[ti]Ep 2.5[/ti]Pulse [open/Finale]

[Deleted]

EP 2.5 – Week 2 – Day 2

Location: Blackridgehold

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The starry night sky hang in its full splendor above the planet, covering the brash wilderness of the Oregon desert in a blanket of darkness. The moon was thick and shone bright onto the landscape below, offering with its white and silver rays some light for the occupants that traversed through the night.

On the ground itself; some shrubbery bend in the wind as it whipped past, and dust curled up where there were no rocks to guard it. It was chill, compared to the ever so hot and dry days of the area. The faint distinct sound of chirping insects could be heard if one dared to listen carefully. The sound quietly dropping into the background as nature put itself to rest and prepared for another day.

It was silent, peaceful, and just calm nonetheless.

And it was this atmosphere that offered a certain Cybertronian a chance to enjoy this quiet and peace. One he normally wasn't fond of as there always was a thing to do, a certain task to start or to finish, and always something to occupy himself with. Yet, the last few days had been rather... eventful, to say the least, and a 'time-out' certainly felt good for now. It gave him time to think things through, think and mull over past events that had occurred... and things he would like to do in the future.

This was accompanied by a whipping sound that disturbed the silence every now and then, caused by a metallic blade that cut through the air. A swirl of rotating blades slashing through the night in unison, lead by someone who was a top a plateau of rocks and gritty sand, standing on a ledge of natural formed formations.

The mech's armor barely visible under the cover of the night as his black plating merged with the darkness of the night. Though, the white paint stood out like a sore thumb. It clashed with the environment he currently found himself in, being brighter and well cared for. His red optics however, were covered under the brim of his helmet which allowed him to reduce their input of brightness, carefully dimmed behind a dark tinted visor as well.

A few rocky crumbs stumbled down the steep hill then as he began to move to adjust his stance. Not the desired effect he'd hoped to achieve. A frustrated snort left him quickly after as more of them were pushed down, rolling downhill before settling below a slim cleft.

How stupid!

Earth was weird. While it provided a beautiful environment, one he enjoyed to watch and even spend time reading about, it was just that; Beautiful! Nothing more, nothing less. But since their forces were stuck on ground, it was probably the best to make something out of it. And that contained more learning in order to survive.

Fun...

[Deleted]

She had been seated in the shadow of a boulder, watching as the stars moved across the night sky.

The heat from the day was leeching out of the rock, radiating warmth out into the cool night air.

The night sky here was so terribly….empty. Stars, and only stars. You could see no planets, no nebula. Even the nearest galaxy was just a blurry smear, even to her optics. The organics must see even less.

Finale had been forced to leave the underground base. Tonight, it had felt like the miles of rock and earth were pushing down on her, threatening to catch, to hold, to rend her immobile. Her spark had been pulsing, threatening to burst from her chest. Finally, rudely pushing past Vehicons, she had managed to get out into the cool night air, and “breathe”.

A clatter of rocks.

Frowning faintly, Finale turned towards the sound. After a moment, it repeated itself.

Autobots?

Rising silently to her feet, she slid a sword out of it’s sheathe, moving forward.

Creeping around a boulder, a streak of white caught her eye, and she looked up, to see a mech. He stood atop the boulder, apparently attempting to go through the stations of swordplay.

His footing wasn’t strong. Too much rubble beneath his peds.

Amused, she silently slid the sword back into it’s place in her thigh, and watched him for a moment, before speaking calmly.

“You should not stand against the sky so. The white on your frame stands out too clearly.”

[Deleted]

“You should not talk against the silence so. The tone of your voice stands out too clearly.”

The black and white mech replied back, the faintest hint of mockery lazed within his words. A smug smile accompanied this as it spread over his lips. Though, he did not turn his helm to regard the stranger just yet, and merely focused on holding the sword in front of him for a moment.

The blade was straight out pointing towards the deserted landscape of the area, before then slowly shifting towards the other, now pointing at her instead. It wasn't a threatening move, nor one that was meant in any form of aggression, no, but merely done as to indicate and show a point of interest.

His attention now rested on her aa his helm began to move to the side, red optics piercing through the dark as they took in her shape.

Blackframe had not seen this individual on board the Nemesis, nor could he determine the femmes voice to any of the received recordings. She was dark, way darker than any of the occupants he'd met, or read about. Slim, sleek and overall built for... perhaps speed and performance. Definitively both! Which was mostly accompanied with a certain ability of movement and agility. Also, a grounder. Her wheels resting comfortably at her back were evidence enough. But what truly caught his optics were the weapons sheathes within her thighs.

