The Energon Pub

Outside Shockwave's Lab

"Enough." Starscream said as he put a null ray blaster to Astrotrain's head. "Back off."

He then looked at the others and with his other hand pointed toward the hangar bay.

"Get to the hangar. Lock On, make sure that idiot Skywarp didn't screw up the shuttle's preparation." he said sharply. "It is to be fully fueled. If the armory is loaded, great. If not, no big deal. But I want off this tub as soon as possible!"

Then he turned back to Astrotrain.

"This can go 1 of 2 ways for you. Either back up right now and live through this, or get your cerebral casing spread all over the wall behind you. I don't have time to play with you. Decide. NOW."

Outside Shockwave's Laboratory

Vertigo reeled backwards under the force of Astrotrain's punch. He lost his grip on Feedback, dropping the electronic warfare specialist unceremoniously to the deck. Which, in all honesty, Feedback appreciated as he was not in Astrotrain's swing radius.

His head had snapped back at impact, causing him to let out an 'oof' as he dropped backwards to the deck, stunned by the force of the blow.

It took him a few moments to recover, so he lay on the deck staring upwards, washed in pain.

---

Feedback stood after Vertigo fell. "What the frag!" He shouted at Astrotrain. He may not have known Lock On and Vertigo, but they were Seekers. And for one, simple cannon fodder troops should be worshipping the far superior Seekers, also, they were fellow flyers, that alone inclined him to side with them. He started for Astrotrain.

---

Oddly it was Lock On... Lock On... who was the voice of reason. He quickly brought his hand to Feedback's chest to stop the newcomer. "Not worth it.." he muttered as Starscream put a null ray to Astrotrain's head. "See, the boss will take care of it."

Rodimus Prime wrote:
He then looked at the others and with his other hand pointed toward the hangar bay.

"Get to the hangar. Lock On, make sure that idiot Skywarp didn't screw up the shuttle's preparation." he said sharply. "It is to be fully fueled. If the armory is loaded, great. If not, no big deal. But I want off this tub as soon as possible!"

"Yes sir..." Lock On said, not taking his optics off Astrotrain for a moment.

---

Vertigo finally came around and sat up just as Starscream threatened Astrotrain. He too started for the triple changer just to be stopped by Lock On as FeedbacknwasFeedback was.

He glared at Astrotrain though. Then turned for the lift to get to the hangar, Lock In behind him nudging Feedback into motion.

Shockwave's Laboratory

Just as before, during their previous encounter, Flamewar kept things succinct. If any Decepticon could appreciate that, it was Shockwave.

“Of course. I am to inform you that Razorclaw shall be arriving shortly to discuss the matter we spoke of before. Given how much time dealing with Starscream and his ilk took, he’ll likely be here any moment now. But, until he does arrive, I admit to some curiosity about your current project. Would you enlighten me as to its function, Shockwave?”

At this, Shockwave's glare shifted from that of his current project to Flamewar. Her choice of words had elicited a curious reaction from the Military Operations Commander, curiosity that most certainly necessitated further inquiry. He had no objection to sharing some of the information regarding his current project, but this matter took momentary priority.

"Interrogative: Am I to conclude, from this turn of events, that the terms of our previous meeting are no longer applicable? You wished for me, Soundwave and yourself to possess the new codes. You were to secure Sixshot's cooperation in this matter. If Razorclaw is now involved, I do not see how this procedure does anything other than allow him to secure his own power base rather than allow us to serve as the counterbalance we had previously discussed."

The last thing that Shockwave was going to let happen was to allow himself to be manipulated into aiding the rival that had bested him for the Decepticon throne. Shockwave would labor to ensure that their mass extinction did not come to be. He would labor to ensure that the Decepticons were the ultimate victors of this war. Apart from that, his loyalties were his own.

"But perhaps I am mistaken."

Unlikely, but possible. Shockwave would allow it a 4.68372% margin of probability.

Shockwave's Lab

Rodimus Prime wrote:Outside Shockwave's Lab

"Enough." Starscream said as he put a null ray blaster to Astrotrain's head. "Back off."

How dare Starscream?! He dare he aim a his weapon at Astrotrain, a Triple-Changer, one of the elite?! Air Commander he was, he had no right to be threatening him and ordering him. Hell, Astrotrain didn't even start the issue!

Rodimus Prime wrote:Then he turned back to Astrotrain.

"This can go 1 of 2 ways for you. Either back up right now and live through this, or get your cerebral casing spread all over the wall behind you. I don't have time to play with you. Decide. NOW."

Again, the rational side of Astrotrain spoke. He shoved the gun away from his head. He flared at the Air Commander and lowered his voice, "Don't dare point that at me, Starscream."

He turned once again and marched out of the lab for real and into the corridors. He knew that from here on out that he made an enemy in Starscream, but frankly, he didn't care. It was a game of power without Megatron, and Astrotrain was determined to get as much as he could.

The Lounge

“Brawl?” He said the Combaticon's name carefully, as though saying it normally would increase his fury. “Why don't you come to the bar for a drink? My treat.”

”I will deal with you later! Just wait your slagging turn!” Brawl roared back at Dead End, not actually having heard what the morose Stunticon even had tried to say over his own raging and Breakdown's panicked yapping.

"No! I didn't say you were stupid! I said I'm not stupid, stupid!"

There it was again. Clear as day. Breakdown calling him stupid. Only this time Breakdown paid for it, for he had taken part in tug-of-war with someone much stronger and heavier than he was. The end result? A spectacular flight across the Lounge with the chair Breakdown so stubbornly held unto.

”Who's stupid now stupid?!” Brawl barked after the now airborne Stunticon while being awfully smug about witnessing the white and blue Decepticon smashing loudly into the nearest wall before falling on to the floor head first.

“Fine! Hit him, then let’s go,” Blast-Off said, quite perturbed by his teammate’s brazen dismissal of his plea. “Or haven’t you noticed that Onslaught wants us? I’ll even help you, Brawl. Just do what you what you need to quickly. We shouldn’t waste time,”

”Of course I will hit him?! Sheesh! What's with the fragging impatience!” Brawl roared back at Blast-Off, suddenly feeling like he wanted to smash his fist into the face of his fellow Combaticon as well. What the slag he was being so pushy for? Except there was something he had said. Onslaught? ”Wait what?! Onslaught called?!”

