mbv, NEST HQ, Newcomers
Joe: Looks around the silent front yard as he appears, then pokes himself in the ear. //Captain?//
Patrick: //Yes, Joe?//
Joe: *squeaks softly as arms close around him from two sides* //I'm back. And... I'm not alone.//
Patrick: //...How not alone are you? And where are you at?//
Joe: //I'm in the front drive. And Bumblebee and Oriana are with me.// *turns his head to look into the face of his mate's holoform, his mouth turning up at the corners at her grin*
Patrick: //...I'll be there as soon as Emi and I finish what we're doing at the farm...//
Joe: //Where do you want us to wait?//
Patrick: //Well... What about the front foyer?//
Joe: //...Will she fit?//
Patrick: //...How tall is she?//
Joe: //She's still around eight foot tall, sir.//
Patrick: //... I'm not sure if she'd fit through the doors....//
Joe: //Alright. I'll call them. But we need to....// *watches his daughter fold herself down into a form resembling a large trash can on wheels and roll through the door that Lt. Wesson just opened* //...She's inside.//
Patrick: //... Well, there shouldn't be anyone in the gym right now...//
Joe: //She'll fit in there. And Bumblebee has her holoform.//
Patrick: //Alright. Emilia, Soli, and I will be back soon.//
Joe: //Alright, Sir. Convoy out.//
Lt. Wesson: Is that car a Cybertronian?
Joe: Yes. It's my wife. She can't come inside.
Lt. Wesson: Let me grab one of the heated tarps.
Lt. Ross: *feeding the turkey, was about to muse about building an outdoor pen for it since the weather's starting to warm up* ... *blinking and regarding Oriana with curiosity*
Lt. Wesson: *pops out of store room with tarp and goes to help Joe cover the pretty black Camaro* This is a sweet alt mode, Ma'am. I got to see one of these cars once.
Bumblebee: *makes her holoform grin* Thanks.
Joe: *grinning too, and once the tarp's all in place and switched on he leads the holoform inside*
Oriana: *sitting and looking at the turkey*
turkey: *looking right back at her and wondering if he can sit on that*
Lt. Ross: Joe? Who's this?
Joe: *comes over, grinning like they've never seen him grin before* That's my daughter, Oriana. And this holoform... well this is my wife, Bea.
Lt. Ross: Oh! *wiping her hands off on her pants, smiles and offers her hand to the holoform* Lieutenant Maria Ross.
Bea: *takes the hand and shakes it shyly* I'm Bumblebee. Or Bea.
Lt. Ross: Welcome to NEST HQ.... *small smile* Do you want me to show you around?
Bea: *grins a bit* I think Joe's hoping he can do that.
Joe: *blush*
Oriana: *clicks and pops at the turkey*
Lt. Ross: *chuckles* Alright then... Joe's got my radio frequency, and the frequencies of the other soldiers, so if you guys need anything, just ask... Oh! Don't call the Major though... She's kinda under the weather today...
Joe: *frowns with concern* Was it her or Tracks this time?
Lt. Ross: Er... *quietly* I think it started with Tracks, and then Major MacKenzie kinda had a breakdown or something, if what Beau's saying that she needed some de-stress time is anything to go by...
Joe: *concerned expression as his arm goes protectively around Bea* I hope they feel better soon.
Bea: *nodding her agreement*
Lt. Ross: *nodding in agreement* Yeah... well, it seems like it's our squad's turn to be mostly down and out.... Jean and Tad got owned the other day...
Joe: *really concerned now* They were fine when I left....
Bea: *frowning. Worried*
Lt. Ross: *a bit sheepishly* Let's just say that they both learned the hard way that Raoul's been teaching Greg how to box.
Joe: 0_0 .>_<. Oh great.
Lt. Ross: Havoc kinda got in the way of Greg's fist... >.>;;
Joe: Is he going to be alright?
Lt. Ross: *nods* Doc House said he and Tad'd be alright...
Joe: *relieved, then looks over at Lt. Wesson, who's on the other side of the room looking rather sheepish and uncomfortable* What's wrong with...?
Lt. Ross: *moves to put a gentle hand on Lt. Wesson's arm* We kinda had a close encounter of the extradimensional kind...
Joe: ...You mean besides me and Bea and Oriana?
Lt. Ross: Ghosts.
