Hook-3
Cadet
No One Knows What It's Like
Posts: 94
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Post by Hook-3 on Aug 25, 2008 14:54:23 GMT -5
Hook opens his mouth to relay both reassurances and questions to Starscream. Then Perceptor brings up the idea of searching him.
The Constructicon's mouth snaps shut, expression twisting with repugnance and distrust. He should have known. Should have known this was too good to be true, that this was just another little game.
Well, he won't play their games this time. If that monster gets within arm's reach, he'll turn the microscope into a ruin of metal.
"No," he says with distinct finality. "A replacement radio is the only thing I will accept from you."
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Grimlock
Major
There's no crying in Basebrawl!
Posts: 637
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Post by Grimlock on Aug 25, 2008 16:43:37 GMT -5
Hmm. Radioing Kup, that's a good idea. //Me do that, then// Grimlock answers, still brushing a bit more sand away, uncovering an Autobot sigil on yellow metal, and a grey face.
Brawn.
Grimlock's fist clenches some. Brawn was a respectable 'bot for his strength and toughness. That look on his face shows that he didn't go out peacefully. He looks up at Perceptor. "You from me Grimlock's future, right? Who kill Brawn?"
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Post by Perceptor on Aug 25, 2008 17:18:18 GMT -5
Perceptor nods, managing to stifle the wince that Hook's expression summons forth, though he cannot hold that distrustful gaze and lets his optics drop to the Constructicon's feet. "I expected as much. I am... sorry," he murmurs before backing away to join Grimlock.
Illogical and irrational as it is, he somehow feels responsible for the depredations of his Alternate. That his Alternate is somehow a reflection of what he, himself, is deep within, or rather, what he could be. That thought terrifies him deeply. Beyond any false sense of responsibility, though, the obvious trauma his own presence causes, purely as a reminder of his alternate, pains him. He is tired, and his own overdeveloped sense of responsibility preys upon him in his weariness, especially with such a blatant reminder of his failure in the form of the ashen corpse of an Optimus Prime laid out so neatly for them to find. Nightbeat's head is just icing on the proverbial cake.
"I will see what I can find," he offers quietly as he slips around, intending to put Grimlock between he and Hook once again. Grimlock who is unearthing... Brawn, who, despite obviously having been poked into and scavenged already by an unseen hand, had been brought down by an all too familiar charred and gaping wound. Brawn, who had once derided and mocked him, until the day they had risked their lives for Earth, and he had somehow proven himself to the rough minibot, even though he had argued mercy for Megatron. Who had then one day slain the minibot.
In an ambush which the Constructicons had assisted with.
"Megatron," he replies tightly, pulling his gaze back around the the fallen minibot before it can settle upon Hook. "Held by Starscream."
No. He cannot make himself scavenge Brawn's corpse to assist a Constructicon, even if this Hook is not his own. He cannot. Will not. Footsteps which had faltered restart and carry him past Grimlock to the next mound of disturbed soil, and he slowly begins digging up the next concealed body. A Decepticon, by the sigil he uncovers on the mech's chest, and thankfully, not one he recognizes.
"I will explain the whole of it later, Grimlock, if you wish," Perceptor adds quietly, wearily. "A great many good mechs were lost that day." Too many.
Perceptor doesn't worry about digging the entire body free just yet, but only enough to hopefully find this mech's radio, if it lies where Perceptor would have logically placed it. Once enough sand and dirt are free, he pries open some access panels, taking care out of all proportion to the mechanism's deceased state, and begins poking around. Luck is with him, or deduction. Perhaps both, for it is the matter of a minute or two and he withdraws the intact radio unit and holds it up for Hook's inspection.
"You will have to determine if it is functional. I do not wish to open the case and give you cause to suspect foul play," he explains, setting it down and pushing it as far away from himself as he can reach.
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Hook-3
Cadet
No One Knows What It's Like
Posts: 94
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Post by Hook-3 on Aug 25, 2008 23:15:33 GMT -5
Sorry. This Perceptor is sorry, and he speaks with a contriteness that the bastard Hook knows would never have bothered with.
Once again, any words the Constructicon might say are cut off, strangled in shame. These mechs freed him. He knows of this other universe, has seen the Autobot-like Decepticons with his own optic-band. Grimlock speaks with the wrong speech impediment, Perceptor speaks gently and contritely.
