Firestone says, "Uhm. We could... no... We... no..."
Alex Roberts snickers. "Hey Whiz, can you hook me up to a radio station 
so I can control the airplanes in range?"
Firestone says, "We have to assault a planet where they expect us, have 
an infinite number of low-quality troops, and they know our objective."
Gwen Whitmore nyahs and skates back over.
Firestone says, "And we're going to do it head on."
Firestone says, "Now, normally, I like that sort of thing, but it 
strikes me as kind of suicidal."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Well, we have to do something."
You say, "Suicidal to sit back and let these bodies degrade, too."
Gwen Whitmore winces slightly at the mention.
Firestone says, "So we have to do something else."
Gwen Whitmore takes a seat to begin removing her skates and such.
Firestone says, "The first thing we have to do is draw the Quints away 
from the chassis."
Gwen Whitmore turns away, hiding her feet, as she changes her socks.
Firestone says, "What's it like, having toes, Whiz?"
Firestone peers at Gwen's footsies.
Alex Roberts says suspiciously, "Whiz...?"
Gwen Whitmore urks and yanks on a sock quickly. "It's fine."
Firestone says, "Not melting, okey."
Gwen Whitmore chuckles. "Nope, not melting. Nope nope. Not in the 
slightest."
Firestone says, "So, seriously."
Firestone says, "How can we get the Quints away from the chassis?"
Firestone says, "What do Quints do?"
Firestone says, "They run courts."
Firestone says, "Uhm. They want power."
Gwen Whitmore pulls on her other sock and starts lacing up her shoes.
Firestone says, "Uhm... Some of them are traders."
Firestone says, "Mmmm."
Firestone says, "I got an idea!"
Alex Roberts grumbles, "And in their off time they fiddle with artifacts 
of cosmic-scale power.."
Firestone says, "Okay, okay, want to hear this?"
Firestone says, "The Cons... or us. Or both. Work best with Cons, if you 
ask me, right, are dissatisfied with being led by puny humans. So, 
they're going to go crawling to the Quints to lead them."
Gwen Whitmore winces.
Firestone says, "And then we hit them."
You say, "You think a Quint's gonna fall for that? At the very least 
they'd lock em up first."
Firestone says, "Well, yes, they would. They got big egos."
Firestone says, "And we can..."
Firestone says, "Uhm."
You say, "Not bigger than their brains, they don't. C'mon, their bodies 
ARE their heads."
Firestone says, "Well, it's a better idea."
Firestone says, "Maybe we can get Telly to pose as a Quint to help?"
You say, "Well, now there's a thought.."
Firestone ponderponderponders.
You say, "He could maybe infiltrate and let a strike team in the 
backdoor so to speak while the rest of us hit the front gates."
Firestone says, "What would happen if a gestalt tried to combine with 
one of the members unpowered?"
Firestone says, "The chassis are alive, they just got no brains, right?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Well, the protectobots are out, they can't merge 
without Hot Spot."
Firestone says, "If we can get them in the same room as Hot Spot's body, 
and they tried to merge, what would happen?"
You say, "Nothing. Hot Spot's body's defunct."
Firestone says, "Rarn."
Gwen Whitmore says, "The transfer process automatically puts the robot 
body in stasis to protect it while the neural net is down."
Firestone says, "Darn."
Firestone says, "The Telly idea might work, though."
Firestone says, "The other advantage we have is that all Sharkticons are 
more or less the same."
Firestone says, "If we could take them all out at once..."
Firestone says, "Then we'd have a chance against the fortifications."
Firestone says, "Any ideas there, Whiz?"
You say, "I think Vilnacron had something, actually.."

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Shrike                                                        
Date: Fri Jan 24 19:38:26 1997    Folder:  0   Message: 14
Status: Read 
Subject: IC Communique
------------------------------------------------------------------------
**The symbol of Vilnacron appears on the terminal before you and fades 
out to show Shrike sitting at a security panel.**

Greetings Autobots and Decepticons. I have come before you today with a 
purpose of ending the Quintesson threat and insuring a way to get back 
your cybertronian bodies and captured prisoners.

As Director of the Security and Defense Directorate, I have spent many 
resources into solving this threat. SDD scientists have come up with a 
weapon that will nullify the Quintesson base defenses. Unfortunately, it 
has no effect on sharkticons. The following is what I propose:

**Shrike presses a button and a holo image of the Quintesson system 
appears and zooms in on the major Quint complex.** Under my command, a 
small strike force of Vilnacronians will attack Quintesson base defenses 
with the nullifying weapons, masking a covert operative infiltrating the 
Imperial Palace complex. The operative will have the responsibility of 
disabling the Quintesson central computer and freeing Laserbeak from the 
holding cells. Once Laserbeak is freed, and the computer nullified, 
Vilnacronian forces will send a signal to **holo cuts back to a large 
force of Bot/Con ships in orbit.** the assembled strike force. It will 
then be the responsibilities of your forces to do the brunt of combat, 
and regaining of cybertronian bodies. We Vilnacrons will assist in 
rescue operations as needed. **Holo dissolves**

