Post by Jetfire on Mar 13, 2021 13:38:52 GMT -5
--PLAYER INFO--
Name/Alias: Kavac
Discord: Kavac#3260
--CHARACTER INFO--
Name: Jetfire
Age: Mid 40’s
Gender: Mech
Species: Cybertronian
Faction: Autobots
Original Occupation: Aspiring Scientist - Lab Tech - Energon Seeker
Occupation/Specialization: Scientist - Air Captain
Appearance: A native of Vos, Jetfire possesses a quintessential seeker’s build. While not quite as bulky as some of the larger Decepticon seekers, he still retains their height and powerful stature. In regards to most Autobots, Jetfire easily stands out through size alone. He towers over most of his comrades, save for Optimus himself, who he only just barely outclasses in height.
In terms of the rest of his frame, Jetfire possesses medium armor, bathed in white, red, and the occasional splash of blue trimming. Each wing is plastered with an Autobot insignia, both of which sit flared outwards along his back. In addition to the two large thrust modules sitting on his back, he also possesses four additional thrusters mounted on his pedes and hands to assist his maneuverability while not transformed. While he may have taken a few nicks and scrapes over the course of the war, Jetfire’s expression remains calm, cool, and collected; perhaps even a bit confident. His frosty blue optics have stayed bright through the hardship, in more ways than one.
Altmode: After having ventured to Earth, Jetfire has taken on the form of an F-22 Raptor.
Pertinent History: Jetfire of Vos was cold constructed at the height of the Golden Age, though as a member of the flight caste who was barred from becoming something greater, he wouldn’t have named it something so glamorous. Though the rest of his seeker batch was mostly content to serve out in their designated military and security roles, Jetfire’s spark wasn’t quite in it. In his core, he had a thirst for knowledge instead of combat.
Though he was officially barred from enrolling in the Academy of Science and Technology in Iacon thanks to his alt-mode, Jetfire was at the very least allowed to sit in as an observer, an opportunity he took great advantage of. He leapt at opportunities to practice what he’d unofficially learned in any way he could, such as performing menial laboratory work as an aide or tech. While not engaged in pseudo-official course work, Jetfire was officially a member of Vos’s Energon Seekers. He enjoyed the chance to venture to far off worlds for months on end, even if his ideal career had to take a backseat. It was in the downtime between expeditions that Jetfire discovered he wasn’t the only Seeker with a greater interest in scientific pursuits.
For years, Jetfire the hermit was a familiar sight around the Academy, until the day when a senior fellow managed to secure his official enrollment. Coming into the Academy’s entry-level courses, Jetfire quite literally demolished all academic expectations, having put years of lurking to proper use. In no time at all, he had caught up with the curve.
After recreating a few classic studies and conducting a few of his own originals, another roadblock was tossed in front of Jetfire’s way. His work would be archived, but never published to the same extent as his contemporaries, all of whom were blessed to fall within the intellectual class. In the eyes of his publishers, non-intellectual material wasn’t fit to be printed.
Undaunted from achieving his goal, but now increasingly frustrated with the results, Jetfire started looking for alternatives. The long-despised caste system had not just hampered his own efforts, but the efforts and dreams of anyone else that yearned to be something other than what they were told. These strong convictions were eventually what drew a young Jetfire to the burgeoning Decepticon movement, headed by none other than a charismatic gladiator going by “Megatronus”. It wasn’t long before he signed on in secret, having been enraptured by the Decepticon leader’s rhetoric about abolishing the caste system. Brushing shoulders with those that shared his views felt good, perhaps cathartic even. Although Jetfire didn’t quite possess the same ruthless pragmatism that many of his new peers had embraced, his ambition, conviction, and fiery spirit smoothed over any doubts about his allegiance.
It was when a young Iaconian archivist began meeting with Megatronus that Jetfire began seeing cracks in the walls. He held some measure of contempt for Orion Pax at first, as after all, it was easy justifying a peaceful revolution when you’d never been a target of systemic caste-based oppression. However, Jetfire felt that Pax’s viewpoint was valid nonetheless, and believed that his views of peaceful change would be more effective at swaying opinion if they were endorsed by Megatronus and Pax together. One fateful trip to the High Council would smother these hopes in their infancy.
In the moment, most revolutionaries didn’t have a clue as to what had just happened. Megatronus had called his most loyal followers to his side after having stormed out of the High Council chambers, and Orion Pax had become Optimus Prime. In the beginning, Jetfire didn’t rush to answer either side’s call to arms. A civil war was something that he’d anticipated to some degree, though not one like this. In his mind, the war ought to have been between the Council and the combined forces of Orion Pax and Megatronus. This new conflict was a beast he hadn’t prepared for.
Sitting the conflict out entirely was a path that ran contrary to everything Jetfire had believed up until this point, and yet, he couldn’t justify giving his loyalty to either side. On one hand, there were the more idealistic reformers now serving the system that had been oppressing them, and on the other, the hardliners who were quickly forming a cult of personality around their leader. Neither option seemed like the correct choice. With most of his home city-state of Vos having joined Megatron and his Decepticons after being ‘liberated’ from the Autobots, Jetfire momentarily wavered in his convictions. It may have just been easier to fall in with the rest of the seekers, and perhaps it would have been.
When the first Tower Bombings began, the doubt was bled from Jetfire’s mind. Thousands of civilians had paid the price for Megatron’s ambition, and they were merely the first of many. No utopia was worth the cost that the Decepticons were inflicting. His loyalties now certain, Jetfire tore the Decepticon brand from his chest, gathered a small group of likeminded Vosian seekers, and defected to the Autobots.
