Legion World's fine but it ain't home [Open]

[taumangaria]

Who: Sawtooth and whomever would like to join him
What: The Time Trapper's newest acquisition is more than a little freaked out by, well, everything and tries to adjust.
Where: All over the ship, namely the observation and hab decks
When: After THATH/OM/GAU
Warnings/Notes: None so far - just a lot of introspection.

It's a lot to take in, all of a sudden. They'd won; Starscream had been apprehended; he'd been on his way with his brothers to start a new life in safety-

And then he'd been here, and found out that all of existence could be ending if someone didn't do something about it, and he'd been asked to help. The whole of existence needed help, and they'd grabbed him. Not Aerobolt, or Strongarm, or Optimus Prime; him.

It all made Starscream seem small, and Sawtooth even smaller by comparison.

He'd said yes, of course. He couldn't not say yes - not when he can help. Not when he can make a difference, hopefully for the better.

For now, though, he's trying to get his bearings. It's loud on Legion World, and busy, and full of species he's never seen before, but somehow the biggest change is that everything seems to be sized for him and not someone five times his size. It's nice to have everything at his eye level, or only slightly above it, instead of twenty feet in the air and too large for him to manipulate without acrobatics or creative thinking. Buzzstrike in particular would be thrilled-

Buzzstrike isn't here. No one is.

He shakes the thought and moves on, poking his head into lounges and the sim room and the mess hall, and stopping at the observation deck. He's never really gotten the opportunity to really look at Earth. Sure, he'd glanced at it upon approach once, but they'd all been too busy trying to convince the Scavengers to leave Earth for him to ever appreciate the planet, even if he'd wanted to. Earth was dangerous for them.

But here, as he stands and stares at the view, it's...beautiful. Now that it's no longer a danger to him, he can appreciate it at his leisure.

He's starting to discover he can appreciate a lot more without the threat of Starscream hovering over him like a lightning storm.

The habitat deck, as it turns out, is a lot more confusing than the rest of the ship, the way it switches from one completely alien landscape to another the longer he walks. He's walked through more than one biome that he knows doesn't belong to him, trying not to disturb the occupants and silently hoping that they're somewhere else. Trespassing is a poor first impression.

He finds the wrong beach twice before he happens upon the one that he knows is his; after all, nowhere else on this deck looks like Cybertron. The beach spans into the horizon, metal gravel along the shoreline interspersed with huge steely boulders and a sea that glistens silver in the light. It's not home - he's in the wrong dimension, and Cybertron can't ever be home again - but it looks like it, and for now, that's good enough.

His brothers would love to see this.

He clambers to the top of one of the boulders, takes a seat, and stares out to sea, finally letting himself think about how much he misses them.

Comments

Observation Deck

[justice_from_above]

Fareeha liked to jog. She liked that the ship was large enough and vast enough that she could change up her route and see something different every once in a while. She tried to always make it a point to detour for the observation deck, when it wasn't too far out of whatever route she'd decided to take for that day; the view continued to be spectacular and awe-inspiring.

Today, She quickly finds she's not alone, and slows her jog to a standstill. She checks her pulse rate, wipes sweat from her brow, and unclips her water bottle from her belt as she approaches the stranger.

He could easily have been an omnic from her world, but she knew this place was greater and more diverse than just what her Earth had to offer.

"Quite a sight, isn't it? I never get tired of it."

[taumangaria]

Sawtooth's first instinct on hearing someone approach is to go for cover, but- there's no one to keep a secret from here, and there's no one he needs to avoid. He can stay where he is. It'll be fine.

It's an adjustment, to say the least.

"I've never seen it like this before," he says, pulling his gaze away from the Earth and his mind away from nonapplicable survival instincts and turning to face the new arrival.

[justice_from_above]

"Are you used to seeing it from the ground up? That was my only experience until I arrived here."

She turned towards him as well, smiling slightly, and then holds a hand out in greeting.

"Fareeha Amari. I'm assuming you're new here?"

[taumangaria]

"Yes. I wasn't paying much attention when we approached, so I missed seeing it from space." He pauses for a moment. Normally, this would be giving out too much information to a stranger, but if nobody from home is here and this human is a part of his new team, will it really hurt? He hesitates, and compromises. "It's...easier to appreciate it now."

Introductions. Right. He takes her hand and shakes it. "Sawtooth, and yes. Have you been here long?"

Habitat Deck

[araignee_du_soir]

As the Cybertronian was making his way through all the differing biomes on the habitat deck, as jolting as it was to switch landscapes so much, perhaps the one that stunned him the most was moving from a metropolitan area of one biome to a completely flat space. For a stretch of the area, there was nothing in the area, just a pale grey floor that was hard to tell if it was meant to be metal or something earthy.

