The Diego Diaries: PsyOps 18
-0-On the street later that orn
The city perked along, the pace vibrant. Along the way, underneath light poles here and there bots on cherry picker lifts were rising into the air. Bumblebee on his way to the apartment he shared with First Aid paused and looked up. The bot on the top, a Public Works mech was holding up a long highly decorated rectangle of what appeared to be a heavy canvas that was about fifteen feet long and eight feet wide. He was hooking it to the overhanging light arm of the pole, unfurling it when it was secured.
It curled down and hung, a weaving of a colorful nest of Christmas Surprise bulbs in the middle of a forest green background. Hanging like tassels, long metallic strings holding bright sparkling balls at the end streamed downward. It was beautiful. Across the street, another worker was hanging one with several large and small snowflakes all of them hanging in a dark blue sky background. The tassels that hung were silvery and held white snowflakes at the end of their sparkling length.
Bee grinned and nodded to the worker who nodded back with a smile. The worker motored the big non-sentient vehicle down the sidewalk to the next pole for the next banner. Christmas Surprise was obviously on the way. He considered that this would be the first one he passed in the company of his dear First Aid. This called for an epic Christmas Surprise present. He moved onward thinking about what it could be as all over the city the two mechs transformed the season one banner at a time.
-0-Outside the City Manager's door, City Hall, Administration Plaza, Metroplex District
Jetta paused and leaned in smirking as he watched Ultra Magnus working diligently on the ten thousand and one things he had to do. "Ahem."
Magnus looked up and leaned back in his chair. "Jetta," he said nodding. "What's up?"
"The banners from the Art Guild. Public Works are putting them up now."
Magnus looked at him a moment, then rose and they both walked through the main office to the big windows out in the hallway that traversed the entire building. Looking out they spotted the snowflake and bulb banners with their streamer embellishments. They were dazzling and colorful. "Wow. That looks good."
"I think so too," Jetta said. "I alerted IntraComm about the Guild and how it might be a good way to ease the city into Christmas Surprise. When Specialty Fabrication-Medical gets through building the big Christmas tree I'll have it erected in the main intersection again."
"They drew the short straw?" Magnus said glancing down at his right brain and all around go-to mech.
"Yeah," Jetta said. "By the way, on Earth if you draw the short straw you lose."
"Odd, that," Magnus said considering that it was the opposite on Cybertron. "It looks wonderful. Just wonderful."
"I know. The younglings and sparklings are going to love it."
They stood and watched the banners move prettily in the light afternoon breeze before going back to work again.
-0-Elita and Arcee
They sat in Elita's office shooting the slag. "When are you and Magnus going to give in? I want a party."
Arcee snorted. "How long do you plan to live?"
"How about getting him slag faced and we'll get Prime to bond you both in unholy bondedness," Elita said with a smirk.
"I'll make a deal with you. Have a sparkling and in return I'll nail his aft," Arcee said smirking at her/his oldest best friend.
"We're both going to wait a long time aren't we?" Elita said with a grin.
"Apparently," Arcee said shaking her helm. "We're hopeless."
"I think we're just comfortable."
"I am most of the time. Sharing a berth with a freight train is cramped sometimes," Arcee said.
"You wanted to live together," Elita prodded gently.
"I know. I need to make an appointment with Jarro. I need my processor checked." She grinned, then it faded. "What about those slaggers talking about us like that? Poor Ironhide. I hear he's distraught about Orion."
"Who isn't?" Elita replied. "I could slag them myself. You never know, Arcee. This might take us back to Earth for a few rounds."
"Bring it," Arcee said quietly.
Elita nodded. "I hear you."
-0-At the bosom of love
A knock on the door broke the revelry inside. Rising and opening it, Ratchet grinned. Two youngling messengers were standing in the hallway with a pair of huge boxes. "Wow. That was fast. I thought it would take longer."
"They put your order ahead when they heard the news this morning," one of them said.
Ratchet took his box and nodded. "Thank you, youngling. Please let Web and the others know how much I appreciate their kindness." He put the box on the table and took the others. They traded slag a moment or two, then the younglings left for other tasks. Ratchet sat the box on the table and everyone stared at both.
"What are you up to, Old Mech?" Ironhide asked warily.
"Good slag, you old reprobate," Ratchet said pulling off a lid. Looking inside, he grinned. Turning, he considered Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. "Come here and help your old Ada out, younglings."
They rose and equally warily approached staring down into the boxes. Sideswipe smiled and looked at Ratchet. "This is interesting."
"You don't know the half of it. I personally designed these. Help me put them up." Ratchet reached in and pulled out a colorful coiled rope. Taking one end, he began to spool it out, dropping it into Sideswipe's servos as he did. Turning, tugging him along, he walked to the window and starting at the farthest edge, he began to spool out the colorful string attaching it with powerful small magnets to the transparent steel window edging. All across the front of the apartment windows, down the side, across the bottom and up the other side he placed the magnets until the entire string was stretched out and fastened. He reached into the box and drew out a remote device. Turning, grinning, he nodded to the group who were watching with rapt optics. "Watch this." He turned and pressed the button. The entire thing, a long string of lights bunched up like grapes all along its full length burst into light.
