[ti]Ep 2[/ti]I should have brought my Flip-flops (Open)

[Deleted]

Sparklight maintained her frightened state for a few moments more, whimpering and mumbling as she anticipated the blow that would end her life. What a cruel world it was, that she would be online for less than a week, meet two of her idols, stab one of them and be struck down by the other. Her hands remained raised in defence of her form, though the strike she anticipated would easily penetrate such a measly defence.

That strike however, never came.

Slowly, she unravelled her defense, lowering her arms as her optics darted about the place, still fearful that she would be struck down. At her side stood Bee, and in a moment of fear she worried that he would be the one to kill her. An eye for an eye after all. Or in this case a moderate chunk of his hip for her life; not the trade she wanted. But it wasn't a trade that occurred either. That said, in an odd twist of fate, she had less belief in the latter theory, somehow having more trust in Bumblebee than she did her own leader.

Ultimately that trust was proved, as was her trust in the Prime. With Bumblebee at her side, explaining to her that in reality, she wasn't going to be slaughtered on the spot; that was certainly a relief. With a brief stutter, she turned her gaze to Bumblebee, just as Prime began to inform her of the fault of her prior belief. "O-oh, really? Well... I guess I look kind of silly now..." She mumbled, finishing with a giggle that retained a hint of her earlier nervousness. "Questions?" Was her response to Optimus' next statement, and already she had come back around to the courage she had out in the desert.

[Bumblebee]

Bumblebee regretted talking about the shelves and the fight that had followed from pretty much the moment he'd mentioned it. He heard Carbine pipe up from somewhere behind them, because of course he hadn't left the room yet. Damnit! Part of the only reason that Bumblebee had said anything to begin with was because he thought Carbine had gone!

At least Carbine seemed to be a fast thinker and had blurted out a reason for the fight. He wasn't even aware that the ex-cop was in so much trouble at present and was mostly just covering for himself at this point – but Bumblebee wouldn't argue or protest that it wasn't, in fact, a spar at all – simply because he, too, didn't want to get into trouble.

At least Optimus seemed more focused on the newcomer – and why wouldn't he? She could MAKE THINGS FLOAT – than on what Bumblebee had revealed. Hopefully, it would stay that way. Smokescreen hadn't, to his knowledge, snitched on the pair – as they had finished building the shelves eventually - and he'd told a little white lie to Ratchet in that it'd been a rather adventurous playfight using props, and Bolo had simply gotten too riled up, hence the chewed up door-wing. He'd gotten nagged for it, but he didn't think Ratchet would've reported to Optimus.

So if he played along if Optimus asked more on it? He could hopefully stay in the clear.

He listened quietly as Optimus spoke, nodding his head. Then it was his turn to be addressed and he'd stand up a little straighter, pulling his arm from around Sparklight's shoulders to salute his Prime.

--Yeah, sure! Won't be an issue! Carbine did a great job at dismantling the ship, so it won't take long!!--

Hopefully that'd lessen any growing hatred that Carbine had for him at revealing they'd had a fight, and would maybe give the helicopter some good standing with Optimus, knowing that he'd helped out. He hoped that Carbine was still in earshot of his comment, but even if he wasn't? The praise for his fellow bot had been given. And that was enough.

With a roll of his shoulders, he'd lower his servo from the salute and turn on his heel to follow Carbine, marching purposely – albeit with a horrible limp – back through the Ground Bridge. Sparklight was in good hands, and as long as she didn't stab Optimus Prime as well? She should be fine.

[Optimus Prime]

Slowly Optimus inclined his helm in a gradual nod, affirming that yes, he had questions of his own to ask of her and hoped she would be acceptable to this idea. But asking questions alone wasn't everything, for he wanted to speak to her without the pressure of others, and knew that Carbine and Bumblebee would be coming and going a good deal while bringing back the important portions of the ship. He did not wish for her responses to be hindered or influenced by the others in any way. He also didn’t want them to start belting out other questions of their own, when he had to address some rather important dilemmas.

Bee was energetic, and kind, he would always be the first to offer a hand to help, and had the drive to try to see things through to the end. He was a priceless part of the team, and brought much to the table, but... he was still young, and could get wrapped up in things. He knew when a discussion about her being an Outlier would come up, he would probably pipe up and want to learn more. Not a bad trait, not something to fault, but Optimus needed to address so much... and so it was best that he would depart to help Carbine, or go straight to the Medical Bay.

