[ti]Ep 2.5[/ti]What You Think You Know - [Closed]

[Optimus Prime]

Episode 2.5 | Week 2 | Day 7


That situation with Detroit was... a fiasco...

Least Bluestreak seemed happy.

The base had been confirmed from multiple angles to be a shadow business MECH was using to cover up their real operation. The rundown environment, the nearby construction that was digging deep tunnels and passages, the tarp on the roof that screamed of a helicopter landing point that was being hidden from sight. That was just the visual clues. The information Zoom-Zoom had acquired had linked up with other facts and... really, the place was likely used by MECH in some way, but it most definitely was not a base location and finding links were impossible.

It was an accounting firm that thought Nel and Bluestreak were two new employees that were desperately needed. They got drug around for a little tour that had nothing even remotely MECH related, and had to endure being introduced to a few others that were grateful for the possible new help and eagerly looked forward to new faces. The boss had even offered them small houseplants as some sort of human bribe of good faith to try to keep them there. It was a Peace Lilly Optimus recalled Bluestreak had said, somewhat ironic that one was gifted to an alien species that almost exclusively fell into warfare the past millennia.

More research had to be done, more work and more leads had to be researched. While the excursion was a waste of time in the end, it had not hurt anything perhaps other than the more approachable humans being disappointed. But now? Now what they had found was truly a MECH facility, and there was very little that could be said to argue otherwise.

Taking the same data Zoom-Zoom had found, and trimming off more of the frivolous detours and diversions it held nestled within it was a start. Next was then combining it with a few new leads Fowler obtained from the capture of a couple rogue agents that held confirmed ties to MECH. All this was backed up with satellite photos that clearly showed that things were exactly what they thought it was.

Optimus stood within the Control Room, his stance bold and confident in what was coming in the next few hours. While hunger still plagued his systems, a nauseating ping in the corner of his HUD nagging him endlessly to try to seek more fuel, the hope that they would gain some ground in the next few hours was uplifting and brought some life back to his optics. Perhaps they would find out more with what happened to Air Raid and others, find out what has been DONE so that it could be reversed. Perhaps they would find some of the missing Vehicons, or other mysteries that still lay open and waiting for a resolution.

Only time would tell.

[Deleted]

It was time.

Zom-Zoom walked down the hallways to the Omega base control room, feeling like he was approaching his doom. He'd been assigned a mission. Him. A mission. One that took him out of the base and right into MECH territory. It was so far out of his comfort zone, his comfort zone was pretty much residing on another planet, in a different time period.

At least he wasn't the only one assigned to this mission. That was his only consolation. And he wasn't the only one with spec op skills on it, Jazz was coming along.

The upcoming mission and possible terrible fates that awaited the minibot if it failed weren't the only things stressing Zoom-Zoom out. The Omega base's energon supplies had dwindled, putting the base on rationing. All things considered - while worrisome - it was actually situation normal for the minibot. The stress was familiar and welcome in a way. Zoom-Zoom knew how to deal with it - he'd survived on the streets without a credit to his name and he'd made the long and difficult journey to earth with scarce resources. And he was fortunate that with his small size, he didn't need much energon to keep going.

Plus, he had been…

Yeah, let's not think about that or the potential fallout... Hunger gnawed away at the minibot's insides but it wasn't as bad as it could have, should have been.

The minibot strode into the command room. His gaze quickly swept across the room before reluctantly settling on Prime. It appeared he was the first one to arrive and thus would now have to endure some time by himself spent awkwardly in his leader's company.

Ugh.

"Prime," Zoom-Zoom acknowledged curtly, while staring a hole in the ground with his gaze.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee didn't really want to move.

He lay sprawled on his back, staring up at the many CD's that hung from the ceiling in his quarters, watching as the light caught them and made pretty rainbow patterns on the walls. He'd been laying here for a while now, paying no mind to the annoying error on his HUD that'd been flashing for... Well, he'd lost track of how long. Days? Weeks? He wasn't sure.

All he knew was that keeping busy helped him ignore it. Which in itself was a double edge sword, as keeping busy burned through more fuel and made his systems ache more than they already were. Except he'd done all his chores and errands today – twice, in some cases. He'd swept, and then double swept the rec-room and corridors leading down toward the personal quarters. He'd flicked through a comic for another distraction, looking at the pictures rather than reading the words – it was always so much more fun to read them with Raf, but he wasn't around.

Laying here watching CDs on the ceiling had been distracting for all of five minutes, but he knew that he had to go find something else to do before the flashing of his HUD error got too annoying. Maybe he could go find Carbine and offer to do some of his chores and errands, or go offer to help Zoom-Zoom with the storage room or something – not that the minibot would appreciate that at all, but hey, he could still ask!

