Carbine / Bolo

[Carbine]

Player Info
Name/Alias: Zercon

Character Info
Name: Carbine
Age Equivalent: Mid/Late Twenties
Gender Equivalent: Male
Species: Cybertronian
Faction: Autobot

Original Occupation:
Hunt and pursuit police officer, turned dirty cop, turned prisoner.

Occupation/Specialization:
Hunt and Pursuit as well as General Utility

Appearance:
Large Image: Front/Back LINK

Height: Eyes at Optimus' Collarbone

Eyes: Shining through the black iron glass of his faceplate, Carbine's eyes appear to be completely yellow with no differentiating features. Due to his lack of a face, he over exaggerates emotions with these projections in a way to convey the 'smile' or 'sneer' he otherwise would love to be sporting.

Facial Features: While many Cybertronian have pronounced panels and plates over their helms to act as décor and visual interest, Carbine's helm in contrast is rather plain and minimalistic. Smooth shapes, interlocking seams, minimal flares or ridges, it is all to keep it so that there is little for someone to grasp onto in a struggle. The helm itself is centralized around a near opaque iron glass shield that creates his face, the slick shape broken up only by the illumination of his eyes shining through. The bottom edge of this visor sockets down into his jaw assembly, white armor leading from a pronounced chin guard back into a pair of fanned arches that conceal the hinge point. A near flush chevron rests over his eyes, acting as the frame for his faceplate and a plaque where his old squad ID used to be branded, but is now long painted over.

Physical Build: Carbine dances the edge between bulky and slim, not fully falling into either role though leaning more towards the lean side due to his aerial frame. His shoulders are broad, arching out from a triangular torso shape to end in a smooth capped armor pieces that interlock solidly together. The shoulder armor itself is modest, not showy, and used for function more so than looks due to the leading edge being blunted for bashing into hard surfaces. This assembly leads down to flared out forearms that are accented by jagged white paneling that arch overtop its black framework. His hands themselves are squared off panels with rounded slim fingers extending out. He has a full set of four fingers and a thumb on each hand, though his fingers are basic and don’t hold a full set of joints.

Settled just above his shoulder blades is a circular socket with a post protruding out to cap in a hinge. These hinges hold the wing rotors, two on either side of his frame. Traditionally they clap together to reinforce one another to not be snapped off easily, but can fan independently or stutter/flutter in moments of frustration with rapid clicks. Between this his spine, surges out into a large mass of bulk metal, it looking a bit out of place until one realizes this is where Bolo docks onto his frame. When the canine ejects to stand on its own, the mass of metal and all of the back armor is gone, leaving thin modest paneling that tries to hide the vulnerable protoform beneath.

Carbine's chest is barrel like and broad, accented by large sloping rings of white that frame out where his shoulder assembly attaches to. There are also four plates of white that mimic 'ribs', the lightning bolt like straps curving around his chest to angle at the central seam of his chest where his riot armor is docked. While his chest is wide, his waistline is on the lean side, the front edge of it holding thick overlapping armor, while the back holds a pair of vents and other more delicate components that are only visible when Bolo is out and about.

Equipped with long legs compared to the proportions of the rest of his frame, there is no denying the fact Carbine was built for pursuit and chasing after targets more so than brute power or strength. The shins slope back slightly from under the knee, before hooking forward with its lean shape to lead down to a single pointed toe on either side. His weight and mass rests back upon his heel, which is in actuality a wheel. This heel in which the majority of his weight rests, is in fact not a true wheel, but instead the separated ring of his tail rotor blades housing. The single forefoot that his weight rolls upon when walking, can fold up and clap inside his shin, leaving him exclusively on the makeshift wheel for fast manuverbility.

Altmode: Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
Image: LINK
Frame: Medium weight multipurpose helicopter, with a black and white police paintjob. The shape of the copter is sleek and smooth, leading from a blunted nosecone, back to a fully encircled tail rotor with pronounced 'wings' on either side for stability. Settled on its bottom are four wheels, which can give a softer landing, but not always the most secure of one.

The back wheels and cargo area can detach entirely, which is what creates Bolo. It can make the Copter look damaged or partly gutted, but it is still functional if not odd appearance wise. Without Bolo docked, the helicopter can't land fully, and has to drop down in his primary mode, or hover low enough for Bolo to jump up and dock himself.

In this form Carbine actually has some power to him, able to lift a decent amount. This does not mean it is easy, he will burn a lot of energy doing so, but he is physically CAPABLE of doing so in a pinch.

History: Full-Frame Carrier/Drone combo, Carbine was created with the sole purpose of filling the ranks of the police department to serve as utility, his frame matching the color and generic style of every other police Cybertronian in the squad. They were cookie cutter, press made, essentially meant to serve multiple roles adequately without being hyper specialized ((Which would just cost too much money)). Only a handful of them however were Carriers, all with canine companions that looked just as cookie cutter as their carriers. It is within here that he served for a great portion of his life, performing within Polyhex on a myriad of tasks that ranged from breaking up fights, to arrests, and using his Cassette Bolo to track down drugs for proper busts.

