The Diego Diaries: Shadow Box 39 edited for boo-boos :D
-0-Later that same orn
Ratchet walked in and set down the 'take out' dinner he had gotten from a number of restaurants, the 'grocery store' in the Mall of Metroplex and a bakery. He turned and stared at the end of his apartment where a wall should have been.
It was gone.
The construction of apartments followed Cybertronian practice of metallic materials, any of which could be designed to simulate organic stuffs. The wall had looked like drywall with texture and color applied but it wasn't. It was designed to look like it but it was all metal. The wall was gone and the other apartment stretched on for what seemed like forever.
The crew that was working paused and nodded. "Hi, Ratchet," Bulkhead said as he paused long enough to step over stuff to reach the kitchen area of apartment 24.
"Hi, Bulkhead. I didn't know you were working for the Housing Authority."
"I am overseeing a master project," he said proudly. "Those four mechs are working for certification of their engineering degrees so that they can become general contractors."
"Wow," Ratchet said nodding to the four grinning younglings who were removing panels and getting ready to take apart the kitchen area of apartment 23. "Thank you in advance, boys. I am proud we get your certification job."
They grinned. "We're glad to do it, Ratchet," a tall youngling said with a smile. "This is going to be awesome."
"Then thank you again. I know it will be," Ratchet said. "Bulkhead forgot more about this stuff than most people ever know."
Bulkhead grinned and turned. "Let's get that cabinet and sink out of here, boys."
They turned to do that while Ratchet moved to the opening. "This is going to be stupendous, Bulkhead. The younglings will have room to run." He looked at Bulkhead. "When are you and Tyro going to consider the idea of family? You have been a soldier forever. You deserve to have it all now that we can."
"We're working on it," Bulkhead said with a grin.
"That's good to hear," Ratchet said. "We don't regret our family. All the sparklings we can get will help us live on."
"I know. Do you know I coach a micro-mini-con team with Scar and Payload?" Bulkhead asked.
"I heard that. The biggest bots with the smallest. I never miss a game from that league when they play on the sports channel. That was genius getting a show for the games to play regularly."
"It was. They needed to be on there," Bulkhead said. "All of the teams."
"The end games are coming up. How do you think you team will do in the finals?" Ratchet asked with a grin.
"They will rule," Bulkhead said with a chuckle. "Fortunately, we don't keep score. Spinner and Kip really took care of that."
Ratchet grinned. "They did. Dynamite can come in small packages."
"It can," Bulkhead said with a grin.
They stood and watched as the apartment slowly began to transform. The walls were unscrewed and the seals that contained noise and insured privacy were pulled out of their slots. The slots were unscrewed and taken away, dust and debris carefully removed as they went. By the time the kitchen portion was carried out, half of the apartment was empty. It was a clear wall of glass that extended along the wall from the missing kitchen to the end of the apartment beyond the corridors. They would insert missing glass where kitchen wall was and then leave for the orn. It would be spick and span, all major areas locked down and ready for more work the next orn.
It was a grade A production. Literally.
"Do you want to keep this door too, Ratchet or do we take it out?" Bulkhead said as he followed his youngling students to the door of apartment 23.
"I think it might be nice, Bulkhead but if it violates some code, use your discretion," Ratchet said with a nod.
"You can keep it. It's good," Bulkhead said.
"Good. Thank you all for such a great start," Ratchet said. They bid goodbye and left closing the door behind them. Ratchet stood in the middle of a gigantic space looking around. He walked to the corridor and noted the big berthroom, wash rack and smaller room across from it that was going to be a new office. They could park their official slag in a room designated for it.
It was awesome.
A door opened and infants hippity-hopped in chatting and blabbing away. They paused bumping into each other as they saw the extension of their kingdom. Orion looked at it, then glanced at Ratchet with a serious expression. "ADA! WHAT?"
"We have an upgrade," Ratchet replied as Ironhide removed their harnesses. Sunspot walked to where Ratchet was and looked up. "What is this, Ada?"
"Well, Sunspot, this is an extension of our house." Ratchet looked at Ironhide who nodded. "We're going to have a new sparkling."
Sunspot looked at him for a moment, then he smiled like the sun coming over the horizon. He raised his arms and Ratchet picked him up, the youngling hugging him hard. "Ada! This is so great! I LOVE THIS IDEA! WHY DO WE HAVE A BIGGER HOUSE?"
