stealth music [CLOSED]

[sufferist]

Who: Signless and Starscream
Where: A CONDOR holding center.
When: April 5th ish.
What: Both Signless and Starscream end up hunting for the Spark Extractor at the same time, resulting in shenanigans and possibly other things.
Warnings: Signless problems. Also, Starscream.

His work, as of late, has been a mess.

He hasn't been able to pull himself together, and as the nights roll by, he becomes more and more unsure of what 'normal' he's even trying to return too. His every thought seems to be punctuated with anguish and helplessness, and in the face of it all, he's still hounded by something in his head telling him that he needs to be serving his cause. That is, he needs to be taking revenge, in the way she had allowed him.

But he doesn't know why, anymore. He barely knows who he is. The competition between who he was before and what he is now leaves him feeling like no one at all, just skin and bone and irrational thoughts. And so when he receives some sort of alien signals on his scanner, him going out to check on it is more physical impulse than calculated desire.

He's clothed this time, at least. His body suit is back on, and he has his cloak, and he isn't leaving blood everywhere. The source of the beacon seems to be some kind of CONDOR holding center, presumably for apprehended villains - and more importantly, the things they bring in with them.

He slips in, using his small size to his advantage. He rare strays from the shadows, and when he does find himself encountering CONDOR guards, he dismisses them by causing them intense bouts of irrational fear. They flee, panicking and out of control, as the troll slips closer to the evidence locker.

Comments

[starscheme]

Starscream grunts in surprise, and he cycles out his blasters, though it'd be blatantly obvious even to a non-empath that he would much rather turn tail on the whole situation. Unfortunately, there is too much at stake for him to give into that instinct. Fear of having to report such a massive fuck-up far outweighs the fear of having his spark ripped out.

"You must realize that there is no way I can allow you to deliver that device to your empress."

[sufferist]

"You wouldn't be allowing me to do anything," Signless says, slowing his step though not quiet stopping, his gaze still lingering on him. He doesn't mind hesitating, though. He can't seem to sort this all out.

[starscheme]

"Allow me to appeal to your rational side then." No point in dancing around the issue any longer; the troll already seems to know exactly what this device is meant for, so this should reveal nothing new.

"If you leave the extractor with me, your kind ultimately loses nothing and gains the gratitude of the Decepticon army. A satisfying and beneficial solution for both sides involved."

Starscream's expression darkens. "On the other hand... If your empire possesses that device, the entire Cybertronian race lays at risk, and that is not something that I can abide by."

[sufferist]

"But what do you actually intend to do?" Signless asks, a certain firmness in his statement that suggests he doesn't have pointless for generic blustering.

[starscheme]

"I will return it to Lord Megatron. What he decides to do with it from there is his decision, not mine."

It's the most honest answer he can give.

[sufferist]

"No," he snaps, like some tier of his patience has finally been exhausted. He isn't furious, but he's frustrated, and he's sick of fucking around. "But what do you intend to do? If you don't get what you want. You won't stop me from leaving if I choose to. You keep talking, but you aren't saying anything."

[starscheme]

Starscream cowers for a moment, extremely leery of that extractor activating at any moment if the troll deemed it necessary.

But a thought occurs to him, that if he had any intent of using the device on Starscream, he would have done so by now. It's unlikely that he even knows how to use the damn thing.

Emboldened by this thought, he steps forward. "Who ever said that I wouldn't try to stop you? That's a rather bold assumption on your part." His eyes narrow and wings flare up in a threatening display. "I will not allow your empire to possess an artifact so dangerous to our cause."

[sufferist]

Starscream's path of reasoning is a frustrating one to follow, made even more so by his difficult to comprehend emotional cycles. Signless has never doubted that he'll try to stop him. He simply is confident that he won't be able to, when it comes down to it.

But that isn't the part of all this that is bothering him the most. Something about the situation, about the things Starscream keeps saying, is infuriating him. He's learned more about Cybertron's history by now and it's so...futile.

"So what?" Signless snaps, unmoved by Starscream's threatening motions. "So you intend to take it, so that your hand can be the one responsible for your own extinction? You speak as if your species is something you intend to protect, but from all evidence it is not."

