The Diego Diaries: Follow Up 8 (dd3 162)
-0-Out there
They saw them as lights on the map, seemingly thousands of them. All of them represented unclaimed treasure and the rescue group was determined to get all of it.
Prime sat quietly watching as the distance between that mass and their own armada began to shrink. :Prime to Prowl:
:Prowl here:
:I think its time to talk to the unknowns:
:Affirmative. I'm connecting you to Starscream as well:
:Affirmative:
Prime waited and heard the pings from Starscream and Prowl that the line was live. He thought a moment then began. "Unknown alien force, this is Optimus Prime. I am asking you to identify yourself and outline your intentions."
There was silence on the line.
"This is Optimus Prime of Cybertron. You are traveling with civilian ships that are coming to my call for safety and support. Identify yourself and your intentions."
For a moment there was nothing. Then a voice was heard over the intercom. "This is Paragon. I command the fleet that is traveling with the refugees. Our intentions are to re-provision and move on."
Prime considered that. "If you wish for us to help you then you need to pull out of the migration and wait. We will consider your request. The refugees are our foremost objective at the moment. They require immediate help and attention."
"We require a great deal of help, too, Prime. We would expect to be treated the same as anyone else according to the laws and rules of space."
"We have stated our requirements as well. Pull over and wait. Let us move the refugees away from you. Then we can talk about how we can help you," Prime said.
The map didn't show them slow down or stop. Instead, they began to edge closer to the migration.
Prime looked at Ironhide. "We are going to have a fight if they make their way into the group."
"Then we need to show them our big stick," Ironhide said.
"Prime to Starscream."
"Starscream here."
"Drop the net," Prime said sitting back.
"Affirmative," Starscream replied.
The line went silent but the map on the table began to show what the Seeker had in mind. The Seekers in the battle group began to move away in groups, some of them flying past the outside edge of the migration and others to form a line of firepower between the coming migration and the battle armada that was commanded by Prime. Some of them peeled out and flew toward the alien force stopping within the sight of the unknowns to magnetize on the hulls of the refugee vessels.
It was utterly silent.
"Refugee migration, this is Optimus Prime. We are here to help you make the rest of the journey and to protect you while you are here. We are aware of an alien force with you. We have asked them to identify themselves and stand down. We are placing our considerable assets strategically so that if there is any trouble there will be an extreme price for them to pay.
"We are here with Guardian Autobots and battle cruisers that are designed to obliterate opposition in close quarters. We also have with us shock troops that can board vessels and tear them apart. I would like your leader or leaders to identify themselves to me."
The line was silent a moment then a ship opened contact. "This is Mack of Iacon. I'm the leader of this migration."
"Mack, I would like you to send to us all the information you have about the population you are leading, their condition, the condition of their ships and those that are in greatest need. We are aware of the stragglers and have sent rescue. Send it to us now."
Mack stood on the deck of his ship and stared at the blinking lights on his sensor screen. There were literally hundreds of friendlies out there, some of them gigantic. The Autobots who were flying the ship looked at him expectantly. He nodded. The data was sent and Prowl received it.
"Alien fleet, we are asking you to move away so that the refugees can come forward without hindrance. I am giving you a breem to comply."
There was only silence.
Prime glanced at a monitor that showed Prowl working on the data. He glanced at Ironhide. "Send a message to Autobot City. I want to know who Paragon is."
Ironhide nodded and bent to the task. They sat silently waiting for someone to reply.
-0-On the warship Destron
Paragon sat on his command throne and considered the enemy before him. He was the last Prime of Cybertron and word had it that there was an amazing city just beyond their position where lions had laid down with lambs. He himself was an unusual Decepticon. He was an intellectual who had a voluminous mentality, iron emotional control and applied a ruthless analytical precision to all he did. He was the anti-Prowl, a bot with a conscience that he refused to exercise in his logic shaped march to perfection and domination.
Few had ever met him. Megatron found him fascinating. Nothing he could propose to Paragon was met with the usual duplicitous deception that everyone else gave him. The smile hiding the sharp teeth was what Megatron was used to. With Paragon, there was only the intellect sorting through the possibilities and giving a bloodless assessment.
It was refreshing.
The drama queens that were part and parcel of the Decepticon High Command made life tense, short and brutish. You had to earn your position. Then you had to earn it again and again and again. There was never a moment when the awareness that someone else equally as sparkless as you climbing into sniper rage wasn't clear in your processor.
Paragon had risen to the highest echelons by stealth. He had done so by out thinking, out lasting, out dueling both intellectually and psychologically all his rivals. Had Megatron not bonded with Shockwave, Paragon would have eliminated him earlier on. Even with Paragon's skill as an assassin and Shockwave's relationship with the boss, Shockwave wasn't invulnerable. Yet, kill Shockwave, kill Megatron.
He didn't want that.
He preferred the shadows. He preferred being the master of puppets with the lowest public profile possible. He could manage Megatron. Megatron would take the risks, he would reap the rewards. This was the way to go in the arena of Decepticon life.
You lived longer.
