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Transmission from Skywarp:

>>"Commander Starscream, this is Skywarp. The mission here in Iran is going well. We've already acquired a considerable amount of energon from one of the oil pipe lines and have also attacked the central hub of the oil field. An Autobot team recently arrived to counter us, and we are currently engaging them. So far the diversion seems to be working. I'll let you know if anything changes."<<

OOC edit: now adding character post for ultrax

++Transmission From Runabout++

>>"This is Runabout, we have rendezvous with the Stunticons at the Frontier Refinery in Kansas. We're currently playing petro-rabbit herder with these...HEY GET BACK HERE YA BAG OF LIQUID!...ARGH! FRAGGIT!!"<<

++End Transmission++

----- -----

++Transmission From Runamuck++

>>"Starscream, this is Runamuck...Motormaster has implemented phase 4 of the operation, and we are getting ready to siphon the fuel. We're in the process of preparing for any auto-punks that show up and... RUNABOUT KEEP A HOLD OF THAT MEAT-SACK!...Urgh...RUNABOUT YOU CLENCHHEAD!...why do i have to play nursemaid for him..."<<

++End Transmission++

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

Ultrax - Corridors

Contemptor had marched his way down the halls of the Ultrax. His small meeting with Starscream had ended awkwardly. He had been asked to act in the part of subterfuge and spy-mastering. It wasn't his style to play the role of tactical espionage. He was too big to fit into a cardboard box.

He chuckled a little at the thought, for he remembered looking through a few data streams from earth, and had brought up something called Metal Gear:Solid. The image of the character hiding in a cardboard box somehow made Contemptor laugh.

He paced down the hallway towards the training room. As he did he stopped and decided to make his way to his quarters. He approached the door to his quarters and pressed the touch pad on the wall. There was a whirr and a clunk as the door mechanism jammed. With a grimace he tried again.

There was another whirr and another clank.

Contemptor punched the panel and a small cluster of sparks shot out from the wall. There was a hiss and the door gingerly opened. He would have to get the door control looked at.

"Blasted Stunticons... If they only looked after what they had, it wouldn't be such a dingy rustheap!"

Contemptor stepped inside, and to his surprise, the room was spartan save for a recharge unit, and a desk that was connected to a series of comm-screens, a keyboard, and a tracker pad. Contemptor surveyed the room and decided to stake his claim. What interested him the most, was the large expanse of empty wall caught his attention the most. It was a good location to hang his trophy-rack, as it was directly in front of the door. He figured that it would make a good conversation piece...well that or put the worry of 'if he can do that to them what can he do to me if I annoy him?'. Either way it would make him smile just to see the reactions of others would be.

After making himself comfortable, Contemptor lifted one of his trophies from his collection. It was the cranial unit of a mechanoid he had taken down many cycles ago. Contemptor brushed his thumb over the eye socket of the skull, and let a sadistic smile lift over his face. He had modified the trophy to become a drinking vessel but stoppering the optic sockets, and all other holes in the skull to make it tight to retain fluids.

Sitting at the desk, Contemptor poured the energon substitute into the mug and began a personal video log.

The words danced up on the screen as he got ready to set another of his many vid-logs

++Vid Log Con.3228765++

++Encryption DV.98.009++
++Protocol Dec.Con.22++
++Access Authorised++

++Vid Log Recorder Active++

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

Transmission from Motormaster:

>>"Mission going as planned Starscream. We are waiting for the Autobots to show up any minute now."<<

Transmission from Scrapper

>>No issues. We are preparing our equipment and gathering materials. Stage 2 will be commencing shortly.<<

Bridge

Starscream listened in as all of the various reports from his teams came in.

>>Skywarp, your report is acknowledged. Do you require reinforcements against the Autobots?<<

>>Scrapper, Baneblade reports his mission is nearly complete and you can expect the first supply drop off in less then a planetary cycle.<<

>>Motormaster, your report is acknowledged. Please keep me advised of mission progress and if Autobot engagement occurs. And inform me if Reinforcements are required.<<

He sent out each message seperatly, making sure they were encoded to avoid anyone from listening in.

Ultrax - Contemptor's Quarters

Contemptor sat reading a data-slate whilst drinking from the grim mug. The large Decepticon not only had to keep his physical reflexes sharp, but also found that he had to keep his neural processors sharp as well. He thumbed the icon to turn the page on the digital book he was engrossed in. It was a book that had been written back in the earlier days of human history - Sun Tsu's Art of war. Contemptor had to admit that, for all their pathetic and weak design, the humans had works of art that were invaluable, and the book he was pouring through was testament to that.

Short of risking a fondness about what the humans had created, Contemptor used the book to enhance his knowledge for whatever future battles with the Autobots may bring.

Contemptor spoke aloud, his baritone growl echoing around the spartan room, just aware that there was a maintenance robot hovering in the air over his shoulder.

"For all their disgusting countenance, the flesh sacks can create some interesting works of art..." The small robot hovered around and made a series of pips and bleeps as it shot from corner to corner of Contemptor's quarters. A wry smile crossed Contemptor's features as he watched the small mechanoid carry out its duties. It could have truthfully been carrying out some routine maintenance on the Ultrax - or what little of it that the Stunticons had programmed it for - or it could have been a spy drone, hovering around to gather whatever information it could glean from the remaining occupants on board the ramshackle cruiser.

