Letters and Lies

Throne Room - Darkmount -- The Past

Darkmount's crown, the top of the spiral is a huge, sprawling room, high-roofed and well vented to allow the heat and smoke from below to escape. Richly appointed and lavish, Straxus is not a ruler who denies himself luxury. The massive, intricately carved throne sits upon a dais and, somewhat unusually for Cybertronian furniture, is plush and padded. Deep red and violet curtains drape over the curved walls and pile upon the floor, flowing around pedestals that proudly display the heads of those who have crossed the first Decepticon. Not far in front of the throne is the pit in the floor through which those arriving from the tower must enter - forcing visitors to rise up from beneath the feet of the one seated on it. Exiting, too, happens via the spiral ramp on the edge of that hole - or unwillingly pushed off the other side of that hole, where the unlucky Transformer would have a few moments to contemplate the error of his ways before crashing into the smelting pools far below. Further in front the room opens into a balcony overlooking Polyhex, where Straxus can look down at the city he rules, the seeds of his empire, lit to challenge the stars. Servants scurry about the room, ready to live and die by Straxus's whims, though Straxus would not call himself a cruel master. A loyal and obedient servant is well-rewarded, and his luxury is shared with those who have found favor in his eyes. Indeed, a sufficiently bold laborer might find himself sitting on the throne itself for a time, where it is easiest to see the crescent axe that hangs from the ceiling above the throne when it is not in use. The axe hangs on gossamer thin, almost invisible threads that look ready to part at a breath, and is positioned so as to cleave the head of anyone sitting in the throne should those fragile threads part.

Perhaps the throne is not so comfortable as it first appears, after all.

Contents:

Straxus

Obvious exits: Down  leads to Entry Hall - Darkmount -- The Past.

Straxus is not in his throne, though the axe currently hangs above it. Instead, he stands, back towards the room, gazing out over the city. For the moment, he's still and quiet, and activity in here is relatively light. The room has almost an... expectant feel.

Catechism was summoned here. She can guess some of the reasons. Catechism isn't sure how to feel about this - Astrotrain clearly wasn't thrilled to see Straxus and all but shoved her in front of Straxus. Astrotrain was also rather evasive. All that really tells her, though, is that Astrotrain has reason to be wary of Straxus. Great. Anyone with half a chip could figure out that being wary of Straxus is sensible! He's a fragging cannon! He was built by /Primus/ (Primus is real?)! And that's just the surface. Backlit by the smelting pools behind, Catechism enters the Throne Room, and she looks up. A look of what can only be described as whimsical delight crosses her face, and she throws her arms in the air and exclaims, "So you really do that!"

So much for sensibility.

Straxus turns towards Catechism, one angular brow lifted a little higher. He looks to see what she's looking at, then looks down at Catechism. "So I do." Then he strides across the room, back towards the throne, stepping around the entry hole. He taps the side of the throne and a terminal of sorts pops out. Then he waves Catechism over.

Astrotrain has arrived.

Catechism is indeed gawking up at the axe that hangs from the ceiling, something she's only ever read about in a book of dubious historical accuracy. She looks like a child who has discovered that Santa Claus really is /real/ rather than properly intimidated and frightened, like she should be. Catechism steps toward the terminal, guessing where this might be going. She comments, "I was serious about wanting to learn Ancient Cybertronian. I have an interest in history. More the practical parts than the scholarly, I'll admit."

"An interest in history?" Straxus asks, then adds dryly, "I would have never guessed." He shrugs. "I care only to interpret the symbols you saw, but I suppose I could spare some time to instruct you in the process."

Astrotrain is down by the smelting pools. Why would that be? Because he's been bugging and bugging those running the show for a chance to relive a little nostalgia on his part. And today, Astrotrain finally got his chance. "You'll never destroy our spirit!" The captured Autobot shouts in defiance, his hands bound behind his back. "One day, one of us will rise up and show you just how strong our spirit can b...AAAAAHHGH!" He never finishes the sentence as he is unceremoniously nudged by a long pole and sent plummeting into the bubbling and boiling molten pit below, landing with little more than a faint splash and disappearing into the glowing mess. Back up on the ledge, Astrotrain looks back at the overseer, who is covering his face with his palm. "What? You mean I'm supposed to let them -finish- talking before I do it? Where's the fun in that!?"

