The Energon Pub

[Re-fueling Bar]

Thrust sat back, enjoying being the talk of every Decepticon there — or so he believed — since his arrival. Yes, he would happily let Amethyst have the glory he deserved initially, after all, it would only enhance himself by having such a promising mech under his wing, so to speak.

He lifted his glass and had half a mouthful of energon ready to pour down to his power core when Offroad approached.

AFTRHR wrote: “All hail Megatron, indeed,” he spoke charmingly.

Thrust’s optics narrowed. This is a celebration, not a battlefield. Why would any think they could sit with a member of the Seeker Corps, much less one of my caliber?

He wanted to say as much, but having energon spilling down his front would destroy the mythos he’d added to since taking his seat. Of course, having a mech with the battle acumen of Offroad as an enemy wasn’t very wise.

Perhaps, there’s a way to accommodate both our needs while ensuring he knows his place among his betters.

AFTRHR wrote:He allowed himself to take a seat next to them. “I hope I am not interrupting your celebrations, gentlemechs.” He took a sip, looking at them with a bit of a suggestive look.

An arrogant spark. He must have some Seeker parts in him.

Thrust swallowed his energon, and while lowering his glass, made sure to keep his expression neutral. “Interrupting? Of course not, warrior, this is a celebration!” He motioned around them, then to Amethyst. “Not only were our troops successful, but Lord Megatron has returned. Of course, being what you are not,” he said, motioning to where there weren’t wings on Offroad, “I assume you are capable of understanding the gradnuer of such things.”

Pleased with how diplomatic he sounded, Thrust took another swallow of energon and smiled.

Re-Fueling Bar

Amethyst enjoyed Thrust's company. The older, more experienced Seeker sure was boastful. The way he spoke with such eloquence made Amethyst feel good, even though he knew at least concerning his own feats of late, he was a failure. He didn't succeed in anything on the last mission but blowing himself up. Regardless though, he continued to keep it to himself and focus on the good vibes coming from the others in the bar. Everyone was celebrating the return of their great Leader, Megatron. Amethyst had excused himself with a nod and a smile at Thrust's request to gather as many beverages as he could. He went to the bar and did just that, bringing them as much as he could carry, and upon setting the tall glass vessels down, that's when he had noticed that they were joined by Offroad.

Amethyst chimed in after Thrust had greeted him, saying "Welcome, land-based vehicle-con. How's life?" He took one of the new glasses of energon and took a swig, listening to the arrogance of Thrust's words. When he once more acknowledged his praise for Amethyst with his motioning towards him for a nano-klik, the purple and grey Seeker rolled his optics. He then felt the tenseness in the air after Thrust basically insulted Offroad for not having flight capability (though he himself was no better with his greeting that could be taken as rude). The younger Seeker thus glanced to Offroad, wondering what his reply would be while downing another glass and letting out a hearty belch.

"Ahhh.....being a Decepticon is the best.....right?", he said, trying to change the subject. He was starting to feel buzzed, but the night was young. There was still a lot of celebrating to be had.

Redwing was on break, so as a result it was off to the bar for him. He couldn’t wait to hang with anyone else who were there as well. It was common to see new faces every time on such a big ship.

As the seeker stepped in, he saw some more seekers and a "groundy". “Niihihice,” he said chuckling, “I see some of my own had the same idea." He was referring to his fellow seekers.

Redwing sat down with the two seekers and the newly arrived Offroad. He called out to the bar tender for his usual beverage, and then glanced around the table to all present.

“So, I see you all are happy about Megatron’s return. As we should!” Redwing said loudly and in a cheering tone, “And it’s looking the big guy’s starting to get back to his usual self too! Pretty soon I’m sure he’ll be leading us all to toootally SMASHING whatever Autobots get in the Decepticons’ path!” Redwing pointed his hand in a finger gun motion as he said “path”.

Redwing could tell most resent weren't as enthusiastic in personality as he, so it was a bit awkward. He decided to keep with his usual cheery tone though to avoid making it more awkward.

Shockwave’s Lab

>>”Soundwave, this is Laserbeak. Do you read me? I’m currently on Sol-4. Starscream and his seekers crashed here shortly after they left the Thanatos. There is a small group of Autobots here, as well, lead by Ironhide. We need extraction ASAP. Initiating distress beacon now.”<<

Soundwave received the communication from his avian friend at the most coincidental time. Razorclaw was just beginning to inform Megatron of Starscream’s latest antic and now the spy he sent to watch over the Seeker commander was reporting in. Seems they crashed on Sol-4. Strange given that most seekers were notable for their flying/piloting skills. However the mention of Autobot presence there could be a factor in their crash as well. Not wasting another moment, Soundwave returned his call to Laserbeak.

