by Insidious » Sun Jan 16, 2011 8:31 am
- Motto: "Clarity of thought before rashness of action."
- Weapon: Oxidating Laser
The Folassian Forest—Autobot Command Bunker
Rad had heard the sounds of raised Autobot voices even as he’d left the bounce chamber to carry out their current plans. Having been effectively robbed of their command figure, Rad had no doubt that others would begin jockeying for position. Spartan clearly felt as if he had the best handle on the current situation, but after what had happened in Koraja, was that really the case. There were clearly others who didn’t think so. At the end of the orn, they had all risked themselves to try and get him, Highbrow and Skyhammer out there unharmed after they’d got themselves in to that Decepticon mess. That was the main reason Rad had not interjected himself into the subsequent argument.
Standing in one of the primary observation decks, Rad ejected a series of storage discs and inserted them in to the main drives. His actuators ran steadily across the command console, accessing the research files that had been gathered on the planet thus far—organic species, inorganic minerals, planetary composition. The vast majority of the work they had done up to this point had been conducted simply from a data-collection standpoint. There would have come a time, eventually, when they would have made their presence known and discovered how effectively Cybertronians could coexist with what appeared to be a completely peaceful native species. That in itself had been such a rare and valuable discovery, given how much of the universe was consumed by one war or another.
And now it had come here as well.
If Rad did nothing else, his own personal primary objective was to give this planet its peace again. That was the absolute least he could do. Unfortunately, the question of whether Nebulans and Cybertronians could coexist had already been answered for him. It was not the answer he’d wanted.
He watched, impatiently tapping his foot against the metallic floor, as the various download statuses crept towards 100%.
___
Koraja--Capital Dome
The sudden transmission by Turmoil had taken Cyclonus momentarily by surprise. He had not expected Scorponok to call in one of the more blunt instruments at his disposal. His presence here, and the nature of his transmission, indicated that the Deceptions were indeed intent on establishing a solid fortification on this planet. When he found himself with some otherwise unoccupied span of time, Cyclonus intended to pull up a sector map of this region of the galaxy. The planet was likely rich in natural resources and all outward indications suggested that it was almost completely incapable of defending itself from their efforts, but there had to be some larger, more strategically significant reason that this world had been selected. He intended to come to his own conclusions as to why that might be.
>>”Excellent, Commander. Your oversight and defensive capabilities should prove invaluable,”<< Cyclonus transmitted as he stepped in to the ruined halls of the Capital Dome. The injured Autobot, Skyhammer, hung, impaled on an outcropping of Nebulan architecture. It was such a fitting image. Depending on how the next few breems played out, Cyclonus would see to it that the Autobot was displayed in precisely this manner, directly in the center of the main thoroughfare leading in to Koraja, as a warning to others. Whether he was alive or not was of little concern to the Air Commandant. But, for the moment, there were more pressing matters. >>”I believe I will have that information very soon.”<<
“Step away, Apeface,” Cyclonus said as he now approached the Autobot, waving the Horrorcon off. No need for him to sustain further injury simply to amuse them. Cyclonus looked up, his sunburst optics meeting Skyhammer’s own. There was life there, if only a little. Enough to serve his purposes. “You have my apologies, Autobot. I had hoped to engage with you in a somewhat more functional state.”
Cyclonus paused for a moment before continuing, opening a brief connection with a Decepticon who might prove to be of particular usefulness in this instance. >>”Bombshell—report to my position immediately.”<< Cyclonus then turned his attention squarely on Skyhammer once more.
“I have my suspicions about how this conversation will proceed, so allow me to lay out the scenario. It is apparent that your Autobot brethren have established some form of operational structure on this planet. I will demand that you reveal its location, you will offer some form of stubborn rebuttal, citing endless Autobot protocols about duty, honor and any number of other ideals. Impasse reached. So, acknowledging that, is there any arrangement we might come to whereby I can get the information I need from you willingly before I employ more…invasive…procedures?”