Ep 2.-Too Greedily and Too Deep (Closed, Member List Below)

[Deleted]

Airlia/Roulette + Bolo/Carbine + Fairwinds/Megatron + Possibly some humans, depends on the Balrog.

Week 3, Day 7 - Mid-morning.
Mines have an exceedingly common habit of turning into caves; a laymech might expect that a paid-out mine is, somehow, no longer there, but anyone who's carved wealth of one sort or another out of stone knows that the vast, dark empty spaces remain and expand: caves grow over the years as tectonic plates shift; water, that universal equalizer, comes and goes; softer materials are ground away to dust; hairline fractures become narrow tunnels, gravel shafts are emptied and refilled. Living planets heal and change almost as much as living bodies.

The DMZ had, at its heyday, probably been a very rich energon mine. It showed on its tunnels, wide and well-braced even before they had been expanded for common traffic, and on its chambers, spacious and smoothed to habitation with a minimum of effort. However, as all such systems, its unused space had grown over the years: pressure and use above had transferred to cracks and density shifts below. Its structural integrity was not affected, and thank goodness for that, but that was not the only concern; eternal optimism ever rearing its head, there was the consideration of whether the new interstices could be made fit for habitation. In the spirit of cooperation and gratitude that the DMZ had offered their assistance during the truce, Soundwave had offered to run density tests and whatever other possible examinations he could of the lattice beneath the Neutral Base. It was, actually, soothing in its own way to attend to such a simple, straightforward task after spending shifts on end focused on the tremendous and elusive puzzle that was MECH. The Decepticon 3IC, however, come to the point where density soundings were not doing the job anymore, and short of actually going down into the new tunnel systems and physically examining each and every opening, he had no way of knowing which of the openings were dead ends, and which were actual shafts. It was time and effort he could not spare, for all that he had an ulterior motive to volunteer with the mapping.

How convenient, then, that the truce had provided Soundwave with a slightly larger pool of volunteers.

He could not presume on the time of other mecha, his own or the Prime's; instead, he sent a general message to the cassettes and cassette partners in both the Autobot and Decepticon rosters, seeking volunteers for a simple exploration and mapping of a new section of narrow tunnels and crevices below the DMZ. His message included Megatron and Fairwinds both, not because he expected the Warlord to show up but because he thought Fairwinds might enjoy the distraction; he was fairly certain his liege lord had had about enough of mucking about in caves, no matter how safe they might seem. Otherwise, should the Autobots wish to bow out, it would be on their heads; he was fairly certain he had at least one femme 'volunteer' he could call upon.

He deployed Laserbeak, who moved to hover over his shoulder, and began uploading the map he did have on his own cassette; it was the least he could offer those who might be, ahem, volunteered. Preemptively he sent word ahead to ground bridge controls, so that his 'volunteers' would not get a chance to get cold feet.

[Carbine]

Helm damage could be quite a bitch.

Many thousands of years ago, Carbine had undergone a harsh attack that had ripped open the side of his helm and permanently broken many of the components left within. Limited medical aid given to convicted felons meant that he never had proper repairs offered to him, and once he was free the war stripped away such technology in a way that having the centers replaced would be far more risky. What may have been a complex but reliable process to remove the language center entirely and re-install a new one, would now hold a risk of the damage spreading due to flecks of rust or other contaminants hitting other portions of the brain module.

No surgery for him thanks.

This was always evident in the way he spoke, a bit of static, a bit of a stutter, or a replaced word making it have a couple hurdles to understand. The biggest issue however was an inability to process visual languages. From signs to text on a datapad, it was all just weird squiggles to him and couldn't be figured out. Only way to even guess was contextual situations, such as knowing a red sign hanging from a ceiling probably indicated an exit.

It was this issue that made him confused as hell.

Receiving a packet comm to accept wasn't impossible, Thunder had sent him some occasionally of pictures or recordings to be opened whenever instead of just blurt yelling it in a direct link, but this wasn't that. Carbine had opened it, and immediately closed when he could only see a bunch of glyphs that were not pleasant to look at with his handicap. With the file in mind, waiting to know what to do with it, Carbine pushed open the door to where Thunder was, and politely asked the jet to decipher it.

By 'polite' it meant he flung the packet at him though memorized motions on his unreadable HUD, and demanded.

Close enough.

Thunder paused upon receiving the comm, reading it over carefully before getting one of those horrible sarcastic grins on his face that Carbine was all too well versed in. The Carrier just blankly watched, waiting for his comrade to get his slag together, before he finally replied.