Bea: *eyes go totally wide* Who was it?
Lt. Ross: Umm... *squinting one eye and tilting her head slightly as she thinks* Oh! A version of Serenity, and two little ghosts named Mira and Oppy... and apparently, Oppy's another version of Joe....
Joe: *blinking* A little version of me.... *hugs Bea as a chill goes down his back*
Bea: *quietly* At least it wasn't a big version. If my Op ever finds out some of the things I've done....
Joe: Shhh. You did what you had to.
Lt. Ross: Apparently, they tagged after the version of Serenity because they wanted to play with the other kids...
Joe: *surprised look* And they did something that embarrassed Lt. Wesson?
Lt. Ross: Er... *giving Lt. Wesson a look, asking for permission to explain why he was hiding*
Lt. Wesson: *hand over his face, but nods*
Lt. Ross: *gentle patpat* *quietly* John's a bit uneasy regarding ghosts and spirits....
Lt. Wesson: *gruff* I went and hid under the bed.
Joe: Ohhhh.
Bea: *soberly* I would have too.
Lt. Ross: At least it wasn't Jean that found him... We'd never hear the end of it... and Jean'd be duct taped to a wall or something.
Lt. Wesson: Or something. *remembers the time he locked Havoc in Darby's bathroom and snorts*
Lt. Ross: *coughs to hide her snerk, remembering the time Wesson locked Havoc in Darby's bathroom*
Joe: *does the eyebrow thing he's so good at*
Lt. Ross: *struggling to keep a straight face* Remember how much Darby yelled at you for that one, John? I dunno who was more miffed, her or the Major...
Lt. Wesson: *lifts his chin, a grin trying to turn the corners of his mouth up* I still don't know what all you are talking about.
Lt. Ross: *'accidentally' elbows Lt. Wesson*
Bea: *giggles even without knowing the story, just from their reactions*
Joe: Er.... Do I want to know?
Lt. Ross: ... *and then she's laughing*
Lt. Wesson: Still don't know. *turns and saunters off*
Lt. Ross: THRRRPPT! *cracking up*
Joe: *there went the brow again*
Bea: *grinning*
Oriana: *just pulled a fake plant out of its pot and is considering tasting the foam on the bottom*
Bea: Ack! *goes to stop the young drone*
Lt. Ross: *will be with you shortly, she's gotta stop giggling first*
Joe: *whutwhoawherewhy?* *blinks at Lt. Ross, and then excuses himself and hurries to help Bea*
Autumn: *making her way to the front foyer, is in no mood for sleep despite the fact that the members of the creche are all with their parents*
Bert: *lowering like a thunder cloud as he walks at her side*
Oriana: *distressed beeping as Bea takes the plant away from her*
Autumn: ... *eyes wide, hurrying to see what's going on*
Joe: No no. Oriana. Stop crying. That would have made you sick.
Oriana: *she didn't get to find out about that and record the data! Inconsolable*
Bea: *looking for a way to distract her creation*
Bert: *frowning with interest as he watches this*
Autumn: *clicks quietly, getting a piece of Cinnaseeker out of storage*
Joe: *looks around as he catches the scent, and then perks* Autumn. Bert.
Autumn: *moving a bit closer, ignoring Lt. Ross as the soldier works on calming down*
Joe: *trying to get Oriana interested in that scent*
Oriana: *slightly fritzing because she wants that data!*
Autumn: *soothing sounds, offers Oriana the piece of cookie* Shhh.... here....
Oriana: *has now noticed the scent. At Joe's urging she takes the chunk of interesting stuff... and realizes it's cookie! Happy eating*
Joe: Thanks, Autumn.
Autumn: *small smile* No problem...
Bea: *curious look for the dark-haired girl who quieted down her intense creation so easily*
Joe: *slight smile* Bea, this is Autumn. Or should I say, Bumblebee, this is Bumblebee.
Autumn: *chuckles quietly before nodding* It's nice to meet you.
Bea: *shy smile that doesn't quite reach her blue eyes* Yeah. *glances up at Joe*
Joe: She's also my word mate.
Autumn: Oh! Congratulations! ^_^
Joe: *beaming*
Bea: *blushing* Thanks.
Bert: *grumbles*
Autumn: *gives Bert a look, before moving to grab his hand and lead him over*
Joe: So... I hear there were some visitors from another reality here earlier.
