| abstract
| - The Olympics are nearing their end, but there are still some events to be rounded up and finished in front of the crowds. Both official and exhibition. Such as right now, as the crowd cheers and jeers at some hapless alien who struggles to hold onto the bucking Igyak lumbering about one of the pits. Even with four arms and two tentacles the unfortunate rider is unable to keep his grip and is soon sent hurling over the railings into the sand at the side, much to the jeers of the crowd that follows. This is the backdrop in a specially selected box overseeing the arenas, where one Cybertronian reporter extroidinaire now has gathered along with those Autobots and Decepticons who had agreed to reconvene several days later with any new thoughts or finds regarding a certain growing mystery... "Ugh, I'm glad we got this booth." Backtalk makes an exagerrated motion of waving a clamp in front of his face, not that he has a nose, mind you. "Those Igyaks stink something fierce!" Cyclonus is in the booth with Backtalk, arms folded across his chest. "They do stink, but not so much as the treachery behind my fight with Magnus. Decepticons!" He turns, expecting other Decepticons to be there. "What discoveries have you made?" Laserbeak looms over Backtalk....from about a story away, so its not really apparent, but he's there, and he could do more than loom at. any. moment. Such is the way of the scavenger, or bird of prey as he feels at the moment... The lab Cons did their work, and now it was intelligence to do theirs. Laserbeak starts his renewed research by returning to the main console for the arena. He shifts into tape mode again, accessing the records here. Top priority: Any sign of use of Ceerinite in this ship. The Olympics committee was being most thorough to prevent sabotage, so surely they had some decent records. Second priority: Check for manipulation of data of those records. Other Decepticons are there! Contrail misses being a generic Seeker. Then she could fill out crowds, and everyone would ignore her. Contrail bows and says carefully, "Ah, my Lord Cyclonus." He has healed /well/, she thinks. "We have determined the type of explosive used: Ceerinite, and have ruled out simple weapon malfunction as the cause of the incident." Shakedown stands a few paces further way, leaning sideways slightly with her shoulder pressed against a conveniently close wall, her arms folded and her legs crossed at the ankles. She seems both curious and yet amused all that the same time as she initially listens to what others have to say on the matter. When Perceptor had heard about what had transpired at Ultra Magnus' Olympic match against Cyclonus, he'd had to add yet one more thing to his growing list of things to think about. It was difficult for him to pull away from the projects he was working on, namely the nanotech (that he hadn't told anyone else about yet) and the countermeasure for the EDC superweapon. But the ceerinite -was- interesting... The scientist looks up from a datapad he is examining while the others were discussing. "Have you ruled out the possibility that one of our own--or yours," he says, nodding briefly at Cyclonus. "--may be responsible? After all, they -must- have been well aware of the time and location of the match, as well as which weapon the City Commander planned to use for that specific purpose. They must also have had access to the weapon's storage location." Backtalk is either unaware or too absorbed in his potential story that he hasn't got time to worry about Laserbeak looming over him in the distance. It's not that he's uber brave or anything, but he's focused! "Okay then!" His clamp hands come down on the table he's leaning over, apparently as it to make a noise to sound impressive but coming off more like a faint *CLUNK* instead. "So if you ask me, this explosive used seems to be hinting that someone had a vested interest that Ultra Magnus didn't win the match." A pause, as the reporter gives a glance straight towards the Decepticons, but then crosses his arms over his chest. "That of course could mean any -number- of people. And I don't mean just Decepticon pride either. There's an awful lot of stuff that gets riding on these games. Everything from bragging rights to super rich types that make bets that could buy me a hundred years worth of intergalactic broadcast times!" Cyclonus nods at Contrail. "Excellent work. Now we have the means by which this treachery was undertaken. Less surprising that it WAS treachery." He looks between Backtalk and Perceptor. "No Decepticon would DARE to interfere with my fight with Magnus! Their punishment