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Post by Perceptor on Sept 11, 2007 18:11:57 GMT -5
The thoughtful calm Perceptor has been absorbing Kup's tale in - interrupted by brief surprise at the elder mech's pronouncement about Optimus Prime's worth - swiftly fades to incomprehensible shock. And guilt.
Optimus? Spontaneously returning to turn the tide of the battle? That... that...
"It's not possible, Kup! He.. I..." he chokes out, utterly shaken. He'd blithely assumed some story of Matrix intervention, or similar improbable event, not an apparent... spontaneous resurrection.
"You were there," he insists urgently. "His damages... It wasn't possible. Kup, I would have-" He breaks off sharply and it takes visible effort for Perceptor to shakily regather his composure. He is glad he'd followed Kup's advice and had seated himself, though.
"My apologies," he offers tremulously. "I am interrupting your narrative and explanation."
There must be an explanation for such an unsettling turn of events. There must. Surely. Surely he hadn't... He stifles a shudder and nods for Kup to continue.
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Post by Swerve on Sept 11, 2007 18:19:01 GMT -5
Mechs coming back from the dead. Now, see, if they'd properly scrapped him for parts like anyone sensible would, that wouldn't have happened. Probably. Swerve's never heard of that sort of thing, really. There was the one time a few guys at the Junction thought he'd come back from the dead, once they figured out it was him… but that was just a rebuild.
He snorts quietly to himself, crossing his arms and leaning against a support pillar. He's only waiting here because he doesn't want to have to see Kup.
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Post by Kup on Sept 11, 2007 18:50:27 GMT -5
Kup raises a hand to try to calm Perceptor at his outburst. "Perceptor, I told you, it wasn't him. It wasn't! It was his body, but... okay, some part of him was still in there, and I'm getting to that, but he wasn't... wasn't what you'd call alive.
"Only we didn't realize that at the time," the veteran continues.
"Soon as we all recovered from our shock, first thing out of Rodimus's mouth was to ask him his commands. Optimus, he... he moved stiffly, he spoke with a growl, and he demanded to know the condition of the Matrix, only he couldn't seem to say the word. When I asked what happened, he gave some nonsense about darkness and light; Daniel suggested a coma." Kup smirks at Perceptor. "It'd have been nice to have you around to point out what a load of scrap-iron that was.
"He started muttering about some sort of plan, and we followed him down to the displays, the ones had been meaning to check out earlier. We found he had been building himself an escape pod. Rodimus... well, like I said, he'd put his faith in Optimus Prime before himself." Kup stands straight and lowers the lids on his optics, his hands clenched for a moment as he sighs. "The ship and talk of planning was all Rodimus needed to figure he was in condition to take back leadership. Ultra Magnus told him not to... I told him not to... but damn it, he handed over the Matrix.
"Practically had to force it on him, really. It was like... Optimus did and didn't want it... like he was trying to stop himself from accepting it, from placing it in his chest. But once it was there, and Rodimus returned to Hot Rod, he just asked our forgiveness. When Hot Rod asked what for, he lifted his rifle and blasted the kid full in the chest. Several more shots took the rest of us down, and by the time we recovered, he was gone.
"And even then... even then Rodi- Hot Rod was certain that if we weren't dead, Optimus musta had some sort of plan. Wouldn't give that idea up until we saw that Optimus..." Kup hesitates, lowers his head, and continues, "Optimus had put the Tomb on a collision course with the nearest star."
Kup pauses to let that sink in... he anticipates a poor reaction from Perceptor, given how close the scientist had been to some of those who had been honored there. But he doesn't let the other dwell on it for very long. "We were able to get one of the other shuttles working, and made our escape... just as the mausoleum began breaking up in the heat and gravity of that star.
"We charted course for Cybertron... couldn't bring that cobbled together hunk of junk in for a proper landing, but it was a crash we could all walk away from. We found the base all but abandoned - only Snarl and Sludge holding down the fort.
"Turns out Optimus, when he got there, gave them this story about how the Quintessons had got us, how we had sacrificed ourselves... so he could make it back. Got the rest of the Autobots all worked over our 'deaths,' then lead the fleet - the entire Autobot fleet - an a massive strike against them to take revenge over our 'murders.'”
