| abstract
| - Mount St. Hillary - A barren mountain stands out from the rest of the rest of the craggy peaks that dominates this region of land, Mount St. Hillary, and on the base of the southern side of this active volcano is a large hole tunneled right into the core. The Ark is relatively quiet right now, all things considered. With the sun hanging high in the sky, the day is somewhat warm, but not unpleasant to deal with. At least it's not raining, right? For the moment, many of the Autobots...past and future, are spread around the Cascades area going about their daily tasks. Brawn is currently deep under the volcano, in vehicular mode and tunneling downwards with his drill in search of a water supply for the humans. Ironhide and Ratchet are off surveying the land and searching for an oil deposit that Teletran's sensors had picked up, much like most of the others who are searching out other similar sources of energy. Back at the mountain itself, Wheeljack, Remedy, Impactor, and Amber are gathered. Either assigned on guard duty or just milling about and waiting for whatver report is going to come back. Speaking of which, the Skyspy had returned about an hour ago, finally finishing its planet-wide scans, and has docked with the terminal deep inside the Ark. Prowl and Rodimus are both there, pouring over the information that's playing across the screen. Amber MacKenzie already did her dozing off after lunch: yummy leftover saber-toothed tiger meat. For now, she is exercising. Stretches already done, she flips forward onto her hands, and then back on her feet, following up with cartwheels both left and right. More abrupt flips, agile leaps, and balancing on her hands. The rough ground isn't always level, so she makes small mistakes here and there but not enough to cause a fall. And Wheeljack... is being Wheeljack. His day cycle has consisted of 1) clearing rubbing out of the entrance to the Ark's engineering bay, 2) finding his tools in the mess left by the crash, 3) scrapping up as much spare parts and empty munitions as he could find, 4) tackling the matter of limited materials and ammo with no modern resources readily available. He was only outside because Prowl yelled at him before he could make a mess in the Ark they just barely are getting back to suitable basic operating perimeters. Considering the little 'station' he's set up in the shadow of a boulder is littered with tools, cybertronian scraps and assorted bits of flora and mineral you'd find in this ancient time, it might of been one the smartest things Prowl ever did... All is not well in this tranquil setting, however, for the day shall soon be ruined-- BY THE DECEPTICONS! Roaring towards the Ark flanked by the Seekers is Cyclonus, and trapped within his cockpit is Foxfire, muzzled and bound. "You wish for your freedom, little Autobot?" Cyclonus rumbles at Foxfire via his internal speakers. "You will have it--or your death, if the Autobots do not meet my demands." Scanning the formation via his external cameras and disapproving of the slight deviations in the other fighters' movements, Cyclonus growls. "Starscream. You call yourself an Air Commander? Your formation is *sloppy,* and reflects poorly upon you. Get those two idiots back in line or I'll deal with YOU." Foxfire can really only glare at this point. He's not too pleased with being held hostage like this, but on the other hand--err, paw--it's better than getting vaporized. He'd like to *avoid* that happening again, thank you. Impactor had been spending his time with Brawn. For every word he heard about Prowl and his famous dickery, he heard another word about the strength and bravery of Brawn. So although drilling for water to help out the humans wasn't really his bag, Impactor made the effort to join the minibot on his expedition, drilling down deep in his rarely seen alt mode. In truth it was just an excuse to chat with the mech and swap old war stories. Is it true Brawn once decked Reflector so hard on Orden IV that his other two bodies winced? What happened to the Wreckers on Duxn that caused the whole mission to be classified? Only just returning back to base after hours with the minibot, Impactor stomped towards the Ark's command centre, passing by the exercising Amber as he goes. He has no idea if the flips are impressive or not. The mech is covered with dirt and grime from the expedition, but doesn't seem to notice. He had been planning to check in and see what the Skyspy found, but pauses here long enough to speak up. "You and the other human are still functional?" What a diplomat. Fortunately in a few moments it won't be his diplomacy skill that we're relying on. "This plan is stupid!" Starscream replies, cruising well away from Cyclonus. "What makes you think the Autobots won't simply shoot you down before you can even touch down? That Blaster-minion you're carrying is probably bristling with communications equipment!" More quietly he hisses to the other seekers, "Tighten it up! But not TOO tight. Be ready to take evasive maneuvers if our... 'substitute leader' should suddenly explode in a ball of nuclear fire." Grey Spaceship hopes he's not being called a sloppy flying idiot and just to try to impress the brass he pulls a brief maneuver - he pulls a perfect spiral with several rotations like a kitchen hand held blender head with his edges making little air warping trails, and if you could see it in bullet-time you'd be mildly entertained considering that particular special effect is decades old and no longer impresses the kids these days... then again this is 4 million years before bullet-time so maybe you'd crap yourself and faint. Remedy is out, watching the human Amber exercise, taking mental notes, as the floor exercises might actually be beneficial in improving the agility and fluid transfer of the bots. She looks up as Impactor comes tromping in, waving at him, "Hello, Sir." Strangely, she doesn't seem to have the strange glitch that seems to manifest when Prowl is about Rodimus Prime is still going over the material on the screen, standing with his arms crossed as he nods towards some of the map readouts, "Now this looks interesting. We may be onto something. There's no way you'd have those kind of tectonic disturbances without some kind of outside influe...." He never gets to finish the sentence though, as the screen suddenly shifts to show the approaching blips. "ALERT!" Teletran One blurts out, "Decepticons incoming!" "Oh great, NOW what?" Rodimus grunts, leaning forward with hands on the console. Rampage is watching Fragment fly around in eggbeater circles and getting a bit dizzy. Whatever Cyclonus is doing, he waits for the Decepticon 2nd-in-command to tell him what to do. Initiative is not Rampage's strong suit, unless you count bursts of insane rage-fuelled sudden destruction. Amber MacKenzie breaks off her routine when Impactor addresses her. Wiping the sweat from her brow with a scorched piece of cloth, she answers equally diplomatically, "Yes, we are..." Her voice trails off as those incredibly noisy alarms go off again. She whirls, green eyes wide with alarm as she looks around to see what might be approaching. More intruders? Here's hoping it's just another refugee like Reidan. "Now just plug this ignition device I made from a piece of flint and some adhesive strips into the launch vectorizor, check the holding chamber for blockag--Huh?" Wheeljack snaps up from his tinkering as Teletran sounds off an alarm. "Gee, I wonder who that could be..." It's a sarcastic remark though as he hops to his feet, picks up his launcher from a nearby rock he'd flattened off for a table, and relocks it onto its shoulder hardpoint. "I might have to skip the simulations and go straight to field testing." ... Should he sound so enthusiastic about that proposition? Starfighter chuckles at Starscream. "How do I know? Because I know Rodimus. He's ever the foolish young boy, always trying to save his friends even at the expense of the greater war effort. Honestly, Starscream, it's like you've never met an Autobot before. And besides, we're not asking for too much... or so it will initially seem!" Noticing Fragment doing spirals, Cyclonus snaps, "Fragment! We are here on a *mission,* not as part of aerial circus! Cease that outlandish maneuvers at once! Besides... we're almost there." Swooping down, Cyclonus transforms and boldly lands not so far from where the Autobots have gathered, Foxfire held by the scruff of his neck. "AUTOBOTS! I am Lord Cyclonus, temporary leader of the Decepticons. I have hostages, and shall exchange their lives in return for knowledge of the fate of Megatron! What say you?" He tears away Foxfire's muzzle, then presses the barrel of his rifle to Foxfire's head. "Decide quickly, I've grown weary of this creature." It's not the first time Foxfire's been held by the scruff, but even so, it's not very often that he also has a gun pressed