The Diego Diaries: Cotillion (dd8 382)

=0=Inside

It was pitch black inside the listing hulk of the cruiser. It had been peppered by shrapnel as two of its companions took a slimline head on. Its own markered missile had hit a countermeasure and was thus blocked from full impact, though the shrapnel had been murderous to their propulsion systems. They had no ability to flee, though many on board had taken the small ships all major ones carried and the escape pods anyway. Where they were going was anyone's guess. Right now, those still aboard were fleeing the boarding parties that were coming their way on foot.

Thundering ped falls from big and small mechs and the odd femme echoed through the darkened corridors even as they ran swiftly and surely with night vision. All of the tech that they had matured with them over the growth of their species from infant to full adult. Some it was specific to an age, which night vision was. You only got the use of it when adult.

They holed up here and there while others continued to find defensive positions. The enemy had landed on their hull and they could detect movement outside. The boarding party was small but probably included experts at such things. This wouldn't be an easy fight for either side. As they hunkered down or continued forward the sound and sensor detected movement of invaders was clear and present.

=0=At the entrance of the cruiser's main point of destruction: Hercy and Company on the City of Helex

They floated to the hull, then worked out the plan. Hercy would lead and everyone would follow. Cambre who was a warrior titan had never had a battle where he was amongst the mechs, fighting with them and facing the dangers that they did on their scale. His was massive, the battlefields that he had fought in. However, he had the simplest advantage. He could get shot in this format, something that caused damage to his format back at the ship he represented but he could derez and move around given his Pretender gear.

"What happens if you get shot, Cambre?" Hercy asked as he glanced at the big mech.

Cambre considered that. "I feel it, rather like getting hit in the chest or body part with a hammer. I won't bear the wound. I'll bear the impact. The harder the impact of the offense, the more I feel it on my energy field. That's what I'm projecting through this gear. My essence and energy forms part of the shell that I live in this way. If it gets slammed, I feel it."

"Can you die this way?" Sandstorm asked.

Cambre considered that. "Wheeljack and Perceptor say no. Given that nothing gets pierced on my actual body and the impacts do have some limitations, then no life threatening harm is achieved. I just feel the impact itself without the resulting wounds and injury profile. Its based more on pain rather than actual breakage because my actual body is not here."

Everyone stared at Cambre a moment with something akin to awe.

"Maybe we all should come to these as pretenders," Sandstorm said quietly. "I personally can take a blow easier than a wound."

Cambre grinned faintly. "That is so. Stay behind me. You can be perforated in your present solid condition. I can only be buffeted."

"What if the blow is hard as frag," Stinson who was an old time Autobot asked with curiosity.

"No puncture, no real blow. Sometime in the future Percy told us that we will be able to regulate the intensity of the impact making the ones we get even less. I don't know if that's possible for your size mechanism but I hope so," Cambre said.

"You and me both," Hercy said as he stood with his guns in servo. "Let's go. Remember, alert us if you get into trouble. We'll come and we'll call for backup if we need it, too. No one here stands on ceremony. These slaggers might give up but I doubt it." With that he stepped forward to stealth his way toward the command deck some distance away.

It wouldn't take much time before Cambre got to show his quality.

=0=On a ship stealthing ahead: Springer and Company aboard Impactor's Revenge

The carnage ahead was evident from the screaming and running everyone in the boarding party could hear. Springer, Drift and the others listened, half inclined to sub their weapons and gather up slaggers in baggies. Xantium was rampaging ahead, enjoying the freedom of movement and the 'hands-on experience' of ground combat. He had gone into the hole of the vessel, then disappeared almost immediately.

As they crept along the corridor that they needed to take to get to the bridge, it was evident that Xi was 'folding, spindling and mutilating' against the unlucky fraggers that didn't see him coming. To see a Supreme mechanism from the wrong side of the battle field was bad enough. To see them rampaging toward you in the corridor of your ship, that was another.

"He's doing well," Drift said conversationally. "Mech learns fast."

"Who taught him? Did anyone teach him how to do this on the ground?" Springer asked his crew as he paused in the dark near an alcove.

No one answered.

"I didn't. I didn't one day decide to teach a … a Supreme mechanism in pretender gear how to do ship boarding and hand-to-hand. The slagger is an amateur and he's fragging up the operation." Springer frowned as all of them pressed back against the wall of the corridor. Footfalls could be heard heading their way.

=0=Inside a big ship, a heavily damaged battleship: Lissie and Company from City of Bandor Bay

They reached the half way point of the ship before running into anyone. The tech with them was using a handheld scanner to locate in the radioactive mess with was filled with snapping and twisting live wires. Fires had burned and blinked out when the hull breached. The smell of ozone could be detected in the air as their sensors went through all manner of data pertinent to their situation.

