Prowl gets an assistant

Transformers 2K5 - Prowl - mardi, septembre 02, 2014, 10:49

Prowl's Office (#2545Tae) The room is filled with monitors. At the center is a rather large desk with datachips, keyboard, holo-projector. There is a locked file cabinet in the back and locker next to a small workbench alonmg the back wall.

Type +Commands to see the room's commands.

From outside the office> Punch arrives from the Gravlift. From outside the office> Punch has arrived. From outside the office> Chromia has arrived. From outside the office> Chromia has left.

Chromia enters Prowl's Office. From outside the office> Punch has left. Punch enters Prowl's Office.

Prowl is sitting at his desk checking out some of the Tarn intel that is coming in slowly. The office door is opened which means he is either not too busy or in a good mood.

Where there is a need for work there is a will, because Chromia has stuffed down her bitterness to show up here on Prowl's doorstep. Getting sent into Tarn will be worth it, to put up with that insufferable, stuck-up, as-... "Prowl," Chromia announces herself from the doorway she stands in. That seems like the best greeting she could give. Chromia doesn't hide her examination of the office, taking in all that she can - though there is hardly anything there. How... functional. "Not even a holo of a friend?" Who *was* that bot that Prowl ran around with eons ago? Silversomething? "No mementos from Earth?" Other than the alt form, that is.

Punch steps into the room. Almost immediately he considers turning round as, in his own words, 'Any time people start shooting is when the op's gone bad.' however, needs, and the operation, must and he needs the additional mission parameters from his adpoted mentor. Punch respected Prowls records from what he read up on him and, seeing him in action, Punch realises the records don't do him justice. Still. Tentatively Punch asks, "Sir? Is this a bad time?"

Prowl pauses and looks away from the streaming feed of new "Greetings Chromia." He looks around the office "Did not really have time to decorate yet. Almost as soon as I arrived on Cybertron I was chucked in the deep end like terrans say." He ponders back Earth "I have something I need to put up but did not have time yet. On earth police corps have a tradition of trading patches. Usually police chiefs have a wall with patches from departments they worked for or worked with in the past. Sometimes patches are given as a sign of respect at funerals." He nods his optics show he is not quite here for the moment. He is seeing something else in his mind. He shakes it off "But I am sure you did not come to see just to talk decoration." He motions to one of the empty chairs infront of his desk. "Please have a seat." Punch comes in at that very moment. "Hello Punch. Unless Chromia has confidential information for me alone I do not think it causes problem." He looks at Chromia for validation.

If there was something that Chromia cared about less than Terran customs, she would be hard pressed to think of it. So at the beginning there she's ready to put herself into stasis leasts he hear more about that planet when, well, there's something there. Prowl gets close to expressing something which keenly alerts Chromia to a fact; she's being hard on him. Maybe, she realizes if only now, there's a reason he's so distant, so cold, at least to her perceptions. Her brows furrow as she wonders if she hasn't made a mistake before getting here. "No, nothing like that," she validates. She looks to Punch, a little lost for a moment as she has to recalculate her approach.

"Nothing of the sort, at least not yet. The other day, in the bar, there was some mention of..." She stands a little more at attention. "There there might be something I could do. In Tarn," sir? There was that other thing too but Chromia's not sure she's up for a position like that. Though... "Or there might be other things I could aid with?" Should she explain why? She nods, if only for herself. "With Elita being... as she is, I could use anything you could put my way."

Still standing, now at attention, Punch brightly salutes and says, "Sir? I think you can guess most of the details as to why I'm here. A follow up on the mission parameters Arcee was outlining to me last night." Breking stance a litlle Punch nods to Chromia and says, "Good to see you Chromia, how are you today?" Punch has to admit, given recent events, he's beginning to wonder if he was made to do this work, costume or no, as it makes sense to him. Feels right to him. Even before, when he had no life, he wondered if it was something that was 'just him'. Now, after trying to be less hard upon himself, he's becoming more certain. It's a good feeling.

Prowl nods at Chromia. "Of course you can help. A little context for you then. A few cycles ago, Defcon, Roadbuster, Swoop and Halligan ran a quick inspection/audit of the Tarn police department." His expression changes a bit "You can imagine they were less than thrilled at having 'the military' as they call us looking into their business. They were not that cooperative. We did however managed to get a few names and leads."