With a groan, he'd swing his legs around and moved to sit on the edge of his berth, taking a moment, before shifting to a stand and stretching his arms above his head. He'd go and find something to do, he decided. The Control Room would be a good start, maybe there would be someone there that he could talk to.

He'd make his way quickly down the corridor toward the Control Room. He honestly wasn't expecting to see anyone. Bulkhead manning the monitors, maybe, but that was about it. Still, being out and about the base meant he was more likely to run into someone who could give him something to do.

He moved into the Control Room, and was surprised to not only see Optimus here, but also Zoom-Zoom.

--Optimus, Zoom-Zoom.-- He'd nod to each in turn, before looking around. There was a... Strange feeling in the air, like he'd maybe interrupted something, and would raise a servo to rub the back of his neck.

--Uuh. What's going on? Anything I can help out with?-- There might've been a bit of eagerness to his tone, and he'd stand up a little straighter as he addressed the Prime with his questions.

[Jazz]

     Hunger was not a strange thing to Jazz. It was far from the first time he had experienced the familiar sensations of his system's strain from lack of food and it certainly wouldn't be the last. As an older model when supply was high but hand outs were lacking due to being on the bottom of the pyramid, he had been created with the ability to adjust when he needed to. He had been experiencing his system's said adjustments for a while now. While the other's were visibly affected by starvation? Jazz's systems were already switching off the secondary systems and keeping energy going to only the ones that were important. Jazz was able to take in energon less frequently and burn less this way so he could function well with what little energon he was taking in, but it also meant that he wasn't awake as often as the others. A side affect to this survival mode meant that he took short recharges, but much more frequently than he liked. As time progressed he would be pushed to these bursts of recharge more and more often until he slipped into a full on stasis lock.

     For now? He functioned, and while he functioned he would make himself as useful as possible. That meant that whatever missions were available that would help them he would jump up to take. After Detroit he was more than determined to have some level of success ontop of it. Primus knew that the Autobots needed some moral boost considering their current situation.

     Jazz made his way slowly to the control room where their meetup was scheduled to take place. He was silent, not really having much to say to the air around him. That wasn't to say that there weren't things on his processor that would eventually need to be cleared out but for now there were other things he needed to tend to. Those matters were about to be when he stepped into the meeting spot and looked between this Zoom-Zoom, Optimus and...

     Bumblebee? Why was he here? He hadn't seen him on the briefing. Unless this was just a fluke. 

     "Yo, Bee! I see ya found where us ol' folk like to meet up and catch up on ol' times. Tsk tsk. We've been discovered!" Jazz had caught the tail end of his questioning, then walked over to the younger mech and patted him on the back. He wouldn't have minded having the kid with them, but he wasn't about to jump that gun and open his mouth about this mission if Optimus had other plans for him. So he just looked up at his leader and waited to see what his response would be to the young mech's stumble into this little gathering.

[Optimus Prime]

Ah, Zoom-Zoom.

On one hand Optimus wished he understood the mech, on the other, he was fairly certain he already did. Antisocial, beaten down, pessimistic... He was willing to bet that the mech could lock himself in a room and live there happily the rest of his existence as long as a cube of Energon was pushed through a crack in the wall once a day. It was acknowledged and respected on some level, giving him a job where he can be alone most of the time, setting him with tasks to sift through data to help root out MECH... but some jobs required interaction, for this was a war and they had to cooperate. If this resulted in him being a bit uncomfortable? Well... it was a needed sacrifice.

"Zoom-Zoom"

He replied, offering few words in return while it was only the two of them. He however, did take the time to start to pull up the images, some satellite photos and thermal imaging. It was while he did this a new pair of footfalls started to approach, Optimus anticipating Jazz, only to turn and see Bumblebee. He seemed mildly surprised to see the yellow scout, thinking that he would have been busy with other things at this time. It was not bad however that Bumblebee stumbled into this meeting, but it wasn't exactly planned, Optimus about to reply when Jazz slipped in after and made a joke to slice through the awkward silence that had formed.

Optimus was grateful for that.

"We are about to review images of a confirmed MECH facility to plot a course of action."

He did not mind if Bumblebee wished to offer insight or ideas, differing viewpoints always of value, however he was not really planning to offer the scout a spot at this time. Jazz and Zoom-Zoom had ample experience under their metaphorical belts to make this run as smoothly as possible, and while Bumblebee was very clever and skilled, he wasn't sure if this would be a solid fit for him.

Turning back to view the Control Panel, Optimus zoomed in on the two images, stepping back some so that all could see.

The first image was an overhead shot of what appeared to be a mountainside, with very few human elements actually visible. There was an access road that appeared to dead end into the side of a rocky outcropping, while a few circular points dotted the land above that seemed to have once been part of a missile silo. All things considered, it looked a good deal like the Omega Outpost, but located in a region where the rockwork was dark and grayed with splatters of foliage and life creeping on its surface.

