robothell | [OPEN]

Who: Minimus Ambus and You
What: Minimus Ambus wakes up on Cybertron and has to figure out what the heck happened.
When: Sometime after the Rodimus/Tarn fiasco?
Where: In the City
Warnings: Grumpiness and Lecturing, most likely

Pre-emptive Execution. Trust the Chief Justice to find a way to make murder sound constitutional and justified. Minimus hadn't seen the Legislator until it was too late, and all things considered it was probably lucky it had gone for his head, rather than spark. The machines were evidently not programmed to anticipate dealing with loadbearers. Regardless, the feedback was more than enough to knock him out, and when he did wake up he was rather shocked that his outer shell was still intact, even if his head was still ringing. Not to mention the fact the he was certainly not in Tyrest's lab any longer. Had the Chief Justice gotten his space bridge working? Had it malfunctioned? Even if it hadn't, it was hard to believe Tyrest had managed to open a portal to Cyberutopia.

Where ever he was, it looked like Cybertron, though not any city he'd ever seen, and certainly not as he'd seen the planet last before their departure. Minimus got to his feet quickly, he needed to find out if anyone else was here. He needed to know what had happened to Rodimus and the others. He set off down of the the road's heading further into the city, if anyone else had wound up here that would most likely be their destination.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He paused for a second, realizing if Drift hadn't heard what happened yet, he certainly wouldn't want to hear it now. Unfortunately for Drift, Minimus wasn't about to sugarcoat the truth.

"When we arrived at Crystal City it was deserted, there was no sign of the Circle of Light. It looked as if there had been a confrontation but we were unable to investigate due to the intervention of the Galactic Council." A thankfully brief summary, all things considered.

Drift's reaction to his comment about Overlord didn't go unnoticed, and with everything that had happened because of those events, he wanted more than the minimal information Rodimus had given him.

"Drift, I have to ask, did you smuggle Overlord on board the Lost Light?" It was said with same tone he used on criminals to try and elicit a confession.

Drift is far too shocked to respond for a few agonizingly long moments. The question almost seems to whistle past his audials, his mind still awash in static. Crystal City empty -- attacked? His optics flicker for a moment, his arms stiff at his sides.

"I -- " He falters, optics going out of focus before settling back on Minimus' face, and they dim. He doesn't even know this mech, and he shouldn't have to answer such an abrupt accusation -- but it doesn't matter who this mech is. If he was a part of what happened to Overlord, then Drift owes it to him to explain. His optics dim, his shoulders going slack, but he meets Minimus' gaze anyway.

"...Yes," he says heavily, spark constricting his chest as he remembers what Ratchet had told him, of the deaths he and Rodimus had a hand in. But he doesn't want to point a finger at Rodimus, not like this -- and Drift certainly doesn't want to seem like he's trying to evade responsibility. "Yes, I was responsible. But I...think you should talk to Rodimus about it."

"I just did but perhaps it I will have to question him again. Likewise, he would have more information on what happened in Crystal City, I was otherwise engaged and couldn't travel to the planet's surface." It was clear Drift was no in state to talk about Overlord, and that response gave him pause. If Rodimus was involved somehow, he wasn't going to hear about it from Drift.

"You have to understand from my perspective Overlord's escape was very recent, and there were repercussions none of us could have predicted. I'm sure you can respect the gravity of the situation." He would likely better understand once he knew who he was talking with, it was about time he came clean to Drift about his real identity. Not an easy thing to explain.

"You asked when I joined the Lost Light, and I'm sure this is difficult to believe but I've been aboard from the beginning. Have you ever heard of a type of point one percenter referred to as 'loadbearers'?"

This conversation is just blow after blow to Drift's spark, his tanks starting to churn low in his chassis. Rodimus knows about Crystal City and he mentioned nothing to Drift? He's taken aback by that information enough that it takes him a moment to fumble for an answer.

"I... Of course I can," Drift says quietly, his frame sagging as if under a tremendous weight. "I only just heard about it myself from Ratchet. I never meant to... Well. I guess it doesn't matter, does it? No matter my intentions, it still happened."

Rodimus had a hand in it too, sure, but Drift knew it was a bad idea from the start. He should've pushed harder, should've put his foot down with Rodimus. But it's far too late for that now.

"Loadbearers? No, I can't say I have..." Drift's optics narrow slightly in confusion. "If you've been on since the beginning, why don't I recognize you?"

Minimus is curious about why Rodimus didn't tell Drift about it as well, but without the captain here they weren't about to get any answers on that. His expression was characteristically serious as he continued to explain.

"I'm getting to that. Loadbearers are able to support extreme augmentation, far beyond the normal limits for a cybertronian spark. It's extremely uncommon, but I happen to be one of them. Years ago Tyrest developed an armor that could be used by loadbearers to mimic the appearance and abilities of one of the greatest lawmen in history: Ultra Magnus." Explaining it all in one piece was easier than last time, no doubt in part since he had just had this same conversation on Luna-1.

"The Ultra Magnus who joined you on the Lost Light was me, in the Magnus Armor. My true name is Minimus Ambus."

Drift listens to Minimus talk attentively, leaning forward with an intent look on his face -- and then the further Minimus goes on, the wider his optics get, and Drift's expression becomes increasingly crestfallen. It's not so much Magnus' identity disappoints him -- he's just starting to get weary of all these earth-shattering surprises. He gives Minimus a long, helpless look and lets his face fall heavily into his hand.

"Why wouldn't anyone tell me that?"

Edited 2015-02-09 23:03 (UTC)

"I don't know, Drift. He probably didn't think it was relevant. Last time I saw him he was under arrest for crimes against creation and facing the death penalty. Even if Rodimus was from the same time point as me he no doubt had more pressing concerns than my name. You know as well as I do Rodimus has always had a knack for omitting information."

"I -- not relevant?" Drift would think informing him that their monolithic second-in-command was actually a tiny man in a suit in a long line of tiny men in suits pretending to big the same giant man would be pretty fucking relevant. Minimus, however, does have a point.

"I guess," Drift sighs, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehelm. "He sort of neglected to mention everything that happened with Overlord when I first saw him here, but -- he had his reasons."

His reasons being he didn't want to hurt Drift's feelings, which even Drift didn't really think was good enough either, but it in the end he'd rather have heard it from Ratchet than Magnus anyway.

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