[ti]Ep 3.5[/ti]How About A Deal? [closed]

[Jazz]

Jazz stared at Swindle as he took his Gyro gun out again, aiming it at him as he literally freaked out at seeing the stasis cuffs removed and now loosely being held in his grasp. 

"Swindle, so help me-"

He didn't have the time to say anything to him about aiming the gun his way, or warn him that he'd better not shoot him again, before another voice came over the channel and interrupted their little reunion. He recognized the voice right away, and from the way Swindle was reacting? So did he. 

Then the attention was on him again, at least somewhat, as the other mech seemed to be somewhere between needing to answer and trying to figure that out, while also attempting to see how to... keep him protected in his weird way? Briefly, Jazz lost himself to his thoughts, reminded of back then, when this was part of the normal, when Swindle would always be doing little things to make sure he was always safe. But that was then, this was now, and this wasn't Swindle doing anything just because it was Jazz.

This was Swindle being Swindle. 
Jazz recognized that part of Swindle as well.

Without even ralizing it, he had gotten up from his spot on the floor to now stand off to the side of the other mech, twirling the link of the stasis cuffs around on a single digit. He watched and listened, heeding Swindle's little warning in trade of being able to listen in to the little exchange, meanwhile looking at the holoscreen at the message there. Perhaps the other mech didn't know what he did, exactly, for the Autobots? As if something like that, a tiny password behind a cute little code, would keep him out. Still, there wasn't anything here on the ship that Jazz particularly needed or wanted, surely no information worth taking the time to tap into the system, so he wouldn't waste his time dealing with it. It was safe to keep the the knowledge ofh is work hidden in his subspace for later.

Instead he listened to the conversation between Swindle and Starscream. Oh boy, Swindle was certainly sucking it up to the Decepticon on the line. 

Jazz would remain silent, if only because Swindle did make one good point: He didn't want to deal with Swindle and Starscream.

[Starscream]

The lack of immediate reply to his words - while rude - wasn’t concerning, though Starscream found himself wondering what the delay was. Perhaps the mech on the other side of the line was preoccupied - if he’d crash-landed or found himself in an area with the native pests, getting to safety would be the priority.

Starscream didn’t mind the silence, though the longer it lingered? The more he wondered why. Soaring onward, he continued on toward his goal, though made no motions of increasing his speed further.

A gentle click sounded then as the comm was opened once more.

::Swindle? I know the name.::

Anyone who was anyone knew of the Casino in Kaon ran by the mech - or at least heard rumors of some of the shadier dealings that went on behind the scenes. While he’d never dealt personally with the mech, Starscream knew who he was - and thankfully, it seemed to go both ways.

::-and think nothing of it, I was already in flight. As for my ETA…::

A brief moment of silence followed, then, before another click.

::Imminently. Are you in need of medical aid?::

While he could not see the other mech nor his ship from where he currently was, he was only mere minutes away now, so it would not be long before either - or both - came into view.

[Swindle]

Imminently? Great. He needed to go.

Swindle turned to shoot Jazz a warning look while a panel flipped up from his forearm plate. The remote controls to the ship. His look was stern as if saying ‘touch anything and you’ll regret it.’ He was as serious as he could get.

The conmech then proceeded to swiftly head out of the ship, stepping quickly down the Polaris’s ramp without another word to the Autobot.

Without even needing to look at the remote, Swindle pressed a button and the ramp began to close and soon followed the door, locking Jazz inside of the ship. Swindle allowed his gyro-gun to slip back into its modded compartment and the remote panel closed.

Seeing that the ship was still cloaked, he turned and swiveled into his ALT, one that was not Earth based, for he had yet to get one. He quickly threw around a response to Starscream in his processor and he did so as he started to drive up that hill and towards the location he had originally put out the signal in, away from his ship.

Of course Starscream knew of him, who wouldn’t? Swindle was a quite reliable source for the Decepticon cause, even back in Kaon. Supplying weaponry, safe havens, and authentic products. Swindle had only ever got his servos on the good stuff.

His comm clicked, initiating a response.

: : None at all. I simply just need a reliable ally to come retrieve me, sir, after, of course, making sure there were other Decepticons here. : :

Quick and simple.

Swindle had no obligation to share anything unless he was asked direct questions, so naturally, he’s going to avoid any conversation that would raise them.

He was driving as swiftly as he could to get back to his spot, which had been a much quicker trip considering the first time he made his way over here, since he had been walking. Fortunately, he’d be there within several minutes. Hopefully Starscream wouldn’t get there before he did, but just in case, he already had an excuse lined up.

