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Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 2:26 am
by Rex Prime
Air Raid, was like a bystander during all these events, standing in his place, attempting to understand what's going on, and watching, unsure of what is really happening, coming late didn't do any good.

The Aerialbot watched as the Autobots and the Decepticons made a "truce", against the fallen, unsure of what he heard it seems like Hot Rod is the fallen, and has gathered some minions. That was a complete shock for Air Raid, that he, at the beginning assumed that there was an error with his systems, but no, it wasn't much before he was aware that he was hearing stuff. It's real.

Ultra Magnus soon ordered the withdrawl of the Autobot's forces, the Aerialbot is still trying to not believe what he heard, he should ask Slingshot later, he seen it all, he couldn't just lie on him. But now his duty is to return to the Ark, Air Raid prepared himself before using an Orbital Bounce from the Earth to the Ark, The Aerialbot left the scene

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:49 am
by Drop Bear
Tree Line

He plucked one from this joint. He plucked one from that crevice. He plucked one from that joint. He plucked one from this crevice. Here, there and everywhere were chunks and slender pieces of wood jutting out of Blitzwing's armour-plating as though he were striving to pass himself off as a new species of cyber-hedgehog.

Curse that forest and its trees.

He had Slingshot to thank for his ridiculous makeover, and he intended to show his appreciation in true Blitzwing fashion: by introducing his fists and scimitar to the Aerialbot. They were raring—oh so enthusiastic to meet Slingshot—and after they'd finished their greetings, neither the cunning of Swindle nor the proficiency of Gutcruncher would be capable of salvaging any spare parts, even remotely decent, to sell. Such was the atrocity Blitzwing had planned for the tin foil plane.

But it would have to wait. Slingshot appeared to be on his best behaviour, and that most likely owed to the ceasefire in place. That ceasefire, of course, conjured up and solidified with commands from Onslaught and Ultra Magnus, the highest-ranking Transfomers present, their respective superiors. Blitzwing couldn't exactly tell either of those two to “take a hike, loser”, or “you're not the boss of me so shut your oral cavity”, or “go frag yourself”, as much as he would have enjoyed saying those things to Magnus, particularly that last one.

Onslaught might have a meltdown due to the lack of proper protocol that he was such a stickler for.

So with a lot of reluctance and a lot more effort, he cast Slingshot from his mind, tried to be good, and listened to the ensuing discussion between Onslaught and Magnus. When it came to an end he was rather pleased, because all this talk of The Fallen had made Blitzwing somewhat anxious, had almost prompted him to disrupt their conversation and throw his own thoughts into it. Only by exercising a considerable amount of self-restraint had he not added his viewpoint.

Kill or be killed. That's all there is to it.

Blitzwing believed that to be an adequate reason to have included himself in their discussion. Hunt or be hunted. Strike or be struck. The practical part of him demanded something be done before it was too late.

Then again, it would be kind of difficult attacking a foe who could travel from one side of the solar system to the other in the blink of an optic. That foe being a demi-god. And kind of difficult as in incredibly difficult, if not impossible.

Hmm. Quite the prickly situation. Though, in Blitzwing's opinion, action still needed to be taken.

Brawl's outburst brought the Triple Changer back to reality, yanking him from his pondering state. He grinned at Brawl's reaction, predictable as it was—but also highly amusing. He had to. Among the Decepticons to have been selected for the Earth campaign, Blitzwing regarded Brawl as one of his genuine friends.

As tough as the most durable alloys, more brutal than the fiercest plasma storm, and perpetually keen to slaughter Autobots, what wasn't to like? And who better to fight alongside with in battle?

Blitzwing laughed. “That a lad, Brawl! Now tell everyone how you really feel!”

His laughter halted when he noticed Onslaught's gaze targeting him. No, not just him. Astrotrain, too. The Combaticon commander's posture suggested dissatisfaction or a condition similar to it. Joy.

Blitzwing looked at Astrotrain. “Am I paranoid or are we in deep slag?”

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 7:52 pm
by Devastron
Treeline

Kup wasn’t much for flowery speeches; he was always more of a practical Bot. Still, he understood the importance of rallying the troops, especially now that morale had taken a pretty heavy blow. Magnus seemed up to the task for now, although they would need some action to back up those words. The Autobots were taking far too many losses to just patch over with some words. Hopefully everyone would be able to keep it together long enough for them to deliver some sort of victory.

“Alright, you heard him, we’re heading back to the Ark-22. If any of you still need repairs, get them. The rest of you can return to whatever duties you were performing. I’d suggest getting refueled as we are going to have to be prepared for the Fallen and the Decepticons’ next moves, whatever they are.”

Kup sent a standard retrieval signal to the Ark-22 and in short order all of the Autobots present were bounced back to the vessel.

(OOC: All Autobots in this thread are now moved to the Ark-22 and can begin posting there.)

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:14 am
by Cryhavok
Treeline

"After that, we resume exterminating Autobots. Fair?"


Deep down, Brawl had known that Onslaught wouldn't let him continue on his chosen course. Still, his rage just did not let him be okay with it without at least blowing some steam off through screaming and shouting. To be frank, had Onslaught not thrown himself on his line of fire, he'd have tried to shoot Ultra Magnus - not just make noise.

