Gathering

[trionicpolarity]

[This is a post. Within this post exist Prima, Liege, and A3. They exist here for the purposes of wrapping up previous conversations/plots or starting new ones. They will exist here for about a week, and all conversations that occur therin will be considered to have taken place PRIOR to the Pillar Event.

Alpha Trion can be found anywhere around his temple, or alternatively can sometimes be caught exploring the wastelands outside of the Haven. He's just as likely to get hold of you randomly one day while testing out the link device, however.

Prima can be found only in his tower. He's much more difficult to get hold of, but will surface for urgent matters and can be contacted through the Link...even if he'll be slow to reply.

Liege Maximo can be found in his many labs. He's been in a mood lately, but most would call it a 'good' mood, which means he's looking for people to interact with. Or on. If he's been in contact with you before he'll seek you out either in person or through an encrypted channel on your link device. Otherwise you will likely have to run into him.

To have a conversation with any of them, just specify WHO and WHERE or LINK in the title of your reply. Any action will be actionspam~]

Comments

[fun_police]

[He's enjoying this conversation, Liege. They really should talk more often.]

...At a distance.

[Similar to a nudge bullet, but much more potent.]

And what do you wish to offer me?

[maxicpolarity]

I want to offer you what you already want, yourself...

Or, at least, what I'm presuming that you want.

[He's enjoying this, himself. He doesn't usually get to talk with others who have similar goals in mind.]

The Haven is too chaotic right now. With all these disparate elements running around, we become vulnerable to the opposite of order--to the chaos-bringer himself.

My theory is that the only way to bring the Lambda under our control, we must first impose control on the very world that Unicron is trying to exert his influence on.

I want to give you control, Prowl.

[His brethren would not understand if he tried to impose it himself. Therefore...his only option is to use his refugees.]

[fun_police]

[The optics focus in continued intrigue.]

[Liege knew to play to what he wanted. A lot of what he offered aligned with his own opinion on the matter, though he's suspicious as to why Liege chose to take a backseat in the development of their colony if he believed it needed to be controlled.]

[The demigod gets a questioning look.]

...Control of what?

[maxicpolarity]

Control of the Haven.

I want order established. Rules. Guidelines.

I would also like my brethren to believe that things are going well so that I can tend to what is most important--stopping the Lambda.

[His arms clasp behind his back, and he turns away, looking at the wall for a moment, leaving himself open in a show of trust. He watches the icy cave surface for a moment before reaching out, touching it lightly...and stepping back as his touch activates the wall into a panorama of stars.]

The other Firstforged chose to focus on preparing this world for Prima, and in the meantime keeping whatever Unicron sends out.

[The stars swirl, moving past like one is looking at the sky in fast-forward, until the Lambda is in the center of the wall.]

I believe in knowing more about our enemy, and taking actions to keep his threat down.

[He glances back to Prowl, looking over his intricate shoulder plating.]

You can help me with this. Together, you and I can bring order to the Haven. A push here, a pull there...

[He reaches forward, selecting a star from the wall and turning to offer the tiny glowing orb to Prowl.]

...and everybody benefits.

[fun_police]

[Prowl hears him out, but is getting the feeling that Liege is feeding him a few key words that he wants to hear. Order. Rules. It is indeed what he wants. But Prowl doesn't entirely believe that's what Liege wants.]

You want them distracted.

[His optics narrow.]

You want me to distract them while you get a closer look at the Lambda and the other forces acting on this planet. Closer than they'd like, I imagine.

[Prowl doesn't seem to have a problem with this plan, though he does take one or two suspicious seconds to stare at the glowing orb he was suddenly handed. His own arm reaches forward to receive it, though he doesn't touch it directly.]

What is it?

[maxicpolarity]

[You would be utterly right about both. Liege knows what you want...and he's prepared to offer it. There is a sort of devious sincerity about his offerings.]

I knew I chose correctly in you.

Yes.

There are things about the Lambda that my brothers and sister would prefer I not delve into.

However, I don't believe I can stop it until I know more about it. If I have to make a small sacrifice now in order to obtain bigger gains later...

Surely you of all mechs could not fault me.

[The star glows in his hand...and if Prowl looks closely, he can see small planetoids orbiting it.]

Have you heard of a planet called Earth?

[fun_police]

[The name seems to bring out a different reaction from Prowl. Suspicion and caution and cold analysis were all the typical characteristics of the Autobot, but there were always a few things that brought out something... different.]

[Earth brought back a lot of memories. Some painful, but most of them... valued. He never thought such an insignificant planet with its primitive species would be able to affect him in a way his own could not.]

[His tone remained even, regardless.]

Of course. Earth was...

[A new way to see. A new opportunity to learn. An exposure to an alien race he valued as highly as his own.]

An unfortunate campaign in our war.

[He follows the orbits of the planetoids.]

