| abstract
| - 9/24/2011 03:49 PM (Polyhex/Iacon) --- Shred is in the repair campus, along with Hookshot, the mech's throat unit opened as she fiddles with her medical tools to fine tune the vocoder. "Try that. It should be about right, Hookshot. I hope so. This shift's been far too long. " Robustus arrives to take the shift from Shred, and have a little talk with her. "Good cycle Shred." he glances at Hookshot, "And to you as well." Hookshot inclines his head on his way out, a finger idly running over where recent repairs were done. "Pleasant cycle, Robustus," he says with a pleasant smile, and heads out through the repair bay doors. Shred smiles, closing up Hookshot's throat, before she looks to Robustus, "There we go. Good Cycle to you as well, Robustus. It's been a busy shift, and all too long since we last saw one another. How are you doing?" Robustus watches the mech leave and looks back to Shred, "I wish I could say it has been good for me. But it has not. We need to have a little talk, in private." Shred frowns a moment, before she nods. "I see. Well, we can allow the other medics to handle this shift. Where shall we go? A walk towards Cubicron?" getting to her feet, she puts away her tools. "I have finished my duties for the moment.” Robustus shakes his head to that suggestion, "A walk, but not to there. Just follow me." he intones softly and makes his way out of the room, knowing she'd follow him. He takes the wind shaft route down to the lower levels of Polyhex and eventually steps out on the ground floor of the slag pit. He stands near the pit, so the sound of it can drown out any conversation. Shred smiles, indeed she follows Robustus, glancing about as she does so.. "So, what's up Robustus? " so close to the fighting pit, she looks down at the combatants, relying on the general hustle and bustle to keep herself from being overheard by others in general. Robustus turns to regard Shred quietly, then says carefully in a low tone, "You aware we have a prisoner?" Shred nods, "I'd heard we had. What about it, Rob?" Robustus holds Shred's gaze, "He's a medic. A youngling. And he's due for termination soon." Shred frowns, "For what reason? And what manner of execution, Rob?" her voice is stern, and low. Robustus adds hesitatingly, "Because he's an Autobot and whatever information they gleaned from him was enough to warrant eradiation. I would suspect it will be via a cannoning from Lord Megatron." then he glances over to the pit, "Or the slag pit." Shred sighs, "I see. Is there no chance of instead turning the prisoner to our cause? a medic is always useful.. It would be a terrible waste to just dispose of such a potential resource.. " Robustus shakes his head, "I don't believe he would. He's been tortured by Vortex and examined by Starscream. Last I saw him, he was in very rough shape. That sort of impression is not something that can be overcome at all easily. It is better that he goes back to them. I've already spoken to Lifeline about this. She agrees with me, it's time she and he depart Polyhex." Shred frowns, lowering her head, "And what about yourself? " she looks into the arena, where Kick Off and Megatron fought.. "I admit, there is another who has been a prisoner all too long.. " Robustus cocks his head to the question, "I came here of my own free will Shred, to help the medical department because you were in not healthy and neither was Psykeout. You are healthy now and as far as I can tell Psykeout has slinked off to do whatever it is he does in secret and in hiding." he pauses to look back at her, "I feel that I failed a patient Shred. You know how seriously I take my medical oaths. To see him in the condition he was in and only be allowed minimal access to him. Told to not do more than assure he lived for more torture. That Shred went against my spark." Shred nods, "It does not surprise me. We need to get him and you out of here. We're both medics.. Even the Autobots made sure that their prisoners were in the best of health. I saw Ratchet himself repairing Slipstream." Robustus inclines his head to that, though tells Shred, "There is no we in this Shred. Lifeline and I will get him out of here. You need to remain here to pick up the pieces." Shred shakes his head, "No, Rob. I've stood by far too long. Just because I was created in Polyhex.. I know life's different elsewhere . " Robustus intones softly, "Shred, you may have been an Empty once... but you came a long way to get to where you are now. If you get involved in this, you may well throw away not only what you fought so hard to achieve but you may also endanger your well being." Shred nods again, letting out a venting sigh, "We're at war, Robustus. If I can't do something to better Cybertron, for the good of others. I may as well be shut down. In battle my life's in danger. And well.. If we manage to get away. Maybe I'll be able to do something more I can be proud of. " Robustus nods, "I'm aware of the fact we are in a war Shred. This does not change the fact that you getting involved is going to add to the danger of getting caught. There's a chance someone will be spotted and all the pit is going to come down on anyone that lags behind and literally gets caught. You are a Decepticon, Shred. You need to remain here with them, not with me and Lifeline risking your life for an Autobot you probably don't even know." he raises a hand to put upon her shoulder, squeezing gently, "Please don't come with us on this. It is hard enough having to come to grips with my own mortality should I be the one that gets caught, not to mention Lifeline or even First Aid. But you my dear need to live, for the empire's sake." Shred sighs, putting her own arm on Robustus' "Then let me at least make sure you don't get caught, Rob. You think I want to be left here alone? Slag it all. Primus, you think I don't know the risks if I get caught? " her optics