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Post by SceneMod on Apr 7, 2010 12:26:22 GMT -5
Why yes, Noah did. What of it?
He takes the papers from Blurr once the speedster is done and walks them over to a file cabinet with a keypad lock. Once the paperwork is safely put away, Noah starts to walk to the door.
"Again, I really am grateful for your taking the job. It's been a logistical nightmare, and, well, you can imagine I've been having a few sleepless nights because of it. I don't like it when things don't go according to agenda. Not at all."
"Come along, and I'll show you to the warehouse. I'll give you the full debriefing on the way."
Assuming Blurr follows, Noah will talk as he walks.
"Like I said earlier, it's both just as simple and more complicated. You see, it isn't just one package; it's one hundred and twenty-eight. It was one hundred and thirty-three, but well. Each package contains one component of a very volatile...creation that, if let loose under the wrong conditions, could finish the process of destroying our environment."
"But if it's handled just so, it can actually be an entropic force for good, removing decay and allowing for regrowth. Each component has to be handled quickly, as mentioned, and carefully, but there's more to it."
Noah pauses outside a warehouse door and sends in a request for entry.
"Each of the compounds are linked, and are only stabilized by the presence of the other compounds. But they have to be moved one at a time. Each one that's added to the second 'pile' increases the stability of that pile, but if all the parts aren't settled exactly in place in exactly the right order within thirty minutes of start, well," Noah shakes his head.
"And the delivery location is, on a good day, twenty minutes away. It's why enhanced speed is a must."
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Blurr
Minor
There Before You Know It, Gone Before You Blink
Posts: 304
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Post by Blurr on Apr 7, 2010 12:42:17 GMT -5
It's terribly silly to not have at least some sort of backup plan if Plan A fails, thinks Blurr, but he keeps that to himself. It isn't as though he and his fellow Autobots haven't had their fair share 'what do we do now' moments. He follows Noah, just as flighty and fidgeting as ever in spite of his soured mood, and he listens.
The details of his new job put him into another 180° spin. He understands the risks – and they are daunting ones at that! – but he is built for speed and loves challenges. There hasn't been much chance for testing himself while the ship was in transit and he can only run the corridors and training deck so many times. (3,978. He counted.) And now Noah's asking him to deliver high-risk cargo in very little time with a great deal of precision and care.
"Like a puzzle," Blurr says of the arrangement, so psyched up at the thought of putting himself to good use like this, and at really stretching his legs, that he's vibrating from crest to toes. Noah might even be able to hear the buzzing.
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Post by SceneMod on Apr 7, 2010 16:36:30 GMT -5
There are backup plans. They're just on a need to know basis and Blurr does not Need to Know.
One corner of Noah's mouth quirks up as Blurr vibrates next to him. The speedster seems back to being enamored of the assignment, which is exactly what Noah wants.
Oh yes, there are plans.
The door opens and Noah enters, assume Blurr will follow. The enter a rather plain hallway that takes a quick turn and seems to run along the edge of the building.
"Rather like a puzzle," he continues at length, "A very, very dangerous puzzle. But I'm sure you will have no trouble. Right now we're going to the observation deck. It's sealed off from the containment room. Most organics can't handle the decon process we need to use for this material, so once you decide to get a closer look, someone else will lead you through that."
"We'll provide you with maps of all possible routes, of course, the signal schedules and traffic trends. I imagine you'll want to make a few dry runs." Noah looks over at Blurr, and there's a slightly harder edge to his tone, "I don't want this rushed. There's no time limit on the contract. You don't make your attempt till you're certain as you can be of success, understand?"
Once they reach the observation window, Blurr will be able to look down into the (rather small) warehouse room. There are at least three armed robot guards visible below, as well as security cameras that look like they might also have targeting sights.
Arranged in what seems a deliberately asymmetrical pattern are one hundred and twenty-eight milk bottle-shaped containers. At first blush, they look color coded, until you realize that the colors are moving. It's what's in the containers that is colored; reds and pinks of various shades, some grays and blues, browns, and a few brilliant purples- all and all, a very colorful assortment. The base and stoppers are metal, and the topper has a small digital display inset into it, but the bulk of the containers appear to be clear, probably glass.
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Blurr
Minor
There Before You Know It, Gone Before You Blink
Posts: 304
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Post by Blurr on Apr 12, 2010 22:34:07 GMT -5
If it's bad for most organics, thinks Blurr, it may be a good thing after all that Haywire isn't here. Though he can't be sure Haywire isn't 'most organics', finding out could go horribly, catastrophically wrong, too, and Blurr absolutely does not want that in any way shape or form. Better that his partner is safe right now. There must be a way to figure out later if Haywire can safely accompany Blurr on the actual delivery. If not, well, Blurr should be fine. There's always a regular old pistol if he really thinks he needs a gun.
