The Energon Pub

Bridge

Hot Spot had no sooner left the bridge to assemble his team when Sprints abruptly arrived and quickly approached Prowl. The young mech was eager to be a part of the most recent mission to Earth and demanded to know why no one had told him about it. The slightly annoyed military strategist turned his cranial unit towards the hyper ‘Bot in order to address him directly.

“You weren’t told because you weren’t chosen for the mission, Sprints. It’s Hot Spot’s call regarding who is on his team. If you want to go along that badly then I suggest you hustle your aft down to the bounce chamber before he leaves and see if he requires additional support. If he does not require it then I’m sure there’s any number of smaller tasks you can work on around the Guardian until you’re needed.”

Prowl looked away from Sprints in an attempt to refocus his attention back on the communications specialist. “Blaster, please advise me the astrosecond you acquire the data that I requested regarding the Iranian and Kansas locations.”

Bridge

Sprints nodded at the strategist's comments on Hot Shot's being in charge of picking the team, realizing he should have been able to figure that out based on the brevity of the two's conversation. Geez, man, a little self-control could get you a long way, Sprints thought. He snapped a quick salute to Prowl, who had already turned away, because he understood he should have been more patient and respectful. "Thanks, man-- I mean, sir." With that, Sprints nodded once as what he figured to be an adequate acknowledgement of the presence of the other Autobots in the room and exited hastily through the door.

Corridors

Sprints jogged swiftly through the halls, once again thanking Primus for his greater-than-average speed. Still, he only caught up to Hot Shot just a little before the Protectobot reached the bounce chamber. Wanting to make a good impression (though more to improve the chance of his getting a spot in the mission team than to impress Hot Shot), Sprints, rather than getting the commander's attention physically, simply verbalized, "Um, sir? Sprints here, I don't know if you know me, but I was hoping I could, uh, join your team. Would you mind?" What was up with his dialogue patterns? It was probably because he was trying to be polite, which he wasn't used to. Best to plug on ahead. "I'm pretty good in a fight, if that's what you need, o-or I can scout if that's all. Uh, I can do whatever, I'd just like to get down there, please."

Bounce Chamber

The trio of Axle, Saferoute and Steeljaw entered the bounce chamber simultaneously with Axle taking up a position just behind the other on the room. Hex was already present taking his place just the edge of the platform, arms crossed over his chest and foot tapping. The field medic scanned the room and spotted his ward, but remained where he was. However, he grew nervous when he saw Saferoute walk over to the young mech.

When Hex finally noticed the busformer headed in his direction he dropped his hands to his side and back up two steps. He looked up as the femme spoke and she was finished Hex began to laugh.

“Hahahaha! Are you for real?!”

Hex’s laughter died down quickly, a deadly serious expression replacing the jovial smile.

“Listen to me you glitch; stay out of my way and do your job and no one will get hurt. My only goal down there is to finish what I started at the last battle.”

That said Hex stalked past the femme and took up a place around the opposite side of the platform, alone. Grumbling to himself he eyed each of the gathered team members with contempt. If any of them so much as got in his way he’d cut through them just to prove a point. That is, of course, if it was Axle. He’d draw the line at gutting Axle; after all, without him he wouldn’t be alive; he owed the medic that much.

It was then that the Protectobot commander arrived and brought the group to order. Hot Spot wasted no time in getting down to business. He quickly handed out his orders and then set the ball in their court.

Axle looked around the gathered ‘Bots and then to Hex. The young mech remained silent, to the medic’s relief. Axle, too, had nothing to inquire. Axle’s interest was piqued when another ‘Bot made his way into the bounce chamber. It appeared that Hex noticed the new comer as well, but the arrival’s presence seemed to only agitate the silver mech more.

“You gotta be kidding me?! Beat it loser! The team’s already been assembled. Why don’t you go do something useful; maybe a bit of polishing…I’m sure Prowl’s aft could use it.”

Axle watched in horror as his young ward attempted to make another enemy in the form of Sprints. Face palming he made his way around the platform and slapped Hex in the back of the head. Hex placed his hand on the back of head and glared up at the medic who sent a wordless warning with one look.

Hex let out a huff and quieted down.

“Now that that’s taken care of the ‘adult’s’ can talk. Sir, if you please.”

Axle turned the floor over to Hot Spot so that he could address Sprints without interruption.

Bounce Chamber

Sprints didn't honestly care about Hex or his snide remarks, but after being cooped up on the Guardian for so long, he wasn't about to let fighting words go without a reply, even when Axle slapped the other 'Bot on the head, which Sprints found incredibly comical. Sprints didn't know Hex very well, but what he had seen of him hadn't given him a very positive view on the 'Bot. Hex had always seemed like a rude, upstart, impetuous little slag with something to prove and no idea of who to... And that was coming from Sprints, who knew well (and, in fact, sometimes nearly prided himself on) his own faults.

