The Energon Pub

Hangar Bay

Skywarp groaned at Darkride’s retort, watching the interrogator pull his Autobot prisoner along towards the hangar bay exit before then disappearing from sight. ‘Warp dropped his cubes to the ground with a slight thud and gritted his metal teeth. He wanted to chase after Darkride and tear him a new aft, but decided against such a course of action. Instead, ‘Warp took a deep breath knowing that the interrogator’s time would come soon enough, and when it did, Darkride would be very sorry he ever crossed a seeker.

“I’m not the type to cross, either, Nightraven,” Skywarp responded to the femme seeker as she tried to calm him down. Thundercracker then quickly interjected a similar response before joining ‘Warp’s side with a suggestion of his own. The teleporter nodded to his brother and smiled. “Yes, ‘Cracker, you’re right, as usual. Pain and insults are useless on him. I have been considering a violent prank or perhaps several.” Skywarp kept his voice down so no one else could hear him. “I thought about sabotaging some of his equipment so that his instruments would blow up in his face when he tries to extract info from the Autobot. Maybe even a loss of power to his chamber, as well. But it will be difficult to do anything to him unless I can get inside that torture room of his, and he keeps that place locked down like a mini fortress.” Skywarp scratched his chin for a moment. “You got any ideas, ‘Cracker?”

Hanger Bay

Nightraven sighed as Thundercracker walked off. The last thing she wanted to do is get on his bad side, or worse, disappoint him in any way. Before she could say anything, however, Blackstar chimed in. She glared at the other seeker and shook her head. “He’s right. No one should be able to get away with what he did!” She then ran off after Thundercracker and Skywarp.

“Thundercracker! Wait! I didn’t mean….. What I mean is; you’re right. Darkride has to be taught a lesson. He needs to be made an example of.” She took a deep breath and then continued. “What can I do to help?”

Hangar Bay

"Eh?" Thundercracker countered Skywarp's plea for ideas. "All I can think of is that you don't have to get in. Hidden tripwire in front of the door to his chambers and couple of buckets of paint of different colors? Maybe some sugar in his fuel ratios? Should cause at least some discomfort, no? How the slag I am supposed to know, weren't you supposed to be the Prime of jokers anyhow?"

"What say you rookie?" The blue seeker veteran asked Nightraven, somewhat confused over the femme's quick change of attitude.

Hangar Bay

Skywarp was a bit taken aback by Thundercracker’s response. His friend seemed almost annoyed with him. “Okay, ‘Cracker ol’ buddy. Don’t get your thrusters in a scrunch. I have plenty of ideas, but Darkride is no ordinary mech. He enjoys pain and isn’t bothered by insults. I can’t just play the usual prank on him. I have to think of something that will actually bother him. Otherwise, what’s the use?” Skywarp paused for a moment as he turned back to retrieve more cubes. “And the reason I want to get inside his chamber is because he rarely ever leaves. Darkride’s whole world is inside that room. Messing around with his instruments of torture would definitely get under his circuits. I could teleport in, but I don’t know the layout that well. I’d end up appearing in his optical view and there goes the element of surprise. I need him distracted somehow...”

Skywarp’s words trailed off as he thought for a moment and then turned to look at Nightraven, a devilish grin forming across his faceplate. “Hmmm, you want to help now, huh? Okay. Would you be willing to distract Darkride by using your femme bot charms on him? Maybe you could lure him out into the corridor. That way I can get into his chambers, sabotage his equipment, and then get out before he even notices. What do you say, Nightraven?”

Hanger Bay

Before Nightraven could respond to Thundercracker, Skywarp interjected with his own idea, and it was not one she approved of. “Oh ick! There is no way I'm coming on to that psychopath! He'll probably take my advances as an okay to disassemble me.” She sighed lightly as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Besides, I've go my optics on one mech and one mech only.” She casually glanced in Thundercracker's direction before looking back at Skywarp.

