by Smokescreen85 » Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:21 pm
- Motto: ""A look can be deceiving; a touch can be lethal.""
- Weapon: Twin Shoulder-Mounted Rocket Launchers
Australia - Uluru
Razorclaw watched as his Predacons departed to fulfill their respective orders. Divebomb took to the air and headed for Ayers Rock, Tantrum offered fuel to anyone who needed it and Rampage, well, Rampage was eager to fight, as always was the case with him. Thankfully, their was no human television around. Otherwise, that might have deterred him from the task at hand. The battle had not yet begun, primarily because they were still waiting on the Autobots to arrive, and thus everyone was getting a little restless. The Predacon lord couldn’t blame them. Only a mile away, the Fallen and his heralds waited for them. The enemy was so close and yet the fighting was delayed for the time being.
At least the vehicons were busy doing something useful. The countless drone warriors had dug trenches around the perimeter and built up dunes of sand and rock in order to give some kind of cover to the Cybertronians who were about to go up against a mythical demigod. Defeating a deity seemed like an impossibility. However, becoming the new Decepticon Supreme Commander also seemed impossible not a few cycles ago and yet here Razorclaw was in that very position of power. He had help, of course, but the end result is what mattered most. Now, he had even more help as all Decepticons, and eventually the Autobots, would be united against this common threat. Together they would destroy the Fallen and his minions, thus allowing the Cybertronians to get back to their civil war.
Razorclaw focused his attention on Onslaught as his comrade in arms conceded to keeping an optic on Starscream once the cowardly seeker had arrived. The Combaticon Commander seemed unsatisfied with the task and almost questioned the order before cutting himself off. Onslaught understood the chain of command better than most. He also understood that sometimes orders would be given that seemed better suited for someone else. However, in this situation, the lion-former needed someone he could trust to keep Starscream in line. Onslaught fit that bill to the letter. “My friend, do not think yourself a proto-sitter. Simply keep me informed if Starscream does anything to jeopardize this mission. That’s all.”
The Predacon lord clamped a firm hand onto Onslaught’s shoulder plate before his attention was drawn to the arrival of Soundwave. Finally, the Communications Expert had graced them with his presence, and while the monotone mech’s loyalties were still in question, his special talents were needed. “Soundwave, nice of you to join us. I need you to use that mind-reading trait of yours to see if you can sense anything from the Fallen or his heralds. You may or may not have some difficulty at this distance, but try anyway. Also, send some of your cassettes to scout closer to Ayers Rock. I already have Divebomb in the air doing recognizance, but it doesn’t hurt to have additional help or a ground perspective of our target, as well.”
With his orders given to Soundwave, Razorclaw received a transmission from Divebomb, who was requesting permission to get closer to Ayers Rock. Opening a comm line back, the Predacon Commander responded: >>”Permission granted, Divebomb. Get as close to the rock as you can. I want a visual of what we’re up against. Furthermore, I’m having Soundwave send some of his cassettes to assist you, so expect them to arrive shortly both in the air and on the ground.”<<
With his comm line severed, Razorclaw turned his attention skyward as an Autobot shuttle descended to the ground, Onslaught’s last comment catching the lion-former’s audio receptors. “Yes, long enough, indeed.” Before the Predacon leader could move towards the craft, Flamewar approached, demanding the Supreme Commander’s attention. He listened to her apology and subsequent assurances that Razorclaw had Shockwave’s full cooperation along with his former supporters. She then offered her assistance in dealing with Starscream who was still absent from the proceedings. Her attitude was a complete about face from her earlier demeanor. Perhaps Flamewar finally understood that the Predacon Commander was in charge now and Megatron was gone.
“Apologies are not necessary,” Razorclaw responded to Flamewar once the black operative was finished. “Only your loyalty is required and will be rewarded in kind. As for Shockwave, I put nothing past him. He has always had his secrets and pet projects even when Megatron was still with us. If he steps out of line he will be dealt with as before. I am, however, pleased to hear that his cooperation, and that of his men, are mine now. Have them take positions around the perimeter. The vehicons should have dug enough trenches and built up enough dunes to provide cover. No one moves in until I give the order. Understood?” Razorclaw paused a moment to let his orders sink in before continuing. “As for Starscream, I am open to any suggestions you may have. However, with the Autobots now here, we will have to delay our discussion for another time. You may accompany Onslaught and I to the shuttle if you wish.”
