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Divided
May 13, 2011 8:03:41 GMT -5
Post by Turmoil on May 13, 2011 8:03:41 GMT -5
Month 1, Week 4, Day 3, in the wee hours of the morning, Ship sim-room, Open to 'con ground and air divisions as well as observers by request.
Turmoil stood in a void, carefully inputting commands on a data-pad that floated before him. To be honest it wasn't much different than how he'd spent his time since day one of his time here; secluded away, filtering through all the personnel files. battle reports and general history he could access. Being a commander simply made the process easier. Thus it came as no surprise when the orders had come down from Lord Scourge and Starscream for a field test of their new divisions.
It was an obvious test of the commanders more so than the troops, that much was obvious to Turmoil. It was also a test in which Turmoil had a distinct disadvantage. Slugslinger had more time to acclimate and adjust to the often bizarre forms and natures of his fellow troops. Luckily, Turmoil had chosen well in deciding on Hellbender to be his second, the latter's report still freshly imprinted on his brain module. Turmoil also had one more advantage to play, his initiative in being the first to design and implement their staging ground within the sim-room, he would be the first to see it and the first to plan.
As he entered the last of his parameters, the data-pad vanished and the void rippled with its passing. The formless ground was given pitch depth, and texture. Cement, steel, dura-crete, and dirt. The Randomizer he'd programed snatched pieces of landscape from every city they had on record, laying them down in great swaths before ending abruptly to change into something new. But the horrible mash-up didn't end there as it moved on to the structures.
Buildings burst whole from the ground to claw at the dark heavens above. Terran skyscrapers stood side by side with the twisting battlements of Kaon and the glorious past monuments of Iacon, looking down on the worst of Pz-Zazzian slums. In this urban hell-scape Turmoil stood alone and looked up as the sky's twin sapphire suns appeared, out of place an yet blindingly bright in a blue sky.
Satisfied with his work, Turmoil called up the data-pad once more and set the room's entrance next to him. Now it was just a matter of alerting his troops, easy enough as he set his radio transmission to a priority alert.
//Attention Ground Forces, This is Turmoil. There will be a surprise inspection within the sim-room. You have eight kliks to be here.//
Satisfied, Turmoil narrowed his transition down to his flying counterpart.
//The staging area is ready Slugslinger. I hope you are as well.//
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Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
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Divided
May 13, 2011 8:18:48 GMT -5
Post by Hellbender on May 13, 2011 8:18:48 GMT -5
The sim-room entrance slid open and Hellbender stepped into the square beside Turmoil. He came to attention and gave his new commander a precise Decepticon salute. "Hellbender reporting for duty, sir."
His focus flicked from side to side as he took in the scenario area--a cityscape, and quite a muddled one. He hoped it had enough depth for him to use his special talents.
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Divided
May 13, 2011 8:48:25 GMT -5
Post by Slugslinger on May 13, 2011 8:48:25 GMT -5
He told Turmoil he was ready and waiting, and Slugslinger wasn't entirely lying – he's just waiting to botch this as badly as he can. He has no care for a demoralised group of fliers under his command when they lose; they'll get some other commander who actually gives a pip about leading a fighting force once he shakes this stupid gig and then he can get back to enjoying himself.
To that end, Slugslinger does not show up early so he can scope out the setup beforehand. He doesn't even show up before ground CO and Xo are on-scene. Maybe it'll be lazier and tackier of him than he thinks. He does stroll in at length, looking utterly bored with the whole grand mess.
And it is a mess; he makes a show of shading his optics from the twin suns to take in what he can of the cityscape from here, and he likes what he sees. Towers graceful and baleful – Cybertronian design elements, he muses, but nothing he specifically recognises offhand – abut Terran steel and glass monuments to cubicle farming. (That's what they call it, right?) Slums like the rat-hole where he found that disappointing little church on Pz-Zazz squat at the feet of soaring high-rises. Everything is mixed up and jumbled, mismatched pieces of landscape slapped together one beside the other like a divine hand plucked cut-outs from their respective milieu and set them down helter-skelter for amusement. It's a riot. It's gorgeous.
Slugslinger snorts to cover the purely jubilant laugh he can't swallow back into his vocal processor.
