A Sense of Clarity

True to his word, Ratchet contacted Torque about meeting Orion Pax. He called her the other day to invite her over to Deltaran despite the awkwardness he felt with her relationship with Wheeljack. Pax was already there, surprisingly not busy after taking in Shiftlock as ... whatever she was and planning to confront the Senate about Ratbat. Orion sat in the waiting room with an energon in hand as he and Ratchet waited for her to arrive. The medic was already busy tending to wounded mechs, but he popped into the room every now and then to check on his friend.

 Torque still couldn't believe she ws going to meet Orion Pax, a legend in his own right even at this point in time. It's almost too much to process, but does her best to calm her growing nerves when approaching the Deltaran facility. At the front door now, the femme pauses, takes a deep vent, and steps inside to see.. Oh Primus, it's really him. She's a bit frozen upon spotting the large mech sitting there with Ratchet, not entirely sure what to do now that she's actually in the same room as him. Talking would be a good start, though. "I uh... Sorry if I'm a little late. I had to close the shop early."

Ratchet smiled at her and greeted her at the door. He wrapped a shoulder around her to guide her in. "It's alright," he said. "Pax just arrived himself."

Orion stood up at the mention of his name, towering over both Torque and Ratchet. She wouldn't be able to see the smile beneath his mask, but it definitely showed in his optics. "Greetings," he said and reached out a servo for her to shake. "Ratchet has told me much about you. I'm Orion Pax."

Torque smiles sheepishly to Ratchet and nods as she walks in with him, albeit a little stiffly. Looking back to Orion, she's forced to tilt her head up to view the mech that stands before them now. And honestly, she's a little starstruck. She can definitely see why people called him leader material. The mech practically radiated it, even when offering something as simple as a greeting. "He.. has?" Torque perks in surprise and glances to Ratchet. "Hopefully all good." She adds after a moment and smiles lightly, able to feel herself lightening up again as she takes Orion's hand and shakes it firmly. "Name's Torque. I gotta say, it's really great to meet you. I hope I'm not wasting any of your time, but.." And here's where she hesitates, appearing unsure a moment before continuing, "Well, I was just hoping I could get some answers and help figuring out some things. I figured you'd be the best mech to talk to."

"All good things, I promise," he replied with a light chuckle. He motioned for her to sit down at the table with him before grabbing a cube and handing it to her. "Don't worry, you are not wasting my time at all, Torque." He sat down across from her and took a sip of his drink. "I may be able to help you. What questions did you have?"

Torque tails along behind Pax as he leads her to a table and takes a seat across from him, gladly taking the offered cube with a nod, though not taking a drink just yet. Wanting to get right down to business, the medic draws up what courage she can muster and squares her shoulders in an attempt to look more sure of herself. "I wanted to talk to you about what's happening with Megatron and the Forge incident." This is where she wavers, but quickly steels herself and knits brows while forging ahead. "I know I was there, but I wanted nothing to do with it and I've told this to one of his lackies that came to see me. But.. I don't want anything to do with the Senate either." A dangerous thing to say in public, but Torque assumes anywhere Ratchet sets up a meeting is safe enough. "Both of them are just wrong." Lips press thin and she punctuates her sentence with a tap of her fist on the table. "But I can't just sit around and do nothing while everything's on the verge of collapsing. There's gotta be something else I can do in this.. Which is why I'm talking to you." That small spike of anger trickles away into something a bit more worried. "Another cop.. Jazz. He said I should talk to you about this. That you might know what to do since you've dealt with the Senate before."

Torque would find that Orion Pax was a very good listener. He hung on to her every word, brows furrowed in concern and thoughtfulness. Once she was done and had calmed down a bit, he spoke. "I used to believe that Megatron stood for something great. He wanted to change the degradation of our society, but the way he has handled it turns me away from his cause. Where he used to vouch for non-violent resistance, now he slaughters both the innocent and guilty. The Senate is just the same, but they do it behind closed doors." His optics darkened. "I, too, do not support either one of them. I have spoken against them before, but I did not have enough evidence and I spoke in their private Grand Imperium. No one was around to hear my accusations nor would many of them believe me." He leaned across the table then, his voice growing quieter. "But now I do have evidence that implicates one of the senators in a heinous crime. I plan to announce it to the public, not just the Senate. As for the Decepticons, I'm actually working with Prowl and Sentinel Prime to arrest those on a list Jazz gathered of Decepticon supporters and members. Some senators are involved with them, too." He leaned back. "I could use your help, if you're interested."

Torque is actually quite surprised that Orion would share this sort of information with her. Does this mean he really trusts her? She can only hope so, as her options are becoming fewer and he's steadily becoming the best one. With her utmost attention on him, Torque listens intently and even leans in when he does, curious to hear what he has planned. A list.. The one she gave Jazz? Looks like she's helping more than she first thought. But now he asks for more, to which she grows quiet and turns optics downward to think and reflect. "..I really want to help you. To help stop all of this, but.." Torque frowns with uncertainty etching on her features. "But what would you have me do? I'm a medic, a mechanic, and a pit brawler. Not exactly the most useful combination for arresting folks."