Catechism inquires innocently, "How many can speak, read, and write it, even now?" The Liberation Arch - unfathomably ancient in her home time - still seems old here, and the symbols she saw yesterday seem similar to the symbols on the Arch. They also seem similar to the modern symbols, but only that... similar. Perhaps similar in the way that the Old English of Beowulf is similar to modern English. Perhaps even more distant. She doesn't takes her optics off Straxus and the terminal as Astrotrain has he fun behind, down near the smelting pools. Catechism concludes mildly, "I'd like that." She touches the terminal at the side of the throne and brings up a copy of the first symbol on the screen but only the first.

Straxus pauses a moment and glances towards the hole in the floor. He hmphs. "Your compatriot seems to be enjoying himself," he rumbles before looking down at the symbol. "And... I doubt there are many left who know the language. Even with digital recording, the symbols have... changed overtime. That is the 'Ens' figure. It can mean connections or attachments, but what kind depends on context."

Logographic languages are often considered to be extremely difficult, as there can be thousands of logographs, all with different meanings, as opposed to phonographic languages, which use small building blocks to create words. Perfect recall isn't a problem for a machine, given enough storage space, but the symbols and meanings do have to be learned first. Catechism shrugs and demurs, "He could be doing worse." But back on topic. She scribes out the next symbol from her recording. "It's always odd, how poor we are at record keeping, despite how easy it is for us. I almost wonder if it isn't intentional on some part..."

Ah, but Logographic languages can condense more information into a smaller period of time. He looks down at Catechism thoughtfully for a moment, then at the screen. "We seem to expect things like the Oracle and the Matrix to handle it for us. Of course, between the slavers and the wars, we've lost much of what we did have." And then he gives a displeased rumble and adds, "And the slavers may have made... changes in us. There were things they could not touch, but others, they could. And such a... forgetfulness would no doubt benefit them." There is no proof, of course, and even Straxus himself was not immune to the changes made - that was, after all, why the three had to blank their own memories.

Straxus taps the symbol. "Knowledge. Informational network, then," he adds, sounding as though he were expecting it.

Catechism writes out the next symbol. Luckily, as a machine, she can have all the accuracy of a laser printer, if she feels like putting in the effort. Catechism grumbles, as if from experience, "If we just kept track for ourselves, it'd save us a lot of trouble." Hence her practical interest in the past. Sometimes, the specters of the past need to be punched today. Catechism asks, "Ah, so the symbol after Ens provides the context, then, and Ens in turn specifies the kind of knowledge?"

"That is correct," agrees Straxus. "It is... not /too/ different from modern language, really, but there has been... drift." He looks down at the symbol and chuckles. "That's a combination of two symbols, and basically means, 'Built of many.' It indicates that what follows is, well... a serial number."

Things -had- gotten quiet down below for a bit. That is, until the air is cut by the sound of a weapons discharge. Another hapless victim is sent to meet the pit, though not before being catapulted into the air, his body performing a half twist and spin before plummeting straight down into the magma, slicing the liquid surface so perfectly that it barely makes a splash in the process. A handful of pit-workers gathered around Astrotrain ooooh and ahhhh, applauding quietly, as the triplechanger holds his rifle up smugly, smoke curling upwards from the tip. "Five points! Who's turn is it?" One of the other workers waves his hand eagerly in response. The Overseer is back by his desk, holding his head in his hands and his expression carrying that whole 'Why me?' expression to it. In the future, Astrotrain's a bad influence, and in the past, he's an even worse one.

Catechism starts to say, "Built of many? It looks a lot like the word for," she catches herself as she's about to say 'combiner', as in 'combiner team', but she remembers just in time that they don't have these here. She writes out the next and studies it, trying to see if she can guess what number it might be. She hears the splashing down below and a mention of points. What in the...?

Straxus doesn't seem phased by Astrotrain's antics. He says, "You'll need the next several figures, I'm sure. This uses the traditional base-three system." He crosses his arms and straightens. "Thus, it shouldn't take too long to learn the basic symbols there."

