The Energon Pub

Task Force Team Two- Cluster 0987

"A fine job, old mech," Rapture told Heap. "And a slagging lot better than I managed." The mission commander clapped Heap's shoulder companionably, beaming with respect like a fresh cadet. The femme truly looked up to the old veteran. Having not come online until the first days of the war, the midnight Seeker viewed the eldest Decepticons as heroes of the highest order. She struggled to find something to say that wouldn't sound disingenuous. It was so uncommon for the cunning officer to express completely honest feelings that it was almost a foreign experience. She finally settled on a simple "It's an honor to serve with you, soldier." Then the Seeker quickly changed the subject. "Let's get indoors. That Guardian is only getting closer."

Cluster 0987

Heap does something he hadn't done in a while. He smiles; he smiles without any mirth brought on by years of back stabbing and double crossing, or seeing old friends and good soldiers die. Giving Rapture the cleanest salute he'd given in vorns, he attaches his battlemask and visor and brings up his targeting computer, attaching the energy cable to his wrist once more. He messages the femme commander You guys get in a see what you can do. I'm going to feed the turrets from my reserve tank and slave their targeting routines to my weapon systems. That way I'll be able to add my firepower to the point defense systems...their combined power and all my weapons...it's the best I can do, and it'll buy some time come worst case scenario

Bringing the turrets up, he keeps them and their lowest setting until he needs them. The upside to being an older model was he was built with fuel resources to spare...but not a lot.

Near Polyhex

>>It's highly possible that the Virus is the catalyst for his change in manner..>..We all know what it's capable of, what it's done to each of us, the problem we have is we don't know what it's full potential is..>..It does seem strange that only Bane is exhibiting signs of further alterations to his systems, and both of us seem unaffected. Perhaps my time in CR and your regeneration capabilities have slowed the Virus' progression through our systems, whereas Bane has been more susceptible to the Virus in the same period....<<

Havok trailed off as his thoughts got ahead of his words. Turning to Bane, noting the Black Death hadn't deemed it necessary to assist in the returning of fallen bodies, Havok spotted an opportunity for Thrall and him to get a moment away from their 'Leader' "I'm assuming you'll be going on ahead of Thrall and myself to speak with Onslaught while we return these bodies for recycling Bane?"

Cluster 0987

Scramble, continued her work feverishly, reconnecting power cup links and cables. Replacing damaged small arms and a few of the larger ones as well. "Just about get it sat up. Its gonna run a maitence program afterwards though." She went silent for a moment hovering over a small terminal that was connected on the inside. "The downside is, it will want to test fire a burst, I am pretty sure I can override it. Then again I suppose thats why Commander Onslaught doesn't want the generators online yet eh?"

The purple and blue seeker moving to tug a panel off the wall as she started about another task. The auto-targeting systems were a mess, but repairable. Without another word she began to strip bits and pieces that were beyond her skill to repair out tossing them aside. It all would look like a rather haphazard job to anyone watching, but to the seeker-medic it made perfect sense.

----

Ruins of Polyhex Blitzwings group.

Ruination shook his head slowly. "I do not know any of them, but if they were weak enough to die then knowing them was pointless." The lumbering brute turning to walk with Blitzwing, falling silent as he made his report. When asked the question concerning a femme, he merely shrugged her shoulders.

"If she is weak then she will be crushed. If not then I will follow." He was a very straight-forward unit. "Want me to keep these markers?" He asked shaking his arms a little to motion towards the collection of Insignias he'd gather. "If no more, then it would keep Autobots from taking them as trophies."

Blitzwing's group - heading back

Rampage caught up with the two bigger cons with ease. His tail whipped back and forth as he reported to Blitzwing short and simple.

“I have a number, I did not recognize any individuals.”

He moved like a shadow between them and in front of them, keeping his sensors alert for any disturbances.

__________________________________________________________

Ruination’s logic was intriguing. Perfect and simple. Although Blitz was more likely to dip into affairs with weaker cons, but the statement, the tank con made about the femme leader was the best he had ever heard. And many of the male Decepticons had their opinions but they were complicated or biased ones at that.

