[ INTRO LOG ]

[robotsatan]

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...

Comments

[gimmicky]

The voice caught his attention--not one he's ever heard before, certainly. His head turns, at first seeing no one...until he looks down, where a human (A human!) is standing there. The general question of 'How are you here?' aside (his face does a good job of that already), he rubs the back of his neck.

"I sure am. Seems like I'm planet hopping for the moment. But this is the first time I've been stranded--"

He stops there, flashing a smile and a wave back. Simple things like that didn't happen very often.

"I'm fine, but I'm more wondering how YOU'RE still functioning."

[milkruns]

Well, it's nice to see someone have a normal reaction to seeing a human, like, say, treating them like a person. June conveniently ignores the fact for now that there's nothing normal about a human on Cybertron and decides she likes this Autobot. He's polite! And kind of sweet, so far. Yeah, she likes this one.

"It's a pretty good question, I'll give you that," June admits with a half-smile, stepping a little closer. She really wishes she could actually talk to anyone at face level, though. Maybe she can get up on one of the rocky formations left behind in the crater? Worth a shot. She starts to hoist herself up onto one close to Trailcutter as she talks. "I mean, this is my first time on Cybertron, but I was pretty sure it didn't have a breathable atmosphere for humans. But I guess...it does now? Honestly, I'm as stumped as you are."

[gimmicky]

As she tries to get up onto the rock formation, his hands reach out, offering her a spotter for her climb. He knew humans had some pride, too, so he didn't bother asking if she'd like to stand on his hands.

But the moment she's stable, he smiles, squatting down a bit to make the conversation a little more even.

"It'd be news to me too. I can't remember it ever having it, even back in the day. But...hey, look on the bright side. You've got it right when you need it!"

He flashes her a smile, and if visors could wink, he would.

"And...no offense, but if you're wandering around like you are, you've got a better chance of getting stepped on. Want me to watch your back for awhile?"

A pause.

"I mean...if you want."

[milkruns]

Congratulations, Trailcutter, you are officially June's favorite Autobot so far. Why aren't more of you this cute and charming? Not to mention considerate. This is actually boosting her mood considerably, and after the awkward first meeting with Sad Old Man Megatron, she kind of needed it. Plus, you know, the whole being jerked abruptly from her home planet.

"I think I'm going to take you up on that," June says with a wry smile. "I'm used to staying out of the way, but something tells me most of you guys aren't as used to watching where you step. My name's June -- I know some Autobots back home." You know, in case you were wondering about how totally nonchalant she is about talking to a giant robot.

[gimmicky]

AT LEAST SOMEONE LOVES HIM. He can see it on her face as her morale boosts, and it happens to have an effect on him as well, getting a little grin out of the Autobot. He can't imagine what it must be like to be suddenly displaced. (Except you kind of were, Trailcutter)

"Great. I can offer you a little ride too, if you want. Vehicle mode or on my shoulder. Either way, you're off the ground and chance of being stepped on is almost zero."

He holds his hand out, despite it being rather large for her.

"Name's Trailcutter--and it's good to meet a human who doesn't want us all dead."

[milkruns]

June's face brightens even more. Seriously, Trailcutter, you are making June's entire day so much better. "I'd love that," she says, clasping both her hands over Trailcutter's significantly larger than hers. He might expect her to be a little bit more apprehensive about climbing up onto a giant robot, but nah, June's kind of used to that by now. "Getting stepped on is definitely not on my bucket list. I'm pleased to meet you Trailcutter -- and why in the world would I want you dead? I mean, the Autobots have protected Earth from the Decepticons in your world, too, right?"

[gimmicky]

Just seeing her expression is putting him in a good mood too. His hand extends further, should she want to use it as a stepping stone to get up.

"Well uh...the last time we were on Earth we weren't exactly popular. Megatron made a mess of everything and now we're about as good as outlaws there.

Which would explain why we're not there anymore."

[milkruns]

Aw, thank you, Trailcutter. June won't mind if she does. She takes a step onto his hand, her brow furrowing a little. "That sounds unfortunate," she says, in what might be the understatement of the day. "I won't lie to you, I've had my disagreements with Autobots, but I wouldn't want them to leave, not back home, anyway. Megatron's not still on Earth, is he?"

