The Diego Diaries: Interlude 12
-0-Around town
Barricade sat in the bar, Stiletto by his side. The bar was filled as the dinner crowd spilled out of the dining room and into the bar. A football game from America was on the monitor screens and there was a murmur of commentary by mechs who watched it. The bartender was laughing at a joke by an elder and around the room waiters delivered drinks and food to customers.
They watched as Scorponok entered walking to their table to sit. He didn't speak and neither did they. It would be like most other nights. Mechs would come and go, friends and families gathering together for dinner and conversation. They would watch. They wouldn't participate.
"Christmas Surprise is going to happen in about five orns," Scorponok said quietly. "There's a big program out on the air field. Most of the city is expected and there's supposed to be fireworks. Good fireworks."
Barricade nodded. "Wheeljack and Perceptor stage them. Slaggers do a good job."
Scorponok nodded. "I hope we can watch."
No one argued with him. The game played on overhead.
-0-In the bosom of love
"Ironhide, he's under the table."
Ironhide peered around the corner and spotted his quarry who was standing under the table clutching a dollie tightly. He was quivering with excitement as he peeped out watching his atar stalk him.
It was bath time. It would happen tonight and spare the morning.
"Orion, come to me and lets get this over," Ironhide said making a fake stern expression on his face.
Orion used to his old pa faking irritation laughed. "ATAR! YOU FUNNY!"
Ratchet paused and looked at Ironhide whose optics were twirling. "Sparkling has new words."
Praxus slipped between Ironhide's legs and ran for the table screeching in barely contained hysteria. He made it and grabbed his brother, the two turning to watch with extreme excitement.
"You're losing your touch, Ironhide. The sparklings are squirting out of your clutches," Ratchet said with a chuckle.
"ADA! ATAR FUNNY! ATAR, I GO! YOU FUNNY!" Orion said. He cackled like a rooster and grinned as he stepped in front of Praxus protectively. Praxus denied a view patted Orion. "O! YOU!"
Orion turned and looked at his brother. "PAX! I ME! YOU?"
Praxus considered that and laughed. "BAI! TWEET! O!"
Orion snorted and laughed. "PAX! YOU FUNNY!"
Praxus laughed and reached out grabbing Orion. They hugged, the two nearly toppling over. Then they turned to look at Ratchet and Ironhide. "ADA! ADA AND ATAR FUNNY! I ME! YOU, PAX! PAX FUNNY! POT!"
For a moment Ratchet and Ironhide stood transfixed, then Sunspot stepped out of his room, his homework in servo. "Did someone call me?" he asked.
"Your brother," Ironhide said with a dazzled grin.
Sunspot smiled and walked to the table peering underneath. "Hi."
The two little babies squeed and hugged themselves in their excitement. "POT! COME ME! COME PAX AND ME!"
Sunspot put his datapad on the table and crawled underneath turning to kneel and face outward again. Ratchet snorted. "You are a good brother, Sunspot. Did I tell you that lately?"
"You did," he said with a grin.
"Well you are," Ratchet said. "You two sparklings. Come out from under there."
Praxus shrieked with excitement. He turned and hugged Sunspot, clinging to him as he looked at his genitors. "POT ME!"
Ratchet glanced at Ironhide. "What now? Do we send in the Wreckers or do you go in alone?"
"I think I'll just watch a while," Ironhide said with a grin.
-0-Nearby in another tower
He sat at the table putting together the little ship, a model of an Ark. It had a lot of parts but was the center of a mobile that would hang over his daughter's little crib. Beju loved ships and they often took walks around the air field as a family looking at them.
His daughter was a petite femme even for her frame type. It also didn't add to any type of perspective that her massive father liked to carry her about finding in the compliments of others an almost unbelievable amount of happiness. She was tiny and extremely pretty. They had designed her frame to be dazzling. Her scheme was emerald green with shimmering blue highlights. She had the most petite finials and beautiful yellow optics.
He had had no idea of what constituted a protoform. That part of his memory was so banked in bullshit and time past that he decided to let Arlot make most of the decisions.
That didn't go so well.
"Scar, you need to have a say in this. This is going to be your daughter. You have a chance to help her here."
