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Repair Bay

"...Ohhhh, thats right, hallucinogenic! I knew there was something about the side effects. Still, this should only last for a short while, Contemptor will be fine as long as he doesn't run out of drones." He afforded himself a quick laugh, this was the best reaction to it he'd seen in years.

He stepped onto Vindicators outstretched arm straining to hear him over Contemptors noisily-dramatic slaying of those villainous Autobot medical drones. What was odd, he mused, was that the last person to call him 'short' was fed their own feet shortly afterwards. Contemptor though, unlike a lot of other Decepticons, wasn't full of malice, just general violence and seemed to enjoy a good time as much as he did. In the tough times to come these two would make for good allies, keeping them sweet would be a high (and worthwhile) priority.

"He's pretty good with that axe isn't he? I can see why you keep him around Vin. Shoulders looking better, best be sparing with the Nano-Haxl next time though. As for Mal, once Shockwave gives the go-ahead to wake him up, I'll have him take a look at your head. From what I've observed it appears to be a sub-neural catharsis trauma; when the synaptic pathways are unable to process an extremely traumatic experience they 'backfire', or short-circuit if you will, sometimes painfully. Primary symptoms can include painful flashes behind the optics, chronic fatigue and personality-subroutine fluctuations - one minute you want to tear everything into tiny tiny pieces in rage, the next you just want to give the world a great big hug..? Sound about right?"

He thought for a second, Sub-neuro bypass, removal of coolatomoa, correction of cortex routines to realign misfiring relays, opticprism re-alignment and wiring... yep, this is do-able. Not so sure Mal will appreciate me booking him so much work... heh, he's a workaholic, he'll just be glad he has stuff to do when he gets here. I should also be able to to get him the waive his usual fee this time... He turned back to the giant Vindicator this time with his (slightly) more serious business face on.

"Its not an easy condition to treat - Neurosurgery is beyond my skills, but a large portion of it is..." Psychout tapped the side of his head "...up there, and time is the only real healer in this case but at the very least he can find a way to control the mood swings and dull the pain, although until we Mal here, I, personally, prescribe another big glass of the triple-distilled and a comfy chair until either Shockwave summons us - and from the noise your ward is making I doubt that will be very long, or 'Temptor there runs out of Autobots to defend us from, by which time he should have calmed down." He remembered the rooms other occupant who wasn't re-enacting Conan the Barbarian for his amusement, and didn't want to seem rude. "Shadowing!! Please, come grab a seat. So, you're new here yourself, where have you travels taken you? Do you know anything about this Haywire character over in engineering..?"

He was in mid-flow of questions when suddenly he remembered a very important rule that Vin had to know...
"...Oh! And Vindicator, one thing you MUST remember to do if Mal is treating you; negotiate the price of the anaesthetic before he starts any work, he's tends to regard that sort of thing as an 'optional extra'."

Repair Bay

Vindicator smiled half-sparkedly at the micron on his forearm. Yes the smaller decepticon had hit the proverbial nail on the head as it did seem that way, and to the untrained optic, it would look as if the bot that was suffering had split personality disorder. He felt another twinge in his head as he slowly sat down and took a deep glug of the triple distilled energon. Not leaving very little, but enough to warm his spark chamber and enough to give his refinery core a little boost.

Admitantly, Vindicator didn't know all that much about Psychout, just his tendancies to conduct psychological warfare on a deep and ingenous level, or Mal Practice - or Mal-ware as Contemptor called him - and truthfully he thought that Contemptor's calling pf Psychout 'Short-round' was his way of saying that he liked the diminutive rabble-rouser. But right now, all Vindicator really cared about, was getting his head fixed so that he was back to normal, and not sounding like an uncharasmatic droning boor. They already had that in Soundwave - why need another?

Vindicator looked towards Shadowing - his amber optic's slowly scanning the jet-former as his memory banks recovered the information needed about the decepticon lurker. There was pain there, but not as much because the triple x energon had dulled the systems. Taken the edge off really.

Damn it was really needed.

"Psychout...I don't really know about negotiating to be placed under so that my head can be operated on. Last time I had to be put back together was when I lost my leg and arm - and even then I just offlined myself..." he paused for a second, moving slightly to his right as another head went sailing past and joining the pile of scrap that was the other medical drones. "...I suppose that Mal Practice will want to see the fault as it happens I guess...what is his usual fee anyway?...Ah why do I ask that, my stockpile is rather...hefty so paymet really shouldn't be an option..." he felt Psychout's optics widen and shine "...don't ask how...I spent many years in the Gladiator Pits..." he gave a wry smile.

Vindicator looked over as there was a high-pitched sound of shredding metal as Contemptor's axe bit deep into the torso of one of the drones, before he kicked it off and threw the weapon through the air and into the head of another.

"...yeah...he's handy with the axe alright..." a smile crept over his faceplate as he watched the last of the drones collapse in a heap.

Repair Bay

Shadowing reacted with pure instinct as Comtemptor suddenly began an attack. He put himself in a defensive stance and was reaching for one of his energo-blades when the nature of the attack became clear and he relaxed. He took the moment of chaos caused by the scene to turn in an initial report to Shockwave through the private, secure line that the Commander had long ago created for him.

"Primary Analysis: None of the three subjects seems to have any loyalty to Starscream himself. The one known as Comtemptor seemed to have a reaction to a remark about the Seekers as a whole but I do not believe it had to do with Starscream himself. However, they are a a rather... rowdy group."

