Desert: The Prize Inside

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron is not particularly fond of the taste of photons, and between the shots from Duskwing and the cluster bombs, he does indeed take some damage.

He dives for one fo the hollows that he had scoped out earlier - flying down near it will be tick for an assailant, due to the glass and metal spikes left by the meteor's wake.

[Duskwing]

Springer the Wrecker is off chasing Needlenose and isn't paying attention to Duskwing, which suits the purple and dark blue Seeker just fine. He's got a target to chase.

Duskwing dives low, then pulls up abruptly just before he would have plowed into the upthrust spikes. "Cheap tin-plate knockoff! Youse ain't gonna get away dat easy! Ain't no tunnels 'round here to dive into and youse short a few Wreckers!"

The Decepticon jet circles around and back, then transforms, hovering over the menacing terrain. He tosses off a few shots at random glints of sunlight on the obsidian and metal. The silver and gold robot has to be around here somewhere, and someone that shiny can't hide in broad daylight for long...

[Override]

Ah, but who said the particular hide-hole that Xaaron had been heading to had been empty? It's not really /bait/ if it's not leading someone somewhere they don't want to go.

As Emirate Xaaron dives, Override covers him, pushing the leader-with-no-alternate-mode back further into their little hollow and taking a few shots from Duskwing's laser fire while she's at it.

"Fancy meeting you here," she grins at Xaaron, slight smirk tugging at the left corner of her lips. "Can't say I care for your tagalong, though!" She lifts her weapon towards the Seeker flying about outside and cries out, "Cyber-key power!"

The skies twist and a roundish bolt of energy shoots down from the heavens and lands in the back of Override's hand-cannons, arming them. At the same time, she suddenly curls forward, optics wide. "That... that... what's wrong with it?" she asks in wonderment.

<No attack this round>

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron is all about convincing people to do things that they don't want to do.

He is also an expert at finding hidey-holes. He does not reply to Duskwing, not wanting to give away his position, though it is quite likely that Megatron is the Emirate Xaaron knockoff and not the other way around. After all, Megatron may be old, but Emirate Xaaron is ancient.

Emirate Xaaron snaps sharply at Override, //Look alive, or you won't much longer!//

[Duskwing]

Duskwing is more than a little surprised by the sky going weird and a bolt of light descending from the heavens into Xaaron's hidey-hole.

"What the slag kinda glitch in the works was DAT??" he yells rather loudly, and back-pedals in mid-air. Startled and uncertain, he reacts instinctively and launches another brace of cluster bombs at whatever-it-was that the big fraggin' light-beam hit. Still confused, he shoots his lasers randomly in that direction as well--

Belatedly, it occurs to him that huge energy beams from the sky might be dangerous, and might be targetting people in the area. He ducks behind one of the upthrust spikes of metal, taking cover. After a few minutes, he peers out from behind it to see what's going on...

[Override]

At Emirate Xaaron's admonishment, Override shakes herself back to her senses. She activates her radio to reply...

//Bzzzt-shhhhhhhhhs-sssspppppttt//

Static.

Override scowls and tries to catch Emirate Xaaron's eye. Radio's out. Then she ducks for cover as the combardment begins once more. Chunks of metal are rocked loose and fall on and around her, denting but doing no serious damage. As soon as the fire lets up, however, she peeks around the edges and starts firing her own lasers at the source.

[Needlenose]

OOC: Not staying in thread. Unless you're filtering the proper frequency, all those near the main desert battlezone risk being blinded.

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron curses, very softly, as Autobot communications go out. He peeks his head out of the hidey-hole, trying to get a better idea of just what is going on outside.

He tries to remain unobtrusive, but at the end of the day, it isn't so much his own hide that he cares about as the hides of the Autobots as a whole.

[Victoria Raines]

Just before Needlenose lights up the world, a breath before the Emirate's yellow optics would be painfully seared, a purple hand comes from behind to clasp over Xaaron's optics. An even, slightly accented voice murmurs sharply, "Sunbeam. Shutter your optics."

//Duskwing, I am on the ground at <coordinates>, dealing with the Emirate. Try to avoid dropping bombs on my head, if you please, but do take advantage of the other Autobot's blindness.// Because Shockwave wasn't nice enough to warn Override as well.

"I think, Emirate Xaaron, that you and I have things to discuss. Call for your fellow if you like, but there is little enough time before he arrives, and I would prefer not to waste it."

---

OOC: Ambushing Xaaron done w/ player permission.

[Duskwing]

Laser beams pew-pew-pew around him as Duskwing stares at the red and white figure for a long moment. What is going on here? Right, Shockwave said to use logic...

// Hey, Emirate Xaaron just transformed inta a red-and-white Autobot in a big flash-a light! //

Duskwing raised his arms to fire back when Needlenose said something over the main channel and Duskwing started firing while he puzzled it out. Unless he hated his optics? Why would he hate his optics? That sounded really stupid. There was something familiar about those frequency numbers, though--didn't sound like any kind of radio frequency. Oh, wait, he said light frequency. That meant--

*BRILLIANCE*

Darkness.