Catechism sighs and writes out the rest of the figures. At least, by writing them singly, she could get an explanation out of Straxus for each one. It feels like defeat to finally have to write out the rest of them. That learning them shouldn't take long, though, is at least somewhat encouraging. She mutters, "Threes. It's always threes."

"Yes, no, and maybe," Straxus agrees, shrugging. "Though at times I wonder how much longer the maybe will stay." He snorts, then points. "This is zero, this is one, this is two. The direction of writing is the same as modern times, so it shouldn't be hard for you to determine the number from that. Go ahead. Try it."

Catechism gives Straxus an odd look as he question the staying power of the maybe. Does he mean the neutrals of Cybertron, all but dead on her time? Does he mean free will itself, as so many enemies try to deny it to them and make the Transformers into nothing more than binary machines? Or something else entirely? Before she can ask, Straxus asks her to read the number off, which she reads off in base 10, for the benefit of the cartoon watchers, "46.5, and that looks like... a spacer? Then 53.8?" She looks up at Straxus for confirmation.

Straxus dips his head once in a nod. "Correct. The actual number is of little import, but it is useful for training, if nothing else." He glances down at the Conehead. "Unless I'm mistaken, that should be all on that line."

 Boomslang says, "I'm picking up something big, probably a shuttle from the airspeed and radar return. Can't get a good read though, storm's messing with my set. Did we bring a shuttle?"

 Scrapper says, "I don't /think/ so. Unless it's a new invisible stealth shuttle."

 Swindle says, "If we had such a thing, I would know."

 Boomslang says, "Heads up, then. Autobots."

 Swindle says, "And if I knew about such a thing, then I would not be here right now..."

 Scrapper says, "You can stop talking any time. Otherwise, you'll need to rent a power shovel."

Catechism writes out the start of the next line. She inquires, perhaps overly hopeful, "I don't suppose there are any ancient comic, are there?" Something easy to read. Probably not around now, at any rate, if there ever were.

Straxus looks down at Catechism for a long moment, then at the figure, shaking his head. "If there were, I did not read them," he answers. His optics flare red as he sees the next system. "Navigation." He grunts. "The system's been disrupted, so we'll have to go to the source, but at least we are on the right track."

Catechism looks back up at Straxus, expression carefully blank. Show no fear! Admit no mistake! Continuing as if she hasn't said anything stupid, she listens to his explaination. She tilts her head to the side and asks, "The source? The right track?" She doesn't even know what he's after! Just old computers, as far as she can tell. Catechism writes out a few more symbols.

Straxus waves his hand. "The planetary co-ordinates of Killarn. It's explaining that that is where the terminal saw belongs." He snorts. "Nice to know that no one moved it."

'*BREKOW!* Another weapons fire from below, a series of cheers followed by a collective groan from a growing audience, then Astrotrain's voice. "Penalty for decapitation before they made contact with the pit! You lose two points!" Much laughter ensues.

Catechism looks a bit guilty, just a bit as Straxus comments that no one has moved the terminal. Okay, so the fact that Cybertron ih ger time period has rearranged its geography isn't her fault! Catechism straightens and banishes the guilty look. After all, if anyone should be looking guilty, it is Astrotrain down there, for wasting precious time. Whereas learning a dead language is totally a productive use of her time. She starts writing out the rest fo the message, though she pauses and admits, "I think part of this message is corrupted, unless I'm reading it wrong."

"You're right," Straxus sighs, leaning forward, his strange fang-mouth pulling down in a frown. "Most of that is a garbled me- wait! Wait, there!" he points at one of them. "Co-ordinates. You should be able to read the numbers."

Catechism finishes scribing out the rest of the message, though there are other parts that look broken, at least to her. When Straxus points, she focuses and thinks. She starts to read off the coordinates and then catches herself, saying excitedly, "That's Ia...Iacon!" Not Iahex. It won't be Iahex for millions of year.

Straxus barks out a laugh. "Then that is where we are going next." He looks down at Catechism, then out towards the city, musing, "I wonder if Sentinel Prime is as /gracious/ a host as he is a guest..."

