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Research Bunker

The Decepticon Hypnotist was pleased to hear that Scorponok was thinking along the same lines as he. This new discovery could mean the end of the war. The beginning of a new age. The great tyrannical peace that Megatron had written about ages ago. They had finally found a means to bring it to pass. Mindwipe's circuits were almost jittery at the thought.

Scorponok's last question had set the batlike Decepticon to resume his appointed task once again. He was not the specialist that Cipher was in this area, but it would do no good to any of them to leave the High Commander unaware of any potentially relevant bit of information. Alas, and perhaps thankfully, Cipher had seemed to find everything that was salvageable.

Mindwipe had patched in directly once again. Whatever files and other information existed here, even if it could not be utilized in the here and now, might be useful in the future. Mindwipe was no archivist, but there were others who were, and would surely appreciate the opportunity to comb through and piece together every fragmented file that had fallen apart or been actively destroyed over the ages.

"I see nothing more, mighty Scorponok. Cipher, as expected, has carried out his function deliciously," Mindwipe reported, even as the download completion percentage displayed internally on his optics crept steadily towards 100%.

He only turned to look when he heard a noise from some other side of the room and turned to see that Cipher had wandered off to a different area altogether. Thankfully so, as it seemed as if he had found the one who had initiated this strange, ancient coding that they had encountered along the walls.

"Monstructor...," Mindwipe whispered, really to himself, even as he continued to listen intently to Cipher's latest information. He looked over to Wheelie. "You have joined the cause on a most momentous occasion, my young friend."

OoC: Sorry for my absence!

Mysterious Bunker

Wheelie kept a close and watchful eye on Scorponok as the titan Decepticon watched the screen. He didn't trust anyone who appeared out of thin air, and in a hidden bunker no less. But it seemed that the others held Scorponok in high regard, and therefore if the others trust him, so should Wheelie. They were on the same side, after all!

He kept close to Mindwipe; his only friend, Wheelie felt, in this whole Decepticon matter.

Wheelie ignored Mindwipe's last statement and asked him instead, "I have been a long time gone, I wonder, how is Cybertron?"

It wasn't that he didn't care about this "Monstructor", or anything, in fact, quite the opposite. But He just had home on his mind and he needed answers on how things were.

Research Bunker

Sinnertwin stopped in his tracks. Whatever he was following, the trail seemed to go dry. Each of the two heads snarled and one of them blew a plume of flame against the nearest wall before the Terrorcon transformed. Trails didn't simply end like that. Unless he was chasing something that had never really been here in the first place. Those kinds of thoughts didn't sit well with the Terrorcon though. That was the realm of glitches like Mindwipe and Bugly.

Even so, there was something weird about this planet, something besides everything else the Decepticon had seen so far. He wondered what those little runts had found out about this place. They better have found something that would make the delay in tearing them apart worth it.

He cast his optics around one last time before trudging back in the direction of Hungrr and the others.

Research Bunker

The High Commander of the 2nd Fleet eyed Cipher suspiciously as the scribe began to seek their attention again after wandering away earlier. The scribe had began offering insight towards an issue that had already been solved. Obviously because Cipher had missed the exchange of words between Scorponok and Hun-Grrr. But the cause of it? That was far more difficult riddle to solve. Scorponok had had his suspicions regarding the mental health of the small Decepticon researcher for some time now but it was beginning to seem that Cipher's mental ability was deteorating. As if the linguist was peridiocally disconnected from the reality - seeing and hearing something no one else was able to witness. It was apparent that maintenance with additional invasive circuit inspection was to be scheduled for the scientist. Perhaps even a meeting with a mnemosurgeon. Cipher's mind was simply too valuable tool to let it fade away.

"The six were already identified Cipher. Did you not listen to us?" The gargantuan warlord stated with some level of irritation clearly present in his voice and continued, "Nevertheless, if what you suggest is true they had been released from whatever penintary they were closed into before the war began or during our raids to Autobot controlled citystates. For all six enlisted to our ranks."