>>”Understood Laserbeak, gathering the resources now. Reinforcements will be inbound momentarily.<<

“Speaking of the Seeker Commander,” Soundwave spoke up following on the coattails of Megatron and Shockwave’s latest exchange, “Laserbeak has already reported back on their current situation.” The blue and white Decepticon’s chest then lit up as he began to patch himself into the Thanatos’ navigational systems to boost his range out past the Earthen orbit. Laserbeak’s distress beacon was picked up and homed in on in a fairly quick amount of time thanks to the warship’s range boost. “They are currently stationed on Sol-4, their shuttle having crashed into the planetary surface. He reports they are in need of extraction and that they are not alone. A small Autobot presence also reside on the planet there.”

Soundwave waited a moment to let their leader ponder the new wave of information to process some within his own mind. Better to see how he would react to such a development following his return given his hostile entry back into the ranks.

“Shall I prepare a shuttle to bring him and his crew back?”

Corridors

”Come then, DOG!”

Pffft, wow that was weak. Dog? Talk about picking the low hanging fruit. And here Fangry was hoping for something with more of a bite, instead she had to draw swords. Oh look, another special Decepticon with swords! Skullcruncher, Weirdwolf, Razorclaw... Who were these gearheads trying to be swinging sticks around.

“Heh, that’s cute,” Fangry commented as he watched the cat ready a defensive stance with her blades. Her repositioning bought him enough time to draw his shield and rifle. “But I think playtime is over.” The black and magenta tracker aimed his Ion Pulse rifle door the corridor in the femme’s direction and raised his shield for the counterattack. He fired several shots at the stationary cat-former, hoping to fry her circuitry enough to buy him a better advantage for his next attack.

Corridors


Technikiller didn't reply to the strange wolf-former's taunt. She was focused on the battle at hand. Of course most transformers had and utilized blasters of some sort. She had expected no less from this one she was fighting. She had her own blaster-type weapon, though she much preferred her fights to be up close and personal rather than attacking from afar. She commended her opponent for using whatever he could to try to get the upper hand. It's what any good Decepticon would do. However, she wished he would just fight her head on without the use of his gun. Nevertheless....

She launched into action, straight forward, taking a hit to the upper left side of her chest and another to her lower right of her torso. The pain seared and her body wanted to cease up in those places, but she ignored it. It was a minor setback.

"RAAAGHHH!!", she roared a war-cry. She slammed her right sword straight for his shied in a powerful stabbing motion, while she slashed for his unprotected side with her left sword and spun her body to be on that side of him, jerking the pierced shield away from him with the twist of her wrist and a pull, or rending it nearly in half, thus making the shield rather useless. At the moment she had spun to his side, she simultaneously released a medium length hidden blade (which she channeled energy through to also make that a "light" weapon) from her elbow nearest his body and raised it quickly, under his arm, to try and cut through his gun arm.

Barracks

Barging through the doors into the barracks, Tantrum paid no attention to any of the other grunts in the room. He simply stalked a straight path directly to his personal weapons locker. The canisters of "ultra-energon" that had been successfully refined from the Ore-13 were on the lowest level. He pulled two of them out before slamming the locker shut and re-arming the security codes. Inside the canisters, the energon was glowing a deep, rich purple rather than the flourescent pink of the regular stuff. He tossed one to Headstrong.

"I think things are gonna change around here real quick with Megatron back. Might as well wolf this stuff down while we still have a chance," Tantrum grunted, opening the top and proceeding to pour the superfuel down his vocalizer.

Shockwave's Laboratory

Paying close attention to everything that was said in the room, Shockwave was still devoting the bulk of his considerable processing power to solving the mystery of what was afflicting their now-returned leader. The nanomachines had traveled their way through Megatron's entire body, offering a multitude of scans and other data. It, too, was being processed and categorized. Unfortunately, they were not offering a clear picture of either the nature of the affliction or its cause.

"Declarative: the results of the nanotech scans are....inconclusive," Shockwave began. Megatron's crimson optics turned in his direction, his scowl deepening.

