The Diego Diaries: PsyOps 20
-0-The door
A knock sounded just as Prowl and the fam began to settle.
"I'll get it," Ratchet said turning and gripping the doorknob. Opening, he paused and grinned. Venture and Miler were in the hallway with a sparkling each. Four of the caregivers of the migration sparklings were behind them with more. "Oh slag. Do come in. I wondered where you were."
Miler snorted entering the big apartment which suddenly seemed nine sizes too small. Prowl who had retrieved Baby from his hold snorted. "I took the liberty of calling for reinforcements. You did say bring the fam."
"I did," Ratchet said taking one of the four sparklings from an aide and handing it off. When all four were distributed the four aids turned and walked off free for the evening. Ratchet turned and looked at the room.
Sunspot, Orion, Kaon and Praxus were joined by Miracle, Rambler, T-Bar and Spirit on the floor by the lights. They were marveling together. Flint, Ironhide, Ravel, Tie Down, Optimus, Prowl, Miler and Venture each had a sparkling. Hero was laying in Bluestreak's arms and all were accounted for. "Isn't this cozy," he said to general hilarity. "Prowl, dump that sparkling. You, Bluestreak, Flint and Alor are going to help me get dinner."
"You can't have it delivered?" Alor said rising. He walked forward and set his sparkling on the floor in front of the lights. The little mech looked at them and flapped his arms smiling broadly. "Sit here, my sweetness. I'll come back for you."
More sparklings joined him and several smirking snarking adults stepped out. Prowl looked at Ratchet. "Those lights are beautiful. Is that what you ordered for us?"
Ratchet nodded. "I did. I also got some for Miler and Venture. They will be delivered to Ops Center shortly. And no, you don't have to thank me."
"Good," Prowl said with a smirk.
Ratchet snorted and they exited the building following the cobblestone path to the highway beyond. They reached the sidewalk and followed it commenting on the banners and the beauty of the night.
"It's so beautiful, Ratchet," Bluestreak said looking here and there. I can see your window lights too." They all paused to look back. They were beautiful against the checkerboard array of lighted versus darkened apartments in their tower. "Thank you for getting us some too. We'll put them up tonight. Kaon and the girls love them."
"They do. You can change the lights with a remote. That should keep Kaon busy for a long time," Ratchet said.
Bluestreak nodded. They continued onward passing mechs and families known and unknown before turning right to go down the street to enter the Mall. They crossed the busy main thoroughfare and walked inside. The Mall was decorated with banners and lights. Apparently, the business community of Autobot City was embracing the beauty and good feeling of Christmas Surprise too.
"Its really pretty," Flint said as they walked to the grocery store. "Christmas Surprise is definitely shiny."
"It is," Ratchet said as they entered. It was busy with shoppers getting this and that, filling this and that whim and family recipe with the things they needed and wanted. Ratchet walked to the back where pre-ordered items were made pending pick up or delivery and paused in line at the counter.
Prowl looked around and grinned. "Reminds me of Praxus."
Flint nodded. "It does. Makes me feel happy. It's been a while."
"Well plan on it, Flint. You haven't even seen Santa Prime yet," Ratchet said with a grin.
He looked at Ratchet for a moment. "Who?"
"Check out the images and video on the Community Bulletin Board in the archives link in Community Activities."
"I will," he said with a grin.
They made their way to the counter and gathered several boxes of food and food items. Ratchet handed a box of infant food to Flint and then took a case of 'beer' himself. "Shall we go?" he asked as they all turned heavily laden. It was a very very pleasant walk back to the apartment.
-0-Old Maccadam's Oil House
Blurr stood behind the bar smirking and filling drink orders. The array of labels he could offer was only one fourth of the stock he could supply when his bar was the only one on Cybertron that had on tap any concoction anyone anywhere could want. The good stuff was still kept where it always was, a small cupboard below the bar.
Music was playing, every table was filled, chatter and laughter filled the air and the bar food was flying out of the kitchen. He had a good wait staff, a couple of amazing bartenders per shift and a view of the city out the windows that would drop a Seeker in mid flight. All was well.
