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Transmission from Onslaught to the Ultrax


>>"Ultrax, this is Onslaught. Bounce me and my team out of here!"<<

Bridge

Starscrema had been sitting in the ships command chair processing the events that had transpired and what the future may hold when the sudden request for a bounce came in from Onslaught. Such a request was unuaul for the Combaticon commander unless the situation was dire, and it was puzzling that he had not yet heard back from Motormaster, or any other member of the ground team save Octane. Regardless, the opportunity to aid such a powerful potential ally could not go ignored. Even if Onslaught was working for Shockwave, or even his own agenda, he was not the type to act rashly or without purpose, he was mythodical and would collect what information he could before making any sort of move. The chance to talk with him could not be lost, it might be possible to even convince him to come on side with him.

>>Onslaught, Starscream. Stand by, I will have your team bounced up immediatly.<<

Not wasting time Starscream vaulted from where he was sitting and quickly flew out the door to the bridge, so fast that the tips of his wings clipped the sides of the doors as they had not fully openeded. He made his way over to the bounce platform and his fingers flew over the controls.

>>Bounce initiating!<<

He hit the command to bounce the Combaticons up to the ship. Bracing himself in case they came up with weapons ready.

OoC: This is Ramjet's frustration, not mine. I have nothing against SmokescreenGT. Frankly, I think the two of us as friends.

Medical Bay

Ramjet stared at Contemptor for a couple of seconds, he suddenly barged into Ramjet's conversation with Skywarp, a conversation that he was not invited nor mentioned in. Well, mostly, Ramjet did say "Most everyone else on your team". But then again, he did say most.

"Maybe my Audio Receptors have some sand inside them, but as I recall no one asked you to join this conversation, Contemptor." He stated and turned back to Skywarp who was speaking.

At least Ramjet was respectful enough to him to keep his mouth shut while the other is talking. Skywarp was apparently defending his actions by turning it around on Ramjet, saying that he was the one who wasn't respectful in the first place. He finally snapped, this was getting out of hand quick.

"Look. I was being respectful in the start, but it was you who took the train I found and destroyed it which I wanted to do," Ramjet knocked away a repair drone applying a fresh coat of paint to his forearm and jabbed his first digit at the Black Teleporter, "After that I was the laughing stock of you and Nightraven, don't you think I didn't hear you making jokes about me! I was given no orders to attack the Autobots and it took Starscream to restore order to that fiasco. Starscream, Skywarp, really? And after all that, all I want is a little bit of respect. Is that too hard to ask?!"

Ramjet lowered his finger, fuming. He had let out his frustration, finally, and he felt his Energon begin to cool down as coolant rushed to it. He panted as he relaxed back into his repair table and it leaned back on his command. He tried being nice and adding a compliment, but obviously negative makes a better effect.

Starscream then walked in, saying how they should all gain an extra 15% of Energon to their personal reserves. Why? For getting their afts handed to them? At this rate, all the Decepticons would go and get themselves shot because of the want of more Energon.

Huh. Good plan.

Transmission from the Thanatos to all Decepticon units

>>"Decepticons present within the Sol system--this is the voice of Military Operations Commander Shockwave. The loss of Megatron is a significant casualty to our resources. Couple that reality with the energy shortage we are faced with throughout the universe, and our eventual extinction as a species becomes more probable. Only for a matter this urgent would I have interrupted the mission that Megatron had sent me to complete on Cybertron. I have made advancements and retrieved technology that will render our energy crisis nil. Imperative: you will submit to my authority. In return, this war will end. Our civilization will thrive on advancements.

"Declarative: I calculate that Decepticon Air Commander Starscream presents the most significant threat to accomplishing this goal, as he has for countless vorns. He will not be alone. Any who stand against me also stand against the evolution of our empire. Those who thwart them will be the next to receive the rewards that Dreadwind and Darkwing have already experienced."<<

Repair Bay

Skywarp’s attention was once again drawn back to Ramjet as the white conehead continued to ramble on and on about being disrespected and supposedly being made fun of. It all apparently began with the destruction of the human train, an act ‘Warp carried out but one that Ramjet had wanted to conduct, himself. The prankster wasn’t sure if he should be mad or simply burst into laughter at the mere notion of what his seeker brethren had just uttered to him.

“Seriously?!” The teleporter’s voice was one of surprise mixed with anger. “You’re upset with me because I went ahead and destroyed that train instead of you?! Really?! Well, get the frag over it, Ramjet, you whiney spawn of a glitch! If you wanted to blow it up so badly then you should have done so before I reached your position! I can’t believe I’m even listening to this nonsense!” Skywarp pulled away from the medical appendages that had just finished installing a new cockpit window onto his chest plate. His repairs were all but completed and any further areas of concern his own internal systems could finish.

The prankster stood from the berth and regarded Ramjet once again with an intense glare. “Nightraven and I were only trying to complete the mission. We had no time to crack jokes. As for orders, you knew what to do down there. You didn’t need me to....”

Skywarp’s words trailed off suddenly as he received Shockwave’s transmission over his comm line. To say that he was stunned by the words of the Military Operations Commander would be an understatement of epic proportions. The cycloptic mech had some serious ball bearings that was for certain. Who was he to think he could just assume control of the Empire now that Megatron was gone? Was he unaware that many Decepticons would not simply give in to his sudden demands nor would they trust him after his long absence and subsequent discovery at Area 51?

Skywarp remained dumbfounded by what he had just heard. His loyalty had always resided with the seekers and that stance would not change even now. Some would stray to Shockwave’s side, Ramjet being the most obvious defector considering his past discretions, most notably when he tried to assassinate Starscream. But most seekers would likely remain steadfast behind their aerial leader. How long that would last strongly depended on how ‘Screamer handled this latest turn of events as a civil war seemed almost unavoidable at this point.

“Well, it seems we have more important things to worry about now than trains or hurt feelings, wouldn’t you say, Ramjet?” Skywarp’s tone had calmed, not because he necessarily wanted to make amends, but because things had changed and keeping the seekers united together, even including Ramjet, was more important now than petty squabbles. Perhaps Contemptor would be able to help ease the tension between the two seekers, but it would likely do no good as the conehead rarely ever listened to reason even when threatened by a much larger mech.

Bounce Chamber

Onslaught was, unsurprisingly, the first to appear within the confines of the bounce chamber. He was surprised, however, by the fact that not only had Starscream personally responded to his request, but was now waiting to greet him. The Combaticon wondered if he had chosen to do so out of a sense of respect for the Combaticons as a unit or if the Seeker's legendary paranoia was prompting him to nullify a perceived threat before it became one.

Whatever the reason, the circumstances facing the Decepticon empire right now were simply too unorthodox to let the past dictate every action one might take. He would have to trust in the fact that the Seeker was not going to suddenly shoot him in the back of the cranial unit. Starscream would have to trust him in the same manner. Onslaught wasn't sure how far that would get them. Trust was hardly an abundant commodity within their ranks.

Onslaught decided to take the first step, not only lowering his weapon but putting it away entirely.

"Air Commander Starscream," Onslaught said, offering a nod of acknowledgement and--to some degree--respect. Though his treachery towards Megatron was nigh legendary, he was still a capable lieutenant, arguably the most so. He was definitely a solid representation of what it meant to be a Decepticon. "My thanks for your quick response. Whatever your mission down there, if we were to remain much longer, I believe the infiltration protocols would have been jeopardized beyond..."

Onslaught paused as a transmission from the Thanatos was coming in. Onslaught could actually feel a few of his gears grinding internally. The cyclops arguably took his time, but when he moved, he moved decisively. The Combaticon Commander actually let out a grunt of frustration. He would have preferred to have even just a single breem alone with Motormaster to explain the situation and gauge how valuable the Stunticon commander would be but it seemed like the energon chips were not destined to fall that way.

