050415 - No Absolution

It's nice to find a place to gather a moment of peace and quiet. Even if it is the noisy decks of the hangar deck, it allows Orion the chance to just be alone with his thoughts for a few moments as he has his optics closed and is just facing off in the distance, towards Iacon.

If Orion Pax was hoping to get some peace and quiet he is sorely mistaken because Whirl is here! Yes, the infamous empurata himself has just stepped out onto the tarmac and it doesn't take long for him to find Pax. The reds and blues kind of make him stand out in a fortress occupied almost entirely by mechs painted in dark purples and grey.

"I was told I might find you out here," he says as he approaches though not TOO closely. It's always nice to have a litle distance.

Optics flashing open, Orion lets out a low sigh. "It seems that your information network within the Cons is up and running well then, Whirl." the large mech rumbles as he continues to look out over the city, instead of turning his attention to the empurata.

His tone remains largely neutral, not derogatory, not angry. Not even disappointed. Whirl has drawn a completely neutral reaction from the Autobot. "What can I do for you?"

Neutrality is not something Whirl is used to. Usually his interactions with other people involve strong feelings of either the negative or positive variety. Already Whirl can tell this is going to be an awkward conversation.

"I was hoping we could have a conversation, preferably one that involves looking me in the optic like a regular person. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

Turning to face Whirl in the optics to optic, Orion can't help but to fight off a bemused laugh. "I'll probably be dead in a couple of cycles, so this conversation will probably not matter much in the long term." he says with his arms coming to settle across his chestplate.

"I assume you are wanting to know why I allowed Barricade to continue to attack you even after I arrived?"

Whirl gives Orion Pax an unamused huff at his comment regarding their conversation and how it wont matter. For some reason he feels like Pax would feel the same way about it even if there wasn't a possibility of him dying. "No, I already know the answer to that one. You don't like me, I get it, it's super obvious. You'd prefer I was still in prison because I'm a horrible person and blah blah whatever."

He shakes his head. "No, I'm not here about that. I'm here about the whole 'taking down Zeta' thing."

"That's where you would be wrong, Whirl." Orion says with a shake of his head. "For a mech that has had pre-concieved notions forced upon him.." his empurata status is the most blatant display of /that/, "..you are awfully quick to draw judgements on others. It makes me wonder why you had the patience to put up with someone as self-centered as Blast Off appears to come across as. I do not think that you belong in a prison. I know that what you did to Megatron was something that you and the Senate thought was right. I disagreed. Perhaps, now, it is too late to realize I was on the wrong end of that. For that and that alone.."

"I apologize."

"However, that does not stop the fact that you tend to get yourself into situation after situation of your own design and expect to be bailed out. In Dead End, when you were begging on the radio for the Decepticons to come kill you - you did it on a channel that was bound to draw Autobot attention. When you were here and you knew you would eventually have to face the consequence for what you did to Barricade through Shiftlock and now Pursuit, you expected to be bailed out. I didn't bail you out not because I hate you and wanted to see you hurt."

"But because I knew Barricade would not go that far. He had to prove to himself that he was still a mech of some moral support, which is why he stopped himself short. Why he said what he said. He doesn't want to admit that he had to stop himself, he never will - trust me, it would have been much worse had I interferred. But now that you have faced the consequence of your action, I can only hope that in the future, you will see your way more clearly."

"Now. What's this about Zeta you want to discuss?"

Orion Pax's apology is not what Whirl expected to hear and for a moment he feels like maybe, just maybe, this interaction with the big mech himself will go well. Until he mentions Shiftlock of course.

As soon as that name is dropped, Whirl goes on the defensive both in his posture and in his tone. "What I did to Barricade through Shiftlock!? What the HELL does THAT mean!? You think I WANTED to get caught up in her life? You think I did what I did with the intent to hurt him? Or.. or her? Or ANYONE!? I didn't know anything about her! I didn't know she was a Decepticon or that she was so close to Barricade. I didn't know ANY of that, and you're an asshole for suggesting otherwise!"

"On top of that, you ASSUME I wanted to be bailed out. Here's something YOU don't know, Pax. I WANTED him to hurt me. I WANTED him to do whatever he was planning on doing. You seem to think that I see what I did to Pursuit as some kind joke, like it's not a big deal but it is and I know it is! I did a horrible thing and I have to live with that every single day of my miserable life. And you know what the worst part of it is? The fact that I got away with it. I was never brought to justice for what I did, I was never punished, I never faced the consequences of my actions and it tears me up inside. Barricade was going to do what no one else was willing to do and make me pay for my crimes. My only wish is that you didn't discourage him from finishing what he started!"

Whirl gives Orion Pax a cold stare. "You don't know anything about me but you act like you do."

"Are you quite done? I have too many other things going on then to try to be some combonation of punching bag, training dummy, and outlet for whatever you feel you need to let out for how you feel about yourself. You created your own demons to live with - stop seeking others to free you from the prison of your own making, Whirl." Pax finally responds as he turns his attention back out towards the city. "Was there anything else that you needed?"

Whirl can only seethe in anger as Orion Pax so casually dismisses everything he just said. It's like his words are just falling on deaf audio receptors, like Pax has already made up his mind about him a long time ago and nothing he says or does, short of going back in time and stopping everything that made him who he is today, will ever change that. To think there was a time where he was respected and even admired for the things he did. Life is pretty screwed up, isn't it?

"No. Nothing." Whirl turns his back on Pax and begins to make his way back towards the way he came when he suddenly stops. There was a reason he sought him out and arguing about his terrible decisions and personal hang-ups was not it. After a few minutes of silence in which Whirl deliberates, he finally turns back around.

"..Actually, yeah, there is. We're going to be at war with Zeta soon and I'm sure there's doubt about my commitment to this whole thing but.." He scoffs and straightens up, puffing his chest out. "I wouldn't want someone I don't trust fighting alongside me and I imagine you feel the same way. We have our differences, I think that's pretty obvious but there's a reason I haven't torn off my badge and begged Megatron to take me in."

'You wouldn't last a vorn in the Decepticons' goes unsaid, at least. Pax doesn't turn around this time, instead he keeps his watch over the city. "Everyone is having to face decisions that may not settle right with them. The only ones that are getting any kind of joy from this are the Decepticons themselves. Just because it's the right thing that needs to be done does not mean I, or any of my Autobots, should derive pleasure from it. But it is what is right for Cybertron." he says finally.

"You have your reasons. I won't push mine on you. I won't force you to share yours with me. It is a personal decision that everyone else has had to make on their own. Either way, I am glad to have you, Whirl." the mech finally says.

"I just want you to know that I'm not going to try shooting you in the back or anything," Whirl says after Orion Pax finishes his piece. He has his reasons for sticking around with Pax and his Autobots and only a few of them are selfish in nature, but he's not required to voice them so he keeps them to himself for now.

"I'm on your side, Pax. Despite our.. differences I guess is a polite way to put it, I fight with you." With that said, Whirl turns around again and departs for real this time.

"Happy hunting, Whirl." Pax offers towards Whirl's back. But Pax won't be in the field - at least not where he wants to be.. he's going where he needs to be - the heart of the beast. But noone needs to know that yet.