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| - On his return to his lodgings, Aubrey finds that he has been given a command and promoted to the rank of commander. His joy overcomes his animosity towards Maturin and they become fast friends. As 'Master and Commander', and in charge of the tiny sloop-of-war HMS Sophie, Aubrey has to fill out his crew, including the post of ship's surgeon. He persuades Maturin to serve, at least on a temporary basis, although as a physician, he is overqualified for the job. Also introduced are Master's Mates Thomas Pullings and William Mowett and midshipman William Babbington, who become long-term fixtures in the series, and James Dillon, Sophie's first lieutenant, whose secret background as a member of the United Irishmen intersects Stephen's own. He changes the armament of the ship and improves her sailing by adding a larger spar. He makes her ready to sail in convoy with twelve merchant vessels. During their journey east, the new captain takes the opportunity to get to know his sailors and to weld them into a fighting unit. As he does, he and the crew explain many naval matters to Maturin, since the doctor is a novice sailor. En route, they meet an Algerian quarter-galley who attacks their rearmost vessel, the Norwegian Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter. The Sophie chases her off. Eventually, having retrieved the Norse ship, the convoy makes its destination off Cagliari. After a second convoy duty to Leghorn, Aubrey reports to Lord Keith in the Genoa roads.
- Special bonus: a rare (and possibly unthemely) appearance of Jetfire's gerwalk mode! UNS Atlantis travels along the ocean's surface, its scanners searching out for the Argosy. Its crew and pilots on standby for so much of a hint of the cons. It's clear to anyone that the Atlantis is out on the hunt. Michael sits on the bridge enjoying some freeze dried rations...looks like smores...or something like smores. In either case, he's eating something while sitting in the command chair. Marissa Faireborn has been pacing the decks of the Atlantis for the past several hours, checking in with crews and ensuring that each section is prepared for the inevitable engagement against the Argosy. The flight deck has Talons and Ares classes Exo-Suits prepped for launch at all times, and the weapons are able to be charged within a mere two minutes of the order being given. Activate scans are filling the heavens, searching for any signs of the mysterious Decepticon airbase. In short, Marissa is doing all the things that Briar probably should be doing. Decepticon Airbase has detected the human interlopers approaching them, and instead of flying off to "safety," the Argosy appears to welcome the challenge, changing course to approach the Atlantis. Across the airbase's hull, panels open up and reveal a staggering array of energy weapons and rockets. The Argosy, despite moving at a speed far greater than the Atlantis, may actually appear rather slow due to the distance and its size. But that hardly matters--very soon, it will be right on top of the Atlantis. As it draws closer, little specks fly out of the Argosy, flash brightly for a moment, then assume escort formations, waiting for further orders. Autobot Superjet transmits a few discreet messages to the Atlantis when he's still at extreme range, identifying himself and his planned angle of approach. His speed is such that in less than a minute he's passing over the Atlantis, but he decreases his speed to sub-sonic to make a more polite fly-by. Buzzsaw flaps his wings, keeping himself from falling down, which would possibly destroy his body in the process. He readies himself for what may happen next, including a fight. Cyclonus leaps free of the Argosy cargo ramp, flying forward rapidly away from the huge ship, before he transforms and banks ahead of the formation of Argosy fighters. "Attention all craft! Target enemy air targets and then proceed to air to ship bombardment. Only cease fighting if you are destroyed or they are. For the Decepticon Empire!" He then powers up his engines and blazes forward in Jetfire's direction. From UNS Atlantis, Andi Lassiter is standing out of the way in the command center, because honestly, she has no idea what she could do to help. I mean, this is a fricking WARSHIP. From UNS Atlantis, One of the bridge staff manning one of the sensor stations calls out, "Signals detected sir! Inbound. 