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TEST DRIVE MEME #0

A TIME VORTEX has opened in downtown LA! Some magic folks have been contacted to close it, but they haven't gotten here fast enough for the vortex not to spill out a HECK TON OF DINOSAURS – all kinds of dinosaurs of all kinds of sizes. There are theoretically gentle herbivores among the fierce predators, but they are all pretty pissed off about their sudden, startling relocation, and a lot of them have spikes.

(The vortex is both temporally and spatially unstable, which is why the dinosaurs emerging onto the streets of LA are constrained neither by specific prehistorical era nor geographical location.)

What you do is up to you. Here are some suggestions, though:

Fight some dinosaurs. You might be trying to herd them back to the vortex, or just trying to stop them by any means possible.

Flee or hide. If you're lucky the dinosaurs won't work out how to open doors and you can spend your entire thread hiding behind the bar in a Starbucks with some other hapless civilians without having to confront any of them.

Try to capture the dinosaurs on camera. If you can get some really good photos you might be able to sell them to the local paper in order to supplement your elderly aunt's meagre income. Or just use them to get a bunch of notes on Tumblr, either way.

Take advantage of the chaos to do crime. The forces of law enforcement are preoccupied with all these prehistoric reptiles.

Or pretty much anything else you think your character might be doing. Any location in LA is game, although there's no real need to meticulously look them up – you can just assume a generic street, rooftop, store, etc. (You don't have to look up the dinosaurs, either.)

If you have a character who you'd like to assume is part of a team, but that team hasn't been named or brainstormed OOC yet or anything, feel free to indicate in your opening post that you're assuming your character is operating alongside others and encourage others to tag in as if they are part of the same team! Or just handwave it and assume they got caught without their usual teammates or separated from them. Whatever way works best for you.

Events from this test drive are not automatically assumed game canon, but individual threads can be if you and the people who you thread with end up mutually wanting to keep them.

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Starscream is caught entirely off guard by this question. He hadn't actually had the foresight to think of a reasonable cover identity for situations such as this; usually he manages to go undetected and even when he is noticed most people simply ask what he's up to, which is easily dodged enough.

He didn't get to the top of Decepticon command without being able to think on his feet though, and he has done a bit of homework on the humans behind this place; perhaps there's a way to turn this around.

"AH, Dr. Julius Baelheit, correct? My apologies, I didn't recognize you for a moment there. I'm an agent with...." Slag it, what was the name of that branch again? "....DORPA? your assistant set up an appointment last week for you to show me some of your work for consideration for possible government funding. I suppose the situation outside has scared many of your people off because there was no one out front to give me proper access, so I decided to drop by and see if there was anyone inside the lab itself to let me in." He flashes a winning smile, just for good measure.

Baelheit is entirely unconvinced. He gives Starscream an utterly unfazed look, and raises a hand to a panel on the wall beside him. The screen on the panel lights up as he taps it a few times, and he gazes back at Starscream.

"I don't have an assistant, and I keep my own schedule. I don't have any appointments with any government agencies on my agenda for today, nor I do believe in the slightest that a federal agent would maintain a consultation appointment given the current crisis." He articulates himself with an impeccable calm, his fingertips poised over the security panel. "You have one minute to identify yourself -- truthfully this time -- before I initiate the intruder security protocol. ...And I believe the name you were looking for was DARPA."

Shoulders slumping slightly, there's an awkward few moments where all Starscream can do is gape and let a kind of pathetic sounding whine escape his vocalizer. The expression on the avatar's face is definitely not enough to convey the reeling of his processor after being so thoroughly verbally steam rolled like that. And by a HUMAN no less.

He recovers fairly quickly though and continues, tone suddenly serious. "Nnnngh.... As you wish. Though I must voice my concern that even when you do hear the truth, you likely won't believe it, doctor," he growls out, crossing his arms petulantly. The holoform flickers out of sight and re-appears on Baelheit's other side. "I don't suppose you've ever given much thought to the idea of life on other planets...?" And he smirks pausing for dramatic effect, completely oblivious to the idea that this isn't even remotely shocking news to *anyone* on Earth at this point.

Baelheit gives Starscream a careful, scrutinizing look, as though very slowly trying to determine whether or not he's being serious. One hand still hovering threateningly over the security panel, he gives Starscream's avatar what amounts to a withering look on his face, his expression primly disapproving.

"Xenobiology is not my particular area of research, so I can't claim to have ever devoted much time to the subject. Now would you kindly identify yourself, so that I may determine whether this is some kind of ill-advised joke, or otherwise an extraordinarily poorly thought out attempt to infiltrate my laboratory?"

Clearly, neither flattery nor intimidation are the right tact to take with this one. But Starscream is nothing if not adaptable, so he continues confidently. "Very well, I'll introduce myself properly then."

The avatar stands up straight, chest puffing with pride. "I am Starscream, Commander of the Decepticon forces of the planet Cybertron. And you've certainly deduced already, this is not my true form..." He pauses, lip curling irritably, indignant rage at his current condition rising deep in his spark once more. "...And much as I'd love to prove to you the truth of my statement, that is going to prove rather difficult unless you possess a hangar as part of this lab of yours."

