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| - 7/23/2011 Image:Doac jpg.JPG Starscream Megatron Nova Black Dually Chains Chromia Stormfront Venture Skywarp (NPC'd) Edge of Iacon's Dome Dually walks up and down in front of the gate to Iacon. Technically, gate duty guards are supposed to be stationary, but it's been a long, boring shift. The raid begins with a sound ominously like an approaching roll of thunder... and then it gets worse. Were he any closer to the ground, the earth would shake. Missing sight of the massive flying fortress that is Stormfront is probably as much a matter of thinking a storm is coming, or alarm at the shadow that cuts across the sky overhead. A moment later, there is a loud whistle, as the bombs begin to drop from the somehow mobile airbase, shattering the ground and sending out shockwaves where they hit. He's not particularly targeting anything - he causes enough sheer destruction at random - and draws plenty of attention away from his teammates. The thin seeker Starscream transforms into a deadly Tetra jet. The black and grey form of a tetra jet flies forth from Stormfront. Nova Black's engines roar as she spots the Autobots below -- who seem to have been taken surprise by their attack. And she's in even better luck, she realizes, as she notices a familiar blue form below. She swerves toward it, unleashing a barrage of laser fire. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Chromia's agility . Nova Black's roll succeeds! Megatron grins fiercely as he watches Stormfront's booming entrance. That ought to get the Autobots' attention. Then he sees Nova's laser fire hit one of the enemy guards; better still. He swoops down to aim a cannon blast at the other Autobot guard his forces' arrival has caught unawares. Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Dually's agility. Megatron's roll succeeds! Starscream needs no transport to blast into this battle. The Tetra jet screams in full speed and after firing some random shots at buildings to 'liven' up the battlefield he zeros in on the first Autobot he sees and fires. Starscream notices the blockiest looking flier he’s ever seen. He laughs, "What the slag is that? Autobots stay out of the skies!" and he sweeps down and blasts the slag out of what on some cartoon in the future would be known as Leader-1... Skywarp streaks across the sky behind his trine mate, scattering laser fire across screaming civilians below. Stormfront is there to be a distraction - which is just his specialty. Since he takes forever to turn around, though, compared to an agile seeker, instead, he transforms, letting himself free-fall towards the base. His feet and legs crash into the ground hard enough to rattle anyone ground bound, sending quakes through the area and cracks through the ground, sinking almost knee deep with the force of his impact, before starting to wade through the earth, crashing towards Iacon like a crazed Titan, looking for a challenge. Scrap, I'm on my way, Dually! Dually radios for help on the Autobot frequency, and staggers as he's hit by Megatron’s fusion cannon, knocking him back against the wall of the dome. He scrambles to his feet and runs for cover to begin firing back. Chromia was given this assignment because she was, unfortunately deemed "physically unfit for duty" until she was given the okay by Horizon and the medics, but at this point, it didn't really matter--not with a surprise ambush going on at the moment. "Slag! Fragging slag!" she cursed, before being thrown back into a road block as she's hit by that same slagging Seeker before she can grab her gun! Not this, not now! "Like that, Autoscum?" Nova taunts as she dives for Chromia, firing again. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Chromia's agility . Nova Black's roll succeeds! Starscream is not doing his beloved high G spin attack and shooting at civvies, buildings, shadows, anything that moves. These city will learn terror from above by the time he’s done with it. He continues with the pewpewing and then yells out to Skywarp, "Don't hold back. Destroy everything you can." sure it’s just a diversion for the real mission but might as well rack up as much of a repair bill on everything in sight as they can. Chains hears the alarm, and is instantly in motion. He hits cycle mode, going over obstacles in his way as much as anything to cover the distance as best he can, glad, for once, he's in Iacon. He picks up as much speed as he can as he reaches the outside, heading for the nearest ramp-like structure at top speed, calling out as he goes "Hey Megatron, why don't you quit picking on people your own size?! I'll be glad to kick you around some more!" That ought to buy the others some time to regroup, anyway. Skywarp makes a steep dive for the gate, launching a missile directly into the entrance tunnel itself... last time, he broke the dome. This time, the tunnel! Unfortunately, the missile misfires, skidding out the other side to explode in the entrance plaza under the dome.... With the other Autobot out of commission for the moment, Megatron turns to Chains. He growls, remembering just how irritating the small Autobot managed to prove last time they crossed paths. "Perhaps if your allies weren't so easy to break, I'd be busy with them instead of you." Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll succeeds! Stormfront digs both hands into the ground in front of him. There is a moment of strain, before there is a thunderous *CRACK*, and a piece of the ground large enough to qualify for its own zip code is hefted over the giant's head, then goes hurtling towards the gates of Iacon. He's still not trying to engage any specific Autobot who doesn't come at him - that's not his job. He's causing as much large scale ruckus, and as much damage as he can in a short span - and seems quite good at it. Venture finally emerges from Iacon's main entrance, sprinting as fast as her legs can carry her new, massive frame--still unpainted, no Decepticon would recognize the formerly-tiny Autobot. Once outside, she quickly surveys the battlefield, optics settling on the largest target available: Stormfront, who just single-handedly lobbed a chunk of real estate in her general direction, crashing into the metallic landscape with a great thunderous rumble and plume of debris. "Why did *he* have to be here for my first battle?!", she mumbles to herself. Bending down, she grabs a chunk of the rubble--maybe a tenth of the debris--and lobs it back toward the giant Decepticon. Venture picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Stormfront's agility . Venture's roll succeeds! Chromia is hit again while she's still down. It's a dirty tactic, and Chromia grits her teeth in irritation. If she could get the Seeker down on the ground, she perhaps wouldn't have such a difficult time--she didn't trust her targeting systems in her newly repaired body until she could get to the shooting range to test it out, but she doesn't have the choice now. Chromia's no worse for wear than when she started the patrol, though, and she readies her gun, taking aim at Nova. "Do ya' no honor, 'Con? Eat slag, fragger!" Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(her dexterity) against Nova Black's agility. Chromia's roll fails! Nova Black banks steeply, narrowly avoiding the beam of orange energy that streaks just past her wing. "Honor?" she roars, energy roiling through her weapons systems. "You don't know slag about my *honor*, vermin." Enraged, she dives and fires again. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(her dexterity) against Chromia's agility . Nova Black's roll fails! Chains gets cannoned - again, managing only to sweep aside enough to make a glancing blow of it - which still leaves a severe injury. There's only so much minibot, after all - thankfully, for his size, he has a lot of armor. He transforms, ending the roll back on his feet, activating his force field disc on one arm, flinging his chain at Megatron with the other - not so much trying to throw Megatron off balance, but pull himself into the con commander and turn this into a slugfest - his specialty. "Any time, Decepticon. Any time." he challenges without hesitation. Chains picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Megatron's agility. Chains's roll succeeds! Skywarp continues strafing the civilians Megatron rumbles angrily as the chain winds around his shoulder and upper arm, tightening painfully around the cabling in his shoulder joint. By now, he knows what's coming -- the minibot swinging himself by the chain in order to get close enough that Megatron can't use his cannon -- and to punch and kick back. He also knows that despite his enemy's small size, those punches and kicks carry enough force to be extremely irritating. He draws back the other arm and swings a mighty punch toward the reckless minibot. "If you insist." Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll fails! Stormfront is hit by the smaller piece of the local landscape - enough to get his attention, anyway. A lot of Autobots probably aren't familiar with the giant. He doesn't get out of his job as flight instructor and punishing drill sergeant to slackers often - but this time, he gets a chance to introduce himself directly to Venture. Stormfront steps up, freeing himself from the ground and bringing him up to full height, then swings one arm, itself bigger than many mechs, and sends a fist hurtling down towards her for the trouble. Stormfront picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his strength) against Venture's agility. Stormfront's roll succeeds! Dually crouches awkwardly behind a piece of half-melted slag, his vents making a horrible whining noise from the damage he's already taken. He leans over the using it to steady his shot and fire directly at Megatron's faceplates, trying to distract him from Chains. Dually picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Megatron's agility . Dually's roll succeeds! Venture is surprised by Stormfront's speed as he swings at her with his fist, and she gets thrown back against the base of Iacon's dome, leaving a Venture-shaped dent. Glancing down to her chest, she sees that there's a nasty fist-shaped dent there, too. Frowning, she returns her attention to Stormfront. Noting the distance that now separates the two, she tries a different tactic, and transforms! The statuesque form of Venture shifts, folds, and collapses into her big-ass tank mode! Venture picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(her dexterity) against Stormfront's agility . Venture's roll succeeds! Chromia's learned better than to try and grab Nova--not if she doesn't want to risk another stab wound. Gritting her teeth until sparks flew and bearing her weight so her heels dug into the ground, she shoots out a fist at the dive-bombing Seeker to hit her right. In. The. Face. Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(her strength) against Nova Black's agility. Chromia's roll succeeds! Nova Black bellows with rage and pain as the Autobot femme's fist slams into her nosecone. It hurts like slag, and there's a reason she doesn't wear the blasted thing in her root mode. Not wanting Chromia to get any bright ideas about hitting it *again*, she hastily transforms. That done, she slices out with her energon daggers, giving her enemy a grim smile. Now that she has a face, that is. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(her strength) against Chromia's agility . Nova Black's roll ties! Chains is a brawler through and through. Fighting people his own size gets old - and occasionally his utter lack of fear pays off. He ducks under the swinging fist, trying to entangle the arm worse - and only then reveals a method to his madness. With Megatron's arm snagged, and having used his mobility to make said snag as bad as possible, he yanks as hard as he can on the chain, intentionally pulling it free - but trying to leave a reasonably vicious wound to the joint of Megatron's cannon arm in the process with the hook on the end of the chain. Hardly a disabling wound, but being the evil little opportunist he is, he's trying to limit the commander's use of his most potent weapon against Chains' allies. Chains picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his strength) against Megatron's agility. Chains's roll succeeds! Skywarp continues shooting at anything that moves and quite a few things that don't, causing the maximum panic possible. Orange light flares across Megatron's optics as Dually's shot hits him point blank in the face. For the moment ignoring the irritating little minibot attached to his left arm, he grins coldly at Dually and raises his cannon again. The mech is hiding, yes, but that grating noise tells him exactly where his enemy is... and if anything can blast aside a piece of scrap, it's Megatron's cannon. "Two can play at this game..." Just as he fires, however, Chains's hook catches him in the shoulder. He roars in pain and frustration as his shot goes wide, blasting through the wall behind Dually. Stormfront rocks back under the fire, staggered, but hardly down. All that armor - even possessing ballistics proof visor shielding, absorbing most of the attack, leaving a mark on his chest plate. On the other hand, he has to, grudgingly, give the Autobot credit. Lesser attacks he may not even notice right away, she packs a punch. He shifts his momentum back forward, taking a step, then another - specifically trying to land one foot on Venture in the process of leaping - attempting to use the Autobot, painfully, as a launch pad to take to the air again. He's not the most graceful - or even nearly, but those feet take up a lot of space, and he hasn't been in the Con army as long as he has without learning some moves. Either way, he's taking to the air and starting to transform, readying to offer people a ride home - since this is just a distraction - and they've caused that. Stormfront picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his strength) against Venture's agility. Stormfront's roll succeeds! Stormfront takes the form of a gigantic aerial carrier. The black and chrome minibot transforms into a sleek but sturdy cycle. Dually jumps forward, sprawling over the thing he's been using as cover and firing off another shot at Megatron as the heat from the fusion