The Energon Pub

Decepticon HQ - Repair Bay

Thundercracker's CR chamber let out an audible hiss as it opened, allowing the blue seeker to step out. His damages had been minor but the CR chamber helped further to balance his circuitry to full operative level after being hit by a disruptor pulse. Awakening from his slumber within the CR chamber would have been far more pleasant had Blitzwing not been present in the repair bay.

"Nice crash 'Cracker." Blitzwing smirked, grinning wickedly. "Though try to hit an Autobot next time, eh?"

Thundercracker sighed and moved quickly past the triplechanger without responding to his taunts. He didn't need the loud-mouthed commando to remind him of his failure, instead he contacted Skywarp. >>"Back in the business again. Where are you 'Warp?"<<

"Suit yourself." Blitzwing snorted and turned his gaze back towards Darkride's CR chamber. "You however... are not getting away that easily."

Corridors / Repair Bay

Skywarp reappeared in an empty hallway not far from the repair bay. The smile on his faceplate couldn't have gotten any wider as he anticipated the eventual results that his latest prank would have on his nemesis, Darkride. The interrogator would pay dearly for striking an elite seeker and humiliating him in front of the others. That much was certain. All 'Warp had to do now was be patient and wait for the inevitable to happen.

As Skywarp neared the repair bay door, he received Thundercracker's comm. Still smiling, 'Warp swiftly entered the room and approached his blue friend. "Hey, I'm right here, 'Cracker! Good to see you up and about again." The prankster patted the blue seeker on the shoulder before looking past him towards Darkride's CR chamber. "So, is the little slagger still sleeping in there? I've got a big surprise for him once he's out. It's already set up and everything. Ha ha. Come with me, 'Cracker. I'll tell you all about it."

Motioning for Thundercracker to follow him, Skywarp walked back towards the doorway and entered the corridor again, barely able to contain his excitement.

Outside Main Entrance

Long Haul pulled up alongside Scrapper, Hook and the other Constructicons as they returned from their successful mission to retrieve the ore sample. Unlike past excursions, Long Haul wasn't required to carry anything back as the ore was small enough for Scrapper to keep with him in his own personal storage. Instead, the green dump truck was tasked only with setting up the drill that burrowed down to the sample itself. It was a nice change of pace from the usual job of lugging stuff around, if not an overly exciting one. Now came the job of analyzing the ore and determining what use it could be to the Decepticon cause.

Long Haul transformed to robot mode and walked up next to Scrapper. "Hey, boss, did you notice all the smoke in the distance as we came back? It looks like we missed out on something big that happened while we were away."

Corridors – Outside the Command Center

A triple coloured figure progressed through the corridors of the Decepticons' headquarters in a smooth, almost soundless fashion, unremittingly approaching the designated location that was the command center. Rapid footfalls, although soft in volume and relatively composed in temperament, dominated his motion; an abrupt summoning had already been demanded, consequently marshalling his structure into brisk activity. Megatron was not one to greet a belated appearance with welcoming formalities, especially given their present state.

Upon his arrival--punctuated by an exceptional surreptitiousness--the visiting mech observed the countenances of a couple of Decepticons he had passed by. Significant quantities of frustration and mortification possessed their expressions, and even their movements were greatly haunted by these negative emotions. Not to mention, also, they displayed the stinging impositions of minor wounds. But why? Why were his fellow Decepticons exhibiting such an aggregated expression of displeasure? Had they lost an important battle?

Just what exactly happened here? Miserable faces and wounds... Well, I suppose I will find out very soon...

Command Center

As soon as the command center's door granted Spinister access, revealing the elaborate room in which it concealed, the helicopter entered immediately, optics seeking out the powerful bulk that was Megatron. However his optics were instantly offended by the treacherous visage of Starscream. Evaluating the situation more minutely, and considering the grave dispositions of both Decepticons, Spinister arrived at the conclusion that Megatron had, yet again, endured another failure produced exclusively by his egotistical Air Commander.

Typical, really.

Withdrawing his distasteful glance from Starscream, Spinister offered his leader a crisp salute. “Greetings, Lord Megatron. Please excuse my lack of knowledge on the current state of affairs, but I hope all is well. And now that I'm here, how may I be of service?”

Command Center

Soundwave intercepted the signal from Scrapper. He sent a brief acknowledgement and activated the doors before turning to Megatron. “The Constructicons have returned Lord Megatron. Scrapper reports mission successful.”

