The Energon Pub

(OOC: My Gort's kinda of a blend of both comic and Rebirth, simple past but grumpy older guy. )

Gort struggled to break out of the hold as best he could but Krunk's grip was tight. "B...bas...tards." He barely managed to say before passing out. His last thought was they better not wish he wakes up.

Folassian Forest

Skullgrin peered over the ridge at the site of the orbital bombardment. Not the most devestating he'd seen, but effective. He stood up and brushed what dirt he'd picked up from taking cover, and regarded Cyclonus.

Of course he has to remind us that we didn't get to actually fight. Primus forbid he just give us order, little speeches are the spice that livens up his presence.

[My claws are dry....unacceptable...]

It is annoying that basically nothing happened, other than getting dirty. But what did you expect? They're only Autobots.

With a half-hearted beckoning to Horri-Bull, Skullgrin transformed and began heading for the fortress as ordered.

Folassian Forest

Roadbuster felt the ground shake as the combined power of the orbital bombardment and the base self destruct destroyed the bunker that had once been the Autobots command center on this planet. Once the ground settled the ground commander received Highbrow's communication and he followed it to his wounded comrades location and stopped close enough to him to climb aboard.

"Climb on highbrow. It won't take long for this place to be swarming with 'Cons and I don't want to stick around long enough for them to find us."

Mount Melanos

Repugnus gave a mock look of surprise to Rad before looking up at the camera in the corner. “Oh, did I do that. So sorry, I was just busy down here doing work while the rest of you Bots were busy getting your afts kicked or running away from Cons.” The Monsterbot snickered before moving away from the door to let Rad in. “Look around all you want, just don’t touch anything, especially my prisoner,” he gestured to what remained of the captured Decepticon. “There ain’t much of him left, but I think I can put him to good use.” He let out a dark chuckle as he moved to clean up his various tools and weapons.

“So Roadbuster is in charge then? Eh, there are worse Bots to be leading us. At least he’s got some ball bearings about him.” Repugnus had little to no respect for any authority, so this was fairly high praise for him. Still, he knew that he would inevitably butt heads with the other Autobots. Most were disgusted by his methods and his charming personality didn’t exactly help. It didn’t matter in the long run though, the Autobots always needed him more then he needed them. Even if he got thrown out of the base he would just hole up somewhere and fight the Cons his own way until the Autobots came back begging for his help, again.

Mount Melanos--Workshop

Rad had received more or less the welcome that he had expected, which was to say not much. The door hadn’t been slammed in his face again, which would’ve only forced him to have Roadbuster kick it down when he got back. This way he would get a few answers on his own.

Once he stepped in the room, he got a few more answers and about a dozen more questions. His mouth dropped open for an astrosecond in obvious surprise. The semi-functional remains of a Decepticon that Rad couldn’t possibly hope to recognize were strung haphazardly around the workroom. Rad got closer, but he easily heeded the Monsterbot’s warning about not touching anything—he didn’t want to.

“You are one sick little slagger,” Rad said, attempting to keep his level of disgust in check. Still, after what the Decepticons had done to them—to Skyhammer especially—at the capital, he couldn’t really feel too bad for the Decepticon. He was just glad that there were those out there in the Autobot ranks who worked hard to keep this war from devolving into a contest of who could brutalize the others’ forces most viciously.

With his mind turning in several new directions now, Rad knew that the best thing would be to just get out of this room, process some of what they might be able to learn from the sick work being done here and get back to the real business of getting their crew on Nebulos whole again. Still, the scientist in him could not deny a hint of morbid curiosity.

“So...who was—is—this? I don’t recognize the design, but I’m not sure Megatron himself would either at this point.”
___

Outside Koraja—Nebulan Encampment

The Insecticons had discussed the reality and the ramifications of the recent spat of missing Decepticons amongst themselves for long enough. Most troubling was the fact that one of their own number, one of Chop Shop's diaclones, had also gone missing. Still, it was clear that neither Scorponok nor Turmoil nor any of the other brutish Decepticons were likely to give one slag about a missing clone.

“Ehhh….very well, it is decided. We will tend to recovering our missing comrades. The drones will continue to process the fleshlings and guard this little encampment while the swarm establishes more around Koraja. Soon enough, we will be able to convert this citycscape into a nest suitable to our needs,” Bombshell said. Kickback and Shrapnel chattered and clicked various signals in response but said nothing audible. Kickback was the most displeased about leaving his current crop of greenies, but Bombshell had assured him that he could return to tend to their progress after they had taken care of this little “missing Decepticon” business. Shrapnel, conversely, had been bored by all the Nebulan roundup and was more than eager to find out what was behind the rash of disappearances.

