The Diego Diaries: Chaos 22
=0=The Cultural Center
They rolled off the elevator heading across the vast expansion of floor space toward the Dai Atlas Dojo. They passed the busy main entrance of the Museum of Cybertron which occupied a great deal of the third floor and all of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh as well. Word was out that a special building would be created for the museum with fireproof vaults after the tragedy of the explosion at the Plaza and resulting damage to its storage space dedicated to Museum inventory.
The doors were wide open in front of the huge dojo, an altar-like stone carving with its various unseen objects stood underneath a rack of swords, both practice and edged. They couldn't see more than that from their vantage point below. They merely followed the soldiers as they skirted the mats, heading for the back of the space where the mechs hung out.
They were speeding to an area set aside for conversation and companionship. Couches and chairs were arranged in a circle and they were big and comfortable. Doors leading to places inside the dojo were closed. One could only speculate whether they were locker space, office space or a hidden bar.
The conversation going on, centered as it was on catcalling Drift as he instructed Lon and three other younglings on the art of sword play ceased as they pulled up. Everyone smirked down at the humans with the exception of Kup. He merely slowly turned the stogie in his mouth with a servo as he took the measure of the midgets before him. He had no idea how much they loved him.
"Kup! What the frag is up?" Lennox asked smirking at a bot he had come to love himself.
"Nothing, youngling. What are you insects doing buzzing around. Might get swatted if you don't watch out," he said as everyone settled in for the bullshit. "You do know that Cybertron has insects."
Lennox, who had heard something like it once when Kup was on an epic binge, nodded. "You mentioned it once when you were incoherent."
He looked at Lennox, a man he really liked and shrugged. "It must have been amazing."
Snorts went around the room and Springer kicked his ped. "Don't go telling them about the bugs. They might not recharge if you do."
"All the more reason," Kup answered. He sat forward and peered down at them. "You're awfully small. Tell me, Mr. Movie Maker, what makes you lose recharge at night."
"Getting stepped on," Jack Mellar said.
Kup sat back. "Won't happen."
"Your proximity sensors," Mellar offered. "They tell you where to step."
"Nope," Kup said looking at his stogie a moment. "Squishy is hard to wash off."
Hilarity ensued.
-0-Moments later as they spun out into the street again heading for another place filled with memorable characters.
"I think Kup is awesome. We need to build the show around him."
Another agreed. Mellar nodded himself. "He's pretty awesome. So is Ironhide. So is Springer. He and Drift have a thing I bet you. Dollars to donuts, there is something going on between those two."
They sped onward unaware that they were heading for Aerie Hill.
-0-Some time later
They walked in and sat finding a table after the mid-orn rush. Ordering for everyone, Ironhide turned and looked at his genitors. "Well, so far … what do you think?"
"It's brilliant. All of the stuff underground is brilliant. The train system is genius," Blackjack said unaware that all of it was designed by his son.
Ironhide basking in the goodwill nodded. "We worked hard to start it and now we have enough mechs to have weekends and four shifts in some industries instead of two and three."
Blackjack nodded. "That is the test of a system. If it can function without destroying the worker bees, then its worthy."
Their food arrived and they sat together eating as Ratchet tracked his genitors. They were at the schools. He ate contentedly. They were having lunch with Sunspot and the little mechs. All was well.
-0-In a conference room
He sat on the table watching as MR. TOTO! got ready to assess his language and pre-reading skills. His overall intellect was topnotch and his readiness on the cusp for starting things his size bot didn't normally do until older. But this bot had been in school from an early age, had older genitors and lots of attention from bright interesting individuals. All of it was a recipe for advancement.
Settling, smiling at his prey, Roto began. "Orion."
The little bot looked up from his FASCINATING ped and smiled, his blue optics twinkling. "TOTO!"
"We need to talk," he said holding cards in his servos. He held one up. It was a picture of a ball. "Ball."
Orion stared at it, then Roto, then the card. Pointing his digit at the picture, he looked at his teacher. "TOTO?"
"Ball," he repeated holding the card up.
Orion stared at it a moment and smiled. "BALL!"
Roto smiled and nodded squeezing the baby's ped. "Good, Orion." He held up the card. "Ball."
"BALL!"
Putting that card down, he held one up. It was Ratchet. "Ada."
"ADA!"
Grinning, he began to hold up cards and pronounce words. "Atar."
"ATAR!" (Grin)
"Red."
Pause. "RED!"
(grin, ped squeeze) "Green."
Pause. Intense concentration. "GO!"
Pause. "Green." Card gets closer.
Pause. "GREEN!"
(Grin) "Awesome, sparkling." (New card) "Blue."
Pause. Intensity. "BLUE!"
Shuffles cards. Holds one up. "Ada."
"ADA!"
"Atar."
"ATAR!"
"Ball."
"BALL!"
"Green."
Pause. "GREEN!"
"Red."
Pause. "REEP!"
"Red."
"RED!"
Roto sat back and grinned. Orion could repeat the word. The trick was if he could look at the card and remember when they were shuffled. Then the next step would be to say them without a prompt. But that was for later. Roto sat forward and held an easy card. Orion looked at it, at Roto who looked back with a hopeful expression and then the card. "ATAR!"
Roto grinned and held another. Orion studied it. "BALL!"
Then Roto continued.
"RED!"
"GREEN!"
"ADA!"
"BALL!"
It was a perfect score.
-0-Outside
Next to the room outside the door, a group of student teachers, new teachers learning the Autobot City program and aide-trainees watched through the one-way window. The little bot was cute as a button and obviously advanced for his age. His loud voice was much remarked upon. Neo holding a file with information tried to answer questions.
