Families and Bravery

Log Title: Families and Bravery Characters: Cerebros, Fortress Maximus, Scales, Spike Location: Gates of Iacon Date: November 25th, 2019 TP: non-TP Summary: Scales and Fortress Maximus chat As logged by  Scales

Log session starting at 16:17:23 on Sunday, 24 November 2019.

'''Scales is by the forcefield generator, sitting on the roof that shelters the safety measures she helped install here. She inspects the construction, making sure there's no cracks as she inches across the metal.'''

'''Spike knows Cerebros is inside the Fortress Maximus structure. He calls in "All right, I'm done. I'll meet you guys shortly, and we'll give it another go." He begins to suit up in his exo-suit.'''

'''Scales looks up and waves in Spike's direction, then moves to the edge of the roof she's sitting on to hang down look at the wires inside, checking those over, too. '''

'''Spike waves and attaches his helmet to his suit. He then runs into Fortress Maximus.'''

'''Within 30 seconds, a warning can be heard. "Perimeter warning... transforming in 30 seconds." After 45 seconds pass, the ground slowly rumbles. Ramps soon fold into dense armor plating. Towers lower, and the form condenses, but rises about 20 additional stories. Reavealing… Fortress Maximus says, "FORTRESS....MAXIMUS!!!!!!"'''

GAME: Scales PASSES an AGILITY roll of Average difficulty.

'''Scales clings to her perch as the ground shakes, used to this by now. She hangs upside down but turns enough to wave to Fortress Maximus. "Gonna take a walk?" she calls over.'''

'''Fortress Maximus smiles and extends his large hand to Scales. "Indeed!" His voice booms. He adds "Care to join, or are you preoccupied with your duties?"'''

'''Scales drops onto the tip of a finger. "Sounds fun! I was just checkin' our work, here. It's had a little time to settle now." She scampers a bit further up to be more securely settled in the hand.'''

'''Fortress Maximus turns his hand slighly - steadying it. He begins to walk. "Want on my shoulder, or is the hand okay?" He begins to walk - careful not to squash any infrastructure or worse, living beings. And yes, his scanners are suave enough to catch where Tonka is.'''

'''Scales grins. "I like shoulders!" She peers around as they move. "So... whatcha up to today?"'''

'''Fortress Maximus holds his hand steady to allow Scales to scamper up. "Trying to iron out a few flaws before Spike Witwicky returns to Earth for the human holiday" He stretches out his arm to allow Scales to climb up to his shoulder. "You are working on the force field I gather?"'''

'''Scales clambers her way up to a shoulder perch. "Well, kinda. Dusty an' Spike an' I put together some breakers and some batteries to tank any backlash if the forcefield overloads. After how Trailbreaker got zapped like he did, putting in some extra protection seemed important. Kinda the sort of thing we wished somebody'd done earlier."'''

'''Fortress Maximus smiles "Ah, the proactive approach." After waiting a moment for Scales to secure the perch, he says evenly "Hold tight..." and he starts to walk. It's definitely not a jarring pace, especially given the land he has to ensure he's not going to damage as he walks.'''

'''Scales peers backwards and forwards as Fortress Maximus walks, enjoying being high up. After a moment, she asks, "So, do you know about the holiday Spike's goin' back for?"'''

Fortress Maximus says, "Thanksgiving" - Fortress Maximus says it like he's rattling off a calendar entry."

'''Scales yups. "They get together with their family, eat a real big meal, watch football, an' take naps."'''

'''Fortress Maximus pauses and stops, looking over at Scales. "Interesting..."'''

'''Scales nods. "It's supposed to be a big day to appreciate what you have, that's why it's called Thanksgiving- you give thanks for things. The eating and the getting together with family is probably just 'cause it's a holiday. I mean, they do it for Memorial day and the 4th of July an' all that, too. But there's some things that are traditional to eat."'''

'''Fortress Maximus pauses. His optics flicker briefly, and he looks over at Scales. We...don't seem to have a similar holiday - we have holidays honoring the fallen, and celebrations, but I'm not finding one whose sole purpose involves giving thanks for things."'''

