The Diego Diaries: Aftermath 1 (548) edited
-0-The aftermath
Prime and Ironhide walked to the airfield with a lighter tread. They were heading out and about in the late afternoon to take stock of this and that. Ironhide who carried infants in his hold grinned. "I will be glad when the game is over. Those two are insane."
"I agree," Optimus said with a chuckle. "No matter who wins, you and I will lose."
"Did you doubt?" Ironhide asked with a chuckle.
-0-In Tyger Pax
The streets were crowded with people going about their business or kibitzing at the broken stretch of highway that had once come from other places and split their city down the middle as it continued onward to another. It disappeared into the distance heading for Centurion, Kalis and Industrial Park City. Those were the only other places still on the road system they could go without difficulty since things had cracked up.
Literally.
The twins drawing Watch duty stood on the craggy outcrop together staring out at the new view. Beyond in the distance highlighted by familiar landmarks, Autobot City glistened. In that once unbroken view stood two more rising up from the fawn colored plain. Both of them were massive, both flew the recognized flags, both bore their Autobrand on the sides of their tallest buildings. Activity there at the moment was limited to repair and medical teams. Eventually, they would be as bustling as Metroplex.
"Pretty nice sight," Sideswipe said.
Sunstreaker nodded. "I think so," he said. "I like that there's less empty space between our town and everyone else. Feels more like home that way."
Sideswipe nodded. "Are you ready for Christmas Surprise?"
"Sort of. We have … what? Sixteen orns?" Sunstreaker asked.
Sideswipe nodded. "We do. It's going to be epic. Open house at the folks, gift thing at the Residence. I have to do more searching. What are you getting the kids?"
"I have more cute hats and coats for them. I like hoodies. I think it makes the girls look awesome. Their little femme wings fit right through the holes."
Sideswipe nodded. "They do look awesome. I found some building toys for them. We will have to help them for a while but I want them to see how things work. Might be engineers if they do."
Sunstreaker nodded. "I have a bunch of that too. I think if we take a couple to the Residence we'll be fine. The rest we can do at home."
Sideswipe nodded. "What are you getting Blue?"
"Besides a good frag?" Sunstreaker asked with a smirk.
"You read my processor," Sideswipe said with a smirk.
A pair of mechs turned to go back into town so they parted letting them through. Sideswipe rolled closer to his brother. "The holidays are not going to last forever. You're on the deck for Charon and I have Io."
"I wanted Enceladus," Sunstreaker said with a slight frown.
"Why? That sucks too," Sideswipe said.
"Because it isn't Io and Charon," Sunstreaker said with a grin.
Sideswipe snorted. "We better mingle."
They turned and rolled forward moving through the streets on their beat taking in the sights, answering questions, helping here and there as more Christmas Surprise decorations began to rise up. In the middle of Fifth and E Street, the heart of Tyger Pax, the city workers were putting the illuminated star on top of a fully decorated fifty foot steel tree. Civilians stood around it, their interest keen for what many of them saw as another new and beautiful alien sight in their midst.
The twins stood on the sidewalk as the city worker finally climbed down. Standing to one side, he nodded with a grin at another worker. That mech pulled a meter, input some codes making the tree and its topper light up. It was shimmeringly beautiful. Everyone stared at it transfixed including a number of human scientists standing nearby.
:This is remarkable: Sheila Conroy said as she watched. :Just remarkable:
The others nodded in silent agreement.
-0-In the command center of Acroplex
"How does that feel, Ace?" Ratchet asked as he sat at the main computer terminal in the center rebooting and restarting Acroplex and his systems.
"It feels aligned at last," the deep voice said from speakers all around.
"How does this feel?" Ratchet said tweaking something else.
"Nearly there. How about just a bit more?" Acroplex replied.
Ratchet adjusted something and a light merged on the panel with another. Then he turned. "That actually reached pitch," he said with a grin.
"It feels wonderful. I have had so much cognitive dissonance I felt sometimes that I was going to die from the noise," Acroplex said.
