October 19th, 2001
~Whiplash (D),

Wastelands <North>
        The Wastelands are a lesser version of the great abandoned zones that stretch over parts of Cybertron. Immediately, you notice how desolate and devoid of life this area seems. Looking back up the mountain range towards Darkmount, you can truly come to appreciate what a formidable fortress the Decepticon Headquarters is as you stare up at the 20,000' cliff.
        When you finally tear your gaze away from the mountain to look at the uneven and broken surface of Cybertron that makes up the Wastelands, you can't help but wonder if anything *can* survive out here. The area is massive and seems to go on forever in darkness, so you are only able to see a small part of it at a time. An entire army could take refuge here in the broken landscape and you might never see them. Consequently, the area is also useful for more realistic training in the ways of war.
        As you ponder the immensity of your devastated surroundings, you hear the little noises of unidentified creatures around you.

Whiplash [MedusaSaur] [D]

-Moonlight walks into the area looking rather miffed by the way she's stomping about.
-Whiplash is at her usual post, half-hidden in shadows, arranged atop her boulder and watching the area intently. The stomping Moonlight obviously attracts her attention, and her optics gleam a little brighter out of the dimness.
-Moonlight keeps stomping along, which is unusual for someone who usual walks with quiet grace, occassionaly kicking her foot at something unimportant looking nearby.
-Whiplash rumbles a low growl. 
-Moonlight mutters to Moonlight: "... 'Lita ... ... pink ... ... ... her ... ...  stupid stupid. Why me?"
((Moonlight mutters to you: "Stupid 'Lita One. Stupid pink leader. Can't keep her sensors to herself...stupid, stupid, stupid. Why me?"))
-Whiplash ups the volume of her growling.
-Moonlight looks up from the peak of her ranting to see Whiplash. "Oh, hi Whiplash..." She walks to near the other femme 'Con and then stops, slumping her shoulders slightly.
-Whiplash ceases the threatening sound. "Well. It's about time you took on some awareness of your surroundings. If I was a 'Bot, you'd be dead already. What's wrong?"
-Moonlight throws her hands up expressively. "I /hate/ Elita One."
-Whiplash looks faintly surprised. "That pink fluff-piece?"
-Moonlight nods her head gloomily. "Yeah. Can't keeps her sensors to herself...she came prancing down to Wild Surge all pretty and primpy like with that Freefall guy with her. Grrrrr. She was being all fair sounding on the surface, but I knew she had another game in mind..."
-Whiplash laughs. "Freefall, that's that big dumb lug, right?"
-Moonlight nods. "He's the guy who ripped me up last time...and they were all acting like I was doing some terrible thing to deserve it too. I think they'd better revise that idea of theirs that they're the 'good' ones...cause they're /not/!"
-Whiplash edges forward on her boulder. "See, 'Bots think we're wrong just for existing. So we wipe 'em out instead and teach 'em the error of their ways. Not a great mystery."
-Moonlight nods her head. "Well, I hope that event happens soon. She's thinks she's so great, but she isn't any better than me in idea...only in equipment...and the same equipment can be applied to anyone." She pauses for a moment. "Thanks for listening to my ranting. I usually don't get this down. I'm used to underhanded, shady, and non-forthright people...but all the ones I know at least admit it."
-Whiplash says, "Yeah, well, Autobots are liars and hypocrites. Just don't let 'em make you mad about it. Not *too* mad, anyway. Mad enough to shred 'em, not mad enough to make mistakes."
-Moonlight shrugs, and seems to perk up. "I guess I'm just going to have to double my efforts to help out around here."
-Whiplash says, "Hey, you're doing alright. Just keep your optics and audials open in Dead End, and see if you can overhear where the 'Bots are hiding out."
-Moonlight nods fervently. "I'll do my best. Sneaking and listening comes naturally...it has to when you procure and smuggle illegal or hard to get goods."
-Whiplash's optics flicker a little. "And ... whatever happened to those plans of yours to infiltrate Crystal City?" Moonlight may or may not have heard about Whiplash's part in the Pyre debacle. Yes, she *was* on that space station.
