| abstract
| - Highroad What once was a splendid and grand highway has been shelled and bombed almost to the point of non-recognition. It is so cracked, potholed, and littered with debris that traveling it requires a great deal of coordination and even more concentration, a dangerous distraction when an attack could occur at any moment. The powerful bombs that hit this road so long ago were meant to cut off access to and from the city directly to the south. Here amidst the rubble and scrap is Highroad, the one majestic and complicated highway system set upon Cybertron. In between the potholes and wreckage is one Autobot in particular, a Wrecker. While decked out in purple and gold, this mech is as much bot as any ... even moreso than most. Impactor lifts a bent I-beam and tosses it carelessly to the side, gazing at the horizon. He'd better get this platform construction underway, before the day get's longer and any Decepticons get wiser to his plot. "Ah, where are those blasted construction types when ya need 'em ... huh Buster?" he questions his Wrecker teammate, the big and tough bouncer of the group. "They should 'ave been here two cycles ago!" Roadbuster is uncapping barrels of rivets. Out of each he takes a single rivet, holds it between thumb and forefinger, and inspects it for an entire terran minute. He's worried about this build, and has been fidgetting like this all cycle. "Dunno," he gruffs in response to Impactor, "Dallying, no doubt." He turnst to Impactor with a smile then to show that he's not really in a bad mood, despite appearances. "I predict a whip cracking in the future, eh?" Really, people need to watch where they're throwing things. Especially when they're large metal support beams; a very yellow crane has to swerve aside to avoid it. After a quick transformation sequence, Grapple looks to see who threw the I-beam and why. "You do realize that throwing things in a construction zone isn't entirely, well.. Safe?" He doesn't seem angry; mostly shaken, possibly by nearly getting smacked with a beam. The bright yellow crane shifts and changes form in to a big.. Yellow and blue Autobot! Yay, yellow! Crosscheck arrives on a small hover motorcycle/platform/ship/thing ... obviously something he built himself to move around fater than on his own feet. He lands/parks it near Impactor, "I hope you and your boys did some clean up first because the last times I went down there it was far from ready to welcome a new base." An Autobot hovercraft in the distant horizon glides in, becoming bigger and bigger as it finally comes into range. A quick glance would reveal that the hovercraft isn't for military use at all, but rather for personnel transport, a whole lot of personnel indeed. The hovercraft is filled with various gumbies from Operations and Military division. There aren't any real talents amongst the gumbies here, but they're more than enough to be competent assistants when need be. One by one, the gumbies disembark from the hovercraft until finally Blades too disembarks. "Eeeesh, we're late thanks to the Decepticon patrols we had to evade along the way. We got the personnels here though. I think the supplies are coming in on Fortress Maximus." Battle Station had received the memo across his desk of the need for additional construction types to assist with the highroad project but has been busy on Earth of late to offer much direct aid. Knowing the the Operations division is chock full of eager buildy types he knows it won't belong before the work site will be a bustle of activity. So when he managed to get bit of free time in his schedule the headmaster commander made a quick trip to Cybertron and is currently enroute to the site hauling some addition supplies. Having a much easier time ferrying goods via flight than having to drive he's also able to throw off most attempts to follow his rather illogical flight path. Coming in sight ot the work area he begins the landing process. Impactor smiles at Roadbuster's enthusiasm for a indepth inspection of Debris' components, even down to every single nut and bolt. That's the Wreckers for ya, sweating the small stuff while forging ahead tackling Decepticons head on. "Nah, I'll leave that up ta Prime." he notes, turning around to look at Grapple's transformation. Thing is, he'd probably take it up with the nerdbots ... but the Impman lacks the capabilities to debate with them sufficiently. "Hey, I ain't takin' gruff froma late Engineer like you ... Heck, if Fairway was contacted, he'd have been here already!" The Wrecker leader nods to all the new arrivals, crossing his arms and waiting for them to gather round ... kinda like Kup story time, but minus the fun. "That's them now," says Roadbuster, watching Fort Max and the hovercraft