Chapter 69

-0-In the Rec Room

The place was decorated according to Cybertronian tastes even though the youngling soldiers in charge had consulted the world wide web for information about 'baby showers'. This was a new concept since most of the provinces, city-states, sub cultures and clans had developed their own welcoming traditions for new sparklings. Ironhide, being Praxian would have a naming ceremony for their sparkling three days after separation in which they would show the sparkling and announce its name to everyone of importance to the genitors and most importantly, the sparkling.

Interconnections of individuals and their importance in the development and raising of a sparkling to adulthood were a part of being Cybertronian. They bound community and family around a new sparkling and helped ensure that they would have a good start, growing up secure and confident that they were a part of a family, a community, a province, a planet and a people with ancient traditions and mores. The moment of naming made the sparkling a real entity in their midst and summoned all who were present to be a part of that sparkling's life. Until that moment, no one would know the sparkling's actual name beyond its genitors.

Hence, the betting pool.

If Ironhide and Ratchet had chosen a name, they weren't parting with it. Ratchet wasn't Praxian and thus his traditions were a little less formal and old fashioned than Ironhide and Prowl. Even so, urbanite that he was, he held to Ironhide's cultural leanings as worthy and honorable.

And so it was that Ironhide had been dragged kicking and screaming into Wheeljack's lab by Ratchet, He Who Must Be Obeyed to finalize the look and format of their sparkling's protoform.

"The color?" Wheeljack asked, looking at both. "I'm sure you've made your decision."

Ratchet glanced at Ironhide who was fascinated with the format on the computer. "I think," Ratchet began, kicking Ironhide under the table, "that we want to combine our two schemes to make a new one."

"Black for me," Ironhide said, giving Ratchet a gimlet optic, "with yellow facial features."

"Ironhide, our sparkling isn't going to have big yellow spots around their optics."

"Why not?" Ironhide asked sincerely. "That would help them see better with night vision."

"They would look like a … a spotted dog. This sparkling would have a nearly fully black paint scheme and with two huge yellow dots on his face around his little optics … I just don't know about you sometimes," Ratchet said as he shook his helm with exasperation.

"You suffer from a lack of imagination," Ironhide said just as heatedly. "'Jack, put it on the image there," Ironhide said, pointing to the protoform on the screen.

Wheeljack looked at Ratchet then added the spots to the child form. It was hugely comical. A tiny version of Ironhide stared out of the screen, from his peds to his finials a copy in every way. That is, until you took in the big yellow dots that formed around his little blue optics.

"He looks like a dumb aft," Ratchet said. "My sweet little sparkling isn't going to be someone's dumb aft, Ironhide."

Ironhide who was seeing his suggestion in action sort of agreed. But he didn't want to admit it. "What would you suggest, you smug slagger?"

Ratchet grinned, knowing a retreat when he heard one. He turned to 'Jack and smiled. "Let's try a band around his upper arm."

A yellow band appeared and was quite attractive.

"How about two more, thin and separated by black bands just as wide, all on his right arm."

It appeared and looked very nice, just enough color to give the sparkling a dashing look and not enough to look like a dumb aft.

Ironhide glanced at Ratchet and nodded. "That looks good."

"I think so, too," Ratchet said smiling with victory. "I just hope that when he transforms into his first alt vehicle that it looks as good with the little yellow stripes as it does in this format."

"He's our sparkling. He'll look awesome. I told you he was going to be at that end of the scale. Awesome," Ironhide said leaning forward to look at the tiny face that was a mirror image of his. "Do you really want him to look so much like me, Ratchet?"

"I like it. You're so handsome, Ironhide, that I think our sparkling should be, too."

Wheeljack and Ironhide looked at Ratchet who was speaking with conviction. Then they looked at each other and smiled, shaking their heads in mutual amazement. "Well," Ironhide said with a grin, "if you insist, Ratchet."

Wheeljack smiled.

Ironhide smiled.

Ratchet nodded as he stared at the screen, then looked at them deeply seriously. "I do."

Ironhide walked out with Ratchet at least a good six inches taller than he did when he walked in.

-0-Corpus Christi

There were a number of amazing cars parked around a warehouse area in Corpus Christi, Texas. They were out of the way, parking among smaller buildings and in small stands of trees awaiting drivers that would never come. A concept 2020 Camaro waited on a side road with bushes blocking sight of it. Nearby in a group of parked cars, a 2020 silver Porsche was waiting. The rest of the team, Smokescreen, Hound and Mirage were scattered around the area waiting for the intel to prove out.

Hound was nearby, his alt vehicle Jeep form blended in against a green building as nearby the less practical and more spectacular form of Mirage, a Formula 1 racing car from the 1960's, blue and white sat in shadows. Smokescreen, himself no slouch as a Bentley Continental parked just behind Mirage.

The grounds were mostly abandoned of traffic or employees and the fences were locked, the security systems and cameras doing for the government what a lack of people couldn't. They all settled in to wait.