// Needlenose, you sludgepit! Next time gimme ENOUGH slagging warrning before you flashy-thing me! Some of us are kinda distracted here.. Underclocked heat-fried chip off a mistempered cheap-alloy block! // Duskwing complained bitterly on the Villain Band.

// Huh? What other Autobot? The one he turned into? // Duskwing replied to Shockwave, baffled.

[Override]

Override is about to turn deal with the sudden new intruder when a brilliant flash of light fills her vision. Instinctively she throws her arms up over her optics, but by the time she's done that it's far, far too late to actually protect against anything.

"Sludge-guzzling, axel-cracking, tire-squeeling..." she mutters a few Velocitronian oaths, then speaks louder. "Emirate? You all right? What's going on?"

Now, of course, would have been the perfect time to fire at her, but since Duskwing seems to think Emirate Xaaron turned into her, she gets a free pass.

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron has been manhandled by a massively powerful purple Decepticon leader before. He doesn't terribly recommend it, but this one, at least, is slightly less massively powerful than the previous one.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as 'slightly less dead'.

He tries to struggle, as an immediate reaction. Emirate Xaaron struggled, even against Galvatron, after all. However, he also listened to Galvatron's business proposition. His yellow optics wink out. Shockwave is holding him by the head. It would be but a small matter for Shockwave to wrench it off. Even if there is no blinding attack coming, a few more seconds sight will do Emirate Xaaron little good.

At Override's cursing, his optics wink back on.

What a fine kettle of mercy he's found himself in now. Most of his people are blind, their communications are down, and he himself is at Shockwave's non-existent mercy.

He calls out to Override, his voice even an cool albeit strained, "I am in acceptable condition. Shockwave wishes an audience with me." A pause. "Do transform."

In theory, her alternate mode optics should be in working condition. Hopefully she has guns or something as a car with which to shoot the Seeker.

He ceases his struggles. To be entirely honest with himself, he's too weak to wrest himself from Shockwave's grip, but if he lures the cyclops into complacency, into thinking that Emirate Xaaron is resigned, he may be able to break free while Shockwave's guard is down. Voice still chilly but now a tinge wry, he replies, "Oh, this fine weather we've been having? Static, with a chance of sun?"

He speaks with familiarity. He has known a Shockwave and not merely from the charts of his planning room as a resistance leader.

Shockwave is being quite the fool if he thinks that turning on his allies will make Emirate Xaaron inclined to trust him. Emirate Xaaron refuses to allow his troops to be slaughter to put down that demon Prime, only to have the survivor mopped up by the normal Decepticons. However, if perhaps he can convince Shockwave to risk his troops... well... that would be quite acceptable.

[Victoria Raines]

If Emirate Xaaron were to be so easily swayed and confused as Perceptor, Shockwave would have been quite disappointed. Needlenose and Spinister have built the former resistance leader up quite a bit; Shockwave might have to have words with them were they merely exaggerating the Emirate's canniness.

As the light fades, Shockwave moves his hand to try and rest it at the Emirate's shoulder instead, a familiar a touch to match the Emirate's familiar tone, though this Shockwave knows no Xaaron. Careful touching is as much a way of bullying as words and fisticuffs, and often harder to guard against. He will make no move to stop Xaaron should the other pull himself further out of his hole, or should he attempt to turn to face Shockwave.

"The weather could be better, I would say, but that depends entirely upon the controlling environmental factors. A brisk, unexpected wind would be quite welcome, as it might bring clouds to blot out the sun's heat and brightness."

Let the Double Talk Olympics Begin!

One of Shockwave's headfins tilts back sharply in annoyance, not at Xaaron but at Duskwing and his failings.

//There are two Autobots on the ground at these coordinates Duskwing, the Emirate and his champion of the moment, which would be the red and white individual you see. Or do not see, as the case may be since you lack sufficient processor speed to guard yourself against Needlenose's attack.//

Hopefully, Override will not attempt to attack Shockwave while he is in such close proximity to her commander. He would so hate to have to sacrifice Xaaron before determining the Autobot's usefulness.

[Duskwing]

// If he'da warned me aheada time like he did dat time dese screwy Autobots attacked us, it woulda gone okay, // Duskwing replies sulkily. He falls silent for a moment as his optical processors slowly reboot.

// Dere is? Oh. So what was that beam from the sky, sir? // Duskwing asked, still confused. He still can't see anything, but he listens; hopefully if someone gets close, he'll hear them. He crouches a little lower behind the big spike of metal.

[Override]

"Who else is here?" Override asks as she hears the other voice. She drops down into her alternate mode and at this point it becomes obvious that her guns /are/ part of her mode, and quite available in this mode.

"Decepticon!" She instinctively triggers her radio - static again. She backs up and moves forward again, aiming the guns on her roof for Shockwave. For the moment, she's forgotten about the Seeker outside their hidey-hole, but that's because the big purple space gun inside tends to take priority.