For wrongs he has not committed.
But, oh Megatron, it makes him sick to imagine those black hands probing inside his armor, that face over him while he makes himself so vulnerable.
So Hook stands there silently, expression strange, as Grimlock and Perceptor dig out their bodies.
Perceptor's offer of the radio jolts him, and the Constructicon isn't aware how raw gratitude suffuses his expression at how the good doctor offers it. "Thank you."
Carefully, he approached and kneels down to pick it up, then shuffles back from the Autobots, trying not to be too quick about it. But it's easier to work away from them.
Again carefully, he opens a hatch in his forearm and draws out a laser scalpel. It remains unactivated while he examines the radio housing, , and is only turned on briefly so the Constructicon can open up said housing.
"Hmm." Everything seems to be in working order, but Hook is certainly not going to open himself up for a full install. Instead, he precisely slices open his forearm and splices the radio into his power systems. He only uses the laser scalpel and his fingers for this, which is a very peculiar set of tools for the task. It works, but the job could have been done much easier with other tools.
But it does work.
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Grimlock
Major
There's no crying in Basebrawl!
Posts: 637
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Post by Grimlock on Aug 26, 2008 16:59:06 GMT -5
Grimlock's expression changes from irritation and anger to one of confusion. That answer sounds very familiar.
"Wait... Me Grimlock knew that. Stupid bad Rodimus must have fried me Grimlock's memory" he says, stopping the sand-removal to conk himself in the head a couple of times. Oh, hey, there it is! Good ol' Percussive Maintenanceā¢, works most of the time! "Now me remember!"
Grimlock's air grows solemn as he carefully lifts Brawn out of the hole and lays him upon the top layer of the sand. Without a word, Grimlock stands, then lumbers on over to the last body area, and begins to uncover it.
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Post by Perceptor on Aug 26, 2008 18:16:56 GMT -5
"You are welcome," Perceptor replies as Hook withdraws. He watches with a little confusion as the Constructicon works essentially without tools, before a slow look of comprehension begins to dawn. What is the probability that Omega Supreme would have allowed Hook to retain his tools in captivity? Slim to none. He should have thought of that.
He pauses in his task of digging up the strange boat-former to pull out his own tools, sorting out everything which he has a duplicate of-- which is most everything in his kit. He's taken to carrying extra after having been brought here with nothing. Not up to his normal standards, all of these tools, but they are what he has, and more importantly, what he can spare. His kit is tucked back away, while the extras are silently pushed across the space for Hook, if the Constructicon wishes to take them.
If not, Perceptor will retrieve them before leaving.
He turns a blank look upon Grimlock, mouth open as he recalls the same thing which the dinobot is exclaiming with a few loud thumps to his cranial unit. "Ah... oh. Yes. I... had forgotten as well," he replies, and for one, long moment, the full extent of his exhaustion is written plainly upon his features. The long hours with little recharge during the lengthy repairs to the damaged and offline weighs down until he shakes himself free and he stuffs it all away once again. There is still work to be done, and a cache of parts and components to be salvaged.
"We may need to utilize portions of your subspace, Grimlock, to transport components back. With your permission?" he asks, glancing briefly at Hook to be certain the Constructicon is all right, before turning back to Grimlock.
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Hook-3
Cadet
No One Knows What It's Like
Posts: 94
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Post by Hook-3 on Aug 27, 2008 23:07:37 GMT -5
Hook spends some time on the radio, before detaching it from his systems.1 He stares at it, turning it over in his hands. Where is he going to put this?
He shakes his head and sets it down. He'll deal with that later.
Tools. There are tools in the dust, little gifts left while he spoke to his comrades. So many of them, almost enough to build a basic toolkit from. He can even find places for most of them, little bits in his body where wires and tubes can be nudged aside to make room.
He is really and truly free if they are allowing him to have tools.
He lifts his face towards Perceptor, words blocked yet again. Gratitude and hope, and the sudden overwhelming need to curl up someplace dark and quiet so no one will see it when he weeps.
---
1. Which I'll announce on the D-cons-3 broadband when that time comes.
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Grimlock
Major
There's no crying in Basebrawl!
Posts: 637
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Post by Grimlock on Aug 27, 2008 23:51:04 GMT -5
Huh. This one's unfamiliar, ugly, and has no recognizeable faction sigil.
