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Post by Perceptor on Nov 10, 2010 2:08:22 GMT -5
Day 16, right after Trials and Tribulations. Semi-Private thread; please ask to join.
It feels good to be back on the safety of the Event Horizon. At least, it does to Perceptor. He misses his own laboratory when he goes to "work", his familiar tools and equipment that are light years beyond what he is afforded down on Pz-Zazz. He misses the quiet solitude of his own home, for all that Sentinel has been remarkably quiet for the trip back, and this is really no more Perceptor's home than it is anyone who wasn't created in this reality. But it is home now, which is what matters.
"All right, Sentinel," he sighs, pulling off his clothing from below and allowing himself to relax into his familiar surroundings. "Make yourself comfortable on the berth and let's get all those injuries repaired, yes?"
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Nov 10, 2010 2:21:14 GMT -5
What Sentinel Prime really, really wants, is to go collapse on his berth, face-down, and ignore the world until it goes away. He has duties, he knows, obligations to others, but he's always been selfish.
Perceptor is asking him to something impossible. He cannot be comfortable on that medical berth. So Sentinel Prime does what he's been doing, and he fakes it. He lays himself out on the berth, and he hopes desperately to himself that if just plays the part of good, unprotesting patient, Perceptor won't ask him to open up his head.
He manages a weak cocky smirk and says, "Shouldn't take too long."
If only.
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Post by Perceptor on Nov 11, 2010 21:58:16 GMT -5
"Of course not," Perceptor agrees with a pleasant smile. "Sharkticons are nasty foes, but you seems to have done quite a good job in defending yourself from most of the damage they are capable of inflicting. A few more permanent patches and some fresh paint, and no one will even see the welds."
No mention of popping the blue processor bucket open, yet, Sentinel! Maybe you'll get off lightly!
"I do prefer, when possible, to disengage sensory systems upon the area where I am working to spare my patient's pain, however, there have been some individuals who have expressed an interest in the past to opt out? Do you have a preference, Sentinel Prime?" he asks as he gathers his favorite tools, a little raw material, and the best welding torch and brings it over to set on the table beside Sentinel's berth.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Nov 11, 2010 22:24:40 GMT -5
Dully, Sentinel Prime appreciates Perceptor's attention to his aesthetics. Can't have vainglory without vain. Speaking of vainglory, he grudgingly admits, "I... well..."
No one is here to see him falter but Perceptor. He doesn't have to be macho for the geek. He squeezes his optical shutters closed and finishes in a small voice.
"...please."
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Post by Perceptor on Nov 12, 2010 1:30:46 GMT -5
Perceptor seems relieved by Sentinel's request, and nods. "Thank you, Sentinel," he replies. "I do abide the wishes of those who dislike the disconnected feeling when it is possible, but.. I... prefer not inflicting pain upon my friends and patients if it is within my ability." He ducks his head and glances away to one side as he fiddles with a thin probe for a moment.
"I must also apologize for my unprofessional behavior at the courthouse. I am not generally given toward, ahh... outbursts such as that, however... his... assault upon your person made me quite angry. Especially with his continued, ah... needling. Ahem."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Nov 12, 2010 1:40:08 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime's been feeling disconnected for a while now. What's one more thing? He assures, "It's fine, Doc."
A puzzled look washes over him, and he asks, not quite believing, "You were angry for me?"
Maybe Perceptor really is the unreasonably nice Autobot that he seemed to be before, when he treated Sentinel Prime's chemical damage. Perhaps there's no monster in him at all; he was just showing a fierce protective side.
In so many ways, Sentinel Prime wonders what he did to deserve to be stuck in this reality that is at once so horrible and so full of people who are... pleasant to him, without any hidden motives.
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Post by Perceptor on Nov 13, 2010 5:54:07 GMT -5
The expression Perceptor turns upon Sentinel is nearly as puzzled as the one Sentinel has fixed upon him, as he answers, "Well.... Yes, of course..." Shouldn't he have been?
Perceptor sighs, shoulders slumping as he glances down at the tools by his hands, refusing to meet Sentinel's optics. "I am not a medic, Sentinel. I am a scientist. In my reality, when, like here, I was the most skilled individual available.... my skills were not sufficient to save my Prime. I will not fail my Autobots again, Sentinel."
"Perhaps it is naive of me, however... diverse as this collective is, disparate as we all are, we are still all Autobots. This is my unit... now, and until such time as a way back to our respective realities is found. I do not need to agree with everyone's philosophies, nor must I expect everyone elses' ethics and morals to strictly align with my own, for me to still accept them as a part of my unit. Such is the nature of any gathering of diverse individuals."
He finally glances back up, offering Sentinel a wan smile and a small shrug. "As the most skilled repair technician available, though, I have assumed responsibility for everyone here. It is Xaaron's duty to lead us as best he sees fit, but it is mine to ensure that everyone is kept in optimal condition, and... I do not appreciate misfits like Oil Slick daring to presume that he may harm one whom I have accepted responsibility for."
"I realize that it is presumptuous of me, however, I cannot help who I am. And... it still does not excuse my unprofessional behavior."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Nov 13, 2010 9:21:06 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime's put his foot in it again, he sees. He ponders how to phrase this to soothe Perceptor. Sentinel Prime's just not used to be people being nice to him, but that begs the question, 'Why not?' He doesn't want to go there. At the same time, Sentinel Prime wasn't trying to imply that Perceptor was being overly... anything, really.
