The Diego Diaries: Phase Six 6 (dd3 508)
-0-Math time in a classroom in the youngsters Day School, Autobot City, Mars
They had sent messages back and forth, then got up to walk to their teacher. He was sitting at a table nearby working out the part of the mission problem that was theirs to accomplish. The schools would be taking in a lot of little kids.
"Mr. Terradive?"
He glanced up, then down. Standing before him with solemn expressions were four youngsters, Silverbow, Sunspot, Spirit and T-Bar. "What, infants?"
"We have an idea," Spirit said with a giant smile.
-0-Out there
Ratchet stepped down from the bridge platform, then headed swiftly to the several ports of entry for the vessel. There were six different places besides the shuttle bay for individuals to enter the ship. He swiftly passed through most of them on the way to the main shuttle bay below decks. Entering, he saw the usual controlled chaos. Mechs and femmes, old, young and in between either lay on or sat upon the deck as techs, medics and other support personnel worked among them under the direction of two staff doctors from the Metroplex Hospital.
He walked up and down the rows assisting where he could, suggesting when necessary. There was all manner of dysfunction. There were wounds, starvation, abuse, disease and neglect patients. There were infants, sparked individuals, elderly, youngsters and sub adults in all manner of state and condition. There were silent individuals, others talking nervously, some pleading, one arguing and three wailing in this room alone. He checked with the master of the hall, then head for the emergency rooms where procedures were being done. He'd remain there overnight without a break.
-0-Salton Sea
They were wheeled down the corridor under heavy guard to a large freight elevator nearby. One by one their gurneys entered, then the doors slid shut. Down they went, a silent solemn group heading for maximum security in their brig. Six security accompanied five static mechs and the ten youngsters that it took to move them here and there. By the time the elevator stopped the tension was nearly unbearable. It felt to all concerned that the mechs in question were merely biding their time toward striking at them, rather than resting in the deepest form of stasis this side of the Matrix for their kind.
The doors slid back silently. The nearest gurney barely budged, then it moved heading out with an armed Wrecker following. The others rolled, following too. They reached the brig, then one of the guards went inside. Somewhere in the back a mech was shouting, cursing and pounding on something.
Inferno who was head of all brigs in the fleet stepped out to look over the haul. "Fraggers. 'Bout time they got their helms handed to them," he said.
"They didn't know that Prime had it in him," Drift said with a grin.
Springer chuckled. "Frag, yeah. Fraggers should have asked me. I woulda told them."
"Bring them in and we'll put them in the freezer," Inferno said as he lead the way. He would take them past empty cells and the one with the out of processor mech howling at the ceiling at something he alone could see. He'd demand that they come to speak to him. He was Sentinel Prime, he said. How dare they not come to attend to him.
They ignored him as they moved through the doorway to another hall. Down that they went to enter another heavily armored door. The room to which they ended up was filled with steel encased morgue-like body sized enclosures, each with a steel door that held a tiny window with a computer screen detailing the internal environment and its occupant, if any.
Inferno went to one, keyed in a code, then pulled the heavy armored door open. "Bring one and we'll slide him in." He pulled out a tray, then waited.
The tech mechs pushed the gurney alongside, then with assistance loaded the heavy body of Tarn onto it.
Inferno rolled the tray with Tarn inside the enclosure, then closed the door to seal it. Entering a code, he grinned. "Get out of that, fragger," he said with deep personal satisfaction. Ratchet would match his codes with his own by WIFI when they were loaded and Inferno texted him.
The others were dispatched swiftly in this, the isolation-heavy security unit for the most dangerous mechs and those kept in stasis for the same reason.
Because it was a Decepticon vessel once, there was a placement nearby that had been torn out upon orders of the Prime. It was a similar set of security containments but each very small. It was a practice of the Cybertronian government during The Clampdown to remove the sparks of bad actors or anyone they disliked and encase them in similar compartments as the one now containing the entire body of Tarn.
The Decepticons continued this practice when they took power and rumor had it that there were prisons on Cybertron with the sparks of many different individuals held without their bodies. If this had been a 'Con ship, the five DJD members would be living in the perpetual hell of spark containment. The bodies would be destroyed forever.
But this was not a Decepticon ship any longer. It was a point over which they didn't know that they owed Prime.
They walked back out, the tech mechs heading off with their gurneys as Inferno closed the door, then set the lock. Turning to the others, he grinned. "Good haul."
"Lucky haul," Drift said with a smirk. "If they had had any idea that Prime would've actually slagged them it would've been a massacre for everyone."
"They always underestimate Prime, the fools," Inferno said with a grin. "Let them. Works to our advantage."