"Purge them then. My answers lie elsewhere," Megatron said, resting his head back against the berth as he contemplated his options.

“Speaking of the Seeker Commander. Laserbeak has already reported back on their current situation. They are currently stationed on Sol-4, their shuttle having crashed into the planetary surface. He reports they are in need of extraction and that they are not alone. A small Autobot presence also reside on the planet there. Shall I prepare a shuttle to bring him and his crew back?”

"One of several options we must consider," Megatron said, his voice quieter. "The fool. Of course he managed to maroon himself on some stray rock. Even in my absence, Starscream's idiocy has few boundaries. Retrieve him. But we also cannot let the progress of the Constructicons sit idle. You reported the activation of the first new gestalt since Monstructor. We've worked too long to discover this process. I want the candidate lists activated and I want the process that created this...'Devastator'....replicated. No delays."

Incoming distress signal on all frequencies, including Decepticon secured channels with the transmitter signature of the shuttle taken by Starscream earlier.

>>"This is Decepticon Shuttle Delta-372."<< Feedback said giving out the shuttle's official designation. >>"We have crashed on the fourth planet of the Solar System with Autobot stowaways. Please assist. Exact coordinates on subfrequency 019."<<

[Re-fueling Bar]

Thrust wrote:“Interrupting? Of course not, warrior, this is a celebration! Not only were our troops successful, but Lord Megatron has returned. Of course, being what you are not, I assume you are capable of understanding the gradnuer of such things.”

Offroad raised his glass at the Conehead’s first few words, but a smile creeped onto his green devilish face when the conehead mentioned his lack of wings.

“If you require wings in order to be a successful warrior, I’m sorry to say, but that’s a bit of a concern.”

After Offroad had made his snide remark, he looked over to the newcomer, who was a red seeker. Looks like these guys were having a seeker get-together, how cute. He looked over to the purple seeker and looked at his semi-worried face. “Relax, we’re all here to get some drinks and have a good time.” The red seeker looked a bit excitable, he’d make for some good company to the purple one. The conehead, on the other hand, was pretty elitist from Offroad’s point of view. No worries, he’s dealt with enough slagheads in the past.

Re-fueling Bar

Offroad wrote: Offroad raised his glass at the Conehead’s first few words, but a smile creeped onto his green devilish face when the conehead mentioned his lack of wings.


“If you require wings in order to be a successful warrior, I’m sorry to say, but that’s a bit of a concern.”

Thrust’s smile widened and he lifted his energon glass higher in salute. “Glad you agree.”

He tipped his head back and swallowed the energon in a single motion, never breaking optic contact with Offroad. As much as he believed the mech agreed with him, he couldn’t shake the feeling he’d intended his comment as an insult.

You picked the wrong con if that’s the case, mech.

Redwing wrote: “So, I see you all are happy about Megatron’s return. As we should!” Redwing said loudly and in a cheering tone, “And it’s looking the big guy’s starting to get back to his usual self too! Pretty soon I’m sure he’ll be leading us all to toootally SMASHING whatever Autobots get in the Decepticons’ path!” Redwing pointed his hand in a finger gun motion as he said “path”.

Lost in his focus on Offroad, Thrust had seen the new Seeker coming, but hadn’t given him much thought until Offroad’s welcome. Not to be outdone, Thrust stood and held up his empty glass. “Welcome, warrior. This is indeed a celebration, even for our less fortunate dirt pounders,” he said, motioning slightly toward Offroad in what was his best welcoming gesture. “Today, we are all Decepticons!”

In the excitement, Thrust had forgotten his glass was empty and shrugged. “Not everything goes as planned,” he said, shrugging and turned toward the bar. As he past [b[Amethyst[/b], he muttered, “Don’t look so down, warrior. We’re the Seeker elite!”

Shockwave’s Lab

Megatron was already beginning to get back into the swing of command. The many projects and plans that were already in place were reignited with a newfound sense of urgency not felt since his departure. How easy the chain of command gravitated back into his mighty clutch as his thunderous voice boomed orders no one dared question.

>>”This is Decepticon Shuttle, Delta-372. We have crashed on the third planet of the Solar System with Autobot stowaways. Please assist. Extract coordinates on subfrequency 019.”<<

Shortly after Laserbeak’s private line came through, Starscream’s own band of seekers finally relayed their own distress signal. Tapping through the Thanatos’ communication systems, Soundwave scoured the frequencies until he found he transmitted coordinates. However, the communication specialist also found an interesting tidbit in the comm line... Despite the fact they had claimed Mars was the third planet in the system while it actually was the forth one, Feedback had transmitted their distress signal over open channels...