I hope this meets with your approval. If you have any questions, please 
contact me immediately. -- Shrike
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firestone says, "Whadda mean, Rod?"
You say, "Something about a virus they thought might slow down the Quint 
systems. Hang on, lemme see if I can find it.."
Alex Roberts climbs up onto a chair and punches up an access connection 
to his personal account.
Firestone says, "Well, Rod?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yeah, what's the story?"
You say, "Here it is.. from Shrike. he says they think they have a virus 
that'll disable the Quint central computer to shut down some systems.."
Gwen Whitmore says, "That could be useful."
You say, "If it works. I think Mischief is working with them."
Alex Roberts shuts down the connection and slides down off the chair 
onto the floor. "Well, I'll get Magnus to talk to Arachnis or Shrike 
about it.. he's on Cybertron."
Gwen Whitmore grins. "Wow, something actually got him out of here, huh? 
He must be fleeing from me."
Firestone says, "Between that and Telly, we might have a chance."
Gwen Whitmore erms. "You really think Televis can fool them?"
Alex Roberts snorts. "Fleeing me, more likely. He knows I wasn't too 
happy. Probably just didn't want to have to listen to me."
Firestone says, "Well, he is a Quint."
Gwen Whitmore says, "He doesn't exactly... act... like a Quintesson."
Firestone says, "And he has holographic projection capacity."
You say, "Well, Televis could maybe get in long enough to let the others 
in, though.."
Firestone says, "If we get him to stick to the discoverer face, he might 
be okay."
Gasket enters from the Entrance to Autobot City to the west.
Gasket wanders in, looking slightly lost.
Gwen Whitmore grins upward. "Hullo!"
Gasket stops and looks down, holding up a foot. "Oh, hey there. Who's 
that?" Gasket stoops to look.
Gasket says, "Oh, hey boss. Hey Whiz."
Alex Roberts half-smirks. "Well, at least *someone* recognizes me."
Gasket grins.
Gwen Whitmore smirks. "If he really recognized you, he'd call you by 
your title - tyrant."
Gasket chuckles. "So how's human life treating you?"
Alex Roberts hmphs. "I only tryannicize--" he butchers the word-- "over 
you, anyway. I'm doin' okay, Gasket, just looking forward to it being 
over."
Gasket sighs and nods. "Squiddies still holding out."
You say, "We'll be taking care of them soon enough."
Gasket says, "Yeah. I suppose. Still, I guess they thought they had a 
good reason, huh?"
You say, "Oh, easily. THEY get the Matrix outta the deal."
Gasket hunkers down to sit on the floor to be able to see the two.
Gasket suddenly groans. "Oh, I forgot about the Matrix."
Alex Roberts says dryly, "I didn't."
Alex Roberts rubs the back of his neck. "But.. I don't think they can do 
anything with it. So."
Gasket says, "Well, I'm no soldier, but I'll fight till my drillbit 
breaks to get it back."
Alex Roberts smiles a bit. "Hopefully we won't have to go to that 
length."
Gasket thinks for a bit, "Well, they are the squids. Can't we just buy 
them back?"
Gasket looks concerned for a moment. "That Ms. Krystal was just outside, 
'talking' with some other lady. And she wasn't happy. Hope they're 
okay."
Gwen Whitmore frowns. "Wonder if that's the appointment she had to get 
to."
You say, "I don't think they're gonna relinquish them that easily.. and 
yeah, she said she hadda talk to someone. You didn't recognize em?"
Gasket shakes his head, "Some darker lady. They were talking about some 
little human Krystal saved.."
Gasket says, "She didn't like me. One of you could probably go see 
easier."
Alex Roberts hrms thoughtfully. "Probably a Militant if she didn't like 
you no the spot and Krystal was upset... dunno, we probably shouldn't 
interfere."
Gasket nods reluctantly...
Gwen Whitmore says, "Could mess up delicate negotiations."
Gasket says, "I heard the EDC was kinda upset.. something about 
Redfire?"
You say, "That was a while ago. I think she's worked things out with em 
now. At least, I HOPE she has.."
Gasket hums...
Gwen Whitmore gets bored and starts fooling with the monitors, trying to 
get TV reception.
Gasket idly drills tiny holes in the floor.
Alex Roberts frowns a bit and moves over to Gwen's shoulder, looking 
vaguely troubled. He mutters to Gwen Whitmore, "... the... night.. 
I'm... snapped like... It's... bugging me..." 
Gwen Whitmore senses "Alex Roberts frowns a bit and moves over to Gwen's 
shoulder, looking vaguely troubled. "Listen, about the other night.. I'm 
sorry. I shouldn't've snapped like that. It's been bugging me ever 
since.""
Gwen Whitmore shrugs. "I wasn't the nicest person either... and I really 
haven't been taking this as seriously as I should have been. I've kinda 
been pushing myself." She flips a channel and stops .
<Earth> With a characteristic sound and video display, the popular 
Tabloid TV show "Hard Copy" begins to roll.
Alex Roberts frowns sternly. "You were hiding your feet?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "This show is so bad. They'll put anything on TV if 
it's wild enough. My feet? What about them?"
You say, "When Firestone asked about your toes. You're always freaking 
out about our toes. Is something WRONG?"
<Earth> The announcer has a wide smile, as if to say, 'trust me', as he 
begins his report. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, it's time for 
Hard Copy. Tonight, our top story is actually a followup to one we 
showed last night. This is breaking news, folks. For those who missed 
it, here's a short recap..."
Gwen Whitmore laughs slightly. "Toes? nothing. Hey... isn't that you?"
<Earth> (contents of 9/18)

================================== Reports =============================
Message: 9/18                      Posted        Author
Hard Copy Special Report           Mon Jan 27    Reporter
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We've all heard the rumors that the metal aliens from Cybertron have 
infiltrated the ranks of everyday human beings, but Hard Copy has 
uncovered a disturbing new dimension to this story. After examining the 
humans pictured in the press release about these Cybertronians in our 
midst, Hard Copy has uncovered that one of the humans in the picture, 
who calls himself Alex Roberts, is actually posing as an Architect. 
However, this is not a recent phenomenon, as the Autobots would have us 
believe. This Alex Roberts ahas been human long enough to find trouble 
with the law - as a deadbeat dad! That's right, this woman (shows a 
photo of an auburn-haired young mother) says that this Alex Roberts 
deserted her and her infant son, and she wants child support! This is 
the kind of 'protection' the Autobots offer? Hide in our ranks, sire 
children, and then make no effort to help raise them? Is the human 
species in danger? Just ask Samantha Pryme-Roberts. She'll give you an 
answer - and it's not one you'll like hearing.
======================================================================

