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| - Western Australia - Australia Dry and unforgiving bush country. Australia is known for its contrasts, and its west coast is one of them. Isolated stands of trees are here and there, bravely standing against the almost oppressive heat, but not very well. Not much of interest, unless you like sheep farms. The southern areas, however, have a more Mediterranean feel to them, and are the second largest tourist spot on the whole continent, after Sydney. Australia, a country that even now has so much unexplored space. However this space has had visitors, namely Decepticons who set up a base. And so it is here, in the dark of night, that Mute jumps out of Broadside, deploying a parachute to come down near the Decepticon base. Taking out his tonfas and taking up a defensive position as he lands, Mute awaits the arrival of the other Autobots. Broadside leans forward with his palms on his knees for a better view, visor quirked slightly. "Sounds like a decent plan. I like the secondary goal m'self." He nods to Jazz and straightens, dusting off barnacles. "We hittin' this place t'night?" Blades nods along. Does he need to brign anythign special? Doesn't sound like it. Just his stunning personality. Jazz uses his trusty grappling hook to rappel down from Broadside and lands spinning and tumbling stylishly stopping behind a rock formation. He stops and waits for the others to get into position. Meanwhile he observes the main door checking out what will be required to open it. As other Bots arrive, Mute makes for the secret base (which is apparently not so secret now). Looking for a way in he wonders if they'll need to use explosives sooner rather than later. If only Red Alert and his e-senses were here. Blurr also disembarks from Broadside, jumping from the cargo bay doors to land lightly on the dusty ground below. He scans the area in search of any signs of Decepticons. Ideally, this will just be a simple op--get in, establish a perimeter, get what they need, and get out. He spreads out with the others as Mute approaches the base. <> Spinister transforms into a MYSTERIOUS APACHE ATTACK HELICOPTER! Mysterious AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter < Spinister> lands a (mysteriously) short distance from the base after having been alerted to a proximity alert...Having spotted the Autobot arrival, the Targetmaster sticks to the dark wilds of the outback for cover. Luckily for him, most of this region is purple and turquiose: the perfect camoflage. With Hairsplitter quietly armed and energized in rifle mode, Singe creeps alongside Spinister, flitting about with his anti gravs on. Will they walk into an Autobot? Will an Autobot walk into them? The only thing that's for sure s that someone will be walking away...with a walker. Spinister unfolds into his (terribly) MYSTERIOUS ROBOT MODE! Bell UH-1V Iroquois watches from the air, as he is bidden to do so. Blades doesn't really like to just hang in the air and watch. It makes him twitchy. He does it all the same. It's a job. Someone has to do it. "You got it Blurr-mech," Broadside is sure to hand off the explosives to the speedster before taking to the skies again. Low skies. Dust blows everywhere. He doesn't spot the brilliantly camouflaged Spinister just yet. Broadside's massive armor shifts and folds into the form of a barnacle-encrusted F-111 Aardvark! You receive a radio message from Jazz: Check if the main door is locked. If it use, use a melta bomb on the locking mechanism. Just because it is abandonned does not mean I want us taking our sweet time. You send a radio message to Jazz: Got it. Blurr patrols the northern side of the base, keeping his optics on alert for any Decepticon energy signatures. Not yet detecting any, he pauses momentarily as he receives a personal comm from Jazz. He nods and heads for the main entry to see if it's locked. He hopes this base really is abandoned. But if it is, would the Decepticons be so careless as to leave it connected to their data networks? In that case...he expects it is locked. Finding a 'door' Mute decides to be less than subtle in getting into the base. He wedges his tonfa in between the door and the frame, puts his hand on it and begins sending sonic waves down it to crack the door open. Slowly the door begins to splinter open. Singe flits up and stands on Spinister's shoulder, scowling. "Ugh, Mute. I hate Deployers. Have I ever told you that, Spinister? There's just something...burnable about them." He sighs, like a longtime sober man being offered a fine scotch. Spinister nods, and holds a palm up while he takes aim with Hairsplitter...and then sprints forward, Singe transforming into flamethrower mode, spewing fire at the unwanted Autobot! Singe cackles madly, while Hairsplitter checks in with Team Spinister's tiny passenger... Combat: Spinister strikes Mute with his Flamethrower attack! Not so well camoflauged is Scorponok, who, guided by the Decepticon symbol marking the base, lands near it, immediately transforming into defense base mode. "I don't know what you Autobots think you have planned," Scorponok booms, "But your lives are forfeit for trying to claim it from the grasp of SCORPONOK!" Defense turrets pop and begin spraying lasers at Blades and Broadside! Scorponok sprawls out into his enormous battlestation mode! Whether Spinister allowed it or not it would seem he has a little hitchhiker. Wriggling under a shoulder plate the tiny mantis peeks out into the night, beady yellow optics bright shifting about while antennas swivel. "The Bots are gutsy to come snoopy around an old base. Too bad that wouldn't be a problem if those idiots didn't clear it out properly." Scorn mutters to her carrier, voice only loud enough for him to hear. When Spinister sprints off in to intercept Scorn swiftly climbs out and jumps, mass shifting to her larger altmode for a surprise attack. Clicking mandibles excitedly at the possibility of a meal, she launches a wad of acidic plasma at a particular speedster nearby. Scorn crouches before shifting into her scythe-armed mantis mode. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Defense Base strikes Bell UH-1V Iroquois with his Pew Pew Area attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Defense Base strikes F-111 Aardvark with his Pew Pew Area attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar expertly evades Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn>'s attack! Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> misses Cybertronian Hovercar with her Molten Plasma Spit attack! Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> (Scorn) used "Molten Plasma Spit": A Level 2 RANGED attack. Suddenly, the Decepticons spring out of the dark! Additionally, the door is locked. Aha! So they do have something here worth defending, it would seem. All the more reason to press forward. Scorn launches a ball of acid at him, but he jumps out of the way just in time, slapping one of those explosives Broadside had handed him onto the door. <> he exclaims over the comms, bringing his blasters around to fire at the mantis The hovercar quickly unfolds upward and outward to reveal the fastest terrestrial Cybertronian in the galaxy, Blurr! Combat: Blurr misses Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his Quickdraw Area attack! Combat: Blurr misses Spinister with his Quickdraw Area attack! F-111 Aardvark gets a nice bit of scalding laserfire just after he hears the distinct sound of /another/ chopper. "ARGH!" <> He sloooowly banks around to drag a trailing line of vulcan fire aimed for Spinister. "C'mon ya' fraggers!" Bell UH-1V Iroquois is not a very good detective. He can't even figure out where a kidnapped myrman has gone, and Air Raid is helping! So shooting at Spinister is cathartic, because it is like shooting MYSTERY itself. Blades send a rocket after the enigma of an enemy helicopter, and he hollers, "Picking on tapes! I knew your Nebulans made you small-minded, but that's low, scum!" Combat: F-111 Aardvark sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: F-111 Aardvark strikes Spinister with his M61 Vulcan attack! Combat: Bell UH-1V Iroquois misses Spinister with his Armor-Piercing Smart Rocket attack! As he is getting seriously into making a lot of cracks in the door, Mute finds himself being set on fire. His head snaps round so that Spinister finds himself being stared at by Mutes facescreen. However instead of retaliating against the Decepticon he opts to hitch a ride with Blurr instead. Jumping into the air, Mute transforms and slips inside the speedster, somehow ending up in his tape player. At which point Blurr starts playing some music, it sounds like Justin Timberlakes Mirrors, surely a classic by now. Folding up and shrinking rapidly, Mute transforms into his tape mode. Combat: Cassette Tape sets his defense level to Protected. Spinister throws up his arm, taking Broadside's strafing in the gauntlet and sidesteps into a full 360 turn to avoid Blades' rocket, even while swinging Hairsplitter up, aiming from the shoulder... Singe transforms and leaps above Spinister to keep the Targetmaster's evasion aerodynamically sound, transforming again to be caught in Spinister's left hand. It's a graceful and (mysteriously) beautiful dance of death, ending with the completion of the full turn as Spinister squares his shoulders towards Broadside, glowing with an aura of fused plasma as his Nebulan partners transform into a single instrument of destruction... Combat: Spinister sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Spinister strikes F-111 Aardvark with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Combat: Spinister uses up a charge on his Double Targetmasters booster pack! Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> swiftly weaves around the shots, chattering a wicked chuckle while swaying on her four legs. "Aim's a bit off, dear." Amusement falls at the sudden soundof human music, however, the femme grunting. "Ugh, that's the one thing I hate about you tapes. Always playing music at inconvenient times." With Blurr on the defense Scorn hisses nastily and springs forward towards the mech, rushing him and swinging blades wide to slice through his armor. Combat: Blurr expertly evades Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn>'s attack! Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> misses Blurr with her Plasma Sheathed Blades attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> (Scorn) used "Plasma Sheathed Blades": A Level 4 MELEE attack. Defense Base transforms back into robot mode to fly up at Broadside. "Broadside! You're one of the few Autobots here can stand to face me! I challenge you to face me and be destroyed by me, as all my other Autobot foes have been!" The giant robot tries to get right up in Broadside's grill, lashing a claw out at his wing! Combat: Defense Base strikes F-111 Aardvark with his Punch attack! F-111 Aardvark is... briefly mesmerized by the dance of death, then shakes himself out of it just in time to be met with DOUBLE TARGETMASTERRRR POWER. The blast from the combined weapon sends him whipping nosecone over thrusters, armor blazing. He /barely/ manages to right himself before eating dirt. He zooms back around for another strafing run but Scorponok challenges him! "A'IGHT KEEP YER' PINCHERS ON ah'm comin'!" Scorp's claw manages to snap a small part of his wing off, but this only serves to enrage him. He continues to fly dangerously low, firing off missiles every which way. Combat: F-111 Aardvark strikes Spinister with his Multiple Phoenix Launch Area attack! Combat: F-111 Aardvark strikes Scorponok with his Multiple Phoenix Launch Area attack! Bell UH-1V Iroquois curses as Spinister uses his ballerina moves to dodge a frakking rocket. "Ugh, go back to ballet school; Swan Lake is missing its Odile!" He tries harder to shoot Spinister. Rockets are stupid. Knives are so much better. Stupid flying! Combat: Bell UH-1V Iroquois sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Bell UH-1V Iroquois strikes Spinister with his Armor-Piercing Smart Rocket attack! [Pulled -1] Blurr catches Mute as the Casettebot transforms, hiding him away in a chest compartment, or something. The speedster shakes his head slightly at the music. <> he teases, as he smirks at Scorn's failed attempt to slice him. "Heh--guess they're not the only ones whose aim is off, dear." he emphasizes the last word in an effort to insult the Insecticon's speaking habits. BLAM! The explosives on the door go off, and a hole appears. The courier takes off immediately, transforming to dash through the breach and into whatever awaited him inside, though he is sure to cause a bit of a shockwave behind him for the little Insecticon lady. <> he comms Mute. In a flurry of moving parts, Blurr folds down into a pale blue-colored supersonic hovercar. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his For the little Insecticon Lady attack! [Pulled -2] The music changes (well tracks do end) to 'All You Need Is Love' only it's the Glee version. Yes, Mute may not speak, but he has a whole catalogue of offensive music. As Blurr goes through the now open(ish) door, Mute sends him a text message << Small base, find control room and drop me off. And these tracks are classics!>> Combat: Cassette Tape takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Spinister pulls Singe and Hairsplitter apart, staggering backwards slightly from the amount of power expelled...That moment of hesitation is an opening for the Autobots: Broadside hits him square in the chest with a missile battery at the same moment Blades shoots him in the back. The Targetmaster is spun roughly into the sky, pieces of armor hitting the ground before he slams soundly on his back. Hairsplitter remains in rifle mode, a hovering laser standing guard over his master. Singe sits up a short distance away, helmet and most of his armor destroyed. He wipes the dirt and grime from his face, spitting a bit of blood in disdain. Spinister struggles to his feet, a good bit of his exo armor destroyed, revealing awesome battle damage. "Yyyyeah, I've got a lock on Broadside." Hairsplitter blands. "That little prick has ruined my blowout." Singe hisses, glaring up at Blades. "...," Adds Spinister. And then he tosses a smoke grenade. Combat: Spinister is no longer apparent in view! Scorponok flies past Broadside, looking back with a scowl, disappointed he did so little damage. But he gets over it quickly enough, spinning back around in mid-air to aim at Broadside. He considers firing, but the sudden missile strikes do little damage to him, making him realize that Broadside wasn't quite the worthy opponent he wanted! "BAH!" Disappointed, he looks down at the ground. Hm. Scorn seems to be having trouble hitting Blurr. Aiming his cannon down at Blurr, he begins to feed her targeting data on the speedster. Because why not! Combat: Scorponok takes extra time to assist Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn>'s next attack. The emphasis does less to insult and more to aggravate. One of Scorn's optics twitches faintly and she snarls at him. "Nngh.. Shut your mouth!" She launches for him, readying another swipe, but Blurr is off like a bullet. The resounding shockwave in his wake hits her hard and sends the femme flying back and sprawling out on the dirt. "Guh.. damn speedsters.." Shaking her head, Scorn forces herself back to her feet and glances sidelong at Scorponok at the information feed. <> And then she's following the two inside, speedily traversing the dark interior and diverting to take a shortcut until.. ..She pops up ahead of Blurr! "Not going to escape me this time!" She skrees and rushes to meet him head on and stab through his hood, hoping to hit something vital. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> strikes Cybertronian Hovercar with her Plasma Sheathed Blades attack! Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> (Scorn) used "Plasma Sheathed Blades": A Level 5 MELEE attack. F-111 Aardvark has not forgotten about dear, dear Scorponok. He descends abruptly, transforming as he rolls through the landscape ripping up shrubbery and adorable critter homes. His massive axe manifests in his hand, and he wastes no time in lunging forth to swing it right for one of Scorponok's pincers. "Over here big guy!" In a grinding series of shuddering snaps and rumbling clanks, Broadside transforms into a behemoth of a mech, towering over the average bot! Combat: Broadside strikes Scorponok with his Vibro-Ax attack! <> Blurr answers a comm from Broadside as he speeds along the dark corridors. Aha, that area looks promising! There are certainly a lot of holoscreens and other machinery over there, so even if it isn't a control room he's certain Mute will be able to work with it. He swerves and heads toward it, but then Scorn unexpectedly jumps in front of him, her claws slicing through his chassis. <> He transforms, and when he's finished, the Casettebot is in his hand. The speedster brings his weapon about, tossing Mute toward the terminals as he does so. Hopefully the Insecticon doesn't notice. <> The hovercar quickly unfolds upward and outward to reveal the fastest terrestrial Cybertronian in the galaxy, Blurr! Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Blurr misses Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his Diversionary Tactics (Laser) attack! The cassettebot doesn't need to be told twice. Like a moth to a light, Mute is somehow right on target for the data slot (conviniently tape shaped and sized) on one of the terminals. How the tapes do that is anyones guess. Next thing he is inside the terminal and begining to access data. Apparently the terminal is still hooked up, like someone was as useless in disigning the security as they were in designing a 'hidden' base. Mute now just has to hope the Autobots can keep the Decepticons busy long enough to find what data he needs. Priority one, the Insecticons, priority two, everything else he can possibly download. Scorponok stares down at his pincer, which currently has an axe buried in it. Then he looks up at Broadside. Just... stares at him. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he finally says, "I... am REALLY beginning to dislike you Autobots always attacking my claws first! But alright--" He tries to wrap his other claw around Broadside's waist, dragging him down to Earth with him. "--if you want my claws, have one!" And then he begins to mercilessly squeeze poor Broadside like a tube of AIM toothpaste! Does he really think an Insecticon would miss a snack being thrown through the air? Not a chance. After dodging his shot her keen optics zero in like a cat on Mute flying through the air, the bug clicking in earnest hunger and leaving Blurr to give chase. "Hn.. Think you can hide in there?" She ducks down to eye the tape slot before grunting and just shoving strong mandibles in to snap at the cassette snack and try and drag him out, or at the very least start munching and unspooling his delicious magnetic tapey insides. Combat: Scorponok strikes Broadside with his Titanic Claw attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Broadside falls to the ground, unconscious. Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> strikes Cassette Tape with her Nom attack! Spinister steps out of the shadows, revealing himself dramatically to Blurr as Scorn eats Mute like a man with no jaw eating spaghetti! Hairsplitter in hand, he aims the weapon at the speedster, while a very angry (and dirty) looking Singe stands on the Targetmaster's shoulders. "Sorry, Blurr," Singe growls, "This section of the club is for VIPs only." Combat: Suddenly, Spinister appears out of the blue! Combat: Spinister strikes Blurr with his Mysterious Fist (Punch) attack! Combat: Spinister (Spinister) used "Punch": A Level 1 MELEE attack. Blurr's diversionary tactics fail. Slag it. He probably could have taken some advice from Shiftlock. Scorn dives for the data socket and starts tearing Mute up! "No!" he cries, drawing his electro-laser. And to make matters even worse, Spinister comes out of nowhere. The courier twists sideways to avoid the melee blow, but the Decepticon's fist manages to scrape the armor on his shoulder. The pain is minimal, however, and he remains focused on stopping the Insecticon female. Combat: Booster Pack SuperScopeXT1000 is activated! It will use up a charge the next chance it gets! Combat: Blurr uses up a charge on his SuperScopeXT1000 booster pack! Combat: Automatically deactivating booster pack SuperScopeXT1000 Combat: Blurr strikes Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his Stop I Tell You! attack! Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> has been temporarily incapacitated. The little cassettebot who could. Well hopefully he can. His systems get seriously assaulted by the Insecticon poking at the slot. However Mute makes no sound (aside from more Glee music). He's far too busy interfacing with the Decepticon systems. Aside from physical damage, all Scorn does is encourage Mute to speed up his assualt on the Decepticon mainframe. He isn't even looking at what he is getting, he can analyse that later, he's simply out to get what he can. Insecticons, Trypticon, Scorponoks bathing habits, who knows what is in the data he's downloading. "Heh heh-ERK!" Broadside gets grabbed around the middle and smashed into the ground with surprising ease. "Oh no ya' don't ya' stinkin'-" Scorponok's claws squeeze him like the jaws of DEATH, and several parts of him actually combust, while the rest seem to rupture, his energon spilling out over the ground. He drops his axe, visor burning bright blue before the crushing claw takes him completely offline. Spinister takes the opportunity to shoot Blurr in the back with a laser rifle. He'd use Singe, but the flamethrower is more or less broken. Combat: Spinister strikes Blurr with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Combat: Spinister (Spinister) used "Lock-Target Laser Rifle": A Level 4 RANGED attack. Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> is delighted to get a hold of the little tape, though the news over the comm is discouraging. Biting in deep she begins to pull and unspool the magnetic tape, greedily eating it to try and hinder Mute's data assault. But the sound of Blurr and Spinister behind her have the femme looking up, black ribbons dangling from her mouth. "Eh? Gah!!" Blurr fires and hits her dead center. And while it doesn't hurt it suddenly makes the femme stiffen up, frozen, and topple over stunned on her side. Scorponok chuckles as Broadside is crushed in his claws, raising up the other one for a decapitating blow, then--(We don't have time for trophies, Scorponok!) Zarak chides in their minds. (You have to stop the Autobots from stealing our data!) Snarling, Scorponok tosses Broadside away into the sand, and charges for the Autobot base. "AUTOBOOTTTTS! Prepare to meet your MAKER!" The door frame isn't quite wide enough for him, but that's okay, he smashes his way through the front door. It's not long before he reaches the Autobots, and stalks towards Blurr, claws snapping open and shut. "Do you... have any idea... what I'm going to do to you, Blurr!?" he snarls, visor glowing red. "I am going to teach you a new definition of pain--OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE MILLION YEARS!" Combat: Scorponok takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Scorponok chuckles as Broadside is crushed in his claws, raising up the other one for a decapitating blow, then--(We don't have time for trophies, Scorponok!) Zarak chides in their minds. (You have to stop the Autobots from stealing our data!) Snarling, Scorponok tosses Broadside away into the sand, and charges for the DECEPTICON base. "AUTOBOOTTTTS! Prepare to meet your MAKER!" The door frame isn't quite wide enough for him, but that's okay, he smashes his way through the front door. It's not long before he reaches the Autobots, and stalks towards Blurr, claws snapping open and shut. "Do you... have any idea... what I'm going to do to you, Blurr!?" he snarls, visor glowing red. "I am going to teach you a new definition of pain--OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE MILLION YEARS!" Blurr smirks with satisfaction as the electro-laser strikes its target, knocking Scorn off her feet. But it's quite short-lived, as Scorponok suddenly crashes through the doors and looms above him. Frag it...he'd figured this would happen sooner or later, once Broadside had gone down. But the goal is to keep them off Mute, not stay functioning, right? He hears Maximus' voice over the comms, and regains some confidence. Help is on the way. "Sure, that is, if you can even touch me." He challenges, smirking up at Scorponok. And then he transforms, driving in circles around the bunch in an effort to disorient and distract! Fortress Maximus' armour plates splits open, accompanied by the distinct transformation sound, as his body reconfigures itself into the form of an interstellar battleship. In a flurry of moving parts, Blurr folds down into a pale blue-colored supersonic hovercar. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his Distract and Disorient (Full-Auto) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar misses Scorponok with his Distract and Disorient (Full-Auto) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Spinister with his Distract and Disorient (Full-Auto) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Well aware that with Scorponok joining the party Blurr is seriously outgunned and in big trouble. However Mute is single minded. And while Scorn seems to think he keeps his data on his magnetic tape, such would be highly inefficient and very much unworkable for analytical purposes. As such she was chewing up his disguise mode and only inflicting physical damage. While that will cause problems down the line for Mute, getting the data is his priority. He only hopes Blurr can avoid serious damage long enough to give Mute the time he needs. Interstellar Battleship drops through the cloudy night skies, his landing thrusters begins to fire at full strength as they fight to slow down the ship's descent. It's a reckless dive to be clear, a maneuever that's usually executed to under great haste with fairly great risk. Usually ships tends to smash into the ground when something like this is done, and... well it looks like Fortress Maximus is par on course of doing just that! Tsk, poor fat sucker. Good thing he's not limited to being just a ship though! Fortress Maximus transforms into his robot mode, just a few seconds away from crashing into the ground, and drops into the ground like a meteor, creating a tsunami-like wave of dust clouds as he makes contact against the dry dirt ground. Fortress Maximus' current form begins to reconfigure itself, shrinking in size, and he eventually emerges in his robotic form. Spinister is taken off guard by Blurr's rapid fire counter attack! It's a desperation move, but it's effective. Spinister staggers back, and drops Hairsplitter- Blurr's shredded an important circuit cluster in the Targetmaster's shoulder and his arm goes completely limp! "Great." Singe rolls his eyes. "Performance issues." Combat: Spinister takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> hates Blurr for shooting her, but is also thankful for him. Mainly because when he runs her over he inadvertantly knocks her out of her stun. Slammed up against a console Scorn hisses in pain and limbers up, wobbly clambering to her feet and shaking the dare from her head. "Crush that pest already!" She snarls and turns attentions back to Mute to glare, thoroughly pissed. "That's it. I'm tearing you out one way or another!" Electricity be damned, she doesn't care if she gets shocked. Brandishing a blade she jams it into the slot to spear Mute and try to rip him out. Piece by piece if she has to! Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> strikes Cassette Tape with her Tape Kabob attack! Scorponok might have been disoriented--that is, if he didn't have Zarak in the backseat to keep him focused! (Disregard his tricks, Scorponok!) Zarak coaches in their minds. (Bring down the house! Give him nowhere to run!) And so, not even trying to track Blurr's movements, Scorponok reaches up into the ceiling, stabbing his claws through it, and with a great yank he pulls down metal panels and support structures. "I don't have to touch you, Blurr! JUST BURY YOU!" Scorponok does not appear to care if friendlies are hit by the attack--or even himself! Combat: Scorponok strikes himself with his Nobody Brought Their Hard Hat Area attack! [Pulled -7] Combat: Scorponok misses Cybertronian Hovercar with his Nobody Brought Their Hard Hat Area attack! [Pulled -7] Combat: Scorponok (Scorponok) used "Titanic Claw": A Level 1 AREA-MELEE attack. Combat: Scorponok strikes Spinister with his Nobody Brought Their Hard Hat Area attack! [Pulled -7] Combat: Scorponok misses Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his Nobody Brought Their Hard Hat Area attack! [Pulled -7] Combat: Scorponok strikes Cassette Tape with his Nobody Brought Their Hard Hat Area attack! [Pulled -7] Combat: Cassette Tape falls to the ground, unconscious. Space Shuttle arrives on the scene. The shuttle was in orbit when he began to pick up Con radio frequencies indicating an Autobot infiltration at their Australian Base. When he heard mention of BLURR, his arch-nemisis(!!!), elevons immediately shifted and the Combaticon came speeding down as fast as he can. As he approaches, his sensors pick up -FORT MAX?!?- It's worse than he thought. His mind is still focused on Blurr, of course, but the Combaticon hits Fort Max with a round of orbital bombardment lasers as he heads towards the entrance of the base. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Fortress Maximus with his Cavalry Has Arrived attack! [Pulled -5] As he gets struck again by Scorn, Mute registers the danger his systems are in. He kicks in two automated systems. The first is his data retreival system, designed to let the Autobots retreive his intel even if they can't retreive him. It will ensure that whatever Scorn continues to do, it will sacrifice the Bots parts before the data. The second he kicks in is a last ditch attempt to hide. He attempts to make the console overload, or is trying to when Scorponok attacks everyone. The console gets buried under rubble. Blurr continues driving in a circle, his efforts proving quite effective, especially against Spinister. Even Scorponok's attempts to bury him under rubble fail. He dodges the debris, and heads straight for Mute, transforming to grab him before he folds back down into a hovercar again. And now, he's going to really make that Insecti-creep pay for what she's done to the poor little Casettebot! Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Blurr uses up a charge on his SuperScopeXT1000 booster pack! Combat: Automatically deactivating booster pack SuperScopeXT1000 Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his Sonic Boom attack! The news of Mute being deactivated floods through Fortress Maximus' internal system via the combat datalink system and propels the technical pacifist into an enraged state, "SCORPONOK! DECEPTICONS! YOU WILL NOT TAKE THIS ONE!" Fate itself seems to be testing Fortress Maximus' resolve in the form of a precise high-powered laser beam by Blast Off that pierces down from the heavens and digs into his back! The strength of the laser beam is enough to cause the wounded section of Fortress Maximus' back to glow red-yellow! Fortress Maximus grunts but bears the pain as he rams his shoulder through the base's walls and charges within. The moment he charges through the walls he also deploys his radio controlled drones that were concealed within the recesses of his feet. The two drone races off towards Scorn, leaps into the air, merged into their combined form, Cog, before landing down in attempt to drop call the robotic praying mantis below! Meanwhile Fortress Maximus himself continues charging towards Scorponok, attempting to deliver a swift and decisive double fisted uppercut at his arch-nemesis! "You've chose the wrong place to strike this time, Scorponok!" Combat: Fortress Maximus sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his Combined Attack! Area attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Scorponok with his Combined Attack! Area attack! [Pulled -5] Things are not going well for Spinister. First, he loses an arm. Hairsplitter flits up to try to repair it, but for god's sake, man. He's an office