Catechism wonders aloud, "Don't suppose Fortress Maximus will return the favour to Sentinel Prime? Doesn't seem his style." She notes that she doesn't know what Straxus is looking for or why he wants it, but she somehow doubts she'll be finding that out. "Though, if the Autobots have it... might one of them be clever enough to find it and use... whatever before you get there?"

Straxus's strange fang-mouth pulls into a strange fang-mouth smile. "They'll find that... difficult." He slides around the terminal, then sits in his throne, beneath the axe. "Though Sentinel is a buffoon, I know better than to assume the same of all his troops, but... even so, they lack the key."

Later, after some training on the alphabet...

Straxus notes, "That should be enough for now... and perhaps forever. My time is valuable." He rests his chin on his right hand for a moment. "However... tell me, Catechism. You never did explain why you are here."

Catechism notes that Straxus goes with calling her 'Catechism', what Astrotrain called her after he shoved her out in front of Straxus, rather than 'Evangel', what she's been claiming her name is ever since. As the Father of Lies finally asks her what the heck she's doing here, Catechism adopts that blank, innocent look, "Because a factory made me. Or did you mean why am I here NOW? Because I'm inclined to blame /that/ on a black monolith."

That would be because the moment when Astrotrain spoke in front of them was the earliest point, and therefore the point when they were least likely to have their stories straight. He growls softly under his breath, then barks, "Yes! Why are you here /now/? Explain this 'black monolith'!"

Oh, that was Straxus.

Catechism holds up her hands and replies, "I'm not entirely sure that I /can/ explain it. First off, because I don't get it myself. I'm not a scientist or engineer. Second off, because the basis of the concepts involved won't be created for millions of years." She looks around and then down, to see if those in the pools below might be listening.

Straxus gives a nod, then pauses. "Would you feel more comfortable if I ordered them to leave?" This may or may not be the same as an actual offer. It's hard to tell.

Catechism stares at Straxus with a bewildered, poleaxed expression, and she blurts, "What the slag does it matter if I'm comfortable or not?" Then, she covers her mouth and static-coughs, "Excuse my Vosian. I wasn't sure how much about the Fourth your smelter crew knows." Handy euphemism, that.

Straxus slides out of his throne and strides towards Catechism in three quick steps, then makes a grab for her.

Combat: Straxus misses Catechism with his Grab attack!

Combat: Straxus (Straxus) used "Grab": A Level 0 MELEE attack.

Catechism dances out of Straxus's grasp. She looks up to the axe hanging above and down to the smelter below. Catechism narrows her optics and points a finger, saying bluntly, "I don't have to stick around here. I can't speak for anyone else, but I have a backup plan." No, she doesn't say what it is! And it would require her to find Monacus, which is a pain and a half, given the state of maps these days and the positions of the stars.

Things down below have gotten somewhat quiet. Not because everyone is paying attention to what's happening up above, but because the 'games' have run their course, and the mechs have returned to work. Astrotrain was still standing to one side, watching some more unlucky individuals meet their fates, before the commotion above does catch his attention. "....hmmm." He turns and steps up the nearby stairs, to have a look. He -could- fly up there, since he hasn't been hidng it. But it's just as quick since the stairs were nearby anyway, right?

Straxus snorts at Catechism. "Then leave," he answers, turning to wave her away. "It's obvious that you don't have any real answers, anyway, so why should I bother with you?" He glances towards the entrance as he hears the steps coming up them.

Catechism observes flatly, "You're goading me." She pauses. "But you're also correct. I don't have real answers. The Decepticons took possession of a macrostructure that we called a Dyson Ring, made by an unknown alien race. It was a torus, in orbit around a star, of sufficient diameter to contain rocky planets within the tube itself, which it didn't, but it was close - it contained unrolled landmasses that were equivalent to planets. I believed the landmasses were meant to correspond to past, present, future, and alternate realities, but I'm not sure if that's right or even if it matters. On the 'alternate' landmass, there was a black monolith of indeterminate composition, whose dimensions were in the precise ratio 1:4:9. There were anomalous electromagnetic fields around it. We were using the Dyson Ring as one end of a space-bridge, a method of point to point spatial transport, which was odd enough in itself as the Dyson Ring is older than the invention of the space-bridge, so either the aliens developed space-bridge independently, or the Dyson Ring is itself a traveler in the Fourth. The Prime of my time crashed into the monolith, which seemed to activate it. It spoke, 'The void that sings has gone silent. The stars no longer speak to each other. The third of twelve is shattered, and the devourer begins to rouse,' and I found myself in Magnaron. Your Magnaron."

