May 1st, 2003
~Dirge(D), Steelwind(A)

Darkmount - Barracks

     You step through the large and heavy door into an archaic looking cavern. The natural material of the mountain is very much in evidence here, as not much effort was put into making the army's barracks very attractive. With plasma tools and brute hydraulic power, hundreds of cubicles have been carved out in strangely organized rows throughout the room and at multiple levels.
     The size of the cubicle is a general indication of the rank of the owner, and you'll notice several larger rooms higher up in the cavern, almost as if they were positioned to watch over the troops below.


Timedigger      Dirge          

Obvious exits:
 -N- North leads to Darkmount - Elevator Shaft.
 -S- South leads to Darkmount - Guardhouse.

-Moonlight comes out of her room with a long stretch that indicates a long and refresing nap.
-Dirge is walking out of the elevator and towards the main group of barracks. He nods over his shoulder at Timedigger. "Not sure it was an actual breach. Still, can't afford any chances." As he walks towards his office towards the back, he notices Moonlight and offers the femme a quick, curt nod in greeting.
-Timedigger spots Moonlight emerge from her room, and his face brightens. He waves to her and says, "Hi there!" Looking back at Dirge, he says, "no...no chances...I'm sure that you're security forces are otherwise excellent," he says, smiling.
-Moonlight grins at both the mechs, although the reception from one was considerably warmer than the other. "So, what are you fellas up to?" she inquires.
-Dirge notices Moonlight's reception towards him, but ignores it. He has something more important to do right now. "Off to show Timedigger his temporary quarters," he replies to the femme. He turns back to Timedigger and says, "Already in the company of friendly faces. Not bad."
-Timedigger smiles happily now. "Yeah," he says looking from Dirge to Moonlight. "Thanks again, Dirge." Then he pauses. "Oh yeah," and he extracts the box from subspace and opens it. He takes out a large flask, takes a swig and offers it to Dirge. "I figure you'd want to see what's in the box. Well, it's some high-grade energon and datapads."
-No ammount of coldness seems to make Moonlight less friendly. She seems rather determined to put on a smile during all but the worst situations. She looks over both mechs than shrugs. "Oh? Where?" she asks with mild interest. With even more interest she flicks a glance at both flask and box, but any questions remained unasked for the time being.
-Dirge eagerly reaches out for the flask and puts it to his mouth. "Good energon," he proclaims. He passes it to Moonlight with an questioning optic ridge, then flicks his optics to the box. "What are on the datapads?" he asks. Remembering Moonlight's question, he says off-hand and half-attentively to the femme, "He will be staying in my quarters until the Commander can see him."
-Timedigger nods with a smile, then his face becomes more serious. "The contents of the datapads. I cannot tell you what's on that, it's privileged information." He shrugs helplessly. "Such matters are discussed only between myself and the client, sorry."
-Moonlight's face breaks into a mischievious grin. "Did you make sure to remove anything embarassing from your room before you decided to take a room mate?" She chuckles slightly, and her optics only flicker momentarily towards Timedigger. Confidential stuff is always an item to feed her curiosity.
-Dirge hands the flask back to Timedigger, then shrugs at the neutral. "Only for the one client?" he asks non-committally, then turns his attention to Moonlight. For once, his optics glint with amusement towards her. "Anything embarrassing would entertain our guest at least."
-Timedigger shrugs theatrically in answer to Dirge, then grins after taking another swig from the flask. "Want another?"
-Moonlight honestly doubts that there /is/ anything embarassing in Dirge's room, but she couldn't help but make that comment. "True enough," she concedes.
-Dirge nods once, and takes another healthy swig at the energon. "You don't want to try this?" he asks Moonlight, then says to Timedigger. "Put that box away, or I'll be tempted to rifle through the notepads." The corners of his mouth curl upwards.
-Timedigger shunts the box to subspace. "Certain people would possible be displeased by such an act on your part." Then he grins. "Not that it matters, unless you speak certain ancient dialects."
-Moonlight puts her hands behind her back. "I wasn't offered," she points out, though she sounds far from offended. She nods towards Timedigger. "He has a point. It's not nice to show off forbidden fruits you know."
