Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

OOC: With Dev's Permission, moving all the Dinobots to the training facility.

Corridors-Turbolift-Large Scale Training Facility

Cosmos jumped when he felt a hand touch his shoulder, afraid that Slag would make good on all his threats. Thankfully it was just Side Burn, thanking him for the information about the two femmes, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The green minibot still made a point, though, to stay as far away as possible from the flamethrower.

Mental note; Don't talk to Slag unless you absolutely have to, and even then it might be smarter to have someone else say it.

Aside from one or two technicians overreacting to the team of massive warriors, the walk to the training facility was thankfully uneventful as Cosmos had finally learned to keep his talking to a minimum with the Dinobots. They walked down the corridors to the turbolifts, as one turbolift didn't have nearly enough room for all 5 Dinobots they had to momentarily seperate. Up two decks Cosmos and the Dinobots went, and they went out to a much quieter and emptier floor. It was much different from the busy sections below as there was almost no traffic. On one side of the hallway the wall was completely bare, except for a massive doorway that had been intended for a large number of mechs.

"Here it is.", Cosmos directed the Dinobots to the door, "It takes up half this floor, and it's the biggest, most intricate, state of the art training room in the sector."

Cosmos immediately went to the control panel next to the door, pressing a few buttons to check the status of the room. He sighed in relief, no one was in there and the room hadn't been reserved by anyone for several mega-cycles. It was free for the Dinobots to use, and hopefully blow off whatever steam they had left.

"The controls are the same as any other training facility, just on a larger scale.", he explained to Grimlock as the massive sliding doors opened, revealing a dark room with a lighted grid pattern.

"Oooooh", Sludge said in awe as he already walked inside.

Cosmos began to fidget a little. He wanted to be helpful and polite, but the last thing he wanted was to be too close to such powerful, volatile Autobots during combat simulations.

"So if you'd like.....", Cosmos said in a hesitant tone, "I can help you with the controls or..... maybe...... even assist your..... uh, training if you need me too...... But if you don't have any problems, I can just leave until you're done."

Cosmos greatly hoped that the Dinobots would be fine on their own.


Corridors

Highcall's optics brightened as Warhaul seemed to accept his apology, giving a silent thanks to Primus. His atonement was getting off to a good start, and he was determined to get back into the good graces of the mechs he had offended, as well as his god.

"Yes, I know how to use a turbo-ratchet set, I am an engineer after all.", Highcall replied enthusiastically, "I will gladly relieve you of some of your duties, if that's what you want. I don't have any assignments for a while, so I should have plenty of time to help you out."

For a moment Highcall considered explaining why he didn't have any shifts coming up, because he had gotten on just about every chief engineer's bad side by being a distraction to himself and others through reciting scripture during work. As Kick-Off had mentioned earlier, that was something else he would have to stop.

"So where are you assigned to now, anyway?"

Large Scale Training Facility

Grimlock was rather impressed at that facility, although he would never admit to it. First of all, all of the Dinobots were able to fit comfortably through the door. It was a nice change of pace from the ducking, stooping and turning they had to do to get through some other doorways on the station. Inside the room was even more impressive. It was massive, with thick steel walls that could certainly take a beating. The room was bare at the moment, but the number of panels and sliding doors on the walls indicated that a number of weapons and opponents could be called up to do battle with. A couple of stories up was an observation deck, protected by special transparent metals. Superiors and trainers could watch the battle unfold from up there and likely call down different attackers and strategies for the troops to face.

The Dinobot leader could feel the slightest surge of excitement. It would feel good to do some fighting, even if it was against drones. All of this talking just wasn’t his style. He needed to blow off some steam just as much as the other Dinobots did. They would all need to be loose and calm, or calmer in some cases, for the next step in his plans. Stealing the Trion was going to be one of the trickiest and boldest plans even he had ever undertaken. They all needed to be at their best for it.

Grimlock looked down at Cosmos as he briefly explained the controls. He was used to this treatment. The Dinobots had a reputation as not being the brightest Autobots around. While it was true that none of them would have qualified for any of the old science academies before the war (particularly Sludge) they were still fairly capable. Grimlock’s speech impediment didn’t particularly help dispel this notion of low intelligence. It suited him well enough though, allowing others to underestimate him always worked to his advantage.

The massive Autobot reached down and began working the controls. “Me think me have it Cosmos. You can leave now, you not want to be around for Dinobot training.” Grimlock promptly twisted every knob and flicked every switch to its maximum setting. Anything less then the max was liable to be disappointing to the Dinobots.

The large warrior turned to his team. “Alright Dinobots, time to work off excess energon and have some fun. Go to it and don’t hold back!” He mashed down the activation button and the room sprung to life. Panels on the floor slid open or flipped over, bringing simulated debris and terrain to use as cover. A large panel in the floor dropped away, lifting back up with a dozen spider-like drones on it that quickly dispersed through the room, firing lasers at the Dinobots. A wall panel slid open and a dozen bipedal drones jogged out, lasers mounted on their left arms and swords on their right arms. The added their fire, adding to the chaos before taking cover. Various panels on the walls slid open, revealing laser turrets, flamethrowers and missile launchers. From the ceiling aerial drones dropped down, strafing and bombing the Dinobots.

Grimlock drew his energo-sword and pointed at the thick of the enemies. “Dinobots, attack!”

Command Center

The doors to the command center slid away, allowing Cloudburst entry. The Autobot offered a friendly salute in Countdown's direction before finding a seat in the chair he had occupied earlier before heading off on his little adventure. If random, observational patrols could be classified as "adventures" nowadays. It did beat the alternative, however, and Cloudburst had to remind himself of that from time to time.

"Wellll....that was....as uneventful as I'd feared it might be," Cloudburst said, grinning, as he began entering his observations in to the officers' log. "I thought if anyone in our ranks could have some more circumspect reasons for coming here, it would be the Dinobots, y'know?"

Cloudburst continued typing as he talked.

"But nope. Everything checks out. That Ark-class vessel they brought in shouldn't need a whole lot of work, either. I don't see any reason why we won't have that thing working in tip-top condition pretty quick. Then we can get those guys back out on the front lines where they belong. I'm surprised they haven't wrecked our bar by now, heh. What are they up to, anyway?"
___

Approaching Trion hangar

"An engineer? Really?"

Warhaul gave Highcall a quizzical glance as he said that he was an engineer. The way he went on about Primus you woulda thunk he was some long-lost Knight of Cybertron. Or a Priest of Primus. Or, at the very least, some sort of station chaplain.

Huh, takes all kinds, I guess, the cone-headed mechanic thought as he and his new accomplice closed in on the area where work on the Trion was being done. The ship was beautiful. Warhaul almost hated the fact that he was going to have to find some way of sabotaging such a first-class warship. That was going to be a tall task in and of itself, as this station's best security had also been allocated to monitoring the ship's construction process. Even now, at the finalmost stages, oversight had not lapsed in the slightest.

"Working on that new ship. The Trion. Thing of beauty, eh?" Warhaul said, looking over at the other mech as they approached the massive hangar where the ship was being kept. Autobots had been working on this ship around the clock and that was not going to stop any time soon. Especially as it drew ever closer to its hour of completion. They could well be there already. Warhaul was not so high up on the technicians list as to be kept apprised of every last detail regarding its construction.

"Actually...you better get a clearance from Kick-Off," Warhaul said, thinking of one potential glitch in his impromptu plan. Good thing he caught that before he went ahead and did it. That could have caused him far more problems than they were worth. "Meet in at the starboard wing section when you do. And if ya don't, well, lemme know. I might have something else you can help me with. Then we'll call this whole mess even."

Warhaul smirked and showed his clearance badge to the security officers standing sentry over the primary entrance in to this hangar and proceeded to head inside.

Large Scale Training Facility

Snarl entered the gigantic training facility and found that it was a nice change of pace from the rest of the cramped station. The corridors and rooms were clearly not designed with a Dinobot’s size in mind, but this place was a very different block of energon. “Nice,” the Desert Warrior commented in a low growl as Cosmos offered to explain how to use the controls. Obviously, the misconception that the Dinobots were all over-sized brutes with very little in the way of intelligence had reached even out here at the shipyards. It was a bit of an insult that had been unintentional on the minibot’s part, which was the only reason the saucer-bot was still functioning.

That and the fact Grimlock had intervened, taking over the controls before telling Cosmos to leave immediately. Thank Primus, Snarl thought as the Dinobot Commander initiated a high-level training program that would suit the sheer intensity that five large mechs like themselves could bring. Anything less would be a waste of their time and energon. The solar-powered Dinobot couldn’t wait to start fighting as it had been far too long since he had last seen any action, real or simulated.

Once the settings were entered into the control panel, Grimlock turned and explained the scenario that began to unfold within the vast chamber behind him. A smile spread wide across Snarl’s faceplate, a sight seldom seen on the plated Dinobot. Happiness began to return and the boredom he had felt only a breem ago was all but gone from his processor. The Desert Warrior said nothing in response to his leader’s words and only drew out his energo sword in one hand and his laser rifle in the other. “Time for some fun.”

Snarl did not wait for Grimlock’s command to attack, lunging forward into the thick of things as drones of all shapes and sizes began their assault. The training level was clearly set at maximum which was simply perfect. Here there would be no weak hits on either side, only real damage as though their very sparks depended on them being better than their adversaries. At least with a level of this magnitude, Snarl could pretend that these were real Decepticons and not just simple drones that were programmed to simulate the enemy.