"We have three ahead. They aren't moving," the tech said as he hung back at the end of the group as ordered.

Lissie nodded, then glanced ahead. "Winnie and I will go ahead and get a bead. You wait here and I will call you. Look both ways and stay alert."

Winnie of prison fame and Lissie both walked forward with their big, big guns to disappear into the darkness and danger.

=0=Inside the guts of a support ship carrying stores, ammunition and fuel: Flint and Company aboard the City of Iacon

The ship had taken a buffeting as it was caught in the wake of several close explosions. Huge pallets of you-name-it were laying where they fell after breaking free of the storage tie downs that usually kept them in place. There were mechs here but they were holed up in the administrative and command deck portions of the ship. Given that it was unable to go anywhere and that there were only 14 crew members on board, short of catastrophe, they were going to fall rather swiftly.

The titan with them, Acroplex was watching and learning how to do this sort of thing in pretender gear. It was a fascinating experience for the academic and father of Swan. It was a great experience to see a titan in your ship boarding group.

For the Autobots.

=0=Prime on board Tennyson

He sat in the command seat watching the show beyond as he calculated future moves against Ominous. This was the sort of thing that Razorclaw wouldn't do even though strategically Prime getting more Seekers was a bad idea for his future plans. He knew that they maintained a delicate balance and if Prime ever decided to take them down he would and in all likelihood, he could. This was the sort of thing that Ominous would do.

Ominous was very smart. He liked books and music and had a tight relationship with his second, Pleon of Capital City who shared the same interests. It was impossible to know if Pleon wore off on Ominous or if that mech already liked such things when they met. It would be a major mistake to write either of them off as typical Decepticon types. Nothing about Pleon and Ominous was typical.

"We've secured the support ships. They have small crews, injuries and the vessels aren't stable. A lot of their stores came apart in the battle. They're scattered. I have crews there making them ready to tow. Or do you want them stripped, then detonated?" Prowl asked. He had walked to the command chair to sit, leaning forward until his helm nearly touched Prime's.

"The latter," Prime said. "I want them to see their bounty being confiscated. I doubt that much of it was acquired through legitimate means."

"True," Prowl said in agreement.

"When will they be ready to go?" Prime asked. "How many are there? Are any of them up to leaving under their own power?"

"There are five ships. None of them are powered up and all of them will be ready when we are," Prowl said. "They will require tow. We might have to have the titans do multiple runs back to Mars. I'll be glad when the Triggers come on line."

"When will that be?" Prime asked.

"Ada said they might have one ready for trials in three or four orns," Prowl replied. "That may take a few but they want at least one back up as fast as possible."

Prime nodded as he considered that great and happy orn. "Very well, Prowl. I will give this to you to solve," Optimus said.

Prowl nodded, then walked back to the command table to sit and work out all the problems being presented by this operation.

=0=Sitting in a viewing and traveling box, two groups of humans watch the show

"Those two are on the same ship. I thought that wasn't allowed," Hampton said.

"Usually it isn't. I guess they didn't put much store in the danger factor of this mission. We are on Tennyson after all," Will Lennox said.

"A dreadnought," Xi mused.

"Manhattan Island in New York City is about 11+ miles long and about 2 and a half miles wide. Tennyson as a mature dreadnought is about 15 miles long and just under 5 miles wide. Consider that there's multiple decks on this ship and that there's fifteen of them in Prime's arsenal. Most of them are already in service to him and the others will drop what they're doing to come at a moment's notice if he needs them. They are the most ferocious ships of war ever created," Will replied.

It was silent a moment as they reflected on this.

"Impressive," Hampton said as Berg, Rossi and Xi nodded.

It would be silent in the viewing box for a while.

=0=On a ship checking things out with Winnie and Lissie and the crew

They walked back with three injured crew. They'd been bounced all over the place when the gravity plating went off line. In the intervening time of them laying face down in a heap on the floor backup systems had restored it or they'd all be floating around.

"We have three keepers. We're going to shove them out the door for pick up. I think a lot of crew are in the same condition. We can but hope," Lissie said as she walked them to the big hole, shoved them out, signaled for pick up, then turned to the crew with her beautiful smile. "Time to take a walk, infants. Let's go find some more blossoms for my garden."

The big mechs grinned at Lissie was she began to walk forward with Winnie and them following. They would.

Find more blossoms.

=0=TBC 3-6-2022

ESL

to get a bead: (beeeeed) An American expression meaning to see. To find out. Sometimes using a sight on a gun means to 'get a bead' on the target. Old fashioned expression. :D