[ti]Ep 2[/ti]A Grand (Shopping) Adventure

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee wished the ground would swallow him whole. Well, his holoform anyway. The ground could eat that and he would be perfectly okay with it. The whole not being able to talk thing was usually no issue when he was in his root-mode, as other Cybertronian could understand him fine. While humans couldn't, aside from Raf, he didn't really interact with them all that much - so it wasn't ever a huge deal.

But this? It really brought attention to the fact that he couldn't communicate with humans like others of his kind. It was depressing in a way. He loved Earth and the people here, and unless there were others out there like Raf that could understand him? Which he doubted? He'd never be able to talk to them. His holoform looked human, he knew how to act like a human. Walk like a human. But he couldn't talk like one.

Which was probably part of why he was stressing out so horribly. What if the lady tried to give Jazz something? Jazz couldn't reach out and actually touch or interact with things, so Bee would have to get between them – and fast – to deal with it. Then he'd have to hope Jazz could come up with some plausible excuse why he couldn't touch things and why Bee couldn't talk.

As Sally asked if they'd hitched a trailer before, Jazz thankfully had it covered. Bee's holoform would shake his head, but that's about all he would do – hoping to stay out of sight and not draw attention to himself. It seemed he was the only one making a big deal out of it though, as Sally didn't even seem to notice him, nor did she direct anything at him.

As she left to start dealing with the trailers, Bee gave a short sigh of relief. So far so good. That's what he'd keep telling himself. If the rest was this easy? They'd have this job done in no time.

The gentle nudge from Jazz's holoform made him look up from tugging at his sleeve, and he'd give a nod and timid smile as a reply. Would Optimus really be proud of him? He wasn't sure. It was risky being out and about with holoforms, and they required a lot of concentration – most of which was spent on Bee worrying about things that may not even happen. The kind words did help him a little though. They, well, at least Jazz, had this handled.

He'd follow Jazz outside, but would linger back and away – letting Jazz ask the questions and be up front. He watched as Jazz's holoform moved into his altmode, and he would quickly follow suit. Once inside he would gently roll his shoulders, placing both hands on the steering wheel and taking a moment to breathe.

Just relax, Bee...

Just like Jazz, he would make all the motions of starting the car – and would wait until Sally had hooked up the trailer to Jazz before he, too, would reverse and wait for her to hook him up with the second trailer. He hoped that would be the end of it, that she'd give them a tap to say they were free to go – the sooner they were driving on the road again the better.

[Deleted]

Jazz's answer fit firmly in Sally's impression of city people and their abilities to properly hitch up a trailer. She nodded politely, lips pressed a shade firmer together as she went about her business. The thought of one of her trailers get loose on the road because she'd let these two customers do the job themselves…

Well, she had nipped that problem in the bud before it even had a chance to arise. The trailers were only hired out for the day so the two should have no reason to mess with the couplings. Sally led her two customers outside.

"Yup!" she answered to Jazz's question. "That's all you've got to do. Reverse up to a trailer and I'll do the rest."

She stood by the first trailer, lowered the jockey wheel in preparation and waited for the first vehicle to back up to her. Sally frowned slightly at the sight of the two...expensive looking vehicles sitting in her parking lot. The yellow one looked vaguely familiar, perhaps she'd seen it around town a few times. But the sports car…

Some people had more money than sense, she decided, shaking her head. That didn't keep her from doing her job, once Jazz had reversed up to her, she set up hitching the trailer to the vehicle. Once the tow ball lined up, she lowered the trailer and dropped the coupling down gently. Once that was secure, Sally connected the safety chain and finished attaching a few final things before she raised the jockey wheel and folded it away. Finally, she stood up and inspected her work to ensure that everything was in place.

The process was similar with Bumblebee, quick and efficient. Once she was done, Sally patted the trailer she'd just attached to the yellow camero. "You boys are both good to go!" she said, giving them a thumbs up.

She would back away to the door of her office and watch the two vehicles leave, to ensure that there were no problems with the trailers. Thankfully, Jazz and Bee would find it relatively easy to drive off, just had to go straight towards the exit. And their next destination wasn't too far down the street.

