One small step for Man

[Deleted]

Ep 2.5
Week 3
Day 3

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One little head poked out into the great hallways. Worried little oculars scoping out the hallway. Carefully picking apart the tiniest of crevasse and hideaway in search of life. Checking by the groundbridge, by the medbay, and no one coming down the entrance. Good, He’d only have one chance at this. He sprinted back towards his hallway, stopped short by the pounding of two large grounders.

Odessa froze in his tracks. Stunned in fear, sweating bullets while two large bots came across him. He must’ve looked so odd, coming to a complete halt in weird posture in the middle of the way. The two stopped their conversation to give Odessa likewise the weirdest of glares. He could feel them in his soul judging him. Eyes holding a silent Ooooooooooooookay. Their eyes were all too burning. However paying him no mind, they continued on their own way. Well known as the lunatic of Omega base. No second thoughts, he could probably start taking cyb-tech right from under their nose and it would just be OH THAT LOVEABLE SCAMP! THATS ODESSA FOR YA!

WHO TOOK MY SONIC SCRUBBER?

Who took the tech from the techie base? Who me? Yes you! Couldn’t be! Then who?! Yeah it was me.

Not that he would. He respected personal boundaries of course, but the lack of help from Optimus in his scientific exploration was rather hindering. How can one science when science was not allowed? I mean really! There can be no progress without strict violation of safety rules!


There was… no suspicion… in his way. Odessa’s anxiety was running hard and fast. Every nerve was on fire. Not wanting to think of what the bots would do to him if they found him out.

Bolting off once more to his little corner of the base. He’d return with a slight rumble. This time he returned in the buggy. Creeping as slowly as possible through the base. The buggy was oddly quieter than usual. Barely even a rumble from the monster, brought down to a quiet Subaru Brumby. Retooled to harbor mufflers to soothe it’s rage. Slowly creeping through the base until the entirety of his compliment was revealed. A trailer was attached at the back of the buggy. Slowly wheeling along through the base as ittsey as a bittsey as a spider. The tiny trailer, no longer than he was tall, was just as high. Odd shapes held hidden by a vinyl tarp. What could possibly be under this small cloth that he was so worried about.

Still creeping to create as minimal noise as possible. He awaited until the relative straight shot of the egress ramp before hitting a higher gear, but luckily he was free and in the clear. Chugging along the ramp, up and out the base, if he were to cross anyone he would’ve kept going. There wasn’t be much reason to stop him nonetheless. That didn’t stop his panic frokm reachign an all time high. This was the exit he needed and only… just… a.... few… more… hundred… meters. The air began a quick change. A vibrant difference than stale air below. The crisp, cool air of freedom, only JUST… A … FEW… HUNDRED… FEET… AWAY!

The sun! How beautiful you were in this setting eve~! Every sensation enhanced ten-fold! Oh fuckign christ! He was in the home stretch to freedom. Only having to get out of sensor range from the door and the deed was done. The ledge between concrete floor and desert sand was one more little hurdle to safety. Hooking an immediate right out of the hanger door. He’d leave the entrance to follow along the side of the canyon. He couldn't get on the highway and possibly alert anyone inside. The side of the mesa wasn’t any better, but it would also allow him to avoid any traffic, police, or any bots returning from patrols or any strolls out with the kids.

Odessa kept a slow pace through the desert with his trailer no doubt not meant for this terrain, less he wanted to rip the axle out the back. Now out of the abse and out of Strickimus Prime. The anxiety fell away like a clock hitting 5pm on a friday. Hot damn this felt good! After two whole damn weeks of calculations, errors, pain, resetting, recalculation, and now for the greatest good....!

E XP E R IM E N E A T IO N.

This was long since he had left the desert. Having long since entered a lush forest an hour and a half away from the base. In total isolation and without any hint of parental supervision, it was time to begin! He brought the buggy to a stop. Unable to contain himself in hopping out the Buggy and ripping the tarp free.

Weapons.

Gizmos.

