Tasha Walker
Minor
She's got legs, she knows how to use them. She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
Posts: 430
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Post by Tasha Walker on Jun 19, 2011 19:56:33 GMT -5
Laughing, Blackarachnia leans over and tries to rest a hand on Hellbender's arm. "Now, I didn't exactly say I was in a huge hurry either, now did I? I mentioned the plans, you said no changes, and I asked why not?"
She smirks at the wurm, "You, my dear Hellbender, do not trust me, and I can't say as I blame you there. But it will take me a good while to get familiar with your internal configurations- so much of your essentials are in subspace-aren't they? Fascinating, really. So there really is no hurry."
Finally she turns a frown toward Flame, stuck like the proverbial donkey between haystacks. "That is going to become most tiresome."
To a certain Mayhem, she radios, //Spinister, really. Breaking Flame in is perfectly understandable, but if you completely break him, I'll get no use out of him at all.//
No Blackarachnia doesn't know Spinister is watching. But since he's technically in the thread, this is much neater than doing a separate radio thread.
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Post by Spinister on Jun 20, 2011 20:14:40 GMT -5
Waiting for Hellbender to be in the middle of his meal, Spinister climbs out of the floor, when the sound of the energon being swallowed down a throat will be louder than his smooth movements. He isn't using his cloak; he's just being quiet, and he's fantastic at that. He looms up behind Blackarachnia, and tries to place a hand on her shoulder, two fingers above the spike, two fingers below. He answers her, //Flame's not like you.//
Then, Spinister stares over at Flame's frozen form. He pulls out an Autobot symbol on a scrap of metal and flings it at Flame. If Flame shoots it, that's good. If he punches it or tries to attack it some other way, that's okay. Anything other than an attack, and Spinister's going to chase Flame around the outside of the hull.
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Flame
Rookie
Causam ago dementia
Posts: 198
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Post by Flame on Jun 20, 2011 21:13:39 GMT -5
Hands locked on his cube, optics staring at nothing and everything, Flame nearly doesn't register that odd projectile winging his way.
Nearly.
All he can think when he sees something flying toward him is that he's being attacked and his reaction is a gear-grinding mix of reflex and hysteria. He doesn't shoot at it. He doesn't flail in an attempt to knock it away. His whole body seems to twitch; the cube shatters in his hands and he makes a strangled noise as he whirls, face twisted in naked terror and seething rage, blasting blindly with one flame cannon and throwing himself off balance in the same movement. He topples clumsily into another table when he loses his footing in the energon spilled across the deck.
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Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
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Post by Hellbender on Jun 20, 2011 22:03:35 GMT -5
Hellbender smirks slightly, and says, "Can't say Ah see too much trust floating 'round these here parts in general. Now, Ah trust most people to act like themselves, but there's slag-all few Ah'd trust open-ended like, if you get my drift."
Well, hello Spinster. The pink helicopter-former certainly moved quietly--Hellbender decides that perhaps he should run his sonar sensors when sitting 'safely' down to eat in the future. You never know who you might catch coming up behind you with questionable intent, and it was damn careless of Hellbender to let his guard down like that. Lesson learned.
Spinister flings his improvised frisbee at Flame, and suddenly it's not fun and games as the probably-mad-by-now scientist lurches wildly and fires his flame-cannon---
Toward Hellbender. The flame-blast catches him high on the right shoulder--paint bubbles and burns away in an instant, and the outer layer of armor glows bright orange, briefly, before cooling down to cherry red. Hellbender flings himself backward, out of the flame wash and hits the ground with a clang--then rebounds to his feet with a bit of lifter assist.
"SLAG! Ah hate it when that happens!" Red optics narrow, and Hellbender glances at Spinster. "Mind if Ah explain to your recruit one of the things he just did wrong? Ah 'spect you got your own list of things to add."
Spinster nods very subtly, imperceptible to anyone not scanning for motion with active sonar.
