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Post by Long Range on Feb 27, 2008 18:23:50 GMT -5
Yes, Long range had been around for a few days, and had everything explained to him. He'd even been interviewed and givin a temporary room.
What nobody bothered to explain to him though was where the smelt anything in this base was. Oh yes, he'd been posted to lots of bases in the past, but they generally had some floor plan for him to study or download for later reference. But not this place.
Currently, he was actually looking for a way out of the base. He wanted to get outside and have a look at the mining town, maybe lounge around and stare at the mountains a bit. But no, the layout of the place was confounding his efforts to go relax a bit.
As such, he kept on wandering the corridors, twice already he'd walked by his quarters without knowing how he got back. Maybe he'd have to make his own way out eventually.
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Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
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Post by Hellbender on Feb 27, 2008 19:47:43 GMT -5
In his wanderings, it's just possible that Long Range came across one of the narrower corridors1 completely blocked by what looks like the aft end of a large, blue-black metallic worm. It is, in fact, the aft end of a large, blue-black metallic worm.
--- 1Main corridors are double-wide, like two adjacent subway tunnels merged into each other. The generic tunnel-width is, by an not-so-amazing coincidence, just Hellbender's size.
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Post by Long Range on Feb 28, 2008 4:41:22 GMT -5
Long Range stops and thinks a bit. Didn't somebody warn him that one of their own was a mining worm? Maybe it'll know how to get out!
Long Range reaches out with his large hand, curls it into a fist and knocks on the back armour paneling of Hellbender. Not very hard, but hopefully just hard enough to get his attention.
If it doesn't work, Long Range does have a large sword that could stand in for a large needle....
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Hellbender
Major
Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
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Post by Hellbender on Feb 28, 2008 12:43:46 GMT -5
There's a rumble along Hellbender's length. "Who's that?" echoes faintly back along the scant clearance between Hellbender and the tube walls.
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Post by Long Range on Feb 28, 2008 12:58:37 GMT -5
"I'm called Long Range... I don't think we've met." He says, slightly wary of exactly what this worm like thing was.
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Hellbender
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Mecha-Shai-Hulud
"Seriously."
Posts: 892
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Post by Hellbender on Feb 28, 2008 13:01:29 GMT -5
"Ah'm Hellbender," echoed back. "Hold on, let me move down into them thar mines and git turned around. What for are you doing down this way, anyhow? This here tunnel don't go nowhere but down into the mines. Seriously."
The rumbling increased and the tail-end of the worm twitched as the bulk of him began to move forward.
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Post by Long Range on Feb 28, 2008 15:27:34 GMT -5
Long Range visibly deflates when he heres hes stumbled even deeper into the base, and waits for Hellbender to turn around.
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Hellbender
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Mecha-Shai-Hulud
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Post by Hellbender on Feb 28, 2008 16:49:54 GMT -5
Hellbender got up to speed and quickly slithered away, his course taking him down the sloping tunnel that soon grew dimmer and rougher: corridor ceiling lights were replaced with intermittent safety lights set in high recesses in rough-cut tunnels without the smooth plating of the main base's walls. The access tunnel eventually opened out into the main mine shaft, a pit going down into unfathomable darkness. A few safety lights glowed around the perimeter of the pit; from somewhere, a wind howled mournfully through the shafts and tunnels, sounding like the despairing moans of ghosts lost forever in the abyssal depths.
Hellbender turned himself around on the perimeter ramp and faced back in Long Range's direction. His fearsome cutting heads were retracted and quiet, but he did ping the area with sonar and radar, his means of 'sight'.
If Long Range followed Hellbender down the tunnels, the mining robot will take a good look at Long Range (what is he shaped like?) and greet him. "Hello, Long Range. No, we ain't met before, 'less you ever had business wit' a fighter/bomber name of Midnight."1
---- 1 Midnight was a Marvel G1 comic-verse character, btw
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Post by Long Range on Feb 28, 2008 17:31:53 GMT -5
"Can't say that I have, Hellbender. Good to meet you."
Hell bender is large. Larger than any other Decepticon here excluding Hellbender. Broad shoulders, thick arms with long, powerful legs.
Hellbender may be forgiven for thinking that Long Range turns into a small factory, what with four tubes that resemble smoke stacks residing on his back. Also, he chest is odd, a raised, flat section with a slope down to another flat section make him look decidably different than most. Short spikes are also in evidence off his shoulders, protruding at a 45 degree angle. Hellbender may even be able to detect hooks on Long Range's "heel".
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Feb 28, 2008 18:12:12 GMT -5
"You're new here, aren't you?" Hellbender asked, his voice a hollow echo from his four grinder-lined intakes. "What brings you down here? Someone spot a new arrival on the sensor grid? Ah ain't heard nothing lately. Seriously--unless you got real good balance, take it easy down here. That main shaft goes a long way down, and there ain't no power or ladders down there at the bottom. Kinda flooded, actually."
Hellbender still didn't realize that Long Range was lost.
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Post by Long Range on Feb 28, 2008 18:20:22 GMT -5
"Yeah, I'm new. I'm actually kind of lost, how do you get out of this place? I've been wandering around for the better part of two hours most likely." HE says as he brings his one hand to rub the back of his head.
He is thankful for the warning, and just to be safe deploys the spikes in the "toe" of his foot to keep a form footing. He'll have to remember to retract them whn he starts walking in the base proper again.
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Feb 28, 2008 18:34:20 GMT -5
"Well, first you turn around and head back up the tunnel you came down," Hellbender said. "Ah can show you the rest of the way; mah quarters are on the surface. You quartered underground or aboveground?"
Hellbender pointed his nose at the tunnel Long Range had just exited. "And where are you from? Seriously, we got mechs here from all over time and space. Them little guys, the Predacons, are s'posed to be from some future where everyone shrunk down to save energy. Some guys are from times that got the same dates as mine, but none of their history is like mine. Weird."
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Post by Long Range on Feb 28, 2008 18:55:20 GMT -5
"Aboveground, thanks." Long Range says tuning and making his way out of the tunnel.
"I'm from the same reality as Eye-Fire, do you know him? Sorry that I can't be more specific, but I'm still new to this whole 'Alternate realities' thing"
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Hellbender
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"Seriously."
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Post by Hellbender on Feb 28, 2008 19:09:21 GMT -5
"You and me both. Seriously, that's some weird stuff. Lot of us got a Unicron in our history or future, though. And that thing destroyed the next planet out and scared the locals into running away from here. Makes me wonder just why we're here. Seriously. Turn left thar." Hellbender gave Long Range verbal directions as he slowly followed him, leading from behind.
"Yeah, Ah know Eye-fire, though Ah don't see him much. We got different functions. He catches the optic, so to speak, looking like Shockwave and all. Speaking of catching attention, Ah think you're the biggest one here since that Skyfire fellow left," Hellbender remarked.
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Post by Long Range on Feb 28, 2008 19:20:19 GMT -5
"Unicron? Whats that?" Long Range says as he turns left.
"Yes, Eye-Fire does bear a resemblance to Shockwave. Found that odd the first time I met him." He says as he continues to walk down the passages.
"I wouldn't know if anyone was bigger, I haven't met everyone yet. You seem pretty large yourself."
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