15.5 degrees port." Michael says, "It's about damn time. IFF?" Com calls out, "Negative. Last positive ID was from Jetfire, he's at extreme range but radioed in his IFF codes when he entered our detection range. Radar and Holographics are attempting to ID the incoming targets now. Confirmed, several seeker class TFs, Cyclonus, and the Argosy!" Michael says, "Helm, port 15.5 degress. Battle stations!" Klaxons sound throughout the ship as a bridge female calls out, "All hands battlestations, this is not a drill. All hands to battlestations. All pilots to your machines." Michael continues with his orders, "Weapons officer. Ready CIWS, Mousers, and Isolades! Load tubes one though five with Hellfire, load tubes six though ten with Dispars." The ship has already turned towards the Argosy, which seems just like a spot off in the distance. Sensors call out, "Distance to target, 1.4 miles sir." Michael says, "Flight control, launch fighters." The intercoms in the ship call out with the same female voice, "All pilots, launch ASAP." Marissa had been half way between the flight deck and engineering when suddenly klaxons begin going off along the hallways. Crewmen and women are running this way and that, and Marissa herself jogs towards back towards the flight deck in an orderly fashion. By the time she gets there, pilots are already hopping into their jets and Talons, and Marissa's three man Warthog squadron is being rolled out. An EDC boarding shuttle is ready to ferry the Warthogs over to the Argosy to take the fight to the enemy. "Alright, lets go! Hurry!" Marissa barks to her two squadmates as they begin to suit up. Soon the three armoured suits are coming to life as they get on the boarding shuttle. In the background, jets and Talons can be seen racing up the short runway and taking off to meet the Decepticons. Buzzsaw continues flapping his wings, keeping himself away from everyone and hovering near the Argosy. His violet wings holding his small body up in the air. He wonders if he should join the fight or just stay back, and decides to just hang back. Decepticon Airbase slowly begins to descend in altitude, its frame crackling with loose electrical energy as its remaining gunports open. Then, all at once, it unleashes a barrage of ruby-red beams at the Atlantis, peppering it with lasers in an effort to damage exposed equipment. The Decepticon fighters, meanwhile, cry out in unison, "For the Empire!" as they bravely (foolishly?) follow Cyclonus. A few of them will probably regret Cyclonus's decision to fight to the death, but for now, they are clearly inspired and hungry for battle. Decepticon Airbase strikes UNS Atlantis with laser. Cyclonus continues to accelerate, moving with lighting quickness toward his target before he banks to the right, climbs higher, and then flies down toward Jetfire with the sun behind him like Han Solo....an evil Han Solo! Bright red lasers shoot from his weapon emplacements in an attempt to reach out and scorch Jetfire. Cyclonus strikes you with Laser for 8 points of damage. The EDC boarding shuttle is a long helicopter similar to a Chinook, but packed full of Cybertronian defensive devices including point defence laser beams, a Cybertronium hull, and the latest in Transformer grade vernier technology. The chopper lifts up off the deck of the Atlantis even as jets run interference, trying to draw the Decepticon jets away from attacking the relatively easier to target transport. The helicopter containing Marissa and her two fellow soldiers is headed straight for the Argosy, clearly planning to deposit the three warriors on its surface. Autobot Superjet twitches aside as the lasers scorch into him, but it's too late to actually avoid the attack. He dives lower, headed for dangerously low altitudes a few hundred feet over the ocean where few flyers can maintain stability. At the same time, the laser turrets on either side of his nose swivel back to point at Cyclonus, letting Jetfire return fire without altering his own trajectory. Jetfire's lasers are of much lower intensity, probably more for defense as befits an Autobot. But with the four seperate lasers he's able to emit a small barrage, making up for it in quantity and practically filling the sky around Cyclonus with laser bolts. You strike Cyclonus with laser. UNS Atlantis is peppered with laser fire strafing the landing deck and ripping up some metal plating, but little else. Even as the ship takes the low powered laser hits it's coming alive. In front of the tower a large turret emplacement rises up and three large gun barrels slide free from inside the turret. Several plates on the side of the ship slide back and beam cannons slide out and move up, their barrels already splitting and crackling with charged energy. Slots along the side of the ship rotate out revealing missile tubes and several projectiles slide out, ready to fire when called upon, some red, some white and flat nosed. Michael calls out, "Mouser beam cannons, return fire!" Several of the side mounted beam cannons swivel up and fire off blasts of white hot death upwards towards the ever growing target. Michael says, "Port twenty degrees!" The ship turns hard towards the left while the three barreled turret tracks the large target in the sky. Launch control calls out over the dull roar of beam cannon fire, "The boarding shuttle's launched sir." Michael looks over at Andi and says, "You'd better launch as well Lieutenant, they'll need all the help they can get out there." Several talons launch out from the hidden launch decks and roars out into the sky. UNS Atlantis strikes Decepticon Airbase with "Mouser M104" 30cm high-energy beam cannons. Cyclonus doesn't waver in his pursuit, chasing Jetfire all the way down to the deck, before pulling up at the