"The buzzing of Hyperblast's turbines echoes an increasingly nauseating tone as he descends, transforms, and finally cuts the engines. He appears to be unaccompanied, but given the lack of Autobot fliers, that's hardly surprising. His helmet jerks upward, blue optics glowing slightly like he's looking for something. \"Hmf. Just backwash. No one fast enough.\" He crouches, hands on his knees, now analyzing the nature of the gash he crossed. Hyperblast, on his short-range radio, transmits, \"I'm alright. Some damage in landing gear. Hold back.\""@en . . . . "Hyperblast Is Not Food"@en . . . "The buzzing of Hyperblast's turbines echoes an increasingly nauseating tone as he descends, transforms, and finally cuts the engines. He appears to be unaccompanied, but given the lack of Autobot fliers, that's hardly surprising. \"Good cycle for a dead battlefield. Must be a battlefield, or it will be...\" The bulky mech plods to some nearby cover, but not FOR cover, he seems much more interested in looking at it. And talking about it. \"Good. Shoddy.\" He makes notes on a data pad in his spindly hand. \"If we're going to win anything, we have to have the advantage on the roads ... crate of reinforced tank traps...\" Click clack, still on the tablet. His 'wings' shift idly above him, but he otherwise pays little mind to the surroundings, having picked up utterly nothing on his first sweep. The Decepticons must be occupied elsewhere... Hmm, a meal perhaps? She /was/ quite famished since this Maker-forsaken place had pretty much no wildlife, as well as the surrounding areas. The familiar beast crouched hidden among some nearby debris, the only thing able to be seen being those jade optics as they literally stare at Hyperblast like he was a walking buffet. A tongue presses out to lick her lips, body stiff while legs crawl her fluidly over the terrain. Closer, closer. Must be ever so quiet... \"No... this will start to rust. Maybe no point.\" Hyperblast starts to move off, incidentally further away from Chimera. His turbines spin up again with the same locust-from-the-pit sound as before as he hovers over a particularly deep, uneven chasm bombed in the road. \"If they're going to bomb it, they may as well go all the way, but...\" He looks at the pit under himself, slowly turning around in midair, and scratches at the side of his helmet. \"... perfect place. Next to the airfield. Why aren't they doing this?\" His helmet jerks upward, blue optics glowing slightly like he's looking for something. \"Hmf. Just backwash. No one fast enough.\" He crouches, hands on his knees, now analyzing the nature of the gash he crossed. Every step, so carefully calculated as she inches forward, bit by bit starting to increase her pace until she's close enough to break into a full-on run. But by this time she'd already made plenty of noise as metal claws churned the ground beneath her, her mane snapping back against her body to make her more streamline. Engines roared inside the beast, making her snarl loudly as she closes the gap between them, front paws outstretched with extended claws, her frame leaping to grab hold of the mech if he wasn't fast enough. Hyperblast may be blind to what's outside the narrow pitch of his down-facing helmet, but he can /hear/... \"What?\" He bolts his view up again and, given that the Unmaker's own hellhound appears before him, his first reaction is to cover his face with his hands. \"What! What what what what!\" That leaves a scant couple of nanokliks for him to charge and burst his turbines. He manages to! A puff-BOOM echoes on the nearby scenery, and Hyperblast leaps into the air. \"Get OFF! OFF!\" Not soon enough to not have a Chimera dangling from his heavy feet. Both his long arms smack and jab against the feline face -- the Autobot starts cursing in an old dialect of Cybertronian and defining her in colorful terms of ancient arena-beasts. Slag... Front claws were now dug securely into the mech's lower legs thanks to him halfway dodging the attack. She would've had him by the upper chest, but no, he had to go and move. Chimera brandishes her jaws at Hyperblast as he tries to bat her off, though letting go is a bad option since they were now in the air. \"Argh! Stop squirming, you dreka!\" Chimera hisses, snapping at any hands that dared get close enough while back legs desperately flail, the front ones attempting to climb further up him. The ground retreats further and further under the flying pair. Hyperblast lays off with the hands for now-- \"No, too high, too high, too close to the path!\" He rolls into a turn, diving, heading back towards Iacon but not with any great speed courtesy the cargo. \"Techno-organic creature, weaknesses in the-- Talking?! Not talking! Not organic!\" During his dialogue, he takes a more coordinated approach with the hands, curling in midair and trying to jab Chimera's optics from outside her snapping range. But upon his realization, he descends much more suddenly, optics burning cyan with the intent to land on her, attack with brute force, if she does not get off his feet. Be that toward the ground or otherwise -- but he's not trained in fighting to consider it. \"Decepticon!\" Chimera's optics flare bright as Hyperblast calls her a Decepticon, this clearly angering her further. \"How DARE you!!\" Her jaws part to roar at him furiously, about to slash him before a jab to the optics halts her. \"Agh!