Bad Financial Decisions

Log Title: Bad Financial Decisions Characters: Starlock, Dust Devil, Delusion, Swindle, and Scales. Location: Golden Stopcock - Valvolux - Northeastern Cybertron Date: ‎December 5th, 2019 TP: non-TP Summary: Delusion and Starlock explain money to Dust Devil (Attracting The attention of Swindle) and Starlock starts trying to work on plans to help Ratchet...She also tattles to Scale's about Dust Devil's plans to lie to her. As logged by  Starlock

Delusion was alone until Dust Devil walked over, and it doesn't seem like anybody else is looking for her. She smiles at the smaller Autobot. "Hunted down a few wraiths that got away. It made for a pleasant diversion."

Dust Devil chuckles, still favoring the leg. He glances about and then at the empty spot, "Do ya mind if I join ya? Wanted ta get outta the base fer a little bit and I don't really know anyone else here. That and if you know where I am, you'll know where trouble will probably end up. So I'm savin ya a trip."

Delusion smirks. "By all means, sit if it pleases you." She waves to the other side of the booth. "It's been a while since I've had time to simply relax in our own city."

Dust Devil sighs as sits down and looks about, "Place is lookin pretty nice. The return of Solus seems ta really have inspired everyone here ta clean up the town. I think the turborats are gonna start starvin and movin ta Iacon at this rate. How's Knightmare. Ain't seen her fer a bit."

Starlock comes into the bar, her thumbs lazaly hooked into her weapons belt and looked around the bar, she'd spot Dust Devil and vented out, she also recognized Delusion form Harmonex and started moving her way over, not feeling comfortable in this place.

"You rang?" Stalrock asked as she approached Dust Devil, and giving Delusion a nod of greeting. Delusion nods back. "Knightmare is doing quite well. Solus' work is exemplary, as might be expected. I hear the Autobots drove off the Decepticons again recently."

Delusion does not look quite the same as she did in Harmonex. While her frame is mostly the same shape, she's traded out a red secondary color for gold. Even her optics are gold instead of red, now.

Dust Devil nods and grins, "By the way like the new look...." As Starlock approaches he sighs, "I didn't precisely ring...I just made sure ta tell ya where I was goin in case Cerebros tried ta follow unescorted. Hope ya didn't travel over here just causa me." He smiles and carefully scoots over let Starlock sit if she wants. Luckily neither of them are especially large. "So ummm I know the bar was a little bit limited last time I was here. Have they expanded it recently?"

Delusion nods. "There's a good selection. Relative quiet has been good for trade." Delusion trails her fingers over her small cube. "Not that I'm being an adventurous drinker today. I know what I like, and I have it."

Starlock gives pause, and looks over Delusion's coloration, and hems, nodding. Starlock herself looks the same, she's a little banged up form all her work... Her optics then settle into a half-lidded position. "You wish." She'd say dryly.

Starlock would sit a crossed from dust Devil, not wanting to sit beside him in that close of proximity. "Yeah, chased 'em off from Iacon, kept Overlord from firing Mega-dic---" She'd clear her throat. "Megatron, by locking him in place... Pretty sure that made him mad." She'd chuckle and vented, she would order herself a ener-soda.

Dust Devil nods. "I can't actually have anything really strong. Encore is always experimenting to see what he can make for me ta drink without killin me." He grins. He looks at the menu they have and frowns for a moment, "Ummmmmm I....I...." Sighing he looks up at and over to the two femmes, "How do you go about payin fer the drinks? I have money and all...I just am not sure if ya just take Shanix things or do yas take other forms of payment. I don't normally have ta pay fer stuff...but I really do gotta learn and all if we're gonna have lives outside of the bots and all."

Delusion smirks. "Caliburn takes shanix, of course. If you want to pay otherwise, you'll have to negotiate with him, same as if you were haggling in the market. He prefers currency, though. Galactic cred is also acceptable, though he'll charge more since it isn't as common here."

Starlock raises a ridge, and sets down her menu, and points at the bottom at the accepted forms of payment. "She's right, plus, most places will have indicators of what they'll accept, and what they wont, you'll just have to find them." She'd explain and point out to the listed prices. "You can also tell what they accept by what symbol they're using for the prices."

