| abstract | - Over in the northeast corner of the lab sits a large security coded vault, where all the discoveries deemed too dangerous or too sensitive for general release are stored. While to the North West corner resides one of the Lab's more recent additions. The experimental Cold Fusion Reactor that drives Metroplex's faster than light systems. A number of monitors and display readouts are connected around the reactor, technicians constantly checking the experimental device. "Er---" Jetfire's spark jumps a little when he hears a voice behind him all of a sudden. Turning, he is surprised and almost alarmed to see a Quintesson before him. Quintessons didn't exactly have a good place in his mind, at least not usually, but then he remembered that the EDC had befriended one once, as strange as that seemed. Well okay Jetfire's seen stranger. "Oh, right..." He settles down, leaving the schematics up. "Sorry about that--you startled me. You must be Apocryphacius, the one with Earth Defense Command." he smiles, looking slightly abashed. "I must be," Apocryphacius echoes quietly, and he touches his security hangtag. "Was I mistaken in my assumption?" Jetfire. Big Autobot. Dangerous. Known for his skill in science. Currently unpredictable. Tailgate wanders into the Laboratory, looking for Perceptor actually. The little minibot just wants to let him know that he's more than willing to take him up on his science laboratory assistantship offer. Looking around, he finds Perceptor absent but another very large mech and that strange Quintession Apocryphacius present. He stops suddenly, a bit surprised and also a little intimdated. "Excuse me," he says politely, "but are you one of the Aerialbots?" Jetfire looks a little baffled by the Quintesson's answer. Was he unsure of his identity? "Erm...I should certainly hope not." he answers slowly, glancing down at the security tag. "I apologize if I caused you alarm, I just--didn't expect to see...I mean, I didn't expect to see you here." An awkward moment of silence passes. "But! Anyway, enough of that." He turns to the schematic he was looking at. "Since you have made your way here, I may as well ask for your input. You are aware of the modifications made to Captain Velum's exo suit, yes? I was considering the possibility of replicating those changes, perhaps producing them elsewhere to create a communication relay we may be able to use to communicate with Vector sigma." Darkness just lacks confidence and also dislikes stating the obvious. He considers for a moment, "Ah. Well. That may work. I must confess, however... there may be more direct routes of communication? Vector Sigma has control of cameras all around Cybertron. I...tinkered with one myself. The results were... less than optimal." "Yes, I am aware, but--it seems simply attempting to speak to it the way Galvatron did has availed us nothing." Jetfire says, shaking his head. "We may need to resort to the introduction of new datafeeds. Hmm...you say you tinkered with one of the surveillance devices? What exactly did you attempt? If you could be more specific regarding your methods?" The scientist glances Tailgate's way. "Ah, hello there Tailgate. No, I am not one of the Aerialbots. Were you searching for one of them? I may be able to assist you in that matter." Tailgate turns to Apocryphacius, "Hi there, friend! I don't know if you remember me? I know I almost shot you the first time we met, and I guess I never got the chance to apologize about that. Anyway, really sorry about that," he says, giving Apoc a kind expression. "Oh..oh no, not at all," Tailgate says, suddenly becoming shy and bashful, "you have wings and jet engines, I just thought .. maybe you were..." Darkness explains, "I took off the camera casing and changed the camera feed. It is merely video. You can change it to whatever you like." He swivels around to regard Tailgate, faces switching. "Are you. Well. I am well enough now. Consider yourself forgiven, Tailgate." Darkness transforms into his Judgement mode. The minibot's optics light up cheerily. "Oh good! And thank you! I'm glad we can be friends!" Then Tailgate leans forward and gives Apoc a whopping glomp. Jetfire nods as Apocryphacius explains. "Hmm. And what did you change the feed to? Did it appear to have any effect?" he questions, jotting down a few notes on a datapad. He glances momentarily at Tailgate, smiling at the minibot's bashfulness. "Ah, no need to be worried, I am not offended at all. Is there something you needed?" Judgement starts to explains, "A PSA of Red Alert explaining to human offspring not to bicycle in the dark had no effect, but when I warned it not to harm Captain Velum, it ah... became -" - and then he is cut off because Tailgate does something utterly unexpected and decides that hugging a tentacle monster is a good idea. Just what. What is this, even? Apocryphacius does not understand. His tentacles fly up and just kind of hover in the air, uncertainly. Then, very gingerly, he drapes a pair around Tailgate's shoulders, and he says, "Uhm. Well. If you ever need repairs or weapons, I am competent at both." Friends: they