against his head. He snarls quietly, but says nothing. At least Cyclonus isn't demanding total surrender of the Autobots. Starscream swoops down to delicately alight a little ways beside and behind Cyclonus, sullenly not announcing himself. Maybe he's not feeling his usual ego with Cyclonus right there. Maybe he just wants to keep Cyclonus in front of him. Prowl, who is standing next to Rodimus, switches to an external camera view, and focuses it on Cyclonus and the Seekers. "He wants information on what happened to Megatron? No, if he gets that and finds Megatron, he might find Optimus, too! I can't allow that to happen!" He transform into his alternate mode and roars out the Ark before Rodimus can get in a word edgewise. Mere seconds later Prowl is popping out of the Ark into his robot mode, firing his acid rifle at Cyclonus. "No deal, Decepticon! You'll just have to figure it out on your own!" Impactor spares Remedy a brief nod of acknowledgement before refocusing back on the human. "You sure? Most Humans don't look like they're about to melt when they move." Before Impactor can give more health tips, Teletran One blurts out the warning message. In a flash, Impactor is armed with his laser pistol in his hand and a deeper scowl on his face. "Standard arrangement, human. Go find some crawlspace to hide in and let us worry about fighting the Decepticons." As Cyclonus lands, Impactor aims for his head. He refrains from firing only because of what Cyclonus quickly says. "Temporary leader, huh? Screamer couldn't cut it?" Yeah, that's what he's focusing on first. <> To Cyclonus: "Go ahead and ignore Prowl. He's our Starscream." Grey Spaceship ceases being a beautiful twirling torpedo and resumes all-business boring levelness in wing formation. "Yes sir!" The wolf pack of the sky and all that. And hardly a moment later they go in for the landing. He transforms and touches down with his feet. His gravel Gun in hand and at rest on his shoulder freshly stocked with all the best minerals this land has for the reaping. Purple optics and pale faceplate in unreadable expression. Amber MacKenzie can empathize with poor Foxfire, as she was in the same position a few days ago. That doesn't keep her from taking cover, slipping behind some rocks. She's bitterly aware of what a good hostage she makes even without Impactor to remind her. Then the gung-ho Prowl goes by, and she has to roll her eyes in worried exasperation. Remedy gets up as a familiar klaxon goes off. She shoos Amber inside, raising her revolvers, as the ship will make a quick transform a bit challenging, "Prowl, Sir," Yep, there's that vocal hitch that sounds like she's saying C-U-R again, "Be quiet. Logic is fine and dandy, but, for Primus sake, you make it sound like next you'll be shooting THROUGH Autobots to get at the 'cons." Rodimus Prime blinks in surprise as the other Autobot transforms and races out, "Wha..? Wait, WAIT PROWL WAIT!" Already he's transforming to pursue, but Prowl's smaller and more agile police car mode is able to race out that much quicker, with Rodimus only bringing up the rear as he falls behind. By the time Rodimus is racing outside the entrance of the Ark, Prowl is already up and opening fire at Cyclonus for a few seconds, "Gah! Are you crazy!? He's got one of my Autobots!" Rodimus calls out, as he openly transforms and throws himself to tackle Prowl into the underbrush in a clatter of metal on metal. But the damage has been done of course. It's not exactly their fault, as the original generation of Ark travelers are all a bunch of gung-ho types. And with the first shots already fired... Brawn rises up from the tunnel, having just arrived as he points his blaster at Thundercracker and Skywarp, unleashing staccato fire in quick succession. "YAHOOO!" Ironhide and Ratchet come racing back to the scene, Bluestreak emerges down on a lower level of the plains, opening fire with his own rifle as general chaos erupts all around. Rampage lands with the others, thankfully no longer dizzy. He points at the Autobots. "Ha ha, are they stupid?" he says, "We've got a hostage!" Cyclonus actually looks surprised when Prowl comes barreling out to save the day. "What the--no, Autobots, the deal is off! You clearly don't care for the life of this--" But he spends too much time monologuing, and Prowl's keen sends an acid round sizzling into his elbow joint. The space warrior hisses in pain and drops Foxfire. "Gaahh! Curse you!" Cyclonus growls. "Very well, Autobots, I'll take this information by FORCE!" And he begins firing upon Impactor, furious that he was made to look like a fool in front of his worst rival and that the Autobots couldn't just make this easy for him. Starscream cackles at the response Cyclonus gets from Prowl. "You SEE, Cyclonus? The Autobots are not so foolish as you think! Did you really think you would succeed through simple extortion where my genius has not? This will take MUCH more subtle-" He looks crestfallen as Rodimus comes out and opens fire, blasting shots into both of his wingmen and knocking them sprawling. "Decepticons, to the air! It's an ambush!" Cyclonus roars, "Shut UP, Starscream!" over his own gunfire. Starscream blasts off into the sky, spraying null blasts down at the Autobots while he tries to put distance between himself and them, in anticipation of a swift retreat (he hopes). Fragment snarks, "Oh, really cool there, bots." So much for being cool and productive and following their own rules of engagement.... oh and there goes the hostage. Fragment levels his Gravel Gun at Wheeljack, cause he's got that awesome looking shoulder thing, as he takes a knee and pops a few shards of granite, basalt, volcanic obsidian, and raw unpolished gem rounds all mixed. Rampage gets out his lightning rifle and aims it at the bots. "Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you!" he says, firing at Rodimus, "Don't you know you're supposed to put 'em up when we have a hostage?" Meanwhile, Prowl smiles in satisfaction as he forces Cyclonus to drop the hostage... but it lasts barely a split second before Rodimus tackles him into the dirt. He struggles to break free, but Rodimus is much stronger. "Rodimus... dammit, you KNOW we can't let them have that information, no matter the cost!" Amber MacKenzie sneaks a peek down the long, very straight tunnel that leads inside the Ark. "Shooting gallery," she grumbles to herself. She crawls deeper into the rocks and tries to work her way away from the firefight. Cover or not, just a hit in her vicinity could send rocks tumbling on her. As she painfully maneuvers in and out of very tight spaces, accumulating a fine collection of scratches and scrapes, she quietly curses Cyclonus for barging in like he owns the place, and Prowl for being an idiot. "Swear to Primus, Prowl," Impactor growls, "I am going to frakking k- Ugh!" Cyclonus's shot misses, but only by scant inches. A good chunk of the side of the mountain behind him explodes, showering Impactor's back with orange rocks and gravel (this time not thanks to Fragment). "Ah, fine, who am I to complain about this arrangement?" Impactor dives to the side, using one of those boulders that were always conveniently placed whenever there were shootouts at the Ark in Season 1 as cover. Impactor pops up long enough to send a sizzling flurry of laser bolts from his pistol back at Cyclonus. Then, Impactor looks *past* Cyclonus at something behind him. C'mon, Brawn, Impactor silently urges. Rush this guy from behind and tear his stupid looking ears off. Foxfire always had heard Prowl was a prick. Looks like everyone was right. "For the love of Primus," he mutters, just before Cyclonus gets hit involuntarily releases his hold. Foxfire lands on all fours and almost immediately scurries over to where Rodimus tackled Prowl. Weaponfire is all around him, and his swift feet allow him to avoid stray shots. "Chief!" Remedy runs for some open space, her twin revolvers speaking in loud noice, aimed at Cyclonus, ready to jump skyward where she can be more useful Wheeljack was all geared up to test his adaptations on a bunch of Decepticon mooks. But the inventor balks a bit when Cyclonus lands with his prisoner and demands. Though he does have to stifle a bit of snickering at Impactor's remark about Prowl. Nevermind his flashy head-modules still give it away with a dim flicker as he does. Then cue Prowl... being Prowl. A bit of a leap of logic, but Prowl does have a point. And everybot else coming roaring in to help. "Hey guys, leave some for me!" Yeah, this bunch of old timers weren't about to just stand around and let the Decepticons try and bully them into giving away important matters. On the other hand, while he was just as willing to stare danger down the headlights as his comrades, at least Wheeljack keeps that off-the-wall intelligence he's known for at hand too. Grunting as he gets popped with some rocks that leave dents