Zone Doubt, a.k.a. 'Surreal Я Us'...

Joules, trusted by... dozens... to make a drama out of your crisis...

Other sites:

:: JAT :: WaveWrights :: Publications ::

I live to write. It's not wise to get in my way.

... I'd write my autobiography, but no-one would believe it....


If you come across any words you don't recognise in this blog, take a look at the Taylorspeke Glossary in the left-hand infopane, you'll usually find a definition there.


The Poppy Tales

(Transformers fanfiction!)

Transformers mini-comics here.




Adventures in Orchids

Apparently I am now collecting them...

There's room for one - or maybe two, at a pinch - more on that bedroom windowsill (the only one in the house that's ideal for them). Let's see what I find. Well, that didn't last long...


EO - Everlasting orchid. Phalaenopsis. I've had this orchid since 2007 and it just keeps flowering...







AO - Alien face orchid. Phalaenopsis . Bought 2018 - lovely little flowers, all different patterns!





RO - Rescued orchid photo to come when it flowers. Phalaenopsis. Rescued from a bin up the road in 2019. Classic!






TO - Tiny orchid. Phalaenopsis. Bought at Tesco 21.8.20. It just begged to come home with me. How could I say no?





CO - Crimson orchid. Cambria. Another Tesco find. This one may be going to live in Ken's room once we've redecorated and put up the new shelving; it prefers a cooler, less sunny windowsill. If so, I'll need to find another cambrian to keep it company.






GO - Golden orchid. Phalaenopsis. Saw this one when I bought CO and left it behind - then immediately regretted it as soon as I got home. Never seen one like it before. Ken, bless him, went back over to Tesco in the rain and bought it for me...





DO - Dendrobium Orchid. Smells of wisteria, so beautiful...











RO2 - Rescued orchid no 2. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I rescued from the wall along the road middle of 2021.








PO. Pink orchid. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I bought at Cabury Garden Centre on special, late 2021. It's much happier here!










TWO. Teeny weeny orchid, Phalaenopsis. Rescued from Tesco end 2021 (I think).




















My IMDb ep summaries

(completed)
Arthur of the Britons
Sky
Star Maidens
The Starlost
Space Rangers
The Sentinel (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Swamp Thing (part: season 3)
Gravedale High
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Cybertron (part)
Misfits of Science (four eps)
Zoo Gang
Zodiac
Jupiter Moon
Transformers: Beast Wars (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Transformers: Beast Machines (part)
Vampire Princess Miyu
Starhyke
Nathan Barley
No Heroics
Undermind (3 eps)
Will Shakespeare (Tim Curry version)
Nightwalker
12 Kingdoms
Trigun (ep 8)
Rayearth
Hyperdrive (season 2 ep 3)
The Café

For later:

Missing Earthian ep
Missing Haibane Renme eps


Silver birch at Eastwood 

Farm

"Autumnal - nothing to do with leaves. It is to do with a certain brownness at the edges of the day... Brown is creeping up on us, take my word for it... Russets and tangerine shades of old gold flushing the very outside edge of the senses... deep shining ochres, burnt umber and parchments of baked earth - reflecting on itself and through itself, filtering the light. At such times, perhaps, coincidentally, the leaves might fall, somewhere..."

(Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Act 2: Tom Stoppard)

Autumn...

I love this time of year. I love the colours, the sharp slant of sunlight on the trees, mosaics of acid-yellow and harts- blood, velvet and darkness and a haze of mist-grey over the hills. I love its immanence, its mellowness, the tang of frost just around the corner of the year...

Watching the little birds in the goat-willow in my garden, I realised something more.

I love this land with a fierce, possessive love, deep-rooted in two thousand years of history. From the frosted beaches and cloud-brushing peaks of the north to the wind-haunted meanderings of the rivers of the east, from the sensuous rolling patchworked hills of the south to the demanding dark moors of the west, this land seeps into bone and blood and synapse, mother of motley nobility, culture, individual freedoms. It can be known. It can be understood. It can be felt deep inside.

I love its effortless eccentricities, its vigour and vibrancy, its flawed perfections, its silent strength and tenacious resilience, its hard-won tolerances and intense and variable beauty, the profound energy in its sacred mythical landscape.

Home and more-than-home, the forces that shape and protect and bind, in me, as I am in the land. Love returning love in the stillness for those who'll only take the time to listen...

