The Diego Diaries: Go (640)
-0-Out there
The Salton Sea plowed forward like an ice breaker pushing or destroying everything in its path. Behind it flashing past like a sand storm, the broken crushed ice and stone flowed obscuring even more the churning area. The signals of the soldiers bounced off everything around them as they slashed their way through, making it uncertain where they exactly were.
"Springer, report!" Prime said as he walked forward to stand before the massive forward monitor. It showed the view outside as they rushed onward, the great prow of the former 'Con ship slicing through everything like a hot knife through butter. Static and white noise filled the room as the reply went unanswered. It was incredibly tense on the bridge as they moved toward the unknown looking in the darkness for the lost.
-0-On point
The fighting was intense and close quarters. Fire flashed everywhere, some of it theirs, some of it from the enemy. Then it was stilled.
-0-Marboro and the migration
They stood around the sensors watching as flashing lights emerged out of the mass and darkness midway down the migration line. Cloud who was watching while in contact with his subcommanders glanced at Marboro. "I'm calling my flight to go after them."
"You aren't up to it, Cloud. None of us are. Prime is coming. He said he was coming," Flet said anxiously. "Don't go out there. They will kill you."
"We can't let them harm our people. They will try and board ships. All of our people are helpless. We have to do something," Cloud said even as he shifted slightly to relieve an injured leg.
"Optimus Prime, this is Marboro," the youngling said as he turned to the console once more.
Static filled the air, then Prime could be heard. "Marboro, I am here. We are coming your way."
"There are unknowns coming toward us. Some of us want to fight but none of us are fit. The Seekers here aren't up to it. If they go, they will die," Marboro said.
"Stay there. I will reroute the Seekers with me," Prime said. He looked at Hound. "Send a message to all Seekers. Go to the source of Marboro's signal. Don't be stealthy. Go loud and fast. Now."
He nodded, then sent the message. He looked toward Prime. "Its sent."
"The Seekers are moving toward the mass where the signal is originating," Devcon said tensely. "I can't find the signals of our soldiers, Prime. They have just gone off the grid."
Prime looked at him more than aware that Lon and Smokey were with Springer. "We will find them," he said. "How far are we from the last known location?"
"We are coming up now," Devcon said.
"Launch fighters," Prime said. "Dev, lead them. Track down our people."
Dev nodded and rose running to the doors to leave. Another mech took his place. Prime stared at the screen searching for something he couldn't see. All around them chaos was coalescing into violence. Until they arrived, he had done what he could to meet the incoming threats.
-0-Migration
"This is Trannis. We want you to surrender and allow boarding. Even if you don't, we are coming in. If we have to kill everyone of you we will." Trannis leaned back to consider the situation. Glancing at his command crew standing around his throne, he nodded. They turned and walked to the door. They were on their way to board ships.
-0-In the launch bay of Salton Sea
They filed into the two and three mech fighters hanging on racks in the launch bay, all of them designed for maximum punishment and speed. The teams who were there were experts at close quarter fighting and veterans of many a combat. Devcon led them out and they formed up on him, the tip of a spear that would be driven deeply into the sparks of their enemies. They disappeared into the mass with dispatch.
-0-Four ships in the migration
The sound of ped falls on the hull terrified the inhabitants of four large vessels. They were filled with the families and friends of well-to-do possibly high castes. None of them had ever been soldiers and the Diaspora had been as hard on them as the rest. They huddled together after sending a message to Marboro. He had told them to burrow in and wait for Prime. Seekers were coming to defend them. Just stay quiet and hang on.
It wouldn't work for them. It wouldn't work for nearly 100 other ships either before the Seekers would come at last.
-0-Ratchet
He left RTR Tools after going over the new paradigm with his genitors. He was going to Salton Sea with a few attendants, Perceptor and Wheeljack. They were working on a cure of and protection from the acid beast's saliva but so far no luck. It was a strange organic liquid that required more than they presently had to decipher its code and devise a denaturing solution. By the time he reached the bridge room of Ops Center, the fighters of the Salton Sea had reached the last known location of their two teams.