Wasting no more time, Razorclaw motioned for Onslaught to follow as the new Supreme Leader of the Decepticons walked towards the shuttle where Ultra Magnus and the Autobots had already begun to disembark.
_________
In a flash of light, Skywarp appeared on the ground, a bit disoriented from the bounce. Once he had regained his bearings, the teleporter gazed around to see the Deception forces massing around a one mile perimeter from a large rock formation some distance away. That was where the Fallen and his minions were, and that was where the battle for all Cybertronian kind would take place. Either they would ultimately be victorious and avert the apocalypse or they would fail and become one with the Allspark.
As a gust of wind kicked up the surrounding sand, the prankster turned his attention skyward to see the arrival of an Autobot shuttle. The sudden appearance of the enemy craft caused Skywarp to raise his arm weapons up in a knee jerk reaction. It was second nature to the flier to behave in such a manner. After vorns of fighting the Autobots, it was a bit of a shock to the system to be fighting alongside them, even if only temporarily. Thankfully, he stopped himself from firing on the shuttle and turning an already precarious situation into something even more complicated. It would’ve been just like him, of course. Shoot first and think later.
“Slaggit,” Skywarp muttered to himself as he lowered his arms down to his sides. The teleporter then looked around until he spotted Thundercracker standing off on his own. With a smile spread across his faceplate, ‘Warp walked over to his long time friend and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. “Hey, ‘Cracker, ol’ buddy! How’s it going? Glad to see you made it down here. So, I see the Auto-slugs just arrived. You think they’ll actually be of any use or just get in our way? Personally, I think we should just use ‘em as shields when attacking the Fallen. What do you think?”
Shuttle Longevity / Uluru: Point K
Howlstrike had managed to somehow fall into a brief meditative state once his little discussion with Smokescreen had ended. With all that was going on around him, it had been difficult to have any quiet time whatsoever. But, he was still able to let his processor settle and bring his anger and aggression into check. It was not yet the time to unleash his fury, but soon it would be. Soon, vengeance would be his. Hardhead would pay or whomever he was now. It didn’t matter. Retribution was a dish best served cold and the former Predacon was as cold as they came.
Feeling Blindside’s hand on his shoulder, Howlstrike awoke from his meditation and looked up at the disabled mech. “Yes, finally,” the tracker replied as he unhooked his seat straps and got to his feet. Sparing a quick glance over at the diversion expert, Howl unveiled a toothy grin. “Come on, Smokey! Let’s get going! Time to play bait to a bunch of heralds! Ha!” The former Predacon didn’t wait for a response from the rallybot. Instead, he simply followed behind Blindside as they disembarked down the ramp where they were greeted by a plethora of Decepticons who were all ready for battle.
“Looks like we’re late for the party,” Howlstrike whispered to Blindside. “I’m surprised they didn’t start without us. Too bad. It would’ve been nice to find a field of dead ‘Cons when we got here. I would’ve been forced to thank Hardhead and the Fallen before ripping them apart. Heh.” Then the hunter’s attention was drawn away from his sightless friend to the form of the new Decepticon Supreme Leader, who was now approaching them. It had been a moment that Howl both dreaded and been looking forward to. He was not afraid. No, he was too tough for that. Unfortunately, this was not how the former Predacon envisioned meeting his old commander again. He wanted it to be on the field of battle against one another, not working together once again.
“Razorclaw,” Howlstrike muttered under his breath as the anger began to well up inside of him once more.
