robotsatan: (Default)
robot satan ([personal profile] robotsatan) wrote in [community profile] robothell2014-12-19 11:20 pm

[ INTRO LOG ]

You don't know how you got here. One minute you were walking, sleeping, maybe dead -- then you're here, your feet suddenly carrying you down an empty street. Where's here?

Any Cybertronian would recognize this as their home planet, Cybertron, but it's not a Cybertron they've ever known. It has all the familiar hallmarks, but none of the specifics -- the city isn't one anyone here could identify, and even at a glance it's obvious that no one's set foot on the planet's surface in hundreds of years. The city and its surrounding areas all bear the marks of devastating war, of dust and rust collected over centuries. With no one in sight -- right at first, anyway -- there's plenty to explore. In fact, if you start walking, you'll find that your feet may just carry you in one particular direction.

A) The crater.
On one edge of the city is a massive crater left by some wartime weapon that seems to have taken out a large chunk of the surrounding metropolitan area. At the center of the crater it's broken through the surface of the terrain to reveal what looks like it might be a promising energon deposit. There is some strange but native vegetation growing around the edges, too, that no Cybertronian would be able to identify -- small, metallic, brittle-looking sprouts that bear a curiously organic-looking fruit of some kind that doesn't look like it's intended for consumption by any natives of the planet. In one rocky nook of the crater, light catches on the surface of a pool of water, which seems strangely out of place on Cybertron. On closer inspection, it seems that somehow an underground water source has formed a spring in the crater.

B) The center of the city.
If you follow where your feet seem to want to carry you, you'll find yourself in the middle of the ruined city. It seems that the center of the city was once home to a massive forum, and some of the pillars and structures still stand. At the very center of the forum is a massive, elaborately constructed fountain, although it has now long since run dry of whatever used to fill it. One of the low, inner walls of the forum has a terminal embedded in its surface, although it looks curiously ancient, out of place with the rest of the city, and unlike the rest of the technology still left around, there doesn't seem to be any way to power it on or operate it. There are a few scattered pools of water and a few of the strange metallic plants in the city, too, but they're not quite as plentiful as in the crater.

The planet was obviously once home to a massive network of communication relays, but those have all been long since destroyed. However, with the bits and pieces left behind and a few determined minds, it wouldn't be too hard to build a working, if rudimentary, one...
quantumechanic: (srsly i shoulda stayed on caminus)

[personal profile] quantumechanic 2015-01-08 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
Tarn seemed ...excitable. Something of an eccentric herself, Nautica didn't remark on it, but by this point, even she'd noticed. It made a strange contrast to his smooth, almost hypnotic voice.

"Everything he ever published," she said with a half-smile. Unlike some mechs in this conversation, for her it wasn't near-religious fervor. She just read widely, constantly, and very, very quickly. "He's an immensely gifted writer. Driving him from the pen to the sword should count as one of the Senate's sins."
Edited 2015-01-08 03:00 (UTC)
sparkwhisperer: (pic#8096456)

[personal profile] sparkwhisperer 2015-01-10 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
Eccentric is one way to put it. One could also use the term 'unhinged psychopath'. But really, who's counting?

Tarn's eyes narrow slightly at Nautica's comment, "Megatron is truly a brilliant artist, but referring to his transition into a warrior as a sin is a bit disrespectful to the cause that he sacrificed so much for. His passion for change is truly the driving force behind his works. Are you insinuating that fighting for what you believe is wrong? That we should be content to settle?"

He settles back on his heels. "No, i think that push into becoming a combatant is quite a beautiful transition. Consider the strength that it took to fight back against the Senate. I would, honestly, consider that a virtue."

quantumechanic: (i reiterate that your assertion is crap)

[personal profile] quantumechanic 2015-01-10 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
He was doing a good enough impression of sanity to fool Nautica. Not that that was anything to brag about.

"I'm not insinuating that," she said, a little plaintive at being misinterpreted, and missing that his sudden stillness was a warning sign. "I'm no pacifist. There's a strong moral case for violence in pursuit of redress of injustice, and I'm not going to fault Megatron's choice at the remove of four million years. I only wish he--all of you--had lived in a society just enough that he hadn't been faced with that choice. That's all."
sparkwhisperer: (pic#8210853)

[personal profile] sparkwhisperer 2015-01-11 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
"Ah yes..." Tarn hums quietly, "My appologies, you see, I am somewhat used to defending this issue against Autobots. It's just second nature I suppose." He sits back down on the rock, the stiffness melting from his body.