She leaned up against a support beam and thought for a moment. There had to be some way to get the interrogator back, but he never left his chambers. Perhaps an order form a higher up, or just a request for an officer to see him. He'd surely leave his hidey hole then. “What if we told him Megatron wished to debrief him on the mission. Once he's out of his chambers we break in and take his most prized possession.....his prisoner. We get a hold of the Autobot and kill him before Darkride gets to finish him off. That will really get to him. Not to mention the embarrassment he'll feel when Megatron tells him he never wanted to see him in the first place.”

She looked to both of the Seekers for a response as she took up another arm full of storage cubes and placed them in the pile.

Hangar Bay

Aaaargh! What does he want from me? First he asks for ideas and then he doesn't even process what I suggested. Thundercracker thought and let out a quiet sigh.

"Does pissing him off really help your agenda more than embarrassing him? If you sabotage his equipment he will certainly get ticked off and very likely suspects you as the culprit. Embarrassing him in public should get others on your side. No one likes him anyhow." Thundercracker offered his opinion to Skywarp before Nightraven offered her's.

And her's was a suggestion which did not really feel all that compelling to Thundercracker either. "No, we can't do that unless we want to be dipped into the lava pools inside this mountain by Megatron. He knows Darkride took a prisoner and as pathetic Bumblebee is, he has knowledge Megatron wants. I have no problem standing against Darkride but I won't get in Megatron's way."

Hangar Bay

Skywarp shook his head slightly at Nightraven’s comment about having optics only for one mech, that being Thundercracker. Could she make it any more obvious? ‘Warp thought with a look of disgust on his faceplate. I mean, he’s standing right here. The teleporter was then about to try to convince the femme seeker to reconsider luring out Darkride when his friend chimed in.

“I suppose you’re right,” Skywarp replied with a sigh after listening to Thundercracker’s position. ‘Warp wanted the interrogator to suffer, but that’s a hard thing to do against a mech who relishes in torture and self mutilation. “Embarrasing him publicly is probably the best option for now. And as much as I would like to disassemble the Autobot, I do not want to incur Megatron’s wrath, either.”

Skywarp thought for a moment. “I like your multi-colored paint idea, ‘Cracker, but I want to mix the paint with a super strong adhesive so it sticks to Darkride better and make it almost impossible to get off. I’ll do the trip wire at his doorway. Then when he finally leaves his chamber - WHAM! It’s all over him! He’ll have to walk through the whole base to find some way of cleaning himself up. As he does, everyone will see him and laugh. It’ll be great!”

Skywarp’s grin widened as he thought of Darkride walking through the corridors with bright paint all over him. He then looked back at Thundercracker. “What do you think, ‘Cracker? Should we try to lure Darkride out of his lair or just wait for him to come out to report the interrogation results to Megatron? That might be better because then he’ll be embarassed in front of our leader as well as everyone else!”

Hangar Bay

Hellion finished unloading Astrotrain, silently listening to the plotting of Thundercracker and Skywarp. Frankly she didn’t care one way or the other about their scheming. Darkride was a freak, that was certain, and he probably did have something coming to him. On the other hand Cracker and Warp were being a bit obnoxious about the whole thing. She quietly left the hangar for her quarters, suspecting that she would get an eventual call from Nightraven to help her out of whatever predicament she had allowed the other Seekers to get her into.

*

Command Center

Megatron had observed the return of the Decepticon team sent to the oil rig. Security cameras had allowed him to watch them unload Astrotrain and listen in on their conversations. Apparently they had run into some resistance from a group of Autobots. Presumably the battle had gone well since they had all returned with the fuel and even a prisoner.

Of course this was all conjecture on his part as no one had reported in with him. It was another sign of the lack of discipline the operation on this planet was plagued by. It appeared that he was going to have to tighten things up once more. “Soundwave, summon Starscream here immediately to report on his mission.” Megatron knew that by delegating that duty to Soundwave, putting a buffer between himself and Starscream, would annoy the seeker. The fact that it would be Soundwave giving him the order would only make it worse. It was no secret that the two Decepticons loathed each other.

