July 16th, 2003 ~'Cinder'(D), Bismuth Skyway These rough and formidable looking peaks tower over anyone approaching from the ground, the sheer size of these 10,000-meter monstrosities enough to give pause to all but the strongest ground dwellers or those who have the ability to fly. Looking up the faces of the range, they seem rough, as though some cataclysmic event thrust them upwards from the asteroid core. The shadows can be deceiving, and to the casual observer the mountains seem unscalable, however, the closer one approaches, the easier it is to see various avenues of approach. Massive spans and bridges link the east to west, though most of these bridges are bombed out. The causeway branches to the north and south, and dips to the east and west. Cinder [Robot] [D] Obvious Exits: -U- Up leads to Sky Above Bismuth Skyway -N- North leads to Gates to Tarn -S- South leads to Foothills -E- East leads to Bismuth Causeway -W- West leads to Bismuth Causeway -Moonlight is sitting atop one of the smaller peaks, legs crossed, reading a data pad. Her hat is pushed back high on her head, and her green optics seem absorbed in whatever it is she is reading. People always rant at her for being incautious, but caution has never been one of the femme's talents. -Rusty grunts a bit as he climbs up the steep slope on Moonlight's peak, panting a little bit. "I wish I had a road..." he murmers, looking around at the peaks surrounding him as far as the eye could see. Then he shakes his head, and turns to climb up further, finally coming up over the edge. -Moonlight hears little sounds coming from off to the side of her peak. So much for a little quiet time. Oh well. She turns away from the datapad, which she banishes to subspace, and looks to see who the company is. "Oh, hello," she says in way of greeting, as she notices it's the timid mech from the other day. -Rusty yelps in surprise and nearly falls back again, as it is he slides down to his shoulders again. WIth a grunt, he quickly scrambles out and rolls onto his back, panting. "Uhm... oh... h... hi... you again, with the hat." -Moonlight arches an optic ridge. "Yes, me, with the hat. But to make things easier, I'll just give you my name. It's Moonlight. And you really should calm down. Being so nervous isn't good for your health." -Rusty sits up finally, rubbing at his arm a little bit "Uh... hi then Moonlight." he states, calming down "Sorry... I just uh.. its a habit.. heh. Anyways. uhm... " he pauses, staring at her a moment. -Moonlight looks faintly amused. "Something wrong with my face?" she asks. She doesn't sound offended at all, merely amused. "It's not polite to stare you know." -Rusty blinks a few times, then snaps out of it, and looks at his foot "Sorry... I just don't see people with with uh, hats." -Moonlight smiles and nods her head. "I can understand that. Helmets are much more useful on Cybertron, but I like my hat. I think it gives me a bit of distinction." -Rusty nods a bit "So why do you wear one? There's no sun to shade... no dust to keep from your optics... -Moonlight touches her hat fondly. "It was given to me by a good friend of mine when I lived on Monacus." -Rusty ohs, then stirrs a bit with intrest "You've been to Monacus? what's it like there? I'm told it looked like our planet in the time of the golden Age. -Moonlight grins broadly. "Well, it's my planet of origion, so it's what I'm familiar with. It's certainly more lively than Cybertron, and more diverse too. And I wouldn't know much about the Golden Age since I wasn't here for it and I never bothered to learn about it. Didn't see much point really. But Monacus is great...if you like space scum, gambling, and intrigue." -Rusty nods at that. "Wow." he staets simply. "The intrigue part is what most intrests me I guess. So you're not a Transformer then?" -Moonlight shakes her head. "Actually, I am. I'm not really sure who created me or why because I have no memory of that. The earliest memory I have is scratching a living out on the streets of Monacus as a petty theif." She shrugs. "I've come a long ways since then." -Rusty nods a little bit at that again, optics flickering with identification "I... I see. Can you transform?" -Moonlight shrgus. "I suppose I could, though I usually don't unless I need to. I much prefer this form." But Moonlight isn't the sort of person to be disobliging just for the sake of being a crank. In fact, she usually a pretty nice sort of person, although hardly a sweet little femme. She jumps up into the air and transforms into a cargo helicopter. -Rusty pulls back al ittle bit, but stops when he reaches the edge, watching Moonlight transform "Nice. Heh... Uhm... I'm