No Cookie for Acuity

-TIL: There's a brig in Decagon's command center. It's for low-danger arrests that are generally kept away from the general populace. There's only one prisoner here at the moment. Scattershot is leaned back on the recharging platform, a foot hanging down form the side, swinging idly. He has a datapad that he's working on as he appears to be pretty much the model prisoner at the moment. Boring, right?

-Boring is perfectly alright. Well, according to some. Boring usually means peaceful. Maybe if the government was more boring and less corrupt, scheming, and greedy then the planet wouldn't be on the brink of war. Then again, war might be inevitable. Either way, Acuity has stopped by to visit the prisoner.

-Hearing approaching footsteps, Scattershot flickers his optics to life and glances up from his rather mundane routine. "Hey, Acuity." he says with a small smirk. "Looks like it'll be a while before I'll get that rooftop drink with ya." There's a chuckle as the Technobot moves to sit up fully and at least look more proper. "How's things going out there?"

-"Well, they're not improving," Acuity says with a little shrug. "But they haven't taken a terrible plunge into MUCH worse yet either." She sighs. "You're not the most diplomatic mech, are you?" she asks, her tone dry. Then she pulls out a bottle. "Just in case, I brought a drink to you...assuming Prowl won't have a fit." The chuckle afterwards indicates she probably would have been smiling when she said that last bit.

-"I won't tell if you don't." Scattershot says conspiratorily as her earlier comment brings a chuckle. "Me? A diplomat? Yeah, and the Dynobots are the epitome of grace and eligance." he offers with a very amused smirk as he stands up to approach the side of the cell. He stops at a small table, sliding the datapads off to put on the recharge pad before he carries the table over and sets down. "I think I have a small cup.. aha." He grabs it from the end of the bed and sets it up. Ration cups. Wonderfully small. "When I think something's screwed up, I'll call them out on it. Don't matter if it's a Senate member or Primus himself."

-"Well, in theory, Primus shouldn't be able to do wrong. So the next best idea is that someone down here is making the mistakes. The question is who." Acuity shrugs again. She has an idea where it is, but it's not politic to say so. "You might as well take the bottle though," she notes. "Drinking for me is rather complicated, and I wouldn't necessarily want someone to just walk in while I'm doing it." Okay, so she's a bit self conscious there. "I'll just drink with you in spirit."

-"Well, in that case." Scattershot says. And barely fills the cup, before handing the bottle back. "I'll save this for a time when we're less likely to be interupted." he suggests as he tips the cup. "To standing up for what you believe in, damn the consequence. Salud." With that, he takes the drink and then sits back down. "How's Whirl and Arcee? Anything else come down on them?" he asks finally. "And someone really needs to sit with them both and work out whatever problem they have. We can't have the rank and file all pissed off at each other over percieved misconceptions." Hypocritical? Maybe. But Scattershot wasn't mad about a percieved misconception. He was there when it happened.

-"I don't know what the story there is, but I briefly saw Arcee the other day, and she was in the same room as Prowl and allowed to leave without harassment, so I can only assume that she is being given the space she needs." Acuity thinks for a moment. "I believe that she wishes to speak with me soon." Pause. "As for Whirl, I haven't heard much from him lately...which is worrisome since he does so love to be heard." She leans against a wall. "Do you know much about what has been going on in Nyon?" she asks in a bit of a subject change.

-"A little. Heard bits and pieces." Scattershot admits, but not really willing to tip his hand at the moment as the mech settles against the wall opposite of the femme. "Considering Whirl's reaction.. recently.. I think that someone should really talk to him soon. Or at least put him in a position where he can't go off the handle and cause damage."

