| abstract
| - NCC Spaceport Very large and flat, like the NCC spaceport always has been, there remains the room for spaceships and aircraft of all shapes and sizes to land and take off, whether they're equipped with VTOL or not. The large hangers, warehouses for incoming supplies, and maintenance stations are still there, although now they seem to mostly exist on the northwest edge of the area. Where once the runways were silver Cybertronian, an impurity has been added to give the whole area a frost-blue tint. Also new are the rows of sharp, jagged, upward pointing structures to the north and south that crowd together enough to make passage difficult without flight. Beyond the southern border that these provide is the sparkling ocean, and far behind the north edge, the distant peak of Mount R'Lyeh can be spied. Past the hangers and warehouses is the raised structure of the Command Center, set atop a maze of metallic supports that appear to the eye no sturdier than dandelion fluff, but in fact are more than sufficient to serve as support for the Empire's commanders while at the same time cushioning it from the vibrations caused by the activities of the spaceport. Several passages wind their way beneath the Command Center, allowing individuals access to the Spinal Pathway without having to first pass through the nerve center of the city. Coldwar walks into the massive New Crystal City spaceport with both hands on his rifle, holding it with the barrel tilted toward the ground but at the ready none the less. The usual time he takes to assess the situation that he is walking into is skipped this time, as instead he appears bound for a particular objective as he makes way to one of the nearby computer terminals. A few keys are tapped, and a login window opens to accept his clearance before the Decepticon logo quickly flashes and then a list of names quickly appears- Windshear, Hinder, and Sixshot among them. Windshear is in there doing a flight report on the conquest II he brought back in from Torqulon the other night. It had honestly slipped his mind to do it that night. He notices Coldwar walk in and gives a nod, "Coldwar." he rumbles and turns back to his computer console and the report. Coldwar takes another moment to complete his perusal of the list of names listed on the terminal screen, and then turns to look at Windshear. A curt nod is offered the Seeker, though with Windshear's back to him the gesture goes completely without merit, ushering him to speak. "Air Warrior," he greets the other Decepticon before tapping the logout key on his console so that he might give the Seeker his full attention. "Are you up to date with current Imperial Message updates?" Windshear pauses and looks ovet at him. "Sure.." he says in a tone as blank as the look on his face right now. >_> The seeker turns back around and quickly brings up Imperial message updagtes on the computer... "Copy that, Air Warrior- then I am free to assume that you are aware of the mission that I am attempting to accomplish concerning the world of Femax. I will need reliable soldiers for this task..." Coldwar says, trailing a bit as he notices the Seeker turning his back to look up said Imperial updates. Being both an Officer AND a Gentlemech Coldwar finds himself allotting the Seeker enough time to quickly read up on the situation. Hinder is lounging curled up on the open ramp of the Conquest. She idly watches Windshear composing a report and Coldwar making small talk. Then all of a sudden she twitches and nibbles at her stomach as if something itches. Can ferretcons get fleas? !syscheck Windshear is quickly trying to find the report in question and starts reading it at mach speed as Colwar speaks, 'Yes you are free to, sir." he says and shifts his wings a bit hoping to hide what hes doing. Shortly the report is read and imaged in his databanks andhe turns to face Coldwar, "I offer myself as reliable as I can be." Yes... Cyberfleas. But luckily for Hinder they're nothing a quick acid bath can't cure. Coldwar notices the ferretcon out of the corner of his optics, but for the moment he makes sure to focus his attention back onto Windshear. "Good, Air Warrior. It is my intention to make you the 'tip of the sword' so to speak. I will task you with leading a party preferrably made up of Seekers to eliminate the satellites that assist communications to and from Femax. With the world out of contact with the rest of the known universe it will be much easier to carry out the rest of our mission without notifying any would-be interference from enemy alliances." Coldwar looks to Hinder as soon as he's finished speaking, and nods again to the Ferretcon. "Agent Hinder, Ten-hut!" the Pointman beckons. Windshear listens to Coldwar intently then nods, "Yes, sir." he says and then glances at Hinder waiing to see her responce to the command Coldwar just gave her. Backfire has arrived. Hinder is chewing at her stomach, but startles and hops-to