Ep. 1 - Control - Closed

[Deleted]

Jazz vented a sigh. "Yeah, that's definitely an issue. Made all the more complicated by the fact that we're kinda renting rather than owning here. Technically this is a human base that we're being loaned by the American government--America's the human country that we're in. Sooo...well, to be honest I'd love to fill in most of the tiny rooms that we can't get to. I've settled for securing many of the outside access points...."

Jazz's audial sensors had picked up the increased hum of Fortress Maximus' systems. This was obviously something important to him, or at the very least interesting.

"You want to see?" Jazz turned, pulling up the base schematics that he'd been looking over in his spare (hah!) time over the last few weeks. The base sprawled out in a nest of rooms and corridors, ventilation and utility crawlspaces. "Needing to breathe oxygen means that there's a whole ventilation system that opens into every room. That's been my main concern, really. It's not just us in here, so we have to keep it human-friendly, but it's just begging to be exploited by a minicon. I've been having everyone work on sealing up as much as we can...."

Jazz went on for a bit, explaining how they'd shut down entire sections of the base, barricading and welding shut what they could and concealing or putting forcefields on what they couldn't.



<<Talk talk talk, assume that Jazz goes on for a bit about what he's helped secure. He won't give ALL the details, because he's sneakybot like that, but he's certainly making the place exponentially better from a security perimeter point of view. He'll wait until next tag to go into the type of security traps and whatnot that he and the others have installed....the type of things that they were testing in Rat Maze. >>

[Deleted]

<< Woot! Sounds great, Jazster - I love that Jazz is being sneaky and witholding stuff. Clever, clever bot. Also, yaaay, Rat Maze XD <3 >>

---

Maximus did want to see, and silently expressed that interest by leaning over Jazz's shoulder as the other Autobot walked through the security measures that had been put into place. He rested his knuckles on the edge of the largest monitor and loomed overhead, frowning intently at the schematics as they siphoned through each level of the base.

As he had suspected, the base was a good deal larger than it looked. Most launch facilities were. It was dismaying to know that this particular facility had only been lent to them by this American government, and that the Autobots were limited in what they could do to make it secure. Like Jazz, Maximus' first thought when confronted with the existence of a maze of abandoned tunnels and rooms had been to drill, drill deep, and flood each of them with concrete. With molten metal. Fill them, seal them away. Bury them.

The longer he listened however, the more he came to appreciate what still could be done with the old silo. What had been done.

Could barricades and welding be breached? Yes, but not without either painstaking effort or a good deal of noise. Both offered great potential for detection on the part of the defenders. Maximus liked physical defenses, trusted them. It looked as if Jazz and his crew had been meticulous in their fortifications. That damned ventilation system alone had to have been a headache to tackle. A pity it couldn't be gutted from the facility entirely.

"That had to have been a lot of work," he finally said, leaning back again. The monitor creaked as his weight came off it. "A hell of a lot of work. I'll be honest - more has been done here than I would have thought, given how small this crew appears to be. Do you have any countermeasures in place in the event your defenses are physically breached?"

[Deleted]

Jazz smiled in genuine pleasure at the praise. It had been a lot of work, and sure, it'd been his duty and his own issues that made him work as hard as he had on the place, but it was always good to hear that someone else thought he'd done a good job of IDing what needed doing. Especially since he was coming at physical security (like he'd come by so many other skills in his life) aft-backwards.

Jazz grinned at Fort Max's question. "Do I have countermeasures? Oh. Oh, mech, this is a SPEC OPS 'bot you're talking to. " He leaned in, pointing. "Ventilation system's its own slag, but altered just a bit, it makes a pretty good maze, too." Jazz looked up at Maximus. "It does. We've tested it. Don't ask how. I've been sworn to secrecy."

Traps. Tripwires. Detection grids. Hidden weaponry. Cameras, cameras, and more cameras. Jazz gave Fortress Maximus the grand tour.

"It's not airtight," Jazz acknowledged. "Never will be, really, but then, as Prime reminded me, we're not likely to dig in if we get discovered here. This--" he waved a hand at the monitors "--is kinda overkill, all concerned, and if they hover the fragging warship over us and come at us with an army, it's not gonna mean much, but...." He spread his hands. "Had an itch, knowing that we were wide open to any spec ops operative that wanted to wander in."