The trophy-hunter went back to his reading as the maintenance robot hovered over his shoulder again, as if it was - as the humans put it - reading over his shoulder. The dual lens cameras that made up the devices optics whirred and clicked softly as it focused in on the page that Contemptor was currently reading. Contemptor thumbed for the next page of the book and as he read, a thought entered his mind, and he would have to compose another vid-log before the thought was lost.

"No that would be too revealing..." Contemptor said aloud "...If I am to contact her, then I will have to be more discreet about it...I might be a stone cold killer and a trophy hunter...but I wouldn't want to glitch her off..."

He looked to his right and gave the maintenance bot an irritated slap, knocking the more diminutive mechanoid spinning in the air. It gave a beep of annoyance and Contemptor growled, materialising his plasma cannon.

"Out you nuisance! Or I'll stamp you down into tinfoil!"

The robot was out faster than it could think. This allowed Contemptor to return some more to his reading before he would compose the message.

'I wonder how Starscream would react right now if I sent a private encoded message to her? Would he suspect I'm acting at the behest of one of Megatron's other generals? His dislike for a few would definitely make him on edge - or suspect me at most...'

Contemptor put down the data-slate, bookmarked at the page he had stopped reading. It was in interesting read - but sadly, this extended period of time sitting doing nothing was beginning to make his circuits sizzle.

He sat at his terminal and began to compose a message to her. It was a hidden secret that he missed her, for she was the only other Decepticon who could match his trophy count. Some could argue that Contemptor had a fondness for the femme he was thinking of, and if he did, then he hid it very deeply and very well.

Contemptor's digits danced over the holo-matter keyboard with astounding dexterity for a mechanoid of his size. He even attached a copy of the book he was reading - he felt that it would give her a humour fit, and wondered if it would give his friend a glimpse of what part of the galaxy he was in, and what he was up against. No doubt that Contemptor thought she would definitely think he was at the far reaches of stupidity, or ended up on a backwater outpost that had no merit whatsoever.

Grinning to himself, he realised that yes, earth was a backwater world.

The war here was something due to the war for their home world, and the production of Ore 13 that evidently brought the major players in the Autobots and the Decepticons to this far reach of the galaxy.

Satisfied that he had said his lot in the message, Contemptor hit the send icon and the message then vanished from the screen. No doubt he would hear back from his compatriot at some point, and so, turning in the chair, Contemptor stood and poured another full mug of the replicant Energon, and gingery took a deep draught of the synthetic substance.

His features contorted into a look of sourness. It irked him that no matter how many times he tasted the artificial nonsense, he would never develop a taste for the muck. It was pure Energon that he craved, and as much as some of the other con's hid it, the all could use with taking a draught of the real stuff. Not the 10% garbage that was slowly getting them by, but the 100% proof that would get them giddy, send their systems into a warm and buzzing state, and the meatbags on the planet below called it getting tipsy.

Contemptor looked into his replicant filled mug and stuck his lower lip out in a small pouting motion. He then grimaced and tipped the mug back, downing its contents in one swoop. He expelled the excess air and gas from the Energon by giving a 'burp' - another delightful little phrase used by the flesh bags - before taking his seat again and firing up his Vid-Log recorder.

++Vid Log Con.3228873
++Encryption DV.98.009++
++Protocol Dec.Con.22++
++Access Authorised++

++Vid Log Recorder Active++

Contemptor sat and slouched back in his chair and steepled his digits, tapping his index fingers together slowly before he spoke and recorded his message for his private log-books. For some reason his spark wasn't as lively as his previous log entries. Maybe it was because he had thought about his comrade. Or maybe it was because he was up on the Ultrax - doing nothing except training mentally and physically, which was beginning to grate on him.

He finished his vid-log and folded his arms over his chest and looked up to the ceiling of his quarters. He gave a sigh and tapped his comm-link, opening up a connection to Starscream.

>>Starscream, this is Contemptor...Just checking in to see if you have anything for me yet...otherwise the Ultrax will be running out of maintenance robots...and I'm running out of training programs..<<

Transmission from Skywarp:

>>”Commander Starscream, this is Skywarp. We’ve taken some casualties down here. Nightraven has fallen into stasis lock and it appears that Waspinator is about as useful as a scraplet infestation. I will need additional support in battling the Autobots. Please send back-up ASAP.”<<

Bridge

>>"Acknowledged Skywarp. I am on my way with reinforcements."<<

Starscream replied to the urgent call from the teleporter. The current Decepticon Commander had to admit, he was somewhat bored up here on the Ultrax with just Soundwave and Contemptor to keep him company, neither of which were known for riveting conversation. The idea of getting back into battle was thrilling to him as he pushed up from the command chair and moved to leave the bridge.

"Soundwave, I am taking to the field to back up Skywarp's team. Continue with your current duties and re-route all mission critical reports and transmissions from the other teams to me as they come in."

>>"Contemptor, report to the bounce chamber immediatly. Skywarp's team is in urgent need of reinforcement and we're both going down there."<<

The Commander made his way through the halls of the Ultrax until he reached the bounce chamber where he waited for Contemptor to arrive.

Ultrax - Contemptor's Quarters

Contemptor was rocking backwards on his chair, one foot resting on the edge of the table infront of him. What had felt like vorns, was only a slight few nano-clicks before his tranceiver sparked into life in his audio-receptor. It caught him off guard so much so that he tumbled backwards and hit the floor of his quarters, knocking the trophy rack off the wall mounts (it actually hadn't been secured down properly in the first instance - the Ultrax was falling a part, even in its most stable of rooms).