\" Chimera snarls in pain, claws reflexively retracting so paws could cover her face. Bad idea since she had nothing to keep her aloft now, the beast hurtling towards the ground. Optics blinked heavily, a haze over everything, though not enough to hide the fact that the planet was getting closer. Feline body twists mid-air before he touches down, landing on all fours though the impact is quiet hard, making her legs give out once they hit which has her body slump to the ground. Hyperblast buzzes back up into the sky, flying backwards at the same vector he was working toward before: back to Iacon. \"Could be armed... Reports... Maybe not such a good place.\" He does not turn around. If this Decepticon -- for what else is a Cybertronian that attacks the Autobots in their work, for Primus' sake? -- were indeed to fire anything at him, he'd have to be aware to dodge it. \"Scum...\" A familiar 'shoonk shink' is heard from where the beast had landed, the wild femme's robot mode now standing there with a pained look upon her face. \"Why you...\" Chimera hisses lowly, hands reaching out in a drawn bow position. A brilliant gold crackle of electric energy begins to form around her horns, traveling over her hair, through her arms, and into her hands where it gathers and extends into the shape of a bow. Three arrows form as well, notched and at the ready before she releases them, aiming her volley straight for the mech with a careful eye and steady hand. More dated cursing flows from the Autobot's faceplate nonstop. He tucks his helmet in, quietly hoping they aren't /tracking/ arrows, and dims the power to his engines with an audible whirr, suddenly dropping to what would've been a hard landing even if his feet weren't mangled. Yelling, Hyperblast clutches at one, and looks back up. \"I am unarmed! I have no access to information!\" Chimera's heels dig into the ground as she sprints her way to where Hyperblast has landed, bow at the ready with another energy arrow pointed straight at him. \"Unarmed, my aft. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill and eat you, right here.\" The deadly vixen keeps energy bow taut as she eyes him. This mech was.. surprisingly large to be such a coward, and even unarmed if what he says is true. He would've made a good meal too, darn it. Hyperblast holds his triple-jointed arms up, palms out, placatingly. His bulk is hunched forward. \"I am unarmed. If you choose not to believe me, I cannot hold it against you, but -- size is not an armament. I do not pose any threat to you.\" His optics seem to get a little wider under that helmet brim of his. \"... eat me? What are you, some kind of...\" He backs away, his turbines turning such that the flat side faces forward. His little hands ball into fists for a moment, the Autobot's vocalizer quiet, as he seems to 'get it'. \"It is not possible to offer a starving transorganic a good reason, save that I am working such that you will not have to do this anymore. You will be doing yourself and your kind a disservice.\" Chimera's optics narrow to slits, one side of her lip rising in a soft snarl as a few sharp teeth poke out. \"I'm /not/ a transorganic. And I doubt I'd be doing you and the rest of the Cybertronians a disservice by killing you.\" Her words hint that she's actually of his own kind. \"And besides. What could you possibly do out here, besides becoming fair game?\" Chimera's stance still held strong as she kept her arrow trained on him. Hyperblast halts, then rises to his full height to get a better look at the femme. \"You're not a transorganic. Of course you're not. But.\" He moves sideways a couple of steps to get a different angle. \"That's... interesting... I am here to plan.\" The Autobot snorts -- under his facemask, he's biting his lip. Can't say too... \"... much. This place was time dependent.\" He glances at the sky. \"Still clear. How lucky am I this cycle?\" Hyperblast's optics fix back on the green ones below. \"I will trade in return for my release.\" Chimera snorts softly, muttering under her breathe, \"Hmph.. Talks too much.\" But Hyperblast's movement brings her back into attention, her head moving with him, though the energy weapon suddenly dissipated in a burst of sparks. Maybe he /was/ unarmed, and if not she was close enough to strike with her claws. Ears perk forward at the mention of trade, Chimera's tail swaying high with pendulum swinging hips as she begins to move closer, that cattish smile starting to creep across her toying expression. \"Trade, you say? And what could you possibly have for me, hm?\" Her words purr softly, the femme drawing closer. Hyperblast jumps slightly at the sudden dissipation of weaponry, turbines spinning a moment. It just happens that his vocalizer turns off with a barely-audible *click* in that moment, then back on with the same hail. \"Allow me to be so daring as to guess that you are looking for energon, or, failing that, spare parts. I can offer you the former, and I can see the latter from above on this very field.\" He looks Chimera up and down again, his optics dimming in a pattern almost like he's wincing. \"Any further offers from my party would require more in-depth knowledge of what you are looking for.\" Still wincing -- or grimacing -- as Chimera behaves more ... forward. Chimera dares to reach a hand up towards the mech's face, a few claws delicately brushing his facemask. \"Hmm, I suppose some energon will have to do. How much are you willing to offer?