Calling it a homemaker center was perhaps too much a stretch of words. But it liked to call itself as such when really, it was a glorified hardware store that had decided to branch out and dabble in a few extra products. It sat proudly on the main street, an ugly green slab of a building, not too far away from a set of traffic lights at a T-intersection that branched to the right. There was parking round the back but since this was Jasper, ever a throbbing hive of non-activity, the spots in front of it were absolutely free to be taken up by a pair of expensive vehicles + trailers. There was barely any traffic flowing up and down the street so they would have an easy time to pull in and park, if they wanted.

Inside the shop, to the right, were a row of three tills. Only one of them was currently manned but that was okay, the store was not exactly buzzing with activity. The room was set-up with multiple aisles running to the back wall, the one opposite to the street. Each aisle housed related products.

Fortunately, the two Autobots would not need to go in and fetch what they needed individually, they just needed to talk to the person at the counter. He was a tall and lanky fellow with brown skin and while his hair was cut short, it had tight, black curls. He was wearing the store uniform, a plain green polo shirt and black slacks. A name tag was pinned to his shirt. It read "TOM".

A pair of old ladies were near the doorway and by the tills, comparing colour swatches for outdoor paint. Further into the store, a team member was discussing with a customer which types of nails they needed for a project. There were a few more people but they were scattered across the aisles, browsing.

[Jazz]

     The trailer was a little ridiculous hitched onto his back end like that- a sports car, high end, with a trailer being tugged behind it like it was some sort of truck. The thing was a little difficult to move at first, with Jazz's wheels spinning for a moment, but soon enough they caught onto the road below and he was off from the lot moving to their next destination.

     This holoform thing? It was difficult. He couldn't touch solid objects like Bee could, even though he was able to talk while the scout's wasn't. It... the two made up an odd combination. If Optimus had a sense of humor he probably would have gotten a kick out of it. Jazz certainly was, that was for sure. They were like the three stooges, only they were down one member. Maybe that could be ZZ, camping out at base while the other two were running around with their grocery list. 

     :: What's the next place on our run, kiddo? ::

     Bee had the directions, knew where to go, and Jazz was pretty much the tag-along anyway. One day he would have to sit down and do that map thing of the area and get the information he needed for the little part of Nevada they were residing in. Sure, Jazz had stuff from everywhere else around the world and was a go to for a lot of insider knowledge, but as far as 'where is the location garden shop or Plow And Hearth?' Okay, that wasn't something he necessarily knew off the top of his head. And he also hadn't done much outside of school and home for the kids, in the case an emergency came up. Those were the important places, after all.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee luckily didn't seem to have the same issues Jazz did, and moved just fine with the trailer behind him. He didn't think it was all too ridiculous lugging around this thing, a little odd maybe that two flashy cars both had trailers hitched behind them – but the people of Jasper didn't seem too bothered by Bumblebee being out and about doing the school run, they probably just assumed it was one of his friends and they were working on a project or something.

All he knew was that he liked being on the road and not dealing with people. The moment they both pulled from the parking lot of the trailer hire? Bee had relaxed considerably. The trailer was no trouble to tow along behind him, and he didn't have to interact with anyone with his Holoform while driving. Of course, that'd change when they got to the next location, but for right now he was okay.

::Homemaker center! That's next on the list – then after that we're going to the scrap yard.:: He replied confidently over the comm, no awkwardness or nervousness in his tone. He'd repeated the order of their destinations so many times to himself after his little mix-up back at the base that he didn't even have to think about it.

::I wish we weren't on a job, I'd love to see if there's any cool scrap metal at the scrap yard I can take. Maybe another time, though!:: There was a playfulness to his tone as he chirped. He'd love to add to the collection in his room – then again, his Holoform could interact with things, so maybe if he found something small he could sneak it back to base...

He'd accelerate briefly to pull around and in front of Jazz. He knew his way around town and could navigate with ease. Aside from a brief tour of all the important stops when Jazz had first arrived? Jazz didn't know where to go. This way Bee could lead on and they wouldn't get lost.

They didn't have too far to drive, and Bumblebee would pull into a quieter area of the parking lot. The nerves had crept up again once he'd stopped, as he knew he'd have to use the Holoform to interact with people again. He wished Raf were here, he would've made it so much easier and been able to calm Bee down a little.

::Okay, uh... We don't need to go far in here – just to the front desk. You can talk to the person at the counter and I'll put the binder down so ya can see it and talk to whoever's there about the order, okay?::

It was a good plan on paper. Jazz talks to the person at the desk, Bumblebee could do the heavy lifting of whatever it was they were picking up here. He was so, so very glad that he didn't have to deal with exchanging money or having to actually look for the items that were needed. Hopefully it'd be as easy as it'd been at the trailer-hire.

