The Diego Diaries: What now? (650)
-0-Prime
He sat at the table watching the forward monitor as they began to move into a less dense segment of the debris field where a war criminal from the past was holding civilians against their will. The possibilities of getting them back were few and fraught with dangers. No matter how this was played there was a high likelihood of casualties. He glanced at Ironhide who was leaning over sensors with Hound. That formidable tracker was filling in for Devcon who was sending his grandson through the bridges after gathering intel on their not so excellent adventure. Drift and the seniors would stay. The kids, Smokey and Lon would go back with Sandstorm and two others.
It was quiet on the bridge, the conversations among the mechs low and few between. Everyone was working hard on their tasks. He considered his new daughter who was only three orns old. He had barely come to see her before another crisis occurred. Such was the burden of leadership.
Ironhide turned to walk back and sit. "We have a good bead on them. They appear to be centered on a relatively large planetoid in the middle of a debris field. We would have to go through it to get to him. He could mine the rocks and set them off remotely or he could make us earn every inch of territory by having to fight our way through hand-to-hand. The fragger picked a good spot."
"Then maybe we don't play his game. Maybe we quarantine him in his warren. If we can't come in, he can't come out," Prime said.
Ironhide nodded. "Then he will use the hostages for his own benefit."
"He will anyway," Prime said. "I want the entire area scouted, everything mapped and a plan drawn up to siege him in his redoubt. We will see if he's ready to fight or not. No matter what he does, if he chooses wrongly, he owns his own epitaph."
Ironhide nodded, then rose to walk to Hound again. It wouldn't take long to begin a noose that would be placed around Trannis's neck, one that would that they could tighten as events rolled out.
-0-Earth
They gathered together for their scheduled meeting and conference. It was going to be held in New York. People from all over the world were going to gather to discuss a project that they had been working on for eons it seemed. They were scientists, planners, creative thinkers, engineers and futurists. All of them were on the payroll of a group of financiers, all of whom had interests in seeing the project through to the bitter end.
It was the Earth One Project, a permanent human habitation on Mars that would be for humans without the support or supervision and all its limitations of Autobots. It would start small, hosting no more than 300 humans from all over the world. There would also be families, some with school aged children so that the studies that would be made would apply to all manner and age of human being.
What they wanted was to build a fully functioning city that would be a permanent independent habitation for humans to work on things that were of interest to them without being held to the limitations that the Cybertronians had for humans living with them. They wanted to look around, do experiments, look for suitable material resources for things that they wanted to make and not have the scrutiny and rules that belonging to the Primal Colony required.
The billionaires who were footing the bills were ready to ensure that the project went through. The asteroids and other things brought to Earth by the Autobots were a mere tip of the iceberg for what lay beyond the atmosphere of Earth. It was even said that gold, silver and platinum floated out there created from the explosions of stars.
They began to gather at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street in Manhattan. A room was filled with monitors with seating around a long long table covered with the accumulated findings and data of the attendees. The man in charge of the project as Chris Holzer. He had been personally hired by the funders to ramrod the project into reality based on his many other accomplishments bringing to life that which at first glance seemed impossible.
He was smooth but cold, hard headed and unsentimental. He kept things going, herding the nerds like the unruly mob they could sometimes be. He would make sure it happened and when it did he would be its first 'mayor'. His loyalties lay with his employers, not the Autobots. He would do what he could to be cordial but his first, last and only task was managing the interests of his employers.
He would be Ultra Magnus's human counterpart.
The mobs descended into the vast room to sit and go over the finalized designs and schematics. It would have to be gone over for the moneybags but when it was over, they would have to go the next step. They would have to convince Optimus Prime that this was not only a good thing for their mutual interests, blah-blah-blah, they would have to have him help them build it. They just didn't have the tech.
-0-Medbay, Salton Sea
Sunstreaker stretched, then winced. The burns hurt. He hated getting burned. It took forever to heal and it fragged his finish. Glancing at Sideswipe who was chatting with Ratchet as the medico worked on his wrist, he considered sneaking out to see what was going on topside.
"Sit."
Sunstreaker looked at Ratchet who was grinning. "You will not duck out. I will ground your aft if you disobey your mother."
Sunstreaker smirked in spite of himself. "You nearly lost three of your best looking younglings. Let me rephrase that. Two of your best looking sons."
Ratchet grinned. "I never asked you how you liked having Springer as a brother."
"He's adequate," Sideswipe said with a grin. "You and Atar are two prolific old mechs."
"We are. Would you like me to tell you a few facing stories about us?" Ratchet asked giving it back in spades.
Gagging and groaning sounds greeted that as Ratchet finished with Sideswipe's wrist. "Stay out of traffic."
Sideswipe smirked. "Are we fit to go?"
"Nope," Ratchet said. "No release from me and may I remind you as ranking doctor on board, no one else can do that but me. Ha-ha. That will teach you to mock your ada."
"You're so mockable," Sideswipe said standing up gingerly. "That feels a lot better. Will it mar my great beauty?"
"No," Sunstreaker said. "But then you never had any to start with."
A hard punch took care of that as the two turned to limp out of the medbay.
"Go. Sit and re-energize," Ratchet called out to the pair. They would. Eventually.
-0-Autobot City, Mars
They waited for the medics to go through carrying Sandstorm, then followed. Grumping slightly, Smokey glanced at Lon. "Us having to go is fragged."
"You're hurt. So am I," Lon said as they walked to the departure/entry doors nearby in the Autobot City Municipal Interplanetary Airport. They had come there to allow medical evacuation for Sandstorm by hospital runabout. He would be delivered to Metroplex Femme where Gypsy was waiting to put him back together.
"So are the others but they get to stay," Smokey said with a frown.
"Next time, Smokey," Lon said. "We got to go. That's something in and of itself."
"What did you think about those monsters?" Smokey asked as they stepped out into the warmish sunlight of a cold spring orn.
"They're a nightmare," Lon replied, a strain of fear still in his voice. "We need to torch that planet."
"I agree," Smokey said as the two began to merge with pedestrian traffic.
-0-A little later
"You really got burned," Hot Rod said as he slowly slid his servo down Smokey's leg. "Does it hurt much?"
"Not much," Smokey said. "Ratchet gave me a pain inhibitor device." He tilted his neck and the small flat device was visible.
Hot Rod touched it with his digits gently. "Glad to know that. Where were we?" he asked with a grin.
Smokey lay back with a grin. "Wherever you want to be."
The conversation would reconvene later.
-0-On the transitional site nearby
Thousands of civilians were processed and moved onward, their needs met by the colony and the goodnatured individuals who had gathered to help them. They were led away or taken for treatments as needed. Several ended up in the Processor Health facility nearby for treatment and observation. All in all, the process was swift and successful.
Ultra Magnus walked toward the Administration Plaza in Metroplex with a large sigh of relief. This group was accommodated in the left over housing plus three of the four Metro-formers that occupied a district south of Tyger Pax. The big group coming would take up the space in the new construction. Three of the cities were complete, two more were near and two others were still in need of time. It was relief making.
It was a good thing because he had just been informed that a formal proposal from the humans would be arriving in a few orns regarding a permanent independent city of their own north of the new construction. It was concerning. He would take it up with Prime when he got back. But right now, he had several zillion more pressing things to do than worry about having more humans under foot. He disappeared into the crowds nearby.
-0-Several joors later out there
They sat together working out the plan to make a siege of the area to force the hand of Trannis and his band. It was a start. It would also allow them to play poker together, Trannis and Prime. He would have to convince Trannis of his immediate doom if he harmed the hostages all the while he was provoking him to release them. It was going to be a deadly game.
-0-At the homestead
"OTHER ADA!"
"What, Orion darling?"
"OTHER ADA, WHERE ATAR AND ADA?"
"They have to work for a little bit longer, my baby."
"OTHER ADA!"
"What, my baby?"
"I LOVE YOU!"
Ravel grinned at his grandson who was sitting in the big silver tub that Ironhide used for the infants now. They could play with their bath toys in a tub. It wasn't possible in a shower. "I love you too, baby," he said as he poured water over Orion's helm.
The infant howled with laughter. Tie Down who was standing nearby holding Hero grinned. Ravel looked at him, then shook his helm. "I wonder how he got so much sand in his armor, Tie. What a mysterious infant this is."
"You won't get an argument out of me," Tie said as he kissed his granddaughter. Hero kissed him back.
-0-Nearby
"So I was saying to your grandada, 'What a fine infant you were. See how nice he is, Ravel?'," Appa Ratchet said smiling down at Prowler.
The baby was lying on his lap smiling at him as he listened to his great grandfather talk. His turn was coming in the tub. Praxus who was clean as a whistle was already in his berth. Sunspot was sitting nearby reading his nightly assignment. His book was a compendium about dragons.
Spot who was lying at his peds rolled over and began to snore. Appa Ratchet grinned. All was well in his world. He didn't think about his bond and the other two. That was too hard. He lived for the moment and right now, this was just fine for him.
-0-In a break room
Prowl checked his daughter after feeding her. All was optimal. That is, given the crap going on, she was in good order. Wrapping her in a soft blanket, he turned to go back to Ops Center. She would lie in the famous box bed under the famous console and he would go back to the infamous work at hand. All in all, they would both miss Optimus.
-0-TBC March 13, 2014 edited 3-14-14
NOTES: Boy howdy, I am sleepy. More tomorrow. :D