"The only relevant question is whether or not they are alive now and if so; where?"

"I see nothing more, mighty Scorponok. Cipher, as expected, has carried out his function deliciously."

Mindwipe's reply to his earlier question made Scorponok shook his head in slight disappointment. It was not a surprising answer and given the staggering revelation they already had been subject to - there was simply no way around calling the mission a monumental success. Now, it was time to move forward and leave this planet behind. With new found determination, Scorponok sent the activation signal to the portal machine back at the Semper Tyrannis and turned to face his troops as the portal reappeared where it had resised a breem ago.

"The answer we seek now is not here. Hun-Grrr, gather your men and return with the dropship. Mindwipe and Cipher, take all the datapads you can find, broken or not - and follow me through the portal."

Having said his piece, Scorponok reached down to close his claw around the computer terminal they had been looking the security footage through and tore it off the floor with little effort. While he doubted there was nothing more to find from the terminal, he wanted to examine Jhiaxus' technology more closely. There was always a possibility of finding a new or a long lost tech to exploit through studying these ancient machines. But for that he needed his equipment on board the Tyrannis and so, the black and gold warlord entered into the whirling vortex that would take him into his destination.

Research Bunker

Cipher turned his optics from the gatherers present within the bunker back to the scrawled message that spanned most of the wall that stood directly in front of him. It was certainly exciting to find something so old still intact. In fact to find something of this caliber written in the Primal Vernacular was just fantastic. Of course it was only the scientist who found something as simple as writing on a wall to be fascinating. Such a pity. Too many philistines inhabit this universe.

A broad smile worked onto the small mech’s visage as he read through the message one last time. His concentration , however, was halted by the voice of his superior. Had he missed something? They knew of everyone’s locations? Cipher turned to look at the gathered group and offered Scorponok a quizzical look as he cocked his head to the side.

“Of course, mighty Scorponok. I apologize for my lack of attention. It shall not happen again.”

Cipher lowered his gaze from the gigantic Decepticon and cast a long hard look to the floor just in front of him.

It was the moving shadow that caused his head to lift and his optics to search for who had moved through the room.

The lack of a moving unknown corporeal body set the scientist’s mind in a whirl. Why come back now? I suppose I’ve missed something? The thin, short linguist let out a low whimper as he took a glance around his immediate location.

“Our search is over. We’re leaving.”

His words were not meant to be heard by the small gathering of Decepticons that had been with him but to the inhabitants of the bunker.

A gasp escaped his vocalizer as he heard Scorpornok address him and Mindwipe. Gathering the datapads no matter their condition would be the perfect distraction and without so much as a ‘yes sir’ Cipher went straight to work. Unfortunately there was more damaged pads than there were fully functional and intact pads. Tsk Tsk. Such a shame. Although with a little effort there is no reason why the broken datapads can’t be repaired. It would just take a bit of finesse. A wide grin formed on his face as he scooped up one last pad and pressed it, along with the others, against his chestplate.

With his burden in hand and safely secured, Cipher moved toward the swirling vortex that the High Commander had disappeared through, terminal in claw, and stopped before entering. The Decepticon scientist took a slow tentative glance over his shoulder and waited patiently for another sign…anything that he had missed or hadn’t been told.

When the movement of the shadows morphed into nothing more than what they were meant to be and silence finally filled the room, Cipher nodded.

“This tomb is yours once more…at least for the moment.”

He narrowed his optics and let out a low snort before he moved forward and back onto the Semper Tyrannis.

Research Bunker

Mindwipe considered Wheelie's question for a moment. The first question to leap in to his own mind was how much of the truth he should tell. That was usually the first question in his mind regardless of who had asked.