Springer agreed. "There was a turbo fox sparkeater in the ship."
Inferno winced. "You got it, right? It isn't hiding in them is it?"
"We think so. It should be broiling in the middle of a nearby star," Drift said. "They transported it there."
"Are they sure?" Inferno asked again.
"Sure. One way to be really sure though," Springer said slapping Inferno on the arm. "Bring them out of stasis. If they go for your spark chamber then we goofed."
"You're a real comedian," Inferno said peering back through the small window on the door of the stasis lock down.
"He gets it from his ada," Drift said with a giant smile.
-0-Salton Sea
Prowl had left taking Prowler with him. The others had dispersed to their posts.
Prime sat at the table looking at the map which showed three other groups of Decepticons in the migration. He'd dispatched Springer to take the DJD to storage with the order to come back to speak with him about the three unknown and indeterminate battle groups.
One of them was a small striker pod, five ships that were designed specifically to attack, rip off and leave in pieces anything that might be of use for the Empire. They boarded ships, killed or stranded crew and ensured that the ships they left in pieces could not call, be repaired or signal in any manner their plight. The crew was left to a slow death because anything that might help them survive was either taken or destroyed. Their very existence ensured unspeakable cruelty.
Payload commanded a group like that once upon another lifetime.
Another group they'd begun to flesh out with incoming intel seemed to be unaffiliated. They were Decepticons but had autonomy enough to go their own way, play their own game and survive as long as a bigger more affiliated group didn't come to take them apart. Such was the lessening of central control in the Empire of late, Prime considered. Sitting back, he mused on the last unknown group of Decepticons.
They were large, had big ships and many crew. Whether they were running from the Empire, running away with their families and dependents, wanted a better life with him or were just fraggers taking advantage of the size of the migration for protection he didn't know. He just knew he had to find out. "What is the report from the flyovers, General? Anything?" he asked.
"I'm getting it now, sir," Alor said glancing up from Intel. He watched a moment, then turned toward Prime in his chair. "There's a ship boarding group here, small but tight and bristling with guns. Probability that they're friendly is very low … I'd gather with caveats in the 20% range of reliability for surrender. They have five heavily armored, heavily armed vessels designed for speed.
"The second group, the largest, is indeterminate. It has ten large ships and four smaller ones. There's an estimate of 22,000-28,000 crew standard issue for this group size but their plating makes certainty on those figures problematic. We have experience with them when in the Expansion. They seldom surrender. Information is still insufficient on the last group to make more than a hazardous guess," Alor concluded.
Prime glanced at Starscream who was still on board as well as Blackjack sitting in the captain's chair nearby. "Put Ironhide and Revo on the screen please."
Blaster made it happen. "Live, Prime."
Prime looked at his officers. "We have three unknowns. One is small and appears to be the worst of the three as far as details gathered thus far lead us to believe. The other two might be equally as bad but we are unclear. Suggestions?" He glanced at Alor. "Fill them in please, Commander."
Alor sent the data and everyone waited as Ironhide and Revo read it.
Prime looked at the datapad, then his officers. "I would like suggestions please."
Starscream considered that. "The small group, the five ships are marauders. They board vessels, trash everything they don't take, then leave them and their crew to die adrift. They won't surrender. I don't feel it. I could be wrong but that kind of personality is rare who will redeem themselves of such iniquity. That would mean that they should be first. They will give the most fight and serve the greatest object lesson of all. You already have them off guard taking down the DJD, if they even believe you did. I would also suggest that no matter what the outcome or the measures, no one can be allowed to leave this space to go onward."
"Why?" Prime asked.
"We've misled Paragon and Cyclonus as well as anyone else out there against us that the DJD still roam free. These crews heard you tell the migration that they were put down and many if not all saw something on sensors or through view ports whether they believe it was actually them or not. They'll tell our enemies and advantage will be theirs."
Prime considered that. "Good point," he said. He glanced at the others.
They agreed.
"Prime, none of them will probably surrender. Or at least they won't unless they're more scared of you than Megatron. They probably are used to being independent and going about their own business," Revo said. "It'll be a shoot out no matter what we do unless they see the error of their ways. Massive overkill will do it."
Ironhide grinned slightly. "Has Ratchet burned the stuff he got off the DJD?"
Prime shook his helm. "We're waiting to do it at the smelter in Industrial City when we get back."
"Good," Ironhide said. "I have a plan."
-0-At The Animal Store, Autobot City, Mars
He came out carrying a cage as he headed for the Military Airfield nearby. A short walk down the street and a left at the corner took him to the Control Center of the huge airport with its related buildings and personnel. Entering, he slowed as he glanced around. "Are you the Master of the Muster?"
