Dart origins pt 1
Oct. 20th, 2007 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
measured_wordsSometimes, schoolwork needs a carrot as well as a stick. Carrot was this morning, and before I give myself over to the Stick, I'll post what I've written... Who knows when I'll get back to it, but I think it is a good start :)
Dart’s story starts with Phreak
Jin-Ahnir 9, just outside of the Ahnirese Capital Metroplex.
I’ve been monitoring transmissions here for almost six solar-cycles, and I’ve finally confirmed a Decepticon presence – Insecticons. With that little bit of information, all the reported behavioral discrepancies among certain political elites suddenly make sense. Now I’ve just got to figure out what those sneaky little slag piles are up to. Strange as it sounds, now that I know what I’m dealing with, it could almost be too easy.
Shrapnel’s a fun guy – he can control electronics using powerful signals that he emits from his antennae. Good for him. Those signals he uses have a very particular energy signature, if you know what you’re looking for and have got sensors powerful enough to pick out his interference from all the other random background noise. And I do. With the transmission data I’ve acquired, it shouldn’t take too long to pinpoint the location of their local HQ. It’s the same with Bombshell. The Cerebro-shells to control the minds of his enemies likewise have a distinct transmission signature. With time and luck, I could likely isolate all the infected targets. The question then, is how much time have I got, and how much luck? I need to move in closer, but first I need to make my report.
. . . . . . . . . .
“Good work, Phreak. Proceed with caution. I’m going to send you some back up, in case the situation escalates. Remember, you’re there to gather intel – do not engage.”
“Don’t worry, Prowl, I’m not some hot-head punk with an itchy trigger finger.”
“That’s why you’re out there – I wish all our troops had a bit more patience.”
“Right, thanks. Have that backup signal me on the secure channel once they’re in range, and I’ll report in once I have a better idea what the Insecticons are after here. Phreak out.”
. . . . . . . . . .
Prowl’s compliment is high praise. A lot of the veteran Autobots tend to look down on us younger bots. Just because we haven’t been fighting as long, they think we don’t take it seriously. I don’t know about that. We’ve never known anything *but* war. I think I just know my limits a little better than some others. I’m not really built for combat, though I’ve seen my fair share of firefights. I‘ve got some tricks up my sleeve, but who doesn’t? The EMP Null Blaster has saved my circuits a few times now. Mostly it helps make for a good escape. Not everyone can be a soldier.
What I can do it a little more specialized. Some bots think my job is boring, but I figure that’s only because their processors aren’t up to speed. This things you can pick up from even the most innocuous transmissions! And there is little that is as satisfying as figuring out just the right algorithm to turn what seems like grey static into the latest communiqué from the Decepticon High Command. It buffs my chrome to know that they *try harder* if they know I’m out here.
Which of course means that it is best if they don’t. I’ve got some options that help with that, mostly tech I’ve copied from others, like Hound’s holo-emitter. It also means that a lot of these missions run solo, though, like this one. Helps keep the profile low and the ‘Cons off their guard if there is no obvious Autobot presence in the area. The job can get a little lonely, sure, but the truth is that I work better alone. To that end, as much as I appreciate the backup, I’m going to have to move in now to pick up what I can before the Bugs tighten up their security.
It takes a few cycles, but I manage to circle in on their location inside the metro. They’ve picked a nice neighborhood, of course. No doubt the legitimate owner of this estate, a high-placed aide to the Foreign Affairs Minister, is under Bombshell’s control. They might have the minister too, at this point. The Insecticons are tricky, though. As efficient as Bombshell’s control is, they’re certainly not above letting Kickback sucker in unwitting allies with plain old-fashioned blackmail. From what I’ve seen of some of the ‘secure’ transmissions from the Ahnirese high castes, there’s plenty of material available.
These people have made some pretty impressive leaps in their engineering and bio-engineering fields, but their communications and encryption lag behind. That’s what took me so long to find the enemy – they were hiding pretty well, relying on local technology for all their internal transmissions, and they almost passed right under my radar. Almost.
The layout of the estate could be a problem. There’s a lot of open space at ground level, which means it will be harder to remain unobtrusive. Even with my alt-mode formatted to resemble one of the native janitorial drones, there’s only so much legitimate lurking I can get away with. If I could get inside the complex, that would be a different matter. The terraforming used on all the Jin-planets takes advantage of heat energy from the core, so they all build down. I start looking for blueprints while configuring my sensors to penetrate the complex’s shielding and scan for Decepticon energy signatures. It’s great to be able to multitask.
. . . . . . . . . .
Another two solar-cycles, and I’ve managed a fair bit. Visual confirmation on all three bugs. Back-up is on the way, in the form of Mirage and Bumblebee. At least Prowl sent bots with some discretion. I think I’ve got an angle on what’s going down here – the Ahnirese are developing more superweapons, this time with Decepticon help. In violation of any number of galatic demilitarization initiatives, no doubt. Ever since they moved into this system, they’ve been bad neighbors. There is a strong peacenik grassroots movement, but the government isn’t listening this time. No doubt someone’s got their ears plugged.
