Performance Review

Log Title: Performance Review

Scales, by Novanim

Characters: Cerebros, Chromia, Dust Devil, First Aid, Fortress Maximus, Scales, Spike, Starlock

Location: Gates of Iacon

Date: November 19, 2019

TP: Titans Awaken TP

Summary: Cerebros, Spike, and Fortress Maximus all consider what could have gone better.

As logged by  Scales

Log session starting at 10:50:15 on Tuesday, 19 November 2019.

Gates of Iacon

Dust Devil grins faintly, "hard ta say...remember Stormfront dealt with him last... not me. I went over the information about star saber before and it's hard ta say if it was different or not. he seemed ta be in a good mood and I'm glad I kept doin those lessons with you and Fort Max... I had ta keep myself calm ta not interfere with what Star saber was doin.

Cerebros gives a guilty look at Dust Devil. "I don't know if you heard, but Fortress Maximus... well... WE... didn't do a 'perfect' job last night. The battlestation's targeting systems were way off - we had to transform, and... he left his post to fight Megatron after Deathsaurus was disabled." He frowns "And even though it's Fortress Maximus ... I know 'I' am going to be one of the three that Chromia is going to reprimand!"

Scales comes bounding out to the Iacon Gates from inside the city. She heads over to sniff around the forcefield generator and figure out what happened.

Dust Devil looks at Scales since he's probably sitting or laying on the ground to try and access the damaged generator. "This is rather slagged... How is Trailbreaker doin? the shield came down hard on him."

Scales nods. "He'll be fine, but it'll be a few days before he's back to active duty. That was a nasty backlash. I hope you're doing alright- not a lotta other people who can take a turn."

Cerebros sighs in relief. "Thank the maker." He tilts his head and looks in Dust Devil's general direction. "Dust Devil, what's going to happen to me, when Chromia comes back?"

Dust Devil makes a face. "Shield's down right now but we got some heavy hitters still circlin until I can jury rig this up ta me and produce a real forcefield. Need ta have you or First Aid or Ratchet clear me."

Dust Devil eyes Cerebros, "Yer gonna have ta face the music is what... Part of being part of a team... or even a family. Ya screw up, ya take yer lumps and ya do better next time if ya can."

Scales ohs? "I found a note in your file that you'd been in medical. A bit overcharged?"

Cerebros shakes his head. "No, no, I know... 'face the music' - but... WHAT is the music?" He gestures to Dust Devil. "You've been in trouble before - what will Chromia do? Brig me? You can't really brig Fortress Maximus unless you send us to one of the moonbases to sit and think about what we did."

Cerebros puts his face in his hand. "She hates me... I know it was Fortress Maximus who did it, but if you were to see her face..." He frets. "If they're going to brig me, I just hope they don't put me in the same brig as the Decepticons... it's not like we INTENTIONALLY tried to harm anyone, it was just an accident!"

Dust Devil rolls his optics, "Star Saber decided ta use me fer parts and I got kinda overcharged as a result. Stuff is a lot better... but ya might wanna make sure I don't need my forcefield systems worked on before I do this.... or at least see make sure the parts are ready fer an overhaul after I wear what I have out with the shield." A frowns appears on his face. "It was Fort max? Not you? At all? Is that what Spike would say too?"

Cerebros looks away from Dust Devil and rubs the back of his neck. "No..." he says sheepishly. He then looks at Scales and Dust Devil. "But the 'waiting' is killing me! Can someone just tell me what Chromia is going to do to me?!"

Scales tilts her head at Cerebros and wonders if Discord ever felt exasperated when -she- was young and prone to worry like that. Of course, she was a sulker, not the kind to panic out loud. She headbumps Cerebros gently. "Take a moment to think about what you coulda done better. If you already have that in mind when she talks to you and you can tell her about it, then she'll know you learned somethin'."

The little dragon turns to Dust Devil. "If you wanna get checked over, I can do that."

Cerebros sighs, allowing Scales to head-bump him. "I wanted a spotless record... and now it's gone."

Dust Devil rolls up to a sitting position to let Scales get at him while Cerebros is spoken with. "Okay, first.. NO ONE has a spotless record, and if that's what yer tryin fer then yer gonna make yerself miserable. Second... I want you to tell me the possible consequences of Fort Max's actions after Star Saber distracted him."