Running across the faux battlefield, Snarl sought no cover whatsoever and instead charged at the first bipedal drone he encountered. With a single swipe of his sword, the drone was sliced in half, falling to the ground in a spark-filled heap. Several laser blasts struck the Desert Warrior’s thick armor from numerous directions, but those blasts did little to slow him down as a spider drone suddenly leapt at him from behind a pile of debris. The tendrils quickly wrapped themselves around Snarl in an attempt to strangle him. “Aaaahhhh!!!!” The plated mech shouted as he blasted the center optic of the drone with his rifle before slashing at the various limbs with his sword. One by one the extremities fell away into a trail of scrap as Snarl viciously impaled what was left of the mechanical spider to a nearby wall.

“Me not that kind of mech,” Snarl growled as the spider drone fell limp. The Desert Warrior then felt an explosion behind him as a missile donated several feet from his position. Snarl was propelled through the air until his struck the same wall he had just impaled the drone to. Coming to rest on the ground, the solar-powered Dinobot rubbed his cranium for a moment before getting right back up to his feet. His back was a bit charred but it was nothing that would stop him, not by a long shot. “Now, that more like it! Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!”

An enraged Snarl charged across the battlefield, slashing at drone after drone on his way towards the source of the rocket. The wall mounted launcher was on the opposite side of the training room, but the Desert Warrior simply made a path of destruction that led him to his intended target. Ducking down to avoid another missile, Snarl quickly transformed into his stegosaurus alt mode and with one swipe of his powerful tail, smashed the automated launcher into oblivion. “That for trying to blow me up! Ha!”

More laser fire then erupted from overhead, as several aerial drones took aim at the Desert Warrior. “Grrrrrrrrr, Swoop, take care of those flying things will ya! That your territory, not mine!” Snarl took aim with his tail spikes, firing several shots at the aerial drones, knocking one out of the air but missing several others. The Dinobot’s attention was then drawn back to the ground-based drones as they continued their assault. More blasts struck his armor, forcing Snarl to take a step back as the intensity increased. A deep intake of air filled his systems as the solar-powered mech returned to robot mode, raising his sword and charging at the simulated enemy. He quickly immersed himself even further into the heat of battle where sheer joy and happiness overwhelmed his circuits.

And to think, me just getting warmed up!

Approaching Trion Hangar

Highcall couldn't help but smirk and shake his head at Warhaul's surprised reaction toward his status as an engineer. While it was true that there were those who followed the Covenant of Primus that believed the use of technology was wrong, his group had not been one of them. Those that did were often the more xenophobic, radical groups, who had long since vanished due to their inability to maintain their own bodies.

"Primus guides us with his wisdom,", he replied, "but we still have to keep the power generators running on our own. That's not scripture, by the way, just something we had to remind ourselves whenever something broke."

As they continued, Highcall listened to the technician reveal his current assignment- the new, state-of-the-art warship, the Trion.

So that's the ship everyone has been clammoring about., he thought as he got his first look at the Trion. Since he had been an annoyance to most of those in authority position, he had never been assigned to work on the new warship, though he'd heard plenty about it from the various mechs working on it. From what he had heard and what he saw now, he could certainly appreciate all the advancements in technology and engineering that had been involved.

"Yes, I suppose it is.", Highcall replied with restraint. It was impressive, the engineer would agree to that, but he wouldn't exactly call it a 'thing of beauty'. It just felt inappropriate to refer to any mech-made product of the never ending war effort with such reverance.

As the two approached the main entrance, Warhaul brought up the problem of Highcall having proper security clearance. The engineer had to nod in agreement, he'd never been assigned to the warship, nor did he hold a high enough rank to enter without assignment. It would be awkward going back to Kick-Off after he had left the security mech's custody only a breem ago, but if it had to be done, it had to be done.

"All right, that shouldn't be a problem.", Highcall assured Warhaul, "I'll be sure to contact you as soon as I can."

With that, Highcall turned around and headed back to station security.


Large Scale Training Facility

Cosmos breathed a sigh of relief as Grimlock allowed the green minibot to leave. Cosmos had always tried to be as friendly and hospitable as he could to all Autobots who came to Alpha Shipywards. And not just because it was often his assignment, but because he genuinely liked meeting new mechs and making new friends. It helped make all his time in space, the cold, empty, lonely vacuum of space, a little more bearable. But the Dinobots? Despite being on the same side of the war, Cosmos had to admit he worried for his safety when he was around the five brutal warriors.

"All right, then.", Cosmos cheerily replied to Grimlock, "Well if you need anything else, don't hesitate to call me. Good luck!"

Cosmos walked back out and back to the turbolift. Until Grimlock needed anything, or unless Countdown had another assignment for him, the green minibot was going back to the energon bar. There was always at least one of his friends to hang out with, and Cosmos could still use some energon. The last thing he wanted was to be sent out in space without a full tank of energon.

--------------------

For the first time in a while, Sludge didn't feel constricted. Being the largest of the Dinobots, not to mention the clumsiest, he had an even harder time than the others just getting around and trying to fit into things that were made with smaller mechs in mind. Not in here, though.

"Me Sludge like big room.", the jungle warrior said as he stretched out his arms and legs, if only because he could do it without accidentally bumping into something or hitting someone, "Me Sludge wish every room was this big."

Just as Sludge was getting used to all the open space, Grimlock addressed the team. Even if Grimlock wasn't the strongest- which he was- Sludge would have been happy with the chance to have some fun by smashing things. Though, Sludge had to admit, his commander's last few words made him wonder.

"Um, do we ever hold back?", the jungle warrior scratched his head, asking an honest question as opposed to making some tough-bot remark.

Sludge didn't get an answer, as he watched in awe as the room was brought to life. A smile came across his faceplate as he saw dozens upon dozens of drones, each one looking very smashable to the jungle warrior's optics. Withdrawing his energon sword, Sludge marched right toward one of the groups of drones as he soon found himself bathed in laser fire.

"Heh heh, puny lasers tickle me, Sludge.", the jungle warrior laughed as the incoming barrage of drone fire did little to damage his thick armor plating.

Once within arm's length Sludge made a wide swipe with his energon sword, beheading several drones in front of him, but just missing one that had managed to duck in time. Sludge rewarded that clever drone with a hard kick to the midsection that broke it in half and sent it into several drones behind it, causing those drones to topple backwards by the force. Chuckling at the sight, Sludge decided he wanted to play "Kick the Drone", kicking any and all drones that had fallen with his powerful legs. Some drones smashed into pieces on contact, while some flew into other nearby drones, causing them to fall down and become victims to the jungle warrior's game. Twice he tried to slice the drones he kicked in mid-air with his sword, though he wasn't nearly quick enough to hit either and simply sliced into a few other drones unfortunate enough to be nearby by.

"Heh, heh,", the jungle warrior laughed, "Me Sludge am having fun smashing puny- OOF! Huh?"

Sludge's train of thought was interrupted as he felt something hard hit him from behind. Not hard enough to cause any real damage, but enough to grab his attention. A second time he felt it, the force jolting him forward, and he decided to turn around to see what it was, ignoring the growing number of spider drones that were surrounding him.

On a nearby wall Sludge saw a missile launcher that had locked onto him.

"Hmmmm....", Sludge said thoughtfully as he holstered his energon sword and withdrew his laser rifle, "Me Sludge could use target practice."

As the number of drones surrounding him grew even more, Sludge took careful aim at the launcher as it readied another missile, occasionally having to kick one or two drones that got too close. He fired several shots, none of which came anywhere near the missile launcher, but did manage to hit a couple of aerial drones by accident. Shot after shot Sludge fired and missed the launcher, until he finally gave up.

"Rrrrgh, stupid gun not work for Sludge!", the jungle warrior complained, smashing it into a spider drone in front of him out of frustration.

By then another missile had fired and hit Sludge in the chest, forcing the jungle warrior back a few feet. It was then that Sludge looked around and realized that he was completely surrounded and greatly outnumbered by the drones. After a moment of thought, Sludge smiled.

As the drones closed in, the jungle warrior transformed into his dinosaur mode, now forcing the drones to face a massive, mechanical apatasaurus. Sludge lifted up his front-right leg as high as he could, holding it for a moment to chuckle at the soon-to-come destruction. Then with his powerful servos and hydrolics, combined with his sheer size and weight, he slammed his foot down to the floor. A thunderous boom filled the room, the entire floor shaking by the jungle warrior's force. All the drones that had surrounded Sludge stumbled and fell from Dinobot-made quake. Sludge then took the time to take a nice "walk", where he stomped and tromped onto the fallen drones, crushing their metal bodies with each step. After nearly a breem of it, Sludge stopped for a moment to admire the destruction he had caused, but it was only for a moment as he felt another missle slam into his thick metal hide. Looking over at the launcher annoyed, Sludge turned and trudged it, trampling over any drones unfortunate enough to get in his way.

Security Office

Highcall entered the room without hesitation since he wasn't in any trouble this time, though he still felt awkward seeing Kick-Off again so soon. He couldn't feel too bad, though. If he wanted to make peace with Warhaul than he needed to help the technician with his work on the Trion, and to do that he needed security clearance.

Well, besides that incident in the Energon Bar earlier, I don't have any major offenses against me, so I don't see why I can't get clearance. I'm sure Kick-Off will understand, it's part of my personal atonement.