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Post by Perceptor on Sept 11, 2007 19:08:32 GMT -5
He pulls expressionless calm about him like a cloak as Kup's tale continues to unfold. The loss of the mausoleum does not garner the outward reaction Kup is expecting; it gets only that same clinical detatchment. Inwardly, he's simply too numb at the moment to do more than file the information away for later examination.
"I am not certain how useful my presence would have been without this foreknowledge, Kup," Perceptor intones. "I will admit that my objectivity is somewhat suspect in regards to certain individuals."
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Post by Swerve on Sept 11, 2007 20:01:45 GMT -5
Swerve can't decide what sounds more leaking stupid: the Autobots not making use of what sounded like plenty of salvageable parts, or that Rodimus whoever just blindly trusting a husk that decided to get up and walk around one happy fragging day. The mech was dead, wasn't he? What did he do – get better?
And he still trusted this Optimus mech even after getting blasted?! And getting his pals blasted, too! That smelting half-shifted idiot. Swerve scowls at the opposite wall, fists clenched under his arms, and an angry snarl grinds up from his engine, but he bites back the curses that leap to mind. If he ever meets this Rodimus, he'll tell him exactly how stupid he is for not pulling his head out of his tailpipe. Blind trust like that gets people hurt. It's a lesson Swerve knows intimately well.
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Post by Kup on Sept 11, 2007 20:11:27 GMT -5
Kup frowns and turns his head. Did he just hear something? He waits for a moment, but when there's only silence, he continues.
"Well, now you're gettin' that foreknowledge," Kup replies to Perceptor, but not harshly. This story is taking a good deal out of him. "And you'll need it, too." The veteran frowns and considers. "In fact, I may need to make a recording. See, from what I understand... you tried to question some of the orders Prime was given... and was verbally smacked down for it. We tried to get word to the Fleet that we were still alive... and were ignored. Optimus Prime kept telling everyone our communications were some sort of Quintesson trick and... well, it's Optimus. Everyone believes in Optimus.
"The Fleet... the entire Autobot Fleet charged headlong into a Quintesson trap. We chased after in the Interceptor, but by the time we caught up with them, they had already lost some..." Kup shakes his head. "Thirty? Thirty-five? Maybe more... vessels, full crews and all. And there would be more - many more - to come before they eventually turned back. We radioed Prime's flagship, pleaded with them to stop the attack, asked to come on-board. In response, Optimus Prime gave the order to have the Interceptor destroyed.
"The whole group of us were sucked out through a breach in the hull, Daniel and Spike in their suits, all of us helpless." Kup looks down at the scientist. "It was you, Perceptor, who identified us and ordered the rescue team. So before you go wondering about how pivotal you're going to be, even if you don't have this knowledge... listen as I finish out my tale, and ask yourself how it might have gone if you weren't there to see us.
"Once on board the ship, we made our way towards the bridge. Hot Rod gave the order to get the ship, the Fleet turned around, and the rest of us went to help. Hot Rod continued on, tearing his way through even the tough blast doors to face Optimus Prime. That's the last time I saw Hot Rod." Finally, Kup smiles, if only briefly. "Because what came back was Rodimus Prime.
"I got the story of the battle from him later, how he demanded command back... how Optimus Prime, struggling against himself the whole time, fought back. The battle was fierce, but Hot Rod... was no match for Optimus with the Matrix. But in the end, Optimus recovered himself. Explained that it was the Quintessons that had done that to him... how they had somehow given him that semblance of life, but forced him to play a part in their plan to destroy us all. He returned the Matrix to Rodimus Prime, commanded him to save the Fleet. Then Optimus left, finishing the path to the bridge, while the rest of us found Rodimus and evacuated.
"From the bridge, Optimus Prime gave the order to the rest of the Fleet to turn back, his final command to us. He remained in the flagship, flew it into the detonator that was at the heart of the Quintesson trap. The trap was broken, the rest of the Fleet limped home... but the losses we suffered that day..." Kup looked down at the floor. "So many... so many dead before we got them turned around..."
The veteran trails off into silence, the first of his two tales completed.
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Post by Perceptor on Sept 11, 2007 21:38:13 GMT -5
"You are correct, Kup," Perceptor finally offers at length. "This is not a good tale."
He isn't sure what to think or feel just yet. There's relief there, even if he feels flickers of guilt for that relief, in knowing that he hadn't been mistaken, that Optimus truly had been too badly wounded to repair. Exhasperation with Rodimus. Horror at the massive losses Kup had been forced to witness, and at the hands of his old friend. Fear that he will be unable to prevent this, even with the knowledge Kup is granting him. How will he ever manage to get Rodimus to listen? To believe?
