Gizmo
Rookie
Blue and Nerdy
Posts: 147
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Post by Gizmo on Jan 27, 2008 12:00:41 GMT -5
Gizmo watches Swerve take off and gives an apprecetive whistle. Then he proceeds to cut loose with one of his infamous insightful observations -- "Wow, he's fast."
When Wedge transforms and announced to roll out (Optimus-Prime-style almost, Gizmo thinks amusedly, and briefly entertains a mental image of Wedge with the Matrix) he follows suit, folding up into Viper mode and driving just slightly ahead of the bulldozer to where Swerve has taken off.
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Post by Swerve on Jan 27, 2008 21:00:56 GMT -5
The heat and the grit are familiar, if not entirely welcome. The terrain actually smooths out as Swerve speeds into the distance, toward that heavy distortion just off the ground, and he throttles up without thinking about it. Something else to take his mind off other, more vexing thoughts. Wedge's cautionary cry goes unheard, lost in the roar of wind and engine.
Swerve tenses, seeing the heat shimmer start to disperse as he nears whatever's causing it. Low to the ground… really low. Smelt, it's flat on the ground, whatever it is.
"…Oh, for Primus's sake," he mutters and leans on the brake as the road comes into view.
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Wedge
Minor
NOT a reckless teen-bot
Posts: 413
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Post by Wedge on Jan 28, 2008 17:56:18 GMT -5
Oh the Matrix should stay far away. After all, what sort of name would Wedgimus Prime be? He'd kill--pardon--incapacitate Decepticons with laughter.
Meanwhile, a thankfully Matrix-less Wedge kicks it into gear after his teammates, churning up a fine, black dust cloud behind him. He manages to keep up respectably with Gizmo and comes to a stop when they catch up to Swerve. Any sort of complaint or words he wanted to have with Swerve vanish at the sight ahead of them.
"Whoa. Road," Wedge accidentally voices his thoughts aloud. With a "Wedge, transform!" he's trotting over its edge. This probably needs marking down on the map and all he has to do is to compare with the orbital maps they already have to get the right position...
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Gizmo
Rookie
Blue and Nerdy
Posts: 147
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Post by Gizmo on Jan 28, 2008 20:31:42 GMT -5
Yay, Gizmo's not the only Captain Obvious on the team!
Gizmo pulls up to the road and also transforms, albeit without a verbal command. "Hey, this is handy! No more driving on dirt, at least for awhile!"
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Post by Swerve on Jan 28, 2008 22:47:13 GMT -5
"Can't argue with having a road," Swerve grudgingly agrees. He pointedly stays in racer mode; no point transforming when they'll probably just be pulling out again shortly. "Looks just like the rest of the roads around here." All made of the same dull black metal, all odd before he got used to the sensation of metal under his tires. He's actually come to like the sound and feel of the metal resonating with him at high speeds.
Finally, he pulls himself up onto the roadway, hissing a low curse at the baking heat that assails him as he does so. It won't be as much of a problem once he's moving again.
"How much more is there to see here?" he grumbles. If he sounds a little more irritable and impatient now, it's because he is.
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Wedge
Minor
NOT a reckless teen-bot
Posts: 413
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Post by Wedge on Jan 30, 2008 6:22:54 GMT -5
"All right, all right, I'm done," says Wedge as he finishes making and marking his observations. A terminal somewhere around here wouldn't be too bad either.
Quickly, he steps onto the roadway, a small yelp signaling when his thermoreceptors pick up the heightened temperature of the metal roadway. Wedge collapses back down into his alt mode and starts off.
The road may not sing under his treads, but it certainly does clatter.
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Gizmo
Rookie
Blue and Nerdy
Posts: 147
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Post by Gizmo on Jan 30, 2008 9:09:22 GMT -5
Gizmo steps onto the road -- and promptly pulls his foot back with a YIP! "Hot! Hot!" Fraggin' scrap, and he thought hot blacktop was bad back on Earth...
Gingerly he steps back onto the road, making rather amusing faces as he does so. Luckily the spectacle doesn't last long, because he transforms and prepares to keep pace with the others. He's ready to go.
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Post by Swerve on Jan 31, 2008 17:09:43 GMT -5
The urge to snap at Gizmo is strong. It's in the sun somewhere around midday; it's solid black; of course the road is hot. It's impossible to miss, so what's the point of announcing it to the rest of the group? Swerve growls, low and annoyed, more than ready to rip into the other car.
He doesn't, though, cutting himself off with an audible snarl. He can't let himself get worked up like this. It's just because of the heat; he'll be fine once he's moving again. He has to get moving again, get the air flow he needs to take some of the strain off his exhaust and cooling systems. And move he does, gunning it after Wedge as the bulldozer takes off – as much as that sluggish mode can take off, anyway. Those treads of his strike the road in a jarring rhythm, one Swerve finds as he catches up that he doesn't like at all. He sails right on past Wedge to get ahead of the rattle and clatter. He needs the space.
"Gimme a yell if it's important," he tells Wedge in passing. Then he's out in front, just trying to run off the heat.
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Wedge
Minor
NOT a reckless teen-bot
Posts: 413
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Post by Wedge on Jan 31, 2008 23:25:08 GMT -5
Wedge may not be able to frown in auto-mode, but his display screen displays his displeasure quite clearly, if only to himself. He's not used to this lack of teamwork and lack of talk and feeling coming at him from all sides. Granted, they're not his team. Wedge frowns as he revs forward slightly. Okay, maybe he's expecting too much. After all, neither Gizmo nor Swerve have probably gotten up-close and interlocking with other mechs' systems or consciences.
