February 7th, 2003 ~Novastar(D), Whiplash(D), Enfilade(D), Dagger(A), Starfire(U) Hellpit Territory This small but strategically located territory is positioned just south of Cybertron's equator in the easternmost fringes of the Bismuth Mountains -- which rise all around like broken silvery shards into the eternal night sky. This wild, remote country is inhospitable and difficult to traverse, seemingly harsh and barren, but its true riches lie below ground: vast stores of quadrilithium crystals, the best known power conductors for weaponry. The Hellpit mines have served in the past as a repository for Autobot prisoners and the occasional Decepticon dissident. Now, the mines lie buried under uncounted tons of debris, Hellpit's last ruler long since departed, his fortress crumbled into ruin. Jutting from the ground are razor-edged pieces of hull from an immense spacecraft, hinting at what must have happened here to bring the entire area to collapse. Still, somewhere in the lower depths, riches await. Enfilade [Ground Attack Cyberjet] [D] Whiplash [MedusaSaur] [D] Obvious Exits: -U- Up leads to Sky above Hellpit Territory -N- North leads to Foothills -S- leads to Mining Region -E- East leads to Decepticon Work Camp ================================= Decepticon ================================= Message: 10/12 Posted Author Hellpits area Thu Feb 06 Solar ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Con Spinny replaced by Solar in the Laboratories** " Solar reporting, after our little altercation with Scattershot and the subsequent explosion of the unknown purple substance that is seeping from the ground, I gathered a sample and have begun running some tests on it. First I know its unstable and will explode if heated so be careful around the area. I also know that it is non-corosive because Whiplash threw Hyperdrive into the pool and he came out of it more or less intact." " It is energon based but cannot be used as a fuel source using our current technology, it is just too unstable in its present form. I can only assume that it's source is an untapped energon reserve that somehow sprang a leak during the Triumph disaster. Now the purple color of the new substance is apparently quadralithium crystals from the mine itself which means that there are still crystals of good quality in the mine itself." "As of now I want a full cycle guard on the Hellpits itself and I want maintenance crews assigned to fix the Autoguns in the area. Science teams should also run more tests on the samples we were able to gather. Solar out" **Con Spinny** ---SOLAR--- ============================================================================== -Novastar flies through the area... another casuality of the long-running war, but apparently there's some life being rebreathed into the region... and he's well-suited to tracing energy leaks... -Moonlight comes meandering into the area. She's never been here before, never /wanted/ to be here before, but 'stuff' is happening and she's a tad bit curious after hearing the reports. Although she's not certain what use she'll be, she's making her way towards the place anyhow. -Whiplash has remained on a raised mound of debris, though it's hard to tell if it's something that was once part of the Hellpit Fortress or the slave mines, or part of the massive starship Triumph that crashed here to bring it all crumbling down. She doesn't seem to be worried about it, though, as she's taken up a place from where she can oversee a small crater filled with softly glowing liquid, like energon, but more of a purplish hue. Her sharp optics sweep the area for any sign of movement, zeroing in on fellow Decepticons as they arrive, and then searching further for any sign of undesirables. -Enfilade stands guard, weapons bristling on her shoulders and arms, keeping contact via radio with some distant patrols. Evidently whatever has been found here is something of value. -Novastar drops in for a landing above the rough and broken ground, stopping to gaze at what's clearly a piece of hull armor still relatively intact.. underneath being some sort of crumpled piece of refinery equipment. He shakes his head sadly for a moment, and then looks over the terrain... trying to figure out if perhaps some of the Triumph's fuel tanks survived the crash. -Enfilade's wings twitched nervously. She can't forget that this was the site of a shuttle impact...bits of the Triumph litter the landscape to remind her...and everywhere she turns she's seeing flashbacks in the corners of her optics, memories of Crystal City before the Third War began. Imperial Warrior Novastar says, "Anyone at Darkmount... information on the Triumph's layout would be appreciated..." -Dagger slips into the area as only a Shadowbot can, slowly and silently. He uses the rubble for cover, slipping from shadow to shadow, staying out of sight and trying to get a view of what's going on. -Enfilade looks jumpy, ill at ease, and triggerhappy....out of sorts for the Field Commander who is usually a mellow and professonal individual unless you piss her off.... -Whiplash looks over to Novastar, picking up his unanswered call on the broadband. "Triumph's a little before my time, all I know about it was when it came down here. What do you make of *that* stuff, though?" She indicates the softly-glowing violet pond of liquid at the base of her lookout perch. -Novastar looks over and shrugs, jumping up with a bit of thrust to a stable-looking piece of group near Lash. His visor glows for a moment... -Enfilade mutters, "I saw it