Shadowing continued his report to Shockwave with a copy of his optic and audio recordings of what had happened recently and the continued destruction of the drone. Due to the nature of his orders he was not about to act to stop the Decepticon unless he was told to.

"The one known as Psychout wishes to have a Decepticon named Mal-Practice reactivated. I believe that might be a good subject in order to obtain their co-operation in the future."

He moved towards the others as he put the finishing touches on it and took a seat grabbing his drink as he did so. He looked towards Psychout.

"Not much to tell about me. I took some time to contemplate matters. Nothing exciting. When Shockwave returned he summoned me so... here I am."

He took a drink then turned back towards the sight of the broken drones.

"Looks like the Mess Hall will have to wait until that substance fully passes through his systems."

Repair-Bay

"Why would you want to go to the mess hall when we have all the entertainment we need in here, eh Shadowing?"

He turned back to Vindicator "Let me worry about Mal and his charges, R&D can be pretty lucrative too if you know the right people to trade with, he just considers pain relief to be an optional extra." He jumped over to another counter, pressed a few buttons on a wall panel and a thin robotic arm extended with what appeared to be a large cylinder. Large for him anyway, it was about the size of Vindicators little finger. "You got me off that nightmare ship full of Seekers so I'll level with you - those aftholes cost me my freedom centuries ago. They blew a deep cover job I was working on back home."

His face took on a darker look as he stood there holding the cylinder in his arms.

"Decades of work ruined because of their legendary incompetence. So I took my revenge by cerebro-shelling one of their 'pack' and making him lead the rest into an Autobot heavy squad who came to rescue the city I had almost conquered singlehandedly. One of the idiots was killed, couldn't care less what his name was, I however was reformatted into this and sentenced to work as a archivist on some remote outpost. Long story short, my new boss had an unfortunate 'accident' when trying to sell us out, and I was rewarded by being made to babysit Mal by Shockwave. Luckily for me, Mal was so good at his job that whilst he kept churning out the new tech, we were left to do what we want, which in my case was as little as possible."

He tossed the cylinder to Vindicator.

"I keep this obsolete cassette form as a reminder of just what I lost, because spending centuries as the indentured servant of a communications unit even more boring than Sonndwave is worth bearing a grudge."

"Anyway, that my friend is why I will NEVER follow Starscream. I would rather be smelted alive in the Pit than accept him as leader of the Decepticons."

He indicated the cannister he had just tossed to Vin, "Save that for after we meet with Shockwave, it'll take the edge off the pain better than the triple-x, but it'll cloud the neurals a bit, and you know as well as I do that we'll need our wits about us when we see the Commander."

Repair Bay

In a sudden flash of gold and silver, a Decepticon known as Weirdwolf dashed into the repair bay and headed for the wildly flailing Contemptor. In fluent chain of moves, the agile warrior attached a suppressor into Contemptor's shoulder while performing a somersault over the brute. The somersault was followed by series of handsprings that carried the tracker next to the group of Decepticons enjoying distilled energon away from the hallucinating Contemptor.

Flashing a victorious grin, Weirdwolf sent a remote signal that activated the suppressor and brought Contemptor's smash a droid marathon to end by locking the large Decepticon into the stance he had been when the supressor had been activated.

"Scarce are the resources, even here. Waste drones can we not. Stop your friend I had to." Weirdwolf spoke up and leaned casually against the wall next to him. "Only his pride I hurt might have."


"So? With what news come thee?"

Bridge

The cycloptic Decepticon strategist was almost as still as a statue. With the various screens in front of him, in addition to his direct linkup with the Thanatos itself, Shockwave was simply taking all the information that he required in, processing and sorting it in to its proper categories and awaiting new data.

Shockwave would not have moved at all at any point in the near-immediate future were it not for a new holoscreen alert regarding activity in the ship's repair bay that required his immediate attention. Shockwave's cranial unit turned slightly left and took in the new information, even as transmissions from the new arrivals were also coming in.

His optic flickered slightly, an act that was typically his only external expression of internal frustration. Incongruent data. This was not how a fully-functioning Decepticon should be operating. Conclusion--full-functionality would require restoration.

>>"Status acknowledged. Permission granted for you to access initial mission logs created by Soundwave. Permission granted for reactivation of subordinate officer Mal Practice. Detailed debriefing will commence at the next available opportunity. Imperative: in the interim, insure all Decepticon officers presently serving aboard the Thanatos are operating at optimum efficiency,"<< Shockwave transmitted, before switching the link access and addressing Shadowing's report directly. >>"Satisfactory analysis. Continue to provide assistance. Imperative: secure their allegiance through all reasonable means."<<

Shockwave knew that he would want to work with several of the new arrivals directly, but now was not the time. Much was still in the process occurring that would require his direct attention. When that shifted, Shockwave's current course of action would shift accordingly.

It was then that his receptors noticed that the new arrivals were in the process of consuming more energon than he would typically allot to any one mech, especially at a time like this. And of a significantly premium variety. He opened a fresh link to Psychout.

>>"Declarative: the energon repository is closed."<<

The cycloptic Decepticon then proceeded to shut off and reroute the Thanatos' energon supply. Given their limited amounts, he was going to begin establishing a rationing system for its consumption.