Then Cliffjumper teetered into the bar.
-0-Copper
He walked home from the union meeting of which he was a representative for the stonemasons. The night was cool as befitted a late spring orn on this planet. The usual temp was about -60 degrees normally. Season in, season out, that was normal. That it was this cold could mean that the great sand storms weren't forming. Usually when they did, the ones that went regional or global, they would absorb the sunlight and it would reach temps as much as that above zero.
He didn't care. The stone came out just as it did whether the ground was frozen or not. And mostly it was frozen. He paused and looked at colorful lights blinking in an apartment high up in a tower in Mare Tranquilitatis. They flickered and changed making a soft glow in the sky. He continued onward thinking about how his baby girl would love something like that. He would check the Community Bulletin Board business links to see what they were and if they were commercially available.
He wouldn't be the last one.
-0-Elevator going up
"And so I said, 'ha ha, Ironhide'."
Raucous laughter greeted that comment. Ratchet grinned and they paused for the door to open. It did and they exited walking to the apartment heavily laden. Tapping the door with a ped, it opened and they wandered in setting the food boxes on the counter and table top.
A lot of hilarity ensued as they began to parcel out dinner.
"GIVE ME SOME VITTLES, OLD MECH!" Ironhide said with a giant grin.
Everyone paused and looked at him. He grinned and shrugged. "I heard it on the 'Beverly Hillbillies' the other orn."
Ratchet snorted. He pulled together a plate and turned handing it to Ironhide. "Here, old mech. Your vittles."
"Thanks, Ratchet. Looks good. I think I'll keep ya," Ironhide said with a big grin.
Hilarity ensued.
Infants were given sippy cups, older children 'corn dogs' and 'lemonade' to be followed by 'cherry pie' and 'whipped cream'.
It was a slagging hit.
Bottles were filled and those with sparklings fed them. Six contented migration mech-lets and three femmelings were soon glugging away as Ratchet, Flint, Bluestreak and Prowl sorted out plates for the worker bees. When everyone was served and the migration and femme bots settled, they sat and began to chow down themselves.
"I don't know what this is but its pretty tasty," Prowl said holding up a yellow oblong with little pillowed perforations all around it.
"The list here calls it 'corn on the cob'," Ratchet said looking at the explanation on the order sheet.
"Corn on the cob," Prowl said staring at it with interest. "I will have to say, Rampage is an interesting bot now. I had no idea he had a processor let alone one this creative."
"He is a caution," Alor said drily. Ironhide snorted. "You should know. You went one-on-one with him once."
Sunstreaker pausing with his 'tacos' glanced at Alor. "Really?"
"It was a misunderstanding."
"Do tell," Flint asked with a smirk.
"He wanted to take my runabout and I didn't want him to. I kicked his carcase out an airlock. He learned." Alor bit into his 'chicken wing'. "This is good."
"You read him from the book," Ironhide said with no small amount of pride.
Alor looked at his son, his beloved and adored son. "If you say so, Ironhide."
Hilarity ensued.
Ratchet rose and gathered sippy cups from botlets beating each other with them and tossed them in the sink. The infants stood up and walked to the lights.
"Ada! Kaon and Miracle want to touch the lights," Spirit said.
Prowl paused with his corn cob and looked at Ratchet. That bot stood and smirked, walking over to head them off. Kneeling, he looked at them. "Okay, hoodlums … those, see?" he said pointing at the lights. "Those are off limits. Those are no."
They looked at him, Praxus and Orion joining them. Miracle and Kaon looked at each other, then burst into tears. Orion and Praxus startled reaching over to try to hug them. They weren't having it. They pushed away and turned crying loudly.
"You have the touch, Ratchet," Prowl said with a grin. Miler rose and walked to the bots all of which raised their arms to him.
"Well, this is going to be interesting." Miler knelt and hugged them. "The window," he said pointing at the glass. "No, babies. No touch."
They looked at him, then Ratchet, then Prowl, then their toes. Then they cried. Orion and Praxus shaken by the sight began to cry in sympathy. It was loud and pitiful.
"Okay, slaggers," Ratchet said from his seat on the floor in front of the lights. "Who wants to be next?"