He could catch the scout up later, and field his questions then.

"Understood. Leave nothing for MECH."

MECH getting to the shuttle due to its exceptionally remote region would be... difficult, but any tiny scraps left behind would be worth it for when they eventually made their way there. Those horrific scavengers would pick and claw for anything they could find, and would probably treat the smallest of shrapnel as valuable attributes. The raw Cybertronian metals alone could be beneficial, but the mechanical components even more so. Either way, once the other two had begun their task of finishing up the salvage, Optimus turned, and started a very controlled walk towards the hallway, taking his time so that Sparklight's smaller steps could easily keep up with him.

He did not walk at a pace that would force the young femme to run, and had no intention to apply undue fear of repercussions. Because of this, he left his field a bit more open than he typically did, radiating calm and giving her a glimmer of a peek of his emotional aura, so that she could feel assured he wasn't going to reel against her and bring backlash to 'put her in her place' now that the others couldn't lay witness. Perhaps he was being over cautious, but he had never had to deal with someone so... young... and unlearned about the world around them.

"I am sure you have much to ask-"

He started, keeping his gaze up ahead while maneuvering down the hall, the whirling hum of the Ground Bridge facing away.

"-I will answer to the best of my ability."

Let her have the first metaphorical swing, let her get what may be on the forefront of her processor off first, so it is settled and calm. Let things even out, before he starts to ask about how she became an Autobot, and inquire about her Outlier abilities...

((Carbine and Bee are out now))

[Deleted]

As Bumblebee and Carbine departed, Sparklight directed a wave at the former, with a somewhat happy smile; definitely a turn around given how a minute ago she was quivering in his presence. And then, once both had entered the groundbridge, the femme turned to face Optimus, who she had been similarly afraid of - though that seemed to be a trait now quickly abandoned.

It was obvious that the Prime had slowed his movement to compensate for hers, though the femme, returning to her former state, was oblivious to such a fact. Instead, she just skated next to him, and on numerous occasions in front of him, taking advantage of his slower speed. Whilst her action were indeed intentional, she meant no offense by them, she simply felt a rush to be faster than most, skating around and spinning in front of him.

Sparklight maintained such a pattern of movement, caught up in her own world with a hum, though she recognized the openness of Optimus' emotions - very calm indeed. It must suck to be so calm all the time... what do you do for fun? It was this nature that led her to almost ignoring his statement, though she was lucky enough to catch it. What was unlucky however, was her response. Unlucky for the Prime that was. He had offered her the chance to ask him a question. Boy, she had a lot of those. It was hard to choose, which one she would ask! So why not ask her most recent one?

"What's it like being so calm all the time?" The young femme blurted out, certainly a question that would be unexpected. From the standard autobot at least, who would most likely dare not to ask such a foolish question, but Sparklight was Sparklight; whether that was good or bad was still up for debate.

[Optimus Prime]

Sparklight was odd, she flipped and flopped between emotions readily, which was a bit concerning. One moment she seemed chipper and happy, the next so terrified she believed death was breathing down the back of her neck, only to slam right back to a bubbly and carefree attitude that showed no hint or trace of the raw fear she experienced moments prior. While good emotional recovery is a good thing for many, to not let it hinder or hamper with tasks that need to be done on the battlefield, the violent shift of tone was... not ideal, and brought up some worry.

She had a lot of energy, moving and skating to keep up, darting in front of him to lead momentarily before falling back. Optimus did not hinder his steps, even if on a couple occasions he thought he may step on her or run into her with a shin. He had to trust that she saw the pace he was moving, and if she still got whacked despite him moving in a predictable rhythm? That was completely on her. He took precautions to help those smaller than him, but two wheelers and other tiny Cybertronian still had to do their parts as well in a world of individuals over double their size. They could not expect everyone to accommodate them in full, and to do so would equal pain when they crossed paths with a large Cybertronian that frankly, did not care.

Alas, Sparklight asked a question, and it was not one he really anticipated from her, though she seemed full of surprises. He expected an inquiry on the planet they were on, why they were here, what their mission was, or what the state of the Decepticons were. If she was feeling like she fit in already, then maybe even an inquiry on where she would stay... but this was a question to him directly, and on a more personal rather than business approach. People didn't really dive into such things, because he normally didn't want to field them. Most knew how he functioned at this point, but not Sparklight evidently.

