[ti]Ep 3[/ti]Smoke Gets In Your Optics [Nokta, Open]

[Nokta]

Episode 3 | Week 4 | Day 4

Blackridge Hold | Control Station - Noon

Standing outside the tunneled entrance to Blackridge Hold, doors whirred open to reveal the lithe, colorless grounder that would come to enter the Control Station upon his credentials being verified by the guards at the front entrance. Like a feral dog securing its nest, the mech had been scouring the exterior radius of the Hold all morning. Marking the less obvious escape routes, taking into consideration all possible points the outpost could be flanked by enemy forces, finding which routes could be taken in vehicle mode versus those that would have to be taken on foot, which of those routes were dead-ends for grounders like him, vantage points for counter attacks outside if the Hold were overrun– altogether it had been a busy morning for Nokta.

He’d kept his helm under the radar since arriving there three days ago, the one day he’d spent in the medbay making this fairly easy already. In his mind, there was no place for him at the Hold until he’d learned all he could about what had been missed during his years in stasis. It was his job to know these things after all, and Nokta hated being uninformed.

It had been this same complex that compelled him to double, triple-check all entrances and exits to the Hold, running through imagined scenarios in his processor in which Autobots attempted an ambush and they were caught unprepared. He’d been assured this was an impossibility, that Blackridge was safe, that they could be fooled into thinking it was an impenetrable fortress– a home, had been the specific word used. But Nokta had been fighting long enough to know that there were no such thing as impossibilities.

Some might call it paranoia, but he preferred “preparedness.”

So when he finally walked into a publicly shared space with the intention to mingle there like your average soldier, the assortment of strange looks he’d received had been no huge surprise. Dim amber lighting washed over the mech, giving shape to his thin form as he stepped from the relative darkness of the entrance into the larger recesses of the control room. Pedsteps made nary a sound as they came down across the pristine stone flooring with marked poise, carrying the scout through the room in a way that looked less like walking and more like a specter floating over a still body of water.

The mech cared not for any further glances he may have received after coming through the front gate, already having locked optics with a Vehicon at the back of the control station, said Vehicon growing increasingly nervous as the wraith-like mech grew closer. They feigned ignorance, breaking eye contact with Nokta to duck their helm under the monitor of the data terminal they’d been working at.

But by the time Nokta arrived at the data terminal, the Vehicon was practically shaking, pretending to type something against the keypad as they waited in vain for the walking apparition in front of them to leave. This carried on for another few moments as Nokta stood there, arms crossed behind his back as he patiently waited for the Vehicon to acknowledge his presence.

After another minute, Nokta cleared the static from his vocalizer to prompt the Vehicon himself. The cannon fodder bot slowly raised their visored helm so that their line of sight reached just above the monitor, meeting Nokta’s crimson stare– to their abject horror. Yeah, he was still there.

Just as soon as Nokta had been ready to politely ask the Vehicon to rescind control over the data terminal, the foot soldier leapt up from their seat, nearly knocking over the stool they’d been sitting at in the process. The Vehicon shuffled away from the onyx lieutenant as fast as they could in a less-than-soldierly manner, nearly colliding with another passing mech in the process. Nokta watched the whole display with a cocked helm, clueless as to what the sudden outburst had all been about.

Oh well, there was much to do at any rate, and he couldn’t go getting distracted by the strange, abnormal mannerisms of other mecha. Nokta produced a datapad from his subspace and set it down at the terminal the Vehicon had been sitting at, claiming the workstation for his own as he quickly got to work.

[Deleted]

For Backbeat, yesterday had been personally trying, while his scheme to gather supplies by raiding human roadways had been a success… The chaos that had ensued afterwards was best left unmentioned. He felt like throwing his hands up skyward and letting out a “Curse you Optimus Prime” like the characters of those earth films he’d watched earlier. He of course didn’t, as he was certain that bringing the whole fiasco up would only serve to cause further headaches. Instead, he decided to use this free moment away from a large pile of field requisition forums to explore the base. There was no way he was going to risk going on a mission, even if he did long to explore this beautiful planet he's found himself on. Not with a certain red and blue truck still on the warpath in any case…


Backbeat shuddered as he entered the control room and looked around. Outside of the usual scurrying of Vehicons, not much was happening. There was the ghostly looking robot that looked to be working on something… Backbeat silently took a double take and shrugged. He’d long heard about how the closer one got to high command the weirder things had become. Granted, he’d always assume they meant paperwork wise, but after a “conversation” with Soundwave Backbeat realized what kind of unit this was. It was the nightmare scenario of all Decepticon logistics teams… He’d been transferred to a circus. For those not deep into Decepticon supply specialist culture, a “circus” was what they called units with large amounts of specialists or eccentrics. It was a rather unimaginative moniker, but Decepticon logistics teams are not very imaginative people. Backbeat walked over to the rather ghostly Decepticon. “You’re the new guy, right?” His voice projected an air of friendliness as he casually waved a rather frightening claw.