Blitz smiled at the ever so slight touch of emotion Ruination had let slip with his last question.

“We wouldn’t want the autobots to have anything of the kind. The next time they see a decepticon insignia will be starring from the end of a blaster……. If you have the storage room we’ll take them with us. Perhaps if there is time they will receive a memorial of sorts.”

Blitzwing was beginning to feel fatigued. He had not refueled and was running low. It showed in his lack of sarcasm and slight drag to his step. He paused as Rampage appeared.

Blitz looked over at the Predacon.

“Thanks, Rampage. We’ll report our findings to Onslaught in person. Just keep a mental count on the way back. In the end numbers do matter.”

Blitz could have slapped himself. That last statement made him sound like Shockwave. He shook his head in mild embarrassment.

He turned his attention in the direction of the giant guardian. He thought he had heard movement but was not quite sure. He would have loved to pop into jet mode and take a peek but the ban on flying still held.

“Ruination can you see that gigantic autoscum from where you are? I thought I heard movement, but I may be wrong.”

Near Polyhex

>

Bane tilted his head slightly, gazing at Havok as he spoke.
"Fine" he replied with an emotionless and careless voice that would fool anyone, but the Corrupticons. Their veteran gladiotor-comrade was probably analyzing everything they had said the last few breems and was planning his next move.
"Oh and Thrall... get a makeover. You look more dead than I do."
Thrall first now remembered that he had sustained quite some damage on his face after the battle against the over-sized Autobot. He needed to get it fixed once they were back in Polyhex and perhaps even some quality time in the CR Chamber.

After a little while the Black Death was out of line of sound. This gave Havok and Thrall a good opportunity to talk to eachother in privacy.


Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

"Nothing much to report other than we screwed it up" Quantum was shamelessly honest about the performance of him and the other seekers.
"Regardlessly, I am at your disposal, Commander"

Ruins of PolyHex Blitzwings Group

Ruination, stopped for a moment, his war hammer appearing again in the grip of his right hand hand as his arm load of insignia's suddenly vanished into subpace. SHifting then his entire bulky frame instead of just his head. Ruby optics seeming to narrow for a moment.

"He move to Cluster 0987...not fast just normal I think. Should we go or go to Onslaught?" His head turning to stare at his squad leader for instructions.

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

"Indeed you are, Quantum," replied Onslaught placidly. "And so long as I am in command, you will be expected to execute your duties with far greater efficiency that was evidenced during the recent near-debacle." Not that the Combaticon held Quantum, or even the Seekers in general, wholly culpable for that. As far as he was concerned, the entire affair had been grossly mishandled from top to bottom. And now it was up to him to salvage what he could of the finely-tuned military machine that had once been Polyhex.

"But I have little interest in assigning blame, nor is it my place to do so," Onslaught went on, waving a large hand dissmissively. In truth, he had been so invested in his effort to effectively counter the Autobots' present military advantage that most of his anger at the inadequacy of Polyhex's defenses had dissipated altogether. "For the present, I want you and every other Decepticon in this Tower prepared to move out at a moment's notice. Brigning down or driving off the Guardian will require precision and as much heavy firepower as we can possibly bring to bear."

Cluster 0987

Elsewhere in besieged city-state, another Decepticon found himself preoccupied with the giant relic from Cybertron's Golden Age, but in a far more urgent and immediate way. It seemed to Dead End only a matter of time before the Guardian realized that he and the rest of Rapture's team had taken refuge in the damaged weapons cluster. And once he did, there wouldn't be anything to do but pray to whatever deities might care to listen that the giant's aim was good. Dead End would far prefer his termination to be quick and relatively painless.