Sprints whispered out of the side of his mouth, "Hey, watch it. I don't know you very well, but you seem... nice," Sprints intoned the word with such thick sarcasm that he practically had to spit it out, "and I'd hate for anything to, er, happen. If I do get down there, you know that sometimes a stray bullet hits a comrade... and if I don't, well, sometimes weapons misfire." Sprints shrugged helplessly. "What are you gonna do, huh?" Of course, Sprints was full of slag and he knew it. He would never actually shoot a comrade on purpose, and if he did accidentally harm a teammate, he would have done everything in his power to fix it.

With that, Sprints gave a small nod to Axle, who he did have respect for, and turned back to Hot Spot to await what he hoped was confirmation of his joining the team for the mission. He was a little perturbed that he hadn't yet been replied to by the CO, and normally he might have asked again, this time far less politely, but he really wanted to get on the mission and didn't want to ruin his chances. If he doesn't reply soon, Primus be with me... And be with me anyway, help me get on this... Come on man...

Bounce Chamber

Groove could tell the subtle remarks that his commander was aiming at him, even if it wasn't obvious to the other members on the team. The "terminated or captured" was the one that stuck with the scout the most. As much as he wanted to voice his concerned opinion on the matter though, Groove kept his throughts to himself so he wouldn't delay the mission. Plus he knew it would be unprofessional to speak out against Hot Spot in front of the other members of the team.

Terminating one would only bring greater violence from the others. I'm sure if we talk to the lower ranking Stunticons we can convince them to turn themselves in. They all must hate Motormaster, we can take advantage.

Rather than say anything, Groove simply shook his head, he didn't have any questions about the mission. He was ready to do whatever was required of him, though he hoped beyond hope it wouldn't require violating his own personal morals.

------------

As much as she hated Hex's reaction, at least now she really understood how things would work. As much as she was dedicated to saving the innocent lives down on the planet, he was most certainly dedicated to destroying the Decepticons. Though she would have to live with that.

Please Primus, don't let any of the Earth creatures go near him or his target.

As far as the mission plan, Saferoute's task was exactly what she wanted. Truth be told, she would have evacuated the humans even if Hot Spot had told her not to. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to disobey orders on this mission- at least not in the beginning. She understood that Hot Spot wanted her in the fight as soon as she could, but she wouldn't until every human was out of harm's way. Still, she thought, every second would matter, and she might need a little help.

"Hot Spot," she addressed the Protectobot commander, believing her concerns with the mission were more important than Sprint's need to tag along, "Could Steeljaw possibly assist me with the evacuation? He has better sensors, he could help me locate humans faster."

Ramhorn smirked as Blades proposed his bet. Perfect. He'd have a bit of a head start thanks to the fact Hot Spot ordered him to scout, but he had a feeling Blades would catch up.

"You're on." Ramhorn responded, a gleeful glint in his optics.

Steeljaw listened patiently to the others, though flashed annoyed glares at both Sprints and Hex. Neither were showcasing acceptable behavior, though he doubted the former would actually act on his threats, judging by his attitude. He perked up a bit when Saferoute suggested working together. It certainly would make sense, though he didn't have room to comment.

Whatever Hot Spot has in mind for me is good enough the cassette mused.

---------

Blaster nodded at Prowl, acknowledging his requests.

"Gotcha sir. It seems like the Stunticons in Kansas have been attacking various refueling stations on the way to the refinery. Seems like to me they're interested in the fuel. The cons in Iran seem to be attacking an oil field with some sort of processing plant in the near center of it. Both attacks put human lives at risk as well." Blaster commented, before swinging his chair around to face Prowl. Eject and Rewind were both busy at their smaller consoles.

"Seems like they're trying to just refuel...but considering where they're attacking and the fact they're trying to raid 2 places at once smells like desperation or they're preparing for something. And neither are rockin' in my processor." Blaster commented, then shrugged. "Not much we can do now but stop them in their tracks, I suppose."

Annex had been wandering the ship trying to find something for himself to do. He was so used to traveling around on his own, doing his own thing, he wasn't used to be working with a group again. That meant he had to wait for orders. Of course for a bot who was normally so independent that was a little frustrating and he was starting to feel a little traped on this ship. He decided that he had to do something about it and it seemed like things were heating up and Annex figured it was time he got involved.

Making his way to the bridge Annex looked around the command center of the ship and found Prowl and he walked up to the black and white mech.

"Hey Prowl. Is there anything I can do around here? I'm kinda starting to climb the walls here."

Bounce Chamber

Axle had just gotten Hex to settle down when the young mech began to fidget once again. He wasn’t at all surprised when the silver bot turned to the newcomer and began to take a step toward Sprints.

“You threatening me, you piece of slag?!”

Axle moved quickly to take a grip of the back of Hex’s neck. He squeezed firmly stopping his ward dead in his tracks. Hex’s angry sneer melted into a pained filled grimace. With his hand still on the youngster’s neck, Axle dragged Hex back into line. Once he was back in place the field medic flashed Sprints a stern look.

“I don’t care what he’s done, but if I hear that you’ve threatened anyone at any time, I promise you, I will not hesitate to report you.”

With one last glare at Sprints, Axle turned his attention back to Hex.