Alex Roberts blinks. "Hmm..?" he BLINKS. "What the--"
<Earth> That's right, these alien robots have been posing as humans and 
having children, then deserting their mothers for as long as five years.
You say, "Who the hell is Samantha Pryme?"
<Earth> The announcer shuffles his papers and looks very serious. "And 
tonight, in an exclusive interview, we have this woman in our studio to 
talk about her ordeal and tell us how this has impacted the life of her 
young son, Robbie. Welcome to our studio, Ms. Pryme."
Gwen Whitmore snickers. "Guess that's a question we need to ask you."
Gwen Whitmore says, "And all this time, I thought you were afraid to 
leave the city..."
Alex Roberts sputters. "I have never seen that woman in my life!"
<Earth> Samantha nods quietly. "Thank you for having me. I just want a 
chance to tell my story."
You say, "Besides, we're the wrong species. You know that. Even if I 
*would*..." he shudders. "This is ridiculous."
Gwen Whitmore chuckles. "You jsut didn't want us all to get in on your 
good thing. You've been turning human for years and not telling us."
Alex Roberts bristles. "We don't even HAVE those... parts!"
<Earth> The reporter looks infinitely empathetic. "Of course. And you've 
been silent too long. Now our audience is probably asking, why now? Why 
didn't you come forward before?"
Gwen Whitmore smirks. "Oh, I think you look guilty."
<Earth> The young woman wipes a tear from her eye. "I didn't realize who 
he was until I saw that press release. And I found out that... that I 
was in love with..."
<Earth> The cameral zooms in close on the tears, then pulls back to show 
the reporter nodding and patting her hand sympathetically. "We 
understand that this isn't easy for you."
Alex Roberts grrrs.
You say, "Where is she? I'll hunt her down and show her.."
<Earth> Samantha nods. "I thought he cared for me, but he was just an 
alien passing through town. He loved me and disappeared... and now all I 
have is Robbie."
Gwen Whitmore doubles over in giggles.
You say, "You KNOW I can't be guilty! You *designed* these bodies!"
Gwen Whitmore is laughing too hard to respond.
Alex Roberts bellows, "THAT IS NOT MY KID!"
Gwen Whitmore gasps, "You... cad...."
Krystal enters from the Entrance to Autobot City to the west.
Krystal enters, her eyes surveying with cool dignity.
Krystal frowns, shaking her head at the broadbrand transmissions. "What 
in the hell..."
Alex Roberts is fairly hopping mad.
Gwen Whitmore snickers. "Poor kid."
Alex Roberts grinds his teeth, digging his fingers into his palms as he 
clenches his fists. "Where. is. she. I'll kill her."
You say, "And WHY?"
You say, "Why me?"
You say, "I want to know who found this woman and stuck her on national 
television!"
<Something else on <Earth> that the log didn't pick up :P >
Gwen Whitmore snickers. "There you go. Good old profit motive."
You say, "I should walk in there with DNA papers and prove it."
You say, "Where's Perceptor?"
You say, "I'll do it now."
You say, "I'll kill her."
Alex Roberts paces, stops, stares at the TV and blurts, "He doesn't even 
LOOK like me!" paces again, then just stops and stares at the screen in 
morbid fascination, raking his hand through his hair.
<Yet another tidbit it missed >
Alex Roberts howls, "She's DEAD!"
Gwen Whitmore finally stops laughing long enough to straighten up. 
"Rod... it's totally false. Nobody believes what they see on these 
shows.
Gwen Whitmore says, "She's not worth bothering with."
Alex Roberts punches the computer console, then calls up a phone 
directory archive. "I will FIND her and SHOW her..."
Gwen Whitmore smirks and can't keep a giggle out when she looks at how 
livid Rod is.
You say, "It doesn't MATTER who believes it. It's widespread enough that 
*enough* idiots will.."
Gwen Whitmore says, "If you had a child, it would be a medical miracle. 
Especially if he's already five years old. And I don't know about him 
not looking like you... that's probably why she chose you, of all of 
us..."
Gwen Whitmore tries to hide her amusement behind her hand.
Alex Roberts says sarcastically, "Oh yeah, me being leader has nothing 
to do with it."
You say, "How many Presidents had to deal with... sex scandals?"
Alex Roberts shudders again and starts going though the archives.
Gwen Whitmore says, "I just can't imagine career day. Hey there, little 
Robbie, what's your daddy do? He's a tyrant from another planet!""
Gwen Whitmore loses it again.
Alex Roberts howls, "Stop it!"
Gwen Whitmore goes off into fresh peals of laughter.
Gwen Whitmore snickers. "You're not really going to look for this money-
hunter, are you? Just ignore her. Anything you do is just fuel for the 
tabloids."
You say, "Unless I snap out a medical evaluation and clear everything, 
making her look like an idiot in the process.."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Don't say I didn't warn you. She's probably got 
photographers hiding all around her."
Alex Roberts hmms. "Then I'll call her."
Alex Roberts is calming down somewhat, his face settling into a more 
natural configuration but still rather obviously upset, as he scans 
through the archives.
Gwen Whitmore is still snickering. "This is a riot."
You say, "This is an atrocity. What're you talking about?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Oh, come on. It's a tabloid. It's all lies, and 
it's obvious.""
You say, "Yeah, to US! But you KNOW there're people out there who 
believe that stuff!"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Those people already don't like us."
Gwen Whitmore snickers. "Besides, I thought you liked to play with 
little Terran boys?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "He and Daniel can be friends."
Gwen Whitmore dissolves into peals of laughter.
Alex Roberts stamps his foot ineffectually. "STOP IT!"
Gwen Whitmore points and snickers. "I don't think I've ever seen you so 
upset. Got something to hide?"
You say, "NO!"
Gwen Whitmore says, "So what *have* you been up to here while we've all 
been out exploring? Romancing the humans again?"
You say, "The last thing I need now is a scandal on top of everything 
else! What do you mean, AGAIN?"
Gwen Whitmore bites her lip, her eyes laughing for her.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Cute little tyke, wonder how he'll like 
Metroplex..."
You say, "Better than his mother'll like prison, I'm sure."
Gwen Whitmore giggles.
You say, "Fraud IS a crime, right?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Libel, slander, fraud..."
You say, "Good."
Gwen Whitmore smirks. "Quit trying to hunt the woman down. She's 
obvioulsy deluded."
Alex Roberts hmphs. "She won't be when I'm through with her."
Gwen Whitmore snickers. "What, you going to teach her a lesson? Go rough 
up the humans?"
Alex Roberts aha's suddenly and smirks triumphantly, telling the 
computer to print up one of the files.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Oh, come on. She's not worth it."
You say, "I'm going to CONFRONT her, which should be enough."
Alex Roberts snatches up the transparent plasti-film printout and scans 
over the information.
Gwen Whitmore says, "You can't do this. It'll look awful."
You say, "Why?"
You say, "Isn't it *natural* I should go talk to her? Won't it look 
worse if I just sit here and avoid it?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "They'll have cameras all over to twist every word 
you say."
You say, "Yeah, but I can't just let her get AWAY with it."
Gwen Whitmore grins. "So go. But I'm going too. This will be too good to 
miss."
You say, "Fine. You can chase away the cameras."
Alex Roberts stuffs the transparency in his jacket pocket and storms 
out.

