| abstract
| - Monday, May 21, 2012, 7:10 AM Nevada A land of rugged, snow-capped peaks, dry desert valleys, and huge, sparsely populated expanses, Nevada, the Silver State, still has the aura of the Old West. Blessed with widespread mineral resources, it is the nation's leading producer of gold, silver, and mercury, but its main claim to fame comes from, of course, gambling. That, entertainment, and skiing make it a popular destination for tourists not only from the bordering states but from around the world. Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe are the best known tourist traps. Less well known features are the large, discreet military facilities and testing grounds in the least-populated areas of the state. It's been a week since the Decepticons' surprise attack on the Earth. Earnest efforts by the human race to rebuild the foundation of their way of life is underway all around the world. However today's story focuses on the Hoover Dam. For the last two days, engineers from United States' military, EDC, and the Autobots have been working around the clock in bringing the Hoover Dam back online. All of their hard work has culminated to this very moment -- The main switch has been flipped and the power generators of the Hoover Dam whirls to life, delivering precious electrical power to the three American states that had relied on the dam for power. Whether they're engineers, reporters here to cover the story and raise morale, or military escorts, the feelings of joy and satisfaction is expressed amongst them all. Fortress Maximus sits outside of the dam, celebrating with other Autobot engineers who are also too big to celebrate inside. Nevertheless the look of pride on their face... or face plates in some cases, is there. On this night of full moon, creatures from the dark recess of your imagination roam in the dark casting weird shadows here and there. Maybe it's just weird rock shapes, maybe it's something else. Myth and imagination aside... *something* is moving about the dam moving from cover to cover with the slow pace of a prowling panther. After all that extensive work Wheeljack was all too happy to get a bit of good times with the rest of the Autobots. Which was cultivated into telling the newer faces around about the last time he was at Hoover Dam a long long time ago, pointing towards a spot near the center of the massive wall of concrete as he does so. "That right there is where Optimus Prime and Megatron had one of their first face-offs ever on this new world." Andi Lassiter has been at the Dam for a couple of hours already, her convoy of patch-repaired vehicles having passed through on their way to the coordinates given to her by Nate. She and a small number of the vehicles opted to stay here so they could help with trying to get the hydroelectric plant back online. Once the power starts up, she steps outside to chat with the Autobots there and can't help but smile at Wheeljack's reminiscing. His description is from before she met the Autobots, and it makes her smile a bit sadly. She never did get to meet Optimus Prime. AC130U Spooky II Gunship enters Hoover Dam airspace as part of a routine patrol on the way back from Yellowknife, empty and reloaded. <> Amber MacKenzie is perched on her motorcycle at a viewpoint on the twisty road leading to the dam below. She only just made it in time from Las Vegas after sleeping waaaaay too late after yesterday's adventure. The lights below remind her of her suggestion to light up a site somewhere as a trap for the Decepticons, as they would be attracted to the light by their evil desire to darken it. The corollary to that is obvious, and she frowns. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. It's not like the whole place is blazing to the skies, though, but... A week long of bad showers, little sleep, and crappy MREs. That describes what Nate has been through recently. The Glaive's inner padding have been sprayed with Febreeze to get the smell out of someone who has been living in it. The outside still has some red soil caked into it from the previous tour of Mars and also has some crude exterior welding marks as the Armored Suit has had some adjustments and repairs since the fall of Earth. The Glaive casually keeps guard of the dam. Nate checks on his radio to see if anyone has updated anything. So far, things have been quiet. Which might be good. The power supply readings on the Glaive are at a reasonable level. Once the dam is completely operational, Nate can have the solar panels removed off the Glaive as the hydroelectricity should be the new fuel he needs. The Autobots aren't alone, here, for soon the Autobot's and EDC's radars light up with blips, and mere moments afterwards, CYCLONUS swoops in overhead, and with him is a veritable ARMADA of Decepticon fliers, all bearing down on the Hoover Dam. "DECEPTICONS!" Cyclonus booms. "AAATTTAAACK!" And they drop a massive number of bombs and missiles upon the dam before the defenders even know what's going on--but to no avail, as the munitions all detonate on an energy field that flickers violently with every impact. "A forcefield!" Cyclonus growls to his passengers, who happen to Shockwave and Buzzkill. "Shockwave, get out there and either disrupt that shield or figure out a way to bring it down. Buzzkill! You too, go out and help him. Besides, you've *both* worn out your stay on GALVATRON'S seat..." The 'open canopy' button lights up as if to serve as a none-too-subtle hint. Once/when they're out, Cyclonus booms, "DECEPTICONS! Be not deterred! We've seen these kinds of technological gimmicks from the Autobots before--and beaten them! Go forth, destroy, and do not fail Galvatron!" Hubcap isn't, technically, an engineer, but he has impressive technical skills, not all of which relate to communications. And in a situation where an entire planet is in need, he does what he can, because he is, actually, an Autobot. Especially when he's one of the few who suspected this might occur. He's feeling a tad guilty about that, and trying to rectify the situation. Rampage flies down from the sky, feeling strangely inspired by Cyclonus' words. "Yeah, I'll go in there and clobber them and pound them and shred them and beat them!" he says, transforming once he gets to the ground. Shockwave arrived on Earth mere hours ago. He spent the Longest Night operating the devastating alien machinery on Mars, ensuring the surprise blast was optimally used. The weapon (as it is called, despite its origins possibly being benign) was nearly fried after its usage, and Shockwave spent the last half week ensuring that it would, eventually, be reusable. It was excruciatingly long and complex work, but Shockwave is as tireless and unstoppable in his scientific endeavors as he is in his military campaigns. Know this well, valiant defenders of Earth, unless you prevail against this Decepticon invasion you can expect the second punch to be even worse than the first. Now, with the alien machines needing only power before it can be reactivated, Shockwave can offer his aid in the war effort. Priority number one is to annihilate NEST's efforts to rebuild their infrastructure. Three hours ago, a squadron of Decepticon Seekers became aware of the rebuilding process. The Autobot presence was extreme, but the stakes were too high to ignore. Thus, the Decepticons come in force. Squadrons of Seekers, led by Cyclonus. Shockwave has spent the ride wisely, calling up both strategic data on the war and tactical data on the upcoming fight on Cyclonus's internal computer systems. An wire-frame model of Hoover Dam appears on the monitor, with two red highlights denoting the two optimal spots for the demolition charges to bring the entire thing down. The forcefield the initial spies spotted is highlighted in blue, though Shockwave considers it a secondary target. He turns towards another monitor, which displays Cyclonus's radar input. The battlefield is rapidly approaching. <> he radios. Then, Cyclonus gives them their orders, and the roof suddenly vanishes to free him and Buzzkill. Shockwave hops out, soaring downwards towards the eastern part of the dam. All the while, he fires laser blasts repeatedly to keep the defenders off balance. <> Spinister flies a bit behind Cyclonus on the right, blades spinning silently. Mysteriously, you might even say. Singe and Hairsplitter are in their weapon modes under each of his wings, and two Mayhem Attack Squad recruits hang off of Spinister's sides: Double Driller and Darkhorse. Though not an official Mayhem operation, the Targetmaster never passes up an opportunity to field test possible new recruits... And as Shockwave leaps out of Cyclonus with Buzzkill in tow...well. This is a perfect night to do just that. Spinister lifts into the air, transforming into an Apache Attack Helicopter! A MYSTERIOUS Apache Attack Helicopter! Riding around in a superior officer is kind of weird and makes Buzzkill very uncomfortable so she's more than pleased when it's time to exit and bring the pain to Hoover Dam. She transforms into her huge honey bee form and follows Shockwave to the eastern portion of the dam, wings buzzing obnoxiously. Cackle is here! Following at the tail-end of the Decepticon invasion, Cackle zooms up to the edge of the dam and transforms! She glares around at the good-guy forces arrayed, and POINTS accusingly at...somebody. "FOOLS! You face the FULL WRATH of the Decepticon EMPIRE! Flee now to your primitive cave-dwellings, and we'll allow you to live a little longer! Probably! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!" The prowling shadow stops and watches the incoming Decepticon attack force. A last check of the suit's status and the shadow darts out of cover and fades into a blurred form and nothingness. The power armored alt-human dashes towards the Decepticons, scanning every target and evaluating which one will unfortunately deserve his full attention. Andi Lassiter gasps in surprise and throws her arms up to shield her head when the Sweeps' attacks set the forcefield to flickering violently. Uttering a few choice cuss words (What? She's been in a convoy with SOLDIERS for the past few days), she looks around for either cover or somewhere she can help. One minute, she's contemplating the potential for an attack, the next, that attack has materialized. Cyclonus again. Bugger. Quickly switching off her bike's headlight and engine, Amber slowly coasts downhill through the tight curves towards the dam not too far below. The sheer number of attacking Decepticons is frightening, and she slows even more. About fifty feet from the dam, she carefully lays down her bike and peers cautiously around. There's a bit of cover here, among the rocks, but the dam is narrow, only wide enough for two lanes, and only the good guys are there. She hesitates and then moves as close as she can before the rocks shielding her run out. Visible expressions of alarm can be seen on the faces of engineers, both human and Cybertronians-alike. Some even jump in fear. The military personnel are quick to start evacuating the workers and reporters alike, they shepherd the non-combatants to locations of safety before filing out into the designated defensive positions throughout the facility. Outside, Fortress Maximus can be seen steadying his footing from the shockwave of the missile explosion, "Who'd thought we'd be putting that forcefield of ours to use so quickly?" The Headmaster leader scans through the air space around him, his optics narrows as he recognizes the Decepticons that stands out from the rest of the nameless Decepticon seekers. All of the Autobots under his command are now moving into position, a fact that pleases him. Fortress Maximus announces the beginning of their own counterattack by pulling out his fusion-powered photon rifle and levels off a few shots into some nameless Decepticon seekers, leading by example as he always does. << Show them that the results of humanity and Autobot tenacity and resolve will not break under their assault. Hoover Damn stands tonight! >> From Glaive II - Prototype , Nate Briar watches as the group of Decepticons gather around. Fortunately the great Fortress Maximus is around. "Andi, get Amber to shelter. I trust you two to find somewhere safe to be." The Glaive readies some weapons and waits for a target to be clear. AC130U Spooky II Gunship banks over like a fighter and sideslips off about two thousand meters in just a few seconds. He levels out and then begins to circle, his target not immediately clear until the minigun wakes up, spinning up to speed before unleashing a fair rain of shells at Spinister. <> Combat: AC130U Spooky II Gunship strikes Attack Helicopter with his minigun burst (Pistol) attack! Wheeljack just lets out a sigh as the Decepticon advance cuts his story telling short. "I was hoping to ignore the deja vu feelings tonight." But duty calls, and it's something the inventor has a better chance at getting to than some of his landbound allies. He takes a few steps back from the others as rocket pods extend out of his arms, two plumes of smoke spraying from the modules as he throws his arms up and shoots into the air from the thrusts. "Going -up-!" A few moments later he lands near one edge of the massive form of the dam. Combat: Wheeljack takes control of capture point A - Eastern End. Hubcap runs along the top of the dam, transforming as he goes, trying to reach the nearest structural weak point before the Decepticons can. Then one of them points at him. Swerving, Hubcap tries to race past the Decepticon, as he attempts to follow orders to do Comms duties. <> Cyclonus transmits. <> As a few Decepticon seekers get shot down by Maximus's fire, Cyclonus powers through the flames of less successful Decepticons right at the one responsible for their fates. "Maximus! Do you seriously believe your jury-rigged forcefield can stop us forever? This dam will fall and there is nothing you can do about it!" Cyclonus transforms at the last moment to dropkick Maximus in the chest, then springs away from him (or the ground) and unsheathes his sword. "Come at me, Maximus! I could use the sport!" Combat: Cyclonus misses Fortress Maximus with his Kick attack! Shockwave descends rapidly to his target - a cracked section on the eastern part of the dam, right on top. A few of his stray blasts strike the forcefield, and Shockwave performs some quick calculations to guess how strong it is. His conclusion is that, were the Decepticons any slower in getting here, the shield would be able to be expanded to cover the entire dam and make its destruction nearly impossible. The need for victory here and now has become that much more important. The Cybertronian Commander slams down on the dam, with his two feet making large indents in the concrete where he landed. Wheeljack might recall that this is where Megatron himself stood one billion, five hundred and forty-five million, two hundred and sixty-four thousand, and three hundred and twelve astroseconds ago. Shockwave is sure it'll make for an oh so fascinating story later when the Autobots continue their discussions on the rubble of the Hoover Dam. "Buzzkill, ensure no Autobot or human gets close," Shockwave orders. He unslings a satchel from subspace, setting it down. Unpacking the long green glowing tubes that represent the demolition charges, Shockwave kneels to begin his work. Seconds after landing, Shockwave spies Wheeljack. "Ah, speaking of Autobots. Buzzkill: Terminate him!" Combat: Shockwave challenges Wheeljack for control of capture point A - Eastern End. Combat: Wheeljack defeats Shockwave in an epic duel of NERDERY! Cackle pauses for a moment in mid-laughter. "They're...not fleeing." she says, with no small degree of disappointment. "Well, I shall fix that. FOOLS!" she says, and then leaps into battle! Or, well, it's a little more like 'hang out around the edge and stand behind the big guys.' And so, Cackle uses her tactical knowledge to pick out the best (read: wussiest looking) target. "Aha, YOU! Bumblebee! I shall CRUSH you like the insect you are named after! Crush you, with LASERS!" and she opens fire! A pause, and she glances at a certain Insecticon. "No offence of course, Buzzkill. You're the nice, violent kind of bee." Combat: Cackle strikes Porsche 924 Turbo with her DISRUPTOR RAY (Disruptor) attack! The nice thing about running a legendary group that lots of nameless guys want to be a part of: Double Driller spots Encore before Spinister does and gasps. "Commander Spinister! 3:00! 3:00! The Decepticon leaps forward into the sky, transforming into his alt mode: A wall with two drills on it! "MAYHEM ATTACK SQUUUUAAAFDGFUNGNJM!" Encore's miniguns chew the 'Con to pieces, and although he took the majority of the hit, a decent portion of the blast manages to connect with Spinister. The chopper turns towards Encore in response, much to the delight of Singe! "Farewell, Double Driller! Songs will be sung about you! Though not as many as will be sung about The Mysterious Warriors 3! And...Darkhorse. Ah, the propellered one!" He exclaims! "If it helps, Autobot, your arm was used to woo a beautiful Insecticon! And woo her I did! Ohhhhh, how I wooed! I was hot that night, Autobot! Almost as hot...as YOU!" Singe opens fire with a blast of liquid napalm, which would ignite upon contact if it were to spray across Encore! Combat: Attack Helicopter strikes AC130U Spooky II Gunship with its Flamethrower attack! Robotic Honey Bee is all over that like flies on shit. "Yes, sir," she drones, her wings buzzing loudly as she moves to intercept and distract the Autobot scientist the best way she knows how: by transforming and unleashing upon him a barrage of smoke canisters from her sleek, silver grenade launcher. "Autobot Zombie! Allow me to send you back to the grave!" Combat: Buzzkill misses Wheeljack with her Smoke Out attack! So far, Amber hasn't taken any real risks, but it's do-or-die time. Bloody hell, this *so* goes against her normally cautious nature, but... she steps slowly onto the western side of the dam, pressing against the wall on the Lake Mead side in case she's knocked off, and makes her