[Jazz]

Jazz had remained quiet during the little exchange, taking in what was being said and nearly gagging on Swindle's little bullshit, ass-kiss responses. The mech he knew had been always willing to make a deal with any possible client, but this level of sweet talking and faking out would have been below him. The Swindle then would have known when to put his foot down, refusing to stoop to such levels no matter what, and no matter who. Starscream wouldn't have been able to phase the conmech back then.

At least once upon a time. Before the war.
It had been a long time. Apparently that time had changed Swindle in ways he wouldn't have expected. It was almost sickening to see now. 

Then he saw the look the other gave him. He tilted his helm slightly as he watched, curious to what he was up to. This could have gone one of two ways, neither of which Jazz was too keen on. When he saw him starting to get up, he realized what choice he was making. Immediately he hated it. 

"Swindle...!" Jazz started once the conversation between the two was over, at least for now, as the other started to move out of the ship. When the hatch started to close, he got to his pedes and rushed forward, though it was too late to jump over the top of it and get out. Pressing against it proved to be useless as well. Before long it was silent and still, the hatch closing with an abrupt hiss that locked him firmly inside. To Swindle's standards, probably the safest for the both of them. For Jazz, so he wouldn't be tempted to follow, forget to check his instinct, possibly do something stupid. For Swindle, something of the same, only probably to spare himself the embarrassment of Jazz using their past against him, or whatever paranoid thoughts he had going through his stalled processor. 

Because right now? Jazz was frustrated and angry, more at Swindle for locking him in here and high tailing it out. A feeling that hit his spark hard as he started to pound on the  hatch with the side of his fist. 

"Swindle! Damn it, open this door! Swindle!" Oh, he hoped that some part of that old link still lingered in Swindle's frame somewhere so he could feel just how annoyed he was about it. After another coupleo of hits and a kick, his audials picked up on the sounds of a revving engine driving away. With a grumble, he kicked the hatch once more before pausing in his struggles to look around in the dark for something else to focus on.

His visor picked up on the control panel.

Realistically, he could hack it. As Jazz walked to the pilot seat, he flopped down into it and stared at the console silently, looking it over with almost a look of disapproval. For a mech who was far too protective of his things, Swindle had certainly decided to lack in the security department, which was surprising to him. One servo rested gently over the controls, feeling the switches as the gears within the tips of his digits started to pivot. 

Did Swindle really not know what he did? Had the Decepticons really been so lackluster in their sharing of information? 

"Disappointed in ya, Megatronus. But mostly in you, Swindle."

[Starscream]

Spiraling downward, the silver Seeker arrived at the location indicated by the coordinates far faster than planned, and was quick to shift into his root mode as he made his final descent. Heeled pedes sinking ever so slightly into the soft dirt below as he landed - something that was met with a grumble as he quickly took a step to readjust his weight, wings flaring outward before settling some on his back.

::Consider yourself retrieved,:: he started, peering around - optics narrowing as he realized that the mech in question was nowhere to be seen. There were no obvious signs of anyone or anything - especially not a Cybertronian freshly arrived on the planet.

::Where exactly are you?:: he growled - his voice wasn’t quite to the point of irritation, but knowing just who he was dealing with? The absence was immediately noted, and as such, his free servo would shift back and into his arm, replaced moments later with an energon blaster.

Swiveling quickly on his heel, he would turn in the direction of what sounded like an oncoming vehicle - though would not make any motions of firing his weapon.

[Swindle]

An audible groan escaped the conmech as that comm came through the frequency. Frag it. This was not great…

Of course the Seeker arrived before him, he had a tank twisting feeling that he would.

Swindle wouldn’t have been in this situation if Jazz hadn’t shown up, that mech was always a problem. Too bad Swindle was already dreading his trip to this organic planet, though hopefully he could still cover up his own tracks…

:: I was exploring the scenery not too far, I couldn’t help but think to myself that this could make a great retirement planet, so I decided to see if I could get a better view of it. ::

As Swindle approached the location and drove up the hill, Starscream soon came into view and his armed weapon did not go unnoticed. A quick surge of anxiety split through Swindle, he felt the pressure of his situation begin to weigh down on him. He needed to be casual, and play his cards right. With a quick reset of perspective, Swindle submerged his nerves and dove into the situation with his sights set on the opportunity gain.