Grimlock answers while he clears more sand. "That fine. That what me come out here for, right?"
Once enough sand is free, Grimlock tugs the tankformer out, and points to the Vehicon sigil. "Um. Me Grimlock not sure, but this symbol humans use for ray-dee-oh-ack-tive things, right?" Then Grimlock looks at him again. "...maybe me should have been more careful. No need him to blow up on us if him am radee-rooty...roto-root... if him all glowy and explodey."
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Post by Perceptor on Aug 29, 2008 14:21:16 GMT -5
Perceptor catches the bare edge of that look Hook offers him as he glances over, and he nods, just once. It seems a paltry gesture to offer for what the Constructicon has endured, but it is all he feels that Hook would accept for the moment.
"Will you accompany us back to meet with your Decepticons?" he asks as he returns to the work of clearing off the boat-former Decepticon.
"Thank you, Grimlock." Hopefully they will have to resort to utilizing Grimlock's subspace. Hopefully there will be enough salvagable from these bodies to need the extra space. Perhaps Perceptor should look into creating a sort of... subspace carry-all. A Cybertronian bag of holding, as it were. Such a device would significantly reduce the loss of vital componentry in the event of another att--
"Radioactive?" Perceptor leans over to examine the marking with a small frown. "Hmm... Very similar, however, there are slight variations to the symbol. Not a true Radioactive warning."
He grins wryly up at Grimlock. "However, due caution is never to br frowned upon."
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Hook-3
Cadet
No One Knows What It's Like
Posts: 94
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Post by Hook-3 on Aug 31, 2008 22:20:51 GMT -5
"Yes. I- Don't really have any other options, do I?" Hook picks up tools from the ones offered by Perceptor, selecting first the ones with the most versatility. He secreted them around his body, opening small compartments and sometimes simply cutting open bits of his armor.
He can't take all the tools, and he doesn't try.
He stands, approaches his cage while the two Autobots deal with the matter of bodies. If only he had something to cut with, had his sword.
But part of preparing him for imprisonment involved burning out his subspace generators, and Omega Supreme was ever so careful in preparing the Constructicon.
"Do either of you have a steady laser available?"
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Grimlock
Major
There's no crying in Basebrawl!
Posts: 637
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Post by Grimlock on Sept 1, 2008 10:38:39 GMT -5
"Me Grimlock always careful!"
Crash! Clunk! Tankor winds up in a pile that would make a contortionist cringe.
"Oops. Me Grimlock usually careful."
Picking Tankor back up, he carries him over to be laid near Perceptor and Mirage, then he looks over at Hook. "Me no have one. Me have stunner laser, but me no think that same thing..."
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Post by Perceptor on Sept 5, 2008 19:41:21 GMT -5
Perceptor pauses to offer Hook a thoughtful look. "You have many options," he corrects. "We are not your captors, nor do we wish to coerce you, Hook. I am certain that Starscream would provide you coordinates for a rendezvous." He sighs shaking his head as he pries open the corpse's chest panels. "Although, I admit that I would feel more comfortable if we could accompany you to ensure that our alternates do not capture you again."
Oh, look! Un-fried circuit boards! And intact wiring harnesses! And secondary routing processors! And! And! And is that a complete set of paired power converters and circulating fans?
Perceptor could cry, if he were capable, to have such a treasure trove of usable parts at his fingertips.
His hands move with brisk efficiency, carefully stripping out every usable, complete, and undamaged component that he can easily access and strip free of the shell. Oh, if only Pee-Dee were here; she would be ever so much more efficient at this, however there are simply some components which only a Junkion could effectively recycle without reducing the item to component elements and reforging or recasting from scratch.
"Gently, Grimlock," Perceptor instructs absently. "Some of those components may be going into your own structure. I would be much more comfortable if that right knee were made more durable, and a better actuator for your sacral-lumbar junction would certainly be welcome... Just a little further, little circuit... Just a... fraction... of... an--"
Perceptor jerks out of his absentminded soliloquy to stare blankly at Hook for a long moment, as if the words had not even registered. Given how absorbed he'd been in working that delicate motor relay free, he probably had mostly missed the quiet question.
"Laser?" he frowns, then his expression brightens as he fishes out his best laser scalpel.
"I am afraid that without my scope, that this is all that I can offer for the moment," he replies apologetically as he offers Hook the instrument. "But it is fully charged. If that will assist you?"