stand. The dam trembles from the impact of Shockwave's big, fat feet, but it still holds firm. So does she. The heroic effect is ruined by the fact that she is still trying hard to keep from being noticed. Combat: Amber MacKenzie takes control of capture point B - Western End. Andi Lassiter looks around to try and locate Amber, running for the closest wall of the dam so she's not anywhere someone might misstep and squish her. She looks around to try and locate the younger woman but can't see her yet. She's close to the same side of the dam at least. She runs along the dam wall toward the western edge, hoping she's not going the wrong way. From Glaive II - Prototype , Nate Briar readies his snipershot and look over at Cyclonus. This is going to be a bad target to pick but when you're the Commander of the EDC, you have to take some risks. He looks around and hopes the reinforcements like Redfield might show up to help. Especially since the Glaive is going to get pummeled greatly tonight. Taking aim, the Glaive fires a small blast at the larger Decepticon in hopes to distract him. Yeah, Nate's gonna die tonight. Combat: Glaive II - Prototype misses Cyclonus with his Pistol attack! Military guards tasked with securing the exact area that Shockwave had landed in begins shooting at the colossally taller cybernetic life form in front of them to little avail. This doesn't deter them, but neither do they mindless stay in the open though! Slowly they begin to retreat backwards, spraying cover fire to cover their path as they seek to take shelter closer to Wheeljack. One of the soldiers grumbles as he slaps in a fresh magazine, "Should've packed those new armour piercing rounds instead of this stuff we got with us here." Meanwhile outside, some of seekers that are shot by Fortress Maximus begins to fall helplessly towards the ground as the expertly lined shots by the Headmaster leader disables them. Not a bad fate considering most other Autobot foes they meet up would shoot to kill instead. However before Fortress Maximus could thin the number of the Decepticon armada any further he is engaged by Cyclonus, who drops out of the sky in an attempt to catch him off guard! Fortress Maximus releases his grip on the fusion powered photon rifle and lets it drop to the ground as he stretches out both arms in an attempt to receive Cyclonus' kick! If successful, he'll have grabbed onto Cyclonus outstretched leg and attempts to deliver an over-the-shoulder throw of the Decepticon warrior into the ground! Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Cyclonus with his Master Sword attack! [Pulled -3] Wraith Power Armor hears the 'word' and keeps running towards his target. The sword is mighty tempting at this point but the crossbow would make more sense. Let's see where it all goes. Hikage makes it to a good point for cover where the light does not reflect and aims for Shockwave's back with his forearm-mounted crossbow. Let's see the purple Cyclops deal with his. The explosive bolt fires off silently like a spear from some invisible hunter straight at Shockwave. Combat: Suddenly, Wraith Power Armor appears out of thin air! Sneak Attack!! Combat: Wraith Power Armor strikes Shockwave with his Forearm-mounted Crossbow attack! AC130U Spooky II Gunship growls quietly to himself, trying to bank and avoid the flame, but failing. He snarls quietly as the flames wash over his frame, some getting sucked into his engine intakes, before flying out through the smoke and flames. He turns slightly, banking -just- a little. It makes him a slightly larger target, but it also gives him a much better line of fire for that big, ugly Bofors autocannon slung in his central weapons position. <> Combat: AC130U Spooky II Gunship misses Attack Helicopter with his Bofors Cannon attack! Porsche 924 Turbo says, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" As he rocks from side to side as the Decepticon attacks. "Ugh!" Is his reaction to still being mistaken for Bumblebee. He also hates this kind of thing. Veering sharply, he drives straight at the Decepticon who attacked him." Combat: Porsche 924 Turbo strikes Cackle with his BANZAI! (Ram) attack! Wheeljack was actually just telling that tale when you jerks showed up to ruin the fun! On the other hand, this means a chance to make another one of those awesome stories. He just needs to guard this spo--Ah scrap, here comes Shockwave. And with a bundle of bombs to boot. "Really, Shockwave? I thought you'd be more clever than just trying to blow the place u--gah!" Now the bee is shooting smoke grenades at him too. In a fit of nimbleness Wheeljack jumps over the gas charges and towards Shockwave, trying to grab the satchel of explosives with his hands and pull them away from Shockwave. Or something. It's going to be an awesome looking grappling all the same. Combat: Wheeljack strikes Shockwave with his Give me those! (Punch) attack! Attack Helicopter does some amazing defensive flying to avoid Encore's cannons blasting away. Like, it's crazy impressive. The chopper pulls up and picks up speed, flying over top of Encore. "I'm up!" Shouts Darkhorse, leaping off of the chopper. "MAYHEM ATTACK SQUAD!" He jumps onto the top of Encore, ready to do damage and transforming into an evil horse with guns on it! "Ha ha ha! Fear me! Fear the wrath of my SCIENCE! Fear-" Cackle trails off, however, as Hubcap keeps coming- and smashes right into her! *CKLUNK!* "AUGH WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP!" she cries out as she's flung to the side! Still, Cackle just narrows her optics, adjusts the setting of her ray projector pistol, and *Zapzapzaps!* at Hubcap as he speeds off! "Fool! You'll regret turning your bumper on me!" Combat: Cackle strikes Porsche 924 Turbo with her Science Ray attack! Cackle's attack has strange and mysterious effects on Porsche 924 Turbo. Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Porsche 924 Turbo's Agility. (Crippled) Shockwave is struck by numerous small arms fire. Small arms fire, for him, means anything less than a Transformer-scale laser rifle. The shots ricochet off his chassis, and Shockwave sends the guards packing by blasting at them with his arm cannon. The concrete just behind them explodes as they make their retreat. The Decepticon doesn't dwell on their presence for long, knowing he has a far more important task to take care of. Small arms aren't going to breach his hardened armour. Crossbows, it should be noted, do not count as small arms fire. They count as /devastatingly powerful/ arms fire. Aramasu, still invisible, strikes a perfect hit. The bolt strikes through the Decepticon's back armour, piercing it and vanishing into his chassis. Sparks fizzle around the painful looking wound, and Shockwave glances over his shoulder towards the ninja. In that split second, Wheeljack snags the explosives. Shockwave doesn't hesitate, firing an ECM blast from his arm cannon to knock Wheeljack senseless and get his charges back! Combat: Shockwave challenges Wheeljack for control of capture point A - Eastern End. Combat: Wheeljack defeats Shockwave in an epic duel of NERDERY! Oh hell no, Wheeljack did not just brush her off like that. Hell. No. "Do not ignore me!" Buzzkill shouts, her words drowned out by the sounds of her transformation as she shifts into her buzzing honey bee mode. She turns herself around and scrambles for Wheeljack, snapping at him with her slobbery mandibles. Combat: Robotic Honey Bee strikes Wheeljack with her Chomp Chomp (Punch) attack! Cyclonus had expected a much gentler landing, getting slammed roughly into the ground behind Maximus "Whunft--! A fell blow, Maximus!" He rises, dusting off a shoulder. The space warrior takes a moment to look about the battlefield. He squints. Is that... movement by the western end? "Hm. Alas, like Grimlock you are also *slow*, too slow to help your human friends!" He leaps across the battlefield, aided by anti-gravs, to the west end, and reaches down for whoever that human is-- Combat: Cyclonus challenges Amber MacKenzie for control of capture point B - Western End. Combat: Amber MacKenzie defeats Cyclonus in an epic duel of NERDERY! Robot Tiger tears down towards the Autobots and humans, in a fury of snapping jaws and clawed feet. He beelines for Hubcap. "Hey, I used to toss cars like this on the road all the time!" Glaive II - Prototype succeeds in grasping Hubcap, throwing him off-balance. Combat: Robot Tiger misses Porsche 924 Turbo with his Car-Tipping! (Punch) attack! Wheeljack takes full advantage of 'Wraith' getting the jump on Shockwave with a well-timed mecha crossbow shot to yank the satchel of bombs away from him. Naturally Shockwave resorts to attempting to shoot him off the dam, the engineer ducking the emp beam by scant microns as he turns around and bolts in the other direction. Which would of worked if it hadn't run him straight into the Insecticon, whom decides to chomp down on his shoulder, knocking him on his back. "Where's an economy sized can of pesticide when you need it?" Keeping the bombs tucked under his arms protectively, he