A collection of the most recent machinations from a mad mind. There was a large computer-like device, four large oil-drum barrels, a large canister connected to a most prized possession, a gun, BUT NOT JUST ANY GUN! A refinement from the thing first seen by the bots in his junkyard. A beautiful advancement from a 1,500lbs turret to a largely man portable device. It still needed revision. It wasn’t perfect, but most definitely a step in the proper direction. Efficiency also was lacking, but all things in due time~

Cackling mad, off came one of the barrels first. Out in seclusion, there was no way to tell the capacity of this thing. The materials he used would require field testing. He had no benchmarks and all information was hidden from him. Had to go about everything the hard way.

Around the barrel was a conglomeration of computer devices with many readout, lights and signals. Ok, start up, ignite, prime, prep, ok cool. Got it. Hopping back into the buggy, he’d take off once more. Giving a great amount of distance between him and the barrel was an understatement. The Barrel was a unique composition. A standard fuel to begin the explosion, and an oxidizer to continue the explosion, but a very unique ignition system. Rigged at the center was a solid fuel sphere with an energon core with detonator. How beautiful this was going to be. He wanted to make a solid fuel core, but that would’ve turn it into a thermobaric bomb that would no double alert the bots, the local authorities, the Texas Rangers, the secret service, the Illuminati, the Canadian government… Kov…

Still, he gave the bomb about fifteen-hundred foot clearance. Perching higher upon a hill with binoculars. The anticipation was palpable. Oh god oh god oh god yes. He brought up a detonator the size of his hand. Flipping a safety cover. Press of a button.

KER-BAAAAAAAAUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The size of this lad, absolute unit! The barrel erupted into fireball in such beautiful hellfire. A resounding shockwave rushed over the area only a millisecond after the click. Enough force to knock Odessa to his ass and everything rang. There was no sound but only a constant ringing. Odessa’s eyes held aloof confusion. Since when did Mike Tyson perform personal house calls to deck someone in the face?

”AhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” He cried out in some bloodied mix of terror, excitement and absolution. Oh god that fuckign hurt. Even the trees showed their pain with many bent and broken, humbled by the power of the future.

“Ohhhhh hohoho! AHHHHHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

[Ravage]

There was nothing like an explosion to catch attention.

Usually it caught the bad sort of attention. Or the attention of folks in law enforcement, who then spent an awful lot of time chasing you down. Large booming noises were far more pressing then being the middleman in a dispute over the bamboo leaning over someone's fence. No, the bamboo wasn't hurting the fence, nor causing property damage. Yes, Mrs. Wellington, you are correct, the bamboo is technically on your side of the property line and you have the right to chop it down, but it is not causing irreparable damage to the fence and your world will not end.

Luckily for Odi, he was out in the middle of Arizona, deep within a fairly secluded area. The only things that would be calling in about his experimentation and acoustic pollution would be a few angry birds, some frantic squirrels, and a whole lot of rabbits running for their lives. Fortunately for Odi, none of them had a phone to call this issue in, and they certainly didn't have opposable thumbs or enough brainpower to actually lodge a complaint.

However...

Another animal did.

Not one that was born into the great circle of life on Earth. He certainly hadn't been aloft by a baboon while a bunch of animals snorted and trumpeted their joy down in the valley. (Most of them cheering were probably eaten by him and his family years later. No one ever really thought about that too much though.)

This one had come from another world. One that had robots that turned into cars, planes and in Ravage's case, a rather large cat.

At the muffled boom, Ravage halted within the shadows of a craggy overhang.

His long, lithe form immediately crouched low to the earth; he was no stranger to massive explosions like this. He had fought within many battles, survived many more, and even set the stage for a few to start. This was entirely unexpected though. Even the ground still shuddered under his paws. It was not a minor explosion and it was within in a few miles; still distant enough he felt he was safe. His slanted red eyes swept around the area. The dark colors of his plating blended into the shadows as he cautiously lifted his nose to sniff at the air, his tail flicking restlessly.

He'd been glad to get away from the base down in Oregon, at least for a little while. He didn't mind the work or helping collect the stragglers of the Nemesis. Yet it was not the job he was designed for, and the sheer amount of mechs crammed into those spaces was not exactly something he enjoyed.

So he had been gracious to get back to his preferred tasks.

Arizona was a place where Autobots had been seen often. Same with MECH. Both of them were the enemies of the Decepticons, and it was always a good idea to find out exactly what your enemies were doing, if at all possible. The possibility that this explosion was somehow related to them immediately crossed his thoughts. Or perhaps it was an energon deposit, but..

