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Post by Sentinel Prime on May 4, 2011 20:47:25 GMT -5
Month 2, Week 4, Day 6, semi-private
Sentinel Prime has just borrowed a conference room. Maybe they'll give him an office, but he'll probably have to share it Breakaway if they do1. Anyway, the conference room will give Skyfire plenty of room, which Sentinel Prime is sure Skyfire will appreciate.
He shows up early and settles himself into the chair at the head of the table, feeling that forbidden thrill, and he goes over his notes again. Don't ask Skyfire how he feels about the Communist Decepticon scum, check.
1 According to Rodimus-admin
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on May 4, 2011 21:26:06 GMT -5
Skyfire shows up precisely one minute early, which to his mind gives Sentinel Prime plenty of processor cycles to prepare to get started before they actually get started, and wastes no one's time by being unduly early or late.
"Good morning, Sentinel Prime," Skyfire says cheerily; cheerily because he likes people in general and finds his roommates agreeable enough, and he adds the 'Prime' because he knows Sentinel is proud of the rank from back home and likes to be addressed that way.
He pulls a low-backed chair out from the table and swings it around, straddling it so as to avoid tangling his back kibble up in it--pretty standard for the big shuttle former.
"So, where do we start?"
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Post by Sentinel Prime on May 4, 2011 22:13:52 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime is bored with reviewing his notes by the time Skyfire shows up, so he looks up and gives Skyfire rapt attention when he arrives. He would frown over Skyfire's rather... unconventional manner of sitting, but he's giving this 'politeness and diversity' thing a whirl. It is whirling him back and making him feel rather uncomfortable. For example, it is pointing out to him that Skyfire is winged and huge and that normal chairs don't even work right for Skyfire and that Sentinel Prime is bad and he should feel bad, too, for even thinking that Skyfire is a terrible deviant because of his chair sitting practises.
Diversity is fierce, all up in his suppositions, tearing them down and then laughing at him when he trips on them. Politeness just covers its mouth and laughs behind its hand. It is polite that way.
Mental drama aside, Sentinel Prime gives Skyfire a pleasant smile that he doesn't entirely mean, though one would be very hard-pressed to tell that he doesn't. It's not too wide or deep, though. He's staying professional. Sentinel Prime brings up a notes page and replies, "Good cycle, Skyfire." No, not 'morning'. If he doesn't have to fake going native, he won't. "The first thing I'd like to ask is: why do you want to do this?"
Sentinel Prime has his guesses.
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on May 4, 2011 22:40:37 GMT -5
Skyfire gives Sentinel Prime his full attention, looking down at him--even seated, he's rather tall--with those ice-blue optics. He likes people, but he's not very good at judging them--he tends to take people at face value, though he's smart enough to add up the evidence when someone isn't what they seem to be and is around enough to leave clues. He knows Sentinel Prime has issues, though Skyfire has little idea what those issues are--he prefers to give his roommates space, mentally and physically. He knows Sentinel Prime is proud, and somewhat driven, and has a few odd prejudices.
"I understand that the major function of the Elite Guard will be diplomatic, making peaceful liason with alien cultures we meet. That is a field I am interested in; I study alien cultures and find aliens fascinating. Frankly, I would enjoy the job," Skyfire says.
He smiles broadly and adds, "It's my experience that people who are enthused about what they're doing are the best at it--they'll go the extra klick, spend the extra cycle above and beyond the requirements. So my enthusiasm is all to our advantage."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on May 4, 2011 22:54:32 GMT -5
That's about what he expected, that Skyfire wants a chance to study alien cultures because that is what Skyfire does. Sentinel Prime nods along. Yes, that's nice. Everyone says nice things during interviews. They'll be a great team player! They'll make the world better!
It is the admissions of vice that interest Sentinel Prime the most, because they're truer.
So Sentinel Prime throws Skyfire a curve and asks, "All right. What if you have to spend a whole day standing around, looking tough, and being silent because Rodimus Prime is doing the negotiations, and you're on honour guard duty?"
This could definitely happen! Sentinel Prime will bored enough to shoot himself if it does, but that's fine, because he doesn't have a gun. Will the missed opportunity to socialise with the natives get to Skyfire? The pointless posturing?