You move west to the Entrance to Autobot City...
Entrance to Autobot City

Gwen Whitmore enters from the Main Lobby - First Floor to the east.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Where are we going?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Erm, should we call first, or something? What if 
she's not home?"
You say, "According to the readout, she lives in.. uhh.." he checks 
again to make sure, "Wakita. Kansas.""
Gwen Whitmore smirks. "Of course. What do you want to bet she lives in a 
trailer?"
You say, "I wouldn't doubt it. We have any vehicles in storage sized 
right for us?"
Gwen Whitmore shrugs. "They've been seeing some use lately."
Gwen Whitmore grins.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Darn, we're stuck here. Guess we won't get to go 
play family after all."
Alex Roberts grrs. "Not if I have anything to say about it.."

You move north to the Landing Pad...
Landing Pad

Gwen Whitmore enters from the Entrance to Autobot City to the south.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Hey, if you were so hot on seeing this lady and her 
son, why'd you desert them for five years?"
Gwen Whitmore laughs!
Alex Roberts grits, "Ha ha, very funny."
Gwen Whitmore smirks. "We could always steal a car. Add that to your 
criminal record."
Alex Roberts heads into the vehicle storage facility (just roll with it) 
and emerges a few minutes later on a red-and-black hovercycle. He yanks 
it around to an awkward halt in front of Gwen, planting one foot on the 
ground impatiently to steady it. "After I kill her, we can add murder 
too. You coming?" He jerks his chin over his shoulder to indicate Gwen 
should get on behind him.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Where's my hovercycle?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "OO! OR do I get to be your biker babe!?"
Gwen Whitmore woohoos! "You know how to drive this thing?"
You say, "*You* try arguing with the requisitions computer without a 
command-override code.. uhh, yeah, sure I do. I mean, come on, it can't 
be that much different from driving myself, right?"
Gwen Whitmore rolls her eyes. "You sure you don't want me to drive? At 
least I've done it in videeo games."
You say, "Just get on, will ya?"
Gwen Whitmore shakes her head and pops into the facility, returning with 
two helmets. "At least protect the brain. The rest is expendable."
Gwen Whitmore pops a green helmet on her head and gets on nervously.
Alex Roberts sighs at the wait and resignedly fits the helmet over his 
head, trying to force his hair back out of his eyes in the process.
Gwen Whitmore warns, "Don't think I like this idea." and puts her arms 
around Alex, fitting her cheek tightly against his back.
Alex Roberts chuckles dryly. "Hey, you're the one who insisted on 
coming." He puts the bike in gear and heads out.
Gwen Whitmore mutters, "Maybe we can stop for a snack on the way back."
You say, "Izzat all you think about?"

