2403/Party Planning Advice

Party Planning Advice
Date of Scene:	07 June 2015
Location:	Ark-32
Synopsis:	The Autobots need some advice on accommodating organic species.
Cast of Characters:	304, 414, Blurr, Corona Arclite

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Blurr has posed:
    The Ark-32 is one of the Autobots' largest battlecruisers in current operation. It was the first vessel used to travel to their version of Earth. The massive golden structure is shaped somewhat like a blunt arrowhead with a rounded tip and a pair of barbs sticking out of the sides.

    Its massive size might shed light on the fact that it was designed to accommodate beings much larger than average. Currently, it orbits this universe's iteration of Earth. As the blue-green planet glows with resplendent beauty below, the crew of the Ark-32 is busy preparing for an important event. Sure, it might not sound like much, but to a species spurned by just about every other race out there in the universe until the Unification, this feels...almost like a milestone. A reminder that not -everyone- hates them any more.

    There are a lot of logistics involved, however. The Multiverse is an incredibly diverse place, and most of their guests are likely to be organic with a variety of different comfort requirements. One thing for sure is needed, however, and that is a steady flow of oxygen through the ventilation systems. And what about transportation? Some people might not have access to space-worthy vehicles, so they've been working on arranging shuttles from Earth's surface to the ship, since some organics wouldn't survive an orbital bounce. There are other things as well, like what about refreshments, and such? What -do- organics generally favor to eat? There are lots of answers on Earth's public datanets. Too many, actually. So a request has gone out to some of the members of the Union who have already befriended or been in contact with the Autobots, to ...well, advise on how best to make their otherwordly guests most comfortable.

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
Black Arachnia has gotten used to dealing with her 'ancestors' since she Unified a few years previously, and the logistical necessities of navigating around old Autobot-scale spaces are a problem she solved a good long while back. Autobots helped form the Union, after all, and Njorun Station and other shared bases are still built to those specifications.

On the other hand, most humans don't have Black Arachnia's solutions for getting around conveniently ... and that's just the start of it. So with the query from the Ark-32, she heads out to visit the ship, see what their current set-up is like, and offer what answers she can.

Corona Arclite has posed:
It involves seeing fancy robots and fancy machines. That's enough to get Corona's attention.

That and she does have a ship, so coming up to help was easy enough. Trust me, it's a space ship. It just happens to look like a train with rocket engines strapped to i... uh... Well! It's a good thing it's not a PURPLE train with rockets, or she might of never even gotten on board.

She didn't know other places had space choo-choos, don't blame her.

Revan (414) has posed:
     Somewhat of a recent Unification herself, Lowri's previous experience with robots had been the various droids built for all manner of purposes. From protocol droids to street sweepers all the way down to the advanced assassin droid HK-47, droids utterly fascinated the Guardian. Which was why the multiverse had been, for her, like a child in a toy shop.

     Getting around a galaxy had necessitated a spaceworthy ship, and though it didn't look like much, the Ebon Hawk did just that. So it was no trouble for the Jedi to not only bring herself, but her own entourage of her mechanical crew. T3-M4 rolled not far behind her, his head swivelling about, nearly as curious as his master. On her shoulder rode Ulaire, in her basic black bodysuit and her brown hair loose around her shoulders. On her right scurried the recently-dubbed Insecticon Tiny.

     Today was a day for all of them.

Blurr has posed:
    As the friendly vessels approach, they are hailed by Blaster, the comms expert, who directs them to a docking station connected to the central hangar. The massive doors retract to allow them inside, where other smaller crafts are docked. Well, they are smaller by Cybertronian standards, but still quite large compared to Corona's 'space choo-choo' and Revan's Ebon Hawk.

    By now the Autobots have the oxygen systems up and running, so the organics should be able to breathe easy here! Blurr has gone down to meet them, though he does notice Black Arachnia skittering about on a wall. "Black," he greets. "Haven't seen you in a while. How've you been?" he asks as the other ships move in.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Corona Arclite waits for the AI of her ship to confirm everything is locked and powered down and that there is an actual atmosphere before wandering out into the hanger proper. "Howdy y'all. Heard someone needed a bit of party plannin' help." She tugs loose her multi-purpose goggles and lets them hang around her neck like usual as she cocks her head back to look up at Blurr. "Ya look like yer in.. uh... whatever y'all say for bein' in good health and all that."

Revan (414) has posed:
     Oxygen is good! That means she didn't have to rummage around for her re-breather mask; Lowri wasn't sure /where/ she had stowed it. Not to mention how much of a challenge it would be to hold conversations, and eating would be right out. While she could hold her breath for an extended period of time with a type of Force meditation, it wouldn't have been much fun.