“As you command, Megatron.” Soundwave’s voice remained its usual monotone, but inside he was pleased at the orders. He knew as well that it would needle the vain seeker to be ordered around by the likes of him. He relished the opportunities he got to do that. >>”Starscream, immediate presence required in the command center. Megatron requires a full report on previous mission.”<<

Hangar Bay

While Nightraven's glance towards Thundercracker went unnoticed by the blue seeker who was too deep in his thoughts, the same could not be said about Skywarp's words. Still, the more Thundercracker thought about the situation, he began to feel more unsure about it.

"No, not any luring. That's too obvious for sure. But he is damned crafty himself too, the trap should be extremely sophisticated to work." He spoke, rubbing his chin thoughtfully at the same time. "Or alternatively we should go at it in open, leaving no doubt that who threw the paint at him. I don't know 'Warp. Invisibility would be handy maybe."

Hangar Bay

Wildrider couldn't help but overhear Skywarp's, Thundercracker's and Nightraven's conniving dilation concerning the terribly sadistic interrogator, Darkride.

Being constantly alert to all kinds of sound and movement, no matter how faint, was one of the very few benefits that hyperactivity could positively assert – not that it could vaunt for any sort of genuine practical use in the Seekers' current situation. Nonetheless, it was a case of vindictive retaliation they were aspiring to, and Wildrider had other...talents in which he could generously offer the three Seekers.

It wasn't as if they had arrived at a conclusive scheme, anyway.

“Hey! All wings 'n' no brains!” the dark grey Ferrari smirked, walking briskly towards the three Seekers. “Sounds like you lot are caught between a rock and Omega Supreme!”

All in all, Wildrider was looking for a chance to alleviate his growing boredom.

Hanger Bay

The femme seeker’s passing glance turned to a steady stare after she mentioned that she was only interested in one mech, however, she sighed heavily when her statement went unnoticed. She listened carefully to everything that Thundercracker and the others had to say, but she offered no ideas, that part of her inclusion was over now.

After a few moments Nightraven looked up and saw her sister begin to leave the hanger bay. She grew slightly impatient, not wanting her sister to leave without her, but before she could excuse herself Wildrider showed up. She let out a sigh and nearly rolled her optics. The Stunticons were not known to be intelligent conversationalists, and Nightraven was certainly in no mood to try to communicate with one of them now.

The black seeker femme finally spoke up to the small group now gathered in the center of the hanger bay.

“I’m sure you three can come up with something rather disturbing even for Darkride. One of you is smart enough to get that far.” She looked back at Thundercracker and offered a slight smirk. She then left the gathering and caught up with Hellion. She slowed her pace as she came up beside the Berserker.

“Don’t say it, please.” She let out a defeated sigh and let her shoulders slump. All she truly wanted was to know more about him, but he seemed to not even take notice of her. That didn’t mean she would stop trying. “I had to at least try. Wouldn’t you?”

Interrogation Chamber

Darkride’s optics narrowed as he placed the device he refered to as 'the rack' in the middle of the room. His attention was directed back to the holding cell Bumblebee was locked in. He was desperate for a response from his captive, after all he thrived on others pain and misery, not to mention his own. A cruel grin creased his lips as he approached the cell.

“Oh, come now Bumblebee. This won’t hurt much, and if you give me what I want it will end quickly.”

He disengaged the energo bars and stepped into the confining space. Bumblebee huddled against the back wall unable to defend himself as the interrogator leaned down and grabbed his arm. Darkride dragged his prisoner out to the center of the gallery where he directed him towards the rack. The minibot’s optics widened as he took in the device. Knowing what was to come next he began to struggle against Darkride’s grip. The black and purple Conthen whispered to his new guest. “Oh, oh oh, calm yourself. I told you before, it won’t hurt much…..I promise.”

Even though the interrogation chamber was nearly soundproof if you were quiet enough you could hear the faint anguished cries of the Autobot prisoner within. Once you pass through the doors you would be witness to Darkride’s cruel acts.

In the center of the chamber suspended by large hooks from the rack, hung the pained form of Bumblebee. As Darkride circled the rack a soft moan rose from the yellow Autobot. With an evil grin plastered on his face Darkride stopped in front of the suspended Bot. In a hushed tone the interrogator addressed his guest. “Now, if you don’t want it to hurt anymore, tell me something I don’t know.”

