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Post by Rodimus Prime on Aug 5, 2009 14:19:53 GMT -5
OOC: Although this thread starts in the hallway, it will soon move to Kup's office, so consider it private unless your character has IC reason to be there.
Rodimus Prime leads Sentinel Prime through the hallways of the Event Horizon. As he walks, he speaks, answering the smaller Prime's question.
"Kup?" he asks, a bit thrown off by the question of what Kup is like. "He's, well, he's Kup!" Then, realizing that probably doesn't help, he shrugs. "He's, well... he's been around for ages. Old war horse, done a lot of traveling, likes to think he's seen everything." Rodimus smirks. "Every once in awhile, he gets proven wrong. Like here. Dependable, stubborn, straight forward and grumpy. Not much patience for formality, not much interest in ceremony. The one we've got here was his Cybertron's Chief of Security, and if I remember right, third in command of his Autobots."
Rodimus frowns and trails off as he tries to think of how else to describe Kup. Really, for quite awhile now, the word 'Kup' summed him up so far as Rodimus was concerned.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Aug 5, 2009 15:18:49 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime considers what Rodimus Prime has to say about this 'Kup'. 'he's Kup'. Well, that's helpful.
Chief of Security, huh? Kup does doesn't sound anything like Longarm Prime or Cliffjumper. Kup sounds a little bit like Ultra Magnus, what with being an old veteran, but perhaps lower class, less dignified, and refined. Third in command? There wasn't a formal third in command in Sentinel Prime's reality, but that would have made Kup nearly an equal to Sentinel Prime. He frowns and asks, trying to get clarified, "But he's not a Prime or Minor? They use different rankings?"
Hmm, how to handle this Kup, how to handle this Kup. Sentinel Prime'll have to refrain from any remarks on Kup's manners or protocol, if the 'bot isn't interested in formality and ceremony. Grumpy? Bolts. Just what Sentinel Prime needs. Is everyone grumpy here?
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Aug 5, 2009 19:20:27 GMT -5
"I don't think titles attached to rank are really that common in most of the other realities," Rodimus explains, shrugging. "For example, we had an Ultra Magnus, but that was just his name. Ultra Magnus." So if it's a title where Sentinel is from, and the other titles are 'Prime' and 'Minor,' does that mean that his Ultra Magnus was once Ultra Prime? Or Ultra Minor?
How does being an Ultra Minor even work?
"Outside of 'Prime,' anyway," Rodimus continues, "and that usually means... well, in my reality, it was the title that signified the Prime Autobot, the Bearer of our most sacred artifact, the Matrix. In, well, most realities, it also seems to describe whoever's in charge of the Autobots, or at least the Autobot military." And now that Rodimus has dropped that bomb on Sentinel, he arrives at a door and stops.
"Okay, here we are!" he states hurriedly before striding right in as the exit slides away, not even bothering to knock first. "Hey, Kup," he casually greats the green-gray mechanoid sitting behind the desk inside.
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Post by Kup on Aug 5, 2009 19:33:19 GMT -5
Kup looks up from a desk, one that he's managed to make messy despite only being in space a few weeks. A terminal is built into it, but sitting on it is a large, ragged sheet of metal with a number of strange, unplacable symbols scrawled on it. In Kup's right hand is a small cylinder of metal, sharpened to a point, that he seems to be using as a stylus.
"Come on in, lad," Kup greets Rodimus, grinning broadly as he starts to stand up. That grin fades but doesn't leave entirely as he walks around his desk, inclining his head towards Sentinel. "So you must be Sentinel Prime, I take it?" He lifts his hand, ready to shake Sentinel's... or, well, wave, if that's how those guys do things. He can't quite remember what Optimus did.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Aug 5, 2009 21:05:53 GMT -5
At one point in time, Ultra Magnus was just named Ultra. Presumably, his drill sergeant was impressed by Ultra's imminently impressive armament, to name him Ultra.
Sentinel Prime goggles as he's told what Prime means in other realities, and he puffs up with a bit of pride. Sure, that's not what it means in his reality, but people might mistake him for that kind of Prime, and Sentinel has never been one to turn down adulation. He says smoothly, "I'll make the title look good, trust me." Sentinel Prime even winks.