approaching. The big Wrecker spares a glance at Grapple. "Good to have you onboard," he booms, "Come with us to unload, hmm?" Crosscheck get down from his vehicle and pulls out a datapad from under his seat. His fingers fly over the keyboard as he downloads all the files about the project Wreckers Base. He looks at Blades as the protectobot arrive, "Great. We have the materials and the workers required for the project." Grapple frowns ever so slightly at Impactor, but backs off of any possible argument nearly being smacked with a beam might have caused. He doesn't bother to defend his tardiness; instead, he nods to Roadbuster. "Certainly." He promptly follows. Battle Station touches down and lowers various ramps as blast doors open to allow the unloading of materials. Detecting Impactors attempt to gather people for a huddle, Cog is dispatched to act as a stand in. Why Cog and not Galen is anyones guess, but the composite being quickly moves over to the gathering. Automated systems begin to unload supplies in the meanwhile. The gumy Autobot engineers and military grunts all file up over to where Impactor and the rest of the Wreckers are waiting. From the looks of the lack of wear and expressions worn on their face plates, these gumbies haven't really had much opportunity to work on anything in the 'spotlight' so to say. The engineers are probably going to be satisfied with fulfilling their functions here, but the military grunts are probably going to be real disappointed when they realized they've just been conned into manual labour! Ha hah! Blades nods in acknowledgement at Crosscheck, "Yeh, and Fortress Maximus' got most of the supplies." The Protectobot turns around in time to watch the massive battle station make its landing, "Eh, we could start unloading now if you guys got anything in particular you want to unload first, ya?" Impactor remains silent in the meantine, allowing the others to gather close in a semi-circle. "Ayight, y'all finally decided to show huh? Well, I got plenty work for ya. First up on the list is the descendin' platferm into Debris. Already got tha drillin' done, and no Crosscheck ... our facility is seperate from the underground caverns, but will join on one or two levels." Mr. Purple-pants unfolds some large paper blueprints of the platform construction, setting them upon a large table set up behind him. "I'm sure you types know tha drill then, get ta werk!" Crosscheck looks down at his datapad and suggests, "We will need the steel beams first to consolidate the structure of the tunnels." then he turns his attention towards Impactor, "Good. At least we won't have to clean everything." Impactor waves a dismissive hand at Crosscheck. Apparently he's not worried about tunnel structure, cause worse case a cave in does happen ... the Wrecker leader can drill himself out. :/ Roadbuster raises a hand to the arriving Autobots. "Glad you could join us," he laughs, "Heavy Decepticon patrols hold you up?" He doesn't hesitate to climb a ramp and star unloading. "We should'a served as yer escotrs, maybe. Hope they didn't give you too much trouble." At Crosscheck's suggestion, he begins to unload the steel beams first, carrying a mighty armload full of them back to the build site. Grapple follows Roadbuster in general silence, although he does give a short wave to the other arriving Autobots as well. He climbs up to help with the steel beams and frowns slightly. Something seems to be bothering him, but he doesn't voice any concerns he might have as he hefts several beams. Cog silently looks over the blueprints transmitting the data back to Fortress Maximus before the drone turns about and moves to assist in the off loading process. As others move to assist Maximus offers greetings when they get close enough and is quick to let people know what is loaded where. Up in the command tower of the station a small figure can be seen shuffling about in what seems to be pajamas with a cup of some hot beverage in hand. He nods a bit looking down at things before wandering out of sight. One of the more gung-ho military gumby, Lump Cruise, quickly senses that their honour is being sullied by Roadbuster and quickly jumps in with his own 2 cent, "Hey, we had enough fire power to vape two entire squads. It's just Blades there didn't want us to attract attention---" Lump Cruise is interrupted by Blades as the Protectobot aerial warrior makes a passing comment as he passes through the crowd to get the supplies on Fortress Maximus, "Eh, sue me. You smack one 'Con down and more comes flying over to figure out what happened to their scum bag buddies. Ain't that going to ruin your day now, eh." The Protectobot goes over to Fortress Maximus' open cargo hold and begins hauling out equipments and supplies. Other