Skyfire
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Post by Skyfire on Jun 15, 2011 15:20:12 GMT -5
On approach, Skyfire gets a much better look at the derelict--for derelict it appears to be. Huge gaps and tears edged with twisted metal scar the ship, and random pieces of metal cling to the ship, possibly covering even bigger gaps. Part of what looks like some other vessel's engine nacelle and support pylon is wedged into the nose, and there are other pieces of flotsam jammed like twisted wedges into this ship's hull. Has it been ramming other ships? Better hope it does not make a run at the Event Horizon; it's big enough to total the Autobot ship.
Worst of all, there are dead Lithones chained to the hull, all faded and dead. Orange smears splash over everything, flotsam and dead alike. Some of the bodies chained to the ship sway as the ghost ship shudders and moves erratically, almost life-like. Their faces are gouged, their armour peeled back to reveal their wiring. They look like they turn into shuttles, all of them--but Lithones don't transform, it must be a trick of the light. Or do they?
"There's nothing air-breathing in that vessel unless they are in some kind of environmental support unit or suit," Skyfire observes. "The derelict is still maneuvering--possibly an automatic evasion program, but with reduced functionality due to the ship's condition. Also, someone over there has put on quite the demoralization display. Be on your guard."
He's learned that much from studying the archives on the people he escaped from--it's the sort of thing Decepticons would do to break enemy morale. This is not the known Decepticon ship, however--but they'd only assumed that the arrivals on Gillanan were the only Transformers in existence. Decepticons weren't the only evil in the universe, either. Whoever had... decorated that ship wasn't nice people.
In spite of the forboding appearance of the derelict, Skyfire drops off the bow and stern teams without incident, maneuvering carefully to avoid projections of twisted metal and broken beams. Once the teams are away, Skyfire pulls far enough away from the nightmare ship to avoid its navigational hazards and drifts around it in a tight orbit. His cannon are deployed and ready.
// Jetstorm, Jetfire, stay alert. I expect trouble, // is all he says. Meanwhile, he follows his own advice, scanning every inch of the derelict's exterior and recording it, looking for anomalies... especially the kind with weapons that move.
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Post by Jetstorm (Ani) on Jun 15, 2011 20:35:03 GMT -5
Jetstorm has been swooping around the ship, and once he's made sure that there's nothing immediately harmful on the outside of the ship, he comes up near what seems to be the front and transforms. He's rather visibly distressed by the look of the ship. //Y-yes sir, Skyfire-sir. Definitely on the guard, because this ship is being the creepiest thing...//
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Post by Jetfire (Ani) on Jun 15, 2011 20:55:19 GMT -5
Jetfire has been doing his best to keep one optic on the ship, one optic on Skyfire, and one optic on Jetstorm. Considering that he's in a mode with no optics, this is an especially tricky feat!
When Skyfire gives his orders, he transforms back to robot-mode and pops him a salute to compliment his brother's affirmation. Flipping back into jet-mode, he moves to his brother's side for a moment, and agrees, //The most creepiest.// Then he noses forward to get a better look at one of those swaying Lithones.
This ship is probably the most horrible thing he's seen in his life.
//I am very much doubting this to be honoured sacrificing,// he says weakly.
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on Jun 15, 2011 22:30:37 GMT -5
Skyfire is silent for several orbits. Finally, he replies, // It's meant to be creepy. That kind of... display is meant to distract, demoralize and terrify. It's not a sacrifice, it's camouflage and psyops in one. It's also a statement of sorts, and it tells you something about whoever controls or controlled this ship. //
The white shuttle rolls, orbiting with his wings edge-on to the ship now. // Now that you know what that is intended to do, firm your will against it. If there still are enemies on this ship, don't play their game by letting it distract you or demoralize you. // He stops speaking for another few orbits, but the restrained anger in his voice lingers.
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Post by SceneMod on Jun 16, 2011 21:14:17 GMT -5
Closer investigation of the bodies will show that not all of them are Lithonian. Some are other robot species, and some of the more desiccated and damaged corpses are even organic, some kind of insectoid like a great half-zinc dragonfly hanging here; a battered B'len-Tog over there. The Lithonian corpses have the most micrometeorite pitting, which would seem to suggest that they're the oldest, and some of the other corpses are newer.