are stern, pained perhaps. "If you go, leaving me alone, I'll only have Slip left. Nothing else to give a slag about." Robustus intones softly, "I've done some preliminary work toward not getting caught already Shred. The guards will be dealt with via a ranged shot of sedative. We'll try to evade the cameras as much as possible, maybe try to take out the visual feed to them in some manner. Then I mocked up a small bomb with used parts attached to it. This will be detonated once we clear him of the room it will go off in, giving the appearance of the bomb taking us out." "You honestly think that will work? For one thing Rob, you're not a warrior. How's your aim?" Shreds words are quiet, grim. "There's too much to go wrong. At the very least let me help in some way. To make sure you get away. " Robustus intones, "I've practiced with what little time I've had to prepare." then a frown, "Shred, how exactly do you propose to do that? We don't have much time." Shred hmms, "There are ways. You know full well I know Dead End better than you do. Hidden ways. as well as places that are.. shall we say less than structurally sound. " Robustus considers that point and huffs out a harsh vent, "All right.. fine. I will officially state that this does not sit well with me Shred. But I know better than try to change your mind, especially after that whole going after Slipstream by walking up to Iacon scenario. What you want to do to help us?" Shred smiles grimly, "I'll cover your escape. you just need to get to the place I showed you that time. You remember it, right? From there I can make sure you're not followed.. I may be able to slip after you myself unless things go bad, too. Robustus takes a bit to recall, "The chute that funnels folks into the gladiatorial pits?" Shred shakes her head, "The secret place, under the slums. In the tunnels Rob. From there you can work your way out of 'con territory. I'll see to it your escape route's clear. Robustus nods, "Oh yes, right. Very well then, let's go get Lifeline and get this going. I doubt we have much time." Shred nods, "Alright. Let's get our afts in gear. The sooner the better. " she smiles again, a little more brightly. "Let's start our new future, Rob." --- Sunstreaker Look around a corner and then back to his brother, frowning. The place looks empty and he really doesn't like it. It usually means trouble's lurking close. He return his attention to Sideswipe and Chromia and his posture is battle-ready. He's ready to blow anything that come too close... With surprisingly little difficulty, the three make it to the fourth level. Not knowing what to expect after the lack of activity in the tunnel, they make their way with as much haste as they can afford into the facility. That is, until they encounter their first group of Decepticons. Sideswipe shifts on his servos, the ones in his hips recalibrating to allow him a better view. He can't see slag from here but he can /hear/ bots moving around up ahead. Frag, he forgot to ask about comm lines. Can he comm or risk talking aloud? /You hearing Cons?/ He silently sends to his twin. Chromia snarls. "I don't hear 'em, but that don't mean they aren't there." She slaps the magazine of her rifle lightly, inserting some fresh ammo rounds. "Have yet ta' be in Polyhex without some kind of 'Con run-in." Robustus had led Shred back to the repair campus and they talked with Lifeline about the plan. This accomplished, Shred had headed out first to scout ahead. He got the stuff they'd need into his subspace then led the way out of the room, checking for any cameras that have been set up since the last time he really paid attention to such things. Instead of cameras though he catches the forms of red, yellow, and green that belong to a trio of Autobots. He glances back at Lifeline in askance and stops where he is, not sure what this means or if he should even address them. Sunstreaker shot his twin a look, and huff, his optics narrowing. /Yeah I heard them. If they come any closer... I slag them/ He wouldn't hesitate either. Chromia may act as a team leader, but Sunstreaker was something of a loose cannon. And he was the best fighter they had for hand-to-hand encounters,... Hence why he was here. "Lets not stand there blabbing..." Lifeline somehow managed to NOT notice what Robustus did. She stops when he stops and looks at him with a frown before clueing in. Her optics widen briefly, as those are NOT colors she's seen since she's been in this Pit-spawned place. That means... already? She gestures at them impatiently. "It's fraggin Polyhex. What'd you expect." Considering they're a stealth team, Sideswipe's paintjob doesn't exactly blend in. Out of nowhere he spots what he'd been hearing seconds earlier, his pistol materializing out of subspace and pointed straight at the Con. Slag, what now?! Causing uproar now would alert a lot more than just a few scientists. Luckily for the first Con, the sight of..."Is that Lifeline?" Chromia blinks. "I'd say so." She frowns. "Wasn't informed she'd be with anyone. Then again, I don't trust 'Cons as far as I can throw 'em." She cocks her rifle, just in case. Lifeline huffs air out of her vents in annoyance and steps over to the Autobots. "Are you three going to stand there all day?" She looks at Robustus. "Now we really need to hurry." Robustus puts up his hands slowly and stands stock still. Well the plan just got put off a bit.. perhaps. Hard to say. He just let's Lifeline take the lead on this since he didn't know that when she said 'It's planned' she had meant it quite literally! "I agree with you on that, just that one thing." Sideswipe glares at Chromia, making sure she gets that they're not anything other than stuck in this team together. Sideswipe's confusion is evident as he moves from what little shadow they had for cover, then decides he has already been seen. Lowing his pistol, he moves quickly to the medic. Or at least he thinks they're a medic. He wasn't exactly given a lot of info about the bots he was meant to be rescuing. Checking to make sure his twin and Chromia are right behind him, he comms Elita 1. //We've found Lifeline.