The Diego Diaries: Bam (dd7 212) (NOTE below at the end)
=0=There
They picked up speed as they fled into the fury of the field ahead of them. It was a strategic move to get as much distance between them and the Vergons as possible before they could catch up and force more confrontation. The deck was quiet as the soft voices of machines talking to each other could be heard now and again. Mostly, the veteran crew with a few Home Guardians thrown in for real world experience knew what to do and did it with their usual excellence.
Prime sat in his chair watching the lights that delineated the invaders playing on the forward monitors. He glanced to the command table noting that Prowl and Paragon were working together gathering the data to make sense of it. The rest of his general staff was dispersed throughout the armada, some on shuttles, cruisers and the battleships along with others on the big frames. Shuttles were led by most of Ironhide's elders, a thought that gave him great comfort.
Prowl who was working hard glanced from time to time to the brooding figure in the command chair. Optimus was deaf, his left leg and right arm were hurt in some fashion and he was singed, stained with energon here and there as well as pockmarked with shrapnel injuries that bore field treatment. The blast flight upside down 600 feet over, then into the pavement of the landing field at Nova Cronum had left its mark.
Prowl ordered meals brought up moments ago, remembering among all his other thoughts that no one had eaten for some time when the elevator opened and a couple of the ship's food drones walked out pushing carts laden with covered trays. Going from station to station and bot to femme to bot, they delivered food to everyone. Putting trays on the table where Prowl and Paragon sat, one carried a meal to Prime, startling him when they did.
He took it, then sat back again.
The bots rolled away as Prowl rose with his food. He walked to navigation, then sat in the chair putting his meal on his lap. :Time to eat: he said glancing up at Prime.
Prime nodded, then with Prowl as company they ate their meal together while the alien scouts made their way to the former location of two planets which were now missing from the six others that once belonged to the same system.
=0=Out there
The scouting party, large, well armed and wary flew onward following the trail of Prime's group. They were ready for anything after assessing the debris field that had greeted them when they had come through the bridge in large numbers. The last message they received from those who came before them had been their epitaph it would appear. Flying forward, they began to close on the system where their allies lived. They came warily and spoiling for a fight.
The two planets orbited an average sized star, Homeland and Sun Base, sharing its light with four others of varying size and composition. Near the farthest edges of their shared space, a gas giant could be found. The others excluding Sun Base and Homeland were rocky planets of ordinary size, free of atmosphere or any possibility of life. They were there to catch the cavalcade of debris that floated through, most of it coming from a planetary, cometary and asteroid field some distance away. So much of that was passing through the breaks in the floes that it was almost like a river when seen on sensors.
Given the danger all around, the few places that were relatively safe were documented highly so when the group came into the system following the usual path to both planets, it was a shock to find that there was chaos all around. Sun Base and Homeland were inner worlds and occupied space around the star that made life possible on both. Now they were gone and the ripples of their exit were reshaping everything left behind.
A system finely balanced enough to be able to support life was starting the process of falling apart with the absence of two of them.
=0=Earth2 some time before
Springer, Drift and the boys walked into the habitat, then Springer knelt. "How are things here?"
"I presume better than at Unidad," Owen Harris said. "What's happening and how can we help?" he asked.
Springer grinned. "By staying inside, that helps. Right now, we're working on the problem but until Ratchet gets here we're down for a while. He's the head of the big frame program."
"Are the ships in danger? Are they harmed … you know … like wounded or something? They aren't in real danger are they?" a young scientist asked from the crowd gathered.
"That was the intention but they failed. It takes a lot to hurt them but for now they're going to be off line for a while," Springer replied.
"What do you know about these aliens, Commander? What's the likelihood they can find us and come here? How far away are they?" Kyle Davis asked.
Springer considered the questions, then shrugged. "The likelihood isn't high. The aliens are a multi-species alliance that fights well and is smart. They're a long, long way from us. They're a long way around the other side of a very dangerous part of space. It's not highly likely that they'll come here but you can't make it ironclad. Anyone can find anyone in space."
It was silent a moment, then the pensive young scientist spoke for probably most of those present with notable exceptions. "I'm glad you're here."
Springer grinned at him, then looked at Harris and the others. "Nice to know." He rose to stand his 25 feet. "Stay inside. We're working on this as fast as we can." With that, he walked toward the door and the outside. The others followed and they left together.
Harris and the others watched them go as the group began to disperse. Harris glanced at the others. "We're not going anywhere any time soon."
