1024/Chaos, Order, and the In-Between

**Darkstar has posed:**
    The streets of Tarn were as they always were... Peaceful. Peaceful and lawful. Darkstar seemed to be quite at home here, despite his less than lawful attitude when he was sure that he'd get away with it. No, the cleanliness and order were what he had grown very accustomed to when he was in the Primal Vanguard, and his earlier life before he'd joined them. Clean and Priviledged... This is what it looked like, this is what he looked like. Darkstar was very much at home. Walking the streets he stopped at a vendor, stroking his chin as he looked over the available wares. "I need fuse, and casing..." he told the mech behind the counter. "For the cause."

    "For the cause, eh? I think I can get you what you need... Gotta wait here though. Don't keep stuff like that out in the main. Be right back."

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth was openly moving though the city in his beast-alt on his hind legs as he was reading a datapad, and.. well, he found himself at ease in this city, strangely... Might of possibly been due to the clean state of the city and darker coloration that allowed him to blend in much more.. That matter the orderly atmosphere, it was.. calming.

      What had he been doing all the way out here though? Exploring again, and looking for some things he and Dustoff could do in their off time, after all they both did tend to get stir crazy.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar nodded to the mech behind the counter as the other moved from the kiosk and into the shop behind it, out of view. The spacer retrieved an e-cig, as he was likened to do, and crossed his arms over his chest after sparking it for a nice long vent. That hit the spot... While taking a lean back against the kiosk, he looked over the city streets casually taking in the ambiance. "What a place..." he said to himself with admiration. It was then that he'd notice Goth, who was walking around in his beast form as usual. So weird...so foreign...

    "Bats," Darkstar would say as Goth passed by nose deep in his datapad. The Beastformer had almost passed him by completely without notice. Nerds, right?

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth would stop midstep and bring his datapad down with a sigh, and highlighted the paragraph he was on, before storing away the datapad in his subspace. "Yes Darkstar?" He'd ask, flatly as he looked to the spacer, why did this keep happening to him?

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "Just sayin' hi," Darkstar offered with a light shrug. What was with this guy? "We're comrades, remember? You got somewhere to be? Get movin' then," he'd say with a roll of his optics. If the mechabat didn't want to talk then he would be just fine waiting for the vendor to return by himself. Sheesh... After all they'd been through, and the bat still acted like he was a walking, talking, plague.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth quarked a ridge in confusion, but mentally, shrugged it off. "Ah.. Hello then, apologize, I am not used to... Well, someone just greeting me." He'd explain with slight motions of his hand, before bringing it behind him with the other. He would look to physically relax though, despite his optics being settled into a half-shuttered state.

      "Mostly just out and exploring this place, I've not seen the whole of Cybertron, that and looking for possible activities Dustoff and I could enjoy together at a later date" He'd add... It seemed Goth's normal attitude was grump, polite and proper, but grump.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "Huh... That's kinda weird," Darkstar would observe, his optics flashing as his ridges slightly dipped. "It's like Dustoff is the only friend you have, or somethin'. Well, Dustoff and \*me\* of course! Oh, and our buddies in Autobot lockup-land somewhere." Speaking of which, and of Dustoff in particular... "By the way... Your bestie really hurt my feelings the other day. I thought we were friends, and friends don't plot to \*offline\* their friends. What's his deal?"

**Goth has posed:**
     There was a long awkward silence from Goth before he grunted and looked away. "Because you lot are." He'd admit with a cringe, not looking right at the spacer... Yes yes, it was embarrassing, Goth's current only friends where these bozos... And he expected to hear the mocking for it.

      Bestie? Goth wanted to correct him and state Dustoff was /something else/ but that was probably a bad idea. He'd shrug though. "I do not know, I can only speculate, and for that, I suspect it is merely irritation of some sort."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar knew that Goth didn't have many friends, but he certainly made sure to state that he himself was one of them alright. Full of contradictions, Darkstar was himself the type to plot to offline his friends if they became problematic, but no one knew that, nor would they ever if he kept being discreet about it. There was no mocking for the admission, none at all.

    Another thing Darkstar was well aware of? Dustoff and Goth's relationship. "I hope so... When \*I\* say 'I'm gonna offline you' to one of my comrades I don't actually mean it. They probably did something that made me angry... Screwed up somehow, an' not a mech I've ever said it to ever took it seriously 'cuz they know better." Except for Goth that one time. "...But Dustoff? He said that he had a \*plan\* to do me in. Was quite descriptive about it... One thing I don't like is openly talkin' treasonous behavior. We do \*not\* offline our own unless they refuse to follow orders, or are flat out traitors. He needs to be careful spoutin' that kinda stuff."

