The Diego Diaries: Incident (dd8 233)
=0=At the colony
They hurried down the stairs to the elevators in the sub floors that led to the shelters which were filling up. Endless streams of humans hurried along heading for the one place most heavily armored on their station. Prima Station was in lockdown the same as everywhere else in the Sol System.
Everyone had abandoned their stations and homes heading for the shelters where they would stay until the all clear. One of the conditions of living in such a place was to heed the sirens and to have a practice station wide once every six decaorns. Even though there were thousands there and a lot of things depended upon attendance, it was understood that one was to go.
Given that Prime's solemn voice was transmitting that this wasn't a drill was incentive to go. Down through the inhabited levels the masses came. Those in the upper levels where there were habitats and things to do for pleasure as a taste of home, the humans hurried to the elevators that were on every deck to disappear down below. The station would fall into automated operation once the mechs and femmes who worked there as well cleared everyone, then joined them with their weapons drawn.
=0=The Emergency Command Center, Fortress Maximus
Inferno sat at the console of the command center that allowed him to see everything going on everywhere and speak to those in the field. "Hercy, what do you see?" he asked as the shuttles flying to Earth fell out of the bridge over Diego.
"I see five ships, small, fast and powerful strafing the ready-go line. Our ships are on fire and there are mechs firing at them. The humans are huddled all over the place. We're going to give them chase," Hercy said as he spoke onscreen as he sat in the co-pilot's seat.
Revo was flying in a beeline to the ships who had spotted them, then turned hard to leave. As they began to do so they winked out of sight.
"Frag. That's either strange bridge tech or they're cloaked. We need Teletraan to scan the area. Look for bridge residue or cloaking," Hercy said.
"On it," Inferno said as he sent a message to Teletraan over the highly encrypted line seeking data. It was returned almost immediately. "Auntie says was a bridge. Residue nearby from entry, residue here due to exiting. There's no cloaking nor tech advantage there."
"Take us down," Hercy said. "Thanks, Inferno. Hercy out."
They began a fast descent onto the airfields of Diego Garcia Base.
=0=Around the colony
They filed as swiftly as they could into the elevator and went down to the shelters that were under every building built in the colony. No one was ever more than a couple of miles from somewhere that had shelter. Vos Tower was no exception.
Elders hobbled or were rolled into elevators while others waited to go. The siren was muted but they could hear it through the protected space of their senior center. All over the colony the staff of the centers helped their precious cargo make their way underground. Everyone knew what to do. The sirens were always tested at noon on Second Thursday which had turned into a trusted re-calibration point for anyone's chronometers.
All of the practice paid off as they made their way, some of them emotionally and others fearfully. The greatest casualties of any war were always among the very old and the very young. Many of the elders making their way downward had seen it all.
=0=Autobot City Medical Center, Autobot City
Lucien helped push a travel trolley filled with newborn babies into an elevator to go downward. He's left his office in the Secretariat to assist. Laslo was safe in the University shelter and he was going to go downward to the hospital's own but there was work to be done. Those here for illnesses were taken down in cargo elevators to special shelters which would support their devices.
Others went to other spaces where there was assistance for them. Children were grouped together and their families assisted. Nurses, orderlies, workers of all stripe and manner, doctors and technicians hustled with civilians like Lucien to get everyone down to safety. It would take a while, then the hospital would be silent, unnaturally so.
=0=On the ground at Diego Garcia, Earth
The shuttles landed on a pockmarked landing strip that brought back memories for those who were here when the Insecticons had attacked. Several of their ships were burning as their fuel began to ignite. The mechs had brought equipment and were fighting the flames which were spectacular and bright, roaring with fury into the air.
Prime, Prowl and Ratchet jumped from shuttles, then ran toward the teams fighting the fires, dousing the ammunition on board with special chemicals to keep it from exploding. Prime paused beside Smokescreen who was watching the sky with his weapons. "What happened? What's the body count, if any? Are there any humans hurt?"
Smokey glanced around. "We're good. You might want to check the humans. We're stuck here with the fires."
Prime glanced down the way toward the base itself and saw a line of fire across the tarmac from the intruders shooting. He began to follow it, running toward humans who were just then beginning to step out of the places they dived to hide. He paused before a number of enlisted men and women. "Are you alright? Is there anyone hurt?"
Everyone glanced around, then looked up at him.
"There was a lot of shooting but the line of fire ended at the Embassy. I think you took some hits, sir," a sergeant said.
Prime turned toward the Embassy to note that the Autobrand on the semi-opened doors had been drilled several times. Bumblebee who was running toward him with his weapons in hand slid to a stop on the damp tarmac. "Is anyone hurt, Bumblebee?"
"No, Optimus," Bumblebee said. "We got lucky. There was enough fire from us and you came quickly enough that they fled. They appeared out of nowhere and left the same way. They have bridges, whoever they are. I saw no markings on the ships to indicate they were 'Cons or not."