(Joules, Autumn 2004)


All photographs taken by Joules unless otherwise specified. All photographs © Joules A Taylor or other specified individual.


In Memoriam

17.03.09 - Argent

25.07.08 - Raptor

18.12.07 - Quyn

02.12.06 - Ryme


Currently enjoying:
Muse
Transformers - IDW, Prime, Animated, Rescue Bots, Earthspark.

Currently reading:
Cixin Liu - newest favourite author.
Ben Miller. wow. Just, wow...


Currently working on:
Haadri
Dystopic novel starring Devon from Dystopia

Currently chuffed with:
My garden

Currently miffed at:
Effing BND (you know who I mean)
Nestlé, TFG Tinyhands Fart, Toadface Farage

Currently maintaining:
Wavewrights, on and off...
BCHS
BCW


Blog Pics
I've gathered some of my pages of photos together: the page of links is here. I'll be adding more as time goes by!




Evil Squid
A Little Glossary of Taylorspeke
(in no particular order)

plit popints - n. Typo for 'plot points' typed on a keyboard with more than half the characters worn off...

[PING] (alt [ping]) - n. A brainwave. The text equivalent of a lightbulb going on blindingly over someone's head. Usually mine. And usually at the most inconvenient of times. [sigh]

TPTB - The Powers That Be.

wulmet - n. A person of little or no talent who somehow inveigles himself into a position where he is in power over other, far more talented people and uses his position to downplay them in order to try to make himself feel superior.

biteable - referring to an anatomical part vb, tasty.

Flatterfed - vb. 27.02.08: my typo for flattered, but since it's so cutely apt I thought it would fit nicely here. Lutra defined it as "the lovely warm feeling of satisfaction resulting from enthusiastic reviews..." (which I've been getting for my MB fics).

Composted - vb, 'compos mentis', mentally capable of working. Contrast with uncomposted or non- composted, not 'compos mentis', not capable of working, hungover...

Cumbles - n, cucumbers.

Kewp - how Ken says 'thank you'. We rather like Lutra's 'nanx', too...

Musekick - noun, music, without which I cannot work.

'feinne - noun, caffeine, essential for correct mental functioning, especially first thing in the morning. I prefer mine in the form of SodaStream Diet Coke. And on that subject...

Skoosh - verb, noun. To skoosh - to add CO2 to a sodastream bottle filled with water to make it fizzy, prior to adding Diet Coke syrup (or just drinking as sparkling water). A skoosh - a bottle of water that has been skooshed. Skooshy - something that has been skooshed, water, or that whipped cream that comes in tins you have to shake then upend and press the nozzle...

Shoogle - verb. To shake gently, for example, of roast potatoes in a roasting tin to ensure they're covered with oil. I have vague memories of this being a real Scottish colloquialism...

Stegasaurus - n, spider of the genus tegenaria. Why? No idea. I just find it easier, that's all...
Edit 08.09.07: Lutra thinks that Brian is a good name for a mini-stegasaurus. From now on, any 'Brian's in the posts may be assumed to be a tegenaria. Except where otherwise specified.

Viterals - noun, vitamins + minerals. Also a pun on victuals.

Splish - verb. A combination of slosh and splash.

Parrots - noun, paracetemol (from the old joke "Why are there no aspirin tablets in the jungle? Because the parrots eat 'em all...")

Maggles - noun, magpies. As opposed to non-magical people.

Flamewings - noun. Swifts. So called because the first time we became aware of them was an early summer evening when they were flying high, the light from the setting sun seemingly turning their wings to flames. Lovely little birds. We always know summer's arrived when we hear their high-pitched squeeing.

Murfs - noun, moths.

Peasant cut - noun, roughly cut up into big chunks, e.g. vegetables chopped in a hurry for a hearty stew or soup. By extension, anything prepared in a hurry - haircut, material, even a first draft of a story...

Giraffe - noun, a carafe (of wine, coffee or water, for example).

Shrumps - noun, mushrooms.

Splings - noun, Kai's spelling homework: by extension, any spelling.

Tyops - noun, typos. var toyps, typso, psyto, psoyt, etc. Usual result of a dose of the fingerials (see next entry).

Fingerials - (pr. fin GEEE ree yalls) noun, fingers that will not type what you want them to.

Haddock - noun, time, of which I never have enough. (Origin of this term here.)

