The Diego Diaries: Copycat (dd8 542)

=0=On their way

They flew out with a larger group to take a few long range scans, then flyby to get images that gave higher resolution. They were heavily armed, had more shuttles and the Seekers that were coming were heavies. It was clear that if this group had Crader's ability that it would take a bigger ship to put them down. Prime was organizing that now.

"What do you think?" Sandstorm asked Springer.

Springer shrugged. "Ours is not to reason why. I'll leave the last part off."

"What is it?" Lon asked.

"Ours is but to do or die," Drift said with a slight smirk.

"I told you that part is left off when I get to be all philosophical and all," Springer said as he glanced at Drift.

"Oh. Okay. I won't say it then." Drift grinned, then glanced at the data. "We're coming up on them. They're about three orns out of the Rim where the floes ditch out into that weird rift."

"Something tells me that we're going to be finding out more about that gash than we want to know," Springer said. "What have you got online, Spivvy?"

Spivvy who was the pilot glanced over his shoulder. "I'll put the long range forward view on the monitors. Prime and Prowl want it back at the barn."

"Do then," Springer said as he cut everyone in on the feed including those with him in other ships and the Seekers.

The image of seven big ships, not titanic but close came into view, then sharpened as the sensors scoped forward to bring them into focus. They were running like a pod of killer whales and the only thing that seemed missing was a bunch of monk seals swimming for their lives. They were copper colored or it might have been a trick of the light. Sleek, almost pulsating, they casually made their way forward.

"What if they can do something?" Slate asked. He was a big mech, had soldiered since the war and was rarely ruffled about anything. Right now he was as ruffled and unnerved as the rest of them.

"Do what?" Bezel asked as he stared at the monitor with dread.

"I don't know," Slate said as he stared at the monitor with loathing. "What about sort of jumping out at us? Or maybe leaping and landing on us? They remind me of a show I accidentally watched about bugs on Earth called spiders. Some of those fraggers can leap 12 feet into the air if they get cold. Ugliest most fragged up fraggers I ever saw. I'd gun them down if they EVER came near me. This reminds me of them."

Everyone stared at Slate, then the screen. All of them nodded their helms.

"I'll help you gun them down, Slate," Carbon said. He was another gnarly mech who was thrown off by the ships.

All of them were. Everyone in the battle group.

:Hercy to Springer:

"Springer."

:How do you feel?:

"What? Why?" Springer asked as he mulled over the question.

:These fraggers are giving all of us the shakes. Do you feel that, too?:

Springer glanced around as everyone nodded. "Yeah. Hold on, Hercy. Springer to Prime."

:Prime here:

"Optimus, everyone is reporting that they feel like … they're walking across a graveyard. Do you know what I'm saying? This is so creepy that we're feeling it. Is that possible? Is Perceptor there? Wheeljack?" Springer asked.

:Stand by. You have discretion to abandon the mission. Its at your discretion, Springer:

"Understood," Springer said as he sat back with a slight sense of nervous agitation. "This is getting worse the closer we get. Springer to group. Come around with us. Let's see if proximity or the lack of it lessens this weird effect." He glanced at Spivvy. "Take us way the frag back."

They arced around to pull back, then halted together.

"Ship commanders, what do you feel now?" Springer asked.

:Its not so bad: Kup replied.

"We're pulling back more. Follow me," Springer said as he nodded to Spivvy.

:Prime and Perceptor to Springer:

"Springer here." He cut the others in as well.

:Springer, I got your observations. This effect is very strange. I am unclear how it will affect everyone with prolonged exposure or more proximity. I am recommending that you find a distance to see if the effect lessons: Percy said as his image and those in Ops Center appeared in a split screen on the monitors of all the ships and the internal monitors of the Seekers.

"We have, Perceptor. It lessened. We're pulling back and the farther we go the better. We can barely feel it now, right?" he asked the others who nodded. "I'm going to send the data now," he said as he glanced at Drift. "What the frag is this? Are the ships emanating it? Is is a defensive device or what?"

:I am unclear. Hook us into your telemetry, all of you. As you move in real time we can look at it. I suggest that you keep this distance, the one that feels the most safe: Wheeljack said.

Optimus nodded. :I agree. I will be arriving shortly with titans and dreadnoughts. I am unclear what this means. We do know that one of his sons, Diston, was not with him at pick up and Crader said that he would be coming shortly. Apparently he has: He glanced off screen, then looked at Springer. :Stay linked in and do not approach until we come with muscle. I will be there in moments:

Prime then rose and with others on screen and off made his way toward the door and the gathering outside.

Prowl watched them go, then glanced at Springer. "What can you see?"

:Seven malevolent ships coming toward us like torpedoes through calm seas. They're not moving fast but there's something about them that feels like they are. Its too weird to explain:

"They're on their way," Prowl said as he consulted the monitor nearby.

