The Diego Diaries: Follow Up 9 (dd3 163)
-0-Out there
They stepped forward, two big Seeker mechs and paused before the half circle of Elders, Starscream and Thundercracker.
Arrow who had gotten a punch in the gut stood up straighter, his servo clutching his chassis.
Silverclaw who stood in front of all of them with his staff in servo glared at the three. "Who is next? Who dares challenge me?"
The three were motionless for a moment, a flash of what it meant to them as Seekers to call and be called out by an Elder filtering through them then fading as swiftly. Then one of them moved nearly faster than the optic could follow.
He rushed at Silverclaw but the big mech gave ground, allowing the enemy to crash his energy against the void. Empty space greeted the mech and so did Silverclaw's staff which whirled with him and clipped the Seeker against the helm. He flew sideways landing in a heap while Silverclaw finished his spin.
The Elder landed on his peds and turned slowly in a circle twirling his staff into position. "Are you next?" he asked Arrow and the other mech.
They glanced at their fallen comrade then each other. The unnamed mech stepped back but Arrow didn't. His pride wouldn't let him. He glared at Silverclaw then turned toward Starscream. "We're here, fragger. What do you want?"
Before he could move, the staff spun and caught Arrow beside the helm forcing him back as the Elder Seeker spun, twirling his staff in an amazing display of a nearly forgotten art form.
Arrow staggered then dug in glaring at the Elder with fury.
Starscream chuckled and shook his helm. "Yield, fragger and listen up."
"I won't yield," he barked at Starscream before a staff dropped him to his knees. He clutched his chassis and gasped. Then he looked up with murder in his optics.
"Yield," Silverclaw said planting his staff in the neck lines of the big rogue Seeker.
He looked at Silverclaw for a long moment, then yielded with the barest of nods.
Silverclaw moved back, then began a kata that hadn't been seen by the group before them since before the fall of Cybertron. He whirled and spun, his staff cutting and flashing as he showed the lethal deadly possibilities in challenging him.
The others, four of the oldest Seekers yet known to live watched with approval. They called out to him, glancing at the others among them with pride and confidence, the kind born of a lifetime of achievement and knowledge.
When Silverclaw was finished, he planted his staff and looked at them with enormous satisfaction. "If you speak to us, the Elders of our people, the Chieftains of the greatest clans of the Seekerkin, you use respect. Commander Starscream wishes your attendance. That is enough for you to obey." He turned to look at Starscream who was watching with enormous amusement. Nodding slightly, Silverclaw stepped back into the half circle with his confederates.
Starscream chuckled. "You're not very smart to challenge a chieftain. They're such not just because they're elders who have wisdom. They're thus because they know how to fight. What about you, younglings? Are you fighting for the faction that has a death warrant on us? A kill on sight order? Are you completely out of the loop news wise or are you stupid?"
Arrow stood up slowly, his rage filled optics fixed on the tall Seeker with the smirk on his handsome face. "We don't fight for Megatron. We heard the order. We fight for someone else."
"Paragon," Thundercracker said with scorn. "You fight for a mech who has no spark. He will use you, then throw you away when he's done. He has no loyalty or need to do more for you or any of us. You might as well put a blaster to your helm and pull the trigger yourself."
"We work for a leader that we respect. We work for a leader that's going to pull the faction together and we'll regroup again. Our Seeker people will join us to fight for what we want. We will take what we want. We will be slave to no one."
"You already are," an Elder said coldly. He was a Southern Clan Chieftain who was famed for his integrity and his many sons, all of them great warriors like he was. "You are the dogs who chase the beast wounding it to bring it down. Yet you will only get the scraps. You won't get the choice pieces. Paragon won't allow it. He is a cold mechanism with a calculator for a spark. He will use you and toss you aside. You are a fool to believe otherwise."
Arrow looked at him, the Chieftain of his own faction and considered his words. "We don't choose to believe you."
