|
Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Jun 29, 2009 21:04:15 GMT -5
OOC: Takes place not long after the launch, once everything is together and settled. Public.
In a long corridor of the Autobot ship, science is about to begin. Well, not science exactly, but they are testing a new device, so that has to count for something. More specifically, Spy Shot is getting ready to test-drive his new personal transport, supplied by none other than the ever-brilliant Perceptor.
Spy Shot isn't familiar with the human creation known as the hamster ball, and so draws no comparison between the two devices, but for anyone in the know, the large, transparent sphere certainly has hamster ball-ish qualities. However, no hamster ball had ever dreamed of being as sophisticated as Perceptor's creation. This ball has fancy features such as brakes, mechanisms to allow better turning ability, a system to stop Spy Shot from going for a tumble if he stops running... not to mention being made of material far tougher than ordinary plastic. No stray foot will be crushing this sphere!
Jogging up to the parked transport, Spy Shot presses his claws against it and peers inside. He turns his head to look up at Perceptor and asks, "Can I go in now?"
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on Jun 29, 2009 21:15:20 GMT -5
Peering at the screen of a small, hand-held scanning device, Perceptor makes a few final tweeks to the dials - presumably adjusting something on the hams- errr... transport pod via radio signal, before grinning down at Spy Shot.
"By all means," he replies, nodding. "I believe everything is quite in order for your first test of the pod's functions."
Sure, Perceptor could have made a tiny little hover car, or a dune-buggy arangement with a heavy cage to protect the tiny camera-bot, but such systems would have been immobilized by any significant loss of power, while this unit can be utilized in a manual mode as well as a powered mode.
Besides, who could resist a hamster ball of doom, anyway?
|
|
|
Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Jun 29, 2009 21:46:04 GMT -5
Copying Perceptor's smile, Spy Shot then turns back to the transport. Grasping the grips on the device's hatch, he tugs it open and clambers inside, pulling it shut and locking it in place behind him. He takes a moment to peruse the controls before him, reminding himself what is what. There aren't that many of them as the ball is quite simple to control, most of the steering and much of the locomotion coming directly from the motion of his own body.
Checks made, Spy Shot reaches for the brake control and disengages it. The ball rocks in place a bit, and the camera-bot wobbles slightly, but the transport is well-designed and doesn't immediately rolling off in a random direction despite its occupant's slight imbalance. As the ball stills, he takes a tentative step forward and the transport begins a controlled roll forward. While it won't go far enough to send him toppling onto his face if he doesn't move further, the slight tilt of the ground encourage him to take another step. And then another, and another, until Spy Shot is walking forward at a sedate pace, the ball rolling smoothly around him.
Spy Shot is not used to walking, however, and he soon kicks it up to a light jog. Tilting to one side, he takes the ball into a turn and proceeds to circle around Perceptor's feet, getting a feel for 'driving'.
"I like it," he says.
Next step will be to test how fast this thing can go.
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on Jun 30, 2009 19:35:22 GMT -5
Perceptor watches as Spy Shot adeptly adjusts to the ball's maneuvering capabilities, sussing out the steering and braking in swift order.
"Excellent!" he exclaims, pleased. "Now, that is the standard manual speed mode. Along your control panel, there is a row of three colored toggles, one green, one yellow, and one orange from left to right."
He pauses his explanation there for a moment, giving Spy shot a chance to find the switches as the tiny bot circles his feet round and round. "Those toggles control the automated speed modes for the pod. In succession, each switch will add an exponential ratio gear to your locomotion."
"In other words, the green switch doubles your speed, the yellow provides a factor of four to your speed, and the orange, a factor of sixteen times your normal speed. Understand?"
|
|
|
Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Jun 30, 2009 20:22:03 GMT -5
Spy Shot nods and says, "I understand." Green is fast, yellow is faster, orange is fastest!
Reaching for the green toggle, he flips it on and promptly runs into the wall, not compensating properly for his increased speed as he turns around Perceptor's feet. Despite a deceptively loud crack upon impact, the transport ball rebounds unharmed, and Spy Shot suffers nothing worse than an undignified tumble onto his rear. Not actually having any sense of dignity, the camera-bot is unfazed and is quickly back on his feet and jogging off in another direction.
Perhaps it would be more sensible to test the further speed modes while moving in a straight line.