The Lounge

There it was finally. An opening. An opening for Skullcruncher to get his hands on the much faster Wildrider. Who had been way too preoccupied for his own good with other action taking place in the Lounge - to dodge being hit by the improvised projectile of Skullcruncher's that was Warwolf. Cutting down the distance between himself and Wildrider while the Stunticons was still tangled down with Warwolf, Skullcruncher finally managed to make it close enough to get into grappling distance with Wildrider.

Wildrider did try to dodge away from him. But being still disoriented by being hit by Warwolf did little good to the Stunticons' sense of direction. While he did not exactly jump into Skullcruncher's grasp, he didn't manage to get any further away from the angry crocodilian either.

Grab. Skullcruncher's crushing strength was amply demonstrated as his digits sunk into Wildrider's leg which gave out as if the Stunticon's leg was made of tin foil. Oh and did the crazy fool scream in pain, oh he certainly did.

”Your fun is over.” Skullcruncher snarled, smashing Wildrider through a table and immediately followed the first swing by smashing the Stunticon through another table by flailing Wildrider in a wide arc from the first table to another, never letting go off Wildrider's leg.

Lifting Wildrider's limp form from the wreckage of the second table, Skullcruncher stopped to investigate his handiwork. Finally silent. Unconscious. Not that he had expected the Stunticon to last for more after he had gotten his hands on him. ”Hmrph.”

Opening a storage compartment on his thigh, Skullcruncher grabbed an energon leash and promptly proceeded to bind Wildrider's legs and feet together like a cowboy would bind up a calf in a rodeo show. Hoisting the Stunticon effortlessly up, Skullcruncher proceeded to activate the magnetizer of the leash's handle on a short timer and threw his Wildrider package towards the roof, where the handle attached itself to the ceiling – leaving bound up Wildrider to dangle from the roof like a chandelier.

”Better,” the large Decepticon smirked, finally turning his attention towards the other ruckus going around in the Lounge. ”For the love of Primus...”

Shockwave’s Laboratory

“Interrogative: Am I to conclude, from this turn of events, that the terms of our previous meeting are no longer applicable? You wished for me, Soundwave and yourself to possess the new codes. You were to secure Sixshot's cooperation in this matter. If Razorclaw is now involved, I do not see how this procedure does anything other than allow him to secure his own power base rather than allow us to serve as the counterbalance we had previously discussed."

“The terms of our previous meeting are still very much in effect. However, Razorclaw will want to change Sixshot’s code given Starscream’s knowledge of it, and, therefore, we must provide him with one. However, that does not mean that it should be the real one,” Flamewar answered optics flicking to meet the purple scientist’s glare. In the brief meeting prior to this, time had been short. Flamewar had not been able to share the full scope of what she had in mind. And oftentimes, it wasn’t wise to share the entirety of a plan.

“I will create a device that allows Sixshot to appear as though he were in stasis in order to aid in the ruse. He would merely need to activate it and ‘play dead’ as it were. In this way, we three possess the counterbalance to Razorclaw.” The black operative gestured to the rest of the laboratory with a sweep of her hand. “If you’ll permit me the use of your facilities, I can begin work on it almost immediately.”

Her crimson optics shifted back to meet Shockwave’s solitary golden one. “As a bit of forewarning before Razorclaw arrives, if you see me acting in close proximity to Razorclaw or displaying gestures of fealty, know that I am merely attempting to gain Razorclaw’s confidence so we may better accomplish our mutual goals. Namely, Decepticon victory in this war.”

Flamewar was fairly certain that her explanation would cause Shockwave to recalculate his earlier assessment. Her optics drifted down to the project that had been keeping the cycloptic scientist so busy. There was little need to reiterate her earlier query. Once Shockwave’s concerns had been allayed, he would likely answer it if he felt it necessary.

Corridors

Scrapper was already en route to the ship's bounce chamber when he received the reply from Razorclaw.

>>”Thank you for the update, Scrapper. It sounds like a lot has already been completed. Still, there is also much left to be done. Take your men down to the underwater site and oversee the continued construction and ultimate completion of our new base. Furthermore, once you are there, immediately establish defensive encampments around the entire perimeter. The site must be protected at all costs. Needless-to-say, keep me updated on your progress. As for the gestalt screenings you mentioned before, have Hook remain behind here on the Thanatos to begin those. The Stunticons and Combaticons will soon be leaving on separate assignments. However, my own Predacons will still be on board. Have them screened first to see if they are compatible. If you require anything for either task let me know. Razorclaw out.”<<

The Constructcion Commander sent back a nonverbal acknowledgement of Razorclaw's orders before opening a private channel with the rest of his team.

>>"Well boys, it would appear our brief period of respite is over. We're to return to the undersea construction site at the behest of our Razorclaw. All of you except for Hook. You have a separate assignment to begin which the rest of us will contribute to later on. I'm forwarding you the details now. Everyone else, I'll see you in the bounce chamber within the breem where I'll answer any final questions before we head down. Scrapper out."<<
___

Shockwave's Laboratory

“The terms of our previous meeting are still very much in effect. However, Razorclaw will want to change Sixshot’s code given Starscream’s knowledge of it, and, therefore, we must provide him with one. However, that does not mean that it should be the real one. I will create a device that allows Sixshot to appear as though he were in stasis in order to aid in the ruse. He would merely need to activate it and ‘play dead’ as it were. In this way, we three possess the counterbalance to Razorclaw. If you’ll permit me the use of your facilities, I can begin work on it almost immediately.”

Shockwave's gaze remained focused on Flamewar, his processors calculating the various ways this entire situation could proceed. Her approach seemed logical, but he could not fully rule out the possibility that he was being manipulated. Therefore, though he agreed with the overall intent of this plan, he would also put a countermeasure of his own in place. That, however, could be dealt with later.

"Satisfactory," Shockwave replied, after momentary consideration of Flamewar's response. "As to your previous query..."