“Lord Megatron,” Soundwave spoke towards the silver-clad gladiator following the tyrant’s orders to retrieve the group isolated on Mars, “I have located and acquired Starscream’s coordinates on Sol-4, but it appears his location is also being broadcasted over open channels. The Autobots could very well be on their way towards the planet as well.”

“Unbelievable!” roared Onslaught, “Lord Megatron, if there’s even a remote chance the Autobots are en route now, allow me and my team to intercept with the Obliteration. We’ll deal with any rescue attempt those red-badges try and make and ensure that Seeker makes it here to meet with your personally.”

Thanatos- Re-fueling Bar

Amethyst smiled as he continued to listen to Thrust and Offroad. His smile only became more awkward though, and he was feeling on the verge of either busting out laughing at the back and forth roasting or putting on a really sheepish grin of the, 'Oh why do I have to be in the middle of this' type. His uneasiness seemed to be really noticeable though, as Thrust had turned his attention to him and told him to cheer up, that they were the Seeker Elite! Seekers....Elite! Yah.....well, Amethyst was quite humble as far as Seekers went. Yes, he prided himself in his abilities and of being a Seeker, but his head wasn't so high up in the clouds that he forgot to pay attention to and respect all else.

The rather generically painted Seeker decided he'd leave Thrust and Offroad be for a few kliks at least while he'd talk with the red Seeker who had joined them. He smiled politely towards him and said,


"Yah....the sooner Megatron has us go and blow something up, the better. I'm itchin' to set something ablaze!! So, what's your name anyway, coldcut? My name is Amethyst....you know? Like the gemstone." There were many many Seekers and most of them looked alike. The majority of them were created back when Nova Prime aspired to create a vast empire. They were among those transformers who were constructed cold, thus why Amethyst called the red Seeker a 'coldcut'. Their sparks were created using the power of Matrix and placed into pre-constructed bodies. What would they have all turned out to be if they were forged naturally? Well, they wouldn't have hundreds of identical siblings that was for sure. Amethyst dismissed the thought though, not like there was anything he could have done, and not that he knew exactly how a Transformer came from a spark any who. All he knew was he was a Seeker. He could transform into a jet, and he was good at shooting things and setting stuff on fire. That's all he "needed" to know anyhow. Did Amethyst think too much? Probably. Anyways, he waited for his red brother to answer him and he reached for his glass of energon and he drank it down rather thirstily and reached for another.

Shockwave's Laboratory

“Lord Megatron. I have located and acquired Starscream’s coordinates on Sol-4, but it appears his location is also being broadcasted over open channels. The Autobots could very well be on their way towards the planet as well.”

Why would the fool broadcast a signal that could be so easily detected by both sides?

"I have every expectation they will be. A 'prize' like Starscream is too tempting to pass up. I certainly wouldn't, were our roles reversed."

“Unbelievable! Lord Megatron, if there’s even a remote chance the Autobots are en route now, allow me and my team to intercept with the Obliteration. We’ll deal with any rescue attempt those red-badges try and make and ensure that Seeker makes it here to meet with your personally.”

Megatron's smirk widened slightly.

"Your team is uniquely qualified for this task, Onslaught. See to it. Upon your return, you will undergo the same procedure as the Constructicons. We have long suspected your unit to be capable of successfully undergoing the process. Shockwave? Show me the other candidates."

Shockwave nodded and began to access holofiles that had been created long in advance of the Constructicons' successful combining attempt. Megatron, Shockwave and other Decepticon scientists had long evaluated nearly every Decepticon within their ranks and weighed them against properties displayed by the Monstructor Six to assess their potential suitability for combining into a super-warrior. As the glowing holoscreen appeared in front of the Slagmaker, numerous names scrolled down, the Combaticons among them. Seekers. Insecticons. Seacons. Stunticons. Predacons. The list was considerable. So much potential. Megatron lifted one hand and began highlighting certain names on the holoscreen.

"Pull those Seekers from duty. And Motormaster's group. We'll begin with them."

"As you command, mighty Megatron," Shockwave said, as he began to transmit coded, priority messages to the Decepticons in question.