\" The femme coos softly, jade optics oddly mesmerizing on that framed face as a tongue licks over her lips hungrily before teeth are flashed in a feral grin. Jacknife hovers along toward the cratered highways, having to go around the bombed out sections and enjoying doing so. \"Good time to test out those guns if need be Crackshot.\" she calls over to the mech. Crackshot zips along behind Jacknife, murmuring \"I prefer controlled tests myself, but one cannot be choosy.\" he admits as they continue along behind Jacknife. \"Just tell me what to shoot!\" Hyperblast leans forward into the clawed hand, speechless for a few nanocliks. No... \"No.\" He stands back up, making a motion with his hands like he's brushing himself off. \"I'm ugly, ma'am. If you're trying to make me think I'm not, you need to reevaluate your strategy. No offense intended, you're the one with the bow.\" With a curt nod, the mech reaches into his subspace ... taking his time. \"Energon cubes can be difficult to snag from the sub. Hold on.\" Chimera raises a brow as the mech pulls back. Hm, this one seemed smarter than the rest. \"I wouldn't exactly know if you're ugly or not, now would I? That mask keeps me from judging, though I'm not picky.\" She smirks and steps back as Hyperblast reaches into his subspace, waiting for her energon. However, the femme's ears would swivel off in another direction, soon followed by her head as she picks up the distant voices of Crackshot and Jacknife. \"Slag... You're in deep if you just called for help.\" Her head swings back around to face Hyperblast, her eyes narrow again as lips curl in a snarl. But she was torn between staying and getting her energon, or hightailing it out of there. Jacknife takes in the situation as they approach it, transforming and hmming, \"What sort of assistance was it you needed Hyperblast?\" she glances over at the femme, \"Surely you don't need protection from a femme?\" a humored smile upon her lips. Crackshot skids to a halt on the other side, transforming as his two guns come out. A strange visor appeared on his head -illuminating all around his head like an optic would as he stared straight ahead, frowning \"Are you okay Hyperblast?\" \"You pressed an attack on a civilian Autobot. What did you expect to happen...?\" Hyperblast pauses like he's looking for a name. He does not turn his head -- of course reinforcements were there. He didn't need to confirm the sensor points. \"You...\" he takes the energon cube he was 'trying' to get from his subspace with sudden ease. Large enough he uses both hands, probably one of his own rations, \"Are not a Decepticon. We would not be talking if you were. Or you are undercover, which is the same thing.\" He sets it down, and takes a step back, his turbines rotating to face downward again. Hyperblast, on his short-range radio, transmits, \"I'm alright. Some damage in landing gear. Hold back.\" Great, three against one. But by their emblems they were Autobots, so she figures she's more than likely to get out of this alive. Optics glare daggers as they switch from 'Bot to 'Bot, her body hunching ferally with a low hiss of warning, the femme quickly grabbing the cube and moving a few steps away from them. \"Please, like I'd be part of those fraggin' morons. I'm my own femme, I do as I please.\" Her needled hair raises slightly in a hackle at the word 'Decepticon', though they quickly flatten back down before she takes several hurried gulps of the energon. Almost like it'd get stolen if she didn't. Hyperblast finally rolls his optics to one side in acknowledgment, and slowly turns around to face Jacknife. \"Yes. I did. You weren't here for the part where she shot at me. I had no way of gauging the situation in the interim. I apologize.\" He turns again, now looking at Chimera from the corner of his vision. \"A little fuel goes a long way for these people, you know.\" \"There is no need to apologize Hyperblast. A citizen threatened is still a citizen threatened.\" responds Crackshot simply, his guns aimed at the femme, even if his face wasn't 'looking' at her. Chimera finishes off the cube in record time, having been very hungry, which was evidence to why she attacked a mech so big. A hand moves to wipe the dripping energon from her lips as she stands straight now, looking less threatening. \"Hmph.. I attack you, yet your friends have yet to attack me in turn. Can't say I've seen much of that out here.. especially the generous amount of energon.\" Tail whips about behind her, the femme running a hand through her needled hair. \"I suppose I should apologize for attacking you, seeing as I've literally got a gun to me.\" Optics are cast to Crackshot a moment before moving back. \"You just looked... so tasty.\" She licks her lips a little again. \"Food can be scarce sometimes, especially when you're on the run.\" Jackknife ahs softly, \"Well then, good thing we showed up just in case.\" she states. Glancing over at Crackshot she observes that visor that's over his optics. \"Huh.\" Crackshot smiles a little as he's noticed, even though his faceplate was turned away from Jacknife. Then he states \"Unfortunately we're not food. We're Autobots.\" he states to her simply. \"There are those of us on Cybertron who ask questions first and shoot later, believe it or not. And if we all had fuel, this war would be a much simpler problem. You don't have to apologize for that, either. You were desperate.