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| - ==================================== EDC ===================================== Message: 22/29 Posted Author EDC Mission 7 Wed Mar 04 Marissa Faireborn ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** TEXT ONLY *** *** CC'd to Autobot Messaging System *** In accordance with our new emphasis on combat maneuvers in difficult terrain, we have an upcoming training and strategy session dealing with tropical environments. The two day maneuvers will begin in Maui this upcoming Monday, March 9th. Maneuvers will consist of four hours of maneuvers per day. The rest of the time is your own. Social gatherings will be available during the days and evenings. Pina coladas and high octane oil will be in attendance. Autobot participation in this strategy session is requested. --- RULES OF ENGAGEMENT --- Mission Overview: Enjoy. Operational Command: N/A When military force may be used: N/A Where military force may be used: N/A Mission Lead: N/A Mission start date: March 9th Mission start time: 7pm EST Signing Officer: Col. Marissa Faireborn Command Authority: N/A Comments: You've earned it. OOC: Monday, 7:00pm EST. ============================================================================== Hawaii Forged in the fires of volcanism, beautiful Hawaii still simmers, as proven by the spectacular volcanic eruptions on the big island. Sharp, uneroded peaks loom overhead, interspaced with deep, verdant valleys, and the world-famous beaches of white, pulverized coral or dark, basaltic lava. Lush vegetation, both wild and cultivated are everywhere, providing not only beauty, but vigorous crops as well. As Hawaii is relatively poor in resources, tourism is the main industry, followed by the government and agriculture. It is home to Pearl Harbor, a vast shipyard for the repair and overhaul of fleet units, and a training base for submarine and anti-submarine warfare. Contents: Dee-Kal Silverbolt Red Alert Hot Spot Maui Base Camp Jayson Redfield Autobot Standard Troops #3958 Obvious exits: Fly leads to Skies above the Northwest Pacific. Ocean leads to East Central Pacific. Maui Base Camp(#8940TOn) The EDC/Autobot communication session was even briefer than the 4 hour timetable suggested it would be. It was an open air, informal discussion out on the beach beneath some trees for shade, and consisted of an officer in Maui-appropriate civvies going over some pointers for battling in this type of terrain. The information, while useful, was fairly superficial. The session is over and the good part has now begun. A large stretch of the beach has been sectioned off for Earth Defence Command and their Transformer friends. The afternoon is making its transition into evening, but the water is still warm enough for a few last swims. Numerous BBQs have been set up, manned by various personnel. There's picnic tables about, though sunbathing is also an option. There's coolers aplenty, with alcohol and non-alcohol beverages, as well as a two tanker trucks - one full of energon and one full of oil. Both have a table out front where you can have your energon or oil mixed into a more interesting concoction. A volley ball net and basketball court is not too far away, and the rhythmic sounds of the surf can be heard as waves crash against the sand. Dee-Kal decides she likes Hawaii. Land surrounded by water. Like England only warmer! And she might find coloured marbles with numbers on, add water, and make new alien friends... or was that just a cartoon... Hot Spot is occupying himself by keeping a careful watch over a few small bonfires taking place on the beach. His large, blue arms folded across his chest as he tries to keep a stern optic on the humans getting thier fires ready... But he seems to be having some trouble keeping a straight face. Red Alert doesn't relax. He just doesn't. It's not something he's capable. However, he has a rather paranoid certainty that any attempt by Autobot and allied forces to relax will go horribly, horribly wrong, and so he's here to respond quickly when that inevitably happens. However, because he's incapable of relaxing, he also has a datapad in one hand where he is going through, line by line, the code of Teletraan II's holographic tax-helper program. Jayson Redfield has set down a towel and is currently relaxing on it, wearing a pair of light blue swim trunks, with a small gold-colored chain hanging around his neck. At the moment he seems to be watching some young men not too far away...and God only knows what's *really* on his mind. Marissa Faireborn is normally very attentive during communication sessions. She's one of the few who gets something out of them, but in this case even the Colonel was finding it hard to hear what the officer was talking about. Her gaze kept drifting away from the makeshift classroom and towards the gentle sounds of the waves. She'd check her watch, listen to a bit more, and then check her watch again, just to find that only 45 seconds had passed. Truly this was the longest 3 or 4 hours she's ever had to deal with. But finally the instructor stopped, and with a "well I'm sure you're all anxious to get to your evening plans, so I'll leave it like that", Marissa (and everyone else) was finally free! Not too much time later, the Colonel is on the beach in khaki shorts, a light pink T-shirt, a San Francisco Giants ball cap, and shades. A cold brewski is in her hand as she stands next to Dee-Kal, admiring the waves. She took care of her swimming earlier. "I don't mean to brag, guys," she says to the Autobots and Junkion, "But damn, Earth is ten times prettier than Cybertron," she teases. Dee-Kal weaves some strands of palm frond together and fashions a sort of skirt from it. "Kaulana, ka mokupuni o Keawe... Kilakila, na mauna ki`eki`e..." she murmers to herself as she works. Silverbolt grins a little at Hot Spot and Red Alert, "I think the agenda for this part of the session included relaxing?" Not that it's easy for most bots to ignore a primary function. He shakes his head, maybe at them, maybe not, and turns his attention to the water. Red Alert sniffs, glancing up towards Marissa a moment. He looks around, scanning the area with all senses, sniffs once again, then states, "If you enjoy corrosive salt water and grit, I suppose." He works a few moments, then adds, softer, "Besides, it's been at war for ten million years. She was... much grander when I was younger, and even then she had been at war for some time." He frowns and looks up at Silverbolt. "Yes. This is how I relax." More or less. Dee-Kal says, "Ha`aheo i ka makani a `o Kona... e Hawai`i, ka `aina o kahiko..." She holds up her handiwork. It resembles a grass hut roof, minus walls. Undaunted, the little Junkion wraps it around her waist. Her Polynesian is even worse than her Japanese, terrible, but she knows a couple of songs from 'Lilo and Stitch'. "Oh, famous island of Keawe... Majestic are the mountains high... proudly blow the winds of Kona... ancient land of Hawaii..." Hot Spot can see that the humans, being military personelle, can probaly handle a small fire on thier own. He sighs, and slowly makes his way over to where Red Alert is. A mech much like himself, not one for relaxation. There isn't a whole lot for a duty-minded 'bot to do at one of these events, but there's no harm in at least trying to relax a little. Exo-Armor Talon Robot arrives from East Central Pacific. Sam leaves the Exo-Armor Talon Robot. Sam takes Exo-Armor Talon Robot. Jayson Redfield is still guy-watching. He doesn't seem to be paying attention to much else. The only problem is that he can't tell if the boys he's watching are like him or not. It would be kind of awkward if they were straight. Oh well. He yawns a bit and sits up, then reaches behind his neck to untie his ponytail. Noah Wolfe put on a new outfit! (see desc) Talazia Keldahoff doesn't even hesitate to doing the normal beach activity of choice for women....SWIMMING! *sploosh* and she's in the ocean. Marissa Faireborn grins at Red Alert's comment, though she doesn't turn to face him. "Yeah, it's the grit that does it for me," she jokes." At Red Alert's softer comment, Marissa turns more serious, "I bet. I wish I could have seen Cybertron in its prime." She takes a long, long pull on her beer before finally looking over at the security chief. "Wait, is that a datapad? Serious, Red? I'm sure whoever your XO is can keep things in hand for a couple hours." Marissa flashes a look at Hot Spot, silently seeking his help in this before turning to Dee-Kal. "Sorry, what's that?" she asks, not understanding most of what Dee-Kal said. Red Alert looks up as Hot Spot approaches, then offers a faint smile and a nod of greeting. "Greetings, Hot Spot." Then he returns his attention back towards Marissa Faireborn, and shakes his head. "Actually, Marissa, my XO is Nightbeat. I have to keep a tracker on him just to keep him from running off on an investigation without telling me. And he's one of the more reliable of my troops." Then he looks back down at his datapad. "Besides, for all you know, I'm indulging in some fiction." He isn't. But he could have been. Andi Lassiter finally arrives on the beach after the end of the communication session, having gone back to the nearby hotel to get Greg -- he's still a civilian right now so didn't travel here on EDC's dime. She walks out onto the sand then gestures toward Jayson. "There's Jase, Greg." "I know," Silverbolt glances briefly back at Red Alert before looking skyward, "And I wish I could remember Cybertron the way some of you talk about it." The splashing of humans in the water seems to remind him of the agenda. "Corrosive salt water? We've been through worse in the line of duty," he looks about to make sure no one's in the way before striding into the water. "you don't get many chances to mix and mingle with the EDC, Red Alert. They might have some valuable tips and tricks to share." the big blue Hot Spot adds, carefully. "The firefighters here on Earth were able to give me invaluable information on thier training and tactics. The fact that you're here and not back at Autobot City shows whatever you're working on is not important enough that it can't wait a few hours." His gaze shifts to look out at the setting sun, reflecting in his red optics. Talazia Keldahoff is a pretty decent swimmer.....and thankfully she sees the big bot coming so she can swim around his legs and pop up over the water. "feel good, Silverbolt?" "Jeez," Marissa replies to Red, shaking her head, "That has got to be awkward having to keep your own XO in line. I can't tell you how nice it is to trust the loyalty and reliability of my subordinates." Pause. "Well, loyalty anyway." Pause. "Mostly..." she mumbles, pulling back on the beer again. She drains what's left of it. She nods in agreement with the Protectobot CO. "I'm sure Nightbeat is doing a good job." Dee-Kal watches all the humans casting