[New RPG] The Two Solitudes: Iacon (Autobot)

[Warcry]

Iacon Mental Health Clinic

Smokescreen nodded. "Exactly. You can't be expected to perform a painstaking investigation of every single supplier you use, Scavenger. He won the bid, his references checked out and you assumed that he was bargaining in good faith. In hindsight it might be easy to see, but if you put in the footwork you'd need to put in to thoroughly investigate every supplier...well, they still wouldn't have broken ground on the mine, would they?"
_____________________________________

Trainyards

Red Alert grinned. "You know me too well, Nightbeat.

Letting himself into the front office, he waved over the receptionist. "I need to speak to your manager," he told her, flashing his Iacon Police Department holo-badge.

"Right this way," she said in a flat, disinterested tone.

[Aero Blade]

Maintenance Corridors, Iacon Depths

The sudden holographic image made Raiku jump back briefly, but then with a scowl he surged foward again, moving in on and starting to work on the drone. With this one still online, perhaps it would supply some answers to what was happening around here... He pulled open a maitenance panel on the drone and started to get to work on it.

[Blaster]

Iacon Communications Tower

Blaster sat within the radio communications area of the tower, across from Eject.

"And welcome back to The Daily Report with me, your main bot, Blaster! And I think it is time for us to switch gears and move onto the wide world of the Gladiatorial arenas! As always we are joined in studio by that tough little bot, Eject and on the line with Slamdance who is reporting live from the Iacon Gladatorial Arena and Entertainment Center where the final fight of the night has just concluded!" Blaster's voice was high energy as he set up Slamdance.

"Well the Arena is almost empty now but it was a great night. Not many surprises on the card, but the final match did not disappoint. Sunstreaker won with strikes and other than a small scare mid-way through never really looked out of control." Slamdance's voice came through crisply

"That makes another smaller title that Sunstreaker has amalgamated into his Planetary Championship." Blaster added in.

"That's right. You can't help but feel that it is a foregone conclusions that Sunstreaker will win when he fights right now. The way he not only controls the bouts but he also has such great control over the fans and getting them going at a moments notice. In other matches Skullgrin, the former Planetary Champ, lost another bout."

"This time to another lowerlight in Blot. You just can't really fathom how a former champ fell so far." Eject interjected

"It really is a huge surprise." Blaster added.

"Well you could tell by his body language that he is really down on himself. He refused any interviews after the bout. Sideswipe, Sunstreaker's mold-brother, had a very strong singles showing against Dreadwind. Apeface had a very hard fought battle against Saw that ended with a body killing blow. We've been told that Saw's spark was preserved but he will likely be needing a new body after refusing to quit despite medical intervention." Slamdance replied.

"Always tough to hear about that, but ya gotta remember that this is a sport that death has been known to happen in." Blaster spoke solemnly.

"It's true, but his spark was preserved and stabilized and he's got a bit of money set aside so I suspect he'll have a temporary drone body and a replacement body done fairly quickly." Eject added.

"Well, his manager said that the drone body was already enroute. He is said to be feeling quite lucky that he managed to stay alive. There are some reports that Ape Face may get a fine for continuing to try and attack the body even after the medical teams had rushed the field at the end of the fight. It's a barbaric sport, but you really have to know when to draw the line." Slamdance reported.

"But back to the biggest story of the night and the champion in Sunstreaker. I know we've asked it before and I know we'll ask it again but are we at the point were he's moving up from one of the best ever to the best ever?" Blaster asked.

"Well, you definitely have to be asking the question. Is the answer yes? I don't know. Personally I don't think so. You have to remember he's been fighting in an era where some of the greats just aren't active or even fighting anymore." Eject replied.

"Well there's no Megatron. There's no Whiplash. You definitely have to wonder how Sunstreaker would have fared if he started fighting a few solar cycles earlier. I don't doubt he'd still be a big name. He'd still be a championship contender but considering all of his matches and he still only has that one loss against Megatron, which kind of speaks to this point." Grandslam added.