"It's from some skraggy 'Con who wants your dick. Says to meet him up at the DMZ so he can show you a good time. Also somethin' about a meetin' between the factions or whatever."

Carbine's expression didn't change, the glow of his eyes through his visor remaining a thin narrowed glare of two downturned bands. He just waited, knowing that sure as heck wasn't what the message was.

"Carriers only or some slag."

"Yeah no, I re-̡recognize that as tr-tr-t̵r-K͡Z̶Z͠T͜-gch-fact as much ͡a͢s ̡I recognize Rend as t͠he l̷eader̀ ͟of͟ G̷a͘rrųs."

After some banter between the two, and a bit of arguing that was standard for them, Carbine finally realized that there was maybe probably possibly some sort of actual meeting going on at the neutral base he should be a part of. It was... odd that he of all Autobots was being summoned, because he didn't think he was really the best to 'play well' with others, especially during a truce that was just barely started and was probably on shaky grounds. But... he did have Bolo, and Bolo was fucking awesome.

-

Carbine stepped through the ground bridge without really any idea on what exactly he was doing there. He had the basic concept, that he was meant to scout something out, but he never really got the full bit of information considering he had been getting in a verbal slapfight with 'Flapjack'. It is because of this he meandered aimlessly forward away from the vortex as it closed behind him, the area plunging into a darker illumination that had his lens plates dialing larger to try to accommodate.

He got a few steps towards the hallway that connected this room to the rest of the base, ready to just walk around and see wherever it was he may be expected to be, but before he did so the ground bridge peeled open once more. This caused him to spin about, and lens plates to contract once more in dismay at the light fluctuation. He was curious who he was expected to work with, but if it was a certain boxy huge rank stank mech he may need to strain the edge of the truce just a bit to greet him with a totally nonlethal, totally non aggressive, and COMPLETELY friendly bit of strangulation.

[Deleted]

True horror was Soundwave sending an assignment that had anything to do with caves. The moment she received the report, Roulette immediately balked at the idea. Hell no she was not going into another cave to explore for that mech. Primus knows, this time it might actually kill her. She was still digging grit out of her joints despite Knockout's overzealous overhaul. (Ok, so maybe a lot of that was psychosomatic paranoia and the dirt was only there in her head) However, it was uncanny that he would send this task one slagging week to the date of the last cave disaster. Either the mech had a hell of a sense of humor or he really was the quiet sadist everyone thought he was.

In the confines of her room, Airlia was the only one to witness Roulette blow up over the assignment. Thankfully she only ranted to the air about how unfair this was and how this was a conspiracy to destroy her. Before the swan took matters into her own snooty hands and derailed the crazy train. Some what calmed by her cassette, Roulette sat on the edge of her bed and reflected that having the swan about was probably a good thing for her. Even if the demanding beast just had to have a gem encrusted throne to sleep on.

The more she thought over the assignment (and dragged her heels about the whole affair) the more logic dictated that maybe Soundwave wasn't trying to kill her after all and that this was just odd timing at its best. And at the worst, Airlia was really the one being tasked to explore while Roulette waited. Which was all sorts of nerve wracking in its own way. She didn't like the idea of her cassette squeezing into small tunnels that could collapse on her and trap her. The very idea twisted something inside like a wild animal trapped in a noose.

However, orders were orders. And while Roulette might grumble and huff and, in general, bitch about her lot in life she always resorted to following orders. Calming herself and forcing her thoughts into a more upbeat track, the femme gathered anything she might need for the task (a newly restocked tool kit, her datapad, etc) before letting Airlia dock onto her. Having another attached to her was still incredibly bizarre feeling and the femme had to strangle down the guilt every time she came into contact with the swan.

At the groundbridge she didn't have time to balk out of the task as it was already waiting for her like an ugly, glowing flower and she had an irritated thought that Soundwave really was a sadist and knew exactly what he was doing. But she certainly wouldn't let him know that he was getting to her! She had a job to do and, usually through hell and high water, her success rate was relatively high on her assignments. Yes, a cave had collapsed on them but, by golly, they had made quite sure the cave was structurally unfit.

With a last wave at the console geeks manning the bridge of the ship, she sauntered through the portal with at least the right amount of uncaring swagger even if inside she was about as responsive as a cat being dragged to a bath. If anything, time off of the ship was always nice and she was a tad curious as to who the Bots had in relations to the cassette partnership. It was always good to scope out the competition.