"When does this occur? Is there yet time to circumvent the Quintessons' interference? And you stated that there was more. A second such instance of Optimus Prime's return."
He wishes he didn't have to ask Kup to continue. The elder mech looks as if he'd just fought the battle of Autobot City all over again, minus the dents. Perhaps when he is done, he will listen to Perceptor's urging to rest.
Not likely, but Perceptor will make the attmept.
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Post by Swerve on Sept 11, 2007 22:16:09 GMT -5
It takes a few seconds for the rest of Kup's story to sink through Swerve's rising anger. When it finally does, the racer freezes. The expression on his face is something between a furious scowl and a slack-jawed gape.
The Autobots' blind trust was still stupid. Incredibly slagging stupid. But if Swerve understands Kup's tale correctly, that trust had been exploited. People had been killed because of it. Whatever – whoever – these Quintesson things are, to Swerve, they're scum. Lower than scum.
No. He doesn't even care what they are; the thought of them is sickeningly infuriating. Maddening. His fists are so tight that he's probably bending a few pins, but he doesn't notice that or the keen of finger servos being strained too hard. He doesn't even realise he's storming up the ramp, engine roaring, until his gaze is locked on Kup, optics unusually bright with rage.
"You'd better've smelting well made those torqueless slag-suckers fragging pay for it!" he cries in a voice that's mostly snarl. It will be hard to miss the way anger sets his shoulders and arms to trembling.
Looks like it doesn't only take wanton destruction of roadways to set him off, Kup.
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Post by Kup on Sept 11, 2007 22:45:57 GMT -5
Kup opens his mouth to answer Perceptor's questions, but is interrupted when Swerve comes storming up the ramp behind him. His optics widen and surprise shows clearly on his face. So he had heard something, after all! And Swerve is furious... at the Quintessons?
Kup's a better story-teller than even he thought!
The veteran quickly shakes off his surprise, and he answers, calmly enough, "Oh, they're paying, all right, but we didn't have to make 'em do it. At the time I was pulled from, the results of their own meddling came back to bite 'em in the..." Kup hesitates. Quintessons don't exactly have afts, afterburners, or tailpipes, do they? "...bottoms," he finishes lamely. They're shaped like tops, so surely they have bottoms!
He turns back to Perceptor. "That would be the second story, Perceptor, but thinking about it... it may be a good idea to wait. See, I don't know how that story ends... but Omega Supreme does. But once I do know, I'll get the information to you."
"As for your other question... given your timestamp, I'd say the Quintessons are already at the mausoleum," he says sadly. He gives the stamp of the events of Dark Awakening: Perceptor's very near future indeed.
"Arcee's still got time to prevent them from getting to him," Kup gestures to their own morgue, "entirely, but... I'm afraid the best you can do is probably damage control."
Kup sighs. "What we've been doing to him here, starting with Jazz... honestly, Perceptor, that's a kinder and nobler fate."
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Post by Perceptor on Sept 12, 2007 0:45:23 GMT -5
Perceptor doesn't quite jump in surprise as Swerve storms onto the scene, verbally raging against the Quintessons, but it's a near thing. The racer seems to run in two temperatures: hot and hotter.
"Thank you, Kup. I would appreciate that," he replies once he's regained his composure. "If neither you nor Omega Supreme would object to my presence, I would like to observe."
Time, yet again, is too precious a commodity to be afforded him, it seems. He sighs, gaze swinging off toward the morgue. "I see."
If Optimus had not fallen, Jazz, at the very least, would no longer function. Nearly everyone who'd taken damages had at least some small component of the fallen Prime within themselves now, in fact. Small comfort to the scientist-turned-medic, but... comfort, nonetheless, he finds.
"Forewarned is forearmed. I shall do what I can, which is more than had been possible before your tale," he observes, turning his attention back to Kup. "Now, the more pressing question remains: will you submit to this substitute medic's recommendations for rest?"
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Post by Swerve on Sept 12, 2007 10:18:18 GMT -5
There's a lack of vehemence in Kup's response that Swerve can't quite process. It doesn't mesh with the scenario. He falters, flounders a moment, his rage flagging.