"Well that fight against Megatron was really at different stages in the career of the two. Sunstreaker was just coming up and Megatron had long been established." Blaster questioned.

"I think you definitely see a different, closer fight now. But I don't know if the outcome would be different. Megatron was so driven, determined and focused. I just don't think you'll see any thing like that again. You'd never see Megatron come out like Sunstreaker did tonight and try and be cocky and toy with a bot like Repungus." Eject surmised.

"Well, that has always been the knock on Sunstreaker. I mean if you ask Sideswipe or really anyone who knows Sunstreaker other than Sunstreaker they'd all tell you the same thing. If Sunstreaker loses, it'll be Sunstreaker beating Sunstreaker by just not taking things seriously enough and showboating more than he really should."

"That's true, Slamdance, but really is there anyone out there right now who could offer that challenge to really get Sunstreaker with out a lot of luck?" Blaster asked.

"No." Eject replied succinctly.

"I agree, but to an extent. Obviously of the known fighters available Sunstreaker has not only beat most of them but he did so in a really convincing fashion. Who do you give a rematch too?" Grandslam asked. "I think there might be an argument for a couple of them, but they were handled so easily can you really justify saying, 'Yeah you earned another shot go have it.' It'd still be a huge upset if they even did serious damage, let alone won considering the first bout for some of these guys. The blown arm and the acid tonight are really all you see happening to Sunstreaker, and that's with him showboating more than fighting." Slamdance concluded

"Superficial wounds that are easily compensated for by a fighter of Sunstreaker's caliber," Eject added to the point. "Especially with the damage already done by him to his opponents at the points in those fights. The real challenges are really back in the lower leagues. If you watch some of the fighters coming up you see some challenges. Over in Kaon there was a gauntlet match with a bot named Grimlock and you hear some of the stuff they're saying about this bot, and it is very similar to what you used to hear about Megatron. Big, fierce, strong, quick, that killer instinct that Sunstreaker just doesn't really have." Eject finished.

"Now, is that mech really good enough though? I've seen some matches of his and he doesn't really look like he has the speed to go toe-to-toe against Sunstreaker." Blaster asked.

"Well that's the thing right now, we won't know what he really is until his level of competition is upped. I think if you threw him up against Sunstreaker right now, Sunstreaker's experience and savvy would probably carry the day. But down the road if he shows he can learn the game and keep up with some upper tier guys then you have to imagine someone like Grimlock would have to get a shot sooner than later." Eject finished.

"And until then?" Blaster asked."

"Well."

"Well..."

"Go ahead, Slamdance."

"Thanks. Until then, well what can you do? Sunstreaker is doing a pretty good job of keeping interest for himself and fans of the Gladiatorial arenas. He is really seeking out guys in the smaller tiers with lesser known championships and doing something that is sort of unheard of." Slamdance pondered.

"Last word, Eject." Blaster pointed.

"Can't really disagree. Sunstreaker is playing the waiting game as he waits for a real challenger and he really is doing the best he can to keep interest there and everyone watching and in seats."

"Allllllright! That was Eject, our in-studio gladiator analyst and Slamdance reporting live from the Iacon Gladtorial Arena and Event Center. Stay tuned for some hot tunes after the break and make sure to tune in later tonight as we get friend of the show, Sentinel on line for the video-casted show."

And with that they cut to a commercial.

Main Iacon Highway

Sideswipe chuckled to himself as the broadcast finished, speeding down the highway. "Sunstreaker is gonna hate that." He mused happily about the mentions of himself.

[Springer85]

War Academy

Kup turned his head towards Topspin. "Fight your own battles. I'm not here to hold your hand," he replied. Kup already knew that trying to convince Sentinel of anything is an impossible task.

Volks scratched his head. "Fifty? Are you nuts?! I'll likely short circuit! No way I'm going to do that!" Volks crossed his arms. "You'll find me much more of use behind a computer. "I can track just about anybody that you want found."