"Fraggit!" Contemptor snarled as he picked himself up off the floor, his purple optics burning furiously - more out of embarassment than surprise really.

It was then that Starscream's voice filtered through his tranceiver, and lifted Contemptor's spirits.

>>"Contemptor, report to the bounce chamber immediatly. Skywarp's team is in urgent need of reinforcement and we're both going down there."<<

It was about time! A call to arms! It was time to kick Autobot aft, and kick it hard!

Contemptor aknowledged Starscream's communication as the door to his quarters couldn;t open fast enough.

>>"Contemptor to Lord Starscream, I am enroute to the Bounce Chamber...I will arrive in a few clicks"<<

It was going to take a lot longer than a few clicks to get from his quarters to the Bounce Chamber, but the Ultrax's corridors - while large, were not without their shortcuts due to panelling between corridors and rooms being loose or collapsed completely. Contemptor decided to take the direct route and pulled at a loose panel infront of him, and it came away with relative ease as he kicked through the adjacent panel and stepped through into another corridor.

His internal map shown that he wasn't far from the Bounce Chamber, and a few more shortcuts through som eof the dilapidated halls would get him there sooner than he had expected. There was a blip showing up on his internal map. It was giving off a Decepticon signal, and as soon as he realised it, Contemptor was near Starscream, and looking up slightly, Contemptor smiled as he passed the sensor at the entrance to the Bounce Chamber.

The doors opened and the large Decepticon walked in. He made an inventory check of his weapon systems and that he was packing enough coolant for his plasma cannon. Soon he would be putting boot to aft, and he would relish taking the fight to the Autobrats on the miserable planet below.

Encrypted Transmission from Razorclaw

>>“Soundwave, this is Razorclaw. Lord Shockwave has authorized me to make contact with you and to relay our present status. The Thanatos has returned from Cybertron and is currently is a stationary orbit on the dark side of Earth’s moon. The Combaticon warship, the Obliteration, will arrive from hyperspace shortly. Some progress was made during our mission to Cybertron, and we were able to retrieve an important piece of cyberforming equipment that may prove useful in the coming orns. Shockwave, himself, will be able to fill you in on the more intricate details of his scientific analysis once he joins me here on the bridge. Furthermore, I request a status update from your end, as well, and await your reply.”<<

Bounce Chamber

"That's Commander Starscream. I have not yet earned to be called lord." Starscream said as Contemptor entered the bounce chamber. He waved the other decepticon to the pad and the two boucned down to the battle on the planet below.

Ultrax - Bounce Chamber

Contemptor let a smile cross his face as Starscream responded.

"My apologies...I'm just very eager to get down and bust up a few autobots"

With that, Contemptor took his place on the bounce chamber platform beside Starscream. The stream of light engulfed the large decepticon, and in an instant both he and Starscream were gone from the Ultrax.

To earth and the desert of Iran he headed. Contemptor hated bouncing, but it was the only mode of travel from the Ultrax to earth.

The autobot's wouldn't know what hit them!

Bridge

Soundwave silently nodded as Starscream made his way off the bridge. Routing the reports down to the planet would add little to his work as it was now. He continued to monitor and manipulate communications on the planet below, although now since the two distraction teams were involved in combat he was mostly blocking communications. They were still in an infiltration mode and didn’t want human interference if it could be avoided. The Stunticons had done well in silencing any humans in there area and the seeker team was in a nation with a tightly controlled media. The Constructicon team likewise had succeeded in remaining secret.

With no one watching, and if he had a conventional mouth, he would have smiled as he detected the Thanatos’s arrival. While he didn’t really believe in fate it was eerily perfect timing for Shockwave to return right when Starscream had just deployed to the planet below. It was possible that the entire leadership situation could shift without any violence or struggle. Then he would retake his place of power and protection at his commander’s side.

>>”Current status is nominal. Multiple teams are deployed to the Earth’s surface in a variety of missions. Starscream has just bounced down to help reinforce one of the teams in battle with the Autobots. A second team led by Motormaster should also be involved in battle shortly. The third team is a construction team designing and building a new base to be used on the surface. A skeleton crew remains on the Ultrax for now.”<<

Priority-2 Transmission from Shockwave to Soundwave

>>"Regardless of what the Seeker decides, with the arrival of the Thanatos, your continued optimum functioning would be best achieved at my side aboard this vessel."<<

Bridge

Soundwave had little difficulty with his current assignment. The Constructicons appeared to be safely ensconced in their work and secreted away in an isolated area. The Seeker team was beginning to withdraw and thus needed only minimum observation to keep hidden. The Stunticon team was the only one requiring any real effort and the fact that Motormaster and his team had effectively created a ‘dead’ zone around them meant there was time until it became a true chore. It was the perfect opportunity for him to relocate.

Standing up he sent a brief message to Shockwave. He then left the bridge and headed for the bounce chamber. He would not miss this vessel. While relocating to a vessel staffed by the lethal Predacons was not necessarily ideal, it was preferable to his current location. The Stunticons were psychopaths at best and had little respect for him or his capabilities. Serving with them in his current capacity was undesirable at best. The fact that the Thanatos was the more powerful vessel was also a significant improvement.

