| abstract | - Slipstream is seated on her recharge berth within her small cubicle of a sleeping area. In her hand is a data pad, which is studiously looking at as a single finger moves over the device. The barracks door opens, and in walks..or more stomps...a very annoyed looking Shadowstar. She doesn't even greet Slippy as she heads over to her own berth and just clanks into it, setting up her recharge cycle. The metal walls and floor shake slightly, resounding booms echoing down the hallways. For obvious reasons of space, Stormfront does not make his way inside very often - but it’s very, very obvious when he does. Slipstream looks up at the stomping, peering out to see who stomps past. Spotting Shadowstar though, she vents softly and shakes her head. But the shaking, that causes her pause enough to set the data pad down and sit up enough to peer over the partition of her cubicle like area to see what is so big to be down here. Shadowstar too pauses in her pouting, and looks toward the door. "I don't care what Soundwave said. If we're under attack, I'm fighting!" Her weapons deploy quickly, missiles appearing all along her wings and a beam rifle in her hands. Stormfront isn't even going out of his way to stomp - that could quite possibly cause more than significant damage, even down here. Just the towering robot's footsteps are enough to send reverberations through the halls, stronger and stronger as he gets close to the barracks proper. His own recharge station is outside, typically relying on the Decepticon fuelers. It’s not long before the source of the shaking becomes obvious - it can't not be. Stormfront rounds a bend, headed towards the femmecons, the light dimming as his shadow falls down the hall, the massive con filling most of the available space. Slipstream looks over at Shadowstar as she reacts like that, shaking her head again. She waits for an alarm, but nothing other than the reverberations of those foot falls are to be heard. "I don't think we are under attack." she states calmly. Then she sees the shadow and stands up from her recharge berth. Shadowstar huffs, weapons still at the ready. "Maybe. Or maybe whatever that thing is already vaporized the defenses and everything." She doesn't really sound serious, but she doesn't lower her weapons yet. It's hard to see an identity when someone is blocking the light like that. Other than the glowing visor, all Shadowstar can see is a big hulking thing moving toward them. "Ladies." comes the booming voice - now recognizable by that tone as the flight planes drill instructor - known, at least in passing, to most of the air forces. As usual, his voice is somewhat hard to read, but there's enough of an edge there to suggest he's not entirely happy. "Due to the current situation, I've been required to take an assigned bunk. Techs will be coming down to remove one of the stations entirely." So at least he'll have somewhere he vaguely fits to sit, since none of the standard bunks or stations are remotely the right size. Slipstream blinks as she looks up, and up, at the mech twice her size. Her optics flicker slightly in surprise, then she inclines her head. "They could tear down Goa's spot. Not like he's using it." she notes, waving her hand at the area next to hers. Shadowstar blinks in surprise as well, but for a different reason. "After the fit you threw when I first arrived and tried to take that one?!" She is quickly back to fuming and grumbling, her weapons retracting since it is an ally. Slipstream looks over at Shadowstar with a vague frown upon her lips. "I was still getting over the whole situation, so excuse me for being sensitive." On par with a gestalt for size, Storm is used to people looking up, and up at him. Likewise, his red tinged gaze turns downward to regard the two of them. "I don't care which bunk I'm stuck in, so if there's an issue, you can take it up with engineering. I'm only your roommate until the situation passes, at which point you can have your space back." Shadowstar vents at Slipstream. She doesn't apologize of course, but she seems less angry now and more just frustrated about something. "It's not like it's our space. Do whatever." she says. For lack of anything better to do, she scoops up a data pad and begins looking things up. Slipstream's wings flex back slightly as she nods to the large mech. "They are getting closer. That's what I have heard anyway. Hard not to hear Starscream's loud voice when he's annoyed." then a sigh at the other femme, "Please feel welcome while you are here." she tells the mech. Stormfront nods once. "I will feel far more welcome when there's a little more room. However... speaking of Starscream and other members of the command staff..." he pauses, looking between them. "I've been authorized, once quarantine is over, to give people a little bit of a chance to stretch their wings. Including those confined to quarters... but only under supervision, and it has to be logged as training time." he offers, as something of a peace gesture, since he's taking up space. Shadowstar vents again. "I'll just be happy when all of this is over. It's one thing getting attacked by Autobots or neutrals or something, but...you can't even fight these nanos, and you don't even know if you have them until your spark is ready to fall out of your chest." She looks to Stormfront. "Wait...so, they aren't going to just let us