Time can change someone though, and it is through this time working vice Carbine started to grow restless, his greed surging up gradually. At first it was simply permitting himself to get paid off from serving tickets for violations, but once that idle thrill grew bland it kept going and expanding. From taking briberies to give only 'warnings' to robbers, all the way up to ignoring illegal cargo shipments full of contraband that would end up hurting many on the streets, if he was given enough money that is. He played a dangerous game that gave him a thrill. His skill in paperwork and his rather smooth talking quick thinking ways, made it so that he could keep ahead of things for some time.

This all changed when he was one of the first responders to a call about a possible Chop Shop. Upon arrival, he was faced with a brawl that had gone ugly, with one dead, and the assailant looking completely distraught over it. It was a fiasco of criminals running and police force barreling after, but eventually all of the suspects got rounded up and detained. The caller had gotten charged for the one he killed in self defense, as well as being an accomplice to the Chop Shop which... somehow made Carbine feel bad for him, since he seemed innocent and ignorant to what he was guarding. This only amplified when Carbine found out the Mech was going to be charged with straight up Manslaughter, which seemed over the top for an unintentional murder.

Carbine had seen enough of the truly vile to recognize when someone was way out of their element, and he saw this in the eyes of the accused mech. Speaking as a judge of character about what he saw that night, his actions to try to defend the individual drew suspicion due to his normally crass and dismissive attitude. It triggered the higher ups to want to overview and look over some of his past cases again to see if Carbine's path crossed with this person at all, only to stumble across the loopholes and subtle continuity errors. This paired with an unexplained influx of money correlating with some 'failed' cases? And he was swiftly detained and incarcerated.

It was ironic that in his one attempt to actually do good he was finally caught.

Thrown into Garrus-1 due to his escape risk, he was promptly faced with the delights that come with being a cop in prison. Namely? Absolutely none. Due to his overused frame style of a general Cop, many mistook him for other officers, and seemed to delight in taking out their rage from their incarceration on him even after learning otherwise. He got turned into a punching bag, abused and beaten with fast escalation.

Over time he was eventually rotated to a cell that happened to have the same inmate that he had tried to help that had got himself incarcerated. Now known to him as 'Thundercloud' Carbine's first kneejerk response was to assault the man that had ruined his career. Many brawls, many conflicts, much snarking and anger, the hatred surging between them gradually faded out, Carbine's base coding compelling him to try to make an ally. Robbed of his Cassette, and his comradely from his past job, it left a vacant hole that he felt he must try to fill, and thus, the horrendous duo was formed.

Carbine gained protection from assailants, while Thunder obtained a clever mind to keep him entertained and informed.

When his sentencing was almost up, the war was in full swing and sides were looking to win the favors of those that would soon be 'redeemed'. His cellmate opted for joining the Autobots to get out on parole, a choice that Carbine didn't care strongly for or against, but if Thunder would go? He would follow. Despite Carbine's repetitive confiscations from making shanks and being piss poor at hiding them, he too was let in on the same offer so long as he followed by all the rules. Granted, he had a tracker implanted which is standard for such things, but he was almost free.

Carbine grew and adapted to the ideals of the Autobots, leaching off of the energies of his new team to conform somewhat to their goals and ambitions. His vices were still an underlying factor though, always having that hunger to obtain more, however the ability to pursue them were naught, being thrown on the front lines with Thunder. It was a constant fight for survival, making the ex-cop adapt and twist his training for means of war rather than detainment. The time in Garrus-1 was a good stepping stone in-between, as he had learned swiftly there how to fight brutally to reach a goal.

Viewed as expendable and flight risks, the duo were lobbed between different stations and pushed into the front lines. But once their parole was finally ended? They rushed out as fast as they could to try to reach a new base where they weren't human shields to be used by the 'real' soldiers. Despite this, the stigma of being ex-convicts stuck well, and the fight against the title eventually failed. Carbine embraced it, no longer caring how others viewed him, so long as he got what he wanted.

As with many others of their kind, the call from Optimus was a surefire trigger. For them? It was getting a temporary vacation by means of the long trip. Now having some coordinates in which to actually go, the troublemakers... borrowed... a ship... ((If the scrap heap could be called that...)) and set forth towards Earth. Having been in prison together for as long as they had, the duo were masters at entertaining themselves by self made board games, communication, and a few brawls of scrabbling claws and swinging fists. But despite this, it soon became a new prison and Carbine grew restless and unease. It was such a huge relief when he saw the onset of earth, knowing that they would be able to move beyond the confines of a 'cage' once more.

Personality:
Created to work in a team and with his cassette, Carbine thrives in a group environment and gladly interacts with others. He desires to be part of some kind of unified force, and happily serves under whichever leader is in place. While he is content being a worker under the hand of another, it does not mean he does not have any ambitions of his own. He thirsts to have a strong enough footing to hold his place secure, and not to be the bottom rung on the ladder. But while he can climb and crawl for some semblance of power, he will not challenge the true leaders for it, merely securing his placement to the best of his abilities. Why on earth would he WANT to lead and have all eyes on him!?

