Zippo
Cadet
Twisted fire starter
Posts: 88
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Post by Zippo on Aug 12, 2011 14:47:40 GMT -5
Month 1, Week 4, Day 4, Open to all
The sim had prepared him for the lightness of gravity and thinness of atmosphere, it had not prepared him true nature of the landscape.
Zippo was well into his gliding descent and despite the undeniable lack of life, the pink sky and red scenery had proven haunting in it’s richness. The Martian plains sped below as the also red Dimorphodon headed for the giant volcano rising from the horizon. First stop, Olympus Mons, then off to the pole.
Still the young cybertronian couldn’t help but smile at the irony, collecting Martian rocks to prove their extra-terrestrial origin when he and several others were actually born on Terra Firma.
Did he mention it was freezing? It was absolutely shatter my lug-nuts, I cant feel my optics, Unicron damned freezing!
OOC: As the animator, Zippo can fly on Mars (I hope thats okay)
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Post by Bluestreak on Aug 18, 2011 19:18:27 GMT -5
Bluestreak sped across the Martian plain from their shuttle towards the nearest broken ground. // Hey-hey, Zippo! We just need to pick up some rocks--where are you going? There's plenty right near the shuttle--did you see that huge boulder that we just missed on landing? Not that we want a boulder that big, it's too big to just carry in my trunk, and we don't want dirt, because that makes a mess, but there's lots of stones and rocks.//
The talkative Autobot skidded to a stop just short of a pile of tumbled scree at the base of an outcropping, leaving high-performance tire-tread marks all over the Martian sand. // Look, this hill has lots of stones at the bottom. Come help me load, and we'll be done in no time. //
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Post by Wheelie (ROTF) on Aug 18, 2011 20:01:32 GMT -5
A mission where a Maximal does the looking, an Autobot does the driving and where he just has to make sure which rocks are actually worth their effort? Of course Wheelie signed up for that! He's currently chilling inside Bluestrike, riding shotgun, wheeled feet put up against the dashboard while he's kept in place by seat belts. He's taking it nice and easy, which of course means that he's mouthing off to their eye in the sky. //Yeah pal, just 'cos I'm a walkin' mineral detector, doesn't mean that I'll dig through dirt because you were too lazy to go fer somethin' better!//
Those seatbelts are the only thing that stop him from being launched into the front window when his ride makes a sudden stop too. //HEY! Couldn't ya have given me a heads up or somethin'!? Fraggin' lack o'processin' power, I swear...// Despite his grumbling he moves up to peek out a window, observing the landscape before popping the door open and climbing out, wheeling ahead, his eyes focusing on different pieces of rock. //Okay, yeah, these are decent, we could make these work....Just gotta find a good chunk that's big 'nuff....//
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Zippo
Cadet
Twisted fire starter
Posts: 88
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Post by Zippo on Aug 19, 2011 1:13:42 GMT -5
//Mars doesn’t have-have enough tectonic activity to-to bring a good variety of mineral samples to the surface, volcanic rock-rock should prove valuable to the Humans regarding the composition of this dead-dead planet// plus he wanted a photo from the top of Olympus Mons, make a great poster for his share of bunk space.
//And-and if we can find ice in the rocks at the pole-pole, well, it’ll be like-like nucleon for the Human’s space program// oh heck, he will share his little plan //a good-good variety of samples, extra one-ones, might prove valuable on the black market too or initial surveys into the prospect of-of mining// From Zippo’s point of view, Mars was just asking to be strip mined.
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Post by Bluestreak on Aug 19, 2011 7:54:53 GMT -5
Bluestreak is delighted to have a companion as talkative as Wheelie, even if the little blue guy is a bit foul-mouthed. // That's not a nice thing to say about someone you barely know! What if it was Rodimus Prime or Swerve that you ran up to and called underclocked? There'd be all kinds of trouble! Oh, you've found something? //
Bluestreak obligingly popped open his hatchback. // Wheelie, can you carry them up to my cargo space by yourself? You're awfully short and it's a bit of a climb, but the gravity is lower here than on Earth, so maybe it will be easier. //
Zippo had a good reason there, Bluestreak decided. // Oh, that's thinking ahead! But I can't drive all over the planet and keep up with you, so you'll have to bring me the rocks. Can you carry rocks from both places, or are you going to bring the volcano rocks back first? Or should I drive up to the top, and you can load me up, and I can wait for you to get back from the pole? Are you really that fast? That's a long flight! I don't think even Skywarp can fly that fast, and he's a pretty fast flier, since he can teleport, too. Only he's a Decepticon, so we don't want him here anyway.//
---- OOC: Reasonable to assume the shuttle landed somewhere on the Olympus Mons plateau, because it's such an obvious landmark?