"There's no way you're getting anywhere near those things," Kup said. "Don't let him get behind thoose things, Sentinel. He'll glitch up the system worse than you can imagine."

[Blackjack]

War Academy

Sentinel narrowed his optics at Volks, bringing his face in close to the Minibot, jabbing a finger at his chest. "Don't be such a wuss, shortie. You're lucky you didn't get thrown into prison. Pretty-bots like you won't survive five clicks inside the Altihex prison. Let's get this straight: I don't give a scrap if you can hack your way to become Prime. Ain't gonna do you any good if someone finds their way to your place and beats you up. You're in my world now. If you want to survive, you do what I say, when I say. Transform NOW. Or you'll learn first-hand what the punishment for refusing to be punished is."

Welcome to hell, little criminal. I'll make sure you suffer badly for your crimes... Sentinel thought.

"Sentinel, your good press is just about ready for you..." Warpath's voice rang in through his private commlink.

Sentinel's visible reaction to that was a curt nod at Warpath's direction. "So are you going to do SIXTY transform-ups now or do you want to do something you'll regret in front of these high-ranking officers?" Sentinel indicated Kup, Topspin and Bombard.
______________________

"Open defiance and acting like a pampered wuss." Warpath said calmly after he shut off the communique, probably for Blaze's benefit, probably for himself. "Oh, that little Minibot is only making things worse for himself. From the looks of it Sentinel's gonna put him through a mock battle with him. But since he's gonna go on air, either I get pulled into humiliating the shortie, or we crack up the humiliation with a paint-fire exercise."

Sighing, Warpath opened a commlink to one of the staff working in the Academy. "Maintenance, get a portable video conference system down here."

[Clogs]

Prime's Chambers, Tower of Pion

...so what do I do? What can I do?

Zeta Prime stood at the window of his Chambers, hands clasped behind his back, staring out over the Council Pavillions towards the Decagon. His solution might lie with military intervention, but the Council wanted negotiation; that was the root of the matter.

To whom should he listen?

His thoughts wandered to better days, to the golden past he recalled more fondly and with greater clarity, it seemed, than recent happenings.

"Hm?" He turned his head, slightly puzzled. Was that someone paging him? He rallied, walked over to the comm and opened it. "This is Zeta Prime - go ahead."

[Aero Blade]

Hub-Palace of the Elders

The two Temple Knights had wated for a while as the secretary tried to send the com transmittion through. She sent them a polite smile every so often, which they returned out of cuortosy, but they already knew what the situation was like. After a while, the two eventually nodded to eachother, then started past the reception desk before they could be stopped.

"Oh wait, please, you can't- oh dear..." The flustered receptionist stammered, not sure how to stop the two of them, if that were possible or if she even should. It was just after that Zeta Prime finally responded. "Prime sir, there are two Temple Knights here to see you. They're already on their way up I believe..." She trailed off briefly as she looked around for them again, but they had already dissapeared onto a turbolift or some other passage.

"Master Yoketron, and his apprentice I believe," the receptionist clarrifed. It was not the first time Yoketron had visited, so she knew the old mech knew his way around. She just hoped they didn't detour elsewhere.

[optimusskids]

Streets

Weirdwolf prowled the streets, his mind going back.

He remembered it as if it were Yesterday.

a downturn in the markets had led to straitened times for the Iacon hunt. A decision had been made to dispose of 1 pack of Weirdwolf's beloved hunting dogs in order to save funds. Weirdwolf had made an impassioned , eloquent speech to the Board outlining another way other areas where savings could be made, a not so good vintage at the hunt dinners, still a perfectly acceptable Energon just of a slightly less good quality plus other measures. Shortly after his speech had been the accident. The accident which had put him in a coma. A coma from which Weirdwolf had awoken to find that the hunting dogs had been disposed of, culled. Weirdwolf still not recovered from his head injury had slapped a member of the hunt who had made an insensitive remark about the pack this had led to his dismissial although the official story was a medical discharge.