After explaining himself to one of the deputies, the engineer was allowed to enter the security chief's office. Highcall started to feel even more awkward, as it appeared as if the security mech was in the exact same position as when he had left just a couple of breems ago.

"Hello, Kick-Off.", Highcall addressed the security, "I'm terribly sorry if I'm disturbing your work, but I needed to see you. I've spoken to Warhaul, which went well by the way, and as part of my apology to him I've agreed to help him with his work on the Trion. But before I can do that I need security clearance since I've never been assigned to the Trion before. I understand if you have your doubts or if my earlier offense makes me ineligible, but I would truly appreciate this, if only to atone for my earlier mistake."

Highcall rubbed the back of his head for a moment, unsure how the security mech would react to his request.

Large Scale Training Facility

As the band of Dinobots and one miniscule green saucer made their way to the large training area Slag did nothing more than grunt and mumble about getting his hands on something that he could crush…namely a ‘Con’s throat. Alas all the poor flamethrower had were “fellow” Autobots. Start mangling them and he’d surely wind up back in one of the ‘Bot penal facilities…not a good place to be if he wanted to keep fighting.

At long last the group arrived at their intended location…the sight of which had a profound effect on the infinitely angry Dinobot. Slag stood silently as his optics roamed over the large sealed doors…the size of which would accommodate all of them at once. The mere thought of just what lay beyond the threshold caused the corners of Slag’s lips to curl upward. “Perfect.”

Slag’s unusually jovial exclamation was kept only to himself as he kept his vocal processor low and controlled so as not to draw any unwanted attention. And when the doors finally did part Slag advanced almost too quickly.

With anxious anticipation and almost no restraint the large mech stepped past Grimlock who had taken up the place at the controls. Slag had no reason to believe that the Dinobot Commander would set the training level to anything lower than maximum…in fact it was a given.

Staring out over the soon to be enemy laden field, Slag withdrew his energo sword and took on a fighting stance…ready and willing to kill whatever appeared. And to his absolute delight he did not have to wait long. With a broad sadistic smile plastered on his over eager face, Slag let out an almost deafening war cry and charged forward.

As with his brethren Slag plowed directly into the drones with his sword hoisted high. As he entered the midst of the “enemy” he took several heavy handed swipes slicing two drones clean through in one stroke. In their place two more drones appeared.

Unlike Snarl and Sludge who seemed to find it necessary to talk while they fought, Slag preferred to keep silent, save for the occasional deep battle cry of course. The sound of crunching metal and energon spewing and dripping from his foes and off of his own frame was enough to keep him going.

Slag was busy with three drones who had taken up positions to each one of his sides and in front when a fourth arrived at his rear. The unnoticed drone quickly powered up its weapon but before it was able to get its shot off Slag swirled…his sword extended outward and slicing clean through the attacker. But with his back now turned on the other three he was unable to move fast enough to take them out and instead took several shot to his back.

“Grrrrr!” The growl was deep and frightening but meant nothing to the drones. Instead of turning tail they prepared their weapons once more. By that time Slag had turned to face them all and quickly transformed…in his triceratops mode he was more a living flamethrower than mech. Not wanting to waste one more moment on the trio Slag sent a torrent of blistering flames at them…instantly the offenders melted into nearly unidentifiable heaps. “Now that’s what I call hot.” Slag grunted out.

Command Center

Countdown had been busying doing paperwork when Cloudburst returned. With the Trion nearing completion there was plenty to do. Fortunately his fears that the Dinobots would throw things into chaos hadn’t materialized. Even with that stroke of luck things were still a bit chaotic on the normally organized station. So many Autobots had been working for so long; everyone was anticipating its launch. It was going to be an event and a great celebration for all of them. Everyone deserved some sort of release from all of the pressure, but the celebration seemed to be getting bigger and bigger with each passing minute. They were even saying Optimus Prime was going to be there and he hadn’t even invited the Autobot leader!

The Autobot was so deeply involved in the various documents and schedules on his terminal that he barely noticed when Cloudburst came in. He only looked up at him as he finished speaking. Countdown looked up at him in confusion until Cloudburst continued and he realized he was talking about the Dinobots.

“Oh yes, the Dinobots and their ship. Well we’ll make it top priority once the Trion has been launched. I suppose we’ve been lucky so far in that they haven’t torn up the place. We certainly couldn’t afford that now.” He punched in a few commands into his computer to track the Dinobots on the station. There strong energy readings were easy to pick out. “I think Kick-Off had a talk with them so that might be why they are behaving. Looks like they are in the large training facility. Even the legendary Omega Supreme could fight in there without doing any real damage to the station, so I think we are ok for now.”

*

Security Office

Kick-Off had kept busy doing some paperwork of his own while at the same time monitoring security reports and tracking the Dinobots through the station. He wasn’t about to trust them to stay out of trouble, but so far they were behaving quite well, certainly better then their reputation would dictate. He was glad that they were staying out of trouble, but something just felt off about how well behaved they seemed. It felt like something was going on there, but he didn’t have anything to back that up with. He would just have to keep watching.

The security chief looked up as Highcall walked into his office. He hadn’t expected to see the other Autobot again anytime soon. He knew he wasn’t in any trouble since he would have seen a report on it. Kick-Off listened quietly as Highcall explained his reason for returning.

“Well, your security clearance was unaffected by the little incident, although a repeat performance will impact it. I suppose I can give you temporary clearance to assist him, as it would help complete your punishment as well.” Kick-Off grabbed a temporary pass off of his desk, scanning it into the computer and adding Highcall’s personal data to it and authorizing his work on the Trion before handing it to the other Autobot. “Alright, this will get you into the drydock and onto the ship if necessary. Now I expect no trouble and I expect this pass back once you are done, understood?”

*

Large Scale Training Facility

Grimlock couldn’t help but indulge himself a bit in the training exercise along with the other Dinobots. There were certainly more important things to do but the sight of a battle, even just an exercise, was enough to spark his circuits. It had been longer then he liked since he’d been in a battle and he had to make sure he wasn’t getting rusty. Sword in his hands he advanced on a group of bipedal drones.

The drones opened fire on him, coordinating together behind cover to close in on him. The Dinobot leader either absorbed the shots, his thick armor preventing any damage, or deflected them with his sword. He wasn’t interested in a gun battle here, he wanted the fight to be up close, personal and messy. The rather sophisticated drones soon realized their tactics were ineffective and switched strategies, charging at him with their sword arms at the ready.

Grimlock would have almost smiled if he had the mouth to do it. With a slash of his sword he cut the first drone in half across the midsection. With his free arm he smashed his elbow into the head of another, smashing through it. A kick to the midsection of another drone crumpled it’s chest and sent it smashing into a wall.

The next two drones moved in from opposite sides, trying to create an opening for the other to get a clean hit in. It was a clever strategy really, especially for mere drones. Grimlock just might have to compliment the creators of this facility. Of course clever was going to be anywhere near good enough to beat him. Experience in countless gladiatorial battles and on the battlefield had honed his combat expertise more then any simple drone, no matter how sophisticated, could hope to match.

The Dinobot didn’t wait for the drones to make the first move. He came directly at one of them with a vicious overhead slash. The drone lifted its sword arm to block, but the Dinobot’s massive strength overcame it. Grimlock’s sword cut through the opposing blade, and then through the drone’s head and torso, cleaving him in twain. The veteran warrior knew this left his back wide open to attack from the other drone and he was prepared for it. As his sword finished cutting through his opponent he flipped the blade in his hand so he now held it with the blade pointing down in his grip. He then swung his arm back the blade stabbing through the chest of the oncoming drone, blade held high for its own slash. Instantly the drone’s optics went black and its body limp as it deactivated, impaled on his blade.

Laser blasts splashed against Grimlock’s armor. Looking up he saw the last drone of the group firing on him. Apparently it hoped the others would give it some sort of opening. Grimlock pulled his sword around, the dead drone still impaled on it. He briefly used the body as a shield, letting it absorb a few blasts, before he pulled it back and swung it forward. The drone body slid off of the blade and flew towards the drone firing on him. It smashed into it, sending them both to the ground in a heap.

With his first batch of opponents felled Grimlock moved on to whatever the room would throw at him next.

*

Swoop was a bit more patient then the other Dinobots. Maybe that came from not being quite as bloodthirsty as the rest of them, or maybe it was because he was a bit more fragile then the rest of them. Maybe it was because being a flier took a bit more patience and planning then simply charging straight in. Whatever the reason was Swoop let the battle unfold a bit before he dived in.

The Dinobot was already transforming and launching into the air when Snarl started complaining. Swoop wasn’t really upset, complaining was what Snarl did most of the time. Still he would make good and take out a few of the flying drones. He darted through the thickest cluster of the drones, instantly getting their attention as the only threat to their air superiority. Twisting and diving he avoided their laser blasts, all the while looking for the right opening. Finally he dove in front of a large set of cannons raining fire down on the Dinobots. The drones detected the maneuver at the last minute and tired to pull up, but most of them were obliterated as the crossed the cannon’s line of fire.

Swoop laughed as he pulled out of his dive. He fired off one of his missiles at a group of spider drones, wiping them out. “That good enough for ya Snarl?” he asked with amusement. Sure, he might not be as bloodthirsty as the other Dinobots, but he still enjoyed a good fight.