[Deleted]

This was such a stifling place.

Being so isolated from base had its benefits. But it always made coming here feel that much more suffocating. Vega kept focus through the countless passing fields and overlapping noise. She had work to do. And she had ample time to do so.

Even with having been excused from the cramped up spaces of the hold Vega had still taken the time to know the layout of the base well. Business would still be done here even if her main workplace was half a world away. She quietly marked each tab she had, glancing upward every few moments to mind any traffic coming her way. She looked up just in time to step aside for a Vehicon to dart his way out of the monitor room. Looking visibly shaken as he brushed past her. What had him so spooked she wondered?

Turning into the doorway she saw nothing that was inherently frightening, unless the very quiet tapping of screens and keys suddenly counted? Best move on then. She glanced across the room searching for an empty seat to borrow. Fortunately another Vehicon rose from his spot and turned to leave the room. Vega silently excused herself and moved away from the door, toward the now open monitor. She quickly noted the two other bots beside the empty seat.

One settled into the workstation and the other trying to spark a conversation with him. Vega paused beside them, hoping she wouldn't be intruding. "Pardon me, I hate to interrupt you, but is this spot taken?" She asked, motioning with one hand to the empty seat.

[Nokta]

Nokta was not ten lines into typing his report before another mech seemed to approach him willingly. For the life of him, he could not remember the last time a soldier not directly under his command or even in the same division had done such a thing. So when Backbeat came out of nowhere projecting amicable good-naturedness, he was somewhat skeptical of the mech’s intentions.

"New…?" Nokta seemed to mutter to himself upon the yellow mech’s questioning. Misunderstanding the question at first, he’d been ready to ask just what about himself gave Backbeat the presumption he was "new" as if he hadn’t been serving the cause since the very beginning. But that was when another, equally polite femme cut in, asking if the freshly empty workstation beside him were in use as opposed to simply taking it. Nokta slowly tilted his helm looking somewhat taken aback by the nature in which she’d asked her question, his brow plates folding some. What had they put in everyone’s Energon this morning?

He regarded the femme just long enough to clock her frame type, build, and general color scheme...she looked familiar, he must have skimmed her dossier at some point.

"...By all means." Nokta’s raspy voice filtered out from his voice box as he gesticulated with a single servo, indicating that the spot was open for Vega to take. He’d wait for the femme to sit down, still trying to place who she was out of the dozens of mecha he’d already panned in Blackridge’s personnel database.

The pitch mech then turned to his initial guest, answering his starting question properly. "So to speak. I am Nokta, and you are?" The mech would prompt Backbeat, taking in his physical appearance now as well, another aerial-type it would seem, with dastardly looking blades for hands. In the back of his mind, Nokta wondered how this soldier could ever hold a datapad with such unorthodox digits, but he remained quiet as he awaited the other mech’s response.

[Deleted]

    The Decepticon logistical specialist snapped his claws as he pointed at Nokta and Vega. He seemed to be attempting a rather crude approximation of finger guns. “Name’s Backbeat, Decepticon logistical specialist… Please to meet you both.” He waved his hands as he said that for a little flourish.

    For Backbeat, chatting with other Decepticons was an important part of his job. Request forms never told the full story, relying on them alone would be foolish. A true logistical specialist was a man of the people, learning what those with boots on the ground need from the source. Going beyond the paperwork of lesser mortals to true logistical enlightenment! Also, Backbeat could claim he was doing his job while hanging out and chatting with random people. Which might be the actual reason he was currently doing this.


    He looked around cautiously before adding. “As for why I’m wandering around here on my free time… Personally, I’d much rather be exploring this fascinating planet. But, alas, I’ve been advised to keep a low profile for the rest of the week.” Backbeat lets out a rather loud sigh, as he throws up his hands and looks down. “But what are you going to do?” Backbeat returned to his normal relaxed posture, clearly enjoying having someone to talk to. “This planet’s crawling with problematic people, you know?”

[Deleted]

"Wonderful, thank you." She nodded softly as she settled at the terminal. She'd expected that to be the end of the interaction. The other two would simply carry on and forget she was there. And she'd simply mind her business and work in silence. But then the standing mech very clearly addressed them both, introducing himself and his specific role in their ranks. Accompanied with an….unfamiliar gesture. Seemed harmless enough though.

