In Space, No-One Can Hear You Clean

[Boondocker]

Or maybe they can, if they're within audioshot.

Though, before they hear the cleaning, they might hear off-key country karaoke.

In one of the Event Horizon's many hallways, there is a blue hickbot, swabbin' the floor with a mop and a fairly strong cleaner (Mayday was insistent on the use of it), singing along to song picked up from his home reality.

"Standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire~..."

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OOC: Open thread, with no big purpose in mind. Maybe a week or so after Sentinel's arrival?

[Synapse]

There's someone well within audioshot---in fact, he's arrived in area a little before Boondocker had. Synapse swings his legs slightly as he continues his survey on the strange truck-bot from his perch: a large pipe high above. Somewhere in the halls of the ship two black orbs are hovering about, their records streaming back in Synapse's visor. He'll run through them at full attention later. Right now Synapse's processors are more focused on deciphering what in the world Boondocker is rambling on about in his cleaning.

How decidedly odd.

The minibot leans forward in his perch before finally slipping down, falling a few meters to the ground. Even Synapse can't stop the light 'clank' of metal against metal as he lands behind the other bot, but mayhaps Boondocker's wailing will cover the sound up.

Synapse pads forward, stopping just behind and slightly to the side of Boondocker as he leans and cranes to catch a better view of the other bot. Yes, curious scout is curious.

Hopefully curiosity won't make this cat regret its decisions.

[Boondocker]

Synapse's descent is not registered by the janitor-bot. Boondocker continues mopping, swaying along with the rhythm of the music in his head, singing it as well, and pausing only when he turns to dip his mop in the water bucket.

Oh, hey, there's a small green robot right behind him that wasn't there the last time he checked.

"GYAAAAAAH! DAGNABBIGITWHUT--!"

A rustle, and a stumble mixed with an outcry of surprise as Boondocker tries to scoot around his bucket and mop, though it doesn't go as well as planned. The mop handle gets fumbled, and the bucket rattled, but they manage to stay upright, as does the truckbot, calming down after a couple of moments, sighing.

"...y'all done snuck up on me, lil' feller."

[Synapse]

Oh goodness, there's a large blue robot right above him who's noticed his presence...Synapse freezes for a moment and stares at the bot for a moment. There's a half-dazed look of surprise and shock on the minibot's face. This...wasn't supposed to happen.

What jars Synapse out of his bodily freeze is what Boondocker does next. The blue bot's cries and flailing are met with Synapse's own scrabbling and silent breaths as the scout finds himself grappling, back against the wall.

He stays there, stuck with a look that expresses something between horror and embarrassment until Boondocker speaks. Even after that, it takes a moment for Synapse's body to loosen up and he gradually unmelds himself from the wall.

"I-I do apologize, sir." Synapse gives Boondocker a nervous little bow as he says so. Oh please don't let this mech try to get even with him or something. The scout tries not to simper, pushing away the feeling of embarrassment to give a more professional neutral expression. Thank goodness for visors. "Sneaking up was not my intention, I only wished to observe." At that Synapse tilts his head. "Do you mind my actions?"

[Boondocker]

Boondocker blinks a bit at the minibot, and finds it fairly puzzling the way he reacts. Once addressed as sir, Boondocker cocks an optic ridge, looking behind him. "Sir? Ain't no sir here, I'm jus' the janitor!" He grins as he says this, straightening back up, resting his hands on the top of his mop.

"Sorry if'n I startled y'all, though. Looks like we got each other on that note, hehe." A chuckle, then he steps forward a bit, keeping one hand on the mop handle, and extending the other. "Name's Boondocker. Don't mind th' watchin', if it suits ya."

[Scrapper]

Looks like a bot couldn't get a decent stasis nap around here. First there was the singing, which he could tolerate. Then came the yelling, which prompts him to get up from the wall he was leaning up against for his quick nap and walk over to the source of the noise making.

"What's goin' on over hea-aHHHHH," Scrapper says, pausing in mid sentence to take a long yawn and stretch as he approached the two bots. "I could here you two 'cross da hallway."

[Synapse]

"Yes, I've heard your name before," Synapse manages a shy half-smile. He takes a long look at Boondocker's outstretched hand and slowly reaches out his own, intending only to give the lightest brush with his palm.

Someone new?

Synapse's gaze snaps in Scrapper's direction as soon as he hears the new set of feet clanging down the hallway. It's not totally obvious, but the minibot is staring at the newly arrived Scrapper. He's seen this one before---he's seen most everyone of course, but with his own set of optics? Never. It's always slightly different from one's own. Something to do with looking up instead of down on everyone.

