SEMI-OPEN || Return to the Ship

[legalcy]

CHARACTERS: Minimus Ambus and you
LOCATION: Sunlight Room, Common Living Area, Minimus's room (closed)
DATE: Post-Mission
CONTENT: Minimus does the best thing after that mess of a mission: get to work
WARNINGS: Will add as needed


Common Living Area

[The sting of being unwanted and doing more harm than good still hurts even after millions of years of being the most hated species in the universe. Minimus wonders if he feels more torn up about it than he should considering that he was well-liked by the Galactic Council and considered to be an exception to the rule...But that wasn't Minimus about whom they were thinking. The idea of Ultra Magnus was a good story for them to cling onto: a powerful, one-mech-army that went after the worst of his kind and protected organics.

That's not who Minimus really is. And he knows he didn't agree with most of his teammate's actions, but they are what they are. He's learned that he can't control everyone to behave the way he wants. Still, the disorganization between their ranks irritates him to the core of his character. What kind of crew goes out into a field without mission control or without a agreed-upon set of guidelines to follow? The mission on the train was straightforward: find the orb, rescue their friends from being convicted for murder, stop Newt. This is different.

This calls for his specialty: bureaucracy.

His own decisions came from the prior experiences of other orbers, but they weren't written down in one resource document. It's time to fix that.

Before setting down for work, he cleans the common area, reorganizes the magazines, adjusts the furniture, and reaches a state of calm. At one of the tables, he has a writing pad and his personal datapad set up, a stack of legal books, and his personal music player playing at a low but audible volume. Today's playlist is piano music from the Romantic Era fit for studying to.

Once in a while, when he feels particularly stuck, he pauses the song and calls out:] Ah - have you been on the ship for long? I wanted to ask you a few questions.

Sunlight Room

[But when he has to be alone and ruminate on what he did - on what he said to his closest friends before the mission, on what he failed to say - Minimus braves the imaginary dirt caught in his pedes to stand in the middle of the meadow, look up at the illusion of a sky, and watch the fake clouds. Legal debates are easy for which to prepare, personal matters of the heart and apologies for accusations said during moments of distress are difficult.

At least the scenery is pleasant. He might forget that anyone else can enter without his knowing.]

Private to Drift:

If you have time, I am waiting for you in the sunlight room. I wish to apologize.

[As written, he's already there, positioned in the shadow of the forest to elegantly shade his frame. His hands are folded behind his straight back.]

Minimus's Room, Closed to Megatron

[A message has been sent to Megatron: he wants to talk in the privacy of his room. He swore that he didn't want to continue living on the ship with regrets, and it's time to follow up on his promise. His body is actually transformed and parked in the corner while the avatar of Verity sits at his desk, hands folded on the lap.]

...I want to thank you for agreeing to come here. [Even if the topic of discussion is personal, there's some sense of formality he wants to keep for now.] I was not in the best of moods a month ago, but I hope that I can be more receptive to what you say this time.

Comments

The Room (oh hi minimus)

[flickerandfade]

[ Megatron steps into the room and lets the door close behind him. He takes in the scene set before him, optics flicking from Minimus' real body in the corner to the holoform sitting at the desk. Of course. Minimus is always trying to hide himself behind armor, behind Ultra Magnus. It is one of the things that drives Megatron mad about Minimus, in spite of the affection between them.

He could be so much more if he only let himself be more and stopped trying to hide who he was at his spark. ]

Then allow me to say that I apologize for not being frank with you about what passed between Drift and myself. I should have been forthcoming instead of assuming that it was of no importance when the opposite was true. It was thoughtless of me.

Now I ask that you let me speak before you say anything further.

[ He pauses, just for a moment, then continues. ]

But let me say that when that particular dalliance began, we were both in mourning. He lost Ratchet right before he arrived here. I believed that I would never see you again and that our farewell after my sentencing had been the last I would ever see of you, in any universe. I believed that I had lost forever the chance to express my affection for you in the way that I wished I had.

