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Bridge

Rampage absorbed as much of the information and its possible effects as his processors could handle. While reasonably intelligent, the Predacons had recently taken to dealing with matters that were definitely a step above his normal energon grade. Even having been a warlord back on Cybertron himself, matters within his territory had never become this complicated. Resolutions were usually swift and brutal. There were far more machinations in place now, thus Rampage's increased reliance on Razorclaw's vision and strategy.

He had not disappointed. The recent defeat of Starscream had not only gained him the mantle of leadership, in Rampage's view, but had also effectively acquired them another vessel.

"So that gives us two of the three capital ships in this sector. And the one we don't have....is ours. We know it inside and out," Rampage said, indicating the other Predacons that were on the bridge, minus Divebomb. "I'd say the tide has turned. This'd be about the time when Megatron brought the mace down back in the arena."

And if Megatron deigned to use his mace at all back in those gladiator fights--it was over. From the ones that Rampage could personally remember witnessing, anyway.

Tantrum's optics flared as Razorclaw acknowledged but ultimately dismissed his concerns. He was giving the Seeker too much credit, but Tantrum wouldn't say anything more about it. Razorclaw seemed to know what he was doing. Let him deal with the Seeker then.

"Divebomb's waitin' for him, huh? Maybe I'll offer a little assistance," Tantrum said, turning to exit the bridge.

"Don't mess this up," Rampage said as the larger Predacon brushed past him.

"Didn't pull your string, did I?" Tantrum snorted as he left the bridge altogether.

Hanger Bay

The berating curse boomed out from Motormaster’s vocalizer made Wildrider flinch back in trepidation. The Stunticon Commander knew exactly what it would take in order to push his team in the right direction, and with Wildrider he had to be just as deranged, or more so, than the terrorist. And when it came to Motormaster, the hulking mech didn’t even have to try that hard.

Wildrider had little time to react when the back of his superior’s hand hit him sending him flying right over the cart he had been pulling along behind him. To the terrorist’s horrified surprise Motormaster was already standing beside him, his cart toppled over and the energon cubes scattered all over the floor.

Wildrider was just about to attempt an explanation when he was cut off by the Commander’s massive hand taking hold of his much smaller and delicate neck. As he was lifted up off the floor, feet dangling free, Wildrider tried in vain to remove Motormaster’s vice like grip. The lack of air caused his internal cooling fans to kick in. He grimaced while the ends of his digits tried to work under his commander’s tight grip.

His attempt to free himself ended when he was brought down to stare directly into the black and silver mech’s own blazing optics. The digging of his actuator brought out a silent cry. This was truly excruciating and terrifying. Wildrider tried desperately to shake his head when Motormaster accused him of sabotaging the work he and his brothers were given.

The deep baritone of the commander’s caused Wildrider to offline his optics and try and turn his face away from his furious leader. When he felt himself airborne once more, Wildrider quickly onlined his optics only to be met with the side of the over turned cart. The terrorist let out a low groan before he brought his hand to the dented metal that surrounded his throat. When he heard Motormaster below out the answer to his own question, Wildrider cowered in fear shuffling back as far from the irate officer as he could manage.

The mech’s last few words rang loud in the Stunticon’s audios. He and his brother would never be free from this brutal tyrant, and there was absolutely nothing they could do to change that fact. As Dead End would say, “Face it. We’re all doomed”.

Wildrider watched his superior’s optics and then noticed the nod toward the spilled cubes causing him to quickly scramble to his feet and return the hover cart to its upright position. Once that was done the terrorist quickly began to stack the cubes neatly on the cart’s surface. He worked as quickly as possible so as not to catch his commander’s ire again. Truth be told he wasn’t sure the delicate neck plating could take another attack as before. He knew if he screwed up again he’d be laying on the floor in a pool of his own energon with his decapitated head adorning the end of Motormaster’s sword. That thought cause him to swallow hard.

