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| - [The Autobots roll to see if they detect the incoming Decepticons.] Arcee picks up the dicebag and rolls against her awareness. Arcee's roll succeeds! Horizon picks up the dicebag and rolls against his awareness. Horizon's roll succeeds! Chains picks up the dicebag and rolls against his awareness. Chains's roll fails! Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls against her awareness. Chromia's roll succeeds! Megatron swoops over the stretch of highway, looking for a good place for the Decepticons to alight and begin collecting energon. His optics widen in surprise and rage as he notices familiar -- and unwelcome -- forms below. "Autobots!" he cries. "Decepticons, *attack*! Chromia's head snaps up, optics widening. Frag. Frag! She turns on a heel, diving behind the nearest obstacle, pressing her back against it, gun drawn as she peeks out from behind the wall of a building. Megatron himself. A random Decepticon was one thing, but the head honcho? She was definitely outclassed here. "Horizon, we've got an issue here!" Megatron scans the small group of Autobots briefly. The shout from Chromia has already alerted all of the Autobots to their presence, and she's already run for cover. Ignoring her for now, his cannon surges bright purple before releasing a burst of energy at Chains. Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll fails! The presence of the Decepticons arriving had not gotten past Horizon's notice. Just as Chromia spotted them and called out and dashed for cover, he quickly brought out his gun. Things were happening fast, and his first impulse, besides readying his gun, was to shout to Chains to watch out, but he had all of the patrolling bots to think about, so instead he speaks into the Autobot frequency with the message: "Take cover whereever you can find it, and stay spread out." With that said, Horizon takes a bold shot at Megatron to try and draw his fire away from Chains. Horizon picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Megatron's agility . Horizon's roll succeeds! Skywarp dives, steeply, stooping to fire on Horizon with both lasers, holding his missiles in reserve. "Die, Autoscum!" Skywarp picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Horizon's agility . Skywarp's roll succeeds! As the Decepticons are inbound, Arcee crouches behind some cover and pulls out her pistol. Tracking the Seeker's movements, she opens fire with her weapon. "Let's see if I can clip your wings!" she exclaims. Arcee picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Skywarp's agility. Arcee's roll ties! Arcee picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Skywarp's agility. Arcee's roll fails! Chains doesn't usually miss these things, his sensors are good in general. But then he also isn't used to this 'teamwork' approach thing, or patrolling in a group - so having to account for bigger, louder vehicles trailing him has him distracted enough to miss the Decepticons - looking back instead of up, briefly. "Slag it." he curses at the shouted warning, taking evasive maneuvers - just in time, it turns out. The fast little mini just evades the cannonfire, but is still sent flying - transforming mid-air and landing in a neat little roll with only a few minor scrapes and burns to show for the near thing. Needless to say, even with his reflexes and nerve, its taking him a few moments to adjust. Nova Black sees Chromia run for cover. Someone more reasonable might go for an easier target, but Nova has never been all that sensible. "Cowardly vermin!" she roars, speeding toward the Autobot's hiding place and letting loose a barrage of laser fire. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Chromia's agility . Nova Black's roll succeeds! Chromia grunts as she's thrown backward from the hit, striking her head against the adjacent wall of a building. Seeing stars, she dashes out from undercover, rational thought gone, fire in pumping in her fuel lines. "So you want to play hardball then, huh? COME ON THEN! LET'S PLAY HARDBALL!" She's still seeing double of the black Seeker, but takes aim anyways and fires off a volley of rounds. Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Nova Black's agility. Chromia's roll fails! Megatron snarls angrily as Horizon's laser fire catches him in the side. "You'll pay for that, Autobot!" he cries -- just as Skywarp swoops in to take a shot at Horizon himself. For a moment, his optics flare bright crimson with irritation at being cheated of his prey. But the Autobot he shot at earlier is still down there, disoriented but otherwise seemingly unharmed. Better not to leave that one to recover his wits and shoot him from behind. Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll succeeds! Horizon's focus had foolishly been tunnled upon Megatron. He was, after all, the biggest threat. Thus by the time Skywarp's battle cry is heard, Horizon hadn't time to move out of the way of both lasers. He had, however, tried to dodge, tumbling to the ground as the searing pain of a laser scoring his flank was felt. Now down in a crouched position, he raises his weapon to fire on his assailant. Horizon picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Skywarp's agility . Horizon's roll fails! Skywarp continues his pursuit of Horizon. "Hah!" He says smugly, teleporting away from Horizon's shots, gaining some distance but still on trajectory to make another pass at Horizon. Skywarp picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Skywarp's agility . Skywarp's roll succeeds! Arcee drats and misses Skywarp, and when he comes in range again, she opens fire. "Hold still, will you?" Arcee picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Skywarp's agility. Arcee's roll succeeds! Chains takes the blast in the back, twisting just enough to keep it from being a killshot - thankfully, for a minibot, he's built tough. He goes flying even so, coming up rolling, with one arm not working very well, and sparking from his shoulder. He grunts, shaking off the disorientation as best he can - Megatron, go figure... well, at least if he's going to go down, he gets to make it going down against the biggest and baddest... and only chance he has is if he can make it up close and personal, since the cost of getting speed and toughness in a mini was any real ranged weaponry. "We're getting slaughtered." he snarls, seeing the others having no better luck with the Seekers. He fires off his chain, trying to wrap it around Megatron's neck - he has no illusions of being able to pull Megatron anywhere - but he can pull himself into a flying kick, if he can get purchase. Chains picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Megatron's agility . Chains's roll succeeds! Nova Black laughs loudly as she evades Chromia's shot. "Is that the best you've got, Autoscum?" She dives, heading straight for Chromia, the speed and the thrill of battle making her giddy. "Hardball?" she hisses, her dental plates grinding together so hard she spits sparks. "Fine with me." She grabs at Chromia, trying to wrestle her enemy to the ground. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls her strength against Chromia's strength . Nova Black's roll fails! Chromia hisses between clenched teeth as Nova Black gets up close and personal with her and she digs her heels into the ground to keep her balance, though she is pushed back a few inches from Nova Black's inertia, deep gouges and sparks marking the metal with her effort. "Oh, you've picked the wrong 'bot to tangle with, 'Con." With a heave, she tries throwing the Seeker over her head. Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls her strength against Nova Black's strength. Chromia's roll fails! Megatron grunts as the small Autobot's kick connects with more force than he'd expect. "You're a clever little pest," he admits with a smirk. "But do you really think it will get you anywhere?" He draws back a mammoth fist and swings it at Chains's chest. Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll succeeds! Horizon had been searching for a place to take cover between tracking glances at the enemy. Seeing a gigantic pothole nearby, big enough for him to mostly fit in, he scrambles for it, whilst sending out another transmission to the other Autobots. "Be prepared to retreat on my command; Megatron is too formidable for us expect to win this battle. However, we must also make a stand and show these Decepticons we are NOT lightweight pushovers." Yes. Not a pushover. Make a stand. Be brave... as Horizon dives into a hole in the ground. OUCH! That stung! "Slagger!" Skywarp growls, loudly, at Arcee, switching his focus from the marksmanship-impaired Horizon to the femme. "You're gonna regret that!" He launches a pair of missiles in quick succession at the femme. Skywarp picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Arcee's agility . Skywarp's roll succeeds! Arcee is struck by the missiles and cries out. They knock her over and she's slow to get up. When she recovers, she fires back at the Seeker. Arcee picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Skywarp's agility. Arcee's roll fails! Chains staggers under the punch - he's strong, Megatron is stronger. On the other hand, that doesn't hurt nearly as bad as the cannon, and he's all about the hand-to hand. Wrenching his bad arm back into place, he engages his disc-shield forcefield and does what he does best... which is to