The Diego Diaries: Face Time (dd6 583)
=0=Later that afternoon
"Are you going now?" Ratchet asked as the last adult left with the last child. He closed the door, then turned to Ironhide.
"I have to. I'm going to be late." Ironhide walked to the door after patting Ratchet on the aft. He grinned, then left. Once again, Ratchet was alone.
But for Robby the Bruce.
And Cousin. He was there.
"Frag," Ratchet said. He smiled. "Better get my kit and get going." He walked to his berth room closet, retrieved his bag, then put the pieces of his 'Cheer Gear' into his carry hold. With a grin, a wistful thought about his missing tambourine and a determined set to his shoulders, he marched for the door and left.
=0=At the game
They walked into their locker room gathering to chat and get psyched for the game. It would be Kaon and a family 'shoot out' as the humans were calling it on Earth. The interest in the game was HUGE there anyway and having it be a family affair made it more so. There was still a disbelief that a head of state such as Optimus would put himself into the spotlight in a game like this where he could get his clock cleaned in front of billions. But there was also a ton of respect given that he would.
The humans still didn't really get the Cybertronians.
Or Optimus, at least.
They sat and talked strategy, those who would rotate in and out given the defense would be handling the twins most of the night. The others were good but the twins were fast and had their personal team work figured out. They would be the focus.
The two of them and everyone else.
It would be calm and amusing in the Iacon locker room as they waited for the game to start.
=0=Kaon Kowboys
They gathered as well, confident and tense. The game last time was a breeze. They'd won and were among the three teams that were one and zero for scores. They were going to notch another win, they planned, slagging it out with the old folks. Hopefully, youth and ability would triumph over old age and treachery.
So they hoped.
It would be tense and mostly quiet in the Kaon locker room as they waited for the game to start.
=0=Fans, Fam and Futility
They fogged in, tens of thousands of individuals. Three games would be played today in a staggered schedule so that none of them would be playing at the same time. One ended and the next begun. If you were fleet of peds you could see three of them in one orn and all would be well.
Maybe.
As it was, the fans of Iacon and Kaon, the twins and Prime walked through the turnstiles to reach the big double doors standing wide open for them. They entered, then began to fill the seats first come, first served. It would take a long time to fill the arena inside. One hundred thousand individuals would take a while to come inside. When they reached maximum, the turnstiles would lock and security would help the slowpokes come to terms with their disappointment. It would help that massive screens set up inside the concourse would play the game for the punters who would console themselves with fan food and cold beer.
All was actually very well.
=0=Sports Center, IntraCom-MCA Download Central in New York City, NY
"Good evening. I'm Dan Patrick and this is Evan Tyler, my partner in crime tonight for the Iacon versus Kaon match up at The Sports Arena in Retriarius on Mars." He glanced at Tyler. "I doubt you ever thought you'd say that before now?"
Tyler laughed. "No. I'm thrilled to be here to help with the broadcast. Cybertronian basketball is a great game, a lot more physical than our own. When I played, half the stuff they do would get me ejected if I tried it. I have to say this game is fun, fast and furious."
"It is. I'd love to be there to broadcast the games and its being discussed with the Prime's government. I think this doesn't quite reach the pinnacle for the home viewer unless you're there. Jazz and Blaster are going to link up shortly and we can get the down low on how this game might play out," Patrick said. "From what I've heard everyone is fit and healthy. This one is also going to be a family affair."
"Apparently it is," Tyler replied as he checked his notes. "I drew a diagram for this to get it all straight. The Kaon team is mostly the team from football and the twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are the sons-in-law of Optimus Prime. They're also sons of Iacon's defensive player, Ironhide of Praxus. They're also brothers of Chromia, Arcee and Elita who play for Iacon. They're grand, great and great great grandsons of Blackjack, Raptor and Hard Drive who also play for Iacon."
Patrick laughed. "Imagine playing professional league basketball with your great great grandfather."
Tyler laughed, then looked off stage. A voice spoke, then he looked at Patrick. "Jazz and Blaster are cutting in now."
The screen divided and on half of it were the smiling faces of Blaster, 'The Voice' and Jazz.
"Well, hello, boys," Jazz said with a chuckle. "Mighty fine of you to tune in again."
"We were waiting for both of you. Is Revet there?" Patrick asked two of the three bots that he knew and liked the best.
"He's here," Blaster said as he glanced over his shoulder. "Say hi, Revet."
A voice off screen replied. "Hi, Revet."
"Literal dude, Our Revet. Well, are you ready for some basketball?" Jazz asked with a grin.
"We are. We would love a review of what you quaintly call The Rules first, though. Our email inboxes are bending from the weight of that request from viewers," Patrick replied.
"Well, you're slow learners, then," Jazz asked with a smirk. "First rule of basketball, don't cock your arm to deliver a blow. Its a foul. Fights are allowed if they come up and no arm cocking is seen. Fights are part of all our games. They came up from the mean streets and even if they were refined a bit during the orn, they're played here like it was the olden days back in the neighborhood.
