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Post by Long Haul on May 30, 2007 14:24:42 GMT -5
Long Haul grunts. "Waddaya mean, din't see fit to tell you? I just told you. I said, 'sounds like Omega Supreme's gonna be here shortly.' What else was that s'posed to mean?"
While he speaks, Long Haul tears open another vehicle. It is in this motion that his true tension can be seen; he is not gentle, and although the parts he needs are left in-tact, very little else of the vehicle is. "I imagine he din't use the Autobot broadband 'cos Omega's on it, though that don't make much sense to me at this point; sounds like Omega already knows I'm here, anyways. And if he had asked over that freq, I'd have answered the same.
"If yer instead askin' why I din't stop and ask you afore I tol' him to tell Omega..." Long Haul looks right at Emirate, "... I don't recall saying you're my boss to begin with. I already din't warn Hook when I wanted to, 'cos you said I was choosin' between Hook's life, and Omega's." The transport's voice becomes horse as he rips another charger out. "And I... I... I chose Omega. And, damn it, that means not hidin' from him, and not lying to him. I... I can't believe that my old friend Omega Supreme's really gone so bad that he'd murder me when presented with the truth... din't you guys say he was still an Autobot? But you know, if he is that far gone, he still already knows I'm here, and anyone who does try to keep me from him is in danger, and dammit, it's Perceptor and Synapse and your boy out there right now that's faced with him, and that's why I told Perceptor to tell him where I am!"
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 30, 2007 15:11:57 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron makes a note to himself that he really needs to use a lighter touch when dealing with these Autobots. Nightbeat's going to think he's gone soft in the head.
Sighing, he crawls over and reaches out to pat Long Haul on the shoulder and says, "I'm sorry. I just remember Perceptor and Synapse saying that they would keep in touch. They have not, at least not with me. So it seemed to me either subterfuge or absent-mindedness. I prayed for the latter and feared the former. Hearing that Perceptor had contacted you and not me stung."
It pains Emirate Xaaron to be out of the loop, and it shows plainly on his face.
"I doubt that much, if anything, of my Omega Supreme applies to yours, but he was an Autobot, yes. What I can say is that being an Autobot doesn't always mean much. Long Haul, one of my old friend's corpses was desecrated by an Autobot." He winces at the memory. "We don't always live up to the good name of our badge. I even knew the Autobot who did it. Maybe Omega Supreme will listen to reason. Maybe he'll be the friend that you know. Maybe he won't, and if that is the case, I'll take on the danger of keeping you out of danger."
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Post by Long Haul on May 30, 2007 15:35:17 GMT -5
Long Haul stops to consider what Xaaron says about being left out of the loop. "Erm... did we all remember to swap frequencies afore they left?" In other words: it probably was absent-mindedness.
Then the Constructibot listens to the rest of what Xaaron has to say. He sighs. "First off... we need Omega Supreme to be on our side. I don't see, really, as we can afford to have him as an enemy, not with everything else. He's a fuel-guzzler, sure, but he's got strength, he provides a base of operations, and if we can get him fueled, we got a way back to Cybertron. But... there's more than that, Xaaron."
"It's well and good that you're willing to take on danger for me, but, well, first off, I think whether or not I'm willing to letcha is kinda important, too. But that ain't even the big one; it ain't you or me that's with him now. Sure, you say you're willing to take on the danger of keeping me out of danger, but are you willing to put the other three in danger for it? Perceptor said no weapons have been drawn yet. But you know, seems to me if they are, all I got to do to get them in the clear is transmit my beacon for a quick bit. Then, if I shut it off real quick..." Long Haul trails off and huhs. "Then we can worry about hiding. Not here, though. This place is too useful."
Meanwhile, the dragon, who wasn't particularly disturbed by the tearing noise (it heard worse when its parent would open things up!) finishes its second charger and begins moving towards Long Haul again, this time not crying.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 30, 2007 18:27:20 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron says hesitantly, "N-no..." He has the look of a fellow who is metaphorically kicking himself. He's Emirate Xaaron. Every Autobot has his comm! Not here. It's an honest mistake to make, but Emirate Xaaron doesn't pride himself on honesty. A new setting means all sorts of new mistakes to make, and he rather wishes that he didn't have to run into them the hard way.
