[ti]Ep 2.5[/ti]Settling in (Closed) (Fin)

[Javelin]

(Ep 2.5, Week one, day two)

Clunk, clunk, clunk.

The sound moved along the corridors of the Autobot base, a sound recognizable to any of the inhabitants, human or otherwise; the footfalls of a Cybertronian.  The sound was not that of heavy thuds, but a more lightweight individual, no chance of mistaking it for a large or heavy mech like Bulkhead.  To those who had been in the base for a while now, however, it might be of some interest were they within hearing range, as anyone with good hearing might realize the gait and sound of the steps were new, unfamiliar.

Javelin walked along the corridors, taking it all in, looking everything over closely.  This was her new home, and she wanted to be completely familiar with the layout as possible, as soon as possible.  She memorized each archway she came across, her optics always seeking out crannies and small places - it was something she was trained to do and it was second nature to her now.

Not wanting to be a bother, she hadn't asked for a tour, and seeing most of the 'bots were busy most of the time, she decided to just look around, on the assumption any place she wasn't supposed to be would be locked or have large warning signs anyway. She wasn't about to go snooping in personal quarters anyway.

She noticed that for the most part, the walls, floors and ceiling were in good shape, well built.  She wondered how the humans had managed to build such a large base for the Autobots in such a short time and was impressed.  Nothing seemed cramped - at least not to her. She wasn't sure how the taller mechs like Optimus Prime himself would feel.

The dark blue femme moved through an archway, looking around what appeared to be a storage room of sorts. Bits and pieces of this and that lay here and there, smaller things stored on shelves. Before walking into the room she made sure there weren't any humans inside.

Javelin was fearful she was going to step on one of them and crush them. She had been trying to find out as much about their physiology as possible, but the more she read or learned about them, the more they seemed like little squishy bags that would pop if you so much as looked at them hard.  And there were young ones here?

Seeing no humans around, Javelin stepped inside, moving to the shelves, peering at their contents.  Apparently they were keeping every bit of scrap and electronics they were finding, which was sensible.  She was even seeing old wires, obviously scavenged from somewhere and neatly coiled, marked and tagged.  Rivets, screws, some old and somewhat damaged tools.

Moving several steps down, Javelin saw what looked like an old hammer of sorts, small and with a dent in it.  Smiling to herself, she picked it up, turning it this way and that.

"What I wouldn't give to be able to get these guys some good tools. These look like they helped forge Cybertron itself."

[Deleted]

Javelin's first sign that she wasn't alone was a voice, laced with sarcasm:

"I'll be sure lodge a complaint with Prime about how unbearably old our tools are. I'm sure he has nothing more pressing to do with his time and will get right on it."

Leaning on the outside of the doorframe, arms folded and aiming a scowl at her was a small red mech. Zoom-Zoom had not been pleased to find an intruder in his territory as he came on shift. He didn't recognise her, but he did vaguely recall something about there being yet another new recruit. If it had been Prime's intent in minimizing Zoom-Zoom's exposure to his fellow Autobots (and vice-versa), then he'd been sorely mistaken with the job choice as it seemed every Autobot and their dog eventually made their way down to the store-rooms once in a while.

The minibot was getting slightly better at handling the automatic stress of 'Aaaargh, there's someone in the storeroom, get them out', whenever it happened. That didn't mean that he was anything near the realm of being pleased when it happened.

He'd been hoping for a quiet day, what with the rationing that had started. Shut down some non-essential systems and go about his business with the closest thing that passed as peace for the minibot. But even in the safety of the Omega base, just having another person about was enough to make Zoom-Zoom hold off turning off a few passive sensors. Another source of frustration that came with dealing with people.

At the very least, Zoom-Zoom could give his latest unexpected intruder this, she hadn't broke a shelf.

Yet.

"These are spares, anyway," the minibot added. A fact for which he was eternally grateful because otherwise he'd have some serious concerns about the gun he had recently installed into his forearm. "There are some decent ones in the workshop courtesy of Wheeljack."