attempts to get a leg under Buzzkill and kick her off towards Shockwave. Amber MacKenzie sees it coming and dives out of Cyclonus' grasp, hits the ground on both hands, and then flips forward and back on her feet again, arms spread high and wide in success. Immediately after, she whirls to face the mech and draws her pistol, aiming directly at the oncoming Decepticon commander. "Not a good idea, Commander," she advises quietly, only loud enough for the two of them to hear. "You won't like my legacy. It doesn't even need an Internet, since I have contacts on Monacus and other worlds, too." Combat: Wheeljack strikes Robotic Honey Bee with his Get Offa Me! (Ruckus) Area attack but misses Shockwave. From Glaive II - Prototype , Apparently, in the nick of time, Nate pushes Hubcap out of the way from Rampage and doesn't continue his assault. Wraith Power Armor is seemingly ignored by the Decepticons which is both a good thing and a slightly embarrassing thing. Hikage runs and makes an anti-grav assisted jump towards Shockwave firing his shuriken catapult on the way. Combat: Wraith Power Armor strikes Shockwave with his Shuriken catapult (Pistol) attack! AC130U Spooky II Gunship feels the Con land on top of him and snap-rolls like a fighter, first left and then right - probably catapulting Darkhorse away. He turns his attention to Cyclonus, banking around o put the Con XO in his firing arc. <> He growls, letting fly with a second Bofors salvo from the big gun. Combat: AC130U Spooky II Gunship strikes Cyclonus with his Bofors Cannon attack! [Pulled -2] Andi Lassiter startles and stops dead when Cyclonus tries to grab for Amber, blocking her path. Whispering more for herself than for the younger woman, she says "Sorry, Amber," then turns and dashes back toward forcefield control, knowing that if a stray hit takes the controls down they're screwed. This way at least, she'll be there to get it working again if something DOES happen. The soldiers that were firing upon Shockwave thought they were safe when they found cover near the walls, and with Wheeljack in between them, but they were shown the folly of their mistake when the wall behind them explodes in a shower of concrete debris that batters them. Many falls unconscious, others drops to the ground dazed, too disoriented to put up any more fight. Ah the sad fate of cannon fodder. Meanwhile down below, Fortress Maximus uses Cyclonus momentum to maximum advantage, indeed! The Headmaster leader grunts back at Cyclonus as he tries to recover from his own exertion, "Haven't you done enough damage to this planet to be satisfied, Cyclonus? I'm going to need you to stay put----" Fortress Maximus pulls out his master sword from subspace and attempts to deliver an overhead swing down at Cyclonus, but the Decepticon Warrior flies away just in time! "---Noo!" Horrified that Cyclonus has decided to confront Amber, Fortress Maximus begins scaling the side of cliff lining the dam, leaping from ledge to ledge, every steadily upward in an attempt to catch up! Too bad he could've just transformed and flew up, right? But how unepic that'd be, let's just pretend Fortress Maximus forgot he could do that in the heat of panic instead. Porsche 924 Turbo is overturned by the following fire, and rolls, transforming as he goes, clutching at the searmarks scorched into his side. Groaning, he climbs to his feet as quickly as possible, not even realising that Rampage tried to attack him, or that Nate altered his trajectory in any way. However that worked. Clutching his head, he focuses, shutting out all external input except for one sense: sound. If he concentrates, he can /hear/ the Decepticons, differentiating them by subtle differences. And he can, at least try, to flood them with noise. Combat: Hubcap strikes Shockwave, Rampage, Cyclonus, Cackle, and Buzzkill with his Super Hearing Area attack! That attack has temporarily limited their Agility! (Crippled) Shockwave's satchel is gone. He isn't likely to get it back from Wheeljack, but this is acceptable. Shockwave has a plan B. The Decepticon first evades the flying Buzzkill by neatly ducking her, and then hovers up into the air, boot thrusters firing. Although he sees Aramasu coming, he takes no action. The shuriken strikes him in the thigh and bounces off, landing on the dam's surface with a clatter. Shockwave otherwise makes no motion against either him or Wheeljack, apparently content to hover ominously above the eastern section and try to tune out Hubcap's radio noise burst. He does, however, take careful watch for any further attempts against his person. Combat: Shockwave challenges Wheeljack for control of capture point A - Eastern End. Combat: Shockwave defeats Wheeljack in an epic duel of NERDERY! Combat: Shockwave takes control of capture point A - Eastern End. Attack Helicopter returns, soaring from out of the clouds! Where had he gone?? MYSTERY. The attack chopper makes his approach on the west side of the damn...He's clearly going to bomb the hell out of it, unless someone...someone can STOP HIM! Robot Tiger arghs as the noise pierces his sensitive audio receptors. "You just made a big mistake, pal," he snarls at Hubcap, and then opens up his gun ports mounted at his sides. *PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW* Combat: Robot Tiger strikes Hubcap with his Gun-Ports attack! "Aha! Obviously, I have used my TIGER RAY on you, Bumblebee! Now a Predacon will maul you and- OW!" Cackle's rant is cut short as a searing, terrible noise whines through the mad scientist's audio sensors! She claps her free hand to the side of her helmet and swears beneath her breath...not that she can hear herself do it! And so, Cackle just staggers away from the brawl...and, dazed as she is, she soon sets her optics upon: "A forcefield projector? PAH!" And she soon tromps over towards it, "Typical Autobot junk, using all that power to PROTECT instead of DESTROY. Makes me sick!" and so, she takes a moment to look it over, and then starts pushing buttons at random. "Good thing I, Cackle, have the expertise to WEAPONISE it! BWA HA HA HA!" Combat: Cackle takes control of capture point C - Forcefield Control. Cyclonus had expected some random human pet, not Amber MacKenzie of all people! And so, he recoils at first, alarmed, but then... his gaze narrows slowly. "Hm. Hahaha. Ahhh. My dear, there is but one problem with your threat. Perhaps you DO have contacts off-world. But... how will they ever receive word of your death with no way to transmit the fact to them? I doubt your Autobot friends would even know to inform them. Your end would hardly be galactic news." The side of his mouth perks up in a cruel grin. "Sorry, my dear, but as you humans might say, you boxed above your weight class..." His foot rises up to crush her, and he even takes time to give a knowing sneer to Maximus before-- KRAKA-BOOM! Cyclonus is abruptly flung back by an explosion! "ARRGH!!" Cyclonus yells before smashing up against a Concrete wall, and he's immediately forced to put his hands over his audials as he's bombarded with some kind of horrifying noise! "What... is this? Hnngh..." He stumbles back up, forgetting Amber for the moment, especially when he spies Wheeljack holding the satchel charge! "Heh. Wheeljack, you fool. *I* made those explosives. Time to correct your resurrection..." And so he simply produces a remote detonator, and triggers the charge in the very satchel Wheeljack is holding. Robotic Honey Bee takes Wheeljack's foot right to the bee gut and is sent flying through the air towards her favorite hexagon-faced Commander, but instead of colliding with him, she sails right past Shockwave and tumbles down the side of the dam. She manages to snag ahold of the concrete before reaching the waters below, pulling herself up onto all six legs before taking off and buzzing her way back to the action despite the sudden ringing resonating inside her head. How does Hubcap do that? "This dam is going down, Autobot. There's nothing you can do to stop it." The bee descends upon Wheeljack and tries to plunge her stinger deep into his body. Combat: Robotic Honey Bee misses Wheeljack with her Piercing Sting attack! Combat: Cyclonus strikes Hoover Dam , Wheeljack, and Buzzkill with Satchel Charge's Huge Explosion #9707 Area attack! Combat: Hoover Dam 's forcefield absorbs Cyclonus's attack. Hubcap ows and rubs at the side of his head as he trips a circuit-breaker with the effort of that last signal. Glancing around, he sends off a quick radio transmission, then chases after Cackle, and sprawls towards her as the Predacons' attack cuts him down. Maybe he can take her down as he falls. Combat: Hubcap challenges Cackle for control of capture point C - Forcefield Control. Combat: Hubcap defeats Cackle in an epic duel of NERDERY! Combat: Hubcap takes control of capture point C - Forcefield Control. Andi Lassiter winces at the explosion that goes off at the far end of the dam from her (opposite where she left Amber), but keeps running for force field control. She stops and looks at Cackle in alarm when the clearly