Starving and Desperate (Swindle)

[Barricade]

((Somewhere in West Virginia, 28 July 2027, 0526 HLT))

The engine under the black hood of the Saleen interceptor roared hungrily as the vehicle tore down the highway. Fuel was running low, and he'd already been putting it off by refueling at gas stations or using the sun. It just wasn't enough. In his starved, half-crazed state, he didn't even register where he was going. He didn't register that he was moving east, nor did he know the reason. A single thought occupied his processor, and that was fuel. His engine grew hotter as he pushed it harder and harder, dimly registering the pain. But it didn't matter. He needed fuel, or he was going to starve. He already was. It was painful.

A small thought pushed its way into his mind, and he veered sharply to pull off the road, heading into the unpaved sections of the country. Reaching a suitable spot, he transformed, an error message letting him know he wasn't going to be able to do that again. Shutting down anything he didn't need to survive, he managed to get enough power in him to activate his emergency beacon, even if only for a little. All he needed was for a bot to find him. He didn't care if they were Autobot or Decepticon. All he knew, as his processor slowly fell deeper into the feral survival state that had its hold on him, was that he needed fuel, however he could get it.

[Swindle]

About seven miles from where the Saleen had stopped and transformed a green-tan Hummer with purple tinted windows was cruising down the road when he picked up an emergency beacon. {"Well hello, what do we have here?"} It didn't take long for him to decide to check it out. If it was an Autobot they were already in trouble and if it was a Decepticon, well they needed help, which he could provide, for a price that is. He looked up a map for the area to find the best route to where the beacon was coming from. There was a winding route taking a number of back roads for a while before even getting that close or, well his alt mode would be alright with some off-roading.

Doing a quick check that there were no other vehicles around and, thus, no one to really see him he turned off the road and headed across a field, cutting his commute time down quite a bit before he had to return back to proper roads for a bit. It didn't take him long to find the source of the signal. He slowed to a stop as he approached the transformed Saleen cop car. "Weeeeell, Barricade, long time no see. What have you been up to? You look like you've gone to the bottom of the pit and crawled back out." He, himself, transformed as well, standing a few feet taller than the other mech. "So, how can I help you?"

[Barricade]

Four ruby-red optics snapped into full focus on the tan form, a light growl rumbling in his vocalizer. Somewhere in the back of his processor, he recognized the taller form, but that didn't matter. What did matter, however, was the lifeblood pulsing and flowing through the form. Slowly, he pushed himself up so that he was standing slightly, though it was a little slouched. Another growl rumbled through his frame, a word attached to it. ~"Energon..."~ Running on almost pure base programming, his speech center wasn't fully processing the Earth languages, and he really didn't care. Without warning, his frame tensed, and he sprung at Swindle, trying to dig his claws into the taller mech's armor for better grip.

[Swindle]

The larger mech's optics widened a bit and he jumped back a bit as the crazed Decepticon lunged at him. ~"Woah!"~ He grunted a bit as he felt the smaller mech's claws dig into his armor a bit and, thinking fast, activated the gyro gun hidden in his left wrist and fired it point blank at him in the hopes it would disorient him enough that he could get free but not hurt Barricade. ~"Clam down, calm down, I'm here to help! Ok, I get it now, you're starving. Admittedly, not a good way to go, I've seen it, but you're not too far gone yet, haven't yet reached the writhing on the ground unable to form words stage yet, at that point you're pretty much dead. I've got some energon I can give you just let me get to it, ok?"~

[Barricade]

Before Barricade could even attempt to bite down, the blast from the gyro gun hit him point blank, jumbling his balance and coordination. A startled and confused noise sounded, and he slipped off Swindle, falling over onto the ground, flailing uselessly in an attempt to get up. The higher-level portions of his processor managed to boot up, taking power from the beacon he'd activated, as well as several other non-vital systems, helping him form more coherent thoughts. {"Great...Of all the bots to find me, it had to be Swindle...."} He knew how the tan mech worked, and it wasn't out of a sense of commradery. He'd end up owing the Combaticon a favor or credits or something, and he wasn't in the mood for that, though he did really need the fuel...

[Swindle]

Swindle let out a small sigh of relief as Barricade slipped off of him. ~"That's better... Now then..."~ The mech brushed himself off a bit and then opened the drawer built into his chest that allowed access to his subspace storage, reaching in and rummaging around a bit. ~"Let's see here... Ah, here we are!"~ He pulled out a decent helping of energon, at least enough get the smaller mech back to more than just basic functionality for a little while, and held it out to Barricade. ~"Here ya go, drink up, you need it right now."~

[Barricade]

Four red optics focused in on the cube, and the glowing, life-sustaining liquid inside. As the gyro gun's effects wore off, he rolled over so he could sit up, still entirely focused on the cube. One hand reached out to take it, slight hesitation for a moment, before lashing out and grabbing it before second thoughts could be formed. He gulped down the liquid, systems humming in contentment at the intake of real fuel. Once the cube was drained completely, he set it down, looking at Swindle with a look of slight contempt.