Much to Jetfire’s chagrin, he turned out to be very good at what he was originally built to be. Despite his relative inexperience with aerial combat, he adapted to quickly establish himself as one of the more skilled members of the outgunned Autobot air corps. Though not yet officially part of the Autobot command structure, and with many of Sentinel Zeta Prime’s officer clique not willing to grant Jetfire a commission, he established his leadership capabilities and tactical prowess in the skies. His raw intelligence, coupled with a lack of orthodox military flight schooling, gave birth to a few new engagement theories that served the outnumbered Autobot seekers well in the war.
In the days before the Exodus, Jetfire was partly responsible for the air defense of the Ark’s launchpad, a task that was made increasingly difficult thanks to a major (and desperate) Decepticon offensive intent on capturing it. As pressure from the Decepticons increased, many Autobots including Jetfire volunteered to stay behind and defend the Ark as it launched. As both the Ark and the Nemesis took the last space bridge to the Milky Way, the reality of the situation dawned on those left behind.
The remainder of the war on Cybertron was as much against the enemy as it was against the elements. The grand, sweeping offensives of the past few million years were gone, and in their place came a grueling war for survival. Confrontations between the Autobots and Decepticons were infrequent, but brutal whenever they occurred. Looting the dead became common practice for both sides, though there was never enough to sustain either side for much longer than that. Jetfire’s hope and staunch idealism began to crumble around him in tandem with the skyscrapers, having debated whether or not he’d made the right choice, or even if the war was worth winning.
As the war finally bled out, his spirit at the edge of breaking, Jetfire decided it was time to depart Cybertron, perhaps for good. As one of the last space-capable fliers left on the planet, Jetfire was able to enter low orbit in order to salvage one of the many dead vessels that floated around the planet. It took a great deal of searching the debris field, but in the end a quantum drive was salvaged with roughly enough juice left for but a few precious jumps. It would be more than enough for Jetfire, whose only goal now was to simply leave with his life.
Having left his homeworld for what he believed to be the last time, and with no word on Optimus or the rest of the Autobots who’d fled during the Exodus, Jetfire found himself without purpose for the very first time. He lingered in between quantum jumps for what seemed like eons, debating various courses of action. Returning to his research endeavors became the most viable option.
The further from Cybertron he flew, the smaller the war seemed; the smaller his troubles seemed, in particular. It was a perspective that Jetfire had sorely needed after spending half his life in unyielding conflict. The next few years left Jetfire free to generate theory and research at his leisure, however publication was no longer the goal. He found it therapeutic, in a way. Plus, nobody out in the depths of deep space would’ve bothered to comment that a member of the flight caste was performing research.
Then the message came. Optimus Prime was alive, and he was calling all Autobots to join him on Earth. Jetfire still knew where his loyalties lay, but for a short few moments, he wavered. It would be easy to simply disregard the message entirely, and to instead continue with his endless sojourn through space, devoting his pursuits to knowledge instead of war. Jetfire was tempted, at the very least.
He set course for Earth within the hour.
Personality: Through enduring the dour, soul-crushing atmosphere of war, Jetfire found his idealism and hope dashed repeatedly. By the end of the conflict on Cybertron, he was but a shell of the revolutionary who’d signed on with the Decepticons, and later the Autobots. These past few years alone in space cruising around for research opportunities has done a great deal to mend the wounds in Jetfire’s spirit, and as he put it, everyone needs a break.
Idealism to pragmatism, pragmatism to despair, and from despair, hope. Optimus’s message couldn’t have come at a better time for Jetfire, managing to reignite the fire that once burned brightly in his spark chamber.
At his core, Jetfire is passionate and idealistic about a great many things, chief among them his work and politics. Though he may have been beaten down with time, the young spark who chafed under the oppression of his day still functions. His convictions stand firm, with Jetfire hoping to see a better Cybertron emerge from the final stages of the war, for if a more equal Cybertron fails to rise, then all is lost.
Compared to other notable Cybertronian scientists, Jetfire’s personality is not as consumed by a devotion to science. Jovial (within reason) and unafraid to venture outside of the lab to socialize, he strikes a welcome balance between work and rest, having learned the importance of the latter only after the war left Cybertron. The sense of urgency and mission that once characterized the air captain during the war has faded somewhat, though signs of it remain visible, as the graveness of the Autobots’ situation has not evaded his awareness. Jetfire believes that whatever happens, the battles on Earth will be some of the last, for there is very little tinder left for the flame. Better to at least lighten up a little before the end comes.
Cynicism isn’t a new concept to Jetfire, although one he seldom indulges in. Analytical at heart, critiquing others tends to come naturally to him, just one reason why he prefers to stay in the lab for half the day. Jetfire’s brash confidence tends to mingle with his more critical nature, and he has no compunction with calling out ideas or statements he deems to be fundamentally incorrect, no matter who they’re from. As such, Jetfire thrives when working under leaders capable of listening to and incorporating their subordinates' criticisms of their methods, something Jetfire himself tries to bend his own style of leadership toward. He never wanted to be a military mech, so he’ll be damned if he ends up becoming some cocksure officer barking orders to his subordinates.
Likes:
Flying: Naturally. Though he yearned for other pursuits early in life, Jetfire can’t deny that he feels most at home high in the sky, or deep in space. Whenever an opportunity for flight presents itself, be it via a mission or simply a lull in the action, Jetfire will seize it eagerly.
