-Moonlight folds her arms. "We're in the middle of Darkmount...what's going to get you here?"
-Novastar says, "It's not what gets me here at all. That's why it's overhoned. I just get a tingle in my diodes for oversweeping statements..."
-Moonlight ahs. "Well, when I feel threatened I usually /don't/ go for my weapons. I know for a fact I would lose most fights, so I try to keep my enemies talking...they seem less likely to shoot me that way."
-Novastar scoffs, "When I get threatened, it means they've got their guns already pointed at me, usually, and with hands on firing studs."
-Moonlight chuckles. "I'm just /so/ charming I always get a warning first."
-Novastar reflects, "Well, the fact they're generally ready to try and kill some Decepticons when they come where I am may have something to do with it."
-Moonlight nods. "That could be it."
-Novastar says, "See, you've got the advantage. The Bots are a lot nicer on their home turf..."
-Moonlight stands up. "What makes you say that?"
-Novastar says, "They feel it's better to play nice. The ones who decide to attack like to twist things around and be nasty..."
-Moonlight makes a face and changes the subject. "Looking forward to the capture of Cerrius?"
-Novastar shrugs, "Depends what you mean? As a chance to get some off-world resources and drive back the Autobots, yes? For capturing the gruond-Cerrius is useless, a wasteland and another energyless relic on this planet."
-Moonlight gives a half-smile. "Sounds like a yes in general then."
-Novastar shakes his head, "I understand we can't take out Iacon, yet, and I admit I don't have access to all their intelligence, but there are better places to scrap Autobots."
-Moonlight grins. "Where would you rather scrap them?"
-Novastar starts listing places, ticking them off on his fingers, "The canyons and rifts to the west of Tetrahex give a pretty good matchup, with a real standup fight. Crystal City is a target, Arcadia underneath is a bigger one.. their production regions, you get the picture.
-Moonlight nods. "Sounds like you're more interested in their resources than in killing the lot of them."
-Novastar says, "As one of my trainers said, warriors without fuel cannot fight for long. We can free up some troops to start looking at the rest of the universe if the Autobots were reduced to guriellas."
-Moonlight grins broadly. "And you want to be one of them?"
-Novastar asks, surprised, "And you'd rather stick around on this rustball?"
-Moonlight shrugs. "Well, that depends on many, many things."
-Novastar says, "Well, maybe if Cybertron was revitilized with energy, I could see wanting to tend the homefires.."
-Moonlight sighs. "I know the Cons don't like people leaving the cause and all, but I'm pretty sure that if Swipe ever made it known that he was alive and that he wanted me to join him again, I'd be off this planet before you could say AWOL."
-Novastar's visor blinks. "Swipe?"
-Moonlight nods. "My mentor back on Monacus. Big in the smuggling business."
-Novastar nods in understanding before shaking his head, "I'm not planning on leaving the Empire, I'd just rather serve at expanding our borders rather than duel with rabble over the remnants of Cybertron's fuel reserves.
-Moonlight shakes her head. "I have nothing against the Empire. But you have to realized that Swipe litterally pulled me out of the gutters. I owe him more than I owe anyone else."
-Novastar says, "On Monacus? I'm surprised you decided to join the Empire directly, then."
-Moonlight sighs. "I was brought up to be a smuggler after I was rescued by Swipe. He was the leader of a smuggling gang. Slowly we became big names in the business. But Swipe's pride was our downfall. He got cocky and sloppy. A gang decided that we should be taken out of the picture. When Swipe realized what was going on, he told me to run and come here. I never saw him again."
-Novastar hmms, "Not the story I was expecting, honestly, but I'm not sure you'd need to drop everything. There's always procurement, or Solar's network.."
-Moonlight's optic ridges shoot upwards. "What sort of story were you expecting?"
-Novastar ahems, and rubs his head, a bit embarrassed "Encouraged by elders and old tales of glory, you decided to move a bit more directly in helping your people fulfill their goal of taking over the galaxy. From what I hear, Monacus is a lot easier living than here, so it'd have to be something special.."
-Moonlight grins. "I'll tell you a secret. I'm not a femme for causes. When I came to Cybertron I knew no one and nothing. Swipe had a single contact on this planet. That contact was a 'Con femme named Blacksite. She said the only way she could help me was for me to join the Cons. So I did. Simple enough story."
-Novastar shrugs, "And a fairly common one, but it's one thing for survival of the fittest to align with the same faction here in the trenches..."
-Moonlight starts pacing the room. "I don't like to be alone. I had that life once. I didn't want to have it again. The Empire, a smuggling band. It doesn't matter." She chuckles. "I'm sure that everyone would be shocked to know that I'm not zealously charging forth on behalf of the ideal."
-Novastar shakes his head, "Belief is different from fanaticism. That's what makes Cloak work. I'm a little disappointed to hear it, but I can't blame you for helping your friends.. unless you're working against the Empire and MY friends," he says, mock warningly.
-Moonlight shakes her head. "Betrayal isn't my cup of energon. My little band of smugglers was more loyal to eachother, in some ways, than Decepticons are loyal to each other."
-Novastar says flatly, "There's no way I'm going to comment on that."
-Moonlight grins broadly. "Why not?"
-Novastar stares at Moonlight neutrally, remaining silent.
-Moonlight shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but I find your silence amusing. Want to comment on that?"
-Novastar points at several of the visible security cameras in the area, and says nothing.
-Moonlight shrugs, unconcerned. She starts to move out of the repair bay, shooting a last concerned look Blitzwing's way. "Very smart Novastar..."

