Impromptu Meeting

Arcee arrives at Pax's office door, politely ringing the anunciator instead of just waltzing into the office (which is what she used to do to Prowl, when she was still over at the Decagon).
With Orion back out and active, he's gotten used to visits now and again. Opening the door to his office, he's showing out one of the courier bots from the Decagon. "Let Zeta know that I will make sure that I have a detail set up. Probably a volunteer detail, but at least something." he comments as he hands back the datapad. "Arcee, I wasn't expecting you." he offers with a faint smile. "If you would like to come in?" he asks, before he notices the company with him and his optic ridge rises in unique surprise. "How much lubricant did it take to get him out of his chair?" he asks the femme with a wry smile.
"I'm sorry Prowl, but I've already gave at the office." he teases the mech moderatedly, "But please, come in. What can I do for the two of you?" he asks curiously as he moves to retake his seat.
"Oh, I wanted to ask you about something, if you had a moment," Arcee tells Pax cheerfully. She glances behind her and notices Prowl -- how long had he been there? "We, um...we didn't come over here together," she notes to Pax, giving him an odd look. Pax has been in an extraordinarily punchy mood lately. She has to wonder if it's something about that new femme on the base she hasn't yet spoken to.
Prowl ignores the jabs instead of acting annoyed. This is probably because he is pleased with the overall outcome of Pax's....situation. Despite the disaster that Kaon had been, there was still an upside to it all. Orion Pax was now back on the -right- side of the conflict, and Zeta Prime seemed to be taking some steps in the right direction. Now, it was just a matter of stopping the rebellion before it could erupt into a full-blown war that would span the entire galaxy and end countless innocent lives on Cybertron and beyond.
Despite all that, Prowl still has that typical scowl on his face. Instead of greeting anyone, he simply plops a couple of datapads down onto Pax's desk. "Need I remind you, or have you been ignoring this on purpose?"
Right, business. Orion moves and returns to his seat behind his desk and before he can respond to Arcee, Prowl presents him with yet more work. The mech lets out an exhaust as he picks up the first of the datapads. To be honest, it's probably six one way and half a'dozen the other. "I'm sorry, Prowl, I've had a lot of things to catch up on and with the other duties that Zeta's decided to pile on, I've not had the chance to catch up on.." well, whatever this is. He really should read it, right?
As he does so, he continues. "Go ahead, Arcee. I can actually multitask." he says with a faint smile as he continues to peruse the files that Prowl decided to bring over.
Arcee knows all about the stress and pressure Prowl is under. She's fairly certain that Zeta is no less demanding of Prowl than Sentinel was. "I just came over to volunteer for that Harmonex show," she says to Pax.
The first file that Pax would lay optics on seems to be a proposal for a plan to force Nyon to cooperate by starting to treat it just like Kaon. Cut off supply routes, crack down on smugglers, barricade the outskirts. No one gets in or out without proper authorization from the Hub. They can only starve for so long until they'll come crawling back, minus the self-righteous arrogance, begging for some oil and energon right?
The officer glances at Arcee's mention of a show. "Harmonex? I thought 'shows' were on some kind of a permanent hiatus?"
"Some group in Harmonex wants to hold a fund raising ball for their opera house. As it's historically significant, Zeta decided to allow it." Orion comments to Prowl. "As he's deciced to allow it, I've decided to make sure it gets proper protection. Though I had assumed you would have been someone's plus one by now, Arcee." the field commander admits. "Are you sure you don't want to give it a few more cycles just to make sure that you don't end up in the latter category or is this a pre-emptive strike to assure that doesn't happen?" he asks. After all, what's a better excuse than 'I have to work that night, sorry~'?
As he reads the request, Orion's optics narrow a little. "I noticed, Prowl," he comments, "That there is nothing on this pad about the amount of supplies and distributions that we are currently providing to Nyon." the mech responds as he looks up to Prowl. "I do not wish to punish a whole population based on the actions of the few. Surely you can understand that. Even if Hot Rod has become something of the designated authority in the area, I want to make sure that there is no supplies cut off that are immediate and neccessary to save lives. Make sure I get that information and I'll review it to get you my response. As it stands, I have already approved Zeta's request for Hot Rod's arrest, I turned that over a few cycles back." In the slowest way possible, of course.
Setting that datapad aside, he starts on the next. "What else do you have for me, Prowl?" he asks, more than willing to stonewall Nyon for now.
"Oh...no, I wasn't expecting to be on anyone's list," Arcee admits, shaking her head. "I just want to make sure that this show, which will probably be the last one for quite a while, doesn't get interrupted by trouble, that's all. Especially when it's for a good cause, and especially when we have no idea if or when there will be another one like it." She glances over at Prowl. "It's kind of surprising they're even going to do it, but I think they obtained a special permit because of their circumstances."
Prowl sighs. "Yes, I know, the current supply lines are in the other folder." He shakes his head. "Look Pax, we can't just keep letting Nyon...behave this way. It gives people ideas, you know? Makes them think they can go around doing whatever the hell it is they want and get -away- with it. While I didn't write this, the Senate is understandably vexed regarding the matter. We can't afford another Kaon."