gumbies are now tagging along and unloading as well. It's a real mess though, since there has been conflicting instructions as to what to unload. Crosscheck looks at all the work going on around him and nods approvingly. Turning to face Impactor he asks, "This is your pet project Impactor. Shall you lead the way?" The scientist gestures towards the hidden entrance of the underground, "We should be stay in the open like that unless you want the Decepticon to spot us." Impactor goes to laying out the platform's parts, hydraulic lifts and metal sheets. He doesn't bother to help with unloading Fortress Maximus, perhaps if the squad wasn't /so/ late he would ... he's a grumpy mech. "Grapple, get yer butt in gear overhere!" he comments, idly scratching his headplate. Perhaps this simple construction baffles the Wrecker leader, he can't make head nor tails of it. Although not looking at Crosscheck, "Nah, I got Rack 'N Ruin and Springer runnin' a diversion on the otherside of Cybertron. We should be clear for now." "Don't strip yer gears," Roadbuster chuckles, looking over his left shoulder at Lump Cruise, "M'just makin conversation." Then he looks to Crosscheck and Impactor. "Wouldn't be too bad an idea to set up a perimeter, though. Hmm... if we had the guns for it. Too many damn engineers here and not enough firepower." A deeply annoyed frown is sent at Impactor's general direction. Grapple lets out a sigh. "I can only be in so many places at once. I am already assisting with the lifting of some of the supplies. What do you prefer I do?" Battle Station clears his throat, or whater a battle station does when it's trying to get a bit of attention. "Roadbuster, I think I'm more than enough firepower for anything that might find us at work here." Seeming a bit hurt the station falls silent again letting his attentions focus on Cog. "Yer prized fer yer brain, not yer muscles Grapp." Impactor sighs, arms crossed and puzzled look on his face. "Well, granted, but my assistance in the lifting was asked for.." Grapple shakes his head a little and makes his way towards Impactor. "Appologies." Roadbuster drops the beams and returns to Fort Max. He climbs the ramp again and gives the Battle Station a friendly pat. "Didn't mean to overlook you, Fort Max. Of course no able-minded Decepticon would come near with you around, big guy. We're glad to have ya!" He grabs to more armloads of supplies and tromps back down the ramp. "Everybody's got a role," he laughs loudly, "Even Grap. You just lissen ta me, right Crane-O? Help me with this stuff." He kneels to allow Grapple to choose what he wants from the assortment of materials Buster's carrying. Largely due to everyone lending a hand, the once filled cargo holds in Fortress Maximus has all been unloaded. The crowd around Fortress Maximus disperses and some of the gumbies head begins unpacking the equipments while others head over to site and begins putting together the scattered materials for whatever purpose the items were intended for. The site is now buzzing with life as there's almost always a gumby around when an extra helping hand is needed. Blades sets down the last of the equipments from the containers around him before heading over to the gathered Autobots, "Eeesh, all the stuff are pretty much ready for use. What's the plan, bud?" Grapple chuckles slightly up at Roadbuster. "If you require the assistance, I'm happy to help. Otherwise, I believe Impactor is going to chastise me further." Really, by this point, he expects Impactor to yell one way or the other. Battle Station had not expected the speed at which the cargo was unloaded and seems a bit out of place as other begin to tend to other matters. Scanning the area and providing perimeter defense seems his current task as Cog shuffles about lending a hand putting things together and setting up tool benches. Galen, whos sleep habits got all messed up during the voyage to Cybertron is busy in the depths of the battle station changing into something more suited to the tasks at hand, namely his exo-armor. Impactor grumbles, eyeing Roadbuster and Grapple at the same time. "Hey, lughead ... if yer done goadin' that Engineer inta doin' yer werk, I got something fer him!" With a gentle wave, the Wrecker waves Grapple over towards his location ... still staring at the parts of the platform and it's blueprints as if it was written in greek. Grapple is somehow calmed by the sheer confusion written on Impactor's face. So, he calmly strides over to where the Wrecker points out. "All right, then.." "One astrosec there cap," Roadbuster replies. And then he turns to Grapple, but the yellow Autobot crane is already gon. He takes his armload of supplies back to the site, pushing aside the occasionally milling gumby, towering