| abstract
| - The Western Rad zone is a PERFECT place for Megatron to be. Gloating and claiming the massive destruction and radiation as cause of his massive weapon strike. Megatron stands tall on a nearby crag with closed fists on his hips, reveling and grinning in a victory pose. Megatron appears almost glowing in victory - or is that radiation? "Soon all of Cybertron will bow to my will." Megatron rasps, basking in the glory of his perceived victory. Slipstream is hovering above her Emperor in root form, scanning for any that may intrude upon his gloating moment. "Indeed my Lord." she intones respectfully. Shark is out on patrol with scanners at full. Beside him is Hammerstrike. "Glad to have you back in rotation." the young mech notes. Thump thump thump... it would be untrue to say that Hammerstrike was plodding along quietly beside Shark, for the mech could not be stealthy if his life depended upon it. He kept very close to Shark, keeping his pace and the short distance between them to rigid exactness. When spoken to the large mech just intones a grunt as agreement. However, thinking again of his first response perhaps coming off as a bit rude he nods slowly. "Yes, it is good to be back on duty." Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 12! Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 8! Megatron grins and proceeds to raise his cannon-arm. Engaging said weapon and warming it up, Megatron rasps, "Ah, looks like we have company. Time to show those Autobots who their REAL ruler is." Megatron grins evilly and flexes, warming up servos in his hands and such. "SLIPSTREAM!" Megatron bellows, "Greet our guests." Megatron laughs, pointing to where the Autobots are coming in. Slipstream's scanners pick up the approaching Autobots so lowers down to speak to Megatron, "The Autobots approach as you predicted my Lord." then a nod to the mech, "Of course my Lord." transforming to jet mode to streak toward the duo, lance upon her nosecone. Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 10! Sharkâs scanners pick up the incoming seeker and states to Hammerstrike, "Be ready cuz we got company." Hammerstrike had narrowed his optics, surveying the barren landscape, momentarily caught up in his own thoughts; a dangerous misstep. Fortunately for him, he was not alone, and upon being cautioned by Shark he returned to an alert state. His hand twitched as he lifted his arm to grasp the large hammer strapped to his back as he glanced upwards. "Course of action?" he asked in a broken sentence as his optics spotted the incoming jet. As prepared for a seeker the Autobots may be, they are far less prepared for the Decepticon Emperor himself. Megatron grins at the pair of Autobots. They always roll in pairs.. All the more fun for Megatron to destroy. Megatron reaches up to make a quick adjustment to his cannon - and steps forward into the fray. "Decepticon, ATTACK!" Megatron issues the order, not stopping to ask any questions first. Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 5! Slipstream roars toward the duo, lasers shooting out of her chassis mounted weapons. They miss their mark, but then it only sets them up for her Lord's attack. Shark tells Hammerstrike, "Take cover, I'll radio for backup. If we cannot get any then we beat it out of here." The mech already moving to duck to the nearest cover. Hammerstrike doesn't need to be told twice to take cover once the lasers come ablazing. Admittedly, there isn't a lot of cover to really take, and the large mech drops and rolls into one of the many craters scattered about, flattening himself against the inner ridge and peering up with a grim expression. Hammerstrike holds out an arm, a panel in it sliding and revealing a firearm. He watches the sky from his cover, prepared to draw fire if and when necessary, but for now is just on the defensive. Megatron, cannon already warmed up, enters the battle. "Autobots!" Megatron intones in an evil, plotting voice. "Give up your foolish ideas of hiding or fighting against me. You stand no chance against my might. Submit now and I may consider sparing your worthless sparks." Megatron then fires a clear shot towards Shark to indicate he means business. Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 13! Slipstream comes around and transforms, hovering in mid air while looking around for where the Autobots took cover. "Cowards." she hisses, lance in one hand and pistol in the other. Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 13! Odin picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Odin rolls a 10! Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 2! Shark snorts to that claim, he states over Bot radio. He levels his black light turret to aim it toward the mech, unfortunately for him Megatron gets his shot off first and it impacts the turret area of his shoulder. "Frag it!" he cusses loudly. Hammerstrike powered up his firearm in affirmation of Shark's directions. He cautiously peered out over the rim of the crater he'd taken cover in to locate the whereabouts of the femme. Spotting where she was hovering he raises his arm and fires off a single laser, aiming for a thruster to try and ground Slipstream, or at least, unbalance her. Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 1! Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 4! Megatron's optics narrow, "So, it looks like you need to be taught another lesson!" Megatron exclaims, recognizing the Autobot he previously beat down - Shark. "I shall enjoy beating you into submission once again Shark. And this time I shall not permit you to escape my clutches." Megatron clenches his fist and fires again at Shark, ever approaching with his towering form towards Shark's position. Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 1! Slipstream spots the large Bot pop up so easily evades his shot, "Tsk, shooting at a femme.. what /has/ this war come to hmm?" she notes as she levels her weapon toward him, "You must pay for your insolence Autobot." she snaps off a shot at the mech. Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 13! Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 20! Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 8! Shark primes his rifle and it comes up to focus upon the silvery mech, "Bite me.. oh wait... that's my job." he snarks at Megatron, ducking the next shot from the mech then popping up to line up his shot again, "Say hello to my rifle." Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 19! Hammerstrike was not the most inconspicuous mech out there, and thus isn't terribly disheartened by the effortless evasion of his opponent. His optics just narrow at the femme's comments. Seeing her weapon, he waits until after he has dropped behind cover and rolled away for good measure, narrowly avoiding the oncoming fire before retorting, "Mech or femme matters not, all Decepticons are vile." He fires again from his mounted gun, but is thinking it might be wise to find some new cover in the near future. Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 <'Pew' rebuttal> Hammerstrike rolls a 17! Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 7! Odin picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Odin rolls a 10! Megatron steps out of the way as Shark fires his weapon. "I will make you REGRET your choice, Autobot. You WILL bow before me as your one true Lord." Megatron rasps and jumps into the crater Shark's found himself into - fist first. Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 9! Slipstream growls as her shot missed the larger Bot, hovering toward him with lance at ready, "You wound me with your words. Let's see if you can avoid this Autobot." she hisses at him, lunging toward Hammerstrike in hopes of scoring with said weapon. Sadly she doesn't get too close as his attack connect and she yells out in pain. Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 1! Shark brings out his pistol now, its charged and readied to go. "Back up is on its way Megatron, you really want to stick around with just the two of you here hm?" the mech asks with a smirk upon his lips. He pays for that though as the fist comments and sends him to the ground with an audible oof. Hammerstrike reaches back and grabs his large hammer, wielding the hefty blunt weapon in both hands. He grips it tightly in front of him, his optics narrowed to mere slivers as he regards Slipstream, satisfied but not smug about the landed hit. "I will give you just one chance, /miss/, to turn back." He waits at the ready to evade or deflect should she decline his 'valiant' offer. Megatron is not convinced that backup is on the way. Calling Sharks bluff, Megatron rasps, "Lying is not your strong point. Not that you HAVE any strong points." Megatron taunts, walking so he towers over Shark's prone form. The silvery Mech stands tall above his quarry as he raises his fist in the air to once again work on connecting his fist with Shark's face. Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 10! Slipstream snorts at that offer that is offered, "I rather not tick of my Lord by doing such a thing without his order to retreat, so you better bring it Autobot cuz here I come." she snarls back. Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 7! Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 18! Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 19! Shark may be a liar, but in this case he wasn't really lying as much as he was buying some time. He raises his arm to block the fist so it impacts it instead; he grimaces a bit then jerks his feet back and goes for a double footed blow against the Emperor. Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 6! "So be it," Hammerstrike thunders in an ominous baritone. Having had his hammer ready, he sees the oncoming thrust of the lance and deflects Slipstream's attack with a forceful swing to stagger her from her path. Keeping the momentum of the first swing, he arcs his Hammer around while taking a long stride to close in on Slipstream and bring the hammer to a devastating meeting with Slipstream's chassis. Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 7! Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 18! Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 5! Megatron of course sees Shark's feet being raised to kick at his legs. In an attempt to counter it with a kick of his own, he moves his feet back. But this tactic only allows Shark to connect with his attack. The face of Megatron turns to a scowl as he rasps, "This time I shall tear your legs from your sockets in the most painful manner." Megatron again cocks his fist back to pound away on Shark. Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 10! Slipstream misses her attack, but in doing so makes him miss his as well. She grins wickedly at him, "I do enjoy a challenge mech, but do try harder." she snickers, snatching at her lasso and readying it for her next attack. Once she has it ready, she tries snagging him with it - in order to drain his energy slightly with it. Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 5! Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 11! Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 11! Shark just barely rolls away from the fist that comes down, this time his pistol fires a shot at the mech once he stops his roll, "Get in line." he laughs. Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 9! Is out of humor to indulge the opponent in further banter. Using the time she took for her discourse of taunting to get some distance between them, he manages to evade having any part of him snagged by Slipstream. Hammerstrike lifts his hammer high above his head, and lets out a loud holler and charges recklessly towards Slipstream, aiming high with his hammer. Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 8! Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 13! Odin picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Odin rolls a 14! Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 18! Dodging Shark's pistol, Megatron roars again. "In line? in line?" He asks twice in a row, sounding more enraged the second time he asks. "I wait for NO MECH." Megatron intones, sounding like his decision is final. Getting angrier, Megatron rasps, "I shall enjoy this, petty Autobot." Megatron rasps, returning your pistol shot with cannon fire of his own. Slipstream easily dodges the high aimed hammer, hissing softly as she dances this close combat dance with the large mech. "Out of practice are we?" she asks with a giggle, finding this all too amusing. She spins around to give the mech a sidelong glance of her lance, perhaps in the head to ring his proverbial bell. Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 8! Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 8! Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 7! Shark smirks at the roared question, said twice even, only proving he struck a chord. Unfortunately for him, getting Megatron mad only seems to improve his aim! The cannon connects and he is literally blown off his feet, back impacting the ground a few seconds later. His optics flicker as a grimace of pain crosses his lips. Yeah.. that hurt. A Lot! Feeling the unpleasant sensation of hitting nothing when one is anticipating and braced for impact, the mech is unbalanced. He can't stop quite in time to pivot and swing again, so he just allows for his momentum to carry him past his mark. However, the glance of the lance off of his large backside causes him to stumble and lose balance. Although Hammerstrike does not fall, although he teetered quite precariously for a few steps, he does not manage to reel around in time for a plausible counter, and instead resumes a defensive stance. Megatron grins as Shark reels from the pain. "I will ensure you know the meaning of true power, Shark. And of true pain." Megatron levels his cannon at Shark again and fires again, scowling and stalking his pray. "Hahaha... you stand no chance." Megatron taunts as he approaches through the volley of his cannon fire. Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 1! Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 15! Slipstream lifts her chin a bit, a smirk upon her lips, "Your friend is injured. Soon you shall follow him." she goads as she lunges at the mech with her lance, intending to score with the pointy end this time. Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 8! Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 8! Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 1! Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Hammerstrike rolls a 2! Shark manages to somehow find the strength to roll away from the shot; he coughs up oil and weakly radios up Hammerstrike. "Time to leave." he murmurs as he transforms and readies to escape! Hammerstrike narrows his optics to mere slivers. Just as Slipstream was taunting him about his ally, she receives the instruction to retreat. Seeing the oncoming lunge, he manages to get his bulky chassis out of the way. The lance just barely glances off of his arm, leaving only superficial scratches. Hammerstrike attempts to land one more blow with his hammer upon Slipstream, with the intent of slowing her pursuit of his inevitable retreat. Hit or miss, he is already getting ready to sprint away from the fray. Hammerstrike picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 < Stalling Hammer> Hammerstrike rolls a 19! Slipstream picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Slipstream rolls a 2! Megatron continues to grin as Shark shows his weakness and backs away. Megatron doesn't back off, continuing to stalk Shark as he rolls and attempts to get away. "Oh no.." Megatron rasps, "I'm not through with you yet." Megatron's lips twist into a wicked grin, eager to reach out and attempt to grab Shark. Megatron picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Megatron rolls a 5! Slipstream doesn't evade this shot, so it connects and has her stumble down to the ground. This would buy him enough time to get away from the femme seeker while she recovers.. after all that hammer is HEAVY! Shark picks up the dicebag and takes out a D20 Shark rolls a 16! Shark avoids the last grasp of the Emperor, though he is totally unaware that he just picked up something from the area thanks to his open wounds contacting the ground. He hovers off, knowing that the Cons won this round. Hammerstrike runs like the Dickens. Megatron laughs. It's an evil, deep laugh that echoes throughout the area, sounding of victory of the Autobots. "Good work Slipstream. Return to Polyhex for repairs and recharge." Megatron orders the return after his victory, hovering up and leading the way towards Polyhex as well. Slipstream inclines her head to her Emperor. "Thank you my Lord." she states, heading off toward Polyhex to do just that. Shark radioed in that he was having trouble getting back to base, due to the amount of damage he got from Megatron. So now it was up to someone to come out and help Hammerstrike get him the rest of the way. Arcee answers the call and speeds out towards Shark. "How bad are you hurt?" she wonders over the radio, "And is anyone following you? If any Decepticons come I'll blast them out of the sky!" Hammerstrike had doubled back when he realized Shark wasn't making as speedy of a retreat due to his wounds. Hammerstrike had been laden with the burden of supporting Shark, but it left him open for an ambush if the Decepticons decided to give chase after all. It would be easy for them to overtake them if that were the case, so Hammerstrike is relieved to see help arrive. Hot Rod was already on the way back to Iacon anyways when he got the distress call. The little sportster's frame looks to be pretty banged up and he's even smoking a little under the flaming hood. The cavalier moves into a defensive position beside Shark, "Dang.. you've had better cycles.. what on the slag happened to you two?" and