The Diego Diaries: Cybertron and Stuff (dd6 649)
=0=Sparkling School
Laret would remember it in grim detail, the infant hanging on with one servo while he gripped the crayon tub with the other. She would remember running as fast as she could with her arms out and seeing him lose his grip. She would see him fall to the floor with crayons raining all over and the tub flipping twice before covering him up completely as he lay after bouncing on the floor.
It would be the only good thing that it did in the whole event because everything else on the shelf and two below it fell off and rained downward as well. They fell everywhere, heavy jars of things, but the overturned crayon tub took the pounding, not Orion. As for Laret, she slipped on crayons then fell hard on the floor.
Neo who heard the commotion glanced that way, froze in surprise, then ran forward after handing off the baby she was holding. It seemed silent, the whole thing, then it all
slammed in. The sound of falling, the sickening thud of Orion and Laret, the harsh clatter of jars falling on the deck and Neo's gasp.
Laret leaned forward and lifted the tub. Orion was out as cold as a wedge.
=0=At the same time everywhere
Ratchet jerked to a stop, then turned toward the direction of Terra. A jolt over the line that linked him to the littlest kids, the bond that they shared went off, then dimmed almost immediately. He ran for the subway jumping around pedestrians on the sidewalk to get to the Metro in Retriades where he was inspecting an aid station. He disappeared from view immediately.
=0=On Cybertron
He felt Ratchet's jolt, then a fainter one from one of his kids. He didn't have the deepest bond with them, not like that of Ratchet but he was linked into the kids as well. He froze in the doorway of a shuttle where he was touring with Hard Drive.
Hardie glanced at him. "Ironhide? What's the matter?"
"Something's wrong. One of the kids. Give me a minute," he said as he linked in with Ratchet. He felt his panic and cold determination to get to the kids. Staring at his grandfather, he walked up the ramp past him toward the rear and the space bridge that would take him to Iacon, then Mars. "Something's wrong. I have to go."
Hardie was right behind him.
=0=Las Vegas, Nevada
Alor sat straighter, feeling over the link that his son was upset. :Ironhide. This is Ada. What's wrong?:
There was a pause then Ironhide spoke back. :Something's wrong. I'm going to the Sparkling School:
Alor was already going out the door.
=0=Down the line
They felt it, a disturbance in their mental and emotional energetic pool. Alor repeated to the others who called what Ironhide had said as he walked through the rec room at Ops Center heading for Terra. From all over the place, family were coming, heading for Mars and the school. Something was wrong and no one knew. They just knew that Ratchet and Ironhide were heading that way with Hardie.
All of them stepped out and headed back, rushing to the school in Terra.
=0=RTR Tools
They worked on a series of knives and tool kits for their customers whittling down the list that never seemed to end of orders from soldiers, civilians and workers that wanted something that was unavailable to them in the past, artisan works from the greatest practitioners in history. The elders were due soon, heading there to eat lunch early then go back for their afternoon class on creative writing. It was going to be catered and it would be as peaceful and happy as any other day.
=0=Ratchet
He ran across the courtyard of the school heading for the door. Entering, he rushed to the desk. "I'm here for Orion."
Sellie who was duty manager for the school and managed all the desk business stepped out from behind the counter. "Come on, Ratchet," he said as he began to hurry to the small hospital the schools maintained on the first floor of their buildings. With a pounding spark, Ratchet hustled after him.
Barely minutes later, Sun, Jack, Ironhide and Hard Drive walked in then followed Ironhide as he chased down Ratchet. Behind them would come Alor, Blackjack, an emotional Raptor, Aunt Lissie, Steiner, Scout and Trooper. They had been called by Alor and had bee lined for the school. Pausing long enough by the counter to ask, they ran down the hallway to the hospital.
=0=Ops Center
"What is everyone coming back early for, Prowl?" Paragon asked as he walked from the corridor nearby after coming back through the space bridge from meeting with Dai Atlas and Star Saber at their main camp. A chance remark by the operator had sparked his curiosity. "Is there a meeting I didn't hear about?" he asked as he sat down at the table to begin work.
"What do you mean?" Prowl asked as he looked up at Paragon, someone he not only counted and depended upon but liked a great deal.
"I was told that a lot of the directors from Cybertron came back and they were running," Paragon said. He glanced at the doorway nearby as running peds drew both their attention. "There goes Turbine and Delphi."
Prowl rose. "You have the conn, Pari. I'll be right back."
He ran for the door and exited as well.
=0=Ratchet
He reached the hospital and was waved into an examination room. The school had so many medically fragile children that a fully staffed medical facility, state of the art and complete was built into each school. Given that seconds were critical, they made sure that they could deal with anything that came up. A runabout parked on the roof would medi-vac anyone who needed it as well.
Orion was laying on the med berth with his arms spread wide. He looked asleep. Ratchet hit him with sensors, then read the data. As he did waves of family reached the space and fogged in led by Ironhide.
Ironhide slid to a halt then stared at Orion with an expression of terror on his face.
Ratchet turned to him then glanced at Orion.
"What's happened?" Ironhide barely managed.
Neo and Laret who were standing nearby looked wretched. Laret stepped closer. "He was climbing the art tower to get crayons, lost his grip and pulled a lot of things down upon himself. The crayon tub covered him when it fell and he wasn't hit by most things but he landed hard. We called for medical immediately."
Ironhide stared at them then Orion. He walked to the baby then turned to Ratchet with a look of panic on his face. "Is he alright?"
Ratchet glanced at the on-site doctor who nodded. Ratchet read his data then his own. "He has a slight concussion. He has a few sore spots when he landed but other than that he's going to be fine."
"Why is he not awake?" Ironhide asked as he moved around the berth to get closer. He leaned in to stare at Orion.