canon scorches over his head! Dually picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Megatron's agility . Dually's roll succeeds! Venture lines up her turret toward Stormfront's foot, which presents a larger and larger target as he approaches her as fast as he probably can. At the last possible moment, she fires at point-blank range, before she's used as a kick-off point. She groans as her frame suddenly takes twice Stormfront's weight and deforms under the intense downward pressure! Her midsection makes a sickening crumpling sound as she's forcibly lowered to the ground, breaking the adjustable structures that connect her to her treads. Venture picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(her dexterity) against Stormfront's agility . Venture's roll fails! That dagger had burned itself into Chromia's mind and she dodges upon her immediate sighting of it, but just barely, the blade cutting a long, jagged line across her shoulder. It's only surface damage, fortunately, nothing more than deeply scored paint, but her sensors flare with remembered pain and she pulls back from the battle, sending a comm to her fellow Autobots. "Guys, I'm fallin' back. Not exactly in the best of shape, yet. No good ta' ya' guys like this, unfortunately." She hates the idea of retreating--had railed against it last time, but it is a necessity, or she might not make it back online next time. She does not, however, leave without a final treat for her target. Narrowing her eyes, she fires off a full-charged round from her laser rifle. Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(her dexterity) against Nova Black's agility. Chromia's roll succeeds! Nova Black snickers as she sees Chromia turn and run. But just as she opens her mouth to taunt her fleeing enemy, Chromia's final shot catches her in the chest, sending pain flaring through her sensor net. "You'll pay for that, Autoscum!" she hisses, taking aim. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(her dexterity) against Chromia's agility . Nova Black's roll succeeds! Chains managed to cause Megatron to miss Dually, and cause some damage, if not a lot, to Megatron for the second fight in a row. With the cons falling back, he makes an effort to interpose himself between the remaining fighters, many of them injured, and the lead Decepticons - he's the one with a force field, after all - and the cons are known for their cheap parting shots. "Go ahead and fall back, I've got you covered!" he calls, even damaged as he is, willing to take the shots for the others. Skywarp makes one last strafing run and pulls up, preparing to retreat as ordered Megatron rises high into the air above the others. His optics flare fierce crimson and his silver faceplates twist into a smile. "Decepticons," he calls. "We've done what we came here to do. Return to Polyhex at once!" Ignoring the pain in his damaged shoulder, he spares one last cannon blast for Chains before flying with all speed back toward Decepticon territory. Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll succeeds! Stormfront finishes his transformation, and opens bays to transport the others, heading away from the scene as soon as anyone who wishes a ride is inside. "You're just gonna run away? SLagging COWARDS!" Dually yells at the retreating 'Cons, firing off a barrage of badly-aimd shots at Stormfront, although the carrier is effectively out of range... Venture's last cannon shot got deflected by Stormfront's foot as it was far too close to be used effectively. She doesn't appear to be in any condition to transform (or move, for that matter), what with so much of her having been bent out of shape. "Ughhhh...", she groans. "Did we lose anyone?" Nova Black flies into one of Stormfront's bays. She's more fine with leaving than she expected to be. She got to smack that 'Bot around a bit, and Megatron got what he wanted, after all. Chains's force field is effectively nuked by the cannon blast - and his arm behind it gets pretty baked in the process as well. But he's alive, and only flung back twenty yards or so for his heroic stand to cover the others. Still, he manages to sit back up after the explosion, hands lifting to crack his neck back into joint, audibly. "That's right... and there's more where that came from." Chromia stumbles as Nova's shot hits her straight in the middle of her spinal column, and she releases something between a yell and grunt. There's a scorch mark there and she can feel electricity pulsing up her body, scrambling her circuitry, but manages to reach the interior of Iacon anyways. Skywarp follows Starscream away from Iacon, ignoring the offer of Stormfront's carrier bays.... Dually continues firing as the cons disappear into the air.
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