-Dirge shrugs at Moonlight, then hands the flask back to Timedigger. "Much better than the Wild Surge," he says with approval at the energon. He nods and smiles faintly at Moonlight's last comments, then says to Timedigger, "You can't keep that box with you. Security issue." He offers Timedigger an apolegtic shrug. "The contents shouldn't be comprised if it has a lock."
-Timedigger nods. "I can understand, though I will inform the client in question that the datapads have left my possession on your responsibility when I speak with her," he says with an apologetic shrug of his own, and dropping a tiny little hint as to what's on it. "Procedure, you see. As for the energon, I've had that for a while - my special reserve for special occasions," he says smilingly.
-Moonlight waggles a finger at Timedigger. "Isn't it rather unprofessional of you to take something of such delicate and confidential nature into a place where you are certain to be checked over. And besides, what sort of clients do historians /have/ in the first place?"
-Dirge, on the other hand, knows exactly what sort of client Timedigger currently has. He shares a look of understanding with Timedigger, then stretches out a hand, while tilting a curious head at how Timedigger would respond to Moonlight.
-Timedigger nods. "Point. However, if I were to have left it where it was, it would have been a lot worse..." he glances at Dirge. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Bots have been watching me since the incident with Thunderaft. I figure if they discover I'm here, my office is the first place they'd look around in. I can't risk that, nor for my sake, nor for my client's sake."
-Moonlight arches an optic ridge. "Ever heard of hidey holes? They're rather handy. If /I/ had taken a client's property into a place like this, they'd probably hunt me down and fry me in my own energon."
-Dirge considers Timedigger with narrowed optics. "Timedigger," he says, making an expectant motion with his hand. "The box." He then says to Moonlight, "Hiding holes wouldn't be an option for Timedigger. He's in a dangerous position with the Autobots."
-Timedigger asks, "You do this knowing fully that if anything happens to this box, it's on your head, not mine. Correct?" Without waiting for an answer, he hands the box to Dirge. He looks at Moonlight, then grins as his only answer to her question.
-Moonlight throws up her hands in mock exasperation. "Are you kidding? This piece of junk you call a planet is /great/ for hiding things."
-Dirge takes the box and carefully cradles it with one arm. He nods to Timedigger, "I understand." He shares another understanding look with the neutral, then says, "The box will be sent up to security for some scans. It'll be returned in a few days at most." A small smile appears on his face as he turns to Moonlight. "You don't know Timedigger's little misadventures?" he asks.
-Timedigger nods at Dirge. He looks at Moonlight, then back to Dirge. "You tell her the story. That way she can be certain I'm not exaggerating," he says grinning.
-Moonlight arches an optic ridge at Dirge, "Should I?" she drawls. She turns to Timedigger. "Now, you wouldn't fib to li'l Moonlight would you? Besides, I thought Historians were supposed to be accurate or truthful or something."
-"And accurate with a plasma rifle," Dirge remarks in a droll voice. To Moonlight, he says, "Our historian friend duelled with one Autobot, and stood up against another." He offers Timedigger a flash of a smile. "Aren't I correct?"
-Timedigger laughs jovially hearing Moonlight's comment. "Of course we are - when the history we speak of isn't our own! Everybody emebllishes on their own accomplishments." Listening to Dirge speak he says, "That would be a reasonably accurate assessment of the events that transpired. Don't forget though, that I had that little idiot pinned to the ground," he adds with a wide grin.
-Moonlight nods. "I had heard about a run-in with Thunderstrike. Who else have you braved?"
-Dirge nods at Timedigger's first words. To his comments about Thunderstrike, he adds, "He was fortunate to have his head intact, the arrogant idiot."
-Timedigger nods. "Yeah, Dirge, I guess he owes you more than just a drink, eh?" He turns to Moonlight. "Well, both incidents had the idiot present along with Nosecone and...what's that femme's name?"
-Moonlight smiles slightly. Trouble seems to find Nosecone. Though she didn't think he had troubles with Neutrals that often. Idly she glances at her time piece. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a few things to attend to. Have a good evening gentlemen."
-Dirge replies to Timedigger, "Swivel, I believe." He remarks darkly about Thunderstrike, "He owes me his lasercore. The day won't be long." He nods in farewell to Moonlight, then gestures Timedigger to follow up to his barracks.