Keeping Busy

Log Title: Keeping Busy Characters: Blaster, Dust Devil, Scales, Spike Location: Iacon Plains Date: January 5, 2019 TP: Non-TP Summary: For how much he goofs off, Dust Devil has been busy lately. As logged by  Scales

Log session starting at 14:33:16 on Saturday, 5 January 2019.

Scales is curled up on top of a pile of rocks, napping with her wings and crest spread to catch every bit of light possible.

'''Dust Devil is...well he's stalking Scales. He'd been in a bit of a mood most of the morning but this was too good to pass up. So the mech pretty much crawls closer to the sleeping dragon, a smirk on his face.'''

GAME: Scales PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of High difficulty.

The subtle clatter and shift of the rocks moving disturbs the little dragon's nap and she blinks awake, muzzily peering from under her wings to see what's moving.

GAME: Dust Devil FAILS an AGILITY roll of Extreme difficulty.

'''Dust Devil tries to freeze in an awkward position but is unable to hold it and ends up falling to the ground. He makes a face, half hoping she isn't going to notice him.'''

GAME: Scales PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of High difficulty.

'''Scales straightens up and looks around with more energy, finally locating the blue and grey Autobot in the dirt. "Oh, hey Dusty! You okay?"'''

'''Dust Devil looks up and sighs, "Yep." He gets to his feet a little stiffly and stretches, sighing when something pops back into position. "Now I know humans stretch so much..."'''

'''Scales also stretches, cat-like, then skitters down the loose pile to where Dust Devil is. "It feels kinda nice, doesn't it?"'''

'''Dust Devil's body makes a grating noise that is rather unpleasant to the audios before Dusty sits down. "yeah...I guess. Normally I don't feel like I've gotta stretch. at least not unless I've been in vehicle mode a particularly long time."'''

'''Scales nods and sits. "Since I curl up so much when I recharge, I usually stretch just t'make sure everythin' moves right after." She peers at Dust Devil. "Have ya had trouble gettin' around lately?"'''

'''Dust Devil looks rather..embarrassed. "I...haven't transformed since the day we fixed Elita. The part is back but UmmmmI...I went ta try and it wasn't comfotable and I got spooked and..umm...yeah. Let's just say my feet are pretty sore from all the abuse."'''

'''Scales ohs, peering at Dust Devil's feet. "Yeah, if yer doin' a buncha stuff yer not used ta, it c'n beat ya up." She looks back up at Dust Devil's face. "so... uncomf'table how?"'''

'''Dust Devil makes a face. "It...it pinched and felt like I was gettin stuck rather than transforming. I backed outta it as quick as I could and I'm glad no one was there ta watch it..."'''

'''Scales huhs. "Want me to give ya a quick check over, see if anything's outta place?"'''

'''Dust Devil looks at scales nervously. "Ummmm I guess. I...err...yeah this needs ta be fixed and I'm sure I'm mostly scarin myself but ...umm...yeah."'''

'''Scales nods. "Sit down an' I'll take a look anyway." She shrugs. "Even if it is all in yer head, doesn't cost anythin' t'make sure there's nothin' wrong."'''

'''Dust Devil grins a little, "Pride?" He sighs, "With all the crud that's gone on, I've been pretty much avoidin the base.'''

'''Scales starts inspecting Dust Devil, opening panels to check internal fittings as well as the external. "Yeah, but that's not 'xactly weird behavior for ya."'''

Dust Devil says, "Yeah...which means of course no one notices if somethin is not right...like me not transformin cause I'm not around enough fer anyone ta really see what's goin on. And then I am stressed and no one knows"

'''Scales nods, moving from one part of Dust Devil to another. "Um.. speaking of.. how's Tracker?"'''

'''Dust Devil frowns, "We're better...but it's back ta how it used ta be between us when sometimes he'd totally avoid me or pretty much go inta stasis fer a day or two. I think...I think it'll be okay." He looks away. "I'm sorry if I've been a pain."'''

'''Scales nudges Dust Devil. "Hey, this's my job! I don't mind gettin' ya back on yer feet. Or off 'em, I guess. An' I'm glad you an' Tracker are gettin' it worked out. Recovery takes time, right? I know patience isn't yer strong suit, but it's th'truth." She closes the last panel. "Everything looks okay!"'''

'''Dust Devil smiles at Scales, "Thanks again." he does rub one of his feet and makes a face at how scuffed they are...even for him. Perhaps he'll be a little nicer to Spike next time the human is complaining about his body hurting. "Are you doin okay?"'''