crash....saw it fly apart. You think war's hell on earth, means you've never seen one hit..." -Dagger crouches down and thinks. A lot of 'cons around here. He frowns, and moves closer, trying to get within hearing range. -Moonlight folds her arms and just stands there. "Seems really tense around here," she comments to no one in particular. -Whiplash silently agrees with Moonlight, noting Enfilade's manner. She herself is relaxed, in an the alert manner she assumes at her own guard post near Darkmount, but she's also curious as to what, if anything, this phenomenon might mean. -Enfilade looks all right when she's giving orders on her radio, but when the radio is silent her optics dart around like a classic combat stress case, her wings flicking like crazy and her movements jerky, unpredicatable. -Whiplash prods Novastar. "Well? Anything on those scanners? -Novastar's visor darkens slightly as he finished whatever byzantine and complicated analysis. "Energon," he shrugs, "but dangerously contaminated... if it's out of its storage system then it should be evaporating a lot faster, which means something's working to contain it. It looks like you dig down anywhere around here you'll hit the same stuff. It might make a good explosive, but..." he shrugs. "It'd take some doing to purify it safely with a shuttle's engines going up around here." -Enfilade says, "So if someone puts a bomb around here...everythin's blowin' sky high all over again." This sounds more like paranoia than Enfilade's usual practicality, doesn't it? "Figure the stuff's good for anythin' other than fuelin' our own destruction?" -Moonlight walks up to Enfilade and reaches up to put a hand, carefully and slowly, on her shoulder. "Relax a bit. I'm sure it's not all as bad as that." She looks around and glances at Whiplash. Slaves...now that's a nasty word, one that Moonlight doesn't care much for. "What did they mine 'Lash?" she asks with a slight frown. -Novastar takes in tehw hole area with a gesture, "Well, energon IS naturally unstable ma'am," he says calmly, "But you can usually tell if something's going to happen... Those quadrilithium crystals they used to mine have almost no energy loss rate, so I'm going with Solar and guessing that there's old dust remnants that are acting as a crude energon cube." He looks around, "Maybe the Tempest had a fuel tank left... or the mine's generator?" he theorizes. -Whiplash says, "Quadrilithium. Crystals of some kind. Weapons componants. Grew naturally in the underground, I heard." -Enfilade jerks away from Moonlight and snaps, "You've never /seen/ a shuttle crash, have you? The planet surface flying up in hunks of twisted steel and bits of mechanisms you know raining down all around you." Her wings snap. -Whiplash glances at Enfilade as she voices her next thought. "You know who we could use here, right?" -Enfilade drags her attention to Whiplash and concentrating is a struggle. "Someone who could tell us if hte energon was recoverable?" -Whiplash sighs a bit, knowing what Enfilade is remembering here. She forges ahead, though, in hopes of distracting her. "Look, maybe there's a resource underground here that we can get hold of. Get someone out here to help Novastar do some scanning, to get a better picture of it. You *know* who's ideal to help out." -Dagger frowns. He's able to catch a few words, but not enough. He once again tries to move in, carefully. He attempts to slink safely over to a set of rocks close enough to let him hear most of what's being said. -Novastar ignores the commander babbling on. Like they haven't seen things blow up, "Starfire would be appropriate... but I've never seen this sort of contamination before... you usually try and keep energon away from quadrilithium.. I recommend not touching it. -Enfilade nods. "Yeah, Lash. That's why I'm here. To get resources. Though I wonder if it's worth distracting recovery efforts from Cerrius. I don't know how stable our hold on the new territory is." -Dagger moves quickly over to the rock. -Moonlight steps back from Enfilade. "Maybe I haven't, and from the sounds of it you have. But I don't think anything is going to crash here now...that's like having lightning strike someone twice." She shakes her head with a frown. No, she's never actually /seen/ a crash up close, but she has lost a friend to one. "I mean no disrespect, but you're wound up so tightly you look like you're about to snap. I don't think that's what you want." -Whiplash turns to Novastar. "Ha, brilliant! Starfire!" as though she hadn't been hinting toward that all along. -Enfilade sighs to Moonlight. "This is like...walkin' through a grave. Through a charnel house. Specially so soon after...." She doesnt' finish this sentence, but something's on her mind. -Novastar looks at his CoC for a moment... doesn't quite seem like her to be this worried about death. He shakes it off and looks at Whiplash, "I was trying to agree, Whiplash, my apologies." He bows slightly, before asking, "I wasn't in this sector very often before the crash: do you know anything about the camp layout?" -Whiplash has become engaged in conversation with her comrades, so is paying just slightly less attention to the surroundings - though she does keep watch for obvious movements. -Moonlight pats Enfilade's arm again. "Hey, we're all friends here. I'm sorry that something's distressed you, but it will be best for all of us if you try to ease up a bit. Try thinking of something pleasant." Moonlight isn't joking around. She really seems to think that Enfilade should calm