The Diego Diaries: Face Off (dd6 582)

=0=Later that day

Ratchet rose, then handed Docker back the data pad that she had given him for Corr. On it were all their data details, clubs and when to go, what was needed at the grocery, Corr's records for the doctors he saw, their counseling dates and other events including a long list for the children. They were very hands on grand genitors. "You look fine, Amma," he said.

Corr smiled up at him from his chair. "You worry too much, Sonny. I'm doing fine. Doctor Medley and Counselor Min-D say so."

"True, that, but my job is to make sure that all is well," Ratchet said as he subbed his gear. "What's the story for the game tomorrow?"

Corr glanced at Docker. "Docker is our guide. You'll have to ask her."

Docker grinned at him, then glanced upward at Ratchet. "We have our session, then we go to the club for lunch. We will be out of school four more orns before the new session starts again. Then the regular schedule begins. Right now, we're just lightly penciled in. We can help with dinner. I suppose that Ironhide and his elders are going to the arena early for whatever athletes do before sporting."

Ratchet grinned. "I can think of a lot of things to say about Ironhide but athlete doesn't come easily to mind."

"He's a tough one, Sonny, Our Ironhide. He's going to show Kaon a good hard time," Appa Ratchet said. "This is going to be a very hard time for all of us because all of our boys and girls are on both teams."

"I know," Ratchet said as he watched Docker and Chan organize their evening 'tea' and dessert. "What are you eating tonight?"

"Some nice tea from the Stanix region, their mixture and a plateful of big fudgy brownies with nuts and cherries. I do love some of the human's food. Did you know that I had some Stollen at the club two orns ago? What a delight that is. That and some cookies that are recipes from the Middle East." She looked up at Ratchet. "Where is the Middle East?"

"I would have to look it up but I hear they make great cookies," Ratchet said with a grin.

Docker smiled at him, then hugged him tightly. "All is well here, Sonny. Don't worry about us."

"I do but its a nice worry," Ratchet said as he kissed all of them on the helm. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't stay up too late."

"We won't," they all replied as Ratchet slipped out to go home. Evening would be wonderful with something delicious and a couple of good books apiece. They wouldn't stay up too long.

Mostly.

=0=Next door

"ADA! Lou goed to the shes?"

Ratchet grinned. "I did. All the shes say hi."

Orion grinned. "Love the shes. Good them, shes."

"So what's next?" Ratchet asked as he sat cross legged on the floor in Hero's room playing cards with the shorties.

"I think its your turn, Praxus," Hero said as she sat on a tiny chair with her name on it. Next to her also on a tiny chair with her name and two cards to everyone elses half a dozen, Halo smiled. She was playing, too.

Whatever it was.

No one really knew. Orion was directing the game which made zero sense as Cousin sat beside Prowler. He was perched on a tiny chair as well holding three cards and his favorite dollie. He petted Cousin more than he paid attention.

A little table was in the middle of the group, one that held a number of the cards. Orion put some on, then handed some out to the punters as he randomly called upon them without a logical explanation. He was running a game in his little head and the others were along for the ride.

"Lou, Ha-Ho. Lou doing," Orion said. "Pax comed after she."

Praxus smiled. "Okay," he said sweetly.

Halo looked at him, then Orion, then glanced at Hero who smiled and nodded. She stood and walked to the table. She looked at the cards there, then put one of hers down.

Orion smiled brilliantly. "GOOD LOU, HA-HO! LOU DOIN' GOOD, SHE! SEE!? SHE DOING!"

Everyone leaned forward to look at her doin', then waited for Orion to decide what odd ball thing he would do because she did. He gave her two cards from one of the seven or eight stacks on the table, then grinned at her. Patting her shoulder, he nodded. "You good she, Ha-Ho. You good doin'. Go to there now," he said as he gently turned her, then walked her to her seat.

She sat, smiled at Hero over her cards, received a DELIGHTED smile from Hero in return, then everyone looked at Orion again.

Orion smiled. "GOOD SHES! Now, Ada … lou comed to doin'."

Ratchet stared at his four cards and grinned. He had no idea how to 'doin'' but he was damned if they would know. He mused through his cards to figure out what to give, then handed over a duck card.

Orion stared at it, then smiled at Ratchet. "QUACK!" he said as everyone in the game fell apart with wild laughter.

It was the best game in town.

Nearby …

"Then we have to go to our ships for the defragging run. Our teachers have given us our assignments but it means that we can't go on the field hike at the Valles in two orns," Genesis said with a slight downturn in his voice.

"How long with the defragging take? Since when does defragging systems require this much attention from you? Can't you do that long distance?" Ironhide asked as he sat in the big kids' lounge teaching them how to cheat at poker.

"We have to reconcile a bunch of stuff and they need us to help assimilate new programming. Sciences is working out how to extend our sensor ranges interlocked nearly to Razorclaw's forward outposts," Fireball said. He anted up, three Oreo cookies, then sat back to study his cards. "I hate missing school."

"You're in the army, infant. Sometimes you gotta do the hard stuff. I'll bring you some donuts. That's mech food," Ironhide said with a grin. He anted up as well along with the others. He studied his cards after everyone called, then lay them down. "I have a pair. HA! I, IRONHIDE WIN THE COOKIES! Or as I see them now, COINS OF POWER!"

The big kids grinned at him, then laughed. "Coins of Power. I love that," Fireball said with a chuckle. "But I don't know. Does your hand beat mine?" he asked showing his cards.

It did. Ironhide smirked. "Yup."

"And mine?" Quadrus asked.

"Yup again," Ironhide said with a chuckle. "I'm going to magnanimous and share them with you infants because you're still learning."

"What about mine, Atar?" Genesis asked as he showed his cards.

