The Diego Diaries: Chaos 17 edited
=0=On the way to Mare Tranquilitatis
They walked toward the Fortress and stopped inside getting an update on the proceedings. Everything was going like clockwork because this was a fit, healthy, well organized migration. They were going through the processing in record time because their information had been sent ahead. They could be planned for, organized with settlement and family civilians housed in the same towers.
The Seekers were absorbed by Starscream's element and the soldiers housed in either bond or bachelor apartments. All of it was smooth and well in servo. Turning, walking outside, Prime and Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide and his genitors followed by the trine headed for the apartment towers beyond.
"Over there is the Metroplex District," Ironhide explained to his genitors that walked on either side of him. "This was the main housing area for most of us until they began to build the towers."
"This is terribly impressive," Alor said glancing here and there. "Terribly impressive."
They passed bots everyone knew and more they didn't. One was a family from the newest migrations who were going to the Temple to see the AllSpark and give thanks. Turning, watching them walk toward the beautiful building whose roof could be seen over what was declared a 'human ally habitat' whatever that was, they shook their helms. "Impressive," Blackjack said.
Ratchet grinned.
They continued, Prime and Prowl following along with grins. "That is the Cultural Center, Ada. That is where a lot of the arts are centered and the Museum of Cybertron is housed there. The twins have their art studio there."
"They are artists?" Alor asked glancing at them over his shoulder.
"Sunstreaker is," Prowl answered. "Sideswipe has other attributes." He grinned. "We haven't discovered them yet but there's always hope."
Hilarity ensued.
They made their way to the Mare and paused. Pointing, Ironhide gave a brief summary of the layout. "That is the Medical Tower and beside it is the educational building. The Sparkling and Youngling Day schools, the Youngling Intermediate School and the University of Autobot City is housed there."
"Everyone goes to school here?" Alor asked with a smile. "That is so wonderful, Ironhide."
"They do," Ironhide said almost giving the secret away. He caught himself and glanced at the others all of which were smirking. "Let's go up. You should see the view up there."
"Do you live up high?" Alor asked taking his son's servo into his own.
"The 24th apartment on the 24th floor," Ironhide said.
"The penthouse belongs to Prowl," Ratchet said with a grin. "He rules from above."
Prowl smirked as he walked past Ratchet entering the building. "That's right. All sparklings are mine. All younglings are mine."
Hilarity ensued.
It was an amusing ride upward and when they reached the right floor, the door opened and the twins nearly fell out into the corridor. Walking down the hallway, they made their way to apartment 24 pausing outside as they waited for Ironhide to have his moment.
He turned and looked at his genitors who looked at him fondly. "Ada, Atar, I have something else I never told you. Wait here a moment."
They nodded and glanced at the others as Ironhide opened the door to lean inside. Footsteps inside could be heard, then Flint stepped out pausing as if hit by a baseball bat as he stared at his brother and brother-in-law. It was intensely silent a moment, then Flint embraced Alor. They stood together holding each other, then Alor stepped back looking at his brother with tears in his optics. "Flint! You're here too?"
"I came with my battalion a few orns ago, Ali," he said. "I didn't know you were here."
"We just got here. You defected?"
"I did," he said. "I brought the battalion and our refugees. We had to go. Soundwave and Megatron figured it out."
Alor nodded and hugged him tightly. Flint turned and gripped Blackjack's servo tightly. "'Jack, what the frag?"
Blackjack laughed aloud. "I don't know how it can get better than this."
Everyone looked at each other and grinned.
-0-Inside
Tie Down and Ravel sat with the twins as the other sparklings played on the floor. Miler had arrived just before and had helped straighten out the apartment and get the sparklings settled. Miracle, Kaon and Praxus sat on the floor talking to their dollies. Orion was under his 'fort' aka the kitchen table talking to himself and poking at his toes.
The laughter outside the apartment was smile-making as they waited inside for the great unveiling. Flint had come to the apartment and helped them with the infants. Everyone but him was aware of the arrival of Blackjack and Alor, so they waited with great excitement for the party to arrive.
Ironhide peered inside and grinned. They grinned back. He pushed the door open and stepped in front of the view. "There are some inside that I want you to meet. First, there are Prowl's genitors, Miler and Venture. There is also Ratchet's genitors, Tie Down and Ravel."
"Ironhide! They're inside? I can't believe they made it," Alor said as he stood beside his brother. "They made it. Prowl! I'm so happy for you!"
Prowl grinned and nodded. "Ratchet and I got lucky too. But that isn't all is it, Ironhide."
They all looked at him. He grinned. "This is one long story, Ada, but there are sparklings now. Ratchet and I have sparklings."