When Kup holds out his hand, Sentinel Prime knows what to do! Shake it up, baby. Sentinel Prime's handshake is strong and maybe just a bit grasping. He beams and agrees, "None other! And you're Kup, of course. Rodimus Prime there said you were a security director?"
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Aug 5, 2009 22:36:47 GMT -5
It's really the wink that unnerves Rodimus, and for a moment he worries that he made a mistake. But then, Sentinel would have found out anyway. The flame-clad Prime gives a smile and waves off towards the both of them. "Well, I'll leave you two to the interview. See you round."
It's kind of unavoidable, really. Limited space and all.
And with that, Rodimus is out, the door sliding shut behind him.
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Post by Kup on Aug 5, 2009 22:46:34 GMT -5
Kup's own handshake is firm and ungiving, and though he doesn't grip so hard as to cause pain, it should be enough to hint that this unassuming, carbot sized old robot is much stronger than he appears.
He gives a brief smile and a quick nod. "Back home, yeah. Here, too, but I also handle the military forces." Once the handshake is over he heads back around and sits once more behind his desk, then gestures to the other chairs - plain, but serviceable, and not exactly uncomfortable if not comfortable - in the room. No more sitting on wrecked cars for the interviews!
"Help yourself to a seat," he says, picking up the stylus and the sheet of metal. He flips the sheet over, turns it once, then pauses and looks at Sentinel. "We'll start with something simple. What, would you say, is the most important thing for me to know about you? Keep it to just one thing."
Hmmm. Maybe Kup should have gone with that three adjectives question...
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Aug 6, 2009 8:36:40 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime gives a quick wave to Rodimus Prime as he goes with his free hand but doesn't really think anything more of him when he's gone.
Sentinel Prime's optics narrow for a moment at the hardness of Kup's grip.
Kup. What the heck does Kup mean, anyway?
He sits down in a chair directly across from Kup. Sentinel Prime has sat in worse chairs, though he wouldn't even really call those chairs, and those were Optimus Prime's fault. Seriously, the 'bot can't even get furniture right. Sentinel Prime tries to sit up properly in the chair as best he can, to bring some decorum to this screwy situation. he squints over at the sheet of metal. Kup uses that for notes? Has he never heard of modern technology? Or is he just crazy? They have a ship, so they're clearly not that bad off on supplies.
He struggles with trying to think of just one thing that is important about him. Everything is about Sentinel Prime is important! He opens his mouth, and he's going to talk about his forcefield and how awesome it is, but then he remembers that the forcefield is just a mod, and it's a mod that Headmaster worked on, at that. His open mouth turns to a grimace. Sentinel Prime doesn't really want to think about Headmaster.
He opens his mouth again, to tell Kup about how he follows procedures to the letter (except when he doesn't), but then he closes it in another grimace. Rodimus Prime told him that Kup's not big on formality.
But he's Sentinel Prime, Commander of the Autobot Elite Guard! He answers right to Ultra Magnus. That has to count for something, right? Even if no-one here seems to think so. Sentinel prime puts on a smile he doesn't really feel, and he answers, "Ultra Magnus - he was supreme military and civilian leader in my reality - entrusted me to command the Elite Guard, our top of the line troops."
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Post by Kup on Aug 6, 2009 9:32:47 GMT -5
Kup leans back and waits for Sentinel to answer. The dithering and hesitating doesn't bother him - that is a hard question. Someone who thinks much of themselves finds it hard to narrow it down to just one, and someone who thinks little of themselves finds it hard to come up with one. Rare is the person who is both extremely good at one thing, knows that one thing, and has confidence in it.
Kup dips his head in a nod. "All right," he answers, marking something down on that odd metal sheet of his. Then he flips it over, changes the edge that's upright, and goes on. "So you've got some experience in command, huh? You mind elaborating on that? Well, and go over your background in general for me, why don't'cha?"