Bridge

Thunderwing maintained his external composure but inside cursed Shockwave for his rapid efficiency. He had assumed that he would be too preoccupied with the apparent power struggle developing and his own experiments to concern himself with the polydermal grafting process. Either he was confident that the power struggle would quickly go in his favor or he wanted the process as another point in his favor over Starscream. Perhaps he was just as good at multitasking as everyone said he was.

In any case giving over all of the technical data on the process to Shockwave was not liable to do him any favors in his own possible quest for leadership. There was also a chance that the commander may disapprove of some of the practices used in the process, namely the harvesting of living tissue from other Transformers. He didn’t think it was likely as Shockwave was known to be cold and calculating. Sentiment and emotion were not likely to cloud his judgment on such matters. Still, he would have to tread carefully.

“Of course Commander Shockwave. I can have a report ready for you in short order. If I may be so bold, if you could share some of your recent experimental work with me at the same time I believe the two of us can look into a meshing of both breakthroughs, creating something even greater then the two separate technologies.” That would at least give him something to think about and if he gave up some of his secrets then all the better. At the very worst it would put them on a more equal footing.

*

The doors slid open and Darkwing and Dreadwind shuffled onto the bridge. Neither of them looked happy to be there, but then they rarely looked happy to be anywhere. Dreadwind appeared resigned to whatever foul fate awaited them at the hands of Shockwave. Darkwing on the other hand appeared a bit more anxious. While certainly he knew that something bad awaited them, he clung to a fate hope that doing some damage to Autobots would be included as a part of it.

“Reporting as ordered Commander Shockwave,” Darkwing spoke up.

Repair-bay

Psychout accepted the newest arrivals actions with a nod, and sat back in his massive (to him) chair. He was just about to answer Weirdwolf's question when Shockwaves first transmission was recieved. >>affirmative, Commander<< he responded straight away. He made a quick evaluation of Contemptorss killing spree and figured it would take him a short while to repair the drones, but longer than it would take to thaw out Mal, so he's set that going first.

"Weirdwolf isn't it? I don't believe we have formally met, I'm Psychout, formerly of Darkmount R&D, we'll be taking over medical operations on this vessel it appears. Having only just recovered for long term stasis I can't tell you a whole lot - Vindicator and his student here can give you a better account than I, but one thing I can tell you is that Starscream is not alone in standing against Shockwave. Obviously his brainless Seeker thralls will follow him, but it appears that the Stunticons do as well as others. In other news, the Seekers as stupid as always, Patchwork is a fine looking fembot and the Ultrax is a ship that's ready to fall apart. what's life like here? Plenty for a mech to do?"

Shockwaves second transmission arrived. Damn. No wonder he has problems attracting followers...

"Significantly less now it seems..."

He leapt over to a console that appeared to have a vast number of vertical red bars on it, looked carefully and picked one carefully. He ran his index finger down his chosen slider and slowly It began to turn green. This may take little while. he turned to the recovered Contemptor "how's the shoulder, champ? You're going to help me clean up this mess now aren't you? Mal will be awake shortly, and of there is one thing he hates, it's an untidy lab..." with a chuckle, he left Shadowing and Vindicator in their seats and began to throw the broken bits of medical drone onto the bench.

"Shows over guys, time to get back to work. Shadowing, if you would show me where the passengers in stasis are deposited when woken up...?

Bridge

With the brightening of her optics at Thunderwing’s unhesitant agreement to provide Shockwave with his research, Blackwind shot the carapace laden scientist an icy glare. How could he possibly agree to such a thing? Perhaps her hasty decision to back one who had not been on active duty in countless vorns was not a wise move. Then again Thunderwing was quite cunning, but not as cunning as she.

Her glare lingered on the scientist for a long moment before she finally looked away and left the bridge all together. If she now doubted him, then there was only one other option. She made her way through the corridors where she noticed a quick moving blur. It took a moment before she decided to follow.

Repair bay

That blur turned out to be Weirdwolf who had made his way into the med bay in an attempt to spare the medical drones from the senseless slaughter being handed out by some hulking mech. With a disappointed shake of her head, Blackwind made her way fully into the facility.

The other occupants were mechs she had not yet been introduced to, but Shadowing caught her optics, and her interest. Blackwind moved silently to an empty berth where she took a seat and waited for one of the still functional drones to arrive. Coming to the Med Bay was not something she had intended to do, but she could not pass up the opportunity to understand what the troops were thinking in regards to who might be called Lord in the coming future.

Overhearing the miniscule mech’s drabbling about Starscream, and his possible followers, gave her a much clearer picture of who might be pining for the role that Megatron had left behind. It seemed that the Stunticons had all but made their decision public as to whom they wished to back.

That information will definitely be of use in the coming future, but she did need to find the other two’s backing, not to mention Weirdwolf and Skullcruncher.

Perhaps finding an opportunity to speak with the minicon would be in order. She may be a seeker, but within her carapace, and since he seemed to have an enduring hatred for her kind, he would never be able to identify her concealed true form.