"Fine!" Brawl finally managed to grunt. Onslaught's reasoning didn't really find their target in the Combaticon warrior. The Fallen didn't sound any less of a myth. And if he was such a threat, why they couldn't just order an orbital strike from the Thanatos instead of waiting for Razorclaw to make his move against Shockwave? It wasn't like the uprising couldn't wait for little longer. But such lingering thoughts didn't make Brawl any less of a soldier. He was still able to follow orders. Even if he tried to bend them as much as he could depending on who was giving the commands.

The following Autobot mass exodus through orbital bounces robbed him of the chance to actually kill them anyways. For now.

However, it did not remove his lust for causing mayhem.

"We still gonna play hide and seek with the fleshbags?" Brawl asked, and continued before Onslaught had a chance to respond, "If so... get everyone off this fraggin' beach 'cuz I am going to clean the damn traces we left by blowing it all up!"

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 11:32 am
by Smokescreen85
Encrypted Transmission to Onslaught from Blast-Off:

>>”Commander Onslaught, this is Blast-Off reporting. I have received a message from Razorclaw who is currently aboard the Thanatos. The message was sent via a light beacon directed at our sensor array. Rather low tech but still very effective. Seems that big things are about to go down over on the Predacon vessel. I’m relaying to you the translated communique now. I await your response.”<<


Decoded Message from Razorclaw's Beacon - Relayed by Blast-Off:

{Razorclaw to Onslaught. Need immediate assistance on Thanatos. Battle against Shockwave to begin soon in hangar. Powered up on ultra energon. Use caution. Out.}

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 11:46 pm
by Devastron
Shoreline

Swindle gave Onslaught a broad smirk. He knew that when his commander gave praise he truly meant it. While he wasn’t the type to go sniffing for simple praise, he was more then welcome to hearing it. Maybe he would work that into some future sales pitches. ‘From Swindle, the Decepticon called by Combaticon Commander Onslaught as ‘impressive.’ Yeah, that probably needed some work, but it was a start.

“You won’t regret this boss, this is gonna be great!” The arms dealer flipped open a panel on the beacon and hit the activation button. The device lit up as it beamed a signal up to the Obliteration. Now they just needed to wait, preferably peacefully, of course with Brawl and Autobots nearby that just wasn’t going to happen.

Swindle backed off as Brawl threw a fit and Onslaught raced to stop him from doing something monumentally stupid. He was tempted to throw in a comment or two, especially since Brawl had been yelling at him not too long ago. He held his tongue this time though as it looked like he would be needing Brawl’s assistance in the near future. It was best to keep him as calm as was possible for the goon. The Combaticon would have to make sure to give him a simple assignment though, probably smashing or blowing something up.

The arms dealer’s optics followed Onslaught’s as he looked over at the two triple changers loitering nearby. Swindle came up next to his commander and whispered to him. “Boss, you want me to bring the triples back into the fold here? Do a little bit of negotiating on your behalf? I’m sure I can get them back in line, there probably shell-shocked after all that’s happened. I’m sure if we can avoid punishment this time they’ll be begging to get back in on our side.” Of course Swindle would have to work his own angle as well and score some sort of profit out of it. Of course Onslaught should expect that, but he’d still get the job done for his commander. He was still loyal, in his own way.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:24 pm
by Insidious
Shoreline

Like he usually did, at least when Onslaught forced him to, Brawl managed to pull through his own excessive degree of violence and vitriol and see reason. It wasn't ideal, but Onslaught would take it. The alternative would send the next few orns up in flames--quite literally.

Onslaught normally would have been relieved to get the status update from Blast-Off. Primarily, it confirmed that he hadn't done anything to get the Obliteration shot out of the sky by the Predacons' more powerful vessel, ominously under the command of Shockwave and Soundwave--neither of whom would likely hesitate to do just that if they thought their power base was being subverted. His Combaticon subordinate sounded no worse for wear, but the situation had indeed changed. Drastically.

It had, at least, pulled his attention away from the insubordinate triple-changers.

>>"Understood Blast-Off. Good work. Coordinate with Swindle. We're about to make our move. If you can get word to him in the same secure fashion, do it."<<

"Use haste, Swindle. It seems we may well be in battle as soon as I have access to that pod of yours. Maybe sooner. As for the triple-changers," Onslaught began. He didn't want to waste their talents, but there was also to be some degree of punishment that would be expected by everyone for the actions they had taken. Onslaught was not one to ignore it. "Proceed. They're yours to command for the time being. Have them do what you need them to do in order to get done what needs doing. Brawl will enforce your commands if needed."

This was it. All of his team had critical tasks to undertake, either to assist Razorclaw--and thus, themselves--or prevent their extinction at the hands of a Cybertronian legend. Neither were situations that Onslaught would have suspected he would oversee in any fashion not even one full vorn before, and yet here he was.

"Clear out so Brawl can do his work. And make sure you're loaded up. We won't be down here much longer."

Onslaught's gaze turned from the triple-changers as he crossed the water's edge and began trekking back down in to the depths where the Constructicons were likely still hard at work on what might well be their only refuge if things went badly.
___

"Deep slag," Astrotrain agreed, quietly hoping that Onslaught and Brawl would suddenly start pummeling each other right in front of them. That would've been a good show.

But it seemed to be all for not, as the Combaticon Commander's attention looked like it was being pulled in some other direction. Something was going on and Astrotrain had no idea what. He didn't like that. But Onslaught's attention didn't look like it was on them anymore, either. That works.

