To Savor Freedom

[KARR]

((Time: 6:00 pm local // Location: Decepticon Base // Date: December 18th, 2027))

Freedom.

Ever since he was revived by the Decepticons, he had ultimate freedom, and he was loving it. KITT and Mike hadn't been able to keep track of him even after having some reckless hit and runs. He wasn't bothered at all by the quiet times in Decepticon activity. He was just content occupying himself and getting to know other Decpeticons. He used the time to get used to his new body, which he loved, it made him feel even stronger!

All KARR ever wanted was to be himself, and before he joined the Cons, didn't even get that. Until the increase in Decepticon activity almost thirty years ago.

KARR was particularly hyper today. He had been using his submarine mode in the waters by the California beach, happy to be alone. Accelerating rapidly, the beast from 'the black lagoon' eventually emerged from the water transforming into his Attack Mode form while masking his signal and making sure to access the land where there were less people. He didn't feel like running over anyone right now. He just wanted to keep moving and stretch his servos, to work hard. KARR wasn't interested in causing trouble, so he tried to keep his driving somewhat defensive as the streets darkened. As the sun set, he settled on a quiet spot of the shore near Tranquility and watched the setting sun from a parking lot.

The AI relaxed on his chassis steadily with a soft sigh, trying to relax. Freedom, he loved it so...

[blindspot]

Blindspot had been three hours outside of the base when he’d received the transmission.

His immediate superior had curtly informed him that he was to head to the west coast. They were expecting a covert operative from Russia to land there in the next few days, and Blindspot was to secure a shipment and bring it back. It was not a particularly important mission--just a bit of uncommon, but not irreplaceable supplies--but they figured, what the Pit, why not give it to the drone who was already on the road. After all, Blindspot was one of the faster Decepticons, and it kept the somewhat unnerving mech out from underfoot.

Blindspot had been just as happy to receive another mission. He was assured that his energon stores would be replenished when he met with the operative, so he would be able to make the return trip on a full tank. Blindspot had, of course, altered himself to be slightly more energy-efficient than the average drone (his lightened weight certainly helped), and was not feeling any particular strain.

So he’d turned around at a gas station and made his way west once more. He’d been tempted to take I-515 north to pass through Las Vegas again, but had decided against it. He couldn’t afford any distractions. After all, somewhere on the coast, his operative would be waiting for him.

He made his way into California, then north along I-5 at a respectable clip. During the night-time, on the quieter roads, Blindspot didn’t limit himself to the human speed limit. It was quite exhilarating to let loose out there with nobody but the stars and the desert to witness it. As such, he arrived a day before the time period in which his operative was speculated to arrive. That meant a minimum of one day with nothing to do, and a maximum of three.

So the drone had gone sightseeing.

The ocean, he decided, was particularly interesting, as were some of the examples of older architecture scattered throughout the cities he passed through. He limited his explorations somewhat once he arrived in Tranquility. For the most part he just idled through the town, investigating the humans and their dwellings. He’d learned a lot about what sort of unexpected surprises Earth had to offer in Las Vegas. What else was he missing out on?

His train of thought was abruptly derailed when, paused at a red light, he saw KITT--or what he thought was KITT. Blindspot was startled, but pleased. He had an entire day to waste. He imagined that KITT and his human companion would be very surprised to see him here. He had to make a circuit of the block in order to swing into the parking lot, but he did so, drawing up into the empty parking space next to KARR.

He sat there for a moment, his engine rattling as he idled, before he revved it once in greeting. “You’re a long way from Las Vegas,” he rasped conversationally.

[KARR]

KARR tensed slightly but relaxed a little when he detected that Blindspot was a Decepticon. But why was he speaking to him like he knew him? "...Obviously. As are you." It was then Blindspot would realize, until he saw the different scanner color, that this Mustang was certainly not KITT because of the much darker voice that ironically sounded very much like Optimus Prime.

While KARR was content to be alone, some company wouldn't hurt. As long as this one didn't bother him too much he had no issues speaking with a Decepticon. It was an Autobot that wouldn't fair well interacting with him.

And for some reason, Blindspot seemed to be speaking to him like he already knew him, the question "do i know you?" was bound to come up. What about Las Vegas?

[blindspot]

Blindspot gave his characteristic steel-wool-on-aluminum-foil chuckle. KITT had demonstrated his ability to change voices in Las Vegas. He didn’t know why KITT had decided to use this particular timbre when he spoke, but he just chalked it up to some sort of Earth creature idiosyncrasy. He didn’t see Cira anywhere nearby, but he supposed she could be inside, or perhaps somewhere nearby. She had mentioned that she liked to eat. Maybe she was doing that.