Baelheit's eyebrows rise just a hair. He looks over the holo-matter avatar with a scrutinizing gaze, considering Starscream's words. He could be simply delusional, but in this world, it's a fairly safe bet that he's telling the truth. But Baelheit has work to do, and his hand does not quite leave the security panel.

"I am a busy man, Commander Starscream," he says, his voice astringent with impatience. "I am willing to take your claims at face value for the time being. However, unless you have some intent to meander your way over to the point of your unauthorized attempt to access my laboratory any time today...I am afraid I'm going to have to insist that you leave. I have no time for frivolous interruptions."

The avatar's features quirk slightly, Starscream himself being slightly disgruntled by the terse, authoritative sounding tone he's being addressed with. Being a professional suck up however, he manages to keep his expression simpering.

"Straight to the point I see. Very well..." No use in trying to give the human the work around, in this particular instance at least. He continues on, tone just polite enough that it just manages to disguise the level of irritation he's actually feeling.

"In my time here I have done some research on this planet.... about the state of technology here.... and of the rather weak, fragile forms of your smaller, more fleshy species," he explain with a slight growl in his voice. "In particular, doctor, I have heard of your research into cybernetic implants. Truly fascinating, if I do say so myself... and ironic how the very features you seek to imbue humanity with, we Cybertronians already possess naturally."

He pauses for a moment, mulling his next words over carefully, eyes shifty, arms crossed and ridiculously manicured fingers drumming on his sleeve. "I believe we may be in a position to help each other... you see, I find myself in the unfortunate position of needing medical assistance, but being thoroughly unable to provide myself with it. Luckily, here you are, looking for just the sort of scientific breakthrough that I can provide." He directs his attention back to Baelheit. "I humbly suggest an alliance, or an exchange of favors."

Edited 2014-02-02 06:54 (UTC)

Baelheit doesn't respond right away, turning over the proposal in his mind. It is true that he is always on the lookout for new data that might assist his research... But he's never heard of Cybertron. If what Starscream is saying is true -- and Baelheit doesn't need Daimon to tell him to take everything he says with a generous serving of salt -- then it sounds like Cybertronian life forms are some kind of cybernetic organisms. There is no doubt in his mind that studying such a species would reap much in the way of reward, but he cannot afford to trust Starscream so blindly. The man reeks of unfulfilled promises and undisclosed agendas. Tread carefully with this one, Daimon advises. Baelheit is inclined to agree.

"Your proposal merits consideration," he says finally, "although I cannot make any guarantees as to the efficacy of any of my medical personnel on a life form such as yourself. And at any rate, I believe more information is in order before I can make a decision. Why don't we arrange a meeting to discuss the terms of this agreement? Sometime when you aren't trying to break into my laboratory, of course."

"You're very hung up on that, aren't you?" Starscream chimes back, expression unflatteringly sulky. The truth of the matter was that without the ability to transform he was at a far greater disadvantage than he'd ever care to admit, and above all else there was a fear festering in his spark that he could end up captured in addition to being mode locked. It was a measure of how incredibly desperate he actually was to be risking coming to another person for assistance. As always, Starscream vowed to tread carefully. Whether or not someone was truly trustworthy at heart was irrelevant to him; fear and suspicion ruled above all else in his processor, and the only way to keep those fears from becoming reality was to maintain a strong upper-hand in all personal dealings. He made a mental note to be particularly mindful of that with this one.

After pausing for that brief moment, he continues: "It is only natural that you'd want proof of my claim. If you took everything I said at face value I would already be reconsidering coming forward to you with this offer for fear that you were actually an utter moron." He sincerely meant that as a compliment, in some way, and flashed a winning smile. "As I said before however, a meeting may be quite difficult due to the nature of injury. If you wish to discuss things further in person, you we will have to settle on a location with ample space."

This man -- alien life form, whatever he is -- Baelheit cannot help but find his manner rather tiresome, but whatever flicker of annoyance he might feel is overridden by his undeniable curiosity. He'll put up with this Commander Starscream's petulant manner for now -- at least until he knows what he has to offer.

"That can be arranged," Baelheit says, looking rather unruffled given the situation. "I believe I can make use of a private hangar of a colleague of mine. I can ensure we won't be interrupted. Would that be suitable?"

"Perfectly", he says, beaming benignly. "We will need some way to contact each other, of course... " He flourishes a hand unecessarily. "If you check your personal computer you will find a comm link frequency on which you can reach me.... my schedule is wide open, of course."

Baelheit is a patient man -- that much is evident -- but his patience is certainly being tried with all of these networked individuals directly accessing his personal computer. He supposes there is only so much that can be done against cyborgs and cybernetic organisms from other planets, but really, he'll have to speak to his head of information security about this.

Starscream clearly has something of a flair for the dramatic. Baelheit has never understood such things. "I assure you, you will hear from me shortly," he says. "Until then, Commander Starscream."

"Hmmmm. I look forward to it." The avatar smirks and, with a polite bow, flickers and disappears.

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