The Diego Diaries: Incident: Pursuit (dd8 243)
=0=On their way
Sun and Jack sat on separate shuttles playing cards on a monitor. All around them big mechs with bigger guns sat watching them and kibitzing on the game. It was relaxed but attentive as they flew onward toward five shuttles that had reached a roadblock at the edge of The Ruins.
"You can't play cards for slag, Sun. Admit it. I got all the talent," Jack was saying.
"I'll admit that you got all the talent for bullshit but that's about it," Sun replied with a chuckle.
"We're half a joor from them," a mech said who was flying Sun's shuttle.
"Sounds good. What's the situation ahead?" Sun asked as they began to sort out their weapons around him. The other six shuttles were probably doing the same thing.
It was silent a moment, then the pilot replied. "We're coming up on a wave of radiation that appears to be new, perhaps from a surge further into The Ruins. Its so radiantly bright that no one is going in there for a while. As for the rest of the area," he said, then paused to check information, "there's a nebula close by that appears to be a good hiding place. There's a lot of gas and rubble before you get there."
Sun nodded. "Did you get that Prowl?" he asked over an open comm link. "We're flying blind here because of the light."
:Affirmative: Prowl replied. :We have new information coming in from you and our arrays. There's been a surge. Either the fleet got caught in it or they're blocked for a while. While its not the biggest surge we've recorded its enough to keep them contained for a bit of time, perhaps a few weeks if they weren't killed outright:
"Do you have good data on the nebula and debris field? We have less acuity now with the radiation here. We believe they were headed that way before our sensors began to score ghost images," Jack said as he sat in the co-pilot seat of his own shuttle.
There was a pause, then Prowl was back. :The images we have are of them beginning to go toward the nebula to wait this out. We can send you their coordinates. If you work with us on this we should be able to minimize the ghost echoes for you:
"Good. Send them," Jack said.
Prowl would.
=0=Autobot City at the Children's Clinic for round three of the treatment
They sat in the lounge waiting for the technician to take the baby into the room for his treatment. It took about 35 minutes and was a tough wait for his dads.
Springer sat in a chair watching Drift wrap Tell in his 'lucky' blanket so that he could have that comfort when they came for him. He smiled at Drift who smiled back. "I'm sorry, Tell, that you have to have this slag. I wish you didn't."
"You and me both," Springer said tensely. "I hate this. Surely this will be enough. Right?"
"I don't know. I hope so," Drift said as the tech walked in, then paused before them with a grin.
"Come on, baby. Time to take care of you," the tech said as he took the infant from Drift.
Tell stared at him, remembered who he was and why he was seeing him, then began to cry. It wasn't loud but it was deeply mournful. He was carried out of the room to the lab nearby.
Drift and Springer stared after him tensely as he disappeared into the corridor.
Shifting uneasily, Springer glanced at Drift. "I can't tell you how I hate to hear him cry. I don't want to hear it. I don't want him to have to cry."
"He will but we can try and make it for as few times as we can," Drift said equally tensely. "When he comes back we can go to the baby room and use the rocker there. I think if we can get him past the first joor or two this close to doctors then the rest should be easier."
Springer nodded then both of them sat silently and tensely as they waited for the baby to come back.
=0=Ops Center
Prowl and Prime sat at the command table watching the huge monitor nearby showing the prey and their pursuers, the group he sent after them to lower the boom. It was quiet and professional in the center with everyone working at their tasks efficiently and well.
Calls from dozens of countries on Earth were received and noted for scheduled recalls. Most of them were seeking information and even though there was tension and worry, most of those calling were willing to wait to see what happened. Only a vocal handful were making any noises about this.
Footfalls alerted them as both glanced over to see Jetta walking toward them. He pulled a chair to sit. "Hows it going? I cleared the schedule to assist."
"So far, it appears that the main group is caught in or behind a surge. It was a small to moderate intensity and currently has lit up the area with agitated and thus radiant energy and light. The five ships, one of which appears to have been damaged have turned away toward a broken debris field and a small old nebula nearby with low light desnity. It would appear that they intend to use the edges of the nebula to cover their signals until they can continue forward to the battle group," Prowl replied.
"What's the likelihood that the battle group got caught in an energy floe and isn't the problem it was a moment ago?" Jetta asked.
"Given its us?" Prowl said as he shook him helm. "Slim to none but I'll hold a good thought."
Prime grinned, then glanced at Jetta. "How are your genitors?"
