The Energon Pub

Bridge

>>"Soundwave, I need you to create some sort of believable signal interference so it looks like we didn't receive Scourge's hail. I know it’s only a temporary solution, but I need more time to think. Can you do that, Soundwave?"<<

>>"Already taken care of."<< Soundwave reported back matter-of-factly to his Supreme Commander as his actuator lifted off the transmit button. His countermeasure was now in place and more time was bought on behalf of his new Supreme Commander. The communications officer could only hope Scorponok had not sent the Burning Justice along with a capable Communications officer.

With his scrambler in place, Soundwave returned his highly tuned sensors back towards the rest of the ship and found the ship flourishing with activity once more after this situation with the fallen had ceased. Though these lesser activities were of little mind to him for the moment as he turned his attention to Razorclaw's comm line with the Seeker Commander. Normally he would grant his supreme commander the freedom on maintaining their own privacy, but they were not Megatron and that privacy must be earned through more than just being one to hold the mantle.

His disloyalty was already accounted for in the calculations... Soundwave mentally told himself as he listened in on Starscream whine to Razorclaw how he wasn't Megatron or the leader he chose to follow, Though this exodus is an unexpected variable. A true Decepticon would not flee when the times have changed, the basis of the Decepticon theology is to adapt and change for the better.

Soundwave activated the control to his chest compartment, the red and black cassette-form of Laserbeak shot out from chest cavity and onto the bridge. "Laserbeak; eject." Came his monotonous voice shortly following after. "The hangar, the Seekers are preparing a shuttle and I need you onboard. Be discreet as possible. I'm working on preparing a distraction. Move with haste."

The tiny vulture-like head only gave his superior an understanding nod before activating his jet boosters and rocketing off towards the hangar.

Engineering

There was no place quieter at this very moment than the engineering decks aboard the Predacon warship. Well, quiet wasn't exactly the correct whenever Squawkbox was around. The multicassette Decepticon was rummaging through his gatherings of audio samples and trying to produce his next great "mixed-up" masterpiece.

>>"Squawkbox."<< his boss' monotonous voice came through the self-proclaimed entertainer's audio receptors, throwing off his latest groove.

>>"Sheesh, I read ya boss."<< the Purple and teal Decepticon replied as he lowered his music's volume. >>"What's shaking?"<<

>>"Squawktalk's talents are needed down in the hangar."<<

>>"Damn, we were really close to getting the tempo just right on this last track too. But alright, I'll see to it."<<

>>"Transmitting instructions now.<<

The purple and teal Cassette then split at the waistline and shifted from a general humanoid shape back to that of a teal Vulture and a purple gorilla, Squawktalk and Beastbox respectably.

"Alright 'Box, once I'm down with this task we should allocate for our next meeting location. I still quite fancy this little area in engineering. It's fairly quiet save for the gentle hum from the engines but we can easily filter those out in post! Heheh."

"Cool." Was all the simian cassette replied with as he leaped up to the scaffolding, dangling from the support beam as Squawktalk began to circle about in the air.

"Splendid! Hey while you're not doing anything, you could always go gather more samples from around the ship! I'm sure by now there's quite a gathering of our comrades reminiscing about grander times and sharing tales of old! Perhaps Squawkbox can compose a merry tune for our brothers in arms to sing around the fires of the worlds we conquer! Oh how exciting!"

"Sure."

"Wonderful! Alright I must be off now! See you shortly old friend!" The avian cassette cheered before launching himself off towards the hangar.

Lounge

"You miserable runt!" Blitzwing scolded the green yellow and green wolf pinning him down, though not knowing who exactly tackled him his curse could be directed at any of the mechs around him. He struggled to reach for any of his weapons with Weirdwolf standing over him and holding him down.

When the beast lashed out at the nearby Constructicon, the commando saw his chance to strike back. With his more free arm, the tan and purple triplechanger balled a sturdy fist and swung a wicked suckerpunch at Weirdwolf's wolf-head, his immense strength following through to throw the beast off of him.

Sluggishly rising back up to his full height, the triplechanger lobed a wad of built up energon that had pooled into his mouth before his visor locked back on the tossed thespian.

"It's you and me now, puppycon." Blitzwing taunted, one hand grabbing the hilt of his electro-scimitar and reigniting its violet energy while his other hand grasped at the empty air in a "bring it on" fashion.

Corridor Network

Go here, go there, that's all it's been the past few moments for the crimson and gold mechanic. Patients needing final checkups and checkouts in the med bay, Thunderwing requesting his help in the lab. They do know there's other medical personnel right? Orbitoblast would be more than delighted to "help" new patients every day. Knock-Out let out an audible groan as his comm unit rang yet again during his trek to Thunderwing's current locale.

"I swear if another one of those damned-"

>>"...You know who the hell you're listening too."<<

"Oh." Knock-Out stopped mid-curse, his footsteps slowly following his words.

>>"We have a new mission from Commander Razorclaw. Meet me in the hangar within a breem. Motormaster out."<<

The comm line closed and the medical officer pondered his next course of action. This was a mission from the new Supreme Commander after all, he could t just not follow through with them. Plus, what if he did tell them to stuff it in their tailpipe? You know who sent that call? Motormaster. The Motormaster. No doubt he and Razorclaw are in good graces at the moment. He might be able to drive faster than some of the animals, and hide away from most of the jets, but there was a reason the Stunticon Commander has been referred to as a king of the roads. Guess there's not a moment to waste on thinking over that one any longer. Hangar it is then.

Hangar

The door way hissed open and Knock-Out was greeted with the sight of- well... Nothing really. Sure Starscream and a few of his seeker lackeys were fiddling around a shuttle, but maybe they had orders of their own? Who knows, it didn't matter to Knock-Out.

"Oh joyous me! Company has arrived and if it isn't the fabled Doctor himself!" Came Squawktalk's voice from the same door Knock-Out just passed through shortly following his own arrival. "Well, maybe not as fabled as some like Ratchet or Pharma, but fabled among the Decepticon ranks that is! Oh that reminds of me of this joke Laserbeak once told me involving one of those two, but I'll be damned if I can't remember how it goes! Gahh! Confound this memory of mine! I know for certain what the punchline is!"

"You uh..." Knock-Out stuttered after the verbal barrage, "You weren't one of the mech's Motormaster mentioned in his comm..."

"Motormaster? No no no no NO, he didn't ask for my presence here at all! Course it would be sorta weird if had needed me for anything seeing how my basic tasks involve translating foreign languages across the universe and the only ones I've heard him speak are a series of grunts and curses that could best be associated with the inhabitants living in the Southern Hemisphere of Rackonda VI, but even then it'd be gibberish. I mean if he needed my services at all, it would probably be to filter out his more crude languages into a more 'politically correct' manner of speech. For instance, if he were to say-"

"I get it!" Knock-Out injected fiercely. "So if you're not here to meet him, why don't you just fly and do what you were going to do?"

*gasp* "You're right! I almost forgot! Thanks!" Squawktalk briefly replied, much to the crimson and gold Decepticon's surprise, as he fluttered his teal wings over towards Starscream's gathering. The translator cassette landed atop the shuttle and peered into the cabin of the open ramp before cocking his avian head about curiously towards the red and white seeker Commander.

