Home Improvement (Closed)

[Deleted]

Episode 2 | Week 3 | Day 5 | 13:20

With the cease fire in full effect it came as a surprise to absolutely no one that the neutral base on this dirt ball would be seeing an increase in traffic from both sides. And it was in the best interest for everyone that the neutral base be up to code. So it was in the best interest of everyone for all available hands to do their part in providing said upgrade. And fortunately for everyone a very well trained set of hands had smacked onto the planet just last week.

But this place didn't sit well with her.

It wasn't the fact that there were natural affiliates in this mess - she had no room to talk - that had nothing to do with it. But it was the thought of rubbing elbows with the Decepticons. Even without the immediate threat of being shot in these walls and with the truce in place - as paper thin as that was - the thought was still highly disconcerting. They were the enemy, and to make it worse Shale had never even met a con. She really hoped that wouldn't change today.

First she needed to do a preliminary check of the base, taking note of what needed to be done. She hadn't set foot in the neutral terf before... and really hoped she wouldn't end up lost. Word of mouth had informed her there was a bar somewhere around. Drinking wasn't necessarily her favorite pastime but she did enjoy forgetting what feelings were every now and again.

Maybe she'd stop by once she was done to partake in what they had available.

But for now she needed to concentrate, there was work to be done. Her heavy steps echoed back and forth in the high roofed Atrium as she went from wall to wall mentally noting what needed her attention. And she thought she had a lot to at the omega outpost. Whatever scraps the Autobots had managed to find to build their base was a fortune compared to this. As much as she wanted to cringe at the naked wiring and lights along the walls, unprotected electrical devices, and countless leaks there was some volume of approval in there as well. These neutrals had far less materials then everyone else and somehow they'd managed to pull this place together.

Color her impressed.

Shale hummed in thought as she reached up and rolled a wire in her fingers. It was starting to fray in the middle, that'd need to be swapped out before it exposed itself and decided to give an unfortunate soul a hearty shock.

[Breakdown]

     There was an unusual calm to the neutral base. Decepticons, Autobots and Neutrals came together, working as one as they had before the factions turned the war on one another back on Cybertron. It was a cozy little location where no conflict was allowed. The unification of all parties to put differences aside to fight a greater evil that put all of their kind at risk. It was the perfect place for everyone to just sit around and work together.

     This place drove him crazy.

     The Nemesis had its issues but at least everything worked. Here there were systems that weren't wired correctly, insufficient power supplies that came and went over a period of time whenever it pretty much pleased. Panels were missing, some walls were incomplete, wires hung from the ceiling and there were spots on the floor where a it was questionable if the stupid grates would give in and send someone right through it. The entire situation could have been laughable if it weren't so pathetic. No wonder supplies were being provided by both sides! He should have been impressed by what was done with so few things available to the Neutrals- and no doubt that he was in a sense- but Breakdown was no stranger to the false sense of security that this place gave off.

     Secured? Safe? Right. He had no doubt that Silas's little group of wormy humans could find this place.

     Or maybe that was Breakdown's paranoia kicking in. He huffed aloud and shook his helm, continuing on his way through the hall. He was carrying a crate of soldering tools he had taken off the hands of a Vehicon who had been having issues dragging it through the halls. As much as he found them useful, they did move slow from time to time so if he could get it there faster and give them other tasks to do that would be more beneficial then it was no bother to him.

     He just hoped he could get through this without running into an Autobot. Breakdown had to remind himself to behave while Knock Out wasn't around to keep an optic on him, and when you added an Autobot to the formula? It definitely wasn't all that easy.

     Breakdown turned to go down the right corridor, swinging the crate around the corner to make way for the tight turn. He didn't expect for anyone to be standing right there, though, and with how fast he swung he may have actually struck the Autobot as she inspected an overhead wire. Either way, Breakdown did see her the moment he turned so he came to a sudden stop. At least if the crate hit her he could chalk it up to an accident.

     Not that it wouldn't be, of course. But it also wasn't like he would necessarily apologize for it.

[Deleted]

She was also hoping to not come across a member of the opposite faction. This was neutral ground, a place where the fighting came to a stop but that didn't mean she would actively seek out a Decepticon for the hell of it. It was a pretty terrifying thought in her mind, being so close to the enemy like this. To her knowledge she'd never even encountered a Con before. They may have crossed paths back on Cybertron while she was trying to avoid the fight as much as she could but as far as she knew she'd never seen one in person.

And she really didn't want to.

She had other things to take care of today, A LOT of other things. At least she'd be busy for a long while with this project. There was only so much maintenance she could do in their own base before everything was running right. They'd break eventually but she didn't want to wait that long for something to do. At least here she had job security for a good while. She barely heard the footsteps coming at her and by the time she was just starting to move away she felt something bump into her arm. Shale jumped slightly at the sudden contact and turned to the other bot.

"Hey watch where you're-"

Her words immediately lost traction as she turned to the other mech. She'd never seen him before, not around the base at least. And from appearances alone he didn't seem like a Neutral, not the way he was built. This was a Decepticon. That thought dawned on her and she immediately felt her tank churn as she stared at him. She had nearly told off a Decepticon just now, right to his face too. Well done Shale she chastised to herself.

Say something. Try and make this situation better.

"Um.... sorry..."

Sorry? What was that going to do? They were on neutral ground and even if they weren't the treaty was in play right now but that didn't make her feel any better right now. She just hoped he was feeling gracious today, maybe they could just walk away from this and keep it between them.

[Breakdown]

     There was about to be some lip to be spoken after the contact with the crate. Breakdown assumed as much considering he was the one who had bumped into the femme but he wasn't about to apologize. he waited, wanting her to finish what she had to say just so he could retort with some sarcastic statement of his own, especially once she turned to him and he realized right away that she was a bot-brat.

     Most were thrown off by Breakdown's appearance. Some assumed at first glance that he was a neutral by the color of his optics ( which was now limited to just the single one ), given that they were the golden yellow instead of the typical red usually seen on the con's side. He also lacked any telling signs of what faction he was actually part of, since either side usually had the insignia somewhere on their chassis, but Breakdown was without such marking. Part of that was for personal reasons- given that Knock Out didn't want his frame to be messed up by any disturbance in his paint by having the thing etched into him- while another part of it was just... he didn't want it. He may have been loyal to the cause and all that, but if he wasn't allowed to have one when he was lowly defective cannon fodder, then he didn't need one now that he had more or less made a name for himself and his group on the field. He was good with it, really. It only made it easier for him to throw bots off who weren't aware of who he was.

     It seemed for a brief moment that the femme that Breakdown was now face-to-face with had fallen under that same confusion. Yes, he was just standing there in wait. He wanted her to finish her words, give him something to say something back instead of just standing there with a stern optic staring her down...

     Then she stopped, paused, and changed her words and tone.
With a rather uncomfortable, awkward apology that he wished he would have just kept to herself.


     Well, that was sadly less eventful than he thought it could be. If Knock Out were here he'd have the amazing backtalk to give to the femme, even if she hadn't completed her statement, but he'd also remind Breakdown that there was a truce in effect. Breakdown couldn't wait for it to be over so he could return to smashing in some bot brains. For now he'd have to play nice.

     The dark blue mech resorted to just rolling his optic then readjusted the crate he was holding. Was this the one he was supposed to be looking for? He didn't know for sure so it wouldn't hurt to ask. As much as he'd just wish she would have noticed he was carrying this crate of stuff and make it known that she was waiting on the supplies just so he wouldn't have to verbally engage her, he figured it would be a tad difficult considering the differences in height. Wishful thinking, at least.

     "Don't apologize if you don't mean it. It's pointless then," he said with a slight shrug. "Are you waiting on repair supplies? Cause I was told to bring this through for someone but I dunno to who."

