The Diego Diaries: Foolin' Around (dd7 134)
=0=A short time and a lot of fooling around later …
Ratchet floated on his back staring at the blue sky remembering his youth when he would go to the top of his tenement building, stretch out and stare at the sky. Theirs was blue as well with fluffy clouds on summer orns and the sun was warm at the beginning and end of summer while being sweltering in the middle. Urban areas with the paving and steel absorbed and radiated more heat than other areas that had less dense structures.
He glanced to the side, then grinned. Battleship was going hot and heavy. Prime was one and Ironhide the other, the two floating on their backs covered with humans who had plunged in to board each other and see who had the last man or woman standing when the 'ships' came/floated together.
Glenn Morshower was the captain of Battleship Prime along with Mick Moran. John Fulton, Andrew Settles and his wife, Lilly commanded Battleship Ironhide. The other bots were lounging with the humans, swimming around the ships filled with humans watching the show that dotted the water beyond the beach … humans who had rowed or ridden out in anything that floated to watch … or floated like him. The Home Guard mech and femme still had the children and Robby. They were playing in the tidal pools nearby with a number of humans helping them.
He grinned. Prime was heading toward Ironhide using his servos to be rudders and propel him that way. Ironhide who was watching him come was laughing at Fulton who was organizing their defense.
Prowl floated into view, relaxing on the water as he soaked up solar rays of the hot sun overhead. It was 81 degrees and very muggy today. He bobbed beside Ratchet, then glanced at him. "Hello. Who let the tug boat into the game?"
Ratchet laughed, rolled over to grab Prowl and down they went. As they did the 'pirate battle ships' came together and it was on. Both sides slipped and slid as the humans rushed over Ironhide's face and Prime's outstretched arm … yes, Prime had thought ahead … clashing and crashing into each other as they grappled to board the other's ship. It was short and sweet with nearly everyone falling in together.
Prime raised his helm, counted three men still aboard, then noted that Ironhide had none. "I do believe we win."
"You cheated," Ironhide said as he rolled over, threw his arms around a lot of humans, pulled them in, then rolled back over. They were piled up on his chassis, laughing as they struggled to sort themselves out. "I have my crew. You're on, slagger," Ironhide said with a smirk. He paddled away from Prime as the group organized.
After a moment of 'I'M ON PRIME'S TEAM!' and a lot of "So?!", they got down to business.
Beating Prime's crew into the dust/water.
Prime was busy lifting those left onto his chassis. "No fair. You have more pirates."
Prowl and Ratchet who had come back up, engaged in a slap fest, then looked at Prime.
"Ah, did the poor widdow baby lose his soldiers? EVERYONE! FREEZE! PRIME LOST HIS LITTLE GREEN SOLDIER MEN!" Ratchet asked loudly.
Prowl frowned at Ratchet for his impertinence, then dunked the slag out of him ultimately being pulled under by Ratchet and his greater ballast.
They clashed, the battleships, over and over until the humans who were dunked enough to call uncle stretched out to shoot the shit with the bots, several more of which had joined, purloining crew from Ironhide and Prime while at the same time calling for volunteers from shore.
The sun was warm, the sky was blue and the sea was filled with punters in boats. Even a couple of drones flew overhead. That didn't count a bazillion phone cameras and the professional media on shore.
"This is the life, Prime," Ironhide said as they floated nearby. Also nearby, the titanic struggle between a police car and a search and rescue vehicle was still underway.
"It is. This reminds me of summer in Iacon," Prime said. "What did you do during summer break from all the advantages that I never got to have?"
Ironhide snorted, then laughed aloud. "You trying to make me feel badly?"
"Ratchet already told me that is impossible, old friend," Prime said as the humans on both listened to them with grins. It was almost never that a Cybertronian would discuss themselves in English around humans.
Or French.
Or any of the other nearly 200 human languages that all of them who came here spoke fluently.
Ironhide laughed. He thought a moment. "If I tell you, you'll think I'm a snooty slagger."
"I already do. Tell me," Prime said with a snicker of his own.
Ironhide grinned, then did. "We would spend a few orns in Iacon waiting for everyone to get there from wherever they were posted. Then we'd go to the Sea of Mercury to the beach houses. We lived in Sandy Point."
Prime glanced at the humans listening. "I do believe for you humans that Sandy Point is equal to your Riviera or Hamptons in exclusivity and cost of living."
"That's about right," Ironhide said with a softly vented sigh. "Our houses there now are about two feet high or so Appa said. Nothing left to write home about." He glanced at Prime. "We'd stay there, fish in the sea, enjoy the location, then head for Praxus about halfway through the summer. Whoever wasn't on station somewhere would be there with the others who got the time lined up to be off. We'd hang out, play, carry on … it was fun. We had apartment in towers in the district that were nearly next door to each other."
It was quiet a moment, then Morshower glanced at Prime from the shoulder of Ironhide. "What did you do in the summer, Optimus? I'm almost too afraid to ask.
