The Energon Pub

Bridge

The turbofox had raised its paw once more and brought it down the length of Prowl’s shin as he yipped again. Razr then cocked his head to one side when the strategist asked him a question. Razr kept his optics on the black and white for a few moments before he looked back at Tracer who was sitting at the station Perceptor was just at.

With the scientist gone and the maps that he had previously brought up for her to study now memorized, Tracer accessed one of the last file. She quickly skimmed through its contents but the information she had been looking for was not in the file. Her head slumped slightly until she finally lowered her head into her hands. I can’t take this anymore. Getting too hard to focus and even harder to keep myself motivated.

Tracer ran her hands down her face as she let out a anguished groan. Just then she heard a low yip coming from behind her. Slowly she spun her chair half way around and peered back to see Razr attempting to get Prowl’s attention. Her optics brightened with fear that the tactician would catch on to what the creature truly wanted.

The femme quickly got up from her chair and made her way over to the both of them. She attempted to compose herself as best she could so as not to alarm Prowl.

“He just wants your attention, sir. He’s probably just concerned about something.”

Tracer forced a smirk as she squatted down and placed her hand on Razr’s head.

“It’s alright, Razr. We’re going to be leaving real soon.”

She looked back up to Prowl as she petted the turbofox.

“He’s usually pretty picky when it comes to mechs he’ll trust. I hope he didn’t distract you too much.”

Please, Primus let him just brush this off so we can get out of here and meet Perceptor. I’ve got to get back down on Earth if I’m going to do what I need to.

Corridor

At last the the aerialbots and the two mechs are in the training facility, now it's time to see who's the best. Air Raid was ready to start shooting with his Torque Rifle, but he didn't want to start shooting, he wanted to see which bragger was the strongest.

''Hey guys, will one of you start shooting cannons or i could just leave'' said Air Raid to the Autobots.

Training Facility

"BAM no need to let your circuits sizzle, Hardhead, our good buddies got us here." Warpath tried to calm down the large green mech as he entered the shooting range with more of a swagger than usual. Whether it was training or in battle, the maroon warrior loved showing off his firepower and his shooting skills.

The room was mostly dark blue with a white grid pattern on the walls, which made it look much larger than it really was- so large that one would think the room was bigger than the ship it was in. Next to the sliding door they walked in through was a computer console. At the far end of the room were several targets that looked like generic robots, which appeared to be several hundred yards away.

"So, you wanna see some BOOM large explosions, Air Raid? Then I hope we've got some good engineers onboard, 'cause KABOOM they'll need to repair most of the walls after I'm done, ha ha!"

Warpath motioned for Hardhead and the Aerialbots to stay back as he took a few steps in front of them. The inner mechanisms within his chest loaded an explosive shell into his cannon as he aimed for the target in the middle that appeared to be 500 yards away. The tank-bot looked back at the other Autobots and gave a thumbs up. With a quick burst of light and a thunderous boom, Warpath fired off his shell. It whistled as it travelled straight at the target, dead center. The moment it hit, the target was engulfed in a large plume of fire and smoke, the loud sound of the explosion echoing through the room.

Warpath turned around and walked back to the other Autobots proudly, "I really know how to start things off with a BANG, huh guys?"

Bridge

Razr yipped again and pawed at Prowl’s shin, cocking his head to one side as the strategist finished asking him what was wrong. The turbofox then looked back around at Tracer who was still sitting at Perceptor’s station. She was quickly drawn away from her studies by the sounds of her pet and immediately got up and approached the small creature.

“I see,” Prowl responded to Tracer’s explanation as to why Razr was trying to gain his attention. The femme then calmed the turbofox by telling it that everything was all right before conveying her concern to the black and white mech that he had been too distracted by the cute little display. “It’s no problem, Tracer. He was actually a welcome break from everything that I’ve had to deal with in recent cycles. Just as long as he doesn’t cause any trouble, I’m fine with him being around.” He smiled again and leaned down to pet Razr one last time. Once that was done, the Autobot analyst straightened up in the command chair and gave Tracer a nod, signaling that she could continue on with her duties.

Prowl then turned his attention towards the communications station where Blaster was still hooked into the console as Earth music continued to play through his speakers. “Blaster, status report. Any signs of Decepticon activity planet side?” The military strategist knew that if anything unusual had been detected down on Earth he would have been notified immediately. However, Prowl asked for an update from the music-loving mech anyway just in case he had become so consumed with the local rock stations that he had inadvertently overlooked something important.

Training Facility

Hardhead entered the training room behind the rest of the group as Warpath attempted to cool his overheated circuits. The green mech shrugged off the effort and watched as the crimson tank former took aim at one of the robot-like targets at the opposite end of the shooting range. He motioned for the others to stay back for their own safety, but Hardhead remained where he was, arms folded across his chest plate and unafraid of any backlash from his friend’s chest-mounted weapon. Once the tank-bot gave everyone a thumbs up, he unleashed a shell towards the middle target, which was hit dead center and destroyed only a few astroseconds later.

The loud sound of both the initial shell launch as well as the following explosion at the opposing end of the room would have been enough to shatter most mech’s audio receptors. However, the noise didn’t bother Hardhead in the slightest as he was accustomed to the sound of battlefield artillery fire even at close range. The war veteran smirked as Warpath rejoined the rest of them and made a sly comment about starting things off with a bang.