Dust Devil rummages through a few 'pockets' until he finds what he's looking for. Pulling a box out he opens it and then pulls out assorted monetary chitz/cred cards and coins. "See I got all this from all my subterranean running and wanderin the ruins around Cybertron and overall bein able ta fit places I shouldn't. Got more elsewhere...but I don't recognize some of the symbols and really don't know what they're worth or if I should hold onta them and see if one of the museum types want them. Cause some seem old. This one I recognize as a praxian script. So I'm assumin that its from before the fall and someone might want it or some from the other cities. This one came from under Vos...not sure if it's a coin or a medal or somethin."

Delusion nods. "Most of the older coins are either counted as shanix or considered worthless." She picks up the one from Vos. "This one would only be worthwhile to a collector- the guarantors of the value are long gone. Or you could melt it down for its contents. Everything's worth its own weight, at least, which makes the larger and purer ones more valuable as trade goods than as shanix." She runs her fingers over several of said larger coins, sorting them out into two piles with unhurried motions.

Swindle has arrived.

There's a pile of various coins and coin-like objects on a table that Delusion, Dust Devil, and Starlock are sitting around.

Starlock hems and starts going through them and nodded at Delusion "Would however been good for teaching purposes in a museum though... " She'd muse but then get out a few of her own currencies, that are a bit more modern. "Alright so, fun little history lesson.. Before we used Shanix, which is a more universally accepted currency, we used Energon as a currency as a trade item" She'd explain, pointing to a very small, energoodie cube, she then points to a golden bulky looking metal coin.

"This is a Cybercoin, this is what we then swapped to as Energon became a bit more scarce, but it didn't trade very well intergalactically, because we sorta boned ourselves by making other races hate us, so, eventually.." She'd point to her own Shanix. "We swapped to Shanix, which can be loaded onto cred-sticks and and colored cards, such as a gold card, or platinum card." She'd explain.

Swindle slinks into the bar, head swiveling as he scans the area like a stray mechafeline keeping an optic out for junkyard drones. He's whistling as he makes his way toward the bar, the tune an old marching cadence.

Dust Devil is watching with fascination. "Gotcha...These are most of the newest ones I've found. I have all sorta of treasures that I've found." He hmmms, "I do need ta learn this stuff. I have a tab at Encores so whatever I get is free."

Delusion nods. "Carrying some shanix is a good idea in general. Neutrals traded with them throughout the war as well as before, and there's always those looking to improve their circumstances by a side deal. You can go far with a palmful to the right person in the right circumstances."

"Yeaah you should pay that before it gets to high, as someone who used to be in a large amount of debt, you don't want that." Starlock would nod, as she started putting the coins away, mostly because She spies Swindle, and that mech can /smell/ money miles away. "Galactic credits.. I think they're more meant to be converted into other currencies, I'm not completely sure, as I've never dealt with them personally, despite having been to varying space stations outside our solar system."

GAME: Swindle PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Average difficulty.

Swindle can't necessarily *smell* money -- there are some currencies out there that are nearly odorless. The triganic Pu, for instance, that's a monetary unit that's almost impossible to detect nasally. On the other hand, the chances of there being money in a bar is pretty much one to one so...

Delusion moves the two sorted piles of coins back towards Dust Devil. "This set," she comments, tapping the top of one, "You'd want to have assayed by a metallurgist. They have enough weight to be worth more than face value."

Dust Devil smirks slightly, "I think ya misunderstand what I mean by a tab. I literally don't have ta pay Encore anythin. In fact I can treat mechs that are with me ta a drink almost whenever I want."

GAME: Swindle PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Average difficulty.

Swindle heard that. He turns -- not on a dime, though, since he'd stop to pick the dime up and probably fall -- optics brightening as he approaches the sound of his new best, generous friend.

Starlock stares at Dust Devil with her mouth open and it closes a few times as she thinks of how to put things.. /politely./ because ooh.. Ohhh was this mech making bad financial decisions, she'd pinch her nose bridge and slowly slump herself over the table, leaning on her elbows as she pinched her nose bridge. "Alchemist help me.." She'd mutter.