[Deleted]

Upon receiving Soundwave's message, Fairwinds had come out of her cupboard, perched up on the corner of Megatron's desk and proceeded to watch him. He, in turn, ignored her until he was done with the stack of tactical reports he'd been facing for the part hour. Only when the last datapad was set aside did he fold his hands and regard the cassette.

"Soundwave has requested volunteers for this mission. Go if you wish." He arched a sizeable brow, his mouth twisting into a scarred parody of a smile. "Though we must show willing with the ongoing state of the DMZ."

Fairwinds sniffed and scratched at one foot with the other. Her new feet were still adjusting at the connection points, the neural fibers occasionally sending the odd itchy shiver of feedback. "Oh, I wanna go, Master. I'm gonne get there bright and early and be awesome and do the game and win the points. I was just wonderin' if you were gonna go..."

Megatron's optics narrowed in a glare, brief and on the mild end of his spectrum. He picked up another datapad and shifted his weight across his pedes, making a show of settling in to concentrate. "And why would I wish to attend this farce?"

It was a rhetorical question, mostly, but Fairwinds didn't believe in those. "Roulette and Airlia are going."

"And?"

Fairwinds dared to scuttle closer, smirking as she did so. "Well, the last time you and Rou' went spelunking-"

"Fairwinds...."

"Optimus has been going over to-"

"Shut up," Megatron barked, slamming down the datapad.

The cassette scuttled back to her original position and sat down. There, she made a zipping motion with her talon and a new thumb across her beak.

Megatron went back to reading and studiously ignoring her. Fairwinds waited a full minute before unzipping her beak again and starting forward. "We might need your mining expertise, Master. At least, if you're nearby, if there's a cave in and my poor little broken body is trapped, you can save me right away. All heroic-like."

The warlord touched a single talon to the space between his shuttered optics, growling low in his engine. Fairwinds took that as her cue to abandon the course and stepped backwards off the table, flaring her wings and landing neatly on the decking a moment later.

*

Fairwinds 'bridged to Haven at the provided co-ordinates a few minutes later than scheduled. She looked around the Atrium, taking in the assorted ankles bustling about, before migrating to the seating area.

Someone had left the television on. Not wasting the opportunity for some cartoons, Fairwinds found the controller and began channel surfing whilst she opened up a comm. to Roulette.

::Yo, I'm in Neutieville. Where you at?::




OOC: Megatron will be bridging into the Atrium and kinda lurking after the cassettes have gone.

[Deleted]

The consideration shown by Soundwave by sending the ‘volunteer’ assignment to herself as well as her master means that for once Airlia has a good idea of why Roulette is freaking out this time. Too often the femme goes insane for reasons unexplained, which makes the task of reminding her fussing rarely accomplishes anything beyond more chaos much more difficult. Not that she’s particularly looking forward to mapping out an underground labyrinth, cassette or not she is still a flight frame and dislikes enclosed spaces.

Still, better to deal with Roulette’s issues regarding tunnel mapping sooner than later. Even if the femme herself won’t be doing much more than acting as a safety should something horrible happen. She is really hoping nothing goes horribly wrong, but no one ever accused her of being an optimist. Chances are at least some part of this mission will end up not to plan.

It’s still a bit of a surprise that Roulette finally did consent to adding a docking port, to be honest the swan figured she’d have put it off for much much longer. Whether because she preferred her autonomy, or because it would be wrecking a small piece of her late sister’s memory, or even because Roulette’s not the largest of frames, and Airlia not the smallest cassette, making docking a bit bulky and awkward looking. Not enough to throw off the femme’s balance, but when docked the swan is the most stylish of backpack-esqe accessories.

Docking is however convenient for hitching a ride and making the trek to the ground bridge a much shorter one. Airlia is poise, and grace, but she is hampered by the relative stubbiness of her legs. She can run, but it’s…. awkward. And makes a funny slapping noise on the floor from the shape of her pedes. No, it’s much better to let Roulette do the walking for now, only allowing her long neck to protrude from her otherwise neatly collapsed form to observe the unfamiliar base on the far side of the ‘bridge. And the unfamiliar mechs, and potential threats to her Master, therein.

[Deleted]

[Skip me until one of you heathens gets to Sounders >3 I can only imagine what the intervening conversation will be like.]

