The Diego Diaries: Ballin' (dd8 193)

=0=Around, Golfin' and Goofin' with the Boyz

"How long are you going to be down there?"

Ironhide looked up from the sand trap with a frown. "FRAG YOU!"

The group was on the third fairway heading for the third hole. They stood around the edge of a sand trap watching Ironhide try to dig his way out. Stroke after stroke pushed the ball up the side before it would roll back down again.

"There goes our team," Blackjack said with a grin. He was only two over par thus far but then he'd cheated and played on the side regularly with Optimus.

"Are you going to give up?" Prime asked sweetly.

"FRAG YOU!"

"COMING THROUGH!"

Everyone glanced around to see a smiling Raptor. He was playing with Drift who was something of a ringer given his ability to triangulate on the fairway to drop his ball as close to the best angle to go forward. It was uncanny.

Springer was the 'son' to Sun's 'daddy'. They weren't as good but they were highly, highly amusing.

"Check this shot," Raptor said as he walked to his ball to slap it into the outback of the beyond.

"Raptor!" Hardie said. "Your turn isn't up."

"FRAG THAT!" Raptor said as he took a stance, whapped the ball like a madman to watch it rise up, then fall on the edge of the green two miles away.

Everyone stared at the shot, then Raptor, then each other, then the shot. It was a mad scramble to their balls to take their turn at the shot.

Raptor watched them slap their balls down the fairway, then walked to the sand trap to stare downward at Ironhide. "You need help there, chief?"

"FRAG YOU!" Ironhide said as he began to windmill the ball forward.

Raptor's laughter would make a great soundtrack for his efforts.

=0=Femmes

"I like this so much," Hero said as she walked down the sidewalk with Halo's servo in her own. The twinnies followed as well with giant happiness. Sojie and Solus were sitting on Greenlight and Firestar's arms.

"It makes you look so smart, all of you," Chromia said with a grin. "Very pretty."

Hero slowed to smile at Chromia. "THANK YOU, CHROMIA! EVERYONE! IT'S SO NICE!" she said as her ruby embellishment of a rose sparkled next to her emerald one. This was the second one that the femmes had gotten her and the first for Halo. The twinnies had several all of which were designed by Sunstreaker and the Prime daughters had three from their grandparents not counting this new one. All of them sparkled beautifully.

Halo looked up at the femmes, then smiled brilliantly. "I DOIN'! MY THING GOOD ME!"

Arcee snorted, then laughed loudly. "You do, Pookie. Good you."

Halo danced in place, then leaned in to peer closely at the little rose on Hero's shoulder. Hero turned her shoulder to let her. "Ha-Ho, good you. Doin?"

"Yes, Halo. Can you see better?" Hero asked as she bent down slightly. "See?"

"I DOIN'!" Halo laughed loudly for her. "YOU DOIN'!"

Arcee and the femmes watched the two have their conversation. The two were as sweet together as could be and taking them along with the rest of the femmes on Saturday for the day was something that all sides looked forward to doin'.

"Are you ready for pizza?" Elita asked.

The two glanced up at them and the other little ones, then smiled like the sun.

"I LOVE THAT, ELITA! I LOVE DOING THINGS WITH MY SISTERS! EATING LUNCH WITH MY SISTERS AND NIECES IS SO FUN! RIGHT, HALO!?" Hero asked.

Halo stared at Hero with a smile, then the femmes, then Hero. "I DOIN'!"

"I guess we're doin'," Greenlight said with a chuckle.

Femmes were scooped up and settled on shoulders as the whole group walked onward heading for a Metro and their favorite pizza parlor, Abbey's In Bern. They disappeared down the steps to the trains below.

=0=There

"When are you getting out of ther-"

"FRAG YOU!"

'Frag me? I'm waiting for you, you slagger, you," Ratchet said with a huge smile at the sweaty-browed effort of Ironhide and his ever growing, ever deepening hole. "My partner is down the way from here, Ironhide. Why don't you take the ball and throw it as far as you can. I won't tell anyone."