Bumblebee slowly raised his head so he could see Darkride, and anguished look on hus face. “I…..don’t know anything. Please….I’m telling you the truth.” Darkride snikered as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Come now, Bumblebee. You’ll have me believe that you, one of Prime’s lapdogs and closest confidants, know nothing?” He lowered his arms and stepped closer to the rack. He sneered as he gave the device a hard, swift kick causing it to rock and shake violently. “AGHHHHHHHH! Stop, please!” Bumblebee’s cries of anguish went unheaded as Darkride let him swing back and forth until finially his momentum slowed. “If you want the pain to stop all you have to do is give me what I want.”

Darkride stepped just below Bumblebee’s dangling form coming face to face with him, a maniacal look on the interrogator’s own faceplate. All he had to do was bide his time, everyone talks, eventually.

Hangar Bay

As Wildrider joined the trio of Seekers, Nightraven offered one last remark before making a hurried departure. Not lost upon it, apparently, the Stunticon noted the subsequent teasing smirk she directed Thundercracker's way - distinctively sole - as she strode off to catch up with her sister, Hellion. It was one of an evidently flirtatious nature.

Oh, so that's how it is... he thought, enjoying his newly conceived ideas.

Wildrider pitched a wide, impudent grin at Skywarp, giggling softly. "You know, it must really burn you up to know that your buddy's off the market now. I mean, you guys did everything together, so now you won't get a chance to - you know..." he taunted distastefully, hoping to get a rise out of the black and purple Seeker. "Hey!" Wildrider urged, submissively raising opened hands in front of him. "Don't look at me! I'm as straight as a missile!"

The dark grey Ferrari cackled boisterously before swivelling his head towards Thundercracker. "Yo, Thundercracker. Since when did you two become an item?" he asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of Nightraven.

Corridors

Hellion rolled her optics as she saw Wildrider pass her on his way to the hangar bay. She knew that the presence of the unstable Stunticon would only make things worse. Skywarp and Thundercracker were already planning something stupid, throw in Wildrider and it would probably be a miracle if anyone made it out of their alive, especially with all of that fuel they had just unpacked laying around.

The femme hesitated with her next step. She had left Nightraven behind in that situation. She knew the other seeker could take care of herself, but that was before a Stunticon entered the picture. Skywarp and Thundercracker could be fairly dumb sometimes, at least Skywarp could with his pranks and Thundercracker would go along with it. Wildrider however, he was just crazy. She wasn’t quite as comfortable leaving her sister behind with both scheming Seekers and a Stunticon.

Before she could turn back to the hangar she heard footsteps coming up behind her, quickly followed by Nightraven’s voice. She suppressed a relieved sigh and instead smiled at her words. She looked over at the other femme. “I suppose I might have tried too. I’m just glad you had enough sense to get out of there before Wildrider does something to make the situation much worse.” She chuckled as she gave the other seeker a playful shove. “Don’t worry about it, there will be other opportunities, ones that don’t involved playing pranks on other Cons, a crazy Stunticon and a room full of flammable fuel.” She laughed again, at the same time picking up her pace a bit, still not sure if the hangar would blow up or not with all of those scheming Decepticons in the same room.

Corridors

Once Nightraven caught up with her sister she slowed her pace. She moved up beside Hellion and looked over at her as she offered a smile. Nightraven nodded at Hellion’s comments about there being other opportunities, but she couldn’t help but ask herself when and where. She turned her attention back to the corridor ahead of them. When Hellion gave her a playful shove she nearly stumbled. Nightraven shot her an angry look and then smiled.

“Remember, you’re a lot stronger than I am, so watch it.”

Level 23 - Living Qaurters

After a long journey consisting of numerous twists and turns, the two femme seekers came to halt at their quarters. When they arrived at the base they received their room, but they never got the time to unpack their personal belongings. Nightraven entered the security code they both agreed to and once the door slid open she and Hellion walked inside. The door closed behind them and locked automatically. Nightraven slowly walked to her side of the room and sat down on her berth. She sighed heavily as she looked over the containers of her personal items.

“You know, Helly. I wish when they assign us to one place they’d actually keep us there. I’m really tired of packing this stuff up.”