Shockwave stood up from the workstation where he had been sitting and walked over to the larger computer bank, pulling up new screens filled with images of Cybertron, Sol-3, chemical reactions and element lists.

"Declarative: This is the central mechaforming hub, a device I was tasked by Megatron to retrieve from the tower of Kolkular soon after my reactivation on this planet. He tasked the Predacons to assist me in this endeavor and we were--clearly--successful. The technology will facilitate the complete conversion of Sol-3's natural elements into terrain that is more familiar to our species. In time, the entire planet will become a smaller version of our homeworld, but one that is capable of sustaining our existence. My having seeded this planet with Ore-13--as well as our regular access to that new and superior form of energy--should allow for an evolutionary leap that will eliminate the possibility of our impending extinction."

Lounge

”Who's stupid now stupid?!”

Blast-Off heaved a sigh and pressed two digits to his temples. Why was he bothering himself with this inane task of wrangling Brawl? He was better than that. Above that. Perhaps he should just leave the brute if he refused to listen. Blast-Off glanced over to Brawl who was in the midst of flinging a Stunticon into a wall. Good grief.

”Of course I will hit him?! Sheesh! What's with the fragging impatience!”

Yes. Yes, that was it. Blast-Off was leaving. He would not be berated by someone so entirely inferior to him even if it was a teammate. No, he was not going to have any of that. Blast-Off turned to go when Brawl yelled something else deafeningly into his audios.

”Wait what?! Onslaught called?!”

“Yes, Brawl. Vortex left some time ago. I am leaving now as well. Have fun with your half-dead punching bag,” Blast-off said dismissively with a wave, moving toward the exit of the lounge. He was glad to be done with this madness. Had he known the lounge would explode into such chaos, he never would have come.


"What are you doing?!"

Scavenger looked over to Bonecrusher who was now yelling at him with a hurt look. “I…I was just…trying to help…” the constructicon almost whimpered. Why was Bonecrusher upset with him? Had he done something wrong? He had just been following Long Haul’s lead. Haul didn’t usually steer him wrong. So why was Bonecrusher yelling?

"Come on bro, they won't listen to us. Let's get in a safer area and I'll patch up your arm kay?"

“Nuh-uh!” Scavenger suddenly said with wide optics, jerking his arm well away from Bonecrusher. “Last time you tried to ‘patch’ something, it broke! I’ll just get the boss or someone to fix it up.”

"You have no idea how tempted I am right now to join the chaos and kick some butt, but I need to try and keep my rage from getting the best of me."

“That’s not like you, ’Crusher,” Scavenger commented with an authoritative nod. “You’re normally in the thick of it. You okay?” The excavator asked, tilting his head slightly.

>>"Well boys, it would appear our brief period of respite is over. We're to return to the undersea construction site at the behest of our Razorclaw. All of you except for Hook. You have a separate assignment to begin which the rest of us will contribute to later on. I'm forwarding you the details now. Everyone else, I'll see you in the bounce chamber within the breem where I'll answer any final questions before we head down. Scrapper out."<<

“It’s the boss!” Scavenger said, jolting to his feet. The puppycon looked over to Long Haul then to Bonecrusher. “We’ve only got a breem! We gotta book it!”

Lounge:

As Scavenger jerked away so Bonecrusher couldn't patch his arm up, Bonecrusher sighed, "Fine, let your arm bleed out some more until we find someone."

“That’s not like you, ’Crusher,” Scavenger commented on Bonecrusher's previous statement with an authoritative nod. “You’re normally in the thick of it. You okay?” The excavator asked, tilting his head slightly.

Bonecrusher grunted, "I pounded my fist into Swindle's face earlier, and I'm concerned that if I get into a fight with the Combaticons again, it'll make us Constructicons permanent enemies with them..."

Bonecrusher then couldn't let his rage hold back anymore. He took his stone of a fist and bolted a cold hard blow at the table right next to him, splitting it in half.

Bonecrusher walked over to the counter where the bartender was cautiously pointing a gun at him. "Hey bro, sorry about the table. I'll pay for it." That's when Scrapper called in.

>>"Well boys, it would appear our brief period of respite is over. We're to return to the undersea construction site at the behest of our Razorclaw. All of you except for Hook. You have a separate assignment to begin which the rest of us will contribute to later on. I'm forwarding you the details now. Everyone else, I'll see you in the bounce chamber within the breem where I'll answer any final questions before we head down. Scrapper out."<<

Bonecrusher then looked at the bartender, "Hmm, I'll keep that table in mind for later. Right now I have something important to attend apparently."

Bonecrusher then yelled over at Longhaul, "Hey Haul! Didn't you hear the com? Scrapper wants to see us!"

Bio-Metrics Laboratory

Thunderwing leaned back in his recharging alcove. His talon tipped fingers resting comfortably, curled around edges of the ornate and intricately forged armrests. Small minute ticks were the only sounds that now pervaded the laboratory as the magnetic stirring devices spun away mixing chemical and cyberganic compounds along the farthest wall of the laboratory. The set up for a critical experiment in the offing that required a lengthy build up of a specific amalgam of bio-metals which, unfortunately, were in restrictive supply. Still, a ways off from being ready to begin his anticipated tests, Thunderwing had opted to fill the time with a more... lucrative pursuit.

Data flooded the middle monitors with a pace befitting the mind. Barely comprehensible to those who were ill equipped mentally for the task, or even those who were not constructed of the finer materials, calculations, equations and algorithms pulsed and faded as they scrolled up into an invisible ether. "Stop." Thunderwing ordered the display of hypothetical data simulation results. "Segregate parameter seven six four and delete. Replace with replica data from simulation result sigma twelve. Re-calibrate and restart simulation."

As the computer did as it was ordered, Thunderwing turned his attention to another set of data that was slowly beginning to materialize with regards to his original analysis request. "I appreciate your punctuality," he spoke as the hatch leading towards the main hall of the deck split down the middle and began to retract into either side of the bulkhead. "Your perchance for meticulous detail proceeds you Hook."