"My my if it isn't Starscream, the Seeker Commander! What an honor it is to stand within your presence, from one aerial mech to another I should say. My avian brethren might not share similar opinions with me about you, but seeing you rocket over the battlefield is truly a sight to behold! Sorry, I don't want to sound as if I'm degrading you or anything, truth is I'm actually quite nervous. I mean it's not everyday you get a moment to talk to some of the real heroes of the Decepticon armada! Plus Soundwave, he keeps me under a tight leash and I'm rarely ever needed in the field, ya know? Actually you wouldn't know too much because you're one of the great lieutenants, but it's different for mech's like me. Heheh. Whatcha guys prepping for? Is this one of those 'roadtrips' I hear a lot from those Earth movies? They usually end up a disaster brought upon because of the Male Human in each of these features but there's a strong message about family or something at the end. I should show you guys! Rampage as this collection I get to sift through from time to time. Oh and speaking of time, 'Back to the Future!' Oh I could go oooooon about that Earth flick..."

Shuttle-Hangar


Feedback had a wry grin on his face as Starscream entered the bridge. He had overheard, if you call eavesdropping overhearing, Starscream's ultimatum to Razorclaw. Now he knew he was getting off this wretched ship.... via an even more small wretched ship... focus, Feedback, focus... and bonus, wouldn't have to deal with King Kitty Litter.

He brought up a holoscreen at the communications command and began tapping away, seeing what this tug boat had to offer.

Not much.

Just an average antennae array, a small number of transceivers and transponders, a few slightly longer ranged than his own, but definately not something to get his geek on over. They would likely suffice.

"Commander Starscream..." he said as he looked up towards the Seeker commander, even though he hadn't been requested to give a report. "Considering I have no idea what were doing besides apparently stealing a shuttle... all for grand theft shuttle, though.." he gave a thumbs up. "Honestly was on my bucket list... also would like to dissemble and move one piece by piece and reassemble... future grand theft shuttle. I'd brought it up to Psychout but he was not ready at the time. Anyhow, I looked over the comms, not impressive but it will suffice. Obviously at the moment the following will not be in effect, but once we leave the Thanatos, would you like all communications jammed? I can dedicate an internal secure frequency just for us."

---

Vertigo was looking over the flight controls, pitying any non flying Decepticon as he had these controls in his cockpit, he already knew how to fly... poor fools without wings. Having to learn to fly. How de classe, he was built with the knowledge.

His optics looked over to Starscream as the commander entered in and nodded when ordered to give a report.

"It's not a very fast ship, after all it's a shuttle, but it's ready to go." He was tapping in some commands as Skywarp had gotten the engines and pre-flight under way. He was just getting the navigation sorted. "Navigation is almost ready, engines online, artificial gravity works... yay. So ready for takeoff."

----

Lock On was looking over the guns. Or the lack there of. "No weapons on this scrapheap, Commander." He reported. "Just some lousy little lasers that wouldn't even tickle a protoform. But the shuttle is in good working order... so... won't fall apart on launch. We ready for launch, Go?"

His optics drifted to Vertigo.

---

"Yes we are, whenever the captain gives command... Captain Starscream." Vertigo confirmed.

---

"I like Commander better." Lock On remarked.

---

Vertigo considered what his friend said a moment then nodded. "Well, it looks like we're ready to open this Pandora's box and hope for the best, and take off." He said.

Just as he said that Squawktalk appeared in the shuttle. Vertigo jumped at the sudden influx of words.

--

"Primus! Don't do that!" Lock On shouted once Squawktalk started talking."

----

Feedback, without turning, leveled his gun at Squawktalk. "It's a diversion." He said flatly. "They're trying to distract us from something." He switched on his long baseline interferometer radar and infrared targeting, scanned the shuttle area. "Commander, I'm jamming all frequencies except you private communication channel, for security considering the intrusion, let me know if you want me to drop jamming."

Soundwave's Chest Compartment

>>"Boss... why not just let Starscream run off, we'd be rid of that high pitched pain in the aft."<< Frenzy asked Soundwave after the communications officer ejected Laserbeak.

The Thanatos's Hangar Bay

Starscream was thinking about what his crew was telling him, when Squawktalk appeared. He turned toward the bird.

"What...?" he asked, a bit distracted. "What are you doing here? Doesn't Soundwave have anything better to do?"

He then looked back at the others sitting at the controls.

"No, don't jam communications. I'm still waiting to hear from...what did you call him? Kitty Litter...?" Starscream said with a smirk, after he searched his databanks for the reference to Earth felines. "I want this thing ready to go. We leave imminently. I expect to get an answer from Razorclaw one way or another. How are the weapons on this pile of rust? In case his answer isn't the one I want."

He then turned back to Squawktalk once again.

"Tell Soundwave to stop snooping. This doesn't concern him. I have no problem with him, we started this whole thing together, along with Megatron." Starscream was quiet for a moment, in a rare display of reflection. "What happened to him anyway? Why is he kowtowing to fools like Razorclaw? He was once Megatron's most trusted lieutenant, held in higher regard than even me. Then he was loyal to Shockwave, then to an extent even to Scorponok. With his abilities and you little...guys, along with me and my Seekers, we could be in charge around here. Does he dislike me that much that he would rather be a servant on his knees to someone who doesn't even deserve it?"

Starscream said nothing else, looking at the small bird cassette. He wasn't even waiting for an answer, he was just letting off frustrations.

"Lock On!" he finally said loudly. "Weapons report!"

Corridor leading to the Bridge

Aggravation. That’s what Starscream brought to Razorclaw on a consistent basis, especially since the lion-former had assumed the Decepticon throne. It was complete and utter aggravation that the Predacon lord was becoming very tired of. Although, it really should come as no surprise to him as the Seeker Commander had that affect on just about every Decepticon leader or commander that had the unfortunate delight of coming into contact with him. Still, Starscream’s response was one of arrogance and distain for Razorclaw’s authoritative position, refusing to accept him as his leader. Instead, he’d rather tuck tail and run away, taking some of his seekers with him while at the same time offering some unknown information regarding Sixshot that Shockwave and the others might be keeping to themselves.

Letting out a deep groan, Razorclaw spoke again into his comm line:

>>”Starscream, you have some nerve giving me an ultimatum. Whether you accept me as your leader or not, I can still prevent you from leaving this ship and throw you all into the brig if I chose to. Be as it may, I have neither the time nor the resources right now to engage you and your seekers in another pointless battle that will only see more Decepticons fighting one another instead of the Autobots! Therefore, I will not stop you. Your insubordination has become very tiring to me, and I am done dealing with your nonsense. Do as you want but do it off my ship!! Just understand that your insubordinate behavior will not soon be forgotten, not by me or anyone. As for whatever info you have regarding Sixshot, tell me if you must. But know that it will not help your cause or make your punishment any less severe if you decide to return.”<<

Cutting his comm line, Razorclaw looked back over at Motormaster with an annoyed expression across his visage. “Starscream will not be a concern for us now. He’s running away like the cowardly seeker that he is. Good riddance to him. One less thing for us to worry about.” Just then the doors to the bridge opened and Laserbeak rocked out, flying over the lion-former’s head. “Laserbeak! Get back here! Where are you going in a such a rush?”