deranged Decepticon starts messing with the controls. Thinking hastily, she pulls a restaurant packet of mustard from a pocket, tears it partway open, then yells, "Get away from those controls or I'll throw this container of micro-scraplets at you!" She brandishes the mustard packet threateningly, making sure a little of the disturbingly yellow contents is visible. Of course, her threat is likely completely ruined by Hubcap appearing seemingly out of nowhere to tackle Cackle. So much for that thought. Wraith Power Armor lands near Shockwave and grabs a small metal sphere from his backpack and throws it at Shockwave. The small metal ball's studs explode outward turning it into some sort of weird squid made of chains and metal. The contraption tries to wrap around Shockwave in order to limit his movements. Combat: Wraith Power Armor strikes Shockwave with his High-tech Manrikigusari attack! That attack has temporarily impaired Shockwave's Agility. (Crippled) Amber MacKenzie was poised to jump out of the way of Cyclonus' attempt to squash her like a bug, but it turned out it wasn't necessary. Amber herself backs away, eyes narrowed in fury. Cyclonus' dark secret is HISTORY. Reaching into her pocket and feeling for her Blackberry, she hesitates, then takes her finger off the speed dial feature. She'll reserve this for something else. Glancing around, she sees Encore nearby (yes, she actually pays attention to the broadband). AC130U Spooky II Gunship grins as his shots strike home on Cyclonus, then yelps at the great gout of fire and explosion <> he mutters, spotting Amber's OK. He tips his wings to her in greeting, and keeps on giving Cyclonus things to think about; there's another, longer burst of minigun fire aimed at him! <> Combat: AC130U Spooky II Gunship misses Cyclonus with his Longer minigun burst (Laser) attack! The dazed soldiers eventually shakes off their disorientation and soon regains their wits. Yep, Wheeljack, Shockwave, Buzzkill, and everyone else in between them. This is definitely not a great place to be in right now. The soldiers begins dragging their incapacitated comrades out of the area and wisely vacates the scene! Meanwhile, Fortress Maximus has finally scaled to the top of the dam. He presses against his left arm and pulls against the bulk of his body weight over the top, but can only reach out desperately with an outstretched hand towards the direction of Cyclonus and Amber as he watches the Decepticon sneer at him before the downward motion of his feet! However as luck would have it, Encore saves the day! The turn of events brings a smile of relief up onto the Headmaster leader's face. Several waves of Decepticon seekers zooms by him, catching Fortress Maximus by surprise and staggers him around. He catches his footing though and eventually returns fire with a few well-placed ion pulse cannon fire, << Hang in there, everyone. Sound off if your sector is in trouble early on so we make adjustments to our strategy accordingly! >> Wheeljack is, admittedly, a bit preoccupied with other threats do deal right away with Shockwave doing the ominous overhanging threat thing. The most likely assumption is he intends to just blast the structure point directly now. Then Cyclonus chips in, the bag beeps, and the bee dives at him. Wheeljack really only has one option to deal with all this. He turns his head, ducks back and shoves the satchel in front of him to intercept Buzzkill's stinger with the packet. And then it goes *KABOOM* A streak of smoke and fire arcs through the air and crashes down in some trees at the edge of the dam and lake. With a groan Wheeljack rubs his head as he starts to get up. "Good thing I'm used to being at ground zero for explosives... Ow." Moments later there's another blast of smoke from the tree line, this time as Wheeljack once again launches himself with his rockets, ignoring his own injuries for the moment. Instead he's hurtling right towards Shockwave in the usual sort of crazy bravery the old crew was known for, hoping to grab onto the walking nuke and point him in some direction other than the weak structural point of the dam. "Gonna take more than that to kill me! Again!" Combat: Wheeljack challenges Shockwave for control of capture point A - Eastern End. Combat: Shockwave defeats Wheeljack in an epic duel of NERDERY! From Glaive II - Prototype , Nate Briar keeps out of the fray of fire and looks over at as Wheeljack fails to take back the situation into the favor of Team God. "Crud..." The little Glaive attempts to hipcheck Shockwave out of the way and take the spot. Granted, he'll fail. Combat: Glaive II - Prototype challenges Shockwave for control of capture point A - Eastern End. Combat: Shockwave defeats Glaive II - Prototype in an epic duel of NERDERY! "Hey, get back here you little twerp!" the Predacon Tiger snaps at Hubcap, but then he gets an order from Shockwave on the broadband. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he says to Shockwave. Remotely detonating the bombs Wheeljack is carrying really is a brilliant idea, it's too bad Buzzkill happens to find herself at ground zero when it happens. "N-no!" is all the Insecticon manages to croak out, her stinger impaling the satchel just seconds before it explodes in a fiery blast. A good portion of her abdomen is blown to smithereens, striped armor flying off in all directions, and she's sent flying backwards until she collides with a wall and crumples into a heap. It's going to take more to put her down however as Buzzkill transforms and rises to her feet in her robot mode a mere moments later. She levels her weapon at the Scientist but finds her attention drawn to the exo-suit also harassing Shockwave. It's so hard to choose which one to shoot at so she tries to take them both out with the same grenade. Unfortunately for Shockwave, he's going to have to take some of the explosion but he's a big boy, he can handle it. Combat: Buzzkill strikes Shockwave, Glaive II - Prototype , and Wheeljack with her Frag Launcher Area attack! Cyclonus ducks under the minigun fire, and notices that Encore's fire is staying somewhat high for some reason--ah ha! That's right, that human's still skulking about. The dark space warrior looks around himself. Yes, if he could find Amber, he could prevent her from meddling further AND deter Encore from blasting him again. "Where are you, you tiny little fool? Did you really allow yourself to think you could blackmail Cyclonus? The only thing you have gained in the attempt is YOUR DEATH!" He thinks he spies movement on the dam, and lunges for it. "AH-HA!" Combat: Cyclonus challenges Amber MacKenzie for control of capture point B - Western End. Combat: Cyclonus defeats Amber MacKenzie in an epic duel of NERDERY! Combat: Cyclonus takes control of capture point B - Western End. "Agh!" Cackle is shoved away from the objective! She wheels about, and levels her shoulder-mounted lasers at Hubcap, blazing away! "Ha ha! FOOL! I will-" a pause, and she glances over her shoulder as Shockwave gives an order. "I will destroy you ANOTHER DAY!" she says, and heads for the western end of the dam. "Probably tomorrow." Combat: Cackle misses Hubcap with her Quad Laser attack! Just what is Shockwave doing? He lost the satchel of bombs... Cyclonus even detonated them remotely. The Autobots, Wheeljack in particular, are quick to figure it out. Shockwave's translucent chest compartment glows as he funnels power to his main weapons system. The enemy comes at him in force. Aramasu Hikage hurls a device at him. Upon impact, it shatters in a flurry of metal chained ribbons, which wrap around Shockwave's arms and legs. Shockwave doesn't even look down to acknowledge the Benefactor. Instead he merely spreads out his limbs. One by one, the chains SNAP off. Within two point eight seconds, Shockwave is free and the tattered remains of the weapon falls to the ground. Wheeljack is next, and Shockwave is forced to engage the Autobot scientist in hand-to-hand combat. Brief hand-to-hand combat. For a moment, as Wheeljack ascends to his position, the pair are silhouetted against the bright desert sunlight. Shockwave lashes out with all of his strength, backhanding Wheeljack in the face and sending him hurtling back down towards the Colorado River. The sound of his vice-like fist striking Wheeljack's head can be heard across the battlefield against the pitter-patter of shrapnel striking the pair. Indeed, Shockwave can take it, and he does so without flinching. "I have the exact knowledge, Autobot, of what it takes to kill a Cybertronian." Nothing can stop Shockwave now. The Decepticon again closes his legs, "Witness, defenders of Earth," he raises his arms above his head, "All your effort," He bends forward, barrel appearing out of subspace. There's a low hum emitting from the weapon, "Are reduced to dust within seconds!" A bright purple beam lances out from the barrel, striking the dam at its eastern point. The entire structure shudders. The forcefield flickers before recovering, and concrete begins falling down into the river, splashing heavily. Wheeljack