The Diego Diaries: Chaos 48
-0-At the office of the City Engineer
They stood in the corridor outside the big cluttered office of the city's engineer, Jetta of Iacon. Flint was inside conferring with that worthy and the two felt the pressure on them. Coldspray stood stoically as Hardtime paced. :What do you think we'll be doing?:
:I don't know: Coldspray said. They both paused as a tall black winger with red detailing rose and walked out followed by the big soldier, Flint. He paused in front of them and grinned. "Hi. I'm Jetta." He held out his servo and they shook it, both of them in turn. "Come on. I'll get you settled in a place and we'll decide what you want to do for employment."
"What we want to do?" Hardtime asked with surprise.
"Yeah," Jetta said slapping the big mech's shoulder. "Everyone gets a choice here." He looked them both over. "I think we need to get the devices implanted and then redo your finish. That 'Con brand has to go."
They both looked at Flint, then Jetta. "Alright," Coldspray said nodding.
Jetta looked at Flint with a grin. "Got them, Flint. Thanks."
Flint nodded with his own grin. "Glad to do it." He looked at the two new mechs. "Welcome to Autobot City, boys." With that, he turned and walked to the door of City Hall and Ops Center beyond.
Jetta turned to them. "Tell me about yourself," he said turning to go himself.
The two paused and then followed. "We're from Slaughter City."
"I've been there. Tried to organize workers in the smelters. The slaggers in charge used to beat the slag out of us."
"You were an organizer? Those slaggers didn't have a chance," Hardtime said as they stepped out onto the plaza before the City Hall. Steps led to the street and they took them. "The bosses had no time for you."
"We had no time for them, the fraggers," Jetta said with a grin. They walked down the street heading for the Mare Tranquilitatis. "This is the main drag to the housing district and the sports arenas. That one is the first one and now belongs to school sports. The one over there," he said pointing to a bigger gleaming structure, "is the new one where the adult sports are played."
"You have football here?" Coldspray asked with astonishment as he glanced at his equally surprised bother.
"We do. Six teams vying for the Martian Championship. This planet is Mars by the way," Jetta replied with a chuckle. "This is the medical tower and over there are the schools for younglings and babies with the University at the top. We encourage mechs to go to college."
"We can't go to college," Hardtime replied. "We don't have any formal education. We graduated from the school of hard knocks."
"You can go. There are classes to teach adults how to read, write and do the rest. Everyone who says they can't do that always excels when they try. I can imagine you two would be awesome."
They glanced at each other as they followed the big mech into the doors of the medical tower. The Autobrand on the floor seemed to follow them optically as they walked to a bank of elevators. Riding up, they got off at the tech level. When the devices were installed, explained and understood, they dutifully followed him back down to the street level.
Walking in the morning light, the bustle of the city and its citizens enveloping them, they marveled internally together at the homey feel of the place. Jetta explained things as they walked along heading for the Union and Guild Hall where they would find work that was suitable and chosen by the two themselves.
They entered the big hall, itself below street level in the old industrial park from the beginning of the city. Lit with light designed to match a sunny day above ground, they walked through an enormous space with offices and public communications systems along the inside walls. In the center, a large area for lounging and meetings was furnished comfortably. Two huge monitors hung on the wall beside the community area. One showed the slowly rotating views of the city itself. The other was the Community Bulletin Board available for anyone who wanted to use it. Several mechs were sitting together talking and several more were sitting together in a group studying for classes. They walked to an employment office and paused, Jetta peering inside. "Libi."
A pert older femme stepped out and looked up. "What do you want, handsome?" she asked with a slightly impertinent tone.
He grinned down at her and smirked. "I have two live ones. They were with the slag storm coming and they want a new life. They don't seem to have preferences about what to do and they haven't actually told me what they can do so they are going to be yours to dissect."
She turned and looked up at the two big mechs who looked down at her slightly uneasily. "Cute enough pair. You bonded to anyone?"
They glanced at each other. "No," Hardtime said.
"I have two brothers who couldn't find their afts with a flashlight in the romance department. They're good looking nice boys. But they need an older mech in their lives to show them the ropes. I think you two will do." She glanced at Jetta. "You wanna stay and watch?"
"Slag yeah," he said with a smile.
She nodded and looked at the two mechs. "Come on in then. I'll get you sorted out." She turned and walked down the corridor to the testing room where skills, aptitudes and desires were measured for future jobs and training programs.
Jetta looked at them and grinned. "Better hurry. You don't want to keep her waiting."
They startled and turned walking down the corridor. They would spend a joor answering questions, finding out their strengths and weaknesses, their dreams would be measured and their outcomes determined.
Coldspray had an aptitude for electronics and would be placed in the electrician apprentice program for computer technology. Hardtime would have an aptitude for aviation technology and would find himself apprenticed to Roadie to learn how to manage ships and their complex systems.
They would also be set up with her two brothers for dinner that night at Club Cybertron. They would after a few awkward minutes hit it off.
