re_alignment | [Video]

[Have a new face, Haven – or most of one. Engineer hasn't bothered to take any of his gear off, so there's only so much to see: his eyes are covered by his goggles and a yellow construction helmet sits on his head. He clears his throat before addressing his potential audience, clearly a little uncertain about the Link device he's been given, but definitely intrigued by it. They don't have video communication quite this fancy back where (and when) he's from.]

I suppose the polite thing to do would be to introduce myself before I start asking questions. Name's Dell Conagher, though people tend to call me Engineer these days. I'll answer to either.

Now then, if it ain't too much trouble, I could use a little assistance and some information. I'm a reasonable man, but I'm also a rational one. I got the introductory speech from these here – uh, Acolytes, I think it was – and while it isn't the craziest thing I've ever heard, it's in the running. If I'm expected to believe I'm on another planet, I need a bit more of an explanation than these walking answering machines can provide. Heck, if I had to make a guess based on the level of technology I'm seeing here, I'd guess I'm in Australia. [Australia, of course, being a technological powerhouse in his reality. He pauses, turning to one of the Acolytes that's still hovering nearby in case the new arrival would like to hear its pre-programmed spiel again, and raps his knuckles against its ankle. Its only reaction is to cock its head to one side.] I know we ain't got anything quite this fancy back home, at any rate.

I'd be mighty thankful if someone could point me in the direction of the nearest cafeteria, while I'm making requests. I get the feeling I might be here a while and that half a sandwich I had for lunch won't keep me going forever.

Oh, and I believe I owe some fella by the name of Solus Prime a thank you for this here device? [A finger reaches out and taps the edge of the screen to indicate the Link device in his hand.] Sure is a neat little welcome package.

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Last time I was on Earth, or Australia for that matter it didn't have two moons, ya know. Or both the moon and the planet made outta metals and metal ores.

[With a snort, Cliffjumper waves a hand in the air, shaking his helm. Seriously, just take a look outside, man.]

Edited 2013-07-14 14:33 (UTC)

True enough. For all the strange things I've heard 'bout Australia, there weren't no mention of double moons in any of those stories.

[Engineer props his chin on his hand, looking deep in thought for a moment.]

This place really has two moons? Now this I have to see.

[The distances within the temples are long for an organic, Cliff. He hasn't quite made it outside yet.]

How many hours in a day?

[Shh, he didn't think about the distance, okay? It's easy to forget, even if he's among the shorter of his species.]

Yeah, just really deadly or strange animals.

[Really strange animals, even if there's strange animals all over Earth from his point of view.]

Shouldn't be too hard to spot 'em, we ain't got much in the way of sunlight. Suns's too far away, even if we've got an artificial lamp to mitigate that some. [He shrugs, then, briefly calculating it because he hasn't been paying too much attention.]

Er... thirty two hours, so don't try to stay up a whole day.

Strange people, for that matter. Can't think of any other nation that'd be willing to choose a monarch based on kangaroo boxing.

[Engineer looks almost disturbed by this fact. Just because it's how it is in his world doesn't mean that he doesn't find it weird.]

Lack of sun doesn't sound too much like Australia, either.

And careful about setting a man a challenge like that. Wouldn't be the first time I'd stayed up that long; my first couple PhDs were rough, let me tell you.

... They actually do that? [Cliffjumper stares, confusion flickering over his faceplates. He was rather sure they didn't, but he couldn't say he'd looked too far into each country's government system.] I was pretty sure they just had... elections?

[He shrugs, shaking that away.]

Kinda miss two suns myself, but it was fraggin' millions of years since I saw that. And hey, if ya want to break your schedule that ain't my problem, but I was pretty sure humans needed a lot of sleep.

Nope. They've got a king, no need for elections - 'least, that's what gets stamped on their bars of Australium. I suppose I wouldn't know for sure, not being from those parts myself.

[Engineer shrugs as well. Since he's apparently not in Australia, it's a moot point, right?]

And where exactly have you been that you've been under two suns at once?

[That... doesn't sound right. He's pretty sure that's not right, at least insofar as he knows things--- Shaking his helm and rubbing the back of it, Cliffjumper grinned dryly.]

Pretty sure you humans call the solar system Alpha Centauri. It's got two suns. The reality I come from, that's where Cybertron was.

[Until it got knocked out of orbit, to talk about more strange things.]

Huh. Alpha Centauri. So you're saying you're an alien?

[Somehow, when he puts aside the business of alternate realities and frames it that way, it's a lot easier for him to digest. It explains why all of the tech he's seeing is leaps and bounds ahead of anything they've got on his Earth.]

You know, I never did buy into the whole "little green men from Mars" business, but you're not quite what I would have pictured either.

[Robots, however, are way cooler than spacemen in his book any day. Engineer grins.]

You're a heck of a lot more interesting, though. What's your name?

Cliffjumper. And yeah, 's pretty much what I am, or any one of us that're cybertronian, since most of us come from alternate realities.

[Cliffjumper can't help but grin, though.]

Uh-huh, though there are, as strange as it seems, other alien species that pretty much look like humans, even if they ain't got anything to do with Earth or humans otherwise.

[Nebulans, Femaxians, humans... all very similar.]

[Engineer holds up a hand. Slow down, son.]

One thing at a time, here, Cliffjumper. Aliens are already a bit much to wrap my head around without you introducing multiple species, and let's not get into the alternate reality business just yet. You being from another planet is a lot more of a stretch than you being built and operated by RED, but I'm willing to roll with the notion for the moment.

[Especially since anything designed and deployed by RED tends to hunt him down and riddle him with bullets instead of have a friendly chat with him.]

[Gotta go fast, good sir! NO TIME TO DAWDLE, KEEP UP WITH YOUR SLOW ORGANIC BRAIN.]

By... what? [Cliffjumper shakes his helm, faint annoyed rev managing to get through despite some attempt at keeping it in; but it is kind of annoying, if maybe understandable, about the charge of "just a human-made robot".]

Never heard of... them? I assume they're a group of some kind. Ain't got anything to do with that! And even if they could build a cybertronian, it wouldn't be one. [He huffs, crossing his arms over his chestplates.] A frame ain't enough, or you'd just have a drone.

[Liek the Acolytes.]

[Despite the relevance of his nickname, Engineer is clearly not a robot whisperer.]

Ah, right, suppose you wouldn't've heard of them if you're not from Earth.

[Which is still a hell of a claim, for the record.]

It's an acronym: Reliable Excavation Demolition. They're a company with a habit of painting everything they own in red, not to mention a habit of making my life hell.

What exactly is the difference between a Cybertronian and a drone, then? This terminology's all new to me.

[Clearly not. At least not when it comes to giant alien robots.]

Suppose an acronym makes sense. [Shaking his helm, the corner of Cliffjumper's mouth tilts up.] That, and the Earth in the realities I've been to don't have that company.

[That he can put plural to that is still, sometimes, kind of baffling. At the question, Cliffjumper grunts and spreads his hands, palms up.]

Well, ya could program a drone with as much advanced A.I as you want, that ain't gonna make a full cybertronian anyway. While part of our personalities... or copies of 'em, I ain't exactly sure of the particularities, can be found in our processors, most of it is in the spark.

[Here, he taps his chestplates.]

Ball of energy of some kind, and no, it ain't a battery. I've got an engine for that. Without a spark, though, there ain't gonna be much of anyone home.

[He deliberately left out the mention of Primus, the man's probably going to pick that up sooner or later anyway.]