// "Who the frag is this?" Once he's in normal hearing range of Lifeline, motioning to the other Con. Lifeline looks from Robustus to Sideswipe and back. "Robustus, another medic. Now come on, First Aid is in the security center and that's NOT going to be easy to get into." She turns back to Robustus. "The stairs will be the quickest, yes? It's not like anyone else would be using them." Robustus inclines his head, "Quicker and less likely to have cameras." he replies, "That is if the Bots can trust me to lead the way." Personally, Sideswipe just wants out of here. The longer they stand around, the more likely they'll be deactivated Cons lying around. Oh and, yea, they might get seen. "If you're with her then we have no choice. Just let's go!" Lead the way, cause he has no fragging idea where the exit of this place is. It's like a maze! Not that Iacon isn't. "If First Aid is as scrapped as command says he is..." Well, he doesn't even want to think about it. Chromia frowns while comming Sideswipe. /I'll trust Lifeline because Elita demands it, but ya' think Robustus can be trusted? I don't give a frag if he's a medic. We have no proof he's also a neutral./ She voices this complaint through a low growl. "I don't trust ya' at all." But she grudgingly follows them anyways. /I say shoot 'em to the Pit if they start actin' in any way suspicious./ --- Robustus led the way down the stairs to the security complex itself, he took his measures by attempting to sedate the guards via a ranged shot. If that failed, well he figured the Bots would step up and deal with them instead. The intelligence center is quiet as always, with several silent or near silent mechs working at various consoles. Luckily, neither Soundwave nor his symbiotes are present, but the intelligence compound is far from deserted. As the door slid open, revealing Robustus and the others, one of the mechs stood up at his console. "What are you doing here? They aren't authorized to be in here! Who the slag are they?" Sideswipe picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Calliope's agility. Sideswipe's roll fails! Sunstreaker already have his gun at the ready and when the door open he aim and prepared to shoot the guy down. This was already getting good for him, if his grin was anything to go by. Sideswipe, having hid round the edge of the doorframe, springs into view beside the medics and his team. Firing off a headshot at the Con proves difficult, distracted by Robustus when the red mech thinks he's about to pull a gun on him. "Frag! Get him!" Sunstreaker picks up the dicebag and rolls its dexterity against Calliope's agility. Sunstreaker's roll succeeds! "Told ya'." Chromia opts for a complete charging in approach, aiming to bash Hookshot in the gut with the butt of her rifle. The grey and green mech goes down in a shower of sparks, twitching. The other mechs working in the intelligence center- one an orange and red seeker, the other purple, red, and blue with - leap to their feet, aiming their weapons at the invaders, lasers spraying across the doorway with the sharp sound of firepower. Robustus picks up the dicebag and rolls against his agility. Robustus's roll succeeds! Lifeline picks up the dicebag and rolls against her agility. Lifeline's roll succeeds! Sunstreaker picks up the dicebag and rolls against its agility. Sunstreaker's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Lifeline ducks below the average aim of the security guards and, trusting the Autobots to deal with the guards, she hurries immediately over to the holding cell where she last saw First Aid. Robustus evades shots as he uses the distraction to take Lifeline toward the cell where First Aid is located. He tries the code to see if he can get in that way. If that doesn't work, then there's Shred's CMO codes that she gave him prior to her scouting ahead. Sideswipe picks up the dicebag and rolls against his agility. Sideswipe's roll succeeds! The door that Lifeline is trying to open remains stubbornly closed until Robustus enters the second set of codes, when it slides open smoothly on a dark room only dimly lit with the light from the hallway. First Aid is no longer sitting strapped to the chair, or at least mostly- his left arm is still bound to the arm of the chair, pulling him sharply sideways from where he's slid to the ground. Most of the plating covering his primary gestalt components has been removed, leaving exposed wires and cogs, and he's sitting, head down and leaning awkwardly against the chair in a pool of coolant, which is dripping sluggishly from the primary reservoir in his chest. His bad arm is tucked around him, and his engine is running roughly with an unhealthy bur to it. Admiring his brother's shot briefly, he switches out his pistol with a rifle. No good for sniping with, more of a blaster than anything, but he's just as good with it. Moving forward to cover the medics, he shoots off semi-blindly and then runs behind a console for cover. /Orange one's mine!./ Sunstreaker dodge the only shots that were actually well-aimed with a couple of fancy back flip moves before ducking behind the doorframe, and aimed his gun at the other guy in the room. /Hey, I wanted that fragging seeker aft!