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Orbital Torus State of Polyhex

The second most important Decepticon controlled city state in the advent of Cybertron's Great Distress, Polyhex is home to Shockwave's lab, long since abandoned. The laboratory has been kept sealed by the Decepticons security codes and is in remarkably good condition for being vacated so long ago.
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The Hexagon: Starship launching silo A-2

The Predacons had managed to waste far more time opening and securing the silo than Shockwave had anticipated. But they had finally managed to pull the enormous hatch open. At least the silo had stayed properly sealed after all these vorns without any kind of critters infesting it. Nevertheless, while waiting for the Predacons to finish their mission down in the surface, Shockwave and the others onboard the Thanatos had witnessed the arrival of the Autobot ship Ark-22. While the Autobots had the ship cloaked, the subspace rift it had opened had not escaped Thanatos' sensors. Given that the rift had been opened very close to the point Thanatos had entered the normal space only couple of breems earlier, it clearly indicated that the Autobots had also managed to catch and encrypt Thunderwing's transmission and followed it to Cybertron.

After the Predacons had activated the homing beacon below, Shockwave had not wasted any time landing the massive battlecruiser. The homing beacon was designed to be extremely difficult to spot unless you knew where to look for it, so it was highly unlikely that the Autobots had noticed it.

As the massive ship touched the silo floor Shockwave began to prepare the ship for prolonged docking, giving his troops new orders at the same time - excluding Blackwind whose presence Shockwave had to tolerate due to Megatron's orders for now. >>"Predacons, Swindle and Weirdwolf. Begin the process of moving our equipment and supplies into my tower. Blackwind and I will join you shortly."<<

The Hexagon: Starship launching silo A-2

Razorclaw stood in the control room of the launching silo with the other Predacons and watched through the glass window as the large battlecruiser touched down on the silo floor. It had taken the Predacons a bit longer than expected to open the silo and activate the homing beacon. Razorclaw was sure that he’d hear it from Shockwave about the time it took, but the Predacon Commander didn’t care. You can’t rush a delicate job such as this or you risk possible damage to the hatch. Not to mention the possibility of having to deal with any infestations that may have crawled into the silo, itself. Luckily, no critters of any kind were found, but it still took time to scan the area to ensure everything was clear.

Once the ship was secure, Razorclaw received Shockwave’s new orders over his comm. He then opened a channel back to the cycloptic mech:

>>Understood, Shockwave. We’ll get right on it. Razorclaw out.<<

The Predacon leader then turned to his elite tactical squad of Decepticons. “Well, you all heard him. We've got equipment to move. So, let’s get to it, and I don’t want to hear any complaints,” Razorclaw warned, knowing that his team would not like being used for manual labor. They were fighters and belonged on the battlefield. But, Razorclaw also understood the need for menial tasks such as this and thus tolerated it for the time being. Battle would come soon enough, but for now, they had to prepare.

Razorclaw looked his team over and began handing out assignments. “Tantrum, I want you to transport any remaining fuel cells over from the Thanatos. Headstrong and Rampage, you two start moving whatever heavy equipment and artillery into the tower’s armory. Divebomb, you and I will handle the more delicate scientific gear that ol’ one eye will surely want undamaged. Now, let’s move it, Predacons! We don’t have all solar cycle!”

Razorclaw then exited the control room as Divebomb followed close behind him. The flying Predacon didn’t particularly enjoy this part of his job. Moving stuff from place to place was a task meant for mere underlings and the Predacons were hardly that. He’d rather be off somewhere building a nest than spending so much time with his teammates. But, orders were orders and Divebomb didn’t have the gears to disobey Razorclaw.

Entering into the silo, Razorclaw approached the Thanatos and transmitted an access code. The battlecruiser’s doors slid open as a ramp extended down to the silo floor. Before entering the ship, Razorclaw turned to Divebomb. “Now, I know you don’t really like being around us or me for that matter, Divebomb. But, I need you to stay focused and not go running off somewhere to build one of your stupid nests. We have more important things to accomplish here. There’s no time to waste. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir. I understand,” Divebomb replied, grudgingly. They’re not stupid nests!

