Too Many Variables

Log Title: Too Many Variables Characters: Backblast, Bulwark, Delusion, Dust Devil Location: Abandoned Repair Bay - Valvolux Date: May 29, 2019 TP: The Fallen TP, Nucleosis TP Summary: Between worries over Prime's actions while influenced by nucleosis and visions of a doomsday weapon sought by The Fallen, Dust Devil is having a really bad day. As logged by  Delusion

Log session starting at 14:28:13 on Wednesday, 29 May 2019.

'''Delusion enters from above, hovering down through the tunnel and settling to the floor. She looks around for Dust Devil. In a room this big, who knows where he's ended up?'''

'''Dust Devil has...found a spot off to one side. He's sitting against the wall and just frowning.'''

'''Delusion strolls over, a case tucked under her arm. "Well. I had a chat with a friend of yours today."'''

'''Dust Devil looks up with some confusion, "Huh? What friend?" He looks a bit nervous at the statement.'''

'''Delusion chuckles. "Backblast. I requested that an Autobot come here to explain some things to me, and he volunteered." She folds her arms, holding the case under an elbow. "I thought it prudent to confirm some of the story your brought us." She raises a hand to cut off any objections. "Nothing to do with your visions, mind you. But it seems Optimus Prime will not be charging out to beat us to the objective any time soon. He is in quarantine and Star Saber is in command for the nonce."'''

Dust Devil says, "Who is Star Saber...and why should I trust him that this is a good thing or not. And do they know who else mighta been infected or if anyone was sent or anythin like that. Backblast was...was here? I wish he coulda stayed."

GAME: Delusion PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Average difficulty.

'''Delusion smirks. "He's quite upset you ran off without telling him, and plans to linger at the bar for the afternoon if you want to see him. I told him you have an errand to run, but none of the details involved. I didn't wish to inquire too closely into Autobot Command's structure, though. The questions one asks can give away one's own position." She pauses, thoughtfully. "Star Saber.. commands one of the Autobots' more remote outposts, I believe. He is not likely to be familiar with local Cybertronian news."'''

'''Dust Devil frowns, "And he's also not likely to listen to me or give me a chance to say a word in edgewise if he decides to do something ELSE. Is there somewhere I can meet up with Backblast that isn't out in the open? I don't even mind meeting him here, but I don't want to put myself out in the open if I can help it. He sighs and facepalms. "Now Backblast is mad at me...I have ta explain or somethin. And we have a new....leader. Slaggitahell"'''

'''Delusion shakes her head. "You can only do what you can do," she advises. "He does wish to speak with you, and he's at the bar. If you're nervous, I can escort you. After I drop this off at the security office." She holds up the case. "I suspect that if you just tell him you have something important to do, but that you're in the your right mind and reasonably safe, he'll trust you with it even if he's unhappy about it."'''

'''Dust Devil frowns, "Its the goin ta the bar that I don't want ta do...There's too many people that could see me." He sighs, "I'm screwing things up....that's probably why we haven't left yet. What if this starsaber guy decides to stop me....or go instead....or tries to claim the weapon." He frowns and shakes his head. "I...I need ta talk to Backblast."'''

'''Delusion half shrugs. "Well. Give him a call. If he wants to come down here, he may. I believe he knows the way. I'll be back shortly." And she heads up to the surface.'''

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Delusion returns to the titanic repair bay and leans against a wall near the entrance, optics and audials alert.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

'''Delusion is endlessly patient, waiting in perfect stillness. It's uncanny.'''

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

'''Dust Devil is....now very much curled up against the wall and is shaking. His optics bright with emotion and looking like about as miserable as he can get.'''

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

'''Delusion walks over after a moment, looking down. "If you are trying to convince someone you're in your right mind, this won't do it," she comments.'''

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

'''Dust Devil frowns at Delusion. "You try havin one of yer only friends tell you they don't trust you anymore.'''

'''Backblast can be heard ranting at Dust Devil over the radio as he approaches. ".continue down the path you're on, kid, you're going to be me in a thousand years. You don't want that, trust me." he snarls. "Learn what I'm trying to teach you -now- instead of when Life teaches it to you on the end of tooth and claw."'''

'''Dust Devil is sitting on the floor arms resting on his knees, shaking, with his optics overly bright and stressed. He is half talking to Delusion who is standing nearby. Mostly he's been quiet and talking on the radio and looking more miserable as the conversation continues.'''

'''Delusion stands not far from Dust Devil, but she looks up at Backblast approaches. She drolly comments, "To be perfectly honest, I am always astonished when my friends trust me in the first place."'''