<Alex and Gwen head out>

Gwen Whitmore says, "At least I try to take care of myself..."
You say, "Then how come you're the one hiding your feet?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Feet? Watch out for that turn in the road!"
Gwen Whitmore squeezes tighter as the cycle flies around the bends.
Alex Roberts sighs and leans into it, overcorrecting a bit but yanking 
the bike back on track quickly enough. "Quit panicking, you're gonna 
crack my ribs."
Gwen Whitmore says, "You're going to crack my skull! You have no idea 
what you're doing!"
You say, "Whiz, I've been driving all my LIFE. I think I have the basics 
down by now."
Gwen Whitmore says, "You've had four wheels! We're gonna die!"
You say, "Especially having to counterbalance that damn trailer all the 
time.. oh, we are not."
You say, "You go bungee-jumping but you can't trust me to drive?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "They guy who set up my harness had *done* it 
before!"
Alex Roberts sighs heavily, purposefully heaving his chest to try and 
loosen Gwen's grip a bit.
Gwen Whitmore yells, "I wish I had a blindfold!"
Alex Roberts grates under his breath, "I wish you did too..."
You say, "Just hide your face in my jacket, for Primus' sake."
Gwen Whitmore squeezes hard on purpose. "Hey! Don't make fun of the 
passenger!"
Gwen Whitmore says, "I'm facing certain death for you!"
Alex Roberts grunts in mild discomfort. "Certain death my nonexistant-- 
whoa!" he swerves sideways to avoid a cat that suddenly bolts out into 
the road.
Gwen Whitmore shrieks. "What was that for!?"
You say, "I was... stop.. choking.. me... trying not to hit a cat."
Gwen Whitmore loosens up a little. "Man, this is a lot more fun with 
Wreck-Gar..."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Less dangerous, anyway..."
You say, "Well, if you'd just ease off the stranglehold maybe this 
wouldn't be so bad. What happened to enjoying the adrenaline rush, huh?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "What happened to wanting to stay in the city and be 
safe?"
You say, "That has nothing to do with it. This is personal."
You say, "I'd be doing this whether I was stuck in this body or not -- 
well, the situation probably wouldn't've come up if I weren't, but still 
-- not just for cheap "thrills.""
Gwen Whitmore says, "So remind me again what *I'm* doing here...?"
You say, "You insisted on coming?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "I'm insane...."
You say, "I can drop you off now if you want."
Alex Roberts jiggles the bike.
Gwen Whitmore screams!
Gwen Whitmore says, "Don't DO that!"
Alex Roberts chuckles tightly under his breath.
Gwen Whitmore squeezes her eyes shut and tries to ignore the wind 
rushing around her.
Alex Roberts pulls into the Wakita city limits and slows down, driving 
with one hand and yanking the transparency out of his jacket pocket with 
the other. He sits back a bit, disrupting Gwen's huddled posture of 
terror, looking around for street names. "Okay, should be over this 
way.."
Gwen Whitmore peers. "It's all cornfields."
Alex Roberts manages after a few wrong turns and some backtracking to 
find the trailer park, and guides the bike carefully down the narrow, 
speed-bump-laden roads, scanning for house numbers. "Course it is, this 
is the Koriolis of Earth."
Alex Roberts amends, "Or maybe old Vilnacron.." eyeing the run-down 
trailers.
Gwen Whitmore hahs. "I told you it would be a trailer."
You say, "Did I disagree?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Guess now."
Alex Roberts stops the bike in front of the one particular silver 
trailer and shuts off the engine with a quiet, fading rumble. He double-
checks the printout. "This looks like the place.."

Your typical trailer, found inhabiting trailer parks all over America. 
It has a worn welcome mat out front, and faded floral curtains in the 
windows. As tornado magnets go, it's fairly typical. The back is coated 
liberally with bumper stickers, including a new one that says, 'My Other 
Car is an Autobot'.

Gwen Whitmore peers. "I don't see any TV vans. They could be lurking."
Alex Roberts tugs the helmet off with one hand, irritatedly brushing his 
hair back with the other. "Good, you keep an eye out for em."
Gwen Whitmore awkwardly gets off of the cycle, stretching out her legs.
Gwen Whitmore looks at the bumper sticker and starts snickering. "This 
is the place, all right."
Alex Roberts follows Gwen's look and just growls under his breath.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Hey, at least she has a sense of humor."
Gwen Whitmore says, "So, what now, tyrant? Knock on the door and then 
beat her senseless when she answers?"
Alex Roberts stomps up the front steps, unzipping his jacket and shaking 
his arms out a bit to try and ease his rather obvious tension. "We'll 
see how funny she thinks this is." He leans on the doorbell.
Gwen Whitmore smirks.
Samantha Pryme has arrived.

A woman in her late twenties, with shoulder-length, wavy auburn hair and 
dark brown eyes. She wears a dress with slightly faded print, and some 
tacky jewelry that is almost certainly fake.

Samantha Pryme opens the trailer door. "Can I help...."
Samantha Pryme's voice trails off.
Alex Roberts folds his arms and just looks sternly down (nice to find 
someone I can still look down at, he thinks absently) at the woman, 
letting his stance speak for him.
Samantha Pryme starts to try to shut the door quickly.
Alex Roberts throws out a hand to catch the edge of the door. "I think 
we need to talk, ma'am."
Gwen Whitmore just grins. "Hi! We're not the Avon ladies!"
Samantha Pryme says, "I... I don't have anything to say to you."
Alex Roberts says dryly, "Not even gonna ask me for money?"
Samantha Pryme's eyes dart from side to side. "I think my lawyer should 
be here for this."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Or your psychiatrist."
You say, "Funny how my lawyer didn't get to be present for that little 
expose of yours."
Samantha Pryme says, "Look, they paid me good money for that interview. 
It's not my fault they wanted it on TV."
You say, "What the hell were you THINKING? That you could get away with 
this? Like any court's gonna believe you if you try to sue me? WHO paid 
you?"
Samantha Pryme swallows. "You can't threaten me."
You say, "Am I threatening you? I think I have a perfectly valid reason 
for asking."
Samantha Pryme says, "Look, if the Hard Copy show will pay me good money 
to sit there and talk about how I got dumped with a kid and a crummy 
job, I'm gonna talk."
Samantha Pryme says, "You know that the tests ain't going to show you're 
the dad. You're some weird alien thing instead of a real person. But by 
then, I got Robbie's education covered by the Enquirer. If I hadn't done 
nothing, somebody else would've."
Samantha Pryme shrugs.
You say, "And if you're gonna talk, you're gonna have to deal with me.. 
OH, I get it, so it's all right to drag my name through the mud."
Gwen Whitmore looks at the woman somewhat uncomprehendingly.
Samantha Pryme shrugs. "Yer famous. Ain't even human. What's it matter? 
"
You say, "So just because I'm not human, that means I don't matter? 
That's disgusting."
Samantha Pryme says, "You're some kinda robot, right? Even if you you 
got feelings, why should you let some little human problem get to ya?"
Alex Roberts says through gritted teeth, "Because you made it MY 
problem."
Samantha Pryme says, "Been my problem for five years. You can have a 
problem for a while, for all I care."
Gwen Whitmore's eyes narrow. "You should've thought of that then, not 
tried to pin it on us now."
Alex Roberts starts to snap, "I have ENOUGH problems--" catches himself 
and keeps his tone level, "I have enough problems keeping this planet 
safe from Decepticon attack without people like you doing your best to 
ruin my reputation with the Terran populace."
Samantha Pryme says, "Marshall Fox says you folks are doing enough to 
mess up our planet without the Decepticons. Why should I trust you?"
You say, "And if Marshall Fox ever told more than half the story, you'd 
know that I personally dragged him out of a ruined building after a 
Decepticon attack, took him back to Metroplex, and got him patched up in 
time to save his life."
Samantha Pryme says, "Yeah, you're a regular hero."
Samantha Pryme says, "Yer here. I can make money off of it. And little 
Robbie can go to the trade school and make a living. *shrug* I gotta 
survive."
Gwen Whitmore says dryly, "Well, that's crass."
You say, "There are better ways of doing it than selling other people's 
reputations."
You say, "Where is this kid, anyway? How do I know you didn't make him 
up?"
Samantha Pryme says, "Yeah? A job in a canning plant? Working all day 
for enough money to afford child care? Working so far."
Samantha Pryme sticks her head in the door. "Robbie! Robert!"
Robbie Pryme wanders sullenly up to the door. "What, momma?"

