The Diego Diaries: Incident: Shoot Out (dd8 263)
=0=There
The ozone cleared a bit, the bitter aftertaste of a shoot out. Lying or sitting here and there with grazes, a few holes, burns and bruises, they took stock of their situation regarding Bardo and came to a conclusion. Pulling the drone's outer casing off and removing a lot of unnecessary innards to toss them out the slightly pockmarked hatch, Sunny and Kup slid Bardo into the tube, then sealed it shut.
"There. He just fits," Hercy said as he watched the two work. "What can you tell us about the fleet that can help you get away when you finally do break through?"
Cord thought. "We have two phase sixers in command, Paladin along with his friend and sub commander, Serial. Their science officer and a good friend of Paladin is a mech named Lancer. He's youngish, smart, they may have something between them and he was trained by Jhiaxus at some point, though I don't know how or where. Jhiaxus has been gone a long time.
"He's good to the crews and they give him back loyalty. Some of my squad even. But I'm working on them, trying to talk to them. He has a lot of ships. I'll text you the list," he said as he sent it to Sun and Hercy. "He's demanding but fair and a perfectionist about fighting and standards. He's heading out to build his own kingdom. All of the commanders and group captains are tired of the way things are going in the Empire and want out."
"What's the Empire look like from your end? We saw it first as crumbling, then tightening up under someone's command, though no one knows who that is," Sun said.
Cord nodded. "No one does but they're feared. They seem to know what you're thinking before you do and if you slack, they seemed to know it and exact payment. Everyone is afraid and the door is welded shut. Only because we came this way was the reason they didn't come after us."
They talked a bit more, then Cord rose to leave. He stared at the tube. "I think I can make this work. Right now, we have to figure out how to communicate."
"The lowest bands are never monitored, the ones down near the ambient noise level. Not even the underground networks go that low. We'll call on 3 kilohertz when the moment comes," Hercy said, then he handed Cord a wafer. "Keep this safe. Don't let anyone see it."
"What is it?" Cord asked.
"The only way to stop a phase sixer in their tracks," Hercy said.
The others nodded.
Cord stared at it, then glanced at Hercy. "What is it and how do you use it, Abba?"
"Its a code. Not even Megatron trusted his Warrior Elites. He had a shut down code built in them that he only had to speak to get them into the deepest form of stasis I ever saw. Not even them know its there," Hercy replied.
Cord stared at the wafer, then the small mechanism from his home town. "This would be worth its weight in latinum if anyone knew I had it."
Hercy nodded. "It will also mean your immediate death if you get caught with it or speak it improperly. Commit it to memory, then destroy the wafer. Encode the file and keep it at the ready. If we can, we'll broadcast it ourselves."
Cord nodded, then gripped Hercy's servo. "I'll see ya on the other side." With that, he stepped out into space and with the drone in tow made his way to his ship. The hatch opened and he stepped inside pulling the drone with him. The hatch closed behind him.
Hercy and the others stared at him, then each other.
"Nice move, Hercy," Sun said with a grin. "Nice move."
=0=E2
Cameron Frazer sat in his office watching the gusts of wind blow things around outside in the frigid air. Small rocks and gusts of sand flew carried by the wind that was blowing haphazardly around their building. It would continue for a few days, blowing this or that hapless soul off their wheels, then die down when the front finally fully met their own pressure area and smoothed out.
He'd come home to a hero's welcome from his parents and a warm welcome from Harris and the others in administration but for Tomas. She gave him a cool reception and her feelings couldn't be clearer The rest of the habitat was cold and unresponsive to him like he was invisible. That irritated him greatly but he didn't care. He liked his job. He liked pressuring the Autobots and he was sure that Prime liked the game too much to exile him from his empire.
A rap on the door drew his attention. He looked up to see the 'new guy', Martin Polaski. "Hi."
"Hi," Martin said with a small grin. His voice was masculine and cultured. "Welcome back."
"Thanks," Cam said. "Come on in and sit."
Polaski aka Silas did, relaxing on the couch by the window. "How was bot jail?"
Cam smirked. "Fragged as they say. I hate jails."
Polaski flashed on federal prison and the hellscape of Harris's enslavement of him, then nodded. "I hear ya. What can you tell me about them and their way of doing things? I'm Owen's new security officer. I run the mercs and protect systems."
"Ah. I remember," Cam said. "Their jail is newer than the old one. In the past you were put in a see through box that slotted into the wall of the break room at the Courthouse jail. After that was changed, you were held in the same kind of set up at the Military Prison. I spent the last few in the same kind of box though there was access to a room with plants and a view with each cell. It was still jail."
Polaski nodded. "Prime has a hearing for you, I'm told, about deportation. What's the word on that?"
"I'm confined to the habitat until that's settled."
"You don't look too worried about it," Polaski said. "Getting exiled would be an awful outcome. I wouldn't imagine it would be too nice to handle on Earth as well if you were."
