The Diego Diaries: Follow Up 5 (dd3 159)

-0-On the road

The fleet gathered on the other side as they added and subtracted members. The medical staff minus Ratchet and Gamma would stay behind to prepare to receive casualties. The bridges would be able to jump them to the site of any disaster that required them to move into place but until then, the leaner the spear the better.

Ratchet stood at the big view port near the cockpit of Gamma and looked outside as the giants pulled back minus his own. Some of them would touch down on the planetoid of the Fortress and set up there. Some would stay nearby in fixed orbits. They, on the other hand, would bug out with the battle group.

Ratchet looked at his team, a mix of youngling newbies and grizzled vets. Goldwing who was making himself completely indispensable sat against the wall going over a datapad of something or other. Several younglings stood together, tensely leaning against the berths for patients or sitting in the passenger seats left for them. He noted that three of them were the same ones with him on the last venture. He grinned. "I'm sort of surprised to see you back. I didn't think you were cut out for this, which is fine and dandy with me. I think a few screws have to be missing if you don't hate this kind of slag."

The younglings looked at him and nodded. "I'm scared to death, Ratchet, but I'm here. I don't want to not help. Someone helped me when I came. I have to pay back."

"You three are good younglings. Remember, we … Goldie and I will fight if things get to that. We're the only combat certified mechs on the deck here. You will go below to the hold and slam shut the hatch. Bolt it and don't open it unless its one of us. We will defend. You will live."

They looked at him with sober expressions. "We'll all live, Ratchet."

Ratchet nodded. "You better believe it."

Goldwing looked at Ratchet, that mech's expression as determined as the one he knew was on his own face. Outside, the realignment of the fleet continued as inside everyone sat tensed with expectation.

Everyone but Goldwing and Ratchet.

-0-Prime and Prowl

They stood in the Ops Center gathering more intel and discussed the situation as it would stand with the refugees. The fleet's smaller vessels would be guiding them here with Seekers. If there was fighting, the Seekers would lead them through the bridges which would realign themselves based on new coordinates given at the point of combat. The refugees would be herded in bulk to the surrounding space of the fort and those here would have the duty of sorting them out. If there was shooting, convenience would be sacrificed for speed and safety.

Ironhide sat at the table listening and giving input as he held his daughter. There was a bed nearby, a familiar little box filled with dollies, blankets and other homey things. The bag for Hero that he had brought lay on the table. He kibitzed with Ratchet who was organizing the medical set up above them in space. He wouldn't be able to see Hero before they departed.

Life was fragged some times.

Prowl stroked Hero's cheek. "She sleeps really well."

"She's that kind of femme," Ironhide said with a faint grin. "This is fragged. The 'Cons have to learn this time that this is a payment they can't afford."

"We'll bring them the hurt," Prowl said quietly.

Prime turned and nodded to Ironhide. "Time to go."

Ironhide rose and after handing Hero off to his ada. Alor hugged him as he held the sleeping baby. "Don't worry about her. She's got more attention here than back home."

Ironhide nodded as his tanks tossed from the misery he felt. Slagging 'Con punks, he thought, as he walked to the door following his father and the others. They walked outside then Ironhide hugged his atar. "I'll see ya."

"I expect it," Blackjack said sternly. His visage was stern but his guts were churning.

Ironhide nodded then headed for one of two runabouts. Prowl would take one to the City of Solitude and they would return to Omega. They lifted off and were gone. Blackjack looked at the sky noting the glittering lights that marked ships. It marked their power, their quality and he felt deep pride. They would prevail, he decided. They were united. They had leadership. His son was going to be part of it. They couldn't lose. With that, walked inside the Fortress as overhead a very large mass of the gathered lights began to move away into the night time of space.

-0-Omega Supreme

Prime leaned against the bulkhead going over plans with Prowl who stood in the command center of the battle cruiser, City of Solitude which was nearby. They communicated internally as others around them went through the tasks before them with an ease that comes only to those most veteran and tested.

Ironhide leaned against the bulkhead watching through the view port as Gamma Supreme flew nearby carrying Ratchet. :Ada has Hero in servo. I took her emergency bag to him:

:Did it have her favorite things in it, Ironhide? I forgot to pack it when we were mustering:

:I put them in:

:I sent the message to the younglings. Ada and Atar will take good care of them: Ratchet said as he sat on a bench staring out the view port at the sight of Omega Supreme flying nearby.

:Good. Tie and Ravie will do great. The little ones can always go into the emergency day care at the school. I gave them permission. I don't want them to over do. They can keep Sunspot with them for the duration but the sparklings might be too much even if they're staying in the apartment:

:Good idea. I hear they took all the army genitor recommendations about the day care into servo. It'll be better: Ratchet said as images of Orion's suffering during extended breaks or deployments came unbidden to his processor. He quashed them with effort.

:It'll be alright, Ratchet: Ironhide said.

They sat and lied to each other as the battle group covered ground between safety and the great unknown.

-0-Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Kup, Drift, and Springer

They sat together on the Xantium with the others. They were chatting quietly as they waited for the unknown to announce itself with the usual casual nonchalance that had come to characterize them, this fabled band of brothers. The Wreckers were the last chance, the last possibility and the last hope. You didn't last long on their rolls. Only the most hard bitten, the most agile, and the luckiest survived. Skill was only part of what it took to survive the life Wreckers lived.

Yet, they were here ready to defend their people and their way of life to the bitterest of the bitter end. They were here to do whatever it took to make sure that they continued as a culture and species even as a mad mech tried to ensure otherwise. Their habit of humor, of a certain elan that seemed almost to be indifference was legendary to those outside of the team who watched.

