| Lesson Learned | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 07 October 2016 |
| Location: | Rodion |
| Synopsis: | Swivel shoots herself in the foot. Literally. |
| Cast of Characters: | Blurr, Swivel, Quickswitch |
- Swivel has posed:
Pace pace pace. The little courier femme, who is becoming to be a well known face around Rodion these cycles, is pacing up and down the length of a street. She'll reach a junction, and looks as though she was going to turn, but then she freezes, hesitates, and turns around heading back where she came. And then after going a length her gait slows and she stops, looks behind her, shakes her head and heads back to the junction. Swivel has done this four or five times in succession, and is starting to get some incredulous looks by anyone stationary long enough to notice this pattern.
- Quickswitch has posed:
The beast has been sitting silently for some time, observing the passersby from his hidden position. Silent, patient, a sliver of curiousity pricks the beast's attention and he watches Swivel--though he does not know her name--repeat her course over and over again. Quickswitch wonders what she's doing, more than one facet of him, and his mind is full of overcrowding questions.
He transforms up into robot mode, suddenly deciding to approach.
The Sixchanger offers the femme a tense but ready smile, "Hey, you all right?" he asks in a friendly, open manner.
- Swivel has posed:
"Eeeeeh wot?" Whilst not necessarily jumping out of her peds, the little femme does seem a bit skittish as even a non-alarming approach causes the femme to startle a little. She glances at the mech, and for a moment squints her optics, taking her time looking him up and down. She tilts her head, as if somehow he'd look different, or perhaps more familiar, at a different angle. Then she tilts her head the other way. Finally, she relaxes her optics into their usual, fairly wide state. "Oh I'm fine, jus' tryna make up me moind 'bout somethin'." She glances towards the junction she kept stopping at. It led to several locations, but one of which was a firing range.
- Blurr has posed:
Blurr is doing a bit of pacing himself. Swivel was supposed to meet him at Caliber's Firing Range on the west side of Rodion, like three breems ago. He's getting impatient. Should he try to hail her? If there's one thing the speedster hates, it's waiting. Surely Swivel should know this by now. He 'paces' from one side of the reception area to the other in span of a few fractions of a second. Yeah, he's probably getting some looks too, but he's used to that sort of thing, given his prior and also his current reputation as well.
- Quickswitch has posed:
The Sixchanger takes on a sympathetic look, "Ah.. happens to me all the time.." he says with a smile, "Is that something I can help with..?" Quickswitch, at least at this moment in time, shows Swivel compassion, "I know what it's like never to be able to make up my mind.. Wanna tell me about it?" Quickswitch crouches so that he and the femme are optic to optic--he's very tall.
- Swivel has posed:
"Well..." The little femme looks about herself hesitantly. She looks at the turn off again and begins heading towards it, but she first catches Quickswitch's optic and jerks her head in the direction of where she is headed - a sort of unspoken invitation to walk with her. "A job o' mine took longer 'en I thought, 'n I'm s'posed ta be meetin' summun fer lessons. But e's so impatient e'll prolly get mad a'me 'en I finally get there. Not sure if I wanna do shootin' lessons while I'm anxious, so's I was thinkin', maybe not show up at all. Make up an excuse 'n bail. But 'en I thought, now that's jus' silly. E'll be annoyed, really is all, 'n it shoona effect th'lessons. But 'en I worry about the lessons not goin' well. Maybe I'm more scared of 'em goin' too well. So I kinna decide whether to be a good l'il femme and go, or skip the lesson and hoid sum'ere fer a while." The femme pauses at the street again, looking down it anxiously.
- Quickswitch has posed:
Quickswitch transforms to hovercraft mode and slithers alongside Swivel at her pace. Quickswitch listens to her explain just what's going on. The accent makes it more difficult understand her, but he thinks he has it right. He speaks in a clipped, almost annoyed tone himself, but it's not particularly harsh, "You ought not to keep your appointment waiting," he offers, "/Regardless/ of how you feel about it, you /did/ commit to this training, and so you have an obligation to complete it." The contemptuous aspect of the Sichanger transforms to robot mode, sighs and shakes his head.
