Wheelie
Rookie
Can't sleep. Sharkticons will eat me.
Posts: 191
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Post by Wheelie on Jul 11, 2007 11:20:49 GMT -5
Wheelie, it should be noted, is not the best judge of people's reactions. Of, he understands when people get irritated or made--he's caused that particular combination for any number of Quints--but anything beyond that is a bit of a puzzle to him. So it is that he gives Hairsplitter a curious glance at the weak response.
"Are you all right, did I say something wrong? The list of mistake's Wheelie's made is already long!"
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Shortround
Minor
Breaker of the Fourth Wall
Posts: 272
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Post by Shortround on Jul 11, 2007 11:59:16 GMT -5
Shortround immediately straightens when Spinister threatens him. He knows not to push his luck. However, it's only Spinister's threat which keeps him from boggling at what the teal and pink Decepticon says next.
The 80s? Shortround thinks What the slag is going on here?. Shortround nods to Spinister's comment "Right, gotchya. I uh... Won't fire at him" Shortround says, slightly nervous.
Shortround then hears the sounds of jets. He watches the two descend and is... Promptly confused. One of them, the yellow one, has Starscream's alt-mode, while the other one has his colours. Regardless, he attempts to look as natural and not-nervous as possible, and remains silent, allowing Spinister to say something first.
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Post by Spinister on Jul 11, 2007 19:48:00 GMT -5
Hairsplitter puts a smile on his face and insists, “Oh no, you didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t worry about a thing. You just startled me, that all. Seems like time’s gotten away on me.” Gotten away from Hairsplitter and ran screaming down the street buck naked in broad daylight.
Stashing his helmet between his arm and body, he massages his temples. Ever since he joined the Decepticons, his life has been nothing but a low-budget sci-fi flick. On the plus side, his nose has shut down, and he can’t smell the swamp anymore.
Hairsplitter warns, “The boss, I mean Spinister, is coming back, and he’s going to bring some company. Then maybe we can finally get out of this backwater bog.”
Spinister is cool, calm, and collected when the two jets arrive. He does not seem startled by them in the least. The fire is kicking up smoke like anything’s business, but jets certainly do screech. He recognizes the F-15 and the odd jet from earlier. To them, perhaps he looks like a taller Vortex with terrible fashion sense.
Unless the yellow one is Starscream, Starscream looks a lot more like Starscream than Spinister was expecting. If he’s a temporospatially displaced Starscream, he should at least have the decency to have a wicked little mustache to cut down on confusion.
No one is saying anything. That’s Spinister’s shtick! How irritating.
Spinister to drops to his knees, heedless of the muck, and crosses his chest with and arm, completing a formal bow and salute. There is nothing obsequious about the movement; he remains purely professional. Quietly, he addresses, “My Lord Starscream.” He gestures to Shortround and introduces curtly, “Shortround of 2030.” He has nothing more to ay. He hasn’t had time to ask Shortround his function. “My prisoner is just over the other side of the fire. The specimen is a mostly unremarkable Minibot with strong survival skills. However, he is shockingly ignorant of the war.” Spinister decides to be blunt here. “We could tell him he’s a Decepticon, and the moon is made of energon goodies, and he wouldn’t know enough to contradict us.”
Surely Starscream can see the potential for exploitation there.
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Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
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Post by Starscream on Jul 11, 2007 21:11:18 GMT -5
Now THIS Starscream could get used to. The smirk on his face at such a formal gesture was apparent. Thankfully, he recognized the sinister voice of Spinister - hey, so that's how he got his name - although the identification of the other as Shortround only confirms it. He extended both his hands and slowly made a raising gesture. "Rise, Spinister." Regality becomes the arrogant seeker with ease. If only he had that crown and cape he had made for this day ready with him... "You have done exceedingly well. This prisoner could possibly serve as unknowing bait in an existing mission to infiltrate the Autobots.." And yes, he is DEFINITE about the presence of more Autobots now, "or as a secondary means of infiltration." He began to stroke his chin. "My Deputy, Hook, will be arriving soon. Fleetwind, you and Shortround are to greet him and inform him of the situation." He then thinks about the subtlety of some of his charges and their competence in the 'Decept' part of 'Decepticon.'" "...And tell noone else to approach the Autobot. Now, Spinister, show me your captive."