He would be right.
=0=At the location of missing things
They slipped into the system which was breaking down with the absence to the delicate planetary balance of both Homeland and Sun Base. The ships began to take readings to look for them or their equivalent debris. They wouldn't find anything that would explain how the planets had disappeared. There was nothing floating in the system that bore even marginally the mass of the two. One could speculate that they had slingshot out as some planets did but they had been in stable orbits and there was nothing nearby that would account for it, either a force or the two planets.
They had just disappeared.
They radioed back to those following that Homeland and Sun Base were gone. The fleet following picked up speed to reach them.
=0=Tennyson
:They arrived at the site of Sun Base: Prowl said as he looked at the data next to him. :That should hold them long enough to allow us to get some distance between us and them:
"I would like several bridge jumps between us and them," Prime said. He noted that the area around them stretched into what seemed like forever. They could play cat and mouse a long time before reaching open space again. "I was curious if they would follow given two planets are missing. I would hope they would turn around and leave."
:You and me both: Prowl said as he gathered Prime's empty food container. :At that moment we're one bridge jump ahead of them:
"Is this our top cruising speed?" Prime asked.
Prowl nodded. :Ratchet said if he can get Clipper to a light stasis his control nexus will be alert enough to fly him alone. Its going to take a bit of time but he's working on it:
Prime nodded. "Keep me informed please."
Prowl nodded, then walked toward the command desk. It was going to be a touch and go game, he thought as he noted on the data map that the largest part of the Vergon fleet was approaching the disrupted system of Sun Base and Homeland. The ball was now in their court.
=0=At Sun Base
They came into view of their scouting group, sliding to a halt, literally dozens and dozens of huge ships with big firepower. Where two planets once were there was nothing but the gathering chaos of a finely balanced solar system falling apart. The inner most planets, two small rocky worlds were already making their way toward a fiery death in their sun. The others might make a breakaway or not depending on the effect of everything in their orbital confines. Already, particles of all manner of sizes were making their way with greater fury through the system.
They gathered to discuss what might have happened, then resolved to continue onward to find the fleet that they held responsible for this. Something happened. Two planets were gone. How that had happened, no one knew. The debris field of the area didn't account for the destruction theory. The idea that the planets were moved didn't enter their minds as they sent their scout group onward while they remained a moment to take data. The scout group would continue onward relentlessly, an action duly noted by Optimus Prime.
=0=TBC 2-20-2020 2-21-2020
NOTE:
I read an article by a M.I.T. mathematician who wanted to determine the time and place of the Star War universe in relation to us, the where and when that it existed. After a ton of math, he came to the conclusion that it was far, far away (galaxies and galaxies away on the other side of the universe) and had been a dead as a functioning unit for over a billion years, having come into being, lasted like they all do, then winking out.
I'm of the opinion that when you speculate about things far away into the distance of our universe that you're doing so through the wrong end of the telescope. Time is a third dimensional construct designed to help us organize and understand our world. Time in space and everywhere else doesn't exist. Everything that ever happened exists all at the same time and place according to quantum physics though various differences in energetic vibration keep us apart. Thus, dinosaurs aren't walking through your house while you live there even though dimensionally they overlap with us.
The distance of the Star Wars 'galaxy far away' and its well being or not could be explained for me simply by its distance away. Its probably still going on but for us to look at it from this distance requires us to think in time. The light that reaches us comes from the distance away that it exists and we can see light of stars from 12 billion years ago. Are they still there now? Its hard to say but they were once. It would take us a billion years to get there with our tech, thus, the universe could at that end be dead (or still alive) for a billion years when we arrive or not. Theoretically, if we could bridge there right now we could live in it, too, because we didn't have to spend a billion years getting there. If we did, hence its 'death'.
I like the idea that all over the universe there are lifeforms and civilizations that have their own culture, religion/or not, beliefs and individuals they call upon/or not to help them or to accomplish what they seek. The Elves think of their deities as Ea Iluvatar and the Valar, the bots think of their deities as The One, Primus and the Primes … on and on. It would seem reasonable that they've designed visions of the same thing based on beliefs and experiences to meet their own needs. Thus, the Elves being cared for by their gods as they see them and the bots as the Primes they see. They might also be living their lives wherever they are at the same time as us, too. Who knows?
I love paradoxes and synchronicities. It is maddening.
In the end, all roads lead to the same door. :D:D:D Hugs! (Reader's notes tomorrow) :D:D:D