…Boy, is the thought of using a gun other than Haywire ever queer.
"Of course, of course," he answers Noah's concerns. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure I could do it and I wouldn't be sure I could do it if I wasn't prepared!" Privately, he doesn't think he'll really need any of the schedules or maps… until he gets a better look at just what it is he'll be delivering. Those look awfully fragile. And just a little volatile; some of them are even creating their own convection! The swirling would be distracting if it moved faster than a crawl.
But what's so important about this stuff that it needs armed guards? Blurr's frown is there and gone again in a nanosecond. If it's so dangerous, who would be downright stupid enough to try stealing any?
"A closer look would be grand," he says, "definitely, positively, absolutely."
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Post by SceneMod on Apr 13, 2010 22:34:34 GMT -5
"Of course, of course," Noah says, waving his hand toward a door at the far end of the observation platform. "Through that door, down the stairs, turn right. Hit the buzzer by the door." His lips quirk up, "But give me one minute before you do that so that I can page someone to let you in."
As soon as Blurr is off, Noah does just that.
When the target door is buzzed open, Blurr will find himself in a small area, basically no bigger around then he can extend his arms. He'll get sprayed with a variety of chemicals, the hosed down. That process is followed by the creation of a vacuum which should destroy anything of the critter variety that might have survived all the other treatments. Blurr is then sprayed again with a very light coating of...something. It smells oily, but seems to form a form film over his form. Nothing really that Haywire- in his armor- shouldn't be able to handle. From start to finish, it takes one minute, 28 seconds.
There's a robot in orange coveralls waiting when the door slides open. He says cheerily, optics flashing, "Hello hello! You're the new one, eh? Good, good, I hope you can manage it. Gettin' kinda tired of babysitting the stuff. Makes me nervous, it does. Come in, come in, get a look. Just, eh, don't touch."
"The decon shield, it'll evaporate in about nine minutes after leaving this room. We got a special blend of chemicals circulating in here to keep things sterile Don't ask me what; I'm no science type. Just a blue collar, every since I rolled off the line. Anyways, you'll have to have the full decon routine redone after it wears off. Wouldn't be feasible considering the time restraints, but that's where speed comes in."
He peers at the speedster, "Eh, you think you can still manage it, given the decon routine time? Everyone else had a fit over it."
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Blurr
Minor
There Before You Know It, Gone Before You Blink
Posts: 304
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Post by Blurr on Apr 15, 2010 9:34:51 GMT -5
Blurr's good mood, soured only very slightly by having to stand in that tiny room for nearly a minute and a half – the horror – promptly perks right back up when that oddly jolly robot greets him. There's nothing off-putting or strange about his smile, like Noah's, which certainly helps.
"Nervous?" Blurr echoes even as he circles the entire lot of containers. He makes sure to be very mindful of his distance from them and just how fast he's moving; it wouldn't do to accidentally tip over any of them. "I can understand that given what Noah told me, nervous makes sense when you've got all this nerve-wracking stuff sitting around." Do they have to be set down at the delivery location in the same arrangement they are here? Blurr memorises the layout just in case and he'll ask Noah about that once he gets out of here.
What? Of course he'll still take the job. He definitely wants a few dry runs of the route now; if the decontamination takes almost a minute and a half and lasts nine minutes and he has thirty minutes total to move all one hundred twenty-eight containers, he needs to time the run itself – actually he needs to time every possible route – so he has a better idea of how much the downtime will eat into the schedule. But dry runs are easy.
"No sweat," he answers the worker once he stops moving for a moment, brief as it is. Besides, if he gets blown up, Rodimus and Kup will never forgive him and he can't have that. "I'm sure I can do it – in fact I'm positive."
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Post by SceneMod on Apr 15, 2010 11:33:51 GMT -5
"Excellent, excellent!" the worker exclaims, fairly beaming, "This really has been sitting for too long. We never take this long to make a delivery, and I know the Boss is getting antsy about it." A worried look crosses the robot's face for a few seconds. "Yeah, really antsy."
"Anyway," he smiles again, "take your time looking about the room. I've got to get back to my terminal." He points at a station across the room. "Let me know if you have any questions, but I'll be honest, I won't be much help with anything except the cargo specifics. Haven't left this warehouse in close to fifty years."
"That door down the way, the one with the green symbol, that's the exit. Only opens one way unless you got a keycard. Goes straight outside."
With a friendly wave, he heads back over to his monitoring station.