[Clogs]

Prime's Chambers, Tower of Pion

"Hm, Yoketron?" Zeta Prime frowned, heavy brow-ridges shadowing his optics. "What now? Send in Scribe... ah, no... he's at the Oracle. Very well, hold further communications."

He flicked the comm off and sat down in his large, almost throne-like chair to await the guests enforced on him.

It was then he remembered that Scribe had left his service over forty vorns ago.

[Blackjack]

Skies

Obsidian sighed. The flight hadn't helped cure his mood any better. If any, it had only made him more depressed.

Is this what Cybertron had fallen into? Where was their Golden Age? It was peace. They told him that with peace a new Golden Age would come. Nova Prime told him that. Zeta Prime told him that. Ironhide, Kup, they all told him that.

But now, he found himself questioning everything. This isn't what peace should be like. With peace there shouldn't even be crime, there shouldn't be oppression. Why are the higher-ups turning a blind optic to regions like the Dead End, or to entire city-states like Kaon? Cybertron is dying, and all these people care about are their bank accounts.

"Obsidian: Obliterate." Cybertron's General said as he transformed into his hovering robot mode as he re-entered the Stellar Galleries, moving through it's blindingly silver corridors -- it hurted Obsidian's optics -- towards the tiny chamber with that sculpture of Cybertron, hoping to lose himself in his planet's beauty once more...

Strika would've been disgusted with his inactivity, but what could he do? Obsidian only knew how to fight, how to plan, how to strategise. How could he fight against bureaucracy when they are Cybertron's leaders?

The general extended two reed-thin fingers towards his forehead and massaged it, optics frowning in confusion. This wasn't how it was supposed to go...

[Warcry]

Trainyards

Red Alert sighed as he looked across the desk at the yards' manager. "So you don't recognize him, no one saw him and no one knows why the loader went haywire and killed him. Is that the gist of what you're telling me?"

"It is," the manager told him officiously.

"And you don't have any video of the area he was standing in because the scanners in that sector have been mysteriously malfunctioning."

"Yes, sir."

And his ID wasn't scanned when he came in, even though there are armed guards posted at every entrance."

"Uh...yes, sir."

"And you just expect me to swallow this crap?"

"Uh..."

"Either you're deliberately obstructing my investigation because you have something to hide," Red Alert finished, "or your management of this facility is so absurdly negligent that you've let every one of your safety and security procedures fall by the wayside. Either way, I'm sure I'll be able to figure out something to charge you with. Get him out of my sight."

As a pair of low-ranking officers dragged the loudly-protesting manager away, Red Alert looked up at the other office workers and asked, "Alright, who's next?"
_____________________________________

Maintenance Corridors

As Raiku set to work, the drone's self-destruct protocol triggered and its' innards fused together into a black mass of melted wiring and circuit boards.

[Heinrad]

Trainyards, Iacon:


Nightbeat shrugged. "I'm a detective. It's my job." He then headed down the corridor, looking for the main computer room.

**********************
Target Range, Hub-Palace of the Elders, Iacon:


"Don't jerk th' trigger. Jus' give it a gentle pull."

Orion's optics narrowed in annoyance. It wasn't like he didn't know how to fire a gun. But he did have to admit, this one had a lot more kick than the ones at the Academy had. He aimed at the glowing target down at the other end, and gently squeezed the trigger. And at first, all was fine. The rifle roared, the digital counter discretely mounted where he could see it on the gun started to once again count down the shots in the drum at a frightenly high rate. He felt the gun bucking in his hands, trying to wrest the grips away from him. And the jerking slowly started, once again, to ruin his aim. Particle bolts went from thudding into the glowing target to slamming into the reinforced wall behind it. He then tried to correct, to bring the bucking machine gun back onto target..... but instead of holding it perfectly steady, he'd wind up over-compensating, sending rounds slamming into the wall on the other side of the target. He let up on the trigger again with a snort of disgust.