"So we can have space for all you sparklings. Did you know that we have to settle a problem?" Ratchet asked. "I think you might be able to do it."
Sunspot glanced at Ironhide who was grinning at him. "OKAY! I WILL HELP YOU!"
"You always help us, Sunny Bunny," Ratchet said hugging the little mech tightly. "Our problem is … well, maybe I can show you." Ratchet turned and walked to the new berthrooms. He paused at the door. "This is a berthroom with a wash rack. We have a spare. What we need is a new room for the new sparkling. That means you must have a bigger room because that new sparkling needs to have yours. Do you want this one or do you want Atar and me to move in here and let you have ours?"
Sunspot looked at Ratchet with a startled expression. "You would move your room?"
"We would like to have our sparklings all together. If that means you want our berthroom to be close to your siblings or you want this one, it's up to you," Ratchet explained.
He looked at Ratchet, then Ironhide. "Can I see?"
Ratchet put him down and the little mech peered into the small room. "This is a little room."
"Its going to be an office for us and a study room for you, son," Ratchet said glancing at Ironhide who nodded.
"Wow. I CAN STUDY IN HERE!" he said with a giant smile.
"You can keep your desk in your room or you can put it in here with ours. It's up to you, son," Ratchet said as he enjoyed Sunspot's excitement.
Sunspot turned and walked into the other berthroom. It had a big berth, a dresser and a closet. It also had a wash rack. A bank of windows from floor to ceiling completed the décor. He looked around, then stared at his genitors as Orion and Praxus walked in to stand by him. They turned and looked up at Ratchet and Ironhide too. "THIS HAS A WASH RACK! IT HAS A HUGE BED! THIS ROOM IS HUGE!"
"It is. You pick which room you like and we'll help you set up in it. We can hang your boards on the walls and get even more since you earn so many badges," Ironhide said. "It's up to you, son."
Sunspot looked at them, then the room. Then he looked at Praxus and Orion. "I LOVE THIS. I GET TO CHOOSE, ORION! I GET A NEW ROOM. YOU CAN COME AND PLAY IN MY NEW ROOM TOO!"
Orion and Praxus caught up in Sunspot's excitement smiled ginormously and clapped their servos. Then they both reached out and took one of Sunspot's. Turning, they all three looked up at Ironhide and Ratchet with big smiles. "ADA! ATAR! POT HAPPY!"
Everyone blinked but Orion. Ratchet snorted and grinned. "He sure is, the little cutie. What do you want to do, Sunny Bunny. Do you want to think on it?"
Sunspot looked at them happily, then looked at his brothers who were patting his arms. He thought a moment. "They like to come sleep with me sometimes. I wouldn't want them to be scared. If I were closer, they would be able to find me easier."
"Then you want our room?" Ironhide asked.
"I don't want to have you move out and stuff," Sunspot said. "But they would love it better if I were closer to them."
"Done deal," Ratchet said. "We'll move out and help you move in when the builders are finished."
Sunspot smiled brightly. "THAT IS SO FUN!"
Ironhide grinned at his three mechs. "It is."
"Time for dinner. Put your school stuff up and we'll eat," Ratchet said as Sunspot and Ironhide began to herd the sparklings back into the old rooms to wash up and put things away. "Ironhide, where's Hero?"
Ironhide glanced at Ratchet. "Do you really have to ask?"
Ratchet's laughter followed him down the hallway with his sparklings.
-0-A few levels upward
"How long are you going to keep that sparkling?" Optimus asked as he sipped his 'coffee' after dinner.
"I think I'm going to get it from time to time to keep Ironhide off sides," Prowl said with a smirk. Hero grinned up at Uncle Prowl as he fed her dinner.
"You and Ironhide. You're two peas in a pod." He chucked and shook his helm. "Makes things fun."
Prowl grinned. "You can't make me feel badly. I'll drop her off at Alor's when I go. Ali asked me to."
"Poor Ironhide. Even his ada sticks it to him."
"All is fair in sparkling war, Only One," Prowl said with a self-satisfied grin.
"If you say so, Prowl," Optimus said as his little mechs, all four of them came running up for a wrestle and a movie.
-0-A joor later
"Thank you. Come in, Prowl."
Prowl entered the apartment behind Alor who had Hero in his arms. Blackjack who was sitting in a chair by the windows with Flint smirked. "Nice smooth move, Prowl. It's hard to separate Ironhide from his sparklings. Even for us."