Zoom-Zoom still hadn’t moved into the storeroom, remaining a scowling sentry by the door. "Now - are you actually here for anything or can I ask you to leave and, you know, hopefully never come back?"

[Javelin]

When Javelin heard Zoom-Zoom's voice, startling her, she gave a small, guilty jump. She fumbled the hammer slightly, and it slipped from her fingers back to the shelf with a muted metallic clang. She winced, reaching out and sliding it back into it's proper place with a finger, before turning on a ped to look at the speaker, with what she hoped was a friendly smile on her face.

She studied the mech leaning against the wall, taking in the crossed arms of his body language, his face, the tone of his voice. How he spoke. Even some of the slight emphasis he was putting on certain words. He wasn't a big mech, and didn't have heavy armor. She put it somewhere near hers, maybe a little heavier. It was hard to tell at first glance.


The red Bot's whole attitude of "GO AWAY" instantly told Javelin what the following minutes were likely to entail, but she shoved away any hesitation she had. She had certainly faced unpleasant 'bots before. She wasn't about to let a hardaft send her packing, but it was possible she had wandered into an off-limits area by mistake.

"Hi. I'm Javelin. Newest recruit, I guess. Sorry, I didn't actually mean the tools here were scrap. I'm just trying to get the layout of the base. Actually, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for where you would put the scrap metal that's still good. I don't know if it would be here, or somewhere else. Sorry if I'm bothering you, but I could use the help."

Her optics still on his face, carefully watching his body language, his face, listening to his voice, Javelin offered what she hoped was another friendly smile, hoping to put the other at ease.

"Wheeljack....that name is sort of familiar to me. I've heard it before, but I can't remember where. Are they here at base too? I've only met a few so far."

[Deleted]

Between the truce and now the energon rationing, Nightfall's patience had been stretched woefully thin. Well, not *patience*, exactly... It was more of an itch under his plating, one that led to Nightfall almost obsessively checking his dock to ensure that Glimmer was still there. Never mind that he could actually *feel* the Cassette recharging inside him. It was a nervous habit, more than anything else.


As for the rest? He preferred, more than ever, to fuel them both- and especially Glimmer- in a nice, quiet, *alone* room. Yes, he knew that in dire circumstances the Cassette could draw energon from Nightfall's own frame, and if released the safest likely place was in Nightfall's own quarters.... But it was rare the Aerial let his Cassette out at all, and if he was going to do so for the Cassette, now, to ensure he was properly fueled, he was going to do it in a location unlikely to be stumbled upon.


Unpredictable was safe. Safe for Nightfall, even safer for Glimmer. Not to mention, he'd be horrified if one of the small organics was accidentally harmed in any way by either Cassette or himself overreacting. Better to stay out of the way.


And so there he was, moving along one of the less used hallways, when he saw one of the newest arrivals, a femme he'd not had the chance to personally meet.


And she was... heading into Zoom Zoom's storage room. Wonderful. He picked up his pace. He'd not be able to intercept- but at least he might be able to arrive in time to buffer some of Zoom Zoom's finer manners. And if the femme brushed him off, well, at least he'd made  an effort.


He arrived then, unfortunately after Zoom Zoom already had, and paused a few feet away, regarding Javelin somewhat awkwardly over the other bot's head.  

"...Pardon me? Miss?" It was an Earth term he'd picked up, and it just sort of slipped out.

[Deleted]

Behind his visor, Zoom-Zoom's optics had narrowed as he witnessed his intruder drop the hammer. Thankfully, it didn't do any damage but the minibot still remembered the destruction Shale had caused when she'd come by. The sooner this new person was out of the room, the better.

Unfortunately, the universe was not feeling kind to him today and his unexpected visitor did not immediately vacate the room, despite how obvious it was that Zoom-Zoom wanted her gone. She turned to him with a smile and unconsciously, the minibot's frown deepened as she introduced herself. Javelin. New arrival. Didn't know her way around base. Guess Bumblebee hadn't given her the grand tour like he'd done for Shale. Anyway, Javelin was looking for where the scrap metal was kept. And wanted to know where Wheeljack was.