Prowl grabs his datapad "First we have Trefoil. His name came up in the evidence locker. This can mean two things. Either he is a dirty cop and gives insurgents weapons that were previously seized OR we are looking at a very honest cop who reports absolutely everything. Punch is covering that angle with a partner." He skips to the other file

"Next we have Fray. Fray looked like a young, eager to help police officer. Defcon noticed some of the older ones tried to intimidate him into not talking to us." Prowl chuckles "This means we really need to talk to that young fellow. He must have interesting stuff for us. Maybe go out in patrol with him. See first hand what the job is like out there." Skipping to another file "Next we have Sterling. Rather large mech. Not very cooperative, tried to intimidate Fray and Defcon. I do not suppose he will tell us much but it might be worth it to follow him a bit and find out more and why he wants to keep us away." Skipping to the last file "Next we have a Flaxjax. The guy seems to be a big name in the underground and possibly one of the lead insurgents or at the very least a supplier. That guy I need brought in handcuffs."

Prowl puts the datapad down facing Chromia and leans back a bit in his chair "Any one of these interest you more than another? They all need to be done at some point so feel free to pick."

"I am... here," Chromia answers Punch. There's a little smile there. It might not mean much to Punch why that is signifigant, but maybe it will clue in. Chromia has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about the whole Arkian crew and maybe something a little extra for Prowl on top of it. She hasn't dared even suggest at what she's wrestling with in her spark chamber but she has expressed her desire to have distractions, the work. "You're looking well. Confident." She considers and thinks on what has always helped to boost her own morale. "You've been to see Arcee?"

Chromia's attention goes to Prowl as he lists off the possibilities. "Fray," she calls dibs on. It's within her function, her nature, to be protective so instinctively she wants to help the one that's been picked on. "I might be able to pass along some techniques to help with future bullying attempts," she grins. As a femme she's had to live and die by the knowledge that size isn't everything, and that there are ways to use that to your advantage. Leverage is a beautiful thing. "I also have a lot of experience (like four million years worth!) with insurgency. I could put optics on targets that they are likely to hit, protect them or..." Does she need to try to work with the insurgents? Is Prowl wanting results or information? She is curious which he values more.

"There was," she pauses here to reach up to rub the servos at the back of her neck. Should she? "That other matter that came up. Talking to an informant and pointing out potential targets, or making contacts, shouldn't take up all of my time." Who powers down any more? "If there's more..." Like that assistant thing.

"Yes I did." Punch manages to say simply to Chromia. Years of training come in handy sometimes. His smile remains static as well. Okay, very handy. "I can see you're here, it's good to see you, and, yes, I agree that Prowl could do with a little logistical support." Punch turns his attention to Prowl as he finishes speaking

"I did want clarification on the exact nature of what we need from the contact. Is this an extraction, a statment to warn off of future misdeeds, an assesment of whether the target is indeed compromised?" Punch finishes abruptly. Prowl knows the many plays that could be made. Punch just want's to be sure he's running the right one.

Prowl listens to both and turns to Chromia first "Allright, Fray is yours. Talk to the guy but away from the station so he does not feel any peer pressure to stay quiet. That is why I suggested going on patrol with him. Maybe it will make him more chatty and you can also see how the population reacts first hand to the local police. As for anything else...Maybe not right now but with Blaster's concert coming up I might need people hidden nearby. I know Blaster announced the concert as no military, no security but we cannot afford to be slow to respond if something happens. I will hash out the details later this week."

