Function and Functionality

[Deleted]

Characters: @nines and @lightspeed
Location: Nemesis, tools/weapons bay
Content Warnings: A whole lotta words.
Plot Summary: Two mechanics meet one another, and for better or for worse, start a conversation.

[Deleted]

It'd taken him a few hours to find, but at last, in the remarkably large ship, Nines had found the weapons and tool bay. The small place was smaller than it ought to be, and looked like it was someoenone's lab with a minute-made makeover. Nines didn't mind the room though, if the place did it's job, that was all that mattered. 

His vents hissed loudly as he adjusted his left arm, flexing his digits while his neutral yellow visor beheld the area. The vehicon knew accessing it wouldn't be a problem for him. He also knew it wasn't some second rate place either. just a glance at the equipment inside told him the place was filled with potential. Nines could practically feel the oil and the metal working between his digits...the new arrival sucked in air, before lowering his shoulders in an exhale. 

He walked into the supply bay, his eyes immediately bending downward as he began fingering his way through a few Isles. he headed for the scrap area, knowing he could count on finding the most inspiration for tools and gizmos he liked to keep in his large rectangular pack. The unpredictability of what he might find gave him a small surprise worth looking forward to, and traveling for. The other Isles beckoned to him with their other goodies, but Nines would inspect them later, see if they were worth his dime. At last, he reached the prized scraps. 

Wordlessly, he picked a knob-like piece of equipment up to the light while his secondary visor slid over his first, inspecting it to see if it was of decent material...

[Deleted]

Of course since she'd been moved recently from her old grounded base lab, the femme would have to begin working immediately and making her lab organized wasn't her most pressing priority. Additionally, there were plenty of cons going in and out of it, forgetting that the femme was working in there and/or to ask to use the materials. She fumbled for a wrench, her fingers closing around it, she picked it up and resumed her work, that is, until she heard the doors to the makeshift lab once again slide open. She rolled her optics, wondering who it was this time, and straightening as she glanced around. She couldn't quite pick out where they were, that is, until they began making a whole lot of noise in the scrap pile.

Quirking an optic ridge, she set down her wrench and turned, leaning against her table as she eyed the area where the con was sifting through materials. She had yet to organize her lab and find more materials, sure, but why were they searching through the /scrap/ pile? Confused and a bit amused, Lightspeed slowly made her way over. She pressed her servo against one of the shelves, peeking around it to see a mech, his features not yet fully completed, with a pack with him as he filled it with what she would have otherwise called 'useless' or 'last minute material'.

She cringed as the light bounced off of the knob he held in his servos and hit her straight in the optics, shaking her head, she blinked several times vigorously. She sighed deeply, making her presence known, and strolled out from behind her vantage point. She placed her hands on her hips, a smirk playing at her painted lips as she swayed her hips to the side, shifting her weight. She wondered if he knew what he was holding, or even knew that he was in someone's workspace.

"Of all the places to look for material, the scrap pile?"

[Deleted]

"One mech's junk is another mech's treasure." Nines said as he heard a voice coming from behind him. It was a girl, no doubt. He kept his optics on the small brass knob, still imagining it's potential. He knew that there was likely only a few small pieces within the item. His helm never gave her a second's worth of a glance as he continued to examine the piece, considering still. After almost a minute ticked by, Nines did at last put the piece down, deciding it wasn't worth his time. That didn't stop him from lifting up something that looked like it could be a chainsaw motor. It was likely used for something having to do with whatever torture (or some other idiotic misuse), as it had some energon stains still on it. 

He finally turned around to look at the femme as he felt comfortable with what he had, idly placing it in his pack with his favorite arm. He peered at the femme before him, who was just his height. her features were astonishingly curvy for a femme who spend her time in a workshop. 
"Strange, I don't ever find Models in a place like this." Nines commented moderately, stroking his chin. His secondary visor slid up, as the neutral yellow gazed at her. "But yes. A scrap pile. The potential is endless. Simply waiting to happen if you will." He said thoughtfully. 

