Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
|
Post by Starscream on Sept 17, 2007 17:05:09 GMT -5
Starscream did indeed glare at Needlenose. The non-transforming Transformer has an outgoing nature, which he thought might be more calming for Skyfire to encounter compared to someone like, say, Wreckage, but Starscream didn't want him to be too easy-going about how many Autobots he's killed gleefully.
"I agree, we do. We will talk in private soon." Starscream said at his old friend. It was very strange, talking to Skyfire once more without having to draw a weapon at him. If it weren't for Starscream's outright deception, it'd be just like old times. Except, deception is all Starscream really does these days, isn't it. And damn it, it comes so easy to him now..
"I'm not entirely certain what happened to us.. but we have a few ideas about the locals. When we got here we found this village." Starscream pointed at the abandoned settlement, specifically where Needlenose blasted it. "We haven't found any bodies, but that was caused by firepower at a level we have yet to find with these native beings. The only possible explanation is Omega Supreme, who now serves the Autobots. So far, we've only found four survivors on this planet. Who have since signed up with us voluntarily to help defeat the Autobots."
Gee, whoever could he mean..?
|
|
Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
|
Post by Skyfire on Sept 17, 2007 20:15:27 GMT -5
"Survivors?" Skyfire looks very interested. "What have they said about why this planet was abandoned or depopulated?" Come on, Starscream, focus! We have a major scientific (or worse) mystery here!
"But before I go off on a tangent--you'll want a full set of orbital maps, of course. I didn't get a chance to explore the three moons, but there's structures on them, and one of them is a very odd composition for a moon. Um, so, where to from here?" This is obviously Starscream's show, best to let him take the lead.
Skyfire glances at the others present again. Starscream isn't telling him everything, but they've barely been in contact for five minutes; he'll get around to it in his own way. What is obvious at close range is that these... soldiers aren't Starscream's keepers. He's in charge, not a watched prisoner. Skyfire relaxes slightly, not quite so ready to snatch the big cannon out of its resting place.
|
|
Fleetwind
Major
The Chancellor, His Eminent Grandeur, Marquis Fleetwind. The Insurgent Subduer of A Non-Threatening Cute Little Furry Kitten
Twined Elf
Posts: 730
|
Post by Fleetwind on Sept 17, 2007 20:27:57 GMT -5
Yep, yep, Fleetwind is still playing the politely stoic GBS, although he does shift from one foot to another, anticipating his next set of orders. He suspects they will come shortly.
|
|
|
Post by Needlenose on Sept 17, 2007 20:53:21 GMT -5
For some strange reason, when the mention is made of "four survivors" and Starscream implies that Omega Supreme did the damage to the town, a brief noise (one that does not resemble Needelnose's voice in the least) can be heard from the direction of Needlenose. It's cut off quickly, however, by the clang of Needlenose slamming his hand against his waist (coincidently where one of his guns are magnetically holstered).
If anyone gives him any curious or surprised looks, Needlenose will perk up his antennae and chuckle lightly. "Erm, sorry about that. Noisy joints." He pauses, and adds, "I was recently a prisoner of the Autobots; they used me as a test subject for something, still not sure what. Seems to have some odd side effects."
All of this is true enough (at least, from Needlenose's perspective), but isn't really connected to the noise.
|
|
Eye-fire
Major
In two minds about everything
Posts: 597
|
Post by Eye-fire on Sept 17, 2007 23:23:00 GMT -5
Eye-fire decides to keep his mouth shut, he was never the best at lying, so he leaves it to the master of that particular art.
|
|
Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
|
Post by Starscream on Sept 18, 2007 0:00:58 GMT -5
Starscream suppressed a snarl at Needlenose. His subordinates are worse than Soundwave's tapes!
"And yes, survivors. I'll introduce you to them in person, but for now, accept that they're shy." In other words, Starscream has yet to have time to sort out a story for them all. "As for maps, I'll take whatever you have. We are still at the point of setting up a base of operations, no time to prepare for extra-planetary exploration." He points to the mountain. "We have adequate fuel supplies, but not much. Your little jaunt down from where you reactivated must have taken a lot out of you."
|
|
Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
|
Post by Skyfire on Sept 18, 2007 0:29:23 GMT -5
Skyfire nods. "Refreshments would be welcome. I still had enough for the return flight to Cybertron, but that was from SD426923, not here." He looks up into the sky. "Frankly, I need multiple refueling stops to get us home from here, even with full tanks, if Kup's information is correct--and it does jibe with the celestial readings I took."
// Prepare for data transfer, // Skyfire warns. When Starscream is ready, he'll transmit the full set of orbital images -- beautiful, high-res images of the planet's surface from orbit. Coverage is complete and overlapping; Starscream has his own 'Google Earth: Gillanan III edition' maps now. He'll also give Starscream the preliminary system ephemerae he worked out, as well as ephemerae for all the structures in orbit.
"As I mentioned earlier, some of the orbital structures have active defenses, particularly the power generation arrays."
Skyfire gives Needlenose another curious look and frowns slightly. Using prisoners as test subjects? Kup's people are sounding less and less like anyone Skyfire wants to deal with.
|
|
Fleetwind
Major
The Chancellor, His Eminent Grandeur, Marquis Fleetwind. The Insurgent Subduer of A Non-Threatening Cute Little Furry Kitten
Twined Elf
Posts: 730
|
Post by Fleetwind on Sept 18, 2007 9:50:40 GMT -5
Still GBS!
