March 15th, 2003 ~Arcane(A), Nosecone(A), -Arcane transmits: 'Greetings. My name is Arcane. I attained this frequency through mutual allies of ours, and I would like to request your prescence to discuss a proposition.'. -You transmit 'And where would you like my prescence to be? *the voice on the other end is rather dry and professional*' to Arcane. -Arcane transmits: 'My personal Sanctum, in the ruins of Old Cybertronia, east of Crystal City.'. -You transmit 'Check. Be there shortly.' to Arcane. Old Cybertronia This *used* to be a livable section of Cybertron. There still remains evidence of a small city - one of the earliest settlements on Cybertron. For whatever reasons, it was abandoned towards the beginning of known history and has since fallen into a state of great disrepair. The obvious difference between this old place and other locations around the planet is the shorter buildings. Oddly, in older times, the residents didn't care for the vertical arrangements that would prevail later on in the planet's history. The squat buildings populating this area are also more rounded than angular. Most of them bear some signs of damage, but many remain intact and have served, and will continue to serve as small homes for those without affiliations. Still, there has been enough fighting here that most have chosen to move into Crystal City to the west. The Sanctum Crystal Marker Obvious Exits: -U- Up leads to Sky Above Old Cybertronia -N- North leads to Old Cybertronia -S- South leads to Production Highway -E- East leads to Great Arena -W- West leads to Gates of Crystal City -A voice on a loudspeaker calls in "Enter, Mottle." -Mottle winces slightly. Just what was needed...a blaring introduction. However, Mottle's figure makes its way to the Sanctum. The Sanctum A massive vaulted room, filled with unfamiliar machinery. A few mechanical hoists hang from the ceiling, and the walls are lined with shelves filled with all kinds of spare parts, and methods of storing information. There are three long slabs towards the north end of the room, seeming to be either workbenches, beds, or both. This area seems to be in part a library, and in part a mechanical shop. A huge, ornate throne of some kind is at the far corner of this bizarre room. Various plugs and input devices seem to be connected to the throne. A magnificient holographic mural covers the entire domed ceiling, depicting a vaguely humanoid figure composed of white energy. Contents: Arcane -Arcane stands on a hover platform near the ceiling, waving a metallic rod in the air. It appears as if he was composing some non-existent orchestra, while at the same time "painting" the holography of the mural. He calls down without looking away from his work "Greetings, Mottle." -Mottle steps into the Sanctum, cloak pulled tightly around its form. Optics are alert, but betray nothing. "Greetings Arcane." -Arcane withdraws the rod into a wrist compartment, and lowers the hover platform while turning to face Mottle "You are not..." he slowly says "As I expected." -Mottle laughs from behind the faceplate, a dry and mirthless sound. "Does everything happen the way you expect it to?" -Arcane shrugs "Generally not. But no matter..." He walks over to one of his shelves of random items and draws out a datapad, typing into it. "I have asked you here, to request that you acquire a list of parts for me." -Mottle nods curtly. "Aquisition is my job." -Arcane places down the pad and draws out a flash and a pair of glasses, and pours one. He holds it out to Mottle and smiles "Enerbrandy?" -Mottle holds up a single hand in refusal. "I don't drink." -Arcane smirks "Like to keep a clean mind, eh? Fair enough." He throws back the entire glass in one gulp, and puts the drink and glasses away. He walks over to Mottle and hands the datapad "That is a list of the parts I require. Name your price." -Mottle accepts the pad and scans over it critically, the larger optic twitching ever so slightly. With a few jabs of a finger, a price is typed in under the list. Then Mottle hands the pad back to Arcane wordlessly. The list itself reads as follows: Series VI T'kara Power Generator Kisynt Battlecruiser Computer Core 4700 Astro-Metres of Graviton Coil 2 X-Brand Mass Force-Field Generators 65 Structural Integrity Polarization Field Inducers 1500 tonnes of raw Barzanite Ore -Arcane takes the datapad, nods. "Fair enough price. I'll pay you half now, and half upon receiving the items." -Mottle nods once more and begins to reach into its cloak... -Arcane types into another datapad, and hands it to Mottle "There is a registered keycode for my account with the Monacus Universal Bank of Commerce. You will be able to withdraw the amount from there. I suggest