Adventures in Kaon, Part 2

++ Kaon ++
One of the largest energon mining centers on Cybertron, Kaon is part of a stretch of rough, difficult terrain known collectively as the Badlands. Bordered by the seemingly endless orange desert of the Sea of Rust to the east and south, this large, flat plain is almost sealed in by the rising red-purple peaks of the Manganese Mountains to the north and west. Kaon provides the central hub of activity and civilization in this area, while smaller polities such as Blaster City and Tesarus have arisen at its edges. 
Dark gray and black metal, tough and resillient against wear, form the main colors of the city, its buildings in the shapes of domes, pyramids and jagged peaks. All of them are aerodynamically shaped so that their edges face the Sea of Rust, allowing the buildings to withstand the edges of any storms that blow in from the oxidized desert beyond. The area is noisy and dirty from the constant drumming of machinery: mining equipment, enormous energon transport haulers and low-flying ore shuttles fill the air with noise and lightly shake the ground as they pass. Heavy laborers, almost always low-caste, toil away here either at the surface, or below the ground, enjoying few comforts and fewer respites from their work. The slums of Wreckage Row are home to Kaon's work force, while the edge of the massive highway leading to nearby Kalis is guarded by the looming mushroom-shaped fortress of Kolkular. Somewhere near the edges of the ruins of Blaster City, an underground arena known as the 'Pits of Kaon' hosts illegal gladiator combat.                                                   
                                                                                                    
Rung walks briskly down the street, arms folded, leaving behind them the leader of the Decepticons and a rather grieving conversation with the miner. He expects Quickswitch to follow, but he doesn't look at the sixchanger just yet. He seems a little bit upset and doesn't appear quite ready to discuss the recent events.                                                   
The sixchanger, too, is stunned and upset. He doesn't understand the meeting that just occurred or why they left the leader of the Decepticons alive. He could have scattered the terrorism right there by defeating its nucleus, Megatron, but they just walked away? It's a little while before Quickswitch speaks, and when he does, it is with bitter resentment, "Would you mind telling me what that was all about?" Still, something inside him would rather remain silent and allow Rung the time to compose himself.
After a moment, the psychiatrist sighs, and turns around to face Quickswitch. "I... I'm sorry about all of that. Megatron was an old acquaintance. You may think I've lived on the better side of Cybertron all my life, but actually, I haven't. I..." He sighs, a places a hand on Quickswitch's arm. "I don't mean to confuse you. But I am a lot older than you may think."
The sixchanger pauses in his stride. Sets fingers to his chin and rubs it, "Guess you've seen a lot?" he asks, less severe than before, but this, just fleeting emotion, which annoys the six-changer, who struggles to push it from his voice, his mind, "You gonna be okay Rung..?" Damnable psychiatrist, whatever ruse this is, aquaintance?! His mouth becomes a thin line.
"Thank you for your concern," Rung says quietly, nodding at the six changer. "I.. have. And I know this is hard for all of you to take in. But I assure you, that I am always, and forever will be on your side. I am your unfaltering friend. I promise," he says, patting Quickswitch's hand. "Now.. come. There is something else here I must show you.."
Quickswitch murmurs, "All of.. us?" he looks baffled, face knitting together and mouth parting, but he doesn't linger on it for long as Rung leads him onward somewhere else. This whole excursion has been overall unpleasant, but Rung is his... his friend, "Of course, Rung," he hears himself saying, "I'm your friend. If you lead me somewhere, there's gotta be a reason for it, huh?" he smiles downward at the little Cybertronian, trusting him completely.
"Yes. I know this hasn't exactly been a vacation for you, but I didn't bring you to Kaon for nothing," he says compassionately. "There is indeed a reason for all of this. Quickswitch, I wanted you to see Cybertron for what it is, not just the parts the Senate wants you to see. And, to make a choice about how you feel about everything individually. Obedience is good, but freedom is even better." Rung keeps walking, his expression pensive. "... have you heard of the term, relinquishment clinic?"
Quickswitch responds, deeply in thought, "Relinquishment clinic? Can't say I have," he nods to Rung. The sights of Kaon have been an eye-opener for the sixchanger, the horrors he's seen are not so easily shrugged off and not soon forgotten, "What's a relinquishment clinic. And...And isn't the Senate right in what they've shown me? To keep it in line with my future function," he sounds a little frightened.
Rung sighs deeply, slowing his pace again. "Relinquishment clinics are..." he sighs. "I had better just show you and explain it once we get there," the psychiatrist says sadly. "They weren't wrong in showing you what they did, but personally, I believe they were wrong for /not/ showing you certain things. Which is why we are here," Rung states. "But these things you decide for yourself Quickswitch. You can't just keep letting people tell you what to think. You /must/ choose for yourself.”
