The Diego Diaries: Incident: Who (dd8 255)
=0=Out there
They pulled up beside the cube and scanned deep into the interior which had been blown out by blasts from space. It was a huge gaping hole because apparently the interior was an ammunition depot in the ship which had gone up like a roman candle. The cavernous interior was dark and spooky even to the mechs. Though ghosts were held to be a thing in Cybertronian culture and most believed in them, no one wanted to be around them and seers made a good sideline selling protections against them to The People.
Dev floated out and magnetized to the deck, pulling a gun as he did. Old habits died hard. The others made their way as well, ending up on the deck with a handful of Decepticons including Cord. They stared at each other, then Hercy stepped closer. "I'm Hercy."
Cord nodded. "Cord."
"This is Lissie, 'Jack, Sun and Devcon."
Cord smirked at Dev. "Long time no see, Dev."
Dev nodded. "Long time," he said noncommittally. His hatred for 'Cons was legendary on both sides.
Hercy smirked, then glanced at Sun and Jack who were grinning at Dev. "How about a stroll? If we can figure out who did this maybe we won't be surprised if they ever come our way."
With that, they stepped inside the dark space, scanned it deep and wide, then turned on their combined headlights. It was very bright inside.
The interior looked like the inside of a power plant if you were inside the power plant engines themselves. Industrial didn't begin to explain it. Black pipes and conduits ran everywhere and there were decks up and down in profusion easily seen from the open design of the ship. Some of them held almost infinite rows of what looked like docking stations and there were wires hanging from old fires and explosions.
Leading the way, Hercy froze. He lit up the sight before him which showed endless rows of individuals who were still in position where they died. Some of them were definitely damaged goods with their entrails frozen in bizarre shapes from breaches of vacuum where they'd blown out of their bodies. All of the individuals who were in their ports had bio-engineered faces and bodily features. Most of them weren't even from the same species.
Sun stepped closer and scanned, observing the slaggers as they stood where they died, some of them slumping but most of them frozen upright. Here and there helms, arms, biomass that had been limbs and incredible arrays of armaments and attachments protruding from missing arms could be seen. There were implants of all manner to faces, some floating around or could be seen on the bodies or nearby them where they landed during the explosion. It was a deeply hideous mess.
"Frag, Sun," 'Jack said. "These people have been engineered. There's so many species here. What the hell is this?"
"I don't know," Sun said. "What about data? Is there anything around to download or access? If this group can make ships this size and has an army of bio-mechanical soldiers, then we need to know. This is way too close up the arm from where we live."
"Let's look around. Find a data center or locus," Lissie said. "I'll try and see if we can access a central data site."
They walked around peering up and down, stopping by railings to look over them into the surprisingly open ship, noting how it went on forever it seemed downward with decks that were configured the same way as the one they were on.
"That must be the engines," Cord said as he pointed toward a huge dark shadow that appeared square and dense way the hell down below. "There's residue coming from it that indicates it hasn't been active for a good decade or more."
"That sort of pinpoints the moment of clash," Sun said as he watched Lissie begin to operate a still functioning data port. As she did a siren came on and a deep mechanical voice began to speak as if on an intercom.
Everyone froze as Lissie continued working, then the voice became intelligible. "WE ARE THE BORG! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED-" As swiftly as it sounded it died away.
Everyone stood in silence a moment taking in that startling bit of news, then turned to each other.
"Well, we know what they're called. What resistance are they speaking of? What the hell is this species? If they took over ships and the beings on them, maybe that explains this hodgepodge of individuals on board," Jack said.
"I have information," Lissie said. "Its not … its fragmentary but apparently …" She paused a moment to let it collate and arrange itself into NeoCybex for translation. "They're a predatory hive-mind collective that looks for and assimilates entire species that can add something to their collective distinction. If you have features they like, they overrun you, chop you up and add you to the group."
She glanced upward at the mechs. "They have an empire that extends into infinity and endless drones to do the work, fight and run their show. I think we just found out who Megatron is fighting, Sun."
"What do you mean?" Cord asked.
"Megatron and that halfwit son of his struck out to find allies. They decimated his troops, then left them with someone we aren't clear about. All we know is that they're some tough slaggers. Maybe you can enlighten us a bit on them," Jack asked.
Cord shrugged. "We don't know either. They aren't us, that's all. They've turned the screws hard which prompted us to leave, that and two decimations. I'll shoot both of them if I ever see them again."
"Well, you might have to wait a while. This is the species that he's making sport of. Look at this," Lissie said as she brought up a screen. An image began to play of a well organized crew flying this ship toward an intruder. After a moment the image of the intruder showed on the screen. It was Megatron's ship followed by his armada.