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Divided
May 13, 2011 12:28:06 GMT -5
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on May 13, 2011 12:28:06 GMT -5
Assault is quick to show after Slugslinger walks in and spares his commander a quick salute. But his gaze is not focused on the flier, or the others already present. No, he looks down at the stage that has been chosen for this little performance. The Pz-Zazzian and Cybertronian buildings he recognizes instantly, though the Earthen ones take a second more to click.
Already, battle plans are being drawn inside his mind. He glances briefly at Hellbender and then down again, trying to think of a way that they can use the worm's devastating abilities to their advantage. Then, at the various buildings, weighing the pros and cons, coming up with flight patterns and which of their troops would be most suitable for maneuvering through the close spaces...
Yes. This should work. He is unsure of whether or not Slugslinger will even try to put up a fight, but to be honest he does not care.
He will not suffer defeat.
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Divided
May 13, 2011 15:47:11 GMT -5
Post by Duskwing on May 13, 2011 15:47:11 GMT -5
Duskwing shambles in and scowls. He got here much too early; only the officers are here. Slag. He looks around at the scenery, staring in increased puzzlement at the weird buildings that change randomly from one style to another.
"Dat is one fragged-over, brewed-up city," he says, scowling.
Skippable
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Brawl
Rookie
somethingcidal
Heavy Metal Accident
Posts: 220
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Divided
May 13, 2011 17:36:30 GMT -5
Post by Brawl on May 13, 2011 17:36:30 GMT -5
Brawl follows Duskwing in, already rolling his head on his shoulders and flexing his arms, loosening up and itching for a fight. Someone who wanted to get punched and/or shot might comment that the two morons walked in together.
He's actually walking toward Slugslinger and Assault before he remembers which team he's on and stands in front of Turmoil, snapping off a less-than-crisp salute. "Brawl, reportin' for duty, sir."
Also skippable
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Divided
May 13, 2011 18:31:05 GMT -5
Post by Skystrike/Skylar Stringers on May 13, 2011 18:31:05 GMT -5
Skystrike doesn’t comment, but she does raise an eyebrow at the high number of idiots in the area. One for each division. Well, at least it was going to be a relatively balanced set of odds.
Suppressing a sigh, the blue seeker steps further into the sim and takes in the scenery. Whatever the scenery throws at them was not her primary concern however; after a moment, she casts Slugslinger’s back a thoughtful look.
No, the landscape would not be her greatest concern to today at all.
“Sir,” she rumbles as she strides up to him with a curt nod of greeting.
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Mistwind
Major
Licensed flight addict, deepsea diving fan, mech-pilot rookie - Accepts food and play for services.
Posts: 531
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Divided
May 13, 2011 19:14:13 GMT -5
Post by Mistwind on May 13, 2011 19:14:13 GMT -5
Ah don't worry, Skystrike, an air unit with more than one fully working processor has arrived. Unfortunately he has his other set of limitations. In order to be fast, Mistwind hijacked a box, slapped on coordinates and altmoded it to the simroom. There, the box is shoved out of the doorway, and Mistwind hurries to salute whoever needs to be greeted.
Then he rushes to Duskwing's side and keeps quiet.
He looks quite determined for a gargantuan change. For one reason, their division commander is Slugslinger. A second reason would be that he couldn't keep dodging combat without people getting angry. Another reason would be that training against 'Cons couldn't possibly be worse than fighting against Autobots. Aaaaaaand another real good reason is that their commander is Slugslinger.
He would sooner ask Swindle for free weapons stock than ask Slugslinger for a general pardon for this exercise than ask Commander Scourge to be replaced.
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Counterpunch
Minor
The Overlord, His Peerless Highness, Arch Duke Counterpunch. The Salient Vanquisher of His Own Mind
What're you looking at?
Posts: 419
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Divided
May 13, 2011 19:59:57 GMT -5
Post by Counterpunch on May 13, 2011 19:59:57 GMT -5
Counterpunch doesn't hurry, but he doesn't exactly dawdle, either. He's here within the allotted time, either way. He stomps into the room, red optic band narrowed with irritation, and heads over to Turmoil.
He looks over at the fliers, then around the room. He snorts. "Guessing this is something more than checking to make sure we're keeping our armor shined."