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Post by Wheelie (ROTF) on Aug 19, 2011 16:36:08 GMT -5
//Heh, like I would be stupid 'nuff to mouth off to a big cheese. What do I look like, an idiot? I'm a mook, baby!//
Wait, is Bluestreak asking him to do actual work? //What did you, kggggt, say? Bzzzzt, breaking up, garglargl, atmospheric inteference, akakakakak.// "Hehe, sucker." There, that's one problem fixed. Let Zippo do the actual heavy lifting! He's about thrice his size!
Wheelie transforms and whirrs ahead to a pile a little bit off. Once there he transforms again and kneels down, running his hands over one, optics squinting while he lets his sensors analyze it. //Oho, interestin' idea there birdbrain! I like the way ya think! We gotta look into this, that's a goldmine waitin' to happen!// Oh wait, he was pretending. //Err, bzzztklaaarghgggk over.//
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Zippo
Cadet
Twisted fire starter
Posts: 88
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Post by Zippo on Aug 19, 2011 17:19:39 GMT -5
//Hehe good try Scrap Drone, we’re not buying it are we Bluestreak no-no?// Zippo chuckled to himself, now these two were good company and he could certainly see things from Wheelie’s point of view. He could do without the insults though, he could have well been back with the Preds with that sort of potty mouth.
//drive to the top-top, we’ll need Wheelie’s expert eye for picking the valuable rocks from-from the mere dirt, then we’ll take the shuttle to the pole// And look for Evil Robot Santa Hold on! Is Zippo actually in charge here? If so, is there enough room in the shuttle for his ego?
//Who is-is Skywarp?//
OOC: Very reasonable suggestion. Anyone up for finding a MacGuffin of some sort or play this one short and sweet?
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Post by Bluestreak on Aug 19, 2011 19:52:46 GMT -5
// WHEELIE! // Bluestreak sounds just a tad put out. // I'm not even five meters away, your radio isn't that bad. I am not stupid; if the rocks are too heavy, just say so! We don't want giant rocks, anyway--the humans have to be able to lift them and test them and stuff. Get some small rocks you can carry and get back in so we can pick up Zippo's rocks. We have to drive all the way to the summit, and that will take a while. Don't forget to buckle up, because it's going to be bouncy. //
Bluestreak hasn't seen any paved roads going to the summit of Olympus Mons, so it will be offroad all the way up!
// We really shouldn't move the shuttle all over, it's wasteful of fuel. We aren't on Earth yet, and we don't know that we'll be able to get all the energon we need, so we need to be careful still. Just get the rocks from this mountain; they should get the humans all excited. We're just here to get proof that we've been on other planets and don't come from Earth--we're not really prospecting. //
Bluestreak restrains himself from spinning his wheels; that would just throw sand all over Wheelie and not hurry things along at all. // Skywarp is a jet like Starscream and Thundercracker. Those three used to work together all the time, only Skywarp was loyal to Megatron and didn't try to shoot him in the back all the time like Starscream did. They're all mean slaggers, just in different ways--Thundercracker likes to hurt humans2, Skywarp likes to pull nasty pranks that hurt people, and Starscream just likes to kill. Skywarp teleports, that's what I meant about him being fast. //
--- 2In the cartoon, TC certainly seemed to go for the humans a lot. OOC: word is, no macguffins here
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Post by Wheelie (ROTF) on Aug 21, 2011 9:24:32 GMT -5
Wheelie visible flinches when he's called out, grumbles //Yeah yeah, sorry,// and returns to sorting through the rocks, muttering several expletives under his breath.
He does listen to the others talk, though. Hell, he's not even above chipping in! //Huh, Skywarp sounds like Dreadwing. Ol' commander of the aerial drones. Thought he could outsmart Starscream. It didn't end well for him, no sirree.// Then he puts aside another rock, and //BINGO!//.
He grabs and lifts up a decent rock, his optics zooming in on it before he bursts out into a big grin, making his way back to Bluestreak and dumping it in his trunk. //This baby'll do! Rich in minerals, matches Earthen records of Mars samples, and if I'm readin' this right, it got fossilized organic compounds. I ain't no expert, not by a long shot, but it should make those Earth boys even more giddy.//
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Zippo
Cadet
Twisted fire starter
Posts: 88
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Post by Zippo on Aug 22, 2011 3:01:31 GMT -5
//Mean slaggers certainly seems to be the trend among the various Cons. Truth be told, Magmatron wasn’t too bad a boss, aside from the turning all the Maxis into Preds bit. Some of the other Preds though, well, better left unsaid.//
//Fossilized Organic compounds?// Zippo stammered incredulously //You’re pulling my wing. That will be worth it’s weight in energon// The little maximal was already circling back, screw the other stuff, any chance of fossils, even just organic compounds was better than he hoped. If little Blue could find more, well, he could already taste the high-grade.
