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by **Smokescreen85** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 6:02 pm

Off the western shore of the Korean Peninsula

Long Haul placed the final pile of equipment against a side wall inside of the cave, having completed the task alone as the rest of the Constructicons seemed content with doing other things that were apparently more important. As he exited the make shift storage depot, the green transport overheard Scrapper’s latest set of orders and quickly realized that he had once again been left out of the loop. It didn’t really bother Long Haul to be overlooked as he had become accustomed to such treatment given the fact that his job was to simply carry things from point A to point B and so forth. It was nothing spectacular and therefore he was easily forgotten by even his own comrades.

The rumble of Astrotrain overhead shook Long Haul from his thoughts. Baneblade and the other ‘Cons had arrived with more materials to use in building the base while both Scavenger and Bonecrusher had set out to locate a suitable site at the bottom of the sea to lay the initial foundation. Darkride, Oil Slick and Mixmaster were busy, as well, creating some kind of polymer bubble. That just left the transporter as the odd 'Con out.

Not wanting to stand around in the sand like a useless drone, Long Haul walked up to Scrapper and gave the Constructicon Commander a respectful salute. “Hey, boss. The equipment’s all stored away as you wanted. Should I now go help out Scavers and 'Crusher with the foundation? I figured I'd be more useful to them unless, of course, there's something else you would rather me work on, instead." Long Haul wasn't particularly looking forward to getting salt water in his servos, but it was far better than dealing with the gargantuan Baneblade or hanging around two chemists and an interrogator, the latter of which especially gave him the creeps.

by **Cravex** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:02 pm

Off the western shore of the Korean Peninsula

Thundercracker finished ingesting his energon ration to bring his systems back to full power when he received the transmission from the pair of Seekers he sent out to continue patrolling. So now things become interesting. After giving his fellow Decepticon clearance to approach and land he decided to be among the first to welcome them to Korea.

>>"Thundercracker, this is Astrotrain. Requesting information on possible sightings of human cargo ships or military ships within your unit's radar sensor."<<

Right to the point like a good soldier. That was one of the reasons Thundercracker liked him the most out of the non-Seekers within the Decepticon ranks. He activated his comm link not wanting to keep the large mech waiting and imbedded his sensor data into the communication.

>>“Astrotrain, Thundercracker. The only vessel was spotted three Earth hours ago heading northeast. The information is being uploaded to you now.”<<

by **Insidious** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:30 pm

"'Those tiny bubbles'...," Mixmaster hummed, having picked up some odd musical frequencies on this planet as he went about his work on the polymer structure that Scrapper had requested. "...'make me feel so fine'. Heehee."

Shifting in to reverse, Mixmaster angled his production valves in another direction as a part of the bubble was starting to take shape, the polymer compounds compounds coalescing and molding together based on the intensity of the propulsion jets. The polymer compound was beginning to take on a nice, translucent opacity. In some small way, it reminded him of a far less refined version of the hardened structures that eventually became the foundation for Crystal City back on Cybertron. Now that was a project worthy of their efforts. Though, he was sure this would have its usefulness in their work once it was completed too.

The sooner the better, in Mixmaster's view. His eyes were most certainly on a very different prize.

by **FuzzymusPrime** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 7:19 pm

Off the western shore of the Korean Peninsula

Scrapper looked up as Astrotrain swooped in. He could tell his teammates had a similar apprehension about the new arrivals as he did, but it was up to him to get past that. Even though they'd done well so far, the materials the warriors had brought with them, no matter how meagre, would speed everything along.

Looking back, Scrapper could see that Scavenger and Bonecrusher were on their way to the waters edge, while Long Haul has still available. Sorry to ruin your day, but... "I need you to help offload Astrotrain. Scavenger can find our location and Bonecrusher can flatten it for construction, but only you can get Astrotrain emptied in record time, and only I can prevent these louts from overstaying their welcome. If we work together, we can have them on their way ASAP. And thats best for all of us."