Repair Bay

“Thundercracker and I have been with him since the beginning,” Skywarp replied to Nightraven as her right hand laid on the side of his chest plating. “I couldn’t even imagine not having Starscream guiding us seekers forward, whether it be under his own regime or someone else’s.” The teleporter then listened as the femme thanked him for being there for her through these difficult times. ‘Warp let a slight smile escape from his mouth piece as her words entered his audio receptors. He couldn’t remember the last time someone other than her had thanked him for anything. It was almost unheard of in the Decepticon ranks, even amongst friends. I don’t even think 'Cracker has ever said thank you to me before, the prankster thought as he glanced over at the object of his affection. “You’re welcome, Nighty.”

Skywarp held on to Nightraven a bit tighter as his glare fell on Starscream’s CR chamber again. Trying not to linger any longer on what had happened to his fallen Air Commander, ‘Warp allowed his thoughts to drift elsewhere as he remembered the mission he had led, some would say successfully while others like Hellion would beg to differ. Hellion! I’d almost forgotten about her!

The teleporter had only seen the berserker femme once since returning from the Iranian Desert and that was in the corridor just outside the bridge. Of course, his attention had mainly been on the fight within between Starscream and Razorclaw and thus he had paid little to no attention to Nighty’s crazy sister. Likewise, Helly had said nothing to him, either, which now seemed strange as one would think the violent sibling would have, at the very least, given ‘Warp a nasty glare or a hard bump, considering she had picked a fight with him down on the surface.

She was probably focused more on the fight like I was, Skywarp considered, realizing that Hellion may still harbor some ill will towards him over their little disagreement. Nightraven had assured him before that her sister would be fine and that he had nothing to worry about. Of course, that assurance was made when Helly was still in stasis. Now, she was repaired and awake, fully capable of taking out her animosity on him in a very unpleasant manner.

“Um, Nighty, can I ask you something?” Skywarp said nervously, not taking his optics off of Starscream’s chamber. “I know you said before that your sister would not come after me, but now that she’s awake, has Hellion mentioned our little confrontation that we had down on the surface? Is she still mad about all that? She didn’t seem to even notice me when we were standing outside the bridge. So, I was just wondering.”

Skywarp wasn’t really afraid of Hellion as he felt that he could hold his own in a fight if need be. The prankster was more afraid of Nightraven’s reaction if her sister and him ever came to blows. He didn’t want to hurt Helly for fear of angering Nighty and driving her away from him. It had taken so much time for her to finally see a different side to ‘Warp that he didn’t want to lose all of what had been gained. Of course, the teleporter was still a warrior and would defend himself if he was forced to. Hopefully, things had calmed down with the berserker and violence would not erupt between the two, now or ever.

Hangar Bay

Motormaster. A name spoken with hatred. A name feared. And yet, even respected. Most of all, it was a name no Cybertronian who had ever faced its bearer forgot. Violence, both mental and physical - came naturally to this monster. Even before the war this remorseless, sadistic thug had cut his way through Cybertron's criminal underworld to become one of the most sought after enforcers when the criminal overlords wanted someone gone or terrorized to submission. Being highly mobile and very good at his chosen profession, Cybertronian police forces had had difficult time to even accuse him and his gang of hooligans, let alone track or catch them. And those few times they actually had been apprehended - they had quickly walked away through lack of evidence. Or rather due to their patrons bribing the right people. Being supported by very wealthy individuals was truly a perk to be had in a corrupt society.

His seemingly never ending thirst for violence eventually had led Motormaster to the gladiator arenas where he had met an upcoming gladiator by the name Megatron. After getting the worst beat down of his life from the would be Decepticon leader, Motormaster had quickly become an avid follower of the Slag-Maker. The brutality Megatron had shown in the arenas was naturally something that had drawn Motormaster to the silver gladiator but the doctrine Megatron later began to spread had hit its mark with Motormaster. The strong should rule.

