Order of the Day
“Hi. Prowl, right?”
I nodded in the affirmative. I was a little surprised that he knew who I was. Granted, I was a part of the selection process that brought Bumblebee to Iacon as a scout, but I was rarely present during any interviews or training measures. Perhaps he simply knew who I was from general inquiries. That was the most likely scenario at any rate.
More puzzling was the reason he was here, working behind the counter of this popular energon dispensary, The Starstruck Caribou. Bumblebee proved, through the viewtrex analysis I had seen of his training sessions, to be quite adept at scouting and reconnaissance and quite good at following orders. Certainly it could not be because of any disciplinary or merit-based dismissal. First of all, I would certainly have been notified. Bumblebee would be one of my options for reconnaissance should my tactical skills become necessary because of reported Decepticon activity. I took a moment to analyze the situation. With the current uneasy peace existing between Autobots and Decepticons, there was likely little reason for Bumblebee and others of his primary function to venture out to look for any Decepticon movements that may be suspicious. After taking into account training, briefings, re-energizing, and leisure activities, there is still time to spare in a given cycle. Some Autobots choose to attend more training exercises, but that can make an operative too rigid and less likely to improvise should the need arise. Other Autobots choose to partake of more leisure activities. This, in my opinion, breeds a laggard pace when the need arises to return to the usual harried pace of wartime efforts. Too many Autobots take this route.
Other Autobots chose to except employment around town, vending the wares of merchants that always thrived during times of peace. The Autobot could then have some avenue for bartering with merchants to procure some item they may want in their personal possessions. At first, I did not know what to think about situations such as these. Naturally, I took it upon myself to investigate further. Through my analysis, I discovered that the average Autobots efficiency increased two-fold after the war resumed of these previously employed Autobots in some manner and after obtaining some personal items. Given this, I saw no reason to disapprove of this and have, in fact, offered this as a suggestion to some that have asked about what they can do during peaceful times. This seemed the most logical reason for Bumblebee’s presence here.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” the small Autobot continued cheerily. “Well, good to meet you. I’m sure it won’t be the last time. Would you like to order?”
A silly question, really. Why else would I be here if not to order something? I found that many Autobots made statements such as this one. One that continually baffles me is “Oh, you’re here.” It should be quite obvious to individuals who know me and have not lost their sense of sight that I am in fact in the room. The need to state this to me, who obviously realizes that I am in the room, seems to be nothing more than a waste of energy.
“Yes,” I answered, proceeding to study the menu board behind Bumblebee.
Normally, the choice would be rather simple. While the regular energon was quite good and I would recommend it to anybody if asked my opinion on the subject, I found that I better enjoyed the flavored energon varieties. Especially the mocha. There was something soothing about it. However, today I was running late due to the need to analyze data regarding the movement of Decepticon citizens to the city-state of Darkmount. I made a quick mental note that this was a likely location to find Bumblebee should his services be required in the near future.
Due to my tardiness, several patrons before me had already ordered the mocha flavor. Given the fact that it was late in the week I knew with near certainty that the mocha would be nearly out. Each week, I made sure to send out a notice of reminder to all vendors that shipments of any needed equipment and merchandise had to be done by the end of the week, as the cargo ships only made weekly stops for security reasons. I always made certain that The Starstruck Caribou received its notice. This was the only way that the forgetful manager remembered to bring new orders of mocha. Today was the day that I usually sent out this notice.
I could very well order the mocha energon as I usually do. However, that would logically have an adverse effect on what seemed to be a very good and productive day for Bumblebee and his new job. He would have to begin dealing with irate customers earlier in the day and lead to an unpleasant experience. With this likely scenario in mind, I quickly perused the menu for an alternative. I did not want to keep Bumblebee from serving other patrons.
My gaze happened along one flavor, the Lake of Fire Twister, and quickly moved on. The Lake of Fire is a notoriously polluted energon deposit on the industrial north side of Cybertron. Why the marketing personnel in charge of naming their products chose this moniker for a drink is quite odd. One would think that this would negatively impact its sale. I have tried this flavor once and that was enough. It is advertised to give those who drink it a “a brush with death.” Again, it would seem that this is another ill-advised promotion of a product that could give sustenance to those you partake of it. I have heard Chief Medical Officer Ratchet refer to this drink as “swill.” It is an opinion that I, too, endorse.