“And you. If you don’t behave yourself, I swear to Primus, I’ll rip out your spark and put it on a shelf…permanently. Got me?”

Hex hissed in pain and slight annoyance before he finally nodded in understanding. Only after he received affirmation did Axle release the back of Hex's neck. The young mech rubbed the sore area as he leaned forward, past Axle, in order to see the other young ‘Bot. Hex’s upper lip curled slightly as he sent a heated glare in the other’s direction. It lasted only a moment before he leaned back and finally settled back in line waiting for Hot Spot to get this mission started.

Sprints's whole train of processing stopped for a moment at Hex and Axle's response to what he'd thought was just playful banter. Then he mentally slapped himself in the face. Forger-fragger, why do I always do this?

Sprints inclined his head to Axle and Hex in a sincere gesture of rue. "Hey, guys-- I mean, hey, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to start anything, just..." He reached up and rubbed the back of his cranial unit. "I've been cooped up in here for a while, not used to it, you know? I'm real sorry, uh, Axle, right? I'd never... Anyway, geez, sorry." Sprints held out his hand apologetically, and surprised even himself a little bit when it was angled much more toward Hex than the medic. "Uh, Hex? Didn't mean it. I'd never shoot you."

Sprints really did respect both 'Bots, and even if Hex wasn't the friendliest or most compassionate 'Bot Sprints knew, he seemed pretty alright, as the humans said.Oddest apology ever, he thought as he hoped amends could be made.

Bounce Chamber

Hot Spot shook his head in annoyance as Sprints and Hex started going back and forth. “Alright, enough you two, save something for the Decepticons. Sprints, you’re in as long as you can behave. Just stick with the group until we get to the Cons.” The Protectobot leader figured having another hand wouldn’t hurt and he didn’t want to put up with whatever fit the other bot might have if he wasn’t included.

“We’ll have to see what the situation is on the ground Saferoute, but for now at least Steeljaw can ride with you. I reserve the right to reassign either of you to help with combat though so be prepared to jump into the fray if it becomes necessary.” Hot Spot didn’t want to see any humans get hurt, but again the best way to protect them long term was to take out the Stunticons for good.

Hot Spot glanced around at his team and nodded. “Alright, if that’s all let’s get this mission started. Everyone on the pad and we’ll get out of here!” The Protectobot leader walked over to the controls and activated them. Running back to the pad he joined the rest of the Autobot team in bouncing down to Earth.

Bridge

Prowl listened as Blaster gave his assessment of the situations in both Iran and Kansas. Outwardly, these appeared to be simple fuel raids by the ‘Cons to replenish what they had lost when their base had exploded. Of course, looks could be deceiving and when it came to the enemy in question it usually was. There was something more going on here that required the amount of energon they were seeking. Again, it was only a matter of finding out what it was they were really up to.

“They could be desperate, Blaster,” Prowl agreed, rubbing his chin. “Or, like you said, they could be preparing for something else, possibly something big. Either way makes them very dangerous to both us and especially to the human population in the areas they are currently targeting. Regardless, I want you to continue scanning the planet’s various frequencies and communications for anything that indicates additional Decepticon activity. And, of course, keep information from the two battles flowing to the main view screen so that I can keep apprised of how things are transpiring down there.”

Prowl’s attention was then drawn to the appearance of Annex at his side. He remembered that the ranger had played a role in the recent battle of Mount St. Helens, but had since withdrawn into obscurity once he arrived on board the Guardian, maintaining a low profile amongst the ranks. Now, the isolation and tight spaces within the Autobot frigate had apparently finally gotten the better of him, especially with a lack of tasks to help him pass the cycles.

“I understand how you feel, Annex,” Prowl responded to him in an even tone. “Ever since I assumed the role of interim commander I have been stuck inside, as well, dealing with all of the things that Prime would normally have to handle. It may not be what I prefer to be doing, but the responsibility fell to me, nevertheless, and I've made the best of it and will see things through until a new leader is chosen. As for you, I do believe I have something you can work on until such time that you may be called up as possible reinforcements in one of the battles currently underway.”

The black and white mech tapped a few keys on his chair’s console, brining up the data he was looking for. “When the Ark-19 was recently evacuated, Blurr had brought up as much of the weapons and ammunition that he could carry with him so that nothing would get water logged. According to the Guardian’s records, the munitions were deposited down somewhere in the Armory. What I need you to do, Annex, is to go down there and catalog all of the salvaged guns, rifles, cartridges, shells, missiles, etc. and then organize them in a separate area of the Armory so that they can eventually be transferred back to the Ark once the vessel, itself, is finally salvaged and ultimately relocated. I’m sure in his usual rush, Blurr just dumped them down there in a pile or perhaps left them in a hover cart. Either way, a complete inventory needs to be taken so that we know what exactly he have. Understood?”

