Charges

Orion Pax - Grapplebee's(#1961RLt)

==============================[ The Orion Pax ]===============================

A fine family establishment geared toward Transformers and humans alike, "Grapplebee's" is the affectionately given nickname to the ship's mess hall, owing to its distinctive look -- the unmistakable modernist touch of Grapple is everywhere you look. Elegant, shallow curves, chrome plating, and parallel lines are the dominant theme in the decor, with beautiful relief carvings set onto the walls as decorations. A walkway leads through the mess hall directly, onward to the living space of the ship, allowing passersby to have a glimpse of what's on the menu (for Transformers, energon), or lean over the railings in the arcade-styled partitions to say hey to a friend. The path has a circular space in its center with steps running perpendicular to the path to allow access to either end of the hall. In the center, a statue built out of water coolers by Pipes commemorates Ultra Magnus.

The actual seating areas are spacious, with separate, narrow pathways leading up to raised platforms where humans can order food from their cook and chow down. Meanwhile, the Transformers get energon straight from the dispenser, and each table is mounted with at least one hydraulic seat that raises and lowers to allow humans and Transformers to eat together in harmony.

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External ship broadcasts for this room are OFF        Type +shiphelp for help

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Obvious exits:

< LQ > leads to Orion Pax - Living Quarters.

< CO > leads to Orion Pax - Corridor - Fore.

Jazz has arrived.

Rodimus Prime is in Grapplebee's. In fact, he's IN JAZZ'S SEAT, although he doesn't know it, because he's yet to catch up with Jazz in here. In one hand is the datapad that he usually reviews reports on. Of course, if anyone were to look over his shoulder, they'd note that right at this moment he's actually playing a video game instead. Next to him is a half finished cube.

Jazz wanders in, on no mission other than to have an enertini and go over today's HOLY CRAP SOMEONE IS IN HIS SEAT AND BETTER MOOK, they can sit there as long as they want.

Jazz awkwardly sits down next to Rodimus. The seat is different; it doesn't have his aftprint. He doesn't even look at Shotglass; the enertini appears in front of him. Without glancing, Jazz reaches out and grabs the stem, and takes a sip. "'sup, Boss?"

As is natural, Rodimus does glance over when someone sits next to him, and his expression widens into a grin when he sees that it's Jazz. He shuts down his video game (something he'd have done a bit more furtively if it had been, say, Magnus who had sat down instead), and swivels his seat partway to face Jazz. "Hey, Jazz. Nothing really /right this second/, but I imagine you've been keeping up with the alerts system." In other words, Rodimus /had/ been working. He just wasn't right now.

Jazz nods, and takes a nice introductory swig of his enertini. "Of course. I've had to step up a bit, with Red down in the dumps and all. It's always a good check to remove someone from your plans and see how much you were relying on them. Thankfully Blaster is still....well, he's Blaster." Jazz smirks, and takes another sip. "So yeah, keeping up with things. Just thought I'd pop into the ol' office and have a sit."

"The office?" Rodimus looks faintly confused for a moment, then he smiles. "Oh, yeah. I'd heard you've really taken to this place. He picks up his cube to take a small sip, then puts the cube down again. He picks up his datapad brings up the alerts and messaging system. "So do you have anything for me that I don't already know through..." and then he taps the datapad, indicating 'normal reports.'

Jazz shrugs. "Other than my XO being incapacitated? Uh...well, I guess I could catch you up on things. I have four fronts open..." He is, still, showing obvious disrespect for the proximity of the bartender. "We're open offensively on Charr and Earth, scientifically on Cybertron, and investigatively on Earth. Details if asked for."

Rodimus Prime apparently doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with the proximity of the bartender. Maybe he just trusts Jazz's judgement. "Let's start with Charr. Seems like we ignore that place a lot more than is really wise..."

Jazz smiles. "I was hoping that you'd see it that way. That's why Nightbeat's personally assigned to doing recon and gathering on the energon sources there." Whatever the relationship between these two, it doesn't seem to concern Jazz that he's now /telling/ Rodimus that he's already opened an offensive front on Charr. Cockiness? Overassuredness? Just a realization of their working partnership? I guess that's partly for the new Rodimus player to decide..

Hot Spot has arrived.

Rodimus Prime is going to go with the working partnership thing. Besides, insisting that everyone run everything by him first would seriously hamper the Autobots' ability to operate (not to mention leave him with less video game time). Rodimus, who is seated at the bar with a half-empty energon cube by one hand and a dateapad in the other, talking with Jazz, inclines his head forward in an affirmative. "Excellent. Let me know when you get more on that. I'm eager to push ahead in that arena. Now, what was that about Cybertron?"

Jazz nods. "When we get the info, I'll talk to you, but my goal is to zap their energy sources at the core." Jazz takes a moment to sip an enertini, which, in laymans' terms, means he's turning a mental page. "Cybertron... we're back in a place where solar power is a possibility. I've got Red Alert working on a small solar field as a test patch. I haven't informed Operations, or anyone for that matter. I wanted us to test and see if it worked, first off, and also to give us a chance to develop security protocols before Hot Spot goes off and puts the damn things all over Iahex."

Freshly repaired and refueled after last night's trip into space, Hot Spot makes his way into Grapplebee's. He's not usually one to spend time in the entertainment sector of the ship, but he bellies up to the bar nonetheless. He waits for a refreshing drink, and sidles closer to the other occupants in the mess hall. "I hope I'm not intruding," He says. Chances are he's not, or the meeting would be in more private quarters. "What's this about Operations, Jazz?"

First Aid has arrived.

This place serves as both 'entertainment' and 'mess hall,' of sorts, although if someone wants to avoid the area, there's always getting your energon from medical. Rodimus isn't into avoiding the place. "Well, that makes sense," he answers Jazz before looking up at Hot Spot's arrival. The Prime offers him a grin of greeting. "Hey, Hot Spot. No, no intrusion. What do you want to drink?" He would have offered for Jazz, but, well, Jazz's drink arrived before he had the chance.