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Fleetwind
Major
The Chancellor, His Eminent Grandeur, Marquis Fleetwind. The Insurgent Subduer of A Non-Threatening Cute Little Furry Kitten
Twined Elf
Posts: 730
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Post by Fleetwind on Jul 11, 2007 21:38:19 GMT -5
During the exchange, Fleetwind studies the other mechanoids carefully. He seems a bit surprised at the bow, but doesn't comment. Perhaps it is proper, but Fleetwind has never worked with High Command, and besides, his first meeting with Starscream had been in the air.
Fleetwind ducks his head low in something mostly nod, but moving part way into bow. "As you command, sir," he replies, then looks over at Shortround. He studies the strange other Decepticon, and his optics rest a moment on the hands, or lack there-of. "Shortround, is it?" he asks.
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Wheelie
Rookie
Can't sleep. Sharkticons will eat me.
Posts: 191
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Post by Wheelie on Jul 12, 2007 1:00:25 GMT -5
Wheelie nods slightly to show his agreement. On the whole, this place is a large step up from Quintessa, but that's not really saying much. And frankly, the thought of there being anywhere else frightens him. The Quintesson's world was all he knew. Sure, he had some dim memories of some other place, but that's all they were. They could easily be the stirrings of his imagination.
"You mean what you say? It's totally true? If you were to leave, Wheelie'd come too?"
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Shortround
Minor
Breaker of the Fourth Wall
Posts: 272
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Post by Shortround on Jul 12, 2007 3:31:38 GMT -5
Shortround makes sure to remember that this Diaclone F15 Acrobat-type look alike is actually Starscream, despite the... Screechy voice and the fact that last time Shortround had seen Starscream he was a pyramid jet. Shortround just assumed he had changed his alt mode again, he was a F 22 once apparantly...
Shortround snapped back into thinking when the pyramid jet, Fleetwind, addressed him. "Um, yes, Shortround, supply runner, sir" he said, giving the closest thing he could give to a salute. "I didn't remember Starscream's voice being so... Different" Shortround adds, looking at Starscream. Something doesn't seem right, and Shortround has a feeling it has to do with when Spinister said he came from.
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Post by Spinister on Jul 12, 2007 7:51:59 GMT -5
Hairsplitter quirks a brow and tosses his arms out wide. He agrees, “Of course we’ll take you!”
It took enough effort to find the pesky little Minibot, and he has orders not to let him out of his sight. Abandoning him now would be such a waste of prior effort.
Hairsplitter explains, “Starscream’s going to come over here. Starscream is kind of a big deal. He thinks he’s really important. See, Spinister’s my boss, which means that I mostly do what Spinister says, and Spinister figures out ways to protect me. So Starscream? He’s Spinister’s boss.” So while the description was mostly true of Spinister, it breaks down when it comes to Starscream, but crack-brained plans to kill the Autobots are theoretically better for Spinister’s health than just letting the Autobots do what they want.
“Anyway, Starscream’s mostly silver, and he’s a jet – like a big, mechanical bird.”
There are any number of ways Spinister could have gotten his name. After all, helicopter blades spin, and he seems favour his left hand, the sinister hand, as the Romans would say.
Spinister gets to his feet, wasting not a movement in standing. Swam water sluices off his frame, leaving racks down his body. Gently, he coaxes, “A sitrep would be helpful, my lord.”
He’s like to know troop numbers and abilities for their own side and the enemy, their positions, and what the currents plans are.
The fire looks to be puttering down. Hot as plasma is, the swamp is really wet, which has led to a sputtering, smoky fire. Still, Spinister knows fire. He transforms into his helicopter mode and takes to the air, heading up and over the flames and the erratic turbulence that they cause.
Given how nearby the orange Minibot and the smaller, stranger creature are, one wonders why he bothered transforming at all.
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Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
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Post by Starscream on Jul 12, 2007 16:24:52 GMT -5
"Besides Fleetwind and myself, we have approximately seven others. A few air support, some heavy artillery, with a few useful units here and there. Hook, if you don't know him, is an expert surgeon and engineer." When Spinister transformed, so did Starscream, with no idea how close the prisoner was.
