| abstract
| - Goa peers over the edge of Slipstream's nosecone, in mid-flight over the freeway. "Remind me why I'm not on your routes again?" As much as he tries to hide it in his tone, he still digs his heels in a little when he looks down. But it /was/ a nice change not being way out on the border. "What the..." His optics zoom in on a car with ... darting patterns that look more natural than they ought to. He chuckles to himself knowingly. Slipstream chuckles softly to the question, replying honestly, "Because I'm being punished by Megatron for not showing that beast femme what for when she questioned the Empire." a pause at your 'what the', "See something?" she inquires. After idling, the small car resumes its journey, quickly merging into the flow of what barely qualified as traffic on a slow cycle. Perhaps this was in response to becoming aware of the potential trouble soaring above. Perhaps it was just part of a routine. Or perhaps, as the small car waits for there to be enough room to make a risky U-turn to start heading in the opposite direction, the small car had a change in plans. "Remember that femme from the wash?" Goa keeps a hawk's-eye on Swivel. Turning around? It's not like they were going to shoot at the traffic. Well ... some seekers might've. But they wouldn't've. Of course. Right? "... slag it, know what?" He tugs lightly on Slipstream's far wing. "Follow that greenish car." Slipstream replies to the question, "Yes of course I do." Then a hm at the wing tug, "All right, but only because you asked." she intones, she wing over carefully so she doesn't dislodge the grounder hanging onto her seeker form. Then she dives down a bit as she tracks back to where the femme is visible. Swivel had been heading west. But the small car races along until it reaches a junction, taking the turn at an alarmingly high speed, one set of wheels almost lifting off of the ground at a precarious tilt, bullied by inertia. However, the turn is just barely made, and the small car is heading northwards, and continually picking up speed as it goes. Goa tugs upward slightly, now. "No need to dive-- hhhh." He leans down again for a better look. "Spotted you..." Decisions, decisions. Respect her business, or perform a 'random inspection'? Maybe she didn't even know who was in the air. "Alright, think she spooked enough. Let's back off." Slipstream notices exactly where the femme is fleeing and agrees, "Would be tricky to fly underground with you on board." she pulls back up to her original height above the ground. "At least you are getting better about hanging on when I move suddenly Gooey." As suddenly as she had set out and began to accelerate, her speed declines. She isn't screeching to a halt per se, but it's an abrupt enough change in speed to be immediately obvious. The small car comes to a stop just before the entrance to the underground which once served as a subway. Upon stopping, the small car unfolds into the all too recognizable femme, who then turns around, looking behind and up. Goa is hanging onto Slipstream's nosecone with his head upside down, at this point, looking straight down. "Why is she..." He shakes his head and sits back upright. Femmes, all crazy as what an unmaker makes. Except for-- he mentally curses the spark-link. And about the spark-link. For a little while, stewing. "... why didn't you rip Chimera apart, anyway?" Then he keys his radio, on a private frequency... "No one ever teach you not to run from turbo raptors?" Slipstream banks again as if she is preparing to circle to see if a target will come back out of hiding, which is exactly what she is doing. "No references for tactics in attacking or even her form so taking her on would have been a gamble on my part. I should have torn into her though, but she made a good point." Swivel walks out from her cover, right on the cusp where the light hits versus the hooding shadows. There, she remains still, watching the sky for a quiet moment or two before she receives a radio transmission. The Femme doesn't react visibly, still standing quite still, and watching. Silence. Stillness. Then comes a reply to Goa's radio. "Oh, I know well that they give chase to anyone who runs. However, unless it's well worth it, none would bother going underground." Goa replies, "Don't let us interrupt'cha whatever's worth it, then." The green mech snickers about something unseen. "How can that be difficult? You're a seeker. Fly circles around her 'til she stops moving." He knows it's not so