Training Days

Chapter 2: Making War Games

The next morning would be filled with dread as I rolled into the gated base. Lennox hadn't said much to me this morning and I in turn, had said little to him. He was prepared for the trip, and was in complete focus, Primus forbid I be the one to break it.

Skids stood next to me and we watched as his brother was rolled up onto a trailer with Sideswipe and ratchet. He was sandwiched between them, my spot. Optimus was being rolled onto the airship first and then the trailer holding the others would be rolled in beside. I looked down at skids who was waving and I shook my head "They will only be gone for 48 hours." I remind him.

"I know but you know….you never know." I could not argue with him there. Even if his words were confusing. A bot really never did know. I watched as a smaller trailer holding the girls being hoisted up.

"She misses you…" Skids said abruptly.

"What?" I asked looking down at him scoffing softly.

"Chromes …she loves ya…but says you need to stop being so damned serious." He smiled at me then turned limping back inside the hanger.

"She spoke to you about it?" I say incredulously. I point at him "She did not." I say.

"Nah she spoke to the other girls…but I mean they wouldn't shut up…you can't recharge when they talk." he sits down at his little desk "They just don't shut up…I thought they had a hive mind…couldn't they just talk in their own heads?" He says and starts to fiddle with something at his little desk. "trying to recharge and all they do is talk" I smiled at him now, I understood that one. He was still young he would know one day.

"What's this young one?" I walk beside him to look down at what he's working on. I lean down looking at the myriad of cables and hooks about the table.

"When we were fighting devastator my grappling hook got stuck…and then I was holding my weight and Mudfalp's, so I found this cable." He hands me a line of it. I run it between my digits. "Thinner and stronger, I'm going to replace my other cables with it." He nods "and then this grappling hook is something I found in the scrap yard on the south side of the base…its titanium…shouldn't break …should hold both our weights." I am encouraged by his want to be a better bot. "pulled it off an old space shuttle."

"You're not all rocks in there are ya?" I ask and give his head joint a nudge. I even let a smile cross my faceplates.

"I'd hope not…Mudflap and I just want to have some fun." He admits swinging his good leg a bit from his seated position. I sit beside him and try to help him coil the wires together. "Do you have a brother Ironhide?"

"I'm my creator's only offspring." I admit quietly. Part of that admission brings sadness and part of it just is numbing.

"Oh…sorry." Skids looked up slowly meeting my optics.

"Be not sorry." I say and continue to help him to tie up the cable. "I would like to take a look at your weapons…see what we can do to give you a bit of an advantage on the field." Skids looked at me with questioning eyes. "I have wanted to experiment with human technology…Would you like to fire a plasma rifle later today?" I ask.

"I'm still hurt." He says looking down to his leg.

"I know youngling, you don't need to stand to use the rifle." I say and turn "I am also going to let you try a newer rifle I'm refitting for our new training games."

"What kind of games?"

"Paintball." I smirk. Skids turns his head as he looks it up on the net.

"That's awesome!" he looks up at me with wide eyes. A smile plastered across his faceplates and his gold tooth as big as I've ever seen it.

"Yes youngling we're going to set up the back training field." I tell him.

"We need barrels and pit traps…" he grabs a data pad. "Oh oh…" he's on a little data rampage. He grabs a data pad and start to record all his ideas.

"I'm glad you are excited." I admit; it's not as hard to like them they just need the right direction. "I'll let you help me design it, and when the others get back we'll see what they can do with it." I nod.

"You're really going to let me help?" skids asks in disbelief and looks at me one eye craning. I think he's starting to doubt my sincerity.

"Home field advantage." I nod "I am going to assemble some training rifles and fit them for the paint balls."

"Are they really paint?" Skids asks giving me a questioning look. He stands on his two feet but does not walk.

"Mostly color and soap." I nod and wave a dismissive hand at him "it washes off."

"Oh ok ..cause I don't want to lose my awesome paint job." He tilts at the hips and swivels looking at himself. I laugh slightly and shake my head.

"Ok everyone will need different colored paintballs. Make a list: red for Optimus, black for me, white for sideswipe, blue for jolt, the girls can have baby blue purple and neon pink." I looked down at skids "Orange and green for you and your brother." I smile "Ratchet can be neon yellow. Bumblebee can be gold."

