The Diego Diaries: Housekeeping (dd7 247) (Note at the end) :D
=0=Home time
Springer felt it land so he leaned back out of it. It didn't hurt like it would have otherwise though it was a hard punch all in all. Most of his response was 'muscle memory' over eons of time in war and combat. His swing back was reflexive as well, something delivered to impede rather than impair. The drunk went down and more came. They went down as well. The sirens of the police vans on their way could be heard in the thin atmosphere as the brawl was brought to an immediate halt.
Sitting on the sidewalk servos cuffed behind their backs, a half dozen sullen young mechs waited as the police vans skidded to a halt.
Mechs stepped out with grins as they considered the night's catch. "Good group. We have a few spaces left at the hotel."
"They're yours," Springer said as he glowered at them.
They glowered back.
"No one is talking. Everyone invoked, the slaggers. Put them in the tank," Springer said as Drift walked toward him with a death grip on a big mech who was trussed more than the others. This one had serious skills. "Fraggers."
Drift nodded. "Yep."
"We're not going to get information out of them or the rest," Springer said as he watched the mechs get hauled up to go into the van. They slagged him good and loud. He grinned and gave them the Cybertronian version of the finger back.
"Nope."
"We better go to Iacon to see what's happening there. Hauser mentioned gangs in the quad near the Museum," Springer said.
"Alright."
Springer glanced at Drift's slightly smirking face. "You're a mech of few words, I take it."
"Yep," Drift said as they watched the doors close on the vans and the vehicles pull out to leave.
"We're not going to watch westerns anymore then," Springer said as he walked toward King.
"If you say so," Drift said as they mounted up.
Springer snickered. "I do, ba-bee," he said as he led the way forward. They would follow him all the way to Iacon and the next fist fight.
=0=Up there™
"And then I camed here. You wasn't here, Atar," Sojie said as she sat on Prime's lap filling him in on all her tiny angst at him being out of circulation so long. "I camed to school. I camed to Amma's. You wasn't there."
Optimus who was nearly mesmerized by her tiny suffering petted her cheek gently with a giant digit that could punch its way through titanium. "I am sorry. I had things I had to do. Not being with you made me cry."
She stared at him a moment in surprise, then patted his chassis. "Did you cry?" she asked.
"Almost. I thought about you and Solus, Miracle, Rambler, T-Bar, Possibility and Spirit all the time I was not here," Optimus said gently.
She smiled at him. "Are you going to stay here now?"
"I do believe I will. You know I have many jobs," Optimus said. "Sometimes I have to leave to do them."
"You do things," Sojie said with a nod. "I can go with you?"
"When you can, you will," Optimus said. He glanced at the floor. Solus and Miracle were standing with Spirit. He grinned at them.
They grinned back. Then they climbed aboard and began to tell him their own tiny stories of angst and ennui.
It would be mesmerizing.
=0=Elsewhere
"What's the story for tomorrow?" Turbine asked as he sat down on a chair next to Raptor.
Raptor was sitting there watching television with Pudding on his lap. The little cow was laying on his side fast asleep.
"I have to go to the northern part of the district to see some small towns that are up and running. The cluster along the plain," Raptor replied as he absently stroked his cow's fat side. "Pudding is coming with me by the way. You had him all decaorn."
"We'll flip a coin," Turbine said.
"Good. I have a two-headed nickel we can use," Raptor said with a grin. "How's religion class coming along with infant?"
"He's remembering more every orn. I don't expect it to sink in and change his winsome ways. I was hoping someone would take orders in this family and make me proud but its a forlorn hope." Turbine grinned at Raptor.
Raptor grinned at Turbine. "Australian Rules Football on channel 67."
"What are you waiting for, slagger?" Turbine asked.
"SNACKS AND BEER!" Raptor replied.
He let Turbine hold Pudding while he got some for both of them.
=0=At the jailhouse
They climbed out of the vans and limped to the doorway to enter the intake section of the Courthouse. Lining up on the strip on the floor, they glared at Moss who was in charge of booking this evening. "Who are these slaggers, Mopey?" he asked one of the big 'twins' … that is, cousins who didn't look a bit alike, were huge and huger and worked here with a devotion like they were serving Primus in the Temple.
Mopey. Mopey and Twin.
Who wasn't.
A twin, that is.
They didn't even look alike.
"A buncha drunks from City 3 in Crater District 3. We need to book them on whatever you want to hang on them, the sullen slaggers," Mopey said. Then he smiled. It was huge.
Like his aft.
And his fists. Those, too.
Sitting nearby twirling his electrical prod idly by one servo like it was a baton, Twin watched. "Need help with the booking, Moss?" he asked.
"Maybe," Moss said as he grinned at Twin. "Watch 'em, Twin."
"Sure," Twin replied as everyone in the place snickered. Only Red Alert, Roadbuster and Warpath were as ready to 'help' with slaggers as him.
Moss grinned as he pulled up a page on his screen. "First slagger. Name, address, occupation, etc."
The first one reluctantly stepped up. "What if I don't give it?"
Moss stared at him. "I personally don't care but that means Mopey there will have to turn you upside down so we can get your serial number off your debris chute."
One of the others frowned. "You don't have to do that. Scan him for his transponder. Its faster than serial numbers."
"But its less fun," Moss said blandly to the group.
They gave their transponder numbers.
=0=Up there. Late.
"What are you doing? Its late," Ratchet said as he peered into the darkness. Ironhide was reading in his chair. "Don't tell me you're studying?"