say, make a stand, be brave, take some hits and give right back.... for once, following orders to a 'T'. The others can duck and hide - he's only going to get one chance to put some dents in Megatron, and he intends to take it. He swings the chain over his head in his good hand, making all signs of making another attack with his favorite weapon - which turns out to be a feint, as he lunges, trying to drive the edge of his shield into Megatron's knee joint. Yes, he knows this is a losing fight - doesn't mean he can't have some fun with it, and for once, CoC won't give him any grief over it. He's following orders! Chains picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Megatron's agility . Chains's roll fails! Feeling the Autobot femme grab at her, Nova Black twists and turns to try and get out of Chromia's grasp. She can't quite manage that, but she does manage to keep the Autobot from heaving her over her head. She snickers. "Nice try." Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls her strength against Chromia's strength . Nova Black's roll succeeds! Starscream is hauling aft to the coordinates that his communique came from. The message he compeltely missed cause he was in standby mode. The unique sound of his own engines can be heard coming into everyones audio range as the Seeker streaks in under full military power. "Skywarp," Starscream says as he closes in. "Situation status?" Chromia's thrown to the ground, snarling, the road's metal texture scraping her backstruts, tearing the paint clean off. Hearing Horizon's comm, she narrows her optics and sends back a growling transmission to him. "Retreat? With all due respect, Sir, I don't do that. Not now, not ever. We're low on our reserves at it is and you'll just let them go off with it? Not on my watch! You want me to retreat, you'll have to tear this Seeker from my cold, offlined hands." Despite not landing a single hit on the Seeker yet, she's determined to go down fighting. "Get OFF me!" She shoves against Nova's chest, attempting to shove her backwards and from her. Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls her strength against Nova Black's strength. Chromia's roll fails! [Chromia re-rolls] Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls her strength against Nova Black's strength. Chromia's roll succeeds! Megatron watches the Autobot swing his chain in his good hand. "You're as brave as you are stupid," he remarks, readying himself to defend against the blow. But out of the corner of his optic, he sees a hint of movement. He doesn't have time to evade it entirely, but he does step forward. The shield clangs against his leg, mildly painful but otherwise ineffectual. It would only be poetic justice to repay his attacker with a kick for that... and besides, kicking the blasted irritant just might knock him back into cannon range. Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll fails! Once in his hole, Horizon has a moment to re-evaluate the situation. Chains is recklessly locked in melee combat with Megatron. Firing on him would endanger Chains even more. Off somewhere, glimpses of Chromia and that Seeker femme wrestling caught his attention. Again, too dangerous. That left Skywarp... or... wait. As Starscream comes blazing into the scene, he diverts his attention to the new arrival, firing off his laser rifle. Horizon picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Starscream's agility . Horizon's roll fails! Shark's hover engines are screaming high and loud as he speeds towards the fight. The red armor of the mech's vehicle form is marred by grime and grit. His scanners, radar and sonar relays ping in everyone's location - both enemy and friendly alike. As he draws closer he transforms, flipping in rather dramatic fashion in the air, his turret and shoulder mounted rifle humming to life. His pistol summoning up from subspace. All this before he does a rather nice tumbling somersault on the ground. The grin upon is face is full on feral snarl - sharp teeth glinting. "I'm aching for a bite, who wants one?" he calls out in challenge, light green optic band sweeping the area. Oh there's a wing he'd not mind biting into... or a neck maybe. He levels his rifle toward the Air Commander as Starscream arrives, "Oh this just became this ground pounders day." he murmurs. Taking aim at the seeker, he unleashes the rifles' power at the flying mech in order to greet him to the fray. Shark picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Starscream's agility. Shark's roll fails! "I'm busy turning this stupid Autobot femme to slag. She shot me!" Skywarp says over the radio to Starscream, firing lasers at Arcee. "Once I get done with her, I'm gonna shoot that oen over there." (No