'''Scales blinks at Dust Devil. "Well, yeah, I'm good. Why'd ya ask?"'''

Dust Devil says, "All the stuff with Soundwave. You don't like the mech. Not that I'm particularly happy with him either. I still owe him a punch. He offered but I want to punch him when I want to punch him,"

'''Scales ohs. "Well, I don't like 'im, but he didn't actually hurt me or anythin'." She shrugs.'''

'''Dust Devil stands and makes that awful grating noise again. It's coming from his chest. "I don't think he could hurt you...well not without having alot of issues with himself, blaster and dinobots....among others."'''

'''Scales grins. "Yeah, I bet Unca Grimlock an' Snarl an' the others would have somethin' t'say about it."'''

'''Dust Devil's chest again grates noisily as he looks out along the plain. His expression is somewhat nervous and anxious.'''

'''Scales peers at Dust Devil's chest. "Y'tryin' t'tranform now?"'''

Dust Devil looks down and sighs, "Sorry...nervous habit I apparently picked up and now need ta break. My turbines are spinnin against each other and...well it's not a pleasant sound. If I do it on purpose I can use it as an attack."

'''Scales ooohs. "Okay. Had me a bit worried I'd missed somethin'."'''

Scales is out by a random pile of rocks, talking to Dust Devil.

Dust Devil shakes his head, "No...didn't miss anything other than me tryin ta convince myself to try tranforming."

'''Scales nods. "Hey, it's like that first time jumpin' off a cliff." She flexes her wings. "Y'know you c'n do it. Y'just gotta persuade yerself of that."'''

Dust Devil smiles, "I love jumpin off cliffs. I can't fly, but I have some pretty powerful turbines and can cushion myself fer the most part out of a fall. I'm only in trouble if I'm like THROWN or blasted out of the sky."

'''Scales nods to Dust Devil. "Flying is -fun-! an' easier than walkin' when ya gotta cover a lotta ground."'''

Dust Devil laughs softly, "I'm sure it can be fun. But I think I get the best of both worlds. Though I probably don't get to appreciate G-forces like the true planes or those with tires on a bend."

'''Blaster moseys over to the sounds of Scales and Dusty, having heard them before he ever saw them. As soon as he comes into close enough range, he gives a bit of a wave to the duo.'''

'''Scales hehs. "I don't get a -lot- of g's 'less I'm divin'." She notices Blaster and sits up on her haunches, waving a paw.'''

'''Dust Devil was totally going to try and tranform and...Blaster. Nope! He's good. A smile appears on his face. "hey Blaster. Fancy seein ya outta yer com tower. Needed some fresh air?"'''

Spike walks out after getting a latest briefing on the construction of Fotress Maximus.

'''Blaster looks over at Dusty, "Came to check in on my little buddy. What're you up ta, Dusty?" He doesn't mention he's heard some of the conversation between the two, not wanting to embarass Dusty as of yet.'''

'''Scales ooohs. "Yeah, I got that stuff worked out that ya asked me ta work on.." She produces the datapad she'd been using and offers it up. "It's still all theoretical. I didn't feel like it'd be right tryin' ta take advantage of Sounders lyin' in th'Rollout. An' he's creepy so I didn't wanna get close anyway."'''

Dust Devil makes a face, "Yeah, he can be a bit on the creepy side. Though speaking to...to what he was before the war, I felt sorry fer him. Actually I feel sorry fer alot of yas.Though I know Soundwave's life was supposed ta be pretty bad before the war due ta how they treated certain mechs. Still gonna punch soundwave."

'''Spike smirks. He may not agree with Dust Devil all of the times, but he certainly likes the 'punching Soundwave' policy of his.'''

'''Blaster takes the offered datapad and looks it over making note of all the technical details. He nods his head. "No worries, little dude, we'll figure this out." He gives her an approving look after recording all the details. "He wasn't so creepy back in the old days but I think something happened to him later." He shrugs and hands the datapad back to Scales. "And good work on that." He'd mull over how to implement it when he was back in his comm tower.'''

'''Dust Devil says, "I also left somethin set up on Soundwave myself. I...I wanna see if it still works or not now that he's been fixed." He grins a little, "He'll probably kill me later fer it."'''

'''Scales accepts the datapad back. "One time when talkin' t'him in Harmonex he said he read some of Megatron's poetry an' decided t'follow him forever or somethin' like that." She blinks at Dust Devil.Oh, dear.'''

'''Spike looks around and clears his throat. "Heyah guys, any time when the next shuttle is going to head back to Earth?"'''