Needless to say, Motormaster had brought his gang of thugs into the ranks of Decepticons from the very beginning. It was a gang he was still in charge of. Or at least, what was left of the original gang of hoodlums. And these four - Motormaster knew better than they knew themselves. Take Wildrider for example. Wild, unpredictable, destructive and thoroughly insane. He would never learn from his mistakes, not for very long at least. His psychosis and short attention span made that impossible. But that was exactly what Motormaster enjoyed about this particular whack job. He didn't have to come up with reasons to hurt him. No, Wildrider gave his sadistic leader plenty of reasons to do it. And when it came to sowing fear and inflicting pain, Motormaster would never get tired of it.

It took Wildrider and the rest of Motormaster's gang a while to move the rest of the energon from the hangar to the storage room. All the while being verbally abused by their commander for various reasons. But it was finally done. The Stunticons however, had not earned a break. Once all the energon had been taken out of the hangar and the hover carts had been returned where they were stored, Motormaster had gathered the group back to the hangar.

"Listen up you turboworm droppings! Razorclaw wants and sensor network being deployed around the Ultrax. And guess who is going to do it?" Motormaster's hollow, doom-laden voice boomed thorough the hangar.

"Yeah, I figured you would." The Stunticon leader chuckled in response to their silent submittal. "I wager you glitches better start running for if I don't see you four at the airlock in half a breem with all the equipment needed..."

Hangar Bay

Once all of the energon cubes had finally been successfully transported and secured in the storage room, Drag Strip once again found himself standing before Motormaster within the hangar. Having done most of the work, himself, the former racer was a bit tired but he didn’t let it show, especially not in front of his brutish commanding officer. The Stunticon leader would pounce on him in an astrosecond if he saw any signs of weakness. No, Drag simply remained silent as new orders were administered to him and his comrades along with the usual insults.

With the final threat of violence eluded to if they didn’t get moving immediately, Drag Strip quietly nodded that he fully understood the orders and quickly rushed out of the hangar, heading back down to the storage room for the equipment that was needed. The yellow mech didn’t waste time with idle chit chat as he wanted to avoid being the last one to arrive at the air lock. Whoever ultimately brought up the rear, and he really hoped it was Wildrider, Drag intended to be the one looking on as Motormaster dished out more punishment on that particular individual instead of himself.

Air Lock

Drag Strip had spent little time in the storage room as he quickly gathered up the necessary tools and sensor relays that would be needed to effectively surround the Ultrax in a web of security that would alert them of anyone who attempted to approach the downed frigate. Drag understood the importance of what Razorclaw had ordered them to do, knowing full well that Shockwave and his supporters were still up in orbit somewhere probably searching for them at that very moment. The other Stunticons likely didn’t understand or even care, but they would if the cycloptic Decepticon’s minions suddenly knocked on the outer hatch and burst in, guns blazing.

They won’t listened to me, anyway. So I’m just going to do what I’m told and let the others lag behind and suffer Motormaster’s wrath, Drag Strip thought to himself with a smirk and he carried an armful of equipment down to the air lock where he then patiently waited for the rest of his teammates to arrive. As usual he was the first one there, doing what he did best, which was everything, of course.

Repair Bay

The black and purple Seeker femme had become content with the position she had taken next to Skywarp. It was always reassuring to have someone tell you things were going to be alright. That the coming future would bode well for their kind. She had to admit he did make things sound as though they would be trouble free from here on out. But she knew better. Times were changing.

Nightraven let out a quiet sigh as she settled in just a little closer to the teleporter. When Skywarp finally did speak it was in reference to Thundercracker and him knowing Starscream far longer than any of the other Seekers under him command…save Blackwind.

At Skywarp’s mention of not having Starscream guiding all of the Seekers forward sent a shiver down her spinal structure. Once her processor cleared of the possible future, Nightraven sent a sincere thanks to the Seeker. She had to admit, even with everything that had occurred thus far, Skywarp had managed to keep himself together and thankfully he had kept his temper in check. Whether it was because she was present did not matter.

Skywarp seemed grateful for the heartfelt thanks he received and his gratitude did not go unnoticed as Nightraven turned her head slightly to look up at him from his shoulder. And once her optics met his she gave him a warm inviting smile.