He turns to Punch "Start by an assesment of the target. If he is crooked and you have proof, extract. I trust your judgement on the field. If the guy is clean and really helpful, see if you can turn him into an asset. Maybe he can give us updates from the inside of the police corps." Sooooo, what Blaster wants, he doesn't get? Not when and where Prowl is concerned. Innnnnnnteresting... mostly because Chromia would think, do and want the same. Oh Primus, is she finding something to relate to in his thinking? She shivers and doesn't explain why. "I can do that. Away from the station," got it. Maybe she can even work out something before the patrol, to help set the kid at ease, so he'll want to take her on patrol. "Nothing else?" She tries not to sound disappointed. Checking on Fray shouldn't take too long... But it will give her a good excuse to go back to Tarn. She might do some snooping around there herself for her own thing, if no one minds. "What's your end game for the insurgents?" She is known to be blunt. Punch nods. Objectives recieved and understood. Punch likes to be clear on things. So he clears another up, "Sir? Can I be honest with you? I'll be frank. Even with the hours I put in Intel and my other assignments and with the shear volume of agents on active assignments I think you're getting jammed with the logistical side of things. You need an assistant to take some of the pressure off. Also give you a chance to get any of your own field work dealt with. I could give you a recommendation as to appropriate personel but, if you don't seriously consider it, you're dangerously close to having your operational efficiency reduced or, worse, you might let something slip altogether. I'd be derelict in my duty if I didn't say so." Prowl ponders the insurgents...He dealt with them somewhere else but that solution would never pass Rodimus. "Endgame for the insurgents will vary on their degrees of guilt. An insurgent can be someone who writes politically controversial things on a wall or someone who bombs a building. Those who can be swayed back will probably be given probation. More serious crimes might end with some prison time, the location will vary depending on the individual or crime." He holds back on outright saying if some come back dead he does not mind. He knows he can trust Punch but he does not know Chromia enough yet to make those kind of comments.

He thinks very carefully on what Punch said "Yes I know. Things are not too bad now but they will speed up as we unravel more and more of Tarn's layers." He is not used to be put on the spot for personal health issues. "Sure send me your recommendations and I will put together a small test to know a bit more on the applicants."

Chromia can relate to insurgents which might be why she's worried about their fate. There's also the matter that Prowl is a hard bot to read, so not knowing which way he might go... Plus, how he looks at them might give some added insight into how he must see her. As much as he might be testing her out, well, Chromia is trying to do the same. "I'll see what Fray has to say about them," and maybe what she can learn herself. She wasn't given permission to make contact with them but you never know what could happen. "How much of our support, *your* support," she stresses, "Can I relay to him that he might be able to counter on? A small bot, no doubt feeling isolated in such an environment yet still duty bound to show up, despite the hardships... it could mean a lot to him if he knew, even in secret, that the big, bad Prowl had his back," she suggests.

Chromia then nods towards Punch. "See? I'm not the only one that sees it then," she looks relieved to share. She made note of it in the bar. "He looks like something Devastator has toyed with." She thumbs towards Prowl. "At least he's admitting that he could use some help for those more mundane things. Filing, ugh," she groans at the thought of it. "If you're wanting to make a presense you should be out there in the field, so you will need time for that. So like I said, you should get yourself an assistant," she chimes in too. Kick him while he's down! "Maybe someone like... Gears." There's two bots that deserve each other!

With all the seriousness of a spy Punch says to Chromia, "No. Gears lacks certain considerations that few people have that'd have. It'd need to be someone who has superb awareness, is privy to certain key operational aspects of intelligence . . ." Punch pauses to hope Chromia knows what he's talking about there, " . . . respects Prowl's opinion yet is prepared to stand up to him, or anyone else who may have any axe to grind. A partneship like that requires a really compatible person to Prowl. Actually . . . I thought you'd be ideal Chromia." Punch's smile cracks a little higher despite his efforts.

"What do you think Sir?" Punch asks, voice steady, objective, measured but a little curious nonetheless. "I could go the long way round about it but you two work well together. It'd be a successful marriage of your respective abilities. Other candidates just wouldn't work in the long term."

Prowl looks at Punch then Chromia "Gears would indeed be totally unsuitable. But if you are interested..." he motions to Punch "And my top agent vouching for you actually means alot. The job is yours."

There are few times in her existence that Chromia has been silent. There are times when she's been smart enought o keep her mouth shut, but even in those rare circumstances she managed to know what she wanted to say at least. This, well, she is stunned. "Wait," she stammers to Punch. "Wha-..." She feels set up! Even if it was something she was essentially asking for! Punch, how could you do this to her!

