We are a literate, intermediate to advanced AU Transformers RPG Based off of the first season of TFP with dashes of other incarnations sprinkled here or there. Characters from any continuity are welcome however must be restyled to match the TFPrime universe.
Active, with ongoing plotlines, we are always willing to integrate new characters into storylines once incorporated into the setting.
Knock Out echoed the "Freedom is the right of all" glyph back along the comm line, along with one of acquiescence. ::Of course, sir. I have also given her a lecture on how hacking about in her coding is not approved medical practice. We shall see how long that sticks.::
"Good," the medic said aloud. "Now, then. You are in good repair, and your coding appears unorthodox but perfectly capable of forming a carrier link with Lord Megatron. It will be, I imagine, a bit different than the usual linking procedure, given that the link will be handcoded rather than autonomic, but it should take nicely."
He hoped. For his own sake, if no one else's. He nudged "look up link coding, up to and including pulling carriers' coding backups" higher on his to-do list.
He looked at Fairwinds, trying to decide if there was anything else he could do while she was here, and finally rolled his optics, disconnecting her from the medberth. "Fine. Gummies are outside."
Fairwinds leapt off the berth and zipped for the door, though changed her mind and swung back before reaching the range of its sensors. Since Knock Out had a 'thing' about his finish, the cassette hovered in front of the mech's faceplates with wings spread instead of taking a perch on his shoulder.
"One quick question, Sir," Fairwinds began, in a demonstration of great restraint given that there were gummies in wait. "How soon can you book us in for a Link'n'Synch?" She narrowed her optics. "Don't want this being one of those 'pat me on the helm with promises and then be busy for the next deca-cycle' kind of things."
He checked his schedule, shuffled a few things, and finally made a noise of vague acknowledgment. "Since this IS a procedure for Lord Megatron, it will take highest priority. Barring an engagement or other major influx of casualties in my medbay, I could have the code pushes ready in...two cycles? That is, of course, if Lord Megatron has not been called away on some other business and I can do a scan of him, as well, right now." Knock Out bowed deeply to her in his most theatrical manner. "If that is all right with you, ma'am?"
Fairwinds grinned and chirred into his finely crafted hand, overlooking the patronising nature of the pat for the vein of mild affection underneath. And Knock Out had bowed for her with more flair than he'd ever done for Lord Megatron.
"Master'll let you do a scan, m'sure," she affirmed smartly, glancing to the doorway again. The cassette sent out a querying ping to see if his comm. discussion had finished, and nodded to herself at the 'just a klik' glyph she received.
Turning back to Knock Out, she hesitated and flicked her helm crests, smile thinning down to a more serious expression. "Just, y'know, take it easy on the questions about the whys and stuff."
She twisted her hitched-up pedes together against her undercarriage, trying to read the medic's expression. Her knowledge of Megatron's life before the gladiator matches wasn't comprehensive, but Switchback had done some digging, and she had as well. She knew enough about his past, about Nos, that she could see why she was uniquely, probably unconsciously liked by the mech. Whether or not that was any of Knock Out's business to know was up to her master - though she could see how their becoming bonded would make very little sense without such context. She hoped the medic could be fully convinced to proceed without all the facts. He seemed onboard now, at least...
Fairwinds snapped her beak with a flick of her helm, stilling with a smile back in place. "'I'm gonna raid your gummy drawer now. Thanks, Sir! See you in two cycles!"
<<OOC: Feel free to puppet Megatron coming in/hooking up for scans/etc up until the point of dialogue. Fairwinds is gonna nab some gummies and vanish back to her quarters.>>
Oh, believe me, bratling, the last thing I want to do is get into Megatron's personal issues. Knock Out made it his policy to get out of the way of large, dangerous things that might squish him.
Knock Out rolled his optics at her parting glyphs that indicated complete and utter pillaging of his gummy stocks. As most of them came from her to begin with and were kept mostly for her entertainment (and his own and a very few others' enjoyment), he considered it worth the sacrifice. The not-so-slight war that had broken out over her maintenance schedule when she was younger was a thing of legend and its truce maintained by judicious application of gummies, after all.
Would that her Master was as easily pacified.
"--software will take two cycles to write, my lord. The upload can then take place whenever is convenient for your schedule. The upload and associated testing and first sync will take half a cycle, during which you will be distinctly unavailable."
Knock Out considered Megatron's coding as the diagnostic completed. Nothing there he hadn't seen before, thankfully. Of course Megatron was overdue for a physical, but that was absolutely nothing new. "I see no reason that the sync will not progress smoothly. The coding that I am envisioning will carry less information than full carrier coding, of course. Location, vital statistics, private comm network, etc. There is also the matter of permissions, which a carrier would normally have to the cassette's systems." Knock Out sent Megatron the list, which was extensive. "Shall I make those changes as well, my lord? Or...any others?"
<<KO is trying to get an idea of what capabilities Megatron wants out of this bonding. I imagine that he's going to be disappointed in his info-gathering, there, but still! ;P>>
The benefits were not as great as he had anticipated, and Megatron reviewed the presented data for what was lacking against what he had been anticipating. Switchback had been powerful in no small part due to his cassettes, sourcing information and computations from a ranged hive of processors. Fairwinds had functioned as a long-range observer, specializing in collecting information and using her willfully childish personality to her advantage. Many a Senator had petted the stupid little cassette interested solely in pecking at her own tailplates and eating the gummies thrown for her; thought nothing of trading short-wave transmissions and barely-coded words in her presence.
