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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 11, 2011 22:35:37 GMT -5
Month 1, Week 1, Day 3, Event Horizon , medbay, open- - - Sentinel Prime has been completely out of it for... longer than is promising. Maybe it's a good thing he really doesn't use all of his processors, though. It's possible he's had some repairs between now and then; certainly, he's on spark support right now to even still be here. Sentinel Prime finally boots back up, optics flickering. What doesn't hurt? Unclear; his pride sure hurts. Spark support is for obsolete old wrecks like Ultra Magnus! His Ultra Magnus, not the one here, the one here seems pretty okay. How injured was Optimus, anyway? Sentinel Prime's never going to live this down, he's sure...
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 11, 2011 22:45:07 GMT -5
Spark Support is also for heroic warriors who make valiant Last Stands and are scooped out of Deaths jaws at the last second. It's very best-seller novel, you know.
"Sentinel?"
Perceptor hadn't actually expected him to wake up yet. The fact that he is, even with that much damage, still, is a testament to his stubbornness. Certainly.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 12, 2011 8:58:39 GMT -5
That's right, Sentinel Prime's a donkey too stubborn to be beaten to death, unlike the proverbial beaten dead horse.
He takes a moment to check his chronometer. Three days? Is that right?
Then there's the tinny shriek of his name - oh, it's not actually a shriek; it's just his audios are having some feedback issues. That's just great. He starts to reply and... broken voicebox. He tries again and... broken radio.
There would be so many cursewords if he could manage to say any of them. Maybe Sentinel Prime should learn Cybertronian Sign language, just for the swears...
With nothing he can reasonably say, he pulls out the remains of his Skyboom Shield, which is cracked into three pieces. Perceptor would be well within his rights to point out it wasn't that broken when Perceptor last saw it! Sentinel Prime nudges it weakly with his knuckles where it sits on his lap, as if to say, 'Fix that first.'
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 12, 2011 14:40:36 GMT -5
It's fortunate that Optimus had not ended up as badly off as Sentinel, too, because, otherwise, Perceptor would have suspected the Primes of the ship of conspiring to sent him into core failure. Between Roddy's near deactivation from the massive infection of a particularly virulent Cosmic Rust (and thank goodness his Corrostop does work on this strain after all!), and Sentinel apparently attempting to absorb every erg of kinetic force applied during the entirety of the battle, the two Primes had... definitely had better days.
Perceptor is aware that Sentinel's vocal processors are too damaged to function, but he hasn't gotten deep enough yet to find the broken radio, too. He would have made one or the other a priority, after getting Sentinel's spark stabilized. Being damaged to the point of helplessness is bad enough, without having any means of communication on top of that.
Still, Perceptor is surprised not to be getting an audio-full from Sentinel over the radio about his condition, or about Perceptor's conduct during the battle, or... something. Ah, but wait. There's the shield that Perceptor had damaged while trying to fend off Duskwing, and...
"How in the name of quantum thermodynamics did you manage to do that?" he exclaims as he takes in the state of the more-battered-then-even-Sentinel-is shield. "What did you do/i]? Cover an incendiary explosive device?"
He either ignores, or doesn't understand the meaning of the motion, and, instead, makes to move the fragments of shield off to a nearby cart so that he can get to Sentinel's damages that the shield is now covering.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 12, 2011 15:14:00 GMT -5
Primes have a thing for getting completely trashed. Now, usually, when Sentinel Prime aims for 'wasted', he's thinking some energon kegs will be involved. Getting turned into a scrap pile is a bit unusual for him.
When Perceptor asks if Sentinel Prime covered an explosive incendiary device, he nods ever so faintly but clearly intentionally. Yes, that's exactly what he did.
Perceptor trying to move the shield fragments draws agitation from Sentinel Prime. He'd try to stop Perceptor, but everything hurts, and moving doesn't seem all that possible at the moment. Sentinel Prime wriggles his fingers futilely. He'd like to be able to tell Perceptor, 'No, fix that!' or... anything.
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 12, 2011 15:38:44 GMT -5
It had actually been a rhetorical question; the nods gets Perceptor's attention more than any wiggling fingers ever could.
"You did what?" he exclaims, jerking his attention down to stare at the fragments for a moment before turning his attention back to Sentinel. "You are not... No, of course not. You would never jest about such a thing," he mutters.
Does Sentinel even have a sense of humor?
And then it hits Perceptor - Sentinel jumped on a bomb. Obviously with this shield. The one Perceptor had already damaged.
Sentinel's condition is all Perceptor's fault.
He wilts as he gently lays the shield fragments aside, and then reaches as hand over to pat Sentinel soothingly on one shoulder-- only to stop, his hand hovering over the battered plating hesitantly as he realizes that even that small gesture would probably just cause more pain.
"Do not worry, Sentinel,m" he offers, instead, reaching to gather up his tools again. "I will get you repaired immediately. I promise."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 12, 2011 15:59:33 GMT -5
Oh, Sentinel Prime might exaggerate a bit to improve a boast, slip in some little white lies. The thing is, the bomb was stuck to his shield. He could have - should have - just thrown it, but he was selfish and foolhardy, and he didn't want to risk losing it. It wasn't like he had much time to decide, anyway. The bomb could have just exploded in mid-air, without the benefit of the extended forcefield blocking it.
