The Diego Diaries: Chaos (dd3 67)
-0-Out there
They had searched among the broken planetoids and asteroids until they found three that would be sizable enough to be a base of operations for their armada. Overlord stood on the deck of his ship, the future home and safety of his group depending on his cunning and skill. That he was a phase six lunatic and all around Megatron wannabe, that he was reckless and unplanned in his actions and behavior added to the allure and overall dread that this mech spread everywhere he went.
They had 2,500 hostages minus those they had given to Prime. Until he could figure out what he'd do in their weakened situation, he'd make sure they stayed in a reasonable condition as bargaining chips. Though it went against his need for 'entertainment' … ie, mechs fighting each other to the death for his amusement, he would repress his nearly overwhelming urges. The hostages would also build his base. Prime would be coming for him and he relished the prospects. Fighting the biggest, most dangerous bots gladiator-style to best them was the central focus of his life.
It was the only way he could feel anything at all.
Nodding to his pilot, the big ship arched over and began to descend. Following him were the big and small ships of his rogue army.
-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars
They stood at the communications station reading the data as it came in. There were a number of messages that would require Prime's notice. One of them was a message from Prime about setting up a meeting to discuss commercial opportunities on Earth for Cybertronian products and crafts. Another was a request from the Speaker of the House of Representatives for Ratchet to come to hearings about the state of Autobot City and the request they were going to make about creating a human settlement on Mars. The impetus for this were a number of corporations as well as individuals who obviously wanted a piece of their pie.
Prowl downloaded all the messages and walked to the center table where he sat to continue to formulate the draft of a meet up request to be sent to Soundwave. Putting him into the picture would allow Prime to manipulate the situation into a more favorable place. It was obvious Overlord wasn't in Soundwave's camp. He was leaving the Empire for a reason. It would give Soundwave a chance to show his quality to Prime in helping to make the retrieval of the hostages possible. Prime would also be able to determine the scope of Soundwave's operation nearby without him actually telling anything directly.
It was a potential plan.
He worked to parse the words to perfection before submitting the datapad to Prime for the final approval. The tiny mech lay on a blanket on the table recharging. The afternoon would pass quietly for both.
For a while.
-0-In a lounge
They sat together watching the teevee and their favorite shows. The door was locked, the window tint draw up as the world beyond whirled out of their sight. They ate their snacks which they had picked up at The Energon Basket the moment it opened that morning. Sneaking into the Fortress, they hurried through the rec room and down Central Corridor to the little lounge that was the favorite frag place of mini-cons back in the orn.
"What do you wanna watch?"
"Don't care. You choose."
"Okay." He picked up the remote and changed the channels until he found what they wanted. He put it down, picked up treats and grinned. "There."
Then a knock came on the door.
-0-Prime
He stood at the shipyard and watched as the framework for curtain walls was built. In the quarries ten miles away, mechs were carving specifically designed stone blocks under the exacting directions of Copper and his bond, both of them master stonemasons and stone builders. They would shape the big slabs, bring them to the site and arrange them for fitting.
Youngling refugees from an earlier migration had brought to the attention of Sciences a new form of adhesive they had developed for stone and steel that was nearly impervious to destruction. They had explained it, been allowed to work it out and then show how it would expedite the construction possibilities that continually presented themselves to the colony.
The stones would be lined up together along precision seams so finely cut a piece of paper couldn't be inserted between them and fastened with the adhesive. Once they were assembled, they would be lifted into orbit and taken through the gate to the new fortress. That is, when the new fortress was located, surveyed and made secure, then they would.
The sun was warm overhead as Jetta explained their progress to Prime.
-0-Out there
They flashed through the gate and the vortex collapsed behind them. It was their last stop on the journey that had brought them this far. The group had burst out of the bridge at seven other places before reaching the point of departure in the migration lane pausing only long enough to place high speed communications and sensor relays. They were also new courtesy of their increasingly technical influx of brainiac refugees.
This last router would be the start of any message out this far that would flash to the Ops Center in nearly real time. It would be their hidden nondescript adjunct to the bridge. When they needed more subtle, they would have it. Pausing long enough to regroup, the heavily armed battle shuttle, City of Capital City gathered the fifty heavily armed Seekers that accompanied it and flashed onward into the maze of debris that informed the Oort Cloud. They would find a suitable planetoid and begin to map out a structure of incredible strength to withstand an enemy armada. That armada would have to be sought out because it had disappeared into the maze of debris elsewhere.
'Cat and mouse' Blackjack thought as he stood on the command deck of the battle shuttle. He grinned mirthlessly. He knew something of that game. Bring it, he thought with uncharacteristic bravado. See why even Megatron gave us a wide berth in the Expansion. They flashed into the debris field to disappear from view.
-0-Back there
They looked at each other with concern.
"Who do you think that is?"
"How should I know?"
"You wanna answer it?"
"Nope. Why would we do that? Let's just be still and see if it goes away."
That was when the door exploded inward and the Doctor of Doom emerged to stand over them triumphant. "AHA! GOT YA, YOU LITTLE SLAGGERS!"With that, Ratchet grabbed Skids and Mudflap by their finial embellishments and yanked them off the ground.
"Ratchet! Where did you come from?" Skids asked with a grin as he swung in Ratchet's grip.
"The Pit, you little slaggers. I've been tracking you since before Unicron could walk. You're coming with me." With that, Ratchet walked out the door, one little babbling mini-con in each servo. Neither of the mini-cons' peds touched the ground.
