The Art Of The Dress

Medical Mechanics University - Protihex

A cluster of gleaming skyscrapers make up the campus of Medical Mechanics University, Cybertron's premiere school for robotic reconstruction and medicine. This place is BUSY: discipline and punctuality are big deals in the highly competitive world of robo-doctor training, and only the best of the best graduate. At the center of campus life slows down a bit in Alpha Randa Park, where students and faculty come to rest and recharge. A statue dedicated to Ratchet has been built here- he stands scowling, pointing at all of the slackers. An eternal reminder that there's work to be done.

--

"And it is for that reason lasercore superstructure is tinted in a silver exclusive to that portion of a Cybertronian's internal processor: So that in an emergency, the mech in charge of battlefield trauma can easily spot the gleam once the chassis is accessed. These seconds saved can save lives. Form does not just follow function. Form *is* function." A bell rings, and the students too terrified by Halo to recharge during her lecture begin filing out.

"And do NOT forget, you WILL be tested on the psychology of magenta tomorrow. Does colorscheme predetermine alignment? I do not intend to tolerate anyone insisting they didn't hear this warning." Halo taps a datapad, resetting the holodisplays in the classroom to Autobot symbols.

Sunstreaker stands among the river of stressed students in the hall, leering at everyone. Torque accompanies him - they both have interests in armor, which is why they're here, waiting on something of a show. Once the entrance clears, he heads inside and regards the engineer with a smirk. "You ready to impress me?"

As the class ends, Shiftlock comes in from the doors, moving past the students and down towards where Halo's been teaching. "Does color scheme predetermine alignment?" she asks, grinning. "That's an interesting subject to say the least, especially since I need to look appealing to Decepticons."

Torque thankfully had enough free time to spare to stop in with Sunstreaker on Halo's little project. Stepping in line with the lambo, she heads into the classroom and eyes Halo. "I'm sure she's got something good in mind, Sunstreaker." As for Shiftlock, she smiles to the other femme. "Not all the time, but it definitely helps. I'm sure we can figure out some good colors for yah."

Halo gestures wearily to Shiftlock. "There's a surprising amount of factionist overtones in the reaction of a Cybertronian's colorscheme. Largely stemming from Galvatron's rise to power and Unicron's seeming love of purple. Galvatron, Cyclonus, Sweeps... I actually had to slap a student last week for calling me 'half a purp." She looks rather proud of the battle story. "I warned Rodimus Prime when he asked me to fill in here that I had no intention of dealing with the next generation of delusional Perceptors. So until the Healthabots are finished with repairs to the city and able to take their teaching responsibilites, I'm afraid the student body here will be forced to contend with half a purp."

Halo stretches, and taps a datapad. Shiftlock's schematics appear on the various holofeeds in the room. "Now then. Your romantic Tarn getaway." She gives half a glance to Torque and Sunstreaker. "Come in, come in. Don't skulk in the doorway. Sunstreaker, congratulations on your disqualification from the Olympics."

"Actually, I'd be interested to sit in on one your lectures on color theory anyways," Shiftlock states earnestly. "I've developed something of an addiction to information these days. It's less costly and less likely to get me into trouble. ... Most of the time."

She tries her very hardest not to snort with laughter at Sunstreaker's 'congratulations'. Not that she did any better herself, but the outright needling of the Yellow Egomobile is a thing of beauty.

Sunstreaker finds a seat in the front row and kicks his feet up on the desk, smiling in amusement. "Hah, wow. Color culture. When Halo congratulates him, he nearly launches into an acceptance speech until he processes what she'd said. His optics narrow. "WELL, I wasn't as lucky as the rest of you sobs to get a judge that wasn't a fraggin' cheating maniac!" He's no longer reclining, poised to critique the hell out of every choice Halo makes. Shiftlock gets a sharp look.

Torque looks to Sunny when Halo remarks on the tournament and smirks a little, patting him on the shoulder. "Heh, a shame. I was lookin' forward to fighting you or Sides. Guess it's just me against Blades now. Wonder where he's been..." She shrugs off the thought and turns back to the matter at hand, waving a hand at Halo dismissively. "Eh, I just ignore that whole purple stigma. I mean c'mon, it's a good color if you ask me."

Says the femme who has that as her main color scheme. "Anyway, let's see what you've got here, Halo." She moves into the class further, though doesn't take a seat and instead prefers to stand.Walking into the room, Mute is evidentally here to check whatever is going on out. As he hops up onto a seat next to Sunstreaker, he looks to the larger mech, who may be able to make out what is currently playing on

Mute's face screen. Yes, it's the match between Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. And it happens to be at the part where Sunny get's knocked out by the referee. Without saying a word (shock), Mute turns to watch Halo at work.