Hearing the command of Lord Razorclaw, the avian cassette cut his thrusters and glided around in mid air, landing gracefully on a railing that jutted out from a nearby wall. “My apologies. I’ve got orders from Soundwave to sneak onto Starscream’s shuttle and spy on him, my lord.” Laserbeak bowed his head as a sign of respect. He didn’t want to anger the Predacon Commander as the beast could easily tear him apart if he wished. Laserbeak was the type of mech that wanted to avoid fighting if possible, preferring instead to pick off the wounded and helpless or interrogate those who had already been beaten. The black and red condor was a coward, even more so than Starscream, but he was an excellent interrogator and spy and thus he was useful to the Decepticon cause.

“I see,” Razorclaw replied, realizing that Soundwave was already on top of things even without an additional order from the lion-former. Good, good. At least there were some mechs on board who could be counted on to operate without micro-management. “Continue with your mission, Laserbeak. Stay out of sight and do not engage them. Simply watch and listen.”

“Understood, my lord,” the avian cassette responded with another respectful bow before taking off again and igniting his thrusters. Within astroseconds, Laserbeak had jetted off down the corridor and around the corner.

Hangar Bay – Shuttle

Laserbeak flew effortlessly into the hangar and quickly rose to a high altitude within the vast chamber. Scanning the vicinity, the avian cassette quickly located Starscream’s shuttle and saw that Squawktalk had landed on top of the craft and was conversing with the occupants inside, sticking his head in through the open hatchway. This must be the diversion Soundwave had previously mentioned. Hopefully, it would be good enough to allow Laserbeak to infiltrate the shuttle without being seen.

Cutting his thrusters, Laserbeak descended towards the back of the craft where he landed quietly on the floor. Keeping low to the ground, the black and red condor walked underneath the shuttle to one of the landing gear. Once there, he tucked his wings close to his sides and immediately hopped up into the open compartment where the landing gear would ultimately go. He then used his beak to pry open an access panel that led inside the shuttle. Perfect, Laserbeak thought as he climbed through the opening and into the main cargo hold. The avian cassette then replaced the access panel before making his way across the room towards a closed door. On the other side was a corridor that led to the front of the spacecraft. Laserbeak pressed one audio receptor against the door and could hear the sound of muffled vocals coming from outside in the hallway as Squawktalk continued to converse with Starscream and the seekers. Unfortunately, there was no way to enter that corridor without being seen. Thus, the black and red condor needed to find another way to the front.

Looking up towards the ceiling, Laserbeak found his answer. Leaping into the air, the avian cassette flew up to an air vent. Once again using his beak, Soundwave’s little spy pressed a small button on the side of the vent, causing it to slide open. Wasting no time, Laserbeak quickly entered the tight ventilation shaft, allowing the vent to slide shut behind him. He then carefully and quietly made his way towards the front of shuttle where he came to a dead end and another vent that allowed him to peer through the slits and down into the cockpit.

Here Laserbeak would remain hidden, keeping his optics and audios attuned to everything that Starscream and his three seeker companions did from this point forward. Spying was more dangerous than interrogation, but it was the avian cassette's job and he would fulfill his duty whether he liked it or not.

Bridge

Following Laserbeak’s departure from Soundwave’s chest cavity, Ravage came, transforming into his bestial robot mode in time to watch the avian spy fly out of the bridge. The feline Decepticon stared after him as the bridge doors hissed shut. His crimson optics flicked to his commander, a question in them. “Wouldn’t I be better suited to an assignment that requires discretion?” he asked.

Ravage wasn’t doubting Soundwave’s decision, far from it, he was merely curious. Perhaps his old friend had something else in mind for the black feline. Perhaps not. If not, Ravage was of a mind to go prowling about the ship. With Starscream leaving, there were fewer unpredictable variables in the equation, but they still were there. If Ravage could dig up some information that gave Soundwave the edge, well.

There was Thunderwing, for starters. The warlord was much like Shockwave in that he was an excellent scientist. But at least Shockwave, you sort of knew how he handled things and where you stood with him. Thunderwing…well. The mech had strapped bits of another mech and a fleshy organic to a frame and wore it like a badge of honor. There was something unsettling about that.

Speaking of, Shockwave wasn’t totally safe either. Not too recently, he stood against Razorclaw and his…brood? Pack. Something. Ravage was willing to bet that he wasn’t the most pleased with the outcome. Razorclaw himself was of interest as well, seeing as Ravage’s ultimate loyalty was to Soundwave and the Decepticon cause. But…Ravage wasn’t keen on arousing the other feline’s ire needlessly. Onslaught, Motormaster, and Scrapper were different matters.

And, of course, there was that femme, Flamewar. Ravage wasn’t entirely sure what to make of her. He didn’t even know why she had come to the Sol system in the first place. There was much Ravage didn’t know about her, and that irked him as well. Not to mention Sixshot’s unexpected arrival and her interest in him.

As Ravage awaited an answer from Soundwave, his tail flicked with agitation, betraying his eagerness for action.


Lounge

>>”Knockout, Astrotrain, Octane and you four dimwits.”<<

Ohoho…Goodie… Wildrider barely held back a wicked sneer as the all too familiar sound of Motormaster’s voice rang through his audios. Couldn’t give himself away to Skullcruncher just yet. Or else he might not be awake to answer his big boss.

>>”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.”<<

A breem, huh? Stealthily onlining one of his optics, Wildrider glanced around the lounge for his victi- cohorts. Comrades. Buddies. Pals. Yeah, them. Breakdown wasn’t too hard to spot. It looked like he was down for the count, but he was probably just faking. Wimp. His fellow Stunticons just didn’t feel the call to potentially self-inflicted pain for a whole barrel of laughs. Alas. At least Motormaster knew where he was coming from. The two went way back. Not in the friendly, chummy way. Pit no. If Wildrider could smack Motormaster around as easily as the King of the Roads did him? Oh, baby.

But dreams were dreams. Might as well get around to telling the boss bot why three of his dimwits would be late to the party. He might even lay the smack down on them. Ahaha, Wildrider couldn’t wait to see Breakdown’s sorry face when he sent the transmission.

>>”That’s a big no-can-do, boss bot,”<< Wildrider transmitted back to Motormaster, keeping his optic on Breakdown. >>”Breakdown, Dead End, and I are a little…heheh…ahem. Tied up in the lounge at the moment. Point is…a breem’s a bit tough, sweetspark, how about two?”<<

He couldn’t hold it back. Wildrider let out a crazed cackled at his own demented behavior. It wasn’t that Wildrider didn’t fear Motormaster’s wrath. He was just crazy. And a little eager to see Breakdown and Dead End get their afts served on a silver platter to them. Why? Just because. And if he had to hurt a little? So what! Drag Strip, that fragger, was currently the lowest of the low in terms of status in their little group. The heat being off Wildrider only encouraged him to do more crazy scrap.

“Heheheh…AHAHAHAHA!”


