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“Drift:
Report to the Rod Pod bridge immediately for debriefing.
- Ultra Magnus
Second in Command, Chief Military Officer, Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord”

Ultra Magnus had caught glimpses of Drift during the fight, but had lost track of him early on and had only run into him again when he found he in the Rod Pod tending to Arcee before Ratchet’s arrival. With the Commander in the hands of a real medic, Magnus was determined to restore order to their small team. He had a suspicion Drift had been avoiding him, since he was reporting less and less frequently and with increasingly vague answers since Rodimus had left. Not to mention he was sure Drift knew more about Rodmis’ disappearance than he was letting on, but without proof there was nothing Magnus could do aside from follow Arcee’s lead and not pursue the issue.
He was waiting for the smaller bot at the appointed location, finishing up some work on the main

Drift has been trying to avoid Ultra Magnus lately, but that’s easier said than done with so few of them. All of the frequent calls and late night outings with Rodimus over the past month haven’t done much to ease his nerves or his guilt. Now both the fight and the aftermath have left him weary – just ready to be done with the day. But the debriefing comes first, and this is one encounter he can’t hope to evade.

Once he enters the interior of the Rod Pod, the other bot is already waiting for him. But that’s no surprise, really. The message had said “immediately” and everything.

“Ultra Magnus, you called?”

Magnus finishes of what he was working on and turns to face Drift, arms crossed loosely.

"Drift, I'm going to need a full report of your activity during the latest battle with the Decepticons."

His resolute expression falters for second, showing a flash of concern. No one got out of that fight well, and he was not surprised to see Drift looked about as worn down as everyone else. True, he wasn't particularly fond of Drift, but with so few of them here, he was worried about everyone,

"However, if you sustained any major injuries, we can continue this conversation after you've received medical attention. Once Ratchet is finished helping Arcee."

There’s a hint of surprise on Drift’s face in response to the offer, but it doesn’t last long and he shakes his head as he approaches.

“Well I’d like to say that it’s nothing major, but I should still have it checked out at some point. Either way, I’m still better off than Arcee and Orion, so they should take priority.”

Even if he left now, it’d still be a while before Ratchet could get to him. And then he’d just be sitting around, getting anxious from waiting. Drift’s not in high spirits, to be sure, but if nothing else, he was well enough for this. Might as well report what he remembers now, while it’s still fresh.

Magnus' expression didn't change. If it had been anyone but Drift he might have been a little offended by the surprise, but as it was he couldn't really expect anything different. But as long as Drift wasn't dying, they could follow protocol. He covered his mouth with a closed hand, clearing his vents quietly.

"Yes, well, in that case please commence your report."

Straight to the point. Right.

Drift crosses his arms and tilts his head – gaze straying off to the side as he tries to collect his thoughts. The whole thing was a mess, honestly. And it had all gone by in a flash.

“Let’s see...I engaged Airachnid and Knock Out. Airachnid ambushed me when I arrived on scene…said that she wanted the Forge too. But not enough to stick around and risk getting injured.”

Not much to say about Knock Out. They fought. He screwed up. Got injured. But there’s nothing vital enough about it for him to need to explain that to Magnus.

“I also spoke with a human. A girl. She said she’d met with others like us. Named Knock Out and Orion, actually.”

Ratchet had assured him Arcee would be well enough to speak with him, but Magnus was still extremely quiet and careful as he entered the room. It wasn't that he did not trust Ratchet to have her fixed up, but even he had not gotten away from that fight with Megatron without some difficult injuries. Arcee had looked terrible when he got back to base, and while he’d done his best to handle as many issues as he could while she was down, he knew she would be wanted an update on their situation.
He knocked on the door frame gently as he came in, “Commander?”

Arcee's been recovering steadily since Ratchet worked on her, but she's had a lot on her mind, too. Ratchet had certainly given her plenty to think about. She's sitting up in the medical berth by now, at least -- gingerly, because even with Ratchet's expert work, the welds across her abdomen are still fresh. She looks up as Magnus knocks, looking weary, but alert.

"Magnus." She nods, sitting up a little straighter, or at least trying to. "Come on in. I think we're overdue for a debriefing."