off their day-jobs as well as much of their clothing, and a few Autobots who aren't able to quite do either. She chuckles to herself. Then she tries a few dance steps in her new grass skirt. "Aloha oe, aloha oe, My charming one who lives among the bowers..." she sings to herself as she steps in neat circles and sways. "One fond embrace, a hoi ae au... until we meet again..." Noah Wolfe is on the beach, getting a tan. Trust us, he needs the time in the sun. He's got a set of mico head phones in his ears as he's listening to something. But otherwise is relaxing, just not out in the water. Sam has either gotten lost or (much more likely) has gotten sidetracked exploring some odd corner of the grounds. But now he's trudging back out onto the beach, carrying a towel over his shoulder and looking around. "Aaaah, but if I'm hounding EDC members for professional tips," Red Alert argues, "not only am I then not relaxing, I am preventing someone else from relaxing." He studies Marissa as she pauses, makes increasing allowances, then drinks. Then he chuckles, smiling faintly. "For the most part, he does do well, though his new scent took a little getting used to." Then he puts the palm of his hand on his forehead. "Not to mention all the extra background checks that had to be performed, not only for the Steelhaven Autobots, but for their heads, their guns... and my own XO's head!" Greg is plastered head to toe in sunblock. He's also wearing Sunglasses and proper swimming trunks. Not horrible wedgieinducing speedos. "Thank you, ma'am" he says to Andi, "Hey Jase! Last one in the water is a rotten egg!" Dee-Kal overhears REd's comment and pipes up with a chuckle. "Is that not something you are used to smurfing by now, Master Red? EXamining Master Nightbeat's head, I mean..?" As a large cargo plane passes by overhead, something grey and green is dropping down from above, attached to three huge parachutes. Wonder who it could be? "Maybe Kup will come along and order you to stop working for a little while, Red Alert." Hot Spot quips, amusement teasing along the corners of his optics and the edges of his voice. He looks down to Marissa, and adds, "Will there be any fireworks later on in the evening, Miss Faireborn?" Jayson Redfield isn't particularly fond of tans. He likes his complexion the way it is, so he's trying to avoid getting too much sun. And that's where sunscreen helps. He shakes out his hair a bit after untying it, making him look more effeminate than usual. "Yo, Greg!" he greets. He smirks. "Nah, not right now. I'm busy." Busy watching cute guys, that is. Talazia Keldahoff finally comes out of the water and actually spies Noah. She giggles lightly as she waves to jayson. apparently she decided to let some of her hair remain red this time. weird. The little Junkion watches Sam make his way along the beach, and stops dancing. She removes a pink lei of rhododendrons (or something similar) from her wrist, and casually waits for him to get closer as he approaches the group... Marissa Faireborn laughs, thinking Red Alert is joking about Nightbeat's new scent throwing Red for a loop, but then she realizes that the security chief is being serious. "The Nebulon situation /is/ weird," she admits, "And if you want to make this a working vacation that's ok, but I know we'd all love to have you join in with the festivities. Can I get you an energon cube, at least?" she offers. To Hot Spot, Marissa looks up, "Fireworks are due later on in the evening once the sun sets, Hot Spot. Interested in them?" she asks. This does not bode well for Noah. However luck, for once, is on his side. He sits up and digs around in his backpack sitting next to him. He finds what he's looking for and pulls out a flask of something. He pulls open the stopper and sucks on it to drink for a little bit. Noah decides this is a good time to spy on some of the ladies on the beach and just sits up, watching among the people here. It's obvious what he's doing, people watching. Silverbolt nods to Talazia as he wades deeper, watching the human return to shore. "Anyone know if those cargo drops were part of the schedule?" he calls out before looknig around and transforming - not into the familiar Concorde, but into his rarely used landing platform mode. He's none too quick, but Silverbolt is moving slowly further out in the water. Silverbolt twists and unfolds into a large and well-armed landing platform. Red Alert looks up from his datapad and over at Dee-Kal. "Mmm? Perhaps, but it never used to smell organic before," he answers her. He seems to intentionally ignore Hot Spot's comment, although it's a sure thing that he's heard it. "I would... prefer to make it a working vacation, yes. I need to keep myself distracted. I would appreciate a cube, though, if it's standard." The grey and green object misses the beach, however, and instead lands in the ocean. "Ah, frag--" he says before he sinks under the surface. The parachutes hit the water, spreading out across its surface before something sucks them in. Marissa Faireborn gives Red one last chance, "Standard? Are you sure?" Sam looks up the beach one way, then the other, then sort of creeps along toward the waterline. Red Alert looks up at the splash-down point of the grey and green object. He frowns as he recognizes the voice, then tucks his datapad away into subspace and stands up. "Standard, yes," he answers Marissa. "But something seems to have come up..." He frowns and scans the area seeing who's available, and muttering, "How did we end up not bringing a single one of our water operatives to /Hawaii/..." Dee-Kal finds her plans to lei Sam slightly scuppered. She watches him moving furtively along the waterline. 'Can he swim?' she wonders. But she doesn't attempt to lasso him with the garland, more content to let him do his own thing. MEanwhile the lei needs a home. Marissa Faireborn half turns towards the energon tanker, but stops as Red says that something's come up. She looks in the direction that Red is looking but doesn't see anything. "What is it?" Then she spies the white parachute drapped against the waters. "Wait... I see it now. What's that?" she asks. Jayson Redfield is busy giggling now. "It's Kup!" he calls over to Marissa. "Can he swim?" Marissa asks Jayson, giving voice to Dee-Kal's thoughts. Jayson Redfield shrugs. "Beats me." He holds up his radio (which is, for the most part, waterproof, thankfully). "He says he's okay, though." "It's Kup," Red Alert answers Marissa. "I think he can drive underwater, to a limited degree?" He did in the movie, anyway. "Either way, I'd better go see if he needs my assistance." He starts wading in, staying in robot mode. Perhaps Cybertronian pick-ups can drive underwater, but Lambourghinis aren't known for that quality. Dee-Kal goes up the beach. Then she turns back and looks over her shoulder at the waves. Shielding her optics with a hand, she grins. "That is very bad for the environment, throwing old things into the water like that..." Dee-Kal continues up the beach to join Jayson for a moment. Greg strolls up the beach towards Jayson. He sees Kup plop into the water and grins. "Maybe he thinks the salt water is good for his joints?" he says to Dee-Kal, smirking. "I'll go get your energon," Marissa tells Red, glad to be a part of the rescue effort. She's also going to get one for Kup, too, but his'll be decidedly non-standard. Marissa knows how Kup rolls. She motions for Jayson to come with her as she can't carry two energon cubes by herself. "Having a good time?" she asks Jayson. Something grabs onto the edge of the crazy platform thingy! Oh, no, is it a sea monster? No. ."Blurrghb," grunts Kup as he pulls his head out of the water. "Hey, thanks Silverbolt. Yeah, missed the island. Sorry." Silverbolt can't go underwater very well, but at least in this mode he can float along the surface towards Kup. "You're not too late, Kup. And you beat us all going out to the deep water... though if you'd rather a ride back to dry land, climb aboard." Noah Wolfe sits in his spot watching people and kids playing. It's quite peaceful. He gives a sigh and pulls himself taking off the headset and brushing the sand off his bum. He ponders using his military ID to get some drinks and get plastered, but maybe later. Noah stands up and starts trotting down to the water. Jayson Redfield grins. "You bet. I got a nice view from here..." He steals a glance toward one of the guys he's been watching, then blushes slightly and giggles. "Ah...I should probably go for a swim..." Party time! And what's a party without Powerglide? A bad one, that's what! So here he comes, swooping in like the awesome little jet he is. "Yoooo, I brought the space-hookah, guys!" He transforms mid-air and lands in the sand with a thud. Powerglide transforms into an AWESOME robot. Sam takes the towel from his shoulder, then spreads it out on the sand. Thump. Now he's lying down on it, looking straight up. Dee-Kal's optics twinkle. "Who can say?" she chuckles, and then her target Jayse'll come back for his towel, and she can put it round his neck then. Dee-Kal's optics twinkle. "Who can say?" she chuckles, and then her target (presumably) wanders off to help Marissa carry cubes. H'm. Maybe Jayse'll come back for his towel, and she can put it round his neck then. When Red Alert sees that Kup has already pulled himself out of water, he wades back to shore. No need to get more saltwater on his paint job then necessary! He returns to his spot, considers sitting back down, then decides that he'd rather avoid getting excessive amounts of caked-on sand all over the place. So instead he transforms, settling down that way. Red Alert transforms into his Fire Chief's Car mode. Kup pulls himself up the rest of the way and sits on the edge of the amphibious platform thing. "Enf. Damn. Remind me to just use a damn boat next time." "Sure thing," Marissa replies, "Just help me get these back to Kup and Red Alert." Marissa orders two energon cubes. 