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Insecticon Shuttle - En Route to BW778

Chop Shop snickered again at the thought of his former commander. Not long ago he had been worried but now, things were different. The situation had changed.

"I'd give my collection away sooner than I'd serve that traitor again. If he finds us, I say HE should get dereconstructed. Only without the reconstruction part."

The Ark – Bridge

Ultra Magnus had been keeping himself busy, everyone on board had been, at least in one way or another. It helped to keep his mind occupied on the long journey, travelling the length and breadth of this new ship that was undergoing its maiden voyage into space. It was a fine ship, and he had a fine crew under his command, he could not ask for more from either of them. The only doubts he had for this mission were within himself.

A luxury he could not allow himself too indulge in.

Certainly not a luxury he was about to let anyone see as he returned to the Ark’s bridge, his tall stature the very image of confidence. The men under his command entrusted their lives too his judgement, he would never willingly give them reason to doubt it. That wouldn’t be good for morale.

More importantly, they deserved nothing but the best from the commander they followed into battle. That is what they would get. Ultra Magnus would die before offering less.

Coming to a stop before the view screen that circled almost half the Bridge, he stood with hands behind his back, staring off into the void. Somewhere out there was their destination, a world its inhabitants called Earth, a world that had fallen beneath the unforgiving eye of the Decepticons. The tyrannical enemies of the Autobots had destroyed one world in their endless quest for power…they would not destroy another.

“Nothing like endless space to pass the time”.

The Commander commented dryly, a small hint of a smile forming on his face. The journey was a long one, they would all feel better once they made planet fall. They would all feel better once they could start making a real difference.

The Ark - Bridge

"Indoubitably, Ultra Magnus Sir." Perceptor looked up from the engineering console, which was now festooned in datapads, printouts, and various unidentifable gadgets. "I must admit the peace gained from removing ourselves form the ofttimes cacphonous surrounding in Iacon have been most conducive to scientific thought. I have certainly done more work on chemistry is the past few cycles than I have in the last vorn. I beleive I have attained a foundational understanding of the chemical mechanics involved in the carbon-based life. Of course, these hypotheses will have to be tested once we get there..."
Perceptor stood up straight, realising this kind of informality probably wasn't strictly regulation. "Er, in addition, I report all systems are functioning optimally. Transwarp power is stable and we are progressing at ten thousand times the fundamental photonic velocity limit. The Ark-19 is meeting all it's design parameters more than adequately."
"With that settled, Ultra Magnus sir, I shall double-check the medical facilities and parts supplies in preperation for the trans-scanning procedures."


OOC: Just giving a rundown of the characters present on the Ark for the new Ultra Magnus:
The Aerialbots: J is playing Skydive (the smart one), Silverbolt is being played by sumowrestler who is thus the defacto player of the other 3 until someone else comes along for them.
Broadside: Seems to have been dropped.
Landfill: Seems to have been dropped.
Perceptor: Played by me, obviously enough.
Swerve: Played by sumowrestler.
Sureshot: Being NPCed by Silverblade.
Bumblebee: Played by Ember.
Searchlight: Played by VkmSpouge
Windcharger: Played by ~Windcharger~
And Ultra Magnus himself.

The Ark ~ Bridge

Windcharger kept one eye on his monitor at all times, but he couldn't help but notice Ultra Magnus pacing about the bridge. The auto-pilot was taking care of things right now so he went over to where Ultra Magnus was standing.

"I could tell from a megamile away that you're worried about something. If it's about the importance of this mission, you know we're all behind you. You don't have to worry about us. We'll keep a low profile so none of the inhabitants even know we're there. And, if any Decepticons show up, we'll trash 'em and put them on a one-way trip back to Cybertron."

Windcharger smiled to reinforce the message he was trying to send. The way he saw it there was no way this mission could fail. Autobots fought for freedom and the greater good. Good guys always win in the end, because they can see hope where others see hoplessness. Windcharger come through enough unpleasant experiences in the past because of his quick, sometimes rash, decisions to believe in this maxim. He was always optimistic because no matter how bad he botched something it always worked out for him. It was simply a matter of going with the flow.

"For what it's worth, I hope that helped."

Eyeing his monitor once again, he looked to Ultra Magnus.

"Well, I'd better get back to my station."

Heading back to the helm, he sat sat down with a sigh. Glad I don't have to command. Such a heavy burden. But then again, I'm not a big strong warrior like Ultra Magnus. He's more than capable.

(OOC: Sorry all, I didn't realized this moved on me.)

Silverbolt looked up from where he was at. He was lost in thought as well with the long voyage. It is true that the Ark could fly faster than any single Transformer but even on these long voyages it gets old. One thing about the Aerialbots, except for him, they all enjoyed the opportunity to stretch their wings. Being couped up in this ship isn't going to do well with his troops and he knows they will want to go for a flight once they land. It may be a good idea especially for scouting but first thing they will need to do is to find a good base and then figure out how to be modified so they can fit in better. A thought then crossed his mind as he turned to Perceptor.

