| abstract
| - 4/1/2012 06:10 PM The Tina Ramjet sits alone at a table, a large chalice of Energon sits in front of him, it looks untouched. The other gathered Seekers seem to be giving Ramjet a wide berth, while they whisper to each other. Occasionally looking at the brooding Seeker. Slipstream enters the Tina and heads straight for the bar, she waves down the barkeep and orders an ener-fizz. As she waits, she looks around for a place to sit. Spotting the lone cone head, she makes note of that look upon his face before she takes her drink. Approaching slowly so he might see her coming, then intoning lowly, "Shanix for your thoughts?" Ramjet smiles softly at Slipstream. "I'm not sure they are worth that..." His mood does seem to lighten slightly as she approaches his table. "But please, by all means join me!" He slides over on his side of the booth and motions to the other side, giving Slipstream the choice. Slipstream inclines her head, but settles down next to him instead. "I read your report. Do you still have that piece of armor?" she asks, magenta optics intense. Ramjet smiles lopsidedly at Slipstream as he looks relieved that she sat next to him. He pulls his right hand down, lightly brushing against Slipstream's leg as he pulls out the armor shard from a small hatch on his side. He then places it up on the table as he withdraws his hand. His optics look at the shard and motions for Slipstream to pick it up. Slipstream's optics watch your movements, spotting the armor piece and following it until you put it on the table. She sets down her drink, picking it up with her right hand to bring to her face. She gives it a sniff and hmms, "How'd you remove it?" she asks curiously. Ramjet smiles. "With my knife..." He watches Slipstream as she studies the armor piece. "As you may recall, my attacks are unorthodox...it came from his left arm." Slipstream's wings shift slightly behind her, "Hmm he doesn't wax much." comes her comment, "Not a hint of wax to be seen nor smelled." She rubs her fingers over the surface of it, "Good quality of armor though. Must have been a makada to remove with a knife." she looks past the armor, smiling toward you. "You must tell me all about the fight." Ramjet nods his head towards her. "It may have been the hardest thing I have ever done..." He smiles impishly. "Maybe third..." He shrugs slightly as he picks up his full drink and takes a small sip. "There isn't much more to tell sadly..." He leans in conspiratorially and whispers. "Between you and I, it was dumb luck I ever ran into him. He was searching some ruins, which I was sweeping. The ruins masked our signals and we bumped into each other." He smiles very warmly at her. "It was kind of thrilling..." Slipstream sets the piece down after thoroughly inspecting it, "Wish I had been there to see it. To witness the Prime loose a piece of himself." her wings bob slightly, "I am sure it was thrilling indeed. I toast you on your well earned prize." Ramjet smiles at Slipstream and he takes the armor piece and places it back into subspace. He raises his drink to toast with Slipstream. "It would have been different had you been there Slipstream...very different." He smiles. "The piece of armor would have been bigger." Slipstream taps the edge of her glass to Ramjet's, she chuckles at the declaration. "Actually it would have been a lance shaped hole in his chest.. preferably in his spark. But thank you for saying so." Ramjet smiles wider as he sips from his glass after clanking the glass with Slipstream. "Don't remind me...I still remember when you almost pierced my spark...I still have visions of it in my down cycles!" His smile goes even wider. Slipstream takes a long sip from her glass, wings quirking a little behind her. She hmms softly, "Tsk, if I was aiming for your spark I'd have been reprimanded by now. Or possibly dead. I don't kill other Decepticons." Ramjet grins at her. "So serious..." He seems to relax even more as he sips his drink again. "Still that lance is very sharp...something that will always be in the back of my processor." He shrugs slightly. "So before I encountered Optimus Prime, I came across a dancer...I didn't even know the Seeker's had a dance troupe.." Slipstream cocks her head a bit then chuckles, "Well good to know I made such an impression upon you. And did you now? I think I may have