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Post by SceneMod on Aug 9, 2007 13:08:32 GMT -5
OOC: This thread is being created for those who actually enter the mine. The Mine starting location is some distance in, but describes a sample of how the mine typically looks. While there is an obvious primary tumble, there are a number of smaller branch tunnels that are still large enough to allow Transformer entrance. There may be cave-ins, or unstable areas - players are free to add these for flavor, or Scenemod may interject them to spice things up.
Thundercracker's body, from just after he got dumped out of the shuttle, is somewhere between the arrival point in the Mine and the exit to the place. An examination of the spot where he is would show that he obviously crawled up from further in the mine before he died (there are trails of energon and other fluids, and perhaps the occasional broken-off piece of armor and such). Tracing this back far enough may yield the approximate location where he appeared in the mine.
Sky-Byte is the first character to have entered the mine. I will cut and paste the contents of his post below, and he is being added to the "Inside the Mine" thread in the rotations list and removed from the Survey list. Anyone else whose character will be exploring the mine are free to post in when they enter.
With not even concealed delight and relief, Sky-byte delivers the supplies to their appointed spot. His jaw feeling light and springy now that the dead weight is gone from them. Eagerly, he flips away towards the mines. As much distance as he can put between himself and those supplies the better. Time for some good old exploration of tunnels and such. This time without troublesome Autobots and their little humans (though Sky-byte definitely would not begrudge the humans). "To the mines we go then," Sky-byte says with a laugh as he launches himself towards an entrance. "Better keep your optics peeled! You never know what runs around in these depths." A silly snicker follows after as he dives in.
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Post by Starfighter on Aug 9, 2007 20:59:38 GMT -5
At least someone was being cheerful about all this mess. Starfighter wasn't.
He landed behind Sky-byte and peered into the mine nervously. He was a seeker. Seekers flew, they didn't crawl around in holes and there had to be a reason for that.
"Perhaps we had better go a bit slower. The mines could be unstable or there could be other...y'know, bad things. I'll bring up the rear."
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Aug 9, 2007 21:38:40 GMT -5
"Bah, be a robo-chicken then!"
Confidently, Sky-byte moves into the mines, activating any radars and sensors that he might have in order to aid in his movements in the dark. For a moment, he imagines himself swimming through the chilling, dark depths of the ocean. That imagery is quickly dispelled as it he brushes against a hard stone wall. So far, he sees nothing but winding tunnels. Taking a closer look though, Sky-byte spots a pair of tracks on the floor. Now what do we have here?
"Take a look at these tracks, I wonder what they might take us too..." he follows said tracks visually for a moment and frowns as he sees that they split off into many different directions further down the tunnel. Right about now, Sky-byte feels that having his tiny troop of sleazy, but obedient Predacons might be a bit useful. But he can make due with this Decepticon jet somehow. "Keep a record of the tunnels. We could use a map around here."
With that, Sky-byte sets off down on branch, fully expecting Starfighter to follow.
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Post by Starfighter on Aug 10, 2007 7:54:13 GMT -5
Starfighter emitted a small, almost inaudible whimper as he followed the cyber-shark in. His wings kept touching the walls and something deep inside him kept screaming about cave-ins and long slow leaking deaths from the barest of pinprick holes while his body was trapped under the rocks.
Why did he think it was a good idea to watch "Deep Darkness"? Starhealer had one of the most comprehensive horror movie collections on their side of the tower and it was really something he should have taken into account before settling down for a quiet evening.
"Do we have a specific plan of direction or are we just wandering?" he asked nervously, checking for some sort of markings or symbols on the mine walls. His datapad screen glowed softly, offering him something calming and well-lit to focus his attention on. Starfighter kept drawing on his grid, marking out tunnels and notes as best he could. But his notes were in a scraggly, shaky bit of Cybertronian shorthand.