Scar had capitulated, studied the protoform database and helped Arlot develop their daughter. She was luminously beautiful to him. She was spectacular, wondrous, perfection. He had never been so afraid as he was during her separation but when he saw her sparkling beauty held in Cleeri's servos he had felt so much love he could barely contain it.
Arlot had insisted that he hold her first. They had sat on the medberth looking at her looking at them from the middle of a soft blanket. That first night had been anxious for him but Arlot, ever his rock had helped him. Talks with Nitro and Ironhide had been extremely helpful as well. Some day his daughter would be in school and he would attend every single event that she was part of even if he had to crawl there on his broken legs.
Sitting at the table with the pieces of her little mobile laying neatly before him, he worked to make it perfect. Standing in a doorway nearby, the warm lights of the tiny tree they got at The Infant Center and the window light strands giving off a soft warm glow, Arlot watched him.
Scar was a self admitted 'grizzled old town car' who had no time for emotional stuff or sentimentality. He had changed of course once they met. It was a blind date arranged by friends. Scar had been adorable, ill at ease and tongue tied around someone 'who had a lot of class and education'. Arlot decided they were meant for each other. The hard part was convincing Scar that this was so. When he finally figured it out he was changed down deep inside.
He also began to make appointments to speak to Prime.
Now he was a father, a bond, a construction boss attending night school to improve himself and a leader of mechs. He was a soldier as well on the side of the Autobots, following the leader that he respected, serving the city that he loved and called home.
It was all good.
Arlot walked out and sat down looking at the Ark Scar was nearly finished with. Tinier Arks were waiting to be assembled before getting strung and hung up over their daughter's bed. He grinned. "This is very cute."
"She loves ships," Scar said with a grin.
"She does," Arlot said. "we have a few parties to go to on Christmas Surprise day."
"I saw the note on the fridge," Scar said with a grin. "Its going to be a great day. Santa Prime is going to be giving presents to the babies that aren't in school over at the Elder's Center at the Vos Tower that morning. I'm cutting off the shift a couple of joors before so we can go."
"I have the camera," Arlot said grinning. "I want to have a picture of both of you with him."
Scar snorted. "We'll see," he said with a grin.
They sat together working on the mobile as the night grew darker and the lights outside came on one by one.
-0-At the Mall of Metroplex
He walked to The Book Store Metroplex and entered pausing by the door. Spotting the clerk, he walked to the desk and waited for him to finish with a customer. The clerk turned to him and smiled. "Can I help you?"
"I was hoping to get a copy of 'Wreckers: Declassified'," he said with a grin.
The clerk nodded. "We have several versions of that work. We have it on data format that you can download into your personal database or a device. We have it on datapad with commentaries. We also have it on a new experimental format which uses metal sheets for pages with the glyphs inscribed on it, the pictures presented in the same way. You turn the pages like a book. You know, like the humans have but these are metallic, never wear out and are beautifully inscribed."
"That format sounds great. Can I look at it?" he asked.
The clerk nodded and turned walking to the shelves nearby to search. When he found it, he returned and held it out to Drift. The book itself was a beautiful creation with etched and engraved covers. The pages were intensely thin sheets of metal upon which were inscribed the tales of the Wreckers as presented by Ironfist under the pseudonym Fisitron. The book was a work of art. He nodded. "This is perfect."
The clerk agreed and pulling out a beautiful box from under the counter. He took the book and put it inside placing the lid over it. Taking a shimmering silver bag, he slipped it inside and handed it to Drift. "Happy Christmas Surprise," the clerk said.
"You too," Drift said with a small grin. He tucked the gift into his subspace and turned walking out for duty. Gotcha, he thought as he walked out of the big mall and down to street to the substation where he would meet Springer for their shift.
-0-At IntraComm
The set was going up to perfection. The historian from the museum had been part of the project along with Alpha Trion and the former members of the Council of the Ancients. Blaster supervised the sound system and the placement of all of the electronics. When that was in servo, he left for the night.