Other biomes could be seen on the edges, but the one Sawtooth was in seemed barren... except for one small area that looked like a pond with trees and bridges, rather reminiscent of an old Earth painting. Should he choose to enter the water garden, he would find that the edges to everything seemed to be purposefully blurred, like it was hard to bring specific things into full focus.

All except the woman on the bridge, laying upon her back with her eyes closed. She was completely defined and not nebulous like the garden about her...

[taumangaria]

This certainly is odd.

Admittedly, Sawtooth hasn't been familiar with a lot of the biomes he's come across, but at least most of them have looked like actual places. This one seems...he doesn't quite have the words for it. Ethereal might come to a more poetic mind, but Sawtooth is just confused.

He shouldn't be here - this obviously isn't his biome, and he isn't sure how touchy its occupant might be in terms of trespassing - but he needs to find his beach, and it might be on the other side of this...whatever this is. Passing through is the expedient route - maybe it won't matter, as long as he's careful.

It's not until he gets closer that he sees the person (human? do humans even come in that color?) on the bridge. By that point, it's too late to try to avoid bothering her; metal footsteps on anything but the softest of terrain are anything but quiet, and Cybertronians aren't exactly known for their subtlety. He pauses, and starts to make his way around the bridge. Maybe she won't mind, or maybe she's a heavy sleeper. He can hope.

[araignee_du_soir]

Unfortunately for him, Widowmaker wasn't asleep at all despite her eyes being closed. She had been merely resting, trying to calm the static in her mind, when her biome was invaded. It was an odd thing to hear someone walking through it, so when those heavy footsteps drew near, she opened her eyes to look at the...

Shark?

Metal shark.

"I do not get visitors."

[taumangaria]

She sure is awake. Sawtooth takes a few reflexive steps backwards and raises an arm, but...she doesn't move, aside from opening her eyes and talking to him.

Huh.

"I didn't mean to intrude," he says, by way of apology and also because it's the truth. "I'm new here, and I can't find my area." He pauses. It may not be the smartest question, but she doesn't seem angry and hasn't moved yet and he's curious and has to know: "Is this where you come from?"

Observation Deck

[touchmydragon]

The observation deck, as always, made a great spot for meditation. If Genji wasn't in his habitation area, he was definitely here with his legs crossed and his hands out at his side. There wasn't the stereotypical 'ommm' noise. Instead, it was just silence as he sat there, pondering on absolutely nothing, keeping his mind blank. When someone showed up, though, he turned his head, the lit up green visor acting more as eyes for him.

"Greetings. Hopefully I am not in your way."

[taumangaria]

On the one servo, Sawtooth is starting to realize that there's virtually nowhere he can go on Legion World to be truly alone - someone else is either already there or passing by. On the other servo, that doesn't mean he wants to bother people, especially people who are busy doing...something. Sitting, maybe, but Sawtooth knows better than to assume.

"Hello," he says, hesitating. "I didn't mean to bother you."

[touchmydragon]

"Do not worry. If I did not wish to be bothered, I would not be here."

It would be unfair to sit in a public place but insist that no one interrupt him while he was there. That was the work of those who wished to be angry, something he had gotten over a long time ago.

He did smoothly pull himself up to his feet with a graciousness mostly granted by robotic body parts. Genji was, admittedly, not surprised by a talking robot. After all, his own teacher was a sentient machine so it would be hypocritical. Especially since he was also more than half machine himself.

"Please, call me Genji. Is there somewhere you are looking to be?"

EIGHT THOUSAND YEARS LATER I'm so sorry

[taumangaria]

It's logical, at least. Sawtooth can appreciate that.

"I'm Sawtooth, and yes - I'm looking for the habitat deck." If Genji isn't angry at being interrupted and is offering assistance, Sawtooth isn't about to turn him down.

Observation deck

[isthisapidge]

There are so many wonderful robots running around on the ship. What Pidge really wants is to interview each and every single one, find out how they work, figure out what makes them tick both figuratively and literally.

This is not a conversation she knows how to start with any of the robots she sees around the ship. Who's bright idea was it to make robots who look and act very similarly to humans? It makes it hard to talk to them.

But this one? Is a shark. That's different! She leans on the grate near him to get a better look.

It's an intricate machine, probably meant to mimic the functions of a shark except he has hands and feet. How good is his AI? How human? He looks like he's lost in thought as he stares up at the earth, and Pidge races to find an opener.

"...Nice ocean, huh?"