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Aug 10, 2007 20:32:48 GMT -5
Sky-byte pays no attention to and has no idea about the discomfort of his companion. He doesn't even want to touch any ideas such as the ones that Starfighter has running through his mind. The last thing he needs is a chance to retouch on every single bad thing that can happen in a dark and foreboding mine that he's heard of in various human lore.
"Do you have any better ideas?" grunts Sky-byte as he comes to an abrupt stop in mid-air. Dead end, and he doesn't mean the Decepticon car. Further ahead, Sky-byte can make out the jagged shapes of fallen rock and rubble. This is one way that they won't be going for a bit...he doesn't feel like exerting any amount of energy ridding the blockage. Instead, he doubles back to the main tunnel, flicking his tail lightly at Starfighter to follow.
Next branch. Perhaps they should think about marking the ways they're going? Well, if Starfighter's notes and mapping is accurate enough they shouldn't have to worry. Bah, looks like a regular tunnel anyways. Well, a regular tunnel until he spots a greyed hand lying on the floor in the dark tunnel. A hand that's attached to an arm, which is attached to a body...a dead chill (no pun intended) creeps through Sky-byte and he skitters back as only a airborne shark can. Transforming, he lands on the ground, much closer to Starfighter than he had been before.
Nervously, he activates the backlights of his optics to get a better view. The dead bloke looks just like Starfighter! Minus the battle damages and dribbles of dried energon. But then again, most of those jet-formers from Starscream's universe look alike: Skystrike, Fleetwind, Starfighter, Starscream....how bland. "What do you suppose got to him?"
// I think we found another one of you jet Decepticons. Quite dead though... // he announces wryly over broadband.
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Post by Starfighter on Aug 10, 2007 22:14:33 GMT -5
A grid pattern would be the best option, really, or taking every left turn until they find all ways that have been blocked. But what does he know, he works a desk job.
Then Sky-byte stops and Starfighter nearly runs into his back. Stupid shark, probably found something rotting and edible to play with...
"Got to--oh no."
Starfighter sees the corpse over Sky-byte's shoulder before Sky-byte gets his message out over the comm, and his wings clatter against the mine wall as he shivers. Without colors or a visible face, that could be any member of his unit, his triad, it could be him and that's really the scariest part.
"I don't know," he says, practically whimpering. "But I think we should leave before we find out." Suddenly the walls of the mine seem to be a lot closer. Seekers are not mean to go down tunnels.
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Aug 10, 2007 23:10:01 GMT -5
"Mark his location down in the tunnels. We'll come back to get him after we're through," says Sky-byte with distaste tinging his voice as he edges around the corpse. If there's any way to get Starfighter to lug that corpse back out later, Sky-byte tries to find such a way. He's coming up short so far though. He doesn't let himself touch the blackened metal, there's no telling what killed that mech.
Warily, Sky-byte trails after the streaks of energon on the floor, bits of metal and flaked off paint filling in the empty spots in between. Needlenose's own arrival coordinates flashing off to the side, Sky-byte plods on. Maybe they can find something down here other than a base, some answers, perhaps, would be very nice. "We've got a job, let's do it. Keep your optics on and power up your sensors as high as they might go. And for your own sake, don't touch him." Sky-byte isn't saying this out of concern for Starfighter. Two individuals paying attention is better than one, and he's rather not catch anything from this corpse by way of a different Decepticon flier (if this corpse has anything potentially nasty or lethal on it).
Yeah, Sky-byte's looking out for his own hide. Better watch out then, Starfighter.
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Wreckage
Major
One of the Quiet Ones
Posts: 554
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Post by Wreckage on Aug 10, 2007 23:46:56 GMT -5
Wreckage pauses at the mine entrance as the news of a dead Decepticon sifts over the radio. He does not stop because the thought concerns him; death is familiar. The news, however, is not the sort one usually expects to hear while prospecting for a new base.
Well. Underground he shall go. He transforms before treading lightly into the darkness of the mines, moving slowly at first, one sword at the ready, one gun armed. If a warrior was killed here, there is a chance what killed him is still here. Wreckage listens for the others that went ahead, but the tunnels baffle directionality and the ambient sounds… air flow? The low hum masks other noise. He will have to take care.
