OOC INFO
Name: Red
Contact: plurk @ redfirelight
Other characters: Ironhide, Roller, Kagerou

IC INFO
Name: Perceptor
Canon/Continuity: Transformers: Fall of Cybertron / War for Cybertron
Reference: WIKI LINK
Canon Point: The end of the first few Autobot chapters of Fall of Cybertron, as the Autobots launch their transport for Shockwave's lake.

Personality:
Perceptor is... something. He's not what one would typically describe as a "people-person". He's described as being aloof and blunt, likely more preoccupied with his work, whatever that may be, than in the social comings and goings of his fellow Cybertronians. To the point of which he doesn't so much as notice another Autobot literally blowing up due to faulty wiring in his own base of operations. Though this sort of focus is double-sided -- while it occasionally blinds him to important details, it also enables him to keep working in the face of extreme conditions, such as when the Decepticon army was nearly beating his door down in-game. He'll get the job done, regardless of what he sort of environment he has to work in.

He is also opinionated, not hesitating to tell anyone what he thinks of a situation, regardless of who he's talking to, or what it is. This is seen both in a debate with senior members of the Autobot forces -- Optimus Prime included -- as well as various audio logs scattered throughout the game. Perceptor has thoughts on things, and you're going to hear about them whether you like it or not. At times this seems to border on fussiness, especially when he gives his thoughts on the energon transports, but he doesn't particularly seem to care. Though he does show general deference to Optimus in typical conversation, so he is aware of some basic conversational conventions, and can utilize them effectively.

It's likely Perceptor just doesn't care how he comes across most of the time, so long as the work, job, or experiment is accomplished. He does appear to have some sense of humor, though it's rare to see. Likely one more thing he doesn't see as necessary to express most of the time, being more dedicated to work. Additionally, Perceptor is a self-styled pacifist, loathing the use of weapons, despite apparently being a noteably good shot.

He is highly intelligent, of course. Various audio logs show him to have studied ruins in the Sea of Rust, and he was the one tasked with the enormous job of shutting down the entirety of Autobot City for the imminent evacuation. You don't assign a 'bot of even average intelligence to do something like that.

AU or OC Info: NONE

Sample: PTCHOO

LOCATION~

May. 8th, 2013 09:14 pm
sciencetank: ("Till All Are One" quote goes here.)
The Nerve Center.

AKA: Perceptor's Lab. Shown in the video here, it's a giant center of command and scientific research, all geared toward developing and repairing the Ark. It's in a general state of disrepair, currently, since the Decepticons were shelling the place. There is a central tower of terminals and screens -- only Perceptor seems to really understand what does what, or even what he's looking at. He's also got some sort of flying platform, complete with computers and holographic screens. Supplies are likely fairly low, given the situation the Autobots were in, but the equipment is repairable.

app || IC

May. 4th, 2013 11:31 pm
Mun Name: Red
Journal: [personal profile] redfirelight
Contact Info: AIM @ thisismyomnitool
Other Characters: none

Name Perceptor
From: Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
Appearance:
He is kind of a tank.
Age: Millions of years. Middle-aged, by robot standards.
Gender: Robot. Uses male pronouns, though.

Personality:
Perceptor is... something. He's not what one would typically describe as a "people-person". He's described as being aloof and blunt, likely more preoccupied with his work, whatever that may be, than in the social comings and goings of his fellow Cybertronians. To the point of which he doesn't so much as notice another Autobot literally blowing up due to faulty wiring in his own base of operations. Though this sort of focus is double-sided -- while it occasionally blinds him to important details, it also enables him to keep working in the face of extreme conditions, such as when the Decepticon army was nearly beating his door down in-game. He'll get the job done, regardless of what he sort of environment he has to work in.

He is also opinionated, not hesitating to tell anyone what he thinks of a situation, regardless of who he's talking to, or what it is. This is seen both in a debate with senior members of the Autobot forces -- Optimus Prime included -- as well as various audio logs scattered throughout the game. Perceptor has thoughts on things, and you're going to hear about them whether you like it or not. At times this seems to border on fussiness, especially when he gives his thoughts on the energon transports, but he doesn't particularly seem to care. Though he does show general deference to Optimus in typical conversation, so he is aware of some basic conversational conventions, and can utilize them effectively.

