Makes Bath Time So Much Fun

[Dark Skyfire]

Skyfire is beginning to get a little dizzy. One day he'll have a conversation with a mech, one on one. It would possibly feel just a bit less like the night after an overcharge.

"Please don't do that," Skyfire yelps as Gigatron snaps the strut. "It delays your recovery. You're in a...," how to put this delicately, "rather minimally functional condition and new injuries at this point...?"

"What catharsis is that," he says, switching tactics, talking to Gigatron and Hellbender. "If you argue that our kind enjoy combat, I won't--can't--argue. But it seems, like you imply, uneven. Who fights? Who dies? Not the wealthy." OH, Skyfire has no problem with conquest and imperialism. As long as the imperialists are worthy. The world Gigatron seems to describe sounds hopelessly corrupt. They did not deserve the luxury. They hadn't earned it.

He would continue in that vein, except for that shot from Shockwave, that sizzled past his chassis. What did he just say about extra injuries!!? He steps closer to Gigatron, if for no other reason than to block another shot.

[Overlord]

In Overlord's opinion, Unicron is trying too hard. One doesn't need to be that big just to kill a planet. No, the size is purely for intimidation value, to bring a cloud of despair down upon his victims, so that Unicron may feed upon their fear before he takes their lives. It's rather inelegant, still. He could go on about that.

Overlord could go on about the illegality of the gladiatorial games, too.

Instead, he has a sucking chest wound, thanks to that tinfoil they gave him for temporary armour. Overlord inhales some air as coolant, a sharp ragged sound, but he does not cry out at the gaping wound. Instead, he sits up a bit and puts his hand clean through his chest, fingers wiggling on the other side. Overlord gives Skyfire a speculative look, when the big shuttle tries to act protective. Oh, is that where the scientist hides his fangs? Threaten a 'comrade' and the claws will come out? Perhaps there's a Decepticon buried in there somewhere, after all.

Then he taps his sub-neural circuits, the ones that let him create weaponry suited to any situation, and punches in an override to force his systems to produce and chamber a new set of rounds in his hap cannon, taking away from his healing for the time being. Some rather special mini-missiles are chambered and launched. Belatedly, he suggests, "Heads down," but it's only a formality.

They're guided mini-missiles, and they're going to seek out every single projector in this room, save one. If they connect and work properly, holo-Shockwave's going to be reduced down to just one projector, making him a hollow image with no solidity at all and no capacity to shoot back again. It won't get rid of him, but it isn't meant to. It's a pure Pit-fighting move, something meant to leave the enemy weakened but alive enough for a final bow.

Courtesy of that crater in his chest, a little energon dribbles down to his chin as he speaks, "It's always uneven, Skyfire, and the high ground's always shifting. That is life."

[Hellbender]

"Skyfire, if the fragger wants to maim himself, that's his own lookout," Hellbender starts to gently chide Dark Skyfire.

Hellbender rears up from his bath when the shooting starts and roars at Not-Shockwave, water pouring off of him. "You! Holo-wave! No shooting Decepticons without orders, and Ah mean direct orders from Command!"

Then there's missiles whizzing by and exploding. Hellbender's furious gaze turns toward 'Gigatron'. "Slaggit, Ah thought you were brighter than to go using explosive rounds inside the slagging ship! You blow holes in the wrong thing, it's a long fraggin' walk to the nearest planet! What the slag do you think you're doing?"

[Victoria Raines]

Again, Not-Shockwave does not react immediately to the words and shouts of the others in the room. He does not react as Overlord's missiles seek out and destroy three-quarters of the holo-emitters in the room. Rather than the one which Overlord wished to leave, however, three actually survive, though those three missiles certain detonate against something just in front of them. Something to puzzle on, no?

The construct cocks his head as he studies Overlord. That the badly-damaged mechanism in the CR chamber is the only one that matters to Not-Shockwave at the moment is rather obvious.

"That was an excellent tactical move, and a most intriguing one. I do not believe that such armament was included in your medical files. Are you possessed of the ability of spontaneous weaponry creation?"

Now the construct does look down at the other two Decepticons. "His rounds were not strong enough to do crippling damage to the ship. They were, in fact, at just high enough a power level to do what he wished and no more. You," Shockwave's gaze swivels toward Skyfire, "Have more in common with your Autobot namesake than I at first thought."

To Hellbender, the construct says, "I have very clear orders from Command, and I continue to work within their parameters."

After catching any replies, Not-Shockwave winks out of existence and out of the thread.