On the other side of the tunnel entrance on the far end of the supposed base, seemed to be a new addition to the structure. It jutted out awkwardly from the rockwork, creating a flat surface that was tinted brown to bleed into the environment so that it wouldn't be readily visible from a cursory glance at satellite photos. The flat upper surface had some mossy green tarps on a few points, covering something that lay beneath them. This structure was difficult to discern exactly what it was, but a flat compacted strip of earth lay before it where a few black vehicles were flecked about.

A second image was placed beside this one, showing the entire base again but with a thermal overlay that painted what lay below with a bit more clarity. Large expansive rooms, all connected by a snaking pathway that wove through its central mass. The walls of rock between each room were thick and husky, able to contain anything that may go amiss or out of line within these areas. The main channel branched at a few junctions, layering down to create multiple levels to the base, a sector off to the west side holding smaller sized offices for lack of a better guess. It gave a good idea what lay below, but it still was hazy, nothing that could readily be used as a map to navigate.

"They have learned from the Eden facility, so extra precautions must be taken."

He casually gestured to two far points on the map where the vague shapes of satellite dishes could be made out in the wilderness. The two separate points meant that they would not be able to shut it down to lock the facility away from outside contact, unless Jazz and Zoom-Zoom managed to coordinate each point readily. This meant if something was to go wrong, and the base was rigged like Eden, well... they would lose everything in a blink of an eye. There however was only one larger thermal patch that was guessed to be the generators, but it was protected well.

"There is not much available other than the knowledge it has been here for some time. We must find out as much as possible, so that we can put a stop to MECH's experiments."

[Deleted]

It seemed Optimus was as keen as the minibot was to engage in conversation. Which was more than fine by Zoom-Zoom, the few conversations they had...hadn't gone well. Or even remotely close to well.

Disastrous was far more accurate.

Zoom-Zoom stirred slightly, lifting his gaze from the floor as Prime began to pull up images, satellite pictures, themal images. The target site, no doubt. The minibot began to study what he could, though he had no context as to what he was looking for. Fortunately, he wasn't left to stew in Prime's presence on his own for long.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, an interruption. Bumblebee - not the mech he was expecting to see. The minibot lifted a hand in acknowledgement of his name but otherwise paid little attention to the scout, his gaze glued onto the screen. That lasted until Jazz entered the room. Finally, they were all here. Zoom-Zoom ignored the friendly joking, straightened up and folded his arms against his chassis as he prepared to listen to the mission briefing.

Prime pulled up an image of a mountainside. A road that looked like it led to nowhere, ending in the rock-face. An entrance to the base no doubt, the front-door that they wouldn't be taking. For the most part, it looked like a normal rocky out-cropping but there were some oddities, such as a flat, jutting surface on the far side. It had been coloured to camouflage it from a cursory look and some tarps had been pitched to cover something up but the few vehicles around it that suggested otherwise.

They moved on to a thermal image of the outcropping. Beneath the rocky surface lay a hidden facility. The walls that lay between each large room looked rather thick. It looked like there were multiple levels to the base, which added a layer of complexity to it. If they got in, where would they head to, what was the important location? With just the thermal scan to go on, it was difficult to determine.

"They have learned from the Eden facility, so extra precautions must be taken."

The minibot pressed his lip plates together and frowned. The Eden facility...that had been a mess. In more ways than one. He wasn't looking forward to a repeat. Nor was he looking forward to get into this output only for it to vaporise itself like Eden had.

In fact, he wasn't looking forward to do anything related to this mission or MECH and yet here he was.

Zoom-Zoom groaned out loud when he saw that they had not one but two comm towers now. Just trying to stealthily take down one had been difficult enough. And he'd had a sniper on back-up keeping an optic out for him. Now it was just him and Jazz and if those towers were to be brought down, it needed to happen at the same time. He wasn't sure how to even approach this mission, maybe just ignore the comm towers and try to sneak in without being detected?

He did know one thing though - no matter how hard they'd try, there was no way they'd be able to avoid setting off an alarm somewhere along the line. Cybertronians were giants compared to humans and even though Jazz and Zoom-Zoom were on the smaller scale of things, even with their skills, they could not completely account for the size difference.

The minibot made an annoyed huff. "So, no support from Fowler's troops this time. No back-up. Just me and Jazz and we're supposed to figure out a way through. Okay."

He didn't like these odds. Far from it. "Guess today, we turn ourselves into magicians. Seems easy enough." His griping done for now, Zoom-Zoom's optics returned to the thermal image. "No matter what we do, we'll get detected at some point. Personally, I'd prefer to that to happen with the enemy unable to talk to each other and co-ordinate a counter attack. Or transmit the vaporisation code to the base."

"But that means spending time taking down both those comm towers without them getting a peep out." Zoom-Zoom peered at a fuzzy patch on the picture. "Is that a generator to the comm towers? If we took it out, maybe that'll shut them both down."