"Or...maybe not."

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:09 am
by Drop Bear
Shoreline

Blitzwing grunted. “Who would've thought, eh?”

Interesting. Instead of Onslaught screaming at the Triple Changers for their act of insubordination, probably sabotaging a detail here and there in some strategy he had in place, the Combaticon commander simply strode past the pair without a sound, and vanished into the sea. Blitzwing was happy about that.

But he wasn't particularly happy about the instructions Onslaught had left Swindle to carry out. If he'd heard correctly, then—somehow, incredibly, inexplicitly, unbelievably, impossibly—that little cyber-weasel, Swindle, was on the verge of assuming command over the Triple Changers. Like telling them what to do right now.

What? Why? How? How?

Blitzwing sighed, a raucous noise that could have done with some toning down, if not only for the deliberate exaggeration that coated it. He would refuse to take orders from that pipsqueak.

“What the Pit, 'Train?” The look on Blitzwing's face-plate was anything but content. “Was Onslaught serious? Was he really? Do we seriously have to obey that oil stain?”

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:29 am
by #Sideways#
Treeline

It was a while until Ramjet showed back up on the beach. He had been planning and waiting until the time was right to make his presence known, and he had a perfect opportunity on his hands. It seemed that nearly everyone on the Ultrax went out for battle, somewhere. This left the derelict ship behind.

>>Waspinator? Do you read?<< Ramjet sent a signal to possibly someone who was on the Ultrax at the time.

He heard static. There was a chance that he was still there, but Ramjet wasn't sure if he was, anymore.

>>Wazzpinator readzz Ram-Bot loud and clear.<< Ramjet smiled.

Ramjet then quietly told him his plan, and how useful Waspinator would be in it, at least, for the time being. After his briefing, there was more static. Had the Insecticon hung up on him?

>>Ram-Bot... Need... Wazzpinator...?<< There was a sob over the static, it seemed that Waspinator was rather emotionally compromised at the moment. >>Wazzpinator aczzept. Wazzpinator get to work right away!<<

Suddenly, Ramjet heard some shouting. It was that of Blitzwing. It seemed he was not content with Swindle being their CO. Needless to say, Ramjet agreed. Strolling forward out of the woods, he made directly for the Triplechangers, just in time to hear the commando's question. Putting his hands over both of their shoulders, Ramjet prepared a smile for them, making it as genuine as possible.

"Of course not. Why take orders from him, when you can come with me?" Ramjet said, smooth and calm.

Striding up to Swindle, he glared at the black market dealer.

"I'll deal with this. You don't need to do anything with them. You have more pressing matters to attend to, obviously. Just tell the boss that you left them in good hands and that you are better suited by his side, or something." And with that, he left Swindle and went back to the Triplechangers.

Leaning in close to where only the two Triples could hear him, he said rather quickly, "If you wish to hear what I have to say, turn off your GPS beacons now. I already have. The Bounce will not pick me up."

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:39 am
by #Sideways#
Undersea Base

To say Bonecrusher was angry would be an understatement. He hated, and I mean hated to be left out on a chance to beat some faces in. He heard some murmurings of the Fallen, but he didn't care. Not. One. Bit. He wanted to blow something up...

But there would be a time for that.

Now is probably the only time that there could be a base built, not to mention an opportunity to build Devastator... Bonecrusher couldn't help himself from grinning a bit under his facemask. That was a name of power. Something that people would respect. No more were they just some construction guys, they were the Constructicons!

Needless to say, it made Bonecrusher a bit excited. Using his massive strength and the almost low-gravity of the sea, Bonecrusher leaped from his position on the front lines all the way to the base in a matter of instants. There was a cloud of silt that arose from his landing, but that mattered nothing to him. He was going to get this upgrade. Now.

"Hook! I'm up next!" Bonecrusher didn't care who is in front of him, or behind him in line, he was going to have that next spot and pretty much nothing was going to stop him.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 12:47 pm
by Insidious
Undersea Base

Working on a member of their team in such a delicate operation as this was precarious enough, but what Scrapper really didn't need right now were members of his team getting impatient and sabotaging any of the work they were doing, even if it was completely unintentional. They were on the road to greatness. They couldn't afford to veer off in to a ditch now.

"You will be next," Scrapper said, answering the impatient Constructicon that had addressed his demand to Hook. Scrapper hadn't even bothered to look up, instead moving a servo out of the way as Hook continued his own modifications on their fellow Constructicon. "But you have to wait. Just like Hook and myself. This is a process that can not be rushed, as much as all of us would like it to be. Especially now."

Bonecrusher was the strongest member of their team, and sometimes had a temper to match. Every so often he had to be treated with protoformic actuators in order to prevent him from going off like one of Motormaster's or Onslaught's more volatile mechs, but at the end of the day Bonecrusher was a professional, just as they all were, and Scrapper was fairly certain he would listen to reason. Scrapper cast a quick, askew glance at the progress they had made on the base thus far. It was impressive, but for the needs of the Decepticons, there was still more that would need to come. Eventually, they could requisition certain portions of typical facility structures from large ships such as the Thanatos, but not until they were assured that they were not suddenly going to be fired upon by members of their own faction--for whatever ridiculous political purpose it might serve in the heat of the moment.

Until then, they would need to continue expanding and fortifying what they had to work with down here.

