Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

With the Garrus-9 Penitentiary, and indeed its entire moon, destroyed--the 2nd Expansion Fleet now follows the bounce signal of the Decepticons' temporary ally, Jhiaxus, to the hostile, primitive planet where they had discovered one of his original laboratories in order to exact revenge for his traitorous actions and cement their victory. The surviving Autobots must do what they can in order to survive under their harsh captors, but none of them intend to remain prisoners forever.

Jhiaxus, meanwhile, has been attending to his own grand vision of the future for the Cybertronian race...knowing full well he would be followed.

There will be a reckoning, for all involved.

The Semper Tyrannis--Hangar

Fortress Maximus had listened silently as a holoimage of Scorponok appeared, rallying his troops and allowing them to revel in their victory. He did not know what was to come, but he would not do anything that would endanger the lives of his fellow Autobots. Scorponok clearly had them gathered to witness something in particular. Had that been it? His victory speech? If so, then-

But that was not it.

All at once, the moon of Elba appeared to explode from within, no different than if an explosive had been set off inside a mountain. Only this explosive was capable of destroying an entire moon.

Maximus was not surprised. He more than expected the Decepticons to possess such technology. Truth be told, he was not even sad to see it go. He grieved of course, for the Autobots who had fallen defending the prison, but they would commemorate the sacrifices they had made somewhere. Somehow. The Decepticons had obtained a victory, unquestionably, but in so doing they had destroyed one of the dwindling number of places where prisoners of war could be humanely kept. What would they do with such prisoners in this sector in the vorns to come? Execution? If so, Maximus would not object.

That question, however, would have to be answered another day. For now, he simply had to ensure the Autobots who had survived this long massacre managed to continue on.

"And what now?" Maximus said finally, turning to look at the Horrorcons, the apparent whip-bearers in Scorponok's absence.

The Semper Tyrannis--Bridge

The geobomb. Of course. It only made sense that Scorponok would not want to take over the prison. He had enacted a contingency they had discussed more than once--utilized more than once, in other regions--to accomplish their desired end. Garrus-9 was no more. And as their Lord Commander had said, it brought them one step closer to their penultimate victory. Cyclonus could not help but be heartened by that, despite the thorn that Jhiaxus had become.

Once the moon had been destroyed, Cyclonus nodded to Reflector, indicating that it was indeed time to engage their transwarp drives--as all the ships in their fleet had been preparing to do.

"Do you think Jhiaxus will be expecting us? Is he aware that he failed to conceal his destination?" Reflector asked, turning to face the senior officers of the fleet.

"Whatever time and isolation has done to addle his once storied genius, he is no fool in the realm of technology. If we were able to trace his location back to LV-117, it is because we were meant to do so. We must be prepared for a trap," Cyclonus said.
___

((OOC-Covering Mindwipe until his player resumes activity.))

Corridors

Having left the hangar, Mindwipe and Cipher had begun the reasonably long trek to the bridge. Fortunately, there had been no need for a stop-off at the medical bay: neither of them had absorbed the brunt of battle for Garrus.

"Where do you think, mm? To the bridge with us? or tinker with the Aequitas core?" Mindwipe asked, curious as to what Cipher would choose now that there appeared to be little else to do but enjoy the fruits of their victory.
___

Medical Bay

When Snaptrap and the others had spoken of Heretech being a possible deserter, Overlord could only chuckle a little.

"We 'Warriors Elite' are an, hmm....eccentric....group, but none of us are deserters. The Decepticon Empire is too enjoyable to leave. Where else could we exercise our darker impulses. We may go incommunicado for a while, but that just means something's got our attention. Unlucky for whomever that may be."

”Hundreds? Thousands? Matters little now does it? I for one haven’t stopped to ask anyone – Autobot or Decepticon, who has made the mistake of getting in my way in the wrong moment what their occupation and skills are.”

"Heh....well....you have always been cursed with a ravenous appetite. No surprise there. But I think I may actually be a little more picky in the vorns to come thanks to this one," Overlord said, indicating Spinister. "His surprising usefulness has intrigued me to no end."

”I have wondered the same. Then again was Nebulos much different when Scorponok decided to take it over?” Hungrr continued.

"Indeed. What's with this sudden interest in organic worlds, I wonder? The natives are so.....fragile. I can't imagine why there's such keen interest across the fleets. Well, no, that's not true. It has to be energy related, in some form. It always is. More power to them, I suppose. I would hate to have come this far in the war only to be done in by starvation."

”Scorponok has a keen optic for hidden skills. Why do you think he has employed her otherwise? Last I saw this guy. He was much different. Normal. Must have gotten his wires crossed during the assault.”

"Well, let's just hope it remains. He's much more valuable this way," Overlord said.

”And shouldn’t it be obvious? Scattershot. The brave leader of the Technobots, who else?”

Overlord's seared optic chambers focused a little more intently.

"Ah yes, the number-crunchers and engineers. What a satisfying meal that must be," Overlord said, resting his damaged-cranium back against the edge of the berth. "Let's hurry this process along, shall we? I've no desire to be lying here like a burnt out statue while Scorponok has all the fun in this quadrant of the universe."