    

     As much as the pale-haired woman could have stopped and studied just about anything there all day, it would have been rude not to thank the host for inviting the Union to look around.

     "Nice to see you again," she greeted Blurr, looking up with a smile. "Thank you for the invitation."

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
"I've been all right, as these things go," the Maximal spider answers, descending on an energy-webline to dangle at around Blurr's eye level. Still in spider mode. "Nothing particularly out of the ordinary, still trying to find new and better ways to crack Confederate encryptions."

A manipulator arm waves to the incoming ships, and to those who disembark from them.

Blurr has posed:
    "Good, we could always use new hacking strategies." Blurr smirks as the Maximal dangles in front of him.

    He chuckles. "Party planning, yeah, uh...I guess you could say that." he replies to Corona. "This air feel okay to you all?" he asks, waving around vaguely. "You can breathe it, and stuff right? Doesn't feel like you're suffocating or not getting enough oxygen?"

     He nods to Revan as she arrives as well. "Revan, good to see you too." The Autobot peers at her new Insecticon pet, who certainly dwarfs not only her other mechanical pets but also its owner. "So, you got a name for him yet?"

Corona Arclite has posed:
Corona Arclite laughs a bit at Blurr's questions. "It smells funny to me, but that's just 'cuz I'm use to the smell of forge smoke and oil fumes 'round me. Breathin's fine." She takes an exaggerated deep breath just to prove it.

Then gives a glance towards Revan and her entourage, head canting a bit to the side. "Looks like 'bots are fairly common were ya come from, too."

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
Revan's robotic retinue certainly seems to grab Black Arachnia's attention, to judge by the way several of the Maximal spider's optics focus on the group. Particularly on that Insecticon.

And for a few seconds, Black Arachnia says absolutely *nothing*, her full attention on a scan for active transmission frequencies - even a carrier signal, if it doesn't match up with known Union or Autobot frequencies. It may also be safely assumedthat her attention isn't just devoted to the radio right now.

When she finally speaks again, her tone is coolly restrained. "Someone double-check me on this, but isn't that an Insecticon you're walking around with?"

Revan (414) has posed:
     At Blurr's question about the air, Revan shakes her head. "The air seems prety balanced," she notes. "You might want just a little bit more nitrogen in it, though...most organics actually breathe a combination of different gases."

5t Her smile becomes a little wry. "But it definitely beats how stale air gets on a ship after a few months," she quips with a soft chuckle.

     "Very common," she replies with a slight grin at Corona. "Though only one of them is from my home galaxy. These other two are ones I picked up in the multiverse."

     The Jedi nods to Black Arachnia, patting the Insecticon on its mantid head. "He is. I was helping Blurr out of a bad fix and managed to pick him up along the way."

     Back to Blurr, she grins. "Sure did. Let me introduce you. This is Tiny." After a moment, she seems to think of something. "And this is T3-M4," she adds, patting the swivelling circular head of the squat droid before gesturing to the (actually) tiny shinki on her shoulder. "And this is Ulaire...at ease, lieutenant, we're not in uniform," she hastily adds as the shinki struggled to stand up and render a salute.

Blurr has posed:
    "Oh, good. I mean, Perceptor's always right, but it never hurts to double-check, I guess." Blurr replies. "Right, a little more nitrogen, I'll make a note of that and pass it on to the tech teams." he chuckles when Black Arachnia tenses up at the sight of an Insecticon. He doesn't blame her. "Yeah, it is an Insecticon, but sometimes if they get separated from the rest of the Swarm, they can become tame and even trainable. Can be pretty useful once they're loyal."

    He nods as Revan introduces her mechanical entourage, though he arches an optic ridge upward at the name she'd chosen for her largest one. "Tiny?" he laughs. "I'm guessing you don't mean that in a literal sense."

    "Anyway," he continues, addressing all of them. "So air's good, now what about refreshments? What are some favorites among you organic types? Something appropriate for a function like this one, I mean I don't know if you have any particular types of food that are expected at stuff like this?"

Corona Arclite has posed:
"Uh, dunno iffen ya want people drinkin' liquor in middle of a high tech space ship, so ya pro'ly wanna stick to punch and soda or some such."

Though even as she's replying it's Revan that Corona circles around, eyeing the various bots with her. Then leaning a bit close to get a good look at Ulaire. "Back home you'd be mistaken fer a wind-up toy I reckon."

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
Black Arachnia slowly plays her line further out, descending to the hangar deck - partly (or mostly) so the humans and near-humans won't have to crane their necks to look up at her. "Not sure I've met all of you yet, so - I'm Black Arachnia, Maximal sabotage and espionage expert. Good to meet the rest of you."

