| abstract | - Mid-afternoon gleams off the New Crystal City's spaceport. After sending out several radios, Fusillade paces back and forth alongside the Conquest II, glancing over her shoulder at the shadows falling from those passing overhead. Once several hard-hitting folk arrive, she ducks her head, and announces, "It's been pointed out to me by someone who will remain nameless that long-term, ah... pillaging? No. Long term... acquisition of resources from South America would be more feasible if there was no land access available to the Autobots. Now, initial shuttle response to raids so far south is the obvious, and feasible option for the Autobots. Ultimately they will exhaust their resources, making them unable to respond as frequently by air... and if they are blocked from the land, well, we will find it that much easier to help MSE with their grocery lists, as well as satisfying our own wants. We are going to sever South America from North America, Decepticons, that will be our primary objective. Damaging and destroying any shuttles they respond in will be our secondary objective." Shockwave stands off to one side, unmoving, and silent. He watches Fusillade intently: the sometimes gleaming gem for the Empire, sometimes bane of his existence has yet another chance to step up, and prove herself worthy of promotion and recognition within Decepticon ranks: he intends to observe and scrutinize every moment of it. Sunder is interested in wreaking havoc today, and it seems that an opportunity has presented itself to do just that. He purrs in satisfaction, his claws flexing as he anticipates rending Autobots limb from limb if they dare interfere. Soundwave, at a respectful distance, listens patiently as Fusillade gives her briefing, feeling admittedly curious as to the exact details of this plan, so he decides to make an inquiry or two of precisely that nature. "I must ask how you plan on achieving this, but, then, I presume you will explain on the way to our target." Catechism is humming "I've got Tango Shoes". Straxus knows why. She arrives, she salutes who she needs to salute, and that done, she just stands there, slouching. C'mon, bring on the mayhem! Fusillade waves everyone aboard the Despoiler. "I will explain en route, yes." Fusillade flicks her gaze across those gathered, and elaborates as the shuttle rattles and goes through the motions of flight and re-entry. "There is an 85 foot difference in the upper and lower levels of the Panama Canal. There is a lake that drains into those locks. Failure of the lock system would flood the land downstream, and flood the entire isthmus, isolating the continents from each other. That makes a very big moat that the Autobots have to get across. In order to accomplish this, we will need to breach both the lock gates and their secondary locks at the upper ends of each chamber. There are six chambers, so I will leave to each of your capable hands to destroy these things in your own special way. Those things are made of a LOT of concrete, so we're looking to maximize the damage before the EDC or Autobots can respond. And trust me, they will respond, so be ready. Those lock walls are spread across three sites over the entire width of Panama, it will be necessary to keep in radio contact." Shockwave stands beside the pilot console, listening to Fusillade's briefing. Though he is present only in a support capacity, Shockwave processes through the plans over again, to either make the proper save should the assembled fail, or take the proper credit should they succeed. "Breaking concrete? Shouldn't be too difficult," Sunder says, rubbing his hands together in glee. His mind raced at the wholesale destruction he could cause with his machine guns and plasma. The anticipation was almost making him drool oil. Fusillade lightly adds as Shockwave continues to steer the craft, "Well, the dreaded Sweep ram could possibly see some use tonight." Soundwave looks over from the communications console, optic band flickering faintly as he speaks to Fusillade. "I have created an encrypted battle network for our purposes. Frequency is 145.10, password is: SinkPanama." Nodding, Fusillade says, "For this operation, we will focus on the Atlantic side of the lake. That will create the most damage for our time and effort." There's a vicious grin that spreads across her features. "We will breach the west most side first, which will cause the waters from the lake to drain eastward, damaging the support structures of the succeeding locks. Once we arrive in the air space, deploy from the shuttle and... do your worst." She raps knuckles on the bulkhead by the main hatch, and then lunges out the doorway once it opens up over the Panama Canal. You leave the Decepticon Shuttle . Sunder exits the Shuttle and grins widely before transforming to Sweepcraft mode. "They'll never know what hit 'em," he cackles, streaking off towards the locks, his weapons all warmed up and ready to go. Leaping into the air, Sunder transforms into a Sweepcraft. Catechism transforms into her alternate mode: a F-35, Marine Corps variant. Her feet flip up against her shins, her nosecone rotates through her body and out in front where it belongs, her arms tuck into her torso, and her wings rotate into position. Fusillade leans forward, wingblades whipping out to their full span, even as her arms lock backward in place as the rear fuselage. Her torso