So You Want To Be an Autobot

++ Iacon ++
Gleaming gold, silver and blue as far as the eye can see: the capital of   
Cybertron itself can be breathtaking to behold. Architecture both old and  
modern reflect a sense of stately order as well as artistic beauty, with   
gentle arches, gilded domes and spiraling towers that rise into the        
skyline. Even the walkpaths and roads are copper and bronze, the           
maintenance workers here diligently tending to them to prevent any kind of 
rust and corrosion. The city itself almost seems alive, with glowing power 
conduits in circuit pathways running along the streets and buildings,      
powering external lights and glowing holomatter signs. Cyan-colored crystal
and glass windows reflect the hue of the sky in day, or glow from internal 
lighting at night.                                                         
                                                                             
Populated mostly by high caste and above, Iacon is the seat of Cybertron's 
government, military and intellectual class. At the end of the main road   
into Iacon is Trion Square, which features an enormous video screen, every 
bit as big as a combiner, constantly flickering with news feeds,            
state-sponsored messages and advertisements. Translucentia Heights, the    
most elite residential area on Cybertron, is nestled into a corner of      
Iacon's living quarters. Energon refineries, technoversites, merchant      
plazas, a nurturing creche and even a nature preserve fall within the      
massive polity's boundaries, making Iacon one of the few completely        
self-sufficient cities on the planet.                                      
Whirl has started making steps towards becoming an Autobot, slowly but surely. First he sought advice from Hot Rod about the matter, then he broke the bad news to Blast Off and explained why he was making the choice he is, all that's left is to actually, you know, BECOME an Autobot. But how does one actually do that? Whirl honestly has no idea. For the past few cycles he's been wandering around Iacon asking random people about Autobots and where to find them. Most of these people were extremely unhelpful, giving him weird looks and questioning his intentions but there were a few who were generous enough to point him in the right direction; towards the Decagon.
Whirl currently makes his way towards the building in question and hopes Autobots don't just open fire and blow him to bits as soon as they see him because that's the sort of thing they'd do, right?
It's not, actually. Who ever told Whirl that's the sort of thing they do?! Crazy conspiracy theorists.
Anyway, the Decagon's main doors are for the most part open to the public for tours and visitation; now of course most of it is off-limits to general populace, but the most obvious entry appears to welcome Whirl inside the nice, clean and friendly-looking atrium. Visitors and staff alike mill about the large room, at far end of which is long desk where a line of receptionists sit. There's a somewhat long line of people waiting to be serviced. As Whirl walks in, a tour group files past, the guide walking backward in front of them while he tells them about the various parts of the facility as well as some of its history.
Whirl had no idea what to expect when he walked through those doors but this certainly wasn't it. There's actually people here on their own volition, not brainwashed into it or anything! And what was that that just passed by him? Was that a tour group? What the hell? This is all too weird to him. Where are all the evil Autobots reprogramming people's brains? Why isn't anyone actively trying to ruin each other’s lives?
Whirl has a very poor impression of Autobots, you see.
The cyclops huffs and turns his attention to the reception desk and the long line in front of it. He doesn't have all day to stand around in a line so he pushes his way through it, rudely shoving and elbowing the suckers who have been patiently waiting for who knows how long.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" a brave mech calls out, stepping in front of Whirl to block his path.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm cuttin' the line. Now get the hell out of my way!" Whirl gives the mech a hard shove in the chest, knocking him right onto the ground before casually stepping over him and sauntering up to the desk.
"Hey, how's it going? So.. I want to be an Autobot, I guess. How do I do that?"
There's a general sound of shock and horror when he shoves the other mech over rather roughly. The receptionist stares at Whirl. He's never seen anyone behave quite like that before. "I...uh...er..." He stammers awkwardly. "You should...u-uh...wait your turn..." He's really something else, that Whirl.
Well it's a good thing Prowl happened to be making his way down here at the moment, likely for an inspection or something. The commotion draws his attention. He sighs and approaches the scene. "What seems to be the problem, here?" The officer inquires, watching Whirl expectantly.