Scales hops over and starts her checkup, opening up panels to inspect parts.

Cerebros nods ruefully. That was his doing. OK, HE may not have abandoned his post, that may have been Fort Max, but his elation about Star Saber returning...and as a result - causing the bond to be severed because of such a strong elation. He frowns "Can we... not talk about this now... can we wait until like... you're fully repaired?"

Cerebros martyrs himself a bit "I don't want to stress you out more than you already are..."

Dust Devil frowns, "Short of Scales sayin it would be detrimental ta me or you ta be discussin this now, I think it's better ta do it now. The incident is fresh in yer mind. And two... nice try. I just got through tryin ta take on Megatron by myself and then gettin split into pieces cause Star Saber found me fashionable, discussing this is gonna be the most relaxin thing I do all day."

Cerebros doesn't *sigh* but.. folds his arms and listens.

Scales pauses her work to blink at Dust Devil. Star Saber's party trick isn't one she's familiar with.

Dust Devil says, "When you get distracted... and you being the collective you that includes you, Fort Max and Spike, when you get distracted, ya have the tendency ta fall apart. Now when yer all alone or we're out practicin, it ain't that big of a deal. But last night ya coulda killed people. I was runnin on the ground in pretty much yer shadow. Trailbreaker was down, Starlock was all over the place. Chromia was battlin Megsy and Overlord. We did not have the time or ability to safeguard ourselves from you. And if you play back the radio conversations from last night, You in one moment distracted EVERYONE on the battlefield except for the decepticons who took your odd movements as a chance to attack. ONE MOMENT of distraction could have ended the fight. Can you possibly see now WHY I am so hard on ya. Why I don't try ta make things so nice and rosey fer ya."

Cerebros bows his head and feels every one of Dust Devil's points, especially "distracted EVERYONE." He mumbles "I literally saw someone who I thought die come back to life. Everyone saw this! I..." He sniffs and gulps "I didn't MEAN it! I just..." He stammers "I didn't mean to put everyone in jeopardy!"

Scales grimly focuses on inspecting Dust Devil, tailtip twitching. "So, uh.. Jets just reported that Star Saber was that thing inside Deathsaurus?"

Dust Devil taps Scales for a moment so that he can interrupt her work and he can shift, "Yeah....He xenomorphed outta Deathy," then tapping the space next to him for Cerebros to join. "Come here. Look...I...I understand more than you know. More than you might ever know. I have seen Optimus cut down before me in a fight. I've seen Benin, Alpha Trion, Elita...I've watched them cut down durin a fight and sometimes. They were cut down tryin ta save me cause I made the wrong move. I screwed up. And it's only by the medics unbelievable skills and possibly Primus' optics upon them that they didn't die."

Cerebros nods slowly. His head continues to be bowed to Dust Devil (but he may still have a height advantage). He lets out a deep sigh.

Cerebros says, "...I was just so happy he was alive...""

Cerebros sniffs and gulps. "But I understand."

Scales shifts out of the way and tackles her work from a new angle, still chewing over her own thoughts.

Cerebros says sheepishly, desperate for anything to make him feel better. "Did we do ANYTHING right last night?"

Dust Devil says, "Of course you did! You kept fightin...once ya got things back together again. You guys gave everyone else a chance. If they had only had us regular bots ta fight against, we'd have been dead. Yer power was phenomenal. Just your presence was a great distraction and then ya actually do some major damage ta Deathy. I didn't get ta see who else ya hit. Other than the point you lost yer focus, you were doin exemplary."

Scales comments, "I swear, Dusty, your systems are -cleaner- than normal."

A slow smile comes across Cerebros' face. "Thanks..."

Dust Devil says, "Look...we ALL make mistakes. Even Optimus Prime. Remember how I told Fort about me not listenin ta Optimus. Well, it's a true story. The Fallen had JUST taken out Elita one. Like bad. Ripped her ta pieces. Optimus orders Me and Backblast ta get her to safety. But instead, me and Backblast went after the part that the fallen had just stolen. I felt bad ignoring Prime, but he was thinkin with his spark and not his head. Elita was in no more danger in the shape she was in. But if the fallen had escaped with that piece? We'd have been dead next time we met with him. So....there are times when ignoring the rules IS the right thing. There are times when following the rules can be a danger in itself. And there are times those who give the orders are wrong. But it takes experience and learnin ta know WHEN those rare exceptions occur. And even if you do what you think is right, it doesn't mean you won't be punished fer it. Me and Backblast were ready ta be brigged fer what we did. Thankfully Prime saw that we did do the right thing in that instance...but it coulda easily been a harshly punished offense."

