The Diego Diaries: Moving Onward (dd8 13)
=0=CMO's office
"I thought you were Avalone."
The sadness on his face pierced Ratchet's spark. It would be hard for the humans to detect around the visors they wore and their alienness. All humans could and often did agree that they were very handsome with extremely relatable faces and frames. But the trick to their emotions as with all the mechs, even the expressive ones was their energetic auras. This one held long term sadness.
"I was. I was him when you needed him," Ratchet said. "He would approve."
Banner stared at the floor a long time, then glanced at Ratchet. "I have to find him."
"Then I will help you."
"How? I have searched for him for eons of vorns."
Ratchet grinned faintly. "You don't know who you're looking at. I'm the biggest meddler in the history of Cybertron. When I set out to do something even meteor strikes can't stop me."
Banner sat back, then grinned just as faintly. "I would like to think so but time and disappointment prevent me from believing that can happen."
Ratchet discreetly scanned the big mech who could register his vitals and other readings even in pretender gear, such was the connection between them and their actual bodies. "All my mechs say that until I pull something out of my aft." He sat back. "Tell me about him and you. I've heard murmurs of something very beautiful."
Banner was silent, then he glanced at Ratchet. "He's so wonderful. He and I are soulmates. He loves me and I love him. We were inseparable until the war came. We had to move colonies from danger, then we were separated. I almost died of grief looking for him. I know he's alive."
"You feel him?" Ratchet asked gently. Sometimes grief could make a mech delusional about some things without them even knowing it.
"I think so," Banner said with a slight hint of uncertainty. "I just know he's somewhere and I have to find him."
"You're not alone, you know. You have all of us. Have you asked anyone to search the hiding places?" Ratchet asked.
"No," Banner said. "I don't know the extent of this place and how to live here yet. My frame is still healing from the trauma."
"What about your spark?" Ratchet asked. "Is that still part of that?"
Banner stared at his servos and the can he held. "If I never see him that will never happen. We were meant for each other. I never feel whole without him. Until he comes I will never ever be happy or myself again." He glanced at Ratchet. "Without him I am not complete and I never will be. Life will just be orns passing without anything to make them good. He made it all good for me."
Ratchet nodded. "Then we will do our best to find him."
=0=Later at the office of Fort Max
They gathered, called there by Ratchet. A good two dozen mechs appeared out of nowhere in the office, wide, big and splendid of Fort Max, chief architect of the Colony of Mars, Cybertron and the Empire. They gathered around Ratchet who seemed mini-con sized to the massive mechs who had come.
"We're here, Ratchet," Typhoon said as the others nodded.
"Thank you for coming," Ratchet said. "You know that the new titans including The Dandy and Banner are my personal patients."
Everyone nodded including the two mechs here who were doctors themselves for their frame.
"He came to me and we talked. He's a very good mech, Our Banner and he talked about Avalone," Ratchet said.
Several of the mechs shifted and a number made sympathetic sounds.
Ty turned to the others. "Who knows more about this than me?"
Metroplex glanced at Max, then Ratchet. "Avalone and Banner were created together and they became more than brothers and friends. They were bonded but no one was supposed to know that," he said as some in the room registered surprise. "They were soul mates, Ratchet. Two sparks become as one. They were separated when we were sent to save colonies and never got together again. He mourns for Avalone like a widower."
"Well, we have to find out definitively where Avalone is. It's reasonable to believe he's alive because Banner is. Banner believes he feels him. You do know that most of those who lose a bond survive it, though the quality of life is not so great mentally and spiritually. Many don't but most do."
"That's news to me," Titan said.
"We don't have a cohesive society yet so old tales aren't replaced by facts and truths. There's a lot of what the humans call 'old wives tales' among us. Its highly likely that Avalone exists and we have to find him," Ratchet said. "Banner deserves to end his suffering."
"We would need a seer perhaps before this is done," Metroplex said as several of the elders nodded. "We can send messages out to the places where we hide. Then they can send them on to those in the field or those who aren't in Soft Space. It's not the only place we hide."
"We can coordinate the search and find him. We're all connected but if it appears to be hard to find through the dissonance of time and conditions, a seer will be able to focus the intention." Hammer of Primus glanced at Typhoon and Metroplex. "You need to initiate the request. We can follow up on the leads. We can probably cover everyone in the net and maybe find other places with our people that might even need us to assist them, if not here than to Soft Space."
Metroplex glanced at Ratchet. "We will begin."
"I would like you to spend time with Banner. He's not a kid. He's hurt in his spark. He thought I was Avalone and that's one of the several reasons I couldn't leave him. He could use a counselor. Maybe you can bring in Scythe to hang out here. He has a counseling background if I remember correctly. Where is he now?"
"He's on Cybertron assisting with the educational plan there," Hammer said. "I'll have him come here. We can assess Banner and see how we can help him."
"Nothing will until we find Avalone," Ty said grimly. "Thank you, Ratchet."