Both grew quiet as they turned their attention back to their Air Commander still suspended in the nanite rich concoction that made up the CR chamber. And then out of nowhere a quiet question from the mech caused her to perk up. It was unexpected and she was slightly taken off guard by it, but she was by no means offended or cross. Instead she simply lifted her head from Skywarp’s shoulder and looked over at him.

She watched him carefully only seeing the side of his face as he kept his optics glued to Starscream. It took a few moments but Nightraven finally answered his nervous question.

“I really don’t think you need to worry about Helly. She got back to our quarters and seemed more concerned about kicking up her feet and chewing on one of her foul cygars. And when she did finally talk to me she never even mentioned the mission or the battle. Instead she decided to tease me about…”

She caught herself before she was able to reveal just what Helly had been saying. The last thing she needed was to let Skywarp know that Hellion was well aware of just how the teleporter felt about her and vice versa.

“Uh, never mind. Anyway, don’t worry about her. I usually don’t.”
____

Hanger Bay

Under the steely watchful eyes of the Stunticon Commander, Wildrider was sure to get his aft in gear and did exactly what he had been told to do…right after his slight beating. Yes, slight beating. He certainly had been through worse, as had his brothers, but this punishment was only slightly inconvenient. Once things finally settled down Wildrider would right be back doing what he did best…tormenting everyone that crossed his path. The thought brought a grin to the demented mech’s face.

Once the entire group had finished with their assignment Wildrider let out a long sigh hoping that they would finally get a bit of down time in order to refuel…what Motormaster didn’t know about skimming off the top of their bounty wouldn’t hurt him, and most of all it wouldn’t hurt them.

Wildrider listened intently to whatever their commander had to say, rubbing his hands together in anticipation and with a wide deranged smile plastered on his visage. His expectations were shattered when the hulking brute ordered the lot of them to set up a network around the Ultrax.

The terrorist tilted his head up and let his shoulders slump low at his sides. He mumbled under his breath as he finally trudged toward the door.

“I can’t believe this slag. Razorclaw has cronies, why can’t they get this fragged up job?”

Hangar Bay

Dead End hadn't witnessed a more beautiful thing that the gleaming pile of energon that was now stacked neatly in the hangar in a long, long time. Wildrider must have had to spend a good deal of his limited concentration on that. Motormaster was good in motivating them that way. In the end, he was just glad that he had gotten a taste of it. He had some dents and scrapes to go along with it, but it was worth it.

Motormaster's next set of orders didn't exactly fill him with a lot of confidence--though not much did. The idea of going out in to the elements of this planet was hardly one that Dead End was looking forward to.

But, again, better than a beating.

Having stopped off in the storage room, Dead End gathered up some of the remaining sensor equipment and connective tech that would be needed and headed off to the airlock.

"I wonder if anyone saw us," Dead End said quietly as he stepped in to the airlock chamber. He then quickly realized he shouldn't have said anything like that out loud, especially if Breakdown was around, but now that the initial rush of energy was gone, the thought had crept in to his head, even if he wasn't the overly paranoid type.

"We'll get a rigging if big M ever finds out."

Priority-1 Transmission from Onslaught to Razorclaw

>>"I am en route now. Wherever his loyalties lie, history suggests that a warlord of Valckasta will not be swayed easily. Nevertheless, I will see where his head his."<<

Hanger Bay

While Wildrider pouted about all the work they all had to do now…which was obviously all his fault in the first place…Breakdown quickly made his leave as close to and just to the right of Dead End. All the blue and white scout wanted right then was to be as far from Motormaster as possible. And of course Wildrider as well. Although the terrorist was still an integral part of the Stunticons, breakdown had decided long ago that the crazed mech was only there to torment him in ways Motormaster hadn’t come up with yet. And it was working.

On their way out of the hanger bay Breakdown took a discreet back to be sure no one with any kind of malicious intent was following too close behind. When he was satisfied that the coast was clear Breakdown began to turn his head toward Dead End. He suddenly stopped, however, when his morose friend wondered aloud as to whether anyone had seen them or not. This musing brought a revelation to the mind of the paranoid Stunticon. What if someone did see them? What if they were watching them right now?

