The Diego Diaries: Stand Off (dd7 77)
=0=Out there
They turned almost as one, then pointed their heavy duty fire power straight at the ship. The huge slowly rotating blueness and clouds that was Neptune could be seen in the distance, its radiant beauty a marvel to see.
The small but heavily armed ship slid to a halt, its running lights blinking in the darkness. They were silent, holding in place as the circle of death that almost instantly surrounded them in fury closed up. They were caught fast and there was no escape. If they decided to shoot it out, the Seekers would reduce them to molecules.
The bridge they had flown through closed immediately.
Warlord burned beside his father, then the flames disappeared. All of the Seekers hung in space around the ship, floating in vacuum with their intentions clear to anyone anywhere who might venture into this encounter.
Rainmaker was pissed. His gun was pointed at the flight deck forward view ports and his staff was in his servo. He held it over his helm, then flew toward the ship striking it with his staff as he sped past.
The Seekers watching, some of them obviously military and many who were civilians watched him with adoration as he counted coup on the enemy. They watched him fly back over and over to slam his token of status and honor on the cowling of the vessel, then he halted before it. :SHIP! I AM RAINMAKER, THE GREAT ELDER OF SEEKERKIN! SPEAK BEFORE WE BLOW YOU TO CONFETTI!"
The mechs inside, fifteen of them had frozen in place when tactical assured them that they were dead particles floating in space if they reacted or tried to flee. 700 Seekers unloading their guns and rockets at the same time was a very, very bad idea.
"Frag," the captain said. "We're dead if we move."
"Talk to them," his second replied. "They're free. Maybe we can call it even and leave."
His captain glanced at him. "Do you think he looks like he'd let us go?"
"We're going to have to shoot our way out-" the second began as a voice came out of their ship wide speaker system.
"Enemy vessel, this is Optimus Prime. I am asking you to stand down and surrender. You have been relocated to my inner empire. You have no escape. I can, however, let the Seekers have their revenge. Answer promptly. I have many things to do," Optimus said as he sat at the command desk in The Fortress watching the show on the data pad. Around him his officers sat as well.
After a second, a masculine voice was heard. :Prime, this is Levit of the battle shuttle, Cosmic Flash. We were doing our job. You did yours. They did theirs. How about we call it even and leave? No harm, no foul:
Ratchet smirked at Optimus. "It appears that we caught a sport."
Prime considered that, then grinned. "Perhaps. However, I want to bag this up and get intel." He glanced at Communications who opened the channel again. "Levit, you will surrender. We will bring you to our colony where you will be held in custody pending your decisions for your future. If you refuse, I will go do other things and the Great Elder can unravel you as he pleases. Make a decision. I am busy." Prime sat back as the silence stretched a bit, then the voice was back.
"If we surrender, what then?" Levit asked.
"We don't let the Seekers play target practice on your afts," Ironhide said as he sat with Halo on his arm. She was staring at the ceiling lights as she fought off nap time.
"That doesn't sound so great but we have no choice. We surrender. What now?" Levit asked.
"We will send a team to take you into custody. Power down everything including weapons and frisk yourself," Prime said. "Anyone caught with a weapon or making trouble will find themselves in prison for a very long time."
[Pause]
"Very well. We'll be waiting. Levit out," he said, then the line went dormant.
Prime glanced at Ironhide. "Your discretion."
Ironhide rose, then hurried swiftly out to the door and beyond.
Everyone watched him, then glanced at Ratchet.
"That mech is a slagger first class. I suppose I need to rescue Halo before she gets her first mortal wound," Ratchet asked.
"Better yet. Tell the school she's walking, talking and ready to join Orion in speech therapy," Prowl said with a smirk. "Baby birds of a feather ..."
Ratchet laughed. "She's got his glitch, the little slagger. I thought Orion would kill me but we have a femme version of him now."
"You can always return her to her original and most permanent owner," Prowl said. "After all, she's mine. So is Orion. All of them are, you know. All of them are mine. She's just a loaner."