Cerebros frowns and says "I've never been in a brig before." He looks at Dust Devil. "What's it like? How long do you think I'll be in there? Will they put me in the brig with the Decepticons? Or are there brigs just where Autobots who screw up are kept?"

GAME: Cerebros FAILS an INTELLIGENCE roll of Immense difficulty.

Cerebros makes a face "If they brig me...they won't forget that I'm there, right?"

Scales keeps up her work, trying to hide a smile. She's never been brigged, and feels just a tiny bit smug about it.

Dust Devil frowns not liking the conversation turn but willing to push on for Cerebros. "I...don't do terribly well confined...it's gotten a bit better with the meditation that Backblast has me doin and all...but I can panicky and worse in the confines of a brig. The bot brigs are a lot better than the cons. There are different sized cells with different types of restraint. Energy bars are most common but some mechs can get out of different cells, there are inhibitors that keep ya from accessin your subspace pockets, you might be fitted with an energy regulator or mode lock so that you can't build up enough power for an attack or be able ta transform. First-time offense...minor offense, ya might be locked in and expected ta write an apology and read some various torture manuals like the Autobot rulebook or Red Alert's guide to not becoming a security risk."

Cerebros sighs. His only experience with 'brigging' has been watching Earth movies of prison. But Dust Devil's summation isn't making him feel any better. He nods. "Very well..." He looks at Dust Devil and Scales. "BUT... as you said, this is a team effort! If 'I' have to go to the brig, it's only fair that Spike gets brigged too."

Scales blinks over at Cerebros. "I'm not in charge of briggin' anybody, so it's not my call." Pass the buck.

Dust Devil laughs...and its not exactly a funny laugh. "Briggin is the punishment used when there's no better way ta fix the issue that occurred. Pretty sure you'll be wishin you woulda been brigged instead of what is probably gonna be planned."

Cerebros 's optics widen, almost comedically in alarm. "What?!" He rests his hands on Dust Devil's shoulders. "What's going to happen?! Tell me!"

Cerebros says in a worried tone "She's not going to deactive me, is she?!"

Scales gives Dust Devil a gentle smack to the back of his head as she moves to a new position.

Dust Devil acks as he's swatted! "Hey! No fair! And no! No deactivatin...but I'll bet you have a lot more trainin in yer future with Spike and Fort Max."

Cerebros frowns and says "Well...this waiting is killing me." He turns around to go for a walk, and maybe find Star Saber. He turns his back on Scales and Dust Devil and points to the space in general. "This...'waiting' is almost worse than the actual punishment!" He frowns. "This is an important part of Chromia's job. She should have been on top of this and delt our punishment as soon as our recharging was done!" He then goes to walk away.

Cerebros has left, shortly after, Spike emerges. Sort of a 'cooler heads shall prevail' entry.

Dust Devil facepalms, "You know...I would really love ta be a bug on the wall if he goes up ta Chromia and demands her ta do her job and punish him on time...."

Spike overhears Dust Devil and smirks. "Cerebros?" He looks up at Dust Devil. "How you feelin'?" He gives a friendly nod to Scales. "Morning, Scales."

Scales snickers and waves past Dust Devil to Spike. "Like she doesn't have other stuff to do."

Spike smirks to Scales. "I'm not...defending him...but...one thing I've noticed for younglings - be it humans or Autobots, they tend to be a bit on the selfish side - they'll eventually learn."

Dust Devil sighs, "It's just...frustratin ya know? At first, I think He was tryin ta blame you Spike fer the 'mess up

Scales nods. "It's just part of not knowin' much yet. It's a lot easier to settle down when you know what's goin' on and how things normally work."

Spike smirks and holds up his datapad. "I now...still - I do deserve some of the blame." He looks at the two as he shows the datapad. "I gave Fortress Maximus a report card from last night - wanna hear it?"