Dust Devil sends a radio transmission.

'''Backblast looks over at Dust Devil. "If it's any consolation, boy, I wouldn't be so angry if I didn't give a shit." He growls. "So what's so important I had to lose my lab tech for it at a critical moment?"'''

Dust Devil says, "The Requiem Blaster that the fallen is lookin fer as well as the other items. I know it's location...thanks ta Soundwave."

Delusion arches an optic ridge at Dust Devil, but doesn't comment.

'''Backblast snorts at Dust Devil's last message. "How do you think I became this skilled, kid?" He sniffs, blinking "Oh, that's... well, I can understand why you didn't want certain people knowing about it, but shit, kid, I feel insulted you forgot all my lessons. Where's your BOB?"'''

Backblast sends a radio transmission.

'''Backblast sniffs "People don't respect me, Dusty. They respect this." He indicates his rifle.'''

'''Dust Devil looks confused. "BOB?" He sighs, "ANd where its at is inhabited. ANd we don't know if it's guarded. If it's even known about. If it's buried. If it's the nucleus of their planet or hell if it's the clog in some big blackhole that's keepin the rest of the stuff from going down. If we take it away, it could destroy their planet. If we don't, others might come and destroy their planet. If it can even be destroyed or should be destroyed. There's...There's too many variables."'''

Backblast snorts "Bug Out Bag. First lesson - always have your BOB."

'''Delusion arches an optic ridge at Backblast, too, but doesn't comment on that either. Instead, she tells him, "The young Devil's been down here since he came to speak with Bulwark. Afraid to leave."'''

'''Backblast snorts "Bug Out Bag. First lesson - Most important lesson. Always have your BOB." He says, cuffing Dusty around the back of the head. "Haven't you even refuelled since then? No wonder you're not thinking straight." He sighs. "Let this be a life-lesson, Dusty. Panic is fatal. Panic... has harmed our chances of fighting Nucleon and means now I've got to do exactly what I shouted at you about."'''

'''Dust Devil frowns, "I wasn't expectin ta have ta be goin anyplace. I didn't grab Tracker, I didn't grab energon. As I said I didn't stop ta think after readin the post." He frowns at Delusion's wording and looks down rather than up at either bot. "When I would have called you, there was the issue with the spill. I was afraid of distractin you from what you were doin. IF I returned ta base and Prime stopped me..or if I possibly got infected. There were too many variables." He sighs, "THey gave me some energon I stored most of it since I didn't know how everythin was goin.'''

'''Delusion rolls her optics. "Not even after our spar? Honestly. Refuel, or you won't be in any condition for the expedition."'''

'''Backblast nods "What she said." He growls. "Lesson 1, part 1: Never act in a panic. Panic makes all of us dumb animals. Lesson 1 part 2: Get in the habit of going everywhere with your bug-out-bag so that even in a panic you grab it." He growls. "You're still panicking now."'''

'''Dust Devil makes a face. "What do you expect me ta do. I'm tryin ta do the right thing. No one could give me the right answer. I was terrified if I told people what I know it would endanger them. And now I'm still screwing up. I'm losin my best friend because I screwed up and I'm everyone's gonna end up dying because I didn't think things out and.." He stands up hitting his fist against the wall, "All because I didn't think things out right and because some stupidly powerful mech had ta want ta destroy the world right when we finally got it bein fixed and is the world tiltin...." Dust Devil's optics dim and he is suddenly lurching sideways.'''

GAME: Backblast PASSES an AGILITY roll of Above Average difficulty.

'''Delusion steps back, letting Backblast catch Dust Devil while she pulls a small energon cube from her own storage. "Unseasoned youth, and determined to make everything his own responsibility."'''

'''Backblast moves forwards surprisingly quickly to catch him, laying him out on a slab. "He reminds me far too much of myself."'''

'''Delusion waits until Backblast has a hand free, then offers the cube to him. "Probably will feel less self conscious if you feed him," she comments.'''

'''Backblast sighs and nods, doing just that. But he mixes in a little dose of something to make sure Dust Devil stays under for at least a few minutes, to let it actually percolate through his system. "Might've been a bit too harsh on him, but... shit, I don't want him making my cockups and ending up another copy of me. Galaxy doesn't need another highly-skilled sociopath."'''

'''Delusion hmms thoughtfully, looking at Dust Devil with a professional optic. "I can see as to why you'd worry, but I don't believe he's properly inclined to end up that way from anything less than brutal torture. It would probably require some conditioning, as well."'''