With that, Scrapper headed over to the parked shuttle, and the opening Cargo bay. He hoped that the view of the other occupants would be obscured by mounds of useful metals. But what right do I have to be so hopeful?

by **Smokescreen85** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:32 pm

Off the western shore of the Korean Peninsula

A disappointed Long Haul nodded as Scrapper explained why he needed him to help offload Astrotrain instead of helping Bonecrusher and Scavenger locate a suitable underwater location for the new base. The green transport wasn’t looking forward to being around Baneblade and his merry group, but it made the most sense considering Long Haul’s primary function was carrying stuff around and his truck bed would be more than adequate enough to lug around whatever materials Astrotrain had in his cargo hold. At least I won’t be near the chemists or the tortuere.

“No problem, boss,” Long Haul responded to Scrapper as he followed the Constructicon Commander over to where the space shuttle was sitting. “With my help, Astrotrain will be emptied in no time and then Baneblade's group will be out of our way.” As he neared the triplechanger’s cargo bay, Long Haul transformed into his Caterpillar 775G dump truck mode and backed up to the ramp. “Okay, gentlemechs, load me up! We don't got all deca-cycle.”

by **USDA Prime** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:34 am

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

"Oh uh, yeah, sure thing Bonecrusher", Scavenger replied after being lost in what little thought he had, "Don't want to keep the boss waiting too long."

Readying his shovel sensors, the excavator followed behind the demolitionist into the wide blue yonder, slowly disappearing into the briny deep until he was completely submerged.

At the Bottom of the Sea of Japan

Though he had found a wide variety of different minerals on the surface, Scavenger hadn't really cared much for the planet Earth. Now as he drove along the floor of the Sea of Japan, he absolutely hated it. Having to drive in his excavator mode in order to use his sensors, it was slow going because he wasn't used to travelling through water, not to mention the green, slimy plants along the sea floor that made it even more difficult to move.

>>UGH, what is this slag down here? Did those human germs plant these disgusting weeds or what?<<

Though his treads kept him moving at a constant pace, it was slow going and frustrating. As an excavator, Scavenger had little need for being fast, but this was getting ridiculous. He wanted to do his job, and do it in a timely manner. He couldn't even focus on his scans along the bottom due to his complete annoyance with local fauna that was hindering his work. After several breems the seaweed started to gunk up into the mining and salvage specialist's treads.

>>Aw, slag this!<<

Though he didn't have the same hair-trigger temper that Bonecrusher often had, even Scavenger had his limits, and he had reached them. Sick and tired of the stupid Earth weeds, Scavenger transformed to his robot mode. He pulled out his laser pistol and repeatedly fired at the sea floor around him and in front of him. As the seaweed disintegrated by the laser fire, Scavenger shouted and laughed at it's destruction, inaudible to anyone due to the fact he was underwater.

After several minutes of what amounted to aquatic weed-whacking, Scavenger stopped when he was satisfied with the path he had made. He transformed back to his excavator mode and continued driving down deeper and deeper, scanning along the sea floor.

by **Cryhavok** » Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:59 am

At the Bottom of the Sea of Japan

Unlike Scavenger, Bonecrusher had chosen to move about in robot form. Rather than struggling to crawl on the soft sea floor and vegetation in his bulldozer mode, the strongman of the Constructicon squad was bouncing from spot to spot and even swimming for short distances. Thus, he had actually already searched larger area than Scavenger had, though as he did not have the sensors his comrade had, his success relied on visual finds. He was about to contact Scavenger about a rockbed he had found when the excavator began complaining loudly through the comm-link. Swimming upwards from his current position, Bonecrusher was able to catch the hilarious scene as Scavenger reached his limit with the weeds. While trying to be generous enough to wait for a bit before commenting anything, Bonecrusher ultimately couldn't hold himself for too long.

