| abstract | - Lookout Point -- Nebulos Deep in the Folassian Forest, there are many beautiful, tranquil waterfalls and look-out points, perfect for young couples to park their speeders and enjoy tender moments together. Unfortunately, due to the way Nebulos rotates and its planetary geometry, this peaceful place is also a great location to land a spaceship. Contents: Jayson Redfield Pile-Up Talazia Keldahoff Marissa Faireborn Junkion Shuttle EDC Mobile Base Obvious exits: Up leads to Deep Space - Subplanar. North leads to Folassian Forest -- Nebulos. Pile-Up is off near the Battlescrap, with a number of other Junkions, building what looks like a miniature scale model of New York City First Aid has just arrived back on Nebulos after a brief run up to the Orion Pax. It was there he got a plea from Red Alert to get Kup back up and running soon, and for good reason - without Kup and Rodimus, leadership is teetering between... Grimlock and Fortress Maximus. Gulp. Regardless, the Protectobot has done all he can for Kup at the moment, and he has come back to the planet to continue his repair efforts. The Autobot doctor is passing by the Battlescrap now. "Er." he says at the miniature scale model of New York. Jayson Redfield heads out of the forest, looking quite wet. At the moment he is wringing water out of his ponytail. Red Alert lands on Nebulos. Pile-Up nods as the construction goes on, the miniature of New York even having a little bit of water on it's east side for Liberty and Staten Island. All the while the Junkions keep making wierd monster sounds. You send a radio message to Red Alert: Hello Red. You receive a radio message from Red Alert: Ah, erm, First Aid. Any news? You send a radio message to Red Alert: Is this line secure on your end? You receive a radio message from Red Alert: I believe so, yes. "Hello Pile-Up. I read that you were on Nebulos. Welcome aboard," First Aid says slowly, still eying the thing that the Junkions are doing. "So... what's this you have going here?" he asks, approaching New York. He's careful not to step on anything fragile. Pile-Up looks over at First Aid now. "Eh? We are building... FOR SCIENCE!" beaming as he cassualy places the pointy thing onto the top of the empire state building. Jayson Redfield continues trying to squeeze water out of his hair. "Hey, what's up with the mini-NYC?" Talazia Keldahoff is still working on the Ventress. "blast it." She says as she hangs upside down from the underside of the Ventress in jet form. "how in the heck am I gonna make these rockets work...." First Aid hmms and steps past the Rockefeller Center, slowly heading towards Broadway. "If you're looking for something to build, Pile-Up, I was about to head out to help with the rebuilding effort in Splendora. They could use a hand there." The doctor waves to Jayson. Jet is flying overhead, lazily approaching the Lookout Point. Once there, he seems to circle around the miniature version of New York, as if assessing it. You send a radio message to Red Alert: I've done everything I can for Kup right now, but I'm afraid he is very weak. He's been stabilized and it will be some time before his strength returns. Pile-Up blinks at all the folks telling him he should help with the rebuilding efforts and hrmmms, then stands abrubtly. "First! We must do the finale of this operation!" the other junks begin moving away from Mini-York, some walking behind Pile-Up and attaching wierd little... plate things with pointy bits to his back... and an animatronic tail. You receive a radio message from Red Alert: *hisses.* "This is... this is disasterous. How long? Will he be able to, say, take up command duties without the physical component?" *pause* "Maybe if we tied him down..." Jayson Redfield doesn't get an answer. He stares at Pile-Up, decides he's crazy, and turns his attention to First Aid. "Yo." You send a radio message to Red Alert: He's been drifting in and out of consciousness, and has said he isn't fit to command. Physically we can have him on his feet and back in the fight within a week. It's psychological issues he's dealing with mostly and that I can't begin to estimate. He's a tough mech, but he's been through a lot. After a few more moments, Pile-Up is hefted, and dropped into what appeared to be a small puddle for the Mini-York bay area, at least until he sinks completely underneath. Foe-Lee then begins chanting out an old monster movie theme "Dunnnnn dunnn... DUN-DA-DUNNNNN-Dunnnnnnnnn!" Head breaking the water's surface, Pile-Up lurches forward towards Mini-New York, opening his mouth to make the Godzilla roar. First Aid thinks he was the only one to say that so far, though he bets he could drup up more support for the rebuilding effort. "Alright, but I'd like to get a move on it pretty soon." he looks around as the Junkions begin applying robo-make-up to Pile-Up. "Wait I thought it was Tokyo where this happened," he points out as he backs up away from New York, stepping into where New Jersey would be. You receive a radio message from Red Alert: Those psychological issues must be very grave indeed if he thinks he's less fit than Grimlock! You send a radio message to Red Alert: Although he might be right. Kup was in a pretty bad way when I last spoke to him. You receive a radio message from Red Alert: I... need to speak to him. Jayson Redfield rubs his temples. "He's probably reenacting the American version of Godzilla..." You send a radio message to Red Alert: Alright, but try not to put too much pressure on him. You receive a radio message from Red Alert: Me? Of course not! You send a radio message to Red Alert: :coughs audibly. First Aid looks down at Jayson from New Jersey, "I never saw that one, but I heard it wasn't as good as the others." Pile-Up roars and stomps, crushing Mini-New York buildings, and breathing 'fire' as he rampages in his own version of Godzilla. "These monsters are so -craaaaaazy-!" grinning at First Aid, but pausing in his demolition. "So... see.. you want us to build homes seee? Nyah, nyah..." Jayson Redfield shrugs at First Aid. "I think it's pretty cool, myself. But yeah, it still can't match up to Gojira." And yes, he's nerdy enough to refer to the Japanese Godzilla by his actual name. Jet descends gradually, converting into robot mode as he lands gently somewhere in the middle of mini-York. "Huh. You know..." He turns about, looking around at the strange