Starscream continued his conversation mid-transit. "Most of them may have special gifts that could be used, but we haven't had an opportunity to fuel up. They're from different eras, and some of them have a Megatron or a Starscream that doesn't match up with myself and the Megatron I know.. and one of them, while claiming he serves Megatron, isn't even a Decepticon." Starscream took a moment to make sure he got all his facts right. "Needless to say, organizing these people has been... a chore." Starscream then relayed his own era of time, late 1985.
"As for other Autobots, the only one we know of is Omega Supreme. Although I suspect that there are more, given the mix of Decepticons there has been.."
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Fleetwind
Major
The Chancellor, His Eminent Grandeur, Marquis Fleetwind. The Insurgent Subduer of A Non-Threatening Cute Little Furry Kitten
Twined Elf
Posts: 730
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Post by Fleetwind on Jul 12, 2007 16:55:51 GMT -5
Fleetwind steps back as the other two take off and fly away. One positive as far as that event goes is that he now won't be expected to jump in the path of any shots fired at Starscream. Not that he was planning on it, anyway. The pale yellow Seeker then turns his attention back to Shortround and gives him a pleasant, friendly smile. "Supply runner? Excellent! We were in need of someone with a reasonable carrying capacity. And, uhm, yes. It doesn't surprise me to hear Starscream's voice sounds different to you." The hover-craft's build-lines seemed to suggest something not from Fleetwind's reality. "But, uhm... look, are you familiar with the concepts of time travel and alternate realities? Because this will be a lot easier to explain to you if you are." OOC: Since we've now genuinely split into separate groups that aren't in earshot of each other, I'm going to go ahead and split the thread. Shortround, please reply in the 'Nearly Elsewhere in the Swamp' thread. The others will stay 'Elsewhere in the Swamp.' If Hook's group of Decepticons ends up joining up, they'll be entering into 'Nearly Elsewhere,' not 'Elsewhere.'
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Wheelie
Rookie
Can't sleep. Sharkticons will eat me.
Posts: 191
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Post by Wheelie on Jul 12, 2007 23:12:19 GMT -5
"The boss of the boss? Wheelie's at a loss! No one's ever told him what to do, he's all by himself, I swear that it's true!"
Why exactly Wheelie tended to refer to himself in the third-person was anyone's guess. A careful observer might note, however, that it sometimes made the rhythm of his rhymes better. Others might decide that he was simply really slagging insane.
Perhaps they were both right.
"So I'll listen and watch and --" He points upward. "Is that Starscream with that nice color swatch?"
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Post by Spinister on Jul 13, 2007 8:13:31 GMT -5
Hairsplitter looks rather forlorn and opines, "Oh, it's horrible that no one came looking for you! I know that Spinister would come for me if I ever got lost."
He also know that the major reason Spinister would come for him is because Spinister doesn't like losing his weapons, but Hairsplitter is insecure enough that he's happy to have any rationale for people to want him around them.
Hairsplitter puts his helmet back on, and the HUD flickers to life. From here, he could take out one of Starscream's wing rivets, if he wanted to, easily. He points to the silver jet, "That's Starscream, all right." He doesn't know if he'd call Starscream's colours nice, but who knows what robots go for?
Spinister is keeping track of people so far. Fleetwind is the yellow Seeker with the odd alternate mode. He accompanied Starscream, and Starscream must trust Fleetwind with a modicum of responsibility to delegate the task of explaining the situation to the others.
He agrees, "Hook. Devastator's head and shoulders. One of Lord Shockwave's creations."A rather young choice for a deputy, and an interesting choice, too. Usually, one wants someone a bit more martial. Spinister is certain that there are reasons, even if it is just to set up the Constructicon for a fall. After all, both Vos and Tarn burned to slake Starscream's ego.
For a moment, the helicopter looks spooked, as if he's seen a ghost. There's just something uneasy about the tilt of his blades, the way he wobbly dynamically in the air.
Spinister transforms rather close to the ground, and when he drops, he drops. There's no anti-grav assisted feather fall. He points out to Wheelie and Hairsplitter in turn, "My Lord Starscream, I present Wheelie and Hairsplitter, my Targetmaster companion."
Bidding the Nebulan with his mind, Hairsplitter transforms to his rifle mode and falls neatly into Spinister's hand. At Singe's grumping, he also introduces, patting his other gun, "And this is Singe."
