Test Drive

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

"Stupid slagging diode-blooming meatship downgrading meee-eeeeee!" Sentinel roared his displeasure as he veered around another corner. He was still getting used to the different sense of balance with his reduced size. The change in mass was playing havoc on his handling. How did the damn Bumbler deal with the change?

He clipped another corner, not slowing down as he refused to give up. Hopefully none of those skittering organics would get in his way this time.

Comments

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

Sentinel nodded. "Yes, that is my name... I am... pleased-" he tried to say it convincingly "- to make your acquaintance, Organic Wyn."

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

Well, Wyn gives points for trying, even if it's not entirely convincing. "Nice to meet you! ... and really, you don't have to rub the fact that I'm a squishy carbon-based lifeform in my face. I'm perfectly aware of that." she points out, tilting her head.

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

Sentinel nods reluctantly. "So... what is this 'magic' you speak of?"

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"Um... the best quick explanation I've heard is that it's like the ability to hack the universe." Wyn says after a moment. It's probably the best non-jargon-filled explanation, anyway.

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

"HACK the UNIVERSE? How?! Why would you do such a thing?" Sentinel sputtered out his shocked reply.

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"... right, clearly a bad metaphor." Wyn says, raising one eyebrow. "It's not, like, completely erasing and rewriting the universe's code from scratch, mostly because that would be absolutely terrifying but also because that would require, um, what's the best way to put this genocide? It's more along the lines of knowing how the universe works and then being able to persuade it to, I dunno, let you fly when you're clearly not built for it. Or able to breathe at high altitudes, but that's another problem entirely." she continues, by now completely derailed off on her own little tangent.

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

Sentinel composed himself, somewhat. "That's... ah.... very... interesting. Yes." He cleared his vocal processor, edging away slowly from the chaos-bearing hu-man.

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"... I can't do magic." Wyn says, giving Sentinel Prime a slightly exasperated look. "It's not something most people can do; I just understand the theory."

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

"Well... carry on then... with not magicking..." Sentinel replies uncertainly.

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"I will. You carry on... failing to turn corners? What were you trying to do back there before there was flipping over my head and not being a snowplow anymore and-- how did you do that, by the way, because that was so cool!" And oh look, more brain-derailment on Wyn's part.

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

"Oh that?" Sentinel grins haughtily. "Standard transformersault. Picked it up during basic training, improved on it for my own particular form."

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

That... was not really the part of the question that Wyn wanted answered. "... I meant more of the transforming in general, but all right, it was something you picked up in sentient-transforming-robot-army basic training."

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

Sentinel blinks at the clarification.

"How do we... transform? It's simply what we do. It's the unifying trait of our race, and how we've survived for so many eons. You may as well ask a shrike bat how it flies." He chuckles, then flips into alt-mode again, just to show off.

"Now obviously, since I've been stuck with this Earth mode, externally designed by you hu-mans, I'm not nearly as impressive as I should be, but the principle is the same."

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"I think bats fly mostly by producing thrust with their wings. Anyway, um, what do you transform into if the tiny snowplow isn't your usual alternate form? I mean, if a snowplow is Earth mode, then what's robot-planet mode?" Wyn asks, now thoroughly curious.

"... and doesn't anyone notice that you're not the size of an actual snowplow, or is it just a weirdness-censor thing and people ignore you and go about their business as usual?" You cannot escape the questions, Sentinel Prime. The confusing, rambling questions will probably never stop, and she can put up with the condescension if it gets her answers about transforming robots.

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

Sentinel is just fine with questions. He gets to talk about himself after all.

"A Cybertronian four-wheeled omni-terrain crawler. I originally scanned this body to operate discretely while on Earth. Somehow this nightmare ship reassigned it to me, and there hasn't been anything sufficient to scan as a replacement." He huffed indignantly.

"I was perfectly sized!" He snaps. "This ship shrunk me down as well!" He transforms back to robot mode and stomps his foot.

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

Wyn bites her lip to keep from laughing at the robot having a sulk in front of her. "Welcome to the world of the short. You get used to it eventually." she says, not entirely sympathetically. He's still about two feet taller than her, which isn't exactly short, per se.

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

Sentinel grinds his jawplate. "It's about dignity, and the fundamental lack thereof. We Cybertronians are the greatest race in the galaxy, and THIS is how we get treated when some war can't be won without our help?"

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"So how tall are you usually, if being quite a bit taller than I am is still short? ... and the ship is mostly humans." Wyn points out. She's not even going to touch the 'greatest race in the galaxy' thing.

[i-am-that-jerk.livejournal.com]

"Tall and large enough to make a 'regular' snowplow, when converted; and I'm glad you recognize the abundance of your kind. Just further evidence that this techno-nightmare's judgment is severely flawed." Sentinel shakes his head.