“Excellent.” Megatron knew he need not give any additional orders to Scrapper. The ever efficient Constructicon would likely give his report once he had his team sorted out. It was the type of efficiency and thinking that his particular outpost needed more of. He shouldn’t have to micromanage what was until recently such a backwater world.

His attention was then drawn to the arrival of Spinister. He turned away from the viewscreen, knowing that Soundwave would be recording and observing everything coming from the bug inside the former Autobot prisoner. He nodded as the other Decepticon saluted, leaning forward to address him. “Spinister, I have summoned you here to assist with the infiltration of this planet. The Decepticons stationed here lack your subtlety and ability to stay unnoticed. Hopefully your mere presence will rub off on them.” Megatron sat back in his chair. “For now adopt an alternate mode suitable for this world. I will have a mission for you shortly.”

With Spinister sent away wit his orders the Decepticon leader turned his attention back to the video feed from the Autobot base. A frown formed on his face as he saw an unfamiliar Autobot working on the prone form of Bumblebee. He had been hoping that a more prominent Autobot would be working on him. It seemed that they were going to have to settle for quite a minor victory.

“Device in danger of being discovered,” Soundwave reported.

“Very well. Activate the explosive. A pity that we can only manage such a minor victory from this, but it is better than the alternative.” He glanced over at Starscream before turning back to the viewscreen. There was a flash of light before it broke up into static and then blackness as Soundwave deactivated it.

Skies above the base

This, thought Ramjet as he spied the still smoldering debris of a recent battle outside Decepticon HQ, is not good.

Not good may have even been an understatement, and the day had been excellent before that. Ramjet had slipped off of base for a little unauthorized fun, namely in his guise as a US military jet, colliding with a Chinese Passenger plane over the Pacific. He was sure he would have gotten away with it too. Even if someone up the chain of command had noticed, he hadn't broken the Infiltration Protocols, and he'd managed to sow a bit of discord, so he probably wouldn't have gotten more than a little lecture. Being off base during an attack... that was a whole other story.

"Slag me for scrap... I am so fragged," he cursed as he dropped down near the escape hatch he had used as an exit and transformed. He reached out, placed his hands to either side of the door and hung his head, releasing a great sigh as he did so. "What do I do now" <clang!> What <clang!> do <clang!> I <clang!> do <clang!> NOW <clang!><clang!><clang!>

Without even realizing it, the seeker had begun bashing his reinforced head into the door. Over and over, harder and harder, until he had left a huge cone shaped dent in the steel. "Slaggin' pit spawned rustbucket! What are you doing?" he demanded, snapping himself out of his orgy of self-flagellation. "No point in making it worse."

He typed in his access code, and despite its' now warped shape and some groans of protest from the mechanism, the door slid aside, revealing a dark hallway ahead. If I can make it to the medbay without getting busted, I can make like I was in CR and maybe, just maybe I can get by with this frag-up with my plating intact.

Sticking to the less used maintenance corridors and access tubes, Ramjet made his way to just outside the repair bay. By the time he had arrived, he had almost convinced himself that no one would notice his absence, and that his plan for covering up would work. He was feeling, if not good, then at least moderately hopeful, right up until he heard Skywarp talking to Thundercracker in the repair bay. He glanced quickly around the corner and caught sight of Blitzwing, and who knows who else was out of his field of vision. Then reality came crashing down on him again: of course there would be people in the med-bay after a battle...

Ramjet put his back against the wall just outside the door, concealing himself in the shadows, and opened a very low power, short range comm channel... maybe his fellow seekers would help him out, even if they weren't his coneheaded cronies.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker - I'm in a bad way and need a favor on the down-low. I was off base, unauthorized, during the battle or whatever it was. Think you guys can get the med-bay empty long enough for me to slip into a CR chamber and play like I was there the whole time? I'll owe you," he transmitted , hating that he was putting himself in this position, but not seeing any other choice. The other jets could either help him and hold it over his head, or frag him right here and now. He had no control either way.

Corridor next to the Medbay

"Well don't you look smug." Thundercracker smirked as Skywarp came to retrieve him from the medbay with a wide grin on his face. Obviously Skywarp was very pleased with whatever he had prepared for Darkride's dismay.

