Skywarp's Punishment

Sunday, August 07, 2011, 5:53 PM
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Skywarp Megatron
Skywarp enters the throne room reasonably quickly after the summons. "Lord Megatron." He bows as he comes to the front of the room, a few mechanometers from the throne itself, looking at the ground.
Megatron frowns at Skywarp as he enters the throne room, his cannon crackling with energy. He notices the Seeker's guilty look as Skywarp stares at the ground. "Skywarp. It has come to my attention lately that some of your pranks have gone from merely irritating -- which by itself is bad enough -- to actively disruptive and disrespectful. I am told that not only did you attempt to paint the barracks with paint stolen from Iacon until another Seeker misbehaved herself in an effort to stop you, but that prior to that you went so far as to order someone else to attack another Decepticon for you." His lip plates shift into a grim line. "What have you to say for yourself?"
Skywarp weighs his options. On the one hand, he's caught, fair and square, but on the other, he's not quite sure how much someone's just accused him of and how much Megatron actually KNOWS. On the third hand- wait, only two hands. After that, well, it's a toss up. Megatron doesn't like cowards- but he doesn't like liars, either. "Uh.... it was a prank?" Slag, that's weak. "And, uh, I didn't damage anyone so they couldn't fight. Or anything that needed much time to repair."
Megatron frowns. If there's one thing he cannot stand, it's stupidity, especially from his elite. Not for the first time, he finds himself wishing some more intelligent Decepticon had the teleportation abilities. "I'm fully aware that the paint was a prank, you fool. But that hardly excuses it." He stands up and walks toward the Seeker, looming over him. "Besides, the paint is only one issue. What is this I hear about you enlisting another Decepticon to do your fighting for you? You know very well that any duels must either take place in the grease pits or the sparring ring." His frown deepens, his faceplates twisting in disgusted disdain. "And even then, any dispute between you and another Decepticon is *yours* to handle. Not something you should be passing on to someone you outrank."
Skywarp scowls. "Slippy owed me a favor. I just wanted to get a slagging drink without dealing with Rogue's attitude adjustment." Skywarp's wings arch nervously. "And Rogue would have ignored any request for a duel, just like she ignored Scream when he ordered her out on that flight that day."
Megatron rumbles in irritation. "Yes, Rogue's attitude *was* an issue. But that does not mean it was *your* issue to handle, crudely, with a bar brawl. Rogue's issue was a failure of discipline." He raises his arm. "As is yours." It's a much more minor one, of course, and even someone like Skywarp should recognize it. Still, Skywarp needs to understand that the matter is serious.
Skywarp hangs his head and mutters. "She still slagging deserved it. And I don't like holding debts. People forget they owe you, you don't use 'em fast enough."
Megatron rumbles again. "But her punishment was not your business. And whatever debt Slipstream owed to you, ordering her to attack another Decepticon was *not* acceptable. We battle the enemy, not one another -- *unless* it be in sparring, or *unless* there is a breach of honor so deep it warrants a duel in the grease pits." He reaches for Skywarp and puts his fingers under the Seeker's chin, not gently, forcing him to look Megatron in the optics. "And if you had grounds for that, Skywarp, it was your own issue to settle. Not Slipstream's." He growls in disgust, heat pouring in waves from his weapon, though he makes no further threatening move. "Or are you such a coward that you hide from your own fights?"
"No!" Skywarp responds vehemently. "I'm not a slagging coward. You know that, my lord! Haven't I proven that in battle over and over again?!" Skywarp is mad, and his optics glow bright with it. "But slaggit, sometimes you just wanna watch someone get slagged!"
Megatron's lip plates twitch as he fights to repress a grin. This is exactly what he wanted -- to jar Skywarp out of his self-pitying and pointless justifications for underhanded behavior. Forcing his faceplates back into a stern and impassive scowl, he stares directly into the Seeker's optics. "You have proven yourself in battle, yes. But all too often when you are not on the battlefield, it seems you forget what courage you possess in your endless and pointless pursuit of entertainment -- at the expense of those you serve beside." He barks once with laughter. "I have nothing against amusement, Skywarp. But I *will not* tolerate your desire for it leading you to delegate your fights to others, *or* leading you to distract or provoke other Decepticons into disregarding their own duties."
Skywarp's faceplates are set in a scowl. "Yes sir, Lord Megatron."
"That's better." He looks the pouting Seeker over. "But your transgressions must be punished. And that unsightly orange mess in the barracks must be repainted. And therefore, *you* must be the one to repaint it. Alone, without any aid from any other Decepticon." His cannon glows again. "Which means there will be *no* calling in others for 'favors' and passing your duty on to them. And there will be no dawdling or laziness, either, as I am told has happened during your punishment details in the past."
Skywarp 's wings droop. "Yes, Lord Megatron. Paint the barracks. All by myself. Is that all?" He crosses his arms across his cockpet defensively.
Megatron frowns at Skywarp's petulance. Still, as long as he *obeys*... "It is, unless you insist on worsening your own situation with more insolent behavior," he says pointedly.
Skywarp straightens up with an obvious effort. "No sir," A hiss of air from his vents and a grumbling whine from his turbines. "Can I go, then?"
Megatron nods. "You are dismissed, Skywarp. See that you don't disappoint me again."
Skywarp turns to go, then stops, and turns back around. "My lord? Have you talked to Starscream this cycle? Cuz he thought he figured out the acid rain thing."
Megatron's optics widen. "Has he, now?"
"Yeah, he hasn't told you yet? Or, I guess not, since we'd be up in it. It was something to do with en and current and mass." Skywarp says. "Said we could break it up if we took up enough trines in it all at once and flew in patterns or something."
Megatron strokes his chin with a dark hand. "Interesting." He has been concerned for some time about matters among the Seekers, and if Skywarp is reporting accurately, this might just afford an opportunity to do something about it.
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