Groundbound Party

[Fleetwind]

Fleetwind frowns as he listens to the exchange going on between Demolishor, Dead End, and Starfighter. He's pretty sure he already guessed what Starscream wants to do with Cannonball and an Autobot symbol, so he only half listens to that, and he had only half been listening to the other conversation as well, until a name came up...

The pale yellow Seeker narrows his optics. "Galvatron! No, he's not an Autobot. He's the one... came out of nowhere just earlier on the same day I was taken from my reality. Proclaimed himself the new Emperor, but between my own patrols and the arrival of Unicron and the moons and such, I... I haven't had time to review the news vids." Fleetwind's eyes widen and his mouth opens slightly. He looks up at Starscream, then over at Dead End. "Now, wait a minute..."

[Starscream]

Of course Starscream was more like Thrust. They're both Seekers! And of course their next step was to get fuel. Unless Predacons ran on happy thoughts and moon beams, it should be Sky-Byte's next step too!

"It better be.." he muttered in response to Hook's question. And then Cannonball arrived.

"Ah, dear Cannonball. I have a special mission for you. I don't know about your world, but it seems as if most people are from my world, or something like it." And yes, Starscream was aware that he was from the 'better' world and that meant he was special. "And where we come from, most Autobots turn into vehicles, and I daresay they have never heard of you. I think if we attach an Autobot emblem to you, you will make a suitable spy and able to infiltrate any Autobot groups that are on the planet. If you do this for me, I will reward you with fifteen percent of the spoils from successfully defeating them, in addition to your standard ration of the rest of the goods. What say you?"

Starscream grunted as he heard something from Fleetwind about a leader from some other era. Hmf. Well, those people aren't here on this planet, are they.

[Demolishor]

Demolishor leans over to Dead End and mutters back, "Look, I'm not trying to take over or anything, I'm not the leading type. He just reminds me a bit too much of a guy back home who keeps wiggling up to Megatron and thinks he can get away with anything as long as he keeps up all the compliments and garbage about destiny. What's he gonna do when we find Megatron again, huh? Cause if he thinks he's gonna lead an uprising I'll go punch his face in right now because I'm not having any part of that."

"Galvatron! No, he's not an Autobot. He's the one... came out of nowhere just earlier on the same day I was taken from my reality. Proclaimed himself the new Emperor, but between my own patrols and the arrival of Unicron and the moons and such, I... I haven't had time to review the news vids."

Bzuh? Demolishor looks very confused, an expression easily mistaken for his default facial composure. "Galvawho and Unicroniwhatsit? Never heard of those guys. Where's he get off calling himself Emperor, and why didn't Megatron blast him to bits?"

[Sky-byte]

Sky-byte would be content to run on happy thoughts and moonbeams. Throw in some good literature and he'd be the happiest shark on the face of the Earth...or...whatever planet this was. But if going on a quest for energy was their next step, Sky-byte tiredly resigned himself to such a fate. Because Predacons need energy too, from double-A batteries to car batteries.

"How do we know if we're looking for the right Megatron?" grumbled Sky-byte. He chose file away Fleetwind's comments about Galvatrons and Unicrons (or Unicorns? But why would a jet talk about unicorns?).

[Cannonball]

"Fit'teen percent, eh?" Cannonball muses over this, stroking his chin with his hand, and then chuckles. "Well, ah s'pose that ah kin attempt it. Wot all manner of stuff would ye consider would be entailed in 'defeating 'em'?" he asks, grinning a bit. A chance to brawl sounds good. Doing it with a seasoning of betrayal sounds all the more sweet.

"Tho'...ah do wunner if'n me markings would give me away..." he says, hooking a thumb to the Oingo-Boingo skeletons on his doors, and inferring the big skull on his back. "Ah donnae think Autobots is big on the sort of thing..."

[Dead End]

Dead End considers the various questions and reactions to his brief comments, and does something about it.

To cover his apparently inactivity, he says to Hook, "I suppose with Starscream sending off the truck, I get stuck with the towing again? We are moving out again, now, aren't we? You're trying to ruin my transmission, aren't you?"