"Dust Devil... A Tab isn't a free thing, its a system which the bartender keeps track of your drinks for you where you don't have to make multiple transactions at once, once you leave the bar, you are meant to pay the total price in one go, some places let you pay later, but in the end, you still owe money." She'd explain with a long suffering-sigh. Her finial twitches upward as she hears someone approach and.. oh boy, it's the combaticon.

Delusion gives Swindle a nod over Dust Devil's head. "In town for business?" she asks politely. Swindle grins, the expression bright and cheerful as a new penny. "Always!" he says. "How's things? Sounds like you guys are engaging in some pretty weighty conversation. Personally, I'm not a fan of havin' a tab. It leaves you obligated an' people can get tetchy about obligations."

Dust Devil looks at the assorted piles that the femmes have made of his little treasure trove. He hmmms and turns a couple of the 'coins' over before responding. "The way me and Encore have always dealt with it is anythin I order gets put on my tab. And when I want ta treat someone, it gets put on my tab. Maybe It should be called a runnin tab or somethin? I do stuff fer Encore and I get free drinks. But I don't drink really so....well it's a pretty big tab that I have left over. That's one of the ways I also give gifts ta others since I can't drink the stuff and others can."

"That's called an open tab... Should actually ask Encore how high it is at some point, but by the sounds... That tracks." Starlock nods, if Encore was having him pay in other ways, such as helping out with cleaning? that made sense to her.

"..Hmm, Yes, just teaching about currency and the like." She'd say with a shrug, watching the mech, rather indifferent to him, but his name /is/ Swindle.

Delusion leans back on her hand with a smirk. "Things are well," she says with an edge of amused tolerance. "How are your brothers?"

Swindle shrugs. "Overbearing, elitist, idiotic and insane," he says. "So, y'know, about the usual." He pauses briefly, then his social interaction protocols kick in. "How's your sisters?" He snickers at Starlock's explanation. 'He's right, it's a running tab -- 'cause you better start running when they come to collect."

Dust Devil snickers, "I'm fast enough even if I was the one owin'. I'd be faster if I'd not resnapped the weld the medics had just done. Figure I'll go today and make up a story fer Scales ta see if I can get her ta refix it. Glad I had my emergency bands ta keep all the pieces in place." Delusion 's smile quirks up a bit more. "My sisters? In fine form, all of them. Do give my regards to Boff and Tex." Neither Onslaught nor Brawl would likely care.

Starlock hears that, and /stares/ at Dust Devil before going to lightly gib-slapping him upside the helm. "Don't lie to your medics." Starlock huffs irritatedly.

Swindle nodnods to Delusion. "Nice optics, the gold suits you," he says, then nods to what Starlock says. "She's gotta point; medics can be your best friend or your worst enemy if you cross 'em. They know more about causing pain than even Vortex does." He grins at Dust Devil. "Never under estimate the speed of an angry creditor. Light *wishes* it was as fast." He shifts his attention back to Delusion, speaking too casually. "Sure, I'll let 'em know -- an' do me a favor? Tell Takedown I said how's things? I'd appreciate it."

Dust Devil acks as he's braindusted by Starlock. "If Ratchet is pointin at you and askin you if you took his favorite tools while holding a wrench, ya learn ta either lie really well or pray ta Primus that you actually didn't do whatever he's annoyed about." He points at his leg. "I threw a couple slapcasts on it so nothin is movin around it. Just is a bit awkward ta not be able ta flex. Ask Scales. The slapcasts really do work fer stuff like this. Especially if ya gotta do field repairs."

Starlock gives pause a moment in thought. "On that note, don't lie to your medics /or/ Doctores, actually." She'd correct herself. "We're responsible for your health and wellbeing, you get hurt or killed on the field because of a illness or injury not caught by us because we were not told, that doesn't just reflect badly on you, that also reflect /badly/ on us." She'd scold.

She'd vent and look at Dust Devil. "That's why you tell him the /truth/ you Lug-nut brain, least likely to get whacked upside the head with a wrench." She'd look down at it. "If we were not in public right now i'd fix it myself." She'd say idly.