"I have no idea," Zoom-Zoom answered. "Frankly, I don't really care. Wheeljack was here, then he left. If he's been back since, haven't seen him. Then again, I don't really go out of my way to look for people, so who knows."

As for her other question…

"Scrap metal," the minibot repeated. He paused for a moment and gave it a thought. "Probably the workshop. Wheeljack had his whole..."

Zoom-Zoom had no idea what to call it. Bomb blast. Disaster zone. Hazard central. Probably-radioactive-and-deadly-in-some-way workspace. At least it had been when the Wrecker had occupied the room, but he had cleaned up the space just prior to leaving, though the minibot was unaware of that. Zoom-Zoom had not gone to the workshop since he'd asked for a weapon upgrade and he hadn't any intention of venturing in ever since.

"...mess," Zoom-Zoom decided on. "He'd scavenge the wreckage of crashed ships and recycle stuff. You probably don't want to go there, it's...hmm, you know what. Please go there and be free amongst the scrap metal. Enjoy!"

He stopped short of outright saying "Seeya, bye!" at the sound of another set of footsteps down the hallway. Zoom-Zoom tilted his head and squinted as Nightfall strode towards him. Ugh. What was going on today? Why was his corner of the base suddenly so popular? He hadn't seen Nightfall around all that much and was quite frankly happy to keep it that way. The other mech kept to himself, which was something Zoom-Zoom wished could be said about most of the Omega base's occupants.

The minibot's head swivelled between Nightfall and Javelin as he was spoken over. Okay then. Whatever. Maybe Nightfall had some sort of business with her. Business that would remove her from Zoom-Zoom's storeroom. He could live in hope.

[Javelin]

Javelin listened to Zoom-Zoom speak. She had heard the name Wheeljack before, he was something of a celebrity, being a Wrecker. Tales of their exploits traveled across the galaxy, stories of outrageous victories and stunning battles won. Javelin had been camped in remote outposts before, and after giving reports, the scouts and soldiers would gather together, drink energon, and tell stories. A lot of them would start with, "A friend of a friend of mine knew the Wreckers, and one time..."

When Javelin had first arrived, she had been surprised, and pleased, to see Bulkhead there, but she hadn't known the other Wrecker had been on Earth as well. She only knew the Wreckers by reputation, and felt a little disappointed she hadn't had the chance to meet another one. She imagined she would enjoy hearing their stories firsthand. Maybe over a drink or two.

She was a little surprised by Zoom-Zoom's blunt reply of "I don't care", but she continued to watch him as he spoke. So this mech was going to be one of those, huh? Someone who either concentrated entirely on themselves and no one else because they just didn't give a scrap, or someone who had been stabbed one too many times and had decided to give one massive "Frag You" to the universe in general. Not even as a defense, a "get them before they get you", but just a reaction of being sick of getting spit on by fate and life in general. Life can only step on you so many times before you start biting feet. The latter she understood. She had been there herself for a while. A long, dark time.

Either way, she honestly wasn't going to let him cause her much grief. You dealt with people like that by simply ignoring their attitude and just rolling along with your own life, including interacting with them whether they liked it or not. Maybe some day he might not be such a bitter little scraplet. And if not? She tried all the same. She owed it to the one who saved her to extend her hand in friendship, even if it got bitten a few times in reply.

"Wheeljack's workshop? Where is it? Would I be allowed to just walk in there? I don't want to get you or myself in trouble."

At that moment, there was the sound of approaching footsteps, and she looked up in time to see an unknown mech approach. Javelin watched as he paused a few steps outside the archway, and looked at her over Zoom-Zoom's head. For a second she thought he was going to speak to the smaller mech, but he kept his optics on her as he spoke.