After they had reached their tenuous consensus, the three Insecticons leapt in to the air. Having done so, however, Bombshell noticed a significant uptick in environmental debris clogging his systems and it increased significantly, the more altitude they gained..

“Gahhhhhhh….pollutants! Can’t….navigate.” Bombshell moaned.

“This must have been what Sonicstorm was talking about about,” Shrapnel added.

“Bah. We can’t…fly in this. Land. Head to……Tenebrous.”

Folassian Forest

"This so ain't my style. Too direct, lacks any visceral fun. How's a guy supposed to get his hands dirty?" Horri-Bull says aloud, not moving in much. "But here's my bigger problem. Aren't we just going in to be the boobies for whatever booby traps remain in?" He asks Skullgrin. "Shouldn't Cyclonus use some bug clones or Sweeps instead and have us acts as the wall for any stragglers?"

Meanwhile, further away...

"Some help I turned out to be." Highbrow says. "Rescued by the Rescuee, how ironically droll." He says as he climbs on. "Still my aim may yet prove true. I just hope that I do not cause you burden with my presence Roadbuster."

Outside Koraja--Encampment

Soriza had watched as three of the "Insecticons", including the one that had spoken with them earlier, launched themselves in to the sky with the same ease as a native warbling wren. She didn't know what exactly that meant overall, but for the time being at least, it meant that they would be left to their own devices. The insectoid drones looked as if they were operating based off of some mind-command. They paid no attention to the other Nebulans that had been gathered here, and the Nebulans, in turn, allowed them a significantly wide berth.

She turned to Kreb.

"I need to see what the rest of the world is saying about this. I'm assuming you're getting clear signals coming in as well as going out?"
___

Korajan Underground--The Vault

Galen's mind was made up. The Decepticons wanted their precious answer and he was going to give it. As he approached the outer layer of observation doors, he felt something white-hot sting him in the back of his upper torso. He cried out for a moment before his vocal chords froze up, along with the rest of his muscles. He dropped to his knees almost instantly before slumping over, twitching slightly.

"Galen! Llyra called out from one of the connecting corridors. She had been looking for him with the intent if straightening out what they were going to do if they were going to remain here in Koraja. But as fast as she broke in to a run, she could not keep pace with the small swarm of World Watcher overseers who swarmed in to protect one of their own.

In a matter of a few simple moments, the relative tranquility of the Vault had gone in to an uproar.

Korajan Underground - The Vault

As Galen fell, Grax dashed for the body of the leader of the World Watchers and brought a sharp blade against his throat while bending Galen just enough to use his body as a living shield against the overseers.

"Not one step forward or you will force my hand!" The industrial tycoon about to suffer a nervous breakdown shrieked while his bodyguards moved to protect their embloyer.

"Galen, Galen... it didn't have to end like this." Grax hissed. "You could have surrendered in public and led a guerrilla resistance movement. At least there would have been a fighting chance. But you stepped over the line."

"This man is to be arrested for treason against people of Nebulos! In his pride he is ready convict billions of our people to death!" Grax bellowed at the overseers. "Freedom is a noble ideal but I beg to you! Is a fight we cannot win worth a genocide?!"
_____________________________________________________

Mount Melanos - Workshop

Ironside's jaw nearly dropped when he saw what was going on. He could only shake his head in disgust. How was one of their own be capable of something so gruesome that even most of Decepticons would abhor such torture. Yet, what could he do? Making a self-righteous speech in a situation they had been pushed into wouldn't help at all. Especially as becoming as cold hearted as Repugnus could end up being their only real chance to survive. The large Autobot could only hope it wouldn't be necessary.
_____________________________________________________

Fortress Tenebrous - Command Center

"They are taking longer than expected Cyclonus." Turmoil grunted, turning his visor veiled gaze from a viewscreen showing Koraja to another one where a magnificent view from vacation paradise Splendora appeared. Despite giving the Nebulans 93 hours to respond, he had hardly thought that it would have taken longer than few hours for the Nebulans to give their answer. Now, almost a day had passed since the ultimatum had been given.

"They would sacrifice all this to a meager concept of freedom? These meatbags are fools."

Koraja

As Cyclonus raced through the airspace of Nebulos, having departed from their destruction of the Autobots’ forest bunker, he was struck by progress they had made on this planet. No one could say that the Second Expansion Fleet was not efficient in accomplishing their conquests on behalf of the Decepticon Empire. With each solar revolution that passed, Nebulos looked more and more like a Cybertronian fortification rather than any sort of organic habitat. The Insecticons and their little swarm had done their job well.

The purple Cybertronian jet transformed and landed gracefully in the midst of Koraja, Tenebrous clearly in view not far from his position. As the transmission from Turmoil came in, a series of Nebulan slaves—fully outfitted with their restraining technology—passed by the warrior. They were being directed from one worksite to another in the area. Cyclonus fully expected that it would not be long before they could physically tap in to whatever natural energy resources lay hidden on this world.

