The Diego Diaries: Skills (476) edited
-0-The next orn
They walked into his business and chatted a moment with Turquoise. Even though he was aware that these mechs were trouble Turquoise played his part beautifully. He said he was going to get treats and left. Burnoff watched his ada go, then turned to the group with him which included an off duty Lon. "Come on. I'll show you my set up."
They followed him down the corridor listening intently as he described each space to them. They walked into his work room and looked around. Gravity turned to him. "How did you get this?"
"I put a proposal to the Business Administration in the City Hall and they okayed it. Then they allocated and built the space I needed according to my schematics. I am supplied by the Foundry Exchange. All I have to do is work and design," Burnoff said with a grin. "My ada is working on a cure for something for Medical so he works here on my set up. He is my assistant and right arm."
"I always liked your genitors," Default said as he peered at a bit of electronics Burnoff was working on. "So all we have to do is pass a plan and we get our own set up?"
"It helps if the plan actually makes something worth having," Burnoff said sitting on his chair at the work table where he was refining a scope.
Default nodded. "We can make things that are useful." He looked at his cohort. "Don't you agree?"
They nodded. Gravity sat down across from Burnoff. "Tell us what we have to do."
Burnoff did.
-0-An hour later
They left the business heading out to the city where they were going to refine a plan of their own. To have a business in a new city, one that looked most like Cybertron was a revelation. They could bring all of their stuff out of closets and lockers. Lon glanced at Burnoff. "They will have a place we can investigate."
Burnoff nodded. "I would worry about not getting caught. If memory serves me, Gravity can get in and out of places without being seen. I don't know if he's just that sneaky or if he has something stealth on his body. Either way, you can bet they will booby trap their own spaces."
Lon nodded. "I hear ya."
-0-Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars later that afternoon
They sat around the table looking at the map before them. A huge migration was coming and it would have to run a gauntlet now. The pirates had colonized two different locations. Paragon was recruiting and his forces were growing. The same could be said for Cyclonus. Nothing had been heard from Cybertron for a while. The communications system that the femmes had delivered along with the energon machine was not up yet. They could only guess what was happening with Soundwave. Nothing was known of Megatron but strange signals had been detected in the space beyond Cyclonus, the space nearest to Proxima Centauri. That unknown was keeping Cyclonus busy for the time being.
"It would seem that the new cities will be coming on line just in the nick of time," Prowl said glancing at Prime. "We will have to name them soon."
Optimus nodded. "I know. They broke ground for the basilica. Things are coming along rather well."
Prowl nodded. "Dex pushed my buttons."
"They can do that when it comes to your family. Your vaunted self control rather falls to ashes at moments like that," Optimus said quietly, a slight smile on his face.
Prowl looked at him ruefully. "I know. I will work on it."
Prime grinned. He considered the moment, then shook his helm. "I think that Dex like his son is damaged goods. The alternative site will be ready shortly. If push comes to shove then we have a safety valve for everyone. I don't want civil war again."
Prowl nodded. "I know. Did you hear about Ironhide's ideas for their new décor?"
Optimus snorted. "I can only imagine."
-0-At The Home Store, Mall of Metroplex
"Ironhide!"
"But its pret-"
"No."
"Then what about this?"
"What?!"
"Its a compromise. That one is a lighter shade."
"SINCE WHEN IS THERE A GOOD SHADE OF MAGENTA!?"
"Is that what it is?"
"Go over here. Sit."
(Big mechanism walks to nice couch and sits. Enjoys it even if he likes spots, stripes and other spangly things. Watches red afted slagger walk to the monitor and pull up living room furniture. He picks things that don't glow in the dark and turns.) "What do you think?"
There were three dark brown leather couches. There were five dark brown leather chairs. All of it went really well with two coffee tables.
"That's a lot of brown."
Red Aft Slagger changes one of the chairs to dark green, a forest color and another chair to a deep rich red. "How's that, slagger?"
"I dibs the red chair," Ironhide said with a grin.
Ratchet grinned. "I get the green one. Now lets get the table and chairs and the big berth."
"Get a big one, Ratchet. Isn't so much fun playing chase on a small berth." Ironhide grinned and waggled his optic ridges.
Ratchet snorted, then chose a few things that Ironhide signed off on. Then Ratchet turned. "Now we have to choose dressers and stuff. You did a good job on Hero's room making it all femme and the like. You come and do it again. Remember … she isn't a doofus. She's a lady."
Ironhide stood up swaggering over to the monitor. "You concede defeat then. Have the atar take care of the little femme?" He called up furnishings and chose a little pink dresser with butterflies flitting from flower to flower on it. Glancing at Ratchet he grinned. "Score."
Ratchet grinned. "Oh Ironhide. You're making me hot with all your big boy swagger."
"I am aren't I," Ironhide said with a grin. He looked at the screen. "The Circle Guild is rebuilding her bed. How about Praxus in a big boy berth?"
