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 They were in there now, of course; one withdrawn into its turtle like shell, save for its barbed, stinging tail.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?"

[thanksoptimus]

If Orion were more of the sort to wear his emotions on his sleeve, that pointed malice probably would have gotten quite a reaction out of him. Instead he finds himself more startled than angry, and his hurt only shows in the form of furrowing eyebrows.

"They were not my actions," he says. "Megatron has insisted as much himself."

[starscheme]

Starscream just shrugs dismissively, still looking unimpressed. "I was just trying to fill in the blank that you left me. Was I off base? They're your emotions and doubts, not mine."

[thanksoptimus]

He's silent, at first. When he doesn't know what to say Orion's standby is to just say nothing until he's certain. He's not sure if he should be angry at Starscream or not.

"Much time has passed," he finally says. "I understand that things will have changed. I simply hope for the opportunity to set things right."

[starscheme]

"A noble sentiment. We seem to have a common goal then, don't we," Starscream murmurs, though the mockery in his voice still isn't quite gone. He shutters his optics for a moment, as if he was meditating. It was true that they sought the same thing... it was just that Orion was clearly in it for moral reasons, whereas Starscream was simply looking out for his own well being.

"At any rate, forcing Megatron to interact with you is a lost cause. He hasn't exactly been in the best of moods, you see, as I'm sure you already guessed for yourself."

[thanksoptimus]

He's already suspected, it's true. But he hasn't asked, because he hasn't felt that it was his place to know. But at this point...

"What has been happening?" he asks, carefully.

[starscheme]

"Hmmm what hasn't happened? Between the Alternians giving us grief, Breakdown's condition, and being low on energon, our prospects of establishing a stronger presence on this planet are rather bleak at the moment."

Starscream puts on his best pandering, guilty face and looks Orion right in the eye: "I did what I could to remedy the energon issue at least, but Megatron has... taken issue, shall we say, with my handling of the situation, and has gone out to take matters into his own hands. But I fear he doesn't possess the subtlety needed to successfully broker an agreement with the local organics."

[thanksoptimus]

Even Orion realizes that subtlety isn't really Megatron's bag. He still believes in the bot's ability to persuade, though.

"If he is still as I remember him, he has always had a very...forceful personality. In a way that I have often seen work to his advantage in social situations."

He hesitates.

"Who are the Alternians?"

[starscheme]

"What? Ah... I suppose contact with them must have come after your time. Odd. They are an organic alien species... Horrible to deal with really, though we have had shaky alliance with them in the past. And the least of our worries, for the time being."

[thanksoptimus]

Okay, well, whatever then. He'll read up about that later, since it sounds interesting. But for now, he falls into silence again for a moment, contemplating his next move.

"At any rate...I disbelieve that force should be required for Megatron and I to discuss our situation. He has never been one to fear conflict."

[starscheme]

"But what about you. Obviously you fear approaching him, or you would have simply done so by now."

He taps his claws on the top of the kennel, causing the creatures inside to skitter around nervously. He's eyeing Orion like a ferociously angry hawk, and though his posture is relaxed it belies the tension in his words. "What is it exactly that you want from Megatron, anyway?"

[thanksoptimus]

Orion blinks, that question totally stopping him in his tracks. It's not really something he's ever contemplated, because from his perspective the answer has always been obvious.

He realizes only now that it wouldn't be for Starscream.

He doesn't say anything, and then continues not saying anything for quite a while. In the end, he only inclines his head away from Starscream's glower, looking faintly embarrassed.

[starscheme]

As the silence stretches, Starscream stares, uncomprehending. It isn't until Orion turns away that it dawns on him with sudden clarity, and he feels almost foolish for not catching on sooner.

His initial reaction is fear, above all else. This complicates things even further in a manner that he is not prepared to deal with. Starscream's own position amongst the Decepticons was tenuous enough without the potential of Orion influencing Megatron, possibly making him waver in his cause, hovering overhead. It was unlikely, perhaps, but a possibility nonetheless. One that Starscream wasn't willing to leave up to chance.

He lets the silence stretch for a while longer before finally speaking up once more in a sympathetic tone, in what he hopes is a convincing effort towards politely changing the subject.

"You asked me if Megatron had changed in all the years of war. I did not lie to you. He's the same as I have ever known him. If you are having trouble reconnecting with him... perhaps you should consider what has changed in your own perception of him. Different perspective can bring different things to light, after all."

It was one of his more convincing acting efforts as of late, if he did say so himself. And with the added bonus of his words being completely honest. With any luck, this could start enough of a rift to make Orion visibly doubtful and set Megatron back on track to regaining his senses.

[thanksoptimus]

Orion frowns more deeply. He's relieved that Starscream appears to be having some compassion for the situation, but this kind of thing was honestly difficult and frustrating enough for him before the whole being possessed for thousands of years thing. This level of complication is unprecedented.

"What do you mean?" he asks, uncertain but earnest and inexplicably trusting in Starscream's advice. "Why should my perception have changed of him when...when I haven't been here to see it?"

[starscheme]

"Well it sounds to me like you just answered your own question right there. It's not Lord Megatron that's gone and changed," he says matter-of-factly. "It's you. Your guilt, your doubt.... they put a whole new spin on things, now don't they? Make you aware of aspects of his behavior that you've never noticed before?"

Starscream waits there for Orion to draw his own conclusions, his blank expression hiding the smug satisfaction he feels beneath.

[thanksoptimus]

It's hard to comprehend what Starscream is getting at at first - but it inspires him to think on it, which is more than enough to start bringing up latent worries. He's certain that what's been done to him is a complication, handling the guilt he feels has been difficult at the best of times, but that would be the cause of his own hesitation, not Megatron's.

"I have hardly had the opportunity to notice anything, thus far," he says with a note of stubbornness, mostly because inwardly he is trying to figure out what he's missing. He's now convinced that it must be something.

[starscheme]

If Orion was confused, then Starscream was succeeding. All he had to do was be painfully cryptic and stir up the Autobot's latent inquisitiveness, and the rest should take care of itself. If Orion started asking questions again and poking around where he didn't belong, Megatron would be forced to take action whether he wanted to or not, and Starscream would be proven right. It was a win/win as far as he was concerned.

"Well I'm sure locking yourself in the bowels of the ship certainly isn't helping that situation, now is it?" He says with a pleasant smile.