Choose. The word carries with it so much weight and the implication confounds the sixchanger further. He looks uncomfortable. It has always been the way to simply follow instructions, follow orders. Less for his broken mind to deal with that way. Quickswitch nods again to Rung, content to listen to the smaller Autobot.
Rung senses Quickswitch's unease and takes his hand gently, smiling softly. "Eventually, my friend. Eventually. I just want you to think about these things," he says gently. 
They continue walking for some time, and eventually, they arrive in front of a humble looking structure with tinted windows. Rung appears very solemn. He pauses, his expression grim. He glances over at Quickswitch, brows furrowed before pushing through doors of the small building.
Quickswitch continues on in silence. The psychiatrist is wise, he muses to himself, knows so much more about everything than I do. When they reach the relinquishment clinic, Quickswitch studies the outside of the innocuous looking building and then follows Rung inside. What is this place, he wonders.
Rung leads Quickswitch inside the building, and Quickswitch will find himself in a dim lobby filled with rather destitute looking people. No one is talking, or even looking at each other. 
There's a secretary sitting quietly at a desk a few feet in front of them. She looks drained and her helm is on the desk when they walk in. As soon as they approach, she looks up at them and sighs. "Take a number and have a seat," she says, "I'll call you over when it's time..."
Quickswitch takes a seat next to a destitute-looking mech. He glances over at Rung, watching what the psychiatrist will do next. "What now?" the words are spoken softly, swallowed up by the moroseness in the room. Now? Now we wait.
Rung opens his mouth to say something, but closes because the secretary is calling out someone's number. One of the mechs sitting in the lobby stands up slowly and helm hanging, starts heading towards a small hallway behind the secretary's desk. All of a sudden, one of the fems sitting in the lobby starts sobbing uncontrollably, just as the secretary calls out another number, which, presumably, is hers, since she stands, and follows the other mech into the aforementioned hallway, still crying. 
The sound of her crying fades as she heads down the hallway, until eventually, it stops abruptly and the silence once again resumes.
The Autobot cocks his head curiously at this. He cannot do anything about the femme's crying, but he watches and listens as she gets up and goes down the hallway. He cocks his head further as the crying stops abruptly. The sixchanger wants to say something, but in this strange place it hardly seems appropriate.
The psychiatrist heaves another sigh, and looks over at the six changer. "This is relinquishment clinic. It is where.. destitute mechs and females go when they want to... well, relinquish their bodies. And sparks. And as you may know, this is all instituted by the government." Rung looks around the full room, noticing more people have wandered in to take the two recently vacated seats. "And as you can tell from the number of people in here, destitution and depression is very, very common in this day in age." His shoulders sag a little.
Quickswitch reaches out to put a hand on Rung's sagging shoulders, almost enveloping the tiny Autobot within. Quickswitch is quite large. "..What happens..to their sparks and bodies..?" the sixchanger asks hesitantly. Isn't it obvious to him, however, that they go in and don't come out? He feels a stab of dry pity for the mechs, as well as general confusion and also sadness and a little fear walls up inside him.
Rung smiles weakly and gently touches the hand on his shoulder. "They are extinguished. These people just don't want to live anymore," he says mournfully. "All of the people in this lobby--they're letting themselves down easy, giving up on life. The government has made it easy for them to do so, so they do." He sighs, placing a hand on his helm. 
It has been a while, and still the secretary hasn't called out their number, but if Quickswitch looks over at the desk, he'll notice that the secretary isn't sitting there anymore. And not only that, but he'll hear more soft sobbing coming from behind it...
Quickswitch frowns mournfully as his gaze scans the lobby. As an Elite, he has had a comparatively easy life. It has never occured to him to extinguish himself or relinquish his wonderful six-changing form. He had always felt a smug satisfaction at having so many more modes than the common Cybertronian, but this... /These/ are the common Cybertronians. Poor bastards. Quickswitch is speechless that the government would first deny people their Primus-given jobs, then take their bodies and sparks from them like an assembly line. Primus, this isn't right. But the Senate--
Rung hears the soft sobbing and frowns, so he stands, and walks over to the desk. He glances briefly over at Quickswitch, to see if the six changer will follow him, but doesn't comment. 
It would appear that the secretary who had been working the desk earlier had finished her shift and in her place is another smaller fem who has just started her shift, but instead of sitting at the desk like she's supposed to, she's hiding under it, sobbing quietly. 
"...." Rung reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder.
Quickswitch gets up and follows Rung over to the desk. His mouth is still in a deep set frown. ...What is she doing?... the assault mech wonders, curious and baffled and not the least understanding. The other emotions it feels crowd its mind and spark. It says nothing as Rung stands before the cowering secretary. ...This is madness... Why are we here?!
The assault mech continues studying this place. There are no enemies here, but it does not relax its guard.