Experimental Research: Anything that has even the slightest chance of breaking new ground will always capture Jetfire’s optics, no matter how far-fetched or foolhardy the theory might be. He delights in collaborating with others on their own research, and even if his background doesn’t quite match with the theory, he’ll do his utmost to contribute regardless.
Critical Thinking: Jetfire always thinks before doing, and he appreciates those that share this tendency.
Tinkering: Hands-on is an excellent descriptor of how Jetfire works, and simply toying around with gadgets and inventions is one of his preferred pastimes when not engaged with more pressing work. The invention’s purpose doesn’t even always factor into it, either. If it works, or just does something at all, then it’s neat in Jetfire’s book.
Autobots: While it has been some time since Jetfire travelled in the company of another Cybertronian, let alone an Autobot, this distance has only strengthened the invisible bonds he feels between himself and his comrades. Regardless of who they are, he’s missed them more than they know.
Dislikes:
Rash Thinking: Many an Autobot has been brought down by acting instead of thinking, and Jetfire would prefer that this trend not continue.
Decepticons: Though he shared in their dream of a better Cybertron millenia ago, Jetfire couldn’t be a further cry from what the Decepticon movement now represents. Ironically, Megatron’s original pre-war teachings have stuck with him all this time, and likely will continue to do so. He holds nothing but contempt for Megatron’s hypocrisy, and all those that follow it.
Reckless Progress: Progress for progress’s sake has always felt like a slippery slope to Jetfire. Conducting research and experiments that skirt the lines of morality don’t sit well with him, as the war has made him well aware of what happens when ethics are thrown to the wind in the name of science.
Fighting Without Purpose: Behind every blast from a rifle, behind every swing of a blade, there must be purpose. Violence, if it must be done at all, must be in the service of good and in defense of the helpless. This was Jetfire’s personal credo during his time as a Decepticon, and his convictions were only magnified after he joined the Autobots. He finds fighting for the fun of it to be both distasteful and a waste of resources.
Strengths/Weapons:
We’ll Do it Together - A passionate, aspiring scientist from Vos wouldn’t have been on anyone’s list of leadership candidates, and yet here Jetfire is. Naturally confident and cool under pressure, Jetfire is able to broadcast this same level of clarity and competency to his squadrons. In his eyes, any true leader should be able to listen to their subordinates, even if they present contradictory opinions.
Compassionate Spark - Nothing else is more responsible for Jetfire’s strong moral convictions than his powerfully compassionate nature. Injustice, pain and suffering are all some of his greatest motivations, and his empathy will often override his dislike of Decepticons if he sees their own suffering. Though to some, this may be viewed as a weakness.
Scorched Ozone - Jetfire’s main ‘punch’ in combat comes from his two modified blaster cannons, built into his forearms in robot mode, and into his fuselage while transformed. Fairly standard armaments for larger and/or aerial-oriented Autobots during the war on Cybertron, Jetfire further modified them out of habit. Both weapons pack a considerable punch, being able to easily defeat standard light armor and wear down heavy armor with time and effort. Jetfire has managed to marginally increase the base fire rate of these weapons by integrating a pair of heat sinks into their housing. Jetfire can manage to use both weapons at 2-3 blasts per second in most cases, though sustained fire is still more than able to overheat them and render them inoperable for a short time.
Wings Full of Spears - Jetfire carries an arsenal of powerful energon missiles, four calibrated for short range, and two for long range. His short range missiles are capable of traveling at mach 4 while in atmosphere and have a range of roughly 20 miles, while his long-range missiles can travel 40 miles at mach 5. Both sets of weapons are able to cause serious damage to medium armor plating, though a good hit with one of Jetfire’s two long range missiles can cripple heavy armor. All six missiles are capable of tracking their targets, though this functionality is rendered useless when used in a close ground-to-ground setting. Jetfire reserves them for almost exclusively aerial engagements, and very rarely long-range ground engagements.
Jet-Fu - In addition to the two primary thrust modules mounted on Jetfire’s back, he also possesses a set of maneuvering thrusters built into his limbs. Given that he lacks any weapon suited for traditional close-quarters-combat, Jetfire has incorporated these thrusters into his fighting style on the ground. Jet-boosted punches and kicks form the bulk of his arsenal on the ground, though excessive use of his thrusters in this fashion tends to make Jetfire succumb to the battle’s attrition, rendering him much slower and less maneuverable as a result. At extremely close quarters, Jetfire is also able to use the sustained thrust from one of his palm-mounted thrusters to burn through light armor, though they’ll only inflict cosmetic damage on anything sturdier.
At Home in the Stars - Whether in space or in atmo, Jetfire is most at home above it all. A Seeker ace and squadron leader, there are few things in the air that can match Jetfire’s veteran skill.
Weaknesses:
Over the Line - Despite his preference for thought over action, harming those he cares about is a surefire way to make Jetfire throw this principle from the nearest balcony. He is well aware of this fact, and makes every effort to restrain himself from doing something rash as a result. But, everyone has a breaking point.
Atychiphobic - A holdover from his early days at the Academy, Jetfire’s fear of failure is something that both cripples and drives him at times. It pushes him to continuously experiment with new material, to birth new theories, and to put forth his absolute best on the battlefield. However, should he fail in these regards, he disproportionately blames himself above all.