Semper Tyrannis – Hangar

What a sight to witness. Such terrifying power wielded by a device no larger than a minibot. Apeface was in awe. Killmaster had outdone himself with the bomb. Even starblitz torpedoes, destructo beams, fusion cannons and siege drivers were tame in comparison. While all of those certainly had enough power to burn away a planet’s atmosphere and reduce its surface into desolate wasteland – the power to destroy a whole planetoid was something else. And yet, he hoped the would not have a reason to use it ever again. Or at least against a living world.

"And what now?"

Fortress Maximus. There was no question on who had uttered those words. The voice had unique power to it even in defeat. Apeface’s optics shifted to face those of the towering Autobot leader.

”You are prisoners of war and as such not privy to our plans.” Apeface answered the Autobot’s question with no sign of his normal, clown-like behavior. He respected the Autobot commander enough to at least answer him professionally rather than making a mockery of his defeat. ”You will be tried before the Decepticon High Justice for your crimes against people of Cybertron. Rest is up them.”

”Now if you would – lead your Autobots back to cell block nice and easy,” the Horrorcon saboteur added, giving a nod towards a doorway Maximus had entered the hangar from earlier. A walk of shame leading towards the cell blocks had been formed by the dozens upon dozens of Decepticons present gathered in the hangar, ”You do not want to cause a scene now.”

Training Room

As Seawing made his way into the training room being followed by Overbite. He noticed the hologram of Scorponok being projected in the room and most likely over the entire ship. The speech made Seawing smile and even more so being off of the planetoid which had hardly any water on it.

"We have won a great battle against the Bots but still have a sting left by the traitor scientist. This is why we need to train and be ready for whatever we come up against. The captured Bots won't be of too much use except the Technobots for data mining on the gestalt process."

Seawing looked at his fellow Seacon giving him his full attention now.

"We will be doing some sparring and hopefully this thing can generate a sea environment for us. I got so tired of all the dust and rock being around us while we were at Garrus-9. Maybe we can invite the Terrocons in on some fun to see which group is better. All we have to do is let them slip into their bestial states and then we will win by sheer intelligence."

Medbay

Nosecone couldn't move still but his audio receptors still worked. He heard the boasting of Scorponok victory. Sadly Nosecone couldn't really argue it. The Cons took Nebulous so easily and Fort Max didn't have much options even though he probably put up a really good fight. After the cheering ended, a med drone came over to Nosecone.

"All exams indicate you are in working order. You will now be shipped to the brig."

The drone got the attention of one of the Seeker guards. The Seeker wasn't happy with having to leave the medbay and the small celebration going on in there but started out the hallway with Nosecone.

Semper Tyrannis – Medical Bay

"We 'Warriors Elite' are an, hmm....eccentric....group, but none of us are deserters. The Decepticon Empire is too enjoyable to leave. Where else could we exercise our darker impulses. We may go incommunicado for a while, but that just means something's got our attention. Unlucky for whomever that may be."

Hun-Gurrr merely glanced at Snaptrap to gauge the Seacon’s reaction - after having listened to Overlord’s opinion over Heretech’s possible desertion. Overlord’s musings made enough sense to him but the Terrorcon was not naive enough to take it at face value either. Many with less power had deserted the Decepticon on various whims and Heretech wouldn’t even be the first powerful Decepticon to do so. Before the DJD had been founded the Terrorcons themselves had been tasked to hunt down traitors more than once. And even after the various Tarns and Kaons and Voses, many warlords like Scorponok rather dealt with such delicate issues internally - much to Hun-Grrr’s pleasure.

Neither did the Terrorcon commander comment over Overlord’s mention of his ravenous appetite. Rather, he just flashed a wicked grin full of sharp teeth. The elite warrior’s next comment was more difficult to ignore.

"Indeed. What's with this sudden interest in organic worlds, I wonder? The natives are so.....fragile. I can't imagine why there's such keen interest across the fleets. Well, no, that's not true. It has to be energy related, in some form. It always is. More power to them, I suppose. I would hate to have come this far in the war only to be done in by starvation."

”Heh. Almost tricked yourself there,” Hun-Garr chuckled, ”It has been energy related since be spread out from Cybertron in the beginning of the war.”

”And then there’s the little fact that for every cybernetic race we have encountered – there have been hundreds of organic ones, have there not?” Hun-Grr noted, his attention falling back to Scattershot’s loose arm for a moment, only to have his attention captured by the appearence of Scorponok’s holoimage.

”My fellow Decepticons! Words... Words cannot describe the pride I feel over all we have accomplished together today! You fought with bravery. You fought with purpose. You fought for freedom! Today we took a major step towards the final Decepticon victory!” The deep, commanding voice of the victorious warlord boomed across the hangar.

”This victory did not come without a cost. A burden that keeps growing every vorn this accursed war continues without a resolution. Today we lost many good Decepticons. Our brothers and sisters who did not deserve their fates. We will honor them and mourn them. But none of them. None of them died in vain. We will end the war. We will carry the torch and turn Megatron’s vision of a new, better Cybertron to a reality. We are Decepticons. We do not falter. Long live Megatron! Long live the Decepticons!”

”VICTORY! VICTORY! VICTORY TO DECEPTICONS!

And then there was the deployment of one of the most powerful toys in the arsenal of the Decepticons. The adaption of Killmaster’s original invention known as the moon-gun. The geobomb. And just like that the Elban moon ceased to be and Garrus-9 with it. It was certainly gratifying. Appealing to Hun-Gurr’s love of mayhem and destruction.