- Swivel has posed:
The femme stoops, and looks outright ashamed of herself. "Yeah... I know... prollem is I'm a big coward. I'd LOIK ta be diligent and keep all me commitments an' promises." The femme looks up, straightens from her kicked-puppy posture, and lifts her chin. "Naw, yer roight. Keepin' commitments is a solid work ethic, an' if I wanner keep gettin' work, I otter carry that ethic in all parts o' me loif." The femme has actually, by now, turned down the street she kept pausing at. "I'm self employed ya see. Well, I 'ope not to be for long. Been pullin' jobs with an engex import/export business, 'opin' they'll take me on fer good. An' I kint flake loik rust if I wanner keep that job." The femme forms a fist and pounds her chestplate with a solid clang. She puffs out her chest a bit and squares her shoulder, transforming from the anxious, skittish waif from moments ago to confident femme. "Dunno why I was lettin' my mind go in those silly little cycles. I'm gonna turn down that street an..... wot wot wot?" The femme glances up. She's standing right in front of Caliber's. "Oh.... I'm 'ere. I dinna even.... I'm 'ere! Golly."
- Quickswitch has posed:
Quickswitch smiles and places an enormous hand on Swivel's shoulder, "I'm sure you'll do fine," he says warmly to her, moods and personas shifting, "You know what they say about courage? It's not about being fearless. It's about powering through your fears," he gives the femme a gentle nudge towrd the entrance, "We were all rookies at one time. I'm Quickswitch. Now, go on and show 'em what you've got!"
- Swivel has posed:
"Oh....." Swivel turns her head, glancing at the land on her shoulder, then follows the arm up to Quickswitch's shoulder, and then finally to his face. Once catching his green optics, she smiles and softly tilts her head. "Thanks Quickswitch. Ya seem familler some'ow... but I'm not gunna worry 'bout it. I see lots o' folk, but they dun a'ways see me. Bein' small and insignifigant 'n all." The femme gears herself up and opens the door, peeking into the lobby to see if Blurr is there, and to see how agitated he looks.
- Quickswitch has posed:
Quickswitch gives Swivel a reassuring look and a thumb's up! "You've probably heard of me. I'm the Autobot Sixchanger. Easy to get recognized," he chuckles, "Don't worry. I'll be right here."
- Blurr has posed:
Yep, Blurr is in there, and he does look pretty agitated, as expected. Waiting isn't his thing. But, he does look happy to see her. "Swivel!" he exclaims as he rushes up to her very abruptly. "I was starting to get worried!" He looks up at Quickswitch. "Oh, hey Quick. What're you doing here? I was just going to give Swivel some pathblaster training."
- Quickswitch has posed:
"Hey Blurr!" Quickswitch greets the speedster, "Was just prowling the area and saw, Swivel, is it? Decided to accompany her here," he shrugs with a grin, "Sounds fun. I'm not really doing much of anything. Mind if I watch?" The contented Sixchanger asks, transforming to beast mode and back.
- Swivel has posed:
When Blurr rushes over to Swivel, she tenses up, momentarily going on the defensive. However, seeing that he's more glad to see her than mad, she eases up a bit. She offers up a nervous giggle and shrugs, glancing off to one side. "Got tied up doin' a job," Swivel explains. Which is the truth. "Sorry fer makin' ya worry..." The femme trails off, and glances between the two for a moment. "Um... guess I dun mind if someone watches. I'm terrible skittish with things that, well, shoot."
- Quickswitch has posed:
Quickswitch gives a knowing chuckle and transforms into his cannon mode, "Like me?" he gleefully jokes with the courier and shows off one of his modes, before transforming back to robot mode, "I'll give you moral support. Now get to it!"
- Blurr has posed:
"Oh yeah? What kind of job?" Blurr asks, starting over toward one of the lanes that he'd rented out, which is actually in a private section of the range. Probably pricey, but that's where all of that prior stardom pays off. "Somewhere far away from here, is that why you were late? I mean, you could've just commed."
- Swivel has posed:
"I coulda commed, but I was in a dead zone for a while. 'en I thought about sendin' you a comm when I was on m'way, but.... I 'ad a job in an old tunnel. I was sent ta retrieve summin's cache they coona get. On me way i was worryin' 'bout lotsa stuff, wunna in the soundest 'eadspace, yanno? BUt I'm 'ere now, tha's all tha'matters, roight? Roight..." Swivel chatters as she follows Blurr to his private lane. "Erm..... so....... um..... 'ow does this work 'en'ow?" Swivel glances over her shoulder at her self-proclaimed morale support and then looks to Blurr as she gets out the blaster he'd given her.