It was only after the Constructicon surgeon crossed the threshold that the Pretender Scientist broke his transfixed gaze on the data feed and addressed his guest. With a spare glance of the cyberganic carapace's optical sensor, he sent a silent order to the monitor system to compress the data stream and filter it down to five of the corner screens, creating a quartet of freed monitors on the upper left hand of the system. "It is, however, unfortunate that such is almost lost among the less gifted members of your company." With that a brief replay of Devastator's engagement with the Fallen exploded upon the screens. In glorious detail, Thunderwing allowed Hook to witness... at least externally, what the Constructicon experienced first hand and yet detached from himself. Much of the fight was sporadic, with the occasional swatting of mystical flies by the otherwise silent behemoth.

It was only after the battle had commenced for what seemed like hours, did the massive warrior decide enough was enough and march through the swirling vortex of flame, smoke and ash. What happened next would be embedded in anyone's mind who had witnessed it directly. Devastator broke through the burning wall and smashed into the Fallen like a Cybertronian Freighter.

Thunderwing allowed Hook a moment to absorb the details once again. "It is an impressive feet of engineering. You and your colleague, Scrapper, have every right to bask in glory for your achievement." The scientist pulled his arms up to just beneath his chin and leaned forward as his fingers interlaced. "However, I am sure that even you have noticed that Devastator is still... unrefined."

"Hence as to why I have summoned you and the good doctor, once he arrives." Another silent command was transmitted to the bank of monitors along the wall. This time the recording was pushed into the upper left hand corner of the top most left screen. The data feed was restored, though only to the preliminary hypotheses and conjectures that he had begun to contemplate before the summoning. "I have decided, to further your grand work and to ensure a more viable place within the grand Decepticon Regime, to offer you my expertise in such matters."

Lounge

After the call from Scrapper had come in, Mixmaster finished the fuel he had concocted as quickly as he could. It was potent, because he felt a tingle go through his systems almost as soon as he pulled the cylinder away from his vocalizer.

Scavenger did his best to wrangle the others. From the looks of it, Long Haul was going to be the hardest one to pull away from the lounge as he seemed to be soaking up the environment the most. Good for him. Mixmaster knew they all needed to let loose a little bit after that chaos with the Fallen.

"Yeah yeah yeah, lets go go go!" the engineer chuckled as he sauntered around the bar and headed for the lounge exit.
___

Breakdown started to push himself up gingerly, several new joints that weren't aching before adding their displeasure to the ones that already existed.

Eh, he'd gone through worse.

But as he started to look up, he saw that the Combaticons were still present, so he quickly collapsed back down. He'd sucker punch Brawl another cycle.

Corridors

Vortex's mind couldn't help but wonder what their next mission would be. With Razorclaw having cemented his leadership and Onslaught having cemented his place right at his side, it would have to be something good. They were the elites now. Elites didn't go on grunt missions...

...oh.

Nevermind.

He knew what this would be about.

He had a mess to clean up. Frag. Fraggin' glitchin' spawns.

Oh well, nothing he could do about it now except present himself as orderly and as soldierly as he could, get the mess taken care of and the ordinance recovered so they could quickly move on to more important missions.

Arriving as quickly as he could manage in the armory, Vortex was somewhat surprised to see that the Combaticon Commander was not alone. Seekers, two of the best actually, apart from Starscream himself, a random 'Con here and there and one of Soundwave's lackeys--one of the worst, actually, in Vortex's view--Ratbat. Politician. Bleh. But the interrogator quickly reminded himself that none of that mattered. Only Onslaught and the mission.

"Reporting in, sir. The others are en route."

And hopefully not too far behind at that. Onslaught was known for a lot of things. Waiting on his subordinates was not one of them.

Outside Shockwave's lab

Octane was a bit late, mentally, to what was going down. They almost got in a fight with the Seekers including their idiot leader Starscream. It would have been a fun fight but something kept everyone in check. One thing he did regret was not helping out Astrotrain when Screamer had his null ray pointed at his fellow Triplechanger. Worse thing is Battletrap was back on his feet. As aggravated as Octane was at himself and the whole mess with the Seekers, he didn't have it him to rip apart the no brain duocon again.

"We will get them next time, Astrotrain. I still disagree with Starscream's assumption that he can command any aerial Con at his whim. I don't see him commanding Vortex or Blast Off. Divebomb would more likely rip off an arm instead of listen to Scream head. It would been nice to watch Shockwave grab Screamer's nosecone and shove it up the exhaust pipe. Now should we go find our fellow Triplechanger or see if we can help Shockwave with anything?"

Octane turned to re-enter the laboratory only to find the door locked. It irritated him but unless he wanted to melt the door, there was nothing he could do. With the interruption of Starscream and his cone heads, he sort of understood the privacy of the commander.

"Huh, looks like Shockwave is done with us for the time being. I guess this means we go hunting down Blitzwing."

Battletrap looked down the hallway as the Seekers left and listen to the discussion between the Triplechangers. The idea of looking for their fellow Triplechanger made him wonder what had happen to his fellow Duocon. A safe bet would be Flywheels is in the medbay or a CR Chamber somewhere.

Lounge

“Yes, Brawl. Vortex left some time ago. I am leaving now as well. Have fun with your half-dead punching bag,” Blast-off said dismissively with a wave, moving toward the exit of the lounge. He was glad to be done with this madness. Had he known the lounge would explode into such chaos, he never would have come.

Blast-Off's statement left Brawl somewhat dumbfounded. He had not heard Onslaught's call. Not that he had even been paying attention thorough his scuffle with Breakdown. Scuffle that had seemingly ended with Breakdown's flight into a wall. The Stunticon certainly looked out of it. Even Brawl had to admit that beating someone who was already unconscious was nowhere as fun as fighting an opponent that was actually fighting back. And while Brawl had the rage to spare to beat even an unconscious foe to a pulp, he was also troubled about missing Onslaught's message.

”But..! I..! Frag!” The heavy-hitting Combaticon cursed, unable to find the proper words to respond to Blast-Off in kind.

Even worse, the snobby loner had been right. Vortex was nowhere to be seen. As if that wasn't a big enough hint already, now Blast-Off was taking his leave too. Uncertain of how to proceed, Brawl's clearly confused optics fell on the only other remaining Combaticon in the Lounge - the same con that actually had set him after Breakdown in the first place.