However, looking at the gouges on the bodies, some of the rending might have been done with a knife or a saw, but some damage looks to have been done with fingers, fingers that match the size and shape of the Lithonian dead's fingers. There are also bites, and looking at the dental work of some of the Lithonian corpses, it would seem like those bites on the bodies were most likely Lithonian-inflicted.
Checking out the engines, at first, they look like a non-functional mess, but look longer, and looks are deceiving. The engines are quite functional. They've been stripped off all safeties, so while they're dangerous to operate and be around, they're much faster than their normal specifications.
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Post by Jetstorm (Ani) on Jun 19, 2011 17:22:33 GMT -5
Jetstorm maneuvers up close - granted, he's doing so rather slowly, because this stuff is pretty darn creepy. Truest form of morbid curiosity ever.
//...the not-Lithonian bodies on the hull look... ch-chewed on,// Jetstorm puts out on both immediate radio and the EG band.
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Post by Jetfire (Ani) on Jun 21, 2011 12:47:36 GMT -5
Jetfire retreats back to Jetstorm's side for moral support, transforming back to bot-mode and floating close enough to almost knock a shoulder against him. He's feeling rather queasy. He's barely experienced the usual horrors of war, let alone something like this!
//We will be the firm!// he says to Skyfire, not quite managing to hide a slight tremor in his voice.
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on Jun 21, 2011 15:37:32 GMT -5
// Steady, Jetstorm, Jetfire. It's meant to scare and upset you; don't let it stop you. We know whoever did this is bad to the core, so focus on the tasks at hand, keep alert, // Skyfire says in what he intends to be a reassuring tone.
// I think this is a trap, and I expect an ambush from that not-so-derelict, so be ready. I know that makes things tense, but there's a trick to it: wait calmly but fully alert. // Skyfire banks and dips, abruptly changing his previously predictable orbit around the 'derelict'. As he tries to teach the twins, one part of his CPU is busy calculating a firing solution on what should be a vital piece of the derelict's engines, just in case.
// Prepare your procedures ahead of time; figure out what you're going to do if the derelict sprouts hidden guns and fires on us, or if soldiers come out of hatches or from out of the blind side and attack. What if it launches space fighters on the side hidden from us that loop around and attack? What if any of our teams calls for help because they are being attacked? What if this ship suddenly powers up and attacks the Event Horizon? Decide what you'll do in those situations. Knowing you are prepared for many possibilities gives you confidence that you will do the right thing when you need to. Preparing for those many possiblities gives you practice in deciding what to do when things suddenly happen. //
A pause to let them assimilate what he said, then Skyfire adds, // When something happens, don't panic and do things at random, but take the milliseconds you need to evaluate what's actually happening and decide what to do--Look, then Think, then Act. Very few emergencies are so urgent that you can't look and think first, and for the ones that are that urgent, the answer is almost always "Dodge incoming!" Then look and think. //
// If you Look and the situation is one you've prepared for, Think of your plan and Act on it. If it's a new situation, Look to be sure what's going on, Think about how to handle it, then Act. //
Skyfire adds sheepishly, // And I'm probably repeating things Sentinel Prime has already taught you, but I thought it might be helpful to pass on what I learned about handling emergencies in space. //
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Post by SceneMod on Jun 22, 2011 22:14:03 GMT -5
Up close, where Jetstorm and Jetfire are, there's a smaller Lithonian lashed to the hull with spikes chains. She looks young, younger than even the Twins, though that's always hard to say with robots. Darkk orange tear streaks run down from her optics, like a weeping angel. Her features are soft and rounded, almost cherubic.
Then, like a Biblical cherubim - that fearsome creature of four faces and four wings, with straight feet with a sole like the sole of a calf's foot, and "hands of a man" under their wings: the face of a man, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle - her optics light with a golden wrath, her splintered wings mantle, and the dead child pulls away from the hull, the spikes chains trailing her. She flicks one chain at Jetfire's ankle and the other at Jetstorm's shoulder, aiming to impale them with the spikes and drag them in closer. Her cracked, split lips part to reveal orange-stained, jagged teeth.
All over the ship, Lithonian 'corpses' spring to malevolent life. Not all of the corpses, mind. Are they just waiting in the wings? Or are they dead for good? Gnaw on that thought for a while.
One transforms into a small shuttle and flings himself at Skyfire at a significant fractio of c, apparently intent on a hypervelocity ram to tear right through him.