-Moonlight shrugs. "It seemed to have fallen apart. Solar gave me new orders, and I'm pretty much to stay in the Dead End. Of course, I could always rig a disguise to get into Crystal City...but officially I'm off that mission."
-Whiplash rumbles a growl. "We'll get 'em, though. Soon enough."
-Moonlight rubs the back of her neck. "Well, the city itself is really nice to look at. A little more classy than what I'm used to, but it's too bad the people inside are a problem..."
-Whiplash bares her fangs in a glint of white. "Nice to look at, yeah," she says with obvious comtempt in her tone. "They're sitting pretty behind their walls, while the rest of the planet goes to hell."
-Whiplash says, "One request, Moonlight."
-Moonlight nods her head and waits for Whiplash to continue.
-Whiplash says, "You save Phalanx for me. He's *mine*."
-Moonlight grins. "If I get any goods on him, want me to send you a personal note? I've never met the mech myself, but he sounds like the antithesis for all I stand for."
-Whiplash says, "I'm not usually possessive about which enemy I personally want to kill, you understand. One's the same as any other. But on *that* one, I want to hack off the head myself."
-Moonlight nods again. "Sounds like you've got some history with him then...I'll keep my auidals open. Maybe the hierarchy will send me back into the gates again. But for now I've got my hands full catering to what Solar wants. I suppose that's the disadvantage to working for such a large, organized group..."
-Whiplash says, "Solar's a good guy, he's got some plans going. And yeah, I know what the likes of Enfilade will say. Concentrate on the enemy we *know* is moving against us. Problem is, I know Crystal City's up to no good either, and too cowardly to be honest about it. Kinda like that Elita attitude you were talking about earlier."
-You say, "Yeah, I see what you mean. If you're going to be dishonest, at least be honest about your dishonesty...as strange as that seems. At least everyone /knows/ we're out to take the planet...and sometimes use sneaky means. We don't pretend that that isn't going on...even the name implies it."
-Whiplash nods. "There you go. No honor in faking it."
-Moonlight leans against something comfortably. "You're a pretty good listener."
-Whiplash tilts her head a bit. "I guess I've been told that now and again. See, I'm out here guarding the gate, I'm just a sentry. I hear all kinds of things. I get to understanding what I can pass along and what I can't."
-Moonlight shrugs easily. "It doesn't matter to me if the whole faction knows I hate Elita One because most likely a large percentage of the population agrees with me."
-Whiplash's tentacle-tips flicker back and forth and she smirks faintly. "Not a crime to hate an Autobot, let me tell you. Just don't make any one of 'em so important to you that you put too much of your energy into it. That dolt Freefall tried to goad me into hunting him down the other day with all kinds of made-up insults, and it couldn't bother me at all. 'Cause who cares what delusion a stupid Autobot wants to spout? Told him I'd kill him if I ran across him, and that was the end of it.
-Moonlight frowns slightly. "Though I do feel a little bad about that Hyperdrive fellow. He /did/ save my life, and believe me, that's a new experience. Smugglers usually don't get saved by anyone, even other smugglers. If he knew what was best for him, he'd just leave the planet."
-Whiplash laughs. "Hyperdrive? That pathetic little Autobot swamp rat? Hey, don't feel indebted to that guy."
-Moonlight cocks her head to the side. "I'd rather feel indebted to him than not be able to feel indebted to anyone at all, because that would be the situation if I was dead."
-Whiplash smirks a little as though she's humoring this story, but says, "Okay, tell me how this went."
-You say, "Freefall blasted me up and Hyperdrive came in and dragged me to safety, where Electra took me back to Darkmount..."
-Whiplash growls softly. "Wonder what the ulterior motive was. That rotten little brat."
-Whiplash says, "Did you have yourself checked for bombs? Listening devices?"
-Moonlight looks at herself. "I think the meds would have seen anything like that while they were fixing me. Isn't that standard procedure?"
-Whiplash says, "I'd sure hope so. I don't trust that lot for a moment. Don't let 'em fool you into a sense of security."
-Moonlight laughs. "Well, I couldn't have stopped him from rescuing me if I tried...I was in pretty bad shape, a situation I hope never to encounter again. I'm not much of a fighter except for in bar room brawls."
