re_alignment_logs | Spidaaarghs.

Entry tags:

Spidaaarghs.

Who: IDW Drift and Perceptor (and Barricade too maybe if he wants?)
What: Working off a debt to Liege via spidermilking EWWW.
Where: The BADLANDS.
When: Shortly after Drift's last post, when he can finally tear himself away from Wing.
Warnings: SPIDAAAARGHS and spider-associated violence. ~~Vandal don't look.~~

Drift finally tears himself away from Wing, gathering the vials he needs to fill. He hates the idea that he's getting Perceptor tangled up in his debt to Liege Maximo. But on the other hand, there was no one he trusted more beside him, if he had to go somewhere dangerous.

And he is under no illusion that this is going to be safe. He's been in the Badlands before, with Ashitaka, and the oppressive weight and darkness that seemed to cling to your spark, the edges of your vision. He didn't look forward to facing that darkness again, but he'd rather he do it than anyone else.

He rolls out of Vector Prime's palace, to the area in front of the first main bridge, looking around for Perceptor.

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Until now Perceptor had avoided the badlands. The warnings of the Acolytes and Firstforged had been enough to keep him from acting on any curiosity, and until now he had lacked any excuse to inspect them himself. Now he was going to assist an friend. A noble excuse if there ever was one, and an opportunity to help Drift.

He still, on a certain level, felt indebted to the other mech for saving his life all that time ago, needed to feel useful. He probably always would. This was just another chance to work on repaying that one great favor, and on a much more selfish note it was a way to spent more time with Drift in this strange place.

Perceptor rolled up to the bridge, trying to look like he hadn't been hurrying (and likely failing), pulling up beside the other mech.

"Drift. Are you ready to go?"

Well, all that about avoiding the Badlands because of the warnings of others would make Perceptor smarter than Drift...if there was ever any doubt of that. Drift certainly wouldn't argue.

He smiled at Perceptor, as the other mech rolled up. He was, honestly, genuinely, glad to see the other mech. "Ready as I'll ever be." He pats his hands over his sword hilts. "Up for another bug hunt?"

"Cybertron all over again."

Almost literally, although he has no way of knowing how similar the 'bugs' of this Cybertron will be to the Swarm. Perceptor's rifle was slung across his back, and it's this that he reaches back to touch now with a small smile, as if confirming its presence.

"It will be an excellent chance to properly test my new rifle."

"This time, though, we have the advantage."

And he intends to keep it that way.

"From what I remember, these are not quite like the Swarm. No real teamwork or fighting strategy, just blunt melee." Easy, unless you got overwhelmed.

Drift grinned. "Glad to be of service to ballistic science, then. Just don't miss." It's a joke, because he knows Perceptor wouldn't.

"Sounds simple enough. I'm looking forward to the target practice."

In a way it'll be good. A chance to put certain skills back into use, to ensure he hasn't become rusty with all this down time. He's... missed combat, or at least aspects of it.

"Shall we?"

A nod. "Best way to look at it." Perceptor probably never realized it, but he'd always been a steadying influence on Drift. The first life he'd saved, the first who'd said he'd owed Drift anything.

He didn't think in terms of obligation, but in terms of being seen, and trusted, and valued. In those ways, Perceptor has been his anchor.

Drift switches to his alt mode, idling his engine while he waited. "The badlands are...it's not going to be easy."

That comment earns a quick grin from Perceptor before he slides into his own alt. He lacks the sleek, speedy vehicle mode of Drift, but any fears he might have about keeping up are quickly ignored. Even if the other mech speeds ahead, he'll still be in Perceptor's sights.

"Is anything we do ever easy?"

Drift lets the flash of a grin warm him as he waits. And he has no intention of racing ahead, not to the Badlands. It was a reason he didn't want Wing with him: ground vehicles could stay closer, while jets had to keep moving to stay in the sky.

"No," Drift admits, "We just make it look easy." And with that, he rolls on, aiming on the navigational point he knew from last time, where he'd seen the spider creatures.

"Something like that, anyways."

Perceptor follows closely behind, ever mindful of their surroundings, keen to take in as much as possible. It wouldn't do for him to get separated from Drift and be unable to navigate his way back.

Drift rolls along in silence for a long time, alternating between feeling comfortable with Perceptor, not needing to say anything, and fretting that he should be saying something. One day he'll get it right.

"You'll start feeling it soon," he says, eventually. "Just this sort of heaviness. I can't really describe it."

Perceptor is comfortable in the silence, slipping back into old habits, reminded of previous assignments in a time now long gone.

"It's quite... atmospheric."

And somehow wrong. Perhaps it's merely unfamiliarity with his surroundings, but the further out they get the less comfortable Perceptor becomes. He wouldn't even have brought it up if Drift hadn't said anything, having no logical reason to feel uneasy.

"It's hard to remember," Drift said, rolling on, "that it's something happening to you. Reminds me of D-Void." In all the bad ways. Not that there were any good ways to be reminded of that.

"Should probably tell you what we're out here for. Liege wants the venom. For something." He can't shrug in his alt, but it's implied. He has no idea and Liege Maximo was less than forthcoming. "So I guess the first thing is to see if killing them first is an option." That's an invitation: want to lethally kill a spider but keep its head intact?

"I can only wonder as to what use Liege Maximo could possibly have for venom..."

Perceptor can barely fathom what goes on with his host. His nature is almost as obfuscating as the halls of his temple, and he is hardly the most active entity on the public Link.

"I assume, without having seen these spiders myself, that killing them would be the most expedient method of collection. A shot to the body should preserve the venom sacs, assuming they are within the head as with most spiders."

