The Diego Diaries: Mission (487)
-0-At Camp 1
The Decepticon guards stood behind the bars of their own camp staring at the Autobots who had gathered together outside the Center to discuss leaving. They were terrified and irate at the same time. One of them called out. :AUTOBOT!:
Everyone paused, then turned toward the lock up. :What?: Jazz asked with a grin. :You called?:
:What are you going to do? Are you going to leave us here?: he asked.
:We'll send a message to Soundwave about where to find ya: Jazz replied as the rest of the Autobots grinned.
:They'll kill us. They will kill us for this. Things have changed. You can't make mistakes anymore: the bot said with growing agitation. The others nodded glancing at each other in fear. :Take us with you. We heard Prime and Starscream. We want to go with you:
Jazz considered the request remembering the conversation the leadership had with Prime about just such a possibility...
"What if they want to come? I don't know, Optimus, if too many will want to stay when we best them considin' how things are in the Empire now," he had said as the discussion had begun to wind down.
Prime was silent a moment, then glanced at Blackjack. "Do you have space on the battleships for prisoners who want to defect? They would have to be imprisoned and strip searched."
"We are prepared to do whatever you command, Prime," Blackjack had said as Alor nodded. "All you have to do is tell us what you want and we will do it."
So they did.
:Here are the rules for defectin': Jazz began as he walked to stand in front of the cage filled with 60 Decepticons, most of them low level rank and file as well as miners. :You have to empty your sub space of all but personal mementos. Those will be examined. Then you have to go into lock up when we get to our colony. Each of you will have to prove yourself. You will have to give your oath to Prime and to the Matrix: Jazz paused. :You do know what that means, right?:
The spokesman nodded, then glanced at the others. :You give it to the Matrix and keep it. The Matrix will kill you if you break it:
Several other 'Cons nodded while others looked pensive and solemn.
:That's right. If you prove yourself you can live there. You can work at what you want and like to do. You can go to school, have a home … all the slag that Megatron promised but never delivered. If you come with us and frag up you will be shot on sight. You will be under the watch of the Former Decepticon Association, a group that mentors and disciplines 'Cons who come there. Some of the officers are Nitro, Payload, Scar, Rampage and Astrotrain:
The crowd glanced at each other, some of them blinking with surprise and dread.
:I know Rampage. He lives there?: a big mech asked with a trace of disbelief in his tone.
Jazz nodded as did everyone else. :He's got a career, businesses, a great bond and is getting an education. He's the one you have to fear if you frag up. If you think the others are hardcore, you would be mistaken to underestimate how much that bot will defend the honor of their group and the colony:
It was silent a moment, then a younger mech stepped forward. :I was at another posting a while ago. I heard rumors:
Jazz nodded, waiting.
:I heard that the colony is huge: the youngling said. :I heard that there's sparklings and families. That there is football:
The others glanced at him sharply, then Jazz. Their expressions were filled with disbelief.
Jazz nodded. He grinned. :We're playing the championship of the world in a few between Praxus Science and the Kaon Kavaliers. We have all that and more. We also have Omega, Alpha, Beta, Kappa, Gamma, Zeta and Xantium Supreme along with Metroplex and Fortress Maximus. Our colony is over two and a half million strong:
For a moment there was silence, then the youngling stepped closer. "I heard that there are Decepticons on the ruling board. I heard that you can do what you want and be what you want:
:What do you want to be, youngling?: Springer asked stepping closer himself.
He looked at Springer, then Jazz. :I want to play football: he said with the utmost sincerity.
A half joor later...
The last prison guard was loaded on the Phobos after having been stripped down to nothing more than family pictures and the Cybertronian version of tic-tacs. Ironhide watched with satisfaction as the bars went up in the brig of the battleship enclosing all 60 new prisoners. "You were smart to defect. Megatron would kill you. He would have your afts and make a new chair for himself out of them."
"You're Ironhide," a big mech said. "You don't remember me do you."
Ironhide looked at the mech, then shook his helm. "If I had the time I would."
"I have fought you in more battles than I can count," he said. "You and I have history."
Ironhide considered that. Then nodded. "I suppose we do. What about what follows now? You smart enough to change?"
He snorted. "If Starscream can, I can. I also have something you need to know. There are more Supremes out there. Someone told me that the Supremes heard Prime. My source was a communications officer who heard the cross talk. They were looking for Metrotiton and Metrobase. They didn't want to leave without trying to get all their kin together. They're looking for Metrotiton to reform him or so I was told. They think they found him. If they do, they know that Prime wants them. They will come."
"How many Supremes?" Ironhide asked.
"I don't know. The mech told me he heard at least three, maybe four distinct voices," the mech said. "How is that for cooperating."
Ironhide smirked. "Not bad, 'Con. Settle in. We're going to have a bumpy ride." With that, he turned with guards and soldiers in tow to begin the traverse back to Mars.