"Perceptor, do we have any idea of where we are going to land and set up base? Is the map good enough to have a suitable site figured out by the time we get there? It would be wise for us to figure that out so we won't draw as much attention to ourselves when we do make it."

The Ark - Bridge

Perceptor stopped at Silverbolt's question. "Er...well...that's a good point Silverbolt. The Infiltration Counter-Protocols do suggest a surrepticious landing in a isolated location. I shall locate such a site, post haste."
Sitting back down, Perceptor chose one of the many datapads at his station and plugged it in. On the main screen, a map of AC488 flashed up, coloring in as Perceptor fed data in.
"Whatever location we choose for our landing, we must balance isolation with the likelihood that the Decepticons will perform operations in that area." Several insets flashed up, showing population density and economic development statistics for individual continents. "Response time will be crucial if they make open manuvers, and locating their base will become easier. Thankfully, the native life of the planet seem to prefer integrated, high-density communities rather than planet-wide development, so even in the areas highest in population and resources, there are isolated regions within reasonable distance." A few more keytaps, and a dozen points were highlighted on the main map. "These are the statistically optimal points for landing, based on isolation, resource access and the transport links of the natives. Assuming the Dynobots information is accurate, of course..."
Perceptor turned once again to Ultra Magnus. "Of course, the final decision rests with you, Ultra Magnus Sir."

Thanatos, Bridge

Skyjack's latest scan swowed disturbing results. "Bad news sir," He reported to Shockwave." Remember that autobot vessel from earlier? It just came up again. Do you think it might be following us, sir?"

Ark: Bridge

“…Assuming the Dynobots information is accurate, of course..."

“It’ll be accurate”

Ultra Magnus stated without an ounce of uncertainty as he joined Perceptor and Silverbolt at the console, the much taller Bot looking down over the Scientists shoulder. Grimlock was many things, most of his defining traits making him an incredibly difficult General to work with, even under the best of times, but despite his overly aggressive nature, he was a professional. The Commander of the Dynobots understood almost more than anybody the importance of good Intelligence. More importantly, he understood how crippling bad Intelligence would invariably be too a mission.

The information was accurate, Grimlock wouldn’t have excepted anything less.

“We’ll bring ourselves down here”.

After a great deal of considered thought, the large mech pointed to what he believed to be a prime location. It would provide shelter, easy access to multiple potential crisis points and even presented a few opportunities for Perceptor to pursue his own, scientific interests.

“It’ll do for our initial drop zone…”

Ultra Magnus confirmed his decision both mentally and physically as he returned to his full height, arms folded across his broad chest. He doubted anything about this mission would be as easy as it looked on a monitor or simulation, but they had to start somewhere, and that was as good a place as any.

“…besides, we have a Galaxy worthy Vessel…we can always move”.

Ark-13 - Bridge

As Ultra Magnus and Perceptor discussed where they might land the Ark-13 and establish a base, Skydive worked at the navigator's station. There was little to do at this moment, since the transwarp course had already been laid out and the capital ship was largely handling itself as it cut through time-space. As such, Skydive decided to peruse the data collected by Grimlock's previous mission to AC488. Fascinating, was the word that most sprung to the Aerialbot's logic processor.

He watched video footage that had been recorded by the scout satellites and sensors of the Dynobot shuttle, and marveled as he watched winged, carbon-based lifeforms execute brilliant feats of flight. He watched the sentient carbon-based lifeforms that seemed to dominate the planet employ vehicles to take to the skies. I wonder if perhaps they have developed sentient processor technology that makes these vehicles operate, or if they are simply drones? He suspected the latter, but the former was an intriguing possibility. Other sentient mechanical lifeforms...

Thanatos - Bridge

Returning Shockwave's monoptical stare with a characteristically confident smirk, Starscream's processors were afire with the possibilities before him. Direct military intervention was out of the question; with the flow of energon on Cybertron reduced again to a virtual trickle, this was a mission to acquire resources, not one of conquest. Fighting the flesh-creatures openly would be an unnecessary waste of those commodities they would be attempting to stockpile. This operation would require a gentler touch, a subtler mindset. Fortunately, subtlety was not a virtue that was entirely lost upon the often-brash Seeker Commander.

He took in the ruddy little dirt ball that was AC-489 as it appeared on the command monitor, expression relaxing into one of neutral indifference. "Unassuming little speck, isn't it?" he inquired rhetorically. When Skyjack made his report to Military Operations Commander, Starscream sat forward in his seat expectantly, optics flashing.

"The plot thickens," the former Aerospace Commandant commented wryly. This was an interesting and not necessarily disruptive developement--at least, it wasn't disruptive in terms of Starscream's own agenda. In fact, a little added chaos could be of immense benefit to him.

For the moment, he withheld any tactical recommendations. Shockwave was, essentially, the most sophisticated combat computer in all of Cybertronian history; it was unlikely he would be receptive--or appreciative--of any suggestions from him. And for now it behooved Starscream to remain on his best behavior.