gay robot problems

[thanksoptimus]

Who: Orion Pax and Starscream, and later Megatron.
Where: The space boat.
When: While Megatron is out talking to Baelhaet.
What: Orion is getting restless and Starscream is getting annoyed.
Warnings: Robots.

Normally, Orion would be extremely hesitant to wander the ship without explicit permission. After all, he's been the one locking himself in his room lately, more than anybody else. But with Megatron off on other business...he feels like this may be an opportunity to speak of his issues covertly.

With Megatron out, he suspects that Commander Starscream must still be in. He isn't in any of the obvious places, and so he finds himself approaching some of the more obscure storage locations.

He considers calling, but the idea is nebulously off putting. So, instead he just moves in closer, listening for sounds of other robotic life.

Comments

[starscheme]

If Starscream wasn't out in a more obvious location, it was because he was sulking. Currently he was in one of the (regrettably empty) cargo holds of the ship, attending to the crystal monstrosities that he'd obtained from that morose looking human boy a while back.

"Monstrosities" was really the only way to accurately describe them. They'd started out as mere gems but had hatched into biting, stinging, violent little nightmares that he'd been struggling to keep a tight leash on ever since. With the ship here now, he'd managed to fashion a makeshift kennel of sorts for the two of them, which was perched on top of a stack of crates. They were in there now, of course; one withdrawn into its turtle like shell, save for its barbed, stinging tail. The other, which looked something akin to an awful six-legged crocodile, was pacing restlessly back and at the bars and generally being as obnoxious as it could possibly make itself.

Starscream himself was leaned against the stack of crates, tapping away as a datapad in an attempt to distract himself from the aching of his bruised ego. Specifically, he was yet again perusing the local human message boards for any information on the crystalline lifeforms. They were honestly a handful, and surely someone must have figured something out about their origins that justified keeping them around like this.

However, it was getting difficult to concentrate when the leggier of the two kept occasionally attacking it's kennel-mate. Starscream finally snaps and pounds one fist into the side of the crate, flinging a stream of curses at the two of them in an attempt to break up the fight. Not that it mattered. They'd just be at it again momentarily.

[thanksoptimus]

Orion mostly just hears Starscream swearing at first, which is sort of alarming. Carefully working his way to the sound of the other robot's voice, he cautiously approaches the entrance of the storage room, prepared to attempt to placate the commander as soon as he enters.

He wasn't really expecting to see those weird crystal aliens upon entering, though, so what he really does is stand in the doorway with a look of dull surprise.

"Commander Starscream," he says, obviously baffled. "What creatures are these?"

[starscheme]

There's probably never going to be a point where Orion can enter a room without scaring Starscream momentarily senseless. Once he recovers from the initial jolt of fear though, he turns to him, scowling at nothing in particular. He was just in that bad of a mood that everything deserved his ire at once.

"These? A couple of life forms I came by not too long ago... from what I understand they are unusual on this planet; not native, or at the very least never seen before...." He growls and raps on the cage once more before looking at Orion again. "Can I help you with anything or are you just generally poking about."

[thanksoptimus]

Orion comes forward to get a closer look, obviously fascinated with the creatures - they are a type of life form he's never read anything about, which is rare. It takes a feat of will to not become totally distracted with them straight off the bat.

He forces himself to regard Starscream instead.

"I had a few inquiries," he says, not quite ignoring Starscream's scowling, but at least doing what he probably considers 'playing it cool.' The bot frequently seemed agitated.

"...But it would seem you have other things on your mind. Is there any way in which I could be of assistance to you, instead?"

[starscheme]

Poor Orion. If it had been anyone else offering... Well, Starscream would probably still have had a less than savory response to that, but the point was that he was feeling extra hostile towards Orion in particular, considering that he was half the source of his angst.

So it was with no small amount of restraint that he held himself back from snapping entirely and instead settled for a cruel, humorless laugh. "Unless you have some sort of brilliant insight into how to keep Megatron from scrapping me the moment he returns, I think my problems may be a bit outside of your field."

[thanksoptimus]

Scrapping him? Orion's immediate assumption is that Starscream is being dramatic - that Megatron will have some issue with his behavior, and that while a reasonable reprimand would occur, it wouldn't actually be anything close to actual murder. The thought that it might be more doesn't really cross his mind.

All the same, how upset Starscream seems about it lends his fears their own credence.

"I am sure that, whatever errors have been made, it would not warrant such harsh punishment," Orion says uneasily. It's hard to be reassuring when he actually has no idea what's going on.