replica. "I... I don't think there was a settlement, here. What's the purpose of all of this? Is this supposed to be a firebase, or?..." You receive a radio message from Red Alert: One other question, First Aid. There was another... another blood incident yesterday. Were you able to find any samples on Kup, or any of the other Autobots in that incident? The cybertronian jet unfurls itself, transforming into the robot mode of Brainstorm! First Aid makes a persuasion roll as he looks directly back at Pile-Up. "Yes, many neighborhoods in the city have been reduced to rubble and trash and garbage and we're doing our best to make what repairs we can and haul off the stuff that can't be used..." As Brainstorm lands, the Protectobot says, "Hello there again! Our Junkion friends are, er, reenacting a famous Earth, uh, cultural event... we're just about to head off to Splendora to help with repairs." To Jayson, he says, "Interested in coming along for the ride?" Pile-Up cassualy picks up a bus, and he throws it back down as he wades through the buildings to the center of town! OH No! They say he's got to go! Go go Godzilla! You say, "Yessiree... not sure what we're going to do with all that debris in Splendora..." You say, "I mean sure we can /try/ to rebuild stuff with it... but who has that kind of skill?" Pile-Up though, at the sound of the Junkions being asked to help build, whistles shrilly. Junkions begin gathering up. "What do we build!?" "CITIES!" "When do we build them!?" "NOW!" Then Pile-Up pulls... well a frickan sword from subspace, "Sword of Thundara! Give me sight beyond sight! Thunder... Thunder... THUNDER! THUNDERCATS!' and then all the Junkions join in with Pile-Up for the next bit, 'HOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jayson Redfield shakes his head. "'Fraid I can't, man. I got other stuff to do. Like dry off." Yes, he's still very wet. "Word of advice, bro: don't fall into rivers." Brainstorm looks between First Aid and Pile-Up. "Oh... I see. Destroying miniature cities is a past-time on Earth? Very strange. From what I've seen most Nebulans would be horrified at such a display of rampant destruction. Uh." Head-tilt. "Arcana is fascinated, though. He wants me to..." Pulling out a datapad, he begins to record the ritual with a little built-in camera. "...record it." He shrugs. "Uh, hope you don't mind?" First Aid chuckles at Jayson, "I understand. Be careful, Mr. Redfield, you don't want to catch a cold out here on an alien world. Alien disease treatment is complicated." First Aid looks over at Brainstorm, leaning in as if to whisper a secret, "Human culture can be very strange." The Protectobot beams as the Junkions line up to help. "Great!" He gives a little flamboyant swing of his arm, "I'm going to head over there now. Feel free to join up when you can!" First Aid falls forward, arms sliding in and legs flipping about, transforming into an ambulance. Jayson Redfield snorts in amusement. "No worries, I'll be fine. And just call me Jayson, okay? 'Mr. Redfield' makes me feel old." MAIL: You sent your message to Hazard. Sam wanders out of the exo-hangar, finishing up some busy-work. Pile-Up looks now to the Headmaster. "We can record later if you wish! For now we must build... With real legos!" Ambulance is with the Junkions an Jayson next to a small (partially destroyed) replica of New York City. "I understand, Jayson." Apparently not, as he then says, "Hello Mr. Sam. We're heading to Splendora to assist with the repairs. Would you like to join us?" Jayson Redfield facepalms a bit. "Silly Protectobot... Hey, Sam!" Brainstorm oohhs at First Aid. "I see. Ok. Well, yeah, I guess this can wait. I'll stick with you guys and help out. I know a thing or two about architecture, myself. Uh, Arcana wants to rebuild the city like how it looked a thousand years ago, but I'm... I'm not sure that would be practical." He gives a shrug, then converts to fighter mode, with Arcana hopping into the cockpit. Brainstorm folds up his limbs and snaps out his nose section as he converts into a quick and powerful fighter! Sam walks up. He looks up at First aid, then down at the replica. "Hm." Blinks twice, then nods. "Er.. yes. Repairs?" Pile-Up A good sized sixteen feet tall, give or take a few inches from him, Pile-Up has the appearance very old robot, both in shape and form... trying to become "young" again. His paint job is a mish mosh of greens, orange, black, and dark blue, a strange cloth-like sheen covering his body, as if he were entirely wrapped in something that was "skin tight". His mouth often twists into a rather sad frowning expression, the joints in his facial servos having caused minor stress marks on his faceplate, set just below a sharp nose and greenish blue optics. His face is long, and angular in parts, ending in a boxy sort of chin, with a touch of wiring jammed into it to form a sort of goatee. His head is partly covered in a sort of bowl like helmet, a strange looking targeting doodad sticking out of one side, and a motorcycle headlight resting at the very top of it. His short neck sinks into a thick chest plate, smooth along most planes, with what appears to be a motorcycle wheel guard at the very dead center of him. His left shoulder looks like it is made up of part of a wheel that disapears into his body, like a bizzare pauldron, long spikes jutting out, noticibly sharp. The right arm is a simple affair, with no adornments. After the elbows, his arms seem to widen dramaticly, looking like large studded clubs if his hands were pulled in, the right arm seeming a little extra bulky, as if something were contained inside. On his back, resting at fourty five degree angles, are a set of what look like recycled Seeker wings, Xed out Decepticon sigils resting on either one of them, and replaced with the symbol of the Junkions, and a smaller symbol of the Autobots. On his back, between the wings, is a fairly bulky looking bazooka formed from the mighty jet engine of his rocketcycle mode, also looking like it was recycled from a deceased Decepticon seeker. Resting on his back, under the bazooka, is his other wheel, like some sort of dismounted shield. At his hip hangs a rather bizzare looking disc with hand grips in the center, and a number of switches. "Pile-Up! OVERDRIVE!" Pile-Up jumps forward, flipping and twisting until he forms a junk motorcycle with a jet engine and wings, engine firing