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Corridor leading to the Bridge

Motormaster listened Razorclaw to talk. There was a lot to digest and plenty of what he wanted to comment on but he did let the Predacon leader speak without interrupting, trying to remember everything he wanted to comment on.

”Yeah. Ultrax. I guess. There's at least plenty of energon stored there if nothing else,” the leader of the Stunticons admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Ultrax hadn't exactly been that much in his thoughts as of late.

”Couple of other things first though,” he said, continuing on the subject that interested him more than his beat up ship in the bottom of the Pacific, ”Devastator still bugs me. There are plenty of tall enough spaces within this ship for the greenies to combine in. The hangar for one, the cargo bays, the cybernought storages...” Motormaster listed few options to Razorclaw, an amused grin having worked its way on his face given he seemed to have found more issues to point out than the Razorclaw had voiced out so far. ”From any of those places it is just matter of tearing apart walls and floors to make more room without even compromising the ship's structural integrity. Module design with interchangeable interiors or something like that - was what it was called by Shockwave, was it not?”

The large Stunticon chuckled, ”Heh, anyway, I can imagine Devastator being able to even crawl into plenty of corridors here,” he looked up, measuring the corridor they were standing in, ”Some are even high enough for him to walk in slouched. The disadvantage of these ships being at least partially designed to fit big guys the size of Scorponok or Killmaster of the Warrior's Elite back in the day, no?”

”But I guess if you have secured Scrapper's cooperation as you say, your word will be enough for me,” Motormaster reassured the leader of their rebellious triumvirate before the grin on his face was replaced by a far more serious look. For now anyway.

”The big question is this though: How much trust we can put on Shockwave?” Motormaster voiced his main concern born out of Razorclaw's words. ”Aren't we traitors to him? We stole his position after all. Bringing up a chance to modify us or anyone else? Especially that phase sixer? This is a prime opportunity for him to gain his revenge over our actions, don't you think?”

Corridor leading to the Bridge

Razorclaw was about to give Motormaster and his motley crew a new assignment in regards to their frigate, the Ultrax, but the Stunticon Commander didn’t seem all that interested in his sunken ship. He just brushed it aside, confirming that there was a sizable energon stash on board before getting back to his various concerns about Devastator and even Shockwave. The Predacon lord didn’t interrupt the large brute, allowing him to go on and on about how Devastator could still fit in certain parts of the ship and even crawl around other areas while tearing down walls and ripping up floors to make more room without compromising the integrity of the Thanatos. All were valid concerns which was why the lion-former had every intention of keeping a close optic on Scrapper and his Constructicons.

“Motormaster, my friend, I think you worry a little too much,” Razorclaw replied with a chuckle as he placed a firm hand on his comrade's shoulder plate. “But I can’t disagree with your points. Keeping Devastator under control is a great concern, and yes this ship is modular in design. Still, like I said before, Scrapper apparently just wanted a place within our inner circle, and I gave that to him. He was very pleased with my response. If I had denied him his request then I think we’d have much more to be worried about. As it now stands, I strongly believe that we have the Constructicons, and thus Devastator, as our allies.” The Predacon lord then paused and removed his clawed hand from Motormaster’s shoulder before continuing. “But, if it makes you feel any better, I can speak with Shockwave about a possible way to break the Constructicons apart if the gestalt ever turned against us. The process was derived from Shockwave’s own designs. He must have a way to counteract the combination process if need be.”

Razorclaw took a deep intake of air. He wanted to move on to the Ultrax assignment, but Motormaster was still concerned about other things, Shockwave being an even bigger question mark than Devastator. If the Stunticon Commander had been any ordinary mech, the lion-former would’ve ended this conversation long before this point. Razorclaw was the supreme leader of the Decepticons and he should be the one to guide conversations and limit the questions asked of him. But, be that as it may, Motormaster was no ordinary mech. He was one of the Predacon lord’s staunchest supporters. Without him and Onslaught, Razorclaw could not have ascended to the throne as he did. Unlike Megatron, the lion-former needed the support of others in order to help him maintain control. Without that support, Razorclaw would likely not be in the position that he currently held.

Thus, the Decepticon leader continued to entertain Motormaster’s questions, trying to give him the answers that would alleviate his numerous worries. “Shockwave is a mech driven by pure, cold logic. Revenge is an emotional response. It is not something he would indulge himself with. He understands that more infighting would not benefit the Empire. We need stable leadership and we have provided that. To try and undermine my claim on the throne at this point would throw the Decepticons back into chaos and that is something Shockwave would not want. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean I have his full support. After all, he no more knows where I stand than I do him. Thus, I need to know if his vision for the future of the Decepticon Empire coincides to any degree with my own. That is one of the reasons why I am going to meet with him very soon down in his lab, so I can ascertain his intentions moving forward and to also inform him of mine. Only then will I be able to gauge how much I can truly trust him.”

Razorclaw checked his internal chronometer for a brief moment. While he had no set time to meet with Shockwave, he also didn’t want to keep the Military Operations Commander and Flamewar waiting for too long. Freeing Sixshot from Starscream’s control was of paramount importance. The sooner the Phase Sixer was within the lion-former’s control the better. “Now, are you ready for your new assignment, Motormaster, or are there any other concerns I can address before moving forward?”

Lounge

Wildrider.

Frag that fraggin' Wildrider.

Primus he was gonna get it.

Breakdown did the best he could to prepare himself for the blistering assault he was about to receive. If anything could prepare him for a beating at the hands of a 'Con like Skullcruncher, it was the many beatings he had already received at one time or another at the hands of Motormaster.

That preparation at least allowed him to land somewhat deftly on the floor when their table was suddenly overturned, spilling the Stunticons into a haphazard pile.

"Crazy....crazy...idiot...nutjob...," Breakdown muttered as he struggled to push himself up, oblivious to the fact that two angry mechs were now heading for him. Well, briefly oblivious.

”Breakdown! Throw me across the fraggin' bar with one hand eh?! I am going to smash you so bad you're never gonna forget to keep you trap shut about me and my buddies!”

"O-oh frag me," Breakdown stammered out.

___

“I would rather place bets on how long Brawl can manage to stay out of it. I’ll give it a breem. That assumes the fight lasts that long though…”

At that, Vortex could only smirk as he took a long swig from his tall cylinder of energon.