“It was certainly a bang, alright,” Hardhead replied as he uncrossed his arms. “A very impressive display of precision and firepower, ‘Path, considering it was only a non-moving target.” The war veteran added not intending to belittle his comrade’s skill set, but instead just pointing out the obvious. Hardhead then turned around and approached the computer console by the door. He punched in a few of the keys, which initiated a new training program. The large Autobot returned his attention to the shooting range in front of the assembled group just as a panel in the far back wall slid open and released a pair of automated drones into the room. The machines quickly sped across the range in opposite directions, providing the green warrior with a set of more challenging, moving targets.

Transforming into his Stryker armored vehicle mode, Hardhead rolled just ahead of where the three Aerialbots and Warpath stood. The ground assault specialist then took careful aim at one of the speeding drones with his top-mounted, laser-guided cannon and fired an incendiary shell across the range before then turning his weapon towards the other drone and unleashing another explosive projectile. However, instead of aiming directly at the drones, themselves, he shot his destructive shells just ahead of each mechanism’s intended tracks. As a result, both drones literally entered straight into the pathways of the two warheads at the very moments of impact. One mechanized target was then instantly obliterated followed closely by the other in a pair of equally loud and fiery displays much like the crimson tank former’s previous single assault.

Pleased with the destruction he had just caused, Hardhead returned to robot mode and stepped over next to Warpath. The green mech placed a hand on his fellow ground trooper’s shoulder and grinned. “Top that, buddy.”

Slingshot smirked at the two displays of "targeting". Warpath definitely had the big boom and Hardhead proved that he could hit slow moving targets. Now it is time to see if they can hit fast moving multiple targets.

"I see that you two can blow up things even at a slight distance moving at the Earth snail's pace. The firepower is impressive and I know who to call if I want a wall removed for me. Now, let us see how you do with multiple fast moving targets."

Slingshot walks over to the console and punches in a few commands of his own. To his frustration, he is denied.

"Commander, this thing wants a higher clearance level than what I have."

Silverbolt walks over and notices the program that Slingshot is wanting a high level training exercise and that it can be a tad dangerous. He looks at Slingshot who has a wide grin on his face. Silverbolt then punches in his command codes and the walls move a bit more and five small floating balls appear at the fall side. Slingshot and Silverbolt walk back to the rest with Slingshot having both of his guns out and Silverbolt having his out to his side.

"Start the program." That was it took from Slingshot for the five balls to start moving at high speeds. Some of them looked like they were going to hit each other but never due. Slingshot took two out with his arms stretched fall apart, then he crossed the arms to take out two more and then shot both guns at the last one and all of this was within 30 seconds.

"Now, how about that shooting practice?"

Bridge

Saferoute entered the bridge suddenly, she just couldn't take it anymore. She had been cooped up on board the Guardian for what seemed like forever, and it was more than she could bare. Looking around the bridge, she saw Prowl and went towards him in a huff. Before she got too close to him however, she sensed something familiar, something she hadn't seen in for a long time since leaving Cybertron.

"No, it can't be... Not this far from home..." the fem-bus said to herself.

She followed her senses, the distinct smell and sound that she had grown familiar from taking care of so many of them before the war. She looked down in front of black and white mech and there it was, with another blue femme already petting it.

"Oh Primus, a turbofox!", Saferoute said giddily, her spark filled with glee.

Slowly she walked toward the little creature, hoping not to startle him. As soon as she was close enough, Saferoute carefully knelt down near the turbofox and put her hand out for the creature to sniff, hoping he would be comfortable with her.

"Hello there, little friend!" Saferoute said to the turbofox in a friendly manner, "You really made my mega-cycle, I never thought I'd see one of you this far away from Cybertron!"

After staring at the turbofox for a few astroseconds she turned her attention to the smaller femme that was petting him. She looked bothered, but Saferoute wasn't going to judge. As far as the transport was concerned, any friend of animals was a friend of hers.

"Are you taking care of him?" she cheerfully asked Tracer, "He really is quite beautiful. Does he have a name?"


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

Training Facility

Warpath stood back as he watched the others practice. He kept his arms crossed with a smug look, even though he knew Hardhead had made a much bigger explosion than the tank-bot had made.

"BLAM, not bad." the warrior casually replied to the larger green mech, "That's pretty good, if I do say so myself."

As he watched Slingshot take out 5 moving targets, Warpath kept the same expression. He knew he couldn't match any of the Aerialbots in terms of speed, even when firing multiple shots.

"I'll WHAM, give ya' credit, fly guy. That was some impressive shootin'." the warrior complimented.

Ready to take another turn, Warpath went to the console.

"You know, when I first joined up, they were POW so impressed with my sharpshootin' that they wanted to make me a ZING, sniper." the crimson warrior said to the others as he finished changed the program, "But BAM, I told 'em [i]no slagging way![/b] You know why? Because POW I want to be right where the action is, right in the middle of it with all the other Autobots."

As soon as Warpath finished changing the program, eleven of the same small balls appeared at the far end of the room. This time, however, five of the balls were red, while six of them were purple. When the tank-bot was done, he walked in front of the others and transformed into his tank mode.