dense an end ... but he's curious about this 'point'. Folding flush against the jet's back, he continues, "What is she doing?" Slipstream sighs softly at Goa, moving slowly downward where Swivel is standing. "Inside the tunnels? And lose my wings and probably get majorly damaged? Yeah that sounds like so much fun.. not." she mutters. Swivel slowly crosses her arms over her chest, still staring up at the nearing air vessel. She taps her foot a few times. Then she brings a hand up, touching the side of her helmet lightly. Her high pitched voice comes over the radio waves once again. "No interruption. In fact, I might just be getting paid to stand RIGHT here. RIGHT here.... are you seriously on that thing, Goa? Didn't peg you as one who'd like heights." Goa radios, "I don't." "Hmmmm." Goa's optics flicker. "She's up to something. Land there." He unhooks his legs to sit close on Slipstream's back. No particular fondness for getting caught when she transforms-- "Right... Chimera's not really the open-sky sort, is she." Slipstream transforms, her body shifting around the grounder until she is in robot form. She hovers down until her feet touch down. "Likes heights though." she tells him. Swivel allows for a very amused smile to crawl across her face, almost expanding past the plausible reaches of her faceplate. Her optics dim for a moment as she watches Slipstream transform and touch down, but she remains where she is, arms folded, and feet firmly planted. Her optics brighten again and there is just a subtle lift of her chin as she regards both Goa and Slipstream, but says nothing. It looks as though she might burst into a giggle at any moment. "Really." Can't help but wonder how she learned that. Goa hops off of Slipstream's shoulders as they transform into, well, shoulders -- he's still not quite managing his landings yet, and ... tumbles back plate-over-heels a couple of times before scrambling to his feet. He glares-smirks at Swivel, then Slipstream, then brushes off the armor he just got waxed. "Alright Swivs. What is it?" Slipstream watches Goa tumble away and regain his feet, shaking her head a bit in bemusement. Swivel shrugs her shoulders and cocks her head to the side, her smile taking on more of a smirk this time. She watches both of them very keenly. "What is what? Can not a femme just stand here for her own amusement?" Goa looks back over at Slipstream again, in the middle of crossing his own arms. One set of fingers strums against his tire. "Is the might of the Decepticon air-force amusing to you, Swivel?" At the end, he bursts out laughing. Yeah, even he can't keep that tone up. "Alright, you know I'm a curious mech. Where you headed?" Slipstream walks up to Goa, still lightly shaking her head a bit. He finds the oddest things amusing. "You are also an annoying mech when you wish to be Goa." the femme points out. Swivel shifts her arms. They unfold and then instead find a perch on her studded hips. She likewise, taps her fingers along her hip, still wearing her smile. Her optics light up and she glances over at Slipstream. "Oh I don't think he is terribly annoying. Quite a pleasant fella, really," she says. She then slides her glance over to Goa, her smile widening devilishly. "I'm not headed anywhere. I am staying right here." Goa holds his hands up at Slipstream. "Hey, I take no responsibility here. She's the one that goaded me down on the comm." Comm? "'Sides," He looks over at Swivel slyly, "Owe you for that time somethin' possessed you to visit Poly. Course, if you want me to just fly off again..." One of his antennae clicks forward, then back again, his optics lids slowly drooping to halfway down. Slipstream puts her hands on her hips, looking between Goa and Swivel with an expression that is part confused and part bemused with a hint of amused thrown in there. "You didn't know the early Goa then Swivel, and be thankful for that. You wouldn't want to meet that Goa." Swivel giggles, bringin a hand up to cover her mouth, her optics narrowing in glee. After this spell of mirth seems to pass, she drops her arm down to her side, while the other hand had remained faithfully upon her hip. "Goad? Oh, please, Goa... you're over analyzing again. Although I can't say that I want you to fly off again. I dare say YOU don't want to fly off, and I bet that you welcome a nice break where your feet are firm on the ground." Swivel shifts her weight a little, causing one of her hips to rest at a slant, giving the illusion of one leg being slightly