Ironhide paused to glare at him, then stared at the fading crowd down the way. He picked up his ball, then threw it halfway down the fairway. He clambered out, shook off most of the sand covering him, then marched onward with a dark cloud raining over his helm.

Figuratively.

Ratchet watched his aft for a moment, then followed with a grin.

=0=At a Play Land in Iacon

The kids rode on the merry-go-round, all of them holding on for dear life as their shrieks of delight filled the air. Turning the device to spin, Miler and Styre along with Kestrel watched and called to them as they waved on every revolution. Swimming had been had, a snack at a food truck was eaten and now the playtime at the fun house was online and go.

Sitting on a bench nearby taking videos of their play, Docker and Corr chatted and waved at the babies. Ravel and Tie Down were still at work getting finished weapons and tools to customers during appointments for the duration of the morning. The clients had waited with baited breath for a while given that several of the weapons were sentient swords. Those needed to be presented properly to ensure the best chance of bonding so they were coming for lunch shortly.

Standing on the same toy were Orion, Prowler, Kaon, Miracle, Possibility and Praxus. The infants were consolidated while the older children were given off to the boys and Prowl who were going to go golfing and have lunch later. When they were at lunch, this group would get the older kids and take them to the movies with the three little mechs, Bos, Co-D and Reflector who would join them.

It took a slide rule and a Wang computer to coordinate the crossings and re-groupings of the children. It was fortunate that the big kids had friends and family to help occupy them during this, the free-for-all first day of weekend.

The laughter of the children running here and there was loud and happy as they sat in the sunlight and played, their adults watching with great happiness as they did.

=0=Sunspot and the little mechs times two

They sat on a cart that was being driven by Lon and Bezel following the players around the incredible and vast course. The humans had given up following given that the average fairway was six and a half miles long. The kids had been dropped off and given over to the care of the two youngsters who were laughing and chatting together as they drove along. Right now, they were parked nearby watching Optimus take a putt into the hole. It was silent, then Spirit called out. Sunny, Co-D, Reflector, Bos and Rambler watched with delight. "ATAR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Optimus jolted but saved the putt from his swing. He glanced up. "I am trying to put the ball into the hole, son."

"WHY!?" he called out from the cart nearby.

"It is the point of the game. You try to put the ball into the little holes with the fewest swings possible," Prime explained.

"OKAY!" Spirit said with a brilliant smile.

Huge laughter greeted that.

Prime set up to tap the ball in with his putter.

"ATAR!"

He flinched, then glanced up. "Spirit?"

"CAN I HELP YOU? I CAN HELP YOU IF YOU WANT!" He smiled brilliantly, a spark melting sight to see.

Prime stared at him, then the ball, then his under par score so far, then his son. "Alright."

Spirit laboriously got off the cart, then ran to his father which took a while. He paused before Optimus, then looked up with adoration on his face.

Prime grinned. "Here," he said as he moved the little mech to stand in front of him. "Grip the club and we will see what we can do." With a bit of monkey motion, Spirit gripped the putter. With a gentle tap, the ball rolled forward, then hung up on the edge of the hole.

Optimus stared at the easiest putt that ever existed, then his son's expectantly sweet face.

"Did we do it, Atar?" Spirit asked.

"We did, Spirit," Prime said as he lifted his son into his arms. Tapping the ball, it fell in. He glanced at the others who were smirking at Prime, then his caddie aka slave, Hot Rod. "If you will do the honors," he said as he stuck the club into the bag.

Hot Rod did to mockery and laughter. Smokey joined in until Raptor got ready to putt. It didn't pay to be a smart aft caddie among smart afts.

"We did good then, Atar?" Spirit asked as he leaned against Prime with contentment.

"We did," Optimus said as he stood back to let others putt.

"Then I'll help you some more," Spirit said as he smiled up at his father. He leaned in closer with great pleasure as Prime grinned.

"You always do," Prime said as Hardie sunk a putt from the edge of the green. He would take a one stroke over on this hole given his sure thing was innocently sabotaged by his little boy. He didn't care one bit.

