ANH. Bespin Station. It just might be getting worse; we'll get back to you

[astrotechmech]

The room where Jetfire and Arcee find themselves after Nemesis Prime finishes torturing Jetfire maybe be small, dark, and bare, but it is not completely soundproof.

Muffled voices can be heard in the hall outside of the "dungeon" sometime after the 'Troopers throw them in. Jetfire might be able to recognize that one voice is a very irritated Smokescreen.

"I'm going in."

"But sir! You can't!--I mean, shouldn't! You've seen what happened. That mech might--

"You're not changing my mind on this, mech."

"I mean, look at what happened this morning! There's no telling--"

"Out of my way, mech."

"But, sir! Sir!"

It is at this moment that the door opens, and the voices become clear and attached to faces, starting with Smokescreen as he turns to give a parting shot to the concerned security mech behind him before crossing the dungeon's threshold.

"If Jetfire wants to harm me, so be it! I deserve every blow I get after what I've done to him!"

Even in the dim lighting, it will be quite apparent that Smokescreen is not exactly "running on all four pistons." As he storms in, the two in the room will be able to see that--along with being the embodiment of annoyance right now--he is showing the signs of exhaustion. . . . Something that implies that he didn't get a lot of recharge in last night, and also that he's been employing a "poker face" to conceal that fact for most of the day. As it is, Smokescreen has to restrain himself from leaning on something within the room once he is inside.

The security guard bursts into the room soon after. "Sir, I--"

The security mech stops when he takes in the others in the room, instantly clamming up and falling into Smokescreen's 'shadow'. "Greenie" is figuratively written all over his face.

Comments

[random_xtras]

And Jetfire suddenly notices the other mech's silence and looks toward him sharply. "...Smokescreen, what else do you know about this?"

[astrotechmech]

"Huh?" Smokescreen exclaims, looking confused as Jetfire's question startles him out of his thoughts and back into the real world.

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The pilot narrows his optics and follows a strong hunch that suddenly comes to his mind. "What d'you know about Jedi?"

[astrotechmech]

Smokescreen raises an optic ridge at Jetfire, as if asking Jetfire what was he suppose to know about them. "Stuff from the old stories, mostly. . . . You know, peacekeeping, object moving,"--he waves a hand while wiggling his fingers in emphasis--"mind reading. . . . I wasn't even aware that your young friend was one until you implied such a few minutes ago."

Smokescreen looks thoughtful again. "I was just thinking that it does explain Nemesis Prime's obsession with him. It's the one topic that the old automaton consistently goes back to. . . . Which is pretty significant since Nemesis Prime seems to consider everyone he has to associate with like so much dirt. The empire as a whole thinks that the rebellion is just a nuisance it can get rid of at any time. . . . But a Jedi? Nah, uh. Gotta either get rid of them . . . or turn them."

Smokescreen visibly shudders. "Mech, I hope that bit about the mind reading and manipulation is just a myth. Feels like the contents of my spark are on display every time he sets his gaze my way.

"And I'm not sure why you're asking me that question," Smokescreen says, returning to the original question. "I wish I could help him, but I'm out of my element here. As I said before, all I've got is that false sense of security that everything's gonna go how it's supposed to and the old mech's advice to go off on."

At that moment the door the door opens, revealing that the security mech, Sideswipe, has returned and is carrying three cubes of what at a glance looks like low grade energon. Before he is fully in the room, something makes him turn back to frown down at something to the left just outside the door. He glances around the hallway warily before fully entering the room, a frown still touching his features.

Smokescreen, meanwhile, doesn't seem to notice Sideswipe's entrance and carries on the conversation. "The last time I felt that I didn't have a good hand was the Sabacc game I got this station--Actually, that hand was almost as lousy as the hand I had losing the Falcon to ya--The only reason why that game turned out any different was because I was following the advice that a friend of mine was giving me . . ." Smokescreen trails off as he realizes he's done this before. ". . . Primus is awesome."

Sideswipe is almost to the group by then and about to let Smokescreen know he's got the cubes when Smokescreen has the revelation. To which, Sideswipe gives a somewhat freaked out look and exclaims, "Uh, sir?"

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Jetfire starts at Smokescreen's last words, and then wearily buries his face in his hands and starts to quietly and fervently cuss.

Arcee looks at him, her expression saying that she kind of understands his reaction. But then she looks back to Smokescreen and his underling. "What was he looking at just now?"

"Never mind that, Princess!" snaps Jetfire. "I got Kia mad at me fer nothin'. This glitch-headed piece of scrap knew about Primus all a fraggin' long!"

[astrotechmech]

Smokescreen is too distracted by the confidence he feels knowing that Primus has cleared a path for him that he doesn't notice Jetfire cussing him out.

Sideswipe, on the other hand, has the look that he thinks the whole room has gone crazy, but he manages a reply. "Uh, why wouldn't he? I mean most every Transformer has to have heard the stories at least once in their lives." Uh, Sideswipe, that's not what Jetfire means.

[random_xtras]

"That's not what he meant," says Arcee, suddenly understanding the scene between Jetfire and Kia when they arrived.

Jetfire, meanwhile has let go of Arcee and gotten off the bench to see if he can't grab Smokescreen and shake him. "Smokie, you glitch..."

[astrotechmech]

Smokescreen snaps out of it just as Sideswipe steps forward and is about to exchange Energon cubes for his firearm.

"Whoa! Calm down, kid," Smokescreen says, grabbing him and pulling him back before seeing what's got him upset. He looks surprised when he sees Jetfire's gotten off the bench and then frowns when he also notices the look in the other mech's optics. "I think you better sit back down, mech. What are you suddenly coming after me for?"

[random_xtras]

"I ain't commin' after ya, scrap fer processor." Jetfire leans his hands on Smokescreen's shoulders, trying to stay upright. "I was wakin' ya up!"

[astrotechmech]

"Could have fooled me," Sideswipe mutters in the background.

Smokescreen frowns before turning to look back at Sideswipe, where his expression turns into one that seems to suggest he doesn't remember the mech coming back in. Sideswipe stares back with an incredulous look.

"You may have been right in the idea," Smokescreen says finally, turning back to face Jetfire, "but you probably should have better stated your intentions." He tilts his head in Sideswipe's direction. "Having Imps aboard has made him and others on my staff a bit uptight right now." No, he won't say the mech is always so.

"Come on, mech, let's get ya sittin' back down." And Smokescreen will help Jetfire back to the bench if he'll let him.

[random_xtras]

The white and red flyer is persistent despite his shakiness, and stubbornly tries to plant his feet. "You slagger. You talk ta Primus?"

[astrotechmech]

Smokescreen stops and looks up at the ceiling in slight frustration when Jetfire attempts to make his stand, humoring his effort, however unreasonable.

Smokescreen raises an optic ridge at Jetfire's words as if asking what Jetfire took him for. "'Talk ta'? I've never had a full-fledged conversation with the mech, if that's what you mean. Only Jedi can do that--And before you ask, no, I'm not one of those either. I'm pretty sure he doesn't hire 'slaggers.'"

[random_xtras]

"He... hired me," mutters Jetfire, suddenly leaning on Smokescreen instead of trying to shake him. "'N talks with Kia... alla time."

[astrotechmech]

Smokescreen was already in a somewhat good position to take some of Jetfire's weight on him, so he catches the slightly larger mech without too much trouble.

He looks at the mech for a few moments before whispering, confidentially, "I think you took me far too literally." And if Jetfire has no other protest, he will help him back to the bench.