would be SEVERE beyond reckoning! And, as far as I know, no Decepticons have abruptly gone AWOL in the wake of this investigation. It cannot be one of us!" Laserbeak eventually becomes satisfied that there are no forged records aboard the ship, at least none he could detect, so...that was complete proof of the records integrity. Finding any actual traces of the compound prove frustrating, however. He eventually threatened the mainframe into doing a step by step recollection of all possible telltale signs of it, and then instructed it to produce a tone very similar to 'na na NA na naaah' if it located any irregularities. In the meantime, the vulture felt the need to stretch his wings. Obviously it was smuggled aboard, and most likely the weapon was compromised here. The cameras here were a joke so far, there had to be another way. He swoops back down to the main floor, perching on Cyclonus' shoulder as he pondered the issue at hand. "Cyclonus, simply because no one has made a sudden disappearance does not remove the possibility. If the culprit was convinced he would not be discovered--and thus far he has not been--if he had proper method as well as motivation, it is not quite so absurd to suggest such a thing." Perceptor raises an optic ridge slightly at the Decepticon second in commmand. "I am almost certain that not every soldier in your ranks is particularly fond of all their superior officers." Contrail smiles at Cyclonus's praise but does not allow herself long to enjoy it. Now, she is just going to keep suggesting conspiracy theories until one of them sticks, so Contrail suggests, "Perhaps some alien Unicron-worshippers wished to see Lord Cyclonus triumph." Really, all they know is it was Ceerinite, they acn't yet narrow down where the Ceerinite came from, and the culprit was either an Autobot, the guest of an Autobot, a cyborged up Nebulan, or really good at infiltrations. Contrail asks brightly, "Perceptor, do you have list of the guests that Autobots may have allowed into their barracks? One of your guests may not have had the prurest of intentions... the whole Nebulan loophole aside." Shakedown decides to chime in at this point. "Much as we'd like to place the blame on the Decepticons, Perceptor, my hunch is that they know about as much as we do. The glaring oversight in security protocols regarding Nebulans screams out to me here. So I put a few feelers out, y'know, I have a few contacts around these sort of places," she says, briefly adding her most innocent look. "We'll see what they come back with." Cyclonus clenches a fist, leaning forward a bit. "Oh, that's where you're wrong, Perceptor. A wise Decepticon, had he done this, would fear my wrath and flee for his worthless life before I exacted vengeance upon him!" Laserbeak lands on his shoulder, giving him a +1 bonus to leadership tests. "Eh?" He gives Contrail a puzzled look. "Unicron-worshippers? That sounds bizarre. *I* don't even worship Unicron and he made me. But I suppose Cybertron, like everywhere else in the galaxy, has more than its share of fools. Backtalk says, "Yeah I've heard that one before..." Backtalk mumbles in response to Cyclonus oh so quietly to one side before making an overexagerrated coughing noise into a clenched clamp-fist. "Okay okay, let's focus here! If it wasn't an Autobot or a Decepticon, who was it?" Ever stating the obvious here, it would seem, but he states it all the same. "Cyborged nebulons? Heck any kind of cybernetic being usually has to be checked in for weapons when you're cleared for this place. Just like any of -us- are usually checked cause we're usually considered living weapons and all." A pause as he looks at himself, then to the others present. "...some of us moreso than others. At any rate, if you had some way of getting a look at -those- records you might narrow it down a little."" Laserbeak spreads his wings, taking flight. His boosters kick in as he soars either majestically or menacingly, depending on your faction. He performs a lazy circle, ascending before disappearing out of view. Records of this nature might be harder to come across. It was time to invade the security control room...again. The first four times were more for fun than work. He hovers before an energy conduit tube, his eyes gleam as he welds the gate apart. The power conduits themselves could be dangerous if damaged, the thick cable pulses with a droning noise as he hovers in the space between it and the structure. He arrives in the control room a few moments later, and finds it vacant. The cassettecon grasps the grating with his foot, easing it off its hinges, and sets it down without much