The perpetually gloomy Stunticon kept a careful optic on his radar-tracking system. All things being equal, he would much rather continue to function for a few more cycles, if at all possible. As the Guardian reached the part of his patrol that would bring him closest to the Decepticons' position, Dead End hissed back to the others, "If you value your chassis, keep it down in there! Our hulking friend outside doesn't appear to have noticed us just yet, but let's not press our dubious good fortune any further than we already have, shall we?"

Cluster 0987

With the power at minimal, sensors were off line. The Decepticons of Team Two could not see their titanic foe. But the footfalls of the towering Omega Supreme could be heard by all. More than heard, they could be felt as he drew ever closer.

Breems passed like vorns as the Giant Guardian slowly, meticulously searched the area. Every time the lumbering Autobot came to a halt Rapture could feel the tension in the room increase even further. But the Officer noted with pride that her troops bore it with a stoicism worthy of the greatest heroes of the Decepticon Empire. Even when the very servos of the Immense Guardian could be heard mere meters away, the Decepticons of Team Two remained still, professional.

After an eternity the seismic footsteps of Omega began to fade into the distance. The Femme Seeker shot Dead End an inquiring look. The Melancholy Stunticon merely nodded an affirmative.

That was all Rapture needed.

"All right, Decepticons. We have safe distance. I'm sending a hardline message to Command, and we're moving out. Good work."

Tapping out her report into a console, the former Cassetticon sent it on its way. The code was necessary for security, and she felt sure Onslaught would appreciate her choice of terminology.



Turning to her team, she gave the order.

"Let's move. Best speed for Polyhex."

Blitzwings group - on route to Polyhex

Ruination confirmed his suspicions Omega Supreme was on the move. He desperately wanted action, but he did not wish to face Megatron for causing a slip up. Then again there was the promise of a better mission from Onslaught and Blitzwing’s need to refuel soon.

It was soo tempting, perhaps they could just take a look. No, he had the feeling from Onslaught’s last transmission that the group at Polyhex was about to make a move on the Autobot guardian. And even though he felt teasing the giant auotchass would be fun he knew deep in his core the three of them would not make an effective hit alone.

He decided living was better than dieing from a small mistake. Knowing how disappointed Ruination would be he decided to tell him what Onslaught had transmitted a short time ago.

“Sorry bud but we must hold off for the moment. …. A. I’m low on fuel and couldn’t make a decant hit right now and ….. B…… I quote Onslaught here >< I have the intense feeling we’re about to make a move and the killing is going to run rampant again. Primus I must sound like that looser Prowl right now.”
He took a few steps away from Ruination’s Glare mumbling to himself in a barely audible voice ……
“Or worse yet I feel like that coward Starscream.”

He had to step away he was not acting within his normal personality chips. He was getting light headed and tense. He could feel the changes in the air, his sensors blinked like a rapid pulse of some organic creature.

Lifting his head he raised his voice.
“Rampage pick up the pace. Let’s get our metallic hides back for our new assignments. “

Blitzwings group - on route to Polyhex

Rampage wasn't too happy at Blitzwing's decision but he was also a low on energy so as much as he hated to admit it Blitzwing had made a good choice.

So with a snarl he complied with the tripple changer's command. Picking up the pace wasn't that difficult as he was naturally agile.

Near Polyhex

Havok said nothing, only nodded at Bane and carried on his path to the recycling plant. Waiting until he was certain he and Thrall no longer had to speak over the commlink, Havok turned to his fellow Corrupticon before answering his... suggestion about how to help Bane "No, unfortunately, I don't believe it will be that simple Thrall.." The Corrupticon said, with a small glint in his optics, as the thought of doing just that seemed just a little tempting "..Though it is an inviting idea"

"We must keep this between ourselves for the time being, no-one else must be involved unless they absolutely have to be..." Havok continued as they closed in on their destination "..For the time being, let Bane continue on as he has been, there is no point in openly fighting him, all it will do is hamper our efficiency as a team. Between the 2 of us, we should be able to restrict his more extreme behaviour until we have a better idea of what is happeneing to him and how we can stop it."

