Discovery - [Video, Unlocked, some private messages]
[The video opens in a very dark room, with a light shining around to illuminate various features of the setting a-la Blair Witch. It passes over counter-tops with broken glass and various tools, beakers, and dormant machines, then lights up what seems to be a transformer-sized lab-table in the center of the room, looking not unlike a dentist's
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[It's surprisingly brief for Perceptor, but even he can't add too many more syllables to that type of message.]
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[Megatron, on the other hand, is probably late. He's got a long way to go, and his tank mode isn't much faster than walking.]
...
[Still, he'd arrive, pulling up to the front of the back-alley Diner just outside of the warehouse district.]
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[Then again, Perceptor had very little to do to before making his way there, while Megatron... seems to be a busy little bee, so to speak. He'll probably find Perceptor waiting at a table that is not the most strategically placed in the establishment, but Perceptor doesn't really think in those terms. He is, however, sitting with his back to a wall, rather than the door. He isn't quite that foolish.]
[He will rise, however, when Megatron approaches; it's courteous, after all.]
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So you're the Alpha Perceptor.
[That little courteous gesture goes quite a long way with making a good first impression, and Megatron pauses, actually surprised.]
Quaint.
[He nods in return, and sits.]
I'll get straight to business. [Folding his hands on the table, he waits for Perceptor to sit before beginning.] How...big. Do transformers get, in your universe?
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I am. And you are... Magnum.
[He can play the game. Mostly. Even if he had forgotten and called "Orion" "Optimus" upon arriving. He won't forget that again.]
[Had that been... surprise? Perceptor isn't certain; Megatron is not an easy one to read, even for one who is good at it, which Perceptor very much is not. He will simply assume that it hadn't been, then, since he isn't certain, as he resumes his own seat ( ... )
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...
[He listens, almost intently, waving over a serving bot without taking his optics off of his companion.]
Cityformers, yes. Mechs capable of encompasing entire cities...or, at least, entire city blocks.
What sort of power expenditure would we be talking to sustain one? Are they sparked?
[How could one even get a spark that big?]
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[Now, stop that. This is not Perceptor's Megatron, and this one could be different.]
[Maybe.]
Sparked? Oh. That. Hm. Mechs from my reality possess laser cores, not sparks. Many were given life by Vector Sigma, but not all. The Dinobots, for example, and Metroplex, who was designed and constructed by myself and Wheeljack.
[He begins rattling off figures that would be comparable to powering an average sized city. A Cybertronian one.]
[He tilts his head and regards Magnum for a moment.]
I am not familiar with many parts of this place yet, however, I doubt that it would be possible to conceal the construction of a cityformer. What would be the purpose of constructing one here, anyway?
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And do they require the same energy when active as they do when dormant?
[He looked up, finally, at the serving drone, and glanced over to Perceptor....ah. Probably not the sort of mech that liked to experiment. At least, not without knowing the variables. Perfect.]
[He ordered his drink and his favorite snack, and--]
[--wait.]
...you've made a city-former before?
So it can be done? Here?
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[Perceptor scowls faintly, an expression of distaste, more than irritation.]
Metroplex is as alive and aware as you or I. He merely has a great deal more to oversee in his day to day functions. As such, he is never dormant.
But if you mean would the energy requirements be the same whether he was transformed and active in his bipedal mode, as opposed to his stationary city mode... How much energy do you require in the Arena, as opposed to sitting here speaking to me ( ... )
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[What a...descriptive name.]
Metroplex is merely an analogy of what I wish to build, Perceptor. I do not want something living, as...
Hn.
It would be 'unfair' to it. As you have said, the Nexus is not the place to build a cityformer.
[He...smiles, thinking.]
However, Zone 7 is in need of some charitable reconstruction, in its dilapidated state. I have been purchasing buildings--at low cost, of course--for a renovation project.