"He does loves his sparklings." Prowl sat and grinned. "It makes it intensely fun to do it. I intend to do it often over the next few decaorns. Serves both of them right."
Laughter greeted that. "Ratchet has mentioned the competition," Alor said. "Personally, I don't think there can be too many sparklings. The more the better."
"My feelings exactly." He sat forward and looked at them seriously. "Jazz has cracked some intel from the Shockwave download this afternoon. We have located a camp that isn't close to the ones we want to hit. It is smaller but produces essential things for Cybertron's energy production. Rare metals and such. We will be talking about it first thing tomorrow. We are going to liberate the camp and bring all the population there back here as a dry run for the others. We will be using Alpha teams and that includes all of you."
They nodded. "How many are we talking about and how fortified?"
"Not very fortified. Considering. We will be looking at about 1000 captives and a garrison of about 1200 Decepticons and contracted workers for security and administration drawn from among enslaved alien worlds. They won't be loyal to the 'Cons which means about 300 of them are going to be neutral. 900 seems the expected number of troops."
"Okay. Do you suppose Jazz could route the information to us so I can study it against the star charts? I might be able to add to the plan given a chance to study it with Ali and Flint," Blackjack asked.
Prowl nodded and paused. Then he looked at the monitor overhead which blinked a tiny red light. "He sent it," Prowl said rising. He looked at Hero. "She's pretty wonderful. I don't blame Ironhide. He does love his sparklings. Who would know that such a terrible fighter could be such a femme?"
Alor snorted and laughed aloud, the baby looking up at him with a quizzical expression. "He takes after his atar."
They grinned at each other, old friends and comrades of many a long campaign. "I have to go. Old rust butt wants me outside the Cafe Cybertron at sundown."
"You going to get arrested again?" Blackjack asked.
"Magnus will throw a rod," Flint said with a chuckle.
"You can't unless you call me. I told you last time that you can't tear up the world without me. Promise me you will call before you get arrested," Alor said with a serious yet bemused expression.
"You have my word," Prowl said with a wolfish grin.
-0-A few moments later
"Hey, rust butt."
Ratchet walked to where Prowl stood waiting on the sidewalk outside Club Cybertron. "Are you talking to me?" Ratchet asked in his best Robert DeNiro impression.
"Yeah. Let's get loaded. If we get arrested, we have to wait until Alor comes. He made me promise."
"Ali would be a bonus for jail time. We'll call him. He'll kick our afts if we don't," Ratchet said as they turned to go to Maccadam's Old Oil House.
"Your in-laws rule," Prowl said with a smirk as he walked beside his most unlikely BFF.
"They do," Ratchet said as they walked into the night-time mob heading for home and clubs.
Watching them go, Sam Witwicky who was sharing a segway with his VERY GOOD friend, Jessie Landon who were there for the weekend, smiled. :How about following those two? They get arrested every time they go clubbing:
:Sounds like a winner: Jessie said. :I hear from the grapevine that Ratchet is sparked again. I want to hear it from him. If he doesn't call me for this one I will kick his ass:
Sam snorted and gunned the segway, the two disappearing after their quarry in a hurry.
Behind them watching with a smirk, Springer glanced at his bond. "Well, there they go. You ready for some fun?"
"We have to decide when if at all we intervene?" Drift said with a nod.
They turned and began to follow. "Optimus said just keep an optic on them. He didn't say intervene," Springer said as they merged with the evening crowd.
"You read my processor," Drift said with a chuckle.
Then they were gone from view.
-0-TBC For Pip
2013 (2)
NOTES:
GUEST: Thank you for spotting that error. You guys are awesome.
Someone wrote that this story was like a cookie and milk after a bad day. That is such a beautiful thing to hear. I hug you. I am sorting through my messages here to make sure I answer them all and that one eludes me. HUGS for it. Lovely stuff. I am really glad to entertain everyone.
The daily life for everyone is going to be interspersed with the serious stuff. Such is life, yes? The mundane and the profane. That is what I think makes this story swing for so many. It is what they do even when they are doing nothing. This is them reclaiming their interior life which has taken a backseat to war for too long. Ironhide is as bad ass as they get but he's tender with his family and funny with his friends. That is the thing for me. Give them a chance to rediscover who they are and should have been all along.
HUGS to all tonight. I have a moose on my front porch eating birdseed. Life is wonderful sometimes. You are all a part of that feeling for me.
More to come. :D