Spike adds "If not...no worries - I'm guessing you guys still are recovering."

Scales finishes up with Dust Devil. "Dusty, your systems are showin' the stress, but that's just the numbers runnin' high as you recover. I'd say take a little longer to let them get back to normal before you connect up with a city shield again. 'less it's an emergency."

First Aid comes in from repairing some of the injured. The medic heads over, seeing Scales is already working on Dust Devil "Oh, good he's stable. How is everyone recovering?" he asks.

Spike nods to First Aid. "Heyah, First Aid."

Scales looks a bit sheepish at Spike. "I was sleepin'. First I knew about the attack was people showin' up in the medical center."

First Aid waves "Hello, Spike and Scales." he says. "It was pretty bad last night. I was securing the injured in Iacon." He says. "But it could have been worse."

Dust Devil nods to Spike, "Sure, I'll hear it. You can ask Cerebros to replay what I told him." Glancing at Scales he nods, "Is it possible ta install well..somethin that will divert the backlash on the shields? We're gonna have ta hook directly ta power sources and use our own shields. It's gonna suck."

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

Scales mmms. "Some kinda circuit breaker? Yeah, probably. Though to make one that'll take that kinda backlash without becoming a bomb by itself is a little tricky." She pulls out a datapad and starts doodling a schematic on it.

Dust Devil waves to First Aid, "I snuck out this mornin with a headache...I think it might be one of those hangover things." He glances at what Scales is drawing. "What if we have a power converter ta somehow run the power back into the grid...at least most of it. There probably isn't a way ta keep the forcefielder from gettin hurt. I just want ta make it more power backlash instead of meltdown."

Spike looks over at Fortress Maximus and says "Well...Battlestation...I'm giving us a 'C' - honestly, we couldn't hit the backside of Trypticon last night, which is alarming, because Fortress Maximus was built to be a battlestation." He adds "Transforming mode...I'm giving us a 'B-' We gotta be smarter in engaging. We got too cutesy and tried to 'Choke-slam' Megatron when really, a quick swat would have done fine. Also, points off for the severing of the bond, and ... which I know we'll hear about later - abandoning our post."

First Aid nods "Yeah that's to be expected." he says. "Any other symptoms from the merge?" he asks. "You didn't know he was going to do it right?" he asks, taking notes. "Spike, are you sure you're not too hard on him? He chased off Megatron himself last night."

Scales hmms. "Run a series, maybe? Let the charge dump off temporarily, then drain back into the grid at a pace it can take."

Fortress Maximus growls "I'd give us a C+ on the Transforming performance and a 'D' on the battle station." Spike looks at First Aid and shakes his head. "Us, First Aid...Us - this is just as much my shortcomings as everyone else's."

Spike shakes his head at First Aid. "No...when we're all aligned...it's like...I'm going in and out of a dream - sometimes I can talk on the radio frequency, but most of the times, Cerebros and I are just components - if Fortress Maximus wants to choke-slam Megatron, unless either Cerebros and I panic enough - he's gonna choke slam Megatron."

Dust Devil rubs his chin, "WEll just remember, it's gonna be a deal like last night...Forcefield is slammed and either we can take it or it backwashes on us. Now last night it fed into Trailbreaker and the generator...Generator took the brunt but Trailbreaker gotta backlash. That's standard fer us. But If we gotta hook into the power source in order ta sustain our own forcefield at the generator's level, if we backlash from a heavy hit, it might straight out kill us. It's gotta have some resiliency or why bother with a shield, but at the point, we're taken out, it needs ta feed the energon off somewhere."

Dust Devil glances over to Spike, "It's a matter of more training and more training with scenarios. I'll feel a teensy bit bad fer what I'm thinkin of suggestin ta Chromia, but...it might help"

Spike nods at Dust Devil. "True..." He raises a brow. "Oh...don't know if you heard as well..." He breathes out. "On the diplomacy side, Crosscut and Prime decided they're no longer going to continue with me being an assistant to Crosscut."

Scales nods. "If you get a place to dump some of the energy temporarily, that'll lessen what might blow at the circuit breaker. We could set up a few batteries at a time, expand as we have time to work on it."

Dust Devil looks confused at Spike, "IS there a reason fer that? I thought you were doin well?"