give you guns. That is how it works, right? Well, apparently Tailgate really likes hugs or is in a very affectionate mood today because he hugs Apoc a little tighter for another few kliks. "Aw thanks! That's so nice of you to offer!" he says, finally letting go of him. He glances over at Jetfire. "Oh, no, not really, I was just poking around the base I guess..." Oh science, is Tailgate trying to strangle Apocryphacius in the most inefficient manner possible? He excuses himself, "I have some... calculations I need to make, now, but you have a nice day." "Bye!" Tailgate waves farewell, optics gleaming happily. "Have a nice day, I'll see you around!" "Mhmm..." Jetfire nods again, taking note of the Quintesson's words. But then he suddenly cuts short. He turns around, wondering what had happened. Well...wasn't -that- interesting. Another awkward silence. "Ah...became what? Do you believe it had something to do with Velum's disappearance?" But he nods as Apocryphacius suddenly decides to leave. Perhaps the hugging made him uncomfortable..."Er, very well then. Perhaps you could create some documentation of the observations made? That may be helpful." He chuckles at Tailgate. "Well, I am glad you are in an optimal mood this cycle." ".....?" Tailgate gives Jetfire a curious look. "But this is how I usually am," he says, tilting his helm to one side. "Although I suppose I am little happier than usual since I just made a new friend yesterday! And we actually spent time together and had fun," he gushes. "I guess you could say I'm in a new friend-making mood today!" Well, what an optimistic little minibot, Jetfire thinks to himself. "I see. Youmade a new friend, eh? And who might that be?" he asks, as he starts running some simulation algorithms to see how he might go about creating more Vector Sigma comm relays, and if that would be useful at all. "It's the new recruit, you know, the....” But Tailgate trails off when he notices that Jetfire is busy doing something else. He looks down at the floor, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "You know, you didn't tell me what you're name is," he says softly. "Ah, Shiftlock." Jetfire nods. "She has great potential." he says approvingly. "I'm happy to hear that you are getting along with her quite well." There are several holo-displays up, and code begins to scroll across them. "Hmmm...Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I am Jetfire." He begins reviewing previous comm logs, to see what else he can gather from what the others had said regarding the matter. He stops, as something that was said the previous solar cycle gives him pause. Tailgate sit down on a small overturned metal bucket, watching Jetfire work. "Yeah! She's also very nice," he adds, "Just a little shaky around the Autobots, but I'm sure that'll clear up with time," he says optimistically. "Oh, it's very nice to meet you Jetfire!" he exclaims. "It is a pleasure." Jetfire says pleasantly. "Yes, I predict that it will, once she becomes more accustomed to our protocols." He pauses, then turns around to face the minibot. "Tailgate," he begins. "...I don't know if you are aware, but it would appear that Impactor has made a...suggestion involving you that might actually be worth a legitimate attempt. Would you care to hear it?" Tailgate jumps to his feet, optics bright with excitement. "Oooh!? Of course! I would love to! Anything to help a mech out! What.. is it?' he asks inquisitively, tilting his helm to one side curiously. "Well...put simply, Impactor suggested that we interface your neural circuits directly with Vector Sigma, with the hope that it would override Galvatron's influence. We have tried communicating with it the way he did, or through the comm relays we discovered, with minimal results. I fear that introducing new datafeeds will be just as fruitless, even dangerous..." He pauses, pondering the potential dangers to Tailgate personally. "But you are such a polar opposite of Galvatron, that your personality coding may be most effective in neutralizing or reversing what that maniac has done." "Oh of course!!!" Tailgate cries, almost interrupting Jetfire midsentence. "Anything to help! I would love to! When do we start? What do I do?" he asks eagerly, optics wide and bright. He clasps his hands together. "Oooh! Finally! A chance to be considered useful! I'm so excited!" Jetfire grimaces a little. "Tailgate..." he vents a sigh. “I know you are eager, but I must warn you of the dangers of this. The mental strain of this endeavour is likely to be quite colossal. It may be traumatizing at best...and..." he shakes his head, but he must be honest! "...fatal at worst. That is if you consider death to be worst thing that could possibly happen." Which, in Jetfire's opinion, it was far from it. He's actually reluctant to approve of this--it could drive the poor minibot insane! "I promise I can handle it. If it's me that Impactor is asking for, well, he'll get 110% of me. If I die, at least I died doing something honorable and the sacrifice will have been worth it. There won't be too many who miss me anyway..." Tailgate trails off a little sadly. "And if I go insane and start hurting people, and no one can fix me, quickly make sure that I'm put down permanently. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt because of me." Jetfire gets up from his workstation and moves over to Tailgate, putting a handon the minibot's shoulder. "That is very noble of you, Tailgate. Are you certain you are willing to attempt this? It will be a very dangerous endeavour. We will have to find our way to the core, and fend off any Decepticons, perhaps evenGalvatron himself. Not to mention the procedure itself." "The procedure will be untested--it is not something that has been attempted inthe past, and will be impossible to test fully beforehand." Tailgate nods slowly, looking the larger mech in the optics confidently. "Yes. I am very sure, I promise to do it if that is what is needed," he says quietly. If one were to look closer, they would be able to observe a hint of fear in the minibot's expression. But it's clear his resolve isn't going to change. Tailgate averts his optics. "...Y-yes. Okay. It sounds dangerous, but I'm willing." "It -will- be dangerous." Jetfire confirms. "There is no doubt about that particular aspect of this project. It is almost guaranteed that the Decepticons will attempt to stop us." "But of course they will! No great good ever came easily, Jetfire. And I'm willing to endeavor the hard to get to the good."Tailgate looks up at him. Jetfire smiles fondly, patting Tailgate on the back. "You have a lot of couragefor such a small 'Bot. I admire that. The galaxy could always use more mechs like yourself." Tailgate beams, his optics bright. "O-Oh thank you!" he says bashfully. "I don't compliments often, so thank you, it means a lot to me." Jetfire nods, beaming. "You are most welcome. I will speak with Command regarding this matter, and let them know you are up to the task." "Does that mean I'll get to meet... U-Ultra? O-Or Rodimus?" Tailgate says, incredulous. He stares at Jetfire, amazed. Judgement gets back from doing calculations, and he wonders just what transpired while he was indisposed. He says softly, "Ah. Yes. Telling Vector Sigma to cease hostilities to my Captain caused Vector Sigma to... reject my presence and to prepare for war with... the Quintessons. Nevermind that there are not enough of us left to wage that war, in any case." He shakes back and forth. "You may expect Vector Sigma to start restructuring Cybertron to have more non-civlian buildings, such as missile batteries, which the Decepticons willno doubt use against you. My apologies. If I had known..." He trails off. Then he shakes himself again and looks up. "...if I had known, I would /still/ have told Vector Sigma to free my Captain." Jetfire shrugs, going back over his workstation and sitting down. "Hmm, perhaps."he gives Tailgate an amused look. "But if you are so eager to speak to Rodimus or Ultra Magnus, I am sure you could simply request to do so." And then Apocryphacius returns from his work. Jetfire listens to his explanation, then nods. "So I see. That was indeed the reason for its recent declaration, then. Hmm...what do you surmise was its reason for being so...adamantly obsessed with Captain Velum? Do you know anything more of her besides what the EDC has on record?" "Well," Tailgate shuffles his feet, "there's never really been any reason for it, so, I mean, unless it's a special occasion, like, uh, what I'm preparing for...” He says, looking bashful. Judgement sighs and holds up a pair of tentacles near his optics. He says sheepishly, "I really think it may have been interested in her exo-suit's comm device, which you mentioned was based off a Cybertronian drone's comm." He considers the rest of the question. "I do not know Captain Velum all that well. She quarreled with General Cross and was discharged from service for a time. When General Cross tried to destroy Cybertron... under compulsion from /Silas/ -" - his optics flash, and his faces shift, "Velum helped prevent the destruction of Cybertron." Wait, is Tailgate getting his makeup done for the prom? Apocryphacius feels like he missed something, here. Judgement transforms into his Wrath mode. "Hmmm." Jetfire considers all of this, rubbing his head. "The comm device? But, we have many internal subspace communications devices that are designed in a similar manner to that one. Why would Vector Sigma be so specifically interested in -that- particular device?" He wonders. "Perhaps we could replicate that exact model, and find out if it is indeed that particular device, and what about it that is causing the system to be so interested in it." He glances back over at Tailgate. "Ah, don't be so bashful. You are an Autobot as much as I am, you have a right to speak with your superiors if you feel it is appropriate." "They're not really the hang out type, though, are... are they?" Tailgate asks inquisitively. "Would you know, anyway?" Wrath 's click around, and his voice is very soft as he warns, "Be careful about becoming too familiar with your superiors. They have concerns above the common soldier and cannot afford to become biased." He looks up at Jetfire. "I