”Well well. Look at that. Beautiful,” the monstrous Decepticon warrior stated as he stared at the projection of the exploding moon, ”I guess we are lucky to have any work left with weapons like these around, heh. Then again I hear those are so expensive to make that we are not doing that again any time soon.”

Training Room

Skalor had trudged his way from the hangar to the training room after having received the call to assemble. He thought there might be a little downtime after obliterating Garrus. Nope. So be it. As he entered, Seawing was already speaking.

"We have won a great battle against the Bots but still have a sting left by the traitor scientist. This is why we need to train and be ready for whatever we come up against. The captured Bots won't be of too much use except the Technobots for data mining on the gestalt process."

"Don't want to train. Want to eat," Skalor huffed. "Oh well."

"We will be doing some sparring and hopefully this thing can generate a sea environment for us. I got so tired of all the dust and rock being around us while we were at Garrus-9. Maybe we can invite the Terrocons in on some fun to see which group is better. All we have to do is let them slip into their bestial states and then we will win by sheer intelligence."

That, at least, Skalor could fully agree with. The Elban moon was as dry as a bone. Not even a lick of a chance to utilize their optimum functionality.

"If Snaptrap is taking part, I'm in. He'll keep them in check. if he's not--no way. Hungrr and his crew will eat us all. We're good but I'm not stupid. We're out of our element here, even if we can conjure up some fake ocean."
___

Hangar

”You are prisoners of war and as such not privy to our plans. You will be tried before the Decepticon High Justice for your crimes against people of Cybertron. Rest is up them.”

Maximus stood stoic, listening as the Horrorcon gave them as much detail about their eventual fate as the Autobot General could hope for.

”Now if you would – lead your Autobots back to cell block nice and easy. You do not want to cause a scene now.”

"No," Maximus agreed. "We do not."

As he struggled to climb back to his feet, he found himself aided by Rad. One of Skyhammer's crew from Nebulos. He nodded and accepted the aid. Now was not the time for brash action or resistance. Knowing Scorponok like he did, he could guess his current course of action fairly well, and he had a sense that the Autobots's usefulness had not yet come to its end.

"Do as they say, Autobots. Our fight is over," Maximus ordered as he was led out of the hangar.

At least until fate decided otherwise.

Semper Tyrannis- Hangar

The small orange minibot with a tendency to make rhymes had been prepared for a chance to escape, hoping that the great Fort Maximus would have a plan for them all, here in this hangar surrounded by shuttles...a chance possibly, to get away from this horrid ship and it's infernal crew. However, instead, the young mech heard the defeated General give the order to do as the Decepticons said, and march back to the confines they had come from. This made Wheelie frown with sadness, but he wouldn't give up hope. He was used to getting through bleak and desperate situations and this was just one of those. Surely they would get some chance, sooner or later, to escape their captors. So, for now, Wheelie continued to stay close to Pointblank and Roadbuster and would move silently for now, with them, glowering boldly at some of these cons on the way. He would not show them weakness. One thing he and the other Autobots were unaware of, was that this ship was heading to a place Wheelie was very familiar with.

Semper Tyrannis - Hangar Bay

They did it... They blew up the moon. Whatever outbursts the Autobots managed to cry out was drowned in the ear-shattering cheers and roaring the surrounding Decepticons.

“Victory! Victory!” Snapdragon bellowed, his fist clenched and raised high into the air. “Bwaha! First Nebulos, and now Garrus 9!! Victory! Victory!”

Whirl’s singular optic watched as the prison-moon was engulfed in flame and ultimately spat out from the inside out. The light of said explosion cascaded across the faceplates of the Autobot prisoners. He couldn’t say he was exactly upset to see the prison go. Hell, a lot of his time there was practically a free excuse to get back at some of the Cons who were locked up away. Was this the universe playing some sick joke at getting back at him? Either way, the Con’s just took out a major Autobot facility and severely crippled their numbers.

“They...they blew it up...” Pyro spoke out, somewhat in disbelief despite having just witnessed the spectacle for himself. He looked around at his fellow Autobots and saw similar expressions of dread on their faceplates, many mouths agape even if hidden by their battlemasks. Brainstorm could hardly believe the act himself, mostly because he didn’t realize that Scorponok had managed to acquire the technology to completely remove a planet from the Star system.

”Do as they say, Autobots. Our fight is over,"

Before they could react any further, The Horrorcon had began to lead Fortress Maximus out of the hangar. The now former warden of the facility spoke wisely about not making any further of a scene around them. The moment anything we’re to happen, this entire hangar deck would surely leap out and strike them until they were but a puddle of Energon and molten slag.

“They couldn’t just blow it up...” Pyro tried to rationalize as he followed the line of prisoners back to the cell block, “There’s no way!”

“Well they did.” Whirl responded bluntly, “Accept it.”

Training Room

Nautilator was still unsure how to process everything. Moments ago he was still bolted down against that mad mech’s table and dissected for his latest project before he took a liking to the Technobots. Now they were flying off to fight the fragger! The scavenger rubbed at the back of his ebony helmet halfway listening to Skalor and Seawing’s musings with one another.

“Wait... so we’re gonna fight that guy?” The lobster-mech inquired, his question showing his less-than-keen observational skills, “What if he’s got more Monstructors with him? Who knows what other monsters he’s created?”

