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✘ tf: fall of cybertron | perceptor

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[OH HEY LOOK. Perceptor's back! And... apparently draped all over something. But for the moment, it's hard to see what exactly he's laying on.]

Ah, yes. Well. It would seem things are beginning to go back to a relative state of normalcy? And none too soon, I might add, considering the number of projects I'm meant to be working on...

[He pauses, shifting a little, and glancing at something off-screen.]

... Speaking of which, I'd like to go back to work as soon as possible. If anyone with information on the following projects would kindly respond, we can continue.

[He switches to text, typing out his list:]

> Wheeljack's idiotic ship > synthetic energon > the location of the "DRILLER" > the nature of the "DRILLER" > Smokescreen's current status and location

[The list sent, he shifts again.] As I said, any information on those subjects will be most appreciated --

[And looks up once more, speaking to whatever it is he's looking at.]

Commander, kindly hold your legs still until I'm finished. Your lap is hardly as comfortable as it looks --

[END FEED.]

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Let's just say I'm used to it. [He's had practise, after all. Jetfire shrugs slightly.] He is perfectly capable of using his scientific knowledge.

[A slight tilt of his helm in a nod.]

I can ask him, because I'm pretty sure they must have come up with a conversion process to use Earth's natural resources instead of the natural energon that would probably be harder to come by.

[Especially while they were fighting each other, over said energon and energy... And fighting nearby energon is never a good idea.]

It was something, after all, there were suggestions that ought to be able to be done, but before the war it was never needed, and during it... [As the energon started to run low, even then it just hadn't... come up.]

Then you have my sympathies.

I'll look forward to hearing your answer, in that case. At the moment, I'll take whatever sort of information I can get. I'm rather operating blind on this... and given the potential side effects I've heard of, I would prefer to have at least a rough formula to go off of.

[He frowns, resting his chin on his hand.]

Yes, well, the war does make a mess of even the most noble pursuits, doesn't it?

[He'll take them, if only because they might be needed whenever Starscream attempts to shoot him again, or feel the need to change allegiances or anything similar.]

For when they're needed. [He looks pretty serious, even, as he tilts his helm.] And no... it does not, though one could think it would have been a priority when energon started to become scarce. But we merely tried to look for energon elsewhere.

And certainly. Though... side-effects? [Jetfire frowns.] Any indication whether that's an unavoidable fact of the process of making it, or because the formula isn't perfect?

Mm, yes, you would think so. Odd how the search for energon seems to take priority over the production of it, in so many universes. One would think that somewhere, some version of Cybertron merely began producing a synthetic version, rather than labor over energy shortages in wartime.

[If he hadn't been so busy with the Ark, he might have suggested it... but then there was the whole Dark Energon debacle...]

Indeed. Undesirable ones, such as personality changes, aggression... things of that nature.

But no, I have no indication as to whether or not such things are unavoidable or not. All the more reason to begin work.

Adaptible or not, sometimes we are very... ah, set in our ways. Which usually means it might be hard to switch from expecting an abundance of energon even when it is running low or is critically so to facing the reality that there is a lack.

[Frowning slightly, Jetfire drums the fingers of one hand against the opposite arm.]

As an example, we were having an escalation of events during the middle of the war, the patterns of which implied external influence, but no one could see that because we were used to the pattern of violence.

[Well, he'd seen it, but it wasn't as if anyone else had paid attention.]

... Yes, those are rather potentially serious side-effects, though I could see the attraction in attempting to... er, fix those very issues.

The idiocies of war will never cease to amaze and occasionally infuriate, I suppose.

[He's more in the latter, category, what with the whole "I hate violence" thing he has going on.]

No one could, or no one would? I find, often, that distinction to be very important, regardless of the situation.

If they could be resolved... the very idea of creating our own energon... it's too important to pass up.

I was [Jetfire admits with a shrug] but I needed confirmation and a whole set of data, which meant collaborating with Shockwave. Which I did, but had things gone smoother than they did, I'm quite sure no one would have been pleased with that.

[He's not sorry though.]