>>“Their holdout is a mystery to me as well. They have offered nothing in the way of resistance. Their lot would be easier if they simply submitted to the inevitable.”<<

Cyclonus reached down and picked up one of the Nebulans, examining it more closely. It stared back at him blankly; seemingly no more conscious thought behind the Nebulan female’s eyes than a simple diaclone. He could feel the organic’s frailty. Even the slightest amount of excess pressure would terminate its life. It was such an unfortunate existence. Any life that the Decepticons offered them would be exceedingly better than their current lot.

Cyclonus set the Nebulan back on the surface and it quickly moved to catch up with the others in its workgroup.

>>”I will be within Tenebrous’ halls soon, Turmoil,”<<Cyclonus added. He expected the others that had overseen the destruction of the bunker would be along soon as well. With the Autobots scattered or otherwise incinerated, it was time to get down to the real grit of what they had come here to do.
___

Korajan Underground--The Vault

On one of the screens, a young Nebulan science officer turned to face the more senior World Watchers who were also standing in the room.

“We’ve been able to isolate two of the compounds that make up that creature we captured. Our lead researchers are requesting permission to try something.”

“Try what?” the World Watcher asked. The officer pointed to a series of plans that were beginning to scroll across the screen. The two Watchers moved in closer and examined them more closely. Dozens of microscopic devices appeared to be swimming, for lack of a better term, in a replicated solution similar to what pumped through the insect creature.

“Even these basic units, from what we can tell, have incredibly advanced foreign body detection and elimination systems. If we’re going to be able to sneak something like this past their defenses, we’re going to have to find a way to make sure their bodies don’t know the difference. At least not at first.”

“I’ll inform the other Watchers.”

“Yes, sir.”

___

As Galen was dragged to his feet and began to regain some sense of what was going on around him, he could see that much of the Vault had been stirred up. Understandable, given the fact that he also felt a weapon being pressed against his head. Somehow, in the midst of all this, he had become a hostage. Not a hostage of these Decepticons, but rather of his own kind. How had these mechanoids managed to pull them so far from their ideals in such a short amount of time? Galen let out an exasperated sigh.

“Galen, no!” Llyra called out, moving in closer and clearly sensing what he might be intending to say. There was no need to put her, or any of them, in any more danger than that which they already faced by being here.

The overseers had moved in to defensive positions, but Galen could see that there were several more that had moved in to positions whereby they were on the verge of taking the overseers by surprise. All too quickly, this could become something far worse than any of them could imagine.

“Stand down, friends,” Galen said. “I seek to condemn no one, Grax. It would appear that we already condemned. I will….”

Galen sighed again. They were defeated. What good did it do any of them to pretend otherwise?

“…I will deliver our surrender to the Decepticons.”

He could only hope that their window of time had not expired. Hope, however, had been a non-existent commodity of late.

Korajan Underground--The Vault

Arcana had spent many revolutions studying the intricacies of the insectoid subject that the World Watchers had captured and brought back to the Vault. It was truly unlike anything that the Nebulan scientist had ever seen before. Unlike anything that he had imagined? Not quite. His imagination over the years ran far and wide. What lay before him was a physical manifestation of several of those wilder dreams.

This subject was, however, simply a worker drone for all intents and purposes. It would have been much better if they had been able to capture one of the originals. Something sentient, in any event. Nevertheless, Arcana was patient. If the World Watchers continued along the same path that had been rumored they would, he suspected it would only be a matter of time before a more appropriate sample came his way.

"Are we getting anything further from the field?" Arcana asked, referring to some of the strange datapiles they had been receiving from a source who had, for the time being, chosen not to reveal himself. It was likely too dangerous to do so. If a Nebulan had somehow avoided being locked up in one of those collars, it would surely only be a matter of time before these metal men figured a way to rectify that oversight. Especially if said individual was operating from within the city range.

"Nothing further, friend Arcana," one of the junior researchers responded, his eyes still glued to the screens in front of him.

"Monitor continuously. In the meantime, I'll just have to keep working with what we have."

"Yes, sir."

Korajan Underground - The Vault

Grax's tension began to ease as his words finally seemed to have an effect on Galen. Still, it was not good enough. How could it be? Galen was a headstrong man, one to stay behind his beliefs. Could this be a ploy? An attempt to trick him? Yet, Galen was known for his honesty. Which certainly was not a trait Grax himself could boast with.

"Will you know?" Grax's asked. "I am afraid that is not good enough Galen. I do not care if you want to throw away your life or even those who willingly follow you to death. But you will not sacrifice Nebulos."