when Coldwar barks a strange word at her. She stands to approach the mech, and a tiny object falls and clatters into the grating of the shuttle's ramp as she bounds over. "What does 'tenhut' mean?" "It is a term that means 'come to attention', Agent Hinder," Coldwar replies. "At ease, Agent Hinder," he says, just as quickly calling for the casette to relax her stance now that her attention has been gained. "I would like you to take a message to Lord Soundwave, a request if you will. I have need of a scouting party that will not draw much attention, a task that your specialized group is particularly well suited for," the Soldier offers as he stands conversing with the Seeker and the Cassette. Backfire saunters into the NCC Spaceport, overrsized cell phone in one hand and the other scrolling through a data-pad. "NonononoNO! You tell those despicable invalids at Lex Corp that the Backfire, nay. That the EMPIRE demands they supply us with the needed munitions ... or we shall liberate them from your storehouses ourselves. The first option saving you the repair bill!!" he shouts into the phone, coming to a halt and tapping his foot impatiently on the floor. Still listening to the other end, "Yes.. I see.. Oh really.. Wait.. NO, he didn't!" Longer still he listens to the person on the line, until finally reacting in a violent behaivor. "No, I ... BACKFIRE, glory of the EMPIRE refuse to be put on hold!!" he growls, throwing it to the ground and stomping up and down on it. Then the Seeker simpleton realizes he's in a room full of people, and looks around. "Oh, greetings comrades!" Windshear looks from Hinder to Bsckfire and just stares at him for a long moment. Then turning back around he puts the final keystroke on the flight report from the other night and hits 'enter'. Shutting the machine off after the report is filed he straightens back up to stand quietly by Coldwar. Hinder is just standing there looking up at Coldwar, her posture completely unchanged from usual and remaining unchanged when he tells her 'at ease'. "What does 'at ease' mean?" Backfire laughs, "Who called you a tease, Hinder?" Hinder turns to look at Backfire. "Coldwar." Backfire says, "Really?" Hinder says, "No. He said 'at ease', not 'a tease'." Glancing over his shoulder, the commotion brought by Backfire's entrance into the spaceport was a bit too much for him to simply ignore and Coldwar fixes the Seeker with a steel gaze. "...Some people, huh?" he muses in an even tone that betrays very little of the humor that the comment was meant to imply. "At ease, Agent Hinder..." Coldwar begins again, returning his gaze to the Ferretcon, "means that you may relax your posture. Now, may I count on you to deliver this message, Agent?" Again, Coldwar casts a glance back at Backfire to clarify, "At. Ease. Lackey, and welcome..." he greets and then looks again to Windshear. "The Lackey here is highly recommended for your team, Air Warrior. However the details are yours to hash." Backfire intercepts the death glare dagger rays from Windshear, and looks actually ... quite hurt. Saunter gone from his step, he quietly pads over to the Seeker and attempts to throw an arm around his shoulder. "Hey buddy pal 'o mine, what's the malfunction?" Looking to Coldwar, his gloom disappears. "Did you say something about a mission??" Slugfest has arrived. Windshear steps to the side to the arm misses the shoulder and just regards him cooly, "Perhaps you should ask yourself the same question." he rasps in a low strangled tone. Backfire points a finger at Windshear, "Oh you. Yes you. You wittle ball of happiness!" he over exaggerates in a cute voice, as if he were talking to a puppy dog or baby. Straightening up, "No, seriously comrade. Did I miss something?" Coldwar looks between Backfire and Windshear for a moment, sensing that the two have a few issues to work out. Still, the Soldier nods curtly to Backfire, "Yes. The Air Warrior here has the details," he explains with a brief glance to Windshear followed by his short range departure to stand a bit closer to Hinder from whom he awaits a response to his inquiry. Windshear gives Backfire a deadpan stare at the 'ball of happiness' comment and then his left wing twitches at the 'something' "You should pay more attention to how you suck up to rank and file, and the backs you go across to get there, Backfire." He rasps finally and then after a beat he continues, "I have been assigned as Squad leader for an exploritory mission under Coldwars command. I need several Seekers for an aireal deployment to remove some communication sattilites on the planet we will be heading to soon. IF you are not otherwise commited to another mission you just got volunteered for this one." "Oh, that?" Backfire exclaims, adding in a bit of emphasis for theatrics. Stance relaxing, he stands back on one foot and distributes the excess weight to his hip. "Comrade, that's water over the uhh... or is it bridge too far under the