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Gifford National Park Military Base

Kowalski arrived at the front gates of the base, stopping at the front gate. He simply showed the guards on duty his clearance and continued inside. From what he had been told, the Decepticon that he was reporting to was inside the hangar nearest the mountain. The facsimile parked his car and stepped out into the evening air, headed directly for the hangar his superior was residing within.

Darkfire was waiting patiently for the facsimile to arrive after Psychout's notice. She had sent some time learning about these humans' physiognomy. The assassin found it fascinating. She always preferred to know her enemy before engaging the enemy. She now knew how much pressure to apply to snap bone or simply render unconscious. There would be no mistake of accidentally killing one of them. Suddenly, Darkfire became aware of approaching footsteps. No need to send out her avatar. She would simply observe.

As Kowalski entered the hangar, he looked at all of the aircraft within. Spotting the F-22 Raptor that was the assassin's alternate form, Kowalski approached Darkfire. He sent her a short tranmission, identifying him as a facsimile and not another human. Darkfire gazed down at the facsimile charged to her, then opened a brief communique with Psychout.

>>"The facsimile has arrived, Psychout. Ready to move to the old base on your mark."<<

Gifford Park National Park Military base

Crueljaw was keeping himself busy his holo avatar checking the underside of his Humvee mode.

He wasn’t registering any damage under there but he preferred to check it with his own optics the sound of an engine brought his attention to the approaching vehicle catching note of the purple symbol branded on the frame. The newcomer identified himself as Landgrab and let out a deep rumbling that was almost a human equivalent to a belly laugh. “No I’m not the runt he’ll be arriving shortly” another snigger emanated from the hummer as he emphasised shortly. The facsimile arrived carrying the tiny Psychout his diminutive colleague started jabbering about some human called Aladdin and his cave as soon as he was placed on the passenger seat in Crueljaws cab.

“did you take a sip of tainted energon or did you get a power spike through your processor units. Who in the name of the pit is Aladdin and why do I want to get into his cave unless it’s to cave his puny skull in? I thought we were grave robbing?”

He then remembered Landgrab “oh yeah this is Landgrab just happened to appear on earth by us apparently sent by Shockers himself” Crueljaw explained with a hint of sarcasm. He started his engine and prepared to move off

“Where we going now boss?”

Gifford Park National Park Military base

Psychout was....well, he was little, wasn't he? That was the first sentiment that worked its way through Landgrab's mind. But that fact certainly didn't make him any more inclined to not do what he was told. In his experience, officers generally got put in their jobs for many reasons beyond Landgrab's understanding or care. He just followed orders. It made his life easier. And, he was still alive after all. There were many in the Decepticon ranks since the war first broke out that could no longer make the same claim.

Landrab pulled up a physical scan of the avatar that had been put in place on his behalf and cross-referenced it with the others. Nothing out of place, really, except for that haircut it was sporting. He'd need to get that changed.

"Orders. Right. Uh, just support and resource provision, it looks to me. Nothing really specific on my activation readout out here. Just a location and some signature scans that match up with you guys'. So....yeah. Don't think Shockwave hand-picked me or anythin'. Just knowin' how he works, my performance record matched up enough with whatever directive protocols you guys needed to get done down here. And, bam, here I am."

Gifford Park National Park Team Midget Military base. Nightfall

After being unceremoniously dumped back into Crueljaws cab by the facsimile taxi-service Psychout took advantage of the tinted windows and reverted back to his robot mode, stretching himself out as he did so. He set the comms to include all 4 of the team. "Well, that's one problem solved. These meatmokeys have no idea of what happened here last time, despite the gigantic mechanical aliens trampling the area flat for 10 square miles. It would appear that whoever we have in the top brass covering this up really knows their job, or the locals have drank the Kool-Aid. There were a few files I still have to work on, but we have plenty of time for that later, but currently these shaved apes are to be considered 'clueless'."

He checked his internal chronometer, and the skies above, then cross referenced it with the shift schedule. It was now dark and the night watch has taken up their posts, they wouldn't be disturbed now. He open Crueljaws drivers door and jumped down to the ground, heading towards the aircraft hangars. If he thought he was small compared to Crueljaw, he was tiny next to the new arrival. Shockwaves humour always was subtle he chuckled.
"You can transform to robot modes now if you want, we're out of sight - but no lights!"

He walked towards his newest soldier on the way to the hangar. "Looks like you arrived just in time then Landgrab." Psych stopped and appraised the large platform. "You're well equipped, I like that. I assume you come with digging and hoisting rigs? Better hope you do, you've got 2 hours to drill us a nice new entrance here, the smallest you can make it so we can all fit inside - and 'Jaws has put on a few tonnes since the old days..." he pointed towards a section of rock Darkfire had identified as a potential entrance on her recon sweeps earlier "I doubt you've been dirtside before but it'll just be some weak carbon-based mineral or other and won't take long to drill. Get on it, and call me when you're done. Darkfire will enter first on point and Vindicator and Crueljaws will back her up and ensure nothing bad is waiting for us in there. Now get moving!"

Psych was on a roll now, he had just had a good few hours to formulate his strategy whilst playing cyber-tetris with the native computer technologies child-like encryption systems. He issued the next round of orders as he walked, keen to get everything done in the narrow window they had before dawn.

"Vindicator, you're the only person who has been here before. I need a schematic of the layout along with the rough location of the CR chambers, command bunkers and armouries and - most importantly - I need an alternate way out in case this place is pulled down on us again. Make sure Darkfire has a copy and then go and help Landgrab shift some rubble." Vin had stopped for a second, unnoticed by Psychout. The last time he had been here he had ended up with his head dipped in lava and he put a hand to his temple and remembered Mal Practice's experimental procedure to fix the damage. He did not want to go over that again, and didn't know if it was that or the makeshift repairs on his neurals but just couldn't quite recall the old layout. Still he had a few moments, if only he still had some of those drugs Mal gave Contemptor, Haxtl-something? He removed the triple grade Energon bottle from an arm cavity and took a swig, which seemed to help. A bit.