"As Prime, it is my responsibility to not let emotions guide my actions alone. I hold too many lives under my command, to blindly react. To do otherwise could result in additional losses."

As they walked down the main tunnel, the path started to split in differing directions, Optimus turning to take the one on the left. This channel was just as wide and large as the previous primary hallway, but started to have doors on either side. The left side had a single hatch, the mechanism locked and sealed closed firmly with no windows on its surface or markers to differentiate its function. The doors on the right however were more open, allowing individuals to look inside, though... Sparklight would be too short to really see anything through the windows. The doors were numerous, running down the length of the hallway with equal gaps in between.

"I could counter with inquiring what it is like to be so energetic."

[Deleted]

Sparklight continued to zip around the Prime, forward, backward, side-to-side, even on occasion looping around him. It seemed something of a game to the femme, though she seemed to hold Optimus in high respect. She twirled about on her wheels, spinning and flourishing as they moved through the halls.

Optimus was tall, albeit smaller than she expected. After her encounter with Carbine, who was twice her size, she had him pegged to be taller than him, probably double the height of the Policebot, though she was disappointed to see they were fairly level. Alas, she avoided his huge pedes, even if her movement seemed random and reckless, she was still watching out to avoid being turned into scrap underfoot.

Patiently, she waited for an answer, or as patiently as she could. In fact, she seemed to express a longer attention span than normal around Optimus, though that could be easily attributed to her view of him as no less than a God. And finally, God spoke to her, answering her prayers question.

He spoke in long words. And sure, whilst Sparklight could process and understand each of them, she didn't exactly understand why he opted to use such a vocabulary. She followed at his side as the corridor winded in opposite ways, and moved with him as he departed down the left tunnel. The femme looked eagerly at the large and numerous doors, though her attention was primarily on the Prime.

"It's fun!" She jolted back, evidently speaking before thinking. Of course, that said, if she had thought about her answer, it would've most likely differed in very few ways. "You should try it some time!" And then, skating in front of the Prime as though it were a gesture for him to stop, she let loose a rather joyous gasp and proceeded to blurt out the rest of her speech. "I know! I could teach you! I could teach you how to be this energetic! I think it would be really fun! What do you say?"

[Optimus Prime]

There was only so much Optimus could ignore. He tried to keep the same rhythm, he tried to continue to trust she'd not get herself crushed with the way she darted around so energetically, but when she started to reply and actually halted in front of him to energetically propose an idea, he had to abort all of the momentum he had, and redirect it swiftly so she didn’t lose a leg in the process.

There was a heavy thwump when his step was cut short and pushed down to the ground at her side, power put behind it in order to push back and cease his forward movements abruptly. Even though he did not SLAM his foot down, there was enough force that he managed to cut himself off rather instant, though still loomed above. Optimus ended up towering over the significantly smaller femme in a way that the majority of his faceplate couldn't even be seen any longer due to the armored plates of his chest and windshields. Despite this abrupt halt and the way his posture was more stiff, he tried to retain a calm speaking voice to lay a quick warning.

"Caution must be exercised, I would hate to unintentionally step on you."

Moving to the side, Optimus carefully stepped around her so that they could continue on, replying to her statements once he was moving at a confident pace once again. His words did not hold the same warning they had a moment prior, reeling back to a far more at ease tone once again.

"I do not believe that to be wise."

Or really, it was not possible... but he wasn't going to bother with that.

"Everyone is different, and finds their way through this world at their own pace."

They then came to the end of the hallway where a large hatch was positioned on the left hand side, the doorway large and spacious, with a simplistic control pad upon its side that glowed faintly in the dim lighting. With a careful push of a button, mechanisms beyond the closed door whirred to life with a low hum, a soft rumble able to barely be felt through the floor nearby.

"What seems odd to one is norm to another."

Added on, calm, he would peer over at Sparklight to see if she was still following or not. It was then the door to the lift opened, sliding aside to reveal a sort of industrial elevator that could accommodate their kind as well as heavier supplies and machines. He would turn back on task to step into the lift, waiting for the femme before he would command it to move to a lower level.

"How did you become an Autobot?"