indication who he meant, anyway.) "If Lord Megatron hasn't slagged him, anyway." Skywarp picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Arcee's agility . Skywarp's roll ties! Chains grins behind his facial plate. "And you're as ugly as you are stupid." he responds, somersaulting under the kick. Still a losing battle - but at least he can make it look a little better, and have a story that will get him some drinks bought for him next time he hits the tavern. "I'll buy you all the time I can." he calls back over coms, enjoying a good scrap, but having no intention of suiciding here. As he comes up from the roll, he pivots, swinging his chain about, trying to hook Megatron's leg with the chain and pull, both trying to do all the damage to the much bigger mech's legs he can, and trying to bring him down to the minibot's level. Chains picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Megatron's agility. Chains's roll fails! Nova Black's engines roar in protest as Chromia shoves her hard enough to throw her off. "For a miserable mockery of a war machine, you're *strong*," she hisses. "But you can't fly." As fun as it's been to tussle hand-to-hand, she's probably better off attacking from above. She fires her thrusters, attempting to take to the sky as Chromia grabs for her again. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls her agility against Chromia's agility . Nova Black's roll fails! Starscream hears Skywarps grousing about being shot by a femme (what is it with femmes trying to hurt him?) when he suddenly sees laserfire heading his way. With an almost too easy wingover the greatest Seeker that ever lived evades and spins around to return the fire on the Autobot who dared to fire at him. Starscream picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Shark's agility. Starscream's roll succeeds! Chromia has Nova Black by a thruster heel, though just barely, skidding along the ground trying to keep the Seeker there with her. "Sorry, you're staying grounded. Didn't you know? I get airsick." She swings her arms across her body, taking the Seeker with her, trying to fling her into the opposite wall. Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls her strength against Nova Black's agility. Chromia's roll succeeds! Megatron roars in irritation as the small Autobot somersaults under his leg. He turns just in time to see the chain swing in the air, and dodges it just in time to see Starscream gracefully evade enemy fire and unerringly return it. He smirks, muttering in the Seeker's general direction but keeping his optics on his enemy. "Impressive, Starscream... but you're *still* late." Then, turning his full attention to Chains, who is finally far enough away, he powers up his cannon, takes aim, and fires. Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll ties! His weapon discharged, and another Autobot entering the fray, Horizon lowers himself in the hole, Chromia's breach not forgotten. In a firm yet mostly calm voice, he explains over the comm, "Chromia, while I commend your enthusiasm, you must be ready to retreat when I give the command. Disobeying orders is selfish and foolhardy." That said, Horizon pops out of the hole again, this time searching for Skywarp to fire upon, to try and deter him from Arcee. Horizon picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Skywarp's agility . Horizon's roll succeeds! Shark takes a moment to assess his targetting systems and mutters something that sounds like a string of obscenities. The second shot toward the seeker takes him momentarily by surprise. His turret pivots in his shoulder, wavering between three targets at once. Note to self, get someone to check his weapons and targetting systems after this mess is over with as apparently they may be slightly on the fritz. Not one to stay still, he runs in a zig zag pattern, his sonar and radar pinging where Starscream moves to, if anywhere. The return fire was expected, and his footing wasn't quite where he wanted it when it came at him. It slams into his upper most chest near the shoulder, nearly tearing it free. It wasn't his rifle shoulder, thankfully, but the turret is certainly down. Gnashing his teeth, he growls at the seeker, "Come down here and fight like you got some titanium torsion bars! Or are you afraid I'll best you at arm wrestling again?!" He raises his pistol and fires. Shark picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Starscream's agility. Shark's roll fails! "What the slag?" Skywarp turns, slewing sideways as he overflies Arcee, distracted by the shot from behind him. "You again?" He does a quick vertical loop, losing speed but heading back in Horizon's direction with plenty of time to launch his final pair of