The Diego Diaries: PLAY BALL! (dd7 63)
=0=The next morning of The Day
"When do you have to be at the stadium?"
Prime paused in the doorway of the kitchen. "Not for a bit. What is the schedule for everyone today, Prowl?"
"The little mechs are going to friend's houses. They're taking a cab and will return at mid afternoon the same way. The babies will be with Ada and Kestrel." Prowl smirked slightly. "You may go."
Prime grinned. "I will," he said, then continued onward to the door.
When it closed behind him Prowl glanced down at the floor. Little infants were staring upward at him. "Thank goodness for grandparents," he said with a grin. "I have a trunk load of work to catch up on. Cookies anyone?" he asked.
Cookies were had.
=0=Elsewhere
Optimus Prime practiced jump shots from all over the court. Everyone was on their way and they would enter the building before sealing it up and setting the proximity sensors for anyone who might want to peak. His accuracy was astonishing from any distance as he expressed his joy in sport. He was a natural athlete even among an athletic species and there were few games he didn't do to a great deal of accuracy and grace.
Playing on the Crater Comets was going to be wonderful.
The door opened as the others arrived, picked up balls and began to shoot. It would be fast and furious. It would also be 100% accurate.
=0=At the House-ienda
Ratchet stared at the children staring back waiting for their day to have a shape. / … frag you, Ironhide, blowing off a atar's day out with the imps .../
It was at that moment that the door opened allowing Delphi, Turbine, Alor and Ravel to fog in, pick up and stow all the shorties, then walk out. That is, all did but Ravel. He was smiling brilliantly upward at the three big kids who were staring downward at him. "Are you ready to go, infants?" he asked sweetly.
"We are, Amma," Genesis said as the other two nodded. "Our brothers are going to meet us there."
"Where is 'there'?" Ratchet asked.
"The shop. We're going to show them how to make daggers today. Isn't that wonderful?" Ravel asked with a smile.
Evidently it was because the kids smiled.
With that, they walked to the door and left.
Ratchet who was still kneeling down on the floor to talk to the now-gone-with-the-wind shorties stood slowly. He laughed, then glanced around. "Not even a pillow out of place. Army life," he said with a grin.
He walked to the door, then stepped out. "I wonder what Prowler is doing?" he asked no one in particular as he headed toward the elevator down the corridor.
=0=Prowler
He stared at the pile of data pads on the desk in the office with a slight frown. The hurricane known as Delphi, Alor, Turbine, Kestrel and Miler had blown through the door, swept up everyone who wasn't too small including the little mechs, Sunspot who had come up earlier with Spot, then whirled away. Apparently, the plans from earlier had been changed.
He'd stood in the kitchen with a cookie in each servo as they came, saw and stole. It was remarkably efficient, he had to concede. It wasn't often that he was felled by slaggers.
Putting the cookies into the jar, he glanced around the place. / … Not even a pillow was out of place … army life .../ With that, he walked to the door and left.
They passed in their elevators as they checked in on the other.
:Loon, where are you?:
:Hi, Granny. I'm on the way up:
[Pause]
:I'm on the way down:
:Frag you, Mrs. Efficiency. Stay down there and I'll come back down:
:Hurry it up. I, Prowl have multitudes of slag to do and many choices before me. Time is money as they say:
[Pause]
:Did they steal all your kids, too?: (Huge smile on face of medico)
[Pause]
:Yeah: (Slight whine in voice of uptight winger)
By the time Ratchet came back down, the lobby was filled with a group going up for a party. They traded slag and gossip, then the two walked out to do … something. They ambled down the road.
"You know, Prowler, I'm not sure what to do without the cover of darkness. Do you want to tie one on as the humans say or are you on one of your sober orns?" Ratchet asked as they walked down the street toward Metroplex.
Prowl laughed in spite of himself. "I never got drunk during the day. How about a brew at the Club?"
"Which one?" Ratchet asked as they began to cross the street toward Club Cybertron.
At the lights, of course.
Prowl was, is and always would be a good girl.
"Need you ask?" Prowl said as he led the way into the Club. He would never know how many soldiers tightened their sphincters the moment they saw him come inside.
=0=RTR Tools
"Then you heat it many times. Each time you come to the anvil, lay it down, then pound it out with a hammer in a straight line as it grows outward growing in tensile strength each time," Tie was saying as Ravel pulled out of the furnace a piece of metal glowing incredibly red.
"How many times, Amma?" Tru asked as he stepped back for Ravel to pass.
"Many times, my baby," Ravel said. "We can tell when its good to go. We'll help you all make the most beautiful daggers. A mech has to have all his tools doesn't he, Tie?"
Tie grinned at Ravel, the luminous center of his existence. "I think its a law, Ravel," he replied.
=0=The Infant Patrol
They walked along the street having gone to Crater District 2. On 15th and D Street, there was a large space designed for children. More than half of it was inside a huge rectangular dome and the rest was open to the elements. There were all manner of set aside areas for digging, wading in a nice pool, playing on turf that was amazingly natural, all manner of toys to swing, climb and hip hop around with and a picnic area. Outside, the equipment was there but for the pond and picnic area.
