The Diego Diaries: Chaos 37 (dd3 47)
=0=Autobot City, Mars near to the air field
Springer stood beside Scar who had been delegated the task of expanding and reinforcing the prison. The big former 'Con grinned at the irony of it, this place his first home upon arrival. Having once been a resident, he was considered to be eminently qualified to do the job. "So what do you suppose we should do. We have never had more than 100 or so inmates at a time."
"Well, given that a large unknown contingent is coming, it might do us a bit of good to put the officer corps here and build a larger facility for the enlisted somewhere else. Maybe over that way," he said nodding in the direction past the airfield proper. "It could be, Springer that the number of inmates among enlisted could be huge."
"I was given discretion. Let me check with Prowl," he said pausing a moment to chat. A conversation was held. Permissions were given. "Prowl is on board," he said. With that, they walked down the road that led beyond the city limits. The road continued onward for several hundred miles but they came to a stop a mile and a half from the airfield.
"This looks good. It's flat, looks like there's good rock under the dust and dirt. A wash must have gone through there," Scar said pointing to a long curving depression nearby. "That can be a trench for the electronics and energon supply lines mainlines. We can excavate easily here and build a habitation for the guards over there," he said pointing to a flat rocky table top nearby.
Springer nodded. "Sounds good. Let's go find Jetta and get the plans drawn. The sooner the better."
They walked back chatting about city things, infants and old 'Cons that might be coming that they both loathed in common.
-0-RTR Tools, Business Plaza, Autobot City, Mars
They worked in the warehouse/workroom straightening and putting things back. The bins had been refilled by Sideswipe who had done it cheerfully, trading gentle barbs with the pair. He had as all the rest become very aware that the toll on the two older mechs during the time following The Fall had been incredibly harsh. Never more than sweet natured and kind, they had become uncertain and anxious. It had begun to lessen but was still obvious in their manner, especially Ravel.
"Where does this go, Grandada?" Sideswipe had asked holding up two heavy boxes of steel rods.
"Right here, sparkling," Ravel had said pointing to a shelf that had a spot just for them.
Sideswipe had put them down and arranged them perfectly. When he turned, he saw Ravel smiling at him. He stood uncertainly staring down at the little white and blue mech. Then Ravel stepped forward and embraced him. Strong arms gripped him and a soft sigh vented from the little mech. Sideswipe embraced him back, a fierce emotion filling him.
"You and your brother are so lovely. We get such good grandsons. I love you, Sideswipe. I hope you tell your brother. You are dear to Tie Down and me," he said quietly.
Tie Down standing nearby grinned and nodded. "You are, grandson."
Sideswipe looked at them with great emotion and nodded. "You are to us too," he said gruffly.
Ravel squeezed him and looked up. "I'm so glad you are here to help us. Tie is not really up to lifting things yet."
"Neither of you have to," Sideswipe said looking around. "I can do this stuff." And he did.
-0-At the Place of Incarceration, Inc.
Jetta stood with Grapple as the two worked out the dimensions of the prison site that would be built on this the new location. They had sounded and scanned the foundation of the area and found it adequate. Grapple sketched the design of the facility onto a datapad which would transmit the construction needs to the Foundry Exchange.
That locus would then send consolidated orders to the mills, foundries and other work facilities for priority shipment directly to the site. It would be go in a couple of joors. It would be a good idea. The next orn, a flight would be scanning the bad mechs to see how many problematic figures that would include. Their design was constructed to allow expansion.
-0-Autobot City Central Labor Union and Guild Hall
The request was made and the director of the facility, a mech named Target began to gather workers from rosters and specialty categories to make crews for the prison construction. Scar was overall site director. Bulkhead and Payload would run the two different areas that needed building, the energon/electrical side and the actual facility itself.
A call to the Medical Exchange sent a medic with design skills to oversee the sanitation and energon supply side of the building while a mech tech from IntraComm would be available to wire the communications and entertainment side of the prison both for the inmates and the guards.
When he was finished with the design, after Scar and Springer added their own ideas, Grapple finalized it and pushed the send button. It would be routed to the Foundry Exchange, Security, City Hall, Prowl and Prime. All of them had several minutes to add input. They signed off on it without comment and all was go.
By the time that Jetta and Grapple turned to leave, heavy duty mechs were already there moving earth. Scar would direct the construction all night long. His closest friends, Bulkhead and Payload would assist.
-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars
"When are you going to give that sparkling back to Ironhide, Prowl?" (grin)
"Eventually." (smirk)
"I think I saw him hulking outside the door."
"You did." (smirk) He's cute when he hulks."
(grin) "I thought you were compatriots, Praxians all," Optimus opined.
"I am. We are." (grin) "I just don't want to see him get too complacent. I want him to remember that there are those among us with skills and no shame whatsoever."
(grin) "I noticed that." (A message lights up the screen) "The prison plan is here. Looks good. I'm going to sign off." Prime input his glyph.
(leans in to study plan) "Put my glyph on it too, Optimus. I think its got all the bases covered."
(nods) "I think so, too. Scar is the perfect site boss for this. It will do him good."
(nods) "He has an outstanding little femme."
(grin) "You're hopeless."
(grin) "You can't make me feel badly."
