BCDSLPForge1114

The air in the Forge has changed. No longer one of uncertainty, swaggering braggadocio and oppression from a chose handful of mob bosses, the Forge's atmosphere feels like a band of brothers preparing for a war they anticipate with eagerness and -joy-. Those with military training and experience are working with miners and laborers and other manual classes, teaching them how to fight, and Barricade is no exception.

THUD! A recycling plant operator is dropped to the floor, arms twisted behind his back, completely at Barricade's mercy. "Always maintain your center of balance, never over-extend yourself. You throw your arm too far forward, and your enemy can use it to his advantage." He releases the other bot from his grasp and helps the mech up. "You're a fast study, Blackjack. A few more practice rounds and you'll have that move written into your motor systems."

Slipstream has made it a habit to spy on Barricade, long before she finally approached him and especially now. She's found her way to the Forge several times since their first meeting to watch him in action. She wasn't here on that day that the Forge changed and... she regrets that. Slips would have liked to have witnessed history in the making. There was much to do in Vos however, when the word hit and she's managed to make all of the preparations she can. With her tacks completed she's come back to the Forge to say her... well, it's best to say them than to think them.

Slipstream steps from the shadows, above, and alights to the viewing level at an angle that Barricade is sure to notice. She turns as if looking for some other mech, maybe Garboil or Howlback and slinks her way towards the back, to a booth. She can wait for Cade to join her. He has work to do, she knows.

Everyone here at the Forge does. That energy, it's hard to not get swept up in it. It's a fire, one that once started is about to burn bright. Slipstream has felt that inferno before so long ago and now she's not sure she should dare give in to it again.

"Dismissed for now! Go get maintenance and fuel," Barricade calls out to his small group of trainees. The other mechs wander off, talking among themselves, in a good mood, some hi-fiving and others jostling each other like high school athletes in a locker room.

'Coach' is taking a break, walking over to a chair at the back of the room - one that used to be for recruiters and bookies - and rolls his shoulders, checking to make sure everything is in place. Garboil and Howlback are off with other minicons, evaluating them and putting them through their paces. Everyone's busy now.

Yes, it's about to be 'game on', isn't it?

"Someone looks pleased with himself." So, she couldn't wait. Slipstream wasn't going to remain hidden for too long or make Cade chase her too much, not when time could be so crutial right now. She's confident enough to touch without fear of reprecussion, as she slips a hand along those rolling shoulders. "Oooh, edgy. Maybe some mech needs to stretch out his servos, hrm?" It's too hard to \*not\* play such a part, especially in public like this. Barricade is the big bot that's about to go to war, and landed himself a Seeker, so why take that from him? "You going to be able to hold out Wheels, until the \*real\* show begins? Everybot is so... eager... around here. Not revving to give them more reasons to come for you, now are you?"

Barricade chuckles deeply as Slipstream engages in a little fun flirting and teasing. He decides to give as good as he gets. "I dunno, sweetspark, maybe you should tell 'em how much stamina I have. You seem t' have personal experience in that regard." He moves to put an arm around her and draw her in closer. "I'm always gonna have upstarts gunnin' for my job. I ain't about t' snuff that ambition, they're gonna need all the energy and drive they can get. Mech's gotta have something to chase after."

Slipstream easily gets grabbed. This is Barricade's domain afterall and she won't tarnish his moments to shine, especially in his own arena. As much as it is nice to have a moment of closeness, she's also not about to upstage him, not when he has so many looking to him. Now more than ever. "If they were outside the Forge when we met, I'm sure they heard," she smiles sweetly. "Or is that an offer to demonstrate it again?" she slips her arm around his shoulders.

She gets quiet then, for a moment, as she looks Barricade over closely. Worry is there in her optics, a panic, similar to the one he saw when she came to him before. Fear, for herself, for him, for more than that. She realizes she should tell him in this moment.

But... "No going back now," she smiles. "I hope they're all ready for it." By 'they' she mostly means 'him'.

