The Diego Diaries: Mission Go (dd7 314)
=0=On a ship heading into trouble
" … five … four … three … two … engage."
The humans watched with fascination, then the deck became flooded with brilliant light. It filled the space, then disappeared almost immediately. They stared at the window as the lights adjusted on the ship. Everyone was still in the same place but in the distance was Clipper. They'd moved. They weren't in the same place. They were light years away from Earth and Mars. They'd jumped as a group.
Randolph glanced at his son-in-law. "Is this normal?"
Niall nodded. "You'll get used to it."
"If you say so," he replied.
The mechs were laboring at their stations as others gathered around the command table with Prowl and Ratchet. Prime sat in his chair which he had swiveled around to watch. The conversation was crisp, then the titanic figures turned to Prime.
"We are here, Lord Optimus," Metroplex said. "Clipper is in view on station. We can now implement the plan as devised and agreed upon."
"Very well," Optimus said.
The giants bowed slightly, then almost as one derezzed to disappear. It was silent on the deck as Hardie conversed with Sun at Tactical. Ironhide was working the sub tactical station next to his great uncle. It would remain silent on the deck for a moment or two.
=0=On the deck of Sunset, a Dreadnought-class vessel in the Armada of the Primes, somewhere near the Empire colony world of Caminus
They gathered together around the data pad on the command table which was linked in with Prime who was on Paradisio. A huge monitor hooked them visually into that crew as they parted out the objectives of 'Plan Seven, Part 2' and received acknowledgments of the ships involved.
"Operation Good Order, this is Paradisio. I am asking for acknowledgment of the orders just sent by this vessel and the Prime. Ping recognition." He waited as he received it from the vessels arrayed around his own. "General Hard Drive, we are go."
A voice, calm and warm spoke over the intercoms and personal lines of everyone involved in the mission. "This is General Hard Drive of Praxus. We are putting through a call, then will engage at my command. Stand by." He glanced at Prime. "By your leave, Lord Optimus," he said formally.
Prime nodded as Blaster opened up the channel. Ominous answered, his visage filling the forward screen. Both mechs stared at each other a moment.
"Hello, Prime. What brings you this way? I do see movement on my sensors but I believe that you either cloaked your group or someone's lenses need a scrub," Ominous said dryly.
"I am here, Ominous, to do a flyover of your base and all related areas to ascertain the extent of your power and the force that you command. I do not ask permission to do so," Optimus replied coldly.
The humans who were watching listened to the exchange on the translation line. Some of them watched with interest, some of them with tension and unease while one watched with a bit of both. Randolph McClean had done his military obligation but had never seen combat. He was lucky that way. His son was a soldier, James, and his beloved son-in-law, Niall was always in harms way. It was a sickening introduction to the lives they lived being here at this moment. He watched silently and tensely to the exchange.
"That wouldn't be neighborly, Optimus. You don't have an invitation and I'd be put out and offended if you did," Ominous said as his voice dropped to a darker level than before. "I'd have to take the welcome mat in."
"I am not interested in what you want or not, Ominous. We are going to do this and it would be deeply unwise of you to resist," Prime said.
Ominous stared at him a moment. "Stand by," he said, then went off camera.
"Link me to Tennyson please, General," Prime said as he sat back.
"You are in, Lord Optimus," Hardie said as Blaster linked him in.
"Prime to Tennyson and Hammer of Primus. Please return to me for a moment," Prime said.
The sound of mechs coalescing from nothingness could be heard then two big mechs walked to Prime to stand on either side. "We heard him and we have a possibility if he won't relent," Tennyson said.
"I assumed you did," Prime said as the image changed and Ominous was back.
"Prime, I discussed it with my officers and we see no upside to this. Therefore, I'm going to have to tell you we're busy and you're not welcome. If you come, we fight. Understood?" Ominous asked.
"We will come and you will regret not cooperating," Prime said as the screen cut off.
=0=Human cage
"Those fuckers aren't very polite to the First Disciple of Primus," Mick said as he glanced at Lennox with amusement.
Lennox grinned. "They'll regret it. I promise."
=0=Command chair, Paradisio
Hardie watched Prime as they waited. He was the most patient mech for the most part that Hardie knew. They had worked together on and off the vorns and he admired Prime almost more than anyone he ever met but the burdens of his responsibility were showing and he was changed. None of his ethics and ideas, those things that made him the mech he was had changed. His willingness to put up with slag for very long, however, had. He grinned slightly. Optimus Prime was someone he loved. His grandson had good taste in friends.
=0=Tennyson deck
They gathered together including the Supremes in pretender gear to go over the plan to clear the decks of Ominous and his bullheadedness. As they went over the plan, everyone agreed, then disappeared to their vessels immediately. Tennyson stared at the data pad, then linked into his ship-wide communications.
=0=On the hanger deck of Tennyson and Paradisio
Sitting in their shuttles which were parked three deep on the two giant vessels, mechs paused their goofing around to listen to a deep metallic voice speaking to itself over the general ship's channels. It was Paradisio telling his drone crew to do something that none of them ever heard of but Hercy. He sat at the front listening, then grinned. "This is going to be interesting."
Everyone stared at him but he didn't offer clarification.
=0=Moments later
On titans around the fleet, Seekers waited at the hatch doors for the command to go and accomplish their part of the mission. A lot of shipboard chat, some of it in computer code and Primal Vernacular had been expressed over the com system, chat none of them understood. Red Wing, 'Red 1' stood with his teams by the energy curtain that kept space out of Tennyson's hangar deck. "I think they're getting ready to launch. Anyone have questions?"
