randomplaces | Nexus. By the sign. Reporting

Ratchet is a little too irritated and lost in his own thoughts to notice details at the moment. Taking the datachip from Arcee, he manages to keep his tone even when he speaks. "What's this, now...?"

"Just a report on recent Nexus activity." She shrugs and looks back the way he came, one brow ridge lifting at sight of the Prowl kneeling to hug the human femme. "I don't wanna know, do I?"

"Thanks. I'll download the information to the base system when I get back to Detroit," he responds as he tucks the chip away into a compartment. Glancing back over one shoulder, he sighs and shakes his head. "No, you don't want to know. Their mess, their problem. If you take the hard road in life, you'd slaggin' well better be prepared to walk it. And that's one version of Prowl that can't go back to Cybertron for a long while, now. Foolish."

Edited 2008-08-09 23:16 (UTC)

"Gone native?" She folds her arms over her chassis and lowers her head slightly so that it looks as though she's not watching them. "There hasn't been a whole lot going on around here. At least not where I have cameras set up. A lot of people were all stirred up about some big race...." A shrug. She'd decided that it wouldn't fit under his orders and hadn't gone.

"If that's what you want to call legally binding yourself to a human, sure." Still aggravated by the idea, Ratchet shrugs it off. "In a way, it's good to know things have been mostly quiet. Such has not been the case back home, unfortunately. The Elite Guard finally arrived, after Megatron was resurrected and the All Spark blown to bits. The city officials aren't pleased with us and knowing there are active Decepticons out there under competent command isn't make things pleasant."

Curiosity does get the better of him, however. "What's this about a race? I hope that's not something our Bumblebee knows anything about."

"They seem to have just recently hit a lull." She turns away and looks toward a loud sound somewhere in the vicinity of Blue's, not batting an optic at his words about Megatron and the Allspark. "The other nexus... that dressing room... is sporting the biggest black 'Con femme I've ever seen outside the one that lives here, with the worst collection of welds and patches I've ever laid optic on."

Then she blinks and looks up at him. "I wouldn't know. I decided it would go against your orders to take it easy and didn't go."

The sound from the direction of Blue's causes Ratchet to glance that way for a second or two, but odd happenings are common place in the Nexus and related areas. He dismisses it after a moment. "I haven't been by the other hub recently. As I said, things have been a little too messy on our end to monitor that area. I don't typically concern myself with it, though, because none of the Facility soldiers or whitecoats have ever been sighted there; it somehow seems to a Cybertronian and related area, only. As for whatever 'Cons are wandering around there... There might not be an anti-violence field, but it's not the sort of place I'd expect a load of trouble from, either. Not that I really keep track of what happens to Decepticons unless I have some sort of personal ties to them."

He shrugs and manages a small smirk. "As for the race... Just wondered if you knew anything at all. It was probably best you didn't go. Had you gone on the fritz again, you would have had a very grouchy medic tending to you."

"It's just Hormah knocking over drunks again." Arcee shrugs, then realizes that she'd confused her topics and clarifies. "Ack. I must be getting senile. That last bit I was talking about was that alternate reality that's similar to ours. Not that you're interested in it." She snorts. "I hadn't realized that black femme was supposed to be human. Anyway."

Then a slight trace of humor shows in her optics. "A fate worse than going offline." She sobers. "Don't worry. I rarely even go out into the Nexus anymore. I'm being good."

"I honestly wouldn't know much about it. Prowl mentioned something at one point about a reality similar to ours, but didn't expand on it, likely because Decepticon activity went through the roof just after. I can only assume those two back by the sign have something to do with said reality, based on what he's said, what I've seen and what you've said," Ratchet admits with a light huff. "Truthfully, I hesitate to know more than absolutely necessary. There's no guarantee that our world runs parallel to theirs. If their future is anything like my future? I don't want to know. It'd cause more problems than it would solve, more than likely."

Arcee glances toward the sound of another drunk being knocked over, smirking despite herself. What was it about mech ego that never chose to believe they could be bested by a little femme, even when they could barely stand up on their own?

"Yes. That's the same femme that he met. The other one's with their Bulkhead, and is some sort of female Constructi... bot that used to be a dump truck." She shrugs. "I haven't seen or heard anything about an Arcee from that reality, so I don't think it's very close to ours. And none of our mechs have mentioned Megatron taking up with a big black femme, which is a popular topic of conversation for that dump truck femme, and unless I'm mistaken, is the femme over in the dressing room."

She stops and looks at the sixteen foot red-orange hybrid who wanders over to grin at her and offer her a Cybertron Sunrise. "As if I'd take stolen energon."

"I bought t'is," asserts the young femme, giving her a cheeky grin.

"With stolen credit." Arcee snorts.

"Nope, couch money. I keeps track, me son."

"I don't want it anyway. Oh, and someone's looking for you." Arcee nods toward Prowl and the woman.