Poor Kup does not yet know what can of worms he is opening.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Aug 6, 2009 14:45:17 GMT -5
Sure, ask an egotistical loudmouth to talk about his life history. That'll be fun.
Fairly beaming antenna to antenna, Sentinel Prime leans back in the chair and puts his arms crossed behind his head, immediately looking more comfortable. He starts, "I won't bore you with my schooling before the Academy, though I knew that, even during those early lessons, I couldn't wait to get into boot, get my name, and protect the Autobot way of life like all those heroes in the history tapes. As a cadet, I excelled in the Academy, showing a natural talent for motivating people." Okay, a natural talent for getting Cadet Optimus and Cadet Elita-1 in huge trouble. Close enough, right?
Skipping over the court martial, he continues, "After the Academy, I was instated as Sentinel Minor, and I served as a drill sergeant, running boot camp. Some of my students have even joined the Elite Guard or gone on to make Prime!" He puffs up with clear pride over his work there, for all that he wouldn't want to go back to it - that's Minor work.
"Did that for a while, then I was promoted into the Elite Guard, the few, the proud!" More swelling with pride. Hopefully he won't pop. "Just like I always wanted to be. When there was an... opening, Ultra Magnus instated me as his commander of the Elite Guard, the greatest honour I could think of!" Okay, not really. But the greatest honour Sentinel Prime can think of involves Ultra Magnus dying.
"Jetstorm and Jetfire? They were a secret project - obviously not so secret now, and you do security anyway - and I named and trained them personally." Sentinel Prime didn't really like training them, to be honest, since that is Minor work, and as far as names go, he feels like he was having an off day. But they were a secret project! And he was involved in it! Mostly involved in naysaying and inappropriately using live ammunition, but that's still involved, slaggit.
"I've also engaged Decepticons in the field," and Sentinel Prime makes it sound like this is unusual.
All this, and he's humble, too. What an Autobot!
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Post by Kup on Aug 6, 2009 21:33:59 GMT -5
"Oh, good," Kup says approvingly, adding a few more scratches. "We got a fair number of freshpaints, could use another trainer." Minor work, huh?
The scratches are random and impossible to read to any normal person, but included is a note to ask about names later. Right now, he focuses on the last thing that Sentinel said.
"So the Decepticons. Details on that? Optimus says you guys ain't seen them around much for quite awhile. Is that what you 'Elite Guard' do, then?" Oh, to have the luxury of having actual civilians on one's society again!
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Aug 7, 2009 22:05:05 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime can't help blurting, "What are you doing, uncorking protoforms?" He's not at all happy about the idea of being stuck doing more training, but he realises, belatedly, that letting Kup know that was a mistake. Whoops.
Change the subject time!
Sentinel Prime more happily explains, "I've fought Starscream," okay, held up a forcefield while Optimus Prime slapped stasis cuffs on Starscream, "He's this powerful Decepticon jet. Full of stupid tricks. Cloned himself, later on."
And then there was Wasp... oh wait, Wasp was actually an Autobot. Uh.
But he got the drop on all sorts of Decepticons! But Optimus Prime ratted him out.
Sentinel Prime scratches back behind his antennae. "Did I tell you how much of a pain Starscream is?" Then, he snaps his fingers. "Oh! I bought Swindle at an impound lot! Arms-dealer."
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Post by Kup on Aug 8, 2009 20:58:11 GMT -5
Kup narrows his eyes when Sentinel blurts out his questions, partially because of the tone of voice, and partially because he has no idea what 'uncorking protoforms' is supposed to mean. He can't help but wonder about a system where the ones designated to train others are ones fresh out of training themselves. Where's the experience? It's just one freshpaint telling another freshpaint what some book or some other freshpaint told them things should be like! He looks about to comment on this when Sentinel manages his quick subject change (curses, foiled again), and the veteran considers.
"Cloned, huh? That's a new one. So far we've only got zombie, ghost, possession, ultra-powerful artifact-wielding, giant-sized, and resurrections going for him across the assorted realities." Kup smirks up at Sentinel. "Some version of Starscream seems pretty common across the realities, and he's a pain in the exhaust pipe pretty much every time. You'll see his name come up in several of the database files, and never good. Fact is, current Decepticon leader over here is my reality's version of Starscream. Still powerful, still full of stupid tricks, no clones."