The wan, fading light from the entrance behind him illuminates just enough, when he dials up the sensitivity of his optical cluster, to see one or two branches on either side while the main tunnel continues downward. His going is slow as he follows the path, detouring here or there to check a branch tunnel. There are strewn rocks and, in the second branch on his right, some abandoned machinery. He notes the location before moving on.
He may catch up with the others shortly. Hopefully, they are not the skittish sort.
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Post by Starfighter on Aug 11, 2007 9:36:13 GMT -5
Starfighter reluctantly sidestepped the corpse and followed Sky-byte onward, still shuddering as he put a tiny triangle on the map to mark the corpse's location. Every so often he 'accidentally' brushed against Sky-byte just to make sure he was still there.
All the troops back home knew the story of the seeker who checked every hour for the light of his partner's optics while they guarded a roadblock set up to catch an escaped psychopath. In the morning he'd found his partner staked to the wall with his own wings and the message 'psychos have optics too' carved into the wall next to him. And then, of course, he'd felt a cold clawed hand on his shoulder...
On this planet Starfighter wasn't taking chances with anything.
//Couldn't see properly in this light, sir. Could be anyone.// Starfighter said in answer to Starscream's question. //We're going in deeper.//
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Aug 11, 2007 11:28:19 GMT -5
If anyone asks Sky-byte about his opinion of these mines, he would heartily express his low opinions for them. Well, as long as that someone isn't Starscream or one of those close to the pompous jet. Thinking back on that body, Sky-byte decides to rule out death by virus. Unless said virus was twenty feet tall and could beat a mech to scrap before infecting it. Sky-byte hasn't seen many of those waltzing around. Now the question remains, was that jet put into such a condition before being pulled here...or after?
It seems that a bit of Starfighter's anxiety is rubbing off on Sky-byte. Speaking of the seeker, Sky-byte resists the urge to turn around and glare balefully at the other with every brush of contact he feels. He won't say that he's half-comforted to know that Starfighter is behind him. Someone else to watch his back and perhaps, take any blows. "You wouldn't happen to have any lights on you, would you?" Sky-byte asks. His own optical lights will only go so far.
He flinches from his musings as a mournful wail fills the air with eerie vibrations. The logical inputs tell him that this should be nothing more than wind gusting over tunnel openings. Sky-byte's more fantastical side conjures up old legend and ghost stories. It doesn't help that things are starting to get darker.
The sound of movement back towards the entrance of the mine makes Sky-byte stop yet again. "Who goes there?!"
The mines are howling, Sky-byte lacks useful headlights. No he is not scared.
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Wreckage
Major
One of the Quiet Ones
Posts: 554
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Post by Wreckage on Aug 11, 2007 22:35:34 GMT -5
Wreckage is, for the moment, stopped. Behind him, loosened stone cleaved itself from the wall he brushed past on his way down the tunnel and the noise has alerted those ahead. At least they are alert. Good. They should be. They are being followed.
In the brief moments when the moan of the tunnels is at its quietest, they may hear the low whir of machinery in motion. They can likely see, as he approaches nearer their position, a white shape moving – prowling, perhaps – in the darkness, some surfaces and edges limned in the red glow of his optics. He does not, however, respond to the shark's hail. Not immediately, by any count; he waits to close the distance. Idly, he finds himself somewhat curious – how must he look to them like this? Perhaps he will see it in their faces.
"I do," he intones once near enough to be audible. The shark makes an exceptionally bizarre-looking warrior, he decides, looming over it with a quick sidelong glance to the other, the flier. "You have a problem with this…?" If there is a problem, Wreckage is willing to rectify the matter. How he does this may hinge on the answer he receives.
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Post by Starfighter on Aug 11, 2007 23:32:19 GMT -5
Ever watch an old episode of Scooby Doo, when Scooby jumps into Shaggy's arms out of terror after seeing Old Man Jenkins in a bad monster costume?