heard talk about them." Ramjet lets out a laugh. "That you did." He nods it his head. "It was so bizarre...she was small and lacked weapons, but she was friendly." He pulls out a data pad. "Which is a long way to go to say that I have two tickets to their next show...something about honor and Decepticon Glory...Could be fun?" He slides the data pad with the e-tickets towards Slipstream. Slipstream looks toward the mech with this surprised look upon her face, then down at the data pad to confirm that he did indeed have two tickets. Her wings shift up and back, "Why Ramjet, I do believe you just asked me out." she murmurs, then takes a long sip of her drink, just to make him fret a bit. Ramjet optics dart back and forth, as his hand trembles slightly on his drink. He quickly sets his down to mask his nerves. "I..uh..well..uh...yes." He smiles afterwards as if that somehow makes his stammering seem smooth. Slipstream smirks a hint, then states, "I will accept your very generous offer to join you. I understand they are very good." Ramjet lets out slight sigh. "Excellent...good." He glances around slightly. "I might need you to explain some of the things to me. My knowledge of the Arts isn't very good..." Slipstream inclines her head slightly, "I'll do my best." she pushes the data pad back over to him. "Are we meeting up there or somewhere on base then heading over?" Ramjet stares at her blankly. It is clear Ramjet had not even thought about that. "Uh, lets meet..." He ponders for a moment. "Let's meet up before. That logistically makes sense. Let's meet at the barracks?" Slipstream takes a sip of her drink, then confirms, "Agreed." Setting her glass down she relaxes a bit by leaning back against the booth's back wall and crossing her legs at the shins, "So tell me, what did you talk about with the dancer?" Ramjet leans back in his chair. "We talked about the theatre...which means she talked and I listened." He pauses and sips his drink. "We also talked about The Empire and its splendor. I asked a lot of questions, as I haven't really met an artist before." Slipstream hmms softly, looking at him slyly, "Was it a femme?" she asks. Ramjet optics slide back and forth. "Uh yes. A dancer..." The look on Slipstream face seems to puzzle him, but it does seem to trip a warning system of sorts. Slipstream taps a finger on her glass, "Explains the not talking much." she notes, a little shrug now. "You must have made a good impression if she gave you tickets." Ramjet sips his drink and shrugs. "Maybe, maybe she is worried about the crowd size?" Slipstream considers that for a few moments, then relents, "Perhaps. At any rate, it's the first I heard of an upcoming performance." Ramjet lets out his breath as Slipstream stops pressing him. "Yes, it should be interesting." He sips his drink. "How has your cycle been? Good?" Slipstream says, "It has been yes. Uneventful patrol mission. Got in some training. Caught up on reports. Nothing really worthy of notation to be honest." Ramjet nods slightly as he sips his drink. "I have been thinking...our shuttle raid could become more profitable." He nods slightly. "If we can blame the shuttle theft on Crystal City Citizens and then crash the Autobot shuttle into Crystal City we can make then make it look like the Autobots attacked the city. Get them to blame each other. Stir the pot so to speak." Slipstream's wings go way up at that suggestion, her expression positively surprised. A slow smirk creeps upon her lips, "Oooo you just gave me the shivers." she remarks, following up with, "My you are the devious thinker Ramjet. It certainly bares attempting." Ramjet smiles slightly. "It is one of my better traits...that and I am a slaggin' good card player!" Slipstream takes a sip of her drink, then murmurs over the lip of the glass, "Oh are you? Perhaps we should play a few hands sometime. See how good you are at it." Ramjet mockingly throws his hands up in fake frustration. "No doubt you are the best card player out of your sisters..." He smiles. "But I learned on streets. The games are better there." Slipstream peers at the mech in utter silence, wings shifting back in a nearly irritated motion. She sets her glass down slowly. "On the streets... do tell." Ramjet optics dart back and forth as he realizes his mouth has gotten him in trouble. "Uhh... it was a previous life, I