will ask EDC command if they can forward a copy of the schematics of the Captain's exo." Wrath transforms into his Darkness mode. Apocryphacius says, "This bit: "What concerns me most, however, was meeting some sort of... drone during all of this who surfaced from the fissure. It didn't speak, but it did upload something into my exo-suit that I managed to recover. I will provide a link to the video at the end of this log.” "Oh... " Tailgate mutters. "You're right...It must be really awful being a position so high up then!" Jetfire raises a brow ridge at Apocryphacius. Biased, hm. Interesting. But that is a topic for later discussion. "Well, we already have a fair idea of what her exo looks like. The question is what about it does Vector Sigma find so interesting? Perhaps, because she was present when that terrorist Xabat threatened Cybertron, it perceived your warnings as a threat?" He shakes his head, sighing. "Ah, but that is mere speculation. There is no way to ascertain that without examining the code directly. Which is why we must venture into the Core and investigate." "It percieved my warnings as a threat, because I am a Quintesson, and as anyone will tell you, all we ever do is lie and betray," Apocryphacius says, words tingeed with bitterness, but he is more gentle in commenting to Tailgate, "Leadership is a lonely burden, but our superiors take it upon themselves, because they can and because someone must." "More recent schematic data would be beneficial, however. Thank you." Jetfire says, nodding as he sees the request made. He hears the bitterness in Apocryphacius' words. Yes...he will admit, it is hard to trust a Quintesson after everything their kind had done. But...this one had shown himself to be loyal only to the humans for many meta-cycles. After all, he himself used to be a Decepticon--thus, he somewhat identifies with the Quint. "I suppose that is logical. But..." his voice softens a little. "If it's any consolation, I trust you, and do not assume you to be a liar unless proven otherwise. "I know, that's why I could never do it! Must be awful, not being allowed to have any real friends," Tailgate says a little mournfully. "Heh, it's been nice knowing you Apocryphacius! And I trust you." His optics beam happily at the Quintesson. "If the Autobots continue to trust and accept me as one of their own, there is no reason they should not do the same for you." Jetfire adds. Darkness stares at Tailgate a bit and he wonders if Tailgate is on some kind of mood-enhancing substance. He does point out, faces switches again, "You are a Transformer, Jetfire. You think as they do. You look as they do. Perhaps you face prejudice for your wings, in the Autobot ranks, but you are not a member of a whole other species. In addition, your species is not known to be generally a hopeless black hole of depravity. I thank the both of you for the trust, and I hope that you do not find yourselves disappointed." "That is true." Jetfire admits. "But, I was once a close friend of Starscream's. There were...qualms over my previous loyalty to the Decepticons, of course. I would not be surprised if they still exist, but are simply not as prominent. And I am glad you're not convinced that we are -all- depraved madmechs." "Me too, I guess. But I know you won't, right?" Tailgate peers closely at Apoc. Judgement was not really around when Starscream had his reign of terror. It does not have the emotional imapct on him that it would on a child whose house was bombed by the Air Commander, who saw his parents die under trapped rubble. He knows his history. He knows Starscream was evil, but he never lived it, himself. Half a smile quirks on his active face, but only half. "If you were /all/ hopeless, I would not serve at your sides to fight your enemies." His curiosity gets the better of him. "What made you leave your friend?" Jetfire sighs, ah what a long story. "Well...he was never exactly a very -pleasant- person to be around, to be quite honest with you. He was very arrogant and actually rather self-obsessed. Because of that, he was not very well-liked by his peers. I..." He shakes his head. "I felt sorry for him. I thought, perhaps, he might change, eventually, if I treated him well. But such was not the case, it would seem. Most unfortunate, that he died without ever seeing the error of his ways." The scientist explains sadly. Click click clik, the faces whirl around, and Apocryphacius tries to reach up a tentacles to try to pat Jetfire on the... knee, probably. "Oh. Oh Jetfire. I am so very sorry." What else can be said? Jetfire sighs, ah what a long story. "Well...he was never exactly a very -pleasant- person to be around, to be quite honest with you. He was very arrogant and actually rather self-obsessed. Because of that, he was not very well-liked by his peers. I..." He shakes his head. "I felt sorry for him. I thought, perhaps, he might change, eventually, if I treated him well. But such was not the case, it would seem. Most unfortunate, that he died without ever seeing the error of his ways." The scientist explains sadly.
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