As they walked out heading for their housing assigment in the tower district nearby, they would ask multitudes of questions, be given multitudes of answers by a thoroughly entertained Jetta and by the end of the day, be introduced to their new futures at their work stations.
It would seem to them to be a slagging miracle.
They would never forget what they felt this orn.
Ever.
-0-Out there
Prime sat waiting for answers, the sensors reading no change. Then movement happened as four ships broke off and began to speed away. The Arks tracked them allowing all to pass and when they were off the sensors, there were only twelve more vessels to go.
"Decepticon ships, four of your compatriots have left. I am asking you to go too or be destroyed. We won't allow you to harm anyone here. You are outgunned and there is no point to your actions. Either leave or surrender. You have my word on the Matrix that you will be given good treatment."
There was no answer. Then a message on a low band came through. Prowl turned and looked at Prime. "There is a message coming in on a very low frequency. I don't think the others will probably know that its being transmitted."
"Put it through," Prime said nodding.
"Prime."
"Prime here."
"I am Wringer. I want to defect. Three others do too. We are transmitting on a low band so you can hear us without the others knowing. Overlord is a crazy fragger and we have been trying to leave for a long time. This is the only chance we have had to go so far. Can we leave and come in?"
"You can if you power down weapons and come forward to be boarded at coordinates we give you. If you even pretend to act oddly, give any manner of offense or try to trick us we will destroy you without mercy. Understood?"
"Affirmative," he said quietly. "We can come forward now?"
"Affirmative," Prime said. "We have dozens of guns trained upon you. Don't be stupid."
"We won't," the voice said with a hint of desperation. Then it signaled off.
Prime glanced at Prowl. "Be ready to wipe them out if things get out of hand."
Prowl nodded and turned giving orders to a number of ships that would be near to the rendezvous site. As he did, four ships began to move forward slipping through the vessels that were parked in space waiting to leave, their terrified and tense passengers staring out the view port windows.
-0-Kup
Their ship moved to the rendezvous point pausing alongside one other. The ships that were coming registered their weapons as powered down. Nearly every non essential system on the ships were being turned off as they edged their way forward. Sensors from Arks and the Guardians indicated they were light fighter class vessels without space for hidden bombs or other ordinance tricks.
Preliminary indications suggested that fifteen mechs were crammed on the ships, many more than the vessels required for operation. That information was conveyed to Gamma and affirmed the idea that these were ships desperate to defect and nothing more.
As they came closer, the traffic between the others outlying increased. Prowl turned to Prime. "They are getting upset. Do you call them again? We got four of them the last time you did. Twelve to go."
Prime nodded. "This is Prime. We are asking you to come in and surrender. Overlord has no hope of doing more than harassing us. We will destroy anyone and anything that comes near to us. We have seven Guardians in our fleet and more coming. You will not win. You can power down and come in or we will kill you. Either leave, come in or die. We will give you one breem to tell us. If you say nothing we will assume you don't intend to finish this peacefully. Think hard. Your life depends upon your decision. Prime out." He turned to Prowl. "Are we in position?"
Prowl turned and nodded. "We are."
"Give Springer discretion."
Prowl nodded and made it so.
-0-Springer
He stood on the command deck of his shuttle, a smaller battle version of the earler heavies that had been produced in the shipyards of Autobot City. This one was heavily armed but fast and cornered on a dime. The other runabouts they were using from the Guardians were going to be replaced by these when the order was completed. This was the first to be deployed and he liked it already.
It held a crew compliment of ten. There were four turret guns on the ship fore and aft, jump off places for outgoing teams and lots of speed and agility. It was slagging perfect and met all the specifications that the Wreckers had asked for in helping to design an offensive platform.
"Prowl to Springer."
"Springer here."
"Prime gives you comand. You are go at will."
"Thanks, Prowl. Tell Prime his missus is glad to hear it."
Prowl chuckled over the speakers in spite of himself. "I will. Prowl out."
Springer grinned and glanced at his pilot, Semper. "Mech does have a sense of humor."
"I'm glad to be witness to it," Semper said.
Springer looked at the datapad unrolled on the table beside him. Everyone was in place. "Open a channel to the team, Semper."
"Done," the big mech said.
"This is Springer, god of the hunt. When I say green, blow them to the Pit. Copy?"
A torrent of abuse filled the air ways and then they acknowledged. Kup's voice came last. "Youngling, don't start without us."
"Slag that, old mech. You babysitting? Get the frag back here."
"We're pulling mechs off of ships. When we drop them off and tow their vessels we'll be back. You start the cotillion without us, I will slap your aft."
"You can try, old mech," Springer said with a grin. "I outrank ya."
"This time, youngling," Kup said. "Better wait for me. Might need me to hold your servo."
"Hurry up. The dance is going to start without ya," Springer said as a jolt of fire rocked his ship.
=0=TBC
2012 (10)