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Post by Kup on Aug 11, 2007 20:46:41 GMT -5
OOC: Crossposted from the Return to the Zoo thread.
Kup rubs his temples as the flight ends, and surveys the room. There's so much to be done, it makes it difficult to prioritize. There are repairs to be done, there is energon to find, there is a base to build, there are people to train to work together... hell, they still need to establish some sort of formal command, although the informal command is already set pretty clearly in Kup's mind: Xaaron's in charge, and Kup's his second. They just need to figure out some way to make it official without pissing everyone off, really.
Kup briefly muses that it seemed pretty easy to figure out who was in charge of the Decepticons... odd how removing Megatron seems to make their structure more stable (especially with, of all people, Starscream still there!) while removing Prime (whomever he may be at the moment) from the Autobots has destabilized the Autobots.
Kup looks at the gray body strapped to the fifth berth. Well, there is a Prime here. That may be part of the problem.
The veteran unhooks his seat and stands up, trying to get a bead on what needs to be taken care of first. He really, really wants to go talk to Wheelie, but his reasons there are more personal than anything else; the Minibot seems to be getting on rather well with Holi, truth be told. Skyblast promises to be trouble, but the best way to deal with him may be to get either Jazz or Bumblebee awake to get their advice on how to deal with him.
And then there's Slingshot.
Another recent arrival, and the first person he encounters from something like his own universe, and it's a dead Optimus Prime. The lads been fuming the whole ride, and given how... temperamental the Aerialbots' records indicated they were when they were this young, that, too, promises danger.
There is a moment's of hesitation - after all, Kup recently suffered a near-death experience at the hands of Slingshot and his fellows - before the veteran quietly approaches the Aerialbot, the limp still faintly evident as he walks.
"Slingshot?" he holds his hand out for a shake. "Kup. You've still got some years yet before you meet me, but around 2005, I got made the chief of security of Cybertron. You look like you need someone to talk about this whole mess with, and I'm probably the best option among those who aren't busy saving lives right now."
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Post by Slingshot on Aug 12, 2007 6:40:15 GMT -5
Slingshot looks at Kup's hand for a long moment before raising one black hand to clasp and shake. "Yeah?"
"2005 is a long time from now," he adds, gaze drifting back towards Optimus's body. "Why do you care?"
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Post by Kup on Aug 12, 2007 7:29:02 GMT -5
Kup's optics flicker in a shocked blink. "2005- a long time from- eighty-five-" he sputters into a stop and then shakes his head, chuckling lowly taking the seat nearest to Slingshot. "Boy, you are young, aren't you? Two decades is not long... not very long at all. And 2005 is a year you'd better be prepared for." His expression tones down, becomes both serious and sad. He uses his head to gesture over his shoulder towards the body Slingshot had already been looking at. "If your future runs like my past, it's the year that happens," he says softly.
Kup leans back in his seat, and he lowers his gaze slightly and seems to focus on... on something. Something that's not actually physically there. Time, perhaps. "A lot of stuff happens that year..." his voice is distant, thoughtful. "We lost a lot of fine mechs in that battle. But that's also the year we retake Cybertron. Some good, some bad."
He intentionally does not answer Slingshot's question as to why he cares, hoping, instead, that Slingshot will let himself get distracted by the change in conversation topic. He cares because he doesn't like to see another Autobot so angry and hurt and confused, but Slingshot is young and suspicious enough not to believe a selfless reason. He also cares because he needs to make sure that Slingshot won't be trouble for the rest of them, and the Aerialbot is all too likely to take offense at the cautious reason. Thus, he'd really rather leave all reasons unspoken for the time being.
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Post by Slingshot on Aug 12, 2007 14:11:37 GMT -5
"It is a long time!" Slingshot insists, the sullenness in his voice almost gone. It's kind of cool to talk to someone that he doesn't want to deck just for speaking. Or just existing, in Long Haul's case.
Twenty years is half of forever to someone who is only several weeks old!
The rest of what Kup has to say dampens Slingshot's uplifting spirits. So Optimus dies the same year he meets Kup and other people do too. Die, not meet Kup. Heck, some of them probably meet Kup and then die. Or maybe they don't meet Kup and that's why they're dead.
His thoughts are chasing themselves in circles, like Fireflight over Crater Lake.
"How did it happen?" He finally asks. Who does he need to kill?
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Post by Kup on Aug 12, 2007 15:27:07 GMT -5
"What do you think?" Kup shakes his head sadly. "Megatron." This, of course, is far too much of a simplification, and he knows it, so Kup then starts on about the story of the events of 2005, as summarized in the movie. He might leave out a detail or two (like, erm, Optimus Prime hesitating to shoot Megatron because Hot Rod, while trying to prevent the Decepticon leader from grabbing his weapon, was being held as a shield... whether they manage to send Slingshot home or find themselves with a Hot Rod, it might be for the best if Slingshot doesn't think he has reason to kill the other youth), but the most significant details, from stolen Autobot shuttle to Unicron to regaining of Cybertron, are there.