>>"Hah! Ain't seeing you to blow a fuse that often! Tell me again, how did you piss off Hook again to make him wire your sensors so that..."<< Bonecrusher paused for a moment before continuing, >>"Well, haven't seen you use 'em in bot mode for vorns. Oh, and I found some bedrock here unless you really want to keep searching the mud, heh."<<

by **Ramplate** » Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:51 pm

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

Ramplate waited until Astrotrain had settled in to land before opening the hatch and stumbling out. Instantly he regretted it as the smell of acidic salt water hit his olfactory sensors. "Guh... what Slag-spawned Glitch ever came up with the design for THIS planet?" he muttered, before Long Haul rolled up, ready for pickup. "All right, all right, let's get this stuff unloaded... We've still got places to hit yet," the tank-former said as he picked up a crate of the finished steel, setting it into the constructicon's truck bed.

by **Insidious** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 3:28 pm

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

Transforming, Mixmaster now accessed a different piece of technology that he had modified to mold and extend the bubble that Scrapper had requested to serve their needs. Affixing it to one part of the polymer bubble, the device began to charge and shape the compound in to something that could eventually be used as some sort of structure.

Stepping back, Mixmaster watched as streams of energy flickered through the polymer compound, expanding and shaping it as the chemical engineer manipulated the output of the device via a connection node within his left forearm.

>>"Everything's coming along oh so nicely, Scrapper, heheheh. What's next on the agenda? Oil Slick and I will be finished with this polymer construct all too quickly."<<

by **USDA Prime** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:00 am

Bottom of the Sea of Japan

Though Scavenger had a clear path now without any of those disgusting weeds slowing him down, he wasn't making any progress. His scans had yet to show any solid ground for the foundation of the new underwater base. Then he heard the communication from Bonecrusher, which alarmed the excavator somewhat.

>>What do you mean by that, Bonecrusher? I've never been able to use my shovel in robot mode, have I? Oh slag, what did Hook do to me? Is that why he's been so nice to me this cycle? He's only called me an idiot twice today and he even said I did a good job once, is that why?<<

He transformed to his robot mode and looked around until he finally spotted Bonecrusher swimming above.

Now, how do I get up there? Do I just fly, or...

Not really knowing how to "swim", Scavenger tried flying- which managed to work, though it was slower and more awkward than if he was in the air. When he made it up to Bonecrusher, he looked down and saw the rockbed. Looking down from where they were, Scavenger couldn't help but feel stupid for not finding it since it was so obviously there. He had relied so much on using his sensors in his work that it usually didn't occur to him to use his optics.

>>It looks good from up here, but I'd better give it a sensor sweep just in case.<<

Scavenger "swam" down back the sea floor. Normally he would have transformed right to his excavator mode to do the job, but after Bonecrusher's comment, he felt the need to try something.

>>You're not slagging with me, are you? I don't remember ever using my shovel in robot mode, right? Well, only one way to find out.<<

Scavenger tried to activate his shovel scanners, but nothing happened. He turned his head as far as he could, looking back at the shovel as if it would make it work, but still nothing happened. Then Scavenger started moving and shaking his shovel around, spinning and turning and trying to get his shovel to work in what the humans would call a comical dance. Still, nothing happened.

Aw, either Bonecrusher was slagging with me, or Hook really did mess with my circuits. I'll bet he erased some of my memory banks so I would forget, too.

Feeling dejected, Scavenger said nothing to Bonecrusher and transformed into his excavator mode and finally got to his sensor sweep. After half a breem his he had scanned a large enough area, and was convinced that it was solid. He activated his communicator.

>>Scavenger to Scrapper, we've found a really good spot for the new base. It should work out perfect!>>

by **MaP_Prime** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:40 pm

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

Baneblade carried an arm load of steel out of Astrontrain and loaded it onto one of the waiting Constructicons and stood back to watch the process.

"Astrontrain, do we have a location on our next target yet?"

by **Cryhavok** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 3:41 pm

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

>>“Astrotrain, Thundercracker. The only vessel was spotted three Earth hours ago heading northeast. The information is being uploaded to you now.”<<

>>"Acknowledged Thundercracker. I hope you are having better time than I am, hah. Constant transport duties are hardly fuel for the spark of a warrior.<< Astrotrain replied back to Thundercracker while he waited as various Decepticons unloaded his cargo.