1 is standard, and the other is a fancy yet hard drink, for a hard mech like Kup. Marissa leads Jayson back towards where Kup is presumably going to make it to the beach. "I'm not the only one who notices that Silverbolt's third mode would make for a great water slide, am I?" she comments as she watches the rescue effort. Marissa has the standard cube, and she holds it up so the lambourghini can see. Jayson Redfield follows Marissa, although at one point he stops to usher a small hermit crab into a tide pool. Once it disappears into the water, he stands back up and hurries after Marissa again. "Water slide? Aw, that's boring. Just gimme a surfboard." "Thank you, Marissa," the Lambo says. "I'll get it in a moment." Shouldn't take too long for him to dry out in this sort of sun, although he'll need a proper wash and waxing later, and, ugh, smell of salt water for ages. Noah Wolfe steps out into the water splashing his sandaled feet. He feels a little silly but the salt water feels good. Noah wades out looking at the unending sand and the occasional fish. Whistler would have liked this. Too bad he made the AI do a complete twenty four hour diagnostic check back at Alameda, mawhahahah. He looks up and watches the autobots out in the water and wonders how fast they rust. Powerglide pulls his head out of the sand and stands up, tall (hahahaha) and proud. "Okay, guys, so, what's the plan? We going to drink untill we can't see anymore? We going to go fight sharks? We going to write nasty things into the sand? C'mon, c'mon!" Jayson Redfield stares at Powerglide. "Uh...no. We're just gonna swim and go other fun things that involve the ocean. No fighting sharks, and no writing things in the sand." Powerglide stares right back at Jayson. Did I say stare? I meant /glare/. He bends over and writes 'Jayson is a loser' in the sand. The 'water slide' in question hears his name as he bobs closer to shore. "I hear some bots saying this is good for nothing but rust and corrosion, others say that Earth water actually repairs some problems," he muses as he reaches a point where Kup could likely get out and wade. "Either way, I don't seem to be seizing up yet." Dee-Kal looks over to Sam. Whether he can swim or not becomes a redundant question. He's sunbathing. Given his rampant sunburn on Dinobot Island, the Junkette's next thought is 'Did he smurf sunscreen?' She lets her friend alone for now, though. Powerglide's subtle arrival almost went un-noticed by the Junkion, but his questions bring out her mischievous side. "We are going to smurf sandcastles. And bury anybody who is predominantly red in the sand. Like they do on TV." Fire Chief's Car is predominantly white, name aside. However, at Dee-Kal's words, his engine starts so he can creep away if he needs to. Just in case. Jayson Redfield sticks his tongue out at Powerglide. "And people say *I'm* immature." Kup shrugs. "Eh, I'm rust-proof, myself. Usually. My armor's made 'a this old-fashioned alloy that can take a pretty tough beating from just about anything. The Autobots don't use it so much, anymore, because it's denser than other alloys. But it'll hold up to prolonged exposure to water pretty well. Ain't perfect, but it works." Marissa Faireborn nods to Red, and holds the energon cube for him. It isn't terribly easy, though, as those things are pretty big. Also very glowy. As the sun continues to set, this becomes more and more noticeable. "If you're looking for something to do, Powerglide, how about one of your acrobatic routines, hmm? Fireworks should be starting up in half an hour, so you could get in on that." Probably not too safe, though. Noah Wolfe smiles and wants to get on the 'water slide' as well. Noah stomps out until he's waist high, then pushes off the sand to swim out the rest of the way. Noah eventually reaches Silverbolt and bobs there for a moment, "Silverbolt, ok if I dive off of you?" He looks over at Kup and just smiles. Powerglide retaliates by flipping Jayson off. Shows /him/ who's immature! He immediately stops when Marissa starts talking to him of course. "Oh! Uhhh, sure. But I think I'll need a little booze in me, if ya know what I'm sayin'. Eheheheh.." Dee-Kal chuckles. She motions Jayse back over. "Aloha, you." She holds up the lei. "Come and look Hawaiian." Fire Chief's Car decides he's dry enough, transforms, and heads over to Marissa to take the cube off her hands, although he eyes Dee-Kal warily as he does. Fire Chief's Car transforms into his Red Alert mode. Jayson Redfield raises an eyebrow. "I think you just proved my point," he tells Powerglide. To Dee-Kal, he considers. "Hm...do I *want* to wear flowers around my neck...?" Silverbolt chuckles, "Plenty of room for one more, whether or not you want to stay, either of you. We should be able to get a good view of the fireworks out here too." The little Junkion kneels in the sand. "Why not? Flowers are the universal language of friendship, ne..?" She sniffs at the blossoms. "I think they look more than they smell. But they are pretty." Sam is left alone. He stays where he is for awhile. Jayson Redfield glances toward the water. "Eh...I'll wear 'em later. Don't want 'em to get wet while I'm swimmin'." "Those flowers are pretty gay," Powerglide hollers, even though he's, like, four feet away. "Oil tanker's over there," Marissa says, pointing. "And energon tanker is right next to it." Both tankers have long tables in front of them along with a bartender to mix up fancy things in case Powerglide can't do it himself. Marissa then pauses to wonder about the wisdom of getting over-energized + aerial stunts + fireworks, but then remembers that Powerglide is a trained professional and knows how to do this sort of thing. With this reassuring thought, Marissa hands the energon cube to Red Alert. Jayson Redfield winces and rubs an ear. "No need to shout, Powerglide. And what do you mean, 'gay'?" Kup hops off of Silverbolt, walking back onto shore the rest of the way now that the water is shallow, at least by his standards. He wipes off some stray jellyfish perilously close to Sam as he walks back onto land. "Alright, where's the booze? I haven't gotten wasted since that incident on Nanxis IV, and I really need to." Dee-Kal holds up a second lei from her other wrist. "I have a red one here if you would like, Powerglide..." "Gay, as in, uhhh.....you know. Gay." Powerglide takes the red lei from Dee-Kal and throws it on. It doesn't really fit, so it's like a headband. "See? I can wear one because I am confident in myself." Greg goes up to Jayson and Powerglide. "Is this Autobot picking on you?" he asks Jayson. He peers up at Powerglide. "Because that's not very nice." Jayson Redfield rolls his eyes. "That really doesn't mean much," he points out, "if you happen to be talking to someone who *is* gay." He turns to Greg. "Eh, he's always like this. Although he hasn't threatened bodily harm upon me lately." Red Alert accepts his cube from Marissa, then gestures towards the other one she's holding. "That one smells like just your sort of thing, Kup." He takes a small sip from his cube, and frowns in the direction of Powerglide, Jayson, and Greg, expecting he'll have to break up trouble soon enough. Dee-Kal glances skywards. 'Just because', she tries out the pink lei on Jayson. "Just for a test, to make sure it is the right size..." She smiles at Jayse. "Look up for a moment, onegai..?" Noah Wolfe nods, "Excellent..." and pulls himself up onto Silverbolt. He looks out over the water and over at Kup who just got off. "Booze? Awww, that's no fun." he says, "Could have waited at least for a little while. Oh well..." and he dives in for a cannon ball. KERSPLASH! Powerglide points at Jayson, nay, practically /shoves/ his finger in his face. "So are all gay humans terrible joke tellers, or are you the exception? Aha-ahahahhaaha! Get it? Because your jokes suck? Ahahahaha!" He then points at Greg, "Who are you?" "Consider it a reward for surviving your swim," Marissa tells Kup regarding the other cube. The Colonel meanwhile heads to one of the coolers to get herself another brewski. She'll follow that up with a visit to one of the BBQs. The smell of hot dogs and hamburgers can be detected. Mmmmm, are you going to have yours with ketchup, mustard, relish, or other fun fun condiments? Talazia Keldahoff flops back onna towel and just...glares at Powerglide. "who invited him?" Jayson Redfield offers Kup the cube he's been holding. "I sure didn't invite him," he tells Talazia. "'Course, it wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't completely obnoxious. And Powerglide, my jokes are just fine. You just have a horrible sense of humor." Kup kneels down by Jayson, picking up the cube. "Thanks lad. And, eh, about Powerglide. Lemme tell ya somethin'..." He leans in, whispering conspiratorially. Kup mutters to Jayson Redfield, "... to that Astoria chick. Keep..." "HEY HEY HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TELLING HIM!?" Powerglide shrieks, waving his arms around. Red Alert almost spits out his energon in a snort of laughter, then covers his mouth. His shoulders shake as he tries to keep from lauging out loud. Kup stands back up, bringing his cube up to his face as if he's drinking it. But really, he's hiding his huge grin. Amphibious assault platforms aren't built to shrug, but a few lights flash along Silverbolt's sides as he comments, "That was a kind of rough landing. And Kup's not the type we usually have to haul away after a cube or two..." some sort of hose pops out and seems to look about, almost snakelike, "so how do I do this 'water slide?'" Jayson Redfield blinks at this. After a few seconds, he starts giggling uncontrollably, but he soon regains his composure. "Oh, nothing," he says to Powerglide in a mockingly sweet tone. He glances to Red, guessing he overheard, and he grins. "It's just...what's it like being married to Astoria?" Greg deadpans. "Marriage...to Astoria? HIM? Are you serious?" he says incredulously. Powerglide points an exceptionally rude finger at Red Alert, "Yeah, yeah! LAUGH IT UP! LET'S ALL LAUGH AT POWERGLIDE! HA HA HA! It's not like he's TRAUMATIZED by the whole event or anything! You all /SUCK/." And to Greg he just continues to flip his shit. "OH MY GOD, IT WAS NOT A MARRIAGE, OKAY!? SHE KIDNAPPED ME AND FORCED ME! I HAD TO GO TO COURT, YOU JERK!" Talazia Keldahoff is rolling on the towel laughing her head off! Kup definitely knows how to make a party! Marissa Faireborn has gotten her beer and hamburger and has come back to the others just in time to hear Jayson's question about Astoria. The Colonel nearly chokes laughing at Powerglide. The fact that he's 'traumatized' by it just makes it that much funnier. "I'm *snort, snicker* I'm so sorry, Powerglide. You're right, it isn't..." Marissa turns away to hide the laughing. Kup makes a sound like "Snggghhhhh" as he tries desperately not to laugh. Talazia Keldahoff makes absolutely no effort to hide her laughter..... Jayson Redfield erupts into full laughter now. "You were *kidnapped for marriage*?!" Dee-Kal chuckles even if she only half overhears what Kup is saying, waits for him to finish his anecdote. She tries not to crack up, but Power's reaction is priceless... "I just find it amazing that someone wants to be around him that badly," Red Alert says, a slight, wry smirk touching one corner of his lips after he gets his laughter under control. He takes another sip of energon, this time managing to not spit it anywhere. "Couldn't it be annuled on the basis of...oh I don't know, some sort of xeno-bestiality or some sort of loophole like that?" Greg asks. Jayson Redfield grins at Greg. "Probably. But it's funnier just to point and laugh." Powerglide grabs onto his head and tries his best not to explode and throw everyone smaller than him into the ocean. "Argh! You guys are horrible! Malicious! Dastardly! Absolutely