File 002 [Audio]

[ninjabike]

Well this has been a lesson in that fond Law humans have about someone named Murphy. Water, small pests, larger pests that eat the smaller one while also trying to eat others, and fires.

I also think the guy I was sharing rent with is either dead or missing.

Considering this place...my bet is on dead.

He's human, part of the Talons I think it is and usually out during the night and drunk or close to such most of the time when he's not patrolling Theta district. Just in case there's a chance he just got lost in corner or some other slim chance of such.

Comments

[tradecraftdude]

[ marco pales a little at the last bit of what arcee says, even though he's intent on preserving the stupid teenager act. ]

Whatever, okay. I'm not dead yet, and I've got other stuff to stress out about, and I don't wanna like, worry about shit I can't control, right? All I know is that I'm stuck here and I just need to keep my head down from now on.

[ he stops walking because they're back at the pizza shop, but there isn't really much for him to do besides wait for another call, so he sits on the step outside and assumes a thumb-twiddling position, leveling a pointed look at arcee as if he's expecting her to leave. ]

[ninjabike]

[Oh she knows exactly what you are hoping for with that look. Which just makes it all the more annoying doesn't it when she just leans against a wall opposite of him.]

Which is even more reason you should find someone to help with your survival instincts there kid. Even if you are right about no one coming for you over this. [She's doubtful considering this station] Trouble has a funny way of finding you when you least expect it after all.

[And that look being thrown at you is completely not over the fact she believes deep down you'll end up in some trouble because you're a human teenager. Nope.]

You seem to have enough friendly contacts that one may be able to teach you some self defense. Use it.

[tradecraftdude]

[ ... okay, why is she just lurking. ]

If by 'friendly contacts' you mean 'half of Omega decided to get all up in my business like they've formed the Marco Personal Coast Guard', then yeah. My survival has been doing pretty well without them.

[ But he knows she's right. It's true that there's an alarming number of people hovering over him now, making it almost impossible for him to get anything done without worrying that he'll run into someone trying to micromanage his life, but at least a couple of them are proving useful to helping him figure out how to protect himself. ]

So are you offering to help, or are you just going to stand there and supervise me?

[ninjabike]

[To see how long your patience last.]

If you weren't expecting such then you're an idiot. Even on this slag heap of a station there was bound to be those that actually do care about a kid due to such circumstances.

[And well that was either bold, cheek, or sarcasm and she's not certain which exactly prompted him asking her that question.]

And here I thought you were going to tell me to go away because you can take care of yourself. Wouldn't you rather ask someone that might not have orders from your roommate?

[Not that, that was true or anything since she would have confronted you without his prompting.]

[tradecraftdude]

If i tell you to go away, you're just going to sneak around behind me where I can't see you, duh. Friends close, enemies closer, stalkers front and center.

[ And the sooner Marco proves himself able to take care of himself, the sooner he shakes all these tails. ]

So what's it gonna be?

[ninjabike]

That's what tracking devices are for. Not all of us have all the time to stalk you personally.

[Is she being serious? It's hard to tell when she can control how her voice sounds.]

My skill set is not exactly tailored for self defense. [Or for humans] And you don't exactly need more ways to find trouble. You're pretty cozy with several soldiers if of various types, eras, and differing ways of fighting if only slightly. So why would you want a robot to try and teach you?

[tradecraftdude]

[ Marco's making a mental note to strip himself down and do a thorough search now. Is this drastic enough that he'd have to shave his head? Hope not. ]

Dude, are you kidding me? There's gotta be some cool robot stuff you can teach me! Can you like, hack into the mainframe? [ Marco you've watched too many movies.

Wait, what was that last part? ]

...how do you know who I'm friends with?

[ninjabike]

[Oh don't worry. If she actually had the means to track you like that she would certainly make certain you couldn't lose it that easily. Besides that sort of stuff was Ratchet's forte as the medic and scientist.]

I'm a scout. Gathering information as simple as seeing who you talk to on the extranet is rookie exercises. You don't exactly hide your conversations either so it's not like I actually had anything to amuse myself by breaking an encryption to begin with.

[tradecraftdude]

Do you do this to everyone or are you just a psycho following me around?!

[ Marco gives her a horrified expression; you can bet he's going to start locking all of his posts out of paranoia now. He knows better than to say anything actually incriminating on the network, but it still creeps him out thinking about someone purposely reading all his posts. ]

[ninjabike]

Kid, I gather information as if my life depended on it. You're not special it's a survival instinct.

After all, it's amazing what sort of patterns you can find if you realize certain aspects of a conversation in regards to your enemy's movements.


[Sorry Marco, the whole privacy thing is kinda a myth for her back home considering she deals with a guy who stalks and hunts people through their own internet.]

[tradecraftdude]

[ She makes an interesting point; Marco's read almost every post on the network just because he's a bored teenager, but there's certainly information to be filched out of it.

But he tries to keep the thoughtful look off his face, since he doesn't want Arcee picking up on his scheming. ]

Dunno what sort of weird shit you're into that means you need to be a nosy nutjob to 'survive', okay.

[ There's a call for another order, so he gets up and heads towards the door to go grab it. ]

But anyway, some of us actually have better things to do than stalk kids all over the station, so are you gonna like keep following me around for the rest of the day?

[ninjabike]

It's called a war.

[Wow blunt much Arcee? At least she didn't mention how lucrative it can be for someone to be an information broker or such.

And you just get a Look at that little quip there. Sure a great way to show appreciation of someone willing to watch your back out there in the streets, but if this is what you want...]

Just make certain you actually do get some training kid, before Prowl decides to decide for you if this station doesn't first.

[And have you ever seen a robot just disappear into the masses that is Omega before? Because she should not have been able to blend in that easily. Then again she likely just ducked out of your sight and hide in a vent somewhere.]