Behind his visor though, he was still seizing up the femme. The way she held herself made him get the vibe she likely wasn't one of those humble-and-pretty types. No, often times Decepticons that looked like this had some sort of...siren trait about them he could never put his finger on. He kept such comments to himself, as he didn't see the need in starting another war. 

[Deleted]

"Interesting way to process it, I may have jumped to conclusions..." She tilted her helm, eyeing him still in curiosity now as her smirk vanished. He was certainly more intelligent than she had believed, she supposed she was just feeling overworked. She felt a feeling of embarrassment and silent apology hit rock bottom, ducking her helm slightly, she cleared her vocals. "I suppose you can really use just about anything... Oh, um, I meant to ask you, who are you?" She inquired, adjusting her stance so that she stood straight. Her joints ached from standing in the lab so long, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. She shifted her weight again, this time more obviously and cringed as her pedes throbbed once again. Her optics followed his to the vibrant blue energon stains on the object he held with such interest, shuddering at the thought of how it had gotten there.

She moved her sandy gold optics back to meet his, taking in him fully now as his visor had slid up. He was nearly complete, but his arms were strangely mismatched. She wondered why, searching through her mind she realized maybe he'd lost it and his old design wasn't in use any longer. But he was a vehicon, so surely he could have it fixed? She brushed her thoughts away as he examined her, chuckling as he complimented her, no doubt on accident. Lightspeed knew she was an odd appearance in a place such as this, but despite her mother's pleads to become something other than an Engineer and 'waste that beautiful look of yours' had only driven her to become an accomplished Engineer. She had to claw and fight her way to the top, and since she was a femme, and a good looking one at that, it was anything but a walk in the park. "Thanks, and no, I suppose you don't. I chose a different path than objectifying myself." She stated strongly, hoping he wouldn't underestimate her like all the other mechs did.

"You have a creative, intuitive mind, usually I don't come across others that I can connect to. Are you an Engineer? Like me?"

[Deleted]

Nines hadn't expected the femme to start a conversation after his comments. Often times folks shrugged his words off, especially if they knew he was a vehicon. Nines gave a small grin at the femmes small interest in him, deciding he could use a small talk anyways. He just arrived, and there was a lot of work to be done around the Nemesis. Nines noticed how she lost her sass for the meantime, which was strange. Attitude change that quick wasn't something he often saw. Maybe she really was worth a talk. 

"Yes. You can use anything." The heavily modified vehicon responded, "I'm Nines. Surprised noticed I'm a vehicon--usually folks mistake me for someone who's naturally sentient until they hear the name." Nines gestured to his body. It wasn't necessarily ugly, but it was compact, patched, and far different than any build any other vehicon had. Most thought he was just a scrap pile, but Nines preferred to think he was simply one of a kind. 

"Heh. Thanks. I haven't been complimented ever since-" Nines paused, remembering his first days at vehicon creating. It had been a while. "-Eh, off the top of my head's nothings coming. Never mind on that though. Inthe meantime, usually people who work with technical 'stuff' lean towards the supposedly unused or shinier looking parts. There's nothing wrong with that, you're just paying a bit more." Nines shrugged. He too was examining the femme now a little more closely, as she seemed to not be full of hot air. Not yet at least. Her conclusions about him were flattering, but they'd only just met. She was either extremely observant, or knew how to get people's attention. He'd see soon enough if she had a silver tongue. 

"I don't come across many folks who deal with machinery either. Something I always found ironic since Cybertronians are machines. No, I'm not an engineer like you. I engineer as a side job now-a-days...officially, I'm known as a medic, as I said. A bit more boring, but when you know every part of vehicon anatomy, I guess 'medic' is a fitting job." He shrugged, realizing she'd unlocked his chatterbox side. Talking was something he liked to do, a being the psychologist he was. He hadn't 'come across others he could connect to' too much either. "Have you been in here a while?" He took his turn asking a question, "You look like you haven't done any stretching for a bit." He noted aloud. 

