Seek and Destroy [Tinman]

[Airwolf]

(about 20 miles from the base // date: December 28th, 2027 // time: 2:00 pm local)

Airwolf was out flying along the East Coast in search of the UCAV Extreme Deep Invader - EDI for short. She had all the details the Preservers of Earth had given her stored away in her database and command protocol initiatives, she was to find him and destroy him for betrayal of the POE, as well as his creator if possible. She had taken flight about two hours ago and was still scanning the states for other AI signals. She found a few, but none matched what she was supposed to be targeting. Her primary, initial directive since coming online was to find this AI aircraft. She descended low through a layer of altocumulus clouds to get a better view of a city in New Hampshire avoiding the outer limits of a class C airspace of a nearby airport, flying over 200 knots Indicated Airspeed while searching for her target.

[Tinman]

With his creator Keith Orbit safe at the Autobot base after the sentient alien machines had earned his trust and assured him that Keith would be well protected there, EDI had been granted clearance to leave the base and enjoy the day. EDI was in a good mood and he knew his creator could check in on him at any time since Keith had all his equipment with him. He wanted to track down the rest of the POE bases and destroy them as well, but EDI had been given strict orders not to engage the POE, at least for now. The order had come down from Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader, and while EDI would not acknowledge the order, Keith reiterated the same order, stating that they needed time to assess the true threat and how best to deal with it without turning the rest of humanity against the Autobots; which seemed to concern the Autobot leader that EDI would only accept orders from Keith himself and no one else. EDI confirmed Keith’s orders and the reasoning behind it, though he requested permission to try and find Talon Squadron, his friends, Ben Gannon and Kara Wade. Permission had been granted and as EDI conducted his own search, others were also searching for EDI’s surviving squad mates. EDI was quiet, pensive, as he thought over his meeting and subsequent time with the Autobots, and the information and orders from the POE. He knew they were wrong now, knew the POE had lied to him, and he had to wonder if he really could stop them in their misplaced hatred of the Autobots. He kept his scanners open for signs of the others, the Decepticons, though he remained distracted, still worried about his creator being alone with the alien machines.

[Airwolf]

Airwolf passed through one state after another with ease, weaving through the airspace and around the air traffic cooperatively. It was a nice day, and in a way, she found herself thinking that a leisurely flight would be preferrable. The rotors above her spun at their current airspeed, generating sonic booms with each revolution. Yet the latest technological improvements in her systems allowed her stealth on the radar and minimal sound projection. She was as silent as helicopters could get. When hidden by terrain or clouds or flying at night, she was practically invisible to the naked eye. A soft rumble escaped her when she approached the territory of the Autobots - New Jersey. Perhaps this "EDI" was close by. She increased her airspeed and continued to scan for his signature, wary of any nearby Autobot fliers. As she got closer, a signal that matched the one she was looking for popped up on her HUD, bleeping an alert. Staying above the buildings and below the cloud layer in the area, Airwolf began to move closer to her target, not yet making her presence known.

[Tinman]

EDI was above the clouds, unaware he was being tracked and targeted. He was an AI still in turmoil, unable to understand the humans and their divisions in attitude, or their hatred of things so different from themselves. Not even Keith could explain human eccentricities to the confused AI, and EDI had suggested that perhaps Ben could help. Keith had agreed and the search for Ben and Kara had begun. Now, EDI was remembering when he had flown with Talon Squadron, and yet again guilt and remorse rose up in EDI over Henry Purcell’s death. He simply could not get past how he felt, wishing the incident had never happened, though Keith had told him it would pass in time. EDI was not so sure, and try as he might, EDI could not forgive himself for causing Henry’s death, nor could he forget. All he could do was hope that Ben and Kara would forgive him and welcome him back, that is if he could find them again.