[Carbine]

Thankfully what had walked out wasn't a huge square dump truck that was bound to be punched. Instead it was small, much smaller than he had anticipated, and it showed in the way his raised helm gradually slipped down to peer at the Cybertronian to exit through into the room. With the light gifted from the Ground Bridge abruptly vanishing once more, it took him a moment to fully focus in and see who it was. He had not come across or met many Decepticons in his time on Earth, it really limited down to... like... two...

Oh.

Seeing that it was a small Femme triggered an instantaneous change in Carbine that wasn't necessarily for the better. His unseen features contorted and twisted back into the widest of Cheshire grins that could only be seen via a crescent shaped upturn of his optics that shone through the visor. His stance was bold, long legs stretched, and spine straight, as he was plenty prepared to make a corny comment or other thing. Maybe he would try to do something akin to an authoritative police figure, which always earned points in the past... Ladies liked Cybertronian in career paints... but he didn't. He only paused as he saw the... head?... popping up over the femme's shoulder?

The shock of seeing another Carrier and Cassette combo alarmed him, and was a much harder blow to his stance than finding out it had been a Femme. His kind, carrier kind, was not very common any longer. They were rare, and cassettes were even more rare since they tended to be so tiny and easy to pick off in the reality of war. Carbine had personally had to scrape the remains of some out from battlefields, more often than not bashed aside by a single hand, or stepped upon in the chaos...

They had tried their best.

Carbine used to have many 'brothers' and 'sisters' in arms, other police mech and femmes who were carved out of nearly identical, if not identical molds. Among them were plenty of Carriers like himself with their own hounds that served for their city. Despite being all of police mentality and upbringing, the Carrier culture was still different. The concept of sharing oneself so entirely and thoroughly as a physical docking that could go as deep as a spark link could be seen as invasive to those who did not walk that path in life.

But it was normal to them.

And here was someone who could possibly relate.

Carbine thought Thunder had been pulling his chain with a cruel joke to say it was Carrier only. He laughed it off, but it had hurt a little thinking it was a sought after treat dangled in front of his nose plates just out of range. But no, here he was, around someone who could understand him better, and all he could think to do, was turn into the most idiotic little shitheel fueled with crazy like a little girl who just got shown a kitten.

The ex-cop made a bit of a popped squawk noise that was abruptly cut off, before he took a couple steps forward. With the disproportionally long legs, he crossed the ground rather quickly, to unintentionally loom over Roulette with all of his helicopter mass height. This didn't last long though, as a snarl of hydraulics had him stooping down into a near squat immediately after. One hand was clapped over his plated knee, and the other hand held out palm up in a respectful motion that was honoring her personal bubble enough, yet was requesting more.

"May I se͜e y͘ou̴r cassette?"

He chirped out, sounding very happy, his field flicking with excitement. He didn't know the intelligence of the... whatever it was that had its head poking out... but he was prepared for anything. Dumb little animal that needed to be treated carefully and with physical tells more than verbal? Can do! If it was intelligent like a full carrier or other Cybertronian? Also not a problem! He could speak to it just as anyone else. He just... really wanted to meet another of his kind and right now that outweighed all flirting and other sillier acts by a long shot.

[Deleted]

Roulette's first impulse was to clutch her cassette to her chest like a fearful mother protecting her child from a baby eating alligator. But that idea was ridiculous for several reasons. Airlia wasn't a sparkling, the swan was already attached to her back, and she doubted that a mech was much into wanton random murder. That last one could have went either way, really, but the excited field and polite posture suggested otherwise. Still, the femme took a step back. The mech was larger than her and, despite being used to being a short shit, she wasn't used to being a short shit around anyone outside of the Nemesis especially an enemy.

The truce made things really weird.

"Erm..."

Oh, I get it...he was also contacted on this assignment. She hadn't thought there would be anyone, really, because cassettes were a rarity. That they had so many on the Nemesis was against the odds. She'd even heard rumors that Soundwave had had more cassettes but had lost them. But gossip was gossip. There was also talk of all kinds of silly slag out there that Roulette tended to overlook.

So, she got the excitement, she did. And she should have been leaping at the chance to talk to someone about this new bond that could actually speak to her. Soundwave wouldn't be of much help there and would only frustrate the verbose femme. Megatron was seriously not an option. Shockwave got creepy when she brought the subject up. Flatline was an asshole. Her choices were limited. She was just...well, hesitant to admit any doubts or insecurities she may have had. It would be highlighting a large weakness.