'''Scales tilts her head. "I don't really know Cybertronian holidays as well as human ones," she admits. "I haven't gotten around to researching those yet. There's been so much other stuff to look into."'''

'''Fortress Maximus nods, continuing to walk. "Indeed - it's an undertaking just studying Cybertronian lore and history, adding Earth is its own challenge."'''

'''Scales nods. "Well, I was built on Earth, so I got to learn about those there. But I've only been here for just over a year or so."'''

'''Fortress Maximus continues to walk at his uber-slow pace. No hop-scotching this time. "I guess since I will be deploying to Earth, I should be focusing more of my time learning about Earth, but Cybertron is just so...fascinating."'''

'''Scales nods. "There's so -much- to learn."'''

'''Fortress Maximus nods calmly. "First, just learn about this history and the culture of the geographic 'country' that I'm supposed to be living in. And then I hear there're about 220 OTHER countries as well.'''

'''Scales hehs. "I was talkin' about Cybertron, not Earth," she says sheepishly.'''

'''Fortress Maximus looks over his shoulder at Scales and smiles warmly. "Well, I suppose the biggest thing I can be thankful this year is that I was given life, right?"'''

'''Scales giggles. "Well, yeah, that's a big one. And you get to start out with family! I'd think Cerebros is kinda like a brother, yeah? But what would Spike count as?"'''

'''Fortress Maximus looks over at Scales as he walks. He shrugs. "I am not sure - Vector Sigma granted me life, so he is like my father I would estimate. Spike helped build me, but so did Ratchet, Hoist, Wheeljack, and Grapple." He thinks carefully "Brother as well?"'''

'''Scales hmmms. "Older brother, I guess?" She ponders that. "I mean, I usually think of the other tapes as older brothers and sisters, even though we all come from different places. It just kinda feels that way? An' technically the Dinobots share a creator with me, but Grimlock still seems more like an Uncle than some kinda big brother." She shrugs.'''

'''Fortress Maximus nods thoughtfully at Scale's rationale - although he doesn't seem to give it a ton of thought. "Older brother - works for me." He turns around and looks at Scales. "Do you and the tapes get together a lot?"'''

'''Scales shakes her head. "Not... much. Mostly I visit them instead of them visiting me," she admits. "They've all got their jobs, their parts, and for a long time I didn't really feel like I did. I'm just kinda -on call-, I guess. If they need me." She flexes her claws a bit. "It's easier around the Dinobots, 'cause they're kinda the same way, you know? Waiting for a problem big enough to need them."'''

'''Fortress Maximus nods slowly and looks over at Scales. "Plus, you're now overseeing the repair bay. That's a lot of responsibility."'''

'''Scales nods. "And that feels weird, too. I can't just run off an' go sit with people too far away. I gotta stick close, do my job. I'm not used to that."'''

'''Fortress Maximus walks carefully around Iacon. "Don't worry...I won't take you too far - there're really not too many places I can 'roam around' given my size around here." He looks at Scales and asks "Will that change on Earth? Will there be some places I can walk around that aren't as populated as this?" He gestures to the bustling Iacon.'''

'''Scales hmms. "Well, yeah.. there's places where there's not a lot of people. Metroplex's by a desert. There's some roads an' stuff out there, but there's miles and miles where there's nobody to trip over. It's nice for sunbathing, though."'''

'''Fortress Maximus gives a bemused smile. "Sounds nice." He adds "Spike can't wait to get home because he misses his own family. Cerebros doesn't want to leave." He shrugs. "I guess that's why I must feel both...I'm excited to get back to Earth, but I wouldn't mind staying here with you an' Dust Devil."'''

'''Scales hehs. "Spike's family is fun. Kids are really nice to talk to, if you don't mind messes. There was one time when I found out how to make playdough at home an' told Daniel an' it ended up with flour everywhere." She looks around at Iacon. "Cybertron has a lot of neat things to find out, but I still miss Earth. It's home to me, not here."'''

'''Fortress Maximus thinks for a few moments. "So, I should find children's games to play for with Megan (age estimate 7) and Daniel (age estimate 23)?"'''

'''Scales giggles. "Well, Megan would like it. Daniel might prefer something more grown up. Like, um, cards or video games, not playing with playdough."'''