Beautiful!

“Haven't seen you around... new?”

He responded dryly, withdrawing his weapons while taking in a deep vent.

“What's yer name?”

[Deleted]

Finale tilted her head slightly to the side after he spoke, remaining silent. She studied his words, and found them confusing. They made no sense. She understood what he was doing, of course. She had possibly startled him and he may have been attempting to throw back her words at her in an attempt to regain some pride. However, they lacked depth. There was hardly silence, the rocks falling down the incline was what drew her here in the first place.

Shrugging faintly to herself, Finale looked around until she found a smaller boulder to perch upon, legs stretched out before her. When she remained perfectly still, it was easy for the eyes to tend to lose her somewhat. Her black, navy and dark grey dappled coloring, in low light, sometimes gave the odd impression parts of her were appearing and disappearing. The strange optical illusion tended to vanish as light either increased or decreased. Again, in silence she watched him for a few minutes, taking in his form and how he moved. Eventually, she spoke.

“I am new to Earth, yes. I sought out Megatron, only to arrive here to find him...not. “

A pause.

“My designation is Finale.”

Silence for another moment, then a gentle observation.

“I believe your left leg is slightly crooked. It is why you dislodged those pebbles.”

[Deleted]

Well, that individual was strange!

His red optics never left her frame as she began to move, apparently making herself comfortable on a rock. Her movement and her overall appearance was more than familiar to the black and white mech however. He'd seen those before, those careful, silent motions to allow someone to move like a shadow through the darkness. Stealth, it was an ability, a skill used by an individual who wanted to be invisible. A trait which was used for many different reasons, and professions.

This realization quickly led him to wonder in which it was she specialized in... but didn't got far with it as she began to speak.

As she did so, Blackframe's smile faded as he listened. While it was true that their leader was currently missing, it wasn't much of a big deal, at least for him. Finale on the other servo seemed as she was worried about it, for whatever reason.

At her following observation, his whole frame froze as if been tossed into an ocean of ice. A cold shudder passed through him and he rose an optical ridge in question.

“Well, I have no idea what yer deal is, but poking at one's paint job and then call them out because their legs are positioned weird... I don't know.”

“But whatever. Welcome to planet dirt, Fin. Hope yer a fan of rock and roll, because earth is full of it.”

He tried to throw a smug smirk into her direction then, hoping that she could take at least a little bit of humor.

“And yeah, Megatron is currently on a vacation, but you may leave a message at Screamers office after he's done squeaking. Has someone already informed you about the current situation yet?”

[Deleted]

Finale continued to watch Blackframe in silence, observing quietly. After he spoke, still remaining nearly motionless, she spoke again. She gave the impression that she never did anything without meaning, able to remain still for long periods.

“Not ‘poking’, making an observation. With advice you may accept or not, as you wish.”

She gazed up, overhead for a moment, eying the stars again, before looking back down at Blackframe.

“Yes, I heard that Starscream is now in control of the Decepticons.”

Her voice was utterly neutral, revealing nothing.

A faint nod, “If you mean the truce, and this…MECH…, then yes, I have heard of it. Although I find it hard to imagine the top sentient life forms here an threat. Still, I will not test it.”

She shifted faintly, drawing one long leg up to place a ped on the rock, arms slowly wrapping around her knee and shin. Dark violet eyes remained glued to the mech.

“I did not get your designation. Nor rank, if you have any.”

[Deleted]

“My name's Blackframe, residential asshole apparently. And don't worry, humans are weak! It's their neat little toys you have to watch out for, that's all.”

He shrugged that off, not wanting to dwell on it too much.

“And the truce is absolutely slag. Unnecessary and just a bad attempt to buy some time, tho, I won't lie, it provides us with some benefits. But overall? Urgh!”

Really, this truce was a waste of time, as was playing 'hide and seek' with the locals.

Blackframe just wished they could speed things up, stop playing games for once and act like a strong military organization. A well planned strike, a quick assault and the planet could have been harvested dry by now. But instead? They had chosen to lay low and use the stealth option which was so very rare within their faction.

Why? He had no idea.

“But hey, if that's all they've told you, you clearly haven't poked enough.”

“So, here's the crash course; Harvesting energon is our main priority, as is currently locating the Autobots whereabouts upon this planet. Optimus Prime is present on earth as well, hence the big bravo. Tho, our flying fortress is currently playing submarine and sadly that's gonna stay like that for a while it seems. And oh! Yeah, a virus is running rampage.”