[Deleted]

Lightspeed was glad that conversation ensued after she spoke a few times, she could use the distraction from her work and he seemed nice enough, though, they had just met. She almost felt bad for vehicons, well, most of them, some she just couldn't give credit to, but they just weren't treated like actual living beings. Just mindless drones, but they weren't, they had thoughts of their own and could act independently, and she was fascinated by their creation and design. This one was very fixed up and looked much different, but his voice was similar and several small things here and there gave it away to an Engineer with a keen eye. Or a medic.

"Nines, nice. I could've mistaken you for one, yes, if I wasn't an Engineer. You may not be naturally sentient but you are just like the others, and without you folks, the Decepticons would be in much harder times. I think sometimes we underestimate that." She concluded, she felt she had chattered a bit, but it was important to her to make him aware of the fact she wasn't going to push or order him around. She tilted her head, her optics running over his design. "You're lucky you have such a unique design. Do you mind me asking why your arms are mismatched? It's so curious, not that it is bad, it is simply different."

The femme smiled as he thanked her, though it disappeared quickly. Immediately she felt pity. How couldn't he remember being complimented? Had he lost part of his memory... or.. had he simply never been complimented? She scuffed her heelstrut against the floor, folding her arms around herself as she allowed a smile to re-appear on her facial features. She never thought of it that way, she was grateful he'd enlightened her to this little of secret of his, maybe she could find something of use in there... She glanced at the pile, then back at him. "I wish I'd thought of that." She laughed.

"Well, we are in a way, bio-organic machinery, but living, and more complex than most any machine. I never thought of that before, actually." She tapped the tip of her chin with her finger. Her optics widened as he noticed her discomfort, she laughed again, scratching the back of her helm and glancing down. "I have a knack for working past my stopping point."

[Deleted]

Nines released a small huff as he saw her smile, and release some laughter. It was something nice to see after such a long time fighting. He was still going to be a little cautious with this femme, but so far she was provision to not be a direct jerk. He could work with that. He briskly picked up another piece of scrap metal as she spoke, listening to her as he felt the piece with his hands. He didn't pay it too much attention, but it felt like a decent little thing worth examining so far. 

Nines kept his focus on his fellow conversationalist, fondly taking this opportunity for chit-chat. He chuckled. Of he was one of the luckier vehicons out their alright. He had a strong identity, and he'd even gotten so used to not having his brain crowded with programming that he didn't introduce himself by his CT number. He hadn't said the number in so long sometimes he felt almost like a regular cybertronian. Ah, it was a nice, laid back feeling. 

"Thanks. Some vehicons are a little more sentient than others. I happen to be a part of a generation that was constructed with some stronger identity. Other drones aren't thick, but anyone from my generation often have an easier time getting a name." He mused, as he glanced to his arm. "Ah. My arms." He rolled the shoulder of the left arm, his favorite one. "Long story short I won it in a game of poker. Of course the fraggers I was playing with thought I'd cheated, so I had to grab it fast and sprint for the hills. Haha! Good times." He smiled at the memory. Heck, practically every scar and mis-matched part on him had some story. It's why he never had himself completely repaired. Memories were too precious for him to forget. 

"It's just a small irony I discovered." Nines shrugged, "Working past your hours...that's a better weakness than slacking for the most part. Still. If you know you'll work yourself to death, I'd say just try to schedule in some good resting hours. I know I have to." Nines tapped himself on the chest. He inhaled briskly, "I didn't catch your name. Mind shedding some light on the subject?" Nines asked, curious about this femme. 