"Let's just say that the ZOOM purple ones are ol' Screamer and his Seeker pals, and the red ones are you Aerialbots.", Warpath explained as his inner mechanisms loaded one of his cryogenic shells, "BLAM start the program!"

All eleven balls sped around at the same speed as before, red and purple zig-zagging after each other as if they were in a dogfight. Confidently Warpath fired his shell, narrowly missing three red balls and hitting one of the purple. The purple ball suddenly fell to the floor, shattering as it hit. After a few astroseconds to reload, Warpath fired again, missing the red balls and hitting another of the purple, which fell and shattered, then Warpath reloaded. This repeated four more times until all of the purple balls were gone, while all five of the red balls continued to moving around. It had taken Warpath 90 seconds. The tank-bot transformed back to his robot mode and faced Hardhead, Silverbolt, Slingshot and Air Raid.

"HA HA, I may not be the fastest, but POW you can bet I make my shots count!"

Bridge

Tracer nodded in understanding at Prowl’s statement and looked back at Razr. She placed her forehead against the turbofox’s and stood back up. Tracer had just begun to move toward the exit when she heard someone call out something about a turbofox. The blue femme turned around swiftly only to see a much taller femme approaching Razr. Her movements were slow and she remained calm. She obviously had some dealings with turbofoxes so she knew what to do to keep them from running.

Tracer watched carefully as Saferoute knelt down and held her hand out for Razr to sniff, but even though she was still doing everything right, Razr was still not comfortable enough for the new arrival to have at his head with her hand. He sniffed for a moment but then moved behind Tracer’s legs.

With the femme still down on the same level as Razr, Tracer looked over and nodded in response to her first query.

“We take of each other. I call him Razr.”

The scout motioned for the turbofox to move toward the door while she spoke to Saferoute a moment longer.

“I’m sorry, but he and I have to get going.”

That said Tracer and her familiar exited the bridge and quickly made their way to the bounce chamber.

Bounce Chamber

Tracer arrived before Perceptor and without taking time to prep the platform the femme moved to a weapons locker. She rummaged through the contents until she spotted the device she had been looking for. The scout picked up the device and activated it to be sure it was in good working condition. Satisfied she stored it and then approached the controls for the platform. The coordinates to the location Perceptor had chosen were entered and that is when the scientist finally entered the chamber; one hand held a storage canister while the other held a scanning device.

“Ah, good you’re here. Let’s get going.”

Tracer nodded and initiated the bounce process. She stepped back onto the platform with Razr at her side. In a flash of blue light the three Autobots vanished from sight.

Bridge

Hot Spot nodded at Prowl’s orders. He didn’t exactly have much hope for finding them either, not with some of the smarter and tech savvy Cons likely on board. Someone like Soundwave or Scrapper would certainly make sure the ship avoided easy detection that might have been achievable with just Motormaster in charge. Still it was worth a little more effort at least on the off chance that they hadn’t quite gotten it perfectly hidden yet.

The Protectobot leader shook his head at Groove’s words. “I’m afraid that we aren’t going to wait for a dialogue Groove. If we locate them we are going on the offensive immediately. With their leadership shaken we might just have a chance at given the Cons a knock out blow once and for all.” He looked over at the other Protectobot. “Even you have to admit that if we can shoot down the Ultrax here and now with all of those Cons on board we’ll be saving countless lives in the long run, on both sides.”

Bridge

Groove just sat silently, looking at Hot Spot as he processed what the Protectobot commander had just told him. The scout was smart enough to understand the logic behind the decision- no doubt why Prowl had issued the order in the first place. But despite his intelligence, Groove had never been a strict follower of logic. He had felt that if there was ever a chance to prevent all casualties, whether friend, enemy or innocent bystander, then it was worth the risk to exhaust all of their options.

"I'm sorry Hot Spot but I just do not agree with that." he respectfully replied to his commander, "Those aren't simple machines built for destruction on that ship, they're living mechanisms. What's more, they're our fellow Cybertronians regardless of how long we've been at war with them. I'll admit that there are some truly horrible, sadistic mech's among their ranks, and they most certainly should be brought justice. But deep down I'm certain that most of them have good sparks, and it was only through Megatron's influence that brought them to commit their crimes. Now that their founder and leader is possibly gone, they have a chance to see the error of their ways and to redeem themselves. And I think we owe it to them, to ourselves, and the future of our race to at least give them the opportunity to find their redemption before we decide to terminate them for the 'greater good'."

A beeping noise came from Groove's console along with several flashing lights, bringing the scout's focus back to the task at hand. After a few keystrokes he saw the results, and he was slightly relieved.

"No signs of the Ultrax yet over the northern part of the eastern hemisphere." the scout reported.

After a few astroseconds pondering the current situation, Groove went back to work and found another satellite that would help scan another part of the planet. He began entering some new calculations and adjustments to the scanners.

"We'll be able to scan over the African continent and most of the Indian Ocean in 15 astroseconds." Groove said in a reluctant tone.

Training Facility

Hardhead watched as Slingshot and Warpath took turns shooting down a variety of small flying orbs that darted around the room at incredible speeds. The Aerialbot was easily the fastest, but the crimson tank-former proved that he was capable of isolating and hitting only the bad ones, leaving the others unscathed. It was an impressive display by both mechs to say the least and they were clearly proud of their accomplishments. However, the war veteran wanted to up the ante a bit and decided to make the next training session much more challenging.