It was a tingling at the base of his cranium that told him that he was about to experience pain. Having lashed out at the well-meaning Constructicon in anger, Weirdwolf has left himself open to retaliation by the purple and gold commando. And it came. Despite his senses forewarning him of the danger, Weirdwolf was in no position to evade it. Snarling as the sucker punch connected with the side of his head, the green and yellow wolf was thrown from Blitzwing, but he swiftly found his feet again.

While the triplechanger’s strength was great, it paled in comparison to the strength of Weirdwolf’s regular sparing partner: Skullcruncher. As Blitzwing sluggishly rose to his feet, Weirdwolf glared with intense focus at the brute, scanning for a proper opening. As the other mech shifted into a sword stance, Weirdwolf transformed back into his robot mode, drawing his own sword. It ignited with a deep red hue, turning orange, then yellow to white as the heat moved toward the edges of the blade.

"It's you and me now, puppycon."

“Silence, you cretin,” Weirdwolf snarled. “Pay you must for the insult you wrought upon my friend!” Weirdwolf lunged forward with lightning speed and tenacity, slashing at Blitzwing’s exposed side. “Attack you would while his back is turned?!” The thespian’s sword danced in his hands, each strike holding a surprising amount of force behind it. “This I cannot stand!”

Armory

As the Combaticon Commander finished loading up the last of his ammunition, his assembled strike team quickly began to all like Into the armory one-by-one. Rather strange how Starscream's lackeys managed to arrive before the the entirety of his own team. Swindle and Brawl seemed to be the last two missing, the prior most likely sealing one final deal before he leaves while Onslaught could only hope the latter was venting his bottled up rage in a nonviolent way elsewhere onboard. Primus he could only hope...

"Not an issue with me." Onslaught stated as he shifted his gaze towards Skywarp, the sight of the nearby Nightraven appearing in his peripheral vision. Another seeker onboard could help benefit the infiltration part of the mission, or at least help keep the skies clear should anything unforeseen happen. "So long as you two can keep yourselves focused during this mission." A part of Onslaught wanted to mention how his alternate mode was capable of launching a variety of SAM missiles to help keep their minds fixated on the objection and not so much each other, and how willing he would be to use it should the occasion ever arise down on Earth's surface. As easy of a threat it was to make, there was no need to mention it just yet. Better to not start a mission of this caliber with an ill-tempered group.

"As for this current mess..." The Combaticon Commander began with a turn of the heel towards Vortex's general direction. "It seems during one of our previous tasks down to Earth, a couple of our munitions were lost during a firefight. A couple of Vortex's missiles did not make contact with their target and spun out, failing to detonate. During our leave, some of the local inhabitants came across these munitions and have taken them to a secret military base for further study."

He paused and let the gathered mechs absorb the information.

"Now I'm not sure how aware any of you are with our current infiltration levels, but I can say for sure that we cannot let these humans continue to study our technology. With the help of the facsimiles Ratbat has notified me about, were going to infiltrate the facility and acquire the unused munitions. Once we've got the cargo secured, we have to destroy whatever data the fleshies got on our tech."

Armory

“Mess? What’s this about?” Blast-off had asked. Ratbat tittered. This was just too good.

"Why don't you ask your team's interrogator 'what mess', mm? I'm sure he can tell you all about it. Idiot that he is," Ratbat taunted from his perch.

Vortex had had just about enough of Soundwave's minion's little taunts.

"Hey! I've had just about enough outta your little Casseticon trap, glitch. I'm about to shove one'a my blades so far down your vocalizer that your big blue boss is gonna hafta stick a cord up your aft just to get a signal."

Before he could make good on his threat, however, Onslaught decided to step in and defuse the situation by getting them all focused on the task at hand.

"As for this current mess...It seems during one of our previous tasks down to Earth, a couple of our munitions were lost during a firefight. A couple of Vortex's missiles did not make contact with their target and spun out, failing to detonate. During our leave, some of the local inhabitants came across these munitions and have taken them to a secret military base for further study.

"Now I'm not sure how aware any of you are with our current infiltration levels, but I can say for sure that we cannot let these humans continue to study our technology. With the help of the facsimiles Ratbat has notified me about, were going to infiltrate the facility and acquire the unused munitions. Once we've got the cargo secured, we have to destroy whatever data the fleshies got on our tech."

Vortex's optics had noticeably shifted to the ground at Onslaught's mention of the part the interrogator had played in creating this problem. But once the commander was finished speaking, he looked up again.

"Well, under the circumstances, I'd say we have our work cut out for us," Ratbat said. "And you do, indeed, have quite a mess to clean up. And speaking of mess, where's Brawl? Isn't he usually the first to show up when you have a mission like this, commander?"

Armory

”Shut up you winged cybergnat or I will feed your fangs to you with my fist!” Brawl bellowed at Ratbat as he stormed into the armory with all of his trademark fury and bluster - with Swindle following closely behind.

”I am right here, am I not?!” He questioned in his annoyingly loud way while eyeing up the mechs gathered in the armory as if to decide which one he would take a swing at first were they to say something he didn't want to hear, ”I had a smart-aft Stunticon to teach some manners to! You got some problem with that, huh?!”

”Tell them Swindle! You heard what Breakdown said about us!” Brawl barked, turning to look at the walking black market dealer and smashed his fist against the palm of his other hand, ”He deserved all the punishment he got and more!”

Shockwave's Laboratory

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

Shockwave continued his fine-tuning work on the mechaforming hub, calibrating it to respond to all of Sol-3's varied elements.

"Negative. Declarative: my previous mission consisted only of reacquiring the technology from Kolkular. My return here was met by Starscream's inept leadership, a reality that was quickly remedied. The hub's deployment will now depend on Razorclaw's willingness to adhere to or deviate from the infiltration protocols. Regardless, we cannot remain idle for much longer. It is extremely unlikely that the Autobots faced the same challenges in transitioning leadership as we did. It will only be a matter of time before they move to secure the Ore-13 deposits for themselves. Our probability of defeating them in that scenario decreases substantially."

Bio-Metrics Laboratory

Muted hisses of hydraulic pistons reverberated through the reinforced bulkhead plates as billows of compressed gasses and faint traces of acidic wisps danced up from behind the recharging throne. Small spritz and micro geysers of corrosive fluids soon followed suit as the massive frame of Thunderwing leaned forward to expel the first pair of refueling conduits that rearmed his powerful cyberganic shell's interior chemical tanks. Compressed condensation soon followed suit as another set of conduits were jettisoned from other ports along the thick and broadly rounded shoulders.

The sound of pistons were soon drowned underneath the rumbling of Thunderwing's large frame as he began to place his weight against the heels of his palms, forcing them down into the armrests of his in-ornate throne. The scientist pushed himself to full height, the synthetic organic flesh of his body glistened as the final umbilical, a two way Energon Supply and filtration matrix of custom design that fueled not only himself indirectly, but the carapace he wore, ensuring its complete functionality for the duration of deployment.

Ultra Violet liquid drops sprayed out as the cable retracted into the throne and the port on the carapace's back was closed and sealed. Finally, the warlord scientist allowed his hands to reach before him and began grasping at air, each movement to test the functionality of his digits, as if there were to ever be a doubt. It was a display, pure and simple. Skin and metal crushing down upon themselves into tight fists, the knuckles burning white beneath the barely constrained strength.