Incoming Message from Ark-22

>>”Prowl, this is Kup on the Ark-22. We are in system and are moving towards Earth orbit. I’m guessing you’d like to have some sort of meeting here to figure out what the slag we are gonna do.”<<

Bridge

A pair of blips lit up on the Guardian’s sensor grid as the Ark-19 began its approach followed soon afterwards by its sister ship, the Ark-22. Prowl received Jazz’s transmission first and opened a comm line to the music-loving mech:

>>”Jazz, good to hear from you and good to see the Ark-19 airborne once again. I can tell that there is a considerable amount of temporary patch work done along the outer hull. Good job to you and the others. Of course, as you know, permanent repairs will need to be completed before the ship can be relocated down on Earth. For now, though, bring the Ark into orbit alongside the Guardian and alert the rest of the team to continue with whatever work still needs to be done both inside and out. Time is of the essence so if you require any more tools, supplies or additional hands feel free to bounce over here to get what you need.”<<

Prowl no sooner finished transmitting to Jazz when he then received Kup’s message from the Ark-22.

>>”Kup, nice to have you and your crew back in the Sol System. I just wish it was under better circumstances. Yes, there is much to discuss, I’m afraid. However, I’m also currently trying to oversee two major skirmishes down planet side. The ‘Cons are apparently desperate for fuel and are raiding multiple targets at once. As a result, I’ve dispatched two teams to counter their efforts, one led by Ironhide and the other by Hot Spot. So, once you are situated on your end, Kup, you can bounce over here to the Guardian if you like so that I can continue to closely monitor the data feeds coming in from the battles as we hold our meeting. If you have no objections, I will see you soon.”<<

Prowl was eager to get things moving forward. The leadership issue was primarily on his processor, but he feared it would not be an easy one to resolve unless, of course, an unexpected candidate just happened to show up with the right qualifications to replace Prime. The military strategist didn't exactly see that happening, but regardless he would make sure the Autobot war effort pressed forward no matter the cost.

Incoming Message

>>”Prowl, this is Hot Spot. The Stunticons were ready for us and have taken numerous human hostages. Axle has moved ahead of me and is offering himself to Motormaster in exchange. I suspect he will be rejected violently. We will need the repair bay ready for casualties and may possibly require some assistance as half my team will be busy trying to evacuate the humans. We are up against the Stunticons, Runabout, Runamuck, what appears to be a fully loaded Octane and Rumble and Frenzy.”<<

Bridge

As Jazz’s response filtered into his audio receptors, Prowl simultaneously kept one optic on the approaching Ark-22, which swiftly came along the port side of the Guardian where it stopped and began to extend it’s docking tunnel. The military strategist let out a low chuckle as he now realized that Kup would be walking over instead of bouncing. The old timer never liked having his atoms scattered to the winds and then put back together again. He was old fashioned in how he did things and that had always served him well. At least with the ships connected it would save on energon, and it was probably a good idea to do the same thing with the Ark-19, as well.

>>”Understood, Jazz. Just extend the Ark-19’s docking tunnel to the starboard side hatch of the Guardian. That way you and your team can move back and forth freely without the need to bounce. As for Lore-lock, I’ll have a medical drone sent over to pick him up once we are fully docked. Also, regarding supplies, you can just send someone over and get whatever you require from the storage room.”<<

Once his communication with Jazz was finished, Prowl then received an update from Hot Spot down on the ground in Kansas. Apparently, things were not going so well and the battle hadn’t even begun yet. Casualties would likely be forthcoming as would the need for reinforcements.

>>”I hear you, Hot Spot. The medical bay will be ready and waiting for any of your team’s wounded. As for reinforcements, I will send two more ‘Bots to assist you in short order. Keep me apprised of any further developments when you are able.”<<

Prowl then switched channels: >>”First Aid, if you’re not already there, get down to the med bay immediately and prepare the facility for incoming casualties.”<<

The military strategist then considered who to send down to provide Hot Spot’s team with additional support. They were already working with a skeleton crew on board the Guardian as it were, but with the arrival of the Ark-22 there would now be more Autobots to choose from. However, Prowl felt it ill advised to select from Kup’s crew without first consulting with him. Therefore, the black and white mech decided to pick from his own crew for now.

>>”Annex, Tracer, drop what you’re doing and report to the bounce chamber immediately. Hot Spot’s team requires reinforcements down planet side. They are facing the combined strength of the Stunticons, Battlechargers, Octane, Rumble and Frenzy. Primus speed to you both.”<<

Message to Prowl

>>”Prowl, this is Kup. We are boarding the Guardian now. Where do you want to talk? I suggest somewhere with enough room to fit 5 big Autobots.”<<

Bridge

Ironfist had made a quick detour to his personal workshop located within the primary armory hold of the Guardian. Selecting several devices of his own creation, specifically to bolster his initially limited tools supply, the engineer managed to fully equip himself for the next task of salvage and reconstruction. Sparing only a passing glance out of the armory view port, gathering his first unfetted view of the wounded ship. Pock marks, craters and charred patches crossing the ship, several smaller breaches still venting loose materials and wreckage into space. He could only offer a brief shake of the head before disappearing into the halls of the smaller combat escort vessel.