Command Center

"Yeah, I guess we are pretty lucky," Cloudburst said, as he continued to type his report and prepare everything that he had found thus far for submission. Not that there was a whole lot that required any sort of special attention. In fact, he couldn't think of anything that did, but that was for others who were higher on the food chain to decide. his job was just to report what he had seen and done then move on. So far, so good on that front.

He couldn't help but acknowledge a significant amount of relief at hearing the Dinobots' current location: the training center would be as good a place as any to contain their very brutish tendencies.

"Good deal, chief. That actually makes me feel better. My circuits were all...bleh....at first, I mean I know they're battlefield legends and all, but still. Good, good deal. They'll be in top form. Their ship will be in top form and we'll be a reminder to those command=y types at why this outpost is on top of its game."

Not exactly a standard day on the Alpha Shipyards, but Cloudburst had definitely endured more problem-laden ones. If this was the worst it got with the Dinobots here, he'd take it.

Large Scale Training Facility

The rush of super-heated energon that was flowing throughout his systems only fueled Slag to push his body further and further. It was exhilarating. It was pacifying. It was…it was satisfying. Slag slammed heavily into a spider done smashing it between him and the wall. Sparks spewed forth as he stepped back to look at his recent kill.

After an astrosecond of staring a broad, evil smirk spread over the flamethrower’s faceplate, but it didn’t last long. Slag let out a grunt as he was hit from behind. The offending assailant rushed him while his back was turned and had the audacity to try and use a sword on his thick backplating. The nerve!

Slag released a bellowing cry as he turned swiftly on his heal, his right arm extended catching the side of the drone’s head sending it flying through the air only to crash into the opposite wall. Unwilling to see the thing pull itself back up for another go-around, Slag transformed into his triceratops mode…flames slipped through the transform seams that lined his back as fire also spilled from his mouth and nostrils.

Without pause Slag lowered his head and charged at the drone which, to Slag’s happiness, had just gotten back to its feet. The sickening crunch that echoed through the area was drowned out heavily by the sounds of his teammates devastating their own victims.

Slag let out a grunt as he pulled back removing his horns from the wall. Unfortunately he had to remove the deactivated drone still impaled. The lumbering mech shook his head hard finally sending the scrapped device to the floor in a destroyed heap. With a snort Slag transformed back to his robot mode and took a long look around. The amount of drones were dwindling leaving him with no other targets to take his frustrations out on.

“Frag it all to the Pit!” The perpetually angry Dinobot cried out in frustration as he slammed his fist through the nearest wall. Just when things were getting fun. “Grimlock! Bored!” Slag spotted his Commander through the din and the carnage and watched the former gladiator. “I wanna frag up someone but good! And I’ve got no qualms as to who it’ll be! ‘Bot or ‘Con, they all die the same! Let’s go!”

Large Scale Training Facility

Snarl stood amongst the deactivated carcasses of dozens upon dozens of combat drones, which now littered the floor of the enormous training facility that surrounded him and his fellow Dinobots. The Desert Warrior imagined for a brief moment that the bodies around him were those of real Decepticons, strewn across an actual battlefield on some unknown planet. It made him feel good. It made him feel happy. These were unusual feelings for Snarl, which only occurred whilst fighting the enemy faceplate to faceplate. Of course, that feeling of euphoria died down quickly once the plated Dinobot returned his processor to the reality of the situation - a training program that was designed to keep himself and his comrades occupied and thus out of trouble.

“Yes, that good enough, Swoop,” Snarl finally responded as his aerial brethren continued to circle overhead. “You probably can come down now. Not much left to fight.” The solar-powered mech had heard Swoop’s comment a few breems ago, but made no attempt to reply at the time due to the fact that he was immersed in utter happiness, aka battle, and needed to remain focused on combating the numerous drones that were swarming him. They were easy to defeat as evidenced by the hundreds of metal corpses scattered across the faux ground.

Regardless, the training drones had taken their toll on the Desert Warrior after a while. Snarl had suffered no major damage during the fighting, but he still sported a good amount of dents and scratches to his armored plating. This was not to mention some scorch marks here and there that proved to be nothing more than a minor irritant. These wounds were easy for the plated Dinobot to shake off, of course, and his internal repair systems were already hard at work. Within a cycle, he’d look good as new like nothing had ever happened.

Slag’s outburst then caught the Desert Warrior’s attention. The resident flamethrower was not content with fighting mere drones and Snarl could hardly blame him. While the session had allowed all of the Dinobots to let off some steam, it would hardly be enough to contain the ferocity of those like Slag. Perhaps Swoop or even Sludge would be satisfied, but not the rest. The solar-powered mech would also need something more substantial to keep himself occupied for the long term, something that could put up more of a fight than simple combat drones, regardless of the highest training level setting.

Before Snarl could add in his two energon chips to what Slag had just said, the massive doors to the Large Scale Training Facility slid open, revealing the unknown silhouette of one of the construction mechs that worked here at the station. The heavy lifter remained standing in the corridor beyond for a brief moment before he then cautiously stepped across the threshold. The vast chamber he found himself in looked more like a carnage filled battleground than a place that one would find on board a space station.

“Well, well, it looks like I was beaten to the punch,” Grindcore stated plainly as the doors closed behind him with a clank. The yellow mech had just come from the main shipyard where his diminutive boss had decided to punish him for overfilling his tanks on high grade. Being reduced to a hull polisher had left a bad taste in his mouth, one that ‘Core wanted to wipe clean as soon as possible. However, instead of heading back down to the energon bar, the heavy laborer had decided to take Erector’s little pep talk to spark and aim for the advanced training room where he hoped to hone his fighting skills even more so that one day he may have another shot at becoming a Wrecker.

Of course, Grindcore didn’t expect to find the Dinobots already using the facility. In fact, the wannabe Wrecker didn’t even know that the five brutish mechs were on the station to begin with. Standing quietly, the yellow shipbuilder took in each of the Dinobots one at a time before casting his gaze across the faux landscape that clearly showed the results of their violent endeavors. They were a good unit to be sure, but they were no where near the caliber of the Wreckers, not even in the same galaxy. Most regarded the Dinobots as elite warriors, but ‘Core saw them as simple-minded thugs that were highly overrated in the grand scheme of things, especially since they hadn’t been seen in countless vorns for whatever reason.

Regardless of his opinion of the Dinobots and their abilities, Grindcore decided to keep things cordial, or at least as best he could considering the company that he was now in. Locking optics with Grimlock, the heavy lifter stepped forward and gave a respectful nod to the Dinobot Commander. “I’m sorry, is this a private party or can anyone join?”

Across the chamber, Snarl watched as Grindcore tried to insert himself into their war games that had all but come to an end. What few drones were still left operational mattered little and would be quickly taken care of by whomever was closest to that particular mechanism. A devious thought then formed within the Desert Warrior’s processor, one that would give the frustrated flamethrower something to frag up and also keep the rest of them highly entertained. “Well, Slag, it look like construction bot over there want to play with us,” Snarl snickered as he glanced over at his enraged comrade. “Me thinks you just got your wish. Heh.”

Trion Hangar

Warhaul had accessed his usual tool supply and trekked upwards with his box of equipment, bypassing mechanoids and maintenance drones alike before finally arriving at his assigned section. He, like the other members of his crew, had been working the starboard wing for a good few orns now. It, like the rest of the ship, had been coming along nicely. He couldn't help but feel proud of the work he had done up to this point. It really was an impressive ship. If he had really been just a simple Autobot crewmech, that feeling probably would've been enough.

But it wasn't. Though his work up to this point had been honest and effective and done simply to remain within the good graces of the strict and cautious designers who surveyed every meter of this ship, that wasn't who Warhaul was ultimately working to impress. That honor ultimately went to Megatron.

But, even so, he did feel like he had done--

"....good work, Warhaul. Right on time. Take the upper quadrant," one of the foremechs said. Warhaul's optics blinked as he pulled himself out of the revelry of admiring the ship.

"Uh, right. Right on it," he said, making his way over to an auxiliary platform that would lift him up to the portion of the wing that he would be working on.

Large Scale Training Facility

From the corner of his optic Slag caught a glimpse of his comrades taking down the remaining drones that happened to be just out of his reach. Frag. At that very moment he envied Snarl, Swoop and Sludge for getting slightly more action than he had. Now, what was Grimlockso occupied with that he couldn’t call an end to this so they could leave and find someone to actually dismantle?

The sound of crunching and slicing had finally subsided with the last of the training drones down. His teammates had finished and were now settling down. Settling down…something Slag was not familiar with, nor was he willing to become intimate.

It was then that the massive doors to the facility opened and revealed a large figure still silhouetted just inside of the threshold. Slag twisted at the waist to get a good look at the intruder. When a clear view was not possible the flamethrower turned fully and took several steps closer. He stopped near Snarl who seemed to also be interested in just who had the cast iron ball bearings to interrupt their session.

When the mech finally spoke, a low growl emanated from deep within Slag. He had no idea who this interloper was, but he wanted him dead. It’d be fitting for the mech…walk in on a battle get yourself slagged but good.

At Grindcore’s query Slag was the first to respond. “Party crashers usually get their sorry afts handed to them.” Slag balled his hands into tight fists as he stood beside Snarl shaking. “They usually only have two options; run home with their exhaust ports between their legs…or wind up dead.” The irate Dinobot pointed an actuator in Grindcore’s direction. “I think dishing out option two is more fitting.”