/ But they knew their jobs and they will cover the medics until they get First Aid. Sunstreaker picks up the dicebag and rolls its agility against Calliope's agility. Sunstreaker's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Sunstreaker picks up the dicebag and rolls its dexterity against Calliope's agility. Sunstreaker's roll succeeds! Robustus glances toward the Bots a moment then pulls the makeshift bomb out of his subspace and sets it down inside the room near where First Aid is located. He frowns at the young medics condition. "This is bad. We need to get him out of here now and to a repair bay quickly. Any idea how those three planned to get him out of here?" he asks Lifeline. he taps in a certain amount of time into the bomb but doesn't start it yet. The purple, red, and blue mech goes down as well, slumping over his console without his hand on the alarm button, but not having depressed it just yet. The sound of the multicolored slagger makes him smirk, mostly in Sunstreaker’s direction. Within that second, he moves round his cover and lines up the tetra jet-model. /That's no Seeker, Sunny. Slaggin pathetic drone./ He spies the medics moving into the room just out of the way and takes the shot. Autobot comm from Elita. /Secondary mission objective in place, meet back where we started to proceed with phase three/- the Autobots hear on their comms. Phase three is extraction, and it sounds like Elita has decided that they'll be taking another shuttle to get back out, despite the risks that offers. Sideswipe picks up the dicebag and rolls against his dexterity. Sideswipe's roll succeeds! Sideswipe picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Calliope's agility. Sideswipe's roll fails! The seeker fires his laser cannons at Sideswipe. "Take that, grounder scum!" Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Sideswipe's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Sunstreaker didn't waste any moment to act, seeing the medics are now in place out of sight, and he quickly aim his weapon towards the last mech standing in the room, which his twin had missed. He takes the shot at the seeker with dark glee. Sunstreaker picks up the dicebag and rolls against its agility. Sunstreaker's roll fails! Sideswipe snarls and ducks back behind cover, feeling like an aft for missing yet again! They're standing targets! But he's unharmed from his failed attack. The comm reassures him that things are on plan, even if his aim isn't. "Lifeline! We need to go!" He doesn't even know the medic's comm. Sunstreaker picks up the dicebag and rolls its agility against Calliope's dexterity. Sunstreaker's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! The Seeker trips while trying to dodge Sunstreaker's fire, stereotypically clumsy on the ground in the way that better trained (and higher ranked) seekers are usually not, flailing around and ending up directly in the path of the blaster, which knocks him back against the wall, offline. Lifeline heads straight for First Aid, dislodging his arm from the chair and hastily trying to stabilize the mech as best she can with the spare moment she has. Then she physically hefts the smaller (but heavier) form and turns to look at Robustus. "We don't have time to get him back to the repair area here." She steps toward the door to the room they're in, hoping her knees don't start protesting too loudly and calling out in reply to Sideswipe. "We're ready to go. What's the plan?" Robustus looks toward Lifeline then frowns at the declaration from the Bots. He moves to assist her with First Aid, "I can transform and hover him and you out of here, take us toward the tunnels that Shred showed me. It'll lead us away from Polyhex." Sunstreaker snickers at his twin through the bond /Your aim's not improving, Sides!/ and sneer at the downed seeker. They have to head back to where they have come, that was not so hard. A shot had grazed his right shoulder when he didn't ducked fast enough, but that was nothing serious... "Let’s get this going." Cursing to himself in both Kaonian and Iaconish, he hurries to the room holding what he presumes is First Aid. /You got slaggin lucky that time!/ Stepping over the downed seeker in disdain, he looks round and falters in what he was going to say. "Oh, slag..." Then he realizes he's supposed to be the muscle and moves forward. "Might be quicker if you let me carry him. I was hoping he'd be walking out of here, primus." The Cons really turn him to scrap. He hopes Streetwise won't be around on landing to see this. "We need to get back to the wind tunnel before the Jazzman and Co blow this place. Or whatever they're doing." As the main group enters the wind shaft again, sticking close to the mostly-deserted stairwell, Elita One and Jazz appear from the upper levels. Elita's face is set in her customary game face when it comes to mission time, but Jazz's faceplates betray a grin that's more than a little bit smug. Elita One says "Right- let's get to the shuttle bay. We've got 14 kliks befoer those charges go off, and we're going to time our leaving very carefully so the chaos will cover us." Robustus nods to the one twin and lets him take First Aid so he can step into the room and set his own bomb to cover their tracks. He takes the lead to the wind shaft and pauses, spotting the other Autobots. "I'm sorry miss but there's no way that's going to fly. There's a stairwell down to where we need to a tunnel system. It's safer than shooting your way out of here and possibly exposing yourself to further injury." he explains, glancing back at the others, "Just trust me and follow if you want to continue living." Elita One eyes the Decepticon medic suspiciously before glancing around at the rest of her team. A shuttle would be the fastest way home to Iacon, but it was dangerously exposed, too. "Lifeline, what's his status?" She asks about the offline mech. "The tunnels aren' ta direct route by any stretch of the imagination, while we won't have to deal with seekers coming after our afts, it'll add quite a bit to our travel time." Sideswipe and Lineline's strength is the only thing keeping First Aid upright, hanging between them when they finally come to a stop. The red mech isn't exactly smiling anymore, trying not to look at the place where one optic