A quiet hum escaped him then while raising his servo up to tap his chin thoughtfully. Did he forget something? Hopefully not, but even if so? There were many other options to obtain said knowledge.

“Anyway, what's your specialty? I bet you're quite talented when it comes to a staring contest.”

Playful, amused, smug and meant to be as a joke as Blackframe noticed her silent observation.

[Deleted]

Finale remained quiet as Blackframe spoke, letting him ramble as she picked up extra information. She was aware of the truce, and what was going on with the humans. Just how Blackframe spoke about it, however, told her a lot about him. If he felt the humans themselves weren’t a threat, just their technology, he may be doing them a disservice.

That could come back and bite him in the aft, later.

Also, the fact he never gave his rank indicated he either had none, or didn’t want to disclose it.

Curious.

Not moving, Finale continued to watch him as he spoke, only speaking herself once he was done.

Tilting her head faintly, she replied.

“ ‘Speciality’. Hmm. I am very good at tracking and hunting my prey, when I am given something to hunt. I trained for a long time to be good at what I do, and I do not undertake it lightly. If you want to give it a name, I suppose “infiltration’ is as good as any.”

The femme had learned a long time ago not to speak overmuch of her true occupation, not to those of equal or lesser rank. The fact you were sharing a table or room with someone who may one day be hired to terminate you didn’t sit well with most mecha. In general, Finale only told those above her, who may have need to call on her special services. Otherwise, appearing as infiltration was probably for the best.

Finale changed the topic of conversation, “This virus you speak of. What can you tell me of it? Is it known yet how it is spread, or who has been affected? I have heard rumours that Soundwave contacted it, and he is responsible for bringing down the Nemesis, but that may be pure gossip amongst the Vehicons.”

[Deleted]

The stars hang bright above them, continuing to flicker like snowflakes in the wind. The air was still somewhat cool and the sky cloudless, revealing most of the white specks to be seen with ease. Blackframe took a moment to admire them, lifting his helm to stare up into the vastness before turning his attention back to Finale.

While he had understood her indication of her job, he could not quite understand her subtle approach of the topic. Sure, they didn't know each other and she probably was just being careful, but still, it left him wonder why she chose to speak in such a way instead of pulling the donkey by its tail.

He personally never was one to censor his own words, or try to put a filter on his mouth. Blackframe always voiced his concerns, asked the questions no one else would ask and even questioned high ranking officers in their choice making.

“Ah, I see.”

He replied dumbfounded a few seconds later.

It was all he would say regarding the topic, picking up on how quickly she wished to change the subject already. Granted, it irked him to know more about it, yet would respect her decision and remain silent about it.

“As for the virus? Mhh, I wonder. If you want specific answers I recommend asking Knock Out.”

It was probably the best advise he could give her at the current time anyway.

“I personally don't care about it. I did try to help, and have been brutally rejected. So they can figure it out by themselves. Not my problem.”

“And who knows? Maybe it is just some gossip, depending if you want to believe it or not.”

Blackframe would not give any concrete affirmation if those gossips were true or not. Finale would have to ask someone more suited to answer those questions if she truly was as interested as she made herself appear.

“The only thing I hate about this whole ordeal is that Soundwave will walk out of it as if nothing happened should he truly be found guilty. No punishment nor consequences for what he did, regardless if he was affected by a virus or not. If any other had done this, they would have been terminated by now. Equality my aft!”

A few rocks were kicked off the boulder in frustration with a deep and annoyed 'tsk' which followed after. He truly was not agreeing with their factions current 'problem-solving' method at all. But would not go against it at the current moment.

[Deleted]

Watching Blackframe look up at the stars, Finale lifted her own helm, and likewise studied the small diamonds against the velvety blackness of the night sky.
No constellations were familiar here. They were all new to her optics. She idly wondered if the local sentient species had named some of their own, and decided if she ever had the chance, she would try to look them up. People often hid a lot of their culture in their skies.

Finale sometimes missed culture.

The faint cry of a night animal in the distance caught her audials for a moment, although she did not move. It reminded her of one she had heard before – a beautiful avian species that hunted in the dark, plumage rippling as it cut through the air to silently take down its prey with an admirable lethality.

Owls, they were called. She was growing enamoured of them.

Tilting her head, Finale watched and listened as Blackframe spoke, taking in his words, his tone, his posture, how he moved.

He seemed very...volatile, quick to jump from one emotion to the next. He seemed to do a great deal of posturing as well, attempting to brush off an imagined slight, only to quickly make a cutting remark about it a few seconds later.

To Finale, he seemed....emotionally unstable.