Polyphex: Shockwaves Tower

Bludgeon sat down in silent meditation.
Hands folded together. The small purple and green Master of Metalikato did not say a thing. Sword in lap he waited.
Nightraid maintained a military 'at ease' pose. As he like Bludgeon awaited the arrival in the Briefingroom of a superior to give the tactician and the warrior new orders.

Polyhex- Shockwave's Tower

Task Force Team Two was finally home. The return trip had passed considerably quicker than the outbound journey to Cluster 0987. They were all tired, their exhaustion owing more to the tense nature of the mission than its duration. As they finally reached the inner city of Polyhex, Rapture could no longer resist the urge to take to the air. Hovering in the air, she turned to address her unit.

"Alright. Good work, Decepticons. I'm going to the command center to report in. You're all off-duty until you hear otherwise from me or the City Commander. I want you all to recharge and get the dust out of your intakes. However, be ready. The next mission could come down the pipe at any time. Otherwise, consider yourselves on leave until further notice. You've earned it." That said, the femme took off towards the Tower.

She had played to the crowd a bit, but The midnight femme was genuinely pleased with her subordinates' performance. Though she had a reputation as an unforgiving disciplinarian, and a well deserved one; in reality she found civility and kindness to be tools equal in value to cruelty and violence. Indeed, sometimes the gentle touch was more effective, as viciousness was expected from Decepticon leaders.

Rapture considered how well Dead End illustrated her more balanced approach. Every time the Gloomy Stunticon spoke he looked as if he expected her to strike him down. Every time the answering blow did not come he only expected the next one to be all the worse. And every time he became more compliant. An extreme example, perhaps. But one with far-reaching implications.

The Seeker femme shook herself from such academic thoughts as she reached the imposing Tower that was the nerve center of the Orbital State of Polyhex. Entering the command center, dealing with each Decepticon present in turn. Onslaught she saluted. "Sir." Brawl she ignored, aside from a tacit nod. Quantum, while not a close friend, was one she knew and respected greatly. She extended a companionable hand towards the fellow Seeker. "Quantum. Good to see you still functioning. I hope your Squadron fared better than mine?" The question was not a rhetorical one, but the femme had other matters to attend to. She turned her attention to the acting City Commander.

"Sir. Mission Completed. Team Two is recharging as we speak. I received a by-wire message from Team One reporting that repairs were completed, but the rail lines were compromised, forcing them to lay low until they have safe distance. They will return by an alternative route." Rapture turned her head towards the tactical displays. "Where do we stand, Commander?"

Shockwave's Tower

Rapture's praise flowed over Dead End like water through an underground drainage duct, and made about as much of an impression. To him, the words rang hollow, his cynical side dismissing them as an empty gesture to placate the frontline drones in lieu of actual material reward for their efforts, while his despairing side knew such miniscule kindnesses would evaporate instantly at the first setback. His interests--his forlorn state of mind--meant absolutely nothing to the Seeker; all that she wanted from him were results and obedience. She might as well have saved the wear on her vocalizer and simply dismissed them immediately.

Once the femme had disappeared into the Tower, Dead End voiced a quite, buzzing sigh. It was an expression of hopeless apathy that he had quite inexplicably managed to master, given that Transformers had no real respiratory processes to speak of. The Stunticon looked from Heap to Scramble and shrugged.

"Well, I suppose that was far less unpleasant than it could have been. I don't imagine our next outing will be nearly so painless. If anybody needs me for anything," a laughable idea, really, given that he tended to be about as welcome among his fellow Decepticons during off-duty cycles as a severe onset of rust-rash, "then I'll be . . . elsewhere."

Head down, Dead End ambled into the Tower, heading for the Barracks. He was long overdue for a good polishing, and his strict maintenance regimen usually helped to lift his broken spirits, if only for a little while.

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

"Ah, Rapture," Onslaught greeted, returning the femme's salute briskly from his postion on the command throne. "Congratulations on the successful completion of your assignment. It is gratifying to see that my confidence in your leadership abilities was not misplaced." The imposing Combaticon tapped a digit against his armrest with just a touch of impatience. "Let us hope that the other half of your team fares equally well."

