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Post by Sentinel Prime on Mar 28, 2011 11:23:42 GMT -5
"But Ultra Magnus was loaded with experimental weaponry, too. I'd give my right optic for some of those mods. He was brave and selfless enough to allow himself to be experimented on," Sentinel Prime admits grudgingly, "The Twins and the Omega Sentinels were approved by the Council. He didn't do all of this alone. The only reason I can see there was anything wrong with him is this reality has given me other perspectives. Ultra Magnus was the status quo."
He uncurls a bit and finishes, "Maybe he's dead now. One of the Twins says that Shockwave attacked him, stole the Stormbreaker Hammer that is his badge of office, and he's fading on spark support. There's another me there, waiting in the wings, and... he's not me. He'll be more of the same."
Or worse. Ultra Magnus had an elegance about him, and a kindliness, and a sort of moral ambiguity, and the experience of ages.
Sentinel Prime is petty and selfish, and right now, he's feeling envious of himself. It takes a peculiar form of narcissism to do that.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Mar 28, 2011 12:31:30 GMT -5
"One could argue," Magnus says caustically, taking a far more jaded eye to the issue of those experimental modifications, "that first, no engineer would have cleared the weapons to be loaded onto their supreme commander's frame unless the risk was minimal, if he was as important as you imply." His tone turns truly biting and he adds, frowning, "And that he wanted the weapons no-one had yet devised a countermeasure for to himself." Belatedly, it occurs to him that Sentinel seems to harbour enough doubts already and he can't be helping. He stifles a sigh. "But perhaps I'm being uncharitable."
The matter of the Council is somehow not surprising and Magnus shakes his head.
"There was a Council on my Cybertron as well," he says. He leaves it at that. And while a slow death is too good for ths other Magnus – or even himself – he remains silent on that count.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Mar 28, 2011 12:58:53 GMT -5
One would argue that no engineer would clear making child soldier weapons of mass destruction, too, but they obviously did that!
Sentinel Prime curls back up in his chair, hugging his knee. He didn't mean to go puke his tanks out all over this Ultra Magnus. Everything feels very awkward now, and Sentinel Prime feels a bit stupid, too. This is not what he was trying to accomplish! Really, he just wanted to sucker Ultra Magnus into teaching him more hand-to-hand combat and some tactics and strategy. Making everyone feel like just-cooled slag is counterproductive.
He argues, half for the sake of arguing and half for spite, "If you haven't noticed, we have a Council Chairman for our Supreme Commander at the moment."
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Mar 28, 2011 13:11:33 GMT -5
Magnus quietly nods.
"And he is as unlike my Council as I'm like Perceptor," he murmurs. "More than once, I've wondered that the High Council was there simply to appease former Autobots who had their doubts about Shockwave's command. They certainly never seemed to protest any of his policies." But why would they? he asks himself. Shockwave gave the world peace after aeons of war.
With a resigned, not quite melancholy grunt, he leans back on his seat. He's worse at being social than he thought; look how this conversation went.
"It might be a good idea for both of us to stop dwelling on what we had and focus on what's here instead," he suggests gently. An even better idea would be taking his own advice.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Mar 28, 2011 13:22:26 GMT -5
It's hard for Sentinel Prime to let go of anything, be it a grudge, a fugitive, or a dream. He can't accept that he is meant to be nothing, as he is here, when he was so close to ruling the Autobot Commonwealth. What is here pales before that glowing, radiant dream.
Though, he supposes, his experiences here would make him a better leader if ever he could return home and to his rightful place. If Sentinel Prime has learned anything, he wouldn't experiment on children. That's something, but then, he's Sentinel Prime! To his own arrogant mind, of course adversity would only make him stronger and more worthy.
Sentinel Prime uncurls himself and assume a more proper, dignified posture, and he observes innocently, "We're here. So..." his head tilts, and the glint in his optics turns mischievous, a shadow of the cadet who delighted in trouble codenamed Broken Lance, "...do I have my head out of my exhaust, or do I need to try again?"