After a moment, Thunderwing allowed his arms to come to rest at his side and he descended to the main floor of the laboratory. Once his left foot hit the deck, the information on the primary viewers immediately collapsed from view and instantly transferred to his off the grid computer core. "No, my dear Hook." He finally spoke, his attention half divided with making covert commands to his terminals and securing the files he would not want others to access before he was ready. "I do not believe that will be entirely necessary."

Now satisfied his files were safely secured from outside interference or tampering, Thunderwing sent a silent command to the laboratory's main computer nodes to upload a brief status report as to his intentions. The lights to the facility flickered and died, leaving the ghastly glow of crimson optics highlighting the menacing facial features of the Pretender creator.

Finally he exited the lab and approached Hook's position and took a grim satisfaction at the revulsion that danced in the Constructicon's optics. A toothed grin emerged from beneath the crimson glow as his fleshy hand reached out and came to rest on the construction crane's right shoulder. "No, such second hand accounts just shall not do." He emerged into the full light of the hallway. "I shall accompany you to your next assignment. Such generosity must be delivered in person, or not at all... a sentiment I am sure that even you shall agree. Now come, take me to Scrapper and the rest of your brethren. There is much to accomplish, and little time in which to do it."

Bio-Metrics Laboratory

Watching Thunderwing rise from his seated position was reminiscent of watching some sort of previously offline Cybertronian slowly come back to life. The next part would then inevitably involve the revenant seeking to feast upon the alloys of the living.

Hook shook the thought from his mind, and remained as still and outwardly calm as he could manage as the Warlord of Valckasta approached. This was just a Decepticon. A normal Decepticon like any other. Powerful, yes. Intelligent? Unquestionably. Valckasta had a long lineage of not only aristocratic ties but also a skilled hand in the scientific communities. This particular evolution however? No matter how much Hook tried to accept it, there was no denying its obvious abnormalities. Still, he did his best to not betray his own personal preferences and particulars with his expression and certainly not with his words. Always speak carefully when in the presence of more powerful Decepticons.

"No, such second hand accounts just shall not do. I shall accompany you to your next assignment. Such generosity must be delivered in person, or not at all... a sentiment I am sure that even you shall agree. Now come, take me to Scrapper and the rest of your brethren. There is much to accomplish, and little time in which to do it."

"I-I..." Hook stammered, quickly recomposing himself. This was not what he was expecting at all. "...I-of course! My lord. I had simply not wanted to inconvenience you. But....as you say....this level of generosity will be even more gratefully received by your doing the honors personally, I have no doubts."

Thunderwing was already headed off in the direction of the bounce chambers and Hook stopped himself from saying anything further. He didn't want to annoy the Warlord by rebuffing his offer, but he didn't want to annoy him by being too overly ingratiating either. Perhaps he had already crossed that line. Oh well. Nothing for it.

This should be rich.

Corridor leading to the Bridge

“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.”

”Right. We'll see about that,” Motormaster replied to Razorclaw's reassurances about the success of the mission. It was probably true too. Knock-Out would make Ultrax fly again. Motormaster himself just wasn't interested in the slightest of going to supervise a salvage operation when the Decepticons where in such a flux. Still, even he had to recognize their need for the energon stored into the Ultrax. In war what one wanted had very little meaning and Motormaster knew when to sacrifice his personal interests for the common good. That didn't mean he had to like it.

“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.”

”If that's the case, you better think up something fast because knowing our kin, they won't wait forever,” the large black and gray Decepticon rumbled, finally pulling himself off the wall and straightening up to his full height. Just as he was about to make his leave, Razorclaw ended up having another situation to deal with. One that clearly had agitated the Predacon leader greatly. And for a good reason. Starscream tended to have that effect on most even on a good day but this, this was proper treason. Razorclaw had after all bested the seeker in a duel. A duel that had ended up with Starscream swearing loyalty to Razorclaw.

“Starscream will not be a concern for us now. He’s running away like the cowardly seeker that he is. Good riddance to him. One less thing for us to worry about.”

”More like one more thing to worry about, heh.” Motormaster chuckled. ”He will be back. He always will.”

At that point Wildrider's transmission reached the leader of the Stunticons.

>>”That’s a big no-can-do, boss bot,”<< Wildrider transmitted back to Motormaster, keeping his optic on Breakdown. >>”Breakdown, Dead End, and I are a little…heheh…ahem. Tied up in the lounge at the moment. Point is…a breem’s a bit tough, sweetspark, how about two?”<<

Motormaster did not reply. Instead, a malevolent fire lit up in his optics. Oh, the poor bastards would suffer for this. Particularly Wildrider.

”Try to stay sane 'Claw. I ain't jealous of your position right now.” Motormaster added and turned to leave. ”Looks like my loyal minions are in need of some... motivation.”

Hangar

"Me? Snooping? My my my, even if I was instructed by Megatron himself to do so I wouldn't be very good at it. Soundwave mentioned it was because I talk too much or something and that doesn't make a very good spy, to which I rebutted that I feel I talk the perfect amount and am far from being a chatterbox. Like at one Autobot with the name that doesn't match his color scheme! Redstreak? No no no, he has red detailing if I recall so that's not it... Maybe it was a blue... Navystreak? Aquastreak? That's not it... GAH it's on the tip of my beak! Anyways that guy-pheeeww- can he ramble on and on and on. If you could be Primed for being a chatterbot, he would've been a Nova for sure!"

>>"That will be all, Squawktalk."<< Soundwave alerted the avian translator.

Without missing a beat, the teal condor rose back into the air from his perch over the open shuttle hatch. "Well regardless of where you're going or where I'm to be, it seems as though I must have overstayed my welcome. All I was looking for a decent chat but no one seems to wanna talk so I best McFly on outta here. Ha! You see what I did there? Mc-Fly! Like the human from that vid I told you about! Ohhhhh right you haven't seen it yet... Well you lot are surely missing out on it!" And with that final word, the cassetticon flapped his way back towards the engineering bay, muttering quotes from the Earth movie to keep himself company along the way.

"McFly! HA! Oh you know how to crack yourself up Squawktalk!"

Lounge

Breakdown ached all over, but when was that new? He usually ached all over. Now it was maybe a little more hurty in spots, but it was still better than a beating from Motormaster.

He looked up and slowly sat upright. The lounge had more or less cleared out save for a random 'Con here and there and, of course, Dead End and Wildrider.

Yay.

"Combatipunks," Breakdown huffed, pushing himself back to his feet. He looked around. "Boss still busy with the kitty?"
___

Bridge

While eagerly watching two humans brawl each other in the mud with tires strewn around them, Rampage's attention was drawn to another monitor. This one was in the hangar. Starscream and some of his friends appeared to be trying to leave.

"Huh. Wonder what that's about," Rampage said, idly tapping the screen.

Bridge

"Huh. Wonder what that's about," Rampage said, idly tapping the screen.

”Have you been sleeping at your post again?” Headstrong spoke up gruffly after Rampage's mumbling had piqued his attention. ”Divebomb alerted boss about that like a breem ago.”