Whirl slams his claws down on the desk with a loud CLANG and leans in reeeaaalll close, eyeing the receptionist with that unblinking, unwavering stare of his. "I'm at the front of the line, aren't I? That means it's MY turn. You going to help me or not!?" His claws impact the desk again, now just making a big scene and causing a lot of trouble for the poor guy behind the desk.
Thankfully Prowl appears and takes the heat off of the receptionist by drawing Whirl's attention. "The problem is that I'm trying to get some information and this receptionist of yours is being EXTREMELY unhelpful."
Prowl sighs again, giving the receptionist an apologetic glance. Clearly this guy doesn't know what the word 'manners' means. "Look, why don't you leave these people alone, and I'll see what I can do about whatever it is you need." He motions for Whirl to step away from the desk.
Whirl looks back at the receptionist and looks him right in the optics as he slams his claws down onto the desk one last time before turning his back and stepping away. "You look like you got some authority around here," the cyclops says, now leveling his intense stare at Prowl. "Think you can help me out? I'm interested in joining the Autobots. I'm totally symapthetic to your cause or whatever." Yeah, he sounds really sincere.
The receptionist looks relieved when Prowl takes care of the problem for him. The security chief arches an optic ridge at Whirl. He definitely doesn't sound sincere. Not that that actually concerns Prowl all that much right now, with the situation in Kaon becoming more and more tense by the cycle. In fact, he's already got an idea of the sort of person Whirl is, and quite frankly...they need people like him. "Oh?" He turns and starts toward the gravlift, motion for Whirl to follow. "I certainly can. I'll have you fill out the appropriate documentation."
"Wait, really?" Whirl is shocked, SHOCKED, that even after that big scene he caused and all the people he shoved in the gut and all the desk-slapping he did, he is still considered 'Autobot material.' It would seem the Autobots are far more desperate for numbers than he originally thought. And to think he was worried they would reject him on appearances alone!
He follows Prowl to the gravlift. "Uhh, so.. is there going to be a lot of paperwork involved? Because I'm not so good at paperwork." Whirl snaps his claws at the officer to illustrate his point. "Hard to hold things sometimes, you know?"
Prowl shrugs as he enters the elevator and signals it to take them to the office floor. "'A lot' is subjective." He states. There's a soft *ding* as they arrive on the appropriate floor and the doors slide open again to reveal the office sector of the Decagon. "But if you have much difficulty, then I suppose I can fill it out for you."
He makes his way down the hallway and stops in front of one of the doors, entering an access code to open it. "What's your name?"
Acuity comes out of one of the offices, probably on her hunt to track down all the forms she's been needing to fill out. Nodding politely to Prowl, she almost walks past him. Then she sees who is with him. Coming to an abrupt stop, she blinks her optic several times. He's so very familiar, yet she's pretty sure she's never seen this particular individual before. Inclining her head in a greeting, she tucks her claws behind her back; she doesn't want to interrupt them...but she doesn't seem to be in a hurry to leave either.
"What kind of paperwork are we talking here? Am I going to have to divulge all of my medical history? What about background checks, do you guys do background checks?" If that's the case, Whirl might not have as easy a time enlisting as he was starting to think. He follows Prowl down the hallway, the office environment making him feel uncomfortable and out of place. Definitely not his sort of scene. "I am Whirl."
And then something catches his optic, or someONE rather. That femme, that femme with the same featureless face that he has been burdened with. Could it be? Another Empurata? Whirl immediately gravitates towards her, Prowl and his paperwork put on the backburner for now. "Hellllloooooo. Who are you?"
"Medical history, no. Background checks, yes." Prowl answers, moving into the office and sitting down. He opens a drawer and pulls out a datapad with a series of documents on it, sliding it across the desk toward Whirl. It's not a massive number, though it'll take some time. He then proceeds to pull up Whirl's file on the database. Hm. "So what made you want to join Security?" he asks.
Well, maybe not the EXACT same featureless face, but close enough; hers is slightly more triangular in shape, but is dominated by the same, single yellow optic. "My name is Acuity." Pause. Stare. "I heard you say your name is Whirl?" Pause. Stare. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything; if I am, I can be on my way." How polite. Very different from Whirl.
And then he goes into the room with Prowl; that answers that question.