[Deleted]

"I think you're right - it's the possibility of exactly that kind of Decepticon agent getting into the base that we should be the most concerned about," said Maximus absently, his attention still absorbed by the information streaming across the monitors. Then, remembering who he was talking to, he flashed Jazz a sidelong look that was part awkward, part guilty. 

Stumbled into that one  Wasn't really sure if he was supposed to apologize for the blunder.  Acknowledge it. 

So, he hurriedly glossed over it instead. Maximus cleared his throat and settled back. One of the heavy treads on his back revved fitfully as he rubbed his jaw and said, "Uh, that is... let's face it, if we were overrun here in force this place would be a nightmare to defend by conventional means. Too sprawling, too inaccessible. No one to come to our aid if we were pinned here by a superior force.  We'd never survive a siege.  The Decepticons would simply need to wait for those who survived the initial attack to die out for a lack of energon in whatever bolthole they'd dug into.  I'd just take one spec ops agent to breach this place and bring down that warship on us without our knowledge, and we'd be good as dead."

For a moment the big mech's gaze grew dark, cut aside. His expression turned hard as a memory returned, whispering, like dirt filtering down from a ruptured ceiling, the bombardment a distant rumble from above, a threat. 

Then, realizing he'd just said more than he'd intended, rambling bitterness, Maximus resisted the urge to duck his head and palm his optics with one hand. He forced himself to say, with composure, "Ah... it looks like you've done everything possible to secure things against just that threat, however. But is there any sort of secondary location we can retreat to if we became aware that this location had been compromised? I'm guessing we lack the resources to construct a backup bunker."

[Deleted]

Jazz had nodded throughout Maximus' musings, with varying levels of vigorousness. He noticed Maximus' awkward reaction at the beginning, but to be honest, he'd not taken offense. Everything Maximus had said was true. All it WOULD take was one good spec ops agent to take them, ultimately, down.

And he nodded most vigorously at the comment about being pinned. "I've thought the very same, and no, unfortunately right now we don't have a secondary base set up, and that is a huge, cityformer-sized problem, I know, BELIEVE ME." Jazz looked at the plans, field dropping into serious worry, because Maximus was right. If the 'Cons found them, they would be sitting ducks, and it would be so easy to pin them and either send in the Eradicons or just bomb the place from the air. It had been Jazz's worst fear ever since he'd gotten a real handle on their situation here on Earth...all the more so because it was so easy to visualize.

"Main contingency plan right now is to scatter and hide if we get made," Jazz said quietly. "I'm working on making that more likely than getting trapped in here. We've got a few mining and construction mechs here. I'm thinking of enlisting them in digging us some escape tunnels that end far enough away for us to get a good head start.. The 'Cons try to pin us down, we flow away. We need ways to do that, especially for the larger mechs or those with really conspicuous alts. Pit, League turns into a SUBMARINE. Best thing I can come up with for him is to have Gasket haul him on a flatbed car."

[Deleted]

Turned into a what?

For a minute or two Maximus stood in silence as he tried to scan his archives for reference. It was not easy. Aquatic alternate modes were few and far between on Cybertron. Visualizing such a vehicle as a submarine did not come easily.

Finally he drew up a schematic. The big mech shook his head. A practical choice in Earthen alt-modes, given the enormous bodies of water that spanned much of this planet, but he could immediately see how a mech of that size class would have a difficult time evacuating an underground bunker. His alternate form would be of no help to him then.

"Much of the surrounding terrain does seem to be riddled with native mining operations," said Maximus. He took a step back and absently rubbed his jaw. "Just based on preliminary sounding radar anyway. Seen rail lines on local charts as well. Any chance of finding existing railway infrastructure somewhere deeper inside this base that could be used? If it ever served as an active launch site, they had to have shipped the missiles in some way or another."

[Deleted]

"There's some left down there," Jazz said. "Saw it when I was looking for security holes. I've blockaded a lot of it, but it's nothing permanent. No idea how structurally viable the infrastructure is, but Gasket and League'll probably have a better idea."