missiles as well as a barrage of laser file. "This time, /stay/ down!" Skywarp picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Horizon's agility . Skywarp's roll succeeds! Skywarp picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Horizon's agility . Skywarp's roll fails! Arcee dodges the lasers, and then gets into position to attack Skywarp again. She takes advantage of his diverted attention, and says nothing as she fires at him again. She doesn't want to tip him off before she nails him! Arcee picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Skywarp's agility. Arcee's roll fails! Chains side-steps the worst of the blast, getting his bad arm, shield and all, up enough to cushion the blast and take the clip from the cannon - and even a clip from Megs' cannon is enough to short out the energy shield and set him staggering back, the sparks from the bad shoulder getting worse. "Don't have the ball-bearings for a fistfight, huh? Should have known." he grunts, bravely ignoring his injuries and trying to buy his allies all the time he can... and milking the uneven brawl for all its worth. Not about to totally give up the only chance he has at prolonging the fight, he swings his chain, trying to get it wrapped around Megatron's neck to keep this up close and personal, as well as trying to do some damage to the neck joint. Chains picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Megatron's agility. Chains's roll succeeds! Nova Black's sensornet flares with pain and damage alerts as she collides full force with the wall. Static frizzes in front of her optics and her processor can hold only one thought: *Grounder; enemy; there.* Not wasting time waiting for her systems to right themselves, she fires her thrusters and takes to the air by instinct alone. Her engines purr as her vision clears. She's in the sky again, where she belongs -- and where this blasted Autobot can't shove her around any more. She grins. Her targeting systems may not be up again just yet, but they will be soon enough, and when they do, she'll make Chromia pay. Starscream hears Megatron's comment, "Sometimes you have to wait for the best." he snaps back as he barrel rolls and narrowly aboids the next shot from Shark. He levels out and dives down toward Shark to fire again. Chromia growls as she watches Nova fly into the air, back in her element. She was obviously now at a distinct disadvantage and she grabs for her gun--only to realize it's no longer in her subspace. It had probably been knocked out of her hand when the Seeker first tackled her to the ground. Slag. Running for cover, she scans the ground for the weapon. Megatron roars in irritation as Chains's forcefield takes the brunt of his cannon blast. Still, at least his shoulder was further damaged. "Still attacking?" Megatron taunts -- and promptly gets his answer, as that damnable chain wraps itself painfully around his neck. His optics flare as his dark hands tighten into fists again and he swings at the persistent minibot. Megatron picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Chains's agility. Megatron's roll fails! Horizon makes a hasty duck under cover once his shot hits, knowing that retribution is a natural consequence. However, his cover is not entirely adequate. Although the lasers fail to hit him at that particular angle, the missile hits and sends him flying out of the hole, causing him to roll a few beats before he grabs onto some debris to steady himself. A wide spread of shrapnel of various sizes is embedded into his armour, one of his arms being particularily damaged. Not being able to hole his large rifle without both hands, Horizon switches to smaller gun that, while packing a punch, does not have the best accuracy at such distances. He fumbles to a crouched position and re-evaluates the situation, with his gun ready. Over the comm he booms, "Chromia, Arcee, start the retreat. Shark, Chains and I will draw fire and bring up the rear. And I do NOT want anymore insubordination, is that clear?" Shark keeps moving, not wishing to give the seeker commander a easy target. He's trying to make it to Arcee to lend her a hand, knowing that Hot Rod would probably not be happy if the pink femme got injured too badly. "Swear I get the bad jobs." he mutters. But then someone that's hiding away shoots at Skywarp, so the mech shifts his running path towards Chromia. He dodges the shot from the seeker by 'that much', which earns a crude gesture equating to 'kiss my skid plate' toward Starscream. Skywarp fires another round of lasers at Horizon, teleporting away after snapping off the shot to gain altitude again. Skywarp picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Horizon's agility. Skywarp's roll fails! Arcee