11233/A Tropical Meeting

A Tropical Meeting
Date of Scene:	23 March 2020
Location:	Caribbean
Synopsis:	The Legion meets with Lockdown to discuss his contract and its effects on the citizens of Earth.
Cast of Characters:	Mon-El, Slipstream, Timber Wolf, Lockdown

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Mon-El has posed:
    To get away from the public and from the crowds of Manhattan, the Legion had chosen a remote island in the Caribbean southeast of the Bahamas, where hopefully no one else would either be in danger or a potential conflict or overhear...sensitive information.

    So after a few hours, Lar arrives on-site to wait for the others to show up and discuss what to do with the bounty situation.

Slipstream has posed:
There's a flash of light as Drake teleports down to the coordinates, brushing off his shoulders and patting himself down like he always does, just to make sure he's still in one piece. "Hey. So, we got huge incoming killer robots that turn into muscle cars and they got laser canons or whatever."

Timber Wolf has posed:
Brin's done his homework on the island and has dressed appropriately. Well, appropriately enough for the island...

So he's here in tropical attire too.

Once he's there, wearing flip flops, Hawaiian shirts and shorts, Brin's kept the wolf motif going. Anyone ever seen a Hawiian shirt with a wolf motif? yeah Brin's wearing that

Watching Drake, Brin waves casually when he teleports down. "So" Brin says. "Want the good or bad news?"

Lockdown has posed:
Lockdown, for all his faults, wasn't an idiot. He was coming to this meeting prepared.

A scan from the Tactician for the island itself and it's surroundings made sure there were no obvious traps, and that it was only the Legion. Lockdown had heard rumors about this 'Legion' since coming out of Cybertronian space, but this would be his first formal meeting with Terrans.

The Tactician sets down somewhere out of the way, remote, and with plenty of cover from both sensors and visual contact. Moments later, Lockdown is stepping down the loading ramp from the cargo bay, and setting off towards the Legionaires.

It takes about five minutes, but Lockdown eventually walks his way over to the group in robot form. He's not exactly hard to miss; a seventeen foot two ton war machine that isn't trying to hide tends to be remarkably unstealthy in the middle of a tropical island, so the *clanking* of his feet can be heard for a ways off. Especially to someone like Mon-El.

Still, it does give them time to watch him approach... and talk among themselves as the mercenary heads over.

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar definitely hears Lockdown approaching, and probably sees it, too. He's heard... a lot of things about Cybertronians. Most of it isn't good. But as a Legionnaire and with his many experiences with hundreds of different species throughout the galaxy, he believes its best to give each individual, regardless of race, a chance to show their character.

    "I know it's hard not to judge quickly, but let's try not to do that, all right?" he remarks good-naturedly to Drake, then turns to Brin. "What do you mean, exactly?"

Slipstream has posed:
"He say she's a bounty hunter, tracking down another of his kind for some type of object he stole." Drake says as he gives a long stretch, then peels out of his jacket, followed by his shirt as he ties it about his waist. His body has numerous scars upon it from his dangerous involving Foot soldiers, and other bad guys along the way. He's a fragile human after all. "May as well get a tan while we're out here, and you wanted to meet on a ship." He grins over at Brin. "Nice shirt Magnum."

Timber Wolf has posed:
"I mean I spoke to the guy that robot was trying to kill" Brin says, giving Drake a shrug and a laugh then looks to Lar. "I got a whole other side. See. I got told we're to stay out of this. That a bounty hunter's after him. So" Brin shrugs looking over the other two, Brin nods. "See, this isn't adding up. So I get down in the tunnel, right? I got into the tunnels, into the station, and I heard the other side of things" Brin says, hands through his slicked back hair.

"So from that car's side of the story, the big robot's a bounty hunter, and it's a big payday. From what I got told stay out of it all and let them settle it"

Falling quiet Brin looks over Lar and Drake.

Lockdown has posed:
"If I wanted Blurr dead, I would have done a lot more damage to your city during that chase back in New York." Lockdown notes as he approaches, that metallic voice easily grinding in the air. "My contract isn't to kill him. It's to retrieve what he stole from my client." Lockdown comes into plain view in front of all three, his red eyes scanning each in turn as he brings up both arms to cross them in front of his chest. "My name is Lockdown. I'm a bounty hunter, mercenary... and other things as necessary."

Then, he turns, and regards Timber Wolf, "From your words, I'm assuming you want us gone?"

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar sighs, rubbing the back of his head and thinking. "Is that it? What else did the other one say?" he turns to face Lockdown as the bounty hunter approaches. "What did he steal from your client? Or did they not care to inform you about that? If not," he looks to Brin. "Did the other guy tell you what it was?" He folds his arms. "As much as I would love to just oblige that request, if whatever business this is endangers the lives of innocents, then it is our duty to protect them at any cost."

