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Post by Needlenose on Jul 24, 2007 16:02:50 GMT -5
Even Needlenose's optics widen in shock as his attack does visible damage to the giant. It's not that he doesn't know how powerful they are right now (although a part of him expects that power to fade with every shot). It's that he's honestly surprised he managed to connect in one shot, even against a target like Omega Supreme!
Way to go, Ziggy! he thinks.
Stop calling me 'Ziggy'!
He has little time to enjoy his victory, however, when Omega Supreme returns fire, and damn it! He had left too much of himself visible from beyond the cover! One shot rips off the end of his left wing, causing him to howl in pain even as he hits the ground and covers his head. The others blast up enough dirt and rocks to bury him.
And then Starscream orders him to fire again.
//I will,// he grunts as he starts to push a rather large, flat boulder off him, //as soon as I get out from under this scrap.// He must admit, he's finding that task easier than expected. Even his strength has been enhanced.
Well, if this is some new method the Autobots are trying out to finish off Decepticon prisoners, he has three words for that.
Worst. Poison. Ever.
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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 Jul 24, 2007 16:13:39 GMT -5
So... Fleetwind's shots are getting ignored. That's okay! Much better than being not being ignored, in a situation like this! The yellow Seeker turns around and flies in for a second run, once more sticking on the rocket side, opposite the tank, if possible, once more pulling up at the last moment.
He doesn't figure he has much longer, so better make this look good while it last.
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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 Jul 24, 2007 23:56:09 GMT -5
Starscream, as an F-15, roared into the area of Omega Supreme. "Not used to opponents who can engage you on your own level are you, you oversized toaster-oven?" Starscream fired a cluster-bomb at Omega, aiming roughly for where he saw Needlenose strike him. Not that a cluster-bomb requires any great amount of precision, but still. Starscream was elated at how this was panning out, though. With Needlenose, he will become the leader that slew Omega Supreme!
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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 Jul 25, 2007 10:56:18 GMT -5
Dead End drives at full acceleration toward the southern edge of the mesa, mowing down flowers that get in his way--and keeps on going. As he plummets off the edge, he sweeps with his radar.
It's a long fall off that tall mesa, long enough to get several very informative sweeps. Finally, he transforms and engages his lifters, re-directing his momentum into head-long flight just above the suddenly near-by desert floor. He's moving much faster than he could normally fly, but it won't last.
The top of the mesa on down gave Dead End a view he wouldn't have from down here. There, impossible to miss, is Omega Supreme; there is Needlenose digging himself out, there are Starscream, Fleetwind and Skyfighter is hurrying to join them; beyond the Autobot behemoth two figures battle, one in white, one in gray-green; off at another angle, a large lime green truck trundles across the desert.
Dead End smiles grimly behind his battle mask. He's spotted his target. He circles Omega Supreme widely, flying while the extra acceleration lasts, hugging the nap of the earth, putting every outcropping and sandhill he can see along his course between him and the Cybertronian behemoth.
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Omega Supreme
Minor
Shorter and Coloured Funny but Still Angry as the Pit
Posts: 456
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Post by Omega Supreme on Jul 25, 2007 18:54:14 GMT -5
The rustling in the rocks goes unnoticed for now, as pain blots out what higher functions that Omega Supreme possesses.
Fleetwind would have better luck if he grabbed a rock, walked up to Omega Supreme, and repeatedly smacked the rock into the side of Omega Supreme, but he'd probably end up breaking the rock. As it is, the Seeker is just wasting his fuel trying to shoot the Guardian.
The cluster bomb does very little. The damage seems mainly cosmetic, and Omega Supreme has never prided himself on his looks. Conventional explosives, feh. They mean nothing to him.
Dead End gets a second look for one reason: to see if his surly brothers are there with him. They are not. Irrelevant, then!
As soon as Perceptor is out with the dragon, Omega Supreme retracts his ramp and snaps shut his doors. His transformation begins. Gears grind, like a maddening millstone. They mesh and spin, wheeling to an inexorable conclusion. Adamant pistons pump, and the crash and froth of compressed hydraulic fluid is audible, even over the general rumble. Air roars out of his frame, forced out as the defense base contorts and reconfigures. Solids booms resound from his frame as disparate components that seem as if they could never go together slot into each other. Piecemeal, he is formed, nearly as much of an insane jigsaw puzzle as his ancient enemy.
There is even the jingle and squish of paint cans as they are crushed by his transformation. His interior is going to look like it was redecorated by rabid hippies.