used to be. From here he's happy to carry the smaller bot, knowing Sunstreaker probably wouldn't volunteer incase his paint job got oil on it. Elita 1 might be his commanding officer at that point, but expertise on the area is better than a guesstimate plan. "I say we do that." He's keen on living. Robustus notes to Elita, "Once we are at the tunnels I can transform and hover First Aid toward Iacon quickly enough, the rest of you can follow." Lifeline looks First Aid over at Elita One's question. "Stable but not good. The tunnels may be slower, but I might be able to keep him from slipping further while we travel there. Shuttle..." She shakes her head. "Too chaotic." Sunstreaker was closing the walk, his blue optics darting back and forth for any threat that may arise. He could feel that his twin smugness had vanished, and he himself didn't felt that swell after what he saw. The cons needed to pay for this kind of atrocities... But first they have to get the Pit outta here. "Whatever, you have to choose quickly. "Fine. We'll go with the tunnels." Elita One says decisively. "Robustus, we're following you. Double cross us and you won't live long enough to see the rest of us off lined." Whilst waiting for the others to get moving, he rearranges First Aid so he can carry him easier until Robustus transforms. Chromia was right not to trust this..medic but he's good with anything as long as First Aid gets out of here online, if not awake. Lifeline readjusts her grip on First Aid as well, knowing they have LOTS of stairs to tackle now. "Let's get moving." The party continues down the stairs into the lowest levels of Polyhex. The complex itself looks darker, dirtier, and less well-maintained the deeper they go. Robustus inclines his head and leads the way to the staircase, its short distance from there to outside of Polyhex then to the location of the underground tunnel network. On the way he gets the comm from Shred that all is set. He heaves the entrance open then heads down, "It's all clear." he states then transforms to his alt mode, "Lifeline I'll go as steady as I can so you can monitor First Aid so climb aboard with him." he intones. A few moments after they passed one of the lower level doors, it opens with a quiet hiss, the sounds of an argument. "I'm TIRED Charr, I don’t want to fight again today. I..." Kick-Off pauses, glancing down at the stairs spiraling towards the underground. His optics narrow a moment, one hand going to a painted-over logo on his armor, near his Decepticon one, then he turns and steps back through the door quickly - less than a second had passed. The door shuts on the words "Fine, FINE, but no more calling me 'Kicky baby' or anything like that okay?" Jazz checks his chronometer. "Distraction should be distractin' the Cons upstairs right about.... now." Sure enough, there's a massive rumble, felt throughout the complex, as the floors and walls SHAKE. "We gettin' close? It won't keep 'em up there for long." Lifeline moves to set First Aid gently onto Robustus' alt mode, watching Sideswipe so neither of them jostle the injured mech overmuch. As soon as he's settled she clambers on as well and pulls her med kit to start doing anything she can while they make their escape. Every step Sideswipe has to tell himself to slow down, least he jostle First Aid too much. Having seen off lined mechs in worse states he's not too bothered about, even if that warm feeling running down his shoulder is energon and not just the atmosphere giving him the chills. Carefully as a heavy-handed warrior can be, he sets First Aid down with Lifeline's help onto Robustus' alt. The hallways is mostly empty, although a slumped mech in a guard alcove is evidence that someone has been clearing the way for the party. Sunstreaker Walks a few steps behind his twin and his scowl had deepened. This was too easy... The cons were probably going to come at the worst possible time. /Watch your back Sides. I have a bad feeling.../ He held his gun tighter, and had his optics set behind them, narrowed, scrutinizing. Robustus doesn't feel the rumble but he does sense the vibration and there's certainly going to be Con comm chatter indicating what sort of chaos has ensued. Hopefully his bomb will go off and scatter those used parts all over the room that First Aid had been.. hoping it will be enough to fool someone into thinking the mech offed himself. He waits until both medics are settled and he hovers up off the ground. "Let's get going." he intones, then heads off down the tunnels. "Good luck, Robustus," A distorted female voice says from further up the corridor as they pass into the tunnels and out of Polyhex proper. Another boom, much closer, sounds, hard enough to rattle bits of wall plating loose from the dimly lit tunnel. Sideswipe's look of wonder as the ground beneath him and the whole building around his shook was probably missed. Up front, he felt more confident. More like he was on point, where he wanted to be. /I know, me too. We're not moving quick enough either. At this rate we-/ What the frag?!" Sure enough, there was chaos as a result of the explosions. However, not numbered among those investigating the explosion is Hookshot, who had been sulking, er, skulking through a different portion of the tunnels. All it takes is the sound of echoing voices he is unfamiliar with to cause him to change course, carefully making his way to where the party of Autobots are... until he sees a downed guard. This causes him to slow his progress even more. He really doesn't want to need to be fixed twice in one cycle, so he errs on the side of caution as he heads down a corridor... the very same where a voice had emanated from. Robustus hopes the best for Shred, but this whole situation of her covering their exit still isn't sitting at all well with him. He hovers ahead, whether the Bots transform and catch up to him at this point was up to them. There was no time to waste, First Aid needed to be in Iacon as quickly as possible. Lifeline shows her trust of Robustus and the Autobots around them by flatly drowning out everyone and everything around her, focusing her full concentration on taking care of First Aid. One of the first things she does is hook an energon line into the mech's neck, the other end hooked to her own energon lines. "Don't you /dare/ give up on us now, First Aid." Sunstreaker folded back into his alt-mode to drive down the hallway and keep up with Robustus. Someone had to at least watch his back. Sideswipe was gonna follow, he was sure, or at least he hoped he wasn't stupid enough to hang back. "I'm right behind you..." /Get a move on Sides! This place's getting too hot!