The Diego Diaries: Incident (dd8 236)
=0=Earth
Glenn Morshower sat in his office considering the dilemma ahead of them. The surprise hit on Diego, one of the most secretive and sensitive bases on Earth for any number of reasons that didn't include the Autobots had been a shocker. They'd worked hard to button up the system and still some bastards had gotten through.
Mick Moran was on Mars for the afternoon getting the full skinny from Prime and Prowl. They were preparing their defense for this intrusion, if there was one to be had so he waited to see what would come of it. The meeting had been tense as several of the civilian leaders with an eye on the mood of their people had been curt with Prime.
It irritated him, military man that he was because few understood the loopholes and countermeasures that could come winging at you out of the blue like he and Prime did. They were entrepreneurs of the possible, not the perfect.
He glanced out of the window staring at the endless stories of business going on inside the pentagram that was their building. There were levels of this place that were off limits to everyone but for the number of people you could count on both hands. He operated in that sphere, aware of the universe and its vagaries as well as some of the most sensitive stuff that very few understood or were allowed to know, the lucky bastards.
The sun was slanting and would soon shroud by its absence an entire interior wall of the building itself, darkening for a while into shadow the tall plain design of that angle. It would pass as the sun continued, or rather the Earth continued on its daily jaunt. That he knew more about both than he did before the bots, that he's seen both from close up in space so much that it almost, ALMOST seemed passe was still an amazing thing to him.
A phone rang so he picked it up. "Hello. Morshower."
"Well, hello, Morshower," a familiar voice said.
He grinned. "Are you out of the shelters yet?"
"We never went in," Barbara Morshower said to her husband of nearly 55 years. "We sat in the office eating lunch and a bunch of desserts but the door to the shelter was open if we needed it. I'm bringing home dinner from the leftovers. Expect a lot of desserts."
He laughed. "I count on it."
They would chat a while on one of the most highly encrypted phone lines in the world before signing off. The afternoon would drag on as he watched the circus on the television.
=0=MCA, London Studio
"Welcome back. We're talking to our panel about the situation at Diego Garcia and the emergency at Autobot City on Mars. You were speaking to the actions of the security system on Mars," she said to James Majorly who was a spokesman for the group, Earth First.
"I was saying that if it was important enough to have the population of the colony go to ground why weren't we informed of the situation's seeming danger? No one was given the chance to prepare for an invasion or incursion. No one let us know that this was taking place until the situation was completed. What if they'd flown from Diego Garcia to Europe or elsewhere? We deserved to be told," he said.
"What would we have done?" Walter Consule, a civilian in Global N.E.S.T who was stationed in Berlin asked. "What could we have done that wasn't done already? We were alerted through the system that an incursion was underway and we raised our level of threats immediately. We sent planes into routes designed to meet anyone who wasn't supposed to be there and all steps were taken. There aren't enough bomb shelters in the world to hold eight billion people."
"But Autobot City was cleared. 200,000,000 bots went to ground," Majorly replied.
"They have them. They have enough bomb shelters to take their population below ground. Given that they'd be the main target of any incursions into the system by right of being Cybertronians, it seems like a wise investment of time and energy to make that a major part of everyone's building plans there," Consule replied.
"If they weren't here we wouldn't be facing this over and over and over again," Majorly replied.
"We would. We'd be facing it alone. Consider this. They came here and reached Diego. They blew up the ready-go fleet but had to flee when Prime's forces bridged in. If the bots weren't here they would've continued onward bombing wherever they wanted," Consule said.
"But there would be no need for them to be here if the bots were gone," Majorly replied.
"I beg to differ," the moderator said, a man named Bruce Stewart. "Its been made clear that the mass of energon found in this system would bring them here. How would they not come when its such an important mineral and in such abundance? It floats in space out to Alpha Centauri. What would you plan to do about that?" he asked.
"They can have it," Majorly said. "All they'd have done is take it and leave us alone. What the hell do we have that they could possibly want?"
Mick Moran, Morshower's chief of staff who was here from Mars before bridging to Virginia to brief Morshower listened silently to the old argument once more. Then he leaned his elbows on the table before him. "What makes you think that these maniacs need a reason to kill us? Why would they need any reason for what they do? I've been to Cybertron many times. It's a desolation. It happened because Megatron was pissed off. He didn't have to destroy his own nest but he did. What makes you think you matter enough to leave alone if his own planet means to little to him?"
Morshower who was in his office watching the show with his staff shook his head. "I'll never understand the denial that they possess thinking that giving anything short of ruination will ever appease Megatron. I don't get it how they don't get it."