"So? I know you are just bursting to tell -" Thundercracker's sentence was cut short by the transmission by Ramjet. >>"Eh... Screamer was there in person Ramjet, I don't think we can cover that for you."<< He replied to Ramjet and gave Skywarp a sympatethic look. "He's screwed."
________________________________________________

Medbay

"Enough of this already." Blitzwing muttered to himself and walked over to Darkride's CR chamber. Flexing his neck joints and cracking his finger servos, the triplechanger placed his arms around the pod Darkride was closed in and began to shake it violently, grinning gleefully as he did so. "Rise and shine ye sloth! Boss mechs want to have a word with ye!"

Med Bay

Darkride’s optics lit up brightly as Blitzwing began to violently shake his CR chamber. His hand pressed against the glass of the chamber door as he tried to steady himself within the pod. Once the triplechanger stopped the door to the chamber hissed open revealing the blood stained form of the interrogator.

The dark purple mech gave Blitzwing a cold glare as he stepped out of the pod. He had heard what the triplechanger had said and was unsure as to why Megatron would want to see him. After all, he had done exactly what he was told to do by the Decepticon leader. In any case he’d give Blitzwing the benefit of the doubt.

“So Megatron wants to see me after I did what he told me to do? Interesting.”

Darkride tilted his head slightly to one side as he looked up at Blitzwing.

“Well now, let’s not keep him waiting.”

He graciously gestured for Blitzwing to lead the way to the Command Center.

****

Corridor Next to the Med Bay

“Hellion you NEED to go. You look like scrap.”

Nightraven had practically dragged her sister to the Med Bay, which was a feat in and of itself, as Hellion was much stronger than she was. She stopped short when she took notice of Thundercracker and Skywarp just outside of the Med Bay. Nightraven let go of Hellion and made her way over to the two Seekers.

“I, uh, hope your circuits weren’t too affected by that disruptor pulse, Thundercracker.”

She regarded Skywarp slightly and quickly turned her attention back to the blue Seeker.

Med Bay

Darkride's behavior wasn't exactly what Blitzwing had expected after all that had happened. Which did confuse him. "Uh, it was planned? Well this is ankward..."

The confusion soon gave way to a more characteristic behavior for the commando - blinding rage. "Fraggin' empties!" He growled and punched his fist through the CR chamber Darkride had just left. Realizing what he had done as the fluids from the chamber splattered all over him, prompted Blitzwing to start swearing even more. Breaking a CR chamber meant somekind of a punishment for certain. In his case it would very likely be guard duty or something similarly uneventful.

"It would be slagging nice to know such a thing beforehand for once." He muttered angrily and shoved his way past Darkride.

"You know the way. Don't let me slow you down. They probably want to award you a medal." He snarled and stormed out of the medbay, elbowing his way through the group of seekers in the corridor near the medbay.

Command Center

Megatron folded his hands together as the explosive detonated and the signal was lost. Now there was little to do but plan their next move.

Soundwave silently continued to monitor all communications and base security. After the recent lapse in security he was redoubling his vigilance. It was rare for Megatron to give second chances, let alone third ones. He would not fail him again.

As he monitored the security channels he noticed the return of Ramjet. A quick scan of current duty assignments indicated he had not received any missions outside of the base recently. The seeker apparently had gone out of the base without permission. The thought was confirmed by his banging his head on the door in apparent frustration. This would be an excellent opportunity to embarrass one of the supposedly ‘elite’ seekers and draw attention away from his earlier mistakes.

The communications specialist turned to face Megatron. “Ramjet has returned to base. No record of off base authorization located. Subject damaged the main hangar door upon entering the base.”

Megatron frowned. It seemed that another Decepticon would have to be taught some discipline. “Dispatch Rumble and Frenzy to bring him to me. This lack of discipline will not be tolerated in this base any longer.”

Soundwave stood up and ejected the two Decepticons. “Rumble, Frenzy: Eject, Operation: Retrieval.”

The two Decepticons transformed and landed on the floor standing next to each other. “Ramjet huh? I wonder what that lunkhead did this time,” Rumble said to Frenzy.

“He ain’t exactly the brightest con around. What do ya expect from a guy who just rams inta things with his head?” Frenzy walked out of the room with Rumble as they began to look around for the wayward seeker.

*

Just outside the Medbay

Hellion reluctantly let her sister drag her to the medbay. Really her injuries weren’t that bad, at least she didn’t think so. She had a lot worse in the past. It was probably because Nightraven hadn’t been in as many battles as she had so any damage looked terrible to her. She played along though since she would never hear the end of it otherwise.