"Thundercracker has provided us a possible target heading northeast. Whether it is suitable, I cannot determine from here. Soundwave's jamming along with the human security measures causes too much disturbance for me to tap into the secure shipping route information in the human information network." Astrotrain answered to Baneblade's question. "However, even without a cargo of our liking - a large human cargo ship remains a source of far more than tens of thousands of tons of metal materials for our use."

_________________________________________________

Bottom of the Sea of Japan

Bonecrusher was barely managing to keep himself from bursting into howling laughter as Scavenger began his dance with his shovel. To be fair, it was a rumor Bonecrusher had heard, and while many rumors held some truth in them, he had no idea whether this particular rumor held any seeds of truth.

>>"Slaggin' with ye? You'd know if I was slaggin' with ye! Hah!"<< Bonecrusher responded to Scavenger's accusations. >>"I'd have to ask Hook himself, no? I heard this from Long Haul and I think he mentioned being told that by Mixmaster. And you know how reliable Mixmaster is, heh."<<

by **MaP_Prime** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 9:22 pm

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

Baneblade stood back and watched the unloading of the new resources with approval, and he looked to Astrotrain and nodded at the other warriors report.

"Good. Once we have unloaded what we have acquired in our last raid we will make for this ship. Even if it carriers the rotten food stuffs the fleshlings of this world consume for sustenance the materials that make up the vessels hull can be used. Astrotain, you will transport us to this vessel once we are ready, drop us off and then join us in securing the ship. Your assets as a warrior will be valuable in this effort. Understood?"

by **FuzzymusPrime** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:14 am

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

Scrapper was almost pleased that the mechs inside Astrotrain were all but ignoring them as they offloaded their cargo, and proceeded to ignore them in kind, picking up his own armful of metal to place inside Long Haul. As he did, he continued to monitor communications, which seemed to finally be giving him good news.

>>Good Work, Mixmaster. Once its ready, move it into position at the shore and we can begin molding this metal in some additional supports for it. Then we can place it at the construction site and pump out the water.<<

He then switched channels to speak with Scavenger. >>Excellent. Level it off and prepare some foundations for the construction dome. We'll be there presently.<<

Scrapper continued to fill Long Hauls cargo bed as he listened to Baneblade giving orders for another operation. He tried not to let his concerns show, but if too many operations took place near the construction site....Scrapper wished he could be more certain of Baneblades self-professed strategic genius, but he wasn't going to start another altercation now. So he continued to fill the bed, taking several crates at a time to speed the offload along.

by **Cravex** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:21 pm

Off the western shore of the Korean Peninsula

>>"Acknowledged Thundercracker. I hope you are having better time than I am, hah. Constant transport duties are hardly fuel for the spark of a warrior.<<

Thundercracker shook his head, if only that were true. Neither is guard duty. For the briefest of moments he thought about relaying his thoughts to his fellow flier but he decided against it. Nothing could be gained by doing so and complaining wasn’t in his nature. Instead he noted the file upload being completed and thought about other matters. His processor was still on the Seeker attack in Iran and on his friend Skywarp. He wanted more news but asking the new arrivals would be pointless.

Frustrated and annoyed with his assignment he made his way into the outside air. His route took him past the Constructicons work area. While he didn’t pause long enough to take notes he couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head at the sight of them. Everyone needed something to appease their growing boredom and it appeared the Constructicons would do just that for him. He doubted he’d ever be able to understand the scientific types like them and he was comfortable with that.