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Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
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Post by Starscream on Jul 13, 2007 15:48:01 GMT -5
"Built by Shockwave? That can't be, Megatron had to convert them to the Decepticon cause at the beginning of the war." And then claimed credit for 'building' them, but that's beside the point, the chances are slim that Shockwave built Autobots.
Starscream sighed wearily. He knew how Starscream was supposed to look, he knew how Starscream was supposed to sound. They were supposed to be from the same reality!! "It appears, despite obvious similarities, our histories have played out differently.." Damn it, why couldn't the competant, loyal-to-Starscream mechanoid be from the same era!
Starscream followed Spinister to the ground and transformed, although his had a slightly slower descent. At least, for the most part. Starscream WAS trying to conserve energon, after all, so when it was safe enough, he cut off his anti-gravs. He doesn't fall with the grace of Spinister because he's never had to get used to 'falling'. "Targetmaster? Strange, I don't believe I've ever seen Cybertronians that big." Perhaps he built them himself, given the affectionate pat he gives one, which reminds him of Soundwave with Ravage. Excellent, another technically-inclined Decepticon. "And, Wheelie. It is a good thing we found you. There are all kinds of unsavory types on this planet. Do you need fuel?" Starscream still had his energon cube from earlier, which was a little over half-full. He was saving it for extra fuel, but granting trust to Wheelie is going to be more valuable to him than a top-up. "Don't drink it all though, my friend Spinister here needs some too." AND Starscream wanted some left for him, but he keeps that remark to himself.
OOC: Skip my next pose, guys. I'm going to be out tonight, arriving back hopefully some time tomorrow (Saturday, your time) evening.
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Wheelie
Rookie
Can't sleep. Sharkticons will eat me.
Posts: 191
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Post by Wheelie on Jul 13, 2007 23:42:35 GMT -5
"Fuel's half low, of rations I'm out! Wheelie needs to top up, of that there's no doubt!" Wheelie says, in his usual rhyming fashion.
There was something slightly... wrong about Starscream, even more so than Spinster or Hairsplitter, but he could not place what. He interacted with other being so rarely--rarely, ha, he only ever interacted with sharkticons and quintesson soliders--that he was not, he reckoned, the best judge of things. Still, one matter did bother him...
"But why's Wheelie got one face," and he taps the insignia on his chest, "and yours is a different case?"
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Post by Spinister on Jul 14, 2007 9:10:48 GMT -5
Spinister had been expecting someone who was perhaps not his Starscream, and while this fellow doesn’t have the decency to have a mustache to keep things straight, he still seems to be not Spinister's Starscream. Quietly, he replies, "Hook was built by Lord Shockwave on Earth a few years ago and given life by the Creation Matrix in Optimus Prime's head. He was never an Autobot."
Now, if Starscream's Hook is pre-war, his position in command makes a bit more sense. The note about conversion is interesting.
From Spinister's side, Singe pipes up. His voice has less processing than a Transformer's, and it has the slightly whiny tone of a city boy used to getting his way. Singe protests, "I'm not a Machine like you. I'm a Nebulan!"
Spinister doesn't bother to clarify. As a Targetmaster, Vorath handed Spinister a little disc full of information on how to take care of his Nebulans. Right now, the air isn't lethal to his guns. They can go a few days without food, and the suits provide them with recycled water. Spinister's a bit hungry, but that isn't what's causing the uneasiness in his fuel tanks.
It's Needlenose.
Looking to Starscream, Spinister excuses, "My Lord, I must depart. I have pressing business elsewhere. You might want to tell Hook to get his repair tools ready." Then, he crouches down and looks at Wheelie. He says, "I'll be back." The words seem a promise, but it is a shame that no one here really knows Spinister. If they did, they'd know it to be a threat. Spinister leaves Wheelie's concern about faces to the extremely competent liar that is Starscream.
Saluting, Spinister swiftly turns and stalks out in the opposite direction of the fire, into the tall, forbidding trees. He's a bright coloured robot, though. He can't be that hard to miss. However, in the blink of an optic refresh cycle, he's gone. They can follow his trail if they want, but it up and vanishes in but a short while, leaving nothing but the soft whispering of the wind.
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