Ultrax - Bridge

Vindicator was the only other Decepticon of major significance that was present on the bridge of the Ultrax, and apart from the menials that were hardwired into the main parts of the ship for guidance and navigation, there was only Soundwave present. The Seige specialist watched quietly with amber optics as he observed the monotone cassette master working the controls with suple precision - as if he was programmed only yesterday. Vindicator let a slight smile crawl over his faceplate at the silence coming from the veteran Decepticon.

'Soundwave...' Vindicator thought to himself '...if you weren't such a monotone bore, you and I would deffinately enjoy much more animated conversation!'

Vindicator turned back to watching the monitors on the bridge, the plasma display's feeding back the information from parts of earth where two of the teams were engaged in their assigned tasks. He watched the unfolding battle with the Stunticons, Battlechargers and the Protectobots. It was a ragtag affair, but one that had delivered purpose. Vindicator had noted that Octane had made his safe getaway with the load of energon from the oil refinery, and another smile formed on Vindicator's faceplate as his black hand reached out and his fingers danced over the keyboard as he isolated Octane's frequency and proceeded to broadcast the triplechanger a message.

>"Octane, this is the Ultrax - Vindicator speaking..." the baritone vocals filled the transmission "...prepare to receive co-ordinates for safe transfer to the Ultrax. You have valuable cargo, and we do not want it damaged or tampered with..." Vindicator paused before a cruel smirk replaced the somber look on his face "..oh and Octane...Jettison the fleshlings"<

Vindicator went to speak to Soundwave, when he realised that the communications specialist was no longer there. There was a small flashing light on the bounce indicator.

"Hmm.. it seems that our monotone, and "uncharasmatic", friend has taken a trip to himself...." Vindicator tapped his chin thoughtfully before he realised that the Thanatos had made itself present in the Sol system. The thanatos, Vindicator had mused, was a warship more designed for someone of Vindicator's stature in the Decepticon Legion, but instead he was posted on the rusting hulk that was the Ultrax. Granted one of his only friends was posted on the Ultrax, and the looming decepticon was grateful that it was one who shared in his experiences of pain and betrayal.

Ok so he was being melancholy, but underneath the titanic exterior - like a few other Decepticons, Vindicator was a victim of the Autobot Autocracy, and the gluttonous greed of the high council. He felt his Spark Core throb as his anger mounted, and his energon pump started to work that little bit faster as his temper started to flare at the memories, and why he chose the path of the Decepticon legion over that of being a slave to false hope. There was a cruel laugh coming from the Siege Specialist as he remeniced the days of destruction - especially the day he crushed another Decepticon for failing to do his duty.

A pipping sound took his distraction away, as the voice of his friend started to filter through the eerie silence of the Ultrax's bridge.

"This is the Ultrax, Siege Commander Vindicator receiving..."

The hiss was replaced by a gravel filled voice that was pain tinged as it spoke with a cold and dangerous tone.

>"...This is Contemptor...I am in the process of retreiving Hellion. I have sustained some...minor damage."<
There was a pause and a brief series of unintelligable pained growls

>"...hold still...damn you seeker!...Hellion is a mess..."<

Vindicator mentally facepalmed himself. There were times that he respected Contemptor, and there were times that he could not give him the time of day. All things being said, he was his friend and the two did share a common bond.

"Someone has to remind me to smack that lugnut upside the head one day for getting involved with a femme-seeker....Hellion no less..." Vindicator muttered aloud to no-one in particular before he responded to the hail from the Iranian Desert.

>"Contemptor, this is Vindicator. Be prepaired for Bounce retreival for both yourself and Hellion...I will also have to retreive Thrust from his crashpoint...Stand by for confirmation..."<

Vindicator gave a heavy sigh. Yes he was stuck out of the thickest of the action, but his amssive size and lack of earth guise limited him in his capacity, but at least he wasn't placed somewhere that kept him away from the conflict. He could still support at least for now, and that was better than a kick in the aft-plate.



Vindicator sat back in his chair and looked again at one of the plasma display's, and called up a topographical blueprint image of the desert. A glowing decepticon insignia started to glow in the area of the ocean, and Vindicator decided to home in on it.

It was Thrust's distress beacon.

"How in the nine hell's did that conehead end up there?...Primus know's I will have to transfer off this rustheap... its occupants are as ragtag as this hulking junkyard!"

Vindicator pressed a few buttons and activated the retreival codes to return Thrust to the Ultrax. He also set a broadcast for all the decepticons in the Iranian desert so that they could rendevous to a safe zone and be ready for bounce extraction.

>"This is Siege Commander Vindicator to all Decepticons in the Iranian Desert. Co-ordinates are being broadcast for assembly for safe Bounce Extraction back to the Ultrax...Leave no 'con behind!"<

Transmission from Skywarp to Vindicator:

>>”Vindicator, this is Skywarp. I am unable to reach any bounce extraction point. You will have to bounce me and the energon cubes I have here from my present coordinates.”<<

Ultrax - Orbital bounce chamber

Dirge materialized into the orbital bounce platform of Ultrax with Nightraven's motionless and ravaged body on his arms. While the grim seeker felt nothing towards the badly wounded femme on his arms, he knew all too well that even a warrior as incompetent as Nightraven was worth of saving in a war that had not witnessed creation of a new protoform in tens of thousands of vorns. Simply put, a dying race could not afford to lose any of its surviving members. And as worthless as Nightraven was on a battlefield, she did possess other useful skills important to the cause they fought for. Saving the lives of bots deemed important enough went even beyond the factions. Dirge had even seen a list compiled by the Decepticon intelligence services of Autobots that were deemed of being far more valuable to the Decepticons captured alive than dead.