She lightly kicked one of the containers and sighed again. She raised her head to look at Hellion, a slight smile on her face.

“I’ll give you a hand with your stuff if you give me a hand with mine.”

Hangar Bay

Skywarp listened to Thundercracker as he made his suggestions. The blue seeker was right. Luring would be an obvious ploy that Darkride would surely see right through and know it was Skywarp. Of course, just about anything that 'Warp did to the interrogator would be an obvious prank by the one and only prankster of the Decepticon army. At this point, however, Skywarp didn't really care if Darkride knew it was him or not. The seeker just wanted to humiliate the torturer in front of everyone, but he also didn't want to incur the wrath of Megatron in the process. Plausible deniability would be beneficial.

"Invisibility?" Skywarp replied at Thundercracker's last idea. "Yes, that would be helpful. Unfortunately, the most I can do is teleport overhead and dump the paint on Darkride and then disappear before he even knew what hit him. That way we don't have to worry about someone else walking into a trap by accident or Darkride discovering it."

Skywarp was then interrupted by the appearance of Wildrider. The crazy Stunticon was rambling on about something ridiculous, trying to get a rise out of the seekers. "I don't have time for your attempts at humor, Wildrider," the teleporter responded sternly. "I've got a prank to plan and execute. So, unless you have any good ideas, I suggest you go bother some other mech."

Skywarp then turned back to Thundercracker. "Well, regardless of how I dump the paint on him, I still have to mix it up with a super adhesive so it sticks real good. I'll figure the rest out later." Skywarp turned and glanced back at Astrotrain. "Looks like most of the cubes have been unloaded. I'm going to head down to the storage depot to find what I need. Feel free to join me, 'Cracker. Unless, of course, you have something else to do around here."

Skywarp smiled at his blue friend and then headed for the hangar bay exit. The black and purple seeker couldn't wait to give Darkride the payback he so richly deserved.

Hangar Bay

"An item? What the slag are you talking about?" Thundercracker snapped at Wildrider, despite finally realizing what was up with Nightraven's strange behavior around him. So that's what it is about... slaggit I don't need this now. This was not the first time he found himself at the center of some femme's attention. Back before the war and even after it had began, the original trio of Seekers had garnered plenty of admiration. And even thought Starscream had always gotten the spotlight, neither him or Skywarp had been left in peace. Still, he had never gotten used to it unlike the two others. At least the impression he had got was that both Screamer and Skywarp had been completely comfortable basking in the attention, taking the advantage of it and then tossing aside those they did not care for. Personally Thundercracker had tried to avoid getting reputation like that.

Still it was not something to be solved right now. Darkride still had to pay. And truth to be told, right now he wanted to avoid thinking about the issue further. The blue and silver seeker wasn't particularly fond of any of the Stunticons, all of them being psychotic in some manner. And Wildrider was definately the craziest of the bunch if not as dangerous as Motormaster or annoying as Drag Strip. However, Wildrider was crazy in a way that could greatly help Skywarp's agenda and he wasn't about let that chance to slide.

Giving the shorter Wildrider a friendly push towards Skywarp who was already heading out, Thundercracker set off after his friend. "I am plenty sure your cranium is just about to burst with ideas, right Wildrider? I know you have helped 'warp before so why not now, eh?"

Hangar Bay

Wildrider's galling remarks didn't sit well with the black and purple Seeker, his formerly inquiring tone now replaced with clear, intolerant vexation. The Stunticon had come to expect a negative reply from Skywarp, though, as he did include himself--albeit abruptly--into the Seekers' little mischievous plot, the majority of his input, admittedly, transpiring into aggravating wisecracks. It was not, however, in Wildrider's delirious nature to intentionally suggest anything in regards to his offensive remarks; the dark grey Ferrari's cheerful and self-assured personality traits dictated this. Of course, the same could not be said about the Autobots. The mere sight of those fools evoked many bitter emotions, many callous insults deriving from the Stunticon's vocaliser.