Slag kept his fiery red optics glued to the intruder’s frame as he spoke to Snarl. “Sorry, Snarl, but I’ll be playing with this one. If there’s anything left over maybe I’ll toss it your way.” The hulking Dinobot began to ease his way to where Grindcore was standing and stopped just an arm length’s away. “Still wanna play, glitch?”

Security Office

Highcall smiled and gave a respectful nod as Kick Off handed him the clearance pass for the Trion.

"May Pri- uh, I'm sorry, I mean.", the engineer just managed to stop himself from giving an unneccessary religious statement of appreciation, "Thank you very much, Kick Off. You have been far more helpful than i rightfully deserve. You have my word you'll have it back as soon as I'm done."

With another grateful nod of his head, Highcall walked out of the security office, and opened a channel to Warhaul.

<<Good news Warhaul. I had no problem getting security clearance. and I will be there as soon as I can to help you out. Highcall, out.<<


Large Scale Training Facility

A trail of squashed metal and flattened chunks of drones followed behind Sludge as he made his way to the missile launchers that were annoying him. Once close enough, the mechanical apatasaurus turned to the side away from it, then used his momentum to whip his powerful metal tail at the launcher, which easily exploded into scraps. Lumbering along the edge of the facility Sludge had his way with the other launchers, smashing them with his tail or simply crushing them with his massive size and weight.

"Heh heh, that better for me, Sludge!", he exclaimed.

Once the launchers had been taken care of, the jungle warrior noticed that the room had gotten a lot quieter. Lifting his head up high atop his long, mechanical dinosaur neck, he surveyed the damage the Dinobots had wrought and saw that most of the drones and automated weapons had been dealt with, though a few still remained to give what little resistance they had left. However, Sludge's attention was drawn to Slag, shouting at their powerful leader Grimlock.

"Huh?", the mechanical sauropod puzzled as he lumbered over behind Snarl, absent mindedly crushing some of the last drones under his feet along the way.

Sludge watched as the flamethrower had become frustrated once again now that there was little left of the facility left to fight. As the jungle warrior anticipated their leader's reaction, most likely a "gentle" shove or punch to reassert his authority, one of the station's staff entered the room. This one was yellow, and though not as big as any of the Dinobots, he certainly didn't look like most of the weak little engineers and technicians they had run into so far. Sludge thought he probably did some kind of heavy lifting.

Sludge simply watched on as the new mech asked Grimlock if he could join the Dinobots in their training, which was further encouraged by Snarl. Though excited at first, Sludge quickly remembered once again Grimlock's orders from the very beginning of their mission. Still in his Dino-mode, he craned his head from side to side as he looked around to all the bots in the room, particularly Grindcore and his leader Grimlock, and then back toward Slag as the flamethrower asserted his desire to take his frustrtations out on the worker mech.

His neck turning as far toward Snarl as possible, the mechanical apatasaurus brought his head in as close to the desert warrrior as he could.

"Um,", he said quietly, "Me Sludge thought Grimlock said not to hurt other Autobots."

Looking as if he was trying to solve some complex equation, Sludge looked back over to their commander, and waited to see his decision.

Trion Hangar

Security pass in hand, Highcall had no problems getting into the new state-of-the-art warship, though he got plenty of groans and rolled optics from some of the bots that he knew. Highcall shook his head, more and more the error of his ways were coming through to him.

Primus willing, I'll make up for my stubborness to all of these mechs.

He had no problem finding the starboard wing section, and in fact he had just managed to make it as the technician was getting onto an auxillary platform.

"Warhaul! Please wait one astrosecond!", he shouted as he rushed over, stepping onto the platform along with the technician.

"I'm sorry if I took too long. I hope I haven't gotten you into any trouble for it.", he sincerely apologized as the platform began to take them up, "So help how can I be of help?"

Large Scale Training Facility

As another group of drones marched towards him Grimlock finally transformed. As he assumed his Dinosaur mode the massive Dinobot let out a booming roar before charging into the thick of the bipedal drones. A few of the slower drones found themselves knocked aside or trampled as he moved through them. With his head lowered the Dinobot commander smashed a pair of hapless drones against the wall, crushing them into scrap. Grimlock swung around; his tail smashing several other drones as he turned to face what was left of the group. The remaining drones poured fire on him, but it didn’t even slow him. His massive jaws clamped down on a pair of drones. Razor sharp teeth easily cut through them both. Parts of them rained down on the floor as he chewed what was left in his mouth. One final drone attempted to charge him with a sword but found itself crushed underneath one of his feet as he continued to crunch on what was left of the drones in his mouth.

The Autobot warrior could heard Slag complaining but he wasn’t really inclined to acknowledge it. Slag was one of the best warriors he had ever met, but he had a penchant for being impatient, even by Grimlock’s standards. When he grew impatient he began whining and complaining like a protoform. He had learned long ago that acknowledging or arguing back with him only made things worse, angering both Slag and himself. The best way to deal with that was to ignore him and move on to something else to do. Keeping him busy kept him from getting too angry.

Grimlock did turn towards the door when he heard it slide open. Apparently he had forgotten to lock it down sufficiently as intruders were the last thing he wanted. Some bulky construction bot walked in and asked if he could join them. Grimlock snickered before letting the remains of the drone fall from his mouth. He walked towards the door and transformed back to his robot mode. Before he could say anything though Snarl and Slag egged the newcomer on. It wasn’t too much of a surprise really as they were the two more restless Dinobots.

The Dinobot commander sized up Grindcore. He looked big and strong, but he doubted that he had any real combat experience. At the very least he had nothing that could match the Dinobots. Grimlock waved his hand at him. “You not ready to train with Dinobots. Dinobot training is harder then most battles for other bots. Not want to see you get damaged in training.”

Large Scale Training Facility

It didn’t take very long at all for the Dinobots in the room to react to his presence. In fact, Grindcore was quite surprised at just how fast some of them had responded to his arrival, considering he had always taken them as a bunch of slow, clumsy oafs. The first to answer his query was the one called Slag, who certainly appeared rather angry at the intrusion and wanted nothing more than to get into a brawl with the yellow construction worker. ‘Core listened with baited breath as the flamethrower gave him the option to either run away or stay and die a miserable death. After telling Snarl to back off his prey, Slag walked over to within arms reach of the heavy lifter and gave him one last chance to decide before the inevitable happened.

“I don’t like either option, Slag,” Grindcore stated defiantly, crossing his large arms over his chestplate. “I’m no coward and I don’t die easily. I’m a Wrecker-in-training. That’s why I came down here.” The yellow mech took a single step towards the flamethrower, making the distance between them half of what it was. “That’s right, tough guy. I’m not just some run of the mill construction bot. I’m going to be a Wrecker one day. You remember those guys, don’t you? They’re the ones who haven’t been missing for the past several vorns and have actually been around fighting the ‘Cons all this time. So, yeah, I still wanna play! More than ever!”

As Grindcore kept his optics locked on those of the enraged Slag, the Dinobot Commander came over to greet the new arrival, transforming back to robot mode just in time to size up the construction worker before the flamethrower lost it completely and just ripped into him. Grimlock’s words came as no surprise to the heavy laborer. These beast-formers seemed to think very little of him or his capabilities. They probably even thought they were better than the Wreckers as a unit. Of course, the Dinobots couldn’t be more wrong, and their new monstrous alt modes didn't change that fact in the slightest.

“With all due respect, Commander,” Grindcore replied to Grimlock without taking his optics off of Slag. “I can more than handle myself in battle and whatever training you want to throw at me. Like I said, I’m training to be a Wrecker, the toughest squad the Autobots have to offer!”

“Dinobots are toughest squad!!” Snarl suddenly erupted, taking a step closer to Grindcore and pointing a rigid actuator at the insulting mech. “Wreckers die too easily! That why their roster always changing! Ours doesn’t! We same Dinobots from very beginning! They not as tough as us!! Get your facts straight, worker bot!!”


Grindcore had clearly struck a cord with his last statement, but it wasn’t one that he was willing to back down from regardless of the larger company he was now keeping. Daring to take his optics off of Slag, ‘Core glanced over at Snarl with an expressionless look on his faceplate. “I’m not the one who’s wrong, Snarl. The Wreckers’ death rate is high only because their missions are the most dangerous. Not to mention they’ve been around fighting a lot longer!”

Now Snarl wanted to tear into the newcomer with a ferocity that was matched only by Slag or Grimlock. It was then that Sludge had said something to the Desert Warrior, something about not hurting any Autobots. With a frown deeply etched across his faceplate, Snarl turned to the mechanical Apatosaurus whose long neck and head were right next to him. “Me think we make exception in this case!”

The plated Dinobot then regarded the flamethrower once more with the same angry frown, remembering that his seething comrade had already claimed the right to play with Grindcore. It was the only thing keeping Snarl from violently attacking the construction worker, himself. “Slag, show this fragger who toughest bots around is before me do!!” The solar powered mech’s angry visage then settled on the heavy lifter again. “Hope you ready for some pain, little one, 'cause you not make it outta here in one piece!”

Grindcore scoffed at the Desert Warrior’s threats. “Bring it!”

((OOC: SmokescreenGT has agreed to let poor Grindcore get his aft kicked by Slag. So no worries. Well, except for Grindcore, of course. Muwahahaha!))