"Why is everyone a different color?"

"So we know who hits who." I say "Hows the leg?" I look down "You won't be able to help me move much but you can audit me as I move things."

"I get to Supervise!" He got too excited and I turn pointing at him.

"Watch." I correct as my hands hold the wound cable.

"Oh." He smiles as offer him the cable I have wound for him. He opens a panel on his upper arm and I look inside. "That cable is torn." He says. I nod and reach in slowly pulling the length out and letting it topple down to the floor. "the other should just slide in and that piece should attach to the back with a snap." Skids tells me as I fit the rope to him. With a click the back panel locks into his upper arm. "That's good." He closes the panel once my hands are free. "I'll put the hook on later." He shifts his weight to his good leg joint. "Let's go look at the otter field."

I smile back and lean down and lift skids up and slide him around to my back. "Can you hang on back there?" I ask and 'piggy back' him. I had seen Lennox carry his young offspring like this, and it seemed the best choice it would leave my hands free.

"Can you handle my weight?" Skids asked leaning over my shoulder plates and looking at me from my left side.

"You don't weigh anything youngling." I say and grab a few things in my freed up hands and start for the hanger door. "what else should our little field have?"

"Pit and water traps."

"Ratchet won't like that." I laugh outwardly. "Whatelse?"

"We need something that will even trip up the big boss bot." He said pointing out onto the field.

"Something to trip up optimus…" I think on it. "I may have just the thing." I smirk softly and nod "Sand trap?" I look back at him "with water…" I nod "sink the big guy pretty quick."

"This is gonna be good." Skids laughs excitedly in my auditory sesor.

"Indeed." I agree and I can't help but smile. Makes me wish I had a sparkling of my own. For a moment I want to shoot myself.

We reach the field and I set him down slowly on an old rusty car. "I'm going to build up some mounds and things, cover on either end." I look down "Keep coming up with ideas."

"Ironhide what if …we make it more interesting?"

"How does one make it more interesting?" I turn and look over at him.

"Look up Capture the flag on the net." I look down to the ground as I search it, after scanning the Wikipedia I nod and look up.

"I'm familiar…" I nod "I agree…" I smile "Capture the flag it is…" I make my way down to the field to work on moving some scrap from the 400 yard square field. "you will need to make some flags."

"Alright!" he smiles "I'm gonna call back to base…how much sand do you think we'll need?"

"A few tons, and ask for a tanker of water." I say

"Alright you got it hide." I flinch and turn glaring at him. "Ironhide…sorry." He is instantly regretting the shortening of my name. "I'll call base." I start to look around and start to make decisions about each side of the field.

"Skids..make a list..split everyone on to two teams, your brother and you will be divided, and divide the girls, put Arcee and Flareup together, Chormia on the other team." I nod "Optimus will lead one team and I the other. Break everyone up like that ok?"

"Otherwise everyone else just split em up?"

"yes." I tell him. "I'll make changes after you attempt to split the teams."

"Okay." He says and sits content to the sidelines working on his tasks, without his brother around I must admit he is a diligent worker. He will make a find soldier one I will be happy to train and call one of my own. Even if he is a bit more enthusiastic than he should be. I smile looking to the trailer at the far end of the field.

"Skids, get a few soldiers down here I will need help hooking up to that trailer to move it."

"You can move that?"

"I can…I just need help getting it hooked up." I admit.

"I'll call them now." I smile and turn walking over to it and examining the large cement pipes on top.

"These will do nicely." I say softly looking at the chains and the cement pipes. "I hope they allow me to use them." I remind myself to ask when the humans arrive. Using the cement pipes will be beneficial and the trailer won't be as heavy with them off of it. Much to my relief.

"Put Lennox and epps on the teams as well…they will enjoy this." I say to skids waving a hand to him from across the field.

"Alright two humans…" he smirks and snickers sitting there on the rusty car. "this is gonna be so good I can't wait to hit them with paintballs." I can only shake my head at his enthusiasm. He's not so bad, and for a moment I regret thinking it.