No one did.
"You Home Guardians, listen to your team and follow them. What happens if they shoot?" Red asked.
A kid frowned. "We have to leave. That doesn't seem right, Commander. We should stay and fight."
"Your turn is coming but not today. This is very technical and we don't want anyone hurt. Your adas would kick my aft."
Huge laughter greeted that which fell to silence when a tremor through the deck rolled through.
=0=Tennyson and Hard Drive just before
"General, we are ready. Everyone is ready," Tennyson said as he sat on the command chair with a good dozen cords plugged into the console.
Ratchet stood behind him watching the screen. His advice had been important. Now, they would let it all fly.
:Then field command is yours. Enact the modification at your will: Hard Drive replied over the intercom.
Tennyson sat back and noted the forward screen. Every ship's avatar stared back. He nodded, they nodded, then all of them launched. As they did, those watching everywhere else saw two ginormous white beams of light shoot out of the forward bow of Tennyson and Paradisio heading in the same direction of a hoard of the biggest torpedoes most had ever seen.
=0=Ominous at Fort Destruction
"FRAG! INCOMING!"
Ominous turned to the mech at sensors, then turned back to the monitor forward of his throne. "PUT IT ON THE SCREEN!"
He did, then they could see a good dozen torpedoes, some huge and some huger heading directly at them. Coming even swifter were two roiling light beams that struck the base even as Ominous tried to stand. It was that fast.
Prime had plugged in and was listening to the cross talk between ships as they zeroed their torpedoes directly at the fortress that Ominous and his now 105,000 soldiers had dug out of a planetary fragment of enormous size that was part of a failed system from the ancient past. They came slower than the twin beams but the light struck and soon bathed the entire fragment in illumination. The light disappeared when the torpedoes began to strike the planetoid.
They'd pulled in an image of enormous quality from a torpedo that held a camera. It came at a slightly slower pace than the others for that reason. It zoomed through space, captured torpedoes striking the base, then it hit, too, and the video was lost. It was incredibly silent on the bridge. Then Tennyson was back.
:Lord Optimus, the action is complete. I am launching Seekers to do their part and they carry some orders from me that I am sending you now. Advise, please:
A message arrived to Prime, he read it, then sent back acknowledgment. "I approve of the plan, Tennyson. Continue, please."
The humans watched the bots, Prime in particular as the scene outside showed thundering clouds of Seekers jumping out of Tennyson and Paradisio to blast off for Fort Destruction.
=0=Seconds before
The sound of his own screams rang in his processor as the light hit the base and all fell into oblivion. He fell to the floor along with most of his crew and everyone else who was here. It was lights out in a most agonizing, soul killing way. The light beams that hit them were null rays.
=0=At the flight deck of Tennyson and Paradisio
Red Wing listened to the command, then turned to his group as he tuned in to those on Paradisio. "We're go. All Home Guard obey your group leader. Make this swift and return. Red Team and Blue Team, prepare to stay for extra tasks." With that, Red leaped out, transformed, then burst into speed for the base far away. The others swarmed out on both ships blasting off to follow him. It would take a few moments to get there, then they would do their jobs. They would do it perfectly.
=0=Tennyson
He glanced at Ratchet. "I have a task for you if Prime agrees. I feel lucky." He grinned at Ratchet.
Ratchet grinned back. "I do, too. What do you have in mind?" he asked.
Tennyson told him.
=0=The Seekers
They had flown the three pass overs, clouds of Seekers scanning deep, surface and wide for all the data they could. It would be sent back by data experts to be converted into maps in real time by Prowl, Wheeljack and Perceptor on board Paradisio. Every square inch of the base was captured, all the surrounding area and things down to the dishes in the mess hall would be noted on a data map designed for this action.
As they flew off to return to the ships they left, Red Wing, Blue and Red Teams would be going over the base to sift for anything that they could take with them. It wouldn't be much. The EMP's sent by torpedo to the base were specialty items that the big frames had created to deal with pirates. They were still the dry as dust, spark annihilating tones that robbed one of the will to live but they were also more. Carrying a frequency that was designed to overload all electrical and electronic systems within their radius, they had left the entire base a burned out destroyed mess. They had left out the frequencies that could kill a mech, something that had ended many a pirate before they could strike. Prime wouldn't countenance killing them. He was, however, happy to deliver them a punch to the codpiece that would be one for the ages.
They pulled the few data nodes that were still functional, went through each ship ripping out that which hadn't been destroyed in the E.M.P surge while taking photos and scans of the mechs that they could in the time they had.
That was when they found Straxus.
=0=Paradisio
The Seekers swarmed back with their data. It was being fed to Paradisio as they arrived, complied on his computers and formatted onto the data map that Prowl and Hardie were working on. When the last one landed, Prime commed Red Wing. "Prime to Red Wing. What is your status?"
:Its total destruction here, Optimus. We're pillaging this place and guess who we found? Straxus is here in a cage:
Everyone took a moment for that, then Prime glanced at Ironhide. "Have them bring him or send a shuttle if necessary. I want him in irons. I want to know what he's doing here."
Ironhide nodded, then called Hercy. "Ironhide to Hercy. Go to the base. They found Straxus. Bring him back and keep him on your ship. Magnetize his aft if you have to. We want to talk to him before we part him out."
A chuckle greeted that. "On it." Hercy cut off, then glanced at the crew. "Well, it looks like an old friend has been collected. We have to go get him. Take us there, infant."
The Home Guard kid did.
=0=TBC 6-28-2020