in his armor, he blinks a few times. "Stones? Seriously? Oh come on..." And he pulls up the contraption he had been working on, gripping what looks like a cross between an assault rifle and those 'snowball guns' you see come out around winter as he turns towards Fragment and Rampage. "This place has -much- better things to offer. Allow me to demonstrate!" He'd be grinning but not having a visible mouth, you'll just have to settle for the eager flash of his head-modules as he pulls the trigger, and with a viscous splorting sound fires several globs of bubbling hot tar he collected at the two Decepticons! "And that was still one of -my- Autobots he had hostage. Would you do that if it was Bumblebee he was holding as a shield?" Rodimus starts, scowling at Prowl, but then is forced into evasive action as he's fired upon by not only Rampage....but Starscream screeching overhead as well. His mouth sets into a firm line, "...well isn't this a little bit of a situation I never thought I'd find myself in?" Raising both forearms, he lets loose with a twin trio arm-blaster shots at the two Decepticons in good order as he calls out, "Over here, Foxfire! As fast as you can!" "-Information-? Is that what you're after? I suppose Megatron really IS missing as well then, isn't he? Not that that would bother SOME would it?" Yes that last bit was shot Starscream's direction for good measure. Rampage flounders as he's hit with a beam that seems to cripple him. He transforms to steady himself. "What kind of weird weapon is that?" The gun ports in his sides pop open and he fires rapidly at the Autobots present. Cyclonus is ducking and weaving between energy blasts, almost like he knows where the Autobots are going to fire mere moments before they actually do. "Too *slow*, Autobots. Keep up that aim, and we'll be victorious in short order." He raises his rifle up... when he notices he's suddenly lifting off of the ground. "W-what?!" he blurts staring down... at Brawn, who's grabbed him by the knees. "Sheesh, you guys should just try getting up close and personal instead!" Brawn says, and then swings Cyclonus around and around before finally releasing him straight into a dense group of trees. "ARRRGHHH!" Cyclonus roars in frustration as his body tumbles through the forest, knocking down trees like bowling pins. "You... you miserable Autobot!" he breathes, and fires an oxidizing blast into Brawn's shoulder. "Auuggghhh!" Brawn cries out, clutching his shoulder as it begins to visibly rust and crack. "And now for you, Impactor!" Cyclonus snarls, returning fire at the Wrecker with sizzling magenta beams. "I should take offense!" Starscream exclaims, somehow combining yelling with pouting. "My loyalty to Megatron is well-known, unlike this interloping usurper!" He rounds on Rampage and Fragment, snapping, "Stay alert and keep moving! Don't let the Autobots pin you down, we may pull out at any moment!" Soundwave has been silent this whole time! That's about usual. He stands towards the rear of the battle, allowing the more foolish robots to explode each other! Good way to save precious energon, at least. In particular, Soundwave keeps his keen senses on the time-displaced Autobots and Decepticons- no doubt trying to get a better grasp of their capabilities! Unknown factors must become known ones, eventually. Fragment should have bewared the SPLUT as last week’s Garfield warned. The grey Decepticon finds himself coated and clogged by the gunk. "Crude oil... biodegraded from the elements." He says it matter of factly. Not disgusted, just inconvenienced. His gun dissed as primitive when Wheeljack is spitting tar? That kinda boggled him though. Fragment engages his battle mask over his mouth and nose and his purple optics glow brighter. Lasers strafe at Wheeljack. Prowl gnashes his teeth. "Yes," he says with grim determination. "I WOULD sacrifice Bumblebee to save Optimus. It's only logical!' Foxfire hears Prowl as he approaches, and gives him a glare. "What kind of Autobot are you? If you're so 'logical', then you'd find a way to save both!" Remedy doesn't really care if she did or didn't hit anything with her attack, as now she's clear of the overhanging space ship, and can transform, and take on the cons on a more level playing field. Lighting off her afterburners, she goes for altitude... Amber MacKenzie gets a bit of distance from the fight but not enough. An old rockslide has removed all cover to the east, and she doesn't dare cross it. She sighs and lies on her stomach in a ragged crevice in the mountainside, supporting her chin on an arm. May as well watch the show. "Go, Prime!" she cheers silently. Impactor trades laserfire with Cyclonus from behind his cover. He has the boulder protecting him, while Cyclonus has his natural agility. This results in a stalemate until Brawn, Hero to Children Everywhere, rushes the Decepticon 'leader', grabs him, and chucks him into the forest. Impactor springs out from behind his cover to join the minibot, firing his laser pistol as he goes. "Took the words right out of my vocalizer," he tells Brawn. But Cyclonus isn't down just yet, and swiftly returns fire. Brawn is hit, but Impactor gets off scot free through the power of luck. Gritting his teeth at his comrade's (temporary) disabling, Impactor rushes him, fist and harpoon at the ready. "Spoken like a mech who wants his teeth rammed down his throat," he snarls at Cyclonus. Reaching the Con before he can fire another blast, Impactor tries to deck him and send him back into the trees. Wheeljack fistpumps as his invention works -without- blowing up this time. But the celebrating is cut short as the minibot gets blasted with some sort of degrading weapon. And in the shoulder too. Never a good place for Brawn to get hit -- his arms are his best weapon after all. "Brawn!" He glances back, just in time to see the cat and the Seeker bring their guns to bear. "Sorry creeps, I've got a flight to catch." Those silver wings on his back prove to be more than just for looks as a pair of rockets pop out of his arms, and in a burst of flames shoots the inventor into the air as Rampage and Starscream's blasts riddle the ground. Yes, Wheeljack is one of those rare Autobots that has some method of flying for short distances. Take that gravity! At least until Fragment's laser shots track after him, and send up a plume of smoke as the beams sheers off one wing, and turns what was going to be a heroic landing into a somewhat awkward tumble as he hits the ground near Brawn while trying not to fall on his aft. "Don't worry buddy, ol' Wheeljack's got ya covered. And as for you.." He turns towards Starscream as he materializes a modified laser drilling device, wielding it like a rifle and firing back at the Seeker. "Shouldn't you be trying to stab your supposed new leader in the back by now?" "Optimus would NEVER agree to that." Rodimus grunts back to Prowl, getting to his feet as another stray series of shots streak past where he was a moment ago as he scrambles to his feet. "Okay Cyclonus, you want some information? YOU FIRST!" He refrains from firing just yet because, well, frankly things are a little too chaotic to risk it just at the moment. But his rifle does appear in hand as he points it about, looking for a target that's going to threaten someone standing close to him. "It's obvious Megatron is gone. Do you think -we- know where he is?" As all the fighting goes on outside, Teletran One continues to process information since...well, Prowl and Rodimus ran outside without telling it NOT to keep filing away the info that it was instructed to. One half of the console screen shows the fight outside, the other keeps focusing on a map, first of North America, then phases out towards the ocean...and starts to zoom in that much more. The Predacon watches his shots go wide. He's not sure whether the strange blast from Wheeljack is still affecting him, or whether he just sucks at targeting. Fragment launches to the sky and transforms as Wheeljack abandons him. He mutters, "Loser." The asteroid field navigating mining vessel rockets about and tracks the Autobot flyer Remedy. "You again." He powers up his Phase Cannon as he pursues. "I never do what my enemy expects me to do!" Starscream replies, darting out of the way of the laser with his famous agility, and perhaps inspiring Wheeljack to adopt a new catchphrase! "Soundwave, DO something!" Starscream yells unhelpfully, whipping around Wheeljack to try to target his rocket boosters with his energy-sapping null beams! Cyclonus turns towards Starscream, incredulous. "You? Loyal? You'd rather be flying around at random and driving the Decepticons into the ground than search for your leader, you clueless buffoon!" Fortunately, Starscream's whining manages not to distract him enough that Cyclonus can't duck under Impactor's swing, letting the large Autobot's momentum send him stumbling past. Then he glares at Prime. "I know not. However, you Autobots were our only lead. And--" He stops. Why is he having this conversation? Abruptly, he transforms into Starfighter mode and flies inside the Ark, heedless of the dangers of such risky flying! Soundwave surveys the battlefield- it may be on a new planet, and it may be some new faces...but the standard din of battle is a sound very familiar to Soundwave's audio sensors. However, there's one particular matter that's caught his attention- "Possible sentient native life form detected. Further study required." he rumbles, turning his attention to Amber! "Buzzsaw, eject. Operation: retrieval." And with a *fwoosh!