That's when a tiny blue optic peeped open to stare back.
Ironhide nearly jumped out of his skin.
=0=Down the corridor
They ran in then pushed through the crowd. Staring at Orion laying on the berth, Delphi nearly yelped. "MY BABY! WHAT HAPPENED!?"
"Ada, he fell but he's alright. Slagger thinks he's a slagging billy goat," Raptor said.
Delphi looked at him then Orion. "My baby. He's going to be alright?"
"He is," Ratchet said as he leaned into Orion's face. "You are. Right?"
Two bright blue optics blinked online then stared upward at the slightly frowning face of his ada. He smiled a gigantic insincere smile then patted Ratchet's face. "Ada."
"Don't Ada me, slagger. How many times did we tell you not to climb? HOW MANY TIMES!? NOW YOU KNOW WHY!"
Orion stared at Ratchet then lay back, spread his arms wide and off-lined his peepers. He looked dead.
Again.
Everyone stared at him, then most of them grinned. :That little slagger: Turbine said. :He just took ten vorns off my life:
:You should be me: Ratchet said as he fumed at Orion.
Ironhide leaned in to sniff Orion, finding comfort in his baby aroma and personal familiar scent. He gently picked Orion up then brought him close to his face. "You alright, Spud?"
Orion opened one optic, then both. He sat up and gripped Ironhide's face, pressing his own cheek against his father's. He patted Ironhide then nodded. "I'm fine, Atar."
For a moment no one moved, nothing could be heard around the shock.
Delphi stepped forward. "Orion?"
The baby looked at him then the others.
Warily.
"Baby, what happened? Tell us what happened," Delphi said.
Orion stared at Ratchet, then his Amma. "Amma, I wanted crayons. I climbed up to them and fell."
:AWWW!? WHAT THE FRAG!?: -every adult family member in the room
A sound at the door brought Springer and Drift into the room. "We got a message from the school that Orion had an accident. They report them," Drift said as he glanced at the others' surprise.
"Tell them, Orion, what happened," Turbine asked with a wistful tone.
Orion glanced at the pair. "I fell. I climbed to get crayons and I fell down."
Springer and Drift stared at him. Then they stared at each other. Then Orion again. "What the frag?!" said both of them together.
It was silent a moment for a moment, then Delphi looked at the doctor. "What is the program for his recovery then, Doctor?"
"He needs to rest for two orns, then he can come back. I think that should do it, right, Ratchet?" he asked.
Ratchet nodded. "I agree. Thank you for this. Old 'Delbert' here is going to sit in a corner for both orns."
"Actually, I have dibs on him. For today and the next two," Delphi said as he cuddled Orion to his shoulder. "We can take him to the office. I have a box bed for him. He can lie in there."
"Then I get him," Turbine said.
"Me, too," Alor said, then everyone jumped in.
Ironhide who was lost immediately glanced at Ratchet who was keeping tabs. "You parted him out for nine orns," the big medic said with a slight frown.
"We can get his studies. We know something about home schooling, the lot of us," Delphi said. "Hardie, lets go by The Infant Center and get what he needs. Neo? Are you and Laret going to be alright? Slag happens."
They both looked awful. "We're sorry," Laret began before Ratchet cut him off.
"That little slagger learned a hard lesson. No need for apologies," Ratchet said as the others nodded.
"I think lunch is in order, then we can head back out. We have this, Ratchet," Alor said as Delphi started toward the door. The crowd went with him leaving Ironhide and Ratchet.
They glanced at each other, thanked the doctor, Neo and Laret, then hoofed it after everyone.
=0=Moments later at The Diner On The Corner
Prowl caught up with them as they finished giving their orders. He pulled up a chair then sat. "What happened?"
Alor told him as he stared at Orion who was milking the situation for all it was worth as he watched Ratchet warily.
Prowl gently squeezed Orion's ped. "You alright? You are mine after all. Remember that."
Orion sat straighter. "I fell down."
Prowl nodded, not noticing the correct diction before him. "I'm sorry."
Orion feeling sympathy leaned in closer. "I fell down climbing to get crayons."
Prowl nearly glitched.
=0=Food orders being placed, drinks being delivered
They began to eat, a wan group conflicted out the wazoo about things repeating itself and a spunky child's glitch going away.
Alor glanced at Steiner. "You had the glitch and a stutter. I can't remember what turned it around, Stein."
"The stutter I trained away. The glitch I lost when I fell off the back deck at the Resort." Steiner glanced at Ironhide. "I suppose that means that you inherited it from us, Ironhide. Then you passed it to shortie here."
Ironhide considered that. "I think so."
"Ada is mad at me. He is mad," Orion said as he chewed on a fry.
"Ada is mad alright. How many times have I told you not to climb tall things?" Ratchet asked.
"Lots." Orion scooted closer to Delphi.
Delphi grinned. "Come to mama," he said. He glanced at Ratchet. "I'm going to miss his glitch. He has the cutest speech pattern. I forgot how cute it was with Ironhide. But then, Ironhide was the cutest little mech."
Everyone of Ironhide's relatives nodded.
"Where is Ravel and Tie? I figured they would be here," Prowl asked.
"I have software that prevents them from accessing me that way when things go south. I'm a doctor. They would get bad feelings from me all the time so I worked out how to block it. I can reactivate it but I don't for their sake in relation to them," Ratchet said.
"They don't know," Sun asked.
Ratchet shook his helm. "Nope. They won't know until I tell them or Spud says something."
"Say something, Spud," Uncle Sun asked with a grin.
Orion sensing a thaw in the crowd smiled brilliantly. "I, ORION LOVE LOU!"
Prowl did glitch.
=0=TBC 4-29-19
ESL
peepers: slang for eyes
when things go south: when things go wrong or fall apart
out cold as a wedge: slang for being unconscious