-"I do try to talk to him, but it's hard to convince him of anything when he's so determined to be set against everyone and everything. But I'm very concerned," Acuity says with some feeling. "There should have been more of a screening for him to join. It was this very same government that took his hands and face...it should have raised some sort of a red flag that he'd want to /join/ us." She sighs deeply. "Anyhow, the reason I was asking about Nyon was because there seems to be reports of heavy corruption there. I can't do much about big time stuff, but I was thinking if there wasn't, perhaps, something I could do about that issue. With the Decepticons on such a high priority, other things tend to fall by the wayside."

-"Yeah well, getting the iron grinder going seems to be far more important than the parts that make up that grinder." Scattershot replies as he shrugs his shoulders and slumps down into a crouch against the wall. "But with command concentrating on the small picture, it's supposed to fall on someone to make sure that the very troops that we have won't fall apart once the slag hits the exhaust. Which is what Sentinel needs to be assuring instead of spending all of his time posturing..." then the Technobot cuts himself off. "But that ain't here nor there. Just time to be a good little commander, right?"

-"You do us a lot more good out here than you do in there," Acuity says. "You are a commander; you are used to having people follow you, and those you command look to follow your lead," she states. "As long as you are content with the example you are setting, I'm not going to try to convince you otherwise. What you do, carries a lot more weight than what I do. So I'd rather do small things from inside the system than to fight it."

-There seems to be a long moment of thoughtful contemplation from the Technobot before he blows out a breath from the side of his mouth. "I know what you're sayin, Acuity. And I respect it. But even a few weeks in here shows that there at least is a token effort from command to tell Sentinel that he needs to ease off the war throttle and the recent efforts we've taken when it comes to bringing in new troops." the commander finally points out. "It's not that I disagree with what you or even what Prowl put out there, but if he isn't made aware of an issue then he ain't gonna do anything about it. So here we are. Me in here. And Arcee and Whirl off the hook in my place."

-"I just mean, in the future, only do what you expect those beneath you to follow suit in," Acuity says. "That's all I'm saying. If you stand by what you did, then that is enough." She clacks a claw against the side of her not-face. "It's not easy to stand for order in a system that's falling apart. I want to see things improve, but I don't want to advocate chaos. Chaos is dangerous."

-"And someone of a society that is built around the technological order of things should know that, right?" Scattershot doesn't mean to mock what Acuity is saying, it's just part of his charm, supposedly. "If good mechs do nothing, then the bad seeds get to do what they want. That applies to commanders as much as the rank and file. We all have the right to make a decision. Except for those that were brought in by riflepoint, then we all made the choice of whether or not to wear this..." he taps the Autobot badge on his chest, "..and to defend all it stands for. Chaos is what the Decepticons preach. I ain't for that. But I am for not treating our own as if they're useless unless they perform to expectations."

-"There's a difference between doing nothing and doing a variety of different things to combat a problem," Acuity says. "I was trained to try to find a peaceful solution first, to de-escalate problems rather than to push them to the extreme on one end or the other. So that seems the natural course to follow." She shrugs her shoulders. "But no one is useless unless they actively try to be."

-"Well, I suppose that makes you better at this than I am, Acuity." Scattershot gives an amused smile. "Really, the only reason Tyger Pax keeps me about is because I put up with them when they want to test something new." A chuckle as he drums his fingers against his knee actuator. "And I didn't say anyone is useless. Just that certain members of command are treating them as such."

-"Oh, I know that's what you were saying; I was simply agreeing with you," Acuity says. "Functionism, if applied right, can be a good thing. In theory it can make sure that all different jobs are filled by at least someone. Denigrating people for the jobs they do, that's where the major flaw comes in. As well as allowing some people to be so easily discarded." Pause. "Like those poor little cleaning bots."

-"What, the ones that got recalled?" Scattershot shrugs his shoulders. "Things like that happen from time to time, you read about it and then you just watch it happen. I mean, something had to cause them to glitch out, I guess."

-"I don't think that was it..." Acuity says. "No, the timing was too convienient." Her voice carries a frown in it. "A bunch of them were killed before hand." She shakes her head gravely. "The pieces of everything are so fragmented. I can't make a full picture out of them all."