It's likely Perceptor just doesn't care how he comes across most of the time, so long as the work, job, or experiment is accomplished. He does appear to have some sense of humor, though it's rare to see. Likely one more thing he doesn't see as necessary to express most of the time, being more dedicated to work. Additionally, Perceptor is a self-styled pacifist, loathing the use of weapons, despite apparently being a noteably good shot.

He is highly intelligent, of course. Various audio logs show him to have studied ruins in the Sea of Rust, and he was the one tasked with the enormous job of shutting down the entirety of Autobot City for the imminent evacuation. You don't assign a 'bot of even average intelligence to do something like that.

Backstory:
So once upon a time. There was Cybertron. It's one of those Cybertrons in which there was a class system, apparently, and, of course, that went over about as well as a leaping Cybertronian slug. Which is to say, not well at all. A whole lot of unhappy Cybertronians got together under Megatron, and, surprise surprise, a war happened. One that got out of hand very, very quickly.

Megatron got wind of something known as Dark Energon, and how powerful it was -- so off he went to the research station manned by Starscream and his team, hijacked the stuff, and made himself into the super-powered war machine everyone was terrified of. More of the dark energon got produced, by various nefarious means, and Megatron eventually launched an assault on Iacon itself, defeating Zeta Prime, and even the giant Omega Supreme in search for the key to Cybertron's core. In the end, Megatron got what he wanted, and corrupted Cybertron itself into producing Dark Energon. Since pretty much only the Decepticon forces wanted anything to do with Dark Energon, they ended up in control of the planet for a good while.

Until Optimus decided he'd had enough of this nonsense. He'd heard what happened with Zeta Prime, and assumed command of the Autobot forces. Optimus launched several missions to not only clear Iacon of the Decepticon forces, but rescue Zeta Prime as well -- since the Autobots needed their leader back, and he certainly was no leader. Except... by the time they actually found said leader, he was in a compromising position with cabling and in the clutches of Soundwave. Needless to say, Zeta didn't make it. Optimus threw up his hands, told the High Council what was going on... and thus became Prime. Because there always has to be one of Those Moments in a Transformers series. Following that Moment, he and a team went down to see what could be done for the corrupted core of Cybertron. Alas, nothing could be done, save to shut down the entire planet in a sort of planetary hard reset for millions of years. The core did, however, hand Optimus the Matrix of Leadership, despite not having hands to do it with, and Prime decided it was time to get everyone out of the proverbial pool, ordering a mass evacuation of Cybertron.

Megatron threw a fit. He used his giant space station to shoot down every ship leaving the atmosphere, presumably while cackling and twirling his nonexistent robot mustache. The only way off the planet, therefore, was to destroy said space station. So off went a bunch of Arielbots to do the job. They brought it down, but then it turned out the station could also transform, and turned out to be a giant robot space lizard known as Trypticon. It ended up doing battle with Prime and a handful of other Autobots, wrecking everything in its path before it died. The climactic battle ended with a rather enigmatic statement on Optimus' part about needing an Ark to escape...

... Enter Perceptor. Finally.

It's not terribly clear where he came from, but he worked in the Autobot command center in Iacon before the big evacuation took place. At some point, he was transferred to the site of the Ark, to work both on shutting down the city around it, and on prepping the big space ship for launch. He, and his team, holed up in what they referred to as a "nerve center", a location protected by the Autobot known as Grimlock and his team. Their primary task was that of shutting down the city, and in doing so, re-routing the power it would have used to the Ark, allowing for the Autobots' eventual evacuation. Everything was going according to plan...

Up until Grimlock and his team completely disappeared. Completely. No word, no sign. It left the nerve center wide open for Decepticon attack -- and they did. With heavy artillery. They dropped a warp cannon down and opened fire on the Ark itself, along with Perceptor's base of operations. He still kept up his work, though, despite the building shaking down around him and his team. Although, finally, he admitted something like defeat and changed tactics, opting to bring, at the very least, the city defenses back online, in order to protect the Ark, despite the lack of resources. They would need what remained of their energon supply to power the Ark, but, in the face of the attack, Perceptor made the call to divert the energy.

Fortunately, he didn't have to keep it up for long. Optimus burst in, ready to be of assistance, and Perceptor promptly sent him back out into the fray, telling him to bring one of the city's neutron cannons online. While Perceptor worked to assist him behind the scenes, Optimus slogged out to do just that. It seemed to go pretty well, the cannon was brought online, Perceptor bossed Optimus around, Decepticons got blown up, and the cannon ran out of energon at a crucial morment. It sent Perceptor scambling for a solution, trying to come up with another alternative...