Sleep - noun? vb? a.k.a. sheeeeeeeeep.... I used to know what this word meant...


The Updates Blog

The place to stay notified of WaveWrights' Fiction updates: Zone, Darkside, DarkRealm, Matrix, Vault, Safehouse 13...




my computer gremlin Butch. click the pic to see the larger image

Butch, my computer gremlin. Click the pic for larger version, and read his adventures here...

Butch by the talented 

Sylverthorne

A gift for me! Butch by the very talented Sylverthorne. Click pic for larger image.

Joules' 

Haddock

This is MY haddock. It was caught exclusively for me by Talon. No, you can't have any. I need all the haddock I can get!!



A'lestrel by Valkyrie.

A'lestrel - a gift for me from Valkyrie...



Albino Alsatian Benten (c) MEBird 

2004

Another gorgeous Valkyrie gift for me - Benten the Albino Alsatian! Click thumbnail for larger image.

Radittsu, an oekaki for my birthday 04 

by 

Onna

Oekai by Bakayaro Onna - Radittsu at his sexiest...



The Zone Plant from
The Zone 

blog 

plant

OrganicHTML (which alas no longer seems to exist...)
[::..My Regular Reads..::]
:: Astronomical Pic of the Day [>]
:: What is Space... [>]
:: Dark Roasted Blend [>]
:: BLDG [>]
:: Watchismo Times [>]
[::..Fun Places..::]
::HubbleSite
Stunning...
::PALEOMAP Project
Absolutely fascinating.
:: Skymap
Check out the night sky where you are!
[::..Useful Sites..::]
:: GreenNet
First stop for environmental matters
:: The Forest of Avon
Our local community forest and places to visit
:: The Guardian
Online Guardian Newspaper.
:: Symbols
Exactly what it says
:: World Timeserver
For checking the current time around this world
:: Universal Currency Converter
Actually it's just a terran-global currency converter, not universal, but it's still useful...

So what is it with the haddock? Am I some kind of fish freak?

I'll leave that to others to decide.

The tale (or tail if you prefer) harks back to October 2000, when my GoodTwin and I, ably assisted by Sue, ran the first UK Professionals convention...
It's common knowledge that I never have enough time, and I was determined not to bewail the fact that weekend: hence I promised not to use the 'T' word...
Of course, that didn't really work (if nothing else I had to let the trainees know what times things were supposed to be happening!) so we decided a substitute word would be employed instead. There were several suggestions. Banana came very close to being chosen. However, I eventually decided that 'haddock' fitted the bill nicely. Ever since, haddock=time. Hence the title of my forthcoming autobiography,
My Half-Life in the Haddock Space Continuum....


Normally I wouldn't, but these were just irresistible...

How could I resist?

Just too adorable...

and to complete the rainbow...

These Too-Kawaii Kitties
were adopted from
Ghost's Anime Page (which appears to have disappeared, alas...)

[::..Anime/Manga..::]
Useful sites:

BBTS -
Fabulous anime figures

Anime Lyrics
A huge selection... evil popups

Anime still needed to complete series' I'm collecting... Many thanks to everyone who has helped me acquire the collection!
Ai no Kusabi

Owned:
   DVD
   Dj: June Special
   CD: Ambivalence

Cyber City Oedo 808

Owned:
   DVD
   All 3 eps on Video, dubbed
   Dj: Cyberage 1-3
   Illustrated Book 2 (Benten's) in Japanese

From Eroica with Love

Owned:
   Manga Vols 1, 9, 11

Mirage of Blaze

Owned:
   DVD Vol 1 (eps 1-4)

R.G. Veda

Owned:
   English Manga: Vol 1
   Japanese Manga: Vol 1-7 complete
   Tarot Pack
   R.G.Veda video

Twelve Kingdoms

Owned:
   Anime Vol 1-12: complete

Under the Glass Moon

Owned:
   Manga Vol 1, 2
Vol 3 needed

Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust

Owned:
   DVD

   Vampire Hunter D Book 1



New Vampire Miyu

Owned:
   (Studio Ironcat) Manga Vols 1 -5 (complete)


Yami no Matsuei

Owned:
   Viz Manga: English translation, Vols 1 - 11 (complete: I believe vol 12 is only available online)
   Japanese 3-DVD set
   Central Park Media: Descendants of Darkness Vol. 1, English/Japanese subbed.
   Sketchbook


[::..Joules SP fied..::]


... this is Terra? How the hell'd I end up here...?