He barks a laugh at the mention of Swindle. "My reality, it was usually Swindle selling off his teammates, or something stupid like that. I s'pose it's not that strange for him to take the next step and be selling himself. So anyway, that it for run-ins with the Decepticons?"
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Aug 9, 2009 21:46:39 GMT -5
Those just out of training, with no practical experience, having to train the new recruits is what happens in peace. A tense peace, because the Decepticons aren't really gone, just lurking out in space, waiting. A false peace, because the civilians don't have any idea and most of the military doesn't want to believe in the bogeymen beyond the stars.
Peace is swell.
Sentinel Prime leans forward, stares, and claps a hand over half his optics, groaning, "You have to be kidding me." He cracks his fingers open a bit to peek at Kup. Rodimus Prime told him he needed to be flexible in his thinking. He groans again. "You're not kidding me. So that grey girl you have here - she's not a Starscream clone?"
Sentinel Prime corrects, "I didn't buy Swindle from Swindle. Do I look stupid? I bought him from these horrific alien creatures known as 'humans'." He holds his hands up and does air quotes.
He leans back in the chair when Kup asks about more experience, like he'd like to get away from Kup. What does this man expect? The only people with real experience are old. Like Kup. Sentinel Prime stares down at the floor, as if willing it to cave out from under them for sake of distraction.
Optimus Prime and Prowl found him out. Maybe he should just get the story out first, with his own spin. He juts his ample chin out, and sounding weirdly defensive, he explains, "I did hire a Decepticon bounty hunter to hunt down other Decepticons. I figured - why get Autobots banged up when I could have Decepticons bang each other up? It's not like Lockdown's a regular, anyway. The credits wouldn't be going to Decepticon coffers, just his own."
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Post by Kup on Aug 10, 2009 8:07:10 GMT -5
Kup shakes his head. "Naw, Oracle's not a clone. She's just a Seeker. Common build, standardization making it easier to replace parts and such, you know?" Uh-oh. Geezer ramble ahoy! "Outside of the power chip rectifiers and other specialized bits, anyway. The build's been around since before the war, so it's not technically strictly a Decepticon build, but the vast majority of 'em went with the 'Cons, and every one of 'em built after the start of the war were built as Decepticons. Oracle's just one of those rare-to-the-point-of-unheard-of cases of one built before the war who didn't go 'Con."
Kup waves aside Sentinel's correction with a shrug. "Just saying it wouldn't surprise me to hear that he had sold himself to their impound lot," he notes, smirking. Sure, maybe that's not how it happened, but if he's anything like his own Swindle, it's not something he'd put past him. "I'd, uhm, be careful about callin' the humans 'horrific,' though. They've been pretty solid allies for the 'Bots in a number of realities, and some folks might get defensive. I think Rodimus put a file on 'em in our database, but his information... well, not all of it seems to apply to all universes." Like that Spider-Man bit. What the hell is up with that?
The elder takes on a thoughtful, considering expression as Sentinel describes his dealings with the bounty hunter. On the one hand, he's hardly in a position to condemn anyone for working with a bounty hunter. On the other hand, this guy, for all his bluster, seems a bit... naive, really, like most those from his reality. Combine that with the fact that this Lockdown guy considers himself enough 'Con to call himself one, regular or not... "Hnh," he begins. "Well, I hope you didn't pay him up front. Gotta watch that with bounty hunters more than mercs, and twice as much with someone calling himself a 'Con. Bounty hunters ain't supposed to collect until they've delivered whatever or whoever it is that's got a bounty put on it." So no, Kup won't condemn Sentinel for having dealt with a bounty hunter, though he'll happily offer pointers on how to deal with them better!
Kup looks down at his sheet o' metal. He flips it over, changes which side is up, and pauses. So he's covered background experience... "So what can you do exactly, anyway? Talents, skills, that sort?" He pauses. "For that matter, what do you turn into?"
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