Omega Supreme stands once more. He is wounded, his arm showing a nasty gash, but he is far from out of the battle. Omega Supreme bellows and thrusts his claw arm through the air, aiming to bat Starscream out of it. He doesn't know who his assailant was, and he can't see Hook. Starscream will just have to do.
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Post by Needlenose on Jul 25, 2007 19:27:56 GMT -5
Needlenose finally unburies himself and peeks over his cover. Damn it. He's mobile! The fashionista of doom looks around the battlefield, and considers relocating before firing another shot. On the one hand, firing more than once from the same location will give him something more to lock on. On the other hand, running about on a battlefield is more likely to draw attention.
And on the third hand, Omega Supreme is going after Starscream. All right! Time to move!
Needlenose jumps out from behind his cover and actually runs towards Omega Supreme in a random, zigzagy pattern. This gives him a better look at the group leaving him... Long Haul got rebuilt? But he doesn't have time to examine the party closely before he dives into the impact furrow itself, rolls when he hits, and, once he's facing upward, fires once more.
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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 Jul 25, 2007 19:57:51 GMT -5
Now. Let's examine what Fleetwind is accomplishing:
(1) He is following orders, thus lessoning the chances that he will draw Starscream's ire (although not eliminating them completely, because Starscream's pretty ireful).
(2) He is doing so in such a manner that Omega Supreme is neither likely to notice nor pay much attention to.
The combination of these two means he is by no means wasting fuel, and is, in the meanwhile, about as safe as a Seeker battling a nigh-indestructible Autobot Guardian can be!
(But speaking of Guardians... sure, it took a lot of effort, but didn't they used to occasionally beat these guys before gestalts? Whose bright idea was it to enhance Omega Supreme's armor, anyway? Should we be blaming the guys in lime green?)
As Omega Supreme transforms, the Seeker alters his angle of approach. His enemy has more weaponry in this mode, after all. After some consideration, he swerves, tilts, and dives, then comes in at Omega Supreme from behind, and... yes, he's hitting below the waist.
In fact, Fleetwind is blasting butt.
From this angle, it would be awkward for the giant to aim any weapon at the pastel wonder, including the turret on his head. Meanwhile, he continues his "futile" attack. Really, he's not going to knock the Guardian down, and doesn't expect to. He's mostly just doing busy work until either someone else knocks the Guardian down, or it's time to run away.
What else are Generic Background Seekers for?
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Post by Starfighter on Jul 25, 2007 21:10:30 GMT -5
And Starfighter's finally returned to the battlefield, although he's not going to pretend that he likes it. Omega Supreme had gotten even more scary, but on the flip side he's got several more important flies to swat at.
Fleetwind seemed to have the right idea as regarded actual shooting without getting shot at. Starfighter circled around, keeping a lot of space between himself and the giant as he moved, turning and shooting only when he was fully behind him and safely away from Starscream.
The back of his knees seemed to be as good a target as any; this guy was a fortress.
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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 Jul 25, 2007 21:38:38 GMT -5
*CLUNK*
Omega's claw arm struck Starscream's wing, sending spinning through the sky. Starscream couldn't manage to stabilize, and so he transformed back into robot mode. After spiralling a few more times, his anti-gravity units managed to right himself. His left wing and part of his back had a decent dent in them.
"That's the best you can do?" Starscream taunted. "The mighty Omega Supreme, limited to some crude flailing of limbs?" Despite his bravado, Starscream did NOT want that to happen again, and ascended and fell back at the same time. Levelling an arm-rifle at Omega, Starscream fired a full-charge null ray blast. Hopefully, it would get him in his head.
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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 Jul 25, 2007 21:40:56 GMT -5
Momentum spent, Dead End transforms and hits the ground on all four tires, then guns his engine, continuing to circle Omega Supreme widely--very widely. His target is further south. He kicks up a cloud of dust as he speeds across the desert terrain.
OOC: And Dead End drives over to Kup & Wreckage's thread
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Post by Skystrike/Skylar Stringers on Jul 25, 2007 22:24:47 GMT -5
The wind screaming past her, Skystrike streaked down from the sky at a speed well past that of sound, diving straight towards the giant’s helm. She needed to if she was hoping to even scratch Omega Supreme’s armor.