The Holoform would exit Bee's alt-mode, making his way into the store and clutching the binder tightly with one hand – knowing Jazz was right behind him. He'd look around quickly, and thankfully saw the front desk almost immediately. He was trying not to make eye contact or look at any of the other people in here, making a beeline past the two elderly ladies by the door and straight over to the desk.

Once there, he would pull the binder out and set it down on the counter – nodding to Tom before taking a hasty step back so Jazz could once again take the lead with this awful interacting with people part of the job.

[Deleted]

As the two cars departed from the trailer hire, they pulled out onto the road ahead of an approaching motorcycle. It was a black Suzuki GSX-R1000 with a top box on the rear. It wasn't travelling very fast, given that this was a built up area, so Bumblebee had ample room to get into the lane before the motorcycle reached the trailer hire. It trundled calmly behind the two Autobots as they swapped places and headed towards Jasper's main street. More traffic in the form of one old ute and a newer looking sedan joined them as they got closer to the center of Jasper. Unsurprising really, the town wasn't exactly rife with exciting and happening places to be.

The bike rider wore a tinted helmet that concealed their features from view. A compact camera was mounted on top of the helmet. Their body was clad with black protective armour. Whoever they were, they took their bike safety seriously. On the back of their jacket was a symbol.

The bike didn't follow Bee into the parking lot behind Happy Homes, the homemaker center. Rather, it turned right at the T-intersection, drove a little up the next street then hooked a sharp U-turn into the empty opposing lane. It drove back through the intersection, turning left back on the main street and drifted to a stop on the opposite the side of the street to the homemaker centre. The rider kicked down the side stand but didn't get off the bike. They rested their arms against the handlebars and seemed to be taking a break after a long drive. But their body was angled slightly towards the other side of the road and they would be able to observe what was going over there quite easily.

Meanwhile, inside the shop…

The old ladies had gotten into an argument over which shade of violet the taller one should get for her walls. "I'm telling you Becky," her shorter companion huffed. "You'll want this one!" She jabbed a finger at the colour tile of choice then peered down at it quizzically, trying to read which number it was. Her eyesight really wasn't what it used to be. "It'll go nicely with your curtains. You've got those lovely bellflower prints..."

Speaking of flowers, both wore floral dresses. Geraniums, chrysanthemum, daffodils, poenies, you name it. "Betty," old lady number one sighed, "That's too dark, I want something a little lighter. What number is the one next to it, to the left?"

Betty tilted the sheet to get a better view. "I think it's V253562. No, 253563. Blast this small print. Why didn't they just use a bigger font?"

Over at the till, Tom had been keeping an eye on the discussion but had made no move to intervene. His face was neutral…mostly, the shadow of a smile dimpling his cheeks. He was amused by the conversation but was making no attempt to intervene, content to let the two ladies sort themselves.

His attention shifted as the door rang out as someone moved through it. Betty and Becky were not impressed to have to suddenly jostle out of the way of the rude young man who walked straight in and beelined for the counter. No consideration, young people these days. Their bones were old, it was easier for others to move around them than for them to give way to others. Muttering amongst themselves, "Sometimes, dear, I really think I should bring the gun," "Betty, no, not again," and feeling rather disgruntled, more than one annoyed stare was shot over their shoulders at the young man wearing the black jacket.

Tom, on the other hand, had straightened up at Bumblebee's approach. He had a friendly smile on his face now, but it was genuine. He was a fairly easy going and laid back individual. "Uh hey there," he said. "Welcome to Happy Homes, can I help you with…anything?"

The last word had trailed off in confusion as the young man placed down the binder on the counter then backed up immediately without a word. Unlike with Sally, Bee hadn't opened it up and left it on the page with the order details, so Tom had no way of knowing why he'd suddenly had a binder deposited at his till. He quirked an eyebrow in confusion but didn't touch it.

"Uh, sir?"

Could someone please explain what was going on?

[Jazz]

     Jazz was a little slower this time. After he pulled into the parking spot beside Bee, his holoform climbed out of the driver seat and brushed off his jacket. Though the holoform moved without being bothered, going into the store after Bee's like nothing was the matter, Jazz himself was busying surveying the area. Something didn't feel right- didn't settle with him. He scanned everywhere, taking note of anything that looked suspicious...