Delusion nods to Swindle. "Of course. She's always happy to hear how you're doing." She even says that with a straight face. Delusion looks down at Dust Devil. "You spend more effort running away from the consequences than you would recovering from them." Dust Devil snerks, "Depends on how hard Ratchet hits ya..." He chuckles, "Don't worry, I'll be fine until we get back ta base. I just skip a bit rather than jump around. Also didn't want ta upset Cerby."

Swindle beeps and glances down at his chronometer. "Slag," he says, making a face. "Sorry, gotta step out an' try to convince Onslaught I'm where he told me to be. Be back as soon as I can."

Starlock gives another pause. "Also dont' steal a doctor, medic, or surgeons tools, especially if they are their favorite or lucky sort, that /legitimately/ causes a ungodly amount of anxiety because that can literally be a life and death decision when it comes to saving and fixing someone." She'd explain pushed herself up.

Starlock just huffs. "I can transport you back, that way you don't make that worse." She'd nod, before looking to Delusion. "Can say that again." Starlock says tiredly, before taking a sip of her soda... She'd give Swindle a two finger Salute before he goes.

Delusion nods to Swindle again as he leaves. She takes a sip of her drink. "He does seem an anxious sort," she comments to Dust Devil.

Dust Devil grins faintly, "That time it was Sideswipe usin it fer his still on Earth. ONe time watchin what he did ta Sideswipe was enough ta have me swearin off of touchin ANY of Ratchet's 'LUCKY' items."

"Good, you don't mess with someone's medical equipment like that, especially poor Ratchet's." She'd nod sagely, then frown as her mind wondered, her brows knitting. She'd get out her sketchbook, and flip to a blank page, and start drawing away at something. "..Yeah... He is, not really good at hiding it." She'd say absentmindedly.

Delusion nods. "It's important to learn to trust your teammates, whoever they may be."

GAME: Starlock FAILS a TECHNICAL roll of Immense difficulty.

GAME: Starlock FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Very High difficulty.

"Exactly, even if you don't like them, you have to be able to trust them with your life as a soldier, medic, doctor, or engineer, as we don't have the luxury of being picky." She'd say, waving her stylus up as she kept sketching... She'd grunt seeing her sketch was too messy, there were errors, she couldn't place where, and moved onto doing a new sketch.

Delusion leans over slightly to see what Starlock's working on.

GAME: Starlock PASSES a TECHNICAL roll of Very High difficulty.

GAME: Starlock FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Very High difficulty.

Dust Devil looks at Delusion, "I owe my life several times over ta Ratchet, Spike and the others. That's why I took full advantage of him being unconscious. Best time ta mess with him."

Dust Devil says, "Best part was me and Scales workin together!"

When Delusion looks over, she'll see Starlock is attempting to sketch out a medical sketch of a forged medics hands, or at least close to such, she's attempting to figure out how to rebuild and properly wire such with her sketching, the first one was very sloppy, like she got confused, the second is much more technically correct.

Starlock glances up when she feels the shadow then her purple optics glance back down as she keeps going.. She can tell somethings off with this second sketch but she can't place it. "...Ratchet's hands where stolen by an assassin.. he's been managing with some replacements for a while now, but.. their not really.. made for a medic.." She'd frown, her EM field felt.. tingly, sad. "...I can tell it's upsetting him, but he's not saying anything... I know rebuild ones aren't as good as forged, considering mine aren't but.. will be something, as I doubt I can really do anything against the assassin that took 'em." She'd explain somberly with a huff.

Delusion mmms, taking another sip of her drink. "Medics often need specialized hands," she agrees. "Do you know who the assassin was?"

GAME: Starlock FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Very High difficulty.

"Decepticon, that's as much that has been told me, I don't think I was ever given a name..." Starlock would think as she looked over the sketch, squinting, she can still tell something is wrong, but unsure what, she moves to the next page to start drawing it on a larger scale.

GAME: Delusion PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Extreme difficulty.

Delusion looks at the drawing, then dips her finger in her drink and swipes a couple of quick lines on the table. "I can't speak to the interior, but the outside of the hands are shaped more like this." Who knows when she last saw Ratchet's hands or under what circumstances.

Dust Devil says, "Me and Backblast talked about goin after her. But there's been so much stuff goin on that we'd not had a chance. I wonder if Ratchet appreciated us doin medical predures on him without permission. Ya shoulda seen what his insides looked like."

