Hn. Awhile ago I would have bet on a scrambler, but...
[Don trails off, then switches topics]
I have multiple hypothesis. The simplest is that we're here for the entertainment of the Captain, another is...well, slavery, potentially, or a further form of imprisonment once we reach wherever it is we're going. We might be a collection, or, if this is not a world as we see it - a hologram or such - it could be our bodies they were after, or our minds. Some form of experiment, perhaps. They claim that our worlds have been destroyed and we were rescued, but that's nearly universally doubted.
...How long have you been here? I don't think I've met you before.
[But....? Information he doesn't want to share. Barricade files this away. ]
You do know that all of your options equally suck, right? Slavery, captivity, experimentation?
And I take it they don't take attempts to fight back all that well.
Not been here long--still finding my way, I guess. [AND making enemies in the process, but he's trying to change that because, frag, he's going to need some allies!] Not really sure about the 'world destroyed' theory--I met some mechs from where I come from and they claim to remember stuff that happened after my memory ends.
I'm aware. Though I suppose that as death doesn't seem to be apart of their equation - yet - that should be something to be thankful for. With Carnival and Jennifer, however, that's a very loose statment...speaking of that, have you been warned about the hazardous areas of this ship?
And, yes, that's exactly why most don't agree with that theory. There are too many holes. I'm from a time several years after another from my world, for example, so it's unlikely those mechs are lying to you.
[Oh you're going to make him all philosophical now.]
Is the 'no death' thing really all that great? Seems that all that means is there's...no end.
Carnival? Jennifer? [He has no idea what you're talking about.]
Haven't seen anything too bad. Bees, I think. And a hallway on fire? Oh and I heard something about this plague if you go too far belowdecks. Or something. [He was lost for...quite a while.]
[Falters. Frag. He's been in contact with the Autobots. Well, there goes this one as an ally.]
[Reluctantly.] Yeah. I'm one of the...ones you don't like.
Yes, it does, doesn't it? Though at least alive, we have a chance of escaping.
Carnival is an area on Deck Four. Very dangerous, even for Cybertronians. Many who go in there die. Jennifer was a poltergeist we recently locked in Carnival. She killed many of the passengers here.
[Don pauses at that last bit, but only for a moment.]
One of the ones I don't...? Oh, right, I think he mentioned...Decepticon?
[He doesn't sound overly bothered by that. Maybe a bit quiet.]
[Alliance might be more than useful. It might be necessary.]
Glad to hear that, if a bit surprised. Most of you humans seem pretty content to not do much. [Uhhh, this is audio, he can't see you.]
Right. I'll make note where to avoid (and where to try to lure Ironhide). So when you mean...died there, you mean like that die and come back thing, right?
[Sigh]
Yeah, I see the great Autobot propaganda machine is still working. We're the big scary bad guys. If you buy their slaggin' story.
Sometimes. There are still people trying to figure out what's going on, partly to attempt to escape, I suppose, and partly for their own reasons. There have been two mutinies...though they both failed.
[Don hears the human remark...and ultimately ignores it for now. He'll explain later, if that's what it comes down to. He's too cautious to test Ironhide's judgement of these guys just yet.]
Yes, died and came back. Either that or were...very badly wounded.
[And Don's voice goes dry]
I wouldn't call it propaganda so much as a word of caution. I've never met a Decepticon, until now, so I wouldn't know for certain.
And I arrived here the same way everyone else, I suppose. I woke up here. How did you arrive?
Yeah, mutinies tend not to work. Trust me. Seen it. Especially on a ship like this? Maybe mutiny's not the best choice. Can sink the fraggin' ship. Which would, I'd imagine, kill the lot of us.
[He's not a pacifist here: there's no point doing something that will either fail or...fail.]
Better to find out for sure what they're planning. Use that against them.
[Musing.]
So, you say that like you think it's better to die than to be...gravely wounded. Don't they have repair facilities here? Thought I saw some....
[SNORT]
Word of caution. Right. I can imagine. If they respected sentient life as much as they said they did, they'd let you make your own decision, wouldn't they?
You seem smart enough not to fall for it. [He's dying to know what they said, but realizes that'll make him look like he's worried.] And you've met one now.
Woke up here. What I meant was why do you think you were picked? Anyone else from where you are here? See any connections?
That's usually why the mutinies fail. The Captain simply has too much control of our environment.
[Pause, and Don's tone goes uncharacteristically dark. This is where it gets...tricky]
There are repair facilities, yes, though the..."doctor" who runs it - AMU - is known for being prone to potentially experimenting on patients. It's...a skilled doctor, admittedly, but ultimately unpleasant. I've been severely wounded and under its care. [And he'd had two of his brothers nearby to make sure it didn't try anything funny.]
At least those who die come back fully healed. Though what happens in between their death and return is unknown.
[Another pause at the snort. Then he decides to ignore talk on factions for now.]
...I've noticed that very, very few of the people here are what would be referred to as normal, at least in my world. Even the humans are typically from a unique circumstance, or have a unique mindset. It's possible that's the attraction?
Yeah, well, anyone with any military experience could have told you that. What kind of rank amateurs led these mutinies?