After Ultrax's surveillance systems had identified him and Nightraven, the large doors leading into the bounce chamber opened, allowing the morose seeker head out towards the repair bay.



Ultrax - Repair Bay

Not much later, the silent duo arrived to the repair bay. Wasting no time, Dirge placed the wounded femme into one of the cryogenic regeneration chambers and activated the initial diagnosis cycle that would determine the amount of damage and priority of the repairs Nightraven would go through in the following cycles.

Having done what he could for Nightraven, Dirge moved away from the CR chamber and into the recharge row where he plugged himself into. As he often did, Dirge had managed escape the battle without any major damage. Through both sheer skill and as difficult it was for him to admit - cowardice. Not that Dirge ever let it show - in his mind, his whole life depended on this masquerade to continue. There was nothing he feared more than the other Decepticons finding out that Dirge was not the stonecold professional he acted like. And a professional would not enter the few CR chambers available onboard the Ultrax when there were others that were in far worse condition.

Ultrax Bridge - Bouncing all over the world/Do humans go pop?

Vindicator sat and listened to Skywarp's pained reply. Poor seeker must have been dragged through the command mill. No matter, as all Vindicator had to do was bring them back and make sure that Drone Squads were there to carry off the injured to the medical bay, and those that could still walk would be able to get there under their own steam. He wasn't about to waste resources on those that could still walk.

>"Skywarp, I understand. I will have a Drone squad ready to assist in the moving of the Energon Cubes before the other's are retreived. We don't want any accidents now...do we..." Vindicator sat back before standing and walking to the command gantry and folded his hands behind his back as he looked at the picture of the Earth below them. "Skywarp...Prepare for bounce in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Engage!"< The bounce protocol to retreive the Seeker's Second in Command and the stacked Energon cube's was initiated. It was now only a matter of parsec's before the valuable energy was onboard the cruiser, and safely ferried away by a Drone Squad.

Vindicator opened an announcement command to the Drone Squad, and gave them their orders.

++"Drone Squad 12 - We have an incoming supply of Energon into the Bounce Chamber. This is a priority one scenario. Ensure all Energon Cubes are removed before the remaining Ground Forces return"++

It was then that Vindicator had received a reply from Octane, the Triple Changer sounding rather panicked, as if he had been caught with a secret stash of Energon that he didn't want to share. It brought a smile to Vindicator's normally stern visage as the Jet Tanker babbled about sending humans into the anti-oxygen vastness of space. It intrigued him that much that he agreed to the Triple Changer's altered agreement of trasferrance to the Ultrax, but...not without retort to the logistics expert.

>"hah...cute Octane, very cute..." Vindicator said as he turned and made his way back to the command console, a lighter tone in his usually baritone vocals as he entered in a few command string's into the main computer. "Request confirmed Octane. Co-ordinate's are set to bounce to the outside of the Ultrax. Primary Hangar is being organized and ready for your arrival, and I've prepaired drone squad's 5 and 8 for unloading when you dock...and yes I will admit, I would like to see what happens when the fleshbag's meet with space....Jettison them when you pass the viewport of the observation lounge, then I shall meet you in the Hangar....Bounce transmission in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Engage!"<

There was a small pipping sound coming from the bounce console, and Vindicator approached it. He triggered the switch and a read-out report indicated that Dirge and Nightraven had both arrived in the Bounce Chamber, and they had made their way towards the Repair Bay. He opened a communication to the doomful seeker, the usual baritone rumble cutting through the transmission.

++"Dirge... nice to see you back in one piece...as usual..."++ the ironic tone flooded through the transmission as Vindicator turned and sent a large scale Bounce command to all the Decepticons remaining in the Iranian Desert.

Bringing them home was important, but also bringing them home fast and accurately was as equally imperative - especially when he had to deal with the ire of Starscream, and also trying to explain why Soundwave had left the bridge of the Ultrax without notification to any Decepticon that was on assignment on Earth. Vindicator made his way from the Bridge gantry towards the large door that led to the master corridor that connected to the bounce chamber.

The bounce chamber wasn't Vindicator's port of call, but further down the Ultrax towards the spacial observation lounge that overlooked the earth, with a clearer view of its sterile grey moon. It was also where Vindicator would watch what would happen to the humans that Octane had onboard.

"Watching these humans burst will be entertaining....don't disappoint me Octane" Vindicator spoke to no-one in particular, as his amber optics gazed out to the inky starry expanse of space...

Bounce Chamber

Skywarp materialized on the bounce platform alongside the large pile of energon cubes that had been previously stored within the Iranian train car. Being a teleporter by design, the prankster’s disorientation faded quickly as a drone squad entered the room and began moving the energon stockpile just as Vindicator had promised moments before the bounce had been initiated. ‘Warp decided to let the drones do all of the heavy lifting as he was in no mood to do more grunt work.

