The Diego Diaries: Siren (dd8 2021)
(Damn. One finger that I need to type with is the hold out. Every time I touch it to the keys its like getting electrocuted.) HERE WE GO!
=0=Camber
"The process is unknown," the big mech said as he sat plugged into the console before him. "I am unclear what is at work here, General."
He glanced up at Raptor who looked as perplexed as he was.
It was then that an energy beam hit the big ship in force.
=0=Simfur earlier
They finished their observance at the home Temple, then walked to the offices of the command structure nearby in a ceremonial building that would be returned to the Temple when things were completed. Entering a bridge, Prime and his party disappeared back to Mars. It was getting late when they arrived and began to walk toward the apartment where they would spend a short bit of time eating with their families once the siren sounded shortly.
The night was gathering clear and cold on this, a holy orn on several worlds.
=0=On Camber at the same moment because space time
He rose from his seat with a look of surprise, then pain. A scream emanated from him, then he winked out. Sitting and standing nearby helping with the stations three other titans in pretender gear bent over, then winked out.
Staring around himself, Raptor shook off his surprise, then ran to environmental. Scanning for the titans, he glanced at Delphi. "They're not here. Camber, report."
There was silence.
=0=A short moment later
Prime and Prowl walked onto the deck of Camber heading for Raptor and the group at the command table. Screens around the room held the worried visages of several dreads and titans who were checked in without being here. "What is the situational report?" Prime asked as Prowl plugged into a console nearby.
"It would appear that an energy spike in the form of a narrow beam hit us and swept through. When it did Camber, Harpoon, Metroplex, Hammer of Primus and Slate winked out. We can't raise Camber on the channels. Its like he's not here," Raptor said. "Radical Wind is still here. Why, no one knows."
"We are working on finding them here, Prime," Ventigo, a scientific titan who was part of a cityscape on Mars said from a screen nearby. "Right now we cannot raise Hammer or Metroplex at this end."
Prime stared at the solemn face of Ventigo, then Prowl. "Where did they go? Did they actually go or are they in some form of status?"
"Ratchet went down to see," Raptor said.
=0=Inside the guts of a gigantic sentient being
Ratchet followed his scanners as he worked his way to the processor of the great being whose body he probably understood to a greater degree than anyone else outside of the frame. The readings of all his systems were typical and in range but the closer he got to the massive processing system that was his brain the more obvious it became that something was amiss.
He finally reached the room where he could interact, one with massive screens hundreds of feet high and wide as well as consoles and access ports. Sitting down, he plugged in and began to search for the distinct and brilliantly good personality of the metrotitan called Camber.
=0=Elsewhere
They came to their senses in a void. The space around them had no features and there were no markers that they were even in a space. The sensation of floating free of a body was nauseating for a moment or two but it was a mental thing. There was no body to process the sensation and then, mercifully, it passed by. They could feel the presence of the others but that was all.
They floated in their containment disembodied souls without a clue where they were. They knew the others were there but how to communicate … that would take a while to figure out.
=0=At the same time
"Ratchet to Prime."
:Prime here:
"I'm in the conscious brain center of Camber. Everything is running at optimal but the sentience that is active all the time that denotes personality and the spark of this mechanism is gone. The ticks that show its there aren't." Ratchet sat back to watch the data fly by on the screens around him. "It's like the part of his mind that runs things is here but the part that makes him who he is, the creative sentient personality part is missing. He's in no danger of dying. He's just not here. I suspect its so with the others back on Mars."
:Why not Radical Wind?:
"He's more experimental. His processor design is different so his 'brain waves' so to speak are not the same as the others. Maybe the thing can't see or experience his presence," Ratchet replied.
:What are your recommendations? What can we do?: Prime asked.
Ratchet thought a moment, then sat back. "Your guess is as good as mine. I want Percy and Wheeljack here. Percy, at least."0
=0=In a square box
"What if we're here a long time. How are we going to live?"
Everyone in the box glanced at a young kid who was Home Guard on his first mission.
"Not to worry. We can go into stasis mode. One stays awake as long as they can, then they go in while another stays awake. By the time the last one is standing Prime will be here. Trust me," Kup said. "Prime probably has it all figured out and is on his way."
The kid stared at Hercy with a strained expression. "Okay, Abba."
=0=Prime
"I am unclear what we are looking at," he said as he sat the table taking the briefing. Ratchet had linked into the other big ships and found the same thing but for Radical Wind.
"I suggest that the shuttles pull back, way back and wait. Consider this. Whatever that beam was it might be able to collect us in some way. They collected our ships in some unknowable manner that I believe is related the beam but they couldn't or didn't collect the titans and dread. It could be that they're limited to size on what they can transport, if that's what it is," Ratchet said.
Prime glanced at Prowl who rose to a console. "Shuttles, this is Prowl. You're going to be pulling back four sectors from here to go on standby. We're testing a theory."
:Understood: Springer's voice said as the others echoed.
After a moment a bridge burst into view and all of the remaining shuttles sped to it to disappear. It closed behind them.