'''Blaster raises an optic ridge. "Megatron's POETRY? That's about as great as his bad comedy." He shakes his head. "And not like the Soundwave I knew."'''

'''Dust Devil glances over and grins, "Hey Spike! How's everythin been?" At Scales' look he grins, "What? I just told him to save current settings when he was in his innocent phase and had him save it under specific headings after partioning himself. Sooo if it works right he'll be his pleasant prewar, prehorrible things self fer me ta have a pleasant conversation with."'''

'''Spike grins amicably at Dust Devil. "Not too bad. Staying out of trouble, I see." He looks around. "I had a slow two days, so I thought I'd come up to check in with Grapple and Hoist.'''

'''Scales blinks at Dust Devil. "Yer gonna give him a split personality." She pauses to mull that over.'''

'''Blaster shakes his head at Dusty. "Scales is right. You'd wind up giving him one. And when ya got a split personality like that, it's not a good thing for either side ta deal with." He waves to Spike. "Not sure on the next shuttle back to Earth, no. Need me ta radio someone and find out for ya?"'''

Dust Devil glares, "It isn't any less than what he did ta me! "

'''Spike looks up at Blaster and grins. "Heyah Blaster! Long time no see!" He shakes his head and says "Nah, I'm sure there's one that's going back in a few hours."'''

'''Blaster raises an optic ridge at Dusty. "You'd likely be condemning the innocent version of Soundwave to a terrible fate if Megatron ever found out. And do ya really want THAT on your conscience, Dusty?"'''

'''Scales ers at Dust Devil. "I'm pretty sure we're all agreed that was he did t'ya was -wrong-, Dusty. An' not jus' cause it made ya miserable in th'end."'''

'''Spike shakes his head in disbelief. "Wait...wait, what the hell do you mean by the INNOCENT version of 'Soundwave' - are we like talking a parallel universe?"'''

'''Scales ums. "Okay.. so.. Apparently Sounders wasn't takin' care of himself, so when he finally let onna the 'con medics look at 'im, the 'con ended up resetting him so he forgot the last several millions years? He didn't remember the war, or Megatron, or anything. But there was a backup, an' Megatron got wind of the problem, an' showed up t'give Sounders all those memories back whether he wanted 'em or not. So, he panicked and yelled fer help and Backblast an' Typhoon an' Springer went to save him. But he got all his memories back, anyway, and then decided that he was gonna try t'take advantage. In alla th'confusion he spent a day or so hiding out in th'Rollout."'''

GAME: Spike FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Immense difficulty.

'''Spike blinks and squints. He's trying to follow this. He's REALLY trying to follow this. But sometimes, these weird situations can feel like trying to watch 'Game of Thrones' midway through the entire series, while listening to a Tool album, while also reading a Kafka book. "Okaaaaay..."'''

'''Scales shrugs. "I still don't really get how just doin' maintenance would reset a person's neural net, but Sounders implied that the 'Con medic had it in fer him or somethin' like that."'''

'''Spike frowns. "Did he get any information that he shouldn't have gotten?"'''

'''< irc.dal.net>  Good.. evening is it?'''

'''< irc.dal.net>  Look out a window. Is the sun past its zenith? Does twilight gather?'''

'''< irc.dal.net>  Oh its long past twilight. Yes.'''

'''< irc.dal.net>  Then it's evening. Until the time for sleep.'''

Dust Devil says, "Before he became a decepticon...before whatever caused him to want to be a decepticon made him the way he was. There's..a bit of that left. I gave it a safe spot just in case they went ta reprogram him and make him worse than he was. I figured it was a way to preserve probably the only wholesome thing left in the guy. And it's the ONLY damn reason I haven't tried beatin the hell outta him."

'''< irc.dal.net>  I don't sleep often. I was deep in work and looked up and suddenly. Evening.'''

'''Scales looks over at Dust Devil and Blaster, who probably know more about what Soundwave might or might not have picked up. "I think they took him straight over to th'Rollout..so.."'''

'''Spike frowns. "For what it's worth, I'm still pissed that Soundwave has been responsible for most of the headaches in my life. Ravage terrorized me during their first few years on Earth, and later on, Frenzy put me in a coma and put me in speech and physical therapy for almost a solid year.'''

< irc.dal.net>  So how is everyone?

'''Blaster shakes his head. "From what I can see, Soundwave got nothing of any sort of use from us so we're all good in that department. Plus I've already changed up encryption and such so if he DID manage to get something, it won't do him too much good."'''

'''Scales ohs! and looks up at Blaster. "I didn't tell ya. Before all this, Sounders called me a few days ago an' thanked me for takin' good care of Harbinger when we had her prisoner. Said he owed me a favor."'''

