trigger_imp | There are words for days like this, but they're all profanity...

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There are words for days like this, but they're all profanity...

((Set after this))

Axl, at the moment, didn't know what to do. She'd shed the disguise she'd been using to spy on Lumine, but hadn't switched back to her other, and more commonly used, male default.

Everything was a mess. Axl knows she'll have to tell, knows that means she'll have to admit she was spying on Lumine even after being ordered to stay away from him. But right now, she doesn't even want to think about that - or what Lumine seems to be planning, or what they might have to do about it. What Axl wants to do is find some nice dark corner and disappear.

Which, given shape-changing abilities, isn't so hard.

She gravitates towards the bar. It's huge, many of the patrons Transformers. Axl, at the size of a human fourteen-year-old, dodges around legs. It seems a good place to just get lost for a while. Axl also thinks she wouldn't mind getting drunk. Not if it makes you forget things for a while, like she's heard... but she has a feeling no one at home will like it much if she does that.

But they're not going to like any of this...

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"Are you here to meet someone?" A white bayformer femme in the twenty foot range goes to one knee to speak to her, the black apron she's wearing clinking slightly from the change in the pocket.

Axl looks up. "Wha.. I.. no, not really." She shakes her head, more as if to try to clear it than to go with her answer. "What kind of drinks do you have here?"

Why did I let it matter to me anyway? Big deal. So he pulls something, and we go in and stop him. Or the Maverick Hunters do, if he tries to hurt humans. It shouldn't be any different just because he's.. whatever I am.

The femme points to a blackboard by the door, which holds mostly Cybertronian or human friendly drinks as well as energy tanks and a few other things.

"There are empty tables on the bar," she offers kindly.

Axl's a bit surprised at the e-tanks. Though she knows she could probably use one after staying in a copy-form for as long as she had, she's still sorely tempted to ask the waitress to suggest something that would knock her out until tomorrow and leave her no memory of today.

Before she says that, though, the waitress mentions tables and Axl glances over there. And spots something that takes her mind of what was almost her first experience with getting drunk.

There's a familiar, slightly shorter, purple-haired reploid settling in at a table with a few books from the Nexus Library.

Axl frowns.

"Is something wrong?" asks the waitress with concern.

"I guess I was wrong about meeting someone here," says Axl, distractedly. She triggers armor recall and then switches back to male default - the armor would be recognized anyway. Kicking off the ground to hover up to the bar, he says, "Can you send an e-tank over to the table the purple-haired guy's at? I.. I think we'd better have a talk."

Lumine hasn't spotted Axl, looking through the books. And even from where he is, Axl can see that they're references on infectious diseases.

"Sure." The waitress watches him, then glances at the dark green femme behind the bar, who stoops and looks in a cupboard underneath it.

Lumine isn't completely unaware of his surroundings - he never is - and looks up as Axl approaches the table.

Axl doesn't bother with hellos and just helps himself to a seat. For a bit, he's just not sure what to say, or where to start saying it.

"I wasn't planning on company," says Lumine. "I have research to do."

"Yeah. I know exactly what you're researching," Axl replies, "and I have only one thing to say about it - are you completely nuts?"

"Keep it neutral." The bartender plunks down the e tank and gives both of them a warning look through her russet optics.

"I fail to see where it's any of your business," says Lumine, calmly. Whether he's referring to his sanity or what he's doing is left to guess. He glances up at the bartender briefly. "I apologize for the disruption," he says, knowing full well he hadn't been causing anything of the sort - until Axl had arrived.

"When my younger brother starts planning genocide, I think I oughtta make it my business," replies Axl. There's a fidget as he looks up at the bartender as well.

But now Lumine's giving him a suspicious glare. "What do you mean by that..?"

Nemesis frowns down at them, one hand absently wiping the bar in front of her as she does.

Axl stores his armor so it won't look like he's trying to pick a fight. Which he isn't.. not a physical one, anyway. "I heard what you were asking about near the Sign. I've kinda been..."

Lumine interrupts. "I'm well aware of your spying on me. You're very bad at it," he says, marking his place in the book he'd had open, closing it, and placing it back in the stack.
"I meant your use of a.. human relationship term."

Axl blinks, and takes him a moment to work that out, then he frowns. "Did you really think we were that stupid? I mean, you are not an office-bot. We know from Storm Eagle that most of the Maverick Hunters don't have clearance to know about the Nexus. And you dropped too many hints..." He glances to see if they're still being watched before he adds, "And Zero remembered meeting an alt of you once, years ago. An alt that claimed to have the same copy ability I do. And you said my 'replacement' was some kind of assassin..."

