The Diego Diaries: Moving On (dd8 330)

=0=The next day

The buses trundled off along with a cab for a little femme while everyone watched them go.

Ratchet turned to Ironhide who was holding Halo and Posse. "Where are you two going?"

"We're going to see to the progress of the trains. Mech and femme are going to straw boss. Its about time for them to weigh in on things," Ironhide said as the two little kids on his arms grinned at both of them.

"You're going to play then," Ratchet said.

"That's about it but don't tell anyone," Ironhide said as he walked toward the Metro station nearby to walk the tracks to the next one where a functional line could be had to the Industrial Park Cities where they would watch things be made, eat a snack or six, then move on to the site where the Triggers lay scattered all over the place. Fun would be had. Wisdom dispensed. Ironhide would learn two new things.

=0=Ops Center

"And that's where Possibility is," Ratchet said like a snitch.

Prowl smirked. "That mech is impossible."

"He is," Ratchet said through his most dazzling smile. "What's on the cards today if I may ask."

"Everything. You?" Prowl asked. "Don't you have a lobotomy to perform? Like your own?"

Ratchet smirked. "I would need practice first to refresh the memory. How about volunteering?"

"You two are both in need of one," Paragon said with a chuckle. He was preparing to leave with the rest of the orn off and was gathering his stuff. Nearby with two little kids sitting on his arms, Arrow waited.

"You can go but the children must stay for collateral. Who will guarantee that you come back if they go with you?" Prowl said. "My children. Mine."

Paragon smirked. "See ya, Prowl." He walked to Arrow, took a child, then both walked out together.

They watched them go, then Ratchet rose.

"I'm going to take the temperature of the colony. Need anything from anywhere?" Ratchet asked.

"Not really," Prowl said. "Stay sober."

"Impossible dreams, Prowler. Impossible dreams," Ratchet said as he walked toward the door to go.

Prowl watched him go, then sighed as he glanced at the pile of work before him. "How do you get all the fun jobs?" he whined softly to himself, then returned to his idea of fun … work.

Outside, the sun was shining, the sky was slightly orange from the ever present gentle and/or not so gentle breezes and everyone was busily going this way and that. Traffic was heavier due to the breakdown of transportation but not so bad at this moment he couldn't drive where he wanted to go. He wanted to go to the Mall. Off he went, crossing traffic to the street that bordered The Mall of Metroplex. Entering, he headed to the book store to check his order status.

Entering, it was busy with customers getting downloads of mail, magazines and newspapers from all over the colony, Cybertron and Earth. Slotting his own data pad into the wall bank of jacks, he downloaded his account and secured it again. Walking through the stacks, he found three books that he 'bought', then stowed them as well. Heading out, it was time to transform and go to the place he was headed.

The golf course.

Away he went with speed.

15 miles per hour.

Bumper to bumper.

=0=The day cares picking up the slack

The bus arrived at their day care in Terra. Little imps hopped down and ran inside to begin a day of play, some schooling, a nap and meals.

Orion and Praxus hurried in to hang up their little bags, then run for the toy boxes that lined an entire wall. One was filled with buckets of Legos which they pulled out and began to dump on a rug nearby. It would take a while to get it all sorted out but occupy them until lunch time as they built and dismantled a number of slightly familiar renditions of Metroplex and Fort Max.

Or as Orion called them: Tex and Pax.

=0=The golf course

Ratchet got his clubs, then walked out to the course. It was immaculate having been groomed the night before and getting here early made the play dreamy. Teeing up, he smacked the ball down the fairway until it disappeared out of sight. Grinning at the ease of his swing and the accuracy of his aim from a life time of playing games like this and hurling rocks at gangs and cops, Ratchet knew his score was going to be as swinging as his game.

The only thing better than golfing alone was golfing with Ironhide. Watching him try to lower his score from the high triple digits was money.

=0=At a dojo after breakfast

They lounged on the couches as a group of Circle kids went through their lessons nearby with Willa. It was the usual rotating crew of bachelors and mechs with mellow bonds who bullshitted, ate food, drank beer and admired Tell.

Tell was laying on a blanket on his tummy 'flying' in that amusing way babies do when they wanted to crawl but didn't know how.

"Little mech is a natural at that," Sandstorm said.

"He's a champion," Springer said with a nod. "He's sitting up great. He smiles all the time. He's the greatest."

Drift nodded in agreement as he rolled Tell over and handed him a bottle.

The baby smiled and took it, putting the nipple into his mouth to suck happily away.

Everyone watched him for a moment.

"He's good at that. Look at him holding that bottle himself," Sandstorm said as everyone nodded.

"He's a champion," Springer said proudly.

Everyone nodded.

It would be peaceful and quiet in the dojo for a change.

=0=Around

They walked into the store together on this, the first day off they had together in a week. Things for Gem were busy toward the end of the fiscal year. She was doing accounts receivable for a medical data center and given the end of the year coming up, she had to get things sorted for nearly every private medical practice in the colony and Cybertron. It would be from her data that all of them would formulate their resupply orders to Specialty Fabrication-Medical for the next three months following New Years.