The seeker rolled her optics when she spotted Thundercracker and Skywarp loitering just outside of the room. Just as she knew she would she watched Nighty walk right over to Thundercracker she could imagine that her fuel pump skipped a beat when she saw him. The femme simply sighed and stepped inside of the medbay.

Medbay

Hellion saw Blitzwing talking to Darkride. She didn’t like either of them and really had no interest in talking to them either. She brushed past them, making sure to bump into Darkride. “Outta the way freakshow,” she muttered at him as she walked over to the nearest still functioning CR Chamber. The femme quickly programmed it and stepped inside to get her repairs/

Corridor outside Med-bay

It was turning into a seeker convention in and around the med bay. Between that and Thundercracker's reply, Ramjet quickly came to the realization that any attempt to hide out in a CR chamber was doomed to failure.

"Frag me sideways," Ramjet grumbled, stepping from the shadows to join the seekers, just in time to nearly be run down by Blitzwing as he stormed off. Well at least someone is having nearly as bad a day as me, he thought.

"Hey guys," the white seeker said joining the trio of Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Nightraven. "Anyone want to make a bet on what Megatron and Screamer do to me when they realize I wasn't even here for the... wait an astrosecond... was it a raid or what? Uhm... What happened here anyway?"

Corridors - Outside Med Bay

Skywarp entered the hallway and was about to tell Thundercracker all about the prank he had set up in Darkride's chamber when the teleporter was interrupted by multiple sources. First, the wayward Ramjet appeared looking for help in hiding the fact he had been off base without permission. 'Warp found this to be very amusing, especially his buddy's response that the conehead was screwed. "You got that right, 'Cracker!"

Nightraven then approached them and lovingly wanted to know if Thundercracker was okay. How touching, Skywarp thought as he face palmed himself. While he did that, an angry Blitzwing stormed past all of them, knocking into an inattentive 'Warp as he went. The black and purple seeker decided to let that one go. The triplechanger looked as if he wanted to dismantle something and 'Warp didn't want that something to be him. At least not before he saw the results of his prank.

Ramjet then continued asking questions as Skywarp became more and more irritated with all of the interruptions. He just wanted to tell his blue friend about the prank and how it would be one of the best he's ever pulled off. Apparently, that would have to wait a while longer.

"Well, Ramjet, my guess is you'll be scrapped and used for spare parts for the rest of us. I'll have to paint over all the white to match my color scheme, of course," Skywarp replied to the conehead, sarcastically. "As for what happened here, the Autobots attacked our base in order to rescue Bumblebee, which they apparently succeeded in doing. So, I'm sure you're not the only one that will catch some grief from the higher ups."

Skywarp then returned his attention to Thundercracker, hoping to finally tell him about the prank. Unfortunately, none other than Darkride, himself, was leaving the med bay at that very moment, forcing 'Warp to again reframe from divulging anything just yet. Instead, Skywarp simply shot the interrogator a dirty look before turning to face his seeker comrades once more.

Corridors - Outside Med Bay

"It was nothing irreversible. I am fine." Thundercracker replied to Nightraven, somewhat uncomfortable for all the attention the lithe femme was giving to him. Especially in front of all the others, which was something that made him a target of jokes among the other seekers.

Hoping that only Skywarp had noticed Nightraven's questionable concern towards his well being, Thundercracker's thoughts were disrupted by Blitzwing's elbow that shoved him against the wall.

"What's his problem this time?" The blue seeker groaned as he straightened up. He was not about to go after the triplechanger. Blitzwing's nasty temper was well known and the fact that he didn't stand a chance against the commando one on one or even with help from Skywarp or Ramjet in a confined space like this wasn't exactly all that appealing. He'd rather wait, once the triplechanger had cooled off he wasn't all that bad anyhow.

Not much after Blitzwing had stormed out of the medbay, Darkride could be seen leaving it as well. Once the interrogator was far enough from them, Thundercracker turned to face Skywarp who seemed to be busy trying to freak out Ramjet. "Looks like you are not the only one Darkride pissed off."

Med Bay

As Darkride made his way to the door behind Blitzwing, Hellion entered the facility and purposefully bumped into the interrogator. He stopped for a moment to follow her with his optics, a slight smirk forming on his face. Oh the things I could do to you, Seeker.

He broke away form his thoughts and proceeded out into the corridor.

