Knock Knock

[Deleted]

Characters: @atomizer , Rotor
Location: The scrapyard bases entrance, and beyond within the boundaries of the scrapyard base.
Content Warnings: Adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, narration in third person, prepositions, and possibly interjections(!)
Plot Summary: Atomizer is invited to the scrapyard, and finds he has some adjusting to do. As luck would have it, a fellow Autobot is waiting just around the corner...

[Deleted]

He was beginning to think he was doing something wrong. What was wrong with everyone? He could have sworn all the humans had heard and seen his kind before. He’d passed by six different humans who he didn’t care to know the name or face of who’d whipped out their phones at the sight of him, taping or flashing pictures of him. The more he walked, the more he started to get he began to get the notion that something wasn’t right with what he was doing. Atomizer thought about transforming into his alternate mode, but that was just as bad, considering it was a Cybertronian muscle car. Yeah, that wasn’t going to call any more attention to himself at all.

So the mech had taken paths that weren’t direct roads, traveling towards the coordinates of where he’d been invited. Other Autobots were on earth. He wasn’t surprised. It was just odd the Humans seemed so fascinated by his appearance. Atomizer’s bleak yellow visor fixed itself on the distance as he brushed through the pin trees, the Autobot vicinity that he’d been invited to was just a hop, skip and a jump away.

And it looked like a large amount of garbage desperately surrounded with a crude metal wall of sorts. If anyone was a flier they’d have no problem getting into the base. Grounders though, it could prove difficult, although Atomizer guessed that if he could jump high enough, they’d make it over. Maybe all these Autobots are from Junkion. Or worse, they just don’t have anyone who knows what they’re doing. Atomizer thought. Then again, perhaps these Autobots were short on resources. Either way Atomizer continued to make his way towards the entrance of the large base.

His finely painted scarlet and beaming yellow paint job reflected beautifully in the afternoon sunlight, however the mech still decided to brush himself off one last time. Atomizer leaned up against the wall by the entrance, before using the same com-link that he’d been invited with:
::Alright. I’m here. Anyone home?::

Atomizer’s servos absessively found there way to his cross bow, probably the most beautifully made weapon he’d ever seen. His chest swelled with pride at it’s appearance, like the trained sniper he was, he peeked around in a brisk arch through the red lenses of the scope. No one was watching that he knew of, but since he couldn’t have liked having it more in his company and he knew you could never be too safe, he began playing with the multiple visions of the scope: X-ray, heat vision, passing the minutes away patiently.

[Rotor]

Experience had told her to expect the natural inhabitants to worry over technology that stood towering over them. She has been to a few planets that had the denizens that were not quite as big as her Cybertronian form nor as advanced as their tech. This had lead to her having to "enjoy" a more secretive nature while on the ground of certain planets as opposed to others. Of course this secretive nature had a few slip ups here and there, luckily enough she was in more militarized zones when this had occured! Nothing like having human allies cover up your existence with their battle bot program.

As of late she had secluded her duties to a junk yard, fitting for her form as she could decorate her exterior in a multitude of various rusty colors she found within the confines. If it was one thing these denizens liked, it was camo for their military vehicles. One of which she graciously accepted! Though her camo was effective, having a giant wall between you and another can very much hide anything that you are doing. Sinister or peaceful doings.

Silent sensors alerted her to an oncoming Cybertronian, forcing her to drop her resource counting chore and rush to the panels to check the camera feeds. Click, click, click. She cycled through the feeds on the one panel that had a decent screen to it. She will need to find one that wasn't so cracked. Then she saw a bright eye sore that contrasted the rust and the dirt around the wall. A quick search over their body was conducted in search of any allegiance sigil. The com link came on and startled her before she picks up, "It's you! I wasn't expecting you this early... Here let me open the front gate up."