above them, sticking out like so much sore thumb. Once he is rid of his burden, he puts his hands on his hips and looks up at the structure that's starting to form, unsure of how all of this is going to end up underground. Blades walks idly around the site, taking a quick peek at the construction blue prints while he's at it. He picks up a spare copy and brings it over to Cog, "Eh, you and ol' Maximus there are connected, ya?" The Protectobot holds up the blue print for the drone to see, "You built enough stuff in the past, eh? You got any suggestions on where to get started?" A look of frustration can be seen on Blades' face plate, clearly the Protectobot has no clue what he's doing now. Cog stops setting up the small device he was working on and turns to Blades as the Protectobot approaches. "Yes, to all of your questions." Taking the copy in hand he turns it around and hands it back, "Firstly it helps to have this right side up. As to where to begin, seeing as how the bulk of your talents lie outside the realm of the engineering fields I would think that here would be best." The composite being points to a section on the plans that is more suited to those not used to delicate welding or the installation of elecrical systems. Impactor hands over the blueprints to Grapple and sighs. "Argh, I can't make out just what tha heck I'm supposed ta do here. Yer the smart mech, you figure it out!" Tromping off, the Wrecker leader begins setting up the platform's area of descending ... making sure the width of the hole is adequate. Grapple gives Impactor a slightly amused look before he looks over the blueprints. He pauses a moment, looks to the supply pile, then back. "..Oh, dear." Roadbuster wanders the construction site, helping out where he can, but witholding advice. He knows less about building things than he does about busting them - hence the name. He wanders over to the mouth of the egress and transforms, deciding to see how work is proceeding underground. Roabuster dives forward, forcing his heavy frame into the form of a green and orange Cybertronic jeep! Grapple looks over the construction in progress as he glances from the blueprints and back to the actual work several times. With a slight frown, he walks to Roadbusters' side and peers down. "Curious.." Impactor uses his harpoon hand to scrape another milimeter or two off of the left side of the hole, but other than that ... it is perfect for their use. "Wait ... what does 'Oh dear' mean?" Grapple looks back to Impactor. "The support beams.. Are they hollow or solid?" Impactor laughs, "Solid like ole Buster's head!" Battlewagon says, "That's right!" "Eh, I could've sworn that I was looking at it the right way." Blades mutters as he glances at the blue print in Cog's hands and then realizes that from his perspective it seemed like the blue prints are at held at the right side up from every single side. This is what happens when you only have 66 INT, like Blades here, folks. Try not to get hit across the head, otherwise you risk ending up dumb as a rock like him. "Eeesh, you better hold on to that thing in case somebody else got questions for you." The Protectobot heads over to the to the hole where the platform support structures are being lowered and climbs down to assist with receiving of the various support beams and pieces of bulkheads. Grapple chuckles at the description. "Oh, good. Nevermind, then. I was worried that the support beams were a third of an inch too thin, but if they're solid then that makes up for it." Impactor nods his head as if understanding Grapple's dilemmia. "Yeah, that's right. So, you figure out that doo-dad yet?" he questions, dropping down some steel I-beams down the hole ... hopefully not on top of Roadbuster. "Watch out below!" Grapple winces as Impactor drops the I-beams down the hole; his earlier warning, apparently, was completely ignored. "The.. 'Doo-dad'? You mean the lift?" Impactor says, "Yeah yeah, the platform. You figure it out yet?" Battlewagon advances into the near dark coming to a purring idle in the center of the rocky floor. Motes float in the beams of spotlights... it would be peaceful it it weren't for the sudden rain of giant steel beams. Roadbuster kicks it into reverse in time to keep from getting himself a major headache. "Hey, now! How bout YOU watch it!" He transforms and begins to pick up the scattered beams. The mean-looking Cybertronic jeep pops apart with reckless aggression. A familiar sound accompanies its swift and ruthless transformation into Roadbuster! Grapple gives Impactor another amused look. "Well, yes. It probably would have helped your earlier confusion if you had held it right-side up." Impactor laughs, "Cause I'm not tha one about ta get hit!" Regarding the smartypantsmech, the