uhh... Nonono, that's cooling oil flows down the uhh..." he stammers, trying to search for the terran phrase. "OKAY, so I forgot -the- phrase, but it means the ONE THINGIE goes under the OTHER THINGIE ... and you forgive me!!" The Seeker simpleton shouts. Calming himself down, Backfire clears his throat. "AHEM. So, yeah. I accept your apology, comrade... and the mission." Hinder watches Windshear and Backfire for a fascinated moment, then finally looks back up at Coldwar again, all innocent ignorance. Windshear's optics flare red and the corner of his mouth twists into a sneer, "I am not the one who needs to apologize when it was your mouth that went into overload!" Slugfest shuffles in, poking around aimlessly. Seems the little stego-chainsaw on legs is bored and wanders over to where Hinder is. Coldwar looks down to Hinder, and is silent for several nano-cycles as he awaits the Ferretcon's response. When it doesn't come the Soldier clears his vocalizer. "Agent Hinder... I will take your silence as acceptance of the request that I have made. Please inform me of Lord Soundwave's response with due haste, Agent." That said the Pointman nods curtly to Hinder and then returns his gaze to Backfire when he's addressed just in time to notice Slugfest meandering into the area. "A planet known as Femax, the mission- slave roundup," he explains briefly before nodding to the robo-stegosaurus. "Soldier," he hails in greeting. Hinder says, "Oh. Okay." She then turns and spots Slugfest, arched-back hop-jogging over to him. "Hihi." Windshear stands there for a moment completely torn between keeping at least some semblance of control and decorom from the temporary responsibility hes been given just now by the commanding officer of this mission, and just wiping the dock up with the Seekers wings. His left hand twitches a bit as he fights off the urge to ball it up and extend a blade. "We... will discuss this later." he rasps in a very controled tone and then gives a slight nod toward Coldwar, "Listen to what he just said and that is the purpose of our mission -- to make sure that one is a success. Dont foul it up..." and he lets the sentence hang there in an unspoken threat. "Who, me? Rest assured Windshear, my presence will only guarantee the mission." Backfire states, with all seriousness. Windshear turns his anger into a cold smirk, "I will make sure you do." Again, Coldwar's attention is torn between the two Seekers within the spaceport. The tension on Windshear's part doesn't seem to sit terribly well with him, as in the end his red optics find themselves glued to the Air Warrior. "I must insist, Air Warrior that you remember the importance of this mission. I will personally be held responsible for any failure on the part of our taskforce to deliver results, which means that your role as Squadron Leader is of the uptmost importance. I am trusting you, Air Warrior and as such the Empire is trusting you to deliver." Did he just say, the EMPIRE?!?! Saluting Coldwar, which he doesn't do often enough, Backfire shouts. "For duty, for glory, for ... THE EMPIRE! All Hail Galvatron!" "Hindy! What doing?" Slugfest wonders. When Backfire shouts, the little Stego-tape reflexively hops on all fours and yells, "Hail, Galvtron!" Coldwar snaps quickly to an attentive stance and promptly returns Backfire's salute. "All Hail Galvatron." Windshear glances at Coldwar and vents some air from his intakes in an effort to chill so to speak. Coldwar may think it all rests on him but Windshear feels if he screws up his end its going to look bad for him and the Seekers he takes with him more then for Coldwar. Hes determined not to let that happen. He nods, "I understand, Coldwar." and then he watches Backfire get all Empire patriotic. Hinder says, "I have a message for Soundwave, Sluggy." Then she startles and skitters briefly to one side when Backfire bellows and the steggy replies equally loudly. She doesn't follow the 'wave' of hollering, and can't help but ask, "Why yelling, Sluggy?" Coldwar nods curtly to Windshear. "Very good, Air Warrior. I would like a list of the Seekers that you will be conscripting for the mission in a timely fashion. I will allow you ample time however to meet with and speak to those that are less watchful of Imperial updates." Coldwar's gaze slides over to Backfire in the next instant, and another nod is offered to the Seeker. "Lackey, your devotion to the Empire is not without notice. I am hereby placing you into the role of second in command of the Air Warrior's mission. You will lead Second Squad, codename to be determined." "No know, them just say 'hail Galvatron' so me say it too," Slugfest says to Hinder, "Message? What message?" If he could, Windy would be rolling his optics about now. His gaze shifts to Backfire and he just vents more air out of intakes like a sigh. "I will have that list for you shortly, sir." he says and tries to fight off the horrid possible images of Backfire as his second