Tracks
Cadet
Can't match this
Posts: 122
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Post by Tracks on Jun 18, 2008 0:29:55 GMT -5
Tracks's low-slung chassis is made for the smooth surface of asphalt. Off-roading is definitely not his friend. Of course, that's when his flight-mode comes in handy, but said mode is also quite fuel consuming...so perhaps it's not to be used now. At least there's a bit of a break in between the dirt sections. It could be worse--it always can be worse--such as coming across something like these 'Scrapmetals'.
"I'll be sure to inquire about it when we get back then."
Funny that Override thinks that way, because Tracks was just about to ask her for further explanation into her homeworld. "What about Velocitron? What's it like?" Sure there's most likely a database entry, but it's always nice to have something to converse about. Unless someone wishes to interrupt with with a different topic of conversation, Tracks would take the change in topic gracefully. Right now is just one of those times in which he likes a conversation to bounce around.
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Override
Minor
The Chancellor, Her Noble Potency, Empress Override. The Glorious Victor over Everyone Else On the Track
Shut up and drive
Posts: 476
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Post by Override on Jun 18, 2008 13:37:46 GMT -5
"Hmmm. I guess I'm from reality Swerve, then," Override chuckles. How strange, to have her reality named for a Velocitronian she'd never even heard of before she got here, and still hasn't met. Not that she's had the best of impressions so far. Accuse her of being on the additives? Whatever. But hey, his belief does not the truth make.
"Most of Velocitron's desert. Rocks and hard packed dirt, but it's all built over with roads. Roads... almost everywhere. There are a few regions without roads in it, for off-road races, and races that are underground or, well, Underground." There is a difference. Part of the Speedia 500 is underground, but that doesn't make it an Underground race. "Everything on the planet is geared towards speed. Either you're a racer, or you work for a racer, or you work for the races. The race is everything there."
Another turn, and the dirt being kicked up by Override is no longer dry, but mud. Looks like, in these incomplete tunnels, some water's started to get in. "Watch the traction," she warns.
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Post by Makeshift on Jun 19, 2008 18:59:41 GMT -5
"Sorry," the Mini-con says to Tracks. "I'm not trying to be difficult about it, but we Mini-cons have been getting the short end of the stick as long as I can remember. I don't want to turn the conversation into a pity party." He leaves out the part about being slightly overcharged when he made the database entry. Considering he had a cup on hand at the time, it'll be clear as soon as they see it.
"Probably," Makeshift replies to Override's speculation of her reality's name. "And if Tracks here is from the same reality as Grimlock, I think that one's the Perceptor reality."
"Racing, huh," he considers aloud. "Sounds better than all-out war, that's for sure."
At the muddy patch, Makeshift lifts a bit higher, moving up to fly over the cars to avoid the mud flying from their tires.
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Tracks
Cadet
Can't match this
Posts: 122
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Post by Tracks on Jun 21, 2008 8:19:39 GMT -5
"Oh no, don't worry about it," replies Tracks, words quick and smoothly reassuring. If he could, he'd be offering Makeshift a quick grin.
"Oh, that sounds very nice." He does like the idea of there being roads widely available. "You wouldn't happen to have lots of busy metropolises on your planet as well?" Add in cities and many prospective admirers and Velocitron sounds almost as good as Earth.
"Perceptor?" His engine gives a curious rumble as he combs through memory banks for a face and chassis to match with the name. "The scientist?" The wordy one? That's not too bad a person for their reality to be named after. It could be worse. It could have been Huffer--or Sunstreaker...Track's expression would be turning quite sour right about now.
It'd be turning even more puckered as he catches sight of the upcoming mud. Wonderful. Just. Wonderful. Tracks noticeably slows, a rather unbecoming groan creaking out of his frame (he blames Raoul's influence). He nearly screeches to a stop at the mud spattered up behind Override. But with her still going and Makeshift showing no signs of stopping either, Tracks slowly begins rolling through the mess. "More than just 'watch the traction', I'd say."
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Override
Minor
The Chancellor, Her Noble Potency, Empress Override. The Glorious Victor over Everyone Else On the Track
Shut up and drive
Posts: 476
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Post by Override on Jun 21, 2008 15:24:10 GMT -5
"Better than all out war?" the racer asks Makeshift. "I suppose so, although I've figured out since that sometimes there are things worth fighting for."