"Truth has been spoken this day."

Swindle, though, clearly either had no interest in keeping a bet going or had forgotten he was dealing with mechs that had worked directly alongside him for near countless vorns now--effectively removing all chance of how soon Brawl would feed into the escalating tensions. Blast-Off clearly saw it the same way.

“If you think I’m going to pay anything for you siccing Brawl on the Stunticons, you’re sorely mistaken, Swindle. Don’t you agree, Vortex? No, we’ll have to settle on something else for a bet now.”

"Agreed. Now it's just a matter of betting which idiot will be the first to try and pull Brawl off of them."
___

Hook had been quietly enjoying his nitric energon fizz while the chaos slowly--but all too surely--picked up in the Thanatos' lounge. His Combaticon "escorts", for lack of a better term, had at least not infringed on his mobility or his current level of functioning. In fact, he'd heard a lot less interesting conversations in his time. At hand currently? Betting on the various assorted misfortunes that were either going to befall the Stunticons or, now, whomsoever might be unlucky enough to try and stop Brawl from following through after Wildrider's tauntings.

Just then, the door to the lounge opened and three more bright-green mechanoids could be seen entering the lounge.

"I bet it will be that idiot right there," Hook said, grinning smugly as he pointed at Scavenger--well-meaning, easily-trusting Scavenger--that would probably witness the brawl in progress and try to lend a hand.

Corridor leading to the bridge

”I worry too much, eh?” Motormaster scoffed at Razorclaw's remark. He had not helped the Predacon leader to defeat Shockwave and Thunderwing to become a mere lackey. He had done it thinking Razorclaw was the best option for the job. A warrior. Not a scientist lording over them from his ivory tower. A peer that would listen when others from similar background had something to say rather than dismiss them like most of those Decepticons that had been fighting for Megatron's throne for over thousand vorns. ”For someone who is known for waiting for the perfect moment to strike, you're being hasty. Something spooked you up?!” He could sense there was something neither Razorclaw or Onslaught had shared with him in their haste, ”I am supposed to be the one to charge into things slaggit!” He added, smashing his first into the wall with a lound clang.

Motormaster's optics flared up for a brief moment. His volatile temper triggered. He was angry, heated up. Ready to scuffle. He didn't know what was up but something felt off with Razorclaw's behavior. Neither Vortex having lost a missile or Devastator felt like the right explanation for what he was thinking he sensed. ”Fine. Keep it to yourself. I am going to take a look at Ultrax but I am going to need a damn engineer squad for that. My boys are only good for lifting and hitting things.”

”But mark my words and I am going to say this only once,” the large Stunticon rumbled, pointing his index digit at Razorclaw, ”Shockwave is not above revenge,” he seethed, ”He ain't going to express it the same way we do but us turning against him made us an equation he will not leave unsolved. There's an ego in his logic. That's what Starscream always says - and while you can't trust Starscream any further than you can throw him, I wouldn't doubt him on that. He is good reading people, I will give him that.”

”I have first hand experience from serving under the old cyclops and I don't forget or forgive. I get even.” Motormaster continued, putting effort in trying to calm down, ”He can be rattled. He can be enraged. He punishes! I am not the one to say how deep that logic of his goes but if his lack of emotion ain't a charade you can as well start calling me the high priest of sons of fraggin' Primus!”

”You or we I guess,” he hissed, ”are the only thing keeping the others from lining back under his watchful optic. We are the Decepticons. In the end only power matters and Shockwave's power is undeniable.”

"So give me the slaggin' assignment," Motormaster added, making a gesture of indifference with his arm, "but don't say I didn't slaggin' warn you."

Lounge

”Come over here and fight you miserable runt!” Skullcruncher roared, failing yet again his attempt to catch the much smaller, far more nimble Wildrider who kept backing away from him, laughing like a madman the whole time.

It was evident he couldn't catch the Stunticon nutjob like this. He had drive Wildrider into a corner. Which turned out was easier said than done. Wildrider wasn't exactly an idiot. Crazy? Certainly but he knew where to move and he was good with it. The massive crocodilian was getting frustrated. He needed something to hit the Stunticon with. Or the other Decepticons' help in forcing Wildrider to face him instead of running.

The question was, how long were the other Decepticons going to just watch as Wildrider ran around the Lounge, across their tables and flipflopping past them, and in succession being forced to jump out of the way of the juggernaut-like Skullcruncher who'd otherwise storm through them? Or throw a table or a bar counter at them because Wildrider dodged their way.

Corridor leading to the Bridge

And there it was. Motormaster’s temper had been triggered, but the brute managed to keep it mostly in check, striking a nearby wall with his fist in order to avoid striking anything or anyone else. Razorclaw had seen that rage countless times in battle or even against the Stunticon Commander’s own unit. Here the big mech felt like he wasn’t being listened to, that his warnings about Devastator and now Shockwave were being ignored and brushed aside. Of course, that couldn’t be furtherest from the truth. The Predacon lord stood motionless, unfazed by the physical display as Motormaster went on his rant. It was best to let the brute get it all out of his system. Otherwise, it could all come out in a very different way that might risk their strong alliance. Once he was finished speaking, the lion-former tried to reassure him again.

“And your warning has been heard, my friend,” Razorclaw replied, keeping a calm and collected tone. “I don’t trust Shockwave any more than you do, but with Sixshot in play and Starscream at his controls I have no choice but to meet with the cyclops to see if we can work together. Only Shockwave can alter or remove the sixchanger’s code. Without his help, Starscream could take away from us what we’ve worked so hard to build together. The throne is ours, and I refuse to let the Seeker Commander use a Phase Sixer to steal what rightfully belongs to us!”

Razorclaw quickly lowered his vocals, sensing that he had allowed his own temper to boil to the surface. It was not against Motormaster, but those who would seek to take the throne away. Regaining his composure, the Predacon lord continued to speak to his comrade. “I hear what you are saying, Motormaster. Your words have not fallen on deaf audios. I’m not ignoring you, if that’s what you think. Perhaps Shockwave is not above revenge. I served under him, as well, back during our last mission to Cybertron. So, I am well aware of his power and what he is capable of. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I need his help in regards to Sixshot along with other matters. Otherwise, we are leaving an unchecked variable within our very mists. I’m not trying to rush into anything. But, you are right, there is something else that has me ‘spooked’ for lack of a better word.”

