[Transformers] Ghost Unit | Boredom
Series: The Ghost Unit
Title: Boredom (#41)
Setting: IDW Transformers, inspired by the "What's Wrong with a Little Destruction" 'verse by ajremix.
Note: Many thanks to rexlapinii and ajremix for beta-ing! This one is for the anonymous poster who kindly left me a TF valentine note. =)
Summary: It's never a good thing to let a Ghost (never mind two) get bored.
Boredom
"There are those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who don't know what the heck happened."
~ Unknown
Part 1
The first explosion had been a small one. It had been, in fact, one of the smallest ones ever since the unit had been brought together. Salvo tended to generate bigger ones testing any number of new armaments on a near daily basis. Fallout still held the record for the most creative explosions due to her diligent testing of any new type of bomb she and Deadline came up with. Explosions - while not standard for an Intel unit - were nonetheless daily routine for the Ghosts, and nothing to be surprised about.
An explosion combined to the ensuing sound of mechs howling and racing down the hallways however had been enough for Flagship to wonder if he ought to worry. It had even been enough for him to step out of his office and head down towards the sound of the commotion in order to find out whoever was causing the ruckus. It might even be enough for him to ask a few questions once he found them.
He didn't expect something to run up to him once he neared the hangar bay, 'cheep' loudly and then hop from the ground to attach itself to the main joint of his shoulder.
"It's not our fault!" Shortfall paused as he rushed through the exit of the hangar bay, then carefully stepped to the side, avoiding being trampled by the larger mech following him through instants later. "It ran away! What kind of bomb bites you then runs away after you pick it up?!" Shortfall waved his arms to punctuate his point, optics more than a little brighter than usual.
"What kind of bomb bites you at all?" Salvo narrowed it down to what he thought was the crucial point, more than a little unnerved. The thing had run away. The entire concept of a bomb scrambling off was alien, off-putting and overall truly scary. Granted, it had been shiny and pretty when they'd first found it, isolate in its own stasis compartment. Maybe in Fallout's research stuff. But, really, anyone would understand that Shortfall truly hadn't meant to de-activate the stasis grid on the sealed case holding the smartbomb, but... it had been a shiny bit of code. A really shiny and interesting bit of code. Shortfall had only meant to look at it a little bit... and might have ended up opening the box before he'd realized exactly what he'd done.
This was nothing new when it came to Shortfall.
"Cheep!"
The mini-bot glared at the smartbomb still firmly attached to his commanding officer, and shifted his weight. Maybe he if moved really fast he could pounce on it. It was a lot of ground to over, sure, but with some creativity...
"...I have a bomb attached to me?" Flagship was still smiling serenely at the two mechs, noting how they suddenly took a few steps back. Carefully. The smile disappeared instantly at that.
"We just got this base." Flagship looked through the doorway at the inside of the hangar bay pensively, wondering if the marbleized pattern on the far wall could somehow be passed off as decorative. Or something. "It's brand new. And Fallout is off with Wildside for that supplies run he wanted to do..." Which meant if any paperwork was going to be filled out because of this, Flagship would have to do it.
Shortfall tried to smile up at Flagship while thinking up an excuse, the expression quickly withering under the ominous glare their leader was still directing at them. Somehow, he knew 'We were bored' wasn't going to go over well. He never noticed Salvo standing back a bit further, pointing down at him emphatically, effectively putting the entire blame for the situation on the hacker without a second thought.
"Gentlemech, I understand your need to test out the new equipment but do you really ha- wait..." Flagship stepped around them to peer into the hangar bay more carefully, inspecting the locker they'd "accidentally" broken into. "Did you find this bomb in Fallout's things?"
Salvo sent off a quick prayer to Primus and hoped his death would be quick.
~*~
"...he's going to tell Fallout we broke into her research stuff."
"Yep. You missed a spot."
"Shut up. That's on your side. She's gonna kill us."
"Yep!"
"That thing is still sucking up to Flagship. That's on my side, leave that alone."
"...yep. And I'll clean that if I want to."
"And Deadline now. ...wow, that is major sucking up. And I know sucking up!"
"Fallout was working on some sort of AI project with Deadline. I think that thing was an offshoot from that. Oh slag. I think it just bit Flagship..."
"Um... did you just see the look Deadline gave us?"
"We're so dead."
---
Part 2
"...it's what?"
"Sentient."
Deadline observed the small circular shape shuffling about his desk, noting how it smartly veered from the edges as soon as it reached one, not done with exploring the current zone it had access to just yet. Fallout stared from the doorway, looking utterly flummoxed. He'd managed to distract her from implementing an immediate plan to kill Salvo and Shortfall on the spot by presenting her with the result of the hacker's interference with the coding seal they'd set on their latest project. He wasn't sure why he was doing so, but he supposed he should do his teammates a good turn every now and then. For some reason or other. That Fallout's plans for revenge tended to get more elaborate and entertaining when she took her time with them had nothing to do with it. At all.