Then she turns her attention to Tracks. "Busy metropolises? You mean like Earth cities? No, things are pretty spread out. Look, Tracks, our culture is built on speed. Just how much speed can you get up if you're putting all your buildings right next to each other? By the time you really get going, you have to stop again. No fun in that."
"And why more than just 'watch the traction'?" Override's tone is completely innocent. She really might not understand the rest of the problem. Of course, to her, racing has always been more important than her paint job, anyway. Then, a rather large glob of mud falls from the roof and lands on her hood. "Hmm, actually, we might not want to go much farther until we know the tunnels won't close in after us," she notes.
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Post by Makeshift on Jun 22, 2008 4:26:19 GMT -5
"Red guy with a scope on his shoulder, likes to use big words," Makeshift says of Perceptor. Makeshift doesn't consider himself dumb. Just plain-spoken. Perceptor just reminded him of a much larger Astroscope, and that was one talky Mini-con.
"I'm not exactly planning to run and hide, either," he replies to Override. "As long as the Cons are out there trying to kill and enslave anyone without a purple symbol, I'm staying where I can be of some use." Not to mention, neutrals tend to fair rather poorly in most Cybertronian wars. And while he's been told that not every war includes enslavement, he's been given the impression that most, if not all, are about conquest. The two concepts aren't so dissimilar, in his mind. Neither is very appealing.
Makeshift isn't worried much about his finish. His paint hasn't been completely repaired since the battle anyway. He does do a little aerial dance of avoiding a blob of falling mud, though. Rotors and debris don't mix. "Considering we don't know of another way back if we get cut off, maybe we should go investigate another tunnel." No, that isn't a hint of claustrophobia in his voice, really.
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Tracks
Cadet
Can't match this
Posts: 122
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Post by Tracks on Jun 22, 2008 17:25:26 GMT -5
"Built for speed," Tracks echoes to himself. It sounds quite fascinating, but he can't help but wonder if it does get boring after a few million years. Though Earth and Cybertronian races are probably nothing like those on Velocitron, so his comparisons may be more than slightly off.
No matter how slowly he attempts to roll through the mud and still have some proximity to the group, the feeling of mud beginning to speckle the inside of his wheel wells and the edges of his side panels continue to register. A disgusted shiver runs down his form but he tries to press on before Override and Makeshift's words drift too far from earshot.
When a glob of mud splatters squarely across his hood and windshield, enough is enough. Tracks grinds to a stop, a throat clearing sound rings through his vocalizer before he pitches his voice to be quite clearly heard. "Ahem, if I may add, this particular tunnel is in the process of doing nightmares to my paint job. I definitely would not mind a change in course."
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Override
Minor
The Chancellor, Her Noble Potency, Empress Override. The Glorious Victor over Everyone Else On the Track
Shut up and drive
Posts: 476
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Post by Override on Jun 22, 2008 19:08:18 GMT -5
For most, it stays interesting so long as the challenge is there. That, perhaps, is a large part of why Override embraced off-planet adventure so quickly and easily. As much as she loves racing, it's been a few million years since she's had a true challenger, and is it really a race without challenge?
"... You're... paint job?" Override asks, uncertainly. "Can't you just clean it off and touch-up?" Really, why let concern one's paint job hold up one's tasks? "And we aren't going to learn any alternate ways back if we don't explore these things out. Why not just call back and make sure there's someone around to dig us out if need be?"
Turning around now feels a bit too much like quitting a race early for Override's taste, and Override never quits. Even if she doesn't come in first (which is rare), she doesn't give up.
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Post by Makeshift on Jun 23, 2008 6:06:28 GMT -5
"The problem with calling for backup is that, well, there isn't a lot of backup available," Makeshift replies. "Half of our side is in mid-repair, and most of the other half is either performing those repairs or out scouting and patrolling. Resources are stretched pretty thin right now. We also didn't exactly leave an itinerary behind; Grimlock knows loosely which way we went, but that's it."
It's not quitting; it's a tactical advance to the rear.
"Look, I don't mean to be rude here, but you have to remember, we all got our afts handed to us just a few days ago. We had to withdraw in a hurry with minimal resources, and several of our heavy hitters were barely functional at all. We lost track of one of ours in the confusion and haven't been able to reestablish contact with her yet." He refuses to count Pee-Dee as dead until he sees the body with his own optics. "If the Cons found us now, we'd be done for. I'd like to keep going too, just to see what's there, but as long as we can establish there's no immediate threat or anything down here, we've done our job in this tunnel, and there's more that need checking out."