Hellbender's acknowledging nod back is more obvious. He lunges over the table, grabs Flame by one arm and slams him up against the wall, then pins him in place across the broad of the chest with that red-hot right arm. He holds him pinned there as he snarls at the hapless ex-Autobot:
"Flame! Ah don't care what the slag is going on in your cranial case, but you WILL maintain control of your weapon! Hittin' your own side is what's called 'friendly fire', and contrary to the name, it's a real unfriendly act. Seriously. Mechs that make a habit of it end up in the spare parts bin, and Ah guarantee you will too if it happens again! Ah personally will guarantee it if Ah have to! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
---- Spinster and Flame both posed with player permission.
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Tasha Walker
Minor
She's got legs, she knows how to use them. She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
Posts: 430
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Post by Tasha Walker on Jun 21, 2011 10:59:13 GMT -5
At that light touch at such a sensitive spot, Blackarachnia stiffens ever so slightly. Not enough for an observer to tell, but touching her as he is, Spinister certainly can. Blackarachnia tends to touch others with impunity, using touch for both seduction and as a bullying tactic, but she really does detest being touched herself without permission. Especially since that debacle on Pz-Zazz.
When Flame freaks the frag out, she throws herself to one side, narrowly escaping the same licking flames that scorched Hellbender. The spider glares up at Spinister and hisses over radio, //No he isn't, but turning him into a jumpy basketcase like that is going to make him a damned liability if he doesn't come through it.//
And she needs Flame to come through this.
As Hellbender reeducates Flame, Blackarachnia picks herself up of the floor. She brushes some dust off her arm as she turns to watch the display, a look of bored indifference on her face.
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Post by Spinister on Jun 23, 2011 20:12:15 GMT -5
Spinister's free hand goes up to cover half his face. Flame's reaction is completely useless. If Flame did that on a battlefield, he'd be dead and maybe the rest of his squad, too. He hisses out, "Sloppy. Sloppy means dead."
He does nothing as Hellbender disciplines Flame, just trying to give Blackarachnia light squeeze before removing his hand. She doesn't like to be touched, huh? Spinister'll have to remember that. He radios her, //Why so concerned?// She certainly is. There must be some self-interest involved there, for her to take any interest at all.
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Flame
Rookie
Causam ago dementia
Posts: 198
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Post by Flame on Jun 28, 2011 21:32:59 GMT -5
Flame abruptly goes from the floor to the wall in short order and he's too dizzy from the sudden pitching, vertical-horizontal-vertical, to do more than hang there. What else can he do? Maybe they'll kill him since he's too weak and worthless and bungling to do it himself.
No, no, never that easy. He'll be made to clean the mess hall with a paintbrush, or patrol the outer hull until his drive wheels lock up, or run combat drills unto exhaustion-induced stasis. Until his brain module metls down and leaks out through his optical circuits. His mouth works soundlessly around sobs without voice, silent noises that might be apologies or even pleas for forgiveness if only he could speak. He doesn't look at Hellbender, nor at Blackarachnia, nor even at Spinister. He stares into blank space.
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Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
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Post by Hellbender on Jun 29, 2011 8:36:23 GMT -5
Oh, wonderful. Recruit-boy is locking up. Not good; guys who did that used to go into the Smelting Pools with the rest of the Empties. They don't have Smelting Pools here--so what do they do with a failed recruit? Probably nothing good. Perhaps this one is still salvageable.
Hellbender shifts his grip so his seared arm isn't quite so close to Flame's body and says mildly, "Ah'm speakin' to you, son. It's polite to answer when someone asks you a question. In fact, it's kinda-sorta required when the person askin' a question is a superior officer, which Ah am. Let's start with something a bit simpler--what's your name?"
Belatedtly, something clicks in Hellbender's processors, and he turns his head towards Spinister and Blackarachnia. "Could whoever put the 'no talking' order on him suspend it? Ah really want to be able to review weapon control with someone as can acknowledge me!"
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Tasha Walker
Minor
She's got legs, she knows how to use them. She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
Posts: 430
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Post by Tasha Walker on Jun 30, 2011 10:43:30 GMT -5
Blackarachnia shoots Spinister a glance. //Spark transplants are tricky at the best, and he knows how to do them. We get a lot of near DOA's with sparks. If we can put together a working system to hold them in stasis 'til Flame can get to them, we may be able to save a lot more and increase our numbers exponentially.//
A plausible enough reason, and not even entirely a lie. It is something she has been pondering, how best to save more lives. Odd, no?