'''Backblast laughs "You'd think that." He says, making sure that Dusty's properly fuelled up. "You'd really think that, wouldn't you? The fact is, if he goes out ona damn-fool escapade like this without telling anyone again, and gets stranded out in a jungle or desert somewhere - both are coming back here on Cybertron - then he's only two, three years from ending up me."'''

'''Delusion tilts her head. "Well, it is an unlikely scenario that he would stay isolated such a long time. Capture by enemies or starvation would be more probable." She considers. "And he would be active, rather than restrained. His current desperation is at least partly due to having to wait while others act."'''

Backblast shakes "Unlikely? Perhaps. But he's skilled enough to survive if it happened, and he's… got a rep for beinga bit of an immature one, coz he's young. There's only a few of us who'd go looking for him."

'''Delusion nods. "And you do have other work to do."'''

'''Backblast nods "Bingo." He says, shaking his head. "If he'd waited maybe 30 minutes, he'd have found that most of his worries were being dealt with. He WAS right to come to you... but not before talking to someone."'''

'''Delusion gives a sardonic smirk. "Thus why I wanted to verify the information he brought us.. At least the parts about Autobot Command going out to conquer."'''

Backblast rolls his eyes "There are no parts of Autobot command going out to conquer. Like I said, Prime's got the Nucleosis, and he's temporarily stood down and in quarrantine."

'''Bulwark cracks an eye. "To be fair, it does seem your organization's resources are being put to use elsewhere, from what I understand. It also seems that your compatriot acts first and only afterwards thinks about the outcomes of his actions, or worries too much about things he has no control over. So at least asking advice was a useful course of action."'''

Backblast nods "It was, but it... stings a little."

'''Delusion nods. "I am surprised you're so open about Optimus Prime being affected. That is  intelligence that the Decepticons would act on, if they had it."'''

Backblast sniffs "They're just as buggered. Besides, it's not like you're gonna tell Megatron is it?"

Bulwark opens his other optic, "Yes, I imagine so. Given it seemed he may bit have been certain his concerns would have been addressed, or would have been used for purposes other than he wanted."

'''Delusion chuckles. "Oh, Dust Devil already told us, but I wasn't going to be so crass as to ask by name." She smirks at Backblast. "You are correct that selling such intelligence would be at odds with our neutral stance, but it's still a bad habit to get into."'''

Backblast sniffs "Yeah. But passing on information I've said without my say-so doesn't generally get to be habit-forming."

Bulwark says, "How exactly fo you propose to keep some Autobot from repeating what you've said when you aren't there?"

'''Delusion arches an optic ridge. "I was courteous enough to tell you about Dust Devil. You could return that by not making subtle threats."'''

'''Backblast lights a hand-rolled enercig. "How do you propose we cover up Optimus Prime going into quarrantine after giving highly suspet orders?" Backblast counters, blinking at Delusion. "Uh? Oh. It wasn't you I was threatening."'''

Backblast adds "Or anyone else in this room, for that matter."

'''Delusion shrugs. "It may be common knowledge among Autobots, but it's still barely a rumor outside. Why give away information to Soundwave's intelligence corps for free?"'''

'''Bulwark quirks an opric ridge at Backblast. "I have seen what you can do, and it is impressive enough; for one so young."'''

'''Backblast shrugs a little. "Damned if we do, damned if we don't." BB says. "Autobots got to know… are you implying you'd be responsible for the leak? So far, nobody outside the Autobots and this room knows. Besides, by the time Soundwave is in a fit state to use that data, Optimus will be cured. If it's me that cures it, I've got leverage on Soundwave." He gives a malicious grin, inclining his head to Bulwark. "It's often said that the broken mirror has the brightest sparkle."'''

Bulwark says, "Comparing yourself to the Fallen then?"

'''Backblast laughs "There's a difference between broken and ground to dust." Backblast says, the merest suggestion of a hint of an edge to his tone.'''

'''Delusion lets it go. Not everybody is a security officer, after all. She looks over at Bulwark. "Speaking of working on a cure, he brought a present when he showed up- an innoculation to be used in case of exposure."'''

'''Bulwark cants his head to the side and regards Delusion. "Does it actually work?"'''

'''Delusion spread her hands. "We don't have the means to test it without endangering someone under our protection and possibly wasting a dose. I left it in Takedown's hands. She won't take it apart to see what's in it."'''

'''Backblast spreads his hands "I've been working in close proximity to contaminated energon since the outbreak came out at biosec five, and there's... quite a few autobots who're fine after a spill of the stuff, thanks to the vaccine. We're on course for a cure, but you MUST administer it before or immediately after you come into contact with it." He says. "The longer you wait the less chance it has of working. Once the nucleosis takes hold, it's useless." He takes a pull of his smoke. "For now."'''

