[Video] - the garden in Alpha Trion's quadrant

[angleofscience]

[locked to Starscream (audio)]

[This part of the message comes a fair bit earlier than the rest, given that it's made the moment Jetfire's actually back on Cybertron and in the Haven, and thus... well, capable of even sending it out.]

Starscream... I'm sorry.

[He has to start somewhere, even if this will, obviously, not be enough.][/locked]

[While it's mostly a view of Jetfire, it's obvious he's standing near the garden in Alpha Trion's quadrant, looking slightly... pinched.]

While intending to perform a scan of the Lambda which would've hopefully given us more information to work with potentially getting back where we belong, the modifications I'd been fitted with had a bit of a... er, conflict, with some of my own systems.

I ended up elsewhere in the galaxy, and given the planet I landed on, I took some time to perform a few basic inquiries.

[The view tilts, sweeps down and shows an eclectic bunch of containers (made of one empty cube and two boxes made of rock obviously carved with lasers), one of which contained... well, nothing more exciting than dirt. The other two, however, were filled to the brim with nearly violently pink, oblong fruits - those of you from Earth and familiar with American football might recognise the shape. Scale was of course hard to tell, but they were probably the size of an adult human's head.]

With the limited knowledge I have of what's necessary nutrients for at least humans, and what's poisonous, as far as I can determine, they're edible. [He can't guarantee taste, though, not that Jetfire thought of that at all.] Someone with more knowledge than I may want to investigate further to make absolutely sure, however.

[The view shifts back to Jetfire as he moves his arm with the sceen away from the ground and the containers.]

I need to stress that you need to be very careful when handling the fruit; breaking the skin in any way will cause the up to four seeds within to start to germinate very quickly, so we need to figure out how to keep the seeds inert until they're needed, because the fruits will produce more seed than necessary to feed our current organic population...

The plant created by the seed will grow to bearing fruit and die within four days, so as you can understand, a steady, quick supply of fruit will not be an issue and does require some care in how many seeds are planted.

[He glances down at the ground, then back up, a frown growing from his flat, pinched expression.]

I'll answer questions as you might have them, but I would prefer to not have to be involved further with this.

[No, he's not going to elaborate too deeply into why. Suffice to say he doesn't like plants now. At all.]

Comments

[Video]

[knightinbluearmor]

[To be honest, all the science thing about going into space and all fly high above Melan's head but he understand food. He needs a lot of it, especially since he can't go into Ampoule form with nobody to break it and free him.]

Hm... Did you try to freeze the fruit? It might kill the seeds inside...?

[Video]

[angleofscience]

I didn't really have much equipment available with me, so that would be something to try for those who'll check how truly edible they are. As long as it doesn't destroy the fruit, I suppose that could be a possibility.

[Nodding, Jetfire casts a glance down at the containers again, and then at the screen, a briefly curious look at Melan; not something he recognises.]

I believe, however, it'd probably be more useful to render the seeds inert instead of outright killing them, as stockpiling for future use might be better.

[Video]

[knightinbluearmor]

I... am not familiar with science, sorry. But I can try to eat one, to see if they are edible. I eat mostly human food, and I am pretty resilient. If it's poisoned, ot should outright kill me.

[Melan ignores the curious look and doesn't reciprocate. The screen hides how tall Jetfire really is.]

[video] the usual apology for whirl

[whirlybird_of_prey]

Great. You. Doing more science. Because those bugs worked out so awesome.

And you brought back dirt. [WE HAVE DIRT RIGHT HERE, JETFIRE.]

[video] be gentle, Whirl /swoon

[angleofscience]

The bugs have been dispersed now for a while, have they not? So while that was a... er, bit of a situation, no one came to harm.

[Dignity doesn't count either.]

'Dirt' native to the planet the fruit, and thus the plant, comes from. I'm not a xenobiologist, but I would surmise that putting the seeds in something as close to the usual chemical makeup of the soil the plant usually grows in would ensure a better success.

[Just... slightly dry expression and a cocked helm. Alien flora isn't his area (and will now never be), but that doesn't mean he can't extrapolate basics.]

[video]

[whirlybird_of_prey]

Luck.

[His dignity is still sore. ]

Wait. Wait. So you manage to get out of here, and not only do you COME BACK, you bring something like...utterly useless.

Lemme guess, you can't go back, either.

[deadlydoctor]

you make a cute gardener. I didn't know you had it in you.

[angleofscience]

A... No. [Jetfire frowns, shaking his helm.]

I merely picked these up from the planet I ended up in, and I'm not going to have anything... further... to do with them. Planting the seeds and caring for the plants will be someone else's duty.

[Like, those who actually would benefit from their existence on Cybertron.]

[deadlydoctor]

I got that, I was just joking. [Relax, Jetfire.] You like the organics?

[raceme]

JETFIRE! You are back and safe, I'm glad. you GOT ME worried.

And you worried you-know-who- too.

[angleofscience]

Blurr. And... er, yes. I... had something of a mishap.

[The smile slides into a wince.]

I am... aware, yes.

