The Diego Diaries: Follow Up 6 (dd3 160)

-0-On the way

Prime sat watching the ships out the view port as they closed on the leading edge of the migration. It was coming as plotted and would be in their direct sensor range in three joors. Behind them, squadrons of Seeker specialists were doing two things. The group having reached the trailing edge of the main force had divided into two groups. The first was flying forward from the farthest point of the detected refugee mass while the others were flying beyond them scanning the path of the migration to find anyone who might be stranded.

They had flown slightly askew of the Decepticons as they passed by them, continuing onward swiftly like their formats chosen for speed and sensor capacity could command. They'd be detected but not followed as nothing that appeared to be with the unknown group was fast enough to do so. While this was happening, a second huge flight of Seekers and their support vessels were flashing through the bridges heading for the battle group ahead.

-0-In the front of the migration

He stood on his deck watching as the Autobot soldiers sat in the pilot and co-pilot seats flying the ship he had stolen during the Fall. He had a group of rag tag kids, older mechs and a femme who had no family to help them and a lot of adults, some in bonds that had no way to flee. He had been a foreman at a factory and his sense of responsibility was well honed in the hard scrabble life of a working mech in the industrial parks of Capital City.

The army was standing outside the city limits at the time and it was clear that they'd be overrun. He'd gone to the factory with friends and employees he supervised collecting more as he went. They'd stolen anything that remotely looked like food and tools, weapons and spare parts. They loaded them on a big ship that had been abandoned that had carried finished products away from their factory. He crammed everyone inside, waited for several dozen more to come running from the building and away they went. They stayed together wandering the Diaspora. They had come to be known as the Tinkers.

The Tinkers would come to a place and settle for a time working on things that needed fixing, systems that needed updating and anything else that required highly trained workers. They had a vast array of skills among them and hired out to the locals. When they were re-provisioned and ready to go, they would load up and leave. The last world they worked had been attacked by strange aliens with acid monsters who forced them to leave. They had fled and so did everyone else. Grouping up, they made their way onward to anywhere that didn't have danger.

Then they heard Optimus Prime.

That day, its memory would stay with them forever as the group headed toward the coordinates from which the call originated. They would fly onward picking up more and more ships until the migration was massive.

No one left. More joined. Even those who had other notions of where to go found themselves driven back into the group. Someone was herding them. As they passed through alien space they were given information from traders and travelers from other worlds.

The Prime was located in a locked down system. He'd made a pact with the Seekers. Even Decepticons were finding a home there. It was a world with abundance. There was opportunity. The System wasn't allowed. There was opportunity, education and decent places to live in his city. It was even said that a great number of Guardians were there as well, even the possibility of Metroplex.

It had kept them going through all the troubles and breakdowns, shortages and illnesses. When they found the Autobots, those footloose mechs had joined, helping where they could with what they had. 200 Autobots among nearly a third of a million or so refugees was a drop in the bucket. But they were disciplined. He'd organized the migration, seeking out the leadership among the ships, making a council who helped with all the many tasks such a voyage demanded. He was good at that. He'd been a foreman at his plant, helping his workers against the studied indifference of the plant owners and the system.

He was respected. He was decent. He was Jetta's brother.

"We're getting a message on a low frequency, Mack," an Autobot said as he looked over his shoulder.

Mack, a big black mech with red details, black wings and the names of his lost family etched down his arm nodded. "What does it say, Galan?"

Galan translated the data. Then he smiled. Turning toward Mack, he nodded. "Prime is coming. He's coming large."

Mack felt things crack inside as the sheer overwhelming burden of the task he had taken on fell into bits at his peds. He nodded. "That's good news. Do we signal or will that be seen by them?"

"I can bullet a message on this frequency and heavily encrypt it. It'd appear that it's a little used band. Hopefully the 'Cons and their fly boys won't be able to detect it."

Mack nodded then walked to a table nearby. He took a datapad and thought a moment. Then he stuffed a message with information not only of the migration but the enemy who had attached themselves to their progress. When he was finished, he handed it to Galan. "Send this, Galan. Do it fast. Keep your digits crossed that no one in the enemy group can tell we sent it."

He sent it.

They detected it.

-0-On Omega

"Sir, we have a message." Rem leaned out to hand a datapad to Ironhide who handed it to Optimus. He read it and nodded. "Rem, send this to Prowl and Starscream please."

Rem nodded then turned back into the flight deck to comply. Ironhide looked at Prime who handed him the datapad. He read it and placed it on the table. "Interesting," Ironhide said. "We have organization there and we also have a dangerous force described clearly."

Prime nodded. "We have confirmation on 300 Seekers, ten battle ships and small fighters, some of which are attached to their mother ships like they were with Overlord."