"You are not a threat to her, and you never have been. She could just as easily sit back and watch you destroy yourself - you've brought yourself to the edge of extinction without any need for assistance, and now you dare speak to me as if your species is something you intend to protect! To give this to you would be just as much her victory as taking it, you...you hypocrites!"

[starscheme]

Starscream recoils as if he was just slapped, expression darkening with indignant ferocity. "Hypocrite? I would say that descriptor applies to you just as well. Here you are, doling out reprimands for acts of war that you have no part in, when you hold in your hands a device that could end an entire people and intend to turn it over to a mad woman! How dare YOU lecture me on the politics of my own species. You cannot possibly understand what Cybertron has dealt with over the millennia, it is a conflict an organic cant possibly hope to understand the nuances of."

He's emanating anger, but also confusion suppressed with a healthy dose of denial. "What I intend to do with the extractor after this meeting is hardly even relevant, because what I am doing right now is saving what is rightfully mine from the shame of being ended by a cowardly space witch and her gang of insects. Do you not wonder why, if we were of such a small threat to her, she would send you after such a tool in the first place? Your entire species survival against us persists only because you are smart enough to not engage face to face, so you cower and conspire to undo us from the shadows!"

He would have long since run away by now, were he still the same bot he was a few months ago, but recent events have left him even more terrified of failure and disappointment than he had previously experienced. "If I let you get away with that device and it makes it back to your master," he trails off wordlessly, expression furious but desperation is coming off of him in waves.

[sufferist]

He can feel that desperation, as well as that sense of denial. It's infuriating - how species make the same mistakes over and over again, and how nothing seems able to halt that force of momentum. The Cybertronians were as bad as his own people, if not worse. At least the trolls continued to live.

"You think that your individual might makes you worthy as an Empire, but that is a mindless delusion. Not when you're so shattered. Not when you'd more easily kill yourself then you would fight to defend against an outside force." He hisses.

"You call her a mad woman, and in nearly the same breath that you claim she and Megatron are alike. Would death at his hands really be so different, Commander?" His eyes narrow. "I can feel it in your blood. You're afraid."

[starscheme]

He is afraid, and visibly so, now. This conversation was getting more and more stressful by the minute, and it was really starting to fuck with Starscream in a bad way. It was beyond him why this troll was so ridiculously invested in Cybertronian business, and the fact that he thought that he had any right to criticize was incredibly insulting.

Starscream shrinks back and grimaces, red optics boring into red eyes. "Alright, so what is your point? You expect me to just cower here and let you be on your merry way then?" he snaps, hysteria rising in his voice. "If the only two options here are for one or the other of us to leave that device, do you really think that just because you've managed to talk around me that I will suddenly be okay with turning such a device over to you? You are sadly mistaken if that is the case."

[sufferist]

And that's when he makes his decision. With a soft growl, he raises the extractor in its glowing field, stepping towards Starscream aggressively.

"So be it," he snaps. "If you so crave your own devastation-" There's a moment where it isn't entirely clear what the troll is going to do. He's just staring at Starscream with a whole new intensity, like he's seen something he hadn't before.

He throws the device to the ground between them. The device lands harmlessly, skittering across the concrete. Signless had been fairly certain it wouldn't go off, but part of him wonders if it would really matter if it had.

"Take it," he says, the fire in his words burning down into something low and smouldering. "Take this to your master, and live another day."

[starscheme]

Starscream literally has no words. He's still recoiled, frozen mid-twist with his hands raised defensively against what he'd been certain up until a few seconds ago would his IMMINENT DEATH, and not a single quip or retort springs to mind. He just stares at the troll, slowly unwinding, brows knitted in concern and mouth slightly agape, like he cannot even begin to comprehend what the hell just happened.

[sufferist]

The troll just glares at him for a few more moments, before turning to flee the stronghold. He knows this isn't what she would have wanted. He knows that he'll be punished. He supposes that is the point.

[starscheme]

The silence seem to stretch on for minutes as Starscream just stands there and tries to make sense of what the hell just happened. Eventually he finally stoops to scoop up the device, delicately inspecting it with fascination.

It's a success, at least, but he still can't quite shake the disquiet that now grips at his spark.

He absconds from the premises before any CONDOR agents regain their senses and come to investigate.