[ His hands are folded at the small of his back. He refuses to fidget, because fidgeting is a sign of weakness and he beat it out of himself eons ago. ]

I offer not an excuse, but an explanation for what happened. I am sorry for violating for your trust. That I have enjoyed it in the past was of great importance to me. If I no longer possess that trust, I understand.

[legalcy]

[The avatar nods, allowing Megatron to finish speaking. As easy it would be to amend the rift with a hug or a romantic touch to the soldier, it's easier to distance himself from the base emotions of the incident if he's not himself. A set of armor to protect himself, but also to save Megatron from his distress lashing.

Minimus can't trust himself to keep that strong of a handle on his own insecurities.]

No, I agree with you. Hiding your recent dalliances from me for well over a month was an unacceptable breach of trust. Despite all that we shared with one another, you kept this a secret, and I feared what other information relevant to our...relationship...you would hide. [He adjusts the avatar's shoulders and has it tear its gaze away from its own hands and straight at Megatron.] Perhaps you may call me jealous, but I know there are those who see me as a temporary step to reach someone else.

[Dominus, usually. Tyrest. Magnus. And he thought Drift would end up on that list.]

...But in retrospect, you would not be blamed if you sought company in someone with whom you had a close relationship in the past.

[flickerandfade]

Let me say that you are not a stepping stone, or second in my affections to anyone I have known in the last four million years.

[ Megatron tries not to sound too hurried when he says it, but it's impossible not to let his emotions filter into his words. ]

Your respect... your affection means more than I am able to say. I returned from the Functionist universe in part because I did not want you... you or Rodimus to think less of me for failing to return. This is the same. I value you, your trust, and your care very highly.

[legalcy]

[It should be something Minimus already knows, but he's grateful to hear that directly from Megatron's mouth. He even dares to smile before speaking again.]

If you want to retain my trust, you mustn't hide these sorts of things from me. You're willing to come back to a universe that despises you because of me, then I want to believe that those feelings are not gone.

...I do not think less of you, Megatron. I doubt I could despise you, even if you hurt me. [It's why he had to set up this meeting. He couldn't end things like this. Megatron will never lose his grip on his Spark.] Despite knowing you were to be sentenced, I hoped that something between us could save you. It's foolish, I know, but even when you were left behind in the Functionist universe, I wanted to believe that there was some sense of truth in your affections and you didn't abandon us.

...It's just more proof that I ought to have more faith in your faithfulness, isn't it?

[flickerandfade]

You had every reason not to believe me.

[ Mostly. He was still stewing in his own guilt with that remark, wasn't he? ]

I promise then, not to hide such things from you in the future, should they ever occur. I want you to be able to trust that I hide nothing from you which might cause you hurt.

[ He is quiet for a moment. ]

You are important to me, Minimus. I want to be able to enjoy the time we have, if we still can.

[ Even if he doesn't deserve that forgiveness again. ]

Common Area

[victorylap]

Minimus, you know I haven't been here that long.

[ He laughs, though, all smiles, all Rodimus. Because hey, that's what he's supposed to do, right? Brush off the dust. Keep going. They've got a quest, a mission, and it's all going to be fine. They'll make it.

Sure.

He slumps into a chair next to Minimus. ]

We didn't get much of a chance to talk before everything went sideways. How are you?

[legalcy]

Yes, but...

[It's an excuse to talk with Rodimus, and he saw straight through him.]

I'm well. I'm glad that I could contribute to finding the orb, but everything else could have been better. [He pushes his chair away from the desk and folds his hands on his lap.] I was thinking of creating some sort of agreement on how to conduct ourselves on future missions. We did well in a smaller setting - this was before you arrived - but if this is our normal, I am not optimistic about our future performances.

[victorylap]

What exactly went wrong? I wasn't really involved in planning everything, but...

[ He taps the tips of his fingers together. ]

Aside from the whole "everything blew up".