First Aid is looking shiny and buff since the battle against the Decepticons at the Peterson air base. Hoist gave him a good once over, repairing the cracks in his armour. Then he went a little bit nuts on the polish, but First Aid appreciates the thought that went into it. First Aid actually enters along with his Commander, Hot Spot. Like Spot, he isn't much for hanging out at the bar, but if you wanna go talk with Jazz that is where you go. He waves to Roddo and Jazz and waits to hear about what's going on with Operations.

Then include First Aid in Rodimus Prime's greeting and offer for a drink. > _ >

Jazz waves to the new additions. "Pull up a chair, pull up a chair! Nothin' too much 'bout Operations, we were just going over some...standing orders. That's all." Then, Jazz realizes that, well, (a) Plan A is kind of out of it at the moment, and (b) Plan B might be the better of all options anyhow. "Which...is why I'm glad you all are here."

"Just the regular stuff for me, Rodimus. Going out to help with some of the repairs at Peterson once I fill up." Hot Spot replies, down to business as usual. He takes a seat, peering at Jazz as the other autobot seems to hesitate slightly. "Great, Jazz. My audials are open, hit me."

Kup leaves the Junkion Shuttle < Battlescrap Galactica >.

Kup has arrived.

First Aid has to lean somewhat awkwardly to see Rodimus and Jazz past Hot Spot. The Protectobot CO is really kinda big. "Thanks Rodimus. I'll just have a standard class energon cube." You never know when you'll have to go out on an emergency, and First Aid doesn't want to have to deal with being intoxicated in such a case. "How are things doing there?" he asks Hot Spot regarding Peterson. After helping with the initial work, First Aid had to return to base for repairs of his own. Rodimus left a piece out when he patched First Aid up, y'see. "Which orders are these?" he asks Jazz, echoing Hot Spot.

Rodimus Prime once more adjusts his seat (the one Jazz usually sits on, by the by), so that he can look towards as many as those he's conversing with as possible. He makes a few notes in his datapad and then sets it down to take a sip from his cube before nodding towards Hot Spot. "Glad to hear that. Between you two and Silverbolt throwing his aid in, seems like we got a pretty good response on that." He turns towards the bartender, Spyglass, and orders a cube for First Aid.

Kup wanders into the bar, looking tired. Although he had a fight yesterday, he managed to get himself fixed by a Junkion soon afterwards. Otherwise he probably would've skipped the repair bay until someone bugged him about it. So, he's looking like he's in pretty condition, despite any expectations one might have about a Junk-obsessed civilization.

Jazz gives an upward nod to Kup as he enters. "Alright, well...wait, first things first." Jazz stands up, and relieves a local table of some stools, which he positions so that all assembled might sit in more of a semi-circle than a line down the bar, should the choose. He sits back down, and takes a sip of his enertini. "Hot Spot, I believe you're already in on this, but First Aid, you might as well join in. Intel is starting up a solar farm on Cybertron. I want to test our solar capabilities, and Red Alert has the job of making it happen...with him being...as he is, it's pretty much on you, Hot Spot. First Aid, that's why I want you to help. Now, here's the important thing... it's got to be small, and controlled, and we're keeping it a secret even from our own boys; I don't want the rest of Operations taking this information and acting on it until my guys have had a chance to figure out how to defend it. So, Hot Spot, and First Aid, your mission is to set up a small solar farm, easily concealable, on Cybertron, to test just how much energy we can pull from those two suns of ours. Red Alert...and maybe someone else now, will be with you step for step, to figure out how to protect it... if it works, we can deploy it on a grander scale..but not before it's proven, and proven to be defensible."

Hot Spot looks back at First Aid, twisting around awkwardly(his ladder gets in the way) to look down at the diminutive mecic. "I haven't been able to visit the base in person yet, just got patched up after being snacked on by a space monster. Reports seem to indicate the repairs are going on schedule, but I'd like to get in there and oversee it in person, speeds things along." He takes his drink, as delivered by Shotglass, and repositions his bulky frame onto one of the procured stools, for an easier seat to hold this little powwow. "Right, hadn't had a chance yet to look in on the solar farm idea yet, but I've had some thoughts. Would large-scale holographics be feasible? Make an area look abandoned, even though in actuality we've covered it in solar arrays?"

First Aid nods to Hot Spot, "The last time I saw it the fires in the warehouse had been put out and the clearing effort was just starting." He then listens to Jazz explain his plans. "Oh, a solar farm!" First Aid exclaims, clearly excited by the prospect. He turns his stool around to face Jazz and the others now that they have a circle going. Secret what? Realizing his faux pas, the doctor hushes down and makes a mental note not to say that so loudly again. "I think that sounds fantastic. You know, I've been really excited for the chance to do some real good on Cybertron again since its move, and I know Grapple has been beside himself with all the plans and blueprints he's been drawing up."

Rodimus Prime grins broadly as the tired looking elder wanders into the room. "Hey, Kup!" he calls, waving old man over (and completely disregarding whether Jazz wants Kup in on this whole 'secret' thing or not). "Come join us! Let me buy you a drink!" He turns towards Shotglass. "Whatever he wants. I'm sure he's got a usual or something."

Kup was about to sit at the bar, but as Jazz gets a table set up, he shrugs, and plops himself down there instead. "Ahh. Hey. Someone get me a Supernova, would ya? Eh, and it's great to see all you people, too. Was a close scraper, yesterday." With a sigh, he leans forward on the table, resting his elbows on it.

