|
Post by Perceptor on Apr 25, 2009 22:27:59 GMT -5
"Possibly, Skyfire, however, there is a much more significant risk of Decepticon interference with such a platform than we would be able to offer a similar construct of the Decepticons," Perceptor muses. "I doubt that Xaaron and Rodimus Prime would authorize such a division of resources, particularly since they are so scarce as it is."
So, Springer... Thunderwing's theories and observations were ignored simply because he was a Decepticon?" Perceptor asks. There is a very significant point in that concept which he would like to address with Xaaron and Rodimus at some point. Any additional... "ammunition", as it were, would assist in lending credence to his concerns.
Outside the front view screen, the auroras blaze, and Perceptor spares a subroutine to store the images away for later perusal - both for pure enjoyment sake, as well to calculate electromagnetic energy output and distribution at the poles. There is no telling when such energy might be needed to be harnessed for use.
"I am sufficiently shielded, I believe," he adds. He is used to playing with incredibly strong fields such as that in his various studies. In fact, he is far more vulnerable to simple kinetic shock than electromagnetism. Even as durable as his new lenses are, they are still a crystalline silicon matrix which is vulnerable to molecular sheer.
"Would you happen to have any measurements, schematics, or other data on Thunderwing's modifications, Springer?"
|
|
|
Post by Springer on Apr 25, 2009 23:57:19 GMT -5
"It's unclear as to whether it was due to him being Decepticon or not. I think there may have been more at that little thinktank than him, Decepticon-wise. Maybe just because his idea was just so...unnatural. Like I said - I wasn't at the initial discussion, I just got stuck cleaning it up there in the end....but yeah, he dived in headfirst." At Skyfire's announcement of the fields, Springer kicks in some personal shielding. Hopefully, It'll be nothing like the surface of Cybertron, in a good way. "I got some images, video and some reports on the situation I did. That's about it... Here, I'll just transfer it over. Not much, though." If Perceptor is willing, Springer opens up a data transfer for a small cache of image and video files, as well as a few reports on what went on, from the Wreckers' POV. Then he pulls out a small holo-emitter. "Just to give you a taste of what the end of the world looks like..." he says, unaware of Perceptor's exposure to Unicron as he flicks it on, the emitter cycling back and forth between two images:
|
|
Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
|
Post by Skyfire on Apr 27, 2009 19:03:12 GMT -5
"Perceptor, were you thinking of correlating this with any information Botanica and our other Maximals may have on their techno-organic transforms? It might be quite informative," Skyfire muses. "Touchdown in five minutes."
Skyfire slows and reverses thrusters, hovering briefly before touching down gingerly. He keeps his thrusters burning until he's sure he's on something solid. "Opening aft bay door--it's out of the wind. Watch your footing; there's fresh snow and it may well conceal crevasses."
Is there something in Skyfire's tone that hints at personal experience in that area? Perhaps.
A stiff, icy wind blows past Skyfire's nose, lifting powdery snow and sending it hissing along to melt against Skyfire's still cooling skin. "The sensor array is about 200 m, bearing 330 degrees from my nose. I can't see it, though; it's probably burried."
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on Apr 30, 2009 15:06:37 GMT -5
Perceptor peers curiously at the emitter, tilting his head as the images cycle. "Hmm..." He doesn't seem frightened by them.
Yeah, Unicron definitely trumps Thunderwing in his book. Of course, he never met Thunderwing, nor had to live through that bit of cataclysm that Springer did, and Unicron is an all to recent - and much more recently reinforced - memory.
"Fascinating."
"Hmm? Oh, yes. Yes, I was, Skyfire," he replies absently as he accepts those files and begins perusing them minutely. "I would also prefer to have at least Botanica present during the examination of your cargo. Granted, Rodimus seems rather certain about the mechanism's identity, however, a comparison of the two technologies is definitely in order."
Perceptor settles himself firmly in his seat as Skyfire begins the touchdown procedure, and only rises once that aft ramp is dropped. "Understood, Skyfire. We shall endeavor to refrain from entombing ourselves in the crystallized dihydrogen-oxide."
Once again, he forgets to let Springer go first, so hopefully either Springer has already taken advantage of Perceptor's lengthy little bit of speech there to slip ahead, or he'll grab out absentminded scientist and remind him - again - that the brawn is supposed to precede the brains on this operation.
|
|
|
Post by Springer on May 2, 2009 15:30:05 GMT -5
Springer is less than enthused that Thunderwing doesn't quit inspire fear in the scientist. Maybe he'll learn once he sees some of the video.