“Dd..do you thi…think anyone saw us? I…if they did, do you think they’d do something to us?”

Now practically walking on top of Dead End, Breakdown moved in step with his compatriot in order to get to their intended location. As with the maroon sports car, the blue and white Lamborghini had no intention of angering their already irate commander.

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s get this job over with.”
____

Still moping along to the corridor, Wildrider cast one last look back into the Hager Bay where Mototrmaster was still observing. Their leader just loved to instill what he thought was fear in to all of them, but what he was truly doings was sowing the seeds of hate. If they could actually all get along and work as a team they’d be a force to be reckoned with…not even Motormaster could take them down. If only.

Wildrider turned his gaze from the black and grey behemoth to the path he was on. The terrorist let out a low chuckle while a sneaky sneer creased is lips. The thought of how satisfying it would be to tear into the Decepticon monstrosity was almost too good to keep quiet about. Shaking his head Wildrider let out a howl of giddy laughter. Maybe someday. Just not today.

Repair Bay

How long? How long was this waiting going to last? That is the question going through Divebomb mind right now. He had been waiting here for what seems to be a good cycle. Not only was waiting here a drag, but it seems that watching the love scene between two cons only made it worse. Skywarp and Nightraven, at least take it to the back or something. Watching them was either more annoying and it feels like torture. How long will the CR chamber take for Starscream to be back online. There is no mistaken that Razorclaw put tremendous damage, but for the love of cybertronian god almighty the wait is a killer. Divebomb didn't know what was worse, waiting for the seeker commander to be online or watching this touching scene. As a matter of fact, it was the latter that is the worse and he had to stop it.

"Skywarp, since you are close with the starscream. Would you like to check on how much time will it take for the seeker commander to be operational?"

Thrust continued to lean against the wall as Divebomb gave Skywarp a request. He too wanted to know if the seeker commander was to be fully repaired. However, it was in his place to wait rather than complaining. Skywarp didn't seem to know the meaning of patience as of right now. The waiting has finally caught onto him and he's getting aggravated. To make matters worse, was the love scene between Skywarp and Nightraven. At first he didn't mind, but watching them cuddle up sicken him. They were decepticon warriors that was made to rule other planets and emotions would get in the way. At least that's what it should be, but that is not the case now. Right now, he'll deal with it as watching Divebomb getting sick and tired of waiting is more amusing. Once Starscream is repaired, the seekers will plan their first move hopefully.

Hangar

Wildrider's little chuckle as he left to do his bidding did not sit well with Motormaster. Actually, it had annoyed the Stunticon commander enough to draw out his atom-smasher rifle and turn on the cyclonic setting. Turning the power level of the rifle into low setting that would deliver enough punch to send Wildrider flying without hurting the little psychopath too much, Motormaster aimed the rifle towards the terrorist's back.

"Wildrider." Motormaster called and waited just long enough for Wildrider to turn and look at him and witnessing the malicious grin on his face before pulling the trigger. Before the terrorist could react he was sent flying across the corridor by a powerful wind funnel, accompanied by a sadistic laugh of the Stunticon commander echoing in the empty hangar.



Airlock

Precisely half a breem later...

"Who would have thought. You slaggers actually made it in time." Motormaster chuckled as he arrived to the airlock entrance carrying an energon cube, witnessing the presence of Breakdown, Dead End, Drag Strip and Wildrider. The familiar evil smile that foretold only trouble for his underlings crept on his face as he continued, "That's almost commendable."

"Too bad you felt like confiscating some of our loot for your private use." The Stunticon commander added and punched in a command to the airlock control panel that closed the door between him and the rest of the Stunticons.

As the door between the water masses of the Kurile Trench and the hull of the Ultrax, the four Stunticons could still hear Motormaster's mocking voice through their audio receptors. "I reckon we are pretty deep boys. You'd better act fast with the sensors or the water pressure may end up reforming you into... well, who am I to say but I do imagine it will be messy."

To add insult to the injury, the four smaller Stunticons could witness Motormaster drinking from the energon cube while they were pulled into the dark depths of the ocean.