* Soundwave's chest opens up, and the orange tapebird springs out, swooping right in towards the human girl! That...counts as 'something,' yes? Wheeljack points a finger at Starscream. "Hah! So you admit that he's an enemy and you're plotting against him -eventually-." Maybe he's trying to start some in-fighting between the two Cons that could actually be dangerous? Then pauses a moment, rubbing his grated chin with his hand. "You know, I think I've heard that somewhere before. Kind of catchy." Unfortunately the moment of being distracted tends to be a good way to deal with Wheeljack, as he gets null-rayed moments later while he's pondering. He stumbles back a step, and ends up tripping over Brawl whom he was trying to shield until the minibot got back on his feet, ending up on his own aft next to him. Twitch-spasm-twitch. Impactor grunts as Cyclonus evades his punch. Blast that Con's mobility! Impactor quickly halts and twists, bringing his harpoon around in a vicious swipe. Unfortunately, Cyclonus has just transformed and taken to the skies. Some day, Cyclonus, Impactor is going to get a hold of you and rip off your wings. That day will be an interesting one. Impactor stares up into the sky angrily, wondering how best to get Cyclonus back down to the ground. "You Cons couldn't figure anything out without us? What a surprise, Cyclonus." Taking aim, Impactor is about to fire off a blast from his shoulder cannon. But then he becomes aware of that hated, droning voice calling out the ejection of one of his Cassetticons. As much as he hates letting Cyclonus go free, Impactor makes a snap decision and turns, now firing a bright red blast at Buzzsaw instead. It isn't to help Amber, per se. It's to piss off Soundwave. Having just one Decepticon CoCer that hates him simply isn't enough. Foxfire's ears twitch, and he shifts so that he can turn his gaze to the battlefield. His optics narrow as he snarls, tongues of flame flickering from his mouth. His attention is on Soundwave, whose distinguished voice reached his audials. "No you don't!" the little saboteur exclaims as he dashes forward a short ways, firing his optic lasers at Buzzsaw in an attempt to get him away from Amber. Amber MacKenzie picked a crevice for a reason: it's narrow! She squirms back as far as she can and tries to fend off the robo-bird with desperate kicks from her sturdy hiking boots. Success! Turning her body sideways, she edges even further in. She's dead if the bird opens fire, but that's better than being the Decepticons' next hostage. Especially considering Mr. Gung-Ho Idiot Prowl's actions. Rodimus Prime grunts, ducking by reflex as a trio of shots go streaking past overhead, possibly fired by Reflector in an attempt to keep him down, "Yeah well you got a real funny way of looking into it! And in fa..." And at that moment, he has to throw himself flat on the ground as Cyclonus goes BLASTING overhead and into the entrance of the Ark! "...oh that's not good. STAY HERE! I've got this!" The last bit is shot after Prowl as Rodimus transforms again and takes off in a roar of engines and the stench of burning rubber. Needless to say, Cyclonus has a head start and a speed advantage, but Rodimus is right behind him! "Intruder alert! Initiate security countermeasures!" Teletran One blares out, then followed by, "Error, countermeasures damaged and offline. Intruder alert!" Well guess Wheeljack hadn't had a chance to get fixing -those- yet did he? Cyclonus has enough time to get in front of Teletran One's console before Rodimus appears behind him, rifle gripped in both hands and pointed straight at him. "Don't even try anything, Cyclonus! You -know- I can drop you if I have to!" Teletran One remains oblivious to the standoff at the OK CORRAL taking place just in front of the main terminal, other than the continuous red letters of 'INTRUDER ALERT' scrolling past at the bottom of the screen. It nevertheless continues to also focus in on the map screen, more high resolution images and technical readouts playing across for all in the command center to see... "Of COURSE he's an enemy, you dullard!" screeches Starscream, transforming to pursue Wheeljack and cluster-bomb him and any other Autobots who happen to be near him! "He's taken MY rightful place as the... temporary... LEADER of the DECEPTICONS! Megatron meant for ME to lead! And I'll demonstrate it by destroying YOU!" "CAAAAW!" Buzzsaw cries out as he's struck by not one, but TWO sets of laser blasts! The cowardly tapebird swoops off, retreating...but this, apparently, is enough to get Soundwave's attention. "Note: Tiny simian is of some importance to Autobots." But any more debate on the matter will have to wait, as Soundwave's not about to let his tapes get shot at! Ignoring the 'bot-tape for now, the Decepticon communications expert coolly raises his rifle and snaps off a quick blast at the wrecker. *PEW PEW!* Starfighter transforms and lands before Teletran I, skidding to a halt before the massive viewscreen as he gazes up at it. "Yes... good... reveal your secrets to me, you foolish computer!" Cyclonus says, leaning over the console as he watches what's taking place on it. However, once he realizes what the pictures are depicting, his expression becomes one of disbelief. "Oh, for... I don't believe this. Of all the places to--" He sucks in a deep breath. "Bahhhh. At least I have a new lead--" He slowly turns his head as Rodimus enters, leveling the gun at him. "That may be so, Rodimus, but have you not yet noticed that I still have no fear of you? On the other hand, you have much to fear..." He reveals a small silver disc, which he flings at Teletran's viewscreen. "Two choices, Rodimus! Disarm the bomb, or stop me! You decide!" And then he tries to run back out the Ark as fast as his legs can carry him! Grey Spaceship hates it when his awesome asteroid demolishing beam can't lock on but enemy targets are smaller and mobile. Those jerks. He circles the battlefield. The Predacon can't seem to hit anything today! So he tries to go in for more close range attacks. He leaps at the Autobots. "You want your stupid fox back, you gotta play by the rules!" Amber MacKenzie has the pleasure of seeing the Bad Birdie get roasted before it can fire at her. She breathes a sigh of relief, her body relaxing into the unforgiving rock of the crevice. Damn that obsolete Soundwave anyway. Her eyes close for a few seconds, but she knows the fight isn't over as long as she can hear the insults and blasts being tossed back and forth. No, she's not coming out. Rodimus Prime guesses he REALLY shouldn't be surprised at the bomb that's been thrown at Teletran's screen instead. In, fact he actually isn't...but he -was- suddenly focusing on the readout. "...-there-?" His exclamation is cut short though, as he's suddenly running forward, PAST Cyclonus as the Decepticon second move to disengage from the area as fast as possible. One of these days he's going to punch Cyclonus right through the nearest wall! But at the moment, he has other things to worry about. "Explosive device detected, warning!" "Yeah Teletran, I know!" Rodimus grunts, pulling out a small laser tool and a screwdriver and going to work. Believe it or not, he -does- have some technical knowledge. Enough to put Kup's leg back on in good condition, for example...or to remove Air Raid's transformation cog when he's misbehaving. It takes him a few moments, but he has enough time to get the disc detached from Teletran's screen...and is soon running back OUT the entranceway from hence he came. "HEADS UP!" Rodimus calls out as he gets just outside the entrance, and HURLS the disc into the sky as far as he can, his right arm snapping back and pitching a throw to make any world-league quarterback jealous. The disc sails higher and higher until...