"I won't tell you," Ironhide said as he stared at the ornate book in his servos.
Ratchet grinned. "You can get analysis and all you need online from The Temple Archives."
"Amma can smell that from a mile away. If I don't know it and can talk about it in a way he can see isn't contrived, then he's going to speak to Appa."
"Turbine is going to rat you out to Hardie?" Ratchet asked with a big smile.
Ironhide glanced up, then frowned at Ratchet. "I'm glad you find that funny."
"No. I find it hilarious. Goodnight, Ironhide."
"GOOD NIGHT, SLAGGER!" Ironhide replied.
He would be hard at it for a while.
=0=Night time at Substation 46, Night/Day Watch
They sat in the lounge together sharing a late meal. Partition had two calls for medical and went on a domestic dispute before taking a moment to eat dinner with Lancer. They were both working hard, Lancer at Special Ops and Partition as a Medic/Night Watchman. They were as happy as could be. The change in him and his family was complete.
"When your ada goes out on the town with the squad maybe they'll come here and you can arrest them yourself," Lancer said as she closed her food box.
Partition laughed. "I hope so," he said. "By the way, everyone agreed about the weekend. The reservations are already made at Campground 17-B. Where's our gear?"
"In the locker in the basement. I'll get it ready. Should I call Prowl to get his caterer or do we cook?" Lancer asked.
"Call," Partition said as he stared at her with amusement.
They would.
=0=Another town, another fist
The vans drove off with a number of drunks who were fighting over a femme who was so impressed about it that she egged them on. She stood between Springer and Drift as they watched the suitors drive away. Both looked down at her.
She looked up, then smiled. "Can I get a ride home?" she asked.
"I'll call you a cab," Drift said.
"No. A ride. On your pony," the little femme said as she walked with a slightly tipsy sway to Rowdy. She hugged his leg.
He glanced at her, then Springer.
Springer shrugged at Rowdy, then glanced at Drift. "Why not?"
Drift shrugged.
They would.
Her ada and atar would be furious.
At her.
Not Rowdy.
=0=Face Time earlier that evening
They chatted together discussing their home work and when that was finished they had a boy talk about the mechs and femmes of Level 1.
"I think that red and black bot in your math class, Verilus," Quasar was saying, "What's his name?"
"Momentum?" Verilus replied from the berth room at Ammas and Appa's house where he was sitting with the other five who lived there, too.
"Yeah," Quasar said. "I think its him. What about him? He's cute."
"I don't know," Verilus said doubtfully. "I don't know how to ask stuff like that."
"We can ask for you," Lumi said.
"NO! I don't … I don't think I'm going," Verilus said.
"But its our first school dance, Verilus. You have to come," Fireball said. "Don't be shy. No one is going to be mean."
"I don't … let me think about it," Verilus said with huge discomfort.
Standing in the hallway putting things into a cupboard, Ratchet heard the exchange. He felt the burn. No one his age wanted to be turned down. Even though Ratchet had always been pursued and didn't have a shortage of beaus in his youth and free-booting adulthood, he knew how it worked at the age of the children. It was clammerously hard for some to ask someone out.
He considered the children's options, then made a note to speak with Verilus to get a gauge on his shyness. It was inevitable that a mech who trended toward the Wheeljack end of the spectrum would find relationships difficult and it looked like it would be no exception for him. He grinned. Where was a good science equipment closet when you needed one?
=0=On the trail late that night
"Which one first?" Drift asked as they halted on a small hill that allowed a beautifully lit panoramic view of this part of the colony. "The new titan district or the human habitats?"
"Let's have a show of hands," Springer said with a grin. He glanced at The Boys.
The Boys stared at him without expression.
"Don't make this too much fun. My spark can't take the hilarity."
"Okay." - The Boys
Springer chuckled. "How about the new district? No one's there but the crews. I heard the street food at the Square is good." He glanced at The Boys. "All in favor of that raise your paw."
They did.
It would be a jolly ride to the newest metro district of eleven metrotitan cities in a blazingly lit up section of Enzio located inside the inner defensive ring of the Primal Colony of Mars. The hot dogs would be stellar.
It was good to be home again.
=0=TBC 4-4-2020 4-20-2020
NOTE: Sorry it took a moment to get back onto this. Its weird as slag all around here. I am hoping with everything that I got that all of you are well. This thing is going to crash into a million pieces before the idiots in charge get it right and then things will change fast. They have to. Hang on, darlings. You're young, you have life ahead of you. For old geezers like me? I'll keep writing for you. Hugs to all in the world out there no matter your country or anything like that. Nothing matters but each other. That's the biggest lesson of something like this, that we're all in this together and all of us together are all we got. I love you more than you can know. -Cathy in Alaska
In case you need something fun to watch, a guitarist, Fil, from Wings of Pegasus analyzes all kinds of music on YouTube. He uses videos and he's so good at it. All kinds of music. I am finding the music reaction videos that are posted by kids there to be really great especially when you kids find out that your grannies and grandpas … My People™ … had AMAZING bands and singers back in the orn. We weren't fogeys. Remember, if Jimmy Hendrix and some of the bands that always look like kids in the videos were still around, they would be your granny's age. :D:D:D:D:D:D
Its amusing to me to see the kids be shocked at the talent and ability. Go there if you're stuck and need diversion. Fil is amazing. I think you can search him on YouTube by using 'British Guitarist analyzes'. He's an amazing smart kid and his smile will lift you through the roof. What a smart great kid.
Like all of you. :D:D:D:D:D X), Me