In this case, there was no physical harm that was going to come to him for being deceptive. Lying to a mechanoid such as Scorponok, for example, would carry very great consequences. Mortal ones, Mindwipe was sure. But to lie to one so young, and so weak? Not remotely the same cost. But, at the same time, Mindwipe could see no advantage to being deceptive in this instance, unless he were to deceive the young mech for the simple satisfaction of doing it. Other Decepticons likely would do so, and this new recruit would have to adjust, but Mindwipe did not have that kind of personality. For the time being, honesty did seem to be the best policy.

"Our home is dead. Ravaged by eons of endless war, the planet finally shut down, unable to sustain itself. And so now we travel the stars, looking for the victory that will finally bring this war to an end and restore our society the way Megatron has envisioned. We can not return home until we find some means of sustaining our existence there."

Mindwipe had bowed respectfully as Scorponok gave his commands and made his exit. He had not said anything of what to do with their young Cybertronian "discovery" on this world. Mindwipe was actually somewhat surprised. An on-site execution of anyone not wearing the Decepticon insignia could have easily been expected. Wheelie had received a stay of execution it seemed. And that made it all the more likely that he might, in fact, be able to join them. Surely one such as he would make an excellent scout. Mindwipe certainly saw the potential. Scorponok had not told him where to go one way or the other, so Mindwipe would keep an eye on him for the time being.

"Grab those," Mindwipe said, pointing to some of the stray datapads while he himself gathered others. Once Mindwipe had gathered everything in sight of any conceivable value--that Cipher had not already grabbed--he motioned for Wheelie to follow him towards the vortex that Scorponok and Cipher had utilized. It was risky allowing him to follow, unbidden, but Mindwipe hoped that if the command structure saw that the young proto could continue to be useful to their cause that he would eventually receive the brand and be allowed to fully join their cause.

The alternative, of course, would be to allow him to remain behind with the Terrorcons. And if potentially upsetting Scorponok could be a death sentence for the young mech, leaving him behind with those animals certainly would be. Mindwipe could not be any more pleased to put some respectable distance between himself and those monsters once again.

"Come. A new life awaits you, Wheelie," Mindwipe said, grinning before stepping in to the whirling energy beam and vanishing altogether.

Research Bunker

Cipher's discovery of one of the former staff members of the facility had drawn Hun-Grrr's attention. Or to be exact, what was left of a mech who had decided to end his own life rather than track down his comrades and plan a rescue. And to be honest, it wasn't the mechanoid itself that had drawn Hun-Grrr to it. It was the energon. For a being like Hun-Grrr, scavenging was natural course of action. While others focused on gathering datapads, Hun-Grrr hungrily devoured the content of the corpse's fuel tank. Survival left no room for being picky - the Terrorcon had learned that ages ago. It also had taught him to fill his energy reserves at any given opportunity. Many other Decepticons saw Hun-Grrr's constant feeding as sign of greed. To say this was not the case would have been a lie. Survival was all about looking after oneself first and foremost. And if greed was what kept one alive, Hun-Grrr would embrace it.

The leader of the Terrorcons did not let the dead mechanoid distract him for long though. Scorponok had issued orders and he would follow them. Gather your men and return with the dropship Scorponok had said. Simple command really, however fullfilling the High Commander's order demanded a certain problem to be solved. That problem had a name - Cutthroat.

The shock trooper had managed to stray away from the other Terrorcons soon after they had landed and by doing so Cutthroat had compromised the whole mission. The punishment for this would be severe. Far more so than what Sinnertwin would suffer from his inability to follow Hun-Grrr's orders. Before a punishment could be dished out though, Cutthroat had to be found. And the best chance of doing so belonged to no other than Sinnertwin.

"Sinnerrrtwin... " Hun-Grrr growled and suddenly lashed towards the other Terrorcon, grabbing hold of Sinnertwin's left neck in his jaws and pinning the smaller Terrorcon to the ground following the duos return to the hall where they had found the remains of the dead Omega Sentinel.

"You disobeyed my orderrrs!" The larger two-headed beast roared with his other dragonic head.