for this temporary command. Hinder ohs softly at Slugfest, then repeats Coldwar's request for the Steggy. "I have need of a scouting party that will not draw much attention, a task that your specialized group is particularly well suited for." It's actually an exact audio recording of the Decepticon, so it sounds very odd coming from her mouth. Backfire blankly stares at Coldwar, slowly lowering his salute. "I'm sorry comrade, did you say... leader of Second Squad?" he mutters, in broken fragile sentences and words. Head grows dizzy, slowly starting to rotate before it drops backwards. Following the top, the rest of the body goes limp and plummets to the ground with a *THUNK*! "Hrm.. empire.. lovely.. empire." Backfire mumbles, in some sort of mid-rest dream sequence. Only a couple of astroseconds, and barely audible at that. The bright red of his optics slowly return, flickering a couple of times before registering full online capacity. "Oh, my apologies comrades. I've just had the strangest... imaginary picture show in my head, during that last sudden rest cycle. Haha, in it ... comrade Coldwar put me in command of a mission!" Slugfest peeks into Hinder's mouth. "How Coldwar get in there?" he wonders. Windshear splutters and suddenly burst out laughing when Backfire hits the floor. That just made his cycle and its a few moments before his genuine amusement fades. But the image won’t as he commits it to his data banks for future hilarity. Coldwar looks toward Hinder as he hears his own voice repeated through her vocalizer, and the Soldier nods toward the lumbering Stegosaurus-mini. "Indeed, and I hope that your particular collection of talents will be able to aide in the success of our mission, Soldier." That's when Backfire speaks up, and Coldwar returns the Lackey's gaze and opens his mouth to speak just as Backfire lands on the deck. "Ah... Yes, Lackey that's ri-" he begins only to pause for another moment when the other speaks again this time from the ground. "...Because I did, Lackey. Stay frosty now, success is dependent upon your contributions, and clear processor." Hinder smacks her mouth a few times after the recording ends, and doens't explain to Slugfest how his voice came from her. "You come too, Sluggy?" For a minute there, Slugfest is confused. "Me no can fit in there," he says, completely misunderstanding what Hinder is asking. Hinder says, "Nono, SLuggy, you go with me and Coldey to mission thing?" Backfire jumps up to attention and slaps himself silly with a salute. "Aggh, blast. Err, sir yes sir!!" Slugfest brightens as he finally understands. "Oh yes, me come!" he says, wagging his tail back and forth and possibly whapping it against someone's ankle. Sixshot walks into the room, sees the lot from the other night, andgrunts to himself, then wanders over to a crate and starts digging through it, every so often pulling something out to examine it. The contents seem to be retrothrusters of some sort. "Gah! Earth junk." he says, smacking the crate. He goes up to another, this one in a stack of similar carates, and pries open the top. Windshear clears his voice synth after laughing and then notices Sixshot walk in and start rummaging through a crate. He gives a side look at Backfire, back to Sixshot and then turns back to the computer terminal. "On your own now.. 2nd." he mutters to himself and starts pulling up Seeker names and schedules. Coldwar grins; something that doesn't come often nor easy to him as even as he stresses his mouth to do so the very best it manages to do is look slightly more neutral. "Very good, soldiers. Very good," he tells the two Seekers, and then looks to the pair of Soundwave's personal taskforce as if to extend his approval to them as well. That's when he notices Sixshot enter the spaceport and begin to sift through the crates rather noisily. "Lieutenant," he says in greeting to the larger Decepticon. "May we help you locate something?" Quickly then, Coldwar returns Backfire's salute with haste before returning his gaze to the newcomer. Hinder turns and looks curiously at Sixshot. He's the one that was mean to the sharkycon. But she doesn't hold grudges; it's just a way of identifying him. "Soundwave be there too?" Slugfest asks Hinder. The little stegosaurus tape's back plates start vibrating just a little bit. Hinder turns back to Slugfest. "Be where?" "Where Coldy going," Slugfest says to Hinder. "Me can be chainsaw?" Hinder ohs, then looks toward Coldwar. "Soundwave going too?" she asks of the mech. Upon hearing Coldwar's voice, Sixshot stops his rummaging, then bangs the lid back on the crate, bending a little with his hands against the crate lid. He sighs, then slowly turns around, obviously reluctant to deal with this group. "I need an F-model retrothruster." he says, crossing his arms. "Scavenger said they'd be out here. I don't see them anywhere!" Sixshot being the focus of his attention for the moment it takes Coldwar a few more to