clerk, not a doctor. Andthen Scorponok has to go and literally bring the house down. A huge piece of base strikes the Targetmaster in the head, completely throwing off his optical systems. What's worse is that Singe doesn't even seem to be aware of the danger. He's standing stiff as a board as debris falls around him, staring out into the distance. His eyes narrow, and his bangs fall over one of them in a cool, anime way. The camera zooms in for an extreme close up. "Galen." He balls his hands into fists, and screams. "GAAAAAALEN!" "Spinister, transform! He's ours, this time! OURS!" The pyromaster turns to Spinister, who is kneeling before him, beaten to hell even by Furman levels. "..." "What...WHAT DID YOU SAY? You can't stand...YOU WON'T EVEN SPEAK." Singe reaches back, and slaps Spinister across the jaw. "STAND! STAND YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCRAP! HE HAS TO DIE! HE HAS TO DIE NOW!" Combat: Spinister takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> cackles wickedly while scraping out bits of Mute, a massive grin likely to be on her face if she had the proper mouth. All her effort is for naught, though, when she hears Scorponok tearing through the ceiling, looking up and immediately leaping out of the way to avoid being crushed. But this just leads her into a series of unfortunate events. Blurr strikes first, the sonic boom slamming her back hard into the wall where she crumples into a heap. "Hn.." Attempting to get back up she's assaulted by Fort Max's drones, sending her spiraling into critical with sensors flashing red and energon seeping from her mouth. << Systems critical.. permission to retreat..?>> Combat: Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> takes extra time to steady herself. [Pass] Scorponok laughs as he tears down debris onto the Autobots, heedless of the damage he's doing. Then, however, Maximus roars his challenge, and Scorponok turns slowly, metal bits bouncing off his head. "Ehh!? AGG--" And then he's clocked, flying across the room even from a light punch, smashing into a console. With a grunt, Scorponok pulls himself off of it, disregarding the aft-print he put into it. Gnashing his teeth, Scorponok growls, "Oh, don't worry, Singe--GALEN WILL DIE! I'll see to it PERSONALLY! AAAHHHH--" And he flings himself at Maximus, transforming in mid-air to try and knock him back out of the base and give him a good thrashing. Scorponok collapses down into his terrifying scorpion mode! Combat: Giant Scorpion < Scorponok> strikes Fortress Maximus with his Outta My House attack! [Pulled -6] Space Shuttle transforms and speeds through the base as fast as he can go. He ignores the shuddering walls caused by Max's destruction and focuses on finding Blurr. He knows that signature all too well, and it's not long before his sensors lock on target. Rounding a corner, he enters the room at about the same time as Max. Chaos, noise, and destruction are everywhere, as are several very large and enraged Cybertronians... but Blast Off is looking for a patch of blue. Weapon already drawn, he fires it as soon as he spots his target. He sneers, sarcastic, "PARTNER!!!! We were an Olympic team, I thought you said we had a "special something"! But you never called, never came and asked how I was doing! How RUDE, Blurr!" Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Blast Off strikes Cybertronian Hovercar with his Team: Shattered attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Blast Off (Blast Off) used "Ionic Blaster": A Level 3 RANGED attack. Cassette Tape is now an unconcious passenger carried by Blurr. VROOM VROOM. Blurr's fuel reserves have gone down to zero. Literally zero. And his systems are in the red, warnings flashing across the corners of his optical field. And to make matters worse, Blast Off just has to show up! The courier can't help but chuckle at the Combaticon's comments, though. "Awww, I'm flattered you missed me! Sorry I can't stay and chat though! I've got more important things to attend to!" Such as getting Mute the slag out of here before Scorponok pounds everyone into a flattened scrapheap. He guns his engines and speeds toward the nearest exit, firing a potshot at Scorn as he goes. <> Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar misses Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> with his More Important Than Blast Off (Disruptor) attack! Fortress Maximus puts his entire weight into the momentum of his double fisted uppercut that would even Optimus Prime proud. Well, he might've been proud if ol' Fortress Maximus didn't ditch Cybertron and go off on a few million years worth of vacation time with his merry band of Autobot slackers. The Autobot Headmaster commander dental clenches in rage, "Great job, Blurr, Galen's reported that you've retrieved Mute." It's at this point he hears Singe's hateful screams towards him, prompting the big guy to turn around towards the Decepticon warrior's direction. Fortress Maximus doesn't offer much of a verbal response, instead he extends his waist mounted ion pulse cannons and fires a full powered pair of bolts straight at Spinister, "We'll cover your retreat, Blurr!" This moment of distraction is more than enough for Scorponok to tackle Fortress Maximus and send him flying out of the base! Fortress Maximus flies through the air for a few brief minutes from the impact of Scorponok's strike and eventually slams into the ground before skidding to a stop. Looks like he won't be able to do much with Blast Off now that Scorponok has him covered. Poor Blurr. Combat: Fortress Maximus sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Spinister with his Ion Pulse Cannons attack! Combat: Spinister has been temporarily incapacitated. With permission given Scorn wastes no time in getting the frag out of here. Blurr's parting shot thankfully misses, drawing a threatening hiss from her before she mass shifts into her tiny mode and crawls into the nearest crack in the wall to escape and wait until the coast is clear or she recieves a lift out. With a flurry of shifting and compacting parts, Scorn is now in her teeny tiny mantis mode. Combat: Tiny Robotic Praying Mantis < Scorn> begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Bell UH-1V Iroquois , Blast Off, Cybertronian Hovercar , Giant Scorpion < Scorponok>, Fortress Maximus, and Spinister "There's no retreat this time, Maximus!" Scorponok roars, using his creepy little scorpolegs to cling to Maximus even as he's flying through the air. He's about to pummel on Maximus some