* KRAKA-BWOOOOOOOOOOOM!* The brilliant fireball lights up a good portion of the sky, raining little bits of debris and fiery sparks down on the landscape below. Grey Spaceship says, "no wait...." F-5E 's climb for altitude is ruined when she's rocked by the savage pop-pop-pop of cluster munitions rocking her frame. Pulling out and leveling off, she takes a look at the ground, seeing where and what is happening, then a scan of the airspace, before pulling an loop and descending on Soundwave, the twin muzzles of her 20mm cannon flashing. On the bright side, since Wheeljack is laying on top of Brawn for the moment, the smaller minibot is spared the fury of Starscream's bombing run. Not that the inventor is all that comfortable about it as the cluster bombs sheer his chestplate and shatter the windows placed in it. "I guess that kinda worked... look out!" He rolls out of the way as Brawn jumps clear of the Predacon trying to maul them, then glances up as Cyclonus and Rodimus come running out of the Ark. Fortunately Rodimus took care of bomb. Ear-lights flash as Wheeljack gets an idea, and looks down to Brawn. "How about a little payback?" Brawn nods and climbs up his back as Wheeljack pulls a really long shell out and hooks it into his launcher... And in a bizarre showing of teamwork, Wheeljack launches the shell towards Cyclonus, with Brawn riding it like a rocket propelled bucking broco. "YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAH!" Hurtling him towards Cyclonus with such force that combined with the strength in his -mighty fists- it could plow right through his thick hide. "PAYBACK TIME DECEPTICHUMP!" Impactor smirks as he and Foxfire send Buzzsaw packing. Miserable little pest. He starts to turn back towards Cyclonus, but then finds himself the target of two /other/ Decepticons instead. Soundwave takes aim and blasts Impactor square in the chest with his rifle, blowing off one of the heavy purple armour plates protecting him. Impactor stumbles, but refuses to fall. He then hears the TIE Fighter rip-off sound FX of Starscream soaring overhead, followed by explosions going off all around him. The forest Cyclonus was thrown into has a huge chunk of it obliterated in fire and concussive force. Trees are ripped from the ground, tearing their roots from the cluster bombs. One such bomb hits directly in front of Impactor, and after a brief look of shock, the mech vanishes. The cluster bombs covered a wide area, and soon the entire forest is well on its way to being consumed by the fires. Impactor himself, charred with blackened armour, forces his way out of the burning fallen trees and cratered earth. He glares up at the sky just as Rodimus's thrown explosive goes off. To Starscream and Soundwave, he snorts, "Can't be all you're bringing." Impactor reaches over with his hand and harpoon, grabbing onto one of two flaming tree trunks the size of most mech's waist. Hoisting it up over his head, he hurls it up towards the F-15. The second is chucked at Soundwave. Since he hasn't a third, he resorts to his tried and true strategy of firing his harpoon at the biggest, most powerful enemy in the area. That always works out well for him, right? Foxfire darts a little toward the Ark entrance, then comes to an abrupt stop as Rodimus throws a bomb into the sky. Sure, Foxfire could have disarmed that, but it was probably quicker for Rodimus to, you know, hurl it like that. "Chief!" he calls. "You okay? And yes, he does see Cyclonus. He doesn't particularly care at the moment. F-15 nimbly corkscrews around the debris, cackling in triumph. At the sight of Cyclonus getting mobbed, he calls to the others, "'Lord' Cyclonus is surrounded and overcome, the battle is lost! Decepticons, RETREAT!" And so he does, sailing blithely away and hoping Cyclonus doesn't make it out. Combat: Starscream strikes Soundwave with his Horrible Leadership Decisions Area attack! Combat: Starscream strikes Cyclonus with his Horrible Leadership Decisions Area attack! Combat: Starscream (Starscream) used "Horrible Leadership Decisions": A Level 0 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: You took 0 damage. Combat: Starscream's attack has slightly decreased your Courage. Combat: Starscream strikes Robot Tiger with his Horrible Leadership Decisions Area attack! Combat: Starscream strikes Grey Spaceship with his Horrible Leadership Decisions Area attack! Cyclonus turns, glaring as the explosion detonates up in the sky. Well, it was just a diversion so he could escape anyway. Then he turns back... just in time to see Brawn riding a rocket right into his face! "Whaaaattt--" KA-WHAM! Brawn's mighty axehandle smashes Cyclonus's so hard that he does an involuntary backflip and goes spinning off into the air. And then, as if he hadn't endured enough indignities today, Impactor's hook buries itself deep into his back, and the space warrior cries out in pain. "Decepticons, we have what we want!" he bellows, transforming into his fighter mode. "We will be withdrawing shortly--once I've shown Impactor the folly of snaring CYCLONUS!" He's indignant, however, as Starscream gives his own order to retreat. "What?! No! Do not withdraw yet, I am still snared! Starscream, you miserable coward!" As he screams orders, his thrusters flare, and he tries to more or less drag Impactor through the forest and smash him on everything within. Robot Tiger feels slightly less courageous, but since is courage is stupid high already, it doesn't make much of a dent. "Where do you think you're going?" he snarls at Wheeljack. Impactor offers a vicious grin as he and Brawn double-team Cyclonus. He's been wanting to wipe that smug, holier than thou attitude off Cyclonus's hard drive for a while now. Impactor gives his cable line a good, hard yank. Partly this is to throw Cyclonus off balance, but partly this is to just piss Cyclonus off. With the harpoon lodged in Cyclonus's back, he and Impactor are connected. This makes life interesting for both of them. "Withdrawing? You pussy." Another yank on the leash. Snaring mechs stronger than him has always been something of a double-edged sword. It's great for making sure the enemy is always in reach, but it also means the enemy can... do exactly what Cyclonus does here. Just as Impactor is getting another tug on the errant dog, he's caught off balance by Cyclonus doing the same... but in his space fighter mode. With a surprised 'whoa', Impactor is taken clean off his feet, dragged behind Cyclonus like a demented water-skiing attempt gone horribly wrong. Smashing face first through trees, still burning or otherwise, Impactor spits out splinters as best he can. Brush, leaves, and the ground all get in his way, and all of them are powered through thanks to Cyclonus's afterburners. Fumbling for his ankle holster even as he's sent ducking and weaving through the trees at a breakneck speed, Impactor finally manages to snag his laser pistol. It's hard to see Cyclonus, what with the forest constantly hitting him in the face with foliage, but he does the best he can. "Come on, you sick bastard," he mutters half to Cyclonus, half to himself. He tries to keep his aim steady. "Hold still just one... frakking... second..." He pulls the trigger, sending a bolt flying forward towards the Decepticon. Amber MacKenzie has to smile as she hears Cyclonus's shouting. "I hope it hurts, you arse," she whispers. Still, she's staying put until she hears an all-clear from the Autobots. She does, however, wriggle into a more comfortable position in the rocks. Bits of pebbles and dust, loosened by the firefight, rain on her head and shoulders, and she grumbles to herself. Since the return fire seems rather light, Remedy circles around and proceeds to launch another strafing run on the cassette player con, tracers chewing up the earth, lined up on the 'con. Rodimus Prime shields his optics from the bright flash of the explosion above him, before looking down to note the tapebot coming up to greet him, "Glad you're okay, Foxfire! Although I'm a little worried about seeing you here. We're starting to see way too many of -our- Autobots showing up here for our liking. Although I -did- just learn something important..." ANd then he hears the commotion, seeing Brawn and Impactor double teaming Cyclonus...and that brings more than a bit of a smirk to his features. Oh isn't -that- fitting? And then a certain seeker calling for the mass retreat. "I'll elaborate more once we send the rest of these cons packing." Turning to one side, Rodimus grabs onto the trunk of an uprooted tree, hefting it up and readying it like a javelin. "...I've ALWAYS wanted to do this!" And with that, he snaps his arm forward, hurling the trunk up...up, and up. Forget explosives, blasting Brawn at a 'Con is arguably an even more volatile and dangerous payload. Wheeljack yowls as the tiger jumps on his back and starts digging into his armor plating, leaving a series of nasty rips and metal gouges. "Gah, that's going to take forever to buff back out. As for going..." Well, maybe it's time to test out this funky new vehicle form Teletran gave him. Wheeljack drops beneath Rampage as he transforms, and with the screech of rubber takes off with the tiger on top of him, weaving through the various other old bots and cons still fighting. "Whoa! Having wheels on the ground gives me all sorts of handling now!" But it's not all for