to life. Ambulance swings open his driver's side door. "And reconstruction. The Junkions are coming along to help." Sam can hop in if he likes. Sam looks over at Jayson to see what he's going to do. Jayson Redfield is pretty wet right now. The rivers are out to get him. "I'm probably just gonna stay here, Sam." Ambulance 's engine idles while he waits for Sam to make up his mind. Sam ohs. "Okay." He rather hesitantly climbs in to sit on the driver's seat, looking around what could be construed as 'nervously.' Junk Rocketcycle just revs his engine, the black smoke pouring out like he was coal powered or something. Jayson Redfield laughs a bit. "Nervous, Sam? Don't be. First Aid'll take good care of ya." Ambulance 's door closes. There's a lot of neat ambulance an Autobot-related machinery on First Aid's dash board that one could fiddle around with. Rescue vehicles are complicated on the inside. "To quote a friend of mine, 'and away we go'." It is a lousy impression. === TRAVEL SPAM === Splendora -- Nebulos Where Koraja was built as a testament to Nebulos' endurance, Splendora is a testament to the beauty of the world. In all terms of the word a 'pleasure city', the glass and chrome towers of Splendora pierce the sky, intermingling effortlessly with the grassy slopes and greenery. Trees nestle comfortably with towers, gazelle graze near food stalls. Nebulos has healed from war, it is enduring, everlasting. Life goes on. Contents: Foxfire Porsche 959 Fire Chief's Car Macrobiotic Restaurant Gardens of Eternal Peace and Harmony Mercury Gardens of Melanossus Obvious exits: North leads to Koraja -- Nebulos. Red Alert's last pose: "Nightbeat, we /have/ to get to the bottom of that haunting. Kup has... Kup is... Kup is claiming he's unfit for command. And... you /know/ where that leaves us! I suspect a connection with recent events." Then Foxfire comes scurrying over. Foxfire. Who has good ears, doesn't he? "Oh, uhm... hello, Foxfire. Please, uhm, keep anything you've just heard in confidence." Foxfire's last pose: Foxfire's optics dim for a second, giving the impression that he's blinking. He tilts his head slightly. "Of course. It will stay confidential. Either way, though, I'd like to help." Nightbeat's last pose: Porsche 959 observes dryly, "That leaves us with a great big scaly palook callin' himself king." No good can come of Grimlock in command! He asides to Foxfire, "That means, don't go jabbering it to your pals." Back on topic, he asks, "What about this Keldahoff broad? Any blood get on her suit? Even if it's been cleaned, blood don't wash out easy. There'll be traces." Ambulance is on his way to Splendora, and he's brought friends. Several neighborhoods in the city of beauty were ravaged during the fight that left Rodimus incapacitated. Both the technological sections and the nature have suffered, leaving trees and debris strewn about the streets. While much of it has been cleared away, there's still a lot of work to be done, and the actual *rebuilding* effort has barely begun. "Be on the look-out for Decepticons. I had a run-in with one in this very city just several days ago," First Aid transmits. Junk Rocketcycle is leading a convoy of Junkions right behind the ambulance, some of then construction equipment, others motorcycles... and one odd car singing "Hey! You! Chitty-chitty-bang-bang we love you! Hay Hoo..." Jet has been tagging along with the other Autobots just now arriving. How he manages to keep pace with ground-based vehicles without stalling out is a mystery, though. "Don't worry, we got *two* sets of eyes up here! If there's any Decepticons here, I'll spot them." Foxfire has resumed his search for Rodimus's head. He can faintly smell the Prime's scent, but other than that he has no leads. Sam is apparently 'friends.' He rides along very quietly in First Aid's driver's seat. However, he does look around quite a bit. Porsche 959 could tell Foxfire why he smells Rodimus Prime here - this is where Rodimus Prime lost his head - but Nightbeat is not a mind reader. He drifts over, essentually tailing Pile-Up and First Aid, lost in thought. Ambulance makes friends easily. Arriving at one particularly beat up street (the very street where Foxfire is sniffing about), First Aid slows down and stops, opening up his driver's side door. "This neighborhood was hit the hardest. I wasn't here to see it firsthand but apparently Galvatron really did a number on it with stray blasts." Foxfire is well aware that this is where Rodimus's head was lost. He can still smell the combatants from that day. But still no physical sign of the head. His ears twitch and he looks up. "First Aid!" Sam hops out and starts to have a look around. "Hrm.. this damage is from single battle?" The Junkcycle flips and reforms himself, jet engine becoming a bazooka as he transforms to robot mode. Jet drops down, transforming into robot mode as he lands in a kneeling crouch by First Aid. Standing, he comments, "Why did Galvatron attack this city? Splendora doesn't have much in the way of resources that could be exploited. This city's basically a vacation spot. And it used to be pretty nice." A sad sigh issues from his vocalizer. The cybertronian jet unfurls itself, transforming into the robot mode of Brainstorm! Pile-Up leaps into the air he transforms, kicking his jets long enough to land about three feet from Foxfire, crouched down to be eye level, and pointing with his finger practically slamming into the Tapebot's optic. "FOX!" Sam turns at the shout, alarmed. Perhaps 'fox' is some sort of Junkion warning cry. Porsche 959 slows to a gentle stop and transforms quietly. He glances over at the human Soundwave Azrealian clone thing with a narrowed optic band - that's one mystery he's never gotten a chance to follow up on. Always too busy. He looks to First Aid, who is the likely the most knowledgeable one about putting stuff back together here, and then he cringes and covers his audios at the shouting. The puzzle pieces of Porsche 959 rearrange into the hard-boiled Autobot detective, Nightbeat! Ambulance 's door shuts and he transforms back into robot mode, climbing up to his feet. "I think you now have a good idea of why many Autobots cringe whenever we remember our part in bringing our war to Earth," First Aid replies grimly to Sam. "Hello Foxfire, have you had any luck so far?" He shrugs at Brainstorm, "I assume to kill Rodimus. Maybe