-"What do you mean?" Scattershot asks as he glances towards the femme. "I don't get the freshest news in here." Holding up a datapad, it talks about how Jazz is retiring from the racing circuit. Yep, that old. "So I have to get my sources from somewhere. And what makes you think it's convienent?"

-"There was a situation some time ago; but it was before you were put in here," Acuity says, moving a little closer and speaking in a low voice. "I got a distress call and went to one of the arenas in Ibex. When I got inside Blurr was unconcious and a bunch of the YX cleaners had been killed. I tried to round them up as evidence, but /someone/ didn't want them to reach the station alive. A bomb was planted on them. Fortunately an outsider caught onto this and removed the one that was about to detonate."

-"Outsider?" Scattershot asks and looks around, sorta making sure the coast is clear for her. Most of the guards ignore him since he's pretty well-behaved, so it's good at the moment. "I've heard a lot of rumblings about Blurr's behaviour. I remember when he came online not so long ago. What, less than a couple of deca-cycles or something like that. Command couldn't wait to boost him up. He'd be a great poster boy for recruiting, they said. If you want to get recruited at rifle point that is." he scowls. "At least according to Shiftlock, not that she's here anymore to press that allegation or that anyone would care. Blurr seems to get a lot of.. leeway."

-"Too much so. And Prowl backs it up; which worries me. Prowl is usually so orderly, but he just says that Blurr is a special case; he's allowed to break rules that should be followed. How can the rest of us do our jobs when he runs around messing everything up and ignoring protocols?" Acuity's claws twitch slightly. "Being young is no excuse; if he's too young to behave himself, then he shouldn't be in Security, no matter how fast he is."

-"Well, eventually, someone will bust his chops and then Prowl will have to figure it out." Scattershot shrugs his shoulders as he looks towards her. "I suppose if they have all been recalled, then Blurr won't have to worry about killing them anymore and he can figure out what else to do to get out his newspark angst."

-"I think whatever reason he was so intent on killing them is the reason they were recalled. The actual reason behind it, I wouldn't know, but I think there's a connection there." Acuity paces a little bit. "And he seemed a little too happy at the state funeral. It was a solemn occassion and he thought nothing of offering a cheeky grin to Arcee. It is as though he's incapable of seeing how serious things are. Which may be normal for his age, but it's just more reason that he should not be wearing that badge yet."

-Scattershot snorts. "Too bad his cojunx endura wasn't there to smack him in the back of the head." There's an amused noise as he watches the femme pace back and forth. "I think our roles are reversed." he teases. "After all, I'm the one in the cell, shouldn't I be pacing nervously while you sit calmly and listen?"

-"You're in a cell, so there's not much you can do. While the notion that I should do something is weighing heavily on me," Acuity says wryly. "I can't say I know much about his conjux personally, so I don't know if she has a particular opinion on all this. Perhaps I should find out."

-"Feint? Talked to her once. I think Rung's disapperance has gotten to her. Increased her caseload, could probably use someone to talk to that isn't asking for help." Scattershot points out gently as the technobot fiddles with the datapd, sliding around the information idly. "She's a good femme. Been through a lot. Turns out Blurr actually bought her, so be careful how much you share with her, because she may turn around and tell him everything. And with his obvious pull around here..." he gestures idly with his hand. "...he's obviously worth more to the Autobots than many of us. Even commanders." he responds in amusement.

"You should also talk to Arcee about him as well. I know she doesn't harbor any love towards him." he pauses for a moment, then chuckles aloud. "Sorry, sorry, just imagining the three of you sitting at a table in Maccadams, sharing drinks, swappin stories about mechs, issues, and the whole shootin match. Gave me a chuckle."

