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[At first he was going to encrypt the message to only Autobots. But then he started wondering if that was what he really wanted? Maybe it was time to try other things and see what came up. In any case, no one was to see who he was, and he made sure to scrub the connection clean of his personal identifiers. He even modulated his voice a bit to sound higher. He was a trained spy, after all, and he didn't want to go giving himself away.]

Is anyone hearing this? Is anyone out there? I'm not sure where I am or what I'm supposed to be doing, but... If someone could explain it to me that's not a temple drone?

[Was that too telling? Slag. Or did everyone start at these temples?]

Is there a way out of here? Any shuttles or teleports or whatever? Let me know what you've found. I'll be here.

[That little snippet was all anyone would get from. The mission was to collect data. the source didn't matter because all information was valuable. It would of course, be evaluated based on who it came from after it was obtained. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You've already got the obligatory naysayers.

Anything else you'd like to know?

[That voice was absolutely unmistakable.]

Do you rule this place?

[It was a taunt. He couldn't help it.]

Oh, I like you.

No, nothing like that. I'm probably going to try running for office, though. So you can vote for me, or try to assassinate me, whichever gets your motor running.

Office? Please explain. I wasn't aware there was any sort of government beyond the alignments of the Primes.

[And Ultra Magnus' laws, apparently.]

There isn't, yet. It's a work in progress. Ideally I'd consider fair representation to work like it does at home, with a Decepticon, an Autobot and a neutral body to represent the non-Cybertronians.

You mind telling me which you are?

Neutral. [No hesitation, just facts. He thought about what he was before he posted the audio log.]

Is there an equal number of each present?

That's a good question, I'm really not sure.

[and adding to the things he's not sure of...] Your name's not Metalhawk, is it? You seem to know me, and I was sort of hoping...

It sounds like something that might be important to tally when deciding government representation.

[Metalhawk? Mirage didn't have much information on that particular bot to know if that was a compliment or not coming from Starscream]

I am not. Is he friend or foe?

And if Decepticons outnumbered Autobots, they'd want greater representation. If you ask me we should carve it 33% just to be safe.

[a disappointed beat as he gathers himself and tries not to sound lonely] I'd call him a friend.

So who are you?

While I find that agreeable, you may have to take into further consideration the different species of neutral present on this planet. I'm sure a compromise could be made for them...

[It was something that had Mirage thinking now. Perhaps, after a while, he would see if he could get involved in these politics. Not as a leader, just an adviser.]

I'll feel honored that you thought, even for a moment, that I might be him.

[Befriending Starscream? Interesting thought. He certainly wouldn't achieve it if he let Starscream know he was an Autobot spy, though.]

If it is all the same to you, I'd prefer names be left out of this for now.

Good point. [You have a lot of good points, mysterious stranger.]

Honored? [he sounds like he's smiling a little] Yeah, well, I get the sense you probably know me from a time I wasn't so concerned with making friends.

...Okay. [his curiosity is piqued, but he's respecting Mirage's privacy, for now.] I don't blame you for being cautious.

[Well. That was easier than expected.]

Are you more concerned with making friends now?

[Because the Starscream Mirage knows seems more concerned with power above all else, and certainly wouldn't be talking to anyone he thought might be an Autobot or neutral. Or... Would he?]

[He's ever-aware of the public nature of this conversation, and abruptly decides to try encrypting it.]

First rule of friendship club is nobody discusses Starscream making friends. Or you use the word allies, it's much more palatable, should a certain everybody-knows-who show up and decide to make an example out of insert-'friend'-here.

If you agree with that, then sure, I'm all for being friendly.

"Friendship club"? Are we friends now?

[Mirage is amused and it comes across in his voice, a hint of a smirk in there.]

Oh, my apologies. Are we allies now?

I'm gonna need at least a fake name before I can really give you the glowing benefits of my association. [weirdly he sounds self deprecating there, like he realizes there are actually hardly any benefits to associating with him] I can't call you Nail, that sounds so rude.

You can call me Fox. [It was an oldie but a goodie in his box of code names. And easy to remember.] When do I get my membership card?

[It felt oddly good to just joke with someone, even if it was more or less an information quest, and even if this was Starscream he was talking to. But it just went with his theory that not all Decepticons were bad and maybe he could have been one of them in different situations.]

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