Skywarp sighed in disgust of his performance down on the surface. His first time in command of a combat mission had not gone exactly as he had hoped. No one, save for a couple of femmes, took him seriously while others did nothing but challenge him every step of the way. Even worse, Nightraven was quickly knocked into stasis lock early on as others mysteriously disappeared from the battlefield entirely. It wasn’t until Starscream had arrived when things began to resemble some semblance of order. And speaking of the Seeker Commander, ‘Warp expected to get a lecture from him over the prankster’s poor showing as squad leader. Perhaps Hellion had been right. Maybe the teleporter was better suited at remaining a mere grunt. After all, there was really nothing wrong with being a simple warrior within the elite seekers of the Decepticon Empire. Commanding a unit was apparently just not his cup of oil.

Glancing around the room at the other bounce arrivals, Skywarp caught sight of Dirge carrying Nightraven’s limp form out of the bounce chamber. The morose seeker’s likely destination was the repair bay and that would be the prankster’s, as well. Besides wanting to make sure Nighty was all right, ‘Warp had some minor repairs of his own to attend to. It was at least a decent excuse for him to stay near her until she was fully functional again.

Moving away from the dwindling pile of energon cubes, Skywarp sidestepped a few of the drones and made his way out of the bounce chamber and into the corridor beyond.

Repair Bay

In less than a breem, Skywarp had reached what passed for a medical bay onboard the Ultrax. The Stunticons were certainly not big on proper repair work and the decrepit facility around him clearly proved that point. There were only a few working CR chambers, one of which was already occupied by Nightraven while Dirge had plugged himself into a recharge station nearby. ‘Warp gave the grim seeker a nod of thanks for retrieving her before then moving towards her CR unit and inspecting the readouts. He was no expert at interpreting such things, but he knew enough to see that she had suffered a considerable amount of damage that would require much more repair work than he was in need of.

Satisfied that Nighty’s chamber had be properly set and initiated, Skywarp moved over to an adjacent automated repair table and promptly laid down on it. His condition was not that severe and did not require a stay in a CR chamber. His wing tip and cockpit had suffered the most damage during the battle thanks to both Hardhead and Ironhide. He also had numerous dents and scratches across his back and upper body, but nothing that penetrated too deep. Once the automatic medical berth had scanned his framework, the table tilted itself up on an angle as a number of mechanical appendages came alive and began working on his repairs, all the while the back and purple seeker kept a close optic on Nightraven’s CR unit a short distance away.

Bounce Chamber

Ramjet materialized with a deactivated Waspinator in tow, parts clinking and clanking like keys inside the net.

He strode off to medical bay, noting the fact that Waspinator will gripe and groan after he is reactivated.

He made no point to dodge any of the drones on their way to the repair bay, they would have to dodge him and his battering ram for a head first. Which, unfortunately, they did.

Repair Bay

Ramjet walked in the repair bay and dumped the remains of Waspinator on a repair table. He put the arms, legs and wings in the right place off memory, then activated the auto-repair systems to attach the limbs back on. He was quietly thankful that he basically knew how the repair tables worked.

With the welding done, he pulled Waspinator off the table and threw him into a CR chamber and activated the cycle with disgust. He disliked helping people.

"Thank Primus that's over with." Ramjet stated aloud as he stepped onto the same repair table Waspinator was on and activated the repair cycle.

He would have taken a CR Chamber, but he wanted Slipstream to get one. How selfless of him.

A chill went down his spine, and it wasn't the repair drones who were applying fresh paint and repairing his damages that was causing that. It was Slipstream. He didn't care about anyone's well being other than his, why did he care about hers? No matter. There is another matter to attend to.

"Skywarp," Ramjet said as his repair table angled up, "You did pretty well down there. But there's just one thing I need you to do for me and nearly everyone else on your team."

He leaned towards his fellow seeker.

"Treat everyone else with more respect! Maybe they'll treat you better if you treat them just as well!" He stated with a stern look on his face, he made it no secret that he had been chewing on this for quite a while.

Ulrax Bounce Chamber

Conemptor materialised on the Ultrax's bounce chamber platform, with the limp form of Hellion draped over his shoulder as the dizzying effects of the bounce teleportation started to fade. As his optics adjusted the security systems of the Ultrax had verified the arriving two decepticons as friendly, and as such, the systems disarmed themselves, allowing the large decepticon to grogily march forwards off the arrival plate. The white fuzzy form of Ramjet had left the large bulkhead doors infront of him.

"Urgh... seems that there were a few others who had a breakdown..." Contemptor said to the prone Hellion as he had managed to note the loose net of parts that looked much like a large mechannical wasp. "...no matter...lets get you to the repair bay and get you sorted out!"

Contemptor sighed as he trudged through the battered halls of the Ultrax. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with this damned ship again, but untill something better came along, then he was stuck on the run down hulk of a battle cruiser, wondering when that main lynchpin bolt would ping and then the ship would be in tatters. Or in two parts. Contemptor made the equivalent of a sucking sound with his dental plates as the thought went through his cerebral processor of the ship falling apart even more.

A small scuttering maintenance drone wandered into Contemptor's path, and the large warrior decepticon didn't notice it untill he had stepped on it. There was a squeal and crunch as the small robot was obliterated underfoot as Contemptor was lost in his thoughts. But there was something different about the usually grim decepticon.

The arm injury had a deeper effect to the large mechanoid, as Contemptor's hud flashed up with severe warnings and his energon efficiency level. It was slowly dropping as there had to have been some internal damage inflicted from the dismembering of his left arm.