A pair of missiles slid out of subspace, armed and ready. Without further hesitation, they were fired, the velocity from the jet carrying them on at the dizzying speed as the flier pulled away. Skystrike doubted that they would do much harm, even if the projectiles going at supersonic. Omega Supreme was a space shuttle after all, his armor was probably built to withstand small asteroid impacts. While they may lack the capacity to damage however, the resulting explosions should hopefully still be enough to at least temporarily blind the gaurdian.
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Omega Supreme
Minor
Shorter and Coloured Funny but Still Angry as the Pit
Posts: 456
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Post by Omega Supreme on Jul 26, 2007 8:46:02 GMT -5
Omega Supreme moves after he swats at Starscream, and with a decisiveness that seems off on his plodding frame, he wrenches free a large section of the butte that supports that power plant. Anyone inside should be able to feel it, for certain. He then ratchets back to face the fray, holding out the massive slab of rock in front of him like a shield.
He's just in time for the rock slab to take the full force of Needlenose's firepower. The rock is vapourised at the site of the impact, but at the edges, it merely shatters, sending rock shrapnel and thick, clotting dust flying absolutely everywhere. In the localised climate for those Decepticons unfortunate enough to be around Omega Supreme, the meteorologist predicts dust storms and a high chance of getting clonked in the head with a fast-moving rock.
Fleetwind and Starfighter pepper Omega Supreme with shots in a devious display of busy-work that would be quite commendable by the star of Catch-22 or a certain Discworldian wizard, but he doesn't have time to care about them. He has bigger fish to fry. Omega Supreme still hasn't quite picked out who shot him, and he's gone and made the visibility even worse now.
Then Omega Supreme is shot in the head by one of Starscream's null rays. Har har, it's not like Omega Supreme uses his head for anything, is it? Unfortunately, he does. He has a gun on the back of his head! The prickly, paralysed feeling spreads, and Omega Supreme is stuck, a statue cast in grey and orange, shedding a shadow like a tombstone.
However, he has quadruply redundant systems in most places, and it's just the top layer of systems that are locked up by the null rays. A sharp enough jolt will be enough to kick him into using his secondary circuitry instead of his currently frozen primary systems, with his tertiary and quaternary systems still in reserve.
Skystrike's missiles, insignificant as they are, provide that jolt. Who would have thought he'd ever be thankful for damage? Slowly, his systems begin the switch-over. He glares balefully at Starscream as he unthaws. Omega Supreme snarls, "Starscream: undeserving."
But if Starcream wants Omega Supreme's best, he can have it. There is a sickening whine as Omega Supreme's main cannon starts charging.
Y'all better start running.
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Post by Needlenose on Jul 26, 2007 11:00:34 GMT -5
Needlenose throws out a few choice curses in about three different languages as his shot hits the hunk of plateau and a debris field fills the sky, blotting out the sunlight. Sunbeam's designed to automatically lower when his primary charge source becomes unavailable, in order to keep blasting longer.
Oh, his weapons will still pack a punch. But there'll be a noticeable difference.
He runs a little ways down the impact gouge (bringing him farther away from the efforts to move Jazz to safety) before he fires his next shot, and then scrambles far enough out of it to peek over the edge. He lays both arms lengthwise over it and takes aim once more, this time at Omega Supreme's feet.
Hot foot!
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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 Jul 26, 2007 11:06:11 GMT -5
Uh-oh! Time to reconsider his strategy! Fleetwind transforms when his immediate surroundings are filled with rocks and dust, moving to his slower but more stable and maneuverable form. He flies, however, not away, but straight up, taking several dents and dings along his wings from airborne stones. Once he's finally cleared the cloud, he transforms again and continues to rise, spinning as he goes up to shake the dust off faster before returning, once more, to robot mode. And from there, he hovers and looks down, surveying the battle below to consider where he could either do the most good, or at the least, where he can look like he's putting forth a proper effort without undue risk to his own existence.
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Post by Starfighter on Jul 26, 2007 12:12:02 GMT -5
Notgoodnotgoodnotgood. Starfighter swoops off, retreating until he's out of the main thick of the battle and still behind the towering Autobot. The debris is making it hard to see the rest of the battle properly, and the vague shapes moving in the dust are only making him more nervous. He takes comfort in the fact that if Omega Supreme was walking towards him, he'd certainly hear him coming.
In the middle of the general chaos and peopel yelling at each other, Starfighter manages to hear his own name and an offer of a possible reprieve from playing mosquito to Omega Supreme's elephant.
//Long Haul, right? Where do you need me, sir?// What the heck was going on with that, anyway? Reprogramming or a sudden and disturbing change of allegiances to save his own wheels?
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