"I want hear you to swear it in the name of our most beloved ancestors. Only then I can believe in your honesty." Grax hissed, still keeping his blade against Galen's throat. "Swear in the name of founders of the World Watchers... Svordom the Just, Kirumine the Kind and Juron the Wise. An oath that cannot be taken back."

Korajan Underground--The Vault

Galen could not believe that he was actually listening to another Nebulan. To swear upon those names was to invoke the most serious and unbreakable of oaths. Galen would normally have had no trouble doing so, as deceit was never one of his strategies. It was not his goal now either, was it? Did he truly expect to deceive creatures such as these? Not really. It was more a true signal of defeat, at least for their planet. At least for now. He needed to tell the Decepticons what they wanted to hear so that more of their people would not suffer.

"I swear, Grax, on all the names you mentioned and more. I will not sacrifice our world."

Grax, however, had mentioned not caring about those like Galen who might willingly choose to resist on their own. If that was the case, then they had no real quarrel to begin with. Galen had never intended to conscript the unwilling. From the beginning, this was to be a resistance of free will. That would not change.

"But if I am not able to deliver our surrender to these Decepticons within their given time frame, I suspect they will make little distinction between the resistance and those, such as yourself, who freely submit themselves to their rule. So I suggest you release me."
___

Fortress Tenebrous

The little green organics had constructed a suitable bath made out of some of their native combustibles. Apeface was stretched back fully, allowing his gears to soak up the sweet, tension-releasing lubrication. Still there was a tension in his body that no oil would alleviate.

Taking out some of his physical frustrations on Skyhammer had been enjoyable, but it had been a fleeting high. The reports coming back from the forest were that the bunker was destroyed, as well as the Autobots within. That meant that whatever resistance the Autobot garrison on this planet might mount was over. How long would it be, then, before they were once again on the front lines of this war?

"How long d'ya think it'll take for the Swarm to effectively strip this planet so we can leave, Snaps?"
___

The Perdition--Bridge

Reflector stared continuously at the various screens that were laid out in front of his respective composite units. He had destroyed nearly all of the Nebulan orbital technology. What remained behind was so small and obsolete that it had been rendered inconsequential. It had been an exhaustive process, but he had effectively widdled down the location of where the hidden Autobot ship almost surely had to be.

Spectro entered in a set of coordinates within the limited region of space that he had isolated. Activating the firing sequence, the ship's forward weapons array let off a thunderous blast of energy fire.

Nothing.

In unison, the right actuators of the three composite units slammed down on their respective consoles. Where was that ship?

Mount Melanos – Workshop

Repugnus smiled at the comment from Rad. It was the first time he had been called sick. Frankly it was pretty tame compared to some of the things he had been called, by Autobots and Decepticons. At this point he took it as more of a compliment then anything else. If what he did freaked out even his own team then he could only imagine the horror the Decepticons would feel when they saw his dirty work.

“His name is Heatwave. I caught him and another Con out on patrol. I’ve been wanting to get my hands on one of these cons since they landed so I set up a little ambush. Terminated the other Con and chopped this guy down into his more portable current form,” he chuckled as he patted the Decepticon’s torso sitting on the table.

“I gave him a full interrogation. He was so terrified that I didn’t really have to torture him too much,” a tinge of disappointment could be heard in his voice. “Anyway he is just a grunt, and not a terribly bright one at that, but I did get some information out of him. Seems that Scorpy’s little force here is a bit more ramshackle then it appears. The average troopers have just been pulled from whatever assignments they were on to help in this invasion. Sounds like they are desperate for some energy.”

The Monsterbot sat down in a chair at the work bench. “Once you get past the elites like the Seacons and Scourge and his look-alikes, the rest are pretty average or below average troops. They seem to just be relying on numbers and fear to carry the day.” He smiled up at Rad, “And I gather since you are here in the reserve base I’m guessing its working so far.”

Rad listened patiently, his focus shifting between the Monsterbot and the hapless Decepticon prisoner who lay largely-disassembled in front of him. His name was Heatwave apparently, and Repugnus had apparently been able to pry some useful information out of him. Given Heatwave’s current physical state, Rad could only imagine how that process actually went down. He could not deny the results however. At least if the information that had been ripped from Heatwave proved to be accurate. Some Decepticons would spill the plans of Megatron himself provided they were able to spare their own afts. Others would go to the Void before giving an Autobot the slightest satisfaction. Though he had no functional knowledge of this Heatwave mech, there was a fairly good chance that he was not one of the more ideologically pure ‘Cons. They were few and far between, in his experience.

“Huh….good to know. The problem is getting that information to someone that can help. That, I guess, is my next priority.”