Prime nodded, then watched as John Fulton and a half dozen suits from the Pentagon jogged toward him. Among them was Mick Moran, a colonel, friend and chief of staff of Glenn Morshower. "Gentlemen."
"Optimus," Fulton said. "What happened? We were attacked by space ships. Do we have raiders in the system?"
"We had bogies reported and we came here immediately. They were chased, then disappeared with bridge technology that we are not entirely familiar with," Prime said. "Our concern was the safety of everyone. I am told that everyone is."
"The shooting didn't reach us but it nailed your door, Optimus," Mick said as he stared at the embassy. He looked upward. "This is going to be a shit show if we don't have something fast to tell everyone."
The suits, a number of civilian men in the Pentagon, State Department and Department of Defense said nothing as they stared at the big mech who was also gauging them.
It was tense.
=0=In the colony
They sat on air mattresses kept for this purpose and ate snacks in the shelters of Youngling Day School #1 in Centurion. Teachers sat with their kids comforting some of them and keeping everyone calm and occupied. The students from Earth, the newer ones were enjoying the situation because they were unaware of how much danger they were in, viewing it as all kids do as an adventure. Some of the older human kids who were wiser to the ways of such situations watched them.
"Tinsley has no idea what could happen. She's just clueless," Jaycee Jameson said.
Rain Harris nodded. "I wonder what did? Someone said Prime mentioned an intruder in the system."
"I hope its not another phase sixer. The last time that happened we were on the brink," Camilla Brown said as she leaned back against the wall. "At least we don't have math class today."
"Mr. Terradive won't forget," Rain said with a grin. "Unfortunately."
Terradive who was kneeling nearby assisting a child to open a snack pack grinned to himself. "You got that right, Rain," he said quietly to himself.
=0=Diego
The reporters for the news consortium pool on base stood behind a line of MP's who were managing crowds as Sky worked the scene. His team had bridged in from Metrotitan to do a complete forensic work up. They were busily taking images, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses to make the report that would either placate or disturb the world which had counted on them making and keeping things nice.
Given the last assault was some time ago, this would be a big noisy flash bang in the face of a world population that had been basking in the idea that they were safe from all flotsam and jetsam from space including asteroids, pirates and Decepticons.
Now, things were thrown in a cocked hat.
Watching the collection nearby, Prowl kept his usual dozen or so lines open to gather to himself as much information as possible. This was an incursion. It was a bad thing. They were going to catch a boatload of shit from this happening. It would have to be Ratchet who handled it. He, himself was immersed in figuring out who and what had disturbed their tranquility.
The fraggers had just made the worst shit list in the known universe.
=0=Far out in the universe from the Sol System, flying along the Orion arm toward their fleeting
They flashed past taking data on an intriguing discovery as they did. A space station with a huge clientele of ships was situated on what was clearly the best pathway for ship travel in the area. This was not an easy part of the arm, the place they'd come from and the place they just raided. Now a glittering jewel was hanging in space and they added it to the data dump they would make for Paladin when they got back.
Someone had a lot of wealth and power. That someone was Prime. It would help build the picture going forward. They disappeared into their last bridge jump before the circumstances of the area made it impossible.
=0=The Hourly News: THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS!
"Welcome back," Lim-Lee said as she sat beside Aleph. "We've received word that a battle group led by Optimus Prime has landed at Diego Garcia, a military base on Earth that is home to our embassy. It is said that the intruders who are still unidentified bridged through some unknown mechanism to Diego where they strafed and burned a large number of ships that are based there as part of the 'ready-go' armada that supports the protection of Earth and her people.
"There is no word on what was found there though there are indications that no one was hurt, thankfully. Further details will be released through the Office of Strategic Information when Commander Jazz of Kaon compiles it from soldiers on the site.
"We are switching the feed slightly to pick up a broadcast from the Consortium News Pool that lives and works on Diego Garcia," she said as the screen split and one could see the burning ships and Prime with his officers consulting with humans, some familiar and some not.
The feed was being narrated by a reporter there for the MCA download.
"The unknown bogies came in about half an hour ago and strafed the flight line where the Autobots keep their 'ready-go' flight. That is, this is the place where fully armed and fueled ships are kept to facilitate a speedy departure when something comes up. All of them were damaged from the attack that was so fast no one could react.
"At nearly the same time, a battle group of attack shuttles from Mars arrived and drove them off. They disappeared through some as yet unexplained bridging mechanism almost immediately. The senior Autobots are consulting with base officials including commandant, Brigadier General John Fulton and with him are several Pentagon and Defense Department officials who were here when this happened."
=0=Sitting in the Emergency Command Center watching the newscaster
Inferno and Red Alert watched the reporting, then Red Alert shook his
helm. "This isn't going to be good at all."
"I wouldn't be Ratchet for love nor money," Inferno agreed.
=0=TBC 8-17-2021