at the sight of Arcee the flaming sports car revs his engine in a futile attempt at bravado.. as his engine burps and rattles from the beating it took earlier. Shark nods to Arcee, the mech is in bad shape. "It's bad. I radioed up Ratchet and Lifeline." he says before he coughs up some oil mixed with coolant. "Ugh.. man he got me good." then a pause, "Megatron... happened..." "Oh my, that's not good," Arcee says, "Who else needs help? Is anyone else injured?" Comparatively, Hammerstrike was in pristine condition. In actuality he had a few dings and scratches from his battle. The large mech gives a side glance to Hot Rod before shaking his head 'no' to Arcee's question. Hammerstrike just makes a grunt to contribute to the current conversation as he continues to assist Shark back to Iacon for repairs. Shark glances at Hammerstrike, "He got off easy in comparison, was just us two against Megatron and the seeker Slipstream." he states. They are close to the base now as Arcee assists Hammerstrike. Arcee gladly assists Hammerstrike. "I hope the Decepticons are worse off than you guys," she says, "Did you find out what Megatron was planning?" Hammerstrike glances again at Hot Rod, who also does not seem to be in ideal condition, raising an optic ridge questioningly, but says nothing. He seemed lively despite the outward signs of damage and thus was not an immediate concern. He turns his head to face straight ahead of him once more. "The Decepticons will be worse off next time," Hammerstrike intones grimly yet quietly, as if more to himself than to the others. He glances back at Arcee as she helps drag Shark to the repair bay. Perhaps a thanks for her support should be expressed, but saying such things for a task expected out of fellow Autobots struck the large mech as awkward and thus he kept his silence. "Did you bite off more than you could chew?" Arcee asks Shark, as she helps take him to get repaired, "I wonder what Lifeline will say." Shark shakes his head to Arcee's question, "That wasn't why that mech was there, trust me. He wanted to put a hurting on someone and I got to be the one to receive said hurting. Guess he's still sore about that time I bit him on the arm." he flashes a toothy smile at that. A chuckle escaping him at Hammerstrike's assertion. "Don't I always?" he asks Arcee. Lifeline is helping out in the repair depot. Again. At least things have seemed pretty calm so far today. Finally, they had arrived. Hammerstrike lifts his chin once they step into the repair depot, his optics scanning about the various garages. Catching sight of Lifeline he shrugs his shoulders, re-adjusting his supportive hold on Shark. He could say some inane, obvious comment like 'we're here' but opts not to. He just brings Shark to Lifeline. Now Arcee will get to see just what Lifeline will say. Arcee helps Shark to a repair table. "Good point," she remarks. She sees Lifeline and nods at her in greeting. "If you need me to help with something, I'm here," she says. Shark grins toward the medic as they arrive; the look of 'honey I'm home' would cross the mechs face only briefly. "Thanks for the help there Arcee, Hammerstrike." he states to them both. Lifeline turns as she hears mechs entering the repair depot, and takes a few moments to study the three as they approach. At least the dark storm clouds don't appear /instantly/... And what does she have to say? "And what did you say to piss off a Decepticon this time, Shark?" Shark shutters his optics a moment, "Uhm.. would you believe it was 'get in line' that got Megatron majorly miffed?" he asked as he settled upon a med table. Hammerstrike simply inclines his head to Sharks in response to this thanks. Now that Shark is off his hands, Hammerstrike steps back and rotates his shoulders one at a time, idly watching Shark and Lifeline interact for a moment before swinging one arm slowly in front of him, examining a scratch in the pain on his upper arm. That was something he could remedy himself. Lifeline simply raises an eye ridge at that. "In what context?" She's already getting medical scanners online and doing preliminary repair work. Arcee stands beside Shark's med table. She looks over his wounds superficially before Lifeline gets to work. Shark vents softly at the question, only to answer with a query himself, "Context? Does that even matter? The mech threatens us both, especially me, and there has to be a fragging context?" Hammerstrike had stepped away so not to impede the medic doing her repairs. After tracing the scratch with his finger idly he returned his attention to Shark and Lifeline. He is about to support Shark's statement that they were attacked, but clamps up, deciding that perhaps it was not his place to be inserting comments. Instead intones, "I took hardly any damage. I will retire for the rest of the cycle so not to be in the way." Shark looks over to Hammerstrike and nods, "You so lucked out, Slipstream must be rusty." he notes with a smirk, "Or maybe she just has a soft spot for big mechs.. who knows." he shrugs a bit. Lifeline nods to Hammerstrike, busying herself with the repairs. "All right, all right. Guess your sense of humor's been knocked out of calibration too." Hammerstrike flinches visibly at the term 'rusty' despite it not being directed towards him. He straightens up to his full height and places his arms at his side in a rigidly erect posture, his fingers straight and pointing downwards rather than the slightly curled position of relaxed digits. "Soft spots are dangerous in a war," Hammerstrike responds after a momentary pause. He then inclines his head and turns to leave. Shark sits still for Lifeline, but then he's never really squirmed under the medic's attentions before. "Oh was that question supposed to be amusing? Huh." he notes and glances at Arcee, "See something you like there?" Shark watches Hammer walk off after that comment, he grunts softly and murmurs, "Has a point there."
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