for fun... maybe just on a whim. Groove often tries to find purposes behind the Decepticons' acts of destruction, but I've found that to be a frustrating activity." Ambulance 's front section fold back as a pair of legs and arms fold out, transforming into First Aid. Sam settles quickly, resuming his visual scanning of the area. His response to First Aid's comments about the war is a nod, and he quietly adds, "Hmm. Decepticons would have expanded influence regardless. Humans received slow warning, ability to react.. without, perhaps encounter would be abrupt, no ability to resist." Foxfire lowers his ears and backs away from Pile-Up. "Yes, I'm a fox. What's your point?" Pile-Up snaps his jaws at Foxfire "OMNOMNOM!" then stands up looking around the devestation. Foxfire barks at Pile-Up and then ducks behind First Aid's leg. Brainstorm sighs, picking up a blackened tree, as if to prop it up. "Yeah, Scorponok is a lot like that. He loves destruction. But what he really loves is to destroy peaceful civilizations and force Maximus watch him do it. He probably would've kept doing it if Zarak hadn't bonded himself to him, which I guess is the only upside of our Headmaster technology being stolen." By "our," he means himself and Arcana, but he doesn't explicitly say so. "Say... how did they get our tech, anyway?" Gently, he lays the tree back down. Just another thing to be discarded. First Aid nods back to Sam, "I know, but it's small consolation to think that one way or another, the Cybertronian race is responsible for this. But enough wallowing, huh? I think we have some work to do." The doctor steps forward and looks over at Pile-Up and Foxfire. While Nightbeat was looking to him on advice on putting stuff back together, First Aid seems to be looking to Pile-Up and his army of Junkions. "Where should we start?" he asks as his leg protects (hence 'Protectobot') Foxfire. Foxfire regains his composure, looking vaguely embarrassed. "Err, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my own agenda..." He slips out from behind First Aid and scurries a few yards away, where he starts sniffing about. "Now that is an interesting question, Brainstorm," Nightbeat opines. "I ain't much one for all the fiddly sciences, but that process you used didn't strike Muzzle as all that easily replicated. Could Blooshoft have leaked the details?" Remember, betrayal starts at home! "I don't think they've ever gotten their hands on any of us long enough to re-engineer it." Pile-Up lets the others talk, looking to the junks "Alright! Movin' to the country and eat a lot of peaches, when all you gotta keep is strong, move along, move along, like I know you do! And even when your hope is gone, move along, move along just to make it through!" watching a groups move off in one direction. "So needless too say, I'm odds and ends, but I'm bein' stolen away. Stand and learn that life is ok. Say after me: It's better to be safe than sorry!" the next groups then begin chanting "Ta-ake on meee!" (take on me!) "Take me-e-e on!" (take on me!) and move off. Piles then turns to First aid "Huh?" Sam is obviously part of the ground-level surveillance here. Unfortunately he's also slow and not a machine. Maybe he should have brought his exo-suit. First Aid looks back at Pile-Up, listening to the speech which he understands approximately none of. "Er, I was asking where we should start, but it looks like your crew is already in on it. Where should we be to help pitch in?" First Aid is putting a lot more faith in the Junkions to do this right than some Autobots would. Brainstorm scratches Arcana, his head. "Huh... yeah. It seemed to be identical, in fact. I mean, most of it was theory, you know, based on the research into cyberorganic hybrids that Thunderwing performed. The other part of it was based on Arcana's own research into debunked, ancient sciences. Or at least everyone thought it was debunked. Hm..." His head pops off, transforming into Arcana. "I don't think Bloshoft could've betrayed us!" He exclaims, gesticulating wildly as he speaks. "He's just a student! He barely understands half the things I try to teach him! And, furthermore, I only went over the most basic steps with him, like how to prep the patients! There's no way you could replicate the Headmaster or Targetmaster process based on so little information!" Pile-Up mrmmmms, and taps his chin-plate-area... "HUDDLE!" a pile of Junks suddenly move in, moving First Aid with into said huddle. "Alright we'll pull a four-fourteen double dipsy sooper doodle and then make for the port side, dance across the field, and I'll huck Jonesy the ball... Ready?" "READY" "Right... ok then... BREAK!" and at that word the Junkions in the huddle pull out... what look like coffee cups and cigarettes, lighting up, sipping, then start standing around and looking at blueprints of a hospital. Foxfire listens in on the conversation quietly, even as he skulks about the area. Sam looks up at Brainstorm. "Er.. yes.. Cybernetic-semiorganic integration process seems very likely high risk absent complete understanding." Nightbeat reasons, rubbing his chin, "Okay, okay, doc. So Bloshoft's clean. But if even a student who knew some of the process couldn't replicate it, how could anyone? You got any smarter helpers? Maybe helpers with... a sick granny? Or a drug addiction? Or a gambling problem? Helpers that need... moolah?" He squints over at Sam a bit more and then squints at the Junkions a bit. First Aid moves into the huddle, uncertain of if he's doing it right. He tries to make room for Sam or any of his fellow Autobots to join in. "Wait, break? No no, we're rebuilding, not breaking," he says as the Junkions all break from the huddle and start getting out their refreshments and go on *groan* break. Somewhere, Eject is facepalming. Other Junkions are on rubble clearing detail, and some are putting together what looks like... well a miniature fabrication assembly, all of those not on 'break' around the hospital blueprints singing "Hi Ho!" Arcana hmms, frowning. "Well, I do have a few other assistants who helped me with the process. They only knew bits and pieces of the process, however, just enough for them to do whatever task I assigned them. And most of them either suffered under the Decepticons' misrule, or lost family members to them. In order for the Decepticons to learn of the process, *all* of my assistants would