GAME: Starlock PASSES a TECHNICAL roll of High difficulty.

GAME: Starlock PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of High difficulty.

"Bold of you to assume I've not had to repair him in the past." Starlock snrks, before looking over at what Delusion does and nods, attempting such as a small sketch on the other page, nodding Delusion's help definitely helped in figuring out what was wrong, she starts now applying that to the larger sketch... She then stops realizing something and looks at dust Devil. "Her?" The assassin was a femme? Her finials twitched up in interest.

Delusion smirks. "I'll admit I haven't seen much of his insides. He doesn't make a habit of going out on the front lines or participating in pit fights."

Dust Devil says, "Yeah but he will run out on the field if he happens ta be present and someone goes down. He pulled me off the field before. I remember lookin at his white paint and worryin about how dirty I was gettin it. Course...I was bleedin out at the time so not exactly lucid."

Starlock clicks her jaw as Dust Devil doesn't elaborate who this femme assassin maybe. "He's a Medic and Doctor like me, he's trained to work on the field." She would say, before muttering about connections and hydraulics, and wiring, writing down notes on on that larger page. "...If you do go after this mystery Femme, can count me in." She'd say without much thought. "Is a mentor and father-like figure to me, so.." She'd nod as she kept drawing, becoming more and more focused.

Delusion hmms. "Depending on who the assassin is, you may be able to get assistance from elsewhere. Assassins accumulated grudges."

Dust Devil frowns, "She's offlined mechs before. Quick and Ruthless. Only reason I'm allowed ta go is cause I've got a forcefield. But Even then I got hit by a radioactive paint and had ta avoid Spike fer a week." He sighs, "I owe Ratchet. Other than Trailbreaker, he was the first mech ta -get- me. Even when I'm causin him grief, we seem ta have an understandin. And apparently when I was Stormfront, He was wantin Dust Devil...ME back."

Starlock taps a unoccupied finger on the table, as she brings out her datapad, and unplugs the wire from one of the cameras under her optic glasses, (the other end hooked into her aduial phone) and plugs it into her datapad, and starts running a search for instances and keywords regarding that instance in the autobot incident database, nd medical files. "Perhaps so Delusion, just a matter of /whom/ iti s." She'd say, bringing a finger up, still sketching. "...I just don't think this should wait any longer, and I'm going to /try/ weather people like it or not.. Side who said anything about doing this without his permission?" She'd ask Dust Devil a bit delayed.

(RadioStarlock transmits, "Dust Devil broke his weld and is limping." to Scales.

(Radio) Scales sends you a radio transmission, 'Doesn't surprise me. You got it, or do you need help?'

(Radio) Starlock transmits, "Will hoepfully be transporting him back from Valvolux to get him fixed back up by me or you, we're in a bar, else I'd done it by now." She'd chuckle. "He was gonna make up some scrap about how he broke it, but because I am a reasponsible medic who heard this, figured I'd ensure he doesn't try to pull the wool over your optics."" to Scales.

(Radio) Scales sends you a radio transmission, 'I don't know why he bothers, since the most I'll do it tell him to be more careful. He goes underground a lot and gets banged up exploring.'

(Radio) Starlock transmits, "Right? Silly to lie... Oh uh.. I have sketches of something I'd like you to look at later.." to Scales.

(Radio) Scales sends you a radio transmission, 'Okay! I'll be in the medical center whenever you need me.'

(Radio) Starlock transmits, "..Thanks." to Scales.

Starlock's one finial twitches, and she saids off a few radio transmissions, the search on her datapad finally stops as she blinks. "...Nightbird?" She'd ask Dust Devil and Delusion.

Delusion ahs. "Megatron's Empress? Yes, that would make sense. She's taken one of my own hands in the past."

Starlock gives a nod, and writes a note about Delusion's help on her schematics, before closing up her sketchbook, slipping it away with her datapad, reconnecting the camera, cleaning up the garbash from the table, and setting a few Shanix on the table, before nodding.

"Thanks Delusion, I ah.. have a few things to think about and work on now." She'd smile tiredly. "Come on Dust Devil lets get you back to Medical." She'd call as she walked out of the Bar, and transformed into her shuttle-mode.