hears the orders and starts to pull back. Skywarp and the other Decepticons can be handled another day. "Ok, I'm pulling out!" she says, and retreats. Chains is still damaged, and still has taken a lot worse than he's given - but he's gone a few rounds with Megatron, and is still swinging. "Still fighting, more effectively than you, I might add." he taunts, trying hard to keep Megatron off the others til they're started away. He has no worries about his ability to disengage - he's small and quick, can get places bigger mechs can't - but they're definitely outgunned here. At least the fact that he's a veteran brawler, while Megatron is out of his element seems to be paying off. "Guys, go. Hit and run is my specialty." he calls over coms, wrenching on his chain and trying to pull himself into one more flying kick, trying to knock Megatron off balance long enough the others might not get shot in the back, at least not by Megatron, when they retreat. "I'll be right behind you." he promises across coms while he buys all the time he can. Chains picks up the dicebag and rolls his agility against Megatron's agility. Chains's roll fails! Nova Black laughs nastily as she sees Chromia scramble for her weapon. "Ugh. Crawling all over the ground like the inferior mechanism you are." She sees the other Autobots begin to pull out and her engines roar, perhaps in pride, perhaps in disgust. "Gonna run now like the rest of the cowards? Well, not until I've got a last shot in, you don't." Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Chromia's agility . Nova Black's roll succeeds! Starscream notices Megatron's swing miss the smaller Autobot Chains and he snickers slightly. He banks around and heads over toward where Megatron is fighting. "Never fear, leader, I can take care of the Autobot for you." Starscream picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Chains's agility. Starscream's roll ties! The shot hits Chromia in her right clavicle strut and she falls backwards in a light spray of purple. "Motherfragging slagger!" Oh, and there was her gun. "No one gets the last shot but me. UNDERSTAND THAT 'CON?" And she takes aim and fires. Chromia picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Nova Black's agility. Chromia's roll succeeds! Chains hears Starscream coming - how can you not? Then he hears the seeker commander's missiles incoming. Gut check time. He keeps his chain where it is instead of disengaging it and trying to dodge - he'll get hit, he just wants to make sure Megatron is stuck in the line of fire as well. He wrenches back on the chain and turns his bad shoulder into the blast - instinct of using a shield, and the arm needs work anyway. Might as well really make the medics work for it. "Incoming." he growls at Megatron, bracing, and getting ready to run, even if he's dragging parts. If he did this right, Starscream just bought them the opening he needed to cover the Autobot retreat by firing into hand to hand. He's right - it hurts. The explosion is... significant. The arm is probably a total loss, and he goes flying - but Starscream just shot Megatron too... "You have your distraction. Go." he snarls over coms, trying to find the nearest minibot bolthole and limp that way as fast as he can. Megatron bellows in rage and pain as the bolt of null ray fire hits not only his enemy -- who he could have handled quite well himself, thank you very much -- but his own chest as well. "Staaaaaaaarscream! You *idiot*!" he roars, too enraged to notice Chains bolting for a hiding place until the minibot is already long gone. Horizon makes a clean roll away from Skywarp's lasers, getting to his feet in a fluid motion. His optics squint as his mark moves further away. He takes a few steps to the side as he holds his gun out. If only his arm hadn't been damaged, then he was sure he'd have a chance of hitting with his rifle. Horizon is stunned for just a moment when he sees friendly fire among the enemy, trying to suppress a grin. He quick fires up the comm "Alright, that is our distraction, MOVE MOVE!" He starts a slow retreat, his gaze searching for Chromia, and seeing her not retreating, he adds, "You too Chromia, come on!" Shark hears the comm loud and clear as he aims his shoulder mounted rifle toward Nova Black, "Time to go makada!" he calls out with a toothy grin at the seeker femme, comming back as he fires the shot off, "On it." Then toward Chromia, "Go! I got your back!" Then a comm back to Chains, "No slagging way are you getting all the credit here. Remember I owe you a few drinks. Just watch your back." He huffed vent at Chromia, "You heard the mech in command, GO!" he yells at her. Shark picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Nova Black's