“Good,” Razorclaw said as he began walking up the ship’s entrance ramp. “Just remember, Divebomb, I’ve already thrown one mech off this squad for disobeying me. I have no qualms about doing it again.” The Predacon Commander was obviously referring to Howlstrike and Divebomb knew it. That was a history that neither one of them wanted to see repeated. Divebomb simply nodded and followed Razorclaw into the ship.

The Hexagon: Starship launching silo A-2

Compared to the ship he was exiting and the cybertronian facility he was entering, Swindle's earth alt-form looked rustic and primitive, but with efficiency and dedication to work being the order of the day under Shockwaves command, taking him to revert to his old cybertronian form didn't seem appropriate. Besides, I think it looks more robust, more intimidating.

The jeep pulled with it a hover-trailer filled with more sensitive equipment, the stuff the munitions handler in Swindle couldn't leave to the brutish manipulators of the Predacons, and temporarily replacing his scatter cannon was a sensor array, to sniff out any surprises that might be lurking in the shadows of the silent tower. All the paranoia during the landing had put Swindle's more suspicious nature into overdrive, and he thought it might be appropriate to keep it up.

Swindle drove up to Razorclaw."Have you found anywhere for us to start offloading equipment, Sir, or shall I make a sweep for an appropriate location?"

Entering the Thanatos - The Hexagon: Starship launching silo A-2

As Razorclaw and Divebomb entered the Thanatos, they encountered Swindle in his jeep mode. And while the two Predacons didn't recognize him in this form at first, they definitely recognized his voice when he spoke to them. The munitions expert was hauling equipment in a hover trailer behind him and wanted to know where he could unload it. Razorclaw peered down at Swindle. The small mech was not much of a warrior, but if you needed a new or upgraded weapon of any kind, he was the 'con to deal with. Thus, Swindle was tolerated by Megatron and the other field commanders until such a time as his usefulness either ended or he simply wore out his welcome.

"It depends on what you're carrying, Swindle," Razorclaw replied. "If you have any kind of weapons or ammo, take them to the tower's armory. If you have scientific equipment for Shockwave then transport that to his main lab facility. Everything else can be placed in the tower's storage room for now." The two Predacons then moved by Swindle and headed for the ship's cargo hold.

Cargo Hold - Battlecruiser Thanatos

Razorclaw and Divebomb entered the room and began the task of placing the delicate scientific devices and equipment into a large container. Some of the supplies had already been taken by Swindle it seemed, as there were things missing. The two Predacons would handle the rest that remained. "Be careful with this stuff, Divebomb. I don't want to hear any complaints from Shockwave that we damaged his precious things," Razorclaw said sternly. He didn't know what most of these things were for or what they did. It didn't matter to him. He was a warrior not a scientist.

Once everything was safely placed into the container, Razorclaw ordered Divebomb to push it from behind as the Predacon Commander guided it from the front. Soon they were both outside the ship once again and heading for the tower's primary lab facility.

Thanatos

After setting up the automatic security protocols of Thanatos ready for the remote command activation, Shockwave stood up and headed out of the bridge into the cargo room of the battlecruiser. He had taken and hidden some delicate equipment from Starscream's command bunker of Mt. Saint Helens and he was not about to leave them at the mercy of the Predacons or Swindle's greedy digits. If they were lost, his work on Cybertron would become far more difficult unless his old equipment within the tower had survived. And even if his laboratories within the tower were intact, it didn't hurt to have spare parts.

Not much later Shockwave could be seen exiting the battlecruiser, followed by a remote controlled hovertrailer. Igniting the rocket boosters in his feet, the purple Decepticon launched himself out of the silo through the open hangar bay and headed straight towards the upper part of the massive tower that towered over other buildings of the Hexagon district. The Thanatos itself was still open for the other Decepticons to access for they had not yet emptied the cargo hold.