Taking a few moments to get a handle of double-speed by making a few loops and circles, Spy Shot decides to test the next mode up. Moving twice as fast as normal is nice and all, but it's not particularly impressive. Lining himself up to point straight down the hallway, he begins to run then flips the yellow switch. As his speed doubles again, he finds himself cruising down the hallway with surprising velocity. Oh sure, he's gone faster while riding with other Transformers, but that just doesn't have the same feeling as when you're the one doing the driving!
Making a wide turn - and almost knocking into the wall again as he gets used to turning at this speed - Spy Shot hurries back towards Perceptor.
"I am going fast!" he says with a level of enthusiasm usually reserved for colourful, changing objects.
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on Jul 1, 2009 17:07:24 GMT -5
Well, the pod certainly passes initial durability tests! And, fortunately, Spy Shot seems no worse the wear for his tumble, so hopefully that indicates that the safety features engineered in worked to full effect.
It is quite refreshing, actually, to watch the tiny camera-bot zooming about so enthusiastically, and it isn't merely Perceptor's visual acuity that allows him to see Spy Shot's grin of enjoyment.
"You are!" he replies cheerfully. "With practice, you will quickly master maneuverability at that speed, as well!"
He lifts one foot out of the way so that Spy Shot can continue down the corridor without impediment, incidentally opening up a rather long stretch of straightaway for the zooming ball. "I would not attempt maneuvering at its top speed, however, until you have mastered the lower speeds... Or have gotten used to simple straight line transport at top speed. Ready to test it?"
|
|
|
Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Jul 1, 2009 17:55:01 GMT -5
Spy Shot zips beneath Perceptor's upraised foot, cruising down the currently empty hallway. The speed of this transport is a very pleasant surprise. Here he had thought it would take ages to personally explore every corner of the ship, but in this device he will be able to explore many areas in much less time! And this isn't even the top speed...
Excited with the prospect of even faster exploration, he answers, "I am ready to test it. I wish to go faster."
Without further ado, Spy Shot flips the orange toggle.
The camera-bot isn't sure weather to be more startled or pleased. He had thought 4x speed was fast, but it was nothing compared to this. Quickly accelerating to car-level speed, ball and robot go rocketing down the hallway. Stray feet beware!
|
|
|
Post by Mirage on Jul 2, 2009 11:11:49 GMT -5
Mirage is wandering the corridors, getting a feel for the ship, its twists and turns. He though perhaps he might find Skyblast. The spy worries that the tiny sky-painter may grow ansty and melancholy on such a long, sky-less journey.
Of course, it's entirely possible Skyblast stayed behind, and Mirage wasn't told. Mirage was out of pocket until almost too late, after all.
He rounds a corner to a straightaway, just in time to have a Hamster Ball of Doom hit his foot, rolls partially up it, then goes careening into the wall opposite.
"What the devil-?!" Mirage leaps to one side, avoiding the ball's rebound.
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on Jul 3, 2009 22:00:02 GMT -5
It is ironic that Perceptor has produced a transport pod for Spy Shot that goes faster than Perceptor is capable of in any of his modes.
Once the tiny ball zips past under his foot, he turns, arms crossed over his chest, grinning cheerfully as Spy Shot enthusiastically engages that high-velocity ratio gear and shoots forward. Exactly as he had designed, and Perceptor is plea--
There is a large mech quite suddenly in Spy Shot's path, and before Perceptor even has a chance to shout a warning - to whom, he isn't sure, actually - the ball is already rebounding off of the wall.
"Spy Shot! Are you all right?" he calls, jogging toward the spot.
He'll check on Mirage - who may have taken a wax scuff, if that - as soon as he has ascertained that the tiny camera-bot is fine. He should be, given the safety protocols, however....
|
|
|
Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Jul 4, 2009 0:26:19 GMT -5
Spotting a foot moments before you collide with it is easy. Actually making the necessary adjustments in time to avoid said foot while traveling at high speeds? Now that's tricky. Even as he hits Mirage and goes careening off into a wall, Spy Shot had decided that while difficult, doing so would not be impossible. His reaction time should be good enough, he just needs a better understanding of navigating the ball at these speeds.
Ricocheting off the wall, the transport drops to the floor and bouncing a few times before rolling to a stop, not longer zooming along as its occupant is currently sprawled on his front rather than up and running. Just to be safe, Spy Shot engages the brake before standing back up. Peering up at Perceptor he says, "I am all right."