“Nicely done,” Hardhead admitted as he approached the control console. “But let’s make things more interesting, shall we?” The green warrior typed in a few higher level commands that initiated a more difficult program. Within astroseconds, the wall at the far end opened up and released a half dozen ground based drones as well as another half dozen aerial orbs into the room, equaling twelve targets total. However, these ones were different from the previous mechanisms the group had faced. These could shoot back! “You guys might want to stand back and keep your heads down,” Hardhead stated as he turned and walked away from the group so they wouldn't be caught in the line of fire. “Start program.”

All at once the various drones and flying orbs began racing around the room. The green warrior immediately pulled out his two trusty shatterblasters and took aim with both weapons, one pointed into the air while the other was aimed at ground level. He opened fire simultaneously, unleashing hell in the form of hundreds of diamond-hard shards, which took out two aerial drones and one ground based unit right off the bat. However, things then changed dramatically as the remaining drones detected the attack and turned their sights on Hardhead, opening fire with their small side-mounted laser weapons. One beam struck the green veteran on the shoulder, leaving behind only a very minor scorch mark that his pain receptors barely even registered. Unlike real laser blasts, these were a bit weaker in intensity and not designed to do any real or permanent damage, especially not to a mech as big and tough as Hardhead. An Aerialbot, however, might have a tougher time and it could hurt a lot more.

“Now this is what I call fun!” Hardhead exclaimed as he leapt to one side, his hulking mass landing with a loud thud. He wasn’t exactly the most agile Autobot around, but he didn’t have to be. With the amount of armored plating that he carried, he’d be able to withstand a tremendous amount of firepower before being brought down. As a result, he worried little about the dangers the drones posed to him and instead focused on destroying them all in a blaze of glory.

Taking aim once again with both shatterblasters, he opened fire and tore into three of the ground based units, shredding them into a hundred bits and pieces just as two aerial orbs attacked his position from above. He ducked down and returned fire, destroying the round pair in a shower of scrap metal that rained down just in front of his position. Now, there were only four drones left, two in the air and two at Hardhead’s level.

The ground units attacked first, opening fire at the green warrior, forcing him to take a single step back. He quickly bent forward to allow his back-mounted 120mm cannon to slide into position. Hardhead then launched an incendiary shell directly at the lead land drone, striking it dead center and forcing it back into the other wheeled drone. Both exploded into balls of flame, sending smoke high into the air which in turn temporarily blinded the two remaining aerial attackers and they flew through the blackened cloud. As they emerged from the other side, Hardhead opened fire with his shatterblasters again, each one hitting their intended target, shredding the two orbs like tin foil. They fell to the ground in a smoldering heap, joining the other ten mechanisms that had met with the same fate.

Just as Hardhead turned to look back at the assembled group of Autobots, he heard another panel open at the far end of the room. This time, a 35-foot tall wheeled drone rolled out to challenge the seasoned veteran. This was clearly not intended to test his targeting ability as there was no way to miss something that was about equal in size to Hardhead, himself. No, this was an obvious test of his firepower. The green mech simply smiled as he knelt down and pointed his shatterblasters directly at the base of the massive drone. Before the machine could even get off a shot, Hardhead unloaded thousands more of his diamond-hard shards, tearing straight through the wheels of the giant drone and causing it the collapse forward onto the floor of the chamber. A transformation sound followed as the training unit looked up with its oblong head and was immediately met with an explosive shell fired from the cannon of Hardhead’s Stryker armored vehicle mode. The big drone was effectively decapitated in a fiery display of raw power.

Hardhead then returned to robot mode and moved back over to his Autobot comrades near the control console. “There's nothing quite like shooting at targets that can fight back,” he said to the Aerialbots before looking over at Warpath with a grin while smoke escaped from the ends of his shatterblasters. “So, pretty impressive ‘peashooters’, wouldn’t you say?”

Air Raid was impressed by Hardhead's performance, could the airealbot do something like that?.

''Really impressive peashooters, Hardhead'' said air raid.
''But could you beat me if i do something like this''

the airealbot turned to the control console, he decided to make this one challenging like the past one. aerial orbs appeared, they could shoot back like the ones Hardhead fought. There were exactly 14 of those bad boys.

''Now Don't blink or you will miss this one, because they are all going to be ash, start program'' said Air Raid hoping he will success. The Aerial orbs started to move around the place like a bunch of bees. The Aerialbot thought that the place was so big that he could go into his alt mod.

Air Raid went into his alt mode flying directly in the middle of the aerial orbs, in the first seconds of turning into his alt mode, air raid started to shoot his air-to-air heat-seeking missiles, killing 5 of his targets. The 9 who left started to shoot towards air raid, but the agile flier easily dodged the attack, again with more missiles, Air Raid killed 4 more aerial orbs.

The Aerialbot returned to robot mode, again the aerial orbs attacked, but this time, Air Raid got shot in his shoulder. ''Ouch!, now that hurts'' said Air Raid as he puts his left hand on his shoulder, Air Raid took out his Torque rifle with his right hand, and quickly killed all the remaining orbs before they could react.

