Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on May 28, 2007 12:08:03 GMT -5
In response to Starscream's orders*, Dead End privately transmitted to Starscream an annotated copy of his terrain maps. Hook already had a copy of those maps, as did Starfighter and Skystrike. They showed the radar-mapped terrain for 200 miles in all directions from their starting point and along the track Dead End had taken to get to the service station. Their starting point--which seems to have been Starscream's entrance point as well, Skystrike's pond, the ravine, the service station, and the possible structures in the swampy lowlands to the east were all marked, as was the fact that there was a road leading north into the hills.
Private to Starscream: // According to Hook, Long Haul is out there somewhere as well, though apparently not free to communicate or move. He may be injured severely, or a prisoner. //
//No, no and yes, respectively,//
"Take care with the power or fuel storage--Hook will want that for energy extraction," Dead End called back. He did not feel like arguing over the radio with Starscream about what should be done with the energy source; what the new temporary leader of the Decepticons didn't know just yet wouldn't hurt him. Hook could handle reporting the energy logistics situation much better than Dead End could--and Starscream was less likely to take out his temper on the one guy who could repair him.
You didn't mess with the Constructicons if you were in Megatron's units. Not if you wanted all your weapon systems to work correctly the next time you went into battle. And that was the least of things that could happen if you annoyed them. Scrapper, it was said, had more than a few pieces of furniture that just happened to have color schemes matching missing Seekers that had been a tad too rude and arrogant....
Unfortunately, Dead End reflected dourly, Motormaster was still around as a truck, so the rumors were no more than that. No Seeker in the universe could possibly have been as rude and arrogant and abusive to everyone as Motormaster.
//There’s something wrong with Starfighter, I’m not sure what, but I just told him to sit out. I’ll bring the cargo up by myself until he recovers.//
// Acknowledged, Skystrike. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some subtle hazard in this planet's air that's corroding him from the inside out. Perhaps Hook can have a look at him when we get back; we can't afford to lose people with his talents just yet. Of course, that's just the kind of people who will go first, leaving the rest of us to die more slowly and painfully. //
Dead End considered; should he recommend that Starscream take Starfighter as his aide? No. The Stunticon sensed a certain mental fragility it the pale blue jet that reminded him too much of his missing brother Breakdown. That fear of being looked at, of being paid attention to, crippling an otherwise brilliant mind with shyness... in this case coupled with some physical fragility. Hook could be maddeningly annoying in his own perfectionist way, but he would appreciate the skilled aide. Starscream would use Starfighter up with casual cruelty and toss away the shattered husk--if he even understood the fragile jet's usefulness.
No. If they were to survive, and Starscream were to lead them successfully--lacking Megatron, Galvatron, or Shockwave, the only alternative was for Starscream to lead them unsuccessfully, as having Starscream continually plotting and undermining a less powerful leader would only lead to ruin--and hadn't it nearly done that under even Megatron? Killing Starscream was so very Not An Option--alas, only he, Dead End, knew that. As far as he knew. A dead Starscream was ten times more dangerous than a live one, and just as vindictive. So they were stuck with Starscream.
If they were to survive Starscream's leadership as well as this planet--which Dead End considered very unlikely, but his personal honor required him to at least try--Starscream needed an solid, sensible, loyal aide to warn him about flaws in his plans and advise against the glaringly stupid, and to support and encourage him in good decisions as well, all while letting all the spite and abuse a flamboyant, insecure, ill-tempered jerk could come up with slide off him like rain off a Stunticon's hood. In short, Starscream would need a Cyclonus.
Dead End pondered that thought with some internal amusement. Perhaps not the real Cyclonus, who would pound Starscream to whimpering scrap if he met him, though he would not be so foolish as to kill the former Air Commander. Someone like him, though. Like a Stunticon who was well inured to the worst Motormaster could dish out.
Dead End sighed audibly as Skystrike lifted herself to the top of the ravine and popped his trunk for her access. It would never work out. Starscream would be unlikely to accept a ground vehicle as his aide when he had all these jets about. They were all doomed.
*Already referenced by half of everyone.
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Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
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Post by Starscream on May 28, 2007 16:51:02 GMT -5
"Oh brother." Starscream muttered aloud. "Omega Supreme." He began formulating several aerial maneuvers to deal with the Guardian, when he remembered that Fleetwind said something about crashing. "Oh, very well." Annoyed at how yet another person was impeding with his orders.
He listened to the broadband. "That's it?"
OOC: Sorry for short reply. Starscream's player is a busy boy today.