-Whiplash says, "Personally, I'd rip his internals out." Her optics flash in disgust. "Let's 'em feel smug, you see. No way I'd stand for that."
-Moonlight shrugs. "I don't know. Solar seems to like him..."
-Whiplash says, "Solar has a talent for getting someone's guard down."
-Moonlight says, "He also seems to have a fondness for leaving people in suspense, but that's neither here nor there." She seems to be in much better spirits now and is more her usualy, saucy self.
-Whiplash says, "That's intel, you gotta get used to it."
-Moonlight quirks her lips in a smile. "Yeah, I suppose. So, if we ever won the war, would you still stay out here all by yourself?"
-Whiplash's faint smirk fades into a genuine smile. "You know what I'd do? Seriously? I'd sign up with the first ship and see the galaxy, help expand the empire. I want to be on the leading edge. See new things, meet new challenges."
-You say, "Been here a little too long?"
-Whiplash stretches a little, flexing her hooked claws. "Nah, nothing like that. I'm needed here now, this is my place. But when the time comes, I got other ways to be useful." 
-Moonlight nods approvingly. "Fair enough. I suppose I'd go back to smuggling on a larger scale again. I've been doing it for as long as I remember and I quite enjoy it."
-Whiplash says, "Sounds like we could use someone like that. Say - you ever med a guy named Swindle?"
-Moonlight nods her head. "Once or twice. He works with Solar sometimes. I like his temperment from what I've seen."
-Whiplash's optics narrow briefly, but her expression clears again a moment later. "Gotta watch that guy, though. He's after his own profit, I'll tell you. Still, I think he learned his lesson about greed."
-Moonlight smiles slightly. "Strangely enough, I'm not that greedy. I smuggle because it's my job. If it's profitable, that's great."
-Whiplash says, "And ... let me guess. For the excitement?"
-Moonlight shrugs. "Yeah, the excitement is good too, but I like it because I'm good at it. It's something I can do well. Some people fight, I smuggle."
-Whiplash says, "Your contribution. Yeah, I can understand it. Like this is mine."
-Whiplash indicates her surroundings with a few broad motions of her tentacles.
-Moonlight looks around at the scenery. "It isn't much to look at. What use is this land other than to say it's ours and not theirs?"
-Whiplash explains, "It's a buffer zone. Look around at this place. You wonder why I get upset when I see someone wandering through here daydreaming? 'Cause there's a million hiding places that could conceal an enemy. I used to kill lots of 'em trying to sneak through. I know this area better than anyone.
-You say, "I'll keep that in mind. Besides, I wouldn't want to let Freefall catch me off guard agian...or anyone else for that matter."
-Whiplash says, "Eventually they got smart, started sending fewer infiltrators that couldn't make it back."
-Whiplash sounds almost disappointed about that.
-Whiplash says, "Yeah, you keep your senses sharp out here. I'm out on patrol sometimes too, or out at Dead End, can't be watching everywhere."
-You say, "I suppose I'm just used to the city scene. I'm the master of the bar room and the back alley. I suppose I should train myself to pay attention to the great outdoors as well."
-Whiplash grins, flashing another glint of fangs. "At least don't get yourself killed on my watch, eh?" Her optics flicker a little, indicating she's teasing just a bit.
-You say, "Of course not. I'll wait for someone's watch that I don't like and just play dead."
-Whiplash chuckles. "Unfortunately, I'm the only guard out here. You'll have to put up with me."
-Moonlight looks into the distance. "Well, Darkmount is still there, so I guess you're doing a good job. Just keep doing your job so I can keep doing my job. I would be really bad at your job."
-Whiplash grins. "Yeah, you would be. No offense. You and about everyone else. We gotta do what we're suited for. None of this shoving me into command positions, you understand." The last words end with an indignant grumble.
-Moonlight barks out a laugh. "I'm with you on that one. I would make a /terrible/ leader. I'm not so good of a follower either. Smugglers aren't, you know."
-Whiplash says, "Just be sure you keep one of those audials tuned to the high-ups. Sometimes you gotta move quick and follow orders so everything works like it should."
-Moonlight nods. "I can do that. Smugglers are good with coordination...but that doesn't mean they always agree."