herself a bit. -Whiplash says, "Hmm. Well, it was a pretty heavily-defended fortress. Only thing that could bring it down was an event like what happened here. What are the odds the ship crashed right here in Hellpit?" -Enfilade growls, "I wanna get back in a nice simple war zone with a few bullets whizzin' around my head an' the rhythmic bark of guns...somewhere I c'n feel comfortable..." Yes, this wreckage upsets her more than outrightwarfare. It's too quiet...too easy to think about things she shouldn't be thinking about. "Anyone contacted Starfire yet? Let's do this thing an' get out." -Whiplash perks up and wastes no time sending out a message to the kid back home in Darkmount. Let her make a contribution. -Novastar grins, "One to one?" before continuing more seriously, "I doubt it was a coincidence... but a fortress should have reserve fuel tanks. Geology isn't quite my area of expertise, but I'm guessing the energon simply rose up to the surface due to the energy pressure. -Moonlight shifts slightly. Charming name, Hellpits. She reminds herself not to go anywhere with the name 'Hell' in the word again. She grins, "Want me to fire a couple of shots at ya 'Fil?" Moonlight is one of the few people who can mix seriousness and levity this close together and not seem callous for doing so. -Dagger smirks slightly, glad to see the 'cons so disturbed. -Enfilade blinks...and suddenly laughs, grateful at Moonlight's breaking the tension. -Moonlight smiles broadly. "See, I /can/ be useful." She turns to Whiplash. "She gonna come down here?" she asks, refering to Starfire. -Whiplash flashes Moonlight a sharp-fanged grin. "She's on her way." Whiplash continues, to Enfilade, "And if there *is* a reserve of energon in the underground, we can start tapping into it, so we can get you back to your nice war zone, how does that sound?" -Novastar notes, "It may even be possible to start mining again.. if crystal's are being carried up with the energon flow, they may be right near a vein." -Moonlight briskly brushes her hands together as though finishing up a job. "Well, my work here is done, I've made our Field Commander laugh, time to go!" She says, and walks a few paces away. She's not really intending to leave, she's just clowning around a bit. Her optics scan the area. She knows that trouble follows her, and she's just wondering when it's going to show up. -Enfilade is edgy, starting at shadows, wings flickering, and muttering about shuttles and bombs and crashes and death as she tries to act professional and stay on guard. -Dagger is hidden behind a large piece of rubble within listening distance of the 'cons, taking note of all that's being said. -Enfilade nods to Whiplash, trying to take comfort in that. "Yeah. I wanna get back to the digging in Cerrius. We got mines on the go there now too, Whiplash. Buried energon reserves, acid pools, metal deposits." -Starfire spirals slowly downward, her trip not being a long one. The Hellpits are a place of legend, at least for her, and she takes the time to have a good look at the ruins. They look, well, ruiny and stuff, but there's more of interest than just the ruins... -Whiplash is still situated on her "perch" overlooking a small lake of glowing-purple liquid that looks very much like energon. She spots the unmistakable pink form of the starship dropping downward, and sits up straighter, smiling expectantly. -Novastar waves to Starfire, calling out as she gets closer, "We've got some quadrilithium contamination of an energon flow, maybe from an old fuel tank-know anything about how to re-refine energon in those conditions?" He looks at the pool for a moment, "Might be able to trace it... but the crystals will make that a bit treacherous and slow-going..." -Enfilade manages a smile to Starfire as she opens her mask. "Hey there, we got a job fer ya. payback time, I suppose." -Moonlight turns walks back into the little grouping. "So, is there anything you need me for specifically, or should I just stick around as an extra set of hands...just in case?" -Enfilade says to Moonlight, "You got some energon on ya?" -Starfire focuses on the pool of... whatever. It's pretty, whatever it is. Her forward speed slows even more as she approaches the ground, easing off on her secondaries and letting her maneuvering thrusters take the burden of keeping her large altmode hovering. "Hi, Commander. This kind of stuff isn't work, it's fun. She finally comes a a dead stop, then eases herself to the ground, away from the others. -Moonlight puts a hand to her chest and pretends to look offended. "Of course I do. You wound me with your doubt." Then she grins. "Any kind in particular that you want?" She turns to Starfire. "So, you've finally decided to have some fun, eh?" She chuckles. -Enfilade mutters, "Any kind." Beggars can't be choosers. -Whiplash transforms and strolls over to Starfire, casually placing a hand against the pink hull. "Nova's thinking we got an energon supply underground here, under what used to be the mines. Maybe we can tap into it at a point where it's not contaminated. Of course ... it might just be a buried fuel tank from the Triumph." -Novastar picks up a piece of metal and prods the pool for a moment with it.. it kind of gloops back before he withdraws it. "Last buzz EVER right here, Commander," he says, distracted. -Moonlight pulls out a bottle of enerwine. "This do?" she asks, not really sure what Enfilade wants it for. -Enfilade nods, pulls a few credits out of subspace, and takes the bottle, looking at it speculatively. -Moonlight