"Starting with our head to toe rebuild..." Halo makes a swiping gesture at the closest holo projector, all of them changing to a close up of Shiftlock's head. "The current trend among rebellious, arrogant, trouble making types in Tarn: optic goggles." A red-violet sort of eye mask appears over Shift's face, though her optics and features are still visible below. "Not quite a full optic cover, though it combines the intimidation advantages of a unified vision system with the need for emotional connection." Halo pauses.

"Also, while not my thing, they're rather fetching."

hShiftlock has arrived.

hShiftlock appears in the air near Halo

Shiftlock looks on. She's never tried these colors before, and it's intriguing, but a little scary. In a way, she's abandoning everything that made up her visual identity - her sense of self - and taking on something completely alien to her. It's a small statement of how much she is willing to sacrifice to see to it this mission is a success. She brings up her right hand to tap her chin, resting the right elbow in the palm of the left.

Sunstreaker works his jaw servos as Mute elects to show him his own embarrassment. "Hey, great, thanks. Th' frag did I ever do to you, half-pint? Tch." He settles back down in his chair, leaning it back onto its hind legs. "Aw Torque, it would've been me, trust me, Siders ain't a melee fighter. But you can spar with me any day. Used to be my job, y'know." He waves his hand dismissively at the holoprojections. "Hipsters."

Torque chuckles softly when spotting the video on Mute's face screen. "Heh, hey now, don't tease him, Mute."

Looking back to the projected Shiftlock overlayed with the new features. "Hmm.. Yeah, I can see goggles working." She rubs her chin and steps up to examine close. "..Not sure how far you're willing to go with mods, Shift, but I'd say maybe lose the chevron." She points to her own forehead. "They're pretty much a Bot thing, as far as I've seen. Probably reminds Cons of Prowl or somethin'."

"Yeah, I'm going to take on all the Con colors for this. I need to look like I'm part of the wrong crowd," Shiftlock replies to Torque, agreeing with her. She touches the tip of her chevron. "... Not that I consider looking like Prowl a bad thing." She grins.

Sunstreaker stiffens, his chair leveling with a 'clack'. "Hang on, you're really going purple? ...C'mon, you could still pull off bad crowd with yellow! Purple and yellow go good together! A nice streak of goldenrod somewhere, or Dandelion Bloom! Or... Sunny Beach!"

hShiftlock alters colours as Sunstreaker lists off those he would recommend. However from behind the Shiftlock hologram peeks out a Sunstreaker hologram. Only the Sunstreaker holo is purprle. Striding out to stand next to the actual Shiftlock, the purple Sunstreaker holo smiles and gives a twirl to show off the awesome purple colouring.

Meanwhile Mute continues to watch on, not looking guilty in any way and certainly not giving away that he has anything to do with the holograms shenanigans. Someone must be hacking the rooms projectors.

Halo nods to Torque. "Indeed, the chevron goes, as Shiftlock would want no traces of active Autobot during her non Autobot related visit to the city. However, there are certain trends we will be avoiding: arm cannons, screechy voice modulators, and the like are quite popular with the Megatron Mask crowd, but would be a design flaw for a capable and highly recruitable Tarn native hoping to learn the ropes. With that in mind, I-" she spins around to dramatically POINT at Sunstreaker. "You will never say 'dandelion bloom' in my presence again. A dreadful shade. Just...awful." Halo takes a moment to recover, and then scowls as the power in the building hiccups, the holo displays fizzling out. "What? Of all the..." She looks down at Mute. "Would you be a champion, dear?"

"Wonderful. Something going on outside?" Shiftlock asks as the power starts to flicker. She's ready to get into a fight if needs be - duty before pretty.

Sunstreaker is so righteously offended by his own visage in purple that he cannot think of the words with which to tear into Mute with. Not that it seems Mute would be intimidated. He glares openly at the abomination, and his glare intensifies when Halo hates on Dandelion Bloom. He wore that last week! But he remains silent for now, arms folded over his chest, watching closely.

Torque snorts at the hologram Sunstreaker walking about. "Purple doesn't do you justice, honestly." She then shakes her head at the real Sunstreaker, "Best to avoid yellow for right now. Shiftlock, I dunno the personality of your character you're makin', but if it's some rookie from Tarn then we could probably go with something more.. punk." She leans into Shiftlock. "I'm thinking main scheme should be black with really bright, racer-like accents. Give yah that 'bad femme' look, yah know?" She grins, but it falters when the power gives out. "That can't be good..."

