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Post by Dr. James Hook on Aug 30, 2011 22:24:33 GMT -5
"Yes, yes, you have a ranged weapon. I am making you a better ranged weapon. I'm sure you'll do quite well with it," Hook says testily, as Oracle and Long Haul get side-tracked. "Anyway, I just need you to do a few tiny things I can't reach." It is actually a lot more work than Hook is making it sound like. "I trust my self-repair systems to rectify your inevitable errors. As for the other combiner members, we'll see, once I have a proof of concept study done."
He stares at Oracle a moment longer and then moves to start laying out parts on a tray for Long Haul's wholly unnecessary cosmetic surgery! After a pause, Hook says, tone absent, "I remember you." There is another pause. "You took something of mine." He holds up some fibre optic cable to the light and studies it.
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Oracle
Minor
The future is always in motion.
Posts: 426
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Post by Oracle on Aug 30, 2011 22:45:56 GMT -5
Relying on one's fists in melee isn't so bad when you can put holes in them from a distance first!
Listening to Long Haul, Oracle just shakes her head. "Okay, so you have a weapon, you still need a better one." To spite her agreement with him on the subject Hook seems annoyed that she and Long Haul have gotten off topic. Oops? He really is rather set on having things his way, isn't he.
Then Hook enlightens her to why he's been staring and for a moment Oracle looks smug before she shrugs. "I remember you too, and it's mine now. I did after all, take it fair in battle." Her trophy Hook, and she really doesn't like giving those up, how much do you want it back?
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Post by Long Haul on Aug 30, 2011 22:57:36 GMT -5
Long Haul grunts. He's really not particularly thrilled with the idea of getting a new rocket system installed, but he supposes that it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Still, he observes, "That's an awful lot of new bits to get used to all at once."
He looks back and forth between Hook and Oracle as they discuss theft and... and bragging about said theft. He tilts his head and narrows his optics, but doesn't yet say anything.
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Post by Dr. James Hook on Aug 31, 2011 8:53:37 GMT -5
To say that Hook is set on having things his way is an understatement.
Hook glances sidelong at Oracle and says flatly, "You are an organ thief. You would make an excellent Decepticon."
Hook would know.
Hook's shell-program resetting him to a mostly civilian mentality has some funny consequences; this is one of them. He recalls Decepticons stealing body parts. One of his closest co-workers liked to do it, and Hook even helped him! He recalls the Autobots being quite huffy about it all. So, of course, logically, Oracle is engaging in Decepticon behaviour if she is a brazen, unashamed organ thief.
To Long Haul, he gestures to an unused berth and directs, "Just lie down for now. It is an awful lot of new parts, and they won't install themselves."
That's a project for a different month: self-installing parts. Don't want wings? Too bad! The wings want you.
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Oracle
Minor
The future is always in motion.
Posts: 426
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Post by Oracle on Aug 31, 2011 12:41:23 GMT -5
"Better a rebuild like this now, than one because you opted not to do this." Oracle's tone is distinctly wry. Being rebuilt because the other option is living in a bucket, distinctly sucks. Oracle can vouch for that one out of painful first hand experience. Ah Gillanan, the memories you give people.
Hook's accusation gets a slightly amused huff in response. "You would know better than me I suppose. I've never been one." She doesn't think he's entirely on the right track about it being only Decepticon behavior personally, but she doesn't want to fight over it either. It makes no difference to her what he believes. Interesting about turn in what had to be his thought patterns though.
She does make sure that she's not going to be in the way now that Hook is directing Long Haul around. She may be verbally distracting and even baiting him a bit, but she has no intention of actually interfering with what he's doing.
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Post by Long Haul on Aug 31, 2011 21:39:36 GMT -5
Long Haul grunts and begins trudging towards the berth, but then the discussion between Oracle and Hook causes him to stop suddenly. His blue optic band flashes brightly and he turns to glare at Oracle.
"Hey! If you took parta Hook's body, you oughta give it back now! Keeping 'trophies' off of folks what are on your side ain't right, even if they weren't when it happened."
Of course, this means that Hook's grand project is now being delayed by Long Haul's misguided attempt to stand up for Hook.
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Post by Dr. James Hook on Sept 1, 2011 17:39:31 GMT -5
When Autobots take Decepticon body parts and hang them up on their walls, it is viewed as an honourable practice. When Decepticons take Autobot parts, it is viewed as ghastly and macabre. It is terribly unfair. Hook's head tilts a little as Long Haul defends him. Of course, this is the most natural thing in the world. Why does Hook feel a tingle of unease? He says firmly, "Long Haul. Come sit down. Common thieves such as her should be beneath your notice." Hook really can't do anything about Oracle, so he's going to fall back on the snob's defence of being an elitist jerk.
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Oracle
Minor
The future is always in motion.
Posts: 426
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Post by Oracle on Sept 1, 2011 19:14:55 GMT -5
Oracle doesn't particularly care what either side would think of her habit. She doesn't display her keepsakes; they are something for her alone. Proof to herself.