will have to watch for falling rocks. Concrete continues to crumble as the dam threatens to collapse entirely. Shockwave now soars westward to assist Cyclonus. Smoke wafts from the barrel. Shockwave's legs combine as his back unfolds. A wide, silver barrel appears out of subspace and connects to his arms, completing his transformation into ray gun mode. Just as Cyclonus lunges at her, Amber slips away to the west, off the western end of the bridge and into the shadows of the rocks framing the narrow, twisting Hoover Dam Access Road. Hopefully, out of sight, out of mind. She swears viciously - and completely silently - as she goes. Cyclonus is so dead. However badly she wants to set off the notification, she wants to time it for a moment to cause the maximum anguish for Cyclonus. In the shadows, she waits, ready if she's needed. The shaking ground worries her, but she's on solid rock where she's at. AC130U Spooky II Gunship growls and turns his attention onto Shockwave, spotting that big cannon. Well, a big gun should be hit with a big gun, right? Nope. It should be hit with as much mass as you can throw at it, and the heaviest thing Encore can throw is... Well, Encore. With engines screaming at full power he banks around and makes for the cannon, nose down in an attempt to ram him. <> Combat: AC130U Spooky II Gunship strikes Laser Gun with his Ram attack! Fortress Maximus shields himself as showers of concrete debris liters the area, raining down against the side of his right arm that he has shielded his face. When the dust has finally settled, the wounded view of the damn sits clears in sight! The Headmaster leader grits his "teeth" grimly and begins covering the short distance between him, Cyclonus, and the western point. Seekers attempts to hinder Fortress Maximus in between but are taking down by expertly placed shots in retaliation. Eventually the western end of Hoover Dam is in view, but no signs of Amber Mackenzie can be found! Enraged, Fortress Maximus leaps towards the point as well, determined to stop whatever action Cyclonus has put in motion to end the dam, "What have you done with the human that was here, Cyclonus?! Speak, monster!" Combat: Fortress Maximus challenges Cyclonus for control of capture point B - Western End. Combat: Fortress Maximus defeats Cyclonus in an epic duel of NERDERY! Combat: Fortress Maximus takes control of capture point B - Western End. Wraith Power Armor watches as Shockwave prepares to fire his big gun or himself to be more accurate. The ninja does not even blink as the chains snap off the purple giant. They were only meant to slow him down a bit. Before the ninja can attack the AC130U rams the Decepticon. Plan B. Hikage leaps towards Cyclonus, drawing his sword in mid-air and comes down hard hand to the hilt stabbing his sword in the Unicronian's back Combat: Wraith Power Armor misses Cyclonus with his Falcon's cut! attack! "I am not bringing home a baby bumblebee," says Nate as his armor indicates that Buzzkill's hit did some damage. Shockwave has managed to best him and Wheeljack. Nate is left with an option now that Soundwave seems to be not focused on the Glaive but the little Insecticon would make a nice trophy. "Hey Honeybee, are you a drone for the Decepticons?" The laser rifle hums as it takes a charge to complete power just before Nate readies it for his next move. "I really wish I had some RAID right now." The AI inside the Glaive pulls up the profile of Air Raid and has a warning message about not commenting or looking at the tiny wheels. Nate closes the browser and takes his aim and aggression to use against Buzzkill. Combat: Glaive II - Prototype strikes Buzzkill with his Auto-Rifle attack! That.. was... AWESOME. Shame Wheeljack was on the receiving end of the painful part of, the slap across the face cutting off his attempt to radio the rest of his team and dislodge the already injured engineer from his attempt to disrupt Shockwave's efforts. All he ends up doing is grasping haplessly for a moment, then falling away as Shockwave transforms and, honestly, does a more precision job than the bombs probably would of anyways. Then it all ends in a splash in the river below, sending up a plume of water from the impact. But a minute or two later Wheeljack pulls himself out of the water, hunkers down near a corner of the damn and attempts to do some quick work about his ragged state. Sounds like Max has things in hand up there for the moment. Andi Lassiter looks from one edge of the dam to the other, muttering curses to herself. But, Cackle is gone so she rushes to the force field controls and quickly starts setting them straight again. "Hubcap, GO! I can handle this." Hubcap ducks and rolls out of the way of the strange Decepticons' attack. "Uh, yeah," he responds, hesitantly. "It's a date?" Climbing to his feet, he nods at Andi and approaches the console. He offers the Human a hand up, just in case. "Better buckle up, you're playing defense on this thing. I'm going to reposition so I can support the remaining strongpoints as required." That said he turns to leave, before turning back. "/Call/ if necessary." He grins and taps the side of his head. "Got my ears on." Then he heads out onto the dam. Cyclonus slides across the damn, the concrete scraping his armor as he tries to grab for Amber, but the tricky human is already gone. "Blast. YOU AREN'T SAFE, AMBER! I'll get you, or I'll send someone to get you for me! So sleep at night, dreaming of bombs raining on your house or Ravage's teeth at your neck!" It's then that he notices a shadow looming up behind him, and quickly rolls away in time for Aramasu's blade to stab the ground where he was instead of his back, and Cyclonus bolts up to his feet, his own sword drawn. "Ah, you wish to try yourself on me, human?..." But Cyclonus is forced to back off as he's confronted by a much larger foe, Maximus! "The human? That little thing? Oh... I could have sworn I saw her jump over the side. It is a woefully long drop for a human, wouldn't you say...? And since you care so much for these humans... watch this one cook in his own suit!" And he turns his oxidizing laser on Aramasu, trying to blast a hole right through him! Combat: Cyclonus misses Wraith Power Armor with his Oxidizing Laser attack! Buzzkill looks insulted. Or just plain angry, it's hard to tell. "I'm not a drone, I'm a worker. There's a huge difference between the two classes." The Glaive's gunfire strikes her across the chest, one of her alternate mode's optics shattering as the bullets pierce through it. "I wouldn't expect a primitive life form such as yourself to understand such an advanced concept." Koo koo ca choo, she transforms back into her honey bee mode and descends upon Nate, jaws gnashing to rip off a mouth-full of delicious exo-suit. Combat: Robotic Honey Bee misses Glaive II - Prototype with her Harvest attack! It took a MYSTERIOUSLY LONG amount of time for Spinister to reach the west side of the dam! The area has become much more populated with Cyclonus dueling with Fort Max... Since fusion bombs are out, it' time to make things more interesting for the Autobot Headmaster. The chopper accelerates to a strafing speed, and Hairsplitter opens fire on Fortress Maximus- perhaps it will give Cyclonus the opening he needs to seal the deal! As the chopper passes it lifts back into the clouds, defenseless against parting shots! Combat: Attack Helicopter strikes Fortress Maximus with its Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Robot Tiger runs after Hubcap again when the Autobot goes up on the dam. "Hey, you forgot to finish your nickel plated knuckle sandwich!" He leaps and swats at Hubcap with a forepaw. Combat: Robot Tiger strikes Hubcap with his Five Across The Face? (Punch) attack! Laser Gun 's power levels are low, but rapidly increasing again as the nuclear reactor at his centre continues to churn. Shockwave soars towards an optimal firing position above the dam. Below him, he sees Cyclonus and Fortress Maximus dueling. No-one here should be fool enough to ask whether the Decepticon second in command's presence is going to be enough to prevent Shockwave from cutting loose. Spying Encore as he makes a beeline for him, Shockwave takes immediate evasive action. It's only this that spares both him and Encore from getting completely obliterated. The gunship clips Shockwave at his barrel's mid-section, and the entire section is torn off, revealing the circuitry within. The laser gun is sent tumbling over and over onto his side, but still stays aloft. "Brave," he comments, "But clearly desperate. Your line is weakening, Encore." Oh yes, he knows Encore by sight. "Not you, not your human allies, and not even Fortress Maximus can last for long." Shockwave, now way off course thanks to Encore, picks up speed and streaks towards the second weak spot. Fortress Maximus is in the area, but Shockwave doesn't aim for him. The targeting array on the laser gun's dorsal side flickers to life, giving Shockwave a HUD view as the aiming reticule slips away from Fortress Maximus and onto the subtle cracks in the dam that Shockwave has calculated will bring the entire thing down. The Headmaster Commander is irrelevant: The dam is the top priority here. There's that low hum again before Shockwave cuts loose for the second time thus far. His boot thrusters struggle to keep up with the recoil as the sky is suddenly cast in a pink hue. With this strike, Shockwave can bring the entire dam down, burying any and all humans within it. What could possibly stop him? Combat: Laser Gun strikes Fortress Maximus with his Full Powered Nuclear Shockwave attack! Cackle stares at Hubcap. "Date? You? No, Bumblebee, your YELLOW AUTOBOT wiles are not enough to seduce me! For I, Cackle, am too BRILLIANT for puny concepts like 'love!' Also I am too pretty for you and I bet you couldn't afford dating me. I require expensive maintenance." "Then again, they say the best things in life are free...like, say, MURDER. MWA HA HA HA HA!" She pauses as Rampage beats on Hubcap...and then shrugs, turning her fire down towards Wheeljack instead! "You! Autobot! Feel what a REAL scientist can do!" *kapew!