    A shrug then, and Darkstar took another puff of e-cig. "Anyway... I don't really hold grudges or anything. Kinda see it as beneath me, so I'm lettin' it slide. I just hope he knows I didn't appreciate that, and that I \*do\* have feelings." Barely.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth merely shrugged, and gave Darkstar a rather flat look, he veeery much remembered how they met, and still suspected that Darkstar would attempt to offline him at /some/ point for some reason that he'd find dumb, but, he was once more, no longer afraid of the spacer given he was now no longer at the bottom of the barrel.

      He'd squint at Darkstar, also remembering what happened in the training arena when Goth had one of his episodes... Well, remembering what he saw on the video. "Then discuss it with him, not me, I am not a courier, nor am I any rank above him to interfere with matters of rank." He'd state in his normal tone, there was.. however, something in his optics perhaps the way they were settled, that gave away to the bats scheming.

      "...Darkstar, you are aware, the only reason I do not leave some battles, specially with Megatron around, is because I know if I do, before he states such, I'm very much at risk of him offlining me /himself/ or worse, sending the DJD after me?"

**Darkstar has posed:**
    The Vendor had returned a little while ago, but the mech just stood there while Darkstar and Goth spoke. The nature of the conversation was one that he had decided wasn't the kind that you just interrupt, and so he kept quiet while he placed the items that the spacer had requested on the counter space of the kiosk. If he looked a little uncomfortable it showed, especially at the mention of 'treasonous behavior'...

    "You two are \*close\*, Bats... He's talkin' about \*treason\* you should probably want to dissuade him from doin' anything stupid. I'm talking to \*you\* because you care about the mech, and comin' from me probably wouldn't mean as much all things considered. Dustoff," he was sure to say the name out loud for the benefit of the onlooker. Oh, so that's what this is.... "...is a good medic. Good for The Cause to have good medics that aren't offlining their mechs because they can't control their emotions."

    Taking another puff, Darkstar vented white smoke into the air and then sighed. "Yeah, I'm aware of that. That's how it works... It's called desertion. If the battle ain't won, and there's a superior around that expects you to keep goin' up until you can't then you gotta do what you gotta do." Another puff, and Darkstar's optics flashed.

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth still had that unamused, flat look on his face, that seemed to to become more and more sinister as he listened, despite no actual changes in his expression, but there was a physical twitch of his right index claw, if Darkstar was trying to prob out what Goth may do if he attacked Dustoff.

      "...I will inform him of this conversation in full." He'd state tartly. "Furthermore, then you do understand that your words run contradictory to what is actually done, yes?" He'd question with a tilt of his head. "Decepticons, while militaristic, will not hesitate to offline one another for the /pettiest/ of reasons." He'd vent a huff.

      He had to keep himself from taking a cheapshot at Starscream and his reputation... That was just low hanging fruit.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar smirks and waves a hand through the air, noticing the look on Goth's face. Yep, that's exactly what he'd expected to see. "I've seen Decepticons get into it before, sure. Seen our mechs offline each other before for slag-aft reasons too, but I've also seen mechs who did that get chewed up and smelted by higher ups for doin' so. I dunno who you think we are, but we ain't completely without rules. We do want to \*win\* this war, and the only reason we've been able to pull off a lot of what we've done so far is by keepin' some of those impulses under control. You want me plotting Dustoff's demise just like he was plotting mine? Or do you want him to survive this war? If he was \*my\* conjunx endura I sure as smelt would be advising him to avoid talkin' slag to someone who doesn't want any of that."

    Darkstar vented more white smoke into the air, and the spacer rolled his pauldrons and relaxed a bit. "Our ranks are full of idiots, Bats... Just a simple fact. Some of us ain't the standard rank an' file however. Some of us know how to keep our cool, and check our emotions. We don't win this war if we're destroyin' ourselves from within. \*After\* the war... Maybe it won't matter as much anymore," he chortles. "But for now-- let's actually try bein' smart."

    Darkstar turns to nod to the vendor, and a grin greeted the still uncomfortable looking salesmech. "So, that it? It'll do... How much?"

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth rolled his optics and vented a sigh. "He's not my conjunx." Not yet anyway. "...Then I suggest you do as he says, it wasn't that unreasonable a request." He'd say calmly, with a slow shutter of his optics, and slow opening of them, bringing his claw up to his lip a moment. "Darkstar, I suspect you're trying to figure some sort of answer out of me, if you want one, I suggest merely asking point blank, instead of attempting through half-measures." He'd nod.

      "Yes, Yes they are, that is obvious to anyone that has spent any time with them." He'd raise a ridge once more, folding his hands behind his back once more... He was definitely going to have to inform Dustoff of this conversation, as... Well, he didn't like it.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar shakes his head and laughs, "You don't get it, do you? I already agreed to do what he asked me to do, but now I know that he's been thinkin' about offlining me. When someone openly admits to ya' that they had truly...\*truly\* considered takin' you offline-- no jokin', not in a fleeting way, but \*really\* thought about it and how they'd go about it?" The spacer vents a sigh, and holds up a hand to the salesmech so that he can finish speaking with Goth. "That plants seeds in the processor... He crossed a line bigger'n one I've ever crossed with a mech I didn't end up \*actually\* offlining. I've been telling you straight up this whole conversation..."