'''Fortress Maximus nods rubs his chin in a very human gesture. "Daniel...grown up...Megan...still a child - good to know."'''

'''Scales nods. "They grow up fast? Or slow? It's hard to figure out. 'Cause we either start out grown up or.. take a while. I dunno. We don't have the whole biology thing to set the pace. But humans do, so they're a bit more predictable on how they change."'''

'''Fortress Maximus thinks. "Well...you seem fully matured, but Dust Devil seems like he hasn't 'grown up' as humans say, even though I think Dust Devil may be a few vorns older than you."'''

'''Scales ehs. "You haven't seen me upset," she says. "But I don't go around pestering people with questions all the time like I used to. I can look things up now," she adds smugly. "I've just... I've never been a troublemaker. A bother, sometimes, but I've never felt like I had to go around breaking rules. So people think I'm older than I am, I guess."'''

Fortress Maximus chuckles "Remind me not to get you upset."

'''Scales rolls over on the broad shoulder, looking back at FortMax upside down. "Mostly I just go hide when I'm upset," she admits.'''

'''Fortress Maximus smirks as he sees Scales roll back. "Wish I could do that when I get upset. All I can really do is just 'lash out'." He adds "Which...I know isn't that good for anyone."'''

'''Scales rolls back to her feet. "Yeah. There's not a lotta safe things to take it out on, is there? They don't make pillows your size."'''

'''Fortress Maximus smirks. "No...and even when I didn't take it out on anyone, like just 'hopped' - I ended up making a small earthquake."'''

'''Scales nods. "Maybe we need, like, something soft you can throw."'''

'''Fortress Maximus frowns and thinks aloud. "Yeah...soft... but even something soft can do some damage if someone like me throws it." He adds "I like the concept of them sending me to a place where I could destroy a building that's in danger of collapsing."'''

'''Scales huhs. "Yeah, that would be neat." She considers. "You know, the desert around Metroplex is pretty rocky, but if you went someplace really sandy like the Sahara, you could make sand angels."'''

'''Fortress Maximus stops walking and gives Scales a look of utter confusion. "Explain..."'''

'''Scales grins. "Well, when there's a nice, big snowfall, kids on Earth go out all bundled up and lie down in the snow and wave their arms and legs in it, and when they get up, it looks like something with wings and a robe. Kinda. That's a snow angel. You go someplace with enough sand, you could do that with sand."'''

'''Fortress Maximus smirks. "It doesn't sound too cathartic, but it sounds stress-relieving." He adds "Despite the sand that will inevitably get inside some of my systems...I could imagine a few rooms inside the battlestation being pretty coated with sand once this task gets accomplished."'''

'''Scales grins. "Well, yeah. But you can't stay clean all the time. What's the fun in that?"'''

'''Fortress Maximus smirks and says "Well...none...when you come to think about it." He looks over at Scales. "I really hope you can visit - even though I know you've got a lot of responsibility up here." He adds "You know though... I was supposed to be on Earth for a long time, but I ended up being sent back here."'''

'''Scales nods. "You're gonna be needed a lot, I bet. 'Cause you don't have a regular responsibility, yet, but you make a big difference in where you are. Like a carrier group."'''

'''Fortress Maximus pauses and looks at Scales. "Uh oh... I feel like I'm going to 'disconnect' - Cerebros...wanting...disengaged..." He looks at Scales. "Hold...on...or fly away if you can..."'''

'''Scales takes a firm grip. "Ready!"'''

'''Fortress Maximus winces, clearly not ready to relenquish control, but he acquises. His armored plating folds back into the ramps that surround the massive cityscape. His towers emerge, along with his weapon bays. But the platform Scales is on remains steadfast - and fairly stable. Soon, Fortress Maximus returns to his battlestation form.'''

'''A few moments later, Cerebros lifts the door that houses his form. He then gets to his hands and knees, and helps Spike out of his cranial unit. He then takes a few breaths. "Sorry...was just...getting too cooped up." Spike takes off his own helmet and nods. "Don't worry about it, Cerebros, you did good."'''