Maybe. Gah. He didn't like hoping for something to happen. But Zoom-Zoom didn't like the idea of going after a tower by himself. Or that there were more variables to deal with by going after two targets whereas the generator was just one thing to bring down. Still, that was relying on there not being power back-ups to the towers and knowing MECH, they'd probably be inconvenient and practical like that, so maybe it was better to deal directly with the comm towers.

His face tight with disapproval at just about everything, Zoom-Zoom shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. Actually scratch the idea about going after the generator. Probably better to take the towers down directly than knock out the power and hope for the best, in case they have back-ups."

[Bumblebee]

The awkward silence had not been lost on Bumblebee, and if it wasn't for Jazz – he probably would've moved on elsewhere to find something else to do, like sweeping the Rec Room for the third time today. He'd offer a half-wave to Jazz as he was greeted, before turning his attention back to Optimus.

Oh man, they were going to a MECH facility? He'd roll his shoulders gently, shifting himself so he looked more alert as he paid attention to the images on the Control Panel that Optimus was now showing them. Part of him felt a little awkward, guilty even, for lingering – this mission was not his, and so he probably shouldn't be privy to what was being shown - but he had not been dismissed or shooed away, and so he would remain. He'd so badly wanted to go along on the Detroit mission, even though it turned out to be a dead end almost. But this one? This was confirmed MECH. He wanted to go even more now!

As Zoom-Zoom spoke, Bee shifted his weight. The minibot was talking about having no back-up, and yet here was Bee – ready and eager like always. He wasn't an infiltrator like the other two, but he had ample scouting experience, he knew how to be quiet and sneaky – having been behind enemy lines, even onto the Nemesis itself without being spotted! Sure this was a little different and posed a lot more risk, but he could be a third pair of eyes, and watch out for the other two. Or even serve as a distraction so they could get on with the mission at hand.

--I agree,-- He started, taking a step closer toward Optimus as he spoke, wanting to get more involved and taking the initiative of asserting himself into the conversation, even if his opinion was not needed or wanted. --Those towers need to go down, but probably at the same time. What if you guys each take one and I lurk nearby as lookout? Ya can't watch each other's backs, but I can,-- Sure watching and keeping track of movement around both towers would be tricky, but he could do it! --Worst comes to worst, I act as a distraction so you can both disable the towers.-- He'd curl one servo into a fist, thumbing his chassis proudly – he was confident in his abilities to distract and run, buying enough time for the two saboteurs to do their thing. --...Ooor, you guys take the towers and I start scouting ahead at the defenses around the generator?-- He added, just for good measure. He was full of ideas, and of course, it'd be up to Optimus if any of them even sounded good, or would even work.

--Having a third pair of optics would be good, right? I ain't doing anything around here and would be happy to help!-- 

[Jazz]

     Jazz wouldn't have normally minded Bee to come along, but considering the tough spot they were all finding themselves in, the less fuel they wasted but having less involved in the heist, the better. Plus, Bee was just a kid in comparison and if somethin' happened to him...

     "Bee? I.. I wouldn't recommend ya to be too close. A distant scout would be helpful to us.. but in an emergency case. Can't risk burnin' off more fuel than we can really afford at the moment."

     While Zoom-Zoom went on his melodramatic fashion, Jazz has moved away from Bee after a pat on the shoulder and otherwise ignored the other smaller bot. He had stepped up to get a closer look at the screens that were being brought up. The light of his visor flickered from time to time as he saved the images into his memory core to be brought up later. They'd come in handy and neither of them would do any good if they had no clue what they were supposed to be going for or how to find it. 

     "Generator wouldn't be a good idea," he stated with a slight huff, more of him blowing a puff of air than of irritation. "If they're smart they would probably have multiple set ups in the case one lost power. Wouldn't do them any good to be sittin' ducks cause they don't got their stuff backed up and relied soley on one main source of power. We take that out, the other systems may kick in. Wouldn't be a problem if we took it out as a distraction but we can't risk the possibility bein' seen for somethin' that may not work. Too high risk." Jazz stared at the image of the tunnel entrance for a moment, then back to the one of the entire facility, then the tunnel entrance again. "Shouldn't be any more difficult than sneakin' on a Decepticon flagship. Scale is a lil' off, but humans got a bit more needy constructions linked in with how they design their buildings. Like how you can practically get to any house in a city from underground because of their series of interconnected tunnels."

     Jazz looked to Optimus. "Do we have any other images or scans of the facility? Like.. duct works, waste disposal pipelines, that kinda stuff? Imma need somethin' if we're gonna be able to make ourselves into a pair of magicians."

[Optimus Prime]

"We need to figure out a proper course of action, before we can consider additional hands on the mission."