Jazz figures Kup is as close to an 'inner circle' as it gets, as far as secrets go. Besides, if Jazz /really/ wants to keep a secret, Rodimus won't even know about it, let alone Kup. Please believe. ;)

Jazz, for his part, sips his enertini, then responds. "Grapple's got some great ideas, but I don't want even him in on this until I'm *sure* we've got the protection down pat. Once we have a basis, then Grap can go wild. Which is why you...er, you two.." He motions at both Protectobots, "..are the only people outside of command that know about it. I want this played close to the vest, at least until we've got a working model... is that understood?" Jazz, being forceful? It happens, now and then. He still seems jovial while saying it, but somehow, the intent is clear.. the spymaster is not fragging around.

"I think that beastie hit my head a bit too hard, Kup. Did everything work out okay last night?" Hot Spot asks, then takes a long drink of his Energon. He listens to Jazz atentively, although he wasn't aware of the project being under such tight scrutiny until just now. "Understood, Jazz. We can keep a secret. What kind of progress has been made so far?"

First Aid nods enthusiastically about keeping a secret. First Aid is great at keeping secrets. It's just all the people he tells who are awful at keeping secrets. The doctor looks over to Kup. "Er, what happened yesterday?" he asks Kup and Hot Spot.

Rodimus Prime listens with interest to... both parallel conversations going on, really. He doesn't have the answer to Jazz's questin, though, so he keeps silent on that front. As for the other affair, he frowns, remembering something from the radio chatter that went on. "That was, erm, that thing with the Junkions, right?" he asks Kup, mentally pulling up details on the matter as he takes another sip from his now-nearly-empty cube.

Kup nods. "We didn't kill that monster, I don't think. That thing's like... *adaptive* or somethin'. And the Decepticons nearly got us for a moment there. But in the end, Pile-Up managed to access a computer in this guy's lab. Haven't heard his report yet, but hopefully there was something useful in there." He answers First Aid and Rodimus next. "Yeah, it's that Junkion ship or whatever it is again. Looked into a lead on this abandoned lab, complete with a resident monster. Heh, for all I know all we're gonna find at the end of this trail is a boxed DVD set of Lost or something, but, eh. Could be worthwhile."

First Aid's optics flash as he blinks at kup, "Which Junkion ship? What abandoned lap? Resident monster?" Shotglass hands First Aid his energon cube, but he doesn't start drinking it just yet. It is entirely possible that the doctor has no idea what they're talking about.

Kup blinks at First Aid. "Uh, right, guess I better start makin' my own report on this. Heh.

Jazz takes another sip of the enertini, which is now pretty near empty. "Well, Hot Spot.." He continues, regardless of the parallel conversation. "Everything we have, Red Alert had on disc... he should have given you the information. If he hasn't, I'll make sure someone flips it for you." At this point, he raps his fingers on the bar. "Shotglass....round two!"

Hot Spot wasn't sure if anything had been done on that front since his impromptu meeting with Red Alert. "Alright, I'll have another look. When did you want to proceed on this, Jazz? I'll need to help out at Peterson first, before heading to Cybertron."

Rodimus Prime nods towards Kup, smiling wryly. "With Junkions, you never can tell, but on the off chance that it is something useful, I'd suggest following that through to the end. If it does prove useless, well, nothing lost but time... and resources that go into the repairs, and... well, my point is, if it turns out to be important, we don't want the Decepticons to get it."

First Aid gives Kup a guilty look for not knowing what's going on. He'll be sure to read the report Kup is going to write up about this and familiarize himself with it. "Can we let the other Protectobots know?" First Aid asks Jazz. "If it's to see how feasible defending a plant could be, the others are among the best at knowing defence tactics."

Mirage has arrived.

Kup looks about the table at everyone. "Now what's this about solar this and that I overheard? Also..." He yells down at the bar, "WHERE'S MY FRAGGIN' SUPERNOVA? I'm sober and I don't like it!"

Shotglass saunters over and delivers Kup's supernova, personally. Yeesh.

First Aid jolts as the oldtimer yells. "Please, Kup, there's no need to swear or raise your voice. I'm sure Shotglass is working as fast as he can." The Protectobot can't help but be worried about the stress Kup must be under. He gives the bartender a sympathetic glance.

Rodimus Prime stiffles a slight chuckle as Kup yells for a drink. Ha ha! Funny old drunk guy! He does make a note to give Shotglass a better than usual tip, however, and quietly slips it onto the bar behind him. Then, he finishes his own drink and taps the glowing wire cube against the table to disperse it. "He's got a point, Jazz," Rodimus points out concerning First Aid's request. "Besides, while I realize that the more people know, the harder it will to keep quiet, it's also a bit difficult to ask special teams members to keep secrets from each other."

Hot Spot nods to Rodimus's ascertation that it can be hard for special teammates for keep things under wraps. "Besides, we could really use Streetwise and Groove to scout out approriate locations. Blades would be less helpful, granted, but I can keep him in line."

Jazz aims himself towards Hot Spot and First Aid. "Hot Spot. It's to be considered a high priority, but I understand your Operations gig comes first. When you're done with Peterson, if you could devote yourself, as able, to this project, it would be greatly appreciated...and, to answer, if you want to bring the rest of the Protectos in on it, if that would make it easier, then so be it, but I want to know the moment they're informed, and you have got to make sure they understand this is all hush-hush, even within the Autobot ranks. I don't want to hear Blades blabbin' about it over the broadband..." Jazz smiles.

Kup snatches the Supernova cube, which flares so brightly it's hard even for a robot to look at directly, and starts chugging it without so much as a "thank you." He wipes his mouth a bit, sighs, then looks at the Protectobots. "Lemme ask ya sumthin'. Combiners. When you merge, do you share memories? Secrets? That kinda thing? Never quite understood how that worked."

Silence. That is the true nature of a spy like the one that seems to be materializing near the group that has gathered and happen to be chatting it up. Currently, at the moment, Mirage is closer to Shotglass than he is any of the others, as he's taking the time to toss too many energon chips in his direction, while ordering his Vodka Enertini, shaken not stirred. From there, he moves with the silent grace of any good spy bot and merely listens ever so closely to the conversation that's going on nearby. He'll wait to be noticed before he actually adds any input to this sort of thing.