Self-Depreciation - Less visible than his fear of failure, Jetfire’s tendency to undersell his actions can sometimes be detrimental. When praised for his actions, he humbly passes them off as being nothing more than his duty as an Autobot and as a scientist. Anything further than that will then prompt him to begin listing out his flaws, whether or not they factored into anything.
Like Icarus Before Him - Or any other seeker, for that matter. Jetfire’s wings are always a vulnerability he needs to account for in combat. If damaged in the air, they make him an easy target to follow through on. On the ground, he becomes a big red target that can’t zip out of the way.
Critical Areas - As Jetfire was intended for primarily aerial combat, his armor plating does not fully cover his form in robot mode. His hands, legs and joints still represent areas that could cripple him if damaged sufficiently, his hands in particular, which would rob him of his main ranged weapons, and his maneuvering thrusters. Missiles, and other heavy anti-armor weapons are still sufficient to damage him, as well.
Burnout - As Jetfire’s arsenal is geared toward dealing powerful, decisive blows to end fights quickly, any fight that lasts longer than he anticipates is one he is sure to lose, though he may soldier on admirably for fights of average duration. Being able to fight primarily in the air is how Jetfire works around this particular weakness, as he needs to expend more energy on the ground to fight as effectively. Hamper his mobility, and he will burn himself out trying to fight back.
Special Skills:
Fluid and Crystalized - Having been barred from traditional higher education for the longest time, Jetfire was forced to enlighten himself through whatever means were available to him, usually by applying to low-level laboratory positions. With any job, regardless of the task, Jetfire takes his time to appreciate and understand the science behind it. Though he never specialized in any one field, Jetfire’s interests and expertise can be best described as an intersection between physics and technology.
Sample RP:
It wasn’t officially against the station’s rules for someone of his caste to view these terminals, although in his brothers’ defense, most Seekers didn’t concern themselves with high energy equations and Trion’s axioms. He still doubted that no Seeker hadn’t been curious before, as he was.
After his microphone had been cut mid-presentation and mid-sentence at the academy’s Functionalist Symposium, it had been back to the grind for Jetfire. Not that he hated it fully. The ratio of pompous scientists to Jetfires was much lower on Vecta Station than it was planet-side.
“Excuse me…” a new, soft, condescending voice asked of him, breaking the blissful silence.
A better ratio, though not quite ideal yet. He braced for the obvious and incoming.
“Is there some reason for a member of the expeditionary team to be perusing the ESA terminal at this hour? Or at all?”
Hate. Hate hate hate. Hated it, Jetfire hated it. He’d never even spoken to this particular member of the analysis team before, and already he felt he deserved to see how well those tires of his would suit him on the other side of the starboard airlock door. Seekers were (mostly) uncomplicated in their speech patterns. You heard one speak, and you knew what you’d get. This was asinine. It wasn’t just the subtle superiority dripping from their words, it was the message, and its vehicle.
He wasn’t even being downright rude, openly at least. The ‘Or at all?’ hurt a little, though that was by design. Aside from that, the message was deliberate but politely worded. The tone, though. From their brief interaction, Jetfire could feel the hunger rolling off that tone. It was a beast that cried out at all hours of the night, ceaselessly, without regard to its neighbors. It cried…
Publication…
Recognition…
Tenure…
All things Jetfire coveted. He could tell that the azure-colored mech before him had all of these to spare, by merit of fitting a taxonomy. He must’ve had them, because most of the ESA lab techs didn’t talk down to the Seekers like that. They couldn’t afford a swift punch to the jaw, nor could they endure one.
Jetfire, in all his grace and restraint, wheeled his chair to the side, attempting to pierce the mech’s face with a stabbing yet ultimately deflected gaze. Jetfire didn’t know the mech’s actual title, so he went in about as neutrally as he could manage.
“I was with the survey team that retrieved this particular rock,” Jetfire began, patting the terminal before him, currently playing a live feed of a chunk of energon spinning in the analysis chamber. “The first time we attempted to chip a sample from it, it resonated so strongly from our instruments that it knocked out three good mechs with an energy wave.”
The blink of indignation from the science officer bit into him. “Your point being? We’ve factored in the added purity and adjusted our instruments appropriately. If this is a safety concern, I can assure you that you’re in no place to judge.”
There it was. Arrogance, but proud and blatant. It was out, and today, so very easily shattered. Jetfire very nearly popped a big, stupid smile.
“No, I think that I am.” Time for the deep end. “Your team didn’t factor in the proper energy dynamics equations for their analysis.” Jetfire pointed to the energy readout on the screen below him. “Look… your assistants reported its energy signature as a third degree recursive fractal. They also didn’t follow Trion’s axiom correctly…”
No Seeker who fit their caste bill would’ve known that, though the real answer to the dilemma wasn’t quite so scientific as Jetfire had hoped.
He opened up the analysis code, and stuck his finger on a particular line near the bottom of the screen.
“They forgot a semi-colon.”
Honestly, Jetfire thought if it had been any more grievous error, his proposed correction would’ve been thrown out entirely. This mundaneness of the problem was enough to entrance the science officer, to at least give the theory some examination. Lo and behold however, Jetfire was right.
“Ah. I see then,” he noted, reaching over to leisurely tap the appropriate key on the terminal to correct the problem, preventing a potentially-catastrophic energy detonation in the analysis chamber. Probably.
“... I certainly appreciate that someone was able to catch such a mistake, at the very least. Thank you. You may go, now.”
And like that, it was over. Jetfire rose up somewhat apprehensively, and marched out of the otherwise vacant room without another word.