Med Bay

It had been a while since Banzai-Tron was able to see properly. He had remembered seeing Jhiaxus turn on the Decepticons that had liberated him from his hole, then it felt like he was stuck transforming back and forth for what felt like hours on end. When his amber optics finally activated to their fullest, he looked around the best he could not knowing his full condition.

“Ah good, his main fuel lines are pumping regularly again.” Flatline noted as his hands were buried into Banzai-Tron’s torso cavity.

“Flatliiine...” The DSS agent hissed behind his mouthplate. “Where am? What happened?”

“You’ll be briefed on that when your processor is better shape. You’re stabilized for now but you could slip back into temporary stasis at any given moment.”

Banzai-Tron struggled to lift his head and look further down the slab to see what exactly Flatline was doing to him. He couldn’t feel a thing and motor functions weren’t responding to his commands. He finally managed to pivot his head towards his right, albeit at the cost of losing some of the focus in his vision. He could make out a couple blurring shapes down the line, the closest being Reflector and what looked like Firewire’s petite frame. But over her shoulder, something larger rested in the distance. His color receptors were able to register blue... and white... but that could be anybody really. Hun-Grrr’s voice faded off in the distance.

“Oh scrap, looks like more damage than I thought.” Flatline noted to his aide again, slowly drawing Banzai-Tron’s attention back to his torso. His vision continued to blur as he could hear Flatline frantically scrapping around in his internals with scalpels and laser drills alike. “We’re gonna have to cut it out and see if there’s anything we can do. Same procedure as the Triple M’s, let’s get moving here.”

The head of the DSS could barely keep himself online. Flatline was right, he was closer to slipping back out than he thought. Flatline’s words faded in and out of audio range until he was back under stasis.

Semper Tyrannis – Bridge

"Do you think Jhiaxus will be expecting us? Is he aware that he failed to conceal his destination?" Reflector asked, turning to face the senior officers of the fleet.

"Whatever time and isolation has done to addle his once storied genius, he is no fool in the realm of technology. If we were able to trace his location back to LV-117, it is because we were meant to do so. We must be prepared for a trap," Cyclonus said.

”Jhiaxus knows I want to deal with him personally.” Scorponok’s voice boomed over the bridge but in reality he had created a comm-link between all of his most important lieutenants, both present and not currently on the bridge itself; his second in command, Cyclonus. Banzai-Tron, the director of DSS. Recently freed but extremely capable warrior and master of mystical arts, Bludgeon. The vicious and cunning Insecticon known as Hardshell. Hun-Gurrr, the dreaded leader of the Terrorcons. The Seacon special unit commander Snaptrap, the infamous butcher of the bogs. Sparkstalker, a former criminal mastermind and computer wizard extraordinaire. And his two most trusted followers, the Horrorcons – Apeface and Snapdragon. After all, they needed to discuss strategy and gain an understanding of the planet they were soon going to search for their target.

”That is his main advantage,” he continued, ”He is counting on that I will not destroy the planet he is hiding on or lay waste to its surface through orbital bombardment. And he is correct. We have far more to gain by taking over LV-117. Destroying it like Garrus-9 would be massive waste of resources.”

A hologram of the planet appeared before their optics as did Hun-Grrr’s report on their earlier visit to the planet and Jhiaxus’ old laboratory. ”Unfortunately for us that planet is his other advantage. Those ion storms clouding the planet’s surface from our sensors won’t make it easy to hunt him down. It will be up our surface teams.”

Perhaps he had acted hastily by sending Scourge away. The tracker’s skills would have come extremely useful on their mission. However, Scourge was hardly the only tracker in his ranks. Many others boasted similar skills, including several of those he was currently talking to. ”We were lucky he did not get too much of a head start. And yet it may have been all he needed. He knows the planet. He spent thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of vorns experimenting on the planet and its wildlife before the Autobots tracked him down. In all likelihood the planet is as hostile as it entirely because of him.”

”We know where to start,” the massive warlord spoke out, ”The laboratory we already once searched. However I find it unlikely that we will find him there. Unless he managed to fool both the Autobots and us with a concealed area, hidden from our sensors.”

”Cyclonus, if you will?” It was time for Cyclonus to do what he did best, make use of the unique talents of these Decepticons on their call.

Training Room

Seawing wrote:"We have won a great battle against the Bots but still have a sting left by the traitor scientist. This is why we need to train and be ready for whatever we come up against. The captured Bots won't be of too much use except the Technobots for data mining on the gestalt process."

Overbite knew that Scorponok wouldn't rest until Jhiaxus was caught/dead. He understood that justice was to be pursued, but hoped it wouldn't turn into a mission of revenge. That would be a waste of resources that would be better spend attacking Autobots.

At least the hunt will be formidable... Overbite grinned a little. Jhiaxus was a coward, but a smart one. He'd make this an interesting search.

Seawing wrote:"We will be doing some sparring and hopefully this thing can generate a sea environment for us. I got so tired of all the dust and rock being around us while we were at Garrus-9. Maybe we can invite the Terrorcons in on some fun to see which group is better. All we have to do is let them slip into their bestial states and then we will win by sheer intelligence."