-0-Diego Garcia

Ratchet puttered around his office, feeling the presence of another spark within his own. The bond that he'd shared with Ironhide almost all his life was a part of him that he really didn't think about. It was so much there, so much a presence and the impressions and commentary he got from Ironhide throughout the day and night were things he was used to having around him.

But the sparkling, that was different. The sparkling was special. The feelings he felt for it, the intensity of his love for it sometimes made him pause in the middle of things to stand quietly and feel its emotions. He could sense it, feel it flutter sometimes as it spun around and around his own spark in exuberance and then when it was quiet and seemingly recharging, he could feel its gentle silence then as well.

It was a strange thing and he wished Ironhide could feel it, too, beyond the odd download that Ratchet could give him. He walked to the door, halting as Bluestreak caught his arm from behind. "Ratchet, I need you to check something please," he said, drawing Ratchet back inside.

He spent nearly a breem trying to locate 'a pain' in Bluestreak's knee before Bluestreak inexplicably jumped down and smiled. "Ratchet, I need you to come with me."

Ratchet whose optic ridges rose, nodded then noticed Sideswipe at the door grinning at both of them. Glancing at the two back and forth, he threw caution to the wind and out the door they went, walking down the road toward the Rec Room. Equally baffled and more reluctantly following, Ironhide walked with Will Lennox, Robert Epps and Niall Graham toward the hangar.

Inside, everyone who wasn't on duty waited for them prepared to party. As Ratchet and Ironhide hit the doors, mechs cheered and clapped, shocking them both out of their peds.

Ironhide tried to turn and was dragged back inside as Ratchet walked with Bluestreak to sit on a chair that was placed at a table in the middle.

Around the room, the walls were hung with murals of home, of cities long gone and skies of stars that they'd left behind. Sunstreaker working with others had made them, putting them up as an affirmation that the new life coming had a beginning, a place that was theirs, too, even though it was far away and long lost.

Candles were lit and on the tables, a celebration standby at most Cybertronian gatherings. Energon punch, energon treats and other edibles were on a table nearby as well as presents for the sparkling.

Ironhide, dragged forward to sit into a chair next to Ratchet glowered at Prime who stood with Prowl at the door to Ops Center laughing and clapping with everyone else. Then it died down.

Bluestreak pressed into service began. "We heard that humans have baby showers for their babies before they were born. We have our own ceremonies. We know, I know as a Praxian that after the sparkling separates you wait three days to name them in front of the community and family that the sparkling is born into. That ceremony is coming. But we wanted to do something to honor the sparkling's other heritage, its human life here on this world. And so, Ratchet and Ironhide, we want to do this baby shower for you and our first sparkling in our new life."

Ironhide looked misty as Ratchet smiled, clapping with everyone else when Bluestreak stepped back. He nodded to Prime who stepped forward with a smile. The clapping died down and the assembled multitude of Autobots, almost all of whom heard his call and answered it, waited for Prime to speak.

He smiled. "When we came here a few years ago, we had no idea that we would find a home and friends among the humans but we did. We had no idea that the possibilities of sparklings could ever happen again. It pains me, it pains us all that most of the Autobots in this room have never seen, touched or helped in the Cybertronian way to raise one.

"It is a blessing, a great moment for us all that this is going to happen. We are going to have babies again among us. It is our tradition to help raise a sparkling as a community, as an extended family. I want you to know, Ironhide and Ratchet, that this tradition will be followed. We are so happy today. We are so grateful today. This is our first sparkling but we hope more will follow. We have the time and luxury, the peace to do this and I am honored that the first one should be the sparkling of my oldest and dearest friends."

The cheering raised the roof as Ratchet smiled at Ironhide who looked misty.

Again.

Everyone finally settled and turned to Ironhide and Ratchet.

Ratchet touched Ironhide's arm. "I think you're supposed to say something now, Ironhide." Ratchet glanced at Bluestreak who shrugged.

Everyone laughed.

"Well, Ironhide is having a moment so I want to say..." He swallowing hard. "I want to say that I had a pain in my spark a long time about this. I had a hard time accepting that we had to be without the best part of us because of war and hardship. I wanted this. I pranked Ironhide out of his peds to get this," he said as the room erupted in laughter and clapping. "I'm so happy to know that our sparkling will have such a great community of support and love as he will get from this one. This was so nice, this party. We don't celebrate enough and we're happy to share this with you. Thank you," Ratchet said as his vocalizer fritzed just a little at the end.

Cheers, clapping and laughter filled the room, then Blaster began to play music. Tables were pushed to the edges of the building and people began to dance as they swayed, talked and laughed together.

Springer, one of the many from Mars who came for the party handed Ironhide a high grade and pulled up a chair beside him. They would stay parked there the entire time of the party. That is, when Ratchet didn't jerk both of them off their afts to dance now and again.

-0-Mars

The planet turned on its axis, the summer storms passed across the great plains. The city growing up in the shadow of Mount Olympus was a gleaming thing, the first life that planet had hosted in eons. Today it was quiet, the automated systems and the warning devices keeping track of things for the tenants who were dancing and enjoying life beyond the confines of its thin atmosphere. It would remain calm and uneventful while they were gone. It was almost as if Primus himself was smiling, too.