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| [If Starscream can say one positive thing about Rodimus, it's that his timing couldn't have been better. Just when he's about to start putting a grand scheme into motion and, and he hits a wall with how to obtain one of the key pieces involved in it, an Autobot with exactly the information he needs suddenly appears? It's almost too good to be true.
He taps into Orion Pax's comm link frequency, voice urgent.]
Pax? Please tell me this is the right frequency... I need to speak with you, privately. | |
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| [Both shortly after the Signless's announcement.] [The first, to Arcee:] Arcee. I understand it is you who leads the Autobots in Optimus Prime's... unfortunate absence. I would speak with you regarding the Forge of Solus Prime. [And the second, to Starscream, far more urgent:] You saw the Alternian's offer, I take it. He has given the location of the Forge as the human settlement of Los Angeles' city hall. You are to retrieve it – at once. | |
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| Alert: requesting contact with Decepticon leadership to discuss future Cybertronian military operations while on planet Earth. This message will repeat until responded to. Alert...
[And repeat it does.] | |
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| [Despite his flippant disregard in speaking to Arcee on the matter, it doesn't take Starscream very long to get in touch with Megatron to inform him of the situation. He gets on a direct communication channel, chiming in without much of a warning. He sounds smugly amused in the way that he only ever sounds when he's just gotten away with doing something particularly vicious.]
Lord Megatron, I think you'll be delighted to hear that I finally have a positive ID on one of the mystery Autobots we keep hearing about, and Primus is she livid with you personally.
| |
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| [He is definitely not hiding around a corner with a payphone receiver while making this call, that would be ridiculous. It is at least a week since Starscream's rescue.]
Commander Starscream, do you read me?
LATER, HE PHONES THE DISCIPLE...
[The voice on the other side of the phone sounds awkward and hesitant.]
Magdal, do you read me?
EVENT LATER, HE PHONES METABEE...
[He speaks with a certain sense of urgency.]
Hello. This is Orion Pax. Do you read? | |
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| Greetings, Doctor Baelheit... It has been a while, hasn't it? Ordinarily I'd leave you to your own devices and wait for your contact first, but I've noticed some intriguing energy spikes coming from the vicinity of your laboratory recently... and curiosity has the better of me. Should I take this as a sign that you are making progress on the synthetic energon formula? | |
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| Hopefully you both actually have your comm channels open right now and are listening, because if you don't pay attention all of our necks are on the line again. Lord Megatron has requested I inform you of... well, we have an interesting guest back at the base right now. Give me confirmation that you're actually reading this and I will explain further. | |
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| As I'm sure you're eager for some good news, I thought I'd let you know our ranks just swelled by one. I was able to locate Breakdown -- turns out he's been on Earth for the last two years.
The bad news is that he's been held prisoner by TRIDENT for all that time. Don't fault him for it, though. It seems that TRIDENT is a more formidable group of humans than either of us realized. No telling exactly how much intel they got from him, but considering the state he was in when I found him... Well, let's just say that I think it's in our best interests to snuff out their little organization regardless. And painfully.
But still, it's a net gain. I'll have to find some supplies to patch Breakdown up properly, but he'll be quite an asset, don't you think? Things should go much more smoothly with three of us.
You're welcome. | |
|
| Los Angeles, I have a truly incredible story to tell you!
It all began a few years ago, in the distant city of Saint-Tropez. It was there that I saw the most MARVELLOUS car I have ever laid my eyes on; all sleek lines and smoked glass, with a glossy, deep red finish that glimmered in the summer light! Why, I simply had to walk up to it and compliment its owner on his flawless taste in vehicles.
I made a fast friend that day, but our meeting simply could not last forever. And so we said goodbye and both went on our way, sadness tugging at our hearts!
But when it drove away, the light struck the windshield in such a way that I realized...
The car had been empty all along!!!
Imagine my surprise! Even more surprising still is the fact I actually saw that car again, on numerous occasions! I'm quite the traveller, you see... From Spain to Greece, from old Rome and its monuments to the bustling streets of London! Wherever I went, I would always catch a glimpse, a furtive glance of this mysterious vehicle!
Ah, but you must be wondering why I'm telling you this story. The truth is... I saw this car again today, in this very city! A talking, gleaming sports car, following me across seas and continents... This can't be a coincidence. Fate is at work here, my friends!
Surely some of you must have seen it? It's quite unmistakable!
[Insert one of Eusine's trademark shitty photos here. It's actually not that blurry for once, but it's pretty much impossible to make out any details beyond "this is a perfectly ordinary-looking red sports car that is probably in no way a giant alien robot".
Really useful, Eusine.] | |
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| Hello, internet. Many of you aren’t familiar with the company I’m going to talk about today, but their research has probably changed your lives.
Harmony Medtech, a pioneering biomedical research firm based in Seattle WA, has been collecting DNA samples without consent since at least 2009, and using them in their research. It is unclear exactly how they obtained these hundreds of thousands of samples. Though company servers showed emails sent by top scientists and executives that mentioned picking up genetic material from area hospitals, the company has specimens on file from all over the United States.
It is also unclear exactly how these samples are being used. Harmony is a research facility, and generates profit mainly by selling its research and prototypes to pharmaceutical and medical equipment corporations. Many of Harmony's innovations have successfully passed clinical trials and gone mainstream, but CEO Alan Koizumi remains notoriously reclusive, and rarely gives press conferences or attends industry conventions.
[attached as images to the post are documents recovered from Harmony Medtech's servers: screenshots of their database (personal information redacted, of course), emails between researchers and interdepartmental memos re: collection of specimens. It's all very clinical, but there are clear references to the illegality of what they're doing. One even mentions bribing several lab employees of Seattle area hospitals, though it doesn't give their names. There’s no data on what they’re using the samples for, though there are vague references to several ongoing projects.]
In more ethical news, a new AI with its own blog has been drawing a lot of attention over the past few days. This is a step in the right direction: giving humans positive experiences with AI will help foster trust and open mindedness to different kinds of beings (not to mention make it easier for us to accept our robot overlords). Please, treat this new blogging AI with kindness and courtesy, as it learns from your messages. Don't let its first experiences with humanity be unpleasant ones.
Until next time.
[as always, the comment sections of The Uplink are wide open. if you want to comment IC anonymously just mark that it's anon in the subject line OuO ] | |
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