"Good call, Ironhide." Ratchet grinned as Ironhide chose the furnishings for the infants including a new crib for Prowler who was babbling in Ironhide's hold. They chose a little desk for Sunspot and a big one for them. Cabinets and shelves for the office, bulletin boards for pictures, work and badges and shelves for other rooms including the living room rounded out their furnishings. A replacement set of appliances were being installed even as they stood in the store grappling over décor.
It was a hilariously amusing few orns.
-0-At the Youngling Day School
"So we will have a chance to speak to our pen pals via Skype. This is a program that humans use to communicate via computer. It allows the speakers to see each other while they talk. Its a big innovation to the humans and we will be using it," Terradive said to his class as they sat together in the story pit.
Sunspot listened with dread to the announcement that he would have to speak to Michael in London directly. It was hard enough to write to him without the prospect of looking at him too. He gripped his servos together anxiously as he listened.
"There are also going to be visitors to Autobot City in the future who will be seeking to speak to some of you so that the humans back on Earth get to see you. That will be down the road. There are a number of things that are between now and then. Sunspot's Ada, Ratchet will be overseeing that event if and when it happens," Terradive said. "Now what we have to do is get ready for our spelling test."
The infants stood and walked back to their desk. Sunspot would try and put the new information out of his mind but it would nag at him from time to time for a while.
-0-At The Home Store
"IRONHIDE!"
"Look, Ratchet. If we have color in the towels and things, it will make the place pop."
Ratchet paused, then looked at him. "You have been watching Home and Garden TV again."
"They have some good ideas, Ratchet. I have a few home projects I'm thinking of doing myself."
Ratchet looked at the enormous goofball of his dreams, then grinned. "Like what?"
"I'm going to build you a … uh … a spice rack."
Ratchet grinned. "You're my hero. How did you know I wanted one?"
Ironhide blinked, then grinned. "BECAUSE I AM IRONHIDE! DESTROYER OF WORLDS!"
Everyone nearby turned and glanced at them, grinning at the big Autobot. Ratchet grinned back, then hugged Ironhide. "You're my hero."
"I am, aren't I," Ironhide said smugly even as he accessed Teletraan III to find plans for making a spice rack.
Ratchet turned back to the task of getting new linens, towels, etc and as he did he suppressed a belly laugh. /... spice rack … oh Primus …/
Ironhide stood with his arms out as Ratchet filled them with new things that would help them maintain their household in the range of public presentableness. /... I wonder if he's lying about the spice rack … slagger … now I'm stuck …/
-0-At the City Hall, Office of Economic Development in the Business Administration wing of the complex
"And that is our plan. What we need is space to do the work. We have always worked on electronics and have a lot of ideas for the city that we would like to begin developing," Gravity said.
The three mechs who heard business plans nodded. The one before them was geared toward wireless communications and encrypted security software. The senior member nodded. "We are going to study this plan and will have an answer for you in a few joors."
Gravity, Default, Commotion and Kale nodded, then rose. Shaking servos, they turned walking out. They continued down the corridor, crossed the lobby and walked out into the sunlight. A tall monument to those who died defending their world stood nearby, its dedication scheduled for some kind of event called Thanksgiving. Apparently, it was a salute to the insects on the next planet over, the insects that buzzed around them all the time.
"What do you think? Did they buy it?" Default asked.
"I hope so. I would love to get the slag out of my room and have space and material to do it the right way," Gravity said.
The others nodded. "I hope so too," Commotion said. "My ada is complaining already."
"Bring it to our apartment," Gravity said. "Make sure no one sees what it is."
Commotion nodded, then they all stepped out heading for lunch at the Club. They would find out later that afternoon that they had been approved.
-0-Later that afternoon
He carried three bags filled with things toward the apartment where Default and Gravity lived. It was in a tower in Pax, a bachelor building. He took the elevator up, then stepped out heading for door 18. Kicking it when he arrived, it opened and he stepped inside. The door closed and it was quiet. He had not noticed that Mirage had followed him. No one had noticed it all orn. Finding a place to sit, Mirage waited for the younglings to leave again. In the meantime, he would chat with Jazz, listen to Revet sit in for Blaster on the radio and enjoy himself immensely.
-0-In the middle of the big empty
Ratchet and Ironhide stood in the middle of their finally finished apartment. The rugs were soft under their peds, an upgrade for toddlers and crawlers. The colors were clean and sharp. The touches of silver, glass and copper were beautiful. A fridge, dishwasher and two oven set up with stove top were already installed. A washer and dryer in cobalt blue were also in the wash rack in their berth room.
"This is nice, Ironhide."
"It is. Note the colors of the appliances. And no, you don't have to thank me."
"Thanks, Ironhide," Ratchet said turning to hug him tightly. "You're the mech."
"I am," Ironhide said with a grin. "I AM IRONHIDE!"
A knock on the door sounded loudly in the empty apartment. "You might get that," Ratchet said.
Ironhide grinned, then opened the door. A number of grinning youngling mechs stood in the corridor with a mass of boxes and stuff. "Hi. We're here to deliver your stuff."
Ironhide glanced at Ratchet. "Oh boy."
Ratchet glanced at them, then Ironhide. "Ditto."
-0-TBC October 17, 2013