That's what Starfighter's trying to do. He cowers behind Sky-byte, one of his gun-arms raised but too terrified to fire. The shark's got the extra muscle, and besides that he's got enough bulk to shield Starfighter through at least one round of laserfire.
Barring that he can dig himself out with Sky-byte's tail after the tunnel collapses.
OOC: At least it only ate half my post this time. *grumbles*
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Aug 12, 2007 5:47:55 GMT -5
Looking back towards the direction that they came in, Sky-byte can only see too well a darkened silhouette against the lighter backdrop of the main tunnel. Wreckage might be happy to know that his silent stalking is even more terrifying, or rather, making more terrifying his image. What is with all the Decepticons anyways and their hellish eye color? Speaking of other Decepticons, Starfighter's cowering is doing nothing to sooth Sky-byte's nerves! The large shark doesn't draw out any guns, he just completes the rest of the turn so he's fully facing the new arrival...just in case. The expression on his face looking more frustrated than scared, it's his poker face.
It's when the huge Decepticon draws near enough to be picked up by Sky-byte's eye-lights that he can see the other clearly. That doesn't mean he's any less paranoid. This Wreckage character is decidedly creepy. He makes Scourge looks like a day in the park when comparing the two's intimidation factor. Of course, the fact that Scourge has a sword more than half his own height might be the problem. How can anyone looks anything other ridiculous swinging around that sort of clumsy melee weapon? Okay, maybe Sky-byte's just thinking this to distract himself from the towering white tank.
"You! You are to announce yourself when asked to!" Sky-byte seems to forget that this isn't his group of Predacons anymore.
When prompted about the body he relaxes the barest bit. "There's no problem at the moment, but there shall be one once we return from mapping out the area. Unless you feel the urge to pull the body back out the mines yourself."
Sky-byte half-hopes that Wreckage might choose the latter. This is on con that he doesn't want trail behind or to be trailed behind by. He can go behind Starfighter.
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Wreckage
Major
One of the Quiet Ones
Posts: 554
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Post by Wreckage on Aug 12, 2007 17:34:09 GMT -5
The fibers of Wreckage's optics draw tight and dim slightly, and the small plates of his face shift to effect a narrowed, almost contemptuous look.
"I do not answer to you," he informs the shark, an undercurrent of archness to his voice. For Starfighter, he has nothing but a faint sense of mollification. Such satisfying reactions this one offers.
Wreckage briefly looks over the aforementioned body on the ground, nudging a stray bit of fractured plating in the dirt with the point of one foot, before settling his gaze on the other two Decepticons again. It may be no more than a trick of the optic backlights, but that could be the hint of a disgusted sneer tilting his mouth just so. Are they afraid of a lifeless, sparkless shell?
"Hn," he grunts noncommittally. He might have said 'pathetic' instead. "If you are afraid to carry it," his tone does not betray whether he thinks they are, though he does, "then I shall. Once I am finished here." Wreckage is not ordinarily curious about much beyond how to wring the sounds he wants from his victims, but he would like to be more certain of the layout here. It is only reasonable.
That in mind, he moves past them and continues downward, on the alert and moving cautiously; he will not be caught off-guard down here if he can help it.
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Post by Starfighter on Aug 12, 2007 20:16:52 GMT -5
Starfigher circled around as Wreckage moved past them, keeping Sky-byte between himself and the larger Transformer at all times. Being a Decepticon, he didn't trust Decepticons. Sky-byte, on the other hand, was a Predacon and thus subject to seperate rules and customs such as the habit of wandering around with odd things in his mouth. Anyone that willing to follow orders usually made a good shield, as they didn't think very much.
"Perhaps we could explore somewhere else?" he asked Sky-byte quietly once Wreckage had passed. "He seems to be doing a fine job on this passage, and there's plenty more for us to look at. By ourselves."
Being down here was terrifying enough. Being down here with Wreckage at his front was worse.
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