Overbite laughed a little at this. "I would doubt very much Jhiaxus would even allow himself to be disadvantaged by hiding in the water. Having the Terrorcons come train with us wouldn't be too bad of a-"

A familiar stench entered the training room. Overbite let a low exasperated sound escape his mouth. Skalor.

Skalor wrote:"If Snaptrap is taking part, I'm in. He'll keep them in check. if he's not--no way. Hungrr and his crew will eat us all. We're good but I'm not stupid. We're out of our element here, even if we can conjure up some fake ocean."

Overbite scoffed. "Let them take a bite outta you. It'll leave 'em too busy trying to realign their taste sensors to fight."

Skalor had a point though. He knew his comrades could restrain themselves from taking fellow 'Cons out of the fight while they trained. The Terrorcons, however, wouldn't be able to restrain themselves for very long.

"Free for all. Last 'bot standing takes point in our next hunt."

[Shuttle]

Tentakil stepped back inside the shuttle, after having witnessed the grand destruction of Garrus-9. It truly was a work of art, at least in his optics. He went back to retrieve Strafe, so that he wouldn't have to take responsibility of him for the moment.

Inside, he found the Technobot still sitting like a coward. "Time to go, Autobot." Noticing that Strafe was probably too weak to move, he loosely tied on some of the restraints again, and started dragging him outside.

He found a handful of seekers who were loitering around. "Take him down to the brig with the rest of them," he said firmly, and leaned in so that they could hear but Strafe couldn't. "If anything happens to him, I will hunt you down without mercy." Tentakil's emerald optics shone brightly.

[Training Room]
Tentakil walked in to find his fellow Seacons discussing their next hunt. "I assume I have not missed much, have I, Seawing?" His tentacles started to automatically extend themselves now that there was some room, making the demolitionist feel more at ease.


[Semper Tyrannis - Hangar Bay]

Fortress Maximus wrote:”Do as they say, Autobots. Our fight is over."

Skyfall sighed in disappointment. Not that he was disappointed with the Autobots having lost, but he was disappointed at what was to become of their future. No more adventures. No more stories. No more new ideas. His dreams would end right then and there.

Following in queue with the remainder of the Autobots, the former weapons engineer accidentally almost tripped over a smaller mech. Looking down, he saw Wheelie walking in front. The small orange bot's tiny size had made Skyfall not know of his presence. "Oops, sorry there, Wheelie! Didn't mean to bump into you... it's just that, you know... well... I wasn't looking ahead."

Semper Tyrannis- Hangar Bay

Wheelie felt depressed, but was trying not to let the depression defeat him. Like Skyfall, he too was concerned about their future and what would become of them. Heck, that was probably everyone's concern. Here they were trapped, P.O.Ws, on a giant ship surrounded by many Decepticons. At least, unlike the long time he had been marooned on the planet LV-117, here he had friends.

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, Wheelie got shoved forward by a huge foot. He nearly fell to the floor, but caught himself with his hands and got back up easily, looking behind himself towards the other mech who had spoken to him by name. It was Skyfall, an almost completely red jet-former whom as Wheelie understood, was into sciency stuff.

Wheelie smiled up at him, but quickly remembered to get moving again before the Cons snapped at him (maybe even literally), and as he continued walking, he said to Skyfall, "It's alright, Wheelie's just not feeling bright. Bright like hope, nope nope nope, but he's trying to cope! How are you, you look blue too. Any idea idea of what to do?"

Training Room

Seawing was quite happy with all of his fellow Seacons present now. Some liked the idea of facing off against the Terrorcons but the concern of the Terrorcons getting out of hand was a legitimate one. The flamethrowers each one is known for is a big part of it and they also have a tendency to eat their opponents. However their bestial nature will make them dimwitted and be easily outsmarted if his brethren didn't get too cocky counting himself as well.

"Last I saw our leader and Hungrr, they were chatting in the medbay with an injured Overlord. I'll mention the idea to the Butcher about the Terrorcons joining us and he can relay the request to Hungrr. Until we get a reply let us get this thing started."

Seawing walked over to the room control panel and tapped a few commands into it. It took a few moments but an artificial water environment started to appear around them with rock cliffs jetting out of the sides of the walls and random aquatic creatures floating around. The illumination was turned down as if they were 200 feet below the surface. Last thing Seawing summoned were real training drones sitting on top of the cliffs and floating around the environment.

"Simple objective, be the one to take out the most drones. We will be doing this until we hear from Butcher about the Terrorcons."

>>Commander Snaptrap, would it be okay if the Terrorcons joined us in the training room? It would an honor if you also would consider joining us once you get a free cycle. It has been a long while since we trained as a unit.<<


Brig

The Seeker carted Nosecone through the ship down to the brig. Once there he had some guards open up a cell door. The seeker than unstrapped Nosecone with the guards having guns pointed at him. Nosecone didn't resist since he was quite thankful to be able to move. As he got up sitting on the hover bed, he felt the familiar sensation of an inhibitor claw being inserted into his back. The pain quickly subsided and the same resignation settled into Nosecone's spark. True freedom may not come for several vorns if not longer.

"Can you tell me if my fellow Autobots are here?"

The seeker looked at him and then looked down the hallway at the other cells.

"I don't see why it matter. It looks like two of your Technobots are here and almost certain the rest of your friends will be here once Lord Scorponok is done humiliating them. Your life is at the mercy of his claws and this is only as long as you behave and useful to him. You and your fellow Technobots are nothing more than lab rats to Lord Scorponok."