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Post by Bluestreak on Aug 22, 2011 17:55:51 GMT -5
Once the little blue menace is back in his seat, Bluestreak starts rolling. He bounces across the ungraded terrain, but manages to pick out a path between the worst of the boulders and craters.
// What happened to Dreadwing? Did he get shot down like Starscream did whenever he went after Megatron? That was always great for us when the Decepticons were fighting each other, because they weren't fighting us, and not getting shot at is a good thing. Megatron couldn't work on his nasty plans when he was busy with Starscream--though sometimes Starscream's plans to take over Megatron were bad news for everyone! There was a time when he nearly destroyed the Earth because Megatron was stuck on it, and Megatron and Optimus Prime had to work together to stop him. That was really weird. // Bluestreak can't help but ask, but then he gets the really nice news.
// It is! Good, good. If Zippo is right, we should find a few more up at the summit.// Bluestreak finds himself in a huge boulder field with no clear way through; after a few minutes consideration, he turns around and goes back down for a few miles, then heads back up an alternate, somewhat rougher route.
// Magmatron? Who's he? You worked for him? Did you used to be a Decepticon? // Bluestreak's voice turns suddenly wary.
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Post by Wheelie (ROTF) on Aug 23, 2011 16:50:38 GMT -5
//Naaaah, he tried to escape through a Spacebridge, Starscream followed, ripped out his spark, crushed it in his bare claws, kept his head as a trophy. Pretty standard stuff really.// It really was quite epic! He almost wishes he could have been there, but you know, the whole "Blowing up the city" bit puts a damper on that.
//Don't get your hopes up, pal. It could be any number of crap, I ain't an expert. But if it is....Yeah, big bucks alright!// Wheelie can't help but grin and rub his hands in delight. But then Zippo tells them that bit about Magmatron, and while Bluestreak is wary, Wheelie can only react with enthusiasm. //Hey, yer a defector? I am too! Glad I switched too, fraggin' Cons were mean as spit.//
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Zippo
Cadet
Twisted fire starter
Posts: 88
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Post by Zippo on Aug 24, 2011 3:50:16 GMT -5
Ahh history, how you warm Zippo’s spark with your twisted tales of intrigue.
//Technically I was a Predacon and before that a Maxi protoform, not a Decepticon// The gold Maximal sigil on his beast mode head was a dead giveaway to his particular iteration of reality.
//I’ll give the full story back in the warmth of the shuttle later// And Zippo will because he likes his history only slightly more than he likes to talk about himself //short version, Magmatron, a Predacon warlord wannabe used a shell program to convert a bunch of Maxi protoforms into Preds. Best as I understand, the shell program overwrites certain personality modifiers. I got a somewhat incomplete corrupted version running through my processor so I was never full Pred anyways.//
Zippo grins to himself as he sees the poor ground hugger having to make detours on the way to the top, damn he loved his wings.
//Hey Wheelie, maybe me an you could one day run the first Martian Minecraft inc. Blue streak, do you want to buy some shares? Free heater with the first one thousand// The humour in his voice was obvious, he knew he wasn't the only turncoat but it was good to meet others as corrupted fun as Wheelie.
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Post by Bluestreak on Aug 24, 2011 19:28:29 GMT -5
It's still bouncy going up the slope, but Bluestreak manages to find a clear enough path to speed up quite a bit. Bluestreak shudders as Wheelie recounts Dreadwing's fate.
// Your Starscream sounds as bad as ours! // The comment is uncharacteristically short, as if Bluestreak does not want to talk further about it.
// So you were reprogrammed, like the Constructicons, only it got fixed later? // the gray Autobot asks Zippo. // That's awful! I would hate to be reprogrammed and go around hurting people and wrecking cities and thinking that was okay and then get un-reprogrammed and know that I hurt so many people and was glad when I did it. Did you do anything like that when you were a 'Con? //
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Post by Wheelie (ROTF) on Aug 26, 2011 12:22:07 GMT -5
//Huh. Forgot that yer protoforms ain't the same as ours. Fer us, it's just our basic form, without all the kibble. Pretty much us bein' naked. But not in the hot way like with human babes.//
Wheelie does notice that Bluestreak is unusually short with his response this time around. //Ha! Yea' right, that's slag and ya know it!// He just doesn't get why. Empathy is not his thing. //Boy. I'm glad I ain't run into him yet. Dude was a reeeaaal mean aft. 'Specially without Megatron around, cause then he doesn't have to suck up and play nice.//
//Heeey, that doesn't sound half bad, Zippo my boy! Ya got my interest!//
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