Shockwave’s Laboratory

Megatron wrote:"So be it. Monitor Laserbeak's typical frequencies. Once he's sent word, we'll dispatch a recovery team. I have no interest in allowing Starscream to play his games. His duty is to the empire. If he doesn't return willingly, bring him back in chains."

Razorclaw nodded when Lord Megatron had finished speaking those words. The Predacon Commander remained silently by the slagmaker’s med berth as discussions went on around him. Shockwave discussed the mechaforming technology they had retrieved from Cybertron. Laserbeak had reported in on Starscream’s whereabouts, and a separate distress signal from the seekers, themselves, was received. This prompted Megatron to send a team to retrieve them. Onslaught had no problem volunteering himself and his Combaticons for the mission which Megatron agreed to. At the same time, the Decepticon Supreme Commander wanted the Devastator gestalt replicated with other specialty teams sooner rather than later, and he wanted all of the Ore-13 located and mined from Sol-3.

“My lord, Scrapper was going to begin the process of screening other viable candidates when his team was distracted by a battle with the Dinobots down at the undersea base site,” Razorclaw interjected just as Shockwave brought up a list of numerous candidates that had already been compiled well before Devastator had become a reality. It certainly appeared that Megatron had long been keen on one day perfecting the gestalt process that had originally gone so awry with Monstructor. Now that it had been successful with the Constructicons, the slagmaker wanted more combiners ASAP. He wanted the Combaticons to undergo the process, but with their mission to Mars taking precedent, Shockwave was instructed to begin with the Stunticons and a group of seekers first.

“And just how did that battle go, Razorclaw?” Sixshot spoke up as he placed his two weapons away and leaned back against a nearby bulkhead. With Megatron continuing to act normal, the phase sixer no longer felt the need to have his guns out and decided to relax his servos a bit. The STAG could easily and quickly spring into action if the slagmaker's condition suddenly changed again. “Well??”

Ignoring the sixchanger, the lion-former kept his focus on the slagmaker. “Unfortunately, Lord Megatron, the undersea base was lost. As I was saying, the Dinobots and some Autobots discovered it somehow and mounted an assault. I dispatched the Constructicons along with numerous other Decepticons to the site in order to repel them. Devastator was formed and fought the Dinobots, but he ultimately lost the battle. Grimlock was able to break him apart by getting onto his back and then blasting away at the connection joint that held the combiner's torso section together. Devastator is a great asset, my lord, and is stable for the most part, certainly more so than Monstructor was. However, in my opinion, Devastator has not been perfected just yet. He is slow and can be overwhelmed by numerous attackers. Furthermore, he does not show the intelligence level of some of his smarter component parts like Scrapper or Hook. His actions are more like Bonecrusher or Scavenger. I would recommend caution when moving forward with additional gestalts until these issues with Devastator can be addressed."

Razroclaw paused for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. “As for the base site, itself, it was evacuated and all important equipment and computer data were retrieved before the base was set for self-destruct. Its location was no longer a secret and the idea was to bring the base down around the Dinobots and Autobots in the hopes of destroying them. Whether that plan succeeded or not is unknown. Maybe Flamewar here can shed some light on the details as she was there in person.”

Med Bay

Skywarp sat patiently as Scrapper conducted the needed repairs on his damaged wing. It didn’t take too long as fixing a wing was a pretty straightforward procedure. The teleporter glanced over at his wing tip and gave it a light inspection. “Looks good to me. Thanks, Scrapper!”

The prankster then hopped down off the berth he had been sitting on and glanced over at Thundercracker.

Thundercracker wrote:"Thank you, doc. Warp, I hear there's a drink waiting for us, if you're up for it."

“Yes, there is, ’Cracker,” Skywarp replied with a smile as he approached his blue friend and gave him a pat on the shoulder plate. “And I’m parched. So, let’s get going.”

With those words spoken, Skywarp walked with Thundercracker out of the med bay and down to the refueling bar located in the mess hall.

"Yah....the sooner Megatron has us go and blow something up, the better. I'm itchin' to set something ablaze!! So, what's your name anyway, coldcut? My name is Amethyst....you know? Like the gemstone."

The red seeker looked over to the drone bringing him his drink, and took it before responding with a smile, "Heyyy, Amethyst! That's a sick name! Mine is Redwing. You come here often, or just with friends? What adventures have you been on lately, man?"

