Older Than Rust

[Kup]

This takes place on Day 14, and is open to all refugee Autobots.

The tunnels need to be explored for the security of the refugee camp, and as the security chief, Kup's taken it on himself to grab a team¹ and go explore it. So far, it's been pretty uneventful. They've found one opening near the temple, another near the beach, and are now heading deeper into the continent.

Kup is presently rumbling along in vehicle mode - these tunnels are made for driving in, after all - when something in the tunnel ahead causes him to transform. From here, it's difficult to see very far up the tunnel due to a turn, but there's indications of another intersection ahead.

The thing that's caught Kup's attention is the tunnel wall, however. The veteran walks over, kneels, and inspects where the wall intersects the floor. He rubs his fingers along the seam, then pulls them away and brushes his thumb over the reddish brown rust now on his fingertips.

"That's strange," he notes to the others. "This place hasn't been abandoned much more than a year and a half - the rest of the place isn't this worn down. Wonder if there's an inland body of salt water up ahead...?"

---

¹ Anyone who wishes to be in this scene is free to declare themselves part of the team.

[Optimus Prime]

OOC: If someone wants to pose standing on the back of Prime, that's fine by me.

Dilligently following Kup, Optimus Prime halts quickly when the convoy leader does. He transforms into robot mode and looks at the wall. While he agrees with Kup's appraisal of the wall, there's one thing that confuses him. "What's salt?"

[Boondocker]

Rumbling alongside the new Prime is a battered up blue pickup, who's brakes keen a bit as they stop. He unfolds into robot mode, looking around the walls. "Huh..."

Then Optimus asks his question, and Boondocker perks up a bit. Redneck Mineralogy 101 - First lesson: Salt! "Oh! Uh.... er.... Salt is that thar white sandy stuff whut the humans put on their food."

[Kup]

Kup is in the process of standing back up from the crouch when Boondocker answers his question. He finishes standing and just turns to look at Boondocker for a few moments, expression kept as carefully neutral as he can.

"That's... not quite all there is to it," he finally says, then turns away and takes a few more steps down the tunnel, obviously looking at the lines of rust.

"Salt's a crystalline mineral that can be ground very fine and, yes, be used as flavoring or a preservative in organic foods. It's essential to organic life on a lot of planets, dissolves in water, and on a world with a lot of it and a lot of water, you tend to get large bodies of salt water like the oceans here and on Earth. Inland water bodies tend towards the fresher, but there are exceptions."

He approaches the tunnel wall once more, and taps it lightly. Another patch of rust, this one larger, and what one can see of the tunnels up ahead suggest that it's getting worse.

"What's good for organics isn't always good for machines, though, and salt, s'pecially mixed with water, tends to speed up rusting in metals. Well, some metals." He pauses a moment, brushing the reddish dust off his fingers, and looks back at Optimus. "Which reminds me, if your Cybertronians do rust, you might wanna mention it to one of the medics. We're rust-proof in my reality - well, we don't rust naturally, anyways¹ - but it seems like that doesn't apply across the universes."

"'Course, erm, I think Bumblebee fakes it," he adds as an aside. He starts walking again. It doesn't take a genius to notice that the rust patches on the walls are getting worse.

---

¹ Established in the episode Cosmic Rust.

[Optimus Prime]

"...Fakes it." Optimus parrots Kup¹, confused as to how (and WHY) someone would do that. "So wait.. that yellow car from before WAS Bumblebee?" He just thought he was using his frequency!

"As for rust, most Cybertronians are made from alloys that are unaffected by corrosion in my reality². I'm fine, but..." He runs his hand along the corroded seam with intrigue. "Is this going to be a concern for others? Is it too close to our base, or is there something along this passage that we are going to need?"

¹Despite not knowing what a parrot is.
²Speculation on the part of the player. If we find out otherwise, we'll just handwave this comment away, 'kay?

[Boondocker]

Boondocker looks back at Kup, with a blank, mildly confused look. Then Kup explains the remainder of salt to the young Prime. "Oh. Huh. S'all I knew about it..." He shrugs, then looks over at Optimus. "Yeah, he's Bumblebee... An' if'n I remember right, Goldbug used to be Bumblebee in his universe."

He then took a look at where Optimus was inspecting, but keeps quiet.

[Kup]

"That's right," Kup agrees with Boondocker as he continues to walk down the tunnel. He hasn't transformed yet, and in fact, he's lowering his voice as he speaks. "In fact, our Bumblebee will eventually take the name Goldbug, too."

"We don't know what's down this tunnel yet, lad, which is why we're down here. We're going to just assume that it is a concern to the folks back at camp until proven not. Besides, we're a bit short on supplies right now, so we may well need something down here."