Joe Bowers who was sitting with him sighed. "I know," he said softly.
=0=Ratchet
He left the office early to head for home. The kids were already there staying in the care of Fireball, Genesis and Quasar. They wanted to have more responsibility so two orns a week they were at home with the little kids.
Entering the house, Ratchet met the usual hoo-haw and general accounting of the orn's highs and lows before walking to his chair to sit. The little kids danced around, then ran for the toy boxes in the various rooms nearby.
The three big kids sat, then Quasar leaned forward slightly. "What does this mean, Ada? Someone can bridge into our secured system."
"It means we crank up our tech a bit. There's nothing truly new or different about the bridging system they have here but for the pinpoint accuracy of the tech. That's new. Most 'Con tech is crap but this has the hallmarks of Jhaixus to me. There's something about a piece of tech by that slagger that speaks to me," Ratchet said.
"They put us on level three alert on the DMZ. Someone told me that they don't want this group, whoever it is, to link up with Razorclaw. Do you think they will?" Fireball asked.
Ratchet considered that including the idea that three of his kids were on a level three war footing with six of his other ones. "I think Prime has it covered. Razorclaw knows Prime will come for him if he does anything stupid and I don't think Razorclaw wants to blow what he has now on a losing venture against us. He can't defeat us but he can be defeated. He's patient and smart, Our Razorclaw. He'd wait to build up to try it and now he can't without getting obliterated."
"That's good to know," Genesis said as he sat back. "We're not afraid to fight, Ada, but its mid terms at school right now."
It took all Ratchet had not to laugh out loud.
=0=On the way home
They walked from the bridge room at The Fortress up the stairs to Ops Center to drop off the orn's data. Every day they made a point of bringing the most updated information back to Ops Center here and at The Citadel in Iacon so that the planning of rebuilding could be done as swiftly and as well as could be made.
Blackjack grinned at Prowl who was gathering things up to shift change with Paragon. "You look grim. What's the plan?"
"Staff meeting tomorrow unless there's an invasion tonight. If there is you better be here pronto," Prowl said with a smirk as he stuffed his stuff into his leather bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, he signaled Prime to meet him. "So far, so nothing. They came, they fragged us up, they left, the slaggers."
Prime exited the corridor nearby and walked to the group. "How goes the war?"
"All is well," Hard Drive said. "We're exceeding our planning. I feel very good about how its coming along."
"That is very good news," Optimus said as he walked out with his senior staffers.
It was dusk when they stepped out heading for the barn. Lights were coming on and they twinkled in the cold thin air from towers and poles all over the place. The lights that illuminated the Temple District and all the shrines and Basilica were also shining to showcase the genius of their people's art and personal viewpoints.
Cabs were driving on the congested streets as bots went home or came out for the abundant night life. A horse patrol waved to them as they turned down Cultural Center Road. They waved back, crossed the street, then went into their building. Some went to the Metro to go home but most entered the same building. It was good to be home.
=0=That night
It was getting dark as night wore on. The horses' hooves sounded hollow on the pavement as they crossed the parking lot of Earth2. It was a route that they took traveling through the parking lots of every habitat on world including the Resort and the Mall of Terra. The humans liked it and they felt the comfort of protection from the Watch teams that rode horses on their beats.
Drift and Springer rode side-by-side. Drift carried Tell in his hold against the baby complaining about his treatments. If he did Drift was prepared to ride home and address his discomfort from the warmth of his own house and crib. For now, the baby was sleeping soundly.
"What do you think is going to happen with the slaggers?" Drift asked.
"They'll push their luck and we'll whip their afts. No one can field the army we have and it gets bigger with every Autobot soldier we get back," Springer said.
Drift nodded. "I heard there's a staff meeting tomorrow morning."
"When? Tell has his last treatment tomorrow," Springer said.
"His last one for the next six orns," Drift corrected. "Then they measure his mutations and see if the second round is needed."
"Do you think it is?" Springer asked.
Drift shrugged. "I hope not."
"That makes two of us," Springer replied as they rode out of Earth2's parking lot heading for the Consulate down the road. It was a cold dark night on Mars as they did.
=0=Late that night over Brussels
The ships came out of nowhere and buzzed the city. They were clearly seen on radar and many cameras pointed here and there. As swiftly as they came, they were gone.
As swiftly as they were gone, that's how swiftly the shit hit the fan.
=0=TBC 8-23-2021
Skinny: slang for the inside word, the truth.