Shockwave’s Lab

”Your team is uniquely qualified for this task, Onslaught. See to it. Upon your return, you will undergo the same procedure as the Constructicons. We have long suspected your unit to be capable of successfully undergoing the process. Shockwave? Show me the other candidates."

There was a sudden pause from Onslaught before the blue and green Combaticon gave Megatron a proper salute following his orders. The idea of merging into something like Devastator caught him off guard with the notion being pushed so suddenly. One the one hand, a brutish titan with Onslaught at the helm of the combination could prove to be a tactical advantage for any operation they took part of.

“Consider it done, my lord.” Was all Onslaught returned with. He flashed Razorclaw a quick side glance before turning and making his departure for the Obliteration. He opened his comm to his team.

>>”Combaticons, we have new orders from our illustrious Lord Megatron himself. Make your way back towards the Obliteration.”<<

Corridor

Technikiller roared out and charged towards Fangry, the lesser of the two having drawn her bladed weapons and began her assault. Her blade connected with Fangry’s shield and managed to make an impression on the metal and she tried dancing around to attack his gun-holding hand. Fangry has seen these kind of maneuvers from other sword wielding fools before, the femme was no different. She then summoned a hidden blade which seemed to glow with some form of energy. Not caring what was going on, the light was bright enough to catch Fangry’s optics.

“Oh no you don’t, glitch!” The tracker cursed as he spun on his heel to prevent further harm to his gun, using the momentum to turn his protective shield into a blunt melee weapon. Aiming to connect the edge of his shield with her face, Fangry instead found the cat-lady’s energy blade deflected off his polarized shield, the shockwave created pushing Fangry back a couple of feet. Hopefully she was knock-backed more, Technikiller was the one delivering all the power in that attack. Snarling and flashing his teeth at Technikiller, Fangry raised his weapon again and fired another burst towards the techno-kitty.

Medibay

>>”Combaticons, we have new orders from our illustrious Lord Megatron himself. Make your way back towards the Obliteration.”<<

Onslaught's incoming transmission had instinctively caused Vortex to stiffen his posture. Orders. From Megatron? How long had it been since he'd heard those words? Their great leader seemed to be calling the shots again. Not that Onslaught wasn't great, in his own way, but the Slagmaker was the big gun.

"Hey, greenie, can you hurry this up? Duty calls!"

Thanatos – Corridors

Brawl had followed closely behind Onslaught as the Combaticon leader had made his way to meet with Megatron and Razorclaw. Not out of duty but out of curiosity and truth to be told – because he really didn’t know what else to do either. The others had just thrown a super hyper mega suprise at them. Megatron was alive. Brawl had mourned Megatron’s passing and for a moment he had lost his faith in the future of the Decepticons. But that was the past. Megatron lived. And with the Slagmaker of Tarn back in the helm of the Empire – the Decepticons would be victorious.

>>”Combaticons, we have new orders from our illustrious Lord Megatron himself. Make your way back towards the Obliteration.”<<

New orders? Ooh. Brawl couldn’t wait to hear what this about. Though wait he did until Onslaught strode out of Shockwave’s lab. Accompanying his commanding officer to wherever they were going, Brawl began firing out questions that had been bugging him for a while now.

”Boss? How was he? What happened? What kind of orders?”

Medibay

"Hey, greenie, can you hurry this up? Duty calls!" the Combaticon that Mixmaster was working on blurted out as his body stiffened suddenly, almost causing the chemist to drop the torch he was using to resecure the rotor parts.

Fortunately for Vortex, Mixmaster was among the least ill-tempered of the Constructicons, apart from perhaps Scavenger. So the sudden urge to rush didn't bother him. He was almost finished.

"I'm workin' workin' workin', heheh!" the Chemist answered. The shaft where the rotor blades emerged when not otherwise in use looked as pristine as when Vortex was originally cold-constructed.

"There! Enjoy. Try to avoid random probes eh?" Mixmaster said, clapping the other mech on the back. Vortex turned around and gave the Constructicon a look before shaking his head and hopping off of the examination slab. Whatever might have been running through his mind, though, he left unsaid. His mind was on the mission, like any Combaticon.

So, saying nothing further, Vortex quickly exited the medibay, en route for the bounce chamber and another opportunity for his team to redeem themselves after the whole "rogue ordnance" fiasco.

Re-fueling Bar

Thrust quietly made his way to the bar, which was different than his normal bravado. The chief culprit was he was thinking.

He had a surprising number of things running through his meta processor.