They looked at him for a moment with an uncompromising gaze, then each other. They looked back at him silently.
"Ratchet and I had a prank war. Ratchet won that war. The prize was a sparkling. Then we had another and in a couple of orns we get another one. Right, Ratchet?" he asked nervously as his genitors stared at him silently.
Ratchet snorted. "Get one to show, Ironhide. It might help."
Ironhide startled and nodded. "That's a good idea." He turned and disappeared into the apartment. When he came back Praxus was sitting on his arm. The tiny bot was smiling gigantically as he patted his atar's face. Ironhide paused and waited, watching as his genitors looked at the baby.
"Oh my," Alor said glancing at Praxus. "He's spectacular. He looks just like you, Blackjack. You and Ironhide." Alor looked at Ratchet and smirked. "In Ratchet drag."
"He's gorgeous," Ratchet said with a grin. "That sparkling is one of the most handsome babies in the colony."
Alor took him into his servos and kissed Praxus's cheek. He settled the baby in his arm and turned to Blackjack. "Isn't this a beautiful baby."
Blackjack nodded. "He is wonderful. I like his paint scheme," he said grinning at Ratchet. "You are a real character, Ratchet."
"I try," Ratchet said with a grin. "Do you want to see the others?" he asked.
They looked at him and then Ironhide. "Others?"
Seconds later …
They sat in the living room, all of them comfortable with extra chairs brought over from Tie Down and Ravel's apartment next door. Prime sat on a couch, his arm around Prowl who held Miracle on his lap. He was chewing on his own digits, a Red Alert dollie in his other servo.
Sitting on the floor with the tiny femme twins, Bluestreak handed them chew toys. The little girls sat together smiling at everyone as they gummed copper colored rings. The twins sat around the table together as Ravel, Tie Down, Miler and Venture sat on chairs here and there. Sitting in front of the window on a couch staring at the infants scattered all over the room Alor and Blackjack sat dazed. Ironhide sat on a chair next to them as Ratchet leaned against a wall, his arms crossed and a smirk firmly in place. "Try it again, Ironhide."
Flint who leaned against the kitchen counter grinned. "It takes a bit of practice, Ali."
"This sparkling is Praxus. He's our second oldest. That sparkling with Prowl is Miracle. He's the first Prime infant ever born. That is Kaon who is the oldest sparkling of the trine. The little femmes are Iacon and Uraya and they are the trine's babies too. That bot under the table is Orion. He is our oldest and the first sparkling born among any of us in eons. He was separated on Earth, the third planet over where we keep an embassy and base on an island called Diego Garcia."
It was silent. The two glanced at each other, then Ironhide. They nodded. The sound of running peds caught their attention and when the door opened several younglings entered pausing as they all looked back at Ironhide and the familiar strangers. He looked at the infants, then his genitors. "Uh, there are a few more to tell you about too."
Seconds later …
Sunspot sat on his Grandatar Tie's lap staring at the new 'grandgenitors' who had appeared out of nowhere. That the two of them were so remarkably like Ironhide had made him uncharacteristically silent. On the floor standing beside Ravel, Orion stared at the strangers with the amazingly familiar faces. He looked at Ravel, then Ratchet. "ADA!"
"What?" Ratchet replied.
"ATAR ME?" He turned pointing at Blackjack. He looked at Ironhide. "ATAR! WHO YOU?"
"Ah, new words," Ratchet said with a chuckle. "And new therapy possibilities in the years to come."
"Ironhide, that baby talks," Alor said, his optics enormous as he stared at the tiny botlet.
"He's high end. Does a lot of first things well," Ironhide said proudly. He leaned slightly forward. "Orion. Come here."
Orion looked at his atar for a moment, then he stepped out walking to him boldly dollie in servo. Ironhide picked him up. "Orion, grandatar," Ironhide said glancing at his own father.
Orion looked at Blackjack, then Tie Down and Venture. He pointed to them. "ATAR!"
"Yes, they are," Ironhide said. Then he pointed at Blackjack. "Atar too."
Orion looked at the big bot, then Ironhide. "ORION, ME! GOOD ATAR!" He pointed at Venture. "GOOD ATAR?"
Ironhide nodded.
Pointing at Tie Down: "GOOD ATAR?"
Ironhide nodded again.
Pointing at Prime: "GOOD ATAR?"
Ironhide nodded once more.
Pointing at Sunspot, smiling until his face nearly cracked and fell off: "GOOD ATAR?"
Ironhide snorted. "You're a hoodlum."
"He's just like you, Ironhide," Alor said holding out his servos. Orion stared at him, then held up his dollie.
"According to the world as Orion understands it, you have to worship the dollie," Ratchet said with a smirk.
"How?" Alor asked.