sound. It was simple to get into the security from here, and records were going to be just as easy... Perceptor nods. "I will transmit the data to your comm." But he counters Contrail's argument, shrugging at Cyclonus who was clearly being overconfident. "I suspect that the perpretrator had a severe distaste for both combatants, Contrail. The explosion had an extremely high chance of damaging both Ultra Magnus and Cyclonus in an equal fashion. Cyclonus, as I had mentioned previously, if the culprit were never discovered, he would not be subjected to your...wrath." As for the list of people other than Autobots allowed into the barracks, there are the Nebulon binary-bond partners, of course, a list of approved humans, and Junkions. But the scientist isn't quite yet convinced that it couldn't possibly be an Autobot or Decepticon. It was still possible... Cyclonus glares daggers at the little robot. Maybe he heard that, or part of it. "Yes, we have to be checked for weapons, but what qualifies as a weapon? Many forget that I am a saboteur, myself. This... Ceerinite, I believe, must be mixed together from various other chemicals, which, in their natural state, pose no harm. But once mixed together, it is highly dangerous. It is possible that one or multiple perpetrators smuggled the chemicals in on their person, mixed them together once safely past security, then sabotaged Magnus's weapon." He snorts at Perceptor. "The DJD loves its work too much to let a culprit go unprosecuted. They'd never stop looking." Contrail decides that she needs to ask Perceptor for stuff more often! Of course, he could be lying about the list. Still, if the list is accurate, anyone and everyone on the list is a suspect, and she says, pointing at the list, "Okay, we need to go through these people and see which of them have alibis." Contrail nods when Cyclonus says that the DJD will never rest. That's very true. Perceptor shrugs. "Yes, I am aware of that, but again. If the perpetrator was convinced he would never be discovered..." But he trails off, nodding in Contrail's direction. "Indeed. It would have been a simple task for one of our Nebulan allies to have infiltrated the barracks." Contrail rubs his chin and points out, "Actually, when is the last time you can say /for sure/ that Utra Magnus's hammer wasn't loaded with Ceerinite? Who built it for him - Wheeljack? Was it left in a laboratory for an extended period of time? Did Ultra Magnus ever take it to..." she makes a face, "...a charity event, where he might have set it down and let it out of his sight? Maybe we're fixating on the barracks thing too much." Shakedown imitates a light cough. "We may be getting a little bit too caught up in the 'how' here. We can all stand around and debate how someone managed it for eternity, but that won't neccessarily tell us -who- did this. C'mon people, we need a motive. Work with me here." Backtalk's single antenne seems to quiver for a moment...as if it were sensitive to something floating in the air. "Okay, I'm not exactly a bleeding heart type here, cause I really think sometimes the Autobots can be real sentimental saps about stuff. But my well honed reporter's sense finds it REALLY hard to believe the Autobots would blow the utter living proverbial snot out of one of their own just to make their enemies look bad. Frankly you two are usually more eager about blasting each other to smithereens face to face." Perceptor nods. "Yes, that is a possibility, but the barracks are the most likely location to have been compromised, since the time the weapon was stored there exceeds the time it was positioned elsewhere." He turns to Shakedown. "The method used by the saboteur will provide us with information that is likely to be essential in identifying the perpetrator, Shakedown." Paydirt! The skulker found something that just may be an answer, however he realizes the need to get out of the security office before all of his dreams of havoc are completed. A shame that, it would do wonders to see the final medal count read "Decepticons: 23 Autobutts: 17" He ejects from the computer, replaces the screen, welding it in four small areas to secure it, then starts on his merry way back. As much as he'd enjoy simply transferring the data over radio, there's something to be said for gloating over the Bots. His wing scrapes on the power conduit as he daydreams. The lights flicker as he squawks in pain and surprise. He makes a mental note to keep his head in the game, until he perches somewhere... Contrail deadpans in reply to Backtalk, "Repugnus would do it." Then she shakes her head, "But yeah, I think I'd sooner