”Didn't you Divebomb?!” Headstrong shouted at the only aerial Predacon for confirmation while leaning back on his seat, his hands crossed behind the back of his head.

Corridor leading to the Bridge

“No, they won’t wait forever,” Razorclaw agreed, responding to Motormaster’s warning regarding the Burning Justice before returning his attention to the Stunticon Commander. “But it’s all I can do for now.” The large brute then issued an additional warning. Starscream would be back once he was done fooling around out in space. He would always return whether they wanted him to or not. This was an unavoidable eventuality, and the Predacon lord had no doubt he would be dealing with the cowardly seeker again in the near future.

“Of course, he will,” Razorclaw added. “Cyber-roaches are hard to get rid of. They always pop back up when you least expect it. Heh.” The lion-former listened as Motormaster told him to try and stay sane before turning to leave and mentioning that the other Stunticons needed some kind of motivation. “There’s no better mech I know that can do that, my friend. Good luck.” That last bit was more in regards to the Ultrax than to dealing with Motormaster’s unit.

Once the Stunticon Commander had taken his leave, Razorclaw switched his attention to other matters and opened a high-priority, secured comm line to the remaining two members of his inner circle:

>>”Commanders Onslaught and Scrapper, this is Razorclaw. I know that we just spoke recently, but something urgent has come up that requires your feedback. You both may or may not be aware that the Burning Justice recently appeared on our sensors nearing the Sol System. I don’t have to remind you that this ship belongs to Scorponok, High Commander of the Second Expansion Fleet. While they are still a good distance away, they have already made contact with us. Scorponok does not appear to be on board, but he has requested to be patched through in order to speak with Megatron, himself. This, of course, poses a serious problem for us. Now, Soundwave has already initiated a signal interference to stall for time, but that will not last forever and eventually our kin will come looking for Megatron directly. When that happens the truth will be uncovered and Scorponok will come here to claim the throne for himself.”<<

Razorclaw paused for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing.

>>”Needless-to-say, we currently do not have the means to fight a mech of Scorponok’s power. The option of creating new combiners is on the table, but by the time that happens, the High Commander would have already arrived and seized control of the Empire. The only real options are to utilize Devastator and Sixshot, assuming I can convince Shockwave to help me free the phase sixer from Starscream’s grasp. But, even then will that be enough to stop Scorponok? I fear not. Nor would it be right for me to sit on the sidelines and let others fight a battle that I should be fighting. Unfortunately, I alone do not have the power to defeat Scorponok. I would require your help once again. Thus, my question to you both is: should we even try to fight him?

“With your support and assistance, I have fought for and won the throne in order to give the specialty groups the respect and position of power that we deserved. I also did it to keep the leadership out of the hands of Shockwave, Starscream and even Thunderwing, all of whom were not worthy successors to Megatron. However, Scorponok is a different story. I really have no qualms with him and he is the rightful second in command after the slagmaker. Thus, should we not at least consider throwing our allegiance to him? It would, after all, avoid more infighting and thus be better for the Empire as a whole. I know that after all we’ve fought for this seems like we would be giving up, but it may be our only option other than facing Scorponok’s wrath. The Decepticon mantra has always been that the strongest should lead. Until recently, that was Megatron, but now that has changed. I’ve already received feedback from Motormaster in regards to this. So, I now ask both of you, Scrapper and Onslaught, should we try and fight Scorponok or should we embrace him as leader of the Decepticons and put an end to any further possible infighting once and for all?”<<

Leaving his secured comm line open, Razorclaw finally left the area near the bridge and made his way to a nearby turbo lift. Once inside, the doors slid shut and the lift descended towards the science level where his meeting in Shockwave’s lab would soon commence.

Bridge

Divebomb kept a close optic on the vidcam feeds from the hangar bay as a systems diagnostic continued to run on his computer terminal. Squawktalk was also in the hangar, perched on top of the shuttle talking to Starscream and his seekers while Laserbeak could be seen sneaking onto the craft. Once that had been accomplished, Squawktalk left thanks to a signal from Soundwave. It seemed as though Razorclaw was going to let the cowardly seeker and his brethren leave with a certain stowaway to keep a watchful optic on them. The aerial Predacon was fine with that. With Starscream out of the picture it was less for Lord Razorclaw to worry about.

Headstrong’s overly loud question then reached Divebomb’s audios, causing him to flinch slightly in his chair. “Do you have to be so loud, Headstrong?” The cyber-eagle asked as he let out a deep sigh. “And, yes, I did already inform Lord Razorclaw of what’s going on in the hangar. He told me he would take care of it.”

Right now Divebomb wished he could just go and find a place elsewhere on the ship that had some high rafters where he could build himself a nice metal nest. The further away from his boisterous and obnoxious Predacon comrades the better. As it were, he had a job to do here on the bridge. Maybe later on he would have a chance to make that nest of his and finally get some peace and quiet.

Bridge

”Have you been sleeping at your post again? Divebomb alerted boss about that like a breem ago. Didn't you Divebomb?!”

“Do you have to be so loud, Headstrong? And, yes, I did already inform Lord Razorclaw of what’s going on in the hangar. He told me he would take care of it.” Divebomb said, answering Rampage and Headstrong's temporary curiosity.

Rampage looked at Headstrong and then Divebomb, his hopes that he had somehow made a prime discovery vanishing right in front of him. Oh well, this Earth programming was slaggin' interesting. Just like those underground pit combat vids back during the golden days of Cybertron.

"Eh...well....guess he knows best," Rampage sighed, kicking his feet up on the console as he returned his focus to the Earth programming and started flipping through the various signals that the ship was able to pick up.

"Hmm...cooking...talking..news...news..news...talking....hm...'Ultimate Fighting Championship'--nice!"

Shuttle Bay

Feedback's optics dimmed as that nuisance of an cassette left the shuttle. He lowered his gun but said nothing more.


---


Vertigo shook his head and closed the shuttle hatches. "We're ready for take off, Commander."

Hangar Bay

"Good." Starscream replied. "About time! I want off this rust bucket and away from the mentally deficient blowhards in charge."

Starscream then walked to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat.

"Now, let's see if I can still do this. It's been a while."

He then looked at Feedback.

"Are communications good on this thing? In case Razorclaw has something else to say, not that I'm interested. I can't wait until the day I can crush his vocal processors for good."

With that, he activated the shuttle's anti-gravity, and it lifted off and proceeded out of the hangar bay. Once out in the open, Starscream looked back at the Thanatos and offered it and everyone on board the 1-fingered salute.

"That gesture is probably the only good thing those pathetic fleshbags have ever come up with." he said with a smirk.

He then pointed the shuttle toward Earth and hit the accelerator.

Hangar-Shuttle

Rodimus Prime wrote:He then looked at Feedback.

"Are communications good on this thing? In case Razorclaw has something else to say, not that I'm interested. I can't wait until the day I can crush his vocal processors for good."

Communications are.... ify, Commander." Feedback replied to Starscream. "But they should be adequate enough for planet to orbit communication.... unless there's solar acyivity, storm cell activity.... cloud cover. .. radiation higher than the usual amount....Tuesday.... okay, we could be hot or miss,meaning more to miss."

