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Post by Elita-1 on Apr 16, 2011 20:33:49 GMT -5
Month 2, Week 4, Day 5- open
Shifting nervously from foot to foot, Elita fingers the edges of her gloves as she stares at the training room door. According to the schedule, Sentinel is inside. Allspark, this never used to be this difficult for her before. Of course, before, Sentinel used to spend more of his free time with her and not his Skyboom Shield.
Finally, she settles down and opens the door. Nothing ventured and all that.
"Mind if I join you?" she asks, smiling brightly at the Prime.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 16, 2011 20:51:57 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime is working on his ricochets. Letting the shield fly, downing three or more enemies, and catching it is a pretty sweet trick. However, it requires a good sense of timing and a lot of intuitive application of geometry. So it takes practise to get it down right.
He's been on a good streak so far. Then the door opens, and he hears Elita-1 before he sees her out of the corner of the his optic. The Skyboom Shield comes whizzing back at him and catches him in the chest, knocking him off his feet and into the back wall.
Thanks, Skyboom shield. Sentinel Prime really needed to be embarrassed in front of Elita-1. It innocently drops into his lap, having slammed him down.
"Oof!" Sentinel Prime peers up at Elita-1. Best to act casual, he thinks. "Yes, certainly! How have you been? There was the trial, and yeah... jury. Prosecutor. You know."
There's a classic Sentinel Prime excuse if there ever was one.
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Post by Elita-1 on Apr 16, 2011 21:06:16 GMT -5
"Oops! Sorry!"
Elita hurries over to Sentinel and offers him a hand up. See the gloves, Sentinel? It's perfectly safe to touch her.
When Sentinel inquires about the trial, she shrugs one shoulder. "Yeah. That. I've been all right." For a moment, Elita frowns and looks away. The trial had been, well, trying. It also made her wonder what would happen to her if command ever found out what she did to Sentinel.
"Let's talk about something else. Like when you might be free to catch a meal and movie with me?" She smirks slightly at Sentinel, giving him a look that never ceased to make his head spin a little.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 16, 2011 21:27:21 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime flinches ever so slightly at the touch. Past trauma aside, it is unmanly to need help up! However, flinching is also unmanly. Once he's standing again, he latches the shield onto his arm.
He'd like to be able to do something about that frown and that distant look, but he doesn't know what. If it is any consolation to her, Sentinel Prime is determined to keep the secret to his grave, as one part loyalty to his friends, one part blackmail leverage. Unspecified favours are nice things to have.
Sentinel Prime could play dumb here, but he knows what a date is. He's been on dates. Elita-1 knows that he knows, because she was there. His voice turns icy and business-like, as it might if he'd just pulled her off the road for a malfunctioning turn signal, and he replies, "Are you asking me on a date, miss?"
Elita-1 is pretty, and he likes her. If she was another millennium older and maybe Elita-1 Major as opposed to Cadet Elita-1, there are things Sentinel Prime would like to do to her. However, she's not. She's a cadet. Sentinel Prime has trained cadets. He may have copious flaws, but he'd never think of having an affair with a cadet. The thought is repugnant to him. Sentinel Prime is very by the book and also very concerned with his image. Shacking up with a cadet is a good way to tank an officer's career!
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Post by Elita-1 on Apr 16, 2011 22:53:16 GMT -5
Wait, what, huh?
Elita blinks at Sentinel's very un-Sentinel like change in demeanor. It is clear in both her expression and the way her body shifts that she is confused by the sudden frosty attitude.
"I- well, yes Sentinel. That's what people who are attracted to one another tend to do. I've been wanting to spend some time with you for awhile now and-"
Oh. Yeah, she mindfragged him. He probably doesn't have much interest in dating her anymore.
She looks down at the floor, tilting her head slightly to better hide her expression. She brings one hand across her body to grasp the opposite arm as she says softly, "It's just that... I miss you."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 16, 2011 23:11:10 GMT -5
Oh, Sentinel Prime didn't mean to go and do that! The ice breaks, and he says as gently as he can, "You are a cadet. I've trained cadets. I would never engage in relations with one. It violates subsections..." he goes on to list all the various chapter and verses that it violates.
"You know, I thought we'd all be Primes." Sentinel Prime would be the only one in the Elite Guard, of course, and therefore the best one, but the others would be almost as awesome, because awesome 'bots have friends almost as awesome as they are. "We'd have our own teams, but every now and then, when we had leave, we'd..."
Sentinel Prime shakes his head and cuts himself off. "Never mind. I miss you, too, but it's... not that way. If you put on a millennium, it wouldn't be that bad, though I can't imagine you'd want to wait." She's young and pretty, and there are lots of handsome Autobots around here. He turns to look at her. "I'd like to be your friend for now, but I can understand if that's not what you want."
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Post by Elita-1 on Apr 16, 2011 23:33:49 GMT -5
Elita cuts her optics up at Sentinel, still keeping her head tilted off to one side. Inwardly, she sighs as he spouts off the rulebook at her. Oh. So that's it.