Repair-Bay

Having cleared up most of the drone wreckage onto a table and noting all the new arrivals in the Med bay, Psychout shooed the growing number of visitors to one side as he began to leap from shelf to shelf taking an inventory of what equipment was present in time for Mal Practice's reactivation. He performed a mental itinerary of the jobs ahead of them; Contemptors arm will be fine now the after-effects of the Nano-Haxl has worn off and the pain would be gone for a day or so, so no rush there. Vindicators neural misfiring is a priority case though. Shadowing is fine, like Weirdwolf, he's just here because he's bored. But her... he accessed his memory banks regarding the newest arrival silently waiting for attention from the drones, and it came up a blank. "Eh? Wow, that's odd." he absent-mindedly said out loud. Not the first time that's happened as he remembered the Ultrax. He moved across to a panel, punched in a handful of brief orders for when the Doctor arrived and recovering from his verbal mistake he jumped from the panel he was using to land on deftly the arm of Blackwings chair.

"Hmmmm. As you can probably see the drones are taking a short, um, break. And, as you'll probably also know by now, I'm Psychout, setting up the medical operations here ready for Mal Practice who will be with us shortly. Unfortunately, I am unable to find your medical records on the database as your 'configuration' doesn't match any recorded previously - in fact you are literally unique! Congratulations. Mal will take a great interest in you, should you let him. I'd recommend not. Regardless, I am at the disadvantage here; You are..?"



Med-Bay CR Storage
The third red light turned to green as conciousness flooded back. He had a pounding headache, his fingers were stiff and he felt the need to cut something up. Flashbacks of having his lab dropped in him without the time to erect his forcefield followed by darkness as he and Psychout... he didn't have time to continue his train of thought as the slowly opening CR pod's HUD flashed up with a message from his half-pint partner
>>WAKE UP!!!
You are on the Thanatos, commanded by Shockwave, currently at war with Starscream.
(No prizes for guessing which side we have chosen.)
Cybertron has been destroyed and we are currently in orbit around Sol 3.
Med-bay is woefully understocked, the drones have all been decommissioned and you have a bi-lateral scapulal rotator seizure and what I think is a cranial sub-neural catharsis trauma waiting for your attention.
Oh, and I call dibs on the hot-looking mystery fembot!!<<
He shook his throbbing head and suppressed a chuckle... Blunt and brief as always.

Waiting for the CR pods door to open he took a shaky step and slowly walked towards the active section of Med-Bay. Sub-neural catharsis? That's impossible, unless he's got an ancient generation guardian on board the positronic synapse-web evolved to prevent them almost 25.342 million years ago. Either Alpha Trion has switched sides or that cassette is full of scrap... he continued to grumble as Mal Practice slowly shuffled his way down the corridor to see what the fuss was all about...

Repair Bay

Shadowing turned as Wierdwolf jumped in to put a stop to the carnage. It really did have to be done and his arrival was a fortunate one as it kept him from having to do it and perhaps compromising what he was trying to do.

"He was going through some halucinations due to a treatment he took. He should return to normal shortly. I am sure the good doctor will use proper restraints in the future."

His answer was purposely neutral to Wierdwolf as he explained the situation. It allowed his flexibility on how to deal with Vindicator's reaction. He turned towards Psychout.

"Not a problem. Once you are ready I will take you there." Shadowing said as he downloaded the ship schematics to see where it would be. "Stunticons following Starscream huh? Not surprising considering how reckless that group is. Who else is has been crazy enough to follow the Seeker?"

Blackwind's entrance was a curious one. The words she had used earlier definately suggested something was afoot. Normally he could figure out what was happening quickly but he had been away too long and there was too much he did not know. He didn't even know just what Blackwind was supposed to be.

Repair Bay

The sound of the miniscule mech’s voice caught Blackwind’s attention making her turn her gazed toward him. A somewhat perplexed expression graced her features as she contemplated what he could possibly be thinking. Of course attracting attention was not something alien to her. In fact, it came in quite handy both on and off the battlefield.

She had to admit, he was an agile little gnome. He moved around quickly and with little effort. As much as she hated to use her wiles on such a grouping of degenerates, she could hardly pass up the opportunity. After all, it would be for the good of the Empire. The femme kept reminding herself that this was something Megatron would order her to do, and she of course would never have refused.

Blackwind crossed her legs as she focused all of her attention on Psychout. He landed deftly landed on the arm of the chair next the berth she was seated on. A sweet smile crossed her lips as she listened to his inane ramblings. So, there was a medic somewhere in this cyber-rat hole. She took a quick look around, but this Mal Practice was not currently present. She could only assume he was one of the mech’s still in cryo-stasis.

Blackwind’s musings were cut short and brought back to Psychout when he finally slowed his vocalizer enough to actually get in something she had a slight interest in. Her lips curled into an enticing smile as she leaned down to come face to face with the much smaller mech.

“My name and “configuration”, dear Psychout, are none of your concern. I’m just here to receive a once over. And since the drones are, what was it you said? “Taking a break”, I assume I’ll simply have to wait for this Mal Practice to arrive.”

This one was sly, she would have to watch him, but the only way to do that was to get to know him, and frankly, she had no standing desire to perform such a demeaning task. It is for the good of Megatron’s Empire. She reminded herself.

Blackwind’s demeanor turned curious as she placed a taloned digit under Psychout’s chin and gently held it there.

“Tell me something, Psychout. The mechs currently present, do you know any of them, or are they simply passing through?”

She specifically indicated Vindicator and Contemptor, two Decepticons she did not recalled seeing before.

Repair Bay

Given that Psychout didn't seem to be too interested in speaking with him or just generally didn't know much, Weirdwolf's attention shifted to the hulking form of Vindicator. Though not before making a mentail note of keeping an optic on the mini-con who had let Blackwind to catch his attention. Psychout was obviously able and far more intelligent and calculating than his mannerisms suggested. And perhaps a femmenizer as well.