"Unfortunately, the cover around here is pretty much nil. Flat land, sand, cacti, no big cities for miles and miles, even if we wanted to run to populated areas. I'm hoping that we can tunnel far enough away that it'll give us several vectors for escape, and far enough away that we can slip out from under the 'Cons' noses before they realize we're gone."

Which was a big, huge, gestalt-sized hope. Still, Jazz found himself smiling once he was finished. It was good to have another security-minded mech around. Maximus was going to find himself drawn into a lot of Jazz's security planning from now on, if he wasn't careful. Maybe nabbed for Assistant Security Chief....

Which was a ridiculous step down, really, given Fortress Maximus' record. Not that Jazz was going to bring that--any of it--up right now.


<<Jazz likely will segue into more of a "how're you settling in?" type of conversation when/if Fort Max gives him an opening.... >>

[Deleted]

<< Oh gosh, that sounds great, I'm all for it! Talking security has chilled Fort Max out quite a bit by this point XD >>

Maximus grimaced. He had seen little of the surrounding landscape, but from what he had glimpsed of it Jazz certainly had a point - it was very flat. Open, exposed. A few rock formations, mesa, but nothing that would provide adequate shelter for a species of their size. Not beneath that blistering sun. Underground seemed to be the only way to go if they wished to seek a more permanent form of cover.

Underground...

A sense of unease crept through his circuits. How little things changed. One underground bunker traded for another. Not by his choice.

With effort, Maximus pushed that thought aside and lowered his hand. His composure restored, he gave the images on the glowing monitor one last frown before turning back to Jazz. Though he remained unsmiling, a kind of impassive calm had settled into his field. When he spoke, it was in a measured voice, with less of the terseness of before.

"I believe you have hit upon the answer," he said. "Distance, gained underground, may be the only form of retreat left to many of us. If Gasket or League or any of the other diggers require assistance, I'd be glad to offer what little I can. It's not exactly my specialty, but I can do whatever is necessary to secure such an operation. I..."

Need something to do. You need something to do. Before you go mad for a lack of use.

"... am available for whatever task might be required of me," he finished, lamely.

[Deleted]

Jazz spun his chair around to look straight at Maximus and grinned in a more-than-slightly devious way. "Oh, just what I hoped you'd say. Because, as you can see," he gestured without looking at the monitors "...there's lots of work to be done. M'sure I can find something to keep you out of trouble, if you've got the time."

But that could be discussed Later, because there were more important things to discuss, now that Fortress Maximus didn't look quite so much like he was waiting for Jazz to blow the place up. Important getting-to-know-you things. "But anyway...other than the gaping security holes, what do you think of the base? Assigned quarters ok? Somebody show you the energon dispenser and the washracks and everything?"

[Deleted]

That devious look was more than a little alarming, but Maximus was beginning to see that it was all just a part of the mech's nature. A nature that was more good-natured and forgiving than he would have expected from special-ops agent - a field known to be hard. Demanding.

He was beginning to see why Optimus had made him an officer.

Maximus hesitated, then vented a pent-up sigh.

"It's- different," he said, with a glance around the control room. His voice echoed back to him from the rocky ceiling, deep and reverberating. "But not bad. I've been finding my way around without too great a difficulty. Quarters are..."

He trailed off.

Isolated. Sparse. Quiet. A place to retreat to, apart from the relentless sense of presence, of mingled Autobot fields. Just what he needed, and yet was reluctant to express in words. Maximus had discovered not long ago that he had no love for crowds any more- no, not crowds. Even a simple gathering of mechs made his circuits freeze.

"My assigned quarters are more than sufficient," he finally said quietly. He gave Jazz a steady look. "I appreciate that they're in a quiet neighbourhood, so to speak. If you arranged that, I owe you my thanks."

[Deleted]

Oho, doesn't miss much, does he? Good.

Jazz gave a noncommittal shrug. "'magine whoever assigned you there thought you could use a bit of peace to get settled. Primus knows that we've got the space here. Though less than we used to! We've had an amazing influx of folks over the past few months. I think that Prime and the others are glad but still kind of reeling from it. They were here for planetary years with just the core team, and now they've got all of us roaming around. Gonna have to start assigning folks quarters in the sub-basements next."