However, while he and Skyfire babble about that big stanky cat they drug on-board, Springer takes the initiative to head out. He attempts to take flight, initially, in chopper mode.
This proves to be a bad idea as the wind whips him around and causes him to transform back to robot mode, landing with a thud on his feet (Barely). A quick sweep of the area yields no threats, and Perceptor disembarking, and hopefully having missed Springer's aerial fumble.
|
|
Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
|
Post by Skyfire on May 3, 2009 8:19:22 GMT -5
"I'd also be interested in seeing any more footage you have of... that is Thunderwing, correct?" Skyfire asks Springer.
His lack of overt reaction is not due to any encounter with Unicron; fear of things and beings just isn't in his nature. It is Skyfire's nature to be more curious than intimidated, but he is a bit more cautious than Perceptor. He's seen what happens to the incautious out there in the cold, unfriendly depths of space. Caution, however, is not the same as fear.
Still, a hologram is just a hologram, and not particularly dangerous. Were Thunderwing here in person, Skyfire's reactions would be rather different.
Once Perceptor and Springer exit, Skyfire shifts into his robot mode and looks around. There's lots of white, thick blankets of snow undulating over ice heaves and other bits of landscape; apparently there's been heavy snowfall since he and various other people first arrived. The sky is clear now, but a stiff breeze picks up the uppermost snow and tosses it around.
"My landmarks have disappeared," Skyfire notes aloud. "However... I think the sensors are located right over there." He points toward the same location he'd previously given as a set of coordinates, and takes a step in that direction.
Not far below Skyfire, underneath the compacted snow, an irregular hollow bubble of ice and air creaks under the shuttle-former's weight...
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on May 4, 2009 6:01:20 GMT -5
Fortunately for Springer's pride, yes, Perceptor did miss his little... flight hiccup.
"As would I," Perceptor adds. "I would be interested to study the actual destruction caused, particularly in comparison with what Unicron is capable of." Pretty much for no other reason that forewarned ahead is armed ahead, and Unicron is a standard of measurement which Perceptor is personally familiar with.
He is deep enough in his thoughts that he misses that ominous creek as he nods and turns to head in the direction indicated by Skyfire. "I am detecting a metallic mass in that vicinity," he observes, consulting a smallish scanner now held in his hand. "There may also have been further arrivals, as well."
There's no footprints in the snow, though, so anyone who arrived here is either frozen stiff or very much already completely offline.
|
|
|
Post by Springer on May 4, 2009 18:29:46 GMT -5
"Yeah, that's Thunderwing. And I'll be more than happy to give the info and footage to you guys, but it'll have to be later. More pressing matters right now, y'know."
Once Perceptor and Skyfire determine which way to go, Springer starts off in that direction, taking point with his rifle in both hands.
"This is some pretty strange terrain, this... what'd you call it, snow?" he asks, pressing into it a bit with one foot.
|
|
Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
|
Post by Skyfire on May 5, 2009 6:41:57 GMT -5
"Frozen vapor-phase dihydrogen monoxide--water, commonly called 'snow' on Earth," Skyfire replies. "Frozen in liquid phase, it's called 'ice'. There's quite a bit of that around here, too. In either case, the freezing point is 0 Celsius. It can be a hazard when flying, as super-cooled airborne water droplets freeze upon touching cold surfaces, such as wings, rotors, control surfaces...."
"And--" he says, continuing his science lesson with a glance at Springer, hoping the helicopter-former understands the hazards of thick ice coatings suddenly forming on his lifting surfaces. Skyfire isn't sure just how smart or stupid Springer is yet, and doesn't want to insult the friendly green guy by explaining things he already knows. He continues, "--on worlds very much colder than this, other atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide and ammonia form snows and ices."
Skyfire should have been paying more attention to the hazards of rotten ice, instead. Springer's pressure on the ice-like compacted snow is the last straw; there's a distinctly audible 'boom' as the already weakened dome of a subsurface ice bubble gives way and collapses--
The snow underneath Skyfire suddenly drops out from beneath him and the big white Autobot flails as he falls from sight; snow collapses into the hole after him. In a matter of moments, it's as if the snow has swallowed Skyfire hole, leaving a deep snowpit where he'd stood.
---- OOC: And if Springer wants to go down the rabbit hole, too, that's up to him. FYI, Skyfire found the hollowed out bubble from where Fleetwind escaped entombment at the very beginning. Also, there's a 'secret' base down there.
|
|
|
Post by Springer on May 8, 2009 5:00:40 GMT -5
OOC: Switching places with Perceptor, done with Perceptor's player's permission.