Carbine is a bit of a duality when it comes to his behavior. Because of his root coding and his past job, he can be rather clear cut and to the point. His capabilities of being professional and concise, meaning efficiency is a capability he has and then some. There is also a strong desire to help others and a need to tactically be aware of what is going on. He enjoys when there is a set plan in place. This list of actions and a concept of what needs to be done, always acts as a foundation he is comfortable standing upon, rather than the turmoil grounding of true freeform chaos. In addition to this, as much as he would never care to admit it, rules and regulations also are respected and honored to some extent. They further lock in things to that strong foundation.

If one were to strip his outward personality away, they would find he can be quite serious and determined to do what is 'right' so long as it does not impede upon his own ambitions.

Speaking of the other side...

Despite the fact he could have turned out rather law reciting and mechanical like many others on the force, Carbine took a much more drastic path to the side, and became rather humor oriented and sarcastic on the surface. This effect was exacerbated by Thunder's influence over the many years building him up from subtle snark to full out sass. From quick comments and some crude less than ideal raunchy humor, he really enjoys being the center of attention and getting others to laugh. However whether or not they laugh depends on if they find offence or not to some of the things he says. What can be just as appealing to him is poking fun at and seeing how long it takes someone to take a swing at him. He knows when to pull his punches though, and is not suicidal. He won't challenge an individual he knows would just take off his head without a second thought.

• Sins: Carbine, for his nobility of wishing to serve and protect, does have a dark side, one focused around the deadly sins. He is an avid worshiper of Greed, Envy, and Lust, not by choice but reflex. It is this that lost him his status and job as a cop and it is this he fights against at a constant battle. He wants to own EVERYTHING, from stockpiling resources, to trying to hoard his best friend so others can't pull him away, to owning the admiration of a Femme. He knows in his spark it is wrong, and he tries to swallow it down to not let it ruin what he has. However he will always feel a need to OWN and to HAVE and to just be able to say something is HIS.

• Loyalty: He is as loyal to his team as one could be. Granted, this loyalty is not done so out of a sense of honor or need, it is done so because of his avarice. He views the team as HIS team to be a part of. HIS friends. HIS group. Any threats to them? Is a threat against what he owns, and he won't take kindly to it. He can seem oh so noble, throwing himself in dangers way to help others and protect their goals, but if one knows the truth? It sheers the illusion of his righteous actions down to the gritty truth.

• Clever: He did manage to hide his illegal actions for some time, and when he could read and write? He was speedy on the computer able to cover his tracks and manipulate information reasonably well. While the technical aspect of this is lost to him, he can still be a bit of a weasel and a little sneak, trying to say what he thinks will appease others if it will help him in the long run.

• Pulls Through: In the end? Through all trials and challenges set before him? Through his vices and poor attitude? He will be there for others, and knows when it is time to click back to days of old when he was a true cop through and through. He can listen to others problems, and will try to find ways to help them out, trying to offer any kind of support or advice he may have. While he is not the best person to try to help, his advice not often... sound... His intentions to do so are pure and sincere.

Likes:
• Femmes: Hey, who wouldn't appreciate a good lookin' gal? Carbine just acts on his appreciation more than others. Hitting on them, being a bit crass, and often using Bolo to try to worm his way in to a Femme's good favor is his MO, as what better way to worm his way in than to use a cute 'puppy'?

• Speed: Within reason. Built for pursuit, Carbine likes to move fast and to be challenged with obstacles in his way. It is almost a core need, something he hungers for badly. He will actively go out of his way to try to sate this, from skating on his heel wheels through the base, dodging around others, to exploiting his Alt-Mode to soar overhead at a fast pace. However he would never voluntarily hitch a ride on one that turns into a Jet. That is just a bit much for him. Too high, too fast.

• Good Humor: Oh man, he is all about jokes and just enjoying oneself. It is this that has him latch onto others that show the same sort of absurdity he has. He will go out of his way to be with these people, feeding off their energy as if it were life giving Energon, and sending out his own to keep the good 'high' of amusement going as long as possible.

• Winning: Who doesn't like to win? Carbine just takes it to the next level by gloating and boasting about it like he just defeated Unicorn single handed. He really goes overboard at times if he sees it won't cause tremendous issues to do so.

• Reading: Cruel irony has it that one of his favorite pastimes is now negated from him. He has to get audio books in order to sate this, which doesn't really help much as it's just 'crappy' human writing and nothing that he understands fully. Their culture and customs clash with phrases and terms that he doesn't recognize or understand.

Dislikes:
• Back Turned to Anyone: Hard coded to be alert of who is behind him, and mindful, Carbine will never voluntarily turn his back on a foe unless he must to retreat. However he would much rather skate backwards and away than do a full 180. This is also due to the lighter armor in such an area, knowing if he fled from a foe, and managed to be hit by a round he'd likely be damaged rather badly. In addition, over all this other logic ((among other factors)), is the fact Bolo is docked on his spine, and he'd happily take a hit for his Cassette.

• Paperwork: He understands there is a lot of paperwork needed in war. From reports, to data pads with tactics, to written warnings or bullions of what is happening. The issue is he physically can't read them since his neural damage. He CAN'T and if someone insists he read something? He can get aggravated very fast from his disability. More often than not it would end with him slapping the data pad from their hands.