Without hesitation, the front gate of the base was opened up with a creaky groan. It wasn't used to being opened and closed so often. She can hear it from deep within the base. Once he was inside the walls, she closed the gate and made a mental note to get some repairs done to it. Maybe reinforce it. Make Denny mad at the modifications. Add more reinforcements shortly after while making eye contact.

"Welcome to the Scrapyard Atomizer!" She spoke with opened arms, recolored to match the glorious rust that was all around. Plus some snazzy paints on some items.

[Deleted]

He enjoyed nature’s company, the peaceful chirps of the birds caused him to glance around behind his visor, admiring the trees, clothed in their endless leaves and thick bark. He had never been one for wildlife, or bursting out into song while he went on a hike, yet for some reason he found this atmosphere more welcoming than what he’d previously experienced. Atomizer couldn’t put his finger on why, but the peacefulness was putting him in a good mood. His subconscious was finding a fine hang-out-spot after…more tense matters that had occurred in the past.

"It's you! I wasn't expecting you this early... Here let me open the front gate up."

A voice called through the microphone, the same voice that had summoned him given him the scoop on where to meet her. He usually prided himself with trying to be punctual—especially if he was stranded in the middle of nowhere, and needed someone to talk to and eventually some energon. Atomizer stopped his leaning against the wall, casually turning his attention to the gate. The screech of the gate, squawking ajar. The sound made Atomizer cringe like a student hearing a teacher dragged a fingernail across a chalkboard. The mech took only a moment to loosen his tight shoulders afterward, then beheld his host. She was a flier, but obviously wasn’t just any jet. The femme was a helicopter, he could see her thin strands of wing-appendages reach low to the ground. Her breathing mask gave him reason to believe she wasn’t one of the rare fliers to be afraid of heights. If she needed it to breath, which her cords and masks frame indicated, it was obvious she’d spent plenty of time in high atmosphere. Her camouflage complimented the rust of the entire ‘base’ that he’d arrived at.

"Welcome to the Scrapyard Atomizer!"

She welcomed cordially. Atomizer tipped his helmet in a small bow of respect,
“Aye! It’s a pleasure coming.” He replied with just the same measure of enthusiastic politeness. Atomizer’s crossbow found it’s way leaning against his shoulder, its barrel smiling at the sky with a loaded arrow. Atomizer took a brisk look behind his host. His helm rotated from right to left as he briskly skimmed the ‘Scrapyard’.

“I’d say ‘Scrapyard’ is a generous way of putting it.” Atomizer noted outloud. The shelves full of assorted trash made him chuckle.
“I see that you’ve been experiencing some monstrous budget cuts here. Unless you’re about to tell me that we have a secret extension of this base underground.” Atomizer paused as if computing the likeability of that. It really just mattered on what kind of mech was in charge. If it was Prowl or any Wrecker, then heck yeah, there’d be an underground extension. Atomizer then realized that he wasn’t making the most positive imprint on his first arrival. Maybe it would be hard to blame any interior engineer not to comment on a place like this, but he still needed to pull his act together. Because if this was the Autobot base, he was gonna need an act until he fixed this place up.

“But hey, I bet it’s more than it looks like. Anyways, You know my name, but I didn’t really catch yours.” Atomizer gave a casual hand gesture towards the fellow Autobot. No need to start on the-glass-is-half-empty notes anyways.

[Rotor]

Having someone crash into the mudball and be on time shortly after wasn't of Rotor's main concern. It was rather having them make it to safety in one piece preferably undetected. The safety of the walls was compromised as the front gate withdrew into it's slot to allow entry into the base or junkyard or respite or... The home of which Rotor protects was something she could both hate and cherish.

The flier was an oddball in comparison to others. Them being jets with faces that held no masks and flaunted their perfect smiles while she was a helicopter with a mask. Her mask was something that covered quite a bit, not letting any features be able to be read by the naked optic. Was she wearing it to be protected, cool? The tube that lead to it was attached to a shoulder pack that softly hummed at the moment to clear the air for her to breath. The vents whirled quickly to suck in more air before calming down a bit right before she spoke.