* Combat: Cackle misses Wheeljack with her Energy Ray attack! Singe looks down from the clouds at Cackle, murdering in all her glory. "Who...who is that beautifully psychotic murderer? I...I must have her!" Amber MacKenzie sees no opportunity to resume her place, not with Cyclonus still there. There's simply nothing she can do until the scum is taken out. She silently cheers Fortress Maximus on, as he's the only one she can see from her new viewpoint, and also carries on a radio conversation with the object of her fury, a conversation with as much viciousness as any other fight currently occurring. "Oh, sorry, Wasp. Or are you a winged ant? Carpenter ant?" Nate intentionally tries to derail Buzzkill's thoughts as he eggs her on. "Tell me more about your caste system. So you are above a drone but below a queen. I see." The energy blade in the right arm is at 95% ready and thus he needs to buy some more time, "So did you know that us humans used to have a Queen? Her name was Freddie Mercury." He then attempts to swing the energy blade at Buzzkill with full force. Combat: Glaive II - Prototype strikes Robotic Honey Bee with his We Will Rock You! attack! Wraith Power Armor is a bit surprised at having missed his stabbing attack on Cyclonus. Just as the Decepticon raises his weapon at him, the ninja pulls his sword from the ground and rolls to the side. He ponders his options and decides to stay on the evasive for now. AC130U Spooky II Gunship growls at the impact, rolling out of control after the impact but just and -just- getting it under control before smacking into the dam. He begins trying to gain height, taking a few moments out of the fight and going on the evasive while hunting for a priority target. Hubcap hears that, and frowns slightly. "It's just an expression, a turn of phrase? Mind you..." The Minibot throws Cackle his best smile and swaggers a little. Tipping the 'con a wink, he pats his aft and says: "Can't touch this." Then he transforms and races off along the dam with a peel of tires and scorch-smoke, trying to reach the weak point in the structure. Andi Lassiter finishes correcting the forcefield controls and does as Hubcap suggested, 'battening down the hatches' and getting ready to do what's necessary to keep Decepticons away. She gets out her laser scalpel and sets it to maximum yield. It might not kill someone, but it'll sure smart if she manages to cut any delicate wiring. "Amber, I really hope you're okay out there." Combat: Andi Lassiter takes control of capture point C - Forcefield Control. Fortress Maximus instinctively shifts his gaze down below the side as Cyclonus had alluded Amber falling over, it's a flaw influenced by Galen's compassion but his attention is properly honed once more by the much more experienced persona of Fortress Maximus. Unfortunately the momentary lapse in concentrate and threats against Aramasu allowed for Spinister to open up behind him! Armour is shredded, and circuits blown asunder as the missiles strikes Fortress Maximus' back! The Headmaster leader drops down to one knee in pain, and looks up... but he doesn't find Spinister, instead the real threat is revealed to him in the form of Shockwave looming about, weapons charged and ready to deliver a decisive shot towards the dam! Without so much as a second though, Galen takes over command of the body and sends it into motion while Fortress Maximus' persona takes the back seat in order to calculate the trajectory needed. Two souls work as one and the result is Fortress Maximus leaping into the air, dropping right into the path of the incoming pink x-ray beam! The massive Autobot is carried backwards by the explosive effect of the beam, and craters straight into the side of the dam's wall from the sheer violent strength of the destructive beam! It seems like an eternity but finally the beam disengages, and Fortress Maximus crawls, albeit weakly, out of the crater on the side of the dam's wall. His armour melted from chest to torso, a pained expression on his face the culminates in a resolved grit, "G-good try, Shockwave, but the dam won't fall tonight. Perhaps I have been holding back for too long as well.." Fortress Maximus leaps out of the crater, transforms and floats! Soon the two twin barreled mortar launchers appears as the Headmaster leader assumes the form of a battleship, the sound of the mortar rounds can be heard being loaded into before several Decepticons are painted with crimson laser light which is followed by several deafening explosions! Combat: Porsche 924 Turbo takes control of capture point B - Western End. Combat: Interstellar Battleship strikes Attack Helicopter and Laser Gun with his Laser-Guided Mortars Area attack! Once he's gotten his gears back in line and head back in the game, the instincts hone in the undue millennia of war to save Wheeljack's proverbial bacon. At the taunting and gun fire he doesn't bother looking at seeing who it is, instead ducking and rolling away from the energy bolts punching the ground behind him. He comes out of the tumble in crouch, still battered but the patchwork holding for the moment. "What, that's it? Laugh and shoot at me? A fairly crazy laugh, but still. Where's the spirit? The long winded explanation of what your creation does?" Cue dramatic stance and thrusting an arm out to point at Cackle. "Your science is weak, lady. Watch THIS!" ... But instead of shooting back at her, he turns, aims, and fires his launcher at Rampage instead. Hopefully the magnetic disruptor shell will keep the Predacon from chasing after Hubcap's dash for the weak spot defense. Combat: Wheeljack strikes Robot Tiger with his Big Game Hunting attack! Robot Tiger has been temporarily incapacitated. Singe shrieks. Hopefully no one heard it, because he'd lose his man cred. Fort Max, strikes Spinister so hard, he actually loses his Nebulons! Hairsplitter lands on top of the dam, near Amber. He sits up, rubbing his head. "Yeeaaaah... That... Yeah." Singe drops into the drink, just as Shockwave signals the retreat. Robot Tiger is stunned! He falls over with a groan. He couldn't retreat if he wanted to! Cackle pauses, and peers at Wheeljack. "Well, I was HOPING that you would FEEL the effects of my ENERGY RAY first hand! But...well, the sights seem to need calibration BECAUSE THAT WAS A WARNING SHOT." she glances over as Wheeljack rockets Rampage, and shrugs it off with all the callousness of a true Decepticon. "Now, I shall-" And an order is given over the radio! "-retreat! YOU ARE LUCKY, AUTOBOTS! Next time I shall bring an even GREATER weapon to bear which shall be your DOOOM!" Cackle shakes a fist at the Autobots...and then transforms and runs away before anyone important notices her doing it! Robotic Honey Bee says, "Do I look like a wasp? OR a carpenter ant!?" Buzzkill sputters, obviously deeply offended by Nate's poor insect identification skills. She sees the glowing blade coming at her with her good eye and ducks but she's just not fast enough; the blade slices through one of her wings, completely severing it from the rest of her body. It’s..it's not a pleasant experience. "You're nothing but a pathetic ape-man pretending to be a robot." She climbs up the Glaive's body and positions herself over the cockpit, chemical packed stinger poised to pierce through and menace the pilot inside. Fortunately for Nate, a retreat is called and Buzzkill, being the ever obedient little worker she is, immediately disengages and takes to the skies. Next time she'll get him. Next time." Laser Gun is silent for zero point eight seconds. It takes this amount of time for him to fully register what's happened. He unleashed everything he had against the dam, but Fortress Maximus was too fast and too steady. The crosshairs on his targeting array shifts back and forth between the intended strike point and Maximus, and the full blast is caught by the latter. Shockwave pours on the power, increasing it to unsafe levels in a desperate attempt to silence the Headmaster