[ti]Ep 3.5[/ti]Walking Around [Open]

[Jack Darby]

WEEK 1, DAY TBD

Omega Outpost One, NV

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Miko was usually the adventurous one - usually. Jack hadn't seen as much of the base as she probably had, and for good reason. He and the others were restricted to catwalks, the kids' corner of the Control Room, the kitchenette, or the sides of hallways to avoid being crushed. Jack, ever the obedient one, hadn't questioned the rule and done as asked. The fact he was was walking in the middle of Omega One's hangar, headed straight for the remains of the Ark, should've raised a few metaphorical eyebrows.

In truth, it was born of seeking a place away from the others that drove Jack here. The boy should've been glad to return to Omega after many absences - schoolwork had been killing him, and he'd been missing hitting the roads with Arcee. The smell of fuel, concrete and stone should've been as welcome as his mother's cooking. The hum of alien technology, the rumble in the background of giant feet, and the looming shadows of giant beings should've made him feel at home. But with all the tension at base lately, and the painful absence of Ratchet around base, Jack was uneasy. It felt like walking into the aftermath of a loud shouting match, only the feeling persisted and seemed to grow as time passed.

Sitting and doing his Art History homework hadn't helped. Playing Speed Metal V on the console hadn't helped. Arcee was out on a mission, and Jack didn't know when she'd be back. What had turned into a simple stretch of the legs to work off his nerves had led Jack deeper and deeper into Omega. He'd stopped at the kitchenette to grab some snacks (the new cleaner had stocked the cupboards full of chips and cookies), and now, he was here. The boy stopped to admire the size of the hangar, and then, the ship that sat half-disassembled in the middle of it. Slowly walking forward, he stopped just outside of the Ark's diminished bulk, looking up with curious eyes at its stripped shell.

"Whoa...."

[Unit 74]

Even stripped as it was, what remained of the Ark still had some significant mass to it, and that was to massive Cybertronians. To someone closer to human size? There was plenty to stand in awe at, as Jack was.

High above Jack's head, a mess of cables dangled, set free where a hall (jutting up at a 120 degree angle ) and adjoining vents and interenals running parallel to the passage. Motionless they hung, until there was a faint twitch, and a second. Outside the ship, the gentle screech of metal against metal filtered out from the conduit the twitching cables came out of, the source obscured by the remains of the vessel.

Oh… this unit has misjudged the space. We do not need assistance.

More scraping, and swaying of dangling wires occurred, until blue optics briefly peered out, from behind their protective safety visor. In his own world, the Minicon slowly emerged. Depending on the vantage point, one might easily catch bright yellow contrasting the greys and blacks of industrial parts. He was upside-down, crawling along the top of the conduit.

Reaching the opening, the Minicon pulled himself up to transition to the hallway overhead. Digitigrade pedes stayed tucked under him, as a dog or cat might, the wheels at his ankle joint and in his pede moving him along as they adhered to the surface. Only when his helm was pointed upward, would he unfold them to stretch, one at a time.

It had been a long way, but he wasn’t done yet! He wanted to search a lower level. Carefully, he reached with a pede, feeling around for the cables beneath. Once both pads found them, he dropped. Falling, the cleaning unit calmly grabbed a ‘small’ cable large enough for him to hook his legs around. So, he looked down, to see how far he had to go. Wide optics spotted Jack, while he just hung there, holding on with pedes and servos.

We are found! What does this unit do?... maybe he is like Wrecker Miko?

He was in the base, so it had to be alright for this human to see him right?

“Are we… friends?“, he asked hesitantly, vocals soft, though he did have to raise his volume a bit, to be sure he was heard. It was an odd question, because obviously they should be, but it seemed like the best way to figure out if they were in trouble.

[Jack Darby]

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the soft voice. He'd been so busy looking at a different, lower part of the Ark that he didn't notice the minicon dangling there. Jack held his hand over his heart, taking a few deep breaths as to calm himself. He really, really had to stop being so nerved up lately.

"Uh..." was his first response to the small Cybertronian's question. Were they friends? Well...they could be. Jack didn't know this Cybertronian, but if they were in Omega, they had to part of the Autobots. He'd heard from Arcee there had been some new arrivals lately, including a smaller Cybertronian that had been found. Maybe that was who this Cybertronian was?

"Uh, yeah, we can be friends," Jack finally settled on saying. "Where'd you come from, little guy? How long have you been up there?"

