The Diego Diaries: Anomaly (dd8 232)
=0=Later that evening
Springer paced the living room of his apartment holding his fussy baby. Tell had been given his first preparatory treatment that afternoon for the gene therapy that would begin the next orn. It would be a slightly nauseating and painful process given that the solution and textual scripts would be rewriting nearly every cell in his tiny body. It would be 'resetting' him back to 'factory' status so that his audials would be able to work once more.
There would be no transplanting of audials for tiny ears. It would be a straight up reboot of his cellular structure from his tiny peds to his sweet little helm. Right now, he was feeling the first of several moments when his tiny tanks and helm would feel it. Fortunately, would fade about three to four joors after it was started until the next time.
"I hate it when he's upset," Springer said as he walked back toward the kitchen before turning once again to walk toward the hallway. "He's so good otherwise."
Drift nodded as he sat on the couch watching anxiously. "He's always good. I hate it that he's feeling so poorly."
Springer nodded. "Do we call Ada?" he asked.
"I don't know. Maybe I can call him or something," Drift replied.
"Do," Springer said.
Drift off lined the conversation. :Drift to Ratchet:
:I'm here:
:Tell is fussy and I think he has pain. What do we do?: Drift asked as he cut Springer in.
:Are you walking him? That's always comforting. Just holding him will be the best thing you can do. We can't give him anything for his little hurts. Give it a couple of joors, then call me if he isn't better. I think if you can rock him to sleep, then good:
:Alright. Drift out: Drift sat back. "We just have to do what we're doing. Ada said to call if he's not better in a couple of joors. He also said rocking him to sleep is a good idea."
"We don't have a rocking chair," Springer said as he crisscrossed the room again. "Maybe we need one."
"We can look," Drift said.
It would be a tense trio for about two more joors before Tell of Polyhex and Kaon, Cybertron and Mars drifted off to recharge at last.
=0=Out there
"What is the location and status of our scouts?" Paladin asked his second, the phase six mechanism Serial.
He glanced at Paladin. "They can jump if they want. What are your orders?"
Paladin considered that. "Give them the last commands, then let them choose. If we can get it sooner rather than later, fine. The more intel the better."
Lancer who had learned his poisoned craft at the knee structures of Jhiaxus glanced up from his station nearby. "Commander, I'm detecting a space station up the arm from us. It appears to be a hub for travelers and trade. It also appears to be the property of Prime."
Paladin considered that. "Prime has been busy. Send a group to scan it and if they can, go inside to see what its for and what the security is like. Strip them of markers and make them look like a wayside traveler. I want information."
Serial turned to his console, typed out the orders, then watched as the requisite ship and crew were launched. It would take them over a day and a half to reach the Autobot Space Station on the Silk Road .
Without bridging. They could do either.
=0=Home that night
The kids ran around the room playing this and that as Ratchet packed huge lunches for the three big titanic kids who lived with them here. They were going to camp at the Valles and do science experiments in the geographic rock strata so open to exploration to determine how much volcanic activity and what kinds had been a part of the formation of this, their new home planet.
"I love fixing things for someone who knows how to eat," Ratchet said as he sealed the last bulging bag. Sliding them into a cooler, he closed the lid and set it on the counter. It would be going with them the next orn.
"WHAT ABOUT ME! I, IRONHIDE LOVE TO EAT!"
Ratchet glanced at him with a grin. "Want some leftovers or do you want an encore on dessert?"
He wanted both. He got both.
=0=Morning in the Indian Ocean of Earth
The skies were ever lovely and the sun hot. The humidity was a 'moderate' 82% and the ocean sparkled beautifully. It was the usual morning with this and that hustling here and there to do who knew what. The soldiers, sailors, airmen and women along with civilians and who knew who else that weren't on duty were swimming, jogging, tanning or hanging with the mechs at the Embassy.
It was very peaceful as Smokescreen the Elder worked at the command table getting his reports together. He would send them to Prowl who would do whatever Prowl did with them. When that was over he would walk outside and trade poker stories with the human punters who fancied themselves gamblers until shift change.
None of them were in his league.
=0=Early morning on Mars
He sat in The Diner with a number of friends glumly stirring his hot drink.
"Why such a sour puss?" Jolt asked.
"I have to do a detail at the Temple grounds," Smokescreen the Younger replied. "I have to do it with him."
Jolt considered that. "How about trying something else? What you're doing now doesn't work."
Smokey sat back, then glanced at Jolt. "Like what?"
"How about writing him out of your book? You seem to hold on to him, getting yourself into this kind of slag. Cut him loose and mean it," Jolt said.
Smokey stared at him, then his drink. "I did."
"Did you?" Jolt asked.
Smokey had nothing to say. In a couple of joors he and Hot Rod would be hard at it again chopping into rock hard sandy grains of volcanic powdery dirt, hauling it to the container for dumping at the gravel pit.