Overall, he was pleased with how Amethyst seemed to be coming out of his shell-plating micron by micron. He hoped his last nudge would be enough to get the Seeker to open up among his comrades more. It was unseemly for a Seeker to be so… shy.

We’re the elite of the elite! We are the Decepticon empire, he should realize this.

While not angry, Thrust did find it disheartening that there was another introvert among their ranks. Not that he had anything against Thundercracker, quite the opposite, but to him, it was important the enemy knew they were defeated by a member of the Seeker Corp.

Still, Amethyst had potential. Thrust just had to remain patient and allow it to come out. Perhaps, getting him to talk about his experiences in the field of battle would benefit him?

Relaxing his refilled glass was handed back to him, Thrust smiled and nodded his thanks to the bartender, downed half of his energon in a single motion, then held it back to be topped off. The mech tending the bar gave him a quick look, but went about his business. Thrust hardly noticed. His thoughts had shifted to Offroad’s intrusion into their midst.

Intrusion was too strong a word, Thrust had welcomed him as did Amethyst, so he quickly discarded that as he turned from the bar to head back, his usual stride and mannerisms returned now that he’d finished with one thought and could deal with the other. Dealing with mechs like Offroad was easy, so long as one knew how to deal with them. Thrust had, he believed, put the talented Con in his place while giving him reason to remain. And if Offroad felt the need to show his “superiority” by burning off some energon in a brawl, well, Thrust would be happy to indulge him.

They were Decepticons, after all. And besides, there were numerous Seekers gathered already to aid him if/when needed.

Deck 9 – Corridors

“Don’t press your luck with Predacons, Doomshot. No matter how powerful you fancy yourself, they are not to be trifled with. When you meddle with one, you meddle with them all,” Aegis advised. Before he could continue to lecture the young mech, however, Warwolf suddenly started screaming. Aegis rushed over to his side and held his shoulders firmly.

“Lad? Lad, are you alright? Snap out of it!”


Shockwave’s Laboratory

>>"It would appear I did. I'm accessing the ship's recordings now. How...fascinating. It sounds like the others are unsure as to what caused our mighty Megatron to act that way. It has to be an Autobot plot. They had him the whole time! Using Megatron as a weapon against us? This has Prowl's calling card all over it!"<<

>>”I’m not so sure of that…”<< Ravage rumbled softly while listening into to what was being said by those around him. Nothing had been directed at him yet so he was content to sit still.

>>"The dirtball was awful. Dirty air. Dirty ground. Dirty water. Nothing on that planet is clean. I don't know how the fragile little fleshies survive. If there's Ore-13 down there we should strip every last vein of it and nuke the planet into oblivion. We'd be doing the natives a favor, I assure you."<<

>>”I’m sure. That is protocol. Providing the Autobots don’t get in the way. Hrm…If the Autobots had Megatron…would that mean they have Optimus Prime as well? It doesn’t make sense that he would vanish from the frontlines for this long…”<<


Med Bay

Having received Onslaught’s transmission, Blast-Off waited for Vortex before setting off through the corridors of the Thanatos off to the bounce chamber. His pace was brisk. Onslaught didn’t tolerate tardiness. Still, the news of Megatron’s return had shell shocked him a bit. It was fantastic news. But…Hm.

“Vortex, what do you suppose our assignment is? It’s from…Lord Megatron. He certainly wastes no time. I’d expect no less of him though.”


Scavenger sighed a happy sigh of relief when mechs started filtering out of the medibay. All better! They were doing a good job! Scooping up some cubes of synthetic energon for everyone, he bustled around, handing them out to his teammates cheerily.

“Here ya go, boss,” Scavenger said, handling Scrapper the last cube and glancing around. “What we gonna do next?”


Deck 9 – Corridors

”Though he has a point Wolfie. As if someone who has no business going in would have the guts to go there right now anyway. Not with all that firepower already stuffed in there.”

“Have a point you may, Skullcruncher,” Weirdwolf replied with a shrug. Turning away from the commotion of the other mechs down the hall, he strolled easily and with a bounce in his step. Lord Megatron’s return had been quite dramatic! He was feeling a touch inspired. Perhaps he’d return to his personal quarters to hash out a bit of a script.

Suddenly, he stopped, transforming into his wolf mode with his ears perked. “Hear that do you?” he asked quietly. The sounds of a distant scuffle. Gunfire. “Brews a fight does. But why?” Setting off at a somewhat brisk jog, Weirdwolf began to track the sounds of the scuffle. “Come along, Skullcruncher! A mysteries us awaits!”