• Being Pitied: He knows his neural damage is there, he knows he talks funny, he KNOWS it, and really? Does not regret or dwell over the loss. But if someone starts to pity him or tries to express how badly they feel for his inability to read or sometimes speak properly, it can really start to anger him. He can only take so much before he feels a need to lash back so they see he is not feeble. He is not defined by his disabilities.

• Eating: Sure, he can enjoy some foods, he really can appreciate a good drink or meal, it's just the act of getting it in his system that he hates. It is a tricky process due to the fact his face is just a slate visor.

• Being Alone: This isn't being alone in a room; he can handle that just fine with absolutely no issue. This dislike is for being without a team, being without a place to belong. His core coding demands he work with his fellow cops, or something similar, making him hunt down others to attach to. It is part of this that got him to attach to his cellmate in Garris-1.

• Heights: On Cybertron his Alt-Mode was a low flying wheelless vehicle that could hover and maneuver over smaller buildings to dart and weave after targets. Not a jet, but not a true car, stuck in a limbo in-between. Upon acquisition of his Alt-Mode on Earth, he still follows these old limitations habitually. Keeping rather low and maneuvering with a subconscious need to always be a certain distance from a hard surface to 'hover over'. To TRULY fly high is still new, and can make him unnerved.

Strengths/Weapons:
Jack of all Trades: Capable of Much, Master of None.

Carbine skirts the line of having multiple skills and boons, but never really crosses any threshold to be a master at it. He is armored, but not as much as wreckers or real fighters ((save for his front)). He is agile, but would not be able to compare to those like Arcee or Bumblebee. He has strength, but can be overpowered by those that focus in it. He has a wide variety of tools, but nothing particularly lethal for war. He is the Swiss Army Knife that can be bested by the full form of each tool.

Forearm Taser: Carbine's right forearm can split open on the smooth top panel to reveal a small sort of wrist mounted gun. It isn't very big, and isn't really meant to seriously injure due to being a past cop whose job was to detain and disable a convict without lethal force. It is because of this instead of heated plasma or bullets the gun fires an electrical charge like a ranged taser. The charge is more powerful the closer one is to the target, ranging from a sharp sting from a bit of a distance, to full body crippling electrocution when used at point blank range.

Cuffs: Attached to his hip inside the hidden compartments, is a pair of handcuffs. Pretty standard, nothing really special of note. They adjust to different mech's sizes within reason, and are solid metal for most of their build to try to reinforce and keep stronger individuals from popping free.

Wheels/Speed: Carbine's legs can transform while in his root mode in order to fold the foot tread up and into the shin. This leaves the 'tires' of his tail rotor wheel unobstructed and uncaged save for the mechanics to move them. With this, he can roll slickly over smooth surfaces and 'run' much faster in order to pursue criminals. His balance and agility with it is solid, and he can skate backwards and even twist the shins to be able to skate to the side.

Riot Armor: Being he had to deal with criminals that more likely than not had firepower, and the fact he'd 'link' arms with others to make variable barriers/shields to confine and stop people, his front armor is very strong and reinforced. Standard weaponry scrapes off of the slick hard surfaces, and major joints have retractable shielding that fold up in flares to try to divert shrapnel from lodged into the sensitive hinges. This flaring effect even occurs at his clavicle, a panel able to be arched up in a way that when standing normally? He can look and see overtop, but in combat if he dips his head down, it'll block and create a shield to protect his neck and face from higher caliber weapons a typical mask would not be able to handle.

Any attacks from the front can be taken in strides and more likely than not be shrugged off unless it was a substantially powerful weapon. The only viable hinges to try to aim for that aren't overly protected are his hands, elbows, feet/wheels, and some joints on abdomen that must be there. One would have more luck puncturing his spark through his spine rather than his chest due to the fact this armor does not follow to his back.

Strength: Because of his size? He can give an illusion of being strong. But really it is all proportional to his frame, and nothing more. As such if he was to grapple with a Cybertronian that looks him in the eye? He could be overpowered easily. But if he did so with a smaller car? He could have an upper hand by sheer bulk alone. But all this strength mostly lays in punches or kicks, for any pulling or heavy lifting can strain other physical issues. The only true 'heavy hit' he has, is using his shoulder as a battering ram. He did so to bash through doors, and as such can impact with a shoulder or hip-check with a hefty slam.

Agility: Agility is a bit of a stretch to list here. Really it is much like his strength, and is only comparative to certain others. He cannot do flips, or handsprings or anything ridiculous like that, but he can thrust his hands out in sharp quick jabs, or swing a leg down in a hard kick using momentum to his advantage. Compared to a grounder? He is nothing special, but compared to those that range around his height? His leanness can give him a speed edge.

Dagger: Salvaged and created from a confrontation with a Decepticon, the dagger looks a bit mismatched. The blade portion is donated by the con, the metal an even grey tone with both sides holding a cutting edge that tapers down to a sharp point. The freshly sharpened point gleams a more raw silver tone, Carbine keeping it ready to plunge into internals and sheer if given need. The handle itself had been welded on by Thundercloud, the darker metal leading half way down the blade to reinforced it. Rough uneven etches cut along the sides of the handle to give a sturdy grip to the tool.