Corridor Outside of the Med Bay

When Blitzwing exited the Med Bay he made sure to plow through the group of Seekers knocking into Skywarp and effectively elbowing Thundercracker into the nearby wall. Before she could move out of the Commando’s way, Nightraven was knocked off her feet to the floor.

“Charming.”

As she prepared to get up a hand was offered to assist her. Just before she took his hand she looked up to see it was Darkride’s. Nightraven quickly withdrew her hand and picked herself up on her own.

“I’m fine.”

Darkride stepped closer to the femme, the corner of his mouth curling up into a devilish smirk.

“Indeed you are.”

His smirk widened slightly as he slowly licked his lips. Nightraven took a step back, her face twisted in disgust at the interrogator’s demented behavior.

Darkride straightened up to his full height and turned to look directly into Thundercracker’s optics, at the same time the smirk on his face spread into a wide psychotic grin. After a moment of optic contact the interrogator proceeded down the corridor towards the Command Center.

The black femme shook slightly.

“That guy really creeps me out.”

Ramjet cringed internally with every comment Skywarp made, but of course he couldn't let the others see how shaken he was, he had a reputation to maintain after all.

"My parts might do you some good 'warp. Maybe you wouldn't be such a nancy with a real mech's spares to toughen you up," Ramjet commented with a smirk. He was looking forward to a nice friendly argument to keep his mind off his impending doom when he noticed the exchange between Darkride and Nightraven.

"Looks like he wants to do more than creep you out 'raven," the conehead chortled.

Corridor - Outside Med Bay

"Well, it doesn't take much to piss off Blitzwing now does it?" Skywarp responded to Thundercracker as Ramjet then proceeded to taunt the teleporter. 'Warp could tell that deep down under that tough mech exterior the conehead was worried about his fate for leaving the base without permission. The prankster couldn't help but grin as he took great strides in exasperating the white seeker's anxieties.

"Perhaps, Ramjet, but we'll see who the real nancy is once Megatron and 'Screamer get a hold of you. I'm willing to bet that you'll be leaking lubricants all over the floor then! That is, of course, if you even have any fluids left to leak! Ha! Ha!"

Skywarp's attention was then drawn to the uneasy exchange of words between Nightraven and Darkride. Once the interrogator had left for the Command Center, 'Warp gave a reassuring look to the femme seeker. "Don't worry, Nightraven. The creep will soon get what's coming to him. I can promise you that."

Entering the Base

"Indeed, Long Haul, it seems that there was some kind of hostile action." Scrapper mused as the Constructicons re-entered the Base. "But the base appears to be uncompromised..." Scrapper looks around, and fails to see any sign of damage to this outpost, although he does see one emergency hatch with a rather large dent in it. More likely the work of a clumsy Decepticon than an enemy.

"As the base is intact, its unlikely it was a major engagement. But it could have implications for the Infiltration Protocols, so we had best get this analysis done as soon as possible." Scrapper knew there would be grumbling at this, several members of the team would be looking for a break after the excursion to the wilderness, but at the least he had to get Mixmaster and Scavenger working on this sample.

Lab Facilities

Scrapper checked the lab up and down as he entered it, satisfied that everything was as the team had left it. He'd been worried that someone like Swindle might have appropriated some equipment, or a prankster like Skywarp might have messed with the setup Hook had spend such care setting up. But it seemed that the warriors here had some sense of decorum, probably due to Megatrons presence.

"Alright, everythings still set up. Hook, take the sample and split it into 4-quinton sub samples. We give one to Mixmaster, one to Scavenger, put one through a standard Energon filter and one through the modified ones I developed. I want to report to Megatron within the cycle on the viability of this new ore."

Command Center

As Starscream watched the screen suddenly flash then go blank he made a mental note. He was impressed with the operation, the idea of hiding an explosive inside an Autobot prisoner was brilliant and he chided himself for not thinking of such an obvious plan. Of course he would never say such a thing, and he merely kept a look of disdain.

"A crude, but effective means of assassination." He mused. "A shame we don't have access to more Autobots, we could spread dissension in their ranks by merely having all recovered prisoners be potential living bombs."