The thought of this Cybertronian being stuck in the Ark until now crossed Jack's mind. It was a bewildering thought, and one he hoped wasn't true. He'd feel bad for the little one if it were true.

[Unit 74]

Jack may have hesitated, but the Minicon wasn’t pressed to rush him. It didn’t bother him to hang however long it took. Plus, it looked like the human needed time. Maybe he wasn’t sure if he was in trouble too?  Regardless, the answer was worth the wait. Whether Jack could see it from his angle, Seventy-four’s derma lifted in a smile. He had figured they were friends, but it was good to hear it confirmed, just in case.

“We came from our room.” There were many who would have been sarcastic, giving Jack a 'smart’ response, but the cleaning unit only replied honestly, happy to answer whatever questions were presented to him.

Seventy-four isn't sure he has given adequate information. He should be more helpful!

“Before that we came from the human medic building, where Wrecker Miko found us.” Miko saving Blades and him from being lost was the most important ‘from’ he had lately. Other than that? Well he probably could give Jack a whole list of his 'from's, but perhaps this was enough. Besides, another question had been asked.

“We have been searching since we were told this unit doesn’t have chores today.” Talking wasn’t easy with the height difference, so Unit 74 took a moment to gauge the distance. After making note on his ‘dangly ship bit map’ of where he had left off, he started to lower himself. The wheels that were attached around his cable rolled along their track, as he climbed down backwards (he was already pointed that way). Still at least an Arcee overhead, he was satisfied and dropped.

With plenty of space that Jack wouldn’t have to worry about being squished, the Minicon hit the floor pedes first. Legs folded on themselves to soften the impact, leaving Unit 74 unphased, and unharmed. He remained lowered, shorter than Jack while he wasn’t at his standard height. Faceplate to face with his new friend, Seventy-four brought his hands together as if to fold them, but instead clicked his claws, optics briefly flicking away.

“Does… our new friend have a designation?”

[Jack Darby]

"Searching for what?" Jack asked, eyebrows going up. Chores? Was this some kind of Autobot maintenance worker? He definitely didn't look like some kind of fighter. He was too small and too fragile-looking, which would make sense if he was for taking care of the base only. Jack frowned, wondering what the Decepticons would think of the little mech if he couldn't fight.

The mech dropped down in front of him, and the teenager took a step back. They were at eye level with each other now, and it was a strange sensation. Even while crouching, Arcee was still a little bit taller than him - this Autobot didn't have to do much in order to shorten himself. "Designation?" Jack repeated, and blinked a couple of times. "Uh, it's Jack. What's yours?"

He said Miko found him at the "human medic building". Did she mean a hospital, like the one in Jasper? Jack wondered if the cleaning lady they had now might've known something about this. He'd found out from his mother that she was a worker there.

[Unit 74]

“The dangly ship has been searched by the big mecha… but small things that are ‘junk’ can be useful to a Minicon.“ There could also be treasures in places that his larger friends couldn’t get to, unless they pulled everything apart. Maybe they didn’t want to completely dismantle the ship? Or they didn't have time. If he happened to find something useful, being able to tell them where to go might be helpful. “This unit was searching for those things, and anything lost where the big mecha can’t reach.”

Despite the light scraping of his finish, it was one of his favorite tasks. Caliber had always been pleased with him, especially if he found something important. Even when he didn’t it could be fun, sometimes… when everything wasn’t broken. Though, the ship was a different kind of ‘broken’, it was okay, they were taking pieces to use them. Far from the complicated differences between types of ‘broken’, Jack had asked a question, one that the cleaning unit was happy to answer.

“This unit is Seventy-four.” He answered happily, paying no mind to the brief hesitation as the boy tried to sort out what he had been asking. “He is pleased to meet our new friend, Jack.“ With a smile on his face plate, Unit 74 further lowered himself to stand on his full pede, to help him stay in place while they spoke.


“Will he be searching too?”

Can Jack climb? We haven’t seen the humans do that before.

The thought had the yellow mech glancing back the way he'd come. He had made a map of where he’d explored, was there a place where Jack could easily get inside? His optics weren't off Jack long, before they returned, along with his full attention. 

“Unit 74 would be happy to help.” Apparently he either hadn’t been updated on the basics of ‘keeping the human children safe’, or he didn’t remember just how cautious they needed to be. Either way, his offer was chipper, and confident, not the least big concerned that he might be asked to do something he shouldn’t.