Weaknesses: ((Physical Flaws))
Communications Damage: ((Aphasia)) Having suffered neural damage, he has a few hiccups that remained and will likely remain with him for the rest of his life due to the technology for such delicate surgeries being faded out through war and chaos. This damage obliterated his ability to link visual letters with his language center, as well as cause occasional disruption with his ability to speak properly. The connector between language in general, is shoddy, though he manages.

• Text Recognition: Wording is very hard for him to look at. His processor tries to figure it out, it knows he KNOWS it, trying to surge the information across damaged lines. If he stares at something long enough, he can try to guess what it is by font type, colors, placement, or other cues that would be obvious such as a 'Warning' sign or an 'Exit' sign, but he will never be able to actually READ it like anyone else can.

If he tries far too hard to force himself to understand, staring at the letters with enough focus, the electrical pulses could snap across the damaged point and connect improperly on the other side. This can trigger seizure like responses, where he locks up and hits the ground lurching until the charge fades.

This text issue tends to not be any true danger to him, unless he has errors popping up in his display. He generally knows when he has to do self maintenance, and when to change filters before they try to tell him, but if something goes wrong? If he has some sort of internal damage or something is broken that he can't readily FEEL through the nerve lines? He needs to get help from someone else to know what it is.

• Speech: When he is calm and thinking about his words carefully, he can at times speak in a way one would never know he had a glitch surging through his system. It is only if he speaks too quickly, or starts to get ahead of himself, a sort of stutter or word swap will occur. For example, he could try to say 'Put that down' only to chunk out a 'Put that dow-d-d-lower' his glitch redirecting the word to a linked synonym even if it isn't always the proper one.

If put under duress or high levels of an emotion, including but not limited to being excessively angry, sad, joyful, and even excited, his voice can completely glitch out. From the structure of entire sentences being jumbled up, to random words unrelated to the situation surging into the picture. He can even get locked into a stutter loop for a bit, or just sputter out static. Once the 'high' of the emotion fades off, he can communicate normal again. While he glitches out, his physical frame isn't affected, he can still move as if nothing is wrong.

• Voice Recognition: In everyday situations he has no issues listening to people. This connector is the strongest of them all, and does not faultier even with heightened emotions or stress. The only way to trigger this minimal damage is by a hard blow to the head. If struck on the left side of his head, it will temporarily disconnect, meaning all language capabilities go out the window when it comes to what others say. He can see their mouths moving, but all it is, is jumbled 'alien speak' or loud static sounds. A strike to the head would also disable his speech, and effectively plummet him into a realm of inability to understand anything others are trying to communicate, nor relay his own needs or wants. This would self repair in some time, but can be very bothersome and psychologically trying.

Back Defense: Bolo docks here, and the canine's frame creates the majority of his back armor. It isn't as strong as his chest, but has some hefty paneling down the center to protect at least both of their spines reasonably. On either side on his flank, just under the shoulder blades and wheel struts, as well as his upper legs, are large vulnerable vent openings and a lower level of armor to still be able to cool his internals, and not overheat in a cage of plating. This same simplistic level of armor appears on his lower back, creating a viable weakness point. Anywhere where Bolo isn't? Is fragile.

When Bolo is ejected from his dock however, the game entirely changes.

The canine takes essentially all of the armor from Carbine, as well as a decent amount of components and cables. This leaves the copter with only the lightest of armor meant to just protect the protoform from dirt more so than bullets. This means small caliber rounds comparative to Cybertronian tech will pierce straight in, while anything larger would more likely than not hit internals or downright hit the back lining of his front chest armor, stopping there.

The spinal cord itself is essentially visible and vulnerable when Bolo is out and about. A hard enough strike with an elbow or other blunt force could cause notable damage. Really this is his major Achilles Heel. For all the boons Bolo can bring, and how much the light armor on his back counters the front to not impair his flight or agility, it is a massive 'target me' point. It is the easiest way to bring him down if one can manage to get behind him despite his extreme paranoia.

Ventilation: With his front being a complete wall of armor, his vents are all located on his back to regulate his internal temperatures. This is perfectly fine in day to day activities. He does not have an overheating issue, even when running after a foe. When it does become an issue is if he is pinned on his back in soft earth, mud, or other malleable materials. This means he is lying on his own vents, and could start to overheat if trapped this way rather quickly. The vents are also viable weakness points to target due to the lack of armor to halt a bullet's progression.

Wheels: While the rotor wheel on his heels are solid metal and sturdy enough he can run on them without them collapsing, they are still able to be broken or damaged. If the ring itself is damaged he can find it difficult to even walk without a limp.

In addition, the skating ability he has to roll over surfaces only really works on some materials. Softer dirt and mud he can cut into too far to move or roll effectively, while stone surfaces with a lot of large gravel can make him unsteady and send vibrations from lack of impact absorbing shocks to jostle up his knees to cause pain. He is only really fluid on the metal paneling of bases, concrete, asphalt, small gravel that won't lurch his wheel, stiff dirt, and other comparable surfaces.