... only to notice the piece of city Optimus was running around in was not, in fact, a big chunk of city, but another Autobot. Metroplex. Who proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the Decepticon forces, and save the day -- [SPOILERS]even smashing Megatron himself to a sparking pulp after Optimus was captured, although it did enable Starscream to take over the Decepticon forces, so maybe that wasn't such a good thing.

Which was good, because the energon supply was still a major problem. Luckily enough, Jazz called in, reporting the results of a recent recon mission with his partner, during which they had found an entire lake of energon -- also some weird Shockwave Shenanigans and the remains of one of Grimlock's team, but hey! Energon. Only problem then was transporting the stuff. Perceptor took part in a brief discussion on the matter, fussing over the inefficiency of the old energon transport ships the others intended to use, but Ironhide and Optimus overruled his offended Space British sensibilities, and the transport was brought into use anyway.

Moral Standing:
Science.

No, really, he's an Autobot. He follows Optimus Prime and supports the Autobot code. Despite nonchalance and flippant behavoirs, he is on the side of freedom for all sentient beings and good things. He's just exceptionally sassy about the whole thing.

Dreams:
SCIENCE. Okay, that one is serious. Perceptor is a scientist, first and foremost. He would prefer to live in a world where there was no war, no explosions. Not because of a strong sense of altruism, but more because Perceptor just wants to sit back, do his experiments, and be left alone.

Fears:
The loss of Cybertron, the fall of the Autobots, general things of that nature. Perceptor is a bit too down-to-earth and wrapped up in his work to really have more concrete fears than that.

Extra: Nothing needed!

Character Location:
The Nerve Center. AKA: Perceptor's Lab. Shown in the video here, it's a giant center of command and scientific research, all geared toward developing and repairing the Ark. It's in a general state of disrepair, currently, since the Decepticons were shelling the place. There is a central tower of terminals and screens -- only Perceptor seems to really understand what does what, or even what he's looking at. He's also got some sort of flying platform, complete with computers and holographic screens. Supplies are likely fairly low, given the situation the Autobots were in, but the equipment is repairable.

Samples:
+ Perceptor's Wiki Entry
+ War for Cybertron Synopsis
+ Fall of Cybertron Synopsis

Writing Sample:
If he was correct, and, very likely, he was, then the operation would need only the most minute of adjustments to complete. It was a slow few hours -- mandatory downtime, as he understood it. Not that he required it. The project required his utmost attention and focus. There simply wasn't anyone else capable of continuing the work as he could. It was his project. He had designed the shutdown procedures, the safest ways to shunt energy from one portion of the city to another, with minimal waste. They needed every bit of energon they could manage to hold, after all.

So it made very little sense for someone such as himself to be regulated to mandatory rest periods. Not only was he absolutely vital to the project, but he was fully capable of assessing his own needs, thank you very much. Admittedly, yes, it galled him to no end to be ordered to 'take a break'. Though, likely it wouldn't put things too much off schedule. He could always work that much harder, once he was "allowed" back to his station.

But even on a break, he had to keep himself busy. An idle processor did no one any good. Hence his current objective. It was a delicate procedure. If he didn't focus, it would collapse down in on itself in a microsecond. He couldn't allow that to happen. No, all his focus had to be narrowed down to a fine point. Manipulated. Delicately moved.

His attention narrowed to a fine point. The immediate area in front of him was all that mattered. Megatron himself could have waltzed into the room and started bellowing -- and he wouldn't have noticed. His hand moved, slowly, cautiously, manipulating the pieces, altering the overall shape of the structure. Gradually, the shape began to form. It started to look more and more as it should, even as it teetered and wobbled before him. He didn't panic. He kept steady. Soon, it would--

"Perceptor?"

His hand jerked. It knocked straight into the wobbling tower of cubes he was busy constructing, sending them scattering across his work table as he stared down at them in dismay.

So much for that.

HMD

Oct. 4th, 2012 05:42 pm
Screened on, etc etc.

app || ra

Sep. 27th, 2012 04:32 pm
Player Information
*Name/Alias: Red
*Your Journal: [personal profile] redfirelight
*Age: Over 16.
*Contact Information: AIM @ thisismyomnitool
*Characters already in the game: Kagerou

Character Information
*Character Name: Perceptor
*Character Canon: Transformers: War for Cybertron / Fall of Cybertron
*Age: Adult. Middle-aged, probably.
*Race: Cybertronian: Autobot
*Timeline/Pull Point: The end of the first few Autobot chapters of Fall of Cybertron, as the Autobots launch their transport for Shockwave's lake.