Air Raid approached Hardhead, Slingshot and Warpath with his left hand still on his shoulder. ''At Least i destroyed them''.

Corridors

It had taken some time to discuss everything that had happened to him with Bumblebee, and doing so only brought back those horrid memories back in a devastating wave. Hex hid it well. He had to or he’d simply offline himself just to avoid them. The young silver mech finally left the Med Bay when Bumblebee had fallen in to recharge. It wasn’t like him, but Hex kept watch for a few moments before he finally released the minibot’s hand and quietly left.

Bridge

He maneuvered through the halls with practiced ease, even though he hadn’t been on this ship in a long time. He came to a stop in front of the bridge but waited. His optics focused on his up raised right hand that he rested on the panel. Everything that had occurred thus far brought a deep scowl to the young mech’s face. The look seemed to age him. Finally he entered the bridge and took a look around. Prowl, Hot Spot, Groove and Saferoute were the only Autobots present at the moment.

Hex let out a low growl as he stalked up to Prowl.

“Hey! 5-O! Are we gonna keep floating up here in this crate, or are we gonna bounce back down planet side and actually kill some ‘Cons? Because I get the idea you’re more comfortable up here than on the battlefield!”

Bridge

Saferoute waved goodbye to the small turbofox, her optics glued to Razr until the door slid behind him and Tracer as they left. She really hoped she would see him a again soon. His presence had reminded her of better days before the war, when she spent nearly every astrosecond of her time surrounded by Cybertronian animals that needed her help. And though Earth provided a much larger variety of wildlife then her homeworld, she still missed those days.

After a few astroseconds she came back to Earth, as Hex entered and confronted Prowl. She hardly knew of him, though she could say that about most of the Autobots on board, having little interest in socializing with her own kind. Truth be told, aside from mission briefings and reports, her brief interaction with Tracer had been her first conversation with another Autobot in vorns.

While Saferoute felt she had different motivations and reasons than the smaller Hex, she completely agreed with him. She had been stuck on the Guardian for too long, she needed to get down to the planet, back to protect the countless native species from the Decepticons. The femme bus stood back up and took a couple of steps towards Prowl, standing behind Hex.

"He's right.... sir." she addressed the strategist. Her delay in addressing Prowl as "sir" was not out of any disrespect. Since she had joined the Autobots so late in the war, she was not as accustomed to standard military protocol as most veterans.

"There's countless billions of creatures down on that planet at risk. Why are we still up here and not down there protecting them like we should be?"

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

Groove's console beeped as his second scan for the Ultrax was complete. He punched in a few commands, and again was relieved by the results.

"Still negative on the Ultrax, Hot Spot", the scout reported.

Groove hoped that his commander would respond to his second report. There had been an uncomfortable silence since the scout had expressed his disagreement with the current plan of attacking the Decepticons in space while they were vulnerable. The scout would normally attribute this to his commander's remarkable work ethic, no doubt too focused on the job at hand to pay attention to any outside distractions. But deep down, Groove couldn't help but wonder if Hot Spot had doubts about the scout's dedication to his job, especially when the lives of every Autobot on board the Guardian could easily be on the line should they find the Decepticons and attack.

"Hot Spot", the scout tried to get his commander's attention, all while still trying to keep busy, "If it does come to it and we find the Decepticons, I won't hesitate. As much as I would rather risk my own life to prevent any further violence, and as much as it disgusts me to kill any living being, even those we are at war with, I would never risk the lives of my fellow Autobots due to my own moral objections."

Bridge

Prowl’s attention was drawn away from the communications station at the sound of Hex’s vocal processor. The military strategist turned to address the young mech’s question and subsequent statement when Saferoute also approached and agreed with the silver Autobot’s assertion. Prowl wasn’t really familiar with the femme, only knowing her by reputation as a civilian transport and not from having actually met her in person. Although, he did understand her concerns and even Hex’s to a lesser extent. But, at the same time, he was also a bit annoyed with having to consistently stop his work in order to explain the lack of action against the Decepticons as if it were necessarily a bad thing. In Prowl’s mind, sometimes the quiet between skirmishes was more important than the actual battles themselves as it allowed time to adequately strategize and prepare for the next engagement.

“I am more comfortable whenever we have the advantage, Hex, whether that be on or off the battlefield,” Prowl remarked to the young mech first before deciding to address the overall issue that both he and Saferoute had raised. “There is much work to be done here if we are to achieve that advantage against our enemies. Ironhide and his team are currently repairing the Ark-19 and will then move it to a secure location. Concurrently, Perceptor and Tracer are on a mission to acquire a sample of this new energon that was detected in the remains of the Decepticon base, which I have been studying the readings of. Regarding the Decepticons, themselves, Hot Spot and Groove are searching for their ship in orbit but they’ve had no luck in finding it yet. Furthermore, there have so far been no signs of any ‘Con activity down planet side, which is why we are still on board this ‘crate’. When something is detected, I can assure you we will act accordingly.”

Prowl looked from Hex to Saferoute and then back to the silver mech once more. While the femmebot was genuinely concerned for the creatures that inhabited the blue world below, he suspected that Hex had other motivations for wanting more action, and it wasn’t to protect the indigenous population. Regardless, the young ‘Bot needed something to keep himself occupied and out of the analyst’s way for the time being. “Since you are so eager to kill some ‘Cons, Hex, perhaps you could help Hot Spot and Groove scan for their ship or even the Earth’s surface, itself. Once they are found, you might then get your wish.”