"I told you to guarrrd the entrrrance!" Hun-Grrr continued, his teeth sinking into Sinnertwin's thick armor plating. The sentry deserved a lesson in pain, the situation however prevented Hun-Grrr from doing what he really wanted. Yanking Sinnertwin effortlessly off the ground, Hun-Grrr threw the smaller Terrorcon towards the entrance they had dug into the bunker earlier. "Redeem yourrrself! Seek out Cutthrrroat and brrring him to the drrropship! Go! GO!"

Research Bunker

Sinnertwin let out an eerie, dual howl as one of his heads suddenly found itself violently pinned to the ground by Hungrr's crushing jaws. The Terrorcon instinctively struggled and strained himself underneath the immense pressure and pain.

The Terrorcon Commander's words still managed to register somehow. There was no use in explaining why he had done what he had done. Disobedience, whatever the reason, was dealt with accordingly. It was partly the reason why the Terrorcons--as a unit--had burned through more members than any other specialty unit. Lost to the fires of war or to Hungrr's own violent whims. Or each other, as had sometimes been the case with the fiercely unpredictable group.

Soon after, Sinnertwin found himself hurtling through the air before crashing in to a wall nearby. He clumsily got to his feet, each of his heads churning hot fire, the nostrils of his left head billowing trails of black smoke. To look at him, an outsider would not know whether he was about to obey or attack. But this was not the first time that he and Hungrrr had been through an encounter such as this, despite their infrequency.

"As you wish," the dual-headed beast snarled, before launching himself off in the direction they had originally come.

OoC: Sorry for the delay; I have been caught up with life, recently.

Mysterious Base - Research Bunker

To say Wheelie missed home was an understatement. He had memories of wandering the endless metallic halls, climbing the support struts and even monuments in Iacon. He also remembered the repercussions for doing things like that. Wheelie smiled at the memory.

But his smile was soon replaced by a look of horror and shock. Mindwipe had let out a bombshell about Cybertron: Destroyed after eons of war. Shut down due to its inability to support itself. An image came to Wheelie's mind of a burning husk of what was his home. The halls collapsed, the buildings skeletons of their former selves.

Wheelie caught himself with his mouth open, staring at the floor. He felt his mouth quiver and wobble. All of his hopes and dreams of returning to a lush (Lush for a metallic world, that is) and beautiful Cyertron were what, all for naught?

Wheelie's look hardened at the want for revenge. He had loved his home more than anything. He wanted those responsible to pay for their crimes.

He heard the booming voice of Skorponok order them to gather more data pads and follow him through the... Thing that Skorponok came through.

Wheelie said nothing; his mind was still on the destruction of his home. Now he had all that was left of his former life: His Picture Viewer. Wheelie moved to where Mindwipe told him to retrieve datapads, but not before stopping by his now fully charged Picture Viewer. He placed his prized possession in his hip-compartment, then scooped up the datapads in his cradled arms.

He then moved with Mindwipe -- who Wheelie thought reeked from his organic skin -- through the portal.

Wheelie did not like the sensation.

Traveling Southeast--Approaching Mountainous Region

For one small thing Sinnertwin was thankful: it was much easier to track down a fellow Terrorcon than whatever it was had lead them down in to the depths of that bunker. The cerberic Decepticon was still frustrated that whatever exactly had been down there had eluded him--even if whatever it was...was not something that could be found by Sinnertwin's usual means in the first place. Cutthroat, however, was a much different story.

For whatever reason, his own psychopathic tendencies as much as any other thing, Cutthroat had broken away from their group. Hungrr had likely told him to do something, and the winged nut took it several steps further than intended. Sinnertwin could not really fault him. He had done so himself on occasion.

Including once not all that long ago.

Sinnertwin kept his pace quick, both so that he could get back to the dropship and so that he could carry out Hungrr's demands as ordered. The Terrorcon Commander would hardly take well to a second act of disobedience on Sinnertwin's part.

"SHOW yourself, BIRD!" Sinnertwin bellowed. If he was anywhere within range, that little taunt would stir a reaction in the easily-excitable little psycho.