"This is genius. We need to have one in each city. Children need a place to run," Alor said as they entered the building, walked through the habitat entrance, then entered the green 'lawn' covered space that seemed to stretch into the horizon. It was a huge, huge space. He opened his hatch, then set all the girls down.
Iacon, Uraya, Halo, Hero, Sojourner and Solus glanced up, then smiled brilliantly.
"Oh, be still my beating spark," Alor said with delight. "So much brightness. I don't think I can see with all this brightness."
"OH, AMMA A-O!" Hero said with a tiny laugh. "YOU'RE SO FUNNY!"
All of the little femmes nodded. They looked toward the door to see Ammas Corr and Docker as well as Appas Chan and Ratchet walk in to pause by the group.
"Are we late?" Ratchet asked his little babies.
(They were all his, too.)
(Even the ones that weren't.)
(Yes. It ran in families.)
"LOU CAMED, SHE!" Halo said as loud as she could.
It wasn't very loud.
Thank Primus.
"WE DID!" Docker said as she knelt to gather the femmes into her arms. "My little babies … my little chickies."
More infants hit the ground, Orion, Praxus, Prowler, Miracle, Kaon and Possibility who stood on wobbly legs until Hero and Iacon switched into 'mommy mode' to take an arm each to keep him upright.
"We have you, Possibility," Hero said with a smile. Looking up, she beamed with delight. "ISN'T HE CUTE!?"
No one argued as they began to arrange for a gaggle of infants to play their sparks out in the safe delightful space of 'CRATER DISTRICT 2-PLAY LAND FOR INFANTS', a publicly maintained park in Crater District 2, City 4.
=0=At the Clerb
They found a couch in the lounge along a wall after trading slag with the punters at the bar. A nice waiter took their order, then seemingly materialized mere nanoseconds later with their drinks, a bowl of snacks and a few bits of gossip about who was dating whom and what was what in the here and now.
Prowl stared at Ratchet with bemusement after the sweet kid hurried onward. "You're the biggest slagging gossip I ever met."
"No, I'm not. Optimus is," Ratchet said as he sipped his drink. "You also know I'm right."
Prowl snorted as he sipped his Kremzeek. "In your dreams, sparky."
Ratchet grinned as he put his big old peds up on an ottoman. "This is the life, Granny. No worries. No bonds, kids, duty. We need to do this more. I have First Saturday off to play while the boys do tot time. What about you?"
Prowl thought about it, then glanced at Ratchet. "I do as well if nothing blows up."
"Then we hang, drink and ogle mechs. Pinkie promise?" Ratchet asked with a dazzling smile.
Prowl snorted, then offered his servo. Then made the promise, then both snuggled in to relax. "Ah, this is good. Keep them coming, Jeeves."
"Are you going to get drunk?" Ratchet asked with delight.
Prowl glanced at him, delighting in his delight. "Sure."
Ratchet laughed loudly. "Okay," he said with a grin.
It was Prowl's turn to laugh loudly.
=0=N.E.S.T. HQ, Autobot City
Niall Graham sat at his computer playing a video game ... he was losing to the Decepticons and thinking about the semi championship games today. Prime was likely a shoe-in for the finals, something that was no end amusing. On Earth, there were frauds in charge of countries who automatically 'won' everything no matter how talented their opponent and thus, seeing one who was excellent as billed was more fun than he realized.
They had front row seats, of course, and it was amazing how many texts and phone calls he and his family got asking to come from friends and family, some of which he never met. It was always like this. His parents and those of his wife lived here full time now and they were always given placement front row, center. How would the kids grow up to be good if they didn't have both Nannas and Seanairs around full time?
He grinned. It was good to be Niall Graham sometimes.
A monitor ran nearby playing a stream of the Great Room of the Tower Habitat. It was on full time but not streamed to Earth. It was for the locals to jump onto and make a call to each other in the various locations. A press of the button or an incoming call gave a streaming view of their own main public room so he could see them as well. He could see a number of the elders sitting together enjoying early afternoon tea while they chatted and crocheted. It was fun to see them so happy. Their community was amazing in the Tower.
The stream itself was clever as frag, thank you, Corey McFarlane and Tom Howell, son-in-law of the Morshowers.
Everyone was cooking everywhere to make not only dinner for after the games but snacks for the actual viewing. The Center would be on stand down but there would be rotations out off shift and on so everyone could watch the show. No one would be cheated. This time, however, a channel on Earth asked for and got permission to stream the lounge in the N.E.S.T. HQ so that a small box would run in the corner of the screen showing reactions to the game by the soldiers.
Apparently, reaction videos were a thing.
He grinned, then lost again, silently cursing Starscream for strafing his player. Resetting, he began again.
He would lose again.
=0=TBC 8-16-19
ESL and GAELIC:
Seanair: (pronounced shen'-er)is the Scottish Gaelic for grandfather. There is also a Gaelicised spelling for the English word grandfather, which is: Granaidh, but the "dh" at the end has a "y" sound, which I believe would sound more like (gran-a-y). Emphasis on the Sean then er (Like 'in her'.)