Just like that, huh? Maybe Prowl needs help more than he cares to admit if he's willing to ask for it. Kind of? Still! This seems too easy so she eyes him suspiciously. Is this a play for something? But then she did volunteer... Chomia, thinks Chromia, think of all the stuff you would have access to! How much you could learn! Maybe you could even do something to protect Cybertron from the potential menace that is Prowl! With eyes still narrowed, Chromia says, "I accept."

The smile replaced by a grin Punch says, "Congratulations Chromia I'm sure you two will be very happy working together." What? Punch is a spy. He's good at reading people. Why go around the houses when that's what you wanted anyway. You can try and get retribution for the direct approach later but Punch knows a few escape routes out of Iacon that few Autobots can follow. He can think vertically as it were.

"Well said Sir." Punch says to Prowl."If you'd excuse me for a moment though I'll be getting an incoming tightband transmission that may divert my attentions. Just take a minute."

Punch hums the wedding march as he takes walks away to afk.

Prowl looks around "We will see about getting you some office space or another office right next door or something. Hopefully Arcee will not mind and since you leapt at the occasion, she will not hold it against me." Yeah that leapt part might be a slight exageration but then again no arm twisting was required. "I will also fill you in on the ops we currently have running in Tarn." He presses a couple of buttons on his desk to shut the door as some details are not totally public. "Have you heard a certain Ignition spouting anti-autobot speech on the planetary broadband recently?" "I bet that Arcee would be glad to have one less thing to think about right now, one less person to worry about." Chromia does NOT like the idea of her being a burden on Arcee, not one bit. That is a relationship that should see hardships flow only one way. "Besides, she might make use of me to spy on you," she laughs. That's a really horrible joke but then that is Chromia's sense of humor; horrible. "No need for an office," she waves her hand. You're spartan but then so is she. "A datapad is all I should need." But then she doesn't really know what the job does entail, yet, but she'll learn.

She does look back as the door is shut. No turning away now. Chromia looks back. "In passing. I haven't actually bothered to *listen* to any of that flith. I'm sure that other bots are though," and hence why it is a concern. She didn't have cause to make it her's before. "I assumed it was a Con tactic."

Prowl punches a few keys on the computer and closes the office door.

Prowl punches a few keys on the computer, the metal bolt slides into locked position with a loud *CLANK* and a small hum can be heard as the magnetic lock powers up sealing the room up. Door Locked

Prowl cracks into a thin smile "Ignition is actually a very dedicated Autobot who underwent a full rebuild to infiltrate Tarn's underground. By being so vocal and public she is attracting Decepticon attention. If the insurgent start meeting in her bar we will have first hand intel on what they actually plan. So avoid going to her bar unless necessary and protect her cover." He leans back a bit proud of his plan if it fooled other Autobots it will work perfectly against the Decepticons and insurgents. "We also have something else in the works. An assassination attempt in Nova Cronum. We know about it but do not know the target or the reason. That is another avenue we would need to explore if we have some time."

Intelligence and counterintelligence are so, SO much more Arcee's thing. Chromia does wrestle with that a little, the 'good' in letting crud like that out there, all to have the -potential- for something. She knows from her own guerrilla operations that sometimes you need to do bad to gain the good. This must be someone Prowl has a lot of faith in to trust something like this with. "Got it, avoid Ignition's bar. Protect cover," she lists off, as those are things she can easily do and accept. "What operatives or targets might be in Nova?" Now that there is business to get to, and she is being included, Chromia is ready to get to work. "If we can narrow that down, we might have better options of knowing where to look. Do we know who the assassin is?"

Punch's optics glow more brightly and he takes his hand away from his head to indicate the end of the transmission. Replaying the messages in his head to catch up a little on events he says to Prowl, "That matter is still in hand Sir. It is, however, looking more and more that he target's going to be on the other side of the fence."

Prowl shakes his head at Chromia "We have no operative that /I/ know of in Nova Cronum." He nods at Punch "So the target will probably a Decepticon. Normally I would just let it happen but...I am also thinking about Decepticon retaliation against the population. If a civilian takes a shot at the Decepticons you can bet the hammer will becoming down." He looks at Tarn...then at Nova Cronum. Both identical in political aspects. He is sorely tempted to let it slide and hope this kickstarts an open revolt in a Decepticon held city...Break a few eggs..."Then again...it will be a very public cry for help from the citizens of Nova Cronum. Maybe we should let it happen and roll with it."