have to defect, and even then, the picture would be incomplete, as there are a few tricks to this thing that only I and Brainstorm know." The old Nebulan stares off into space, as if he's missing something... Sam thinks about this quite a bit, then asks, "Erm... required facilities for process? Materials?" First Aid steps up to the blueprints, squinting his optics at. Damnit Pile-Up, he's a doctor, not an engin-... wait, he's also an engineer. "Ok, yeah, this looks like it could work," he says. But the Junkions are already way ahead of him. First Aid's work is usually done slowly and methodically. Junkions on the other hand... Pile-Up watches, having put on a hat reading "Foreman" whilst the other junks are putting up piles for plastics, metal types, rock and stone. Yes Junkions work fast, and while it may sometimes look haphazard, it's sturdy at least. Nightbeat snaps his fingers and looks impressed, "You compartmentalised the knowledge? Smooth. Best way to do it. Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it's not the people at all. What about your recording systems? Could someone have found your lab, broken in, and stolen the data?" He keeps an optic on the rebuilding and will help if given a suitably brainless task. Arcana says, "My secret lab served as the birthplace of this procedure. Only a few knew of the secret way inside. It's possible one of them might've been followed, and the facility infiltrated, but I do have security systems set up, and failsafes to destroy my research in case of intrustion. Also, even if the cameras and laser tripwires didn't catch the intruder, they would've almost certainly jostled something, and I remember how everything in there is set up, even if it's messy. As for where I got the materials... ah... well, I confess that while 60% of the parts were retrieved from legitimate sources, the remaining 40% were not! Ahem. Please don't tell Peacemaker that, though!" Glancing at the Junkions as they get to work, he mutters, "Oh, right," and transforms back into Brainstorm's head. Reunited, Brainstorm peers over First Aid's shoulder at the blueprints. "Hey, that's actually pretty good." First Aid taps his surgical mask-style faceplate as he reads the blueprints, trying to absorb it all. "Alright, so I think if we start now we can probably have the scaffholding done by the end of the day, and... uh..." Are the Junkions already assembling materials? Does that one look like he's just about to start putting up the scaffholding? First Aid looks over his shoulder back at Brainstorm, making sure Arcana is cool with all this. Pile-Up looks rather proud of the Junkions, watching as junk, debris, and otherwise is fed into one side of the fabrications, chugging, buffing, and steam pouring out of the middle, as well as the occasional Junkion, and parts on the other. Next to the door into the middle of the mini-smelting lab there is a sign that reads "Six minutes since our last accident!" theres a BANG and a shriek, and the digital timer resets back to 0 and starts counting up seconds. Nightbeat winks half his optic band off and assures, voice low, "Secret's safe with me." Nightbeat is not above bending the law for a good cause. He mutters, "So even your 'suppliers' wouldn't know enough to talk to each other and compare notes. Hnn." This is just not adding up. He glances over at the plans and winces at the shriek. Foxfire is only half-listening by now. Feeling bored, he opens his chestplate, revealing the spool that is usually only visible in his tape mode. He fiddles with it a little, and sets it to start playing some of his recorded music. Afterward, he closes the plate, a smile appearing on his muzzle as he starts hearing Linkin Park's "Numb". Sam frowns. "Chance of independent development?" First Aid watches with muted amazement as the Junkions set to work. As the sign is hung up, he points at it and says, "Uh, shouldn't that be months or y-" BANG! First Aid almost jumps. He rushes towards the sound of the shriek to help administer... er, first aid to whichever poor Junkion just caused the timer to get reset. The Junk in question has his arm off, and he seems more irritated than anything, as one of the beams coming out of the fabricator has his paint job. Other Junks are pulling out parts to begin reconstructing the arm, but don't shoo off First Aid if he comes in to help. Brainstorm gives the thumbs-up to First-Aid. "They're pretty theatrical about it, but I like their enthusiasm. And the plans look solid. Uh, I just hope they don't do another, uh, smashing ritual, heheh." Turning to Sam, he explains, "The chances of the Decepticons independently developing the exact same technology are astronomical. On their own, they might eventually come up with... uh, *leg*masters, maybe. But not the same thing we did. And they certainly shouldn't have accomplished it at nearly the same time we did!" A group of Junkions wearing ridiculously tall black fur hats move off from the pile from the machine, hefting beams, and chanting "OH-we-oh! Eyooooo-um! Oh-we-oh! Eyooooo-um!" whilst they haul towards the Constructijunks. Sam ohs, quietly. "Strange. Supposing no security breach and limited possibility of independent development.. erm.. must assume incorrect premise." A small holster transforms out of First Aid's left hip, and he draws out a medical scanner, running it over the Junkion's shoulder. "Don't worry, you're going to be fine... I think." It isn't a clean break, but from what he knows of Junkions, clean breaks are impossible. "Add the hope that they don't get themselves killed, too," he comments to Brainstorm while he addresses the Junkion's wounds, though he might just be interfering with the mech's own attempts to put himself back together. Nightbeat steeples his fingers and racks two detectives worth of brains, thinking. "Hmm. What if one of us /did/ get caught and reverse-engineered and just never mentioned it... no, that can't be right. As soon as some of us went out to rescue Llyra from Astrotrain, the Decepticons had their own *master units on the scene." He shakes his head. Pile-Up lets First Aid do as he pleases, steepling his fingers as Smith-Bot steps up and whispers something to him. "Yes, excellent." optics narrowing, and then looking to the hospital. The fabricators just keep up their work, hucking metal into the smelter, while another group of junks look like their putting