From her tone, it might not be, really - but she at least knows how to make the polite noises. And if Blurr thinks the Insecticon is safe to have around, well, Blurr knows this variety better than she does.

That does not for any length of time mean that she's letting her guard down around Tiny.

She doesn't know a lot about organic food, and this event is going to be a bit too important for casual trolling, so when the talk turns to planning refreshments, Black Arachnia keeps her mouth shut.

Revan (414) has posed:
     "I'm told my sense of humour is a little bizarre," Lowri admits with a grin. She is not a short woman by any means, but even she has to reach up to rub behind one of the creature's antennae. "He hasn't been with us long, but he's more than proven himself. I have a...well, the ship of someone I know had been completely wrecked, not even spaceworthy. T3 and Tiny had it up and running when she needed to bail. If we'd had more time, it would have been good as new by the end of the day."

     Do shinki blush? Probably, since they're designed for boys and young men who want to see that kind of thing in robogirls. "I-I imagine so, ma'am," Ulaire stammers to Corona. "We're designed to provide entertainment for people, and we enjoy it very much. But those of us who are adopted by Elites are especially lucky, because we can do so much more."

     The Jedi can hardly blame Black Arachnia for being wary; before he was tamed, the Insecticon was so ravenous that he had tried to eat both Blurr and later Lowri. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted with her friendly smile. "I'm Lowri Revan-Shan, Knight of the Jedi Order."

     The subject of food proves to be a little tricky. "That tends to be a tough thing to anticipate," Lowri admits. "Much of the food of my galaxy is mostly unknown outside of it, so I didn't have any expectations." Grinning, she adds,"I'm always willing to try new things if it doesn't kill me."

Blurr has posed:
    "Okay, so no liquor." Blurr notes in response to Corona. Soda, punch...he'll have to look those up later. This isn't going to be as simple as it might sound, given the extremely diverse nature of the Multiverse, but they'll just have to go for a variety of things and hope for the best.

    Tiny makes a happy humming noise when Revan rubs behind his antennae, shuffling up against the Jedi. Blurr pats Black Arachnia, noting her consternation. "Hey, relax. It's been done before, no need to worry about Tiny here." he chuckles.

    "Okay, so uh..." The Autobot pulls out a datapad and scans it briefly. "Is there anything you guys always wondered about that you'd like us to cover? History, culture, this ship? Cybertron?"

Corona Arclite has posed:
"In fact." Corona pulls her CPAD from a belt pouch and flips it open. "I pro'ly got a few barrels of cream soda iffen ya want." Toggles are flipped and dials twiddled as she shifts through list files. "If it's gonna be an informative meetin', ya pro'ly wanna cover a bit of everything for folks. Get all the bases covered."

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
"'History' is probably going to be too much information for a party setting," Black Arachnia suggests, "unless you just want to cover the basics in very broad strokes. Culture would be a useful topic to cover - even I don't know much about what Autobots of your era would consider worthy pastimes when you're not out there fighting Decepticons or other nasties; what goes for one universe's Autobots might not be true for another version. Or even for a different group from the *same* universe."

Revan (414) has posed:
     Revan could oft-times annoy others with her nearly insatiable curiosity. Sometimes it could even get her in trouble. But there were times when she was given some room to ask about history, culture, and sometimes even personal experiences and opinions. Those times she was more than happy to drink her proverbial fill.

     But today. Today, she was practically handed a buffet of history and culture of a planet and a people...who were mind-bogglingly complex giant robots. If she didn't know any better, Lowri might have sworn she had died and rejoined the Force.

     She's a little disappointed, but Black Arachnia is right. That might be a better topic to read about on a datapad. Which she would later, most assuredly. "Culture is a good place to start," she agrees.

     "Cream soda?" That did sound interesting. "I'll be happy to try, especially if it's sweet."

Blurr has posed:
    "Good point," Blurr nods. "History might bore some people. There's certainly a lot of it." He makes a note of that on the datapad. He sits down on a pile of supply crates. "But since it's just the three of you for today, I'd be happy to talk about history if you'd like to hear it. Or really, anything. It's been a long time since anyone's been interested in learning about us beyond learning how best to kill us."

    "Cream soda?" The Autobot has not heard of that type of drink before, either. "Well if your kind enjoy it then there's a good chance other organics will." She can feel free the bring it along.

Corona Arclite has posed:
"Yeah, just coverin' some of the basics ain't a bad idea. Cuz, y'know, livin' sentient robots and all. People are gonna at least be interested in where that came from. Compared to... well." Corona paused to pull an extendable antennae out of her device, turns and points it towards her ship. It beeps a few times when she presses some buttons with her thumb. The tip even flashes faintly a few times to confirm a signal is being sent. "Y'make what I work with look -really- old school."