terrible! I..I can't, it's...AAARGH!" He turns around and stomps off to sulk in the water. Talazia Keldahoff hee hees even more. "this gives new meaning to 'Doing the robot'." Jayson Redfield only laughs harder at Talazia's comment. Greg MacLeod bursts out laughing as well. Dee-Kal says, "Hey. My turn. Garland test run time." She leans over, shields Jayson's eyes from the sun (setting or not) and lowers the flowers about his neck. Trying to stay casual, but snicker-fits creep in. "Oh dear, oh dear..." Powerglide sits in the water so only his head is visible. He sends nasty glares at everyone on shore. Noah Wolfe pops up out of the water and climbs back up on Silverbolt, "Hum? Oh, sure, fire off the water at the top so we can slide down that...slope, thing. Yeah." He 'thinks' it's a slide. He shakes his head letting his hair go whipping about giving Jayson some eye candy if he's watching. More than likely not. But it's for the girls out there! Marissa Faireborn has been forced to set her food and drink down on a picnic table. She sits, facing the others as she wipes tears from her eyes, "Oooh that was mean," she says in between laughter. "He's a prick but I don't know if he deserved /that/." Andi Lassiter returns again from having had to take a phone call about her house back in San Francisco. She walks over to Red Alert, looking up at him. "I'm sorry, Red, if you see an alert on Teletran when you get home, it's just that the house sitter forgot about the sensor panel when she went to check on the place today." Talazia Keldahoff looks to marissa. "he deserved that. He's like the Mime that comes to a ritzy party, Marissa." Kup swallows down a good gulp of energon, then tells Marissa, "Eh, he'll get over it. 'Sides, he should know better than to pick on someone so much smaller than him." Jayson Redfield shows off the lei. He feels so pretty. (You all hush!) "Call it sweet revenge, Colonel. You know he's a jerk who can't take what he dishes out." He glances toward Noah to see how he's doing...and would probably have a nosebleed if this was an anime. "...!" Yes, he can speak in punctuation. Talazia Keldahoff trots her way over towards Kup and lightly punches him in the ankle. "What's up, Kuppinator? Feeling better?" Red Alert shows no sympathy for Powerglide. After all, he's one of the focuses of the Minibot's 'artistic tendancies'! He looks down at Andi, frowns, and nods. "Well, it's good to know the system works, at least." His optics narrow. "But... how well do you know this house sitter of yours?" Marissa Faireborn dabs her eyes with a napkin and looks out at the sour puss Powerglide. "I guess you're right," she says, trying not to think about it again. She knows if she does she'll just start laughing again. She takes a bite from her hamburger (it has everything on it). Silverbolt takes a minute to respond to Noah's suggestion. "Oh, sorry. Some kind of show Powerglide's putting on over there... this incline?" The hose 'looks' to the top of the slope, and after a sound of subsystems starting up, a stream of water arcs to the place in question, trickling down to make a lower-friction sliding surface. Kup smiles down at Talazia. "Yeah, I'm ok. I've hit oceans a lot harder than that, lass. Believe me. In fact, this one time, I got dropped into the ocean from space, and I had no parachute at all." Jayson Redfield looks up at Kup for a moment. "How'd *that* work out?" Kup grumbles, "Badly." Talazia Keldahoff blinks. "man. that must've made a real splash. Leave a mark?" Kup grumbles again, "Yeah. On me." Talazia Keldahoff says, "not in your butt plate I hope. It's cracked enough." Noah Wolfe nods and runs a hand over his hair to get the last of the drippies out. He says, "Spot on Silverbolt." He climbs up atop the slide and stands on it for a minute. He blares out a tarzan yell and beats his naked chest before hopping down onto the slide face first. He rockets down the incline smacking into the water and skidding across the surface before he drops into the water. Andi Lassiter smiles at Red Alert. "She's been my next door neighbor since she was six years old. I think I know her well enough to trust her." And, she's the same house sitter that's been watchign the place since Andi started working in the repair bay in 2012. Marissa Faireborn claps for Noah's sliding dive as she continues to demolish the hamburger. The sun is setting, and it won't be too long before the fireworks start up. "Hey Andi, welcome back," she says. "I was worried you were going to miss all the fun." Jayson Redfield flicks some sand at Talazia. "You be quiet! Bad puns are MY job." He takes off the lei and hands it to Deek. "Hold this for me, will you?" He darts toward the water and practically dives into it (as well as he can given how shallow it is at the shore), and disappears beneath the surface. Talazia Keldahoff looks out towards the water as Noah gives his tarzan yell and dives down the waterslide. "hmm....I should try that." she says trotting her way towards Silverbolt and noah. Red Alert hmmms softly. "And yet she didn't know what panels to avoid," he murmurs. He takes another sip from his energon cube, and asked, "Nobody's had opportunity to clone her recently, have they?" Dee-Kal's optics flicker and go dark, her systems shutting down. Dee-Kal's optics flicker and glow. She blinks hazily. Then thoughts and vision focus. Dee-Kal is awake... Again. Dee-Kal shakes her head. "Ah... it is a pity. Miss Astoria is a famous and well-liked celebrity. Many men have beaten a path to her door, and been turned down. But she wished to smurf a path to his. Powerglide can have fame - even more fame, and fortune as well, at any time... all he has to do is announce that he is her husband. Powerglide shouts from the water, "I CAN HEAR YOU. STOP." Andi Lassiter says, "She was carrying a sack of groceries, Red. She tried to his the 'disarm' button and missed." Talazia Keldahoff says, "we thought you were a water buoy with your red CONE sticking out of the water!" "So she's told /you/!" Red Alert sniffs. He takes another sip of his energon and begins looking for some place relatively sand-free to sit down. Noah Wolfe comes up and chuckles, "Have you ever thought of opening your own water park Silverbolt?" He doesn't see the pair coming out towards him, but he does swim around the platform so he can climb back up. "It's how I was built, you insenstive jerk!" Powerglide hollers, making his way back to shore. "Astoria's a crazy bitch," Marissa says, offering her own two cents. She remembers when the broad shut down her exo-suit via her anti-technology voodoo magic. "Powerglide doesn't need her to be famous, and that's not the kind of famous you want, anyway." As Noah swims around Silverbolt's platform mode, a red streaked blonde jumps out of the water and lands squarely on Noah.....tugging him underwater for a moment or two. Jayson Redfield heads a good distance from the shore so that he has more room to swim. He resurfaces and brushes hair out of his face. The water feels so good! Kup quietly watches everyone from the beach as he sips away at his cube. Brings back memories, it does, watching them. Silverbolt says, "Come on out, the water's fine!" Well, it's wet, anyway, but it seems to meet the swimmers' standards. The platform bobs idly among the waves, until - "Are you two all right in there?" The water hose goes slack as Silverbolt's worried voice carries over the water." Dee-Kal checks the time. She looks over to where Sam is (presumably) still sunbathing, and this time goes over to investigate. "Hai... I suppose you are right, Miss Mari," she notes to the EDC CO as she goes. Andi Lassiter just sighs at Red Alert, knowing better than to argue with him. She does, however, pull a sheet from the large bag on her shoulder. "Here, Red, spread this out to keep the sand off." "See! Marissa understands!" Powerglide stomps onto the shore, stand sticking all over him. "Bitches be crazy, am I right!?" Sam eventually gets up from where he's been lying on a beach towel (he may have nodded off for a bit) and brushes off some sand. "Hmm," he mumbles to himself, then spots people he recognizes, and trudges over towards them. "Hey, check it out!" Jayson calls over to the others. "There's a group of dolphins over there!" He points toward some forms in the distance, then relaxes and swims idly while watching them. Red Alert accepts the sheet and spreads it out. This'll keep the scratches to a minimum, at least. "Thank you, Andi," he says as he settles down. Concerning the ongoing Astoria conversation, he opines, "I've long suspected she's the result of a secret genetic engineering project, given her... unusual qualities. I've tried some investigations in that level, but even with her in prison, it's difficult to get inside information from her companies." Noah Wolfe yelps, but only for a second, but it sounds like, "Oh my....!" before he's taken down. Noah squirms, but who can really fight 'that' hard when a woman has you? Maybe Jayson but there are always exceptions to the rule. He comes back up a few moments later, stunned, but ok. He blushes and then licks his lips at the odd sensation. "Hello to you too, essex girl." he says with a smile, "Fancy meeting you here, sure Jayson won't get jealous? He's taken a fancy to my boyish looks." He grabs the edge of the platform and pulls himself up, "We're ok Silverbolt, just had moment. Nothin to worry about." Powerglide waves his arms around, "Inside information? Inside information!? What's there to know!? Bitches be crazy! Marissa Faireborn glances over as Powerglide comes back out of the water. "She's tangled up with the Concurrence nutjobs. I'm not going to say your little issue with them wasn't funny, Powerglide - because honestly it's /hilarious/ - but she really is one messed up psycho." See, when a woman does this to a man, it's funny. If a man were to do this to a woman, it'd be horrific. Welcome to the double standard, Powerglide; sometimes it doesn't work in your favour. Dee-Kal glances skywards. She then notes Sam getting up to joining the group. "..did you smurf sunscreen on..?" she inquires, the question still on her mind. Andi Lassiter moves on, letting the others talk about this Astoria person as she pulls yet another thing out of her 'mom' bag -- a container of sunscreen. She offers it to Sam, just in case. Greg's already been given the 'put it on or get scolded' spiel. Kup rubs his chin. "What I can't figure out is why Astoria doesn't short out *us.