Rad’s circuits tweaked a little when the Monsterbot spoke of the destroyed base. It was a loss, but it was really only a material one. Everything there could be replaced. Rad had taken considerable effort to salvage as much of their research as possible before they took the place down. But what tweaked him was the reminder of a more serious loss that had precipitated the Command Bunker’s destruction.

“They have Skyhammer. Who knows who else. Our morale has taken a hit. Big time. There are still a number of ‘Bots who haven’t reported in. It just feels like…”

Rad leaned against the wall. In all the vorns that he had served under the Autobot banner, he had never felt this defeated. This hopeless. He had originally volunteered for this mission specifically to get away from scenarios like this one. And now here it was, staring him in the face.

“…I don’t know,” he added at last, sighing. “Their strategy is working. For now. And I guess it’s not gonna do any of us any good for me to get in the way of what you’re doing here, so I’ll leave you to it.”

Rad looked at Heatwave again before turning to leave the room. There was a good chance that all of them might end up looking like him pretty soon, once they ran out of hiding places. But the Decepticons surely weren’t going to care about his condition.

Why should he?

In any case, it was all too clear that they had to get word of their situation to Autobot Command. He activated his internal comm.

>>”Rad to Highbrow, do you copy? Where’re you at? Did you get RB? We need you guys back here, STAT. Got some info you’re gonna wanna hear.”<<

Korajan Underground - The Vault

Grax had hardly been certain that Galen would submit to him but the leader of the World Watchers had eventually done exactly what Grax had wanted. Swearing an oath in the name of their forefathers before witnesses, Grax couldn't have asked for more. Would Galen break such an oath, he would be condemned forever by other peers - for breaking an oath sworn in the name of the Founders was unthinkable.

Releasing Galen from his grib, Grax backed down. And while Galen's words stung deep, he fought against lashing back at the leader of the World Watchers. In his mind he had done what had to be done to preserve their species even if others would brand him a traitor. "I accept your oath. May the ancestors watch over us."

Covering himself with his cape, Grax motioned his guards to follow and headed out. There was much to do before they day was over. Getting his family to safety being his number one concern.
_____________________________________________

Fortress Tenebrous - The grease pits

Snapdragon had moved into the grease pits the very moment the green humanoids had began to fill them. There was very few things he enjoyed more than loitering in a grease bath. Tearing an Autobot to pieces was certainly something even more satisfying but to gain such an opportunity was usually hard labor, something that the lazy triplechanger detested.

"Strip it clean?" Snapdragon replied to Apeface's question in Cybertronian with as puzzled look on his face as he could portray. As far as he was concerned, the Nebulans didn't need to know anything more of the Decepticon plans than Scorponok or Turmoil decided to share with them. "Naaw Apes. That ain't gonna happen unless slag hits the fan and we have to leave in a hurry. If Scorps gets this his way, he'll create a self-sustaining power plant out of this mud ball and start pumping fuel and minerals for the whole slagging Empire. You know the boss mech, he ain't not as much for stripping things clean as some others. Seems to prefer creating machinations that tend to last."

Approaching Fortress Tenebrous

Skullgrin continued to ignore Horri-Bulls banter and headed cross-country in his rugged vehicle form. This is starting to make my head hurt, between Horri-Bulls stench and the lack of anything to do. Not that it'll be any better at base, but at least I might get some peace.

[The screams from the organic processing chambers will soothe me.]

Possibly.

The Siege Warrior continues onward, but this pain in his processor only grows. "Ugh...The atmosphere in this organic hellhole is getting to me. How much longer do we have to stay?"

[You don't have the will to stay the course? You'd leave a battle unfinished?]

Silence! I'll be fine...

Holding Cells – Arvassian Range Facility

A high pitched scream welled up from the last holding cell where the damaged or sickly prisoners were being held. After leaving the Command Center, and Blue Bacchus, Black Shadow had made his way to this particular cell in order to relieve some unwanted stress. Just the thought of Turmoil made the Infiltration Commander’s blood boil.

“Quiet you repulsive wretch!”

The lowly female Nebulan whimpered as Black Shadow made his way to the corner where she huddled. He had worked his way through most of the cell effectively eradicating them before they could infect the able bodied slaves with their diseases. And those who were unable to pull their own weight were simply executed.

The Decepticon reached down and grabbed a hold of the ailing female and brought her up so he could easily look at her. She twisted and pushed against his grip but her actions brought no closer to freedom. A slight smirk formed on his face as he watched her try in vain to get free.

“Plea…please, let don't do this. I will be well soon and then I can serve you like the others. Just please let me live.”

Black Shadow’s smirk grew into a full on smile as he listened to her pleadings. He never understood why something so fragile would want to continue to exist when they could be destroyed so easily anyway.