Catechism she pauses, rubs her chin, and adds, "Then the monolith shattered. So I guess it's meant to be the third of twelve... whatevers."

Straxus settles back into his throne, rests both elbows on the arms, and clasps his hands together in front of his face. He listens intently to what Catechism has to say, then looks ceilingward, towards his axe. "Twelve?" he asks. "Hmmm. Well, that could be worse," he admits. There are other numbers that would worry him far more.

"It's not 26," Catechism observes, arms crossed. "Anyway. That's my story. Well. I suppose it is relevant to mention that the space-bridge on the other side had already malfunctioned. We were trying to move a planet, see," she walks over to the terminals and starts drawing a picture of all of this. "Nebulos. Incidentally, one of the mapped planets in the ring. I think it represents the future. But the Autobots attacked our space-bridge on that side, and rather than moving the planet, it just moved us and the Autobots inside the ring, to the monolith. I don't know much about the monolith, just that Shockwave didn't want anyone messing with it. Which means it's something interesting." Obviously! "As near as I can tell, not all of us at the battle were sent back in time, just some of us." She takes a step back from her drawing and concludes, "Well. Father of Lies. Does that account tally with what else you may have heard?"

Astrotrain has reached the top of the stairs at some point, and is listening attentively, arms crossed over his chest as he hears Catechism's recounting of the tale. "I knew that fraggin Dyson Sphere had somethin to do with it. Just not what." He mumbles, head tilting to one side, optics narrowed slightly. "Fraggin thing even caught some of us who weren't even -in- the thing at the time, just in close proximety."

"It does not disagree with them," Straxus answers, sinking back into his throne, dropping his hands to the rests. "But then, most accounts have been very... sparse on the details before yours." He looks up at Astrotrain and his red optics blaze momentarily. "If the thing can transport planets, should that really be surprising?"

Catechism looks back over at Astrotrain and reminds, "The Ring was a space-bridge. If you were within the perimeter, it would make some sort of sense that it nabbed you." She pauses and considers, before adding, "Given the size of it, I suspect it could have moved stars, if only it had sufficient power." She shrugs. "Sparse on details, eh? I'm an inquisitor, in my time." She clasps her hands together behind her back and starts pacing. They say that liars like to add details, because they think it makes their stories more believeable. Which would say Catechism is lying, according to her own training.

Astrotrain continues standing to one side, with that arms-crossed posture as he watches Catechism pace back and forth a bit. "Thing was more trouble than it was worth if ya ask me. But yeah, I was carryin a cargo run of energon cubes to it and I still got caught. So who knows what all got sucked through." He glances to Straxus. "That's why I was never sure how many of us arrived."

Catechism lists off on her fingers, "The ones I can verify myself: Astrotrain, me, Harrow - she's a Seeker medic, Ultra Magnus, Grimlock, some annoying little Autobot medic maybe named Patchwork or something, another annoying little Autobot engineer I think named Fairway." She is omitting Blueshift and Andi Lassiter, because she hasn't seem them herself! "Astrotrain, you know of anyone different?"

"I already went through the list with him. Though Fairway's the only one I ain't seen yet. Knew about the rest of em. And Blueshift is stupidy-fying the place, and the Autobots have one of their fleshbag pets with em." He waves a hand dismissively.

Astrotrain totally does, that is.

"I believe I've seen the Seeker. She seems to have more or less... attached herself to my forces," Straxus observes. He drums the fingers of his right hand against the throne arm rest. "You lot stand out quite a bit, when one knows what to look for. The Autobots, also, I've encountered, except for this 'Fairway.'"

Catechism adds Blueshift and 'a fleshbag' to her mental list. She nods and explains "Fairway's a De...oh, it doesn't even matter. He turns into a silvery stainless steel four-wheeled vehicle, lightly armoured, designed as a civilian transport for four or five small humanoids. He paints, on the side." She remembers that from the Crystal City art festival. "Now. Who else knows what to look for?" Because those are the people who can either give her trouble or help her.