[gimmicky]

He lifts her gently, ready to make a forcefield should she wobble or fall, slowly lifting her up to a shoulder. Not the most dignified place, but at least it'd keep her alive.

"Not anymore. He's...well, he's sort of on a ship, now. Being an Autobot."

...

"Yeah, I know it sounds pretty crazy."

[milkruns]

June's pretty happy with the shoulder, don't worry, Trailcutter. Her expression darkens a little when Trailcutter elaborates, her lips pursing.

"Ah. It's that Megatron." June huffs, blowing a stray piece of her hair from her face. "Sorry, it's just -- I've met him. I didn't realize you were from the same...world, I guess." She pauses. "He was the first one I ran into when I found myself here, actually."

[gimmicky]

"-That- Megatron? Exactly how many Megatrons do you know?"

The whole thought of that was worrying. Just one was bad enough. More than that...we're talking 8...maybe 12 million years of war.

He shudders at the thought, although trying to hold it back to not knock her off.

"I'm so sorry. No extremely one-sided injuries or anything?"

[milkruns]

"You don't even want to know," June sighs, shaking her head. She is getting so tired of all these Megatrons, Trailcutter, you don't even know.

"No -- no, nothing like that. He was more or less perfectly cordial, actually." June frowns at that, looking deeply perplexed. "He's...different from the Megatron from my world. Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of him."

[gimmicky]

"You know, I'm going to have to agree with you on that. One Megatron is way enough for me. I would know--I've been on a ship with him for six months."

But that's a story for another--no he's not channeling Swerve. NEVER channel Swerve.

"Oh yeah, he's polite now. I hear you on the strange part. Don't worry, he hasn't always been like that."

Perhaps the weirdest 'don't worry' he's had to utter.

[milkruns]

June looks deeply troubled by this for a moment, because honestly she's still not quite over the strange conversation she'd had with Megatron on arrival. She peers around from Trailcutter's shoulder to look at his face, looking vaguely concerned.

"Wait, he's on your ship?"

[gimmicky]

He sees that face, and to be honest, he can't blame her. He was making that face for quite awhile too. Probably since the end of the trial. Just when you think something is going so right and then BOOM loop hole in the law it's honestly the worst 0/10 would not recommend.

"Yeah. Long story. Short story is he had a trial and everything went horribly wrong."

[milkruns]

Okay, seriously, Trailcutter, time to make with the splainin. June sits down on his shoulder, looking deeply troubled.

"How does a trial for Megatron go that wrong? How did you even need a trial?"

[gimmicky]

WHERE DOES HE START, JUNE? WHERE DOES HE START?!

"Well, you see...the NAIL--unaligned Cybertronians wanted a trial, figuring an execution without fair trial as 'wrong'. And somehow...Megatron rigged it so he'd have an out if things didn't go the way he wanted."

Yeah, YEAH...

"So...now he's on a quest for redemption, or something."

[milkruns]

Ohhh my god, Trailcutter, June cannot even begin to describe how awful and fucked up that is. She stares at him -- she knew this Megatron was different, that he'd been keeping himself in check around her, but she doesn't know much about why.

"A quest for redemption?" Megatron might be an Autobot, but he didn't seem enthusiastic about it to June. "And you believe that? Optimus believes that?"

[gimmicky]

No it's okay, he's pretty sure there's an Idiot's Guide to Bad Decisions, and that this is probably one of those boxes on the sized outlined in red with an exclamation point.

"Not a lot of us believe it, honestly. But you know...he won the trial with some kind of failsafe. A secret failsafe. And you know how Optimus is about honour. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings and I guess mass murderers are okay too."

He trusts you, OP, but really? "But the war's over, yeah? So...I guess if he's gonna change, we may as well extend a hand out."

His finger traces the inside of his palm. "I'd want someone to do it for me, anyway."

[milkruns]

June's about ready to go on about how phenomenally stupid that all is, but at that last comment she softens a little, leaning lightly against Trailcutter's helm from his shoulder.

"That's awfully compassionate of you, Trailcutter," she sighs. A secret failsafe, though. Of course. God dammit, Megatron. "I'm surprised you're willing to give him a chance, after all he's done...but I guess you must believe he's worth it."