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Post by Jetstorm (Ani) on Jun 23, 2011 19:23:19 GMT -5
Jetstorm is caught rather off-guard by the sudden movement, and though he attempts to move, the chain still catches him in the bicep area. He yelps, and in his moment of panic, he does manage to do one thing vaguely like what Skyfire suggested - he fires up his foot-jets, and tries to pull away from the thing.
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Post by Jetfire (Ani) on Jun 24, 2011 17:17:02 GMT -5
Jetfire cries out in surprise as the 'dead' Lithonians come alive, and pain lances through him as a spike pierces his ankle. His response is almost identical to Jetstorm's, the jets in his feet flaring brightly to life in an attempt to get away. At the same he reaches out to try and catch his twin's arm, because if he manages to make a break for it, he's taking his brother with him!
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on Jun 24, 2011 19:59:32 GMT -5
As the "dead" come to life, Skyfire radios a frantic warning and starts to arm his missiles. Skyfire expected something like this, but the attack on him comes in so fast the only answer is DODGE INCOMING! He rotates, presenting an narrow profile as he suddenly accelerates out of the way. He's in his element, expecting trouble, and he's the fastest thing Cybertron ever put in space--but it still clips a wingtip, sending a spray of composite alloy shards spiraling off into space. Fortunately he doesn't need intact airfoils in space. What it does to the Lithone Reaver, he doesn't see in detail--he's too busy pirouetting about his axis, trying to get a lock on its high-speed form. Skyfire's own high-speed maneuvering has taken him a good way from the Reaver ship, and his course starts arcing back even as he yaws sharply, bringing the attacking shuttle into line--he fires both proton cannon at it. Hopefully it explodes in a nice Bayesque spray of fire and debris, and Skyfire can go help the twins. // Jetfire, Jetstorm, watch your verticals as well as your six. This isn't like fighting in atmosphere--they can come at you from any angle, // Skyfire advises.
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Post by SceneMod on Jun 25, 2011 18:34:47 GMT -5
The chain on Jetstorm stays fast, but the chain on Jetfire slips. The Lithonian girl tries to reel Jetstorm in, perhaps playing a tug of war over him with his brother. A long, jagged, stained spike drops into her hand, and she twirls it idly through her fingers. She looks at Jetstorm and Jetfire like they're pieces of meat and she's a very, very starved piranha, licking at her cracked, split lips as her optics take in their nimble bodies.
The Lithonian that was trying to lawn dart Skyfire does explode. His fellows don't seem to care one whit. That said, a pair do try to flank Skyfire, one above and to the left, one below and to the right, both just ahead of him. They try to stretch a spiked chain between them that tear into Skyfire if he runs into it. SO they do have some concept of teamwork, even if they don't seem to mourn their dead.
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Post by Jetfire (Ani) on Jun 27, 2011 11:26:54 GMT -5
Skipping Jetstorm due to 24-hour time-out.
Jetfire is going to do his best to try and keep a grip on Jetstorm, shouting at the Lithonian girl - because he's from one of those universes where apparently in space people can hear you scream. "You cannot be having my brother, most horrible badness-bot!"
His temperature is spiking, radiating heat into the vacuum, and he flings out a hand to send a gout of flame towards their attacker. He needs to get them away from this monster and then try and help Skyfire!
//Will do!// he replies to Skyfire. And then Sentinel comes on the comms and reminds him that he's in charge of the group now. And what's that about fetching Optimus?
Oh slag.
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Skyfire
Major
I'm a scientist, not a....
Posts: 891
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Post by Skyfire on Jun 27, 2011 18:45:06 GMT -5
Skyfire rolls, easily slipping past the chain. Space has at least three dimensions; a chain only obstructs one. This has to be a distraction; surely not all their opponents were that clumsy? He tosses off a missile at each one and pitches as he heels around the derelict in a slingshot orbit so that he's facing the twins, sighting on Jetstorm's' opponent with one of his proton cannon*. If he gets a clear shot, he'll take it.
// Jetfire, how do you want to handle this? // Sentinel Prime made it clear the fiery youth was in charge of combat operations; Skyfire would defer to his not-quite namesake and advise as best he could. And shoot any of these maniacs that threatened them.
-- *Skyfire is obviously a Y-wing--twin cannon, twin missile launchers--but faster
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