Ep. 1 - Office Politics - (Closed)
Jan 17, 2014 11:11:06 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2014 11:11:06 GMT -5
It was one distraction after another.
First the batch of unstable energon stores. Then, shortly after dawn a minor auxiliary power unit had failed, which threatened a potential for power loss throughout the Q40 rooms on level eighteen should the far starboard engine cluster ever shut down. Luckily most of that area was designated for the bulkheads, which would suffer few ill effects resulting from a loss of electrics. The electromagnetic shields were not in danger, as they were backed up by their own wall of APUs. Still, it was a nuisance snag that had called for a handful of engineers to chase it down.
Then one of the gun batteries had reported a heat spike in the discharge system of their bank of aft ion cannons. Then a scattering of clogged filters in the air induction systems needed to be investigated, followed by reports of corrosion discovered in the forward ventral plating. The last two at least could be blamed directly on the particles of water vapour and salt the Nemesis routinely encountered while flying above this miserable damp planet. Corrosion was an insidious threat to any craft, one that never relented. He and Knock Out had griped about its malevolent chemistry quite frequently in the past. It was worse than the Autobots.
Few of the Decepticons understood that.
For many of the drones working maintenance this was their first time operating for prolonged periods outside of Cybertron's scrubbed and sterilized atmosphere, or the vacuum of space. It had become painfully clear to him that there would be a need for him to revise the maintenance schedules of several vital systems on board the ship in order to see to it that certain inspections were completed at more routine intervals, if they didn't want Earth to work its slow and subtle revenge against them. Managing the corrosion alone was going to require raw material as well, both steel and chemical. As if he didn't have enough on his plate.
Starscream stalked towards the bridge, his mind distracted with schematics. Among its crew he arguably had the broadest experience in dealing with the effects of planetary conditions on a vessel operating within sub-orbital altitudes. As second in command it was his duty to oversee all off the ship's operations - and that included the snag list. Sourly, he entertained the thought of simply flying off the Nemesis and letting the entire thing slowly rot from the sky.
Except that, for millions of years, the Nemesis had been his ship. And he would be damned if he allowed anyone to run it into the ground. Not while he still needed it.
Noise rang down the hall, and he glanced up. A unit of Vehicon's approached, with a strange Decepticon walking between then. Starscream narrowed his optics. Oh, the bug. And his escort to the bridge and to Megatron. Item number forty-one on the day's list of snags.
He stopped and waited, his hands folded behind his back.
The Vehicon's saluted as they drew to a halt in front of him. They sent him a silent communication, and Starscream arched a brow. He nodded his acknowledgement and dismissed the schematics.
"Ah yes, Kickback," he said drily. "Here for your bi-millennia report to Lord Megatron, of course."
First the batch of unstable energon stores. Then, shortly after dawn a minor auxiliary power unit had failed, which threatened a potential for power loss throughout the Q40 rooms on level eighteen should the far starboard engine cluster ever shut down. Luckily most of that area was designated for the bulkheads, which would suffer few ill effects resulting from a loss of electrics. The electromagnetic shields were not in danger, as they were backed up by their own wall of APUs. Still, it was a nuisance snag that had called for a handful of engineers to chase it down.
Then one of the gun batteries had reported a heat spike in the discharge system of their bank of aft ion cannons. Then a scattering of clogged filters in the air induction systems needed to be investigated, followed by reports of corrosion discovered in the forward ventral plating. The last two at least could be blamed directly on the particles of water vapour and salt the Nemesis routinely encountered while flying above this miserable damp planet. Corrosion was an insidious threat to any craft, one that never relented. He and Knock Out had griped about its malevolent chemistry quite frequently in the past. It was worse than the Autobots.
Few of the Decepticons understood that.
For many of the drones working maintenance this was their first time operating for prolonged periods outside of Cybertron's scrubbed and sterilized atmosphere, or the vacuum of space. It had become painfully clear to him that there would be a need for him to revise the maintenance schedules of several vital systems on board the ship in order to see to it that certain inspections were completed at more routine intervals, if they didn't want Earth to work its slow and subtle revenge against them. Managing the corrosion alone was going to require raw material as well, both steel and chemical. As if he didn't have enough on his plate.
Starscream stalked towards the bridge, his mind distracted with schematics. Among its crew he arguably had the broadest experience in dealing with the effects of planetary conditions on a vessel operating within sub-orbital altitudes. As second in command it was his duty to oversee all off the ship's operations - and that included the snag list. Sourly, he entertained the thought of simply flying off the Nemesis and letting the entire thing slowly rot from the sky.
Except that, for millions of years, the Nemesis had been his ship. And he would be damned if he allowed anyone to run it into the ground. Not while he still needed it.
Noise rang down the hall, and he glanced up. A unit of Vehicon's approached, with a strange Decepticon walking between then. Starscream narrowed his optics. Oh, the bug. And his escort to the bridge and to Megatron. Item number forty-one on the day's list of snags.
He stopped and waited, his hands folded behind his back.
The Vehicon's saluted as they drew to a halt in front of him. They sent him a silent communication, and Starscream arched a brow. He nodded his acknowledgement and dismissed the schematics.
"Ah yes, Kickback," he said drily. "Here for your bi-millennia report to Lord Megatron, of course."