waves the credits away with a grin. "Don't worry about it." -Dagger nods. He has now collected some important information. He starts to slink away, moving from piece of rubble to piece of rubble, trying to stay out of sight. -Starfire fires up her geological scanners, taking readings on the energy radiation properties of the pool. After a few moments, she notes, "That stuff's explosive, so maybe you should keep back a ways. Now *this* is a weird combination. Quadrilithic crystals don't react well with energon, do they? Your best solution would be to find the source of the energon and remove it from the contaminated area. Decontaminating this stuff... is kinda risky." -Enfilade has a rule about drinking on duty, and for all her overenergizing she never comes on duty under the influence. Today might be an exception....she pulls the lid off with her "teeth" and takes a long drink. -Whiplash has Starfire blocking her view of Dagger, in any case, so the skillful Shadowbot goes unnoticed. -Dagger moves off the edge of the Hellpits and exits. -Novastar nods in agreement, "Exactly... though it seems quadrilithium is mimicking our energon cubes in that case... maybe the crystals have all oriented themselves to refocus the energy inward?" he looks at the pool a moment, "Any idea where it leads to? This region's pretty dense and my scanners are having trouble penetrating... plus the energon spreds out a bit..." -Enfilade raises the bottle. "To Starfire's success," she says, using the toast as cover as she takes a really, really long drink, and then reluctantly puts the bottle away. She sits down on a rock, taking in deep breaths and looking a bit better. -Whiplash gives Enfilade a slightly worried look, but then turns back to Starfire, hopeful of learning more. -Starfire is quiet again, recalibrating her scanners to account for the huge amount of metal around, typical of Cybertron but not of the true planets that she prospects. Her range is extremely limited by the recalibration, but it might be enough... One can only try. "Any specs on the Hellpits? Being able to correlate to existing blueprints will help, even though the place has obviously been trashed." -Moonlight smiles slightly as she watches Enfilade drink the enerwine. As long as it helps Enfilade relax, it's all good. She goes over and sits next to Enfilade. For some reason every time she sees Enfilade, something is wrong with her. "Not bad is it? It's a bottle from my brewery," she says conversationally. -Novastar is watching Starfire, and is looking at the pool, so he doesn't get to watch the always unsettilng scene of a commanding officer get overenergized. Novastar winces at -Starfire's question, "There ARE blueprints... but none of them will help. There was a starship crash in this region a while ago... so the old mines and fortress go totalled from the impact." -Enfilade sighs and says, "Novastar, give her the map anyway....if you go down deep enough the layout will be the same." She wants to forget how she knows that. -Starfire has a bad habit of focusing on her work to the exclusion of anything going on around her, especially when there's some fascinating bit of mineral to discover. While she waits on the map, she begins scanning, just gathering information for now and feeding them into her sophisticated, on-board computer for analysis. Everything from a version of sonar to seismic, to infrared, and up to the ultraviolet range are sent in narrow-band pulses into the ruins of the Hellpits. The base itself is beginning to reveal its structure, and beneath it... "Wow." -Novastar brings out a datapad, noting, "I don't have the Fortress map, since I figured there's nothing left of it. So it's your best guess for figuring the debris density from that, Starfire." He hands over the datapad and reflects, "Though I may have to rearrange that, considering there's something leaking... anyone know if the thing's FTL engines are still intact? Those have some good-sized capacitors." he asks to the world. -Moonlight definately notices what Enfilade is doing, but perhaps it might not be such a bad thing...then again, there /was/ that one time in the bar. Hopefully the Field Commander will reach a happy medium and not be too tense, or too relaxed. She blinks at Starfire's words. "Wow? Wow what?" -Novastar finishes TRANSMITTING (yeah, that's the ticket) the map, and concurs with Moonlight. "Found our fuel tank?" he asks. -Enfilade raises an optic ridge. "What did you find, Starfire?" Evidently the enerwine has taken her edge off enough to let her concentrate on something else. -Starfire is silent again, scanning furiously. Is this what it looks like? She lifts off again on maneuvering thrusters, and moves to the other side of the ruins, settling again for confirmation. Another few minutes pass, then she murmurs, "A lot more than a fuel tank, sir. An underground lake of energon under the lowest levels. Not *too* far under the lowest levels, too. If the quadrilithic crystals contaminated this stuff, it could blow a sizable hole in Cybertron." -Whiplash can't do much to help those with the sophisticated sensors, so instead she gazes about the wreckage again, here and there interspersed with small puddles of seeping purple liquid. "I'm not sure there's much of anything left of that ship, Nova," she muses. "Whatever was useful, I hope someone picked up a long time back - and whatever was left, the scavengers probably got." -Novastar shrugs, "Well, if it did this damage... something could be driven pretty far into the crust..." he shrugs, "But I'm just guessing." Nova looks up at the massive form of Starfire, "Well... you're our geology expert... would what makes normal energon blow up make this stuff blow up too?" he says, shivering slightly, "Because the records I saw indicated there were still plenty of veins they were exploring." -Enfilade whistles. "A whole /lake?/ Frag, so much for Cerrius." So valuable...and so lethal if...Bombs. She's suddenly beset by visions of slinking mechs with explosives and her wings start to flicker again. -Moonlight hmmmms. "Big hole, not good. You're all sciencey...what should we do about it?" She turns back to Enfilade. Aie, that's one twitchity Field Commander. -Starfire adds, "Some slight contamination on this side of the lake. It's an accident waiting to happen..." -Whiplash too looks around warily now. If they're standing over an entire explosive lake, a triggerhappy Autobot on the scene would be bad news indeed. -Novastar studies the hole... "Let's see... old SOP for energon leaks from pipes was to cut off the source... but that's not really possible.. so either we cap this thing currently and go in now... or get a cube generator, suck off the contaminated stuff up top to hide what we're sitting on for the time being... -Enfilade says, "I say we triple the patrols...no...if we do that the Bots'll know what' sup an' it'll only take one shot...maybe double the patrols, stealth like....and yeah, a generator I think, Novastar. Slowly siphon it off the top." -Moonlight shrugs. "How big of a hole would it make? And if someone /did/ set this pool of doom off, what all would be lost?" off, what all would be lost?" -Enfilade says darkly ,"Whoever's standing on top of it at the time." -Starfire siiiiighs. "Bad situation. Energon is explosive anyway, and with this quadrilithic contamination, it's increased exponentially. Drill down from the clean side, and you might set it off. Drill down on this side, and you definitely will. Blowing this pool here will set off the rest of it, too." -Novastar hmms to himself, "Well.. figuring the quarilithic is keeping it from evaporating... and seeing what happens when an energon cube is giong off... and knowing what those crystals can do... Moonlight, I'd say we'd have another Great Gash on our hands." -Moonlight nods. "Well, if we got everyone out of the area, and blew it up right now, what would we lose? It sounds to me, and I'm not a scientific expert by any stretch of the word, that this stuff is deadly. Sure, we might be able to use it somehow, but it might end up killing more people than we'd want to lose. I don't like the odds of that..." -Starfire says, "Something has to be done, though. It's only just started, but the contamination will increase from the exposure to the crystals. And yes, a Great Gash if not destablishing Cybertron itself." -Whiplash looks to Moonlight. "If there's uncontaminated energon down there, we don't want to just throw it away." -Novastar adds, "Not to mention the southern picket lines and several industrial sectors have started to regrow into this area." -Whiplash glances at Enfilade. "Guess I'm assigned to guard duty out here, hm?" -Enfilade nods. "Cerrius isn't as big a deal as this. I'll have some troops at your command, Lash, so you can call them in if you need it." -Moonlight frowns slightly. "Of course we don't want to lose it 'Lash. But if the Bots hear about it and come to fight us for it, they might just blow us up. Then we'd lose the good energon, the bad energon, and a couple handfuls of troops too." She looks around. "I just thought I'd point out that possibility. If we get rid of it, then we don't lose anything we didn't have in the first place." -Enfilade mutters to Whiplash: "... ... ... ... ... ... ... them....this ... ... ... to take ..." -Novastar points to the sky, "We've gotten lucky already once with this spot... the shuttle could have set it off. What if a micro-meteorite hits the pool? This containment is close to unstable already... A space heater could set off a chain reaction." -Starfire would shake her head if she weren't in her alt mode. "Siphon off the contaminated stuff in small quantities and detonate it somewhere else?" -Whiplash grumbles in response to Enfilade, "Okay okay." Addressing the group as a whole, she asks, "How long would it take to drill down to the pool and get a generator going? At least get as much as we can?" -Moonlight folds her arms. She doesn't like this one bit and she takes a few steps away from the area, not like that would save her if things went bad. But she doesn't press the point. She knows how little she knows about the subject, and realizes that her less than expert opinion doesn't mean much. She just hopes that she won't have a cause to say, 'I told you so.' -Starfire says, "If you *must* go after the energon, and I recommend against for reasons that other folks have said, I wouldn't drill, I'd use acid. No heat, nothing to detonate the stuff. Start from outside the main Hellpits area, go down for a certain number of meters with a regular drill, then horizontally to the lake using acid. Set up a pump with a dozen filters, and slowly pump the good stuff out." -Whiplash says, "Moonlight, how do you think we can make progress if we're afraid to take a few chances? Sure, so the siphoning might be risky. But so are a lot of things. So's taking a walk in the wastelands, if you're not paying attention." -Novastar looks at Moonlight... well, recitance is understandable. This stuff can kill you if you're not careful. Novastar admends, to