"Frag," Cord said. "He left us to do this slag?"
"He's nuts," Sun said. "Can you play that with sound?"
"I don't know," Lissie said. "Part of it." She worked a moment, then a splotchy image began to run.
The black ship crew didn't appear concerned as they approached the intruder. In fact, it was doubtful that anyone in their condition had the free will to have emotions of their own. The precision of the crew was mechanical, super efficient and dulled.
Then the voice came over their intercom after the message about assimilation was sent. It chilled all of them a moment.
"I AM MEGATRON! I AM GOING TO DESTROY YOU! ALL OF YOU!"
Then the image ended.
They stared at the screen a moment, all of them, then Jack glanced at Lissie. "Do you have a time stamp on that?"
Lissie worked feverishly, then punched a button. Characters formed, then translated. She glanced at Sun. "That was fourteen years ago Earth time, TMC."
"That's when he left," Cord said as he did the math. "He must have come this way looking for allies, ran into them and decided to go hunting for a while. That fragger." He stared around with a bitter expression. "He's hunting this group and I doubt he'll stop until they're all dead. He hates so much he killed his own mechs and femmes."
"This species say some of the traders who come to our stations numbers like the 'stars in the sky'. They have queens that rule the empire and they're ruthless. They never stop. Everyone everywhere fears them like a plague," Jack said. "Plague meets plague then. Maybe they'll cancel themselves out."
"They won't be allies. Something tells me if we follow the death trail they've likely made we'll find him. It would almost be worth it to drill him and that abomination of a son of his," Cord said coldly.
Sun nodded. "You do know, Cord, that the empire is over but the shouting. Prime holds Cybertron. He's moving planets to safer places and the 'Cons can't do a damned thing. You're welcome to come with us. Millions of Seekers and former Decepticons live and work side-by-side with us. They're welcome and equal partners."
Cord stared at him a moment, then glanced around. "I have mechs that I've trained and worked with. Some are with me now and others are on the armada. I couldn't leave them if I wanted to. I don't know." He stared at Hercy. "What do you want to do with this?"
"Leave it," Hercy said. He glanced at Sun. "Can we get data or what?"
"I got a bit. Most of it is damaged from the fire fight," Lissie said as she held up a data stick.
"Then we better go onward. We're heading for a bridge jump spot. When we get there come with," Jack said. "Your armada has two ways to go when the passage clears up. Either way, they're on our radar. We can intercept them and get your kids. There's no future lone sharking. We have hundreds of metrotitans and dreadnoughts galore. Everyone is ready to protect the new way of life we built from scratch. Don't you want to come home?"
Cord considered that. "Who doesn't but it doesn't save my kids. They're good mechs. I've been thinking about the future and … we're led by phase sixers."
"Who?" Jack asked.
"Paladin is our commander," Cord replied. "He's not like the others. He's smart. He's strategic and he uses science to enhance his power. He's not nuts like most of them. He won't be an easy take down."
"Who's the other one?" Sun asked.
"Serial," Cord replied. "The scientist he has is a student of Jhiaxus. His name is Lancer."
"Great," Lissie said. "I've heard of Lancer but the other two?" She glanced at the other mechs.
"Serial," Hercy mused. "Doesn't ring a bell but Paladin. That name does. I heard he was supposed to be real smart and calm. Treats his soldiers good."
"He does," Cord said. "I'm on his favored list because we have a good mission ratio. I have someone on my ship that's trouble. His name is Bardo."
"Don't know him," Sun said.
"I know them all."
Everyone turned toward Devcon who was standing with his arms folded over his chassis and a cold expression on his face.
"They're all bad news," Dev said.
"Well, that's good to know," Sun said with a smirk.
=0=Behind a shimmering curtain of death
They'd retreated when it was evident that a floe was fixing to erupt in front of them effectively blocking their further passage. Falling back to a clearing to watch, a shimmering spray of energy poured out of a small rupture and began to fill in the only place they could travel to leave the area.
Paladin considered it as Lancer filled him in. They'd have to wait a bit for it to dissipate but thin out it would. Then they could make their way forward again. On the other side of the wall of death was his scouting party. They'd have time to truly scope out what he'd been hearing about, that Prime had struck the glory hole and riches beyond measure, energon of all kinds and profusion was to be had without any effort at all.
That would be the direction he'd go. He'd follow what travelers said was 'the omega beam' to a planet where the living was easy. It was a beautiful planet they said, the third one from the sun in a solar system brimming with energon.
It was literally floating in space.
The travelers even had the name of the planet where the beam was coming from. They called it Earth.
=0=TBC 9-19-2021