Ironhide sighed. The kid apparently figured that he should be able to pick up one of the high power/high volume guns and use it with no problem on full auto. "'Rion, if ya want ta use that gun-"

"- squeeze the trigger, don't jerk it. I know," groused Orion.

"Ah was gonna say, switch th' fahre select ta short bursts. Ain't nobody Ah know of who c'n fahre one'a them on full." The old Autobot eyed his new assistant with a look that had pity in it somewhere...... possibly. "Whut th' slag did Sentn'l do ta you, anyway?"

"I don't want to-"

Ironhide grabbed the younger Autobot, spinning him to face him, glaring into Orion's face "Kid, Ah been patient. Ya don't wanna tawk a lot, fahne. But in case it ain't sunk in yet, yer in Zeta's person'l pro-tection unit. We protect th' Prahme. An' th' last thing Ah need is some punk kid still dealin' with whut some slaggin' egomaniac run him through at th' Academy! Now yer gonna tawk, 'r Ah'm gonna start bouncin' ya off the walls!"

Orion could, as some small part of him maintained, have taken the old Autobot with one hand welded to his back. Fortunately for Orion's general health, he didn't listen to it. For one thing, this ancient Autobot was the head of Zeta's bodyguard unit, which meant that he wasn't a pushover in a fight. For another, the fact that his name was Ironhide probably meant that hitting him would be far more painful for the hitter than the hittee. With a weary sigh, Orion relented. "All right."

Ironhide let go of the younger Autobot and waited.

"I know Academy training is supposed to be hard, and Sentinel was hard on everybody in my class. But if you watched him with the other cadets, you could tell it was largely an act. With me, it was personal." Orion set the rifle down, almost as if he were afraid to hold it while going over these feelings. "If I did exactly the same thing he'd praise the other cadets for, I'd get derided or punished."

Ironhide cocked his head to one side, still listening, remembering rumors he'd heard.

"The few times I'd had interactions with you and others from the actual military, he got worse."

Ironhide remembered praising the cadet to Sentinel, saying that the 'kid done a real good job', and jokingly adding that he was far better than Sentinel when Sentinel had done the same thing vorns ago.

"So I figured I must be doing something wrong, but nobody would tell me what it was. I tried all the harder." Orion chuckled. "The other cadets started listening to me before they'd listen to Sentinel. And as funny as that was, I don't think it helped my case any."

"Prob'ly not."

"As for the incident you were wondering about....."

"You got nothin' ta be ashamed of. You got awl those cadets outta there in one piece."

"I'm not ashamed of it. I know Sentinel did it on purpose. I've talked with others who've done the night survival course, and I was the only one who ever got sent through that rough terrain, mainly because the terrain was so rough. What I'm not sure of is if he knew they were going to be doing live fire artillery tests aiming at that area because nobody ever goes there."

Ironhide's jaw dropped. He knew Sentinel had an ego problem. Part of it made him a good commandant for the War Academy. He'd break down the recruits and build them up again. But it sounded like he'd taken a different route with Orion. The fact that he hadn't been able to completely break the kid said more to Orion's character than to Sentinel's. But even at his most obnoxious, he could imagine Sentinel actually trying to kill the cadets on purpose.

[Aero Blade]

Maintenance Corridors, Iacon Depths

Raiku stood up, a scowl of absolute disgust on his face. A second drone behaving out of parameters, and again he couldn't investigate it. To top off the perfectly miserable day, the security crew finally decended on the lift, just in time to miss the entire disaster.

As the guards begain to investigate what had happened, Raiku's hand went to the side of his head, activating his com and calling the rest of his work crew. "Hey guys. Sorry, but yo'd better get startd without me. Again..."