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Post by Hook on May 28, 2007 20:22:29 GMT -5
The second cube filled, and as soon as the third began to form, Hook yanked the Cubilator's connection from the vehicle. The energon cube died stillborn, fading away to nothing but a soft heat as the energy matrices failed to stabilize.
Once more, he hauled his toolkit out of subspace, unlocked it, and retrieved an omnitool. A drill would have made disassembly quicker, but it also would have prevented him from listening for jet-engines.
He heard them out there in the night. They had paused, though, and shifted to a different hum. Hovering in robot-mode, if he recognized that sound correctly. None of the whines or scratchy sounds of lifters with problems waiting to occur.
He would have to give everyone a check-up soon, simply so he would know what he was dealing with. Tomorrow? Perhaps, perhaps not.
Disassembling the Cubilator went quickly, and he packed the parts neatly into his toolkit, replaced the omnitool where it belonged, removed a drop-light, closed and locked the 'kit, and replaced it into subspace.
Hook wrapped the cord of the drop-light around his forearm until the light itself hung from his wrist, then picked up his own energon cube. So. First, a basic survey of this station to find all of the obvious resources and place them in a central location where he could examine them at leisure. Depending on how long that took, his next step would be to either examine his findings and salvage what he could, or to perform a salvage operation on the tank that Dead End and Skystrike had killed.
He frowned briefly at the five energon cubes scattered about and nudged them into a row. Two ended up too close together, and he corrected that little mistake.
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Post by Skystrike/Skylar Stringers on May 28, 2007 21:24:52 GMT -5
"Take care with the power or fuel storage--Hook will want that for energy extraction,"
“I know.” She replied in a slightly irritated tone of voice.
// Acknowledged, Skystrike. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some subtle hazard in this planet's air that's corroding him from the inside out. Perhaps Hook can have a look at him when we get back; we can't afford to lose people with his talents just yet. Of course, that's just the kind of people who will go first, leaving the rest of us to die more slowly and painfully. //
//Unlikely.// Skystrike answered, placing the pieces into Dead End’s trunk. //You know as well as I do that they’re just as tough as the next warrior. Pit, Starfighter practically has a warrior body and he’s probably a lot better taken care of than a low ranking seeker like me.// Which was true, considering the countless times she’d done self repair on herself. And the number of times she’d avoided the shoddy medics that meandered around in her section. Better to fix yourself than wake up with a wrench in your head.
She paused mulling over what she and Dead End had said, though. She hadn’t thought of there being much to distinguish between the technicians and the warriors before. The sudden division her mind was making was rather disturbing and she quickly shoved the very idea out and into her dark recesses of her consciousness.
If anything they do was going to work, they’d all have to be a team, which meant no divisions. Which meant she shouldn’t even be talking about them as if they were any different from her. Divisions within a team only caused problems. Following that particular line of thought, this also meant that she’d have to stop trying separating herself from the rest of the seekers.
The blue jet frowned and made a soft rumbling noise, the idea settling uneasily upon her.
“I’m going down to get the rest of the pieces. You go ahead and start getting these over to the station.” Skystrike placed the last piece of the tank she’d brought up with her into Dead End’s trunk before shutting the trunk. Stepping back, she glanced down the ravine and was relieved to see that Starfighter had, at least, listened to her and was sitting down where she’d left him. If the berkut had caught him standing up and tearing away at the tank again, she probably would’ve drop kicked him.
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Post by Starfighter on May 28, 2007 21:55:31 GMT -5
Skystrike was not helping. At all. Although it seemed to be a favorable sign that Dead End was taking his weakness to be caused by an outside source instead of assuming it was all Starfighter's fault.
Based on his brief impressions, Dead End seemed to be the most stable Decepticon around and probably the best one to cling to in case there was a schism in their forces. And considering the amount of arguing going on over the airwaves, that time might come fairly soon.
Privately, to Dead End: //It's really nothing sir, I think Skystrike is overreacting. I got something caught in my intakes and I was trying to get it out before it became a problem but she took it as a sign of something bigger. I'm really all right.// There was a bit of nervousness in his voice, but little to suggest an outright lie.
The flare subsided again, leaving Starfighter feeling a bit wobbly but otherwise fairly competent. He drew out his datapad again and went about entering all the new data concerning their companions (or potential companions, as this Demolishor person could really swing either way). As far as this cross-timeline business went...the system didn't really have much on that, with the exception of the musings of a few theoretical scientists.
But then again, nothing else made much sense either. This wasn't a place that his database could comprehend, describe, and put into neatly ordered rows and columns. This was dangerous.