What else does he have for Orion? Oh, funny he should have mentioned Hot Rod because that was the next thing on the agenda in those files. "I'm glad you brought that up. We need a team. And a plan. Hot Rod has a lot of supporters, so we'll need to corner him when he's alone and off guard. I have my suspicions that he's been hiding out in the ruins of the Acroplex--unfortunately much of it has fallen into disrepair and any blueprints we have of it are outdated."
"If you think I'm letting anything ruin such a rare night of operatic bliss then your circuits are definitely shorting out."
Jazz lets his words enter the room before he does. Maybe he's been lingering for a bit or maybe he's just always a bit ahead of the game when it comes to sliding himself into conversations that don't involve him. Or maybe he's just trying to make an entrance. Either way, Jazz takes up a spot on the wall, leaning back against it and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Don't you worry 'bout a thing, Arcee. We can keep a close optic on everything from the middle of the dance floor." Jazz cracks a sly smile and gives a pleasant nod to everyone else that is gathered.
Quickswitch knows nothing of Opera, nor would he care to know, not in the 20,000 years that have passed. He tromps down the hall, baffled and incensed and sure to let Prowl or whomever know /just/ what's on his mind. Just as he's about to enter the room, he slows abruptly and the giant mech steps unobtrusively inside. With a pained, pinched and frustrated expression, he waits next to the wall by Jazz, whom he regards with a nod and a friendly grin.
"Welcome back from the Mithril Sea, Jazz. Perhaps you would like to tell Prowl what you came across there?" Orion asks the mech. "I would like to think that our missing Dynobots would take a much higher priority than what is going on in some backwash polity." the mech comments as he goes over both sets of files and then holds onto the one with the supplies, setting aside the one with the plans to caputure Hot Rod. "If I'm reading this correctly, Prowl, this is less than we provide for a reserve unit in the field." he says calmly, yet a new firmness finds it's way into his voice.
"I want to provide a seperate plan." the mech comments as he moves to open a drawer on his desk and sets it out for Prowl to review. On the pad? New numbers for the supplies for Nyon. "If they are so desperate that they are already going to the Decepticons for supplies, how do you think it would go if we were to shut it down completely? I perfer the idea that we take away any and all incentive for the Decepticons to be there. Let's make sure that they have more than the supplies and fuel that they need to exist. If they aren't pushed to the brink of starving, then they won't have the need to want to go to the Decepticons. I plan on speaking to Hot Rod on a compromise. An arrest and a reduced sentence for charges of aiding and abetting a known terrorist cell in return for double the supply lines to Nyon. He would be tried, and if sentenced, spend his time here." Not at the Decagon. "There's still hope, Prowl. And we cannot crush it."
As he gives Arcee and Jazz a smile, his expression comes to the six-changer. "Quickswitch, a pleasant surprise. Welcome to the Autobase. Were you here for Prowl, or is there something I can assist you with?" the field commander asks as he considers. "Jazz, are you offering to guard, asking Arcee to accompany you or some weird hybrid of the two?" he thinks to ask in mild amusement.
Arcee grins in surprise as Jazz strolls in. "Well! If it's going to be you and me there, I think we can handle any party-crashers," she says confidently. Jazz has a fond spot in her spark, as he was the one who basically taught her the basics on how to patrol for trouble, as well as Field Research 101. "...And I think Pax is trying to set us up," she asides to him in a much quieter tone, looking playfully suspicious. As Quicksilver makes his way into the office, she looks...surprised. Isn't that Rung's 'friend'? She doubts Rung has any friends left, but maybe this mech knows where the doctor went.
"I'll be there, Papa Pax. Don't even worry 'bout no 'Cons crashin'. I got my sensors to the streets. I'll know they comin' before they even decide to." Jazz seems to be quite confident in his answer that's not really an answer to what he's going to be doing at this Opera Ball of insanity. He's definitely going to be in attendance, though. But he sure as smelt ain't going to be tying himself down to one Femme. There's so many to choose from, don't you know?
Jazz just gives a look in Prowl's direction and offers a shrug of his shoulders. "Mithril Sea's clean. I took care of it. There's some major Dinobot action goin' down 'round those parts but I'm takin' care of that too. No worries." Jazz is all about keeping his missions to himself. He's not really too worried about getting any help. He doesn't need it. Not yet, anyway. He's got things under control.
There's likely little noticing that he's managed to end up closer to Arcee by the end of all these words. Weird.
Quickswitch begins to speak, "I--there is--It's that--I--I mean--" as if six different viewpoints were trying to speak through his mouth at once. He looks on, optics wide, before he can speak again, "That is--I mean to say, I've been transferred from the Autobots...but kept back from the Elite Guard?" his voice is low, stricken. Why?! WHY in the PIT and WHO in the Pit was responsible!! he wants to shout, but protocol prevents it, "...Why?" He glances between Orion Pax and Prowl.