One day...
Name/Alias: Kavac
Discord: Kavac#3260
--CHARACTER INFO--
Name: Jetfire
Age: Mid 40’s
Gender: Mech
Species: Cybertronian
Faction: Autobots
Original Occupation: Aspiring Scientist - Lab Tech - Energon Seeker
Occupation/Specialization: Scientist - Air Captain
Appearance: A native of Vos, Jetfire possesses a quintessential seeker’s build. While not quite as bulky as some of the larger Decepticon seekers, he still retains their height and powerful stature. In regards to most Autobots, Jetfire easily stands out through size alone. He towers over most of his comrades, save for Optimus himself, who he only just barely outclasses in height.
In terms of the rest of his frame, Jetfire possesses medium armor, bathed in white, red, and the occasional splash of blue trimming. Each wing is plastered with an Autobot insignia, both of which sit flared outwards along his back. In addition to the two large thrust modules sitting on his back, he also possesses four additional thrusters mounted on his pedes and hands to assist his maneuverability while not transformed. While he may have taken a few nicks and scrapes over the course of the war, Jetfire’s expression remains calm, cool, and collected; perhaps even a bit confident. His frosty blue optics have stayed bright through the hardship, in more ways than one.
Altmode: After having ventured to Earth, Jetfire has taken on the form of an F-22 Raptor.
Pertinent History: Jetfire of Vos was cold constructed at the height of the Golden Age, though as a member of the flight caste who was barred from becoming something greater, he wouldn’t have named it something so glamorous. Though the rest of his seeker batch was mostly content to serve out in their designated military and security roles, Jetfire’s spark wasn’t quite in it. In his core, he had a thirst for knowledge instead of combat.
Though he was officially barred from enrolling in the Academy of Science and Technology in Iacon thanks to his alt-mode, Jetfire was at the very least allowed to sit in as an observer, an opportunity he took great advantage of. He leapt at opportunities to practice what he’d unofficially learned in any way he could, such as performing menial laboratory work as an aide or tech. While not engaged in pseudo-official course work, Jetfire was officially a member of Vos’s Energon Seekers. He enjoyed the chance to venture to far off worlds for months on end, even if his ideal career had to take a backseat. It was in the downtime between expeditions that Jetfire discovered he wasn’t the only Seeker with a greater interest in scientific pursuits.
For years, Jetfire the hermit was a familiar sight around the Academy, until the day when a senior fellow managed to secure his official enrollment. Coming into the Academy’s entry-level courses, Jetfire quite literally demolished all academic expectations, having put years of lurking to proper use. In no time at all, he had caught up with the curve.
After recreating a few classic studies and conducting a few of his own originals, another roadblock was tossed in front of Jetfire’s way. His work would be archived, but never published to the same extent as his contemporaries, all of whom were blessed to fall within the intellectual class. In the eyes of his publishers, non-intellectual material wasn’t fit to be printed.
Undaunted from achieving his goal, but now increasingly frustrated with the results, Jetfire started looking for alternatives. The long-despised caste system had not just hampered his own efforts, but the efforts and dreams of anyone else that yearned to be something other than what they were told. These strong convictions were eventually what drew a young Jetfire to the burgeoning Decepticon movement, headed by none other than a charismatic gladiator going by “Megatronus”. It wasn’t long before he signed on in secret, having been enraptured by the Decepticon leader’s rhetoric about abolishing the caste system. Brushing shoulders with those that shared his views felt good, perhaps cathartic even. Although Jetfire didn’t quite possess the same ruthless pragmatism that many of his new peers had embraced, his ambition, conviction, and fiery spirit smoothed over any doubts about his allegiance.
It was when a young Iaconian archivist began meeting with Megatronus that Jetfire began seeing cracks in the walls. He held some measure of contempt for Orion Pax at first, as after all, it was easy justifying a peaceful revolution when you’d never been a target of systemic caste-based oppression. However, Jetfire felt that Pax’s viewpoint was valid nonetheless, and believed that his views of peaceful change would be more effective at swaying opinion if they were endorsed by Megatronus and Pax together. One fateful trip to the High Council would smother these hopes in their infancy.
In the moment, most revolutionaries didn’t have a clue as to what had just happened. Megatronus had called his most loyal followers to his side after having stormed out of the High Council chambers, and Orion Pax had become Optimus Prime. In the beginning, Jetfire didn’t rush to answer either side’s call to arms. A civil war was something that he’d anticipated to some degree, though not one like this. In his mind, the war ought to have been between the Council and the combined forces of Orion Pax and Megatronus. This new conflict was a beast he hadn’t prepared for.
Sitting the conflict out entirely was a path that ran contrary to everything Jetfire had believed up until this point, and yet, he couldn’t justify giving his loyalty to either side. On one hand, there were the more idealistic reformers now serving the system that had been oppressing them, and on the other, the hardliners who were quickly forming a cult of personality around their leader. Neither option seemed like the correct choice. With most of his home city-state of Vos having joined Megatron and his Decepticons after being ‘liberated’ from the Autobots, Jetfire momentarily wavered in his convictions. It may have just been easier to fall in with the rest of the seekers, and perhaps it would have been.
When the first Tower Bombings began, the doubt was bled from Jetfire’s mind. Thousands of civilians had paid the price for Megatron’s ambition, and they were merely the first of many. No utopia was worth the cost that the Decepticons were inflicting. His loyalties now certain, Jetfire tore the Decepticon brand from his chest, gathered a small group of likeminded Vosian seekers, and defected to the Autobots.
