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The Nemesis--Corridors

Coming.

Coming.

Elita steadied herself in position, weapons ready. All that effort put into being stealthy and they were going to have to start charging through this ship, guns blazing, far sooner than she had anticipated. Oh well. No one ever accused Elita-1 of not being able to adapt to changing circumstances.

Then she heard a slight hiss and felt a tap on her shoulder. Looking back, Elita saw what she expected--the door opened. She darted around Roulette as she was replacing the cover, weapons still at the ready just in case they happened to be barging in to some sort of Decepticon rec room where all the "off duty" genocidal maniacs enjoyed their off time.

Not quite.

The Nemesis--Corridors

Roulette moved into the room as well and felt satisfaction upon hearing the door close behind her. The thought came into her mind that it would be just her luck for the 'Cons making those footsteps to enter this room when she saw what was inside.

The room was organized in a very respectful manner and was filled with different religious iconography. She clearly recognized Primus' symbols but there were other as well. Looking at the floor she saw areas designed to allow mechanoids to kneel and pray.

"I have to admit." She said in a whisper. "I did not expect something like this on board."

The Nemesis--Reflection Chamber

When the doors had closed and Elita had readied herself for whatever might be on the other side of the door, she could truly admit that what she and Roulette had found would be amongst the last things on said list. In some respects it looked like shrine to Megatron. But in others it represented a wide array of not only Cybertronian beliefs but a considerable number of non-Cybertronian as well. For her part, Elita did not recognize quite a bit of what she was looking at, even having been an archivist herself a lifetime ago.

"I have to admit, I did not expect something like this on board." Roulette whispered.

"No kidding," Elita-1 agreed, her auditory sensors still carefully attending to the progressive sound of footsteps. For a short time they were coming closer and closer, forcing Elita to effectively freeze in place until they began to grow gradually quieter once more--a telltale sign that the individuals had moved passed the door and were heading away from them again. Good.

Elita moved more closely into the room, pulling out a communicube and flipping it to one side. With a small flick the same map that had been displayed in her lower optical field also began to glow on a small projection within the room.

"It looks like we're here," Elita said, indicating a position on the ship. "And the last brief I got from Autobot intelligence thinks that anything the Decepticons deem to be of value would probably be kept in some chamber near the bridge, given Megatron's propensity for personally commanding this vessel in times past. Maybe directly connected. I just....I just wish we could know for sure."

The Nemesis - Reflection Chamber

Roulette studied the map carefully as she listened to Elita speak. "That makes sense." She whispered in reply then looked at her, towards the door, then back at her.

"Well, if you really want to be sure I figure the best way of doing that might be to grab some wondering 'Cons and get that information out of them."

The Nemesis--Reflection Chamber

Truth be told, Elita-1 was not sure how long she would have continued to creep her way through the Nemesis, relying on skill and a little bit of luck to find whatever it was Autobot Command had sent them for before shutting down the ship and flying off into the sunset with barely having fired a shot, saving for taking out a key Decepticon or two before the whole ship went down in flames.

Roulette's way was much better.

"I like it. Let's do that," Elita said with a grin. "Back out we go."

Elita gave the current room one last look, seeing if there was anything that could be pilfered for future usefulness. This room, though, seemed to be highly uncooperative in that regard. She listened at the door's edges for an astrosecond or two and, hearing nothing, motioned for Roulette to do her magic on the door access panel just as she had on the other side.

The Nemesis - Subsection-5, Corridor-A - Outside Reflection Chamber

"Commander Skydive said this was the spot."

"Yeah, well quit your yammerin' and let's take a look at that faulty camera."

The two maintenance vehicons began to set up their tools and equipment while a pair of seekers leaned up against the walls of the corridor and studied the vehicons' handy work.

"Don't get paid enough for this level of scrapwork..." grunted one of the seekers as a scowled etched his metallic features and he crossing his arms over the jet-cockpit centered in his chest.

"You get paid to literally do nothing." commented the other, "I say it beats having to deal with Skyquake and whoever he's fighting down on the surface."

"I just hate protoform sitting."

"Well blow my gears..." One of the vehicons stated in a dumbfounded tone. "Something's wrong alright."

"Ehh save it for the egg heads." The disgruntled seeker replied as he rolled is optics up towards the ceiling. "We could care less about what's wrong with the damn thing."

"But that's just the thing... There isn't anything wrong with it..."

Clemency - Graveyard

>>"Commander! The Autobots have a support ship in orbit! I'm trying to isolate the signal!"<<

Skyquake ignored the direct communication as he continued to fire upon Thunderclash. Though he ignored his loyal subordinate to keep his focus on the fight at hand, the thought of the Autobot ship appearing in orbit did explain to the Predator commander as to where and how the Autobot femmes had arrived to this situation. It was obvious now that these rarities in Cybertron's biology had come to Thunderclash's aid as opposed to being an existing strut in his command. No matter though, Skyquake would see it that their rescue mission did not succeed like they had previously hoped for.

Skyquake's latest volley had no immediate effect on his adversary, he instead utilized the explosions from his rockets to propel himself away and secure himself a better position for his line of fire. Once he had cleared enough distance from Skyquake, the Turbomaster commander returned fire with his own barrage of mortar shells. Skyquake's highly optimized sensors erupted in a blaze of warnings as he anticipated each shot.

Strafe left.

Duck.

Strafe Right.

Leap.