Slipstream has posed:
"He said it's a cylinder of some sort but has no clue what it does. Pretty sure I wouldn't take a job without knowing all the deets personally. Could be a nuke." Drake says as he leans back against a palm treet and folds his arms over his chest. He places a foot behind him for balance, and to kick off if needed.

Timber Wolf has posed:
Brin looks over to Lockdown. "I never said that. No. I wasn't told what the cylinder was about either. Blur just wanted me to stay out of this, and mistook me for a Terran. I am not" he says warily watching Lockdown.

"Now, why would you take a bounty hunting job without any of that information?" he asks, looking around. "So, let me see if I got this straight. Lockdown's abounty hunter, right? I tracked down Blur and he was doing his best to tell me to stay out of this, stay the frag out of this" Brin says as hee shakes his head looking to each of them in turn.

"Why would somebody not tell Lockdown what this cylinder does? And why would Blur not mention it then and be so insistent I stay out of this? I want to protect people" Brin says and sighs. He's no cotton candy today. It's on the ship, truth be told!

Lockdown has posed:
"I don't need to know, and I didn't ask." Lockdown offers in reply. "You people don't understand how the business works, and that's fine... but you're deluding yourselves if you think people like to share their secrets with their contractors."

Then, Lockdown turns, and starts walking over to Mon-El, his right arm coming up, "We Cybertronians have unique issues facing us. Not the least of which-" His right hand retracts, and in it's place a massive war sickle of some unknown alloy replaces it,"-is we can literally turn ourselves into engines of war, and have for millions of years because of the Great War." The hand mounted sickle retracts, and is replaced by his hand again, before the arm goes idle again. "And the fact that neither faction in the Great War is willing to compromise, leading to our war burning across the universe."

Lockdown looks to the others again, before looking to Mon-el, "This... is just a sideline from the situation. I can tell you right now that Blurr isn't going to give up the chip without a fight, and isn't interested in negotiation. He's a soldier in a war spanning countless planets, fighting to survive and for what he thinks is a better future." His right hand closes, and he 'taps' his chest twice.

The sound is exactly like you'd think; a wrecking ball crashing against a tank. It's loud.

"The difference with us is we're incredibly durable war machines by necessity now... and now that I'm here again and have been monitoring, I can guarantee you one thing." His red eyes narrow as he watches Mon-El, "Cybertronians will never leave a planet like this alone. You have massive stores of fuels here that we can use for Energon. I guarantee you that there are other Cybertronians in hiding on this planet, fighting the war and using the resources here to eat."

He shrugs, "I'm just the only one willing to talk to your authorities, face to face, for now."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar listens to what Lockdown has to say...although he is not quite sure what to make of it all. Is he being honest, and if so, is he being -completely- honest? Sometimes, he can tell if people are lying by listening to their bodies, but this Cybertronian is an unknown.

    He arches a brow at Brin. "You keep saying the other one just said to stay out of it, but is that seriously all he said? How long were you down there talking to him? I don't like all this...secrecy around what this stolen item is or does." He says, glancing at Drake when he mentions it could be a bomb. Which honestly, it is a possibility. A disturbing one.

    The Daxamite lifts into the air now, floating up to optic level with Lockdown to address him, finally. "Oh, I know about your war. While you may have happened to run into us on Earth, Earth isn't our only charge. The Legion takes responsibility for protecting and fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves through the -entire- galaxy. So yes, I know about your race the sort of devastation it has inflicted on countless civilizations. You say you have no idea what it is your client wants back--but don't you have any suspicions? Do you think your target knows what he stole? And if you say others are hiding, where are they hiding? Have you seen them?"

Timber Wolf has posed:
"Few hours" Brin says to Lar, then watches Lockdown for a moment, then Drake and back to Lar. "That's the gist of it. He was insisting we stay out of it. Wanted me to lie and not tell anyone where he was. Seemed a bit panicky when I offered to hear him out, all I got was 'stay the frag outta this' deal" Brin says doing the air quote thing with his fingers.

Brin paces for a few moments, brows furrowed in thought. Watching everyone, rin grits his teeth. None of this is adding up to him.

Brin pauses his pacing and with a 'hrrrr' sound, he turns his gaze to Lar.

"This is why you're the smart one. I just punc things. None of this adds up" he all but growls.

Lockdown has posed:
"If I knew where they were, why would I tell you? I have no rapport with you or this planet yet. There's no trust. Especially if you know about our war and are as knowledgeable as you say you are." Lockdown counters, moving right up to Mon-El at this point, within feet of the Daxamite, now. "The fact that I'm even here should show I'm willing to build that trust... but you have to meet me halfway. I have absolutely no reason to sell out potential clients on this planet to you... and I have zero reason to tell you anything about what I think the chip Blurr has yet."