[raceme]

The Lambda _{dragged you inside} the time-space rift?

It was sort of cute, in a WEIRD way. He does care after all.

[Locked]

[aerospacecommander]

... You --

You dare call me to say you're sorry?!

After I didn't even find out you left until after you were gone?!

[Locked]

[angleofscience]

[He can't exactly keep his expression straight, but suppresses the wince quickly enough.]

I did try to tell you before I left and you know very well what happened then, but yes.

I called you to say I'm sorry. Because I am. I... well, even if this was one of the better outcomes, that doesn't make it right that I left without telling you, or... well.

[He flounders for a moment, hesitant for what to say, then shakes his helm slowly.]

Where are you, Starscream?

[He does already have something at work to simply trace Starscream's Link signal, because he has some doubts Starscream won't get too angry to tell him.

Which is his right, really.]

[Locked]

[aerospacecommander]

Forget it. I'm done.

[HE'S JUST GOING TO HANG UP. Also he is in his room at Megatronus' temple.]

[Video]

[staresat]

[Oh.]

[Someone is intrigued by your report.]

You've managed to break free of the Lambda's interference.

[Please, do explain. Shockwave has had some experience studying alien fauna namely earth dinosaurs, but the amount of cares he gives about this little fruit problem is currently at 0%. So let's get to the more important topic.]

[Video]

[angleofscience]

With the help of the modifications Liege Maximo gave me, yes. I'm capable of reaching escape velocity and breaking orbit, but the Lambda has until now, like for anyone else who possesses the same ability or a ship that can, made that impossible.

[To be honest, the fact that Liege had wanted him to do this from the beginning, and when it came obvious he couldn't (when he should) break orbit on his own, it was obvious Liege's assistance would hopefully restore that ability...

It'd been part of the reason he'd not just agreed, but asked him later. Even with the problems that had brought.]

The modifications need looked over, however. There was a mishap, which led to my... er, relocation.

[Jetfire grimaced slightly and then shook his helm, still displeased with where he'd ended up.]

[Video]

[staresat]

[Shockwave picks up on that discomfort, but makes no immediate comment. Any number of different planets could have rather unpleasant native life. It is not relevant at the time being.]

[His mention of the adjustments does continue to hold an obvious interest, however. He's no stranger to reverse engineering, and he's be lying if he said he didn't want to get his hands(hand?) on the technology.]

It would be valuable to share the nature of these modifications.

[Video]

[treacherous_widow]

Try freezing the seeds or something.

[Don't ask. Blackarachnia's spent too much time trapped on Prehistoric Earth. A girl just notices things. ]

Now are you going to share what you found on your little expedition other then the fruit or should I start snooping around the lab when you settle back in.

[Video]

[angleofscience]

Thank you, that might be better than freezing the whole fruits.

[That gratitude is brief, however, as Jetfire's expression narrows.]

I see I'm going to have to invest in a lock..? And the only other thing I had time to pick up was a few geological samples.

[Rocks, my dear lady. Stones and ores and not a lot of it; a week doesn't give a lot of time to do a thorough exploration.]

Re: [Video]

[treacherous_widow]

Do you think you can find a lock that can stop me?

[Besides, she was small and a spider. He would do better to attempt and bug proof the lab.]

Sounds like you had a blast.

[video]

[adamndoctor]

I was beginning to think the sky was literally the limit with this mechanical rock. But you have the means to travel through this galaxy?

[And... yeah the fruit is kind of... He raises an eyebrow at it.] Hmm, I'd like to run further tests. As you said, further investigation should be warranted before consumption. [Though it looks good--like those little palm sized multicolored... food things they sometimes have at parties!] I'll get my hands on some, run a few tests, see if they're edible and won't cause our intestinal tracks to implode or whatever.

[video]

[angleofscience]

[Jetfire chuckles and nods.]

I can, and there's at least one ship around here that should be capable of it. The issue is not that we lack the means of breaking orbit, rather that the Lambda imposes a limit that, without some sort of modification, makes us unable to break past it.

[And it's okay, McCoy, you can say it as it is; they look like they'd blind your insides if you ate them.]

And well... as far as I know, they're edible, but I understand there might be a large gap between "edible" and "harmless", so if you possess the knowledge to know what to look for, that would be a fair bit safer than simply letting the fruit be consumed without care.

[notyourblueangel]

You managed to return from off-planet? Past the Lambda?

[He's wondering if you'd be able to reverse that feat, and get back OFF planet. The possibilities that would open up if he can...]

[angleofscience]

Simply put, yes.

[Jetfire shrugs.]

But the Lambda does not cover the whole of Cybertron, the only thing I did was recieve a modification that would allow me to get past the... er, barrier, or whatever effect the Lambda has on near-orbital space around Cybertron that makes it impossible to get beyond that.

I just need to figure out if the issue is with the modification I recived in itself, or if it is with my separately modified and changed systems. As soon as I have figured that out and rectified the problem, leaving Cybertron again should be problem-free.

[Approaching the Lambda was another issue entirely.]