He would make sure that Spirit wasn't 'helping' during the tournament though.

=0=Down the fairway

He drove his club against the ball sending it to the left more than he wanted. It bounded into the rough, a patch of rocks and small arrangements of crystals that had been put there to simulate a garden of beautiful flowers. Ironhide stared at it, then his club. "FRAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGG!"

"Ironhide, if you would just turn a bit to adjust for your pull to the lef-"

"FRAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGG!"

=0=In the Ops Center

They lounged, those who had duty though it wouldn't be a long one. Everyone military or policing working on the weekend would be having a short tour, four joors for the weekend days and a joor apiece on Elders Day. The usual slag was going on when the dark spot appeared on their deep space array near the far side of the empire that was still in Decepticon hands.

"What is that?" a Home Guardsman asked as his shift commander, a big Seeker named Wingman stepped over to look.

"That's a battle group, infant."

"Should we tell Commander Prowl?" the kid asked.

"He's playing golf. Paragon is the on-call. I'll tag him. Track that fragger," Wingman said as he sent an off line message to Paragon.

=0=At a club having lunch with friends, all of whom were former 'Cons and graduates of the Autobot Military Academy in Praxus

He paused a moment to take the call, then leaned back with a sigh. "We have a hit. Apparently there might be a huge battle group heading this way from the Ruins."

"I thought that was cleared out," Snapper, an Elite officer who had put career ahead of sense and joined the 'Cons as a tactician until it was clear that Megatron was nuts and didn't listen to anyone but the voices in his head, thereby trapping him on the wrong side of the divide … like that … said. Snapper, that is. Said. He said it.

"Not if you're escaping the 'Cons from the far side of the Big Burn," Paragon said.

"That's insane to go through there," Trapper, a former Decepticon ship captain, one of the few that wasn't a raving lunatic, murderer and ideologue.

"Not if it works," Paragon said as he rose. "I have to go. I'm on-call."

"We'll come with you," Trapper said as all five of the notable and formerly dangerous 'Con officers rose with him.

"I'll meet up with you and the kids later, Arrow. Sorry," Paragon said as he walked to the door with the mechs to disappear out on the street nearby.

Arrow grinned as he watched them go. "You're not sorry, slagger. You were waiting for this respect all your life." He looked at the two children sitting in booster seats watching him. He grinned. "It's you and me, babies. How about going to Play Land?"

SHRIEKS!

=0=Prowl

He stood on the green getting ready to sink his putt. It was halfway from the cup and had to break through the blazingly green astroturf that carpeted all the greens. He was one under par but this shot would be hard. He'd gone over the path to the cup grooming the 'grass' with his servo, a perfectly allowable move, then took his stance. He'd asked Spirit to watch silently so he could see 'how the ball went into the hole. It sort of takes complete silence, son. I'll show you at the kiddie park later. Okay?'

"THAT WILL BE FUN, ADA!" -Spirit

The concentration on Prowl's face was hilarious as he made a few practice swings. Moving up to the ball, he did the math, tapped the ball, then everyone watched it roll. It rolled and rolled, then circled the cup. Around and around it went, then stopped on the edge.

Prowl stared at it, the club in his servos, the ball, the laughing mechs, his son's sweet face and the little thumbs up gesture he made, the club in his servo, his son, the club flying into the rough nearby, the cup, the ball joining the club …

=0=Down the course

WHAP!

The ball landed. Sorta over there. Not here. There.

WALK! STOMP! GRIMACE! TAKE STANCE! WHAP!

WALK! STOMP!

"You're doing great, Ironhide. You're now a par 67 on a par 10 hole," Ratchet said as he twirled his club like a baton in one servo.

"FRAG YOU!"

WALK! STOMP! GRIMACE! TAKE STANCE! WHAP!

WALK! STOMP!

Ratchet followed with a brilliant smile. The tournament was going to be hilarious.

=0=TBC 06-20-2021

Par is the number of whacks that a normal person would take to get the ball from the tee to the hole. To be under par is less, to be over par is more. :D:D:D