Interlacing his fingers before his cryptic faceplate, Onslaught's visor burned dully as he considered the Seeker's inquiry. Somewhat impertinent, perhaps, but her recent experiences commanding in the field entitled her to a taste of the grand larger picture to which she and her troops had contributed. "Our battle strength is hardly at optimal levels," he began. "But, with the two Weapons Clusters nearest the Guardian's patrol route reactivated and fitted with more powerful munitions, our chances of routing our unwelcome guest have increased from null to feasible, albeit with a host of caveats attached. And it will require every functioning warrior presently at our disposal to be fighting fit and energized for heavy combat operations. Myself included." Not a prospect he relished; he was far more comfortable directing a battle from a position where all relevant tactical data was readily available, but extraordinary times often demanded such sacrifices.

"When the time comes, speed, surprise, and concentrated firepower will be our greatest assets."

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

Blitzwing entered the base covered in grime from walking. He stopped before entering the command center. Ruination had a count of a little over 50, Rampage had reported about 76 and Blitz had tallied 68…Well 69 if he included Breakaway. He planned on including the young soldier in with Ruination’s collection in need of memorial.

“You two can go refuel and do what ever you need to have done. I don’t think Onslaught will need to speak with you yet. Just stay alert for any calls I guess…….”
He paused hoping his next words did not come out sounding weak. But he felt they deserved to hear them.
” It was a pleasure working with you guys. Maybe we’ll get a chance to fight as a team later.”

He stood in the entrance, noticing that Rapture, Quantum,Brawl and Onslaught stood within the room. He noted the lack of the Corrupticons’ presence. Maybe he should have let Ruination proceed with his desired Chassis kicking, Unconsciously Blitz’s fists clenched. He was still irritated and lightheaded, he would wait for Rapture to finish, give his report then go find somewhere to rest. He did not find appeal in the politics of a war room, and he was sure that was what the higher-ranking cons were discussing. Besides he still wanted to speak to Astrotrain, and since his group leader was back perhaps his team had returned too.

“Onslaught your retrieval team has returned. I will report when you are ready.”

He moved to a chair opposite the seeker Quantum, the purple triplechanger watched them in silence fighting the wave of pain that throbbed in his head. He eyed the femme seeker, had the medic .… what was her name, …. Scramble returned with her? Maybe he would go to the medbay after Onslaught had debriefed him.

Shockwave's Tower- Command Center

Brawl had no sooner finished being reloaded and re-energized, when he found his way back to Command HQ. There had been some new arrivals while he had been in the Armory. Task Force Team Two, headed by that femme, What was her name? The one that all the boys seemed to look up to. As he made his way alongside Onslaught, Brawl noticed that the femme seemed to be doing all that she could to avoid his piercing glare, Brawl could’ve cared less, he didn’t care what the femme or anyone else in the room thought about him.

For once in any of his cycles, Brawl listened carefully as his fellow Combaticon gave them all a small preview of what was to come in the following days. Unlike most of the Decepticons, Brawl relished the idea of squaring off against the Autobot Guardian, it would be a great opportunity for him to show off his superior firepower and fighting abilities. A victory here would hopefully be enough to crush the morale of their enemy and effectively regain their former stronghold, thereby giving the Decepticons a base with witch to launch their future campaigns.

Brawl’s logic sensors hummed as he imagined the Autobots cowering and fleeing for their lives, it would be enough to bring a smile to his face, if he were built for such things. “Just turn me loose, Onslaught! I’ll send those Fey dancing, Cybertronian Rejects to oblivion,” the large mech boasted confidently.

PolyHex Command Center

Scramble Didn't need to recharge just yet. The work however had been somewhat mentally taxing. With a soft sigh she shook her head wandering from the command center. Calling a small device from subspace, the blue and purple femme searched for a little bit. Keeping her Com-Link open just in case she found herself a quite space in the hanger bay.