[legalcy]

Disagreements on our plan, Rodimus. We were fractured in opinion with little direction.

[Part of it, he could blame, is due to the lack of information, but this assumes that Viveca knew everything that was happening on her home planet, and if she didn't know that the orb was in the camps, then it's on the orbers for only accomplishing the bare minimum.]

Some of us said that experience taught us to not meddle in the affairs of the locals, others stated that we had to help based on the outcomes of prior missions. Others acted on their own. We don't have a captain to guide our actions. [A nod at his datapad.] I hope that we could at least have some sort of agreement before we plan our final moves.

[aurable]

I'm free, yeah.

[ Minimus contacting him hadn't come as a surprise, but what did give Drift pause was the fact that this had been extended as an apology. Something Drift wasn't sure he even deserved, let alone sought out.

Drift arrived in the sunlit room within minutes. Barely making a sound despite his frame size as he moves across the short bridge to the shadowy glen by the pond. ]

Hey.

[legalcy]

[As if Minimus understood how to keep the dramatic tension in his favor, he turns away from the forest to give Drift a nod.]

Good evening. [There are no places to sit, leaving them standing in the quiet atmosphere of the forest.] I believe you understand the topic of our conversation, and there is no need for to discuss the details.

[Mostly because he wants to get over this without reliving those conversations.]

[aurable]

[ Drift was a big proponent for the well-timed dramatic pause but found himself bristling at being on the receiving end. What has him biting his tongue knows that the ball was in Minimus's court, so to speak. Not to mention even the wiry and slight Minimus was the bigger bot here by extending this olive branch. ]

Yeah, I think we can agree on that.

[legalcy]

Excellent.

[He moves his hands to the front, where they're clasped together in a handshake with himself. That first hurdle was passed; the next one is bigger. His optics close for a second in lieu of a deep breath.]

I apologize for my accusatory behavior and slinging blame at you, despite you having come forth with the truth when the onus of disclosure was on Megatron. [If this sounds formal, it's because Minimus practiced writing this down first.] I understand that you acted in the belief that I would not arrive - which, based on the information you had at the time, was true.

And...I suppose we all grieve in our different ways.

Despite that, I am...[The feelings part is always difficult, especially with someone who he isn't intimately involved with.] still hurt that you chose to reveal your past relations...so casually. I'm of the mind that it should be treated as the sensitive and delicate topic that it is.

common room!

[blackfire]

（ he prefers his own room by and large, but as it happens he is sorting through the free use bookcase to the right of the door when minimus calls out that query. he has a half-dozen books cradled in one arm, and sets a seventh — a book of hindi poetry — atop the pile before he alters his path to take him by the table where the transformer has spread out his work. red eyes flicker across the various papers, but ultimately he focuses on minimus himself. ）

What do you wish to know?

[legalcy]

[He taps his pen against the paper pad a few times. Itachi...he doesn't know this human well, but from the looks of his, he acts comfortably enough around the ship and mission that he comes off as someone who's seen plenty of missions.]

I did not get a good overview of the crew's past experience in the past few months, notably in how different members discussed the successes and failures of their past mission. I believe it would be more beneficial to hear full statements when we aren't in a situation requiring urgent attention. [He sets down the pen and prepares his hands for typing, setting his fingers above the correct keys on his personal datapad. Despite the lack of the interrogation room, Minimus has claimed this corner of the common area to be a private law practice.] Are you able to sit down for a few minutes while I record your statement?

[blackfire]

（ he arches an eyebrow, and then — wordless, reaches up and taps the area the earpiece rests, a clear message that he will transmit files rather than speak on the matter unnecessarily.

what minimus receives are five mission logs, utterly immaculate in detail and scope. it does not get into the meat of what minimus is truly asking — his opinions on the others are notably blank, certain information is redacted for privacy's sake — itachi is willing to share some but not all information, it seems. it does list actions publicly taken by others, but that's the extent of it. while the cybertronian sifts through that information — ）

My opinion on successes or failures is private, and I will not share it. That information is my compromise.