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Divided
May 13, 2011 21:43:10 GMT -5
Post by Bonecrusher/Bane Crusher on May 13, 2011 21:43:10 GMT -5
Bonecrusher stomps in before the time limit is up, looking about as happy as he ever does when kittens aren't involved and makes his way over to the rest of his division. He doesn't give his new commander or 2iC any acknowledgment beyond a low grunt.
Skippable
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Cannonball
Minor
Me, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest.
Posts: 470
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Divided
May 14, 2011 3:01:08 GMT -5
Post by Cannonball on May 14, 2011 3:01:08 GMT -5
Cannonball will strut in right on time - not prompt, but not late, either. Good to gauge how Turmoil and the hick holepunch will be doing things.
The lay of the land makes him take pause, though, as he strolls up to the commanders. "...some crazy patchworkin' we got goin' 'ere. This supposed to be Unicron's stomach or somethin'?"
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Divided
May 17, 2011 14:31:47 GMT -5
Post by Turmoil on May 17, 2011 14:31:47 GMT -5
Hellbender should know that it's deep enough. It wouldn't be fair not to use all of his subordinate's talents, now would it? And so Turmoil waits for a few minutes, returning salutes with his own. He does note, with growing agitation, that Wreckage and Rampage seem to have either gotten lost or weren't listening. Either way he'll have to have some words with them... With most of his forces here, however, Turmoil starts.
"Attention!" he shouts before, looking over the troops, his men.
"Command has requested a combat exercise to test the effectiveness our new troop structure. To that end we will be fighting in this simulated environment against opponents who are more lethal and ruthless than any Autobot will ever be, each other."
"The rules are simple," he continues, "The last team standing wins. Since we do not want to overtax our remaining medics, I have augmented the parameters so that no actual harm will come to us, the simulation will make the appropriate modifications as we receive damage. We will feel it though, every gash, tear, and puncture. The exercise will begin in ten minutes."
He directs the second to last bit to Bonecrusher specifically, hoping to inspire their resident berserker. With that said, Turmoil steps back into his starting position and turns the floor over to Slugslinger, who seems just a little to giddy as he glances over at him.
"Do you have anything to add Slugslinger?"
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Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
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Divided
May 17, 2011 17:53:11 GMT -5
Post by Hellbender on May 17, 2011 17:53:11 GMT -5
Hellbender eyes the opposition, and his own team. Where are Wreckage and Rampage, anyway? Ten minutes start--can't attack yet, so the only reason for the time delay is for people to take positions. That changed things. If he could fire now, he'd have blasted Mistwind with his shoulder gun while grabbing the nearest of the two Seekers in his arms and playing 'make a wish'.
"Cover, find it!" he snaps as he starts setting up a group radio band for Team Ground. The big wormformer follows his own advice and beelines for the nearest tall building. Tall buildings tend to have basements.
// Testing Team Ground radio link, sound off by name.... now! // He should have Turmoil, Brawl, Bonecrusher and Cannonball in the link with himself.
// Go to cover or we'll have them just prancing around in the air bombing us. Commander, you and Brawl got the best ranged artillery, Ah'm thinking. Ah can make us better cover, or snipe. Figure we should make them come after us in the tunnels. //
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Wreckage
Major
One of the Quiet Ones
Posts: 554
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Divided
May 17, 2011 18:07:03 GMT -5
Post by Wreckage on May 17, 2011 18:07:03 GMT -5
Wreckage was in the middle of an exercise on the firing range and can keep track of time well enough to avoid being fully late. He arrives to hear the end of Turmoil's explanation and makes a disgusted noise. More of pitting the Decepticons against each other in teams; the last attempt was a disaster fraught with all the typical treachery and bad blood that could be expected. He doubts this time will be very different.
He says nothing notable, only grunting acknowledgement of his orders and casting a look of utter disdain on the air commander.
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Divided
May 17, 2011 21:42:20 GMT -5
Post by Rampage/Xavier Goodkind on May 17, 2011 21:42:20 GMT -5
Rampage saunters in before the last ten minutes are up. He has no excuse, he's just never been keen on following orders, even when he had a crushed spark to motivate him. He might have been even later, except that he realized that this was an opportunity he'd been looking for: time to see how this Predacon matched up to Decepticons.
He does catch Hellbender's command to find cover, and with a roll of his optics he makes to obey.
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