last second and zooming right over Jetfire. This, however, places the Decepticon warrior in a position to have his undersized dotted with laser blasts. These do little damage but do arouse Cyclonus's ire as he flashes past Jefire before raising himself up above the water, flipping around once he climbs high enough, and flying back toward Jetfire before unleashing another laser barrage upon him, any errant shows causing the water to splash up in small colums of steam. Cyclonus strikes you with Laser for 3 points of damage. The Argosy, whether because of its armor or because of interference from its electrical field, does not appear to have been damaged much at all by the Mouser beams. They streak across the hull and scorch it but do not penetrate the armor. The Argosy, meanwhile, then directs what looks like tesla coils at the Atlantis. Electricity arcs into the coils and they surge with power before unleashing that energy, in the form of blazing bolts of lightning, at the Atlantis. On board the Argosy, Soundwave peers into a tactical display. The opposing forces are marked by little icons, as well as ID-tags. He notices one of them making a bee line for the Argosy, and brings it up on visual--a combat helicopter? What are they planning to do? Deciding that he doesn't want to find out, Soundwave picks up the mike and contacts one of the seekers dogfighting outside. "Jetram, intercept and destroy EDC combat helicopter." "Yes sir, Soundwave! YEEEHHHAAAAAWWW!" Jetram cries as he does an Split S to turn himself around--and aim himself right at the helicopter! "Watch out humans! Heeheeeheehaawww!" Decepticon Airbase strikes UNS Atlantis with electricity. Autobot Superjet feels more lasers burning into him - it's a testament to Cyclonus' aim and efficiency that none of the laser blasts in fact miss him. It's also becoming clear that Jetfire's low-altitude tactics won't provide any advantage against the Decepticon ace. Instead, Jetfire waits for Cyclonus to pull out of his latest dive and then spins in a metal-straining mid-air turn to face him. He lines himself up to meet him and then opens fire with long bursts from large-caliber cannons mounted on his underside. You strike Cyclonus with gauss. The EDC helicopter hovers over the Argosy while it pummels the Atlantis. Three heavily armoured figures make the short jump from the transport to the airbase, landing in crouches. Marissa, at the lead, carefully scans the nearby area. She doesn't need to give her soldiers any orders. They're here to be a general pain in the butt for Fusillade, Soundwave, and anyone else aboard this ship. While they have no illusions that they can severely damage the ship itself, hopefully they can serve as a distraction. The two soldiers begin to target structures that appear to be either sensor nodes or weapon arrays. Marissa, however, is gazing out in the opposite direction. "Keep on that. I have to take care of something real fast." The armoured human raises her left arm, brandishing the suit's heavy laser bazooka at the flying form of Cyclonus. There's a quick blast as Marissa tries to help Jetfire out by taking a potshot on the Decepticon second in command. Marissa misses Cyclonus with its grasp attack. From UNS Atlantis, The Sensor officer on the bridge says, "Energy spike, I don't know...." ZZZZZZZZIT! The crackling bolts of lightning strikes the Atlantis like a bolt of lightning that lingers scorching metal plating and warping a few. One or two of the internal circuits are blown from that hit, but minor things that weren't built to withstand such a hit. Suddenly a yapping comes across the earth channel speakers of Runabout. Michael grumbles, "Turn that damn thing off!" It gets clicked off quickly and with great relief. The weapons officer calls out, "Mouser beam cannons have no noticeable effect. The weapons fire just glanced off something on the argosy's hull. Unknown energy readings at this range. Most likely..." Michael cuts in, "...an energy field, yeah. Dispirs....fire!" A rack of red missiles erupt with flame and smoke from their launch tubes spitting out and turning into the sky. High velocity interceptor missiles streak everywhere aiming for most cons out on the battlefield but the lion's share of the flock is pointing for the Argosy. UNS Atlantis unleashes its "Dispar M112" interceptor multi-target missile volley attack on Decepticon Airbase , striking Decepticon Airbase . Cyclonus is knocked upward due to the force of Jetfire's blasts from underneath, tilting his nose up, before his engines cut back in and he suddenly blazes downward toward the Autobot jetfighter. This sharp downward motion cuases him to miss Marissa's rocket attack but it looks as if Cyclonus is in a dangerous position to collide with Jetfire. Cyclonus strikes you with Ram for 17 points of damage. "YEEEHAAWWWW!" Jetram cries as he nears the helicopter, albeit a bit late. Many of the aerial Decepticons explode from direct missile hits from the Atlantis. Soundwave, within the Argosy, glares at the tactical display. So, the helicopter sent those exo-suits to board the Argosy? Very