Prowl then regarded the yellow femmebot with a slight smile before speaking to her directly. “As for you, Saferoute, you can always help out down in the med bay until your transportation talents are needed planet side. I’m sure if the enemy makes any aggressive moves, the human population will undoubtedly be caught right in the middle and need a way to safety.”

With their concerns addressed, Prowl now hoped that he could return to his analysis of the energon readings without further interruption unless it was due to something of the utmost importance that required his immediate attention.

Bridge

After the young mech had said his peace he had expected Prowl to address him rather quickly, instead it was Saferoute that offered her own opinion. Hex took a quick look over his shoulder at the large femme standing behind him, but his attention was brought back to Prowl when the black and white finally decided to address him.

Hex let out a low sigh and grunted before he finally made spoke up.

“First of all…”

The silver mech turned halfway around and pointed directly at Saferoute.

“…I never asked for your assistance; so back off short bus!”

Hex quickly turned back to look at Prowl, his face contorted in an angry scowl.

“And in case you didn’t know,Sir, I don't do monitor duty. Never have and never will.”

Hex crossed his arms over his chest and put most of his weight on his left leg as he stared up at the taller Prowl.

“If you’re so bent on winning this war then get up off your aft and do some leading. Maybe then not everyone would consider you a glorified bunny cop! Get your act together, Prowl, or the rest of this group will start fall apart at the seams!”

Hex pushed past the pseudo Autobot leader and moved toward the exit. He stopped just before leaving and looked over his shoulder.

“If we’re going to finish this war we’re going to have to make some changes on how we battle the ‘Cons. They show no mercy, maybe it’s time we did the same.”

Bridge

Hot Spot’s silence had been more about keeping busy searching for the Ultrax then it was any anger at Groove and his pacifist ways. He might disagree with his teammate at times but he always respected him. He looked over at him and smiled. “I know you’ll always do the right thing Groove, I’ve never doubted you.” He smile faded, “What I am doubting is that we will ever find the Ultrax.” The Protectobot leader let out a sigh.

The Autobot did overhear some of the discussion with Prowl going on behind him. He didn’t particularly like Hex’s tone or manners, but he did agree to a certain extent with his desires. Now was the time to be proactive, while the Decepticons were confused. Of course it was difficult to be proactive when you had no idea where the enemy was. Fortunately he might have an idea to help solve that problem and relieve some of the boredom on the ship.

Hot Spot turned in his chair and addressed Prowl. “Sir, perhaps we could begin some patrols on the planet below, send Autobots down to likely targets for the Decepticons. That would give us optics on the ground and help get some Bots out of the ship and doing something to help relieve some frustration and boredom.”

Bridge

Prowl had always tried to be understanding of how others felt about any given situation. Unfortunately, it was often difficult for him to convey that understanding in either words or body language and that was part of why many thought of him as an auto-prick. His understanding of Hex was that he was simply young and inexperienced when compared to the rest of the more seasoned veterans that were onboard the Guardian. Hex didn’t realize how important tactics and strategy were in preparing for any potential confrontation and that seemed to explain his eagerness to simply rush into a fight.

However, none of that excused Hex’s disrespectful manner and words towards a superior officer, but the black and white mech decided to let it go for now and allow the silver ‘Bot to leave the bridge and cool off some. Perhaps later he would have a chat with Hex and remind him of his place within the Autobot ranks. Or maybe it would be more beneficial to speak to Axle about his ward, instead. Either way, dealing with Hex’s poor attitude would have to wait as the temporary commander had more important things to worry about at the current time.

Prowl’s attention was drawn away from the young mech’s temper tantrum by the sound of Hot Spot, who had turned to address him. The Protectobot leader had likely overheard the numerous Autobots that had come to the strategist asking for something to do. Therefore, his suggestion came as no surprise to Prowl. “It’s not a bad idea, Hot Spot, and I appreciate and respect your opinion. However, attempting to patrol every likely Decepticon target would be a waste of energon at this point. There are countless number of potential installations and fuel sources spread across the globe to cover and we simply don’t have the mech power to effectively conduct such a widespread operation. Now, if we had specific intelligence of a pending ‘Con attack on a certain area, then I could authorize an appropriate response. Until then we must conserve our resources and maintain our monitoring from here for any signs of the enemy....no matter how boring that task might be.”

Prowl let out a faint smile as he sat back down in the command chair, still maintaining optical contact with Hot Spot. “As for the Ultrax, if you haven’t found it yet then you likely won’t. Refocus your efforts on the planet below. If the Decepticons are down there then we need to find them and soon.”

Bridge

Hot Spot reluctantly nodded at Prowl. It did make sense with energon in short supply to keep things a bit restrained for now. Still, he couldn’t help feeling that an opportunity was slipping through their fingers. Both sides were reeling from the loss of leaders. Whichever side got things back together first would be in position to strike a devastating blow to the other..

He let out a quiet sigh and turned back to his console. Hopefully he could just find some Decepticon activity they could lock in on and make a move against. It wasn’t quite the proactive type of stance he was hoping for but it looked like it was the best he could do for now. At least he could stop looking for the Ultrax as even Prowl had seen that was an exercise in futility.