more outside when something Galvatron says bothers him. His claw hovers in the air. Hm. Blurr. Courier. Speedster. Perfect choice for escaping with the data, if there is any! He scuttles off of Maximus, back towards the base. "Blurr! I'm coming for you!" The creepy scorpion crawls back inside, and the moment he catches sight of Blurr he tries to fry him with a 100,000 volt blast! Combat: Giant Scorpion < Scorponok> sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Giant Scorpion < Scorponok> strikes Cybertronian Hovercar with his One Hundred Thousand Volts attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Giant Scorpion < Scorponok> (Scorponok) used "One Hundred Thousand Volts": A Level 4 RANGED attack. Blast Off watches Blurr appear to try and ignore him, but OH NO, he won't be ignored! Not today. He's been waiting for this. For a long time. The Combaticon is in full COMBAT mode, and his rival is right there in his sights, where Blurr belongs. None of this truce nonsense. Blast Off will make Onslaught proud, just you watch. Despite that radio device Blurr planted on him. He can't say anything about that, of course- not yet- but he can certainly do his best to shoot Blurr. That's FULLY "in character", after all. "More important things- such as running like the coward you are, Autofool? I have a better idea- I think you should stop and "chat" RIGHT NOW!!" Suddenly, Scorponok fires at Blurr- and actually hits him. The Combaticon is a little surprised, but then follows up with a shot of his own. Combat: Blast Off strikes Cybertronian Hovercar with his No I think I've waited QUITE long enough attack! Combat: Blast Off (Blast Off) used "Ionic Blaster": A Level 4 RANGED attack. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar falls to the ground, unconscious. Blurr had been hoping to knock Scorn down for the count, but she evades his attack and disappears into a crack somewhere. Slag it. Oh well, she looked like she'd gotten quite the beating. The courier continues out of the base, but catches sight of a temporarily disabled Spinister and decides to take advantage of the situation. But just as he's about to fire, Scorponok zaps him with a high-voltage blast, knocking him off course but failing to send him into stasis lock. He's just about to get back on the fast track out of there (forget Spinister!), but Blast Off finally does him in with a shot form his ionic blaster. <> He transmits over the comms. The courier spins out of control, slamming into a large orange rock formation where he lies motionless, though he somehow manages not to look defeated. "Hah...kkk....you think you've won, Blast Off? ...Y-you haven't! We already have what we came for, and there's not a chance in this galaxy of you ever t-tak-kk-king it from us!" Fortress Maximus lets out an audible grunt in pain as the full weight of the giant scorpion on top of him pins him to the ground, "Get off of me." Perhaps Fortress Maximus should've chosen his words more wisely, because Scorponok does just that and goes off to zap Blurr. Whoops. A few moments later, he watches in horror as Blast Off finishes off Blurr with a well placed shot! Ok, so all of the Autobots who came along on this mission are now down for the count. Looks like Maximus better start getting these guys out! Fortress Maximus pulls out his fusion powered photon rifle and begins leveling suppressing fire towards Blast Off and Scorponok as he races forward to catch up and attempt to secure Blurr first by placing himself in between the fallen Autobots and their two aggressors! << Save your strength, Blurr. I'll get you all out of here yet. >> Combat: Fortress Maximus sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Fortress Maximus takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] "STOP HIM!" Scorponok roars, advancing upon Maximus and blasting him with his shoulder cannons. Their high-pitched shrieks are especially deafening in the tight confines of the base. Combat: Giant Scorpion < Scorponok> strikes Fortress Maximus with his Twin Pulse Blasters attack! [Pulled -5] Blast Off shoots at his arch-rival... the Autobot who has taunted him, humiliated him, and avoided his wrath for so, so, so, so long. So long that it's made Blast Off the butt of jokes from other Decepticons and subject of scorn from his Commander, Onslaught. The Combaticon can hardly believe it when Blurr crashes to a halt, just like he wanted- but this time it's not a subconcious subroutine- it's the real thing. Blurr- STOPS. Blast Off just stands there and stares for a moment, hardly able to dare hope. Then he recieves an order to behead the Autobot. He blinks and looks back at Scorponok, who is currently engaged with Fort Max. Not that he's really adverse to such things, but they are messy, and there's energon dripping everywhere.... Blast Off decides he doesn't care. Not right now. He's still actually a little stunned that he finally defeated Blurr (with the help of many others- but HE delivered the final shot, and that's all he cares about right now.) He approaches the fallen Autobot, speaking quietly: "I don't need to, Blurr. I don't care. The others will deal with those matters. I have what *I* came for... and that's really all that matters to me right now." The blue optics finally go dim, and Blast Off feels something start to grow inside. Elation. Also- his ego. OH BOY, is his EGO going to be hard to live with for awhile. But Max blocks his way, and the Combaticon looks up, annoyed. "*I* offlined him, he's MINE." And he fires at Fort Max, trying to get around him to reach Blurr. Combat: Blast Off strikes Fortress Maximus with his Don't Stand Between Me and My Prey! attack! [Pulled -1] Meanwhile back in the ruined base, Cog is still being remote controlled by Galen. The remote controlled drone splits off into its separate form and navigates out of the debris filled base. Eventually the drones finds themselves beside Broadside. Grommet begins plopping down a locator beacon beside the deactivated Wrecker while Gasket circles around the area acting as perimeter defense. Meanwhile Fortress Maximus is still liberally firing off fusillades of suppressive fire towards Blast Off and Scorponok. If this futile gesture had any effect at all, it won't any more because Fortress Maximus soon expends the energy charge in his photon rifle. Scorponok's deadly shoulder retaliates and soon the wash of sonic pulses brings Fortress Maximus down onto his knees, "Argh...! These Autobots are leaving with me, test my resolve if you dare!" Blast Off attempts