This was all a game to the Predator Commander. Like the many kinds of predators that span the galaxy, Skyquake too rather enjoyed "toying" with his victims.

“This won't end like it did on Varas Centralus."

"Well there's something we can both agree on then," Skyquake replied as he followed Thunderclash's tactics by using the explosion from his mortar shells to help propel himself forward, this time towards his adversary as opposed to away from. "You were able to escape last time, able to escape from my grasp once I had you in our sights. This time however-" Skyquake stated as he leaped up into the air, bringing back his right fist behind his head before gravity took affect on him and brought him rocketing towards Thundeclash with a powerful punch ready to connect with the Turbomaster's faceplate.

"This time you won't have any chance of escaping!!"

Clemency – Graveyard

“Gotcha!” Moonracer cheered as she saw that she had pegged the Predator dead-on with her sniper rifle. Her smile faded from her faceplate as she continued to watch the predator. Not only did it not make him crash land, he actually transformed and flew down to address her personally. Okay. Glancing sidelong to where Bumper and his assortment of injured teammates were beside her, Moonracer creased her faceplate with a rare frown. Couldn't fight here.

"That stung!" He said and began to walk forward, slamming his right first into his open left hand.

Moonracer opened a comm line back to Firestar and Chromia, >>”I found a bunch of banged up Bots over here! Transmitting coordinates! I – uh – have to take care of something else.”<<

"For that, I am going to sting you back all over your face!"

Moonracer grinned mischievously and bounced out of cover to meet Talon. She lifted up her hands to the sides of her head and wiggled her fingers at him. “Nyeeeeh! Have to catch me first!” Transforming, Moonracer zipped past Talon and whipped around him in a circle once before firing on him and flicking off to try and lead the hulking Predator away from Bumper and the other injured Autobots.



"I'll send a warning to the Nemesis!" Stalker continued, still firing his sluggish pistol shots at the femmebot. "In a few nano-kliks we can blow that Autobot ship out of the sky!"

It only took Chromia a moment before she had traced exactly who was shooting at her and had shouted out what he was doing to everyone in the vicinity. Stalker. "How about no, Stalker? How would you like to explode instead?" If he wanted to play dirty, then the blue warrior would give him more trouble for it than he could handle. Dodging to the side, Chromia whipped out both her missile and grenade launchers and unleashed a volley of explosive fire at the Predator. She rolled to recover from her sidelong dive with a huge grin on her faceplate.

>>”I found a bunch of banged up Bots over here! Transmitting coordinates! I – uh – have to take care of something else.”<<

>>”I read you, Moon. 'Star, can you bounce those boys up onto the Avante Garde? Get 'em out of the line of fire at least while we buy some time.”<<

Angling her missile launcher back at Snare, Chromia again fired off another volley at the Predator. Primus, she loved this. The battlefield was her element. While others like Nautica or Lancer thrived in more academic areas, Chromia was most at home with a gun in her hands and energon caked on her armor.


It pleased Falcon to see that many of his bullets had hit home. He angled his trajectory to further pursue the now wounded Autobot prey with all the deliberation of a predator closing in on weak and vulnerable prey. He continued his hailstorm of death by lead as he followed the Autobot into ever lower altitudes. Up ahead, a huge wreck of a battleship lay in the flying car's path. Road Rage would have two options. To brave the insides of the gutted warship or fly above it where he would have the aerial superiority.

“Hey, Falcon! Come and get me if you're not too scared!"

Falcon's vision momentarily swam red with hate and rage. He couldn't pursue the Autobot inside of the battlecruiser. He would crash into the first corner in his alternate mode. He could transform and pursue in robot mode, but he might be too slow to even catch this Autobot, and he was not about to let his prey escape. Oh no, far from it.

Angling upward, Falcon soared above the wreckage of the Decepticon warbird, transforming and hovering in midair above the approximate middle of the ship. Drawing out his hand-held missile launcher, Falcon unloaded dozens of missiles down at the warship aiming for the breaches in the hull, hoping to bring down the remaining wreckage with the Autobot still trapped inside.


"Well there's something we can both agree on then.” Thunderclash scowled as he watched Skyquake use his own tactic against him, utilizing the force of the explosions to propel himself toward the regional commander. Thunderclash's optics narrowed. Not a one of his mortars had connected.

"You were able to escape last time, able to escape from my grasp once I had you in our sights. This time however-"

From above. Skyquake was just toying with him. That was painfully clear. Thunderclash was fighting his hardest, but his injuries made his reaction times slower while the Predator commander's advanced sensory package enabled him to evade his shots with ease. Even when he wasn't injured and slow, hitting the Predator commander from range was an ordeal. Therefore, he needed to get in close and personal. It was a far more viable option than wasting ammunition trying to hit something as slippery as oil.

Skyquake was seized by gravity, bringing a fist back. Thunderclash clenched his own and drew it back behind his head, his faceplate set with grim determination. He would buy his men enough time to get away or die trying.

"This time you won't have any chance of escaping!!"

Thunderclash leaped upward into the air to meet Skyquake, throwing his own punch even as Skyquake's own connected with his faceplate. His feet soon found the ground crushing up into them. Thunderclash's knee buckled beneath him, unable to take the strain, causing the regional commander to tumble backwards uncontrollably for a moment or two.

