Survey of the Decepticon Base Site

[Hook]

Three or four days after the battle at the power station...

Hook rolls down the central street of the mining settlement, looking for all the world as if he was simply taking in the sights. But this is just a pre-preliminary survey - he wishes only for an idea of the land and possible materials before he goes up to examine the mine himself.

He has been on his wheels for the last several days, racing to the coordinates given and planning out the base would take advantage of the landscape and materials on hand. He had extracted as much information as possible from Needlenose on the location already, and the jets had been there and back to the mines several times already while he traveled. He had grilled them as well, and he felt he had an almost acceptable understanding of the landscape. However, he needed to see the place with his own two optics and windshield before he could truly begin making plans.

What he can see now pleases him. Much of this town is built of metal, except for what is built of ornamental stone. If the mines are as extensive as reported, he can build the bulk of the base within the mountains. Living quarters closest to the surface, or, in the case of the hangar, on the surface. Standard dome defenses. A workshop, a rec room, a machine shop...

Especially a workshop. He needs a place to examine the tiny, half-melted red-and-white body currently resting in his cab. It is delicately formed, small as a cassetticon but obviously not such a Transformer. He hasn't yet determined what it did transform into, but the mystery of its damages and the one perfectly untouched red hand intrigues him.

The detour to visit the arrival point in the plains and cross-section it for life had not been a waste of time, and he will argue strenuously with Starscream if the jet tries to tell him it was.

For now, he slowly wends his way from the town to the mine above.

[Starscream]

It's not long before the unmistakable sound of earth aircraft roaring in the sky could be heard. Starscream was heading towards the site on his own. It would still be a moment before he's close enough to land near Hook, but his jet engines herald his arrival before he's anywhere near him.

[Starfighter]

Well-repaired and far more confident in his prospects for survival, Starfighter flies on above the other two Decepticons. Scouting was far more relaxing than actual fighting, and he was beginning to get the hang of flying in wider areas again.

For all that he was a seeker, he rarely went flying back on Cybertron for anything besides recreation and the occasional short-range scouting mission. Anyone could fire a gun, but not everyone could comprehend Shockwave's filing system.

[Sky-byte]

Grumble, grumble, growl, growl. That's what Sky-byte honestly feels like doing by the time they finally come within sight to the mining town. Honestly, could it have taken longer? Sky-byte doesn't want that question answered. The only thing that's stopping him from quite vocally announcing his opinion is the large cargo of supplies still in his maw. The well-abused container looking a little more abused than well.

Honestly, if they are going to try to find a base, can't they do it quickly? Do they have to go on a little gallivanting journey along with? Sky-byte still doesn't know what to make of Hook's discovery. Its discovery did push back his complaints for a short while. A shark's got feelings for the small and unlucky too! But an open head-wound can only be ignored for so long and he's beginning to feel even more dirty and gritty with the days of travel.

So when they do come upon the town at long last. Sky-byte lets out a sigh of relief, most likely, a sigh that is quite audible to the others.

Now where's the water?

[Shortround]

Sky-Byte isn't the only one who sighs when they arrive. Shortround was a notorious coward in his own home dimension, and Hook's discovery didn't exactly put him in the least worried state he had been in since he had arrived here.

But now they were at the town! And a town implied one thing for Shortround: Toys. He hopes they find somewhere he can dump his explosive cargo, so he can pillage any toystores he can find. Toys of vanished civilisations are expensive, so if he can get them for free from the source...

No, Shortround does not realise that mining towns are the least likely place to find toys at.

[Hook]

Hook, instead of making his way to the mine, seems to be heading towards a large pole set up in the center of the town. There's no sense of urgency to his movements, despite the battered shark trailing along behind him. Honestly, if people haven't demanded repairs already, they're not going to die and they can wait a few more hours until he's actually ready to work.

He transforms at the pole, the cab with the body in it shifting down to the side of one of his feet. (Yes, his feet are asymmetrical.) He has applied a patch to his face, but it's just to keep the elements out. His leg still bears the mark of Perceptor's concussion rifle, and he's limping just slightly.

It's tall, about half again as tall as he is, and sturdily built. It stands alone in a central square, but it is rather functional and utilitarian looking. There seems to be a communications array atop of it, as well as spokes radiating out, equidistantly spaced. Probably not a monument then.

Hook raps his knuckles against the metal. "We'll have to come back to this."

---

After Hook actually gets himself up to the mines, he's going to set up to do repairs. PM me if anyone wants to do repair RP so I can make a thread for that.

[Starscream]

By about the time Hook had transformed and had started limping, Starscream had flown in and had Transformed nearby him. He recognized it as some form of communications device too. "Agreed."

Starscream was still unrepaired, though it was certainly nothing crucial. A few small dents (and, from where Omega Supreme hit him, a few LARGE dents,) and a couple of scorch marsk. He was only going to be repaired by the best on cybertron, and here he was.

"Get your tools and some energon out, Hook. I need a repair and a refuel." Apparently Starscream had other plans to the Constructicon.

[Starfighter]

Starfighter transformed a few moments after Starscream, landing on a nearby small hill next to...well, it might have been a building and it might have been an extremely unlikely pile of sticks. Someone was either crude or young.

As ordered, he listed names and timestamps of the various new arrivals, including the "Predacons". Blackarachnia he wasn't quite sure about yet.

[Sky-byte]

You try to live peacefully when dirt particles and what-not are shifting through wires and circuitry in your head. Sure it's not life-threatening, but it really impedes on one's concentration and attention span.

Whatever elated feeling he gets from hearing news about a new Predacon on the planet is promptly quashed when said Predacon dismisses his existence entirely. Ever since Earth, no one ever seems to take him seriously. What went wrong?