The Predacon lord paused for a moment, keeping his optics fixated on Motormaster. Razorclaw had not meant to leave this out of his conversation with the Stunticon brute thus far, but what’s done is done and it was time to fill him in on everything. “We recently detected the presence of the Burning Justice within the outer regions of this system. As you know that is one of Scorponok’s ships. They seem to be chasing a second, unidentified vessel hidden within the Kuiper Belt. They have not attempted to contact us as yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I need not tell you that our claim on the throne would be in dire jeopardy if Scorponok found out too soon that Megatron was gone. Thus, I need to firmly secure our power base in the event that Scorponok comes here to investigate and take the throne for himself. He has immense power, more so than most of us, even Shockwave. That’s why we need Devastator and Sixshot within our control. That's why we need to build more gestalts. We need to be ready sooner rather than later for the eventuality that is Lord Scorponok.”

“My apologies for not mentioning this to you sooner,” Razorclaw continued. “I was not trying to hide anything from you. My focus has been on doing what needs to be done and in the process I left you out of the loop. Regardless, Shockwave might not be trustworthy, but I’m afraid he is a necessity if we are to maintain control. I have to at least try to work with him to get what is needed. However, that doesn’t mean I will fully trust him. As with Scrapper, I will tread carefully to ensure that were are not betrayed.”

Lounge

Brawl's optics burned of anger as he accelerated from walk speed into a jog. Primus was not with Breakdown this orn. Not only had his own teammate Wildrider set him up for a beating, the Combaticon con artist Swindle had done the same without the nerve-wrecked Stunticon even knowing. Though the result of Swindle's mischievery became quite evident way too soon for Breakdown - who was still recuperating from Skullcruncher flipping a table on him and Dead End only nanokliks earlier. But there he was - Brawl. Running towards the poor Stunticon with ever increasing speed, barking out profanities at Breakdwon. At least the crocodilian had been more interested in Wildrider than the other two. Not so much with the Combaticon heavy hitter.

”You are going down lightweight!” Brawl howled and launched himself into a flying tackle towards the Stunticon. Had Breakdown recovered enough to dodge the more than ten times heavier tank's tackle or was he going to be speared in half? The answer was astroseconds away.

Med- Bay

Deep crimson optics slowly opened, focusing, at first, on the ceiling. The drab dull painted ceiling. They then searched the area within his peripheral vision. He caught a glimpse of black green and what he recognized as a hand.

Darkride’s lips curved upwards. “You must really care. For you have stayed by my side.” He chuckled quietly as he slowly turned his head to look at Oil Slick.

His dome was still down with his acid sprayers still at the ready as the chemist’s head tilted only slightly. “You’ve misinterpreted my intentions. I’m here to simply collect information and data from your up and coming tests.”

“So you say. However, you could always procure what you desire from Orbitoclast after her nefarious deed is done.” Point made Darkride smirked smugly. “You are here, Oil Slick, because you do care.” He pursed his lips together.

Oil Slick regarded the former Herald restrained before him. Was he right? Did he care? Of course not. He and Darkride have a symbiotic relationship. Darkride tortured his guests and when done certain few were supplied to him, for his own experiments. In return the interrogator got a show. Without Darkride he would have to resort to hunting his test subjects. No, things were just easier with the demented ‘Con around.

Orbitoclast watched while Motormaster made his way out of the med bay, leaving her to carry on her next endeavor; attempt to scan Darkride to determine if he’s back to his usual loathsome self.

She set her optics on the interrogator and scowled. How she wished she was anywhere other than here right now. Resided to the fact that this job had to be done sooner or later, Orbitoclast gathered some instruments and made her way to the foot of Darkride’s berth. She dropped her case on the table beside the berth and stated down at the restrained mech.

“I sense a disturbance…” Darkride smiled as he lifted his head to look in the direction of the noise he’d just heard. “Ahh. How lovely to see you again, Orbitoclast.” He looked back at Oil Slick. “Does she not look lovely, Oil Slick?” The chemist crossed his arms over his chest and remained silent.

“Can it, you overclocked gear stick!” She bellowed out. And before he could protest she went on. “I’m going to run some scans and you’re going to keep your trap shut. And maybe, just maybe, we can both get through this as quickly as possible. Got it?” She stared hard into the interrogator’s deep crimson optics.

“Oh, I do have it, but…” he looked up at her, his expression grim. “Will it hurt?” Orbitoclast ground her teeth together, the sound audible without having to strain. How she wished she could just make him scream and have meaning behind it.

“Yes, it will.” She ground out reluctantly. Unsurprising Darkride smiled broadly, a row of sharpened teeth glinted in the light of the med bay. “Goody goody.” Darkride’s voice dropped to a husky tone. Orbitoclast cursed under her breath as she set to work.

Firing Range:

"Alright Mr. Misfire," said Bonecrusher, "I sense that my Constructicon bros are wondering where I am, and probably need to keep me in the loop on some things, so I'll get going."

Bonecrusher got up and paused at the entrance way, "Um, how bout we do some more target practice soon eh? You're a funner person to hang out with than the Combaticons or Stunticons, that's for sure haha." Bonecrusher did a little solute, and then walked off chuckling.

Lounge:

As Bonecrusher entered the Lounge to check up on him bros, he couldn't help but think. Man we have a pretty powerful force in our hands.

Bonecrusher entered the Medical Bay and said, "Hey guys!" to his Constructicon siblings.

"I'm feeling a bit more, well, sober, I guess I could say." Bonecrusher let out a chuckle and said, "I know you probably were wondering where the heck I was, but I was actually in the Firing Range teaching Misfire some aiming techniques, and he finally can actually hit the target! I am so proud of him hahaha."

The crusher of fossils then pulled out a little pouch of target practice ammunition, "of course, I didn't see any point in risking our lives in that target practice, so I instructed him to fill his gun with these artificial soft cartridges."

Bonecrusher then looked around at his bros, "So, Mixmaster, Longhaul, Scavenger, anything new?" Bonecrusher smiled as he thought of how stupid he looked when he was preparing to do a medical procedure on Longhaul without checking the contents of his cup first. "Sorry Longhaul for that little, ahem, 'silly incident'?"