Starscream was likely paying keen attention to Shockwave's message, as the Military Operations Commander had addressed him specifically by name. The Combaticon was going to do his best to prevent this from flaring up in to an all out battle.

"Starscream....understand this now. My loyalty to you is minimal. But I'm not loyal to Shockwave's vision either. I think both of you are unsuitable replacements for Megatron."

That statement certainly wasn't going to make an ally of the Seeker, but Onslaught preferred to keep the deceptive part of being a Decepticon to a minimum, at least when it came to his own command style.

"But...I also think both of you are too valuable to lose. Our resources are way too stretched as it is. If you want to come out of this a free mech I...we...need to get off this ship. This Stunticon junker won't stand up against the Predacons' vessel if Shockwave decides to take more drastic action. I was told that there was a base under construction. I would advise we go there. Out in the open."

The Ultrax - Bounce Chamber

About the moment Onslaught finished addressing Starscream, Brawl materialized behind him. Shrugging off the dizzyness from the orbital bounce as quickly as he could, the belligerent Combaticon staggered off the platform and made it to Onslaught's side with his electron gun drawn. Had his optics been visible through the visor covering them, Onslaught might have been disturbed by the amount of pure anger Brawl was radiating towards him at that very moment.

Yet, the seething brute did not direct his ire towards Onslaught right now. Instead, his gaze turned towards Starscream - the various sounds from Brawl's body making it clear that he was primed to take action against anyone Onslaught would point him towards. The sooner the better. He would have a word with his commanding officer at later date but despite of his shortcomings - Brawl was a trained professional. Even if he wanted to punch Onslaught's face in.

Medical Bay

Ramjet was furious at Skywarp, the teleporter couldn't take a hint that he was ticked off and he needed to be left alone. He looked at his body to check if repairs were complete and the paint was dry, and it was. He felt his fury bubbling up from his feet to his faceplate, he was going to let out some anger soon, he just wasn't sure what.

He was gritting his teeth in a futile stratagem to let out anger and calm himself down. It was just then when the signal from Shockwave came in over the comm link. That was all it took for Ramjet to go over the edge exponentially.

Ramjet literally jumped from the table and threw a vicious punch at the repair table, smashing through the paneling and into the inner workings, showering the area with sparks. He threw another punch in and the same happened; he was screaming of rage the entire time. Ramjet began to lift the table from it's bolted state on the ground, the bolts began to pop and strain under the strength of Ramjet. Finally with a final grunting yell, he lifted the table from it's position on the floor and onto it's side in front of him.

He pulled his arms out from the table and jabbed them into the repair table and began to tear at different angles. The table strained and groaned in protest, unwilling to succumb to Ramjet's strength. He lifted his foot and stomped down, devastating the table and weakening it's metal. In one final pull, he yanked them apart and threw one at the wall.

He yelled toward the ceiling and threw one at where the CR Chambers were.

"Ohh... Why Wazzpinator have headache all ove-YAAAAH!!" A voice said behind him.

He looked behind him to see that Waspinator had just walked out of the CR Chamber only to be knocked back in for even more repairs.

He walked up to Skywarp and jabbed his finger in the Seeker's chestplate and said, "You're lucky today!"

And with that, he stormed out of the room with heavy footfalls, heading toward the Mess Hall. He needed to cool off.

Bounce Chamber

Swindle materialises, hands on his weapons but not readying them. The message from Shcokwave had hit him right as he was mid-transit, but he'd caught the important parts of it. It seemed he'd gone from one warzone to another, without being given a chance to prepare, and he wasn't happy about that.

Taking stock of his situation, he found his teammates around him, with Onslaught talking to Starscream of all people, and Brawl looking rather angry. Swindle took a step away from the angry trooper and listened to what his commander was saying. Good, good, we're still uncommitted, we still have our options. This is why I like you, Onslaught, you know whats best for this team, and getting involved in Civil War isn't it.

But now the ball was in Starscreams court. Would the Sky Commander stay rational or get dangerous ideas? Swindle didnt let his hands get too far from his Gyro Gun, just in case.

Repair Bay

The few CR chambers that the Ultrax actually had lined one side of the repair bay just adjacent to the medical tables where minor repairs were performed by medics, if one was even on board, or the tables’ computers. When Ramjet had seen fit to tear a table from its secure position, rip it in half and, subsequently, threw half haphazardly toward the wall, the result was Waspinator getting shoved back into his CR chamber.

The trauma that the Insecticon’s chamber was put through jostled the regenerative chamber right next to it. This particular chamber was the one Nightraven had been sealed in causing the medical device to shut down its repair cycle and begin onlining all of the femme seeker’s systems.

With a low hiss the door slid open, a vaporous mist exited the chamber before a startled gasp escaped the femme within. Waking from stasis once repairs were complete where traumatic enough, but to be forced out of stasis was jarring and painful.

With a low moan, Nightraven stepped from the chamber and took a look around the repair bay to try and find out who it might have been that ended her cycle so abruptly. When she found no one but Skywarp the femme cast him a questioning gaze.

“Wha…what happened?”

Ultrax - Bridge, Observation Deck

Vindicator stood staring out at the mass of stars and in particular the monochrome orb that was the blue planet's moon. The soft halcyon glow from the earth's atmosphere cast a soft, yet pleasing, glow across the side of the Ultrax. The corona glow also filled some of the observation deck, bathing several surfaces in a muted blue light. Some would have called a hardened con such as Vindicator 'soft' for taking such a wonderous display as a granted gift. It was a rare thing that made Vindicator smile broadly, a moment of quiet reflection in an age of mayhem and violence.

The Siege Commander sighed quietly and reflected on the past few cycles of activity.

"I wonder what would be if Megatron were still with us? Return to us soon old friend" Vindicator mused aloud as he folded his hands behind his back. The Observation Deck above the bridge was empty, save for a few drones and one or two decepticon flight crew. He let his self satisfaction glow inside him, knowing that all of the decepticons were returned from the Iranian Desert, and none were left behind.

The Master of Sieges returned his attention to the silvery peppered vista infront of him.

He scanned his amber optics from his left to the right, and a glint of sunlight caught his attention. Was it Octane? No it was bigger than the triplechanger. Vindicator's optics focused on the object, and with magnification, Vindicator was then able to acertain that it was none other than the Thanatos. His optics narrowed as his smile left him, as his grim demeanour returned in ernest.

"Shockwave..." Vindicator rumbled aloud "...is that why Soundwave..."

He was struck from his monologue by the voice of none other than the Seeker Commander Starscream. Oh Vindicator let his annoyance dance across his faceplate alright, before he turned his cold amber optics onto the seeker commander. His hand shifted subtly behind him and gripped around the haft of his Megaton pattern Thunder Hammer, ready for anything.

Vindicator wasn't programmed yesterday.

He was fully aware of Starscream's history, and his numerous attempts at wresting power from the hands of Megatron had not gone unchecked by the Siege Master. It was when Starscream spoke again that Vindicator relaxed his grip on the hammer, returning his hands to the folded position behind him. He returned Starscream's visual evaluation with a stare filled with cold ruthlessness.

"If I had removed myself from my post, Starscream, then the energon gathered would have been lost to the Autobots, and you're ground forces in the Iranian Desert would have been left to the mercy of our enemy." He paused, letting the words sink in to the Seeker Commander's audio receptors. "I swore an oath of loyalty to the Decepticon Empire, and in particular to Megatron. I also swore allegiance to the Decepticon Cause; and I put that above any other petty squabble or division because of power hungry warlords whom have designs above their programming!"

Vindicator paused before continuing talking to the Seeker.