（ take it or leave it. ）

[legalcy]

[That's frankly more than what Minimus expected. The level of detail, the number of footnotes, the sheer mass of these documents...he hasn't seen anything like this since filing papers as Ultra Magnus. His recent work overseeing Luna-1 doesn't delve this deeply into the lives of each young Cybertronian from the newest generation.

Itachi has given him the greatest way to lift his mood.

But now is not the time to stare at his datapad. Minimus tears his finger away from the device and nods at Itachi, though his hand does not return to his lap or the arm of his chair.] Thank you, this -

This will be an excellent starting point.

common area;

[spoilers]

[ River had really only been passing through, but something about the room had given her pause. It takes her a moment to realize what she's noticed is that it's been put to order, apparently long enough to catch the attention of its occupant.

Turning his direction, she smiles. She's had a few brief conversations with one or two of the others of his kind, but she's sure she hasn't made his acquaintance yet. ]

I think you could say that, yes. What would you like to know?

[legalcy]

[Minimus pulls up the keypad feature of his datapad and puts his hands into position to take diction.]

I want to hear your assessment of prior missions to this. I've only been on two thus far, and from what I've seen, there are wildly varying lessons that we share on how to behave on these missions. For example - how common is it to stay behind on a planet to address the issues? Have we really done this often?

[spoilers]

No, no, I wouldn't say we have. Staying behind isn't usually how it works.

[ Have others given him the impression it is, she wonders? She moves to the table, pulling out a seat to sit across from him. ]

From the start, our primary mission has been to locate and retrieve the orbs. Anything else is secondary. I won't say there haven't been attempts to leave the places we've gone better than when we arrived.

[ Some more successful than others and some more agreed upon than others. ]

In this case, I think emotions got in the way of sense.

[ She'll not comment much more as to her personal opinions where that's concerned. River can be emotional herself in the right circumstances, but more often, she's practical and detached. ]

[legalcy]

From the discussions I observed, it seemed to be a viable option to quite a number of us. As the other mission on which I had been - the short one, on the train - was straightforward and had no major impact on the planet, I did not see this same issue pop up.

[The differences between the two missions are wide. With a clear direction, all went well except for a last-minute unforseen disaster. With an entire city to investigate, everything fell apart and plans were made and undone over and over again. Even at its most chaotic, the Lost Light didn't devolve into a mess. Apart from the mutiny, but that developed separately from their quests.]

Are there not agreed-upon rules for our conduct on other planets? Would that not help keep our impulses in check?

common living area

[romancekiller]

[clarke is just walking through when she hears him call out to her. she hadn't really been headed anywhere in particular, mostly walking aimlessly because doing anything else she felt restless. hearing the question and noticing he was taking notes, it's easy to tell that he's fairly new to being on the station but either way she doesn't mind as she gives a quick nod] Yeah, I have. What did you want to ask?

[legalcy]

I wish to know more about our prior missions. From what I gather, the crew was put together about a year ago and successfully retrieved all orbs in their missions. However, if our most recent endeavor is an outlier, then there must be something different that we did before.

[He tugs at his mustache. The only deciding factor he's thought of so far was the fact that they were on Viveca's home planet, but even so, the actions taken were wildly different from what he would have seen back home.]

Would you say that we've kept our distance in local affairs up until now?

[romancekiller]

[clarke considers the question as she recalls how things went on the previous missions over the last year. it always varied with what they did and how they approached things to obtain the orbs so the thing that was mostly different was the circumstances like the fact this was viveca's world] Not really— we always seem to get involved one way or another but staying behind was new though.

[legalcy]

Even if they do not have the level of technology that we do? [That sounds antithetical to what Tyrest - or just the Autobot Code, to be fair - taught him. Don't interfere, don't shake things up.] Doesn't that worsen the situation on the planet?