[maxicpolarity]

[It is exactly the reaction Liege is wanting...because its the reaction that helps him understand Prowl better. To unlock some of the doors that the other was keeping tightly barricaded. Granted, it was a flash of insight from his connection to Prowl that gave him the name 'Earth' to begin with, but...later. He'd dissect that later.]

Take it. It won't hurt you.

It's merely an extrapolation...A simulation of things to come.

An 'illusion' you might say.

[He hands it to Prowl, if Prowl will accepts, and he sighs.]

Primus gifted us each with power enough to venture into the cosmos. To control our destiny, and the destiny of future worlds...yet we are trapped here. Trapped, dealing with Unicron and with the Lambda.

I wonder how much more we can become once it is gone.

[fun_police]

...

[Liege does get his glimpse, if only because him bringing up Earth was not something Prowl had entirely expected. It's quite a specific planet to choose - which is what gets him to swallow his emotional response and question the point of showing him the planet in the first place.]

How did you come to pick Earth? I don't recall ever bringing it up in the past.

[Prowl... does accept, if only because it's clear enough that Liege had an interest in making sure his goals for the Haven came to fruition.]

[His stare pulls away from the miniature star system to meet the demigod's gaze.]

[maxicpolarity]

[Prowl, this delights him. The fact that you can pick up on his tricks and even dare to call him on it means you are just as perceptive as he hopes you are....

And just as manipulative, too.]

I could give you one of a thousand answers, Prowl.

Two of my brethren explore the past, present, and future as if they are taking a stroll outside. Millions of items have fallen through the Lambda, bringing knowledge of hundreds of worlds with significant relationship to Cybertron--of which Earth is often mentioned.

There are even humans here, some of which have been aligned to me.

However...none of those answers are correct.

[He meets Prowl's gaze, wondering if this Refugee who is aligned to him can figure out why he brought up Earth in particular. It's a planet that is important to Prowl, after all. It is a planet that, in its own ways, is among Prowl's desires...and desires are the basic tenets of what is needed for manipulation.]

[fun_police]

[It was true what he said. Prowl doesn't doubt that Earth the planet has been brought up plenty of times by others, be it through the other Firstforged, the Refugees, or simply marked items that fell onto the planet.]

[But none of those things could have connected Earth to him in particular. That needed more intimate knowledge of his past. Of his mind. Of his thoughts.]

[His line of thought immediately go to the green glyph permanently engrained into his armor. A bridge from him to this demigod. A bridge into his mind. That's what it had to be. It's - It's not exactly a comforting thought. His mind was the last sanctuary he considered left alone, and Liege wasn't exactly someone he'd voluntarily give access to.]

[Prowl hides the dim horror growing in his spark as the realization hits him.]

That's the catch, isn't it? The connection to the Firstforged? It can go both ways.

[It couldn't have been entirely benevolent.]

[maxicpolarity]

[Oh, if Liege were prone to it he'd be practically beaming. As it is, he turns to wipe the starfield from the wall, leaving them in darkness but for the tiny yellow glow of Earth's sun.]

The fact that you perceived this, Prowl, already proves it to be true.

[His green optics simmer in the shadows, matching the color of Prowl's glyph.]

It is different for all of us, of course. What Solus can read off of her aligned is very different than what I can...

But yes. It is insidious, isn't it?

[He sees that terror, too.]

This 'gift' from Primus?

Especially in the way that our connection causes so much to leak back and forth. Emotions. Powers. Energy. Desire.

Perhaps in time, you will seek to read my thoughts.

[He smirks in the darkness.]

Perhaps in time you will be able to.

[fun_police]

[Despite the boons that Liege promised him, Prowl never felt more trapped.]

[It was definitely beneficial now, if his sudden boost to his processor was a small taste of what to come, but that didn't ensure that it always would be.]

[In the end, Prowl feels like he just lost a piece of his agency. His independence. He'd become forever linked to this faction, branded with yet another symbol without his consent. It was the crash of the Peaceful Revolution into the Manganese Mountains all over again, when he realized he couldn't escape the Civil War. And there was only one way he had been able to survive that.]

[A grim resignation crosses his expression:]

Perhaps. And perhaps in time I'll find a way to sever it, with the help of your knowledge.

[His hand encloses the star, dimming the last remaining light of the room. No. He doesn't see that outcome as likely. But he wanted to be a bit defiant.]

Are we done?

[maxicpolarity]

You are resourceful. If anyone can find a way to sever it, then you can.

[And Prowl...might get the feeling that it is something Liege would make use of, if he does. That maybe Liege doesn't want to be connected to the Refugees any more than Prowl wants to be connected to him. Then its gone, like an echo.]

We are. I will defer to your expertise in the release of Tarn. If there is anything that you need from me...you only need ask.

[The optics fade, as Liege seems almost to disappear into the wall.]

Until then? Keep Earth. It is only one potential outcome, after all...

[And the shining illusion will remain enclosed in Prowl's hand with little planets circling...one blue and brown and white.]