A young boy of about five years of age, with dirty hands, smudges on his 
face, and a look in his eyes that spells trouble.

Gwen Whitmore looks back and forth between the child and Alex, and 
smirks.
Alex Roberts glances back at Gwen and mouths, "I do not look like that."
Samantha Pryme says, "These folks wanted to see you, Robbie."
Gwen Whitmore mutters to Alex Roberts, "... can..."
Gwen Whitmore whispers "Who can tell under all that?"
Robbie Pryme glares at the visitors. "I was playin' Nintendo."
Alex Roberts squats down to the boy's level, brushing his hair back 
again. "This is important, Robbie. Did you see your momma on TV today?"
Gwen Whitmore tries hard to hold back a snicker.
Robbie shies back under the look from a stranger, and puts his finger up 
his nose thoughtfully as he replies, "Yep. We took an airplane."
Alex Roberts restrains a look of distaste and keeps his tone friendly. 
"Well, do you understand WHY she was on TV?"
Robbie Pryme huhs. "She's lookin for my poppa."
Samantha Pryme glares. "Robbie, what did I tell you about talkin' to 
strangers?"
Robbie Pryme looks confused.
Gwen Whitmore rolls her eyes and watches the grubby little child in 
fascination.
You say, "Yeah, well," he scratches his jaw briefly with one finger, 
then drops his arm to rest casually across his knee again, "I'm the guy 
she was pointing fingers at. Now, I'm not your poppa, but she convinced 
a lot of people that I am, and got me in a lot of trouble, just to get 
some money from those TV people.""
Gwen Whitmore smirks. She mutters to Alex Roberts, "... ain't..." 
You sense Gwen Whitmore smirks. "I ain't your poppa?"
Robbie Pryme doesn't know what to think. "My momma don't lie."
Samantha Pryme says, "That's right, Robbie. Now go inside and play your 
game."
Robbie Pryme knows the voice of authority and goes inside.
Alex Roberts throws a disparaging glance up at the woman, then looks 
back to the boy, shrugging Gwen off irritably. "She says it's because 
she wants you to get a decent education.. well, in this case, she did. I 
think she-- hold on a minute, ma'am, I'm not done--"
Samantha Pryme says, "You don't need to say anything more to my boy."
Samantha Pryme glares. "And I don't like having you on my porch much, 
either. I could call the police, they'd arrest you."
Alex Roberts stands up, drawing himself to his full height and turning 
on that infuriating charisma although his voice remains evenly level. "I 
think, ma'am, that if you'll let me talk to the boy, we can settle this 
like adults."
Samantha Pryme wavers. "You can talk to me. I ain't dragging him into 
this.
Alex Roberts reasons, "You already did. When you said you were doing 
this for his education. Remember?"
Samantha Pryme says, "I'm not letting you tell him I'm a liar."
Gwen Whitmore pffts. "Even if that's the truth."
Alex Roberts arches an eyebrow. "All right, I'll stay off that topic."
Samantha Pryme glares. "What do y'all want here? There ain't no lawsuit. 
The Hard Copy folks already got what they wanted from me."
Alex Roberts mutters to Gwen Whitmore, "... from..."
You whisper "Get the ethernet-uplink unit from the storage compartment 
on the bike, will you?" to Gwen Whitmore.
Gwen Whitmore shrugs, looking a bit mystified, and goes to check out the 
hovercycle.
You say, "Whether there's a lawsuit or not isn't my concern. If there 
WERE a lawsuit, we could settle my innocence easily enough. 
Unfortunately, you haven't left me with that option."
Samantha Pryme says, "Far as I'm concerned, this is all over. Can't 
change what happened already."
Samantha Pryme tries to follow her son inside.
Alex Roberts steps in the way smoothly. "Five minutes."
Samantha Pryme says, "Five minutes, and then I call the cops."
You say, "Fair enough."
Gwen Whitmore mutters to Alex Roberts, "... the... "Here... go.... 
hope... know... you're..."
Gwen Whitmore whispers " :returns with the uplink. "Here you go. I hope 
you know what you're doing.""
Alex Roberts nods to Gwen, his mouth twitching sideways in a faint 
smile.
Alex Roberts turns back and looks expectantly at Samantha, his 
expression carefully neutral.
Gwen Whitmore shakes her head slightly and wonders.
Samantha Pryme watches suspiciously. "You got five minutes, not all 
day."
You say, "The boy?"
Samantha Pryme says, "I don't see why you gotta drag him into this."
Samantha Pryme whistles. "Robbie!"
Robbie storms out the door. "What now, momma?"
You say, "So let me explain." He shifts his gaze between Samantha and 
the boy briefly. "Calm down, Robbie, I want to give you something." He 
activates the uplink and taps a few commands into the keypad. "Seems 
this whole problem got started because your momma wanted you to be able 
to go to school. Now, I'm a nice guy, so I'm gonna offer a deal here..."
Gwen Whitmore raises an eyebrow.
Samantha Pryme folds her arms over her chest, while Robbie looks at Alex 
blankly.
Alex Roberts flourishes the uplink device. "Your momma here," he shoots 