Dart’s story starts with Phreak
Jin-Ahnir 9, just outside of the Ahnirese Capital Metroplex.
I’ve been monitoring transmissions here for almost six solar-cycles, and I’ve finally confirmed a Decepticon presence – Insecticons. With that little bit of information, all the reported behavioral discrepancies among certain political elites suddenly make sense. Now I’ve just got to figure out what those sneaky little slag piles are up to. Strange as it sounds, now that I know what I’m dealing with, it could almost be too easy.
Shrapnel’s a fun guy – he can control electronics using powerful signals that he emits from his antennae. Good for him. Those signals he uses have a very particular energy signature, if you know what you’re looking for and have got sensors powerful enough to pick out his interference from all the other random background noise. And I do. With the transmission data I’ve acquired, it shouldn’t take too long to pinpoint the location of their local HQ. It’s the same with Bombshell. The Cerebro-shells to control the minds of his enemies likewise have a distinct transmission signature. With time and luck, I could likely isolate all the infected targets. The question then, is how much time have I got, and how much luck? I need to move in closer, but first I need to make my report.
. . . . . . . . . .
“Good work, Phreak. Proceed with caution. I’m going to send you some back up, in case the situation escalates. Remember, you’re there to gather intel – do not engage.”
“Don’t worry, Prowl, I’m not some hot-head punk with an itchy trigger finger.”
“That’s why you’re out there – I wish all our troops had a bit more patience.”
“Right, thanks. Have that backup signal me on the secure channel once they’re in range, and I’ll report in once I have a better idea what the Insecticons are after here. Phreak out.”
. . . . . . . . . .
Prowl’s compliment is high praise. A lot of the veteran Autobots tend to look down on us younger bots. Just because we haven’t been fighting as long, they think we don’t take it seriously. I don’t know about that. We’ve never known anything *but* war. I think I just know my limits a little better than some others. I’m not really built for combat, though I’ve seen my fair share of firefights. I‘ve got some tricks up my sleeve, but who doesn’t? The EMP Null Blaster has saved my circuits a few times now. Mostly it helps make for a good escape. Not everyone can be a soldier.
What I can do it a little more specialized. Some bots think my job is boring, but I figure that’s only because their processors aren’t up to speed. This things you can pick up from even the most innocuous transmissions! And there is little that is as satisfying as figuring out just the right algorithm to turn what seems like grey static into the latest communiqué from the Decepticon High Command. It buffs my chrome to know that they *try harder* if they know I’m out here.
Which of course means that it is best if they don’t. I’ve got some options that help with that, mostly tech I’ve copied from others, like Hound’s holo-emitter. It also means that a lot of these missions run solo, though, like this one. Helps keep the profile low and the ‘Cons off their guard if there is no obvious Autobot presence in the area. The job can get a little lonely, sure, but the truth is that I work better alone. To that end, as much as I appreciate the backup, I’m going to have to move in now to pick up what I can before the Bugs tighten up their security.
It takes a few cycles, but I manage to circle in on their location inside the metro. They’ve picked a nice neighborhood, of course. No doubt the legitimate owner of this estate, a high-placed aide to the Foreign Affairs Minister, is under Bombshell’s control. They might have the minister too, at this point. The Insecticons are tricky, though. As efficient as Bombshell’s control is, they’re certainly not above letting Kickback sucker in unwitting allies with plain old-fashioned blackmail. From what I’ve seen of some of the ‘secure’ transmissions from the Ahnirese high castes, there’s plenty of material available.
These people have made some pretty impressive leaps in their engineering and bio-engineering fields, but their communications and encryption lag behind. That’s what took me so long to find the enemy – they were hiding pretty well, relying on local technology for all their internal transmissions, and they almost passed right under my radar. Almost.
The layout of the estate could be a problem. There’s a lot of open space at ground level, which means it will be harder to remain unobtrusive. Even with my alt-mode formatted to resemble one of the native janitorial drones, there’s only so much legitimate lurking I can get away with. If I could get inside the complex, that would be a different matter. The terraforming used on all the Jin-planets takes advantage of heat energy from the core, so they all build down. I start looking for blueprints while configuring my sensors to penetrate the complex’s shielding and scan for Decepticon energy signatures. It’s great to be able to multitask.
. . . . . . . . . .
Another two solar-cycles, and I’ve managed a fair bit. Visual confirmation on all three bugs. Back-up is on the way, in the form of Mirage and Bumblebee. At least Prowl sent bots with some discretion. I think I’ve got an angle on what’s going down here – the Ahnirese are developing more superweapons, this time with Decepticon help. In violation of any number of galatic demilitarization initiatives, no doubt. Ever since they moved into this system, they’ve been bad neighbors. There is a strong peacenik grassroots movement, but the government isn’t listening this time. No doubt someone’s got their ears plugged.
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Date: 2007-10-21 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-21 07:32 pm (UTC)