A smug grin still etched on his face, Weirdwolf moved up to the massive seige specialist, showing no apprehension towards the larger Decepticon.

"Master of sieges or a victim of one's own machinations? Guess can I only can. Always this unstable friend of yours is?" Weirdwolf spoke, being forced to look up to meet Vindicator's gaze. "Perhaps information can you share? Since to Cybertron left I with Shockwave, happened what has?"

Engineering Bay

The maintenance station squawked an alert, temporarily distracting Haywire from his work. He would have ignored it completely, had his attention been focused on some more delicate task, but at the moment he was re-securing a recently modified missile’s casing—hardly a task requiring utmost precision. Rising to investigate, the engineer tapped his chin thoughtfully as he studied the monitor. It appeared that several of the ship’s complement of repair drones had suddenly gone offline. Odd.

But he supposed if they had to malfunction, at least they’d picked an ideal location to do it.

Haywire toyed briefly with the idea of seeing to the job himself. True, it was outside the bounds of his usual duties aboard Thanatos, but he was certainly qualified for the task. It was hardly neuro-processor surgery, after all. He soon shrugged off the idea, however; unless specifically ordered to see to it, there was no really compelling reason to deviate from his routine. Taking things apart was generally more his bailiwick than putting them together.

A new alert appeared beneath the first, causing Haywire to dismiss the whole matter to the furthest reaches of his memory files. It seemed the automated systems were reviving a qualified medical engineer from stasis storage. No doubt he would see about rectifying whatever had gone awry.

Finishing up with his missile, he packed it carefully amongst several other pieces of enhanced and repurposed ordnance atop an anti-gravity hand truck and set off for the battlecruiser’s aft magazine.

CR Storage

Mal Practice had no idea where he was. He knew he was on 'The Thanatos', but where on this damned ship was he right NOW? The storage bay was silent and dark, and he slowly trundled a few steps forwards before stopping to check on his equipment. He didn't know how long he had been away - it wouldn't do for his stored supplies to have perished. He scowled darkly as his internal readouts showed that he was nearly empty of everything. These fools, they put me in stasis for pit-knows how long, wake me up only when I'm needed and expect me to work without my tools and my supplies? Where has that bloody cassette gone? He's the one who knows where I'm supposed to be going, he does that strange little computer thing and smugly knows everything... He petulantly stomped towards the nearest exit not knowing he was almost full a mile and a half from med-bay...


Med-Bay

"Sooooooo... Mysterious as well as beautiful then? I think you'll find I'm suitably qualified to give you more than just a good once... What?!?" Psychout's conversation with Blackwind was cut mercifully short before he could complete the sentence by Shadowing's offer to show him where Mal was. "Mal who? Oh.. haha, right! Back to work then I guess..." He turned back to Blackwind, gave a sly wink and said "Ill be back for you shortly..." and headed off after Shadowing, but not before calling to Vindicator and Contemptor "Make yourself at home guys, although Shockwave has said the triple-X is off limits so I've marked the bottle." Then, ignoring the many questions left behind - plenty of time for those later, rule number one; alwasy keep your public wanting more... - he slipped out of the Med-Bay chuckling to himself.

He was going to love it here. Mal however was going to hate it.

Repair Bay

Blackwind offered the minicon a luscious smile at his rhetorical question. Truth be told she felt like squashing the little stain right then and there, but to get the information she required she’d have to play it up, no matter how degrading.

“Mysterious? Hardly. Beautiful? Of course.”

She let out a light chuckle.

“I’m sure you’re very qualified and perhaps I might have to test that assumption, but I’d prefer your friend Mal Practice be present as well.”

Her attention was brought to Shadowing who had addressed the, apparently self-proclaimed femme’s mech, about his partner and escorting him to meet the medic. Blackwind narrowed her optics as she eyed Shockwave’s little pet suspiciously. Why would the cycloptic mech call him in, if not to perform the same duty she was now performing.

Breaking off optic contact, the femme locked onto the retreating form of Psychout. Perhaps with the little runt gone she could actually get to know what the other mechs were thinking in terms of their preferred new lord.

Carefully, Blackwind slid off the medical berth and strutted over to the gathering of mechs on the opposite side of the repair bay. Head held high, shoulders back and chest out. As always, Megatron’s go to ‘Con exuded confidence and commanded attention, not only when she walked, but also with the rest of her body language.

The femme stopped when she arrived in front of Vindicator, Contemptor and Weirdwolf. She offered the trio an enticing smile before she turned to the two mechs she had not met before.

“I don’t believe we’ve met. At least not you two.”

The femme looked at Weirdwolf and flashed the tracker a delicate smile before returning her attention to the truckformer and siege warrior.

Bridge

Starscream, for one reason or another, had not answered Shockwave's query. That likely meant that the Predacons were carrying out their assignment with their typical effectiveness. He expected that he would receive an update from Razorclaw soon.

The arrival of Darkwing and Dreadwind did not go unnoticed, though Shockwave said nothing to acknowledge their presence for the time being. They were simply fully-functional reminders of the progress he had made with the Ore-13 derivative up to this point. A snapshot of what lay in store for them all in the future, if the strategist were to have his way. If he needed to use them to demonstrate exactly what the Ore-13 energy could do, he wanted them close at hand, thus avoiding the need to access the supply that he had stored away within his own person.