'''Scales is in a good mood, so once Fort Max is resettled in battlestation mode and Cerebros comes out, she crouches, braced. And then she launches herself with a Rar! Pounce!'''

'''Cerebros gets his footing. The mental link-up takes a lot out of him. He takes a few labored breaths, but as soon as Scales pounces on him, he jumps about a foot. "Ahhh!"'''

'''Scales giggles, clinging. She pulls out an energoodie and offers it to Cerebros. "Here!"'''

'''Cerebros nods, trying to smile, but ... he's an old soul, mature, and doesn't like surprises. "Than...thanks...Scales." He accepts the energoodie and allows some time to savor it.'''

'''Scales grins. "Pipes always falls over when I jump on him," she confides. "But he's never angry. Typhoon keeps energoodies to give me. Dust Devil's usually too quick an' I miss." She hangs off Cerebros instead of settling. "Can't pounce humans, though. I may be their size, but I weigh a whole lot more."'''

'''Cerebros gives a weary nod. "Imagine that..." He continues to much on the energoodie. He looks at Fortress Maximus and Spike. "I'm...going for a walk...if that's fine." Spike nods. "Sure, Cerebros, just stay in the confines of Iacon - we don't want another repeat of what happened a few weeks ago." With that, Cerebros frowns, but nods. Spike then looks back at Fortress Maximus and puts his helmet on. He looks at Scales. "Sorry to play musical chairs, but I know the big guy wants to stretch his legs, I'm just going to operate with him and I for a bit if that's cool."'''

'''Scales nods to Spike. "That's okay!" She drops to let Cerebros wander.'''

'''Cerebros gives a grudging nod to Scales, and he goes to wander to be with his thoughts. Spike goes back inside Fortress Maximus - as his window of time working with everyone is closing as he's due to get back home soon for Thanksgiving. Once secured, Spike manually activates the transforming mechanism, and links up to Fortress Maximus himself. This time, Fortress Maximus does his familiar transforming routine, but emerging, a bit more youthful. He puffs his chest up a bit and 'flexes' his arm muscles "FORTRESS...MAXIMUS!"'''

'''Scales eees happily at being lifted back up into the air. Back on a shoulder instead of a panel.'''

'''Fortress Maximus looks over his shoulder at Scales. He smiles and finds an area to move around. Once he finds it, he slowly gets to his knees, then allows his derrier to 'plop' down on the ground. His legs then stretch out, and he puts his hands to his sides, sitting much like an elementary school student would in a circle. He looks over at Scales and offers a finger for Scales to perch on. "That's...better!"'''

'''Scales hops onto the finger and tilts her head. "Better?"'''

Fortress Maximus nods "Yeah - I get to sit down."

'''Scales hees. "Sitting is better than being a battlestation?"'''

Fortress Maximus nods eagerly "Yeah, I know you guys need a battlestation - that was my design, but nice to sit here for awhile. " He adds "Don't worry! I'll get to work - I just wanna sit for a bit!"

'''Scales grins. "Well, this kinda is your work isn't it? To get use to moving around in different ways. Just walkin' isn't the same as sitting or stretching." She hmmms. "Maybe, if you want to keep practicing, you see if there's some empty things you can reach and stack 'em."'''

'''Fortress Maximus sighs "Yeah, I suppose I SHOULD do something." He pffts "Don't want Optimus Prime or Ultra Magnus to think I'm not doin' anything around here - I don't want to give me a bad name before I go to Earth!" He looks around. "What to stack...what to stack..."'''

'''Scales hees. "You an' Cerebros both get so nervous about people thinking you're not doing as you're told. It's okay to take a rest, too!"'''

'''Fortress Maximus smiles and says "Cerebros an' me are two different 'bots though. He does it because I think he's scared of getting punished." He points to his chest with his non-Scales thumb "'I' do it because I want to impress the bosses!"'''

'''Scales ooooohs. "Okay, I get it."'''

'''Fortress Maximus smiles proudly. "Optimus Prime said I did a GREAT job defending Iacon!" He adds with a snicker "But he said I need to listen to Chromia more."'''

'''Scales spreads wings and tiptoes along FortMax's finger like a little kid balancing on a beam. "Well, yeah. Chromia really knows what she's doing after all those years."'''

