The Diego Diaries: Cybertron (dd7 194)
=0=In the skies and space over Nova Cronum
"TAKE US OUT OF HERE!"
=0=On the ground at Nova Cronum
"Send for the giants. Allow the ships to pull out and we can fight them as they flee," Prime said from a very silent perspective. It was incredibly still without any of the sensory input that his audials gave to him. He'd been rendered deaf before but it was a long time ago. If this were a different moment he might even enjoy the silence. He seldom had it to this degree.
:I put in a call. Typhoon is transferred over to Tennyson and has command. Do you want them disabled, then boarded or what?: Prowl asked flustered at the sight of Prime peppered with wounds and damaged hearing. This was the first time in their bond that he'd been so battered though Prowl had been present at his death several times. The memories of those moments were firewalled tighter than anything he possessed in his massive memory banks.
"Good," Prime said as he thought. "Let them move out. Who is there to prevent it?"
:We have three cruisers from the Local Arsenal on station as security: Prowl said then he tensed. "Oh frag," he said as the room jolted in startlement, then turned to him. "They're firing on the cruisers. A fight is breaking out." He looked at Prime who was staring at him tensely. :A fight broke out. They fired on the cruisers doing security:
Prime turned toward the door and began to run. Behind him several of the senior Autobots followed. Prowl watched him go, then looked at the data pad. "Put the satellite views on the forward screen.
The view changed on the major monitor. A scene of ships firing at each other showed up in brilliant clarity. Glancing at Paragon, he ran for the door to join Prime.
Paragon watched him go, then turned to the monitor. It was going to be a fragging mess in such tight quarters. It was very tense and silent in the room.
=0=On the deck of Tennyson
Prime ran from the elevator with the others including the Wreckers led by Springer and Drift who had shifted the clean up to Ratchet and the ground teams of the airport security forces and rescue units. They joined at Prowl's command and walked to the command table where Prime was hunched with Tennyson, Prowl and half the titans in the colony.
"We have a tight battlefield, Prime. I think pulling the cruisers back to allow them to leave is in order," Typhoon said as the others nodded.
"He can't hear you. He's taken a hit in the audials," Springer said.
Typhoon glanced at him, then Prime. He repeated his message off line as everyone cut in to listen.
"Let them go," Prime said. "Get ready to proceed after them."
Typhoon glanced at Tennyson who was sitting in the command chair plugged in and working the ship to advance slowly toward the space over Nova Cronum. As he did the battleship and the remaining cruisers began to force their way out of their orbit. The Autobot cruisers fell back to allow them to pass but as they did the most forward fighter carrier and a battleship bumped hulls in the tight space.
:Frag. That looks like a disaster waiting to happen. What's the likelihood they can fall to Cybertron?: Springer asked.
A mech who was on shift duty scientist glanced at him. "Its a good possibility."
It was funereal in the room as Springer filled Prime in.
He looked at them grimly, then Tennyson. "Make sure they move. Those that do not will have to be dealt with. Disable their ability to move and fight if they cannot leave. Try to ensure that they do not break up. If they fall on Nova Cronum or its environs the effect will be catastrophic. What is the possibility of tractoring anything that loses altitude if they break up or fall into the gravity well of our planet?"
:I will factor that problem, Prime: Metroplex said as the others nodded in agreement. They walked to a station and sat, huddling as they worked out on line swift and precise operational possibilities for this difficult maneuver.
Prime turned to the images on the forward screen. The cruiser and battleship were making their way toward open space past the negligible atmospheric ring of Cybertron while the others weren't seemingly so fortunate. A battleship and fighter transport had collided, then bumped away from each other. That left still in operation but hemmed in from pulling out by the two slightly damaged ships two more battleships, three cruisers, two other fighter carriers and four fast shuttles. The transport and support vessels were lightly armed and holding in place.
"Springer, get this in hand. Watch what happens. I do not see the shuttles waiting for anyone to get out of their way," Prime said grimly.
Half the mechs waiting around the room began to jog to the elevator with Springer and Drift. They were gone in seconds.
=0=On the ground
Fire Control had drenched the burning ships and scraps of metal making the area even more difficult for recovery of the dead. Teams had arrived from Mars including explosive experts to handle the wreckage and pull out the dead and those who were injured. There were few still alive after the cruiser exploded.
Most of the Autobots hurt were hit by flying shrapnel and concussive blasts that tossed them like cord wood. They were already on Mars getting work done. All of them would live including those with burns from fuel and napalm-like lubricants that all their ships used.
Right now, Ratchet listened to the orders to muster, then turned to his field medics. "I have to go. Can you handle this?" he asked.
"We can, Ratchet. Don't worry. I was a coroner for vorns and know about case building and recovery," Moto said.
"Thanks, Moto. You're a saint," Ratchet said as he began to run for ops center nearby.
The recovery would go on for a while even as overhead the situation went from bad to disastrous.