It was Thunderwing's response, however, that currently warranted the majority of Shockwave's attention. He had no trouble giving it, as there was much in terms of progress that could be accomplished if their goals were aligned.

"Satisfactory. Imperative: submit the initial report within the next cycle. I will examine the progress that you have made in this field. We will determine how best to proceed after I have submitted a preliminary analysis."

Thunderwing's area of research was far different from his own. The intermixing of cybernetic and organic tissues was not an area that Shockwave had seen much promise in following; however, he would not ignore the potential for advancement, especially if Thunderwing and Blackwind managed to avoid side-effects as effectively as Dreadwind and Darkwing had.

"Declarative: your inquisition in to my own research will be granted. After the question of leadership in this sector has been settled, preliminary access to my findings will be permitted. We will determine the next step to take at that time."

Shockwave's strategic calculations regarding the avoidance of civil war and securing the supreme command of this fleet where slowly ticking upwards within his mental processors. But there were still factors unaccounted for. Factors that could shift the dynamic out of his favor. Regardless of which way the leadership question ultimately went, Shockwave was fully prepared to follow through on his agreement. The Decepticon empire would only evolve and flourish again if those with the scientific wherewithal to make that progress had unlimited opportunity and resources to complete their work. Those who did not possess such capabilities, they too would have a role to play, but it would be more diminished than it had been under Megatron. Even so, Shockwave knew that they would need warriors to secure the advancements that were made.

It was time for the warrior class to accept its secondary status. The scientific elite would secure the Decepticons' future. And those who possessed the raw power to enhance their intelligence would make it so.

Repair Bay

Shadowing shook his head at the small Decepticons fumblings. Whatever talents he may have, playing it cool was obviously not one Psychout possessed from what he had seen. Much more interesting, however, was Blackwind's reaction. Blackwind's earlier reaction to him had been dismissive so it was surprising that she would bother to give Psychout as much attention as she had. The only explanation was that she had similar instructions to his. It was not dificult to guess who would have given those instructions. Externally Shadowing continued with his cool demeanor but, internally, a sad realization about the Decepticon cause was beginning to come to him.

He walked towards the CR Storage room at a controled pace as to not lose the smaller Decepticon.

"Not very well played back there." He said to Psychout with a chuckle after they had left the Repair Bay.

Repair Bay

Contemptor had cut down the last of the repair drone's as the Nano-Haxl had started to wear off, and yes his shoulder had started to feel a lot better, for the better movement and motion had allowed him to thunder through the drones like they were autobot guards - ah the memories of the refinery station that he had single-handedly torn apart and the trophy that he made of the spark-chamber of the one guard who thought he was...oh reality was flooding back to him now, and the spartan, yet polished silver walls of the Thanatos' repair bay were taking place of the black, oily ruined walls of the hallucination, and the wrecked drones that once had the red faction symbol of the autobot's had returned to its normal dark purple hue of the decepticon empire.

'Oh thats just frakking perfect...slaggin wonderful...' Contemptor thought to himself as he stared down at the sparking heaps of junk that the drones had become, and it was then that he remembered that Psychout had mentioned the side-effects of the treatment. '...yeah this is just super perfect...Ol' One Eye ain't gonna like me for that!'

It was then, whilst semi-admiring his handiwork, that a gold and blue blur shot past him in a flipping motion. It was that fast that it felt like a passing breeze. Contemptor assured himself that it was nothing he really needed to worry about...wait a moment...now he couldn't move because of something that the gold blur had placed on him. Slaggit...this was totally perfect! Contemptor was practically frozen for a moment, but he heard everything that went on otherwise.

Vindicator however, had a smile on his faceplate as he observed the actions of Weirdwolf, and through his own admittance, Vindicator thought the gold warrior was more of an eccentric con than he was - but then again 'Wolf did something no other 'con had done.

Vindicator turned in his seat and looked Weirdwolf directly in the optics as he spoke.

"Many things have happened 'Wolf, and as you already are aware, Megatron has vanished..." He paused, letting his baritone vocals hang in the air before he continued to speak, resting his head against one hand - as if his head was becoming to heavy for his shoulders. "...I hear whisperings that Megatron vanished on purpose, but on the other hand, I hear whispers that Megatron was taken out by someone else other than Optimus Prime...Starscream, for some reason has made a play to convice others that he should lead the Decepticons, and last I can recall, I watched a semi-bungled operation unfold in the Iranian Desert, and I had to pull several damaged 'cons out before everyone else...the seeker commander has a holier than thou attitude, and he's a patronising glitch in the aft!..." There was another pause as the Siege Master turned his head to look at the beautiful, yet deadly Blackwind, and gave the femme a curteous nod, but said nothing. Instead the large mechanoid turned his attention back to Weirdwolf.

"I am a master of sieges, but I am also a...casualty of the recent seismic activity at the location the fleshbags call Mount Saint Helens..." there was a jolt and a sparking at the side of his cranial housing as Vindicator took another 'turn' as his systems shorted again. He thumped his fist into the table, denting it. "...slagging volcanic magma...the damned fortifications fell down on me and I was submerged upside down head first in a pool of superheated magma, and its damaged...." there was an audiable zapping sound and then a snarl of discomfort from Vindicator "...grahgh...slaggit!"