“I’m afraid your fate was sealed when you became ill. And with our current schedule we really don’t have time to wait for you to get well enough to join the other slaves.”

He narrowed his optics as he brought her even closer a demented smile plastered on his face.

“Unfortunately for you I’m going to have to cut my losses.”

With that he squeezed his fist tight crushing the female in his hand. A small pool of the Nebulan’s vital fluids began to form at Black Shadow’s feet. He took a final look around the cell and counted only three prisoners left to eradicate. Tossing the remains of his last kill to the side, Black Shadow approached the last prisoners their screams carried through the halls followed closely by ecstatic cackling.

The Folassian Forest

The cavern Lockdown and Treadshot had sought refuge in turned out to be quite large, but ultimately damp. Lockdown hunkered down in far within going over and over the possibilities of what he could do with the credits he would be earning on this endeavor. He was on his fifteenth prospect when the sound of thunder rumbled throughout the cavern.

Lockdown stood up and slowly worked his way to the entrance. A bright flash and crackle of electricity filled his vision and audios. The bounty hunter let out a heavy sigh as he retreated back inside. With another rumble of thunder the downpour began.

“Well, it would seem we have a problem, Treadshot.”

Lockdown stood beside the ‘Con and looked down.

“The rain will make short work of that dust cloud, but it will also wash away any signs of which way the Autobots traveled. In which case I suggest we simply head back to the Fortress. I’m sure Commander Turmoil can provide us with another profitable opportunity.”

Korajan Underground--the Vault

As soon as Grax's grip began to loosen, Galen flung the other Nebulan's arm forcefully away from his neck, pushing himself away in the process. The various guards standing nearby stepped in to intervene, but Galen held up a hand, waving them off. Now was not the time to fight amongst themselves.

Llyra shoved her way through the others, but once she came near to him, it was clear that he was not in the mood for company of any kind.

"Galen--,"

"Later," he said, quickly interrupting. "You need to go. I'm going to give the Decepticons what they want. As much as I want to ... I do not see another option."

He thought that Llyra might have looked sad in such a circumstance. In actuality, she appeared to be somewhat relieved, though she took pains not to show it. Galen took her hands in his for a moment before walking away.

Entering the command chamber, several of the other World Watchers made room for Galen as he approached the towering viewscreen. A countclock had been established to visually keep track of the deadline that the Decepticon Turmoil had established for a response. They were coming to the edge, but Galen knew that he had pushed it far enough. If a viable attack could have been mustered, he would have done so, but it was clear now that they were going to have to approach their survival differently. If, in fact, they were going to continue to survive.

"Open the last used Decepticon wavelength, then widen it so that the world may hear," Galen said, and one of the technicians quickly set about doing so. Galen inhaled deeply. He could feel the heat flushing his skin. "Decepticons hear me now. Your arrival in our world has opened our eyes. Our--my--initial resistance to your requests was reactionary and instinctive. The apologies of those who exist now and those who came before are offered to you. It has become clear to many that to try and resist your work will only lead to our eventual extinction. I see a better way forward now. You have our willingness. Do with it as you will."
___

Fortress Tenebrous

Cyclonus had arrived at last within the command center of the Decepticons' newly-established base of operations on this world. He saw Turmoil standing within the room, watching a curious Nebulan transmission. If Cyclonus remembered correctly, that was the impudent little greenskin that had resisted High Commander Scorponok in the first place.

Taking an ancillary position at Turmoil's side, Cyclonus watched as the little "World Watcher" continued to speak. The purple Decepticon smirked. They were cutting through the obstacles, be they Autobot or native, and were getting to where the real work of their coming here could be done. Another world would soon begin contributing its resources to the mighty Decepticon war machine. When enough worlds did so, Cyclonus knew, the war would come to a natural end.

"They speak sense. Finally."

Fortress Tenebrous

"Indeed they do Cyclonus." Turmoil responded to the Air Commandant's comment without turning his gaze away from the holo-screen. "The High Commander will be most delighted of this news."

Having his communications officer to establish a planetwide video feed to reach as many Nebulans as possible, Turmoil proceeded to address Galen's clearly bitter surrender.

>>"In the name of the mighty Decepticon Empire and our glorious leader Megatron - I, Vice-Commander Turmoil of the 2nd Expansion Fleet, accept your surrender. As a show of goodwill, we will stop the environmental disaster currently threatening your world and hereby invite the leaders of your planet discuss the details of your surrender within the halls of our stronghold Tenebrous in your city of Koraja. You are expected to arrive by the sunrise tomorrow."<<

With the message being sent, Turmoil had the video link disconnected but allowed the message to be repeated few times before the broadcast ended for good.