Pointing out that Optimus got over the age thing probably wouldn't go over well.
At length she sighs aloud and straightens up again, automatically falling into a loose approximation of a sort of parade rest pose.
"I'm not a cadet here, Sentinel. These Autobots don't use that system. I'm equal to most of them aside from command. If I make it through the Elite Guard test, then I might concede your point, but that's still a few days out." Also, she hasn't officially put in for it. She was going to do that after their date.
"I'm younger than you and Optimus, yeah. I can't do anything about that, and if I'd been pulled later I'd be- yeah. Not the girl either of you want."
Elita steps forward and tries to rest one hand on Sentinel's chest as she looks up at him. "Like I said before, I don't really know you and Optimus, not as you are now. I've spent some time thinking on if I wanted to even try to correct that."
"I decided I did."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 16, 2011 23:55:00 GMT -5
Ambitious girl, but then, that's what he liked about her.
"If you make it through the Elite Guard test, you will concede the point, because if you don't, you're not getting in," Sentinel Prime says flatly, pinning his antennae back and crossing his arms. "We don't need any crossed signals, okay? Troops do what I say because I've said it. That is not something you want in a personal relationship."
Not unless it's a particularly kinky one, and Sentinel Prime is so not going there. Boinking one's troops in weird power games is for Decepticons. Filthy perverts.
"That aside... I'm glad to hear you'd like to get to know me better," he reaches to catch her hand, "but you're not getting to know me. You may not be a cadet here, but I wouldn't date Bambi, either."
Aside from the fact that Bambi is a freaking crazy barbarian animal, she's not of an appropriate mental age for Sentinel Prime to pursue, which is his point. He would have used Clipper in his example, but Clipper's boyfriend would also kill him, which complicates the issue.
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Post by Elita-1 on Apr 17, 2011 9:51:48 GMT -5
When Sentinel grabs her arm, Elita stiffens. Sure, Sentinel has been twitchy over her touching him for awhile, but she's quite sure that he's denying her that familiarity for an entirely different reason this time.
"Sentinel, have you seen the way Arcee and Rodimus Prime interact? How they look at each other? Obviously these Autobots don't have issues with officers and troops having relations."
"I'm not asking you to come back to my room with me. I'm asking for some of your time, for us to maybe, just maybe, enjoy each others company instead of dwelling on the ghost of my future."
She jerks away from his grip. "I'm not a child, Sentinel! Stop treating me like one!"
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 17, 2011 10:47:24 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime lets her go when she jerks away and blurts, "Just because everyone's doing something doesn't make it right!" Oh, fry his circuits. Sentinel Prime blames Botanica 100% for that remark. While he's scapegoating, Botanica is completely responsible for his desire not to commit something vaguely akin to statutory. Yes, they're robots. Some of them are made fully adult from creation. However, as Spy Shot 6 shows, some of them really, really aren't. So to borrow from UK laws 1, Sentinel Prime feels like Elita-1 is 15, and he's, oh, 18 - old enough to drink alone in public and buy alcohol from an off-licence store/supermarket. If she'd wait just a freaking year millennium, he wouldn't feel so weird about this. Of course there's a hypocrisy in that Sentinel Prime was just fine with goading Optimus into taking Elita-1 on a date, but... Optimus has never taught cadets, so he doesn't have that perspective to trip him up, Optimus is generally nicer and less likely to take advantage of someone, and Optimus has never cared about the rules and propriety as much Sentinel Prime does. Sentinel Prime reminds softly and deviously, "I just told you I'd like to be a friend to you. Friends enjoy each others' company. You're still arguing. Is that not good enough for you?" He folds his hands behind his back and starts to circle around her. "Because you know what children do when they're angry... they break their toys. Will you borrow from that Supreme again? Make me feel eros when all I have for you is philia?" - - - 1 The age of consent in England and Wales is 16 regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender, as specified by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (section 9). However, if a person (A) over the age of 18 in a position of trust over a person (B) under the age of 18, it is illegal for A to engage in sexual activity with B. (section 16)
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Post by Elita-1 on Apr 17, 2011 15:26:02 GMT -5
Elita flinches and steps, almost stumbles back as Sentinel's soft words hit her harder than any physical blow could. Why can she hold her cool demeanor around Optimus, but around Sentinel her guard is non-existent?
Maybe because Sentinel knows what she really is, now.
"You're not my toy," she finally manages to choke past a sob, "And I never meant to break you. They could fix you; I never asked you to cover for me."
She turns sharply away from him, but she doesn't leave. Instead Elita sits down on one of the benches that line the walls. She curls her knees up to her chest and clasps her arms around her them, face buried against her thighs. She wont' leave and risk someone else seeing her breakdown, so Sentinel will just have to deal with having a crying girl on his hands for a round.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 17, 2011 16:37:09 GMT -5
Why is it seemingly impossible for Sentinel Prime to relate to Elita-1 in a way that isn't completely jacked up?