-0-A nanosecond later
He walked into Ops Center with two little mechs swinging from his servos. Prowl looked at the three and grinned slightly. Rising, he put on his most intimidating persona. Ratchet stopped before him and held up his bounty. "I got them."
"It would seem so," Prowl said looking at the two little smurf-like creatures in Ratchet's grip. "You two were ordered to report to Ratchet a long time ago. Tell me why I don't toss you in the brig and forget about you."
"Uh," Mudflat thought. He glanced at his brother who had no better excuse than he had himself. Looking up at Prowl, he grinned. "Uh."
Prowl looked at Ratchet and shook his helm. Glancing around, he called to Blurr. "Help Ratchet get these mechs to the hospital. Then throw them in the brig for a couple of orns." Prowl looked at the two little mechs. "Do I need to explain why you're going to the brig?"
"Uh, no sir," Skids said with a grin.
"Nope," Mudflap said nodding as well.
Ratchet held one out to Blurr who took Skids and threw him over his shoulder. With a grin at Prowl, they walked to the door and beyond. Prowl on the other hand watched them go with intense amusement before going back to the job at servo.
-0-Moments later
They both sat on a med berth watching as Ratchet went about the business of reaming them out from stem to stern. Plugging them in, unplugging them, checking this and that thing, he tossed his last gauge on the berth and grinned. "You're reasonably fit younglings."
"We coulda tole you that, Ratchet. Right, Skids?" Mudflap said looking at his brother.
"We coulda," Skids said nodding. He looked at his brother, the two nodding. Their little peds would never touch the ground Ratchet thought, stunted little younglings.
"You are missing the main point of my words, boys," Ratchet said moving in to glare at them much closer. They leaned back warily. "*Younglings*," he repeated.
"I suppose we are to you. You're what? Older than Cybertron? Someone tole me you're the oldest mean old 'coger that ever lived." Skids glanced at his brother who nodded in agreement.
"What he said," Mudflap replied.
"You still don't get it," Ratchet said with a deepening frown.
"Explain it to me then," Prowl said entering the room, infant in arms. He stopped beside Ratchet, his best 'don't frag with me' expression on his face as he glared down at the two little mechs.
They looked at Prowl and the room got silent. Blurr who was leaning against a berth smirked. "They don't seem to understand the meaning of 'youngling'," the big blue Autobot said.
Ratchet looked at Prowl. "We have two under-aged younglings here, Prowl. They don't need to be in the army. They need to be in school."
"What?" Skids said with surprise. "I don't need no school. I'm a soldier. I'm an Autobot."
Ratchet spun on them then leaned into their space. "You're slagging whatever I fraggingtell that you are."
They leaned back silently as one.
"What do we do? If they aren't old enough to be out of school, we need to send them," Prowl said.
"We're not going to no school," Skids said.
Everyone in the room turned to him. "You will go to school!" they said as one. The two sat on the berth blinking.
-0-Out in the corridor
"Well, this explains a lot," Prowl said.
"It does. I've had this feeling a long time. Their code is their giveaway. I read them as Intermediate School material. They're just a tad older than Rambler. They have good adaption skills and hid in plain sight forever. I'd even say they aren't aware how young they are."
"They will need a guardian," Prowl said. "We need to find someone who will ride herd on them and make sure they stay in school. I'm removing them from the duty roster. No missions, no duty beyond school, nothing. I want them disarmed and the armories informed that they're under-aged and not allowed to have weapons."
Ratchet nodded. "I'm going to have Jarro give them the once over. If there is processor damage, I will see if its possible to fix it. If it isn't, then the schools and Jarro's team will have to decide how to treat them. They might be suffering injuries instead of simple mindedness."
Prowl nodded. They walked back inside. The two were sitting together on the berth eating candy that Ratchet had given them. "Skids. Mudflap."
The two looked up at him. "Yes, sir?"
"We've made some decisions about you that I'm convinced are necessary. I'm also aware that you won't like it." Prowl glanced at Blurr. "Blurr will disarm you," he began before the little bots erupted in disagreement. "ENOUGH!" Prowl said and the room became quiet again. "As I was saying … you will be disarmed and taken to a mech named Jarro. He will give you both tests. Do your best. That's an order. When that's done, you'll be given guardians to be responsible for taking care of you."
"We don't need no taking care of do we, Skids?" Mudflap asked.
His brother nodded. "We don't need no keepers."
"When you're through with Jarro and his people, you'll be taken to the City Hall where a guardian will be waiting to take custody of both of you. You will obey them. Do you understand me?" Prowl said in his quietest 'don't frag with me' voice.
They looked at him and nodded silently. "I still say we don't need no guardians," Skids said.
"Duly noted," Prowl said. "Blurr, take them to Jarro in the City Hall."
Blurr nodded and pointed to the door. The little bots hopped down. "You got more candy?" Skids asked Ratchet.
That big bot grinned and held out the jar. They filled their servos and walking with Blurr out the door. Both watched them go and glanced at each other. "So … being a fragger isn't limited only to Megatron?"
"Apparently," Ratchet said. "If they weren't so wild and obnoxious someone would've noticed sooner."
"I suppose." He looked at Ratchet. "Who will take them on?"
Ratchet shrugged. "I don't know. That's Magnus's problem now."
"You're a cruel bot," Prowl said with a slight grin.
"Truer words never spoken," Ratchet said with a chuckle. "Think about this, Prowl. Those two could end up in Rambler's class."
Prowl nearly turned pale.
-0-TBC 2012 (10) edited 8-16-18