The Diego Diaries: Stepping On It (dd8 380)
=0=On the way
The shuttles burst through space at top speed heading toward the ending point where the big ships had bridged. There were a lot of lights on the sensor screens, those of the fleeing mass of Seekers now splitting into three directions, the Seekers heading for them who were data scanning the mess, the big group pursuing the Seekers and the armada that Prime had come with. If one were to draw a straight line from their insertion point some distance behind them, the spot where they first arrived, it would lead through them, through the Prime armada, the sensor Seekers who were nearly even with the fleeing group and the 'Cons in hot pursuit.
It was anyone's guess why those slaggers hadn't slowed down given the firepower that appeared out of the middle of nowhere.
"What the frag. How long before we get there?" Springer asked with a slight irritation in his voice.
Drift calculated. "Ten minutes on the TMC."
Everyone calculated it, then Springer tapped into Tennyson. "We're ten minutes out."
=0=On Tennyson
They had appeared again out of nowhere in a very expansive portion of space. There were no places to hide or find refuge where they were and it was always surprising to the humans given how junked up space could be. What they didn't know was that the majority of space had nothing in it.
:What now?: Hampton asked as he peered at Prime who was considering his moves silently.
"We get the Seekers that are fleeing. We either interdict the bad guys directly or Prime blows their asses off long range. Either way, it isn't going to be fun for someone," Epps said.
"We're nearly on the Seekers," Prowl said.
"Call them to come forward and pass us," Prime said. "What is the situation for them to do so before the Decepticons catch up?"
Prowl calculated. "All of them but slightly less than a fourth should make it. The rest are lagging due to the usual fragged crap." Prowl was hot and didn't hide it. "We have to throw down a wall of iron before we lose a good 400 or 500."
Prime nodded. "Tennyson and Hammer of Primus, send them an array. Take out as many as you can."
Tennyson nodded from his seat nearby as he worked out with Hammer of Primus the special delivery that he and the Supremes would send the hotly pursuing fleet.
"Open a channel, Blaster," Prime said coldly.
There was a momentary pause, then Blaster glanced at Prime. "You're open."
"This is Optimus Prime. We're here for the Seekers. You will not stop that from happening."
The harsh voice was back. :How so, Prime?:
Prime glanced at Tennyson who looked up when he did. "Show them how, Tennyson."
Tennyson opened a channel to all the big ships in the group. "I am sending you a schematic of an array you will send at my mark," he said with a metallic echo in his voice. "Check in."
They all did, all the Supremes and three titans named Cambre, Firestop and Tornado. For a moment Tennyson sat in silence apparently communicating off line. The others were silent as well, those titans here in pretender gear, then a voice answered. :SO WHEN DO WE SHOOT!?:
"On my mark, Xantium. Fire," Tennyson said quietly.
The deck jolted as five big slimline missiles flew out of the forward tubes heading in a convoluted trail toward the enemy. None of the missiles sent would hit the Seekers. They were all programmed to go around them, then reacquire targets when that was accomplished.
Rainmaker walked toward Prime to stand by his side. "I have told the Seekers to ignore the missiles."
Ratchet who was sitting on a chair nearby chuckled. "Well, that was mighty neighborly of you, Elder."
Rainmaker grinned in spite of himself.
The the missile barrage was picked up by the armada following as they began to break formation and run like the wind. It was instructive for all the humans to watch.
=0=On the other end of the conga line
"There's missiles incoming," a tense mech said at Tactical.
"How many?" their commander asked.
"Too many to count."
It was silent a second, then he slammed his fist on a comm button. "BREAK FORMATION! INCOMING MISSILES! RUN FOR IT! REGROUP LATER! GET AWAY NOW! DISCHARGE COUNTER MEASURES AND LAUNCH FIGHTERS NOW!"
They did.
=0=Back at home base
They sat silently watching the different colored lights do different things on the massive monitor on the forward edge of the deck. Each group was a particular color and it looked like the fleeing Seekers were going to catch a break. The entire armada of the Decepticons was fleeing in all directions dropping massive loads of counter measures and some of their own missiles to intercept the incoming slimlines.
