The Diego Diaries: Aftermath (dd8 202)
=0=At The Resort At Autobot City
"Tell me, Ambassador, where did you and your father learn to play golf so well?" a human sportscaster asked as Ratchet sat on a metal chair to chitchat after the game.
"Well, every district in Iacon had its games. Some preferred to play football and soccer type games while some of us liked stick ball. I can't speak specifically for my sons, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker but I do believe that the two most popular games in Kaon at the time were throwing rocks at police and running away heavily laden with other people's stuff." He smiled his best smile while the humans and everyone crowded around to listen laughed loudly.
"So this is a form of golf?" another sportscaster asked. "Blaster and Jazz alluded to something like that early in the game."
Ratchet smirked at the two, then grinned at the humans. "We had a game where you took a ball made of metal and hit it with a club made of metal. It had a flat edge at one end and the object was to hit it as far as you could with the best accuracy you had. Then you had to slap it into a barrel that was turned on its side. The older you got the smaller the barrel. We played all the time so our accuracy was legit."
"Then essentially you've been playing golf all of your life," another sportscaster asked.
Ratchet stared at him. "I think I just said that."
Huge laughter greeted that impertinence as Prowl stared at the big red and white Autobot. "Did you play this game?" he whispered to Optimus who stood beside him with a big grin on his handsome face.
Optimus shrugged. "Some of the time but our sport was contact. Football was the drug of choice for us." He glanced down at Prowl. "What was yours?"
Prowl frowned deeply. "Keyboard lessons and sneaking out at night."
Prime laughed loudly.
Venture glanced at Prowl, then grinned. "You can play nearly anything you want when you put your hard head to it. You're welcome. And by the way, we had Susa's cousin track you."
Prowl stared at them, then glanced at Prime. He turned toward his genitors. "Why didn't you tell me this? Susa's cousin? Stint? When I snuck out?"
Both of them nodded, then Miler grinned, switching to NeoCybex. {We knew you had to explore and short of putting you into a youth center we decided to make sure you were safe. We hired Stint to track you and make sure you made it home safely. We're your genitors after all.}
Prowl smirked slightly. "Okay," he said to chuckles from the Cybertronians around him. He glanced at them. "I was a complex child."
"You still are," Springer said.
"Well, at least I can count my score in the double digits, Mr. over 300."
Springer snickered. "Frag Niall Graham. What's your score, Mr. Table Tipper Over?"
Prowl frowned slightly, then straightened his posture to his usual intimidating self. "99."
"Double digits. You were one sand trap away from the triple digit club. You need to get out more, Prowl," Springer said noting that the current Mrs. Optimus Prime was miffed, Prime was snickering loudly inside his skull and everyone was grinning at the uptight winger with the nice chevron.
"And that's how I became the winner of this first annual tournament. It was skill, I might add." He raised his big red hands. "These, these blessed appendages did lay servos on and healed the unbelievers named Prowl. Yea, verily, I did smite him about the head and shoulders with a mashie niblick."
Huge laughter rose as the reporters noted Prowl smoldering in the back ground.
"Sir? Commander Prowl? Do you have anything to add?" a sportscaster asked.
"Yeah, Prowl. What can you add to that?" Blaster asked with a big smile.
"Actually, Loon here is going back to the home when we leave. We only let him out to hallucinate and play his little child games," Prowl sniffed.
HUGE laughter greeted that as they bantered with the news crews, did interviews, chatted up the punters and brought to a close the fun and games.
=0=A short time later in the office spaces of The Resort At Autobot City
The bots sat around the resort office trading slag with the Judys and everyone else while enjoying the pint sized amenities. The party outside was raging and they were getting ready to leave.
"So this is the inner sanctum," Ratchet said. "Nice digs. Do you tell anyone that a city-former designed it or do you take the credit yourself?"
"Do you really believe that we'd be so crass as to do that?" Judy Witwicky asked.
"Yes." -(Everyone including Prime)
"Well …" Judy began, then she smiled. "You read me like a book."
HUGE laughter erupted, then Prime arose. "I do believe our work here is finished."
"Not yet. The charity drive is open until midnight and worldwide the haul is over 200,000,000 dollars." Barbara Morshower grinned. "You said you'd match it dollar for dollar."
"He can. I've used his credit card before and he's good for it," Ratchet said to hoots and agreement around the room.
"Thank you, all, for devising the event and inviting us to participate. I had a very enjoyable time," Optimus said as the others rose with him.
Hugs and chat occupied them a moment, then the bots walked out to run the gauntlet of the visitors to the back door of the building where one-by-one in the privacy of the loading dock they disappeared from view.
At the docking stations of The Fortress Gear Room, the bots who were standing there jacked into the system came back online, then stepped down from their platforms. This room was among the most heavily protected space on world given the strangeness of the process and the critical need to protect the tech and those using it.
When everyone was back, they turned toward Ratchet who caught off guard smiled at them anyway. "Yes?" he asked through his smile.
Chuckles greeted that.
"You knew you'd ace this, slagger," Ironhide said with a frown.
"I did. I was always good at games. You should see how well I can throw a big rock through someone's window," Ratchet replied.