"...Don't get me started on what goes on inside Soundwave's cerebral processors. He is uncharasmatic as Dirge is humerous!" Vindicator turned back to the large viewing window as Octane announced his arrival as he jettisoned the human's into the empty void of space. Vindicator's shoulders dropped a little as his disappointment in the fate of the human's was apparent. It seemed that, contrary to what they would have thought would happen to one of the earth's resident fleshbags when exposed to the void of space, humans just wriggled, squirmed then went limp. Yes there were signs of parts of their anatomy swelling due to the lack of oxygen, but no sign of them exploding in a baloon of gore and guts.

Vindicator mused silently to himself. 'Ah...It seems that even human's are disappointing as even the most stalwart Decepticon soldiers' The large mechanoid turned and straightened his posture as he left the observation ramp, as he neared the doors to the bridge, the large black and silver Decepticon turned and addressed the seated seeker commander before exiting the bridge.

"Starscream..." The baritone vocal's seemed to ring around the bridge before arriving in the audio receptors of the interim leader "...I will be in the repair bay checking on the status of Contemptor, and reassessing his weaponry. I fear that the plasma cannon is not suitable for use for him..."

There was a whunk as the large doors slid open, allowing the Siege Expert to leave the bridge. He had fulfilled the role of babysitter for now, and not one that he cared to reprise any time soon, as he would rather check on his charge, and make sure that his shock trooper was repaired and at optimum efficiency as the Master of Sieges could ill afford for his favoured charge to be anything less. But as he wandered the dilapidated hallways of the Stunticon's ship, it was apparent that such operations would not be possible. Yes the major operation and repair would be successful here, but it would be the subtle operations after that which would be the difficult part, and fully operational CR chambers were partly key to that - but it would be the physical fine tuning that would be lax, and that was something Vindicator very well could do without.

It was then that the announcement from the cyclopean commander permiated the Ultrax and gave Vindicator cause for thought as he approached the repair bay.

He would need the repair bay of the Thanatos to fully repair Contemptor, and as much as he dispised Shockwave's cold logic, he had fought alongside the cold cyclops on Cybertron at the siege of Altihex, and although he harboured no personal animosity to the purple scientist, it was his actions and decision making that ultimately placed a sour taste in Vindicator's mouth. Thusly with a sour look over his faceplate, Vindicator set about sending an encoded message to the Thanatos for the attention of Shockwave.

>"Shockwave, this is Siege Commander Vindicator aboard the Ultrax. I am aware of the situation at present. However my main instrument, Contemptor, is currently in repair aboard the Ultrax's medical facility that is - I am more than certain - inadequate to fully repair my soldier, and thusly, require the facilities onboard the Thanatos to successfully complete the repairs." Vindicator paused before letting a smile creep across his faceplate - oh the game was getting really interesting now "I trust that you will require some assistance before we depart the Ultrax?"<

Ultrax - Repair Bay

Contemptor winced slightly as the automated repair drone's worked quietly to replace his amputated arm. The old components were stripped away, leaving the main connection mount for Contemptor's entire arm exposed as the mechannical doctor continued its emotionless task. It irked the large truck-former as with each motion the mechannical repair bay nipped and pinched, sending eltro-jolts up his diodes, and much like similar results on a human nervous system, Contemptor was diggind his right hand into the metal of the automated repair table.

There was a crunching sound as the table's metal frame was bent under Contemptor's vice grip as one of the mechannical armatures forcefully connected the new shoulder socket to Contemptor's torso. The large decepticon snarled and cursed at the automated doctor as it began to resconstruct his arm.

Before he could even begin to tell the tale of how he met Vindicator, and where he learned to fight, he picked up the transmission from Shockwave and the Thanatos. Damn old one eye had some seriously big brass bolts on him to make such a statement, but inside Contemptor smiled before he decided to tell his tale. Contemptor turned to Skywarp with a shark-like smile on his face-plate, and his usually gravel filled vocals had a pep in them, as if he was telling an excited story.

"You want to know where I learned to fight like that Skywarp?" Contemptor said, almost giddy as the pain of the operation was forgotten. "Do you remember the fighting arenas? The underground Gladiator pits?..." Contemptor watched Skywarp's expression for a moment before continuing on

"I learned to fight there. I will admit I came pretty late in the game to most of the figting pits, but frag me it was a rush..." Contemptor gestured with his right hand excitedly as the automated doctor was all but forgotten - only the occasional nip or twinge reminded him that his arm was still being re-attached to his body. "...when you are in the pits, there isn't much of a room for taking idle protoform steps...frak, you do that then you pretty much scrapped and tossed down the sluce pipe and left to rot! Know what I'm saying?"

The last part wasn't even a genuine question.

"...Of course you know, you'll just have forgotten it or you were recruited elsewhere 'Warpy..." Contemptor paused to cool his intakes. But the pause wasn't for long as he glanced down at a partially restructured hand. At least the automated medic worked fast and acheived some decent results. Contemptor's optics arched in silent appraisal before continuing on with his explanation of how he learned to fight, and how he came to be aquainted with the towering Vindicator. "..Vindicator, heh, I met that towering collosus on my very first frontal assault as a Decepticon - mind you I did have a few other missions in some lightning raids and a few of the little terrorist actions that really seemed to piss all over the Autobot high council!"

Contemptor laughed a more natural, infectious laugh that peeled around the repair bay at the memory of it. His laughter subsided, and the more sinister gleam returned to his purple optics.

"Do you remember the infamous Siege of Altihex Skywarp? The entire energon-bath that ensued as the place was ripped apart by various heavy cannons?" the smile became more malicious as the memory was recanted as Contemptor watched Skywarp's face "..Yeah that was Big Vin's idea, and it took a bit of nudging in the right spots, but the big guy prety much tore the place apart with minimal casualties on our end..." He paused for effect, watching the seeker's optics for a moment before continuing "...there were a few pockets left of autobots in the wrekage of what was Altihex, so naturally a few mop-up teams were sent in, and I was in one of the teams..."

Contemptor trailed off for a parsec, the memory of the sneak attack almost as fresh as the fight in Iran.

"...It was a slaggin' ambush! Bastard glitchin' Autopuke's caught us in a crossfire and butchered Flytrap, Pincher, Skorp and Sretch..It was only Aria and myself that were left from the damned fire-fight that they had sprung on us and we were pinned down in the ruined entrance to what was the Crystal Gardens..." Contemptor had subconciously flexed his hands in animated glee at re-telling the tale, unaware that his arm had been fully repaired, and all that was left was a short stint in a CR chamber, and a juicing of Energon.

However, before Contemptor could continue the tale, Ramjet had himself a small hissy fit in the Medical Bay. The conehead had ripped one of the repair tables from its housing and broke it in half before hurling it across the room towards a CR chamber. It was at that point Contemptor finaly seen what the bag of parts Ramjet had been carrying actually was...a giant mechannical wasp. Contemptor rolled his optics and looked at Skywarp, shrugging slightly. There was further clanging and banging as Ramjet's temper tantrum damaged part of the Medical Bay - not like the Ultrax was already wrecked and falling apart, just like a foul tempered seeker to cause more damage!

Contemptor broke off his story as Ramjet stomped towards the door, and Contemptor couldn't resist a pop at the sour faced decepticon...

"Hey Ramjet! Check your aft for Thrust's head, maybe you'll need it removed to make you feel better!" The large 'con laughed at the joke, and hoped that Skywarp saw the humour in it too as he returned to the story of how he met Vindicator.

"Being pinned down and watching Skorp's head burst out like a damned pyro-shell, Aria seemed to glitch up and fraggin' get the freeze, which left me raining a hail of plasma at the damned dug outs..." Contemptor continued the tale, explaining with vivid and colourful language about how Vindicator had just strolled in to the crossfire and began to rain down a hellish amount of fire power from behind cover, flushing out the few Autobots before approaching Contemptor, and the frozen femme-con, dug in behind the ruined entryway. "..yeah the next part was fun, slaggin auto-punks milled around in the open, confused about where the hail of plasma fire came from..ah I love close combat in those conditions!" Contemptor grinned, unaware that the doors to the Repair Bay had opened and as Ramjet had left, Vindicator had entered.