*History:
+ Perceptor's rather wee wiki
+ War for Cybertron: Synopsis
+ Fall of Cybertron: Synopsis

So once upon a time. There was Cybertron. It's one of those Cybertrons in which there was a class system, apparently, and, of course, that went over about as well as a leaping Cybertronian slug. Which is to say, not well at all. A whole lot of unhappy Cybertronians got together under Megatron, and, surprise surprise, a war happened. One that got out of hand very, very quickly.

Megatron got wind of something known as Dark Energon, and how powerful it was -- so off he went to the research station manned by Starscream and his team, hijacked the stuff, and made himself into the super-powered war machine everyone was terrified of. More of the dark energon got produced, by various nefarious means, and Megatron eventually launched an assault on Iacon itself, defeating Zeta Prime, and even the giant Omega Supreme in search for the key to Cybertron's core. In the end, Megatron got what he wanted, and corrupted Cybertron itself into producing Dark Energon. Since pretty much only the Decepticon forces wanted anything to do with Dark Energon, they ended up in control of the planet for a good while.

Until Optimus decided he'd had enough of this nonsense. He'd heard what happened with Zeta Prime, and assumed command of the Autobot forces. Optimus launched several missions to not only clear Iacon of the Decepticon forces, but rescue Zeta Prime as well -- since the Autobots needed their leader back, and he certainly was no leader. Except... by the time they actually found said leader, he was in a compromising position with cabling and in the clutches of Soundwave. Needless to say, Zeta didn't make it. Optimus threw up his hands, told the High Council what was going on... and thus became Prime. Because there always has to be one of Those Moments in a Transformers series. Following that Moment, he and a team went down to see what could be done for the corrupted core of Cybertron. Alas, nothing could be done, save to shut down the entire planet in a sort of planetary hard reset for millions of years. The core did, however, hand Optimus the Matrix of Leadership, despite not having hands to do it with, and Prime decided it was time to get everyone out of the proverbial pool, ordering a mass evacuation of Cybertron.

Megatron threw a fit. He used his giant space station to shoot down every ship leaving the atmosphere, presumably while cackling and twirling his nonexistent robot mustache. The only way off the planet, therefore, was to destroy said space station. So off went a bunch of stupidly attractive Arielbots to do the job. They brought it down, but then it turned out the station could also transform, and turned out to be a giant robot space lizard known as Trypticon. It ended up doing battle with Prime and a handful of other Autobots, wrecking everything in its path before it died. The climactic battle ended with a rather enigmatic statement on Optimus' part about needing an Ark to escape...

... Enter Perceptor. Finally.

It's not terribly clear where he came from, but he worked in the Autobot command center in Iacon before the big evacuation took place. At some point, he was transferred to the site of the Ark, to work both on shutting down the city around it, and on prepping the big space ship for launch. He, and his team, holed up in what they referred to as a "nerve center", a location protected by the Autobot known as Grimlock and his team. Their primary task was that of shutting down the city, and in doing so, re-routing the power it would have used to the Ark, allowing for the Autobots' eventual evacuation. Everything was going according to plan...

Up until Grimlock and his team completely disappeared. Completely. No word, no sign. It left the nerve center wide open for Decepticon attack -- and they did. With heavy artillery. They dropped a warp cannon down and opened fire on the Ark itself, along with Perceptor's base of operations. He still kept up his work, though, despite the building shaking down around him and his team. Although, finally, he admitted something like defeat and changed tactics, opting to bring, at the very least, the city defenses back online, in order to protect the Ark, despite the lack of resources. They would need what remained of their energon supply to power the Ark, but, in the face of the attack, Perceptor made the call to divert the energy.

Fortunately, he didn't have to keep it up for long. Optimus burst in, ready to be of assistance, and Perceptor promptly sent him back out into the fray, telling him to bring one of the city's neutron cannons online. While Perceptor worked to assist him behind the scenes, Optimus slogged out to do just that. It seemed to go pretty well, the cannon was brought online, Perceptor bossed Optimus around, Decepticons got blown up, and the cannon ran out of energon at a crucial morment. It sent Perceptor scambling for a solution, trying to come up with another alternative...