get back to patrolling, even after the quarantine is over?" She groans. "I'm going to be stuck in here forever!" she says in exasperation. Slipstream settles down on her recharge berth and hmms, "That would be great, being confined is wearing on many here." she notes sagely, picking up the data pad she was looking over. "Sign me up for that." A vent at what the other femme said, "Whoever told you that is so full of their own gunked up oil they cannot see their own lies." Stormfront considers a few moments. "I think they are not certain. The quarantine could last for some time. And Soundwave is not known to be the kindest of gatekeepers. So you have a choice, wait until he's content with letting you be, or take your chances with me." he offers simply. "I'd prefer to have people out and training instead of sitting in their beds, and will be running drills as soon as permitted." Shadowstar raises an eye ridge at Slipstream. "He just said so, and isn't he the drill instructor or something?" she says, then vents again. "Well...anyway, of course I'd rather at least do some training than be stuck inside all the time, but I can't do anything until Soundwave and Starscream are ready to go on their little nano hunt." Slipstream taps on her data pad to activate it. Listening actively as she looks at a series of digital aerial recon photos of Crystal City. Her wings shift back and forth slightly as she commits them to memory. "That should be interesting seeing the living Cybertronian body from that unique perspective that will have to occur." "Or at least until they scan and clear the academy grounds. If it’s deemed clear, they may allow me to resume training somewhat sooner. Given the need to conserve resources while we can't go scavenging, I may also be able to select a flight team to assist with the nano hunt, as you said. Until then, I'm as stuck as everyone else... but it may be a means to get out, at least a little, somewhat sooner." Shadowstar hehs, smirking lightly at Slipstream's words. "Yeah, I guess it will be interesting. I'm more interested to see if the nanos will attack us when we go in. And what kind of weaponry they will be using if they do. If it's something cool, I may try and swipe one. Weapon I mean, not a nano." Slipstream hmms softly as she looks at the data pad screen, idly fingering a spot on it. "Nanos don't carry weapons. I think they carry something along the lines of tools. After all they are part of our self repair system." she points out. Stormfront glances down at the pad as best he can. "I've been following the situation as best I can, but I've been a little out of the loop." Shadowstar hmms, rubbing her chin. "Yeah...but these nanos are destroying things. Maybe they've developed weapons instead of tools." she says. Slipstream flips to the next photo in the series of Crystal City. Studying the layout of streets and buildings, apparently planning something. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see for sure." she notes. Stormfront gives up on trying to see anything clearly, taking in the conversation instead. "They may not need weapons, if they've just switched from assembling and fixing to disassembling. We'll have to watch over each other on this run." Shadowstar looks over toward the others. "Oh, are you guys going on the expedition, too? I wonder how many Starscream and Soundwave are planning on taking." she idly muses. Slipstream hmms, "I don't believe I'm going. But then they haven't discussed who is in the group either." she points out, glancing up at the mech that is apparently trying to see what she is studying so intently. She sets the data pad down and gets up off her recharge berth. "I'm sure they'll take enough. After all there must be thousands of nanos in a healthy individual." "They thought they could use some heavy firepower, and possibly conserve resources and hide numbers a little." Stormfront answers. "So I may end up taking a portion of the force and providing support. They may always change their minds and stick to a faster team. We'll see. For the moment, my orders say I'm going." Shadowstar grins a bit and relaxes in her berth, crossing her arms behind her head. "Yep. Mine too. I was selected by Soundwave himself." she says, sounding very proud about it. Slipstream passes by the larger mech, wings pulling back as she does. She walks over to the cooler to get her ration, which is a bit smaller than normal due to the scaling back of output of their precious energon reserves. "Either of you want your ration while I'm over here?" she asks. "Appreciated, but no thanks. I got fueled up before I came down. I'm supposed to be on low activity to limit power usage." Always a problem. Storm replies. Shadowstar nods. "Sure, since you asked." Shadowstar says. She suddenly seems more serious, and is obviously thinking about something. Probably the nanos and the mission ahead of her. Slipstream inclines her head to the large mech, then turns to tap in Shadowstar's name into the cooler. It dispenses her ration, which she grabs and then walks it over to the other femme, "Here you go." she says, wings shifting back into their normal position. Stormfront watches the two of them as they settle in and move about, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. That's difficult, of course, but at least there's space to move about with the rations. Shadowstar takes the ration