The Diego Diaries: Time Waits For No Mech (dd6 394)
-0-Night in The City
Springer and Drift rode on their beat with a trail of the usual suspects riding with them. Most of them weren't officially police but they ran with the two as part of their posse. They were good company, had no family encumberments and liked hanging out. It was really cold and a bit dusty. The usual sandstorms that once made the planet a fuzzy speck on telescopes for months on end were a thing of the past but now and again, the winds would blow the finer grains into the air where they would hang for what seemed like forever.
Chatting about this and that, commiserating with the two over the Scouts and asking after the family, they rode onward making their rounds for miles and miles around the colony. Getting off the beaten path and going alongside the highways on the shoulders, they could rip away and ride like the wind. The best part of their horses, among many things, was that they never tired.
Sing the praises, won't you, of metallic horses and men.
-0-Appa and Amma Land
Ratchet helped with the dishes, then turned to the group who were sitting on their chairs and couches watching him. Lumi was with him drying and putting away as Ratchet washed. Sitting with the elders as they did, Fireball, Tru, Genesis, and Quasar fussed over them, getting them things and helping put their crafts away and books on the shelves around the room.
"You do that very well, Sonny," Ravel said. "Thank you, all of you, for coming here to do this."
"Our pleasure, Amma," Tru said. "Are you feeling better?"
"I feel much better. What about you, Ada?" Tie Down asked with a trace of worry in his voice.
"I feel wonderful. It's so good to be home among your loved ones. Remember that, infant. The best things in life aren't things." Corr grinned. "The best thing for me is family."
Tru nodded. "We know. Ammas and Appa made sure we knew all our cousins. The titans were always around but there were few our age. Ammas and Appa never let us go with the wolf packs. It got lonely some times, though they were so good to us."
"AND WHO WOULDN'T?" Appa Ratchet asked with emotion. "YOU'RE FINE YOUNGLING MECHS!"
Tru grinned at him. Appa Ratchet grinned back.
Ratchet put the last thing away, wiped down the sink, then hung the dish towel. He turned to them again. "Ready for beddy?" he asked with a brilliant smile.
Huge laughter met that as he helped them up. Corr walked between Tru and Quasar as they gently held his little arms to steady him. He was actually pretty fit, all things considered, but they were concerned about their great grand amma so he let them assist with a sweet smile and comments. They walked into the berth room and with Ratchet and Chan helping, put him to bed. Chan hugged all of them, then began to settle himself. Across the hallway, Ravel and Fireball were helping a surprisingly tired Ratchet into his berth. He lay back, then sighed. "This feels good."
"Then I prescribe more of it, slagger. You better follow my orders or I'm going to el kabong you and it won't be with a guitar," Ratchet said firmly as he watched Ravel and Fireball fuss with his blankets.
Docker sat down, then was tucked in. She smiled. "This feels reversed."
"It is," Ratchet said with a grin. "Enjoy it or else. Do you need anything?"
"No, baby boy," Docker said with a smile.
Ratchet grinned, then they all backed out. He inspected both pair of grandparents, then the lights went out. Walking out to the living room, they regrouped. "You go home and we follow you to tuck you into beddy bye as well," Ratchet said to general grins, "then we go home. Come on now." Ratchet walked to the door and stepped out.
Ravel grinned and followed with Tie. "He's sure bossy," Ravel said with a smile.
Tru who didn't see the smile patted Ravel. "He loves you, Amma. He wants to make sure you get better just like the rest of us."
Ravel took Tru's servo, then walked out with him. "We sure want that don't we, sweet little mech," he said as the closed the door behind them.
-0-Across the hallway
Ravel and Tie Down demurred but were tag teamed into bed. Grinning at the tall mechs surrounding their berth, Ravel glanced at Ratchet. "Did that young mech get his initiation sword? Did it accept him?"
"It did. So did the other three. The kits and daggers and the like … all of it was picked up. Everyone was twitching with amazement and send their eternal thanks for your genius," Ratchet said with a grin.
Ravel and Tie Down smiled. "That's the best part of it, helping others feel happy, Sonny. Thank you for that."
"No problem. Its like old times. Good night," he said as he kissed their helms. Everyone said good night, then walked out. The door closed as the lights went out and they gathered in the hallway. "It's nice to have you infants stay over sometimes. There's always room," Ratchet said as he walked to their own door.
Tru nodded. "We love staying here. We'll help you get everyone on the bus tomorrow, Ada," he said as he entered the apartment. "We'll help you. Amma and Appa think that's the best thing you can do."
"It is," Ratchet said as he followed the kids in. He grinned as he closed the door behind him.
-0-Across the hall
"BLACKJACK! GET THE COW!"
Blackjack walked to the berth room and grinned in the doorway. Flipper was standing on the middle of their berth chewing his cud. Scout was trying to stand next to him to hug his neck. Flipper had the classic cow expression of 'meh' while Scout was nearly incoherent with laughter. He reached for Flipper and nearly got him by the neck before the unstable footing of the berth nailed him and he fell, rolled sideways and off the berth onto the floor with a splat.
