Airlock

I. BASIC INFORMATION

Name: Airlock
Pronouns: he/him
Sexual Orientation: Asexual, Aromantic
Faction: Decepticon
Occupation: Weapons Development Researcher

II. PERSONALITY
Curious | Sociable | Cowardly

Most of Airlock’s actions are driven by his relentless curiosity and undying desire to learn as much as he possible can! At the core of his spark, he is a scientist through and through, possessing great intellectual acuity, reasoning power, and a knack for problem-solving. His combination of curiosity and intelligence makes him good at finding unexpected solutions to the puzzles he comes across, and with a mind as active as his, everything is a puzzle waiting to be solved!

Directly following from Airlock’s intellectual curiosity is something that might be called social curiosity. In every bot he meets, he sees a potential source of knowledge, a repository of experiences he might never know firsthand. He often greets newly met bots with a mountain of questions to get to know as much about them as possible. Unlike with the sciences, polite socialization doesn’t come naturally to Airlock, so in all his eagerness, he can come off as presumptuous, overwhelming, or otherwise socially inept. His naivete shows in his honesty, enthusiasm, and ignorance of proper etiquette.

The one thing that gets in the way of Airlock’s avid quest for knowledge is his unreasonable fear of violence. Although capable of showing great bravery and initiative in the face of natural or environmental dangers, Airlock is reduced to a nervous wreck when it becomes clear that another bot has the intent to harm him. Without the benefit of stealth or surprise, the merest stirrings of a fight will send him running.

Airlock is cheerful, energetic, and friendly. He’s generous with compliments and follows a general policy of “friends until proven otherwise.” He’s nice. But that doesn’t mean that he’s good. He is fairly morally unscrupulous: willing to use deception, coercion, theft, or violence by proxy (to name a few) in order to further his goals. Not all of the weapons he’s made would comply with the Tyrest Accord, and he doesn’t lose a proverbial wink of sleep over this fact.

III. APPEARANCE
24 ft | 7.3m | 20 tons

In robot-mode, Airlock’s build is somewhat broad and blocky but with wide, sloping curves hinting at his streamlined alt-mode. His frame is mainly deep blue, with sections of purplish black, and highlights of moonstone cyan. The reinforced glass dome of his alt-mode splits and sits on both of his shoulders, similar in appearance and function to pauldrons. He has a submarine propeller and rudders mounted on his upper back, and a single antenna on the left side of his helm. Also, he has eyebrows.

Airlock is very animated and expressive in his mannerisms. His emotion shows in every aspect of his appearance, from the expression on his face, his posture, even the whirring of the propeller on his back. His expressions tend to be somewhat exaggerated, almost theatrical, but make no mistake, this is no act. It’s simply a genuine expression of his passionate and quickly-changing moods.

Airlock’s alt-mode is a Cybertronian Submersible similar to the MIR Submersible on Earth. It’s a relatively small civilian vessel best adapted for deep-sea exploration and sample-collection. The hydraulic manipulators on the front (which are usually protected from damage by a glass dome) allow for delicate operations that require fine motor skills without having to switch to his robot mode. He eschews frame-mounted weapons in order to make room for a wide array of environmental sensors.

IV. STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

STRENGTHS : 

• Amphibious: As befitting a bot with a submarine alt-mode, Airlock is capable of functioning at full capacity on dry land and underwater (or whatever the Cybertronian equivalent may be). His plating is also adapted to traversing the volatile seas of Cybertron. Similarly, all of his equipment is adapted to be fully amphibious as well.
  
  
• Weapons Expert: Since joining the Decepticons, Airlock has been working in weapons development. This means that he’s very familiar with most models of Cybertronian firearms in common circulation. He knows how they work, their strengths, their weaknesses, how much and what kind of damage they deal. This knowledge doesn’t translate into practical skill in using these weapons, however.
  
  
• Creativity: An invaluable strength for a bot that just wasn't forged to fight, Airlock's creativity and quick wit often help him get out of tight situations. Whether it's by jerry-rigging gadgets, devising distractions or finding alternative routes, Airlock specializes in going around a problem rather than through it.

WEAKNESSES :

• Slow and Heavy: All of that reinforced plating necessary for deep-sea exploration adds a substantial amount of mass to Airlock’s frame. If injured or incapacitated it would take a very strong bot, or several average ones, to drag him to safety. Additionally, this reduces his speed and maneuverability in robot mode to much below average. This is no difficult bot to chase down.
  
  
• Cowardly: Although the war has increased Airlock’s exposure to violence, he is mostly only comfortable providing support to his allies from the sidelines. If the tides turn against his allies, or if it becomes clear he may have to become personally involved, he won’t hesitate to flee.
  