well. Speaking into the ships' intercom, he orders, "Quick response team 1, report to the exterior hull and repel boarders." Moments later, three Decepticons, with ground-based military altmodes, pour out of hatches and airlocks, landing on top of the Argosy and cackling as they advance upon the EDC troopers, cruel melee weapons in hand. The Argosy is rocked hard by the missile salvo. Many of its crew members fall over from the impact, and a gaping hole is blasted into the armor. However, damage control teams are soon at work sealing the breach. If you look hard you might even see them from this distance! Obviously the Argosy can't let a hit like that go unchallenged, so it fires back with high-velocity cannon fire, tracers zipping towards the Atlantis. Decepticon Airbase strikes UNS Atlantis with ballistic. Quickswitch appears in the sky, small scorch marks along the fusellage of his chrome and green, utilitarian fighter jet mode. He had been certain this area was populated by more than just a single, weak Decepticon--and his suspicions had been loudly correct, as the looming form of the Argosy and the human vessel comes into view, "Damn!" Quickswitch shouts, "What a piece of work... How the Pit did they manage to hide /that/ from us?" Autobot Superjet is literally knocked from the sky by the collision, tumbling helplessly towards the water. He undergoes a half-transformation, arms and legs unfolding out of his engines and underside while half of him remains an aircraft. The new flexibility in his legs allows him to direct his engines better and Jetfire regains control of himself just before crashing into the water, skimming along a little and aiming one of his arms at Cyclonus. The cannon is now mounted on his arm, so he unleashes a much quicker burst of gunfire at him before transforming into his normal jet form again and pulling away from the water. Cyclonus evades your ballistic attack. "Damn," Marissa says as Cyclonus nimbly avoids the laser blast. She considers shifting the armour into its tank formation and letting loose with a missile barrage, but one of her comrades suddenly shouts at her. "Incoming!" Marissa turns about in time to see the three Decepticons pop out of the hatches in order to engage the Warthogs. As the Argosy is rocked by the Atlantis's missile barrage, the three soldiers have to crouch to avoid being tossed off balance. With Marissa's laser bazooka recharging, the other two soldiers take point and blast away at the Decepticons. Marissa meanwhile is prepared to leap ahead to intercept them should they seek a melee battle. With a smooth and fluid movement Cyclonus transforms into his looming robot mode. Cyclonus fully transforms, foot rocket firing to get himself away from the water as rapidly as possible after the collision, before he draws his sword from the hidden sheath on his back. He turns quickly, hoping to press the advantage before Jetfire recovers, which happily means he misses the shots the Autobot fires at him. Cyclonus flies down toward the half transformed Jeftire, sword flashing, as he chuckles darkly. "An interesting technique, Autobot, but futile! You evade Cyclonus's Quick, clean, and neat attack. From UNS Atlantis, The rounds rip into the landing deck leaving splattering shards of metal in their wake. The Atlantis is shaken by the hits and is certainly looking worse for wear. One of the sensor officers calls out, "Another signal, IFF coming in. It's an autobot. IDed as Quickswitch." Michael says, "Com officer, give me an open com channel." The com officer says, "Channel open sir." Michael says, "Quickswitch, this is the UNS Atlantis. We've engaged the Argosy and could use the help. Jetfire's already here but he's up to his bolts in problems with Cyclonus." Michael looks up from the mic and says, "Weapon officer, Eagle Talons, clear the air and target those cons attacking on the hull!" Eight small turrets split and slide apart with vulcan styled mini-guns rise up. Now that the Argosy is close enough, the Close In Weapon System kicks in. They swivel about and start peppering the cons that are attacking the boarding party...and if some rounds hit the Argosy, so much the better. Finally, the Atlantis swivels around so it's running broadside the massive air base, relatively speaking. The Isolade cannons turn and point towards the flying boat, ready to give a broadside volley the first chance they get. Michael says, "Isolades, ready to fire on my mark..." and he lifts his hand, ready to drop it. UNS Atlantis strikes Decepticon Airbase with "Eagle Talons" 75mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS. Autobot Superjet swerves out of Cyclonus' way in a rapid move. "Perhaps you're right. But I have a large datastore of alternate techniques," Jetfire offers in what for him passes for witty battlefield battle. He swivels his laser turrets at Cyclonus again. "I was one of the scientists that helped perfect null ray technology, Cyclonus. But it took my old comrade Starscream to fully demonstrate it's value in aerial combat." Instead of normal lasers, his turrets emit radiant beams of