Sky-byte resists the urge to roll back his eyes as Starscream. Here comes Mr. All-Important, let all make room for his over-sized Decepticon ego. Not that Sky-byte's ego is any better. But he's a sensitive artist! One supposes that the sensitive part is what lends to his ego being perhaps much easier to beat back temporarily...

[Shortround]

Shortround passes what vaguely look like mass retail chains! SO close to beginning his hunt...

//So, where can I leave the energon for later storage?// Shortround asked over the shortwave. He wanted to find what this place used to sell, and then grab as much of it as he could fit into his subspace.

[Wreckage]

This may, in fact, be the most Wreckage has ever driven in the interval of only a few days. Quite the retreat Starscream ordered. He raises no complaint; in fact, he says very little at all during travel. At some point, he does take the time to rid himself of the sticky acid still making itself a nuisance to his repairs. Others near him may or may not take note as his regenerative functions move into effect. Lingering damage from the acid quickly fades; the pockmarks from laser fire take a bit longer.

By the time he reaches their destination, Wreckage is in rather good shape for having not seen to external aid for repairs. He has also decided the worlds from which these other Decepticons hail – whatever else they may be – must be heavy into the chemical influences. There is simply no other way to excuse the paint schemes.

There is, however, absolutely no explanation or excuse for the airborne fish.

[Hook]

Starscream is lucky that life with the other Constructicons has mostly beaten it into Hook that plans only exist unaltered for the first five minutes of their existence. If this was Onslaught, the white jet would likely be getting sulked at for making him change his plans.

Hook surveys the square, then points to a mostly clear area off to the side. "Over there, Starscream. The rest of you... Starfighter, get up to the mines and start making maps. I would like a general idea of the terrain around the mine entrance, as well as heights, widths, and such for the tunnels. Shortround, go over there and let Starscream take a few cubes, then head up to the mines. Sky-Byte, drop my supplies over there then join Shortround. The rest of you go up to the mines as well - that will likely be the sight of our new base and you might as well begin familiarizing yourself with the environment. When Dead End arrives, he will take care of placing the energon cubes in safe storage."

Guess who Hook trusts to keep properly handle something as important as where their next refueling comes from.

---

OOC: Duplicating this post as the first entry in a repair thread with Starscream. Sky-Byte and Shortround can pose in there to do what Hook asked of them or pose here. I'll follow either way.

[Fleetwind]

Fleetwind practically limps in the air heading towards his destination. He's had to fly the whole way in robot mode, which has been a painfully slow experience, even if he doesn't have to rely on his damaged wings for that. He's had no repairs en-route, but even non-snazzy-movie-ish Transformers have at least a basic automatic self-repair systems, and some of the internal circuitry has stitched itself back together. The gash given him by Skyblast is still there, and a few other laser holes exist, and he certainly needs a new paint job, although Fleetwind had, in all, done fairly well in the battle. His repairs certainly won't be a very high priority, unlike his passenger. Passengers, he mentally corrects.

He's not sure what problem Needlenose has with him. He's tried to be as polite as possible, being one who prefers to have as few people wanting to kill him as possible (especially people who can significantly damage Omega Supreme), but the non-transforming Transformer seems to be carrying some sort of grudge, even as Fleetwind carries him. It's made the trip awkward, to say the least.

And then there is that Autobot flier to contend with. Incredibly skilled and, to the Seeker's practiced optics, a frightening amount of raw agility. It's disconcerting. But the flying style is very showy, another thing Fleetwind recognizes... was that parting picture a display of his art?

Aerial dance is also showy, but there's something those few who do know about the dance tend to forget: aerial dance is art, but it is a martial art. It concerns itself not only with looking good, but with looking good while searching out weaknesses in other fliers, looking good while outlasting them. The Autobot flier may well be more agile than he, but most Autobots cannot fly in robot mode... if Fleetwind keeps his head and uses every trick at his disposal, he may yet have the edge.

Well, the metaphorical edge. Both Fleetwind and Skyblast have physical edges.

---

OOC: Fleetwind is NOT at the site yet, but he is nearing it. He's forced to fly SLOW at the moment.

[Needlenose]

Needlenose has spent the last few days being carried by Fleetwind. He's still being carried by Fleetwind. His arm is still mostly off-line, his one wing is still bent, his other wing is partially missing, and he. Is. Sulking. Spinister chided him! And approved of this blasted Seeker! And then Spinister left him! Him! It infuriated him, and the pastel Seeker's unceasing politeness only made matters worse.

His Nebulans have recharged in the interim, as they gain their charge from him while not in active use (well, Sunbeam is powered largely by solar energy, but he does receive a supplementary charge from Needlenose). He's even managed to scavenge them some food here and there for them. But he's been grumpy, and they've been grumpy, and the whole group has been mentally annoying each other.

One thing is certain to Needlenose: he has to get his transform fixed as soon as he possibly can!

---

OOC: Obviously will be joining when Fleetwind does.

[Dead End]

Dead End has spent several days speeding down the black metal road through the desert, back across the swamp causeway, across the expansive plains, over the broken bridge and up the northern road. His trip confirmed what he'd suspected--that northward road branching off from the Great Eastern Highway ran up into the hills and straight to the mining town.

He could have flown, but he was faster in car mode, and it was more fuel efficient, and... Dead End just preferred to drive. Seekers preferred to fly on their wings, Stunticons liked to drive. You liked doing what you were good at. Dead End idly conjectured as to whether that implied that Soundwave liked to sit around in a corner.

Presently, he arrived in the mining town and went looking for Hook. Or Starscream. Whichever he found first. Either one of them would certainly insist on telling him what to do, so he might as well get that over with.

// Dead End reporting in. Cargo is intact. I may need minor repairs. // His forcefields had the annoying habit of not auto-repairing.