"We need to plunge deeper in to the terrain here. The slopes leading up to the surface. The mineral beds beneath us. I want all the raw materials we can access. This polymer dome serves our purposes for now, but we're going to need to fortify it and any ancillary structures we might eventually build alongside it."

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:00 pm
by Foximus
Undersea Base

Scavenger was a still unsettled about all of this Fallen business. The fact that not even Scrapper knew how they were going deal with it was impressive in itself, at least to Scavenger. Devastator was seeming more and more like their only hope. Scavenger looked down at himself. Devastator. Yes. The Constructicons could be more than just the construction workers. They could be a serious force to be reckoned with.

The excavator still hoped that they would still get the opportunity to work on their projects even with the power of Devastator at their fingertips. No one was better than them at construction. Plus, Scavenger loved digging too much to simply give it all up. He looked up as Bonecrusher pushed to a spot ahead, claiming to be next.

Scavenger could tell that his fellow Constructicon was excited like him. Fortunately, Scavenger had already had the modifications completed on himself. Scrapper wasn't long in responding to 'Crusher. As usual, Scrapper had already thought ahead. At the mention of the mineral beds beneath them, Scavenger's optics brightened. An opportunity to dig something valuable up! He would do anything for the approval of his fellow Constructicons. Scavenger fidgeted a bit, wanting to start excavation that very astrosecond.

Instead, Scavenger walked over to Bonecrusher and Mixmaster. The Fallen still nagged at the back of his processor like a ominous looming cloud. He was something out of myth. A legend that had long passed into the fog of time. The past was supposed to be just that. The past. And now they had a ghost of it come to haunt them.

"What do you guys...make of the Fallen?"

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 10:36 am
by Phaze
Undersea base
Mixmaster brushed off Hooks insult with a cackle as he knelt to pick up some armour pieces that had fallen to the ground during the various procedures. “Always interested in specimens that will produce new alloy’s” the glint of either genius or madness in his optic as he stood back up placing the armour pieces within a locker in his wrist. He looked about the medical bay Long haul was nearby and Scavenger approached babbling about the Fallen.

“The Fallen he’s a fairy tale something to scare protoforms as they come online like primus is a comfort for those not long for this world. I believe in scientific reason but if you get some armour shards or a limb off the fairy tale I’m sure we could get some wonderful new alloy’s and possibly prove his myth or bust it” Mixmaster sneered as he swung an arm around Scavenger's shoulders “Come on my superstitious friend you need to do some digging to calm your nerves and if there are casualties then it’s going to get a tad crowded” Hook might think that Mixmaster was slightly deranged he’d be right but Mixmaster had his lucid insights and this was one of them his reasoning Scavenger needed a distraction. The Materials expert was also subtly gaining even more armour flakes for his potential super alloys he really wasn’t picky where it came from.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 12:00 am
by Devastron
Shoreline

Swindle nodded at Onslaught. He could tell that something was up, even more so then before and things were pretty high up already. Whatever had happened had put an added urgency on things. That just meant he was going to have to work his magic a little faster then he had planned, but that was fine with him. Swindle always delivered his goods on any reasonable deadline, whether it was spare parts, ammo or cooperation of some lunkhead triplechangers.

The arms dealer turned to the Decepticons in question, a smile plastered on his face as he approached Astrotrain and Blitzwing. He overheard the ‘oil stain’ comment but his smile didn’t falter. “Oil stain? Really guys? You hurt me, and all I’m doing is trying to help you.”

Unfortunately the Combaticon was cut off by the sudden arrival of Ramjet. Swindle never really head any problem with the various seekers, but he was always aware of their reputation as being a bit arrogant. Ramjet was apparently the worst of them all from the way he was acting. Swindle’s smile turned quickly into a scowl as Ramjet casually dismissed him and turned to try and take control of the triplechangers. It was like someone had taken the arrogance of Starscream and combined it with extreme stupidity.

Swindle was perhaps the least likely of the Combaticons to resort to outright violence. It typically wasn’t in his nature. However, the Combaticon did possess a shrewd and sometimes brutal business sense and a competitor had just spit in his face AND turned his back on him. That broke so many codes of business and just general being a Decepticon that Swindle really had no option. The fact that he was going to relish it certainly helped though.

The Combaticon whipped out his gyro gun and opened fire on Ramjet’s exposed back. The unprepared seeker was pelted with shots and quickly tumbled face first to the ground from the loss of all sense of balance. With as many shots as he had pumped into him he was going to be getting up anytime soon. Just to be sure Swindle walked over to him and firmly placed a foot on the middle of his back.

He looked up at Astrotrain and Blitzwing with a smile again. “Now, you could go with Ramjet here, strike out on your own, I can understand the appeal of that. No one to answer to, I mean maybe aside from old Ramjet here. I’m sure he’ll come up with some good strategies for you, like ‘hit the enemy with your head as hard as you can!’ It works for him at least right? Of course you’ll be going with NO support system and NO back up of any sort. So, you know, just the three of you, led by Ramjet.”

“Now, let me make my pitch to you. Do you guys really think I’m gonna order you around, get you doing things you don’t want to do? I’m an arms dealer, not a general. You stick with me and I’ll make sure you’re well equipped and well fueled. I’m not going to be ordering your around in battle, you guys know how to fight better then I do. But when you go into battle, I’ll make sure you have all the best stuff. And, just to prove my point, here comes the goods.” Swindle pointed into the air as the escape pod flew down towards them. It hovered in the air for a minute before landing softly on the beach.