purple energy. Cyclonus evades your special attack. Cyclonus flies upward away from the beams that Jetfire fires toward him, managing to dodge all of them, as Cyclonus laughs darkly. "You use the methods of a traitor, Autobot, a traitor to both our sides. You have an even more severe case of foolish sentimentality then the rest of your kind!" As Cyclonus draws his sword back again it passes through one of the errant beams that Jetfire shoots toward him, coating the sword steel in the purple energy, before the Decepticon warrior slashes at Jefire. Cyclonus strikes you with Dark Eco Sword for 8 points of damage. "Aieee!" Jetram cries as the helicopter blasts him with a solid laser bolt, and he tumbles down to the ocean. So much for that idea. The Decepticon Response team seems to sneer in unison as the exo-suits open fire on them, and simply walk into it--that is, until an expected spray of bullets from the Atlantis knocks one of them clear off of the ship. Shocked, the two remaining members scramble off in different directions, taking snap shots at the exos as they go. The Argosy itself, however, fares much better from the ballistic attack. In fact, possibly to the horror of the gunnery crews, many of the bullets seem to be evaporated by alternating arcs of electricity. The weapons fire, overall seems to make little impact. But the Argosy isn't going to just play tit-for-tat--oh, no, this time, it's going to really hammer the Atlantis! Dozens of missiles launch from wing-based launchers, and stream towards the carrier, leaving behind multiple swirling trails of smoke, like a swarm of incorporeal snakes. Decepticon Airbase strikes UNS Atlantis with rocket. The ugly-looking fighter jet concentrates on the large Airbase of the Decepticon Empire. He brings himself alongside of it, tilting his wing and travelling the length while he searches for a potential weakness. Look at this, it seems the humans have taken their turn at it, the Sixchanger notes, dryly. What fun. Still, those little humans couldn't take on that flying fortress alone! "Right there, Briar, is it? I'll try to provide an alternate boarding route for you, or at the least, distract them long enough. When you require further aid, let me know." Marissa smiles from within her combat armour as the Atlantis is able to blow away one of the Decepticons confronting them, while the other two go running off. "Keep an eye out for those two. Never know if they're planning to come back or not." The two soldiers form up a defensive position around the Colonel while she once again takes a glance at the Cyclonus and Jetfire battle. It does not seem to go well for the Autobot scientist, and Marissa attempts to assist by heroicly shooting Cyclonus in the back with a full powered laser bazooka blast. Marissa succeeds in grasping Cyclonus, throwing him off-balance. Autobot Superjet trails sparks and and bits of armor but repeats softly, "Sentimentality?" He says this with a hint of irritation. Jetfire is apparently more annoyed at being called 'sentimental' than he is by repeated laser blasts, being rammed at high speeds, and having an energized sword chop through him. "Excuse me for a moment," Jetfire pulls away from Cyclonus as Marissa's blast hits, headed back towards the UNS Atlantis in hopes for a breather. He transforms and manages a skidding landing on the deck, immediately activating some of his experimental self-repair nanites. "I've been meaning to field-test these..." Jetfire transforms into his robot mode. From UNS Atlantis, A large warning beeping sounds out as a sensor officer says, "Incoming..." Michael responds, "Evade, twenty to port...eagle talons! Isolade's...FIRE!" The three main cannons fire sending arcing yellow glowing shells up towards the large decepticon ship with the sound like thunder. The CIWS's are already busy firing off towards the Argosy and not exactly the same spot where the missiles come from. Some of the CIWS however does turn in time. The missiles that are shot down blossom with red and orange fireballs above the atlantis as it turns hard back the other way steaming on. However, two slam into the side of the ship exploding and ripping that corner up mangling it and starting a fire that belches out black smoke into the sky. Damange control clicks on their intercom, "Damage teams, fire on landing deck, section A4!" Michael calls out, "Weapons officer. Target the Argosy's tesla coil pylons in the front of the ship. Use hellfire M114 high explosives....call it when you get a target lock!" UNS Atlantis strikes Decepticon Airbase with "Isolade M108" 42cm triple cannons. Cyclonus is shot heroically in the back by a heroic Earth woman who is quite often heroic. Cyclonus, however, is not pleased at this as he turns his head to scowl at Marissa. "Cease your interference, human, or it will be the last error you will make." He turns his head to look back at Jefire as the Autobot flies away, quickly engaging his thrusters to pursue, before raising his right fist and attempting to bash it down on the back of Jetfire's neck. "Do not run from a battle. Face your