"They're gone," Prowl said as he turned to the command table where Ratchet had joined them. "What next?"
"I'm not sure. Its like playing with a normal computer down there. The spark that was Camber is not there and apparently the same is true with the others on Mars," Ratchet said. "We had a flash of some kind, some sort of power that comes through and takes things.
"We find no evidence of a beam or anything energy directed," Prowl said as he sat again.
"I'm hypothetically speaking here," Ratchet said. "Consider the difference between the two events. The first had a shuttle and everyone on board taken away, disappearing right before our optics. Consider this second strike. We have something happen, the mechs who are in pretender gear feel it, then disappear. What's the difference?"
"The essence of who they are disappeared but their bodies are left behind," Prime replied.
Ratchet nodded. "Whatever's doing this has shown their hand. They have enough power to overtake the shuttles but not enough the titans. If they could, the ships and the rest of us would be taken away. Instead, we're still here. Size matters."
"Okay, so we might agree without evidence that there's a force or beam or energy being that we can't see who can exert enough force to disappear shuttle sized craft and crew but can only manage to take the animating force of these titans," Prowl said. "Now what?"
"Now we track them," Ratchet said grimly.
=0=On a shuttle nearby
It was murky on Impactor's Revenge as they waited for the call. Bezel was gone. Lon was here. What now? Nobody had a lot to say so they didn't. Conversations if at all were off line. No one wanted to make a bad scene worse.
=0=Camber
They walked in with a device in their hands, a big dish with a computer attached by a long bundle of wires. Walking to the front of the deck, Perceptor plugged it in and began to type. Wheeljack who had helped him carry it along with several techs walked to the table where everyone sat watching them.
"We decided to bring our scanner, the one that can cover literally billions of frequencies including some that are so faint or strange that no one bothers with them. Light has frequencies that can be traced if you look deep and wide enough." He grinned. "Percy built this a while ago to look at deep space quasars. Its a hobby."
"The hypothesis is that this is an energy beam or something on a different band than normal," Ratchet began. "I think it feels rather like a sentient thing or one controlled by something that can think … maybe a very good or near sentient computer. They took what they could and left the rest. It might seem reasonable for a machine perhaps that had a power level limit. But the fact that the rest of us are still here and those with pretender gear are gone is interesting and variable enough for me to think sentient or thinking, choosing its targets and trophies."
"That's reasonable. What power drop happened when the personalities disappeared? Compare it to the shuttles and those on board. I want to know if the ships are safe to be on given the circumstances," Wheeljack said.
Ratchet pulled a computer over and began to tap. He waited a moment, then glanced at Wheeljack. "The shuttle and its contents don't begin to match the size of the … files if you will that the ships represent. Either they only wanted that or they couldn't take both. I can't tell you that we're safe," Ratchet said.
Prime considered that. "Then they or it might come back and relieve the ship of its crew?"
"It might or maybe it only takes one trophy per attack," Wheeljack said.
"Brace yourself. I found it and its coming again," Perceptor said.
"SHIELDS!" Prowl said as the sparkling sight of shields coming up could be seen on the forward windows of all the ships here.
They tensed as they waited, then glanced at each other.
"When is it coming, Perceptor?" Prowl asked.
"It already did," Perceptor replied as he typed furiously.
Prowl hit the intercom. "I want a ship's assessment. Anything or anyone missing, report it to me."
It was silent a moment, then ships checked in. No one and nothing was missing.
Prowl walked to Perceptor then stared at the screen over his shoulder. "What the frag is this thing, Percy? What does it want or is it smart enough to reason with?"
"I'm not sure, Prowl. I'm still trying to figure it out and pin down its location," Percy said as he worked furiously. "Here it comes again."
They braced as they waited but felt nothing. Ships checked in. Nothing and no one was missing. It was intensely frustrating.
=0=Mica, Superintendent of Vos Tower, Metroplex Complex, Autobot City, Mars
He walked through the Senior Center checking out the rooms that were the heart and soul of the local scene of residents that lived not only in the tower but in others around the big city frame of the mighty Metroplex. It was quiet, familiar and ready to go when morning came.
A lot of seniors spent their orns here chatting, doing this and that thing, reading, working on crafts and when lunch came eating together in the dining rooms. Some of them were frail elders who were overseen by the duty nurse and doctor that were part of the program offered. Some of them needed a place to go so as not to be lonely because their families worked or went to school or because they were alone.
There were all manner of lounges, the game room where cutthroat competitions were held at cards and other games, the crafts room where all manner of art supplies were available to the many talented artists who used them and the kitchen and dining area. A crew worked there all day into the evening to ensure good food and snacks for their elders, some of which required specialized food and drink.
He paused by the door, then shut down the lights. Walking out to the lobby, he walked to the panel where he checked systems, set alarms and made his good nights. All seemed well. Before he closed the panel he pressed the internal com button. "Good night, Metroplex," he said to the mech he loved and managed.
No one said good night back for the first time since he landed in the city to become its heart. The mighty Metroplex was silent.
=0=TBC 07-29-2021