-Whiplash tilts her head a bit. "Agree? So ... what's in the policy that you don't like?" she asks casually.
-Moonlight shakes her head. "Nothing that comes to mind. I just know that I'm not going to agree with everything everyone says. I might not voice my opinion, and if I do, it doesn't mean I'm going to do something stupid and insubordiant."
-Whiplash says, "Well, I don't like all the policies either, necessarily, but I trust that they know what they're doing. Still, that chance with the space station - that *would've* worked, if that idiot Pyre had had his act together."
-You say, "What do you mean?"
-Whiplash says, "Well, if he hadn't spent so much time in orbit *posturing*, we could've wiped out the city in a few blasts. But no, he had to chat on the broadband so he seemed all threatening. And when he started talking about taking out Shockwave, it was all over for him. Like I was going to stand for *that*."
-Moonlight looks a little confused. "So, you think that the chain of command shouldn't have stopped him?"
-Whiplash hisses, "No, I think *he* shoulda remembered where his loyalties were supposed to be!"
-You say, "So, his idea was good, but he did it the wrong way?"
-Whiplash says, "Excactly. Yeah, I knew it was against policy to spark a war with Crystal City - but if you had the chance to flatten 'em all at once, we had to take it. Shockwave would've seen it made sense after it was done."
-Whiplash says, "But once I figured out that Pyre was trying to knock off Shockwave too, he lost me."
-You say, "I don't know much about Shockwave either, but he seems to know what he's doing, and he was put in charge so everyone tells me."
-Whiplash says with total conviction, "Oh, he knows what he's doing. Megatron picked him to lead, and Megatron knows what he's doing too.
-Moonlight sighs. "I've never met Megatron...do you think he's ever going to come back?"
-Whiplash says with equally as much certainty, "He'll be back. Nothing in the universe could keep him down. I don't know where he is now or what happened, but he'll be back."
-You say, "Shockwave is just rather uninspiring...he's a little too calm and calculating."
-Moonlight nods and holds up her hands defensively. "Oh, he's smart, and knows what he's doing. But that doesn't make a /leader/. There's a certain passion and charisma that he lacks...I'm not trying to call him down, I just don't think he could have rallied people under his banner on his own if Megatron hadn't done it first."
-Whiplash seems somehow a little irritated at the implication, but she tends to take criticism of Shockwave a little personally.
-Moonlight shakes her head. "I don't know. I'm not saying there is a better person. I'm just saying if this Megatron hadn't existed, Shockwave wouldn't be a leader. He would be the brilliant mind behind someone else with more outward charisma. In fact, I've never really met anyone with a forceful enough personality to be the leader...so Shockwave's brilliance is the best stand in for that fire a leader needs. That's why I want to be alive when Megatron returns."
-Whiplash grumbles a little, the claws of her forefeet digging into the surface of her boulder. But she seems to comprehend that Moonlight isn't dissing Shockwave, unlike someone else whom she swatted around for it not too long ago, and gradually relaxes. "He'll be back," she repeats. "Don't know how long it'll take or what he'll have to fight his way through to get here, but he'll make it."
-Moonlight fits her fingers together. "Has anyone ever gone out looking for him? Sounds to me that he's been gone a little too long."
-Whiplash says, "Oh sure, at the start. But he's so far out by now that there's no way we could trace him. He's gotta come to us now. And he's not about to let his world go on without him."
-You say, "I suppose. Though I think we'd be better off...though I don't really know much about him at all."
-Whiplash grins. "Hey, let me tell you. If ever there was a guy who stood for the word 'survivor,' it's Megatron. You put him in a situation where you'd *swear* he was dead and finished, and he'd not only survive, but come out on top. I saw it lots of times. He had a bigger destiny than scrabbling around in the dirt with us in the areanas."
-You say, "You worked for the Arenas?"
-Whiplash says, "Worked for?" She looks momentarily baffled. "Er ... you could say that, yeah."
-Moonlight blinks her optics. "You don't mean the local arena, do you?"
-Whiplash says, "All over the planet, lady. We travelled around. You don't remember when the State Games were up, do you?"
-Moonlight shakes her head. "I haven't been here very long and no one has told me the complete history of Cybertron yet. I just pick up bits and pieces along the way."