"And so they've had you watching me, since I might be a threat?" asks Lumine, seeming faintly amused on top of traces of anger and suspicion.

"No! ... Actually, Zero told me to stay away from you. The others don't know.. But that's not the point," Axl says, realizing he'd been effectively sidetracked. "Lumine.. you can't do this." He indicates the books as if to specify just what 'this' he's talking about.

"Why not?" is Lumine's response.

Nemesis has a good reason, but she's going to wipe the table and wait to see what the red-haired kid says.

"How can you just consider killing millions of people like that," says Axl, managing to remember not to shout and end up getting them kicked out of here.

"Those 'people' are a threat to us," replies Lumine in that same calm tone. "You know this. The ones you stay with rescue a few of the Maverick Hunters' targets now and then, but they do nothing about the root of the problem. The humans keep our kind as property. And if their history is any indication, they will continue to do so until they are stopped."

"The reploids that were used to construct the orbital elevator, for example... once their work is complete, they will be considered obsolete. Unnecessary. The work they've done is too sensitive, security-wise, to allow any leaks so the workers will be destroyed or wiped."

"We can get them out of there..," Axl starts to say.

"Can you? I don't think so. You only manage to rescue a third of the Maverick Hunters' targets as it is. Besides, that's only one situation. Do you think I would have gone back after my first trip to the Nexus if it were that simple? The ones you stay with seem to think it is, but no matter how many you rescue the humans will simply replace them."

"Have you read their history? It's full of repetitions. In ancient Egypt, young slaves would be forced to paint the heiroglyphs for the tombs of the nobility. Then, when their work was done, they were put to death so they couldn't reveal any secrets. The humans claim they've come so far since then, that they are so much more 'civilized'. But they repeat the same mistakes century after century. What they do to us is nothing new."

"Something that doesn't change, that doesn't grow, becomes obsolete. Humans are obsolete. We are the future."

Axl's just been gaping like a fish during this, and shaking his head. "No... They... they're not all like that! You can't just.. just write off a whole species because some of the guys in charge are jerks."

"That's for sure," mutters Nemesis to herself subsonicaly.

Axl sighs at the looks Lumine is giving him. "Look, I'm not saying something doesn't need done. I know what we're doing now is pretty much damage control, and we're not even doing as good a job at that as we'd like... but this isn't the answer."

Lumine frowns. "Not dealing with a threat out of some sort of misguided sentimentality is..."

Axl interrupts this time, "Morals aren't 'misguided sentimentality'."

"Aren't they?" Lumine looks at Axl for a moment, and then adds, "I realize the group you are with has taken in human children, and that they have become... attached to them. Also, there are historically noted exceptions such as Dr. Light or Kalinka Cossack. Despite what you seem to think, I am not inclined to wipe out the entire species."

"Just all the ones on Earth," mutters Axl.

"It may not be necessary to go that far," says Lumine, "but if it is, I won't hesitate to do so. The question, for me, is finding the line between what would be too little to be effective, and what would be... if you'll excuse the pun... 'overkill'."

"You're planning to virus-bomb the planet," Axl replies. "That already sounds like overkill to me."

"Maybe his viruses will decide they don't like how he's using them for tools and decide to wipe out all his people to keep him from doing it." Nemesis stomps off to see to a customer a little ways down the bar.

Lumine will give her a glare as she goes, for four reasons. One, viruses are non-intelligent. Two, reploids were immune to organic virii. Three, such a comment was a gross oversimplification of the matter at hand. If it were as simple as one clear target to eliminate, he would have done so already. And, four and most important, he'd thought this was a private conversation they were having. Looking back to Axl, he says, "Perhaps we should continue this elsewhere."

Axl's trying to shake a mental image of microbes in armor, waving spears and pitchforks in revolt... It's made him completely lose his train of thought as to how to talk Lumine out of this. He uses the brief mental brainbreak to send a text message off to the Nexus. He'll shake his head a bit. "Look, they're gone now..." He tries to retrace his train of thought.

"You haven't studied the last World War, have you?" says Lumine.

"No, not really," Axl's feeling tired, and finally remembers to open that e-tank.