An amused expression flits across the yellow Seeker's lips when the 'crazy old merc' is revealed to be Kup. Old, yes, but he's not sure, given the stories he's heard, the other two apply.
For his part, Fleetwind had lived his entire life without ever encountering the elder Autobot, and would have been quite happy to continue on in that manner... but on the other hand, still better than Unicron.
|
|
|
Post by Needlenose on Sept 18, 2007 10:05:51 GMT -5
Using prisoners as test subjects? Kup's people are sounding less and less like anyone Skyfire wants to deal with.
And the best part is, Needlenose is being totally honest about this! It's not the truth, but it's what Needlenose assumes to be the truth.
For once, he doesn't do anything suspicious or unusual. Well, beyond occasionally shifting the weight of his stance as he looks around. Amazingly, he manages to prevent a snort as Starscream describes the Nebulans as 'shy.' Singe? Shy? Oooooookay.
|
|
Eye-fire
Major
In two minds about everything
Posts: 597
|
Post by Eye-fire on Sept 18, 2007 11:02:04 GMT -5
Well, at least things seem to be going well and Eye-fire probably won't have to shoot anything.
He shifts his weight slightly and flexes the fingers of his right hand, he's still keeping it ready in case.
|
|
Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
|
Post by Starscream on Sept 18, 2007 16:36:30 GMT -5
Starscream accepted the data transfer, and soon was perusing high-res information of the planet. "Brilliant work, Skyfire." He said, genuinely impressed. "Excuse me, I must check in on one subordinates.'
And that's true, he did. But he wasn't radioing anyone far away, it was an internal transmission being sent straight to Needlenose! //All four Nebulans say they travelled to this planet on their own, but were shot down by an unidentified aircraft. They can then explain they encountered multiple villages like this, all with similar blaster fire. They saw some ground-based departing one city that they saw recently destroyed, and fled. Until ALL of them are comfortable in reciting the story, they cannot be present around Skyfire until they are in robotic mode.//
Transmission sent, Starscream looked back up at his old friend. "We'll see to your fuel problems as well as repairs. I'll introduce you to our chief medical officer - Hook, who is also my Second in Command - and we'll make sure that you are at one hundred percent. Hook was one of the construction experts who worked on Crystal City - he was the brains of the operation."
|
|
Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
|
Post by Skyfire on Sept 18, 2007 20:16:42 GMT -5
Skyfire nods, surprised at the compliment. It was just a routine planetary survey, after all. On the other hand... perhaps coming right out of 'crashed from severe icing' to doing a full orbital survey was a bit 'above and beyond', though they'd need the maps sooner or later. Starscream had probably expected him to just land and see to fuel and repairs before worrying about surveys, not realizing that orbit had been a relatively safe place for Skyfire to evaluate the conflicting voices on his radio.
"How long has it been, since you were an explorer and scientist?" Skyfire asks, something wistful in his voice. Cybertron... the mechs he knew, the world he knew--everything will have changed after all this time, changed in ways he can't imagine. His home, the world he knew... is gone.
A sudden pang of homesickness stabs through Skyfire; he'd always been a long-range explorer, venturing far afield for years at a time--but he'd always returned to Cybertron sooner or later. It was always there, waiting to welcome him back. But now...
"I-- That will be fine. My systems are reporting green, but it wouldn't hurt to see if the ice did any damage," he finally manages to say.
At least Starscream remembers him. Without him, Skyfire would be totally alone now.
|
|
Fleetwind
Major
The Chancellor, His Eminent Grandeur, Marquis Fleetwind. The Insurgent Subduer of A Non-Threatening Cute Little Furry Kitten
Twined Elf
Posts: 730
|
Post by Fleetwind on Sept 18, 2007 20:26:32 GMT -5
Fleetwind stands and looks towards the sky for a moment, then scans the area around him once more. The moves are not nervous, but they are alert. Now and again, his thoughtful gaze lingers a bit longer on Skyfire.
How long can they really expect this pile of lies to hold up?
GBS.
|
|
|
Post by Needlenose on Sept 18, 2007 20:35:31 GMT -5
//... So you just want me to keep my Nebulans hidden? Because it's going to be awhile before Sunny or Ziggy can recite that convincingly.//
//Besides, have you got any idea what goes into adapting a Nebulan? No, no, of course not. You probably think we just hand them a suit and they're good to go. Anyway, suffice to say, a close examination by someone who knows better is going to show that we don't have what we need on-planet to turn someone into a Targetmaster partner. I'm guessing you're relying on your clueless friend's ignorance?//
This is the radioed conversation that goes on, but outwardly, Needlenose is silent.
|
|
Eye-fire
Major
In two minds about everything
Posts: 597
|
Post by Eye-fire on Sept 18, 2007 23:17:50 GMT -5
If only Skyfire knew exactly how much it would change between his current time and what Eye-fire had seen, he may well have wished not to return to it.
He stands watching Fleetwind, he hasn't had much contact with the mech, but he's gotten the general idea from his colleagues that he's a bit of a coward. He's also probably a deceptively good warrior in his own right, but Eye-fire would probably be able to see if that was true soon enough.
|
|