show as Wheeljack cuts a tight turn at high speed, roaring back towards the fight... and then slams on the brakes with a horrible *SCREEEEEEECH* against the ground that, with trying to stop so much momentum at once, bucks his back half with a tremendous amount of force to launch the feline off him and towards Thundercracker and Skywarp who have been fighting in the background the whole time. "Take yer overgrown pet back and get outta here!" Foxfire nods quickly. "I've got a few things to explain, too. But yeah, let's get those Decepticon punks outta here." Or rather, he's going to let the bigger Autobots handle it. In the meantime, he goes to check on Amber. "Miss...MacKenzie, isn't it? Are you all right?" "Aiiiie, my wing!" shrieks Starscream in outrage as a wholly unexpected tree crumples it and sends him spinning for several seconds before he can regain control and make good his escape. "This is all YOUR fault, Cyclonus! I told you it was a stupid plan! Some leader YOU turned out to be!" Starfighter takes the hit right in his fuselage, an explosion blossoming from the impact point. "AARRRGH!" he screams, his body trailing smoke and bits of scrap. "Damn you Autobots! Relish your temporary victory while you can, for your celebrations will turn to tears... when I have Optimus Prime's head on a PIKE! We know where our leaders are--and WE will get to them first!" He ends his villainous rant without the typical evil laughter, because laughing really isn't his thing. And then, Cyclonus, being ever so slightly faster than Starscream, begins to gain on him. He acquires a target lock, and by the Pit is he ever tempted to fire. "Staaarrrrrrscreeeaaaam! You silence your mouth, fool! The plan did not go as intended, but we still have the information we need! Decepticons, RETREAT! In an ORDERLY fashion, this time!" And he blasts off into the night! Robot Tiger gets turned into mecha-tiger road pizza. Well, he's not flattened, but when Cyclonus orders the retreat, he obeys. "Slaggit! I'll get you later!" he snarls at Wheeljack as he bounds out of sight. Soundwave flees with everyone else! This...is a familiar sensation, sadly. Oh, and Impactor's blast freed the hook, of course. Grey Spaceship changes course from pointless circling to retreat vector, catching up to Starscream AND Cyclonus. The sky of this primitive world limitless, he behaves himself and doesn't do any fancy flying, remaining in proper run away formation. "So... think that hostage thing will work next time when there's no Prowl around?" F-15 almost feels like Megatron is here with him when he hears that "Starrrrscreeeeam!" It gives him unpleasant shivers and makes him pour on the afterburner. No retreat like a fast one! Amber MacKenzie hears her name being called by a strange voice. The Decepticons know where she is now, so it wouldn't hurt in answering. Besides, the noise of fighting has tapered off. "Yes, it is," she responds evenly. "I'm fine, thanks. Are the Decepticons gone?" Lancia Turbo would chase after the Decepticons... but looks like he's discovered the downside of being such a high performance car, as that racing speed-to-zero stop has stalled out his engine, if the sounds of sputtering as he tries to rev up again are any indication. "Okay, maybe I overdid it just a little." He grumbles, until Ironhide finally walks over and gives him a good whack on the hood, and the engine roars back to life. "Ow!.. but thanks, old timer." Ironhide just dusts his hands off. "Li'l purcussive ma'ntence nevah hurts none." With his systems unjammed Wheeljack rises back up into robot mode. Looks over the assorted Autobots in various states of post battle disarray. Looks to Ratchet. "I guess we've got our work cut out for us." Rodimus Prime observes the general retreat, before giving a satisfied nod as he turns back to look at the others. "Great job, Autobots. That got a little crazy there, but I think we're all good." He gives one last cursory glance to the gathered, before nodding his head towards the entrance to the Ark. "...on a -good- note, I think we've got a solid lead from Teletran One finally." "Starscream's starting to rub off on ya, Cyc. You're starting to sound like him," Impactor shouts, though his word are muffled thanks to an ill-timed run-in with another tree. Already, Impactor is lining up for another blast, apparently planning on being towed all the way back to the Nemesis (or wherever the Cons are headed), where presumably he'll try and take them all out while they're weakened. But with another collision with the ground, there's a sudden ~SNAP~ as the cable binding Cyclonus and Impactor together breaks. That cable has withstood the strength of Combiners (briefly) before, but with the high heat from Starscream's bombs and the resulting forest fire, it simply cannot withstand the tension on it. Impactor bounces off the ground, skidding through the forest as he rolls. Although slow to get back up, he's still defiant as ever as he watches the Decepticons retreat. He's some distance away from the other Autobots for now, and it'll be a hike for him to get back. He holds up his now harpoon-less arm. "Blast it," he mutters. Consider it a souvenir for the Decepticon second in command. Foxfire flicks and ear, glances in the direction the Decepticons have gone, and nods. "Looks like it. Glad you're not hurt, miss." F-5E comes flying back, a little erratic from the clusterbomb attack. Descending, she transforms, landing, her optics dimming at a perceived short in some part of her chassis. "That's good to hear, Rodimus. Care to fill us in while we get everyone together as well as we can?" Even as he says as such Wheeljack goes about his business, for the time being letting practical engineering take over to get the Bots back on their feet, ignoring the fact that he's pretty tore up and still smoking a bit himself. "This is going to take up most of the spare gear we scrounged out of the Ark," Ratchet replies somewhat grousingly as he does much the same, tending to Brawn's shoulder before it deteriorates farther. "But considering they were right on our doorstep, we didn't have much of a choice." "And a hostage," Wheeljack chips back in. He glances to Prowl, then to Rodimus. "Maybe a little triggerhappy, and I'm a bit loath to admit it, but Prowl had the right idea. That purple creep would of been just as likely to shoot your friend there anyways once he had what he wanted." Amber MacKenzie sighs as Rodimus's voice in effect announces that the Bad Guys are gone. Now she begins the tedious process of extracting herself from the rocky crevice. With much effort and more scrapes, she finally escapes her almost-tomb and staggers to the exit, her body still stiff from being stuck for so long. She frowns thoughtfully at the Fox. "I've seen you before," she muses. "Foxfire, isn't it? Yes, I'm glad I'm in one piece, too." "Yeah we're looking good now." Rodimus nods towards Foxfire, and Amber's hiding place for good measure, "It's safe to come out. I guess there's gonna be general repairs needed all around, but we're holding up pretty good. We'll have to get ready to move out." Rodimus crosses his arms over his chest as he turns to generally address everyone, "Unfortunately Cyclonus got a good look at the same readout I did, but it doesn't matter right now. The important thing is that the Skyspy reported a huge power spike on an island out in the Pacific Ocean..." He jerks a thumb off in a random westerly direction...as if he knows exactly where the island lies. "And those of us from our time know this island. I'm SURE It's the same one. We call it Dinobot Island..." Rodimus Prime sighs and says nothing at Wheeljack's assessment of the hostage situation, narrowing his optics at some other distant thought. ".. Dinobot?" Wheeljack looks to the 'future' Autobots again. "What's a Dinobot?" Prowl rises up from the dirt, wiping some of it off of himself. "Great, so despite my best efforts the Decepticons still know where our leaders are being held. Assuming this power spike is, in fact, where they are being held... and for all we know it could be a false lead." He scowls. "So it's on an island? I'm not sure you've noticed, but we turn into *cars.