Darkmount - Elevator Shaft
        You step into the reinforced lift and note immediately the large Decepticon sigil etched into the back wall as a reminder to all of where they are and why they serve the great Empire.

        There is a control panel near the door for selection of your desired destination.


Obvious Exits:
 -6- leads to Darkmount - Launch Platform
 -5- leads to Darkmount - Security Level
 -4- leads to Darkmount - Medical and Science Level
 -3- leads to Darkmount - Barracks
 -2- leads to Darkmount - Command Level
 -1- leads to Darkmount - Tunnel

-You transmit 'You coming, or not?' to Novastar.
-Novastar transmits: 'A moment. Please don't think it's personnel. Some of the Command Corps irritates me a bit already, and I don't have Blitzwing's battle prowess or other skills to keep me out of trouble...'.
-You transmit 'Understandable. Where do you think the most 'comfortable' place to speak would be?' to Novastar.
-Novastar transmits: 'Nearby? The bars in Polyhex are fairly crowded.'.

Broken Gasket

     As with all bars, many tables and booths fill the building, allowing those that have had a rough day to sit and relax while the barkeep and his waitresses serve drinks of all kinds to their patrons. A stage is present for those that wish to display their talent and a dance floor sits near this stage incase anyone feels like showing off their fancy footwork. The barkeep and a trio of bouncers all wear Decepticon insignias and look extremely gruff, making sure no fights break out.


Novastar [Robot] [D]

Obvious Exits:
 -O- Out leads to Polyhex - Entertainment Sector

-Novastar is sitting at the bar amid the crowd, with a relatively low-key drink in one hand.
-Moonlight walks up to Novastar and orders herself an enerwine.
-Novastar nods when Moonlight comes up. "This place is a bit safer than the usual hang-outs. The Decepticon Intelligence Director doesn't have his office next door, for example."
-Moonlight chuckles and takes her drink in hand, throwing down a few credits. "You want to stay up here or find a table or booth?"
-Novastar shrugs, looking aruond, "It's not karaoke night, so the booths would probably be safe..." he notes with a slight grin.
-Moonlight nods and silently weaves through the crowd. She seats herself in a booth and waits for Novastar to follow.
-Novastar slides out and moves down, sipping his drink. "Now, a bit quieter-yes, I feel the Decepticons have problems, somewhat serious in divisions in their ranks."
-Moonlight sips her drink. "Is it really so dangerous to have an opinion?"
-Novastar sighs, "When it's my attention-note I'm now careful enough these days not to say where I think the divisions are..."
-Moonlight folds her arms and rests them on the table. "You think I'd tell on you?" She doesn't sound hurt or offended. Her tone is rather blunt and honest.
-Novastar says, "If I thought you would, I wouldn't have come here, now, would I? Command doesn't coordinate well, and tends to get overly focused... were you around for Arcadia?"
-Moonlight thinks. "I don't believe I was present at that. It was an ambush or something, wasn't it?"
-Novastar says, "A horrible ambush. Commander Enfilade got overconfident and eager after our recon turned up little opposition, and was ready to head in without even a scouting party..." Nova's voice drops, "Especially after she learned it was under Crystal City."
-Moonlight hmmmmmmmms. "She seems to be having troubles again. What do you think the general problem is?"
-Novastar shrugs, "I have absolutely no idea. She does an amazing amount of effort arranging plans, does some critical fighting in some ways, and sometimes in the midst of missions... almost stops, it seems. If I understood the depths of a commanding officer's mind, I'd probably have my own squadron.
-Moonlight shakes her head. "Not with Enfilade...with the Empire. Not in concept, but in setup."
-Novastar chuckles, and takes a quick swig. "If I knew that, I'd be in command, period... but there's too much oversight and focus in some areas... people get bogged down in petty details. If we beat the Autobots, everyone should win then, rather than a lot of working to save various persons despite attacks and working against us..."
-Moonlight nods. "You keep thinking that if you knew this stuff you'd be in Command. From what I can tell that's not all it takes. But that's neither here nor there. So, if we were more organized and unified, things would work better?"
-Novastar says, "I honestly don't know. The latitude along the patrol boundaries tends to serve us pretty well," Novastar mused, "It's no easy question, and I'm not great at bursts of philosophy."