/ Right now, Sideswipe's still ticked off he looked like a sparkling in comparison to his brother's moves back there. Other than being the one to carry First Aid out, he didn't feel like he did enough. When no Con's decide to show so he can redeem himself, he transforms and speeds ahead. Even if he did slag all he can still be the one to boost of their success here. /I'll give you 'get a move on', finhelm!/ --- (Time passes) As the group passes the halfway point back to Iacon, Elita One cautiously transmits a single data burst. "Mission successful." Anything longer raises the chances of interception and decryption- but the good news should be reported as soon as safely possible. Robustus drove through the tunnels until they were well clear of Polyhex, going as quickly as he could without disrupting the work that Lifeline was doing in the back of his alt mode. Once out of the tunnels, he headed straight for the Iacon gates and hopes that Bots have cleared his arrival or this was going to be ugly very quickly. Elita One radios ahead to alert Iacon that there were Decepticon transponders incoming- and that they were friendly. Lifeline has for the most part stopped the almost frantic work of earlier, and for the last part of the journey here has simply been sitting still, the energon shunt from her arm into the mech's neck still in place. "How close are we?" she asks Robustus. There's a few moments where it looks like the entrance might not open, but at the last possible astrosecond the doors slide open, allowing Robustus and his passengers into the city. Prowl is standing in the middle of the main roadway, surrounded by a small contingent of guards with their weapons drawn. His door wings are flared out as he almost glares at the incoming mech, waiting for the Decepticon to transform and explain himself. Robustus replies, "Iacon gates straight ahead. I do hope Ratchet is ready for this shock when he sees First Aid." he slows down as he spots the greeting party, "And a whole slew of unhappy looking Autobots." Coming from somewhere deeper in Iacon, Streetwise jogs up, slowing as he approaches from behind the guards, his view blocked entirely. He vents heavily, Tiny thumping up behind him "Tiny, do you see?" he asked, voice anxious and tense. Groove is almost right after Streetwise, though from a different direction; he had been talking with Flashover when the quiet message had come through, and he'd just left the Red Guardian in. He stops dead in his tracks when he spots Prowl and the guards, confusion crossing his expression. NPanaCea hurries out from the repair complex, carrying an emergency kit, although she too stops at the ring of guards with weapons drawn. "Prowl, I understand there were incoming wounded?" She directly addresses the mech in command. Lifeline sighs air out through her vents and calls out loudly enough to hopefully be heard by whomever all is out there. "First Aid needs immediate attention. If you'd like for him to /die/ while you're being all protective out there, then at least let us get him inside first." Robustus slowly hovers toward the Bot medic, "I'll gladly surrender myself if that will get me past you, but this mech needs care immediately and I'm in no mood to be nicer than this.. but the slag out of my way now!" NPanaCea steps past Prowl and the guards and hurries over to where the grey truck former with the Decepticon insignia hovers and climbs up into the bed next to the neutral medic. "Here- what do you need?" She puts the emergency kit- coolant, energon, basic tools, clamps, and graft kits- down next to Lifeline and begins scanning the injured mech for herself. Streetwise’s' optics widen as he hears Lifeline's comment. he nudges Tiny, and then darts sideways - to go around the guards. There, he almost collides with Groove "They have him Groove! " he notes, voice both anxious, excited /and/ grateful. Prowl nods toward Robustus, motioning for two of the guards to assist. "Both of you, help them get First Aid into the repair bay immediately. /You/, however, will remain out here, Decepticon. There is quite a bit of explaining required on your part." He says, mild tone completely at odds with his posture. Groove is staring at the grey truck with wide optics, barely even noticing Streetwise. "...I-is he alive?" He asks, hesitantly stepping forward. "Please please /please/ tell me he's still alive." His voice has a slightly hysterical edge to it, and he's obviously on the verge of panic. Robustus revs his engine, "You can talk to me IN the medical bay. I can help Lifeline with First Aid. He'd want me there." he reports with a edge to his tone, "Now let me pass." He continues to hover along, intent on pushing past the Bots with his party of three aboard. Lifeline nods to NPanaCea as she clambers onto the truck bed and gestures to the kit. "He's still got some leaks I couldn't entirely reach, but he needs the coolant immediately, and a new energon shunt." She reaches to help, but only with the hand that's not got an energon shunt already in place. "Robustus, wait here a moment, please." Streetwise glances to his