The Diego Diaries: Redemption 2 (677)
-0-Tyger Pax
He appeared at the door peering inside. Turquoise had directed him so he walked with a fluttering spark to the workshop in the back of the beautiful sunlit business. He paused by the door watching Burnoff working on a project. He was concentrating on a circuit without noting anyone watching.
Default looked around the workshop which was big and immaculate. Shelves groaned with supplies and different bits and pieces of things that Burnoff was evidently working on. Several tables held other things and all of the gear needed to make machinery was there ready for use.
Burnoff considered his problem, then glanced up. He grinned. "You made it."
Default nodded as he suddenly felt awkward and ashamed. "I did."
"Come here. I have a problem already," Burnoff said noting Default's affect. He'd been there, done that, too.
Default walked over and peered through the microscope. "I see the problem."
"Good," Burnoff said with a grin. "It's all yours."
And thus, a great partnership was born.
-0-At the snooze fest in Ops Center
They stared at Wheeljack who sat with a giant smile on his handsome face, his audial finials glowing with delight. "So? Nothing?" he asked with amusement.
"You just said that you can move an entire planet two and a half times bigger than Earth to here and not muss a pebble. That might take a moment," Alor said with a grin.
Wheeljack sat back with a grin. "Take your time," he said as Perceptor looked at him quizzically. "Wheeljack, you wanted to tell them last night. Why should we wait longer?"
An aww moment ensued for the Adorable Nerd, then Prime leaned forward. "Do tell," he said with a grin. This could mean the solution to their problems or the beginning of hell. He'd learned to go with the flow and keep Ratchet nearby with a med-i-kit.
Wheeljack grinned then leaned forward. "We have a lot of whiz kids now who think outside the box. They, under our supervision I might add," he said glancing at Perceptor, "have worked out the kinks in an idea that Percy and I've been kicking around for a while. Given that our genius is such a lynch pin for the colony and we're in demand for so many projects including the human's permanent habitat, we needed a few more processors to smooth the few speed bumps we still had. That's how good we are."
"And modest." -(Starscream, smirking)
"Genuinely modest." -(Blackjack, grinning)
"Handsome. Don't forget handsome." -(Ratchet, nodding)
Gimlet optics directed toward an overly bold medic. -(Perceptor, snitting slightly)
"Rap. Rap. Rap." -(Prime's knuckles on the table top. Everyone refocuses) "Do tell us more, Dr. Wheeljack."
"It's quite simple, actually. The goal is transporting a planet through a space bridge and making sure it arrives intact. Mostly. What we have to do is make a bridge enclosure that preserves the planet while in transit. Then when its established in its new orbit, we can release it when equipoise is reached. Simple. See?"
They looked at him, then Prime snorted. "Details?"
Perceptor who was looking at Wheeljack with an expression of 'dafuq' himself looked at Prime. "What we figured we could do is make a structure that would protect the planet as it moved. We would generate a field around the planet, a box-like structure works the best because the lengths from vertice to vertice will be equal. With ovals or other shapes, the physics is more dicey."
Prime nodded.
He waited.
Wheeljack grinned. "Agreed. So we use one bridge to generate the bridge through which the planet will travel and the other will generate the structure that will enclose the planet. With both in play, the voyage will be safe and fast. The planet will exist inside the structure in the same condition and play of forces as it does in transit around Gliese 581.
"What we have to decide is simple. Where will we put it? Do we put it in orbit here with a diametrically opposed position in that orbit or do we put it out in the Oort Field? Out there, it'll immediately be subject to the forces of zero atmosphere and all that. If we put it in the orbit of Jupiter, it'll be lessened but the life zone we work in there will be gone. It'll also have a lot of problems because it's with Gliese 581 just inside the orbit of Mercury. Jupiter is 5.2 planetary AU's from Sol."
They considered that, then Ratchet leaned forward. "It's four times the size of Earth. It falls into the orbital cycle of Mercury, is tidal locked and a miracle of evolution. Mercury would be a better location for it. We also have to balance the other planet in its orbit if we place it in the system as well as study what if any affect it'll have on the other planets in their balanced orbital cycles."
Wheeljack nodded. "We've worked out the math."
"How about a trial run?" Ratchet offered as he sat back thinking about any number of things that were possible as first attempts.
"Such as?" Prime asked.
Ratchet looked at him. "How about the little moon from Cybertron? Its small. It can even be placed in orbit around Mars. You know that without adjustment Phobos and Demos are going to be gone some day. One is going to decay and fall into us and the other will finally break free and fly onward. What about adding a moon from Cybertron. We get a free trial, Soundwave gets the shock of his life."
Wheeljack grinned. "That would be fun. It's a small moon, the little one. It would be easy to fit in a stable orbit here. Of course, the humans might want to know why a moon is in orbit around us from thin air."
"There's that small problem," Blackjack said with a smirk. "But then, explaining inexplicable things is your job, Ratchet."
"Thanks," Ratchet said with a grin.
"What would the likelihood be if we take that moon here? If there were any individuals on it, what would it do to them to travel through the bridge in this configuration? I do not want to kill anyone," Prime said. "We can experiment on this process using any number of stray spacial bodies."
"We could but where would be the fun?" Flint asked with a grin.
"There is that," Wheeljack said with a chuckle.
"How long would it take to build the requisite infrastructure?" Arcee asked with a smirk at Jetta.
He smirked back.
"We could prioritize it right away and get on it. I can't give you a specific date but I think the building process can be drastically shortened because we have the plans, the shortcuts and tweaks and an example. We also have the cross trained specialists in place. If we give it our focus, we can have it made in half the time as the other one or less," Jetta said as he glanced at Wheeljack and Perceptor.