(Thanks, Lutra, for the quote!)

[::..archive..::]
07/01/2002 - 07/31/2002
08/01/2002 - 08/31/2002
09/01/2002 - 09/30/2002
10/01/2002 - 10/31/2002
11/01/2002 - 11/30/2002
12/01/2002 - 12/31/2002
01/01/2003 - 01/31/2003
02/01/2003 - 02/28/2003
03/01/2003 - 03/31/2003
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06/01/2003 - 06/30/2003
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02/01/2004 - 02/29/2004
03/01/2004 - 03/31/2004
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06/01/2004 - 06/30/2004
07/01/2004 - 07/31/2004
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09/01/2004 - 09/30/2004
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12/01/2004 - 12/31/2004
01/01/2005 - 01/31/2005
02/01/2005 - 02/28/2005
03/01/2005 - 03/31/2005
04/01/2005 - 04/30/2005
05/01/2005 - 05/31/2005
06/01/2005 - 06/30/2005
07/01/2005 - 07/31/2005
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10/01/2005 - 10/31/2005
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02/01/2006 - 02/28/2006
03/01/2006 - 03/31/2006
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10/01/2006 - 10/31/2006
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01/01/2019 - 31/01/2019
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01/11/2021 - 31/11/2021
01/12/2022 - 31/12/2022
01/01/2023 - 31/01/2023
01/02/2023 - 28/02/2023
01/03/2023 - 31/03/2023
01/04/2023 - 30/04/2023
01/08/2023 - 31/08/2023
01/11/2023 - 31/11/2023

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

I must be inspired... I'm certainly enjoying myself!

Part 2 of Devices, Too. I suppose at this point I should add the standard disclaimer. If you recognise the name/character from the films, they aren't mine. If you don't, they're my own creations, based on the Hasbro Transformers concept!

Part 2 - Hurt

"I'll be a couple of hours. Don't get up to anything naughty while I'm gone!"
     "Ath if we would!" 'Spin made a sound remarkably like a disdainful sniff, and Poppy giggled. He was remarkably easy to tease.
     Upbeat (she hadn't been able to make herself call him Ringo. She may not be a Beatles fan, but there could only ever be one Ringo as far as she was concerned) was waiting for her outside, engine thrumming quietly. Poppy had been very nervous the first time she'd sat in the driver's seat (which had, alarmingly, shifted to accommodate her, becoming extremely comfortable in the process): not only did it feel most peculiar to be inside a sentient machine, but also, as she'd be the first to admit, she was hardly the best driver in the world. In fact, she'd not even been behind the wheel of a car since that accident four years ago.
     'Beat had done his best, in his mournful voice, to reassure her that if she wanted she didn't even need to touch the wheel: all she needed to do was direct him and he'd do the driving. Which felt even weirder, but in practice worked really well. Though she did keep her hands on the wheel, just in case anyone happened to glance in. She was supposed to be keeping a low profile. The last thing she needed was the police stopping her for dangerous driving.
     The nearest supermarket - the one that boasted 'every little helps' - was a good six miles away, but its advantage over the local shops was its anonymity and the fact it carried everything she needed under one roof. And it was nice for 'Beat to get out every now and then. She knew he recorded the trip, and played it back later for the others over TeeVee. Not exactly ideal, but at least it let them join in her life a little, even if only at second hand. She really wished she could take some of them shopping with her, but that really wasn't possible. Yet, anyway.