General hilarity, finger pointing, volunteering someone else, seconds on the 'baked beans', jokes, hoots and all around jocularity burst out.
-0-The Brig
Bee and Aid sat together leaning against the other as the moments ticked past. Sobriety was coming along with a bunch of aches and pains. They almost didn't notice when Kup, Springer and Drift followed by Lon entered carrying a blotto Cliffjumper like a bunch of dry cleaning. He hung over Springer's arm minus the hangar and babbled blearily to himself. Following, wringing his servos, Hopper came.
"I can take him home, Springer. I could take care of him," Hopper said anxiously as he watched the big mech plop Cliff on the bench cot. The lights went on when he stepped out.
Looking down at the ultra nice bot looking up at him with great misery, Springer grinned slightly. "He got a fight going at Old Maccadam's on the second day it was open. Second day."
"It could have been the first day," Hopper offered with a weak smile.
Springer chuckled. "You really need to get a nicer mech, Hopper. You are a really nice bot."
"I like that one," Hopper said venting a sigh. "I just do."
"That's too bad," Springer said with sympathy. "We gotta go, Hopper. He'll come up before the Magistrate tomorrow. You might want to rest up and see him after Semi gets through with him."
Hopper nodded and turned walking out mournfully. Springer watched him go and glanced at the others. "I know why Ratchet does what he does. I want to find that mech a better bot to frag. Cliff is too high maintenance."
"It might be why Hopper hangs with him," Drift said. "It sort of explains why I hang with you."
Springer snorted and chuckled. "That's me. High maintenance."
They bullshitted their way out, up and across the Fortress stepping out into the night time once more. It was glorious.
-0-Later that night (leaving time at the door)
"We'll have a military staff meeting tomorrow and all of you need to be there. We have a lot of stuff to discuss," Optimus said as he swayed gently with a sleepy Miracle in his arms. The other infants were distributed between carry holds and grandgenitors as they gathered up to go. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe held the bags with their lights as Bluestreak gathered up Kaon. The girls were in their basket and in their atar's servo. Sideswipe looked down at them and grinned. They grinned back up at him.
Chi was achieved.
They began to funnel out taking their bullshit with them and when the last one left including his genitors, Ratchet turned looking at the kitchen. It was immaculate and everything was in its place. "I don't know who raised all the adult younglings but I owe them one," he said with a snort.
"They are a caution," Ironhide said with a grin. He was sitting in HIS CHAIR SLAG IT, RATCHET! holding Hero in his arms. She was asleep. The infants were toddling around and Sunspot was laying on the floor watching the lights.
"Sunny Bunny, did you do your homework?" Ratchet asked.
He looked back and grinned. "I don't have any tonight."
"You mean, you're such a good worker you did it all at school?" Ironhide asked.
He nodded. "I did." He sat up. "Ada? Atar? Can we get the Christmas Surprise trees out and turn them on?"
Ratchet glanced at Ironhide. Ironhide grinned. "You put them up. You get them out."
Ratchet snorted and walked to his berthroom opening the closet. Three little perfect metallic Christmas Surprise trees stood on the top shelf, their ornamentation in place. Taking them gently down, he walked out and put them on the table. "I forget how to put them around, Sunspot. Whatever shall we do?" Ratchet asked with a slight smile.
"I'll show you, Ada," Sunspot said earnestly as he rose and walked to the trees. He took them one by one and set them on the floor in front of the window. They were evenly placed and their lights blazed. Walking to the wall switches, he shut off the lights. Orion and Praxus who were following him back and forth as he did all the good stuff paused and looked at the display.
"ADA!"
"What, Orion?"
"POT DID! POT GOOD!" He turned and looked at his brother. "ORION LOVE POT!"
Sunspot looked down at Orion for a moment, then smiled beautifully. "Pot loves Orion." With that, Sunspot took Orion's servo and Praxus's, then walked to the window and sat. Ironhide switched the lights from this to that as they sat together marveling at the pretty display.
It would be the best possible ending for another orn in paradise.
Or something a lot like it.
-0-TBC
2012 (11)