=0=Autobots, oh my
The shuttle teams launched their vessels which were parked and waiting for the go ahead on a runway nearby. Fully loaded and manned, the battle shuttles lifted off, all ten of them and flew toward Iacon. They would round back about halfway there, then creep in to await orders to intervene. As they did, sensor and tracking specialist Seekers streaked into space to follow and marker the trail of the fleeing battleship and cruiser who made it out of the mishmash of their formation.
"This is fragged if something gets dragged down. It can fall on the camp. Fifteen million refugees. We can't evac it no matter what happens," Sideswipe said with barely controlled fury.
Kup nodded. "That's why we're going to win this slagger. Our people have had enough."
It was a grim group that sat with weapons in hand as they flew swiftly in the darkness of space. Below them, the lights of inhabited areas sparkled as jewels in the dark velvet of night.
=0=Ops Center
The screen showed a growing jumble of ships trying to leave. They were in orbit in a bunched group, ordered to fall into line at arrival in this order so they could be controlled better. Everyone in the battle group expected that Megatron was in control so they obeyed. The appearance of an Autobrand on a small ship had thrown a cocked hat into the mix.
A battleship and cruiser were flying away from Cybertron while the others jockeyed for a chance to join them. Three Autobot cruisers from the Cybertronian Armed Forces that were maintaining security for the group began to pull back, their shots landing on the fighter carriers with gathering ferocity. Fires and explosions of ship hull flew into space as they began to stitch the most problematic of the ships in orbit. If they launched the fighters the possibility of fighting on the ground was explosive.
A battleship and a cruiser followed by two provision ships managed to break free. They began to flee in the same direction as the first two making the problem at hand half as dangerous as before. One of the fighter transports was burning pretty well and began to drift. It began to lose orbit as the rest of the provision and munition ships broke free and began to flee as fast as they could.
Caught in the line up between a cruiser firing furiously at the Autobots and a listing fighter carrier, four battle shuttles had no maneuvering room. They began to fire not only on the Autobot cruisers but their own burning fighter carrier. They were going to break a hole in the blockade and shoot their way out. Beside them taking a lot of the abuse, the other two fighter carrier transport ships began to fire as well. The combination drove the three Autobot cruisers even farther back.
=0=Tennyson
Prowl was reciting the sit-rep as the view gave the picture in all its technicolor glory. The first battleship and cruiser was gone followed by Seekers to mark their trail. Another battleship, cruiser and all of the transport provision and munition ships had broken free and were following the first two. :There are no more battleships in the fight. As for the cruisers … two have escaped leaving two behind. One fighter transport has been disabled and the last one is being damaged by our cruisers. There is little room to maneuver but the four battle shuttles are shooting their own ships to get out of the line up. I'm concerned about the transports. If they launch fighters, then it'll end up on the ground:
Prime considered the situation. "Pull everyone back. The able vessels will leave and the others will not. Put shuttles on the fighter transports. Have Seekers ready to shoot the fighters. I want them disabled or destroyed before they can enter the atmosphere."
Prowl hurried to Tactical to issue orders as Rainmaker and Starscream entered.
"What's the situation?" Starscream asked.
Prowl filled him in, then the two took over the Seeker portion ordering fighter wings into the air. They would hold back to wait for the transports to decide what they would do. They would be instrumental in shooting fighters that were launched if they were. That's when one of the fighter transports blew up.
The cruiser which was beside it in the line up moved forward just as the fighter transport exploded. Shrapnel flew in all directions as a massive fireball expanded out, then died nearly immediately. Mechs, fighters and chunks of the vessel could clearly be seen flying out in all directions. Some of it bounced off the cruiser which managed to push forward anyway and move into the clearing area before them. It would be unable to break to open space following the others but would continue forward to leave the planet in the other direction.
Unfortunately for it, that was the direction four titanic ships were coming slowly forward to join the battle.
The shuttles were rattled but moved forward blasting past the three Autobot cruisers into open space. They disappeared as fast as they could go just in time for five Autobot battle shuttles to reappear and follow them into the nighttime of space. The detonated fighter transport began to drift as the other two, one highly damaged and the other not began to move away. One picked up speed and flew away while the other followed slowly behind.
That was when they launched their fighters.
=0=Ops Center
"Frag," Prowl said as he glanced at Rainmaker and Starscream. They were hard at it as the screen began to record the approach of masses of Seekers and the other five battle shuttles that had turned around to come back from Iacon. "Get them," he hissed between clenched denta.
=0=Homeland
"Things are pretty fragged at Cybertron," Blackjack said as he got off the line from Alor. "Space battles, ground slag. Its all fragged."
"Then we better not tell Prime yet," Hardie said as he watched a big group forming up down the only pathway toward them that was safe and speedy to take. It would appear that the Vergans saw another opportunity to prosper at their expense.
"That's probably a good idea. Prime lost his audials when a cruiser blew up," Blackjack said.
Hardie glanced at him, then sat back. "Frag," he whispered softly.
=0=TBC 1-28-2020 NOTES tomorrow. :D:D:D 2-6-2020