[starscheme]

"Oh yes of course, I'm merely exaggerating," Starscream snaps with only the barest effort put into sounding convincing. He needed to get off this line of conversation immediately, he realizes, before he crossed the line and accidentally made Orion more suspicious. As aggravated as he was he still had a healthy sense of self preservation, and alerting Orion to the truth of the situation he was in could only mean disaster.

He takes a calming vent and sets the datapad down, willing his frame to relax just a bit. He had a duty to attend to here. He eyes Orion up, measuring his words carefully. "I... apologize. Any issues that I have with Lord Megatron are strictly between the two of us and not a topic for idle gossip or venting."

(As if he wouldn't gladly bitch and moan to another Decepticon if he had the chance. )

"Lets focus on your issues instead; you said you had some manner of inquiry...?"

[thanksoptimus]

It doesn't manage to be very convincing, and Orion worries about what might be going on that would have Starscream be so worried. Megatron hasn't shared any of his plans - by Orion's own demands, if nothing else - but it leaves him in a awkward position of not being entirely sure what's going on around him.

He frowns and looks sort of embarrassed.

"If the two of you are having...difficulties...it might not be of much use," he begins, tentatively. "Megatronus...Megatron, has been difficult to approach since my arrival here. While I understand the likely causes, I had hoped..."

He trails off. That might be a little too candid.

[starscheme]

"Had hoped what." Starscream kicks back against the wall again, one arm draping idly over the top of the kennel. The glare he fixes Orion with is an unimpressed one, and there's a mocking lilt to his voice. "That your history together might cause him to overlook everything and treat you more favorably in spite of your actions against him?"

POST BAELMEETING

[bigfuckinggun]

Megatron is not in a good mood.

Of course, he hasn't been in a good mood since he arrived on Earth, but he's absolutely fuming right now. He lands outside his half-wrecked battleship as if he's trying to take out his wrath on the sand beneath his feet, and if the ship were fully staffed he'd be aggressively hauling underlings out of his way as he stormed through the corridors.

He didn't send Starscream any kind of summons in advance. He was going to find him himself. And woe betide anyone else who got in his way.

[thanksoptimus]

Orion isn't really prepared in advance.

He'd worked himself up to try to deal with this as soon as Megatron got back, not having any clear idea of what his old friend had actually been out doing. But when he peeks into the hall at the sound of familiar footsteps, he is alarmed at what he sees, and he freezes there, any potential words dying prematurely.

It's not that he's never seen Megatron angry before. He's seen it plenty of times. But it was different than this - he'd been angry about injustice, or passionate about ideals. This is just...he isn't sure.

It seems foreign, and it scares him in a way he wasn't expecting.

"...Are you alright?" he says abruptly, just about regretting it the same instant he's spoken.

[bigfuckinggun]

Megatron stops abruptly, his scowl actually intensifying for a moment when he's interrupted before he realises who it is, and, with some difficulty, forces his expression into something less actively furious.

"Orion," he says, rather curtly. "Why are you not in your quarters?"

[thanksoptimus]

He doesn't flinch, but only because he's not the sort of person that has many tells. His frown deepens, though, as he settles into his place more firmly. He's always been able to reason with him before, in his way.

"I had been hoping to speak with you," he says, the simplest way to express it and the phrase he'd been keeping in mind for the last hour or so. "There is...much I don't understand about the way things are now. And I fear that the others on this ship have run out of answers for me."

[bigfuckinggun]

His optics narrow. This is far from an ideal time for this conversation – but he doesn't want to give Orion more time to stew in uncertainty over whatever it is that's worrying him. The last thing he needs is for the ex-Prime to start seeking his own answers instead of simply asking. The idea of putting him in stasis is beginning to seem appealing...

Megatron lets out a heavy vent, forcing himself to relax a little and let go of some of the pent up rage in his cannon. Punishing Starscream can wait a little longer.

"... Of course." He doesn't sound quite as open as he'd like, though, still itching to put a hole through someone. "You must still have many unanswered questions. If there is anything I can help to explain..."

[thanksoptimus]

This doesn't seem like an ideal time to talk about this kind of thing at all. And, with a sinking feeling in his spark, he realizes that it's almost certain that Megatron doesn't care about the answer as much as Orion does anymore. There's been too much time in between, that much is obvious.

"There...might be," he starts, and that is probably the first warning that these may not be the exact probing questions Megatron is expecting. "It's been...a very long time, from your perspective. I'm sure that you have moved on, but...for me, it has only been a matter of days..."

He trails off, and then falls silent, choosing his words carefully.

"I don't know who I am to you, now."

[bigfuckinggun]

Megatron stares at him in shock. He has no answer prepared for this. Indeed, he's been avoiding spending too much time around Orion Pax for this very reason. To be confronted with it directly...