'''Fortress Maximus gives an ashamed frown. "I know, Scales...I didn't mean to!" He adds "I just saw Megatron, and I thought he was going to kill Chromia and..." He trails off.'''

'''Scales nods. "I guess.. it can be hard to trust that they'll be okay? I mean, you want to watch their back, but they also know what they're doing." She wraps her tail around the finger and dangles briefly from it before clambering back up. "I dunno. I'm not usually in the position where what I do matters on a big battle like that. I do little battles."'''

'''Fortress Maximus looks at Scales and grins "From what I saw when we were battling, I CAN see why you like the battles, you were pretty good at them!" He adds "I'm guessing a 'fire' attack is your favorite?"'''

Fortress Maximus opens one of the small panels in one of his fingers where Scales is perching, and drops a sturdy cord, allowing Scales to climb it.

'''Scales hops up onto the cord and swings on it like a tire swing. "Well, that's what I usually use if somebody's too far away. But I don't really... like fighting? I do it when somebody needs help. Like. Um. There was that time in Valvolux during the siege where I saw a Decepticon hauling one of the locals away. Somebody needed help, an' I was there. But it turned out I needed Dusty's help to actually save the guy."'''

'''Fortress Maximus chuckles as he sees Scales climb the cords - he deploys two more cords for Scales to swing and grapple another one. "Cool..." he says.'''

'''Scales swings and grabs. It's not entirely graceful, but she seems to be enjoying it. "Yeah.. Dusty likes fights. Maybe not as much as Snarl or Grimlock or Slag does, but he enjoys 'em more than I do. I just do it because... somebody has to. And when it's just me, that means I have to, I guess."'''

'''Fortress Maximus gives an understanding nod. "I know...I don't like to fight either - I mean, I like to fight more than Cerebros, but that's not too hard to do. But...I like protectin' you guys."'''

'''Scales swings on the cord a little harder, seeing how fast she can get it going. "Yeah. But I think you're gonna end up in fights more than I am."'''

'''Fortress Maximus shoots an easygoing smirk at Scales, fully absorbed in the tiny Autobot swinging from his retractable cords. "Eh, I don't mind. It's what I was built for, right?"'''

'''Scales grins. "Yeah, that's true. I was built to be a medic an' to go into small spaces with people doin' scary things."'''

'''Fortress Maximus tilts his head and grins at Scales. "Scary things like what?"'''

'''Scales ooohs. "Like, um, sneaking around inside Trypticon's vents to spy on Decepticons?"'''

'''Fortress Maximus 's eyes widen and he reflectively pulls his hand up, with Scales hanging on to the cord. "NO WAY!" He peers closer to Scales. "Are you serious?!"'''

'''Scales grins. "Well, yeah! A couple of times. For a little while there, Discord took me along when he went spying, just in case he got backed in a corner or somethin'. Well, maybe half the time he went out. He said it's a good principle to have backup if it's available."'''

'''Fortress Maximus 's optics brighten with wonder. "Did you ever come close to being detected?!"'''

'''Scales mmms, shaking her head. "Not with Discord. He's super sneaky. He can just vanish, an' if I'm in tape mode an' he's got me, then I go with him."'''

'''Fortress Maximus 's optics narrow with concern. "What about WITHOUT Discord? Did you ever to Trypticon without him?"'''

'''Scales is about to shake her head, then pauses. "Well, there was the time I went in with Dusty... We hacked through his systems all the way to his brain an' did some stuff there."'''

'''Fortress Maximus 's hand slowly brings Scales closer. His optics flash again with rapt attention. "What happened next? Did you get caught? Did you make Trypticon do weird stuff like smash Devastator or dance the hula?"'''

'''Scales giggles. "Well, no. Trypticon was all banged up an' messed up at the time. The Decepticons had caught Windblade and brought him there to try to fix him, I think. An' she was up by his brain, too. We found out that they'd had some kinda control collar thingy built in- Trypticon couldn't say no if Megatron wanted him to do things. So we broke it and ran outta there."'''

'''Fortress Maximus 's beams with relief. "Wow! That's...totally awesome!" He pauses and says "Tell me another one! Another one where you went in and risked getting caught!"'''