"That's up to Airlia." No matter her reserves, it wasn't in her nature to shy away from a conversation and she did have to work with this mech. She gestured over her shoulder at the cassette. "Be nice," she warned the swan in a muted mumble.

::Yo, I'm in Neutieville. Where you at?::

Roulette tilted her head at the inquiry. Soundwave really hadn't been kidding when he'd requested all cassettes.

::Making friends. Just got here and already I'm the belle of the ball. Fancy that.:: A slight stretch of the truth. Her cassette was far more popular at the moment. Which would just make the swan's day and only feed that ego.

[Deleted]

Fairwinds had pretty much kicked back and settled in to chill until Roulette got back to her. She'd found a Spongebob marathon and wasn't opposed to putting off crawling around cracks in the mines with her wings strapped to her chassis for a while.

Haven should have a butler service, she decided once she got comfortable. Some big mecha just doing the rounds with a tray of cubes and gummies. They needed a suggestion box so she could suggest that. She'd get one made on the ship, bring it next time and install it for them. They were supposed to be doing nice things at Neutral Central for the truce, after all.

When Roulette's reply came to her, Fairwinds raised a single toe to the remote and turned the television off. 'Making friends.' She cocked her head, staring ahead at nothing. 'Belle of the ball.'

The phrases clicked together with what she knew of the femme's personality and standard patterns of interaction. Default was snark. Other setting was-

Fairwinds sat bolt upright-

Flirtation!

The cassette rolled up onto her pedes and lurched off the front of the sofa, taking to the air with a whine of her thrusters and a flick of her wings. She circled round wide and high, oblivious to the irritated looks she received from the groundpounders, then dove towards the tunnel where the actual meeting was supposed to take place.

::On my way!::

It wasn't like she was possessive or anything. Or had some vested interest in Roulette being snarky with everyone except her equally-awfully-awkward Master.

She could totally get Airlia on her side on this one.

[Deleted]

The vantage point is new, but there’s no missing the reaction in that big mech over there as he spots Roulette. Airlia has long practice in picking out those who would be inappropriate with her Master, even if the attention rarely gets the femme in question flustered or upset. If anything, Roulette is a worse flirt, but so far as the swan is concerned that’s allowed. No one may hit on her Master without cassette approval. Particularly an Autobot still wearing what she recognizes as law enforcement gear. Roulette never did well when it came to interactions with the police.

But as the big mech approaches his mien changes, excitement a different flavor and attention fixing on.. her? It is true, she is a most glorious cassette, but overwhelmingly her kind are overlooked as accessories or otherwise unimportant when ‘real’ mechs are present. Particularly when docked. He must be a carrier, well aware of just how important cassettes can be, which makes sense given the mission they’re actually here for. Who knew that the Autobots had a carrier/cassette team of their own on this planet?

Dull little red optics watch impassively as the mech settles into a low crouch before Roulette, appraising his sincerity in respecting the femme’s personal space as well as wanting to see herself. It doesn’t appear that he’s trying to get her in hand to crush her like an empty tin can, and that sort of this would violate the Truce. With how tense Roulette is, it would do much to ease the situation should she comply, and better yet, if she is occupying the mech’s attention then it could keep her Master out of trouble for that much longer.

Wings fan out to either side of Roulette as the swan disengages the docking lock, giving her an angel-esque look for a moment before Airlia neatly touches down to the ground behind her and folds them back up, waddling around to her front towards the Autobot and his outstretched hand. With how much neck she has the view from the floor isn’t that different, and nothing about the cassette’s posture suggests she’s concerned she’s going to be squished by the much larger mech.

“Airlia: may be observed.”

[Carbine]

Roulette's nervous step back was noticed, Carbine just didn't really care. He was no threat, at least not in this moment and not with the truce in play. If the truce wasn't there? Things may be quite a bit different. He wouldn't WANT to hurt another Carrier, and he sure as hell would try to avoid harming a Cassette, but... he would lash out against the other side that kept the war going that had killed most of their species. But alas... this wasn't here in the now, and Carbine waited patiently and observed how the Femme moved.

The reply that had been made told Carbine instantly that he was not dealing with a class one drone Cassette that tended to just be tool more so than living thing, but instead a class two or three which was all the greater. What made it even more novel of an interaction, was the fact that this wasn't a typical frame type Carbine had dealt with. He mostly had to deal with canine and a few latch type on the force, and while he has interacted with many others in his day, the sight of wings felt somehow novel and new all at once.