Nosecone sighed as he walked into his cell. He looked around and if he didn't know any better, it looked quite familiar as he seen certain scratch marks in it.

Semper Tyrannis – Bridge

Cyclonus suspected that LV-117 would not be approached with the same brutality as the moon of Elba had been. There were far too many potential advantages in owning the site of one of Jhiaxus' most developed laboratory sites. Far more than any benefits they could gain than simply destroying it.

”We were lucky he did not get too much of a head start. And yet it may have been all he needed. He knows the planet. He spent thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of vorns experimenting on the planet and its wildlife before the Autobots tracked him down. In all likelihood the planet is as hostile as it entirely because of him. We know where to start. The laboratory we already once searched. However I find it unlikely that we will find him there. Unless he managed to fool both the Autobots and us with a concealed area, hidden from our sensors. Cyclonus, if you will?” Scorponok spoke, turning over the momentum of their command meeting to him.

"We will need to utilize the same artificial flesh coverings that we did during our initial foray onto the surface. They are still rudimentary and undeveloped, but they will have to suffice. Prepare your respective strike teams accordingly. Have them recharged and outfitted for war, for that is what we must expect to await us when we arrive."

It felt odd to refer to Jhiaxus in such a fashion, as if he were an enemy to do battle with in the same manner as some Autobot legion. No. Jhiaxus would be quite different, but they had to be prepared for any eventuality, particular when their foe could bend science to suit his own deranged visions of their future. They needed to counteract that advantage as much as possible. To that end, Cyclonus would begin with Decepticon intelligence.

"Banzaitron, distribute hostile environment intelligence protocols. They are the collected wisdom of the empire, including notes from our last mission to this very world. Study them and ready your subordinates accordingly. Do have anything else with which to advise this war council?"

Semper Tyranis – Hanger

Airachnid watched the destruction of what had nearly been her final resting place with her mouth tightly clenched shut. She studied everything her optics could see — every opening fissure, collapsing section, and explosion that rocked Garrus-9 — alongside her fellow Decepticons that had been liberated from the penitentiary.

She didn’t focus on how close death had been if she hadn’t boarded one of the last shuttles to leave or how long she’d been stuck, weak and helpless, with her only source of amusement the injuries her razor-sharp tongue caused. No, that was in her past. What interested her was the weapon that had been employed by the Decepticons.

Or had the Autobots issued a self-destruct?

She doubted the Autobots had anything to do with this. Such destruction — the simple, mindless destruction that lacked a creative tough — was something only a Decepticon was capable of. The question was: who?

The why seemed obvious. Someone wanted to show the Autobots what they could do. Someone with the subtlety of an imploding star. Someone she was sure she wasn’t going to enjoy owing anything to for her rescue. Someone that would get her killed doing some mundane task. Of that, she was certain.

Turning from the collapsing moon, she slowly and deliberately made her way across the hanger toward an exit. Her top priority was to ensure her systems were in top working order and avoid being processed with the other freed prisoners. Once her identification was recorded, she’d probably be assigned somewhere she doubted would benefit her talents, and that was something she couldn’t allow.

She needed time and a little luck to go unnoticed and gather intelligence before she’d see whoever it was commanding this vessel. Or escape unnoticed. She preferred the latter option, but knew her odds were less than miniscule until the crew relaxed their guard. If they relaxed.

Crossing the hanger, she sidestepped a small group of Decepticons that were already receiving minor repairs and ducked behind another, larger mech standing oddly still as he waited his turn. Through it all, she never stopped or slowed, keeping her pace consistent and easy. Blending in was the first lesson in espionage. She’d done it countless times before, so she didn’t see any reason she wouldn’t make it to the door—

“You there, hold it!”

SCRAP!

Turning, she prepared to defend herself as multiple excuses surged through her processor, but no one was facing her.

Quickly searching around her, her optics narrowed at seeing the source of the voice. It belonged to one of the countless Cons populating the ship as it worked to subdue a badly damaged mech that seemed... lost. She'd seen several like that. Their spark was broken by their captivity, leaving them as little more than a useless wreck.

Such a pity. I admire your abuser's handiwork. Of course, It’d be better to deactivate his spark if he’s in such a state. She couldn't help the smirk that spread across her faceplate. But thank you for the diversion. Your sacrifice will not be in vain, she thought and turned back on her path, confident the last few steps would continue without obstruction.

The Semper Tyrannis--Medibay

”Heh. Almost tricked yourself there. It has been energy related since be spread out from Cybertron in the beginning of the war. And then there’s the little fact that for every cybernetic race we have encountered – there have been hundreds of organic ones, have there not?”

Overlord let the Terrorcon Commander have his assessment of the situation without debate. Yes, it was about energy, but energy was simply the means to the end. Megatron's "Peace Through Tyranny". Overlord did not view that peace through the same lens as did others, but he was as ready for it to come about as the next Decepticon. The peace wherein he could be granted a sizable territory on Cybertron somewhere to do with as he wished. And woe to those who had the misfortune to find themselves there.

"Indeed. Let Megatron's peace come. We can exterminate them all. Or otherwise go about our immortal lives unbothered by their fragile existence."

Overlord then turned his head, at a somewhat bothersome angle, to be able to watch Scorponok's victory display.