-"I'll think about speaking with Feint, but I definitely mean to speak with Arcee." Acuity leans against a wall again. "There is so much going on that is wrong, and people want to make the big, glorious changes. But sometimes it's the little things that stack up that will be more effective. Each person we can help may restore some faith in the system. Each person we help is someone the system hasn't failed." She shakes her head. "But right now it just /seems/ like an 'us' versus 'them' mentality. If you're not actively an agent of the law, you default to being 'against' it. Even if you're just a citizen who wants to go on following the law."

-"Restoring faith in a system that's broke. You sell that, Acuity, and I'll give you a gold star." Scattershot comments with a small smirk as he shakes his head. "Using the dead to bring everyone together and then making them all feel worthless by your own examples doesn't really foster unity. But when it comes down to it, Acuity, you're selling this." he points to her Autobot symbol. "Primes come and Primes go. And that's what you need to keep remembering. Hell, it's what I need to remember sometimes. But this one makes it really hard to do."

-Acuity nods her head at this. "Well, in theory, we're all supposed to be setting the examples. If we are corrupt, then the message is sent that it is okay to be corrupt. If we put greed above helping others, then that is what makes people turn on each other, turn on us, turn on themselves even," she says slowly. "A bad system can be fixed, but if you remove all semblance of a system, how can you construct a new system on top of all the chaos?"

-"Well, when you're in demolitions, you have to learn how to tear down a building and use what materials you can scavenge from it to build anew." Scattershot says with a grin towards Acuity. "And that's how you fix a corrupt system in much the same way."

-"Yes, but when you're tearing things down, and trying to rebuild, are there waves and tides of people trying to destroy you, and what you're trying to build, at the same time, regardless of WHAT you are trying to build?" Acuity counters. She's not angry as she argues, her tone is calm, even. Rather she's trying to find out what to think through debate, and Scattershot seems to be the sort of partner she needs at the moment.

-"Then you tell me, Acuity..." Scattershot asks, and despite that bumpkin backwater tone and attitude, there's something else under there. All those years spent in Tyger Pax with all those techheads may actually have rubbed off on him. "And sometimes, the best remodeling is done from the inside. But that can't be done if you get to the core of the foundation and find it rotten. So what would you do then, Acuity?" he asks her curiously.

-Acuity goes to rub her face, then realizes that probably won't do much good. Old habits die hard. "I'd have to make sure it was historically rotten too. Because then it would mean the system was NEVER good. We have a long history, and things must have worked at some point or we wouldn't have even gotten this far." She sighs again; she's been doing that a lot. "Might just have to round up the people who believe in order and start over again, but that would be so hard, because how can I expect anyone to hold up a second order if we betrayed the first order. It's not so simple..."

-Scattershot grins. An actual genuine grin and leans in, hands on his knees as he looks to Acuity and says, not uncaringly. "Don't you see that's exactly why the Senate is so scared of what is going on in Nyon that they sent us in to squash it?" he asks her curiously. "Hot Rod may be a prima donna and more flash than substance at times, but his spark's in the right place. Which is why he may be drawing allies that have likewise been persecuted by the Autobot command, or worse, could be further persecuted." he points out to her gently, waiting to see if it clicks with her.

-"You're pretty much telling me there's no orderly way to do this, aren't you?" Acuity finally asks, sounding just a wee bit petulant, like someone telling someone that they can't have a cookie after all because it's bad for them. "I've met Hot Rod, once. I took a little initiative to see if he was the terror that the reports said."

-"Like I said. You find the good way to do this, you'll get a gold star and probably your own command in the process." Scattershot says as he leans back into his wall again. He may feel a little bad for taking away Acuity's cookie, but he had to. "So, you've met the terrorist. Tell me. What did you think of him? Was he every bit as terrifying as the High Command and NPD make him out to be?"

-"Not in the least. I can't deny he's breaking laws right, left, and center, but he simply doesn't have the profile of a 'mastermind'. He's young and impulsive and arrogant. What's more, for all his venom for the laws, he was far too trusting. So he's either terribly brilliant, or he's exactly what he seems to be at a surface glance. Which certainly doesn't equate to the threat they have trumped him up to be." Well, that's Acuity's summary of Hot Rod.