called Rusty by some. It's one of my better names." -Now that the display is over, Moonlight quickly transforms back. For some reason not having a face bothers the femme. It's probably because most of her life was spent without other transformers. "Not much of a name, so I would hate to hear your worse ones. I pretty much only have the one, though the femme with the hat seems to be popular. Oh, and hey you. Of course, the words 'only' and 'just' often preceed my name as well." -Rusty shrugs "Its just a name. I don't care what people call me normally." he states, scratching at his knee. "Not like I'll ever pay attention." -Moonlight nods. "Well, I'm fond of my name, so I guess I like to be called it." She shrugs. "So, what /do/ you pay attention to?" she asks, mildly curious. -Rusty grins at that, optics dazzling "Oh, smoke in the sky, incoming jet engine sounds, the sound of a tin can scuttering across the ground. Stuff that may be warnings to health hazards. That kinda stuff..." he pauses, as though to continue and adds quietly "Music of the land and wind too." -Moonlight ahs. "Only pay attention to things that might kill you, eh? Sounds like a case of paranoia to me." She folds her arms. "People always tell me that a little paranoia will keep me alive. I think they're just trying to justify it to themselves." -Rusty shrugs, hugging his shoulders a little "Preety much. or mug me." he states quietly. "I like to call it Caution. If you're careful you wont' die." -"Bah! I'm not cautious often, and I'm still alive. Of course, I rely on luck, and she's a fickle friend. But she's always pulled through for me. Of course, it helps that most people don't see me as a threat." Moonlight frowns for a moment. "It sorta stings when the enemy doesn't even think you're worth shooting." She shrugs. "But I guess it's better than being number one on their hit list." -Rusty nods "Yeah. Course, for me its different. I don't have anyone to pull me out. So I gotta watch my own back." he points out. -Moonlight peers at Rusty. "But what is it you have or have done that would make anyone come after you in the first place? You don't look like a factional to me." -Rusty nods "That's just the point. no offense or anything, but there's people on both sides who think if I'm not with them, I'm against them." he explains -Moonlight nods once. "Point taken. But you still should have some intrest in the world around you other than just keeping alive. I mean, what's the point in staying alive just to stay alive? Do you have hobbies or anything?" -Rusty thinks a bit, scratching at his thigh still as he thinks, staring out at the peaks "Let me think a moment..." he drifts off to think a second. -Moonlight shakes her head, believing she's looking at another victim of the war's infection. Too many people here live only to stay alive, which is a pretty poor existance, or the live just to fight more, also rather sad. But Moonlight lives because she enjoys it. She enjoys good energon and her friends and all the little events that she can laugh over later. -Rusty finally states "I... Its kind of silly.. but I used to be a composer." -Moonlight seems rather surprised at this. "A composer, eh? Why would that be silly?" -Rusty hehs "ITs not really somethign that seems to be appreciated here. I do make up ditties for a few chips in the bars though. -Moonlight folds her arms. "Well, that's just because most people on Cybertron have been seeing war for so long, they think everything else is unimportant. But they're wrong," she says, slamming one fist into the palm of her other hand. "If people thought more about creating things, they wouldn't be so intent on destroying them." She shrugs. "But they're all impossible." -Rusty huhs "Yeah. I'll agree with you there." he nods, then pulls out a small energon chip. He pauses, looking at Moonlight a moment, before relaxing and nibbling on it. -Moonlight looks as though she's gotten an idea, her face going crafty for a moment. Then she just grins and shakes her head, as though lauhing over some private joke. "So, what sort of stuff do you usually compose?" she asks finally. -Rusty eyes the smiling femme cautiously "Songs. Some music. Mostly poems nowadays." -Moonlight nods her head. "What kind of music? Soft, upbeat, powerful?" -Rusty shrugs "Whatever comes when I'm in the right mood." Rusty says, "I like songs about life, but I've done a few ones I hear some soldiers chanting, some silly songs that the bars play repeatedly... Too bad I don't get paid for them." -Moonlight blinks. "Why wouldn't you though?" -Rusty hehs "Well, the first time I sing it I do. but after that, there's nobody to stop them