At the commotion of Vindicator's pain, Contemptor had come out of the temporary system lock, and with a sheepish look on his face approached his mentor and the newly arrived Weirdwolf and Blackwind, and nodded to both decepticons s he rotated his left arm slowly then quickly.

"Well that stuff that Psychout gave me has helped but..." he cast a glance at the heap of broken drones "...I honestly thought I was tearing apart Autobots, I had no idea that Nano-Haxl had such a potent side effect, and apart from a tingling sensation in my digits, I think its worn off..."

He looked from Vindicator to Weirdwolf, to the darkly delicious femme Blackwind. Contemptor took the moment to wonder how Hellion was faring on the Ultrax, if she had came out of the CR chamber at all, before taking twice and looking at Vindicator and spotting that the larger Seige Master had taken another one of his more recent episodes.

"Oh slag... last thing we need is one of those...." Contemptor said dryly.

Corridors between Med-bay and Storage

Psychout was still chucking at his exit. Shadowing was right, but he wasn't trying to look cool, he had more than enough experience dealing with femcon's to know that Blackwind was under orders to act that way, most likely to ensure his loyalty, as was his escort here. What was most surprising is that she was keeping to them. This was good, meant she could probably be trusted.

"Shadowing, you know I'm not just a medical operative, you also know that I'm a psychological warfare expert. It is my function to know exactly what everyone is thinking and then make them think what I want them to without them knowing. I can estimate, with near-Shockwave levels of accuracy, not only what someone is computing but how to make them react to their processed results in particular ways."
"Lets drop the charade. You are still here because Shockwave gave you the order to ensure the loyalty of us new arrivals, but I can tell you now - its not me you need to worry about. Contemptor and Vindicator are the ones you need to work on. They currently have loyalty to no one but themselves, and those two will make very valuable allies if we can use their mistrust of Starscream to our advantage. That's why we're going to fetch Mal. Idiotscream cares little for his soldiers welfare, whereas peak efficiency is paramount to Shockwave so not only are we bringing Vin and 'Temps over to the cause by fixing them up as only Mal can, we are ensuring things are just how Shockwave wants them to be..."


Other corridors between Med-bay and Storage

And I'm still bloody lost. Lets see if I can work these panels out... Mal Practice punched a few buttons on the wall and after some grunting and swearing managed to bring up a map of the ship. What the?! How big is this damned thing!!? he rolled his shoulders to loosen them, flexed his knees and arched his back stiffly, beofre he attempted to assume his altmode. The transformation was slow and painful, but he got there eventually and headed off at is his top speed of a slow crawl following the map towards the Medical quarters. These patients had better pay good, ...


Some more, totally different, corridors between Med-bay and Storage

"...and if I know Shockwave, Blackwind will most likely be under the same orders as you. I know exactly how insignificant this form appears, its part of the disguise - but being underestimated only makes my job even easier. Right now, she will be planning away at ways to kill me or ensure my loyalty because she is a smart, but guarded, soldier. We are Decepticons, political machination is out thing, and what makes my job all the easier. Finding what people have to hide is what I d...*GAH!*


The same totally different corridors between Med-bay and Storage as previous, reverse angle shot (classy!)

Right, a few hundred metres down on the left, then... *GAH!!*
Tyres screeched as Mal Practice and Psychout collided in the corridor with a loud comical clang.
"Practice! About bloody time you got here." Psychout picked him self up and addressed the battered looking ambulance. "Long story short, Megatron's dead, Cybertron's gone, ships in orbit around Sol 3, Screamer and Shockwave have fallen out, you left me trapped on a hellcrate filled with Seekers and I've woken you up as we're now on a ship full of cripples. Get your aft in gear, and give me a ride back to Med-Bay, your first patients already waiting."
"Woah woah woah!!! What? ...you expect me to give you a lift!? You can walk shortaft, and on the way back you had better explain exactly what has happened, who it happened to and... hang on, who the hell is this..?"
"...Oh, right. Shadowing, meet Mal Practice. Mal, this is Shadowing... Shadowing is 'black ops'; cover and espionage, all that stuff, but I found him laying around the med-bay when we arrived, apparently it's the place to hang out on here - with Shockwave in command you can bet its a laugh a minute everywhere else."
"Am I getting paid this time?"
"What? Payment? Oh, um, if it helps, it's pretty well kitted out for a ship here. Well, was; there's may have been some kind of, uh, incident and most of the repair drones may have accidentally been hacked apart with an axe."
"Neuro-Haxl?"
"Not my fault, I swear!!"
"*Sigh* It never changes with you does it Psychout? All right, get in. Shadow, you joining us back at the Med-Lab? ...Next you'll be telling me my first patient is some super hot fembot"

Corridors between Med-bay and Storage

Shadowing smiled as he listened to Psychout. Before he could reply, however, he literally ran into another Decepticon which apparently was Mal Practice. The entire scene was so comical than had he been any other Decepticon he probably would have laughed out loud at the two. Right when he had suddenly switched to a more serious demeanor it had been ruined by this. Self-control, however, was a trusted ally to him so he retrained himself.

"Greeting Mal-Practice. It is good to meet you in person after hearing so much about you. Sure, we can continue our conversation there."

He followed the two back to the repair bay leaving the last remark unanswered. As he did he opened a private communication channel to Psychout.

"Good. I would be disappointed if you had not noticed the most basic element of my purpose talking to all of you. However that is not my only purpose. I am also scouting for talent."