fate!" Cyclonus strikes you with Turnabout is Fair Play for 11 points of damage. "Screw off, Cyclonus! I plan to be around a long enough time to make plenty more errors!" Marissa shouts through the powered armour's loudspeaker. "Uh..." one of her soldiers interjects. "Yeah I know," Marissa replies with a sigh, "I'll work on the snappy banter when I have more time." Still, the bravado in the face of terrifying danger is the point, and the Colonel feels she managed to get that across. As the Decepticon swoops down after Jetfire towards the Atlantis, Marissa finds herself unable to get a clear shot on him due to the angle. But the moment he moves back out... Jetfire waits patiently for his 'experimental self-repair nanites' to have some effect...and waits...and waits...finally he notes, "I think I can classify that experiment as a 'failure'. Perhaps if I--squARK!" He's suddenly slammed to the deck by Cyclonus' fist, where he lies crumpled for a bit. The two remaining Decepticon response team members haven't gone away--they've just backed off and seperated somewhat, contenting themselves by firing at their assailants from a distance. Now and then they stop shooting for a moment to bicker about whether or not they should try to close in on them again. The Argosy takes some solid hits from the Isolades. The cannon fire rips through some of the Tesla coil cannons, either reducing their effectiveness or tearing them apart outright. On the command bridge, Soundwave glances at a damage readout as some of the coils blink out. He's rather annoyed at that. They had charged up and everything. Well. He'll fire what he can. The Argosy fires more bolts of electricity at the Atlantis this time, but the light show is substantially less impressive due to the reduction in firepower. Decepticon Airbase strikes UNS Atlantis with taser. Soundwave also keeps a close eye on that Quickswitch fellow. Quirky guy, that one. Why won't the Autobots let him attack, he wonders? From UNS Atlantis, Michael Briar would agree with Marissa, she could take lessons from Michael in that area. The two ships are pounding each other and it'll probably be some time before a winner would be decided. Michael says, "Hellfire...fire! Com officer, open a channel to Quickswitch." The communication officer's fingers move across his controls and says, "Com line open sir." Michael speaks into his microphone over the roar of hellfire red snub nosed missiles streak out from their launchers and arc up towards the Argosy. UNS Atlantis unleashes its "Hellfire M114" high explosive multi-target missile volley attack on Decepticon Airbase , striking Decepticon Airbase . Cyclonus touches down on the deck of the Atlantis as he sends Jetfire sprawling on the deck, turning toward where Marissa stands, before he swaps out his sword for his pistol weapon. He conceals himself behind the ship's superstructure as he primes his weapon before he engages his feet boosters and leaps upward from the deck. Cyclonus aims his weapon at Marissa and fires a snapshot at her. Cyclonus strikes Marissa with Disruptor. Hold back?? That mealy mouthed scientist wanted him to hold back?! They were always trying to get him to 'hold back', a notion that neither made sense nor the Sixchanger found to his tastes. That wasn't going to put an end to this conflict. No. An incredible rush arcs its way through Quickswitch's systems as he charges up his mounted wing-cannons and releases the fresh energy toward the flying Decepticon fortess' rear pylons. I wonder what kind of damage my photon energy will inflict? A transmission is recieved, then given in kind. Quickswitch strikes Decepticon Airbase with Photon Blaster. Marissa and company are suddenly in a lot of trouble. The remaining two Decepticon defenders turn about and blast at the three Warthogs from afar, nailing one of the Colonel's bodyguards in the knee assembly, causing the exo-suit to buckle and fall forward. Only the save by his companion by lending a shoulder to lean on prevents him from potentially becoming immobilized. They shoot back at the defenders, but they're pinned down and already wounded, making this difficult. Marissa meanwhile, has her own problems to deal with, having finally drawn the ire of Cyclonus. Marissa aims at the Decepticon second in command the moment she has line of sight, just as he does the same to her. Sadly, Cyclonus is the faster draw of the two, and the shot knocks the exo-suit clear off its feet. Marissa's own blast goes wide as a result as she slams into her fellow soldiers, causing all three to go down. There is much confusion and chaos as they try to sort themselves out. Will the Decepticons be able to take advantage?! Exo-Armor Talon leaves the UNS Atlantis. Exo-Armor Talon has arrived. From Exo-Armor Talon , Andi Lassiter was hoping she wouldn't have to do this, as her exo-piloting skills are still nowhere near where she'd want them to be. But, as Marissa and two others were just knocked over, she feels she has no choice. Sending her Talon stomping out, one of its weapons leveling toward Cyclonus. Which one? Uh...no clue. It was that