Blackjack debated pulling Scout out but before he could move a tiny helm popped up and servos were grasping the duvet to clamber back up again. He was chuckling the sort of chuckle that the glazed eyed had when they fell over and over again and were halfway to incoherency because of it, the breathy sort of laughter that indicated half mad determination to succeed.
Alor peered out of the berth room, then frowned. "GET THAT COW OFF THE BERTH!"
"Killjoy," 'Jack said as he walked to the berth and picked up Flipper. "Don't you want to see if Scout can nail him?"
"I'll nail you if you don't prep the cow and put him on his little bed," Alor said from the wash rack.
"Why don't you?" Blackjack said as he watched his son walk around the berth, then halt before him with a wild aft smile on his little face. He wanted Flipper. "Scout wants to play with him."
"Either you dump his trap or clean up the floor. It's time," Alor said as he walked out and scooped up Scout to kiss him madly. Sitting down on the berth, he watched with a grin as Blackjack carried Flipper into the wash rack. It was silent a moment, then a loud moo was heard.
"JUST HOLD ON, FLIPPER!"
"MOOOOOOO!"
"FRAG! THERE! HOLD STILL!"
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Tiny hoof sounds could be heard as Flipper made a break for the door. He ran to Alor, then stood between the big mech's legs. Staring at the door with a fragged off look, the tiny bovine waited for the treacherous mech of his dreams to come out. He was going to fort up with his other reason for living and the knee biter in self defense. He hated having his tanks evacuated. It was nearly a deal breaker for his little cow constitution.
Blackjack leaned out, then grinned. "Stampede," he said with a chuckle.
-0-In the Residence
They tucked in the last renegade kid, then snuck back out to their own room. Prime sat on the berth, then threw his arms out as he flopped backward. "Ah. This feels good."
Prowl grinned slightly. "I can think of several other things that aren't bad either."
Prime raised his helm to take in Prowl. He was standing at the armoire by the wall with a grin. Inside was a collection of guns that both used along with knives and other tools of the trade. The doors were keyed to the two alone so the kids couldn't get into them. Prowl was unloading his body stash into the cabinet. Prime grinned. "Sounds promising."
Prowl grinned, shut the doors, then walked slowly to the berth. He sat down on Prime's lap, straddling him. Putting his servos on the big mech's big chassis, he grinned. "Well, Farmer Brown … when will you make the big announcement?"
Prime chuckled. "I do not have a firm date, Milk Maid. Perhaps we can discuss it."
"Milk Maid?" Prowl asked with a look of amusement on his handsome face. He scanned for meaning, then snickered. "Milk Maid. Do I need blond braids and a little stool?"
Prime grinned as he gripped Prowl's backside. "Nope," he said. Then he said nothing more for a while.
-0-Infants and dogs and slag, oh my …
The big kids helped the little kids go to bed. Halo was the exception as Ironhide walked to his chair with her dozing in blankets on his arm. He sat as the big kids hugged him on their way to their own berths. Ratchet sat down next to him, then grinned at Halo. "I almost forgot we had one of those. I suppose you took her to Foofer as well?"
"I refuse to tell you. I LIKE LITTLE BOTS AND I CANNOT LIE!" Ironhide said with a smile.
Ratchet laughed loudly, then grinned at him. "Slagger. You took her to Cybertron. Where's my guitar? Or better yet, my heaviest balpeen hammer?"
"We were never in harms way," Ironhide said. "BEER! FUDGE!"
Ratchet sat in his chair grinning at Ironhide without moving a digit. Ironhide grinned back. It was on. The first one to give in was a mama's boy. No one would have fudge and beer this night.
-0-N.E.S.T. HQ, graveyard shift
Corey McFarlane sat at communications going over the messages, films and other transmissions heading for Earth from the human component of life here on the Red Planet. He was almost as conversant on people as their mamas as he read their stuff, noted their pictures and searched for hidden information before passing it to Ops Center at The Fortress for the censors to pass over in Special Operations. They were all aware of moles but they only had a tenuous idea who it was. This would hopefully help them nail their short list a bit.
"Are your kids going on the scout trip to Alaska, Corey?" Sargent Akoni Kahale asked. He was a beta team member who was Hawaiian, loved water sports and often lamented the lack of (surviving) oceans for surfing on world. He did, however, admire the slag out of the water park in the Tri-Cities, though he hadn't gotten either permission or the nerve to take a board and go in there.
Yet.
"No. I heard that Lennox and Epps are going. Sandy and James will be going. That makes all five of the humans. I think that's a good thing. Those kids have been at this longer than mine. They can make things work," Corey said.
"Might be fun. Or not. Lennox doesn't look too excited, nor does Epps," Akoni said.
"I think it'd be fun. Alaska that time of year … mosquitoes, bears, endless daylight, rain, pucker brush … sounds like my kind of thing," Corey replied with a smirk. "It's going to be fun to hear how the Cybertronian kids do."
Akoni nodded. "I hear ya."
It would be.
-0-TBC 6-25-18 edited 7-17-18
NOTE
There's a huge sandstorm on Mars now, seasonal, and probably has enrobed the entire planet. They can rise up 250 miles and last for months.