The Diego Diaries: Phase Six 1 (503) edited
-0-On the command deck of the Phobos
Prime glanced at the monitor. "What is happening, Red Wing?"
:We have a ship that checks out as the Peaceful Tyranny, Prime. The captain identified himself as Tarn:
It was leaden in the room as Prime absorbed that news. The humans which included not just Morshower and Fulton but the United States Speaker of the House of Representatives who was not a friend and the Majority Leader of the Senate who was, glanced at the suddenly stilled, suddenly solemn mechs.
:Is it confirmed, Red Wing?:
Lennox listened on the translation channel for NeoCybex, the modern Cybertronian used by the military. This was bad. He glanced at the others. They were listening too.
:Affirmative. I have moved off the refugee ships and placed my entire flight in a firing squad encircling them. No one is armed yet. We await your command. Over:
"Have they made demands or requests yet?" Prime asked quietly.
:They want to speak to you and Starscream. Over:
"Very well. Stand by," Prime said as he turned to Blaster at Communications. "Get Starscream, the Great Elder and Silverclaw here. Get Prowl here. Tell the ten Wrecker battle shuttles to disperse around the 'Con vessel and hold fire. No one is to provoke. Keep the line open to Red Wing and his sub commanders. Tell them that it is and we will feed them and the battle shuttles the conversation. No one is to do anything without my command. Understood?"
Blaster nodded, then turned to grimly do the tasks demanded.
Prime glanced at Blackjack. "Please connect me to the other battleships, the armada, the shuttles and Ratchet's vessel, General."
Blackjack nodded then complied. "You are live, sir."
Prime nodded, then reflected a moment. "This is Optimus Prime. We have discovered in our midst what could be a serious problem. A vessel has identified itself as the Peaceful Tyranny conducted by a captain self identifying as Tarn. The armada is clearing refugees away and we are preparing to talk. I do not want anyone to make any mistakes. No one is to do anything without my orders. I want you to be vigilant and report anything that changes on the scene to Blaster on my ship. There are too many innocent individuals here to do anything provocative. Prime out."
At that moment, the sound of peds could be heard as several individuals came to the bridge of the Phobos. They had transported to the vessel from The Trigger to the ship board terminus bridge with dispatch. They came to the center table and stood before Prime with concern.
Lennox glanced at Epps and Morshower who were watching with growing concern. They listened and had heard the message. Obviously, these fuckers were seriously bad news to expedite this reaction in the Autobots. He glanced back to listen as the command group began to discuss the situation. As they did Ironhide and Revo joined the group bridging over from their vessels.
"I can't believe those fraggers are here. Megatron had to have sent them to kill me," Starscream said shaking his helm grimly. "I know that I am on The List."
"We probably all are, Star," Silverclaw said equally grimly.
The Great Elder nodded. "Tell us, Prime, what you require and we will do it."
Prime considered that. "I want to show them great force. I want them to turn back and leave. I know they will not but I am willing to take all paths to a good resolution."
"They are mad," Rainmaker said. "I have never seen such madness in a group of mechs. The only way they will be dispersed is through intense fire from all of us combined."
"That is not off the list of possibilities," Prime said. He glanced at Blaster. "Open a channel please."
That worthy nodded and complied. Prime turned and gathered himself. "This is Optimus Prime. Identify yourself and your ship or we will kill you."
It was silent a second, then a voice filled with amusement came over the sound system. A monitor flared into life with the image of a very strange, very dangerous looking mech's face and record. The computer analyzing his voice had identified him as Tarn, the leader of the Decepticon Justice Division and captain of the Peaceful Tyranny. A Deceptibrand covered his face. His fanaticism was so great, his loyalty to Megatron so complete, he added that as a personal declaration of his fidelity. "Prime. Long time between actions."
"Who are you?" Prime replied calmly.
"Prime, I am hurt that you don't remember. I am Tarn. I'm here with my comrades. You remember Tesarus, Vos, Kaon and Helex. Surely you do."
Prime waited a beat. Then replied. "What do you want?"
"We are here to strike names off The List. We want all your Seekers, the Decepticons that defected and the like. Your name is on The List but we are prepared to come back later for you."
"What a fragger," Ironhide said.
Prowl nodded. "No argument here."
"We are not prepared to allow you to do that, Tarn. We also aren't prepared to allow you to disrupt this rescue. You will leave or we will destroy you."
A chuckle was heard, then the cold bemused voice. "You and what armada? Oh wait. You have one," the voice said.
"Turn back and leave or stay and die. Those are your choices, Tarn. You will be given no other."
"We are low on energon," Tarn lied. He glanced at the others who watched with varying degrees of amusement. "We would need resupplied to comply. And it would be to your benefit to do that. After all, we are in the middle of your migration. Anything could happen."
Prime glanced at Sunstreaker who sat seething at the sensor station. "How many individuals are on their ship?"