* I mean, we're machines. But Powerglide's given her a ride more than once and she didn't damage anything other than his pride." Actually, it really didn't take all that much convincing to get Greg to lather on the sunblock. Previous experience of absolutely horrific sunburns had etched that into him. Literally. "Glad to hear it," Silverbolt's voice sounds relieved and while the usual body language is absent, that arc of water promptly returns to the designated sliding area. "I'll have to get the minerals rinsed out of this before getting it reset to de-icing function... I'm beginning to see the appeal of this buoyancy, though." "Yes, Kup," Red Alert agrees with the elder, "but you're forgetting that Powerglide's pride is his most significant feature." He finishes the cube, then sets the empty 'wires' down. They vanish shortly there-after. "I'm right here you know," Powerglide hmpths. Sam smiles a little at the question, and nods an affirmative. "Yes." He fishes out a little blue bottle of sunscreen attached to a small carabina, from one of his pockets. SPF 30. "Correct? Er.." he waves a hand, "was suggested." Kup sips his cube a bit. "Hm, yeah, well, that ain't got nuthin' to do with her wacky abilities. Though maybe I should try drivin' her around one 'a these days, see what happens." He smirks at the Minibot. "You wouldn't get jealous, would ya?" Greg swims out, roughly in the direction Noah and Jayson are. The absolute blueness of the water blows him away. It's like swimming in the world's largest swimming pool! "I can't figure out why she shorts /anything/ out, let alone you guys," Marissa comments. She tosses the paper plate her hamburger came on into the garbage and stands up from the picnic table with her beer. Glancing at the empty wires from Red's energon cube, Marissa idly wonders what ends up happening to those. Odd, she's seen them so many times but never thought to wonder that before now. Powerglide crosses his arms and /glares/ at Kup. Talazia Keldahoff snickers at noah. "yeah yeah. I'm having fun." Andi Lassiter ahs and smiles at Sam. "Good for you. So, what did I miss?" Dee-Kal's optics flicker and go dark, her systems shutting down. Dee-Kal's optics flicker and glow. She blinks hazily. Then thoughts and vision focus. Dee-Kal is awake... Sam shrugs at Andi, looking around. "Hmm..." He doesn't seem to come up with anything, then shrugs again at Andi. "Fell asleep," he admits. Noah Wolfe says, "Of course you are. I couldn't help noticing that." He smiles and climbs up Silverbolt to stand at the top of the waterslide. "Common, let's go down together." he waves waving Talazia to come up. At this point, he is smelling the food, but skips it. He still wants to play in the water. Kup finishes his cube, frowning at the empty wireframe. "Ehhh, we got anymore of this stuff? I ain't even close to being drunk." Talazia Keldahoff climbs up and....splashes Noah. "hee. Together, huh? want me to dunk you again?" "Aw, sweet!" Jayson reaches below the surface and pulls up a relatively small sea creature, but one that's still large enough for him to have to hold with both hands. "A young Pacific angel shark!" He releases it. "Later, fella." He's clearly enjoying himself--nothing better than mingling with the local wildlife. Marissa Faireborn stands by the shore as the waves continue to come in. It's getting darker, so it might not be safe to swim for very much longer. Suddenly a bright red flare shoots up from something that must be a ways off into the water. The flare arcs up into the sky before exploding in hundreds of little red lights. Kaboom! A green and yellow streak quickly follow, both exploding in fireworks. Powerglide grabs onto Kup and begins to shake him. "KUP! LOOK! EXPLOSIONS! GET INTO POSITION, THE WAR HAS PICKED UP AGAIN!" Noah Wolfe brings an arm up to block the water chuckling, "No, you first." He waves his arms down the slide, "Dunk me once, shame on you. Dunk me twice, you'll have to save me." He winks and sits down far enough behind the edge of the slide so Talazia can scoot in front of him. That, and he wants to snuggle up behind Talazia, for obvious reasons. He looks up and ooohs softly, but the fear grabs him a little bit. They kinda look like artillery. Noah pushes that fear away, this is a time of enjoyment, not battle. Jayson Redfield watches the angel shark swim off, then starts swimming again himself, back toward Noah. He stops once he's close enough and playfully splashes water at him. "Bow before the mighty Poseidon!" Red Alert actually does spring from his sitting position into a crouch as the fireworks start to go off. Then he frowns and the tension releases. "Someone could have /warned/ me that they were about to get started," he complains sourly, then sniffs cautiously at the air, making sure none of them carried any suspicious gasses or anything. Sam takes off sunglasses and tucks them into a shirt pocket, looking up at the fiery display above. "Hm.." he begins quietly, "explosions are for what purpose?" Dee-Kal smiles at Sam, pleased. "Another query... can you..?" Then she stops, and looks up. "Ohh..!" the little Junkion breathes in sheer delight at the fireworks. "Kirei yo! Pretty..!" Andi Lassiter says, "For the enjoyment of them, Sam. Just watch them and don't calculate." Talazia Keldahoff laughs and sits in front of Noah all right. letting him snuggle up and all....but you know what.....when she slides down, she leans back as far as she can...so they get as much speed as possible before they're launched out. Marissa Faireborn sips her beer, grinning at Red Alert's protests. "Where'd be the fun in that?" she says with a chuckle at both his and Powerglide's reactions. There's a cross between a whistle and a whine as a series of six white streaks shoot upwards, each exploding in rapid succession and spewing white light in all directions. It sounds vaguely similar to popcorn popping. "Oh you got to play with a baby shark? You lucky thing!" Greg says, as he approaches. "Any more where that came from?" Dee-Kal sits down on the sand and looks up, entranced, a perfect demonstration of what Andi means. Kup looks about the island for any energon stockpiles. "Dammit, gotta get drunk..." Water washes over Noah from atop the slide, just as the pair is about to go zooming down, "What the 'ell? Hey! WOOH!" Noah is far from ready and lets go of Talazia. The pair slide apart with Noah's legs going up and his body twisting around. Noah flails before nailing the water and skidding for a few feet before going under. Red Alert cringes. "That's it." He picks up the cloth Andi kindly provided, folds it, and sets it aside. Then he transforms into his alternate mode, probably so he can keep an eye out for possible oncoming attacks using his radar without exposing his sensitive hearing to the fireworks. Certainly he's not doing it because he has a damned attractive and well-maintained alternate mode that sparkles nicely under the starts and the fireworks. Red Alert transforms into his Fire Chief's Car mode. Jayson Redfield starts laughing. "Sorry, bro!" he calls to Noah. "That's what you get for playing in Poseidon's domain!" He grins at Greg. "Yeah, there's a few of 'em swimming around over here--mostly just young angel sharks, probably just curious about what's going on. Careful, though--they might bite if you don't handle them carefully." Talazia Keldahoff SPLOOSH into the water and launches under the water to propel her quite a ways forward as Noah slides on top of the water. Suddenly, she YOINKS Noah into the water again....with the same result. Sam headscratches for a few moments, watching a few of the pops and whistles going off. And then one of the thunderously loud gigantic bloom explosions goes off over the water, changing colors from red to green to blue, with many fizzing and popping mini-explosions going off inside it. The sphere of embers collapses and drifts down to the ocean surface. Sam says, "Oh..." Kup strolls up to one of the bars, grinning at the tender. "Gimme yer most hardcore stuff, mister. I'm gonna drink so hard, they're gonna need to call in Defensor to drag me out." Dee-Kal's optics glow with delight like a kid at Disneyland, taking in the rockets and 'chrysanth' effects, some of one colour, some of many, some fireworks even geared to resemble simple icons like a smiley face or a valentine. "Fireworks suck," Powerglide quips. Ah, but this time something different happens. Noah comes up and just as he's grabbed he says, "Hey wha...Talazia?!" He eeps and does go under for a second, but comes up and looks down. He gulps and slides backward moving slightly under the lip of the platform. Noah looks around and eeps a small, "Heeeelp..." but one that can hardly be heard by anyone, save maybe Jayson since he's close enough. Thank god this water isn't crystal clear very well to those by the shore. The little Junkion is heavily reminded of Junkion Kahuna FX, whose holographic abilities included generating virtual fireworks in robot mode - often while dancing like Michael Jackson in his heyday. She wonders where he and her first guardian, Master Pak-Gor, are now... (FX, that is, not Michael Jackson.) ^-^ Marissa Faireborn glances over at Red as the fireworks continue to go off, lighting up the night sky with hues of all colours. Perhaps unsurprisingly, red white and blue are a repeated motif, but green and yellow make their appearances as well. It's almost hard to speak with the constant explosions going off. Just when you think the fireworks have died down for a break, kaboom, kaboom, kaboom! They start up again. "Not a fan of fireworks, Red?" Marissa calls out. Jayson Redfield blinks. "Ah...Noah?" After a second, the realization dawns on him. He starts flushing deeply, eyes widening. "Oh, man...did you just lose your shorts?!" he whispers, no one overhears. Sploosh...sploosh...splishsplishsplish.....Apparently dear ole Talazia is running from the beach with her prize! "Yay, Fireworks!" Greg oooohs, watching the display while treading water. He's to distracted to notice that Noah lost his trunks. Noah is very, very lucky. Red Alert is in vehicle mode, meaning that his radar is available, but it tends to deafen his hearing. So he actually misses Noah's call for help. "Not a fan of excessive noise, when I can avoid it, Marissa," the Lambo answers. "You have /no/ idea what it's like to constantly be bumbarded with sensory input like that." Thankfully... With a grunt and a growl, Grimlock changes into a robot T-rex! Watch out. Powerglide stares at something on the ground for a good, long while before bending over and picking it up. He turns and proudly hoists it up into the air; a blue, inflated blob with a mess of tentacles dangling off of it. "GUYS! I FOUND AN ALIEN!" "THAT'S AN OCTOPUS!" Jayson shouts to Powerglide. Powerglide holds the creature by the...'back' and wiggles it around; the tentacles slapping around. "HEY! WHO WANTS TO PLAY CATCH!?" Sam blinks at Powerglide's.. jellyfish-like.. thing. What an odd creature. "Hm.." he wonders, then voices his opinion: "Doubtful is alien... erm.. here. Now." Noah Wolfe nodnods and looks...scared? Embarrassed? He points to the running Talazia, whispering, "She's got them!" He's almost tempted to scream out to give back his trunks, but then remembers that would be even worse. Noah dips down more, now his chin is level with the water