A breem later he strode up to the landing area and smiled at the new mechs as they worked to unload Astrotrain. “I trust Astrotrain didn‘t shake things up too much for you?”.

by **USDA Prime** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:54 am

Bottom of the Sea of Japan

Scavenger didn't know what to think of Bonecrusher's story, whether he was telling the excavator the truth or just poking more fun at his expense. Scavenger couldn't help but feel a little hurt if Long Haul had really not about this, as the transport was probably the closest that Scavenger had to a friend. Mixmaster, on the other hand was never easy to understand. Sometimes he would be a good mech to work with, other times he would creep Scavenger out with his cackling and ranting and raving. It all just went to further worry and confuse the mining and salvage specialist.

Just then Scavenger recieved a reply from Scrapper. For several astroseconds Scavenger forgot about his worries, as he savored his commanders reply of "excellent". For the lowly excavator, all his problems seemed to go away whenever he recieved a compliment on his work, even if it was just one word.

Now motivated to give Scrapper more reason to give him compliments, Scavenger rolled over to a small mound of soft rocks in the middle of the bedrock and started scooping them up with his shovel.

<<Scrapper wants this area levelled, Bonecrusher. Let's not keep the boss waiting!>>

by **Insidious** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:10 am

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

>>"Right-o, Scrapper,"<< Mixmaster transmitted back, taking a few steps back from his part of the bubble structure to admire his handiwork. Now that it was coming closer and closer to completion he was able to better appreciate the inherent usefulness of the structure. It was a task that had been more difficult when Scrapper first assigned it.

"You're coming along real nicely, aren't'cha?" Mixmaster said, talking to no one except the bubble itself.

Noticing that his polymer compound levels were dwindling, Mixmaster transformed back in to his alt mode, a large hose snaking its way out of the underside of his large mixing drum as he then proceeded to start suctioning up more raw materials to convert.

by **Cryhavok** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 11:40 am

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

"Yeah sure. I get it." Astrotrain replied back to Baneblade after the strategist ended his mission description and voiced his cornerns regarding whether he had been understood.

The military transport was feeling rather indifferent about the whole ordeal. He was smart enough to see what Baneblade tried to by giving him a chance of step above his position. Too bad Baneblade's attempt to win over Astrotrain's favor was hardly worthwhile. There would be no need for a warrior. The operation they were about to undertake was something Astrotrain could have done alone. The triplechanger did not let the coming ordeal to bother him though. Battles alone did not win wars, there was far more to it than that and Astrotrain understood it all too well.

A while later, Thundercracker landed on the site roughly around the same time as Baneblade's team finished unloading Astrotrain's cargo. The arrival of the blue seeker lifted Astrotrain's spirits a nod. The air warrior was among the few Decepticons the triplechanger liked to hang out with. He was loyal, friendly and had a good head on his shoulders. It was not like Astrotrain couldn't stand the company of the more psychotic 'cons but it was good to have more level-headed bots around.

"Oh please. I am not Vortex." Astrotrain joked back at Thundercracker before giving his comfirmation about being read to proceed to the next target to Baneblade. "I am ready to proceed if you are."

_____________________________

Bottom of the Sea of Japan

Scavenger had not even finished his transmission to Bonecrusher before the destruction addicted Constructicon was already throwing rocks away from their chosen foundation of a base. However, he was working in his robot mode, unlike the excavator.

>>"Are you kidding me Scavenger? You have no self preservation instinct? Transforming back and forth in such of a corrosive environment? Do you want to get disabled that bad? Think of all the rust in your bearings... ugh. We're gonna need a month in a CR chamber after this job."<<

by **MaP_Prime** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:01 pm

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

"Yes, lets move onto the next phase of the operation. MY team reboard Astrotrain and move out."

by **FuzzymusPrime** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:11 pm

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

"Ok, thats it. Lets proceed." Scrapper decided not to even attempt to thank Baneblade, that would only be counterproductive. Instead he transformed and trundled away from Astrotrain, leading Long Haul to the rendevous point.

At the shoreline, Scrapper pulled up beside the dome that Mixmaster was finishing. "Looks good. Well done, Mixmaster." The Constructicon Leader nodded to Long Haul to bring over the first allotment of metals, then looked around for his second.