knew a few people back then who like to gamble...they taught me a lot." He smiles. "But I am sure the Seeker games are very competitive." Slipstream nods to that, "Oh you have no idea how much so." she comments, taking another swig of her drink. Kick-Off comes tromping in. He was battered, bruised, but his blue optics were bright as he paused at the door. After glancing about, he started towards the bar briskly, nodding to a few mechs and femmes which he recognized. Ramjet peers around Slipstream as he spies the battered and damaged Mech. His optics flicker as he watches. "Interesting..." Kick-Off is not badly battered. Just bumps and bruises it seems, and definitely not slowed down it seems Slipstream looks over to see what Ramjet spotted, she hms, "Gladiator from the pits. Surprised he's up here." she comments to the mech next to her. Ramjet nods his head slightly towards Slipstream. "I have never seen the Gladiator fights..." He continues to watch the fighter. "Is he any good?" Kick-Off ends up near Ramjet and Slipstream, turning to nod to both and gesture to the stool nearest them "IS this seat taken? " he asks in a deep voice, catching the tail end of ramjet's words. The optics dim only a little. Slipstream inclines her head to the mech, "Oh he's good all right." she gestures with a hand to the opposite side of the booth. "Perhaps you would tell Ramjet here of your feats in the arena?" Kick-Off pauses at that, and he responds 'This year I am the current... favorite, sir and ma'am." he takes a seat on the stool, not in the booth, but close enough. Ramjet nods towards Kick-Off, a vicious grin appears on his face. "Please tell me stories of your glory..." He motions towards Kick-Off as if to ask for a name. Slipstream smiles to that, taking the moment to take a long drag of her drink in order to finish it off. She signals down a waiter to order another, "Want another one Ramjet?" she asks the mech. Kick-Off sighs a little bit at that, and glances to Slipstream a moment, then back "Of my glory? The pits are not... glory." he states simply. Ramjet glances at his drink and nods. "Yes, please." He tilts his head back to Slipstream. "It is not? what are the pits?" Slipstream asks the waiter to get a refill of Ramjet's drink then looks back to the mech at his question, "The pits are a last stop for some who oppose Lord Megatron. This mech here has yet to lose a fight because he refuses to die, even if it means killing one of his own." Kick-Off glances at Slipstream, this time the blue optics were so bright they were nearly white. His own cheap drink arrives as he grasps it up. "They are cheap entertainment." he states, dismissively, his optics torn off of Slipstream, but there was anger in his voice. Ramjet looks between the two as his optics narrow into slits. "I see...you oppose the Empire then?" He leans back in the booth, clearly confused at what is transpiring. Slipstream meets the near white optics of the gladiator, "Be careful what you say, there are audios that would take your words straight to the Lord himself." she cautions, then a little smile given to him, "Unless of course you wish to face the Lord yourself in the pits hm?" "The purpose of the pit fights is to offer entertainment, nothing more. No territories are gained, no energon captured by their existence." replies Kick Off, first to Slipstream. His optics continued to be white a few moments, as he replied "I have no death wish. But no, I do not oppose the Empire. If I did, I would be dead." he explains to Ramjet. Ramjet nods his head slowly as he listens. "Interesting..." He motions to his Decepticon mark on him. "I see you are a Decepticon, it sounds like you have skills...why are you not fighting for the Empire in the field of battle?" He ponders. "Wait... kill your own?" Slipstream straightens, her legs having by now uncrossed. "It is what it is gladiator." she comments, tone low as her wings seem to stiffen. "You did not notice his blue optics Ramjet?" Kick-Off shifts a little bit. He does not answer. Instead, Slipstream seems to have answered for him. He does not respond, instead watching Ramjet's reaction to his blue optics. Ramjet leans closer towards Kick-Off and peers into his optics for a moment. "An associate of mine has yellow optics..." He leans back in his booth. "But blue optics tend to mean one thing." He