LV-117 Surface “Hey, you did what you could,”
Pyro couldn’t understand. That much was clear to Skyhammer. He meant well of course but it did little to change anything. Particularly Skyhammer’s guilt.
"I'm sorry, too. To you all. I can think of a dozen chances where I could have made one decision instead of another. But I didn't. When it finally came to it....I....I just just wasn't strong enough to hold Scorponok back."
Now Fortress Maximus understood. They both had failed those under their command. Command had been their responsibility. They should have both known better. They both should have saved more lives. But it was not Fortress Maximus’ place to apologize. By Primus, Maximus wouldn’t even be in this predicament were it not for Skyhammer’s own failure.
“But if you wanna help save more Autobots, we need to get out of this rain.”
Pyro though, was unwilling to waste more time on self-pitying. Instead the ranger tried to do what he could to motivate Skyhammer to move on.
”Yes… Yes, of course. You are right,” Skyhammer sighed and pulled himself back to his feet. Everything appeared bleak to him but in the end, the only way open to them was forward.
“Okay, so... what the hell happened? One minute we’re prisoners aboard Scorponok’s ship, the next we’re stuck in a place that’s trying to melt us. Any ideas?”
That was the question. For his part, Skyhammer had already guessed the reason though. Confirmation for his assumption didn’t let them wait for it for long either.
"It was me," Maximus answered. "It's just one more reason why I, too, had to apologize. Cyclonus offered me the chance for us to go down fighting, not to be traded as prisoners of war but to be bait for Jhiaxus. I took it. It....it may be my last miscalculation, but I took it...because I think we have a better chance to go out on our terms out here than we do rotting away in one of Scorponok's cells."
It made sense in its own way. There was no telling what Scorponok would have done with them. Skyhammer had heard rumors of both terrifying cruelty and surprising amiability this particular sect of Decepticons handled their prisoners with. Skyhammer himself would have taken the same route had the option been offered to him.
"Wait, wait, wait....you're saying our best option is to fight for Scorponok now? For the Decepticons? I don't....what? No. Just, no."
”And what is the option Pointblank?” Skyhammer asked wearily, ”Fortress Maximus did the right thing by us. I am tired of rotting away in a cell in state in disrepair. Prodded, beaten and insulted by Decepticons come to see us - the vanquished. I rather take my chances here for better or worse.”
"There, can you feel it through the air? A snare in the atmosphere made with care. Now we won't be stuck in the middle of nowhere! Follow me if you want to live. The mountain has shelter and hope to give!"
Wheelie had found something. Shelter if nothing else. The question was whether or not seeking shelter was something the Decepticons were going to let them do. Scorponok and Cyclonus wanted Jhiaxus and going to hide from the weather wasn’t exactly counted as searching for the ancient madmech.
"Our little friend speaks true of the signal. If anything, the mountains would provide some shelter if we can find some tall enough ledges to hide under. I wonder if this terraforming is causing the weather we have now. I know some would say this is one of the best ways to help our race but at what cost. If we are lucky, there isn't too much life on this planet outside of the plant life and maybe some animal life."
Ah, Nosecone. Always ready to theorize on a mysterious phenomena. Skyhammer much preferred this Technobot to their brash leader – Scattershot. As for himself, Skyhammer was starting to find some of his mental functionality back. It was surprisingly easy in the end to focus on survival, barricading away the guilt at least for now.
"Yeah. I agree. Little guy heading for the mountains is our best shot. It's surely what the 'Cons want anyway. Why not play their game for a while? Better here than in a cell. As for you guys? Apologies accepted. At least from me. We've served in this sector of the universe together for a long time. If this is how we go down? Well, then it's been an honor."
”Thank you Lightspeed.” Skyhammer whispered. He couldn’t find any other words for the occasion. The guilt was still there, buried under the surface for now but for the sake of his fellow Autobots he would endure. Turning to face Fortress Maximus with his garish, mutilated visage, Skyhammer decided to share what little he could remember of the planet they clearly were in.
”The reports of this planet from way back suggest acid rain being a naturally occurring weather condition here. The Primal Vanguard never reported encountering any sentient life either. But our reports are over thousand vorns old and biological life can evolve surprisingly fast,” Skyhammer spoke up, surprising even himself, ”Plenty of dangerous wildlife though. Nothing someone as big as you needs to worry about. The rest of us need to be alert though.”
[ Click to attempt signal recovery... ]