"But - we didn't code for sentience! What could Short have done to trigger sentience just by hacking the seal?! It's got a basic AI sure but-"
"Cheep!" The smartbomb had stopped in mid-step to give the femme a reproachful look with the single optic it had. The effect was disarming.
"...ah. Sorry?" The concept of apologizing to what was still very much a bomb was somewhat foreign to Fallout's experience. "Um. I should disarm it and remove the explosive components..." At Deadline's look, Fallout shrugged. "Not going to use it as a bomb if it's sentient, no matter how baseline it is." She shuddered slightly at the thought, and resolved to isolate the entire batch they'd been working on for more observation in case any of the other units had similar coding irregularities. Keeping them far away from Shortfall would be a priority, as well. She reached out to pick up the smartbomb, then snatched away her hand hastily. The smartbomb cheeped once and looked cheerful, the electrical field suddenly covering it shining brightly a moment longer before fading away.
"It seems to have acquired a biting habit," Deadline said helpfully, in a bland tone. His optics brightened briefly. "It bit Flagship a few times until I got it to let go of him."
"Did it bite Shortfall and Salvo too?" Though she tried not to look too hopeful, the faint snicker in response from Deadline likely meant she hadn't kept up much of a neutral façade over that query. Deadline nodded in confirmation though, the smartbomb cheeping merrily as it scrambled across the expanse of his desk to swarm up his arm, settling there with a pleased air about itself.
"...likes you, huh?" The contented purr steadily emanating from it was a dead giveaway, as far as Fallout was concerned.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Deadline answered flatly. "I doubt its sentience or processing capabilities allow for that sort of differentiation, never mind establishing such preferences." The smartbomb cooed and snuggled closer to the black and blue in response.
"Uh huh." Somehow, she didn't think she was coming across as convinced by Deadline's argument. "Of course." She could wait until she had left his office to laugh. She did have a medical review up soon, after all. "Let me go get my tools and we'll make sure it can't blow itself up, mmm?" Without waiting for a response, Fallout escaped for the relative safety of the hallways before giving in to the laughter bubbling up at the sign of Deadline trying to maintain a stern expression with a small affectionate bomb latched on to him.
Title: Boredom (#41)
Setting: IDW Transformers, inspired by the "What's Wrong with a Little Destruction" 'verse by ajremix.
Note: Many thanks to rexlapinii and ajremix for beta-ing! This one is for the anonymous poster who kindly left me a TF valentine note. =)
Summary: It's never a good thing to let a Ghost (never mind two) get bored.
Boredom
"There are those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who don't know what the heck happened."
~ Unknown
Part 1
The first explosion had been a small one. It had been, in fact, one of the smallest ones ever since the unit had been brought together. Salvo tended to generate bigger ones testing any number of new armaments on a near daily basis. Fallout still held the record for the most creative explosions due to her diligent testing of any new type of bomb she and Deadline came up with. Explosions - while not standard for an Intel unit - were nonetheless daily routine for the Ghosts, and nothing to be surprised about.
An explosion combined to the ensuing sound of mechs howling and racing down the hallways however had been enough for Flagship to wonder if he ought to worry. It had even been enough for him to step out of his office and head down towards the sound of the commotion in order to find out whoever was causing the ruckus. It might even be enough for him to ask a few questions once he found them.
He didn't expect something to run up to him once he neared the hangar bay, 'cheep' loudly and then hop from the ground to attach itself to the main joint of his shoulder.
"It's not our fault!" Shortfall paused as he rushed through the exit of the hangar bay, then carefully stepped to the side, avoiding being trampled by the larger mech following him through instants later. "It ran away! What kind of bomb bites you then runs away after you pick it up?!" Shortfall waved his arms to punctuate his point, optics more than a little brighter than usual.
"What kind of bomb bites you at all?" Salvo narrowed it down to what he thought was the crucial point, more than a little unnerved. The thing had run away. The entire concept of a bomb scrambling off was alien, off-putting and overall truly scary. Granted, it had been shiny and pretty when they'd first found it, isolate in its own stasis compartment. Maybe in Fallout's research stuff. But, really, anyone would understand that Shortfall truly hadn't meant to de-activate the stasis grid on the sealed case holding the smartbomb, but... it had been a shiny bit of code. A really shiny and interesting bit of code. Shortfall had only meant to look at it a little bit... and might have ended up opening the box before he'd realized exactly what he'd done.
This was nothing new when it came to Shortfall.
"Cheep!"
