Nexus. Blue's Bar. A Meeting of Opposites

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

It was another late night for Random, another recharge-less night. It was on these nights that he got off his berth and walked down to the Engineering Labs to work on some unfinished project leftover from the day--or at least that's what he told whichever mech found him recharging in the lab one of those times when he was unable to make it back to his quarters.

As usual he had managed to pass through the quiet halls without being approached by the nightshift. If Red Alert heard that, he'd freak. However, when he opened the door to the lab and walked in, he found himself in a place that he didn't recognize as either Wheeljack's lab or the Ark.

At first he wondered if he'd missed a memo, like one saying "Wheeljack's working on something in his lab, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK," and searched over his memory banks to find such of a memo as he glanced around the bar to prevent extra thinking. When he doesn't immediately find a memo, his 'oh great, just what I needed' attitude began to fade to outright panic. Before it spread too far, however, something in his mind made a connection between "bar"--which this place obviously was--and "Nexus."

Hmm. Maybe . . . ? He began to take his processors off of finding the memo and to set them to the task of thoroughly searching the bar for anyone he's seen before in the Nexus . . .

Comments

[random_xtras]

It's late here too, so the bar's closed and seemingly empty. But over in the darkest corner a pair of blue optics are bent over a book on a table, and there's the scratching of a pen on paper.

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

Not stylus on datapad? *ducks*

Now that his mind wasn't really occupied with finding the memo anymore, he realized how empty this place really was. It wasn't encouraging. However, he finds the blue optics somewhat encouraging, but if this really was the Nexus--which by itself never ceased to shock and surprise him--he couldn't trust them completely.

Well, if he had his gu-- . . . Wow, he actually did have his gun on him. Oh yeah, from earlier when he--and he forgot to--Right.

Glancing around, he gingerly navigates the bar to where the two blue optics are located and hopes this wasn't going to turn out similar to the way the last major incident in Wheeljack's Lab in the dark had occurred. Man, he didn't even want to think about that time. Ugh!

"Erm, hi. Is this Blue's?" And if it wasn't was he either going to panic, try his PINpoint or both while he screamed his head off at the same time.

[random_xtras]

Noope, she's using the ancient Earth stuff.

"Gah!" Arcee's hand closes around the pen, sending ink all over her hand and the page before she leaps to her feet on the booth seat, the gun that Blue insisted she carry snapping out of its casing on her arm.

Then she blinks. "RANDOM???? What the slagging PIT are you doing here???"

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

The sudden action startles the already nervous Autobot and he nearly trips as he backs away from the gun, one hand fumbling for his own gun, the other being exchanged for the nozzle of his fire extinguisher, and optics wide and bright with fright.

Recognition flashes in his optics when she speaks. "Arcee? . . . Dying from a spark attack apparently." This is obviously an exaggeration, but with the way his spark is beating and his intakes are working it could almost be true.

[random_xtras]

She stares at him, her own intakes working hard as she puts a hand over her spark. "Primus.... You scared the slag out of me."

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

He retracts the nozzle and takes his hand out of his subspace pocket empty.

"And I wasn't expecting someone to actually pull a weapon on my in here." He flops into the nearest seat and leans back. Her mention of Primus currently lost on him.

[random_xtras]

She's still standing on the seat, eying him warily, when a door opens and Keg slides through.

"Arcee?" The burly, squat young bouncer zeros in on the intruder. "Who are you?"

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

He's aware she's watching him but is too focused on cooling down to say anything about it. Apparently he's fairly confident in his belief she's not gonna hurt him.

He starts at the sound of the door, flinches and gets out of his seat when the bouncer notices him, and he backs away from him slightly.

"R-Random." He wasn't really sure what he should add to that.

[random_xtras]

His behavior finally assures her that this is indeed her friend, and she walks over and jumps down to put a hand on Keg's chest. "He's a friend of mine. It's alright."

Keg's scowl fades instantly, and is replaced with youthful curiosity and friendliness. "Oh. Sorry about that."

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

His shoulders slump as he breathes a sigh of relief.

"It's alright," he says quietly. Looks like he definitely wasn't going to be recharging anytime soon.

[random_xtras]

"Keg, this is Random." She pats the young bouncer and then turns to regard the Lumina-bot. "And Random, this is Blue's new bouncer, Keg."

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

"Nice to meet you," he nods to Keg, still looking nervous as he continues to try to calm down. "Definitely didn't shirk your duty in this case."

[random_xtras]

"Of course not," says Keg, then looks at Arcee and nods. "Maybe I'll see you later. Call me when you're ready to go if you want to use the door."

Arcee watches him walk out of the room, and then turns back to Random. "He's also my bodyguard."

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

"That explains why he's still here when everyone else here is gone," he says as he resumes his seat, still a bit shaky. "I'd say something about his effectiveness but . . . you know."

[random_xtras]

"He and Blue live upstairs." She pats him on the shoulder, and then heads to the bar to get herself a drink. "And he was created for the job, less than a week ago, so of course he's effective. You want a cube?"

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

"That would also explain it."

Created one day, work the next. Such was the life of a Transformer.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Mid, please."

[random_xtras]

"Flavored or plain?" she asks as she draws some straight low grade off the tap for herself.

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

He thinks about it for a moment. "Flavored, I guess."

[random_xtras]

"We've got carbon (sweet) and jasper (fizzy and tangy)."

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

"Carbon, please."

[random_xtras]

"Grab a seat at that booth in the corner." She draws off a cube and brings it to said booth, where she slips back into the place she'd occupied when he arrived.

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

"Alright." He removes himself from his current seat and seats himself on the booth seat across from Arcee's.

[random_xtras]

The pink femme is looking ruefully at the mess on her writing book as she hands over his drink. After he's taken it she peeks at the backs of the stained pages and sighs. "It's a good thing I remember what I'd already written."

[lumina-mechnics.livejournal.com]

"Sorry," he says sheepishly, burying himself in his drink.

[random_xtras]

"You didn't do it." Her voice is softer than usual, and a little distracted as she carefully rips out the ruined pages and wraps them around her shattered pen before setting it aside and pulling another pen out of the crease in the booth seat. "Thankfully, I have a spare."