Yes, yes. Take your victory lap, soldier. You've earned it, Overlord mused internally.

”Well well. Look at that. Beautiful. I guess we are lucky to have any work left with weapons like these around, heh. Then again I hear those are so expensive to make that we are not doing that again any time soon,” Hungrr continued, once the display and Scorponok's subsequent victory speech was completed.

"Well, that's a shame. I've encountered a world or two that would be suited for a nice geobomb rather than expend any other mental or physical effort in controlling it. Hmmm....I suppose with that bit of business addressed, it will be judgement time for the wayward scientist, hm?"

Hangar Bay

Bludgeon stepped out of the shuttle as cheers of victory rose from the assembled Decepticon forces. Garrus was destroyed, but Bludgeon, being Bludgeon, felt no strong emotions towards it either way.

---

Skullgrin exited the shuttle grumbling and wishing the whole trip, despite it's length hadn't happened. The entire length of the trip had been arguing."You're point is moot, Bomb Burst!"

---

"It is not, Skullgrin." Bomb Burst's voice came sternly from the shuttle. "When you transform into a similar vehicle, then we can discuss you piloting. Until then, the bot who's alt mode is capable of flight, is the pilot."

--

Nightbird slipped past Skullgrin with a smirk. "He has a valid point, Skullgrin." She said softly.

Skullgrin just shot her a glare and Nightbird continued on, the smirk falling slowly from her face plate. "What are they cheering for?" She asked.

---

"Scorponok ordered the moon destroyed." Bludgeon said unemotionally.. letting a few moments of silence pass as his private comm opened by order of Scorponok. He said nothing simply listen, betraying no hint that he was receiving a message.

---

Nightbird nodded as Snarler pushed Skullgrin out of his way, exiting the shuttle. The pig-former simply snorted.

---

Bomb Burst exited last. Pausing briefly in the door, out off by the light and noise.

The the bay crew was trying to to start post flight procedures and Bomb Birst was in the way, he reluctantly entered the hanger with the rest.

Large, crowded, noisy. This was no good. Every fiber optic of the assassin's being was on edge from it. It went against all his instincts. But he had no choice.

"What is their next objective." He stated rather than asked.

--+

"I have not been briefed." Bludgeon simply replied. He motioned them to move out if the hanger. Though not disclosing that he was being briefed as they spoke.

He didn't suppose there were any crew quarters or anything of the like to have this conversation in. He would just have to go with the flow and began towards the bridge.

"Nightbird. Find out if there is a magazine abord that we can restock ammunition." He ordered the little spy. She was probably the most diplomatic of all of them, best to send her on that mission. "Bomb Burst, what is the situation with your fuel levels?"

--+

"I am fine for now." The Vampire confessed."But if we're slotted for a long flight, I may have to force stasis."

---

Bludgeon frowned slightly. He didn't like his troops not being available at any given moment. "I believe it will be short."

---

Bomb Burst gave Bludgeon an inquisitive look, the Electric Warrior had been privy to something at some point. However, the Vampire knew better than to press on it.

---

Nightbird nodded slightly, her mask slid into the place, and the spy nodded... Slipping ahead of the group and out of sight.

The rest made their way through the crowd heading for the exit... Slowly... Unfortunately.

Hangar Semper Tyrannus

(imported from Cascadia's post in The Convergence)

The Semper Tyrannis--Hangar-->Corridors

Just as Ion Storm began to proceed to leave out of the ship's hanger, he heard what Shrapnel was saying to Goldrush. He did not care what he was saying except when he saw small volts of electricity crisscrossing the Insecticon's antennae. The two of them had similar abilities but slightly different. After watching the display, he rolled his optics.

"Wonderful display of electricity, Shrapnel..."

and gave the hand sign for whatever to Shrapnel while a bolt came out of each of his pointer fingers.

"...but, whatever..."

He walked out of the hanger and headed into the corridors.


The Semper Tyrannis--Hangar

Nova Storm watched how Ion Storm was behaving. He face-palmed and shook his head. After a bit, he looked over at Acid Storm.

"Remind me again on why we were teamed up with him?"

"I don't know..." Acid Storm mumbled at Nova's question. Sometimes he honestly did wonder.

As the ruckus started up with the detonation of the Geo bomb, Acid looked to the hangar doors. "Let's go. Too crowded in here."

Semper Tyrannis - Med Bay

“Alright, that should be it.” Came a voice. Banzai-Tron’s optics flickered to life once more as a minor dose of circuit speeders kicked in. The head of the DSS slowly rose on his berth as he saw Flatline wiping Energon off his actuators.

“Flatline...” Banzai-Tron informally greeted as he groggily came to be, “What-What happened?”

The black and red surgeon gazed back to his patient as he pulled a metal tray closer to the side of his operational table, as if ready to display what laid on it.

“Jhiaxus- remember him? His device did more internal damage to you than most others caught in the field.” He gestured to the Energon-coated organ on his tray. “That is or rather was your T-Cog. See the charred edges here and here? Vital areas of the organ that burned out while you were stuck in the field. And here is where the power surge blew out completely and began to implode on itself. So rather than be stuck mistransformed and risk having complete spark shutdown, we cut it out and forced you back out of your alternate mode.”