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Fleetwind
Major
The Chancellor, His Eminent Grandeur, Marquis Fleetwind. The Insurgent Subduer of A Non-Threatening Cute Little Furry Kitten
Twined Elf
Posts: 730
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Post by Fleetwind on May 28, 2007 22:06:35 GMT -5
"That's all I have, sir," Fleetwind replied to Starscream's final question, pausing just as he was about to dive to do so. Then he finishes his dive, closing the remaining distance between himself and the other Decepticons very quickly. He remains and robot mode and hovers over the station for a moment, but when he determined that most the others are not their but in a nearby ravine, and that Hook didn't seem intent on firing up at him, the pastel Seeker landed, touching down gently with his right foot first.
The Seeker straightened and turned towards Hook. He dipped his head forward in a formal nod and said, "Thank you for guiding me here, sir, but you may want to turn off your beacon."
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on May 28, 2007 22:50:25 GMT -5
//You know as well as I do that they’re just as tough as the next warrior. Pit, Starfighter practically has a warrior body and he’s probably a lot better taken care of than a low ranking seeker like me.// Dead End's engine rumbled slightly at that. "Low ranking? I thought all jets were in the Air Command, and it was my impression that the Air Command was the more prestigious of the combat commands. At least, the Air Commander certainly gave that impression," he adds drily. //It's really nothing sir, I think Skystrike is overreacting. I got something caught in my intakes and I was trying to get it out before it became a problem but she took it as a sign of something bigger. I'm really all right.//
Since Dead End is not a jet, nor does he repair jets, Starfighter could have just as well said "My frannistan overheated until I unjammed it, but now I'm fine," and it would have meant about as much to the Stunticon. Cars and Stunticons are what he understands, mechanically speaking. The quickness of the excuse--yes, it sounds like an excuse to Dead End, who has listened to some of the whoppers Wildrider came up with to explain his AWOL bouts ("Yeah, I blew out a tire and that's why I'm late, *snicker*, no problem..."). Still, he doesn't know--maybe it's a common problem for jets, so all he says privately in return is // Acknowledged. Be careful it doesn't happen again. Organic worlds like this have all sort of flying debris, some of it self-powered. // There is a long silence while Skystrike ponders and Dead End listens and explains over the radio.“I’m going down to get the rest of the pieces. You go ahead and start getting these over to the station.”Dead End was so fascinated with his new theory that he almost didn't notice the order. "What? Oh, yes; of course." He closes his trunk and guns his engine, leaping down the road in a sudden burst of speed. It takes less than a minute to return to the service station where he left Hook. Hook is apparently dismantling the service station from the inside out, judging from the pile of equipment--ah, energon cubes! They wouldn't actually starve for another day! Though perhaps the energon was tainted and would corrode their fuel systems. Dead End pulled up to the pile of stuff and opened his trunk. "Hook! Here's part of the salvage. Do you wish to get it out or shall I deposit it on this pile?" About that time he noticed the pastel yellow Seeker presenting himself to Hook.
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Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
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Post by Starscream on May 29, 2007 14:14:12 GMT -5
OOC: My apologies, I won't really be in today. Please skip me this pose. And if it comes down to it, next pose too.
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Post by Hook on May 29, 2007 21:01:08 GMT -5
Hook settled down with an armful of scavenged items from the garage to sort through just as the pastel yellow Seeker landed. He looked over Fleetwind and listened to the sounds of his systems - no obvious signs of problems yet to come. Good.
"Yes, I suppose I might." Who knew who might listen for that sort of thing. Omega Supreme was out there, after all. "Do have an energon cube. One energon cube. If you need more, inform me."
Dead End's arrival drew the usual glance directed towards a moving vehicle, and the Stunticon was otherwise ignored in favor of the salvage. At least until Dead End spoke to him.
"Don't unload yourself. I do not want to have to deal with the mess you will make of my supplies," Hook ordered as he sorted through the collected scavengings. This should supplement the basic supplies in his toolkit quite nicely, as well as provide material for more arcane parts and creations.
"Drive over here, and let me sort through what you've brought me."
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Post by Skystrike/Skylar Stringers on May 30, 2007 8:02:57 GMT -5
"Low ranking? I thought all jets were in the Air Command, and it was my impression that the Air Command was the more prestigious of the combat commands. At least, the Air Commander certainly gave that impression,”
Skystrike didn’t answer that. Dead End would probably forget about it in a few moments anyways. She didn’t particularly want to discuss the long and awkward story of her life with a complete stranger after all, and especially not the story of her demotion.
"What? Oh, yes; of course."