It was not a jab at Bumblebee's skills, Optimus knew well that the scout had earned his stripes through this war, and frankly deserved a more fitting title for his abilities. However, he was not going to blindly assign or sift people into the mission, just because they wanted an opportunity to take some shots at MECH. They all wanted to attack a base; they all wanted to storm in and save whoever maybe trapped within. It was no mystery some wanted to do so out of vengeance, while others probably sought glory. Whatever the excuse, they had to be careful, and not let emotions come into play.

Looking over at Zoom-Zoom, Optimus did not appreciate the sass, but he understood where it was coming from. This was a weird situation, not having even a proper plan in place, but... they would figure something out given time, or they will simply postpone until things align far better in their favor.

"Fowler has been working on getting his own personnel into MECH, and has been unable to obtain much ground on this avenue as of yet."

Some soldiers were in place... but one does not simply jump up the hierarchy and get deep into MECH with bounding strides. It was a slow process, and the question remained then if waiting or not was the smartest thing to do here. Observe, formulate information, or try to track actions...

A gentle nod of agreement was made when everyone came to the conclusion together that trying to take out the generator was not ideal. Too many backups, too many batteries that could be peppered about the facility... Trying to cut off all power, was not something that could be done, unless they found means to wire directly into the system and remotely overload everything or turn it all off. That relied on finding a rather notable weak point externally though, which wasn't going to happen as far as Optimus was aware, or hacking into it in the stomach of the beast which was dangerous and a risky gamble.

"What we have available to reference is rather minimal."

A sad truth said with a grim tone that rumbled out.

They could scan the area, they could take satellite photos and some thermal readouts, but the bottom line was that it was under a carpet of foliage and wilderness, and had a nice layer of rock on top to make things muffled and hazy. They have witnessed workers going to and from the station, helicopters flying off and vanishing off radars, but what happened within the bunker was mostly a mystery.

Optimus glanced over when Jazz spoke, unsure how ductworks and pipes would really help, considering that... well... the two individuals on the mission were well outside of being able to fit in such areas. If they wanted to send their holoforms in though, that was an entirely different story, and could have been beneficial, but... nothing was really available to reference for them.

"The facility was once a silo, and just like the one we reside in now, it has been modified heavily. Referencing such baseline schematics could prove more detrimental than beneficial if a hoped for rout becomes a dead end."

He paused, before turning to the monitor.

"However, I can retrieve a few iterations if you wish."

While the others spoke, he would begin typing rapidly, flicking through files and databanks to try to retrieve schematics of some general bunker layouts.

[Deleted]

Out of line with Prime and Jazz's feelings on the matter, it was Zoom-Zoom's personal opinion that Bumblebee coming along sounded like a fantastic idea to him. Spread some of that ridiculously high burden around because honestly, this mission was asking an insane amount. Also, that was another body that could soak up bullets, thank you, yes please.

To him, it didn't sound like such a bad idea having Bumblebee watch their backs while they took down the towers. So far, that was the plan that sounded the best to the minibot and even then, it wasn't all that great because he had no idea what would then come after, how they'd approach the base. The minibot had not forgotten that the previous excursion against MECH had ended with that base incinerated. Zoom-Zoom doubted that there was a way to carry out this mission without being seen, the alarm would be raised at some point and they would be in a better position if the comms were down when it happened.

The scale was not just a 'lil off' as Jazz put it, it was wrong on a fundamental level that other spook didn't seem to acknowledge. They weren't the small ones here, sneaking about. In the human world, they were giants and it wasn't a good thing.

Zoom-Zoom pressed his lip plates together and looked back at the images. They hadn't magically improved over the course of the discussion. The Bots had information but it wasn't enough. The picture painted here, it was dire.

If they went in like this, the minibot knew, it was going to end badly. They were woefully unprepared. He'd thought that they had so much more to go on. Zoom-Zoom shrugged when Prime offered to pull up schematics of silos, he knew the details of this one pretty well because he'd spent quite a bit of time exploring it. Prime had made a valid point in that the MECH one no doubt had been heavily modified from whatever it had once been originally.

The minibot absently rubbed the back of his right hand against his left forearm. He was quiet, thinking away but no better ideas had presented themselves. It wasn't helped that Zoom-Zoom's thought had mostly morphed into a numb, dreading lump of "He's going to send us out like this. We are going to die."

It wouldn't be the first time the minibot had been sent on a mission deemed more valuable than the lives of the operatives carrying it out.

His squad had gone through so many members for a reason.

Zoom-Zoom had been doing better these past few weeks. Working down by himself in the stores had slowly settled him. In the smallest, smallest of pieces. Nonetheless, progress had been made. That progress was nowhere in sight now. Cold dread spread through him, his field which was always drawn tight around him tinged with frantic panic, the pace at which Zoom-Zoom's right hand moved increased briefly.