Spike smirks at Dust Devil. "He...uh...promoted me." He adds "I'm now in charge of the Organic Affairs division." He adds "I'll still need to rely on Crosscut's guidance, but... I'm no longer his understudy. That's going to an Autobot called 'Getaway.'"

Scales is focused on the datapad, but she looks up. "Hey, Dusty? Anybody get a chance to look at those crystals?"

First Aid nods "Congrats, Spike." he says. "I'm sure you'll do an excellent job. And not yet. Maybe they can be sued to keep the forcefield up?"

Spike grins in appreciation at First Aid. "Heyah, thanks!"

Dust Devil pulls the crystals he had out of Subspace. "Not exactly yet...somethin about the whole attack deal." He tosses one end over end in his hand, recatching it. "Thanks fer remindin me. This at least I can play with while my systems chill a bit more."

Dust Devil adds to Spike, "Hey losin the job fer overqualification is great...I think..."

Scales nods. "If we can use any of 'em to optimize the load, that'll mean any secondary systems to catch a backlash will have an easier time of it."

Spike grins and looks up at Dust Devil. "I hope I can keep up with Crosscut." He looks at the crystals and scratches his unkempt hair. "Uh...anything I can maybe help out with?"

GAME: Dust Devil PASSES a TECHNICAL roll of Very High difficulty.

Dust Devil holds one of the crystals in each hand. Concentrating he makes a forcefield bubble appear and touches the crystal to it. It sticks much like a bubble to a bubble wand. Using his other hand he brings it up and touches the field and slowly pulls his hands away from each other, stretching the forcefield. "They react positively ta my field...or should I say negatively as negative ions are more likely ta attract...." He winces slightly, "The matrices aren't repelling..."

GAME: Dust Devil PASSES an ENDURANCE roll of Above Average difficulty.

Scales gets her schematic to a point she likes, offers it up to Spike. "Whatcha think?" She uses her claws to point out. "We get some batteries here to catch some of the overcharge, all protected by their own breakers so they don't blow, and the last breaker in line is the one that trips to protect whoever's powerin' it, like Dusty." She looks over at Dust Devil and frowns. "Still sore?"

Spike 's eyes widen in wonder as he sees the reaction of Dust Devil's force field with the crystals. "Woah..."

First Aid 's optics light in a smike "Excellent!" he says. "That's what I was hoping for. Looks like its doing well.." He seems excited. "With that, we won't need someone like you or Trailbreaker there all the time. We won't need to wear you guys out."

Dust Devil grins, "I was supportin the field mostly...all we know is that it reacts favorably ta the shield. They'll need ta be cut and set and then have a forcefield forced through them ta see if they can support somethin this big. Even if they don't work fer iacon...They might work fer smaller shields..like fer special ops and all." He rubs his chest once the forcefield is down fully, "These aren't made fer a forcefield yet, so gotta put a lot of power out and I think yer right about takin it easy fer another day if I can.:

Spike nods and says immediately "Yes..." (in terms of taking it easy)

Chromia exits the Gates in what is starting to be a standard routine for her as she runs a check on repairs being done, standard datapad in her hand.

Scales starts making up a list of components needed to build her idea.

Spike continues to do some repairs on the damage Fortress Maximus took last night.

Dust Devil chuckles, "It's not too bad. The processor ache is nearly gone. If this is what overstimulation from engex feels like, I don't think I ever want ta drink it."

Spike curses as he hears Dust Devil talk about engex. "Aw man! That's right, I almost forgot...I need to apologize to Encore before I leave for Earth."

Chromia catches the edge of Dust Devil's comments and notices Spike there as well so she puts her datapad away and walks over towards them, her hands clasping behind her back as she approaches them quietly.

GAME: Spike PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Above Average difficulty.

Scales pauses, chewing on the little metal stylus she's using as she adds more things to her list.

Spike looks over and sees Chromia. He instinctively gets out his radio and calls in. "Heyah, Cerebros - would you mind coming to Fortress Maximus, please?"

Spike wipes some energon and oil on his coveralls and walks toward Chromia. "Heyah...how's Elita-One doing?"

Fortress Maximus 's speakers emit "Greetings, commander. When Cerebros arrives, do you want to address us as one or all of us individually?"