and he whimpers, "This isn't right on so many levels...." "THAT'S A JELLYFISH!" Jayson shouts. "PUT IT BACK!" "WHAT WAS THAT, JAYSON? HIT YOU WITH IT? DON'T MIND IF I DO!" Splashsplashsploosh. Powerglide sprints into the water. Talazia Keldahoff is now standing at the edge of the water and dangling the prize from her fingers. "oh are these /YOURS/, Noah?" She says giggling madly. "come and get 'em!" Dee-Kal blink-blinks, drawn from the pretty fireworks by Power's manic yelling. What now..? Up from the depths, twelve stories high! Okay, so Grimlock's more around five to six stories high...but he's still plodding steadily from the ocean in dino mode, bits of seaweed and other tiny creatures hanging off of his metal frame. He looms over the party, water lapping arond his knees. "Hn. Whut m happening?" he asks, and then scratches a little bit at his thick skull. Jayson Redfield swims backward, all the while wondering if he should be glad that it's currently too dark for him to see very deep into the water. It may be a good thing for him to not see Noah's man bits. "H-hey, Tal, give those back, huh...?" And then, to Powerglide: "Those things are VENOMOUS, moron! Let it go before you kill someone!" Sam frowns. Venomous? That sounds bad! He moves back a bit. Marissa Faireborn ahs at Red, feeling bad that the fireworks (which really are impressive) is messing up her Autobot friend's sensors. "There's no way to turn it off or anything?" she asks. Glancing about, Marissa spots a trash can no more than six metres away. With a very nice basketball toss, her empty can arcs through the air and lands in with a loud clang. That she's still able to make that shot is a sign to her that she hasn't had enough, and Marissa starts rummaging around for some more. She is of course unaware of the scaryness going on out in the water. "Hi Grimlock!" she calls as the telltale sign of another beer being cracked open is heard. "How do you like the fir----" the last part of that word gets cut off by a suddenly epic explosive sound as a red starburst goes off over them. Noah Wolfe shakes a fist, but forgets that's the one holding onto the platform, which is really Silverbolt. He grabs onto the platform again, you don't want to know what the other hand is covering. Then he sees Powerglide sloshing out, "Oh god, don't come out here, don't come out here...." he says to himself while closing his eyes wishing he was in his trashy room at Alameda again. No dice, he's still here. Kup, meanwhile, obliviously gets as drunk as he can. "Gahahaha! Boy, it sure must suck to be flesh and blood, eh? Hahahahaha!" Powerglide chortles as he stands over Jayson. He stops his reign of terror to stare at Noah. "..What's /your/ problem, buddy?" Fire Chief's Car absently wonders if he can just roll off and go pretend to be a normal car somewhere for awhile to take a break from all these crazy people. Noah Wolfe looks wide eyed at Powerglide, he just shakes his head and tries to scoot farther back under Silverbolt. Yes, darkness is Noah's friend right now. Jayson Redfield tries to keep Noah out of Powerglide's view. He stares at the Minibot. "Might I remind you that *you* were human once. Remember that? Now put the jellyfish down before someone gets stung." If it makes Noah feel any better, Powerglide was a human once and it took him a good hour to figure out that not wearing pants wasn't socially acceptable. "ARE YOU DROWNING!? I'LL SAVE YOU!" He throws the Man-O-War over his shoulder and reaches out for Noah. Greg foreheadslaps. "Too bad jellyfish can't sting Transformers," he says, "We could have a cannon filled with little Sea Wasps from Australia to fire at the Decepticons." Jayson Redfield tries to shove Powerglide *away* from Noah. "No! He's fine, perfectly fine! Now go away and play with Grimlock!" Talazia Keldahoff snickers lightly as she slings her 'prize' over her shoulder. "well if you don't want them, Noah." "NO, HE'S DROWNING! I NEED TO PROVE I'M NOT A HORRIBLE LOSER WHO'S MARRIED TO A CRAZY PERSON BY SAVING HIM!" Powerglide hollers. Dee-Kal rises to her feet on the beach, not quite sure of all the pieces of the 'puzzle', yet. She glances to sam, then back out to the water. Then something sails through the air in her direction... Jayson Redfield counters, "HE'S NOT DROWNING! GO AWAY!" Powerglide gasps! "Oh! I get it now! YOU WANT HIM TO DIE! YOU'RE A MONSTER!" Noah Wolfe calls out, "Talazia! I know where you live! Give me back my TRUNKS!" He looks at Powerglide and says, "No, I'm not drowning!" Then dives under the water to move to the other side of the platform, away from Powerglide at least for now. Jayson Redfield facepalms. "No..." He mutters, "I just want to save him the indignity." Robot T-Rex! hmmms, and peers up at the fireworks, and lets out an "Ooooh. Shiny!" he grunts. "Me Grimlock can make bigger 'splosions, though. Usually not in thems colors, though." he grunts a little bit- and then glances down at the flailing humans below him. "Who want to play with me Grimlock? Me no listening." Kup is on cube number 6 by now. Powerglide begins to make a huge scene. Possibly on purpose. "SOMEONE, HELP! JAYSON IS TRYING TO MURDER THIS POOR MAN! HELP! HEEEELLLPP!" Dee-Kal has few reasons to squawk loudly. Being hit in the chest with a loud *SPLAT* by a discarded Portuguese man 'o war jellyfish *is* one of them, however. "Aewwww!" She steps back several steps, horrified. Marissa Faireborn becomes aware that something is going on out in the water as Grimlock directs her attention there. By then her third beer is already half gone, so she probably isn't in a very good state of mind to go rescue people. "The heck are they going on about over there?" she asks Grimlock. Jayson Redfield swims around to Powerglide's blind side, then latches onto the Minibot's back, which may make both of them submerge due to the extra weight. "You be quiet!" Talazia Keldahoff looks over to marissa. "hey marissa! DO you have Astoria's phone number?" Sam jumps when the man o' war splats nearby. "Er!" He takes a few steps back. Then when it doesn't move, he moves a little closer. "Hmm..." "HELP! NOW HE'S TRYING TO MURDER ME!" Powerglide stumbles forward and steps into a sandy pothole, sending him neck deep into the water. "HEEEEEEELP!" "What?" Marissa calls back to Talazia. "She's in jail right now, Talazia. What do you want with that psycho, anyway?" She was locked up after one of the recent Concurrence battles where she failed to get away. This was the time she screwed up Marissa's Exo-Armour. Damn thing hasn't worked right ever since. "Hey what's going on out there?" she calls out. "A BOTCHES MURDER," Powerglide calls back. Jayson Redfield bwahs and releases his hold. He ponders for a moment, then starts swimming back to shore. Far be it from him to let the man-o-war stay beached. And he probably wouldn't be able to help Noah at the moment. "Okay, fella," he says as he steps out of the water. "Let's get you back into the ocean..." Dee-Kal falls backwards, and sits hard. "Ouff! What the *smurf*..?!" Then she peers down at her chest. "What *is* this..?" She looks as disdainful as a valley girl to start with. Then she pokes at the jelly-like mass with a finger. The little Junkion peels the sticky mass from her front, nose crinkled. Then she notices the threads and tendrils underneath the main mass. Fire Chief's Car just kind of sits there like a normal car and watches everything that's going on. And looks pretty. Robot T-Rex! hmms, and swings his head over at Marissa. And then down to the humans flailing around beneath him. "Uh. me Grimlock not know what they doing." he says, and hmms. "...Me Grimlock not sure what they doing. That 'bout usual." he shrug a little, and hnfs. Jayson Redfield looks up at Deek. "Put this back in the water, would you? I can't touch it with my bare hands..." Lest he get horribly stung. Powerglide splashasplashes over to Grimlock, "Grimlock! You gotta help me! There's a murderer on the loose! ONLY YOU CAN STOP HIM!" Noah Wolfe yells at Powerglide and anyone else, "He's not trying to kill me, you great nancy! Gordon Bennett! Talazia took my shorts, I'm in my skivvies out here! I swear on all that is holy I'm not going swimming again!" Noah goes quiet then, having said what he needs to say at this point, the warm water feels actually good. No, it's not yellow. Dee-Kal looks at the sticky mass. "Nan da..." she murmers, and heads to a trash can at the top of the beach. Robot T-Rex! ooohs at Powerglide. "Oh? Who me Grimlock get stop? Me Grimlock can stop ANYBODY!" he growls in anticipation. "If me Grimlock get punch somebody head in, then it be BEST PARTY EVER!" "Who the hell's 'Botches'?" Marissa calls back to Powerglide. She's having a little bit of trouble hearing over the fireworks. Marissa tosses the third empty towards the garbage can, but this time it hits the rim and bounces wide. Looking back up at Grimlock, she tsks, "You and me both, pal." The fireworks stop for a moment. Is it a lull, or are they over? Kup idly watches a firework over his shoulder as he lazily sips at cube #9. "Eh, seen bigger explosions than that." Powerglide points at Jayson, "Him! That guy! He tried to drown another man! HE'S A DANGER TO SOCIETY!" Talazia Keldahoff snickers at Noah and wades her way out into the water. "Oh nooooaaaahhh.......I'm coming back iiiiin!" She says making her way closer to him. When she gets close enough, she whispers something to Noah....something that makes her have a naughty smirk on her face. "If it helps, Noah," the Fire Chief's Lamborghini says from near the picnic tables, "a good many of us out here don't quite understand the human obsession with outer layers, anyway." In other words, the whole lot of them could be running around buck naked and Red Alert wouldn't care. Jayson Redfield sighs and takes the blobby creature. "Never mind, *I'll* do it." He is, of course, holding it *very* carefully so as to avoid the tentacles. Even he's not sure how he manages this. Maybe the animal is just stunned. Either way, back into the water it goes! "There ya go, fella," he says before heading back into the water himself, away from the man-o-war. The Man-O-War washes back up on the shore in a record two minutes. Dee-Kal helpfully catches the discarded beer-empty and places it in the trash can. Then she prepares to discard the jelly-mass as well. Something stays her hand. Robot T-Rex! stares at Powerglide. Then at Jayson. Powerglide. Jayson. "Him no look like murder guy. 