[Deleted]

In the silence Shale began to contemplate just what she'd done to be in this situation. Had she done some awful thing to deserve this? Well, technically she had done quite a few of them in her lifetime. But that was so long ago... Had karma just been so lazy her comeuppance was this delayed? Maybe?

The other bot seemed to be waiting for her sharp remark about watching where he was going and her apology had thrown that completely off. At first it seemed he'd brush it aside and still tell her off about the tone she'd taken with him. Nope. Instead he lectured her about having given a meaningless apology. The irony and absurdity in this moment was astronomical. Not only had she just been lectured like a misbehaving child but it was coming from a Decepticon - or who she assumed to be one - of all people. She was at a loss for words for a moment.

"... Yeah- uh yes, I understand."

She stuttered out after she found her voice again. His follow up question was met with a slow nod and a gesture to the side.

"Yes, if you could just put them over there please... thank you."

She'd never felt more uncomfortable in her life. Shale just hoped that after today this'd be the last she'd see of Decepticons for the rest of her life. That was as stupid as it was near impossible and she realised this immediately. This war wouldn't just come to a screeching halt tomorrow, or ever after MECH was taken care of. She'd probably die before it ended.

But she could still hope that someday all this fighting would stop. But for now this base needed her attention. She moved away from the wires on the wall and began inspecting other spots where they were beginning to fray. The air was too awkward for its own good and before she knew it she'd spoken again to try and clear the air.

"This place is a mess, can't believe they've been living like this."

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown rolled his optic some and scoffed. There was something about the femme that bothered him, and it wasn't just because she rolled Bot. Sorry, thank you- both those words had been said with a bit of a disingenuous tone to them and hearing it a second time only made him want to scold her again about using such verbiage. But, what was the point of beating a malfunctioning processor? There was only so much kicking you could do before it just said 'screw you' and completely stopped working. Instead he just moved on from it and walked over to the indicated location to set the crate of supplies down. It let out a heavy 'thump' as it made contact. A crate like this was difficult to move for probably anyone but for a bruiser like Breakdown? Piece of cake.

     Breakdown straightened up and looked around, noting some of the cords that were hanging from the ceiling not far from his faceplate. He turned around and lifted a servo to brush one aside. "If you think this is a mess than you ain't seen nothing yet." This place was tidy compared tot he sties he'd lived in throughout various points in his earlier functioning days, both before his reframe work and thereafter. It didn't have anything really to do with the Nemesis as much as it did with the bunkers he and his team were held up in for different lengths of time. So when she complained about this place being a mess? It didn't really seem like anything more than a bit of disorganization.

     "For what's available to them, the Neuts have been holdin' up pretty well. Limited supplies and all that." Breakdown knew that the Decepticons alone had been bringing supplies from the Nemesis to the base since the truce had been initiated and the place open to both sides, but it shied in comparison to the stuff the Autobots had been bringing through. Breakdown was very aware of what little was offered to those who didn't take a side in the war, a point in his life that he kept silent about and only really Knock Out was aware of ( as far as he knew, but who really knew anymore. He just didn't talk about it ), hinted to only by the unusual color of his optics.

     He looked down at the femme and vented. Knock Out was off in whatever Lala land he had been assigned to this time so he really had nothing else to do but hang around and try to be useful. How useful he could be to a bot was to be decided, though it probably wouldn't be harm to try and make peace. For as long as that lasted.

     "Um. Anything I could do to help? Hold something up that you can't reach?" It may have been an odd question to ask, but it Breakdown it was perfectly normal since he was so used to being around Knock Out who usually took advantage of having the height of his partner nearby. That question or the much more common and usually rhetorical one of 'should I pick up that not heavy item for you just so you don't scratch up your finish?'.

[Deleted]

This was not how she saw today going. She'd been hoping to get some of the minor repairs done around here without being approached before she had to report back to Omega base. Were it left to her she'd be here until this place was in top working order no matter how many days or weeks it took. But rules were rules... at least as far as Red Alert was concerned. She could probably stay a little while longer than what she'd been told... what was an hour or two? ... or five? She just... She needed to fix this place! Hold could she sleep knowing there was so much to do around here? It'd do more harm than good for herself to leave like she had to.