Much to Jetfire’s chagrin, he turned out to be very good at what he was originally built to be. Despite his relative inexperience with aerial combat, he adapted to quickly establish himself as one of the more skilled members of the outgunned Autobot air corps. Though not yet officially part of the Autobot command structure, and with many of Sentinel Zeta Prime’s officer clique not willing to grant Jetfire a commission, he established his leadership capabilities and tactical prowess in the skies. His raw intelligence, coupled with a lack of orthodox military flight schooling, gave birth to a few new engagement theories that served the outnumbered Autobot seekers well in the war.
In the days before the Exodus, Jetfire was partly responsible for the air defense of the Ark’s launchpad, a task that was made increasingly difficult thanks to a major (and desperate) Decepticon offensive intent on capturing it. As pressure from the Decepticons increased, many Autobots including Jetfire volunteered to stay behind and defend the Ark as it launched. As both the Ark and the Nemesis took the last space bridge to the Milky Way, the reality of the situation dawned on those left behind.
The remainder of the war on Cybertron was as much against the enemy as it was against the elements. The grand, sweeping offensives of the past few million years were gone, and in their place came a grueling war for survival. Confrontations between the Autobots and Decepticons were infrequent, but brutal whenever they occurred. Looting the dead became common practice for both sides, though there was never enough to sustain either side for much longer than that. Jetfire’s hope and staunch idealism began to crumble around him in tandem with the skyscrapers, having debated whether or not he’d made the right choice, or even if the war was worth winning.
As the war finally bled out, his spirit at the edge of breaking, Jetfire decided it was time to depart Cybertron, perhaps for good. As one of the last space-capable fliers left on the planet, Jetfire was able to enter low orbit in order to salvage one of the many dead vessels that floated around the planet. It took a great deal of searching the debris field, but in the end a quantum drive was salvaged with roughly enough juice left for but a few precious jumps. It would be more than enough for Jetfire, whose only goal now was to simply leave with his life.
Having left his homeworld for what he believed to be the last time, and with no word on Optimus or the rest of the Autobots who’d fled during the Exodus, Jetfire found himself without purpose for the very first time. He lingered in between quantum jumps for what seemed like eons, debating various courses of action. Returning to his research endeavors became the most viable option.
The further from Cybertron he flew, the smaller the war seemed; the smaller his troubles seemed, in particular. It was a perspective that Jetfire had sorely needed after spending half his life in unyielding conflict. The next few years left Jetfire free to generate theory and research at his leisure, however publication was no longer the goal. He found it therapeutic, in a way. Plus, nobody out in the depths of deep space would’ve bothered to comment that a member of the flight caste was performing research.
Then the message came. Optimus Prime was alive, and he was calling all Autobots to join him on Earth. Jetfire still knew where his loyalties lay, but for a short few moments, he wavered. It would be easy to simply disregard the message entirely, and to instead continue with his endless sojourn through space, devoting his pursuits to knowledge instead of war. Jetfire was tempted, at the very least.
He set course for Earth within the hour.
Personality: Through enduring the dour, soul-crushing atmosphere of war, Jetfire found his idealism and hope dashed repeatedly. By the end of the conflict on Cybertron, he was but a shell of the revolutionary who’d signed on with the Decepticons, and later the Autobots. These past few years alone in space cruising around for research opportunities has done a great deal to mend the wounds in Jetfire’s spirit, and as he put it, everyone needs a break.
Idealism to pragmatism, pragmatism to despair, and from despair, hope. Optimus’s message couldn’t have come at a better time for Jetfire, managing to reignite the fire that once burned brightly in his spark chamber.
At his core, Jetfire is passionate and idealistic about a great many things, chief among them his work and politics. Though he may have been beaten down with time, the young spark who chafed under the oppression of his day still functions. His convictions stand firm, with Jetfire hoping to see a better Cybertron emerge from the final stages of the war, for if a more equal Cybertron fails to rise, then all is lost.
Compared to other notable Cybertronian scientists, Jetfire’s personality is not as consumed by a devotion to science. Jovial (within reason) and unafraid to venture outside of the lab to socialize, he strikes a welcome balance between work and rest, having learned the importance of the latter only after the war left Cybertron. The sense of urgency and mission that once characterized the air captain during the war has faded somewhat, though signs of it remain visible, as the graveness of the Autobots’ situation has not evaded his awareness. Jetfire believes that whatever happens, the battles on Earth will be some of the last, for there is very little tinder left for the flame. Better to at least lighten up a little before the end comes.
Cynicism isn’t a new concept to Jetfire, although one he seldom indulges in. Analytical at heart, critiquing others tends to come naturally to him, just one reason why he prefers to stay in the lab for half the day. Jetfire’s brash confidence tends to mingle with his more critical nature, and he has no compunction with calling out ideas or statements he deems to be fundamentally incorrect, no matter who they’re from. As such, Jetfire thrives when working under leaders capable of listening to and incorporating their subordinates' criticisms of their methods, something Jetfire himself tries to bend his own style of leadership toward. He never wanted to be a military mech, so he’ll be damned if he ends up becoming some cocksure officer barking orders to his subordinates.
Likes:
Flying: Naturally. Though he yearned for other pursuits early in life, Jetfire can’t deny that he feels most at home high in the sky, or deep in space. Whenever an opportunity for flight presents itself, be it via a mission or simply a lull in the action, Jetfire will seize it eagerly.