First Aid is just about to tell Jazz that Blades would never do such a thing when he remembers that Blades just might do such a thing. Taking a drink from his energon cube, the doctor leaves it to Hot Spot to reply to Jazz and answer Kup's question. He's always been better at explaining these sorts of things.

Steeltread has arrived.

Rodimus Prime hasn't actually picked up on Mirage's stealthy arrival yet. Even he, however, frowns in faint concern at the way Kup snatches up his drink and chugs it down. "You doing all right, Kup?" he asks, a bit concerned. "You seem a bit... intense lately." While the Prime is in a bar seat, the group is arranged in something of a semi-circle. Rodimus doesn't appear to have a drink, but he is holding a datapad, one he occasionally glances at or takes notes with.

"Blades would be the only one I'd worry about. I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of keeping Blades in the dark on the project for now, until it all becomes open knowledge." hot Spot replies. We all know Blades won't be talking any time soon ;) "Not really Kup, no. We don't share anything concrete. If you tell me something, First Aid isn't going to know what you said if we form Defensor. It's kind of hard to explain, though."

Steeltread trots his way in. Can't do it quietly due to the fact that....well...he's not stealthy. "Hey Guys." He says quietly as he orders himself a drink....

Jazz nods in slow assent. "Then go ahead and let the boys know. Your interface is still with Red Alert, if he ever gets up." Jazz turns away from the group, and takes a sip of his enertini. While staring down an ener-olive, he casually remarks; "Hello, Mirage. Glad to see ya." He takes another sip.

Kup waves off Rodimus's concerns. "Eh, just had a close scrape the other day, like I said. That damn Shockwave nearly torpedoed the op. If it wasn't for the monster, of all things, we woulda been fragged." He stares thoughtfully at Hot Spot. "Ok. Well, what if I were to ask Defensor about something YOU knew. What about then? Would he go through your memories, then everyone else would get a look at 'em, too?" His back is probably to Mirage, so he hasn't noticed him yet, either.

First Aid tries to elaborate on Hot Spot's explanation. "You have a general feeling of what the others are saying- er, thinking, and you're also in constant contact through Defensor- er, through whoever your super warrior may be, and it depends on what Defensor is... um..." He turns to Kup and thinks about his question. "Well Defensor is his own person but he has access to our abilities and knowledge and insight." He raises a finger, "But it isn't quite as clear cut as being able to access specific memories. I mean we- I mean the Prot- I mean, Defensor, don't- I mean, doesn't need to ask everyone what's going on when he is formed. He already knows what the job is and... stuff.. Also we... er... little help?" he glances over at Hot Spot for assistance.

It's only because Jazz draws attention to Mirage that Rodimus notices him. He twists in his seat to glance back at the spy and smiles faintly. "Hey, Mirage. Then Steeltread comes in, and he inclines his head towards the tankformer. "Steeltread." He turns towards Kup and seems to accept the elder's explanation. "Ah, well, all right. Wish I could have been there... seems like forever since we've gone into combat together." The Prime does listen with some fascination to First Aid's explanation. He tilts his head a bit, looking throughtful, then, as though having just worked out something for himself, he nods.

"It's not easy to explain, Kup, if you've never been there." Hot Spot adds, after First aid's plea for help. "It's complicated. Especially odd as Defensor is much more intelligent and even friendly than you'd expect from a combiner. He really is his own 'bot, although he draws on our /collective/ experiences to create his view of the past. He knows what planet we're on and what job we're doing, but not what I had for lunch. Suffice to say, worst case scenario, the other Protectobots /might/ get an inkling that i'm keeping a secret, but they don't get a look into my memories."

Shotglass hands over the enertini and Mirage just casually takes it with a nod. A gracious nod, since he is, after all, Mirage. In that same nod, his optics cut over to the group and he notices that the stylin' and profilin' one is addressing him. "Jazz." is offered with a nod, as he looks around to the rest of the group and gives them all a single nod of greeting. He brings the enertini up and takes a sip of it, while remaining in his quiet and observational mode. There's no reason to interrupt the conversation as it stands.

Silverbolt has arrived.

The clang-clang of a Transformer running up the doorway into the shuttle can be heard. Silverbolt comes running into the shuttle, arriving as quickly as possible. "Rodimus, you requested my presence?"

First Aid, free of having to explain the specifics of Gestalt mental merging, looks over and waves to Steeltread. "Hi there. There's room for one more if you like." He jolts as Mirage, seemingly out of no-where (despite having appeared a short time ago), joins up. "Er, make that room for /two/ more! The more the merrier, right?" He nods in agreement with Hot Spot. "And I mean we all have secrets. Primus knows Blades has a lot..." First Aid doesn't even /wanna/ know what those ones are, but he suspects it involves a vodka/energon mixer keg, Planet XXX, a dead Decepticon, and five hours with the Blue Femme.

First Aid glances over at Silverbolt, "I mean /three/ more. Ok, we're going to need a bigger table."

Steeltread sips on his now brought up drink and looks to the group. "I hate coming into the middle of conversations.' He says with a chuckle. "It almost sounds like the Protectobots share hard drive space when formed into Defensor......and when they separate.....they have to separate the memory as well....but I could be wrong." He says before nodding to Silverbolt. "Hello Silverbolt." He says before heading for the table.....

Jazz stands up, finishing the last of his enertini in rather quick fashion, and delivers a sloppy citizen's salute in the groups' general direction. "Alright cats, I gotta get back on the clock.. Steeltread, you can have my seat if you want..an' Mirage, grab a chair for you and Silverbolt, eh? Rest of you..I'll see ya when I see ya...which is about about a minute before you see me!" He laughs, and tries to pick his way through the crowd, and head towards the door.

