| abstract
| - October 22, 2011, 12:31 PM Ironhide Warpath Sludge Shark Vortex Onslaught Blaster Steeljaw Swindle (Cooled Magma Chambers) --- The tunnels leading up to the smelting pits near Polyhex are not heavily trafficked, but the convoy of spare parts coming from factories in the outlying Decepticon-controlled territories is ponderous, with neutral transports contracted by a Decepticon Supply Officer being guarded by a number of Decepticon guards- two each at the front and the rear of the convoy, and two desultarily checking the side tunnels as the convoy passes. Two Decepticon officers- Onslaught and Vortex- along with a Decepticon Supply Officer (an obnoxious yellowish-green grounder) have been tasked with overseeing the whole shebang and making sure it gets to Polyhex safely. Autobot intelligence recieved the route of the supply convoy several days ago, and an assault team has been sent to intercept them- to prevent the parts from reaching their destination (adn ideally to remove them for AUtobot use), lurking now in the tunnels and waiting for the convoy to arrive. Using a side trail, Ironhide and the Autobots approach the supply convoy from the side. Creeping along, he motions to those nearby to keep the pace controlled, "That's it, I see em," he comments in rap anticipation. He peeks over a metal outcropping, "Get in some shootin positions and we'll pin em down before they even turn the corner," he tells them. He motions to Warpath, "See em?" he asks to make sure the bot sees what he will be shooting at. Warpath presses closer to the wall he's edging along, sensors jacked up as high as he can take them. At Ironhide's prompting, he grabs onto the edge of an outcropping, carefully pulling himself up higher to get a view of the convoy. "I POW see 'em." The red minibot mutters, barely managing to keep his voice down in his excitement. Dropping back down with a surprisingly quiet thud, he moves around the group to get a better vantage point, weapons system humming to life as he gets ready. Shark has patrolled and walked the underground tunnels enough to know some decent places to hunker down. Typically his paint job would certainly need the best hiding spot. But the young mech didn't come here all shiny clean; he got just grungy enough to not be as obvious in the surroundings. With all weapons online and at ready, scanners at their max, he gets into his position remains still and quiet. "I have visual." he murmurs over comm. Onslaught doesn't particularly care about this assignment, or the fact he's stuck with that obnoxious green one from supply. At the least, he has a team mate, but then again it is Vortex. Rolling along slowly on large tires that flatten anything that is unfortunate enough to be in his path, he tries to think of better things. Like doing reports, and other actually important tasks. Vortex is bored. Bored bored bored. Stupid convoy guard duty. He should be in Cubicron chasing down Pskyeout's little glitchmouse, or practicing on empties or /anything/ that isn't guarding this convoy. He flies just low enough to hit the tops of the tallest mech's helms with his rotor wash. It's petty and probably annoying, but it's the only fun he's getting right now. He scans the surrounding terrain, but doesn't see anything of interest, so he comms his new temporary commander (and he obviously isn't pleased with this arrangement - he's in intel, Soundwave should be his commander, or at worst Hookshot), "Who'd you scrap to get lumbered with this assignment?" Blaster chuckles softly, his systems revving with excitement. The red tape deck didn't get many chances to be in on things like this, and he resolved to enjoy himself with his typical positive outlook. He spies the convoy and sends a tight-beam comm on Autobot frequencies, encrypted just enough to foil an idle attempt at decoding. //Decepticreeps at point, guys. I'm goin' to jam up communications in just a little bit, so speak now or forever hold yer peace!// Blaster snickered and tapped his compartment...only one of his boys was with him this cycle, but that could be all he needed. Sludge was last. He'd been oddly quiet since the small army had gathered, feeling suddenly very noticeable and uncomfortable. THe mech fidged now impatiently, his tail swinging side to side. He had hunched down, to more appear like a hill now, his headlamp off as he peered over the rise, then down again "Me Sludge wonder when we starting!" he growls into his radio to the others, rather impatient to get with the crushing. "Nothing in here," The decepticon guard moving up and down to the left of the convoy says, shielding his optics from the debris kicked up by Vortex's rotor wash with an irritated glance at the copter. "All clear up here." One of the two guards on point in front of the convoy reports. "Can you cut that out?" The greenish mech from Supply gives Vortex an annoyed look from his position in the center of the convoy (where he can keep a close eye on the drone transport carrying a very special shipment... "It's fragging annoying." His comm squawks as he radios the heliformer rather than shout. The guards- both of them- to the convoy's rear