Besides, Wildrider's oscillating attention span didn't allow for the Stunticon to reflect long enough on what he said, no matter what it could have potentially been. The situation's levels of interest and excitement usually determined his verbal outcomes, a factor Skywarp didn't seem to be fully aware of. But that wasn't to say that he was without consideration. It was just somewhat rare and difficult to recognise, given the Ferrari's erraticism.

Thundercracker, however, had evidently let the crude comments pass, much to Wildrider's surprise. He had given the hyperactive Stunticon a friendly push in the exiting Seeker's direction, endorsing Wildrider's involvement through a few spoken words. And while the blue and silver Seeker didn't exactly favour the Ferrari--or any of his fellow Stunticons, for that matter--there was no doubt his chaotic tendencies would prove quite useful in their current setting. Wildrider looked at Thundercracker, his perpetual grin once again seizing his features. “You know, we're gonna have a blast, 'Cracker!” he assured the blue and silver Seeker, giggling away.

The dark grey Decepticon went after Skywarp, quickening his pace, so to find a suitable postion next to the wily prankster. “Do I have any ideas?” Wildrider said, repeating Skywarp's response. “You have already mentioned them!” His optics brightened invitingly as he went into further detail. “Now, correct me if I'm wrong, 'Warp...but you want to make Darkride really suffer, don't you? Well, I could be that distraction that you need!” Wildrider paused shortly before giving Skywarp a confident smirk. “I bet I can distract that creep long enough for you to sneak into his chamber and tinkle with with toys. Or, if you wanna play it safe, I'll lure him out so you can splash your paint all over him. It's your choice 'n' everything, but I know what I'd choose.” The Ferrari grinned this time, hinting towards the former of his suggestion.

Level 23 - Living Quarters

Hellion carefully lifted a small box from her small storage bin, treating it reverently. She peeked inside of it and smile, noting that all of her cy-gars had made the trip to Earth undamaged. The things were slagging hard to come by any more. It was one of the few things that she really treasured, outside of smashing Bot heads in of course. She carefully stashed it under her bunk.

The femme turned her head to see her sister complaining about unpacking. "Well Nightraven, maybe you should drag less stuff with you from assignment to assignment," she teased her as she reached into one of her storage bins to pull out a bag full of data pads. "When do you find the time to do all of this reading anyway?" She began placing the pads on a shelf on her sister's side.

"Just make sure you're careful around my flask when you're unpacking my stuff. That's the last bit of real energon I had and I don't want it to go wasted spilling all over the floor or anything."

Level 23 – Living Quarters

Nightraven removed a few small trinkets from Hellion’s storage bin before she came across her sister’s prized little possession. She took out the flask and swirled it slightly in the air. The contents were sought after by just about every Transformer, so she certainly didn’t want it to go to waste either. Nightraven looked over at Hellion as she gestured with the flask.

“I find the time. There’s always time.”

She then changed the subject. Nightraven did not wish to linger on her off duty habits; Hellion would just find them boring and menial anyway.

“So where did you want to hide it this time? And just when are you planning on drinking it?”

She looked up at her sister, before she went back to work on her storage bin. After a few minutes she removed a small canister. Nightraven looked it over, not recognizing it. With a quizzical look she questioned Hellion.

“Hey, Helly, what do you keep in here? I don’t remember seeing it ever.”

(OOC: Just to let y'all know, Ember's given me the green light to play Screamer, so without further ado...)

Hangar Bay

Starscream passingly observed the Decepticons unload the storage cubes from within Astrotrain's cargo hold, the efforts of their servile task creeping towards its dreary conclusion. With his arms folded and sleek frame sustained by the wall of which he was propped up against nonchalantly, the Seeker Commander gave very little indication of any foreseeable endeavours regarding the tediously repetitive labour that was taking place. As far as Starscream was concerned, the duty at hand would quash any lingering belligerent impulses that may have gone unsated during their raid on the oil platform. Or at least, he hoped it would. More importantly, perhaps, it would permit him to collect and reflect on his thoughts relating to the attack more critically.

Besides, Starscream was not predisposed to assist in degrading tasks such as the one being currently performed. Work like it, and of a similar nature, was far beneath him, as his talents advocated to that of more significant functions, of more grandiose circumstances. He could hardly expend precious fuel lifting cargo--no, that would not justify the uses of his outstanding capabilities.