The Protectobot began scanning the planet below and monitoring satellite signals, using the humans’ technology to assist his work when he could. While Earth wasn’t the largest planet around it did have a considerable amount of activity going on its surface. Any help he could get monitoring it he would gladly take.

As he scanned through the various signals and readings coming through Hot Spot paused at some high communication traffic. He cross referenced the area with scans taken of the region to find some spikes in energy readings, likely from explosions and weapons fire. Another check showed that the region was rich in a fossil fuel the humans refined to use for their vehicles. The particular area was known for its political instability and violence, but it all seemed a bit too convenient to just be the locals fighting amongst themselves.

The Autobot turned in his chair to face Prowl again. “Sir, I may actually have something for you already. I’m picking up a large amount of activity in this area,” he brought up a map on the main screen showing a section of Iran. “The area is a political and military hotbed, but nothing of this level has happened there in sometime. This particular area also contains substantial fuel mining and refining resources.” Hot Spot paused for a second before continuing. “I can’t be positive, but it all looks a lot like a Decepticon raid and attack.”

Bridge

Prowl was a bit surprised by how quickly Hot Spot had found possible ‘Con activity down on the Earth’s surface. The military strategist turned in the command chair to face the primary view screen which displayed the area in question. It was a nation-state called Iran located in a region the humans referred to as the “Middle East”. The Protectobot leader wasn’t kidding when he said it was a political hotbed as this particular country seemed to have problems getting along with many other nations around the world including its own neighbors. Still, the intensity of energy signatures suggested something bigger than a mere skirmish between political rivals. Combine that with the knowledge that Iran possessed a substantial amount of fossil fuel that fed the entire planet and you have the tell tale signs of a Decepticon incursion.

“Agreed, Hot Spot,” Prowl concluded. “This has the ‘Cons written all over it. Good work. Continue scanning the planet for any other signs of activity while I mobilize a strike force to investigate and deal with the situation in Iran.” The black and white strategist considered his options for a moment while studying the regional display in front of him. The area was comprised primarily of a desert landscape. It was a harsh, violent region where military vehicles were often found. Therefore, Autobots with that type of alt mode would be the best candidates for the mission. Of course, there would be a couple of exceptions based on other factors such as leadership capability and medical expertise. After all, having a medic go along could only benefit everyone on the team.

Prowl opened a comm line to the mech whom he knew would be best to lead this mission:

>>”Ironhide, we have a possible Decepticon attack in the nation of Iran. High activity and energy discharges have been detected. Drop what you are doing and return to the Guardian immediately. I have already chosen your team and they will rendezvous with you in the bounce chamber. I’m sending you all of the data we currently have of the region along with the appropriate coordinates for orbital bounce. Primus-speed, old friend.”<<

Once Prowl had disconnected his communication with Ironhide, he opened another one to the four Autobots that would comprise the team:

>>”Silverbolt, Hardhead, Warpath, Ratchet, a situation has arisen in the Middle East. There is a possible ‘Con assault on an oil field in Iran. Arm yourselves and mobilize in the bounce chamber ASAP. Ironhide will meet you there and lead the mission. Good luck!”<<

Training Facility

Hardhead remained stoic in his expression as he watched Air Raid transform into his jet mode and fly around the room, shooting down similar orbs like the ones the green mech had just destroyed. It was an impressive display even when the Aerialbot had been struck in the shoulder. The flyer didn’t let it faze him, though, and continued fighting in robot mode until every last orb was a smoldering heap on the ground.

“Not bad,” Hardhead admitted to Air Raid just as a communique from Prowl came in over his comm line. At first the war veteran wasn’t really interested in what the auto-prick had to say, but that quickly changed when the call to arms was finally given. “Well, it’s about fraggin’ time!” Hardhead exclaimed with a hint of excitement in his voice. He looked over at Warpath and Silverbolt and motioned for them to follow him. “Come on, guys! Time to bust up some ‘Cons!”

Without further delay, Hardhead turned and exited the training room, his lumbering form heading first towards the armory before then meeting everyone down in the bounce chamber.

Bridge

Saferoute ignored Hex's tantrum. As far as she was concerned he was just another hot-headed, self-centered warrior, caring more about blasting the closest enemy and never watching where they were stepping. She never like his type, and she was more than happy to watch him walk away.

After listening to Prowl's explanation of everything going on, she could see that everything was being done to find the Decepticons. It didn't ease her mind by much, not knowing what the 'cons could be doing was worse than seeing what they were doing. But at least she knew that as soon as they found anything, she would be sent right down to save those poor humans.

With that Saferoute did as Prowl suggested, leaving the bridge.


Training Facility

"BAM nice work there, Air Raid, but don't push yourself too hard.", Warpath said to the Aerialbot.

Just then he heard the communication from Prowl.

"WHAM, it's about slagging time!" Warpath shouted, giving Silverbolt a light punch in the shoulder, "Time to scrap some Decepticon exhaust pipes!"

With that Warpath followed right behind the green mech out of the training facility.


Corridor

As Prowl had suggested, Saferoute headed to the Med-bay. She wasn't sure what help she could be. She had taken care of many cyber-animals, but her success with them was due more to her ability to research and follow instructions. She wasn't an idiot, but she was by no means a dedicated medic.