'Sides, me Grimlock no waste time on fighting puny humans. Them weak!" he draws himself up a little taller, and crosses those weedy arms of his. "Ugh, fine. I'll just have to do it myself," Powerglide huffs, going back to the beach. Jayson Redfield waves a hand at Grimlock. "Powerglide's just exaggerating. Besides, HE tried to hit me with a venomous sea creature." He watches Deek for a moment. "Just make sure it goes back into the water, okay?" That being said, he heads back into the water to check on Noah. A naughty thought comes to mind, and he giggles. Marissa Faireborn looks over at Jayson, and then back to Powerglide, "That's Jayson, Powerglide. Not Botches." She shakes her head and starts fumbling for a fourth. Crazy minibots. Y'know him and Astoria really /do/ deserve each other. Dee-Kal has trouble picking the half dried jelly off her fingers. Then something occurs to her. She goes to a tide pool to wash the 'mess' off her. As her hand dips under the water... she sees the thing for what it really is. Dee-Kal says, "Ohh... Sam-uel! Come see this...!" Sam tilts his head and walks over. Noah Wolfe pauses, his teeth clenched together at the whisper. He snorts and says, "Not shy. Right..." then pushes away heading for the beach. Noah frowns and focuses on the goal, his shorts. Of course, he probably didn't notice Talazia had them in her hand. Oh well. He hits the sand and stands up, chest high wading up to the shore. Quickly, the receding water inches its way down to his waist, then lower down. He stomps up to the shore and looks around for the shorts. "...where are they..." he asks but to no one inparticular. Talazia Keldahoff waves them back and forth to get Noah's attention. 'you really should pay more attention, Noah." Robot T-Rex! grunts, and lumbers in towards the shore- leaving big, scary-looking footprints in the sand- and then ambles over towards..."Kup! Yay Kup! Hey Kup! You tell me Grimlock story now! That be neat!" he says- and then glances over at the flailing humans some more. "It be better than crazy humies, me bet!" Powerglide crawls onto the beach and flops over onto his back, arms splayed out on either side. "Okay, I'm tired from yelling and accusing people of murder now." Jayson Redfield's eyes look like they're about to fall out of his head as he watches Noah. "My GOD!" he manages. "You are...totally sexy..." He seems to be in a sort of daze, and unaware if anyone can hear him. Noah Wolfe looks back and mumbles, "Oh bloody 'ell." rolling his eyes. He charges Talazia and dives in the moment he can swimming at her like a shot. Dee-Kal touches her forehead, and a soft light shines to illuminate the tide pool for Sam. It also highlights the man 'o war jellyfish. "..I nearly thought it was... something to throw away. Like ooze or slime. It is a jellyfish... a living thing..!" Kup looks blearily over at Grimlock from the bar. "A.... aaaa schtory?" he drawls. Talazia Keldahoff yoinks Noah underwater and actually gives him his shorts back! Kup just finished cube number 16, by the way. Sam hrms, thoughtfully. "Said was.. venomous?" Fire Chief's Car is totally going to let Kup drink as much as he wants. He was on that darned planet, after all. (Also, Red Alert can't very well /stop/ Kup.) Robot T-Rex! leans over and grabs a cube for himself, which he sips at in turn. "Yeah! Story! Me Grimlock like stories!" he hmms, blissfully ignoring Kup's drunken surliness. Marissa Faireborn waits a little. She's sober enough to know that she isn't sober enough to go in the water. "Are you guys alright ou-" KABOOM! Turns out it /was/ just a lull, and the fireworks kick off for their magnificant finale, spewing colours all over as rapid bangs are heard. Purples and a lilac shade are thrown into the mix. The final three fireworks are the biggest, with the light seemingly stretching from horizon to horizon. The coloured cinders fall into the sea, and the sky turns dar kagain. Dee-Kal watches the creature in the pool. Then she looks to Sam. "Someone said..? This creature has been referred to..? It was taken from the water and ... it was thrown..?" Noah Wolfe is pulled under, again. How he gets his shorts back on is anyone's guess, but it can be done, and it is. Noah comes up to the surface and shakes his head clear of water. He glares at Talazia and wiggles a finger, but only for a moment before the fireworks finale hits. Noah forgets what happened, he'll be laughing about this in a few days anyways, and kisses Talazia. Jayson Redfield slinks through the water and back to Noah. He grins mischievously, knowing this will probably freak the other boy out, but he leans in to whisper to him, ignoring the kiss that he gives Talazia (after all, he can't really compete with her). Robot T-Rex! glances around..nd then points over at Noah & Talazia. "Him humie trying to eat other humie!" The little Junkion looks up at the fireworks, admiring them. Her mind is on the rock pool and the jellyfish, though. Talazia Keldahoff kisses Noah right back. dude...it's like she was expecting it......and she actually blushes! "EW GROSS," Powerglide yells. Sam looks up at the gigantic fireworks explosion. "... hm..." he watches, obviously enthralled. When it fades, he blinks a few times. "Apologies.. said..?" he asks Deek. Andi Lassiter has been watching the fireworks, pretty much ignoring all of the crazy antics going on -- because she can do that when she wants to. Kup slowly waggles a finger through the air. "I... member... this time... I was with... Shell... uh... king? Shellcan? I don't fraggin' remember... hish name... I miss that guy, Grimlock. He was a... was a good guy, Grimlogh. A gooood guy. But now he's dead. Oh, Primus, he's dead!" He holds his head between his hands, mumbling to himself sadly. Dee-Kal returns her gaze to the water in the pool. "JEllyfish have stinging tentacles. They drift... and small prey brush the tentacles, thinking it is seaweed to hide. The jellyfish stings them, to paralyse or kill. Then it retracts tentacles and prey up... Noah Wolfe splashes Jayson after the whisper, "Don't hold your breath mate. I'm called for already." He looks at the blushing Talazia and grins. Jayson Redfield giggles and backs off. "I know, I know...but hey, doesn't mean I can't dream, right?" "Someone either get Kup another drink /right now/ or cut him off," the Lamborgini says from where it's... mostly just sitting, they way cars normally do. All that splashing around in the water has.....revealed a deep, dark secret. Talazia is actually.....a redhead! Dee-Kal watches the recovering creature. "Now," she tells Sam, "just this once... smurf him here... the top. Where there are no tentacles. Do not smurf the water around, or his stings might touch *you*. But touch up here..." Robot T-Rex! grunts, and turns back to Kup, sipping at his energon cube again. "Hnf. Me Grimlock think me hear this story 'fore. Only guy called 'Sprocket' or something, and then you cry for rest of night." he pauses, and scratches at his head again. "...that not good story." Jayson Redfield does not care that Talazia is actually a redhead. After all, Noah used to dye his hair blue. And Jayson himself has been contemplating hair dye as well. "Well, I should leave you two lovebirds alone, then...maybe I can find some starfish to watch..." Talazia Keldahoff trips jayson into the water! "Or you can come hang out with ol' Powerglide! Ha! Just kidding! No losers allowed!" Powerglide chortles at his own burn. Marissa Faireborn looks up at the final firework explosions as well. As they go out, the only significant source of light, other than perhaps from the Transformers, are the various fires going along the beach. Marissa gets up from the picnic table, taking a moment to steady herself. With her fourth beer in hand, she calls out, "Hey who wants smores!" She goes to the cooler to get the chocolate, marshmellow, and graham crackers. Dee-Kal monitors Sam carefully, to be certain he is safe. "Feels like a slippery bubble, ne..? He floats on the tide, like a life raft." Jayson Redfield disappears under the surface, but he emerges a few seconds later. He decides he'll get revenge on Talazia later, and instead makes his way toward Marissa. "Me!" Kup fumbles around the bar for another cube, but knocks three of them over. "Shhhprocket! Primus, Shprocket's dead, too! THEY'RE ALL DEAD! I knew them for millenia, all dead!" Noah Wolfe shrugs, "No aruement here. Hey, I'm going in..." and starts swimming away towards shore. Enough of this lovey dovey stuff anyway. He takes note of the red hair, but he thinks it might be because of how dark it is. He grabs his towel and says, "Not to sound like I'm eight, but...oh me me!" He chuckles and drops down in front of the fire on a log. Sam pokes at it, then draws his hand back. "Strange, yes." Talazia Keldahoff says, "also runs towards Shore and literally sprays marissa with salt water. "oh yeah! I'll take some of that."" Jayson Redfield giggles again and sits beside Noah, then proceeds to wring water out of his hair. And yes, he still looks quiet effeminate right now. "Never too old for 'em, eh, Noah?" "Then get over here!" Marissa calls out as she takes the ingredients and sets them out on the picnic table near one of the bonfires. She peers at Kup. "What's wrong with Kup now exactly?" she asks, spilling a bit of her beer. Jayson Redfield glances to Kup and smirks. "Ain't it obvious? He's drunk outta his mind." Noah Wolfe hops up and walks over to the table. He looks over at Kup and nods, "Quite the snootfull I'd say. I hope I never get that drunk...ah, when I can drink that is." He smiles and quickly picks up enough for a few smores, some for Talazia as well. He drops down on the log and hands some to her. Dee-Kal says, "He will recover in the pool. The tide will come in, and wash him out to sea, and he will be fine." The little Junkion smiles. "Hopefully, he will never remember he flew and attacked a Junkion." Sam nods at Deek, then glances back at Marissa. "Smores?" Talazia Keldahoff enjoys S'mores all right....and shows she has a pretty big mouth. Dee-Kal shuts of her light. "Food time, Sam-u-el." Fire Chief's Car returns to robot mode and stretches. "I don't overinduldge, myself. I don't dare." Besides being a pansy, the temptation to /keep/ overindulging would be too great. He approaches where Kup is sitting at the bar sobbing. "Erm, uhm, Kup... maybe we should get you back? Or... well... don't you have any good times to share? You would think... you would think that's what your friends would have wanted remembering about them, right?" "Me Grimlock not dead!" The dinocommander helps. "Me Grimlock no gonna die, 'cuz me am tougher than all you friends who get shot in the face." Fire Chief's Car transforms into his Red Alert mode. Sam ohs, then wanders back over towards everyone else. A little tentatively, he investigates one of the coolers, and comes up with a beer. "Ah." *chk* Talazia Keldahoff says, "Hey Grimlock! Ever tried a S'more?" "First time I got drunk," says Jayson as he heads to the table, "I tried to hit on Nate." He looks up at Kup. "Maybe you should lie down. You're totally wasted, man." Marissa Faireborn nods to Sam, "Yeah, smores! Chocolate and roasted marshmellow between two pieces of graham crackers. It's like a sandwich." Marissa rips open a bag of marshmellows and skewers one onto a marshmellow roasting stick. The Colonel