"..And enjoy it you did Contemptor..." Came the baritone, yet eloquent vocals of the Siege Master. The startled look on the trophy-hunter's faceplate brought a smile to Vindicator's amber optics as he entered, ducking the doorway as he made his presence known to Skywarp and Contemptor.

"Don't mind me old friend..." Vindicator softly said "..finish your tale..."

Contemptor nodded and finished the story about how the confusion of the Autobot's made for an easy two-con slaughter, as he and Vindicator had lept the cover they were in, and using their close combat weapons, and skills learned and honed in the gladiator pits, the pair caused an energon-bath as Contemptor tore the cranial unit from the last Autobot, holding it high in a scream of triumph and energon-lust as the last of Altihex had finally succumbed to the Decepticon bombardment.

"..So that's really how it goes Skywarp..." Contemptor finished as he turned in the direction of one of the CR chambers that was hit by Ramjet's little temper tantrum. Vindicator, who was towering over the seeker and the truck-former, felt his optics widen in surprise at the lithe beauty of the femme-con that emerged from the CR chamber.

Vindicator's internal database identified the femme-con as Nightraven as Contemptor made a friendly jibe at the purple seeker.

"Looks like your girlfriend is awake Skywarp.." Contemptor grinned as he stood and tested out his new arm "...of all the circuit-glitching diode-blowing dimwittery...the damned rotator's are a bit tight..." Contemptor kicked the repair table in frustration. Vindicator chuckled softly before speaking to his friend.

"When you are ready Contemptor, I need to speak to you about something of urgency..." The Siege Master leant against the wall of the Repair Bay as he waited patiently, watching carefully and taking notes on the different Decepticon's other than his comrade.

Repair Bay

As usual, Patchwork was the last to know about the casualties piling up in Ultrax’s woefully inadequate onboard med-tech facility. Why the ship’s complement of soldiers, fighters, and miscellaneous axle-breakers so rarely thought to inform her, the ship’s medical engineering specialist, of these things was a question that sometimes threatened to overload her processors altogether. She could only assume it had something to do with years of accumulated damage cranial unit damage absorbed over the course of the millennia-spanning civil war.

The sleek, pale gray and blue femme paused at the threshold, expression indiscernible behind the metal plate which covered her face from olfactory sensor to chin. Her optics flashed in surprise as she took in the crowd that had assembled; most appeared to be relatively undamaged, and those that were sporting obvious evidence of injury were hardly in what she would have called critical condition. It was a minor piece of luck, but she’d take it.

Her relatively fair mood plummeted, however, when she saw what remained of the demolished repair table. Honestly, was this great collection of undiagnosed psychotics so bereft restraint that they would vent their hostilities on their own pathetically limited medical equipment? And who would have to put the smelter-blasted thing back together again?

Well, technically the drones. But she still had to file the report, and that was a damned nuisance.

“Another glorious victory for the Decepticon Empire over inanimate appliances,” Patchwork complained, examining the wreckage and making a note of the relevant details in her hand-held personal information display. “Truly, this prestigious orn will live on forever, enshrined in the laser-cores and spark-chambers of all loyal—“

And then she received Shockwave’s general broadcast, which had the immediate effect of silencing her vocalizer entirely. When she could speak again, all she managed was a subdued, “Oh.”

Patchwork shook her head to banish her momentary reverie. It was difficult to believe that Megatron, a figure possessed of almost mythic proportions to all Decepticons, could actually be gone. Ultimately, though, this was a situation to be dealt with by mechanoids of a much higher pay grade than hers. Its only immediate relevance to Patchwork lay in the fact that it most probably portended a great deal of violence in the near future as various warlords and team leaders vied for the now-vacant title of Supreme Commander. And that would mean a tremendous amount of additional work.

Best to get started on clearing out the present crop, then. She ignored Vindicator and Skywarp entirely, as both mechs appeared fully functional. Nightraven had only recently emerged from on of Ultrax’s tiny handful of CR Chambers, and so would likely only require a final diagnostic check prior to release. Contemptor, therefore, became the immediate object of her attention. She examined his new arm in silence and with minute scrutiny, leaving him to continue his conversation. The drone’s had done a predictably adequate job, though hardly up to Patchwork’s standards. There was, after all, several orders of magnitude of difference between the skills of a preprogrammed service robot and a Transformer who had spent vorns studying the nuances of Cybertronian function and design.

But if he were satisfied with the results, she was hardly about to make an issue of it. Not when she was likely to be up to her optics in battered hulks all too soon—assuming she wasn’t simply reduced to radioactive vapor for no other reason than having had the misfortune to be assigned to this rusty old frigate.

Bounce Chamber

Standing in the bounce chamber Starscream watched as the form of Onslaught materialized on the platform, the Commander settling his gaze on the larger Decepticon as he once more returned to his solid form. The leader of the Combaticons stepped off the platform and began to address the Seeker about his appreciation for the timely rescue and about the potential threat to the infiltration protocols when he was interrupted by the voice of another: Shockwave.

>>"Decepticons present within the Sol system--this is the voice of Military Operations Commander Shockwave. The loss of Megatron is a significant casualty to our resources. Couple that reality with the energy shortage we are faced with throughout the universe, and our eventual extinction as a species becomes more probable. Only for a matter this urgent would I have interrupted the mission that Megatron had sent me to complete on Cybertron. I have made advancements and retrieved technology that will render our energy crisis nil. Imperative: you will submit to my authority. In return, this war will end. Our civilization will thrive on advancements.

"Declarative: I calculate that Decepticon Air Commander Starscream presents the most significant threat to accomplishing this goal, as he has for countless vorns. He will not be alone. Any who stand against me also stand against the evolution of our empire. Those who thwart them will be the next to receive the rewards that Dreadwind and Darkwing have already experienced."<<

As the cyclops droned on in his distinctive and emotionless voice Starscream was quiet, and calm. His face plate remained still, not a single twitch or hint of emotion played across it as he absorbed the speech in silent contemplation. Even internally Starscream was calm and collected, unusual for him, no rage or irritation burned inside him, no desire to fly into a rage and begin to shriek orders at any who would listen to mount a fool hardy and desperate strike on Shockwave's flagship in a vain attempt to destroy this threat, no nothing like that. There was something though, deep down, a flicker that slowly began to build. It was fear. Not for himself, or for his plans, but for the Empire. Starscream knew and understood now that the first die had been cast, Shockwave had taken the first step on a potentially disastrous road that would lead the once mighty and glorious Decepticon Empire down a path of ruin as the Empire splintered into a dozen warring factions each one lead by a warlord eager to claim Megatron's thrown for himself with the Autobots doing their best to keep the civil war raging so to keep their enemy distracted and off balance as they moved in for the kill. Yet here was Starscream, the one Decepticon everyone expected to start such a conflagration had his mind racing to try and find a way to halt the madness he now say dawning on the horizon.

It was the words of Onslaught that drew him back to the present and Starscream looked up at the larger mech, his optics locked onto the others visor as he let the Combaticons words sink in. No real surprise in them, but there was also truth there.

"I understand Onslaught." He began with his voice even, calm and collected, strange to feel such certainty in these darkening times. "I fear that Shockwave has begun something terrible that could potentially doom us all. I am not going to stand here and bluster about why you should support me, that is unimportant in the end, but what is important is that the Empire survives, that Megatron's true vision survives. For the time being we must be allies to ensure that Shockwave doesn't bring our Empire to ruin because as soon as any Decepticon musters an army to claim Megatron's crown is when we all loose and the Autobot's win. Can we agree to that at least for the time being?"

As Starscream waited for a response, something else occurred to him, and picking up a conveniently placed data pad Starscream quickly uploaded the information Onslaught would need to reach Scrapper's position.