[Huffy. He hates amateurs. And he does not want to talk about this, 'Captain' who seems an even worse leader that Starscream.]
So this AMU kinda sucks. And my Autobot friends haven't seen fit to fix it for you? [tsk tsk] Normally they're all about helping out. Especially Ratchet. He's a bucket of snuggles.
[grunt] I'm not a unique little snowflake though. Thousands more exactly like me where I'm from. [This is teetering him onto loneliness. He wishes there was another 'con here. Frag. Even Bonecrusher.]
[He pauses to stretch in the sunshine. This, at least, feels good.]
So, what do you mech--people do around here during the day when you're not setting up failed mutinies? Anything--Primus forbid--fun?
[Dry, and he's not going into anymore detail than that considering *cough* Leonardo helped lead the raid on the lower decks *cough*]
I...suppose Ratchet could have. If he knew anything about my anatomy.
Anyway, the Captain himself seems to usually take on a human form, at least in appearances. To him, it may be you are unique by your species alone...there also aren't any Decepticons here. I think there were when I first arrived, but they...vanished shortly after.
As for fun, I suppose that depends on your tastes, truthfully. There's a racing deck, an arcade, Deck 12, the forest, a pool, the library...
Yeah? Well, you're not missing out not being militarized, trust me.
[Yeah, he figured as soon as he said that that someone you knew was probably involved. Frag.]
Uh, I wouldn't let Ratchet near me if I were on fire. Because he'd use accelerant. I meant why don't you let him take a look at that AMU thing.
[Tilts his head. This is the second time he's heard of other Decepticons here.] So, what's your experience with the others of my kind been like?
Don't mean what's available for fun. Can read a brochure, for Pit's sake. Asking what you did for entertainment. You know. You seem sane, so, you must be doing something right.
Ah, me? [This makes him self-conscious he is teased so often]
I like to build things, in the simplest of terms. I can't do much here, but I can gather quite a bit of material from Deck 12. Cloth, metal, wiring, batteries, plastic, simple circuitry from clocks and such...the occasional tools, if I'm lucky. It's interesting for me to test theories or ideas, and it can take awhile sometimes, working with what I have. There are interesting places to walk around too, sometimes.
...And I honestly don't know Ratchet's opinion on AMU, actually. [He's a bit unnerved at the accelerant remark, though he hides it]
[Admits to surprise. Someone who hasn't let his cortex get stupid.]
Someone who can improvise on random parts is a pretty fraggin' useful thing to have around. [sincere--whoa!]
You should ask Ratchet. I'm sure he'd be glad to help. [Snerk. This will either show the Autobots as hypocrites, or Ratchet might have Fun Tiemz with this sadistic AMU. WIN!]
[Don had suspected as much, but...well.]
[Also, he sounds like a robot. And Don here has never met a Decepticon before 8D.]
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[shrugs even though you can't see it]
Lovely.
What pieces have you put together about what this is all about?
[Might as well try to gather information, if he's going to be stuck here.]
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[Don trails off, then switches topics]
I have multiple hypothesis. The simplest is that we're here for the entertainment of the Captain, another is...well, slavery, potentially, or a further form of imprisonment once we reach wherever it is we're going. We might be a collection, or, if this is not a world as we see it - a hologram or such - it could be our bodies they were after, or our minds. Some form of experiment, perhaps. They claim that our worlds have been destroyed and we were rescued, but that's nearly universally doubted.
...How long have you been here? I don't think I've met you before.
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You do know that all of your options equally suck, right? Slavery, captivity, experimentation?
And I take it they don't take attempts to fight back all that well.
Not been here long--still finding my way, I guess. [AND making enemies in the process, but he's trying to change that because, frag, he's going to need some allies!] Not really sure about the 'world destroyed' theory--I met some mechs from where I come from and they claim to remember stuff that happened after my memory ends.
And I didn't die.
Or. knowing them, they could be lying to me.
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I'm aware. Though I suppose that as death doesn't seem to be apart of their equation - yet - that should be something to be thankful for. With Carnival and Jennifer, however, that's a very loose statment...speaking of that, have you been warned about the hazardous areas of this ship?
And, yes, that's exactly why most don't agree with that theory. There are too many holes. I'm from a time several years after another from my world, for example, so it's unlikely those mechs are lying to you.
...Are you Cybertronian, by any chance?
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Is the 'no death' thing really all that great? Seems that all that means is there's...no end.
Carnival? Jennifer? [He has no idea what you're talking about.]
Haven't seen anything too bad. Bees, I think. And a hallway on fire? Oh and I heard something about this plague if you go too far belowdecks. Or something. [He was lost for...quite a while.]
[Falters. Frag. He's been in contact with the Autobots. Well, there goes this one as an ally.]
[Reluctantly.] Yeah. I'm one of the...ones you don't like.
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Yes, it does, doesn't it? Though at least alive, we have a chance of escaping.
Carnival is an area on Deck Four. Very dangerous, even for Cybertronians. Many who go in there die. Jennifer was a poltergeist we recently locked in Carnival. She killed many of the passengers here.