[Deleted]

It felt good to laugh after such a long time of being secluded down in her grounded base. Down there it was quiet and all there were to talk to were computer screens, because the vehicons that guarded the facility were in no mood for talking. Ever. She could remember a time she made faces at them, tried to make them crack, but they stood as statuesque and silent as ever. Of course, they were black ops vehicons, so she supposed chit chat wasn't exactly something they'd inherited OR been programmed with. She dropped her arms to her sides.

Lightspeed watched him as he fumbled still through and searched the scrap pile for things to use for... whatever it is he was making. She rubbed her servos together, about to ask when he began speaking again. Sure, some were more dumb than others, some more clumsy, and some just more robotic, but there were others like Nines here from a generation that were given more of a thought process and personality. She didn't come across them often, but Nines was living proof they were out there. She tilted her helm, wondering if anycon she'd met was actually one of them but with such a new and re-structured body that she hadn't noticed.

Perking as the mech began to tell his story, she hung on every word, as he seemed so excited about his tale that she became excited, too. She laughed at the end of it, picturing the mech running with an arm chased after by drunk poker players. "Well, I'm sure you didn't cheat. I can't say I have a story as interesting as that," She chuckled, shaking her helm. She relaxed now, trusting him enough to let down her guard a bit and calm down, though be it a small change. She shrugged, "I used to be a messenger before I was an engineer."

She sighed, unfortunately, he was right. Though it wasn't nearly as back as being lazy or slacking off, it certainly wasn't a good habit either. She'd been trying to fix it as of late, but it was difficult for her. "I can recall a time when I needed a medic because of it. I'm trying to stop.. I'm just a bit of a perfectionist." She smiled lightly, glad to get off topic again, "The name's Lightspeed. But you can call me Speeds or Light if you want, I don't really mind."

[Deleted]

Nines had loosened up entirely at this point. The femme seemed open enough, she was relaxing, and nothing about her was giving off a bad vibe. Plus she'd asked the story about the arm, and the story always lightened him up as well. He wondered at the thought of her being a messenger before an engineer. A messenger? At this age? It sounded like an odd job, but perhaps this femme was a bit of a speedster. Yes, her alternate mode parts spoke of a hot-rod no doubt capable of great speeds. 

"Not every interesting story is fun to experience, and not every story that isn't exciting to one, doesn't mean it might be interesting to another," Nines used his wordy way of saying he was open to listening. The vehicon was always up for listening to stories. 

"Hmm. Lightspeed." he tested the name in his mouth, "Sounds like the name of a messenger alright. Engineers and mechanics usually have tech names." he asked, resisting the temptation to pull down his second visor for close ups on some of her alt-mode parts to clarify and for the sake of study. He knew it would be extremely awkward though. No one liked being looked at like a zoo exhibit, and he'd spare this tech-savvy femme that nuisance. 

"I don't know many speedsters who'd like to bunker down into something like engineering. What gotcha here?" Nines asked, also wondering if she was a velocitronian. he was experienced enough to ask one question at a time though. No need to be like those rookie vehicons(who unfortunately didn't last long) he made who had questions stream out of their mouths. 

[Deleted]

The femme stretched out her back, pulling out a makeshift stool from an old table, taking a seat, her engines let out a relaxed whirr, as if she felt better instantly. And she did, most of the aching from her legs and back calmed down as sitting had taken the pressure off, not to mention her mind was elsewhere, engaged in conversation such that she didn't realize her pains any longer. She prayed it would last, maybe taking a break would be good for once.

"Well, from an early age Velocitronians race, right? But I was born on Cybertron, and those born anywhere else are put to better use such as messengers. My father wanted me to do it so I could be in touch with my culture but also keep fit, but my mother didn't like it at all. She wanted me to get as far away from her culture, which held bad memories for her, and do something safer. This got worse as the war ensued and finally after carrying messages back and forth they couldn't take it any longer, so I went into training as a Scientist and Engineer..."