“Hyurk...!” Thunderclash grunted out as he finally came to rest on his back. Sitting up almost immediately, Thunderclash rose to his feet, leaning heavily on his good leg, fists clenched and ready to continue the confrontation. He wiped a bit of energon that was leaking from his cracked faceplate.

Clemency--Graveyard

Keeping out of the line of fire of the Predators was proving to be a little more difficult than Firestar had expected. They were a crack squadron that had obviously not allowed the comforts of the Decepticon flagship let them grow complacent. Good. She liked a challenge.

>>”I found a bunch of banged up Bots over here! Transmitting coordinates! I – uh – have to take care of something else,"<< Moonracer had commed in. Awesome. Just what she had been waiting for. She zeroed in on the coordinates, adjusted her direction slightly and sped off in that direction. A transmission from Chromia was not far behind.

>>”I read you, Moon. 'Star, can you bounce those boys up onto the Avante Garde? Get 'em out of the line of fire at least while we buy some time."<<

>>"Copy that Chromia. On my way. Be there with 'em in a klik."<<

Firestar turned hard into a skid as the ground just in front of her erupted in a blaze of fire and dirt.

>>"Maybe a klik longer than a klik."<<

The Nemesis--Reflection Chamber

Roulette grinned and nodded at the command and went back to the door. Getting it open again was much less of a problem as she had already worked on the circuit before. She paused before opening however. Part of being a good marksmech was having keen senses to keep track of all the possible factors that could ruin aim. She moved close to the door and moved her left arm outward with a finger up. She moved her hand across the door as she followed the sounds footsteps. Once they had passed she whispered to Elita.

"They are passed the door and you got their backs. Do your thing and I will cover the hall they came from in case they have company."

With that she opened the door and waited to let Elita go first before moving out herself.

Clemency – Graveyard

Talon roared out in frustration as the Autobot moved around him quickly and peppered him with more fire.

"You stay still you skinny piece of slag!" He yelled out and punched the ground where Moonracer stood before she moved out again away from him.

"I'll get you!"

He transformed into jet mode and flew after the Autobot, firing his blasters towards her.

The Nemesis--Reflection Chamber

Elita-1 could see that her partner would have no trouble getting through the door this time. But there was a different complication, one that had not been there only a moment ago. Elita pressed her audio against the door just as Roulette had.

"They are passed the door and you got their backs. Do your thing and I will cover the hall they came from in case they have company," Roulette whispered.

Well, at least Rou had been able to pick up on that little tidbit. Elita had just been able to suss out that they were out there, not really where they were headed or that she would have the advantage of them having their back turned. Maybe she was a little glad that she had agreed to bring her along. Maybe. A little.

"Copy that," Elita whispered back with a smirk. As soon as the door had opened, Elita slipped through silently. This was part of why she was an Autobot Special Operative--unlike some of the others with that classification, she didn't have to trounce through corridors making her presence known with a deluge of incendiary missiles and other assorted weapons. No, silence and stealth were her skills. And then, when those failed--as they sometimes did--she could kick aft.

The Decepticons were, thankfully, occupied with some kind of repairs. Good. Off in the other direction, then...

Clemency - Inside Battlecruiser Wreckage

As Road Rage continued to traverse through the internal wreckage of the massive battlecruiser, it quickly became apparent that Falcon had not followed her inside like she had hoped. No, this Decepticon flier was not as stupid as the crimson femme had previously thought and as a result her rear attacks were a waste of her resources. Not to mention that the pathway behind her was caving in on no one. Too bad. It was a sound idea if only Falcon had been the moron she had taken him for.

“Frag, I guess I’ll need to come up with a new strategy,” Road Rage muttered to herself as she ceased firing to the rear, pointing her bottom-mounted weapon towards the front again and keeping focus on trying not to crash into any pieces of scrapmetal or other debris. The former bodyguard slowed her advance even more as the space around her framework became tighter, scraping the roof of her flying car mode on the ceiling of a broken corridor as she went. I need to get out of here, the femme thought as she considered where Falcon might be once she found her much needed exit. He’s probably waiting for me to emerge on the opposite side or....

Her thought was interrupted by a series of explosions that shook the downed battlecruiser to its core. Suddenly, Road Rage found herself in a very sticky situation as bits of wreckage, both large and small, began to rain down all around her as the intense blasts continued. The tables had now been turned on her. “Slaggit! He must be using his missiles!” The crimson femme had no choice now but to speed up her escape regardless of the risk of crashing into something. Debris struck her chassis as she tried desperately to reach the outer hull of the vessel before she found herself buried alive.

After a few quick, sharp turns, the former bodyguard saw light up ahead. “Finally!” Angling her aerial form slightly upwards, Road Rage kicked her thrusters into high gear and bolted towards the opening as fast as she could go. Unfortunately, she wasn’t quite fast enough as a large piece of metal struck her left wing just as the crimson femme bolted through the hull breach and back out into the graveyard beyond.

Clemency - Graveyard

Outside, Road Rage tried to steady her flight, but the damage done to her left wing had been too severe. The former bodyguard had no other options but to land and deal with Falcon from the planet’s surface. Pointing the front of her flying car mode towards the ground, the crimson femme made her decent, her frame wobbling erratically as the battlefield below quickly approached. Pulling up at the last astrosecond, Road Rage slammed into the dirt hard, skidding almost a kilometer before coming to rest near a pile of rubble.