- Blurr has posed:
"Uh-huh, and where was this?" Blurr prods further, though he manages to sound like he might think she's just making up excuses. They enter a circular room with a window at the front of it, through which can be seen a long corridor lined with a series of micro-projectors. There's a control panel just below the window. The speedster taps the holoscreen, and the window slides open. "Let's see, we've got several holomatter sims, or drones if you don't prefer virtual stuff."
- Quickswitch has posed:
Quickswitch gives Swivel another broad smile and a thumb's up. This should be interesting, his mind decides.
- Swivel has posed:
"The un'nerground junction tha' used t'lead ta Nyon's underground network. Spent a lotter toim there in th'past. Hmmmm come ter think o' it, I seem ta remember you settin' up bombs in 'round there." Whoops. Even the jolly little femme gets in her snipes from time to time. "Eh.... um.... feel kinner loik I'm back in primary programmin'. I figger sims are th'better way t'start. I kint 'urt 'enthin' if I mess up big toim, roight? Roight." Swivel peers at the panel, but lets Blurr do all the operating. For a robot, she is not overly technical.
- Blurr has posed:
"Nyon? Why were you going there? Nothing there but rust and rubble." Blurr frowns at the mention of the bombs of the past. Did she really have to bring that up? He sighs, sounding frustrated. "Look Swivel you know I was just following orders. Besides they weren't without good reason. -And- you know, I was just trying to protect you." Is he even remembering what happened correctly? Those were...difficult times for him.
"Anyway." He scrolls through the different scenarios on the control panel. "Holomatter it is." With the touch of a button, several virtual drone targets materialize on the range about ten feet away from the shooting window, floating lazily about in circular patterns. "Well have at it, let's see if you can hit one."
- Swivel has posed:
"An' I was followin' orders o' my client," Swivel responds in an acridly sweet tone. "It's 'ow I get paid. I already told ya wot I was doin' - retrievin'." Swivel sounds a little frustrated as well, but it appears of short duration when she locks her optics on the holomatter drones. "Erm.............. do I use this or some kinner... sim weapon?" Swivel asks, holding up the blaster.
- Blurr has posed:
"Yeah but retrieving -what-? There's -nothing- out there." Blurr repeats. "And you're not military, you shouldn't have to follow instructions that involve endangering your own life, it wasn't what you signed up for, was it?"
He nods toward the range. "Yeah, you use that. That's what this is for, so you can get used to using that weapon. Now go ahead, make sure it's pointed downrange, charge it up, flick the safety off and pull the trigger. Remember what I told you about being too tense."
- Swivel has posed:
"Look, my job 'ent yer business. I'm sorry, but it 'ent. I'll share personal stuff with ya, but what I do fer m'job is as off limits as some o' your work for the Autobots," Swivel says, trying remain calm and assertive. "Discretion IS wot I signed up for. And I know the tunnels well 'nuff that they aren't that dangerous t'me." Oh my... is this... arrogance? From Swivel? Or just misplaced confidence? The femme then looks over her shoulder towards Quickswitch. "Is Blurr this snoopy with other Autobots, or am I jus' special?"
Swivel holds up the gun, holding the grip firmly with both hands. She carefully spaces her feet, one in front of the other, and rocks a little as she shifts her weight, as if checking her own stability. Swivel watches the circular pattern of the holomatter targets, and tries to aim where she thinks one will be rather than where it is when she pulls the trigger.
- Quickswitch has posed:
More than a few thoughts flicker across the face of the Autobot Sixchanger. Curiousity and doubt among them. How to answer that? Quickswitch doesn't really know the speedster well enough to say, so he just smiles and shrugs toward Swivel and Blurr.
The assault unit watches Swivel with a practiced optic, noting minute weaknesses in her stance and aim. For it, it is all, for lack of a better word, within its very nature. Innate. Instinctive. The assault unit does not speak, but keeps a keen and ready optic on the small courier.