report in an all clear as well. To the right, though, the guard ducks into a tunnel occupied by the mostly-concealed Autobots, looking around cautiously. With an encouraging slap on the shoulder to Warpath, Ironhide smiles in an engaging way, "I think I see Onslaught's annoyin pointy cannons rollin this way," he comments and then wiggles a directed finger, "Put a big ole shell into that there first transport, Warpath. That'll stop the convoy line but sure," he explains, "And we'll dump some lasers on em. Ready? Let's do this," he comments simply, giving a wave to the others to dig in and attack, not one for too much dialogue. Sludge watches the guard suddenly step in, his head lifting a little bit. Startled at the sudden arrival of the Decepticon, the Dinobot does the only thing he could while his head and neck was over the others' own - he brings his head and powerful neck down towars the mech, intending to simply piledrive the mech where he stood, his headlight blinking on briefly with a faint snarl. Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(his strength) against Calliope's agility. Sludge's roll succeeds! Warpath chuckles darkly at the order, the three tiny lights on his facemask lighting up in amusement as he moves toward the opening of the tunnel. The banging of metal-on-metal as Sludge deals with the Decepticon guard falls on (nearly) deaf audios, all his focus on the convoy. Stepping into edge of the tunnel, his optics brightening as his cannon hums to life, and he fires, aiming for the lead transport. Warpath picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Warpath's roll succeeds! Shark has his rifle in position and locked on the indicated target. He's just waiting on the signal. "I got the green yellow one." he comms before things get scrambled. When the order comes he fires upon the front vehicle, the shot skimming past the two guards as well as anyone else that are in their side tunnel. Then he peers at what Sludge just did. "One down." he smirks. Shark picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Shark's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Upon witnessing the first fire, the truck's tires squeal in protest when he hits the brakes. The loud grinding of the missile turret attached to him drowns out the noise though, as the large twin barrels swing around to lock onto the offenders - or at least in their general direction, his scanners aren't the most reliable - he targets onto the lip of a partially concealed tunnel. In less than a moment, the system is warmed up, and Onslaught fires upon the small opening. Onslaught picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(its dexterity) against Warpath's agility. Onslaught's roll fails! Vortex doesn't pull up when the grounder asks it, but he does when the shots begin. Scrap, the fraggers are in the tunnels. He decreases altitude, and the ground-based fighters can put up with the rotor wash. He brings himself level with the mouth of the tunnel, spots something large and metallic and, having no idea what it is other than probably an enemy, he shoots. Vortex picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(its dexterity) against Sludge's agility. Vortex's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Blaster steps forward, modulating a sonic wave that worms its way into the air around the area, effectively jamming communications within a short range. His compartment opens, then- a cassette pops out, unfolding into a feral felinoid form. "Steelie, go an' chew some 'Con aft for meh!" Steeljaw purred his assent, dashing away almost soundlessly. Blaster himself needed to concentrate on keeping his sonics active." "YEOCH!" The supply mech goes down with a screech of static and takes cover against the side of the nearest cover, which happens to be the second transport in the convoy of 6. "We're under fragging attack!" He yells, unnecessarily. "Slag, are we being jammed too?" THere's a series of clicks as he repeatedly tries to activate his comm system and fails. The guards react almost at the same time as the supply mech screeches, four of the six heading towards the entrance to the cave where the Autobots are located. The mech on the left side of the convoy leans on the top of the fourth transport to try and fire from there, and one of the two rearguards actually stays at his post. Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Sludge's agility. Calliope's roll succeeds! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Warpath's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Shark's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Ironhide's agility. Calliope's roll succeeds! Giving another wave, Ironhide stands up from behind the metal outcropping and observes Sludge descend on the guard, "Good goin' big guy!" he lets out as Sludge squashes the Decepticon guard, "Give em some cover, they're closin' on Sludge! Keep shootin!" he adds loudly as he levels his laser rifle at the convoy of Decepticons. He lets fly a pew pew pew and a pow pow pow at the guards who close in on the Dinobot guy. Ironhide picks up the dicebag and rolls 4+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Ironhide's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! "HEY! YOU COME DOWN HERE AND HIT SLUDGE AGAIN LIKE A REAL DECEPTICON!" Bellows Sludge, the cover broken as plumes of smoke rose up from his scored body, the thick armor having taken the damage easily, although it still HURT. With a loud secondary bellow he starts to plough forwards - moving slowly at first, but starting to pick up speed and inertia as he comes out of the tunnel, starting to barrel his way down into the thck of the fight, right at the four guards. Caught between attacking Vortex and the guards, Sludge looks from one to the other, before a rumble came from his huge body. He didnt slow down, nor even flinch as he thumps towards the guards at full speed, making no indication of stopping but simply trying to go OVER/THROUGH them, while his head belches a huge gut of flame at the chopper overhead, brightening the entire battlefield "RAWWWWWWWWR!" Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(his dexterity) against Vortex's agility. Sludge's roll fails! Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(his strength) against Calliope's agility. Sludge's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Warpath manages, through some miracle of Primus, to dodge the bursts of fire from both Onslaught and the guards, ducking further into the tunnel. His audios are still reeling from the initial shot he fired, and he completely misses Sludge's roar of pain and Ironhide's orders to cover him, instead laughing like a madmech as the Dinobot's flamethrower lights up the entire area. With a low hum of gears, the complex system of parts that feeds his cannon activates, pulling another shell from subspace and loading it with an audible 'click'. Vocal indicator lights flashing like crazy, he steps back into the mouth of the tunnel, locking his precious gun onto Onslaught even as he prepares to brawl with the incoming guards. "Eat BOOM this, Decepticreep!" He yells, body jerking back slightly as he fires. Warpath picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Onslaught's agility. Warpath's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Shark switches over to his pistol in order to allow his rifle to recharge, he steps out of his cover just enough to take his shot. A chuckle at Blasters' command to one of his charges, "Hey that's /my/ job too you know." he laughs. He doesn't have his sharp teeth for nothing! He pulls a quick jerk back away from a guards' shot, it narrowly misses as it zings past him. "You are next buddy." he full on grins, showing off his set of choppers as shoots his pistol at the guard for his daring to mess with the big mech. Shark picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Shark's roll fails! Not being the fastest ever had some downsides, Onslaught thinks to himself as the shot from the Autobot hits his grill head-on. The force is enough to have him initiate transformation just to escape the searing heat and the flame that ignites far too close to his concealed helm - the painful charge still rippling down his chassis as his hood splits, and the blackened armor and peeling paint only adds to the utterly doom-ridden look he wears, the light from his visor searingly bright. As he gets up from his knee and glares at the minibot who dared to fire upon him and nearly take off his grill and concealed hands, his cannons flip down with a snap against his shoulders, and he fires again. Onslaught picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(its dexterity) against Warpath's agility. Onslaught's roll succeeds! As Vortex's visual sensors recalibrate, all he sees is the big shape getting bigger and bigger and oh Primus that's /really/ big. He'd grin if he was in root mode, but as it is he just laughs as the jet of flame shoots from Sludge's mouth and wraps around his rotors. He tumbles - all that super-heated air does nothing for his ability to stay upright, and that's without the pain. His laughter turns to a snarl of aggravation as he begins to fall from the sky. He transforms, keeping a hold of his glue gun against all probability, and his root mode thrusters kick in. He zooms up again, heading towards Sludge's head, and aims to shoot a glop of that icky quick-hardening glue right in the Dinobot's optic. Vortex picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(its dexterity) against Sludge's agility. Vortex's roll fails! Hiding never was one of Hammerstrike fortes, but it had been strangely easy to conceal himself when contrasted against the gargantuan form of Sludge. Hammerstrike had been holding back, waiting for a specific order, and when the order to cover Sludge came, he hoisted his heavy hammer off of the latches on his back and heads into the fray, hidden by the wake of a rampaging Dinobot. Hammerstrike gives Sludge a wide berth, taking particular care not to be intercepted by ihs tail, charging at the other guards that hadn't been flattened to a hubcap yet. Holding his hammer in both hands, he swings it from his left shoulder and diagonally down to the right, aiming for the guard's chest. Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(his strength) against Calliope's dexterity . Hammerstrike's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Steeljaw moves with uncommon grace, slipping across the ground quite quickly. He sees his target- that copter, the one his Keeper says is 'fraggin' nuts'. He runs, getting the speed for a mighty leap culminating in his denta attached to one Decepticon flyer. He decides to use Sludge as a convenient ladder. Steeljaw picks up the dicebag and rolls against 2+(its strength) <*vortex*>. Steeljaw's roll fails! Blaster winces, half feeling for the large Con who just took a shell to the face, but then shrugs, knowing that war was war. The guards are ... well, in disarray, really. The rearguard remaining outside the cavern where the fire is emanating from pings Onslaught urgently with a glyph requesting new orders, and the other guard who remained outside fires his rifle from atop the third transport in the convoy, aiming for the giant saurian Autobot. In the cavern itself, the two remaining guards fire on the Autobot forces. "How the slag did they get the jump on us?" The green supply mech yells from under the second transport, drawing his pistol belatedly and firing into the cave at the loud-mouthed red big canon/little bot dude. Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(her dexterity) against Warpath's agility. Calliope's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Hammerstrike's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Ironhide's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Shark's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Gritting his teeth, Ironhide frowns at the eruption of combat, "Blastin' Decepticons," he mutters as he pew pew pews one guard momentarily. "Keep on them transports, Warpath!" he lets out, "They might turn their tails and high-tail it. Wait---" he explains, obviously not thinking much of Decepticon courage. "Gall darn it, Warpath! Look out!" he adds quickly as Onslaught blam blams the tank guy. He swivels his laser rifle and fires back at Onslaughto. Ironhide picks up the dicebag and rolls 4+(his dexterity) against Onslaught's agility. Ironhide's roll fails! Continuing to breathe out his superheated flame, Sludge's fire meets the glue halfway, burning it into ash that flutters all around him. His headlight pans up to follow Vortex. Beginning to slow, the Dinobot turns to follow the overshot chopperbot overhead, his tail swinging behind him with a mind of its' own, thrashing any who dared come or stay too close to the dinobot, inhopes that his rear was less dangerous than his front. His front left foot shakes off the remains of the Decepticon guard he had crushed epically as he does so, ignoring the other three around his feet as he snarls again loudly. "ME Sludge not need protection! You shoot dems Decepticons!" He snaps at Vortex as the mech flew about his head, the teeth sparkling brightly as his headlamp pointed in whatever direction he was facing. And then there's a cat on his face "HEY! That's MY Decepticon!" he bellows, although he didnt seem to mind THAT much as both of them worked to try and catch the flyer with various pointy teeth. Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls his strength against Calliope's agility. Sludge's roll succeeds! Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls his strength against Calliope's agility. Sludge's roll succeeds! Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls his strength against Calliope's agility. Sludge's roll fails! Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(his strength) against Vortex's agility . Sludge's roll succeeds CRITICALLY!
* OM NOM NOM NOM!* Warpath snarls in pain as the cannon blasts connect with his chest, one after the other. Warnings flick across his vision, but he forces them away without more than a cursory run down of the damage, instead activating the controls to reload his precious cannon once more, this time with a rather special shell. It's still functioning, and he's going to slagging pay back the damage threefold. Then a blast slams into his shoulder, ripping through the joint and severing the motor controls, his arm dropping to his side uselessly. Roaring in pain as more warnings explode in his vision, he turns toward the general direction the shot came from and fires, the high-explosive shell ripping toward whoever hit him at worrying speeds. Warpath picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Warpath's roll fails! Warpath picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility . Warpath's roll succeeds! Warpath picks up the dicebag and takes out a D10. Warpath rolls a 5! WHUMP! The shell impacts the transport Swindle is hiding against and explodes into flames, although it doesn't- thankfully- go up completely, something in the cargo burning brightly. Shark missed that shot due to the flame.. yeah that'll work as an excuse. Again he just barely evades the incoming shot from the guard which makes him laugh. "Someone should have worked on your targetting skills." he mocks. His turret locks onto the guard, the in shoulder mounted weapon spews out a stream of black light which would temporarily