The Diego Diaries: Down (dd7 88)
=0=On the ground
Overhead, a sky crane was lowering a work platform onto the superstructure of the silent mech. Banner had no lights and there was nothing to indicate that he was alive yet he was in spite of everything. The last thing that Ratchet had done before running back through the ship was to put him into medical stasis. He had slipped and slid through the corridors finally passing medical, security and haz-mat personnel who were beginning to flood the big mech to clean out the spilled energon.
Haz-Mat were already placing machines in the hangar and other places to drain the energon that no longer gushed from Banner's many wound. It would take a while to clean him up so that he wasn't a hazard to those who were working their part of Ratchet's plan.
By the time he reached the hangar doors, then jumped down to land with a thud, everyone in Prime's group including a livid Ironhide was there to greet him. He straightened, then looked into the emotional optics of everyone. He was covered in dried energon and looked like hell. "Before you unload on me, I want you to know that I did the math, checked the systems and concluded that if he had gone down without me to work thrusters he would have slipped out right away and crashed. There was no other way to bring him down alive."
"TELL ME TOMORROW!" Ironhide said. "YOU LOOK LIKE SLAG!"
"Why, Ironhide … you romantic, you," Ratchet said with a slight grin. "It was a thing I had to do. Shoot me."
"I WILL!" Ironhide said. "You need to get that slag off."
"I do. Wanna wash my aft?" Ratchet asked as he glanced at the hangar doors. A flood of energon was beginning to pour out to land in what humans would call 'duck ponds', small containers that looked like kiddie pools. It caught the energon and would be taken away to be incinerated when the ship was washed free of it. It came out in a torrent as they watched the spectacle silently for a moment.
"He lost a lot," Prowl said.
"They entered his junctions and central areas, then hacked him up with blades. He was bleeding out when they got here," Ratchet said as blue and light blue energon gushed into the ponds. He looked at the group. "He was on his last legs."
Titanic figures could be seen as Metroplex led them off the ship. The energon didn't stick to them. They were apparently repelling it with their tech. They walked to Prime and the group. "He's reaching a better level of stable with the infusions," Metroplex said. "Thank you, Doctor. Both Banner and The Dandy are very good mechs. This is an abomination."
Ratchet nodded. "It is. But then, the others made sure that the pirates won't do it again."
"What do you have to do now, Ratchet?" Prime asked.
"We have to work out replacing a lot of his internals and getting him to the point where he can be revived. I imagine it'll hurt so I have to devise a protocol for pain suppression. I'd like him cleaned up immaculately internally so that he feels better when he comes out of stasis. There's a lot of work here. I think he's not going to be ready to sit for a good seven or eight orns. Then there's Dandy. He's got some hurts but nothing this dire. All of them need to be worked on and put back together.
"This was a miracle that he didn't fall and kill himself. We have to have a protocol written for endangered titans so this doesn't happen again. He had to have thrusters or he would have fallen to become a fireball."
Metroplex nodded. "We came to that conclusion as well. We need to create holographic workers to do that when this happens again, if it does. We can't risk anyone on board."
"Wise idea," Ironhide growled. "Do you have to start now or can you go somewhere and clean up?"
"I can go. You asking?" Ratchet asked as he began to walk with Ironhide toward the emergency station nearby where there was a wash rack handy for situations like this.
Prowl watched him go, then turned to Prime. "I would hate to be Ratchet right now."
"I agree," Prime said. Then he and everyone else turned back to watch the crane finish lowering the platform onto the superstructure for the welders to affix. It would be the place where all of the new upgrades would be delivered when they went through the big mech nut, bolt and screw.
While they watched, The Dandy arrived from Saturn Big Frame Yard and fell into orbit to await his turn to descend and be assisted. The other ships minus the four already coming down at their pads south of this place would remain in orbit until the ground teams were ready for them. It would be a busy and exciting next few orns.
=0=Stomping off
Ironhide was silent as they walked to the big ship parked nearby, the one that was the medical station for all of the ground workers.
Ratchet walked beside him measuring his aura with a practiced sensibility. Ironhide was scared to death. His anger, though intense would fade rapidly. He was clearly and fully aware that Ratchet routinely did stupid shit for someone else and he'd learned to blow that part off quickly. The fear took longer. He slipped his servo into Ironhide's, then squeezed.
Ironhide squeezed back.
Feeling relief that the big mech didn't jerk his servo away, Ratchet matched his stride. "That was a fragged event all around. We have to do better. We should have anticipated this early on."
Ironhide glanced at him. "You will never do that again."
Ratchet considered his words. "If we work it out it won't ever be necessary again. He would have died. He would have fallen and crashed into a fireball. I can't have that happen, Ironhide. Believe me, it wasn't an easy conclusion to reach."