Whirl returns Acuity's staring with some staring of his own. "No, no.. you're fine." More staring. "Acuity, eh?" Staring intensifies. He hasn't met someone afflicted with the same mutilation he has since.. well, ever, really; it's both bizarre and comforting, a reminder that he's not the only one suffering this injustice.
Unfortunately that's the end of their conversation (for now) as Whirl follows Prowl into his office. He plops down on a chair and puts his feet up on Prowl's desk in a blatant disregard for other people's belongings. "Uh.. job security, I guess? I have police experience that I'm not really doing anything with, so why not use it for the greater good or something, right?"
Prowl nods. He figures there are other reasons that Whirl hasn't cared to divulge, but he isn't all that concerned with it. Looking over his record, it would appear that Whirl does have some police experience. "A reasonable source of motivation." The officer looks slightly annoyed at the peds on his desk, but tolerates it for now. It's a good thing he isn't Ultra Magnus.
Speaking of Ultra Magnus. "Well, as soon as you finish filling out the documentation, you may report to Ultra Magnus to begin your training." Yes, Whirl will have to learn protocol from Magnus. What horrors.
Acuity decides to wait for a little while outside the room. No, she's not eavesdropping.
Whirl wonders if his file includes his being kicked off the Rodion police force for trying to murder a prisoner under his care, or if it mentions anything about his stay in Garrus-1. If it doesn't, then great because Whirl has no desire to ever bring it up in Prowl's company. He cocks his head to the side at the menton of Ultra Magnus. Whirl has no idea who that is nor does he knows anything about the guy's infamous seriousness and lack of humor. "Yeah, sure, sounds great. How long does this process take from start to finish? I don't really have anywhere else to go so time is of the essence."
"Which process, the training? That depends on how cooperative you are and how quickly you learn." Prowl inquires. "The documentation shouldn't take long. But as soon as you begin your training, you will be allowed to choose an unoccupied hab suite in the troop quarters here." The file probably does include him being kicked off of Rodion police force, but Prowl also knows who is in charge of the Rodion units and doesn't exactly see optic-to-optic with him. (He tried to -murder- a prisoner, did Pax himself write this?)
Whirl isn't a huge Orion Pax fan either because of that whole.. thing that happened in Rodion. In fact, one of the reasons he is trying to join the Autobots (other than Starscream offering his hands back if he did so) was so he could get close enough to Mister Super Cop himself so he can give him that stab in the gut he owes him for ruining his life. "Okay cool, I was getting tired of sleeping on the streets. It gets cold sometimes, you know? Plus you're constantly fighting with other homeless guys over territory anf it's just a lot to deal with."
Whirl wiggles a foot at Prowl, his legs still propped up on his desk. "So uh, what's the deal with that femme out there? She an Empurata too or does she just dig the look?"
Prowl nods. "Yes, in fact, I suppose I could get a requisitions officer down here shortly to show you to the barracks." Since he doesn't have a place to call his own save for here.
"Hm?" He shrugs when Whirl asks about the fembot who had been in the hallway earlier. "That would be Acuity." Yes, he did notice. And yes, he does pay attention to rosters. "As for being an empurata; why don't you ask her yourself?"
Just then, another mech arrives at the door and pokes his head in. "Whirl?" he asks. "I'm Flare. I'll be showing you to the troop quarters."
Prowl nods, signifying that he is free to go. "Welcome aboard, Whirl."
This went a lot better than the last time Whirl encountered an officer of the law. You know, when he had his guts ripped out and was left for dead? Yeah, that was pretty bad. Whirl waves a claw at Prowl. "Ask her? Come on! That's a little forward, isn't it? I mean, I get pretty pissed off when people stare at ME and ask ME what happened." He imagines it's the same sort of thing with her too.
Flare's sudden arrival startles Whirl and the mech practically falls out of his seat as a result. Damn! That was fast as hell. Whirl rises to his feet to follow the mech to the barracks and hopefully to a berth he can rest his head on for the night. Before he leaves, he casts a glance at Prowl over his shoulder. "Yeah.. thanks." He still feels bad about this, joining the Autobots and all, but maybe it wont be as terrible as he thought.