Chromia tilts her head towards Spike a bit, "She will be fine. She is dealing with some of the fallout from last night." Her optics drift a bit as she looks around for a moment and before she can say anything Fortress speaks, "All together. You /are/ suppose to be a team, are you not?"

Spike nods. Ouch. This is definitely not going to be a gentle Optimus Prime-style lecture. He sees Cerebros arrive and waves a hand. "Hyeah! hightail it! Chromia wants us to assemble, on the double!"

Dust Devil gets quiet since he's is trying to listen to what Chromia says. He has been trying to help with the training and all.

Cerebros walks up to Chromia and does the quickest 'commander' nod as he can, hoping to get out of her line of sight and right into Fortress Maximus. "C'mon, Spike."

Chromia simply... smiles a bit, "Oh no. Please, stay right where you are. Fortress Maximus can hear us just fine from right here."

Cerebros can be heard whimpering a slight "Nooo..." But he stands at attention, he then puts his hands behind his back and looks directly ahead.

Spike is noticeably shorter, so he rests his hands on his side, and looks directly up at Chromia.

Chromia just looks at Cerebros for a long moment before looking at Spike and at Fortress, "So would any of you like to attempt to say why I wished to speak to you three?"

Fortress Maximus speakers emit "Because of our subpar performance yesterday"

Scales glances up from her work, but then gets right back to it.

Spike looks up at Chromia and clears his throat "If I might?"

Chromia holds a finger up to pause Spike before she points at Cerebros, "You first."

GAME: Spike PASSES a LEADERSHIP roll of High difficulty.

GAME: Cerebros FAILS a COURAGE roll of Immense difficulty.

Dust Devil doesn't look at up at anyone. One...he's not dumb enough to try and catch CHromia's attention when it's not his turn. But also, they have to learn. He reaches over and points at one of Scale's diagrams and then traces a line to another one to see if he's following her correctly.

Cerebros puffs his chest up a bit, and says, a tad choked up. "Because...Fortress Maximus abandoned his post to attack Megatron...and... because we froze mid-fight." He pauses "But to our credit, someone literally rose from the de - "

Spike says through clinched teeth "Cerebros."

Chromia again raises a finger up to stop Cerebros as well as Spike before she points at Fortress, "Your turn. I wish to hear WHY."

Scales nods to Dust Devil and points to some of the items on her growing list. It's a lot more than one little tape can haul.

Fortress Maximus 's speakers emit. "First...I apologize for disobeying your orders. I saw Deathsaurus was no longer a threat - I saw Megatron as the next logical threat, and he appeared to  pose an imminent threat to your life, Chromia."

Chromia turns her head a bit and downwards to give Spike her full attention, "And now you."

GAME: Spike PASSES a LEADERSHIP roll of High difficulty.

Spike breathes out - Crosscut's diplomatic training is kicking in big time today. He gulps "Well, as Fortress Maximus stated...we engaged Deathsaurus, and thanks to...whatever event we want to attribute it to last night, he was neutralized. We saw Megatron as the next lethal threat, and he looked like he was making a move on your life." He adds, careful not to lay the blame on anyone specific. "Secondly...when Star Saber returned...there was an...event...that was triggered - we got out of synch - and as a result, we 'froze' for a few moments, which both put us at a danger, but given Fortress Maximus' size...it put everyone in danger as he could have fallen..." He looks up at Chromia.

Dust Devil grins faintly as he listens but he doesn't interrupt. Nope, he's just focused on Scales. He points to himself and then mimes carrying stuff before pointing to Scales.

Spike wants to see Dust Devil's expression, just to see if he's getting a kick out of seeing someone he knows on the other end of the disciplinary end, but he's too afraid of averting his eyes from Chromia. His eyes continue to lock directly on to Chromia.

Chromia calls out over her shoulder, "Dust Devil, please join Spike and Cerebros over here, please… you are after all Cerebros 'mentor' are you not? You should stand with your student. This will not take long."

Spike clears his thoat "Permission to speak, Chromia?"

Scales nods to Dust Devil and gives him a smile. She then puts on a straight face as Dust Devil is also called out.

Dust Devil rolls his optics slightly and grins to Scales before schooling his features and turning to approach the group. He stands and glances at Chromia but doesn't dare speak yet, waiting instead to see what she wishes to say.