"I taught him how to throw," Docker said with intense pride.
"So it comes down through the CNA?" Prowl asked her.
"It does," Docker said.
"She throws a mean gas grenade," Tie Down said with a snicker.
They began to walk up the steps heading for the exit. Springer took a detour to pick up a sleeping Tell at The Fortress Military Daycare Center, then continued onward to the Diner and a rollicking lunch.
=0=The Hourly News at 0300 on the TMC
"And finally, the Autobot City Father-Son Father's Day Tournament just concluded. The event was a golf game with matched teams of Cybertronians and humans playing for trophies and bragging rights. It was held at The Resort At Autobot City and hosted a Cybertronian contingent that were able to play there by utilizing pretender technology which allows them to transform their size into something that would fit in the dome.
"There will be details tonight during 'Sports Insight-Autobot City'. J-P will be giving you all the action with commentary on this historic event. It'll be broadcast at 2030 joors on the TMC. The winner overall of the tournament was Commander Ratchet of Iacon and his atar, Tie Down of Iacon. Their scores were impressive given the difficulty of the course, the finest scores ever recorded there and they'll be interviewed for the broadcast tonight.
"The purpose was to raise money for animal charities and projects, an event still ongoing. As of this moment the amount raised exceeds 200 million American dollars. The Primal Foundation of Cybertron, the national entity that does business with Earth and supports thousands of projects designed to aid and assist with problems there will be matching the final amount by Primal Decree.
In other news, we can expect a sand storm to approach the city and affect the outlying areas north of the Terra Hub. Aerie Hill has closed their airports for the night with all incoming flights rerouted to South Fortress Municipal and Public Airport. The storm which is a confluence of unusual and unforseen forces that are being studied by Sciences to prevent in future cannot be attended to in our usual manner.
"This storm will expend itself by mid to late afternoon tomorrow. If you don't have to go out, stay home. If you have to go take public transport. Roads will be blocked due to the intensity and duration of the event.
"When we come back from this break we will show those areas, features and services that will be affected. Some school and business closures will be in place pending public works sand removal progress so check the Community Bulletin Board School District file to see if you and your family will be affected. We'll be right back."
Ironhide and Ratchet who were slouching in their chairs clinked beer bottles. Sipping almost in unison, Ironhide grinned. "How long do you and Prowler plan to make yourself a spectacle brawling in public?"
"As long as possible," Ratchet said.
"Good," Ironhide agreed.
=0=Up there settling in for bed after getting the sit-rep from The Fortress
"You will be on the highlight reel of the tournament brawling with Ratchet."
Prowl smirked. "It wouldn't be a tournament without a brawl. At least he didn't wear some weird outfit. Have you googled plus fours?"
Prime did, then laughed. "He was going to wear that?"
"If they had insisted upon us being human, yes," Prowl said as he lay back and shut off the lights. "Thank Primus for small favors."
"Goodnight, Prowl."
"Goodnight, Optimus."
=0=The next morning
The sky was a darkened reddish-orange from the sand blowing in from the east that had been created out of a perfect storm of rising air and cold. It howled across the barren landscape of Mars enveloping the northern parts of the colony in darkness and deep drifting sand.
Public works was gathering their forces to remove it enough that those who wanted to journey out could but the majority of the colony would travel safely underground on the remarkable Metro system that reached even the farthest place in the colony.
The overland train system both passenger and commercial would travel in the furthest most southerly areas where the tracks weren't blanketed by several feet of soft, fine grained drifting sand.
"Well, this is fragged," Ratchet said as he stared out a huge window toward the north. "There goes a lot of stuff that everyone was planning. I hope this doesn't cancel the cookout at the park below."
"Its supposed to die down, then leave about 1500 joors," Ironhide said as he gathered up dishes.
"ATAR!"
"What, Spud?" Ironhide asked as he glanced down at a passel of shorties.
"What lou doin' I, Orion? We goed to the shes? The shes doin'?" he asked hopefully.
"Maybe," Ironhide said though he had no idea what Orion was speaking to. Sometimes Orion's short hand was an unknown country.
"He wants to know if we're going anywhere," Hero translated. "There's no school today."
"I know. We're going to have a cook out in the park down below at lunch time. Hopefully, the wind will die down. Curses to you, Wheeljack and Perceptor," Ratchet said as he helped clear the breakfast table of dishes and cups.
"YEAH! LOU BAD! LOU JACK AND POOPY!"
Everyone in the apartment turned toward the little mech on the floor to take a moment for the greatness.
Orion who was basting himself in the attention laughed. "I SAY POOPY! BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAAHAHA!"
All the shorties and some of the tallies in the room: "YOU SAID POOPY! "BWAHAHAHAAHAAHHAHAAAAHAA!"
Ratchet glanced at Ironhide who was grinning at the little kids on the floor howling with laughter. "It's going to be a long day."
Ironhide nodded. "I know."
Then the door opened and when the door closed again they were standing in a big empty by themselves.
Ratchet glanced at Ironhide. "I can hear an echo in here when I talk."
Ironhide grinned. "I know, I know, know, know, know."
=0=TBC 07-01-2021 HI, MISTY! :D:D:D 07-04-2021