{Incomplete
Log. We’ll just have to jump in mid-conversation. L }
Fleet
shrugs a wing. "Which works in my favor, at least." He pushes himself
off the table.
Arachnae
runs a program to process the data. "Indeed it does. Granted…" She
smirks, "Having such a fearful reputation in medical has its
benefits."
Fleet
answers, "I... can only guess."
Arachnae
chuckles as she pads about, tidying the facility with absent movements.
"When you're a small medic, having larger gun happy warriors slightly
worried about what you *could* do to them while repairing them prevents you
from getting mauled when outside of medical."
Fleet
makes a noise like a burst of static in a speaker, a robot's snort of contempt.
"Anyone stupid enough to do something like that to the person who might be
in a position to repair him deserves whatever you might be able to do to him,
anyway."
Arachnae
headtilts… and smiles… She's noting this Seeker for future reference. "The
empire fawns over its vaulted warriors. Medics are simply a necessity.
Something small to torment when there isn't anything else to do. For, one has
to leave medical sometime, yes?" She turns to straighten a tool tray out,
re-arranging welders and a few small clamps in a neat line.
Fleet
shakes his head. "A moronic viewpoint commonly held doesn't make it any
less moronic." He leans against
the table and looks at the ceiling. "In all honesty, it sometimes seems
like the more widely held a viewpoint is, the more likely it *is* to be
moronic."
Arachnae
smiles, "Indeed. I must agree with you on that."
Fleet
looks over at Arachnae, still leaning back, head still tilted. "I hate to
say it, but sometimes I think that most of my kind got bored and skipped out of
the assembly lines before the common sense routines could get programmed
in."
Arachnae
looks over her shoulder at Fleet as if startled. Wings flick out and she turns,
chuckling. "Oh… I could get to *like* you… yes."
Fleet
looks a bit worried. "Uhm… should I take that to be a good thing, or a bad
one?"
Arachnae's
smile shades enigmatic, "That is for you to determine." She goes back
to absently cleaning medical. She
continues to clean up medical, which, she *could* delegate but why bother.
Fleet
looks over at 'Nae. In his experience, it was one of those unspoken rules that
you don't stand around doing nothing while a superior worked (unless it happens
to be electronic "paperwork"). "Is there anything I can help
with, C- Arachnae."
Arachnae
looks up, looks over, "Yes, there's a mop and bucket in the closet, might
as well clean up properly."
Fleet
nods and stands up straight, then walks over to the closet, opening it up and
retrieving the bucket. He fills the
bucket with water as hot as it will go, just shy of boiling if he can get it
there (because it's not as though it would be a discomfort to him).
Arachnae
wipes a table down, "Degreaser's in the cabinet to the left of the hose
assembly, use about half a bottle. Floor’s looking rather scuzzy."
Fleet
nods. "Yes, C- Arachnae." He pulls out the degreaser and pours it in,
as instructed.
Mixmaster
trudges into Charr's repair bay, trumpet up to his lips, and he's playing a
casual tune. It's not manic like it usually is, just a casual ditty, though
still quite experimental.
Fleet
looks up and gives Mixmaster a *very* strange look. "Erm… just *what* is
that thing?"
Arachnae
winces at the tooting tuneful tech meandering in the bay and whip turns about,
"I'll have you *not* play that around me, Mixmaster. That is…" Optics
flash, wings mantle, "A rather…" manners Arachnae, you know them, use
them… "disconcerting sound and very distracting."
Mixmaster
lowers his trumpet as his face drops. "What… what is this? WHAT IS THIS?
This is a Ceremonial Constructicon trumpet! Played at all coronations, as
support fanfare during all the Monacus Olympics, or one of the many other cases
in which trumpeting is required." If he had eye laz0rz, Fleet would be a
melted puddle of goop about now. Arachnae says her piece, to which Mixy shrugs.
He doesn't put the trumpet back up to his mouthpiece… not entirely, anyway.