His visor flickers and Synapse is in the process of giving another curt bow. "I apologize for interrupting your rest, sir. It was my fault for....sneaking." That last word feels odd floating out of Synapse's mouth, it's not a word he uses often. 'Observing' would be more like it.

[Boondocker]

Boondocker's hand slumps a bit at the distraction, turning and seeing Scrapper show up in the hallway. Said hand raises in a wave. "Oh, howdy Scrapper. I's jus' cleanin' here, lil' feller startled me. Sorry if'n I woke y'all up."

Something's off...

Oh! Boondocker squints a bit. "Huh, y'all got yer emblem painted over finally, looks like. Thassa purty slick number y'got thar," he says, offering a grin.

[Scrapper]

After Synapse's apology, Scrapper gives a little chuckle. Somebot ws callin' him sir? Definitely something he wasn't used to.

"Sir?" Scrapper laughs, waving his hand at the notion. "Nah, you can just call me Scrapper."

And of course, Scrapper can't wait to spend some time boasting about his new (though not that new by now) Autobot emblem. "Oh, you haven't seen dis ting yet?" Scrapper asks, pointing his thumb in the direction of his Autobot sigil. " S'pretty awesome, ain't it?"

Scrapper looks towards Synapse too, hoping for some sort of feedback from him as well.

[Synapse]

Sir? Everyone and their maker is a sir--unless they're a m'am but even then, sometimes they could be sirs. It's a frightful business to keep straight sometimes.

Synapse makes no reaction when Scrapper looks towards him--it isn't till a few moments later that the minibot realizes that his input is being looked for.

Now that's a first.

There's an slight shuffle as Synapse unroots himself from the floor and glides closer to Scrapper to get a closer look at the shiny new Autobrand. The scout makes sure to stop just short of touching, opting to instead just to try ad pass a hand right over the sigil. "It...it is artfully done, sir---ah, Scrapper." He looks back at Boondocker for a moment, as if hoping to see some look of 'Yes that was the right thing to say.'

[Boondocker]

Boondocker leans on his mop a bit, both hands resting at the top of the handle while he watches the other two. He gives a slight nod when Synapse looks back, smiling a bit. "That's one way a' puttin' it, I figure. Now it just needs to blare some Lynyrd Skynard while y'all's walkin' around to complete it," he says, chuckling a bit.

[Scrapper]

As Synapse moves his hand closer to Scrapper's Autobrand, the Constructiconbot winces a little. Luckily the bot manages not to touch it. It's not that Scrapper's vain or anything. He just doesn't want someone to accidentally chip the paint off of a relatively new Autobrand.

And Synapse was right in assuming that his words were the right thing to say.

"Artful?" Scrapper nods. "Yeah, dat Skyblast is pretty good wit dat art stuff, huh?"

Pretty good being an understatement, of course. Scrapper than turns to Boondocker who mentions some funny name.

"Lyna-who Sky-wassit?" Scrapper asks Boondocker, scratching the back of his helmet.

[Synapse]

Len-ard Skin-ard? Synapse sounds the name out through his memories and it comes up with nothing. Then again, this comes from a bot who was pulled a couple million years before the human species that made up this strange band even existed. While this curious search and baffled null result are going on in his systems, Synapse has a couple of seconds to look a little off neutral before nodding at Scrapper's other question.

"Yes," Synapse smiles a bit as he remembers Skyblast's work--he was the one that also painted Skyfire's Autobrand, wasn't he. "Quite exceptional..."

He glances around a bit, the two other views of the ship's corridors still running merrily behind his visor, before studying Scrapper and Boondocker again. Just a few more seconds, a few more seconds...yes. Right on cue and duly expected, two black orbs hover down opposite ends of the hallway, both closing in on where the three bots are currently standing.

[Boondocker]

Boondocker gives the both of them a slightly agape stare, then puts on a thoughtful look. "Well... Lynyrd Skynyrd is a musical band from Earth. The humans call 'em 'southern rockers'. If'n I recall right, they had some innarestin' art related to 'em, an' that there sigil kinna reminds me of it. Lemme dig up an example..." he says, rooting through his music files, and finding Sweet Home Alabama and setting it to play, turning up his speakers so the others can hear...

And Boondocker may even sing along again, using the mop and bucket as a microphone stand.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper nods slowly as Boondocker expands a little on Lynyrd Skynyrd. Having been a construction vehicle on Earth, the humans he used to work with often listened to many different kinds of music, though Scrapper couldn't quite remember them all. Though, having been made in Detroit, Scrapper never had a chance to listen to any Southern Rock.

"Huh," Scrapper says, nodding to the tune of the song. "Kinda catchy."

Humans may make lousy pets, but their music is top of the line.