He understands Long Haul's points about not making an enemy of the Sentinel. He isn't about to suggest that they blow up Omega Supreme or anything. He would just rather that Long Haul survive, too.
And bah, he can so take on danger when Long Haul's not looking. See if he can stop that! Emirate Xaaron says, "That option puts us on the run, and we're not exactly what I would call fast. I suppose that we could find one of these 'river' things, take out your beacon, and toss it in the river. Of course, we're still running with that option. We cannot afford to be so divided. Running must be a choice of last resort. We need some way to ascertain Omega Supreme's intentions for you without endangering you."
He doesn't mention that Perceptor hasn't revealed the location, not yet. Emirate Xaaron adds, "But here, before I forget... my commcode."
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Post by Long Haul on May 30, 2007 18:42:21 GMT -5
"Thanks," says Long Haul as he accept the commcode. "Hey, you want me to send that over to Perceptor?"
He picks up the dragon, which had curled against him while the two had been talking and apparently was asleep. Then he crawls with one arm and both hands back towards the hole. "Should be good enough for now," he says of the salvage operation. He stands up and puts the sleeping dragon on the ledge next to the hole before climbing out himself. The transport turns to help Xaaron out, should he need it.
"I ain't sure we got a way of doing that without taking a risk, but... we'll see how things do down back with that group, huh? I guess, in the meantime, we should... ah. Yeah. You can help me unload my bed. This place is lookin' like as good a spot to set up as any, and if it does look like the big guy will be coming after me, I'd just as soon not risk losing our supplies in the whole mess."
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 31, 2007 8:22:11 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron pauses and looks vaguely expectant. Then, he clarifies, "Actually, I was rather hoping that I'd get yours. Like I said, the Long Haul of my timeline never was an Autobot. I don't make a habit of collecting the commcodes of the enemy." He leaves that to intelligence operatives. Xaaron waves a hand. "But send mine to Perceptor, too."
He can climb out of a hole with a rope well enough. Something's nagging at him, something about what Synapse said about his arrival point.
Soberly, Emirate Xaaron says, "Very well." Long Haul's words feel like the will of a doomed warrior.
Then the radio chatter breaks the silence, and he notes, "More arrivals? If only we could catch one in the action. Might be able to see the mechanism behind it."
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Post by Long Haul on May 31, 2007 9:21:43 GMT -5
Long Haul's optic band flashes. "Oh! Oh, yeah." And he gives his code to Xaaron. Then he walks some distance from the hole, leaving the dragon to sleep on the ledge, and transforms.
The transport grunts. "I would suggest settin' up watches, but we ain't sure where these people are popping in." After another pause, he speaks again. "Oh! Perceptor just called again. Erm... d'you need his comm code? He says that Omega Supreme wanted to come over here by hisself, but Perceptor din't want to split the group up, so Omega Supreme agreed they could all tag along if we meet him half-way instead." He pauses. "If we're gonna do that, I definitely needa get unloaded first. Anyways, I'm just gonna call him back with your codes and let him know we're thinking, sound good?"
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 31, 2007 12:09:24 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron files the code away. He waves a hand and says, “Send me Perceptor’s. I expect it’ll be the same as the one I have on file, but this place is full of unpleasant surprises.”
He mulls over the concept of Omega Supreme meeting them halfway, what he gains from it and what they lose. He thinks aloud, mainly to himself, but for Long Haul’s benefit as well, “For one thing, we lose the ability to know the terrain in useful detail, and so does he. It makes advance planning more difficult for both sides. Is it agreeable to you?”
Emiate Xaaron prepares himself to unload Long Haul and says, “Oh! We’re keeping the wings. If there’s any sort of elevation, we may be able to use them in a last-ditch trick.”
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Post by Long Haul on May 31, 2007 13:02:09 GMT -5
"Arright," the dump truck answers as he waits to be unloaded. "We can keep the wings. And yeah, meeting him halfway works for me." Meeting Omega Supreme there worked for Long Haul. Waiting for Omega Supreme to come there worked for Long Haul. Really, anything that seems to move things closer to getting the situation resolved works for Long Haul.
"Here's Perceptor's code," and Long Haul passes it on. It does, indeed, match the one Xaaron has on file. How handy!