Then, resigned acceptance set in and everything about him stilled.

Okay. Sure. Whatever. The minibot didn't care what they decided on. It would be terrible and Prime would order them out and they would go and do it anyway. Zoom-Zoom turned a dull, uninterested gaze on the monitor. He still had nothing to say.

[Bumblebee]

Jazz's words hit Bee harder than he thought they would.

He was more than capable of doing this job, he knew he was. He wanted to help! If he thought he'd get in the way or be a hindrance to the others? He wouldn't have offered to come along. He was no stranger to being behind enemy lines. He knew the risks involved, and that was part of why he wanted to assist. Jazz and Zoom-Zoom were both capable, sure, but it was two of them against an entire facility! Having Bee there would help immensely, as he could watch them both and jump in to help if they got into trouble. He could act as a distraction while they got the real mission done and took out the towers. The fuel burning thing was... Ugh, pointless. Bee didn't take half his rations as it was, so it wouldn't really be a usage of excess fuel. Then again, they didn't know that.

He would tense up as Jazz patted him on a shoulder, his field bristling some with annoyance. He didn't look at Jazz, and aside from the tensing up? He wouldn't react outwardly. Out of everyone here, he thought Jazz would be the one pushing for Bee to go along with them, so when that didn't happen? He felt... Oddly betrayed.

Optimus only confirming Jazz's thoughts moments later did not help matters any, and Bee found his servos curling into tight fists at his sides. Only once he seemed to realize he was doing this? He'd loosely shake out his arms, and his servos relaxed once more. He was trying to focus on the screens, and the words being spoken, incase he could chime in with something that'd help them change their minds - but the all too familiar HUD error had come back, and it blipped away in the corner of his vision. He tried to ignore it, just as he had been doing for the past few days. The nauseating and strangely 'off' feeling in his chassis were both there, too, but he'd felt those for a while now and they were near constant – and he simply chalked it up to the fact he was borderline starving. He hadn't been to see Ratchet about it, as that would just be one long lecture after another about taking his ration, and he didn't want that.

A lot of what Jazz was saying seemed to be lost on Bee, like he suddenly couldn't understand what was being said. He couldn't seem to focus, and it was almost as if the words were being spoken underwater. The occasional word cut through, but he couldn't make sense of most of it – which was probably for the best, as he would've argued the point about it being the same level of difficulty as sneaking onto the Decepticon Flagship, which, by the way, Bee had done! Optimus' replies were no better, and Bee took a half step back. His servos had curled into fists once more. He... Wasn't quite sure what was going on, but again would chalk it up to hunger and the fact he was so very distracted by the flashing error. The irritability, the fact he couldn't focus? It must've been because he'd taken less than normal of his ration today.

In any case, he quickly realized that he would be no use to anyone like this. Even though he would not be going on this mission, nor did he really want to argue with Optimus over it? He would find ways to make himself useful around the Omega Base somehow so he wasn't sitting around doing anything but feeling sorry for himself. He had a feeling he'd be called upon as backup once they realized that they needed him, but until then, he'd keep himself busy.

First, though, he would get some much-needed fuel. As stubborn as he was, even he knew he was pushing himself to his limits.

--Okay. Just... Let me know when I'm needed. Good luck with the mission.-- His beeps were flat, defeated, and tired sounding. The peppy eagerness in his tone and alert posture from before had melted away. He wouldn't wait for a response to his words, and would turn to depart – making his way down toward the Rec Room.

[Jazz]

     Bee didn’t understand why Jazz had decided to voice turning him away. He knew that this mission didn’t have much information and the two of them alone was dangerous enough with what limited knowledge they had. Sure, Bee was an invaluable asset to the team and would have done nicely to watch their backs or set up a distraction while the two got inside… but to Jazz? He was irreplaceable. He’d earned his metal- so had ZZ from what he could figure ( even in spite of the skylight he’d heard about )- but Jazz had a strange sense to just keep Bee as safe as possible. He’d already rejected his own rations to ensure there was more to go around to the others, but soon even that wouldn’t help them if they didn’t do something about it. With their energy supplies limited and everyone stressed out as it was? Jazz knew the Scout was in just as dire of the situation as the rest of them. He had to be hungry, and hunger led to foolish choices and loss of focus. Jazz wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to the kid while they were inside and he couldn’t get there to help him…

     Jazz vented some, lightly so as not to draw attention to it, and turned to the monitors to see what Optimus had brought up for them. Just as he had assumed, there wasn’t much to go on. These were human facilities, and from what he could figure they were all set up about the same way with security and patrol here and there. Jazz didn’t have the shielding capabilities that Mirage did- he relied on his stealth… but this wasn’t sneaking onto a Decepticon flagship.