Ratchet smiled at Prowl. "You're certifiable. Truly."
"You both are," Optimus said with a grin.
=0=On the way
Two Wrecker shuttles lifted off with Ironhide heading for the small Autobot City Bridge that would let them out near Neptune. Sitting in both were the usual reprobates and their big big guns.
Ironhide sat next to Sem as he flew The City of Helex.
"What size crew, Ironhide?" Hercy asked. He sat between Sunstreaker and Kup.
"Fifteen," Ironhide said as he glanced at the old codger who was one of his first, most capable and revered instructors back in the orn. It was amusing to everyone that he instructed both Blackjack and Raptor as well.
Boot camp. What a nightmare.
"Well, we can take them easily with one ship," Sunstreaker said with a smirk. "Especially with Halo along."
Ironhide glanced at him with a frown.
"Who would bring a baby to a battle?" Sandstorm said with a chuckle. "WHY THIS MECH'S ARMY WOULD!"
"SIR! YES, SIR!" -everyone but Hercy and Kup who grinned at Ironhide.
"Slaggers," Ironhide said as he pulled Halo out of his hold.
"Does Ratchet know?" Kup asked.
"Do you think I'd bring her here without telling him?" Ironhide asked with affronted dignity as he grinned at his daughter. She was half asleep but smiled at him anyway.
"YES!" -everyone there
"Slaggers," Ironhide replied as he glanced out the window. A cloud of Seeker of all kinds were surrounding a ship with their guns out. "Elder?"
:Here. They're yours: Rainmaker's voice said as it came over the intercom.
"We'll take them," Ironhide said. "Take your people to safety. Medical and Refugees are waiting for them."
:On it: Rainmaker said as a bridge appeared nearby.
The Seekers began to form up to go to Aerie Hill as the other Autobot shuttle came around to put the intruder into a vice grip. They flashed through in seconds, but the bridge remained open. They were waiting for Ironhide and his prisoner.
"Shuttle, this is Ironhide of the Prime's General Staff. I'm here to do one of two things … take you in safely or blow you to the Pit. Which is it?"
A voice came back to him. :We're powered down and our weapons are stowed. What now, Ironbutt?:
Snickers range out in two ships, then Springer's voice came over the intercom. :Someone you know, Dad? Old lover? A bill collector maybe?:
"HA-HA, Springer," Ironhide replied. "Slagger in the intruding vessel, have your crew step out into the vacuum so we can gather them up. Then we're either towing your vessel or blowing it up. If you mined it or destroyed data, then you go to jail for a long, long time. Understand?"
"Sure, slagger," the voice said.
A moment passed before a number of mechs began to step out into vacuum, floating together as the ship sat silently empty.
Ironhide glanced at Splice. "I hear you can find if a ship is rigged or not. How about it, infant."
Splice rose, then sat down at engineering. Running programs, some his and some the ship's, he scanned it from step to stern. Glancing at Ironhide, he said, "Its clean. It also appears that the computers are good. I can't guarantee that they don't have triggers without the passwords but nothing is out of place."
"Good," Ironhide said. "Sunstreaker, you and Sideswipe fly it in. We're going to the airfield with the prisoners and you two fly to the Depot at Branched Pit."
The two rose, then walked to the hatch. Outside, the slaggers were being rounded up. Sunny and Sideswipe would fly their ship to The Autobot Army Ship Depot and Repair Center at Branched Pit, a place where an ancient river had formed around boulders causing deep erosion of the area. It was 200 miles north of the colony and held the working inventory of ships including Ratchet's on world. It was Roadie's domain.
After a moment of divvying up the slaggers amongst the two ships and watching as the twins went ahead with their shuttle, the hatches closed, then they began to follow. Sitting on the floor in cuffs, Levit and three others stared at the Autobots.
"Long time no see, Ironbutt," Levit said as he leaned back against the bulkhead. "Remember me?"