Repair Bay

The nod she received from Vindicator gave Blackwind the inkling that he and, possibly, his friend were more interested in getting the issue of leadership out of the way before they indulged in other matters. Perfect. This only meant that she had a very good chance of gaining their trust and, in the end, guiding them to the proper decision.

Her optics moved from Vindicator to Weirdwolf, whom she knew she could convince that she and Thunderwing were the only options to choose in order to bring the Empire into order. Blackwind’s musings were interrupted by the sound of Vindicator’s pained cry.

If the so called medic, and the diminutive Psychout, were to gain their trust and consider siding with that walking calculator, then she would have to work fast. It seemed as though using her natural feminine gifts would be in order.

Blackwind looked to Contemptor when the truckformer mentioned something about not needing ‘one of those’.

“One of those.”

Her attention moved to Vindicator who seemed to still be suffering from some sort of processor damage. The femme moved in closer and ran a talon down the side of the siege master’s face, a charming smile on her delicate visage.

“If this, Mal Practice cannot repair the damage I know of someone who can. And it won’t cost you a thing.”

Blackwind let the talon gently slide down from Vindicator’s face until it came to rest on his chestplate.

Med-bay entrance

"...But then as any Decepticon knows my Dear, nothing is ever free." Looks like they arrived just in time, the newest addition to the repair bay was making herself far too comfortable. "Mal here is the best, and thats what Vindicator and Contemptor require. I don't know who you work for, but luckily for you I don't care either. This medical facility is on Shockwaves ship, so unless you like paying extra for your treatment, I suggest that whilst you are here you at least try not to stab the new arrivals in the back 'til they have had a chance to recover first. Now be a good fembot and keep the treachery to a minimum, thanks."

Psychouts dissmissive tone was calculated. Blackwind's attempt to lure Vindicator and Contptor away was exactly what he had expected, although he hadn't planned on returning half way through. He had yet to properly examine the ships manifest so had no idea who she was working for but on a ship this size there would only be a handful of options, the cons had many who wanted leadership but few who were actually capable, still it wouldnt take long to find out. "Mal, I assume I can leave you to introduce yourself? Ive got a few errands to run..." he assumed his altmode and in one smooth move inserted himself into the medical console. Now, lets see what we are up against...

Mal Practice reverted back to his robot mode and shuffled forwards to inspect the med-bay and it's equipment, totally ignoring the others in the room. "Crude. Junk. Outdated. Scrap. Even the Autobots had better facilities than this. I hope this Sol 3 has a decent technology level, if i spend too long in here, ill revert to a go-bot. Right, the cranial bi-lateral heamatomic trauma? I'll start with that before I look at the axe wielding drone-slayer there. Hurry up!"
He eyed the rest of the room suspiciously.
"This isn't a show!! Shadowing can stay. The rest of you, if you're not wounded or waiting for treatment, get the hell out and let me work or stay out back, this will be messy but effective..."
Being is stasis for hundreds of years clearly hadn't helped his temper.

Repair Bay

Blackwind remained in position in front of the Siege Master when the runt, Psychout and his little medic comrade finally arrived in the facility. Her optics moved slowly from that of Vindicator to the diminutive mech. He obviously had no clue just who she was and just how far up the ladder she was positioned.

The Seeker femme considered her move carefully and turned to face Psychout and Mal Practice, who seemed to be just as cantankerous as that Autobot CMO, Ratchet.

“You are correct in that aspect, Psychout. Nothing is ever free including our existence. In times such as these one must make decisions that are for the betterment of one’s self. My choice had been made vorns ago.”

As Psychout transformed and plugged himself into one of the terminals, Blackwind purposefully made her way to his location and swiftly pulled the mech from the slot.

“My question to you, my dear, is what choices will you make?”

She released the minicon and placed him on the console while keeping the tip of one of her talons on his prone form. Blackwind’s attention then fell on the rest of those in the room.

“It is very true that our beloved Seeker Commander is desperately pining for that which was left by our departed Lord, and Shockwave has taken it upon himself to ensure Starscreem remains just as he always been, the ‘Seeker Commander’. But we must all remember that it is the Empire that must be preserved…”

Her optics darkened to a deep violet as she looked to each mech present in turn.

“…as well as our very existence. Make your decisions wisely. Ask yourselves if the only options are those that have already been presented. Everything depends on it.”

That said, Blackwind removed her talon releasing Psychout so that he could resume his root mode. She then moved toward the door, but not before she brushed past Vindicatior and Contemptor and stopped next to Weirdwolf. With her optics focused on the door she addressed the tracker.

“A word, Weirdwolf, if you please.”

The Aerial Coordinator stepped out of the repair bay anticipating that the tracker wouldn’t be far behind.

Repair Bay

Shadowing silently watched the exchange between Blackwind and Psychout. There was no need to get involved as the small Decepticon was in no threat of termination and all that she was saying was good material for him. Besides, he wanted to see Psychout's reaction. He took the opportunity to send a private message to Shockwave.

"Commander Shockwave, Blackwind was here and I believe she was also attempting to secure these new arrivals. However, I do not think it is your cause that she was trying to obtain followers for."

He smirked at Blackwind's words about choices but said nothing. He had no desire to get into a debate about this. He just wanted her to finish her little speech and let him get back to work. Still, he wondered if she truly understood the weight behind her words. He took a seat as she left.

"Choices are interesting things eh?" He said in a contemplative manner. "What do you 'cons have in mind?"