Hormah looks that way with a frown, then looks at Ratchet and tells him 'hey' before wandering off again.

"Sorry." Arcee turns back to him.

Ratchet watches and listens as Arcee deals with the other femme. He does little more than nod at the short greeting before resuming his conversation with Arcee.

"There are only two femmes in Detroit that we're aware of, still. One of them is Blackarachnia and the other is Kay. Perhaps events unfolded differently for those in that other reality, although as I said, details are not things I'd like to know. There is such a thing as same catalyst, different outcome. Besides, the idea of Megatron having a significant other of any kind is just plan horrifying. He's bad enough with Blitzwing and Lugnut following him around."

"Yes," she says distractedly, then looks at him squarely. "Ratchet... how necessary is this data collection that I'm doing?"

Ratchet sighs, folding his arms over his windshield. "Arcee, you know I'm not going to ask you to do things you don't want to do, though is there's any information on that chip that might betray the location of Site Xavier, it'll be of use to us. We've had several encounters with with Facility people, as you know... And likely as you know, only a few have ever really been good ones. Even Bumblebee couldn't anger one of their soldiers into accidentally dropping some information. Two others gave us a bit of information, but not enough to really do much with. I'm sure we miss things, however, since we can't always be here. If someone from Xavier comes through and we miss them, well...we missed them. The only way we'll know after the fact, obviously, is if someone can somehow let us know if anything of interest happened while they were here."

Frowning, he meets her gaze. "This doesn't have to be your problem if you don't want it to be. For us, this is extremely personal. Maybe it borderlines on obsession, a bunch of wasted energy for a cause mostly lost, but we're still not ready to call it quits."

She nods seriously, feeling glad of the modifications she's had done to her emotion circuits as she sees how much Eleven's loss is still affecting him. "I don't think you're being obsessive. Leaving a teammate behind is... something I'm glad that I never had to do. I was only asking because I'm thinking of leaving the Nexus and going somewhere more quiet. The equipment that I've set up will continue to monitor and record. Oh, yes. I nearly forgot."

She pulls out a second chip. "Will you give this to Ultra Magnus?"

Not sure how to take the idea of Arcee leaving the Nexus itself, Ratchet shifts his doorwings back slightly, but finds he can't really argue the idea. The femme does have a condition and the less stress she feels, the better. "You're at a point in your life where you need to do what's best for you. I can't say the Nexus is the most relaxing place I've ever been, so if you've found somewhere better..."

Trailing off, he shutters his optics a moment and then refocus on the second chip before taking it in one hand. "What's on it?"

"It seems to be what the medibot ordered," she says, reminding herself to give a slight, reassuring smile. "There are some old friends there already, and it will get me out of your way so that you can focus on your work in Detroit." The smile grew a little. "I'll write."

She's already got the letters written, and her computer set up to send them at natural seeming intervals over the months (and years, if needed) to come.

Her optics drop back to the chip. "Those codes that Lockdown wanted so badly. I don't know if they're any good anymore, but I don't like to leave a mission unfinished."

"Really? Don't feel up to telling me where you're off to?" It seems a bit odd to him for someone like Arcee to just sort of fade away for a while. Glancing back at the chip, he stashes that one away with the other. "I'll pass it along, but likely the codes are defunct at this point. At lease it's a means to closer, so I'm sure Magnus will take them without argument."

She nods to his last words, forgoing the usual wisecrack about Ultra Magnus that would usually be forthcoming.

"It hasn't got a name," she says instead. "Just a little unofficial resort place with white sand, interesting crystal growths, and a lot of ocean. There aren't any roads, and there are less than a handful of mechs there. Nothing exciting or dangerous."

He can't help but be suspicious about any place he's never been to before, or any place that doesn't have a name with an established reputation. It's simply in his nature to be that way. "Well, sounds like it'd be a good place to escape to for a while. At least it sounds like you'll be safe there."

"Totally safe." She nods, her mind going back to her room over Blue's. "Like I say, nothing exciting or dangerous."

And I thank Primus I don't have to see it, because there's nothing interesting there either, she adds to herself, marveling inwardly on how easy it is to lie when her faceplate can't flush and give her away.

She gives a chuckle. "I should send you a piece of pink crystal."

Ratchet smirks in mild amusement at the thought. "I'm sure me owning anything pink would be a cue for the teasing at home to begin, but whatever. Might add a little more life to my quarters. I'm not the decorator that Bumblebee is, or even Bulkhead since he took up that art stuff."

"Oh, it gets better." She schools her faceplate into a smirk of her own. "If you tap it the right way it sings."

"I...think I could probably do without the singing part. If I do end up with anything of the sort, I'll likely just let it sit and look pretty. The color can remind me of you, too." Ratchet's smirk melts in a more of a genuine smile.

Arcee pauses and looks down at herself with slight surprise, thinking that it's a good thing she's already gotten the crystal and paid Hormah to mail it in a few weeks.