They both nodded.
"Very well. Make it so. We will figure out the target later on," Prime said. "I would like a breakdown of the science on my desk as soon as you can. All this information allows me to make better decisions. Thank you both and your teams. If we can keep the planet intact to its new home, then we do not have to chase energon fragments all over the place," Prime said.
"It also won't draw anymore bad mechs and their armadas," Perceptor said.
All agreed.
Prime considered the agenda, then sat back. "Good of the order?" he asked, ever hopeful.
-0-In a classroom in the sky
He sat at his table trying to color around the fluffy frills of a full skirt around his neck. He peered at his paper, an ultra thin sheet of steel that absorbed color like paper. He was coloring 'in the lines' mostly, a picture of cyber ducks walking along the road near the Sea of Rust on Cybertron. All of their learning materials, the exception being story books and a few films were based on Cybertron and Mars. He frowned as he sat, his daisy bobbing comically.
Neo who was watching nearby walked to him and knelt. "Orion, why don't you take your ... pretty scarf off until you can wear it easier."
He looked at her, then smiled brilliantly.
She took it gently off, then lay it on a table nearby.
He smiled at her, then returned to his picture. He colored it in the lines.
Mostly.
His daisy would bob cheerfully the whole time.
-0-Ops Center
"I like that you like Orion's swurve, Percy," Ratchet said. "When can we expect a little microscope of your own?"
Perceptor looked at Ratchet like he grew a horn in the middle of his face. "I admire iconoclastic children, creative bold ones. I didn't say I wanted one of my own."
"You'd like it. A little miniature of you with Wheeljack's finials," Arcee teased.
"I admit that would make a very exceptionally handsome infant, but right now we're busy. Aren't we, Wheeljack," he said glancing at his bond.
Wheeljack grinned. "That sounds like a really cute baby, Perceptor."
They stared at each other, then Perceptor glanced at Ratchet with a cool stare. "You are evil."
Prime laughed long and loud.
-0-Earth
He walked down the corridor heading for the meeting in which they would finalize their plans for meeting with the Autobots. The colony was becoming an extremely important topic of discussion on Earth. It was the number one trending topic on all of the search engines on the internet. Conversations were held in capitals all over the world about getting a foothold on the resource-rich shores of the red planet. It was the number one fantasy destination everywhere.
He entered to take his place at the table. The agenda was passed and they began. Brandon Clark listened closely to the conversation. In three days he'd be speaking with the Autobot representative and the humans who worked for them about their efforts to have an autonomous habitation on Mars, one that would become a large commercially viable operation that would pay not only for itself but big dividends to the wealthy backers who were footing the bills now.
The intriguing part of the meeting would be the simple fact that this Brandon Clark wasn't the one they all knew from their long arduous path to this point. This one was a facsimile avatar working for the leader of the Decepticon Infiltration Protocol Team, Arachnid. They wouldn't be able to detect the difference if they took him apart piece by piece so perfect was the process both physical and mental that created him. He sat calmly listening to the conversation preparing in his mind a report that he would send to Arachnid that evening. It would be the first of many.
-0-At an apartment in a tower
A rap on the door alerted him to company. Hurrying around to clear things up, Smokey rushed to the door. Pausing to gather himself, he opened the door with a great big smile. "Roddy!"
Devcon smirked, then nodded. "Hello."
"Grandada," Smokey said as Devcon walked into the room pausing to peer around. "What are you doing here?"
Dev looked at him. "Do I need a reason?"
"No! You don't. Need a reason, that is," Smokey said. "Come in."
"I am," Dev said with a grin. "Your place looks like slag."
"Uh ... I've been sort of busy," Smokey said moving to grab more things.
"Doing what?" Dev asked as he sat down.
"Well ... there's uh, work. I've been working."
"And school?" Dev asked in a quiet voice.
Smokey paused, then looked at him with a sheepish expression. "I sort of ..."
"Stopped going to class," Dev said.
"How did you know?" Smokey asked with exasperation.
"I asked to see how you were doing. It's called familial concern. Care to explain?"
Smokey looked at his grandada and knew he had nothing. He sat on the couch looking at the floor. "I suppose you're disappointed in me."
"I am. It's my point to treat you like an adult and expect you to do what you're responsible to do the way you should. You didn't," Dev said nodding. It was silent in the room for a few seconds.
"I'll go." Smokey looked at his grandada. "I know you want me to have a good education."
"No," Dev said. "I want you to have a great education. There's a big difference."
He looked at his grandada. "I can't be an accountant. I mean, I love my atar but counting things all the time ... it's not for me."
"We know," Dev said. "But having an education is a duty, Smokescreen. Our people have lost everything. We're recovering it now. You have a duty to be a part of that. You don't have the right to shirk."
He winced, then nodded. "I know. I just ... alright. I made a promise and I'll keep it. I'm sorry."
"You aren't," Dev said with a knowing grin.
"I'm not," Smokey said with a smile. "I'll go, though."
"You better. Your genitors will be seriously fragged off it you don't," Dev said rising from the chair. "You hungry?"
"Sure," Smokey said with a grin. He rose and tossed the odds and ends in his servos onto the couch. Walking to the door, he paused. "You didn't ask about Hot Rod. That's a record."
"The orn is young," Dev said with a smirk. They bantered on the way out. As they did, the door closed. The message light lit up on the monitor. It was Hot Rod.
-0-TBC April 8, 2014 edited 5-12-14 7-23-19