"Prime won't do it. He and Owen are in a head butting contest. They need me to be their pawn in their personal chess game. I don't have a problem with that. Its nice to say what I really feel rather than keeping a low profile like everyone else," Cam said.
"Do a lot of humans on world and Prima Station feel the same way or are you an outlier?" Polaski asked.
Cam considered that. "Enough do. Who knows about the rest? No one says what they want to say here. They're either afraid of Owen or Lennox."
"Tell me about Lennox," Polaski asked.
"Lennox is a dick. He's a major fucker and I wouldn't mind him falling off a cliff. He and Johnson butt heads a lot. They hate each other. But Lennox got here first so he has Prime's friendship and trust. If Lennox tells you to pack up and leave you have to. You don't even get an explanation if he doesn't want to give it to you."
"I remember hearing about that," Polaski said. "What about the killings? Everyone thinks they know something but they don't do they? Isn't Prime holding that close to the vest so to speak?"
Cam nodded. "He is. Lombardi was okay and the other guy, Dobbs? He was a dick. A major dick like Johnson. Not too smart, either of them. Lombardi was. The women loved him. His voice they say. Italian men have a nice voice apparently."
"We need to learn Italian," Polaski said with a slight smirk. "Who killed them?"
"Someone said that Prime already has them in custody and the process is winding through. No one knows who they are but they're suggesting that its ringer military." Cam grinned. "I bet that set Lennox on his ear, the fucker."
Polaski grinned. "I'll have to ask him."
"Don't mention my name. He hates my guts. The feeling is mutual," Cam said with muted fury.
They'd talk for a while, then go have dinner and drinks together with Jase Daniels joining them. Martin Polaski had cultivated another friend in his quest to do in Owen Harris for good.
At no point in Frazer's incarceration did he know that two cells down on either side of his own were the cells of the murderous traitors.
=0=Ops Center
They sat around the command table as Wheeljack, Perceptor and Miler worked out doing two things. They were sending a drone package to hit the barrier and hold there as long as it could to assess the density and danger of the barrier. The second would be a note to Hercy and Sun that they were listening hard to hear for pick up. It would also lay down another tracker on the other side that would shoot them a locator signal through the density for at least a little while.
Voices were heard on the intercom as they discussed the situation hooking up the geosynchronous bridge to the Trigger to help boost the send of the drone through the wormhole opening to where the shuttles were being tracked. It was another assessment as well of the area.
:We are ready: Perceptor said at the tactical station on Trigger 1.
:We are ready: said Dopler at the hangar deck readying the actual launch of the drones.
:We are ready for countdown, Miler Navigator: Wheeljack said as he sat at the conn on Trigger 1.
:Very well, Navigator and Conn. Drone commander, launch on my mark. My mark on three. Beginning sequence. Three … two … ONE! Launch the packages. Launch is go:
There was a pause, then Dopler's voice was back. :Drone Control to command. The packages are away. Repeat. The packages are away:
:Copy that, Done Control. Miler Navigator, track their trajectory: Wheeljack could be heard to say.
:On it: Miler replied.
The group sat listening to the calm professional voices of Trigger Command launch both devices. The blinking lights on the screen showed them exit a bridge near the barrier, then speed in to pierce it nearly together. One light continued onward, albeit more slowly but the other held in the blazing energy screen until it ended abruptly.
:Trigger Command, the package has expired. Telemetry incoming. Will hold for unpacking and initial analysis of the data: Miler said.
:Very well: Wheeljack said. :Its your baby now, Percy:
:Understood: Perceptor was heard to say.
Those listening in the Ops Center felt the pressure around them. If they could get the data they could predict when the fleet came. They could also retrieve their people easier. And if all went well, maybe some of the Decepticons as well.
Hope sprung always eternal in these environs.
=0=Out there
They sat on their ships listening to Cord explain the shootout and the body in the drone. All of the group were his and they felt relief that Bardo was dead and no longer a major problem. No one trusted him and he was dangerous.
"What now, Captain?" a younger mech said from a monitor. He was one of three others who were flying ships in their group.
"The Autobots want us to come and from our tally just now so do you. But you know we have our brothers and sisters back in the fleet. We can't leave them. However, I'll let any of you go with the others right now if you want to. I won't hold you back. When we get through the barrier and can get out of the fleet, the Autobots will be helping us. Prime won't let us just wander in. Then we can all leave. Who wants to leave now? I'll let you do so and blame it on the other ship being shot up by the bots."
Cord watched the faces on the screens and around him. Some of them were deeply conflicted. They wanted to go but not leave anyone behind. "Who will go? There's no stigma to going."
No one would. They couldn't leave Cord behind either.
=0=TBC 9-29-2021
HUGS AND LOVE TO EVERYONE OUT THERE IN THIS SHIT SHOW! THIS TOO SHALL PASS! I KNOW! I'M OLD! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D