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Blurr
Minor
There Before You Know It, Gone Before You Blink
Posts: 304
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Post by Blurr on Apr 18, 2010 9:59:36 GMT -5
Blurr's optics narrow speculatively at that break in the other bot's chipper mood. It's enough to give the speedster ideas of what sort of guy this Noah is when things don't go his way, between that and the eerie, empty smile he has. It's really starting to take the edge off Blurr's own enthusiasm. But he can't let that get to him! He has a job to do and, most importantly, it'll earn the Autobots plenty of funds whether he succeeds or in the unlikely event he gets blown to smithereens. (He sneaked in Haywire under the children clause and he'd like to see anyone prove it wrong as long as Haywire keeps his helmet on!)
"Cargo specifics are exactly what I need," says Blurr as he follows the worker, "because I need to know what I'm carrying and Mister Horn-Rimmed Glasses up there was vague, really vague about it though if he can't actually come in here I suppose he'd be missing a few details here and there because you can only learn so much from reading invoices and even I can only learn so much from reading invoices since those things can't tell you how the package sits or how the package shifts or feels or if it's top-heavy or if that jangling it does when you take a step isn't things breaking. So what do you know about these things in the way of information I won't get reading the papers on them?"
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Post by SceneMod on Apr 18, 2010 22:34:52 GMT -5
The worker looks mildly surprised that Blurr didn't just leave and is instead following him and well...babbling. It isn't really babbling of course, and he understands what Blurr is saying, but this is the most anyone's talked to the worker-bot (let's just call him Bob because I Fail at names right now) in years.
"Oh well, I can do you one better than try and tell you about it really. Like I said, I'm not a science guy, and it's not like I'm allowed to handle the cargo, or anything. But we've got these things...," he says, shifting over to another terminal and typing in a code. A panel in the wall slides back and reveals two containers. Both look identical to the containers on the warehouse floor. One is empty and the other is filled with a slowly undulating suspension.
"After the first guy, er, failed to make his delivery the Boss asked the shipper to provide these." Bob waves at the containers, inviting Blurr to pick them up. "Empty and full, and the stuff in the full one is as close to the characteristics of the real stuff as they can get and not make it dangerous."
"You can take those with you on your test runs, poke about at them as you like. It, er, hasn't helped anyone else much, but at least no one else has accidentally smashed one because he panicked and and gripped it too tightly.
The empty container is very light, and despite the thickness of the shiny silver metal on the bottom half, the container is perfectly balanced by the metal cap and digital display on the opposite end. The body of the container, however, is much stronger than it appears, and the feel and strength similar in feel to the material used in Seeker canopies and carbot windscreens. It should not shatter easily under a typical grip; it would take intent. Which begs the question: how could crushing it have been accidental?
The second container is identical, save that it is, as mentioned, filled. The glass is also warm to the touch, quite warm, but whenever one of the opaque blobs in the suspension brushes against the glass under Blurr's fingers, that spot becomes almost painfully cold, cold enough to almost bind the fingers in place, and the suspension liquid itself seems to become more vibrant, even momentarily luminescent is the container is shifted with speed.
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Blurr
Minor
There Before You Know It, Gone Before You Blink
Posts: 304
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Post by Blurr on Apr 20, 2010 15:03:20 GMT -5
Bob is Blurr's favourite robot for the moment. The speedster hefts up first the empty container to try the size of it in one hand, the other hand, both hands, under one arm, under the other, on either shoulder. It doesn't really sit comfortably anywhere, but he'll sort it out. He tries the dummy container next and that unexpected, breathtaking cold against his palm makes him violently recoil. This sends the container spinning freely in midair when he withdraws his hand, and then the world seems to enter slow motion for the split second it takes him to recover and deftly scoop the jar back from the air, this time cupping it by the end.
"That's one odd temperature difference," he declares, staring speculatively at his handful.
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Post by SceneMod on Apr 20, 2010 15:27:36 GMT -5
Bob turns back to his work station while Blurr juggles, and thankfully misses the speedster almost dropping the sample container. The poor robot's fuel pump wouldn't have been able to take it. It may be a dummy container, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have volatile chemicals in it.
He does turn his head at Blurr's comment, and when he sees how the Blurr is holding the container, his optics widen. "Oh no no no, please, don't hold it like that! Instructions are very clear, the cargo isn't to be held by the metal ends! I don't know why but, if you don't carry it properly it voids some clause in the contract! You've gotta hold it in the middle!" Bob is as close to flailing as an old warehouse worker-bot can be, and he reaches out and grabs the container around the middle. "You've got to hold it on the glass part...even, even though it might hurt."
As it obviously hurts Bob to hold it right now.