Well, seemed she was part of this conversation now.

Oh well, suited her just fine. Nokta introduced himself then she quickly chimed in to the formalities. "I am Vega, a pleasure as well." She dipped her head slightly in a small greeting gesture to Backbeat. Nokia quickly fell back into silence, but Backbeat was just as quick to fill it. This was quite good actually. She was used to some sort of noise as she worked as of late.

As the logistics specialist waxed about how he'd prefer to be touring the planet rather than being sequestered underground she set to her work. She could easily listen as well, another skill she'd required very recently. She hadn't seen much of the M.E.C.H situation being stationed in an entirely different landmass but she'd certainly heard enough about it to know it was a serious problem. She had many feelings about the situation but those would be withheld for now.

"Certainly so, in all this time it's difficult to think you would meet your end not on the other end of a smoking barrel." She said, swiping to the next tab she had open.

[Nokta]

Work had always been a solitary thing for him. In the rare event he was stationed at a lone barracks instead of out in the field, aft deep in enemy territory gathering information– few mecha dared ever approach him. He was either a stranger they had no reason to convene with, or they were under his command and took every chance they got to avoid him when off-duty.

Needless to say, Nokta’s social skills were somewhat rusty.

The onyx mech sat in silence as the two mecha introduced themselves, the yellow one– Backbeat– speaking first, and then the other flier– Vega– doing the same. When a pause crept into the flow of the conversation after their short back and forth, Nokta took this as an indicator to speak up once more.

"It is wise to follow the instruction of your superiors." The thin mech flatly posited in response to Backbeat’s explanation as to why he was “chatting” instead of tallying energon rations or taking stock of the armory, as his duties demanded of him. The lieutenant pressed his lips into a thin shape. Alas, if the orders were given by one higher than himself, as he suspected they were, there was not anything to do about that. Following instructions went both ways when you still had your own superiors to answer to.

Nokta then turned to Vega, his helm slowly swiveling as the rest of his body maintained its stillness, almost avian in nature.

"You are Vega the weapons repair specialist? The same Vega?" He asked softly, inquisitively, despite the permanent animated tension that never seemed to leave his optics.

[Deleted]

Backbeat nonchalantly threw up his clawed hands and just shrugged at the rather sinister Decepticon’s comment. “What can I say, I’m tourist at spark. Besides this planet’s rather nice…” He quickly caught himself and added a “For an organic planet anyway.” Backbeat was one of those rare Decepticons that felt rather apathetic towards organic life. He seemed to lack the innate hostility to that particular type of lifeform that characterized the Decepticon cause. He appreciated their art and natural beauty yes, but he also accepted that his arrival meant that such things were going to end. Which was why he’d become so fanatical about studying these strange worlds, they were brief flashes of newness in a rather formulaic universe. The fact that he could make a potential fortune selling pilfered bits of said planet's culture to the galaxy at large also fueled a lot of his interests.


The talkative mech then turned to look at Vega as well, clearly excited to be able to talk shop about weaponry with an expert. Hopefully he could pick her processor about why this outfit had such varied and strange supply request forms. But for now he figured some light conversation was in order, he'd barely finished the last pile of reports to get dropped on his desk and was damned if some fool was going to drag him back to that maw of Unicron on his break. “No kidding, huh.” He lazily waved a clawed digit at Vega, a smile forming behind his faceplate. “So, what do you think of planet E-Arth?” While Backbeat had been studying Earth on his free time, it was clear to anyone who’d spent more than a week on this planet that he’d skimmed more than he read.

[Deleted]

Vega paused as Nokta spoke, asking if she was in fact 'the same Vega'. For a moment she simply blinked at him, not really used to being immediately recognized let alone by someone she had not met prior. She made it a point to keep her head low and provide results from her work, not boasting about her prowess or anything of the sort. How DID he know her? Well, base level records of bots weren't exactly kept under lock, key, and elite guardsmen. And they were even less difficult if one's occupation gave them clearance to them.

Must fall under his jurisdiction, she figured.

The moment passed, a smile, and Vega softly chuckled. "Well, I certainly haven't met another one as of yet. Yes, that would be me. A pleasure." She nodded before catching Backbeat in the corner of her eye, also very interested in 'the same Vega'. But he quickly moved on, asking just what their thoughts were on the space rock they were currently occupying.

"Suppose there are worse places to be" Vega shrugged. "Don't truly care much for the local flora and fauna, and the populous even less so…some of their writing and music is enjoyable though I will admit." Credit where it was due and such. She cast her eyes back to Backbeat. "I'd gather as you said you enjoy touring you have a keener interest?" She returned the question to him.