Javelin frowned as he spoke, then smiled gently.

"Miss? Oh, you're missing something? You've lost something important? What does it look like, maybe I've seen it."

[Deleted]

Nightfall had heard the last few comments about Wheeljack and his lab, but seeing as Zoom Zoom had already mostly answered said questions, he remained silent. At least, until the femme finished replying to the minibot. It wouldn't do to intrude any further on the conversation; after all, his own main goal had originally been simply to keep an optic on things.


He'd never *directly* interacted with Zoom Zoom, but he'd heard things, and that had been the impetus behind his decision to approach. So now he waited, field calm and expression mild, as Zoom Zoom replied to the femme, the aerial shifting his weight unobtrusively to his right pede. Perhaps he *shouldn't* have involved himself in this- not when it was now apparent the conversation wasn't turning overtly hostile. And he still *would* like to find a nice empty room to fuel his cassette in...

One pede scuffed slightly backward, ready to turn and leave if the femme dismissed his tentative greeting. After all, he *had* simply barged over...

Optics shiftd their gaze down slightly, and his processor sent out a ping to acquire Glimmer's location, nerves settling slightly when the answering ping came from inside his dock- exactly where the Cassette should be.

Soon, he promised the Cassette wordlessly, resisting the urge to touch his armor over where Glimmer was stored. Not in front of others.

And then he registered Javelin's question to him. Well, questions. "What? No." he answered, swiftly, servos dropping back to his sides. "No, I'm not missing anything." he responded; he still sent Glimmer another ping. Just in case.


"'Miss' is an Earth term." he hastened to clarify. "For femmes." Another brief hesitation, before he went for it. "I was merely wondering if I might be of assistance, or guide? I'd be happy to aid you."

[Deleted]

(OOC: one day, Zer's gonna do a map of the Omega base. That day unfortunately is not today. Anyway, ZZ's storage room is a new thing on a level down from the main one)

Javelin's questions didn't seem to end. Zoom-Zoom had answered them in hope that it'd get her moving, she'd leave the storeroom and go off to explore the base. But no, this sadly was not the case.

"It's pretty easy to get to. You wanna go up a level, past the control room, down the corridor that leads past the hangar and the rec-room. At the end of that corridor, you'll find it tucked away. The millions of hazards signs stuck around the door should be a sign that you're in the right place."

As to whether permission was needed… "I have no idea," Zoom-Zoom replied tartly. "Think Ratchet manages it now, so you'd have to take it up with him. I hear he loves interruptions to his work and answering questions."

As Javelin and Nightfall began to converse, impatiently, the minibot drummed his fingers across his upper thigh while he waited. He didn't interrupt or interject, hoping that whatever Nightfall wanted with Javelin would result in her in leaving. Zoom-Zoom even took a step away from the doorway to leave it clear, so they could talk unobstructed.

He quirked an optic ridge at the miscommunication due to Nightfall's usage of human terms but didn't comment. Mentally, Zoom-Zoom cheered at the offer to guide Javelin around.

Yes. Please. Do that. Don't come back.

[Javelin]

Javelin listened as Zoom-Zoom gave her directions to Wheeljack's workshop. She hadn't even been aware there was another level to the base at first and had stumbled on the second level by accident - it just went to show how little she knew about her new home. Well, that's why she was wandering around, after all, learning where everything was.

Javelin understood people were busy and not feeling their best, thanks to both the truce and the dwindling supplies of energon. She didn't want to bother anyone by asking for a tour, so she'd learn the layout on her own. She already had a goodly part of the base downloaded into her processor.

She tried not to smile as he spoke of the many hazard signs surrounding the place. That certainly sounded like a workshop, yes. Hopefully the tools she didn't have on her already would be there, and she could get started. Javelin assumed if the place was completely off limits, there would be a sign on a door telling her so. Then she would have to go find someone.

Bemusedly arching a brow, she spoke, "I don't want to bother Ratchet, no. He's a medic, and I'm sure he's doing something extremely important. Besides, just the way you're saying that tells me the exact opposite."

