Determining Character

 Sky Lynx says, "Ultra Magnus, I received your message. I have time if you have time."

 Ultra Magnus says, "Yes, are you Earthside?"

 Sky Lynx says, "Indeed, in my hangar no less."

 Ultra Magnus says, "I'll be in my office when you're ready to talk."

 Sky Lynx says, "Is there room for me in there?"

 Ultra Magnus says, "Quite."

 Sky Lynx says, "Splendid! Glad you had the forethought to ensure all of us could enter."

Office of Autobot City Commander

Just inside the finely polished silver doors lies the Office of the Autobot City Commander, as it's stated in a plaque stamped on the door. Since the construction of the city, this office has belonged to none other than Ultra Magnus. A large curved window dominates the south and east sides of the spactious office, and from there you can see Lookout Mountain. The view is stunning, regardless of the weather outside.

Next to the window hangs one of the few decorations in the office, a framed picture of Ultra Magnus shaking hands with Optimus Prime; from before the Great War. A bookshelf along the far wall carries a multitude of leather bound books, all filed neatly and freshly dusted. The eastern wall is covered in maps, up to date intel on Decepticon activities pointed out by way of pins. Next to them are a myriad of star charts. At the far end of the office rests Magnus' sturdy desk, a small computer terminal is behind it alongside his ener-java brewer. The desktop is likely littered with whatever important matter requires his attention today.

Two large Transformer-Sized chairs are available, as well as a smaller one for humans; in front of the desk. The flooring is white marble, with a red Autobot insignia in the middle of the floor.

Sky Lynx knocks. Sort of. It's more of a *thumpthumpthump* as he tries to not overkill announcing his presence outside the door. "Ultra Magnus? It is Sky Lynx." There's little else to announce, in truth. He's there, that's about it. Yup.

Seated at the large desk, Ultra Magnus is wearing his usual dour expression while turning through a couple of different reports. The ones currently being considered are the reports of Cybertron's reformatting, Repugnus' giant moon carving adventure, and whatever theories or plans they've come up with in the meantime. Softly rubbing the temple on his helm, a certain knock from the door pulls him from the thoughts.

Getting up from his small seat, Greenhorn hits the open hatch button from the inside.. giving Sky Lynx a smile and courteous nod. "He's awaiting you inside the office." Showing the big fella in, the cadet merely bows before them both and leaves.

Greenhorn knows by now when eavesdropping is appropriate.

Sky Lynx gives the cadet a nod in passing as he steps in, giving right-of-way to the little guy, of course. Stepping on other Autobots is bad, after all. "Thank you." He looks at the chairs available and then opts for the corner, settling his bulk down so he can lower his optical visor down to a more optic-to-optic level with Ultra Magnus. "So, you wished to speak about Shiftlock? What sort of concerns do you have regarding our latest applicant?" He glances towards the report, but no mention is made about it, or the contents contained within. After all, he'd expect nothing less of anyone else who happened to sneak a look at his own reports.

"Yes, that does seem to be the pressing matter at hand." Ultra Magnus sighs, pushing away the folder of Cybertronian goodness and opting for an equally sized folder labeled 'Shiftlock'. "I'm going to cut to the chase here Lynx, we've got ninety nine problems.. and I don't think a rebel applicant to the Autobots needs to be one."

Flipping the folder open, Ultra Magnus leans back in his seat and sips a cup of enertea. The occasional "Hrm." or clearing of his vocalizers is all that's heard out of him, finally Greenhorn comes back into the room and breaks the awkward silence. Setting up a small tray table in front of the flying turkey lion, the cadet places a giant saucer of enertea on it. With a curt nod of his head, Greenhorn departs from the room once more.

"I'll hear your take in a moment, but here's the thing. Shiftlock -hasn't- been on her best behaivor since moonlighting with the Autobots. For Primus sake, she was in a cell next to Whirl!" the City Commander raises his voice, settling down a moment later. "You know I don't like rebels in my faction, Lynx." he finishes, closing the folder.

Of course, if he had his way.. the faction would likely consist of himself and the Autobot Handbook.