-0-Hulking outside
He paced fuming as he did, pausing now and again to look inside. His daughter was sleeping in her little green blanket and quilt in Uncle Prowl's arms. It was infuriating. It was pausing-making. He stopped. :Ratchet:
:What?:
:Prowl still has Hero:
Ironhide could almost feel the smirk. It rankled. :Well, grow some ball bearings and go get her:
:I would but Prowl outranks me:
:Wussie. Little femme:
:YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SLAGGING SUPPORT ME IN MY JOOR OF NEED, OLD MECH! I EXPECT YOU TO DO THAT!:
(Pause)
:Awwww. Want to sit in my lap and suck my thumb?:
(Pause)
Sultry emotions pass back over link. :You could do worse, old mech: (big pug nosed grin)
(Sultry emotions received. Equally smokin' smokiness returned) :You could, too. I'm sitting here at my desk, my peds on top. You should see my long legs ... the legs you like, big boy:
(Pause)
(grin) :Is this more of that phone sex talk?:
(grin) :Yep. Say something sexy, Ironhide:
(pause. grin) :I'm standing here all big and dangerous. I am IRONHIDE! DESTROYER OF WORLDS! YOU ARE MINE, OLD MECH! MINE!:
(ginormous grin) :I am. Come on over and take a look. I'm naked:
(pause. moment of confusion)
:Naked?:
(smirk) :I'm not wearing clothes. That makes me naked. At least to the humans:
:WHO GIVES A FRAG WHAT THE HUMANS THINK!? I AM IRONHIDE! I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO'S OPINION COUNTS HERE!:
(pause)
(grin) :Naked, huh? You dirty old teasing slagger:
(Chuckle filters over the link) :You LOVE it, Ironhide:
:I do. I'm on my way. Clear your desk, mech:
:Oh, Ironhide. Hurt me! Hurt me!:
Enormous hilarity washed back and forth over the bond as one miffed monster-sized Autobot huffed his way to the 49th floor of the Medical Tower.
Several smokin' moments and a lot of crashy-crashy later...
"Do you think I should dial down the tint in the windows?"
"Not yet," Ironhide said as he lounged on the couch, his peds resting on Ratchet's desk. "Let them wonder. Let them consider how we still got it."
Ratchet snorted. "We do," he said in agreement. Grinning, he considered the only slightly mellower mech sitting before him. "You are the mech."
He grinned. "That I am. Thus endeth the lesson."
"You've been watching that movie again ... 'The Untouchables'."
"I have. Sean Connery is my sort of mech," Ironhide said nodding.
"I can see that. He's a lot like you ... older, experienced, sexy."
"I am aren't I," Ironhide agreed smugly. "I don't see you complaining."
"I'm not," Ratchet said with a grin. He sat in his chair, his own peds on the desk. "When are you going to rescue your sparkling?"
Ironhide frowned. "When ... when *that slagger has his back turned!* Whenever I pause in the doorway he sees me and I can never grab her when he's facing me."
"You two are such little femmes," Ironhide said. "Go and tell Optimus to spark that mech before his flutter valve rusts shut."
They both howled with laughter. Transformers don't have flutter valves.
The afternoon would pass contentedly. At least for Ratchet.
-0-At the airfield
Silverbolt sat down like a champion and his ramp hit the ground nearly immediately. Sunstreaker rolled off having transformed to wheel mode, an action that nearly caused multiple orgasms in the humans on board. He rolled down with a grin on his face and commed Bluestreak. :Babe:
:Sunstreaker. Where are you?:
:I just got back from Charon. Where are you?:
:At the Sparkling School. Come over:
:On my way: With that, he laid a patch and the little segways nearly capsized to keep up.
-0-At the Sparkling Day School
He rolled off the elevator and transformed his peds, walking to the door of the classroom where Blue and the infants were. He walked inside and paused to look around. Spotting Bluestreak in the story pit, he walked over and sat down. Leaning in, he kissed Blue and sat back. The twins were there and they were sitting up.
Unsteadily but with resolve.
"Aren't they spectacular?" Blue said with a smile. "They just did this now."
"They're slagging awesome," Sunstreaker said leaning down to kiss the infants. They looked at him with ginormous smiles. Iacon raised her arms to him and tipped over. Uraya watching burst into laughter, a tiny pretty thing in and of itself. Sunstreaker smiled. "See? Slagging awesome."
Bluestreak grinned in agreement.
The cameras nearby filmed madly.
-0-Outside the door of Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars
Ironhide peered inside, his antsiness a comical thing. He knew Prowl knew he was there. That crafty winger just didn't care. Girding his considerable boy parts, Ironhide marched in heading for where the winger sat. Marching right past, pretending to do something at Teletraan III, he stood fuming on the inside while looking nonchalant on the outside as his GIGANTIC wussie-ness asserted itself.
He could feel the amusement Prowl felt about his sudden loss of true grit. He fully intended to grab his daughter but he whiffed the ball. Standing in front of Teletraan III, he could feel the winger's laughter.
Even though he wasn't laughing.
At least not on the outside.
Turning almost together, they met gimlet optic to gimlet optic. It was a stand off. One big hulking bot staring down a deceptively smaller, deceptively less imposing slagger. Gimlet optics shot out and slammed into each other as the gauntlet was cast and picked up. Sort of. Prowl grinned at Ironhide. "You have anything to say to me, slagger?"
Ironhide almost wiped his peds on the floor like a bull just before they charged with smoke coming out his nose structure. "No," he said as he meekly walked past and out the door. He transformed in the courtyard, drove two miles out of town before transforming again. Then and only then did he bellow to the heavens.
Poor sparkling.
-0-Several moments later
"Do you want another rust stick?"
"*YES!*"
Silence.
"All you have to do is walk in and say, Prowl-"
"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, OLD MECH!"
"Alright. There, there ... CHAOS BRINGER!"
Stealthing would ensue later. Much later.
=0=TBC 2012 (10) edited 12-21-18