“Well, that went better than expected,” Road Rage commented to herself as she immediately checked her HUD for a systems status. Internal systems were functioning normally. The damage was to her framework, mostly to her one wing, which had almost been severed but was still hanging on. The rest of the damage was to her undercarriage, but that was only surface scrapes, some deep while others were very minor. It was nothing that would impede her ability to continue the battle, at least not from the ground anyway. Of course, aerial combat would no longer be possible until her wing was properly fixed.

Transforming back into robot mode, Road Rage grunted slightly at the pain that she felt in both her barely attached wing and in her back armored plating. Come on, Rage, ignore the pain! You’ve still got a ‘Con to scrap! Attuning her sensors to the skies above, the crimson femme quickly located the object of her disdain. The guerrilla tactician was hovering over the wrecked Decepticon warbird, his hand-held missile launcher having been the culprit of Road Rage’s current predicament.

Pulling out her plasma discharger, the former bodyguard took aim and fired several shots directly up at Falcon before she quickly turned to take cover behind the pile of rubble that was next to where she had just crash landed.

Clemency- Graveyard


"How about no, Stalker? How would you like to explode instead?"

Stalker turned and met a hail of missiles in the face. He staggered, his left arm taking the brunt of the damage as he moved it from his earpiece to protect his visor, seeing only the smoke and aftermath on his HUD, followed by warnings from his internal computer about damage to his hull.

It'd take more than a few shots from a puny Autobot weapon to cut through his chassis. But these femmes were soft and fragile. Speedy, but easy enough to kill.

The smart move would be to resume his transmission and inform his colleagues of the ship location. But he was much more interested in killing this Chromia. His hatred of the Autobots wasn't just a powerful motivation, but an addictive, demanding feeling.

He finally related to Skyquake letting his emotions get the better of him and choosing the illogical course of action. It was far more fun.

Stalker fired his battle pistol at Chromia, firing in wide spread, trying to anticipate where she'd retreat to and where she'd put those speedy feet to use.

Clemency--Graveyard

Four wheels blazing over the uneven terrain, weapons firing in pretty much every direction, Firestar finally rolled up on the coordinates that Moonracer had given her before and found what she was expecting to find: injured Autobots. Not great, but she'd take it. Much better than dead Autobots.

Transforming seamlessly, a weapon in each hand, Firestar continued to fire back over her shoulder occasionally as she closed the last few meters between her and the injured.

"Heard someone was lookin' for a bounce," Firestar grinned, quickly scanning over who needed to go up first based on the severity of their injuries while she calibrated the bounce connection with the Avant Garde. One mech--looking like he had almost been blown in half, would obviously be the first in line.

"You win," she said, looking down at the poor mech and slapping a signal enhancer on one shoulder, just to leave nothing to chance. "Up you go."

Activating the ship's bounce tech, Firestar went to work readying the next mech.

The Nemesis--Reflection Chamber

Roulette silently and playfully waved as the two oblivious Decepticons and followed Elita at her usual distance. She kept an awareness that she could not longer just focus on one direction. 'Cons could just as easily sneak up behind them if she was not careful.

The Nemesis--Subsection-5, Corridor A-Outside Reflection Chamber

Elita had caught Roulette waving to the Decepticons as they crouched and silently crept ever more quickly down the corridor before rounding the next intersection of hallways, smiling a little as she went. For all the danger they were facing, this was pretty fun. Elita was having to rely more and more on instinct and memory, recalling what she had studied and been briefed regarding this mission and the best practices necessary to navigate the Decepticon flagship. If you counted the fact that they weren't dead yet, she supposed it was paying off a little bit.

Taking another few steps, the corridor lights began to flicker again, metal creaking.

Then silence.

Elita quickly pressed her back to the wall on one side of the hallway, scanning in both directions.

Nothing.

No sooner had she taken her first step away from the wall than a violent hissing of steam erupted from several of the vents along the corridor.

Avante Garde- Bridge

*BEWOOP! BEWOOP!*

Nautica sprang up in her chair a little, her attention turning from her studying the ship's schmatics to the main terminal in the bridge. From her seat she could see a blue signal light flashing rapidly on what was Chromia's screen.

"Oh please tell me that's something good..." She wished to herself as she quickly rose from her chair and bee-lined for Chromia's screen. When the quantum engineer was in front of the flashing screen, she sighed a little in relief as the flashing information displayed that the Bounce sequences had been used. Closing the notification, the violet femme pivoted on her heel strut and began jogging her way to the bounce chamber, a small and cheerful smile etched on her faceplate.

Avante Garde - Bounce Chamber

“Back so soon? How was the mis-“ The sight of a heavily wounded Autobot caused Nautica to freeze in her steps as she stepped into the Bounce chamber. The Autobot groaned in pain as he attempted to crawl across the flooring.

“Ay ay ay! Ease up there pal,” Nautica said as she rushed to his side and removed the signal amplifier from his chassis. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to get you medical help, ASAP!” Placing her index digit to her comm. Device and her holographic viewscreen flashing over her faceplate, Nautica contacted a few medical officers the Autobots picked up from their outpost on Paradon.

>>”Nautica to Med Bay, we’re gonna have a lot of injured on hand here shortly. Gonna need a few hands to come give me some help!”<<



Clemency – Graveyard

Thunderclash had wasted no effort in a counterattack, instead leaping into the air and meeting the Predator commander midair as he too shot a fist at his foe. But whereas Skyquake connected with Thunderclash’s faceplate, the Turbomaster commander had connected with Skyquake’s midsection, right alongside his abdominal region.