In fact, despite his multiple impacts at high velocity, he doesn't feel even half as dinged up as that time he fell from the ceiling back in Sector 7. Score one for science!
Turning around in the ball, he stares up at Mirage, unsure whether or not he should say anything after hitting his foot. As making an apology doesn't occur to him as an option, he settles for waving and saying, "Hello."
|
|
|
Post by Mirage on Jul 5, 2009 10:24:58 GMT -5
Mirage peers down at the tiny camera encased in a ball. "Spy Shot?" he muses, "Oh, you're the little camera bot." Mirage has quite possibly been introduced to Spy Shot before, but the camera is, unfortunately, entirely too easy to simply dismiss. Mirage crouches down to get a better look at both the ball and it's passenger. "You are such a tiny thing...."
He then cants a glance up at Perceptor, looking highly amused.
"A ball? You created a rolling ball for a transport? Not a skate, or a hover board, but a ball?" Mirage chuckles, "Xaaron is going to have a field day over the hazards of such rumbling about the ship at speed."
"I heartily approve." Mirage is still chuckling as he straightens. "But you might want to bell the cat, so, to speak, so that we know when he might be in danger of running us down."
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on Jul 5, 2009 15:43:04 GMT -5
Perceptor joggs up, relieved to hear that Spy Shot is not only unharmed - as he'd frankly excpected, really - but is fairly unphased as well. Good. There is something to be said for the innocence of ignorance. It is a function of much organic biology which he has observed time and time again which he actually envies: the resiliancy of youth. Oh, to be sure, there are disadvantages to being too young an inexperienced to understand to be afraid, but there are also so many advantages.
Such as not being afraid to take a spill now and again.
"The sphere," he explains archly, with a small smile, "is one of the strongest constructs. A hover board or skate or similar transport would have required external or extraneous bits which would have proved to weaken the complete design, when compared to this pod."
"Given that it was designed not only as transportation, but to keep Spy Shot safe from the much larger mechanisms around him, I determined that a spherical pod would be the most advantageous design. That is a very appropriate point to consider, however."
"What sort of audible alert would you prefer, Spy Shot? It should be something which you will be able to tolerate for extended periods of time."
|
|
|
Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Jul 5, 2009 16:31:59 GMT -5
Spy Shot remembers Mirage. They met before, so of course he remembers. What doesn't he remember?
He stares at Mirage in slight confusion, not entirely sure why the 'Bot is bothering to state the obvious. The camera-bot is quite plainly much smaller than either of the other 'Bots, so why is it worth noting at the moment? Unsure of what else to say, he remarks, "You are very large."
As Perceptor explains his creation, Spy Shot flips it back into 2x gear and proceeds to turn about in circles as practice. Practice makes perfect, right? He switches to making figure-eights as the scientist addresses him.
"I don't know," he answers with a quick shrug. "I do not pay much attention to sound, unless it's someone speaking." And sometimes not even then, unless he hears his name. That's when writing all sensory information to memory comes in handy. Perfect conversation playback!
|
|
|
Post by Mirage on Jul 6, 2009 10:14:14 GMT -5
"Ummmhmmm," Mirage gives the scientist his best smile and nod, the shrugs. "Well, I suppose you know what your doing. You are the infamous Perceptor after all." Mirage doesn't mean the words to be catty though they likely come out more like that than intends.
And now that he's watching Spy Shot, Mirage does vaguely recall their first meeting. Sorry, little camera-bot, but the spy was more concerned at the time with Pee-Dee's condition and a certain lovely- if worn- 'Vette.
"At any rate, I'm just getting the lay of the land, so to speak. Perhaps I should be off and leave you two to your experimentation."
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on Jul 7, 2009 21:06:30 GMT -5
Perceptor is over-explaining things again, isn't he? Wait...
"Infamous?" He is infamous? That is... curious.
"Ah, well, I suppose, however, Mirage, you are not intruding. Actually, your presence has proven an invaluable portion of the experimentation. Thank you." Because now Spy Shot has a direct example of his own ability to maneuver and his own resiliancy within his transport pod when acted upon by one of the myriad of external forces for which the pod was designed to protect him from. "Additionally, you have provided an excellent suggestion."
Turning his attention back down to Spy Shot - an amusing sight as Perceptor follows that little figure eight track upon the floor - and nods. "Very well, then. I shall develop several tones for you to evaluate later, Spy Shot. You appear to be developing significantly more dexterity with practice!"
|
|