It was a pleasant drive in early autumn sunshine, the leaves just beginning to change colour. 'Beat drove sedately along the narrow roads, ignoring the jeers from a group of teenagers in a somewhat decrepit Volvo that tried to roar past them and which they passed half a mile further down the road, pulled off to the side with smoke coming from under the bonnet. Poppy smiled and waved as they drove past, giggling at the scowls from the erstwhile passengers.
     The car park was fairly full, and 'Beat pulled into a space some distance from the supermarket. Poppy patted his dashboard as she opened the door.
     "I might be a while. It looks busy, and I've a lot to get."
     "S'awright, Poppy. I'll be here." He switched on the radio and found a 'golden oldies' channel. Poppy sometimes thought he might be overdoing the retro thing, but it seemed to make him happy, so she didn't comment.
     The supermarket was full of wrinklies - must be pension day she thought - which slowed things down considerably, but which gave her the opportunity to search out bargains, BOGOFs and any interesting or special products. There was a new eco-friendly laundry liquid 'Spin had asked her to keep an eye out for, and in the fresh produce aisle a new selection of locally-grown organic vegetables. Steamy insisted on her buying organically-grown or bred wherever possible, and she had to admit it did taste very good. The prices seemed to be coming down too, always a bonus...
     An hour later she stopped the laden trolley beside 'Beat's boot - and leaned over his roof, frowning: there were a series of wide, vicious scratches across the Union Jack. Glancing round to check no-one was within hearing distance, she laid a hand on the windshield.
     "'Beat? What happened?"
     The Mini shuddered minutely.
     "Some louts with a broken bottle. Tried t'smash me windows too."
     Poppy peered at the... was it glass? She tried not to take anything for granted anymore... and found tiny chips in the driver's side window.
     "The bastards! Did you see which way they went?"
     "Nah. They split up."
     Poppy frowned.
     "It wasn't that bunch from the Volvo, was it?"
     "Nope. Never seen this lot before."
     She ran her fingers gently over the scratches.
     "Well, we can get it repainted..." She paused: 'Beat had shuddered again. "What? It wouldn't take long."
     "S'not paint."
     She stared at him, then noticed other shoppers approaching with their trolleys, and opened the boot to pile her bags inside. Once finished and the trolley pushed into a storage bay, she climbed in and 'Beat started his engine. Poppy waited until they pulled out onto the road before asking,
     "What do you mean, it's not paint?"
     "It's me... you'd call it skin. Part o' me body."
     "You mean... Oh ouch! 'Beat, I'm sorry. Does it hurt?" She frowned. "Can you actually feel pain."
     The Mini snorted.
     "Course we do! Got sensors all through us. Like your nerves."
     "Oh..." That was a not-particularly-welcome revelation. "So how can we fix your roof?"
     He sighed.
     "Got no medics over here. Just 'ave to heal by itself."
     "Will it?"
     "Yeah. Nanites'll take care of it. Be awright in a couple o' days."
     "Is there anything I can do to help? Should we... cover it up, or something?"
     "Nah. But sitting in sun'll help."
     "Then you'll have to stay outside the garage for a bit."
     "Fine by me!"
     She frowned to herself, realising suddenly that she really didn't know very much about them. She'd assumed that they were just sentient robots - basically hunks of metal with intelligence. But thinking about it, there had to be more to them than that. The way they moved, their abilities, the way Chill chopped vegetables, careful not to let the knife too close to his own digits... And that must be why Muncher had winced, that time a sharp stone hidden in the grass had bounced off his side while he was mowing.
     Bloody hell, they were closer to human than she'd thought. She'd have to speak to Graham, find out if there was anything she could do in case of accidents or damage...

The Volvo was still there on the way back, but now there was a police car stopped in front of it. To Poppy's surprise 'Beat flinched and speeded up a little, only slowing back to his usual rate once they were around a corner and out of sight.
     "What was that for?"
     The Mini hesitated, then muttered, "Bad mem'ries."
     Poppy was itching to ask, but given he was hurt, thought it best not to make things worse...

As luck would have it, Graham was waiting for her when she got back, which usually meant another transformer or two for her to take under her wing. She let 'Beat park up in full sunlight and climbed out, waving to the officer. Graham gestured to the open hatch of his Defender: inside were two transformers in their natural mode, one small, one considerably larger. Poppy grinned.
     "Hello. I'm Poppy."
     The two glanced at Graham, who nodded and beckoned to them.
     "It's all right, she's going to look after you." He turned to Poppy. "They're a little twitchy. Had a near run in with Barricade. One of the Decepticons." He added at her blank look.
     "Oh, you poor things!" She held her hands out. "Come on inside and we'll get you settled. And you can meet the rest - they're a really nice bunch."
     Ushering them into the house, she glanced back over her shoulder.
     "Could you hang on a minute? There's something I need to ask you."
     Graham nodded and followed her into the house.