Deck 9 – Corridors-->Re-fueling bar

Nacelle did not get much of a response out of either Doomshot or Aegis. While he was waiting for a response, he realized that he has not re-fueled in awhile. He walked off and headed towards where the refueling bar was located. Before he entered, he did not suspect to find anyone in here but there is a good handful in here. He waved causally to everyone in there before filling up a container and sitting down. There, he sipped on the Energon in the container while listening to the conversations in the room.

Shockwave’s Laboratory

Flamewar listened to the discussions intently, scowling at Starscream’s blunder. How could someone - a lieutenant at that – be so incompetent? Unless…it was another of his schemes. She glanced to Sixshot as he commented on her upsetting Razorclaw with a faint smile. >>”Looks like I did. Maybe I should avoid stepping on his tail a second time. For now, anyhow.”<<

Her attention shifted back to Razorclaw as he gave Megatron a briefing of the current goings on. It was fairly comprehensive, shifting to the topic of the recent operation in the undersea base. A loss, by all means. A part of her roiled inwardly. She hadn’t wanted one of the first things Megatron heard to be of failure, however managed it was.

“As for the base site, itself, it was evacuated and all important equipment and computer data were retrieved before the base was set for self-destruct. Its location was no longer a secret and the idea was to bring the base down around the Dinobots and Autobots in the hopes of destroying them. Whether that plan succeeded or not is unknown. Maybe Flamewar here can shed some light on the details as she was there in person.”

“Indeed,” Flamewar said, stepping forward slightly, “As Razorclaw has stated, our critical assets were recovered. Skullcruncher and Weirdwolf engaged Slag and Sludge. Grimlock, Snarl and an injured Swoop engaged Devastator and brought him down. Our forces recovered them and evacuated. I can’t confirm any Autobot casualties either.”

“I agree with Razorclaw’s assessment. Devastator is far from perfected. Currently, Sixshot is a more effective asset,” she concluded with a glance and gesture to Sixshot. “However, that is not all. While removing critical information from our databanks, I planted a virus. One which the Autobots recovered and downloaded. It transmitted from one of their ships to confirm.”

Flamewar only hoped that this news would sweeten the situation if only a little. Razorclaw had been unaware of this, but she hadn’t meant to keep it from him. There was simply no time for a debriefing after the mission due to Megatron’s arrival. She offered him a nod to placate him.

Thanatos – Corridors

Unlike Weirdwolf’s, Skullcruncher’s steps were heavy and plodding. He was in no hurry to get anywhere and Megatron’s surprising and devastating return had left him anxiously waiting for answers. Answers that the High Command might never share with them. At least Weirdwolf seemed inspired.

“Brews a fight does. But why?” Setting off at a somewhat brisk jog, Weirdwolf began to track the sounds of the scuffle. “Come along, Skullcruncher! A mysteries us awaits!”

To be honest, Skullcruncher didn’t really care but it wasn’t like he had anything better to do either. ”Fine,” he said, ”But if it is Wildrider again I am going to pummel him into a CR chamber.”

Corridors

”Fine,” he said, ”But if it is Wildrider again I am going to pummel him into a CR chamber.”

“If indeed it is him, doing him a favor you would be,” Weirdwolf replied, still scouting ahead but having a care not to leave his friend behind. “Though wonder it does who would be foolish enough to get involved with him. I-“

Weirdwolf cut off and fell silent, head low as his pace increased rapidly. He kept low and quiet, ears alert as the sounds drew closer. He poked his nose around a corner, peering out stealthily. He didn’t need to see them to recognize one of the combatants. Fangry. More trouble than Wildrider he could be. At least Motormaster could keep that maniac in line.

The other combatant Weirdwolf didn’t recognize from the sound. But they sounded like a femme. One that had the moxie to go metal to the pedal with Fangry? He didn’t recall any of that sort, but then, they hadn’t been deployed here all that long. It was possible she was someone woken from stasis as well. They didn’t seem like they were going to notice him any time soon.

Retreating back behind the corner, Weirdwolf transformed and rubbed the back of his head idly as Skullcurncher caught up. “Fangry and another,” he said before his friend could ask. “Know I not whether I want to intervene or just watch. Suppose I do Fangry is bad to out of control get. What say you?”