investigate the humans, Junkions, and Nebulans on this list than the Autobots proper. Check for alibis, cross-correlate it with the security footage..." Shakedown waves a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, I know it still needs to be considered. I'm not saying it doesn't. But c'mon, think about it for a moment. -Why- would someone do this? It's clearly not the Decepticons, or this is the most elaborate double-bluff in history. So what does that leave?" She stands a little more upright before continuing. "The way I see it, there are two possibilities. Either this is an act of terrorism; though if it were someone may well have overtly claimed responsibilty. Or it's financially motivated. Did anyone think to check if there were any really large bets placed on the fight?" Cyclonus stares up at the ceiling, annoyed as the lights flicker. "Hmph. Very well, Autobot, motive. Let us focus on that. A terrorist organization would take credit and try to cause more collateral damage amongst civilians. A financial motive seems more likely. What were the odds on that battle? Who did the 'bookies,' I believe they're called, suppose was going to win that fight, and by what odds?" *WHA-CHING* Backtalk immediately pulls out a visor hat and a large clipboard, "Well let me just check my notes...!" "Or perhaps a sheer distate or dare I say loathing for the combatants? Particularly Ultra Magnus?" Perceptor suggests. Pages flip rapidly as Backtalk goes through scribbled notes...which seems a little redundant given he should have his own databanks on this sort of stuff. But oh well. "A big high profile fight like this drew all -kinds- of attention. Odds were more or less given even/even between the two combatants, though there were more bets placed on Ultra Magnus. Seems the panting public is always a sucker for a big shiny hero type." He gives a faint chuckle, and waves the clipboard a bit back and forth. "Anywhoo. There were a few pretty big bets made on both sides Though most of em were to Ultra Magnus. There was a couple to Cyclonus of course and those guys pulled it in pretty big. Especially this last minute addition..." Cyclonus glowers at Backtalk. "Well? Spit it out already. We might be able to tie him to some nebulan associates. Speaking of which, Contrail, have you identified any likely culprits?" Laserbeak returns to the stadium, a wing smouldering a little, but he is a proud bird. His optics flare as he looks at the situation below. Cyclonus was having words. If his temper was up....well, it was better to involve Contrail anyway. Due process for the DSP and such. He swoops upward behind her, then takes a perch. His eyes flicker again as he transmits relevant data to the XO. Shakedown hmmms. "Big, last minute bet. If that doesn't at least -seem- suspicious..." she trails off, not feeling the need to actually finish the sentence, it being fairly obvious what she means. "Is there any way to find out who placed these bets specifically?" "Well, Backtalk, do you have a list of the names of these persons?" Perceptor questions the reporter. "Okay okay keep your transistors on, I'm getting to it!" Backtalk complains as he flips through the pages again. "Let's see. Biggest bets on Ultra Magnus...we've got Prince Telwar, a member of royalty from the distant planet of Gork. Apparently every year he bets on Autobots and underdogs and is all into that sentimental stuff. We've got also got a Mr Sluggimus, who is some kind of big corporate bigwig from the planet Kwarcha. Probably something to do with having faith in the Autobots after that whole 'failed Decepticon invasion' thing." He waves a clamp hand dismissively. "On the Decepticon side we've got a whole lot of Decepticon bets, naturally. We've also got a bet from a Mr Landsey, some big gambler from...Las Vegas of all places. A human betting on Decepticons? Hah! There's irony for ya. And as for our latecomer, it's a....Don Wart. Some alien bigwig head of a deepspace mining conglomerate on the other side of the galaxy. This one isn't surprising...I know this guy from all the intergalactic police bands. We're talkin big underworld dealings here." "Also, if the perpetrator was affiliated with this large bet that was placed late in the match, it is likely that the sabotage occurred on the site of the Olympic match." Perceptor states evenly. Contrail peruses the data Laserbreak has brought her, and she reaches up to try to scritch the bird and reward him with an energon goodie, her red optics alight. When Backtalk mentions Don Wart, the side of her mouth creeps up. She looks to Cyclonus and declares, "My Lord Cyclonus, this 'Don Wart'," she