looks between Kick-Off and Slipstream. He shrugs slightly. "Judging mechs on their appearance is a bad habit..." Kick-Off says, "But sometimes they are correct." Slipstream looks over at Ramjet as he leans over, pressing slightly against her to peer closer at the other mech. She hmphs softly, "I wasn't judging his appearance, I was merely stating fact." Ramjet shrugs at Slipstream in an apologetic way. He then eyes Kick-Off. "I suppose you have a tale of woe of how you ended up a Gladiator?" Kick-Off shrugs "No tale. Rather boring. Got caught, interrogated, thrown into the pit." he states simply "Rather boring my life, really, between fights." Kick-Off is being deliberately unfashionable about his career 'choice'. Slipstream peers at the Bot and shakes her head, "Perhaps so." is all she can say to his words. Her and Ramjets' drinks arrive, she takes both from the waiter and hands over Ramjets' to him. Ramjet neatly grabs his drink from Slipstream, his hand lightly brushes hers during the exchange as his optics linger on her frame for a moment. He then turns back to Kick-Off, a feeling of kindred spirits seems to come over him as he nods at the Gladiator. "We have all made our choices...some forced on us." He leans back. "How did you become such a successful gladiator? Is it like Slipstream says, 'You refuse to die?' What vengeance drives a Mech to do such a thing?" Kick-Off drinks his own drink a little bit. Then he focuses back on Ramjet, considering the answer. He tilts his head a little bit to think, then states "That is pretty much it. I refuse to die, because of... reasons that are my own." he decides "Afraid of death? Maybe that is it." Slipstream shifts her wings a bit as she partakes of her drink, allowing the two to chat without interruption for the moment. Ramjet smiles crookedly at Kick-Off. "You measure your answers..." He nods his head in admiration. "No, I think there is more to you than you wish to share." He leans in to whisper towards Kick-Off, but loud enough for Slipstream to hear. "I wouldn't trust me either..." He chuckles before he continues. "No, if you feared death you would be dead, of that I am sure." Slipstream continues remaining silent as the two talk, taking slow sips of her drink. Kick-Off shifts a little bit, then glances to Ramjet again "There is more to everyone than they wish to share. Not everything is meant to be known." he rumbles back simply, focused on ramjet's own optics fearlessly. Ramjet slowly nods his head as he leans back, his optics never wavering. "Yes, we all keep our secrets...and keep other's secrets. Makes you wonder what the truth is sometimes." He sips his drink. "Or if it even matters..." He motions towards Slipstream. "But you still have not answered her request. Tell us a story about your fights." Slipstream lowers her glass and comments, "Or do not if you so wish. It was mere curiosity." Kick-Off replies "I am... not a good story teller. I would bore you." he explains to both "Maybe another day." he suggests. Ramjet shrugs slightly. "Another time then...I am easily amused." He offers the gladiator a polite nod. Kick-Off finishes his drink and stands, moving to depart quickly with just a nod to the two, almost stomping out Slipstream notes sagely, "Well he certainly wasn't pleasant at all." Ramjet turns to Slipstream and nods to her. "Yes, not pleasant at all..." He sips his drink. "Have you met him before?" You paged Ramjet with 'still being watched by mister idle ;p' Slipstream shakes her head, "Not until this cycle, no. But I have heard of his pit savvy." Ramjet nods his head as he sips his drink. "Heh, never seen a pit fight...are they entertaining?" Slipstream considers as she swirls her drink, "That depends if you find two mechs locked in mortal combat to the death entertaining." Ramjet matches Slipstream drink movement with his own. "Do you?" Slipstream looks over at Ramjet, "It’s the combat itself that's entertaining. You can learn a lot by mere observation. If I wished to see death, I'd like to be the one delivering it." Ramjet nods his head as he raises his drink in salute to Slipstream. "Well put." He ponders. "I heard the games were fixed..." He leans back as he sips his drink again, clearly the overcharged energon getting to him. "Tell me Slipstream, what would you do to save Cybertron?" Slipstream's wings shift back and