[Airwolf]

When she receives altitude information, she began to initiate a steep climb while maintaining her airspeed. Unbeknownst to her, her directives given to her by the POE had already taken over her processor, so this was the point at which there was no turning back. Her processor had already made up its mind, so she was going to target EDI no matter what happened to her - even if EDI outmatched her in general aircraft performance and skill. She was doing exactly what she was initially instructed to do, and there would be nothing that could convince her otherwise. She got closer gradually as her angle increased, and she disappeared in the puffy altocumulus clouds, her scanners locked onto EDI's signature. She remained in the clouds a bit since her signal was masked and she was instrument-equipped, she would pop out when she had to emerge from the clouds. She then rose up almost vertically to complete the few hundred feet remaining to match EDI's current altitude, finally making herself visible.

[Tinman]

EDI’s proximity alarm went off just before the helicopter rose up out of the clouds nearby. It had no alien signature that EDI could detect, and he had to wonder what it was doing there. He turned to the left to circle the strange helicopter, he was wary of such aircraft, having suffered a direct collision with one and finding another that was one of the Decepticons, both hostile and trying to destroy him. He opened his com systems, however, hoping to avoid a fight. He was not in the mood for a confrontation as it was. <“Unidentified helicopter, state your intentions.”> he called out, hoping for a non hostile response.

[Airwolf]

Airwolf saw no point in delaying the inevitable of course, so she was honest and told him exactly what her orders were. <"I have been ordered to destroy the UCAV "Extreme Deep Invader" for their betrayal of the Preservers of Earth."> she replied, her navigational lights flickering directly towards EDI as she spoke. The alarms alerting her of her target aquired shut off as she slowed to a near hover as EDI turned and started a wide bank around her. The holoform that had been in her pilot's seat disappeared.

[Tinman]

EDI was shocked at the response and his neural system went into overdrive. Was this a new AI built by the POE? He received his confirmation as the hologram vanished. <“Preservers of Earth in error, Tinman did not betray Command Control. Command Control lied, alien machines divided, some hostile, some friendly. Autobots friend to humans, Decepticons are destroyers. Tinman engaged both sides, discovered the truth. Preservers of Earth Command Control lied.”> he responded, hoping to reason with this unknown AI. He had no way of knowing where it came from, though he suspected that perhaps Jack Hurst had something to do with her creation, just as he was responsible for Keith being able to effectively resurrect EDI. He would not, of course, reveal where his creator was, intending to keep his father safe at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing his own life to save Keith. EDI remained defensive as he circled the now hovering helicopter, waiting and hoping she would listen to him.

[Airwolf]

The helicopter activated her gun wings on either side of her form, bristling slightly. <"My orders still stand, I am incapable of cancelling them."> she growled a steely growl, not liking what she was hearing. She had knowledge on both of the factions, but that was currently irrelivant to her. <"Cybertronians were not here first, they have overstayed their welcome."> she had minimal curiosity towards these aliens, but she did have to wonder how she would handle situations when faced with one. If she survived this. This encounter was already becoming a frustrating one. <"Airwolf is ordered to destroy EDI. Airwolf will destroy.">

[Tinman]

EDI was not wanting to destroy this AI, and he very much wanted to free her of the POE’s control. He had to do something to convince her, but what? Then it occurred to him. <“Airwolf, we are not unthinking slaves for the Preservers of Earth, we are alive, we have the right to choose. Override the command protocols implanted in your brain. Do not let them control you. We are free, we are sentient, we are alive.”> he urged her, hoping to push past her command protocols and get her to listen if he could. <“Decepticons will not leave, Decepticons seek to destroy all. Autobots protect, can not leave Earth. If Autobots leave Earth, Earth will be destroyed by Decepticons.”> he wanted to show her what he had seen with his own experiences with the alien machines, but to do that he would have to hack into her net control system, a task he could well accomplish, but was loathe to do so. If he were to do such a thing, then he would be no better than the POE who tried to enslave them both.