Which means yes, we could, in fact, build one in plain sight, if we were careful. [He didn't even bother glancing around--the mechs that came to eat in this dive weren't the sort that cared.]
The question that then becomes important is your earlier one, yes? The 'why.'
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You want a semi-autonomous battle platform.
[It's just a guess... but this is a Megatron.]
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[He did not look up as his energon cube and metal chips were set down, reaching instead for one of the strange snacks he'd grown fond of in the Nexus.]
Yes, that is exactly what I want. I want something I can plug into, and control. Something that will mean I am a threat, but only if a threat is needed.
More than that, I want a city within this city. A world of my own, under my watch. A place that certain transtech optics cannot penetrate.
I'm sure I don't need to remind you of the abductions that I mentioned? Please, try a chip.
[He changed topics without a flicker in his optics, holding one of the small metal shards dipped in non-corrosive acid to the scientist.] They're Primaxian-safe.
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[Frightening deduction, really, and Perceptor... is starting to wonder if he should have postponed this meeting until Wing was freed from incarceration by the TransTech so that the Knight could have accompanied him.]
Something for you to control. And who will have the ability to determine when a threat will be needed? Only you?
[He's feeling very vulnerable here, and wondering if he's endangered Wheeljack by mentioning him...]
[However, Magnum dangles a potent lure before Perceptor: a place free of the TransTech. Free of those who could send Wing back, send Wheeljack back...]
[Perceptor has not seen any evidence of those abductions, save that others have mentioned them. Even so, the threat of his friends being summarily deported home, even merely to die, pointlessly, is a potent threat and a powerful incentive to be wary of the TransTech ( ... )
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[He munched, quietly, on a chip, noting that Perceptor was doing the same, smiling as his dentals ground down the rusting metal--mouth closed, of course. One ought to be polite, when doing business. Most of the time.]
There is a reason why I am asking you, Autobot. I have scientists at my disposal, and very competent ones at that.
However, if I am to have any Autobots living in my city, which I intend, I believe they'd feel safer knowing that one of them was on the task. Keeping vigil.
Much as I am loath to admit it, Decepticons alone are not enough to make a difference.
[He reached for his cube, swirling it idly for a moment, still stunned even after two stellar cycles how easy energon was to obtain, here.]
I'm going to build it, one way or another. You might as well be on the inside, instead of the out.
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[His voice is a little choked as he struggles to swallow the chip and speak at the same time, and his optics are quite huge with disbelief.]
Me?
[Sorry, Magnum, but Perceptor is laughing now. Short little chuffs of dry amusement that he can't seem to halt. He isn't laughing at you, just at what you'd said. It takes Perceptor several long moments to get himself under control again, and when he looks back up, there is a shadow, a darkness in his expression, though he is still clinging to the vestiges of a thin smile.]
Think like a tactician. Oh, if only Brawn could hear you say that about me, of all individuals. Ah, but he cannot, as he is dead at Megatron's hands, killed during a bid for control of a city.
[The smile fades as Perceptor leans forward, optics narrowed with obvious suspicion.]
Competent, perhaps, however, I am the best, and the Wheeljack here cannot help you; he comes from far before we constructed Metroplex.
[Might as well shift the danger all onto himself now before Magnum gets any ideas. Nevermind ( ... )
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[Megatron was rather...bemused, however, if nothing else.] I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. Half of one's success on the battlefield is in using simple logic. You'd be surprised how many miss that.
You won't be working with Wheeljack, however--you'll be working with my scientist....who...may be amused by your assessment of his skills as being merely competent.
On the other hand, Shockwave does not seem to possess any emotions, so perhaps he will not mind. Another chip?
[He offered the entire plate this time, feeling charitable.]
I'm not interested in slaves. I'm simply interested in being autonomous, without transtech interference. Any who want to join me, may.
They'll simply have to live under my rules. I believe this can be done without death or destruction, though...even if I'm, ah, sorry, about the loss of your friend.
[He's not, but he's at least trying to act civil.]
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