folds out to the become the cockpit of a Terran B-1B Lancer, ready for flight! Shockwave steps from the ship, and lands a slight distance away, keeping watch from one of the two Gatun Towers that are closer to where everyone is than the two Gatun Towers some might think he meant. B-1B Lancer plunges toward the two mile stretch of the Pedro Miguel and the Miraflores locks, wind whistling over her wings. To the west, the bulk of Lake Gatun glitters in the sunlight, deceptively placid in light of the pending doom. Sweeping over the western most lock gate of the Pedro Miguel, she rocks her wings, and echos out, "Easier pickings start HERE, Decepticons! Attack! Don't leave a single one of these gates intact! Once you've done your worst, take your pick of any of those cargo ships!" There's a cackle from her, as she sets to work, not sparing any time with lobbing 1000 pound bombs at the concrete walls. She knows full well that whitehats will be here in a circuit's flicker. Soundwave rises up into the sky after departing from the ship, for better line of sight. He ponders the same trick he used on Gycony, wherein he confused the different pirate vessels into all sorts of calamities. Yes... maybe, with the confusion of the attacks, that'll work quite well. He places a hand to the side of his head, hijacking frequencies and impersonating canal officials... F-35B peels off in the direction of the Pedro Migual at the gates. To herself, more than anything, she banters, "The eigenvectors of a matrix give the principal strains. Well, so long as the matrix is symmetric. But ah, even if these gates start out symmetric, I doubt they'll be staying that way, and y'know, you've got to factor in that the principal sources of strain are Decepticons..." Her rockets are gone as she chatters. As the first of the explosions shake and rattle the gates, canal workers panic and scatter. Several of the braver souls man their emergency posts, but for the most part, the sight of aircraft and shuttles bearing that purple insignia overwhelms most. A false emergency evacuation clearance from Soundwave is received by a Panamax tanker. Its crew, desperate to save their cargo from Decepticon raiders, steams the craft full ahead, the multi-million ton craft doing a LOT of the Decepticon's work for them. There's a pop, crack, and squealing screech of protest from the gates as they strain... and eventually buckle. Sweepcraft heads for the closest gate, firing his plasma cannon and his machine guns simultaneously. He aims for the hinges of the gates, to try to wrench them right off their moorings. Shockwave watches the mayhem begin, and settles into his position as an observer, allowing his mere presence to cause panic and chaos around him. Though he is inactive, the humans scatter around him, panicing. If Shockwave found things funny, this would be hilarious. And pathetic. Autobot Shuttle has arrived. Autobot Shuttle flies into view, engines roaring through the atmosphere as the heros came to save the day, clearly Soundwave wasn't clever enough to fool our steel hearted heros! Soundwave aims his concussion rifle at the grounded tanker. What precisely is it carrying? Fuel? Hm, well, due to the nature of his rifle, being a concussion weapon, the bolt isn't as likely to ignite the fuel as, say, a laser. He elects instead to utilize his shoulder-mounted missile launcher, and is about to dumb-fire them at the tanker when he detects interlopers-- "Alert, alert! Autobot forces detected!" From Autobot Shuttle , Ultra Magnus� pilots them in low, just now easing back the throttle, a putton push opens a set of doors in the shuttle's belly, "Strafe, Air Raid, cover our landing!" There's several long, ugly groans from the Panamax tanker's bow as it strains against the lock. The metal and concrete barrier itself shudders, and then, the white glitter of gallons of high-pressure water can be seen -- the first breach of the afternoon. Fusillade moves away from the mess around the ship, and begins to methodically strike the joints and seams of the secondary dams of this lock, about seventy feet away. Already the waters to the west begin to drain. <> From Autobot Shuttle , Air Raid grins at the Technobot. "Just don't shoot me, alright" He says, before palming the airlock open with one hand and jumping outside, transforming as he moves away from the shuttle. Air Raid starts to kneel, his legs folding beneath him as his arms are pulled into his body. The nosecone behind his head and the wings on his back each extend and come down, changing the Aerialbot into an F-15 Eagle. From Autobot Shuttle , Strafe gives Magnus a grin, and nods. "We'll slag those slaggin' Cons!" With that, he moves towards the entrance. "And not each other!" And with that, he hurls himself out of the airlock with Reckless Abandon! Strafe jumps up in the air like something surprised him, and then shifts and folds into his cyberjet mode. From Autobot Shuttle ,����� Spectrum grasps tightly to the seat, looking at the different monitors. "We're coming in hot Ultra Magnus!" He yells up to the commander, "Might be problematic..." He says, and continues to monitor the screens. From Autobot Shuttle , Afterburner cackles with glee, says something rude about Magnus, and loads his sonic blaster. "An air-to-air load of 12 AIM-120s and 2 AIM-9s is conceivable using internal and external weapons stations, as well as a configuration of six