_________
Smokescreen had remained silent once his conversation with Howlstrike and Blindside had concluded. He was preparing himself mentally for the task to come. It would be his diversion skills that would be key in helping to defeat the heralds and bring their former comrades back to the Autobot side where they belonged. Of course, the rallybot couldn’t do it all alone. After all, there were four heralds and he was but one mech. No, he would lead a strike team after Drag Strip while other teams would handle the rest of the Fallen’s minions. The red and blue racer would divulge whatever diversionary knowledge he could to the other teams, but ultimately they would be on their own once the mission began.
The rallybot looked up when Ultra Magnus re-entered the passenger cabin and began speaking to the medics. Apparently, Nova Strike would assist the diversionary team when needed. That provided some comfort but not much. After all, there was only so much the ranger could do. There was only so much any of them could do against a demigod. Smokescreen looked up when the City Commander declared that they were near. The former street racer remained seated, however. He already had what he needed and decided to conserve as much energon as possible before the battle began. Instead, he said a short prayer to Primus, one he hoped would be heard.
Once the shuttle had touched down, Smokescreen unstrapped himself, hearing Howlstrike’s words as he did so. “I’m coming, just hold your....” the rallybot allowed his words to trail off as the former Predacon hurried out of the craft. “Impatient much?” Smokey muttered as he stood from his seat and made his way to the exit ramp.
“Don’t let him get to you, Smokes. Howl’s like that with everyone, except Kup, of course.”
Smokescreen looked around to see Hound approach him, a smile spread across his faceplate. At least someone didn’t have a look of dread on their visage. “Hey, Hound. Yeah, I know all about Howl. Not exactly the friendly type, is he?”
“No, but maybe Howl’s exactly what we need right now,” Hound responded as he checked his newly acquired hologram gun. “I mean, I doubt talking is going to settle this. The Fallen won’t respond to that. Action and violence will speak louder than anything and those are things that Howlstrike has a lot of built up inside him. He used to be a Predacon, after all.”
“Yeah, and now I hear that Razorclaw is the new Decepticon leader. Interesting turn of events. I wonder how that will play out with Howl being here?”
Hound glanced back at Smokescreen with a reassuring look on his faceplate. “We’ll soon see, but I wouldn’t worry. Howl seems more interested in getting back at Hardhead than fighting with his old teammates.”
“That’s what I mean. Whether it be Hardhead or the Predacons, Howlstrike has a lot of personal vendettas to settle out there. He needs to stay focused on what’s important and not become consumed by retribution. He could get everyone killed,” Smokescreen said, shaking his head.
“It’ll be okay, Smokey,” Hound promised, placing his hand on the rallybot’s shoulder. “Just stay positive. Everything will turn out okay in the end.”
Smokescreen nodded and allowed a slight smile form on his own faceplate. “You’re right. I’m letting the gravity of the situation get the better of me. I’m just worried about....a lot of things. This could be the end for everyone.”
“All right, enough chatter you two! Let’s get moving! The Fallen isn’t going to wait much longer before he starts the apocalypse!” Prowl’s vocals interrupted Smokescreen and Hound’s conversation. Coming from the bridge, the black and white had a stern look plastered across his visage. It was nothing new. He was no nonsense, especially before a battle. This time was no different.
“Sorry, Commander Prowl,” Hound apologized as he grabbed the rallybot by his elbow joint and pulled him along towards the exit ramp. “We’re going, sir!”
Prowl followed behind the pair as all three of them descended the ramp. Once on the desert ground, the military strategist paused near Howlstrike, who had already noticed Razorclaw approaching. “I hope you can remain focused on what needs to be done, Howlstrike,” the black and white said in a low tone, leaning in close to the former Predacon. “This mission is about saving the Cybertronian race not saving your pride. Understood?”
Without waiting for a reply from the tracker, Prowl moved away and stood by Ultra Magnus. The analyst did not notice the intense glare that the hunter had bored into his back plating nor did he hear the low growl coming from the wolf-former’s vocal processor. It did not matter nor concern the black and white. What did concern him was the ex-Predacon’s behavior. If it got out of hand, then Howl would be deemed a liability and be dealt with accordingly. There was nothing to be left for chance here. It was life or total annihilation, and Prowl was determined to save as many lives as he could no matter the cost.
At least the Autobot ones, anyway.