The secretary looks up when Rung places a hand on her shoulder. However, when Quickswitch approaches, his shadow falls on her, and she trembles in fear before burying her face into her knees, sobbing once more. Her tiny frame shakes as the sobs wrack her tiny body. 
The secretary looks up when Rung places a hand on her shoulder. However, when Quickswitch approaches, his shadow falls on her, and she trembles in fear before burying her face into her knees, sobbing once more. Her tiny frame shakes as the sobs wrack her tiny body. 
"<I do not know if you have ever seen anyone cry before but it is a deep expression of immense sadness. She is very grieved>" Rung radios Quickswitch privately.
The sixchanger sees this fear in the smaller femme and does the only thing he can think of doing. He reaches into subspace and pulls out a small object, turns the crank on it, and a lonely, lovely little tune plays softly throughout the office, <<No, this is all new to me,>> Quickswitch radios back <<Will she be all right?>>
"<Come, help me see what is the matter with her>" Rung says. He beams when Quickswitch takes out the music box he gave him. He leans towards the tiny female. "I'm sorry," he says simply, a hand still on her shoulder. 
The tiny female hears the music and looks up, staring at the large six changer. "I... th-that's my favorite s-song.." she sniffs.
Quickswitch kneels down, still huge next to the desk. He holds the music box closer to the femme and radios Rung, <What do we do, just ask her?> And so, he does so. "Excuse me, miss, um... are you okay..?" he asks gently and friendly as possible in this position.
The tiny female looks up at Quickswitch, intimidated. "I....No. I'm not!" And she suddenly starts sobbing again. "I hate helping people end their own lives. I've been doing this for far too long. I...I should just do what that other secretary did. She made herself into one of the clients. Ended her own misery..." 
Rung looks grieved, but actually, this time, he wants Quickswitch to do the comforting. He looks over at the six changer...
The large sixchanger looks back at Rung, completely nonplussed. He looks at the secretary sadly and closes his hand around the music box, muffling the music. He draws his hand back, "Um, c-can't you do something else..?" icy fear. The Autobot knows the truth, and Quickswitch must bear it, "I--I--" he looks back at Rung, mouth open and optics grieved.
"I do," the secretary says softly, "I ... I over see maintenance drones elsewhere, as a night shift, and can still barely pay the bills--this job pays most of them and that's why I keep it, but I'm starting to think it'd be better to just.. be an Empty.." she says, her voice breaking again. 
But then she notices Quickswitch's expression and watches him muffle the music box. She shakes her helm. "Are you alright yourself?" she suddenly asks. "Don't stop playing the music, it's nice..." She places a hand on his arm.
Quickswitch's mournful expression deepens. The assault unit is unsure how to handle the sadness that threatens to overtake it like a tide, "...I am fine," the assault unit utters. Quickswitch opens his hand and lets the music play, looking at the music box, then at Rung, then at the femme, "I've seen Empties..they're in worse shape than--" Quickswitch doesn't continue. Worse shape than this sorry lot, simply for being alive, "No.. you don't want to be an Empty. I would suggest taking on a different job than this if you can, to--to 'pay the bills.'" The sixchanger is unfamiliar with bills, or paying them.
The tiny female stands on the desk so that she can stand at similar height to Quickswitch, and she places a hand on his chest. Perhaps if the six changer studies her carefully, he might notice she's actually very pretty, despite her petiteness. "You're not alright," she says softly, "what's wrong?" 
Rung gives the six changer an encouraging smile, nodding for him to answer her question honestly.
Quickswitch heaves a sigh, "I don't know.." he gently responds, "I've never seen anything like this clinic before.. or Empties til recently," The sixchanger. There's a sudden flux of irritation, "Rung, I'm through with this. I'm going back to the Decagon," the confounded and uncomfortable sixchanger responds.
Rung grabs Quickswitch's arm gently but firmly shaking his helm. "Eventually, eventually, we will," he says, "but it can't hurt to stay a little longer," the psychiatrist says. 
The tiny female suddenly looks disappointed, and hangs her helm. "Please don't go," she says softly, "this job is really lonely. And you two are the only Autobots who have ever been kind to me." She looks back up at the six changer pleadingly.
There's a moment of indecision, then the sixchanger responds, giving in, "Oh, all right." Quickswitch scans the lobby foe these destitute and then looks at the femme standing on the desk, "I'm not certain what we can do here." He regards the music box as it slows and then sends its final mournful notes before stopping completely. Quickswitch turns the crank again and it comes alive, "I'm fine.. really..”
The little female looks up at Quickswitch, her optics wide, inquisitive, yet pleased. "Oh, you will? Oh, th-thank you..." and her faceplates turn amber in bashfulness. "You really are the nicest Autobot I've ever met," she says softly. Glancing around the clinic, she notices the lobby is emptier than before. "I could use a break, just a short one. Would you like a drink? There's a little cafe just catty corner to here." 
