As requested by PuraJazzBot- the story behindthe newspaper clipping about Prowl winning the chess comp in 'Treasured'
Lockout
Prowl stood outside the Ark, feeling rather perplexed. He had just come back from patrol to find the security system ignoring his radio hail. Thinking it a glitch in the system, he decided to contact the duty officers. "Jazz, please open the security door and let me in." he instructed.
"Sorry Prowl, no can do." Came Jazz's too cheerful reply.
"Yeah, we got orders." That was Sideswipe.
"Please explain." The black and white patiently requested, rolling his optics skyward in a silent plea for deliverance from prank playing Lamborghinis and mischievous Porsches.
"Weeeellll," Jazz drawled,"Y'know how all th' officers got stress leave comin' up?"
"Yes."
"Ratchet's figured that since y' never actually take leave, he's decided t' pull medical rank an' have y' locked out for a bit t' enforce it."
"How long is 'a bit'?" Prowl asked suspiciously.
"Eight hours. An' there's no chance o' orderin' us t' let ya in cause Prime's authorised this."
The tactician sighed in defeat. "Can I at least retrieve the work I still have to do?" he asked.
"Nope." Sideswipe replied happily. "Ratchet's orders. Can't let you within 50 meters of your office." In the background Prowl could hear someone shouting "Is he still out there?"
There was a small commotion on the other end of the line before Prowl heard the unmistakable bark of the Autobot CMO as the medic commandeered the microphone. "Prowl! Stop standing there like a turkey in the rain and go enjoy your leave! That's an order!" When Prowl didn't move, Ratchet added an irate "Scram before I send the Dinobots to run you off."
Seeing as he didn't really have a choice, Prowl reluctantly transformed and drove back up the Autobot's private road.
"So, now what?" Prowl thought to himself as the autumn painted trees whipped past. It was quite nice to drive in autumn, he reflected, the tar nice and cool beneath his wheels and the sun shining down on the tree-shaded road. "No wonder Hound likes it out here so much."
He passed through the security checkpoint and turned onto the highway, merging with the mid morning traffic headed into Portland. There were a few places here he had been intending to check out and seeing as he had been turned out to fend for himself for a while it was as good a time as any to go take a look.
Several people waved or flashed their headlights as he passed, the Autobot politely returning the gesture with a headlight flicker of his own. Portland's residents had become used to the presence of their extra-terrestrial neighbors years ago and it was hardly noticed when even a full convoy of Autobots passed through. Prowl knew that several of the officers and warriors made regular visits to the town and many had become good friends with some of the residents.
"Hey Prowl!" The familiar voice drew the Autobot out of his musings as he waited at a traffic light. Prowl spotted Spike standing at the curb and quickly opened his passenger door to let the human in. Spike jumped in and shut the door a moment before the lights changed and Prowl pulled away. "Good morning Spike." Prowl said in greeting.
"So they managed to kick you out, eh?" the teenager grinned.
"They succeeded, yes."
"Did Sideswipe confiscate your paperwork first?" Spike teased.
"No, they simply didn't let me near it."
For some reason Spike found Prowl's matter of fact delivery hilarious and worked very hard to not burst out laughing. "I'm surprised they didn't march you out of your office at gunpoint." He managed.
"Ratchet did threaten to sic the Dinobots on me, so that probably counts."
"Very true." Spike smothered another laugh. "What are you gonna do now?"
"I'm…not sure." Prowl answered, feeling somewhat at a loss. He stopped at yet another set of lights.
"Well, I've got errands to run for 'jack and dad, so I'd better scoot. See ya." Spike jumped out and hopped onto the curb, waving as the lights changed and Prowl pulled away.
0o0o0o0
By ten o'clock Prowl had still not managed to get past the 'driving around town' stage. The situation was new territory for him, so he was still adjusting.
His radio crackled into life.
"Jazz to Prowl. You'd better hurry if y' don't wanna be late."
"Late for what?" Prowl queried suspiciously.
"The chess tournament y' entered."
"…chess tournament?"
There was a chortle on the other end of the radio. If Prowl could have, he would have rolled his optics. Was everybody laughing at him today?
" Dude, y' signed the entry form on Monday. I gave it t' y' myself." Jazz explained. Prowl recalled that day easily. There had been an unusually large influx of paperwork, and when Jazz had turned up near the end of Prowl's shift with a stack of papers and data pads that needed his signature, Prowl had simply put his name in the appropriate areas. The Datsun almost stalled as he realised how easily he had been tricked and made a mental note to prevent such an occurrence from happening ever again.
"You tricked me!" Prowl accused.
"Did not." Jazz rebutted. "All th' stuff was pre-approved. Just didn't say by who."
"Fine." Prowl sighed in defeat. "Where is this tournament being held?"
"Y' makin' it sound like y' goin' t' one a Red Alert's security lectures." Jazz chided. "Head down Jefferson Ave and hang a left. It's at the Port Ross Park."
0o0o0o0
The area allocated for the tournament was easy to spot, marked out with brightly coloured marquees, various stands and a throng of people. Prowl transformed and carefully made his way through the crowd to the check in table.
"Ah, Autobot Prowl I assume?" The woman manning the table asked with a grin. "Don't worry, your friend Jazz contacted us and arranged things earlier. My name's Clara. Follow me and I'll show you to your table." She rose and led him through the tents to a large roped off area, explaining the format of the tournament as she did so. It had been adjusted so that he didn't have to move around, with locals staying at their tables while challengers moved between games. Wins were tallied and the overall champion would be announced at the end of the day.