Sky Lynx once again nods and offers a soft 'thanks' to the cadet before looking at the tea. How on earth is he supposed to drink that? Like some sort of animal? He leaves the saucer of tea where it sits for the time being and nods slowly after Ultra Magnus' tag-line regarding Shiftlock. "One thing. Well, several, Ultra Magnus." The Lynx would probably steeple his fingers, if he could. "I agree. In nominal situations a rebel is no good. Horrible at politics, terrible at procedure, and overall...trouble." He pauses. "However, this is not the time for any of that. Granted, Shiftlock has had some rather difficult moments, but that would hold true for almost all of us." Sky Lynx resettles himself, nudging the saucer to one side. "I respect your adherence, unwavering adherence mind, to the regulations. However I feel that Shiftlock is going to, given time, prove both capable and effective. I have my reasonings, of course. Firstly, I watched Shiftlock jump into a fray to defend someone without knowing both parties because one wrongfully attacked the other. Two, while she did spend time in a cell, she did so of her own volition after willingly turning herself over to Captain Velum, she could have retreated back to Crystal City. Three, she is a good ambassador to have as we move forward on Cybertron, possessing ties to the Crystal Sentinels." A faint smirk shows as the massive Autobot pauses, just letting the previous few points settle in. "Four. We are not fighting for Autobots any longer. We are fighting for Cybertron, and I, for one, will welcome any Cybertronian who seeks to assist our own in finding liberation."

"Well met, on all accounts." Ultra Magnus finally admits after a long pause, another deep sip of his enertea. Eyeing Sky Lynx, and the saucer, then Sky Lynx again, the City Commander holds down a button on his desk. "One moment." he asides to the Military Director, a couple of hushed tones spoken into the communicator.

Not three astroseconds later, Greenhorn hurriedly rushes into the room and places a large straw in the saucer. "A thousand pardons, sir." the cadet offers to Sky Lynx, before departing just as fast as he arrived.

"It's true, I run a tight ship.. perhaps too tight?" Ultra Magnus offers playfully, before continuing their talk. "But I would rather side with caution than not, especially when dealing with such delicate matters. While you yourself admit you'll embrace -anyone- who seems to seek our goals, I can not afford.. we can not afford to be so naive." he finishes, tucking the folder away in his desk drawer.

"With both your recommendation and Elita One's, I have decided to grant her temporary conditional Autobot status." Ultra Magnus stands from behind the desk, stepping around. "The conditions will be decided after a lengthy chat with this Shiftlock.." he rests two hands behind him on the desktop.

"I only hope she contains the resolve you both think she does."

Sky Lynx nods curtly. "Of course, I would have offered the same. Even though I welcome anyone who wishes to assist, I am not a fool. Limits are a must." He looks at the straw... oh, how he tries hard not to look outright insulted at that. "As I stated before, I do respect your adherence. That is the nature of our command. Checks and balances. You have your regulations. Jazz has his political savvy. We all counter one another in some form. It keeps us all functional." There is a moment of pause, as well as a contemplative look at the tea...and straw. "As for Shiftlock, if nothing else...I should say this much. She was with the Crystal Sentinels. They do not tolerate traitors for long, and if you do not have resolve, you die." He pushes himself to his feet. "If nothing else tells me she will succeed here, that states it all. In my mind, of course."

"Agreed, it's a system set up to prevent flagrant abuse." Ultra Magnus nods, still eyeing both Sky Lynx and the enertea. Now he's just downright insulted! "Although, it makes one wonder.." the City Commander trails, propeling himself forward from the desktop to stand at full. "Anyone who could corroborate Shiftlock's ties to the Crystal Sentinels is currently dead, executed it seems by Spinister and the other Decepticons in a very public and gruesome manner."

Allowing that to sink in, Magnus goes ahead and says what the next logical thought is. "Now tell me this.. if you wanted to plant a Decepticon spy, would you not do something similar?"

Sky Lynx ahs. "Not all, mind you. I know two whom I trained personally which could corroborate her ties." He looks down at the tea. "While the death of her team is very unfortunate, I considered much the same. I still would not be truly surprised if this were an elaborate plot, but I am willing to give her the benefit of doubt." "As for methods of infiltration, yes. It makes sense. Far too much sense. The Decepticons, though, are far too brash and something of this nature would eventually fall to pieces. It is not as though we would truly have a spy in our midsts for too long before discovering it, I am certain. But that is where Jazz comes in. I trust he will act on his own convictions in this matter. My focus is the fight."