He nods again. Yes, Sentinel Prime jumped on a bomb. No, this is not a joke. This would be why he's missing a face, why his optics are cracked, and any number of other injuries.
Sentinel Prime isn't sure why Perceptor is wilting, and if he knew, he'd probably tell (if only he could) Perceptor to cut it out, that it's not that bad, because to lie and to boast come so easily to him.
When Perceptor says he'll fix Sentinel Prime, his fingers flex in frustration. No, no, the Skyboom Shield!
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 12, 2011 16:46:51 GMT -5
Completely misinterpreting the frustrated twitch, Perceptor merely offers Sentinel a soothing smile and nods. "I know that it must be frustrating to have so little control right now, but you must promise me that you will remain quiescent while I perform your repairs, no matter what systems I am able to bring online first, yes?"
He is surprised that Sentinel is remaining so quiet. Surely the brash Prime has Perceptor's frequency, doesn't he?
Well, first, to ensure that the spark support system is stable, and then to begin shunting power away from some of those sensory systems. The very least Perceptor can do is limit some of the pain first, right?
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 12, 2011 17:09:03 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime has Perceptor's frequency, yes.
He doesn't want to be quiescent. Sentinel Prime hates lingering around in here. Being drugged and waking up in here was bad enough. He doesn't want the story of his life to be 'hangar queen'. Sentinel Prime has better thing to do with his time!
Resigned, he tries to relax and let Perceptor work, though it's hard. Perceptor's right. The lack of control bothers him the most.
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 12, 2011 17:29:10 GMT -5
Perceptor is getting worried, actually. Sentinel is many things, but compliant and silent are not any of them. His expression slowly settles into a concerned frown as he finishes trying to shunt power from the worst damages to reduce sensory input - pain - while he works, and he finally simply stops and peers down at Sentinel.
"Your radio is not functioning, is it?" he asks, taking a wild guess based upon the evidence of Sentinel's continued quietness. That is the only reason, beyond sullen pettiness, that Perceptor can imagine for Sentinel not giving him chapter and verse of how the battle went, or demanding which repairs should be a priority, or... or... or something! And, really, Perceptor has no reason to suspect that Sentinel is like that. After all, Sentinel has always been perfectly courteous to him before.
He couldn't be that mad about Perceptor damaging his shield, could he?
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 12, 2011 17:39:48 GMT -5
Ah, yes. Took the genius long enough to figure it out. Sentinel Prime nods slowly, like an adult saying a new word to a small child. Yes.
The lessened pain is nice, though. Makes it a wire's breadth easier to relax, to loosen just a bit of the tension that grips him. Floating in comfortable numbness is pretty good, pretty good indeed...
Sentinel Prime can be ridiculously petty and passive-aggressive, but he'd hate to be mistaken for such when he actually isn't being either of those things!
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 12, 2011 18:28:05 GMT -5
"Of course not," Perceptor replies, and, for a moment, he looks relieved. Sentinel is not snubbing him after all!
And then he looks just a little mortified. How could he have missed something that obvious? Really? Especially given the concussive blast force damages Sentinel is sporting everywhere else? He.... doesn't have an answer for that.
"Just a moment, Sentinel," he offers, numbing out another system before shifting his attention to locating the afflicted radio circuits. He's already had a look at the vocal processors, and those will require a bit of work to get functional again. Hopefully the radio won't be nearly as bad?
Getting to it may be, though. With most of his face missing, several of the mechanisms that fit those finiky plates together around his head are fused or damaged. Perceptor manages to trigger something, though, that gets a few to shift near Sentinel's antenna, and, with a little bit of prodding and tweaking - and probably a little feedback through his audials, regrettably - the power connection is restored, and Sentinel's radio flares back to life with a crackle of sharp static.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 12, 2011 19:30:13 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime is considering drifting off into defrag. This is not a good thing, given his condition. He might not wake up if he does. However, he's feeling so... not in pain. It would be so easy...
Then there is the most hideous feedback screech through his radio. Any calm is gone; he's all tense again, fingers twitching in pain, and a spew of curses vomits over radio at Perceptor, //Oh, ow, slotting smelt me sideways, why in the glitching half-clocked - //
Sentinel Prime catches himself.
//Ahem. Pardon my Kaonic, sir.//
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 12, 2011 20:36:18 GMT -5
Rather than be annoyed or angry at the cursing, Perceptor actually smiles. "Much better," he replies, absently patting Sentinel on the shoulder. What's left of it, anyway.
"Of course, of course." He's grinning just a little as he waves off the apology. "I would hardly expect you to be reciting philosophy or high literature in your condition, after all. I am sorry that I did not realize earlier than your radio was also malfunctioning. I did not intend to leave you without means to communicate."
"Now. Let us get you back on your feet, shall we?"
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 12, 2011 21:35:18 GMT -5
//You get a lot of patients that recite philosophy and literature,// Sentinel Prime asks. He could be making a joke. He could be serious. It's unclear.
There was a thought Sentinel Prime had, he's sure. What was it? He thinks hard for a while, letting Perceptor work harassed.
//Oh yeah! My Skyboom Shield. You can fix it?//
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