does the air quotes, "we should investigate him. With extreme prejudice." "Well, is this Mr. Wart likely to have Nebulan or possibly even human affiliates?" Perceptor asks. "Have any of his known employees been present on Olympic grounds or near our barracks?" Cyclonus turns from Backtalk to Contrail. "Yes.... yes indeed. That human sounded more of a gambler, if he truly hails from Vegas. Perhaps he made an earnest bet. But an alien crime boss? Oh, yes, I could definitely see something there..." He smirks ever so slightly at Catechism as he mutters something. Cyclonus mutters to Contrail, "... some our own... more..." Backtalk's antenna is quivering like crazy right now, "Hey come on folks! Let's keep our heads knocked together. I get a story out of this and you get to clear your names, or get to the bottom of it, or say 'I told you so' or whatever reason it is you're bumming around this!" Contrail mutters to Cyclonus, "... is more than... that,... rather..." Cyclonus mutters to Contrail, "What..." Contrail mutters to Laserbeak, "... you just gave me." Laserbeak snaps at Contrail's treat, almost indifferent if he actually bit her. With the voracious quality found in Bond villain pets, he scarfs it down eagerly, then seems disappointed there was nothing else. His sensors pick up the hushed conversation, then proceeds to follow orders accordingly. Shakedown eyes the muttering Decepticons rather suspiciously for a moment, but decides not to press the issue for now. She nods at Perceptor, "Right, we need to establish just who this guy is connected with exactly. That should probably be our next port of call." Contrail will let Laserbeak get away with a bit of finger. Just this time. Only because he's done such a good job. Perceptor shakes his head at the Decepticons who are obviously trying to hide something. But what else was new? It was as expected. Besides, it's not as if he hasn't had his fair share of sneaking around behind others' backs, too. Contrail, as a Decepticon, is pretty much at the 'go hunt someone down and put his head on a pike' stage, between what Laserbeak has reported and what Backtalk just said about the big bettors, in conjunction with the Nebulan loophole and the use of Ceerinite. Now she watches Cyclonus nervously. He has been rather erratic lately. She hopes he doesn't injure Laserbeak, who is actually useful and does stuff. Cyclonus clears his vocalizer. "Well, that was a good discussion, but perhaps we should gather more evidence before we act. No sense wasting our time in pursuing the wrong suspect, is there?" He bows his head, and moves to exit the suite. "Come along, you two." "Of course, my Lord," Contrail replies quietly when Cyclonus reaches his verdict. She bows and moves to follow him out, taking up a posture like an accompanying honour guard. Laserbeak goes along, if simply by proxy. Contrail's moving, he's on Contrail's shoulder. He goes. Sometimes he's just too lazy to fly. He delivers a chirrup as he looks over Contrail for more energon treats, then noticing Backtalk as he goes by, gives him a snap for old time's sake. "Hoooold it!" Backtalk states at that, crossing his arms over his chest in the process as the Decepticons turn to leave. He hasn't exactly got optics to narrow like other cybertronians, but that camera is just -glaring- at their backsides. "If you're going off to get ready to mount some head on a pike I really don't care so much, but I want my story facts straight here! Besides, if you're looking for some CYBORGED NEBULON WHO WORKS FOR A DEEP SPACE MINING CONGLOMERATE, are you planning to just ambush him here on the Swordfish? Cause that'll make a -fantastic- story when the security gets all up in your bidness. I just wanna know so I can figure out the best camera angle. And besides, how do you know that this Nebulon and the guy who I -think- you're about to go have a talk with are the one and same guy? Maybe he's just one of their employees? Ever thought of -that-?" Exasperated, Backtalk throws his hands up in the air. "Jeez, it's like people have no capability of researching nowadays!" Laserbeak trains his autoguns on the reporter. His view on the matter is clear. Perceptor watches Cyclonus leave, then mutters, "Yes, yes...of course." in a somewhat sarcastic manner. Because that was the way Decepticons handled things, especially Cyclonus. They waited until they were -absolutely- sure they were punishing the right guy before acting, for fear they might cause an innocent to suffer, oh what horror that would be! -Not-. But, the ceerinite certainly fit with the mining company, and the large last-minute bet certainly