He caresses the side of Slipstream's face, hoping to reassure her, being extra careful with the tips of his claws. "It'll be all right," he softly reassures. "It ain't gonna be easy, but come pit or high acid, I'll do everything I can to see us all through - and I'd rather die than let anyone hurt you." Barricade leans down to give Slipstream a kiss.

And here she was prepared to tell him she was gone. Just like that, she had to leave. It's all gotten too dangerous, too close. Too real. She's had to run and hide for so long and then... he had to go and say \*that\*.

Slipstream curves, pressing to that hand on her face. Who cares what mech sees. She's give anything to properly tell him what hearing that means, so if this is a small way to show it, then she'll have to settle for that for now. Megatron's words stirred in her something that had laid dormant for so very long and now Cade, well, that's confidence to see it through.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Keep me on track. Back me up when I need it. Tell me what you're thinkin', what you believe in, what you want. Smack me when I get stupid." He can't help but laugh softly at that last one, but he means it. "I wanna know what your hopes and dreams are, what you wanna do, so I can help you reach those goals. I wanna know what's important to you, an' when you see things different than me. I'll trust you if you trust me. I wanna protect you and make you even better than you are now - if that's even possible. I think you're pretty perfect as you are."

This was meant to be a 'goodbye'. She was ready to run, again... but now? Never again. After soaking all of that it, it is Slipstream's turn to kiss Barricade. She'll be damned by what anyone thinks as she means to face him, stradle him and kiss him. It's not like before, a little chaste, a little light, always cautious - even after certain things. This is a kiss to let him know she \*heard\* and that with all of her spark, she's in. Any bot that gets in the any that best know how to get out of the way. She untangles from Cade to grin to him. "I can do that." All of it.

No one hs ever been committed to \*her\* before. It's always run the other way. Somehow, now, having Barricade's trust makes it all the easier for her to freely commit her own. To him, to this cause that she truly does believe in. She's in.

Slips grins slyly, "I can think of a few adjustments you can make to me." She winks. "Later though," she promises. "To do this, we will need more than what is at the Forge."

Cade's in deep. While he's willing to accept that she might want to run - and he would respect her choice if she did - he wants very much to earn her trust and her heart. She's the only thing that takes him away from the focus of the cause, even for a little while. "I'll be willing to adjust -anything- you need," he replies, picking up the hint, but applying her request in multiple ways. Weapons? Armor? Upgrades? Yes, he'd turn her into a walking assault platform if she wanted it.

"Now, your turn. What do you want /me/ to do?"

Slipstream asks for perhaps the hardest thing of all. Yet, Cade wants to know. She looks to him as she says, "Don't change." She should explain. "You know what's coming. You're prepared for it. What it will do to you though... you don't know." Is she suggesting that she does? "You will be pushed to places you were prepared to never surrender. You'll sacrifice the things you are promising yourself right now you will never give up. I know," she hopes (?), "This means me. When that does happen, know that I won't blame you. Already this is more... it's more than I've ever known." She's aware that she's very much a Seeker all up in and on Cade's lap in the middle of the Forge of all places, but it sure makes it easier to whisper these things to him.

"What this will do to all of us is necessary and you..." She reaches up to caress Cade's chin fondly. "You \*are\* going to keep us all safe. This war, it's going to cost you the most because," she smiles, "You care. You truly, deeply care right to your spark chamber. Others won't see it. The opposition will mock it. We'll all rely on it. Just... let me be there to try, to try to keep you from losing too much of yourself."

"I know it's gonna be a long hard road, Slipstream. I'm as ready as I can be, and yeah, I understand there may be nasty surprises along the way, but I wanna see us all truly -free-. If that means I gotta stand against my own and hold back the devils in our midst, I will." He savors their physical closeness, feeling stronger for it. "I'll do my best for you. For all of us." He places a hand on her shoulder. "I trust you."