    Darkstar retrieved some shanix from a subspace pocket and then slid them over to the vendor. "...Dissuade him from becoming an enemy of mine. We have an understanding right now, but if he's startin' to get emotional again... Speak up. Like I said, I'll avoid it if I can because apparently I ain't quite as prone to offlining comrades for stupid reasons as most. But I do \*not\* like being threatened, or promises of that sort."

    Turning about to look Goth in the optics then, Darkstar took one final puff from his e-cig and then discarded the rest. "I like havin' friends it turns out."

**Goth has posed:**
     Goth let out a hem, looking at Darkstar still with half-shuttered optics, he'd lean over slightly as he listened to him speak, a red blinking light on his left ear as he did, and simply nodded. "Now see, that wasn't so hard, now was it? I'll.. Speak with him, but I make no promises." He'd simply state.

      He'd glance up in thought. "...Then I suggest you cut with the threats as well, even if they are minor, as I personally, do not appreciate them, nor anyone stating such to those I care for... As.... Well." He'd shift his stance.

      "Lets just say, the last meches to offline my previous Endura, and friends, found their parts removed from their still living frames and dropped in front of /their/ love ones, or had their loved ones internals dropped in front of them, and or hung from buildings and other tall fixtures." He'd smile sinisterly. "As do I."

**Darkstar has posed:**
    Darkstar nodded simply enough when Goth agreed to speak with Dustoff, as he knew the mechabat would. They were so close he knew that absolutely every word spoken around Goth would find its way back to Dustoff in some way eventually. That was the downside of being so close with others...

    "When was the last time I threatened you, Bats? Or seriously threatened anyone you care for \*before\* they threatened me? Don't play with me," he chuckles before waving a hand again. "That's right, I forgot... You're from a different world. You don't know how mechs talk to each other when things get heated. You should learn... Really. It'll be good for ya' to be less up-tight. If you want me to take my 'not so real' threats and stow 'em away in subspace then I will, but it'd probably do you more good than not ta' be able to take hazing, and understand how one can threaten another without any truth behind it. I'm gonna kick your aft... I'm gonna offline you... Frag you... Go frag yourself... Stuff like that is part of...'venting' and 'culture'."

    Darkstar moves a hand to clasp the shoulder of the mechabat should Goth allow it. "Good, so you know where I stand... We are friends, and Dustoff is one o' mine too. I'll face 'im anytime in the traning room, but I ain't trying to offline the mech as long as he keeps those thoughts far out of his processor and buried in a deep dark ditch. We're good." The spacer snerks then. "'Sides... He's got good booze in that medbay of his."

**Goth has posed:**
     "training arena." He'd reply in response to the question of the last time Darkstar threatened him. "Over all, it has become less though." He'd huff. "...Well, that's just it, if you normalize such things, you begin to be unable to tell who will seriously act upon such." He'd explain. "Which is dangerous as you don't know who you must actually be mindful of." Goth was definitely one of those meches that meant what he said about murdering someone.

      Goth would not deny such, but his frame was rather rigid as he looked at the spacer with cold optics, but nodded. "Indeed, indeed." He'd hem. Darkstar may of been one of those he was close to, but if any harm came to Dustoff? Well.. Goth was going to need to be sure he could protect the other. "Though, honestly I do wonder what sort of twisted feats dear Dusty did to get as high a rank as he has." He'd chuckle, in genuine moment wonderment.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "When you lost it, and started attackin' mechs again... That's kinda a different situation, Bats," Darkstar replied with a grin. The mech patted the mechabat's shoulder a couple of times then before removing it to his own side.

    "C'mon," he offers and begins to walk while laughing at the question about how Dustoff managed to reach his rank. "Yeah... Yeah, I wonder," he offered back, but in all honesty it was pretty easy to climb the ladder when one had a medical background. Every mech he'd ever met in the Primal Vanguard that could perform complex repair work was an Officer faster than his optics could flash.

    "Let's grab a drink... I know a place not far from here. They serve a great enertea."

**Goth has posed:**
     "Oh please you didn't even attempt to calm me down as Vortex had." He'd comment drly, and huffed, before joining to walk /along side/ Darkstar, doing whatever it was internally that had been making that light blink. "Considering he's the only medical officer above corporal that we have? I imagine it had to of been quite the feat." He'd nod.

      "..Hmph, alright, likely going to snap at me to transform into that blasted robot mode of mine, but.. Ah.. I've grown used to such at this point." He'd vent.

**Darkstar has posed:**
    "Nope... Cuz one thing I know for sure is that 'psycho' don't listen to reason," Darkstar laughs with his head tilting back into his hands, which had joined together behind his helm as they walked.

    "Nah, you do you, Bats... Might not be your prettiest form, but we're Decepticon soldiers. They'll still serve us either way."