you do it slowly, so as not to to arouse suspecion, and divvy the money up between various seperate accounts. That kind of monetary movement with great speed will attract unwanted attention." -Mottle's optics look slightly annoyed. "I don't tell you how to do your job." From out of the cloak it pulls a camera like device and hold it up, stating, "Safety precaution." The words are half statement, half request for permission. -Arcane nods. "And one more thing. Don't try to tamper with the keycode. The bank will know a forged request when they see it, and considering the size of my upfront payment, it would be very rude of you to try for more. And you want me as a customer... not an enemy." -Mottle clicks once, taking Arcane's picture. "Just in case. I'll give it to you once our business is through. You can destroy it then." It tucks the camera away again. "What time frame do you require the goods in?" Once more a hand is held up. "It's bad for business to try anything on a first deal." -Arcane shrugs. "Whenever you can acquire them. Bring them to me as you acquire them, rather than in one bulk amount. Movement of such large supplies will again, arouse unwanted attention." -Mottle states, "I am a professional." -Arcane nods and begins walking over to his hoverplatform, to resume work on his "mural". He says "I have nothing further, so unless you particularely enjoy my company..." -Mottle bows deeply, one hand still clutching the outter fold of the cloak. "Distance is important. For security reasons." Mottle makes a silent exit. Old Cybertronia This *used* to be a livable section of Cybertron. There still remains evidence of a small city - one of the earliest settlements on Cybertron. For whatever reasons, it was abandoned towards the beginning of known history and has since fallen into a state of great disrepair. The obvious difference between this old place and other locations around the planet is the shorter buildings. Oddly, in older times, the residents didn't care for the vertical arrangements that would prevail later on in the planet's history. The squat buildings populating this area are also more rounded than angular. Most of them bear some signs of damage, but many remain intact and have served, and will continue to serve as small homes for those without affiliations. Still, there has been enough fighting here that most have chosen to move into Crystal City to the west. Nosecone [Robot] [A] Crystal Marker Obvious Exits: -U- Up leads to Sky Above Old Cybertronia -N- North leads to Crystal City Highway -S- South leads to Old Cybertronia -SW- Southwest leads to Gates of Crystal City -E- East leads to Proving Grounds -Nosecone trudges down the road, looking shiny unt new, but also moving with a slight stiffness indicating that he's not operating at exactly 100 percent. -Moonlight comes out of a building and starts walking away from the general area of Crystal City. -Nosecone is heading in the opposite direction, towards Crystal City and its bars. After the events of.. well, of the last many cycles, where he was buried under rubble, shot in the face, caught scraplets, then had a huge hole blown in his chest, a drink is definitely in order. -Moonlight most likely spots Nosecone before he spots her, and she chuckles to herself. -Nosecone isn't really looking where he's going. He's ambling along, lost in thought, and by the expression on his face, it's not about anything pleasant. -Moonlight notices Nosecone's self-absorbed mood, and she waits until he's practically upon her before saying, "Well hello there stranger." -Nosecone looks up and blinks, then blinks again, his optics coming into focus. Oh. Moonlight. Well, I suppose it could be worse. "Moonlight" he says by way of greeting. -Moonlight grins broadly. "Heading to the city?" She pauses. "You look a little...out of it," she comments. -Nosecone shrugs, seeming to regain his usual attitude. "Nah, just thinkin. An yeah, been a while since I been in Crystal City. Thought I'd go see if they missed me." -Moonlight glances around to see if there's anyone 'troublesome' about. She leans slightly closer to Nosecone. "I heard what happened to that young fella...saw a picture in our news files." She frowns deeply. -Nosecone just nods. "Bet your friends were pleased with themselves" he replies. -Moonlight sighs. "Well, I'm not pleased with them. They have this nasty habit of stapling people to walls. It's just plain cruel..." She shakes her head. "I hope he wasn't bombed like the last guy they stapled." -Nosecone huhs. "Yeah, be sure ta have some stern words with them," he says sarcastically. "I'm sure they'll listen." -Moonlight shakes her head. "Sarcasm really doesn't suit you Nosecone." -Nosecone