"May I make a suggestion Sir?" Punch asks.

You say, "Go ahead."

"Unless the assassination is meant to stir up support *for* the Cons. It could be used to rally the local population to their cause with even greater fevor. If it's prevented either way," Chromia growls a little. She doesn't like the idea of sparing a Con either but it's also within her nature to try to save everyone, Cons included. So she continues, "Then it causes a disruption in our favor. If we could find the target then maybe we could even recruit him (or her) to our side, with the knowledge it is coming. Or if not to our side, someone thatw ould owe us a favor." Because Cons are simple like that.

"We can't be everywhere. I still think the best play is to assess who needs evacuating and makeing sure we can get our friendlies out." Punch says, "Get the transit terminal blasted or dug or blasted clear and returned to an operational state. Then get everyone briefed on their escape options and let the fire burn itself out. At which point people can return and reintegrate. Personally if the cons want to start turning on each other in anger at the events then I won't care. And, given their recent unstable political situation, I'm more of the mind that's what would happen. If they're stirred up by person, or persons unknown . . . I'm sure no one here would mind that either." Punch finishes simply.

Prowl ponders the options and calculates the benefits for each conclusion... "No matter what we choose to do...or NOT do. We need a bit more into on the target and the assassin and his motives. Once we have that we can make a more enlightened decision."

"Agreed." WHAT IN PRIMUS?!? Chromia finds herself agreeing with Prowl more than Punch. Once that sinks in later, she'll have to think about what that means. "Any situation that we allow to escalate without direction is just a future trouble we're goingt o have to deal with. Better to be aware of what's happening, to be out in front of it." If only she knew how much like her new boss she was sounding. "I could try to look into that after meeting with this Fray (and looking into that personal stuff you don't have to know about), but it sounds like you need someone sneaky-stealthy in there as of yestercycle."

Smiling brightly Punch says, "See? I've always been a good judge of talent." Punch knows this to be true. Providing a disagreement between them doesn't result in them killing each other Punch can see it working out well for those two. "One other thing that's came up Sir. Not too much for us to worry about but worth note. Scourge . . . has started attacking other Decepticons at what seems at random."

Prowl raises an eyebrow at the comment "Ok...Good. Let them pay the bills to fix themselves if they want to behave like animals..." He cracks a small smile...He just had a 'WWJD' moment..."Maybe we can use that to stir the pot on the Decepticon side." He giggles? No Prowl does not giggle more like a slightly eager evil chuckle. "Oh yes this will be interesting. Low cost but potentially high yield if Scourge gets incapacited as a result."

What Would a Junkion Do? That giddy giggle is unnerving. Rather than let that linger, Chromia wonders if it can't be directed. "What if we could use that, to our advantage? Maybe if we were able to draw scourge to Nova, he could cause enough mischief there among the Cons that we could learn what else is in play. If they are forced to scramble, then they will be more desperate to reveal any secrets at the promise of some help. We could create our own opportunity."

Prowl tilts his head "Maybe...One thing is for sure is that he will be too furious to think straight. Not to mention what other Decepticons will be saying when...for dispatching Decepticons, making them waste materials and hampering the Decepticon war effort. Scourge receives an Autobot medal..." Talk about slapping your enemy in the face.

"Of course if I find out more . . . you'll both be first to know." Punch says, unsure who he's addressing. Talk about synchronisation! As long as their happy though. . . that's what matters in Punch's view.

Prowl nods at Punch and checks his chrono "I need to get going. I have a meeting with the Retoris chief of police. Nothing special but we work closely given proximity and the current rebuilding situation in Retoris." He stands up and offers to shake Chromia's hand "Welcome aboard Chromia." (I will need to jet in about 10 mins to go pick-up my daughter.)

Chromia walks out of Prowl's Office. Chromia heads back to OOC-Land. ***** *** *  *      *   *   *      *   ***  ***   **** *  * ***       *    *  *   *     ***  *   *     ***  ***  **    *  * ** * **      *   *** *** ***  *   * *** ***  *   * *  * ***   **** *  * ***  * * * * *