from Slipstream and smiles. "Thanks." she says, then she looks to Stormfront. "So, they sent you down here? Why didn't they want you outside? It isn't like there's much less risk in here of getting bad nanos." Slipstream nods to Shadowstar and moves back to her berth, taking care to slip past Stormfront without getting too much into his personal space. She settles back on her berth and takes a sip of her ration. "I'm not sure, precisely." the bigger mech admits. "You're right, the risks aren't that much greater, but I think the medical staff is being overly fanatical about enforcing quarantine. Otherwise I'd stay at the academy." He either doesn't seem to notice the movement past him, or doesn't seem to have a lot of personal space issues - as one might expect when even in this form, there's evidence of the points where numerous seekers could attach themselves to the massive mech. Shadowstar hmphs at that. "I'd have to disagree there. Robustus seemed totally sure that just because they were in a quarantine field that no bad nanos could be loose in the medical bay, but I was wondering how those sick mechs got in there, then? There had to be exposure at some point." Slipstream looks thoughtfully into her ration, "They would have to walk in while trying to minimize exposure, or perhaps Robustus insisted on quarantining outside of the fortress to try and keep things safe for the rest of us." Stormfront considers. "That's also possible. Either way, I'm content to follow orders for now, and just hope this doesn't extend for too long. I don't mind spending some time with other troops, but it still feels like wasting time compared to my usual schedule." Shadowstar vents softly. "I'm hardly ever content to just follow orders. I want to be out there doing things." she says. Slipstream glances over at the engineers that have arrived to start tear down so Stormfront has a place to sit at least. "You should do it more often." she states matter of factly, then takes a sip of her ration. Stormfront looks between the two of them a few more moments, then assists the mechs in moving things around, finally getting a chance to settle down into the vacated space to make a little more room for the girls to move around. "Sometimes following orders is a good way to be permitted to get out and do things. Or at least get the more choice missions." Shadowstar waves a hand. "Right. I do follow my orders, but I'm not content to -only- follow orders. I like to do things myself, you know?" Slipstream has her datapad in hand again as she shifts a bit as the engineers jostle the wall partition as they move things around. "Indeed. Well said." she notes. A soft vent as the femme says that, she shakes her head. "Like flirting with mechs Shadowstar?" she asks. Stormfront settles in a little more comfortably, vaguely, anyway, trying not to be in their way. The mention of flirting gets a tilt of his head, though its hard to tell, given his faceplating, what he thinks of that. Given his limited decoration, he's at least probably not entirely without some patience for fraternizing. "I can understand that, though I normally keep to the academy, except when I have fighter escort. Easier and more efficient that way." Shadowstar hehs and smirks. "Well...yeah. It's fun to flirt with mechs, just to see what kind of reactions I get. Plus, mechs are easier to control if they think you like them." Slipstream nods to Stormfront as she flips to the next aerial photo on her datapad. "Still though, you don't get to know us that well hanging out there when you could be here." she points out, lifting her gaze to peer over the partition at the other femme, "Then you must 'like' ever mech here." Stormfront nods, just a hint of amusement entering his tone. "You're also welcome to come spend more time at the academy, I have plenty of room for more training rotations." he responds. "And I'm sure this is a nice place... just a bit cramped, or I'd take you up on that." Shadowstar laughs and shakes her head at Slipstream. "Only the ones I can take advantage of. Of course, Robustus is out. His spark belongs to someone, and he won't even flirt teasingly. I'm gonna make him smile or something one day, though. It's a challenge, and I like challenges." She then looks to Stormfront. "I got about fed up with the academy when I was actually in it, buuuut...I might be able to fly by every now and then, once the quarantine is over." she says, giving a little wink. Slipstream looks back to Stormfront and considers, "A good point there Stormfront. Wouldn't hurt to visit the Academy more often." she notes with a hint of a smile. The comment from the fellow femme though gains another shake of her head, "Just don't try to pull that flirting with Megatron." she states matter of factly. Stormfront nods once. "Megatron is pretty focused on the war effort. I doubt he's interested. Right now, anyway." He pauses a few moments, considering, then adds, "Well, the academy isn't just for remedial flying. If I had the troops for it, I'd be happy to add some more stunt flying, sharp shooting, formation work... speaking of challenges." Shadowstar smirks lightly as her wink goes unnoticed. "Of course I flirt with Megatron. But that's because I actually do like him. He's the most powerful mech there is, after all." Slipstream sips at her ration a couple of times, intaking it slowly just to enjoy it. She