Commander for good. The beam increases its intensity, but the Autobot withstands it all. Finally, the energy cuts out, and Shockwave is left hovering with smoke pouring out of his barrel. He stares, intent on finding out whether Maximus has been killed or not. Although the Headmaster Commander is downed, he quickly makes it clearly not dead. "Remarkable," Shockwave murmurs, half disappointed and half impressed. "I believe," he adds slowly, "That you are correct, Fortress Maximus." He doesn't get more than a split second more before Fortress Maximus emerges from the crater, transforming into his terrifying battlecruiser mode. Shockwave takes evasive action as the mortars fly, evading the first titanic explosion. The second detonates at its maximum yield range, buffeting the space gun. The third catches Shockwave entirely in the blast, and the fourth is a direct hit that shatters the lower half of the space gun. Purple and translucent armour falls down into the Colorado River as the Decepticon struggles to transform back into robot mode. There's a high pitched grinding noise as he makes the change, and his hand immediately goes to cover the wound that's now on his chest. <> Shockwave transmits. He casts one last look down at the dam. Half of it is crumbling, but it has held, and it can be repaired. Boot thrusters firing at maximum, Shockwave tears away from the battlefield. Attack Helicopter watches the Decepticons departing, and makes a fierce dive towards the dam as Hairsplitter and Singe leap from the dam and water, trying to meet him in midair. It's not a smart move, but what's a Targetmaster without his Nebulons? He's just a target. Hairsplitter transforms into weapon mode and links to the wing, while Singe hangs from the chopper's rails. It's time to go, even though Spin is probably more open to parting shots than most... "Bring it on, girly. I've been outwittin' you Con lab loonies for longer than you can count!" Then Wheeljack pauses, remembering something. "Oh, yeah, speaking of which." He tromps over to where Rampage was dropped by the magnetic shell. "Don't forget to take your trash with you." He pulls out a couple of his rockets, quickly latches them on to Rampage's tail, then backs up several steps and hits the ignition! *FWOOOSH* The rockets flare up, hoisting the tiger by his tail after the other Decepticons! Oh, and then explode, of course. But he should be snapped out of the system lock by the ride by then. Combat: Wheeljack strikes Robot Tiger with his Rocket Ride attack! [Pulled -3] Cyclonus looks around himself. Autobots everywhere, Decepticons on the retreat, and the dam itself in far too good of a condition to destroy with any of his own attacks. "Bah. You win this day, Autobots." He transforms into fighter mode, dropping over the side of the dam as his engines flare to life, propelling him away. "But we will be back, and the energy provided by this dam will be DENIED TO YOU!" AC130U Spooky II Gunship circles the area casually, watching what's going on below. He tracks the Cons as they flee, ready to fire on any that look like they're changing their mind. <> From Glaive II - Prototype , For some reason, that little Insecticon has upset the EDC General. "Wait, she's retreating?" He's ticked that she had the nerve to climb on top of him and not even do anything. She just buzzed off? "Buzzkill, I know you are a bee. I know you view loyalty and discipline as a form of honor and duty. I respect it. I cannot respect that you are on the wrong side. I can't--" The Glaive's eight anti-aircraft rockets hum in unity, "Oh, right, I can save you my speech." He clicks the fire button and smirks, "Call me when you think you can handle a real fight against me." Combat: Glaive II - Prototype strikes Robotic Honey Bee with his buzzy plz attack! Robot Tiger recovers after being tossed like a hammer in the Olympics. "Ugh, I'm out of here," he says, "GEE GUYS THANKS FOR WAITING UP!" Porsche 924 Turbo transforms back into robot mode and points at the retreating 'Cons. "I HEARD THAT!" He announces, on general principle. Then he glances around. "I don't think she's gonna show for that date..." Way off in the distance, Nate's rockets soar through the air and strike Buzzkill, the multiple explosions blowing chunks out of her and knocking her out of the sky, though she does manage to catch herself in time and still beat a hasty retreat in one piece. She'll be in contact and Nate will be dead in due time, such is the circle of life. Interstellar Battleship levitates up towards the eastern side of the dam and steadies off as Cog climbs out of Fortress Maximus' storage compartment and begins applying structural repairs. Meanwhile inside the bridge, Galen can be seen looking outwards at the faint glimpse of the last of the retreat Decepticons, "I have a feeling things wouldn't have ended well if Shockwave and the others' resolve held out longer. For whatever reasons it maybe, I can't help but feel we lucked out." Fortress Maximus' internal speakers emits a reply in response to his Nebulan partner, "Perhaps that's true, but the others need not know. They've earned that much tonight for their efforts." Amber MacKenzie leaves cover and slowly walks the twenty feet to her bike, miraculously undamaged. Picking it up, she walks it down to the top of the dam and parks it more normally. The dam looks a lot less sound than when she left it... Next, she counts heads. Wheeljack, Fort, Encore, Hubcap, Nate, Andi... where's Aramasu? "Heya, guys. I'm not seeing Mr. Hikage." Of course, that sneaky ninja could be standing here invisible or something. The Glaive blows a kiss to where the rockets exploded in the sky before Nate turns around and heads to the rest of the group. Andi Lassiter starts down from the forcefield control, looking around not at the damage to the dam, but at the injuries to the various Autobots. Hubcap peers at Max. "Heard that, too," he comments, but doesn't provide specifics. There's someone missing? He gestures towards the Wraith. "That guy? He looks fine." Wheeljack is going to get up and help with the repairs... He stops to look down as some odd looking piece of Cybertronian hardware falls off. "... I don't even know what that is." ... On second thought, he's just going to sit here and wait like Andi says. Galen can be seen giving Hubcap a thankful smile in response to his comment from behind the bridge's window. Amber MacKenzie doesn't even have to sit on Wheeljack! Andi Lassiter hurries toward Wheeljack, her medical scanner and a couple of hand tools already ready already. "Let's make sure you're not going to keep imitating a Junkion, all right?" She tosses a smile toward Amber then starts checking the Autobot engineer over. Combat: Andi Lassiter expertly repairs Wheeljack's injuries. Andi Lassiter is able to repair some of Wheeljack's internal systems damage. Combat: Andi Lassiter expertly repairs Glaive II - Prototype 's injuries. Andi Lassiter is able to repair some of Glaive II - Prototype 's internal systems damage. Andi Lassiter patches what she can for Wheeljack quickly. "All right. You're not going to die, but I suggest you talk to First Aid or Ratchet as soon as you can. But until then..." She looks around then offers conspiratorially, "I'm going to need you to help me with getting Fort Max to let me check on him. I saw him take that hit from Shockwave." Combat: Andi Lassiter expertly repairs Fortress Maximus's injuries. Andi Lassiter is able to repair some of Fortress Maximus's internal systems damage. Hubcap limps casually over to Amber, peering at everyone cheerfully. This does count as a win after all, so a smile is appropriate. One might never even imagine that he's heard things that folks might not wish to be heard. "How're we looking," he asks, casually. Amber MacKenzie was watching the repairs, her eyes unfocused and distant, at least until Hubcap arrives. "Heya, Hubcap. Nice work, by the way." She turns away from Andi and Wheeljack and stares out now over Lake Mead. The moon is reflected in its gentle waves. One would think that there'd never been a battle here, except for the telltale cracks in the dam. "Is there something I can do for you? Andi Lassiter sighs as it looks like Fortress Maximus is going to not let her get any repairs done today. "Okay, then." She turns to look at Hubcap as if studying him with a critical eye. But instead of immeciately demanding he sit down for her to check that injured leg, she walks over and offers her medical scanner to Amber. Nate Briar leaves the Glaive and bandages himself up. Hubcap eyes Amber for a moment then decides that, eh, if she wants to talk she will. He trusts her. Grinning he taps her with his elbow, "Dunno, you get that 'Con's number?" He waves his arms in front of him. "I figure I could talk her to a drive-in! What d'ya reckon?" One optic flashes in a wink. After he bandages himself up. He walks with a slight limp over to the rest. "I think we can call this a victory. I'm going to have a team pick up the Glaive and bring it back."
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