agility. Shark's roll succeeds! Skywarp did not, sadly, see Starscream's REALLY STUPID move, being busy flipping around in mid air to come back, straight down, for one more strafing run on the retreating autobots. "Yeah, autoscum, run and keep running!" He fires his lasers at Horizon, who is a nice slow moving target. Skywarp picks up the dicebag and rolls his dexterity against Horizon's agility . Skywarp's roll succeeds! Chains can't help but grin behind his faceplate at Shark's comment. "And people owe me a couple more... totally worth it." he calls back, not even trying to transform after the damage he's taken. He just settles for heading for the nearest heavy cover and taking advantage of small size and ability to get around to take cover not available to some. "Just tell Rachet that the damage was for a good cause. You know, or see if that cute femme is around to operate. I'll get back to base when the coast is clear." Nova Black's engines rev in deafening frustration as yet another bolt of Autobot laser fire sears its way through her systems. But the hit -- although she's taken a few and Robustus will probably sigh heartily upon seeing her again so soon -- is far less of a problem for her than the mech getting between her and her prey. Snarling, she aims her lasers and fires on Shark. Nova Black picks up the dicebag and rolls her dexterity against Shark's agility. Nova Black's roll succeeds! Starscream doesnt notice Chains get hit, doesnt notice Chains run. All he sees is his nullray slam into.. Megatron! He pulls up as fast as he possiblely can (thats wicked fast) and stammers, "Megatron -- Mighty Leader. I did not mean to -- it was the Autobots fault!" by the time hes done hes voice has hit that high pitched whine and he dares not look back at his leader as he starts looing for the Autobots. Oh hes mad now. He stitches a line of laserfire on the ground as he starts chasing after the retreating Autobots. After a moment he falls in besides Skywarp and continues to fire. Chromia watches Nova's hit strike Shark in slow motion. "SHARK!" Scrap. Perhaps it is time to retreat, as much as she hates to admit it. She glares up at the femme Seeker, her gaze dripping venom as she makes a crude gesture she learned back in Kaon at her. She falls back, grabbing onto Shark by the arm, trying to drag him with her. Megatron fires a last volley of cannon fire at the retreating Autobots. Then he rounds on Starscream, his optics blazing. "Not your fault? *You* interfered when it was entirely unnecessary to do so. And *you* were late getting here in the first place. And when we are done gathering the energon, *you* will immediately report to me and take your punishment for your embarrassing and idiotic infractions." Horizon is far from agile, and though yelling at Chromia served as some distraction, he was not wholly unaware of the attack unleashed upon him. However, being not the most fleet footed mech, he gets a late start to trying to get out of the way, and takes the hit to his already damaged arm. He returns fire on Skywarp, only to come under siege from both Starscream and Megatron's scattered onslaught of fury. Luckily, they are too busy bickering to really aim and Horizon takes only some minor damage as he transforms and picks up speed and retreats. Shark shifts his position to keep himself between Chromia and Nova Black. The elder femme may not like it, but he wouldn't care at this point. Orders were orders and he was going cover her retreat whether she liked it or not. He may be leaking and sparking from his damaged area, arm shifting uselessly against his side, but he's not out of the fight yet. That shot from Nova Black hits the damaged area, fully severing his arm. "Going to bite you for that." he growls, making to do just that if she doesn't fly away quickly enough. Luckily for Nova Black though that Chromia snags at his good arm, dissuading him from doing so, instead snarling at the elder Bot femme, "Slaggit femme don't make me bite you!" He pulls his good arm away to snatch at his severed arm. Skywarp falls back, letting Starscream take the lead (and more specifically, Megatron's wrath, which is only fair, since it was HIS dumbaft bad aim that hit the Emperor), sending a few more laser shots at the fleeing Autobots before following his trineleader back to Polyhex. Starscream swings around and transforms, landing in from of Megatron. The look on is face is stunned, "But... I was only trying to do my job as a loyal soldier -- oh yes, and protect the Leader. You are the most important part of the Empire.. are you not?" his voice has taken on that sarcatic sweetness that one can read every which way but right most of the time.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)