red button there. Decepticon Airbase takes several hellfire strikes across its frame, some of its armor fragmenting off amidst the explosions. But the massive Airbase seems to shrug off even that damage. Quickswitch's beams do less damage, even though they might've rightly done quite a bit more to an average Decepticon. And as it takes fire, the Argosy passes directly over the aircraft carrier for a moment, raining down weapons fire from point-defense batteries before it begins to increase in speed and pulll up... straight into the atmosphere! Are they planning on escaping? The two Decepticon gumbies look around as the Argosy begins to change course, and one of them says, "Quick, we have to finish them off!" Shouting out loud, the two Decepticons charge the exo-suits, swinging their melee weapons like mad. "DIE HUMANS!" Decepticon Airbase strikes UNS Atlantis with disruptor. The Jet turns now, its sight set directly upon the two gumbies as the monstrously constructed jet zeroes in, each cannon independantly fixed on a separate target and opens fire upon them. The humans required immediate assistance, which Quickswitch was more than happy to provide. if it wasn't already too late for them. Quickswitch succeeds in grasping Decepticon Airbase , throwing it off-balance. Cyclonus strides forward as his shot sends not just Marissa but her compatriots sprawling to the deck. He comes to stand in front of them, so tall his shadow blocks out the sun(presuming it has cooperated by placing itself behind him) before he draws his sword again. He leans forward slightly, raising the blade, as he keeps his eyes trained on Marissa before he slams it into the deck just behind her head. "Mark this lesson of your powerlessness well, human. I may not be so generous as to give another." Cyclonus stands back up and turns around as he hears the Talon stomping towards him, a smirk on his face, as he transforms into his starfighter mode so that his engines are pointed toward the three unconscious humans. "By simply ignighting my engines I could sear them in seconds. Do you wish to risk that, human?" Suddenly there is a roar of wind and a roar of engines as Cyclonus transforms into his massive spaceship mode and flies upward. Jetfire drags himself across the deck and takes cover behind the same superstructure tower as Cyclonus, although he pulls himself to his feet on the opposite side. When he hears Cyclonus taking off, Jetfire uses the tiny respite from the fight to peer at his own hand, optics quickly zooming in on some of the 'experimental self-repair nanites' there. "Of course." he notes. "These nanites were actually collected from the remains of a Quintesson shuttle and reconfigured to repair Cybertronians. But their original purpose was to repair simple...perhaps their embedded programming is still in effect. He puts his hand on the superstructure, and sends the near-invisible nanites swarming out, where they quickly seek out some of the more damaged parts of the nearby super-structure and attempt to restore functionality. They can't replace damaged armor, but at least they can return some of the internal systems to full functionality. From Exo-Armor Talon , Andi Lassiter takes quick mental stock. "Maybe not, but who's to say that someone else isn't sneaking up on you while I create a distraction? Of course, I might also be just talking to hear myself talk and to mess with your head. Just ask Soundwaves about that." Unconscious? This ladies and gentlemen is why Cyclonus is not a doctor. Muttering orders over the shortwave broadband, Marissa clearly doesn't plan on being used as a hostage. As she stares at the thrusters of Cyclonus, she makes several mental calculations involving Cyclonus's engines and a Warthog's armour. She is confident that this will work. As the Decepticon second in command barks out his threats towards Andi, the three EDC soldiers suddenly bolt, hoping that Cyclonus really did think that they were unconscious. All three head to the shortest side of the Argosy and leap off without hesitation or fear. The three power armours are in free fall near one another, using the Warthog's thrusters to keep within close proximity. Marissa feels a cold sinking feeling in her chest as the water far below gets closer and closer. From this altitude it almost feels like the descent is slow. Andi, Marissa thinks, don't let me down now! From UNS Atlantis, Michael Briar grunts as the tower and everything in the middle of the carrier is hit with close in weapons fire. Fragmentation fire blows holes in the armor plating while other rounds shatter transparsteel windows in the bridge. The bridge erupts in chaos as glass fragments spray the entire bridge. Michael brings up his hand protecting his face while he moves faster than some hitting the ground to avoid the rain of glass. Some bridge officers scream in pain, others don't scream at all. Michael says, "Sensor officer! Report!" over the wind and roar of battle, now fully visible and audible to the outside. The Sensor officer says, "Sir, the Argosy is pulling away after that last volley." Michael