"If you go with him, you will be the first to die in any battle that he plans. He won't worry about your needs. He will use you. If you come with us you can live as we were intended by Primus to live," Silverclaw said. "Free. Educated. Respected."
"Prime respects you?" Arrow asked with a sneer.
"He does. We are one," Starscream said quietly.
It was silent a moment then Arrow shrugged. "You had your say. We're going now."
"There is a city in a system that is secure. We will be nearly a million strong when these refugees get there. We have professions, opportunity. Our infants go to schools and learn. Our younglings go to University and we live in our own enclave, Aerie Hill. There are thousands of us there, Seekers from all clans.
"They fly and fight for the city and everyone there. They wear the Autobrand to signify that we are all one, united under one vision, for one united cause. Our own infants go to school where they excel everyday. What do you have, youngling? Can you read? Are you a doctor or architect? Do you live in a nice home with a family? Do you have anything to show for the vorns of doing other mechanism's visions without reward? Or is it enough to live with the illusion that you will have a future at some unforeseen and as yet unreached future point that never comes?"
They looked at him, 300 mechs. All were young, fit and without much expression. They'd learned to conceal themselves as was the way all their kind did outside their own circles. But they were here, some of them facing the Chieftain of their personal clan for the first time and the mask was firmly in place anyway.
It didn't bode well.
"I will give you this option. Come with us now and have a future with unlimited possibilities in a city that is more Cybertronian than some that existed on our long lost home world. Come with us and have a chance to be all that you were born to be. Stay with Paragon and we will eventually kill you.
"We are tens of thousands strong. We have families to protect, infants. You know what that means. When Paragon comes for us and we know he will, we will kill him in numbers. We won't separate you out of the kill zone. If you stand against us, your own kindred, then you are our enemy."
It was silent as they stood on the planetoid, the darkness of space and the massed light of stars and galaxies shining overhead.
Arrow looked at them, then turned to his host. "I'm going now. Come with me." With that, he leaped into the air and transformed, blasting away into the night.
There was hesitation from some, then they began to transform and leave. Dozens then more, then all of them changed and flew away. When there were only three they stood together staring at Starscream.
One of them stepped forward. "Do you lie or not?" he asked.
"I'm Starscream. You know what I did for our Kindred. You know what I have suffered. I do not lie," the big Seeker said. "I'm here with our Elders to save you."
The youngling looked at the others, then Starscream. "He's going to build a fort and gather scattered divisions and battle groups to his command. He's going to make a challenge to Soundwave and Megatron. He wants Cybertron as a base, then the rest of the universe. He's smart and he's not mad. He'll make alliances and do what he says."
"Then we will be waiting. Come with us," Starscream said glancing past him at the other two who stood behind him uncertainly.
"They're my trine," the young mech said. "We'll go with them but we'll find a way to get word to you. I don't trust Paragon but there were few options. When the time is right we will flee. Until then, we have to go."
"You will be taking a dangerous risk," Starscream said.
"My brothers are with them," he said. "They flew off and we can't defect without them. When we can bring them we'll come."
Starscream nodded. "What shall I know as your sign?"
The young mech considered that. "Know me as Hope."
For a moment he stared at Starscream, then he turned and nodded to the others. The three transformed and jetted away swiftly.
The group stood silently for a moment watching them leave then Silverclaw turned to Starscream. "We have to tell Prime."
Starscream nodded.
They transformed, flying upward into the mass of circling Seekers. They formed around Starscream, Thundercracker and the Elders as they began to go back to the battle group.
-0-Omega
A rap on the hull popped the hatch. Starscream, Silverclaw and Thundercracker entered and it sealed. Walking forward, they took a chair with Prime and Ironhide.
"How did it go? I see you came back without them," Prime asked.
Starscream nodded. "They are, how is it said by some? Feral? I think we have a number of mechs with a point to prove. Paragon plays them enough to make them think they matter. They have their colors and clan markings. They believe that they're regarded with aplomb by their fearless bloodless leader.