longer that the other. "Hmmm.... early Goa you say? You will have to tell me ALL about how much of a pest Goa used to be! Oh!" she pauses. "By the way, I just bought this really CUUUUUUUTE item! Let me show you!" she says, her hand slipping behind her, and whipping out what appears to be a petite purple pistol. Slipstream hms at Swivel giggles and seems amused by what Goa said. "I don't think Goa knows what he wants in either regard Swivel." she notes in a humored tone, "And I'm sure I could tell you all about the most annoying Con ever to grace the Empire.. that being early Goa." then she tenses at the gun. "Uhm..." "Early Goa? What the slag, Slip?" Sure, sure, assume he has no idea what he's gunning for. He never does. Just rub it in. Of course, it wasn't WRONG. "Does that make me late Goa?" He mocks a frown. "I was confused when I got to 'bertron, anyone'd be." Some movement catches his attention from the corner of his optic -- he whips his nose aside to focus on Swivel, particularly on what she's holding, antennae clapping shut against his helmet. "Yyyeeess...?" Swivel holds out the small gun in both hands, then grasps it in her right hand, hovering her left hand under the muzzle. The pistol is pointed at neither 'con, although she's tempted to give them a scare, a little prank is hardly worth getting shot with a REAL gun. Her finger slips onto the trigger, and she then presses it. There isn't really much of a noise as a small, slightly pink hued energon goodie falls out the muzzle and into her open palm. "Now... isn't that just adorable?" she says then pops it into her mouth. "Yum. Want one?" Slipstream can tell by that tone that Goa is not altogether amused by the whole 'early Goa' thing. "How quickly he forgets that he annoyed me to the point that I wanted to kill him rather than put up with him anymore." she muses softly, mostly toward Swivel. She cocks her head a bit at the goodie dispensing weapon, "Good way to get yourself shot." Goa adopts a not-quite-sure hunching posture, hands out to the sides. Swivel had no reason to shoot at him, but well, she WAS messed in the head ... on the other hand, that was, uh, a pretty dinky gun-- Oh. Oh, alright. Better let all the Decepticons know about the new menace going around: 'Tiny purple pistols! They are dangerous! Cower before them!' Of course Goa wasn't being cowardly! He was acting self-preservatively! Like he always does! Jumping into croc-infested waters, and stuff. Upon seeing the weapon 'fire'... the Decepticon's face twists up a bit. A bit more. Then he bursts out laughing, his knees nearly giving. "Where the slag did you get that?" He wheels over to look over the thing. "Yeah, Slip's right, but ..." He looks at the seeker and points at the gun, mouthing "this is the best". "Course I want one." Goa holds out his hands. Swivel nods her head. "Well, yes, there is the danger of someone mistaking it for a real gun and thinking I'm being hostile and shooting me before I shoot them, but boy would they feel dumb to learn it was full of yummy goodness, and not noisy death." She beams brightly. "As for Early Goa versus late Goa, I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it, but you should know I'm not easily annoyed, so I bet even early Goa and I would get on smashingly! Er, unless early Goa got easily annoyed as well as BEING annoying, because then I do not think it would work out quite so well. But then, there's no really indication that Goa likes me much to begin with, but just tolerates me because tolerating people is better than hating the world and racking up enemies. Of course, if that were the case, I wouldn't mind. I get along with a lot of people who don't care much for me." Swivel manages to get all of this out in rapid succession, before pauses when Goa ogles her find. She points the pistol into Goa's open hands and fires twice, sending out two goodies into his awaiting hands. "But, then, I give him goodies, so I know where we stand." Slipstream smiles a bit at Goa's reaction to the 'weapon dispensing goodies'. She inclines her head toward Swivel at her words, "I see, well then I guess I won't tell you about our first few meetings where he annoyed me, Swivel." she notes with that smile remaining, then a shrug about him not liking her, "Goa likes more than he lets on at times, so I wouldn't bet on him not liking you.. in fact I am sure it is quite the opposite." "D'aw, you can still tell me about horrible horrible early Goa whom you did not rightly like!" she