They stared at the beautiful sight, then Ratchet held up the remote. Pressing a button, the lights changed from white to colored. Pressing buttons, he showed them the entire range of possibilities. White became colored. Colored became sparkling. Sparkling became blinking. Blinking became gold that changed to silver that changed to copper that changed back again alternating slowly or swiftly however the remote set the task.
"Ratchet, that's really pretty," Ironhide said as he looked down at an enraptured Orion. He had walked over dollie in servo and stared at it. "Little mech likes it."
"We better make sure little mech doesn't mess with it. I have lights for each of the sparkling's berthrooms. This other box has lights for you, Alor and for you, Sunstreaker. You can get more if you move it. When the city knows this is possible because they will see it on the outside, the waiting list will be awesome," Ratchet said. He reached in the open box and tossed the remaining light strings to the twins. "The younglings' berthrooms are that way."
They grinned and took them walking back to comply. Shutting the lid, Ratchet moved to the other one. He pulled out two silver bags. One was marked 'Alor and Blackjack', the other 'Tie Down and Ravel'. He shifted two other bags into the half empty box that were labeled 'Trine'. Tossing the light bags onto the coffee table, he grinned. "I'll have those two deck out your apartment and my folks'. Nothing like older sparklings." He walked to his chair and sat. They spent a while watching Orion's enraptured delight in the lights as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe decorated the living rooms and berthrooms of both their grandgenitors' apartments.
-0-Two joors later
He came through the door having been picked up by Sideswipe who had gotten all the younglings minus Orion. That little bot was still standing in front of the window with dollie clasped in his servos staring at the lights. Ironhide was changing them up with the remote as Orion stood transfixed. His grandgenitors were taking pictures right and left.
"What is this, Ada?" Sunspot said glancing at the window in deep surprise.
"It's part of Christmas Surprise, Sunny Bunny," Ratchet replied from his chair where he sat holding Hero. Kaon and Praxus came in behind him followed by Sideswipe and his basket of sparklings. Kaon paused and gasped, gaping broadly. He pointed a fat little digit at the window. "ADA!"
"Kaon," Ratchet replied with a grin. Hero would have said hello as well but she was recharging.
Orion turned and squeed. "PAX! COME ME! LOOK!" He turned and pointed at the lights.
"A new word," Alor said chuckling. He began to take photos again.
"He's a genius sparkling or so I'm told," Ironhide said proudly as he changed the lights.
Kaon came over and stood beside Praxus. He became so excited he stomped on his peds. "OH!"
Orion turned and grinned broadly. "KO-KO! COME ME!"
Kaon did and Orion hugged him tightly. They turned and looked at the lights. Praxus came too and they stood together, three little bots about the same size. It was adorable. Orion looked back. "POT! COME! SEE?!"
"Another word," Blackjack said as he basked in the contentment. "I could sit here all night."
"You're staying for dinner aren't you? When does Flint get off duty?" Ratchet said. "We can do take out. We can have my genitors over too. Nothing like pretty lights to bring out the best in a sparkling."
"Sounds like heaven," Alor said. "Will you twins come with the sparklings and bring Bluestreak? Where is that sweetheart?"
Sunstreaker beamed. "He's got duty with the Home Guard. He trains the sharpshooters."
"Good. He can come and sit by me," Alor said. "Ravie on one side, Bluestreak on the other. I will then be utterly contented."
Sunstreaker's expression was fleet but it was remarkable. He nodded. "I'll make sure he gets here."
The little femmes were placed on the floor, their basket put back out of the way. They sat looking up, smiling at Blackjack as he stroked their tiny faces gently. "How are my darling girls?" he asked quietly.
Sunstreaker's mask slipped a moment, then was back in place. He was as content at this moment as he had ever felt. His grandgenitors loved his sparklings, his brother, his Bluestreak and for once, he could feel it. They loved him too. Between Tie Down and Ravel, Blackjack, Alor and Flint, Ironhide and Ratchet, he was unwinding some of the slag he carried everyday on his back. Contentment didn't feel like a dirty word or a moral failing. It felt good.
The door opened and a sweet face peeped inside. "Hi."
"Ada!" Ratchet called out. "You're early. You have another joor or so to go."
"We came early, Ratchet," Tie Down said. "We're making that special steel for the micro processing tools that Data Processing wants to tune Teletraan III."
"That steel has to cook overnight. I remember," Ratchet said. "You came in time for the light and sparkling show."
They paused and looked at the little ones sitting on the floor all around Sunspot. Orion was standing next to him, leaning on the little Seeker, his arm around Sunspot's shoulders. They were looking at the changing lights as the evening began to creep up on the city.
"Oh, Tie. Look at that," Ravel said with an enraptured expression. Then he looked down. "Ah, my babies!" he said kneeling and gathering the little femmes both up.
Sunstreaker merely sat with the deepest contentment he had ever felt. He belonged somewhere. He belonged to someone. At last.
Sideswipe felt his contentment and added his own. Bluestreak would arrive pretty soon and they would dine together. When at last they left, they would take enough strands of lights to put on the windows of their apartment in every room.
It was all good.
Truly.
=0=TBC
2012 (11)
This is what you get when you listen to Tony Bennett singing Christmas songs on the teevee. HUGS to all tonight from Australia to Zambia. Hugs to all in countries everywhere who read this. You thrill me every day. I will try and return the favor. :D :D :D