“HYACK!” Skyquake grunted in pain as the blow sent him spiraling in the air. He landed amongst the rubble safely, but he ran his digits over the freshly knuckle-shaped indents in his metal. “Hehe… Bravo, Thunderclash.” The Predator commander congratulated as he coughed up a small pile of Energon inside his mouthplate, “I actually felt something there… Bet you can’t… Can’t do it again.”

Eyeing his struggling adversary, the black and green Decepticon took notice of Thunderclash’s posture. His fists were raised and primed to hit, his stance was staggered yet well balanced. He was looking for a sparring match. Skyquake let loose a low chuckle as he began to piece together Thunderclash’s mentality.

“So, you want to ‘duke it out’ eh?” Skyquake taunted as he waved air quotes towards Thunderclash. “Well, I really hate to disappoint you and your self-righteous sense of honor, but I’m afraid I don’t play by your rules!” Drawing his missile launcher, Skyquake unleashed several more rockets towards the Autobot regional commander. He obviously didn’t have much standing his way to stop him from the oncoming barrage this time.

Clemency – Graveyard

“Hehe… Bravo, Thunderclash." The Predator commander congratulated as he coughed up a small pile of Energon inside his mouthplate, “I actually felt something there… Bet you can’t… Can’t do it again."

Thunderclash said nothing but instead spat out a glob of energon that had collected inside of his mouth. Unfortunately, the regional commander believed that Skyquake was correct in his assumption. He couldn't keep this up. His condition was deteriorating and each blow felt crippling. But he had to fight. And fight until stasis lock and the inevitable death that would follow afterward. He had to protect his men. Had to.

”So, you want to ‘duke it out’ eh?" Skyquake taunted as he waved air quotes towards Thunderclash. “Well, I really hate to disappoint you and your self-righteous sense of honor, but I’m afraid I don’t play by your rules!"

Thunderclash's optics widened as Skyquake decided not to accept his challenge. This was bad. A barrage of missiles was headed straight for him. There was no time to dodge them, and intercepting them would only catch him in the blast. In that case, perhaps Skyquake wouldn't notice a last ditch attack from above. Whipping out his mortar launcher, Thunderclash fired as many as he could up into the air. It would rain fire down on Skyquake so help him Primus. The missiles connected with his exposed frame, and his world was consumed in fire and pain. All went dark.

...

”Uhhhnn...” Thunderclash groaned as his systems came back online. He was in agony, but...he needed to stand. To fight. He hadn't bought enough time yet. His men needed time to escape. He managed to tilt his head to look up, digits digging deep into the dirt as he tried to push himself to his feet.


Stalker had taken her offensive rather well. That was annoying. But! It had distracted him from targeting the Avante Garde up in orbit, and that was more than enough for Chromia. He drew out his battle pistol. Chromia immediately transformed into her alternate mode and sped out of the cone of gunfire, some stray shots stinging against her alternate mode's frame. Drifting to the side, Chromia fired more missiles at the Predator, keeping her sensors peeled on the overall battle.

Moonracer had her hands full with one of the Predators, and Firestar seemed to be evacuating the injured Autobots. That was going rather well, though she hoped that Moon would be able to hold her own against Talon. She had a tendency to be...air-headed. “Ha! Is that all you got, Stalker?! I thought they made Predators from sterner stuff!”

Chromia wheeled around, her four tired screeching as she slid around. Wait an astrosecond...was that?! Thunderclash had taken a full missile barrage from Skyquake! Chromia transformed back into robot mode and looked on with wide optics. As the smoke cleared, she saw the regional commander laying prone on the ground.

Slag, this is bad, Chromia thought as she considered the situation. They were short on time.

>>”Firestar, Thunderclash is hurt. I need those bots on the Avante Garde a breem ago! Got it?”<<

While she waited an answer, Chromia transmitted to Nautica in orbit, >>”Nautica! Look, our time frame has moved up. I need you to get the word out to Elita. If that means boarding the Nemesis...well...I'm just not sure how much longer we can hold out down here. It's bad.”<<


The feeling was intoxicating. This hatred he felt. Better than any additive or even syk. Falcon bathed in the glorious feeling as he watched the wreckage collapsing in on itself. Somewhere within it, a lone Autobot struggled to survive. And she wouldn't. Not if Falcon had anything to say about it.

Keeping a watchful optic for the Autobot's escape from the collapsing wreckage, his keenly attuned sensors were quick to notice when she did, eventually, shoot back out into the open. Ah, the object of his hatred. Such a fine line between loathing and loving. Right now he felt some odd combination of the two toward Road Rage who was now land-locked on the surface below – as an Autobot should be. He loathed her so deeply, so profoundly...There would be just no end to his relish of ridding the world of her. And for that, he loved her as well.

Ah! She was firing on him! How adorable. Falcon transformed and rocketed out of harm's way. He shot a few missiles at her as he passed her location and began to bank back around. No, no, no. What was he doing? This required a personal touch. He needed to feel her cranium be crushed under his heel. Needed to see the light dim from her optics. Oh yes.

Soaring back around, Falcon descended and transformed, sliding to halt on the ground, his missile launcher already at the ready. “Oh little Autobot, why don't you come out and face your demise, hm? It's only a matter of time before your commander falls to Skyquake. And from what I saw up there...Heheh...let's just say the odds aren't in his favor.”