Orion is right – this is the least ideal time he could possibly have asked – but it's hard to imagine there could have been an ideal time at all. It's with a similarly sinking feeling that Megatron realises the best he can do, for once, may be to tell Orion the truth.

He casts a quick scan up and down the corridor – this is not a conversation he wants overheard. When he looks back at Orion, his expression is solemn; distant.

"Neither do I."

[thanksoptimus]

It's a better answer than it could have been. At least he can be sure that, with Megatron showing uncertainty, it's very unlikely that he is being dishonest. If Megatron is still anything like he was on Cybertron, that wasn't a weakness in conviction he would make up.

"That's understandable, to say the least," he says, feeling himself becoming more reserved in response to his own emotional stress, not wanting to allow the chance of saying something ridiculous. "More importantly, I think, is the question of whether that is something you...still have any desire of finding out."

He glances up at him, solemnly.

"You were...are...one of my dearest friends. And I only wish to make things right."

[bigfuckinggun]

This is just getting progressively worse – it's everything Megatron has been doing his level best to avoid having to deal with ever since Orion stepped on board his ship.

Even as he feels Orion's words like a great, dull weight pulling on his spark, in the back of his mind he's thinking what a grand opportunity it could be, to secure his greatest enemy's unwitting devotion, to use that devotion to obliterate the morale of those who will inevitably rise to take Optimus Prime's place...

But he fears that would be a lie that even he could not maintain.

Megatron is rarely the first to break eye contact with anyone, but he looks away now.

"These are difficult times, Orion – now more than ever. Surely you understand it is hardly appropriate – constructive – to prioritise such concerns..."

[starscheme]

A summons isn't really necessary when you can hear Megatron's huge metal hooves stomping from all the way across the ship like a death knell. And to an old hand like Starscream, he knows immediately that it's not the sound of the usual confident, measured strides that his master normally walked about with. That was the sound of several tons of rage with a gun arm barreling its way toward him.

Starscream is still hovering around the storage bay of the ship when he hears it, organizing the meager amount of supplies they had collectively gathered. Panic seizes his spark and he practically drops the datapad he's using, entirely unsure of how to react. Does he face the threat head on? Does he try to hide and wait things out until Megatron has had a few minutes to collect himself? The conundrum has the normally jumpy mech positively wound up to snapping point, and he skitters back and forth across the room between the door and a conveniently inconspicuous corner like a nervous insect, unable to commit to a course of action.

[bigfuckinggun]

As it turns out, Megatron doesn't find him immediately. But while he seems more subdued than he was before, it quickly becomes clear he's no less angry – merely angry in a different way.

"Starscream..."

It's not the furious roar he was working up to when he landed, but a low, dangerous growl; whatever he's intending to take out on his second in command is, it would seem, deeper than the simple incensed frustration he was nurturing on his flight back from Mintaka Industries.

[starscheme]

Starscream tries not to wilt underneath that furious gaze, with mixed success. As Megatron enters he has his back to the door, and he turns around and does his level best to stand at attention as if he isn't fully aware of the warlord's dangerously foul mood. His hands wring nervously though, and he can't stop blinking, optics flitting about nervously.

"Lord Megatron! You have returned! I, ah... I'm assuming that your journey wasn't quite as successful as either of us had hoped it would be..."

[bigfuckinggun]

While Starscream can't look straight at him, Megatron's gaze is fixed on him, unrelenting.

"You traded the formula to the humans," he says, incredulous, "in exchange for emergency surgery?"

[starscheme]

"I-- Ah. Yes." He instinctively takes one half step back, optics wide in what he hopes is an innocent expression. "Did I forget to mention that part, it really must have slipped my mind while I was trying to fill you in on the important details of who exactly you were dealing with, which seemed a great deal more important than the circumstances of the trade itself..."

[bigfuckinggun]

"You gave this treacherous human scientist," Megatron continues, paying no attention to what Starscream's saying and if anything speaking over him, "the opportunity not only to synthesise artificial energon – a precious resource he now refuses share – but to intimately familiarise himself with Cybertronian anatomy? Breakdown's failure was bad enough, but at least, given the choice, he would have prevented it! Do you think at all before you act, Starscream?"

[starscheme]

"Lord Megatron, please, I would have never taken such an action if I thought there had been any other choice! Consider the situation from my point of view at the time," he whines, positively shrinking with fear. "Alone, stranded on an alien planet, trapped in vehicular mode? I had no idea at the time that there were any other Cybertronians on the planet, let alone a medic! My hand was forced by circumstance!"