*" Impactor hikes back to the mountain with the others. He's still covered in charred flakes of armour, foliage, and dirt from his trip through the forest on Air Cyclonus. The mech finally reappears in his sorry state as he brushes past them, strides up to Prowl, and tries to deck him one on the jaw. Prowl turns to Impactor, about to say something, but it'll never be heard as Impactor's fist cuts him off and sends him sprawling. "Uhfff--" Foxfire silently cheers Impactor on. Hell, he would have *bitten* Prowl if he was sure he wouldn't be reprimanded for it. "Yes, we -do- turn into ground vehicles. Most of us. But there is a way around that. I know for a fact that Wheeljack can make something to eliminate that obstacle, and we could help him speed up the process of...IMPACTOR!" It's just at that moment that he sees the Wrecker proceed to lay Prowl out flat, and Rodimus is right there in an instant, putting himself between the two and one hand moving up to grip at Impactor's forearm, giving him a steady look. "Enough already!" While Prowl isn't looking Brawn gives Impactor a gesture of approval as the Wrecker does something a lot of the more physical bots like himself would love to. Remedy stretches a bit, "Yeah, hey, sir, not ALL of us turn into cars." Dang glitch. Still, she walks up to Prowl, even after Impactor clocks him, "You should practice at being a leader more, Sir... Just not when someone's life is at risk." Reidan Wesley steps out of the Ark at that point, his floppy hat settled onto his hat. Then he stops and blinks as Impactor just slugs Prowl. He puts the pointed stick down and applauds, his face grave. Impactor clearly looks ready to give Prowl another as he stands over the downed tactician, with his fist and now harpoon-less arm raised, but Rodimus grabs onto his forearm and physically holds him back. Still, Impactor's ability to shout remains. "You're no longer in charge! Prime's giving the orders. If Prime isn't around, then *I* give the orders! if *I'm* not around, *Foxfire* makes the calls. Then *Ironhide*. Then *Ratchet*. Care to guess where your spot is in this list?!" He's about to continue railing against, but Rodimus declares enough, and Impactor reluctantly stands down, though still fuming. Prowl staggers unsteadily to his feet, leveling a finger at Impactor. "I--Ironhide, take that mechanoid to the brig. We don't strike officers in the Autobots. We're better than that. And here's a newsflash--you don't get to make those kinds of calls!" He tries to brace himself on something, like a tree, but some jerks leveled them all. Prowl settles for half-sitting, half-falling onto a boulder and regaining his composure. "Okay. So Wheeljack can invent something to help us. That's new. Like what?" Reidan Wesley raises an eyebrow, but manages to hold back any comments he had about Prowl being 'better than that'. But he does though, snort and fold his arms as he picks the stick up again, tipping his hat to both Prime and Impactor as he moves past the group, towards his still-drying saber-toothed tiger hide. "Of course I can!... though I'd need more information on this 'water', as it doesn't exist on Cybertron... wait, you guys would know that, wouldn't you..." Wheeljack trots over, and once the punchings are done, gives Impactor a tug back. "Hold still a moment, that creep took you for a bit of a ride." One hand retracts into his arm and is replaced with a welding nozzle, which he uses to melt the armor around Impactor's wounds down and press it out to cover the larger openings, make sure none of the dents are broken to expose internals, and what not. It's not the fanciest of repairworks, but considering they're trying to conserve what little supplies they can scrounge from the surroundings, it gets the job done. "Uh, the brig has a big massive hole in one side yet, Prowl." He offers a little too chipperly over Impactor's shoulder as he works. "We've got more important things to repair than the least used roomed in the whole ship." Amber MacKenzie emerges from her hiding place in time to watch Prowl getting an up close and personal opinion of his handling of the situation. She neither applauds nor deprecates the action. Instead, she ignores it. Turning to Foxfire, she comments, "Sucks to be a hostage, doesn't it? Cyclonus grabbed me just before we came through the... temporal machine. Bastard can't win on his own strength, so he has to use hostages." Foxfire snorts and mutters, "'Better' enough to also willingly sacrifice comrades." Prowl, prick, yadda yadda. The little saboteur looks back to Amber and shrugs as best as a quadruped can. "Yeah, but it beats getting vaped. You really don't want to know what that's like." "NO ONE is going to the brig, Prowl." Rodimus states evenly, struggling to keep his tone calm as he releases his hold on Impactor's arm, turning to look back at the other Autobots. Though he does spare one last glimpse at Impactor, "And NO ONE is going to be hitting anyone else, got it!? Look at us..." His hands move out to each side, gesturing to all present. The squishies will hopefully forgive them if he glosses over their presence for the sake of ease, "We're -Autobots-. Present or future. And we've got a serious situation on our hands. We don't have -time- for this, we need to work together to fix this crisis we've got on our hands. And you can bet that the Decepticons aren't going to sit by idly either!" He turns in a slow circle, meeting all gazes that he possibly can. "Teletran One has concluded that the activity on that island definitely speaks of a high power fluctuation. I'm willing to bet my spoiler on that being where our Quintessons are located, and Optimus Prime and Megatron too. THAT's what we need to focus on right now, above all else." Reidan Wesley falls silent, looking to Rodimus now as he listens. The cook grew agitated, fidgeting with his 'spear' a little bit as he stares at it, then back up, his features torn at some inner conundrum he was undergoing. Finally, he coughs "What did you want me to do, sir? " he asked, uneasily. Perhaps feeling obliged to help out. Impactor is still scowling, but he knows better than to cross Prime when he's angry. His hand is still balled up into a fist, but he grunts his agreement. "Got it." He turns away from Prowl, knowing full well he's lucky the brig is too badly damaged to put him into it. As Wheeljack works him over, Impactor waves his good hand in thanks. A part of him realizes that it's almost an honour to be patched up by the most legendary inventor in Transformer history. Most of his dings and scrapes are taken care of. There's no easy way to replace the harpoon Cyclonus 'stole', though. Impactor finds himself settling in, leaning against the wall as he listens to Rodimus give some exposition. Prowl lets out an exhausted sigh, staring at Rodimus. "Right. Focus on finding Optimus. Now, can someone please tell Wheeljack about water?" He didn't see the lack of a proper brig as a problem--just keeping Impactor in there, hogtied, ought to have been enough. Foxfire refrains from mentioning that water is his worst nightmare. He just hopes he doesn't have to deal with it personally. Amber MacKenzie slowly marches towards the Ark's entrance and the gathered Autobots. She comes to a halt by her fellow Terran and waits to hear what Rodimus expects of them. "You're lucky you missed the fireworks," she asides to Reidan. "The Decepticons love to take hostages." Hmmm... Optics dart to Impactor's empty wrist-socket for a moment. Then turns to some of the other 'classic' Bots about. "Hey, Trailbreaker, come here a moment. I need to see your arm launcher a moment." He holds up the defense strategist's arm with one hand, opens a compartment with the other and pulls out a small device. "Just borrowing one of the primer hosings for your missiles." With that acquired he reaches into his assortment of tools, pulling out an auger bit on a long shaft. He hooks the housing onto the end of it as he walks back over to Impactor, and plugs the assembly into where his harpoon would normally go. "Not quite the same, but I'm not about to leave another Autobot unarmed when there's Decepticons running around." If nothing else, Wheeljack's ingenuity has not been exaggerated over time. He really is that good. "That shouldn't be too hard," Rodimus states, crossing his arms again. "I can show that part of my schematics to Wheeljack and show him the systems I have installed for my second mode. He should be able to figure it out easily enough for everyone else." After all, it's -his- design, still used by Autobots fifty years later. "In addition to that, I can take a few passengers when need be. Someone like Impactor on the top, and a few smaller ones inside my trailer. I just hope that we busted up the Decepticons enough it'll slow them down from trying to check out the island before we're ready to move out." Reidan Wesley responds to Amber "Oh, I know that very well. That's why I hid." he explains, not at all ashamed of his cowardice. Remedy stretches again, "Could I trouble one for a little medical attention?" A spark seems to flash from one of the deeper rents in her armor, "But, if you want, I could run recon over the island?" Impactor holds out his wounded arm in surprise. He can scarcely believe what Wheeljack is doing, and believes it even less after it works. Holding the makeshift spear up to the light, Impactor twists it this way and that, trying to get a good look at it from all angles. "...huh." Impactor says, clearly impressed. "Thanks." "Allow me, miss." While Wheeljack is busy fixing the warrior's toys and whatever idea Rodimus