“As for Knock Out, I will not bother him with questions. I imagine he is very busy, and I likely would not understand the answers anyway.”

A pause.

“Do you believe that Soundwave, then, should be punished for his actions?”

[Deleted]

“Yes, yes I do! Sounders deserves that! And don't worry about Knock Knock. The good ol' doc can take it, I mean hey! He survived me.”

He exclaimed enthusiastic in respond to Finale's question, letting some humor flow into the sentence.

Blackframe couldn't explain what it was that made him feel... comfortable, but he would not question it at the moment. Maybe it was her calm approach, maybe it was her curiosity, or maybe it was just the fact that she hadn't outright ignored the situation at hand, or brushed it off with a simple gesture.

There was no witty remark, no judgment held against him and with that, he bounced off the boulder to come and scrambled his way down and over to where Finale was sitting. A long and careful glance was being cast her way then, before he just slumped down next to her cross-legged. Blackframe was still careful, not exactly knowing how far he could go, and therefor would allow them both some privacy.

“Well, do you know that the Decepticons were originally created as a movement to demonstrate against the caste-system? To demand and fight for freedom, for those too weak to stand up for themselves and for equality and freedom of speech?”

“Sometimes I wonder if those ideals are still present... or if we are just being deceived by our beloved leaders.”

It was almost spoken with a boisterous attitude, trying to show off some knowledge and wisdom. But it was also said in a way that indicated doubt and apprehension. A smug smile, a raised brow and furthermore the sly expression in his optics accompanied this, trying to fortify his intentions.

“I'm not delusional, Fin. I don't believe in rainbows and glitter scraplets. And I am certainly not blind, so? What's bothering you?”

[Deleted]

Finale quietly watched as Blackframe made his way down from the boulder he perched on, and after a moment’s pause, threw himself down on the ground beside her.

She wasn’t sure what to make of his calling their CMO “Knock Knock”. It was disrespectful, but she didn’t know enough about him to know if it was intentional or not. Either way, she felt it would be a sure way to have himself marked.

His strong vehemence that Soundwave should be punished for his actions did not sit particularly well with her. Soundwave outranked them both, and if the rumors were true, and he really was at the mercy of a strange illness, then it wasn’t their place to make such judgements. Even had Soundwave not been ill, it still wasn’t her place to make judgements. That was for their leader to do not, not them. Finale was quite content to be a cog in the great Decepticon war machine, with no desire to rise above whatever rank she managed to gain in her duties. If she did well enough in the duties that were given to her that she gained a promotion and title? Wonderful! But she would not strive nor plot to do so.

Listening to Blackframe speak, she tilted her helm slightly, watching him. The mech seemed to her to be an odd bundle of nervous energy.

“I do know, actually. Sadly, I missed the early days, when Megatron gave his rousing speeches to the masses. I did not come to the Decepticon banner until much later, when the war had already begun. But I am familiar with the origins, and I believe in them wholeheartedly. The previous system was broken and corrupt, and nothing short of a complete replacement would solve the problem. I am proud to be a part of that."

A pause.

A silent regard, she monitored Blackframe quietly for a moment, before speaking again. In that quiet space, an owl hooted somewhere in the distance. A huntress, hunting her prey. For an odd moment, Finale’s spark longed to rise and join the creature.

“You may not be blind, but you are mistaken. Why do you think something is wrong?”

[Deleted]

Blackframe could only nod in regard to her statement.

The caste system was a broken system, their whole society was broken back then and whenever one had been trying to rise against it, they had been forcefully and violently put into their place. Corruption was a daily occurrence and money spoke louder than any law. Blackframe could remember the times where the military shoved lower and sometimes even higher caste mecha to the ground, grinding their heels into their faces just to force them into submission with legally claimed brutality.

Those had been truly unpleasant times, at least for the receiving individuals.

Being pulled from his own inner thoughts by an unfamiliar sound then, Blackframe's helm shot up to look into the direction it was coming from. His optics scanned the area for any intruders as his servos found the two sword hilts to grab onto. He did not rise to his pedes, but his frame went rigid for a second there as he mentally prepared himself for an attack.

The previous call had not been lost to him, and while he'd ignored it at first, the second time it surely crawled underneath his plating. That was definitely one cry too much for his liking...

It wasn't hard to tell that earth was still fresh and new to the black and white mech, his field of utterly nervousness betraying that much. And while he'd read over some information on the internet, it was hard to say what was true and what was false regarding the matter. Granted, it did not bother him when a creature crawled along the surface for whatever reason, but if that particular creature became vocal and was way too close to their position in critical times like these? That was another story altogether.