brother, his mind falling for a moment as he tries to think of how to reassure Groove during this rather serious moment, at a loss now as he stood there, waiting for them to figure out who was going into where. Why did medics always have to be so damn difficult about doing things 'personally'. Tiny walks up behind Streetwise and Groove. He peers down at the motorcycle bot "Kid, calm down man. Dey just said he was alive, but really hurt. Snap outta it." he notes, reaching down to snap fingers in front of his eyes. NPanaCea hands Lifeline a bag and transfusion kit to add more energon to the mech's systems, and begins injecting coolant into a line in his neck. "Absolutely not. Proceed and we will open fire." Prowl snaps, door wings hitching up even higher. "Our discussion will happen out here. The Autobot medics are more than capable of treating First Aid." Both the guards from before carefully approach Robustus, stepping around to the bed and waiting to be needed for moving the other mech. Robustus comes to a halt at Lifeline's bequest, hovering in place then powering down to settle in place. "Fine. I'm here because I knew he didn't belong in Polyhex. Neither did Lifeline. I knew the way out that was safe and didn't expose us to seeker patrols. Need to know anything else?" Groove jerks in surprise at the snap, looking over at Tiny for a moment before returning his stare to Robustus. "I can't feel him. If he's alive, why can't I feel him?" Lifeline is again missing what's going on around her as her focus has narrowed to First Aid and NPanaCea. She takes the transfusion kit and with a tiny bit of fumbling manages to move the shunt line from her arm to the energon brought by the Autobot medic. With that done and her arm freed of the relatively short tether, she pulls her med kit from where it's slowly meandered along Robustus' truck bed during the journey and pulls a few hand tools to get the remaining energon and coolant leaks she missed earlier. "Come on, 'Aid. Wake up for us now, I can hear your siblings over there getting all panicky." Streetwise finally moves to put a hand on Grooves' shoulder, although he steeled himself mentally in anticipation - still working out how this connection works "He IS Groove! Listen! He is!" he repeats to Groove, hand squeezing his shoulder anxiously, turning to focus past Robustus as he moves forwards "Can we see him now?" he asks, concern split between Groove and First Aid. First Aid 's vocalizer clicks and emits static as his systems begin to cool back to within their tolerances with the addition of more coolant and patching the leaks, and he twitches, but his remaining optic stays dark and shuttered. The ragged edge to his engine's noise settles back into a more usual pattern, and his fans crank down from the high-speed whine they had been making. Prowl frowns at Robustus, crossing his arms just under his bumper. "That is not a full explanation. You are lucky we have not already taken you into custody- I would suggest complying with all further requests without argument if you wish it to remain that way." Robustus accesses his subspace and somehow brings out what the two medics in his bed will need. More energon and coolant plus some lines and nanite tape. "Remain where you are please, it's crowded enough as it is without you trying to see him young one." he intones softly to Streetwise and Groove, "But do keep your mental contact with him, it will help keep him here with us." Then toward Prowl he states, "I risked my life for these two. My fellow medic Shred has too. You tell me what you want to know, I'll tell you." NPanaCea shakes her head at the results of the scan. "We can't treat him out here." She looks over at Prowl. "Prowl, I don't have the authority to give you orders, but we need to get this mech into the repair bay cycles ago." Her tone is urgent. Lifeline takes the supplies as Robustus offers them, doing what she can to ready First Aid for the last bit of his journey home. "Okay, I think that's the best we can do out here." She finally looks around and sees the two guards standing by to carry the injured mech in. "You two so much as jostle one wire out of place and I WILL find you." She climbs off of Robustus' truck bed and out of their way. Both guards nod, though they don't look too worried about the threat. Maneuvering around NPanaCea, they carefully grab hold of First Aid and heave him off Robustus' bed, holding him between them. "Ready when you are, ma'am." One says. Prowl tilts his helm forward slightly, optics still narrowed slightly in suspicion. "And we thank you for that openness. However, we still cannot trust you at the moment." Robustus transforms once First Aid, Lifeline, and the other medic are off his bed and safely out of the way. He offers Prowl his wrists, "Then take me in, but I wish to ask that I'm allowed to watch over things in regards to First Aid. I want to know that he pulls through. Please." First Aid emits a staticky groan as he's jostled and picked up by someone he can't see. His optic blinks dimly a few times before unshuttering as he comes online with a shudder and another mumbled, staticky word from his vocalizer as he tries to make sense of his surroundings. Streetwise nods at Robustus, but inferring how serious the condition was, his engine started to churn faster itself. He vents heavily as he stood beside Groove now, watching. No, he wasn't going to go now. No he wasn’t no... Groove AND First Aid needed him. Nobody ever needed him like this before. He bit down tightly, closing off his main oral refueling line stubbornly as he remained quiet, not daring to say a word lest he lose it, instead being there for his brothers. Groove's vents sputter for a moment as he sees First Aid come out of the Decepticon's bed and he steps forward without really thinking. "Aid!" He calls out, barely resisting the urge to just go ahead and