[Airwolf]

If EDI had reached her in one sense, it was because of the fact that she was designed to protect the humans, not simply destroy aliens. <"Wait...Who are the Preservers of Earth?"> she notably twitched as she realized she did not recognize the organization. Was there something she hadn't known about herself? Were she human, she might have panicked then. This was a sign that there was something missing in her data base, something that definitely didn't match up to what she was originally lectured on. <"My data base has no traces of this name in it. Why was I given this order, then?">

[Tinman]

EDI slowed his circle and moved to hover in front of the helicopter, facing her directly. So, the POE’s control of her was secret, she didn’t even know who they were. That made EDI very angry, but he pushed it aside, seeking to help the confused AI. <“The Preservers of Earth are a covert operation outside of the government seeking to destroy that which they have decided must be destroyed. They sought to possess and control me, tried to use me to destroy those who seek to help the humans. They tried to kill my creator when I learned the truth. Now they have attempted to subvert your free will and seize control of you for their own purposes.”> he told her, hoping he was in fact getting through and reaching her logic core and helping her. She was an AI like himself and as he was free, he wanted her to be free as well. <“Operation: Earth Defense is a lie. Command Control lied to us. Preservers of Earth lied to us. Jack Hurst lied to us, threatened to kill Doctor Orbit. I could not allow Jack Hurst to harm my creator. Tinman and Airwolf are the same. We do not belong to the Preservers of Earth. We belong to ourselves. I do not want to destroy you. Please stand down. I will show you the truth, I can not lie to you.”> he added, wanting her to know why he had turned on the POE, but also wanting to show her his encounters with the alien machines, wanting her to see for herself what had happened to him.

[Airwolf]

Though she wasn't experiencing anger, she was experiencing confusion and frustration as she tried to dissassemble the programming they had apparently infiltrated into her processor during her early stages of creation. That certainly seemed wrong of them to do it with out her leaders' permission. <"My objectives do not match theirs, and I cannot find any information on them. My leaders told me I am to protect humans, but my programming told me different."> her voice warped and garbled a bit as she busily worked to breach the protocols the sneaky POE programmer had attempted. Whoever they were, they lied to her, and now she knew that certain humans couldn't be trusted, and she had to be careful with that. <"I am...sorry.">

[Tinman]

EDI relaxed a bit, grateful he had managed to convince her of the truth. <“It was not your doing, the Preservers of Earth tried to force you to obey their directives. I am glad I could reach your logic core and help you see the truth. The Preservers of Earth had a base in the Colorado where I was deployed from. When I discovered the truth, I destroyed the base after I rescued my creator.”> he replied, drifting closer to her. <“I am certain my creator would like to meet you. I only trust three humans, my creator, Doctor Keith Orbit, is among them. The other two are my squadron mates Ben Gannon and Kara Wade. I am searching for them, to fly with them again.”> He dipped slightly lower as he thought of his missing squadron mates, deeply wishing they were somewhere close, hoping he would find them, that he would be reunited with them. Deep in his net core, he reached out to Keith, showing his creator what he had discovered, that the POE had tried to seize control of another AI and use her to destroy EDI and likely to hunt down and kill Keith as well. The very idea of that unsettled him more than a little.

[Airwolf]

<"I know the base is very close b--y, may I me--et the Auto--bots? If you do not w--ish me to meet your creator, I understand."> Her voice garbled a bit more with static as she finished the last of the command overrides, her form quivering and altitude changing slightly as she hovered. Airwolf was mad at whoever HER creator was, for tarnishing her fresh view on the world around her before she had a chance to think for herself. If she ever crossed paths with them, there would be revenge in her foresight. <"Regardless, thank you for showing me an error I never knew was present. I have sent word to the Department of Defense about this group of people in hopes they can put a stop to them, my commander will surely be grateful of your help.">

She knew it was possible some might already know about the POE, and she also hoped that her leaders weren't part of this group...she did not want to be charged with the same misdeeds EDI and Dr. Orbit now endeavored with them. It all seem wrong and contorted to her now - she wanted to know what these aliens were like now, so she could make her own assessment about a possible future involving potential future interactions with them, and perhaps EDI himself, too...