together one helluva big cement mixer. Brainstorm follows the black-hatted Junkions, watching them get set-up. "Well, heheh, good thing we got this new way of fixing Cybertronians, then, right?" He looks at each of the Junkions, asking, "Uh, how would you guys feel about being a Headmaster? You could have Christian Bale in your head. Wouldn't that be cool? Well, actually, we wouldn't do that just for fun but--ah, never mind." Returning to the issue, Brainstorm says. "Yeah. I don't know, I guess I'm missing something, here. Hm. Well... there was ONE guy that Arcana spoke to, but... no, that's impossible. There's no way HE would help the Decepticons, not after what they did to him." Sam looks over at Nightbeat a little sidelong, peering cautiously. "Erm..." he pauses and looks at Brainstorm, then starts again. "Erm.. plausible explanations seem limited. Describe interaction please?" Pile-Up moves over now to Brainstorm with the other junks "I getta squishy head!?" other Junks in that group bouncing around. "Squishy heads! We want squishy heads." and then another one "I want a other squishy parts!" and the Junk-Femme is sporting giant robot sized Victoria's Secret lingerie Nightbeat squints a bit more at Sam, for good measure. The detective has his optic band on you, you Azrealian Soundwave clone duplicate facsimile drone copy thing! And on the Junkions. And on Brainstorm. And on that mailbox over there. He doesn't like the look of that mailbox, no sir! Oh, and First Aid, too. He points out, "You said the same thing about your lab assistants - that they've all lost loved ones and years of their lives." First Aid isn't sure if he'd like Christian Bale to be binary bonded with a Junkion. That guy swears a bit too much for his liking. Between First Aid's own surgical lasers and the Junkion's reassembly of his arm, it isn't long before the mech is back on his feet and singing the Seven Dwarfs work song. Standing up from a kneeling position, the Autobot doctor watches with amazement as the arm works, good as new. He walks back towards the others. "At some point, Arcana, I'd like to share notes with you regarding the Master process. I haven't had a chance to look it over and if any come rolling into the medbay I want to be sure we know how to treat them." Brainstorm takes a few steps back, looking somewhat aghast at the Junkions. What has he done?! "Uh, no, no, the procedure is risky! I'm amazed it went as well as it did, in fact. Uh, but, um, we'll put you on a waiting list, ok?" A list which he will then promptly burn. "Yeah, well, this guy *really* suffered under the Decepticons. Nearly starved to death as they forced him to work night and day on their science projects. It's really horrible. But he's a genius, like Arcana, and he needed to talk to someone to go over this procedure. He was the only one Arcana could think of that would be able to verify..." Brainstorm stops speaking for a moment. "No, no way, he's a good man! I know him--well, Arcana does." As First Aid speaks to him, Brainstorm's head jerks towards him. "What? Oh, of course. Yeah. Well, the important thing to remember is that the Nebulan partners are cybernetically enhanced and--uh, yeah, we can talk about that later." Sam lifts his eyebrows and frowns at Brainstorm's description. Grimlock is here! "Hey! Me Grimlock here!" He announces, y'know...just in case. He hits the ground with a *THUD* and glances around at the construction work, surveying it with a commander's eye. Or at least a dinocommander's eye. "Whut you guys doing?" Pile-Up awwwws with the others at the idea of a waiting list, all dropping transformer sized cans on the ground that they can kick as they stuff their hands into subspace pockets while walking away from Brainstorm And it's a Junkapalooza, Junkions everywhere, building stuff. Nightbeat ends up agreeing, "Yeah, doesn't sound promising, that." He keeps mulling this puzzle over in his head, and he moves to go help with moving some girders around. It's simple work that even a detective can't botch. Then, Grimlock appears. Oh Primus. Oh no. "Cybernetics is not unheard of in humans," First Aid replies, "But never to the scale that I've seen here." He's never sure if he should be addressing Arcana or Brainstorm when he speaks. Either going along with the Headmaster's ploy or being dead serious (it is tough to tell), First Aid turns to Pile-Up and says, "I have to agree with Brainstorm on this one. Experimentation into this should be curtailed, and there's numerous notable differences between Nebulon and human physiology. I can't help but think that you all dodged a metaphorical bullet by coming out of the procedure as well as you did, although I'd like to note we still don't know the long term repercussions, for the Nebulon or the Transformer." First Aid also glances over at the newly arrived Dinobot Commander. He waves. Pile-Up a group of Junkions move up to Brainstom after what First Aid says, and cassualy shift him to the left, while at the same time Lee Harvey Osbot takes his shot, which goes wide due to the other Junks, snaps his fingers and runs. Brainstorm feels grateful for the distraction. Arcana will have to ask Vorath about it some time later, in person, just to be sure. But for now, he waves to the Dinobot. "Hey, Grimlock? That's your name, huh? Well, we're helping to rebuild the city, here. You look like a pretty strong guy, so we could use your help, if you don't mind!" He turns to First Aid, nodding. "Well, we're still in the starting phases of this, um, *experiment,* but if it helps, Arcana feels better than ever." Something wizzes by his head. "--what was that?" Grimlock grungs. "Me Grimlock STRONGEST guy!" he notes- and then goes to prove it, picking up a handy girder, which he lugs to...the general vicinity of where it needs to be. "That why me am Autobot leader!" he boasts...and then hmms, peering at Brainstorm again. "You one of those guys with 'nother guy in you head? Which one of you in charge?" Sam blinks and stares at all the weird people. "Erm.." he mumbles to himself, then wanders over somewhere a little further out of the middle of the squish-zone. That is, away from Grimlock. First Aid glances right. He glances left. He glances where Lee Harvey Osbot is running away from. "Er... it was... nah, it couldn't have been," he tells Brainstorm, waving his hand dismissively. To Grimlock, First Aid says, "Yes, Autobot... le...ader..." the Protectobot suddenly looks faint, and he holds onto Brainstorm for support. Red Alert's words ring in his mind. He looks at the strolling Sam, concerned for the young human. "DYNO-MIIIIIIITE!" is heard from waaaaay over to one side, followed by an explosion, and Junkion laughter. Foxfire suddenly appears behind Sam, peeking over his shoulder. "Hi." Nightbeat helps with the building in the background, fading out as the animator gets tired of drawing him, because he doesn't have any more lines in this episode. Brainstorm squints at Grimlock. "So... you're the Autobot leader right now?" A pause. "Oh. Well, yes, I have a Nebulan Headmaster component. Component? Well, he's more than a part, I guess. *Partner.