"Of course." Magnus crossed the room in a few strides to stand next to her berth. He glanced over her healing injuries with a bit of an unreadable expression, lips pursed. It was good she was recovering so swiftly, but this shouldn't have happened to begin with.

"Commander, may I ask what transpired during the fight before my arrival? Orion was rather distracted when I inquired earlier."

First she'd had that unpleasant turn of conversation with Ratchet about what had happened with Orion, and now she has to relive her embarrassing defeat at the hands of Megatron. It's not been a good day for Arcee's pride.

She tries not to look too resigned when he asks, but she does slump a little in the berth, her optics dimming. Honestly, the memory is embarrassing -- and not just because she lost. She knows she'd let anger take over that day, clouding her judgment. Hell, it's probably why Megatron crushed her so easily. Arcee vents out slowly, her gaze dropping to her lap. It's hard not to feel a little defeated, stil

"I met Starscream at city hall," she says, a little terse. "I didn't want to break our agreement with Legion, but he made it clear he wasn't willing to negotiate, so I attacked him to keep him from getting the Forge. Orion was there, too, but he wasn't participating in the fighting. I was doing fine, though -- I had Starscream beat -- but that's when Megatron showed up." She clenches her hands into fists. The more she thinks about it, the more embarrassing the whole thing becomes in retrospect. She should have been better than that. "I...engaged Megatron. It didn't last long."

Magnus looks a little disappointed by not surprised by the news. They'd gone into the fight intending to do anything it took to win, he couldn't exactly criticize her for prioritizing Megatron as a threat. Though it was starting to look like all they did was manage to wind up in a worse situation than they started.
"It would have been best if you had allowed Starscream to make the first move. This will complicate matters moving forward, if we want to maintain a presence on this planet."

With a large sigh, he hands her a datapad he had brought in with him, open to a particular correspondence record. He doesn't seem particularly pleased with it.

"I received a response from CONDOR. They are requesting access to our personnel logs, as well as the current location of all Autobot members on Earth."

"He wasn't going to make the first move, Magnus. Starscream was gunning for the Forge and nothing else -- and the Decepticons knew we'd be forced to engage them in order to stop them. They forced our hand."

Arcee's expression only darkens when she looks over the correspondence record, her optics dimming. She vents out a frustrated sigh, lowering her face into her hand.

"Primus, it is not a good week for the Autobots," she mutters. "We can't afford not to cooperate with the local authorities. We're in a bad spot as it is, and if we can convince them we're on their side, we might be able to get one up on Megatron. So..." She hands the datapad back to him, grimacing. "Give them what they want -- within reason. Personnel logs and locations are one thing, but don't hand over any sensitive information. I think I can trust your judgment on where to draw the line."

If Ultra Magnus doesn't look impressed by her excuse about Starscream, it's because he isn't. As a commander on the field she should have been in control of the situation. But he would never express such shortcomings aloud. Not right now.

"Of course, I'll attempt to expedite this process as much as possible." He reaches a hand out to take back the datapad.

"As I mentioned, they requested the location of all Autobots. You wouldn't happen to have received on new information on Rodimus' whereabouts, have you?"

Man, this is just turning into a cascade of things Arcee doesn't want to talk about. At the mention of Rodimus, Arcee sinks into the berth wearily, cycling air through her vents. She doesn't look at Magnus.

"No. He's...still AWOL."

"Have you considering allowing me to question Drift directly about this? I'm certain he knows something about Rodimus' situation he isn't telling us." He pauses, his expression taking on a look of mild disgust, "I imagine an ex-con like him would have no qualms withholding information from superior officers."

He taps the datapad with the back on one hand, "I know we previously discussed pursuing Rodimus would be a waste of resources, but it may influence our relationship with CONDOR if they discover we are unable to keep track of our own troops."

Arcee's gaze snaps back to Magnus and she sits up, quickly -- too quick; she feels a sharp ripple of pain through her midsection but she ignores it, her optics blazing.

"Drift is an Autobot," she snaps, a snarl at the edge of her voice, "and if I find out you've been interrogating him like he's some kind of prisoner, then I will take disciplinary action, Magnus. Drift made a mistake, and he came clean. I'd trust Drift with my life -- and I trust him to tell me the truth."