Prime's Chambers, Tower of Pion

It did not take long for the two Temple Knights to navigate their way through the Palace of the Elders and over to the Tower of Pion; Yoketron knew the route well. Out of all the Knights, Yoketron was one of the oldest, and perhaps knew Zeta Prime the best out of all of them. For this reason, though, he also often found himself the bearer of bad news, and thus his familiarity with the buildings.

Yoketron gave a short, quiet sigh to himself as they rode the lift up the tower, causing Terabolt to look over at him briefly. When Yoketron continued to stare at the lift door, Terabolt returned to doing the same, all silence except for the sound of the lift's mechanisms opperating. When the lift docked at their destined floor, the two moved smoothly off, and the elder Temple Knight began to lead the way again.

At the Prime's chambers, Yoketron pushed the call button, waited one moment, then proceeded inside, knowing Zeta would be waiting for them. When the door openned, Yoketron's stoic expression melted into a warm smile.

"Zeta, good to see you," Yoketron greeted, coming over to shake the mech's hand. "You remember Tera don't you? Though I think she was much smaller back then..."

"Yes yes, you always seem possessed to remind people I started off as sparkling," Terabolt spoke, picking a chair and reclining in it as though taking a break. "I know it's rare, but I'm not unique. Move on already," she responded drolly, recieving a chuckle from Yoketron.

[Brave Maximus]

The old mech walked through the crowds, un-noticed and un-obstructed. He was confident in the fact that no one glanced his way - today he was a ghost, a fade of ages past. He stopped to look at one of the representations of Cybertron, created by one of it's greatest artists, several lifetimes ago. He remember watching the craftsman's hands move over it's surface, creating it, shaping it, giving it life. As he stood, no one bumped into him, jossled him, they just went around him, going about their day.

A breeze came, rustling his beard, the fine wires blowing. He absently stroked the beard and laughed to himself. He wasn't here to admite the sculptures or the people. He wasn't here for inner piece or a place to think. Some thing had brought him here.

Alpha Trion was looking for someone....

[optimusskids]

Target Range, Hub-Palace of the Elders, Iacon:

Nightstalker leapt from perch to perch firing his hip weapons at the targets.

"Look Orion , if you weren't good , you wouldn't be here always rember that, don't let it get to your head though. Pride comes before a fall and if you don't believe me check out the Flanker files. Flanker was what now 2 or 3 chiefs back,Ironhide? Anyway he got some of his team killed , plus innocent civilians. On the other hand theres nothing wrong with some constructive pride shall we call it. The Chief here."

He nodded towards Ironhide."

"He's not Sentinel he's not going to ask of you anything he's not prepared to do himself and he's not going on any power trips or play any mind games. We protect the Prime so we can't afford to screw around. Course if it helps, we could reprogramme a target drone or two to look like Sentinel to let you blow off some steam."

[Blackjack]

Stellar Galleries

Obsidian maneuvred through the silver halls, passing through a particularly long hall called 'The Glory of Cybertron', where portraits and lesser sculptures of Cybertron were displayed. Few were there but art critics and astronomers.

Obsidian floated past an old-looking robot, but paid him no attention as he reached the end of the hall. The doors slid open for him and he hovered inside, finding himself back in the room with the majestic sculpture of Cybertron.

As usual, other than the tiny, bubble-like drone that hovered in the air, the room was empty.

Obsidian's optics, normally a shade of blood-red, was pale and dim. He stretched out his right hand, nightmarish fingers caressing the sculpture of Cybertron with such care and gentleness as a mother would stroke a newborn child. "Cybertron..." Obsidian's insectoid lips moved, his optics lost in the beauty as two of his fingers trailed a line down the Manganese Mountains. "What has became of you, my home?"

Obsidian hovered higher, his scorpion-like tail helping to maneuver him to reach the top hemisphere, where his fingers traced the swirling towers on Iacon. It was painted gold.

So very unlike the real thing that Obsidian has just passed over moments ago.