And now this stranger was offering to help her. Had she stepped into some alternate reality? Was she going crazy? At this point she'd believe either. This couldn't just be because of the truce, no self respecting Decepticon just went out of his way to help the enemy because of a few implemented guidelines about not shooting at each other. Was he... was he actually being NICE?

The thought disturbed her more than the fact he was there to begin with. Everything she believed about Decepticons - albeit through stereotypes - was being disassembled right in front of her. But maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea. Crazy as it sounded she began to think maybe his help would not only be beneficial but even appreciated. No matter how she sliced it this wasn't a one person job, an extra set of hands would be best.

"Sure, that'd be great. Thank you."

She was honestly grateful as bizarre as that was. He didn't have to offer her anything, but he did. She appreciated that. She rolled her shoulder, movedover to the box, and begin rifling through it before she spoke again.

"Since it seems we'll be here for the next few hours, I guess we shouldn't just be calling each other 'you' all the time then. It's Shale."

Her introduction was followed by a popping noise and a rain of glass and a few sparks to her right. One of the overhead lights had just blown. A normal reaction would have been a surprised jump or the shout if an expletive. Shale just looked up calmly at the broken light and hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, guess that's where we'll start."

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown heard the femme offer her designation, but Breakdown was a little more hesitant in just handing over that sort of information. He didn't just go around introducing himself as though they were old friends or on the same side or something like that. This was an enemy. Usually be this point they were too bashed in to be able to ask for such a thing. Breakdown just stood there and looked in her direction, half hoping that she wouldn't stand and reach out to shake his servo or something. That would almost be too much for the bulky mech to deal with.

     Alas! Saved by the lightbulb. Literally.

     The little popping noise took his attention and he stared at it for a moment then reached up to fumble with some wiring that was hanging down. The distraction gave him enough time to think over this situation just a tad longer. He had to play nice- he had been instructed by Knock Out to do so or face the wrath of not only Megatron but probably the Autobot leader as well- which was something that just didn't settle right with him. All he knew was war and fighting so he missed it something awful and this brief time of the truce that would more than likely fall soon enough? It bugged him and made the lifeblood in his lines run cold....

     There was a little zap in the tips of his digits that snapped him back to everything. He wire that he had been messing with had now been torn from the ceiling and was coiled up in his palm. Apparently he had torn it down while he wasn't paying attention and the zap had been the protest from the still live wire being yanked from the source.

     He vented and tossed the wire to the floor then brushed his servos together.

     "Breakdown." Well, okay, that was simple enough. After the designation was given he made his way over to the broken light, figuring that he may as well wait on her to gather what she needed so they could get to repairing/ replacing/ whatever to that thing. Though Breakdown wasn't quite finished with HIS introduction yet.  "... and just because I'm helping doesn't mean I'm happy about it. So don't try getting too friendly, Autoscum."

     'Autoscum' wasn't said in a very friendly tone, as if he were indicating that he would call her such a thing if he darn well felt like it ( you, it, whats-your-name ) even if her designation had been given. Thought there were a lot worse things he could have said, so the general statement could be appreciated for what it was. Nothing like a friendly warning to remind her of just what side he was on.

[Deleted]

She couldn't help but flinch as she watched him pluck the raw wire hanging free. He didn't seem too phased by it but it didn't look too pleasant either. She couldn't count the times she'd seen bots - both big and small - recoil and even vocally express their pain when exposed to live wires. She'd even thrown quiet a few expletives and other foul things at them after an unexpected brush and resulting shock. This happened more times then she'd like to remember. It'd garnered her quite a few puzzled at mildly concerned stares from her peers in the past.