Shoulders: Being how often his model was expected to bash through doors to either help people, or get in to an area to a criminal, the shoulder joints were constructed to be easily replaceable. In a way they were cheap, not expected to ever last long and in turn just be replaced when needed. Being that such substitute parts are no longer prevalent, he has had to make do with the same ones long term. This means that while he can bash into things still, it pushing the joint into its socket upon impact, if it were to get pulled? If the force was exerted the opposite direction? There is a chance it can be injured or dislocated entirely.

Because of this he has difficulties lifting heavier objects, and is basically useless for physical labor. He can't pull people up from ledges without pain, and if he is falling and has to catch himself by grabbing something? There is a chance the joint could outright give out. A hard enough wrench on his frame? And the limb could rip clean off, much to his dismay.

Fragile Alt-Mode: For all the boons of hovering and manipulation he gains, as well as lifting power for transporting objects, there are some serious drawbacks. He isn't as fast as the other aerial bots, so he can't escape by air like a jet can, often leaving himself vulnerable to attacks from other flyers. This wouldn't be a huge issue, if his frame was not as delicate as it is.

If anything hits the rotors and disturbs their momentum hard enough? It can upset the swash plates, his entire flight then compromised to send him in an uncontrolled spin towards the earth. If his tail rotor is damaged, he also will spiral down towards the ground in a wild corkscrew. He also has to be extra mindful of thin human architecture, namely the barely visible cables of power or support lines. Instead of slicing through the cable? If it has any kind of girth to it? It'll just snag in the rotation and tangle within the rotor mast, causing an immediate lurch and crash.

As much as Carbine LOATHES the nickname, an 'Air Fairy' is basically correct. Able to fly, manipulate, and be a good scout for recon or tracking, but is like glass if he is hit. The only boon is that he isn't quite AS fragile as the legit human copters, his Cybertronian innards reinforcing the general frame and some of his front abdominal armor ending up on the sides to attempt to protect him. This just means that if he is lurched violently by getting tangled in a cable? He won't have his tail boom snap compleetly off like a twig, though internals could still bend and be damaged.

Rotors: The four rotors on his back are spindly and thin, basically making two big 'target me' signs. He tries to tuck them back while in combat, and while they are more resilient than the legit human helicopter blades, they are still comparatively fragile. To bend snap or damage in any way, will completely disable his ability to fly and turn him from a flyer to a grounder in moments.

Sloth: The only 'Sin' to depict itself in a physical, non negotiable form. When Carbine lies down and falls into recharge, his systems go ALL the way down. In this state it is very difficult to wake him, as being spoken to, loud noises, and other chaos, will go completely over his head. Even if he is grabbed onto? And even shaken? It can take a bit before sensors realize 'hey, maybe I should be responding to this?' and he boots online. The only exception to this is electricity or actual pain. If he is hurt or shocked, he will fly online and physically lash out before his processor can even figure out what had hit him.

Weaknesses: ((Personality Flaws))
Attachment to Bolo: Bolo may not be a full functioning Hardware Cassette with full sentience and personality, more akin to an animal, but that does not mean Carbine isn't attached to the companion. Bonded at a core level to his very spark, he would do anything for his cohort if it would keep the canine safe. This means if bolo is threatened or harmed, caution can go out of the window, and Carbine will react savagely to protect his other half.

This savagery holds no limitations. He would happily turn against even his closest friend if they intentionally harmed the dog, aiming to tear out throat cables or other act to end their existence. Unintentional injury to the dog would not result in such a violent physical lash out, but he would still be quite angry with shrieking yells.

His core protocols dictate that he is Bolo's guardian, and in essence? This means any injury to the dog is a failure in his part, a failure that hurts a great deal. After the physical backlash or the angry snarls, he would reel back into a depressed feeling like it was all his fault that he didn't prevent the injury from occurring in the first place. Bolo relies upon him... and he let him down.

If Bolo were to perish, it would be a huge grievous injury to the psyche of Carbine. This would be to such a severe edge he would likely be of little use for some time as he tried to repair the gaping hole in his psyche, if it could be repaired at all. Getting another Cassette isn't really something that is just done willy nilly, but the haunting void of silence in his processor could start to drive him mad.

Greed: He tries to turn a new leaf, he does want to be a part of the Autobots, but... he is not a real good person in his core. As much as he tries to suppress it, he is a greedy individual, and if shown an opportunity to gain something to his advantage, he will feel compelled to take it. Because Cybertronian currency is no longer of any practical value, this bad trait transfers to weaponry or resources. If he sees an opportunity to try to take a large chunk of Energon, even if it is exceptionally risky and the rest of the team is retreating? He will NEED to do so. If he is successful in the acquisition, he will try to hoard it away from others under the logic that he risked his life for it, it should be his.

Tommy Tag-Along: He has enough self awareness to know when an idea he has is bad and to probably not go through with it. He has enough common sense to not push buttons of some people and not to act silly or do nonsense in their presence. However the moment someone else came up with the idea? The second it comes out of their mouth? He is much more likely to tag along and go with it to see what happens. As in the end, if it goes badly? He can blame it entirely on them and be telling the truth.

