| abstract | - Shark's Rib Beyond the barracks and past the soundproof barriers is the NCC's residential tavern, the Shark's Rib. The walls and ceilings are a deep blue colour, and various lighting creates a shimmering effect. Large curved support beams above the ceiling provide a protective cage over the recreational area. Energon flows through transparent spiral-shaped piping behind the bar to the right of the entrance, indicating to even the most over-energized Decepticon where to go to for a refill. Bartenders are available to dispense energon of various grades and blends. For people willing to part with more imperial credits and who know who and how to ask, the good product is kept under lock and key. There is seating at the bar for Decepticons of various sizes. There are also numerous booths for large groups. There is a small exposed area to serve as a dance floor with a raised level in front of it, complete with all the equipment necessary for public announcements and live group performances. Due to the lack of importance to the overall Decepticon mission, even more aesthetical decorations have been put into the Shark's Rib. Thin metallic spirals decorate the bar area, the furnishings and the walls. Music is often played through hidden speakers - often trumpet music, but also classic Imperial soldier tunes that every Decepticon knows well. Backfire is in the Shark's Rib, galavanting around like the simpleton he is. Currently the Seeker is rejoicing over their 'win' of Cybertron, sloshing around an energon drink and standing on a table singing. "Oh, for the EMPIRE! Yes, the EMPIRE! All we do for our Lord Galvatron, glorious duty for our SIRE! Oh, for the EMPIRE! Yes, the EMPIRE! We'll vanquish his enemies, cleansing their filth in the FIRE! Oh, for the EMPIRE!" he shouts aloud, unable to carry a tune to save his core. Windshear walks in and just stops at the doorway staring at the Seeker standing on a table and singing the glory of the empire. After a moment, with a shake of his head he walks over to the table he usually takes when hes here, sits down and motions for his usual. Then he pulls out a *tf* cig and kicks back smoking it. Scourge had only just returned to Earth after the battle for Cybertron. He was stalking through the NCC Residential Ribs, heading for the Sanctum, when he heard Backfire's rather poor excuse for 'singing' and paused. Tempted to go into the Shark's Rib and simply rip out his vocalizer to put a stop to the noise, the Sweep Leader pauses and decides it wouldn't be worth the effort. Instead, he stalks into the bar and merely stands in the doorway, his scowling gaze falling upon Backfire and remaining there, unblinking. Silent, as he so often was, the Sweep merely glares at the Seeker for a long, long moment. "Yes, the EMPIRE! Never has my core been so dire, before I knew the glory of the EMPIRE! Oh, for the EMPIRE! Yes, the EMPIRE!" Backfire finishes, his drink spilling around him ... getting quite a number of the room's occupants drenched. All giving him menacing stares, the Seeker jumps down from the table and saunters through. "Hey, it's free enerhol ... why are ya complaining?" he chuckles, making his way to Windshear's table and plopping down in a seat. Windshear looks at him as he gets his drink and takes a slow sip. "Who says Im complaining?" He rasps quietly. Without a word, Scourge stalks across the room when Backfire has finished 'singing', shoving a poor, hapless gumby Seeker out of his way as he makes his way towards the idiot and Windshear. Sitting down, his crimson optics finally leaving the over-energized Backfire and turning towards Windshear a moment, the Sweep again turns back to regard Backfire. "You should, perhaps, be less enthused. You lost a battle against /humans/. That alone, in my mind, is grounds for some severe punishment, despite our victory over the Autobots." "Hey, that's not a fair assessment Sweep! They uhh ... had help and stuff. Not to mention I was pretty much ditched out there when the other cowards ran off!" Backfire replies, getting a little butthurt when Scourge brings up the battle of the fleshlings. "Either way, it was a strategic loss ... to fool them into -thinking- they had a chance!" Windshear nods a greeting at Scourge and works on his drink. But then he cant help but laugh as he listens to Bckfire's explanation. "Exactly, Backfire." He rumbles dryly. Unable to supress a chuckle at the Seeker, Scourge smirks. "Despite your rather useless combat prowess, you have some minor potential. You certainly have loyalty on your side." There might be uses for this one in the future, the Sweep Leader considers to himself silently. But for now, he will continue to be a moderate nuisance, and a fairly useless warrior. Turning to Windshear, he chuckles and smirks. "It would seem, Windshear, that your lack of enthusiasm has brought the ire of our Lord Galvatron upon