Experimental Research: Anything that has even the slightest chance of breaking new ground will always capture Jetfire’s optics, no matter how far-fetched or foolhardy the theory might be. He delights in collaborating with others on their own research, and even if his background doesn’t quite match with the theory, he’ll do his utmost to contribute regardless.
Critical Thinking: Jetfire always thinks before doing, and he appreciates those that share this tendency.
Tinkering: Hands-on is an excellent descriptor of how Jetfire works, and simply toying around with gadgets and inventions is one of his preferred pastimes when not engaged with more pressing work. The invention’s purpose doesn’t even always factor into it, either. If it works, or just does something at all, then it’s neat in Jetfire’s book.
Autobots: While it has been some time since Jetfire travelled in the company of another Cybertronian, let alone an Autobot, this distance has only strengthened the invisible bonds he feels between himself and his comrades. Regardless of who they are, he’s missed them more than they know.
Dislikes:
Rash Thinking: Many an Autobot has been brought down by acting instead of thinking, and Jetfire would prefer that this trend not continue.
Decepticons: Though he shared in their dream of a better Cybertron millenia ago, Jetfire couldn’t be a further cry from what the Decepticon movement now represents. Ironically, Megatron’s original pre-war teachings have stuck with him all this time, and likely will continue to do so. He holds nothing but contempt for Megatron’s hypocrisy, and all those that follow it.
Reckless Progress: Progress for progress’s sake has always felt like a slippery slope to Jetfire. Conducting research and experiments that skirt the lines of morality don’t sit well with him, as the war has made him well aware of what happens when ethics are thrown to the wind in the name of science.
Fighting Without Purpose: Behind every blast from a rifle, behind every swing of a blade, there must be purpose. Violence, if it must be done at all, must be in the service of good and in defense of the helpless. This was Jetfire’s personal credo during his time as a Decepticon, and his convictions were only magnified after he joined the Autobots. He finds fighting for the fun of it to be both distasteful and a waste of resources.
Strengths/Weapons:
We’ll Do it Together - A passionate, aspiring scientist from Vos wouldn’t have been on anyone’s list of leadership candidates, and yet here Jetfire is. Naturally confident and cool under pressure, Jetfire is able to broadcast this same level of clarity and competency to his squadrons. In his eyes, any true leader should be able to listen to their subordinates, even if they present contradictory opinions.
Compassionate Spark - Nothing else is more responsible for Jetfire’s strong moral convictions than his powerfully compassionate nature. Injustice, pain and suffering are all some of his greatest motivations, and his empathy will often override his dislike of Decepticons if he sees their own suffering. Though to some, this may be viewed as a weakness.
Scorched Ozone - Jetfire’s main ‘punch’ in combat comes from his two modified blaster cannons, built into his forearms in robot mode, and into his fuselage while transformed. Fairly standard armaments for larger and/or aerial-oriented Autobots during the war on Cybertron, Jetfire further modified them out of habit. Both weapons pack a considerable punch, being able to easily defeat standard light armor and wear down heavy armor with time and effort. Jetfire has managed to marginally increase the base fire rate of these weapons by integrating a pair of heat sinks into their housing. Jetfire can manage to use both weapons at 2-3 blasts per second in most cases, though sustained fire is still more than able to overheat them and render them inoperable for a short time.
Wings Full of Spears - Jetfire carries an arsenal of powerful energon missiles, four calibrated for short range, and two for long range. His short range missiles are capable of traveling at mach 4 while in atmosphere and have a range of roughly 20 miles, while his long-range missiles can travel 40 miles at mach 5. Both sets of weapons are able to cause serious damage to medium armor plating, though a good hit with one of Jetfire’s two long range missiles can cripple heavy armor. All six missiles are capable of tracking their targets, though this functionality is rendered useless when used in a close ground-to-ground setting. Jetfire reserves them for almost exclusively aerial engagements, and very rarely long-range ground engagements.
Jet-Fu - In addition to the two primary thrust modules mounted on Jetfire’s back, he also possesses a set of maneuvering thrusters built into his limbs. Given that he lacks any weapon suited for traditional close-quarters-combat, Jetfire has incorporated these thrusters into his fighting style on the ground. Jet-boosted punches and kicks form the bulk of his arsenal on the ground, though excessive use of his thrusters in this fashion tends to make Jetfire succumb to the battle’s attrition, rendering him much slower and less maneuverable as a result. At extremely close quarters, Jetfire is also able to use the sustained thrust from one of his palm-mounted thrusters to burn through light armor, though they’ll only inflict cosmetic damage on anything sturdier.
At Home in the Stars - Whether in space or in atmo, Jetfire is most at home above it all. A Seeker ace and squadron leader, there are few things in the air that can match Jetfire’s veteran skill.
Weaknesses:
Over the Line - Despite his preference for thought over action, harming those he cares about is a surefire way to make Jetfire throw this principle from the nearest balcony. He is well aware of this fact, and makes every effort to restrain himself from doing something rash as a result. But, everyone has a breaking point.
Atychiphobic - A holdover from his early days at the Academy, Jetfire’s fear of failure is something that both cripples and drives him at times. It pushes him to continuously experiment with new material, to birth new theories, and to put forth his absolute best on the battlefield. However, should he fail in these regards, he disproportionately blames himself above all.