a glare directly into Samantha's eyes, "is going to publically declare 
an apology to me for dragging me into this, and in return, I'm going to 
transfer enough credit to your name, Robbie, that you can get into a 
good school when you're old enough."
Robbie Pryme bleahs. "Can I get a new Nintendo game now? I hate school."
You say, "Keeping in mind, of course, that I'm locking the transfer so 
the money may ONLY be used for school," he nominally addresses the boy, 
but his eyes are locked on Samantha, "and I can withdraw it at any time 
should your mother not make the apology."
Samantha Pryme snaps sharply, "Robert Joseph Pryme, don't think about 
Nintendo. This is college."
Samantha Pryme says, "We gotta make it that far, but fine. Maybe the 
folks on the TV will pay be again to come back for the apology."
Alex Roberts says neutrally, "Maybe. I'll be watching for it."
Samantha Pryme struggles with some emotion. "It's more than we deserve, 
I guess. Never thought that you'd care."
Gwen Whitmore hmms to herself and motions the boy over, opening up her 
backpack and handing something over to him with a great deal of secret 
shushing and warnings.
Samantha Pryme says, "I got nothing, really except my boy. I can swallow 
my pride for him. Better than swallowing a lie."
Alex Roberts's mouth twitches, not quite in amusement, but there's 
definitely a dry appreciation of irony in there. "We're the good guys, 
remember?"
Samantha Pryme nods. "I guess so. Maybe I'll call into the Marshall Fox 
show. Tell him he's made a mistake."
You say, "And just in case anyone else tries this, I want you to make it 
clear on TV that although we managed to settle this privately, if anyone 
else tries it, I WILL push for a lawsuit."
Samantha Pryme nods gratefully. "It ain't much, but you got my word."
Alex Roberts hehs, "Can't afford to pay everyone's way. Yeah, call him. 
Might be a refreshing change from his usual rant."
Gwen Whitmore smirks.
You say, "Now if you'll excuse me, my five minutes are up."
Samantha Pryme nods and opens the door. "I got a tv producer to call. 
Thank you. And I'm sorry."
Samantha Pryme calls harshly, "Robert! Let those nice people go."
Robbie Pryme scampers up the steps and into the trailer, a new Game Boy 
in tow.
Alex Roberts turns and heads back down the steps to the waiting bike, 
smirking tightly to himself.
Samantha Pryme has left.
Gwen Whitmore follows along behind. "Wow, you bought her off."
Gwen Whitmore smirks. "Payola for silence, eh? How often do you resort 
to these tactics?
Alex Roberts throws his leg over the bike and fits the helmet over his 
head again. "Yeah, well, I couldn't just leave the kid.."
You say, "Oh, shut up. I didn't buy silence. I got a public apology and 
my name cleared."
Gwen Whitmore slaps a helmet on her head. "Can I drive this time? Huh? 
Pleeeeeease"
Gwen Whitmore says, "I promise I'll be really good at it."
Alex Roberts starts up the bike and turns it around, half-walking it out 
onto the drive. "Nope."
Gwen Whitmore sighs and hops on the back. "I promise not to scream this 
time, if you promise not to try to kill me."
Alex Roberts protests, "I did not try to kill you!"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Then you just drive like a homicidal maniac for 
real, then?"
Gwen Whitmore takes a loose grip. "I'll start off light and then maybe 
you'lls till be ble to breathe by the time we make it home."
Alex Roberts grins, guiding the bike out onto the main road and opening 
up the throttle. "Yep."
Alex Roberts shifts his upper body, testing. "We'll see.."
Gwen Whitmore grins, then tightens her grip reflexively as the cycle 
goes around a corner.
<Gwen 'n' Alex start back to Metroplex>
Alex Roberts grunts sharply. "Hey, take it easy."
Gwen Whitmore oopses. "Sorry. Keep forgetting I can't beat up on you."
Alex Roberts grins. "Yeah, I'm drivin'. That'd be a bad thing."
Gwen Whitmore says, "If you weren't, I'd be tickling you. As it is, I'm 
barely fighting off the impulse."
You say, "Thanks for the warning. Am I *that* irresistible?"
Gwen Whitmore pffts. "Don't flatter yourself. You're just that fun to 
tease."
Alex Roberts laughs, leaning into another curve, more smoothly this time 
as he gets the hang of driving something other than under his own power. 
"I'm cursed."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yeah, now even the human women are after you. Maybe 
just because you're so cuuuuuuuuute."
Alex Roberts grrs. "I am NOT."
You say, "And any cheek-pinching at this point will be met with extreme 
prejudice."
Gwen Whitmore laughs. "Can't reach anyway."
Alex Roberts activates the bike's radio apparatus and transmits an 
authorization code to Metroplex.
Gwen Whitmore says, "I'd suggest trying out the defenses, but since you 
won't be manning the cannons, we might actually get hit."
Gwen Whitmore chuckles.
You say, "Oh, shut up."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Witty comeback."
You say, "You didn't register autobot on my sensors."