As they walk, the tunnels show more random stripes of rust. They don't travel along seams so much as reach out on their own in ways that almost, but don't quite, form patterns. Their nearing the first sharp curve, and by now there's the slightest hint that there's an intersection part that.

A soft, rasping, scuttling sound can be heard from up ahead.

"'Course," Kup says, voice barely above a whisper as he crouches into a more ready stance, "at this point I'm leaning more towards, 'something to be concerned with.'" He still continues to move forward, but he's taking lighter steps, obviously making an effort to decrease his noise.

[Optimus Prime]

...Organic creatures. From the sounds of things, a big one. Or more than one.

Optimus Prime doesn't take any chances. His axe is retrieved and he grips in readiness for what they might discover. This time he's allied by comrades more experienced than last time, but he's still concerned with history repeating itself.

[Boondocker]

Boondocker hears the sounds, and taking cues from the others, steps as quietly as he can. He also pulls out his shotgun. Closed quarters means less places to hide for his targets, though hopefully, it won't come to such things. Maybe it's some more of the little robots like him, Makeshift, and Arcee came across on patrol.

Realistic? No, but Boondocker is a bot of optimism.

[Kup]

Kup, it should be noted, does not have his weapon out. Not yet. However, he does crouch closer to the wall as they approach the turn. Suddenly, he stops, holding up his left hand to indicate that the others should do the same. From here, they group can see through the curve, and can even spy just the corner of another branch tunnel that feeds into the one they're in. Kup points in the direction of that darkened branch tunnel.

In the dim lights and thick shadows, there is movement. A sinuous twist of shadow slides across the others, and for a moment, just the briefest of moments, a slender, feathered yellowish-tan strip with something slips into and out of view. In addition to the scuttling noise from before, a faint chittering can be heard briefly.

It is now that Kup finally summons his musket from subspace.

[Optimus Prime]

For the first time in the Deadzone, Optimus extends his weapon. A metallic SHNK sound comes from the axe as it extends to be wielded two-handed. He quietly treads back, readying himself for the word from Kup, like a good soldier.

[Boondocker]

Boondocker hangs back a bit beside Optimus, readying his gun at mid-chest level. One hand cups under the barrel, the other gripping the handle.

Hoo, boy. Looks like some kinda critter infestation...

[Kup]

Kup, still in the lead, begins to creep forward once more, his footfalls now just faint 'clinks' as he focuses on every step he takes. However, Kup, for all his experience, has no special training in stealth, and he is a heavy metal robot walking in a metal tunnel. Noise is made.

Suddenly, the shadows move, and a great, segmented beast bursts forth from the side tunnel, skittering and clattering as it charges towards the group. It stands about one and a half times as tall as Kup at the high point of it's humped back, is covered with thick, segmented shell armor, has four insect-like legs and an insect-seeming head that boasts two long, feathery antennae, and has a large, curiously shaped tail.



"Move!" shouts Kup as he leaps out of the way, rolls to hit the ground and spins to bring his musket up. He fires, and the acid blob lands on the creature, causing it to screech out in pain as it turns back towards the group.

It's at this point Kup hisses as the pain of its passing catches up with him. He hadn't leapt out of the way fast enough to completely avoid the creature's antennae, and now he touches his back with his right hand, checking an area of armor that his sensors report as significantly weakened. He looks down at his fingers and sees the flakes of red dust there. If either of the others can see his back, a painful welt of red rust is obvious where the feathered antennae slapped across it.

"Don't let that thing touch you!" he shouts as he clicks his weapon into laser mode.

---

OOC: For the record, you're free to improvise things about the environment that don't contradict what's been posted. For example, some of the walls may be corroded through enough that it goes all the way through to dirt, and the antennae are probably tall enough to sometimes brush the ceiling...

[Optimus Prime]

"Kup, hold still!" Optimus extends his right arm as a nozzle appears from a hidden panel. Fire retardant foam gets launched onto Kup's back. "That should neutralize the corrosion. For now."

The axe, still in his left hand, retracts back to default form. Even though its energy blade might be resistant, he still doesn't like the idea of getting close enough to find out. Once retracted, another hidden nozzle extends, and starts coating the ground in front of the creature. It should make movement difficult for it and buy the Autobots some time while he waits for Kup to advise on whether to engage or retreat.

[Boondocker]

Boondocker stumbles back when Kup rolls, bringing his gun to bear, pulling the trigger. A loud blast comes from it, the shot widening as it travels at the beast. Hopefully, Kup's not in the way.

Then Optimus sprays the foam on Kup. Isn't fire retardant foam bad for G1s? And if that's all the firepower the new guy's got...

Boondocker reaches into subspace, pulling out one of his pistols, and tosses it to Optimus. "Prime, catch!"