"Secondly, you can't travel. That's a rule for you as well. You bounce the ball when you move or you get a foul. Running with the ball is out. You can shoot from anywhere. The goalie is there to prevent that, otherwise its too easy to score and where's the fun in that?"
"Nowhere," Blaster replied with a grin. "Team work is encouraged and some of them have skills. Vos is very fast and tight. Polyhex is aggressive. They fight a lot. They're good at it as well because they have less penalties even though they have the most fights than anyone else."
"That's true," Jazz agreed. "Scores count 5 points, penalties can range up to whatever the ref decides. You have to throw the ball in from the sides when it goes out, the end zone when someone scores and you can't stuff the basket. It's fifty feet off the ground. There's other rules if you wanna call them that but I can't remember. They might be writing the book as its played."
"What's your take on the match ups tonight? Family members are facing off together," Tyler asked.
"Well, Prime was the mover and shaker to get this game going and I put a lot of store in his ability to do this. His team is made up of a lot of individuals who grew up with him and were on his teams since then. That's a lot of precision together and you can't discount all the years in the army together. They're friends and that means they don't have to say much to know what to do.
"The twins don't like to lose and they're linked mentally as twins. They're going to be slagging hard to stop because they play with the metal to the pedal. I would be hard pressed to say who will win tonight but I know its going to be a furiously fought encounter with family ties meaning nothing during the game."
Blaster nodded. "I agree."
So did Prowl who was at home watching the pre-game interviews on the monitor as he got Possibility ready to go into his travel carrier. The others had already left with family to go to the Primal Box to wait for the game. He'd finished up some urgent messaging, linked in to what he needed to, then gathered his son.
He grinned at the baby. "Wait until you can watch the games. Your atar is amazing." He picked up the basket and walked out heading for the cab he called to drop them at the door of the arena. It would be a while in traffic before they got there.
Inside, Ratchet had arrived and joined the punters in the box. Everyone was there and around the arena songs were being sung, sports gear was being waved and everyone was ready to rumble. The titanic kids were there, all of them, but they would have to head out afterward to go to the DMZ to help with upgrades on their station modes.
"Who are you rooting for, Ada?" Quasar asked as he leaned down toward Ratchet.
"Iacon. IACON! IACON! IACON!" he yelled to the delight of those around him. A camera was turned to fix upon him for the duration of the game.
Jazz was nobody's fool. Prowl would be on his way. Then the fun would begin. The fighting in the stands was part of the event, especially for Iacon, Vos, Kaon and Polyhex as well as a major attraction for human viewers it was turning out.
The crowd was getting antsy as Prowl finally walked down the aisle to join them. He set the baby down, then glanced around. "I see your insanity is under control so far."
"Oh, ye of little faith," Ratchet said with a dazzling smile. "What have you bet on for this game? Anything?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," Prowl said with a cool optic. "What's this I hear about Johnson challenging you to a fight in pretender format?"
"Who, little old me?" Ratchet asked with a giant smile and much coquettish fluttering of his optical ridges.
"Yes," Prowl said as he glanced around. "You're the only loon I can see in these parts."
Ratchet grinned. "I'm thinking of getting it in on my lunch hour. Come with."
"I think not. Optimus might need additional judges for the drum head," Prowl replied.
"In your dreams," Ratchet said with a snicker. "What will you tell your admirers on Earth about which team to root for?"
"The same thing I did last game. Nothing," Prowl said as he pulled out his data pad where he worked out the physics of helping Iacon win the games. Yes, he was a twit.
Ratchet glanced at the data pad covered with short hand, mathematics, sliding scales and pictures of crow bars. He grinned, then glanced around the vast arena. Everyone was just about here. It would begin in seconds. He grinned again at that thought.
=0=Jazz etcetera
"The producer is signaling the game is going to begin. We'll sign off for now and see ya at the end," Jazz said as the feed cut to the game.
Down below their perch in the arena, the first team walked in. Kaon came in with flags and players, their aspect confident and strong. They halted, did their kata of defiance to the world, then waited for Iacon.
That team followed nearly bringing down the house as Prime led them in. They walked to their side, planted the banner, then roared their own defiance back. After that was accomplished, the anthems and Prime salute played, the entire arena standing to sing. When that was accomplished, the teams turned to their benches as the referees walked out to do the honors.
While that happened, Ratchet pulled out his items and began to put them on. Prowl who was looking the other way didn't see a thing. A camera trained on both of them was taking care of that for him.
=0=TBC 2-1-19 edited 2-16-19
NOTES: (Notes from readers tomorrow) :D
A graphic novel of Blaster had him a broadcaster before the war and when it started, he broadcast encouragement and news to the troops wherever they were. They were comforted and morale was high because 'The Voice' was out there. It was a big deal during the war that he did this. The novel is about his exploits and that concept about him. I love Blaster. I love his little bent horns. :D
ESL:
drum head: a field courts martial trial usually conducted with a drum being the judge's bench. Consequently, a drum head hearing or trial is one conducted on the spot. Its a military thing from the 16-17-1800's when they still took little drummer and flag boys onto the field of battle, the asses.