He couldn’t help but chuckle at Starscream's gesture to the Thanatos.

Armory

"Goodness. So sensitive," Ratbat tittered, carefully and consciously remaining well out of reach of the agitated Combaticon. However, the aforementioned brute soon made his appearance, much to Ratbat's chagrin.

”Shut up you winged cybergnat or I will feed your fangs to you with my fist! I am right here, am I not?! I had a smart-aft Stunticon to teach some manners to! You got some problem with that, huh?! Tell them Swindle! You heard what Breakdown said about us!” Brawl had bellowed.

At this juncture, Ratbat recognized the wisdom in remaining silent. Brawl would blast a hole in the ship's hull just to get at someone he thought had offended him.
___

Vortex pointed at Brawl and nodded, looking back at Onslaught.

"Exactly! Glitched little slags! Swindle saw the whole thing!"

They had now resorted to Swindle vouching for them. How far they had fallen...

Oh well.

"Let's just get this fraggin' mess over. I want to get this cleaned up and get back to where Motormaster's boys cause all the problems around here," Vortex said, grabbing some additional equipment from an armaments locker before catching himself and standing rigidly at-attention.

"Sir," he added promptly.

Medical Bay

Tantrum was more than a little bored. He was very bored. The bull-former had been assigned to guard duty for several cycles now in the med bay and nothing much had happened. He simply twiddled his thumbs, stared off into space or watched the injured mechs nearby heal in order to pass the time. Unfortunately, for a ‘Con like Tantrum, boredom did nothing to help his anger management issues. Guard duty was a complete waste of his time. Why not give this job to someone like Divebomb who didn’t even like being around the rest of the Predacons? Wouldn’t he be more suitable for this assignment? Tantrum was no rocket scientist, not even close, but even he knew he was wrong for this duty.

“I wanna smash something,” Tantrum muttered angrily to himself as he turned around and punched the bulkhead behind him with all of his might. A deep indentation was left behind as the sound of the hit echoed throughout the medical facility. Some of the other Decepticons glanced over at him but quickly looked away once their gaze was met with his rage-filled glare. They all knew better than to mess with an upset Tantrum, not that there was such a thing as a calm Tantrum.

With the Predacon fueler’s attention drawn elsewhere, the CR chamber across from him hissed open, allowing a thin mist to escape from the interior. Slowly a very large mech emerged and approached Tantrum, casting a dark shadow down over the bull-former. Noticing that things had suddenly become dark around him, Tantrum turned back and came faceplate to chestplate with the object of his guardianship. The fueler swallowed hard and slowly lifted his head up to see the visage of the resident STAG.

“I take it your Lord Razorclaw told you to keep watch on me while I slept. How touching,” Sixshot said sarcastically, looking down at his smaller guardian.

“Um...yeah, he did,” Tantrum responded, taking a step back. “He didn’t want Starscream or anyone else to mess with your chamber.”

“Indeed. Very thoughtful of him. And where might I find the new leader of the Decepticons by chance?” Sixshot asked as he crossed his arms over his wide chestplate.

“Well, he was on the bridge last I heard, but that may have changed,” Tantrum replied. “I should probably tell him you’re awake.”

“By all means.”

“Yeah, um, okay,” Tantrum said as he then opened a secured comm line to the Predacon Commander:

>>”Lord Razorclaw, this is Tantrum down in the med bay. Sixshot is awake and asking where you are. What should I tell him?”<<

Shockwave’s Laboratory

Razorclaw had exited the turbo lift on the science level and quickly made his way through the labyrinth of corridors until he arrived at the cycloptic mech’s lab. The doors were sealed with an encrypted code so that not just anyone could gain entry unannounced. Smart move. However, it was a code that Razorclaw could easily override as he had overwhelming authority over every part of the Thanatos. With his own security code entered, the doors parted down the center and the Predacon lord crossed the threshold into Shockwave’s scientific domain.

Immediately, Razorclaw took notice of Flamewar, who had arrived some time ago to serve as a precursor to their meeting with the Military Operations Commander. “Hello again, my dear. I assume we are ready to get started,” the Predacon lord greeted the femme before setting his sights on the one-eyed scientist, who was tinkering with the mechaforming hub that had been previously retrieved from Kolkular on Cybertron. Back then Razorclaw had been under Shockwave’s command, but now the reverse was true. How ironic.

“Commander Shockwave, my apologies if I have kept you waiting for too long. There has been much I’ve needed to deal with recently, but now I have time to talk,” Razorclaw began as the doors closed behind him. “I'm guessing Flamewar has filled you in on why I’m here. As you are aware, Starscream currently possesses the shutdown code for Sixshot. I think we can all agree that this cannot be allowed to stand for obvious reasons. Therefore, I require your assistance to remove the code from the sixchanger’s processor as apparently only you can do so. Of course,” Razorclaw paused for a moment to consider his next words carefully. “Sixshot cannot go unchecked. He is far too powerful to be left without a metaphorical leash. A new code will need to be installed and someone needs to possess it. Being that I’m the current Decepticon leader, it only makes sense that it should be me.”

Razorclaw stopped again to let his reasoning register within the logic-driven mech’s cranial unit. “I know that we’ve had our differences in the past, Shockwave. I hope that for the sake of the Empire we can put those differences aside and do what’s best for the Decepticon cause,” the lion-former continued, taking a step forward towards the purple ‘Con. “I do not want you as an enemy. I want you as an ally and I’m willing to grant you whatever resources you require to continue your mechaforming experiments and whatever else you need. A united Empire is what we both want. All I ask for is your help and support to make that a reality.”

As Razorclaw finished his speech, he received a secured transmission from Tantrum. Sixshot was awake. Perfect timing. The lion-former quickly opened a comm line back to his subordinate:

>>”Excellent, Tantrum. I’m currently in Shockwave’s lab. Tell Sixshot to meet me here. All will be explained once he arrives. As for you, good work. Head to the bridge and rejoin our brethren.”<<

After receiving a non-verbal reply back, the Predacon lord returned his attention to Shockwave. “I have just been informed that Sixshot has awakened from his CR nap. He is currently on his way here. Hopefully, we will have good news for him regarding the code when he arrives.”

Medical Bay

Tantrum received an answer from the lion-former over his secured comm line. The fueler then sent a non-verbal acknowledgment back to his commander before returning his attention to the phase sixer standing over him. “Um, Lord Razorclaw is down in Shockwave’s lab. He told me to tell you to meet him there. All will be explained later.”

“Really? Shockwave’s lab, you say?” Sixshot said with a bit of a surprised tone. It was very interesting that Razorclaw wanted to meet in Shockwave’s laboratory and not on the bridge or anywhere more private. Surely the cycloptic mech was there in his lab and would be a part of whatever conversation they would have. Did this have something to do with the shutdown code? That was a strong possibility as it was Shockwave who installed it under Megatron’s orders, and the Predacon lord would likely want to do something about Starscream's knowledge of it. “I must say my curiosity is piqued. Now, did Razorclaw happen to mention anything regarding Starscream’s current whereabouts?”

“Ah, no he didn’t. You want me to ask?”