run toward his brother. He needs to stay back, he needs to stay back, he needs to stay back... NPanacCea directs the two mechs carrying First Aid on into the repair complex. She glances at the two Protectobots looking so anxious. "You two may come along, if you stay out of the way." Prowl considers Robustus carefully, allowing his arms to settle back at his sides. "...Very well. You will be kept informed of his status. I cannot, however, allow you to be involved in or oversee repairs. Autobot medical staff will have exclusive privileges to those." Robustus frowns to this information. "Not acceptable." "You are not in any position to argue." Prowl points out flatly, one door wing twitching in irritation. "That is the most I am willing to offer." Lifeline says, "Robustus..." She looks at Prowl briefly then turns back to the medic. "Look at it from his point of view. Would you trust Jazz to just walk into Polyhex and start acting like he belongs there?" Groove looks at NPanaCea and nods almost frantically, grabbing Streetwise's hand and pulling him toward the medic. "Please, ma'am. I swear to Primus we won't be in the way, we just need to be with him." NPanaCea nods and gestures for them to follow the guards carrying First Aid. Robustus says, "Considering I allowed you to be in Polyhex Medical Bay and didn't expect you to be fooling everyone with your act.. how do you expect me to answer that?" then crossing his arms over his chest, "You go.. tend to the youngling. I'll deal with door wings here."" Lifeline frowns at Robustus. "No. He's in good hands with NPanaCea and Ratchet." She looks at Prowl in an almost challenging manner. "I'm not an Autobot either, remember?" Prowl frowns, holding out one hand to still the guards as they started to step forward. "Given your assistance in First Aid's extraction, Decepticon, I will give you one last chance to agree to these terms. If you do not, I will assume this to be a non-violent surrender and you /will/ be imprisoned in our brig pending further decision. Do I make myself clear?" He glances over at Lifeline, frown deepening a bit. "No, you are not. You are not, however, a Decepticon, and you have proven yourself trustworthy in the past. Red Alert would like you to report to the security station for scanning immediately." Robustus frowns at Prowl and huffs out a harsh vent. "Fine. But I do not like it and I /will/ have word will your superior officer about this if /anything/ happens to that young medic in there that Ratchet wasn't prepared to deal with and I'm sure there will be considering who had they hands on and in him." "I will let Optimus know that a Decepticon prisoner is displeased with our hospitality. I am certain he will be spark broken, considering what has happened to the mech you brought to us." Prowl answers flatly, door wings twitching slightly. "Your opinion of our medical staff has been noted." Robustus narrows his optics at Prowl, "I didn't state my opinion of your medical staff and you know it, now take me to your brig and let's be done with this." Lifeline sighs air out through her vents, starting to lack of energon in her systems after playing IV transfusion source for First Aid all the way back from Polyhex. She's pretty much just waiting for this face-off to finish at this point. Prowl narrows his optics slightly. "Very well. You two, escort him to the prison." The guards at his sides nod in unison, stepping forward to grasp Robustus' arms with obvious mistrust. The second-in-command turns his attention to Lifeline then, once the situation is mostly handled. "Lifeline. Thank you for your assistance. I will escort you to the security station, and from there you are welcome to go anywhere within Iacon, within reason." Robustus allows the two to take his arms and he walks with them towards the prison. Lifeline nods to Prowl, watching the guards starting to lead Robustus away. "Oh, when do you want the, um..." "We will get to that momentarily, in somewhere more secure." Prowl says quietly, watching the Decepticon be led away before motioning for Lifeline to follow after him. "My apologies for the delay. I was not expecting the... Company you returned with." Lifeline moves to follow, her steps a bit on the slow side. "Well, seeing as he's earned my trust in the past and was basically throwing his own life away to help us.... how could I tell him to stay behind?" Prowl remains silent, mulling over the question. "I cannot give you a satisfactory answer to such a question, Lifeline. That is something you will have to answer yourself." He responds finally, not looking back at her as he speaks. Lifeline just keeps following. "I already answered it. I couldn't leave him behind. And that's why he's here." Prowl chuckles softly at that, glancing over his shoulder at Lifeline with a hint of an amused smiled. "Perhaps you are more like an Autobot than you know, Lifeline." Lifeline hmphs indelicately at that. "The day I'm an Autobot is the day we'll see Sunshine intentionally throw himself into a mudpit." Prowl turns his gaze back to the front, sending a quick databurst to Red Alert to catch him up with the recent events. "There are circumstances where I believe Sunstreaker would do so without hesitation. And I did not say you were becoming an Autobot; simply that you are more similar to us then you perhaps wish to acknowledge." Lifeline says, "Maybe, but I'll deny it to my dying day just to be contrary." "Of course." Prowl agrees mildly, one doorwing twitching slightly as Red Alert responds. "Perhaps I should warn you- Red Alert tends to be incredibly... /Enthusiastic/ about his work." Lifeline snorts air out through her vents. "He can't be /that/ bad." Prowl actually stops at that, turning partially to face Lifeline. "...I will allow you to judge for yourself. We are almost to the security center."
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)