[Avalanche]

Very, very few things were sufficient to give Avalanche a flash of awe. The sight of the Ark, damaged and gutted though it might be, was one of those rare things.

It was unveiled by the opening access doors as though revealed by parting curtains, a vast presence that was both player and stage for some of the most significant battles of their long war. She'd never seen it before; she'd been long gone from Cybertron and fighting across former colonies and garrison worlds by the time it had entered the spotlight. Broken now, scarred... but not lost. Not completely.

It was something.

The femme strode across the vastness of the hangar towards it, her frame dwarfed into irrelevance by the cliff of aged, yellow metals. Thick, blunt fingers stroked over the scorched plating. "By Solus's Hammer," she murmured to herself. Absently, she wondered if any temple to her faith had survived the endless razing of their homeworld.

Perhaps. But probably not.

Wrapped up in her own thoughts, it took a moment for her to register that, as distracted by the vessel as she'd been, there'd been the murmur of voices when she entered. Faint, quiet, but present. Her browplates drew together slightly, and she lowered her hand. Hrm.

Her heavy footsteps resumed, thrumming through the concrete like the approach of a militarily disciplined Tyrannosaurus. And – there, as she rounded the bulk of the Ark, two diminutive figures stood. A human – Jack Darby, the briefing she'd memorised said – and an unknown minicon. The heavy white and black femme came to a halt, giving them a wide margin of safety since she didn't know how Darby might react to her unexpected presence.

Furnace-orange optics settled onto the two of them, and she spoke in a deep, feminine rumble. "Jack, I assume. And your designation, I don't know." She nodded at the minicon, then added, "Commander Avalanche."

[Jack Darby]

The sound of heavy footfalls made Jack turn around, and he was surprised to see a femme he hadn't met before. The steps reminded him of Bulkhead's gait, albeit one that was less of a hefty waddle than the big mech's. Jack's eyes trailed up from her feet to her furnace-orange optics.

"Yeah, it's Jack," he replied, rubbing a spot behind his head with his hand. A Commander? Was he in trouble for being somewhere he wasn't supposed to be? "It's nice to meet you, Commander. I'm sorry if I'm in the wrong place - I took a walk to stretch my legs, and well.... I ended up here. This is Seventy-Four."

He gestured at the little minicon with his scratching hand. "He said he's looking for stuff that still might be on the Ark. He asked if I wanted to help. I guess I could help, if that's allowed."

Unlike Miko, Jack wasn't too keen on getting into places he might not be allowed. He kept to the catwalks and the sides of the rooms and hallways that made up Omega. He took a chance with nothing, and made sure to make as little noise and fuss as possible. The boy respected Optimus's instructions and presence too much, as well as that of the other Autobots', to think of doing otherwise.

[Unit 74]

The force of footfalls vibrated the concrete, and into his pedes. The Minicon’s first instinct was to glance around. It was important that cleaning units were out of the way, so the masters' business wasn't interrupted.

This unit is under the dangly ship, with our friend Jack… we are not in the way of the big mecha.

Sure of their place, he remained where he was, as Avalanche rounded the corner. She was tall, but nothing unusual to him, and as he was already on his full pede, Seventy-four was in the ideal stance to lean back, and meet the femme's gaze. Commander Avalanche’s greeting however, left the small mech unsure.  Where many would figure it was an opening to introductions, she could have been stating a fact, rather than inviting him to participate. Was he supposed to tell her his designation? ‘Commander’ sometimes didn’t want to hear from cleaning units, and it was 'Commander' that thought that he was in the way, and shouldn't be with Caliber. His optics dropped a little, as he tried to decide what the femme wanted, but thankfully, Jack helped by way of making introductions.  It certainly put him at ease when the human interacting with Avalanche; obviously Jack would know what they should do.  However, it was needing plan for Jack to be included that shook him from his self imposed silence.

Together is important. This unit will not let our friend Jack be alone.

“Though… Unit 74 is unsure if he has seen a way that his friend can explore the dangly ship.” The admission was absently spoken, as he raised up on his pede ends to look straight up at the Ark, a couple steps back bringing, closer to it. He considered the cables overhead that he had dangled from. Many of the halls meant he had to climb, and had panels missing. A standard Cybertronian might easily step over them, but for one as small as Jack, it would be more difficult.

“Everywhere he has looked, floors are broken.” Was that why his friend didn't know if he was allowed? Seventy-four hadn’t given it much thought as to whether there was a rule against it. “... or wrong”, he added as an after through, raising a servo so that his arm was at a skewed angle in front of his chassis, showing precisely how some corridors unevenly pitched and leaning to a side.  It was a problem for sure, but now that there was more than just him, they would surely find a solution. 