"I imagine Shockwave has, by now, picked up on the patterns," Straxus answers, shrugging. "And Ultra Magnus seemed friendly with Fortress Maximus, though I don't know how much that pacifist knows. He's not really a significant part of the equation, however. He may as well be a neutral, for all the effort he puts into the war."

"I'd say Sentinel Prime..." Astrotrain starts, but then smirks faintly. "But that fragger's got his head so far up his aftport that it ain't hard to put anythin by him. Honestly..." He gestures with one hand. "I -almost- wish I could just introduce him to a few figures from our own little home away from home. Just so I could sit back and laugh at the results."

"Mmmm. Sentinel Prime... he is an idiot by choice, not build," Straxus observes almost absently. "Don't dismiss him. The day may come when he stops choosing to be a fool. On the other hand..." the first Decepticon chuckles dryly. "If I were a gambling mechanoid, that is not where I'd lay my odds."

Catechism slides her hands down to her hips, and she inquires, "So. You know what we are. You've commented that we're a danger. I don't suppose, Lord Protector," she chooses to use that title for Straxus very consciously right now, "that you have any interest in returning us to our proper place in the timestream? Just because I have a back-up plan doesn't mean I shouldn't explore the options right before me."

Astrotrain grunts at that, tilting his head back as he observes the throne room, the smelting pools, then back to Straxus once more. "I been having fun with this place, but yeah I'd prefer to haul aft back to where I belong given half the chance. I really don't wanna run into myself here if I can help it."

"Oh, I have full intention," Straxus observes boredly. "Shockwave, I'm sure, is working on something, but it is, as you noted, best to have a back-up plan. However, for me to help you, we'd have to leave this planet, something I am unwilling to do while it is still tumbling out of control." He inclines his head towards Astrotrain. "As you're no doubt well aware, once you leave this planet, finding it again is a chancy matter. Sure, if you're fortunate, there's someone left behind who can provide a beacon, updated co-ordinates, but then what if something happens to the beacon? I am Straxus. I cannot take that risk."

"Don't get used to it." Astrotrain mutters under his breath at the mention of Cybertron tumbling through space. "I figure if anybody's gonna figure somethin out it'd be ol Mono-eye himself. He ain't changed much. At all in fact."

Catechism grimaces. So her options are a) wait on Shockwave to accomplish something. Shockwave. The guy who left Cybertron exactly like it was when Megatron left and, then, in a flurry of productivity, invented the space-bridge in the 80s. b) There is no b). Straxus won't leave the planet, and she's forced to admit, "You're right. Cybertron needs you." She looks over at Astrotrin and bites her lip as she thinks. She hasn't been happy with him lately, but survival may be at stake. So she lays out her ace in the hole, "Astrotrain. You and me. We maybe have a shot at this. There's a very pricy company on Monacus that sells time travel equipment. I don't know if it exists yet, but think about it - if you sold time travel equipment, wouldn't you go back to the start of the universe to maximise your customer base? But we'd have to find Monacus, and the company would have to exist. And then we'd have to front the money." Those are big 'ifs'.

"Oh yeah, like we're gonna find that kinda outlet on a market street? Do ya want the time machine with racing strips, or a pretty bow wrapped around it?" Astrotrain snorts, clearly dubious on that whole idea. "Besides, let's -pretend- that you might be right. What the frag are we gonna use to pay for it? That cargo load of energon cubes that I..." He snaps his mouth shut a moment later.

Straxus makes a growling noise under his breath. "Catechism, I said I was unwilling to leave while the planet was out of control. I did /not/ say I intended to leave the planet out of control. If anything, I am the one in the best position to do something about i-" he looks at Astrotrain and frowns.

"What about that cargo?"

Catechism heard about the joint on Monacus from Ramjet, who used it to have excellent time adventures with Thunderwing. She never got to tag along, as she was busy trying to avoid being murdered by Soundwave. Good times. Her head whips around to stare at Astrotrain. Now that got her attention!

