The Diego Diaries: Follow Up 7 (dd3 161)
-0-On Silverbolt
"You're assuming a lot, Star," Thundercracker said glancing at his bond.
Starscream nodded. "I perhaps am but you never know until you try."
"They're a joor behind us."
"I know. Prime will wait." Starscream looked at the data pad in his servos. A huge mass of Seekers had been stationed off Fort Apache to be back up for the team already in the field. They were now on their way escorting a battle shuttle that carried the Elders of their kindreds. It would be soon that they'd catch up and Starscream would be able to assuage his deep and burning irritation. It couldn't come too soon.
-0-Elsewhere on the same time continuum
"ADA! ATAR?"
Ravel sat with Orion on his lap, puppets on his servos and a grim smile on his sweet face. "Atar has to work, angel. Look at the puppets."
Orion did.
-0-Farther up
"Miracle, what are you doing up?" Miler looked at the tiny image of Optimus Prime with the hints of Prowl etched on his armor as he stood in the corridor peeking out at them. He had a dollie on one servo and a thumb in his mouth. Miler walked over and knelt.
Miracle looked at him for a moment then removed his thumb. "Atar? Ada?" he asked with confusion.
Miler glanced back at Venture who was sitting in a chair working on some projections for economic swaps with Earth. "We have a problem, Ven."
Venture nodded and rose.
-0-Elsewhere
"Good night, Ada."
"Good night, Silver bunny," Hound said with a grin.
Trailbreaker who was standing beside him holding Rebel nodded. "Good night, baby girl."
She grinned. "I'm glad you didn't go with the battle group. I would cry if you did."
They blanched slightly. "I know. We weren't in the rotation this time, Silverbow. Don't worry about a thing," Trailbreaker said. "We're here."
"Good," she said pulling up her covers. She watched them turn to go, shutting down the lights as they left. Walking to the next room, Trailbreaker put Rebel in his bed with two servos. He had a modification done on his left arm removing the weapon he once carried there for a servo with which to handle his children. He didn't regret it. It was about time for an upgrade he considered the first time he bathed his daughter when they took her home.
Rebel grinned up at them. "ADA!"
"He's pretty noisy. Must be playing with Orion," Hound said with a chuckle. He leaned down and kissed the infant, pausing long enough for Trailbreaker to do the same thing. Then they turned out the light and left the room.
Walking to the living room, they sat and switched on The Hourly News. The latest projection of the battle group for arrival at the migration was under a joor. There was no more latest breaking news of yet but like all the soldiers of the colony both professional and Home Guard, they waited with great expectation.
-0-Elsewhere
"He looks sleepy, Ravie."
"I think so. Let's put him to bed, Tie," Ravel said putting down the puppets to lay Orion on his shoulder. The infant snuggled down and Ravel rose with care to walk to the berth room where the little mech slept. Laying Orion down in his soft crib, they tucked him in and snuck out.
Praxus had given out earlier and they'd given Sunspot a break, letting him retire on time even though he was good to go with helping them.
The nice little mech.
Walking out to settle in their chairs, they kicked back. "I think I'm out of practice, Tie."
"I think so, Ravie," Tie Down said with a grin. "They're very darling but energetic."
"Remind you of anyone?" Ravie asked with a grin.
Tie picked up the remote and held it up.
"ATAR!"
They glanced at each other and gulped.
-0-Aerie Hill
Sky Warp stood in the infant's berth room staring into the round crib that was the custom of hatchlings during their infancy when they slept together as a group. It was large, round, filled with blankets and soft dollies as well as three bright opticed little babies who sat there grinning at their atar.
"Atar, where Ada?" Dart asked as he stood and walked to the railing that rounded the bed. The crib stood in the middle of the room. The moonlight was weak as it filtered in as Phobos made its circuitous orbit of Mars. "Where Ada? Where Atar?"
Sky Warp walked closer and kissed the infant on the helm. "Atar is doing his duty to protect you and this colony. Atar is showing his quality with the leadership to anyone who would think they could harm this place and you three even accidentally. Ada will be back and so will Atar. Until then you must recharge."