Still, she did tend to get along better with medical staff than soldiers or engineers. And who knew, maybe they actaully had a few animals there as well. They probably didn't, but it didn't stop her from hoping.

Training Facility

After Hearing the other Mech's Congratulating him and Prowl Air Raid looked to Warpath and Slingshot then said:

"Cons? so you gonna go fight some Decepticon without me? Slag...there is nothing i could do about that, i will stay here at the ship heal my self a bit from my little hit on the shoulder.

Air Raid was excited for a mission still he thought he isn't allowed to be there since however who called the others for the mission didn't call Air Raid too.

The Airealbot was about to exited the Training Facility he thought he saw someone about to enter the area.

Corridors Outside The Training Facility

Having acquired only minor repairs after his involvement in the Autobots' previous mission on Earth, Blades had made the training facility his next intended destination. His gait was inflamed with speed and aggression, reflecting the bitterness of his mood. It was widely regarded as an extremely hazardous task, one where combat was inevitable and an unfortunate outcome lingered in every event. It promised all of those things to the Autobots and Blades could barely govern his enthusiasm; he couldn't wait to destroy the first Decepticon to be caught in his vision.

But nothing happened.

Yes, a few laser blasts and even a missile or two were directed at him, but that seemed to be the extent of the attacks he came up against. Not once was he opposed by a Decepticon eager to get physical and let his fists do the talking. Not once was Blades presented with even half an opportunity to take somebody's cranial unit off. Given the location and its residents it was ludicrous he encountered no action. He cursed a couple of times quietly.

Blades banished the unfavourable thoughts from his mind as the entrance to the training facility came into view. If anything, he had found the perfect place for his frustration. He crumpled his actuators into compact balls and accelerated his already brisk pace. He entered the training facility.

(OOC: With Em's permission, I'll be NPCing Silverbolt and the rest of the Aerialbots for a lil' bit. And I hope no one hurts me for double posting.)

Training Facility

In truth, Silverbolt wasn't too thrilled about investing his time in the training facility. There was an abundance of important matters that required his attention—and many of the other Autobots' attention—and he felt a little anxious being unattached to those matters. The only genuine benefit the training facility boasted was its equipment to keep Slingshot and particularly Air Raid from creating potential chaos in another area on the Guardian. Not that Silverbolt believed it would have been intentional, but having Air Raid goad Slingshot into some sort of dare was something he aimed to avoid.

The two Aerialbots appeared to be enjoying themselves and Silverbolt allowed his supervision to relax. He trusted Slingshot's bragging efforts wouldn't ascend to an unbearable level and that Air Raid wouldn't overdo it in a spurt of excessive enthusiasm. For the moment, at least. As Silverbolt began engaging the numerous thoughts swirling about in his processor, he received a transmission from Prowl.

His rigid bearing yielded to movement as he unfolded his arms. He was to accompany Hardhead, Ratchet, Warpath, and Ironhide on a mission to a location known as Iran where Decepticon activity was suggested. He nodded at Hardhead's comment.

“Slingshot.” Silverbolt glanced at the obnoxious Aerialbot while maintaining a fast pace towards the training facility's exit. “You're coming with us. Let's go.” He halted. “Air Raid, I'm afraid you'll have to remain here. If we do need support, however, I'm confident Prowl will send you down to us. In the meantime get your shoulder repaired.”

“Finally!” Slingshot's tone was exasperated, as if the result had been impending but extremely drawn-out. He followed after Silverbolt. “It's about time.”

Silverbolt offered Warpath a slight smile as he gave the Aerialbot commander a playful punch to his shoulder-plate, but said nothing. His processor was hard at work ruminating over a series of possible events regarding the Decepticons.

Slingshot came up to Air Raid and curled an arm around his shoulder-plate. “Don't worry, Air Raid. We'll be back before you know it.” A smirk danced on his lip components. “I'll tell ya what. I'll even bring you back a souvenir. How's that sound?”

He chuckled as he withdrew his arm from his team-mate's shoulder-plate. He quickly caught up to Silverbolt, and the two Aerialbots exited the training facility and made a short journey to the bounce chamber.

Training Facility

Air Raid is now sure he is not going down with the rest of the Mechs after what Silverbot said. He didn't had a big problem with not going into a mission, he should be happy because he will have a chance to fix his shoulder.
"Nah...no prob...i will go get myself repaired, have a bit rest from training and i am ready when you need me" Said Air Raid to Silverbot.

Then Slingshot Came to Air Raid telling him he will be back soon, and maybe will bring back a souvenir. "No need for any Souvenirs" replied Air Raid.


Air Raid then exited the Training Facility going to fix his injured shoulder.

Med Bay

Saferoute walked in to find not much going on. Not wanting to bother Bumblebee, Ratchet, Axle or anyone else, she wondered around, hoping to find cages or terrariums, or anything else that might hold any animals inside them. After a breem of looking with no luck, she reluctantly walked up to the senior medical officer.

"Um, hi, Ratchet, right?", Saferoute nervously addressed him, "Prowl suggested I go here to find something to do. But to be honest I'm not really a medic, I've just taken care of a lot of animals. If you have any here that would be great. Or if not, I'm at least smart enough to follow directions pretty well."