-Whiplash says, "Ah. Well, don't worry about it. State Games are dead and gone, that was another lifetime. Let's see what we can do with that arena in Dead End now. But, that's not the *real* thing, of course. Maybe the real think wouldn't even work anymore."
-You say, "Real? Is the Dead End arena fake?"
-Whiplash says, "Oh, sure it's fake. Real arena combat is to the death."
-Moonlight shudders slightly. "That sounds rather nasty. I'm not a big fan of death myself."
-Whiplash grins, showing those fangs again. "The trick is to make sure *you* live."
-Whiplash says, "But yeah, it's not really workable for what Solar's trying to pull off in Dead End."
-You say, "What is his scheme anyhow? He doesn't tell me much, I think he enjoys the annoyance of keeping me in suspense."
-Whiplash says, "Solar's plans? Well, not sure how much I should let you in on, but some of it's out there on the streets already."
-Moonlight shrugs. "I suppose I'll find out sooner or later...but until then, I'll just do what I'm supposed to...and if he doesn't tell me what I need to know, that's his own fault."
-Whiplash says, "See, for all the Autobots' stupid prattle, we're the best thing that ever happened to Dead End City. Wild Surge gives the place business, lets the empties come in outta the cold now and again - and now we fire up the arena again. Entertainment. Something those shuffling nobodies can't even remember. It gives us a better grip on the city."
-Whiplash says, "Lures the enemy in on our ground where we can watch 'em."
-Moonlight grins. "Which is good. Slums are my territory. I'm open game out there, but in the Dead End, I'm in my element. I'll be more equiped to tangle with 'Bots there. Besides, anything that helps those people has my support...they're /my/ kind of people after all."
-Whiplash says, "Oh?"
-Moonlight nods in a matter-of-fact way. "The lower class types. Not the classy, high society people."
-Whiplash says, "Who are the high-society people? Maybe you can fill me in, 'cause I don't think I know any either."
-Whiplash says, "Know a lot of classy Decepticons, though."
-You say, "There's people like that on the other planets."
-Moonlight shrugs. "But I mean people who don't have everything they want or need. People on the bottom rung, who end up working very hard for very little just to get by."
-Whiplash says, "Not for long, though. You wait till we win the war."
-Moonlight shrugs. "But even if their situations change, they'll still know and remember what it was like to be on the bottom of things."
-Whiplash says, "You know, I don't think that working hard for our future, puts someone on the bottom rung. Makes us a lot more honorable than someone that has it all and isn't willing to risk it."
-Moonlight sighs. "I guess I just don't like snobs."
-Whiplash says, "Me, I don't like hypocrites."
-Moonlight shrugs. "Well, it's hard to avoid being a hypocrite...but no one needs to be a snob."
-Whiplash says, "Hard to avoid? Heh. Maybe if you wear a red symbol or live in Crystal City."  Whiplash snickers.
-You say, "I'm not always honest. Sometimes I don't even know I'm not being honest, because I think if I was always honest with myself, I would be a lot more frightened than I am now."
-Whiplash says, "Now that's interesting. You tell yourself you're not afraid, say to wade into a dagerous situation, and that gives you the courage to do it?"
-Moonlight nods. "Sure. I can always sort it out later if I have to."
-Whiplash says, "You know what they say in the Games and on the battlefield. Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's moving into the fight *in spite of* fear."
-Moonlight grins. "I'm a coward, and I know it."
-You say, "Well, I'm scared of you, but I'm sitting here talking to you. Sometimes I want to run, but I try to keep my calm at all times. I'll shiver about it when I'm somewhere safe."
-Whiplash stares at Moonlight, genuinely puzzled. "You're scared of *me*?"
-Moonlight nods once. "Yeah. I've heard people talk about you. You're apparently not some one to mess with. You're controlled, but have a lot of anger, and you're tough. I'm not." She pauses. "But anyhow, I've got to get back to the Dead End, my shift is starting soon." She starts to leave. "I'll see you around."
-Whiplash seems somehow pleased by that. Someone not to mess with. She grins, showing the fangs. "Oh yeah. You'll see me around."
-Moonlight tips her hat once and disappears off into the distance.