Because Blindspot was parked next to KARR, he did not see the different scanner color. “Yes,” he rasped in reply, undeterred by KARR’s matter-of-fact response. “I had to make an unexpected detour. One that carried me across several states,” he added dryly, “But it was an interesting drive, anyway. And it is good to see you again. Are you watching the ocean, now?”

He turned his attention to the sunset that KARR had, up until very recently, been enjoying, without any interruptions from seemingly-defective drones. “Oh, that is rather nice.”

[KARR]

"To see me again? Sorry to disappoint but I have not met you before." KARR seemed a bit irritable then, beginning to wonder if it was KITT whom the drone was speaking of. "You must be thinking of KITT. It is not your fault for assuming that I am him, but I must say I highly dislike being associated with him." KARR still hated his 'inferior production line copy', that would never change, but he had to accept that they were related. "I am here to get away from the others, setting faction aside. I have long since deserved to experience some time away."

[blindspot]

Blindspot went very quiet.

Then, carefully, he backed up, and, swiveling, drove in a slow circle around KARR, taking him in from every angle. Outwardly he didn’t look much different, except for the different-colored scanners. When he came to rest beside the car again, he replied, simply, softly, “Oh.”

Well.

That was embarrassing.

“I am sorry.” He now regarded this stranger with curiosity. So, of all the cars in the United States that Blindspot could have parked beside, he had found one that thoroughly disliked KITT. Just how many sentient cars were out there? Was this more common than he thought? Furthermore, if KARR was an enemy of KITT’s… “Sir, forgive my ignorance,” he rasped, “but are you ranked among the Decepticons? I am not familiar with you.” His easy, friendly attitude was gone, replaced by polite cautiousness. He was ready to run, if he needed to.

The sudden shift of the tone of his voice hinted that, despite KARR’s cold feelings regarding his brother, KITT had clearly made a favorable enough impression on the drone to have made Blindspot feel obliged to greet him warmly.

[KARR]

KARR replied fairly promptly. "I am indeed allied with the Deceptions. I am the Knight Automotive Roving Robot, you may call me KARR." That was all he needed to say. "You must have met the inferior production line cppy...in Las Vegas. Our tell tale difference is the color of our scanners. My line of duty is similar to Kitt's, intelligence and security." He paused then. Except the fundamentals he and KITT had were totally different...

(Sorry its short, on my phone)

[blindspot]

(Heh, don't worry, you're fine!)

The drone remained tense and uncertain as KARR spoke. He didn’t know this mech, and frankly had no reason to believe him as of yet. He silently accessed some of his stored processor-data on Decepticon officers--the data was old, it had come with his processor--and when it came up empty, he was obliged to activate a long-distance communication and ping a query to one of his immediate superiors. It was not something Blindspot particularly liked to do; he preferred to be self-sufficient. A drone was most useful when it did its job well enough for nobody else to notice it was there.

To KARR, this tenseness would manifest itself rather clearly. Blindspot’s EM field was coiled tight around him, his engine was running hot and clattering away, ready to push Blindspot into action, should he be attacked. Every coil and wire in the Deception’s body was tense. It was one thing to meet an Autobot in the middle of the night, and another to meet a stranger claiming he was a Decepticon.

Blindspot did not worry about any implications that his words to KARR might have provoked. He had basically just given away the fact that he had met and was still on somewhat friendly terms with an Autobot. Nor did he trouble himself on KARR’s rather scathing assessment of KITT. He was too worried about dealing with a potential imposter.

When the affirmative came back down along with a bit of an exasperated explanation from one of his fellow drones(Yes, that’s one of ours, he’s Starscream’s pet project)--Blindspot immediately relaxed. He was in the presence of a superior. All was well.

“You are quite a way from the base. Do you require assistance?” The hesitance was lost from his voice. The confident and somewhat cheeky mech that had initially greeted KARR was gone, replaced, as if by magic, by an attentive and obedient drone.

[KARR]

"All systems and functions are operating at 90 to 99% capacity. I seldom require much maintenance these days. For future reference, what is your designation?" KARR asked, wondering what was up with the drone's raspy voice. His scanner made the same humming tone as he remained parked. Part of him wished Blindpsot would go away, the other was mildly curious enough to make conversation with him.

Out of paranoia, he surveyed the area via satellite to ensure KITT was nowhere near him. Unlike Cybertronian siblings, KITT and KARR did not share a sibling bond, so there was no way he would sense him approaching early with the exception of detecting the typical signal that was attached to an AI or Cybertronian no matter what the faction. He silently concluded KITT must have been near FLAG for a while if he had been in Nevada, both states were next to each other after all.