Sunstreaker looked at the console checking. "There appear to be only the five of them. Fraggers. Cowardly slagging fraggers."
Prime nodded. "I think we need to remove this threat once and for all if they don't go. What is the force of power aimed at them?" he asked looking at Ironhide.
"We can reduce them to rubble in seconds if the fusillade is directed solely at them at the same time. We have 500 Seekers, half of them mid range in arms, the others lighter armed due to statistical data collection assignments," Starscream said considering things a moment.
"The ten Wrecker battle shuttles alone can shred them to confetti," Ironhide said. Then he grinned. "They won't believe it will happen. You are after all too soft sparked, Autobot," he said smirking at Prime.
"That was then, this is now," Prime said grimly. He considered his options as the voice returned. "Prime. Is Starscream there?"
Prime looked at Starscream, then nodded. "I am here, fragger. What do you want? Besides my helm on a platter?"
A cold laugh reached them, then the voice. "I am here to take your spark, Starscream. You are a traitor and thus, you are on The List."
Starscream considered that. "Megatron sent you? How is old bucket head?" he asked with a touch of his usual slag.
"That's no way to talk about your betters, Starscream," Tarn replied. "Show yourself."
"How is the addiction?" the Great Elder asked.
It was silent a moment. "I see that you are here too, Rainmaker. I will collect two sparks then."
Prime glanced sharply at Blaster. "Mute that."
He did. Prime turned to the group. "We cannot discuss anything with him directly at any point now."
Starscream nodded. He glanced at Blaster. "Text please." Blaster complied. "We are on to your tricks, Tarn. You will no longer be allowed to speak over any system. Text your messages or leave. That seems simple enough even for you." Starscream waited.
Decepticon script appeared. It was tart and simple. "Give us Starscream, Rainmaker and Silverclaw. Then we might let the rest of you live."
"I think I find him tedious. What about you, Prime?" Starscream asked.
The entire group turned to Prime. He nodded. "I do too. Kup? Red Wing?"
:Kup here:
:Red Wing here:
"I want you to target the engines on that vessel and the command deck and fire at the same time. Fill it with holes," Prime said with a coldness that was hitherto unknown to the humans. "Coordinate the fire together. Then scan the wreckage. No one is to go near that ship without my orders."
Kup glanced around the shuttle, then nodded. "You heard him. Get ready to power up weapons on my command. Red Wing?"
:Red Wing here:
"Did you get the word?" Kup asked.
:Affirmative. Let's sync:
"Agreed." They did, then Kup called Prime. "We are go."
"Then go," Prime's cold voice said.
And they did."
-0-On the Peaceful Tyranny
"They are up to something. What if they decide to combine their firepower and take us out?" Tesarus asked.
Tarn considered that, then shook his helm. "They won't. This is the soft helmed Prim-"
The fusillade hit their ship with the combined firepower of a planet slamming into it. They were thrown forward into the broad windows of their vessel, then slammed back into the aft bulkheads that separated the command deck from the rest of the ship. Explosions ripped through engineering, blasts ruptured bulkheads as the combined firepower of ten battle shuttles and 250 heavily armed Seekers fired on the same confined spaces.
Electricity arced everywhere as the ship began to compromise itself, its internal structures twisting and turning in the intensity of the firepower aimed at it. Things vaporized, others exploded into confetti. Liquids burst into plumes, then froze into strange patterns. Those that didn't disintegrated in the vacuum flashing in all directions as vapor. Fire erupted, then died from lack of oxygen. Pieces of once definable objects shot out in deadly trajectories as they began an endless journey from the point of their ignition. They would drift on forever in the endlessness of space.
Vast quantities of fuel drifted away hurled forward by the force of the blast. Some of it froze. Some of it didn't. All of it was a hazard. Munitions in holds began to explode jerking the superstructure of the ship sporadically. It lurched, tugged, spun and broke into more pieces as each box of bombs, each case of ammunition let go with a roar.
Transparent steel shattered in the enormity of the attack. It shattered and sent flying shards as big as a truck in all directions. Some of them impaled themselves in steel as others flashed out heading in all directions. Recognizable things and others unknown to anyone now and forever flew out too, the shrapnel of a terrible attack. They would continue onward without end. They would be in time just more interesting artifacts of someone's disaster at some time in someone else's past. It would take meticulous detective work to piece it all back together should anyone at any other time care enough to try.
In the middle of the Pit, five enormous, tough, hardcore and supremely dangerous mechanisms struggled to hold together. With them would also be one small turbofox.
-0-TBC November 8, 2013 NOTE: This and every other mention of the DJD is dedicated to Kaekokat and Envy. :D:D:D They will be a recurring part of this saga. :D I hate it when my cursor jumps. It makes weird misspellings and the like. WHINE! SUCH IS WHAT I ENDURE FOR MY ART! (snicker).