[Nokta]

Nokta waited patiently for a response from the jet as she gained her bearings. He had, in fact, been given relatively intimate access to the records database at Blackridge upon Flatline and Knock Out releasing him from the med-bay. At his clearance level, this of course would include the occupational portfolios of all personnel present at the base, of which he’d already made a sizable dent in sorting through. Thusly, every spare nanosecond that hadn’t been spent scouting the terrain outside of the Hold had been spent tirelessly soaking up all of the data his superiors had provided him. And being a mech of relative clearance– there had certainly been a lot to take in.

Not only was there pertinent information regarding the recent happenings on Earth– Cruor, the Nemesis’ crash, the brief truce, and the subsequent, unsurprising shatter of that truce– but there had also been his re-acclimation to the more general administrative responsibilities required by his post in preparation for the coming work ahead.

And given recent events as he understood them? There would be no shortage of work. That much was unquestionable.

But no, his interest in Vega was a more individual one by comparison to the broadness of the information he’d been given in the past few days. One that– now that a logistician was here who could provide an adequate account of the resources Blackridge had at hand– could perhaps finally become profitable to the ever-calculating lieutenant. This could wait for but a moment, as Backbeat regaled them with his shoreside tales. His insights could potentially be a valuable opportunity to learn something about the area of operations from the perspective of a soldier that had dipped his peds in it already.

"A pleasure indeed," Nokta spoke, mirroring Vega’s smile as she laughed, although his smile was a thin one.

"Yes, do tell, Backbeat–" The mech tilted his helm to address the other Decepticon by name, trying the designator on his mouth, "what should a…’new guy’ expect from a planet like Earth?" The lieutenant turned from his workstation then, deftly crossing one leg over the other in his seat as he came to face the mech with his full body, derma still pursed into a tight smile.

[Deleted]

Backbeat eyed the two Decepticons, then gave a what appeared to be a goofy grin muffled behind his faceplate. “In a word profitable.”


“Putting aside Energon, this place’s varied biomes makes for a wide variety of material resources. True the metal’s not to the same snuff as our home vintage, but it’s workable.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “That’s not even mentioning the human’s technology. It’s crude, inefficient, and dangerous. That being said... Even a 'Con like me can admit they are efficient workers... With sufficient finical motivation…” Backbeat let out a smug chuckle at the thought. It was clear he had some sort of angle already in the works. Most Decepticons working in supplies all had some sort of criminal proclivity, so his scheming should surprise no one. It was like how most Decepticon soldiers could tell you stories of being gladiators, but with more spreadsheets. Still, Backbeat was that classic kind of criminal malefactor who could be arrested, stuffed into cell and somehow be mid pitch to the arresting office about a new investment opportunity. So, it was always universally understood a bot like that was always up to some sort of petty scheme. It was clearly one he seemed paradoxically excited to share and hesitant to elaborate on. Instead of continuing to court the indecision, the tiltrotor seemed to drop that train of thought for a far different one.


He quickly pivoted the conversation to a different topic. “And the media these HUE MANNS produce, it’s good. Which is shocking when you consider how much they pump out.” Backbeat had been voraciously consuming any Earth media he could get his grubby little claws on. To be fair he understood very little of it. It was a rather piecemeal picture of Earth culture, as he’d not had too much free time to indulge in anything substantial. Although how much of the ignorance was genuine or just feigned was a rather academic point, as Backbeat seemed to take a certain glee in purposely misusing earthen terminology. “The humans are just a bunch of mooks, but they’re that dumb kind of clever. You know? Real dangerous in the right wrong situation.” He seemed to be obtusely talking about the recent MECH activity. A recently popular topic of conversation.

[Deleted]

'Profitable' she could not speak on, but Backbeat's views of the humans were more or less Vega's as well. In near every conceivable way they were dwarfed by them. Their technology was hardly out of the dark ages. They were small and disgustingly squishy, how they'd managed this long was a mystery. Barely had made their way outside of their own Andromeda in their studies. They had grit she would give them that, bloody everywhere and determined to stay there. The comparison to pests was easily made.

'Mooks'....appropriate, she supposed.

The media she agreed was surprisingly rich with quite a few enjoyable pieces to be found. As of late she'd found quite a few songs she enjoyed, in no small thanks to a certain white and green grounder. Rarely was there silence in Sparklabs. It was a very different atmosphere than the base proper.

"I find some of their literature enjoyable." She quipped with another swipe on her data pad. "They're buy and large nuisances, but they certainly have their strengths." Credit where credit was due.