Ratchet patted his console. "We'll get you back to speed. Let's go over your comm system," Ratchet said and they did.
-0-Elsewhere
"Atar?"
"What, son?"
"Are you feeling alright?" -anxious tone in voice of son
"I am fine, Ravel. I feel really well for the first time in ages."
"I am glad, Atar. The family will be coming home shortly. I am not sure that Ratchet will. His duties are so many now but Ironhide signaled me. He will bring the infants. All of them." Ravel stood in the kitchen of his own apartment getting dinner ready for his father. Tie Down had Sunspot and Spot at the store and would be coming home shortly. Since there was no school today, there was no flying lesson.
"That will be good," Appa Ratchet said as he sat holding a happy Prowler. The infant was smiling at his great grandfather. His great grandfather was smiling at him.
-0-At the Dai Atlas Dojo in Tyger Pax, Primal Colony of Mars
"This is pretty comfortable."
"Glad ya like it. I do."
Two old coots sat on a comfortable couch, their peds up on a coffee table while nearby a number of younglings took lessons from the house instructor on the martial art of sword play. The Knights had a permanent instructor since it was hit or miss with the soldiers. You never knew when they were on duty and the demand for training from genitors for their younglings, from younglings for themselves and from adults had grown steadily. That didn't even count sub adult Circle younglings coming into their own and the Home Guard adding skills by learning all the many styles of fighting.
Kup and Old Hercy sat companionably side-by-side hanging out on an off orn in a place that was a second home for mechs at arms.
"I hear Ironhide made ya Top Kick of the Home Guard," Kup said.
"He did. That youngling knows a good drill instructor is worth their weight in shanix," Old Hercy replied. "I start in two orns."
"Your younglings seem top notch," Kup said.
"They are. Crack troops. All of them first in their class," Old Hercy replied.
Kup nodded, his contentment off the scale. Hercy was his instructor and mentor when he was a green kid back in the veiled past. He owed his life to Hercy over and over from the servos on that he had given the plucky but less than tactical youngling from the ghettos of Iacon. They had become fast friends over the vorns and it was like being told your dad hadn't really died for Kup to see him again.
Others had different feelings about Hercy but then they would. All of them were just a *SMIDGE* afraid of him.
"What ya want for dinner?" Kup asked.
Hercy thought about it, then grinned. "Whatever fits in a glass, youngling."
Kup grinned in spite of himself.
-0-In Centurion
Avor hurried home with their dinner, his peds nearly floating over the pavement. Reaching their immaculate tower, he entered an elevator, then rode upward to their floor. When he got home, he peered inside. "Anyone home?"
Calls from the hallway drew him there. He paused in the doorway of the master berth room, a smile forming on his face. "You look comfortable."
26, Boe and Lil were parked on the berth in their master berth room, pillows and comfort nestling them in as the big screen monitor on the wall nearby waited on pause for him to arrive. "You got here in time, Avor. We can eat here and watch this movie. Someone told me it was a historical feature sort of. It was about the Prime and his team arriving here to rescue the AllSpark."
Avor nodded, then made his way to a comfortable spot on the berth passing out dinner to each of his family. He had been down in the town getting it to celebrate the inclusion in their home of this big screen monitor. The variety of entertainment and educational materials available to them seemed to cry out for a big screen, one that they could all watch in the comfort of his berth room. He went to look and see what was what, afraid to hope that they could have even a small one for his family to watch things together in comfort. He found out that you could just ask for and actually get one. He had stood silently staring at the sales mech and felt ASTOUNDED. It was placed by the Electronics Place techs on the wall in the berth room for everyone to snuggle.
Settling in, they turned to him. "The remote is over there, Atar," Lil said pointing to the end table next to the berth.
Avor took it and began the show as they all turned to watch and eat together in this, the first really safe and plentiful place any of them had ever known. The program was called The Transformers, a film produced and directed by a human named Michael Bay.
