| abstract
| - Florida Florida is much more than just beaches and palm trees. Historical sites, lush forests, collections of fine art, professional sports and attractions ranging from large theme parks to small zoos and museums are just the beginning in this ethnically diverse state. Nevertheless, the ocean is never more than 50 miles away, either the jewel-green waters and sugar-white beaches of the Gulf of Mexico to the west, or the golden beaches and rolling waves of the blue Atlantic to the east. Unfortunately, water, water everywhere also makes Florida the state most subject to being hit by hurricanes. Tourism is the leading industry, followed by agriculture (such as oranges and other citrus fruits) and the manufacturing of electrical, electronic, and transportation equipment. Exo-Armor Talon is out and about, doing recon for once. In truth, he's attempting to track down a missing computer core from a shuttle, the only lead being that humans took it, and that it has to do with a black market auction. After a day of dead ends, Spike pauses to hover about a hundred feet over the outskirts of some backwater town, and debates on heading back. Tremor is relatively certain that he's been sent to this state on a fool's errand, and feels relatively stupid about having agreed to it. He has come to Florida on orders to capture armadillos - which he has been assured are round mechanoid creatures known for the fantastic eyesight and their invaluable ability to sniff out energon truffles. The mechs at NCC must be having quite a laugh about him now...as commanded, he's been making regular reports. What a hunk of soft metal he must seem. He has been slogging through swampland almost all cycle and has yet to find any mechanical animals at all. Frustrated, he is in the air on his way back to the west coast when he sees Spike. An Autobot allied human! Surely, if there are armadillos to be found, this fleshy would know where to find them. He approaches, pointing, and amplifies his voice so that it booms out like an air raid siren. "YOU! Walkin bacteria colony! Come here! Gotta favor ta ask, yeah?" Exo-Armor Talon is just about to turn and dart off when Tremor calls him out. He instantly whirls and trains his machine gun mounted arm upon the familiar soil compactor. "You! What are your intentions here, where are your buddies, huh?" he demands, rather than questions, tilting the single-optic'ed helm to peer around for others. "I'M askin tha questions, meatbag." Tremor continues his advance, showing no fear, as is his way. He looks at Spike's machine gun and laughs. "You know why I'm here! Armadillos. You got 'em, and we WAN' 'em!" If Spike's concerned that there might be more Decepticons accompanying Tremor, Trem's not going to dispel that fear. "I suhjest you tell me what I wanna know, unless you wanna make medical history." It takes Spike a good moment to register what Tremor had just inquired about. "Arma'... armadillos? The 'cons are after Dasypodidae now? Jeez... well forget it, you have no business here, beat it before I make Swiss cheese out of that drum of yours," he threatens, descending towards Tremor. "We don't gotta do this the hard way, skinbag," Trem smirks, "but I gotta say...I prefer it that way!" He increases his rate of ascent abruptly, one fist cocked back as he charges forward. "Hope that skin a yours 's stronger 'n last time!" Combat: Tremor strikes Exo-Armor Talon with his Vegeta Style! Exo-Armor Talon apparently fails to block in time, getting a nice big mech-fist punch to the abdomen. He buckles midair, jarred from the blow, but far from finished! "Alright then," Spike grates through the speakers, pitching forward to drive a metallic fist into the mech's chin. If he could help it, he was going to stay airborn in hopes of avoiding being /flattened/ again. Combat: Exo-Armor Talon misses Tremor with its Punch attack! Tremor has definitely faced more intimidating foes than this - a human germ playing in mech's clothing. He rolls right to avoid Spike's attack fairly easily. He won't admit to himself that he is /surprised/ at Spike's speed. "Somebody need ta put you in yer place, fleshy!" He surges forward again in the hopes of bringing his fist down on Spike's monocular helmetpiece. "Hand over those Daisy potty days!" Combat: Tremor misses Exo-Armor Talon with his KLANG (Punch) attack! Exo-Armor Talon arches backwards to avoid what he was sure would be a nasty blow to the end. "Daisy... oh. Does it look like I have any on me, dimwit?" He extends the suits arms to show that he doesn't, in fact, have any armadillos on him. Then an arm swivels to fire a barrage of high-powered bullets at the Decepticon. Whether they were armor piercing or not depending on the quality of Tremor's armor. And if they even HIT Combat: Exo-Armor Talon strikes Tremor with its Medium Machine Gun attack! Clearly, underestimating humans in combat is a serious flaw of Tremor's. He's pulling back for another blow to Spike's head region when Spike surprises him with a burst of machine gun fire! The bullets tear into him, leaving holes in his treads as he tries to get his hand up to protect his face. More neat holes appear across his chest in uneven lines. "You scrapworm!" Trem fumes, embarrassed more than anything. "I'll bury you!" He activates his antigravs on their highest propulsion setting and tries to tackle Spike out of the air! Combat: Tremor strikes Exo-Armor Talon with his Spear! (Grab) attack! Exo-Armor Talon gets grappled midair! Before he can gather himself, he's pinned on the marshy ground with a very pissed off visor bearing down on him. Off the ground, off the ground! Spike tries to squirm away, lifting a knee to hopefully nail Tremor in his robotic gut. "Get OFF!" He was beginning to truly, deeply hate this mech. Combat: Exo-Armor Talon misses Tremor with its Kick attack! Tremor absorbs the blow to his abdomen with what he considers aplomb, despite the fact that it hurts quite a bit. He smirks wickedly down at Spike, pushing the human into the mud, and doesn't let