Swindle slowed once he got half way up the hill before his frame swiveled, shifted and clicked into place as he transformed into his bi-pedal form. The transition from his transformation into his confident saunter was smooth, as if he’s perfected an entrance for himself many times before… in which he had. His arms casually slipped behind his back plates and his digits interlaced with each other. His bright, purple, and ambitiously wide optics locked onto the Seeker while a warm grin formed on his intake. The polished Scatter Blaster Cannon reflecting the sun’s light on his right arm rested idly, it was clear that Swindle took pride in his weapon’s presentation.

“You Seekers really do live up to your title, being the fastest in the skies and all, you really set that bar much higher than I originally was led to believe! Though I expect nothing less from the Lord of the Skies.”

Swindle halted as soon as he reached the top of the hill and gave a respectful nod to Starscream, “I had been hoping to be here before you arrived so that my lateness wouldn't leave a bad impression, sorry to leave you waiting. I’m grateful you even answered my call.”

The conmech’s grin didn’t falter and he allowed his arms to slip from their hold behind him. His left arm curved up and with a flick of his servo, his digits extended out to the side, gesturing to the planet they were on.

“So this is where Decepticons have been, eh? I wish I would have known sooner. It has been quite a long time since I’ve seen such a nice, peaceful planet. You just can’t get luxury like this these cycles! Not even from Nexus Zero or Pz-zazz, can you believe that? It has gotten real tough to navigate without getting shot at out there.” He wrapped up, now jabbing his thumb digit upward with a bit of an annoyed expression, but that quickly switched back to his casual grin.

“Nothing that I can not handle, of course.”

[Starscream]

((Skipping Jazz as per player request.))

Tsking softly at Swindle's words - namely the part about exploring - Starscream could only roll his optics as he took note of the oncoming mech and his choice of altmode, free servo lifting to his helm as he replied.

::If you wanted a better view, you should've opted for flight…:: he mused this, a touch of smugness to his tone that simply couldn't be helped. If the Decepticons still had access to the Nemesis, the grounders could get their fill of seeing the planet from above, but there wasn't much to see from ground level.

At least not here, anyway.

Waiting patiently without word as the other mech shifted forms a short ways away, his gaze shifted immediately to the weapon, noting just how immaculate it was in terms of presentation. His own energon blaster was well cared for, though did not dazzle spectacularly under the sun.

Though his wasn't simply for show, and he wondered - if only for a moment - if Swindle had gotten much use out of it, as it certainly stood out in an instant against the rest of his frame to the point it almost looked out of place, in a way.

Tensing ever so slightly as the mech finally made his way over, out of habit more than any real fear he nodded at Swindle's words, a smile that wasn't quite there twitched at his lip - compliments always went over well.

"-Though I expect nothing less from the Lord of the Skies.”

"Indeed."

Shifting his weight, his free servo would move to ease behind his back - and while his own weapon was still on display, he kept it angled down and away so as to not appear threatening. Could never be too careful, after all, and while a missile would be far faster - he did not want to waste one.

"I was not waiting long, though it's curious indeed how you picked now of all times to explore, given your unfamiliarity with the planet…"

Something wasn't adding up here, though he couldn't quite place what it was. Usually with new arrivals, they either managed to contact from off-planet to receive a bridge, made their way here via a powerful space-capable altmode, or through the means of pod or ship. Swindle had no flight capabilities of his own, yet was here - unharmed, and seemingly alone.

It was a thought that lingered as Swindle continued, smirking gently at his words as something seemed to click.

"This planet is anything but peaceful, despite initial impressions leading you to believe otherwise. The Autobots are here, along with a new and dangerous enemy found within the native pests." getting that spiel out of the way, the arm that had eased behind his back only moments ago moved, gesturing to the other mech as he continued.

"Shot at by who, exactly? How did you make your way here, as you certainly didn't fly."

It hadn't been a space bridge, or at least, one that he was aware of. Soundwave or whatever Vehicon manned the Control Panel would've no doubt had some part in that, should it have been the case.

[Swindle]

Being deceitful was second nature to this mech, he was always playing cheap cards that were believable enough to barely get by. Swindle dared to even call lying his real profession… but even still, it was times like this where even he doubted himself.

"-I was not waiting long, though it's curious indeed how you picked now of all times to explore, given your unfamiliarity with the planet…"

The mech only shrugged slightly at Starscream before flashing him a grin that clearly spoke louder than words, a look that seemed to be saying… ‘Could you blame me?’ or, perhaps something similar in meaning…

Talking to any superior put a lot of pressure on Swindle, he had to make sure he was getting his stories straight, even if they were false. The only advantage he had in this situation was that he wasn’t super close to the Decepticon’s Second in Command. So, hopefully, as long as his stories were believable and he played everything off casually, he should be alright.