[Don pauses at that last bit, but only for a moment.]
One of the ones I don't...? Oh, right, I think he mentioned...Decepticon?
[He doesn't sound overly bothered by that. Maybe a bit quiet.]
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[Alliance might be more than useful. It might be necessary.]
Glad to hear that, if a bit surprised. Most of you humans seem pretty content to not do much. [Uhhh, this is audio, he can't see you.]
Right. I'll make note where to avoid (and where to try to lure Ironhide). So when you mean...died there, you mean like that die and come back thing, right?
[Sigh]
Yeah, I see the great Autobot propaganda machine is still working. We're the big scary bad guys. If you buy their slaggin' story.
How'd you end up here?
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[Don hears the human remark...and ultimately ignores it for now. He'll explain later, if that's what it comes down to. He's too cautious to test Ironhide's judgement of these guys just yet.]
Yes, died and came back. Either that or were...very badly wounded.
[And Don's voice goes dry]
I wouldn't call it propaganda so much as a word of caution. I've never met a Decepticon, until now, so I wouldn't know for certain.
And I arrived here the same way everyone else, I suppose. I woke up here. How did you arrive?
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[He's not a pacifist here: there's no point doing something that will either fail or...fail.]
Better to find out for sure what they're planning. Use that against them.
[Musing.]
So, you say that like you think it's better to die than to be...gravely wounded. Don't they have repair facilities here? Thought I saw some....
[SNORT]
Word of caution. Right. I can imagine. If they respected sentient life as much as they said they did, they'd let you make your own decision, wouldn't they?
You seem smart enough not to fall for it. [He's dying to know what they said, but realizes that'll make him look like he's worried.] And you've met one now.
Woke up here. What I meant was why do you think you were picked? Anyone else from where you are here? See any connections?
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[Pause, and Don's tone goes uncharacteristically dark. This is where it gets...tricky]
There are repair facilities, yes, though the..."doctor" who runs it - AMU - is known for being prone to potentially experimenting on patients. It's...a skilled doctor, admittedly, but ultimately unpleasant. I've been severely wounded and under its care. [And he'd had two of his brothers nearby to make sure it didn't try anything funny.]
At least those who die come back fully healed. Though what happens in between their death and return is unknown.
[Another pause at the snort. Then he decides to ignore talk on factions for now.]
...I've noticed that very, very few of the people here are what would be referred to as normal, at least in my world. Even the humans are typically from a unique circumstance, or have a unique mindset. It's possible that's the attraction?
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[Huffy. He hates amateurs. And he does not want to talk about this, 'Captain' who seems an even worse leader that Starscream.]
So this AMU kinda sucks. And my Autobot friends haven't seen fit to fix it for you? [tsk tsk] Normally they're all about helping out. Especially Ratchet. He's a bucket of snuggles.
[grunt] I'm not a unique little snowflake though. Thousands more exactly like me where I'm from. [This is teetering him onto loneliness. He wishes there was another 'con here. Frag. Even Bonecrusher.]
[He pauses to stretch in the sunshine. This, at least, feels good.]
So, what do you mech--people do around here during the day when you're not setting up failed mutinies? Anything--Primus forbid--fun?
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[Dry, and he's not going into anymore detail than that considering *cough* Leonardo helped lead the raid on the lower decks *cough*]
I...suppose Ratchet could have. If he knew anything about my anatomy.
Anyway, the Captain himself seems to usually take on a human form, at least in appearances. To him, it may be you are unique by your species alone...there also aren't any Decepticons here. I think there were when I first arrived, but they...vanished shortly after.
As for fun, I suppose that depends on your tastes, truthfully. There's a racing deck, an arcade, Deck 12, the forest, a pool, the library...
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[Yeah, he figured as soon as he said that that someone you knew was probably involved. Frag.]
Uh, I wouldn't let Ratchet near me if I were on fire. Because he'd use accelerant. I meant why don't you let him take a look at that AMU thing.
[Tilts his head. This is the second time he's heard of other Decepticons here.] So, what's your experience with the others of my kind been like?
Don't mean what's available for fun. Can read a brochure, for Pit's sake. Asking what you did for entertainment. You know. You seem sane, so, you must be doing something right.
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I like to build things, in the simplest of terms. I can't do much here, but I can gather quite a bit of material from Deck 12. Cloth, metal, wiring, batteries, plastic, simple circuitry from clocks and such...the occasional tools, if I'm lucky. It's interesting for me to test theories or ideas, and it can take awhile sometimes, working with what I have. There are interesting places to walk around too, sometimes.
...And I honestly don't know Ratchet's opinion on AMU, actually. [He's a bit unnerved at the accelerant remark, though he hides it]
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[Admits to surprise. Someone who hasn't let his cortex get stupid.]
Someone who can improvise on random parts is a pretty fraggin' useful thing to have around. [sincere--whoa!]
You should ask Ratchet. I'm sure he'd be glad to help. [Snerk. This will either show the Autobots as hypocrites, or Ratchet might have Fun Tiemz with this sadistic AMU. WIN!]
Anyone else from where you're from...here?
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