Following her with a grin on his face, Hydro held a box that contained a small present for her father and his, books that they would like on topics they were becoming fond of. Now they were shopping for his brother and both their adas. Something femme for the adas and something nice for his brother's new bachelor apartment.

Hydro was working at construction and was apprenticed to an electrician who was apprenticed to Wirelite. Braiding wire and putting things into complex mother boards was an art. They were gifted to have a master teacher like Wirelite to show them the way.

"What do you think, Only One?" she asked the big mech who had saved them and helped them recover from their ordeal in Decepticon captivity. She had dated and broken his spark but in a tearful emotional conversation she told him that he was the only one for her. He had never recovered from the turn of events. He was her slave, bond and absolute cheerleader.

"I don't know, Gem," he asked her, the absolute love of his life. "You have all the taste. I'm the muscle here."

She looked up at him and smiled, a sight that sent joy through him. "You'll have to help me with your brother. I don't know what he likes."

"Anything you give him, Gem," he said as they walked into the furniture section of The Home Store.

He walked past them, strangers passing in the pursuit of their life and goals. A37 had acquired a new lamp, one that would sit on his drafting table as he created things that would turn into works of art. He found a love of stained glass during his transformation from a good natured Decepticon in an overrun armada picked up some time back and a civilian living in Autobot City.

He worked at a design business that drew incredibly intricate blueprints for complex things. Finding an affinity for drafting, art itself was not far away. He was nearly at the stage where he was going to start his own business. He found a small shop in an upper story of Tyger Pax, one down three doors from the one owned by Burnoff and Default. He was going to make the most intricate stained glass windows and fixtures. He had no idea how much in demand his work would become but he would be a good friend of Burnoff and Default eventually.

It was a small, small world.

=0=Autobot City Stables

"He looks fit," the handler said as the vet on duty examined Yancy.

The big horse, a favorite of Drift was recovering from a near death shooting while on a call and was almost cleared for duty. How he would take to that again was anyone's guess. The big horse looked forward to when the Night Watch Patrol would come in during the early morning after shift so he could spend a moment with Drift.

"He's recovered. I don't know what he feels about being in a situation like that again. I can't guarantee he won't panic but for his configuration, he's top notch. I thought he'd have a hitch in his git along but he's sound," the vet said.

"Hitch in his git along?" the handler asked.

"An old cowboy term. It means a limp," the vet said.

"I like it. Cowboys have a lot of words," the handler said as he rubbed Yancy's nose.

They would chat and feed Yancy treats.

Drift would find out he was cleared and slate him for the night ride as his regular mount again. It would be determined later if Yancy was up to the hurly-burly and rowdiness of patrol work.

=0=Around

Ratchet sat at a table in the clubhouse sipping a drink as he ate 'tea'. Someone in the club had seen videos of teas, high or otherwise on You Tube and decided to have them available here in the club. They were spectacular arrangements of cakes, fancy sandwiches and other delicacies. Tea or fancy drinks were an option with them. Ratchet optioned the drinks. He ate a macaroon, then sipped his fancy drink. He grinned. "Ah, the life. I wish my old college friends could see me now."

He chuckled. "I had no college friends, though I salute you, Perceptor, for being a good mech when I needed one." He would sit and eat, then walk out, transform and head for the Monastery, then the Prison.

=0=Prime

He walked around the planet with Ironhide's elders and a lot of former Decepticons who were part of his senior officer staff for Cybertron. Things were going so well it made him feel lighter. Given the fight on the colony, it was a nice change.

Buildings were coming back, towers were rising and camps were shrinking, though it would take a while for them to be really in decline. Losing five hundred thousand to nice housing from a camp of five million didn't seem a lot but it was.

Since Primus removed all the damage and debris, it was easier to look at his home world and not see the past come screaming out at him, one of carnage and death. Now they were rising again and it was good tonic for his seething spark.

=0=Monastery

Ratchet passed the Gatekeeper after a rather amusing chat, then entered the confines of the Monastery of the Clavis Aurea. It was busy but in the subdued manner of the belief system. Children were thriving and he checked them finding them topnotch. He chatted with Cyclonus, spoke to their medical staff, read a few reports on the kids and some housebound elders who would become his private patients, then he headed back out.

The trip to the new prison was a long winding thing on a beautiful road through dead river beds and boulder fields. It took a while to get inside but when he was he walked out with the First Assault Team which guarded visitors and the medics who worked here. Winnie saw him, then joined.

"How are you, Winnie? Stellar as usual?" Ratchet asked as they walked toward the first group of prisoners who were yelling, sneering and being the usual afts they were.

Winnie chuckled. "Doing well. I love this place. Don't you?"

Ratchet glanced around at cell block yards filled with mechs who were flipping him off, making suggestive motions with their lower extremities and mocking the frag out of all of them. He grinned at her. "I love this place," he said to loud and appreciative laughter.

=0=TBC 12-22-2021