Emerging from the turbo lift, Ironfist made his way to the command level of the Guardian. He offered a mild salute to Prowl and the others who populated the tightly packed gallery. Once his arm lowered to his side, he produced a digital storage pad which he offered to the currently displaced commander of the wounded vessel that loomed along side. "Ironfist reporting the status of the Ark-19. In as few words as possible, she'll live. We'll need to replace almost all of her power generation capabilities before we can fully populate her." He already knew the report had been delivered to Prowl, but he felt it his duty was to confirm the facts. Primarily because he had technically been thrust into the role of Chief Engineer onboard the vessel until such time as he could be replaced by someone better qualified.

"Commander Prowl, I realize you have plenty of your actuators since the elevation in responsibilities. But I would like to request a viable construction team be dispatched immediately, in order to expedite repairs."

Armoury

Annex was picking over the weapons that had been left unceremoniously on the floor of the armoury when the call came in to reinforce one of the teams on the ground. He immediately dropped what he was doing and made his way to the bounce chamber waiting to be dropped down to the fight on the planets surface.

Bridge

Prowl thought for a moment as he considered Kup’s suggestion to find a room large enough to have their meeting. According to the Guardian’s sensors, Grimlock and his unit were apparently coming along for the ride. The military strategist had hoped to simply discuss the situation with Kup alone, but he wasn’t at all surprised that the Dinobot Commander wanted to be included on the decision making process. However, Prowl was a bit taken aback that Grimlock was bringing his entire squad with him. It mattered little as the rest of them were hardly known for their intellectual achievements and would simply follow where their commander led them. Just as long as Grimlock didn’t expect to be made the new Autobot leader there wouldn’t be a problem.

Who am I kidding? Of course there’ll be a problem, Prowl conceded within his own logical thoughts. Grimlock was notorious for being stubborn and doing what he wanted to do regardless of what his actual orders were. Still he had his usefulness, which was why Prime had tolerated his borderline insubordination for so long. Prowl, on the other hand, was not Optimus and had no desire to tolerate any kind of behavior that would put the Autobot war effort in jeopardy. Hopefully, the Dinobot Commander would listen to reason during the upcoming meeting and not go off half-cocked into another dangerous situation.

Checking the internal sensors once again, Prowl searched the Guardian for an appropriate location to have their little chat. He needed a place that was not only spacious enough for the Dinobots to comfortably fit inside but would also keep the lower-ranking ones occupied while the higher-ups talked things over. The only place that seemed suitable was the mess hall, which appeared to be empty at the present time. It was the biggest room on the frigate and it offered a variety of energon drinks that would hopefully take the edge off of Grimlock's troops. As for privacy, well, some of the Dinobots could guard the doors to ensure that no one else entered during the discussions.

>>”Okay, Kup, let’s meet down in the mess hall. It’s the only place large enough to fit everyone that’s coming with you. There’s not too much to break down there, either, so I think it's our best option. Also, since many of our mechs are on assignment elsewhere, we shouldn't be bothered by anyone else. See you in approximately one breem.”<<

Cutting his comm line, Prowl stood from the command chair and turned towards the communications station. “Blaster, I’ll be down in the mess hall. Keep me apprised of any changes in the dual combat operations down on the planet’s surface.” The military analyst then started for the door when he was startled slightly by the presence of Ironfist as the black and white mech hadn’t heard the smaller ‘Bot enter the bridge. The strategist nodded as the weaponry engineer updated him on the progress with the Ark-19 repair work after which a request was made for a more substantial construction team to help further the process along quicker.

“I understand your needs, Ironfist. Unfortunately, we only have the equivalent of a skeleton crew on board the Guardian at the moment as the rest are in the field. However, you may have already noticed that the Ark-22 just arrived in system and has docked with us. If I’m not mistaken, I believe Wheeljack is over there along with several other mechs capable of assisting you. I would suggest contacting Springer to see what help they can offer. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an important meeting to attend.”

With that said, Prowl moved by Ironfist and exited the bridge. The black and white made his way through the frigate at a quickened pace, hoping to get things resolved sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, he also anticipated that the discussions would likely devolve into a heated debate, especially once Grimlock added his two energon chips into the informal proceedings. Given the Dinobot Commander’s past history of questioning authority, it was the most logical conclusion to assume.

(OOC: Using Sunstreaker a bit with Deva's permission)

Mess Hall

The Kona blue femme had taken her leave of the Bridge once she was dismissed by Prowl and gradually made her way to the mess hall. She took a seat at one of the more secluded tables and quickly became engrossed in a datapad stock full of Cybertronian literature. The free time was a welcome reprieve to everything that had occurred. It had been a solar cycle and a half since her meeting with Oil Slick and the Syk that he had provided to her seemed to be helping. This was first time in vorns that she actually felt normal. After some time Tracer had journeyed to the energon dispenser, datapad in hand. She was glad that she dropped Razr off in their quarters so he could get some recharge. The poor thing had been going non-stop for cycles without fail.

A few cycles passed and the preoccupied femme never noticed the arrival of the twins. Apparently they hadn’t spotted her as Sideswipe breezed past her on his way to the dispenser, his mouth running a mile a minute.