realize that he is being spoken to, and he casts a brief glance toward Hinder and Slugfest. "Intelligence Lord Soundwave is not currently needed on the ground with the rest of us grunts, however I would not deny him the right to join our taskforce if he so desires." The sound of the lid banging back onto the crate causes the Soldier to quickly snap his head back toward Sixshot. "An F-model retrothruster, Lieutenant..? I believe I witnessed such an item within the manifest on a shuttle bound for Cybertron earlier this cycle. You will not find what you are looking for within any of these crates here on Earth..." Backfire just stands back near Coldwar and Windshear for now, rubbing at his chin and thinking of the faulty barstool. "So, when do we start comrades?" he inquires about the mission at hand. Windshear seems to pointedly ignore whats going on behind him as he continues to scroll the information on the screen that he needs. Coldwar casts a glance at Backfire and then gesticulates with a cant of his head toward Windshear. "Air Warrior Windshear will fill you in on the details. We begin immediately...with recruiting for the operations phases. Perhaps you may converse with him over the logistics of the operation, including recommendations for squad slots. Information on planet Femax is within the planetary archives," he explains before looking to Sixshot once more. Sixshot's head sinks a little on his neck, and his arms slide slowly to his sides. "What! That slagging...he did this on purpose! We'll see next time when Devastator needs backup if I....gah!" he says, and kicks the crate, the contents rattle inside. He approaches the group with a few steps, still keeping his distance, lowering his arms to his sides, though still out in a slightly aggressive position. "Very...very well. Tell me when it left." Hinder watches the conversation, her head pinging back and forth. She opens her mouth to offer to search for the part, but the conversation moves faster than she can interject her offer. If it's moving too quickly for Hinder, it's moving at light speed for Slugfest. The conversation. "Approximately 2300 hours, nearly two standard Earth hours ago, Lieutenant. The item that you seek will likely be unloaded from the shuttle in Polyhex at approximately 0900 hours, pending its passage through customs," Coldwar replies to Sixshot. Sixshot looks toward an empty console, then gives a nod to Coldwar - it's not a 'thanks', but it's more consideration than most get from him, anyway. He walks over, sits down, pulls up the Cybertron map and begins punching in coordinates. He pulls up the shuttle schedule, which strikes you as unusual, as he normally flies alone in his starfighter mode. Backfire is though, over enthused at being in command of -anything-. "For the EMPIRE, I ... BACKFIRE shall gloriously serve my created purpose!!" So enthused is he, that he runs around the entire room trying to give everyone hi-fives. Suddenly stopping near Sixshot, he reconsiders. "Ahh, maybe not." Coldwar nods back at Sixshot, "Your welcome, Lieutenant. Good luck." Turning then, the Soldier fixes his gaze onto Windshear who is off like a good soldier looking over the names of his fellow Seekers and other operatives. "Air Warrior, Straxspeed," he tells the Seeker before nodding to the other, Backfire though he does not quite lift his hand for the high-five... "Straxspeed to you as well, Lackey." Then Coldwar begins to take his leave, walking toward Hinder and Slugfest with the intention of passing them by. "I look forward to hearing Lord Soundwave's verdict, Agent Hinder. Soldier," he adds the second part with Slugfest in his sights. "Good cycle," is the last thing Coldwar has to say before moving on to his next objective of the evening. Windshear suddenly gets hit across the back with a hand and looks back quickly so see wahts going on. He watches Backfire running around high fiving everyone and then stop cold at Sixshot. He just watches for a moment before he resettles his wings and turns back to the computer. Then he hears Coldwar, "Thank you, sir." he says. Hinder yelps in surprise as she's knocked over by Backfire's surprise five across her backside. She gets to her feet quickly enough, but looks a little spooked by it. She skitters toward the relative cover of the Conquest II shuttle, not wanting to let the crazy mech get a another swipe at her. Slugfest gets highfived, but in quite the wrong place. His back-plates are spiky, and though the attempted maneuver rattles Slugfest's plates, he jumps about six inches off the ground in surprise. Sixshot stands up and eyes Backfire, giving him a "yes, go ahead and try it" look as the seeker stands there halted in front of the six-changer with his hand out. He then turns and walks over to the shuttle platform, and as the shuttle lands, he gives the group one last look before he steps in and the door closes behind him.
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