He closes up the hatch on the mining worm's energy banks--no point in letting the rain get in and ruin them--and flits over to the nearest solid ground, which is coincidentally near Hook's spare parts collection.

[Hook]

"If I wanted to ruin your transmission, I would be doing a much better job of it," Hook informed Dead End.

Oh look, the Autobrand was finished. Hook started on another one.

[Starfighter]

All this is making Starfighter's head spin. He's used to neat organized boxes for sectors and time periods...how do you make a section for a potential future, and for an alternate timeline, and oh dear he wants to go home now...

But he keeps looking busy, keeps filling in information on this...Galvatron. And as for the space for Unicron, it's full of short, necessary notes, but anyone with the skill to look closely might notice the slight wavering in his notetaking pattern. He doesn't want to ever have to use this bit of profile for anything besides bad jokes.

[Fleetwind]

Fleetwind falls into the roll of quiet observer and listener, at least externally. He's a Seeker, and one thing Seekers excel out is crowd-filling. In fact, if anyone watches, he moves subtly closer to Starfighter, because Seekers become more invisible in larger groups.

Internally, he's listening to some very interesting stuff on his radio.

[Starscream]

Starscream had NO idea what Hook and Dead End were talking about. "Good point, Cannonball. Hook, paint over them. As for me.. I am advancing ahead. Apparently we have new members to our number, as well as a prisoner. Cannonball, Dead End will give you our co-ordinates. You are to take a lengthy path around and watch us from a distance. If you see Autobot interferers, show up and chase us off. You even have permission to shoot at me, if you fire with a low charge." To Hook, he said, "Hook, once Cannonball is fitted and ready to depart, lead the others ahead." Finally, Starscream walked over to Fleetwind. "Fleetwind, you're my bodyguard. We have new Decepticons to meet and greet. Come along." He didn't wait for a response from Fleetwind, he just transformed, knowing Fleetwind would follow. If he knew what was good for him.

[Fleetwind]

OOC: Yes, I'm posting out of turn, but just to say that after gaping with shock when Starscream calls him his 'bodyguard,' Fleetwind will transform and follow him right out of the thread! Therefore, there's really no need to wait up on me when my turns comes up this round, and instead we'll go straight from Starfighter to Demolishor (unless something else gets switched up, too). Right now, it's still Dem up.

[Demolishor]

Demolishor, meanwhile, is going through a number of odd expressions as he listens to what Dead End and Fleetwind have to say about the atrocious situation facing their Decepticons. Without Megatron, how can you even have a Decepticon army?

"Right, right. Following Hook." He makes a short, curt nod. Obeying, but hardly subservient.

[Sky-byte]

Sky-byte, utterly clueless and once again left in the dark, watches dubiously as Starscream orders his rather ingenious plan to infiltrate the Autobot ranks. Now that's something he could admire. If Cannonball can pull such a thing off, Sky-byte might have to start envying the other transformer as an actor! But it obviously won't work because Decepticons are such dimwitted self-centered idiots...right? Well, at least, that's what Sky-byte wanted to happen anyways. Why not send him with his superior acting skills? Obviously the thought had not yet occurred to him that Autobots are just as the name implies: mostly cars and other vehicles. Not cyberkinetic sharks.

Grumbling ever so slightly under his breath, Sky-byte watched as Starscream and the leader's new bodyguard flew away. Oh yes, follow Hook.

[Cannonball]

Cannonball nodded, grinning a bit. The possibility of getting to shoot at the flying blowhard was sweet motivation. He turns, heading over toward Hook. "If'n it ain' much trouble, ye s'pose ye can paint over me eyepatch?" he asked, motioning to the big gray area that made up the side of his face. His face then took a thoughtful look. "Wot aboot paintin' me up like someone else?"

[Dead End]

Dead End looks up at the Cybershark; his tone is slow and thoughtful as he says, "Say, what's your carrying capacity? Do you have extra cargo-space, perhaps? What about you, Demolishor?"

Dead End still doesn't want to tow that cargo trailer.

"Hmm, Cannonball is going off to recon and infiltrate--that's Breakdown's job, by the way, so that leaves me, Demolishor, Sky-byte, and Starfighter with Hook. Hook, which one do you want to fly air cover--the floater or the flyer?"