to call Fortress Maximus out on his bluff... and well looks like this time he's plenty serious. The Autobot Headmaster commander's extends out the mortar launchers on his feet and launches a salvo of mortar fire from each leg towards two directions, one towards air space that Blast Off is approaching from, the other towards Scorponok himself! Combat: Fortress Maximus sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Blast Off with his Laser-Guided Mortars Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Giant Scorpion < Scorponok> with his Laser-Guided Mortars Area attack! [Pulled -2] Giant Scorpion < Scorponok> takes a mortar shell to the head that flips him over onto his back, his scorpolegs wriggling in the air! "AAAGHHH!" Combat: Giant Scorpion < Scorponok> takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Blast Off 's ego and determination to finish the job causes him to arrogantly (who, Blast Off?) try to take on Fort Max. He pays the price, as a massive missile strikes and knocks him far back. "Gah!!!" He picks himself back up, a little more cautious now, and warily circles around Max's side. Wiping an energon trickle from his faceplate, he transforms into shuttle mode, then fires at Max again. "Now I believe we are a little more even, no?" With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Fortress Maximus with his Defiant attack! [Pulled -6] The spent mortar launchers slides back into place against Fortress Maximus' legs and audible mechanical whirling the emits from within suggests that his internal systems is in the process of reloading the weaponary once more. In the meantime, Fortress Maximus continues to stand guard over his fallen comrade, although it seems there's very little opportunity for him to actually pick up Blurr and make a run for it thanks to Blast Off zipping around being a continued threat to them, "It's going to be some time before Scorponok can get back onto his feet, and during that time this will end very badly for you, Blast Off." Fortress Maximus balls up his left fist threateningly, "These Autobots come home with me, consider this your final warning before I start going beyond attempting to disable you!" As if to add weight to his words, Fortress Maximus' waist mounted ion pulse cannon slides out into readied position and a series of circuit frying blue bolts are fired off into the skies towards Blast Off with the intention to disable any systems it may strike! Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Space Shuttle with his Retractable Ion Pulse Cannons attack! [Pulled -4] Space Shuttle gets hit again, and it hurts again. Two shots, and he's at less than fifty percent capacity. Of course, he DID just get hit by a frikkin' FORTRESS, and the Combaticon's armor is hardly anything to write home about anyway. He just usually expects to dodge better, is all. But his obsession on Blurr may have interferred with his other skills- like survival skills. This might not have been his brightest manuever. His systems are sending warnings and he is now completely out of energon reserves. With failing strength and zero firepower, he finally snaps out of "hunter on prey" mode and realizes it would be better to run away and gloat... elsewhere. And yes, he will be gloating. After many bad days, this is one he will consider a good one, for a long time to come. Just... sans Blurr's head... which actually isn't something he really wanted anyway. For real, this time. What? Heads are messy. "Tch. If you want him that badly, you can have him. He won't be running very fast for quite some time now, anyway. ...and I have made my point!" There's one last sigh as he has to break away without realizing his final objective, and he circles away, rocketing off. Combat: Space Shuttle begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Fortress Maximus retracts his ion pulse cannons as he discharges all the energy that were had been loaded into the weapon, and soon he collapses down onto one knee beside Blurr. He actually sustained quite a bit of damage throughout this mission, and the strain of combat has finally caught up to him at last, "Ugh... wise choice, Blast Off." It's only after Blast Off is out of ear's shot range that he mutters, "Didn't think I had anymore left in me to take care of that Combaticon AND---", he takes a quick glance at Scorponok nearby, "---Scorponok later. I guess some measure of luck is still with us tonight, better not overstay my welcome." Fortress Maximus grabs onto Blurr and transforms into his space ship mode. From there on, the space ship cruises over to Broadside and fires off a tractor beam onto the fallen Wrecker and the drones standing guard beside him, before beating a hasty retreat! Fortress Maximus' armour plates splits open, accompanied by the distinct transformation sound, as his body reconfigures itself into the form of an interstellar battleship. Combat: Interstellar Battleship begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Space Shuttle ================================== Autobot =================================== Message: 3/203 Posted Author Costly Espionage Mission Tue Oct 22 Fortress Maximus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** TEXT ONLY *** Tonight I was alerted to the news that Mute's infiltration attempts on a Decepticon base had gone awry. By the time I arrived on site, Broadside was already disabled. Unfortunately Mute himself also suffered catastrophic damage from Scorn and Scorponok. Blurr attempted to extract Mute from the scene but he too was gunned down by Blast Off. I was able to disable Spinister, and Scorn eventually retreated. Things could've gone a whole lot worst, given that I was attempting to extract Blurr and Mute from the combat zone, if not for an unexpectedly effective shot toppling Scorponok onto his back. This gave me enough time to actually drive away Blast Off, secure Blurr and Broadside before retreating. This team of Autobots paid a heavy price for whatever it is they went to get tonight. Mute mentioned securing some sort of data, but I am not aware of what the contents of the data holds. It does not matter either, these three will be receiving the best medical care possible first and foremost. We'll deal with the gathered intelligence after they're well and on their feet once more. I'll await a proper report on this mission when they're all brought back online. *** TEXT ONLY *** ==============================================================================
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