I'm not a robot without emotions, I'm not what you see [OPEN]

[thegoodtouch]

Characters: Optimus Prime? Is it really Optimus Prime? And the assembled crew of the Convoy.
Content: Prime gathers his crew to shed some light on what happened, along with planning their next course of action. But something very strange has happened to him...
Setting: The Mended Drum, a seedy but bustling tavern in the heart of Kropmork.
Time:

Comments

[gypsymothdance]

Prime was a human.

Prime was a human?!

As the human - HUMAN?! - Prime explained everything, Jean gawked with her mouth hanging open, completely speechless. The suggestion seemed ridiculous, impossible to reconcile, that this man (this rather attractive man, Jean silently noted to herself) and the robot she had grown to know and trust as her Captain were one and the same.

But ultimately, she still trusted him. And so she was not about to question what he told him. Only...

"So - so wait," Jean stammered out. "Then that robot we saw boarding the Convoy, that really was your body?! But if you don't know how this happened, then how..."

How would they return him back to normal?

She let the question hang. It was best to take this one step at a time. They had to focus on getting his original body back first.

fahadjkl;s /fixes things

[drinkitlovelife]

Milk had wondered how he would manage to meet everybody at a bar, so this made sense to her. As much as it could make sense, anyway -- but, all things considered...

"There have to be ways to track them down," Kurumi said, standing up and smacking her hand down on the table. "I helped with the head count, and it doesn't look like anybody was left behind, so we can't track it that way, but there's magic for that kind of thing, right?"

*does too*

[flightofthe]

Bumblebee had slipped into the inn and drifted to the back room discreetly mingled in among the rest of his crewmates, pants, gloves, cloak, and hat in place. He spotted Pip right away but hung back at the sight of the unknown human. Then that man spoke . . . and Bumblebee thought he felt his jaw hit the grimy wood floor.

Pushing quickly through the crowd, he pulled off his hat and hood, bright blue optics flashing. He was emboldened by the presence of the rest of the crew, knowing that if his revealing himself to this stranger went badly, they'd help. This sounded like Prime - Primus, he moved and spoke just like him - but he . . . had to be sure. He had to be sure!

"Any enemy agent would know that information. Forgive me, but if you really are Optimus Prime, there's some information that only he would know. Tell me . . . who was the best friend of the mech who designed and built me, and what are the names of the six Minibots who came before me."

Yes, there was a trick in that question as well. Only he and Prime would know it.

*also fixes* /siigh

[so_many_moods]

The room was a rather small one to be housing so many crewmembers. Hex, for her part, was avoiding the close quarters by simply hovering above. After Prime's announcement, however, she couldn't resist getting a closer look, very [Intrigued].

And then she laughed. "Oh, isn't this rich! How absolutely delightful!" She circled over Prime's new body in a manner not unlike a vulture. "I'm so very glad I didn't simply destroy you all! Think of the delightful CHAOS I'd have missed!"

[thegoodtouch]

The man that was Optimus Prime held his hands out. "Whoa, slow down," he said. "Jean...yes, it was my body. But we'll worry about how to set things right with me once we have the ship back. Milk, you're absolutely right. There should be at least one person in the crew who'll be able to help us find it

[so_many_moods]

Looking [Confused], the Virus stopped circling and landed directly in front of their Captain. “How should I be 'taking it,' dear?” Her mask switched to an [Excited] look. “I've never seen anyone's programming change so drastically! One would almost think that body was actually a human one!” She laughed, though from whether the absurdity of the thought or just because she was Hex... well.. it was hard to tell.

Her own Code was screaming that, despite all appearances to the contrary, there was a very large, very complicated machine directly in front of her. Her interface units were practically itching to explore his circuitry....

She couldn't resist touching him. Her nails stayed firmly in place, but the fingers themselves trailed along Prime's new chin, exploring.

[Amused.] “Yes... you'd think it were human. But of course it isn't,” she continued, almost absentmindedly.

[flightofthe]

Bumblebee flinched faintly in spite of himself at the hurt he could read even in a human's eyes, but he managed to clench back on the apology . . . at least until he was sure.

But there was no mistaking . . . besides himself, only Prime would have known all that, even down to catching the trick count so easily.

"P-primus, it . . . i-it really is you! I'm sorry, Optimus Prime . . . but you know I had to ask." He stepped forward, brushing cool, pliable metal fingers across the back of his commander's warm, flesh hand. "What . . . how . . . " Suddenly, his optics went cold, darkening almost to indigo with anger. "It was Denouement, wasn't it?" There was hardly a reason to hide that from the crew now; they'd find out sooner or later. "They did this to you, didn't they? Primus damn it!"