big lug sighs. "Hey, I'm good at a couplea things ... readin' blueprints not bein' one of 'em!" Living vicariously through himself, the most interesting Autobot in the universe has Cog nod at Blades as he places the blueprint out of harms way and returns to his wiring. It's not long before the section he was busy with is set and ready to go. Standing up the composite being splits into Gasket and Grommet the twin vehicles quickly darting back towards Fortress Maximus. As they withdraw into an inner section the battle station begins to transform so Maximus himself can begin offering some help, now that Galen is out of his jammies and dressed. Grapple smirks slightly at Impactor. "It's not the most complicated set of blueprints I have ever seen. Though, wouldn't it be more effective to build the lift mechanisms before the elevator cab?" Blades sets aside the steel beams that has been lowered down to him and then looks up to the Autobot around him that is also down here in the hole, "Eh, so what do we do now?" --- repose Roadbuster piles all of the beams neatly and then sets about walking the cavern, his hand on his chin. He isn't quite sure what he's looking for, but he likes the solitude down here. He allows himself to fall into a slow kind of trance, walking in a great circle and feeling the dark collapse around him, aspirating the close air, running a hand along the solid stone walls. This would be a good place for him to escape to if it wasn't eventually going to be the site of a base. Impactor looks at Grapple, "The lifts are right in front of ya smartmech!" Geeze, the mettle of some bots ... am I right? Making his way towards the platform's components, the Wrecker crouches low and sighs. "So tell me which connects ta which and how, I'll do all tha heavy liftin'." Grapple sighs again at Impactor. "I was referring to that the cab is typically the last thing to be built.." He shakes his head slightly. "Nevermind. Take the wren --" He stops himself to dumb the words down. "..The large shiny piece that looks a little like a fork and set it against the corresponding floor piece with the reflective side facing outward." Feeling whole once again Fortress Maximus moves towards the area where some of the larger support beams are being put to use to lend a hand. Easily lifting those that are giving some of the small engineers trouble he smiles and hauls them over to the drop off and slowly lowers them down into place. "Heads up fellas, connection joists inbound." Impactor laughs, "Ya ain't gotta act like I'm a friggin' Dinobot Grapp. I know basic construction terms ya know, bein' a drill an' all." The Wrecker leader reaches out, grabbing the 'shiny piece' and sets it against the floor piece. The darkness beneath the underground hole is swiftly shattered by a sudden bright light. It turns out the source of this light is coming from one of Blades' dinky photon pistol. Those pop guns are useful for something after all! Ask about how a photon pistol can give you the perfect tan. Satisfaction guaranteed. With the issue of low light visibility removed from the list of troubles at hand, the Protectobot quickly clear the area around him and hollars to Fortress Maximus from above, "Eeeesh, hear ya loud and clear there, boss. We be on stand by down here." Roadbuster heads topside again, heaving his massive bulk through the egress to stand beside Impactor and Grapple. He surveys the site. "Looks like things are well in hand," he says, "and no attacks yet, either. Thank Fort Max for that, I'm sure. Anything for these drones to be doin underground?" Impactor nods distractedly, "Yeah yeah, have 'em bring down the floor plating and start securin'. Just remember, we're gonna be spread pretty thin down there ... try ta stretch it where ya can." Grapple gives Impactor a dubious stare; he doesn't quite believe he SHOULDN'T be dumbing the terms down. "There should be a few more identical pieces. They need to line up together." The Wrecker leader afixes the indentical pieces and shoots the engineer a glare like he will rip off the mechs head and shove it up his aft if his tone doesn't change. "Done." "Sure thing," Roadbuster says happily. He rounds up some gumbies and leads them underground, carrying all their eqipment by himself. "Eh, looks like Springer and the other Wreckers are doing a good job keeping those Deceptifrags busy." Blades says with an indifferent expression on his face, he's not exactly excited by the construction duties but submitted himself to the task regardless under Hot Spot's request. "Although I'd hate to see an attack. Getting buried alive ain't on my list of things to experience in life, eh." The Protectobot says frankly to Roadbuster before the Wrecker leaves. "We got plenty of beams down here