Banzai-Tron stared blankly at his former organ lying before his optics. Despite trying to hold a visage of unnerving professionalism, the DSS agent was at a loss for words. The moment finally sank into him and he felt the proverbial emptiness of his now missing organ.

“Was it at least replaced?” Banzai-Tron finally inquired breaking his silence.

“We don’t have the resources to construct a fresh new T-Cog at the moment,” Flatline responded sliding the metal cart away, “And they aren’t exactly easy to construct anyways. So we followed the procedure set by the Triple M to remove the organ without disrupting Rosum’s trinity.”

“Are you saying that-“

“Yes, you can’t transform.” Flatline interjected, already beginning to switch gears towards his next operation. “Go put a Req order in with Scorponok and I can help construct you a new one, but as it stands right now you walk among the rest of those in the Militant Monoform Movement. Now get off my table, I’ve got other mechs to patch up.”

Sliding off the berth with a level of uncertainty, Banzai-Tron slowly began to leave the med bay in a state of shock. A piece of what made him Cybertronian was gone... Torn out unwillingly... Sure, he was alive because of it, but no injury he has suffered in the past can amount to this.

Banzai-Tron’s communicator then began to buzz which snapped him out of his state of shock momentarily. Scorponok himself and then Cyclonus were already beginning preparations for the next step in the Warlord’s grand scheme to get his vengeance against that fossil of a mech.

>>”Forgive my delay,”<< Banzai-Tron commed back, already beginning to distribute the necessary information he and his agents have acquired over the vornes of this war, >>”As you have already stated, LV-117 is an unforgiving system unless we are properly protected against the planet’s elements. Those who have ventured there to acquire information have stated it is best to seek cover immediately and try to avoid high ground. With the inclement weather changing on a whim, anything that can be done to avoid dealing directly with it will better our advance.”<<

With his piece said, Banzai-Tron finished complying the necessary information he had on the planet to each member of Scorponok’s command, both those who he ruled over before the Garrus-9 operation and those who he helped to liberate. With a final press of the button, the data was transmitted and the crystalocution master made his way to the bridge.

Semper Tyrannis – Hangar Bay

War makes monsters of us all.

Though only part of Slog’s reply when Scowl had asked him what he thought of the Insecticons, it was the most profound segment of his response. There was something about it that Scowl’s mind couldn’t resist ruminating over. Maybe it was the simplicity of the hard truth it delivered without apology. Maybe that was it. Maybe it was.

Walking down the shuttle ramp and amidst the throng of mechanoids, Scowl wasn’t given the time to consider Slog’s words for long because a hologram of Scorponok materialised before the crowd assembled in the hangar bay, and his voice, travelling throughout the hangar for all present to hear, announced their victory at Garrus-9. Garrus-9: home of Scowl, and had been for countless, countless vorns.

Had been.

Following Scorponok’s triumphant speech was an extravaganza Scowl could barely believe he was witnessing. He watched as Elba was destroyed. Not just destroyed but obliterated. Blown up. Exploded. Now it was chunks of blackened metal and cracked rock floating aimlessly through space, the evidence of its previous existence all but forgotten.

“Did you see that? Did you see that?” Scowl looked around – optics wide, grin wider – glancing at each of the Monstercons. “It’s gone! Boom!” He brought his fists together in a vicious collision, then drew them apart quickly, opening his hands to splay his digits to their stretched limits.

He cared little for Garrus-9 and the Autobots who had stolen his voice from him. He’d suffered from too much ill-treatment to connect any sadness to his joy. Burn in the Pit, thieves.

“I hope everybody remembered to bring their valuables with them.” Scowl laughed. “Because I don’t think you’ll even be able to get them from the lost property!”

Terrible joke, but he was high on happiness – so perked up, he was, that nothing could dampen his spirits at the moment.

Boom!

Semper Tyrannis – Hangar Bay

As Ion Storm was heading out of the hanger, a small orange Autobot caught his attention. He heard what the Autobot who loves to speak in rhythm say to a larger Autobot, who he figured was Skyfall. When he glanced up at the larger Cybertronian, he was proven to be correct. After a bit, he glanced back towards his trinemates who were out of sight. If they saw what he was going to do, he would never hear the end of it. He looked at Wheelie and Skyfall and spoke,

"I do not know what either of you is thinking about doing but I am unsure of what to do, which is odd considering..."

--------------------------------------------------
Nova looked over at Acid Storm as he looked over at the geo bomb destroying a moon. Luckily, none of the debris made it towards where he stood. After a bit, he heard what Acid said to him.

"And where did you want to go to, Mr. Green Stick in the Mud...hmmmm?"

Hangar: Semper Tyrannus

"Just out of here is a good start." Acid Storm replied to Nova Storm. "Little too tight in the hangar with all those shuttles."

Hangar: Semper Tyrannus-->Corridors

Nova Storm looked over at Acid Storm in disbelief since he did not give much of an indication of where they ought to go to. He face-palmed and replied back, "True but that does not get much of an indication on where to go." He then felt how crowded it was in the hanger and left the hanger without noticing what Ion Storm was up to.

Hangar: Semper Tyrannus

"I know, I know, Nova." Acid Storm said maybe sounding a little irritated. "I'm not terribly familiar with the ship though. Maybe get some energon... Recharge... Stare into space... Must be something to do around here." He stepped into the corridor and looked around. Less crowded but not entirely desolate.