Unaware of Vindicators psychological crisis, Psychout moved on. "Darkfire, once Landgrab gets started, I have the first target for your Fleshling. An illegal weapons trader in the deep web is claiming to have discovered an 'alien ray gun' and trying to sell it on to the highest bidder. He is attracting too much attention. From the description its only a crappy mini-bot pistol which must have been lost in the battle here when Megatron collapsed the base. Send Kowalski to make this idiot disappear, retrieve the weapon and get the identity of the bidders - one of them is ours anyway but a most are not, anything on their tech levels that could haver been derived from Cybertronian needs recording. I've traced this guy to a private security compound about 60 miles from here. Brief him quickly though, you're on point when Landgrabs finished digging us an entrance."

Lastly he addressed his old ally, "Crueljaw, whilst they are busy getting us in, I've got something I want you to help me check out over here" as he continued towards the aircraft hangar...

Migetsville, military base gifford park

As soon as the diminutive Leader of their madcap crew jumped out Crueljaw heard those words he liked he was able to roam around in robot mode. He activated his transformation sequence. He ignored the jibe about gaining a few tons as he stood up right his hydraulics wheezing slightly as he stretched his arms out. This was what he hated about grey ops no fighting just a lot of sitting around in a suitable covert mode watching and utilising the holo avatars.

The servos in his neck groaned in protest as he looked around the prolonged stay in his alternate mode wasn’t great so soon after his defrosting from stasis. His lone red optic narrowed as he heard his diminutive commander ask for his help.

The bodyguard fell into step alongside Psychout he didn’t reduce his steps just slowed his pace. “You want me to do protoforms steps so you can keep up?” Crueljaw enquired making a not so subtle jibe at the miniature cassette. “I mean I could tow one of these trailers if you want to get their quicker or just throw you like a hex nut. So what’s the big deal about this place I mean apart from some cretin blowing it some when into the next millennia?” the aircraft hanger was looming in front of the decepticon who realised that he was going to have to duck to these hangers where for fighters not the huge freight planes. “I really hope you’re not going to try joyriding like on Ryza I remember you jacking that alien fighter took that bunch of seekers 6 breems to get you out of the air”

Gifford Park National Park Team Midget Military Base

Darkfire studied her facsimile curiously. Taking what she had learned from Psychout's information packet, the assassin could assess her facsimile and compare it to the average human. However, she did not have the leisure of time for testing her fleshling. "You have an assignment. Approximately 60 miles from our present location is a private security compound where a illegal weapons trader will be residing. He has discovered one of our weapons. Your mission is to recover the weapon and make this human disappear. Obtain the identity of the bidders and record their technology levels. Note anything that could be even slightly perceived as Cybertronian. Lastly, leave no traces. Understood?"

Kowalski nodded to his newest superior.

"Dismissed." As Kowalski left the hangar, Darkfire transformed back into her robot form and followed behind, taking care not to squish the facsimile. Ducking as she exited the hangar, Darkfire looked around. She noted Crueljaw and Psychout's approach and moved aside, keeping near Kowalski. Kowalski soon reached his parked car and got inside, heading off to accomplish his mission. Darkfire looked after her facsimile for a moment then glanced around for the only Decepticon that she did not recognize, Landgrab.

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

Kowalski settled in his seat for a long drive. He looked over to the passenger seat, where the case holding his sniper rifle rested. He carried his pistol equipped with a silencer on his person at all time. In the trunk of the car, hidden under a false panel, were a number of other arms and devices necessary for any contract killer. Tearing down the dark road, Kowalski felt a ghost of a smile touch his lips. He loved his job.

Gifford National Park Military base

Landgrab listened to the little one speak. Unlike most other Decepticons, however, Landgrab's face did not betray any sort of embarrassment that one might feel by being ordered around by someone of such physically inferior stature. He took the orders with the same level of acceptance as if he were being addressed by Megatron himself. Or some other similarly-sized Decepticon.

Of course, they wouldn't be getting orders from Megatron from here on out, would they? Landgrab was still having a tough time adjusting to that. He wasn't "warborn". He could still remember a time in their species before Megatron had risen to the position he had. Even so, that had been a slaggin' long time ago. Going forward, things could never hope to be the same. Time would tell if that would be better for Landgrab's ongoing survival odds, or worse.

"Drillin'. Easy 'nough," Landgrab said, reversing his vehicle mode some before heading off to the area that Psychout had indicated. He wasn't an all-purpose and adaptive Constructicon or anything, but he could carry out basic jobs like this without any problem. His equipment wasn't the most up-to-date, either, but he'd make due. Retrieving the necessary drilling attachment, Landgrab began to plow forward in to the terran minerals.

Priority-4 transmission from Shockwave to Psychout

>>"Satisfactory. Imperative: identify any human personnel present that are ideally positioned for facsimile replacement process and initiate process on-site. Declarative: terran natives are operating too close to the remnants of a full-scale Decepticon fortress. Any breach of the infiltration protocols is not to be allowed at this stage. All present Decepticon operatives--confirmed. Advise further upon objective completion. End transmission."<<

Inside the Military base, foot of Mt. St Helens.

Psychout chuckled at Crueljaws mention of Ryza, he'd almost forgotten how much fun the real adventures we're after being couped up for so long and despite himself, he was even starting to enjoy it here. "Heh, bet that's the biggest repair bill Starscream's had to pay off so far..." He looked around at the tiny human structures as he walked towards the Hangar Darkfire had just exited and stopped as the three of them met.

"Ok, Darkfire, as I said earlier, you'll be the lead. It is highly suspected that humans have been in here in some form or another, they wouldn't have just left it - especially with seismic activity like this - however nothing has been discovered over their global network that would indicate they found anything of value yet. My current guess is that haven't been able to get the machinery in to enter the underground sections or they are too stupid to know what they have got. It's also possible that they already have a position set up underground and will be expecting us, but it's as unlikely as a Prime not dying every 5 years. If you do encounter anything, bring up CJ who will be behind you and deal with it however you see fit. Landgrab and myself are your backup, just remember we need a route big enough for 'grab to follow. Oh, hang on..."

Psychout was in mid briefing when Shockwave's reply arrived. He looked up at Crueljaw. "Looks like we may as well get used to the coffee here, we're going to be here for a while."
"Shockwave has ordered us to swap out the personnel we need to establish a staging post, assume control of maintaining the Infiltration Protocols and clear the humans out of the immediate area. That makes the Facsimile-pods our priority once we get inside and I'll see what I can do about getting them fixed up and reactivated. Vindicator will have to remain outside on the base to oversee operations until the rest of the Facsimiles arrive then, probably for the best considering..."

He motioned to both his troops and then towards the mountain. "Any human teams you find in there is fair game for a stompin', but if you can try and avoid squashing a couple so I can interrogate them afterwards it would be helpful. I've not detected any broadcasts from inside, but I'll be monitoring and anything that does will scramble pretty easily."

He looked over towards Landgrab who had already made a massive dent in the mountainside in the short time he had been working, and was nearly done. Impressive stuff. "Arm up, we move out presently. 'Grab and I will follow you in when you give the all clear." Then, without another word be took off and began to fly towards the nearly completed dig site - Darkfire and Crueljaw could easily keep up and it was time to get moving, he had wasted enough on these humans as it was.

Midgetsville Gifford Park National Park Military base

Crueljaw’s attempts to stifle his chuckles it made him sound like a constipated bull as he heard Psychout’s mention of Starscream’s Seeker repair bill. He’d seen that bill and it was considerable “could be worse you could be paying for the Predacons lunch” Crueljaw’s switched his view to image intensifier mode that improved his vision considerably as he turned slightly to Darkfire “you made it in one piece then...” the surly Decepticon was interrupted by the jabbering of Psychout who started outlining the next part of their operation. Crueljaw took the time to look up and the blue sky with the white fluffy things had turned various shades from dark blue to black with twinkling stars that made him long to be somewhere other than the mud ball he was currently stuck on.

His attention was turned back to Psychout as he was mentioned as being the back up for Darkfire as she explored the interior of the ruined base but something made Psychout pause the bodyguard looked at Darkfire. “Yeah cause we’re gonna find Necrobots running around in there trying to eat your central processors or a spark eater just too keep it interesting” it was then that his right hip locker opened from this the bodyguard retrieved his shotgun from it. The locker hissed as it slid shut again “I like to keep this handy for those close encounters” as he spoke he patted his shotgun.

He then heard Psychout start jabbering on about the mission and something about getting used to the coffee. Then some more about the mission and the fact any humans inside the base where fair game but a couple had to be left alive for interrogation. As Psychout floated off towards the mountainside where Landgrab was digging the lumbering Crueljaw followed as swiftly as he could “so do the live ones have to have all their appendages still attached? Would you accept mildly squashed ones also what if we find the tunnels within the new entrance collapsed you want us to excavate or alternate our route?”

Gifford National Park Military base

Landgrab was making decent enough progress. He'd be able to call in to Psychout and let him know that the entrance was dug in here in a bit. At the same time, he was being careful not to make too big of an opening--also as ordered. It was tempting to simply plow through, caution be slagged. But it was a temptation that was easy to resist for the likes of Landgrab. Never stray too far from an officer's orders, if you were going to stray at all. Not in the ranks of the Decepticons. No sir.

Hm hm hm...workin', workin', woooooorkin'. Fire the irons, band the saws, workin' workin' woooooooorkin', the large, bulky Decepticon hummed internally.

Midgetsville Military Base

The assassin listened as Psychout outlined the plan and possible threats and concerns. It certainly would not be a good idea to have the bulkier Decepticons stumbling along in the darkness only to alert any possible humans to their presence. Darkfire smirked slightly at Crueljaw's mention of Necrobots and spark eaters.

"Well, if there are any spark eaters or Necrobots, things will get very fun, very fast," she said to Crueljaw.

Fun being a relative word, of course. Life and death meant little to the assassin, obviously. Her very function called for the utter disregard of sentient life. After a while, sparks only seemed like paychecks. A bleak philosophy, to be sure. Still, while she did not value most sentient life, Darkfire could be convinced to value a precious few sparks. However, her own spark was not among their number.

The assassin grew curious about the state of Vindicator. He was going to remain outside to manage the facsimiles, was he? But why was it for the best? She would find that out eventually one way or another. For now, she opened a private communique to Vindicator. There was a hint of a teasing tone to her words that replaced the normal irritable edge.

>>"You better hold down the fort out here, Vin. I don't want to have to come back out here and take care of your mess if you slip up."<<

Darkfire walked over to the entrance Landgrab had created. Tapping the excavator on the shoulder to grab his attention, the assassin observed the new arrival. He seemed rather...simple. And, he was from Shockwave, which led to the assumption that he could be trusted. She didn't trust Landgrab. Moreover, the assassin just did not allow herself to assume anything.

"Cleared a path large enough for me to fit through yet?" she asked with a hint of derision.

(ooc: bear with me, it might not be the best i've had)

Decepticon Earthbase - Going Spelunking

Vindicator stood tapping the side of his head thoughtfully, trying to conjure up the previous map details of the layout of the now ruined base. It was one thing to remember everything and have your head immersed in superheated magma, then go to have your head operated on and your full faculties are back in order - except for your memory. Yeah that had been a problematic part - remembering key or important things. Especially when they really mattered. Like now.

You know...

...Cave diving...

...banging around in the dark...

...on an alien world...

...that sort of thing.

Somehow, Vindicator - through the continual tapping on the side of his head, managed to jog his internal memory circuits into life - this time without the use of some of the triple distilled that was squirelled away in a compartment in Vindicator's torso. Another good thing, especially as the contents of the bottle were getting low. The comm-link suddenly crackled into life as Vindicator picked up the silky tones of Darkfire humming in his audio receptors.

>>"You better hold down the fort out here, Vin. I don't want to have to come back out here and take care of your mess if you slip up."<<

The seige expert laughed darkly and returned the remark with a riposte of his own.

>>"Hah...amusing 'Fiery..."<< he paused and looked down at the fleshling that he had control over. An idea popped up in his head. >>"...well if you think that, then I'm going to have to put another measure in place...after all, we can't have your pretty little aft stumbling around blind in the dark..."<<

Vindicator let that one hang in the air before he turned and looked down at his own personal puppet, a knowing smile creeping over his faceplate. He spoke to the general in a hushed manner - well as hushed as a towering 35 foot tall walking, talking, war machine of a robot could be! But in this case, this was going to be the fun part.

"Now General..." Vindicator began "...No one is allowed past the perimiter of this entrance. If they are, shoot them on sight! This mission is already compromised in other factors, and all above your understanding, so...no one gets in here...no one!"

The hulking decepicon grinned at the blank, yet taking in stare of the facsimile. No response came from the fake human that his orders were cut and dry, untill Vindicator was out of sight inside the darkness of the cave. The General turned and saluted to the inky blackness - actually to no one in particular, before he turned around swiftly and returned to the actual makeshift base at the foot of the mountain as one of the grunts questioned where he had been. A fine way to volunteer for a very, VERY mundane task.

"Sir...where have.."

"Silence private!" came the stiff bark "You've just volunteered yourself for guard duty, so take your boney little arse up to the cave entrance along with a jeep so you can keep any unwanted people out...and that includes our lot who get with the nosey nosey!" The general straightened up.

There was a chuckle from behind him as the other soldier found the entire tirade amusing.

"I suppose you'd like to join him up there then, eh Private Bloomberg?"

There was an audible groan as the realisation of 'you've been caught out now deal with it' sunk in with the soldier. And the facsimile pointed at two other soldiers and told them to hoof it up to the cave entrance to stand guard. He would join them later on - to make sure that nothing went wrong.

Vindicator, on the other hand, made his way into the cavern to meet with the rest of his fellow con's, and as gloomy as it was in the cavern, Vindicator's own shoulder mounted lamps, lit the dank hole with a cold, wet light as he picked his way through the stalagtites and stalagmites of the cavern, all the while, letting his holomap guide him towards one of the service shafts that was installed in the base. It was where the rest of the group had already assembled.

"Heads up you slaggers...I'm coming in..."

Team Midget Cave Entrance
Crueljaw was growing impatient he was watching Landgrab slowly moving through the earth. Pacing wasn’t helping but he’d given the digger enough time. “Alright I’ve had enough of this slag are we going in or sitting out here waiting to rust” Crueljaw reached into one of his leg lockers and pulled from it a shaped thermo charge that he’d obtained from the Thanatos armoury. Striding past Darkfire, Crueljaw quipped “he’s never gonna make a entrance wide enough for that skid plating of yours”

The decepticon fixed the charge to the wall that Landgrab had been working on “I really hope you can back up” the bodyguards optic flared with amusement as he finished synching the detonator and moved away.

“I’d seek cover Team Midget Fire in the hole”

Crueljaw hit the switch the charge fired it sounded like a small rumble all the energy was directed into the remaining cave wall in a wall of rock incinerating flame.

he looked back at Psychout his optic glowing brightly

“Open Says me”

Decepticon Earthbase - Team Midget Entrance

Darkfire scowled irately at Crueljaw. She still had half a mind to pull his vocal processors out through his chest cavity, though she would never bother to do such a thing. It would be wasteful...and she was beginning to grow fond of her team, not that she would ever admit it out loud. Or even to herself for that matter. She had about to fire back a retort at Crueljaw when the comm link crackled with an incoming transmission.

>>"Hah...amusing 'Fiery...well if you think that, then I'm going to have to put another measure in place...after all, we can't have your pretty little aft stumbling around blind in the dark..."<<

Darkfire hid a smirk as she sent Vin a response.

>>"What, me? Stumbling in the dark? You must have me confused for someone else. Maybe someone...like...yourself?"<<

With that playful jibe delivered, Darkfire focused on the matter at hand.

Standing back from the entrance slightly, the assassin watched as the charge blew away the remaining blockage, revealing the metallic interior of the Decepticon Earthbase. She smirked a little. So much for subtle. She ought to send her holomatter avatar in ahead now. In case of any little humans that may be scurrying about.

The avatar formed beside Darkfire. The assassin picked it up and moved into the darkness of the base. This was her element. Darkness. She always felt more relaxed within the shadows. After all, she was the thing that went "bump" in the night. She allowed a slight smirk to touch her lips. As soon as she had made decent headway into the old base, she noticed two specks of light ahead. Moving slowly.

Darkfire moved off to one side, taking cover, and set her avatar down on the ground. She offlined her optics and let her avatar be the sole source of visual feedback. The avatar remained behind cover while adjusting her clothing. Pitiful armor these humans wore, but some articles still had their functions. Darkfire had chosen an attire of camouflage. It came in assorted hues of dark grey. It would break up the avatar's shape and make her harder to see amongst the shadows.

The avatar crouched down and stuck her head out. They were coming. She moved, staying close to the walls, approaching them. Watching them. Hunting them.

"You sure you heard something?"

"Yes, I told you! It was like this...deep booming sound."

"And you're sure it came from this direction?"

"Yes! Why don't you believe me?!"

"This volcano just exploded. Did it ever occur to you that it could just be the rock settling?"

"No, this didn't sound like that. It was an explosion! I'm sure of it."

"Whatever you say..."

Silently, the assassin's avatar appeared behind one of the humans. They had not noticed her approach. From the information packet Psychout had sent her, the humans relied on sight above all other senses. She struck suddenly and silently. The avatar's hand clamped over the human's mouth, the other wrapping itself around the human's head. With a sharp jerk, the avatar snapped the human's neck with the precise amount of force needed. The avatar was already retreating back into the shadows as the body began falling to the floor. The flashlight landed with a light thump.

The other human turned with a frown etched on his pink, fleshy countenance.

"Did you hear that, at lea-"

The avatar clamped her hand over the remaining human's mouth and repeated the same procedure. He fell with a thud. The assassin's avatar glanced down the the corridor for signs of other humans. Satisfied that there were none, the avatar began moving the bodies. Darkfire's optics blinked to life again as she sent a transmission out to Psychout and the rest of their little team.

>>"Clear. Just watch your step near the right wall. You might squish a certain breach of infiltration protocol that would be unpleasant to pick from your gears."<<

Team Midget Decepticon Earthbase

As the smoke cleared Darkfire sauntered past Crueljaw the bodyguard studied her body language and could tell that she was about a cycle away from going completely Battynuggets on him. She however restrained as she smirked the explosive had done its work creating a suitable entrance to the base. He looked up at the roof of the improvised entrance it seemed to be holding he opened a inter con comm link <Landgrab you might want to check the stability of this entrance it was a bit hasty>

“Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work I go with a bucket and spade and a hand grenade” the tune was out of tune and completely wrong but Crueljaw had no care about that as he stepped through the makeshift entrance.

Turning to the darkness of the earth-base his enhanced vision picking out Darkfire who was hidden in the shadows and the victims of her handy work her avatar moving the bodies around. “Hold up” Crueljaw knelt next to one of the human corpses and nudged it with his finger “strange they look no bigger than the midget” the avatar of Crueljaw appeared still in its military disguise the avatar moved to one of the dead humans and lifted the body up and hauled it to Crueljaw’s left leg locker which slid open and was releasing cold air as he activated his inter con comms not wanting to risk being heard by any other humans >>anyone know how long these things take to decay? Cause this little thing will be used as what is it the humans call it a black kipper, Yellow Tuna, Red Snapper?<< the locker slid closed and the avatar vanished. Crueljaw lifted his shotgun and peered into the darkness before looking back at Darkfire <so where we going command centre or the power plant<<

>>I mean I like a fumble in the dark as much as the next con but some power to get some of base systems up and running<<

Team Midget - Underground Rumble/Joining the Party

Vindicator was halfway through the already dug entrance by Landgrab, the clanging and banging echos of his excavation echoing around the cavern. Thankfully there would be no snooping from unwanteds thanks to the military guard posted outside the entrance to the cavern. Inside however, would be a different matter, for the base could already be crawling with military and government goobers at every turn.

Vindicator, checked his holomap, and was releived that he was almost on top of the others. It would be just around the corner and they then would be their complete unit again, and then he could get to...

...the explosion ripped through the cavern, rattling around the dark expanse. Loud enough to deafen and incapacitate most lifeforms, but as for Vindicator, the explosion rattled around inside his head, then it fell out, his internal dampers minimizing the impact of the concussive blast.

A stalagtite broke loose and crashed into the ground near his foot.

Incensed at the sudden explosion, Vindicator sent out a communication to the entire group on their own private channell, the venom exploding from his vocalizer at almost being hit by falling rubble. It happened before, and he didnt want it to happen again.

>>"SLAG DAMMIT 'JAWS!"..."<< he began >>"...YOU TRYIN TO BURY US ALL IN HERE YOU MANIAC?!..."<< he paused and composed himself. >>"...Some of us have been down here before already, and buried here too, and that's the last thing that I would like to have happen again!"<< He cut the transmission and growled to himself in cybertronian before breathing aloud.

"...Slaggin' bent-arsed dipstick..." He crunched on through the tunnell, his shoulder lamps lighting the way in the gloom as he crushed a few smaller boulders underfoot before coming to a boulder that was sizes with him. Looking up at the roof of the tunnel and his optics narrowed. It had obviously broken loose when Jaws set off the explosive charge, and was now blocking the way to the rest of the team.

"Hah...an obstacle easy removed..."

Vindicator moved his hand behind him and pulled out his Thunder Hammer, gripping the crushing weapon with both hands, he took up the all too familliar stance as the head of the weapon started to crackle with the energy inside. The hammer began to glow the sickeningly evil red as the energon built up inside the weapon, crackling in hunger as Vindicator swung it with purpose, impacting the rock and obliterating it with a boom as shards of rubble littered the floor. Vindicator - ever the stoic when it came to fighting - took stride and walked through the raining rubble towards the entrance to the maintenance shaft of the Decepticon base. Up ahead he heard some very, very bad singing.

“Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work I go with a bucket and spade and a hand grenade” the tune was out of tune and completely wrong but Crueljaw had no care about that as he stepped through the makeshift entrance.

"...Tuneless as well as bolt-nut-crazy..." Vindicator continued on as he cut his shoulder lamps, relying on his enhanced optics for navigating in the dark, the holo-map of the base casting a melancolic blue glow as Vindicator stepped forwards and past Crueljaw, his hammer carried over his shoulder.

"Thanks for waiting bolt-nuts..." He cuffed the back of Jaws head with his hand, the clang echoing dully in the corridor.

There was a wet crunch.

Vindicator looked down with a look of disgust. What had he stepped on? There should be no living...oh for slag...

"Yuck.. I stepped in a fleshbag......" he lifted his foot and looked at the dripping red mess. Oh chem burn was needed now to get the remains of the human removed from his foot, and the smeared streak off the metallic floor of the base, dulled by the dust and scrapes of falling rubble. Taking out the canister of the organic burning material, Vindicator sprayed the ground where the human had been, the agent turning into a burning foam before evaporating into steam, taking the splattered remains with it, and next, he sprayed the underside of his foot, the similar effect happening.

With the clean up finally finished, he opened a comm to the rest of the group.

>>"If the power is out, and the fact that it's blacker than the inside of a drive-shaft, in order to get anywhere, the central breakers need to be reinstated..."<< he looked back at the floor where the body had been and then up and down the hallway as a frown covered his face. How had the humans managed to get inside the base already? Had his Facsimile failed already or was this something else? Never mind, it was something he could and would address later...but now their primary mission was paramount.

He looked at Crueljaw, Landgrab, Psychout, and lastly - and longer than normal - Darkfire. >>"...It would be advisable to split up into two teams..."<< he paused and considered the options before he finished >>"...One team to the main circuit breakers, and one to the command center. The questions are who, and how many of the meatsacks are actually in here crawling all over our technology!"<<

Team Midget - Let's Split Up Gang

Darkfire couldn't help but roll her optics and chuckle darkly as Vindicator stepped on one of the humans' corpses. Her avatar has disintegrated thankfully, so she had no need to fear the sensation of being crushed under someone's foot. The vast majority of her little team seemed the type to accidentally...stumble into and onto things they were not supposed to. She let out a sigh from her intakes and folded her arms across her chest as Vindicator took care of the little mess on his foot.

The assassin glanced over to Crueljaw as he continued his assault on her audio receptors. Tone deaf too? Fantastic. This was going to be so much fun. She had a feeling that she'd be constantly resisting the urge the rip out the large con's vocal processors. The price of teamwork.

>>"If the power is out, and the fact that it's blacker than the inside of a drive-shaft, in order to get anywhere, the central breakers need to be reinstated....It would be advisable to split up into two teams...One team to the main circuit breakers, and one to the command center. The questions are who, and how many of the meatsacks are actually in here crawling all over our technology!"<<

Darkfire opened a comm link to the group to respond.

>>"It seems like we have a mystery on our actuators,"<< she said with a bit of a smirk before continuing, >>"Well, if we're splitting up and I'm paired with the virtuoso over there, I can hold no responsibility for the state of his vocal processors at the end of this little venture."<<

Darkfire sent a pointed stare at Crueljaw.

>>"Anyway, I shall deal with the central circuit breakers and whoever wishes to join me,"<< she glanced first and longest at Vindicator, then Psychout and Landgrab, finally sending a distasteful look at Crueljaw, >>"...is welcome to join me. And for those of us who like to make a grand theatrical entrance, I would suggest trying not to draw any unwanted attention. Like Vindicator said, we don't know how many humans are crawling around our technology. They could touch something they aren't supposed to in a panic. Hopefully, we'll be able to secure the base with minimal contact."<<

The assassin looked over to Vindicator once more.

>>"The each of the two teams will need a copy of the holo map to navigate around this place."<<

----------

The target site was located. Kowalski had a sniper's nest set up on a hill adjacent to the target's compound. He didn't actually plan to shoot anyone - yet. He was scouting the area, looking through the scope of his rifle. Hit and run assignments were so much simpler than infiltration, but less interesting. A chain link fence outlined the border of the property with security cameras stationed at equidistant intervals along the top. At the center, a rather expansive estate sprawled over the green, manicured hills. Rather luxurious for a high security compound.

Kolwaski rubbed his chin as he thought. The easiest - and best really - way to get in would be to mascarade as one of the buyers. Easy access into the estate itself without having to worry about outside security. He would need an alternate plan if things went south though. A smile touched the facsimile's lips. This would be a challenging venture.

Team Midget - Eathbase
Crueljaw looked at Vindicator with irritation after the large con had clapped him around the back of the head >>if we weren’t infiltrating I’d slice your wrists off you 30ft slag bather<< in response his right wrist locker opened and he barely resisted launching his plasma sword. His mood was slightly brightened as he watched Vindicator step on the remaining human corpse >>nice one Vin what a time to step in it<<

Standing upright in a whir of gears wheeze of hydraulics and he headed for the side of the cavern his shotgun held at the ready. Crueljaw heard the quip about his vocal processors from Darkfire >> if little miss Massacre tries it I might have a game of assassin hot dip with the nearest lava pit<< he growled in response as he thought of a reason why the human might be in the base. >> these things like the corpse in my leg locker appear to be a curious race more questions than answers if they found a way in and noted the metal they would be all over it like Vindicator’s optics are all over Darkfire and vice versa<< the bodyguard had noted the dark looks he was getting from Darkfire and really didn’t care assassins liked sneaky not up front fights. Rather steal your spark in your sleep than punch you in the face.

The bodyguard look at Darkfire as she mentioned the humans touching something in a panic >>Please from what I’ve seen of these creatures anything they touch goes to slag in a paper hat in seconds accidentally or not. Like driving Psychout here some human decided to launch his transport capsule off a ramp and ended up in a hole or the others that thought trying to run me off the road was fun<< Crueljaw didn’t mention he’d been pressurising the vehicle in question or that he’d been driving the wrong side of the road.

Crueljaw swapped his optic view to thermal vision and looked around pipe’s above heat signature was being given off by the pipes >> was this place powered by a geothermal power plant cause there is a pipe above us which is registering as red hot<< the decepticon then switched his optics back to image intensifier vision mode. >>unlike vindicator who seems to be one step short of having a fully blown panic attack <<

Team Midget - Power up, Split up

>>"...unlike vindicator who seems to be one step short of having a fully blown panic attack!"<<

>>"...When you're aft is buried under several tonnes of rock and your head soaked in lava for longer than it should be, then you can start to realise what panic is Jabberjaw!"<< Said Vindicator looked at Crueljaw with one optic wider than the other. Sure the surly mechanoid had a temper, and at the best of times was barely tolerable. Yes Vindicator had thought that Crueljaw an ass of the worse kind, but in retrospect Vindicator knew that Crueljaw was their jackass. He noted the sliding click of Jaws blade enclosure, but filed it away for some other time. He got to him, pysically if not verbally. Now he knew what made shortarse's surly bodyguard tick, and he smiled all the better for it.

Although stepping in the human wasn't the most flavourful part of the day so far.

>>"Anyway, I shall deal with the central circuit breakers and whoever wishes to join me,"<< Darkfire said as she glanced first, and longest, at Vindicator, then Psychout and Landgrab, finally sending a distasteful look at Crueljaw, >>"...is welcome to join me. And for those of us who like to make a grand theatrical entrance, I would suggest trying not to draw any unwanted attention. Like Vindicator said, we don't know how many humans are crawling around our technology. They could touch something they aren't supposed to in a panic. Hopefully, we'll be able to secure the base with minimal contact."<<

The assassin looked in Vindicator's direction once more before finally adding about the holo-map of the base.

>>"The each of the two teams will need a copy of the holo map to navigate around this place."<<

The lingering gaze wasn't lost on Vindicator, and the large mechanoid felt his fuel pump surge slightly, but in composing himself, the siege master studied his holomap then began a download process, effectively duplicating the map and then saving it into a memory chip, ejecting the small card from a slot in his chest-plate, and, gently - well as gently as the massive seige maker could manage - picked the chip up from the tray and handed it over to Jaws.

>>"So you don't get your aft lost in here..."<< He paused and then looked up with his vision altered to check for thermal sources >>"...and to answer your question Jaws, yes the main source of siphoning energy into this place was to tap the earth's thermal underground. Quite a feat considering that all it took was a little natural power, a weakness in the crust of this planet, and the siphoning and building skills of the Decepticon's resident builders..."<< of course he was talking about the Constructicons, but also took in the majesty of it all before continuing on >>"....when you think about it, it is impressive, considering that it was also designed to keep us off the Autobot's radar - no energon output, no daring raids to keep the base powered...."<< he gave a sniff and hen returned his vision to normal before playing with a few switches in a compartment on his forearm, adusting the settings for his optics to pick up human bio-metrics, and in testing, his vision switched from green, to red, to yellow and finally to blue, where picking up the biological sources of human's would be most gratifying - and make them easier to locate.

He broke the radio-chatter and spoke hushedly, his voice lightly echoing off the walls of the corridor.

"That duplicate map will help you get to the main command center and databanks of the base, and it will also help you spot any annoying human set-ups..." He paused as he finalised the dial in of the settings for his optics. "...I'd recommend dialling in your optics to Bio-metric read out so that any humans can be picked up near by, but hopefully we won't have any problems with these fleshlings in here...."

Vindicator turned and looked sideways at Darkfire, a smile crossing his faceplate.

"I guess then that leaves it to you and I Darkfire, to get this base powered back up in some core locations..." He looked back at Jaws and winked at the surly mechanoid "... If I go with Jaws, we'll end up in a scrap, and if Jaws goes with you Darkfire, I have a feeling that all that will come back of him is his head...."

Vindicator called up the holo-map and keyed the coordinates for the generator compound of the base, the blue and green wire-mesh casting a soft glow over his hard edges as the indicator arrow slowly flashed in the correct direction. He indicated with his right hand in the direction to go as he moved next to Darkfire.

"...Fem-con's first..." he said politely.

Crueljaw was staring at the human corpse in his huge hand after a few cycles of deliberation he decided that despite the advantages of having a human corpse for a decoy in his leg locker he really didn’t like the thing flopping and impacting against his internal framing. It’s strange these creatures are small frail yet inquisitive and for the most part dumb as posts the thought was created as a direct response to his scanning of various human broadcasts and wavelengths on his wrist visual viewer.

He placed the human corpse up on a ledge and out of the way with the reverence reserved for fellow combatants in the pit. Despite his surly demeanour he respected fellow warriors despite them being taken out by underhanded assassin tactics they still deserved respect even in death. Silently he said a prayer to primus being an ex gladiator/ pit fighter he was religious often after battles he’d often offer thanks to primus for him surviving and wishing the sparks of the departed well on their voyage to be with Primus and the allspark.

He was brought out of his internal musings by Vindicator handing over a small memory chip >>couldn’t you have sent it via burst packet transmission or are you that antiquated that you need to be giving out goodies<< Crueljaw snarled over his inter con radio. Crueljaw looked down the hall as he downloaded the data into his memory the map layout was fairly standard but didn’t show any blockages or cave ins from the incident he turned back as Vindicator and Darkfire decided to go together to reduce the chances of either him or them getting into a scrap. >>Hey before you disappear this map doesn’t take into account damage caused by the incident does it<<

Before Vindicator replied Crueljaw turned and headed off in the opposite direction his strides slow and deliberate as he wasn’t sure if Psychout was going to be joining him in heading for the command centre or not as he opened a comm line to the midget leader of the mismatched team. >>Boss I’m heading for operations the love mechs are heading for the generator to restore power<<

As Crueljaw moved off he sent via the comms

>>In a while Seeker fans<<

Gifford National Park Military base

Landgrab had taken the digs about his tunneling speed in stride. It wasn't the first time that he had been accused of being a little slow, in any sense. He had simply chuckled and continued on until one of the others had decided to speed things up and utilize explosives. At least Landgrab had received extensive training in the event anyone ever said the words "fire in the hole".

Undamaged and none the worse for wear, Landgrab simply stood and watched the others as they figured out what their next step was going to be. Landgrab had no opinions on the matter one way or the other. His job was simply to assist and follow orders. In that respect, he carried his simple function out with a level of competence that few could match--most Decepticons were too concerned with advancing their own status to simply blindly follow orders of a supposed superior officer. It was likely why Shockwave had selected him once again. Landgrab possessed no such qualms.

"I don't care who I go with...but...we should probably find at least a few live humans to switch out with facsimiles. At least, if I'm understanding this internal directive from the new 'imperator', or whatever, correctly."

Team Midget - Charging...

Crueljaw. Ever the aft of the group, but Darkfire knew his type. She tended to get along with them so long as they weren't incompetent or idiots. Crueljaw was neither - so far - so she'd tolerate him. Warriors and assassins didn't usually get along though and she tended to stay away from most. Some found assassins...cowardly simply for doing their function in the best and most efficient manner, striking from the shadows. She hated those self-righteous idiots. They never hesitated to shove their honor and their codes down her throat.

Darkfire actually ranked amongst the more honorable assassin, but she would never permit her honor to stop her from finding her mark. She could not afford to fight every opponent on the battlefield, face-to-face, hand-to-hand, though she was certainly capable of doing so. It just wasn't efficient. When you took out the commanding officer, everything else began to crumble. She couldn't afford to take any chances. She could never not choose efficiency, nor would she want to choose anything other. The ends justified the means. That was the Decepticon way. Let the Autobots have their honor.

The assassin turned her attention back to the chatter in time to catch Crueljaw's quip about dunking assassins into lava pits. Well that was certainly an idea. She smirked with amusement. However, when Jaws made a certain foolish comparison, her countenance grew cold. A step too far in the wrong direction. It made her want to punch the bodyguard in the face. Just once.

Darkfire continued to listen to the banter without adding much to it, eventually calming down. She began to sift through optical views. If more humans were scurrying around, she wanted to be aware of them as soon as possible. She considered thermal vision, but eventually dismissed it. Too much heated material still around for it to be very effective. She finally settled on a biometric readout. While listening to the banter, she picked up a few more details concerning Vindicator's past experiences down here. Fortunately, they didn't seem to be hampering his functionality down here.

As Vindicator went on to speak further about the base, Darkfire considered its current value. When they reactivated the central breakers, it might be able to function as their base at the very least. The Autobots were aware of the former base's location, so that made a complete return impossible. The pest infestation would be dealt with soon enough as well.

Vindicator's voice brought the assassin's attention back to him. She wondered briefly why he had chosen to speak instead of continue communicating via comm link, but she quickly attributed it to personal preference.

She noted Vindicator's sidelong glance and smile, offering him in return the faintest ghost of a smile.

"I guess then that leaves it to you and I Darkfire, to get this base powered back up in some core locations..." He looked back at Jaws and winked at the surly mechanoid "... If I go with Jaws, we'll end up in a scrap, and if Jaws goes with you Darkfire, I have a feeling that all that will come back of him is his head...."

"Oh, maybe a little less than that," Darkfire said smirking and looking back at Jaws.

"And if Shockwave wants facsimiles," she said to Landgrab, "consider it done. We will be sure to capture any that we come across."

The assassin turned to Vindicator, done addressing the others. As Vindicator keyed in coordinates, she considered how they were going to go about transportating captured humans until a proper place could be found. It was an unpleasant thought, carrying them around for extended periods of time.

"...Fem-con's first..."

Darkfire cast the seige master a softer gaze than her customary glare and scowl and nodded, gracefully moving in the direction indicated.

Team Midget - Earthbase corridors

Moving forward not really bothering to note the look of pure rage etched on Darkfire’s face plate due to his earlier comments Crueljaw activated his avatar which appeared at his feet in contrast to the hulking surly mech the avatar was a tall slim lanky human wiry hair. The avatar mimicked the bot it was linked to on his optical feed Crueljaw had both his own optics feed and a second feed feeding information from his Avatar. Crueljaw had sent the avatar several dozen metres in front of him as a scout and early intervention. He thought of his current situation in human terms what he was doing was rubbing his belly and patting his head at the same time while humming the national anthem.

The decepticon was curious about various rooms his avatar went into one room as the main body walked past. The avatar saw nothing untoward in the first room striding out it broke into a sprint and sprinted past its controlling mech heading back ahead resuming its scouting. As he turned into a side corridor his avatar’s feed showed a glint of metal in the distance that wasn’t part of the structure and looked like a limb. Activating his comms he sent a brief communication to vindicator >>Vindicator how many cons where in this base when the place exploded?<< He’d expected to find dead or stasis locked cons but not this soon.

The limb was hot pink and orange not the most subtle of colours with the remains of a wing probably a seeker then thought Crueljaw as his avatar looked over the ruined corpse cause of death probably the massive roof support through the chest plate. >>I got structural damage here and a body looks like the remains of a seeker it took a roof support to the chest plate advise caution<< Crueljaw closed the comms link as he knelt down by the side of the ruined decepticon no way for a warrior to go even a seeker most decepticons had back up memory logs separate from their main ones the hulking bodyguard searched out where his fallen colleagues back up memory was stored.

Thou knowing seekers they where probably dumb enough to leave the back up with the main units Crueljaw settled on tearing the deceased con’s head from its neck and continued on his merry way. As he opened a communications link to Psychout.

>>boss I’ve got something that might shed some more light on this bases last few cycles it’s a real heads up on the situation<< as he looked at the head in his hand for some odd reason the sound of some earth musician yelling “Yeah” popped into his thoughts unbidden he dismissed the thought as he continued on his way.

The Mountain of Hilarious Incompetence, Team Midget Military base.

Psychout had been happy to leave the team to it whilst hitching a ride on one of the Landgrabs giant cannons, after all, he was the boss and they were the workers... but he figured it was probably time to get back being the leader again.

Darkfire had proven exactly why she was such a highly valued covert operative - silent and deadly, she had performed the role she was designed for flawlessly (although possibly with a little bit too much enthusiasm, but that can never be classed as bad thing). That was where it began to seize up a bit though, neither Vindicator nor Crueljaw were outfitted for stealth, covert ops, or in fact any form of subtlety, and their commander was almost amazed they hadn't brought the volcano down on their own heads stumbling around as they have been.

Having utterly failed to keep a straight face whilst Vin and 'Jaws re-wrote the textbook definition of 'banter', Psychout almost jumped when Landgrab made his astute observation, finally something had been said that actually made sense and the small mech of many words stared at the giant mech of so few.
"I knew Shockwave sent you here for a reason 'Grabs, it's so I don't have to listen to those two idiots all the time!"

He jumped off Landgrab, engaged his flight circuits and hovered gracefully in mid-air where he could clearly see all four of his team and switched to the internal comm-system, figuring it was about time to address some of the carnage being left in their wake.
>>Darkfire, halt, HALT! Change of orders. I want you and Vindicator to switch and for you both to head to operations instead. I want details of who and what is stationed there and if this place is operational in any way I want to know about it now - numbers, tech, threat level and any indicators of individual rank. This remains a covert op so use Vindicators knowledge to best effect to find your way there, capture any ranks for duplication and pacify the rest as you both see fit. Report with urgency and secure operations when complete.

>>Crueljaw and Landgrab, you two are on power. CJ, escort Landgrab to the power couplings whilst he re-routes the generators. I want minimal power signature so only bring the vital systems back online - comms, telemetry, advanced computer systems and the facsimile growth pod circuits. Repair the other systems but leave them offline for now. Any resistance you come across is to be pacified with non-lethal force until Darkfire has confirmed that the humans command is in the operation bunker - I do not want to lose any wandering fleshlings we could clone to your giant flatfeet - although once she has checked in and we have a headcount you can do what you like with the little meatsacks.<<

>>I want regular updates and you are to maintain cover and operational silence at all times, internal comms only. Ensure you pacify any fleshling resistance with silent or non-lethal force, we are here to create more facsimiles and for that we need live subjects. well, to begin with at least. After that you can do whatever you want with them.<<

>>Finally, if I hear ANY gunshots, I will be using the culprits head cavity for a hammock, am I understood?<<

He knew he was being brusque and direct, especially after they had even come up with their own plan, but this was why he was the commander - he could see the bigger picture, and how to use the right soldiers strengths in the right situation. He had not personally had the need to draw his weapons in almost 6 thousand years, and he didn't plan on doing it now, but he hoped the fear of the unknown would keep his teams minds on the task in hand.

>>Oh, and if you fancy a bit of good news... Mal has just reported in. Sounds like the fun's about to start up on the Thantos, Shockwave's cleaning house...<<