Prime watched musing once again how it was that no one ever took the easy option first. This was going to be messy but he could also see that some of his missiles would be destroyed. He would have to talk to Ironhide when this was over to see about boosting the guidance systems of this formidable and nearly indefensible guided missile class. But that was for later. Right now, they had over 2,000 Seekers to help and a fleet to dismantle when this first part, the easy part was over.
Pursuing at top speed, ten battle shuttles were closing the gap.
=0=The Hourly News at 1500 joors
"Good afternoon. My name is Aleph and I'm bringing you the news of the colony, Cybertron and the Empire as well as an update on the mission to rescue a large number of defecting Seekers from the Decepticon sphere of influence.
"The Office of Strategic Information has released a bulletin outlining more about the mission which took off from the Military Airfield at 1100 joors this morning. They were a large group of titan and Supreme class frames along with the dreadnought Tennyson of Praxus who is an at-large vessel in the defensive arsenal of the Prime. They stood out by ship bridge given our inability to field Triggers to make the journey for them at this point in time.
"The entire fleet of Supreme mechanisms and three titan frames who were recently repatriated and assigned as at-large personnel are in the team that went on the mission. Cambre, Firestop and Tornado, all of whom are veterans of combat over a long period of years stood out with ten battle shuttles in their holds. They arrived at their destination and made for a hot pursuit of the Seekers fleeing.
"They appear to be a large group of soldiers and their families which include elders, civilian family, children and babies. They appear to have been in hiding a very long time making their way forward when possible toward this colony. The messages of Prime, Starscream and Prime as well as the Great Elder of Seekerkin are an impetus for those who remain away to come. Their condition is not good and their peril is great given that a large Decepticon battle group is pursuing them.
"The update indicates that they're at the spot where they need be to interdict the situation and the possibility of combat is very high. More information will be given once its received from the fleet.
"In other news, the City Manager Ultra Magnus of Iacon has been receiving the delegation from Earth that wishes to have another military habitat here so that soldiers from all over Earth, not necessarily N.E.S.T. personnel could come to live and work here learning how to operate in hostile environments and working on their own projects …"
=0=There
The missiles began to hit their targets. They were designed to seek the hottest portion of the ship, ie, the engine areas and take them out. It was an experimental guidance system that was controlled by the ships themselves like video shooting games. The idea was to stop the enemy dead, control them more swiftly and prevent deaths. At the moment, things were going well.
Three missiles headed toward three large cruisers who had dumped countermeasures and were beating feet toward open space which was all around them. There wasn't a dust mote to use to take out a missile. Three missiles hit their targets blowing up and sheering off the engine areas of the ships.
Cut to Tennyson and the others
"WOW! I LOVE THIS!" Xantium was sitting at a control panel on the deck of Tennyson directing two of his three missiles toward two of the three cruisers. The controls before him were lit up and when the missiles connected they blinked madly. "GOT THEM! I GOT TWO! WHO GOT MORE!?" he asked as he glanced at some of the others in pretender gear working on their own missiles launched.
"I missed," Beta said with a frown. "That's rather too bad."
"That's going to get better," Xantium said fiercely. As one of the two who were designed to break things, Xantium and Omega, he was dauntless in his efforts to train his brothers and sister to be as deadly at the war game as he was. "You're going to be an ace, Beta. What about you, Kappy?"
Kappa Supreme, elegant, beautiful and a lady to her superstructure was concentrating. "Give me a moment, Z," she said, then she grinned. "Score. I got one."
It would be intriguing how many they did nail as all around them a steady stream of defecting Seekers flew past the armada guarded by the fleet's Seekers and the data crew. They would continue a ways down the path toward home, then gather to wait for pick up. The battle shuttles would pass them in a blast of speed as they began to slow down to huddle together in wait.
=0=The Decepticon battle group
Missiles exploded like blossoms of doom by connecting with countermeasures or a ship's aft. The three cruisers spiraled and slammed into each other before falling away to trail their guts and fluids behind them. They were out of the picture forever.