Lockdown has educated guesses, of course... but this is a new contact. Why would he betray a client for that?

"I have no interest in getting seriously involved with the affairs of the children beyond my own purposes, but I still need to eat... which means I have a reputation to protect among my kind. That means I need to complete this contract eventually. Now, that doesn't mean I'm not willing to negotiate with Terran authorities to stay here. I'm not a soldier, and I would certainly like to come here for Energon without doing it in hiding."

Mon-El has posed:
    "Hmph." Lar folds his arms as Lockdown refuses to give any further information. But, he supposes the bounty hunter does have a point. He sighs again. "Fine, that's a fair point. We're willing to come to an understanding on that, but you also have to understand that our priority is protecting the people of this planet and others, and if this job of yours comes into conflict with that as it did earlier, we -will- have to intervene in whatever way may be necessary."

    He frowns at Brin as the other Legionaire paces back and forth. "What do you mean, this doesn't add up? You said you talked to him for a few hours, I'm having a hard time believing that's -all- he said to you." He descends a bit to talk to Brin. "Brin, I need you to think...maybe that was the 'gist' of what he said, but was there anything else that might have seemed irrelevant but might give us a clue? I mean, was he friendly toward you? Or at least open to further discussion? If he's been here for a while, maybe there are others he's come into contact with who might have more information." he lowers his voice a bit. "...we need to find out what this 'chip' or whatever it is he's after is."

Timber Wolf has posed:
Brin pauses his pacing and looks to Lar. " then listens intently to Lockdown, eyebrow raised.

"Consider this...the guy I tracked, Blur, that's him right? He seemed super evasive and didn't want my help at all. Said it wasn't any of my business to poke around. So" Brin says running fingers through hair again, then he gives Lar a look. "I'll follow your lead on this" he says then looks to Lockdown. "You've been infintessimaly more helpful than your adversary" he notes offhandedely

Lockdown has posed:
"Nothing in my contract says I have to keep you from learning about the contents of the chip, so as long as you give it to me after you're done, I'm willing to extend the first olive branch and say I'm willing to help you track down Blurr and take a look at it yourself." Lockdown offers, before he drops to both knees... and sits down in front of Mon-El. "The Accords mean I can't let you keep the chip... but you can take a look, if you want."

Timber Wolf gets a glance, "I have no rules besides my own and those of the Accords. Blurr has Optimus to answer to."

Slipstream has posed:
As he conitnues to listen, Drake has remained mostly silent as he weighs the words of all three. As an offer is now put on the table, he shifts his jaw a bit to the side, then glances over towards Lar. He gives him an optimisic and encouraging grin. He trusts in him to make the right call here. At times he'll tap away at his phone with his thumbs, brushing them along the smooth glass surfaced quickly.

Mon-El has posed:
    "Hmm." Lar nods at Brin. It was true that Lockdown appeared to be more...open with them. Now as far as truth behind any of what he's said, that remains to be seen. He moves back up to Lockdown's level again. "We appreciate you talking with us in a civilized way, that at least is more than we can say for some other...individuals we've been up against in the past. Of course, as you don't trust us yet, we can't just trust you either, so I assume you'll understand our need for caution."

    "That said, I think we need to convene with the others and discuss how we should respond to this before moving forward. I'm sure they'll have some important input. In the meantime, Drake or Brin if either or both of you could work on investigating this other Cybertronian, see if we can't find out more about him, that may shed some more light on this situation."

Lockdown has posed:
"Most of my kind are children squabbling over idealogy and food. This planet is a perfect depot of food... and now that we know about the massive reserves of fuel here, you're going to need to learn how to deal with Cybertronians." Lockdown gives a small, metallic, sigh, "The Commonwealth and Empire both are going to face the reality that this planet is a good short term solution while we search for natural Energon. There's just no way around it... and there's nothing you can do that will stop them from coming here."

There's a slight metallic grinding as Lockdown sits back up, bringing down a finger to Mon-El. Out of it comes a small USB thumb drive, "The frequency and modulations necessary to contact the network on my ship. Just do a general broadcast. I'll get it." With that, Lockdown turns away from the group... and transforms back into that black and red muscle car, heading back into the jungle at high speed.

Slipstream has posed:
Nodding his head, Drake gives a pair of thumbs up to Lar. "Aye, Aye, Captain. I'll do my best once I get back on the ship to track him down. I'm sure I can find it by some type of distinct energy signature. Once I get a lock, I'll let you know." He takes his data pad out and taps along the glass, offering up a shoulder bump to TImber. "You're with me." He says jovially. As he watches the transformer roar off, his brows widen. "Man, that is freaking cool. I wish I had a talking Mustang."