One intriguing possible replacement for my usual purchase was the Lava Java Express. Bluestreak recommended this drink to me. He explained to me that this drink gives you a real kick in the afterburner. At the time, I considered questioning Bluestreak on why one would want to be kicked by this drink, but I knew it would be better to let the question go. Bluestreak often uses oblique word usage that does not commonly occur in everyday language. At one time, I was of the belief that Bluestreak made up the witty nomenclature that he commonly uses. However, given the familiar reaction to his word usage from others, it appeared more likely that it was simply phraseology I had never heard.
At any rate, I deduced from past experience and his tone of voice that the kick in the afterburner from this drink was generally accepted as a good thing. For me, though the energon was quite good, getting kicked by this drink was not a pleasant experience. Ratchet later called them “knots.” It took several uncomfortable hours for the reaction to lessen. An analysis of the individual constituents of the product revealed, among the more common ingredients, Essence of Mayamada. For those unfamiliar with the planet Mayamada, it is a relatively young and wholly untamed world known to those who trade spices as a haven of unusual and interesting varieties of potential products. Essence of Mayamada is a particularly potent variety known for its piquant flavor. Through a logical process of elimination, I deduced that this spice was the cause of my discomfort. I could not help but notice that drinking this caused unusual reactions to my colleagues as well. Wheeljack laughed openly at my initial reaction to the energon. Even Optimus seemed to be fighting back a smile. This reactionary response to another’s discomfort is a cause of some confusion. However, I have no plans on investigating this further. It was simply part of the illogical nature of our race.
After examining my choices, I had narrowed down my selection to two varieties: the standard energon and the Lemon Zest Cooler. I had never tried the Lemon Zest Cooler before. The olfactory stimulus from this particularly flavor, from walking past those that have had, is quite refreshing. It is, from my conversations with the manager of this establishment, among the top five best selling drinks, according to his statistics. But perhaps the most intriguing reason to suspect this would be a good choice was that Gears has said that it is “okay.” For those who know Gears, this is nothing less than a ringing endorsement.
There was something else to consider as well. The day, thus far, has been hectic and it did not appear likely that the rest of the day was going to be any better. In fact, if the suspicions of others in the command unit proved correct and the Decepticons were planning some sort of military exercise, Autobot defensive preparedness will likely accelerate. I will need to be at my most alert. The Lemon Zest Cooler may smell good, but that is no guarantee that I will not have a reaction similar to that with the Lava Java Express. Given this, the logical choice was to stick with an energon flavor that I was familiar with.
I brought my gaze back down to Bumblebee.
“I apologize for the delay,” I stated.
Bumblebee’s face curled into a confused frown. It was a common reaction when I make such a statement.
“Delay? Literally a second ago, you started looking at the board.”
“Yes, I know,” I answered patiently. “It usually takes considerably less time for me to process which flavor I want, but I simply had more data to process today.”
Bumblebee continued to stare at me for a moment. Then his frown suddenly transformed into a smile.
“All right-y,” he stated. His mannerisms were quite personable and easy-going. Though the more stern and business-minded warriors sometimes found such attitudes insufferable during times of war, I am of the belief that these amiable personalities, such as Bumblebee and Bluestreak, give a healthy counterbalance to the more severe demeanor of the hardened warriors.
“I will have a large regular flavored energon,” I said.
Bumblebee turned to get my order together. He worked with the same sort of efficiency that I witnessed his training sessions in the espionage courses. From time to time, he had to check with a set of notes that he developed to be sure that he was following standard procedure. It is good to know that he would consult with a standard when he is not sure of the proper protocol.
“To go,” I added quickly, as not to disturb his progress. I should really head back to the command center and check in on any progress made in deducing the reasons behind the Decepticon movements.
When he was finished preparing my order, he turned back to me with a smile and handed me my energon. I reached into my subspace pocket to retrieve the proper currency.
As I did this, Bumblebee asked, “Would you like any energon goodies with this?”
I quickly looked up at Bumblebee. It was not something that I had considered before. I gazed up at the menu board and quickly glanced over a few of the recommended suggestions. Though idle conversation with other customers, I knew that The Starstruck Caribou was renowned for its large selection of quality energon goodies.
This might take some thought.
The end.
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