says, an almost pleading sound in her tone. "Naw, I don't actually doubt that Goa likes me, but I never assume anything because I've met loads of mechs who can seem like they like you, but really they're just using you. Some can even act simple like Goa to throw off suspicion!" she chirps merrily. She shoots out another goodie into her hand and pops it into her mouth, letting it quickly dissolve before speaking again. "'Sides, Goa went and read my very personal private journal. I guess some people would call that annoying, so I suppose he still is a little bit of a pest. I don't mind though. Not at all. I--" she cuts off a moment, her smile faltering and her optics widening a little as thought startled. She then makes a sheepish little giggle and holds up a finger. "One moment!" she says, then pivots on her hee, hunching over, and touching a hand to the side of her helmet. She's quiet, but seems to be doing... something? Her lips move silently, but are blocked from view of either 'cons while she faces away from them. Goa puts his hands on his hips. "Not gonna let me live that one down, are you?" He grins, fangs visibly pointy as ever. But his antennae point forward unevenly-- Simple? Is that what... oh, slag, he may as well be, up here. Eh. Not like anyone needed to know he had some smarts to him -- that always ended in him getting beat up anyway. "Hey, nothing personal, Slip. I was gathering intel. ... and, well, I was curious. But mostly I was gathering intel." He grins at Swivel again, only to notice her huddling away for some reason...? The mech rises on his boots, trying to look over her shoulder, whatever good that's supposed to do. Swivel spins around again, wearing her smile as widely as ever, even showing off some of her flat dental plates. "Neeeeee..... right then! All done!" She rolls her shoulders, one after the other, and then looks between Goa and Slipstream. Her optics dart to and fro rapidly for a while. "Heh... well he's an information leech so I don't put things like that past him. Think of it like knowledge kleptomania." She continues to glance between both of them. "So... what's the deal with you two anyway?" Slipstream sighs a little at Goa, "No probably not, as for gathering intel, what exactly were you looking for in her personal thoughts hm?" she asks the grounder, arms crossing over her canopy. "What do you mean what's the deal Swivel?" she asks. Swivel shakes her head. "Precisely! Comrades in arms is one thing, but to let someone ride on your back like that is another... and for he who does not like heights to trust you not to throw him off..." she shrugs a little bit. "You good friends? Longtime war buddies? Some other kind of bond or kinship?" she asks. She pauses a moment, holding up a finger for silence again and turns around. Again, nothing audible comes from the huddled femme. After a moment, she turns around again. "Sorry, there won't be ANYMORE interruptions." Slipstream peers hard at Goa, frowning a hint. Then a nod to the flying thing, "Actually I suggested he learn a version of jet judo so we could use it in battle. We are still practicing it, hence why he was riding on my jet form as he was, simply practice." she explains, then clams up about the other questions. Goa, still facing away from Slip, rolls his optics. He'd trusted Swivel with what he thought was his most damning secret, on Cybertron at least. How would this make any difference? "Yeah, I practice with all the other seekers, who take kindly to having a lumbering wannabe-tank on their shoulders. Not a problem." He grins. Knows Slip can't see it -- makes sure she can feel it. "And Swivel? Can I pry again, or does that put me over quota this decacycle?" His antennae clack flop against his helmet suddenly like they're tired. Swivel tilts her head to the side staring at Goa and Slipstream. "Oh... that's kind of neat! Nothing beats teamwork." However, her question wasn't entirely answered. She decides to let it slip for now. For now. On the other hand, here is Goa asking to pry. So she crosses her arms over her chest. 