She looked back to Nightfall again, tilting her head a little, "Huh. Miss means femme. I'll have to remember that."

Javelin mentally shook her head, glancing to an empty shelf for a moment. She was going to have to get on that "internet" thing. She was falling behind, and if she was going to be living alongside humans (whether they knew it or not), she might as well learn the lingo.

It was always hard settling in to a new place, especially a new planet. She had spent years on that neutral one, with the prominent sentient species being a biological people roughly the height of Cybertronians. While they had treated her with respect, they clearly considered her an oddity, a mechanical person. And it had been lonely, surrounded by a people with such completely different ways. She wanted to fit in so badly here...

Nightfall's offer brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned her optics back to him, "Oh, I'd really appreciate that, actually, are you sure you don't mind? I don't want to take you from something."

Looking back to Zoom-Zoom, she kept a mischievous smile hidden down deep. She was well aware of how the smaller mech was feeling - his body language was literally screaming "Get Out!" Oddly enough, she was starting to like the grumpy 'bot. So why not try to annoy him completely? She had discovered the absolute best way to annoy someone to death, was to pretend you had no idea you were annoying them. Play dumb. Pretend all the hints, glances and sighs were just going clear over your head.

"What's your name, anyway, I never did get it. How about you tell me as we head to the workshop, and tell me what you do here? I wouldn't want to be rude and just leave you here alone." She made a motion towards the doorway, clearly indicating he could join them if he so wished.

[Deleted]

"My apologies." Nightfall answered, immediately, honestly. "Earth idioms and phrases just... slip in, at times." he added, with a slightly awkward air.

He offered a slight shrug of one shoulder pauldron. "Humans really are quite fascinating. We've even a few of their young that come visit on occasion." Even if he hadn't really had an in depth conversation with one. He might accidentally squish them if he got too close.

Then his field brightened at Javelin's next words, though his expression remained neutral. "Of course, I'd be willing to show you about." he murmured mildly, ignoring Zoom Zoom's expression. While he might still wish he could find a nice quiet place, his earlier desire to be of service was still firmly placed in his processor. After all, the femme *had* asked, and it was at least better than leaving her to Zoom Zoom's resentful servos.


"... I believe my next question is what parts of the base have you explored already?" he added, after a moment's pause. "And I believe Zoom Zoom is quite happy to remain here." Despite it coming out in a way that might have seemed rude, he'd meant it simply as offering the mini a way to bow out without getting any ruder.

[Deleted]

Zoom-Zoom arched an optic ridge, as if the thought he'd spoken sarcastically about Ratchet was news to him. He tried not to vibrate impatiently as she and Nightfall chattered away about humans. Ugh. He didn't care much for earth's dominant species. That was not to say he underestimated them or ignored them, one just had to look at MECH to understand that they were a threat and worth studying. He just didn't get the fascination other Autobots had with them and in terms of his priorities, well, they rarely made the bottom of the list and he found dealing with them more inconvenient than not.

Much to the minibot's relief, when Javelin asked whether Nightfall was certain he wanted to show her around, the other mech said yes. Finally. Thank you. Get her out of here. Don't come back unless there was an emergency.

Goodbyeeeee.

Zoom-Zoom snorted when Javelin asked him whether he wanted to go with them to the workshop. Firstly, that was a place he never wanted to set foot again unless he really had to. Secondly, the alone thing sounded fantastic to him and he'd be getting on it as soon as possible, so nope. Staying here alone it definitely was.

"What he said," the minibot replied, jerking his head at Nightfall, who had pretty much said it all when replying to Javelin. "Goodbye, it was not a pleasure meeting you, etc, etc, please don't come back."

[Javelin]

"I've heard about the young humans, yes, though I haven't seen any yet. I hope they're not too small, I'm nervous enough about stepping on the adult ones. I think I saw some in the city, but I was moving around too much to really tell."