* Yeah. Uh, and you mean, who's in charge of this reconstruction? Well, I guess..." He peers at Pile-Up. "He seems to be. At least I think so." He whispers to First Aid, "You ok, buddy?" Sam could jump higher, but that would only be if he had control over the process. Damn sneaky foxes. He turns and stares quite wide-eyed at Foxfire. Foxfire is very sneaky. He's just that good. He tilts his head. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya. You okay?" Sam nods hurriedly, still staring. Pile-Up looks around. "I need a casstte!" one optic half squinted shut. Pulling out a telescope whilst observing a few junkions putting together what looks like an appartment building inspired by a combination of The Flintstones and the Jetsons. "Cassette!!!" he hollars again... "And a squishy pink thing!" "Yup! 'cuz him Rodimus lose head, and him Kup get beat up and go crazy, so me Grimlock be in charge 'til they fixed!" he tosses the massive girder carelessly to the ground- and then peers over at Brainstorm s'more. "Hnn. Them septi-cons have head-guys, right?" First Aid continues to use Brainstorm for support for a few seconds longer while he really comes face to face with the idea of Grimlock in command. "Kup's damage is purely psychological," he reports, "So he could be ready for command again pretty soon." Wishful thinking? The Protectobot tries to also keep his optics on Sam and Foxfire, as well as the Junkions as they work, but it isn't easy. Foxfire peers at Sam, then waves a forepaw in front of his face. "You sure you're okay? You're just staring." Sam starts to nod again, then answers, "Yes.. okay," stammering a bit. He scoots a bit away from Foxfire and quickly glances over toward all the 'construction' going on. Brainstorm glances at how well the Junkions are progressing thus far... and gasps at the cartoony structure. "Uh, is it supposed to look like that? I... well, I don't know, I guess it'll make for affordable housing. It might lower property values. I mean, not that I..." Grimlock cuts him off with a question. Can't ignore the boss, if that is indeed his new title, right? "Uh, yes! The Decepticons also have Headmasters and Targetmasters. We haven't figured out how they got the technology, but we will in time." Foxfire apparently makes people named Sam nervous. Looking slightly puzzled at the human's behavior, he just watches him, ears perked. "Am I scary or somethin'?" Grimlock hmmms, and nods at this. "Kay." he mulls over the situation- and then, ignoring First Aid's protests and uneasiness, he tromps over...and taps at Brainstorm's square head. "Me Grimlock bet them septi-cons no like having other guy in them brain..." "I suppose worst comes to worst it is temporary housing," First Aid says, "While it might not fit in with the rest of the beautiful Splendora architecture-" quick glance at Pile-Up, "Uh, not that this isn't beautiful in its own right, of course-" he looks back at Brainstorm, "-this will do wonders for ensuring that residents aren't living in the streets." He nods in agreement to Grimlock. "I've been wondering about that too. We Autobots are pretty tolerant, of course, but a part of me can't help but think that the Decepticons are going to have a lot of trouble adjusting to these new soldiers and accepting them." Brainstorm blinks, flinching a bit as he is tapped. "Well, *I* don't mind. This is one of the best things that ever happened to me, really. But you're probably right. The more think about it, the more I wonder why the Decepticons would agree to undergo the same process. What could Zarak offer them that they couldn't just take?" Pile-Up hrmmmms as people make quips about the Junkion construction methods, and shakes a fist at them. "Alright! You heard em! Year it down and let's move on up, to the east side, to a castle in the sky!" the junkions all go Awwwwww and pull out guns, shooting down the appartment building, some moving in to haul away parts. "Operation Boring: Commence!" And the nhe looks around again, point at the Fox. "YOU!" Sam shakes his head, answering Foxfire quickly, "No, is okay. Erm. Hello." Brainstorm stares in shock as the Junkions annihilate their own work. "...wow. Maybe we shouldn't have said anything?" he mutters to First Aid. Grimlock hnns. "Who am Zarak?" he asks, blinking his optic visor again. "Me Grimlock need figure out who all these septi-cons is so me can punch them." he nods sagely- and then glances at the bustling Junkions. "Wait, Pile-Up!" First Aid exclaims, "You don't hav... aww..." He sighs and nods back to Brainstorm. He doesn't understand how Junkions think. He moves to help the Junkions move stuff and to make sure they don't start shooting things anymore. This leaves Brainstorm with Grimlock. Mwahahaha. The junks that aren't on hospital detail begin the work of putting up... well what looks like appartment buildings one would see in fancy parts of New York and Chicago, all of them looking a little grumbly at having to put up boring architecture. "Lord Zarak--" Arcana explains as he pops off of Brainstorm's shoulders, turning into a little exo-suited guy. "--is the most powerful Nebulan politician on the planet, and unfortunately, by using the tragedy of the previous Decepticon occupation as justification, he has all but usurped Democracy. He is a dictator! And worse yet, he bonded himself to Scorponok. Before, he was merely dangerous to our system of governance. Now, he is a threat to everyone!" Meanwhile, the Brainstorm body feels around for First Aid, who is no longer leaning on him. Oh, no, did he abandon him?! Grimlock, for all his battle-hardened ness, is still taken aback by a HEAD transforming into a little