Determinedly, he keeps moving along, the rhythmic clatter actually gets a bit soothing after a while and sends him a slight reverie. It's when he gets a little too close to moving off the edge of the road that he snaps back out of it. No, it's not the time to zone out or start daydreaming. Wedge keeps an optic out on the two vehicles in front of him and on the shifting sands--those rather rapidly shifting sands out in the distance.
"Huh...I don't remember sand swelling like that on Earth. Is that a Gillanan III thing?" Wedge pitches his voice to go above the racket of his travel.
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Gizmo
Rookie
Blue and Nerdy
Posts: 147
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Post by Gizmo on Feb 1, 2008 1:43:36 GMT -5
For his part, Gizmo's not used to working as part of a team. Terminal slicing and tech support are rather lonely jobs, and he's a recluse by nature and prefers it like that. So getting into the swing of the team thing might take awhile...
And Sigma help us if they ever decide to make a geek gestalt...
"I dunno," Gizmo says in reply to Wedge. "You'd think it would be in the database..."
His explanation is cut off with a yelp as a huge form erupts from the sand, thrashing to the surface like a lunging shark from the ocean. The body is flat like a Terran manta ray, only longer and armed with a set of powerful jaws that contain, not teeth or fangs, but razor-sharp ridges of bone. The back of the creature is armored with sand-colored plates of horn, and the slender ray-like tail ends in a set of wicked barbs.
"What is THAT???" Like anyone's going to know...
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Post by Swerve on Feb 2, 2008 3:36:17 GMT -5
He has open road, fresh air in his ventilation, and distance. It's enough for Swerve to get his processors back to their usual temperature and his temper back to its usual simmer. Still too hot – always too hot – but at least at a level he's more used to managing. Maybe he's a little too far out in front… frag it, he isn't going that fast. The other two can catch up.
They can catch up faster than they would've if he hadn't started easing back on the throttle at the sight of the shifting sands. Just what–
"WHOA!" Brakes shriek and tires scream as Swerve skids to a painful stop at the sight of the thing leaping from beneath the sand and bearing down on the roadway. It's – it's gotta be almost as big as that stupid lugnut Grimlock! Even still in racer mode, all Swerve can do is gawk.
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Wedge
Minor
NOT a reckless teen-bot
Posts: 413
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Post by Wedge on Feb 3, 2008 13:32:51 GMT -5
Giant sand ray? Wedge's tracks come to an immediate standstill, but he continues on his vector for a few screeching and sparking feet. This Buildbot would admit that he's accustomed to seeing giant, metal sharks bursting out of nowhere at times, but this? This is new--and not in a good sense. Well, whatever it is, it doesn't look terribly friendly. For a moment, all Wedge can do is stare at the huge creature and the sheets of black sand that go flying from its leap.
Wait, wait, wait, sitting here is not what they want to be doing. "C'mon! Let's get out of here!" Wedge isn't planning on being sandflapper chow and if they can't get away, then he'll sure as heck put up a fight. "Swerve! Gizmo!"
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Gizmo
Rookie
Blue and Nerdy
Posts: 147
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Post by Gizmo on Feb 4, 2008 0:08:36 GMT -5
Gizmo would love to "get out of here," he really would. But his electro-defense system has chosen now to act up on him1, and all he can do is sit and twitch painfully as his defense wiring freezes his entire body with painful jolts. His CPU is useless as well, gibbering frantically at the sight of this thing. Freaky cool monsters are okay as long as they stay on their side of the movie screen, but seeing one up close and personal was NEVER on Gizmo's wish list.
1As it states in the wiki, Gizmo has an electro-defense system that lets him electrify his plating and shock anyone who touches him. However, there's a glitch in the system that manifests when Gizmo is especially nervous or excited, delivering shocks that render him or part of his body immobile. This defect is NOT common knowledge, as he's too embarassed by his condition to tell anyone about it.
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Post by Swerve on Feb 5, 2008 15:27:11 GMT -5
Get out of here. That thing is coming right at them – right at Swerve, way out in front. That thing is huge. Got a mouth big enough to swallow a compact car like Swerve. Move! Move, frag it all!
The racer slams gear into reverse and throws the throttle open wide, leaving behind thin, gleaming swathes of tire composite in a raucous burnout before he catapults backwards. The road shudders under the creature's weight as the flappy sand-thing scrapes across it in passing only a length or two from where Swerve had been sitting. That ugly, barbed tail lashes angrily, slamming against the road and leaving behind ragged gouges, before the creature vanishes beneath the sand. Swerve has passed Gizmo by the time he slows to a stop.
"What was that?!" he demands of both teammates and neither, engine revving anxiously. And where is it, and is it coming back?
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Wedge
Minor
NOT a reckless teen-bot
Posts: 413
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Post by Wedge on Feb 6, 2008 18:54:04 GMT -5
"I don't have the slightest clue. But whatever it is, it's not friendly!" stammers Wedge, doing his best to keep a brave face on--even if he currently has no face to emote properly with at the moment.
The desert looks like it's near endless and that creature could be anywhere. Wedge can deal with enemies head-on. Though, waiting for danger to come to him? That's scary. But that thing's threatening his team and that's enough to make his fuel boil. Smelt it all if Wedge is just going to let that happen!
"Gizmo! Gizmo, snap out of it! We gotta move."
If now's not the time to get the heck out of here, he doesn't know what other time there is.
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