Backblast adds "Immunity lasts between 6 months and a year, Cybertron time."

Bulwark says, "Useful enough, I suppose. Though we do have other options to prevent the spread of the disease, so long as we catch it early."

'''Delusion nods. "I thought you might."'''

Backblast nods "Look, any data you've got will help save lives. I'm not gonna hoard the cure to myself... don't tell anyone, but this mess is one of our own. There's shanix in it for you guys if you can help me apprehend Pharma and show him what happens to those who... cross the line, and forget what it means to be an Autobot. That sort of thing might be fine for Decepticons but chem war of that grade is not the Autobot way."

Bulwark says, "You'll have to rely on the Dominicons for that. I don't intend to stray very far from Valvolux for the time being."

'''Delusion hmms. "Venom would be the Decepticon chemical warfare expert. Mixmaster is also fairly adept, though he's less of a researcher and more of a replicator of formulas." She smirks and looks at Backblast. "Venom is an insecticon leader. They've worked independently from the Decepticons before. You might be able to get their help, but the price would be steep."'''

Backblast snorts and shakes his head "Nah, I wouldn't work with them. they'd... keep it weaponised. Possibly develop straints resistant to our vaccine."

'''Delusion actually grins. "They would. And Venom is a paranoid bastard on top of that, so every meeting would have to be on his terms." She folds her arms. "We don't usually collect bounties. Takedown could probably trace any contraband used in the manufacture of the weapon, which would be of interest later, perhaps, but it won't find your target after the fact."'''

'''Backblast nods slowly, taking a pull of his enercig. "Mmmm. Pity, oh well. If you hear anything about Pharma, let me know."'''

Bulwark says, "That seems unlikely, but I'll keep it in mind."

'''Delusion shrugs. "As for research, we have a number of decent engineers in our number, but this sort of chemical research.. well, I'm the only one with that kind of background, and it wasn't directed towards curative medicine."'''

'''Backblast chuckles "Nor was I but I turned out to have a gift for it." He sniffs. "Maybe it might've been my calling had things turned out differently. As it is..." He smirks. "I'm the doctor you hope you never need."'''

'''Dust Devil starts to reboot up. Though the first sign and possible warning would be that Backblast's smoke isn't moving correctly. There's a waver in the air while Dust Devil's forcefield discharges lightly so far.'''

Bulwark focuses his optics on the stirring Dust Devil.

'''Delusion mms. "I do try not to spend too much time thinking on might have beens."'''

Backblast nods "Me too. But it's interesting to think about, sometimes."

Backblast doesn't *appear* to have noticed Dusty yet.

'''Dust Devil's optics Brighten suddenly and he tries to go from a prone to standing. His forcefield attempting to push out from his frame and protect him in his temporary confusion. Anyone too close might get thwapped by the shield.'''

GAME: Delusion PASSES an AGILITY roll of Average difficulty.

Delusion gently hovers aside to let the forcefield have its space.

Bulwark isn't close enough to worry about getting pushed; not that he would have to anyhow.

'''Backblast isn't either. He looks over at Dust. "Morning."'''

'''Dust Devil looks between the three and frowns, "Did I miss somethin?" He moves to sit on the berth and sighs, "How long was I down fer? Cause....Bulwark wasn't here before."'''

'''Delusion smirks. "Actually, he was. There's still a lot of shadow in this room."'''

Backblast chuckles "I put you out for about an hour, to let the energon actually soak into your systems and do some good."

Bulwark says, "It's not difficult to find places to recharge in such a large space."

'''Backblast nods softly, stubbing out his drink. "So I trust there's a plan?"'''

'''Dust Devil stares and then shakes his head. "Thanks...I guess." He looks at Backblast. "With Benin's help we first go ta see where the blaster is....and...then go from there?"'''

'''Delusion inclines her head. "There are too many unknowns for a detailed plan from the beginning, unfortunately."'''

'''Bulwark chuckles a bit. "A simple plan, uncomplicated by 'what ifs'. Impressive."'''

Backblast shrugs "Sometimes you gotta do it live."

'''Backblast sniffs "I'm going to get a quick recharge in." He says. "Been a long day." He looks over at Dust Devil, slightly more gently than he has done today. "Lesson 2. Learn to get a recharge in as and when you can. Learn the knack of doing it standing up, or in a tree, that sort of thing. And learn to wake up quickly but smoothly."'''

'''Delusion nods. "I have reports to make."'''

Log session ending at 19:37:30 on Wednesday, 29 May 2019