implied that the perpetrator had mixed the chemicals on Olympic grounds. It still remained to be seen if Mr. Wart had Nebulan associates, or associates that had been present on Olympic grounds recently, but...well. If it were up to him, if the Decepticons were onto the real saboteur, then let them be onto him. It would be one less thing for Perceptor to worry about, and after all it had damaged Cyclonus as well so it -was- their business as well. He sighs at Backtalk's outburst, standing to leave as well. "It is best not to aggravate them, Backtalk." Cyclonus feels more than a little smug. Oh, yes, Backtalk, you can spy on their transmissions, but you can't listen in on a simple hushed conversation, can you? Ha. Ha. He pauses when Backtalk yells at them. Oh, right, Laserbeak radioed that information to him. Damn bird needs to use his vocalizer more often. Cyclonus turns to glare at the reporter. "No. I didn't. Besides, who ever said I was going to kill anyone?" Well, the person in question would die. Eventually. "Besides, the Swordfish isn't much of a sanctuary... if you're not *on* the Swordfish." Contrail does reach up to sneak Laserbeak another energon goody. As far as Backtalk's pleas go... Cyclonus is a lot scarier than Backtalk. Contrail is going to obey whatever Cyclonus commands, at the moment. It's just not worth it to go out on a limb right now. She doesn't think that the saboteur and Don Wart are the same person, but the thing is, she doesn't care. They can /both/ suffer for what they've done. As a Decepticon, she isn't going to let the saboteur off as 'just an employee doing his job'. Anyway, as far as not making a scene goes, that is when they send in Spinister to quietly disappear someone. Since Cyclonus has not left yet, neither has Contrail. "The heck with aggravating, I don't care if they string him up and put his remains up for his whole family to see, I want the -story- for crying out loud. Some criminal underworld boss makes a move on the Decepticons and gets stomped flat for it? Sounds like good headlines to me!" Autocannons pointed at him or no, Backtalk proceeds to wheel right up towards Cyclonus and points a clamp hand at him for good measure...being decidedly shorter it does look a little ridiculous. "And you're assuming if this guy in question is one guy, or two guys. A little checking should confirm if there's a cyborged Nebulon still on board or not. And if you're going after his employer in some deep space hideout after this..." A sharp *CLANK* on his chestplate follows. "I want exclusive footage!" "You want... footage?" Cyclonus says. He leans in towards Backtalk, and the cruel smile on his dark face, illuminated by his glowing crimson optics, should make it clear that Cyclonus intends some sort of horrible surprise. "Oh, my dear reporter... trust me. You will get your... *footage.*" He rises back up, turning away to leave. Perceptor groans, as he does not feel like defending this guy against Cyclonus if the mech lost his patience. But he doesn't want to be harangued by his superiors about not doing so, either. So he quickly makes his leave, before anything can happen. That way, if something did happen, he could say he was long gone. "Well, thank you for the information shared, Backtalk. I wish you the best in your reporting endeavours." He says politely, then pushes past Contrail and Cyclonus standing the doorway. A promise of dramatic and possibly controversial footage? Despite the fact that Cyclonus' promise is anything -but- friendly it gets Backtalk all sorts of excited tos ay teh least, as he's rubbing his clamps together eagerly and one can almost SEE the ratings going up in his mind. "Sounds good to me! And hey, come on Autobots, look at the bright side!" he calls after Perceptor is making his way out, and towards Shakedown as well. "If they're interested in blortching the boss, maybe you guys can still make an arrest on the guy who probably snuck into your barracks? You see? WIn/win. EVERYBODY gets to do what they want and either get revenge or feel fuzzy...and in the end I get all the great footage I wanted. Three-way win high-five!" He raises a clamp into the air. Crickets can be heard chirping in the background. "Yeah well, awesome then. Woo." Shakedown shrugs to herself and chuckles quietly as Perceptor makes a hasty exit. "Some bots just don't have the stomach for this kind of work," she remarks to no one in particular. "So I guess we're skipping the research part and going to straight to 'Put the frighteners on', then. Crude," she muses, "But probably effective none the less."
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