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on May 5, 2011 7:05:13 GMT -5
Guileless ice-blue optics gaze at Sentinel Prime. Skyfire ponders the question for a moment, then sounds faintly puzzled as he asks, "And then what happens?" Where's the rest of the question?
Surely Sentinel isn't asking if Skyfire has a problem standing around and observing Cybertronian-alien and alien-alien interactions? Especially in a position where he'd be treated like part of the scenery and mostly ignored, thus not contaminating the social interactions with his own influence?
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Post by Sentinel Prime on May 5, 2011 8:58:19 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime is! Some people have problems with standing in one place and looking like window-dressing. He asks more explicitly, "Do you have any problems with playing scenery?"
Skyfire probably doesn't, to judge by that reply and by the fact that Skyfire generally doesn't seem to be a raving glory hog like some people who are also in the room, but Sentinel Prime wants a firm answer before he moves on to the real third question.
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on May 5, 2011 9:06:03 GMT -5
Skyfire smiles again. "No, why would I? That's the best way to study a new culture--that way, their behavior isn't tainted by interaction with you."
He adds thoughtfully, "I can see why you might ask that question--someone who is impatient for action might have a hard time with some of the duties you have in mind. I am used to orbiting silently and observing for long periods. My former partner was the restless one."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on May 5, 2011 9:34:18 GMT -5
That is satisfactory. A Starscream, restless? Interesting. Maybe Sentinel Prime will get more mileage out of these notes than he thinks.
He replies pleasantly, perhaps even fractionally encouraging, "That's good to hear," because he's setting up for something very unpleasant here, and he'd like to throw it up with the most incongruous impact that he can, "How will you handle it if we make contact with a species that seems friendly enough, but once our guards are down, they make a sincere and concerted effort to kill us all?"
That's entirely possible, like that Quintesson judge who called him innocent and then dropped him into a Sharkticon pit. Then there's that... mess that happened to Mirage. It's a realistic scenario. If Skyfire can't handle possibly having to see what colour an alien or two is inside, he's not cut out for this.
The second aspect is how Skyfire reacts to the fact that Sentinel Prime, in specific, is asking this question. Is he going to jump right to assumptions of xenophobia, based off it?
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on May 5, 2011 12:03:33 GMT -5
Skyfire's expression is neutral, which is only remarked on because he's no longer smiling. He nods his head. "From what you've mentioned about your slack-time reading, you do worry about the possibility quite a bit, don't you?"
Yes, he has heard that Sentinel Prime might be a touch xenophobic; however, it's his personal policy to assume the best of everyone he meets until they show hard evidence otherwise. For some reason, most people respond better to being treated congenially than to being snubbed and told 'you racist xenophobe, go jump in a slag pit!' Why, they might even listen to your opinions and reasoning if they are presented civilly!
Besides, it's a real concern.
Skyfire leans forward slightly. "It happens. Sometimes the locals are raiders or pirates, and think you look like easy prey. Sometimes there's other factions among the locals that don't like the guys that are talking to you, and attack just to stir up trouble. Sometimes you put your foot in your mouth and tell the Dowager Empress that she interfaces with rusty turbo-rats through poor understanding of the language and customs. Sometimes they just plain don't like you for whatever reason. Maybe they're xenophobic, or the last guy who looked like you attacked them." He frowns. "That last will be a problem with worlds the Decepticons get to before we do."
"That why it's important to observe first, to get a feel for the locals and if they are likely to react violently to initial contact--and keep observing them once in contact for covert hostility. There's no way we can know everything about alien psychology, let alone what's going on in local politics that may affect us."
Skyfire smiles wryly now. "Just be ready to move if you notice them moving heavy artillery to cover the landing zone. My former partner and I had to shoot our way out of more than one system."
He shakes his head. "It's never a happy ending to a visit, though."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on May 5, 2011 12:29:02 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime notes that the smile vanishes. No, this part is not fun. Life is not all fun. He won't have someone go into this thinking that it's going to be all fun and shaking hands with aliens and learning neat new titration methods from them or whatever it is that scientists do. There will be plain ugly parts, and they'll have to make those plain ugly parts look good.