But thankfully, Finale was quick to strike with another question, one which at least gave him an opportunity to forget the local wildlife for a moment and concentrate on the other Cybertronian at hand.

“Your body language, actually!”

“You're sitting all cowed up, hugging yer legs, unmoving and silent as if trying to vanish from the surface. It's like as if you don't want to drag attention to you, fearing that if you would, something bad would happen. Like, I don't know, it somehow reminds me of someone who has been beaten into submission with a stick so bad they're scared to even consider themselves being alive... And yeah, I know what I'm talking about.”

A quick shrug was given in return, brushing it off as if it was unwanted dust on his armor.

“But say? What did you do before the war? You said your specialty is infiltration, did you visit a school back then, or went to an university? I mean, not to sound offensive, but hey, I work in the same field and went to an academy to study there. Was just wondering... you know.”

[Deleted]

She had been about to reply when Blackframe’s body language suddenly changed. Reaching for his weapons.

Cautiously, Finale had been moving to grasp her own, unsure of what had caught his attention, when she realized he had been looking in the direction of the owl. She lowered her hands, resting them upon her thighs, and quietly waited for him to resettle himself. She wasn’t aware if he had any experience with organic planets, or if he was just a nervous individual. Of course, considering they were on a planet with Autobots, being cautious wasn’t an unreasonable state of mind. Despite the truce, one had to always be ready.

She listened quietly – as she did most everything quietly - as he explained where his train of thought had come from. Finale glanced down at her hands to hide a faint smile. Not wanting to offend.

His observations would normally be correct. Finale had to admit she was sitting as one who wished to hide, to remain hidden. Curled in on herself.

But in her case, it wasn’t an attempt to hide out of fear or nervousness. The years had simply impressed on her a need to be unseen in order to hunt better. In this, as in most things, Finale thought as a predator. Always be ready to attack, or defend. Always be unseen. Take up a small amount of room in order to leave behind a smaller trace you were there. Be a small target.

She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she had really felt fear. Not since she had escaped from.... well. Since then Finale had developed a sense of...feeling very little at all. If she died, so be it. It was her fate, and she would accept it as long as she did what she was asked. Her lack of fear didn’t come from arrogance or a sense of power or strength, but rather.... a sort of blissful numbness. The only thing that truly stirred her was her love of her leader, her love of her faction, and her love of the hunt.

Those made her feel alive.

Finale didn’t correct Blackframe. None of it was really that important, after all.

She raised her head when he asked her another question, and paused, considering.

“Before the war I was in the entertainment industry. I performed. Danced, acted, and the like. And no, I fear I didn’t attend any academy. By the time I joined the Decepticons, such things had fallen on both sides, really. I was trained in the arts of fighting and infiltration, among other things, by those who had gained great skill on the streets. My trainers were those who had survived long enough to be scarred but victorious in all their hunts.“

She tilted her helm, looking out into the black distance, thinking, “I suppose you could say it was the University of Life. It was a hard school, violent and dirty, but highly skilled. Trainers didn’t do it for pay, but for the love of their profession. Few graduated.”

[Deleted]

“Yeah, I can imagine.”

He said in regard to Finale's answer, trying to resettle himself with a heavy ex-vent.

“I never was much a fan of this 'University of Life' you speak of. It's cruel, and it can change mecha into machines. But I guess it doesn't matter nowadays. We are all just mindless machines... most of us anyway.”

“But entertainment sounds nice. Been a while since I could enjoy myself... well, truly enjoy myself, that is.”

The mentioning of her previous job made him smile, yet he would not address the topic at hand. It was better to avoid personal conversations... for now, at least! No need to scare her off the rock that soon!

Folding his servos in his lap, Blackframe stared up into the dark vastness of the sky, thinking.

It was a rather calm and relaxing night, all things considered, yet he missed the Nemesis. An environment he could feel safe, or at least feel familiar with. Their technology, architecture and even the annoying chatter of Vehicons that roamed around the dark vessel were something he truly missed at the moment. This? Earth? It wasn't even close to that and he hoped that their suffering would not last all too long- no, he would make SURE it would not last any longer than actually necessary!

Looking back down and to Finale again, a thought crossed his mind...

“Hey? You claimed yourself to be 'good' in what you're doing... right?”

There was only the slightest hesitation in his voice, before the black and white mech rose to his pedes, brushing off some dirt and dust. When he slowly turned around, his red optics would lock onto hers again, tilting his helm to the side as if sizing her up once more. It wasn't a gaze of judgment, but challenging nonetheless.

“Care to show me?”