A mech looked up, then nodded. "I am."
"I've been asked to come here for transport to the rescue," the mech said. "I was asked to bring this." He held up the cage for the Master to look at. He did, then as he checked his datapad, a huge sprawling device on his desk top. It not only detailed everything at this airport, the civilian one and the hangar complex at each site, but had a rolling screen beside it showing orders, information and the weather patterns of everywhere in the solar system including Earth. It was updated minute by minute from the Meteorological Center in Fort Max. He found the order, then rose. "Follow me."
The mech picked up the cage, then did.
-0-Salton Sea, out there
A security mech, a Home Guard youngster stood at the bridge waiting for a mech from home to arrive. The mission was his first and he was exhilarated. This was his chance to serve and he'd been unable to recharge before he shipped out so great was his excitement. That they'd faced down and defeated the Decepticon Justice Division on his first mission astounded him. The bridge flashed so he turned toward it and saw a mech walk out with a cage in servo. "Are you Rabbie?"
"I am," he said .
"Come with me," Pilon said as the two began to walk through the busy ship toward the command deck many stories above. It was a short ride in the elevator, then a long walk forward. When they reached the bridge, the Guardsman gestured for him to go on ahead. He waited at the door for another assignment, his optics fixed upon the confident figure of Prime.
"Sir?" Rabbie asked as he halted next to Blackjack. Starscream, Ironhide, Revo and Alor were sitting around the room along with other Alpha staff. All turned toward him. Revo and Ironhide had bridged over to add to the affect Prime had in mind.
"You brought what we asked for?" Prime asked.
He nodded as he held up the cage.
"Good," Prime said. "Just stand there and hold it. Do not say a word. We are playing a hand of poker here with your assistance. You must just stand silently and do whatever you are told no matter what it is or how strange it might seem. Do you understand?"
Rabbie nodded. "Yes, sir."
Prime glanced at everyone, then turned to Blaster who was sitting nearby watching things. He began to work his console. "Decepticon group, this is the Salton Sea, the command platform of Optimus Prime. Identify yourself and state your intentions now."
It was silent almost too long, then a voice deep and guttural spoke. "This is Silo. I command this striker group."
"This is Optimus Prime," Prime began. "We are effecting a rescue of nearly one million individuals and you are an unknown. We are not interested in the niceties. Declare your intentions or we will destroy you."
"That hardly sounds neighborly, Prime," the voice replied.
"I do not feel neighborly, Silo. I want either your surrender or destruction. Tell me which way you wish it. Choose well and I will bring the welcome wagon your way," Prime said coldly.
Blackjack smirked as did Ironhide.
Alor monitored the group on the large datapad as intel poured directly into his helm from everywhere around them. "Sir, they're firing up their weapons."
Prime . "Open a visual link, Blaster."
He complied.
After a second, the smirking handsome face of Silo showed up. "Prime, long time no see."
"Silo, you have been given a warning to stand down and surrender. If you do not comply we will take you apart." Prime's expression was as cold as his vocal tones.
"Starscream … its true. All the Seekers have defected to Prime," Silo said.
"I would think five hundred of them flying around would be a clue, Silo," Starscream said as only he could. "It would be in your best interests and the interests of your crew to surrender. We will not let you leave this area. Consider that a gift from one former Decepticon to another hopefully former one. That is, if you are smart enough to take it."
"Why should we?" Silo asked with a harsh tone and a cold expression of his own.
"Why should you?" Starscream asked. "I think that would be obvious." He glanced at Prime. "Perhaps a little audio/visual will help this one. He appears to be a bit on the slow side."
Silo shot a look of intense disgust to Starscream. "Speak for yourself, Starscream. You're a traitor and a coward."
"He must be speaking of someone else, Starscream," Blackjack said with a snort. "Neither word describes you. However, perhaps a few aids will help him come to a better solution than the last fraggers who thought they could play us." He glanced at the screen with Silo's face. "You do remember that just now don't you?" He asked.
Silo glared silently.
Starscream shook his helm in disgust, then glanced at Prime. "Will you do the honors or shall I?" he asked with a grin.
"I defer to you, old friend," Prime said with a grin of his own.
Starscream stood up, then walked to a box sitting on the floor near the forward monitors.
Silo's face was on that monitor and he watched Starscream bend down to pick up an object.
Starscream stood, then held it up.
Silo stared at it with incomprehension.
-0-TBC November 11, 2013 12-23-2020
NOTE: My heart, prayers and condolences go out to the people of the Philipines in the aftermath of the storm. I am speechless to express the sorrow I feel for all of you and your country. I will keep you in my thoughts and wish recovery to all. :*(