“Now that’s my personal mini-armory. Would you two like to take a look inside with me and get patched up, reloaded and refueled, or would you rather stay here with mister ‘I hit things with my head really hard’ here? Its up to you.” With that Swindle began to move to the escape pod, but kept an optic on the triple and Ramjet.

(OOC: Moderator making a called hit here as that was a bit much to insult Swindle and just expect to walk away like that. The shots scrambled his sense of balance pretty bad so it will take a little while for Ramjet to be able to get up and walk again. There isn’t any permanent damage though.)

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 2:19 pm
by Insidious
Shoreline

Astrotrain had simply shrugged, sending a quick look of disdain in the Combaticon hustler's direction, quietly agreeing with Blitzwing's characterization of the mech.

Ramjet seemed to agree too. Astrotrain didn't know where the slag he had been for the last few breems, but he seemed intent on making his presence known again. He was determined. Astrotrain would give him that much.

To Astrotrain's surprise though, after Ramjet had finished disrespecting the little oil stain, said stain went and shot Ramjet in the back.

Rookie mistakes, Astrotrain thought, having seen Shockwave and any other number of "commandy" types navigate similar circumstances. You didn't insult a mech unless you were ready for a fight. Not in these ranks, and especially not with Megatron gone. Slaggin' everybody wanted to prove they were the top dog now.

And if you're gonna insult the guy, you don't turn your back after. Geez....

Astrotrain had seen some promise in the dogged black-and-white Seeker. Enough so that he had even contemplated getting behind his move for leadership. Definitely would've shaken things up. Astrotrain wouldn't have minded a little freshening up of the command ranks. But if he was gonna make moves like that, then it was clear his leadership goals still needed time to....to....one of those big words that Shockwave liked to use. Marinate? Close enough. After that move, Swindle had Astrotrain's full attention now. Decepticon politics in full display right there. One goes down in flames and another steps in to replace him.

And, he had to admit, the offer didn't sound bad at all. Maybe Onslaught's punishment would turn out to be less of one than the triple-changer had initially thought. Especially since the little glitch was already bringing down his own supplies.

"Eh. Alright," Astrotrain said, shrugging and looking over at Blitzwing for a second before following Swindle over to his pod. "So. You got, uh, more of the inside scan of what's going on around here? Me and Blitz weren't sure we caught it all. What are we doing? What should we be doing?"

Astrotrain knew that there could be very different answers to those last two questions, especially given who he was talking to. Who knows? Swindle might put their talents to better use than his unit commander or Ramjet would have.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:27 am
by Drop Bear
Shoreline

Well, well, well. That was quite the show Swindle and Ramjet had put on, quite the entertaining skit the two Decepticons had performed. Their efforts deserved several rounds of applause, a multitude of cheers, and critical acclaim until they could no longer bear it.

They were acting, weren't they? It was a satirical scene, wasn't it?

Oh, dear. Ramjet was being serious. Oh, dear.

Swindle had been well within his rights to take action against Ramjet; one simply did not turn his back on a Decepticon after disrespecting him and expect to evade the consequences. It was a lesson harshly learned in some cases, Ramjet's now the most recent example. But the question remained: would he emerge from this incident any wiser?

As did everyone who knew the Seeker, Blitzwing believed he, too, possessed the correct answer to that query. Of course not. Ramjet would continue to do stupid things. That was just what he did.

Walking over to Swindle's personal mini-armoury, Blitzwing cast a wary glance at the Combaticon. The mental image of Swindle with one pede resting on the disabled form of Ramjet like he'd successfully hunted Tarn's most lethal wild cyber-beast materialised in Blitzwing's core processor. That a smile still easily returned to his face-plate, after having lost it owing to the Seeker's intervention, made it all the more disturbing.

“I gotta echo Astrotrain's sentiments,” he said to Swindle. “What is it you want us to do?”

Suspicions. Blitzwing had them. Somewhere concealed within Swindle's honeyed words lay an intention, an ulterior motive. He'd bet the DJD his functioning on it.

A glimpse at Astrotrain revealed similar feelings. But he'd have to wait it out and see what scheme Swindle was attempting to set in motion.

Damn. Blitzwing hated waiting.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:12 am
by #Sideways#
Shoreline

If looks could kill, Swindle would be dead hundreds of times over. Feeling the foot of the slimy businessman on Ramjet's back was insult enough to shoot him. And speaking of insults, whatever he had said earlier must have been taken as one whereas he wanted to come off as trying to do Swindle a favor. What was that old saying again? "No good deed goes unpunished"? Right.

But Ramjet didn't act upon his emotions, strong as they were. With his gyros messed up and the Combaticons around, he couldn't exactly last long enough to do enough of a hurting on Swindle before being deactivated himself... So he waited. He waited with the most disturbing grin on his face and a low chuckle just loud enough to be audible, for he was silently plotting his vengeance. His cold and painful vengeance.

And Ramjet was enjoying every second of it.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 1:32 pm
by Insidious
Shoreline

Just beneath the edge of the water, Onslaught could see that the Constructicons were doing what they did best. He saw that they appeared to be working on each other as well as the base. He had no idea why, but maybe Long Haul or the others had sustained some damages that needed repairing. Whatever the case was, their work here would not benefit from another distraction. Scrapper's commitment to their cause seemed tentative anyway. It would be best not to involve them in what was about to take place lest they inadvertently--or intentionally--make matters worse.