"Cyclonus, send the Rainmakers to deal with the dust. No sense of wasting valuable resources by causing a worldwide famine among our new allies." Turmoil commanded before turning on his heels and walking over to his command throne and sitting down.

"And Sonicstorm. Prepare a command level encrypted transwarp transmission through as many distraction points as it takes to conceal its origin. High Commander Scorponok will want to hear of the surrender of Nebulos."

Korajan Underground--The Vault

Galen's gaze sunk as Turmoil finished his response. That was it, then. Only, it did not seem to be it at all. This Decepticon, for whatever reason, wished to discuss things further. Galen had no real desire to deal with these things, unless it be at the end of a weapon. However, they had already come to the conclusion that those weapons they possessed within the Vault would be woefully ineffective against lifeforms such as these. He felt thankful at least that the destruction of his planet by these things and further loss of life had been halted. It was a small consolation, but he was quickly learning that it would come in small doses from here out anyway.

Several of the other members of the Council of Peers who had remained within the Koraja moved closer to Galen.

"What will be done? Who among the Council of Peers will speak with this 'Turmoil'?" Peer Sorgen asked. Galen turned to face him and the others, a slight expression of confusion on his youthful, jade-shaded face.

"All of us, of course."
___

Fortress Tenebrous

Cyclonus nodded at Turmoil's command, accessing one of the terminals and relaying the requisite orders to the meteorological specialists within the Seeker ranks that they had been allotted by Megatron, long ago.

>>"We read you. All Hail Megatron,"<< came the response, before several multicolored Seekers shot out from Tenebrous' eastern berth.

Cyclonus then proceeded to bring up the various construction plans that had been created long ago for use on worlds of varying compositions. If everything panned out as they hoped in terms of resource acquisition, this planet could be perfectly situated to become the Decepticon empire's next shipbuilding hub.

"What of our other warriors, Vice Commander?" Cyclonus asked, his tone quiet and contemplative. "I am thinking of the likes of Snaptrap, Skullgrin, Horri-bull and others. Valuable commodities on the field of battle. But as this mission becomes more industrial in nature they may...chafe....under the strain of having no one foolish enough to resist our advances."

Farstar – Bridge

The utter symphony of the bridge was breath taking as the massive banks of scientific monitors and engineering gages beeped, clicked and warbled through various assigned tasks. The rhythmic beat of the transwarp engine mains, located several decks below, pulsed vibrations in perfect synchronization with the percussion that layered the bridge. Add to those marvels of modern timing, or perhaps cosmic coincidence, the bridge crew that remained unassigned to tasks beyond flying the frigate had begun to inadvertently enhance the concert.

Scattershot’s optics remained practically transfixed upon the large wrap around view screen at the far end of the bridge. The brilliant streaks of light from stars moving past at hyper speeds, the checkered strips of the transwarp conduit that occasionally darted into optical frequency range, all combined to build barroom brawlers anticipations. Absently he had taken to tapping his finger against his left arm joint as the pilot, in this instance Lightspeed, ticked off the time units remaining before they dropped into the Nebulon System. Of course each time he started and fell into the spell of the bridge’s siren, the Technobot Commander had to snap himself back to reality before his troops knew what exactly had taken place… though he was fairly sure that the bridge officers knew anyways. It was rather tough to keep secrets among the five of his team. Scientists, Engineers, Soldiers… they were the consummate self support unit and it was exactly how he liked it.

Taking on the additional burden of assistance from larger forces, especially from Autobot Special Forces such as the Wreckers or Protectobots or so forth, only managed to do one thing… Lower his personal body count. Of course that meant little in this sort of an assignment. According to the data files he had finally reviewed, under pressure again from his second in command, Nebulos units were mostly scientific with basic engineering supplies and skills. In other words, they were not a force designed to establish a stable beachhead upon the planet. This of course made the current drop in a relatively routine operation… jump in and jump out before the local authorities knew they were even there.

Even before the computer toggled a flashing series of digits on the far tactical screen, indicating they were on final approach to a rather large stellar gravity well, Scattershot had ordered Afterburner and Strafe back to the bridge. “Alright ‘Speed, Give me your final run down of the available information before drop into this galactic backwater… and try to give me a version that will get us back to the main fleet before the next major operation begins.”

Farstar--Bridge

Lightspeed watched as an assortment of planetary imagery sifted its way across the screens in front of him. From all appearances, Nebulos looked like a lush, peaceful planet. Though he was not incredibly excited about the prospect of leaving the vast expanses of space and everything he had been able to experience while out here, it was something new. Besides, from Scattershot’s earlier brief, it sounded like they were just heading there to check in with the Autobot camps, make sure everything was okay and then head back to meet up with the Steelhaven and whatever Fortress Maximus’ next project would prove to be.