"Oh," he finally says, "well – good, then!" So they just… let the other things happen to these Quintessons instead of actually doing something? It isn't supposed to work that way! You pay back the sludge-guzzlers who cross you! Or fine, so maybe Autobots don't do the whole payback thing.
Whatever the case, Swerve is silenced for the moment.
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Post by Kup on Sept 12, 2007 10:52:15 GMT -5
Grudges are heavy, Swerve! Carry them for too long, and they start making you old! (Of course, Kup, being strong, stubborn, and old, has obviously carried a good many in his lifetime...)
Still, the elder actually smiles a bit good-humouredly at the racer's reaction before returning his attention to Perceptor's concerns. He waves a hand absently. "I don't need no rest, Perceptor. All I been doing is running around, yakking." Well, and before that surveying the area immediately around the base, securing the energy supply, helping in construction where a strong back but no real skill was called for... "Nothing real strenuous." He levels a gaze at the scientist. "In fact, I'd be willing to bet I've defragged more recently than you have."
"I'll ask Omega if he minds you listening in, although that means you'll be getting the end of the story before its beginning." He smiles a bit grimly. "Maybe that's for the best. I'd kind of like to know whether or not I'll be there for the finish before I get started on that tale."
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Post by Perceptor on Sept 12, 2007 12:20:18 GMT -5
Perceptor never carries a grudge - after all, he requires both hands to be free in order to most properly formulate his retaliation!
"Hm. And surveying. And assisting with construction. And planning. And, most likely, a dozen other activities that I am as yet unaware of," Perceptor retorts drily, although without rancor. He'd already known that he would be better served simply repeatedly striking his head against a wall rather than attempting to circumvent Kup's stubbornness. After all, a wall will eventually break, if struck sufficiently.
He refuses to rise to the bait with Kup's observation, though.
"Duly noted. It is of no great concern if he objects. I had thought merely to simplify the process, if possible." A graceful enough out for all of them, in case Kup wishes to confront his potential fate with a bit more... privacy.
"Swerve, is there anything which I might assist you with?" he asks, rising from his seat now that he's composed once more.
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Post by Swerve on Sept 12, 2007 18:43:34 GMT -5
Swerve may not even really understand how to not hold a grudge, you two. And he's probably carried his far longer than most would think.
He doesn't follow the talk of Omega Supreme. Something about another story. Swerve isn't interested; this last tale has him riled enough already. Not that he'd meant to listen to it in the first place. That was pure coincidence. He shifts his weight awkwardly, the feeling nagging its way into his too-hot processors that maybe he's walked in on something that isn't quite his business and not just in the sense of it being an Autobot thing.
That Optimus Prime meant a lot to them. Swerve's anger very briefly gives way to bemusement. What was the mech like when he was still kicking under his own power, to inspire that sort of loyalty and respect? That much trust? …I don't get it. I just don't fraggin' get it. The racer frowns to himself. Too much heavy thinking; his processors will go into fits if he doesn't knock it off. He should just do what he came up here to do and get out.
Swerve turns and he's at the 'morgue' door before he bothers answering Perceptor.
"Don't need any help," he says in a low voice without looking at the scientist. 'Help' rolls from his vocorder with a ring of distaste, like it's a word fouler than his usual fare. Then he steps into the quiet enclosure, leaving behind the living for the dead. It's weird to associate such stillness with the damage he sees. Death in the underground is chaotic and violent even after the fact. Some mechs shouting, others scrambling away – or toward – the scene, sometimes weapons fire if gangs or credits were involved. But it's silent in this room save for the cycling of his fans and the scrape of his steps across the floor. Both husks are piecemeal, various parts and bits stripped for the benefit of those who could still make use of them. With any luck, he decides as he looks over Prime first and the flier second, he'll have pulled more before he leaves.
He really needs to start fabricating his own slagging parts again. He can get by cobbling things together, but jury-rigging only works so well for so long.
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Post by Kup on Sept 12, 2007 19:23:58 GMT -5
Kup watches after Swerve as he heads into the back room and shakes his head. Getting through to that one was going to be a challenge... but he suspects he might have just been given one hell of a hint to help him figure things out.
He walks over to the counter and reaches for his 'notepad.' It's still mostly intact, after all. Then he examines what's left of his stylus. "I'm probably going to go talk to Omega Supreme next. If you like, I can radio ahead, ask him if he minds you listening in... then we can both head over there. Either way, though, before I go, do you got something small and sharp I can use to write with?"
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