Ironhide halted his moves to rake in the booty to check the cards, then frowned. They did.

Beat his.

Like a drum.

Three aces beat just about everything and as he looked at them he considered lying. Then he grinned. Pushing the pot minus four cookies toward Genesis, he sat back to eat the four. "You win but this is my consulting fee."

They laughed long and loud, then Fireball rose to get more cookies. At the rate fees were going they would need them.

Also nearby …

He worked through his story getting it just so before he finished. All of his homework was done so he put it into his bag with little patches that trumpeted his love of Kaon's Kavaliers and Kowboys, Iacon's Invaders and last but not least, both teams from Vos. He was nothing if not a home boy …

"Ada?"

"What, Sunbeam?"

"Would you and Atar be mad if I rooted for Vos?"

"No. Why would you think so?"

"We root for Iacon and Praxus."

"We do, Sunny, but you're a Seeker and Vos is your homeland. Root away. We can get another patch for them and any gear you want."

"Can we go to the Vos games, too, Ada?"

"I think its required, Sunny Bunny."

A huge smile greeted that.

He gathered his gear, then walked out of his room to the door where he hung it all on the hook that had his smiling little picture and name attached. Petting Spot, he walked down the way to the big boy's lounge where he would see them whip his atar's aft from Ironhide's lap where he sat holding two cookies … one for him and one for Spot.

It would be a glorious evening in the apartment.

=0=Aerie Hill

"When we get ready to do this I will go with Thundercracker. We're going to direct the air wing through this battle from Salton Sea," Starscream said as he sat on a couch with a drink. The children were just put to bed and now was their time to talk and hang out. The lighting was low and soft music played in the elegant and sophisticated apartment they shared as a trine.

It would have surprised most to see that the three of them had rather elegant tastes, their apartment designed by them with added touches for little children. It had art and elegant fixtures, something that even Megatron wouldn't expect.

Sky Warp walked out of the corridor that led to the rest of the apartment. "They're all in bed, the slaggers. No more treats that require that much washing before bed."

Thundercracker who was lounging on a couch designed for Seekers smirked. "Wuss."

"Frag you, Thundercracker," Sky Warp said as he flopped down in a chair by the big windows.

Outside, the evening was well on its way. Lights from apartments that rose in curved crescent towers on terraces up the far side of the escarpment that made up Aerie Hill were ablaze. They would see them rose up in the slopes hugging the curves in a display of beauty that was never theirs before. Traffic on the streets could be seen from their apartment on the tenth floor of their long curving building, their lights snaking along on the highway below. The odd Seeker came in to transform in the air and land on their balcony or to leap off, transform and fly away.

It was beautiful, brilliantly designed everywhere and

showed a side of Seekerkin that most never saw. It showed their tight knit family life, love of beautiful architecture and respect for the land their homes were built upon. Aerie Hill had everything any other city had, businesses, private and public schools, all manner of amenities and most of all, it had The Flying People as they were called on Cybertron once upon a time.

This was the biggest enclave of Seekers in the Universe and the size of it was ever growing, moving out past the original footprint to wind into the wide gashed crevices beyond. Up their sides following the curve of the land, the newest construction went. Streets and roads went everywhere and the metro was going to put two more stations here, one to use now in the newest finished construction and one further out where the newer portion of their district would eventually reach.

This was a beautiful place designed and constructed by Seekers. It was everything that Starscream wanted. Megatron would make a very big mistake to ever come here.

"We have to go tomorrow to Sparkling Day. Pip is getting an award for being an 'excellent classroom helper' from his teachers. Apparently, they look for someone to honor as often as they can. Pip has been an art helper. He decided himself to do it or so they told me," Sky Warp said with a grin.

Starscream smiled with evident pride. "Is that so? Then we must. What an honor to be an 'excellent' helper, our little Pip. So many talents so young. Perhaps the Great Elder can come along as well."

Thundercracker grinned at Starscream as he nodded. Who would have ever thought in their wildest dreams?

=0=Up there in the exalted strata with The Most High (Truly)

"Your ada is going to be coming then to help out there," Prowl said as he sat beside Prime with his organizational data pad. "Then Blue is going to take over. I don't want Kes to do too much. He always does."

Prime nodded with a grin. He sat on the couch with his arm around Prowl as they troubleshot the upcoming mission and the basketball game the next orn. The kids were in bed after a lot of hide and seek. Now it was their time. Typical Prowl to bring a data pad with him. Prime took it from him and set it on the end table next to the couch were they sat together. "Enough of that."

Prowl smirked. "You don't seem too worried."

"I hide it well," Prime said as he kissed Prowl. "Who are you rooting for in the game tomorrow?"

"You have to ask?" Prowl replied.

"A better question might be 'what will Ratchet wear tomorrow for team spirit'?" Prime asked.

Prowl frowned. "I'll punch his lights out."

Prime grinned. "You will never get off the half time highlights reel that way."

"Some things are ordained," Prowl said, then he didn't say anything again for a while.

=0=Downstairs where the other half lived …

Ratchet checked his bag in the closet as Ironhide put the kids in their berths. All of his new gear was there, all of it but the tambourine from the first game.

He really missed his tambourine.

He grinned. / … this other slag will be down payment on the loss .../ Then he closed the closet door with a grin.

=0=TBC 1-31-19

If you live in the polar vortex, I am praying for you. I remember a year when it got to -20 at the first of December and didn't change until nearly the end of January. Do not take chances. Don't breathe deeply outside. Cover your face and if you feel pain that tingles you are on your way to frost bite. I get some on the part of my lower leg that was not covered by socks or pants and it HURTS. A long time. Do be careful. I hear its breaking soon. HUGS to all in the world tonight. Remember how much you are loved. -Me