”Swindle?!”

The Thanatos's hangar bay

Starscream practically stomped into the area, scanning for guards and maintenance personnel, seeing if there was going to be any problems. He spotted the shuttle Skywarp had prepared.

"Vertigo!" he barked. "Get on board and double check everything! Lock On! Take Feedback up into the command center of the shuttle and set him in front of the comm controls. He may not be able to do much, but he can still be useful manning the control panel. Then go to the armory and see how well we're armed."

Starscream then started walking around the shuttle, checking for external damages. Even though he was capable of interstellar travel on his own, having a shuttle that won't disintegrate once it hits hyper speed is always a plus. Besides, he had his own crew now. He could work with this.

Armory

Ratbat eyed Vortex from his perch.

"Ah, the one responsible for this mess. How fortunate that you arrive first, so that your commander can suitably berate you before we depart to clean it up."
___

Bounce Chamber

The doors to the bounce chamber slid out of the way as Scrapper entered. He knew that the others would likely not be too far behind. All things being equal, he was looking forward to finishing the Korea base project. He hated unfinished projects. They would have plenty on their plate for the foreseeable future, but it would be difficult to turn their attention fully to another before finishing this one. The base would soon be far enough along that they could make a requisition for the component pieces of a pre-constructed central base structure and have it shipped to this system. Having a forward operating base on-site was of prime importance now that Megatron was no longer directly guiding their work, particularly if they wanted to defend the position they had carved out for themselves.

In the meantime, Scrapper began to look over the various designs they had put in place prior to having to leave their work site. Scrapper wanted to hit the ground running when they arrived.

Hangar Bay

"Oh trust me, I can be very useful." Feedback responded to Starscream.

---

Lock On looked at the semi-functioning Seeker he was dragging. "Yeah, right." He muttered doubting Feedback's ability to much of anything.

---

Vertigo simply followed behind shaking his head as the trio entered the shuttle.

Lounge

”Uhhnnnnn…” The somewhat battered and dazed Stunticon slowly regained some of his senses. Senses enough to know that the world generally wasn’t supposed to be upside down. What the frag? Oh wait. He remembered now. Heh. Worth it.

Wildrider tried to focus in on something. The effort nearly made him purge his tanks. Okay. Maybe not. Ugh. There was a gentle swaying that only served to increase the maniac’s sense of nausea. Oh, and he also probably needed to play dead in case Skullcruncher was still around. Mm. He wondered vaguely if he could knock himself bad out. He didn’t do well sitting idly like this.

But frag. Skullcruncher hit a little hard. Bout as good as Motormaster. Really cleaned his clock. At least it helped that Wildrider took similarly awful collisions in alternate mode, riding around like a maniac. Plus, he had managed to cause a good deal of chaos in the Lounge. So worth it. And even though his audios were ringing, he could still hear a bit of a hub-bub going on. Ah…so worth it. Motormaster was probably going to give them all Pit too. Heheh. Wildrider couldn’t wait.


Armory

“Mess? What’s this about?” Blast-Off asked as he entered the armory, having been more than eager to leave Brawl behind in the lounge. The lummox would catch up. Eventually. But, until then, Blast-Off would enjoy the relative quiet and the fact that he was indeed not being manhandled by that truculent brute.

The spaceplane looked over to his trusted commander Onslaught for answers. Then, to Vortex, as it seemed to have something to do with him. Hm. What…What could it be? They were clearly going on a mission. But something to do with cleaning up a mess? Nothing to do with him, of course. Blast-Off was better than that. He would never leave a mess behind. His suspicious optics fell upon Vortex, the revelation just escaping his grasp.

Corridor leading to the Bridge

”And you think they won't get bored stuck in the dirty old tin can?” Motormaster chuckled in response to Razorclaw's new assignment for him and his merry band of crazy glitches.

”There's nothing to determine. I can tell you that right now. The Ultrax is a sorry mess, in need of a major overhaul and retrofit by proper engineers and technicians. It is down there in the depths for a good reason. We patched it up and jury-rigged it as well as we could far too many times beyond all safety protocols. We simply didn't have access to anyone who could actually make proper repairs to it for way too long. Slag, it was dumb luck it kept flying as long as it did. Neither I or my men are going to get it fly again. You know that as well as I,” he added, still leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

Razorclaw though, didn't seem to be interested in his protests. Instead the Predacon leader brought up the fuel stockpile the Stunticons had raided from the Frontier refinery in El Dorado of Kansas.

”Fine. I'll get the energon. You do what you must about Sixshot.” The large Stunticon grunted, shaking his head. ”But I am not sure Knockout alone and bunch of repair drones is going to cut it. And I don't have the foggiest who else with enough technical prowess we can spare for the mission.”

Razorclaw didn't answer him yet though. Instead he seemed to be busy with something. Likely dealing with transmissions. Eh, he had better to deal with one of his own to set up the mission.

>>”Knockout, Astrotrain, Octane and you four dimwits. You know who the hell you are listening to. We have a new mission from Commander Razorclaw. Meet me in the hangar within a breem. Motormaster out.”<< That should do it. It wasn't like the Decepticons he had summoned didn't know what expected them if they were to defy his orders. Pain and misery, not necessarily in that particular order.

Then Razorclaw dropped a bomb. Although to be fair, they both had expected this ever since hearing about the appearance of the destroyer Burning Justice.

“It seems Scorponok wants to talk with Megatron. I'm afraid time is running out faster than anticipated.”

”Well. Slag.” Motormaster found himself swearing. "So. What are you going to do?"

Corridor leading to the Bridge

“I’ve already instructed Soundwave to create some kind of signal interference to buy us a little more time,” Razorclaw replied to Motormaster’s question in regards to Scorponok wanting to speak with Megatron. “It won’t keep the Burning Justice at bay forever, but it should at least allow me to inform Onslaught and Scrapper and get their input even if it’s only via comm link. Not to mention give me a chance to speak with Shockwave regarding Sixshot's shutdown codes.”