STarfire's statemetn, "We still need to get the contaminated energon... if nothing else, it's a danger currently, and it may be possible to refine it, and reclaim some crystals without the expense of digging out the mine." -Moonlight shrugs. "We could set up false rumors and hope they come here and blow themselves up..." she says to no one in particular. She looks back at Whiplash. "That's true, but there's also an ammount of balance for each risk. Is what you're getting worth what you're losing? And what are the chances of loss compared to the chances of gain. Stuff like that." She glances Starfire's way. "How much /good/ energon is there for the taking do you think?" -Starfire says, "70% clean, being very conservative." -Whiplash says, "So is the contaminated stuff useful as a weapon?" -Starfire can't answer that. She's a geologist, not a munitions expert. -Enfilade says, "It's too dangerous for us to make mistakes here. This isn't just about a fortress or a few raw materials. This could trash the whole planet if we ain't careful. An' I don't think the Bots are above trashin' the planet out of spite if they think it'll stop us." -Whiplash says, "Alright, they're stupid, but are they *that* stupid? We know they know, at least a little of what we know, 'cause there were two of 'em sliming around yesterday. So we can expect 'em to be back. Question is, do we leak the knowledge of how explosive this stuff really is, to keep 'em at bay?" -Moonlight finds something to sit on that's a little ways away. "Well, just let me know what you want me to do." No point in persisting. She's not a higher-up, which means she dosen't make the decisions. -Novastar shakes his head, "The Bots know about this... and I doubt they'd be foolish enough to immediately start shooting. This place is dead... energon here is something to be studied, not immediately destroyed." He does some more calculations, "Now... weapon-wise... equivalent to a small particle cannon going off in every direction, I belive, for perhaps a cube-sized one, though I don't claim to knwo all the effects the crystals will have. -Enfilade says, "I still say there's Bots nuts enough to play sacrificial hero and blow up themselves, us, and half the planet if they found out." -Novastar nods in agreement, "Well, almost certainly, yes." he says simply. -Whiplash says, "Alright. First priority is the pure energon, right? The stuff we know we can use. Then worry about finding a use for the contaminated stuff. What do you think?" The question addressed mostly to Enfilade, as it will ultimately come down to her decision. "Meanwhile, I'll make sure none of those scrapheaps gets close enough to try anything." -Enfilade nods. "Siphon it off as subtly as possible and I'll make sure the extra troops are around of you need them. I'll also make more noise in Cerrius, draw Bot attention if I can." -Moonlight hmphs. "So, do you want the explosiveness played up, in hopes that they aren't martyrs, or do you want it played down just so they don't get any ideas?" -Enfilade says, "I say played down unless some idiot comes around here playing hero." Enfilade mutters, 'I know damn well they're martyrs." -Starfire murmurs, "It's like trying to do some difficult work with a bomb ticking away next to you. I'd suggest we eliminate that danger first before going on to siphoning the good energon." -Novastar looks at it, and asks, "Starfire, how big a vein goes down to the main pool? Maybe we could seal this spout off and then siphon this off so there's no sign of the big pool?" he suggests. -Moonlight nods. "Just double checking. What exactly /do/ they know? I wasn't around for that encounter. Who knows and what do they know?" -Whiplash says, "Sounds like a good idea." She looks over to Starfire speculatively. Sure, she wanted the kid in on this to give her a sense of belonging, and she *did* have sensible ideas on how to procede - but while Whiplash is ready and willing to risk her own safety, she hesitates a little over risking Starfire's. Finally practical considerations must win out, however - and, isn't danger shared a powerful binding agent? "Starfire, you figure you could consult with some of the engineers on the siphoning techniques?" she asks." -Starfire really doesn't like this. Taking risks is one thing, but refusing to eliminate one is another... "Yes ma'am, I could. Best point to break through to the lake would be from the side and above it. The contaminated energon is heavier and will sink to the bottom." -Whiplash considers Moonlight's question too. "The 'Bots know this stuff is here and we're interested in it. They know it's highly explosive. Cannons-for-brains saw that for himself yesterday, and so did that little swamp rat. I'm sure they've crawled back to their leaders and told 'em all about it. They can't know how much is here, though." -Moonlight grins at Whiplash. "I have an idea who Cannons-for-brains is, but I'm not quite sure who Swamp Rat is. Care to clarify?" -Whiplash says, "Hyperdrive. That little Auto-brat. Made a good test subject for the energon, though. I tossed him in the pool and he didn't dissolve, so that told us something, at least." -Moonlight narrows her optics...she's never really been able to stand Hyperdrive ever since he killed Psykeout. One of her hands strays to the pack of enercigs on her hip. "Too bad he /didn't/ dissolve." -Starfire isn't too fond of Hyperdrive either, but not to the point of wanting him dead. She says nothing, though, just continues her scans. The better she knows this area, the better