now, what else do you folks need done down here?" Grapple seems somewhat taken aback by the glare. "Well.. Thank you. The basic electrical system runs through the openings in the side of each bivalve.." Impactor bellows towards Blades, "Start carryin' down tha equipment to tha respective rooms ... we got medical facilitah cupboards ta be afixed to tha wall if ya got the time." Turning around to face Grapple again, he sighs. "When I said I was gonna do tha heavy liftin' ... I didn't mean build the fraggin' thing by myself. Why don'tcha lend a hand kid!" Fortress Maximus peers down into the construction shaft as he hands off the last of the guide beam. "I wouldn't worry too much Blades, there are all kinds of connecting tunnels down there." As an after thought he looks to the skies to make sure nothing odd is in view. Things are going well, both with the site being secure and with the amount of working getting done. If only all operations would go this smooth he muses. Wreckers + Operations = Winsauce Roadbuster oversees the Gumbies' tile-laying operation the same way he would command a raid on a Decepticon base. He points, shouts inspiring words, and describes the problems to be solved as objectives to be completed and hills to be taken. The gumbies respond well, as all do, to Roadbuster's charisma. This is the only way he knows to run an operation. Grapple makes his way towards Impactor with a slightly confused expression; did he just call him 'kid'? He takes hold of the electrical components and starts wiring them through. "After these are affixed, the overhead piece should be adhered on top." Impactor stands there, holding the hodge-podge construction upright. "Fortress Maximus, ya wanna adhere this here top piece while I'm a holdin' it?" "Eh, you got it." Blades replies in confirmation to Impactor's instructions, before gathering up the containers with descriptions on it clearly marked for the medical facilities room. "Eeeesh, there might be a bunch of tunnels here, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be able to find my way. I don't expect to get lucky and be dug out thanks to dumb luck like those Technobots, eh." The Protectobot responds to Fortress Maximus before moving deeper into the underground tunnels with a few gumby engineers in front of him leading the way. Grapple slides through the wires and connects them to a small surge protector; he even rivets some of it together himself. Then, he steps back to allow the overhead piece on. "The only other electrical equipment would be the lighting. The rest is the actual construction." Fortress Maximus looks over with a smile, "Sure thing Impactor." Taking a few steps towards the Wrecker, Maximus snags a tool better sized for him on the way. Evening things out with one hand he starts getting the pieces held by Impactor set together. "You've got a good crew here. Nice to see how well they function out of combat." Technobot Starfighter flies into the area noticing the activity below him and lands. He quickly shouts out "Anyone need a hand with anything?!" Grapple looks up in surprise at the shouting flier. He looks to Impactor. "I was under the impression we had more than enough manual labor." Looking to Grapple, Impactor mutters "We did." Then turning towards Scattershot, the Wrecker leader smiles. "Hey chap, mind givin' Blades a hand carryin' down some of tha equipment over there?" he points to a stack of boxes labeled Operation: Debris Medical Facility. The floor is coming along nicely. More gumbies, their jobs finished topside, come down to work on the intallation of the floor tiles. They work from Roadbuster's copy of the blueprints - at first he has only the foggiest notion of how to read them, but he learns a lot as he works with the Gumbies. He eventually starts to feel like a real construction engineer! "This is looking great," he says, "Nothing can stop Cybertronians once we put our minds to somethin, eh?" Of course, he does his share of work, too, tromping up and down between the two sites to fetch supplies. Grapple sends a small wave to Scattershot before looking back to the equipment. "Is there going to be any aesthetics involved? The blueprints have instructions for optional molding on the interior of the cab." "We don't need no fancy moldin', I told that to tha lads who drew it up." Impactor gruffs to Grapple. Grapple shrugs in response. "I suppose that was why it's listed as optional. If I may, I would suggest refitting the molding in to guard rails, then." Thankfully for the technically inept Protectobot aerial warrior, the Autobot gumby engineers proves yet again that they're plenty of brilliant minds in the Autobot faction just waiting to step into the front lines if ever given the opportunity. So app more