"They also told me a number of things," Starscream continued. "Three of them stayed a moment as the others left. They mentioned that Paragon plans to fort up somewhere and rebuild an army to challenge Soundwave and Megatron."
"So we're having armies form around us," Ironhide said. "This could be interesting. Consider what this means as a challenge to Megatron? To Soundwave? We could use them to our advantage if we play this right."
Prime nodded. "What is your assessment of the group, gentlemen?"
"They're young and have had combat. I see the scars of encounters," Silverclaw said. "They're young and full of themselves. They didn't observe the code of respect for us. That's a serious failing and does not bode well for an easy reclamation. We schooled them on the error of their ways."
Starscream smirked. "I haven't seen that kata since I was a hatchling watching a ceremony of installation of a Chieftain in my clan. They won't forget it very easily."
Thundercracker grinned. "I hope not. They have a few dents they didn't bring with them." He looked at Prime. "The three who left last are a trine and wished to come but for their brothers who won't. They said they'd help us with information if they could."
Prime nodded. "That is good news," he said. He leaned back. "You made an impression. We shall wait and see if it bears fruit. Right now, we have a migration to move and a battle group to stare down. I am thinking that if they want to continue this plan they will need us to re-provision them. Until then, we hold all the cards."
"We move the migration through the gates then," Thundercracker said.
"We do. I would like you to make the Seeker support for this to be punitive and foreboding, Starscream," Prime said.
Starscream rose. "That will be no problem."
The three rose to depart out the door to Silverbolt. When they reached it, Seekers were flying toward the migration to take up stations that would bring the hurt against anyone stupid enough to challenge that much firepower.
It was silent a moment then Prime looked at Ironhide. "Call for the bridges. I want the small one directed to the appointed spot for the stragglers. I want the big one for everyone else. Put on a show for them, Ironhide."
The big mech nodded. "Done deal, Prime," he said. Then he turned to a console and made it so.
-0-On the deck of the enemy command ship, Perilous Venture
Paragon watched them come and position their firepower in his direction. Hundreds of Seekers, more than he had seen in one place for ages pointed their weapons at him. There were heavies and fast fighters. They were ready to deliver destruction on a scale he'd be hard pressed to defend against. His own Seekers were back but they were not numerous enough to do more than prolong the inevitable.
As he watched an enormous eruption of energy appeared near the half circle of big ships that carried troops and the enemy to this point. He'd scanned the group and knew its composition. A Guardian held a hospital. The others held Prime and his soldiers.
Lots of soldiers.
Xantium was there so Paragon could only assume that many of the troops were Wreckers like him, shock troops that would be unflinching in their willingness to skin him alive. They arrayed themselves around him, the fighting forces of Optimus Prime as the energy vortex of a gigantic space bridge came into being.
They had space bridges. Multiple bridges. Big ones.
He could see the signature of two on the screen before him. One was here to take refugees and one was far away to gather stragglers. They were taking them some place, the system that intel had told him was nearby and completely buttoned down.
Prime had gotten very good at this, he thought. He wasn't that young mech who'd been given a spark crushing job by the Matrix without a lot of skill or knowledge to do it right. But he had. Prime had come out of the gate swinging and had been a daunting formidable opponent. He'd studied the big mech, seeking his strengths and weaknesses. He'd studied his command staff.
He'd studied Prowl.
Some said they were alike, opposite sides of the same coin. Some said they were even alike temperamentally. He didn't know about that. He had never met his doppelganger. Their conversation was long distance, through the chess board of strategies, counter measures and maneuvers. He was aware of Prowl. He was also sure that Prowl wasn't aware of him. Few were.
That made the game more fun.
He knew about Prime, about Prowl, Ironhide, Ratchet and the others. He kept up on his intel and updated his profiles as he learned more. That was how you won in his world. That's how he managed to become the most powerful unknown major player of the game in the history of the war. That's how he considered that victory would be his.
No one would see it coming.
They never did.
-0-TBC 2013 (1) edited 8-19-15 edited 5-3-19