"Viral-based bioweapons were used extensively in some areas. A great deal of research was done into genetically modified and DNA-specific viruses. They do not necessarily have to wipe everyone out. I would consider that extreme, and a last resort. They can be targeted to as specific as a single person. If I had the DNA data of, for example, the members of the world council, then a viral bomb could be designed that would affect only them."

"But if you wipe out the Council, then the rest of the government goes on the warpath," says Axl. "All the extremist loonies who'd like any excuse to wipe us all out or who babble about robo-terrorists... you'd have just made their day. It's exactly the excuse they'd need."

"Precisely the problem," replies Lumine. "If they were the only casualties, it would not cause enough of a change to solve the problem. It would cause just enough of one to make matters worse."

Nemesis is over there now, but she still hears everything perfectly.

Lumine suspects that, and would still like to go somewhere else since he doubts there's a language both he and Axl know that the Nexus won't translate.

"Well, that's why we don't go around killing off the humans," says Axl. "We've been trying to keep this whole mess from turning into World War Four, because World War Three was bad enough and we weren't even around for that one, and... wait, you talk about the humans not learning from their mistakes, but World War Three was probably the biggest mistake ever and you're wanting to 'solve' this mess using a strategy from it? If you think humans are so screwed up, why do you want to sink to their level?"

That finally gets Lumine with no ready response, as he just sits there and blinks.

The sudden silence in their conversation seems doubly so as the entire bar pauses to watch some poor glitch get combat kissed.

Axl just takes advantage of Lumine being quiet to continue. "I know what we're doing doesn't seem like enough to you. It doesn't to me either, or anyone else I know. But that's because we don't know what to do yet that won't be worse."

"Even if you could make a virus coded to people's DNA... whether someone's a good or bad person isn't in their genes. Most of the kids on Mars are great kids, and we ended up with them because they had really screwed up parents. There isn't just some specific 'jerk gene' you can target and wipe out all the bad people in the world. And it isn't worth losing the good ones just to get rid of the jerks. Nice people aren't that rare. It's just that with the way things are, I think too many of them are afraid to speak up."

"I know you probably haven't had a chance to meet most of the nice ones. I don't know everything that's been done to you, but I.. I'd like to hear about it. You're the only one I know of that's, well, that's like me. We probably had the same designer. Except for 'bots that are lucky enough to be treated like someone's kids, like the Lights and Cossacks, or those that end up making kids of their own, that's the closest we ever get to family." Noting Lumine's expression at that, he adds, "I know you think that's stupid or something, but I've been living around 'bots who have that kind of 'family', and sometimes I can't help just wondering what it's like. And I don't want to miss out on possibly finding out because you end up getting yourself killed by the Maverick Hunters." Lumine starts to interrupt, but Axl cuts him off. "That's what I heard happened to an alt of you." He isn't about to add that his own alt was one of the Maverick Hunters involved.

Nemesis walks past on her way to the kitchen, glancing at them absently in passing.

"You may believe this is extreme," says Lumine. "Perhaps you are right. I know there are some humans who would be on our side, but they have very good reason to keep their silence."

"So you'll kill them too, just because they're afraid to speak up?" says Axl... and then pauses. "Oh, %^#%... What you said about robot rights supporters having 'accidents'. You're being ordered to kill them, aren't you?"

"The situation cannot be ignored, Axl. It will not simply remain stagnant while the group you are with does 'damage control'. Someone else is actively pushing for a change that could be disastrous to all of us. If we do nothing, we doom ourselves by inaction."

"Can't you just, I dunno, find out where the orders are coming from?"

"I've tried."

Axl sighs, and moves around the table to sit next to Lumine. "Look... I'll admit I don't know what to do about the mess things are in. I wish I did. But I do know that," and there's a gesture at the books again, "isn't the right answer."

On the way back Nemesis sets a small plate holding a few fragrant bits of cinnaSeeker on the edge of their table in passing.

Lumine gives the plate a look. He certainly didn't order that!

Axl didn't either, and he's been in the Nexus far too long to want to stick anything unfamiliar in his mouth.

For once they're in agreement as they end up putting the plate on an unoccupied table nearby. Maybe there'd been some mixup.

But it does make Axl think of food. "Did you order anything?"

"Not yet," replies Lumine. "I'd just arrived."

Axl will look over at the menu. Hmm...

And Nemesis is totally unfazed by the rejection of her offering. She just pokes some of the bits into her own mouth the next time she goes by.