Jazz looked around at the control room. "And different....that's one way of describing it. Still getting used to it myself. Sometimes I can almost forget, think we're on one of the colony planets or something, and then...I run into a tiny door. Or a tiny organic. And there are a LOT of tiny organics around, and I don't even mean the humans!"

[Deleted]

An influx of Autobots...

Maximus nearly closed his optics at the thought. He silently considered it. While the rush of mechs going about their business at the base was an unsettling reminder of his desire for space at times, he had to admit that there was something gratifying in knowing that even on this tiny blue planet, the Autobots were...

Not thriving, exactly. But surviving, despite everything the war had thrown at them.

Reeling was the right word to use.

He brought his focus back to the base and relaxed, reminded sharply of his own experience in being frustrated by the sight of a tiny door denying him access to yet another unseen chamber. A strange planet, and he had not yet even met the dominant species that had built this structure. Humans.

"Other small organics?" he said, warily. He raised a brow. "Are they something that I should be concerned about, or do they otherwise pose an inescapable nuisance that would make any self-respecting security officer want to kill himself?"

[Deleted]

"Definitely inescapable nuisance," Jazz replied promptly, still smiling. Not maliciously, though. Poor Steeljaw had been too traumatized by his rainforest adventure to find it very funny. Just a little. A very little.

"There's a huge variety of native organics. Everything running the gamut of mindless microscopic to things larger than the humans. Look up 'eukaryotes' on the internet for a little light reading, and 'prokaryotes' if you really want to itch. Humans're the big players: culture, complex language, technology, etc, but the wildlife just kinda...colonizes, sometimes, 'specially where there's moderate warmth and water. Make sure you wash out if you get any mud or dirt or standing water under your plates. All of 'em're full of microbes, and Ratchet's laid down the law that anyone gets infested gets to scrub out their own components. Most of the larger eukaryotes aren't a security risk, really, just...there."

Jazz nodded toward the entrance, where an enterprising desert rat had ambled in from the outside. It stuck close to the wall, snuffling in the dirt and occasionally at the air. It apparently didn't like the scent of Cybertronians, as it snuffled at the air a bit and then started to scurry back the way it came. "They wander in every now and then. S'the same with a lot of species: we're kind of living in their turf, so they show up every now and then, make homes wherever we're not."

[Deleted]

The rat was a disagreeable looking creature, nothing but oily fur and a tail. It slunk along the wall in search of a bolthole, its whiskers twitching. Maximus eyed it with distaste. He hated slinkers.

Elba had been chosen for its emptiness. Must of the small planet had been a wasteland. Maximus had not come into contact with an organic species in over a thousand years. Even before then his experience in dealing with organics had been limited. They had the diplomatic corps for that.

A sense of idle curiosity prompted him into testing his link to the human subnet. Hadn't tried it yet. Eukaryotes.

The backflow of information made him wince. Ugh. What a mess. One optic flickered, and Maximus pressed his thumb between them in a pained gesture. He quickly shut down the link. Light reading. Well, he had time for it these days. It would seem that it was in his best interests to pursue this search and rifle through the human's teeming reservoir of data. Just not right not. Already it felt as if his armour was crawling.

"Thanks for the warning," he said. "It would appear I have some research to do. At least these invaders appear to be harmless."

He nodded to the rat and raised a brow, as if to say, 'right?'

[Deleted]

Jazz's lips quirked at Maximus' pained look. The variety of life on this planet was truly astounding, and he pinged Maximus a shortlist of things that might help him cut through the chatter of the internet and find things of actual use. Like Wikipedia.

"Quite harmless. Though you can't tell by the way that Ratchet yells when they get into the wiring. Evidently they like chewing on it, though I have no idea what they find tasty about it."

Jazz tilted his head, pausing briefly before changing the subject. "It's a noisy planet. Everything communicating by sound and light. Humans're the same way. Loud, opinionated, self-centered, belligerent, sometimes. Kinda like us, really. I like 'em, though. Any species that makes as many types of music as they've got can't be all bad."


<<Any other topics that you want to cover here? Jazz is just rambling at this point, though he could be poked at to discuss what he thinks of the US government or the human allies if Max wants. >>