Turning back the way he came, Onslaught crested through the water's edge and walked back on to the shoreline, pleasantly surprised to see that Swindle not only had a pretty good idea, but had been exceedingly efficient in executing it.

"Excellent," Onslaught said, reaching into Swindle's cache for some additional artillery shells and some more sonic stun rounds that he could store away until after he had fired off everything in his current arsenal. He didn't need much, as he had been preparing for Razorclaw's call for some time now. He had been judicious in his use of weapons in their engagement with the Autobots and it would not take much to top his ammunition levels off. "Lock and load, boys."

Now that their timetables had been jumped forward a couple of steps, getting the Obliteration down here without the humans, or Shockwave, noticing would have to be an afterthought. It was time to bring the fight to the cyclops, and that meant heading to the Thanatos directly. So long as they hadn't been locked out.

Onslaught used his command codes to attempt an interface with the bounce chamber aboard the Thanatos. And it worked. Onslaught heaved an internal sigh of relief. That would make things much easier. He had a backup plan in mind if this simpler option hadn't panned out, but fortunately either Shockwave hadn't designated he and his unit as a threat to his power base yet, or Razorclaw had simply taken certain precautions to ensure they would get aboard.

Either way.

Onslaught opened a channel to all of his Combaticons, even though a couple were clearly in acceptable audio range.

>>"I'm setting the Thanatos' bounce chamber to our individual frequencies. It will bounce you up as soon as you tell it to. I want full energy and ammo levels going in. And no delays. Blast-Off, set the Obliteration on auto and meet us aboard. Brawl, you know what to do when we're clear. Onslaught out."<<

His sonic stun gun transforming out of a compartment on his right arm, Onslaught hit his personal activation link and in the next second, he had blinked from view entirely.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 1:23 pm
by Marcus Rush
Shoreline

A soft muted click of a depleted multiple rocket housing pod was the first sound Vortex made since the departure of Ultra Magnus and his cadre of merry little Autobots. He allowed the pod to sink deeper into the frothy depths of the ocean waters for a drone to recover later down the line. Immediately a fully reloaded weapons pod emerged from the foam on the back of a sparkless mobile troller.

Vortex palmed the cartridge and with a firm twist attached it into the interior armory built in his alternative form's transformatiom module. Once satisfied that his higher capacity and more lethal armorments were at peak capacity, the interrogator checked the power levels on his Neutron Rifle and primary Cyclone Gun. The indicators lit green and scrolled cybertronian script indicating full charges.

"Alright Onslaught," Vortex spoke briskly as he returned his Cyclone Gun to a hip lock holster. "I know the primary objective is to bring Shockwave to heel. But I need access to that computer core to do it. The Thanatos has top of the line security. I recommend we take engineering first and lock out Shocky from the system there."

He waited a micron for Onslaught's response then tapped a command terminal on his right wrist. Immediately, with a non verbal nod to his team, Vortex was encased in a tomb of light and evaporated to the ether and to battle.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:33 pm
by Devastron
Shoreline

Swindle offered a reassuring smile to the two triplechangers before turning to rifle through his weapons stash. There were a few bits of technology he wanted to make sure he got a hold of before anyone else saw them. Sure, he’d brought it down here for all of them to reload and re-arm, but he had made this little emergency armor in case he needed to strike out on his own. Occasionally his business activities ran a bit counter to the general Decepticon cause or that of the Combaticons. Brawl had certainly indicated there was still a bit of bad blood from last time. Making sure he had a couple of key items would keep him safe if that happened again.

“Well fellas,” he addressed Blitzwing and Astrotrain, “things seem a bit fluid at the moment. It sounds like the slag is hitting the fan up in orbit, if ya know what I mean. I’m thinking that the whole leadership situation is about to get a lot clearer here real soon.” He grabbed some extra ammunition for his scatter blaster, attaching the large gun to his arm. The arms dealer grabbed a couple of energon containers, throwing one each to Astrotrain and Blitzwing before topping off his own tanks. “There are some repair patches in here to fix up any minor damage you have, anything major will take some more work.”

A broad smile formed on the Combaticon’s face as he scooped up one particular device. He had hoped to sell it to someone but at the very least he could get some use out of it. Autobots were always good at retrieving their fallen from the battlefield and they tended to shoot up anyone doing some scavenging so it had been a heck of a risk getting this device. It shouldn’t be too hard to integrate into his systems though, and then he would have his own little holoavatar to chat with the natives more easily. He just knew he’d be running this little mudball in no time or, at least, take all of its wealth.

Swindle frowned as he got the new message from Onslaught. Plunging into battle against fellow Decepticons on the enclosed confines of a starship was not his idea of a good time. Apparently it was going to be a Combaticon only show too, which meant he would be too busy fighting to collect any new merchandise. Yeah, this wasn’t going to be fun at all.