There had to be.

And there was...

Contemptor had noticed that there was a haemorrage in one of the primary energon line's thanks to the nitrogen from Ironhide. Combined with that and the stomp of Ironhide's foot, the shattering of his arm had torn one of his main fuel lines. If he were a human, his main artery would have been ruptured and he would have bled out to death. But he wasn't a human, he was a decepticon. He was superior!

Ultrax - Repair Bay

Contemptor smiled slightly as the doors to the repair bay came into view. He had noticed that Ramjet had entered infront of him. At least he would have some company whilst he was being repaired. It was a conehead, but still a somewhat friendly face.

Contemptor entered the repair bay, and instantly noticed that there were two of the CR chambers taken, one by another femme-con and the other by some primus-awful looking giant robotic insect. He screwed his faceplate in disgust as he turned to an empty CR chamber and placed Hellion inside the vacant chamber. As he closed the door, Contemptor keyed in the instructions for a full repair and recharge on the femme. As the chamber shut, he placed the tips of his actuator's against the glass before turning away and finding a repair and recharge berth. He snapped to his full senses when he felt the optics of a few other decepticons on him.

Looking up Contemptor met the faces of Skywarp, Dirge and Ramjet, of the three he nodded to in a quiet recognition, he looked at the prankster before speaking to the purple seeker.

"Well...I think that affair would have went better down there.. I think I'll be picking silicone out of my joints for the next cycle...gah.."

He put his chin in his hand as the mechannical arms of the automated repair bay got to work by analizing the damage to the exterior and interior of Contemptor before the berth made a series of movements, rocking him back to laying flat out as the automated surgeon started to operate on his frozen arm. There was a click and a sliding sound as Contemptor's damaged arm was removed from his shoulder. He hissed in pain as his internal systems registered the removal of the damaged limb. Contemptor hated being under the influence of surgical shutdown, and thusly, tilted the repair table up so he could look at the recharging seekers.

He heard Ramjet having a pop at Skywarp, and thusly Contemptor chimed in.

"Ramjet.." He began "...Give the prankster some more credit for his efforts in co-ordinating what went on down there before those auto-punks arrived." He could feel the white conehead turn his optics towards him "For ever living in Starscream's shadow and always following orders, have you ever thought that leadership skills are learned first by observation? I'll wager a round of energon that the 'illustrious' seeker commander treats you all the same way!..." Contemptor rested his head back against the repair table and gave a sigh before looking over at the form of Hellion in the CR chamber.

"...you know...I could have been more help down there if Starscream hadn't held me back up here..." Contemptor grumbled "...Vindicator is elsewhere on the Ultrax, but I can tell you this...he will clash with Starscream..." He looked at Skywarp "...I just don't want to get in the way when he starts swinging that hammer of his!"

Bounce Chamber

Starscream's face had a grim look cast upon it as he materialzed, and he remained stainding in a stoic pose as he cast his gaze around the room, observing his battered warriors as they carried themselves, and their deactivated comrades to the repair bay. Overall the Commander was pleased with the outcome of the mission, even if they damage his team had taken was heavier then he had wanted, though that was more due to their own ambition as they had not heeded the orders of Skywarp and had chosen to act on their own for the most part. That was an attitude that needed correcting, he wanted his warriors to display initative and creativity in the field, but that was not an exucse for insubordination. They were soldiers in an army, not thugs of an unruly mob.

Stepping off the bounce platform Starscream's stern gaze was cast upon the massive figure of the venerable Vindicator, the sight of the immense warrior cause a flicker of anger inside the Commander. Not because he was here, but because Soundwave wasn't. Oh Starscream was keenly aware that he never had Soundwave's loyalty and the monotone information master was loyal to whom he believed was most likely to earn the leadership of the Decepticons. Though he would never admit it out loud Starscream knew that in terms of raw military might that was Shockwave at the moment for the simply reason his ship was bigger. Though the loyalty of the troops under his command could not be verified at this time, then again Starscream had no way of knowing where the loyalties of the troops he commanded truly lay. It was a frustrating situation.

"Vindicator." Starscream said as he approached the larger Decepticon. He studied him for several moments before he spoke again. "You are to be commended. I find it comforting to know that there still are Decepticons that can be relied upon to remain at their posts and perform the duties that are needed of them regardless of how inglorious they are. I can only assume you were forced to take over Soundwave's duties because he deserted his position in favour of transfering to Shockwave's ship? Unfortunate, but not unexpoected. In recognition for your service here you may increase your personal energon researves by 15%."

He then turned to address the others that had just returned from the field.

"That goes for all of you well. Although the injuries you suffered during the mission was greater then anticipated you completed the desired objective, however you're battlefield performance when it comes to obeying the orders of your appointed commander requries an adjustment. Nevertheless, all of you may also enjoy a 15% increase to your energon reserveas as well. Skywarp, when you are ready I wish to speak to you privatley about the mission. Contemptor, if you wish to remain assigned to this current team you may, or you can be reassigned to Baneblade's team, they are currently awaiting word on reinforcements. Inform me of your choice as soon as you are able. And Vindicator, I would also like to know your intentions as well. Will you remain with us or will you follow Soundwave?"