[Dark Skyfire]

Skyfire's been in enough combat to hear a weapon powering up, so he takes Overlord's warning seriously, ducking down as the rounds fire around him.

"No," Skyfire snaps at Hellbender. And immediately regrets his temper. "When I'm in charge of a mech's recovery, maiming himself is not allowed." He really would like to actually make a good impression on his new command at some point. But he lets Hellbender do most of the yelling. It's redundant here, and Gigatron is responding to him as a reasonable mech.

Which means he can be reasoned with. "You must concentrate on your recovery and stop shifting energy to non-repair systems. Surely you want to be functional, sooner than later?"
See? Reason.

He twitches at Shockwave's comment. He has no idea what that means, but he gathers it hurts. "I'm," he says quietly, though Shockwave's already gone, "no Autobot." Never.

[Overlord]

Hellbender presumes to lecture him? How droll. Overlord makes no excuses for what he did; he is not ashamed.

"I'm functional now," Overlord corrects, "but I suppose that being overkill again would be nice." He sinks himself back down into the CR bath, letting it wash over his wounds, tickling him with that curious numbness, like forgetfulness born of the blessed waters of Lethe.

It's true, though, this sucking chest wound really will be more interesting to watch heal than the little broken finger strut. If Overlord ever happens to inflict such craters upon some victims, he'd like to know how long it'll take before they're back up - so he can knock them down again.

[Hellbender]

Hellbender's optics narrow again as he glares at 'Gigatron'.

As far as Hellbender knows, 'Gigatron' is a newbie in Medical/Engineering with no special rank, whereas Hellbender is 2IC, Ground Forces, and was a squad leader for years. Slag yes, he'll verbally rip a new one on the newcomer that tries to outdo Lugnut in the 'Stupid, Destructive Slag You Shouldn't Do On Board Ship' category! His mood isn't helped by the growing certainty that 'Gigatron' is another slag-stirring glitchhead like Slugslinger or Tarantulas--only this one is a lot more powerful. And Shockwave is missing.

Hellbender rumbles. "'Spose you got a point, Skyfire, 'bout wasting Medical's resources." He glares up at Gigatron again--there's no arguing with Holo-wave, as he's vanished.

"Do you think you can cut the shenanigans until you're fully repaired and can work it out in the sim room?" Hellbender growls. "Ah dunno about where you came from, but we don't have what you call unlimited resources aboard ship, an' repairing things you break for fun ain't what you might call an efficient use of those resources."

[Dark Skyfire]

Skyfire nods. Perhaps coming from Hellbender, the lecture carried more weight. Skyfire has no idea why, with his size, no one seems to listen to him. He thinks he's a bit hard to ignore.

Gigatron's words are alarming. "Overkill?" He frowns. "Gigatron, that's not what we do here. Especially not to fellow Decepticons. Especially not to yourself." Seriously, what is wrong with you, Gigatron?

And then it hits him. Gigatron's arrival must have unhinged him. He leans closer, pitching his voice quietly, sympathetically. "Gigatron. Do you need to speak to a counselor?"

[Overlord]

Overlord stares at Hellbender like Hellbender is completely detached from reality. He gives Skyfire exactly the same look. Just... what? These people are weird. Overlord mutters under his exhaust, "Note to self: locals are irrationally attached to holo-projectors."

He feels awfully tired. Getting a hole shot through one's torso tend to be a draining experience, in the best of times. Overlord sinks deeper into the CR pool. He ought to kill them both, he thinks.

But now he's drifting off into defrag, into dreams where the peoples near Spensifax B burn and burn and burn, underwater, the smoke distorted by the ripple of the waves. He can't summon any of his weapons, because they all turn to harpoons in his hands, and the harpoons pin through his wrists and drag him down deeper into the water. The sun has the face of Megatron, and the sky will burn.

---

OOC: Out of thread due to falling asleep. Well. He's still there. But he's defragmenting and won't be doing anything but zonk and heal.

[Hellbender]

Hellbender has been touchy about people causing explosions inside the ship ever since Lugnut's little fit with the POKE, and he doesn't like 'Gigatron'. Something about the guy sticks in his craw; maybe it's the condescending attitude.

...however, Gigatron seems to have dropped into defrag. Good, he won't be shooting things or people up that way. Hellbender turns to Skyfire. "Looks like he's taking your advice. I've had enough of the pool for now; have fun," he rumbles as he heads for the door.

----
Out of thread unless stopped