     Then paused as his scanners picked up on something familiar. The guy across the road? He'd passed them on the street but now he just sat there on his bike across the way, watching the shop like he was preparing for a heist. He kept it to himself for now, but he was definitely saving the image for later.

     The holoform stepped in just in time to hear the older ladies chit-chatting about the rudeness of the youth. Jazz chuckled some as he walked past himself, nodding his head to the two. "Ah, ladies! My nephew is definitely on the move today! My apologizes for him bargin' on through so fast. Have a nice day." He smiled to them with another nod then made his way to he counter, giving them a wide enough berth that he didn't risk 'bumpin' into them. The conversation was short and sweet with a nod just to ensure they didn't make it last too long and risk getting too close for contact.

     Great, seemed like 'Tom' was confused by the time he arrived.

     Right, Bee couldn't speak so of course this wasn't very informative. Jazz approached the counter and cleared his throat to Bee. "Aw, kiddo! Ya gotta pen the binder so the nice gentleman can see what we're here for." After a smile to Bee, his attention was then to 'Tom'. "Sorry'bout that! I got a little caught up on somethin' and lagged behind. We got an order that we're supposed to pick up. My nephew is makin' the runs with me today so I got him responsible for all the paperwork, so he'll have the order details up for you in just a sec."

[Deleted]

Outside Happy Homes…

The bike rider silently observed the entry of the two individuals from across the street. The helmeted head tilted as if in thought before the rider straightened up, pulling their arms away from the handlebars. This was so that one gloved hand could delve into a jacket pocket, fetching a smartphone from its depths.

They tapped away at the screen with practiced ease. Sending messages, checking social media, it could be anything that they were up to.

Meanwhile, inside the shop, Becky and Betty were somewhat mollified by the excuse thrown their way by the second young man that had entered the shop. Though inwardly, they were appalled by his attire. Betty sniffed and turned her nose up, as if the rings and bandana had insulted her. But she held her tongue, something Becky was grateful for.

"Thank you," Becky said pointedly. "But you tell your boy to watch where he's going."

And with that, they returned to their business. The perfect shade of paint needed to be found. "What colour were you looking at before that young man interrupted, Betty? 253564?"

Betty frowned as she looked down at the chart again. "It was…253562. I think. I'm not sure."

Over at the counter, the confusion cleared from Tom's face as Jazz's holo explained the situation to him. "No problem sir," Tom replied easily. He eyed the silent man before mentally shrugging, some people never got over their sullen teenage phase. "Let me check your order details, then I'll get it sorted."

Reassured that yes, the binder had been meant for him rather than some random guy had just walked in from the street to chuck it at him, the cashier leant over and flipped it open. He skipped the first page, seeing as that order had nothing to do with the business he worked for and found the paper he was looking for. The printout listed the order number and the items that had been bought…it was a rather lengthy list and continued on to the other side of the page.

Not that that information was relevant, all Tom needed was the number. "Right," he said with a nod. "Got it. I'll need to fetch that from the back room, be back with you as quickly as possible."

With that, he locked up the till and headed towards the aisles. From the front of the shop, the back room was to the right, past all the aisles. The sound of Tom's shoes on the linoleum floor would soon fade away.

The holos would have a few minutes to themselves while they waited for Tom to return. None of the other customers had decided on a purchase, they were still browsing in the aisles. Behind the holos, Becky and Betty were coming close to agreeing on a colour.

[Bumblebee]

Only once Bee's holoform had stepped back and away did he seem to take a moment to realize just what'd happened in the past thirty seconds.

Oh.

He'd been so very focused on just... Getting the binder to the counter and not drawing attention to himself, that everything else had become an afterthought. He hadn't even seen the two old ladies by the doorway, for a start. He'd been focused on his goal, and not his surroundings. It hadn't helped that he'd kept his gaze downward the entire time. The last thing he ever wanted was to be rude. He hadn't wanted to bring attention to himself - and yet that'd been exactly what he'd done.

Tom questioning him made him tense up and snap his attention back toward him and the counter - and he'd look around in a panic for Jazz. He couldn't answer! He didn't know what to do! It'd totally slipped his processor that he should open the stupid binder. He thought that Jazz had been right behind him and would be there to back him up and to explain instantly what was going on. He'd open his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then hesitated. He couldn't talk.