However, not knowing Starscream also posed a disadvantage to the situation. Swindle couldn’t be too sure if the seeker knew much about himself, he also wasn’t sure how gullible Starscream was… which made it hard to gauge how far he could push his stories.

“Haha!” The mech guffawed at Starscream’s remark.

“Autobot’s, Decepticons, and native forces all causing trouble on one planet? I’m surprised how well you have kept it!” He commented with a rather amused grin before standing at ease before the commander, but the grin then flattened into a light frown as he looked the seeker up and down in a curious manner as he thought about how to reply to his question.

“You- you must be kidding about ‘by who’, right? … Just how long have you guys been on this planet…?” Swindle asked, that last part mostly being rhetorical. He was clearly pondering on the thought that Starsceam didn’t actually know the answer to what he had meant.

“Mercenaries hired throughout the universe of course, We Cybertronians aren’t exactly… mmmm, how do I say… welcomed... anywhere, after our Civil War spread to the stars.” Swindle finally answered before shrugging, “If it’s not the Autobots who are trying to bring us down, it's someone else. That is the way things are out there, unfortunately.”

That wasn’t a lie…

“But Me? Fly? HA! That's funny! There's no way I’d get my bulky chassis off the ground even if I sprouted a pair of wings right now. You don't need to be a scientist to figure that one out. I’ll leave that fancy stuff to mechs like you.” he chuckled.

 “But, enough about me! I’m not that important, unlike you. I’m sure you are far more interesting, as is this planet! I want to know more about what the Decepticons have been up to! Are you the one in charge over everyone here? Oh! and that warning you gave about the natives. What makes them so dangerous?” He asked, tilting his helm oh-so curiously fully knowing that he had only partially addressed Staracream’s latest inquiry.

[Jazz]

There were so many things that Jazz could be doing here, so much trouble that he could make for Swindle if he just poked around a bit here and there. Swindle was nothing if not a mech of habit, and making cut throat deals for his own benefit was just one of them. The other?

He was sadly predictable. A mech like him didn't change his colors, not when he was so hooked on characteristics that worked for him.

Jazz was a sabatoteur by trade, a notorous little pain in the aft to the Decepticons for more reasons than one. He'd taken down ships far larger than this in far less time, but for now? He just wanted to be a little more nosey than anything else. If Starscream was here to pick Swindle up, maybe he'd be able to listen in? Surely the ship had some sort of sound array. Swindle would want to us his baby to spy on others at the best of times, and if he could sit in the comforts of his ship while doing so, surely he'd do so.

A bit more typing, a few more access codes, a little...

He slid out of the chair and crawled down on his hands and knees to craw under the console so he could roll over and lay on his back, then went to work removing the access panel. He just needed to rework a few wires here and there, not only to get what he wanted, but to leave Swindle a little surprise for whenever he got his worthless ass back to the ship.

[Starscream]

Keeping his attention on the other mech, Starscream couldn't help but take in the bigger picture. While his gaze and focus may have been on Swindle, he was making sure to remain aware of the surrounding area. Every ambient noise was noted, the snap of a distant branch as some Earthly critter scurried past was listened to - its location narrowed down, though not quite to the point he could pinpoint it exactly.

Despite this almost paranoia, he still listened to what the other mech was saying - and would nod at his words, tsking gently.

"-I’m surprised how well you have kept it!”

"Not for a lack of trying. Just as we remain hidden, so too do the Autobots. Encounters are regretfully few and far between."

For now.

With Patch tucked safely away out of reach of both Autobot and the majority of the Decepticons alike, it was only a matter of time until she cracked for good, revealing the location of whatever hovel they'd managed to crawl and hide away in for so long.

The sudden shift from grin to frown was noted, and his optics narrowed slightly in response. He wouldn't answer the question, lip curling into a sneer as Swindle continued.

"-That is the way things are out there, unfortunately.”

"I am aware." his voice wasn't quite a growl, though it was short - and to the point. It'd taken much to get to Earth, even with the Nemesis. Their war had spanned more than just Cybertron, with countless innocents throughout the void of Space pulled into it - their own planets laid to ruin in the crossfire. They were not liked – no matter their faction – and even here on Earth there were those that were hostile toward them.

Even though the circumstances surrounding their human enemies were a little different.

Briefly – and it was only for a second if that – his gaze snapped to a bird that'd been startled from whatever branch it'd been sitting in. It fluttered frantically with a few squeaks of protest for good measure, before vanishing into another area within the safety of the brush.