He turned away from the screen when the report of Ramjet's unauthorized day trip came through. He scowled. That one was a loose canon and rarely seemed to consider the outcome of his actions, if he even thought about them at all. Indeed, Starscream often thought that in order to ensure his nosecone was so well reinforced that critical brain capacity had to be removed for it. Clearly the lack of intelligent processing was evidence of such a possibility. Nevertheless, it appeared that Starscream was starting to have trouble within his Seeker ranks, they were a bit undisciplined in the last action, far from his expectations for them. After Ramjet arrived he was going to assemble his troops and reinforce with them what he expected from them.

Corridor Outside of the Med Bay

If Blitzwing's behavior had irritated Thundercracker, Darkride's offer of help to Nightraven followed by the interrogator getting on Thundercracker's face - infuriated him. Had he been as impulsive as some of the other seekers, he would have attacked Darkride without thinking about the consequences. But he wasn't like his brother or Ramjet. Attacking Darkride would not have accomplished anything. It would have just gotten him into trouble. There had to be another way.

"I sure hope your prank will get to him. Scum like him shouldn't have place in Megatron's grand vision." Thundercracker finally addressed Skywarp, after glaring daggers at the interrogator until the blue seeker was certain Darkride couldn't hear him. "If not... well, there has to be something else. Accidents happen." A more permanent solution.

Corridor Outside the Med Bay

Nightraven glared back at Ramjet after he suggested the interrogator was interested in more than unnerving her. She moved in close to stand directly in front of the coneheaded Seeker.

“It’s comments like that that make me realize why you spend your nights alone, Ramjet.”

She quickly turned away from him and addressed Thundercraker and Skywarp, offering the blue Seeker a slight smile.

“If you’ll excuse me.”

She then moved away from the gathered group and made her way down the corridor. After all she did have more unpacking to do.

Command Center

Darkride continued down the corridors until he and Blitzwing had finally made it to the Command Center. The interrogator plastered on a faux smile and followed the Commando into the large room. The dark purple mech made his way to the center of the room stopping directly in front of Megatron’s throne; he bowed deeply at the waist as he addressed the Decepticon Leader.

“My Liege. I was told that you wished to have an audience with me. Please excuse my ignorance, but if it wasn’t for your trusted Commando, I would never have known you wanted to see me.”

Darkride offered Megatron a devilish grin as he waited for the Decepticon Lord’s response.

Command Center

Blitzwing had arrived the command center feeling restless. After saluting Megatron, he had merely stepped back and allowed Darkride to walk. It hadn't gone as he had thought it would. And now Darkride was pretty much turning the situation to his advantage, embarrassing the triplechanger at the same time. Glaring Darkride angrily through the visor covering his optics, wild ideas about how to have his vengeance began to form within the veteran commando's twisted mind. However it wasn't the time yet.

Well, he was not going to take all the blame. "I apologize lord Megatron. Commander Starscream wanted to question Darkride after he was revived. There were signs of battle in his chambers and the prisoner was gone. No alert about a security breach was made."

Command Center

Megatron glared down at the two newly arrived Decepticons. He should have been used to this little game, Decepticons trying to curry favor or humiliate fellow Decepticons. It was typical of some of the brutes and simpletons that were required for his army. They were good warrior and adequate soldiers, but this petty bickering and one-upmanship did nothing but waste valuable time and resources. Both of these Decepticons would have to be taught a lesson.

“I command this base Blitzwing, not Starscream. Had I wanted to question Darkride I would have summoned him myself. You will return to the medical bay and activate drones to repair the CR Chamber you damaged in your fit of anger.” Soundwave was very closely monitoring all security equipment. He knew his last failure had cost him some considerable ground in Megatron’s optics and was reporting every minor incident to regain that ground. “Then you will go to the main entrance for guard duty. Guard it from the inside and check everyone who enters and exists for authorization. I will likely be there shortly and I expect you there and ready.”

Megatron shifted his gaze to Darkride. “Take what little pride you can in my foresight and planning to salvage some sort of victory from you failure Darkride. A prisoner was taken from your very lair and you were beaten senseless. A true victory or accomplishment would have been capturing or killing another Autobot. Only the fact that you managed to install the device I requested inside of the prisoner keeps me from putting you in a stasis chamber until I can find some use for you. Return to the interrogation chamber and repair whatever damaged was caused there. If I want to see you again I will summon you personally.”

*

Corridor Outside the Med Bay

Frenzy and Rumble were still joking back and forth when they rounded a corner and spotted Ramjet amongst a bunch of other seekers.

“Hey conehead! Megatron wants to see ya in person in the command center right away.”