your head. You begin to remind me of Dreadwind." "While I disagree with your evaluation, I do respect it Sweep Scourge." Backfire replies, inching closer towards Windshear. "See what I did there, never openly disrespect your superiors ... the paperwork is a hassle, and recovering from a Galvcannoning is never pleasant." Windshear stares at Backfire for a moment, "Why are you telling me this?" he asks. Had Scourge known Starscream, he would have compared Backfire to the deceased Seeker. But alas, the Sweep had only a brief encounter with the doomed one. "You make my point for me well. But if you think Lord Galvatron's cannon is unpleasant, you could scarcely imagine the pain and horrors of being remanded to my Sweeps for punishment. Pray that you never find out what /that/ is like." Backfire's constant aft-kissing would, more than likely, keep him from such a fate. Glancing at Windshear, he smirks, but says nothing. Apparently, the Seeker had forgotten Galvatron's decree from the final battle for Cybertron, that Backfire was to 'mentor' Windshear. "Because you incompetent fool, OUR Lord Galvatron demanded I make something useful out of you ... ya know, besides a walking target. Don't worry, before we're done you'll be spouting 'Yes Sir!'s and a nice variety of glorious EMPIRE quotes!" Backfire cheerifully reminds Windshear, a smile supplanted across his dopey face. "Oh, the Sweeper torture? No thanks, I'd much rather suffer plasma scoring than claw marks." Windshear works on his cig for a moment taking in wht everyones just said. Then he shrugs, "And how do you propose to do this to me, Backfire?" Scourge smirks at Backfire. "A wise decision. But our claws are the least of our prisoner's concerns." Leaning back, the Sweep Leader waves one of his clawed hands at a gumby walking around serving drinks, and shortly after is brought a drink. Listening in silence to the conversation now, he will add his thoughts when he deems them necessary. "Well, that depends. If you open your audio receptors and -listen- to what I advise, it should be a rather short and uncomplicated procedure. Otherwise, I'm afraid our Lord Galvatron might dole out punishment for your shortcomings ... to us both." Backfire dutifully replies, the last bit with less enthusiasm. Windshear snorts, "Why should that bother me? I have an incredible tolerance for pain as you know, and after all IVe been through since Ive returned to the Empire its even more so now. And besides, hes never rewarded me for anything Ive done good for this Empire, why should I be bothered by his threat of punishment?" Scourge turns to regard Windshear with a smirk. The Seeker has definitely been reminding him of Dreadwind more and more of late. "Lord Galvatron rewards those he wants, /when/ he wants, Windshear. He also punishes by those same thoughts. Even your tolerance for pain will not help you should he decide to turn that cannon on you. Or worse, should he decide that your punishment is deserving of my Sweeps." "Nicely put Scourge. Punishment isn't always physical my dear Seeker, take Americon for example. Knowing he's a masochist, the Mistress and Ruse tormented him with non-patriotic music and knowledge." Backfire mutters, taking a long sip of his enerhol. Windshear doesnt seem bothered by any of these comments and says as much, "Im not that concerned about it. The Empire I knew long ago and the Empire I came back to are two different things..." hes not sure where to take that comment so he just stops talking and works on his drink some. Scourge looks somewhat inquisitively at Windshear at his comment, remaining silent for a long moment before his gravelly voice again grates out. "You are not, I trust, bringing any disloyalty you may feel towards the Empire into light?" "Indeed, I cannot but help feel an overwhelming sense of blasphemy and negativity from your words Windshear. One must tread carefully when questioning the EMPIRE ... in any fashion." Backfire retorts, ordering a refill for his drink. Windshear says as he shakes his head, "I am not disloyal, I am saddened by the state this Empire -- once that at one time was the most feared element in the known universe, has devolved to. The moral for one thing is simply nonexistant, the lack of coordintion is another issue. Yea we won Cybertron back but after I redeemed my error in judgement in that one battle, what did it really matter did it really matter if I did anything else?" Growling quietly at Windshear's words, Scourge snarls "You can not change things with words and heavy drinking, /Seeker/. I have said this before, and I will /not/ say it again. If you wish to change things, then do something besides complain and sit in here or the Sanctum and drink. 