So yes. Exactly what Drift was implying.

"He didn't exactly volunteer that," Drift admitted. "Maybe we could keep some for ourselves, and, I don't know, check into it." By which he means Do A Science, but Drift is not really a scientist.

They roll on for a few minutes, the atmosphere getting grimmer, somehow. The junk of the Junk Pile is giving way to churned up ground, littered here and there with what look like bits of armor.

"Speaking of, there's a chance to test." Ahead of them, two of the giant mechanoid arachnids are, apparently, attacking each other, giving subsonic shrieks of anger.

"There are plenty of lab facilities within Liege's temple, if I am able to retain a small sample of the material."

In fact, the idea of having strange alien goo with unknown properties is rather exciting. Perceptor will always be a scientist at heart, even if he's a little more... combative these days.

"Mm, seen. Are you alright with me taking the first shot?"

He's already transforming, reaching for his rifle.

"If we can get some for Liege, we can certainly get some for ourselves." It's the least he could do, dragging Perceptor all the way out here, into danger, to give him something sciency to chew on.

Drift transforms as well, one hand on his blade hilt. "I won't say no." He also won't say, because he's afraid of embarrassing Perceptor, how much he enjoys watching the other shoot: the focus and concentration really were, well, beautiful.

But there are two spiders and one Perceptor, so Drift's ready to move if the other one gets an idea.

Perceptor smoothly drops to one knee, raising his rifle to his shoulder, targeting systems flashing over his HUD as he lines up his shot with small, precise adjustments.

When he finally squeezes the trigger the gun jumps slightly, Perceptor moving with the recoil, already lining the sights back up as the projectile punches a sizeable hole through one of the spiders, just behind the head. It staggers slightly, hovering for a moment before it crashes to the ground.

The other spider turns at the sound of the shot, starting toward them as soon as it spots them. Perceptor trains his rifle on it, but doesn't fire quite yet.

"Yours?"

Hopefully Perceptor's so engrossed in the act of firing that he doesn't notice the looks Drift is giving him. It is probably a wrong thought to have, but Perceptor, using his focus and concentration, is captivating to watch.

He jerks, tearing himself out of his reverie. "All right."

Well, now, Drift. You have an audience. Better make this good.

Then again, this is Drift's element. He draws both blades, leaping at the spider, meeting it nearly halfway. He drives one blade into the spider thing's abdomen, bracing against the ground, to break its momentum against him, while his other sword slices at the gap under the thing's head.

When he turns back around, he may be giving Perceptor a cocky grin.

If Drift enjoys watching Perceptor shoot, it's nothing compared to how enamored Perceptor is with watching Drift work with his swords. He quite openly stares as the other sets to work, a smile twisting the corner of his mouth.

"Wonderful work, as always."

He wishes he could be half so graceful. Guns, while precise, lack the sort of fluid grace of Drift's motions with his blades.

"Shall we? We may need one of your shorter blades."

He's already striding toward the nearest spider, slinging his rifle across his back.

Drift ducks his head to one side, gratified but a little embarrassed. "Had to try to live up to you, after all."

And maybe show off. Just a little. That's forgivable, he hopes.

He nods, stepping back to the spider he'd killed, holding one of his blades hilt first out to Perceptor.

"Thank you."

He's no stranger to blades, although he's far more accustomed to the tiny, precise instruments used in lab work and lacks the general finesse Drift has displayed time and time again. Still, he accepts the blade without hesitation, crouching down below the spider. He takes a moment to run his fingers over the head, mapping out the armor plates, before he finds a suitable seam and drives the tip of the blade in.

From there it's simple, albeit methodical, dissection, Perceptor taking stock of points of interest as he flays open the head, searching for-- ah, there it is. An almost organic looking component near the base of the head. He quickly slices it out, wiping gore off it as he raises it up for further scrutiny.

"Do we have any idea what effects the venom has on Cybertronians?"

Drift might be better with a sword, but his knowledge of anatomy is focussed on how to kill, not how to dissect. So he peers curiously over the other mech's shoulder.

He shakes his head as Perceptor pulls out the bladder-looking thing. "No idea. It can't be good, or else Liege would have sent his own Acolytes out to do this, I think."

"True..."

Perceptor stares at the organ for a few more moments, tilting it this way and that as he inspects it, before he stashes it away on his person. He heads over to the second spider, repeating the same series of incisions to pluck out a second venom sac.

"Will two suffice, or should we seek out more?"

"Are you sure that thing's not going to, uh, leak in you?" Ewwww ewww ewww why is he even thinking this?

Drift is trying not to be too obviously, well, grossed out. Because, well, ick. Perceptor is touching things.

"It depends. I mean, you said you wanted, maybe, one to do your own research on, right?"

"I can only hope it doesn't and, if it does, that simple contact with the venom or other associated bodily fluids are not harmful." And really, he's handled worse things in his own labs.

He frowns thoughtfully, flicking gore from his hand.

"An extra would not be amiss... But it would be easier to decide how many venom sacs were necessary if I knew exactly how much venom Liege Maximo will require for his own purposes."

While he could personally work with just a small sample, he has no idea how much Liege needs for... whatever it is he plans on doing with the venom.

"You can 'only hope'?" Wow, that sounds not very reassuring. "I mean, the things can likely kill us. I'm not sure that venom is, you know, harmless."

"He showed me a thing. It was about this big." He makes a distance with his hands, about the size of his chassis. If he knew science he'd probably be able to give it a sciency name.

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Spidaaarghs.

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