Clemency - Graveyard

Road Rage’s shots from her plasma discharger had missed their target. No matter. The former bodyguard would get another chance to bring Falcon down. At least, she hoped that she would as the crimson femme came under fire from the Decepticon flier. A few missiles rained down around the pile of rubble she had taken cover behind. The explosions were deafening to her audio receptors but did no damage other than give Road Rage a bit of a cranial ache. The pain in her head was nothing compared to the pain in her wing and back plating. If she could endure those pains, she could certainly endue a slight throbbing in her head.

Astroseconds ticked by before Road Rage heard the sound of Falcon’s vocals coming from the other side of the debris pile. The guerrilla tactician had transformed again and landed, leaving the skies behind for a more personal encounter it seemed. That decision would soon prove to be a serious mistake on his part as this was the crimson femme’s turf where she would ultimately have the upper hand. That would especially be true if she assumed the only available alt mode she had left and in the process activate the glitch.

No, I can’t do that! Road Rage thought to herself, knowing full well that when her car mode’s glitch took over there was no controlling it. Once unleashed it would be difficult to stop if not near impossible. Falcon’s words regarding Thunderclash then rung through her audios like knives stabbing the sides of her head. The Predator was taunting her now, trying to worry her, but in reality he was only making her mad. On second thought, perhaps I can!

“Thunderclash can handle himself, Falcon!” The former bodyguard shouted as she pushed herself off from the side of the debris pile. She was still hidden from sight, but that would soon change. Her back still hurt but she didn’t care. It was time to end this little back and forth. It was time to get crazy! “The real question here is...” Road Rage’s words trailed off for a brief moment as she transformed into her Cybertronian Sports Car alt mode. “....can you handle me, Decepti-slagger?!!” Revving her engines, the former bodyguard felt the glitch in her navigational system take hold of her personality immediately and morph it into that of a raving lunatic!

Wasting no time in unleashing her madness on her enemy, Road Rage zoomed out from behind the debris pile and raced at top speed directly at Falcon. “Hey, dumb-aft!! Yeah, I’m talking to you you stupid little piece of scrapmetal masquerading as a ‘Con! You ready to die, fragger?! Huh? Are you!?!! Yeeeeesssssss!?!” The crimson femme then fired a barrage of magna-bombs at Falcon before pushing her car mode even faster with the intent of ramming the guerrilla tactician if the bombs did not have the desired affect.

“Dance you mother-fragger! Dance for me! Let the bombs show you how!! Hahahahahaah!!!! Or, better still, just DIE! That’s right, fragger! Die! Die! DIE!!!”

Clemency--Graveyard

A wayward missile slammed into one of the rocky outcroppings, sending dirt and debris spilling all over Firestar and the injured Autobots that she was steadily trying to get out of harm's way.

>>"Firestar, Thunderclash is hurt. I need those bots on the Avante Garde a breem ago! Got it?"<<

Firestar slapped another signal amplifier on an injured Autobot and activated the bounce technology again. In small white flash, he was gone too.

>>"Working on it,"<< Firestar huffed, though it was just the stress of a life-threatening situation and knowing full well that these mechs needed to be up on the Avant Garde as fast as mechanically possible.

"Lemme stay. I can still fight!" the next Autobot protested.

"You can, just not today," Firestar said as she slapped an amplifier disc on his shoulder and activated the bounce tech. She then re-opened the comm with Chromia.

>>"That's all of 'em on my end."<<

The Nemesis--Subsection-5, Corridor A-Outside Reflection Chamber

Roulette continues to carefully move behind Elita keeping her covered. Their movement is suddenly interrupted as the vents suddenly activate. In her focused state the sound was like an explosion. She gives Elita a "What did you do!?" look and moves closer to her. She sets her rifle with her right hand against her side and draws her gun aimed behind her in case anyone else heard that.

The Nemesis--Subsection-5, Corridor A-Outside Reflection Chamber


The eruption of steam from the corridor vents vanished almost as quickly as it had been released. If nothing else, it reminded Elita of just how on edge she already was.

She looked back and caught Roulette giving her "a look". What?! She hadn't stepped on anything. She wasn't Flare, Primus-save-and-keep-her, she knew how to walk a corridor without triggering every alarm in the place. She shrugged and gave Roulette a smile and turned back around to plot her course forward.

Clearly Roulette's protective instincts were coming in to play and the femme would be just as close as a rust rash until they were off this pithole of a ship.

Or until it had been demolished. Either way.

Elita dashed forward, only slowing as she approached the next corridor intersection. Carefully peeking around the edge, she saw that this hallway now started to open up, leading to a much wider, taller and--quite frankly--darker area of the ship. The corridor opened up to a much larger room. In the distance, she saw a pair of Vehicon Guardian drones crossing from one of the upper walkways. There were probably more than just those two nearby, but Elita could tell they were working their way into the meaty innards of Megatron's little playpen. She couldn't help but wonder what other goodies might be stashed away in here besides what Prowl and co. had sent them after.

Maybe she'd find out.

She didn't even need to look back to see if Roulette had kept pace: she could see the other femme's shadow over her shoulder. Smirking to herself, she was off, crouch-crawling down the corridor towards the vast, open room.

The Nemesis--Subsection-5, Corridor A-Outside Reflection Chamber

Roulette shook her head. It seemed it had been a false alarm. One bullet dodged and likely more coming in the near future. She put away her handgun and lifted her rifle properly once more. The drones up from where no mere maintenance. It meant they were headed in the right direction and that soon they would come across enough that they would not be able to sneak around.