People Behind Him: Carbine really isn't too happy about Mech being behind him. If he watched them move and knows they don't intend to injure him? He can try to stomach it better so long as he knows them. However if someone surprises him or approaches too fast, his auto defenses kick in and he would be more akin to elbow them in the gut with his elbow spike than to do anything civil no matter who it is. This is because of his weaker back armor making him vulnerable, his rotors that he relies upon for flight, as well as the fact that is where Bolo docks who he is super possessive over, among other catalysis to exacerbate the issue. Basically being behind him is always a gamble like standing behind a horse. Keep it up? And you will get kicked.

Killing: Cop coded, he can't just kill outright. There is a nagging nobility and NEED to do good that stays his hand and forces him to faultier. This coding is nowhere near a true Guardian, if pushed hard enough or a time of great distress where a life or death situation is in play, he CAN pull the trigger to end someone's life. But pushing him to this point? Is difficult, and without that overarching pressure he can't bring himself to do so no matter how much he LOATHES or HATES the person. He can fantasize about ripping their spark out, but so long as he isn't about to have his head cleaved open? He can't act on it.

Special Skills
Chirolingual: For the brief times he is mute, and his occasional glitches where he loses proper communication capabilities, he took the time to learn to be Chirolinguistic to be able to communicate. This means he can manipulate other's hands, wrists, and fingers to 'spell' out words as a sort of sign language. This can only work between two that know the language. He can't project words through hand contact to another's mind or anything crazy of that sort.

Resourcefulness: Being in Garrus-1, the act of learning how to make impromptu stabbing weaponry is pretty much a given. If you didn't know how to make a shiv or shank? Then you were going to end up being the one stabbed. As such when he looks at objects, he doesn't just see them as what they are in actuality, but instead can also view them in ways to try to figure out how to make it a weapon to be able to use for self defense. However he never really got into figuring out prison explosives like his partner though.

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Character Info
Name: Bolo 'Be on the Lookout'
Gender Equivalent: Male
Species: Cybertronian Cassette Hound
Purpose: Track and Find /or/ Tackle and Restrain

Appearance/Altmode:
Height: 10' at Shoulder

Eyes: Completely yellow, Bolo's eyes are a solid flat circular panel with no discernible iris plate visible or ability to blink.

Facial Features: A smoothed boxy wedge shape with a hinged jaw, Bolo's face mirrors some of his owners, by holding the same white jaw paneling. The face itself however is simplistic, holding no malleable features that could form expressions, making him appear drone like and robotic. The jaw itself can open to a wide degree, a tongue locked onto the bottom panel out of the way to use if he needs to pull Energon into his mouth or clear off his nasal sensor grid. This grid is on the forefront of his snout, smoothing down into the mouth area between two prominent prong teeth.

The only expressions available to him, are thoes conveyed through posture and ear movements. Locked onto a pair of hinged, Bolo has a set of ears that are slender and long, tapering to a sharp point. These antenai permit Bolo to hear rather well, and get a lock on where his Master may be.

Physical Build: Bolo at first glance can seem very big, and this is namely due to the fact that he is perched so high on long legs. When viewed from the side? He seems exceptionally large. However when viewed straight on, he is much like a fish, much leaner and slim. The entire ribcage area of Bolo's torso, is formed almost exclusively by large disk like wheels, framed in an edging of black and white panels. Angular forelegs branch out from the center axis of the wheels, leading down to small paws that can fan out to grip on different ground textures with ease. The waistline of Bolo is narrow, akin to a greyhound, capped in a small slim pelvis that supports the matching hind limbs.

Red and Blue Bio-Lights are scattered along his frame to be able to be found and followed even in the dead of night. A ring of lighting runs around the wheel's edge and specks of the same blue fleck the waist panels and forelegs. Lastly, upon his shoulders are two red lights that can pulse when he finds something of note, a harness latched down behind it with a solid rubber lined handle.

Alt-Mode: Back Cargo and Landing Gear of Helicopter / Carbine's spine armor

History:
Created with his owner, Bolo has been a literal part of Carbine's life, with him through thick and thin. From tracking down drugs, and full body tackling criminals, the cassette strives to please in any way he can. While a massive chunk of his life has been lost, the time in which Carbine was in Prison and he was put in stasis, Bolo doesn't seem to miss anything and doesn't question the sudden shift in their lives from cop work to... war...

Personality:
Not Mindless: While Bolo is not sentient enough to compare to other Cassettes, he can recognize people and react accordingly, as well as have basic animal curiosity. The drone can play, can express concern, and can try to express needs such as whining for fuel, but it will never be spoken in true words. He can recognize others statements enough to give 'high-fives' or other simple commands such as hide. However don’t expect a complex command to be understood in any way whatsoever, as it will end with his head crooked to the side. He is in core an animal, but with some toddler like cognitive capabilities. The most clever thing he can try to do? Is sneaking to try to get some Energon or other treats left out.

Other Half of the Coin: Bolo being an extension of Carbine, fills out the rest of the Deadly Sins that plague him. Bolo is a carrier of Gluttony, Pride and Wrath.