He settles on holding up his hands defensively and insisting, "Hey, hey, hey, I didn't mean it that way. It's just, the Perceptor in my reality stripped out all his emotions for better calculational power. I know you haven't, but you do look kind of like him, so it just throws me off a bit when I'm tired. That's all."
Sentinel Prime lowers his hands and observes, "I suppose a lot of us aren't doing what we'd rather be." Double-meanings, what? He has to wonder if Perceptor was specifically poking at him with that ethics and morals jab. "So, I'm your... territory now, then?"
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Post by Perceptor on Nov 13, 2010 15:27:01 GMT -5
"I must confess... that concept - stripping out one's emotions - is..." Perceptor pauses and shudders, shaking his head. "It is not something that I could do, I am afraid. Though, I am certain that there are individuals among the command staff who would rather that I were a bit less... ah... emotional."
"I do understand the jarring impact of juxtaposing one's expectations of the familiar with the events of reality, however. I will attempt to remember that in our future interactions." It doesn't really occur to Perceptor that the whole reason that Sentinel is confused is because he isn't accustomed to anyone caring about him without an ulterior motive. Probably just as well, actually, because that would just get him all wound up, all over again.
Perceptor offers him a faintly amused smile, head cocked to one side as he considers Sentinel. "I suppose, in an extreme oversimplifications of the idea, yes, you can call my response something of a territorial dispute," he muses. The comments about ethics and morals were, believe it or not, notspecifically aimed at Sentinel himself. Perceptor is simply aware that his tend to be a bit more... stringent than many aboard would prefer.
"Suffice it to say that, to me, there is a significant difference between receiving wounds in combat where you are capable of defending yourself," he explains, waving one hand toward the injuries that Sentinel received from the Sharkticons, "and being tortured and experimented upon."
"And speaking of honorably received wounds," he adds with a lopsided smile, "let us see to getting you back to optimal trim, yes?"
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Nov 13, 2010 17:10:23 GMT -5
If Perceptor really wants to keep his head about him, he'll have to watch himself, with this crew.
Sentinel Prime waves a hand dismissively and says absently, "Don't worry about it, Doc. You don't have to act like an emotionless calculator around me. You're a lot more personable this way."
He just can't help sucking up to officers. It just comes naturally to him. Even when it's true.
Sentinel Prime can understand considering another to be his. He has an ugly possessive streak himself, even if Perceptor's intentions seem to be a bit more benign. Perceptor's actions start to make a little more sense.
He does blurt, "What's the difference? Damage is damage. What's so honourable about dishing out pain on a battlefield?"
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Post by Perceptor on Nov 13, 2010 17:31:04 GMT -5
"Dame is damage, yes," he agrees evenly. "But were you given any opportunity to defend yourself from Oil Slick? Any chance to protect yourself at all, or were you merely... acted upon with no recourse?"
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Nov 13, 2010 17:36:44 GMT -5
"I was restrained, but..." Sentinel Prime squirms a bit, as admitting that he took a less-than-perfect course of action is extremely difficult for him, "...I could have broken out, at least initially. I was just worried that someone might stop me before I made it out of the Asylum and that I would have been breaking the rules. I could have used my shield to pop the restraints, though..."
He feels pretty dumb, that he didn't. At least he figured it out eventually, at his trial.
Perceptor will find that Sentinel Prime has actually damaged his shield mod in the process, via the abuse.
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Post by Perceptor on Nov 13, 2010 18:16:55 GMT -5
"According to the notes, you were also already under some sedation, as well, at the time, were you not?" Perceptor asks, picking up a couple of tools and motioning toward Sentinel's nearest arm. May as well work while they talk, after all! And those pain receptors will be the first things shut down before he starts stripping off bits of the shredded plating.
"And, given the state of that facility, had you done any such thing - popped the restraints, I mean - you would have merely been restrained even more securely, or, worse, drugged until you could not even remember your own designation."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Nov 13, 2010 20:42:36 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime is never one to deny and excuse for why he's not at fault, and he does agree, "I was sedated. I felt pretty sick, I'll admit. Too hot. Uncoordinated. The lights were so bright, I couldn't..."
He touches one hand to his forehead, using the arm Perceptor's not working on, and he grimaces, correcting, "I'm Elite Guard, and I can, and I should have. Should have cast up my full bubble shield - no one's getting through that - and busted through walls until I escaped, then rolled off. Should have done that before they drugged me, but I just. Just. They put me in there for breaking their ridiculous barbaric alien rules."
"If I broke even more of their so-called laws, what would they have done to me then?" Sentinel Prime twitches just thinking about it.
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Post by Perceptor on Nov 24, 2010 19:13:43 GMT -5
Perceptor shrugs lightly, but it isn't meant to be a mocking gesture, merely one of understanding. "It is not possible to know for certain what may have occurred then, however, I believe that I must agree with your hypothesis that further, more dire, restrictions and punishments may have been incurred by such a course of action," he replies, shrugging once more as he leans over to retrieve a new tool from the table beside him.
"I am not a tactician. I am a scientist. It is not in my nature to pick apart the motivations and actions of those whom I interact with like one would with a post-battle analysis. I observe results, and develop new experiments based upon what I observe."
He offers Sentinel a wry smile as he finishes patching up the last of the damages on that arm, replacing his small welder with a buffer to smooth out the fresh, bare plating there. "I would advise, however, that you not develop any experiments of your own to annoy the local government with any further. Quintessons are capricious and vicious enough without further baiting."
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