Dust Devil frowns, "I want ta hate him so much fer what he did...but I also know we can't keep hatin everythin."

'''Blaster raises an optic ridge at this, as it's a pretty uncommon thing for Soundwave to offer anyone a favor. "Keep that for as long as ya can, little dude. We might find a way to benefit from that at a later date." He shakes his head. "Despite what Soundwave's done, I don't think it was at all willingly. This mech used to know how to party with the best of us."'''

'''Scales shrugs. The ultimate fate of people like Soundwave isn't her problem yet. Thank goodness.'''

< irc.dal.net>  Hallo

< irc.dal.net>  Greetings, Domina

< irc.dal.net>  Wie geht es dir?

< irc.dal.net>  Voll funktionsf?hig und selbst?

'''< irc.dal.net>  Its good to have so many languages. Found someone last night who speaks ancient cybertronian with a Tarn accent. It was refreshing.'''

'''< irc.dal.net>  my ancient cybertronian has a heavy Kaon dialect no matter how hard I try. You know what they say. You can take the scrapper out of Kaon, but you can't take the Kaon out of the scrapper.'''

'''< irc.dal.net>  Ich bin gut. Ich habe heute ein weiteres Bild fertiggestellt ... einen guten Freund von mir, der eine schwere Zeit durchgemacht hat, und seine ... Kinder.'''

'''< irc.dal.net>  I will always sound German. I think my service with them has etched the accent into mein soul.'''

< irc.dal.net>  I would love to see your picture.

'''< irc.dal.net>  I suppose the Koan is etched into my spark as well. Proudly so.'''

< irc.dal.net> <Guardian> Kaon rather.

Dust Devil says, "I'm already benefittin from the favor that he owes me...and that's somethin I needed ta talk ta you about blaster...you and the junkions."

< irc.dal.net> <Domina> I am at LHQ, as always.

< irc.dal.net> <Domina> I like to paint where I can see the Flakturm.

'''< irc.dal.net> <Guardian> Thats a good place to be. I can come by if you like?'''

< irc.dal.net> <Domina> You are alway welcome

'''Blaster again raises that optic ridge. "What about, Dusty? Favors are always a good thing ta keep ahold of until the need arises. And trust me, you'll know when the need arises ta call in a marker like that."'''

'''Dust Devil sits down on a conveniant outcropping and crosses his arms. "You...you know about Maccadam fightin the Fallen....And how things were let out about the bartender. I'm workin with Encore ta see about scrubbin the datanet that the junkions have of the footage of the fight or replace it with doctored footage that makes the actual fight look like an unfinished scene from a movie that was being made. I don't want Maccadam ta have ta leave because he's got people parked outside his door expectin more than good advice and good drinks from him."'''

Scales sits and listens as Dust Devil outlines his idea.

'''Blaster nods and listens as well as Dusty outlines his plan. "I do know there's always going ta be SOMEBODY willing ta pick a fight at a bar. Saw far too much of that on Earth. People get drunk and their sense goes flyin out the door. But might be interesting ta try and do. Especially if it scrubs the info out there about the bartender."'''

Dust Devil says, "The rule at Maccadams is NO fightin...it has always been that way. It has always been a safe place for bots and cons to mingle without fightin. It needs to be that way again."

'''Blaster nods. "Like I said, be interesting ta try and do. But there is a downfall ta something being put on the Internet. It tends ta get archived in some of the most unorthodox ways. But maybe it hasn't spread too far and the Junks, Soundwave, and I could do something."'''

Dust Devil nods, "I know. I'm just lookin at damage control. If we finish the doctorin that I'm hopin ta do with the help of some junkions. Get some good music added into the footage..that's where you might come in handy, and then let THAT slip out....well now we add disbelief back into the equation. People have always joked that he was a prime. And after a few engex, no one cared, we just want it ta go back ta that.

'''Blaster nods his head. "Well you know me. I'm good with music. And hopefully it hasn't gotten too far out of hand otherwise you'd need something *MAJOR* ta convince people the fake footage was the real deal."'''

Dust Devil says, "Soundwave's roll in this is to not point out the fake when it comes back out. And he's not ta point out Maccadam fer any reason...just let it fall back into obscurity. If you know anyone else who might help, please point us in the right direction. But I think we would lose somethin important if we let Maccadam leave because of this. Even if he doesn't take sides, he's still important in his own way. Thanks Blaster."

Log session ending at 20:43:38 on Saturday, 5 January 2019.