Silverbolt looks over at Steeltread. "Combiner teams have an interesting time of it when we merge." Silverbolt looks over at Jazz as a chair is suggested. "No thanks, I like to stand." Silverbolt moves to a position where he can see most of the room without being in the way.

Rodimus Prime did summon Silverbolt! And fortunately, Silverbolt didn't arrive while the Operations-specific stuff was still being discussed. All according to Prime's CUNNING PLAN.

Rodimus looks up from where he's seated at a table rather near the bar and grins at Silverbolt. "Nothing so formal, Silverbolt. I just wanted to buy you a drink to thank you for being so fast to jump on my orders earlier, not to mention helping out at Peterson." He chuckles at First Aid, then studies the table. "I think this one might /just/ be large enough, with Jazz leaving... especially if Silverbolt is stanging." He waves after Jazz. "See you around, Jazz!"

Sludge has arrived.

Observing and preparing to report, could be the look on Mirage's facial structure. He doesn't seem to be too involved in this conversation, but is more worried about the things that are being said. He's clearly and obviously moving his optics from one speaking Autobot to another, keeping up with the conversation as best as he's able, with the sipping idly at his enertini at the same time. He's seems to be more worried about getting the gist of the conversation, without asking for a recap.

Steeltread shrugs at Silverbolt. "I can only guess, Silverbolt. I've never been part of a combiner team. Perhaps just as well. I don't think the team would sound too good as the combatibots." He then chuckles at that. "What happened, Boss?" Looking to Rodimus. "I heard the stuff on broadband with you and Grimlock....."

Kup shrugs, continuing to sip at his Supernova. "Ok, then, good enough for me. Won't have to worry about combiners sharing confidential info after all."

Hot Spot finishes off his energon cube... No fancy drinks for this blue-collar 'bot. "Alright, I'd better get going as well. There's still work to be done at Peterson air base." He makes a curt nod to First Aid as he rises from the barstool, and heads out. "If you need me for anything, my comm is always open."

First Aid meanwhile has a standard energon cube, unlike Kup and his cool Supernova. He's barely even begun drinking it. "See you around, Jazz," the doctor says. As his CO gets up to leave as well, he nods, "Sure thing, Hot Spot. We'll talk later about the you-know-what." What? Jazz's mission is still a secret, don't worry. The Protectobot scooches his chair over a bit to give more room to those joining in.

Silverbolt glances at Kup. "I don't know about the newer combiners; but, Superion doesn't exactly 'think' as well as the Aerialbots do individually. Judging from what I've seen of Defensor, he seems to 'think' better." He looks over at the Protectobots. "Regardless, Superion gets the job done when we need him to."

Hot Spot has left.

Rodimus Prime shrugs absently as Steeltread asks him about the radio. "Oh, that? Decepticons trying to raid for munitions at Peterson. Probably sick of paying Swindle's prices or something, though it was a pretty large force."

Steeltread ponders this quietly and sips on his energon. "That depends boss. What'd they get?" he says quietly before looking towards Silverbolt. "You have a good team, Silverbolt. I've read files on you guys.....at least, what I could find on you guys since I came from Alteron."

First Aid tries to lean back but then remembers he's sitting on a stool and that would just be asking for trouble. "To be honest, Rodimus, I think about half of the Decepticon raids they carry out are less about actual tangible gains and more about just having 'fun'." His tone suggests how sick it is to have fun doing that sort of thing.

"No more than Fusillade could carry, certainly, although I'm not sure how much that's saying - she has a pretty large payload," Rodimus answers Steeltrain, apparently beliving that a Decepticon female's payload is a perfectly acceptable topic of conversation. He nods towards First Aid, and sighs. "Yeah, yeah, I know, First Aid. But that doesn't mean we don't need to keep an eye out for their tangible gains while we're out there." Then he turns towards Silverbolt. "What was it you wanted to drink, again?"

Silverbolt looks at Steeltread. "I appreciate someone saying such. I'll pass word along to all of them, except Slingshot." Silverbolt allows himself a small laugh at that joke.

Kup shrugs at Silverbot, finally. "Hey, that's fine, all I care about is if they don't go sharing secret energon recipes or something." Grimly, Kup nods to First Aid. "Half the energy they steal goes towards random rampages, and when they run out of fuel, that's when they realize they gotta steal more so they can do it all over again. The bastards."

First Aid takes another sip. They are baby sips. You would think he is drinking some hard stuff and needs to pace himself, but no, it is just a normal energon cube. "That is one positive I see coming from the new Wreckers' assignment: giving the Decepticons something else to focus on rather than making random attacks. It worked well enough when Hot Spot led his raid, and Grimlock did the same not too long after."

Rodimus Prime shakes his head, disgusted. "As far as energon goes, sometimes I suspect the Earth-based raids are just a smokescreen, anyway. I mean, they've dug in deep on Charr, and it seems like they might have other sources we haven't picked up on yet." Then he smiles faintly to First Aid. "Yeah, I'm hoping that in forcing more of their attention on Cybertron, the'll have a bit less for Earth."

"I agree, First Aid. Maybe with the Wreckers causing some problems, we can deal with this sea monster since the Decepticons might actually send some forces back to deal with the Wreckers causing trouble, " comments the large Aerialbot Commander. He finally makes his way over to the bar and grabs a quick drink. Before taking a sip, he looks at his fellows before downing it in one shot. "Its all for the greater good. I'm just hoping they slip up and we can find the Crystal City."

Steeltread ponders something. "Don't we have sonar around here somewhere?" he says as he downs the rest of his glass and orders another....

"The problem with sonar," Rodimus observes, "is that active sonar announces where you are and what you're up to to darned near everything in the ocean, and there are ways to defeat passive sonar." He finally turns around and orders another drink from Shotglass, then continues. "I'm not saying that sonar won't be useful, just that it can't be the only thing we rely on."