"Doing well," Jetta replied. "The court is doing a preliminary hearing tomorrow about the case and they're going to review if my genitors and the others are ready to speak to what happened. Its a review so they won't have to appear. If they aren't up to it then the case timelines will require a release of the three mechs." Jetta's voice was grim as he spoke.
"It won't affect the charges. We have no statute of limitations on some of the things that happened in the Diaspora or we'd never get justice for anyone. We can indict them later and maybe have more evidence and witnesses as well," Prowl said.
Jetta nodded. "I don't think they're up to it right now. They've come a long way but they get agitated when the idea of court comes up. They don't want to see them or have to speak about this in front of them."
"Well, the social workers will know what to do for now. We have time," Prowl said sympathetically. "Have they decided to work or are they going to have fun instead?" he asked with a slight grin. The idea of such a life was frightening to him but to a lot of damaged mechs and femmes, it was the promised land.
Jetta glanced at him, then grinned slightly. "They're taking their time. My atar believes he has to work to be allowed to live here but we're disabusing him of it. He comes to the office and helps us three orns a week around his counseling schedules. My ada likes to putter around the house and read. Its relaxing and I think a bit of an escape."
"They are entitled to it," Prime said. "No one has to work here if they can't or want to try other things. We can support that. Its what I dream of for our people, the right to choose their path no matter what it is."
Prowl nodded. "Not working is not for me, I think. But I'm totally happy with the idea that we can do this for our people. They deserve it."
Jetta nodded. "I know," he said. They would chat quietly and watch as the shuttles following the five made the turn toward the nebula and debris field as well.
=0=Ratchet
He sat at his desk in the Medical Center working on his speech to the United Nations about things and what they were doing about it. It was being arranged around his schedule given that he was going to bring the most updated information possible and thus postponing it a bit was a good thing. Messages had been sent to the press about the situation and some information had been released. But the full story would be delivered by him at the United Nations so all the right stuff would be known.
Those that hated an alien presence in the system were hard at it in the news as ever. Though they were a minority opinion, this event had rattled a lot of cages. Rather than allow them to steal the lead and momentum among the minds and hearts of humanity, Ratchet had to retrieve that by using the information to help people understand the situation would be theirs to face alone without the bots.
As long as energon existed here in abundance, free floating in space as well, then there would be no peace for anyone.
The light streamed in and it was peaceful on the 49th floor of the building as Ratchet tapped away on his computer composing a speech of words and statistics for a traumatized Earth to consider.
=0=Out there
They flew together, two of them towing one of the shuttles that had been damaged during their daring do. They were heading through an area of broken planetoids and the usual debris of catastrophes past. Most of space was empty of very visible items, some of it very much so. Even a place that should be as filled with debris as the failed planet that formed the field between Mars and the outer planets was more dense appearing on paper than it was in real fact.
One could fly ships through the Main Asteroid Belt that formed the debris field between Mars and Jupiter without touching anything depending on where you were going. Some of it was huge including Ceres which was the largest asteroid inside the Sol system. It wasn't a slow or difficult job to do so in many places but the field they were crossing here was very dense with small objects.
They flew onward with a continuous stream of small debris flying past their windows like snow. It was annoying and helpful to hide but not a problem for their vessels.
It also wasn't a problem for the six Autobot battle shuttles that just entered the area and was hot on their trail.
=0=At a Children's outpatient clinic, Mars
They received him from the tech and the word that he was doing well and progressing. No, they couldn't tell just yet if he needed more. That would come next time when they did measurements of his CNA. Right now, Springer held Tell as he cried in his little lucky blanket, clutching a tiny teddy bear to his chassis like a monkey.
The tech walked on to the next job as the two watched him leave. Then they walked to the children's recovery lounge nearby to enter it. The lighting was low and there were beds to recline on with your sick child and toys in boxes. Nice chairs were available and so were rockers.
Drift pulled one next to a chair, then watched as Springer sat down, arranged Tell against his shoulder, then massed heat there for him. He sat himself feeling strained as the baby cried.
Springer rocked in the chair patting Tell's back as the baby began to wind down from the heat underneath him and his genitors holding him. He glanced at Drift. "I really hate this."
Drift nodded. "Think about when he can hear. He can play with his toys, the ones that have noises."
"That little engine?" Springer asked with a slight grin.
"Even that one," Drift said.
The next two joors would wind by slowly and painfully before Tell would feel well enough to go home with his fathers. It would be equally painful for them to hear him cry.
=0=TBC 9-1-2021
ESL
kibitz: (kih-bits) to comment or chat about something that someone else is doing.
acuity: (uh-kwue-ity) the ability to see in detail, sharpness in vision or intellect