Rumble smiled and added. “If yer lucky all he will do is shove that cone head of yers right up your exhaust port. The boss ain’t in a good mood and I think he’s ready to dish out some punishment.” Both of the cassetticons broke into a fit of laughter. They always did enjoy seeing someone get brutalized at the wrong end of Megatron’s rage. The big guy didn’t often cut loose anymore, but when he did it was a sight to behold.

*

Lab Facilities

Hook entered the lab with the other Constructicons. He checked the equipment he had been calibrating earlier. He was relieved to see it had only deviated by .001%, which could be chalked up to the planet’s rotation throwing the device off. Still, it wasn’t acceptable to him. With some quick adjustments the variance was eliminated. He turned to listen as Scrapper gave out orders.

“Of course Scrapper. It will be sliced into 4 perfect Quinton parts.” The surgical engineer carefully took the specimen and removed it from its case. He took it over to a work table and grabbed the precision laser cutter. He also grabbed a specialized optic piece which he placed over his visor. The device allowed him to zoom in on the specimen at a micron level. The cuts would be precise and perfect, a necessary precaution with such an unknown substance.

After careful study of the sample for several minutes he determined the best places for his cuts. Activating the laser he slowly and carefully sliced it into two perfect halve. Hook then ran additional scans, double checking on how the next cut should go. Once he was again satisfied he performed the second cut, leaving the specimen in perfect fourths. “As your ordered Scrapper, the specimen is now in 4 perfect and identical pieces for further testing.”

Corridors Outside Med Bay

Skywarp grinned at Thundercracker. "Oh, it'll get to him, alright. Let's just say Darkride won't be so dark once my prank befalls him. Ha! Ha! In fact, we may need to wear shaded visors just to look at him!" The teleporter patted the blue seeker on the shoulder as the smile on his faceplate grew larger and larger by the astrosecond.

It was then that Nightraven excused herself and walked away down the hall. "Wow, she's really infatuated with you, 'Cracker," Skywarp teased. "Wish I could get a piece of aft like that. Heck, I'd settle for at least a friendly smile." His tasteless comments were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Rumble and Frenzy, who were looking for the wayward Ramjet. Megatron wanted to have a word with the conehead.

"See, I told you, Ramjet! Spare parts! I've got first dibs!"

Lab Facilities

Long Haul brought up the rear and entered the labs after the rest of the Constructicons. Scrapper had given the others assignments regarding the ore sample they had retrieved, but there didn't seem to be much for a lowly materials transport to do. Regardless, Long Haul decided to make himself useful and made his way to the back corner of the facility where a pile of broken equipment had been discarded during the initial lab set up. I guess I should clean this mess up. It would look bad if Megatron were to make a surprise visit and find all this scrap lying around.

Long Haul moved to a nearby terminal and activated some cleaning drones that quickly set about gathering up all of the junk from the corner. Long Haul then transformed to dump truck mode and allowed the drones to fill his bed with the garbage. Once they were done, the Constructicon transport rolled out of the labs and headed for the waste disposal chute where he could dump his load.

Corridors Outside Med Bay

"I hope he isn't smart enough to avoid your trap then." Thundercracker said to Skywarp, flashing a grin.

Then came the comments about Nightraven. Thundercracker still wasn't comfortable with the attention the lithe femme was giving to him. He had to admit that she was quite pleasing to one's optical sensors though. He was not going to get angry at his brother for such comments though. "So it seems but you can only blame yourself 'warp. You were quite a womanizer back in the days." Or rather still are. "Femmes have been wary of you ever since, no? Though I hear she has a sister if you are interested."

Then the duo of Rumble and Frenzy arrived and went immediately after Ramjet. Thundercracker couldn't but think that Ramjet's punishment had already began through Megatron sending those two gremlins to fetch the conehead. The two knew how to ruin anyone's day. "Heh, good luck Ramjet."
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Command Center

Megatron's tone annoyed Blitzwing. Afterall, he had just done his duty, he had not exactly sought for any favors or anything like that. He just couldn't stand the interrogator. He was an odd one, sadistic beyond even Blitzwing himself, lacking any sort of decency or honor. Even worse, Darkride was a masochistic psychopath. He could not be intimidated into submission or bullied with physical violence. From what the triplechanger had seen so far, Darkride only remotely weak spot was his pride and he had wanted see the scraplet humiliated. Blitzwing however was not going to complain. Despite being perhaps the second most powerful Decepticon currently assigned to Earth, he was nothing compared the Decepticon supreme commander. He would obey and face his punishment like a soldier.