The walk home was swift and the warmth of his family delightful as he stepped inside his apartment. 'Vette was in bed asleep but Revet was up waiting for him, The Hourly News playing softly as Revet worked on his own projects as head of the team filming Christmas Surprise, a broadcast that would be city wide, last for two orns and be archived.
Most of it would be automated but some of it required crews. When it was in servo, Revet would be free.
To help Blaster.
Yes, he was that dedicated.
"Hi," the small former Decepticon said as Blaster sat down beside him.
"Hi," Blaster said with a grin. They would sit to watch the news, chat and enjoy the lights. It would be peaceful, the quiet before the broadcast storm.
-0-The Hourly News
"Tomorrow, the weather looks calm, the sandstorms of the north giving a pale orange tinge to the sky. But the overall affect will be short lived according to Fortress Maximus Flight Control. Their meteorologist says that the storm programming being tested in the north has caused a 27% drop in particulates in the upper atmosphere already. When the beta testing is done, Sciences says that they will be ready for the fall sandstorm season. That will be welcome news for all of us," Gen-O said as the images of sandstorms played out behind him on the giant monitors of the studio. "In other news today, the festivities are gearing up for Christmas Surprise. Jacx and Lim-Lee have been about the city checking up on the preparations for a two orn city-wide holiday."
(Cut to the Autobot City Business Plaza and Jacx)
"This is Jacx at The Energon Basket in the Autobot City Business Plaza and I am speaking with Rampage who is catering some of the official and private parties that will be held all over the city during Christmas Surprise. What can you tell us about them?"
Rampage grinned slightly. "We are going to be catering about 324 parties throughout the city, many of them buffets in the 17 rec rooms that dot the city. We have also been asked to cater private affairs as well as a couple of official ones. Our students in food service will be doing everything from delivering finished meals to cooking on site. This is a way for our students to work in a real situation and get experience in the service industry. It has also been our good fortune to supply treats and drinks to the schools for their parties on the last orn of school before the vacation. Sunstreaker and the Genitor-Teacher Committee have asked us to do that and we are delighted to accommodate them."
"What are some of the parties you are looking forward to working, Rampage? Any that are extra special?" Jacx asked.
"There is one. A little femme has party in a tent in her bedroom. She's inviting her friends and she wants to have a particular kind of food and drink so we're doing it for Silverbow," Rampage said with a grin. "That is my favorite of all the parties that we are doing this season."
Jacx nodded. "Thank you, Rampage. This is Jacx at The Energon Basket. Now back to the studio."
-0-At that same time
"They said my name! My party is on the teevee," Silverbow said with almost more astonishment than she could contain. She had paused on her way to bed upon hearing Rampage being introduced. She turned to Hound and Trailbreaker. "I was on the teevee!"
They both looked down at her and grinned. "You were," Hound said scooping her up. "You sure were." They turned and walked to the berthrooms with Silverbow and Rebel in arms.
-0-At the Residence of the Prime
Prowl gathered them up for bed and disappeared down the hallway, Miracle toddling along with the rest of the younglings. It was a slow progress but they disappeared eventually. Optimus watched them go with a grin, then turned and walked to the doorway that led to the terrace. He stepped out and paused looking around. The city was beautiful, lights shown from many windows including colored ones. Aircraft came and went, flying into the night as well as landing.
It was peaceful and beautiful.
In one orn they would wake up Shockwave and find out what he knew. They would squeeze it out of him if it was the last thing he could do. Then they would turn back to the light and their third Christmas Surprise. The sound of Silverbolt landing caught his attention and he watched as the ramp came down. The humans were gathered at the bottom waiting for their families who were coming for the holidays. Warren Roberts and his staff would be there too along with the femmes.
He was glad. There had to be happiness. There was a lot to worry about. There were also signs of a very big migration heading their way. They had also found out that the aliens who controlled the acid monsters were showing up on the far arrays. That didn't count the politicians who wanted a piece of Ratchet, the Family, the Sector 7 mole and other things.
But that was for later. Right now he thought as Prowl walked out to join him there was only this moment and this night. He slipped his arm around Prowl and they stood together enjoying the beauty of the night in their city.
=0=TBC
2012 (12) Happy None Armageddon, my dear hearts! What a hoot 12-21-12 has been. HUGS!