"This is the location of the new base that the Constructicon's are building. I'm hoping Shockwave has not yet pinpointed its location, though I am certain even he would not be so bold as to destroy it from orbit. I am entrusting you to get everyone down there and to safety and take only what is necessary from the Ultrax. There is something I must attend to before I can join you down there."

Starscream turned to leave and began to walk towards the ships bridge before he stopped and turned back to the Combaticon commander.

"Onslaught, I understand I have much to atone for because of my past mistakes and indiscretions and that you have no reason to believe the words I am about to speak, but if you only listen to me once listen to me now. All I do now is for the future of our Empire to prevent everything we Decepticons have built and sacrificed for to be torn apart and burned to ash by a civil war that will only see to our destruction. If Shockwave is allowed to continue down this path he will destroy the Decepticons and make us vulnerable to the Autobots. Am I suitable replacement for Megatron? No, no one can replace Megatron and we shall never see any like him ever again. But we can hope for a leader that can carry on the vision that he had for us, for the future he planned to forge as we blaze our way across the galaxy. Am I that leader? Only Primus can tell, but for now I intend to do what I can to keep that one eyed mad-mech from plunging us all into the depths of Inferno with as little blood shed as possible."

With that said Starscream once more turned away from Onslaught and marched to the bridge of the Ultrax. He walked over to the station that Soundwave had once operated and his fingers flew over the controls. It had been sometime since he had had to man a communications terminal like this, but he managed it and opened up the narrowest signal he could to the Thanatos, a signal that only Shockwave would be able to receive.

>>"Shockwave, this is Starscream. I think it's time that we met face to face."

Repair Bat stasis pods

The third of the blue lights went out infront of Psychout's eye and he braced for what he know would come next, this was not the first time he had woken up from long-term stasis repair and he dreaded what lay ahead.

The last time he woke up feeling this sore was when he was reformatted into his cassette form, but that was aeons ago now. "Knowing my luck, I'll be on a ship crammed with seekers, run by Starscream with Soundwave here just for good measu..." His half-dazed musings were rudely interrupted by Shockwave's transmission, and he shook the fuzziness from his head to catch the last paragraph;

>>"Declarative: I calculate that Decepticon Air Commander Starscream presents the most significant threat to accomplishing this goal, as he has for countless vorns. He will not be alone. Any who stand against me also stand against the evolution of our empire. Those who thwart them will be the next to receive the rewards that Dreadwind and Darkwing have already experienced."<<

Heh, looks like the boss has made his mark, I hope to the pit that I'm on his ship.

....*pssssssttttccchchhhh* The chamber slip open and he listened for any voices, there was a commotion, and a crash, but he knew better than most that it was a good sign for a med-bay, silence was when you needed to worry. He stepped out, checked his servo's were all still running - he was in good shape for his age - and headed cautiously into the main repair bay.

He took a cursory and unsuprised glance at the demolished repair table and the idiot seekers squabbling like protoforms around it, he then followed a Fembot medic he hadn't seen before as she facepalmed at the damage, shrugged her shoulders and turned to a prone bot on a table near to her. He wandered over tot he table that was taller than him and climbed up on the table, careful not to disturb the patient.

He addressed Patchwork,
"Evening. You got your hands full here, so I'll do you a deal. Ill help you patch up-these clowns to get them out of here, looks like it might be a while, and you tell me what in the pit is going on around here. Interested?

"I'm Psychout, Darkmount R&D. Or, at least I was..."

Bridge

A brilliant beam of light filled the bridge with intensity before dissipating to reveal the five forms of the Predacons. Razorclaw shook off the effects like the elite Decepticon warrior that he was and immediately laid his optics on the very familiar figure that was Starscream. The Seeker Commander was standing at the communications station that Soundwave had once occupied and was transmitting a communique to Shockwave, one that Razorclaw could clearly overhear. It was a bold move, wanting to meet with Shockwave in person, but it was one that would make the Predacons’ job here a bit easier to say the least.

Motioning to the other Predacons to carefully flank the Seeker Commander, Razorclaw stepped forward to address Starscream directly. “Air Commander Starscream, my apologies for arriving so abruptly, but I am under orders from Shockwave to subdue you and disable this ship if it becomes necessary.” Razorclaw paused for a moment to let his words sink in. “However, my loyalties do not lie with the cycloptic mech. I no more feel that he will make an adequate leader than you would. This is a very precarious time we are in. With Megatron gone and the Empire on the verge of civil war, a strong leader must be chosen, one that will unite the entirety of the Decepticons and allow us to continue our struggle against the Autobots successfully. I couldn’t help but overhear your transmission. I feel it will benefit you to speak with Shockwave, but be warned. He sees you as a threat to the Empire and he will not hesitate to eliminate any perceived threat in his lone optic.”

Razorclaw stopped once more to let his words linger in Starscream’s audio receptors before taking another step closer to the Seeker leader. “I assume you are currently building a new Earth base, presumably with Scrapper and his Constructions overseeing the operation. I need to know it’s exact location. This ship cannot match the firepower of the Thanatos. We need a place to regroup so we may countermand Shockwave’s actions. I am willing to work with you for now, Starscream, but only so long as you are willing to cooperate with me so that the leadership issue can be resolved quickly and preferably painlessly.” Razorclaw looked the Air Commander directly in the optics. “So, what will it be, Starscream?”

Repair Bay

Skywarp watched in astonishment as Ramjet threw another one of his temper tantrums, this one much more violent than any he had previously bore witness to. Thankfully, most of the conehead’s aggression was taken out on the repair berth he had just been sitting on, culminating with him throwing a large chunk of the table at a nearby CR chamber where Waspinator was just exiting from. The green Insecticon was immediately knocked back inside the chamber by the flying piece of debris. ‘Warp couldn’t help but chuckle at the comical sight, but that moment of hilarity quickly ended when Ramjet pointed his finger in the teleporter’s chest plate and told him that he was lucky this time before then stomping out of the repair facility.

Skywarp looked back at Contemptor as the large mech made his comment to the rage-filled Ramjet. “He’s such a protoform. Next time I’ll just teleport him into the planet’s atmosphere and leave him there to burn up.” While all this commotion was going on, Contemptor was in the middle of explaining to the prankster where he learned to fight so well. It had been an off the cuff question the black and purple seeker had asked in an attempt to pass the time during repairs. The gladiatorial arena would’ve been enough of an explanation, but the truck-former continued on with a very long and detailed account of his first encounter with Vindicator. The battle of Altihex was one that ‘Warp was familiar with, but not directly involved in. It was an interesting tale that finally ended a short time after the even larger Vindicator had arrived to listen in.

“Well, that was some story,” Skywarp said to Contemptor just before his attention was quickly drawn away by the approach of Nightraven. The teleporter’s optics widened at the sight of the femme seeker, who had just been jarred awake due to the immature antics of Ramjet. She appeared dazed and very confused by what was going on and likely had no knowledge of Shockwave’s transmission let alone who had ended her repair cycle so abruptly.

Without looking back at either Contemptor or Vindicator, Skywarp moved towards Nightraven as she inquired about what had happened. “It was one of Ramjet’s tantrums,” Skywarp answered as he gently placed an arm around Nighty’s shoulders in an effort to stabilize her. “He threw a piece of his repair table at Waspinator’s CR chamber which I think then knocked into yours. That’s probably what interrupted your repair cycle.” The prankster then frowned a bit as he thought of Iran. “As for the battle, it went pretty well, I guess. Starscream showed up and took control of everything. We got away with plenty of energon, but things could’ve gone better. I’m just not cut out for leadership. Speaking of which, once we all got back up here, Shockwave transmitted a message to everyone and basically announced himself as the new supreme leader. Can you believe that? Not sure how Screamer’s gonna take it. I’m supposed to have a debriefing with him, but I think that’s on hold for now.”

