| abstract
| - Metro-X lumbers through the doors of the cafe, brushing off his arms and looking about with his usual cool calculation. He's been in the lower ranges of Cubicron for months, attempting to bring law to the lawless, and so decided to make his first stop at the buffer zone in the old cafe. Lift Off entered the El Sleazo not too long ago and made his way to the bar, specifically the end of it so his wide wingspan wouldn't intrude on anyone. He signaled down Foz-E, who soon came to get his order and payment then headed off to get the mech an ener-beer. Arcee is seated and sipping an energon beverage. She's relaxing after a long day of patrolling. She'd been trying to see whether there were some more strange occurrences lately. Metro-X notes the Autobot and the flight mech and makes his way for the bar, nodding to the tender and signaling for a drink. Hunching his shoulders some, the law-bot gazes around the cafe itself, shifting in his seat occasionally. Lift Off glances over at Metro-X and smiles. "Ah the law has returned from the dark recesses of Cubicron’s seamy underbelly." he notes as he takes his mug of ener-beer from Foz-E. "I had heard rumors you were down there." is noted toward Metro-X. Arcee notices Metro-X. "Oh, haven't seen you in a while," she says, "See anything interesting while you were out?" She takes another sip. Metro-X looks first to Lift Off and then Arcee, brow ridge rising as he answers both "Bad mechs down in the lower regions, gang warfare threatening to spill into the buffer. Spent much of my time inside a bunker of my own construction, salvaging energon from those who'd tried to bum rush my position." Lift Off hmms softly to that, then glances over at the pink femme. "Friend of Starfire? You two have the same color scheme. Not sisters or something are you?" he asks, smiling in a genuine manner. Then a hmm to Metro-X, "Sounds like you needed back up down there. How about I buy that drink you ordered, sort of a welcome back gift." Arcee rubs her chin. "I don't know," she says to Lift Off. "Well, now's as good a time as any to catch up on what's going on." Metro-X blinks at the offer from lift off "You don't have too, I know things are strained, but I appreciate the sentiment, sir." bowing his head politely. "And thank you for the welcome back." Lift Off smiles to Metro-X, "I can afford it. Sadly the transportation business has been booming lately." he states, "I got back not too long ago from a three planet tour dropping off passengers and cargo as well as picking up cargo to bring back here to Cybertron." he smiles to Arcee, "What is up with that funky song on the radio waves lately? I swear it’s the only thing playing." "Song?" Arcee wonders, "I don't know, I haven't been listening. I haven't heard anyone else say anything about it, either." Metro-X's head tilts "Odd music? I've been below normal radio broadcasts for some time, so I am not familiar with such I'm afraid" nodding as his drink arrives and sipping at it. Lift Off nods, "Yeah something about fumik chu rock and roll. Kind of catchy, but not my style really." he sips on his ener-beer and frowns, "Primus preserve me but Foz-E you been watering down the beer again?" he asks, staring the mech down. Foz-E just shrugs, going about his business. "Not missing much really on the music scene." The pink femme-bot finishes her drink and summons Foz-E bot to get her another one. "That's strange," she says, "I wonder what was causing that?" Metro-X shrugs slightly, looking down into his drink for a few seconds "It always gets stranger the closer to the surface you get" motioning casually towards Arcee at first "Autobots on one hemisphere, Decepticons on another, Crystal City and places like this caught in the middle." Lift Off isn't sure what Arcee is talking about so leaves the 'strange' comment alone. "Hence why transportation off planet is booming. The war is driving those that have the means to get out to depart for safer locales that can use them as workers. The refugee camps lose a bit of their populace only to regain them when newly homeless mechs and femmes find their way there." "Lots of people want to escape the War," Arcee says, nodding, "I guess a lot of them figured the best way is to get completely off the planet." Rascal has arrived. Metro-X shakes his head "No - it's only a temporary solution, really... This war is going to destroy all of us, sooner or later. The whole planets going to dry up on energon, and those who don't pick a side will either have to flee for a new world, and hope that the war doesn't follow them while Prime and Megatron sap some new source of fuel." bitter... ain' he? Lift Off nods a bit to that, "Then they'll take the search for energon off planet and those that have left will find the war followed them." Metro-X actually gives a derisive chuckle "Best we can hope for, maybe, is they'll kill each other off." "Unfortunately, that's probably true," Arcee says, "I mean, some would have to flee where they'd hope never to be discovered. But I doubt such a place exists." Lift Off frowns a bit toward Metro-X, "I think you have been among the dead too long there my friend to make such a off handed comment." Metro-X looks pointedly to Lift Off "I've been amongst those who've been driven to utter savagery or madness by this war, a city crushed beneath the explosions of the surface, I've watched refugees torn apart by turbo wolves while fleeing for Crystal City while I was still too far out to save them in time, and it's all because of the civil war." "If the War is going to stop, we have to stop it here. Not after it spreads beyond this world," Arcee says. Lift Off nods in understanding to Metro-X then a nod of agreement to Arcee. He sips on his ener-beer and sighs. Metro-X grunts a little and takes a long sip of his own drink, "Forgive me for waxing nihilistic, but having your own city explode around you can forge such points of view" tilting his head to one side. "Believe me, I know the feeling," Arcee says. "OH! Metro-X, did I tell you, I found my creator?" Lift Off pushes his mug away from himself, "Seriously Foz-E, get me something better than this watered down slag you call beer." he murmurs, then nods sharply toward Metro-X. "I can forgive you since I've seen my fair share of those that have left neutral town and city alike that were lost in this war to come to the refugee camps. They still have hope though that there will be an end to it, just not right away, hence why they seek me out to take