When he was done Starscream turned from the group and walked to the bridge. He sealed the doors behind him, waiting for Skywarp to appear in time for the debreifing of his mission. For the moment he sat in the ships command chair and stroked his chin as he punched up the systems sensor data. His optics narrowed as the locations of the two newly arrived Decepticon warships were pinpointed in the system. Shockwave was here, this was a problem. He had the position of strength with a superiour ship, though the status of what warriors he had under his command was unknown, placing loyalty in Shockwave could be a difficult thing for Decepticons to do.

>>Motormaster, I am uncertain if you have been informed of the change in the situation. Shockwave has arrived, and other then having a more powerful ship it is unknown how strong his position is. Regardless, the game has changed and we may have to reevaluate our position. To that end can you give me a status update on your situation?

The Ultrax - Exterior docking

Octane was seething as he approached the Ultrax. Who in the abyss did this Vindicator think he was? Bullying and pushing him around like he was some protoform fresh out of the Well of All Sparks. The audacity of this leadheaded slagface was infuriating! To Octane, Vindicator was nothing more than a glorified foot soldier whom had been lucky enough to survive longer than the most of his kind. Of himself Octane had far superior opinion. He was the military might of the Decepticons. Perhaps his view of himself was skewed but that was nevertheless what Octane thought of himself. He knew he was no frontline warrior but in mind his role as a fueler made him the backbone of every single military operation he participated. Whether or not Decepticons of lower intelligence understood that or now.

Right now though, Octane was in no position to pay back at Vindicator. But he would get his chance. He always did. Eventually he would make everyone who had ever crossed him pay. Even Motormaster whom Octane feared far more than this seige warrior.

Maneuvering carefully as close to the Ultrax's viewport of the observation lounge as he possibly could, Octane opened one of the hatches that were used to board a normal KC-135R on the viewport's side and observed with murderous glee as his human passenger's were sucked out of him into the void of the space along with all the air he had carried inside of his frame. The spectacle Vindicator and Octane as well had been expecting was far less entertaining than either of them had hoped though. The three humans floated in the front of the viewport of the observation lounge, flailing their arms and legs in panic for approximately 15 seconds before falling unconscious. And then nothing. It was until Octane actually had been pumping energon into Ultrax's hangar for the drones to store into cubes for several minutes before his sensors registered a slight swelling in the exposed tissue of the humans. Slight swelling and their hearts going to cardiac arrest - nothing else.

>>"They are dead. Looks like those human legends in their internet about organic matter exploding in space was nothing more than fiction."<< Octane finally reported to Vindicator. >>"Run through their remains with the Ultrax if you want to see them go splat."<<

>>"Octane to Commander Starscream. Energon acquired in the raid of Frontier Refinery has been brought on board the Ultrax. All 15 000 gallons of it. I am moving into the hangar now."<< Octane added through another channel and transformed into his robot form now the last drops of the liquid energon in his tanks had been drained. At least he had made it back to the ship without injuries. The Stunticons were unlikely to be as lucky.

Repair Bay

As the repair table’s appendages continued working on Skywarp, the prankster let his thoughts linger on what Starscream had said to him shortly after they had all arrived back in the bounce chamber. The Seeker Commander wanted to speak with him privately about the mission, likely to admonish him for not being a better field commander even though it had been his first time being placed in such a position. It would probably be his last, as well, as he couldn’t see ‘Screamer allowing him to be in charge of anything besides maintenance bots in the future. Still, the mission had gone pretty well all things considered. The objectives had been met and Starscream seemed pleased overall with the results.

The arrival of Ramjet, followed closely by Contemptor, awoke Skywarp from his thoughts as the repair arms attached a new wing tip to his back. The white conehead placed Waspinator in one CR chamber while the larger ‘Con did the same with Hellion in another unit. Both mechs then laid back onto their own repair berths, Contemptor making a wry comment that caused ‘Warp to chuckle. His amusement was short lived, however, when Ramjet began criticizing the teleporter for how he had handled things down on the surface, accusing him of not showing enough respect for the others on the team. Skywarp quickly became angry at the assertion, but before he could respond Contemptor spoke up and defended the prankster’s actions. ‘Warp was a bit taken aback by the larger mech’s kind words, but he wasn’t going to argue. At least there were some Decepticons that understood how difficult it was to lead a team into battle.

“Thanks, Contemptor,” Skywarp replied, giving his new friend a respectful nod of appreciation before then turning his attention over to the white conehead. “You know, Ramjet, I did my best down there. Maybe if I had been given a bit more cooperation from you and some of the others, I wouldn’t have had to be as ‘disrespectful’ as you claim I was.” The teleporter’s face plate produced a deep frown as he spoke, but he maintained control over his desire to rip the white seeker’s cone-shaped head from his body. It was a thought that made the prankster happy if only for the briefest of moments. “As Starscream said your attitude towards your field commander requires an adjustment.”

Having said his peace to Ramjet, Skywarp looked back over to Contemptor. The teleporter knew very little of the ground-based mech except for what he had seen down on the Iranian battlefield and how well they had worked together against Ironhide. He hadn’t experienced teamwork with another ‘Con like that since the last time he fought alongside his good friend, Thundercracker. It was good to have someone else to rely on besides his fellow blue seeker or the object of his affection, Nightraven. “Thanks for the help down there, Contemptor. We made a pretty good team even if ol’ Ironbutt managed to escape with his spark in one piece. I’m curious, where did you learn to fight like that? Was it from Vindicator? He seems to be a powerful warrior and you two are friends, right?”