"You'd be surprised just how important /information/ is," he said. "Your medical expertise can come in handy for weak points on the bodies of those you've treated. I heard you were a medic for the Forge, so you came in contact with many Decepticons, yes? Maybe even some on our list. You've been in the Forge yourself and you seem like the type to notice everything that goes on. You don't have to arrest anyone and I'm not entirely sure what we can set up just yet, but I could always use some more allies. I want to end this before it gets out of control. The people need to hear about what the Senate is doing behind their backs and the Decepticons need to be pacified before an outright rebellion starts." He sighed and rubbed his face. "I could also use help with a ... friend staying with me for the time being. She's the evidence against Senator Ratbat. I believe her memory's been wiped by a mech named Cipher. She's also a lot to handle for one femme. I can hardly keep track of her."

Torque doesn't take her optics off Orion as she listens to him explain and nods at times. She had a feeling about him. A feeling she first had about Megatron, surprisingly. They were both inspiring, passionate, and firmly believed in their cause. Unfortunately the latter went in an unexpected direction, so now she has to look toward the future with the mech in front of her. And honestly.. she believes his cause is a good one. It's only after he finishes that Torque speaks up again, this time sounding more confident than before. "It was hard enough to tell Jazz what I knew, since I knew many of those mechs and femmes personally. But.. I have to try and help them see there's another way. That they don't have to kill and destroy to change things. So.." Her hand extends across the table to him. A symbol of trust and alliegance. "I'll help you, Orion. As much as I can. ..Even if I have to help with your little femme problem." She smiles warmly and chuckles softly at that last part.

He nodded once. "I will not ask you to partake in anything that makes you uncomfortable or goes against your beliefs. You have the freedom to make your own choices in this. I will not force you to give me information about any friends you have made from the Forge. If they are arrested, they will serve time in prison until they either renounce their allegiance or carry out their sentence. Those are my intentions, but I don't know how Sentinel Prime and Prowl will run the mission. You may want to try to convince them yourself or I could help before any arrests are made." He took her servo and gave it a little squeeze. "Thank you, Torque. For right now, I just need help keeping an optic on Shiftlock."

"I appreciate it." Torque says softly, looking relieved over how well this all went. "I imagine a few of them might give with some convincing, but the rest.. Well, they're probably in it for the long haul. But it's still just the beginning, so we'll see what we can do before this gets any worse. And there might be some innocent folks that got away that might like to join us." Steadily returning to her usual self, the femme keeps up her usual smile and comments, "And I wouldn't mind helping with this Shiftlock femme, if you really need it. Like you said, I was a Forge medic, so I've dealt with my fair share of ornery people. Just lemme know." Retracting her hand, Torque moves to pull a small datacard from subspace and hands it to him. "Here's my comm frequency and the coordinates for my shop. Though I'll likely be closing that and moving here soon. Just gotta talk to Ratchet about that.." A glance to the other medic if he's still in the room.

Ratchet had been in and out of the waiting room tending to patients, though he was thoroughly interested in what they were talking about. Corrupt senators, hunting Decepticons, a lot had been going on. He had returned near the end of the conversation to hear Torque talking about moving in to the facility. "We'd be happy to have you here," he said. "It's probably more convenient for your meetings with Pax, too."

Orion took the datacard and stored it away in his subspace with a little nod. "I will be sure to contact you should anything else come up. For now, do what you can in convincing the others and finding anyone who wants to join our cause. The Senate and I aren't on the best of terms still, so stay under the radar. They'll most likely suspect you've been speaking to me." He didn't want her arrested or hurt because of an affiliation with him.

Torque smiles wide at Ratchet and nods. "And we'd finally be able to work together. I'll let you know when I'll start packing up the shop and moving stuff over." Back to Orion, her expression becomes serious once more and she nods, understanding his concern. She wasn't at all about to jeopardize this, so she'll be taking extra precautions. "I'll do what I can, you can count on me. And I'll be sure to keep quiet about all this." Standing now, Torque offers the two a thankful nod and a delighted smile. "I really appreciate you two setting up this meeting. I think I finally know what direction I'm heading in during all of this, and I'm glad it's in the right one. I'd stay a bit longer, but I've still got patients back at the shop I need to keep an optic on. I'm sure I'll catch you both again soon." Another nod to them before she sees herself out and makes her way back to Kalis to prepare.

Ratchet grinned when she mentioned working together with him and nodded. "Yes, we will," he said.

Orion stood after her and smiled beneath his mask. "Of course," he said. "It was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for alliance." They both waved goodbye to her and Pax left soon after to get back to his apartment and check on Shiftlock.