"I'm sure I know a song that's good for background music, Arachnae,"
he helpfully offers.
Arachnae
shakes her head, "Well we're not having a celebration anytime soon
Mixmaster. Put the… trumpet away and lend a h and. We need medical cleaned."
Fleet
asks Mixmaster, "If that's the case, don't you make it a bit less special
by playing it now?"
Fleet
dips his swab into the bucket then wrings it out so that it's only damp, then
begins cleaning. As a low-robot-on-the-totem-pole, cleaning is something he
gets a lot of practice in.
Mixmaster
tucks his trumpet under his arm, and thinks quickly to get out of medical bay
cleaning. "Well, since I can't help improve morale here, I'm sure that I
can help with the research side of things. Did you discover anything with the
floor polish yesterday?"
Arachnae
lifts a brow, "Mixmaster, put the trumpet /away/ and start cleaning. We
can talk while we clean." Wings snap back behind her as she moves to tidy
and sort another medpack. "Have to find a way to test the theory,
Mixmaster. Me…" she searches for a word, "zotting, for lack of a
better term to test resistance to varying electrical charges does nothing.”
Fleet
stops swabbing just a moment. He had thought that was the excuse Mixmaster had
given for running off when the whole "volunteer" business came up,
but wasn't brave enough to smart off to a Constructicon.
Ah,
Zotting. Now, More than ever, Mixy is aware of why Arachnae is in charge of
MSE, and not the other way around. Mixy angrily puts the trumpet on a nearby
bench. "Fine..." he sighs, before accessing his own internal chemical
tank, and giving the large medical rooms floor a generous coat of degreaser.
"Do you have any form of fire or head based weapons?" He asks of
Fleet.
Fleet
shakes his head. "Just a standard array of lasers and such."
Arachnae
sidesteps as the stream of degreaser is shot out, and continues to work on
sorting out tool trays. "One spanner, a dozen clamps, set of hex wrenches,
some polycarbonite resin… Hmm… Missing three scalpel emitters." She pads
over to a cabinet to get what's needed to complete the tray-set.
Mixmaster
hmfs. "Nevermind, we'll manage here." After layering the degreaser
and giving it time to react, Mixy finds a high-pressure hose with which to
blast off most of the gunk, and rinse it down one of the many drains in the
floor. "So what do you mean, does nothing? Does that mean the floor polish
is good, bad, or inconclusive?"
Arachnae's
wings shift, "Inconclusive. We need an infected test subject and several
non infected in order to utilize carrying densities of covering materials for
determination if the contagions effectiveness is delayed or prevented by any
countercovering."
Fleet
looks at his poor little over-ruled swab, then shrugs, using it to get up
what's left of the water. He squeezes
the water out as he finishes up in silence, having little to contribute to the
technical discussion.
The
dousing over, Mixy points to a few of the more stubborn stains that are still
there. He points at them and then looks at the seeker again. "Use that mop
to take care of what's left. The water and solution should have loosened it,
that mop will just make it fall off on contact.” Mixmaster, on the other hand,
transforms. A small emitter beam appears from the top of his Cement Truck cab,
sending a red thermal beam out. It's at a low charge and doesn't harm the
surrounding equipment, but it helps to heat up the water, enabling it to dry a
lot faster.
Mixmaster
leans down as his legs fold up backwards. He falls down frontwards as he
completes his transformation into a Green Cement Truck. His Cauldron begins
rotating once again.
Fleet
suppresses a smirk and shakes his head slightly, heading over to the spots
indicated.
Arachnae
collects materials and tools that would be needed for medpacks and continues to
clean and sort out until each medtable has several sterilized and prepped.
Fleet
frowns at a particularly stubborn stain. He heads over to the closet and grabs
a cleaning cloth, then returns to the spot, kneeling to apply a bit of
"elbow grease".
Cement
Truck <Mixmaster> transforms, and the floor is now clean. "Well,
that's that." The Alchemist says as he wipes his hands, satisfied with
another jorb well done. "Don't tell me we're going to clean every room
here until all of DHQ is clean, though."