'Yes, go ahead, what is it Goa?" Slipstream sighs a little at Goa, "Honestly... give it a rest." she mutters, sounding just a bit annoyed that he pushes things. Goa slowly, slowly starts to move his arm up to tap at the side of his head where his comm is, symbolizing his question. "Aw, but Slip." He leans backward a bit to turn around, making the widest-opticed, most innocent face he can muster, "I thought that's why you liked me." Being in the underground makes Goa a little stupid. But it's pretty obvious he doesn't care. Swivel watches Goa's motions and stare at him for a while. Although she doesn't say "well?" expectantly, her expression tells all. However, upon realizing that his gesture IS his question she does say "Oh! Oh that. Radio transmissions from my current job... which ended just a few moments ago." Slipstream still has her arms crossed over her chest. "Let it alone, Goa. Psykeout doesn't need any ammunition when it comes to his past being discovered." she intones. "Course." Goa glances at Swivel in response, then back at Slip, "... huh?" He actually wheels backward slightly. Swivel snaps her optics to stare at Slipstream, the smile wiped from her face, making her mouth seem very small. She gawks for a moment or two. "What? When did Psykeout enter into this conversation!?" She then turns a questioning look at Goa. Well, perhaps there is an overtone of demand in her demeanor. Goa looks between the two. Back and forth. This would be an odd move for him ... he transforms into his vehicle mode. Could swear there's a snarl on his face a moment before he does. Make sense or not, he can at the very least pick up there's something up with Swivel. And he knows /when/ not to press. Doesn't mean he's not going to press at /all/. "Beats me, Swivel." The green car's engine hums, "I'm gonna go through that tunnel." That's apparently all the explanation he feels he needs to edge into traffic, and quickly disappear. Swivel raises her optic ridges, dumbfounded, bewildered, confused, abashed... the list goes on to express just how very confused the small femme is. She is in stunned silence for a moment or two, only coming out of her stupor when Goa transforms and dashes into the tunnel. She watches him go, and then quickly regains her composure, putting on a smile. "Suit yourself. Nothing in there... but the occasional input-output," she says after he's gone. She laughs a little, pushing the tension from her mind. She turns to Slipstream, dipping her chin and peering up, the crest on her forehead casting the illusion of more sinisterly shaped optics. "So... he tells you many things, does he?" Swivel nods slowly or a moment or two, keeping her silence, her optics downcast for a moment. After a while she lifts her chin again. "Well, I trust Goa knows what he is doing, and the two of you must trust each other a lot. If he trusts you, I suppose I trust you as well. Although... maybe I should have made it a little more clear I'd rather he not share what he read about me with others. I guess I'll just tell him that next time I see him in much more blunt terms... and use fewer words. People often get lost in my web of many words, so it's possible that there may have been a misunderstanding," she says, wearing a small smile. Slipstream nods, "He trusts me, but that doesn't mean you have to trust me Swivel. As to what he shares, some of the time he doesn't share things. Like what he was looking for in your private notes he was as elusive as just saying it was about Psyekout, but not what he was looking for.. so whatever it was is between him and you." she states. Swivel continues to nod as she listens, scraping her bottom lip with her upper dental plate a few times. She then refuels her smile and straightens up, standing as tall as she can. "Well... alright, I believe you. Just so long as he didn't share too much. It's not that I keep many secrets for myself, but they are Psykeout's business too, so I rather not be the reason anything is common knowledge. I try so hard not to be unreliable or untrustworthy. It's bad for business, and bad for one's health." Slipstream smiles to that, "I understand that Swivel. Hopefully he won't pry any further.. but I doubt it. He has the tenacity of turbo fox at times." she states, arms uncrossing from her chest now. Swivel nods her head. "Oh that he does, that he does!" Swivel chimes. "He certainly is a slave to his curiosity. Okay, maybe not a slave, but you get the drift! Ah..." she glances around, rubbing her hands together. "Well, I probably had detained you for long enough. I better let you get off to do important Decepticon things, while I go collect my pay!" Slipstream mm hmms, "Yes, yes his is." she agrees, then steps back a bit to say, "Right, I should get back to base. Take care, Swivel." Swivel gives one final nod, a wave, and then turns, transforms, and speeds off away from the tunnels.
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