----------
Skyfire starts getting his science nerd on at Springer about the specifics of snow, and the Wrecker zones out a bit.
Until the boom happens, and Springer instinctively leaps in the air with a few curses, twisting in mid flight to see what's going on, and sees Skyfire collapse into a hole. Lovely.
Once again, however, due to the terrain and Springer's unfamiliarity with it, he slips as he lands, faceplanting in the snow. A growl, more grumbled swears and he stands again, walking over toward the hole to peer down in it.
He says nothing to Perceptor, assuming the other scientist heard the noise and has since turned around.
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on May 10, 2009 11:41:05 GMT -5
Alas, Perceptor, despite being generally... well... perceptive about some things, has utterly missed much of this turn of events. Catching Springer's curses, he double-checks his sensor equipment before turning back, just in time to see the Wrecker ungracefully sprawled in the snow face-down.
"Springer? What are you doing?" he asks, utterly confused.
Wait, they seem to be missing someone...
"Where is Skyfire?"
|
|
Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
|
Post by Skyfire on May 11, 2009 7:14:27 GMT -5
Skyfire slides down and down and finally stops with a 'clang'. He finds himself at the bottom of a deep chasm in the ice, with a great deal of snow piled on him. The snow makes it difficult for him to move, and impossible to perceive his surroundings. However... his foot hit something more solid than ice.
Skyfire flexes his left foot; there's a distinct 'click-click' of metal on metal. "Interesting. This bears investigating," he notes to himself. First, though, he needs to clear the snow away--unfortunately, it's too constricted for a normal transformation.
He starts to radio Perceptor and Springer; a blast of static reminds him of the radio conditions here near the pole. Being buried with a lot of crystallized water and unknown masses of metal hasn't improved radio reception in the least. They won't hear him unless he can get a direct line of communication to them.
The obvious solution would be to fire up either his jet thrusters or his rockets; both had their drawbacks. The intakes on his shoulders for his jet thrusters were stuffed full of snow; there was a good chance his jets would flame out as soon as he started them and dumped all that water into the combustion tunnel. His rockets... burned very hot. Good for melting ice, not so good, possibly, for whatever was down there that they might want to investigate.
|
|
|
Post by Springer on May 11, 2009 15:43:22 GMT -5
"Mmmpph mmm mphh pphh hhh!"
Okay, snow muffles speech.
Springer climbs back up on his feet, spitting out snow and brushing it off.
"I meant to say, Skyfire fell down in that hole!" he says, pointing at the chasm. His gun is now placed on his back, stepping close to the hole and peering down.
"Nn....I dunno if I could fly down there or not. Looks well enough from here, but no telling what lies down there that can't be seen."
Then, he cups his hands to his mouth, and bellows down the hole: "SKYFIRE! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
|
|
|
Post by Perceptor on May 11, 2009 16:43:27 GMT -5
"Exercise extreme caution!" Perceptor urges worriedly, oddly making no move to return the short distance to the vault which has swallowed Skyfire. "The structural integrity of this ice shelf has already been compromised, and may further fracture if loaded beyond its weight capacity, which is significantly diminushed at the edge of existing fractures!"
In other words, broken ice is weak by the break and is likely to break more, Springer. Watch your footing. Hopefully Springer can decipher that from the geek-speak.
After a brief pause during which Perceptor discovers for himself just how futile attempting any sort of radio communication is at the moment, his attention returns to Springer, waiting to see if, first, the ice will continue to hold the Wrecker, and second, if there is an answer to Springer's shout.
"If necessary, I believe that I can utililize my scope to creat a focussed burst of photonic energy with which to vaporize additional portions of ice to eliminate any obstacles to your flight, if you are confident of your ability to navigate the space which you can directly observe," he offers. "I would recommend that you withdraw a short distance in such an event to prevent the escaping vapor from re-crystalizing upon and within your structures once it is no longer excited by the application of concentrated energy in these sub-phase-shift temperatures."
|
|
Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
|
Post by Skyfire on May 11, 2009 20:36:48 GMT -5
On the other hand, there's nothing immediately above him that he will regret melting... unless Springer or Perceptor has fallen in with him. Skyfire starts to call out--
And hears Springer's muffled shout.
"I'M INTACT!" Skyfire shouts back. He can't make out Springer's shout, but it does convey information--Springer wasn't down here with him.
If he can unwedge from the snow and ice piled above him just enough to curl forward....
|
|