It would be as tedious as it sounded.
=0=Out there
"Commander 1. Check in." The Decepticon pilot glanced at his instruments. The jump potential here without blowing up from an energy surge was optimal.
Pings greeted that.
"I think its time to jump. There's smooth going ahead and the Commander needs intel. Go on my count to five. Ping receipt," the lead ship said.
Pings were had from the other four before he began to count down. "Five … four … three … two … one," he said before the five of them disappeared entirely.
=0=At a console doing her first duty off world as a Home Guard tech
She stared at her console with dedication, this newly minted and terribly dedicated youngling femme who was handling sensors and all the radar intel from the arrays everywhere. She stared at the sudden appearance of two to five large blips on her screen, blips that overlapped a bit at the moment.
She glanced over at Smokescreen who had come in and was chatting with the humans who sat at the consoles during shift. "Commander, we have bogies on screen."
Smokescreen jumped up, then hurried to the console. Studying the screen, he punched the button for Mars. "Smokescreen to Prowl."
:Prowl here:
"We have unexplained bogies over Diego. They fit the configuration of Decepticon scout vessels."
Prowl froze as he put down his bag of work and data pads on the command table. Paragon who was waiting to brief him froze along with Prowl. "Hit the alarm. Send the intel. We're on our way."
Smokescreen walked to the console nearby, linked in with the base communications system, then hit the alarm button. "Now here this. This is not a drill. Go to the closest air raid shelter. This is not a drill." As he did that, he called up mechs who were here and there around the base. The sound of screaming wheels could be heard as they began to converge on the ready-go line.
As they did, a ship came from the clouds and began to strafe them.
=0=On Mars
The moment the message came to everyone in the colony through their transponders would be long remembered. "This is Optimus Prime. This is not a drill. Go to the nearest shelter and stay there. Do not go home or try to go to schools. All of our children are being protected. This is not a drill. Everyone go to the nearest shelter to your location and stay there. We have intruders in the system. I am Optimus Prime. This is not a drill …"
=0=Earth2
Owen Harris froze when the air raid siren at the facility blared into life. Everyone everywhere froze as they listened to the message playing over the loud speakers. "This is Optimus Prime. This is not a drill. Go to the nearest shelter and stay there …"
He glanced around at the startled faces of his office staff, then gathered himself. "Get moving. Now. Go to the shelters now."
Outside on the concourse the security staff and those from the Command Center on the secured side of the upper deck were on the floor directing everyone to go. They would go from place to place helping everyone go down into the substructure where the shelters were. When everyone was there they would seal everyone in. It would be silent and empty in the facility when they did.
=0=The Mall of Terra, Autobot City
They fled into the big elevators that led to the shelters where they would sit in comfort and watch the monitors that all of them had. It would show the outside scene where millions of individuals would be hurrying to the nearest shelter while literally thousands of soldiers would be running for their locations as heavily armed as they would be in war.
There were soldiers directing and helping others who were hurrying for the nearest building nearly all of which had some form of substructure shelter. Endless streams of individuals running could be seen, some carrying babies and children while others carried what they had when they were walking in and out of stores or on the street.
It was chaos appearing but oddly orderly as they fled into shelter looking over their shoulders at the sky.
=0=Youngling Day School #1, Centurion, Autobot City
They walked hurriedly in lines heading for the shelters that were build below for this reason. Into the lobby at the same time came heavily armed Interventionist teams who were there to seal in the shelters and guard them against anyone entering. They would file into the long corridor that led to the steel doors that closed on the shelters.
They would remain in the corridor sealing the outside doors against attack as well. Hundreds of soldiers were poised in the schools everywhere with weapons in servo. It would be extremely punishing for anyone to try to breach the doors.
The school was silent as the last child was carried inside, heading for large rooms with stockpiled mattresses for the floors. Mr. Terradive would calmly settle his children, human and Cybertronian before walking to the monitor to get the sit-rep. Waiting in his subspace were his rifle, knives and handguns. He would help defend the children, too.
=0=Resort of Autobot City, Autobot City, Mars
They came in from the golf courses, swimming holes and hiking trails herded in by Resort security. Inside, long lines were shuffling along to go into the huge emergency elevators that led to the shelters. There was a lot of conversation, some shouting and a couple of individuals arguing with security.
Judy Witwicky stood with Ron in the middle of the chaos watching as their guests were gathered up. Two buses were out on tours and would pull in somewhere to join the bots in the shelters. Soon the concourse would be silent and the 2,500 guests and 124 live-in workers on world who called the Resort home would be sheltered in place, waiting for word about the intruder.
=0=On their way
Ratchet barely made it to the ship before it began to lift off. It was heading for the bridges overhead, then Diego where there were shots fired by an unknown Decepticon intruder. The ship disappeared into the sky almost immediately.
=0=TBC 8-16-2021