man. Just not right! He grunts, and peers at Arcana, now. "Huh." he says. "Me Grimlock bet them septi-cons no like getting bossed around...hn. Me Grimlock need FIND septi-con, and hit him 'til answers come out!" he pounds one fist into the opposite palm, relishing the idea. Pile-Up runs up to Grimlock, halting so fast he does the spring 'twang' "OOOO! Ooo! You Grimlock find him Zarak and bash him head off!" First Aid looks happier with the standard human apartment buildings than he was with the Jetsons/Flinstones building, but in reality he knows that no matter what these buildings are probably going to be temporary, as eventually the Nebulons will make something that fits their own architecture. Still, he feels with the sudden lack of housing for those displaced by the battle, this can be a big help. The doctor does his best to join in with the construction effort, though he keeps getting outpaced by the Junkions. First Aid is the anti-Junkion in terms of his work. Grimlock pauses, then glances down at Pile Up. "...only if him Zarak head no turn into tiny robot." Arcana smirks wrly. "He would indeed turn into a tiny little "robot!" You'd have to bash the rest of him, too! And I must admit, your approach to unraveling our little mystery might work a lot better than ours has, thus far." Pile-Up nods sagely up at Grimlock. "Yes! You Grimlock use big feet, smash Zarak! Raawwwwr!" he then cassualy hands Grimlock a box with a button on it and moves off stomping around, and then cassualy pointing out things for junkion workers, who are trying to help First Aid catch up... After all human sized buildings are like frickan tinker toys for Cybertronians! Grimlock grunts at Arcana. "That why me Grimlock leader now." he nods sagely, and hmmms. "So...him Zarak be head of him Skorponok..." Grim scratches at his head- the wheels and gears within turning. "...where him Zarak live?" he asks- and then glances curiously at the buttoned box. The end result is inevitable. *PUSH* First Aid likes to make sure that his tinker toys follow standardized construction methods and observe all relevant safety regulations. The 'six minutes since last accident' sign is not how First Aid likes to roll. "Whoa, careful there." "Ok, hold on one moment, we need to test the strength of this pillar." "Lets consult the blueprints again." "But what happens if a little Nebulon child runs right into that sharp corner???" These are just some of First Aid's quotes heard from the construction site. The box in Grimlock's hand makes the Godzilla roar. The Junkions do humor First Aid, taking his advice, though they generalize it to the entire construction... Hell the one in charge of testing floor strength is an 8-Trakk that jumps up and down before the next set of floors is put in. Sam looks around at all the robots, then takes this moment to start to sneak back off toward the human base. Arcana frowns, and gestures to the North. "You would likely find him in the capital, my friend! But I wouldn't recommend attempting to assault it without Fortress Maximus's help. If you simply charged in there the Nebulan military may fire upon you, on Zarak's orders. By itself, that might not be overwhelming, but consider that the Decepticons would also assault you! Galen, however, may have enough political clout to convince the Nebulan military to stand down, or even turn against Zarak!" He leans forward. "Strategy, my friend! *Strategy.*" Grimlock shakes the box around a little, unimpressed- and looks back to Arcana. It's funny how they're ALMOST eye to eye, given the fact that Arcana's perched on Brainstorm's neck. "Me Grimlock GREAT strateegerist!" he grunts. "...Him Galen can talk to Nebulos army, though? Hmmmm." Grimlock tosses the box aside, and strokes at his non-existant goatee. "That 'least save ammo, me bet." First Aid is glad that his safety lessons are rubbing off on the Junkions. As he carries a set of beams from the pile o' parts to where they need to be installed, the doctor sees Sam sneaking off. "Do you need a ride home, Mr. Sam? It will be dark soon and I don't know if it would be safe to travel alone." The moment the box hits the ground it turns into a little junkion who stumbles around looking dizzy. Sam freezes and turns to look at First Aid. "Er... is not far, yes?" "Still..." First Aid argues, "It's an alien world and you can never be too careful." If Sam insists on walking then the Protectobot will accept it, but the offer is out there. Arcana sighs, shaking his head. "I'm disappointed to hear that. Don't you at least care about the people of this planet? Don't you want to minimize our suffering at all? Come, now! We've been very helpful and the least you could do is--woah!" Brainstorm's hands come up and seem to force Arcana back into position as his head! "Ahem--ah, don't worry about Arcana, he's just nervous about this conflict, that's all!" Brainstorm says cheerily. Pile-Up looks to Brainstorm, "But... the people! Damnit man! Think of the people!" William Shatnering that bit out. Grimlock just PEERS at Arcana. "Me Grimlock here to fight septi-cons." he grunts- and then finds himself talking to...Brainstorm, now. No matter! "Them Septi-cons have Targetmasters n' headmasters...that mean Nebulans helping THEM. That mean some of you is septi-cons now. Me Grimlock crush thems all the same!" he nods...and then pauses. "But, uuuuuh. If him Galen get other guys out of way, then me Grimlock have no problem." Sam looks at the walking collection of safety hazards, then back at First Aid. "Will be okay. You.. er.. seem more required here." He pulls out his comm device and pulls up a local map. First Aid hesitates, "Well, I don't approve, but alright. However I want you to radio us if you run into any trouble. We'll keep our radios peeled in case you call." He sets down the cross beams he was carrying and holds one up for installation using his superior robot strength. Brainstorm laughs nervously. "Well, good, we'll be sure to help you with that, Commander Grimlock! Heheh. We'll remove Zarak from power and get rid of the Decepticons at the same time! Uh... well, I think I'll go help the Junkions now, if you don't mind..." He walks off, eventually fading into the background. Sam sneaks back to humandom. Sam moves north to the Koraja -- Nebulos. And so the work continues! Junkions building stuff! Yes...
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