He notes that Skyfire naturally starts giving him advice on the situation. Sentinel Prime was going to ask Skyfire if he would be willing to do some lectures on the topic even before he knew Skyfire might be interested in joining. Seems Skyfire might be interested in lecturing, anyway!
Sentinel Prime deadpans in reply, "I was almost eaten by Sharkticons on the orders of a Quintesson judge. I have almost been eaten by Archa Seven arachnids, too. I am delicious, apparently." He adds, more seriously, "I've also been drugged up with sedatives and anti-psychotics inappropriate for my physiology by asylum staffers who weren't malicious - they just didn't care enough to try harder, as a result of my faulty understanding of local laws. I have reasons to worry and to be vigilant," and to pay a little more attention to xeno traffic laws next time.
"Run away or shoot with the intention of then running away or shoot while running away," he summarises, of Skyfire's reply. "What if running is not an option? Say... the Decepticons have set up a base on their world. We can't let them stay and damage the planet further, but the locals hate us, and if they see us, they will try to kill us. A three-way mire."
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on May 5, 2011 13:58:08 GMT -5
Skyfire does have a tendency to go into lecture mode; it's the academic background. In some ways, he's a bit like Perceptor; in other ways, he's not. He's a field bot, whereas Perceptor is more of a lab scientist. Like a field archaeologist or anthropologist, he's quite happy to go into dismal, remote backwaters and study what's living under the rocks. He was built just for that sort of thing.
"Normally, that wouldn't be my call to make," Skyfire points out. "Emirate Xaaron or Rodimus Prime would be setting policy--though that does sound pretty much like the situation on Earth, from what I've heard from others. If that were the policy, though, I imagine we'd avoid causing local casualties if at all possible, while doing our best to stop the Decepticons."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on May 5, 2011 14:16:24 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime sort of feels like Skyfire is dodging the issue. It's an uncomfortable issue, so he can't blame Skyfire for walking around it, but he really does need a solid answer. Sentinel Prime folds his hands over his datapad, and he asks flat-out, "If the situation demanded it, would you be psychologically capable of taking a sapient life?"
Sentinel Prime's not even sure if he is, on a day to day basis, for all his bluster and bravado. If he was angry enough or scared enough? He thinks he could, if it was someone like Oil Slick. He knows he can, if the sapience is in question, like with Sharkticons. They're robots. They transform. Are they sapient? He wasn't sure at the time, and he's still not sure now.
He does add, to cushion the question somewhat, "I'm not saying you'll have to. I'm not saying it's ever right." He's not saying it's wrong, either. "I'm just asking if you can, because it might come up, and if that's the difference between one of our own living and dying..."
That's a nice way to frame it, Sentinel Prime thinks. Pit the maudlin Autobot desire to preserve life against itself.
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on May 5, 2011 15:10:26 GMT -5
Skyfire's optics widen slightly in mild surprise. "Ah, I see. I thought the answer was obvious." His expression returned to that grim neutral look it had earlier.
"Sta--my former partner didn't do all the shooting when things got hot. I don't like killing like he did--" Skyfire's expression is more of a grim, flat frown now-- "but I'm here now because I can and have shot back with lethal force when someone decided I was easy prey. Yes, I can kill people if necessary. I have."
"Fortunately, it isn't necessary nearly as often as some think it is," he adds pensively. "But it's dangerous enough out there that we explorers had... more of a free hand than most Autobots of my time. It would have been a waste to send us out there if none of us ever came back with our discoveries. As it was, we lost a lot of people before they started teaming us up with space fighters."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on May 5, 2011 15:31:03 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime notes that Skyfire is trying not to refer to Starscream by name. That's interesting. Himself, he sometimes slips into thinking of Blackarachnia as Elita-1. He finds himself making that mistake when he's writing reports. Then again, he's never been good with names, so maybe it doesn't mean a thing.
He listens along as Skyfire explains his... background with lethal force, keeping his expression neutral. When Skyfire's done, all Sentinel Prime says is, "All right," and he jots down a few notes.
His next question is a curve of an entirely different kind, "How do you feel about performing?"
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