Nodding along with the reply, Ultra Magnus checks his chronometer and sighs. "Sorry to cut this short Sky Lynx, but I do have a meeting with Cliffjumper regarding some.." he pauses to search for the word. "Preposterous claims he has." Approaching Lynx, Magnus walks him to the door. "And I agree, we'll have to trust in Jazz and his team to be able to uncover anything we can about Shiftlock; while she's being given the proper run-through of course." he smiles, he hasn't taught the Autobot Code to anyone in awhile now.. in fact, why did Rodimus Prime end up canceling that course.

The world may never know.

Sky Lynx nods. "Thank you. Please, have the tea delivered to my hangar... It does look quite nice, and a decent drink while I peruse some reports would be appreciated." He stands, offering a curt nod.

"Greenhorn will see to it at once." Ultra Magnus nods, showing Sky Lynx out. Waiting in the lobby is none other than Cliffjumper, nervously kicking his feet against the side of the chair.. to the annoyance of Greenhorn.

Standing, the red minibot shoots the cadet a smirk and waltzes into Ultra Magnus' office, "What, thinking about canceling on me again? The six times before wasn't enough?? I'm telling you though, this turbo-fox incident bears investigating!" the discussion fades, as the door closes.

 Whirl says, "Hey Torque, you around?"

 Torque says, "Yes, what do you need, Whirl?"

 Whirl says, "Oh, I don't /need/ anything. I do, however, /want/ to know your opinion on our little Sentinel after sparring with her."

 Torque says, "She's rather good with hand to hand combat. Better than I expected, actually, which would've saved me a broken arm if I knew sooner... Anyway, I found her tactics to be a bit dirty, but adequate, though her judgement of others' moves needs just a bit of work."

 Whirl says, "Hm, I will keep this all in mind."

 Whirl says, "Now what is your opinion on her personally?"

 Whirl says, "Also, do you know where she hangs out the most and at what times?"

 Whirl says, "This is for my personal records, of course."

 Torque says, "Hmm.. I can't really say, I'll have to be around her mo- Ergh, Whirl don't use me for this kind of info."

<Autobot> Whirl says, "Torque, I am both shocked and hurt by your ridiculous presumption that I'm using you for nefarious purposes!"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "Next question: do you have her personal hailing frequency and can you give it to me?"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "It's for strictly professional purposes."

<Autobot> Torque says, "Ugh, no, I know none of what you wanna know."

<Autobot> Torque says, "I know next to nothing about the femme."

<Autobot> Whirl says, "Listen Torque.. you don't have to be jealous."

<Autobot> Whirl says, "Just tell me what I want to know."

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Before you get too invested, know I will trust her.. training into more trustworthy hands, Whirl."

<Autobot> Torque sighs.

<Autobot> Whirl says, "Magnus, sir, please reconsider!"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "I'm the perfect match for the job, you know it!"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "I even called you sir, see how responsible I am?"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "And I'm super trustworthy, just ask Torque."

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Even though you two shared adjoining jail cells, that's hardly a show of responsibility."

<Autobot> Torque says, "Hey, don't drag me into this, Whirl!"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "That was a misunderstanding. Basically that Nebulan chick is racist."

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Which legitimized your actions? Need we have a refresher course on the Autobot Code, Whirl?"

<Autobot> Impactor says, "The hell'd he do, Magnus?"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "I don't recall anything in our code about tolerating space racism!"

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Do you recall anything from our code?"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "Something something... till all are one, right?"

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus sighs, "My decision stands."

<Autobot> Whirl says, "Ugh!"

<Autobot> Whirl says, "For the record, I am not pleased by this decision and I'm telling you now I'm still going to follow her around and pretend you said yes."

<Autobot> Whirl says, "See how honest and trustworthy I am?"

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "I cannot think of two other terms which fit you least."

<Autobot> Whirl says, "Tch! Fine, but don't come crying to me when you let some moron train her and make her useless."

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Hopefully, I will continue to dodge that problem."

<Autobot> Whirl snorts.