With a playful smirk etched on his face, Sideswipe strolled back to the table Sunstreaker had settled at and slid his golden sibling one of the glasses full of energon.

“You know you can’t be mad at me. After all you went along with it…..willingly I might add. And it did come off! Eventually.”

With his last statement, Sideswipe plopped his legs on the table top and leaned back rather daringly in his chair. The crimson warrior glanced at the glass in his hand jostling it so that the liquid swirled slowly around. He had hoped his twin would have spoken to him by now, or at the very least flung a series of endless profanities, but nothing.

“You know, Sunny, you really ought to learn to loosen up. I mean, we’re stuck here with absolutely nothing to do…you should have known I would have come up with something like that eventually.”

Sideswipe glanced at Sunstreaker, but still there was no response. Sideswipe let out a sigh and followed it up with a shrug.

It seemed that not even the chatter from one half of the terrible two could even falter Tracer’s attention, but then again Sideswipe was not her internal comm. Tracer was finally torn from her reading when she received Prowl’s message. She quickly rose from her chair and chugged the final mouthful of energon; once she finished she slammed the glass on the table and hustled out of the room.

It was the movement of her chair that caught the red warrior’s attention. He cast a sideways glance in her direction and watched as she finished her drink and then quickly left. Sideswipe rubbed his chin for a brief moment and then turned his attention to his rather irritated twin. After a moment he dropped his legs from the table and stood up.

“I…uh…forgot to turn the oven off back in the room.”

He dashed away before Sunstreaker could even say a word…that is if he was even speaking to his immature brother.

“Catch ya later, Sunny!” He called as he breezed through the doors and down the hall after Tracer.

Tracer made a quick stop by her quarters where Sideswipe waited in a shadowed doorway. When the femme finally left the room she started for the bounce chamber. The attractive femme turned a corner and quickly pressed herself against the wall and waited until Sideswipe had stepped around to enter the corridor before she grabbed a hold of his wrist and forced him face first into the wall, his arm secured behind his back.

The red warrior let out a surprised yelp when he was suddenly grabbed and forced against the wall. He then let out a hearty chuckle at the situation he had gotten himself into.

“Heh. Hey there. No need to get rough! Yet.”

Tracer let out an annoyed snort.

“Can it, reject! Why are you following me?”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! As much as you’d like to think it, I am not following you. We just happen to be going in the same direction. Believe me, if I was following you, you’d know it, sweetie.”

The femme pulled up further on the warrior’s arm causing Sideswipe to hiss in pain.

“Don’t refer to me as ‘sweetie’ ever again, am I clear?” For good measure she pulled up once more.

“Agh! Okay! Whatever you say.”

Not wanting to prolong her journey any more than she already had, Tracer released the mech and stepped back. Sideswipe turned around rubbing his sore wrist. He gave a good look at her and flashed a crocked smile.

“So, where are ya headed, sweetspark?”

Tracer’s upper lip curled as she let out a disgusted groan and shoved the mech hard back away from her. The smile on Sideswipe’s face vanished when he lost balance and stumbled backwards falling on his aft at the feet of none other than Prowl.

Tracer watched in abject horror as the red half of Prowl’s own personal curse landed on the floor directly in front of him.

Sideswipe looked up at the expression on the femme’s face and immediately knew who it was he was blocking. The crimson warrior glanced over his shoulder and smiled.

“Prowler! Glad you’re here.”

Sideswipe stood up and offered a sloppy salute.

“You see, uh…” He looked to Tracer causing the femme to flinch and give her name.

“Tracer.”

“Tracer and I were just discussing what she’ll be doing, and well she was worried that she and….”

“Annex.”

“Annex wouldn’t be able to handle things. Soooo, I suggested that we find you and see if it’d be okay if Sunny and me joined in.”

Sideswipe lowered his voice as he stepped in a little closer to the black and white.

“Of course me and Sunny could stay here and find something to do, but I’m not so sure this ship could handle it.”

The warrior flashed Prowl that oh so familiar trademark smile, behind him Tracer ran her hand over her face.

Corridors

Prowl’s journey down to the mess hall was interrupted as he rounded a corner and found Sideswipe and Tracer standing in the middle of the corridor apparently bickering with one another. An astrosecond later, the red twin ended up on his aft section directly at the feet of the black and white mech, who gazed down at Siders in mild annoyance. The military strategist then watched as the crimson warrior picked himself up off of the floor and tried to explain what he and Tracer were doing loitering about in the hallway. The femme’s reaction to the twin’s explanation was one of embarrassment, but the suggestion that the two brothers join the reinforcements for Hot Spot’s unit was still a viable one. It would certainly keep the two trouble-making siblings out of the analyst’s circuits for a few cycles, at least.

“Yes, well, I can barely handle you two to make no mention of the ship, itself,” Prowl finally responded as he crossed his arms over his chest plate and locked optics with Sideswipe. “Fine, you and your brother can go along with Tracer and Annex. I’m sure your elite warrior skills will come in handy when battling the Stunticons and the Battlechargers. Now, if you don’t mind, I have important business to deal with.”