two thousand pound bombs, 2 AIM-120s, and 2 AIM-9s." That's what they say about the F-35. Sure, Catechism's an evil alien F-35 who breaks the laws of physics in an egregious fashion. It does, however, provide a rough estimate of her capacities. They're limited, compared to, say, that Lancer there. Sweepcraft hears Fusillade's instructions, and heads for the indicated locks. He unleashes a firestorm of plasma upon the gates when he reaches them, melting the hinges down to nothing. There's a nearly kilometer-long tanker that's wedged itself between the first set of ruptured locks, and confused radios fill the air, courtesy of Soundwave. The Decepticons seem to be working methodically from the west to the east, chewing through the three locks. Each is buttressed by double walls, the first already breached, and the second set currently being worked on by the Sweep. Once the metal hinges had been loosed by Sunder, the main bulk of the retaining walls don't take long to collapse. Water continues to seek its lowest point, whipped into white foam by the intensity of the maelstrom surge, slamming smaller cargo ships against the edges of each lock. Crews scramble to stabilize the ships as they get washed away to the Atlantic. The sight of water flooding out of control elicits a cackle from Fusillade, as she flies in formation with Catechism to deliver the final punch to this set of locks. F-15 Eagle Fighter Jet kicks in his afterburners as he descends away from the Autobot shuttle. "Hey! Big dumb and ugly!" Hey, they're seekers. It doesn't matter if they're female. "Stop that!" At least he didn't say 'Halt, Evildoer'. He fires a few shots from his ballistic gatling gun, but at this range, if they DO manage to hit Catechism or Fusillade, it'll just fall without even scratching the paint job. Autobot Shuttle sweeps over the canal, breaking thrusters and air rakes slowing it's speed as it finds a clearing, landing scoots externding from it's belly befor resting, the ship rocking on hydraulics as the engines cut. Moments later a boarding ramp lowers, heros issueing out. From Autobot Shuttle , Ultra Magnus unbuckles, turning from the controls to his t.. one remaining passenger, "Let's move!" Cybertronian Cyberjet (Strafe)'s own engines roar as he sweeps down alongside Air Raid. "You ain't got the skills for proper insultin', Air Raid!" And with that, he sweeps in with his light pulse blasters spitting bolts of energy. "Yo! Ya oversized slaggin' Decepticon scum! We're gonna melt ya down and blast yer friends to scrap!" From Autobot Shuttle ,����� Spectrum runs out of the ship, once it has landed on a stable spot. His Ebony form appearing off the ship, Spectrum looks about the area. "Guess we gotta clean up this mess..." He says with a grin. Drawing his energy lance from subspace, the cyan blade blazes into sight. He wastes no time, as he rushes down to the engagement area. The water continues to surge below, emptying through the first two ruptured locks. The additional water swells Miraflores Lake, straining the two double-walled locks to its southeast. The higher waters of the Pacific crash hungrily, seeking to join the lower levels of the Pacific. Even as Fusillade and Catechism's efforts begin to weaken the first of the set of four, the air comes to life. The pattering of weaponsfire from Air Raid and Strafe interrupts them. "SMELT! I'm out!" Fusillade barks out in frustration as her payload is finally exhausted by the monstrous, sturdy barriers. "They're not going to let up. Time to break these things down MANUALLY if need be!" The bomber growls angrily, and then wing-waggles to Catechism and their escort. "We will sever these two continents," she decrees. Fusillade initiates a merge. With a shudder of metal, the Stratocons undergo a stunning transformation and combine into the mighty form of Vindicator! A sudden large loud thundering noise comes about....it seesm to be coming from the ground. Suddenly a giant drill comes flying out of the ground......its a brown Drill........Its NOSECONE followed by an orange Autobot cycle with guns (Afterburner). Suddenly.....as Scattershot lands behind the shuttle Scattershot yells "Technobots! Form Computron!" Scattershot initiates a merge. With a shudder of metal, the Technobots undergo a stunning transformation and combine into the mighty form of Computron! Computron strides in while making a series of computations. Soundwave glares at the Autobots for a moment, declaring, "As always, Autobots, you arrive after the damage is done. The Panama Canal will be destroyed and you can do nothing to stop us." Then, he turns towards the grounded tanker, even now still stuck at the first lock, the rushing water trying to pull it away. A plume of smoke erupts from his missile launcher, and mini-missiles streak towards the tanker. "Say goodbye to your fleshling friends." F-15 Eagle Fighter Jet is up/set/. He's more than upset. He's a very pissed off Aerialbot. "Aww, come on. Since when could Seekers do that? This is so cheating. Damnit, where in Primus' name is Silverbolt!" A gestalt fight, and he has to miss out on it. But then Soundwave does something stupid. "Hey, wait a minute!" And Air Raid rushes to intercept the mini-missiles, firing as he does so to try and punch them out of the sky. Will he be in time? Either with the bullets or with his own body to save the humans? Spectrum look about, trying to exactly