[Swindle]

Swindle watched as Barricade chugged the liquid down, waiting patiently until he was done before speaking. ~"There you go, feeling better now?"~ He could tell by the look Barricade was giving him that he wasn't exactly thrilled to see him, but that didn't necessarily mean he would end up walking away from this empty handed, he just had to be a bit gentle with how he went about things. ~"That was a close call there, much longer and I doubt you would have made it. Good to see you still have your wits about you though, using an emergency beacon is probably the smartest thing you could have done and in the state you were in most wouldn't have thought to do so. That move there is probably what saved your life, and you're lucky I found you and not an Autobot."~

[Barricade]

Barricade growled a bit. ~"I would have rather an Autobot. Better chance of tearing them apart to get at the fuel than with you. Wouldn't have four brothers to contend with either if I'd have succeeded."~ He snapped. ~"Now cut the crap already, Swindle. You wouldn't have done this if there wasn't a profit for you involved."~ He was highly irritated, and it wasn't just at Swindle. He was irritated at himself for taking the Energon that Swindle had offered to him. Still, it gave him the energy required to start forming a plan to get himself more of what he needed...

[Swindle]

~"You sure about that?"~ Swindle asked cocking his head slightly. ~"I shot you point blank with a non-lethal weapon, yes, but do you think an Autobot would have been so merciful if you'd attacked them? They'd certainly have the upper hand of being in much better health than you. Let's face it, the Autobots are pretty well off being friends with the dominant race here and all, and if someone like, say, Ironhide had found you out here do you think you'd still be standing at this point?"~ He let out a sigh, crossing his arms. ~"As for profit, as I said before the Autobots are better off here than we are. Doesn't hurt to have as many friends as possible in a situation like this, the least we can do is look out for each other right?"~

[Barricade]

Barricade snorted. ~"Yes, because your intentions are always so pure and self-sacrificing."~ He retorted. ~"Half-starved I may be, I'm not moronic."~ He stood up. While the fresh energon had given him a nice energy boost, it wouldn't last forever. He knew one place he could get energon, but getting to it would be tricky indeed. Still, if he managed to not get killed, then it would be worth the risk. He stood, his four glowing optics watching Swindle. ~"Now, unless you've got anything else you'd like to say, I've got better things that I could be doing."~

[Swindle]

~"If you're not moronic then you know I'm right about the Autobots being better off than us."~ Swindle replied, shaking his head. ~"That bit of energon may have gotten you back on your feet for now but it won't last forever, and running into an Autobot while half starved would not bode well for you, especially if you're alone."~ He let his arms drop loosely to his sides so he'd be free to gesture as he spoke. ~"You're not the only at a disadvantage in this situation. It's good to have backup, the more the better. And you've been out of contact for so long that I've heard a good number of Decepticons suspect you may be dead. You try and call for help and there's no guarantee the person you call will believe it's you, and if they do who says they'd necessarily care? Where do you plan to go from there? At least I'm offering to help. Take it or leave it but it's not an offer you'll get from most Cybertronians on this planet."~

[Barricade]

Barricade growled and bristled a bit. He hated that Swindle was making such good points, and he hated himself for admitting it. Another idea did pop into his head, and as crazy as it was, he liked it better than making more deals with Swindle. ~"You're right...The Autobots are better off than us..."~ The was a slight edge to his voice, one that would signify that the gears were turning in the scout's processor. {"The Autobots have agreements with the humans, and one of them helps them get Energon..."} He figured that, so long as he didn't get killed trying to do it, he could get himself captured, which would be a better position for him to be in than currently. After all, as Swindle so wisely pointed out, there's no guarantee that the other Decepticons would care.

[Swindle]

Swindle hid a smirk behind a more gentile looking smile. He could tell by Barricade's tone that he was thinking and while he couldn't be sure what about he knew he had made some very valid points and anyone with an ounce of reason would pay heed to them. "So what do you say, Barricade? Shall we help each other out?" he asked in a more suggestive tone than anything else. "In times like this when we need all the help we can get it seems like a fair trade, don't you think?"

[Barricade]

Barricade could not suppress a chuckle. "I do have to say, what in the name of Primus would you need me for when you've got your brothers, hm? A poor sucker to do your dirty work, perhaps?" The distrust in his voice was back, and his optics narrowed a bit. "After all, as you so kindly pointed out, who would necessarily care about me? Can't say that you've got the best reputation for aiding comrades in need out of the good of your own Spark. So, what exactly do you need from me?"