Where there is darkness, so let there be light. Which when you don't have spare light bulbs come in the form of glowing holographic balls of light. The purple Sunstreaker fades from sight, giving the real Sunstreaker a little wave good bye. Meanwhile the Shiftlock hologram walks over to Halo and is adjusted according to the instructions from Halo. And Mute doesn't react at all to Sunstreaker, as no he won't be intimidated very easily. The holo Shiftlock alters through various permutations of colouring to follow Torques suggestions.

Hours of enraged Halo time goes by in about ten seconds of real time as Halo stares at Torque, who has the audacity to make suggestions. After a moment, she takes a deep breath and recovers. "Well. Yes. Basic. Amateur, even, but it will get the job done. After all one doesn't want to seem as though they're trying too hard, so I suppose it's a blessing you're here, Torque. Thank you for your contribution." Smiling thinly, she gives Mute a nod to make the updates. "Finally, and this one is rather odd. I'm assuming it's largely due to Tarn residents moving through the Terran populations of Retoris: Hair." A personal display appears on her palm as a guide for Mute. "A bit extreme, even for my tastes, but it will compliment the overall build nicely. And there you have it." A brand new Shiftlock. She looks to the Autobot in question. "Thoughts?"

"Looks more like four head fins than hair," Shiftlock appraises. "Yeah, I can dig the all black, and the neon lime -- with a twist of laser lemon at the edges, let's let the poor lambro be happy." She walks over and looks at the hologram - what will become /her/. "It looks appropriate for what I need to present; the colors are intriguing and draw in the optic, specially bringing them up to the face, which is where I want them. I'm down to two pseudonyms and either of them would fit this build, but I'll take votes on which one I use."

She looks at Halo. "Alt-mode. I'm going to need a new one. I've changed paint on this one enough that I can't use that tactic on this frame."

"As for those names, I'm thinking either Rhythm or Ignition."

Oh she did not just say that. Torque turns steeled gaze to Halo when she comments on her suggestion, fixing the other femme with a bit of a glare. "Amateur? Femme, if it was up to you she'd be decked out in chrome. Trust me, the more Shiftlock looks like some street punk the better. No one'll question her history that way and she'll fit in fine with the rest of the scummy rabble." Torque lays it down for Halo, very close to slipping back into those Monacus days. But she reels herself back in and just snorts. "Hair? That's a surprise from you. Lemme handle that bit, though. Used to have some myself." It's true, go read her old logs.

Halo snorts derisively. "Chrome? How rich." She stares back at Torque, folding her arms across her chest. "The frame, the hair. Very well, Torque. Since you're clearly a visionary in schools of design, I'll leave this project in your *amply* sized hands." She turns to Shiftlock. "Your new alt mode schematics are listed in the tech specs of the build, though I'm sure Torque will want to approve them. I'm sure since she's had four wheels at some point in her lifespan, she's an expert."

Shiftlock looks between Halo and Torque.

"I'm gonna come out of this -alive-, right?"

Torque rolls her optics. "That eager to dump your project on someone else? Excuse me for making some suggestions and offering to help you." Arms rest akimbo on her hips. "If you don't want me helpin' out, just say so. Don't get all passive aggressive and be a drama queen. ..And leave my hands outta this, they're normal size, damnit." She huffs at that.

Sunstreaker just leans in. And leans in further, steepling his hands with his elbows propped up on the desk. He looks between Torque and Halo, then Shiftlock. Any second now. Any second now they're going to lunge at one another.

Halo eyes Torque coldly. After a long moment: "...Excused." Honestly, the audacity of just coming into another Cybertronian's...Still, sometimes Halo forgot how much time most Autobots spent in taverns. This would not be the last time she missed Mirage.

She actually excused her? "..Ugh.." Torque just sighs under her vocals and rubs the bridge between her optics. "Fine, whatever. You just take care of your own.. thing and just let me know if you ever need help or anything. Simple as that." Clearly she's miffed, but she tries her best to cool down. "In the meantime, I've got paperwork to do." She just waves hand a little and dismisses herself after a nod to the others present, quickly turning on a heel and making her leave.

"Y'know, I've never scanned a new altmode before," Shiftlock mutters. "I wonder how that's gonna feel."

Sunstreaker looks disappointed. "Femmes used to get /real/ angry, what happened! ...Bye Torque. Fight me anytime." He looks back to Shiftlock and shrugs, "I've worn this altmode for such a long time I've kinda' forgotten."

Shiftlock looks over her shoulder at Sunny. "Well maybe we just can't help but be lulled into passivity by your charm and good looks," she quips with a grin.