His processors whirred with the events that had transpired on the humans' isolated structure earlier that day. It was a foray of considerable success, the Seeker's unit accomplishing the mission in a highly efficient fashion. The fuel was procured to maximum capacity, and the crafty abduction of the small Autobot spy, Bumblebee--a swift and surprising manoeuvre--served to bolster their achievements, further solidifying their overall triumph. Moreover, the yellow-coloured miniature's mind was sure to abound with crucial information the Decepticons would unquestionably utilise to their personal suitability. This potentially efficacious asset would be of the utmost convenience, enabling them to hasten the total elimination of the Autobots presently occupying this world.

Starscream smirked satisfactorily at this thought, his expression alluding to that of diabolical delight. His maliciously assembled features, however, quickly faded when Megatron transmitted a message to the Seeker Commander, summoning his presence to the Command Center to deliver a complete report on the fuel raid.

Really, was there no rest for the wicked?

With an exasperated sigh, Starscream opened his comlink and replied promptly--the Decepticon tyrant would be greatly anticipating the results of the mission. >>”But of course, Mighty Megatron. I shall arrive momentarily.”<<

Command Center

Starscream strode elegantly into the Command Center, a composed dignifiedness clearly evident in the Seeker's strut. He took note of Soundwave--the communications officer's eternal presence in Megatron's close proximity validating its imperishable status. Though Soundwave's everlasting position beside the Decepticon leader stimulated unrefined remarks, formed, and swirling about in his processors, the Seeker Commander opted to remain on his best behaviour. Now was not the time to engage in self-satisfying derision.

“You called, Oh, Great Leader?”

Corridors – Outside the Hangar Bay

Skywarp listened to Wildrider as he rambled on and on. The crazy Stunticon wanted to help him out, apparently, but ‘Warp was in no mood to deal with his overzealous sense of insanity. Still, Wildrider was helpful to him in the past and could be useful in this situation if the teleporter played his techno-cards right.

“So, you have ideas, huh?” Skywarp replied, looking over at Wildrider. “Okay. Well, I’ve already thought of messing with Darkride’s toys and decided against it. He’s got an Autobot prisoner in his chambers that he’s probably torturing as we speak. I’m sure Megatron is eagerly waiting to see if Darkride gets any useful information out of the puny Autobot. If I destroy his gadgets then Darkride can’t finish the interrogation and I risk angering Megatron in the process. I may not be the brightest energon cube in the pack, but I'm not completely dense.”

Skywarp turned a corner and headed towards the nearest turbo lift. “No, the paint idea will work best. Darkride enjoys pain and suffering too much, even on himself. Like Thundercracker suggested before, I need to humiliate him in front of everyone. Splattering him with an ultra sticky paint of different colors will work best. He won’t be able to easily clean himself off and will be reminded of the humiliation for many cycles to come.” Skywarp smiled with glee at the thought of a multi-colored Darkride walking the halls or simply sulking away in his torture chamber. Nothing would make the prankster happier at this point.

Approaching one of the turbo lifts, Skywarp quickly stepped inside as the doors slid open. He turned and faced Wildrider and Thundercracker, still smiling at the anticipation of what was in store for the interrogator. “So, you guys going to get in? The storage depot is down on Sub-level 4 and I’ve got paint to mix!”

Corridors – Outside the Hangar Bay

With his jovial aspect dulled--only marginally--Wildrider's head slanted limply to the side, his head spike dangling non-threateningly in front of his shoulder. "Aw..." he let out conspicuously, voicing his discontentment for Skywarp's finalised conception. "Now where's the fun in that? I mean, it'll still be good, but not that good."

While Wildrider's ruinous bearing implored the more extreme method previously expressed by the teleporter, Skywarp had detailed his point through sound reasoning. The Seeker's sensible ruling would certainly still justify the practical applications of their now more subdued prank that was about to be set in motion; the joke itself had not been lost in frivolity. Not to the three participants, anyway.