His powerful shoulders slumped as. He remembered all the battles he had led and fought alongside his consort Strika. Against those Quintessons, against those insectlike Microcons, against the techno-organics, the Renegades, the Malignus Insurrection, the Cult of the Chaos Bringer, against the Tarnians... But those battles were gone. Even Strika was gone now...
______________________

War Academy

Warpath commed Blaster, "Sentinel should be ready. One of my men are setting up a vid-con link right now."

A generic-looking officer trotted up towards the field with a bunch of cameras and modems and cables and routers, then gave Sentinel the thumbs-up.

Warpath shrugged as he stood up, knowing Sentinel will need him to deal with the cadets or the officers or the particular ex-Autobot beside him. "Ah, the media, Blaze. Can't live with them, can't live without them."
______________________

Sentinel's optics narrowed. He spoke to all present. "Allright, ladies, I have a meeting with the press. You all transform and give me fifty laps around that circuit. Fliers, eighty hovering laps. At the fortieth lap onwards paint cannons will open fire at you scraplets. The one with the most paint colours will be forced to clean up the academy's waste disposal unit with our good friend Volks here, who just volunteered."

"Oh, and those who cut corners will be punished personally by physical combat with me. None of you stand a chance against me, however, so unless you want your afterburners switched with your optics, you better do it properly."

Sentinel then turned to Kup, "Kup, do you want to oversee these grunts, or shall I have Warpath or Scattershot do it?"

[Shine]

War Academy

Arms folded tightly across his broad chest, Scattershot watched with an amused expression as Sentinel Prime issued instructions to the new cadets present in the Academy's training grounds. Fresh as they were, a couple of these recruits did exhibit a certain degree of potential, if appearances were a reasonable enough indicator to follow.

A smirk flourished on the red and white Autobot's features. They were able to "walk the walk", most of them, but could they "talk the talk"? It was something Scattershot was about to discover very soon, whether he was selected to supervise these tin foil toys or not.

[Heinrad]

Trainyards, Iacon:


There were days that Nightbeat hated his job.

This was one of them.

He glared at the display on his padd. No matter how hard he checked, no matter what he looked at or manipulated the data, there was no sign that the system had been hacked. There had, however, been a glitch.

And that glitch, that hiccup in the system, had cost a mech his life. A tragic, terrible accident.

But....... There was always a but.

Whoever the victim was, he didn't belong here. Wrong look, wrong design. And the odds of some random guy who didn't belong here getting 'accidently' killed were remote in the extreme.

Somebody'd had him killed for some reason. Figuring out who the victim was looked like the only way to figure it out now.

[Blaster]

Communications Tower

"I hear ya, Warpath! We're just makin' the change over to the visual feed now. He got a list of questions that are off limits?" Blaster asked.

[Blackjack]

War Academy

"Don't ask anything about his chin." Warpath told Blaster with a deadpan tone. "Not unless you want your airing permits revoked."

"Come on, ladies!" Sentinel shouted at the cadets as he strode away from them towards Warpath.

His tone turned normal again as he added, "Oh, just don't try to put the military in a bad way, and I suppose everything is fair game. Sentinel knows his way to maneuvre around these stuff. Hopefully..." Warpath waved at Sentinel as the boot camp commander strode towards him.

"Hey, Scattershot, you wanna test your mettle against these weenies? They are about to run the Obstacle Course while I'll get pretty for my public." Sentinel walked up to the portable broadcast, gave Warpath and the techie a nod, and sat down on the chair prepared for him. Sentinel glanced at Blaze, scowled, and mouthed 'wait' before turning back to face the camera. The camera and microphone buzzed as the technician fiddled around with cables and the connection, and then he gave Sentinel the thumbs-up.

Sentinel put up a winning and friendly smile as he waited for the cue from Blaster. A friendly smile.

"We're ready, Blaster." Warpath spoke to his comm, as he strode towards the cadets and assorted officers. Shaking his head, he patted Topspin and Bombard on their shoulders. "I swear, when the media is involved, that guy's the best actor I've ever seen... he deserves an award..." he muttered under his breath.