Shockwave's Tower, loading balcony

Transforming into his gun mode above one of loading balconies once used for airborne supply transports, Shockwave fired a carefully calculated gammaray blast towards the massive doors that prevented him from accessing the powered down tower. Without energon to run the various sub-systems of the tower, Shockwave had no other options than force his way in. Despite being far stronger than an average cybertronian, Shockwave hadn't even bothered to consider trying to force the door open through brute strength. That would have been too much even for him alone. Blasting his way in was another thing, out of all transformers, only Megatron and the ancient Omega Sentinels could match his firepower.

After the smoke from the explosion that had rocked the door landed, a hole large enough to allow even larger transformers like the Dinobots in with easy had been opened into the door in front of him. Transforming back into robot mode, Shockwave landed on the balcony and led his hovertrailer into the gargantuan tower. Making a note of having to repair the door as soon as it was possible while heading towards his old lab.

A Short Distance Away

Thunderwing used his atmospheric scanning equipment to monitor the approach and landing of the Decepticon vessel. It was only able to penetrate the cloak due to his knowledge of the vessel’s specific emission pattern and knowing where to look for it and the landing beacon.

His personal labs were attached to Shockwave’s tower via a set of tunnels. He had left the other Decepticon’s lair largely alone, not wanting to face whatever defenses were left active inside of it and assuming that most worthwhile materials had been stripped from it ages ago. Now he briefly considered going through those tunnels to greet Shockwave and his crew from inside the lab, but quickly dismissed it. It would be inappropriate for anyone but Shockwave to enter his lab after so long.

The Decepticon scientist would greet the newly returned Transformers on the landing platform itself. The fact that it would allow him to show off his improved abilities and alternate mode did not fail to occur to him. He lifted up into the air and transformed, rocketing off to the tower. He rose up around the tower, circling it a couple of times before he banked and came in at the launch silo, diving down into and transforming to land in his robot mode.

Shockwave's Tower, loading balcony

The Decepticon glanced around, the large form of the Thanatos occupying most of his view. He could only spot a solitary Decepticon, a seeker of some sorts. He was a bit surprised and disappointed. It made sense though that a Decepticon of Shockwave’s thinking wouldn’t waste time on any sort of pleasantries or protocol. He would get straight to work and if the ruined door leading to the tower was any indication he had done just that.

Thunderwing still felt that something had to be done to recognize this momentous occasion, the return of the Decepticons to Cybertron. He quickly made his way over to the seeker, a female he now saw as he got closer. It had been a long time since he had seen any Decepticon, male or female, in person. He smiled as he approached Blackwind, extending a hand out to her. “As the lone known inhabitant of Cybertron, allow me to greet you and the rest of the Decepticon Empire. Welcome home.”

Shockwave’s Tower – Loading Balcony

Once the Thanatos was safely inside of the silo the crew, namely the Predacons and Swindle, made their way out of the battle cruiser and began off loading the supplies that were brought from their previous location. Blackwind rose from her chair and turned in time to see Shockwave already heading off of the bridge. Had she the ability she would have rolled her optics, resided, however, she simply sighed and moved to the cargo bay where she had stored the equipment she would need during their stay on their home world.

Most of her supplies consisted of datapads and software needed to bring the computers back online and up to date. She carefully took an arm load of equipment and placed it on the loading balcony just outside of the Thanatos. She would have to scrounge up a hovercart in order to bring her effects to their final location.

She had gone back inside the battle cruiser to retrieve more items when Thunderwing appeared on the balcony. She had no clue he had arrived until she heard his voice. With an arm full of equipment she turned and faced him, a slight smile on her face. She carefully placed the goods on the balcony next to the rest and stood back up, her optics never left his form. It was then that she noticed his extended hand. She smiled broadly and placed her hand is his.

“Well, I thank you.”

Blackwind then released his hand and continued to speak while she resumed her work.

“Contrary to popular belief, it is good to be home. I was……surprised to hear that someone had disregarded the evacuation orders and stayed behind. At first I assumed that you might be mad, but after hearing of your…..work, I came to the conclusion that you were obviously just a misunderstood genius.”

She finally exited the cargo bay with a hovercart, exactly what she needed. She stopped the cart in front of Thunderwing and began loading her wares, at the same time she continued to speak to him.