The
Cement Truck's cab folds down and splits in two, forming Mixmaster's legs and
feet. His wheels and part of his sides shift out into his arms, which push
himself up. The Constructicon lifts himself up onto his feet and looks eagerly
for something to smelt.
Fleet
groans at Mixmaster's comment, thinking that Arachnea might *not* have thought
of that if he hadn't suggested it.
Arachnae
turns… and smiles at Mixmaster, "Should I have to tell you?"
Mixmaster
grunts. "NO YOU SHOULDN'T. Honestly, I'm not interested in making this the
cleanest headquarters that we /don't/ use." He picks up his trumpet again
and starts twirling it in his finger. "Besides… it would be a waste of my
abilities."
Fleet
looks up. "How else are your abilities being employed?" He dumps the
water in the bucket down the drain and returns cloth, swab, and bucket to the
closet.
Arachnae
smirks, folding her arms over her front, "Now now, Mixmaster, unless you
want to… volunteer to be my testmech for various substrates…" Optics gleam
emerald.
Mixmaster
nervously chokes, before blurting out quickly,
"ButIthoughtthatIsaidthatwecouldhavemehelpbymakingthechemicalsnadbeingthesubjectwouldnotwork..."
Arachnae
shifts wings behind her just so.. to allow the panels to cast shadows on her
front. "Oh… I can handle mixing basic chemical covering compounds, my
dear… dear… Mixmaster." She takes a step closer… "Now… Volunteer? Or
clean? I wouldn't have anyone say that I didn't give you… a choice…"
Fleet
doesn't say anything, as this is one conversation where he does *not* want to
draw attention to himself. He retrieves his cleaning cloth and container of
solution, demonstrating through actions that he, at least, is *perfectly*
willing to volunteer… for cleaning.
Mixmaster
subconciously takes a step back.. Arachnae has a size advantage over him, and
with her wings shifted as they are, that doesn't help. The two options make it
easy for him. Finally he asks, trying to maintain a curious tone… “Okay, I'll
bite. What /exactly/ do you need to experiment on?"
Arachnae
smiles a delighted little smile, "I need someone brave and tough to stand
steady while various substances are used to cvover them… And I test the
resistence to varying levels of energy emmisions."
Mixmaster's
hopeful face drops. "I'll go find some more cleaner." He grumbles,
before snatching up the Emergency Trumpet once more, and trudging out of the
repair bay.
Arachnae
receives a radio transmission from Airwolf.
Arachnae
transmits a message via radio.
Arachnae
transmits a message via radio.
Fleet
studies his unoffical commander for a moment. "C- Arachnae, er... would
you mind if I asked you something?"
Arachnae
has turned to finish tidying her trays. She looks over a shoulder, wing
shifting down so she can see over the arch, "I am always willing to
entertain queries, Fleet. What is it?"
"You...
look rather like a Sweep, but obviously aren't." Although it's phrased
like a statement, Flee's question is still implied by the tone of his voice.
Arachnae
blinks… and turns around, peering at Fleet for a moment, "Oh… Yes."
blink as she looks at herself a moment. Having gotten so used to the general
non-commentary about her form, this seems to catch her slightly off guard and
elicits a faint smile. Softer somehow, "An ongoing experiment of my
own." She lifts a brow, "To some, I am considered a Sweep by…
training and nature."
Fleet
cocks his head. "Why? If I may ask."
Arachnae
leans against a table, "Why the experiment?" she return queries.
Fleet
says, "Well, sure, that, too, if you want to tell me. But what is it about
you that causes people to consider you a Sweep?"
Arachnae
studies Fleet for several moments and comes to the determination that he's been
well out of the proverbial loop. Which elicits another odd, softish smile.