blind the guard should it hit where he is aiming. Shark picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Shark's roll succeeds! A roar of anger and frustration is loud enough to be heard over the fighting, for the most part, and Onslaught points forwwards - where the convoy should be going. "Kick it into overdrive," he bellows out to the mechs remainging, "And get the cargo to SAFETY!" Followed by a snarl, Onslaught directs a glare at the distracting fire erupting from the largest Autobot. But his attention snaps back to the tank minibot, and he doesn't hesitate to fire on him again - he's hoping that this one will take him down. Onslaught picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(its dexterity) against Warpath's agility. Onslaught's roll succeeds! One astrosecond he's flying towards Sludge's face, aiming to grab hold of his neck, swing himself around, and gain himself one massive fire-breathing foul-tembered steed... The next all he can see are immense sharp teeth and the muzzle of the flamethrower, and then the slew of warnings as several of those teeth slam through his armour and one of his rotorblades. Oh frag. Vortex tries to roll out again, but to no avail. He's trapped. His rotors clatter as he squirms, and Sludge's teeth grate against parts of him that really shouldn't be touched, let alone abraded. With a laugh of triumph - because hot scrap, he's had an idea! - he swings his left hand around, aiming it down Sludge's throat, and fires his arm-mounted laser at the Dinobot's flamethrower. Vortex picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(its dexterity) against Sludge's agility. Vortex's roll ties! Vigilance pays off, for after his hit connects brutally with his target, his optics snap back to the Dinobot's large tail. Seeing the movement of the swinging appendage, Hammerstrike quickly rolls out of the way, leaving any unwary guards to get knocked over clumsily. In this act, he also dodges oncoming fire he hadn't been quite aware of. The tail just barely misses him, a loud 'whooshing' sound filling his audial receptors. Hammerstrike crawls just far enough to be out of range from any further of the dinobot's berserker antics and hoists himself up onto one knee, switching his hammer for a laser rifle. Having determined that Sludge has one end of the convoy covered, he switches targets. He aims his rifle at Onslaught and pulls the trigger, although he knows himself to be the opposite of a sharp shooter. Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(his dexterity) against Onslaught's agility . Hammerstrike's roll succeeds! Steeljaw nearly flies off as Sludge takes a gigantic bite out of Vortex. He snarls a bit, somewhat annoyed, but hangs on and decides that he is not to be outdone. Steeljaw picks up the dicebag and rolls its strength against Vortex's agility. Steeljaw's roll fails! Blaster keeps up the sonic jamming waves, more than realizing that it's important to keep all communications down. He spies his cassette on the Dinobot's head and wonders about Steelie's sanity. The green supplymech rolls out from under the flaming transport with a muttered curse. "Let's get the slag out of here!" He backs towards the wall, scooting past the giant Autobots and firing at the big orange one from behind the OTHER flaming transport. "No way we can get this stuff through!" The two remaining guards continue firing on the Autobots but ping Onslaught for orders. Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Hammerstrike's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Sludge's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Sludge's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Blinking in surprise at the bellowing explosion, Ironhide then smiles in a satisfied way as the next Decepticon transport goes up thanks to tank guy, "Ha! That'll teach ya ta try and roll past us, Decepticreeps!" he lets out emotionally. He jogs forward to eye the rest of the convoy and ducks a hail of gunfire as Onslaught desperately tries to whap Warpath, "Warpath! Pointy head is gunnin for ya!" he lets out. He fires at the other transports makin a break for it, pew pew. Ironhide picks up the dicebag and rolls 4+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Ironhide's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! The transport's engine stalls out in a shower of sparks and it slowly sinks to the ground. "OM NO-OW!" bellows Sludge, suddenly releasing Vortex from his mouth. Smoke curled out of it and he whips his head a moment in pain, before snarling. He starts to stomp his feet now, shuddering the entire ground. Small stones jump up and down as he stomps again and again in place, the metal ground creeking and rolling from the resonance he's causing as the Dinobot simply swings side to side with his stomps "YOU NOT GO ANYWHERE!" Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(his strength) against Vortex's agility. Sludge's roll succeeds! Ohhhh frag. Something tells Warpath he's going to be in trouble for that, but like all the little voices in his head that remind him about things like 'tactics' and 'orders', he ignores it. Before he can load up another shell, another blast of enemy fire catches him in the side, and he growls as he feels it rip through the armor and energon lines there, the pink liquid starting to seep out rapidly. Barely hearing Ironhide over both the sound of battle and his own audio damage, he tries to force his arm to work as he pivots to face Onslaught again, loading another shell and blasting away. Warpath picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Onslaught's agility. Warpath's roll succeeds! Shark moves out of his hiding spot fully now, rifle at ready now that is recharged. He stays low to evade the swinging tail of the Dintobot. Once he is at the cavern opening, he drops down on his stomach to present less of a profile. His rifle automatically adjusts to the change of position, the upper arm side mounted weapon locking on his target - that green yellow grounder he called before this all started. He has to wait for the tremors to stop though before he actually takes his shot, not wishing to actually miss. Shark picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Shark's roll fails! Onslaught takes the situation into deep thought - that is, before a nicely placed shot hits him square in the chassis. With the base layer of metal shredding, now, he stumbles back. A deadly look is sharpened through his visor at Warpath, and the tactician doesn't hesitate to fold into alternate mode - and almost instantly, he starts reversing, fast. "Take the second convoy back! Reverse at a 15 degree angle to the left!" He shouts as loud as he can, frustrated without his communications hardware. Oh well. "Decepticons, retreat! Keep behind the convoy, don't stop firing!" Following his own directions, his cannons swing around to once again point at Warpath, and he fires without much care on whether he hits or not. Onslaught picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(its dexterity) against Warpath's agility. Onslaught's roll succeeds! Vortex falls. The teeth slide out of his armour, and it's only then that he realises the good thing about still having a foreign object embedded in a wound - it stops the leaking. He hits the ground, the crash shuddering through him. But he's not about to let a momentary greying of his visuals and a world of pain stop him from bringing that pain to others. At least, until the Dinobot stomps on him. He swears loudly and for a long while as his innards grind together and one of his rotors snaps off completely. He managed to roll clear before Sludge can bring his foot down again, but the damage is done. He hears Onslaught's call for a retreat, and he knows he should be relieved, but he's not. He wants that Dinobot in pieces and, despite the leaks and the damage, he's fully confident that he can bring that about. But Onslaught is in command, and he doesn't want a reputation for being insubordinate. Not again. He staggers to his feet and and backs away from Sludge. But he can't help aiming one last double shot of laser fire straight at the Dinobot's massive chest. Vortex picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(its dexterity) against Sludge's agility. Vortex's roll fails! It would seem that Sludge is ironically Hammerstrike's saviour in this battle, for Hammerstrike hadn't the reflexes to dodge the oncoming firing. Instead, the shot missed because of the metal shifting under Hammerstrike's feet at the precise moment he was standing up causes him to tumble down, out of the path of danger. It would seem Hammerstrike had not distanced himself quite enough from the Dinobot, or rather, only anticipated his tail and failed to foresee other hazards. Hammerstrike struggles to his feet, now compensating for the tremors and more surefooted this time. Having lost his rifle in the tumble, Hammerstrike grabs his hammer once more and charges towards one of the still-functioning transports, hammer held low and to the side, ready to swing with the full force of his strength and momentum at the transport drone. He was not prepared to see it stall and then reverse towards him, forcing him to swing earlier than he had intended and then turn off of his course, for an abrupt stop was impossible at such short notice. Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and rolls -1+(his strength) against Calliope's agility . Hammerstrike's roll fails! Steeljaw snarls softly. He watches the 'Cons begin to move for a retreat, and that one is trying to stabilize a damaged transport. He leaps lightly down, ready to take a bite out of Onslaught, to distract the mech from his command and his repairs. Steeljaw picks up the dicebag and rolls its strength against Onslaught's agility. Steeljaw's roll succeeds! Blaster flashes his optics, watching the battle. "Kick-AFT, y'all!" He extends his sensors to watch for unexpected arrivals. "Let's get the pit out fo here!" The green supply mech backs up a few more steps and turns, transforming to take off down the tunnel, trailing a bit of smoke behind him from that very first hit. The guard that had been playing rear guard- who'd steadily moved up to avoid the incoming AUtobots- turns tail and follows him. The last guard fires off a few more shots at the Autobots and backs up- more slowly- proceeding further up the cave system towards Polyhex. Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Hammerstrike's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Calliope picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Shark's agility. Calliope's roll fails! Shark frowns as he misses the shot, but now that the Cons are trying to retreat he has to try and slow down a transport. So its the pistols turn again as he scrambles back to his feet to get closer to the convoy. The more stuff they can keep from the Cons the better, right? Running over to Warpath from his shooting position near the transports, Ironhide tries to take some of the fire from the tank guy, "Darn it, Warpath! Hit some cover," he complains as he aims his laser rifle back at Onslaught. Blinking at Onslaught's sudden change in tactics, "What--what! They're runnin' for the hills!" he lets out between gritted teeth, determined to blast em back where they came from. Ironhide picks up the dicebag and rolls 4+(his dexterity) against Onslaught's agility. Ironhide's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Shark picks up the dicebag and rolls 3+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Shark's roll fails! Sludge snarls as he sees the vehicles starting to leave. Ignoring Vortex, he starts to stomp after them, bellowing out more flames to melt tires and send them fleeing "YOU LEAVE THINGS BEHIND OR ME SLUDGE CRUSH YOU BOTH!" he howls, charging at the nearest one to flame its' tires too, knowing the weaknesses of ground vehicles it seems. Sludge picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(his dexterity) against Calliope's agility. Sludge's roll succeeds CRITICALLY! Warpath jerks under the force of Onslaught's last shot, part of his already-damaged chest armor buckling under the impact. Warnings explode across his vision and he stumbles back, trying to dismiss them only to have even more come up in their place. He barely hears Ironhide's order, activating the commands to reload his gun frantically and only getting a jumble of errors in return. After a few more moments of swaying on his feet, his systems finally override his manual input and drop him into stasis, the red minibot collapsing into a heap. The poorly aimed swing, and the uncertainty effecting the amount of power he put into it, causing his hammer only to glance off of the transport, barely leaving a dent. The force is enough, however, to send Hammerstrike spiralling out of control, pulled by the weight and momentum of his poorly aimed weapon. After a few graceless twirls the mech loses balance and falls onto his front, landing with his arms stretched above his head, one hand still barely gripping the weapon. The retreat happens around Hammerstrike as he struggles back to his feet. Needless to say, he won't be up and ready in time to be much help in impeding the retreat. Instead, upon rising, he sees one of his allies is down and trots over to Warpath's sunken form. Checking him for a response, and not getting any, he hoists the minibot onto his shoulders, ready to carry him have to base. Another hit shatters his windshield onto his hood and dashboard, and it stings. Still on his wheels, however, Onslaught tries his communications one more time while he shouts orders. "FORWARD! Ram the convoy into all of them!," His shouts are weaker, now, but still heard across to the convoy. "The rest of you - take cover, don't stop firing!" The tactician can feel something cut and leaking out of some vital parts, and he doesn't want to deal with this anymore. Cosmetic damage to the convoy is worth it to be able to get at least some cargo to their destination. Vortex swears loudly again at his complete inability to hit an immense target like Swoop, and continues to stagger in Onslaught's direction. After a few astroseconds, however, it becomes clear that he's far too slow right now to make it on foot. So he powers up his root mode thrusters and flies. As he passes the Dinobot, he takes one final shot in the hope of doing just a little more damage, this time aiming at Sludge's left shoulder. Vortex picks up the dicebag and rolls 2+(its dexterity) against Sludge's agility. Vortex's roll succeeds! Steeljaw growls at Onslaught- if he had his way, the mech would return to Polyhex in pieces. He darts forward, claws and teeth flashing, intent on damaging a leg at the very least. Steeljaw picks up the dicebag and rolls its strength against Onslaught's agility. Steeljaw's roll fails! The transports continue to smoke as the Decepticons retreat- leaving the field - for now- to teh Autobots. -BANG- -PEW- The shot slams into Sludge's shoulder, getting his attention. "HEY!" He turns his long neck around, ignoring the smoking transport now as he focuses on Vortex again, snapping in the air as he intends to CHASE the thing down. No attack. "GET BACK HERE ME SLUDGE SAY!" Shark takes a few parting shots at the Cons as they leave as he moves up to a transports, "Okay anyone bring something to douse the flames or what cuz this can go up at any moment!"
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)