grunts. "Yeah, well. I've been a crappy.. well, it seems like a vorn. Excuse me if I'm not bein the friendliest mech in the world, especially after I find out the Decepticons just nailed a rookie to the gates." -Moonlight nods, still frowning. "I warned him..." -"I ain't sayin he wasn't a stupid slagger, but no-one deserves ta be nailed ta the gates." Nosecone says. -Moonlight folds her arms. "I never said he did...I just wish that he had listened to me. But from what I've seen of him, he listens to no one. I also wish that my friends didn't like this sort of thing so much." -Nosecone looks at her. "Well keep wishin. Maybe it'll make you feel better." Boy, Nosecone really must be irritated. -Moonlight winces. "Your own team mates aren't always a shinning example of moral purity either," she says rather defensively. -Nosecone says, "Yeah well. You think they woulda nailed you to a gate, given the chance?" -Moonlight scowls. "I think a few of them might. But you can't say all Decepticons would have done the same as Solar and Sylver. There's one standing right in front of you that wouldn't. I didn't approve when Psykeout did it to Hyperdrive, and I still don't approve now that they've done it to Thunderstrike." -Nosecone shakes his head. "I think you're wrong about that. I don't think even Silhouette woulda gone that far." Well he hopes anyway. "And it seems like your disaproval don't really mean anything. An yet, you're still willin ta associate with these people, knowin that they enjoy doin these horrible things, things that go beyond just simple acts of war." -Moonlight trembles a little, though what emotion is behind it is unclear. "It's hard for me to understand myself. War breaks all the rules I thought existed before. It defies my understanding of what /should/ be. And again, it isn't all of them. Though I think I /will/ talk to my Boss about his infatuation with decorating walls." -Nosecone actually scowls. "That wasn't war, that was a crime. Someone shoots at you in the heat of battle, they're tryin ta kill you, fine. Straight up, that's war. Taken a wounded mech prisoner, then nailin him to some gates... " -Moonlight looks defeated for a moment. "I've already said it was wrong...what more do you want from me?" -Nosecone shrugs. "I dunno Moonlight. Just pointen out that these are the people you're associatin with. Despite all the slag I've been through, I never been ashamed of wearin this." He taps the Autobot symbol on his newly repaired chestplate. "What about you?" -Moonlight raises her optic ridges. "Honestly? I've been ashamed of just being." -Nosecone huhs? -Moonlight sighs. "It doesn't matter. Look, I have ideas of right and wrong, but I've never been driven to follow them. I'm not a hero, I'm not a moral champion. I'm just me." -Nosecone shrugs again. "So long as you can live with that. As for me, I have some drinkin to do." -Moonlight doesn't really move aside at this point. "You really think we're /all/ so terrible?" she asks, rather plaintively. she asks, rather plaintively. -Nosecone sighs. "No." he says, "But I know what that symbol stands for, what people wearing that symbol have done." -Moonlight seems somewhat small, as if diminished somehow. "I wish I had your moral strength. But I also fear it would be the ruin of me." -Nosecone looks weary for a moment. "I'm sure you'll survive, Moonlight. It seems ta be what you're best at." -Moonlight nods. "I'll always bounce back...but that doesn't mean that I'm insincere in my pain or sorrow or regret." -Nosecone says, "I'd like ta belive that." Nosecone sounds sincere. -"Do you doubt me?" Moonlight asks, tone neutral. -Nosecone shakes his head. "No. But all the regret in the world aint gonna change anything." -Moonlight shrugs. "But it's got to count for something, or else there wouldn't be a reason for it." She seems slightly irritated. "Besides, you can probably imagine what would happen if I walked up to Whiplash or others like her and said, 'Well those Bots /really/ aren't that bad. Freedom is kind of a good thing to fight for.' I'd be dead before I could finish." -Nosecone's optics flicker. "So you're supportin a cause ya don't really believe in, an associatin with people who enjoy nailin people ta walls.. but that's okay, because ya feel regret about it?" He just sighs. "I /really/ need that drink." -Moonlight turns away straightening herself to her full height as she does so. "I hope it brings you comfort." -"Probably not" he replies. "But right now its the only company I got." -Moonlight doesn't turn back, and even takes a few steps away from Nosecone and Crystal City. "Be safe Nosecone." What an unDecepticonish thing to say. -Nosecone replies "You too" as he sets off down the road again.