Skywarp then glanced over at Nightraven and cracked a smile as he held on to her. “I’m glad you’re back online, Nighty. I....was worried about you. I hope you’re not too disappointed in me. I did my best out there.”

Transmission from Shockwave to Vindicator

>>Declarative--you are cleared for boarding. Utilize the repair facilities at your discretion. No additional assistance prior to your departure will be necessary...yet."<<
___

Bounce Chamber

Onslaught listened to Starscream's words. The Seeker Leader was difficult to gauge. He sounded genuine, but then again, wasn't that always the danger with Starscream. He could sound perfectly genuine to your face while one of his Seeker lackeys got in position to take you out from behind.

This sounded different, though Onslaught could not immediately identify why. Onslaught's reponse had not elicited an enraged reponse from Starscream, with the Seeker shrieking at the top of his vocal processors and demanding obedience from everyone that crossed his path.

Starscream had left before Onslaught could offer an answer to his proposal, and Onslaught was thankful that he had. The change in tone had caught the Combaticon Commander off guard, and he wasn't entirely certain how to factor that in to everything that was going on just yet.

Would Shockwave splinter and destroy the Decepticon empire? Quite possibly. But in Onslaught's mind, Starscream carried that very same potential. That was why he had supported Razorclaw back on Cybertron, and he hadn't seen anything yet that would prompt him to change his mind.

Onslaught quickly zeroed in on the specific location of the base in the datapad that Starscream had handed him. Walking over to the bounce chamber controls, Onslaught began entering the coordinates in to the system as he awaited the arrival of Vortex, as Swindle and Brawl had already appeared shortly after he had.

"These are dangerous times," Onslaught said, offering a passing glance to his fellow Combaticons. "But times ripe with opportunity as well."

Repair Bay

Patchwork spared a glance for the diminutive Decepticon that had recently emerged from stasis and had now clambered up onto one of the repair tables, then returned to her evaluation of Contemptor’s new arm. She didn’t exactly require the assistance, at least not at that precise moment, but it was so rare for anyone to offer a helping manual actuator on this space-going garbage scow that she was hesitant to decline. In any event, his request wasn’t exactly unreasonable. Providing a debriefing for mechanoids re-entering active duty following long-term stasis was just one of her many duties as the head of what passed for the frigate’s med-tech staff.

“Psychout, yes,” said Patchwork absently, nodding as her readings on Contemptor’s current level of functioning returned nominal, one by one. “Of course I know who you are. You’ve been in a stasis pod in my repair bay, haven’t you? I do keep track of these things.”

Tucking her personal information display under her elbow, she turned her face toward the smaller mechanoid. She could certainly take a moment to give him a basic rundown of their present situation, at least. It wasn’t as if any of the current occupants of the repair bay appeared to be in urgent danger of terminal systems failure.

“As for what’s going on around here, the situation is fairly straightforward. You are aboard the frigate Ultrax, presently orbiting the third planet of the Solar System. Our original commanding officer was the Stunticon leader Motormaster, who has since been usurped by Starscream, who is presently in the process of being usurped by Shockwave. At last report, our Supreme Commander has left us to join whatever metaphysical plane you may choose to believe lies beyond this one, and there’s a better-than-even chance we shall be joining him amongst the honored dead in the very near future. I believe that should satisfy your curiosity for the moment?”

If he wanted a more detailed report, he was welcome to access the ship’s central data archive. Patchwork was a medical engineer, not an ambulatory newsfeed.

Bounce Chamber

With Starscream gone and Onslaught caught somewhat bewildered, Brawl finally let his frustrations to pour out. To say he was ticked of would have been a great unjustice to his current mood. One just did not send Brawl to a battlefield and then force him out of there after he had fired just a one shot. That was just plain wrong. And something Onslaught should have known.

"Yeah?! Dangerous is my middle name!" The thickly armored brute of the Combaticon unit raged, slamming his fist hard against the nearest wall, leaving a sizeable dent in it. Turning to face Onslaught, Brawl brough his index finger almost in touch with Onslaught's optical visor.

"What the slag was that about?! I had three Autobots in my sights and you pulled me away from the field like a startled petrorabbit after hearing someone utter the name turbofox!" Brawl continued his angry banter before the slightly taller but less bulky commander of his. "This opportunity you speak of is better include me blowing up something because I am *this* close of setting blowing this rotten excuse of a warship to-!"

Brawl's tirade however was cut short as the bounce platform activated, materializing a massive form of Motormaster on the platform along with the familiar flash of bright white light. "The slag?!"

It took those few seconds of silence for Motormaster to shrug of the after effect of the orbital bounce but even before that he had already identified the three other Transformers present in the bounce chamber - the Combaticons: Brawl, Onslaught and Swindle.

It also appeared that Brawl and Onslaught were in a disagreement over something. Clutching his atom-smasher rifle still in his right hand, Motormaster's baleful optics focused on Onslaught.

"What the slag are you doing in my ship?!"

"The SOL system?? What the f...riggate are we doing here?! Last thing I knew I was at a party on Cybertron... *sigh* best take a look then."

Psychout nimbly leapt from the bench onto a nearby terminal and began checking through the ships log. 'Sol 3, imaginatively known by the indigenous population as Earth. Energon rich, carbon-based life forms of a million variant species, no electronic life signs but it's energy signature was off the scale! He could make a fortune out of this planet, that is assuming the rest of these cretins hadn't already destroyed half the place. He pulled up the intel on its primary life form... Heh, creatures the same size as him? Now he knew he could be useful, but not if he was stuck under Starsscreams incompetent command. His best chance was to get to earth, or Shockwaves ship, just as soon as he had finished inboard here.

He flicked through the manifest: Seeker, Seeker, Conehead, Seeker... A few names he didn't recognise, more Seekers - this was his idea of hell. Ah! This was more like it, Onslaught and Brawl had just returned, that meant Swindle would be around somewhere, that would make life a bit more tolerable... He paused for a second *do I still owe him money..?* heh, who doesn't? Plenty to choose from I guess. I'll finish here then report to Shockwave and see if I can't get a transfer.

Ignoring the continued commotion inside the med-bay, he deftly flipped back onto the table and sat down to watch Patchwork finish her patients limb, she clearly knew what she was doing, and he wasn't needed here but he waited for a moment for her to finish before fulfilling his side of the bargain, "OK Patchwork, I got what I needed, where do you want me to start?"

Bridge

No sooner had Starscream sent his private message to Shockwave then the bridge of the Ultrax was filled with the light of a team bouncing on board. The Commander quickly snapped his arms up as he prepared to defend himself as the intruders phase into reality, revealing the forms of Razorclaw and his Predacons. A frown darkened Starscream's face as he saw them appear, clearly Shockwave had managed to secure some powerful allies during his time on Cybertron. Yet when as the Predacons surrounded him Starscream noted though their weapons were raised, more so in a manner that suggested they were ready for action, not in a threatening manner that suggested they were here to kill him. Slowly, and cautiously he lowered his own weapons and listened to Razorclaw talk.

Starscream's brow furled in irritation when the topic of the new base came up, Onslaught had made virtually the same request astroseconds ago. He had believed the Combaticon commander was making a request based on his tactical and battlefield experience. When in a weaker position with little to no chance to mount and effective defense or offense a wise commander would fall back with his troops to a strong position and consolidate. But now it appeared that something else was going on, two special unit commanders whom had served together on an extended mission returning at the same time making the same request under these circumstances, no way was that just a coincidence. It was highly likely they were working together, either with Shockwave or for their own ends. Then why would they want the location of the base? Well if they had sided with Shockwave that meant they could simply be doing his bidding to seek out any refuge Starscream and his supporters had to either be overwhelmed or destroyed to minizmie resistance. Or they wanted it for themselves or for a nother reason. Maybe they sought allies of their own, but the only ones they could likely seek down there were the Constructicons. The situation had undoubtedly gotten far more complex now.