Ironhide who had slid Halo into his hold was staring at him. "How can I forget? You never could stay out of trouble. Where are your four brothers and sister?"
"My sister is high up in the Decepticon command and the brothers are warriors. Just like dear old atar and ada," Levit said. He grinned. "I see you're just as ugly as ever."
Sandstorm grinned. "Well, he got that part right. Sorry, Ironhide."
A frown met that, then Ironhide stared at Levit. "Prime expects you to tell him slag. Make it truthful and maybe I won't make you into canisters."
"Just like that?" Levit asked.
"Something like that," Ironhide said as they landed. He rose, then walked to the door. "Take the trash to The Fortress." He walked down the ramp and headed for The Fortress where Prime and the others were waiting.
Levit and three of his officers stepped down, then stared with mute wonderment at their surroundings. A city was whirling on around them, a Cybertronian city and beyond it as far as the optics could tell, so were others. They walked to The Fortress silently as they stared all around themselves along the way.
=0=Conference Room
They walked in with their guards. It was filled with famous Autobots and some very famous Decepticons. Sitting at the head of the table, Optimus Prime stared at them without expression. It was almost too much to take in after the city.
"Which one is Levit?" Prime asked.
Three mechs glanced at one.
He grinned. "I think that's me."
"You are a prisoner here. I expect that you will tell me about your armada and all that you know. If you do, it will be a plus on your ledger sheet," Prime said.
Prowl sitting beside him was running backgrounds on all three from their transponders.
The four sat, then stared at Prime.
"What do you want to know?" one of them asked.
Levit grinned. "No honor among thieves?" he asked that mech.
That mech, Trip shrugged. "What honor? Do you expect to get out of here any time soon?"
"Nope," Levit said.
Trip glanced at Prime. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," Prime said.
They were all rather easygoing as they explained their situation and all of its many details. Plates of food the like they'd never seen and good high caste label beer didn't hurt.
"We're part of two groups that merged after the usual change of command," Trip said as the others nodded. Even Levit. "We number about 149,000 mechs and femmes give or take a few. Our Seekers left when the message from Rainmaker came. We were dispatched to chase them along with two other ships. We were going too fast to miss the bridge."
"Who commands your armada?" Alor asked. He had come in from Nevada for a data check on the slow, ever slow progress of the White alien's ship.
Levit glanced at Alor who he revered as did all the others in the room. "You wouldn't know him. He's a big slagger who's smart and tactical. His name is Particle and he's from the northern parts of Cybertron. Where, I don't know. He just won the fight and expanded his armada.
"We were part of the transport system on the fringes beyond the Expansion. We kept the troops out there supplied. The forts were bases for our side to maraud and expand into new territory. Bucket Head wanted to rule the universe. Most of us just wanted a meal and place to sleep. If we got to fight and maybe have some fun, we weren't against it." He grinned. "We weren't angels but we weren't professional fraggers like Particle and his officers. He has a team around him that makes Galvatron look small time."
The three with him nodded.
"We left when it was clear that no one was in charge with the power to make us stay when we left but that window has closed we were told. We were heading for Cybertron but someone says that you have it," Trip said as he gazed levelly at Prime. "My family lives on Cybertron."
"So does mine, one of the other two, a mech named Cardo said. "What happened there and can we get home?"
"We can look for your families. We're rebuilding and it was a pit," Ironhide said. "Give us details and we can look."
They would. They would also tell Prime as much as they could. It would be interesting.
*The aliens in charge of the Decepticons placed there by Megatron were unknown, unforgiving and in charge with an iron fist.
*They were looking at the situation here deciding whether to go with Ominous first, then Razorclaw. Particle wanted to run the show but he was willing to work for someone until that moment when he wasn't.
*A lot of pros and criminals were in his group but many were people like them, civilians who ended up there for various reasons but weren't wed to the idea.
*They were also trying to find a slagger who was sending messages, a mech named Cassio Imperialis.
Did they know him?
Funny, they should ask …
=0=TBC 9-3-19