by Rebel Raven » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:43 pm
Uraya- Away from the Long Shot
If she didn't know any better she'd say her audio sensors had gone up a few degrees. An unusual sensation that broke up some of the monotony of waiting for the Autobot ship to arrive.
But as quiet as her wait is, she doesn't need to spend her time doing things that would hinder her readiness like struggling at small talk with others, or loosing her mind and slaughtering an annoying comrade.
Shrike remains in her launch ready position below aerial radar, emitting nothing but the minimalist emissions and mostly if not entirely hidden behind debris to avoid detection, eagerly waiting to show the Empire her talents and make the LSC delayed by repairs or walking to Tagan if not abandoning the assault altogether. A talent that would, maybe, have her put above and beyond the common grunt perhaps. A talent that deserves to be increased. Rewarded.
Oh the joys of evolution. The prospects of new heights of combat it held.
The joys of more military strength would come to her sooner or later, and she would indulge in every single upgrade.
First, however, she must get into a position of respect and/or power, and to do that, she must become a potent force. Not every great transformer had started off as they are today. They got upgrades along the way, and if she has her way, she will follow in their footsteps somehow.
She remains vigilant of the skies, waiting for the opportunity, with various tactics in mind, and the intent of capitalizing on the inherent flaws of most winged craft, and maybe the flaws in radar. Flaws such as the fact that winged craft tend to require forward momentum at all times or fall from the sky which won't give them a mobility advantage against her unless they simply travel faster than her and flee, really. The second major advantage is simply that most winged craft can only fire directly in front of them, thus if you stay above or below their field of fire, you have the firepower advantage. With her mobility she's in a good position to gut the beast, or break it's back, metaphorically speaking. And, really, that's her plan. To gut the beast of it's engines. Slice open it's hide, then blast through the hole created to inject destruction!
Plans like these mean her combat never truly revolved around pure brute force and firepower despite being an aerial artillery piece. With only 3 or 4 rounds available to fire a 10ft wide armor destroying beam 2 miles out from a projector some 2ft wide required some energon and she kept the cannon's needed energon in a battery of sorts that partitions it from her main supply, but it isn't so separate that she cannot use the battery as an emergency fuel cell or her main fuel supply as an emergency battery. Because of her limited cannon ammo she isn't exactly the ideal artillery piece at the time being as she has a thin, feminine, agile frame instead of all the mechanics and technology available to the big, bulky tanks. Though, unlike those big bulky tanks, she has a great deal more mobility.
In truth, she anticipates this battle much the way a human would anticipate a seasoned, sauced, piping hot 24 oz. steak with a scent smelled yards away. The way a dog looks at 3 pounds of raw hamburger.
And with any luck, hamburger will be very much what the Lightning Strike Coalition will resemble when she leaves the battlefield.
Not that she knows anything about Earth, the life-forms, and their cuisine, mind you.
She thinks much about how to approach the shuttle and about how to battle the Autobots once they exit, though odds are the shuttle assault will be the easiest part. Battle plans from almost mindlessly blasting at it to a surgical strike to even calling out and goading some random Autobot for a duel in singular combat so they would halt their flight just to fight her.
The latter was laughable, however. It's not that she does not believe in singular combat, it's that neither side can be trusted to keep it singular. The Autobots have their teamwork mentality, and as soon as she gets the upper hand and maybe even if it's a stalemate, they'll blast her. The Decepticons are treacherous as they're already setting an ambush, and they'll blast their way into a duel as well.
All in all, the surgical, and hopefully stealthy strike will be the optimal path ahead of her. Afterwards she can make challenges, and what not.
Shrike chuckles lightly at the thought.
No, we're already outnumbered, supposedly. Hopefully not out classed, however. Pairing off is not going to work.
The notion of personal combat made her think about her assault on Tagan Heights. Quake fought that Autobot fool in singular combat. If it wasn't Quake it would have been her most assuredly, and that Autobot would have rued the day his spark ignited, let alone the fact he went into action against the the assault force all alone.
She battled more than one in Autobot singular combat at least most of the time she fought, and she won those two battles. Too bad she didn't get their names, or had any Intel on them besides the combat prowess they've shown.
No! Pride cannot cloud my desires. Only power! Power to serve the Decepticon Empire for an eternity or until the empire crumbles! With my dying spark, with my entire laser core, as long as there are Decepticon leaders, all I desire is the power to fight for the Empire! Praise, and pride cannot be allowed to dull my skills.
Yes, she knows loyalty very well it being the only reason she is among the Decepticons as far as she knows, and only truly craves power to serve loyally. Those two driving forces are first and foremost in her mind. In fact, they were near obsessions! She knew that, and part of her would loathe such a thing, to be obsessed, but it was a goal she felt noble and she could not truly hate that. To fight, to be loyal, and seek only to further those motives.
When she gets to the strength that Autobots would quake with fear at the mention of her name, and she could defeat anyone she engaged in combat with, maybe she would calm down a bit?
But such a trip is a long one. She can't expect a technological leap in evolution to just happen out of the blue. To be served up to her with no work. She certainly can't just ask for it. She must earn the opportunity to grasp evolution.
Maybe when this battle ends, she will have shown enough talent to impress all the right people, and be sought after for those who need a potent warrior. Maybe promoted? All stepping stones on her path to becoming the superior warrior for the empire. It was unlikely that she would be able to impress people and stay the same rank. And odds are power will not be given to a grunt. At least to an unimpressive one.
Maybe she will make a name for herself on both sides of the war in this battle. A hero sought after among the Decepticons and planned into tactics, and a respected figure to be remembered and feared amongst the Autobots to be planned for in every assault. Again, not for the fame, but for the opportunities for growth in power!