  
• Poor Strength: Airlock is neither built nor trained for hand-to-hand combat. His physical strength is much less than average, and he has no natural fighting instinct. Besting him in a brawl is generally no challenge, unless his enemy is equally inexperienced in combat, or has a significant size disadvantage.

V. BACKGROUND

Airlock was forged 2.3 million years ago in Kaon, the industrial heart of Cybertron. At this time, Cybertron was already wracked by conflict, and violent anti-Senate riots were almost commonplace in Kaon. Airlock’s ŁҟȻꝊɆɈ ⱳⱥꞩ ⱥꞥ ēꞥ   

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ꞩꝋꝋꞥ ⱥꞩ ħīꞩ ¢ꞩŒ=ⱥȺ‡𐤙 ended. His natural inquisitiveness, as well as his research- and exploration-inclined alt-mode landed him a job as a researcher specializing in Energon Science and its various applications. It was a job he found both enjoyable and intellectually-fulfilling, but he was somewhat dissatisfied with all the legally-imposed limitations on what they could use their research for. Sure, it was mostly in the service of safety, or morality, but to him it merely felt like a hindrance to the full potential of their research.

Ⱳħēꞥ ੩ꞥꝊ¹¤ēⱦ“ 2‡I ŒèTM ⱦɍɏīꞥꞡ ⱦꝋ ꞩħⱥꝑē Ⱥīɍlock in his image, he was in reality pushing him to the exact opposite end of the spectrum. Ⱥӻⱦēɍ ħīꞩ ₳!ЬłØꞩħīꝑ, Airlock became very fascinated with the criminal underbelly of Kaon. He admired their fearless disregard of legality, and saw their use of violence as a reasonable response to the violence of the authorities. He spent much of his free time in some of the seediest bars in Kaon, making friends with ⱳħⱥⱦ ħīꞩ ĐŒꞤӿ}þ ⱳꝋᵾłđ’ꝟē referred to as “the dregs of society.” One thing that greatly aided his ability to make friends was his talent as a mixologist. Who doesn’t like a bot who mixes good drinks?

One day, a friend and regular at the gladiatorial pits, knowing about Airlock’s day job as an Energon Researcher, asked him to repair a damaged weapon. Always ready to go above and beyond for a friend (and also just eager to tinker with things), Airlock repaired the weapon and threw in an experimental upgrade as a freebie. Extremely satisfied with the harming power of his new weapon, this friend began recommending Airlock to other brawlers and gladiators. Illegal Energon-based weapon upgrades then became Airlock’s underground side-hustle.

For a while, Airlock’s general air of harmlessness kept him safe from suspicion. However, as Decepticon activity increased, so too did the authorities’ efforts to crack down on illegal activity. Aware that it was only a matter of time before his employers found out about his illegal “side-hustle,” Airlock decided to quit and join the Decepticons. 

There were a number of reasons behind this decision. For one, he believed the Decepticons’ claim that their radical actions were the true solution to the oppressive Senate and Functionist society. Second, more than a few of his friends and customers had joined the Decepticons, or were Decepticon supporters. And finally, he had heard of the lax moral limitations given to scientists working for the Decepticons, as long as one could show results. It was an excellent path forward for him, and, as law and order continued to fail, he saw that it might become the only path forward.

Given his experience and mild reputation as a bot who could soup up weapons, it’s no surprise that Airlock entered under the Applied Sciences unit of the Decepticons. Here, he has flourished! As it turns out, Airlock is well-suited to researching new and innovative ways to kill, maim, or torture enemies of the cause. He’s just happy to be doing his job, and is largely unbothered by the moral implications of his work.

VI. RELATIONSHIPS

• Starburst: His research advisor, and role model. She's the reason he decided to become a scientist in the first place. He had a falling out with her when he found out about a mutual connection that she had concealed from him. He hasn't seen her since he joined the Decepticons.
• [REDACTED]: "Unhappy is he to whom the memory of childhood brings only fear and sadness." - H.P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider"

VII. TRIVIA & MISCELLANY

• The propeller on Airlock’s back generally spins at a steady rate. It goes faster when he’s anxious, or exerting himself, similar to a human’s heartrate. Airlock go brr.
• Weapons that Airlock makes or upgrades are usually stamped with a small ‘maker’s seal’. His seal is a stylized depiction of a glowing spark.
• Airlock didn’t start using his red visor until he joined the Decepticons. He imagines it helps him “fit in” with his new allies.
• His voice claim is Elijah Wood.
• Are some parts... missing from his file?