meanwhile looks over at Kup, finally figuring out what the oldtimer is talking about. This reminds her of the comrades /she's/ lost. Dee-Kal takes an interested note. "H'mph. Nibbles..." she observes. "Nibbles with ritual." Kup suddenly glares at Grimlock! "Don'tshhh... talk 'bout my friends like... that... fraaaagger!" And he throws a punch at Grimlock, falling off his stool from the momentum! Combat: Kup strikes Robot T-Rex! with his He's Probably Had Enough (Punch) attack! Combat: Grimlock sets his defense level to Neutral. Jayson Redfield stares. "My point exactly..." He shakes his head and grabs a couple sodas, offering one each to Noah and Talazia. "I hope *you* guys don't act like that when you're drunk." Powerglide, having been built with 'fight radar' sits up. "FIGHT? FIGHT? FIGHT!?" Red Alert takes two swift steps away, then sighs and covers his face with his right hand. "Erm, nevermind," he says weakly. He turns to glare at Powerglide and points. "That's enough out of you!" Dee-Kal joins the humans, eyes Kup, but stays well clear. She drops to her hands and knees, nearing the fire. Then she switches to hovermode. With a flip into the air, Dee-Kal's legs contract, sliding up against her body while her head retracts and her arms fold away, replaced by jet thrusters. A spoiler locks into place. Panels on her legs slide open and stabilisers emerge. Short rear-mounted wings swing out - voila! Hovermode! Noah Wolfe grabs a soda, "Thanks...ah, no. I don't recall if I ever got drunk." He smiles, "One of these days though." He jabs a mellow at the end of his stick and puts it over the fire until it's golden brown and starting to catch fire. Robot T-Rex! is punched! In the nose! Reflexively, he growls, *LOOMING* over Kup, showing off those pointy, pointy dino teeth of his. But...he manages to rein himself in, and doesn't start murderizing the old timer. And so...he rubs at his nose...and then peers down at Kup, nudging him with a clawed foot. "Hn. Me Grimlock 'member this part of storytime too. Me think you need go home." Talazia Keldahoff smirks at noah. "Getting me drunk is a bad idea. Unless you get me dinner and a home movie first." she says lightly elbowing Noah in the shoulder before munching more S'mores. Powerglide throws his arms out, "What!? I didn't even do anythin'! How can it possibly be enough!?" Talazia Keldahoff says, "because you're trying to egg it on." Sam stares at Kup and Grimlock for a moment, then slinks over to sit by the smores-making fire. Beer sip. Jayson Redfield leans back a bit. "Powerglide, I know this is hard for you, but would you *please* just be quiet?" The hovercar parks as soon as it converts, so as not to blow sand. A hologram is projected, the standard 'disguise' driver. In this case, it's even got a name, even though it's all Dee-Kal's doing. Kup flops down on the sand, squirming a little. "Mrrrmmph. Mrf. Mph." Marissa Faireborn wobbles as she sits at the picnic table. She begins roasting the marshmellow, but it immediately catches fire. She glances over at Kup and Grimlock in a daze. "You don't need to do anything for it to be enough," Red Alert shouts at Powerglide. Then he sighs in relief as Grimlock does /not/ attack back, and crouches next to Kup, offering to help him up. "Come on, Kup, it's about time we got you back." The hologram sits in the hovercar, both vehicle doors open, as if a part of the group. Powerglide points at Jayson, "Shut up, murderer!" Back to Red Alert, "Shu-Uh, I mean.." He just shakes a fist. There's a flurry of moving parts, and Grimlock changes to his robot mode! Noah Wolfe chuckles and shrugs, "Well, it's not my style. If I 'was' going to get you under the sheets, I would want you sober." He shakes his head, "Call me old fashion, but taking advantage of a drunk women just doesn't sit well with me." Grimlock grumbles, and transforms to his robot mode- bending down to pick Kup up. "Is good thing you punch me." Grimlock says, "'cuz thems might get hurt! Or thems might get angry, and hurt YOU." he hmmms, and unceremoniously slings Kup over his shoulder before he looks to the humans doing their gross human things like 'eating' and 'flirting' and stuff. Kup moans, getting hoisted up like a rag doll. "I'mmm.... I'm shorry, Grimlock. I didn' mean ta hurt ya. IIIiiiii love you, Grimlock. IIIiiiii love you." He looks up at Red Alert. "Ya wanna... gemme another?" Marissa Faireborn watches her marshmellow burn. In her state, it looks very pretty. Ha ha ha, burn marshmellow burn. Dea leans on the wheel, looking out at the inebriated Kup. She shakes her head. "I... think you've had enough, Kup," Red Alert answers as he steps back, letting Grimlock carry the elder. For his part, he's very glad he didn't get punched by Kup... he's pretty fragile when it comes right down to it. Grimlock scratches at his helmet with his free hand, and starts off- though he does pause in order to glance down at Red Alert. "Hnnn. Rodimus not here. Kup is..uh...like this." he hmms. "That mean me Grimlock in charge 'gain?" Jayson Redfield goes quiet, and just stares at the fire. "Grimlock, we're on Earth," Red Alert protests. "It's not like Ultra Magnus or Jazz are /dead/ or anything. They're just not here this minute!" He pauses. "In other words, feel free to order around Powerglide, but I wouldn't go making any formal announcements." What is this? Make fun of Powerglide day!? "Oh." Grimlock says. "Yeah, him Jazz somewhere, innit he? What if HE get drunk? Ultra Magnus am big weenie, though. Him no count." he nodnods...and thinks. "...Order him Powerglide 'round? That no worth it!" Junki-Hovercar looks out of the car towards Jayse. Or appears to. "You okay, Jayson-chan..? I have a spare seat..." Kup grumbles, "Fraggin'... Maximus. Thinks he calls the shots... fraggin' kick his aft... the fragger..." Dea Kalle looks out of the car towards Jayse. Or appears to. "You okay, Jayson-chan..? I have a spare seat..." "Don't worry about it, Powerglide," Marissa says as the cinder that was once her marshmellow continues to burn, burn, burn. "You just need to ease up on others and they'll ease up on you." Her tone suggests she isn't really paying attention, though. Sam watches what Marissa does, then skewers a marshmallow on a conveniently nearby coathanger, and sticks it into the fire, where it goes up in flames. He removes it from the fire and watches it burn into a little black gooey cinder. Powerglide shrugs, "Yeah, you're probably right. But, heh, what's the fun in that?" Greg is roasting a marshmallow. Yay! Red Alert rubs his forehead and sighs. So... great. Now Grimlock has it in his head that advancement through the ranks comes by getting ones superiors drunk. Red Alert supposes it's better than the Decepticon method of assassination. "Well, Jazz isn't drunk. To my knowledge. And Kup'll be fine in the morning." "Me know that! Just saying. Y'know. Just in case it happen. Could have big party, and the SEPTI CONS attack! And then me Grimlock have to save everybody 'cuz me Grimlock am strongest and no get drunk 'cuz me so strong and tough." Dea sighs as Jayson doesn't appear to hear her. The hovercar vrps and churrs quietly, as the overall mood seems to have staled somewhat... those fireworks were pretty, though... and folks had fun swimming and diving, she discovered a man 'o war jellyfish... and Sam didn't get sunburnt. Or stung. Kup groans out, "Grimlogh... don't let... don't let Maximus take over the Autobots. You got my permission to... urk... kick his aft if he tries..." Marissa Faireborn's second marshmellow has better luck, and soon Marissa is on her way to smore heaven! Mmmmm smores! "Hey all?" she says, loosened a bit from the beers. "I'd like to thank you all for coming out here. Red, Grimlock... Powerglide, Kup... Deek... I know it means a lot to the EDC that you guys came out here with us." Marissa raises her fifth to them in a semi-toast. "Kup, Maximus is not taking over the Autobots," Red Alert sighs, trying to gesture to Grimlock that they need to get Kup somewhere safe. Or... something. He takes a moment to smile over at Marissa. "Thank you for having us, Marissa. All. It is appreciated." Jayson Redfield is distracted by now (and partially wondering if he'd be able to sneak some alcohol). In any case, he seems lost in thought as he stares at the fire. "Yay! Me Grimlock like kicking aft!" he says- and then looks over to Marissa, waving a bit. "Is...okay party." he nodnods. "You humies have fun falling over and grabbing each other and stuff! That what humies do at party, right?" Kup thumbs up to Marissa before he passes out, mumbling, "Fraggin... Maximus... unhhh..." Powerglide reclines on the beach and shrugs, "Yeah, yeah, whatever ya say, Marissa.." Sam's marshmallow crinkles and falls off the toasting stick, just ashes. "Hmm. This seems unpalatable." Dea ahems slightly, her hologram ident being Dea, not Deek. But like Frank Sinatra's song - regrets, Marissa's had a few. She says nothing, and the hovercar chirrups politely in response. "Here, Sam, have mine," Greg pipes up. His is cooked to a nice golden brown. "I can make myself another one." Andi Lassiter starts roasting her own marshmallow, trying to keep from burning it. Sam shakes his head at Greg, frowning a bit and trying this again. Junki-Hovercar watches Sam with both headlights as he engages in his 'cookery class,' even if it's just roasting marshmallows on an open fire. Marissa Faireborn nods to Grimlock, "Yeah!" Even though she isn't quite clear if what he said was right. Her head is starting to hurt, and she isn't up for a big argument at this point. Having completed her toast, Marissa pulls back her beer. It's been a while since she's been able to have fun like this. Junki-Hovercar toot-toots, very softly. Grimlock exunt! Dragging Kup with him. He'll dump the old timer in a parking lot somewhere and poke him 'til he gets better. Kup will probably think he got some parts stolen while he was out. Junki-Hovercar holo-projects externally, as far forwards as it can. In front of Sam's field of view, an iconic representation of his marshmallow on a stick in neon yellow. An animation of an arrow cycles around and around, while the marshmallow and stick appear to rotate, slowly. Red Alert follows Grimlock and Kup as far as the nearest road, but then he transforms and goes on a self-assigned patrol to clear his head. The vibrant graphics fade away after some seconds. The fire crackles and glows, flames flickering in the night air. Marissa Faireborn meanwhile continues to drink with her men and women. Good times. Sam ohs. He keeps the marshmallow above the fire a bit, and it begins to toast. Proving he's mastered the ability to do two things at once, he sips at his drink. Junki-Hovercar shines another hologram out as far as possible, of a question mark. The query flickers in front of Jayson's field of vision, a soft shade of blue.
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