gets this far away look in her optics as she gazes out of her little space in the barracks. "Powerful and dangerous." she murmurs. Then in a normal voice, "I think I'd like to stunt fly a bit more." Stormfront may well have noticed the wink - after all, almost that exact thing decorates his leg panels, but she's also just admitted to flirting with people to use them - possibly not the ideal flirting technique, though he doesn't seem disinterested either. "There's a reason I signed on to his campaign." he agrees. "He's the best chance Cybertron has for unity under one leader." He shifts his attention to Slip. "I can arrange that. If there's any sessions either of you would like, I'm willing to look into it." Slipstream nods to the large mech, "Probably wouldn't hurt to get in some practice with my lance while in seeker form. I have been missing my targets as of late, which doesn't amuse me at all." Stormfront turns his attention to Slipstream as Shadowstar goes off to... probably pout or something when her wink isn't acknowledged. For the moment, he seems content to focus on business over hurt feelings. "We can work on that." Slipstream nods, "Good." she states, shifting her gaze back to the data pad. Her wings shift slightly behind her, legs drawing closer to her body as she sits on her berth. Stormfront leans over a bit, eyeing the pad and what she's working on as well. He could try not to be too obvious, but really, there's not much point. "Working on anything in particular?" Slipstream notices the light change as he leans over. She shifts a bit in her seated position, "Looking at aerial shots of Crystal City. Trying to locate the library." she replies, "Want to be ready should we be able to get past the critical optics and security of the city guard." Stormfront considers the image a few moments. "We're going to have to do it with speed; it’s a Starscream operation, after all. Which means finding the targets quickly. If we had more information on all the objectives, I'd love to go over the tactical specs. Like I said though, I'm coming into this late." Slipstream straightens a bit in her seated position, "It's not a target for attack. At least not yet that I'm aware. Shadowstar and I were to infiltrate the city at one point, but it fell through because she was on other missions and our schedules never coincided. She needs to prove her skills in infiltration, so I've been given the task of finding a way in so we can access the library and its information." she pauses a moment, "What do you know of the guards there?" Stormfront shakes his head. "Not a lot at the moment, but given all the specs and data to study on, I might be able to help with mission coordination. Obviously I'm not an infiltrator, and my specialty is aerial tactics, but I've done some tac work in general, if you don't mind some help?" Slipstream inclines her head and says, "I don't mind the help. I think I found the library in the aerial photos. Now it’s just planning out how to get there quickly and back out in as little time as possible. Also plan for a couple escape routes should someone catch on to what we are doing." Stormfront seems more engaged now, taking a look at the pad. "Alright, I can take a look at the map. We can probably also plan some sort of distraction to help you escape, and work out a couple of escape routes. In theory, if you can get in, getting out should be easier." Slipstream taps on the data pad to show a section of the city that includes the front gate and the library. She points to the library, "This is where we need to go and here is the gate. As to a distraction, probably would call that in if things got hot for us. I'm hoping that Shadowstar knows how to disguise both of us well enough to pass through the gate." Stormfront considers the specs a few moments, and takes in the surroundings and defenses, trying to identify stronger and weaker points. "Not too far. So a lot of getting out and method would depend on what you need to do at the library, and if you set any alarms off in the process. As for a distraction, I'm sure something could be arranged in an emergency. How much do you trust her disguise skills?" Slipstream looks up at you, "I don't know what her skills are so this will be a test of them. If she passes, we could use her to get into Iacon. She sure could flirt her way in." the notes with a hard huff through her vents, "Though I doubt that will work with the guard at Crystal City." a pause as she looks over you a moment, "Flying out of there would be dangerous. They got an aerial detecting system in place. If we flee, it would have to be on foot until we get out of the city proper." Stormfront nods, considering the added information. "That's rough, going in with an unknown. Flirting is a useful skill, but you're right, it probably wouldn't do much with a trained guard. To get in you'd need a reason to be there and a reason to go to the library. If all goes well, you can walk out. If not, you're going to need cover. If you can't fly - most of them are faster on the ground than you are." Slipstream smiles a hint as you agree with her about flirting being useless with the guard. "Exactly. I am still trying to come up with a valid reason to be there and visiting the library. I'm leaning toward trying to find records of my creators having lived there right now. They may believe it too." she hands you the data