Though the naivety of safety that Fairwinds had so cheerfully exploited before had long been eroded away by the war, the cassette was still an expert in data extraction. Megatron had invested in modifying her to take that skill to its literal extreme, and had hoped that a full carrier/cassette link would have perfected her abilities as a spy. Seamless, confidential communication - without the nuances and misreadings of interpretation as data moved from her processor to his.
Such was not to be the case, it seemed, but even a cursory reading of Knock Out's assessment confirmed that going ahead with the procedure would be beneficial.
"I was not sparked a Carrier," he began evenly, setting his optics upon the medic's with calm, assured resolve, "and am aware that there would be limitations to a cassette bond as such. However, Fairwinds need only operate as an autonomous extension of myself, but with more secure channels of data transfer than my lieutenants. Docking, in particular."
Megatron shifted his gaze away again, optics shifting towards the dark recesses of the ceiling though his focus remained internal. He had never been one to watch what a medic was doing to him, even if it was only standing and watching. "As to permissions to her systems, I will accept what access she has consented you to provide and filter as necessary."
It did not, the Decepticon Commander felt, need to be explicitly stated that there were elements of Fairwind's hyperactive psyche that would not mesh smoothly on a continuous basis with his own. He would call it respecting her privacy and autonomy. It would actually be something closer to operating within his existing scopes of patience and tolerance.
"Proceed as you have outlined, Doctor, at your earliest convenience."
Knock Out bowed his head in acknowledgment. "Very well, my lord. I believe that you will be satisfied with the results. The cassette communication protocols are significantly more secure than most, docked and undocked. You'll install...well, without getting too technical, one of your software updates will allow you to use stronger codes and decrypt them onside quickly."
Knock Out leaned his weight back, one finger coming up under his chin as he contemplated Megatron's frame. "Making you dockable will be another upgrade process. Not a difficult one, but we would not want to affect your balance or range of motion. Have you a preference for her placement while docked?"
Ignoring Knock Out's scrutiny with practiced ease, Megatron only gave the question a moment of thought. He brought two claw tips to touch at his xiphisternum cove: the space below the protrusion of his chassis plates before the upward-sweeping curves of his abdominal armor.
"Here."
The overhang of the warlord's nigh-impenetrable chassis was just wide enough to accommodate the cassette's flattened frame if her wings were tucked up in a bow shape, and her helm beneath his central seam. His armor had streamlined since his days in the mine, but that basic structural feature had remained in his frame. Vorns ago, Nos had tucked just beneath his plates quite comfortably, and so close to his centre of balance and well inside the radius of his chassis, no better place for Fairwinds to dock came to mind.
Field measured, Megatron lowered his hand and brought his focus back from the past and to the pale face of the CMO. "If that is possible," he added, though unable to see why not. Laserbeak clung to Soundwave's chassis to dock, and the impact of hir presence was only positive.
Though zie didn't clash on colour scheme with hir Carrier. Fairwinds would be a thick red underlining of his chassis...
Knock Out's optics narrowed thoughtfully, correlating his current scans with Megatron's medical records and schematics. He nodded in satisfaction. "It should be, my lord. She is light by design. Putting her that close to your existing center of balance should not cause any problems." It was a fairly common positioning for cassette docking, and it would not be difficult to modify Fairwinds' current outdated cassette alt to fit....
Though not entirely. Between the connections and Megatron's spark casing, there just wasn't enough room to tuck her in entirely. ...Primus, Megatron was going to look like he had leaked C-03 hydraulic fluid limning the underside of his chassis.... Perhaps, Knock Out thought, I can convince Fairwinds to be repainted something more fashionable...or at the least a red that will match Megatron's optics....
Knock Out mentioned the dimensions issues to Megatron...more so he was aware of Fairwinds' level of vulnerability than anything. "--I doubt that she will be in any mortal danger except from anything that would breach your own plating. A precisely-aimed shot might singe her tailplates, however." Knock Out made a note on a datapad. "I will make hardening the relevant areas part of her upgrade."
Knock Out began calculating the time required for Megatron's own upgrades which would be, the medic knew, the harder to schedule. Rather like the Decepticon leader's overdue maintenance visit. Which Knock Out would just incorporate into the upgrade. No sense building on shoddy work, after all. "Is there anything else that you'd like looked at or updated during the procedure, my lord, while I'll have your chassis open?"
Though Megatron was certain that the likelihood of the cassette being docked whilst in a combat situation were slim to none, he did not dissuade the medic from reinforcing Fairwind's armor. She did her best work alone, and had no place on a battlefield until well after the fighting was over. That would not change with a carrier/cassette link.
"No, Knock Out," he replied, his baritone rumble a deep counterpoint to the other mech's lilting tones. "I would not keep you from your work any longer than necessary."
A ping from Soundwave quickly followed by five of a higher priority from Starscream drew his attention, and Megatron glyphed appreciation for the medic's time before moving in quick strides for the door. "Possible incoming, Doctor. Clear your schedule."
"Of course, my lord," Knock Out said, inclining his head to Megatron's retreating back more out of habit than necessity.
Of course whatever incoming there were would have to be taken care of within the timeframe of the upgrades. It was to be expected, and was, of course, why Knock Out padded any time estimate for repairs or upgrades by at least 20%. Then, when disasters walked or were carried into one's medbay or the officers involved demanded that the work be done in half the time, one had the chance to still be, at the very least, within acceptable ranges and, at best, a miracle-worker.
Still...the carrier and cassette upgrades were at least something DIFFERENT than the usual blunt trauma and dismemberment and plasma burns that he dealt with day in and day out.
That was something, at least. Knock Out found himself humming while he plotted the aesthetics of plating upgrades and pulled up databases on carrier coding.