     “We may be small by our standards, but to the humans we’re giants. I doubt they got many places we can duck down and lay low into if we are in a narrow hallway. Certain they got this place locked up tighter than a chastity belt.” Jazz studied what was brought up. “There’s gotta be a disposal chute that leads to the outside. ZZ and I can send in our holoforms to at least survey what’s inside… see if there’s a way in that we can go undetected. At least those we can cut off if they risk bein’ seen, unlike our handsome selves.” Jazz’s visor flickered as he took in the information to save for later.

     “Two of us wanderin’ around would take half the time to check things out, but it would double the chances of bein’ seen. I think one of us goin’ in would probably be easier. The other tries to see what they can spot from outside and get some idea of a backup plan. If somethin’ happens to me inside, ZZ at least can get the hell outta dodge while I clear a path for myself. That is, if he is onboard with that.”

[Optimus Prime]

It was not intended for Bumblebee to be bashed aside as hastily as he had been, Optimus merely wished to not promise a role, before some kind of plan could be figured out. Build the roster out of the plan; don’t force a plan out of the roster. No brash decisions, no hasty thoughts. While he was saddened that he and Jazz's words had struck the scout so soundly, it also seemed to reveal his temperament some, and betray how volatile he could have been if permitted on this excursion.

Optimus has worked with Bumblebee for some time now. The mech was capable, strong, and tended to remain level headed. If he became upset or angry, it would flourish for a moment, and then temper out towards frustration more so than resentment. However, what morphed into action before him, was not very familiar, and was a side he had not been acquainted with yet. Seething, a subtle flame that burned beneath the surface... Bee's fists had clenched, a momentary motion that was not lost to the Prime, only to then back down, and become subdued.

Hunger could do much, and he had not really seen Bumblebee starved like this before. Everyone within this base coped with it differently, emotions flaring, new tones and thought processes. It was a varied response that can change the individuals you spoke to at any given moment. With enough self-awareness, it can be tempered, redirected to what you know is normal and par the course of one's typical self, but... it appeared Bee was not able to do this very well at this point. It solidified a regretful choice, but one that had seemed to have been made for him, as Bumblebee departed with little more said, leaving the original team behind.

It was not only Bee who had a response however, and Optimus picked up on it.

Being aware of one's surrounding was important, whether it was on the battlefield where it could save your life, or in one's home where it could keep a collision or other unintentional action from occurring ((Namely an unfortunate mistake regarding the children)). In this case, it allowed him to pick up on Zoom-Zoom's anxious movements. While he was too far away to sense the cold dread that quaked through the low tucked field, he could see the fidgeting movements with his hands.

Nothing to equate it to. No experiences. It could be normal, or it could not. Optimus did not know how to read the mech. For anyone else, he would have deemed it a red flag, but... it could just be a quirk, a habit... he made a note though to keep the corner of his attention on him, to make sure he was ok.

Once Bee was gone, and Jazz began speaking, Optimus' attention partly shifted away.

Tighter than a... what? You know what? Don't need to know... it went without saying that it meant it was locked up tight, even if the exact meaning was completely lost to the Prime.

Optimus considered the idea presented, not really having one of his own as of yet. That said, there were issues he could see already with this. When they were going into the supposed MECH facility in Detroit, they had managed to secure the proper badges, and information needed to pretend to be a new recruit. Anything that isn't known, anything that is flubbed, anything WRONG was easy to explain away as the two individuals being green in regards to the facility. However here? Here they had none of that. Anything out of line, can point at Jazz and damn him instantly. There was also abnormalities in routine to consider.

Routines, patrols, a single individual infiltrating alone can look out of place. That said, if Zoom-Zoom went with, two humans that were interacting and seemed to belong... it could create less suspicion. But asking the two to interact in a high tension environment, was like asking oil and water to collaborate and combine evenly without a detergent to buffer and create a bridge.

"I question how well integration can be feigned with no credentials."

Optimus finally spoke, his voice even and low, taking time to try to think this through.

"We require a badge to duplicate."

But kidnapping some soldier to take their place... even if it was MECH, that would not end up ideal for them. It'd just take one person recognizing them and trying to strike up conversation, or a higher ranked official demanding a report, and things would fall apart and they would have a repeat of Eden. There also was the dilemma of the poor human they replaced, and needing to deliver them to Fowler and all of that chaos...

They could try to hack the machine and scramble it to gain instant entry without taking on some worker's appearance, but that could trigger an alarm. If it did work however, you were back to square one about seeming... out of place.

[Deleted]

Oh what.

Zoom-Zoom's head lifted, alarmed that Bumblebee was actually leaving. He hadn't spoken up earlier, mistakenly assuming that the yellow mech would stand his ground. Or that Prime would decide that Bee was coming with, because the plan with his involvement had sounded like the best one aired thus far.