With his decision made, Prowl then moved past the two mechs and continued on towards the mess hall. Within a few kliks, the strategist reached his destination.

Mess Hall

Prowl entered the vast room that was filled with tables and chairs. All were empty expect for one at the far end where a very familiar golden Autobot was seated. Ah, there’s the other one, the black and white thought before opening his comm line to Sideswipe:

>>”I’ve found your brother. I’ll fill him in on the mission and send him to meet you and the others down in the bounce chamber. Prowl out.”<<

The military strategist then made his approach, walking across the large chamber and stopping just short of the mech in question. Prowl let out a sigh as he gazed down at the vain warrior that sat before him. “Sunstreaker, there you are. I just literally ran into your sibling out in the corridor. He volunteered both of you to go along with Tracer and Annex down to the surface as reinforcements for Hot Spot’s team, who are dealing with a hostage situation and have already suffered some casualties. They’re facing the combined might of the Stunticons and the Battlechargers not to mention Frenzy and Rumble are in the mix, as well. Join the others down in the bounce chamber ASAP for immediate deployment.”

Prowl hoped that the golden twin would not give him too much grief about the new assignment and simply leave the mess hall without incident. The black and white strategist already had enough to deal with in the form of Grimlock and his merry band that were currently on their way with Kup. Prowl was in no mood to deal with Sunstreaker's poor attitude, as well.

There was a second pause between Prowl's question and Blaster's answer. For once, he wasn't busy cranking his music to ridiculously loud levels- he was busy keeping his optics on his two cassettes down on the surface, while Eject and Rewind focused on the rest of the two battles. He was a bit worried about Steeljaw and Ramhorn, but with some more autobots heading down there he was a bit more comfortable.

"Uh...got it, Prowl!" Blaster commented. He hadn't thought about it much as of late, but he did wonder what was going to go down with their down leadership position. He didn't particularly mind any of the potential leaders, truth be told, but he wasn't entirely sure if Grimlock would make that great of a leader, either.

Mess Hall

Sunstreaker sat in the empty mess hall, finally enjoying a bit of peace and quiet. His idiot twin desperately needed some sort of remote off switch for his vocalizer. Sideswipe had been trying to coerce him into saying something to him. He wasn’t even close to the mood to humor him, so he had remained silent, watching him fidget and grow frustrated. It had been amusing for awhile but he was glad to see the idiot run after the femme, another typical Sideswipe move.

The yellow warrior’s quiet time of solitude came to an end as Prowl entered the room. He glanced over at the other Autobot in annoyance but said nothing to him. Prowl wasn’t the type to try and strike up some random conversation with him. He was still annoying but he would give him that at least.

Unfortunately the other Autobot decided to break the silence. Sunstreaker glared at him as he explained what his idiot brother had done. They were getting sent down into some sort of hostage situation, which could mean just about anything, along with two Autobots he had never heard of, which meant they were losers. He didn’t like his brother ‘volunteering’ him for anything, let alone some slapdash reinforcement mission with a couple of cannon fodder Bots along for the ride.

On the other hand though, it would give him an opportunity to show up his brother on the field again. Certainly there were some Decepticons down on the mudball in need of a solid beating from him. Sure those two no-names wouldn’t make it out, but it would be another great battle to add to his name and put him even further ahead on the score chart of victories that he kept with Sideswipe.

Sunstreaker stood up and after giving Prowl a glare walked out of the room. He glared at the Bots he passed on the way out as well, not particularly happy to see the new comers.

*

Kup spared Sunstreaker a brief glance before stepping past him into the room. He had no desire to deal with the prima donna Autobot right now. He was going to have enough to deal with as it was. Behind him the Dinobots filed in, ducking or twisting to get their bulky frames in through the doorway built to accommodate more standard shaped Autobots.

Grimlock waved for the Dinobots to avail themselves of the fuel dispensers if they wished. Sludge trudged over to get a glass, followed by Swoop. Slag followed Grimlock as he approached the waiting Prowl.

Kup stuck out his hand at Prowl, grasping his in a firm shake. “Good to see you again lad, just wish it was under better circumstances. Hate to pack up and leave Cybertron like that but it was obviously necessary.” He took the cy-gar out of his mouth for a moment. “Not really sure how to go about this to be honest. Haven’t had to worry about a new leader in a long time, not since we were all on Cybertron. Now we are spread out all over the place, be lucky if we don’t end up fighting and arguing over it too much.”

Grimlock grunted and finally spoke up. “That for Decepticons to do. We pick new leader, strong leader quickly, then we have edge against Decepticons. Then we hammer Decepticons at every turn, starting here. Take out Shockwave, Starscream, Cons be even more confused. Need to move fast though, no time to waste.” The Dinobot did not come out and nominate himself, not yet at least, but he did want to get things moving. He knew that Prowl would want to discuss it, maybe create charts and lists. There was no time for such things in war, especially when the initiative was just sitting there waiting to be seized upon.