She turned to Zoom-Zoom. Trying not to openly grin, Javelin politely stepped past Zoom-Zoom, with a gentle smile, "Zoom-Zoom, then. Thank you for your help, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I'll keep an eye out for you in the future, to say hello." She gave a little salute-sorta thing with two fingers as she walked past.

Coming to stand before Nightfall, she nodded to him, "It's very nice of you to offer to show me around. I don't want to wander in some place I shouldn't be, especially this early."

She hummed, "Let's see."

Javelin raised her left servo, and started ticking items off, "I've seen the Control Room, and the halls, mostly. I found myself some small quarters - it seemed empty so I stayed there last night. Um. Visited the medical bay when Ratchet checked me over. Oh, the common room..um..."rec room", and the washracks. And this place. That's about it. Anything you consider important, lead the way! Oh, and the workshop, please. I have a date with some scrap."

She smiled at Nightfall, turning slightly to allow him to take the lead, linking her hands behind her back.

[Deleted]

"They're really quite something." Nightfall replied. "How their species grew to be the dominant one on the Earth, with no real armor or defenses- Primus, even their *adults* don't really get taller than several feet- is very interesting." he added. "They're really not even quite Cassette-level in defense." Which only made the aerial want to gather the human children all together and hide them away- even though he knew the act would likely be protested.

He paused, then, with a brief, short nod to Zoom Zoom, before he turned his attention back to Javelin, motioning her to accompany him. Mentally, he counted the places she'd named. Good. She'd already been to the most highly frequented places.

"I'm not sure we should go into Wheeljack's space- but I can show you where it is, at least." he allowed, not entirely certain. "I'll show you around the halls and such." he decided. But not to his own room. That was his. And Glimmer's.

"We'll want to go back up to the main level. This way, please."

[Javelin]

Javelin walked beside him, listening to him talk, nodding.

"I know what you mean about the humans. I'm not used to sentient species being so much shorter than I am. Every species I've come across, all the biologics, have been my height, or taller. It .... it actually makes me sort of nervous. I'm terrified I'm going to forget they're around and step on one of them, or accidentally kick one." She chuckled a little nervously, "But they have done so much in the short time of their species, from what I've been reading. I mean... their entire species is younger than I am, and they have already been to their closest satellite!"

She frowned faintly as he spoke of Wheeljack's workshop, "Drat. I'll have to ask someone's permission later, then. I really need to get access to some tools and scrap metal. I have most of my own tools -" here she lightly tapped her chest, indicating likely storage areas within her torso - " but I need to use the ones I don't have on me."

Nodding after he asked her to follow, she fell in behind him, "How many levels are there to this base, anyway? And how long have you been here? It seems like...." she faltered suddenly, "Sorry, I'm asking way too many questions, aren't I? I talk too much, sorry." Shutting her mouth, she awkwardly continued to follow Nightfall.

[Deleted]

Javelin's chatter was... distracting. But in a good way, Nightfall supposed. So long as she kept talking, he didn't overly mind it; if anything, it helped him relax just slightly. If a surprise came, she'd obviously have something to say about it as well, even if it was only a warning call.

"Personally? They're a little *too* small for me- every time I see one, I can't help but fret about it." Nightfall returned, unusually candid with a femme he'd literally just met. "How in *Primus* did they survive so long, and I need to immediately make them safe containers, sort of feeling." At the last, his field drew in just a little. "They're certainly intelligent, at least, and resourceful."

And *they* hadn't destroyed their own planet. He shoved the thought away hard.

Then she was commenting on the lab, and tapping her own chest, and Nightfall had a brief irrational moment of wondering she was a carrier as well, before she continued to talk about tools. "You make things?" he asked, then faltered.

"..Pardon me for not introducing myself earlier. My designation is Nightfall." Distracted for a mere moment as he returned his attention to Javelin, his 'grip' on Glimmer eased.

And out the Cassette tumbled, the lizard skittering free of the dock. Nightfall froze.