It was not to be. Instead, it seemed that the scout could just walk away. It hadn't occurred to Zoom-Zoom that sitting out a mission was a possibility, an option that was available. This was a paradigm shift, changing the way Zoom-Zoom had been assuming this was going to go down. The idea of not going on the mission glittered tantalising, lifting him out of the mood he'd sunk into.

He took it back, the minibot did care a little about what they decided on. It would be terrible no matter what, his pessimism assured him. But at least Zoom-Zoom wanted the assurance that they had done their best to think of a decent course of action. Cutting Bumblebee from this meeting meant losing out on whatever insights he had to offer. The yellow Autobot had the most exposure to humans and this was a mission that would be heavily dealing the species.

The minibot's head swung between Jazz and Prime. He frowned - not at either of them but at Bee's retreating back.

"Even if he's not coming on the mission, that doesn't mean Bumblebee can't help plan it," Zoom-Zoom muttered. "Totally not hurting for good ideas right now."

He folded his arms and stared sullenly at the ground. Part of him wished he was the one walking away right now. In fact, that part of him was desperately trying to figure out how to wiggle out of this mission. All of him wished that he was under a rock somewhere far, far away and not speaking up at all. But it felt short-sighted letting Bee go like that.

"I mean, he does know the most about humans and we are trying to take on a facility built by them, so, you know?" Zoom-Zoom shrugged, uncomfortable to be speaking up, especially in defence of another individual.

He hadn't quite figured out where he was going with this when Jazz piped up. Zoom-Zoom squinted at the sudden and complete backflip the other spook had done on his stance of scale. No matter what mental gymnastics it had taken to get there, he was glad that Jazz seemed to be clueing that this wasn't a Decepticon warship they were trying to get aboard. It'd certainly make it easier to figure out a plan of action.

The idea Jazz put forth…

Well, Zoom-Zoom wasn't entirely against it. Reconnaissance from afar, he vastly preferred over the idea of getting up close and personal with the base, when MECH had proven all too willing to blow such buildings up on the past. Overall the plan was simple and in Zoom-Zoom's case, seemed to be relatively low risk, than say, trying to get into the place like Jazz would be doing. Although judging by Prime's response, forging credentials was going to be difficult.

Ordinarily, he'd have been delighted to take the easy task.

But-

"That sounds...okay, look, this is the point where I put my hand up and ask precisely what is the mission objective," the minibot blurted. His actual hands did not go into the air, but he was rubbing against his forearm again. "Can we be clear on what we are trying to achieve? What the goals are for the mission? I kinda feel like we're trying to figure out an answer when we don't even know what the question is."

Zoom-Zoom's gaze was now fixed on the passageway Bee had taken. If the scout could leave, hopefully so could he. Now that he had started speaking, the words didn't stop, his doubts and questions came pouring out. "Right now, we barely have any intel about the facility. If surveillance and information are what we're after, well, shouldn't we wait for Fowler to instate his agents to do the looking, rather than rushing in ahead and trying to do it ourselves? If sending in holos is our best idea, we have actual humans that could do that job. Use the right tool for the right job. It'll be slower, yes. But far less likely to get caught. "

"Are we on a deadline, is there a reason this needs to be done now as opposed to later when we could have better intel? I just. I'm not seeing the point of us trying to poke at MECH as unprepared as we are right now. These bases are hard to find and, also literally liable to explode when poked at. If we set it off by accident, then all we'll gain is a crater in the ground."

It was Zoom-Zoom's opinion that this point had not been emphasised enough. Seriously. Exploding bases were not his idea of a good time.

[Jazz]

     Jazz had no issues with taking on this mission, with or without ZZ. The saboteur was not so tuned out to his surroundings to not notice that the smaller mech was looking for a way out, especially after how he reacted to seeing Bee leave. Ideas weren't a problem, but involving the Scout in this when they were already going in blind as it was? They had little information, no real way to get in, and things were...well, it was no doubt a sticky situation. More than one set of optics on it would have been beneficial but at the cost of lives?

     No. No, Jazz was not about to allow that. Risking lives? Lives that were invaluable to their team? Losing any of them was a burden on the shoulders of his old friend that he didn't want to have added to. At least, not while he was around. Hesitation got others killed; Jazz had witnessed that first-hand and that was more than enough.

     "We definitely ain't gonna find anythin' out standin'round arguin' 'bout it. Look, I seem to be the only one without an issue goin' on in, so why don't you just send me? I'll scout around the surroundin' area, try to find out what I can, then report back. I'm fine doin' it alone if ZZ don't wanna come, but I definitely don't recommend we go sendin' out others when we already don't know what we're dealin' with- especially with a fuel shortage as it is. Less need to be refueled if only one goes so lemme handle this. Once I gather what intel I can? We can go from there."

     Jazz was really just tired of standing around. They weren't getting anywhere just standing around staring at each other arguing about who didn't want to go when Jazz was more than willing to head out on his own.