... only to notice the piece of city Optimus was running around in was not, in fact, a big chunk of city, but another Autobot. Metroplex. Who proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the Decepticon forces, and save the day -- [SPOILERS]even smashing Megatron himself to a sparking pulp after Optimus was captured, although it did enable Starscream to take over the Decepticon forces, so maybe that wasn't such a good thing.

Which was good, because the energon supply was still a major problem. Luckily enough, Jazz called in, reporting the results of a recent recon mission with his partner, during which they had found an entire lake of energon -- also some weird Shockwave Shenanigans and the remains of one of Grimlock's team, but hey! Energon. Only problem then was transporting the stuff. Perceptor took part in a brief discussion on the matter, fussing over the inefficiency of the old energon transport ships the others intended to use, but Ironhide and Optimus overruled his offended Space British sensibilities, and the transport was brought into use anyway.



*Personality:
Perceptor is... something. He's not what one would typically describe as a "people-person". He's described as being aloof and blunt, likely more preoccupied with his work, whatever that may be, than in the social comings and goings of his fellow Cybertronians. To the point of which he doesn't so much as notice another Autobot literally blowing up due to faulty wiring in his own base of operations. Though this sort of focus is double-sided -- while it occasionally blinds him to important details, it also enables him to keep working in the face of extreme conditions, such as when the Decepticon army was nearly beating his door down in-game. He'll get the job done, regardless of what he sort of environment he has to work in.

He is also opinionated, not hesitating to tell anyone what he thinks of a situation, regardless of who he's talking to, or what it is. This is seen both in a debate with senior members of the Autobot forces -- Optimus Prime included -- as well as various audio logs scattered throughout the game. Perceptor has thoughts on things, and you're going to hear about them whether you like it or not. At times this seems to border on fussiness, especially when he gives his thoughts on the energon transports, but he doesn't particularly seem to care. Though he does show general deference to Optimus in typical conversation, so he is aware of some basic conversational conventions, and can utilize them effectively.

It's likely Perceptor just doesn't care how he comes across most of the time, so long as the work, job, or experiment is accomplished. He does appear to have some sense of humor, though it's rare to see. Likely one more thing he doesn't see as necessary to express most of the time, being more dedicated to work.

He is highly intelligent, of course. Various audio logs show him to have studied ruins in the Sea of Rust, and he was the one tasked with the enormous job of shutting down the entirety of Autobot City for the imminent evacuation. You don't assign a 'bot of even average intelligence to do something like that.

*Powers/Abilities:
Perceptor doesn't have any particular special abilities. Nothing outside that of the average transforming alien robot. He transforms into a hover-tank, which presumably possesses firepower to match. No specs are actually given, but it appears to be a heavy-duty weapon. According to his in-game class, he is what's known as a Titan -- the largest and heaviest class of Autobot in-game. It's safe to assume, therefore, that should he be so inclined, Perceptor is capable of dealing heavy damage, and taking solid hits. Which is a little odd, considering his primary function is of a scientific nature. But there you go.

Like all Cybertronians of his world, he's capable of attaching and using one heavy weapon, and one "normal" class weapon. These link into his hands, and transform in and out of the arm, when they're needed. Basically, he can keep what would amount to a cannon, and a shotgun, stored in one or both arms, swapping them out depending on what the situation called for -- but no more than two at once. He's also capable of physically linking into gun turrets on his Cybertron, transforming his lower body into the gun itself, and using it that way. This ability is one shared by all Cybertronians of his continuity.

Aside from that, he displays the trait most common with those sharing his name -- an aptitude for scientific study and other intellectual pursuits. He is extremely skilled with all the 'tools of the trade'. It's less of a power, and more of a learned skill. Judging from the apparent reputation he has in-game, he's highly skilled in all manner of physical sciences. Likely, he's less of a social scientist, as his audio logs and work on the Ark suggest a tendency to more concrete, measurable subjects.


*Inventory:
Just a single weapon -- a rifle, fairly common and not terribly special. It's known as a photon burst rifle. Currently attached to his arm, with limited ammunition. Currently holds a full magazine.

*Starting Polarity: No preference.

If AU, how does your character differ from canon?: N/A

Writing Samples
*First Person Sample:
[Oh, hello there. A robot with an accent. And... a face that may just be vaguely familiar to some. Even if the rest of his frame... isn't. It's sort of huge.]