chance they have of surviving the siphoning process. -Whiplash says, "Eh, more fun to take him apart a piece at a time, anyway." -Enfilade says to Whiplash, "I'm....going back to Cerrius, now." The place is botheirng her, more than a little enerwine can settle. "Make the report if you would?" -Moonlight shakes her head. "What ever happened to the good old days when fun meant going out for a drink with a few friends." She turns to Enfilade and walks over to her to say a few things. a drink with a few friends." She turns to Enfilade and walks over to her to say a few things, "... said it before ... ... say it if ... ever ... to talk I'm ... to listen. You haven't ... ... lately ... ... figure ... ... a ... ... sympathetic ..." ((I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if you ever need to talk, I'm here to listen. You haven't been yourself lately, and I figure you need a set of sympathetic audials.)) -Enfilade mutters to Moonlight: "... ... ... that." ((Thanks. I'll remember that.)) -Moonlight nods and watches Enfilade go. "I think I'll stick around with Whiplash. They say two heads are better than one." -Starfire finally transforms, since she's apparently going to be here for a while. She doesn't like it here, she doesn't like the nitroglycerine that'll be within a stone's throw of the work, and she doesn't like the fact that the Autobots know about it. They're going to attack... -Moonlight doesn't like it either, and she's been quite vocal about it. But no sense in beating her discomfort to death. Moonlight has a wonderful ability to just decide she wants to feel better and makes it happen. Soon she's grinning and even strikes up a hum. -Whiplash returns from her quick trip to the nearest Decepticon computer uplink station, trailing a group of five dark-plated warriors who transform into stealth-mode jets and hover-vehicles, and spread out among the ruins, quickly losing themselves from sight. Whiplash herself returns to her vantage point at the side of the energon crater and leaps up lightly onto the mound of debris to survey the surroundings. Following closely on the heals of the patrollers, a team of engineers and technicians arrives, hauling equipment. -Moonlight grins. "You want I should be sneaky like too, or should I watch from the open?" -Whiplash says, "Perimeter patrollers will let us know if something's on the approach. We'll have some warning." -Starfire arches a brow at the new arrivals and reverts to her ship mode. The majority of the work needed will be based on the findings from her scanners and her own experience in mining. -Moonlight waves to the sciencey types. Then she goes to find her own bit of terrain to park her aft on. "Do you think most of the Bots would be willing to blow themselves up just to get rid of us...or just a select few?" -Whiplash directs the engineers over to Starfire. One of them gives the huge pink ship a somewhat dubious look. *This* is their expert source? He shrugs, and joins the rest of the team in the set-up. His is not to wonder why. Whiplash says, "It's like I said, they're stupid, but not *that* stupid, at least not most of 'em. I'm sure there's a few that would be happy to take us all to hell with 'em, though." -Starfire continues mapping the collapsed Hellpits, the surface pool, and the deeply underground lake. She doesn't want any unpleasant surprises, so does spectral analyses down to the atomic level. "It would kill all their own people, too. I don't think the others would let them." -Whiplash says, "How much control do 'Bot leaders have over their troops? I never really thought about it." -Moonlight nods. "Exactly. I figure, if they were all /that/ stupid, the war would have ended, right? And if they were all /that/ willing to die, the same thing would happen in the end anyhow. I mean, what's the point in winning a war if no one's around to cheer for vicotry, right?" She considers Whiplash's question. "I wouldn't know about control, but I don't think all of them are happy with the way some Bots run things." -Starfire starts building a three-dimensional wire image of the Hellpits underground on one of her screens. The Hellpits itself is barely distinguishable, so badly was it crushed, but the outlines are visible. There is much detail from the surrounding area as well, where the drill will go. "Yes... if they're so willing to die, they would have died by now." -The chief engineer of the group takes careful note of Starfire's visuals, and points out to the team the path the drill should take for the initial phase. Equipment continues to be assembled. -Starfire fills in the details, including the mines themselves. It's a concern as to when/if they'll collapse, contaminating the energon lake even more if not blowing the entire hemisphere into orbit. As the drawing becomes more and more detailed, the vector for the drill is also sketched out. A vertical drop outside of the Hellpits and well clear of the lake, then the slow, tedious process of burrowing horizontally using only acid to cut through the metal. The tunnel has to open in exactly the right location: to the side and slightly above the surface of the lake. It also has to extend to exactly the right depth, to draw the lighter, purer energon from the upper levels and leave the contaminated energon on the bottom. That still leaves all that explosive stuff at the bottom, but that's another task. -Moonlight grows thoughtful for a moment. "Whiplash, I know the question will sound stupid, but what exactly /do/ the Autobots want?" -The chief engineer nods