Dart smiled at him and patted the railing. "ATAR! COME HERE! FLY DART!"
"You've had all the flying you're going to get," Sky Warp said with a smile. He lifted the infant and lay him down covering the three of them with their little blankets. "Go to sleep."
He walked to the door shutting off the light. Walking to the living room to check for mail, he settled and began to read. Watching as best he could, Dart stood at the rail and was joined by Flit and Pip. They glanced at each other grinning broadly.
"Come," Dart said as he lifted his leg and dropped over the side.
Pip and Flit looked down at him laying on the ground and grinned.
"Dart. Come me," Flit said as he joined his brother with a face plant on the rug.
Pip looked at them, then gripped the railing. He swung until he hung, then let go landing on his peds. Smiling at his brothers, the three exulted in their freedom for a moment. Then they began reconn.
-0-Back yonder
Orion sat in his crib staring at the ceiling. There was nothing there tonight just like last night. Pulling himself up, he considered his brothers and sister. They had their own rooms and beds. They were in them. He decided to join someone somewhere. Gripping the railing, he lifted himself doggedly and fell to land on his bottom.
Sitting for a moment, frowning at the floor with deep unrelenting loathing, he stood up and snuck to the door. Looking out, he turned the corner and headed down to Praxus's room.
-0-Ops Center, Fort Apache, out there
Alor sat at the tactical table rocking gently as he held Hero. The tiny femme was falling asleep. Tweeting softly, she looked up at Alor with heavy lidded optics. Alor smiled. "Go to sleep, wisp. Time to recharge."
She tweeted softly and gave in to to the cyber sandman, her optical shutters closing with the burden of her fatigue.
Rising gently, Alor tucked Hero into her sleeping box and covering her with a blanket. Taking the box, Alor slid it under a console then returned to the table.
Blackjack glancing up grinned. "Been a while since we had to do that."
"I remember," Alor said with a grin...
...back in the orn
"Ironhide!"
He ran madly then paused by a doorway. Looking back, he chuckled almost too loudly. Looking around in the big room, he saw three mechs grinning at him. Running for them, he crawled under the console and hid behind the leg of the navigator of the ship his genitors were commanding at the time.
Blackjack walked in and spotted his little aft sticking out from behind the navigator's leg. "I wonder where Ironhide went. Has anyone seen him?"
"Nope," the duty mechs said with grins.
Ironhide listening quivered with excitement, his little chuckle escaping in spite of his servo covering his mouth.
"I guess he's not here," Blackjack said turning toward the doorway. "I'll have to eat all the cookies myself." With that he walked out of the room.
Ironhide watched him a moment then looked at the mechs.
They grinned down at him. "Cookies, Ironhide. Atar is going to eat all of them," the navigator said.
Ironhide's little blue optics grew two sizes bigger as he climbed back out and ran as fast as his tiny little legs could carry him. He ran out of the door and it was silent a moment but for the sound of his tiny ped falls.
"GOTCHA!"
A loud wild screech of utter surprise and delight filled the corridor as Captain Blackjack walked back to his cabin with his son.
The mechs in the flight module grinned. "That little mech will never learn," the navigator said with a chuckle.
"That one gets him every time," another one said...
...In the here and now
"He's a good atar, I will say," Alor said with a smile. "I'm very proud of his servos on approach to being a father."
"Learned from his genitors," Blackjack said with a nod. "If we couldn't fit him into a duffel bag, we didn't go."
Alor nodded in agreement. Then they turned back to the task at servo.
-0-Aerie Hill
They stood in the shadows stalking their atar. Sky Warp who was aware of them pretended they were still in their crib. When they got close, they ran out and grabbed his leg. Grinning up at him, they laughed.
"WE GOT YOU!" Pip said as he was pulled up onto the couch. They sat in a row next to Sky Warp and grinned.
He grinned back. "Looks like a Loony Tunes night for the four of us." With that, he turned on the monitor and found the channel with cartoons from Earth.
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck would do the trick.
They were pulling for the duck.
-0-High up there in the air
"Atar."