-"So you tell me, Acuity. If he's as shallow as your assessment makes him out to be..." Scattershot comments as he looks up towards the femme and gives a little smirk. "...why is he gathering support left, right and center?" he asks, using the femme's own words against her. "Up to and including, from what I heard, Orion Pax. Where would your assessment of him lie? Why is he considered a major threat to the Autobot high command?"

-"I never said he was shallow. Sometimes a deep well can be crystal clear," Acuity clarifies. "I just mean that he doesn't seem deceptive. Of course, that sort of charisma will attract people who feel they've been...decieved," the cyclops femme says. "People are disillusioned with the system. We're painted as the villains, so of course people will look for a hero. The Decepticons lost the ability to claim that role; they're too brutal. Who does that leave? Hot Rod."

-Scattershot laughs suddenly. "So what, we bring in Hot Rod? He gatheres support, takes over and what.. becomes a commander? Captain?" The technobot can't help himself, he laughs even harder now for a moment. "Following that logic, if he gets enough of a following and shows how deep he is, he becomes what, Prime?" he stops laughing for a moment. He considers the prospect, it shows in his optics.

And then he howls with laughter. "As if!" Ahahahaha!

-"This isn't what I believe, this is what people want to see," Acuity says. "They want hope. They want freedom." She shrugs her shoulders. "That doesn't mean he's suddenly able to lead, or take command. It doesn't give him with military genuis." She shakes her head. "But hope makes people believe change is possible. The system doesn't want to be changed. That is the conflict, and that is where the threat comes in."

-Scattershot stops laughing with a clearing of his vocalizer. "Just trying to imagine him as a leader. And it's hilarious. Anyway, you're right." he concedes, the Technobot waving a hand dismissively at that to get his game back straight. "So you have the unmovable object - the system, against hope - the unstoppable force. What do you think is going to happen when those two finally collide? Neither side is willing to give ground. All this talk isn't going to be worth a shanix."

-"Kind of depressing, isn't it? But I don't think we have the luxury of letting it get to us," Acuity says. "For now I'm just going to keep doing my job, because that's the best way for me to see both sides of things." Pause. "And because I still believe in order."

-"Nothing wrong with order. Just remember, without chaos, order would never exist. After all, the two are sides of the same piston, Acuity." Scattershot says as he rises to his feet and stretches out his armor plating. "Wish I could give you better news, but that's just how the energoodies halflife."

-"I wish you had better news too, but at least you're not trying to convince me that things are other than you belive them to be," says Acuity. Then she falls silent, thinking, not sure what else to say at this point.

-"Naw. I ain't one for hiding feelings or any of that jazz. I ain't happy, you know it. And that's how everyone should be. A little more honesty would be a nice thing to have around here." Scattershot shrugs his shoulders and then grins. "Don't worry about entertainin' me, Acuity, I can do this short little stint standing on my head in artillery mode."

-"That's alright; I didn't think I was terribly entertaining to begin with," Acuity notes. "But if you want me to leave, I can do that."

-"Bah. I liked the debate. If we all thought the same, existance would be pretty damn borin, don't ya think?" Scattershot offers with a smirk as he leans back on his recharger. "I don't want you to leave, but I don't want ya to feel like you have to stay here and be all entertaining. After all, someone that's all about order probably doesn't have many social graces." Is he teasing her? Maybe. ^t

-Acuity seems to think that over. Or maybe she's just staring. Sometimes it's hard to tell. "Fair enough," she finally says. "Is there anything I can get you? Some more up to date media perhaps?" she asks.

-"That'd be great, Acuity. Honestly, the choice of entertainment while incarcerated is downright criminal." Scattershot says in amusement as he seems to just be settled in just fine for the moment.