Breakdown spoke again and if she wasn't sure of his affiliation before it was clear now. He could very well still be a neutral - granted a very bitter one - but given she'd just been addressed as "autoscum" that didn't seem likely. Just what she wanted today. Not only to be accompanied by someone on what she hoped would be a solo venture but her company was in fact a Decepticon. Peachy. Just, peachy. She almost felt like ignoring his snide comment but she had a feeling that'd just make him angrier.

"Understood."

She kept a flat tone in her reply hoping that wouldn't set him off even more. She just wanted to get this over with... Even though that thought left a bad taste in her mouth. It was bad enough she couldn't tackle everything at once like she wanted to today. She shifted to stand, the box in her hands as another pop broke the silence. Across the room the remains of another light bulb rained down from the ceiling.

"Damn how old are these things? At this rate it'd be better just to replace all of them."

She sneered at the ceiling, wondering which one would give next. She'd be willing to bet on it if she was in more pleasurable company, if Hazmat was here he might even try and make a game out of it. Maybe then it wouldn't be such a long day.

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown frowned as the other light popped. This one made a little more of a scene about it than the previous and Breakdown had to admit it... kinda looked cool. Now if only the Autobots were able to shatter themselves the same way those lights did? He'd feel a heck of a lot better about everything. But hey, they were in a truce and apparently it was good idea. Though that was probably a case of 'depends on who you ask'. He could have done without it, but on the other servo? It meant that his Vehicons were at least kept around a little longer. That is, if someone didn't decide they would suddenly crash the ship and kill everyone or they'd be shot out of the sky. Former was probably more likely, since TRUCE meant 'don't shoot at the other guy no matter how much their face pisses you off'.

     That was at least something Breakdown had to tell himself.

     "Probably a good idea. I don't want to have to come back here again to replace these stupid things because the old ones decide to give out then start shorting out the good ones." It was a possibility! And with Breakdown being among the taller of the Decepticons, it would probably be left to him to come back here. Megatron was an option, but something like that was below their Lord. Then there was Skywarp...

     ... no. Just no. That guy would probably somehow manage to blow this place up changing a bulb.

     Breakdown caught the femme looking at the bulbs overhead and stared at her for just a moment. In what he could see she seemed less... well kept as the others were, though not in the falling apart kinda way. She was just dirty. Muddy. Did she not use the wash racks? No, she had to to work out grim because that was just how it went with being a grounder. It was more of that kind of placed mud where she didn't seem to care about where it splattered or if she scrubbed it all off. Knock Out's processor would have shut down if Breakdown didn't get all the grime off. Sometimes his partner even made sure to get those hard to reach spots for him, just as a precaution that he didn't mess up their berth or that some dirt didn't get on the medic while they were in stasis.

     It would have been nice to just go a full cycle with a little less than polished finish. Breakdown vented loudly and recalled the matter at hand.

     Back to the bulbs.

     When her optics looked at one, Breakdown looked at another that seemed like it was going to go out. He cleared his throat some and pointed. "That one's next." It was random but he was trying to make this go faster. When a different bulb busted, Breakdown narrowed his optic and went to the one he had previous mentioned and punched it. "My mistake. It was after that one. Guess that's a clear sign we outta just replace them all."

     Breakdown went back to her and moved to take the box from her. He was just used to carrying things so it came as second nature. He didn't even make mention of it, even if it was an Autobot he was assisting.

     "I think there's probably washracks around here if you wanna clean yourself up since you look like you went through the Rust Sea to get here. You're on your own with that one, though." He shrugged slightly the started to the nearest bulb to stare at it, almost threatening it to dare and burn out while he was so close. "I'll get started on these stupid things so you can go do whatever." It wasn't a one-mech job but he definitely wasn't going to help her find the washracks.

[Deleted]

At least they could agree on something, even if it was just over lightbulbs. Somehow finding a medium between them made her feel marginally better however insignificant that margin was. Like at the end of the day when the weapons were laid down they all had stupid things to worry about. Like exploding lightbulbs. She was by no means trying to sympathize with him; in her mind it just made her feel less like she was about to have her head removed or be shot at.