"Um, yeah. So...could you take it back from me now? I can't let go. It's why I can't handle the cargo. My joints...they can't handle the cold. "
Or the sudden drain on his power supplies. But that isn't actually noticeable, and the strain in his face and slight change in optic brightness can easily be assumed to be pain.
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Blurr
Minor
There Before You Know It, Gone Before You Blink
Posts: 304
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Post by Blurr on Apr 20, 2010 17:29:23 GMT -5
"Take it back? I wouldn't have to take it back from you if you hadn't snatched it from me in the first place you know," Blurr huffs even as the container seems to vanish from Bob's hands only to reappear in Blurr's. "And it doesn't hurt, it just surprised me." He glares at the container again and though Bob's abrupt discomfort worries him, his annoyance simply must be voiced. "Frankly," he says, "if storing it on the ends doesn't make it explode, which it obviously doesn't, including a clause that it can't be held by the ends is downright stupid."
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Post by SceneMod on Apr 20, 2010 19:42:28 GMT -5
"I didn't say it would make it explode!" Bob snaps, shaking his hand now that it is free of the container, "I don't know why they say to hold it like that, but it's the way it's got to be. It's in the Contract!"
Bob says Contract like it is a divine document that none should contradict. Which for him, it is. And he is taxed with preserving the sanctity of that contract. Anything that might breach it makes him very, very twitchy.
Blame his programming.
After a few seconds, the robot sighs and rubs his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have railed at you. But...it's in the contract." He gives the speedster a pleading look. "In the contract, don't you understand? He should have told you that!"
"Look, I need to get back to work, and you should go get the rest of your information. Take those with you, if you want." Bob turns abruptly away and fixes his gaze back on his station.
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Blurr
Minor
There Before You Know It, Gone Before You Blink
Posts: 304
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Post by Blurr on Apr 21, 2010 10:05:08 GMT -5
Blurr is about to become Bob's least favourite person in the building. Possibly on the entire block. Who knows?
"He doesn't have to tell me," Blurr declares, tucking the container – on its side so chill out already Bob – under one arm, up against his side. He isn't sure if the cold stings or tickles. "I read the contract. Twice. I just think that part's ridiculous, the most absolutely ludicrous stipulation in the history of ever considering the storage. But," he adds as he turns to leave, intending to see Noah about the information he was promised so he can make his dry runs, "if it'll make it easier on you," and his tone is nothing but sincere, "I'll do it. Even if it's stupid."
And then he makes his exit, leaving the empty container behind. Sure, it puts him outside, but he just dashes round the building and right back inside. He remembers, of course, that most organics can't deal with the decontamination, which makes him wonder if it's okay to expose them to him when he's still coated in this weird film… then again, it's just supposed to keep him sterile, and he can just keep his distance from Noah if need be.
Really, thinks Blurr, this job is beginning to sound less and less like a package run and more like a test someone set up. Screening people with super-speed. The time limit can be explained away by the volatile nature of whatever chemicals are in those containers, and the decontamination on needing to keep the things as sterile as possible. But the carrying stipulation? Blurr can't make sense of it no matter how many times he goes over it (he's done it a few hundred times already). Why would jostling the stuff while on its end be any worse than jostling it while it's on its side? In the end, he's still shaking up something incredibly sensitive and very likely a high explosive.
He's delivering bombs, isn't he, he wonders as he scales the stairs in the blink of an eye. Or some sort of new superweapon. Probably best not to think about that too much.
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Post by SceneMod on Apr 21, 2010 12:08:54 GMT -5
Blurr just assumes that Noah is waiting for him, and has not returned to his office. The speedster thinks highly of himself and less highly of Noah's time.
Blurr has, however, assumed correctly.
Noah is waiting in the observation area, though he is now lounging in a seat in the corner, a briefcase open on a small side table. Where did the briefcase come from? It was always there. Noah has ways- and more than just speedsters on the payroll.
He smiles up at Blurr as the courier enters, "You know, you really shouldn't be so hard on 24601. He can't help that he's programmed to preserve the sanctity of the cargo contract above all else." His eyes crinkle, "The carrying clause in your contract is a hold over from the actual cargo contract, so silly or not, it's what needs to be done."
Noah tilts his head, noting how Blurr is holding the dummy container under his arm. "Now, there's nothing says you can't carry it that way," he points at the container, "but I wouldn't recommend it. You've got a lot more body surface touching it that way, and it will just increase the discomfort level. Wouldn't want a sudden spike of cold to slow you down at the wrong time, after all."
He takes a sheaf of papers out of the brief case and hands them over to Blurr. "Here's all the info promised on routes and such. I assume you'll be wanting to start making dummy runs ASAP."
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