//Of course, that requires him to make it through all of this,// she waves a hand at the near-catatonic Flame, //with his faculties intact.//
Coolly, she says, "He has a competency exam in the medbay in three hours. I want to see how easily and swiftly he can take someone apart and put him together again. Do what you want to him in the meantime, but if he shows up unable to perform, I'll have it out with both of you."
Pivoting on her heel, Blackarachnia turns to leave. She could easily be stopped, if someone wished to do so.
OOC: will catch any comments, and will leave thread on next round.
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Post by Spinister on Jul 1, 2011 21:11:48 GMT -5
Spinister decides that, at the moment, the best way to muck with Flame's head is to show him an ounce of mercy. So he orders, voice rough, "Sit down and have a pleasant conversation with Hellbender."
He stalks over to the dispenser and pulls out a rich, full-bodied ration, and then he sets it down where he bade Flame to sit. Spinister further orders, "Drink this. Slowly."
After running Flame ragged, treating him nicely at all is just likely to confuse him and make him paranoid. Hellbender ought to know how it goes.
//Not everyone has a spark,// Spinister observes to Blackarachnia.
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Flame
Rookie
Causam ago dementia
Posts: 198
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Post by Flame on Jul 4, 2011 22:08:48 GMT -5
The sudden change in mood as well as orientation worries Flame further. He can't yet obey as ordered, but he looks uneasily from Blackarachnia to Hellbender to Spinister to that ration cube, confused. Why, he wants to ask. Why lift the restriction? Why extra rations? And what about his time limit? Suddenly terrified, he checks his time; a little under two minutes. Nothing was said about the time. Is that the catch? Is that the test now?
He starts to ask, then swallows his words. Spinister said to have a conversation with Hellbender. He said nothing about anyone else. Is that it?
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Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
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Post by Hellbender on Jul 5, 2011 12:15:44 GMT -5
Hellbender tilts his head and waits for a moment. Then with exaggerated patience he says, "Now, let's start where Ah left off, and do drink your rations slowly. It'll do you good. What's your name?"
If he gets an answer, Hellbender will nod and follow up with, "Now, you just sit there and tell me just what you were thinkin' when you fired your weapon."
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Tasha Walker
Minor
She's got legs, she knows how to use them. She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
Posts: 430
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Post by Tasha Walker on Jul 7, 2011 23:35:09 GMT -5
//No, they don't. But more realities do than don't, it seems,// Blackarachnia responds, turning her head to give Spinister a rather cool look.
//He's an advantage, Spinister. Don't frag him up.//
Out of thread
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Flame
Rookie
Causam ago dementia
Posts: 198
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Post by Flame on Jul 10, 2011 9:26:43 GMT -5
OOC: Skipping Spinister due to timeout. Lacking any indication, I'm going to assume Hellbender has released Flame from being pinned to the wall by now so things can keep moving.
Flame does as he's told, but while he makes his way to the table, while he sits, while he sips cautiously at his new cube, it isn't Hellbender to whom he keeps warily glancing. The hammer will drop when he least expects it, he's sure; he'll make some mistake he didn't realise he made, slip up, step beyond the boundaries he can't even see and Spinister will be there to put him back into place with that same cold disdain.
"It is my weapon," he answers slowly, wondering which syllable will spell trouble. "I thought… I thought it was an attack. So I fired." His cannons can be accurate, and he remembers a time – hazily, as though watching a deteriorated recording peppered with static and errors and artefacts – when he could approach precision with them as best anyone can with simple fire. He should, he thinks in the fog, try to find that part of him again if the rain hasn't eaten it away. He looks up from his rations and starts to offer an apology, then stops. Is he allowed to make unsolicited statements? He glances worriedly toward Spinister again, then takes another sip to cover his silence.
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Post by Spinister on Jul 10, 2011 19:44:15 GMT -5
That's Spinister's objective, though! To break Flame, throw out the pieces he doesn't like, add in some new pieces, and put Flame back together in some shape that Spinister deems acceptable.
He directs coldly, "Don't think. Do and do correctly. Take the next hour off with Hellbender here to collect yourself."
Spinister moves to leave the cafeteria, but as always, is Spinister ever really gone? Fear's that friend that always overstays his welcome.
OOC: Out of thread unless stopped.
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