Self-Depreciation - Less visible than his fear of failure, Jetfire’s tendency to undersell his actions can sometimes be detrimental. When praised for his actions, he humbly passes them off as being nothing more than his duty as an Autobot and as a scientist. Anything further than that will then prompt him to begin listing out his flaws, whether or not they factored into anything.
Like Icarus Before Him - Or any other seeker, for that matter. Jetfire’s wings are always a vulnerability he needs to account for in combat. If damaged in the air, they make him an easy target to follow through on. On the ground, he becomes a big red target that can’t zip out of the way.
Critical Areas - As Jetfire was intended for primarily aerial combat, his armor plating does not fully cover his form in robot mode. His hands, legs and joints still represent areas that could cripple him if damaged sufficiently, his hands in particular, which would rob him of his main ranged weapons, and his maneuvering thrusters. Missiles, and other heavy anti-armor weapons are still sufficient to damage him, as well.
Burnout - As Jetfire’s arsenal is geared toward dealing powerful, decisive blows to end fights quickly, any fight that lasts longer than he anticipates is one he is sure to lose, though he may soldier on admirably for fights of average duration. Being able to fight primarily in the air is how Jetfire works around this particular weakness, as he needs to expend more energy on the ground to fight as effectively. Hamper his mobility, and he will burn himself out trying to fight back.
Special Skills:
Fluid and Crystalized - Having been barred from traditional higher education for the longest time, Jetfire was forced to enlighten himself through whatever means were available to him, usually by applying to low-level laboratory positions. With any job, regardless of the task, Jetfire takes his time to appreciate and understand the science behind it. Though he never specialized in any one field, Jetfire’s interests and expertise can be best described as an intersection between physics and technology.
Sample RP:
It wasn’t officially against the station’s rules for someone of his caste to view these terminals, although in his brothers’ defense, most Seekers didn’t concern themselves with high energy equations and Trion’s axioms. He still doubted that no Seeker hadn’t been curious before, as he was.
After his microphone had been cut mid-presentation and mid-sentence at the academy’s Functionalist Symposium, it had been back to the grind for Jetfire. Not that he hated it fully. The ratio of pompous scientists to Jetfires was much lower on Vecta Station than it was planet-side.
“Excuse me…” a new, soft, condescending voice asked of him, breaking the blissful silence.
A better ratio, though not quite ideal yet. He braced for the obvious and incoming.
“Is there some reason for a member of the expeditionary team to be perusing the ESA terminal at this hour? Or at all?”
Hate. Hate hate hate. Hated it, Jetfire hated it. He’d never even spoken to this particular member of the analysis team before, and already he felt he deserved to see how well those tires of his would suit him on the other side of the starboard airlock door. Seekers were (mostly) uncomplicated in their speech patterns. You heard one speak, and you knew what you’d get. This was asinine. It wasn’t just the subtle superiority dripping from their words, it was the message, and its vehicle.
He wasn’t even being downright rude, openly at least. The ‘Or at all?’ hurt a little, though that was by design. Aside from that, the message was deliberate but politely worded. The tone, though. From their brief interaction, Jetfire could feel the hunger rolling off that tone. It was a beast that cried out at all hours of the night, ceaselessly, without regard to its neighbors. It cried…
Publication…
Recognition…
Tenure…
All things Jetfire coveted. He could tell that the azure-colored mech before him had all of these to spare, by merit of fitting a taxonomy. He must’ve had them, because most of the ESA lab techs didn’t talk down to the Seekers like that. They couldn’t afford a swift punch to the jaw, nor could they endure one.
Jetfire, in all his grace and restraint, wheeled his chair to the side, attempting to pierce the mech’s face with a stabbing yet ultimately deflected gaze. Jetfire didn’t know the mech’s actual title, so he went in about as neutrally as he could manage.
“I was with the survey team that retrieved this particular rock,” Jetfire began, patting the terminal before him, currently playing a live feed of a chunk of energon spinning in the analysis chamber. “The first time we attempted to chip a sample from it, it resonated so strongly from our instruments that it knocked out three good mechs with an energy wave.”
The blink of indignation from the science officer bit into him. “Your point being? We’ve factored in the added purity and adjusted our instruments appropriately. If this is a safety concern, I can assure you that you’re in no place to judge.”
There it was. Arrogance, but proud and blatant. It was out, and today, so very easily shattered. Jetfire very nearly popped a big, stupid smile.
“No, I think that I am.” Time for the deep end. “Your team didn’t factor in the proper energy dynamics equations for their analysis.” Jetfire pointed to the energy readout on the screen below him. “Look… your assistants reported its energy signature as a third degree recursive fractal. They also didn’t follow Trion’s axiom correctly…”
No Seeker who fit their caste bill would’ve known that, though the real answer to the dilemma wasn’t quite so scientific as Jetfire had hoped.
He opened up the analysis code, and stuck his finger on a particular line near the bottom of the screen.
“They forgot a semi-colon.”
Honestly, Jetfire thought if it had been any more grievous error, his proposed correction would’ve been thrown out entirely. This mundaneness of the problem was enough to entrance the science officer, to at least give the theory some examination. Lo and behold however, Jetfire was right.
“Ah. I see then,” he noted, reaching over to leisurely tap the appropriate key on the terminal to correct the problem, preventing a potentially-catastrophic energy detonation in the analysis chamber. Probably.
“... I certainly appreciate that someone was able to catch such a mistake, at the very least. Thank you. You may go, now.”
And like that, it was over. Jetfire rose up somewhat apprehensively, and marched out of the otherwise vacant room without another word.
One day...