Yes, quite. Though, like I said, I doubt the version from the one you have a formula from would be the only one, so if the issues can't be solved, we can go onwards with another.

Mmm. Collaborating with Shockwave is an event that rarely turns out well, regardless of your universe of origin, I assume. Never particularly cared for him, always too... overzealous in his methodology.

[And now he's done something to Grimlock. It can't be anything good.]

Ah, yes, true enough. I suppose in the event that avenue becomes exhausted, moving on is always an option.

Usually, no, but this time it wasn't Shockwave who was the issue. We exchanged the set of data concerning the conflict escalation as planned, but the ones responsible for said escalation chose that moment to attack.

[He grimaces slightly; those events were a bit... off still. Especially the end.]

Or working concurrently, even. I would be interested in comparing different realities' artificial energon if we could get more than one set available...

[His optics brighten a bit from the slight grimnness of earlier at that thought.]

Hm, imagine that. A peaceable interaction with Shockwave -- on that wasn't caused by excessive processor tampering. I have difficulty imagining such a thing, to be perfectly honest.

[And back to a more pleasant subject.]

Ah, yes. Yes, I see where you're going. And from there, if possible, combining the various formulas... if it would be possible to weed out the negative effect with the addition of more stable components...

[He pauses.]

Of course, all of this is little more than theory, until an actual formula appears.

[Have a look, Perceptor.]

Your Shockwave specialises in the processor and manipulating it, because I can't say there's been any reason to worry about any such thing with the Shockwave from my reality, other questionable ethics and acts aside.

[Shrugging, Jetfire then chuckles.]

Merely theoretical or not, discissing things beforehand can have merit, but yes, exactly. Though I'd worry about the interaction between two differently produced substances, even if the end result is supposedly the same and they might come from the same original source, like sunlight...

[Thoughtful rub of his chin.]

He's done something of the sort to a... [Pause.] ... associate of mine. I've yet to be allowed to determine what exactly, but Grimlock is not the Autobot I knew before his arrival here.

He blames Shockwave. I see no reason to doubt his sincerity.

Begin at the initial composition. Provided there are no woefully unstable compounds involved, they should, at the very least, combine without incident...

Ah. [Briefly, he thinks of another incident and then nods.] Mind and frame both, wasn't it? The Grimlock that is present seems to have indicated his frame is different as well.

[Which is sobering, even if he's aware the Shockwave from his reality has... experimented, as well.]

Possibly, though with a possibly different matrix, there might be issues with getting the elements to mix... Though, either way, it would be interesting to see the effects.

[Hopefully it wouldn't lead to blowing themselves up, though.]

Yes, both. He was always fairly large, but... following his disappearance, he's nearly twice my size. If not larger. Which is... saying something.

[Since, yes, Perceptor knows he's huge.]

I haven't had a moment yet to fully analyze the damage. Such an analysis likewise requires Grimlock's consent and participation, which is difficult to obtain.

[And now to a better subject.]

Mm, true enough. It can't hurt to try though, I suppose. At the very least, we can take multiple precautions.

Hm, yes. He's similar to Liege Maximo in height, isn't he?

[Jetfire hadn't thought of it; the Grimlock he knew had always been large, taller than Prime, though not more than his own height, and a Grimlock taller than that seemed perfectly reasonable.]

As long as there's no obvious danger to anyone else, it'd be better to wait for some form of consent, yes. And even then it'd merely have to be a suggestion.

[And given Grimlock's... ah, wilful attitude, it would probably be difficult either way.]

If nothing else, I'm sure there's some suitably deserted area or a fortified building we could use.

[Jetfire smiles, amused and not particularly disturbed by the thought of things exploding. As long as they were protected from it, and the surroundings protected from it. Working with energon could be hazardous after all.]

Is he? I haven't had a moment to run about measuring the FirstForged, so I suppose I'll have to take your word for it.

I'm more concerned for his welfare, at this point, though saying so will likely be unwelcome. He's powerful, yes, but to my knowledge, he would never willingly harm another Autobot...