"Of course lord Megatron. I apologize for bothering you." Blitzwing spoke out and saluted the Decepticon leader again before marching out of the command center to do exactly what Megatron had told him to do.

Not much later, Blitzwing could be seen exiting the med bay where he had activated the maintainance drones to repair the CR chamber he had broke. Only to assume the guard post at the base entrance only moments later. At least he could take some pleasure in tormenting anyone who might try to sneak out of the base.

Outside Med-bay

Ramjet's energon tank felt as if it had dropped from its' proper location in his midsection down to his feet when he heard Megatron's summons. Despite the messengers, the message itself was no less ominous. Ramjet had hoped his discipline would come from Starscream. The seeker commander could make things quite unpleasant, but he was much less likely to chastise to stasis lock. Megatron on the other hand...

"Well we wouldn't want to keep old Megs waiting now would we," Ramjet blustered, still trying to keep up a strong front, and hoping he'd managed to keep his despair from showing on his face. Ignoring Skywarp's continuing jibes, Ramjet flashed Thundercracker a grateful grin, then looked down his nose at Rumble and Frenzy and said, "Lead on nanites."

Command Center

Darkride kept his optics on Megatron as the Deccepticon Leader berated Blitzwing for making assumptions. The corner of his mouth curled slightly when the Commando was forced into guard duty. Finally, as Megatron addressed Darkride, the interrogator lowered his head but kept his optics glued to the Decepticon Lord. The dark purple mech let out an almost inaudible growl after he was given the order to return to the interrogation chamber and repair any damages.

Darkride nodded slightly as he responded to Megatron through clenched teeth. “As you wish, Lord Megatron.” That said Darkride turned and left the Command Center. The interrogator swiftly made his way back to his lair but stopped just outside the door.

Interrogation Chamber

The Decepticon inquisitor took a look at the access panel for the door. He knelt down and worked on the security code. He entered a few clearance codes and then inserted a data stick. He uploaded a series of new codes and then removed the stick. Darkride waited a moment until the system recalibrated before he finally entered a new security code. With that completed Darkride stood back up and entered the code to access the chamber. The door slid open and Darkride smiled and stepped inside.

The interrogator stopped just past the doorway when he heard a noise. Before he could turn around to see what it was he felt a spray of liquid hit his entire back. He cringed slightly before he quickly moved out of the way of the mysterious liquid. Once at a safe distance he turned and looked up above the door. Disbelief washed over him as he watched a drop of fluid fall from the nozzle of a container and into a pool on the floor. He quickly ran his hand along his back and then took a look at what he found. His face twisted in anger as he let out a infuriated growl. "Skywarp."

His breathing grew heavy as he stalked to one of the tables in the room and grabbed a rag. He started to wipe off the paint from his hand, but he found that it wouldn't come off. He sneered angrily as he tossed the rag across the room. He looked around the chamber in desperation until he finally caught sight of something. Darkride began to relax as the solution to his dilemma became all too clear. The sneer that was etched on his face faded away and was replaced by a sadistic smirk.

The interrogator made his way to the far end of the chamber and stopped in front of a small booth that was used during torture sessions. He gently touched the glass and chuckled lightly. Slowly he moved to the back of the booth and set the controls. He had always wanted to use the device himself, but there was never an opportunity, but this, this was the perfect time. When Darkride tried to remove the paint with the rag and it held tight he realized that a strong adhesive must have been mixed into it. The only option he had was to remove the paint with an acid wash.

With a smile etched on his face he stepped into the booth and closed the door. He turned his back to the nozzles and took a deep breath; he then started the acid flow. As the liquid hit his back and began to eat away at the neon paint, and the paint beneath it, he clenched his jaw tightly. His hands balled into fists as the pain began to intensify. The sadomasochist let out a howl as he finally achieved his goal. The offensive neon color was finally gone, as was all of his dark purple coloration. Once satisfied he stopped the flow of acid and engaged the rinse solution. He remained under its flow for a few minutes before shutting the entire booth down and exiting.

He moved slowly towards the opposite side of the chamber. His movement eliciting slight discomfort. Darkride stopped in front of his quarters and entered the security code. The door slid open and he slowly stepped inside. Your time will come Seeker. I am nothing if not patient.