“The work you’ve done on yourself is actually quite fascinating, I would love to hear about the process once I’ve set up in the tower." While loading her datapads she pointed to him and continued. “This….. your carapace………very becoming if I may say so.”

Once she was finally done she stood back up and walked over to him, a smile spread across her face. She stood there for a moment before she hooked her arm with his.

“Now, if you don’t mind, you can escort me into the tower and show me where I can off load my equipment.”

She activated the remote for the hovercart and made ready to move on.

Shockwave’s Tower – Loading Balcony

Thunderwing was pleased when the seeker took his hand. Yes, it wasn’t quite the pomp and circumstance that the moment deserved, but it was better than nothing. He watched as the female went back to her work of off loading supplies. He noticed that they consisted of less heavy equipment and more information devices. Thunderwing was glad to see them, assuming they would carry updated scientific information and various codes and protocols. He was woefully out of touch with the Empire in both of those matters. The Decepticon helped her place them on the hovercart as she continued to speak.

“I’m sure I will be called mad, misunderstood and everything in between. I may have been gone for sometime but I still recall how the Empire works. I will silence my doubters with my breakthroughs though, as I always have.”

Thunderwing smiled as she pointed at him. “Thank you. While I didn’t originally construct it with any sort of aesthetic intent over time I refined it and tweaked it, adding additional weapons systems. Eventually it got to the point where aesthetics could be considered. I hoped it looked presentable, but with only my opinion to go on I was always uncertain. I think you for the compliment and confirming my suspicions. Allow me to say that I could not have hoped for a lovelier Decepticon to greet upon the return to Cybertron.”

He was a bit startled when she took his arm. “Well, it would be my pleasure to take you on a tour, but do know that it is Commander Shockwave’s tower and not my own. Due to the atmospheric conditions on Cybertron until recently I have maintained my own labs beneath the planet surface. However I did download the schematics to the tower so I should be able to find my way around. Hopefully Shockwave has deactivated any security devices he left on.” He smiled down at Blackwind as he pushed the hovercart and led them inside. “I don’t believe I caught your name?”

Shockwave’s Tower – Loading Balcony

Blackwind looked up at Thunderwing and smiled at his most welcome comment.

“Well, I thank you….again.”

Blackwind nodded as he explained about the tower’s owner. She understood that there may be some security measures Shockwave would have implemented before leaving his labs, but she was certain that he had disengaged them by now.

“I can fully understand going underground, and that security is something Shockwave would have most assuredly implemented upon his departure.“

They entered the same doors that the military operations commander had previously destroyed and began making their way through the corridors. She had grown silent, although she did not forget Thunderwing’s last question, she was simply waiting to reply.

“You mentioned before of your ‘breakthroughs’, not including your most prestigious achievement, there are others. I’m assuming each and every one of them will benefit the Empire. I couldn’t imagine that you would be modest and refuse to share everything you’ve been working on thus far.”

She turned her attention back to their travels and smiled before she spoke up again.

“I often wonder why Lord Megatron puts up with that obsequious Cyclops the way he does. I suppose he has, and will continue to, come in handy. Watching after him will not be an easy task.”

With her arms still locked around his she placed her free hand on his upper arm and patted it. She looked back up at Thunderwing and flashed him a seductive smile.

“And to answer your question…..my name is Blackwind.”

Shockwave’s Tower – Loading Balcony

Weirdwolf is unloading scientific equipment onto a hover cart. His sensors are bombarding him with information of the power signatures and radiation surrounding the planet. Colors and energy patters rush threw the air in erratic patterns and colors. There is still a lot of residual energy, but its just low enough to "safely" operate. Glancing over he notices Blackwind and Thunderwing. Sensors indicate Blackwind is running at slightly above normal levels, and she was apparently flirting. Weirdwolf couldn't help but laugh to himself about the situation, in all his years as a Decepticon this might be the most dastardly power ploy he ever witnessed. Assassinations and battles were one thing, but this was truly underhanded.

Turning to Swindle he jests the situation.

"Tricks she turns, never learns" He slyly comments with a smirk on his face.

Finished stacking the equipment on the hover cart Weirdwolf begins to push it to the lab.