Carbine remained kneeling while watching the avian frame unfold with whimsy and wonder akin to a child. He couldn't help himself, and was even more delighted when the weird little bird ((whose particular style he has never seen before)) not only gave him permission, but walked AT his hand. This was as good as an invitation to Carbine, and he gently scooped his palm down and under the swan to effortlessly lift her up in a careful grasp. She would be supported, his hand splayed out across chest armor to make sure she couldn't wiggle and unintentionally fall. If she REALLY wanted free? The grip was loose enough she could do so.

"And observe I shall y̸áh̴ pretty thing!"

He said with a near chirp to his voice while trying to throttle down his glitch, the outline of his optics through his visor conveying mirth and joy once more. Once the bird was secure, he eased upright into a full stand so he did not put excess strain on his leg. While the injury that filthy dump truck mech had given him was long since replaced and repaired, there was still a subconscious wariness about putting too much strain on the new hydraulics. Either way, he then lifted his free hand, and would gingerly run it down the bird's back paneling,

Carbine was an observant individual at times. He may not always be the smartest, but he could try to read others with either surprising accuracy, or being downright wrong on every front. It is because of this, he had a feeling this Cassette was of higher tier, not only because of the way she spoke, nor the way she carried herself with grace, but because of her refined appearance that was sleek and elegant. He used this to his advantage.

"Well, Airlia, either you ha̸v̨e͘ a good pick in Carriers her̀e, or my͢stery͏ unnamed femme has grea͟t choi͟ce̛ in Cassettes. Or b͢ot̷h."

Ohhh...

There's Carbine...

After he said this there was a spark deep smirk that radiated out through his field.

[Deleted]

Roulette had to stop herself from stepping forward and holding up a hand to keep Carbine from scooping the cassette up. She'd just gotten the swan back and the idea of her being injured or worse weighed on her like an anchor. The sharpshooter wasn't sure she could take it if something happened to Airlia under her care. The responsibility was too heavy for her to hold comfortably.

But she didn't say anything and forced her arms to remain by her side. She forced relaxation into her posture even if her field prickled for a moment. Airlia was fine. The truce would keep her safe and the cassette was her own mecha. The swan had survived the war this long on her own and didn't need a babysitter anymore than Roulette did. Hell, if recent events were to be summed up, the swan had done better than Roulette ever had. Proving that Roulette shouldn't adult. Ever.

She stiffened at the blurt from Windy announcing her arrival. Oh boy wouldn't this be charmingly awkward in about five seconds. She almost wanted to yell at everyone to high tail it to the room to meet Soundwave and to get this shindig under way. But she didn't want to get to work any faster than she had to. Besides, how bad could this go? It wasn't like the Bot was a jerk or anything. If anything, it looked like he was going to elope with Airlia. The thought was enough to make her mouth fight against a smile.

"Well, Airlia, either you ha̸v̨e͘ a good pick in Carriers her̀e, or my͢stery͏ unnamed femme has grea͟t choi͟ce̛ in Cassettes. Or b͢ot̷h."

Oh

Ohhh.

He's trying to be charming.

She grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. The move wasn't defensive at all and could be read as possible amusement. Was flirting with an enemy considered treason? She didn't think so. Besides, it wasn't like they were going to find the nearest empty hallway and go at it like two human teenagers.

"Aren't we supposed to be working?" She didn't offer her designation at all. He'd have to work for that right. Besides, it made things more fun in the work environment if there was a certain level of playfulness. Her field had settled into a teasing, playful hum.

[Deleted]

"Yeah!" Fairwinds piped up from somewhere near the ceiling, a little behind Roulette. She had her claws (and thumb calls!) lodged into the rock, anchoring her in place. "Shouldn't your Autobutt be reporting in to Commander Soundwave for orders?"

It was much easier to yell at very large Autobots when up out of their immediate reach, and when they weren't allowed to shoot due to a ceasefire.

She watched Airlia's pedes paddle at the air with a pang of distaste, uneasy that she was letting the Autobot touch her. He was holding her up like some kind of object. If it weren't for the fact that he had a cassette docked (or (unlikely) very closely snuggled) on his back, she'd be curdling venom in her beak right then.

Deciding to stick it out on the wall for now, Fairwinds pulled her undercarriage flush to the rock and set her wings primly about herself. "Hey Airlia. See you've got yourself a fan."