"Earth's oceans are big. /Really/ big," First Aid says. This may seem obvious, but he feels it bears repeating. "There's a very good reason why nobody on Earth has seen New Crystal City despite how relatively well traveled the waterways are. There are so many places even something as big as New Crystal City can dive. We don't even know how /deep/ it can go. For all we know Seaspray'll be the only one able to get there." Admittedly Seaspray has a fair chance of winning due to his badassery, but still.

Rodimus Prime leans back in his seat, hooking one elbow over the back of his chair. "I'm aware of the problems. What I need is some solutions. I mean, we manage to find the Decepticons in /space/ all the time, and space is much, much bigger than Earth's oceans."

Kup mutters, just before downing the rest of his cube, "Bait." He waves at the bartender, gesturing for him to come over, then continues. "Hear yer good at fishin', Rodimus. I'd think you'd know all about that." He grins wryly.

Steeltread ponders something. "I remember reading something about earth's oceans. the Marianna trench....being the deepest on earth, I believe. they could be running up and down there...." he then looks to Rodimus. "well...yeah..."

Rodimus Prime grins at Kup. "I know a thing or two. That begs the question of what the Whalicon /eats/, but... it's a Quintesson project, so energon seems likely." He inclines his head towards Steeltread. "That's a possibility, and if it is, we're going to have something constructed to go that deep. Nothing we have is equiped for it. On the other hand, we /know/ NCC has to come up from time to time. Given that the Decepticons have to go in and out through that tower of theirs, it probably sticks pretty close to the surface."

"Well yes, that is true," First Aid admits. He doesn't really have a tactical mind for this sort of thing. He usually leaves the planning to the others once it leaves the medical or occasionalyl engineering realm. He sips his energon again. Mmmm, good and wholesome.

Silverbolt looks at Rodimus as he mentions it being close to the surface. "The real concern is that the Decepticons have probably cloaked the Crystal City in some way. Is there any way we can find the city that wouldn't be obvious? Its obvious we would use sonar to find them. Maybe we should try another way of finding them."

"Sure," Rodimus replies. He lifts his hand and counts off points on his fingers. First finger. "Have operations build a lot of tracers." Second figure. "Tuck a tracer on a 'Con." Third finger. "Wait for the 'Con to go home." Fourth finger, "Hope it's awhile before Soundwave picks it up."

Silverbolt frowns at Rodimus. The Aerialbot remains quiet afterwards. He takes another energon cube and begins to slowly drink it.

First Aid didn't even think of the tracer idea. But this is why Rodimus is the Commander and First Aid is the dashing Protectobot doctor! "Oh! Rodimus, this reminds me. Streetwise was telling me about the various outreach programs they have around here in London, and we were thinking we could have a Safety Awareness Day to teach children the importance of looking both ways before crossing the street, not taking candy from strangers, and how to duck and cover in the event of a Decepticon attack."

Kup grunts, "Damn thing's probably sitting on the bottom of the ocean," as the tender approaches him, handing him another cube. He gulps a bit of it down, coughs, and continues, "But if we wait for 'em to deploy Decepticons from NCC's tower, then we might have a shot at findin' 'em."

Rodimus Prime may or may not notice Silverbolt frowning at him. As Autobot leaders go, Rodimus Prime can be pretty damned tactless at times. His optics flicker faintly at First Aid's proposal, and he nods. "Well, that sounds like a good idea. Good PR, too. Just let me know if you need anything from me." Rodimus could even show up and answer questions. /And/ he has an answer for, 'Where does your trailer go?'! He nods at Kup, then says, firmly, "Well, those are just some ideas. I want people to keep thinking this over when they can, and if anyone comes up with anything, don't hesitate to let me know."

Mirage has been listening this whole time. Really. Honest.

Kup gulps down energon, leaning back in his seat. "Yeah. Well, maybe I'll come up with something. As for the safety awareness slag, ehhh, I don't wanna go anywhere near that. Last thing I need, in the mood I'm in, is a buncha fraggin' kids crawlin' all over me. 'Sides, you'd have to be a fraggin' idiot not to know you should duck when a Decepticon is goin' around shooting things."

Silverbolt smiles at Kup. "You and me both. Especially since children seem to have an obsession with flying things."

'I dunno' isn't an answer, Rodimus. First Aid of course isn't doing this for the PR but rather as a genuine attempt to educate both human youngsters and his fellow Autobots. He feels it's important to mingle with humans whenever they can so they remember what they're fighting for. "Thanks Rod. I'll let Streetwise know right away." To Kup, First Aid tsks, "Well I don't know, Kup, I think you'd do very well. I know they'd love to hear some of your old war stories."

But 'Subspace' is! Rodimus weighs Kup's words, particularly the last bit about what he thinks of anyone who doesn't already know to duck and cover. And then First Aid suggests that he show up and tell war stories. And then Rodimus actually thinks over some of Kup's war stories. He clears his throat quickly and says, "Actually, I think that having /too/ many of our high command types is just liable to turn your outreach into a target, First Aid. I don't see that Kup would necessarily need to go." He leans back in his seat, accepting the second cube he had ordered from Shotglass, and looks throughtful.

Kup smirks at Silverbolt. "Yeah, at first. Then ya pick 'em off the ground and they're like, 'Mommy, mommy!' Heh." He shrugs at First Aid. "Eh, I'm sure they'd love to hear about the Decepticon I fragged with a elastic cable and a rail spike." Rodimus gets a grateful look from him. "Uh, yeah, we wouldn't want a live demonstration of Decepticon avoidance techniques."

'But Wodimus,' asks the hypothetical kid, 'How does thubspace work?' At Rodimus and Kup's replies, First Aid gets a contemplative expression on his face. "Oh. Well, I suppose that makes sense. If you can't make it then no worries, Kup. No hard feelings. We can alternate for each Safety Day so everyone gets a chance to spend time with the children." Because spending time with the children is a bonus, not a chore.