When he's finished his tale, Kup sits back and waits silently, watching Slingshot carefully for his reaction. A sad, sympathetic expression shows itself on the veteran's face as he waits.
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Post by Slingshot on Aug 12, 2007 20:34:51 GMT -5
From the expression on his face, Slingshot is still grappling with the idea of Unicron. Slingshot has been in space. He grasps that space is big. He's seen planets from orbit; he has some idea of how big they are. Transformers just shouldn't come that big. How the heck would they stay fueled?
Speaking of fuel... "Want to grab a cube?"
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Post by Kup on Aug 12, 2007 21:26:55 GMT -5
Kup actually grins. This reaction shows a definite improvement over before. He chuckles and answered, "Oh, I've love to. However, energon's still a bit of a problem right now, and they," he gestures to the injured Transformers on their fold out cots, "get priority. However, before we left, they had set up the little generator so that it could feed to Omega and one other at the same time. Depending on how far down you are, we could maybe use that to get you enough so's we can look around and see what other options we got."
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Post by Slingshot on Aug 13, 2007 16:32:24 GMT -5
If you asked Slingshot were energon came from, his first response would be 'the dispenser'. If he actually thought about it, his answer would be 'from humans'.
"We've got an energon problem?" He asks. "Why? Not talked the locals into helping us yet?"
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Post by Kup on Aug 13, 2007 16:46:16 GMT -5
Kup's expression saddens. He wasn't here long - just a short while when his old ship broke down in this sector of space - but he was here. The people, well, they were people, with all the good, bad, and in-between that implies, but generally speaking, they were decent enough folks. Thus, seeing the world in its current state of abandonment is particularly disconcerting.
He shakes his head. "We haven't been here long enough to be sure, Slingshot, but as near as we can tell there... are no locals. Not ones intelligent enough to talk back to us. The civilization that lived here, built all the structures... that power plant we were at, the roads, everything... they're gone. No sign of what happened so far, but we ain't had the time to search properly, either."
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Post by Slingshot on Aug 14, 2007 11:16:51 GMT -5
Slingshot has never, ever been to a planet without intelligent life. Admittedly, his sample size of 'planets he's been to' is extremely small. But a planet without intelligent life was... weird. A planet that used to have intelligent life and now didn't was even weirder.
"Oh. So-"
Then the crazy motorcycle comes in and gabbles at them before darting back outside.
He stares after her for a few moments, suddenly feeling as if this world made a lot less sense than it had a few seconds ago.
"That was weird," Slingshot pronounces with the exactness of youth.
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Post by Kup on Aug 14, 2007 11:37:14 GMT -5
Kup's reaction to the sudden intrusion by the Junkion is, perhaps, a bit calmer than most.
He shakes his head, covers his face with his right hand, and sighs.
That is a Junkion, all right. He's having an even harder time following her speech than he has with Wreck-Gar's, but that is still undeniably a Junkion.
Realizing that a lot of these people have never encountered members of that odd sort-of faction, Kup decides it's time for a quick primer, and he transmits a general rundown on them. The fact is, even if they are allies, they're still a highly unpredictable people, and a little extra caution wouldn't hurt.
Finally, he raises his head once more, looks at Slingshot, and nods tiredly. "Yeah. Yeah, it was. You get used to that sort of thing out of them, though."
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Post by Slingshot on Aug 14, 2007 13:21:43 GMT -5
"Obsessed with human media?" Slingshot blurts out. "But human media is stupid!"
Forgive the man, his general encounters with human media have been soap operas and sitcoms.
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Post by Kup on Aug 14, 2007 13:32:01 GMT -5
Kup rubs first his forehead, then the bridge of his nose. While he had shifted forward to facepalm, now he once more leans back, and seems to sink into his chair a bit. He studies Slingshot for a few moments, then finally just shrugs.
"You'd be damned surprised the sort of impact stupid things can make sometimes, kid."
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Post by Slingshot on Aug 14, 2007 13:54:11 GMT -5
Slingshot's visor dims at the edges, reminiscent of someone narrowing their eyes. He can't help thinking that may be directed at him specifically. "Yeah, sure."
He looks at the door, turning in the direction that doesn't bring Optimus's body into his field of view. "I guess we should make sure Omega is hooked up."
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Post by Kup on Aug 14, 2007 14:11:16 GMT -5
It was a generalized statement that may or may not have relevance in this particular case!
But if called on it, Kup's certainly going to play innocent.
The veteran stands up and nods in agreement. "Yeah. Especially with that nutty Junkion running around out there." He looks generally upwards, not seeking out a camera as Long Haul had, and says, "Hey, Omega, we're going to need out, here."
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