The Diego Diaries: End Game (dd8 46)
=0=Out there
They began to clear the area as ships were towed to the colony through a bridge or programmed to fly toward a nearby star to self destruct in the plasma of its energy. There were bits that were towed away to be smelted and others left in strategic places with beacons as warnings for those who might come this way with malice aforethought. It wouldn't be very pretty even with their efforts but it'd be cleared up to prevent anything from becoming a hazard to travel.
Sitting in the doorway of his shuttle, Springer watched as a heavy ship designed to tow others began to move a mostly functional and nicely designed battleship forward to go through the bridge. They kept only really good ships that were operational and even forward in design. The rest were obliterated, broken up for propaganda or abandoned where they wouldn't be a problem.
Drift stood beside him, then lowered himself to sit. Their legs were hanging out into the vacuum as they watched the battleship pick up speed as the wrecker vessel towed it toward a big Trigger bridge down the way. :We're about done here:
:Has Prime called it?: Springer asked.
:He has. He asked us to come back last but most of the rest of the fleet is leaving or going back to the Fort now: Drift replied.
:What time is it back home?: Springer asked as he kicked a small metal piece floating near his ped. It flew off spinning and probably would until the universe ended or it struck something.
Drift calculated it, then grinned. :Its getting on toward morning:
:Then we're off. Want to go to the office?: Springer asked as he watched another bit of metal slowly drift past. He pulled a small gun and shot it. It blew into bits, a totally pleasing sight.
:No. You?: Drift asked.
:Nope. I'm hungry. Let's go to the Diner: Springer replied as he shot at several more small targets.
Drift grinned. :Sounds like a plan:
Nearby on a shuttle, Hercy and Kup sat in the doorway as well.
:Springer can't hit the broad side of a barn door:
Kup smirked. :Gotta give him A for effort:
:True that: Hercy listened, then rose. :Time to go: He walked into the ship, then took his seat at the engineer's station. Behind him, Kup followed and the hatch closed. Hercy toggled the comm line. "Everyone in the group, Prime says to get things ordered to go. We're going to follow the titan and cover retreat as to form. Scattershot will signal when we leave. Tune in and stand by." He commed off all but the line to Scattershot, then glanced at his crew. They were sitting on this and that place and station. "Time to go and ho-ho-ho. Maybe."
"You going to go with Santa Springer, Santa Magnus, Santa Ironhide or Santa Prime this year?" a big mech asked Hercy as the ship slowly began to turn in an arc to form up a retreat formation for the group.
"Both. Neither. I have to check my schedule," Hercy said with a grin.
Huge laughter greeted that as they flew slowly behind a huge battle group led by the massive metrotitan Scattershot. They would be last through the bridge after departing from him and the base.
=0=In the group
Ratchet walked along the corridor that was part of the massive ward system of the ship's third through sixth decks. It was a completely modified medical vessel, his Phobos and he was king of the hill here as its official commanding captain. Pausing at the deck's nursing station to get the word on the mechs and a couple of femmes still in beds here, he walked to the elevator and went topside. Walking to the command chair, he sat and lounged on it.
"We're heading back, Ratchet," his ship's pilot said as he glanced over his shoulder.
"Take us in when ready, Gridley," Ratchet said with a smile. "Its time to go home again."
"Just in time for Christmas Surprise. I was worried that this would interfere," another mech said, one at Tactical.
"You and me both," Ratchet said as the call came for him to lead the rest of the non-battle ships through the bridge. They would and be home in seconds.
=0=Scattershot Bridge
Prime and Prowl went over the situation with Thundercracker, Commandant of Fort Borderlands and the rest of the officers who would command the ships that would be resident here as part of the guard. When all was sorted out, they walked toward the elevator, Prime with relief and Prowl burdened down with datapads and maps of the new paradigm that existed out here.
It would not only include this new base, its components and needs but also the newly formed problem of rescuing 20,000,000 of their own people who were somewhere around the area. It'd be one tied into the ability of the colony to house that many newbies at once. When they surveyed the area and ascertained the level of threat their locations posed to their security, then they would be able to make a plan to retrieve them that might not include mass retrieval all at once. Entering the elevator, they set their direction as the doors closed.
Prowl leaned against the wall. "It'll be good getting home."
Prime nodded. "We are going to have to put in some time to get this organized. Thank Primus we do not have a game in the schedule over the holidays. I am not sure there will be time to attend any, not even here let alone Cybertron. Given this mission, I do not believe anyone will complain."
"You have a speech about this at 1600 tomorrow," Prowl said. Then he corrected himself. "Today. Its morning in the colony."
"Let us check in and then go to breakfast. We need to get back into a rhythm for the children," Prime said.
Prowl nodded as the doors to the ship opened. "We do," he said as they walked to a shuttle hanging in the void nearby.
Stepping off Scattershot and onto Impactor's Revenge, the hatch closed as the shuttle pulled off and joined the others in a line for the bridge nearby.