'Redeeming' youself with a single battle, and then returning to your previous methods, will prove only that you do not care, and your words will eventually strike the wrong ears in the wrong fashion, and you will be terminated." Windshear frowns, "Thats not exacly what I meant, Scourge." he vents some air from his intakes. "Look I dont know what Im trying to say.. uhm.." he cant help but chuckle a bit at that line, "But I know how I feel about it." he continues more seriously. "Perhaps Ive just been away too long and too used to being a solo act." Backfire sits in silence, allowing the Sweep Leader to reprimand the Seeker. He sips his new drink, looking from one to the next. Scourge sneers at Windshear. "The same words you said to me the last time, as well. Have you not been spending your time among my Sweeps /learning/ anything? Much can be learned about being part of a 'team' by merely watching them. But it seems you cannot even learn so simple a thing. Perhaps you are not worth my time, or that of my Sweeps?" Windshear asks, "And where is the teamwork in this Empire? I have yet to see a real example of it." Backfire laughs. "Look no farther than into a mirror Windshear! Perhaps the dilemmia doesn't rest with the EMPIRE, so much as it rests within you?" Windshear looks at Backfire. "Explain." he simply says. Scourge again snarls out the words he next speaks. "The reason for that is because you spend the majority of your time /drinking/ instead of in the field. However, if you feel so strongly about it, then get others to accompany you, and hunt down some Autobots. If teamwork is what you seek, then /force/ it upon others. Or put yourself into a position of command, and then you can merely order it done. But do not sit and complain about it, /especially/ to me. I will hear no more of these complaints until you have at least /attempted/ to do something to remedy the so-called problem!" "Uhh, I think our fellow Sweep just took the words from my processor." Backfire replies, draining his glass of enerhol. Windshear chuckles, "Promoted? Thats funny. Ive been passed up several time through no fault of my own. And granted I do spend a lot of my off duuty hours here or in the Sanctum but I do not always drink to overenergize." he pauses a beat then continues, "Im not so sure I complain, I think I question it verbally more than anything else. I mean I respect my superior officers but its a two way street there. It has to be. A leader is only as respected and powerful as how he respects his troops..." "Respect?!" Sneers Scourge at Windshear. "You sound more like an Autobot than a Decepticon. We respect /power/, not the pathetic niceties of those weak, pathetic cowards." Backfire doubles over in laughter at Scourge's comparison of Windshear to an Autobot. Taking a moment to contain his laughter, the Seeker simpleton returns to the table top and the discussion. "Agreed. If you've been passed up for promotion, perhaps you don't possess what it takes to lead?" Windshear stares at the Sweep for a moment then turns that stare to Backfire, "I have what it takes to lead and then some and what the slag is wrong with putting some order into this Empire?" he looks back at Scourge, "Its worked well for the Autobots all this time. Perhaps if we were the same way we could have won this battle eons ago...." his optics pulse red a bit. Hes a bit ticked that he was compared to an Autobot. Then again he always has had a unique outlook regarding some things. An outlook that doesnt alwys fit the Decepticon norn. Its not the first time hes heard it and hes sure it wont be the last. Scourge turns to glare at Backfire. His comparison of Windshear to an Autobot was designed not to belittle the Seeker, but to goad him into doing something to remedy his points of complaint. But the simpleton of the Seekers made a valid point. Perhaps not entirely accurate, since Windshear, on occasion, showed leadership qualities, but his comment just now was making the Sweep reconsider his position on the Seeker. "You think we should be more like the Autobots? Then perhaps you should go and join them. Join the simpering weaklings." Pushing back from the table, the Sweep Leader stands and turns towards the door, looking very much like he is on the verge of simply murdering someone. Windshear vents more air out of his intakes as a sigh, "NO thats not what I meant slag it. But their methods of leadership hve elements that incorporated into our style if you will, could make us unstoppable and you know it." Backfire wanders away from the table, getting another two drinks and starting his celebration again. "Oh, for the EMPIRE! Yes, the EMPIRE!..." Scourge is already on his way out the door, finished with the conversation. He apparently is controlling his urge to simply gut the source of his anger. Something that seems to be becoming more and more common of late....And possibly more disturbing than his typical response of 'kill first, kill some more, then murder a few people, then maybe ask a few questions.
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