It was probably that Razorclaw was telling the truth, there is no way that he would support Shockwave, but then again Starscream wasn't surprised he was not infavour of the Seekers command as well. Unsurprising, Starscream was learning the painful lesson of his past mistakes in that few if any belived him when he was legitimatlly trying to do his best to prevent the situation Shockwave was forcing on them, but if he could not rally the support and strength needed to keep the Empire from ripping itself apart then his efforts would be in vain. Regardless though, he had to deal with the Predacons now.

"That's a curious request Razorclaw, as Onslaught was bounced on board mere astroseconds ago and made the exact same request, almost word for word. Since I doubt that the two of you are working completely independent of each other I can only assume you are working together on some sort of agenda, likely one of your own making as I have a hard time beliving that either of you would support Shockwave and his motivations." Starscream straightened up to his full height, and rested his fists on his hips. "For the moment it seems we have he same goal. Shockwave does not have what it takes to lead the Decepticons, he's to detached from what we are to truly understand how to rule us. But who can? Truly I am uncertain, but for the moment the question of leadership will have to wait until we can contain and deal with Shockwave. I have no desire to fight other Decepticons, that can only lead to ruin for us all, but if Shockwave wants to force the issue then we will have to deal with him with as much speed and lack of bloodshed as possible."

Stepping out from behind the console, sowly and carefully to show that he was not about to make any sudden and unwise moves Starscream gestured towards the door.

"I've already given the coordinates for the base to Onslaught. I had hoped to meet with Shockwave in person and in neutral territory so we can prevent this madness, but if he sent you here to bring me in I doubt that will have worked in the first place. Our first priority now is to evacuate this ship with all the vitial supplies and materiales we can carry and establish a base of operations on the surface. Unfortunatly the base the Constructicons are building is not yet complete, but it will have to do for now. If we're lucky Shockwave won't be able to pinpoint or location until we are ready to confront him, but we will worry about that once we're down there. For now it is besti f we get off this ship before Shockwave decides to blow it out of the stars."

Hitting the internal coms for the Ultrax so he could address the rest of the Decepticons on board.

>>"Attention Decepticons. I am sure all of you have heard Shockwave's message by now and I am also certain most of you understand what this may mean for the future of our Empire. Presently we are in the weaker position as Shockwave's ship possess superiour fire power and defenses. To that end I am ordering the evacuation of the Ultrax to the site of our new base on the surface. If you wish to remain up here then that is your choice, but for those of you who don't want to be blasted into so much space junk grab what vital supplies you can carry and report to the bounce chamber."<<

He then switched over to communicate with his teams on the surface.

>>"Thundercracker, Baneblade those of us up here on the Ultrax are evacuating down to the new bases location. Be prepared for multiple incoming bounces."<<

He turned his gaze back to Razorclaw.

"Let's go."

Bounce Chamber

A brilliant flare of light engulfed the room, rendering the optics of those directly looking at the transport pad dazzled and momentarily confused. The light soon faded and was replaced by the thrum of beating airfoils and a tornado of wind spinning through the chamber. The roar of the human styled engines tore through the silence of the chamber.

With in a few moments, Vortex broke his adopted form and reverted back to his robotic mode, weapons secured in their ports. His feet touched down upon the illuminated pad with a shallow clack.

His facial features were contorted in an unmistakable rage as he stepped off the bounce pad. "DAMN IT! I had a clear shot at that pit Autobot Blades." He resisted the urge to pull his weapon on the bounce system operator, knowing that destroying the diminutive mech would do nothing but land him square in the slime mongrel's house of his commanding officer. Still, he did not like being pulled from an engagement until the kill had been confirmed. Now things were complicated and he knew it.

"Onslaught, a clean up crew has to be redeployed to that battle site." He hesitated briefly before recomposing himself. His optics scanned the chamber before registering the facts that whatever happened down on the surface was definitely of secondary concern. "Um, what did I miss?"

Repair Bay

Satisfied that Contemptor’s replacement limb would remain affixed to his shoulders for the time being, Patchwork prepared to turn her attention to Nightraven’s pre-release diagnostic. Psychout, having apparently satisfied his curiosity regarding his current status, returned to make good on his offer to assist the medical engineer in her duties. She regarded the undersized Decepticon with no small bemusement; aside from doorstop or possibly stepping-stool, she really wasn’t sure what useful purpose he might be put to. And she certainly wasn’t about to suggest either, since he was trying to be helpful.

That was a great deal more than could be said for most Decepticons. Even when they weren’t going out of their way to plague her, they were stilly more typically nuisances.

Patchwork was about to suggest that Psychout conduct Nightraven’s structural scans himself, which would free her up to begin overseeing the repairs to the (irony of ironies) repair bay, when Starscream’s announcement brought her up short.

Had her brow not been made of metal and concealed behind helmet-like cranial reinforcement armor, she certainly would have furrowed it. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any time to be puzzled with the nuances of what constituted constructive debate among the higher-ranking Decepticons. If the Seeker Commander were being honest—a prospect not at all in keeping with his reputation, but Patchwork couldn’t begin to guess what he’d hope to gain from lying about their situation—then getting off the Ultrax was now her overriding priority. And since there didn’t seem to be anywhere else to go, she supposed she’d have to accept this impromptu reassignment planetside.

Slagging spectacular.

Her fingers began flying across the interactive screen of her information display pad, quickly reprogramming the medical drones that were capable of exiting that repair bay. “Never mind, Psychout,” she said, her tone hovering somewhere between stoic indifference and mild irritation. “Everyone appears to be lucid and ambulatory; if further treatment is needed, I’ll deal with it on the surface. Same goes for any other casualties from the battle. Right now, I’ve got to see about getting as much of this equipment to the bounce chamber as I can before somebody decides to use this tin can for target practice.”

With the drones now busily gathering tools and other necessities, Patchwork hurried to the nearest CR chamber and began the laborious task of removing the numerous heavy-gauge bolts and cables that kept it anchored to the deck and bulkhead. If she worked quickly—and was far, far more lucky than she’d been these last several vorns—she might be able to save one or two of them.

Bounce Chamber

The one whom he expected to be frustrated the most by the brevity of their little engagement down in the oil field did not disappoint. Onslaught had a slight grin on his metallic face, underneath his faceplate, even as Brawl vented his frustrations. It was only when the other Combaticon deemed it necessary to get right up in his face that the tenor of the situation changed for the Combaticon Commander.

"Stand down, Brawl," Onslaught said calmly. It was an order he normally gave only once, when a subordinate under his command--be they Combaticon or not--was coming dangerously close to the balance he had established between leadership and camaraderie.

"We're playing a different strategy here. Defeating Autobots is not the end all and be all of our existence. Not right now. There's too much else at stake. I'm going to do what's best for me and my unit. But words are barely worth energon chits in this faction. Don't trust my words. Trust my actions."

And lending some impromptu assistance to Motormaster would hopefully be more valuable than any of them--perhaps even he himself--realized. He was about to get his answer, as the formidable Stunticon materialized before Onslaught could explain his rationale any further.

"The same thing we were doing down on the surface. Helping you. Ensuring the stability of the empire," Onslaught said, approaching Motormaster as the transmission from Starscream registered on his systems. It seemed as if the Seeker had suddenly decided to take his advice. He could only wonder what had prompted that change in thinking. But that was not his pressing concern at the moment. He had been looking for Motormaster, and now here he was.

"The game has changed Motormaster," Onslaught said, now stepping past the Stunticon to join his unit on the bounce pad. "We are the Decepticons' future. You and your team. Me and mine. Others. We need to talk, but not here. Find me at the base. We'll talk more."

With that, Onslaught activated the bounce pad yet again. This time the destination would be this new secret base that Starscream had spoken of. So much was happening so fast. But Onslaught was prepared. In truth, he had really not expected it to go down any other way.