It takes a few moments while the others are talking before the clattering movement can be heard coming from her space-train. A block-ish shape rougly the size of a large crate ambles on bird-jointed legs, gears and joints audibly click-clacking as it moves. As it approaches the side panels open upward and more clockwork innards are visible in motion as it extends a pair of segemented clockwork arms from within. One arm uses it's grasper to pull out a small wooden keg and set it down, then the other plugs a spout into it. Then it settles back to the ground, arms and legs retracting back into the body and panels thumping shut. Save one in front that opens and slides out a couple of glasses. It's archaric technology just compared to Revan's drones, not to mention the cybertronian lifeforms.

"Go 'head, have a taste fer yourself." Corona hands one of the glasses to Revan. "... I think we're the only two here that actually drink anything."

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
Black Arachnia shows no response at all when Corona breaks out the cream soda. It's an organic drink, she doesn't care for it. Give her a couple of crystals of properly refined energon and she'll be content; if she really wants to get drunk, there are ways for her to do that ... but really, why would she WANT to be intoxicated?

Instead, she turns her attention back to Blurr. "You should probably have a variety of different foodstuffs, since some organics have different requirements than others do - not always biological. There are some humans who don't eat meat despite that they could digest it safely, for instance ..."

Revan (414) has posed:
     "Speaking for myself, I'd love to hear your history," Lowri agrees before grinning slightly. "I've sat for nearly a day listening through a droid's translation function of a people's entire oral history. And I didn't have to bring back a Krayt dragon pearl for it, either."

     Mismatched eyes flick back to the space train appreciatively. "It's been amazing to see all these different forms of technology, but even what we have pales in comparison. I've never seen robots so advanced, much less sentient since my galaxy first Unified."

     "The only ones who drink anything like this," she amends, fishing out a pineapple jellycan for a very happy Ulaire after taking the glass. While the little shinki had a generally reserved and proper military bearing, even she couldn't resist her favourite jellycan. "Thank you."

She'd rather not be intoxicated today, there was too much to learn to not be able to remember it.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr nods at Black's suggestion. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. There's no way we'll be able to cover everything, but maybe we can come somewhat close."

    He watches Corona's strange contraption curiously. It really did look pretty archaic. "Guess you weren't yanking a crankcase about that." he remarks. "As for where we came from, no one actually knows for -sure-. Though there are some who believe we came from a being called Primus, who populated Cybertron with people like himself, and gave us the ability to change shape."

    As Corona gets out the soda keg, Tiny seems interested in it, sidling up and sniffing at it curiously. Perhaps they -aren't- the only ones who drink things like that.

    "What about you guys?" Blurr continues after a pause.

Corona Arclite has posed:
It's only soda but that doesn't stop Corona from chugging it down like it was an actual brew. "Easy answer would be just hirin' a caterer or somethin', it's kinda their job to know those sort of things." She leans on the soda keg, adjusting her hat. "Guess what they say 'bout gods creatin' in their own image applies to robots from space, too."

Revan (414) has posed:
     "No one really knows our very beginnings, either," Lowri admits. "And humans like myself are only one of many different species throughout the galaxy. We each evolved in different ways, but most agree that each evolution was guided by what we call the Force. I suppose you could say It's the soul of our galaxy, binding it together. It clearly has some kind of will, or It wouldn't guide us in the directions we need to go."

     That's right, the Insecticons could eat anything, couldn't they? She'd been hunting for scraps or whatever else might appeal to him, but he hadn't been terribly picky. Still, she did want to find an energon source, since Tiny seemed to like that especially. As it was, she let him get a better sniff at the glass...and if he took that as an offering, that was fine. She didn't have anything else to give him, unfortunately.

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
"My version of Cybertronian history has the story with Primus and Unicron too," Black Arachnia admits after a few seconds of uncertain silence on her part. "With the added 'benefit' of knowing that the part about Unicron is pretty solidly true."

She attempts to suppress a shudder, because even robots can get a chill down what passes for their spine.

Blurr has posed:
    "Unicron?" Blurr hasn't heard that name before. "Never heard of -that- part before, actually." He stands up. "Well, I'd best get back to work. You'll have to tell me more another time. Maybe while we're showing you all around the ship. And thanks for your input on the party planning. Hopefully it'll be an enjoyable time."

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
"How can you have Primus in your mythology and not have Unicron ... ?"

That seems to stump Black Arachnia rather thoroughly, but she's not about to engage in comparative religion and mythological debate with Blurr except for that one question. She has projects to get back to as well, after all.