2020 COLLECTIVE POST
I. Background
II. 'Current' Status
III. Powerset
IV. CR Relations
V. Threads
Vector Prime had always held himself distant from the changing world, by necessity rather than true choice. He had already lived among the Children, as he considered them, for enough time to guide them directly - his duty was now to guard them from the higher dimensions, giving them the chance to grow and develop as Primus saw fit in the Plan.
He performed this function for over nine billion years, and a miniscule fraction of that time spent in the City could not change his devotion to the ideas. It could, however, affect him in more ways than he could admit to even himself. His time as a human gave him the chance to rediscover such concepts as friendship, devotion, and the simple joys and pleasures that came with not having to constantly worry about the multiverse and its threads. Which is not to say he forgot about them, no, never - but unable to perform as he once had, he had to turn elsewhere for fulfillment. And while it did not fill the holes, it helped sooth the emptiness, and he felt bettered for them.
So when the government began to come down on the imPort community, he found himself torn between his oaths of non-interference and his friends. He wasn't about to try and change things, not by a long shot - but he did help them out, pulling them out of trouble, helping them hide. Not without thought, however. He was aware that he was technically interfering, but tried to rationalize it as it was impossible not to, not with his position in the world.
This changed when he found himself on the receiving end of a stunning shot, fitted with a depowering collar, and put in a holding facility. His powers, at this time, were relatively known, especially to those who had reason to search for them - they'd rather he not escape, not until they found a better means of holding him. They didn't count on him being...claustrophobic, for lack of a better word.
But imagine a bird. Imagine the bird caged in a tiny room, with its wings taken, its eyes, ears, almost all senses stripped from it. The only ones it is left with give it enough knowledge to know that it is trapped. This gives a fair start of how Vector felt, but what was worse was knowing that he, as an Original, had this done to him by creatures who were less than insects to him.
It was probably a good thing he was in there for less than twenty-four hours. He'd rather not discuss the circumstances of his escape, but it ended up with the holding facility burnt to the ground. When it was over, Vector Prime had come to the conclusion that he had invested himself far, far too much in the City, its people, even humans and the world itself - it was time to instead look to the galaxy itself. And so Vector Prime spent the next few years exploring, coming back to Earth only to rest and 'refuel' - and never in the City. He avoided it for over a year, and when he did go in after that, it was less for a day at a time. Japan was his preferred locale during this time, as well as some smaller villages in Russia where they cared more for the trade goods he brought than thinking too hard about the fact that he acted rather...odd, for an old man, even a foreign one.
Finally, he didn't find what he was looking for, but he found something to give him pause in his exploration - a planet inhabitable by humans. He explored this one a bit more thoroughly before deciding on a specific location, and began to build a second home.
It would be a lie to say that he was completely ignorant of Earth during this time. His powers had grown, and he paid close attention to any Cybertronians who entered the world. These he gave special watch over, more so than the friends he still stayed in - loose - touch with. Some were familiar, most were not. But when any of them got in to trouble over their heads, he did try to take advantage of that...for both of them.
He'd come to simply not care for the laws of humans, at this point. They were beneath him. If he wished to obtain the help of a Cybertronian, he simply located their spacial signature, spacebridged to them, and offered them the chance to assist him with some work in return for being brought out of their rough spot. He always gave them the chance to turn him down, and sometimes, they did. Most of the time, they were glad for a short period of labor (less than a week, usually, longer if he knew them to be trusted and their skills were something he specifically needed) and being let out anywhere they wanted to go. If they were foolish enough to get themselves in to trouble by their own hand, though, he didn't bother.
He did, however, make use of this 'requisition' for certain other parties as well. But only if he knew them, or they had been vouched for to him. It was...risky, however, and he was always aware that it put him in to danger. When going to retrieve them, he rarely stepped outside of his spacebridge, often simply pulling them in to it to make the bargain - and replacing them if they turned him down. It was their choice, after all.
But. Vector made other favors and trades with those not imprisoned. Sometimes it was goods from his explorations he offered. Sometimes it was his knowledge. Always, if he put himself in to danger, he made it clear that he would choose flight than to fight unless he had no other choice - and he so rarely had to choose the latter. It wasn't fear that motivated him, though he freely admitted that he hated being in that tiny hole of a room. It was the fact that humans simply did not deserve to have him at their full beck and call.
Even the favors were meant to profit him, even the 'rescues'. These were all explained by selfish need, rather than true interference, though Vector was aware that it could be said to be the latter. He simply fell back on the reasoning that a Prime, a Firstforged Prime no less, was allowed such things so long as it did not interfere with their duties - or the world at large, in its long run.
Arrogance, perhaps. But, again, he was aware of what he was doing. If it took arrogance to get by, then...so be it. As long as he remained humble enough to know that he was but one, and one without the right to truly affect the path of Children.
CURRENTLY, Vector's 'base' on the planet he calls home (or 'Gaia', seeing as he will forever only consider Cybertron home) is developed to the point where he could live there for the rest of a human lifetime. He's meshed Cybertronian and Earth technologies to where he lives rather comfortably, even if he does have to do a great amount of work - especially for living alone. He has hosted some others there, usually for working on his projects, and it could easily support quite a few more.
The problem is, it's Vector's haven. And while he's content to play host at times, he does not see fit to simply surrender his work to others. If the imPorts were to find it on their own, then that is their own accomplishment - but as far as he's concerned, they must earn the right to an untouched planet, to do with as they please. To create a colony, allow an exodus of those who wished it...that would be interference.
When he visits Earth, he makes a habit of checking a certain PO box in the City no less than twice a week. while it usually only contains free magazines and credit card offers, it's become his primary means of contact for those who still live on the planet, and are tied to projects he can't or won't, for whatever reason, move to Gaia.
Another point of interest is that for the years that have passed, Vector Prime's body has remained all but the same. He has a few scars, but overall, he hasn't aged a day. Whether this is tied to his true nature or to some other point, he's uncertain of - but he's not about to pursue its research, either. Not yet.
His current powerset is as follows;
--Armor/Sword manifestation - able to function in vacuum when armor is worn. Sword used as a focus for other powers.
--Timespace connection - strong sense of time and place, able to sense others' as well. Combined with sword, able to rend paths (spacebridges) from point X to Y without care for distance (this is how he travels from Gaia to Earth in a matter of minutes, if that). Also able to sense & repair fluctuations in spacetime, as well as 'stilling' it via usage of sword.
--Four dimensional travel - up, down, left, right, forward, back, easy as pie, perfect control & reflex up to 50mph. Also able to move back in time (chronoshift), but only to observe. Minor changes are possible within the immediate past, but anything more than an hour can and will lead to death. Five minutes is enough to strain him to the point of passing out.
CR NOTES;
--Snape;
--Aradia Megido;
--Thundercracker;
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THREADS;
-- 2020 Open Thread