Cybertron. Or so I'm told. One might almost mistake it for another world entirely, when it lacks the gratuitous explosions and warships. That said, I'm not entirely convinced. Is this truly Cybertron? And, if so, how is it the planet appears... so much more intact than it conceivably should?

[Is he talking to himself, or to the Link? Hard to say.]

Which brings me to yet another issue with the current predicament, I suppose. Optimus? Ratchet? You were here a moment ago, don't tell me you've been left out of this nonsense.

[Because that's just not fair.]

Once more. Optimus? Ratchet? ... Jetfire? This is Perceptor, and I would appreciate a status update, if you've time in your terribly crowded schedules.

[The last comes out more than a little irritated. None of this makes sense, and that is a problem.]


*Third Person Sample:
If he was correct, and, very likely, he was, then the operation would need only the most minute of adjustments to complete. It was a slow few hours -- mandatory downtime, as he understood it. Not that he required it. The project required his utmost attention and focus. There simply wasn't anyone else capable of continuing the work as he could. It was his project. He had designed the shutdown procedures, the safest ways to shunt energy from one portion of the city to another, with minimal waste. They needed every bit of energon they could manage to hold, after all.

So it made very little sense for someone such as himself to be regulated to mandatory rest periods. Not only was he absolutely vital to the project, but he was fully capable of assessing his own needs, thank you very much. Admittedly, yes, it galled him to no end to be ordered to 'take a break'. Though, likely it wouldn't put things too much off schedule. He could always work that much harder, once he was "allowed" back to his station.

But even on a break, he had to keep himself busy. An idle processor did no one any good. Hence his current objective. It was a delicate procedure. If he didn't focus, it would collapse down in on itself in a microsecond. He couldn't allow that to happen. No, all his focus had to be narrowed down to a fine point. Manipulated. Delicately moved.

His attention narrowed to a fine point. The immediate area in front of him was all that mattered. Megatron himself could have waltzed into the room and started bellowing -- and he wouldn't have noticed. His hand moved, slowly, cautiously, manipulating the pieces, altering the overall shape of the structure. Gradually, the shape began to form. It started to look more and more as it should, even as it teetered and wobbled before him. He didn't panic. He kept steady. Soon, it would--

"Perceptor?"

His hand jerked. It knocked straight into the wobbling tower of cubes he was busy constructing, sending them scattering across his work table as he stared down at them in dismay.

So much for that.


Final Notes: None!
Read more... )

 

 

Warnings flashed first. Structural damage, minor leaks in the process of being self-repaired. Clogs building in the main air intake vents. Internal clock offline, missing too much time to reboot itself automatically. Communications offline – signal interference too great to attempt a connection. No nearby signals to boost from.

All in all, he'd expected worse, after being shoved out of a transport, really.

For a moment, he wondered why it was he couldn't see. There was nothing on the damage list to indicate he'd suffered any sort of trauma to the optics, or anything that would cause a full blackout. A few knocks to the head, if the dents recorded were any estimation. But he should be able to see, at the very least. It wasn't until he lifted his head, pulling it out of the fine morass of sand and rusted-out grit that the reason dawned on him. Of course. He'd been laying on his face. As he pushed himself onto his elbows, his fingers brushed the smooth, cold barrel of a weapon, and jerked back reflexively. He must have held onto it, even in the fall.

The air was thick with the swirls of storming sand and rust. Laying here, he could see where it beat against a piece of jagged metal not five feet from his position, already wearing holes in the damaged material. Rocky outcroppings surrounded him on three sides, the last open to the howling wind. He was lying in a patch of open sand, dotted here and there with smooth, almost polished-looking rocks. Everything was colored in a uniform shade of dull red-brown. He continued looking upward, toward the clouds. They still churned overhead, the storm still well in swing. There was no sign of the sun, or even the sky itself, making the time difficult to judge. Still, he stared, attempting to gauge where exactly he'd ended up landing.

And the thought of landing brought forth a sudden onset of images he never thought he would find disturbing. Faces wreathed in sharp, lurid red flames, standing stark against the smoke of a dying vessel. Lives abruptly snuffed out for no reason he could fathom... one in particular who hadn't needed to do anything so stupidly heroic.

He shoved the thoughts aside, enough to focus on the task at hand. He needed to figure out where he was, first of all, how far from their destination he'd landed, if anyone had survived the attack... what that attack was... A very long list of tasks, when all your frame wanted to do was hunker down and recharge for a while.