[Which is all well and good, but, there aren't just Autobots here, now that he thinks of it.]

My lab has fortified areas, for just such a dangerous occasion.

He's similarly above my height as Liege Maximo, so at least close to it, but not as tall as the next shortest Firstforged.

[A little shrug. Liege was the first of a relatively small amount of mechs taller than he was (combiners, Omega... Skyfire, now).]

Probably, yes. I don't think any Grimlock would be known by their acceptable of concern from most people.

And that's good. The building I have taken does have that as well, but I've put another device in the most suitable location. [It'd been the most protected spot to put the containment field device.]

Hm. I'll make a note of it.

Likely, no. If stubbornness is a universal trait... then Primus help anyone so much as attempting to offer assistance.

Which building have you taken, if I may ask?

Indeed. I know for a fact that would at least include the Grimlock from my reality. He can be quite... abrasive.

[Regardless of whether you have done something to him or not that would deserve extra rage and abrasiveness.]

Ah, a finished one on one of the terraces on the mountain Liege's temple is in. It had a few pieces of equipment available. [Here, have some coordinates.]

... I have possibly considered something of a secondary building on one of the moons, if it can be acertained to be safe enough, but that would be for the future.

[It's a possible idea, but at the same time inconvenient for now.]

Indeed. And that was even prior to his disappearance...

[NOW it's like talking to an angry brick wall half the time.]

Hm. I don't believe I've spent much time in the area, unfortunately.

I was under the impression the moons were inaccessible.

Hm, yes... he seemed quite... ah, distressed when he first arrived.

[Understatement of the vorn.]

Since it's the temple I'm staying in presently, I looked around here at first.

[there's a tiny frown on his faceplates before he shakes it away, unsure of how safe Liege is... The comment about the moons, however, has Jetfire nodding.]

They were. Are, still, to most people considering the effect of the Lambda. Since I expressed the willingness... and, er, had the capability to come close to the Lambda, I recieved some upgrades.

[A shrug.]

There were some issues at first, but they should all be recitified by now and I can leave beyond the Lambda's effect.

[To the moons and beyond, basically.]

You've a gift for understatement, I see.

[His tone is so dry it could be a desert unto itself.]

... What sort of upgrades were they?

Might they be replicated onto a non-living frame?

[Like Wheeljack's stupid ship.]

[The smile Perceptor gets for that comment is amused and yes, he's aware of that. Then he shakes his helm.]

They've proven impossible to fit into another cybertronian flier so far, as I've shared them with Starscream and we simply couldn't get it to work. They seemed to be keyed to my systems, somewhow.

[He rests his chin against a curled hand.]

I assume the modifications Liege gave me did something similar to equalising or nullifying my energy output, or perhaps the spark frequency, even, to make it unnoticeable to the Lambda, possibly. Given that it was my navigation systems that had issues the first time and caused me to end up teleported, I assume the Lambda affects those as well without the mods...

I've been studying the plans closer and could share them if you wish, though a faster method might be asking a Firstforged for assistance.

[In fact, he wouldn't mind sharing anyway, so have them sent along, useless or not.]

Hm. Something to mask an energy signature wouldn't be too difficult to apply to another frame... living or otherwise. Could be a distortion effect...

More testing would be necessary. Before that fool launches the thing...

[He's half talking to himself by now, shifting where he's sprawled.]

Ah. Yes. Thank you. That will be helpful.

Well, I doubt it would be incapable of flying, the Lambda's effect upon it or not, as long as he knows what he's doing when it comes to engineering.

[Jetfire shrugs, thoughtful but not warning.] The only thing that would happen with no modifications, or modifications that do not affect anything, is that the ship would be able to fly... but not get beyond near orbit, no matter how space capable it is otherwise.

[The grimace on Jetfire's faceplates is brief, but there. It had been very frustrating to have that limit set upon him.]

A ship, space-capable or not, could be useful either way if it has some space for passengers.

[Even if they do have that in Skyfire, Jetfire wouldn't up and offer that without Skyfire himself making said offer.]

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