Autumn: *small nod* We missed out on seeing them.... *and yes, Joe, that is a bit of irritation you're hearing in her voice*
Joe: *blink blink* You did?
Autumn: *another small nod, and she's blushing faintly* *mumbles something about a date*
Joe: Ohhhhhh. *slight smile that doesn't mock one bit* Did you have fun while it lasted?
Autumn: *more blush as she nods*
Joe: *looks at Bert and nods as he sees the protective and happy light in the older man's eyes* I'm glad.
Autumn: *more blushing* *Quietly* We.... should probably get going...
Joe: *nods* Yeah. I have to... figure out.... Oops.
Oriana: *just folded out into her normal form. Thankfully the lobby has a vaulted ceiling. But the turkey just pooped his pants*
Autumn: D'awww!
Lt. Ross: *will get that cleaned up*
Oriana: *clicking and popping and then giving a hopeful little trill as she looks at Autumn*
Autumn: Is it alright if I give her another piece of Cinnaseeker?
Joe: Go ahead. She's used to fueling on energon.
Bea: *nodding*
Autumn: *getting another cookie piece out*
Oriana: ^_^ *squidgit sound*
Autumn: *clicking gently as she gives Oriana the piece of cookie*
Oriana: *nom nom nom nom. Sits on floor so she's not bigger than the bigs*
Joe: We have to figure out where we're sleeping. I don't think Oriana can remember to fold small.
Bea: *sighs* Probably not. I'm no programmer.
Autumn: I'd suggest the shed.... but I don't think Soundwave'd let us use it... and I don't know what other buildings are on this property....
Joe: I was thinking the gym. Though it might interfere with the soldiers' morning routines. *frowning*
Lt. Ross: What about the garage where we keep the fleet vehicles? It's heated, and there's room for you to stay in there as well, Joe.
Joe: I don't know. It's a temporary building, and the flapping sounds it makes sometimes might scare her. *looks at Bea*
Bea: She's used to being where she can hear other people too. Though I could sure use a spot in the garage. It's colder here than it is where I usually live.
Joe: *gives her a concerned look* The tarp's not working?
Bea: There's a draft coming underneath and hitting me right where I creak.
Autumn: *Concerned* Maybe I can ask Colonel Franklin about building a better shelter.... *worried creche guardian is worried*
Joe: Well it's late. Bea, you move to the garage, and I'll bring Oriana to the gym for now. Will you be able to find us?
Bea: I won't have to shut this off, so it'll be easy. *slightly distracted look as she speaks*
Lt. Ross: I'll get some more tarps and try and block as much of the wind out of the garage as I can. *makes sure the turkey is secure in its pen before heading off to make the garage a bit more comfortable*
black Camaro with a tarp on her: *drives into the garage and gives the guard at the door a friendly toot*
Lt. Ross: *zipping her coat as she hurries to the garage*
Joe: *wishes Autumn and Bert a good night and then figures out the gym coordinates so he can PINpoint Bea and Oriana there*
Autumn: *concerned, moves to follow Joe and Oriana with the intent of keeping an eye on the young femme*
Bert: *blinks as she's caught in the PINpoint collection field, and then sighs and heads for the gym himself*
Lt. Wesson: *mushes his face on the patio window with surprise when Joe and co arrive* *holds nose and scrunches face up*
Autumn: *Soft ack, will go and fuss over Wesson now*
Lt. Wesson: *waving her off* I'm okay. I've got worse training with the guys. *still has tears in his eyes*
Oriana: *looking around the new place with great interest! Shows noooooooooo sign of being tired*
Joe: *giving the big high jump mattress longing looks*
Bea: *also looking around with curiosity, though being around so many humans is making her holoform's jaw clench*
Bert: *arrives a couple moments later*
Autumn: *will try and insist on getting Lt. Wesson to the med ward*
Lt. Wesson: It's not even bleeding. *still waving her off* Shouldn't you be fussing over the baby?
Autumn: *giving Wesson a Look* You'd better go get it checked out, just to be safe.
Lt. Wesson: We're not that breakable. *sighs and turns toward the door, intending to go see what Maria's doing*
Autumn: *slight huff that she gets into sometimes*
Bert: *walks over beside her as Wesson leaves the gym* *nods to Joe and Bea* They don't seem to have much clue about that little one. You feel like babysitting tonight?