from going to sing them over and over again, or record them." he shrugs "It's not that big a deal. I have more where they came from." -Moonlight sits back down, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the peak. "Still, it's a pity. I guess with all the killing going on, there aren't really any laws to protect the few artists left." She shrugs. "What a shame. But there's not much we can do about it." -Rusty shrugs back "Nope. And so long as they're happy, I guess I get some consolation right?" he loooks at her, then back down, suddenly frowning. -Moonlight shakes her head. "That's the thing. I don't think they /are/ happy. I mean, how many truly happy people do you see on Cybertron. Not many I would warrant." -Rusty says, "Outside of the bars after a busy night? Not many, no, I agree." -Moonlight kicks her heels absently against the side of the peak she is sitting on. "But even they aren't really happy. They're just amusing themselves between fights or whatever else they do. This whole planet is a walking tragedy you know..." -Rusty nods "Or trying to forget, to make them think they're happy... silver lined clouds..." he pauses, looking extremely thoughtful for a moment. -Moonlight nods. "It's a cycle of killing and forgetting I guess. Or running and forgetting." She taps the side of her cheek thoughtfully. "I think the cycle needs to be broken. Cybertron needs to get out of its rut." -Rusty snaps out of it, and looks at Moonlight "Right. But how? Neither side is willing to back down or anything." -Moonlight nods. "And there lies the problem. But that's okay. Something has to happen sometime. I mean, the galaxy is a big place with lots of interesting things. One of those things could happen to Cybertron one of these cycles." She shrugs. "Or I could just be dreaming, but at least I'll have the fun of imagining things before another dose of reality." -Rusty hehs as he leans back, munching on another energon treat " Dreams... powerful things... able to change people for the good... or worse. Dreams, random things..." he stops himself suddenly. -Moonlight gives Rusty a questioning look. "Why did you stop? You sounded like you were going somewhere with that." -Rusty blinks and looks at Moon, then down again "Uhm... I lost it." -Moonlight nods. "Must be an artistic thing. Too bad, sounded like you had something worth saying. Maybe you'll find it again later." -Rusty chuckles "Something worth saying... that's a good one." -Moonlight arches an optic ridge in challenge. "You don't think you do?" -Rusty says, "It depends who you ask. to me, My words really mean a lot. But to others they're just ditties." -Moonlight nods. "Well, it's all a matter of opinion. I used to hear that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but opnions kill on Cybertron. Most things do kill here in fact." She stands back up. "But not me." -Rusty nods at Moonlight "I see. I try not to... I had to once, but it was me or him ya know..." -Moonlight frowns. "Yeah, I know. It happens a lot. I'm just lucky to have avoided it." -Rusty shrugs "I do feel kinda bad... but well, he was like, sick and stuff, so its probably for the better." -Moonlight sighs. "Well, as long as you feel bad, at least you're not being casual about it." ============================= Cybertronian News ============================== Message: 13/1 Posted Author Bulletin Wed Jul 16 CCN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *across Cybertron these bulletins and pamplets have been showing up* Cybertron, home of many, is falling to pieces. This isn't news to anyone, the war has been going on for a long time now. But it might be news to some of you that something can be done about it. Guns have had their place, and obviously they have failed. Cybertron needs something, or someone, to protect it from itself. Many lives have been lost, it is true, but the things that make life living are being lost as well, making surviving seem like an empty thing. Some of you aren't warriors, and protecting the lives of others is difficult. So do the next best thing. Join the Aesthetic Protectors and help preserve those things that make life worth living, the simple pleasures like art, dance, literature, music. Even if the war ends, without these things the planet will be nothing but a barren wasteland, making the victory hollow for the victors. It is our duty to preserve our history and heritage. *Of course, some of these bulletins have been disfigured by less respectful individuals, but there's enough of them around that most people will have seen a full version at least once.* ==============================================================================