Prime grinned. "I lived in The Jumble, a tenement district that was cramped, overrun with population and an eyesore. We had a two room apartment near the top of a building that needed torn down. Jetta, Magnus and Arcee lived in my building as well and we grew up together, though Arcee is older than us."
"Arcee?" Morshower asked with surprise.
"She is," Optimus replied. "In the summer when we were kids we had to stay in the area because all of the children were sort of watched by elders who could not work or by disable parents. When we got older we would break the rule and go on our merry way but we did not often. Our families worried too much because of gangs and crime. The police as well were worrisome."
It was silent among the humans as they listened to the difference between Ironhide's life and Prime's. Prime continued.
"We would go to a vacant lot to play games and football. It was burned out when a gang made their headquarters there and were trying to recruit local kids. I am to understand that Ratchet's Amma Docker was one of those who did that."
Ironhide grinned. "I wouldn't put it past her. She has no fear."
Prime nodded. "We would play until dark, then come inside. It was not safe on the streets at night. We had no park but we had the lot. When it was hot we would stay outside with our families where it was cooler. We did not go anywhere or do anything because there was no way we could."
It was silent and it stretched.
Prime glanced at Ironhide floating beside him with solemn appearing humans festooning his chassis. "Are you suitably guilt tripped?"
Ironhide grinned. "Yep. Between your needling and Ratchet's poor stories, I am."
"Good," Prime said with a chuckle. "It was what it was. No one should ever live like that again and I will make sure no one ever does."
"You're not alone," Morshower said. "We do the same damned thing."
"Well, fix it before you have world wide civil war," Ironhide said as Prime sank down into the water. The humans sitting on him found themselves floating and treading water. "What the frag-" Ironhide began.
It was at that moment that a big arm reached out and yanked Ironhide downward. His humans bobbed up and laughed as they searched for their perch. He was gone into the drink.
As they began to swim toward shore, the sound of something big breaching the surface to rise into the air was heard. It was Prime with Ironhide in his grasp. His pedal thrusters were flaring as he launched out of the water, then smashed back down dragging Ironhide with him. They disappeared immediately.
Huge laughter and applause greeted that and did so again when Prime rose up like a humpback whale, dropped Ironhide to fall fifteen feet, then slammed back in himself. It was an amazing demonstration of his power.
The twins who had gotten off shift and gathered Blue to come ran for the water, then dove in disappearing almost immediately. Blue stood at the water's edge helping humans wade out.
Prime emerged down the way just as the twins bobbed upward. He lifted off, flew toward them with amazing speed, then dove downward. The three disappeared a moment, then upward Prime went with a twin in each servo.
Ratchet and Prowl who were floating again nearby watched as they flew overhead yelling and struggling. "Well, you don't see that every day."
"No, you don't," Prowl replied.
They both grinned especially when Prime dropped them head first into the water. He then dove downward to disappear into the water.
"Football starts in a decaorn," Ratchet said as they bobbed on the waves that created. "I almost forgot given we had to put it off for missions."
"Slaggers know how to ruin a party," Prowl said with a chuckle.
They watched as Prime arose, flew overhead and grabbed Smokey and Lon. Rising up, he grinned at Prowl who grinned at him, then flew onward to plant them on the other side of the small boat flotilla that was watching, cheering and taking bets. They would fall from a height as well.
:Optimus, don't leave out the former Missus: Ratchet said off line.
:I have him on radar: Prime said with a chuckle.
He would.
=0=Nearby
The waves rolled in, water deep enough to reach their knees. Many were the humans who stepped back to stay at least halfway presentable and many were the humans who didn't. Standing on the hill out of reach of the water, Cameron Frazer watched the show. Everyone around him was filled with delight at the group in the water. He wasn't. Cameron Pierre Beliveau-Frazer knew how to carry a grudge.
Down from him laughing with a couple of other naval officers, Captain Bob Cardinelli was enjoying himself. Sideswipe had come to his ship to find him and Cardinelli had hidden him. When that was complete and the shit hit the fan, he was dumped. It didn't matter that they were room mates at Annapolis Naval Academy. They were done.
He watched Prime haul out bots that weighed enormous amounts of weight like they were twigs. It was enlightening. He watched for Owen and his father. Intel was intel was intel, he thought as the bots played on.
=0=There
"Did you see who's on shore watching?" Ratchet asked as a number of titanic kids swam past them heading for the fun.
"Most of the base," Prowl said lazily. He was reaching the top end of his solar reception.
"Cardinelli and Cam Frazer. Aren't we lucky?" Ratchet asked.
Prowl cast him a gimlet optic. "If you say so, Sherlock."
Ratchet laughed, rolled to grip Prowl and as he did Prime zoomed down, grabbed both, then flew upward with them both screaming in his grip.
=0=TBC 11-16-19
NOTES SHORTLY! :D
ESL
When I was a kid a zillion vorns ago you usually got at least once if you were a boy a lot of World War II-style soldiers who were always a solid color without any break in design for detail. They were either a reddish-orangeish-brackish color or a deep green. :D:D:D I think they have them in the movie Toy Story. I think one of the toys was a little green soldier. :D Ah, memories… ;)