“Hmmm, well guys it looks like the boss is calling us away. I know I said I’d get you into the fight, and if it was up to me I would! But, we all have to answer to someone and I answer to Onslaught. So I figure while we are gone you guys can get fueled up, fixed up and then maybe load our weapons into whatever base the Constructicons are building down there. Nothing like having a fully stocked armory in a new base I say.” He leaned in close, placing his hands on each of their shoulders. He spoke in a whisper. “I know you guys aren’t happy about this, but it isn’t so bad. Onslaught probably wants to punish you and this is all you are going to get, and it includes full fuel tanks and repairs. That’s a slagging decent punishment if I do say so myself.

Swindle pulled his hands away, leaving small patches on each of their shoulders. The patches quickly changed color, blending into the color of each of the Decepticons paint schemes. It would take a very close inspection to even notice them, even buy the Decepticon they were attached too. The emitted a low frequency form of radiation that was totally harmless but could be easily traced by someone who knew what they were looking for. He wasn’t going to let the triple go off the reservation again.

The arms dealer smiled at them again as he scooped up the radio that matched the one Blast Off likely had now. “Alright guys, I’ll see you on the other side, hopefully with a definitive leader of the Decepticons.” Swindle activated his personal comm unit and connected to the Thanatos. He was instantly enveloped in a beam of light as he bounced up to the waiting vessel.

*

Undersea Base

Hook mostly blocked out the talking by the other Constructicons. It was a talent that had served him quite well over the years, and one every surgeon should possess. He carefully adjusted the nervous and electrical systems inside of Long Haul. It took careful and precise adjustments to make sure his systems would connect with the others and allow direct input and output and allowing his mind to merge into the collective on that would become Devastator. It was all groundbreaking technology and techniques and it didn’t need interrupting by whatever silly arguments the others were having.

Finally the surgical engineer began to extricate his hands from the other Constructicon, sealing him up as he went. “We can reactivate Long Haul now, another flawless operation completed.” He finished sealing up the Constructicon before looking at Scrapper. “Do we continue with the operations? I would prefer to stay activated during mine if possible, you might need my assistance in it.”

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:54 am
by Insidious
Shoreline

Astrotrain began rifling through the Combaticon's supply pod, quickly reaching for the repair patches that Swindle had indicated. It wasn't a CR chamber by any means, but it would do the trick for some of the damage that he had sustained from the Autobots in general, and that slagged little Aerialbot in particular. He was going to get him. Someday.

Astrotrain more or less agreed with everything Swindle had said, so he offered up no real protest as he went about doing what he was doing and then ultimately bouncing up to the Thanatos itself. Any lingering desire to take part in whatever Onslaught and his little troupe were up to quickly faded as the reality set in. Swindle was pretty spot on. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered that he had endured several more severe punishments than this in his day. Play labor mech to Onslaught's little toadie? He could do that for a while.

The triple changer looked over at Blitzwing and shrugged, before transforming in to his train mode. Not ideal without track, but he would make do. With several hisses of steam and grinding metal, the rear doors opened. Several small metal claws and cables snaked their way out to latch on to the pod and begin bringing it into his storage area.

"Load 'er up, I guess. Once you get your fill of the supply closet. Octane would have a field day with this little pod. Stash it away faster than Swindle would try to sell it. You want some of this, Rams? Maybe treat that burn mark on your back, hah hah."
___

Undersea Base

Scrapper nodded at Hook's acknowledgement that they had finished their work on Long Haul. Scrapper entered a few quick codes on the datapad berth that would systematically restore consciousness to Long Haul just as it had with the others and took a few moments to ponder the Constructicon Surgical Engineer's more pressing question.

"For as long as we can. Whatever battle that was up there, we were fortunate that it didn't find its way down here. I don't think our good fortune will last indefinitely."

Undoubtedly, however this internal civil war played out, whoever came out on top was going to quickly assume control of this base and every other Decepticon resource on this planet. Scrapper was fine with that, comfortable in the knowledge that the completion of Devastator was on the horizon, and none of them would be prepared for how he would change things.

"Of course Hook. I wouldn't deprive myself of your insights during this delicate process," Scrapper said, his words not tainted with sarcasm. He knew his team well, and Hook's ego was legendary among not just Constructicons, but the Decepticon empire as a whole. Be that as it may, he had the skills to back them up. Just as Scrapper did, though the Constructicon commander was far less inclined to bring such attention to himself. Nevertheless, he didn't have the slightest hesitation about indulging the surgeon's vanity. It could well prove to be necessary.

"Bonecrusher, it's your lucky cycle. You're up."

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:47 pm
by Cryhavok
Shoreline

BOOM. THOOM. KA-BOOM.

Brawl was in his happy place. Well, if he had ever cared for the whole idea of Rungian re-experience therapy he would have been in that particular place. Or at least re-living it very closely.

Explosions were explosions, no matter what was the source. Sure, he had been forced to use throw-back explosives of this so called humankind but this was a clean-up operation. Humans were unfortunately clever enough to see the difference between weapons they had and those alien to them were they to study the damages and study them they would. Thus, detonating plasma charges or anti-matter bombs... or that fold-space warhead he was truly itching to try out, was not exactly preferable.

Oh well, these explosive shells emulating human naval artillery barrage were plenty fun to throw around. Sure, an international incident might follow. North Korea blaming their Southern neighbor or United States of America for defiling their soil or something. Brawl didn't really care. That was human business. And well, maybe some unrest between the meatbag nations would actually prove to further Decepticon goals. Well, maybe. He certainly wasn't going to ponder the results in depth. That was what the Onslaughts, Razorclaws and Shockwaves and such were there for. Well, whoever ended up being the boss after the leadership issue was handled.