He'd half stopped paying attention to Swindle's rambling, and it was only when the other mech finished speaking that he would respond. The arm that'd gestured toward the grounder earlier looped casually behind his back – the other, with energon blaster still on display – tilted ever so slightly toward him. Not quite a full threatening motion, more a simple reminder that it was there. With this, his wings angled upward some, flaring outward.

"Don't try to deflect." there was a warning laced within his words, though his tone remained neutral.

"I'll answer whatever questions you have and then some when I am satisfied by the answers to my own. How did you make your way here?"

Swindle was certainly hiding something, the awkward rambles and attempts at compliments were almost proof enough of that, even to one who wasn't well versed in deception - it was just a matter of working out what.

[Swindle]

There were a small handful of skills that made Swindle dangerous to anyone who didn’t know him. It was in his best interest to manipulate others into his games, and so long as he came out of a situation with something then, he considered himself successful.

These games were tricky, always. He’d even go as far as gambling with mechs who'd kill Swindle if he messed up- this happened a lot actually, even if some were just an empty threat, Swindle didn’t take that sort of thing lightly. Of course, these situations have been avoidable, mostly, due to his smooth talking and bribing. Usually he tried just hard enough to cause a bit of damage before dipping in case things blew up.

There have been times where the mech had been rejected or completely exposed, not his best moments… and… unfortunately, this conversation with Starscream was beginning to go in that direction, especially when the seeker called him out immediately.

Swindle let out a soft chuckle and instinctively played dumb out of a surge of fear of exposure.

“Ha! I suppose that's fair-” he began, what's better than lying? Lying about lying.

“Deflect? I wasn't trying to deflect, honest, my boundless curiosity is just getting the better of me!” he added, trying to attempt to cover up his tracks.

Despite the heavy pulses of his spark surging nervous energy through his frame, he did well to hold his EM field so close to himself, however it was suffocating him in internal panic. Swindle couldn’t afford to risk exposing everything he’s encountered since arriving here in his very, very short period of time. His encounter with an Autobot… his ship… said Autobot IN his ship- that alone was constantly in the back of his mind. He was completely regretting his idea of locking Jazz up in the most expensive thing he owned.

Swindle tilted his helm to the left, stretching his neck cables out for a few seconds while he scratched at his chin plate, “It’s not anything grand, I was simply dropped off here. I had some buddies who owed me a favor so I asked them to bring me here after discovering the Decepticons were currently in this sector of the galaxy.” Swindle said, adding a little shrug and looking back at the Air Commander before him, flashing him his usual grin. “Real nice guys to do business with, but unfortunately they told me this was a one way trip and they won't come back for me, so I had to decide if I wanted to burn down that bridge or not… but I figured I’d be much better off with the rest of my faction, anyways.”

[Jazz]

"There we go." After a while the saboteur slid out from the panel box under the console and stood up, brushing his servos together. Things had lit up for him with a little fandangling here and there, but it hadn't completely opened up. He went about typing in a few commands, hacking into some minor overrides and-

"Don't try to deflect."

Now it was time to sit back, enjoy the show for what it was. Now that he pretty much had things within his reach he did just that, sitting down in the pilot seat to listen. Jazz hadn't become one of the mechs wanted dead or alive in this war for nothing. One should have known better than to leave a ship in his very capable servos. When even prisoner transport ships weren't safe from him? His designation wasn't exactly one that made anyone happy to hear it, sometimes even on his own faction.

He was curious to why Swindle either wasn't aware of that fact, didn't care, or... 

Jazz spun slightly in the seat so that he could glance at the rest of the ship, taking note of what he could see of what was here. Swindle wasn't a mech who changed his habits, no matter how much time had passed since last time he'd seen him. He kept things he held dear or knew he could fetch a good price for close to him, lines that were blurred more than once from what he recalled, and no doubt had also not changed. The casino had fallen way back, so everything on this ship, including the ship itself, were those such things. Who knew how long Swindle had been collecting this stuff, what efforts he had gone through to aquire them. He had already indicated that he was proud of what he had here.

Taking this ship and getting out of dodge wouldn't be right. Swindle would be pissed, and it would probably put the conmech in a really tough situation with Starscream.

Then he remembered what else  could have been somewhere on this ship. His servo clenched into a fist on the console then turned back to face it. 

For now, Jazz would just listen and wait. He hadn't decided if he felt like getting his own payback at Swindle yet or not.