Most of the wounded had been tended to by the drones and placed within the CR Tanks so she had a few moments to herself. Silently she pressed a button on her device and started. "Medical Officer Scrambles Personal Log..."

----
The Recharging area.

Ruination stalked into the area the lumbering brute had simply dropped the insignias off the medical bay, let the worthless weaklings do what they would with them. Silently he attached himself to an empty chamber and let the recharge machine start its cycle. His eyes dulled some as he started to charge.

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

"As you wish" the black and white seeker nodded to Onslaught. At the same time an old acquintance that he had not seen for ages, entered their line of view.
"Rapture" Quantum lighted up a bit, but kept his professional stance "Been a while"

Bane strode past Ruination and the others towards the group that had gathered at the center of the Command Room. Some of the staff moved quickly out of his way, his and the Corrupticons' reputation well-known.
"How cute. A welcome commitee" his metallic eerie voice cut through the air, making his presence known for Onslaught, Quantum, Rapture and Brawl.

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

Watching with subdued concern as Blitzwing entered the control room of the Tower and proceeded to take a seet, Onslaught extended his hand, palm up, inviting the Triplechanger to make his report. He appeared to be suffering from some manner of structural complaint or glitch in his internal processes, to openly display such weariness in the presence of his superior. And while generally an aloof and impersonal Decepticon, the Combaticon leader had no real desire to risk Blitzwing's functionality when his plan to evict the Guardian from Polyhex was so close to final readiness. There was no telling when the ceasefire would end, after all, so Onslaught required all of his soldiers to be combat-ready and prepared to move out at a moment's notice.

"Do proceed with your report," he said. "And afterward, I would like you to report to the Repair Bay for a maintenance diagnostic." But Onslaught was soon holding up a finger to forestall the multi-mode commmando as he was compelled to deal with Brawl's bluster yet again.

"Timing is also vital," Onslaught informed the belligerent mech mildly. "And I don't think you want to make any move that would be in direct violation of Megatron's express orders, would you, Brawl? Until we receive word from Kaon, we make no aggressive move against the Autobot interloper." Not that he was any happier about being forced to tolerate the Guardian's presence than any other Decepticon in the room. It was an affront to the Empire, and to him, personally.

Bane's arrival was not lost on Onslaught, either, and he cast the Corrupticon a brief, warning look. He was already treading on very brittle surface plating with the notoriously punctilious interim City Commander. But he would have his explanation for the onetime gladiator's failure to check in with the Tower, or heed the order to return in what Onslaught would have considered a timely fashion. He hoped, for the sake of Bane and his still-absent colleagues, that it was sufficiently compelling to quell his irritation with the group.

Command Center

Blitzwing Glowered as Bane strode arrogantly into the room. Even though it was a small bonus for the purple mech proof of a successful mission, he really could have made a snide remark here if he had not been feeling so depleted. Primus he felt like slag all of a sudden.

Onslaught signaled him to report, and to Blitzwing’s relief adding a second order to go to Repair bay. He would not need to request permission then. Onslaught’s brief moment of insight did not go unnoticed by the Triplechanger, but out of respect Blitz made no inclination of his notice. He stood slowly attempting to hide the rush that swam in his visual receptors. After a slight pause he approached Onslaught with a salute, he waited until Brawl was satisfied before speaking.

“Sir, we have a tally of 195 deaths. One of them confirmed as foot soldier Breakaway, 50 unnamed but scanable insignia were collected by Ruination, he has them now and should be turning them in shortly for identification. As you already know we made contact with Bane’s group but disappointingly we did not find any traces of other functional Decepticons. We were aware of the guardian movements and at one point Ruination was able to pinpoint his location. The Autobot did not appear to notice us. Other than that I saw a few scavengers but nothing exciting. Ruination and Rampage have expressed their eagerness for combat, we await your next orders.”

Blitzwing was aware of the optics trained on his armor. He didn’t care that he was not in a fashionable state. He just wanted to get this over with before he went into stasis in front of scrutinizing eyes. He made ready to exit the Command center the moment Onslaught released him.