Corridor leading to the Bridge

There it was. The truth. The secret that Razorclaw had not wanted to share for whatever reason. The secret that explained his hurry to speak with Shockwave. No wonder the Predacon leader was disturbed. There had always been the chance of one of Megatron's most powerful generals taking interest in the Slag Maker's odd absence from the grid but they had hoped for more time to set up their power base before they did.

”Well. Slag.” Motormaster swore in response to Razorclaw's revelation. If Scorponok had one of his ships in the system for whatever reason, a contact attempt were to follow – something which would undoubtedly make the Burning Justice to contact Scorponok himself. Heck, they probably had done so already due to their mission. Whatever it was.

”So, what you are going to do?” The large Stunticon found himself asking, ”Knowing Scorponok, he is going to try to contact Megatron due to fact this was the last place Megatron left for. Can we fake a holofeed somehow? Fool him to think Megatron is alright?”

”Because I don't really like the second option.” Motormaster admitted with uncharacteristic sign of defeat in his voice. ”He will come. He will tell you to kneel. And if you won't. He will challenge you to duel. And fighting him is... well, our chances of beating the High Commander is about as good as our chances to defeating Megatron himself.”

Corridor leading to the Bridge

Razorclaw listened as Motormaster laid out the two options available to them if and when Scorponok would try to contact Megatron. The first was to attempt to fool the High Commander into thinking Megatron was fine and still in control. The other was Scorponok coming here in person and demanding that the Predacon lord bow down to him and if that did not happen a duel would commence. It would be a fight that Razorclaw could not win, not under the current circumstances.

“What to do is the question of the cycle,” the lion-former admitted to the Stunticon Commander as he paced from one side of the corridor to the other. Finally stopping, Razorclaw looked back to his comrade. “I don’t think we can fake a holo-feed. I mean, who could stand in for the slagmaker, look like him and sound like him? No one I can think of. They would have to interact with Scorponok and not be something pre-recorded. It won’t work. What I could try and do is tell Scorponok that Megatron has departed for a top secret mission of some kind and he left me in charge here in Sol. That might do it, but if the High Commander presses further and ends up coming here, then all bets are off. I’m sure a mech like Starscream or any one of his seekers would be all too eager to divulge the truth and then option two is unavoidable.”

The Predacon lord paused for a moment as he considered the outcome of that second option. “I alone cannot beat Scorponok. He is too big, too powerful and too cunning an adversary. Even if we ganged up on him, he would tear through us like tin foil. I’m not even sure that Devastator alone could beat him. The Constructicon combiner is very powerful, but he is also slow and dimwitted. Scorponok would outsmart him, figure out his weaknesses and then bring him crashing down. This is why we need Sixshot under our control. This is why we need to determine if our units are compatible with the gestalt process, especially my Predacons.”

Razorclaw turned to his left, allowing his optics to see beyond the nearby wall and visualize the potential of a Predacon combiner. ”Ultimately, it all comes down to me since I’m the one who has claimed the throne. I need to be strong enough to beat Scorponok and there is only one way to enhance my power and that’s through combining with my unit. Together, a Predacon gestalt would be larger and stronger than Devastator and hopefully smarter, as well.” Turning back towards Motormaster, the lion-former placed a firm hand on his friend’s shoulder plate. “This is not to say that I want that kind of power all to myself. If your Stunticons or the Combaticons have the same potential then we should exploit it and give you the same power. An army of gestalts along with a phase sixer would make us virtually unstoppable even in the face of Scorponok. But we must be ready or the throne will be lost to us and after all that we have fought for and accomplished we cannot let that happen.”

But what if the Predacons were not compatible? What if there could be no Predacon combiner? Or what if Shockwave would not be willing to help improve on the design? These were questions that needed answers. There had to be a back-up plan of some kind. If Razorclaw could not enhance himself by combining with his own team then how else could he? How else could he get the power to defeat a mech like Scorponok? There was an answer to that question, of course, but it was one that required a technology belonging to someone that the Predacon lord trusted even less than Shockwave. A powerful scientist who had just recently re-entered the war and had already made it clear that he wanted the throne for himself.

Thunderwing, Razorclaw thought inwardly with a hint of disgust creeping onto his faceplate.

The Thanatos--Engineering

Scrapper had returned to the part of the ship that he felt most comfortable operating within. They had pieced the engineering deck back into superbly operational condition. The Constructicon Commander hovered over a command terminal, quietly accessing the drones that had been stationed down in the confines of their undersea base.

"Progress...progressssss....lessee..." Scrapper murmured as he scrolled through various drone reports and video feeds of the base's construction progress and evaluating if any of his team, or potentially even himself, needed to be present in order to expedite the process.

He came to the conclusion that a Constructicon on-site would certainly achieve that goal, but Razorclaw had specifically spoken of storage capability right now. The progress that had been made thus far could at least accommodate that particular goal, so he needed to update Razorclaw accordingly.

>>"Scrapper to Razorclaw, I have the update on the Korean base site that you requested. I'm scanning through my original blueprints as well as the progress made by the construction drones in our absence. We had completed the primary sphere. The drones have created two smaller secondary spheres and are now working on interconnecting the spheres and have also just begun constructing the two central towers. Only the foundations have been laid thus far. There are no defensive encampments in place, but the primary sphere as well as the secondaries all have the storage capabilities, either for personnel or equipment, that you had requested."<<

Shockwave's Lab

When the CR Chamber door opened, poor Feedback, whom Crueljaw had shoved into said chamber upside down, toppled out head first onto the lab's floor.

Well... this was about to ruin everyone's day.

The last thing he remembered was the mech he had learned to hate the most in the entire universe, in just a few hours time, mind you, had beat the living scrap out of him, hauled him on to a ship... of all places, a ship.Then to put the cherry on the Energex milkshake here, had shoved him into the smallest space a Cybertronian could be shoved into (which may or may not be an exaggeration on Feedback's part) and locked him in there.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!! SCRAP SCRAP SCRAP! GET ME OFF THIS SHIP! I WANT OFF THIS SHIP! GET ME THE FRAG OUT OF THIS TINY SLAGGING SHIP! What, are you all fragging nuts and bolts here?!? What do you slags think you're doing!?!" The slew of swearing stopped briefly as Feedback righted himself and saw Starscream. "Oh, Sky Commander... not you, I'd never call you a slag.... but get me the frag off this ship! It's way too small... far way too small... no one could possibly... I mean.. it's just too...AHHHHHHH!"