Simple enough.

“This place looks nice,” Lightspeed said, pointing out the images to Scattershot. “Looks like a vacation planet. Might not be so bad to spend an orn or two here. If it weren’t for the non-intervention protocols, I’d recommend we meet up with the locals and have them give us a real tour of their home.”

Vacation or no, Lightspeed definitely intended to get some solid resting and relaxing done for as long as he was able on this little errand. The grindstone would be returned to soon enough.

"Anyway, all the current intel from the research group suggests the planet is entirely peaceful. They've not experienced a planetary conflict in......wow....many hundreds of years. Impressive--given their relative lifespan and all. I can see why we might hope to learn a thing or two from their culture and planet overall. Just strange that the units haven't sent an update in a while. Maybe the other Autobots are enjoying the scenery."

Lightspeed stretched a little in his chair.

"This should be quick and easy, right 'Coney?" Lightspeed said, looking over at the other Technobot officer.

FarStar - Bridge

Scattershot shook his head briefly at the report of the planet ahead of them. "What a waste. Not knowing a good fight when one presents itself to 'em. Definately not what I would call ideal." The Technobot took a seat in the central command level chair and pressed a series of commands on the command console imbedded in the chair's armrest. One of the holographic screens popped up from the void and spun around twice to create a virtual orb of the planet before them.

"If its what they call paradise, leave me out of it. Give me a good ole fashioned tavern, rust rock on the overhead, good energon on the tap... and a nice fast paced beat down for the main show. Now that would make for an excellent opportunity for Shoreleave." Scattershot paused briefly. "Ya know, why don't ya add that to our list of destination searches once we're done with this errand by Maximus. Find the seediest star port this side of Orion."

FarStar - Training Facility

Strafe knew that it was only a simulation. He had, after all, programmed the computer himself when he first entered the training room. However, it still didn’t stop his usual nervousness or alleviate his hair-trigger tendencies. It had become very quiet across the faux battlefield, which made it even worse for the aerial gunner as he hid behind a large chunk of fallen debris, his heat-ray rifle at the ready. The holo-cons were out there somewhere just waiting for the right opportunity to strike at him, unless, of course, he struck at them first.

Taking a deep breath, Strafe peered over top of the debris shield and immediately spotted a group of shadows advancing towards his position. Without hesitation, the anxiety-filled mech rose up from his hiding place and opened fire, spraying the entire field with blazing beams of pure death. One by one, the holo-cons fell into smoldering heaps of scrap amongst the rest of the rubble on the ground. Strafe only ceased firing when there was no more movement within his line of sight.

“Now that’s how you do it,” the Technobot said as his anxiety subsided slightly. Naturally, that didn’t last long as a sudden noise then came from behind him, causing Strafe to spin around and unload more weapons fire. He quickly stopped his attack when he realized that it was only a chunk of metal that had toppled over. "Slaggit! False alarm. Better safe than sorry I guess."

Strafe let his rifle drop to his side as Scattershot's order to return to the bridge came across his comm line. He sent a response back to his commander and then headed towards the door. "End simulation," the aerial gunner spoke aloud, causing the entire battlefield to disappear one holo-grid at a time. It was all gone before Strafe had exited the room, entering the corridor beyond.

FarStar - Bridge

The doors slid apart and Strafe stepped onto the bridge. The first thing he saw was the holographic image of Nebulos. It appeared to be a rather mundane looking planet, green and lush. From what he had already learned of its people, they were very peaceful, having not seen war of any kind for countless generations. This likely meant that no excitement would be found on this world while the Technobots were checking up on the Infiltration team stationed there. It would apparently be just a routine mission that would serve to bore a mech as high-strung as Strafe. Of course, the fact that no one had heard from the Autobots on Nebulos for a while could mean there was trouble or, at the very least, something to shoot at.

The aerial gunner approached the command chair and gave a respectful salute to Scattershot. "Strafe reporting as ordered, Commander. Should I man the weapons station just in case we run into any hostiles, sir?"

OoC: Yeehoo!!! First post on Nebulos!!!

Bridge

Nosecone sat on the Bridge looking out the viewscreen at the stars that surrounded the Farstar peacefully, he looked down at his monitor before him that displayed several viewing spots on Nebulos, a nearby planet which seemed peaceful. He looked over at Lightspeed when he asked if it was going to be "Quick annd easy.", Nosecone looked over at him calmly and said, "I suppose so. If all goes well, that is."

Nosecone sat up in his chair and continued, "I just find it hard to believe that several Autobot Camps with certainly enough energy to get a signal out, wouldn't be able to get one signal out because they're 'enjoying the scenery'."

Nosecone shrugged his shoulders and looked back out the viewscreen at the stars, and relaxed back into his chair.