Amusement colors Orion's optics as he watches Jazz edge up closer to Arcee, but as Quickswitch speaks up, the mech glances towards him and appears to be at least empathetic towards the multi-changer. "Unfortunately, I am not the one in charge of the Elite Forces. That would be Ultra Magnus, but as he is away on a mission, I suppose it would default to Zeta Prime. I am sure that there is a reason for your request for transfer being denied, however. I will do what I can to look into it, but seeing as you fall primarily under Prowl's command, it would be better if he were to investigate it for you." Yes, give Prowl yet more work to do, it makes him happy.
"I plan on being in attendance at the ball myself, but in a more unofficial capacity - it seems that the powers that be in Harmonex wanted to have at least one Autobot command team member present to hobnob with and truth be told, I couldn't get Sky Lynx cornered to do it himself since he's still recovering from his latest sojourn to Velocitron with the remainder of Override's refugees. So I suppose that defaulted to me. I am hoping that Ariel will attend with me to provide at least a touch of class to this old cop." he says in mild amusement.
"Oh, that will be nice, I'm sure she'll be delighted," Arcee comments to Pax. Actually, she isn't sure at all, because she's never even met Ariel, but Pax /did/ seem to be much happier since her arrival on the base. "And it's sure to be a success, as everyone *knows* this will be the last show for quite some time."
Arcee peers out of the corner of her optic at Jazz. Is she imagining things, or was the master spy standing closer to her??
"It doesn't have to be." Jazz just throws his hands up and out to his sides. "I'm just sayin'." Jazz doesn't go into it but he's definitely not a fan of all this culture stifling that's going on. He much prefers Cybertron when it is popping with entertainment and fun. Not this wack aft version that's becoming the norm.
Whether or not Jazz was closer to Arcee was pretty much obvious. But he wasn't looking at her directly or anything. Or even claiming space. He's just standing there and making sure to talk to everyone that's listening so that nobody feels excluded. Leave it to Jazz to make sure this room's tensions don't rise.
Arcee leans toward Jazz, telling him something quietly, her expression very serious...
Orion studies Jazz for a moment and then he grins a little slyly. "Are you offering to become the morale and entertainment officer for this ragtag group of troops that we seemed to have put together?" he asks the cultural officer, though as Arcee becomes more serious, Orion drops the smile and looks more alert. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, not at all," Arcee insists to Pax, shaking her head.
Jazz just offers a non-commital winking flicker of optics to Arcee. Perhaps whatever she said to him is worth considering. Either way, he's looking back in Pax's direction to make sure that he's not pinned down for anything officially. "Unofficially, anyway." Jazz is not above trying to make sure everyone stays morale-boosted. Just not in any official capacities. "I can hold the party fort until someone better comes along." Jazz is definitely up to the challenge of keeping the Autobots pepped and prepped!
Orion optics the two of them critically for a moment and then shrugs. They're allowed to have secrets. He shakes it off with a roll of his shoulder actuators and considers. "Anything else I can assist with?" he asks the two of them since it seems that there is a temporary impasse in the conversation.
"Negative...all I'm going to need personally is a schematic of the place...entrances, exits...might do a walk-through prior to the show to see how best to secure the building during the show," Arcee says, all business. "Since you're going to be a diplomat, you may as well enjoy the evening."
Digging out a data slug from his desk, Orion Pax sets about the task of downloading the information he has on file. "Have you ever been to Harmonex?" he asks. "The city is set up in a way that when the winds blow through it, the whole city resonates in a song, depending on what level you are. Bumblebee has studied much about it, and is a huge fan of the place. I was hoping he would make it on this assignment, but he may be busy with other things." the mech chuckles faintly, the little scout seems to always be on patrol or doing something to keep himself busy. "And I will attempt to enjoy the evening, though I can offer no guarantees." he admits.
"Why walkthrough when we can dance through?"
Jazz says this from near the door because he's managed to slide his spy self back towards the exit once again. He's offering a bit of a salute wave to those inside, leaving those words to have Arcee wanting more. "Catch y'all on the flipside." Jazz is gone almost as quickly as he slid into this little impromptu meeting. The Cameo King strikes once again!
The six-changer has already left. Between the various conversations, and his curiousity being satisfied, he'd transformed to puma mode and quietly left the room on four silent feet.
Arcee is quietly perusing a holo-schematic of the Harmonex Opera House, trying to determine the best plan to safeguard it from mayhem. Mayhem such as...Starscream waltzing in. Okay, that is the worst-case scenario as far as she's concerned, but it could very well happen.
"You can keep it if you want, Arcee. I have one on file from the Hall of Records I can use if I need to." Orion offers. "But I do look forward to seeing you there. And Jazz is right, with a little luck, this won't be the last time we won't have a social gathering. I should at least maybe consider a base-warming party." he says with a small chuckle. "I can get Jazz to handle the entertainment, his way."
Arcee begins to grin...she's definitely holding onto some sort of secret, and Jazz is likely involved. "We /need/ some kind of meet and greet, there's a lot of mechs around here I'm not even familiar with yet."
Orion grins cattily. Got her. "Good, then you can make sure to organize it, right?" Pax asks, offering Arcee no quarter or chance to withdraw. "Thanks for volunteering."
"Psssh, stop it," Arcee laughs. "I'm getting out of here before you volunteer me for whatever else is on the to-do list," she exclaims as she makes her way to the door. "Bye!"