is talking about, Ratchet turns his attention to Remedy. Whom much like the engineer does nothing short of a miracle to fix the femme's wounds with what they have available, and do so with the sort of precision and care one would expect from one of the Autobots’ most famous surgeons. Well, while Wheeljack is working miracles, Reidan considers this, and then notes "When you are done with the essential and necessary repairs to the soldiers and brave scouts etcetera, sir..." towards Wheeljack, "I might ask a favour of you later when the excitement has died down." "Something else I'm going to have to get you to do later..." Rodimus asides to Reidan without exactly looking at him, "Is sit down and explain in every little detail everything you saw at that first dig site with the EDC." Prowl mostly just sits there wondering why everyone seems to hate him despite the fact that he has consistently made perfectly logical decisions. Because you're a prick, Prowl. Or maybe that IS why A Dodo bird nests somewhere nearby but is considering moving after the kids hatch because this neighborhood got so loud lately. "Sure thing... Reidan, wasn't it? But first." With most of the repair taken care of for the time being -- save himself, but Wheeljack's never been someone to slow down when a new idea is presented in front of him -- the inventor trots back over to Rodimus as he pulls a diagnostic scanner out of an arm compartment. "Let me see what you've got Rodimus and I'll get to work." Amber MacKenzie shrugs and points out, "I hid, too. If I could've made it into the Ark without getting picked off, I would have joined you. In this kind of situation, the only thing I'm good for is being used by the Decepticons to manipulate the Autobots. It's rather humiliating, too," she adds bitterly. "Not a problem, Wheeljack." Rodimus states, transforming and dropping down onto his tires...before he suddenly deploys the hydrofoils from their hidden slots, allowing them to clunk down enough to touch to the ground. "They should be modular you can put them on almost everybody." Reidan Wesley replies "Yes, that is one of the challenges of being on the Light side of the world." to Amber, nodding again to Wheeljack as he wanders off "We must simply keep our wits about us and do what we can to make it as easy as possible. They need to make hand-sized tasers that work on Decepticons. Shock them just enough to get let go, so the Autobots could open fire." he twirled his pointed stick a few times, idly. Wheeljack crouches down to look under Rodimus as he deploys his hydrofoils, and emits a whistle that his flashy-ears flicker in sequence with. "It's like surface tension runners some of the barges used on the energon rivers before they dried up. The past to you me that is the future of me me must of modified them for the liquid bodies on this planet instead. Brilliant." He sits down and, not wanting to use up valuable materials, grabs a stick and starts scratching at the ground to draw out plans. "Normally I would object to such revelation of future information, but under the circumstances it's a necessity... besides, you're just telling me something that I did anyways, so it's just going to make a stable timeloop since there's no evidence I -wasn't- told before I invented them in the future, in the past...." Reidan saunters towards Wheeljack and the others now, though he is careful to stay out of the way. He looks again to Rodimus Prime, considering, pondering what the mech will have for the cook to do on this coming mission. At least he had his hoverboard. He watched Wheeljack carefully, ensuring that any stones in the way were kicked to one side to help the scientist "Are you able to refabricate shattered things? ' he asks curiously. Wheeljack pauses as he squints one optic at what he's scratched out in the dirt. ".. Interesting. These new bodies Teletran One gave us already have the connection points for that hardware, just not the hardware itself because there was no equivalent equipment present in our previous constructions. Must be a result of the temporal fluctuations that caused it to utilize somehow schematics from your part of the timeline... Anyways!" He turns to look to the other Autobots. "Ratchet, Huffer! I need whatever spare hydraulics and metal spats you can find to shape the riding surfaces out of." Then he turns his attention back to the human. "Well, we don't have a lot to work with right now, but I'm always up for a challenge." "Hmm. You know for the lighter Autobots, you can probably use wooden runners." suggests Reidan. The he nods and reaches into his pocket, lifting out his handkerchief, tied carefully around the remains of his pipe and holds it to Wheeljack, his face now drawn down, eyes doey. Remedy turns to smile at Ratchet, who is a legend she knows of, back on Cybertron. She rolls her shoulders, wondering idly what madness Wheeljack is conjuring. Wheeljack ahs. "That device of yours Prowl broke. Hmm." He pauses a moment, digging back into his memory banks for the few glimpses of the pipe he got before it was unceremoniously smashed. He rubs his chin with a hand. "And what is the purpose of this device? I mean, other than it made smoke. A lot of my stuff makes smoke when it's not supposed to, after all." "It is, you could say, a reassurance item. The habit itself is unhealthy, however, it is a busybodying thing which helps me keep myself calm and focused." explains Reidan as he sketches out a quick diagram of the pipe. "I can give you the exact dimensions. It has a bowl, and then a hollow stem that was made of amber - there's the pieces there - and the bowl was of camphor wood. It was a very unique pipe..." he admits "I would rather fix it than replace it." Remedy mutters JUST loud enough, "Yes, that's why Wheeljack's workshop is 200 metric units away, surrounded by blast diverting barriers and both klaxons and rotating lights to warn of when he's inside." Wheeljack laughs. "Oh, so it's like Ratchet getting overcharged on the high-grade after a stressing operation then!" "I heard that!" the doctor snaps back... but doesn't really object to the observation. It's true he has a bit of a 'party' streak in him to unwind after the more tedious aspects of his job. Wheeljack just snickers a bit more. Turns and waggles a finger at Remedy, "Don't forget the auto-locking, flame resistant, antiradiation sealing hatchways and hazardous gas filtered ventilation system!" He certainly seems to take the jokes at the more... disastrous aspects of his inventing in good humor. Finally he turns back to Reidan, looking over the sketchings. "Well, I'll try to fix it... but I think I have an idea for a replacement in the meantime," he replies as he gets up, looking thoughtful. Reidan Wesley hmms "Oh? I am very much hoping that we can fix this. As I said, it was VERY sentimental. IT was given to me by THE greatest detective ever to live on earth!" explains Reidan. Wheeljack wanders back into the entrance of the Ark, and opens one of the storage bins that would normally be used for extravehicular tools had they not been emptied out for supplies. "Good thing I saved these!" And he pulls out one of the long fangs from the saber-tooth that was used to feed the humans, holding it up to inspect it briefly. "Yes, I think this biological calcium formation will do. It's sturdy, and it's almost the right shape..." Activating the small finger-torch normally used for cutting and soldering small electronics, Wheeljack proceeds to hollow out the saber-fang, then cuts off the point for the mouthpiece. Finally he walks back over and kneels down to offer it to Reidan. "Just let me take that to my workshop, and you can use this as a substitute in the meantime." Reidan Wesley takes the second pipe, having stared at this the entire process. Luckily, the torch had 'dried' out the bone and ensured any remaining bacteria or bloody bits were now singed off. He looks into the bowl, then places the stem between his teeth. A hand opens up his tobacco pouch and he presses it in, quickly lighting it with a match "VERY nice work sir! And do not put off more important repairs for my pet project by the way!" he notes, not wanting to upset Prowl more. "You fight a planetary civil war for a few thousand stellar cycles and you learn to make with what you have," Wheeljack replies modestly. "You're welcome all the same." Carefully he takes the broken pipe, wraps the hanky back around the pieces, and tucks it away in a small compartment in his arm for safe keeping. "Of course not. But I'll do the best I can when I do do it." After taking one moment to double check his own design scribblings and make sure everything is memorized, he heads back into the ship to get to work on both projects. One to save the potential past -and- future of the timelines.... and one just because he's a nice guy like that. 2032 TP
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