"Then know it when I say it that I will be a weakness to you, either to be used in a ploy to get to you or as a concern or distraction. Trust me that I can handle myself, that I kow how to keep myself alive no matter what my situation and that even after all of this... even after you've changed Cybertron, even when you are ... different, you have my spark. Whatever must be done, even if it means including me, I will understand. That's what your trust means to me." Slipstream somehow doubts that others will be called upon to sacrifice as much as Barricade. Megatron might be willing to shoulder a whole planet, but Cade will be the one to ensure that Megatron gets that chance.

She sits back a little, still close yet more focused for the moment on business. "I assume there's a network to maintain communications? Surely not \*everything\* is kept here. There are allies we should make, though I'm sure there are those on that already.. though," she muses aloud. She goes silent as she thinks about it, clearly not sure if she should share something. But... she looks to Cade's optics. "There some that could be found."

"Diplomacy isn't really my specialty, but if you have leads, I'll help you follow up on it," he agrees. "And I'll let you in on a little secret: The more I have to protect? The stronger I get."

Slipstream considers standing yet... remains in place. "There are those that our society have stuffed down, the rougher element. Those you no doubt put away. They would be more sympathic to the cause because they have every right to be. How would you feel about a jailbreak? That could be a lot to handle. If so... well, I think I know a way to divert the attention away from the Forge \*and\* to recruit numbers to our ranks. If one jailbreak was to facilitate others... it would also keep the authorities rather busy."

"A jailbreak, huh? Considerin' how many are in jail for the wrong reasons, I got no problem with this. Fill me in on the details, sweetspark, I'm all audials," Barricade answers, thoughtful and interested in this suggestion.

Slipstream can be useful. "It would seem to me that we have too many that might be missing home, those that have been removed from Cybertron. I think that they should get to have a say in the coming days, don't you?" Slips smiles sweetly the more she thinks about it. "If we are going to correct society, who has better experience than those that have endured the corrections system? Maybe it is time for those on Charr to come home, brothers and," she considers ... but says, "sisters."

"Colonists eh? Yeah, we have a few of those here already. You might've met 'em. Combaticons are from Combatron, they sided with their homeworld durin' the days of the Vanguard, under Nova Prime. He punished them for bein' loyal to their own kind. Ripped out their sparks an' stuffed 'em in whiteout boxes for millions of years," Barricade explains. "If there are others out there, imprisoned unjustly, I'm all in for gettin' 'em out. We'll need all the help we can get."

"I know just the mech to help ... push... them all in the proper direction as well," she shares, but doesn't explain. "I'd need a way off-world," because slipstream is apparently volunteering. "It's funny, Wheels," she smiles, "That you bring up Combatron. Lord Starscream is rather fond of his shuttle pet. Perhaps if we had a means to get away from cybertron unnoticed... Can you rustle up a diversion for us? I bet you have a whole list of eager bots around here anxious to get something started." She looks over her shoulder to any of those milling about. She looks back. "The imprisonment should help to convince Blast Off of the plight... we'd either need to take someone with us that could secure a ship to bring back those from Charr or someone that could build such a craft. Is there somebot you can spare?"

"Hmmm. I'm gonna have to ask around, make a plan. How soon do you want this to happen?" he asks, the gears already turning in his head.

Slipstream now stands, slipping off Barricade's lap, though she reaches up to trail a fingertip across his lips. "You say the word, Wheels, and I am underway. I hope you will reward me well for bringing you the calvary."

He grins toothily. "Oh I'm sure I'll think of somethin', Slips. It'll be fun figurin' out what kinda reward you want. Might have t' keep givin' until I get it right."

"How about this," she steps back and strikes a pose, her hands on her hips and a grin on her lips. "You lavish me with all the rewards. Deal?" Deal, she winks. With that she then flips something to him - her keycard for her place in Vos. It's not like Cade can't get in whenever he wants as he already has the codes, but still, she's mindful of the crowd - and the appearance - that he does and will have to maintain. So, why not inspire the troops with giving them someone very inspirational to look up to. "When you're done getting greasy with these lugs and bolts, come see me and we can get a start on lavishing."

Quitting time can't come fast enough for Cade. "Will do, sweetspark. Will do."