Motormaster's prior explanation as to why the Ultrax was in its current decrepit state had not gone unheard by Razorclaw. The damage wasn’t entirely from the recent crash landing in the ocean as the Stunticon vessel had been inadequately patched up and only barely maintained for vorns with appropriate safety protocols taking a back seat. It was understandable especially considering that Motormaster’s brood could barely function on their own let alone repair a frigate sized spacecraft. Thankfully, they would only be required to help transfer the energon cubes that were needed to the Thanatos and not much else. Knock-Out would have to figure the technical stuff out by himself. Surely the Stunticons could handle a little hard labor.

“Regarding the Ultrax, just do the best that you can, Motormaster,” Razorclaw finally said, keeping his optics on the large brute, who also had some concerns about Knock-Out's ability to get the job done. “Focus on the energon cubes and let Knock-Out and the drones handle the repairs. They will have to suffice for the time being. Even if they can't get your ship at 100%, they should still be able to get her flight worthy again.”

The Predacon Commander’s attention was then drawn away once more by another private communique, this time from his aerial subordinate on the bridge.

>>”Commander Razorclaw, this is Divebomb. The ship’s internal sensors are indicating that one of the shuttles down in the hangar is powering up and has been doing so for a few breems now. I don’t know why I didn’t see this before. Perhaps the ship’s systems are still a bit glitchy from when the Fallen invaded and damaged the Thanatos. Regardless, I’ve checked the hangar’s vidcams and it appears that Starscream and three of his seekers are readying a shuttle for departure. Has he been given authorization to leave, sir?”<<

>>”No, he has not. Just keep an optic on things for now. I will deal with him, myself. And run a thorough diagnostic on the ship’s systems to ensure nothing else like this is overlooked in the future.”<<

>>”Understood, sir.”<<

Cutting his current comm line, the Predacon lord then immediately opened another channel directly to the Seeker Commander:

>>”Starscream, this is Lord Razorclaw. What the slag do you think you're doing?! I have been informed that you are currently powering up a shuttle down in the hangar bay with three of your cohorts. Are you planning on going somewhere? You do realize that taking a shuttle and leaving the ship without authorization is akin to stealing and considered insubordinate behavior don’t you? I suggest you explain your actions immediately!”<<

Medical Bay – Maximum Security Wing

Drag Strip’s optics flickered back to life again as the nanite-rich fluid finished draining from his CR chamber. This hadn’t been the first time he had gone through this process over the past several cycles. Motormaster had seen fit to torture and severely damage him in a variety of different ways over and over and over again. Each time, throwing him back into the CR unit only to torture and damage him some more once he got out. It had all finally come to an end recently, but with the promise of even more to come.

The former race champion let out a sigh as the CR door opened with a loud hiss, enough to muffle his sigh to anyone but himself. Drag Strip then carefully stepped out into the maximum security wing of the medical bay and glanced around at the mostly empty room. He quickly ran an internal diagnostic and found that he was functioning at optimal capacity. How long that would last once he rejoined his teammates and encountered Motormaster again was anybody’s guess. The ex-herald was certain that the others would mock and ridicule him for the foreseeable future regarding his time as the Fallen’s minion. He was expecting nothing less from those who were not his equal. After all, none of them had been chosen by the Fallen. No, the demigod had hand picked Drag Strip and that must mean the yellow Stunticon was special.

Of course, no one else would care about that and only laugh and taunt him further. So, Drag Strip’s only course of action was to try and put it all behind him and move on, returning to life as always amongst his Stunticon brethren. Eventually, it would all pass, but until then the former champion would just have to grin and bare it.

As he moved out of the security wing and into the med bay proper, Drag Strip noticed several ‘Cons turn their cranial units and stare at him with disdainful optics. Most of them were still recuperating from injuries received during the Fallen battle. “What? It wasn’t my fault!!” Drag exclaimed as his attention was then drawn away by a communique from none other than Motormaster, himself. Apparently, they already had a new mission that came from the very top of the food chain, Supreme Commander Razorclaw. There were no details given and the yellow mech wasn’t about to ask Motormaster for them. Drag knew what kind of answer he would get, and he wanted to avoid drawing any unwanted attention to himself if he could avoid it. Not that the Stunticon Commander needed an actual reason to berate and beat on him some more or any of his comrades for that matter.

Casting one last annoyed glance back at the various ‘Cons who were still giving him dirty looks, Drag Strip sent a simple non-verbal acknowledgement back to Motormaster. The former herald then quickly made his way out of the med bay and headed directly for the hangar as instructed.

Shockwave’s Laboratory

As the moments stretched and Shockwave finished processing her response and coming to a decision, Flamewar’s mind was already on next steps, contingencies, and alternate plans. Too much rode on establishing a secure power base from which the Decepticons’ future could be ensured. In Lord Megatron’s….unfortunate absence. No. There would time later. Or so she told herself. There seldom actually was.

"Satisfactory," Shockwave replied, after momentary consideration of Flamewar's response. "As to your previous query..."

Excellent. That was something of an unnecessary relief. Still, her dealing with Shockwave at the moment was tenuous at best. She could do with a little more leverage…something with clout. Her friendship with Sixshot would be a start if he accepted it. Though, she did wonder whether her thinking was a touch…wrong with regards to friendship. The black operative had not had many in her long history. It was simply a fact that gaining Sixshot’s favor was advantageous. Hm. Well. She would cross that bridge when or if it came to it. After all, the phase-sixer had not yet agreed. So easy it was to slip away in her work.

"Declarative: This is the central mechaforming hub, a device I was tasked by Megatron to retrieve from the tower of Kolkular soon after my reactivation on this planet. He tasked the Predacons to assist me in this endeavor and we were--clearly--successful. The technology will facilitate the complete conversion of Sol-3's natural elements into terrain that is more familiar to our species. In time, the entire planet will become a smaller version of our homeworld, but one that is capable of sustaining our existence. My having seeded this planet with Ore-13--as well as our regular access to that new and superior form of energy--should allow for an evolutionary leap that will eliminate the possibility of our impending extinction."

Having followed Shockwave as he moved over to a larger computer bank, Flamewar’s crimson optics flicked up to the screen, digesting the data and Shockwave’s words simultaneously. Another display of Megatron’s infinite wisdom as their leader. Her spark clenched, but she kept her outer features schooled. She looked to the cycloptic scientist curiously.