"This baby is Orion, the first separated son of older genitors. We are finding that this can be a good thing because they tend to be very wanted infants and get lots of attention and care. He is the first sparkling separated in the garrison and the first baby that almost all of the soldiers had ever seen. He had early education, a doting atar who took him everywhere he went and lots of mechs to help.
"He is high optimal in his design and hasn't learned to moderate or to adapt to his high optimal features yet. He's very loving and sweet but he has to be supervised during play with others because of his great strength. He can easily hurt others. He is also independent and he can be willful but not often.
"His pre-readiness for all levels of his development is in the upper 5% of his age group. We expect that he will be a very good student. He will have the example of older brothers and genitors that value education."
They nodded and turned to watch again.
-0-Inside
"Car."
"CAW!
Pause. Take notes: 'R and ending sounds are weak'. "Car."
"CAW!"
Pause. Take more notes. "Kite."
"KIPE!"
Kite."
"KIPE! KIPE!KIPE!KIPE!" He paused smiling ginormously, his little blue optics twinkling. Then he held up his dollie.
Roto grinned and leaned in kissing the dollie. Orion shrieked with laughter and fell onto his back, splayed out, cackling madly. Roto grinned and pulled him up. "Goofball."
"GOOBER!"
Roto paused to take notes. "Never truer words spoken, sparkling," he said with a chuckle.
-0-Outside
"He is certainly exuberant."
"He is," Neo said fondly. "He's really a good little spark. He just has so much inside."
"He does," a teacher said with a grin. "He would make me deaf in a week."
Neo grinned.
-0-Inside
Roto held up one ball. "One."
Orion looked at it. "BALL."
Roto blinked. "Good, Orion. Ball."
"One ball."
Roto nearly fell out of his chair.
-0-Aerie Hill
The ride out was long but not uneventful. The closer they got, the more interesting the scenary. There were Seekers flying in and landing on terraces as they transformed to walk into their dwellings. Others were standing on balconies talking, some holding hatchlings. Others were stepping out and jumping into the air. Before they could hit the ground, they transformed and jetted away. It was an astonishing sight.
"Does Nitro live here?" Jack Mellar asked.
"No. He has an apartment on a tower with open access to the roof. His bond isn't a Seeker." Lennox looked back. "That isn't very common. Neither is trine bonds among the grounders. But it happens. They don't live in Aerie Hill because his bond is conventional and so is their daughter."
It was silent a moment.
"You guys really know your shit don't you," a tech asked.
Niall grinned and looked at him. "Easiest thing in the world. You just have to earn their trust."
They toodled onward, drove all over the vast complex, had their first view of a hatchling and drove back several joors later. The sun was high in the sky by the time they got back to town.
-0-Wrap up
They sat in a conference room with Neo and Roto. Orion was off doing his usual stuff and now was the time to talk. He checked his data and sat back looking at the expectant faces. "What we have here is a well loved little mech who has a lot of attention and expectations. He has a lot of adults in his life and two other little brothers that dote on him. And he dotes on them.
"He's well developed in the language areas and all his pre-reading and pre-math readiness exceeds expectations for his age. His inability to make some sounds like the 'R' and hear and speak ending sounds is part of his developmental level. He may exceed some things but the development that isn't yet you can hear. He's smart and can be headstrong. His genitors dote on him but they are very concerned that he behave, have manners and treat others with respect. They aren't pushover parents.
"Because he's high optimal in construction, he has some difficulty with his behavior and it leads to imposed limits with others to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone accidentally. It is hard on him that this is so but that is the way it is. He also is going to be acquiring a sister in a few orns so his behavior will change with that adjustment."
"Are you clear on whether he mimics or really understands the names of things you show him?" a teacher from the new migration in the process of certifying to Autobot City's program asked.
"That is what we will have to ascertain over the next few orns. Having as many opportunities for him to name things that match his word list will be the test. Make no mistake, this little bot has a big vocubulary for a tyke his size."
"How do you keep from not hugging him constantly?" a young mech training to be a teacher asked.
"I don't even try," Roto said with a grin.
-0-Club Cybertron
They sat shooting the slag and when they rose to leave, Ratchet left them outside the Club door. Heading out to the Senior Center in Vos Tower, he would spend the afternoon shooting the slag and playing card games with his genitors. No one would page him for an owie. All of that would be Knockout's problem.
-0-Emergency room
"What happened to you?"
"I dropped steel on my ped," a big limping bot said moving to sit on a medberth.
"I can see that. Looks crushed. I may have to replace a few of your toe digits."
"Whatever. Hurry up, Doc. I have a date in a few moments."
Knockout looked at the slightly dirty mech with a tough finish and a tougher constitution. "I suppose you're getting laid tonight."
The bot smirked as he lay back, offering a better look at his ped. "Slagging right."
Knockout looked at him and rolled his optics. "Frag," he muttered as he looked at the ped and began to work. "Frag," he would mutter until he was done.
-0-After school
Bluestreak and Sideswipe walked from the elevator that took them from the youngling school to the sparkling floor with four happy mechlings in tow. Pausing in the lobby with other genitors, they began to collect infants. Kaon and Praxus were handed to Sideswipe and he kissed them stowing Miracle into his carry hold. A basket of femmelings was next for Bluestreak and then Orion walked out with his harness and leash. Roto handed it to Bluestreak who looked down at the ginormously smiling little black bot.
"He has improved his vocabulary a great deal. He can even say your nickname, Bluestreak," Roto said leaning down and smiling. "Orion," he said. He knelt and pointed at Bluestreak. "Blue," he said.
Orion listened to him intensely. Then he looked up at Bluestreak and smiled ginormously. "GREEN!" he said and held up his dollie.
=0=TBC
2012 (9)