A battleship and a destroyer class vessel took one up the aft and exploded close enough together to break both ships in half. They humped up with the explosion of their engines and munitions before shattering like glass vessels dropped off the top of the Eiffel Tower. Fires would bloom and die within seconds of each other.
Three battle shuttles managed to elude their doom which would probably be fatal given that the dignified yet hardly bloodthirsty Gamma, Zeta and Beta's other missile hit the debris of a cruiser and not them. That debris become even more debris-d than it was before.
Smaller ships launched from holds as crews tried to make a break for it. There was nowhere to go but Decepticons will be Decepticons. They would be an interesting if not easy pick up when Prime got around to it.
=0=Prime and the Boyz
Xantium turned toward Prime with the usual bloodthirsty yet somehow delighted expression on his face at the end of another successful mission/annihilation/obliteration/song and dance. "The big ships are disabled. The small fry are trying to get away in putt-putts. Do I blast them?"
Prime who felt a slight grin coming to his face anyway shook his helm. "No. I think we will leave that lot to Springer and his shuttles. We are going to have to hand-to-hand it with these ships. Best not to make it too messy." He grinned as he relaxed slightly. "What is the word on the Seekers, Prowl?"
"I'm sending Cambre back to pick them up and be the medical/rescue platform. Ratchet is taking care of that and we should have a report soon." Prowl stared at the data. Well, this was easy, he thought.
Too soon.
=0=TBC 3-4-2022
ESL
at-large: if someone is at-large, then they don't have a specific assignment but function for the entire group or operation as needed. Ratchet is that kind of ambassador. He's an ambassador without portfolio which means he can do any kind of ambassadoring (:D) that's needed without limitations. That's been his job as the Autobot ambassador for Prime since forever. He's that guy in canon.
Interdict: (in-trrr-dickt) to come between something, to prevent something from happening. My dog eating my pizza sort of interdicts me from being a pig. However, my foot up his backside sort of interdicts him from doing it again. :D:D:D All hypothetical, of course. :D:D:D:D
dauntless: (dawn-T-less) someone or something that's dauntless is something or someone who will never give up no matter what. Daunting means something that's huge and problematic.
NOTES:
Fancyspinner chapter 362 . Mar 2
Ah, Mistermaster is too funny! Isn't his nephew Herrowin or something like that? He got in trouble with suni and his gang of misfits.
ME: You're right. They're going to be showing up again shortly. I like to keep up on the reprobates who struggle fitting in or what I call my kind of people. LOL!
I love the squad!
ME: Me, too. They're so much fun and even they can't believe it.
Fancyspinner chapter 359 . Mar 2
Minicons are fun especially when they fight; I wonder though just how badly their sense of self has been impacted by their treatment in the past? We see it in glimpses especially with Cliff, but it would be interesting to see ratchit have some sort of case study or maybe rung? They're so fun but the damage being mistreated physically and even more so emotionally can be deep and long lasting.
ME: That's what I felt when I read graphic novels where normal sized bots slaved them to be power enhancers. It was terrible and the little guys hate and fear the big ones sometimes. I think studying this is a good idea. Another idea in the file. Thank you, Fancy Honey! HUGS!
Fancyspinner chapter 355 . Mar 2
I love games followed by nights out. lOL so fun!
ME: Its going to be the boys turn next. LOL! I love basketball.
pandora chapter 376 . Feb 27
Arctapus I would like to use your platform for something. I want all Transformers fans worldwide to join together in a prayer circle for the Ukranian and Russian people. The power of prayer is a wonderful thing. AS OPTIMUS PRIME WOULD SAY UNTIL ALL ARE ONE
ME: I agree in every way. Use away, my dear Pandora.
Jackalkat chapter 376 . Feb 26
my oldest kitty is suspected to be part Maine Coons cat. she is 20lbs of tortoiseshell. Her paws are bigger than tablespoons. Big huge sweet kitty with a teeny tiny meow she rarely uses. and a hilariously short skinny tail.
ME: Aw. She sounds gorgeous. I love my three. I have a small tuxedo, a big puffy ragamuffin and a gigantic grey and black ocicat which moved in with us. I love cats to pieces.