Joe: No. Oriana... you'll break that. Stop. No. Don't. Hey!
Bea: *talking in Cybertronian, trying to urge the youngster to stop looking at the glass windows so intently*
Autumn: *nods, moving to try and help*
Oriana: *fussing. She needs to know things!*
Joe: *nearly dead on his feet, muffles a yawn and makes ridiculous faces in the process*
Autumn: *moving to transform so she can get a story book out of her subspace* Joe, you should get some rest.
Joe: *frowns at her groggily* I think I need to talk to the Chief first.
Oriana: *distracted by the transformation. Squeaking and popping up a storm now as she examines Bumblebee and pokes at her*
Bea: *trying to get her to be careful*
Bumblebee: *gives Joe a Look, before clicking and gently patting Oriana's hand*
Bea: Joe. If he wants to talk to you he'll wait till morning. *or she knows that the Optimus she used to know would have*
Joe: *starts to protest*
Bea: *looks at Bumblebee* [Do you mind watching her for a few clicks while I put the older kid to bed?]
Joe: Hey!
Bumblebee: *Smiles* [I don't mind. I deal with rowdier kids on a daily basis... And Joe, you need to rest. I'll sic Destiny and Sarah on you if you don't.]
Joe: *sighs and goes to lay down on the high jump mat. Is asleep within minutes*
Bea: *shakes her head with amazement at him* Just like the humans. Clunk, and he's out of it.
Bumblebee: *chuckles* He knows I'd get Destiny and Sarah to come bug him or sit on him... Or I'd get Naomi House to bug him... *finds the book she was searching for and shows it to Oriana*
Bea: He always... sleeps... like that, though. And he says it's normal for bots from his reality. *watches as Oriana studies the book*
Bumblebee: *clicking and offering to read to Oriana, if she'd like*
Oriana: *doesn't understand reading. But she's utterly fascinated by paper*
Bert: You're talking like you never take downtime to recharge.
Bea: I don't. I just take down time to give my processor time to relax and delete a few thought tracks.
Bert: *frowns*
Bea: *quietly* I get flashbacks.
Bert: Oh. Join the club. *turns to look at the book and point out pictures*
Bumblebee: *cycling air a bit quicker than she should be, is trying to appear the picture of calmness and peace*
Bert: *quietly, over a private channel* //Bumblebee?//
Bumblebee: *just as quietly* //I... I know what it's like... to have flashbacks...//
Bert: //So do I. You think I walk the halls at night for slags and giggles?//
Bumblebee: *keeping her voice steady as she reads to Oriana and points out some of the more colorful pictures* *quietly, to Bert* //Why do you think Sunstreaker and Sideswipe have been upping their prank quota since we got here?//
Bert: *arms around her*
Oriana: *suddenly pauses all movement and trills. Is it cuddles? She likes cuddles with the other femme that sounds like this one. Looks around, sees the guy with the spark that sounds the best laying down, though he's in the funny wrong shape still. Goes to lay down beside him and listen to his spark*
Bea: *blink* Oh good. That'll keep her quiet for awhile.
Bumblebee: *blink blink, looks for Oriana*
Oriana: *listening to Joe's spark and purring quietly*
Bert: *chuckling*
Bumblebee: *Relaxes, leaning against Bert a bit*
Bea: *goes over to lay down beside her mate and her creation, carefully playing a soft recording of her own spark song*
Oriana: *ooooo nice. Yes. It's cuddles.*
Bumblebee: *small smile as she watches*
Bert: *transforms and then grins at the femme in his arms* Maybe we should get some rest too. *glances toward a pile of mats*
Bumblebee: *nods* That sounds like a good idea...
Brawn: *grins more and sees if he can't lead her over to the mat pile*
Bumblebee: *Will let herself be lead*
Brawn: *gently helps her lay down, and then lays beside her and pulls her close* Sleep now. I'll keep an eye on the kids.
Bumblebee: *quietly* Alright... *shutters her optics and powers down to rest*
Brawn: *sighs and rests his cheek against her head, his optics staring into space as he protects her and the three young bots over on the high jump pad*
*and so the rest of the night passes quietly*
((co-written with random_xtras))