He should have been here! The responsibility to protect his people's Prime had fallen solely to him since he and Optimus had been reawakened . . . and he'd failed.

[dontkillmebro]

At the end of the table, a blonde crewmember's eyes widened and she clutched the doll she'd carried into the restaurant.

"...consciousness transferring."

[son_of_time]

Sam had kept to the back of the room and had quietly digested this new information. Bumblebee seemed convinced with the evidence Prime had presented, but Sam was still wary. He needed his own evidence.

He didn't go up and ask a question like everyone else was doing. The evidence he needed to hear was much too sensitive for that. Instead he broadcasted his thoughts directly into the human who was claiming to be the Captain. If you are who you claim to be, what is my name then? Don't say anything, don't give any indication that you can hear this, just try to send that thought at me.

The sending part was important, Sam couldn't (wouldn't?) forcefully impose his own mind on others. He could only pick up what others would willingly broadcast to him.

[thegoodtouch]

"I know," he said to Bumblebee, voice warm and understanding. "I'd have done the same if it were you." He turned his hand around to take Bumblebee's, holding it for a moment as the other asked his second question. "It has to be them," Prime replied, his own eyes narrowing. "I can't think of anyone else with both a motive and the knowledge of my schematics that this must have taken."

Then, Hex landed beside him, and he released the scout's hand to look at her. Optimus wasn't worried when she reached out to touch him, and resisted the impulse to pull back. She couldn't infect him. He was human.

Wasn't he?

"Hex," Optimus said, eyes widening, "what do you mean? Are you saying...that I'm not human?" If not, what on Reial was he at the moment?

Unfortunately, Sara's quiet comment went unheard by the captain, at least for the moment. Prime was distracted by a sudden thought in his head: Sam's voice, he knew. It was remarkably similar to receiving a comm-link transmission over a radio wave. It wasn't difficult to think back,

[pink_is_best]

The Denouement...? Nena's face visibly paled and she shivered. She'd gotten lucky. Again. But when was her luck going to run out? They really were everywhere, weren't they... Thank goodness her secret was still more or less hers.

Noticing Sara's change in behavior, she went over to stand by her side. She had... a pretty good idea of what had caused it.

[flightofthe]

Bumblebee took his father figure's commander's hand, squeezing firmly - both taking and offering comfort. "We'll fix this, Prime. We'll figure out what they did to you and we'll fix it."

Hex landed next to him and he shifted to stand by his Prime's side . . . where he should have been all along. His optics flashed softly in shock at the Virus's words, but he kept his silence, waiting for her answer. He too was too focused on his commander to have caught Sara's soft words, though his audios were certainly sensitive enough to hear normally. The movement, however, caught his attention, and he glanced over to see Nena move to her fellow pilot's side. Not thinking anything of it, he turned back to Hex.

[morethanabot]

Rock began to collect the information. It...was kinda unbelievable, but the way Prime sounded, they way he acted, they way he was answering the questions, it remind

However he kept his eyes glued to the ground. What could they do? What should they do? He didn't know the answer. So he had to ask questions.

"Prime what do you think is the percentage of us getting the ship back and returning you to your body." It came out shaking, unsure, and quite sad, because of the suggestion he had.

[dontkillmebro]

Sara looked up at Nena and back down to Emily. She said nothing, watching the conversation continue to unfold, but she'd definitely have to say something later... to someone, anyway.

[son_of_time]

At the back of the room Sam smiled in relief. It was definitely him, unless his cover was completely blown, but that was unlikely.

And you too. I like the new look. Pleasantries aside (taking advantage of his naïvety and his new body could also come later) there was more pressing business to attend to. I've been tracking the ship. I left something on board that is specially boun--.

Mjölnir at that point decided it wanted attention and jumped up onto his shoulders. "Woah, careful there."

...sorry about that. Anyway I can track the ship in a fool proof way.

[icaruschmicarus]

"Percentages mean nothing," Hibari cut in. "Focus on the now."

The pilot had been lounging back in his chair, watching the proceedings without comment. At that moment, however, he was leaning forward, his usual dour expression replaced with something far more cold and calculating.

"You have pilots, and other means of tracking the ship. We need to secure the means to take the ship back."

The other issues did not concern him because he had no answers for them. They could figure it out.