Cerebros lets out a faint sigh. He was hoping eventually Dust Devil would get to be his friend, but the more and more Dusty gets 'tasked' with Cerebros, the less and less of a chance that appears to be. Would you be friends with someone who you'd get punished for even if you didn't have anything to do with said event that you're getting in trouble for?

Cerebros continues to have his optics locked on to Chromia. For a while, he was was afraid of facing Chromia's reaction, now he's just as fearful, even more so of Dust Devil's perceived 'look of death' for being in trouble on his behalf.

Chromia waits for Dust Devil's arrival and nods briefly to him, "I called you over cause Cerebros appears to be stressing out hard. Again." She waits a few seconds as she gets her thoughts in line before she begins, "All of you seem to be aware of most of the issues I saw with what happened last night. But what it boils down to is I ordered you to the Gates because I trusted that you would hold it. I had plans in place to help counter what the Decepticons would do and they were created with the idea you would be right there." One hand unclasps as she points to the front of the Gates. "Yes, emotions were high, the situation was very bad. But that is why training is important, so that your brothers and sisters in arms can trust you will be in the right place if they need you."

"This time.. this time all of you were lucky. We took a great amount of damage but no one was lost. Before I decide how I should handle this finally, tell me what the three of you intend on doing from this point forward." Again a finger rises and points at Cerebros.

GAME: Cerebros PASSES a COURAGE roll of Immense difficulty.

Cerebros shrugs and says "I don't know...communicate better?"

Spike shoots a look up at Cerebros, but waits to get called on.

Chromia tilts her head to the side, an almost disappointed look on her face before she looks up to Fortress and dips her head towards him, "You?"

Dust Devil raises his hands JUST a little when the others have finished what they are saying to see if he will be allowed to say anything.

Fortress Maximus says adamantly "Obey our commander. Always!"

Spike makes a face. It's not QUITE the answer he wanted, but at least it's on a better trajectory than Cerebros.

Chromia arches a opticridge before moving her hand and indicating for Spike to speak.

GAME: Spike PASSES a LEADERSHIP roll of High difficulty.

Spike looks up at Chromia. "Look, I know we're a work in progress. Going back to when we first transformed, I've drafted a list of things to address - right now, I think we have like 57 points to address, which includes the 14 I added last night - each has a plan of addressing it, and a timeline." He then quiets down.

Spike adds "That report is available on the Autobot communication board, by the way."

Dust Devil is listening and watching Chromia and the group.

Chromia shakes her head, sighing briefly, "I do not need a list, Spike. What I need is for the three of you to work together. When I got out here, the three of you should of had worked out already what needed to be done to fix what went wrong last night.. not just /you/, Spike. All of you. You're a team and you need to be more in sync then I have seen so far. Yes, you are a /new/ team but that will only be given a certain amount of tolerance."

Scales finishes up her list and goes to see how much of the forcefield generator is slagged and how much is salvageable.

Fortress Maximus says, "Affirmative, commander.""

Cerebros says, "Yes, commander""

Spike nods and says "Yes, commander"

Dust Devil would say something but ummm Chromia hasn't let him and scarily enough he is trying to be attentive and supportive despite his normal pain in the aft self.

Spike keeps his optics locked on Chromia, fearing what would happen if he looks at Dust Devil.

Cerebros keeps his optics locked on Chromia, fearing what would happen if he looks at Dust Devil.

Chromia suddenly claps her hands together in front of her, "There. Done. As I said, no one was lost so I do not need to extremes this time. But understand this, my tolerance what happened is gone.. if it happens again Nice Chromia will be on vacation and Not-Nice Chromia will be handling it. Is that understood?"

Fortress Maximus 's speakers boom "Affirmative!"

Spike says, "Crystal clear."

Cerebros says, "Yes"

GAME: Cerebros PASSES a COURAGE roll of Very High difficulty.

Cerebros gulps and says "That's ...it? We're not brigged?"

Dust Devil sniggers but waits to be dismissed before speaking out other than acknowledging what Chromia said, "Yes Commander."

Chromia pauses as she starts to turn away and looks back at Cerebros, "What good would that do?" A finger points towards Fortress, "Not sure who would have a brig big enough for him and if we cannot brig him why would we brig you or Spike?" She pauses in thought as she reaches up to tap her chin, "If you /really/ want to be punished I could assign you as my Aide for a while."