Repair-Bay

"You're taking this crap with you??" Psychout laughed, keeping his voice down to avoid unwanted ears becoming involved. He couldn't quite believe his optics. Not only had Starscream given him his ticket off this wreck, but Dr. Nursebot here seemed intent on taking everything with her. "You realise that this entire ship is about 3000 years out of date? The base the Constructicons are creating will have all this stuff, and more! Besides, once Starscream has taken Shockwaves bait and bounced his cowardly aft off this hulk, along with his sycophantic army of simpletons..." he subtly indicated towards the Seeker collective, still busy arguing over a spilt drink or something. "Why would Shockwave blow it up? It's illogical. The resources, materials and energon left on this ship are priceless near a world where the technology level is even lower than when Ironhide was hatched. Not to mention the datatracks, intel and mission data that will be stored on here. Think about it Patchwork, if you listen to Shockwaves transmission... hang on..." he accessed his internal storage - being a 'cassette' had its advantages, transformed into his datastick altmode and hooked himself up to Patchworks hand terminal. Shockwaves voice was flawlessly recreated, albeit quietly;

>>"Declarative: I calculate that Decepticon Air Commander Starscream presents the most significant threat..."<<

...blah blah blah...

>>"Any who stand against me also stand against the evolution of our empire."<<

Psychout's face then appeared on her screen, "Where does he say there that this ship is being 'blown up'? Starscream's paranoia - the fallout of which I know far too well from my past dealings with his kind, has led him to the laughable conclusion that Shockwave actually wants to destroy this ship, expending energy, irreplaceable Cybertronian resources, valuable information AND potential allies in the process? Where's the logic in that? Shockwave isn't stupid, I know that for a fact.

"Besides, this is the bit we should be paying attention to!"
>>I have made advancements and retrieved technology that will render our energy crisis nil.<<

He returned to his robot form and double checked that none of the room population could hear him, following Patchwork into the recesses of the Med-bay whilst she worked. "It'll take me about 30 minutes to download all the data Starscream has stored on this deathtrap. Think about it as 'insurance'; you seem to fit in here about as well here as I, and like me you're not exactly a combat model, so I'll cut you in - its standard procedure to back this stuff up so I can take it from a redundant system where it wont be noticed - and we use it to make sure that, whoever wins this squabble between 'Wave and 'Scream, will still find us useful." and so will Swindle...

"Get the Coneheads and their dome-headed brethren out of here, along with the rest of the walking wounded, and I'll make sure that no matter what, we end up on the right side of the victory party."

Repair Bay

Contemptor sat upright and flexed his arm again. It was still a little stiff from the new attachments, but the arrival of the Ultrax's resident mechanic, Patchwork, helped ease the stiffness in his rotators. But they were still stiff from the re-adjustments made by the femme-medic, but regardless he at least had a fully functional arm again. Pulling himself from the repair table, Contemptor slapped Patchwork on the shoulder in a show of appreciation.

"Thanks Patch..." Contemptor said as he made his way over to Vindicator - who had a look of urgency in his amber optics "...a far better tuning than that automated, sparkless garbage built into this ship!"

As the large decepticon turned to go away, he caught sight of a diminutive decepticon - no bigger than one of those wretched meat sacks, bounce around like a hyper-spring, eager to know what was happening in the suddenly cramped repair bay. Contemptor looked for a moment as his memory core kicked in. A smile formed on his faceplate as he recognised the diminutive 'con. His gaze then turned to the more important con in the room. Hellion was still in her CR chamber recovering from the head to head scrap with Hardhead in the Iranian Desert.

Contemptor stopped and let his gaze linger on the femme-seeker's faceplate, her optics closed, and her face looking serene and peaceful.

"Contemptor..." Came the baritone vocals of the larger Vindicator "...don't you know it's rude to stare at a femme-con when she's asleep?"

The truck-former straightened his posture as he felt his faceplate heat up slightly. Humans would have called it blushing.

"Sorry Big Vin..." Contemptor breathed meekly as the large Siege Specialist stood from the wall and unfolded his arms as his subordinate approached him. Vindicator took Contemptor to the side and spoke in a hushed tone to his comrade about what was happening, and what was going to happen

"...So let me get this straight Big Vin..." Contemptor said with a grumble "...we're going to the Thanatos so that I can get checked out completely? Patchwork just gave me the once-over!"

"More than that Contemptor..." Vindicator replied "...The Ultrax is falling apart around our audio receptors, and I feel that your Plasma Cannon is more of a disruption than helpful.." Vindicator folded his arms back over his chest as he spotted Psychout "...I feel that if this place is to be decimated into scrap, then we should re-arm you on the Thanatos, and then to earth. We need to play our holo-cards close to our chestplate's!"

Contemptor had followed Vindicator's gaze to the diminutive decepticon and then turned back and nooded to his superior.

"So what about Starscream?" Contemptor asked "I'm pretty sure that messir paranoia will surely think us as traitors to him, and..."

Vindicator cut him off mid scentence.

"...Not so!" The large mechanoid said gruffly "...I will see to Starscream. I would rather follow Megatron than our paranoid seeker captain..." he paused and with a heavy sigh mentioned Shockwave "...and I certainly do not trust Shockwave as far as I could throw him. And that is certainly not very far..." He looked over again at the animated Psychout "...I have a plan however..."

Vindicator approached the medic Patchwork, and in turn addressed her and the micron.

"Patchwork..." Vindicator spoke, his stately, almost aristocratic voice cut the thick chaotic air cleanly as he placed his hand on the medic's shoulder "...my thanks for fine-tuning Contemptor's arm repair...without that I fear that the medical bay would have been more damaged than Ramjet's temper tantrum!" The smile on the big decepticon's faceplate lasted as long as he needed it to be before he addressed the Micron.

"Psychout...when you are free, my diminutive causer of chaos, I would have a word with you in the bounce chamber!"

With that, Vindicator turned and made his way to the entrance of the Repair bay, motioning for Contemptor to follow. But the truck-former, took a moment to place his hand on the glass of Hellion's CR chamber, his purple optics softening slightly as he placed his hand on the glass near Hellion's face. He spoke softly before turning to thunder after Vindicator.

"Take care Hellion...see you soon...!" With that, the trophy hunter left the Repair bay after Vindicator, his heavy footfalls echoing around the dilapidated halls as he raced after his commanding officer.

Ultrax - Hallway

Contemptor fell into step with Vindicator as they both marched towards the Bounce Chamber of the ship, and cutting the silence between the two, Contemptor asked why they were really going to the Thanatos, and he was rewarded with a full answer.

"We are going to see what Shockwave is all about, in truth. Your weapon upgrade & redesign are a cover for this, but in truth I would rather be aboard a ship that is more stable and allows me to listen in to what is going on in the...venerable world of decepticon politics..." Vindicator almost spat the last scentence out as he knew full well about the histories of Shockwave and Starscream."

"I take it that's why you followed Megatron, and aren't one with a thirst for power then?" Contemptor said dryly, a smile on his faceplate as he looked up at his superior "It's also the reason why I follow you Vin', and why I can't trust many others"

"You're learning well Contemptor..." Vindicator said with a smile as they approached the Bounce Chamber. Vindicator sent a message to Starscream informing him of his intentions

>"Starscream...Shockwave has granted myself and Contemptor access to the Thanatos. My reasons are as following; Contemptor needs a fine tuning, and as skilled as Patchwork is, the Thanatos has a more sophisitcated repair center. Secondly Contemptor needs his primary weapon re-formatted and redesigned, and the Thanatos has this ability to do so." Vindicator paused and added the following "...If you need anything, your repsonse is greatly required!"<

The duo reached the bounce chamber and Vindicator started to input the appropriate settings for the Thanatos' Repair bay, and then spoke to Contemptor.

"Now all we have to do is wait for Psychout..I wonder what the Micron's interest would be?"