'''Scales blinks a few times. "Oh, well, there was one with Discord- the evil Junkions had this big space station, looked kinda like a giant disco ball. There were Seacons out there talkin' with them, an' Discord snuck aboard to find out what was going on an' took me with him just in case. They were tryin' to make a deal about dark energon an' we were gonna go get a sample, but then The Fallen showed up and smashed his way through to take it all, so we ran before the whole thing blew up!"'''

'''Fortress Maximus 's facial expression doesn't change for a few moments. He then says "Wow...I bet that was scary! Not only were you facing The Fallen, BUT a station that was blowing up!" He shakes his head. "You are like...SUPER brave!"'''

'''Scales gapes at FortMax for a moment, then ducks her head. "But we were hidden! It's not like we were gonna -fight- anybody."'''

'''Fortress Maximus nods and says in a tense tone "Yes, but you were risking your aft!" He studies Scales' movement "What's the matter? Are you okay?"'''

'''Scales ehs. Her optics are a little pinker. "I'm okay... I just don't think of myself as being all that brave. I try! But..."'''

'''Fortress Maximus looks intensely at Scales. "Well, you ARE brave if you ask me!" He adds "And if someone says you're not, you just tell me, and I'll stomp 'em into the ground!"'''

'''Scales 's optics do a strange color dance between pink, yellow, and a kind of sickly green for a moment before she laughs. Yellow with a blush of pink seem to have won out. "I don't think that would really help," she says gleefully. "'Sides, being scared is okay!" She swings a bit. "There's a cartoon I watched recently. An' when they're training to learn how to fight, you know what the wise old mentor said? He said to always be afraid- 'cause fear means you notice things, you react. You don't overlook stuff and get caught off guard. But it does make it harder to go in an' do the thing in the first place."'''

'''Fortress Maximus nods slowly, appearing to 'get' it. "I was afraid...facing Deathsaurus." He says in a contemplative tone "When he told me that he killed Star Saber, and then he would do the same thing to me..." He adds "I mean...I KNOW I was bigger, but...I haven't been in too many fights and..." he trails off.'''

'''Scales nods. "I tell myself to be brave, like Grimmy, but I don't -feel- brave. The best I can do is kinda act like it, if I need to."'''

Fortress Maximus says plainly "I just try to be Optimus Prime."

Fortress Maximus adds "Course, I'm not as brave, wise, and intelligent as him...'specially now without Cerebros."

'''Scales snickers. "Well, wise is something you get over time, so I guess you'll hafta wait for that one."'''

'''Fortress Maximus mms. "Maybe...but I really feel smarter when Cerebros is around."'''

'''Scales nods. "That must be weird, missing part of your thinkin' like that. What about when you're sitting by yourself as a battlestation? I know you like bein' able to walk around. Is it the same when you're tryin' to think about things? Kinda stuck?"'''

'''Fortress Maximus shrugs "Well...battlestation, I'm doing so much to keep everything else operated, you know? Computer systems, repair bay, battle stations, even energy disposal." He pauses "So, really, it takes pretty much all of my reserves for that just to keep everything operated, but when things go into 'this' - when I'm actually up and around." He shrugs "I'm fine with this, but just...with Cerebros I'm 'complete.'" He grins and his optics flash briefly "That said, when it's just Cerebros and me, I can be kinda dumb... he thinks one way, I think another. We kinda need Spike to be the bridge, but when it's just Spike an' me, I'm fine, but I don't get Cerebros' intell..." He pauses and looks at Scales. "I bet I'm boring you, 'cause I'm gettin' bored just talkin' about it."'''

'''Scales grins. "Well, you don't hafta talk about it if it's boring to you, but -I- was interested. I mean, I asked."'''

Fortress Maximus smirks and says "I bet Cerebros can explain it better than I could!"

'''Scales ums. "Maybe? But he's not the same as you are. There might be parts of it you see that he doesn't, so he wouldn't be able to describe them."'''

Fortress Maximus nods and smirks "Good point, Scales. Thanks!"

Scales just grins back and climbs up the cord to perch again.

Log session ending at 19:10:53 on Monday, 25 November 2019.