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Hook-3
Cadet
No One Knows What It's Like
Posts: 94
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Post by Hook-3 on Sept 5, 2008 23:48:44 GMT -5
"No, not the same, Grimlock."
A fingerlength of line drops as Perceptor says he would feel 'more comfortable' if he and Grimlock escorted Hook to a rendezvous with his fellow Decepticons. A trap. This could be a trap. A complicated, twisty trap designed to catch the other Decepticons in it.
Hook's optic band dims. Well, he won't let them. "I would prefer to return with you for the time being."
Perceptor offers his laser scalpel. His first response is to deny it, to say that he can't use the tool to accomplish what he needs. But it would be a lie, because a fully charged laser scalpel would serve his purposes.
He just needs to reach out and take it from Perceptor's hand.
Jerkily, he reaches for the laser scalpel, snatching it from the microscope's hand before there is the chance of black metal touching green. Another finger-length of line drops from his crane-arm, and the light of his optic-band shifts to reflect his own shame at his behavior.
"I- am going to take some of the crystal. Then, if it is still necessary, I can assist you in stripping the bodies." He squares his shoulders and turns away.
The crystal is too thick to cut all the way through when a mech can only access one side of it. Having access to both sides, however, gives Hook far more freedom to work. Flicking the laser-scalpel on, he drives it into the crystal and begins to laboriously cut a large block of it.
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Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Sept 6, 2008 11:15:51 GMT -5
There was no sense of being unconscious for Spy Shot 6. There was simply the moment when he was running through a vent in an attempt to catch up with the yellow NBE and the now-small Allspark before they left, and the moment he found himself covered in black sand, with no memories to connect the two events. How disconcerting.
Shaking off a thin layer of dark dirt, the little camera sits up, and suddenly the oddity of the situation becomes meaningless. Stretched out before him is a scene unlike any he has encountered before. Though he had snuck out of the Hoover Dam in the past and so is not completely surprised by the wide expanses of the outdoors, that view cannot compare to the seemingly endless expanse of black soil stretching almost unbroken in every direction. The sky too is new, an intriguing shade of blue-violet, instead of the light blue he had seen before. Even the light beating down from the sun above is different, presenting to him an all-new spectrum to enjoy.
Turning to further take in the view, Spy Shot 6 rapidly curls into his camera form in surprise. Metal giants labour not ten meters away, working about a stunning crystalline structure and more giant figures stretched out on the sand. Consulting his memory banks he finds that, yes, he had heard the large beings moving and speaking, but had ignored the sound in favour of a visual feast.
Are these also NBEs, like the massive NBE-1, no, Megatron or the smaller yellow robot? There is little resemblance between them and the others he has seen. And if they ware, where did their loyalties lie? Are they Decepticons under the menacing Megatron, or against him as the yellow NBE seemed to be?
Alive with curiosity, his first instinct is still to remain a camera and simply observe. However, the last time he had observed instead of taking action had lost him the chance to meet with the yellow NBE and learn about it. So perhaps the better course of action this time, especially with no Sector Seven agents around to try to kill him, is to make contact.
Decision made, he stands, shifting from camera to robot, and begins to jog towards the trio of giants.
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Grimlock
Major
There's no crying in Basebrawl!
Posts: 637
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Post by Grimlock on Sept 6, 2008 14:38:25 GMT -5
Grimlock only half listens after Perceptor tells him to be gentle. Besides, the scientist lost him after mentioning that Grimlock had actual lumberjacks in his knees or something.
Thankfully, Grimlock doesn't speak of it, and instead finds himself looking around after Hook says that his stunner laser won't work.
Curiosity drives Grimlock in his looking, as something appears to be faintly setting off his sensors, but it's not immediately visible. Visually, he sweeps the area around them, several times before he finally sees -something- moving along in the sand. Stepping forward, then kneeling down on one knee, Grimlock investigates!
Zooming in with his optics, Grimlock has found what appears to be a teeny-tiny robot. Leaning down even further, he plants one palm on the sand, peering down with head tilted sideways.
No visible faction sigils, but the thing is small enough that if it did have the tenacity -to- attack, Grimlock assumes that it couldn't do much to him. However, Grimlock does not know that the little camerabot packs a smaller version of Perceptor's light cannon in its chest. However, Grimlock is not hostile.
"...who you?"
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