His mouth snapped shut.

Sadly, unlike Jazz? He hadn't noticed the man on the bike outside. Even if he had? He wouldn't have thought too much of it – at least not to the point of lingering in the parking lot to check everything was okay. Bee had wanted to get into the store, get what they needed, and leave. He hadn't even checked that Jazz had been following, just assumed that he would've been.

The body language of the holoform showed just how nervous Bee was. While he couldn't stand there and scream, which was what he wanted to do after that little mess up and the fact that Jazz wasn't here to deal with Tom, who now probably thought Bee was a lunatic? He stood tugging on his sleeves nervously, gaze toward the door as he looked for Jazz.

Who he saw finally heading his way, after apologizing to the two old ladies on his behalf. Bee made a mental note to offer an apologetic smile to them as he and Jazz left, having a feeling they would still be discussing paint colors for a while and so would probably still be around - as it wasn't like he could do much else to rectify the situation.

He'd relax marginally as Jazz's holoform finally made his way over to the counter and began clearing up the situation with Tom. He'd smile weakly back to Jazz but aside from that that, he wouldn't move, watching from afar as Tom began flicking through the binder. Thankfully no more questions were asked, and Tom left to go retrieve their items.

Only once they were alone would Bee step forward and stand next to Jazz – he had to get ready to carry whatever item Tom was about to bring out, as well as take the binder back once Tom was done with it. One thing was for certain though, and it was that Bee seemed to be the only one stressing out here – and it was mostly over nothing.

The fact remained though, he sucked at this holoform thing. Or at least, he thought he did.

[Jazz]

     Jazz continued to observe the oddball across the street, zooming in when he spotted him pulling something out of his pocket. He focused on the phone, unable to see the screen from the angle but his sensors were up as high as they could go, attempting to hear the keys being pressed if the sound were on above the noisy traffic of the street. He didn't like what he was seeing and it threw up all sorts of red flags for him. Easiest thing he could have done was go and confront the situation but he had to hold back and hope that it was just him being a little too nosy for his own good. It was definitely something to key Bee's human companion into... perhaps bring up to Optimus as well. Better to be safe than sorry.

     A comm was sent to Bee rather than having his Holoform relay the message in the case someone inside may have been listening. Now that he was on a higher alert than usual, he wasn't taking a chance.

     :: Bee. When we get back'ta base, I need ya to get a hold of Raf for me. Don't worry about it right now just... yeah. We need to hurry back.::

     Jazz's holoform went rigid for the time he was sending the comm to Bee, then once it was over he relaxed again and took a couple of steps away from the counter, away from the possibility of someone getting too close behind them and realizing the form infront of them wasn't as... solid as it should be. He just stood there in wait, hoping that ‘Tom’ got the order collected soon so they could leave.

[Deleted]

He should check in on them.

Zoom-Zoom stood in the command centre and resisted the urge to wring his hands. He hadn't heard anything since Jazz and Bumblebee had left. They had to be doing alright. If there was a problem. They'd have alerted the base, right?

Right?

But maybe he wasn't hearing anything back because something has gone terrible wrong and they'd been taken out before they had a chance to call for help. Zoom-Zoom in all honestly considered this unlikely - it was Jasper after all.

Still, Zoom-Zoom had been the one who sent them out there and thus was responsible. Reluctantly, he activated the comm system with a sigh.

::Everything alright?::

[Deleted]

Minutes would tick by while Jazz and Bumblebee waited. The cashier still hadn't returned. It was as though the backroom was a void and it had swallowed him whole.

Either that or there was a whole lot of things he needed to collect back there.

The other customers were busy with their browsing. The other service rep was busy explaining the difference between two types of screws. Behind the two holos, Becky had made her choice.

"253564," she decided. "I think it'll set off the curtains just right."

Betty examined the tile in question. She hummed thoughtfully. "Yes, yes, I see what you mean. Right then-"

Betty raised her head and looked around. The cashier was gone and was still yet to return. Those two young men were the closest people around to ask for help. But one of them was rude. The other one however…

She took a step towards Jazz's holo and cleared her throat. "Excuse me young man," she called out. For a woman her age, she had a surprisingly strong voice and her gaze was steady and lucid. Oh, Betty's vision wasn't what it used to be but the mind behind those eyes was still sharp. "We require some assistance, please."