They weren't indifferent. They weren't unconcerned. What they were was dedicated, capable in the extreme and focused. They never went into a fight to lose. It was always to win. That they did more often than not was a testament to their endurance and skill.

:Blue:

:What?:

:Where the frag are you?:

:I'm on the Solitude with Prowl, Sunny:

:Good: Sunstreaker replied as he leaned back against the hull, his knives partially sheathed as he waited for battle. :Did you get the bag on the table?:

:I did. I gave it to Miler. That teether is going to be a good thing. I saw that Iacon has been chewing on the couch leg again:

Sideswipe grinned as he listened. :Goes to show how much they've changed that Miler and Venture didn't get vapor lock over knowing that:

A smile reached them over the link. :I didn't tell them:

-0-Kappa Supreme

Gypsy who stood by the window looked at the Fortress below. She had tried to leave ship to enter the Xantium but Ratchet had anticipated that move. She was not allowed to leave her vessel until the fleet pulled out. A short message from Ratchet had been amusing but frustrating. She had sent one to the Xantium and had gotten sympathetic responses from 'her boys' back.

Sometimes life sucked.

-0-Around the fleet

:You there?:

:I am: Revo said as he flew inside the cockpit of Omega Supreme. Omega was flying himself. Revo was present because of the rule that when a Prime flew somewhere on a sentient vessel, a back up pilot was always part of the crew in case of emergencies. Revo would have no work to do until the battle if it came and then he would be spotter for Omega for incoming.

Heva sat in the cockpit of Silverbolt, the platform for Starscream. The same rule was adapted by Prime and applied to four other bots considered indispensable to the effort, Prowl, Starscream, Ironhide, and Ratchet. The big concord-sized bot was doing all the work. Heva would help him do the spotting as well in combat. :Did your ada get my messages about the school schedule?:

:They all did. I directed it to everyone. It's all in servo, Heva: Revo replied.

Heva nodded to himself. :I know. Its still going to leave a mark:

Revo nodded. :I know. We need to speed this up, get our people, kick the slag out of the opposition, and get home:

:From your lips to Primus's audials: Heva said quietly.

They flashed onward into the night.

-0-In the mix ahead

They stood by the view ports watching the ships that shadowed them. They were moving in closer with their Seekers flying alongside of them as escort. They felt the menace across the distance and worried. The call of their Prime as well as Starscream was still clear on their speakers even now but the others didn't seem to be affected by it.

Their migration had grown to an almost unmanageable mass when the others arrived. There were seemingly thousands of ships, all of them flying onward in their desperate hope to reach the safety of Prime and their army. Among them were Autobots, many Autobots, and they did their best. They shared their doctors, food and good cheer.

But it wasn't enough. Some of them were in weary ships and they were falling behind. With each ship that slipped backward into the night, some of them felt a dagger in their spark. It could be them. It was them somehow. That they all couldn't reach the promised land together was a spark ache that everyone felt.

Desperate calls reached them and they radioed back for positions. They promised they would come back for them when they reached the Prime. They had heard rumors that guardians were with the Prime, that they came and scoured the darkness for everyone. No one was left behind.

But they were. The others scared them, making breaking out to go back impossible. The strangers pulsed messages that told them to stay in line, to not leave the formation and so they did. They flew together into the night with the menace of the unknown alongside of them. It was terrifying.

-0-Prowl

He sat on the soft chair of the command table where the business of his business was spread out feeding him information about the problem as he generated dozens of possible solutions. The mass coming toward them was approximately 193,000 individuals occupying ships as small as runabouts and as large as commercial passenger liners and freight haulers.

They were the part of the migration that still had stamina and stability among their vessels. The data was showing that some were slipping away, falling back into the darkness over a wide spread area. He marked that area and sent Seekers to scan beyond it to find stragglers that weren't showing on sensors. The Pit would freeze over before they would even accidentally miss a single individual.

The data told them that a mass of ships and Seekers were flying alongside the first group, their menace evident, their intentions still unclear. They could be coming to surrender. They could be slaggers waiting to be slagged. They could be anything.

"Prowl to Prime."

"Prime here."

"Sir, we have a clear count. There are 293,000 individuals before us with about 167,000 falling behind. I've dispatched a team to fly around and come up behind several diameters of the end of that group. I want them to talk to the stragglers and see if there's anyone behind them. We cannot miss anyone, Optimus," he concluded with uncharacteristic informality.

"We will retrieve them, Prowl," Optimus replied. "We will get them all."

Prowl nodded to himself. "The others appear to have 300 Seekers, about ten large cruisers and an indeterminate number of smaller fighter style vessels."

"Copy that," Prime said. It was quiet a moment. "Prowl, signal Fort Max to send the rest of the Seekers and their tanker support. I want overwhelming numbers on our side."

"Affirmative," Prowl said rising to walk to the communications console. "Send the message, Blaster. We need all the Seekers on standby. Have the Master of the Muster call up replacements just in case."

Blaster nodded and made it so. Prowl walked to his station pausing to look out the window. In front, Omega carrying Optimus and Ironhide flew onward. Beside his own vessel, Gamma flew carrying Ratchet. It seemed like other times in other places that the same thing had happened. It had. More times than he liked to count. But perhaps this time they would send a message that a fight with them was a loser. Maybe this time they could beat the swords of war into plowshares.

With that, Prowl sat and began to study the problem with the idea of finding a perfect permanent solution.

-0-TBC 2013 (1) edited 4-22-18 HAPPY EARTH DAY!