"So... I guess that's how, and yeah, I was one of the fastest, and I loved it quite a lot. Racing is in my energon, which is why I tend to get grumpy after a while of being cooped up for so long in a lab. But what I always wanted to be was a fighter, though I would need training and much better armor for something like that. I've always envied the traits of strength and such, but as you can see I'm not built for going against heavy duty fighters. It can be a little difficult to fight someone with lots of speed though, heh."

Lightspeed realized she'd rambled on and blushed, the crimson blooms lightly dusting her cheeks as she ducked her helm.

[Deleted]

Nines leaned against the wall he was merely feet away from. The scrap pile was in the corner of the room after all. While he never granted his hand-held item a glimpse, he rolled it around in his digits, listening as quietly as he could manage to the femme as she gave her story. Nines grinned as he listened to her story go on and on. She was enjoying herself alright. Really, a lot of a femmes liked to speak on some topic or another, there was just a sort of trigger or scenario it took to get them to speak. Or data was consistent with that theory.

So she was a velocitronian after all. Or sort of, anyways. It was an educated guess. Really, there were hundreds of cybertronians with fast car alt modes who weren't velocitronian. Still. There were enough velocitronians driving around for it worth to be a part of the guessing equation. He releases a small grunt of an ex-vent upon hearing her wish to be a combatant. A few flashes of the battlefield came to his mind, as he thought of the advantages of fighting. Drones like Maleki and Sev found some small joy in it, but Nines had always found little to no satisfaction in beating anyone to a pulp. Or killing them swiftly, or eliminating them in anyway at all. Fighting wasn't fun. It isn't fun for me. Nines thought, pondering if the femme had given a real shot at it or not. To him it seemed such a green thing for her to say she wanted to be a combatant. Lost in his own thoughts, he hardly noticed her blushing, until she ducked her helm, causing enough movement to catch his eye. 

"It must have been rough coming home everyday." He spoke, clearly just coming back to planet earth(so to speak) He didn't bother asking how she'd joined the faction yet, as he guessed most people like her often joined the Decepticon cause because they either liked the power, or saw it as a just cause. He couldn't put his finger on which was which for Lightspeed, but he could tell she wasn't here to grab power. He pretended to ignore the blush, as he didn't really know what to do with it. If she was embarrassed about it he wasn't going to talk of it. 

"I wouldn't envy anyone else's traits. I developed on the belief that your strengths were who you are. being something you aren't simply wastes time you could use showing what you can do with your real talents." Nines answered. He paused for a few seconds, considering his next words. "Why'd you want to fight, and have you ever tried it before?" Nines asked. It's...not a very nice job. The vehicon rubbed the back of his neck with his right arm, glancing to his left, and then his legs. They were stiff, mostly prosthetics. His whole person had been taxed because of 'fighters', and him being one. He didn't like the thought at all, though he tried his best to keep the wariness out of his voice. 

[Deleted]

Lightspeed nodded in agreement, "It wasn't, my mother's parents died in the Velocitronian super races, I mean, they don't determine their leader through a simple and easy race. Then there would be too many candidates. I think everyone should choose their leader through a democracy of some sort, but that's just my thinking. My mother was terrified I'd injure myself or wind up in a bad place and get hurt because I couldn't protect myself..."

She shook her helm, sighing deeply. In reality she just wanted to protect herself and others, but how could she admit to that? She leaned against her elbow set on the table, taking a load off. She listened to him explaining why she shouldn't envy strength, he had a point, she was incredibly fast and had quite the powerful mind, something she could use relatively without getting in the line of fire. She supposed he was right, letting another sigh pass her ruby red painted lips, she gazed at the farthest wall, deep in thought, and chose her next words very carefully. "I'm just afraid I'll get hurt...Or maybe others think I'm weak.. I joined the Decepticons for two things, the cause, because, really, our government was pretty terrible. And the second, because I knew they could protect me and would have a use for me. I'm sure if my mother's out there still she's worrying her processor to bits."