figure out what's going on. Well it's obvious, but two gestalts now. This is gonna be an intense firefight indeed. Though it doesn't take long, as Soundwave's voice catches Spectrum's audios. Those optics of his turning to look at the Decepticon. Though, Spec watches in horror, as the 'Con lets loose missiles at the tanker. "Slag!" He yells, and takes off after the evil machine. He raises up his left pauldron, and the place where the 5volt charger is attached, it lets loose a quick shot of heated energy. Computron comes together and begins to compute the situation. "THE SITUATION: Decepticons attacking Panama Canal and humans. Decepticons present: Intelligence Officer: Soundwave, New Gestalt: Vindicator. Sixchanger: Sixshot, Sweep: Sunder. Situation is critical. PROBABILITY that Panama Canal will be destroyed if the threat is not neutralized....one hundred percent. Processing..............SOLUTION: Decepticon threat must be eliminated or canal will be destroyed. Only option avaliable is combat." Computron summons a giant red rifle out of subspace and begins to use his targeting systems to see which Decepticon is the greatest threat. Spectrum strikes Soundwave with Fire. The heroic efforts of Air Raid are rewarded, with the great majority of the colliding rounds igniting the air between him and Soundwave. Several puncture the Aerialbot's wings, small explosions trailing behind him. A few get past, however. With shrill cries, several of the crew members abandon ship before the bridge bursts into shrapnel. The water continues to froth, rising up to batter against the remaining lock walls, as the shadows of not one, but two gestalts now fall across the late afternoon land. Soundwave shakes a fist in frustration at Air Raid and his do-goodyness, and is about to reward his heroism with a concussion bolt when he is struck by a beam from Spectrum. The beam does not appear to do much--there's mostly a black spot on his hip from where it landed--but Soundwave nonetheless can't let such an attack go unpunished. Frankly, Soundwave is somewhat insulted by the Autobot's impudence, and plummets to the ground in front of him. Marching forward the rest of the way, Soundwave says, "You do not appear to be familiar with who I am. If you were, you would not have attacked me so foolishly." His arm suddenly jerks out for Spectrum's throat-- Soundwave strikes Spectrum with Choke. For his part, Sunder ignores the goings-on nearby, focusing instead completely on finishing the task of taking out all the locks. So far, not one Autobot has engaged him, so for now he was free to wreak havoc. He approaches another set of gates, melting down the hinges as before. Boil water to a furious rage. Add Seekers. Season with bomber to taste. Now behold the sundering titan, the giant born of the firmament, descended from its native sky to crack the earth. Vindicator glares at the circling Autobot, seething with decades of grudges multiplied by five, but no, now is not the time to wipe his obsolescence from the clouds. Now is the time for cruel efficiency. With steps of thunder, Vindicator charges Computron, aiming to grab him and toss him into a lock. Kill two birds with one stone. You strike Computron but fail to divert him from his calculations. Spectrum is grasped by the throat of the Decepticon communications officer. He chose his spot well, as Spectrum takes a nast blow to his neck. The Autobot's optics narrow on this 'Con. "I know who you are, and I think I did a smarter thing..." Spectrum is just a bit larger than Soundwave, and lunges forward at the Decepticon trying to throw the Mech off guard. Spectrum is a seasoned veteran of the battle field, and it will definitely take more to frighten him than just a track record. Using the close range to an advantage, Spec slams his foot forward at Soundwave. Spectrum strikes Soundwave with kick. Since Spectrum is dealing with Soundwave, Air Raid looks around for a moment. He knows there was another Decepticon he-ah, there he is. And the Aerialbot sighs. Why do they always leave the Sweeps for him? "Hey! Slagheap! How about you stop causing property damage, and deal with me, instead!" He raises his blaster and fires it to get Sunder's attention. "C'mon, girly bot." The underside of the F-15 comes out and down, as the wings and nose pull up and back as the fighter transforms into.....AIR RAID! Air Raid strikes Sweepcraft with Torque Rifle - Low Power. Computron is sent flying, hurtling through the air, systems reeling, big robots should not fly withouit the aid of massive rocket thrusters, but here he was, in the air.. if only for a short while. He came crashing down, slamming with full force into a lock of the Panama canal, there is a great splash of water and for a moment our titan of intellect cannot be seen. Soon however he raises from the waters and trudges towards dry land, speaking to himself as he hauls his bulk out of the water, "Datum: Decepticon Gestalt Speed impressive, Solution: Limit Mobility" and that's just what he intends to do, stomping across the distance towards Vindicator, it's optics ablaze with life as it enters the frey, both arms lifting on high above his head, fingers interlacing befor he brings them both down in a single hammering blow towards the Deceptticon Gestalt's head. Computron strikes you with Technobot Smackdown for 15 points of damage.
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