She followed Elita.

The Nemesis--Central Interchange

The closer Elita got, the more it became clear to see that two Guardian Vehicons she had seen from a distance were only the beginning. Ahead, more and more came into view, from typical drones milling around at their various consoles, to the occasional leaper or wall crawler. In one corner was a Destroyer Vehicon and in another stood a massive Titan. All were modified derivatives from the days when sparkless drones were utilized in the Golden Age to keep the peace, now bastardized by the Decepticons to serve their will. They were still just as sparkless now as they were then, though Elita had heard some reports to the contrary, but more to the point--the augmentations they had received from Shockwave over the vorns made their weaponry far more formidable. Even so, it came as no surprise to Elita-1 that the Decepticon flagship was filled with all manner of threatening ugliness. It was one of the many things she and her team had been briefed on before undertaking this mission.

Her optics flitted to the middle deck. Two brutes were standing outside a new corridor, energo-shields and warhammers in hand as another pair of Guardians stalked toward them.

Elita grinned.

"We're in a part of the ship where Autobot intel indicated high-value targets could be stored. I'm bettin' that door right up there leads to some. Getting there, though..."

((OOC: Permission from Fox to do things with Thunderclash))



Avante Garde - Bounce Chamber

Nautica was doing the best she could to assist the duo of Paradon Medics that filled the Bounce Chamber as more and more of Thunderclash's Autobot survivors materialized to the safety the femme's ship provided. She knelt beside one of the injured Autobots and removed the amplifying device that was attached to his chest plate.

"This one looks like he could use some help first." Nautica stated as he gazed over to one of the medics that was prepping her surgical equipment. "I'm not all too familiar with proper medical procedures, but I've done some reading awhile back and will do whatever it takes to hel-"

"You're fine." The nurse gleefully replied, cutting Nautica off all while her arm converted into a welder-like surgical tool. "We've handled a lot more all experiencing a lot worse before, just remain calm and continue bringing them off the bounce pad."

Nautica gave the seafoam-green nurse a slight smile. It was forced but she didn't want to show any disbelief to those who were more capable than her. She wanted to help them... Help them all as they poured in... She just lacked the right skills.

>>"Nautica! Look, our time frame has moved up. I need you to get the word out to Elita. If that means boarding the Nemesis...well...I'm just not sure how much longer we can hold out down here. It's bad."<<

Nautica's head shot up as Chromia's voice rang in her audio reciever. She shifted her attention to the side of her holographic HUD to check up on their rose-colored leader. Still no response since her last attempt to make contact, though her and Roulette's signature's continued to read as functional.

But I can't just leave them all here... The engineer pondered as he mind began to process the idea of boarding the Decepticon Flagship. They need all the help they can get... Leaving them now just seems... it just seems so immoral!

"Ma'am?" One of the medic's perked up, once again cutting off the violet and gold femme's train of thought. "Are you feeling alright? You seem... Troubled..."

"Just um... Just unsure of what I should do here..." Nautica replied wearily, turning her attention back to the nurse as her HUD vanished in a flurry of light so she could give the medic her undivided attention. "Elita hasn't responded to us and we need to inform her of the ever growing situation we're facing here." Her voice trailed and her attention followed as she stared towards the floor boards of the Bounce Chamber. "I just can't leave, not in a situation like this. I wanna help them, but..."

"Then go." The medical officer from Paradon calmly replied as she reached out and placed a hand on the femme's shoulder, a gentle smile bestowed upon her faceplate as she delivered the statement. "If Elita-1 doesn't get the information, then all of our work here will be for nothing. This is how you can help them. Go, tell Elita what needs to be heard."

Nautica returned her attention to the nurse and couldn't help but force herself to smile again. She wasnted to reply, but found her palm running over her mouth to brace herself from speaking.

"We will be fine here," The medic responded, still keeping physical contact with the engineer. "Don't worry."

All Nautica could do at this point was nod in agreement, the nurse was right and she had a new task at hand. Scooping up her wrench, the engineer slowly rose from her kneeling position and approached the bounce chamber terminal. She ran her digits across the screen and located the latest outgoing frequency in the log. It had to be Rou' and Elita's, no doubting that.

"Wait!" A voice cried out from behind her. The violet femme turned back to find the Medical officer who gave her a bit of a pep-talk rising and approaching her side. "If you're going aboard that Decepticon ship, then you're gonna need more than a wrench to keep you safe." A panel running along the seafoam-green femme's thigh plating opened up to reveal a small laser pistol holstered in her leg. The medic retrieved it and presented it like a gift in both hands. "Take it, I won't have much use for it here." Nautica stared down at the weapon before gazing up at the all too familiar gentle smile of the medical personnel. She reluctantly reached out to take it from her. Gripping the weapon, Nautica held it by the grip though she left her index finger far from the trigger or even its guard.

"Thank you..." Was the only thing Nautica could muster up at the moment. The nurse simply nodded as her form of a welcome for the engineer. Turning back to the terminal, Nautica reinserted the coordinate's Elita-1 had used prior and stepped aboard the platform.

"Well... Here goes nothing..."

*VSSSSSSKKKKKK BAAAMMMMMFFFFFFFFFFF*



Clemency - Graveyard

”Uhhhnn..."