Desperately digging actuators into the floor as of gripping something violently would make everything all right, he looked at those gathering the room.

If he had his face.... by the way... where was his face? Curse that Psychout! He'd be making a very irritated look right now. "Oh fragging amusing" He growled. "At least you're here, Starscream sir, otherwise the personality void in this room would have sucked the atmosphere straight out of the room. I want off this ship. Right fragging now!"

Shockwave's Lab

Starscream was momentarily taken aback by Feedback's reaction to being released. After regaining his composure, Starscream simply gave a half-smirk.

"Skywarp should be working on that." he said in a low tone. "You should probably get out now."

Starscream then turned back to Shockwave.

"If you think about what I said and change your mind, let me know." he said and turned around to leave.

Shockwave's Lab

"Hmm, sounds like you are up to your old tricks, Starscream. I know some Cons have a battle lust but never thought you had it as well. As much as I like a good fight, I would prefer it against the Bots who we can smash into tiny pieces. You are also too much of a coward to be suicidal even though you could call all of who were facing the Fallen suicidal though. IF Commander Shockwave did ever help you, what would he get? He rarely speaks of his desires even to his most trusted creations. Face it, you lost the throne and hate yourself for being too weak. If you can't bomb them or throw one of your lackeys to distract your enemy, you are almost worthless."

Octane stood against the wall with his arms across his chest with a smile plastered over his face. The Seekers are glorified flymechs and the one who literally fell out of the CR Chamber wasn't worth remembering his name.

Outside of Shockwave's Lab

Battletrap's internal repair systems did as much as they could in repairing the damage Octane had done by ripping Battletrap in half. He dragged his upper half towards his bottom half with his arms as the bottom half inched its way towards the upper half using the legs. It took a full cycle for the two parts to align correctly. Once they were rejoined, a sense of relief went through the entire body as the internal repairs went to work on fixing the remaining damage of the connection nodes. The hope is Battletrap will be able to get back on his feet without the use of a CR Chamber and continue to serve Commander Shockwave as a body guard personally or to his lab.

Laboratory

Starscream's lackey came barreling out of the cryonic regeneration chamber, screaming at the top of his vocalizers--and a surely addled mind--about getting off the ship. Shockwave would certainly voice no objections to his request: the sooner another one of Starscream's mentally-deficient Seekers was off the ship, the more smoothly it would continue to function. Once one acknowledged the value of Thundercracker and, arguably, Skywarp, the quality of Starscream's subordinates dropped precipitously.

After Starscream had wisely advised his Cybertronian leech to leave, he turned back to Shockwave with one final request.

"If you think about what I said and change your mind, let me know."

"Acknowledged," is all Shockwave said in reply before returning to the mechaforming technology that he had liberated from Kolkular during their trip back to Cybertron. Even so, it would have been impossible--given the proximity--for Shockwave not to have heard Octane's additional taunts. It was logical, given the triple-changer's nature, but also unnecessary at this juncture.

"Declarative: Octane, there is no need to antagonize the Seeker Leader further. Cease. There is more important work to be accomplished--work that will be more difficult to accomplish the more fractured we are."

The Decepticons were always fractured. It was in their nature. That being true, one thing that was becoming clear was that Megatron kept them at their most minimal and controlled levels. Anyone else attempting to direct them forward, be it himself, Razorclaw, Starscream or some other would-be warlord, would only see them grow deeper and wider until they separated entirely. Shockwave could only hope--for now--that Razorclaw could keep this fleet together long enough to mechaform this seeded world just as he and Megatron had originally planned and avoid the extinction event they were so steadily cruising toward. Their probability of success in that endeavor was diminishing by the breem.

Shockwave's Lab

Vertigo and Lock On hung back while everything was happening around them. Both on the ready to fight, especially as there were so many others in the room.

When Feedback toppled out of the cr chamber, Lock On started laughing like a mad mech. A swift elbow to the cockpit from Vertigo and he stopped. "Come on..." Vertigo said softly as Starscream turned to leave. "Let's help the... uh ..." He had no good way to describe the agitated Con. Instead he just grabbed ahold of one of Feedback's arms.

Lock on grabbed the other with a smirk. "Freak... I'm calling him Freak until I come up with a more insulting name for him." He declared really very happy with his clever... to him... nickname.

Firing Range

Misfire gave his friend a nod and a wave as the Constucticon left. He looked back at his gun and the targets. Could he really improve his aim? Well, there was only one way to find out, and that was to try.

He picked up the gun and pointed it at the target. What wereBonecrusher's instructions? Use the sight on the gun, line it up just below the target's center to account for recoil, pull the trigger. Misfire did just that, and his finger pulls down on the trigger...

Bang!

"...Oww! Damn it!"

Shockwave's Lab


Astrotrain watched in amusement at the Seeker falling out of the CR Chamber. He laughed at Lock On's words and his new nickname for the lackey. He stood back and watched as the bot screamed and yelled.

Turning to the leaving Starscream, the Triple-Changer called out with a sneer, "Great work, Air Commander training your troops with such...professionalism. At this rate, they'll win the war for us in no time."

Shockwave's Lab

Cmdr. Trailblazer wrote:Turning to the leaving Starscream, the Triple-Changer called out with a sneer, "Great work, Air Commander training your troops with such...professionalism. At this rate, they'll win the war for us in no time."

"Watch the wings!" Feedback warned Lock On and Vertigo. He wiggled and fussed, unhappy being dragged anywhere, especially since he didn't know where on this tiny ship they were heading... could be someplace smaller! He started to panic again.

But Astrotrain's little comment snapped Feedback out of his claustrophobic panic. "Better than you could, by far, Space-choo-choo." He coolly retorted leaning back s9nce Astrotrain was oUT of his lin of sight, his head was hanging nearly upside down. "At least I can pick an alt mode and commit to it. You can what... orbit? Oooo that'll win the war. And what about the choo-choo mode? Oh yeah, a ground based vehicle mode so unuseful, you need tracks or you can't move."