Large Scale Training Facility

Slag glared down at the impudent little mech standing before him. If this punk wanted to rumble, Slag would be sure to give him the fight of his life. But for now the flamethrower simply ground his teeth and growled. “You? A Wrecker? Now that’s got to be a joke!” Slag let out an evil laugh before he jabbed a finger in Grindcore’s chestplate. “Listen, you’ve got about as much a chance at becoming one of those has bins as you’ve got surviving this little encounter.”

The Dinobot removed his actuator from the other mech’s chest and leaned down. “I’m gonna give you one last chance to walk away so you don’t embarrass yourself. Of course you do that and it’d make no difference now would it? You’d still be a laughing stock.” He spoke directly into Grindcore’s audial. He, however, had no intention of giving the Wrecker wannabe any chance to respond. Instead Slag straightened back up and sent a quick nod in Snarl’s direction. The perpetually angry Dinobot then sent Grindcore flying across the room with a devastating blow with the back of his hand.

The constructibot twisted in md-air and landed hard, face down on the floor, his body causing sparks and an audial piercing scrapping of metal on metal as he slid over the smooth surface. He finally came to a stop when his head smacked against the wall.

Before Grindcore’s body came to a halt, Slag turned and began to make his way over to his new punching bag. He stopped and took a long look at the mech before sending a hard kick to Grindcore’s side. “So, you gonna get up off your sorry aft and fight me like a real Wrecker would, or are you just as full of that same hot air Impactor and his cronies are loaded with?!”

Large Scale Training Facility

This Autobot had some bearings, Grimlock couldn’t deny that. His infatuation with the Wreckers was probably misplaced though. The Wreckers were good, by regular Autobot standards, but they were still far below the level of the Dinobots. No team could be the best with the constant turn over the Wreckers had from deaths or members being dismissed. Some Autobots might wax romantic on the team and their antics, but from a more practical standpoint Grimlock saw them as a group that was just suited for suicide missions. They all expected to die anyway, and if they just recruited crazies and fanatics then good riddance to them.

The Dinobot leader had no desire to burst Grindcore’s bubble though. Really he didn’t care one way or the other about this Autobot, but he was becoming a nuisance. They didn’t have unlimited time on their hands here and he certainly wasn’t going to waste it arguing with this Bot. If he wanted a fight, then he would have it.

Grimlock closed in on Slag, waving his sword in front of him to make sure he got his attention. “Fine. Slag, no weapons, no alternate mode. Fight hand to hand, no serious damage. Him still Autobot.” The instructions might appear an attempt to help Grindcore, and they were, but not to win the fight. Grimlock had given them to spare the construction Bot serious harm. He doubted that even under those rules he would be much of a match for Slag, but he would come out of the fight intact and hopefully learn a lesson or two.

Trion Hangar

Warhaul couldn't help but be a little impressed at the religious zealot's ingenuity. There was clearly more to him...

>>"Nice. I'll see you in a few,"<< Warhaul had quickly commed back. Highcall hadn't been kidding, either. Before he could even activate the lift, the little zealot had shown up. Ingenious and efficient. Not too shabby. Would probably make a decent Decepticon were it not for all that Primus slag.

"Nah. Slaggin' I thought it'd take you longer to get here than it did," Warhaul said as he activated the lift that started the process of lifting them up to his assigned portion of the starboard wing. Once the lift stopped, Warhaul stepped out on to the scaffolding and the wing section to which he was assigned. A maintenance drone scanned him and then hovered off to a higher level of the ship. With practiced ease, he knelt down and set to work.

"Help? Oh, right. Uh. Let's see," Warhaul fumbled around. He had never really accounted for even the possibility that he would receive assistance in accomplishing his work here, be it willing or unwilling. His work at this point in the ship's construction phases was pretty routine, but Warhaul had actually come to enjoy it. Not as enjoyable as crafting a war, but enjoyable just the same. Making sure that the wiring in this section flowed as smoothly as in every other part of the massive vessel, it was tempting to become distracted by intricacy that had gone in to putting this ship together. He couldn't allow that. Not now.

"Take this and start on that next panel right there. Basically just making sure there's no faulty wiring on this thing. Everything has to run beautifully and continuously," Warhaul said.

Clamping a scanner to a cluster of wires, Warhaul made sure that energy and data was flowing through this section like it should. So far so good.

"Maybe you'll find a few mechs here who wanna hear that Primus stuff, heh."

(OOC: Attack on Slag agreed to with Ember.)

Large Scale Training Facility

Grindcore became enraged when Slag began mocking his desire to become a Wrecker, pressing his finger into the yellow mech’s chest plate. It was no joke to the construction worker. It was his dream to one cycle break free of this place and travel the universe with the greatest Autobot team that ever existed. Of course, the Dinobot flamethrower thought otherwise and didn’t seem to think that much of the Wreckers as an elite fighting force, either, calling them has-beens. Slag then gave ‘Core one last chance to leave while he still could. Unfortunately, the energon-a-holic ‘Bot could not just walk away, not anymore. Now, it had become personal, and Grindcore had something to prove not just to himself but to this slagger in front of him.

However, before the wannabe Wrecker had a chance to even respond verbally, Slag delivered a powerful backhand that sent Grindcore flying across the training facility before landing hard against the floor. The yellow mech’s body scraped across the metal surface until his cranium had hit the far wall with a loud clank. Only the wall prevented his body from continuing onward and sustaining more damage. Moments later the groggy shipbuilder felt Slag kick him in his side, a true testament as to the type of dirty fighter the flamethrower clearly was. Perhaps this Dinobot had more in common with the Decepticons than his own beast-former kind. Regardless, he would soon learn the price of insulting the Wreckers.

“I’m full of a lot more than just hot air, Slag-ger,” Grindcore growled as he picked himself up off of the floor and glared back at the cowardly flamethrower. His chest plating now bore the scrape marks and damage caused by the Dinobot’s cheap shot. This was not to mention that he now had a minor cranial ache, as well. It was nothing he could not persevere through, however. The yellow mech had let his guard down for only a brief moment before. It would not happen again. That was a guarantee.

Grimlock then approached and interjected his own rules into this little combat situation. They seemed to benefit Grindcore to a certain degree, but something told the construction worker that his opponent would likely deviate from those instructions if only by a little bit. “Your rules sound good to me, Commander,” the Wrecker-in-training stated plainly before returning his attention to Slag. “How about you, Slagger? Think you can handle them....”

Grindcore gave his beastly adversary no time for a reply, sending a solid punch directly into Slag’s gut, causing him to double-over slightly. “....or me?” The heavy lifter didn’t let up for an astrosecond, delivering several more hard punches straight into the flamethrower’s mid-section and then upper torso region, eliciting only a few grunts from his larger opponent who appeared no worse for wear from the attack. This was not the reaction ‘Core had hoped for as the shipbuilder took a step back in disbelief. Slag’s front armored plating was just too tough. The high-grade lover needed to aim for something with less protection.

The construction worker then lunged forward at Slag and took a powerful swing straight up at the flamethrower’s faceplate, hoping to make a devastating impact that would send the Dinobot down to the floor were Grindcore could continue his assault.
_________

Snarl watched as the events unfolded in front of him with a great sense of joy. It was not as good as being a part of the action, himself, but the Desert Warrior would take it nevertheless. He could at least imagine that it was him who had just backhanded the pathetic Grindcore across the room and not Slag. However, Snarl’s imagination would only satisfy him for so long before he would want to teach this Wrecker wannabe a lesson, as well. Of course, the solar-powered mech knew better than to get in his flame-throwing comrade’s way, and naturally Grimlock had to step in to set up some basic ground rules which only served to ensure that the construction bot was not injured too badly in the forthcoming brawl.

The Desert Warrior was a bit surprised when Grindcore initiated a sudden attack of his own, delivering a series of strong blows to Slag’s midsection and chest plate. Snarl had to admit, it was a brave and somewhat decent attempt, but ultimately futile when it really came down to it. The pummeling, if one could even call it that, did very little to damage his comrade’s sturdy metal hide. Snarl simply chuckled as he waited for the flamethrower’s counterattack and eventual defeat of this insignificant little Autobot shipbuilder who had delusions of actually becoming a Wrecker or a member of any other elite squad for that matter. An important lesson was going to be learned here and that lesson would be never to instigate a Dinobot, especially if that Dinobot was Slag.

Glancing over at the mechanical Apatosaurus that was still standing next to him, Snarl whispered to his dimwitted comrade. “What you think, Sludge? Will Slag ignore Grimlock and destroy smaller construction-bot anyway. Heh. Me thinks that most likely what will happen. Either way, my energon’s on Slag. Grindcore stand no chance against him. Even Swoop over here could take puny builder mech.”

Snarl cast the Dinobot flier a wry smile before returning his attention to the battle at hand. The Desert Warrior hoped that Grindcore would put up enough of a fight to make this battle last longer than just a few astroseconds. Otherwise, boredom would quickly set in once again and they’d have to find someone else to beat up just to keep things interesting.

((OOC: Everything done to Grindcore was agreed upon by myself and SmokescreenGT))

Large Scale Training Facility

Slag grunted and nothing more when Grimlock laid out the rules for the fight. He’d try to keep his attacks on the more reserved level, the operative word being “try”. And when the sorry excuse for a wannbe Wrecker spoke up, Slag cast him a simple smirk. He was, however, taken aback by Grindcore’s sudden and quick attack. It was something completely unexpected and Slag chided himself for not being better prepared.