down at the question, "I'm not a scientist Ramjet, so I have no solution that would save our world from the gravity of the black hole. I leave the thinking to those with the neural nets to do so." Ramjet smiles crookedly at her. "Good point." He leans back in the booth. "But you agree Cybertron is worth saving? Even if the price is high?" Slipstream considers this carefully, hands in her lap for the moment. Wings drooping just a hint more. "I don't know if it is worth saving or not. The war will not be easy upon our world. If the price of winning is tearing our home apart, I don't believe it will be worth it. However, if we win without too much damage so we could rebuild it. Then the price is worth it." Ramjet listens to every word that Slipstream says. A slight wave of relief seems to pour over his features as he relaxes even more. "Cybertron can be rebuilt...I know it." He sips his drink again. "I mean that is what we are fighting over, how best to save Cybertron?" Slipstream rolls her shoulders, "Probably more so now than it was in the past." Ramjet nods his head. "Heh." He chirps. "The Energon must have gotten to me...sorry to go all philosophical on you there..." He sips his drink. "Have you been to these shows before? Are they entertaining?" Slipstream smirks a bit to the admittance, "Oh did you get high grade? That will go straight to your neural net." she points out, then a shake of her head. "I will when I have free time to do so. Wouldn't do if I shirked a mission or other duty to go there." Ramjet matches the smirk. "I only drink the hard stuff..." He motions to his head. "Helps with the ringing...my moves do have their draw backs." He nods his head slightly. "Have you never shirked your duty before?" Slipstream moves a hand to pat the front of the cone head, "Maybe you should get something to make the drawbacks less so hm?" she asks, then a laugh, "Goodness no. never shirked." Ramjet smiles softly at Slipstream's touch, for once he does not recoil or move other than to relax. "Perhaps you are right...but in a weird sort of way, I have become use to the ringing." A mischievous smile crosses his lips. "Never? Never even thought about it?" Slipstream retracts her hand, "A lot more tolerant of annoying things hm?" then a pause, "No never even thought about it. Didn't dodge out of classes or anything. Not a troublemaker." Ramjet optics flicker. "Hrm? Yeah, some things you grow to like...some things you discover you never liked before and then are glad you found them." He grins crookedly at Slipstream. "Ahhh...I see. Never even once?" Slipstream takes a moment to finish off her second glass and licks her lips, "Not once. I'm was a model student and plan on being a model warrior." Ramjet nods his head as he continues to smile. "No doubt...as you might have guessed, I am not the model student or the model warrior." His optics flicker. "But I really *like* your conviction and passion in becoming a warrior..." He sips his glass again, finishing it. Slipstream smiles, "Something to aspire too perhaps?" she asks, wings flicking Ramjet matches the smile. "Yeah, let’s go with that..." He lets out a chuckle. Slipstream nods, "Well I'm fully energized for the moment, how about you?" Ramjet optics flicker as he nods. "Yeah, me too..." He glances at his chronometer. "I think I have a patrol soon..." Slipstream hmms softly, "I see, well then I shall let you get out of here." she states, shifting around to get out of the booth. Ramjet lets out a sigh. "Duty first then." He follows Slipstream out as he tilts his head towards her. He reaches a hand behind his head. "Uh, it was, nice talking to you..." He looks at the exit. "Do it, uh, again soon?" He adds. "Or Spar again?" Slipstream turns toward the mech, she studies him a moment or two then decides. "Perhaps both." Ramjet spirits seem lift. "Uh yeah!" He steps towards her, but merely nods at her. "And then the show..." He adds quickly. Slipstream says, "I look forward to it then. Have fun on patrol Ramjet." Ramjet smiles at Slipstream. He opens to ask her on patrol, but thinks better of it. He whispers to himself. "Better to maintain an air of mystery." Ramjet simply nods at her. "Thank you. Good cycle to you Slipstream." Slipstream is already at the door to the bar so doesn't hear your words.
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