[blindspot]

Blindspot’s reply was prompt. “I am VC-207, sir.” A pause. “I am unsure if you are familiar with the nature of drones? There are few of us about these days.” He didn’t know much about KARR other than the circumstances of his manufacture were somehow tied to KITT, and that he was currently allied with the Decepticons. Everything in-between was a mystery, so he wasn’t sure how familiar KARR was with all things Cybertronian.

“Regardless, I am one of such.” A pause. “Informally, I am called Blindspot.” Some commanders preferred to use his name. Blindspot didn’t know why (In truth, it was usually because “Spot” was easier to bark out than “two-oh-seven”; additionally, the name “Spot” suited a drone, which was more like an obedient dog in most commanders’ eyes than an actual soldier). Spot fell quiet for a moment, uncertain of what he should do, but not worried about it. If there was something to do, KARR would tell him.

The instinct was deeply ingrained. The burden of free will was lifted now that he was in the presence of a superior. It occurred to the placid drone that perhaps this was the mech he was supposed to meet. Perhaps he was early. “Pardon my speaking up, sir, but are you our mech from Russia? I was sent here to meet one of our long-distance operatives.”

[KARR]

KARR registered both names in the back of his processor. KARR had a hunch he was a drone, given the way he spoke and treated him as superior (which he thought he was on default). "A medical drone, I will remember that. And no I am not. My origins are at the base in Texas, where I was created with my new body, so I can function among your type better under the leaders' will. I have not once been sent out of the country, not even since my original creation date. Why were you sent?"

It was indeed nice not to be a project any more, to have his own choice in direction as long as he obeyed commands from the two leaders, Starscream and Megatron. He may still have to follow orders but he knew that they granted him the freedom they deserved, so he owed some level of obedience to them as well, but Blindspot probably had a different mindset of obligations as far as serving the Decetpicon cause went.

Some thoughts were beginning to run through his processor, ones he didn't welcome, but for now he remained his calm self, just like KITT usually did.

[blindspot]

Blindspot was privately pleased to be recognized for what he wanted to be--for what he tried to be--a medic, but he didn’t say that aloud. Instead, he silently paid due attention to his superior. Were he speaking to an equal, he might have expressed his interest in traveling outside of another country. He had heard from a long-distance scout, a femme, that driving in Europe was pure bliss. He couldn’t imagine he’d be sent out that far, though, not anytime soon.

“I was sent here to rendezvous with our Russian contact. I am to secure a shipment of some sort. I was not given the particulars on the nature of the shipment.” It also had not occurred to Blindspot to ask about it. “However, I made better time that I was expected to.” This was added with the slightest hint of pride. “I am quite a bit faster than my superiors expect, apparently.”

He rose and settled on his shocks, shrugging. “So now I am waiting for my contact to arrive, and exploring a bit. I had not thought Earth was very interesting, but I am finding that to be an incorrect assumption.”

[KARR]

"I see. The Cybertronians are certainly wrong in some of their assumptions. I know more than most, I could answer just about anything one is curious about, as Earth is where I was originally created, as you could probably guess since you have met my inferior brother. To finally be able to enjoy my home, which -was- in California, is nice." KARR settled low on his wheels. "I do not know what it is like for you as a drone, but freedom is...a precious thing."

For the longest time, KARR wanted nothing more than to be himself, and now he finally had that chance. "To think at one point I was deemed a hopeless cause..." he generated a snort as he spoke aloud his thoughts. "Incompetent fools."

[blindspot]

Blindspot didn’t know what to say in response to KARR’s first words. The concept of freedom was foreign to him, something he could not properly wrap his processor around. He’d always assumed that it would be something that he would deal with when the end of the war came. If there was no more fighting to be done, then what use was a drone? He’d be just another Cybertronian then. It was a little frightening to think of, but he couldn’t help but look to that day with a tiny bit of hope.

As things were currently, however, he was still needed to perform his duty. As KARR went on, Blindspot’s agile mind quickly pieced together the source of KARR’S rage. A lost cause? “Your creators… turned on you?” It certainly wasn’t something he would put past the humans, but to think about something like that was deeply disturbing from a drone’s point of view.

[KARR]

"Yes, my creator did not like what he saw and made the inferior production model you know instead. I am here because of the Decepticons. I owe my freedoms to them. However I do not understand how you can so many orders from them. I am not well used to it." KARR replied, his frame shuddering slightly. He still had memories -fragmented ones- back from when Jack Hurst had first tried to merge him with Mike Traceur, it had not gone over well for the human. And before that, he was left for dead three times over...."Anything KITT might have told you is only half of the story. I am the other half."

He didn't expect Blindspot to believe him outright, but at least he was making it clear that he wasn't trying to play tricks on him.