--

Lock On dropped Feedback suddenly, to shut him up, then picked him up again. "This guy has more of a mouth than you, Go." He looked down at the faceless seeker. "Err... sorta."

--

Vertigo shot a glare at Lock On then to Astrotrain. "I'll have you know that we Seekers don't take well to being caged like a bunch of, what do the humans call them, animals." He said to the triple changer. "You lesser mechs may be fine with it, but we belong out flying, and saving your afts." He tugged on Feedback to get Lock On moving faster.

--

Feedback looked at Vertigo."Hey... I like you, your an aft just like me." He said.

Bio-metrics Laboratory

Brilliant flashes of green and neon black splashed upon furthest walls of the confined chamber, casting sickly shadows of wavering figures caught by beakers and magnetic centrifuges that lined the tables in its center. Free standing silhouettes danced between each near blinding flash of power that poured from the massive banks of monitors, each form threatening to dissolve under the unrelenting assault. As the bursts of energy faded from the chamber, new waves would wash the walls clean of shadow again.

"Freeze playback," A synthesized voice climbed from the shadows of the bulkhead furthest from the bank of monitors. From a small alcove towards the rear of the laboratory, a single high backed chair rested against the wall itself, partially absorbed within the bulkhead of the ship's superstructure. A pair of ruby gems flashed only for a moment as they glanced up towards the central monitor. "Replay record battle, Gladiatorial match... Scorponok verses one Megatron. All of them in sequence, high speed playback."

The images of the screen flashed in rapid succession as Thunderwing leaned back in his personally constructed recharging alcove. His finger tips pressed together with each devastating blow the two historic combatants delivered upon one another.

As the fights began and concluded in almost a blink of a processor diagnostic, Thunderwing was already adjusting the parameters of his research. His own engagement with Razorclaw, the temporary inhabitant of the mantle of command on board the Thanatos, had already confirmed what the scientist knew to be more than true. Even with the unexpected boost of the rare minerals that comprised the Ultra Energon that many of the players had consumed before the final brawl for leadership, Razorclaw stood no chance if he were to ever be forced to defend his stolen mantel from outside actors. Again this was already common knowledge with anyone who was observant... well maybe not to Starscream, but then again little was blatant to the over eager Seeker Commander.

However, rehashing history was not the purpose of the exercise down memory lane. The scientist leaned forward and allowed the synthetic organic palms of his fingers to rest upon the unforgiving cold of the tempered steel arm rests. If he was to achieve the grand designs he had set in motion, Thunderwing needed to alter the playing field. To establish balance of power that would force confrontation. And as cunning as Onslaught was, even the Combaticon Commander could not out muscle the likes of Scorponok's pets in the Seacons let alone the less than predictable Terrorcons. "Computer, resume analysis of known capabilities of Scorponok to those predicted of Devastator."

The central screen became awash with harsh red numerical calculations and codes representing power quotients, estimated range of attacks all the way to endurance and fuel consumption of both possible opponents. In nearly all categories, Devastator narrowly edged out Scorponok's known marks... of course that meant little given the time that had passed between Thunderwing's last encounter with the Decepticon General and now. For all he knew, the arachnid already subjected himself to another series of refits and upgrades. The data was intriguing but did little to pacify the glaring motes that stared at him as assuredly as the reflection he saw cast upon the inactive monitors along his armrest terminals. Even if Devastator had taken down Scorponok, even if those two managed to destroy one another in a cataclysmic battle... it did little to solve the grand problem of balance. Simply put, should that happen there was little to prevent Razorclaw from marching in and laying claim to both fleets. That did not serve the grand designs.

"Computer, switch analysis. Include greater autonomy of component personality and influence into the grand design of this gestalt amalgamation. Separate analysis, include greater command of the components by a central core presence. Judge between two effective results and display potential data." Thunderwing leaned back into his recharging alcove again as the bank of nine monitors flared to life. The middle horizontal three began immediately scrolling data for the first set of parameters, while the bottom third focused on the polar opposite. As the information streamed passed his vision, Thunderwing could not help but release a small smile that spread upon the visage of his carapaces. There was promise in his hypothesis... now he needed more information, real field information of Devastator's capabilities and processes before he could put what he found to its utmost effect.

"Cross reference the hypothetical data requirements with known and... less than known, medical data bases. Narrow down those who share a possible compatibility, extend search to biological and professional backgrounds."

"... New search parameters will take approximately..." The computer was cut off as Thunderwing raised a talon tipped digit.

"I do not care about time, it is the one commodity of which I possess in quite abundance. Just do as you are told. And prepare a level one security summons for Engineer Hook and his oh so motherly doctor friend Knockout. I would very much like to... confer with them at my earliest convenience."

Priority-1 transmission from Decepticon destroyer Burning Justice to Soundwave

>>Decepticon Soundwave--this is Chief Huntsman Scourge, from High Commander Scorponok's Second Expansion Fleet. The High Commander requests a direct connection with Lord Megatron, Slagmaker of Tarn and Emperor of Destruction."<<

Lounge

”You are going down lightweight!” Brawl bellowed.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" Breakdown screamed, running in the opposite direction and vaulting over a table instead of absorbing the withering tackle--a move that would have certainly landed him in the infirmary. Again. No thanks.

Instead, he grabbed one of the chairs and climbed atop another one of the tables.

"You stay back, Brawl. You know it was him!" the Stunticon said, pointing the steel-bottomed seat in Wildrider's direction. "I'm not that stupid!"

Vortex chuckled aloud at that.

"Yes you are."

Hook, for his part, quietly sipped on his energon and watched the melee with passing interest.

"I didnt know there was going to be dinner and a show."

He also did not know that he was apparently being summoned. It was from on board the ship, but it wasn't Scrapper's ID tag, nor Shockwave's or anyone else whom he might expect.

"Hmm..." he mused, finishing his energon cylinder and starting to get up from the bar.

Corridor leading to the Bridge

”So we can't fool him to buy time? Fine, you are probably right on that.” Motormaster grumbled, ”Could have tried at least,” he added grinning.

”He was always the strongest of us. I am not saying he was ever the best, that's what Megatron was but Scorponok was the strongest. Even back in the days before the war. Stronger than Grimlock or Blackwall. Slag, he was stronger than even Lugnut or Killmaster. And I am willing to bet he is ten times stronger now than he used to be.” The large Stunticon thought aloud. ”Then again, I guess we all are stronger than we used to be. Us who have survived.”