says, "Flight control, recall the fighters, get them back here." One of the officers asks, "Do we follow them?" Michael gets up and brushes off some shards of glass from his seat and says, "No...let them go. We've shown we can hold our own against them. At least for now. Once our fighters are back, set course out of the area. Damage control, begin assessing our situation." Cyclonus fires up his engines as the three exo-suited humans make their getaway, the air directly behind him wavering in the heat, before he lets himself go and shoots down the carrier's runaway. Hopefully Andi isn't in his way or else this could be quite ugly. Cyclonus misses Exo-Armor Talon Robot with his grasp attack. Decepticon Airbase begins to pull up higher and higher, eventually rising up out of effective weapons range once it enters the stratosphere. The retreat was a cold, calculated decision by Soundwave--he saw nothing to gain here by continuing to fight the Atlantis until one of them was destroyed. And so, with nothing to stop, the Argosy gradually dwindles out of sight. As for the two Decepticons chasing after the EDC, they scowl as their prey escapes, but reluctantly let them go and walk back into the ship. From Exo-Armor Talon , Andi Lassiter seems to anticipate Cyclonus' attempt to shoot past her and knock her off of the carrier's deck....or she meant to jump overboard. Almost immediately, the Talon's flight jets kick in and it makes a beeline for the three falling Warthog armors. "Someone in need of a pick-me-up?"
- O'Brian's historical fiction is well-known for his meticulus research, and Master and Commander is no exception, being in large part drawn from Thomas Cochrane's actual adventures on board HMS Speedy.. Cochrane's adventures on their own make good reading (and appear as a chapter in King and Hattendorf's Every Man Will Do His Duty), but in Master and Commander they are embroidered with close examination of friendship, rivalry, and human character, set in a finely textured background of Nelson's Navy. Jack Aubrey's character: open, good-humored, not overly wise, but a skilled naval tactician and ultimately a gifted leader leader; and Stephen Maturin's character: reserved, at times depressed, highly intelligent (though at times imprenetrably stupid on points of seamanship), and skilled as a physician and negotiator; are established in this novel, to be played out over the next 6,000 pages of the series.
- It is April 18, 1800, in Port Mahon, Minorca, at that time a base of the Royal Navy. Jack Aubrey, a lieutenant languishing in port without a ship, on half pay, depressed and indebt, and Stephen Maturin, a penniless half-Irish, half-Catalan physician and natural philosopher, meet for the first time at a soirée at the Govenor's House. Maturin elbows Aubrey in the side to quiet his humming while they are listening to the quartet and almost provokes a duel. On his return to his lodgings, Aubrey finds that he has been given a command and promoted to the rank of commander. His joy overcomes his animosity towards Maturin and after coffee at 'Joselito's Coffee House' they become fast friends. As 'Master and Commander', and in charge of the tiny sloop-of-war HMS Sophie, Aubrey has to fill out his crew, including the post of ship's surgeon. He persuades Maturin to serve, at least on a temporary basis, although as a physician, he is overqualified for the job. Also introduced are Master's Mates(Senior Midshipman) Tom Pullings, William Mowett and midshipman William Babbington, who become long-term fixtures in the series, and James Dillon, Sophie's first lieutenant, who is also a member of the United Irishmen along with Stephen. Aubrey improves the Sophie's sailing qualities by adding a larger spar to her mainmast, enabling him to spread a larger mainsail. He makes her ready to sail in convoy with twelve merchant vessels. During their journey east, the new captain takes the opportunity to get to know his sailors and to weld them into a fighting unit. As he does, he and the crew explain many naval matters to Maturin, (and thus to the reader) since the doctor is a novice sailor. After the convoy duties, Lord Keith allows Aubrey to cruise independently, looking for French merchants. After a number of prizes are taken, they meet and defeat the Cacafuego, a Spanish frigate, losing a number of crew, including Dillon, in the bloody action and gaining the respect of other naval officers. However, Captain Harte, the commandant at Mahon, has a grudge against Aubrey, who has been having an affair with his wife. His malevolence ensures the victory brings Aubrey and his crew no official recognition, promotion, or significant prize money. On her following escort duty, Sophie is captured by a squadron of four large French warships after a pursuit and a brave but hopeless resistance. The Battle of Algeciras begins, and after a short period as prisoners of war, they are exchanged, missing the fighting. Back at Gibraltar, Aubrey must undergo a court-martial over the loss of his ship, but he is cleared of the charges.
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