She grimaced as the third bulb gave, a different one from the one Breakdown had pointed to. At this rate they'd be going out faster than they could replace them. Didn't help he deemed it necessary to punch the one he'd indicated in the first place. With the time slot she'd been given for the day they'd use it and then some just going around replacing the lights. Maybe it was a problem with the electricity itself? Perhaps there was a short somewhere. Shale made a note to check that sometime today.

She didn't say anything when he suddenly made to grab the box from her, just simply let him have it. If he wanted to carry it around who was she to try and say otherwise? Shale stared at him puzzled as he brought up wash racks, what did that have to do with anything? She knew she was a little dirty but did that really matter right now? Did it bother him? No, he was a little too relaxed. If it'd bothered him enough that he'd said something then he'd be a little more forceful. This was a suggestion. Shrugging - and sending some of the dust on her to the floor - she casually replied:

"Nah, it's just a damn dust bowl around here. A little dirt never hurt anyone, besides what's really the point? Probably going to get dirty again before the day is out anyway."

She never really understood those that took too much pride in their appearance. Sure she knew at times it was important to look presentable but on a day to day basis? It was really just a waste in the long run. She never minded being dirty, it showed productivity. She'd gotten her hands - and the rest of her - dirty today. She'd been busy. Busy was good.

"Either way, I'm going to go check if there's a problem with the electrical system itself."

With a casual hand gesture she turned, following the wires along the wall to try and find the breaker board for this place. If this was the condition they kept their lights in she shuddered at the thought of what their source looked like.

[Breakdown]

     "A little 'dirt' could get into important joints that could really do damage when you don't expect it. So ya gotta stay clean." Breakdown paused for a moment and shrugged. "At least, that's what Knock Out says. He's a medic so he would know." 

     Breakdown didn't mind the dirt. The mud? Even better. If he had it his way he probably wouldn't do more than a single monthly visit to the wash racks just to scrub girt out from spaces between but he wasn't really one to do a 'thorough' wash- at least not when it was left up to him. Knock Out, however, made sure he got EVERYWHERE, even so much as accompanying him just to make sure every little bit of grime was gone. Breakdown didn't mind it. After all, Knock Out said it was for the best so Breakdown didn't question it. Plus, if he dragged even the tiniest fleck of dirt into their berth? Well, he would never hear the end of it.

     Seemed that the femme shared the same 'this is nonsense' idea about it. That was strange to him but, again, he didn't question it. Not that he had the time to anyway, since she was already moving away from him to check out the system. This wasn't one of Breakdown's specialties. He was around for breaking things, not fixing them. This did leave him rather uncomfortable, though, since now he just was standing there with a box in his hold with nothing to do with it. Well, it did have supplies in it that maybe she would need and she would have been carrying it with her to wherever she was going had he not taken it from her.

     It's gettin' darker the more lights that go out. And it's too quiet.

     "Uh, I'll come with ya to... you know... Make sure nothin' falls on you or something. This place has enough stability issues that it could. I don't want to be the one that has to explain to your Leader how you managed to get squashed." Good enough excuse- better than 'things that go bump in the night freak me out a little'. That wasn't something he would ever share with anyone other than Knock Out.

     So he followed, keeping enough of a distance between them that he wasn't breathing down her neck, but close enough that if she rounded a corner he wouldn't lose sight of her. In the meantime he was watching around for anything that could possibly pose a problem like the one he had mentioned, his single optic darting from one part of the wall to the other. He would keep it like this until she found what she needed, then maybe Breakdown would go off to another spot and make a call to Knock Out just to check in.

[Deleted]

There was a very fine line between being cautious and just being flat out paranoid. And it sounded like this medic had long since crossed it into the latter. It was just dirt it was everywhere. Especially on this planet. What was next side eyeing the air itself? Ratchet never made a fuss about it. Sure there was plently of griping about keeping the medbay sanitary and about him having to clean up after really grimy visitors. But nothing about this nonsense.