- Blurr has posed:
Blurr eyes her with a measure of suspicion. Is she trying to hide something from him? What is she -really- doing out there? "I was talking about before. With the bombs. Whatever you were carrying it wasn't worth getting blown up for. That's all I'm trying to say." He sighs again, glancing at Quickswitch. "I'm not being snoopy, I'm just worried about you, that's all. I told you that already. I care about my friends. Right, Quick?"
BLAM. Energy discharges abruptly from the barrel of the weapon, and she does actually manage to hit the drone she was aiming for. The holomatter crackles and dissipates. "Not bad, see you're learning. Now try to get them all." Blurr encourages, pushing another button the console. The projections float backward a bit, now they're 15 feet away.
- Quickswitch has posed:
Quickswitch nods to Blurr. He knows the speedster that well, at least, "Right!" Quickswitch affirms. He transforms randomly and back, cheering Swivel on with a hearty shout and a grin. Quickswitch is in a good mood, thank Primus.
- Swivel has posed:
Luckily the recoil isn't much, and Swivel accommodates for it with a sturdy stance and rolls her hip with the movement to keep her balance. "Yer doin' that thing with the suspicious face, Blurr," Swivel says without even looking at him. She can just sense it. Or anticipate it. "Eh, back 'en when Nyon was standin' the idea o' refusin' ta do my job was jus, well, silly. Ya got a function, an ya do it. That's 'ow it was in those days, you otter know that. Today, I jus' need ta make sure I gots a good rep, an' that means takin' on some tougherjobs. But, eh, I specialise in tunnels."
Swivel continues watching the drones circle lazily in the air, holding her gun. A few times it looks as though she is about to pull the trigger, but then stops, as if already knowing it would be a bad shot. "'Enway, I'm 'ere now, so let's focus on that." The femme finally hazards another shot.
- Blurr has posed:
"You're not even looking at me." Blurr points out, even though she's right. But he dismisses it quickly. "Listen, I'm not here to argue with you over what happened in the past, okay?" he replies, sounding a bit annoyed. "All of us have made mistakes, that much is clear. The only reason I ever say anything to you about stuff is because I care about you because you're my friend--" he nods at Quickswitch's confirmation. "See? Yeah, he's known me a while, too. So--yeah."
Again, Swivel hits the holomatter drone. It too flickers and dissipates. "Well gee Primus I'd almost think this one was too easy for you." Blurr remarks with a grin. "Let's see, something more challenging." The floating drones disappear, and are replaced by--people. Well, holomatter ones, anyway. These are farther away and moving in more erratic patterns--walking about, transforming and flying around here and there. Of course, they look like a bunch of generic-frame Decepticons with faceplates, though Swivel does happen to know someone who looks like that. But it shouldn't bother her--right?
- Swivel has posed:
"Yeah I'm not 'ere ta argue either... but ya cooda left thin's alone an' jus' accepted me 'splanation fer bein' late rather 'n keep askin' 'bout it and lookin' all... suspicious." Swivel's shoulders sag momentarily and she lowers the blaster and looks over her shoulder. "Sorry yer stuck 'earin' all this squabblin', uh, Quickswitch. It's 'ow ya kin tell we're close, by 'ow much we argue." The femme offers up a somewhat deprecating laugh and turns her attention back to the simulation.
The femme frowns slightly at the change in pace. "Oh... well I guess mebbe since I was 'ittin' all the tagets I otter try somethin' 'arder... but it was noice 'ittin' things. Not so sure.... I'll be..." the femme squints at the depictions of face-plated Decepticons. But she makes a comment in another direction. "Yer boss wears oner those faceplates, dunne? I think I'd prefer summun tha' I could see smilin'. Though I guess there's nuthin' t'smile 'bout leadin' folks in a civil war 'n all." Swivel raises her gun and stares at the targets. Then the femme hesitates, her expression becoming blank. She's gripping the gun too tight again and her arms begin to shake. "Um... jus' 'ow long am I gunna be doin' this? I mean, today? Dinna really think much 'bout 'ow much toim..." the femme trails off.