He had heard a lot of rumors surrounding high ranking Decepticons like Megatron or Scorponok. State of the art modifications ever so often to stay a head of both rivals and enemies in the ever continuing arms race their species had been subjected to for thousands of vorns. ”But if rumors are true Scorponok has gone through at least as many upgrades as Megatron himself and that's just something people of our rank could ever have an access to.”

And Motormaster had to admit, there was plenty of things that bothered him about Scorponok possibly interfering their operation. ”Which bears the question boss, if we are not compatible. If we cannot achieve sufficient power in time to challenge Scorponok. Do we really have anything to gain by standing against him? He has been basically the second highest ranking Decepticon for hundreds of vorns now and with victories to back that up. More autonomy is nice and all but I never had a reason to go against Megatron either. I just didn't want that undeserving bore Shockwave leading us. Nor that snobby noble with holier than thou attitude.”

The two scientist really made his energon boil, ”Those two were gone for longer than I care to remember! While we fought! How many died while they were doing whatever they were doing for all those slagging vorns we heard nothing about either of them?!” Motormaster raved, ”But Scorponok or frag, Deathsaurus too are both warriors like us. Cunning, powerful Decepticons who made it to top by being better than their rivals.”

Motormaster shook his head and cringed, ”All I am saying, maybe it wouldn't be that bad of an option.”

Corridor leading to the Bridge

Politics. Razorclaw hated politics more than anything else expect the Autobots, themselves. The lion-former was a warrior and an accomplished battlefield commander who had led his Predacons against their sworn enemies on countless occasions. Battle was what he lived for, it’s what he did best, not all of this fraggin’ political wrangling he had to do behind the scenes. Trying to make everyone happy in order to maintain control of the throne was tiring, not to mention impossible. The Predacon Commander could never make everyone happy and there would always be somebody waiting in the wings to overthrow him. Shockwave, Starscream, Thunderwing, they were all there just biding their time for just the right moment to take it all away from him. And meanwhile the Autobots were all united behind Ultra Magnus. No infighting to be seen there as far as Razorclaw knew, and that bode very well for the ‘bots, but not so much for the ‘cons.

Looking back, Razorclaw remembered that one of the only reasons he decided to fight for the throne was because he felt that Shockwave didn’t deserve it and neither did the others. He just wanted to save the empire from those he feared would destroy it. That and wanting the specialty units to have more autonomy and respect within the empire were what ultimately forced the lion-former’s hand to make a play for the mantle of Supreme Leader. Although, was Razorclaw really the leader of the Decepticon Empire? The answer, he knew deep down in his circuits, was really no. The Predacon Commander was the leader of the ‘Con forces in Sol and even that was only achieved with the help of others. Outside the system no one even knew that Megatron was ‘missing’ and feared dead let alone aware of any change in the command structure. Therefore, the lion-former really didn’t lead the entire empire, but only a small fraction of it.

Listening to Motormaster now brought things more into perspective for Razorclaw. Even the Stunticon Commander seemed to fear the might of Scorponok and the brute feared very little. Motormaster reminded the lion-former of Scorponok’s tremendous strength back in the days of the gladiatorial fights and how rumors had persisted about all of the upgrades the large arachnid had undergone over the vorns, as many as Megatron, himself. If that were all true then imagine the power Scorponok possessed now. Would a Predacon gestalt even be able to stop him at all? Could anything besides the return of the slagmaker?

And what would there be to gain from standing against Scorponok? Motormaster’s question was a sound one. The Commander of the Second Fleet was the second highest ranking Decepticon in the Empire. If Megatron was really gone for good then it only made sense for Scorponok to take the throne. Razorclaw could remain in control here in Sol, but let the arachnid worry about the empire as a whole. What would be so bad about that?

“I hear what you are saying, Motormaster,” Razorclaw finally said after a moment of silent contemplation. “I remember back before the war facing Scorponok in the gladiatorial pits. He was very powerful and while I gave it my all, I fell to him as so many others had before me. There was even a time when my Predacons and I together faced him in the arena. It was five on one and while Scorponok suffered severe damage from our assault he still came out the victor in the end. My respect for him and the power that he wielded was solidified at that moment and has never really wavered since.”

Razorclaw then fixated his gaze on Motormaster’s visage once more. “We have fought so hard to gain the position of power that we now have, but the Decepticon Empire was not meant to be run by a committee. The strongest shall lead. That has always been our way and, like you said, Scorponok is the strongest of us especially now with Megatron gone. He earned his position of second in command, unlike Shockwave or Thunderwing or Starscream. Two absentee scientists and one coward. They could not be allowed to lead. That’s why it fell to us to make sure Megatron’s ideals were upheld and the empire remained strong.”

The lion-former fell quiet again. Was he really considering giving the throne over to Scorponok without a fight? Was there really any other option that didn’t involve being reduced to molten scrapmetal? Likely not. Razorclaw knew that as well as anyone. Besides, like the Stunticon Commander, the Predacon lord had nothing against Scorponok or Megatron. More autonomy was very nice and all, but at least Scorponok could keep the empire united and the infighting to a minimum. At least Razorclaw could get back to doing what he did best and leave all of this political slag to someone else.

“I have much to think about, my friend,” a conflicted Razorclaw admitted, breaking the silence in the corridor. “And am I to assume from your words, Motormaster, that you would be agreeable if I chose to hand over the leadership mantle to Scorponok once he makes contact with us? With the Burning Justice in system, it is an almost certainty at this point that he will want to speak with Megatron personally. Perhaps I should just be honest with him then?”

Lounge

A great big toothy, and rather infamous grin returned to Swindle's faceplate as he watched Brawl leap into the fray of Stunticons. He took a few steps backwards knowing full well that these Stunti-ruffians and his long-time brother in arms were all well known to cause a bit of collateral damage. Couldn't have that now, not when there's a few unaccounted mechs who still need their comeuppance after a certain Constructicon decided he had laid out the munitions expert.

"I'll leave you lot to corral our friend here, I've got to pay a visit to-" the doors to the lounge hissed open, cutting Swindle's train of thought off as the green masses of Constructicons staggered in. "Or they'll just save me the fuel money. Heh."