What Nautica doesn't know is that Tarn loves violence. He craves it. It is a strange sort of conundrum. While, yes, he would love for the injustice that necessitated the need for war to have never happened. But, missing out on 4 million years of sampling the delightful pain and suffering of the mechs he faced? Why, he wouldn't trade that for the world. But vocalizing his disagreement would just make him look...well...like a lunatic. Alliances are necessary. So he remains silent on that topic and opts to go for a more gentle touch.

"It is true. Violence was the only way to handle such a situation." Yes, good.
quantumechanic: (my wrench says 'techobabble advisory')

[personal profile] quantumechanic 2015-01-12 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
"It's fine." She waved off Tarn's apology with a smile. Having herself been the perpetrator of any number of conversational misunderstandings, Nautica wasn't inclined to hold a grudge.

"I can't even imagine being there, having to make the choice." In an unconscious gesture, her fingers brushed the Autobrand at her throat. She'd like to think she'd have picked the right side, but she was discovering that everything was so much more confusing when you were living it instead of reading about it a million years later. Maybe she'd have followed Megatron. Maybe she'd have kept following him, even after he'd lost his way. "Maybe I'd be wearing a different badge today."
sparkwhisperer: (pic#8210871)

[personal profile] sparkwhisperer 2015-01-14 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
Tarn leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, eyes brightening in barely contained glee. This is an excellent sign. Perhaps he can make a Decepticon of her yet.

"It is quite possible. Hearing Megatron's speeches from the beginning of the war made followers of many. With such a just cause I have a hard time believing you would be content to stand idly by." Tarn hasn't quite grasped the fact that stroking Nautica's nearly non-existant ego will get him no where. He's trying god damn it. He catches her in a level stare.

"Or so i would like to think."
quantumechanic: (wow that sure is a beheaded overlord)

[personal profile] quantumechanic 2015-01-14 06:41 am (UTC)(link)
Nautica's contemplative stare gave way to a sheepish expression when Tarn's focus shifted from her arguments to her. She could be a conduit for science or philosophy without a wobble, but when something became personal, she didn't know how to react. Ideas might be complicated and thorny, but they never caught at her the way compliments did.

"That's kind of you to say," she managed at last, too flustered to notice the incongruousness of thanking him for what amounted to assuring her she'd be a good murderer. "But I'm not sure I'd make much of a revolutionary."
sparkwhisperer: (Default)

[personal profile] sparkwhisperer 2015-01-17 08:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Tarn waves her off, chuckling lightly. He lets the warm timbre in his voice wash over her, taking her firmly in hand.

"Nonsense, I'm sure if you were faced with the decision you would find it easy to join the fight. Anger can drive you to great heights that you can seldom imagine possible."

He stands, offering his hand in a show of friendship. "Perhaps you will find yourself reevaluating your position when faced with the challenges that so often come in life. One can never quite know for certain what life has in store for them."
quantumechanic: (jro you magnificent bastard)

[personal profile] quantumechanic 2015-01-18 08:03 am (UTC)(link)
Oh. Well. That was certainly. Very nice.

Without knowing about Tarn's vocalizer modifications, Nautica couldn't figure out why she suddenly wanted him to keep talking all day--it didn't have to be about anything in particular, either--nor was she inclined to disagree with him. The urge to have a philosophical discussion about the uses of anger, or even to mention that she didn't really get angry much at all washed away in a surge of almost palpable warmth spreading from her spark and down to the tips of her fingers.

"I. Uh." Nautica stood when he did, accepting his handshake without hesitation. She didn't think she was ever going to trade out badges, appealingly purple though the Decepticon one might be, but she also would have agreed to practically anything Tarn proposed at this point, as long as he proposed it in the tone he'd been using, and she didn't even attempt to correct him. "You're very right on that one."
sparkwhisperer: (Default)

[personal profile] sparkwhisperer 2015-01-19 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes, of Course." He smiles, optics, dimming slightly. He claps a hand on her shoulder, squeezing ever so gently. "Keep that in mind, if you will, during your journeys here and I think you will be surprised by what you are capable of. Don't ever sell yourself short." He takes a step back, glancing around the empty crater.

"It was a nice talk that we were able to have. As I said, it has been some time since I have had the pleasure of having such a conversation. Perhaps we will meet again, but I'm afraid I should move on and continue looking for my teammates."