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 31, 2007 20:15:11 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron works on unloading Long Haul, leaving the wings in the truck bed. He accepts the code and observes the congruence. He is not particularly pleased by the situation. He wants the Wreckers. He's having to make do with dragon-wings instead. Emirate Xaaron mulls over, "So we meet Omega Supreme half-way. He'll get there first. That gives him the advantage. The others will be with him. I can safely say that Synapse and Perceptor will err on the side of not killing you, and I can convince Nightbeat to the same."
When he's done unloading, he dusts himself and settles the dragon wings in Long Haul's bed. "Time to climb back down. The piper's calling for his pay. I'll bring the plugged nickels." He flashes Long Haul a smile that while meant to be reassuring is likely quite the opposite.
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Post by Long Haul on May 31, 2007 20:23:09 GMT -5
Long Haul is used to Mixmaster smiles. He can handle Xaaron smiles. The transport transforms and nods. "Arright. I'll let Perceptor know, then." And he does just that as he strides over to the wreckage and creates a quick, make-shift harness. "And yeah... glad to hear you can get this Nightbeat fellow to not kill me."
He strides back to his new acquisition and picks it up, causing the dragon to wake and make sleepy half-squeals while he tries to jam the creature into the harness. "I don't s'pose you know anything about these new ones, Arcee or Swerve?" He grunts, and slings the harness, one containing a fairly baffled dragon, across his back. "Someone might want to ask 'em to mark the spot where the showed up in. If there's a body there, could prove useful."
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 31, 2007 22:49:58 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron waves a hand and says, "I don't expect Nightbeat to try to kill you. It's just that the only Constructicons Nightbeat has ever known were Decepticons. I'm sure his natural inclination would be to side with Omega Supreme, who he knows as an Autobot, if it comes to blows. However, in this situation, you're the one who needs the support."
He pauses and thinks, wondering how to explain what he knows of Arcee to Long Haul. He settles on, "There is an Arcee in my timeline. 'She' is a public relations stunt. You see, xeno races often have two genders, and the xenos that inhabit the third planet of the Sol system were very upset that we did not have any females. So we built one. This just made the xenos angrier. Go figure. 'She' is a competent warrior. Good with a gun. Turns into a pink and white car. I have no idea if this is my Arcee, however. Swerve? No idea."
Minibot Swerve never appeared in the comics, after all.
"The body... well, whatever we do, we do not launch it into space. I am firm on that point." That said, he starts to clamber down the side of the garage.
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Post by Long Haul on May 31, 2007 22:59:36 GMT -5
"Erm, I know what a female is, Xaaron," Long Haul answers, fixing Xaaron with a long, somewhat confused stare. He finally shrugs, and begins climbing down as well. He has something of an easier time of it, because he's both larger and stronger, but this time does not carry the other down. "We've had 'em as a different model type... pretty much from the beginning, I s'pose. They're no where near as common as males." Long Haul shrugs. "Different body shapes, mostly. That's not hard and fast, though, and there's boxy folks what call themselves 'she.'"
Long Haul finishes the climb down, unslings the gurgling mini-dragon from his back, and waits for the other Autobot to join him.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 31, 2007 23:09:48 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron takes his turn to stare at Long Haul and says, "That's bizarre, Long Haul. Arcee is the only 'female' Transformer in my timeline. We don't reproduce sexually." He squints at Long Haul and has to ask, "...why do you have females?"
He has no idea how sexual reproduction works. He didn't take those classes. Emirate Xaaron just knows of it as something hush-hush and mentally scarring, and he's rather hoping it isn't something that Long Haul's kind do, but if they have females...
Purging his mind of any and all mental images, Emirate Xaaron nears the ground and just lets go of the garage and drops to his feet.
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Post by Long Haul on Jun 1, 2007 7:44:06 GMT -5
Oh, because budding is much less scarring!
Long Haul shrugs as Xaaron lands beside him. "Dunno. We were consumer goods, remember? I s'pose there was a market for them somewhere." He sets the dragon down, then steps back to transform. Once back in dump truck mode, the dragon wings reappear in his truck bed. "Anyways, 'cos they were there from the beginning, when we made more of ourselves... we made more females, too. Some of the early factories were configured that way, anyways. And... I think Vector Sigma may be set to occasionally make female specific minds."
"Anyways, if you'll go ahead and put that thing in the back and then climb in yourself, I gues we'll be on our way?"
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