>>"Warwolf, what's your status? I mean. How are you doing?"<< The lupine Decepticon grinned slightly behind his protective faceshield to the femme's inquiry as his actuators continue to trace around the hilt of his closest knife. He reached out for his drink, his mouthplate retracting into the sides of his helm as he downed the energon in a single swig, a trick/habit he picked up during his time as a pirate.

Damn Cloud's missing a hell of a round. He thought as he relaxed a little more into his seat, his mouthplate closing shortly after he adjusted himself and reopened the comm line. >>"Status is green, love. Everything seems to be holding down quite nicely. No need to worry, Wolfy's managing to keep his temper to a bare minimum for now."<<

Did you just call her... "Love"? She is gonna shoot you...

>>"Might wanna check up again in a few minutes, just to be safe."<< Is that concern? Since when has this side of us shown any concern? >>"There's a sense of uneasiness in the lounge, and a few members are about to scrape metal. Warwolf out."<<

"Get involved I would not." Weirdwolf stated in almost a threat-like tone towards the Triplechanger as he held an arm out to hold him back. The commando rose from his seat and brushed off the tracker's hand. It almost made Blitzwing laugh that one of these lupine-shaped Decepticons were trying to tell him of all people to not jump into the fight. It would be like telling Megatron himself to drop the fusion cannon

"Come now, Wolfy," Blitzwing stated with a slight sneer of satisfaction, "We wouldn't want our new leader to see us all fighting each other again. Besides...Who said I was getting involved?" The commando then reached back and grabbed Warwolf's canine tail before heaving all his strength into throwing the lupine Decepticon from his seat and over towards Skullcruncher. The triplechanger then drew his electro-scimitar and began to march across the bar.

As Long Haul entered the lounge with his cohorts, whatever banter Bonecrusher was trying to spew at him was immediately drowned out as his sights became focused on the three Stunticons laying with their backs on the ground and an angered Brawl and Skullcruncher closing in towards them. He felt his energon pumping as his longing for wanting to prove himself as a capable warrior instead of some material transporter nearly cut off all rational thoughts he was able to maintain until this point.

"Save me a pint of whatever you guys get!" Long Haul claimed to his fellow Constructicons as he cracked the joints in his knuckles, "Someone's gotta break up the fight!" He took note of Blitzwing approaching Skullcruncher, his electro-scimitar crackling to life with a violet sheen before it was slowly being brought above his head. Locked onto the triplechanger, the green transporter broke into a full sprint before throwing himself at the commando, his arms stretched outright to wrap his target once the tackle connected.

"What the- GYAAACKK!!" Blitzwing hollered before he was blindsided by the flying Constructicon and tossed a couple feet to the side of the room, the two Decepticons crashing against a table.

-

Needlenose backed up against the cabinets behind him as he watched more Decepticons join in on the fight. He could hear Windsweeper muttering and cursing about the mess he knew he'd have to clean up.

"A mess is something we could always clean up..." The fashionista stated lowly towards the sanitation engineer, his optics still fixated on each individual mech beginning to throw themselves into the fray. "But I can't count on being able to come back from the dead." He quickly drew his gun and kept the firearm low and behind the bar counter. Blitzwing had the right idea to try and break it up before the fight escalated, but in the event this went even further south or came anywhere near the bar... Had to be ready for anything.

Armory

The Combaticon commander strolled in through the massive blast doors and immediately went to work at upping his Arsenal for the upcoming operation he was being sent upon. A couple curses aimed at Vortex for his mishap raced through his ever calculating processor inbetween different plan proposals as he opened a storage locker. He reached in and retrieved a few power packs for his primary rifle before settling down at one of the benches to account for his missile inventory. The battle with the fallen nearly exhausted his entire payload, and he had to be prepared for anything that might happen down upon that blue marble.

>>"Skywarp, Thundercracker, do you copy?"<< he commed the seeker duo as he recalled Razorclaw's orders to bring them along. >>"I'm sending you both your new orders per Razorclaw's instruction. Report to the armory for weapons restock and I can fill you in on most of the details." The blue and green Decepticon then sent the mission's data file to both Seekers before activating a nonverbal "summon" command to his fellow Combaticons. The command was something Onslaught had integrated within the team to help broadcast any member's location without having to open a comm line. In the field it helped keep their unit from being discovered during their more secretive operations, but Onslaught soon found use in allowing himself to quietly get his men to form up on him without drawing suspicion.

And now he waited... Rearming his cache of photon mistakes and waiting for his makeshift strike force to fall in before they traverse down to Earth and acquire the stolen goods.

Bridge

With Razorclaw gone elsewhere aboard the ship, the bridge was now left in charge with Soundwave overseeing the other three Predacons. His highly tuned audio receptors were scanning the length of the ship, offering him clairvoyance over most of each individual's current actions or whereabouts. Internally, Soundwave let loose a small chuckle as he fixated over Shockwave's lab and overheard the cyclop's rebuttal to Octane's longing for some sort of respect, even though the thought seemed to be lost on the Decepticon fueler.

An alert then drew Soundwave's attention from his audial sweeping of the ship. Someone was trying to contact him specifically, but the source was foreign, coming from outside the ship. The Burning Justice, to be precise.

>>"Decepticon Soundwave--this is Chief Huntsman Scourge, from High Commander Scorponok's Second Expansion Fleet. The High Commander requests a direct connection with Lord Megatron, Slagmaker of Tarn and Emperor of Destruction."<<

The communications officer pondered the request as he tried to fathom up a reply that could keep himself within the good graces of both parties, all the while still wondering where Megatron himself had disappeared off to. He switch frequencies over to a private comm line with the newly appointed Supreme Commander, hailing him with a Priority-1 comm-line.

>>"Lord Razorclaw, the Burning Justice has hailed the ship. Lieutenant Scourge and subsequently, Commander Scorponok, wishes to speak with our former Supreme Commander. How do you wish to reply?"<<

While awaiting for his Supreme Commander's reply, Soundwave was setting up a few electronic countermeasures he could set in place to buy he and the crew more time should the hunter grow impatient. Without a proper communications officer, such a tactic could easily pass off as electrical interference coming from any recent solar flare activity from the local sun. All he needed was confirmation now...