She's still raw from the conversation she'd had with Ratchet and she's angry, angry that Magnus would even suggest something about one of their own, let alone someone she trusts as much as Drift. She gives Magnus a hard look, trying not to vent hard from the strain of bolting upright like that.

"Am I understood, Magnus?"

Magnus straightens up, a little taken aback at her hasty response. The insinuation that he would go against her orders at this stage in their mission was frankly insulting.

"Commander, I have not taken any action beyond the normal demands of my station, per your orders, but I urge you to consider the suspicion of Drift being completely unaware of Rodimus' whereabouts considering their history. The two have frequently collaborated on similarly questionable excursions and it would be remiss to ignore the precedence here."

On some level, Arcee knows she's crossed a line here, that she'd gone just a little overboard, but she's still nettled, still agitated. And beyond that, she doesn't want to think that Drift's still lying to her. It just...it doesn't make sense.

"Yes, I know. And it's apparent that that's what happened here, again. But we already found him out and he came clean about it, Magnus. What reason would he have to lie to me twice?"

Edited 2014-08-04 03:48 (UTC)

Ultra Magnus had asked Orion to meet him outside their small base of operation. He’d done everything he could to contact CONDOR short of locating their headquarters and visiting himself. With the others debriefed, and Ratchet looking after Arcee, Ultra Magnus had decided it was time to address a glaring weakness in the Autobot’s forces. Orion’s notable lack of combat skills.
He was just putting the finishing touches on a meticulously assembled stack of empty crates and damaged energon cubes he had salvaged from the ships.

Orion doesn't really know why he's here, but he meets Ultra Magnus where requested with little complaint. It's much easier to deal with this bot now that he is certain that he can trust him, but even so, he spends a few moments staring at the stack of boxes before making his presence obvious.

Primus, it is nice to not be limping everywhere anymore.

"Ultra Magnus," he says. "What did you need me for?"

"Orion. Thank you for being punctual."
He's not really surprised by Orion's reaction as he strides over from the stack. He had omitted the reason for this meeting on purpose.

"While I appreciate you getting Arcee to safety and defending her during the recent battle with Megatron, your attempt at engaging him was rather ineffective. I don't know if that is a reflection on your choice or skill, but The Decepticons will no doubt exploit it, and we already know they will not hesitate to kill you if that are given the opportunity."

He gestured toward the stack, now clearly meant to be a makeshift target.

"While I intend to uphold Arcee's promise allowing you to leave the base at will, I must say I am concerned for your continued safety. Before I am comfortable granting you permission to leave the base, I would like some assurance you that would be able to defend yourself, if need be."

Edited 2014-07-15 20:01 (UTC)

Aw noooo.

Orion's hesitance towards the idea is immediately apparent on his face. It's not that he can't rationally see how necessary it is in such a dangerous climate, but his experiences on this planet thus far have put him off of the idea even more than before. He still remembers the damage he did to Rodimus and Arcee, and he doesn't want to repeat that. Ultra Magnus had been there - he has to understand-

"I...am hesitant to participate in combat," he says, hedging around the actual problem. "I would be better served by simply running away."

"Both Megatron and Starscream have aerial alt modes and are on planet, they could easily outrun you, and what would you do if you find yourself in a situation where that is not an option? What was your plan if I hadn't arrived to allow you and Arcee to escape during this last battle?"

He's trying not to sound too critical, but those are some really glaring problems with Orion's strategy.

His plan was probably to shoot Megatron once or twice more and then cry, but he's not going to get into that. He knows perfectly well that Ultra Magnus is right on both counts, and it shows in the defeated expression on his face. He just feels so outmatched, though, that it just seems...pointless.

And not being outmatched is an uncomfortable feeling on its own.

"...You are right. I...I know that there are many situations that such a plan would be useless." He hesitates for a few moments more. "I have felt at ill ease using my weapons since...the situation you and the others rescued me from, in the beginning."

Magnus folded his arms loosely, looking rather humorless at Orion's response. He knew Orion was stalling but he didn't think talking it out was going to help much here. He certainly wasn't any kind of psychologist.

"Was your hesitation a response to your actions being controlled by that entity, or due to a lack of skill? If it was the latter, it may help to remember that most of us were not soldiers initially, even some rudimentary training is better than nothing."

Edited 2014-07-17 21:21 (UTC)

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ORION

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