"The Scrapyard is a generous name. The human that owns it would rather that name than some of the ones I suggested. He owns it, not I, so his rules." A roll of her shoulders was given to suggest that she lost a battle with that human and has yet to full accept defeat. "Monstrous budget cuts? Honestly we have a piece of a broken prison ship in the back of this place acting as a console. The other features are turrets and cameras... Were you expecting a full base and heavy weaponry?" At this point the chopper blades that adorned her hip like an archer's skirt fluttered in surprise. What sort of budget was expected? This began to worry her about the state of the base! The sound of that air compressor was more easily heard as it picked up in pace.

The now nervous flier adjusted her stance towards the gate control to wait for him to fully enter before closing the front gate, no need to have it wide open. "My name is Rotor. Explosives expert in training." In training?! Surely she must know how an explosive works to last this long to say such things??? Her humor helped her relax a bit with that air intake calming down in vents. "I jest in the explosives experts in training! I mainly blast the ground from above with rockets and machine gun fire. A support as you will." This earned Atomizer a flex of her arm to show some dents in her armor left behind by anti air rounds exploding close to her frame. Seems she had some fond memories and trophies to show off. Is she trying to prove herself worthy to others or to her own self?

[Deleted]

Atomizer found the Scarpyard to match the description of ‘home’, despite how junky it was. He’d seen a lot of scrappy places throughout his days as an Autobot, since the faction wasn’t exactly one for being rich. He was used to working with only what he had. He was already seizing up all the garbage, looking at all the scrapped cars, rusty pieces of metal, and loose wire. Huh. He thought. The conditions of this Autobot division seemed a little needy, and sad. They were working out of a crashed ship with only a handful of useful pieces and weapons? Their ammunition was probably low. These guys likely weren’t doing too great on soldiers either.

The femme was one of those girls who loved to gesture. Atomizer always fancied their types, it definitely made them more readable. Ironically, she was extra expressive despite the fact that she wore a mask. Then she stuttered like rookie she was, and showed off some dents. Yeah, I can totally work with this gal. Atomizer decided. He shrugged,

“Oh, there isn’t really a status quo on budget in the Autobot ranks. Heck, once my group was so low on weapons I fused and strapped a guy to the side of a gunship to make up for a machine-gun turret.” Atomizer’s hands automatically were repeating the motion he’d done to accomplish his mentioned feat. He fantasized once again the Autobot who’d vulonteered for the job, holding a pistol in one hand and showing his thumbs up with the other. “Oh. He had a weapon, and he did fine. Last I checked he was still cleaning the dirt out of his faceplate from our crash landing, but ay, it happens to the best of us.” Atomizer nodded.

“But nah, I don’t expect much these days from Autobot bases. I’m counting down the days to when I find a base that uses slingshots and mud balls.” Atomizer chuckled, though if he was really joking would remain a mystery. “Nice dents by the way. I like to see dents on people’s arms rather than their heads. Because you know…it’s a tad harder to work with someone with—eh, you get it.” Atomizer took a step forward, analyzing the scrapyard again. He bent downward, picking up an exhast pipe. He brought it up to his eye like a telescope,

“Yeah, not bad stuff here. I’ll see what I can do in a jiffy. Who does technology stuff around here? And uh, mind giving me a bit of a tour of the place? I think I’m probably going to be camping here for a little while if you guys don’t mind an extra bot. If you need me to advertise myself, just think about the place painted over in flame decals.” Atomizer offered, still jesting a bit. He was cool whether she was a rookie or not, and it was clear he found her to be fine company. Although his sarcastic humor could definitely be negatively interpreted.