Prime and Prowl sat, then glanced at Springer. "What is your impression of the mission?"
"Smooth. Dropping in and coupling a null wave with field displacement is a good tactic. It would appear that Old Ma isn't as fully insane as we feared," Springer said with a grin.
"The jury is still out on that," Prowl said with a smirk of his own.
"Any tactic that allows us to end a fight before it begins is a good one," Prime said as the shuttle burst forward to enter the bridge with the others.
=0=On the ground in Autobot City
Ratchet supervised the unloading of their patients until they were all off and on their way to the hospital. Soon Phobos would wheel out to the Ready-Go flight line for the next mission while a horde of worker bees would go over every inch of it to get it up to speed. For now, he was off unless he wanted to handle the paperwork. Given he was ravenous for food, he would defer the blather for later on.
He watched as the shuttles approached, then hovered over to their spots on the Ready-Go line, all ten of them. They set down and the mechs began to descend, some gathering to gab while others headed out for the barn. Springer and Drift along with the usual suspects were heading his way. He waited for them to arrive.
Nearby, he noted that Prime and Prowl had climbed down from Impactor's Revenge as well and were following. Walking toward them, he grinned at Springer. "I see you offer curb side service to the elderly," he said as he nodded toward Prowl and Prime.
They laughed as they turned to watch the pair join them.
Prowl frowned. "What lies are you telling now?"
"I told them that you were the fairest in the land," Ratchet said with a big smile.
Prowl snorted. "We're going to the Diner."
"On it," Ratchet said. "Ironhide is still at the Fort helping Thundercracker. He's coming in later on."
"That's our little mech," Sun said with a grin. He was standing behind Prowl with Jack, Steiner and Lissie. "Let's move. Breakfast waits for no mech. Or femme."
They moved out to The Diner On The Corner and a big feed together.
=0=The Hourly News: THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS!
"At this moment, the Prime's armada is returning from the field of battle on the refugee trail known as the Bootes Chute. The armada interdicted a number of Decepticon battle groups that had broken away from that part of the Empire still in Decepticon control to free boot as pirates and privateers. There were four groups led by known criminal elements and were stopped from coming further into the Prime's domain by concentrated military action.
"The interlopers were destroyed and gathered up with some ships claimed with most discarded or obliterated. The prison has been taking in new prisoners from those groups in a steady stream for the past two orns. The total count is not known but the entire population will be moved to the new prison fifty miles north of Autobot City in Crater 14D shortly.
"There were injuries to our people but no deaths. It's not known yet what the breakdown is for the pirates as the Office of the Primes and Office of Strategic Communications hasn't released that data yet. Optimus Prime will be speaking to the Empire at 1600 joors this evening on the TMC and hopefully, he'll have that and more information about the mission.
"It's the policy of the Prime to insure that the borders are closely monitored and any interlopers stopped short of entering his sovereign territory. At the moment, two groups are closely monitored and contained within that sovereignty that are led by the former Decepticons Razorclaw and Ominous. It was understood that these groups were meeting up to combine, then enter our space to challenge Ominous, then Razorclaw for command following their usual pattern of Decepticon command.
"The fleet is returning and will be placed back in their spots on the Ready-Go Flight Line and the secondary Alpha base at the Shipyard 200 miles north of Autobot City as others return to their stations at Cybertron. The mission is being considered a success by crew who've returned and more will be released as information is sorted and analyzed. Commander Jazz, Special Ops and Strategic Information Officer for the Prime says that the data will be released to the media as soon as its sorted out and prepared. Until then, we'll give you updates as they come in.
"In other news …"
Will muted the monitor as he sat at a mess table in the N.E.S.T. HQ where he was eating breakfast with the boys. "Damn. I want to go on these."
"Ask." Niall Graham buttered toast. "Include me when you do."
"Include me, too." -everyone else sitting there.
=0=Diner
The conversation was the usual stuff including who would help which Santa during the in person deliveries of presents in four orns. It wouldn't be as much as it once was now that they were reaching 200,000,000 population in the colony but the first schools and the elders would get their goodness. Other Santas would cover the remaining groups and schools, though Springer would take care of all the Intermediate schools considering there were only four in the colony.
Sitting with them taking a 'work breakfast' from school, a number of kids from the Autobot City infant medic and cop squad ate with them. They were there to present their portion of the Santa Priming. Each of them would go with one of the Santas to be his elves. No one was unhappy with that idea. Not even their genitors.
My, how the mighty have changed.
=0=TBC 12-21-2020 01-05-2021
(In this story, the Bootes Galaxy is 140,000,000 light years from Earth. I'm using a reference point that's directed that way for this to be the refugee trail and location of the fort that is 180,000 to 240,000 light years away with the constellation itself as a travel rather like using the North Star for navigation even if its a long way away. I like the name and its in the direction I want the area to be, though its a long way from being inside the Bootes Constellation itself. Just so you know.) :D:D:D