Slowly, he levered himself upright, reaching out to grasp a convenient stone in order to do so. He hesitated, then lifted the weapon from where it lay in the sand as well, slipping it into a compartment where it rattled against his tools. Joints popped, panels shifted and shed sand. One of his knees sent out a shower of sparks. Wonderful. Walking was going to be something of a chore, now. Not to mention, any gaps in his exterior paneling would only allow for the rust particles to actually enter his internal workings. A slow, wasting death, should they manage to get into fuel lines. He would need to cover it, as best he could, and get out of the storm.

The bit of metal caught his attention again, and he staggered forward, reaching out to pull it over to him with a grunt of effort. It came free after some work, trailing wires and...

… and spurting out a backed-up flow of energon, the fluid spilling bright and glowing against the dull landscape around it.

Perceptor dropped the panel as if he'd been burned. The wind kicked up, carrying it a few feet from his position as he stood, stunned and silent. He saw it now. The broken panel, and the angle of the rocks around it, had obscured the corpse it was attached to. His hands shook a little, though once he closed them into fists, the tremors ceased. He was not one accustomed to death. In his line of work, the only things to ever “die” were the odd assistant drone when something unstable didn't react the way he intended it to. And even those weren't truly alive. The physical sciences weren't subjects one typically expired from working with.

Seeing a corpse lying there, pale-colored frame broken, battered, the lights all gone out from panels and optics, its spark extinguished to nothing, rattled the scientist.

He stared down at it until his frame began to ache, and the sparks spitting from his knee reminded him he had priorities to consider. The rational part of his processor began to take over, sealing away the horror, the spark-wrenching feeling of fear and shock. The coordinates were briefly marked, stored away for later use – provided, of course, anyone ever managed to make it back out here again without another attack knocking them out of the sky. He limped a few steps way, reaching down to collect the torn piece of paneling again. It took a precious few moments, but, with more effort, he managed to rip it in two – or, rather, he clawed and tugged at it until the weak points separated more or less in the middle.

After a moment or two of thought, he did his best to bend part of it into a pseudo bandage, covering the worst of the hole. He would have to hold it in place as he moved, but it would work until he could get out of the wind. Theoretically, anyway. Those were odds he'd have to take, if he wanted to survive. However... he took the other half, and laid over the corpse's face before he began to hobble away. A gesture of quiet, if not a little hasty, respect.

Backboard deserved that much, if not more.

The storm only seemed to worsen as he marched deeper into the rock formation. The path he followed gradually turned into the floor of a natural canyon, its walls worn smooth and slick from centuries of blasting sand and wind. The canyon walls started low, but abruptly climbed skyward, until they towered over the hobbling scientist, their peaks lost in the howling storm. It would have been the perfect sort of shelter, had the wind not been coming from the canyon's mouth. Now, it was like being stuck in a wind tunnel.

He kept his head down, shoulders hunched and one hand clasped around the makeshift repair patch. His jaw set against the pain. The ever-present wind slammed grit into his back, wedged it up and under various sensitive components. It was, literally, like having yourself detailed by construction equipment. If he didn't find some cover, and soon, there wouldn't be much plating to speak of on his back.

But the canyon walls continued on, as smooth and straight as ever, as if someone had carved the entire landscape with a straight-edge razor. Had circumstances not been what they were, he would have likely enjoyed the sight. What could have caused such a perfectly geometric rock formation? What natural forces were employed, so long ago, to make this?

Occasionally, he paused, trying to bring his internal comm back online. But it was designed for close-range communications – for the interior of the science center, to be more precise. He'd never intended to use it for field-work.

Though, he reasoned, if there were anyone else within range, he should have been able to at least ping their signals. He couldn't even so much as pick up the barest trace of another's comm system from where he limped. A fact which boded very ill for his situation. His tools had survived the fall, which was helpful. Once he found cover, he could, at least, perform a few basic repairs to keep himself on his feet.

And yet, there was a reason nothing lived in the Sea of Rust. Even if he did manage to find shelter, there was the matter of fuel. He'd taken care of his needs before the transport had left Iacon. Provided nothing sprang a leak, he should be safe enough for at least a week or so, running on minimal power. But after that... After that, things were going to become very dire, very quickly.

First, shelter, he reminded himself, pausing to scrape grit out of the hollows around his optics. Then we formulate a strategy.

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Perceptor

January 2015

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