A brief illumination of dulled optics behind her visor and a tightening of her fingers are her reaction to Long Haul's belligerence, before Oracle tosses her head slightly and scoffs. "It has nothing to do with sides Long Haul. It's my proof to myself that I survived his attempt to kill me. He couldn't kill me, the dogs he sent after me couldn't do it, not even their twisted Prime could, though he came fragging close." By the time she finishes saying all that, her lips are curled back from her teeth and her expression looks a bit wild. After all Oracle probably knows just how close she came to dying. She probably saw every close call she didn't make it through, as well as the ones she did. Is it really so strange to hold onto tangible proof that you survived in that case?
Hook gets a derisive sniff and flick of wing flaps, but she tries to settle again. Oracle is after all here for a purpose, even if that purpose seems to be getting rather mangled in the process.
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Post by Long Haul on Sept 1, 2011 21:43:18 GMT -5
Long Haul looks ready to continue arguing with Oracle, likely because not being a precog, he really can't understand what her problem is, but when it becomes clear that Hook doesn't want his defense, he shrugs.
"Whatever," he grumps, throwing himself down on top of the berth with a clang and a clatter.
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Post by Dr. James Hook on Sept 2, 2011 21:28:51 GMT -5
Hook looks haunted for a moment. Did he really do what she is saying he did? Yes, he did. The memory is there. Then the memory fades. What was he doing? Oh, right. Hook was trying to perform unnecessary bodily modifications upon Long Haul, and he was being annoyed by a blue Seeker.
He takes a step closer to Long Haul, smiling, and he directs, "Open up. I need to turn off your pain sensors first, though I do want you lucid."
This is more like the old Hook. He turns pain sensors off as a default first step.
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Oracle
Minor
The future is always in motion.
Posts: 426
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Post by Oracle on Sept 4, 2011 13:20:46 GMT -5
Yes, Oracle is the Autobot's omnipresent somewhat blue Seeker. Not even they can escape the trope.
When the fight with both Constructibots, which is still a weird name to her even after all this time, dies with a whimper and not a bang, Oracle gives one last agitated flick of wings before dismissing the whole concern for the moment. She suspects it may come up again with one, if not both of them but for the moment it is no longer a point of contention.
And this would be a bad time to be a distraction, since Hook is apparently going to start working. Checking around her, Oracle tries to make sure she's out of the way of anything that seems related to the engineer's workspace. Then she goes quiet and watchful.
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Post by Long Haul on Sept 4, 2011 14:41:05 GMT -5
"Right, right," Long Haul grunts, unlocking his chest plate. "I'd just as soon stay awake, anyway. Gets kinda weird, waking up with a bunch of new parts when you weren't there when they went in. Well, you were there, but you know what I mean."
Probably.
"Still seems like an awful lot of new bits, though. You can practically build a whole 'nother me with all of them parts you have."
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Post by Dr. James Hook on Sept 4, 2011 15:29:13 GMT -5
Hook definitely understands, Long Haul. Long Haul could tell Hook to pass him the thingie with the stuff, and Hook would understand.
Hook looks back, eying Oracle balefully, to make sure that she does stay out of the way. Then Hook hesitates. He remembers clear as day Long Haul's pre-war body, but his servos remember something different. He takes a moment to disable Long Haul's pain sensors, going with what he sees, rather than what his servos tell him. Hook taps Long Haul on the shoulder and inquires, "Everything check out? Anyway, you need to be able to turn into an arm, a leg, a torso, a crotch, or head and shoulders, as the situation demands. Of course, it is a lot of new parts!"
Hook calls dibs on 'head and shoulders', though, if they scrounge up the personnel for a six-bind.
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Oracle
Minor
The future is always in motion.
Posts: 426
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Post by Oracle on Sept 8, 2011 11:21:22 GMT -5
Oracle holds her hands up innocently to Hook, see she's not touching anything. At the same time she can't resist piping up to respond to Long Haul. "I don't think we want two of you Long Haul. One of you is enough to adjust to, two might give some of the more inflexible people meltdowns." And oh dear, on that note having Hook around isn't going to be good for new arrivals either. The three of them are the 'don't shoot the..' corner.
She also sort of wonders if some poor combiner has ever gotten it very wrong and ended up with 3 legs, 1 arm, 2 torsos, a crotch and no head. Not very effective but it might stop a battle all the same. Not a good time to ask though.
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Post by Long Haul on Sept 8, 2011 20:17:55 GMT -5
"Yeah, everything checks," Long Haul confirms. "Well, 'cept for my pain system being offline, but that counts as 'checks out' right now." He stays still, because moving will make things more difficult for Hook. That, by itself, isn't a problem, but the problem is that Hook then will complain about it, and make himself more annoying than usual. Fortunately, Long Haul's capable of incredible levels of patience. It's necessary when your job involves hauling parts over such long miles.
"Eh. I wouldn't want two of me, either," he says to Oracle. "Though around here, who knows. Could happen. Probably not from an alt mode change and a bit of an upgrade, though."
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