-0-Devcon
They flew in swiftly then pulled up. There was fluids from ships floating through the rubble along with parts of the shuttles. He turned and popped the canopy, slipping out to search by hand. He was specially designed even for a bot that had as specialized a function as he had. He could travel for eons on almost nothing as well as endure beyond the normal range for a Cybertronian. That is what made him so feared by Decepticons and their allies. That and his ferocious skills in combat. That didn't hurt either.
He paused a moment looking around, then moved forward toward what he detected to be the scene of the battle. There was spilled energon here and there, tiny blobbules floating. Most of the acid had been dispersed but some remained. It prickled the epidermal layer of his armor but didn't harm it.
A flash of something nearby caught his attention so he turned and flew toward a large collection of ice fragments clattering together. Slipping in them, he began to search. Nearby, the other fighters waited. It was ominous in the fluid situation until Devcon slipped back out. He tugged hard pulling a mech with him. He towed the mech to a fighter, then magnetized him. It would take several trips for him to rescue the mechs that hadn't disappeared into the night. None of them would be Smokey.
-0-Elsewhere
It was dark and cold, the floor hard underneath as he found himself swimming back to sentience. He felt hurts here and there as the fuzz began to fall away from his processor. It was silent. He wasn't alone. Turning his helm slightly, he could see other forms around him, Cybertronian forms. Nowhere in the darkness was there an opening. It was as if they had been tossed into a bin and the lid welded shut. Nearby someone stirred, then settled. :Springer:
:I'm here. You alright?: he asked internally. He felt leaden.
:I am. Who do you see around you? Don't move anything. Just assess: Drift replied.
It was silent a moment. :I think Lon, Smokey and Sandstorm are near me. Anyone else?:
:I'm here: Old Hercy said. :Kup? You here?:
:I am. Where is here?: Kup asked.
:I don't know. I don't think its the Pit. The younglings are here. They haven't earned the pass: Old Hercy said. :How are the younglings?:
:They're still out: Springer said. :I'm going to check them: He paused a moment, then sat up listening for any movement anywhere. There was none. He switched to night and infrared vision as he moved to where Lon and Smokey lay. He touched them, then glanced at the others who were sitting up slowly. :They're coming around:
A slow moan filled the room, then Smokey sat up holding his helm. Lon sat up next. They looked around, then focused their groggy optics on Springer. "Where are we?"
:Internal comm: Springer said quickly. :We don't know. What I want you to do is sit very quietly. Don't act or move no matter what. Do what we tell you and be ready to move if the moment comes. You don't do a thing without orders. Do you two understand?:
They nodded, then looked at the others. :Can we help them?: Lon asked as he watched Sandstorm sitting hunched over.
:They have burns, youngling. You don't want to touch them. Drift? Do you have any medical putty?:
Drift nodded, then moved to Sandstorm. He would rinse the wounds as best he could, then pack them with medical putty. If Sandstorm dialed down his pain receptors, he would be able to move reasonably well. Lon watched him feeling the greenness of his situation deeply. This was the scariest moment of his life. Smokey who sat next to him had a better bead on the bravado. He was a tougher youngling but even he felt the burn.
His grandada was going to kick his aft.
-0-On the Salton Sea
Ratchet walked off the bridge and headed toward the command deck. When he arrived so did the fighters with the found victims. They were being brought through the debris field to the launch bay. When they arrived they would be carried to the medbay where Wheeljack and Perceptor were waiting.
"What's the word?" Ratchet asked as he paused next to Ironhide.
"Its all fragged. The twins are in the sickbay," Ironhide said. "We're missing Springer, Drift, Sandstorm, Hercy, Kup, Lon and Smokey."