What was that?

Something- no, someone? Yowling. At first he thought it was the screech of something caught in the blast and possibly dying a horrible death.

Wait.

That was- was that laughter?

The vibrations beneath his paws stopped, but the distant voice continued... and Ravage was certainly, absolutely intrigued. 

[Deleted]

Tiny little hands grasped out among the dirt and debris of soil and forest trash. Feeling for an anchor to this reality.

“Ehhehehehehhehe hooooooooooohohoohohohaahahaaaaa.” Waves of nausea crashed one after the other. A blastwave that hit like a freight train, honestly surprised he was still conscious. Perhaps not for much longer, with maybe some internal bleeding. Who knew? Mysteries were the spice of life. Besides, thats where the blood was supposed to be. He was an engineering not some doctor nerd.

“IM A GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHD!” Struggling to his feet. Unable to tell left from right. Even though the explosion had since past. He was still mentally swimming in a monsoon. Every attempt to clamer to his his feet resulted in falling off to his side once more to try again. In such a rare moment his shellshocked brain couldn't even process the inverted image of his eyes. So this is how Australians lived. Interesting. At the very least, such overwhelming destructive force had also not blown out his eardrums. Which reminded him to check.

He brought his hands to his ears, digging around for treasure and quite happy to find a lack of warm blood spilling forth. Now he had one lingering pain above his head, either he was going to be fine or die in a few hours from internal bleeding. Either way, he was perhaps that hour he needed away from a hospital and any hospital around was perhaps too poor to afford helicopter rescue service so he was doomed anyway. Maybe he could get a helicopter dispatched from Fowler, but then what would be his reasoning for being here? Fowler would alert the bots and the bots would scan the area for the remaining environmental trace amounts of energon he used in

that bomb, screwed again.

“IM DA BEST!” Who he was yelling at/to/with was anyone's guess, but apparently he was the best. Odessa tried as he might to raise to his feet and even once was successful, but quickly tumbled again.

“AHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!..... FUCK!” Falling again on his butt. Waves of nausea again. It was all finally catching up to him. Staring at the ground before him with an immediate rising sensation.

“UJIHBGYUIBHUIQ#HREUIYFHB#&U$” Odessa had lost his guts in his lap. A fine picasso of Baby greens and Ramen yellows.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu”
“Gggggggggggggggg”
“Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”

A solemn moan. Sing along with the Fraternity Dirge in bleh minor. Thank the Lord most of it hit the ground and not him. Once more he tried to rise. The waves of nausea abating slowly. The intensity dying down from raging hurricane to mild tornado. Able to rise and steady himself this time. Little baby getting his feet again. He made his way to his buggy. One more into the breach gents. Slowly, ever so slowly, the next barrel was set to be primed. Last thing needed was to prematurely detonate this barrel too.

It was great to see this as a success. Testing the energon yielded great results. It had phenomenal detonation velocity for its mass. Initial test showed it held greater explosive force per pound of volume than Human born explosive, but only on a small scale. RDX and HMX were still were still fiercer on large scales. This composition was a large part HNIW with composite Oxidizer. The energon’s role in this mixture was to act as an igniter. Due to its higher explosive force at smaller compositions, the stronger ignition force resulted in a faster combustion of the HNIW and… well, I’m not going to bore you with technical bits.

While his noggin’ still swam, his eyes were at least stable and upright again and while the nausea dialed down to simple oncoming waves. He was able to resist and persist. Properly chaining the ignition sequence again, he’d set the barrel then and there andhop back on the buggy to inspect damage.

The damage at the blast zone was with a lack of better words, severe. In the immediate zone, there was nothing except the dirt. Trees had been blown from their trunks or cleared out entirely at the root. The tree line now pushed back some hundreds of feet. He would need to know approximately how much. In his trailer came another device, a wheel on a stick, a measuring wheel. He took for a jog to the treeline which actually took a while. Taking out his phone for GPS to calculate a straight line from one edge of the tree line to the other. Another brisk jog followed by intermittent resting.

Eleven-hundred feet.

Out came a notebook, pencil, and a cache of mathematical notation.

Jesus.

Odessa was enraptured by this destruction, this was going to be his new test site.