[Avalanche]

Dealing with native species was always a coin-toss. In Jack's case, he seemed to have acclimatised well enough that it wasn't her nature that caused him to pause, but her rank and perceived authority; he'd have acted the same if confronted by a ranked human, she suspected. That was good. Not surprising, given he was one of the humans that had been engaged with their presence the longest and had risked himself a good number of times for them, but still pleasing.

"Good to meet you, Jack," she responded in her gruff rumble, nodding. "Seventy Four. Hello." She was a rough and tumble construction mecha, and she'd been on the wrong end of a lot of alt-discrimination. She definitely didn't have a problem with cleaning units; if they were sentient enough to speak, they deserved the same treatment as everyone else.

The towering femme's helm tilted upwards, her gaze prying into the depths of the partially flayed ship. There hadn't been any bulletins about avoiding the interior that she was aware of, and presumably if the humans weren't allowed on board for safety reasons, the spindly cleaning unit wouldn't have been allowed either. Absence of a negative wasn't proof of permission, but... good enough.

Her burning orange optics turned back to the cleaning unit. "What's your assessment of the structural stability? My chassis is heavy." Clearly, she was thinking about going inside herself, and concerned whether the ship was still sound enough to bear mecha of her weight class. Equally clearly, she took Seventy Four's assessment seriously.

Her attention shifting to Jack, she went on, "I'm not aware of any orders forbidding it. I'll accompany you inside. Either in person, or using a holo unit." There were things she could do with her main chassis that were comically beyond either of the two diminutive figures, but if the floor wasn't sound enough, she at least wanted to accompany them by holo to ensure they were safe.

[Jack Darby]

It seemed that this was a mission now. Get inside the ship, look for parts, get out - at least, that's what Jack surmised. "Sure, um, ma'am," he said quickly, not wanting to seem flippant or dismissive of Commander Avalanche's authority. The boy stood back, glancing inside at the twisted wreckage, and gave a small frown. Seventy-Four was right - the floors looked wrong. They were bent and broken up.

"I can go in first, if you want," Jack volunteered. "I'm pretty light, so I can see if there's a safe path for you to use your holoform, ma'am." Normally he wouldn't be so bold, but he was fairly confident he could see some sort of flat pathway going in from where he stood. It was only a matter of footing, and he wouldn't be climbing up into any chambers that might give way under him. Seventy-Four looked like he could do that; Jack could sit back and be the pack mule.

"But it's up to you. I'll do whatever you need me to do."

[Unit 74]

While the commander’s voice sounded deep and powerful, the small unit didn’t flinch. It was easier when she asked him questions, making it clear what was expected of him. Despite resorting to visual demonstrations the ‘wrongness’ of many of the halls, he wasn't struggling to understand her precise, dry words.  Regardless how it might seem, the cleaning unit .

“This unit has seen nothing bad. The wrong floors… we don’t think the Commander or Jack will like them. Broken floors are on purpose. Pieces are left where big mecha can use them.” Dutifully he began what amounted to a report, though the serious tone wasn’t enough to take away from the elevated pitch of his overall happiness. It didn’t occur to him that some might not follow what he was saying, programmed as he was assuming that he would usually be addressing his brothers. There were many things his batch simply understood among themselves, making it natural to navigate through ‘missing’ or oddly placed dialogue.  “Where Seventy-four went, struts were big and whole!” He stretched his arms to demonstrate the size of the support beams he’d seen, massive, meant to hold up under Cybertronian frames. Caliber was also ‘heavy’ and taught him to look for these details.


“... We were alone. This unit wasn’t looking for a path for others.” He admitted softly, knowing that this was a problem. When he was with standard Cybertronians searching, he picked a path that helped them know where they could go. On his own, he was able to climb and squeeze his way to places they couldn’t, which meant his forming ‘map’ of the inside was riddled with passages they couldn’t make use of. “His starting point won’t work for his friends” Pointing up at the ship, he indicated exactly where he had started, and sure enough they wouldn’t be going that way. Just like he had joined Jack by sliding down dangling cables, hanging panels and twisted metal had been how he’d first gotten inside.


As Jack offered his assistance, the Minicon waited to see what the commander said. The minicon had decided that his new human friend would be great at searching, but was it alright? Was it safe?