Several low grunts escaped Slag as he was continually pummeled by the contrusctibot. He got lucky and the flamethrower would let him have his fun, but once there was an opening in Grindcore’s attack to take advantage of, Slag would have at it.

And that opening came sooner than expected. Grindcore had become frustrated with his own inept attempt to prove himself worthy of a fight with a Dinobot; that left him open during an awkward lunge. With a large smug knowing smirk Slag easily caught his attacker’s fist before it connected with his faceplate and slowly twisted the mech’s wrist down at a painful angle. While Grindcore’s one hand was, otherwise, occupied, Slag tugged Grindcore closer to his chestplate and placed his free hand around the back of his opponent’s neck. “My turn.” The flamethrower whispered directly into the mech’s audio.

There was no pause as Slag removed his hand from Grindcore’s neck drew it back and sent the balled fist flying toward the construction worker’s face. The jar sent Grindcore’s head backwards, but his body was kept upright by the Dinobot’s solid hold on his wrist.

“You’re gonna love what I got in store for you, Wrecker lover.” Slag growled out as he finally released the bot’s wrist. But he wasn’t finished teaching Grincore a serious lesson. Once his adversary was free Slag quickly sent him across the room with a well-placed solid roundhouse kick. “Don’t you move, runt, I’m not finished!” Slag yelled out before he stalked to the Autobot’s prone form.

With a devious grin etched on his face, Slag reached down and dragged the yellow mech up and onto his feet. The dazed constructibot was drawn in close and then encased in a crushing bear hug. “Since you'll never get within one megamile of an actual Wrecker, I’m giving you a chance to see just what it would be like to cozy up to them.” He slowly began to squeeze as he pressed on with his words. “I think it’s time you realize that you’re not Wrecker material. In fact you’re not even Autobot material. Now repeat after me…I’m never going to amount to anything. I’m nothing more than a service drone, and a service drone is all I will ever be.” Slag squeezed a little tighter. "You repeat that and we'll call this pitiful excuse for a fight over."

Trion Hangar

Highcall nodded as Warhaul instructed him on the work he would be assisting the technician with, "Understood, I will do this to the best of my abilities."

The engiineer opened the panel, taking a scanner and placing it along the numerous wires in the same manner that Warhaul had done. As impressive as the ship seemed from the outside, Highcall had to admit that the inside looked to be an even greater technological achievement. It was then that Warhaul suggested that some of the mechs at work would possibly want to hear about the Covenant of Primus. Highcall sighed, believing that the technician was merely joking.

"No, I'd say most bots on this station have already heard more from me about Primus than they wanted.", Highcall admitted with a sense of shame, "Kick Off spoke to me while I was in his custody, and it's finally occured to me....."

Highcall hesitated to say more. He hardly knew Warhaul, but truth be told he hardly knew any bot on the station, even after being stationed there for the last 10 vorns. He had annoyed, bored, or infuriated everyone with his seemingly nonstop reciting of scripture and public, unwanted sermons. Quite honestly this was the first time he had gone this long talking to anyone without going into a diatribe about Primus' teachings. But then, maybe it wasn't because it was about the Lord of Light. Maybe it was just his constant talking in general. Whatever the reason he had plenty on his mind, but he realized that it wouldn't be appropriate to bring his personal problems onto this mech

"I'm sorry, I should just stay focused- OH!", Highcall exclaimed as the scanner gave a small beep, "I'm detecting a .15% phase variance in the energy flow.....", the engineer punched in a few keys on the scanner for further details, "Cable 323G, leads to the secondary thruster regulators, isolating......"

Highcall went to the side of the scanner and pulled out a small, wand-like device that acted as an extension. Running it along the cable he had mentioned, he detected the exact section of wiring where the variance was occuring and what was causing it.

"There's a microscopic crack in the lining.", Highcall informed, "It's small enough that it shouldn't need to be replaced, though. A silicon-based sealant should do the trick."

Without saying another word the engineer reached for Warhaul's toolkit, and grabbed a pistol-shaped tool with a pointed tip and several small buttons on the side. After pressing a series of those buttons he aimed at the cable that he had been scanning, and carefully fired a very thin, clear substance onto it, followed by a short burst of heat to quckly harden it. After putting the sealing tool back he reactivated the scanner, then nodded in approval.

"Energy flow back to it's consistent level.", he said with a small hint of pride in his tone. It had been a long time since he last remembered accomplishing anything at work without stopping to pray out loud.

"Maybe if I'd thought less of Primus, and focussed more on my assignments....", the engineer said as he moved onto the next section, "I would have been assigned to this ship in the first place.", he sighed.


Large Scale Training Facility

Whatever hesitating thoughts Sludge had about Grindcore dwindled as the construction-bot started praising the infamous Wreckers, arguing that the Autobot commando unit was superior to the Dinobots. Obviously Sludge could not disagree more.

"Dinobots are strongest team! Dinobots are toughest team!", the mechanical apatasaurus bellowed, "Me Sludge not even know any Wrecker's names! Uh, though me Sludge not know most Autobots names.....", he added as an afterthought.

Before long things started to escalate as Slag took some of his frustrations out on the construction bot. The jungle warrior finally transformed back to his robot mode so he could possibly stop the flamethrower- not out of any concern for Grindcore, but because it went against Grimlock's earlier order about not harming any Autobots yet.

Then the Dinobot commander finally gave the okay, provided that neither bot use any weapons or alternate modes. With that order given, Sludge decided to simply stand back and enjoy the beating he was sure Grindcore would get, as Snarl gave his own opinion on the fight, then asked Sludge about whether the Dinobot flamethrower would follow the rules layed out by their commander.

"Me Sludge think Slag should obey Grimlock's orders.", the jungle warrior replied with, "But me Sludge not stupid. Me Sludge think builder-bot will be melted into slag if he not give up soon."

Though Sludge chuckled to himself as he watched Grindcore get just what he deserved for disrespecting the Dinobots, occasionally he worried as he kept remembering Grimlock's orders when they first arrived at the station. His worries increased as he watched Slag take total control of the fight, hitting and tossing Grindcore around like a maintenance bot, then putting him in a bear hug that looked like it would break the construction bot in half.

"Um, me Sludge think Wrecker-wannabe should quit now, or us Dinobots get in trouble.", he quietly said to the other Dinobots.

(OOC: Attack on Slag agreed to with Ember.)


Large Scale Training Facility

Grindcore had expected his fist to connect with Slag’s jaw, but that did not happen. Perhaps “expected” was not the right word. No, “hoped” was a better word to use, but unfortunately that hope was quickly dashed away when the flamethrower easily caught the construction worker’s fist in midair before then twisting Grindcore’s arm around into a painful angle. The yellow mech had little time to react as Slag pulled him closer and delivered a powerful punch directly into his faceplate. The impact from this single hit alone sent the Wrecker reject’s processor into a tizzy, so much so that the heavy lifter barely registered the follow-up comments not to mention the Dinobot’s roundhouse kick that sent him flying across the room once more.

Grindcore lay in a heap on the floor of the training facility as he tried to regain his bearings so that a proper counter-attack could be, at the very least, attempted. The construction-bot’s HUD flickered as he felt Slag drag him up to his feet before the flamethrower wrapped both arms around the heavy lifter's midsection, trapping him in a crushing bear hug. Too bad this was not the type of hug one received from a long time friend. Instead, it was meant to break a mech’s will to continue fighting or to break him in half, whichever happened first.

In this case, Slag clearly wanted Grindcore to admit that he was defeated and nothing more than a mere service drone. The heavy lifter had been told by many others in the past that he would never amount to anything, that the Wreckers were just a pipe dream that would never come to fruition for him. It was a waste of his time to even try out for the team, and ‘Core had taken what those mechs said to spark, at least until Erector had reassured him that his dream could still come true if the construction worker just put his processor to it.

“No,” Grindcore uttered in a low, guttural tone as he felt the crushing power of Slag’s arms wrapped around his waist. His cranium had cleared some, enough to know that he would not recite the words that the flamethrower was demanding. “No, Slag. You’re the service drone!” With those words spoken, the heavy lifter threw a hard headbutt straight into Slag’s faceplate. ‘Core followed that first one up with two more, both striking the Dinobot mid forehead. Thankfully, the trio of hits had been enough to cause the horned beast-former to finally release his grip. As a result, the construction-bot fell back and away from his opponent, landing hard on his aft section with a loud grunt.

I’ve got to get back up! I've got to get up now! Grindcore thought to himself as he tried to pull his bulky form into a sitting position. Between the initial punch from Slag and then the three headbutts of his own doing, the heavy lifter’s cranial unit was metaphorically spinning out of control. Get up, ‘Core, get up you lazy-good-for-nothing! There’s no time for rest. That Slagger won’t stay confused for long. You’ve got to strike him now while he’s still dazed.