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Tracks
Cadet
Can't match this
Posts: 122
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Post by Tracks on Jun 23, 2008 18:47:13 GMT -5
Tracks has his fair share of lusting for adventure or some sort of excitement, but if it means spoiling his good looks, there had better be Decepticons in the picture or some insistent prodding.
"Fixing the damage is a bit more time-consuming and complicated than just a few brushes of new paint," huffs Tracks. There's the new paint, the sanding, the clear base, the careful application, the buffing...."As much as I do love a good detailing, my supply of polish is limited and something I'd like to save for emergencies." Especially if he's going to be stuck in this weird mech-yanking world for an indefinite amount of time. "New paint is also going to be something hard to come by with everyone so busy." Tracks takes his scratch repairs very seriously.
A sigh heaves from his form and Tracks brings up his headlights as he peers further into the tunnel. "How about a bit of a compromise then? We can go a bit further, but if the mud and the tunnel doesn't have an end in sight, then we'll double back and start fresh. Good?"
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Override
Minor
The Chancellor, Her Noble Potency, Empress Override. The Glorious Victor over Everyone Else On the Track
Shut up and drive
Posts: 476
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Post by Override on Jun 23, 2008 19:14:06 GMT -5
"Oh, for power-shifting out of a cold start, would you stop about your paintjob already?" Override exclaims, frustrated. Sure, looking good has its place, but this guy takes it to a whole new level.
"The little guy makes good points, though," she concedes grumpily. She starts to slow down, indicating that she'll be turning around soon. "I want in on whatever group comes down here next time, though!"
OOC: Anyone got any ideas for adding a bit of interest in tunnel number 3?
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Post by Makeshift on Jun 24, 2008 18:50:04 GMT -5
"I'll put a mark on the map so we know which way to go next time. If this is gonna be a regular emergency route, we'll need to explore it more thoroughly when we have the opportunity anyway."
Makeshift wheels in the air, turning back towards Tracks and the drier tunnels. He hopes the noise of his rotors covers the sound of his relieved sigh. Getting buried alive is roughly akin to his worst nightmare, aside from the lack of Decepticons come to take him captive again.
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Tracks
Cadet
Can't match this
Posts: 122
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Post by Tracks on Jun 26, 2008 3:48:48 GMT -5
That's a 'no' then. "As you wish then," huffs Tracks, a slightly disgruntled tone coloring his voice. He makes a sharp reverse to face the entrance of the tunnel and carefully rolls forward. Stop about the paint job? Hmph. Some people just have no appreciation.
"If this tunnel stays in this condition, then count me out of the exploration party."
OOC: Big gaps in the road? Narrow tunnels that require careful maneuvering in robot mode? ^^
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Override
Minor
The Chancellor, Her Noble Potency, Empress Override. The Glorious Victor over Everyone Else On the Track
Shut up and drive
Posts: 476
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Post by Override on Jun 26, 2008 8:16:50 GMT -5
"Well, I doubt it'll change unless we do something about it," Override answers Tracks as she rolls back towards the intersection. "Thanks for marking it, Makeshift."
It only takes a few moments to get to the intersection, and then it's off again! From their perspective, they're now going straight, but if this branch had been taken during their original approach they would have taken a left.
During the trip, Override squeezes by Tracks, but she's pretty obviously not in a racing mode so much as eager to see whatever is going to be seen first. And what she sees proves to be pretty interesting, as the sides and ceiling of the tunnel suddenly vanish as the group find themselves driving on (or flying over) a bridge in a good-sized natural cave. The floor and ceiling can both be seen in the headlights, as can colorful underground rock formations. Beneath the bridge passes a clear, shallow steam of water that winds its way among stalagmites that would be enormous to a human (or a Mini-Con), and are still decently sized to a robot.
"... Woah."
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Post by Makeshift on Jun 26, 2008 18:25:16 GMT -5
"I'll hand out copies after we're done. Tracks, I'll need your frequency if you want one."
Makeshift flies along, spinning to throw off some of the looser dust. As they enter the cave, he pauses, turning side to side to take in the sights. "Wow. Never knew organic planets had sights like this...."
He flies lower towards the stream, weaving through the stalagmites. "Water looks pretty clean. Gonna have to remember this place." Mark goes the map sensor.
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