"It's my honor, I assure you," Ratchet said with spark felt emotion.
=0=Sub Command Center, The Fortress, Autobot City
They sat around the computer center either working on data or waiting for answers. The femme team, Mirage, Jazz, several techs and Ultra Magnus were there along with others who came and went. The buzz was low, then Wheeljack turned in his chair to look at everyone. "We have a really big group."
=0=Gathering for the deets
They sat around the center as Wheeljack began to explain the data.
"We have a big group, one with the whole range of ships and support vessels. There's a lot of Seekers there, some of them occupying ships that are just theirs. Its highly likely that they have families and are on the run from the death order. The ships are carrying individuals of all ages and it would appear that that portion of the group is fleeing the Empire and the other kill order by Megatron.
"Most of the war ships are mechs with very little deviation in age. There are no children on those ships. We're still breaking down the configuration of the group but its the biggest one we've encountered, Prime. Nothing else has been this big or powerful. They appear to be heading this way."
It was silent in the room as they digested the news.
Magnus glanced at Prime. "We have to separate those defecting from those leaving to start their own empires. They always seem to do that," he said dryly.
"One never lost a bet laying off shanix on ego moves," Chromia said. "When do we go and kick their afts?"
Prime glanced at her, then the others. "We have to peel off the innocents. The Seekers have to leave. Elder, Starscream, what can you tell me about this?"
Starscream glanced at Rainmaker, then Prime. "We sent a query to the Seekers when they took these scans on a deeply encrypted code on low frequencies seldom used by the Decepticons. The reply was they want to heed the Elder and defect. They have many of their own elders and families including children with them. They have an uneasy truce with the soldiers of the fleet which allows those hiding along their path to come out and join them. They have amassed all the Seekers in deep hiding in their sector and want to leave the fleet. It's a tricky thing we face here."
"Do we have any idea who and what make up the battle group? Its commander or other information?" Prime asked.
"We've traced the markers, ship tats, numbers and other data, Prime. This is a special ops group filled with shock troops, boarding teams and other maniacs. This is a group that can fight," Jazz said. "We expect that if we have to take them on they'll give a good fight. As for the command teams … this looks like Nitrate's command. His tat is on the biggest battleship there."
It was silent a moment, then Prime sat back in his chair. "That is unfortunate to hear."
A joor later …
They came together, the different teams of mechs that were in the room after formulating plans. Each of them had been tasked to develop ideas and plans to take this group from toxic to inert without too much bloodshed. Now they were delivering their verdicts and perhaps out of that they could develop what it took to remove this threat from their midst.
"What do we think we know and can do?" Prime asked as he considered what he, Hardie, Delphi and Prowl had been working upon themselves.
"We have to remove the Seekers. That's going to take finesse. The families and others are on ships that have little to no weapons but are transports. If they make a break for it there will be a fight and deaths are inevitable. What we have to do is communicate with them and use bridges. Its imperative that we do this without spilling energon. Our data also indicates a lot of children both among the Seekers and the Decepticons that appear to want to defect," Warlord said as the other Seekers there nodded. "It would take intense coordination over distance amidst a dangerous situation."
Prime nodded. "That would be a component, the safety and rescue of those who want to defect," he replied as Prowl furiously wrote notes.
"We would have to take a big strike team with us, not only battleships but titans. It would seem that seeing the big ships in the past made it easier to negotiate with intruders and I would suggest that the titans and dreads be included into the plans," Optimus continued.
"We would be honored," Ty said as the others with him nodded.
"We have the problem even if we can separate the defectors of dealing with the biggest, best armed and more diversely dangerous group we've faced thus far," Ratchet said as Ironhide and the others with him murmured agreement. "We can't allow them to hook up with Polity, Ominous or Razorclaw. It would appear to me that since Polity is the closest to the route these groups are traversing that its time to purge his little nest of vipers."
"I concur," Rainmaker said. "Last time it was Xylon. Soon it will be them. If they find him they will overrun him for the base and operation. That will give them an immediate foothold here and we would have to divert a lot of resources toward that area. That would mean that any migrations that come that way wouldn't know they were entering into peril."
Prime nodded. "That is my biggest fear. Any other ideas and suggestions?"
The rest of the group added their own expertise and by the time they'd finished their own reporting, the outline of a plan was devised. It would start with Prime getting into contact with the group and when he did be able to communicate to those who wanted to defect that they were heard, welcome and that intervention and freedom would come for them.
"We need to make the message now. I would like the Master of Mission Planning and his staff to come to The Fortress to begin to design the battle group we're going to send and if some of you could be here when they come to add your points that would be helpful," Prowl said as they nodded. "I'll have the general plan ready to troubleshoot in four joors." He glanced at Prime. "Do you wish to call them now?"
"I do," Optimus Prime said. "Then we call Polity."
=0=TBC 11-14-2020 11-29-2020
ESL: deets: goofball slang for details. :D