Axl looks up as she goes past. "Hey, can we get a plate of cinnabuns?" he asks, and then glances to Lumine. "Do you want something to drink? It's on me." He figures if Lumine has money at all, he's been getting it from Nexus Couch Cushions. Unless he's made a few hits look like burglaries, and right now Axl doesn't want to think too much about what Lumine's probably done before.

Lumine thinks about that. Normally, he just has bottled water while he sits and looks through whatever books he's picked up from the library. But if the conversation continues, he decides he may want something other than just water. "An e-tank."

She pauses to give Axl a slightly amused look. "One organic cinnabun fills a human plate."

Axl blinks at that. "Whoa. That's a big cinnabun. Guess we'll just have to share one, then!"

Lumine gives him a look for that. If Axl thought he had any interest in ingesting any of this 'cinnabun' thing, he was so wrong.

Nemesis chuckles as she turns to get the e-tank. "You want iced or sticky with pecans?"

"Sticky!" chirps Axl in a fit of mischievousness.

She sets the e-tank on their table, then goes to the fridge and takes out something else, which she puts into the microwave to heat. Soon the entire bar is permeated with a wonderful aroma, and there are Transformers calling for cinnaSeekers or buns for themselves.

Lumine very nearly makes a O.o face as he takes note of the 'chain reaction'.

Cinna flavor has been called Transformer crack. Some of these guys are acting like it as they come up hopeful of getting the treats for themselves rather than waiting for the servers to bring them.

As for Nemesis, she just passes them out, and then opens the nuke when it beeps and sets the big plate on Axl and Lumine's table, along with two small forks.

Yes, that is a slagging big and wonderful looking southern sticky bun.

Axl grins. "Thanks."

Lumine is still staring at the effects on the rest of the bar. "Did you know this would happen?"

"Mmm?" Axl has mouthful of sticky bun. Once that's dealt with, he shakes his head. "No idea."

The bun's flavor is perfect; the carefully scientifically calculated spice blend warm, complex, and delicious, and the bun itself just soft and fluffy enough to convey that flavor in just the right way.

It's also close enough in scent to the TF mineral blend that a couple of mechs pause to sniff near Axl and Lumine's table and then give appreciative grins.

"Whoa, I wasn't expecting this much of a reaction," Axl mutters, feeling very small at the moment. "I think you'd better help me eat this thing before we get mobbed or something."

"You don't seriously expect me to ingest any of that, do you?"

Axl blinks and looks at Lumine. "What? It's a cinnabun, not a bomb. Don't tell me you've been visiting the Nexus for this long and you've never tried human food?"

"You've been spying on me frequently enough to where you should suspect the answer to that already. No, I have not. I see no reason to do so."

Axl sighs. "Lumine, there are a lot of things in the world that have no reason for doing them. And a lot of those are fun. If you wait for some logical excuse for everything you do, you're gonna miss out on a lot."

...

"It won't damage you."

...

"You know, you really don't have any more of a reason not to than you have a reason to try it. So why not chose the option that's more interesting?"

... "Fine." If it would get Axl to shut up about it, Lumine will try a bite of cinnabun.

"That's not human anyway." Nemesis is back with a couple cloth napkins. "Organic, yeah. But it was made by bots."

Edited 2009-10-29 17:08 (UTC)

"I kinda meant more 'edible to' than 'made by'," says Axl, and frowns a bit to himself. He'd been thinking of bringing up things, trying to find out just what kind of situation Lumine was in and what to do about it, but maybe Lumine was right and this wasn't the place for that. But there had to be something to do. If Lumine was right that all the Reploids working on the Jacob Project would be scrapped as soon as the orbital elevator was done...

Axl waits until Nemesis is gone before speaking up, though, and even then he stays quiet. "So... how long before the orbital elevator is finished?"

"Not long," Lumine replies just as quietly. "I have been trying to delay things, but there is only so much that can be done without causing suspicion."

"Ah." The bartender's gone again.

Axl keeps his voice down and makes mental notes of other places to go talk once they're done with the sticky cinnabun. "We'll find a way to get them out of there, even if we have to fake an attack or something."

"Which still does not solve the underlying issue," says Lumine, after another bite of cinnabun.

"Yeah. That's gonna be harder. Just... don't do anything stupid, ok? There's gotta be a better answer than that."

((Probably about time to fade out on these two, I think, and let em have their stickybun))

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There are words for days like this, but they're all profanity...

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