But Shale wasn't about to voice her opinion. She didn't need to get careless just because of a paper thin cease fire. A temporary one at that. She didn't need this mech having it out for her once they started shooting at each other on sight again. She would just offer a shrug as she turned. Indifferent, not agreeing or disagreeing. Judy acknowledging the different opinion. It was all she could really do.

Breakdown's sudden interest in making sure she wasn't injured was... odd. Even if there wasn't a truce this was still a no fire zone. If anything did happen there would be more than just one bot to ask about it. And she wasn't exactly the svelte type. She could handle herslf. But again, she wouldn't say that out loud.

"Alright then."

She offered before contiuing in the direction the wires on the wall pointed her to. If he wanted to stick around her - though he made his opinion clear on her and her standing in this war - that was his own choice. As long as she could get some work done before the day was out she was content. Hopefully they wouldn't return to a dark room with glass all over the floor. She had a tight time limit as it was.

Shale kept a slow enough pace to let Breakdown follow without issue but it was clear she was on a mission. Occasionally she'd glance at the wall to get her barrings rounding every corner she came to in pursuit of the possible source of the shorting bulbs. As she walked she began humming to the tune of an AC/DC song she had heard not too long ago. All but forgetting about her tag along.

[Breakdown]

     Breakdown was trying to keep his attention on what he was doing and kept in pace with her as much as he could. His pedes would slush around in what sounded like water from time to time but it didn't bother him. He didn't look down at it so what he didn't see couldn't hurt him, right? Plus if he took his sight off Shale long enough she may have turned a corner and lost him and then he would be stuck navigating this place on his own.

     When she started humming? Normally he would have grumbled at the noise and told her to knock it off, but this time he only quietly shook his helm. It was bothersome but the noise was doing a bit of good to his sanity in this otherwise quiet place. Not that Breakdown was scared, per say, but when things got too quiet? They weren't good. He had to go that extra mile to ensure he didn't have a paranoid slip while in the company of what he considered an enemy. True or not, if he didn't keep it together there was not gonna be any little piece of verbal agreement to not squish the other team that would keep him from... well... squishing Shale.

     That was definitely something Knock Out would frown on him for and he probably wouldn't let him off the Nemesis anymore by means of some 'medical order' or such crap until the truce was over. A benefit for both sides, but not so great for Breakdown's loose bolts.

     "What are you humming? Something you knew from Cybertron?" Small talk was a good thing. Kept him focused through the winding halls. He also didn't know any better about what she was humming as he didn't listen to 'music' from Earth. It was neither something he was interested in hearing or learning, as what little time he had that was free was spent tagging along with Knock Out or watching what sunrises and sunsets he could catch.

     "I wonder why the Neuts waited until now to someone for assistance with this place. At least for the sake of maintaining this facility."

[Deleted]

The sound of sloshing water wasn't a good sign. As she walked she glanced at her feet to see the occasional puddle spilling onto the floor. Seemed the pipes in this place weren't much better off than the lights were. This place was falling apart at the seams. With a shake of her head she lifted her head to focus on the hallway ahead of them.

Shale hadn't noticed her humming until Breakdown spoke up about it. She rolled her shoulder as she turned another corner and followed the corridor.

"No, something I heard 'round here. Some of the music the humans make isn't half bad. You know, if it isn't autotuned to hell and back."

Did he even know what that was? He didn't seem the type to listen to Earth music. Was that even allowed with the Decepticons? She didn't feel like asking. And she honestly didn't care either way.

She paused at the end of the hall, a large metal plate lying in front of her. She circled around the back of it and motioned to it.

"Think you could give me a hand here?"

Shale had no issues moving it on her own, but he had offered to help so it'd be a shame to waste it. She would be doing most of the work herself anyway as she was the onw qualified to. Breakdown could just help lift and reach stuff she couldn't. The quicker this could be done the better.

She would have to take one hell of a drive to forget today.