“Hnh.” The jet grumped, glancing momentarily over her shoulder to watch Dead End drive away before looking back down the ravine. Just her and Starfighter then. Oh the joy of joys. She gave the skies a baleful look before stepping off the edge once more and descending back down to the tank. At least she could ignore him easier now that he was just sitting down and writing in his little datapad.
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Post by Starfighter on May 30, 2007 8:17:47 GMT -5
To Dead End: //Yes, sir. It's just taking me a little bit to get acclimated to organic conditions.// He didn't quite believe that Dead End believed him, but claiming to believe him instead of pressing the issue was in general just as good.
His entries were finished in a matter of moments, complete with footnotes relating to current examples of personality and possible dates/places of entry. His datapad was practically an extension of his own body and he knew its keys better than he knew his own guns.
"Done," he said to no one in particular. He stood and went to help Skystrike with removing the tank pieces, no longer shaking or wheezing.
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Fleetwind
Major
The Chancellor, His Eminent Grandeur, Marquis Fleetwind. The Insurgent Subduer of A Non-Threatening Cute Little Furry Kitten
Twined Elf
Posts: 730
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Post by Fleetwind on May 30, 2007 9:03:41 GMT -5
Fleetwind stiffened as he noticed the car approach, then he noted the Decepticon sigil. That's right... there had been mention of a Stunticon here, hadn't there? He politely inclined his head towards the vehicle as greeting, but that's all the attention he was willing to spare for the moment.
"Thank you, Hook," the Seeker answered the Constructicon before swooping down and grabbing up a cube. Without realizing it, he accidently nudged the one next to the one he had grabbed out of alignment. He scanned the area for an appropriate, out-of-the-way spot where he could observe as much as possible, and then walked over to it, already sipping hungrily from the cube.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on May 30, 2007 12:46:00 GMT -5
Dead End's engine makes a slight sighing noise, then he rolls over to where Hook is and pops his trunk again.
"Skystrike and Starfighter are still working on the tank; I'm sure they'll have more salvage for me--if they haven't tripped any fatal booby-traps, which they probably have. If you don't mind, I'll take them back some rations--who knows what situation they were extracted from in the first place and they may be low on fuel. If they haven't collapsed already. I'll probably go back and find their lifeless, fuel-starved shells awaiting me. Assuming I make it that far."
His attention shifts to the jet standing nearby. "Hmm... four jets, now. We have quite a bit of aerial capability now. They'll probably bring the planet's air defense systems down on us and we'll all get vaporized, thus solving our fuel problems."
"I am Dead End, of the Stunticons. You are Fleetwind?"
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Starscream
Major
"Sometimes I can almost feel it!"
strangely enough, male.
Posts: 945
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Post by Starscream on May 30, 2007 19:44:51 GMT -5
Starscream landed shortly after Fleetwind did. He casually approached the gathering around Hook, but when he noticed the pink glow precious refueling in polyhedronous form, his pace quickened.
"Energon!" Starscream yelled as he shoved Fleetwind to one side to get to a cube. Starscream still had roughly-four-fifths of his reserves full, but the potential for there to be an energon shortage had made him a hypochondriac. He grabbed the cube in the middle of the three remaining cubes, the rest of them being upset even moreso than when Fleetwind grabbed his.
Starscream drank eagerly. "So, there is approximately eight or nine of us, that we know. Soon we will look for Long Haul, as well as the rest of the Constructicons, if they're here. If Omega Supreme is here, perhaps we can be lucky enough to have Devastator."
After another mouthful of pink energy, Starscream paused a moment and turned to Hook. "Where did you get this? How did you make it?" Starscream asked Hook. And by 'asked' we mean 'ordered and so help me if you don't answer me immediately'. Of course.
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Post by Hook on May 30, 2007 20:16:40 GMT -5
Hook had his hands in Dead End's trunk, sorting through the components his collected Decepticons had set aside for him. Possibly useful, definitely useful, possibly useful- hello! A central processing unit!
Starscream's arrival and subsequent damaging of his neat line drew a glare. "One cube, Starscream!"
Hook set the xeno-tank's CPU in his lap, then pulled out the few remaining components from Dead End's trunk. Hm, that reminded him. They did not have a lot of transportable storage space out here. "You may have a cube as well, Dead End. The remaining two are for Starfighter and Skystrike when they return."
"As for how I made it, Starscream, I used the usual methods. These xeno-vehicles carry chargers, which I suspect we could straight-up drain if we had to. However, energy translated into energon is more potent if harder to transport, as you well know." From Hook's tone of voice, the Constructicon was only tacking on 'as you well know' to seem polite when the court stenographer took his statement on what he said.
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