A larger than normal chess set, clock and table had been set up near the podium, along with a tarp for the Autobot to sit on. Prowl thanked Clara and settled into a cross-legged position to await his first challenger, making another mental note to also thank Jazz as he did so. It had been quite some time since he had been able to find time for a nice game of chess, and this was just what he needed. The start bell chimed and Prowl's first challenger made his way towards the Autobot.
0o0o0o0
It wasn't until just before the break for lunch that Prowl realised he had an audience in the form of Jazz, Wheeljack and Bluestreak, all of whom were standing just behind the ropes and cheering. His current opponent, a man in his sixties named Joseph, capitalised on the momentary lapse of concentration by capturing one of Prowl's rooks, but the tactician struck back by neatly placing the human in an inescapable check and checkmate.
"Well, it's been a while since I've had a challenge like that." Joseph grinned, offering a handshake which Prowl carefully returned. "Good game young'un." He said, before rising and shuffling away to the food stalls.
"What are you doing here?" Prowl asked curiously, automatically re-setting the board for his next opponent.
"We all got sent off on a supply run and figured we might as well drop in and see how you were doing.." Wheeljack replied. "How many games so far?"
"Six, all wins." Prowl replied with a trace of pride.
"Nice job Prowl!" Jazz grinned. "Wanna refuel? Ratch' 'll have my skid if y' pass out in th' middle of a game." he said, holding out a canister of energon which Prowl gratefully accepted.
A hooter sounded from the MC's podium and the various competitors started drifting back towards the chess tables.
"Well, looks like we'd better leave ya to it." Jazz said.
"Yeah, cause we wouldn't want to distract you or anything, but I'm sure that you wouldn't be distracted anyway, seeing as you do this sort of thing in the middle of battle and all, the planning and stuff, not the chess I mean and…" Bluestreak trailed off when Jazz subtly elbowed him. "So, yeah, catcha later Prowl."
"We'll be back at the end of the competition with the rest of the gang." Wheeljack promised and walked back to the road, the other two quickly following.
Prowl watched them go, then turned back around to face his next opponent.
0o0o0o0
Afternoon faded into early evening, and the tournament was starting to wind down. Prowl narrowed his optics and scrutinised the board carefully. He had started a 'check in three', but his last opponent for the day- Mac, a regional champion from out of state- had countered faster than the Autobot had anticipated. Prowl shifted slightly and twitched his doorwings to dislodge a pigeon that had taken up residence there.
Several moves later and Prowl was gaining the upper hand. His radio crackled, and for a moment Prowl wished that his duties would just leave him alone for once. Excusing himself, Prowl twisted away from Mac and answered the hail. "Prowl here."
"Sorry to cut your leave short, but we've just gotten word of a Decepticon signal near a uranium mine in Australia." Smokescreen reported. "I'm sending the intelligence we have to you now. Prime says he needs a strategy ASAP."
"Copy that. My ETA is thirty minutes." Prowl replied, then cut the link.
"Duty calls, eh?" Mac asked with a wry grin. "Got plenty of that back in 'nam. Don't worry about it, I know when I'm beat." He said, then tipped over his king.
"Thank you Mac, you are an exceptional chess player." Prowl said as he carefully got up.
"Any chance of a rematch?" The human asked hopefully.
Prowl tilted his head slightly to one side and brought up his schedule. "Nine am, here, this Saturday?"
"I'll be there." Mac grinned. "You'd better get going. I'll tell Clara why you couldn't stay. Oh, and the results should be in the paper tomorrow."
"Thank you." Prowl said, a small smile on his face. He offered the human a gentle handshake, then stepped over the barrier and walked to the road.
0o0o0o0
It was late the next morning when the Autobots finally returned to the Ark, after having traveled all the way into the middle of the Australian outback to find that the Decepticon signal had simply been a sensor reading that had somehow been mistakenly bounced to the SkySpy satellite positioned over the Southern Hemisphere. Still, Optimus had insisted on a search of the area just in case before they headed home.
Prowl was at his usual station at Teletran One, typing up a report, when a newspaper was suddenly dropped in his lap. He looked up to see Wheeljack standing beside him. "Take a look." The inventor grinned. Prowl complied, picking up the copy of the Portland Herald and examining the front page.
The headline proudly declared "Last Minute Entry Wins Regional Chess Tournament". The accompanying photo was of Prowl in his 'thinking' pose- seated with his legs crossed, left hand resting on his thigh, right elbow on his knee, and his chin propped up on his right fist as he stared at the board in front of him.
"I won?" Prowl re-read the article just to be sure.
"Yeah and it looks like they got your good side!" Wheeljack teased, holding up another copy that Spike had picked up that morning.
"Lemme see!" Bluestreak demanded, reaching around the inventor to grab the newspaper. Sideswipe snatched it off the gunner, whom in turn had it plucked out of his grasp by Jazz. By now quite a crowd had gathered as the paper was passed between the Autobots, Prowl unsuccessfully trying to intercept it and get it out of sight.
"I say we stick this up in the Trophy Room." Bumblebee spoke up.
"Yeah, that's a great idea." Hound chimed in.
"Please, this is unnecessary…" Prowl tried, but Jazz cut him off.
"Yes it is Prowl," The Porsche interrupted, "Y' accomplished something, an' it deserves recognition. Now stop tryin' t' blend in with th' wall and get down t' the Common Room with us. This calls f' a party!"
Fin