Venture lifted Miracle and hugged him. "He's working, baby." As he said that another baby stepped from the shadows followed by Spirit. "He was crying, Ada," Spirit said about the dispirited little winger with the weepy sad.
Miler picked Kaon up and cuddled him. "Maybe they can sleep together, Ven. What about that?"
"We can try," Venture said. "Come with us, Spirit. You can be our guide."
The little white and red mech smiled. "This way, Appa," he said as he walked to the berth room of Miracle. His grandgenitors followed with a smile.
-0-Down below
"Do you hear something, Tie?" Ravel asked as he looked toward the berth rooms.
They listened.
"No, Ravie," Tie said as they both looked back at the screen. Beyond their visual sight, two pairs of bright blue optics watched them, then walked onward into the berth rooms.
-0-Up there
"There, babies," Miler said grinning at Kaon and Miracle who were lying side by side in the same bed. "Go to sleep."
They walked out.
The infants looked at each other with a smile. They would 'chat', play with dollies and fall asleep side-by-side for the duration of the night.
-0-Down below
Sunspot popped open an optic and blinked. Two little mechs were standing by his berth holding servos and grinning broadly. "What are you doing out of your beds?" he asked sitting up. He looked at the two little babies and grinned. "Come on in."
The two little bots climbed up, their little afts getting a lift from Sunspot. Crowding in with a baby on each side, Sunspot lay caught in the middle of a sparkling sandwich. It wasn't comfortable but it was fun.
"Pot."
Sunspot looked at Orion as he tried to whisper. "What?"
"Orion loves Pot."
Sunspot grinned. "I love you, too."
"Pot play?"
"I have to sleep. School is tomorrow."
"Orion play." He began to get down but Sunspot grabbed his arm. "Go to sleep, Orion. Appa and Amma are tired and have to work tomorrow."
Orion lay back and considered his options.
Sunspot had to fall into recharge eventually.
-0-Some time later
He tip toed around the corridor looking at things as he hung out. The other two were asleep and Orion was unsettled. Things weren't right. Someone had to stay up tonight and wait for the folks. It looked like it would fall to him.
Ravel and Tie Down had no idea whatsoever.
-0-Far away
"I think you need to move, Kestrel. I'm having you escorted to a safe house outside of Altihex. A cell that's led by one of my best mechs will be waiting for you. All you and Tagg have to do is stay low. I'm expecting intel from the underground soon and we'll be working to get you off world before our luck runs out. We've been incredibly lucky so far," Dai Atlas said.
They both nodded and watched as their benefactor walked onward. The shelter where they sat was adequate to keep the steady drip and drizzle of acidic rain off them as they waited through another endless orn.
"What do you think, Tagg? Do you think they will get us to Orion?"
"I do not know, Kestrel," Tagg said. "I hope so. I just want to recharge for a vorn. I am so tired."
Kestrel nodded and slipped his arm around the broad shoulders of the most unassuming hardworking downtrodden mech he knew and loved, one who had once been ready to take on the world. "When we get to Orion it will be alright. Trust me, Tagg."
Tagg nodded and vented a soft sigh. "I do," he said simply.
-0-Later that night in a moderately high up place
"This is a big berth, Tie. I can see why Ironhide and Ratchet need a big one but I've never recharged on a berth this big," Ravel said in the dark as he lay on the berth in the master bedroom of his son's apartment.
"I never have either. Its very comfortable, just like ours," Tie said.
Moonlight shown through the windows as they lay down for the evening. It was quiet and pleasant.
"Are you comfortable, Tie?" Ravel asked. "Do you need a blanket?"
"No. I'm fine, Ravie. You?" Tie asked.
"I'm very comfortable, Tie. Thank you."
It was quiet a moment.
"Do you suppose Orion is comfortable, Tie?" Ravel asked glancing at his bond.
Tie looked down between them where a grinning sparkling lay wrapped in a little blue dog blanket, his atar dollie tucked in with him. "I think he looks fine, Ravie," he said with a grin.
Ravel grinned himself. "It's going to be a long deployment, Tie."
"I know," Tie down said with a grin.
Orion grinned, too.
-0-TBC 2013 (1) edited 8-19-15 edited 5-1-19