- Quickswitch has posed:
The sixchanger continues to watch. In some respects, he's like Blurr--growing antsy with just sitting and watching. A plethora of emotions erupts within the Autobot. Why here? Why now? he wonders as a bellow of rage makes its way up from inside him, "C'MON!! You can do better than THAT!" As soon as he says it, his hands clamp up over his mouth, "You came here, you FINISH!!" Quickswitch is living up to his name today. So much for moral support.
- Blurr has posed:
"Yeah but, I can't just -do- that. I care too much." Blurr protests. "And I did not give you a suspicious face, you weren't even looking at me so you're just making assumptions, which is totally not fair. So -sorry- for -caring-." he says wryly.
He steps back a bit and folds his arms, waiting for her to shoot. "As long as you want to, though you've barely even used up a single charge so I thought you'd want to use up more than just two rounds."
He chuckles at Quickswitch. "Right, that's one way to motivate someone, I guess. If you're bored you can go use one of the other firing lanes." he suggests.
- Swivel has posed:
Swivel had just lowered her blaster to try and relax her arms a bit when Quickswitch suddenly yells at her. This causes her to tense. All of her. Including that finger on the trigger, which curls inwardly. There is a blast of energy and an exclamation from Swivel. Immediately following Swivel has tossed down the blaster and is hopping around on one foot with a large grimace of pain on her face. "Owowowowowowowowowowowow my foot!" Moral support indeed.
- Quickswitch has posed:
"Me bored?" Quickswitch smiles contentedly, "Nah. It's just--Swivel!" he shouts, concern deep in his vocalizer, "I don't know why I said that.." a guilt-ridden expression dominates his face, "You okay..?" Quickswitch is up and leaping over in Puma mode to see to Swivel. He transforms, looking awful and feeling worse, "I'm so sorry.. I get that way sometimes.. How's your foot? Can you stand on it..?"
- Blurr has posed:
Blurr sighs, shaking his head at what has just happened. "Always remember to put the safety back on if you are going to point it in a direction you don't intend to fire in." He moves to examine the damage to Swivel's foot. "Better get that medic friend of yours to have a look at that."
- Swivel has posed:
"I-it's okay," Swivel struggles to offer assurances. She takes a moment to peek down at her foot. "Really... could be worse." Swivel sticks out her foot and carefully moves it this way and that to make sure no connections were severed. "Just gunna be a pain t'walk on, but can be walked on," Swivel says. Swivel glances over at Blurr. "Sorry.... I dinna think I was gonna be off target for long." As an afterthought Swivel bends down, while maintaining her balance on one foot no less, picks up the blaster and puts the safety on. "There. Jus' glad droppin' it dinna make it go off again an' 'it oner you. I'd feel real wretched 'en." The femme looks at her foot again. "Yeah... I'll def ge'that looked at."
- Quickswitch has posed:
Now that Swivel's status has been assured, Quickswitch, dejected, turns and slowly walks out of the firing lane and out into the street. Lost in a mire of thoughts and emotions that have yanked him from the outside world, "..."
- Blurr has posed:
"Don't feel too bad Quick, it wasn't -all- your fault." Blurr reassures the sixchanger. "She's just jumpy sometimes." He smirks slightly at the comment about accidentally shooting him. "Are you slagging me? You think I wouldn't be able to dodge something that wasn't even aimed in the first place? Ha, not in a million vorns. Well I guess that will have to be it for today, then. Get that ped fixed and we'll meet back here again same time next megacycle, okay?"
- Swivel has posed:
The little femme shakes her foot a little, then winces. She gingerly puts her foot down, and eases weight on to it, until it hurts too much, in which she quickly shifts weight back to her other leg. She does a little balancing act between pain tolerance and stability. Once she is satisfied with a good balance, she looks over at Blurr. "Oh, but wot if I 'it Quickswitch...?" Swivel asks. "Well I din, so I guess it's not really much ta dwell on." Swivel nods to Blurr. "I'll try not t'be late. Or t'be so argumentative. I guess I jus' wun in my best mood... sorry 'bout all that."
- Blurr has posed:
Blurr shrugs at her apologies. He watches her little balancing act, then holds out a hand for her to take. "Here, I'll get you to Deltaran, yeah?" he suggests.
- Swivel has posed:
Swivel has no qualms about taking Blurr's hand, and she smiles appreciatively. "Yanno, tha' jus moight be a good idea. Let's go."