Silverbolt just shakes his head at the comments made. The Aerialbot Commander considers the option for a while; doing safety days would likely keep him out of the sky.

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Ah'm movin' ouut. Goin from England tae California.  Keldahoff an' Wolfe're me escorts teday.  Copy that?"

< Autobot > Rodimus Prime says, "Copy."

Rodimus Prime likes children! He tolerated Daniel all right! He sips his drink. "Well, let me know if you want me for it, First Aid." Then he looks towards Kup, then the group as a whole. "While you're all here... I need to know what you guys think about the Steelhaven Autobots. Unfortunately, I was out of commission for most of that and can only go by the reports I've read. Now I want to hear word of mouth."

Steeltread moves to the Orion Pax - Living Quarters.

Steeltread has left.

< Autobot > Clutch says, "Would that be by way of the Atlantic Ocean...?"

Kup throws his cube to the table, sneering. "Pfah. Throw 'em all in the brig. Then maybe take 'em out now and then for cannon fodder! Fraggin' deserters. Takin' a big ol' break while I'm getting shot at."

First Aid apparently misheard and thought they were talking about the ship and not the Autobots. He shakes his head at Kup. He looks horrified at the oldtimer's reaction. "But everyone makes mistakes, Kup. Surely they've earned the right to have another shot at working within the Autobots..."

< Autobot > Clutch adds persistently, "The West Central Atlantic?"

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff says, "Something wrong, CLutch?"

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "err, Nay... Northeast roight now."

< Autobot > Clutch says, "Not yet, just something interesting. Some sort of ocean creature. Not the one we're looking for. At least, I don't think so. This one looks different."

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Which one?"

< Autobot > Clutch says, "Which what?"

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "We're lookin' fur tois oceanic gonnae critters, nae?"

< Autobot > Clutch says, "Yeah, but this one is different. I think."

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Than both?"

< Autobot > Clutch says, "What? Oh!...yeah, different than both of them."

< Autobot > Clutch says, "Sorry, didn't realize that Decepticon base counted as a -- hang on, I'm almost on it."

Rodimus Prime frowns into his cube. "On the one hand, First Aid, /two Primes/ died so they could head off into space and make their 'mistake.' On the other hand..." he puts the cube down on the table and sighs. "I don't... don't feel that we can force someone to stay an Autobot if they don't want to. We're not the Decepticons. Individuals /have/ to be free to leave if they want to, even if I, personally... don't think much of someone who would. This makes them not so much... deserters as... well. The moment they decided that they weren't going to try to come back, they went from being Autobots to Autobot impersonators." He taps the tabletop. "There's also their Nebulans to consider, though. They did what they did to protect Nebulos, but once they had to leave, all seemed willing to spend their lives fighting /our/ war. It's as if it took the Nebulans to show those Transformers how to be /Autobots/."

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Ah would offer tae swing buy fer help, but ah've got supplies."

Kup folds his arms, hunching over as he seethes. "Mrrh. So they dragged a buncha suckers into being their heads and weapons. Well, far as I'm concerned, that makes 'em the same person, so they're gonna have to share responsibility for what the Autobot side of 'em has done."

First Aid continues to argue his point, agreeing with much of what Rodimus said. He's talking mostly to Kup since he's the one who needs convincing, "And surely one can leave the Autobots without it being /forever/. I mean it's been millions of years. I realize that's a long time given all that we on Cybertron went through, but I don't feel right denying someone to rejoin the Autobots because they refused to fight. I mean it isn't like we all joined the Autobots at the same time back when the war was starting."

Kup points an angry finger at First Aid, snarling, "Maybe not, but none of those people just up and decided, "Oops, war's not as much fun as I thought it was, I better take an Autobot warship, some of my friends, and just fragging leave!" No, they stuck through to the end, and some of them DIED because of it, First Aid. A lot of 'em were my friends. I can't forgive them. Ever."

Hot Rod was built once the war was already in full swing, and so any memories Rodimus might have of the time before war are fleeting leftovers from before the Matrix was emptied. Not much to go on. "There's another problem, Kup. We can't really afford to turn down the kind of firepower that Fortress Maximus alone represents, never mind the rest of them. Yeah, I know you suggested 'taking them out when we need cannon fodder,' but... that doesn't sit right with me. I mean, it's not like the Dinobots really operated well when /they/ were treated like that."

First Aid stands up, leaning across the table slightly as Kup points at him. The Protectobot never gets angry, but he is clearly upset. "So what do we do then? Just toss them aside and say 'no, you cannot help us against the Decepticons?' They're here and they're willing to help. Pushing them aside is just going to weaken our own hand /and/ teach our fellow Autobots that nobody gets second chances!"

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff says, "that's a fine hello."

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "AUGH!"

< EDC > Talazia Keldahoff says, "Noah? Your Exo Online?"

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff says, "Well....that's what I get for playing video games while flying."

< EDC > Private Noah Wolfe says, "*sounds like he's in a wind tunnel* I'm a little busy holding on for dear life!"

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "I've bin boarded!"

Kup stands up as well, getting in First Aid's face. "Oh, no, they can help us, alright! Just the only thing is, we'll have cozy little brigs for 'em to go back to when they're done! And for the record--" He addresses both First Aid and Rodimus. "--I don't give a frag about their damn feelings. I hope they hate every second we send 'em out into battle against their will!"

First Aid stares in horror at Kup, "'Against their will'? Kup, you don't really mean that. You /can't/ really mean that! You're suggesting we enslave them to be our soldiers?! This isn't a Decepticon army!" He leans forward, getting back up in Kup's as well. Unfortunately Kup is taller and a million times scarier looking. "It's a monstrous suggestion and against everything we're fighting for!"

First Aid doesn't seem to remember that Rodimus is even here.