The uncharacteristically flat pitch of her remark made it quite clear she wasn't thrilled by this.

[Deleted]

Being scooped up wasn’t at all unexpected, and the swan allowed it in stride, though reflexively her webbed feet paddled lazily at the air suddenly beneath her. It is not the first time she’d been picked up, and certainly wouldn’t be the last, even when considering the much larger mech is an Autobot. Should he choose to do her harm, she was in no worse a position than if she was still on the floor, where a well-placed kick could crumple her just as effectively.

The admiration and sheer pleasure that the Autobot radiated were certainly welcome, attention quite ego stroking. She knew she’s awesome, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have someone notice it quite so visibly now and again. Such attention tends to be lacking among the Decepticons as a whole. Delicate plating ruffled in the wake of the mech’s petting hand, armor more for show than anything else.

"Well, Airlia, either you ha̸v̨e͘ a good pick in Carriers her̀e, or my͢stery͏ unnamed femme has grea͟t choi͟ce̛ in Cassettes. Or b͢ot̷h."

Of course she picked a suitable Master! She outright refused to settle for anyone less than Roulette no matter circumstances making said choice something of a dumb choice. It would have been much easier to have simply picked up a new Carrier, and avoiding eons of lonely and hungry wandering from battle field to battle field, searching for the femme.

“Airlia: proposes both options accurate.” It didn’t escape her notice that said suitable Carrier was flirting right back with the Autobot, nor that Roulette was deliberately not giving her name yet. Already she could see that she was going to need to run intervention, though how much she was going to be able to later one while crawling through tunnels was debatable. It might also violate the Truce should she peck at too grabby hands…

It was no effort to twist her long neck to look behind herself, and at the other cassette clinging up on the wall. With Fairwinds’ arrival she may not need to act. Clearly Fairwinds would introduce a hostile element, though with how perverse Roulette could be that might just encourage more retaliatory flirting to get a rise.

"Hey Airlia. See you've got yourself a fan."

“Airlia: worth admiration.” Despite the almost-monotone of her voice, she still managed to make the statement more bluntly honest than outright haughty. Still, both Roulette and Fairwinds had a point. “Soundwave: waiting. Mission should proceed.”

[Carbine]

If Airlia wanted to peck at his hands, Carbine wasn't the type to snitch for petty chips at the truce. As long as she didn’t take fingers off with a nip, and didn’t mind if he ruffled her feathers backwards in response for her doing so, than there would be no need to bring either of the boss mech into the issue. Granted if down the line such information would benefit him he could throw them under a buss, but that was not for this moment.

Evaluating the long necked bird thing while it spoke, Carbine tried to figure out where on it would be the most difficult to reach. Its feet seemed impractical to pick up or maneuver stuff, more aquatic than any kind of grasping ability, which meant it probably had to do things with its mouth a lot. This just made him think there was a really good chance that an itch on the back of the helm would be welcomed and novel. With this in mind he reached his free hand up to idly scratch at the joint between helm and elongated neck, being careful and delicate enough to not hurt, but not so sissy delicate that it'd serve no purpose.

About to respond, about to retort to Roulette, a new voice struck into the area that caused Carbine to instantly look up at the ceiling in confusion. When he saw another Cassette, he felt a momentary jump of joy to see yet ANOTHER one of his kind. This was like some kind of stupid reunion, though it also caused a pang of bitterness. This other avian frame simply wouldn't be able to comfortably fit on the Carrier femme, which meant that there was another carrier around. This just meant that the Decepticons had that much more to be envious of for Carbine.

"Honestly I ̛ha̢ve͏ no idea who or what I am répo͡rtín̕g͏ to̴, but I will gladly report to this fine͞ lady͘ right here."

Ignoring the fact all three had pointed out he should probably be reporting to this Soundwave person, Carbine adjusted his grip on the Cassette just enough to not cause her discomfort or make her get toppled as he lowered his frame. His upper torso bent at the waist, which pushed him down into a sort of half bow in Roulette's favor. It caused his rotors to arch out and splay a bit behind him, the long slender panels of metal bowed slightly from gravity and leverage.

While Carbine made this display, he reached his free hand out palm up, offering it to her. Snub or take, he didn't particularly care. If she snubbed him entirely, he would merely adjust the outstretched hand to motion down the hallway, as if he had SO intended to do that all along. Undeterred by any looks of disapproval. If she took it? Well that was another game all together he was willing to play with full zeal.