The femme shook her helm, placing her servos on her thighs. "Never. I don't think I will, ever. It's just kind of a fantasy, I mean I know it is dangerous and fighting isn't glorious or fun, and death is certainly a drab subject, but if it comes down to it I want to protect those around me that I love. Which, I guess is silly, because right now I have none of my family and... well, I don't know. Protect those in need."

[Deleted]

Nines listened to the engineer, wondering how many times he'd meet someone like this. He'd seen a few mechs and femmes like this, where there was a hint of innocence and or desire to do real good. He didn't hear this sort of thing too often. Though time would tell if she was being true to her words or not, after all, character was who you are when nobody is looking. Nines still found in him sympathy to spare for Lightspeed though. He could criticize anyone all he liked in his mind, but his spark was something easily tugged. 

Nines dwelled on her words. She's likely already been hurt. She just doesn't want to get hurt again. From what he knew of parents, he knew many could be very close to them. Like so many others, her story evolved into something dramatic and without closure. It was sad, what giraffes life brought. Nines could only be glad he was designed to handle stress a little more than the typical sentient. Nines decided not to comment anymore on Lightspeeds parents, as he wasn't sure what to say. 

"I wouldn't bank up too much on not getting hurt. Being an engineer means you're safe from most of the bad physical dangers. You'd be surprised how bad you might get hurt from the inside of the base." Nines said, as he recalled the fateful day when the Autobots came in, destroying his brothers, raining fire down upon every member of his generation. At the time he hadn't known how the Autobots had come, but in hind sight, he had hypothesized some Deceptions had been in on it. He knew of no other explanation. The only reason he didn't look more into the matter was because it hurt. Still. 

"Battlefields and skirmishes don't determine everything though. They show a lot about who people are, what they're made of, but it usually comes at the cost of their lives." Nines said grimly, "Heh. Glad to know you're not a greenie on this matter. Thought you were for a second. I think you're wise for avoiding combat training though. Beating others up for your own beliefs can have a number of negative effects on you. There's plenty out there who get so used to fighting and killing they start to feel numb. It's why sometimes it's best to send drones because they can deal with it a bit better." Nines coughed, as he looked down at himself,  "Sometimes." Nines sighed as he thought about her last words, how she wanted to protect the needy, and those she loved. It sounded like a pure intention alright. He sighed as the conversation was bringing lots of saddening memories. 

"Protecting people can be difficult." Nines shook his helm, "Protecting the needy can be difficult. First you gotta ask who in Megatron's name is needy, then decide if you're really willing to do something about that. There's a whole list of do's and don'ts after that, because the system we're in is hard to say the least. I guess what I'm saying is be careful." The vehicon advised. His voice was that of a veteran's; coated with experience. 

[Deleted]

The engineer tilted her helm, frowning. You could get hurt inside the base, sure, if you ticked off one of your comrades, but what else was he talking about? Was he speaking of some sort of breach? Her optics widened at the thought, she'd be taken out for sure unless said breach was taken care of; that is, unless she pleaded mercy. The thought disgusted her, but when it came to sparing lives the Autobots were pretty lenient. She crossed her arms, setting one pede down on the ground.

She could recall a long time ago on one of her runs she'd encountered some rough characters who thought she was someone else, beat her up pretty good. She had to just curl and cower until they took all the currency she had on her and leave, because she was nothing up against the sheer might of their pounding blows. She was lucky they hadn't been drunk enough to try anything else, or she might be dead or had never made it to the place where she was right at this moment.

Lightspeed shuddered, rubbing her arms and glancing off to the side as she listened to him recount the woes of battle. She couldn't stand the thought of fighting for fun, for justice, maybe, but for fun, and killing for fun, was simply unfathomable to her. She gazed back up at him, curious as the conversation took a different turn. It was true, she really had no one to protect, at least, no one who followed the great Lord Megatron needed any protection. Aside from her. She chuckled softly, shrugging. "I suppose you're right, no one here needs any protecting. I just wish I felt safer."