Astrotrain facepalms, cursing his mouth running off before his mind could stop it. So much for his hopes of having a hidden stash that he could pick up a million years later and be totally rich. "...I was doing a cargo run to the Dyson Sphere when I got zapped here, right?" He sighs, and tilts his head to one side, looking at a far wall with all the expression of a pouting kid who's secret stash of candy just got discovered. "I was running a load to the Dyson sphere. Minus two so far, one that I used to recharge when I first arrived here and another I used to bribe Rampage for information, there's a cave in the glass plains that I picked out as a hiding place...full of energon cubes. As much as my cargo hold would manage." It occurs to him that Straxus probably isn't familiar with the term, the cubes only having been invented on Earth by Soundwave. "Imagine condensed energy about yay big." He indicates with his hands. "...it's complicated. Think of it as somethin we did to adapt to different fuel sources."

"Mmm. And would this be related to why you burn fuel at a faster rate?" Straxus asks, faintly curious. Then he stands and reaches up, grabbing hold of he axe. "No matter. I have business to attend to, breakers of the Fourth. I will see you both again."

Besides, Astrotrain. Energon cubes are not like a bank account. They won't accrue interest!

Catechism looks over at Astrotrain and shakes her head. She says lowly, as Straxus departs, "If you say so, you probably will."

You send a radio message to Astrotrain: The planetary engines. He must mean them. But if Straxus does take control of the engines, this past will already be changed enough that its future will never be our future.

Astrotrain grunts at that, tilting his head to one side. "Well SOME of us burn energon faster maybe. Not like that's a problem round here, energy so fraggin plentiful ya can scoop it up wherever ya want." Again he mutters, under his breath. "Spoiled rotten..."

You receive a radio message from Astrotrain: In case ya ain't noticed, them known about our future in the first place probably messes things up. Shockwave had some kinda explainy-thing he did about it. Like how this could be some kinda alternate dimension thingy that don't have an effect on either side. I thought it makes sense, since we -know- that alternate dimension thingy stuff works.

You send a radio message to Astrotrain: Maybe. But I also knew, before I got here, that Straxus was a time traveler who knew what his own future was before he even time travelled! So it's /also/ possible that Shockwave's known about all of this all along and never mentioned anything.

Straxus pauses partway to the hole in the floor that acts as exit and glances back. "What was that, Astrotrain? Is there a problem?"

Astrotrain shifty-eyes left, then right. "I was thinkin on how my fast-burnin fuel processor needs a topup and I think it's time I get me a drink."

"Cowardice does not become you, Astrotrain," Straxus answers roughly, disapproving. And he starts to walk down the stairs.

Astrotrain GRKS, and if he was holding something, he'd probably break it in half. "...now I'm startin to remember why I didn't like him."

You receive a radio message from Astrotrain: Shockwave probably knows a lot of fraggin stuff we don't even wanna know about. I certainly don't. Either we find a way to get back to our own time and place, or we start preparin to make the most of this place, Catechism. That's what I been doin since I first got here.

You send a radio message to Astrotrain: Yeah, yeah. Been working on that, too, just from different directions.

Catechism actually smiles and tries to elbow Astrotrain. "Oh, what's not to like?" She heads off after the stairs herself. "Think I'll go looking for maps at the market again."

Astrotrain waits to make DARN sure Straxus is out of earshot before he decides the radio isn't much necessary anymore, "Could be worse fates than bein stuck in this time if our ticket out is a no-go. Right in the middle of this time period, the technology in our bodies makin us the most advanced and some of the most powerful mechs to walk the face of Cybertron? Shyeah, I could think of stuff a WHOLE lot worse."

Catechism calls to Astrotrain as she exits, "Yeah. As long as they can maintain us. The tooling required doesn't even exist. The tooling to /make/ the tooling won't be invented for millions of years, even. Even Shockwave would have to incite a planet-wide industrial upheaval just to produce /one/ of the armour panels on the leading edges of my wings." That is logistics speaking. Then she's out.

Astrotrain makes a fist and looks it over, flexing and unflexing his fingers a few times. "Meh." He finally mutters. "Lived it once already. What's a second time?"

Astrotrain says this to himself that is.