“Did Megatron mention when he might deploy this technology before he disappeared? Perhaps in lieu of or after phase six of the infiltration protocol?” she asked, “Of course, ousting the Autobots from his sector would ensure the success of the mechaforming…”

Lounge

Warwolf let loose a small, painful groan as he brought his hand to his faceplating. His more violent self let out a small chuckle as he tried to get back up on his feet after the triplechanger had surprisingly yanked him from his seat to use as a make shift projectile against Skullcruncher. Couldn't get angry, couldn't lose the hold he had maintained in this new state of mind he was toying with, he just had to play smart-

Another hand griped him by his back and the lupine Decepticon found himself being tossed through the bar again like a crude spear made of robotic wolf parts, this time by the target he initially struck even though it didn't seem he did too much to falter his progress with the Stunticons. There was a large thud shortly before Warwolf lost vision of what had just transpired and blacked out.

A few moments later, the lupine interrogator's optical visor flickered back to life and he found himself staring up at the ceiling of the lounge. He tried to raise himself up but felt an immense pain running along his torso and upper shoulder servos. A quick diagnostic report filtered into his internal HUD and displayed no permanent damage or loss of any limbs, but the recollection of being tossed around not just once, but twice in a short span quickly filled in the gaps.

"Why is it whenever I leave you alone to make new friends, you always seem to end up on your aft and I have to come pick you back up?" Came a voice beside Warwolf as he slowly spun his neck in the direction the voice came from, the silhouette of his thief for a friend taking a sip of high-grade through the twisty-straw that rested in his fancy glass.

"Oh get scrapped, Cloudbreaker..." The injured mech still on the floor grumbled in response as he attempted to rise to his feet again. "You couldn't-gah...couldn't even lend a helping hand back there?"

"Hey, I only just got here." The burgundy and gold mech quickly shot back before setting his drink down on one of the undisturbed and still standing tables to assist the interrogator in helping him back up. "You going back in there?"

"No..." Warwolf huffed as he finally stood back up to his full height, "Not an issue for me anymore."

"Ha! Good one there Wolfy, you almost had me." Cloudbreaker quipped as he jokingly slapped his fellow Decepticon's wolf-headed shoulder with the back of his actuators. Warwolf shrugged off the slap and looked back towards Cloudbreaker with a serious glare. "Oh you're serious."

"Not gonna jinx things right now." Warwolf replied as he looked down back where he had been thrown to see if he had dropped anything during his flight.

"I'm surprised you didn't lash out like you usually do by now. You and Weirdo' over there switch bodies and not tell me?" The thief then grabbed his glass and pointed towards the other viscous lupine-former in the room have his scuffle with the triplechanger and the idiotic Constructicons trying to help.

Warwolf's optical visor glimmered for a moment as he turned to watch the rest of the fight before setting a hand on his friend's shoulder platting. "Let's just say I'm in a new state of mind, and I wanna see if it can keep from diverging back into old habits."

Warwolf then relieved an alert about an unopened comm-line that he had received shortly before his unnatural flight across the bar. If he had to put money on it, there was no doubt it was his former mentor again. He opened the channel and as luck would have it there she was, her particularly cold voice echoing into his audio receptor.

"Heh, 'Pet'... That's rich."

"What now?"

"Nothing, just Flamewar checking in on my status again."

"Mmm..." The former pirate pondered the thought as he took another swig from his curly straw, "Flamewar... That's the femme with the decals that match her name?"

"Aye."

"Don't think I've properly met her now that I recall."

"Don't bother, Cloud. She probably wouldn't care much for you." The lupine interrogator quipped as he began to reopen his comm-line with the femme in question.

"Hey, I'm not looking to impress anyone here! I'm just saying there's a lot of non-thievery qualities I have that many-a-mech seem to skip over!"

"It's your mouth that'll set her off first, heh."

>>"Situation still green."<< Warwolf chimned back over his private channel with Flamewar, >>"Well... Maybe it's more of a yellowish green at the moment, but nothing that can't be easily handled."<<

-

Well the word had finally come through from the boss-bot himself that it was time to pack up shop and hit the road again, much to Swindle's dismay. Not only did his latest scam bust, but he didn't get to wager any good bets before the fighting ceased as well as have to put his plan for revenge against Bonecrusher on hold. Still couldn't believe that green-played moron thought he could just waltz back and apologize like it was nothing. Fragger was gonna get his just desserts soon enough.

"Afraid so, big guy." Swindle replied toward Brawl's disbelief, his tone trying to convey to the same level of dissatisfaction as his heavy-hitting comrade's. "Come on, gang's all heading to the armory."

-

Long Haul rolled from his tackle and was quickly ready to start throwing punches at the Triplechanger. His big clunky boots where shuffling about as he brought his fists up like a boxer normally would, anticipating the blowback from the Triplechanger. This was it, a real fight! This was gonna be great!

At least it would've been if Weirdwolf hadn't leapt for the tan and purple mech and Scavenger hadn't come to help out, now the poor mech has a slash in his arm. Long Haul was nearly a step away from lunging out at the yellow and green wolf when Scrapper's summon drew his attention away.

"No... Slaggit, No!" The transporter exclaimed with frustration as he brought his hands to the side of his helm, looking like he was ready to pull his own faceplating off. "Dammit!! Everytime!!" Angered by both the call and his teammates' eagerness to bolt when Scrapper came back on the line, Long Haul stomped around Blitzwing's prone form and quickly lunged into his alternate mode off towards the bounce chamber, not looking back to see if his fellow Constructicons were following all the while a variety of profanities shouted within his processor all the way across the ship.

Lounge:

As Longhaul bolted out in a fit of rage, Bonecrusher said to his companions, "Well, at least he didn't stay in this mess. I do wish I could've gotten in the action but, with the way I treated Swindle earlier, I can imagine it wouldn't have worked out well for myself or us as a crew. I am SOOO hoping Scrapper's meeting involves a mission to destroy something or someone."

Bonecrusher transformed into his Bulldozer mode and shouted, "Last one to the bounce chamber gets a mean look from Scrapper!" Bonecrusher then raced as fast as his bulky bull-dozer mode could go.