Skyquake sneered a crooked smile under his metallic mouthplating as he watched his adversary take the entire missile barrage directly. This was it, this was the moment that Skyquake had been longing for. Before the Predator commander can usher his first word to the defeated turbomaster, the whizzing of a last minute act of retaliation in the form of a mortar shell barrage pierced Skyquake's highly adapted audio receptors. He shifted his gaze upward only to find he had little to no time to make an attempt to dodge any of his Hail-Mary attempt.

"You spawn of a glit-"

*KRA-KAK-OOOOOOMMMMMM*

Each shell landed its mark, there was no doubt about it. Out of the four mortar shells Skyquake had calculated to have been on a direct collision course with him, only two had struck him directly while the other two had only missed him by a good foot or so. The entirety of Skyquake had become enveloped it smoke as it plagued where he stood.

Skyquake's internal systems immediately lit up like wildfire as every status report that flooded his processor was trying to access the damage he had sustained. Optical sensors offlined, Skyquake remained still in his position as he ignored the reports, only bathing in the sound of the battle raging on around him as the smoke blanketed his chassis around him.

Soon the smoke began to fade, and from the thickest portion of the cloud Skyquake's shadowy visage could still be found standing in the same spot he stood before he was struck with the mortars. Two green eyes pierced through the smoke cloud shortly before it completely disappeared around him.

"Heh...Hehahaha..." Chuckled the Predator commander as his chassis was torn and indented with bits of shrapnel, his metal charred and still smoking. "I must commemorate you on your feeble attempt, Autobot." Skyquake bellowed as he slowly lurked from the freshly made crater. "As impressive as a last stand that was, it appears I am the one who will be walking away from this little entanglement.

He looked down at his adversary who was making an attempt to get himself back up to his feet, his actuators clawing into the debris covered battlefield. Skyquake walked over to Thunderclash's side and delivered a kick to his abdomen, causing the Turbomaster to fall back to the ground.

"Now this is a sight I can relish in!" Skyquake taunted as he circled his defeated rival. "THUNDERCLASH: THE GREATEST AUTOBOT WHO LIVED! HA HA! Not so great are we now, Hmm? Mhmmmhmmmhmmmm."

>>"Commander! The Autobots have a support ship in orbit! I'm trying to isolate the signal!"<<

"So..." The Predator commander mused as he shifted his gaze to the skies above and found the familiar bronze coloration of a Autobot warship floating off in the atmosphere. "This is where your friends came from... Was this your plan? To try and vanish from under my nasal sensor again?" Quickly turning from his taunting, Skyquake leaped towards the downed Thunderclash and delivered a boot to his spinal strut before he leaned down and wrapped his clawed actuators around the cracking helmet of his Autobot counterpart.

"Look at it, what does it look like to you?" Skyquake taunted once again as he forced the Turbomaster commander to stare into the skies at the Avante Garde. "Does it look like Freedom? Hope? Salvation? I'm afraid for you and your friends however, that it isn't any of those things." Skyquake opened a panel that ran along the forearm holding Thunderclash's head up to the sky and began inputting a series of command keys he implemented prior to the battle with the assistance of his loyal subordinate, Stalker.

"You Autobots think you're so clever, thinking that principles like hope and luck will come through for you in the end. But, you are all blinded by the propaganda... And for you and the Autobots who managed to survive this ordeal, I'm going to clue you in a little secret..."

Keying in the final command code, Skyquake utilized his augmented utility device to give him full reign of the Nemesis currently in orbit. From the ground where he stood, the Predator could practically control the entire ship directly using only a thought.

"Hope is a lie..."

The Nemesis

"What's going on?" Skydive questioned as he could feel the ship turning hastily in the direction of the Autobot ship.

"Skyquake has taken command of the ship! Stalker relinquished the command codes to Commander Skyquake prior to his departure!" A vehicon pilot rang out as he lifted his hands to the air to demonstrate he had no control over the ship's movement.

"Wha-What's he planning on doing?? We aren't aiming to cr-crash this thing are we??"

"Negative!" Another vehicon drone rang out from the side of the bridge, "It appears he's priming all weapons systems and locking on to the Autobot ship!"

Clemency - Graveyard

Skyquake continued to keep a tight grip on Thunderclash's helm, he wanted him to watch as the full power of the most impressive vessel in the Decepticon fleet decimate the Regional Commander's last hope for escape.

"And now we add another ship to this graveyard of a world!"

Plasma batteries and heavy laser cannons erupted into a massive blaze as every weapon system on board the Decepticon Flagship was unleashed on the femme's ship. The Autobot's ship immediately began to cave under the heavy barrage, the bronze-colored hull beginning to warp as smaller explosions inside the vessel began to violently erupt from nearly every orifice. Skyquake basked in the light emanating from the Avante Garde's utter demise, his crooked smile from earlier returning to his faceplate as he tightened his grip on the back of Thunderclash's head.

"Where is your hope now, Thunderclash?"

The Nemesis--Central Interchange

Roulette studied the situation closely as Elita spoke. "Looks like the time for stealth is over." She whispered and tilted her head to the side.

"It would be better to take out those two coming our way first, quickly and quietly. 2 versus 2 sounds a lot better to me than 4 versus 2. After that..."

Roulette gives Elita a mischievous look.

"If some brave soul would go up there and give those two big 'Cons a target to practice on I can pick them off when they lower their shields to swing those hammers."