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Mar 28, 2011 13:32:18 GMT -5
Much Sentinel's opposite, Magnus is largely content with what he has now. He has been supreme commander of the Autobots, head of security for all of Cybertron, and leader of the Wreckers; here, he is simply another soldier, a part of the team, and it goes a long way to quieting his restless soul.
"Do you…?" Magnus blinks and trails off for a moment, not catching Sentinel's meaning. Then recall kicks in, commands retrieving that heated exchange regarding training, and he almost chuckles. Almost. "Passable," he says, all mock severity. His companionable smile is entirely at odds with his tone and he hopes Sentinel will take it as the light-hearted ribbing from one soldier to another that Magnus means.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Mar 28, 2011 13:39:53 GMT -5
At least Sentinel Prime doesn't fly into a complete snit. He mostly keeps a handle on it, though he doesn't take mockery well. Sentinel Prime just sinks in his chair, pouting, his arms crossed, and grouses, "I don't know why people keep saying that. I'm really not that flexible."
Sentinel Prime is more rigid... in his interpretation of the rules, anyway.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Mar 28, 2011 13:54:01 GMT -5
It's nearly everything Magnus can do not to laugh in earnest. Sentinel deserves better than that even if Magnus wouldn't be laughing at him so much as the absurdity of the sudden turn in conversation. Magnus owes the younger bot that much at the very least.
"Metaphor," he says with an admirably level voice. "It's a metaphor, I suspect, and one I'm honestly not even sure how I picked up." He can't even think of any one bot he knows, Autobot or Decepticon, who could actually physically cram a body part into the exhaust manifold without detaching it first. He murmurs, mostly to himself, "Maybe it was something the Headmasters started…." He shrugs it off. "You've a time in mind?" He still doubts he can offer Sentinel much in the way of teaching, but he has far less reason to refuse now than he had before.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Mar 28, 2011 14:04:32 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime bets Blurr could do it, if Blurr really felt like it, or some of those bladey guys.
He pulls out his datapad and pulls up his schedule. It contains a bunch of duty shifts, a bunch of time segments devoted to training and study, and not much rest. He blanks out some of the optional training sessions, looks up, and asks, "When's good for you?"
Sentinel Prime is imposing on Ultra Magnus, after all.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Mar 30, 2011 9:18:46 GMT -5
A slow smirk tugs at one side of Ultra Magnus's mouth and a glimmer of genuine good humour lightens his stare as he gestures magnanimously with one hand, palm open and upturned.
"I'm… flexible," he says even as he privately goes over his schedule. He actually doesn't have a useful window until…. "Two days from now, that is," he adds. A wide gap between a very late rock watch and a similarly late pilot watch.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Mar 30, 2011 10:04:57 GMT -5
Big as a Decepticon, powerful and strong as one, even armed like one, too, and flexible? Oh my.
Sentinel Prime doesn't give a thought to the fact that Ultra Magnus might like to, oh, catch a nap during that time. One part, he's being selfish, but one part, Sentinel Prime wouldn't think of catching a nap then, either. He fairly purrs, "Oh, that's perfect. Call it done, then?"
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Mar 31, 2011 12:16:59 GMT -5
Ultra Magnus is a mechanism of many talents. All of them buried somewhere beneath layers of angst.
"If we're both agreed," he says mildly.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Mar 31, 2011 12:55:00 GMT -5
Just remember, angst is not an effective substitute for electrical insulation, although it can lead to emotional insulation.
Sentinel Prime smiles lopsidedly and replies, "I am agreed."
The ball is in Ultra Magnus's court.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Mar 31, 2011 22:08:03 GMT -5
Magnus nods as if that's all he needs to hear, then finishes off his energon in one great gulp and pushes himself away from the table, standing.
"I'll see you then." He drops his cube into the recycler as punctuation.
OOC: Timeskip? Or a wrap?
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 1, 2011 8:56:25 GMT -5
OOC: Up to you if you prefer new thread or just timeskipping in this thread. I do not mind either way!
Sentinel Prime would argue that they'll probably see each other before then - they live in the same room! Except that Sentinel Prime doesn't spend a huge amount of time there, and when he does, he's usually face-planted-in-berth, out cold.
So he just says, instead, "Have a good cycle, Ultra Magnus."
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