications and the Office of the Primes was released today that indicates another human has been found murdered on the TransWorld Highway three miles from the junction on Habitat Highway which is twenty-five Cybertronian miles from Autobot City.
"It would appear that a human who worked at Earth2, a former army soldier and mercenary attached to an as yet unnamed security firm on Earth was found there dead and abandoned behind a series of boulders.
"He was without environmental gear and indications appear that he was murdered elsewhere and dumped there, hidden away for reasons as yet unknown. It is not known who found him and the details of the case are being held back pending notification of next of kin.
"The Forensics Department of the Day and Night Watch Security Forces have been working on the case for nearly two orns to find out who, why and when this happened. This is the second death of a human from a habitat on world and the second murder in a period of a few decaorns. Former Striker and security officer at Earth2, Lawrence Dobbs was found murdered further away on the same highway, though he was clothed in his environmental gear when found.
"There is very little information being released as yet though the details will be made public once forensics and medical finish their investigations and families are notified. The Prime is not allowing any details to be released beyond the most mundane in order to preserve the investigation. All information released will be handled by Commander Jazz of Kaon, the Chief of Strategic Communications for the army and colony.
"We are now going to hear from Jacx who has tracked down Commander Springer, head of the security forces on world."
The broadcast cut away to a pensive Springer who was leaning against his desk at the tower in Metrotitan while an equally pensive Drift hovered behind him. It would be a very short and very uninformative interview. It wouldn't last as long as the tongue lashing that Ratchet gave Springer following it for not being home on his aft.
=0=TBC 3-28-19 6-28-19