Betty would gesture upward to the shelves above the color palette chart. There, a rainbow of four litre paint cans sat. They weren't out of reach, just a little too high for an old woman to fetch safely by herself. But a young strapping individual should have no problem at all.

"Could you be a dear and kindly fetch a can from up there? Number 253564, please."


---

Outside Happy Homes…

The bike rider finished up with their phone. Jazz wouldn't hear anything - the rider was all the way across the street for one and for the other, the phone was completely silent. Maybe they had been checking their email or browsing the web. They might have even been playing a game.

In any case, they were done. They straightened up and put the phone away as a male pedestrian wandered past. The pedestrian startled at the sudden rev of the bike engine. The rider kicked up the stand and pushed off the curb, back onto the street.

They didn't head towards the car park. They merely continued on their way up the main street, back on whatever journey they had been on. In a matter of seconds, they would soon disappear from view.

[Bumblebee]

The silence was nice as they waited for Tom.

He didn't have to interact with anyone, he didn't have to carry anything, or shove past people rudely when he hadn't meant to. He could just stand here and wait out the way, and not do anything. Which was what he planned, and would do.

Until there was a comm from Jazz that made Bee frown.

::--Wait, what?--:: Came the confused reply. ::--Why? Is it 'cos I messed up? I didn't mean to barge past those ladies, I really didn't.--::

Okay so it'd been rude, but Jazz had apologized to them, and Bee had smiled at them and... Why did they have to tell Raf about it? Was it because Bee needed more lessons in how to holoform? Nell had taught him basically everything – it wasn't his fault he couldn't talk, and it wasn't his fault he was stressed out!

There was another comm then, and Bee would only frown further. Seriously? They hadn't even been gone that long and Zoom-Zoom was already checking in on them.

::--Uuuh yeah? Everything is fine... Waiting on the clerk at Happy Homes to come back with whatever ya ordered.--:: He replied to Zoom-Zoom, unaware that things might not be totally fine – at least from Jazz's perspective. ::--Kinda hate this. Not gonna lie. Next time send bots who can actually use their Holoforms, man, this is the worst...--:: He added, just for good measure. That little vent was his only real outlet for right now in regards to how stressed this whole situation was making him.

Bad things came in threes, and Betty moving toward Jazz was the third thing in this string of awful things to happen in the past thirty or so seconds. Bee's holoform would eye her warily, hoping she didn't get too close to Jazz – his holoform couldn't interact well with solid objects.

They were good on that front, but she'd asked him to fetch something for her. When he couldn't.

Bee could, though, and he'd look at Jazz's holoform as if silently waiting for the go ahead to do so. He couldn't think of an excuse as to why Jazz wouldn't be able to do it – not that it would matter if he did, it wasn't like he could talk.

Just had to hope Jazz could think quickly before this turned into a disaster.

[Jazz]

     ::Bee, calm down. You didn't mess up, kiddo.:: Jazz offered a light pat on the head of Bee's holoform, just as a way to comfort him. The kid was stressing out and that bothered him but really, what was he supposed to do? This 'adventure' of theirs was almost over and then they could return to base and Bee could go off and do the things that got him to relax. Primus knew that the scout would need it after this. ::You're gonna flicker your holoform if ya lose focus. You're doin' fine-::

     The comm from ZZ interrupted him from speaking further to the scout and he went silent. Should he tell ZZ that he had spotted something suspicious? He listened to the tone being used from the scout, heard his complaints about what was going on, and voted against it. No, not over the public line like this. If Bee were to hear it he probably would freak out more and he was trying to find ways to make him ease up, not make it worse.

     Betsy was the one who had made an announcement and pulled Jazz from his focus. He looked to the older woman who had called out to him and smiled almost apologetically. 

     "I'm sorry, Ma'am. I had some surgery not long ago that don't allow me to lift my hands above my shoulders and I ain't supposed to carry things, which is why I got my nephew helpin' me on this trip. But! He's a dashin' young lad who's got the strength to more than make up for us both." Jazz looked to Bee and offered a smile. "He'll get them down for ya, no problem. Ain't that right? Show these nice ladies that ya held onto at least some of the manners I taught ya."

     ::Ya faced Megatron and lived to tell'bout it. This? This is a walk in the park in comparison. Ya got this.::

[Deleted]

(Second tag will be coming hopefully soon)

They were fine. Good. Okay, he could put them out of his mind for a while. Did he have to stay here in the command centre, waiting for them to fetch everything? Surely he could wander off back to the store room until they returned.