• Gluttony: The canine has no concept of when to stop eating, and if left to his own devices with a lot of fuel? Will gorge to a point of becoming ill. Even if Bolo is forced to throw up the fuel from over indulgence, the animal will turn around and begin devouring the regurgitated material in a cruel and foul act of repetition until stopped.

• Pride: This is a bit hard to see, but it is there. Bolo is prideful of his work, and when he accomplishes something. When he locates the target he had tracked down by scent? He would demand a reward or to be pet and loved on. To deny this, and ignore him, the dog can start to become frustrated and nosey, forcing himself into the metaphorical spotlight and getting in other's way.

• Wrath: Capable of surpassing even Carbine, when set into an attack mode, Bolo will appear truly feral to a point of frothing Energon at the maw, feeling that he must show this savagery in order to protect himself, his Carrier, and others. This Wrath will latch onto those he perceives as true threats, and those that Carbine commands him to attack more than once. If a Decepticon approaches, one Bolo knows is foe? He can launch from his dock to assault without even being given a command to do so. It explains why welded onto the shoulders of the hound, is the handle harness to physically restrain the animal. Other than these surges, Bolo can seem quite calm and at ease, a rabid wolf behind a puppy façade.

Tattletale: Due to the link between Carbine and Bolo, if Carbine feels a strong emotion one way or another and Bolo is ejected and about? He can react accordingly. If someone really starts to anger Carbine but he is trying to hide it? Bolo would be the tattletale to start growling and displaying what he is truly experiencing, trying to protect and feed off the energy his master provides. Bolo doesn't have the subtly needed to understand when some reactions need to be kept under wraps.

Strengths/Weapons:
Bite: Bolo's jaw is a powerful hydraulic press that drives the upper two prong teeth and lower hook together much like the 'jaws of life' that humans use on vehicles. The teeth are blunted, aiming to use brute force to crimp and hang on with its body weight rather than sheer off chunks. The goal is never to rip pieces off a foe, but with the immense power behind it? It can still tear and do a decent amount of compression damage if ordered to go full-tilt on someone.

Smell: Designed to track convicts or drugs, Bolo only needs to be given something of the target to try to get a lock on them. Because of Carbine's inability to program new materials into Bolo's database however, the canine has to be repetitively introduced to the scent and ordered on track, rather than it being stored in its memory banks. This means if he tries to use the dog to search for Energon or a member of their base, every single time he gives the command, even if they have gone hunting every day for months, he would need to introduce the source object to Bolo as if it were the very first time. In contrast, if he demanded Bolo hunt for Syk, that was already in his database from their cop days, and he doesn't need to have a sample to track.

Speed: Built like a Doberman with a flexible body and a powerful broad chest, Bolo is capable of outrunning most Cybertronian on foot just like how a dog can outrun a human with ease. The canine's long strides and four slender legs allow him to lunge after others and rubber soled paws and sharp paw points resembling claws make getting traction a breeze. This said, he seldom gets to achieve full speed while in nature, too many obstacles and turns needed, but if he is given a straight away, he can get going FAST. If given a straight paved road with no obstacles, turns, or other things that would hinder him, Bolo can cap out at 300mph.

Torso Processor: Bolo's processor is located in the actual chest of his frame instead of his helm. This is because of the fact that the head and neck is often the first part to be targeted and damaged when he bites and tries to hang off of someone. What use is a police dog, if a convict gets a good enough grip and rips its head off to kill it and all its programming on its first day on the job? If his head is ripped off he could still bleed out and die, but he won't lose his mental capacities and memories and can be repaired. This would still horrify Carbine beyond all else, even though it has happened before.

Weaknesses: ((Physical Flaws))
Thin Components: Bolo has a very flexible spine, aiding in having a long gait meant to catch up to someone on foot easily. But this boon? Is also has a fault, the waist a fragile point to get struck or damaged. This same delicacy applies to his long legs and ears. While bolo tucks them in when he hangs off of a target the moment he latches down? They can still be torn.

Weaknesses: ((Personality Flaws))
Work to Death: Bolo's desire to make his Carrier happy, and to do well, can mean he will push himself further than he really should and won't stop. He will ignore his own needs if he has to, and disregard aching joints or an overheating core in order to keep going and continue doing what he has to. If someone doesn't order him down, or stop him, he could collapse in exhaustion.

Just a Dog: In the end, after all his training and work, despite how much he has learned over hundreds of thousands of years of an active life, Bolo is still just a dog, and can't really do anything outside this frame. He is a companion, a dedicated worker, and aims to please, but he will think of himself and try to be sneaky around those that don't assert themselves. Stealing food, inspiring guilt with a sad look, and trying to play even if others don't want to... he is a dog of a dog in the end.

True Companion: While his dedication and attachment to his Carrier may seem like a boon, making him loyal beyond all words and aiming to please, it is also a strong weakness. If something happened to Carbine, Bolo would be distraught, often conveying this anguish in anger and rage to try to get back at whoever hurt his Master. He will stay by his Carrier's side through thick and thin, and would refuse to abandon him even at cost to his own physical health. If Carbine were to perish, the shock and trauma would likely take Bolo down with him, even if there are no physical damages to spur on death.