In all of this impish activity, too, Megatron, of course, had to be taken into account. Had the Seekers and the Stunticon unanimously agreed upon the original plot, Megatron's considerable fury would've been directed solely at their intervening buffoonery--not a prospect even the disregardful Ferrari wouldn't have liked to endure. In fact, to intrude in such critical affairs would be to proclaim a state of unmitigated lunacy, paralleling that of even Wildrider's absurdity. And that was something the black and purple Seeker wanted to avoid at all costs.

"Ah, slag it," the Stunticon remarked, his boredom in need of amusing alleviation quite obviously. "It'll be good... And anyway, I'll spice things if we have to! Yeah!" The animated Decepticon's face lit up at his own thought.

With a delighted appearance, Wildrider pitched the blue and silver Seeker a quick glance. "Hey, Thundercracker! You comin' or not? We don't have all day!"

The animated Stunticon then dashed toward the turbo lift and bounced ungainly inside, almost colliding into the artful trickster. "You know, 'Warp," Wildrider began, collecting himself with an insinuating grin smeared across his faceplate, "if you don't have the ball bearings to go through with it, then I'll colour the slagger for ya!" The grey Ferrari emitted a grating cackle from within his vocaliser as he slapped Skywarp cordially on the back.

Interrogation Chamber

The pain must have been excruciating for the minibot. After only an hour of hanging there on the rack Bumblebee let Darkride know just who went to Cybertron, and as the interrogator promised he took Bumblebee off the device. The method however was not what the spy had in mind. Lubricant flowed steadily from the tears in his outer skin. The pain of being torn from the hooks forcibly nearly caused Bumblebee to lose consciousness.

Darkride carried Bumblebee’s limp form to a pair of chains hanging from the ceiling. He carefully placed the minibot’s wrists in the binders letting him dangle in mid air.
“Don’t worry, the pain will subside.” Darkride lifted Bumblebee’s head by the chin and looked into his dim optics. “This will only last as long as you desire. Give me the information I ask for and I promise I will let you go.”

Bumblebee struggled against his grip, but to no avail; he finally looked back into Darkride’s optics and spit a wad of lubricant in his face. The interrogator released his chin and smiled. “Defiant. I’m surprised.” Darkride stepped away from the suspended Autobot and made his way to a nearby table. He stood with his back to Bumblebee as he finally spoke.

“I want you to give me the location of the Autobot base.”

Straining from the movement, Bumblebee looked at Darkride. “You’re crazy. I would never divulge that information to you. You might as well just kill me now.”

Darkride smiled at the response. “I know I’m crazy, Bumblebee, but it’s a good kind of crazy.” With his back still to his prisoner he walked to a small alcove where he pulled out a container. He then moved to stand in front of Bumblebee so he could see the contents of it. The yellow mech’s optics widened at what he saw. “No, don’t, please!”

The corners of Darkride’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “If you don’t give me what I want then you will kill this human.”

Command Center

Megatron gazed from his command chair down at Starscream as at last the seeker arrived. Soundwave remained silently at his post, but as always he monitored the goings on around him. The Decepticon leader allowed his cold gaze to rest on Starscream for a moment, making the other Decepticon wait for a long, uncomfortable minute before he finally spoke.

“You have returned from your mission. I require a report on what happened and what resource you were able to retrieve.” He kept his gaze focused on Starscream, allowing a bit of annoyance to slip into his tone. “I expect such reports to be made immediately following such missions. The fact that you had to be summoned is just another sign of the lax attitudes and sloppy work that the Decepticons here have been plagued by.”

*

Level 23 – Living Quarters

Hellion plucked a roll of industrial strength adhesive tape from her box before taking the flask from Nightraven. She glanced around the room before moving over to the workstation against the wall. She pulled out a drawer on it, taking the flask and taping it to the underside of the drawer. “That should keep it fairly hidden, at least from anyone making a quick and casual search.” She shoved the drawer back into the station.

The femme looked back over at her sister as she held up another item from her storage bin. Her optics widened a bit as she moved over to quickly snatched it away from her. “That’s nothing important. Just some….things I’ve picked up along the way. Nothing you need to worry about.” She placed it on a table on her side of the room before digging back into Nightraven’s things to pull out more data pads. “So how much more of your stuff do we have to unpack still?”