"I spent several… terran years under their tutelage in an attempt to learn
more about them. In turn, after I was with the pack for such a time, others
began to consider me a part of the hunters, even though I was not able to truly
acclimate to the levels at which they function, I still endevored to go the
distence."
Fleet
nods thoughtfully. "That makes sense, I suppose. I generally avoid them,
myself, to be honest, and am usually successful, but then, I serve a different
function to begin with and thus would have no need to be… driven thusly."
Arachnae
chuckles, "You would continue to be wise if you avoided them. They… do not
like Seeker design as a general rule." She smirks then shakes her head,
"Driven they are, that is for certain."
Fleet
nods. "That much I have heard."
Arachnae
shifts her wings, "They consider me part of the pack despite my… formal
resignation as a hunter. Medical operations needed my skills in that area far
more." A wry smirk, "And proper sweeps seek no rank. Thusly, here I
am." a wave of a taloned claw. "And this is how I look."
Fleet
considers that. "For as long as I've been around, I've never even
considered the idea of changing my form. It's true that some might consider me
a bit… overly concerned with my own continued existence, but even for that,
I've always been content enough with my function. This is as I was built, and
this is as I serve… I'd just like to continue serving as long as
possible." He shifts his wings a little. "Strange as it sounds, this
is even my factory determined paint scheme. Certainly, the randomizers are
weighted towards blues and darks, but the point is, they are random, and every
once in awhile you're bound to get the odd colors."
Arachnae
studies Fleet a moment, then laughs softly, not harshly, just a soft chuckle
really. "I have no idea where I was created, but that's neither here nor
there. Wasn't ever a seeker and was forever interested in how to make things
work… better for lack of another term. This is where damndable curiosity will
get you." Wing pans out and shifts slightly.
Fleet
nods, leaning against the medical bed, cleaning cloth still in hand.
"Well, usually a quality like that is included because it helps further
one's function, although I have met individuals whose personalities, for whatever
reason, contrasted sharply with their purpose." He mades a brief chuckling
noise, probably the first laugh 'Nae's heard from him. "I've heard it
argued that I'm one."
Arachnae
smiles again and absently tugs a tool tray over to sort while she talks. Fingers
flex and pick through the stack of pieces, "Well, I was a medical
researcher. Now… " A shrug as she looks over and watches Fleet… chuckle.
Optics dim behind her visor, "I've always been oddly fond of the Seeker
design.." Wry smirk, "Fortunatly for the Seekers my attention has
been captured by the Sweeps."
Fleet
opens his optics a bit wider and straightens up again, saying, "If, erm, I
ever get into a civil conversation with one, I'll be sure to thank him."
Arachnae
chuckles as she sorts and sets the tray aside, "Probably for the best that
you didn't mention it to any of them. They are…" frown, "Much
different from studying Seekers. Think differently, react differently in
general."
Fleet
shrugs a wing. "Ah. Well then it's probably just as well that the
likelihood that I'd get into a civil conversation with one to begin with is
next to nil."
<OOC
comment tossed in while editing…> Oy! I had no idea! But this did
prove to be rather an amusing case of literary irony later on. J
Arachnae
laughs, optics brightening… "Ser Fleet, I am begining to think you are
well worth redirecting my studies to more original designs."
Fleet's
optics widen again. Damn! He had let himself relax too much. Worse, he knew
full well that at this point 'Nae wasn't going to be fooled if he tried playing
dumb. The best current means of escape? Busywork! "Er, no need for that,
C- Arachnae," although he half felt he should address her as
"Commander," as he had a funny feeling he had done something
"terminally stupid." "I mean, since, as you said, you know us
well enough that you could rebuild one in your sleep, and such. At any rate, I
suppose I should apply myself to something useful, like cleaning." With
that he grabbed his container of cleaning solution and headed for the door.
Arachnae
headtilts, considers.. "Damn…" muttered to herself as she turns to
look medical over, "I think I scared him off. Ahh well… I can always talk
with… er… Damn…" She mutters to herself as she settles into a seat and
goes over the scans from eariler.