-0-On the bridge of the Salton Sea
The three battleships flew two orbits of the fragment moving slowly as they utilized the deep scan technology that they had developed to find the Insecticons on Earth. They had found a burial site with fifteen dead this way, a site where the dead were thrown into a hole and covered lightly with dirt. A team retrieved them, taking all up to Ratchet's ship where he placed them in the morgue. No one would be left. Everyone would have a chance to be known and their families and friends notified. Once it was determined that the mines and work shops were empty and all the missing claimed, they turned their weapons on the installation. It went to bits in a rather spectacular fashion under the barrage of three monster ships. When the last fragment was gone, they turned and began their way back to the coordinates that would allow them to pass into their own space through the aperture of a space bridge.
Ratchet watched the last rescued mech go through their paces with the doctors. They were a very battered group 358 in total and would need extensive surgeries, replacement of bits and pieces that had been ground down in the long hard slog as well as intense therapy for protoform wasting. That didn't even address their processor stability in the life they had led for so long. He turned to look at the log running through the names for anyone that might just be someone he knew. There was no one on the list that came close.
Turning, he walked from surgery to surgery, then left for the bridge. They would be going through the space tunnel in moments, then they would turn around to come back in another place for two different locational pick ups. They would hopefully be done before mid orn tomorrow he thought as he stepped out of the elevator. He walked to Revo and stood staring out the window at space passing by.
"How is everything?" Revo asked.
Ratchet grinned glancing down at the bot sitting in the captain's chair. "Nothing we can't handle. I will be glad to shed this paint scheme. I have a reputation to maintain after all."
Revo grinned. "Mad doctor."
"It's small but its mine," Ratchet said as they both chuckled.
"I want to get home for Halloween. What are your kids costumes?" Revo asked.
Ratchet grinned. "I am going to have Ironhide be Jabba the Hut. He can carry Prowler in front of him dressed as Princess Leia. Orion is Han Solo and Praxus is Luke Skywalker."
"And Sunspot?" Revo asked with a big grin.
"He's Chewbacca."
They both laughed uproariously.
"I take it you don't have a costume?"
"I'm not crazy. I saw this whole get up on a tee vee commercial," Ratchet said with a smirk. "Primus bless the Circle Guild."
"Isn't that the truth," Revo said. He grinned. "Han is going to be Mr. Potato Head. You should see it. It's hilarious. Lef is going to be a potato bug."
Ratchet accessed the relevant images, then chuckled. "Too cute. You're pursuing a theme I take it."
"Aren't we all," Revo said as the aperture burst open in front of them. They both bantered together as Phobos flew into the center of it. Salton Sea was next, then their own, Moonbase after one of the satellites of Cybertron. It closed behind them immediately.
-0-On the other side
They landed one at a time rolling to the airfield from the main runway. Crowds had gathered waiting to help and the patients were helped away by many willing servos. Prime and the command crew were waiting on the tarmac. Ratchet who turned the transfer over to the ground crew medical teams walked to where Revo, Blackjack, Ironhide, Prowl and Alor stood listening as Jazz and Springer reported.
"There are sixty 'Cons in this group who defected, Prime," Jazz was saying as Ratchet paused beside Alor.
Optimus nodded. "Good. We can lock them up in Cell block B or use the new solitary confinement facility over the berm from the prison for hard afts." He glanced at Ratchet. "How are the rescued?"
"Terrible. War crime terrible," Ratchet said a grim expression. "They will take a lot of care for their ailments and also for their mental health. They are a very broken group."
Prime nodded grim faced himself. He looked at Blackjack. "Do we need to tweak the operation? What do you need if anything?"
"It went smoothly. We need to turn and go again. The sooner the better. We disrupted their communications lines. I don't want them to be too nervous and trigger happy about it." Alor who was standing beside Blackjack nodded in agreement.
Prime glanced at the ships which were refueling. "Very well."
"Prime, a 'Con told me something that you need to hear. He heard from a communications officer that other Supremes are out there, perhaps as many as three or four. They had heard you and Starscream but were not going to come until they caught up with Metrotiton. They had Metrobase with them and the group was going to try to straighten Metrotiton out. Then they were going to come here."
They stood as a group quiet and contemplative, considering what it might be to have the brothers of Metroplex and more Supremes here at the colony. It was almost too much to take in. "Flag him, Jazz. I want to personally talk to him about this," Prime said.
Jazz nodded, then the siren for the all clear went off. They finished their chat, then turned walking to their ships. It would take only nanoseconds before they were off again, blasting through the aperture toward the Empire. Prime and Prowl would watch until the bright light in the sky faded again. Then they would walk back to wait.
-0-On the Phobos
Springer sat in a lounge waiting with the others for their new location to appear on the other side of infinity. The twins and Kup sat across from Drift who was sitting beside Topspin. Sandstorm and other mechs lounged here and there in the big room. So did the three human soldiers. Because they were there the conversation was over the intracoms unless of course they decided to talk about the soldiers. Then the humans were cut out of the feed.
Slaggers know how to slag.
Wreck 'n Rule, mo fos.
:I will be glad when this gray slag is gone: Sunstreaker groused.