them off planet." Metro-X nods to Lift Off again, "I just want to try and keep the law where the fallout is striking hardest" optics flicking to Arcee "Really? Who was that?" Lift Off takes his replacement drink and hmms, "If this is an ener-fizz I'm not going to be amused." sounding not too serious about it, then taking a sip. He immediately chokes. "Slag.. kill me why don't you Foz-E." he chuckles. Metro-X nods to Lift Off again, "I just want to try and keep the law where the fallout is striking hardest" optics flicking to Arcee "Really? Who was that?" (re for Arcee) "Yes!" Arcee says, "His name is Weldbond. He went deeper into Cybertron to hide from some very nasty underworld types. But he was able to answer a few questions and give me all the information on my schematics." Metro-X nods to Arcee at that, brow ridge up again "Curious..." giving the best equivalent of a frown without a face below the optics. At Lift Off's comments to Foz-E, he turns slightly, head canting to the right. "You get used to it." Lift Off nods a bit to that, "Well it’s better than the beer at least." he notes, taking another careful sip of the stronger stuff. Farshot walks into the bar, his custom energy rifle slung over his shoulder as he steps through the door. He pauses as he looks around while his optics adjust to the different in lighting. He then moves over to Metro-X, taking out a data pad that he sets down next to Metro-X as he sits down on the bar near him. "Boss, the gangs near the old stadium decided to act up again. The dumb-bolts tried to take over their neighbors again and were nearly succeeding if I didn't discourage them with my usual tactics." he reports briefly to Metro-X. "Full-report is on the data pad." he adds. Metro-X grunts slightly when Farshot gives his report, optics dimming for a moment "Has it let up at all since I went down below?" looking more directly to Farshot after a moment. Lift Off glances over to the newcomer that approaches the law mech, offering a nod then taking another sip of his drink. "No rest for the wicked or weary." he notes. Farshot nods. "A little. A few cycles after you went down below it went bad but then let up after I did a few scare tactics. Just wish you had authorized lethal force before you went down below. I could have cut down on the numbers of all the gangs while you were down below." "The Decepticons, if they've been doing anything, have been doing it covertly, for the most part lately," Arcee says. Metro-X heaves a sigh at that "I only used lethal force below when I had no choice, up here you always have one." finishing his current drink and setting the mug on the bar. Lift Off inclines his head to that, "Well said." then pauses, "Name's Lift Off by the way." this offered to the group. Farshot nods at that. "True...but when I was in the Gang, one of the things I learned that if pick off a few of the outer-lying ones, the others get closer to where you can keep an optic on them." he nods to Lift Off. "Farshot is my designation." Metro-X's optics narrow at that "Well you're not in 'the gang' any more... You're in The Buffer Zone, and I'm the law up here. So if you start terminating rather that incarcerating then I'm going be very upset." he stands then, touching his right hand to the side of his head "And I must attend to something" standing and transforming in one fluid motion. Metro-X's body shifts, panels opening, systems maneuvering around, quad wings mounting together as one unit, quadruped limbs locking into place, and a trio of heads extending, optics blinking online. Lift Off inclines his head to Metro-X, "Stay safe out there." is offered politely. Metro-X's leftmost head looks to Lift Off "I will, and my name is Metro-X, by the by." and with that the transformer heads for the door, jet systems already beginning to warm up. Lift Off finishes off his drink and hmms softly, peering at Foz-E, "You get those new dispensers yet or am I going to see Lifeline stomping in here looking none too pleased?" Speak of the devil and ... well. Familiar clomping footsteps herald Lifeline's arrival, and just as Lift Off predicted to Foz-E, she looks none too pleased. Lift Off looks over and grimaces, "I swear Foz-E you need to get those things offline for good. The doc may just up and throttle you." he murmurs to the mech, who just shrugs. A sigh from the large mech, then a wave to Lifeline, "Good cycle." "Oh, Lifeline," Arcee says, as she notices the arrival, "Welcome. What's up?" Lifeline nods a hello to Lift Off and then to Arcee. "My annoyance level. But what else is new?" She steps over to the bane of her existence -- one of El Sleazo's dispensers. She opens the electronics panel on the machine (for a change) and starts tinkering about in there. Farshot looks up and nods to Lifeline. He looks to Foz-E. "Just give me a beer. Don't want to be too drunk to get back to my post tonight." Lift Off nods a little, "I keep telling him I can get him a good deal off world, but he's a fragging cheapskate. And I think he likes you too." he notes, which earns him a glare from Foz-E. "Oh, that's not good," Arcee says, "Have the dispensers been malfunctioning again?" Lifeline stops what she's doing to look over her shoulder at Arcee. "Have you ever seen this piece of slag working?" "Good point," Arcee replies. Lift Off chuckles softly to that, "Like I said.. cheapskate with a crush." Lifeline just levels a glare at Lift Off -- but only for a second -- before turning back to keep mucking with the stupid dispenser. Arcee leans back in her chair. "Too bad Hot Rod isn't around," she murmurs. Lift Off loses the smile at that glare of doom. "Just calling it as I see it." he notes, moving away from the bar. A smile to Arcee, "Am I boring you?" Arcee looks over at Lift Off. "No," she says, "I just find it strange that Hot Rod isn't following me around like a lost puppy." Lifeline pulls a few circuits out of the dispenser, carries them over to a table that's got at least marginally better lighting than the bar, and starts testing them to find what specifically needs to be repaired. Lift Off he hmms softly, "I think I will politely not comment on that." Arcee chuckles. Arcee gets up, finally, leaving some credits on the table to pay for her drink. "I'll see you guys later, I think I'm going to go get some recharge." Lift Off inclines his head, "I need to be going as well. See you around Lifeline." is offered to the busy medic, then he heads for the door.
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