\" The tall mech scratches at the side of his helmet with one arm, which is forced to loop out to his side to reach. \"That's an... interesting compliment. Do you have a designation...?\" Hyperblast turns to face Crackshot now, a much quieter but similar 'huh' observed. \"Are the guns necessary, sir?\" Jackknife moves toward Crackshot to get a better look at that visor. Trust an inventor of weapons and such to be curious about such a thing. \"Is that a targeting visor?\" she asks the mech, stepping up beside him and peering at it closely. \"No.. wait.. night vision capable? Huh. That's excellent work whoever did that one. Sure the pit wasn't me.\" she murmurs. Then a comment to Hyperblast, \"She said she wanted to taste you and that's a compliment? Goodness that's such a come on that you'd hear from an Academy mech.\" she chuckles softly. Crackshot remains focused in that random direction and nods his head faintly. He does though, lower the guns so they do not point at the panthress, although he remains steadfast as he turns the conversation to Jacknife \"Three hundred and sixty degree horizon viewing, plus over ninety degrees up. It\u2019s what I'm working on. It still has... bugs.\" he explains. Chimera's ears fold back as Hyperblast asks for her name, looking a little fidgety as she tries to scoot back a few more steps. More people here than she'd like. More people knowing her face. More people able to tell higher ups and authorities. \"You.. don't need to know my name. Things are bad enough for me...\" Her tail flicks in an agitated manner like a cat, the usually stunning femme now acting like some nervous and scared cyber kitten. Hyperblast glares slightly upward into space, one optic twitching, since he can't ... won't turn. \"Context, Jacknife. If it wasn't obvious last time I spoke to you, I did not do too particularly well with that sort of thing in the Academy.\" Hearing movement, he turns to face Chimera. It quickly becomes apparent that he must have to do this a lot. \"I understand, ma'am. If you find yourself in this situation again, though... please just ask. I have no aversion to sharing -- more of us ought to be.\" He neither looks at nor motions to any particular present. Just states it. Jackknife cocks her head to this, \"Bugs huh? Maybe I can help rid that visor of them with a little help from you since you would have to explain to me what you based this off of and how you altered it.\" she states to Crackshot. Then she glances back to the femme, \"A flirty and flighty one.\" she murmurs, shaking her head a bit. Now favoring Hyperblast a look at his words, \"Oh.\" really all she can say to that from him, then stating, \"I think I'll head back to base and get my drink before I get a recharge in. I got a long solar cycle ahead of me getting my lab set up. Crackshot, you'll owe me a drink for that work on your guns.\" \"Sure. I can send you the schematics later.\" Crackshot pauses, and shifts nervously \"Okay. Sounds good to me. If you're okay Hyperblast I think I might head back with her.\" Jackknife transforms, getting onto hover plane as she turns towards home. \"Great, that'll give me something to go off of Crackshot.\" Willing to share.. more? Chimera's optics get a bit of a shine to them at this opportunity. If she plays her cards right... \"Well.. would it be too much to ask for some more? It's a ways back to my home... Or maybe I can come with you to get some?\" Chimera's cat-like eyes widen some, giving her that pleading 'Feel sorry for me' look. It was so rare that she'd be willing to enter a city, but the Autobots were a little more willing to help people than the Decepticons, so it surely wouldn't be hard to play them out of some things. Hyperblast makes a sweeping motion with one of his arms, a gesture toward to the Autobots behind him. \"I have been okay. One slightly bruised flier, one sated huntress, I am fine here. Though I think I'll be taking more than one pass before landing in a foreign quadrant from here on out.\" He makes a low sound something like chuckling, looking squarely at Chimera. Reaching up into his subspace again, he takes out a half ration, which ironically is more 'cube' shaped than the last offering was to start with. Sliding it across the ground, he says, \"Hard enough for an Autobot to get into Iacon.\" Those blue optics glance to the side like he's trying to see Crackshot. Jackknife hovers past Crackshot, \"You coming then?\" she asks, then to Hyperblast, \"You got a soft spark there.\" she muses softly, \"Careful she don't hurt it.\" Wisdom for the ages there. Crackshot transforms and moves to follow Jacknife, flashing his blinkers at Hyperblast \"If you need help, just call again right? \" he calls over. Chimera grabs the half-ration, storing it away in her own subspace. This mech was definitely smarter, or stupid, or naive. She couldn't tell yet. What she's most surprised at is not being recognized. Surely there were reports about her? But Chimera guesses she's lucky for them not knowing. \"Ermf.. Thanks anyway.\" The femme supposes this is as much as she'll get out of this mech, soon shifting back into beast mode. Hyperblast transforms into his hover ship mode as well, his engines buffeting the ground, but his voice loud enough to boom over it. \"If this happens again, try asking. Farewell.\" Maybe humor was intended, but it doesn't really get through the loudness. He flies off in formation with the other two Autobots, invisibly glaring at Jacknife from his optic sensors."@en . .