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

Bane, who had taken off his hood and revealed a skull-shaped head, smiled in a twisted way beneath the intimidating vizir. Though he knew that Onslaught was quite irritated about their slow retreat, he ignored it. Bane had always had a very high confidence in himself and his abilities, which was bordering to arrogance. The former gladiator had before dealt with troublesome superiors. He even had killed one... or so the rumours had it. And many of such rumours flourished around his persona, who had never confirmed nor rejected their truthfulness. This was one of things that made him so feared among many of his fellow Decepticons, but also the reason why he had never reached his potential as the tactical genius he was. Who would trust power to lead armies to someone with such a questionable reputation?

Bane had successfully constructed a plan to counter the opposing forces under Juggernaut's command. The Corrupticon was sure that his accomplishments wouldn't go unseen, even if it didn't fit into the grand defense plan of Shockwave's. But if it hadn't been for the Corrupticons and their troops, the battle would've probably have ended far worse for the Decepticons than it did. How unpredictable and uncontrollable the Corrupticons may seem, they always managed to get the job done... one way or another.

How pleasent the appearence of Rapture had been, just as unpleasent was the arrival of Bane. Quantum had heard a lot of rumours concerning this individual. He was sure not all of them was true, but some must be, and even just a fragment of them would be enough for Quantum to be weary in Bane's presence.

Meanwhile somewhere else in Polyhex, near Shockwave's tower, the other Corrupticons had returned the fallen bodies of their fellow Decepticons and was now on their way to rendez-vous with Bane at the Command Center.
"Agree. Let him play big boss for now" Thrall was not that much against it as Bane had shown to be quite a capable leader in combat, despite his uncharismatic and twisted personality. Did he not lead them into the only victory the Decepticons had in the somewhat failed defence of Polyhex?
"Let's get movin'"

The Recharging area.

Rampage as usual didn't bother to reply as Blitzwing sent him off he did need to recharge and as such he was more than happy to take this chance to do so.

Transforming Rampage attached himself to the machine and settled into a recharge cycle; keeping himself ready though just in case combat made itself apparant anywhere he could get to.

Cluster 1499 (Task Force Team One)

After a bit of digging, smashing, and shoving, the Decepticons managed to get through the armored doors beneath Cluster 1499 and affect repairs on the defensive batteries located there. Now, with the automated big guns back online and plenty of ammunition stockpiled in their magazines, Omega Supreme and the Autobots would have a much nastier time of it should they attempt to press deeper into Polyhex.

"Let's get out of here," Astrotrain told the others as they hiked back through the tunnels toward the surface, where the mag-lev rails were serviceable enough to allow the Triplechanger to use his bullet train mode for a speedy return to Shockwave's Tower.

(OOC - Whenever you guys are ready, Team One. )

Shockwave's Tower - Command Center

"Very good, Blitzwing," Onslaught said with a slight inclination of his head to indicate his satisfaction with the report. "Upload your tally into the Tower's mainframe at your earliest possible convenience. As for new orders, I'm afraid we're still bound by the ceasefire order issued by Megatron prior to his departure for Kolkular. But I am confident that this situation will be resolved in the near future. With that in mind, I want you and the other members of your team to recharge and receive any repairs you may require. If there is nothing further, then you are dismissed."

Waving the Triplechanger away to see to the damage he had apparently sustained, his attention then turned to Bane. That the Corrupticon captain had chosen to keep his vocalizer offline was a promising sign; Onslaught was not of a mind to suffer any impertience at that particular moment.

Not that one could say that he ever really was. But he had little desire to deal with discipline cases at such a critical juncture.

"Bane," the Combaticon leader and temporary military commander of the Polyhex forces began with deceptive mildness, "you have certainly taken your time in returning to us--or alerting the Tower as to your status. I would know the reason for this laggardly response. Perhaps your team suffered some sort of communications breakdown in the field?"