Chill and 'Spin had been their usual charming and friendly selves, and the two newcomers - Cable, whose alternate form was a portable DVD player, rather to Poppy's delight, and Grunt, who transformed into, of all things, a multigym (oh wonderful. Poppy thought to herself. Bad enough with 'Spin, Steamy and Chill keeping tabs on my diet, now I'm going to be nagged to death to exercise as well!) - were welcomed and taken through into the main lounge to meet the rest. Poppy switched on the kettle for coffee, and Graham seated himself at the kitchen table, expression attentive.
     "So, what did you want to ask?"
     Poppy poured boiling water over instant coffee and handed a mug to the officer.
     "Upbeat's been... hurt. Damaged. Injured. Not sure what to call it..."
     Graham tensed and leaned forward, frowning.
     "What happened?"
     Poppy explained the events at the supermarket. Graham drummed his fingers on the table, then obviously came to a decision.
     "Is Ramp online?"
     "Should be." Poppy led the way to her little office, where Ramp, ever attentive to Poppy's needs, had just finished transforming into his computer mode. Graham gazed at the monitor.
     "Connect me to base, please."
     "Yessir!"
     Seconds later a face appeared on the screen. The man grinned at Graham, then his eyes met Poppy's and he saluted.
     "Ma'am. You must be Ms Moss. On behalf of NEST, I'd like to say how much we appreciate the great job you're doing for us."
     Graham chuckled as Poppy blushed red.
     "Cut the flannel, Lennox, you're embarrassing her."
     Lennox laughed, then smiled at Poppy.
     "It's true though, you are doing a good job." His gaze returned to Graham. "So, why the call? You aren't due to report in for another four hours."
     "We have a... situation. Not urgent, but it's something we haven't devised protocol for yet." He explained what had happened at the supermarket, and Lennox frowned.
     "Yeah, see what you mean. OK, I'll brief them here, you speak to Ratchet."
     The screen darkened momentarily: when it brightened Poppy and Graham were face to face with... Poppy felt dizzy. It was the most alien face she'd ever seen, grey and... sort of spiky... with bright little turquoise eyes...
     Graham saluted casually.
     "'Morning, Jolt. Ratchet handy?"
     A shiver of what looked like lightning arced across the transformer's blue chest, accompanied by what sounded like the language her own wards spoke, then he moved aside as another face came into view, this one silver and chartreuse.
     "His self-repair will deal with the problem on this occasion. However, it might be useful for the human to keep a supply of medical nanites in-house, in case anything similar happens in the future. I'll arrange it."
     "Thanks, Ratchet." Graham nodded, and the view on the screen switched back to Lennox.
     "All done?"
     "Yes. If you could organise a courier though, we'd appreciate it."
     "No problem. Hey, do you think you could send us a shipment of that local beer you like? We're running out of anything decent here."
     Graham laughed.
     "Oh, I'm sure you could twist my arm. Anything else, while I'm at it?"
     "I'm sure we can think of something."
     "Make a list for when I report in."
     "Will do. Lennox out."
     Poppy was staring at him.
     "What just happened? It was like listening to half... no, a quarter of a conversation!"
     Graham smirked.
     "Ah, that was the well-oiled military machine you may have heard of hard at work."
     She stared blankly, and he chuckled.
     "Ratchet is always busy. To save time and me repeating it, Jolt and Lennox passed on what I told Lennox, and Ratchet came up with the answer and a solution which should help should anything like it happen again."
     "He... he was a bit brusque..."
     "He certainly can be. He's probably working on a project at the moment, always makes him impatient with interruptions."
     "Oh." Poppy felt suddenly breathless - it had been a glimpse into a completely alien world. And she was a part of it! Even if only a tiny part and only peripherally. She shivered and grinned at Graham.
     "Thanks."
     "You're welcome. There'll be instructions for storing the nanites when they arrive - hopefully in English, but ask Chill to translate if Ratchet forgets and leaves them in glyphs - and if you have any other problems, have Ramp contact me." His head swivelled to the door as a crash came from the lounge, followed by a babble of voices. "Sounds like you might be needed. Want backup?"
     Poppy sighed.
     "No, it's OK. I'm sure between us 'Spin and I can sort it out."
     "Then I'd better head off. A pleasure as always, Poppy."
     He headed for the door as Poppy entered the lounge to see a disconsolate Grunt sitting in a corner with 'Spin patting his shoulder, while Sucker zoomed about vacuuming up the shattered glass from a large fruit-bowl that had been sitting on the coffee table.
     Well, it wasn't the first, and it wouldn't be the last, Poppy thought, as she went to reassure the ungainly new transformer that it was OK, it was just an accident, and not to worry about it...



© JAT

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