Prime would be hard to defeat. The odds were against him with his current armada. He would have to rendezvous at the spot where the others were going to regroup and consider his strength and options. The Empire was in chaos. That was always an opportunity to a smart young mech.
Soundwave held Cybertron.
For now.
He would regroup, gather the tattering edges of the Decepticon weave and braid his own dominion from which to march forward. There'd be more enemies than he'd planned.
Soundwave.
Prime.
Megatron when he came. And he would come.
He sat back. The troops needed and wanted a leader. The battle groups he'd contacted were going to the place of rendezvous to wait for him. There were also strange aliens in this sector that he'd heard rumors about. They managed acid monsters. That was always interesting. He'd consider overtures as soon as he built his base, collected his supporters and considered the new paradigm. Then he would stand out to reclaim what he wanted.
And he wanted it all.
A voice came over the intercom, a voice he thought lost forever.
"Decepticon battle group. Decepticon Seekers. This is Starscream. I am calling to you to tell you that Megatron has put a death order out on all of Seekerkin. He has a shoot to kill order on all Seekers wherever found. I am asking all of the Seekers who are supporting Paragon's battle group to come forward to us. We will receive you. There is a place ahead with good skies and possibilities for us that we have never in our history had before us."
"Starscream," Paragon said over the intercom. "I heard that you defected."
Starscream sat at the command table inside Silverbolt. He considered the voice and decided he didn't know it. Glancing at Thundercracker, he could see that worthy didn't either. "I don't know this voice."
"I wouldn't. I didn't run in your circles," Thundercracker said. "You probably did, Star, but forgot."
Starscream considered that. "Paragon, I am asking that the Seekers with you be allowed to leave and meet me at the coordinates that I am going to send to you. I wish to speak to them."
"Why should I allow that, Starscream?" Paragon asked quietly.
"Because I ask it," Starscream said nodding to Thundercracker. He leaned into the flight deck and looked back out. :You're on for the whole battle group, Star:
"Seekers of Paragon's battle group, this is Starscream. You know who I am. You know what I was in our faction. I am asking you to go to the coordinates I am sending at the end of this message to meet with me. I wish to speak to you and I am bringing others who have something to say to you. When we finish, you may return to the battle group or you may come with us. You owe me this interlude."
Starscream looked at the map. Nothing happened. Then it did. Seekers began to peel off heading away toward a rocky debris field. In the center was a large planetary fragment that would hold the meet up. Sitting back, Starscream opened a channel on the low band frequency that they used for private business.
:It is time:
Pings greeted that affirmation as Starscream and Thundercracker arose and walked to the hatch. It popped to reveal a view filled with the machinery of their own forces. He stepped out and transformed to fly in the direction of the meeting place. As he did, the ship delivering Seeker Clan Chieftains disgorged its precious cargo as five Cybertronian fighters escorted by half a dozen others transformed and set off as well.
Prime sat on his command chair and watched them flash past heading into the darkness beyond. As he did, Paragon was back. "Prime."
"This is Prime."
"What do you think you can expect? Defections?"
"Sense. A change of processor. It happens," Optimus replied.
"Do you think so," Paragon replied.
As he did, Rem leaned out of the flight deck and handed Ironhide a data pad. He read it, then handed it to Prime.
"I always believe in redemption," Prime said as he glanced at the message. It was the 411 on Paragon. It wasn't good. "What do you intend to do? We will not allow you to remain in close proximity to either us or the migration lanes. Our people are innocent. They are neutral. They deserve to come here unmolested."
"There are no neutrals in war, Prime. I would have thought you knew that by now."
Prime stared at the map. The Seekers had begun to land. Right now, the migration was halted waiting for something to happen that didn't require shooting. "I am going to begin taking the refugees. I want you to know that if you interfere I will personally kill you myself. Understood?"
It was silent.
"I don't care about the refugees, Prime."
"What do you care about, Paragon?" Prime asked.
The line was silent.
-0-On a planetary fragment nearby
They landed, 300 Seekers. They were different from the usual run. These Seekers had their colors. They had their tattoos and other clan details in full view. They were all mechs, all of them fit and loaded for war.
In orbit around the fragment, hundreds of Autobot Seekers circled, their firepower evident in this intentionally intimidating display.
When the Elders along with Starscream and Thundercracker landed they stood apart from each other, all of them staring, absorbing, waiting for something.
Then a big red and white Seeker stepped forward. :I am Arrow. What do you want, Starscream?: he asked over the internal line.
Silverclaw and the four chieftains with him looked at him with a cool optic. Silverclaw, his staff in servo walked forward stopping before the big mech. Without a warning, he gripped his staff and slammed it into the big mech's chassis.
Arrow bent over in pain and stepped back, his optics blazing with anger.
Starscream who looked at him coolly shook his helm. :You would dare speak to your betters in that tone, youngling? What is the matter with you?:
Silverclaw stared at the mech, then turned his fierce glare on the others. :There isn't one of you here that's granted the right to disrespect. Who else wants a lesson in manners?:
The sound of silence was deep. Then two big mechs stepped out of the crowd.
-0-TBC 2013 (1) edited 8-19-15 edited 5-3-19