Cerebros 's optics widen and he shakes his head. "No...thank you...commander."

Chromia just flicks her fingers a bit, "Go or I might do it after all." A glance at Spike, "You should have the experience by now, Spike.. get them working as a team with you. I will not interfere, not yet anyways but get yourselfs sorted out. Your team is important to us, don't fail us or yourselves." And with that, she turns to head back towards the Gates.

Spike nods seriously. As soon as Chromia heads out, Spike massages his eyes. "Oh man..." he groans.

Cerebros slinks by Dust Devil and...does something - maybe go on a walk. Just something out of Dust Devil's way.

Dust Devil starts snickering. "Amazing...almost word for word what I said even on the briggin. Oh...and I'm sure the extra training will go without sayin." He focuses and puts up a forcefield directly in front of Cerebros as he tries to sneak by.

Cerebros frowns and turns around to Dust Devil. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Spike looks at Dust Devil. The events of the day seemed to have added like 7 extra hours, because man, is he wiped out now. "I'll come up with a plan, an adjustment - I promise, Dusty. I won't let you guys down again."

Dust Devil grinnnnnnnns and lowers the forcefield, "Yep. But yer apparently runnin off. Sit with us. Ya try and run off a bit too much. Part of it is yer desperation fer the team ta work without ya...So they can just skip ya. But that ain't how it works."

Scales frowns at the forcefield generator. Okay, before she can add a breaker, she's going to have to replace some of the connecting parts.

Spike nods reluctantly. "I know...I know...it's just... I KNOW these guys are going to be here a LOT longer than me, and I can't be on Cyb'tron forever. I need to get back home. So, I'm trying to get them operating as a duo, but yeah...I realize before an effective duo, we probably need to operate as an effective trio."

Starlock shifts her way into the area, sipping on a mug of hot enertea, she looked exhausted, but she was up and moving, she was still using her deactivated scythe as a walking stick. She'd see the group and nodded. "S'up" She'd greet.

Spike nods to Starlock. "Heyah - how you recovering from yesterday?"

"Shellshocked, but I normally am after any fight." She'd nod and then patted at the patches in her armor from where she'd been shot. "Hope I wasn't too much trouble during all that, saw people panicking and tried to calm it with my crass sense of humour." She'd smile tiredly. "That and be as tactical as possible with placein' all my effects."

Spike shakes his head and smirks "Honestly, I think everyone was so occupied with staying alive, no one had time to get offended." He looks up and nods. "Glad you're okay."

Starlock nodded and looked at the group, her optics dimming and her mouth pressing into a thin line, her ridges knitted. "I'm glad to hear.... An Yeah, Signal flare did a good job with that energon manipulating, handy lil' ability that was." She'd smile weakly.

Dust Devil says, "It's not just that...The problem is when Cerebros is trying ta avoid being part of that group or pair. He says you guys have it. And that he's not needed. But he seems to want to forget that you have a limited timeframe ta be part of this group. That In the end, it'll be him and Fort max. They need ta learn ta rely on each other."

Dust Devil says, "Signal flare makes these awesome little energy spheres with his ability, gotta love the fact that bein an outlier isn't the crime and issue it used ta be."

Cerebros sits next to Dust Devil and Spike. "It's just hard...all of us are really different - it's not like we have to get along, it's we have to operate as one, unified entity."

Starlock looked to have something to say, but held her tongue, and sipped on her tea. She then glanced to Cerebros. "...Hmm normally I'd say you /don't/ have to get along to work together, but work as a unit to do your job without making it harder on one another, as they say 'keep it professional' but given the circumstances... You lot, really should /talk/ to each other and get to understand the others' point of view... it's okay not to agree on everything, but long as ya' respect the other.. should be fine, yeah?" She'd nod.

Scales finishes her assessment of the forcefield generator, shaking her head, and heads into Iacon to start looking for parts.

Dust Devil grins at Cerebros, "Uh...try having your body pulled apart and synching with someone ya barely know. I kept having to remind myself of what I remind you. And also remembering the relaxation techniques from Backblast with Meditation. I know it ain't easy. But...Can ya see why I seem ta push ya so often?"

Log session ending at 18:16:03 on Tuesday, 19 November 2019.