Frag. That slagging leadership thingy. He had almost forgotten the whole thing. Firing one last explosive shell to the shore, Brawl - whom had driven himself into the sea in his tank form - transformed back into his robot mode and spared a short moment to admire his handiwork. Deciding it was satisfactory, Brawl activated his bounce beacon and disappeared seconds later in a bright beam of light.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:36 am
by Drop Bear
Shoreline

One by one, the Combaticons were speared by columns of brilliant white light that transported them to the Thanatos. First Onslaught, then Vortex; Swindle and Brawl's departures soon followed afterwards. Blitzwing stood on the grain-filled strip of land, Astrotrain the only other mechanoid present on the shoreline.

He'd taken what he'd needed from the mini armoury, ammunition for his rifle, a couple of repair patches, and the energon containers Swindle had offered to him personally, all crucial items he could ill afford to decline. Even if Swindle was scheming, somehow searching for a way for Blitzwing to “owe him a favour”, the Triple Changer had to appreciate the free loot, if only a little.

And he also had to give him credit for knowing his way around words. Swindle certainly boasted the gift of the gab, his silver glossa aiding him in delivering persuasive and inviting speech. Even Blitzwing had to exercise caution, for he, a merciless killer owning the blackest brand of humour, could still fall victim to Swindle's words, his half-truths, and his lies.

Having said that, though, he was telling the truth about one thing: that Blitzwing had escaped punishment for his insubordination. For Onslaught to apparently drop the incident and forget about it—well, that happened as often as Ramjet made a rational decision.

Oh. Too soon?

Astrotrain transformed into his train mode and several metallic claws and cables emerged from the opened rear doors, grabbing the mini armoury and pulling it into his cargo hold. Blitzwing would have helped, but Astrotrain seemed to be doing fine without him.

He chuckled. “Octane would lose his slag over this pod. You know, I don't think we should let him know about it, 'cause we both know what he'll do.”

Octane was a bastard at the best of times. If he managed to find out about the mini armoury and claimed it as his own, not a single Decepticon would hear the end of it. Ever.

Speaking of Decepticons...

“Hey, genius!” Blitzwing called out to Ramjet. “When you're finished being one with nature, why don't you take some stuff out of this pod so we can get the Pit out of here?”

Right. The realisation smacked him in the face-plate as if a Dinobot had struck him. Ramjet was probably still disabled from Swindle's gyro gun.

Blitzwing glanced at Astrotrain before jerking a thumb at the Seeker. “Am I supposed to be helping him or something?”

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 2:03 pm
by Insidious
Shoreline

Astrotrain had been a little surprised that Ramjet hadn't fired back with some angry retort. Surprised until he realized that he was probably still feeling the aftereffects of Swindle's clever little assault. Blitzwing had clearly come to the same conclusion.

"Oh no, please, allow me," the triple-changing train grumbled as he finished securing Swindle's little cash cow and slammed his gears in to reverse. His fellow triple-changer needed a little ribbing for just standing there. Astrotrain himself had been on the receiving end of it more than once. Such was the nature of the triorians' existence.

The large train hissed and the sound of metal grinding together was enough to overload a typical audio receptor as Astrotrain moved in to position. Then the same cables that had snaked their way out to lay claim to the pod now moved to do the same with the fallen Seeker.

"This slaggin' earth terrain is getting in to places where I didn't know I had places," Astrotrain continued, not quite having reached his complaint quota for the orn.

"Unicron forbid we break protocol and leave you out here for the fleshies to find," Astrotrain said, as the cables began to unceremoniously drag Ramjet into his cargo space.

Re: Sea of Change

PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:20 am
by Smokescreen85
The Yellow Sea - Underwater Base

Long Haul’s optics slowly flickered on, revealing the sight of some of his fellow Constructicons who were standing over and around him. His HUD indicated that each of his systems were now back online and operating at optimal efficiency. That was very good news as it meant everything had gone according to plan. The modifications were an apparent success just like the others before him. Once the rest underwent the same procedure, Devastator would finally become a reality and the Empire would fall under a Constructicon regime.

“I don’t really feel any different,” Long Haul commented as he sat up and slid off of the medical slab he had been lying on. Stretching out his limbs and servos, the green transport took a deep intake of air before releasing it again. He then glanced over at the surgical engineer who was preparing for his next patient. “Thanks, Hook. I appreciate the upgrade. Can’t wait to try out my new mode. Heh.”

Finally, Long Haul noticed that Bonecrusher was preparing for his turn under the knife. The heavy lifter quickly stepped aside in order to give his grumpy comrade room to take his place on the med berth. “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Crusher. It doesn’t hurt a bit! Hook’s a real pro at this. You’ll feel great afterwards!” Long Haul patted his fellow Constructicon on the back before moving away to look himself over. The transporter wanted to be sure that all of his parts were accounted for. Everything appeared to be in order as there was nothing visibly different about his framework. Whatever adjustments had been made, they were internal and would only reveal themselves once the transformation into the gestalt commenced.

Probably a good thing. We don’t need the other ‘Cons asking us about any noticeable changes, Long Haul thought as he turned his attention back to the surgical berth. Until Scrapper gave him new orders, the transporter would allow his curiosity to get the better of him and watch as Hook performed the operation on Bonecrusher.