Sentinel Prime doesn't know what to do when people are crying. Okay, he does. Call them weak-strutted wusses and tell them they need to drop and give him 50 transform-ups, and if they won't stop snivelling, he'll make that 100. The physical activity at least gets their mind off whatever it is they're bawling over. That's not really appropriate in this context, however. Backing away awkwardly, like he did when he ran into a weepy Mirage, is also not a viable solution, because Elita-1 crying is his fault. Sentinel Prime can't back away.
The thought occurs to him that he could just call Optimus, tell him he made Elita-1 cry, and let Optimus handle it. Optimus would doubtless assume that Sentinel Prime had done something unspeakable and give Elita-1 unconditional support while glaring at Sentinel Prime for being the bad guy. That might even work. Sentinel Prime's played the villain before. What's one more time for old time's sake?
Sentinel Prime doesn't call Optimus just now, however. He should at least take a shot at cleaning up his mess on his own. Sentinel Prime takes a step forward and gets down on one knee, carefully positioning himself such that anyone entering the room will see his back first and not Elita-1 sitting on the bench. He says mildly, conversationally, "Bit of advice, kid. You can't break down that easy in the field. No matter what anyone says to you. You'll get eaten alive." Maybe literally. Ew, Spittor. "If someone calls you a motherboardless scion of a glitch? You ignore them, and you keep to your role in the mission. They're trying to rattle you, trip you up, make you sloppy. Doesn't matter what you think of yourself inside."
"If I can make you cry that easily, you're gonna have problems. I wasn't even trying."
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Post by Elita-1 on Apr 17, 2011 21:06:32 GMT -5
After several minutes Elita's sobs subside. Way to go girl. Have a crying jag right in front of him, the guy who'll be deciding the Elite Guard roster. His words don't help, mainly because they're words she heard before from other trainers. More generalized, yeah. But still the same.
Elita raises up her head and looks straight into Sentinel's optics. There's a sadness- and bitterness- in her expression. Right now she looks a bit more like her her older, more cynical, more poisonous self.
"That's what you never got, Sentinel. You're the only person who's ever really made me cry." She laughs and the sound of it is brittle. "You weren't really trying, but you just cruelly and casually bring up something that you know upsets me, and reference it in a way you know will hurt me. Come on Sentinel."
"You're a manipulative bootleg, more so since I fragged your emotional processors."
Elita's feet move from the bench to the floor on either side of Sentinel's body, and she leans in closer to him.
"That's why I love you, because you're like me. I love him too, but I can only take so much Boy Scout at a time." She leans away again, "I'll pass you test and make it through, and there won't be so much as a improper look from me from now on."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 17, 2011 21:30:32 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime seriously considers calling Optimus while she cries. While he dithers, she finds it in herself to sober up - and give him a look that would spook him, if his fear wasn't fettered and bound. Her accusations are... well... true. When he's forced to stop and think about his reactions, it's easier for him to pick the most advantageous one.
But even ignoring what Elita-1 did to him, this reality has humbled Sentinel Prime and made him grovel. In his desperation to fit in with the 'cool kids', he's gotten better at faking it. Faking that organics don't bother him. Faking that he's a happy little cog who wants to what he can for his faction. Faking that he can be a good friend. Faking that he values diversity. Faking that alien customs and laws are something to be respected.
And maybe he's not entirely faking it, but thinking that Sentinel Prime is wholly sincere about anything is a fool's proposition.
What can Sentinel Prime say to her? That he's not a manipulative bootleg? Instead, he focuses on the other issue at hand and asks, "Why do you want this? Is it for the special name? To make others think you're something special and different?" That's most of why he accepted a heap load of extra work in an area he doesn't really like, but that doesn't make it a good reason. "Because... you're going to have to work with xenos. A lot. That's the point of this. You can call me the last 'bot to be preaching on this topic, but I, ah... well..."
"...you wouldn't really know me if you did."
Sentinel Prime has worked on his hatred and fear. Really! He even has a bonsai tree in his quarters, and he thinks the tree is less likely to murder him in his defrag in a psychotic fit than his roommates are.
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Post by Elita-1 on Apr 17, 2011 22:05:47 GMT -5
Tilting her head slightly, Elita studies Sentinel through narrowed optics. "If you think I want to do it just for the special name, then you don't know me. You're not the only one with ambition."
"I know the purpose; I read the announcement. I can handle the contact with xenos. Unlike some people, I do know how to censor myself when needs must."
One corner of her lips quirk up, "Besides, someone who looks non-threatening and unassuming, someone soft-spoken and with a talent for twisting people around her fingers would be quite the asset on a team meant for such a diplomatic purpose."
"Such a commission would allow me to serve in a useful capacity while allowing me to also indulge me love for researching cultures."
"And it would look very good on my resume."
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