pad so you can get a better view. "There's another gate, not as used, near the monastery and temple. It’s certainly an escape route if we can get some sort of intel on what if any guards are there." Stormfront nods. "Long range scanners and cams can probably get an idea of guard rotation. If your disguise is good enough, yeah, they'd probably believe it. What exactly are you doing at the library? If you're just looking for info, or can copy things, you might be able to walk out afterwards the way you came in, maybe even keep your cover identities intact. Otherwise, trying to figure out when there's a weak point in the rotation at the secondary gate is a better chance. You might also consider not going straight to the library. Find a couple places you could hide if things blow up." Slipstream considers your words and nods, "For information, that is what libraries are for after all. Hoping we can sneak in a device to attach to the library mainframe so we can remotely access it from Polyhex. Knowledge is power." another nod, "That's why I was looking at the entire layout of the aerial shots." she reaches over to tap at the screen as you hold the data pad. The total aerial view is shown of the city now, "There we go. So what do you see there that would be good for hiding?" Stormfront considers the city, letting it process, then points towards a couple spots. "There's power and recharging stations there, enough metal and power flowing that it would hide you from scanners. Alternately, over here, nearer the barracks. That looks like there might be munitions - which would also mess with scanners. Plus, no one would expect people to be hiding there... just don't try and break into the barracks or facilities themselves. Just hide in any of the areas around here. Might be able to hide til things blow over a little, or til we can create enough distraction to draw forces away. As for remote accessing, you might want to consider sneaking one of the tapes in to put in the tap. It’s a good plan though. We should probably also try and do some remote spying to try and get an idea of their guard rotations and numbers." Slipstream looks to where you point and nods, "I was thinking the same locations. Should they scan for us at least our signatures would be hard to find there. Was also considering the hospital and perhaps even the Temple. If we asked for sanctuary I believe they have to give it to us." she states, "Well we can get some spies out there once this is quarantine is done. This plan has taken awhile, but patience wins wars." Stormfront nods. "Temple is a bad idea though except in last resort. They could give you sanctuary - but then they'd be monitoring right outside, you'd be stuck. The hospital is a good idea. You might be able to sneak out from there amidst the garbage parts on the way to the scrapheap too, as an alternate way out." Slipstream considers thoughtfully then says, "But with us being femmes and obviously not doing anything noticeably wrong they have no real reason to keep us for long. After all Megatron has already shown he can and will use destructive weapons. I doubt Crystal City wants to be nuked off the grid." Stormfront nods. "Well, if all goes well, there will never be a problem. You go in, access the library, and walk out, they never know the difference. In which case, none of this is necessary anyway. I'm just planning for in case things go wrong. If you're discovered, they'd figure out where you went too. But if things go wrong, best to try and get out on your own and draw as little attention as possible - which means hiding places and escape routes - you shouldn't need them... but they're good to have just in case." Slipstream nods, "I'm hoping it will be a simple in and out job with no suspicion raised. But now with these routes in place just in case it does go bad for us, I feel a lot better about the mission." she states with a smile, "Thanks for your input on this." Stormfront nods. "Like I said, I'm a tactician. Seemed the least I could do, while I was here. I'll map out two or three possible routes for you, try and analyze places to hide near the munitions, power plant and hospital, and arrange for someone to try and do remote recon for the guard shifts for you. For the cause, after all." Slipstream inclines her head, "The guard shifts will the key part. I certainly want to avoid being there when the Angels leader is there at the front gate. And the less guardians on duty, the better too." Stormfront nods. "Recon will be important. There will likely be either three or four shifts. your best bet is to try and get in and out during the same shift - when the Angels leader isn't there. That increases the chances the guard will recognize you as someone they waved in once, and they'll just let you pass, so we'll want to time it for that." Slipstream shifts her wings slightly and says, "Yes, that would be the plan then." she agrees, "I would like that in a solar cycle if at all possible. I can work on some recon troops to get them in on that part of things. For now though, a good recharge is sounding good." Stormfront settles back again. "Rest well then. I'm sure we'll talk more. I'll work on some possible routes and city mapping for you while you're out." Slipstream nods, "We'll talk more." she agrees, then shifts to lie down on her recharge berth.
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