[Rotor]

The Scrapyard was something of an organized mess that fits into an aesthetic that one would call home after a short while. Random objects that either serve no purpose or could if you managed to figure it out. Decorations, collections, repairs. All of which had been growing on Rotor in a sense though in her experience it also made her wary. Most of the items here could be repurposed into war time effort items. Such as ammo or armor! That truck over there looked sturdy enough for bracers. Now to get the owner of the scrapyard to allow her to refit it.

The energetic Rotor admired her dings and dents, bullet holes and scratch marks about her body. Stories for a later date when Atomizer asked about them. Though no such markings adorned her mask and tube that lead to her shoulder mounted... packs of whatever they were! Which sucked in a bit of air before she spoke once more.

"You had your friend strapped to the side of a ship for extra firepower? I commend his bravado and willingness... I just hope he got a higher kill count for that!" She does roll her bigger shoulder while thoughts of the mech strapped there were filling her mind. What a sight to behold! Surely that will shock the Decepticons to see such lengths to be achieved by the Autobot cause. Then she drooped her shoulders, the lengths that the Autobot cause will achieve... Let alone survive or give others a chance to. She does look up to Atomizer when he spoke of the crash landing, at least the mech survived that to clean his faceplate!

A big swing of her arm was given, "Hey now! Slingshots filled with grenades and mudballs can be effective! But I still like my explosives and heavy machine gun fire. She wanted to show off her weaponry yet training made her keep them in check, in storage among her body, and with as few accidents as possible. "Rather fun blowing up the Cons on the ground when they can't fly up to you. A cacophony of explosions to many a Decepticon, but melodies in need of fine tuning to me." Destructive and a little loose? Still she didn't show off her weapons on base. So she had control over her hands but her mouth?

The compliment to her dents did bolster her ego in a way. She survived long enough to have them noticed! Just like that telescope he used, "Toolbox is our main man for technology related issues. I try and not to get him all flustered with my explosives and how close they can be to his projects or sensitive material. Which I can guarantee that they will not go off unlike someone's mouth!" The thin pede she had stomped the ground while her servos came to rest upon her hips in dismissal.

[Deleted]

Atomizer chuckled as the memory washed over him.
“Yeah, the guy got a raise, big time.” Atomizer fondly shook his helm at the memory, as a father would shake his helm at a sparkling’s adorable naughtiness. There was a glint in his optic as he watched Rotor think about his story. Oh, he could go on for hours about his adventures. At least, the shards of adventures he remembered. Memrory was being faulty as of late. The red racer was already categorizing the garbage in the secto. The plating form the truck looked nice, but he wouldn’t ever use it for any kind of armor. No, it would be better smelted down into something else. With a fuse and his trusty tools he’d make a good weapon out of it yet.

“Eh. I guess whatever gets the job done. But I prefer doing my job with some style. If I’m throwing sticks and stones at the enemy, then I’m going to do it right. Ya’know what I mean?” Atomizer nodded his helm to the side. She doesn’t have bad enthusiasm. Rookies like her are often frontliners, suprirtsed she doesn’t have more dents. Her armor’s still pretty shiny too… Atomizer mused to himself, Somehow, she must have been withheld from the front lines. he speculated. The talk of this Toolbox character caused Atomizer to huff.

“The guy’s a rule-keeper is he? Heh. Sounds like a nightmare already.” Atomizer took another survey of the scrap yard. “Still. I’m guessing you guys have at least some sort of defense system if there’s more of you. Where there’s Autobots, there’s Decepticons.” Atomizer sighed, “What kind of automated weaponry do you have installed? I mean, even if command can be a pain in the aft, they’re not always dumb. This place is full of potential for hiding weaponry. Especially if it can be disguised as scrap.” Atomizer was smiling behind his mask.

“So you told me about this Toolbox guy being in charge of weaponry. Who’s the main-officer in command here? Just so I know who to rally behind and all that, or who to ask to join up here.” Atomizer inquired. He’d just got there, but it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go. A part of him felt as though he ought to be in a space ship, but he couldn’t put his figure on it. A part of him wondered if Rodimus was around these parts…