< EDC > Private Noah Wolfe says, "YEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHH!"

"First!" Rodimus says, loudly, /reminding/ people that he is here as he stands up as well, "I'm not talking about feelings. I'm talking about how effective they are in battle. We weaken them in a fight, we weaken ourselves... and that's even /if/ they'd still be willing to go out to fight with us treating them that way. /Second/, that'll hurt morale among the rest of the troops. For a lot our forces, /all/ they know about these guys is what they saw on Nebulos, and the Steelhaven Autobots left a pretty positive impression. We treat them like that, we destroy our morale, we /AGAIN/ weaken ourselves in battle." Then he turns to First Aid. "On the other hand!"

Kup glares at First Aid, looking almost he wants to deck him, but thankfully Rodimus speaks up, and Kup sits back down, glaring at the table as he continues to seethe.

"On the other hand," Rodimus continues more quietly, "I don't like the idea of just saying, 'Oh, that's all right, we'll pretend you never deserted us.' We can't ignore what happened, we can't ignore what they did, and we can't ignore what was done to those who were left behind." He sighs heavily and shakes his head. "We /need/ to find some middle ground."

First Aid glares back at Kup, looking like if he gets decked he'd turn the other cheek but then resume the argument. As Rodimus lays down the law, though, the Protectobot backs down, sitting on the stool. He pushes his half full energon cube forward, not feeling the appetite right now. The doctor looks both upset and ashamed at having been goaded into an argument with a fellow Autobot.

Kup mutters, "We should have a trial."

Once he's finished, and after the other two sit down, Rodimus sits down as well. He rubs the bridge of his nose. He /can/ lead without the Matrix. He /can/. But sometimes, he sure does miss that extra... something in the back of his mind. "Yeah, I can agree with that," he says to Kup. "A... court martial, I suppose. But there are limites to how extreme I'm willing to go on the punishment." He looks between First Aid and Kup. "This issue... is a delicate one. If it can provoke... what we just saw in here, among /us/, just think about what it has the potential to do to the Autobots as a whole?"

First Aid tries not to sulk. He is the sort who would let the Steelhaven Autobots off with just a stern warning, but a trial does seem more... fair. "I think that sounds reasonable." he replies to Rodimus. After a long pause, the Protectobot looks over at Kup, "I'm sorry I snapped at you, Kup, and accused you of thinking like a Decepticon. It was uncalled for." His tone is sincere and apologetic.

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Noah, there's a winch an' cable jist abune yer heed. it'll clamp ontae yer suit wit a magnet sae if ye fall, ye willnae burst th' water."

Kup sighs. As much as he wants to "get back" at the Steelhaven Autobots, Rodimus has a point. "Yeah, I'm... sorry, too, First Aid. I shouldn't get angry at you because of something someone else did." He rubs his chin. "I see what you mean, boss, but if we do nothing that's just as likely to tick a lot of people off."

< Autobot > Noah Wolfe says, "Sure, give me a second..."

< Autobot > Noah Wolfe says, "Syrin, can you...oh you did. Great."

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff says, "yeah...I've got his attention. that hurt too!"

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Ah think we could use some backup, Iffen dere's anyone else."

< Autobot > Noah Wolfe says, "Fanfare, lower your main rear hatch and get in front of him. Syrin, jinx when you see it open."

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff says, "Not if I don't knock the *BLEEP* out of this guy first!"

Rodimus Prime shrugs one shoulder and gestures with that hand, palm held up. "That's why we're... not just doing nothing. We're just... waiting until the trail's held before we decide what to do." He slumps and settles back into his seat. "Kup, we're not going to be able to respond as harshly as you want to. That much I can tell you now, and I'm sorry."

< Autobot > Fanfare's Voice sounds pained "Aye Aye, Wolfe."

First Aid nods, satisfied at Rodimus's ruling on this. He only hopes that the Autobots selected to watch over this trial are fairminded about this. If Kup of all people can be driven to such anger, just about anyone could.

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Uch. Can ye follow him, Keldahoff?"

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff is laughing. "you're kidding right?"

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "err, no."

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Jus an idear. Sorreh. Come aboard. Ah'll flie carefully"

Kup clenches his teeth, hissing in frustration, but otherwise remains silent.

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff says, "no need to apologize....."

< Autobot > Noah Wolfe says, "It's best we don't. You're hurt Fanfare and I'm sure Syrin isn't doing much better.  Can you both make it?"

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Aye. Ah hae a shovel-shaped hole in mah side, but aam still whole enaw tae gie tae Florida at leest."

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff says, "bleh...I lost him."

< Autobot > Noah Wolfe says, "It's ok, good attempt."

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Aam sendin' a radio transmit tae florida fur an emergency landin' pattern. aam nae gonnae faa apart but thes is makin' flyin'... painful."

< Autobot > Noah Wolfe says, "I would imagine. How far are we?"

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "eight hoors"

< Autobot > Grimlock says, "Him Fanfare say dirty word!"

Rodimus Prime manages to bring the conversation to an end. He takes a long sip from his cube, then sets the rest down and stands up. "Well," he pauses a moment, then continues, "thank you both for your feedback. It was... instructive, if nothing else." There's a brief glance towards Kup, and if allowed, the Prime will place his hand briefly on the elder's shoulder before turning away. "I'll see you both around. You know where to find me." With that, he heads towards the exit.

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Ah did?"

Kup nods cordially up at Rodimus. "Yeah, thanks lad."

< Autobot > Grimlock says, "Yup! You talkin' 'bout them humies that dress funny and hang out 'round red lights."

< Autobot > Fanfare says, "Dun know them."

< Autobot > Grimlock says, "Me Grimlock no know either Me no have wheels, so me ignore traffic! Haw haw haw! Me Grimlock go where me want!"

< Autobot > Talazia Keldahoff says, "Yer weird, grimlock."