“No, no, not necessary,” the sixchanger replied quickly. “I’m sure if he was worried about me running into the Seeker Commander along the way he would’ve said something. Besides, I can always check Starscream's location on any access terminal and therefore avoid him. So, you can run along now. I no longer require a proto-sitter. I can handle things from here.” With those words spoken, Sixshot gave the Predacon fueler a pat on the cranium as the STAG walked by him. The sixchanger then quickly exited the med bay as almost every injured 'Con that was nearby looked on in awe.

Tantrum growled under his breath at having been petted before he then followed suit and left the medical facility, as well, heading for the bridge.

The Lounge

"Boss still busy with the kitty?"

”Hardly.” Motormaster's hollow, bottomless-deep voice of doom boomed from behind Breakdown – only nanokliks after the smaller Stunticon could feel a crushing grip having taken hold of his shoulder and stranding him motionless forcibly. How someone as big as Motormaster was able to be appear as if from thin air had to be a mystery to the other Stunticons but there he was. In the Lounge. Somehow having snuck in there while their attention had been elsewhere.

”Now would be a good time,” he said gravely, ”To explain what the slag you're doing?!”

Armory

"Avoiding you?" Thundercracker asked lacing his response tone with a mild hint of taking mock insult. "Do I look like I am as petty as our fearless crimson commander?" He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the door jamb separating Armory from the hallway. His right index finger tapped his left shoulder as his optics drilled a hole into the forehead of black and violet seeker that had emerged from the ether.

That was, until Skywarp could no longer hold his straight face... and neither could Thundercracker. He burst into a similar laugh and took hold of his friend, adding a pair of stern slaps to the back... taking care not to damage his best friend before an assignment. "Eh, nothing I couldn't handle. Thanks to Screamer, I got saddled protoform sitting those stinking Aerial jokers. You don't even know how hard it was not to simply flame that little braggart's afterburner. Seeing him yammer all the way to the desert surface would have been worth whatever brig time I mighta gotten. Stupid jerks little stunts got my wing's scorched."

He fell silent briefly as he pulled himself back and allowed ingress to the Armory for both Skywarp and Nightraven. "Yeah tell me about it. Being forced to these pathetic assignments has really started to chafe my fuselage. Bout time we get to dominate the sky... and show these ground pounding weaklings how its done to win a war." He raised his voice just loud enough so that others could over hear the honesty of his words. They knew he was their superior, in skill, in abilities and in all around effect... and this mission would be another showcase to prove it.

Finally he addressed Nightraven. "Indeed we have met. It is good to see you again."

Before he could inquire as to why she had decided to interject herself into an operation that specifically called for only the two most elite fliers in the entire Decepticon Airforce, Onslaught began the briefing. It was short and sweet, and immediately struck a blow to the pride of half fliers everywhere.

Thundercracker immediately tuned out the banter between the lesser Combaticons and the flying cassette rat. "So Onslaught, since you've decided to include myself and Skywarp here, I trust you already have a search plan that involves us not getting shot down by the primitive Anti Air defense systems that most assuredly surround these installations."

Shockwave’s Laboratory

"Negative. Declarative: my previous mission consisted only of reacquiring the technology from Kolkular. My return here was met by Starscream's inept leadership, a reality that was quickly remedied. The hub's deployment will now depend on Razorclaw's willingness to adhere to or deviate from the infiltration protocols. Regardless, we cannot remain idle for much longer. It is extremely unlikely that the Autobots faced the same challenges in transitioning leadership as we did. It will only be a matter of time before they move to secure the Ore-13 deposits for themselves. Our probability of defeating them in that scenario decreases substantially."

“I see…” Flamewar muttered thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. “I agree that we cannot remain idle, and the setbacks that the transitioning leadership caused will likely need to be met with an unorthodox solution to regain the advantage in this rather unorthodox situation.” The black operative’s optics flicked over to the current object of Shockwave’s fascination.

“Perhaps, we ought to-“

Flamewar cut off abruptly as the doors at the entrance of the lab began to hiss as the locks within disengaged. A habit of her occupation. The door slid open to admit Razorclaw into the laboratory. As his gaze fell upon her, she locked optics with him for a moment, straightening and offering the Predacon lord a slight bow of her head in respect.

“Hello again, my dear. I assume we are ready to get started.”

“We are indeed, my lord. I’m sorry to say that you missed having the great fortune of the Air Commander’s graceful presence,” Flamewar greeted similarly in kind, watching the Predacon lord’s optics shift over to the one-eyed scientist.

“Commander Shockwave, my apologies if I have kept you waiting for too long. There has been much I’ve needed to deal with recently, but now I have time to talk,” Razorclaw began as the doors closed behind him. “I'm guessing Flamewar has filled you in on why I’m here. As you are aware, Starscream currently possesses the shutdown code for Sixshot. I think we can all agree that this cannot be allowed to stand for obvious reasons. Therefore, I require your assistance to remove the code from the sixchanger’s processor as apparently only you can do so. Of course,” Razorclaw paused for a moment to consider his next words carefully. “Sixshot cannot go unchecked. He is far too powerful to be left without a metaphorical leash. A new code will need to be installed and someone needs to possess it. Being that I’m the current Decepticon leader, it only makes sense that it should be me.”

Flamewar considered interjecting at this juncture, but as she cast her optics over to the cycloptic scientist then back to Razorclaw, she decided to abstain for the moment. No sense in agitating Razorclaw by interrupting.

“I know that we’ve had our differences in the past, Shockwave. I hope that for the sake of the Empire we can put those differences aside and do what’s best for the Decepticon cause,” the lion-former continued, taking a step forward towards the purple ‘Con. “I do not want you as an enemy. I want you as an ally and I’m willing to grant you whatever resources you require to continue your mechaforming experiments and whatever else you need. A united Empire is what we both want. All I ask for is your help and support to make that a reality.”

Razorclaw seemed earnest, at the very least. And he had the very correct notion that further in-fighting was only going to cost the Decepticons as a whole a great deal. Still, he was essentially bribing Shockwave for his support. Resources. Compliance. Allies. Razorclaw knew that his own power was insufficient for maintaining the mantle of leadership. So he rallies allies. A rather cold comfort considering that both Scorponok and Deathsaurus might be better suited to the role with the added knowledge that they needed no brokered alliances to maintain their position.

Her optics flickered, however, when the Predacon lord mentioned that the resident Phase Sixer had awoken from his CR nap. The last piece of the puzzle. And the last wildcard. To be quite honest with herself, Flamewar felt somewhat nervous about how Sixshot would answer her earlier offer. She had meant it. For what that was worth. Though at the moment, her thoughts were divided between thinking of him as an asset and thinking of him as a potential…friend. More than an ally, she supposed. But just an ally would do. Bah! Her thoughts were going in circles.

Despite this, Flamewar let none of it show outwardly, shoving the thoughts away for a time they would be more relevant. She cleared her vocalizer softly to gain Razorclaw’s attentions. “I believe I have managed to obtain Shockwave’s acquiescence prior to your arrival, Lord Razorclaw. Is that not correct, Commander Shockwave?” Flamewar asked, glanced over to the purple scientist.

“I believe all that remains is to open negotiations with Sixshot himself.”