Nnnnnot the best ever, but it'll have to do.

[taumangaria]

Sawtooth isn't accustomed to people casually approaching him. It's always been furtive glances and whispered conversations, or brash demands, or in the case of the past few days, medical staff checking on his well-being. Sidling up to someone and making idle conversation is new, to say the least, but that won't stop him from trying.

Plus, it's rare that he gets to be taller than someone, even if only by a little bit.

"It is." He nods. "I haven't seen it from this vantage point before."

[isthisapidge]

"Huh. Oddly enough, you aren't the first blue robot with an affinity for water I've ever met from Earth. Well, an Earth anyway."

She gives him a catlike smile. "Though I don't suppose you knew any giant metal lions?"

Habitat Deck

[hallaifyouherd]

The biomes are indeed a strange experience, but she's used to traveling through snow and sand, jungle and ocean. It makes her feel less like she's stuck in one place, and after a lifetime on the move? You can't really put a price on that.

She has, however, never seen anything quite like Sawtooth before.

Marjara peers up at him where he's perched himself, eyes squinting slightly against the sunlight as the ocean breeze sweeps over them both. Is that a shark? On land?

"...Hello?"

[taumangaria]

At the sound of the voice, Sawtooth nearly startles right off his perch. There's someone here- He needs to-

He needs to calm down. Everyone here is on his side, and there is no Starscream here. It's fine.

He looks down at the person who spoke, as though he didn't nearly just fall off a large metal boulder. "Hello."

[hallaifyouherd]

"Easy."

Her hand lifts, and there's a stirring under the sleeve of her left arm, but no second hand joins the first. It's impulse as she tries to ease the startled...shark-thing, before taking a step closer and letting her hand lower.

"I didn't mean to startle you."

[taumangaria]

"It's all right." Making someone else feel bad for his startle reflex is the last thing Sawtooth wants to do. It doesn't make for a great first impression, to say the least. "I'm still adjusting to being here."

sim room

[tenzero]

The sim room has been Tenno's home for the better part of his time in the legion, and this time is no different. Without constant missions, the place grows too still, and the only relief he's found from everything has been running simulation after simulation without end.

Exhausting himself is easier than having to think about the implications of saving the Kent child and the resulting damage that had done. The grey morality of the entire situation didn't sit right with him at all.

He's deep in the middle of a fantastical battle, surrounded by shock troops of all kinds, when the simulation cuts out as the door opens. If he had eyes, he would blink, but instead he lands a bit awkwardly and cocks his head over to the door to try to figure out what was going on.

Whomever is standing there is...no, that wasn't a frame, was it? Mechanical, yes, but nothing that he's ever seen before, and that certainly sparks his interest. "Oh, um. Did you need to use the room?"

Nailed it.

[taumangaria]

This isn't the entrance to the habitat deck.

Not only is Sawtooth lost, but he's also interrupted something. He pauses for a split second to take it in - the form isn't Cybertronian, but it certainly isn't human either, which places it firmly outside of Sawtooth's frame of reference - before backing out the door. "Oh- no. I didn't mean to interrupt you."

[tenzero]

"The rooms are for everyone." It would be far too rude of him to take over an area if someone else needed it, "it's okay. No interruptions at all!"

His tone is friendly, and he wriggles for a moment to recenter himself as he mulls over the situation. This is the first non-humanoid that he's seen, and frankly it doesn't matter whom or what this person is, he's excited. "What'd you need?"

[legionnpcs]

Babbage can be quiet. He just chooses not to be. Largely because organics find it comforting when they can hear the four hundred pound combat mech walking up behind them. He pauses, taking in the sight of a... wholly inorganic beach. Is that a liquid metal ocean? That's always neat to see.

He gives it a few seconds, then makes a buzzing noise, the equivalent of clearing his throat. "I was wondering about the increased heavy metal readings around here. I was worried someone had made a delivery in the wrong spot. It seems like my concerns were unfounded, doesn't it?"

[taumangaria]

Sawtooth startles a little at the buzz and turns around. The person standing there is...huh. They're not Cybertronian, but they're not human either, and he's not quite sure what to make of it.

Whatever they are, they seem friendly enough, at least. "It seems that way." A beat. "Unless someone else asked for a Cybertronian beach."

[legionnpcs]

"No, just a police station." Or whatever that was supposed to be.

He shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket and moves to stand evenly with Sawtooth, watching the ocean. "Most technoformed planets I'm aware of don't keep their oceans. They're not considered an efficient use of space." Babbage glances down at Sawtooth. "Do you live in there? Or is the shark form purely aesthetic?"