*

Corridors

Sunstreaker walked down the corridors until he found Sideswipe and someone he assumed to be one of the losers sent along with them. He looked at his twin before shaking his head slightly in disgust and disapproval. It was partially to annoy him and partially at him chasing down the little femme and getting them sucked into a mission like this. At the very least it would annoy the other Autobot for a little while.

The warrior then stepped past both of them on his way to the bounce chamber.

Mess Hall

From the bridge of the Ark – 22 Rodimus made his way out of the ship and onto the Protectobot’s frigate the Guardian. Kup and his entourage of Dinobots had already made their way through the boarding chute and pressed on to the meeting point with Prowl. Slowly the self-proclaimed Prime entered the frigate and made his way toward the Mess Hall. He hadn’t heard the discussion between the old mech and the impromptu leader, but then again he didn’t need to hear anything in order to know everything.

”Why are we on the Guardian?”

” I've told you already…you will know when the time is right. For now you will do nothing but watch.”

He was silent for now, but he would soon become vocal once he realized what was going on. No matter, he still had no way to warn them. The bright blue of Rodimus’ optics darkened to a deep indigo as a malevolent smile worked its way on to the mech’s face. He would need to play things just right in order for his plan to work.

Upon reaching the level the mess hall was located on, the smile on Rodimus’ face melted into a more serious expression proper for a meeting with the mechs he hoped to lead. Turning the last corner he came to the mess hall door and entered.

“I believe that everyone is here. Why don’t we get this meeting under way?”

Rodimus nodded in Kup and Prowl’s direction.

“It’s good to see you again, Prowl.”

****

Corridors

A broad smile appeared on Sideswipe’s face as Prowl agreed to have him and Sunstreaker join Tracer and the other mech, Annex, as back-up to Hot Spot and his team. He was itching to plunge his fist into the face of any unsuspecting ‘Con, this mission would be the perfect opportunity to do just that. His processor was so wrapped around the coming events that the crimson warrior didn’t even notice that Prowl had already moved past him and continued on his way.

Sideswipe shook his head to clear his mind and focused his attention on the femme who was now glaring at him with her arms crossed over her chest. He gave her in innocent shrug before he sidled up to her and placed his arm around her shoulder. Tracer let out a annoyed groan before she quickly removed his arm.

“Do me a huge favor, won’t you?”

“What’s that sweetspark?”

Tracer turned to face the frontliner, a pleasant smile formed on her delicate features as she stepped in close…and punched him in the gut.

"Don't touch me, and don't ever call me sweetspark again."

Her smile faded as she moved past him and made her way to the bounce chamber.

Sideswipe had doubled over from the punch, but it did no damage. Clutching his stomach he smiled and looked down the corridor at her retreating form. It was at that time he received the message from Prowl.

“She’s feisty. I love feisty.”

He straightened up and quickly jogged down the hall to catch up with her. Sideswipe was about to continue his unusual courtship ritual when Sunstreaker suddenly appeared in the corridor. Sideswipe flashed his twin a genuine smile with an added head tilt in Tracer’s direction, but the golden warrior simply looked at him and shook his head before continuing on.

Tracer simply stared as Sunstreaker walked past. She had heard stories about him and his reputation so she already had an idea of just what he might look, but she was surprised to see that she was completely off. He was by no way deranged looking; on the contrary, he was extremely handsome. Tracer shook her head before refocusing her attention on Sideswipe.

“Is he always so cheerful?”

“Heh. Don’t worry about him. Just point him at a ‘Con and he’ll be fine.”

Tracer finally gave the red twin a smirk before she followed behind Sunstreaker. Sideswipe, happy to get a smile form her and not another fist to his person, also followed behind his brother.

Bounce Chamber

Annex was waiting patiently in the bounce chamber, checking his carbine and supply of demo charges as he waited for Tracer to show up so he they could bounce down to the surface and back up Hot Spot's team. He didn't know much about Tracer but he as eager to get out and work along side other Autobot's again, it sure beat having to sort through a pile of weapons. He had just finished checking the site on his weapon for what felt like the hundredth time when he finally heard someone coming, and the ranger looked up expecting to see Tracer walk into the chamber.

However, he was surprised to see the yellow plated chassis of Sunstreaker enter. A chill ran through Annex as he got a strange feeling from just looking at the other mech, a feeling he only got when he ran across some of the more depraved Decepticons. Something dark inside that one. He thought to himself and choose not to acknowledge the others presence, he didn't really want anything to do with the yellow psycho and would feel much better as soon as he was able to get away from him. Not far behind came the far more pleasing visage of Tracer, though by the look on her face he figured she didn't want anything to do with an mech with wandering optics and just gave her a polite nod and a 'ma'am' when she walked in through the front door.

The last mech was Sideswipe, the near identical twin to Sunstreaker, but was the other mechs complete opposite in terms of personality, and by all accounts was the kind of mech that Annex liked to hang around with. A solid fighter in combat, and a fun mech to slam back a few energon shots afterward and swap stories. Seems this could turn out to be an interesting team to work with.

"So, shall we get this road show rollin'? I figure Hot Spot and his mechs are waitin' on us to get our afts planet side ASAP."