OCs, folks, give these nameless folks the recognization they deserve. The gumby engineers continues to lead the way as they trek further down underground towards the direction of the medical bays. Blades stops for a moment, as the rest of his group passes by Roadbuster's team, "Eh, anything I should know about the terrain further ahead, 'Buster, or something you'd want to hand off to us before go any further ahead, bud?" "Aint been further in just yet," says Roadbuster, "If ya want, I'll join ya. We're doing pretty well in here. Everything's solid." Impactor relents, "Fine fine, put on some spiffy hand rails if ya want ... I just need ta git this thing in tha ground so we can start unloadin' the bulk of tha cargo!" Fortress Maximus having gotten things set with Impactor moves to make sure the guide tracks are set and to double check the braking system controls. While it's not far to drop if it fails, he would rather not have cargo and passengers being tossed about because they forgot to double check the system before installation. Grapple grabs hold of the excess molding. "It will only take a few minutes.." He begins to set it up himself, visibly cheered up by the decorative metal. Scattershot enters the tunnels where everyone is trying to install the shaft. He looks around at everyone and says "Hey guys, need a hand? I have nothing to do!" "Ayight, just hurry it up ... Springer and Rack 'N Ruin's diversion can't last all day ya know?" Impactor gruffs to Grapple. Grapple is a happy little architect as he quickly puts together the highly decorative guard rail. The little loops and decorative seams in the metal apparently cheer him up. Still, it only takes a few minutes to rivet and connect the metal together in to a secure rail. "There we are.." Blades shrugs in response to Roadbuster, "Eh, I'm just along for the ride. Those folks ahead of me are the ones calling the shots. I doubt they'd object to another 'bot lending a hand in the heavy lifting though." The Protectobot then continues to push the hoverlift with the stacked construction materials forward again as he goes to catch up with the rest of the medical facilities construction team, some of which are already setting down the bulkhead platings to stabilize the environment's structural integrity. Scattershot grabs some of the qequipment and brings it down into the tunnel "Impactor, what do you want me to do with this?" Impactor grins, finally nearing completion of this blasted mechanism. "Fort, ya mind lowering this beast into the hole while Buster afixes the bottom of tha lift?" The Wrecker leader manages to radio the Wrecker bouncer to update him on their progression. Grapple leans against the rail to test it. "Is there anything else that I'm required for?" "I'll help wherever I'm neeed," Roadbuster says to Blades, "I can - " Before he can continue, Roadbuster receives Impactor's message. "We're making solid progress," he replies, holding a finger up to Blades. "Floor in the main chamber's pretty much done. You need somethin, cap?" "Yeah, the lift is comin' on down ... need ya to prop it up and bolt to the ground." Impactor replies into the radio. Setting the cable spool he was winding aside Fortress Maximus moves over to the platform. Looking the unit over he tries to pick the best location to grip it by before giving a nod. "Ok people here we go. Once I get this up I'm not going to be able to see to guide it into place so that's where you come in. Clear behind, clear right. Lifting." Bendig at the knees, not the waist, the large headmaster hefts the platform off the ground with a grunt and lumbers to set it in place. "Little to the right, little more ..." Impactor cautions the Headmaster, waving a hand. Fortress Maximus follows the directions offered as the platform obscures any view of where exactly he's standing in relation to the guides. The medical facility's walls quickly takes shape, showing hints of its glory and splendor as the pieces of Cybertronian metal alloys are grafted onto the surface of the underground chasm's walls. The Autobot gumby engineers displays remarkable craftsmanship and efficiency as they are already well into hooking up the electrical wirings of the room, although their construction materials are running short. Thankfully Blades arrives just in time with a hoverlift filled with the materials they need. Soon the various electrical wirings, circuit boxes, shieldings, and insulation materials are picked clean by the Autobot engineers. The Protectobot himself can be seen bolting down the first of the many medical examination tables into the new metallic flooring that was laid down just mere hours ago. Noticing the time on his internal chronometer, Blades quickly makes a short ranged radio broadcast to the others