pain show on his face. "I ripped bigger bugs th'n you limb fr'm limb," he growls, "If yer not gonna tell me where those armywhat'sits are, maybe I'll see if you still have s'much fight in ya if yer missin a piece." He begins to yank on Spike's arm, trying to force him to squeal about the armadillos. Combat: Tremor takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Exo-Armor Talon truly can't squeal about armadillos! Normally they'd be around this type of area, as far as he knew. Perhaps Tremor just isn't looking hard enough - that and they're incredibly shy, so giant tromping mech feet would likely frighten them off. Spike's actual arms are, thankfully, not connected to any pain receptors, but being one limb down isn't any way to fight a Decepticon. It's now that the exo thrashes in earnest, grasping at a tree root to try and pull himself away. If he suceeds, though, he will indeed be missing an arm. Combat: Exo-Armor Talon strikes Tremor with its Get your paws off me you damn dirty compactor! (Grab) attack! Tremor holds tight as Spike manages to squirm away. There is a great shattering and screaming sound as an arm comes off of Spike's exo. Trem stands, laughing haughtily and holding the arm up so he can look inside it. His mirth drains away when he sees that Spike's arm is not actually in the exo arm! "Aww, that's no fun," he says, "yer supposed ta come apart." His wicked smile returns as he tromps forward on his big scary feet, swinging the ruined arm like a club. Combat: Tremor misses Exo-Armor Talon with his ARMED and Dangerous! (Punch) attack! Exo-Armor Talon staggers away and ends up against a mangroove, taking a moment to activate a sliding hatch that closes over the ripped shoulder. He looks up just in time to see his own exo arm being swung at him. "Holy-!" At the last second, Spike rocks away, then lifts his remaining arm to fire another round of shells. "Stubborn sunnuvabitch..." He /was/ going to inquire about that missing shuttle core, but Spike's not doing so hot. Again! Tough mech. Combat: Exo-Armor Talon strikes Tremor with its Medium Machine Gun attack! Tremor tries to dive sideways, but is caught in the leg just below his hip joint by this second burts of artillery fire. There is no pretending that this doesn't hurt. He crumples, unable to stand, and lets out a loud bark of pain. "Slag!" Even as he falls, he is working reaching out for Spike. He splashes into the muck on his face and begins crawling, his face pained. The only thing that keeps him from losing it and bashing Spike into the mud like a hammer would his namesake is the knowledge that more TLC shall be forthcoming. Trem then wonders, idly, if he hasn't been going out and getting himself hurt just to have the pleasure of seeing his favorite medic. "Why don't you talk," Trem struggles to say. His leg drags a furrow through the mud and reeds, utterly useless. "I don't give a dam about killin you, salty. I jus wan' those blasted mechanoids..." Combat: Tremor takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Exo-Armor Talon 's blue visor appears stoic, betraying the surprised expression behind the armor. "Mechanoids... Err, armadillos aren't mechanoids." He sloshes over and attempts to plant a foot on Tremor's shoulder, to try and keep him rooted. "Sounds to me your buddies sent you on a snipe hunt. What do you know of the upcoming black market auction? Tell me, and I'll refrain from lodging bullets into your thick cranium. And what the hell is salty supposed to mean!" Combat: Exo-Armor Talon strikes Tremor with its Pin (Grab) attack! Rarely has Tremor ever been so humbled! The human steps on his shoulder, pinning him to the ground. He struggles to push Spike away, but that exo suit is stronger than he thought. That much should have been evident from the bullet wounds on his chassis and his newly gimped leg. "I aint got nothin to do with no black market auction," he positively growls, "An I aint huntin snipes. I told ya... iss armydillons!" Trem may be thick, but he isn't stupid. He sees what Spike is saying. Of course, he had been thinking the same thing. "An you fleshsacs are fulla salt, s'what I heard. Leakin it ever'where, ya got is sloshin aroun in yer fuel lines..." as he speaks, he is cycling short vents and gearing up to try and heave himself out of the mud and knock Spike aside. "...yer just bags a water, ya know. Salt water. And I think IT'S DISGUSTIN!" With this, he pushes with all his might, hoping to knock Spike back and give himself room to anti-grav. Combat: Tremor strikes Exo-Armor Talon with his One Side Salty! (Grab) attack! Exo-Armor Talon is always, /always/ amused when Decepticons describe humans. Each mech had their own way of viewing the disgusting fleshlings. Tremor's explanation elicits a laugh out of Spike. Still no info, though he wasn't expecting much from this fellow. "Oof!" The force sends him tripping over his own feet, and without another arm to balance himself, he gracefully falls on his aft. "Leaving? At least have something for your troubles!" A simple laser fires from the barrel of his mounted gun. Combat: Exo-Armor Talon strikes Tremor with its Disruptor attack! This human is the kind of organism Trem usually doesn't bother to mess with. It's too small to give him a good fight, and only represents a waste of energy that could be used on more worthy opponents. That said, Spike is drawing dangerously close to the line that separates wastes of space from dead men walking. Were it not for his damaged leg, he wouldn't be retreating...he would be grabbing Spike and trying to fling him as far out over the marsh as he could. "You made a...OWWW SHIT!" Trem can't finish his scathing remark, as he is blasted by a plasma bolt! He scowls, shaking his fist in true villainous fashion. "This STILL aint over, SALTBAG! You better have yer funeral plot picked out!" With this, Trem rises to flee, though it galls him. Combat: Tremor begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Exo-Armor Talon
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