The Diego Diaries: Push Comes To Shove. Literally. (dd8 35)
=0=In the Borderlands
"This is Optimus Prime."
There was a momentary pause, then he continued. "I am aware, Nitrate, that you have in your company three commanders of the new groups approaching this area. I am aware that you are trying to make alliances. I am ordering you to leave this area before you regret it, all of you."
Prime waited, then Nitrate was back.
:Prime, I'm aware that you have a lot of power. We aren't interested in messing with that. We want our own space and opportunities without being bad neighbors. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge but we're ready to be good neighbors now. After all, I was told that the war was over since you retook Cybertron:
"We took Cybertron without a shot. But we are prepared to unload on you and your partners if you stay here. This is my space, all of it. You are not welcome here," Prime said.
:We don't want to argue with you, Prime. We've made our decisions and we're prepared to stake a claim here. The rest of the area beyond this expanse is barren and would take eons of time to cross. Consider your own security. We could be useful to alerting you to the restless waves rising in the Decepticon domain:
:He just admitted that he has no bridge capacity, Optimus: Prowl said.
Prime glanced at him, then nodded. "I am not in the mood to negotiate. Either withdraw or suffer the consequences."
It was silent a moment, then the three groups that had slowed to allow this confab began to speed up heading toward Nitrate's position with haste.
"Optimus, the others are coming this way. We have little time until they arrive," Devcon said as he sat at Tactical.
Optimus nodded. "We are asking for the last time. Leave or suffer the consequences."
There was no answer.
Prime considered that, then turned to a pensive Hard Drive. "General, tactical control is yours." He walked to the command chair to sit.
Hard Drive bowed slightly, then turned to the communications center. "This is General Hard Drive of the Fleet Command. Prepare to engage plan 1A on my command." He glanced at Tactical. "Commander, please place the scene on forward screens."
Dev did as everyone turned to look.
Hardie watched, then turned back to Communications. "Fleet, I order the plan to engage now."
=0=Outside waiting in battle formation
Three giant ships held in place across a large expanse of space directly over Fort Borderlands. Waiting among them were three cruisers and thirty battle shuttles. In the holds of the cruisers, dozens and dozens of Seeker heavy gunners congregated on the decks. They were in battle station mode rather than flight because the distribution of guns in a radius was greater than the other formats they could field. The guns that were so powerful they could destroy planets in ship format were given a wider field of fire in this configuration.
At the call, they began to organize to teleport. As they did the cruisers and battle shuttles in a burst of speed disappeared into the darkness. Waiting behind them in the now empty sector of space were five Supreme mechanisms, fall back boys if things went south. In a massive burst of light, two dreadnoughts and a metrotitan disappeared.
Xantium would have a lot to say about it, too.
=0=Nitrate
The call came when they were working out the details of a collaboration that would have periodic checks for performance regarding leadership and who would have it. The newbies listened to Prime, then Nitrate as they sparred, then the three commanders called their groups to come. It was clear to all of them that there was going to be a fight and this was a good way to start the process of who got command. Anything could happen to anyone in a battle.
Nitrate stood, then walked to a wall monitor, opening it to see his ship commanders. "Prime is going to fight. We need to get ready for-"
That was the moment when three massive blasts of light overtook everyone's optics and in the end, the stability of their ships.
=0=Inside the movement of mountains toward mole hills
"This is Tennyson Command," a hollow sounding voice said over the communications systems of three gigantic ships who were all linked in to him to coordinate flight. "Prepare to teleport toward target. Teleporting to target at my count."
Tennyson sat plugged into himself as the movement of three monster ships geared up. All through the trio, drones and machinery began to move at light speed. Systems came on line, energies equal only to the center of large stars began to build up in the massive interiors of sentient ships. When critical mass had been achieved, Tennyson Command did the countdown. "Tennyson Command beginning ..."
:... the countdown …: echoed through Scattershot as his massive engines and weapons systems snapped into gear.
"Three … two … one: echoed the sound through Typhoon as the teleportation devices of three massive ships kicked on and they disappeared in a gigantic burst of light. In nanoseconds they were gone. Right behind them flying like guided missiles under the direct control of the Tennyson Command, thirty battle shuttles droned along behind them.
=0=Borderlands Ops Center
"They're gone," Devcon said as he huddled over the Tactical screen. "The fleet is right behind them."
Prime listened as his officers hustled. The screen forward was a caution. The enemy had nearly reached Nitrate when the sudden appearance of three titanic ships in the middle of their positions began to disrupt everything.
=0=Nitrate and Company
:Commander, there's a particle wave heading our way. Its mass-" an officer commanding a 'near dreadnought' battleship for Nitrate began before the displacement wave created by pulsed energy of a ship that big began to blow through the gathering. The battleship flew hard away from Tennyson who had materialized near where Nitrate's battle group was waiting. It was shoved so hard that everyone inside flew against the wall closest to Tennyson and held there by force of the blow as they flew away from him from the force.
Nitrate and the three captains found themselves careening along with everyone else in a jumble of ships and debris. Some of the smaller vessels nearest to the dreadnoughts and titan were destroyed by the force of the pulsed wake coming their way out of the blue. Given that no one was prepared, they were slammed hard and some flew out of breached hulls into the cold unforgiving nightmare of open space.