above. << Eh, Blades checking in here, folks. Medical facility is going as planned. No explosions or other grisly accidents to report yet. >> "You got it," Roadbuster acknowledges. He positions himself at the entrance and waits for the lift so that he can grab it and guide it to the newly tiled floor. Of course, being the mech he is, he's going to try and catch it with one hand, Wrecker-style. Grapple decides to oversee what's left of the construction process in general silence. Yay! Scattershot drops some of the equipment and walks back up to the surgface to grab more. He walks back down yet again "Ok guys, where does this go now?" Roadbuster wraps one big hand around the base of the lift, surprised by how heavy it is. He strains a bit, bending his knees and bracing his feet wide apart, driven by the excess weight to try all the harder to control the lift's descent single-handed. He lets it drop gently, gently, more slowly than is necessary for fear of dropping it, and by the time he finally sets it down his whole arm is shaking. He braces the lift in place and then stands, patting dust from his palms in a dramtica manner. "No problem," he says to no one in particular. Then he produces a boltsetter and goes about bolting the lift in place. This is a quick task, and when it's done Roadbuster flashes Impactor the thumbs up, unsure whether or not his fellow Wrecker can see him. "Lift in place, cap. Ready to transport!" With his he turns back into the main cavern to follow Blades and continue with the construction of the medical facility. Impactor barely catches the thumbs up from Roadbuster, but manages to shoot back one of his own ... but it's with his harpoon hand, so it's not much of a return gesture. Turning around, the Wrecker leader meanders over towards some seemingly random collection of junk and goes about constructing the platform's cover from prying optics. The plan is to cover it up as though another random pile of junk, when in reality it will be the throughway into the base. Have no fear, ACME Building Inc. has nothing on this little Autobot. Eject makes his way into the construction area, gazing about at all the activity going on. The casette's battle visor brightens with excitement as he offers a wide grin, "Wow!! You gotta be kiddin' me! We're building a new stadium on Cybertron?!? Where's the box for the PA announcer going to go?" Stretching his smaller, robotic legs, Eject flexes his mini-muscles, "If you're looking for a heavyweight, you've got the wrong guy, but I can rope-a-dope with the best of them! Where do you need me?" Looking at the sign that reads, 'medical facility', the Autobot furrows his visor, "So the name of the stadium is gonna be 'medical facility'?? Doesn't really have too much pa-zaz to it. How about calling it 'Grand Slam Central Fortress Maximus lowers the platform into place wondering when roadbuster or somebody on the other end of the delivery is going to take some of the weight off of his systems, really one hand as support? It's not until the beast is snapped in place and the bolting begins that he is able to relax. Turning away he shakes his arms a bit to work out the tension that holding the transport system in place put on his servos. Job complete he smiles broadly and moves back to the lip of the drop. "Excellent work down there fellas, a true team effort. Well done by all." The number of Autobot gumby engineers inside the medical facility continues to increase as more floods in, having completed their tasks elsewhere as hours passes by. What was once one of the many featureless rocky caverns in the underground tunnels has been transformed, piece by piece, into what promises to be a remarkably versatile room. Modular construction has been emphasized by the Autobot engineers. It has been mutually agreed amongst the Autobot engineers present, that given the location and purpose of this underground base, that the ability to support new medical equipments large or small, and other electronic components is paramount especially for a room as vital as the medical facility. The vision that was once an idea has now taken form, albit... a little tad bit different from the ideal look that was imagined. The blemish can be attributed to Blades and his shoddy technical skills, there's only so much accuracy that the Protectobot can achieve while bolting down equipments with only a 64 technical stat. So occasionally we have a medical examination bed that's leans a bit too far to the side, or a computer terminal that just doesn't seem to fit perfectly in with the surrounding furniture. It's nothing big, and can be quickly fixed by the engineering team. Blades himself remains oblivious to his failings. Ignorance is bliss.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)