Rung looks at Quickswitch, nodding hopefully at the sixchanger, letting him be the one to decide if they should go or not.
"Um, I don't know what a 'cafe' is," Quickswitch admits, "I'm out touring Cybertron for the first time. It's a long story." Quickswitch stands to his full height. Why not? Anything is better than this place, huh? "Sure. Let's go to it, whatever it is."
Rung smiles and follows the two of them, as the tiny secretary leads them out, towards the cafe outside of the relinquishment clinic. "Oh really?" she says, looking fascinated, "why did you come to Kaon, though? It's hardly a place to tour." She then gives him a small smile. "I don't mean to embarrass you, but I've never seen anyone quite like you before--you're.. so large," she says, peering at him.
"Nor will you again...I am Autobot recruit-in-training Quickswitch..." he says proudly, "...A sixchanger!" The Elite is proud of his position in society, even after seeing those Empties and the effect it's had on him, "There needs to be a lot of room for all those modes."
"We came to Kaon to view Cybertron at its reality. That, too, is a long story I frankly don't feel like sharing right now," Quickswitch adds a touch bitterly.
"S-six?" The female stares at Quickswitch. "W-wow..and you're so handsome too," she blurts. Then she covers her mouth in embarrassment, her faceplates turning even more amber. "Ohh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring anything up you didn't want to discuss," she says politely, touching his arm softly. 
They've arrived inside the cafe now, and the tiny female is sitting down at a booth near a window.
Quickswitch blushes too, too stammered to say anything. When they reach the cafe and the femme sits down, Quickswitch examines the booth, "I don't know if I'll fit in there. Perfectly happy to just stand," Quickswitch gives a small smile.
"Oh noooo," The tiny female says, "that won't do!" And she hurries over to the bar, where there are some chairs that are large enough to accommodate Quickswitch. Except she's far too tiny to even move it an inch. The poor fem pulls uselessly on the leg of the chair, looking terribly embarrassed. "I-I'll get you a chair, in .. a klik or... two.. or four..." 
Rung laughs. "<I think she likes you..>" he radios the six changer.
<'Likes me'?> And Quickswitch blushes further. /Completely/ unacceptable. I, Quickswitch, am an assault mech in training to guard the Prime himself. I can't be bothered with pithy things like this! Quickswitch looks disconcerted, but in any case, heads over to the bar to lift up a chair and return it to the booth, where he happily sits, "Thank you," he tells the femme.
"<Yes, as in she's very fond of you. What do you think of her?>" Rung radios Quickswitch. The femme turns bright amber and hangs her helm, as he moves the chair himself, but she ensures she's the one with the edge seat in the booth sitting next to Quickswitch. "I'm sorry I couldn't move it for you," she says feebly, burying her face in her hands in embarrassment.
"Oh it's all right," Quickswitch puts a hand hesitantly on her shoulder, <I don't know. I don't even know what caste she is. I've never been very fond of anyone before.> The sixchanger looks around the table at various things sitting there. he's nevre seen these before either. I really /must/ be going, before this situation implodes into something I even /less/ understand. But he does not voice this aloud, not yet.
The female looks up at Quickswitch, starry opticked and rather enamored for a moment. "R-really?" she says, reaching out to touch his chest. Then she realizes that he might mind and jerks her hand away bashfully, averting her optics as her cheeks turn amber. 
"<Well we will all have firsts! Oh, you mean to say you aren't fond of me? I am fond of you! Not in the same fashion, needless to say.. eh-heh..>" Rung radios back. 
"Have you ever had a dream?" the female suddenly asks Quickswitch.
<Oh I guess I'm fond of you, but not in—Oh, I don't know.> Quickswitch nods. He says nothing as the femme touches his chest, "..."
Rung laughs, looking amused by Quickswitch. "<It's alright, I understand>" He pats the six changer on the arm. 
The female giggles a little when Quickswitch doesn't resist her touching him, so she reaches forward and strokes his chassis softly. "Well, do you?" she asks, staring up at him, optics dimmed a little.
Quickswitch moves a little away from the femme now as she reaches out to touch him further. He squirms, "I--um--Do you have to do that?" Quickswitch asks abruptness in his tone.
The female looks embarrassed and withdraws, looking embarrassed. "O-oh," she says, her faceplates turning amber again. "I'm sorry..I should go." She gets up, giving Quickswitch a sad look, and touches his hand softly before turning to leave. "You really are an amazing and kind Autobot," she says, "I hope that there will be more Autobots like you. Unswayed by the Senate and compassionate, caring for others including the Empties," she says. "I don't think I'll ever see you again so..." She leans forwards and gives him a little kiss on the cheek before quickly exiting the cafe and returning to the clinic. 
 Rung stands up, giving Quickswitch a small smile. "Well, shall we? I think it's time we headed back to the Decagon."