"I don't care. I'll be reasonable one of these orns but not now," Ironhide said as they reached the vessel, then climbed upward to the stations inside.
=0=Moments later
Stepping under hot soapy water, Ratchet stood a moment soaking up the luxury. Energon sloughed off and ran blue down the drain as he rubbed his arms and torso. Ironhide got his back and other parts he couldn't see or reach, then Ratchet stepped out to stand under the blast of a hot dryer. It was almost too much to handle, it felt so good. When he was dry, he stepped down from the platform, then enveloped Ironhide into a massive hug.
They swayed together, then Ironhide looked sternly at Ratchet. "Slagger. You're a four barreled slagger. If you ever do that again, I will slag you from here to Cybertron and back."
Ratchet grinned. "Okay."
Ironhide smirked slightly. "Fragger. What now?"
"I have to supervise this slag. Why don't you and the command committee take Prime and Prowl somewhere for dinner. You haven't eaten yet. Right?" Ratchet said as they began to walk to the door.
"What about you?" he asked as they stepped down and began to walk back to the group.
"Bring me a sammie and chips. A big fat beer, too. Sandwich, beer, chips. And a dessert. A big old slab of chocolate-cherry cake. That would be good," Ratchet said as they reached Prime and his party.
Beyond them, welders were swarming into the ship with their emergency kits worn as backpacks. Soon, they would be cutting out lots of infrastructure and welding more in its place. Most of what Banner had for food regulation would be upgraded with more impervious metallic piping.
"Why don't you all go eat? I'm going to be here a long time getting his one, Dandy and then the others up to speed," Ratchet said.
"What about you?" Prowl asked.
"Old Dependable here," Ratchet said as he hugged Ironhide's shoulders, "is going to bring me something shortly."
Prime glanced at Ironhide, then Ratchet. "Very well. When we finish, I will come back to see how things are going." He glanced at Jazz and his shadow, Mirage. "I will speak to The People at noon tomorrow."
"You mean later today," Mirage said with a grin. "It's 0110 hours on the TMC."
Prime nodded. "Very well. Release to the press according to your judgment about the situation but first join us if you are hungry."
"I think I'm starved," Jazz said as he glanced at Mirage. Mirage nodded. "Then its unanimous."
They chatted as a group for a moment, then Optimus and his band walked off to take a drive to Temple and have a bite at The Diner On The Corner. Ironhide would go with them after his elders hugged and slagged Ratchet.
Ratchet watched them go, then glanced at Banner. In the distance down the pad, The Dandy was being landed in ship mode, too. He landed heavily but uneventfully as workers and doctors ran to him to assist. Ratchet considered all that was ahead as he stared at the sky. He could see what seemed like seven or eight big frames in a parking orbit and he could feel their scans of Banner on his own armor.
It was going to be a long night.
=0=The Hourly News: THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS!
Aleph took the data pad from a stage hand, read it, then looked at the camera. "The Office of Strategic Communications has released a short message about the mission at hand. Commander Jazz states that the Prime will be speaking to The People at 1200 hours on the TMC later this morning. Right now, this is the information released thus far.
"There were eleven metrotitan ships that were headed this way and alerted The Fortress that they were following an Omega Beam upward along the Orion Arm to reach the colony. They were towing two debilitated comrades, one of them in dire condition due to an encounter with pirates hunting them for their technology.
"The warrior class ship, Riot and his partner, Enzio detected the distress calls that The Dandy and Banner were putting out, then rescued them from the hunters with extreme prejudice. They were then put under tow and an emergency run for Mars was underway.
"The need to rescue Banner first required a teleportation to the Big Frame Shipyard at Saturn, then a swift rush forward for medical treatment here. When they arrived, it appeared that Banner wouldn't be able to land without support so Dangerous who is normally on station at the DMZ was brought in along with other ships.
"During the descent, the tractors slipped and Banner was ready to fall. More titans came to his rescue including the great Tennyson. They were able to land him without further incident and he is currently under the care and repair of Commander Ratchet who is the foremost authority on big frame medicine anywhere.
"At this time, four of the ships are being seated on pads created for them when it was clear that they were coming. They will be grouped together in a pod of five and one of six. The two who need the most care, The Dandy and Banner will be held for last so that they can fully recover.
"Not much else is being released yet. The situation is fully in control and the restrictions on roads and businesses are still in full force. Commander Jazz will be holding a press conference in two joors and will be updating everyone at that time. Meanwhile, we have new recordings of the landing of Banner just released from the Office of Strategic Communications," he said as the screen changed to a massive ship being held in the yellow tractor beams of others.
Then two tractors cut out and the ship's stern fell causing it to swing in the grip of Dangerous and two others a good half mile in the sky.
Watching on screens from one end of the solar system to the other, everyone on three planets inhaled as they took in the visuals.
=0=TBC 9-16-19