Bounce Chamber:

As Bonecrusher and his team-mates arrived, Bonecrusher's curiosity took over his possessors. "What's the word Scraps?" Bonecrusher asked the masked Constructicon leader as he transformed from his dozer mode, "Anything new regarding Megatron?"

Bonecrusher then remembered something he probably should've mentioned earlier, "Uh, by the way Scraps, Scavenger has a pretty good slice on his arm there, and I think he should get it checked out."

Bounce Chamber

The doors to the bounce chamber hissed open and, one by one, his Constructicon unit began to steadily appear. Mixmaster, Long Haul, Bonecrusher and ever-dutiful Scrapper. The only one missing was Hook and he was off tending to a different assignment from Razorclaw. Good. On to the next step.

"What's the word Scraps? Anything new regarding Megatron?"

Scrapper cocked his head slightly to one side. That was a curious question. Unfortunately, even with his newfound position of inner circle command responsibility, nothing regarding the disappearance of Optimus Prime and Megatron had come up during the brief conversation between he and Razorclaw. Just as before, he had to assume they were both lost for good. He could only wonder if the Autobots were falling apart without their leader as much as the Decepticons were without theirs. And once word spread outside of this system? Scrapper shuddered to think about it.

"Sadly no, I've heard nothing in regards to Megatron. But I've secured our place within the upper echelon of Razorclaw's new power structure, so our unit will be playing second-fiddle to no one from here on out. Plus, once Devastator will be our ace that we can play any time we choose, heh. Well...almost anytime."

He then looked to the others.

"Now, since you're all here, the 'word' from Razorclaw is we need to finish up the work we had going on the undersea base. Simple as that. We'll report to him when we're ready for a new structure shipment. I also need to start work on finding out what other Decepticons might be compatible for the gestalt process, but I can do that just as well from down there. So..."

"Uh, by the way Scraps, Scavenger has a pretty good slice on his arm there, and I think he should get it checked out."

Scrapper had walked over to the bounce pad but turned to face the team when Bonecrusher had finished speaking.

"What? What 'injury'? What have you guys been doing since we got back?" Scrapper asked half-frustrated and half-amused, before waving it off. "Never mind, tell me when we're down there and I'll have a look."

Opening a control console on his arm, he activated the bounce pad and soon disappeared in a flash of white.
___

Bio-Metrics Laboratory

Hook was not accustomed to being in the presence of intellectual equals or, perish the thought, potential superiors. Scrapper, arguably, was the only one to merit such acknowledgement. He rarely worked alongside Shockwave and dealings with the notoriously private Warlord of Valckasta were even more rare. Lineage aside, Thunderwing's accomplishments in the scientific arena certainly preceded him. Looking at him now, it was readily apparent of how willing he was to push the boundaries of Cybertronian science. It was progress, but at what cost?

Sanity?

Hook half expected the Warlord to be sipping energon calmly from a cranial unit since he was clearly so comfortable lounging around in some other mech's skin. To say nothing of the biological material that was readily apparent on the outer armature. Ye gods.

"I appreciate your punctuality. Your penchant for meticulous detail precedes you Hook," Thunderwing said, welcoming him in his own magnanimous way as Hook stepped deeper into Thunderwing's little enclave.

"It is, however, unfortunate that such is almost lost among the less gifted members of your company."

"You have no idea how much I agree with that statement, my lord," Hook said, assuming an appropriately subservient tone. He looked up to see that Thunderwing's attention was now occupied by several displays that were delivering a replay of some of the engagement against the Fallen on Uluru--particularly those pieces which involved Devastator.

Ah. Of course.

"It is an impressive feat of engineering. You and your colleague, Scrapper, have every right to bask in glory for your achievement. However, I am sure that even you have noticed that Devastator is still... unrefined."

"Thank you, Lord Thunderwing. And yes, Devastator's shortcomings are somewhat glaring. I had hoped the process would allow for more control by the intellectually superior, but--as you say--refinement is needed."

"Hence as to why I have summoned you and the good doctor, once he arrives. I have decided, to further your grand work and to ensure a more viable place within the grand Decepticon Regime, to offer you my expertise in such matters."

Aha. Lovely.

"Well....um....that...that is a very generous gesture, my lord."

Scrapper, I'm going to kill you for sending me here.

"I will certainly inform Scrapper and the others," Hook said, backing away slowly. Oh so slowly...

The Thanatos's Hangar Bay

”Starscream, this is Lord Razorclaw. What the slag do you think you're doing?! I have been informed that you are currently powering up a shuttle down in the hangar bay with three of your cohorts. Are you planning on going somewhere? You do realize that taking a shuttle and leaving the ship without authorization is akin to stealing and considered insubordinate behavior don’t you? I suggest you explain your actions immediately!”

The transmission came in and Starscream was startled by it. He was beginning to think that he was gonna have no trouble leaving. There was no indication until now that anyone was aware that he was taking a shuttle, or that anyone cared. Had Skywarp babbled? Probably so. Idiot. Nonetheless, the shuttle was all but ready for take off, and everyone else was on board. Starscream had to decide if he should leave one last taunting answer, or just get the hell out. Razorclaw may be inclined to let him go just to get him out of the way, but if Starscream antagonizes him, he may make it difficult.

"Razorclaw." Starscream said in an even and measured tone after activating his comm. "I'm leaving. You have no use for me, I have no intention of helping you in anything. It seems you think of me differently than Megatron did, and that's fine. I also think of you differently than I did of Megatron. Bottom line is, I refuse to accept you as my leader, you haven't earned it. So, this can go 1 of 2 ways. We can get into a scrap over it, or you can let me leave. Also, I do have a bit of a bargaining chip for you, to make it easier. You see, I know something about Sixshot that you don't. Something I suspect Shockwave and his cohorts might be keeping from you. If it's to your interest, I'll tell you on my way out."

After his answer to the Predacon, Starscream walked up the ramp of the shuttle and stepped into the corridor which went both ways, up to the cockpit and down to the cargo hold.

"Lock On! Vertigo!" he said loudly. "Report! We may have company! This rust bucket had better be ready to go at a moment's notice!"