<Enter Metroplex...>

Gwen Whitmore says, "Same old excuse."
You say, "Yeah, I get a story, I stick to it."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yeah, the 'never seen her before in my life' 
story."
Gwen Whitmore chuckles.
Alex Roberts leans the bike hard into a couple S-moves across an open 
stretch of space. "Watch it."
Gwen Whitmore shrieks and laughs, sqeezing Alex for the hell of it.
Alex Roberts makes a big deal of gasping for breath and straightens out 
his course.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yeah, that's right. You want to breathe, stop being 
a maniac."
You say, "Ooh, ultimatums now."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Hey, I have you right where I want you."
You say, "What's that supposed to mean? I'm the one driving here."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yeah, but I'm the one who can squeeze you to 
death."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Anything you do to me happens to you, too."
Alex Roberts continues blithely, "And then the bike flies driverless 
off-course and crashes into a wall, taking Whiz with it.."
Gwen Whitmore grins. "Details..."
Alex Roberts pulls to a stop in front of the vehicle hangar. "End of the 
line. Gimme your helmet, I'll put this away."
Gwen Whitmore hops off, stretching out her legs. "All right," she 
agrees, pulling off the helmet.
Alex Roberts hangs his helmet over his wrist and walks the bike into the 
hangar.
Gwen Whitmore puts her helmet on the back of the hovercycle. "See? The 
excitement of being human."
Alex Roberts pffts.
Alex Roberts returns after a few minutes, dusting his hands off and 
brushing some travel-dust off his jacket. "Well, that was fun."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yep, see how exciting this human thing is? 
Something new around every corner."
You say, "Oh, will you let that drop?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Hey, this one was *really* new."
Gwen Whitmore grins.
Alex Roberts smiles reluctantly. "Okay, so if I hadn't been stuck like 
this, I probably wouldn't've ended up paying some woman's kid several 
thousand credits. Yup, definitely a plus," although he doesn't seem 
really upset.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yeah, but you wouldn't have tried to kill me on a 
hovercycle either."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Besides, I'm out one gameboy now too, so don't talk 
to me about sacrifice."
Alex Roberts clasps a hand to his heart. "Oh! A gameboy, how can a 
college tuition hope to compare with such matchless sacrifice?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "Hey, I personally owned that Gameboy! Whose credits 
did you give away?"
Alex Roberts looks wounded. "Mine."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Okay, okay, I underestimated you. Sorry."
You say, "Well, I had to draw on the faction resources, but I'll pay it 
back.."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Ha! Maybe not!"
Alex Roberts pffts. "Like I can access that much in one fell swoop. The 
transfer hasn't even gone through yet. It's all coming out of my 
personal allowance."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yeah, cry me a river. You won't be able to get 
extra flames painted on your sides."
Gwen Whitmore grins.
Alex Roberts smirks evilly, "Yeah, well, unlike some people I can afford 
it. Rank hath its privileges."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Yeah, and some of us have to go out and design 
games for a living."
Gwen Whitmore grins.
Gwen Whitmore inspects Alex's outfit.
Gwen Whitmore says, "If you have credits, how come you're dressed like 
that?"
Gwen Whitmore smirks.
Alex Roberts straightens his jacket on his shoulders self-consciously. 
"Why not? No reason to waste money dressing up when this serves the same 
purpose."

Alex Roberts
        It's the eyes that catch your attention, more than anything 
else. Bright, impossibly clear and oddly compelling, not exactly blue, 
but a color so undefinable that blue is merely the closest 
approximation. A perpetual gamut of shifting emotion ranges across the 
expressive features of his handsome face, making it all the more 
difficult to tear your eyes away after the first glance. Fairly short, 
reddish-brown hair frames his face, looking rather tousled as though he 
keeps running his hands through it. He stands a bit over six feet tall, 
with a lean, athletic build, powerful without being overly muscular. 
When he speaks, his voice is a surprisingly young, pleasant baritone; 
looking a bit closer, you note that he can't possibly be much beyond his 
early twenties, although at first glance he seemed much older for some 
reason... odd. Noticing your look, he tosses a crooked, vaguely 
uncertain smile in your general direction.
        He's wearing a plain white t-shirt, stuffed hurriedly into a 
pair of jeans that look a half a size too large, and a pair of what look 
like EDC field-issue combat boots. He also wears a brown leather bomber 
jacket, which looks simlilarly scrounged from an EDC supply store. A 
thick gold ring adorns his left hand, set with a large red stone.

Gwen Whitmore rolls her eyes. "One of the flashiest Autobots there is, 
and when he's human, he turns into mister practical."
You say, "Somehow I had the feeling flames wouldn't work for this body."
<Alex heads off the landing pad>
Gwen Whitmore scampers along behind.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Well, at least that all came out okay."
You say, "Yeah, coulda been worse. You still hungry? I think we still 
have some sandwiches in the lounge."
Gwen Whitmore runs a hand through her hair. "I think I could eat."
Gwen Whitmore grins. "I guess being scared to death takes up energy."
You say, "Oh, you be quiet. You said you were hungry before we even 
started."

You move east to the Main Lobby - First Floor...
Main Lobby - First Floor

Gwen Whitmore enters from the Entrance to Autobot City to the west.
Gwen Whitmore says, "I think it was another one of those flippy things."
You say, "Flippy things?"
Gwen Whitmore says, "I was scared to death just putting my life in your 
hands on that hovercycle."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Krystal says it's nerves."
Alex Roberts grins and puts on a dramatic pose. "Hey, what happened to 
I'm your leader, you're supposed to trust me with your life in my 
hands?"
Gwen Whitmore smirks. "Not that literally."
You say, "Yeah, well, still. You got your stomach-flipping nerve rush. 
We're even."

You move northeast to the Human Lounge...
Human Lounge

Gwen Whitmore enters from the Main Lobby - First Floor to the southwest.
Gwen Whitmore says, "Besides, it's that you're my tyrant, and I do what 
you say because my life is in your hands."
Alex Roberts nods knowingly, rummaging through the cooler that seems to 
have taken up permanent residence in the lounge. "Right, I get it.. 
here." He tosses a peanut-butter sandwich across to Gwen.
Gwen Whitmore oos. "Thanks."
Gwen Whitmore says, "Adrenaline rushes aren't all they're cracked up to 
be. I think I'll hang out here on the ground for a while."
Alex Roberts eyes a can of soda, shakes his head decisively and mutters 
something about not trying that again, and just takes a juice-box, 
throwing himself down on the couch.
Gwen Whitmore takes a seat and puts her feet up on a table. "Ahh, 
resting after a job well done."
Gwen Whitmore grins.
Alex Roberts snickers. "Yeah, we're efficient that way."