=0=Outside

Prime, Ironhide, Ratchet, most of Ironhide's elders, General Micro of Praxus, a couple of generals who were new to the colony, Paragon and Rainmaker walked to a shuttle, boarded, then lifted off to go to the deck of Tennyson who was overhead in parking orbit with Revere who was part of the Cybertronian Civil Defense Fleet, Rolling Thunder who was part of the same fleet based at Mars, Typhoon who had moved ship to their gathering place along with three titans who were rebuilt and ready to stand by here and be replacements for those doing duty at the space-time rupture allowing all of them to have a life here on world in pretender gear.

The sight of five metrotitans and two dreadnoughts was an astonishing sight to the humans who had managed to get a ride on the shuttle to go to Prime's command deck on Tennyson. Rainmaker who was bringing a crew of 200 Seeker heavies who would be based on his ship, Rolling Thunder rode onward when Prime was dropped with Sun, Hardie to run the show, Ironhide because brothers and Partition who with Lancer was coming to assist this and that which might come up.

They were both being sorted out for command training tracks in their fields.

They both didn't know that.

Raptor would go onward to Revere after Rainmaker was dropped at Rolling Thunder. When he was, 200 heavy Seekers landed on the deck and followed him onward into the ship.

Prime walked to the deck off the elevator followed by everyone and two mechs carrying two boxes filled with humans, half of them soldiers from the United Nations group. They were slotted forward where they could watch the show perhaps closer than they liked. The forward view port was straight ahead. It was so big and open in its construction that it looked like there was nothing forward to keep out the vacuum.

It was unnerving.

For the noobs.

Prime sat as Hardie began to organize departure. He brooded as he watched the data flow on his forward monitor.

"This is General Hard Drive. Check in command." Hardie was the right tonic, quiet, calm and supremely confident in tone and appearance. Some had a command presence and others didn't. Hardie had his and two others.

:Raptor at Revere. Ready:

:Rainmaker at Rolling Thunder. We are go:

"Are all Seekers aboard, Elder?" Hardie asked.

:Affirmative:

:Jack at Tennyson. We're ready:

The three new titans moved up closer as their commanders transferred to them.

:Paragon on Cinder. We're go:

:Micro commanding Derelict here:

:Construct on Parallax. We're go:

They checked in, all of the general officers who could command ships in war including Construct who was a Praxian Elite Special Ops officer and Micro of Praxus, an Elite who was the father of Piro and a general officer of fierce reputation among the troops.

Hardie glanced at the data, then Prime. "We are ready to depart, Lord Optimus."

Prime sat back, then opened a channel to the group. "To all who are in this fleet, we go to an unknown entity who bears markers of our species yet is not wholly so. We are uncertain about what they can do or their intentions but they are family to some who are in our prison, Crader of Crader Transport. We know he has another son and we believe this is him. Stay alert and follow orders. We are preparing to jump now. Prime out." He glanced at Hardie who began the countdown to bridging out with the titans and dreads.

"Engage at my count. Ten … nine …"

-Rapter sat on the command chair with his crew waiting tensely. Revere in pretender gear sat nearby with his bond, Calamity. They watched as the ships began to build in intensity.

"Eight … seven … six …"

-Rainmaker sat on the command set surrounded by some titans in gear as well as Seekers, many of whom followed him to the deck to watch. They were quiet, confident and tremendously engaged with their great leader. It was a privilege for them to go into battle with him, this great and noble personage.

"Five … four … three …"

-Ratchet stood in the forward lounge on Tennyson watching the ships all around. The boxes of humans were here slotted into the wall filled with the usual crowd and about half newbies. He grinned toward them, waved his hand, then turned back to the window. It would be a flash, then they'd be there going with titans. It actually was his favorite way to bridge. The ships were so technically elite that it was just that fast to get somewhere.

"Two … one. Engage."

:Close your eyes and cover them," Ratchet managed to the humans before the world burst into light. Almost as swiftly as it came, it went. They were floating in space but Mars and all that marked home wasn't there. They were on the other side of known space with a fleet of ships so personally big they couldn't be seen from end to end. On each bristling like porcupine quills, guns of massive size pointed out everywhere.

Everyone in the cages blinked then looked around themselves. Nothing seemed changed. The ships had blocked the view of Mars as they were gathered to go.

A soldier from the UN Garrison turned toward Lennox. "Where are we? Are we there?"

Lennox who had a handheld that held the mission maps, something that they were experimenting with for training purposes glanced at the soldier. "We're there. When these ships bridge its just about instantaneous."

The soldier glanced around, then looked at the forward view port. The ships were moving out to get into line for traveling. As they did a set of bright lights could be seen heading their way at speed. "What's happening?" he asked suddenly feeling the weirdness of his situation. This was space where you could die from a breach of your suit, not a planet side expedition that he could relate to.

Lennox checked his data. "I think that's Springer and the battle group."

"They're returning?" Bobby Epps asked as he huddled with Niall Graham around the device.

"It looks like it. It also looks like they're not coming alone," Lennox said grimly.

=0=TBC 10-11-2022

ESL

malevolent: (muh-lev-oh-lent) dangerous, not good, menacing, filled with ill will toward something or someone