thisavrou | [VIDEO][001] - Backdated to Magnus' Arrival

[The video feed flickers to life, and despite the commotion, it's very much intentional. For those of you who know Riptide, you can see him frantically trying to escape from two hands that about as big as he is. Finally, one hand seizes Riptide and slams him to the floor. With some stability now, the camera is able to focus on Ultra Magnus. For those of you who don't know him, prepare to be bored. For those of you who do know him, it's possible that he's much much bigger than you remember, having had a few necessary upgrades recently.]

[He clears his vocalizer.]

Attention to all those who receive this broadcast. My name is Ultra Magnus. I have recently come aboard this ship and have been given the position of bailiff and parole officer. Let it be known that I have served as an officer of the law prior to my enlistment aboard the Moira, and as such, I promise that I will treat my duties and responsibilities with the utmost care, respect, and diligence that is befitting the position. I am fair and even-handed, and I look forward to working with all of you and becoming a productive member of the community.

That said, I have in my custody the one known as Riptide. He is a former comrade of mine, who served aboard the same ship as I did. Some of you may know him, and I am obligated to inform you that trusting this individual is a huge mistake. He is, as of now, being apprehended for being an accessory to mutiny.

[If Riptide wriggles, Magnus quickly presses his considerable weight down on him to make him stop.]

As I am still unfamiliar with the ship, I wish to know where the brig is located. I also wish to know everything about the due process aboard, as I intend to have this...this...ne'er-do-well answer for his crimes against his chain of command. In addition, if there are any forms and paperwork associated with the booking of prisoners so that they can be properly processed, I will more than happily fill out any and all necessary forms.

Again, I hope to make your acquaintance and let's all be sure to follow the new rules and expectations set forth by our current caregivers.

Magnus out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm not going anywhere, Ratchet.

[HE HUSTLES RIGHT OVER]

Magnus--let him up. He's all right. I don't know exactly what happened back at home, but--this isn't necessary.

Ratchet...he was in on the mutiny. He knew about it. He may not have been the mastermind, but he stood by and let it happen.

He stood there as Getaway bid us a cheerful farewell with the DJD on our doorstep!

Tarn killed him.

[The words are out of Ratchet's mouth before he can really think better of them, his optics pale and his face set.]

I don't know why what happened at home happened but here Tarn murdered him and has been terrorizing him ever since he's come back. Whatever he did or let happen... he's paid for it. Throwing him in the brig isn't going to make him any more frightened or miserable than he already is.

How...?

How can he have been murdered but still be here...?

Same way I was, I guess.

[Ratchet shrugs, turning a hand palm-out in a releasing gesture.]

Well, my death was an accident, but the principle is the same. If you die on this ship, the Ingress pulls you back. Or... one of the captains does, using the Ingress. I wasn't exactly thoroughly debriefed once I woke up out of cryostasis in the medical bay, but I remember dying, I know for a fact I was dead.

I think being killed by the person he left us to is punishment enough, don't you?

This is...profoundly unsettling.

I don't want to see him punished. I want to know why.

I want to know why so many of our closest comrades...Blaster, Hound, Mainframe, people we've spent millions of years fighting side-by-side with...would do this.

...Hound too? Damn.

[Ratchet rubs under the back of his helm, venting a shaky gust of air.]

I want to know why too. But I don't... I don't know if Riptide can tell us. I don't remember, and I don't think he does either--it's not something you can wring out of him if he hasn't even lived through it yet. And... he's been through a lot, here, even beyond all this being kidnapped nonsense. I don't think treating him like a criminal for something he hasn't done yet and can't explain is going to do anyone any favors.

I know this...

I know this and yet still I...

[Ratchet looks up--and up--at the huge figure of his friend, watching the expression on his face for a moment.]

Scared, huh? [Ratchet's voice is quiet. He thinks of sitting in the shuttle alone, trying to hone on Drift's signal, the rending ache of uncertainty. He thinks about coming back, finally, of dragging Drift away from whatever sort of life he'd cobbled together in lieu of The Lost Light straight into the face of the D.J.D.... He draws in a slow, rattling vent of air.] ...me too.

I don't know the best way to handle this. [Frankly.] But I think we have bigger problems here anyway, to be honest, even if there was an easy solution.

It's never been easy when it comes to our race.

It's never been...

It's never been so cut and dry. And yet, it would be easier if it were.

[VIDEO][001] - Backdated to Magnus' Arrival

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