Teasing tone, she decides as she looks back up. "Are you sure that's a good thing?"

"It could remind me of worse Autobots, I'm sure," he replies in a teasing tone of his own. Still not sure how he feels about all this and trying to ignore the little nagging feeling like something isn't quite right, he just continues to roll with the conversation. Sobering up a little, he regards her a bit more seriously. "Joking aside, though, when are you taking your leave? With things as they've been, I'm not even sure I could guarantee that I'd be around to...eh, you know...see you off and all that."

"In the next couple days." She smiles, and hopes that she's managed to make her optics look warm. "It's alright. I'll be catching a ride and I'm not sure of the exact date. I'll send you a message over this when I get there." She pulls a cellphone out of her storage compartment and tosses it to him. "It works between realities."

Then she pauses and looks up at him, her expression thoughtful as she ponders the fact that once the upcoming parting would have had her weeping. "Will you keep up with Kia? She's with that yellow Ratchet's team. The Prime of that reality and his spark-mate have taken her in, but she comes here as regularly as the rest of that bunch do."

Ratchet catches the cell phone and examines it a moment before nodding to her question. "I can certainly try. She's no doubt safer where she is, but I'll pester that bunch every now and again to make sure she's okay. Kia seemed to like me alright, despite my less than pleasant mannerisms a good portion of the time."

He decides not to ask who the ride is... Knowing his luck, it won't be someone he knows. Or she won't say. That makes him frown inwardly, but he tries not to let it show.

She gives another carefully done chuckle. "Of course she likes you. You helped her when she was afraid. You're her one of her favorite people."

She's not telling Ratchet that Bumblebee's the first, despite Kia having never met the little speedball.

Something about all this makes him anxious about leaving, but his shift in the Nexus is drawing to a close. The time is marked by the sound of a soft comm beep, which he answers after a moment's hesitation. "Ratchet, here."

"Ratchet? Prowl. I've just arrived in the Nexus, not far from Pyro's. Jazz is with me. Difficult as it is to believe, he has been here before and already has a PIN device with him. We'll be taking the next shift."

"Really? Not something I'd expect." Ratchet's ridges rise in surprise, but at least that saves them the trouble of explaining this place to another Autobot. "Alright, copy that, Prowl. I'll head back shortly, myself."

Clicking the communication link off, he looks to Arcee again. "You know, all the assurances in the world won't keep me from worrying, but I guess I have little choice in the matter. I'll just have to trust that you'll be alright, even out of my reach."

Arcee listens in silence to the conversation, idly musing over the fact that this will be the last time that she sees her old friend. When he speaks to her again she nearly thins her lips with exasperation, but stops before she starts. Ratchet fusses, it is the way Ratchet is, and part of the reason that she has to be removed from his ken. With assurances of her health and happiness his anxiety should fade, and then he'll be able to focus on his work again.

And Arcee herself will no longer be trapped in an empty existence that threatened to drive her glitchy with boredom.

"I'll be fine." She frowns slightly, forgetting that she'd usually snark at him for such comments. "You just keep your mind on Eleven, and on your work in Detroit."

Edited 2008-08-11 07:03 (UTC)

"Easier said than done, though I'm sure the next thing that blows up will probably put my worries in that direction for a while." He tries force a small smile, attempting to joke, but the expression seems a bit empty on the whole. Storing the cell phone away along with everything else, Ratchet sighs as he prepares to dutifully head homeward again. All he can do at this point is hold his arms out to Arcee in an invitation for an embrace before he goes, seeing as how he's not sure he'll see her again before she leaves the Nexus. "One for the road?"

Her own smile works a little bit better, but that's because there really is nothing behind it.

"Be careful," she tells him as she steps into the hug and gives him a strong squeeze around the chassis. "And take care of yourself. Or I'll call Communiqué about your tendency to forget you need to recharge."

It's perfectly acted... and perfectly empty. No snark, no warning look. Just some gentle teasing.

"Kay is almost as much of a workaholic at times, but she's been helping me a little in medbay. We'll spot each other and remind about recharge time," he reassures her as she hugs him. As Ratchet pulls back, he turns a somewhat stern look on her, though he's still smiling a little. "And make sure you do call when you get where you're going. I'm not what I once was, but I've got half a crew behind me who can run for weeks hunting someone down."

That last gets a scowl. "And what would happen to your city and the Allspark while you were wasting your time on me? Everything's going to be fine. I'm going to be fine."

She pushes away and steps back, feeling reassured despite her anger. There's someone to keep an eye on him and do the things that she can't do. He'll be alright.

"I'd better get back to my monitors."

Ratchet mutters something about their ranks being raised by four recently, but says no more on the matter of potential ninjas and a hacker handling such dirty work. Having let that go, he hesitantly turns away to take his own leave. "I'll leave you to your own work, then. Be well, Arcee..."

"I will be," she says softly, then looks back once as she heads back to the room over Blue's.

Nexus. By the sign. Reporting

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject