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Ruins of Polyhex ~ Border Region

Strafe listened to the radio transmission from Scattershot and sighed before replying

>>Okay I'll stay in the air; but you do realise I feel all exposed up here?<< he paused before adding on >>Heh I wish I had your confidence.<<

Strafe flew in a tight circle trying not to draw too much attention to himself as he scanned the skies. He couldn't quite spot Thundercracker with all this comotion going on he couldn't see him and that un-nerved him. Well he was nervous enough as it was and all this was doing was making him even more nervous than normal.

Ruins of Polyhex - Near Border

Sunstreaker's words didn't register with Bravo's audio receptors until after he'd found himself slicing at thin air. Jadewind landed at the same time he did. He managed to keep his feet this time: It was the best landing he'd made the entire fight.
"Er, sorry, Sunstreaker." Bravo wasn't sure what to say: The yellow warrior had shown him up quite well, with a minimum of effort. But there wasn't really time for talking anyway. There were more enemies to be nuetralised, if they were to win this fight.

Torque rounds and missiles flashed around the battlefield as the Seekers kept up their barrage. The Decepticons advantage of hieght was showing itself well in this battle, and with the rought terrain and inconsistent cover, the Autobots were having difficulty compensating. Bravo ran from Sunstreaker's position into some cover, and drew a bead on Turbulence, opening up with his rapidly depleting laser pistol.

"I thought'd you'd gone home to write more bad philosophy! Haven't you realised we're not in the mood for debate?"

Ruins of Polyhex ~ Border Region

Scattershot liked they way this battle was going and smiled to show his approval. Jadewind had been forced to pull out, leaving Nightraid to the more than capable twins. Perhaps they'd be treated to some jet-judo that they were famous for. There weren't too many Autobots that fought with the ferocity of Sunstreaker and Sidewipe. Again, Scattershot was glad they came.

Focusing his attention now on Turbulence and Skywarp, he was sure that the three of them could handle two Decepticons. Now was the time to enact his plan.

"Alright Strafe, Bravo. Time to attack. Attack pattern Delta 3."

He transformed into his battle cruiser form and launched himself into the sky, bring the group in on Turbulence's starboard wing.

"Maintain formation and fire at will!"

Scattershot let loose with a barrage of incindiary shells; it took some effort to lead his target and try to score a hit. Battle experience was everything now. The Transformers involved in this fight would have depleted much of their ammunition and energon by now. Endurance would weigh heavily on deciding the outcome of the battle. Confidant that he was up to the task, Scattershot hoped Strafe and Bravo could hang in.


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


Despite awaiting a response from Cyclonus, Thundercracker saw an opportunity that he just couldn't pass up. Turbulence was doing an excellent job of laying down some suppressing fire. The wimpy Autobots would surely be hiding at the moment, which would give him adequate time to improve his position.

Jumping up from behind the burnt out shell of a building he was using for cover, he dashed forward. His optics scanned throught he smoke looking for the best defensible position. A pile of scrap metal ahead seemed to be suitable. By his estimation he was just now on the otherside of Bluestreak. If he came down on top of the Autobot he would hopefully take him completely by surprise.

Thundercracker did a quick weapons check then started scrambling up the pile of scrap. As he climbed he saw Scattershot flash past with Strafe and Bravo in tow. This was perfect. The Autobots would now be flanked, but he would have to be wary of being outflanked himself. His confidence in Skywarp made him sure that wouldn't happen.

Reaching the top of the pile of scrap, he could see Bluestreak nearby. It seemed the Autobot was oblivious to his presence. The best thing to do would be to engage him in close quarters. That way it would be unlikely that either Sunstreaker or Sideswipe would be able to fire on him without hitting their comrade. Thundercracker smiled, pleased with himself.

Say your prayers Autobot.

Thundercracker launched himself from the peak of the pile, aiming a two-footed kick directly at Bluestreak's cranial unit.

Shockwave's Tower - Hangar

Turmoil entered the hangar and landed. He looked around. This was unfamiliar territory. He had grown quite used to Kolkular's layout. Shockwave's tower was just not the same.

Turmoil accessed a map of the tower and planned his route through the corridors. Having decided on one, he closed the map and approached the corridors. There to his surprise stumbled upon Blackguard and Reforge. Naturally in his surprise he sparked a little. He had expected to find them as he was ordered but he hadn't expected it to be that easy. And of course he is naturally jumpy.

"Greetings comrades. I was just looking for you."

Getaway's Squad - Underground

"A rather...genuine concept of entertainment," Dragunov replied to Getaway's call with an otpic-ridge raised. She gave no outward sign of it, but she could feel her central fuel pump accelerate. The idea of letting Ingram fire away in such a tunnel, that could collapse from the least pressure applied to basically any of its points sent shivers down her spine. It definitely did not fit her moderate and measured nature.

Though she had to admit, she found herself enjoying the situation. However suicidal it might have seemed, it was a new and not yet tried method of approaching certain things, and with it, a degree of excitement came. Maybe, she wasn't as moderate and measured as she would have liked to appear to be.

Dragunov allowed herself a slight smile as she turned back at the wall that was soon to be blown through, and readied her rifle. From the corner of her optics, she noticed Glock already grinning widely, as if she had wished for hostile threats appear on the other side of the sealed exit. And at the first sign of them, she would storm out and set them ablaze. Dragunov could read it from her expression.

"Delighted to serve!" Ingram then shouted and whirled her treads heavily against the ground, to dig herself into a more stable position. Steel grinding against steel with a screeching sound, kicking up the millenia-old dust and pouring debris around herself.

She was done with assuming the right position quickly, and rotated her turret to aim right at the spot Getaway had banged the wall at.

"Aight, here we go..." She said. The particle cannon attached to her frame made a slow, buzzing sound, the energy converters glowing in bright blue as the weapon began to charge. The noise rose higher and higher in pitch, to the level where it would almost hurt audio modules.

Then it released.

A loud, booming sound and white flash filled the dim darkness of the tunnel as the cannon discharged. Those inside should have felt as if the ground had been shaking under them, though it was only their gyro system's inadequate response to the sudden and harsh stimuli.

As the dust settled, the blast door had a huge crack in it, and a hole in the middle, large enough for two or three average size Transformers to pass through. The overly thick and sturdy metal plates torn, the edges of the puncture, still glowing red from the heat and pressure the blast ripped into them with.

Behind it, only Cybertron's sky was visible.

"Looks like we made it," Ingram said, still scanning the area for any hostiles. She found none. At least, not yet.

Getaway’s Squad - Underground – Invite Only

Duck and cover.

One of the first principles of war that Getaway had ever learned. Those who had the good sense to duck and cover were the ones that survived, those that didn’t, well, they didn’t last very long. In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t a principle that Getaway had to follow very often, being that his tin can of a skidplate was tougher than a bunker, but even he knew when to keep his head down.

The discharging of heavy weapons was always a good time to keep your cranium out of sight, even when it was friendly fire. A tour of service alongside that nutcase lunatic Wheeljack should teach anyone that. There’s no such thing as friendly fire, just fire that wasn’t directly aimed at you.

The moments that followed the incredible discharge of power from Ingram’s primary weapon were tense ones. The walls themselves had seemed to shake and centuries of undisturbed dust and rubble collapsed and shifted all around them. For a moment, nothing happened, nothing but silence and waiting for the first sign that the worst case scenario was about too start unfolding.

Second principle of Getaway war, always be ready for the worst case scenario, it was surprising how often it happened.

It didn’t.

At least not yet.

“Well now, that wasn’t so bad now was it?”

Standing back up, taking a quick moment to give his girls the once over, noting that everything still looked to be in one piece, he spotted the small smile that had sneaked its way onto Dragunov’s face. Heh. Good girl. If you couldn’t enjoy your job then what was the point?

“Alright, sit yerselves tight, I’m takin’ me a looksie”.

Climbing back over the impromptu barricade he headed towards the newly made breach, his Shotgun in hand, dangerous end pointed forwards. He gave the tank form of Ingram a solid slap on the side as he passed the oversized Fembot, the girl had done them all proud.

After ensuring his own solid footing, making sure he was braced for any sudden discharge of his own weapon, he stuck his head out. What he saw was both good and bad. On one hand they had discovered a previously unknown route into the very heart of Polyhex…

On the other they had walked into the very heart of Polyhex…

“There’s a small chance we may have overreached ourselves here Girls…”

Ruins of Polyhex ~ Border Region

Strafe sighed as he got into postion his own paranoia telling him that this was a mistake still his belief in Scattershot allowed him to obey. He just hoped his leader knew what he was doing.

With some sort of trepidation Strafe let loose his own weapons aiming on hitting his target with as much calm concentration he could muster. Strafe knew he was a good shot if he could calm himself down enough it was just a case of getting that calm which as far as he was concerned was no easy task.

Strafe didn't have Scattershot's confidence he wasn't as sure that he was up to the task that the technobot leader intended for him to do; still Strafe knew he could and would try as hard as he could to do the best that he could. He was scared and worried about it at the same time.

Shockwave's Tower - Hangar

Blackguard nodded as Turmoil introduced himself. "Greetings, Turmoil. Reforge and myself were wondering if we'd been forgotten about in this cold iron fortress, but it seems we have been given a higher purpose after all. I suppose we could give you a tour, but half the tower is level 7 access only, so it would be quite short. There's little a warrior needs that isn't close to the hangars anyway."
"So, my fellows, it seems we have been given a new purpose, vaguely defined as it is. How shall be go about it? I doubt badgering Cyclonus for menial tasks will suit anyone. Do either of you know ways we can impress the power of the Sweeps on those around us?"

ooc: If there are no objections, I'll be grabbing the downed Jadewind for NPC retrieval, and Turbulence's survival.

Ruins of Polyhex - Border Region

Flying so close to the Autobot forces, Turbulence was not surprised by the enemy fire that met his already damaged torque turret and left new scars for his under wing.

"A true Decepticon needs no data pad to recall the Ultimate warrior's creed."

What did surprise the swordmech was that the damage came from the familiar assault of Bravo's laser pistol. The depleting laser rounds left there mark but wasn't enough to down the sturdy seeker. It beat catching the bulk of incendiary shells, but one was all Scattershot needed.

Turbulence transformed before he could spin out of control. With his good leg attempted the safes landing he could, only to tumble his back into building debree. Partially rebooting, the downed seeker saw two emerald lasers fire over head and attempted to match their directions with his own...

So as Turbulence tried to regain his bearings he pointed his functioning torque turret toward Sideswipe and his non functioning on at Bravo

_____
"Yes, the time for debate is over; we seekers destroy!"

From behind said building debree two mandarin beams came courtesy of the seeker fem. Her particle disintegrators independently aimed at the little winged minibot and Sideswipe.

"And don't think I've forgotten about that friendly fire remark Turbulence."

Jadewind was down but not out, and if she could not target Sunstreaker, she would direct her scorn on a closer foe.


Shockwave's Tower - Hangar

Like welders goggles Reforge's optical lenses underwent a chemical reaction to combat the luminous energy Turmoil gave off. As the hangar darkened the surgical sweep could clearly identify this fellow model before him. While not at the particular output level of Sunstorm, the perpetually powered sweep wasn't far off; nor was his heat signature in regards to the outrageously radiated Seeker.

"Hmph, definitely not an infiltration model."

Letting Blackguard's introductions suffice, the former seeker figured the small fleet of sweep drones could be put to use once Cyclonus receives his report. Of course having delayed sending his finding may have less consequences should the three of them prove useful chaperons to the drone fleet.

"Speaking with the Aerial Commandant may not be that bad an idea. If we are proactive about it."

Sharing his thoughts, Reforge suggested delivery of the drones after requesting approval from Cyclonus via comlink. The sweep was in no hurry to disturb the commander in person, but was hesitant to speak for the others being the least combat oriented model.

"Unless there are better options I say we offer to escort the drones for Cyclonus. With all the seekers stationed here they would be of better use in another base."

Ruins of Polyhex - Border Region

Standing behind a mound of scrap, Bluestreak looked down at the ground in front of him and noticed that his shadow seemed to be growing larger. What the…wait… The gunner then realized there was someone above him and quickly spun around to see Thundercracker leaping down directly at him! "Slag it!" Bluestreak tried to bring his gun up and back away simultaneously, but he was not fast enough. The blue seeker’s feet both connected with his chest plate, sending the Autobot gunner flying backwards and to the ground. Landing hard on his aft section, the blue and silver ‘bot skidded several yards before coming to rest against a nearby wall.

"Ow, that hurt," Bluestreak muttered, the wind having been effectively knocked out of him. He looked up and saw Thundercracker standing about ten feet away, his sites set squarely on the gunner. Blue tried to bring up his gun, but then realized that he no longer had it! He must’ve lost his rifle when Thundercracker drop kicked him. And there’s no telling where it had landed.

Uh oh. I’m scrap, the gunner thought to himself. The only weapons he still had were his shoulder mounted missles, but those were mainly intended for surface-to-air combat not surface-to-surface. If he tried to use them here in this close proximity, the resulting explosion would not only damage his opponent, but it would most likely knock Bluestreak, himself, back into stasis lock. The Autobot’s only other option was to engage the veteran seeker in hand to hand combat. But it would be suicide for Bluestreak to do so, because Thundercracker was both bigger and stronger than the gunner. However, Blue had to do something. Anything.

Using the wall behind him as a brace, Bluestreak push himself up with his legs to a standing position. The Autobot looked the seeker straight in the eyes and did the only thing he could think of…..he smiled.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Thunderslag himself," Bluestreak said in a mocking tone. "I see my little warhead did a number on your aft section. Such a shame. Didn’t your maker ever teach you not to stick pointy things that explode up there?" The gunner’s grin grew wider. "I guess not." As he spoke, Blue began scanning the area for his weapon, but with no luck yet. "Well, Crackerhead, you seem to have me at a disadvantage. I guess we couldn’t just talk this over like civilized bots, huh?……No? I’m sorry, I forgot you’re not civilized are you?"

Bluestreak was literally up against a wall with not many options available to him. So, the gunner opened a commlink to his Autobot comrades: Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Scattorshot, Bravo and Strafe.

<<< Hey, guys! If any of you are looking for a certain blue seeker, well, I’ve found him and could use some assistance right now! >>>

Not waiting for a response or for help to arrive, Bluestreak decided to take matters into his own hands. He transformed into vehicle mode and took off at top speed directly at Thundercracker with the intent of cutting the ‘con off at the knees. Who knows. It might actually work.

Ruins of Polyhex - Near Border

Bravo hopped forward, heedless of enemy fire as he attempted to maintain the Pattern Delta firezone. Ideally he should be airborne like Strafe and Scattershot, but without his wing he couldn't really trust his flight unit for long. Still, he kept up the fire regardless, and was rewarded with Turbulence hitting the ground.

"YES! Two down guys, we'll be done here in nNNNNYYAAAGHH!!!" Bravo screamed in pain as Jadewind's weapons reduced his laser pistol and two of his fingers into subatomic particles. He desperately tumbled out of the green beams arc, clutching his ruined hand.

Well, so much for formation Delta. >>I'm...sorry, Scattershot, but I can't keep this up much longer...<<

Then Bluestreak called in, asking for help. The thought of another autobot in danger dispelled all worries about his own predicament from the minibots mind. >>Hold the fort guys, I'll help Bluestreak!<< Risking a rocket jump, Bravo burst from cover, his remaining hand gripping his saber. Can't let a little pain stop me...from keeping the others safe... The fact that he was about to face the Veteran Thundercracker didn't really cross his processor.

Ruins of Polyhex ~ Border Region

Thundercracker stood before Bluestreak sneering as he leveled an automatic incendiary gun at the Autobot's chest plate. A few ceramic rounds would fit nicely there.

"You want me to be civilized? Sure, I can be civilized. How about this? I won't make it hurt when I shut you down permanently. Heh heh."

I gotta admit, Bluestreak's got some ballbearings.

"Say goodbye, old Blue."

As Thundercracker was about to open fire on Bluestreak, his opponent did something unexpected. Transforming and barreling straight towards him, Thundercracker dove to his right to avoid being clipped in the knees. His desperation dive rattled his circuits a little but was successful, however it put him in a vulnerable position. As the Seeker looked up he saw Bluestreak's tailpipes and a badly damaged Autobot unknown to him charging while wielding a blade.

I'll put this runt out of his misery. Then, I'll finish old Blue.

Getting back to his feet in time to engage the mini Autobot would present a challenge. Preparing to meet the incomong sabre, Thundercracker would have to sacrifice one of his guns to block the cuts of Bravo's sword. As long as he still had one, he should have to much trouble.

Shockwave's Tower - Hangar

"I'm fairly certain Scourge didn't send me out here just to be an escort. No, he just wants us to be seen here. He's sending Sweeps out across the empire so that the sight of a Sweep will soon be known as a reminder that a territory is firmly in the empire's control. It's a way of reassuring the empire that the Sweeps' recent defeat was insignificant and that if anything we've only gotten stronger."

Ruins of Polyhex - Border Regions

"I thought you were done bothering us for one mega-cycle," Sunstreaker hissed as Jadewind opened fire on Bravo. Leveling his neutron gun at the downed Seeker, he opened fire on the green Decepticon, looking to finish her off before moving onto his next target. As he did, a highest-priority transmission came over his comm, as well as the comms of all the other Autobots in the area. It was an order from Optimus Prime himself.

>>All Autobots not assigned to Permanent Garrison Units or Autobase Nu, proceed immediately to the following coordinates with all possible speed," he ordered, uploading the last known coordinates of Grimlock's ship. This is a Level III Mobilization. I repeat: this is a Level III Mobilization. Prime out."<<

Sunstreaker pondered the message for the briefest of moments. That's in the Tagan Heights...I didn't know we were launching an offensive there! That's even better than fighting the 'Cons here! He looked to Sideswipe and the others, and called out.

"C'mon! We've got bigger petrorabbits to bag than these Seeker punks!" He transformed into car mode and revved his engine. "Let's get out of here and head for the real action!"

Ruins of Polyhex - Near Border

Bravo felt slightly guilty attacking Thundercracker while he was vunerable, but getting the team out safely took priority now. As the Blue seeker brought up his arm-cannon to block, Bravo obliged him, twisting his blade through a figure-of-eight meant to sunder the weapon. Engines, weapons, fuel lines: these were the targets now, the enemies ability to chase them down was the real danger. Bravo had trained himself in picking out vital systems on his larger opponents: This skill could be critical now.
Suddenly, a radio message came through, from the Autobot Leader himself. Bravo was almost stunned, hearing such a high-priority call. We can't really be expected to answer this call, can we? We're barely holding our own as it is. But, it is Optimus himself, so it can't be anything but the most important of missions. And anyway, I'd end up kicking ourselves if we didn't go. Better to try and risk dying, than live knowing we gave up!
"Sorry to cut and run, but we've got more important things to do. Give my regards to Turbulence!" Jumping backwards out of Thundercrackers reach, Bravo transformed to jet mode and took off towards Sunstreaker's position. He hoped the Seekers had beem hurt enough to discourage pursuit, because he wasn't in shape for a long chase. His flight unit could compensate for his busted wing as long as he stayed close to the ground, but he wasn't going to be breaking speed limits for a while. In fact, just getting away from Thundercracker could be a challenge...

Shockwave's Tower - Hangar Bay

"Our...defeat?" Blackguard frowned at this news. "I had heard something about a mission to one of the moonbases, but little concrete details. Pray tell us more, bright one." Blackguard was making a point of not looking directly at Turmoil, as the light was affecting his darkness-optimised sensors. It occured to him that this was possibly rather rude, but a Depecticon who couldn't take an insult or two wasn't really fit for war.

Outside Shockwave's Tower

A short distance from Shockwave's tower, hidden in between some ruins, lie a pool of oil. The surface seemed calm until ripples began to be seen on the surface followed quickly afterwards by a dragon-like head letting out a roar.

"Aaaaaaaah, this is the like." Said Snapdragon as he fell and lied on his back in the pool of oil. He raised his feet and began to curl his toes. The claws on them were formidable weapons but they tended to accumulate much debris. The oil made them slippery and they fell right off.

"I wonder who is going to be the dead slag head who is going to come and try to ruin my rest time now." he muttered as he continued to enjoy his oil bath. He knew that it was unavoidable that his rest would be interrupted, he was too good a warrior to be allowed to be away from combat for long. Still, he would enjoy this while it lasted.

(OOC: just noticed my post was removed or somehow lost. No biggie, wasn't a good post and this won't be one either, but gotta get things moving)

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

"The only thing worth in Polyhex is the Tower" Quantum replied to Cyclonus' question instead of suddenly silent Ravage.
Shockwave's tower was a technological marvel and mighty fortress. It would be a catastrophe if it fell in enemy hands. The results could be disastrous for the Decepticon Empire as it was not only one of the best fortified strongholds the Decepticons had, but it was also a symbol of Decepticon might as well as one of the centers of their military research. The morale would drop if it happened, and that wasn't exactly what the Empire would need now after the latest failures.

Ruins of Polyhex - Near Border

Bluestreak sped towards Thundercracker in his alt mode at top speed with every intention of ramming the blue seeker in the knees. However, the veteran ‘con was fast and dodged out of the way as Blue roared passed, kicking up dust and debris. Ol’ Crackerhead didn’t excepted that maneuver, especially from me, the Autobot gunner thought to himself proudly. Bluestreak then spun around 180 degrees, tires screeching to a halt. As he did, Blue noticed the minibot Bravo, blade in hand, leaping at the surprised Thrundercracker. Simultaneously, Sunstreaker was approaching the seeker from behind. His Autobot comrades had responded to his call for help. This gave Bluestreak the opportunity to search for his lost weapon.

It has to be around here somewhere, the gunner thought, transforming back to ‘bot mode. He begin scanning the entire area for his rifle. Come on! Where the frag is it?! Finally, after a few more astroseconds, his scanners detected a gun barrel sticking out from under some debris. Blue rushed over and pulled his rifle out of the rubble. “Finally!” Bluestreak said aloud, dusting his weapon off. “Now, to aide Bravo and Sunny.” As he said that, a transmission from none other than Optimus Prime came over the commlink:

>> “All Autobots not assigned to Permanent Garrison Units or Autobase Nu, proceed immediately to the following coordinates with all possible speed," he ordered, uploading the last known coordinates of Grimlock's ship. “This is a Level III Mobilization. I repeat: this is a Level III Mobilization. Prime out.” <<

Those coordintes are in the Tagan Heights! Bluestreak felt a sense of excitement and a sense of fear. That’s where he had been knocked into stasis lock by the leader of those new seekers. The one with the beard. The excitement came from having a chance at getting even. The fear came from knowing that he might end up as scrap in the process of trying. Those new seekers are tough and very dangerous, and Blue was almost killed the first time. But, he could not ignore an order from Prime, himself. Something big was going down and those new seekers were probably at the center of it. Bluestreak quickly reverted back to alt mode and sped away at top speed towards the Heights.

Polyhex - Enroute to Tagan

The gunner soon caught up to Sunstreaker who was already ahead of him. “So, Sunny. You think we’ll run into those new seekers?” Blue asked, pulling along side the golden warrior. “I hope so. I didn’t much appreciate the pounding they gave me when we lost the Heights. I especially dislike that bearded one. He’s on my hit list for sure.” The blue and silver ‘bot jabbered on for a while about how he hated being in stasis lock and losing the Heights to the ‘cons. He never really gave Sunstreaker a chance to answer his initial question about possibly seeing the new seekers again. Although, Sunny was probably ignoring most of what he was saying anyway.

Bluestreak then stopped talking about his time in stasis lock and began surmising about the upcoming mission. “I wonder what’s happening that Prime would need to mobilize so many Autobots. Something big must be going down. Maybe someone’s in trouble or maybe we’re going to retake the Heights. What do you think, Sunny?”

Maybe Sunstreaker would actually get to answer this one.

The Ruins of Polyhex ~ Border Regions

Scattershot ceased his assault on the Decepticons as Optimus Prime's priority transmission came through. He wasn't pleased about having to disengage before he had a chance to finish the fight, but he would obey without question. There would likely be a better opportunity to fight a Tagan Heights. If Prime was mobilizing all available Autobots, it must be something important and they would surely need the help of the Technobot leader.

Reversing course, it plain to see theat his Autobot team was already making their way to the Tagan Heights. Excellent. These guys are on their toes. I'll just give Bravo a hand and we're gone.

Scattershot came in low over Bravo's position and waited for his opportunity. It came when the minibot jumped back from Thundercracker. The Seeker was about to open fire with his remaining arm gun, so Scattershot swooped down low intending to make contact with his adversary.

"Sorry we can't finish our little dance Thundercracker! I'll be seeing you again!"

Catching up with Bravo, Scattershot took the lead and opened a comm-link to his recon team.

>>Autobots rally to heading 247 mark 9. We'll get to Tagan in no time and mop up those 'cons.<<

Blasting off on the new heading, Scattershot took the opportunity to perform a quick systems check. Systems operating at 72% efficiency. Plasma cannon offline. Artillery ammunition at 34% capacity. Acid pellets at 79% capacity. Armour plating at 22%. Maneuverablity limited to 80% nominal output. Structural integrity stable at 85%. Those 'cons sure did a number on me, but that doesn't matter. Better see how the troops are doing.

>>Recon team give me a full status update. How are you feeling?<<


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Thundercracker winced as Bravo's blade made contact with his arm mounted machine gun. The resulting impact caused a minor explosion that helped him block the blade off to the side. This left the opening that Thundercracker had expected. He brought his remaining gun to bear on the minibot at point blank.

"Give my regards to the maker." Thundercracker sneered at his foe, but then unexpectedly Bravo jumped back as a shadow fell on the Seeker. Looking up, all he could see was the nosecone of Scattershot. Caught totally by surprise, the impact caught him full force on the chestplate. Thrown backwards, Thundercracker heard Scattershot shout something but couldn't make it out for the sound of rushing air in his audio receptors.

After a hard landing on the ground, Thundercracker got up and surveyed the area. There were no Autobots to be seen which slightly disturbed him. He flew into the sky and could see Skywarp, Turbulence, and Jadewind. It seemed they had all taken their fair share of hard knocks. Better report this to Cyclonus. Thundercracker opened a comm-link to the Air Commander.

>>Cyclonus, this is Thundercracker. The Autobots have left the scene in a hurry. Something big must be happening. We've taken some heavy damage. My alt mode is inoperable. What are your orders: disengage for repairs or follow them?<<

A bit of a leading question perhaps, but if they gave chase now the results would not be positive. Thundercracker would not risk losing anyone under his command. The best thing would be to get repairs and rearm themselves. That was likely the soundest strategy, but Thundercracker was still unsure about Cyclonus' methods. Hopefully he was a reasonable bot. This situation would be a good test of character. Once he had a good read on their new Air Commander he would be able to carry out his duties without reservation.

Ruins of Polyhex - Border Regions

“huh?”

Skywarp watched as suddenly the “brave” Autobots seemed to have a big change of heart. He hadn’t even a chance to make a kill. The Purple and black seeker slowed and transformed, hovering a moment trying to think of a reason why the bots would take off so suddenly in the middle of a fight. In all his vorns he couldn’t remember too many times when something like this would happen. Warp turned his head to look at Thundercracker for ideas and winced as he watched his buddy get thrown by Scttershot.

“Ouch, that’s gonna need some repairs. You ok Thundercracker?”

His optics followed the now shrinking shapes of the autobots, as Thundercracker sent Cyclonus a report.

“Cracker their heading is in the direction of Tagan, I wonder what the heck is so important over there. It’s just a bunch of refineries and processing plants and stuff.”

Warp was tempted to follow, it would have been easy with his teleporting system, but …. Cracker had already contacted Cyclonus, it would have been redundant for Warp to basically ask the same question, and his wing mates were not in the best condition. With a disappointed grunt Warp took a position by Thundercracker. He made a mental note that they would probably need to carry Jadewind back, Turbulance and Nightraid looked like they could manage.

En Route to Tagan

"Thanks for the assist Scattershot!" Bravo had been worried he'd get his aft shot up escaping, but the Technobot leader had once again saved him. Bravo wondered why the Technobot leader wasn't as talked about as other warriors, he seemed to be the kind of charismatic leader the Autobots needed.
"I'm pretty much untouched by weapons fire, but I made a few too many bad landings in that fight. My primary support frame's at about 50% integrity, but my sword enhances that while it's stowed. Thing is, thanks to that green femme, I don't have any other weapons. Unless one of you can spare a laser pistol or something. Oh, and I'm missing half my left wing thanks to that Turbulence guy. I can keep stable at cruising speed, but no afterburners or thrust vectoring for me.
"But don't worry guys, I'm not going to hold you back. I'll find a way to keep on fighting. It's the least I can do!"

En Route to Tagan

Strafe had been busy keeping up his fire on the decepticons; hearing the transmission he cut off his guns and manuvered quickly out of the way following Scattershot low enough that should Thundercracker try anything he could moving into assist. Thankfully it seemed they'd all gotten out of this in one piece. Running a quick systems check Strafe was pleased to note that his weaponry was still active and he had sustained minimal amounts of damage.

>>I'm pretty good Scattershot.<< Strafe replied to his leader >>Aside from feeling paranoid I'm okay.<< Of all the people Scattershot would know about his inate paranoia and how it effected him. Strafe feared getting shot in the back.

Shockwave's Tower - Hangar Bay

"You mean you haven't been informed? The Sweeps in Kaon were holding a training exercise when they were attacked by the Insecticons."

Turmoil paused for a moment, remembering how he hadn't been there for his fellows.

"Changes have already taken place since the battle. We have a new XO, Discord. Our former XO was disgraced and demoted. And our forces are now being sent across the empire. It seems that Scourge is eager to have another victory somewhere to make up for our loss."

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

Nearly as quickly Thundercracker transmitted his unit's status to the Command Center, Cyclonus sent his reply. The stern air warrior was brief in his remarks, as might be expected of a being whose sole purpose and pleasure was to wage war for the glory of Megatron.

>>"Return to the Tower for repairs. Make your report to me upon arrival."<<

Meanwhile, Ravage let out a slight, harsh laugh at Quantum's statement. "Quite true. So would it be safe to say that rather than allow the Tower to fall into Autobot hands...we should destroy it ourselves, if holding onto it does not appear possible?"

It was something of a hypothetical, to be sure, but Ravage was curious to know what the Seeker squadron leader had to say on the matter. Let's see where his loyalties lie, exactly. Quantum had long served under Shockwave, and now he was made to answer to Cyclonus. Shockwave would never, ever, ever allow his Tower to be destroyed, regardless of how likely it was that it fall into Autobot hands. Let's see if Quantum follows his old master's lead, or if he knows better.



En Route to Tagan

"The one with the beard is mine," Sunstreaker said coldly in answer to Bluestreak's first barrage of questions. "And Sideswipe's. You see him, you find another target, you understand?"

The words came out harshly, but Sunstreaker was hardly concerned with preserving the gunner's feelings when it came to the Decepticon known as Scourge. Scourge had nearly killed Sideswipe. The Decepticon could have killed a dozen other Autobots and not elicited anywhere near the same reaction from Sunstreaker. Truth be told, he could have taken or left most of the Autobot faction. But shared primary design ran thicker than energon, as they said.

As the Autobot unit sped along the highways toward the Tagan Heights, the road surfaces became better-maintained and smoother. Soon, the vast industrial complexes of the Heights appeared on the horizon. Sunstreaker accelerated, his combat processors already seething with images of Scourge.

OOC - 'Bot players, you can move your guys to the Heights thread in your next posts. BTW, NPCing Cyclonus to move things along there.

Shockwave's Tower - Hangar Bay

Blackguard took Turmoil's revelations with great interest. "Seeking victory? Isn't that what all warriors are supposed to do? It is certainly worrying that we haven't achieved the great successes we were built to provide to Lord Megatron. If we here in Polyhex are to do something about it in Scourge's grand plan, it would be nice if we had more details on it. As it is, we are stuck here, air troops in a base with 4 wings of Seekers, normally, and no sign of the Autobots since the Guardian left, that I am aware of."

Blackguard looked about the abandoned hangar. "At the moment, I think it behooves us to act as emergency air response, as it seems none of the famous Seekers have deigned to remain at their stations. What are they about, and shouldn't we be doing something similar?"