Tennyson slid, then halted, its giant search lights illuminating the area. Nitrate, the three captains and Nitrate's fleet were an unnaturally occurring churning mess in the middle of a naturally occurring churning mess.
Score one for Tennyson.
=0=Scattershot
He materialized on the far side of the new intruder's fleets, his wake and pulsed energy wave doing the same thing to them that Tennyson's had to Nitrate's group. They were thrown hard in a turbulent hurricane of displaced energy, banging into each other as they were tossed like toys. Some ships who were closest to him came apart, their debris leaving a trail of frozen liquids, minimally identifiable wreckage and the odd discernible mech or femme in their wake.
As they were tossed like toys in a wind machine, dozens and dozens of Seekers flooded off his decks followed by his smaller ship component of two and three mech fighters. They flew forward with guns pointed out ready to do to the interlopers what the big ship hadn't fully accomplished.
Scattershot had done good.
=0=Typhoon
He flashed into life with his guns swiveling to cover the area in front of him while across the distance of space he noted the appearance of Scattershot. That big titan was on one side of the three battle groups while he occupied this one. Caught in the middle of a maelstrom of energy pulses, dozens and dozens of ships were tossed off their courses and into each other. Even as he settled with his guns covering the area to a pretty comprehensive field of fire, his own Seekers and ships were heading out to do battle.
On the horizon catching up swiftly, thirty fully armed battle shuttles and three cruisers came with guns pointing forward.
Yee-haw, Typhoon.
=0=Borderlands Ops Center
They watched the carnage on the forward screens, then Prowl glanced at Ratchet. "You were lucky."
"Skill, son, pure skill. These servos," Ratchet said as he held up his big old hands, "these servos are blessed."
Prowl smirked at him. "You're insane and I waver between hating you and getting drunk together."
"Learn to multi-task," Ratchet said with a snicker.
Prowl quashed one of his own as data began to flow directly into his helm. "The three are in place. Most of the targeted groups were displaced by their arrival. Reverse pulses of null energy created large enough wakes to toss all four groups around like toys. There's many ships with damage from minor to extensive and there's free floating individuals that I've instructed the shuttles to pick up and transfer to the titans."
Hard Drive walked to stand beside Prime. "Lord Optimus, the ability of the ships to counter our movements are diminished, though there are plenty of ships that are capable of fighting. I'd suggest that we disabuse them of that notion."
Prime nodded. "Please do, General."
Hard Drive bowed slightly, then turned to Blaster. "Hook me in, Blaster."
Blaster did. "You're in, General."
"This is General Hard Drive of the Autobot Army. I'm instructing my shuttles and cruisers to disable any vessel in the field of fire that decides to fight or try to leave. I would suggest that you power down, shut off your weapons systems and wait for us to evacuate you. If you don't agree, then I give full sway to fire upon you to my field commanders. General Raptor, the field is yours."
:Thanks, Dad: a saucy voice replied.
Hard Drive grinned, then walked over to stand by Prime. "I did the best I could."
The laughter was long and loud.
=0=At Autobot City a couple of joors earlier
They ran and mustered on the airfield at the Prison as Gee-Gee began to get her part of the story in play. Gathering around the diminutive femme and her field commander, Chief of Security Winnie, the big heavily armed mechs, field techs, mental health specialists and bouncers who specialized in violent encounters waited for the word. More came and came as some of the specialized units of Autobots in the army arrived to augment what promised to be a violent and numerous take down of slaggers.
Behind her as she briefed them, the three prison ships and five from Cybertron with Cybertronian crews began to fire up to leave. A bridge, the Autobot City Space Bridge would be theirs exclusively.
Beyond her was a frenzy of activity as Jetta whipped the troops into building a functional temporary prison for the incoming. Not only would this hold the prisoners that would be pulled off the ships waiting to be wrecked by their side, the prison itself would be expanding specialist units to hold those who were deeply menacing, dangerous or psychotic.
They'd be organized and off the ground heading for the battlefield in under a half joor.
=0=Prison
The new prison addition would be expanded in the open ground east of the main prison, a vast expanse left open for this very purpose. They were laying energon bars and the control system that would keep the riffraff in. The ground fairly churned with effort as they lay a deeply intricate and heavily secured system of relays, feeder lines and electronics that would keep even a combiner at bay.
For a while.
The structure would be like earlier ones, open air tents with minor amenities. It was designed to be temporary. If there was going to be need for a larger permanent prison, it was going to be built in a crater 100 miles away. That was on the drawing boards with a bullet so they could begin to take some of the menace here out there and doubly protect the colony from a catastrophe or sabotage.
Jetta stared at the plans as he watched his crack teams make something out of nothing. This type of plan had been worked out to the nth degree against moments like this happening. It had to be given the sudden rise of strangeness and the sudden need for such things happening with regularity. Temporary housing for refugees and prisoners had been committee and expert driven to make it as simple as possible to build to standards in little time.
Before the first ships arrived with prisoners, the Autobot City Temporary Military Prison would be open for business.
Score one for Jetta and Company.
=0=TBC 12-08-2020