"Hook, we need to be careful of any stress fractures in the dome, before we subject it to under-liquid pressures. So would be you be so kind as to drill some plugholes for the supports, while we mold them. 72 Millicrons should be the ideal size."

by **Ramplate** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:17 am

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

Brushing off his hands, the silver-plated tank nodded as Long Haul and Scrapper took off with the load of steel, and he gave a wave to them as Baneblade called out. "Got a target picked out I assume? What size?" he asked the strategist. No doubt if he'd left his words with just the first sentence alone, Ramplate would have gotten an audio-full of complaint. The second question though made it a legitimate one, as it was detail-required...

by **Insidious** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:41 pm

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

Mixmaster chuckled a little at Scrapper's affirmation of the quality of his efforts but then quickly returned to the task at hand, having no real other acknowledgement for his unit commander. He knew that Scrapper understood his quirks just about as well as any Decepticon could ever hope--or want--to. Compliments or insults, whatever came Mixmaster's way, didn't really process in the eccentric intellectual's mind quite the same way it did for most other Decepticons. At the end of the cycle, his work either met or exceeded expectations and that's all that really mattered.

Transforming, Mixmaster began churning up the materials that would be necessary to add the some of the support infrastructure to their submergible dome.

All the while, an entirely different word turned over and over in his mind. It was more a motivator than a distraction at this point.

Devastator...heheheh.

by **Smokescreen85** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:14 am

Western Shore of the Korean Peninsula

As more of the steel was placed into his truck bed, Long Haul could feel his large tires sinking deeper and deeper into the soft sand beneath him as the weight increased. He wasn’t worried about getting stuck, though. His tires were more than big enough and his servos more than powerful enough to push through whatever obstacles were in his way. He was a transporter, after all, and was fully capable of traversing the toughest of terrains in order to deliver his quarry to the proper destination when needed.

As the last of the metal was loaded, Scrapper gave the order to proceed and Long Haul followed his commander to the shoreline where Mixmaster was doing what he did best. The submersible dome was almost completed. It just needed to be checked for potential stress fractures first and reinforced where needed. Of course, that was a task for Hook and the others to proceed with as Long Haul was simply designated to carry the materials that Baneblade and his crew had gathered. At least for the time being, anyway.

With a simple nod from Scrapper, the green Caterpillar 775G Off-Highway dump truck plowed slowly through the sand-covered ground, rolling up to where the Constructicon Commander patiently waited. “I got everything from Astrotrain's cargo hold secure in my truck bed, boss," Long Haul assured his leader. "You guys can start unloading when ready, unless you just want me to dump everything right here on the beach. Either is fine with me.”

by **Cryhavok** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:36 pm

Eastern Shore of the Korean Peninsula

"We have a possible target. Whether or not it is suitable, we will see when we reach it Ramplate." Astrotrain answered Ramplate's question instead of Baneblade as the two Decepticons boarded him again alongside Firebrand.

"Hold onto something." Astotrain added a moment later as the triplechanger used his anti-gravity repulsors to slowly rise up from the ground until he had reached enough to activate his thrusters. In a battle situation a vertical take off like that would have made him an easy target but it wasn't like he felt there was any danger of someone attacking him here. Not that he really had any choice either as there was no available runway either.

Having given his warning early enough in his opinion, Astrotrain ignited his main engines and blasted away from the site occupaid by the Constructicons - heading northeast as Thundercracker had hinted earlier.

Not all that much later, he could spot the vessel they were looking for sailing towards northeast in the horizon. "You think that suits our need Baneblade? Or shall we keep looking?"

by **Cravex** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:52 pm

Off the western shore of the Korean Peninsula

“Oh please. I am not Vortex.”

Thundercracker couldn’t help but laugh and watched while Ramplate and Baneblade finished their work. When Astrotrain lifted off he couldn't help but hope they would keep as low a profile as possible. It wouldn’t do to bring unwanted attention to their operations there. His thoughts turned from caution to the battle. How were the others doing? He mentally shook his head, this wasn’t the time or place to worry about them.