Dangerous in the right wrong situation. That was certainly true if the current climate had any proof of it. M.E.C.H. posed a real threat to them and that alone was a testament to just how much of a threat they were. Once organized anyway. "Their ingenuity is something else, no doubt how they've managed this long." She hummed softly.

[Nokta]

While Nokta did not have much to offer the conversation in the way of his understanding of human culture, he could speak about the humans from an objective standpoint, using all he’d learned by studying their most recent and significant history. Though he’d only been on Earth a few days now, the nature of his station still dictated he maintain a considerable amount of knowledge on the humans regarding their effective fighting power and general threat level.

Outside of notable technological achievements, such as things like their discovery of the wheel, Nokta paid little heed to historical accounts regarding anything mythical or religious in nature during his research of the native species. And the conclusion he came to was that outside of the rogue threat MECH did seem to pose, the overall danger the human race posed to the Decepticons– and Cybertronians as a whole– was laughably little.

"Humans are a highly adaptable species. They have the capacity to quickly react to massive changes to their way of life in a way I dare say rivals some mechanical races. A trait that can be leveraged toward our favor, in the event that Lord Megatron finds reason to repurpose them after our great victory." Tight-lipped and calm in a way that was effortlessly apathetic, Nokta didn’t bother to elaborate on that statement. That the span in time between their discovery of rocket technology and their achievement of orbital spaceflight was more than 700 Earth years spoke volumes as to the humans' potential as anything more than cattle. Short of their total annihilation, the only other purpose the human race could serve the Decepticon cause was what their staggering numbers might provide in the form of manual labor.

In his mind, anyone who did not recognize this was not a true Decepticon.

"And on the unspoken topic of MECH…" Nokta would pause for just a moment, his upper lip twitching as though aggravated by something, before returning to his calm facade. "I’m loath to say it, but Autobots, Decepticons, and most human forces aware of their existence each find a common enemy in MECH. While situationally dangerous, regardless of what fleeting cleverness they employ to take advantage of technology they are millennia away from even beginning to understand, it won’t take much pressure in the right direction to draw them out of hiding. And after that, well…"

Nokta let rumble a low, rasped chuckle of amusement at the mere thought before bookending that sentence. "Even cockroaches aren’t immune to a sturdy boot." The mech spoke, caring little to subdue his blatant xenophobia.

[Deleted]

The logistician leaned in and responded to the mention of literature. "I prefer to wait for the motion picture myself. But I must say they certainly know a good story." He made an opening motion with his hands as if to welcome a chuckle at his comment. 

Discussion of MECH though... That sparked interest. Backbeat was many things, but he considered himself a business man first and foremost. The type of carrion capitalist that thought nothing of picking thru the ruins of innocents civilizations. Still, Earth was different. He sensed that this planet's current profitability far out weighed whatever he could find shifting the planet's ashes. "I wouldn't go discounting the HUEMONs." He'd taken that pronunciation from a rather bizarre colorless broadcast. "They're rather clever creatures. I hate seeing good talent wasted you know." Backbeat's long fingers tapped his helm, as he eyed his two fellow Decepticons. A glimmer of amusement filtered thru this optics. "After all, if they want to play Decepticon and rough up and Autoboob or two? I say let 'em. Besides, if they do manage to bang enough rocks together to make something good I doubt it will be hard to acquire." Backbeat crossed his arms into a relaxed stance. He was a lazy bot at spark, all good supply staffers had to be. To Backbeat victory was not crushing you enemies... It was letting them do it for you. "After all, as the Huemons say... Every man has his price."

[Deleted]

Notka's unabashed distaste for humanity was…easy to gleam. While she was by no means a fan of humanity Vega hardly agreed with the implied method of termination. The thought of touching one of the locals was enough to make her feel ill. Stepping on one? She turned her head briefly to hide the brief flash of disgust on her face. Quickly refocusing on Backbeat as he proclaimed to not discount the species as a whole.

They were quite clever little beasts, for how remarkably underdeveloped they were. Vega too hated to see potential and skill squandered, she could agree with Backbeat on that. MECH, however…

MECH picking off Autobots was certainly agreeable by her, the less of them the better. It was after all the Decepticon's collective goal as a militia to eradicate them. Anyway that was possible wws fine by her. However, it wasn't just them on the potential chopping block. Any faction- any bot they could get their fleshy fingers on was fair game to them. No one was safe.

Well, they had a better chance than the autobots but danger was still looming.

Seizing anything that they managed to scrounge together would be fairly easy, yes. Whether it would be of any use to them was another issue entirely. "Price or not, it'd be more likely they'd rather be parted with their acquisitions by force… Vega quickly glanced at her work then up again.

"Thankfully we have that in spades as well."