Grindcore’s internal pep talk succeeded in getting him slowly back up to his feet. He glared directly over at Slag, who now appeared fuzzy and distorted, an obvious indication that the heavy lifter’s vision had been affected by the many blows to the cranium. At least he knew where his adversary was and that’s all ‘Core would need to finally end this little sparing session. Letting out a roaring battle cry that echoed throughout the entire training room, Grindcore charged at Slag, stumbling a bit as he went but maintaining a strong forward momentum nevertheless. His intent was to tackle the flamethrower to the floor where he would then finish the Wrecker-hater off once and for all.
_________

“Obey orders? That boring,” Snarl replied to Sludge with a chuckle. “But me also agree that builder-bot will be melted down if him upset Slag too much. It inevitable outcome. Heh.” Having said his peace, the Desert Warrior returned his attention to the fight at hand, not wanting to miss a single astrosecond. As he expected, Slag easily deflected Grindcore’s sloppily thrown punch before the flamethrower then delivered a successful one of his own. A roundhouse kick followed which propelled the construction bot across the training facility like a limp human rag doll. It seemed as though the fight was coming to a quick end as Slag placed the heavy lifter into a powerful bear hug, something that seemingly made Sludge more than a little nervous.

“Relax, Sludge!” Snarl responded to his worried comrade while not taking his optics off of Grindcore’s well-deserved aft-beating. “We not get in trouble. What anyone gonna do to us? Nothing, that’s what! Besides, fight over now. Slag has...” The solar-powered Dinobot’s words were cut short when the heavy lifter proved to be anything but a quitter, delivering three hard headbutts to the flamethrower’s faceplate that forced him to let go of the hard-headed ship builder. A disoriented Grindcore then took a few moments to regain his footing before letting loose a battle cry that was laughable at best before charging at Slag in a haphazard manner.

“Impressive,” Snarl admitted with a groan. “Builder bot have some cast iron ball bearings. Too bad him about to lose them.” The Desert Warrior knew that Slag was not down or out, not by any means. Grindcore was definitely in a confused state of mind as his staggering charge clearly indicated. The cycle's entertainment was almost over and soon Snarl would need to find something else to keep himself occupied. Maybe there were some other suicidal mechs around the station that wanted a Dinobot to kick their afts, too. Probably not, but one could always hope.

((OOC: Grindcore’s beating agreed upon by SmokescreenGT))

Large Scale Training Facility

“What was that? No?!” Slag squeezed a little tighter. "Wrong answer, runt!" The response he got did give Slag a very small sense of satisfaction. Not only didn't Grindcore wind up cowering in the corner like the pathetic piece of slag he was, but he was actually willing to continue getting humiliated. Well, if a beating was what he wanted then a beating was what he’d get. Slag had every confidence that this little exercise would end decidedly in his favor. Just the way it should be.

“You should quit while I’m ahea…” Slag ground out just as he was delivered a vicious headbutt right into his faceplate. The first was quickly followed by two more successive hits. The sudden impact caused the flamethrower to drop the smaller bot where he landed on his aft. At the same time Slag staggered backward with one large hand covering his faceplate.

Now at a sizable distance from his target, the Dinobot lowered his hand to reveal a split lip where a small amount of energon tricked down his chin and landed in droplets on the floor at his feet. And the glass covering his left optic sported a thin crack. It was fine, and Slag could still see, but it only succeeded in making the lumbering mech even angrier with his prey. Oh, he was going to pay for that, pay dearly. “You’re dead! You. Are. SO DEAD!” He ground out.

Slag’s optics burned with hot rage as he began to stalk forward. Grindcore, too, began to advance only his movements were staggered and unsteady…that was perfect. The crazed battle cry didn’t even faze the large Dinobot as his gate quickly turned into a full on charge.

Grindcore kept his body low which indicated he was going to attempt a tackle, the key word was attempt. There was no way the Autobot would even make it that far. As he drew in closer to the other charging bot, Slag drew back his right fist and, once in range, sent it careening down and into the side of Grindcore’s head causing his neck to crane to the right at an ungodly angle.

The construction bot nearly lost his balance; stumbling the rest of the way off to the right. He kept his feet under him, however, but his HUD sent several warnings indicating that his equilibrium functions were in need of re-calibration. The yellow mech overrode them but he had no time to formulate a retaliating move; Slag was already looming over him a deep frown etched, equally as deep, on his faceplate. “I hope you made peace with your sorry existence, because your life as you know is OVER!” With his last word Slag set to work sending punch after punch into the face, head and abdomen of Grindcore.

Each blow was harder than the preceding and were flowed by a series of vicious swear words in several Cybertronian dialects. Every strike had elicited pained grunts and groans from the yellow mech, but Slag refused to let up.

Finally Grindcore went down hard, his body crashing to the floor in an energon covered heap. Slag loomed overhead as the defeated bot tried to drag himself away and out of the larger mech’s reach. “I told you before, you’re not Wrecker material. And you’re still not Autobot material. You’re nothing.” Slag all but growled out with a hateful sneer. To emphasize his point the flamethrower sent a hard kick to Grindcore’s chin knocking him flat on his back. “Pathetic loser.” was the Dinobot’s final loathsome grumble to the downed construction bot before stepping beside Grimlock. “Let’s get the frag outta here.” He growled out without even looking at his Commander.

Large Scale Training Facility

Grindcore never made the tackle on his intended target, not even close. What he made was a crunching sound when Slag delivered an immense blow to the side of his cranial unit that sent his HUD into a craze of functional warnings. The construction worker’s equilibrium had already been off from the prior hits to the head, but now it was far and away worse. ‘Core managed to stand his ground, however, stumbling off to the right a bit. He had no chance to regroup or respond with any kind of counterattack before the flamethrower began shouting at him, which was quickly followed up with a torrent of closed-fist punches to every place imaginable on the shipbuilder’s frame.

After a while of hit after hit, blow after blow, Grindcore became numb to the pain as that region of his processor simply shut down to prevent any further or permanent trauma. Regardless, the damage had been done and the heavy lifter finally went down hard on Slag’s final blow to his chest armor. Hitting the ground hard, ‘Core just laid in a heap with energon seeping from several orifices across his framework, but mostly from his faceplate. He didn’t even try to get up as his strength was almost completely gone. His HUD’s warnings said as much and it was impossible for him to ignore now. Only a low groan escaped from the yellow mech’s vocals as he heard Slag’s taunts become renewed once more.

”You’re not Wrecker material. And you’re still not Autobot material. You’re nothing. Pathetic loser.”

Those were the words that rang through Grindcore’s damaged cranium, and they hurt even more now than they ever had before. The construction bot had come in here and faced off against Slag in order to prove to himself and others that he was a capable warrior that was worthy of the Wreckers. Unfortunately, the only thing ‘Core proved was just how worthless he really was and always would be. There was no denying it now. Even Erector couldn’t argue with him again or make him feel better. The only thing that would stop the pain now was another drink or two of high grade.

First, though, Grindcore needed to rest and regain his equilibrium and overall strength. Perhaps a trip down to the medical bay would be a good idea once he could stand again. The heavy lifter quickly put that thought right out of his mind, knowing that all kinds of questions would then be asked by the medical staff with answers that he didn’t want to give or admit to. No, ‘Core would just remain where he was, a crumpled heap on the floor of the training room until the Dinobots had left. Then, once he was alone, he would slowly get back to his feet, clean himself up and head down to the Energon Bar, a place where he really belonged and could refill his tanks with what he had just lost and then some.
_________

Snarl watched with a broad smile spread across his faceplate as an enraged Slag unleashed hell on the hapless construction worker. The hits came fast and furious, knocking Grindcore around like a mere training drone. The flamethrower wasn’t playing around anymore, that much was very clear now. That last headbutt had been the final straw that broke the Triceratops’ back so to speak. The end came swiftly as the yellow mech hit the ground hard and remained there with no visible attempt to get back up.

“Stay down, for own good, worker-bot,” Snarl said as a pissed off Slag demanded that they leave now. Even though it had been fun watching Grindcore get put in his place, it was now time for them to leave the scene of the crime. “Slag right,” Snarl agreed as he looked over at the Dinobot Commander. “Us should get going before anybody come in here and find us with beat up Wrecker-lover. Us not want that kind of attention.”

The solar-powered mech walked towards the doorway and stood on the opposite side of his leader from where Slag was positioned. Snarl was sure that Grimlock would agree with his logic, such as it was. The only problem now was finding something else that would keep the Dinobots out of trouble. Perhaps it was now time to see the Trion first hand and start learning some of the tech stuff they needed to know before they could finally steal it.

“Maybe time us get to doing what we came here to do. Stop fooling around. Me want to get back to fighting ‘Cons, not drones and not other Autobots.” Snarl’s words were chosen carefully as to not reveal any specific details in ear shot of Grindcore, whose audio receptors were likely still functioning to a certain degree even if the rest of him wasn’t. “How about it, Grimlock?

Trion Hangar

Warhaul just nodded as Highcall talked about how fed up the other mechs on the station were with all his Primus talk. At another time, Warhaul might've thrown some fuel on that fire, but he was nowhere near as overtanked as he had been back at the bar. No need to provoke a bad reaction out of someone that was proving to be more useful than he would've originally guessed.

Warhaul looked over at Highcall's indication of the phase variance. Almost as quickly as he had discovered it, Highcall had accordingly fixed the problem.

Not too shabby, Warhaul thought.

"That's what you wanted, eh? Working here?" Warhaul asked in reference to Highcall's last musings. He moved over a little so that he could check another of the assigned panels that needed signed off on this shift. "Can't fault ya for that. This ship's a beaut. You really think it's all your prosel--proselytiming--tyzing, whatever, that kept you from being assigned here? That wouldn't look good on your bosses, I wouldn't think. You're obviously pretty handy with sealant, heh. What do ya think of the boss guys anyway? Solid mechs? The Autobot cause still doing you right, overall?"