"Oh frag," Ratchet said with a sick feeling. He nodded, then turned hurrying to medbay. He reached the doors just as the victims were entering. Moving among them, he paused next to the twins who were sitting in pain on the same medberth. "You look like slag. I told you to be fast on your peds."
"Frag that," Sunstreaker said. "They came out of the woodwork. Fraggers got some of us. They got the younglings."
"We'll get them back. Besides, they have Old Hercy. That little mech will learn them the errors of their ways. Trust me on that." Ratchet pushed Sunstreaker back. "Lay down and let your old Ada fix your boo boos."
They would work on the survivors for a few joors.
-0-Marboro
"Marboro to Prime!"
"Prime here."
"They're boarding some of our ships. They're here! Come and help us! Our Seekers can't help us! Please come!"
"Marboro, we're on our way! Hang on!" Prime said, then turned to Ironhide. "Take us straight through."
The engines of the ship revved up, then a lurch was felt as the ship moved forward smashing everything in its way. As it did the Seekers from Autobot City arrived at the migration.
-0-Red Wing
:Form up in configuration 5: he said, his calm voice pulling his group into four formations. Fifty Seekers in each group broke into spreads, then flew into the openings among big boulders to the enormous mass of ships that made up the migration. They blazed in, then landed on top of vessels waiting for Red Wing to clear the plan with Thundercracker who was on the Salton Sea.
:Marboro, this is Thundercracker, overall commander of the Seeker flight accompanying the Salton Sea and Prime. We are on scene and landing on your ships. Let your people know we are there and to stay inside with the hatches locked. We are here to help you and more are on the way. Do not engage the enemy. Repeat, do not engage the enemy. Do you understand?:
:Marboro to Thundercracker. We hear you. They are taking our ships away. They have some of our people. Help us: he said with desperation.
:We are coming, Marboro. Hang on: Thundercracker said.
-0-Trannis
He sat on his throne watching the screen as his group began to peel off ships from the group. They were boarded, then overtaken. Once overrun, they flew the ships away from the migration. By the time that things got really tense, nearly 100 ships would be missing.
-0-Springer
He sat against a wall, the others lying nearby or sitting with him. The darkness was becoming oppressive as he went through the options open to them. He could not pierce the walls of the cell to send his signal. There were no weapons left on him. They were aware of subspace. Someone had shucked the group of them like peas. It had surprised him. Only someone with contact with Cybertronians could know about that. Very few species in the known universe understood anything about subspace. Almost none of them used it for their personal items, weapons or even to conceal part of themselves to make smaller devices than usual for them.
They knew.
The aliens that held them had knowledge of their species and perhaps alliances. Frag, he thought. Frag all of this.
:Springer:
:Yeah?:
:I feel someone coming. Do you?: Kup asked.
Springer sat quietly monitoring the floor tremors that seemed to be coming toward them. :Yeah: he said grimly. :I feel them too:
-0-TBC March 3, 2014 edited 3-13-14
NOTE: In that Transformer fanfiction movie on FYDO (NETFLIX) Metroplex holds Prime on his servo. I wish you could see how tiny even the biggest mechs like Prime are in comparison. In some ways, I think I have been thinking of Metroplex as too small. He is so gigantic, that Prime looked like an ant in the hand of a suma wrestler. :D Amazing. Its a fun story. I am up on the internet at the moment so its playing as I write the next segment. Its fun, really intriguing and has Dinobots. :D:D:D:D:D In this universe, the city-formers were lying underground in stasis waiting for Prime to call them on. Prime knew who he was but the other Autobots didn't. Awesome. I LOVE the city formers. (PS Ironhide and Prime standing on Metroplex's shoulder is to die.)
As I am writing new things come to me. Jazz and Cliffjumper have invisibility cloaks that could only be pierced by the strange insecticon looking optical vision of 'stealth stalkers' of some kind. Fun stuff. :D Did I also tell you that Jazz is awesome? I think the voice of Cliffjumper is that of Smokescreen on TF: Prime.