"You kiss it," Ravel said with a smile. "He's very sweet with his dollies."
Alor smiled and leaned inward kissing the dollie. Orion snorted and smiled. "GOOD ATAR!"
"Ada," Ironhide said.
Orion looked at Ironhide for a moment, then held up his dollie. Hilarity ensued.
-0-A short time later
Miler, Ravel, Ratchet, Alor and Prowl walked out of the elevator heading for the Mall of Metroplex. Dinner was to be had and 'only the best stuff, Ratchet' would do on the first night of the rest of their orns. The others were bogged down with Prime discussing the 'fragging universe the way out there' and the twins and Bluestreak were managing the multitudes of smaller mechanisms that littered the floor and filled Sunspot's berth room with lots of loud happy noises.
They themselves volunteered to forage and as they wandered down the rather crowded streets heading for a crowded Mall, Prowl and Ratchet had already sent on their orders for pick up.
"This is extraordinary, Ratchet, Prowl," Alor said looking around. "I almost feel like I'm back home in Iacon and Praxus. Sort of," he said with a smirk.
"We built underground until Optimus had a premonition that it was time to build up," Prowl said as he walked alongside of his ada. "I'm glad. Living underground is a real hardship."
Ratchet nodded. "I agree," he said as they turned and began to walk down the main street of Metroplex District. When they reached the Mall, they walked inside and after a while of looking around showing Alor the possibilities, they turned and walked back heavily laden.
As they neared their tower, they paused and let a number of families walk past heading as they were 'out to see the town'. Alor looked around and paused. "What's that, Ratchet? Is that a sports arena?"
Ratchet snorted. "Keep up, Ali. That's only one of two," Ratchet said as he stood out and led the way. Alor followed as did the others, grins firmly in place.
They wandered into the tower and went up. After a bit of hoo-hah, dinner was served to the masses as tales were recounted, sparklings exclaimed over and passed around. A tiny Seeker youngling repeated this week's memorized poem and the one from the previous week to great acclaim. Two red and white mechs did the same to great applause while an older one recited the Gettysburg Address because they were 'studying great documents as works of literature, Atar' Rambler said to his misty-opticed father. Prime nodded. "I can see that, son."
The conversations continued until the infants wilted from sleepy-opticed ennui. Prime and Prowl gathering reluctant mechs from the great game in Sunspot's room excused themselves with Miler and Venture. When they left the twins and Bluestreak gathered their little garden together with a lot of jokes and no small amount of insubordination exiting the room.
Everyone stood at the door, then Ratchet turned. "Do you want to go home too, Blackjack and Alor?"
"Not until we help you put this place to rights," Alor said rising. Between Tie, Ravel, Alor and Ratchet, they managed. Of course, Ironhide and Blackjack who sat by the window 'supervising' took full credit. Sunspot watching the hoo-hah chuckled and looked at Ironhide. "You are so funny," he said before being lifted into Blackjack's arms.
"Prowl gave me the number to your apartment, Ali. You live in this building," Ratchet said.
"That is so nice of him. He has grown up to be quite a wonderful bot," Alor said rising.
"He has. He's a great ally against Ironhide and Prime," Ratchet said with a grin. "Follow me. By the way, there's room for you, Flint if you want to bunk with your brother. You can stay here forever but Prowl wanted you to have an option."
He chuckled and nodded. "Thank you, Ratchet."
Ratchet turned and walked out of the door into the corridor. The others followed, some carrying sparklings. Sunspot skipped ahead of them. "Where are we going, Ada?" he asked happily.
"Right here," Ratchet said pausing two doors down. He turned and opened the door pushing it back. "After you," he said with a grin.
Alor snorted and walked in followed by Flint, Blackjack and the rest. The lights were switched on illuminating a beautiful apartment with copper and silver appointments. The arrangement was typical, the size nice and the view spectacular. "Wow." He turned and looked at Ratchet. "Convey my compliments."
"Convey your own," Ratchet said with a grin. "You are on the Senior Autobot staff and we have a wrap up meeting in the morning over everything. You'll get to meet the civilians and other officers that run the city."
Alor nodded. "Oh joy. Staff meetings." He grinned.
"Ours are fun," Ironhide said. "We even got suggestions for Orion's name at one."
"Yeah," Ratchet said. "I was rather partial of toilet snake if I say so myself."
Hilarity ensued.
=0=TBC
2012 (9)
1,084,170- word count in Harry Potter Series
1,831,430- word count for Diego Diaries and its corollary story, The Chronicles of Orion (That little story stands at 22,000+ words. So far) :D :D :D
:D :D :D :D Context. It is everything. :D :D :D :D
Huggles, Muggles. ;)