"The Seeker heavies can manage them in tandem with the light fast gunners," Ironhide said. As he did, Starscream's face appeared on the screen. He didn't look pleased at all.

"Prime, I have an idea," he said.

Prime nodded. "Tell," he said and Starscream did.

-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars

The message came through and was routed to the Flight Command Center at Aerie Hill. The mech on duty signaled the necessary individuals and they came together in the main room. Discussion was had and they agreed, sending a response to Starscream through the space bridge. By the time it reached him they were already airborne flying with haste through the bridge, over the Fortress on the other side, heading out into free space to catch up with the battle group.

-0-At the home front that evening

He stood in the living room with a dollie in his servo. Playing with his brother, Orion futzed around the room as his grandgenitors watched and took care of the evening routine. The monitor was playing a film about something but he didn't notice. He was waiting for his genitors to come home and the evening routine he really knew to begin. Ada would give him his dinner and he would sit on the table with Praxus to dine. Sunspot would tell about his orn, then they would all play together going out of each others rooms as they rummaged through their toy boxes.

When that was over, Sunspot would go over his home work with Atar. He, Orion would kibitz alongside watching as they discussed his school work. Praxus usually came up, too, listening with his brother with an almost comical intensity. When Atar would say, "It looks great" to Sunspot, the little Seeker would smile. They would smile, too, and pat him. Then the play would continue.

When it was time to go to sleep, they would sit with Ada while Atar chased them down for a bath. Bedtime was jokes and a book, then 'sleepy bed'. They would lie in their cribs, the night light beaming a low illumination as they listened to Ada and Atar watch teevee and laugh. When it was time for them to sleep, all would become dark, footsteps outside their doors would signal their retirement for the evening and the apartment would become quiet.

That was what they knew.

All they needed was their Ada and Atar.

Orion stood staring at the door, his dollie in his little servo. He was waiting.

-0-At the Residence

Two little femmes stood at the couch holding on as they looked at their great grandada while Miler gathered up toys. They were at their grandgenitors house playing with everyone. Their atar had taken them to school and talked to the teachers before leaving for the battle group. Sideswipe had told them that they were all three standing out. Sending a message to the whole family, they gave anxious last minute instructions before heading out.

"Miler, I've washed Kaon. Could you catch him? He's still a bit damp," Venture said from one of the two wash racks in the apartment. The one the younglings used was as immaculate as the house, but today it was filled with towels and toys.

Kaon who had made a break for it left wet ped prints in the hallway as he ran for the living room. The amount of space at Granny's house was stupendous and running amok was perfectly understandable for him. The others? Not so much.

"Kaon," Miler said turning from the kitchen to spy a slightly shiny infant pausing to turn toward him.

Kaon's smile was gigantic. "ADA!" He screeched with joy and ran onward. Miler chuckling to himself pretended to chase him, 'almost' catching him a couple of times before doing so. "Come on, squeaky. Time to get ready for bed." With that, they walked to the corridor that led back to Venture and the berth rooms.

Iacon and Uraya watched them leave, then looked at each other. Smiling, Iacon looked down to spot what she wanted. Gently bending down, she landed on her servos and knees. Moving forward, she crawled to the leg of the couch she had clung to. Leaning forward, she began to gnaw on it with gusto.

Uraya grinned and patted the couch.

-0-On the way to the battle group

They sat together, five of the most venerable Seeker Elders that were known to still be alive. Silverclaw was the senior member of that rarefied group. He sat quietly with two of his sons. The others were the four who commanded clans now that the Fall and subsequent hard times had decimated their numbers.

Seekers treasured their elders because in them resided the entirety of their kindred's existence. They were the keepers of the law, the repository of history and the brokers of disputes and agreements among the Seekerkin. They were the ones who decided. They were the ones who were obeyed. They were the ones who remembered. Even Starscream whose role was beyond dispute even among the youngest rowdiest Seekers deferred to them for appropriate decisions and opinions. The elders sitting in the ship were the clan leaders that had been recovered. There may be more but it was still unknown. All that mattered right now was that Starscream had sent for them. They sped through the night heading for the battle group and whatever Starscream wanted to do concerning the rogue Seekers.

-0-At the apartment

Orion looked up at Ravel who came to get him for his bed time. "What are you doing, baby?" Ravie asked.

Orion looked up and grinned. Then he pointed to the door. "ADA? WHERE ATAR?"

Ravie looked at him a moment, then knelt. "Atar is busy, honey. We're going to take care of you."

Orion looked at Ravie, then walked to the door to pat it. "ADA! WHERE ADA? WHERE ATAR? COME ME? ME, ORION. ORION AND ATAR."

Ravie stood up, glancing at Tie Down who stood in the hallway with Praxus. "Oh oh, Tie," he said quietly.

-0-TBC 2013 (1) edited 4-22-18 Happy Earth Day, Gaia!