Ugh, no, that probably wouldn't be very responsible of him, Zoom-Zoom decided. He hated being responsible. It was the worst, honestly. He didn't get the types that loved to be in charge.

Anyway…Bee and Jazz were at Happy Homes. The minibot folded his arms across his chassis and frowned at the ceiling as he pondered the merits of remaining in the command centre versus leaving.

Oh.

Yeah.

::You might be waiting a while:: he admitted. ::There's a lot to pick up on that list.::

Enough cabling and wiring to light up a few new rooms.

Plaster. Sealing agents. Tape. Sheets of insulations. Epoxy.

And a million and one bits and pieces needed for the renovation going on at base.

The rate at which they had new arrivals finding their way to the planet was kind of ridiculous. Even more ridiculous was that the flow remained steady. Every week brought new faces to the Omega base. But those faces needed places to stay, so the base needed to expand to match.

Which meant that ordeals like this would only continue in the future, not taper off.

[Deleted]

At the mention of surgery, Betty's stern, wrinkled face filled with sympathy. Both she and Becky had more than their share of aches and pains. "Oh you poor thing," she said. "I hope you recover soon."

Her taller friend had moved a little closer, to make it easier to pay attention to the conversation. "It's not right that a fellow your age needs surgery. Leave that to us old bones." Betty said warmly. "Didn't something like that happen recently? Someone at the bridge club needed surgery, didn't they?" She prompted her companion.

"Williams did," Betty replied thoughtfully, trying to recall the incident. "McGregory Williams. Fell and broke his arm."

"Silly man didn't even tell a doctor," Becky sighed, exasperated by the follies that people were capable of.

The paint bucket was all but forgotten as the two old ladies fell into gossiping. "Smart man," Betty muttered rebelliously. "When the surgeon in question is that Jones fellow."

"Betty," the other chided. It seemed to be her lot in life, the calming, more sensible influence on her friend's rashness.

"Rebecca," Betty shot back, drawling out her friend's proper name instead of the nickname "Dr Jones is an embarrassment to his profession."

"Oh, here she goes again," Becky - Rebecca- muttered under her breath. She gave the two young men a sympathetic look.

There still was no sign of the cashier who has vanished into the depths of the back room. It seemed Zoom-Zoom's warning was correct in that regard, that they would be waiting for a while. All the two holoforms could do was endure the chatter from the two women.

"That man has no idea how to set a bone," Betty complained hotly. "Three years ago, I had a fall myself and he set it wrong. They had to break my arm again to get it to heal right. It's a miracle that man is still practising."

That last sentence had been muttered under Betty's breath, making it clear that she'd done her best to change that situation.

"You know who I should have seen Becky?" Betty didn't even give her friend a chance to actually respond to the question. "Steve Mitchell," she said with a resolute nod.

"But Mitchell is a vet! He works with horses!" Rebecca protested.

"And I'd wager he'd still have done a better job on my arm," Betty retorted primly.

It seemed that Betty's words had shut down Rebecca for the moment. She knew that the shorter woman would only continue to gripe so Rebecca kept her mouth shut, refusing to give her friend more ammunition. The two had known each other for decades and the bickering had been a constant feature of their friendship.

Betty eyed Rebecca suspiciously but when no argument was forthcoming, she looked back at the young men they had been ignoring, the ones that she'd asked for help. And then, as if she and Becky hadn't gotten completely off track just then, she scoffed rudely, "Kids and their manners these days. Now there's a joke. You would not believe the fight I had with my grand daughter just to get Becky and I out here. That girl would not look away from her phone - not even for a second."

"Patricia's a good kid Betty," Rebecca chided gently, with great patience. At the other's disbelieving snort, Rebecca amended, "A good kid who could probably reduce the amount of…selfies she takes." There had been a pause there, as Rebecca remembered the correct terminology. "Besides," and now her voiced turned sly, "You're one to talk. Ever since they got you that computer, you've been glued to it."

Betty turned a sharp look onto her friend at that. "I've been using it for important work!" She insisted. Then dropped her gaze and fiddled with her contents with her handbag.

Whatever she'd been using her computer for, the mention of it seemed to have shut her up at least.

Rebecca nodded at the holos. "Sorry about all of that. We'd really appreciate some help, it seems the gentleman at the counter isn't back yet."