:I think it makes you look distinguished: Niall Graham said from the coffee table in the middle of the group where he sat with Will Lennox and Bobby Epps.
:That's human for old: Sideswipe said on the common band that all of them used with humans when the atmosphere wasn't conducive to speech. The ship wasn't necessarily filled with breathable oxygen either.
:I think he was looking at you when he said it, Sideswipe: Sunstreaker said with a sour expression.
:Gray is for geezers: Sideswipe said. :Like you, Kup:
A gimlet optic shot across the room impaling the smart aft Lambo. :I ain't old:
:No. Old isn't old enough a word for your kind of old, mech: Springer offered. He sat back and relaxed, the world around him filled with good humor and familiar faces. Any mission without a casualty was a good one.
:Smart afts: He chomped on his stogie a moment. :What do you think about the idea of more Supremes and two more titans?:
:I like the idea if they can reform Metrotitan: Drift said. :That bot is rogue. I think he fell in with bad mechs and didn't know better:
:Did you ever see him?: Springer asked.
Drift nodded. :He should have known better. He was an Autobot but he jumped ship. Trypticon didn't care. He sort of liked the company but I never really pegged Metrotitan as the Decepticon type:
:Who are these bots? I recognize the Supremes. Do they know which ones? And who is Metrotitan?: Will Lennox asked.
:There are a class of bots like Metroplex that are enormous. They are Guardians who were designed by the Knights of Cybertron to care for our people. There are six that I know about. Metroplex, Metrotitan, Metrobase, Trypticon, Grand Maximus, Galaxy Shuttle and some others that I forgot: Springer said with a chuckle. :There are a lot of the big ones out there and it would appear that news of their demise was greatly premature:
:You mean to tell me that if say … what were they called? Metrobase and Metrotitan? If they show up they will be as big as Metroplex? Do they make cities too?: Epps asked with astonishment.
Kup nodded. :They were built by the Knights of Cybertron, or so the story goes. They were protectors. They transformed into cities, all of them or some could become bases … military bases too. They all have multiple components … symbionts and all of them are devoted to Prime and the Matrix:
:Metrotitan didn't stay focused: Drift said with a grin. :Dai Atlas will kick his aft if he can find him. Maybe the others will first:
Kup nodded. :I would like to see them here doing their job above ground. On Cybertron, the titans slept underground only coming out when needed. The bigger bots … the Supremes were aware of them and kept the secret. Omega knows a lot of slag:
The twins grinned. :They need to come and put down their roots. I want Megatron to see all of it: Sunstreaker said.
:I want Soundwave to come. Autobot City, the Reunion Tour: Sideswipe said with a snicker. :Would serve him right, slagger:
:Reunion tour?: Lennox asked with a curious expression.
Everyone looked at each other, then Sideswipe. :Oh slag: he replied as they burst through the aperture back into the Empire once more.
-0-TBC October 28, 2013
NOTES: Big city size bots: 'Metrotitans are giant city-sized bots created millions of years ago by the Knights of Cybertron to act as their living ships (in some universes) and were capable of tremendous feats such as teleporting across vast distances because they carried space bridges internally. Some were said to occupy multiple realities at the same time. Some claim they had Super Sparks that allowed them to straddle multiple planes of existence where they communed and divined, but certainly even their sparkless remains stay interconnected allowing the unscrupulous to hunt them.
Known Metrotitans include: Metroplex, Metrotitan, Metrobase." TF wiki dot net
ME: Trypticon is in this range and so is Galaxy Shuttle. A known brother of Fort Max is Grand Maximus but he's small. He can only carry two individuals internally. Metroplex is the oldest of the Metrotitans. There are others but I lost my place. ARGH! I love tf wiki dot net. You can do research all day there. :D:D:D
Interesting factoids on Dai Atlas (God Map) who was looking for Cyberutopia (a place every Transformer knows) among all his other good doings: "A strict believer in pacifism and in Primus, Dai Atlas was part of Nova Prime's inner circle and was present when he located the legendary Crystal City and its guardian, Omega Supreme, allowing him to bring about a new a new era of peace on Cybertron. With time, an increasingly ambitious Nova began planning for aggressive expansion into space to "free" other races from "the tyranny of will" as well as authorizing combiner experiments in the name of all becoming one, both of which horrified Dai Atlas.
"When Crystal City was destroyed in a battle between Omega Supreme and Jhiaxus's creation, Monstructor he confronted Prime with the consequences, but was rebuffed and told he had lost his place on the Ark. Omega then approached Atlas to show him something he hadn't trusted Nova with: the location of one of the last Metrotitans remaining on Cybertron. Atlas was told that someday he would have to leave Cybertron "to keep the light of the Guiding Hand burning in its endless circle", and the Metrotitan's energies would aid him in this endeavor.
(Dai Atlas is an IDW character and the backstory of the transformation of Drift. He also is one of the Guiding Hand, a spark among four others born directly from Primus who is out to help the universe achieve peace. Which Metrotitan it was, I don't know.)
Cool.
:D