-0-Elsewhere
"I will be here tomorrow early, Ace. Right now, the data is compiling and your systems are defragging. Is the fuel enough or do you want more? You can handle the mixture now," Ratchet asked as he rose from the computer terminal where he had spent several joors working.
"I would like more if it can be done without fuss, Ratchet," Acroplex replied.
Ratchet walked to the panel and put both servos on it as a smile formed on his face. "Ask me something hard, my friend."
-0-Prime and Ironhide
They stood on the broken ridge that once was the highway from Autobot City and Crystal City to Tyger Pax. Dusk had settled and it was dark. The crowds were mostly at home with a some venturing out to clubs and restaurants. The Watch had changed so the twins were heading out for the apartment. It was peaceful as the stars began to twinkle in the sky. Ironhide turned looking back at the city. Several miles into it was the dead center intersection of Tyger Pax. He grinned. "That tree looks pretty in the dark all lit up."
Optimus turned to look at it, then nodded. "It does. I like this holiday. It was so alien yet its so familiar now. We need unity, Ironhide. We need it in our families and amongst each other. This colony is a good place."
Ironhide nodded. "All that is good for me came from here, this system. I owe a debt to the humans that we could stay somewhere and remake ourselves again."
Prime nodded, then turned to go.
"Optimus."
He turned back to Ironhide. "Yes?"
"Don't tell anyone," Ironhide said with a grin.
Optimus Prime grinned. "I won't."
Ironhide stepped down from the rubble walking beside the mech for whom he would willing die to protect. He was Prime's bodyguard and friend, among the oldest still living. They walked together to the open land beyond where they would transform and drive home. It was evening and dinner was waiting.
They were due. At home.
-0-Later that night
"Did you pick up the gift bags at the grocery, Venture?"
Venture who was sitting on the couch watching the stock market reports from Earth glanced toward the hallway and berth room where Miler was going over the gift list for Christmas Surprise. "I forget to, Milie. Sorry. I can get them in the morning. They have the order ready I am sure."
Miler peered out, then glanced at the television. "Are you working out your predictions for the fantasy stock group you belong to? I have told you that their stock markets are based on nothing more than smoke and mirrors."
"That's what makes it so much fun, Milie," he said.
Miler looked at the market tickers going past as someone on mute tried to explain the utter insanity of the human's many and diverse global stock markets. "Utter madness," he said. Then he held something up to show Venture. "Now this! This is greatness!"
He held up a little hoodie that was essentially a green dragon with tiny horns on the top and a ridge of horns going down the back. On the front in carefully stitched letters were the glyphs that said, "My Grandgenitors went to Plyxus V and all I got was this hoodie." On the back near the rear was a appliqued scorch mark.
Venture snorted, then laughed. "I would rather get the hoodie too."
-0-Trine land
"This is a good thing," Sideswipe said as he stood with a sleeping Iacon in his arms. On the floor going through presents, Bluestreak and Sunstreaker organized the piles of things they had all gotten for the infants. "I like the books. They tell Cybertronian things."
"They need to know who they are. They're Cybertronian. No matter how or where we live, that is who and what we are," Sunstreaker said emphatically.
Kaon and Uraya were already in their berths. Big boy and girl beds were their thing now, the twinnie's swan boat berths newly restored and returned. Iacon was always a hold out necessitating rocking in the chair nearby. It was no problem for any of them. No problem at all.
-0-24/24, Tower 2, Mare Tranquilitatis, Autobot City, Primal Colony of Mars
He walked from the elevator with weariness nestled into his superstructure. Pausing by the door, he noted that all was quiet around them. Turning the doorknob, he peeked inside. Ironhide, Ravel, Blackjack, Alor, Appa Ratchet and Tie Down were sitting on the couches. The infants were sitting or standing all over the room as something delicious smelling was sitting on the counters and table nearby. Spot raised his helm and jumped up bounding over. Ratchet rubbed his ears, then looked at everyone. "Honey, I'm home!" he said with a chuckle. As he entered, the door closing silently behind him.
TBC December 9, 2013 a second feature for optimusprime101. ;)