The mini-bot glared at the smartbomb still firmly attached to his commanding officer, and shifted his weight. Maybe he if moved really fast he could pounce on it. It was a lot of ground to over, sure, but with some creativity...
"...I have a bomb attached to me?" Flagship was still smiling serenely at the two mechs, noting how they suddenly took a few steps back. Carefully. The smile disappeared instantly at that.
"We just got this base." Flagship looked through the doorway at the inside of the hangar bay pensively, wondering if the marbleized pattern on the far wall could somehow be passed off as decorative. Or something. "It's brand new. And Fallout is off with Wildside for that supplies run he wanted to do..." Which meant if any paperwork was going to be filled out because of this, Flagship would have to do it.
Shortfall tried to smile up at Flagship while thinking up an excuse, the expression quickly withering under the ominous glare their leader was still directing at them. Somehow, he knew 'We were bored' wasn't going to go over well. He never noticed Salvo standing back a bit further, pointing down at him emphatically, effectively putting the entire blame for the situation on the hacker without a second thought.
"Gentlemech, I understand your need to test out the new equipment but do you really ha- wait..." Flagship stepped around them to peer into the hangar bay more carefully, inspecting the locker they'd "accidentally" broken into. "Did you find this bomb in Fallout's things?"
Salvo sent off a quick prayer to Primus and hoped his death would be quick.
~*~
"...he's going to tell Fallout we broke into her research stuff."
"Yep. You missed a spot."
"Shut up. That's on your side. She's gonna kill us."
"Yep!"
"That thing is still sucking up to Flagship. That's on my side, leave that alone."
"...yep. And I'll clean that if I want to."
"And Deadline now. ...wow, that is major sucking up. And I know sucking up!"
"Fallout was working on some sort of AI project with Deadline. I think that thing was an offshoot from that. Oh slag. I think it just bit Flagship..."
"Um... did you just see the look Deadline gave us?"
"We're so dead."
---
Part 2
"...it's what?"
"Sentient."
Deadline observed the small circular shape shuffling about his desk, noting how it smartly veered from the edges as soon as it reached one, not done with exploring the current zone it had access to just yet. Fallout stared from the doorway, looking utterly flummoxed. He'd managed to distract her from implementing an immediate plan to kill Salvo and Shortfall on the spot by presenting her with the result of the hacker's interference with the coding seal they'd set on their latest project. He wasn't sure why he was doing so, but he supposed he should do his teammates a good turn every now and then. For some reason or other. That Fallout's plans for revenge tended to get more elaborate and entertaining when she took her time with them had nothing to do with it. At all.
"But - we didn't code for sentience! What could Short have done to trigger sentience just by hacking the seal?! It's got a basic AI sure but-"
"Cheep!" The smartbomb had stopped in mid-step to give the femme a reproachful look with the single optic it had. The effect was disarming.
"...ah. Sorry?" The concept of apologizing to what was still very much a bomb was somewhat foreign to Fallout's experience. "Um. I should disarm it and remove the explosive components..." At Deadline's look, Fallout shrugged. "Not going to use it as a bomb if it's sentient, no matter how baseline it is." She shuddered slightly at the thought, and resolved to isolate the entire batch they'd been working on for more observation in case any of the other units had similar coding irregularities. Keeping them far away from Shortfall would be a priority, as well. She reached out to pick up the smartbomb, then snatched away her hand hastily. The smartbomb cheeped once and looked cheerful, the electrical field suddenly covering it shining brightly a moment longer before fading away.
"It seems to have acquired a biting habit," Deadline said helpfully, in a bland tone. His optics brightened briefly. "It bit Flagship a few times until I got it to let go of him."
"Did it bite Shortfall and Salvo too?" Though she tried not to look too hopeful, the faint snicker in response from Deadline likely meant she hadn't kept up much of a neutral façade over that query. Deadline nodded in confirmation though, the smartbomb cheeping merrily as it scrambled across the expanse of his desk to swarm up his arm, settling there with a pleased air about itself.
"...likes you, huh?" The contented purr steadily emanating from it was a dead giveaway, as far as Fallout was concerned.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Deadline answered flatly. "I doubt its sentience or processing capabilities allow for that sort of differentiation, never mind establishing such preferences." The smartbomb cooed and snuggled closer to the black and blue in response.
"Uh huh." Somehow, she didn't think she was coming across as convinced by Deadline's argument. "Of course." She could wait until she had left his office to laugh. She did have a medical review up soon, after all. "Let me go get my tools and we'll make sure it can't blow itself up, mmm?" Without waiting for a response, Fallout escaped for the relative safety of the hallways before giving in to the laughter bubbling up at the sign of Deadline trying to maintain a stern expression with a small affectionate bomb latched on to him.