her head as she traces the vector of the drill. "Yes, that'll do it. An interesting structural problem. Easier in theory than in practice." -Whiplash gives Moonlight a blank look. "What do they *want*? They want to force us into accepting their way of life, or wipe us out if we refuse. That pretty much covers it, I think." -Moonlight sighs. "What /is/ their way though? And what is the difference, objectively, between them forcing us, and us forcing them?" -One of the assistant engineers remarks, "If we drain this entire lake, the area above is likely to collapse inward. It shouldn't be a problem since there's nothing much left here, but just something to be aware of, when we set up our equipment." -Starfire doesn't know the answer to these questions, nor has she given it much thought. Her perspective is that of a neutral, which suggests that all factionals are alike. -Whiplash says, "Who's trying to force them? I sure don't care what they do, as long as they stay outta our business. But there's only so much room on the planet, only so many resources, and the stronger force has got to survive." -Moonlight shakes her head...she's fond of Whiplash, but she also realizes how one sided the femme's thinking is. "Well, I'm just trying to think if they really /would/ blow up half the planet just to get a few 'Cons out of their way. I mean, if it's Cybertron they want, then they wouldn't just destroy it, would they?" -Whiplash says, "I think it's more than Cybertron they want. They want to wipe out the Decepticon way, is what they really want. There's something about us that they think they got the moral right to destroy, or at least that's what they tell themselves." Whiplash says, "Myself, I'm not interested in stopping the Autobot mindset. I hate it, you understand, but if it takes root somewhere on a dry moon at the edge of the galaxy, I sure don't care. But stopping the *Autobots*, before they do us in, that's another matter." -Starfire speaks quietly with the engineers, looking into the possiblity of having drones do the work instead of people. This is really too dangerous to risk people on. -The chief engineer muses, "I don't know. This really needs a thinking being, paying attention every step of the way. If something shifts underground, we've got to be able to respond to it instantly." -Moonlight presses the point. "But do you think they hate us enough to destroy a whole hemisphere of their home?" For some reason she needs to know this. Sitting on top of this explosive stuff is troubling to her, and she wants to know how likely it is that someone is going to set it off from under her nose. "I can appreciate that. But I wish I knew enough of how they thought to predict their recation to this stuff...." -Whiplash says, "You know, I figure there's some that care more about saving their own hides than killing an enemy. Probably some that care more about keeping their friends safe than about killing their enemies, but I can't swear to it, I don't know any 'Bots. That's always a tough choice, for me - protect a friend or go after an enemy? In the end I'll protect, but I can't help feeling cheated of a kill somehow. As for 'Bots ... I guess it depends on how fanatically they really do think we're the source of all evil that needs to be stopped. I figure their leadership is pretty messed up like that." -Moonlight hmmmmms. "So you fight them because they fought the Empire first? As for being evil, yeah, they seem to think we are. Of course, there are some of us who really help them believe it." Her tone isn't implicating anyone present. -Starfire ponders mentioning the Crystal City viewpoint, but decides against it. They'd likely be insulted. "You'll need to allow for casualties, then. Have a base solution on hand in case of acid burns. A medic, in case something collapses and someone is crushed. Spare pumps, spare filters, spare drills." -Whiplash tilts her head questioningly. "How do you figure? What's more evil than feeling justified in wiping out a whole Empire 'cause it doesn't agree with you? Not 'cause it wants the limited resources, not 'cause they're fighting for the same little patch of ground that you want - though that's part of it, survival of the strongest and all - but most of all, 'cause they don't think like you do?" -Starfire asks, distracted from her work, "What is evil? Is there even a definition, or is it all based on your point of view?" -Whiplash says, "Heh, good question. I can tell you what *I* call evil. Obviously the 'Bots think different." -Moonlight shrugs. "Well, it just seems to me that there are extremists on both sides, and those are the ones that the factionals point to when labelling the other side...they're the ones who give the label of evil to their side." She sighs. "As for evil, I don't really think there are as many 'evil' people as this planet would like me to believe." -Whiplash growls softly, "Oh, I could point you to some." -Moonlight nods. "Point them out then Whiplash. I'm curious whether we'll draw some of the same conclusions." -Whiplash rumbles a slightly louder growl, the claws digging into the surface beneath her and the tentacles picking up their pace a little, as though the very thought of these vile individuals is enough to make her angry. "You can throw the 'Bots into that category pretty easy, but the worst kinda evil, let me tell you, the most disgusting thing there is, is a traitor that turns against his own kind. And then acts all sanctimonious about it to top it off." No, she doesn't name names, but her optics flash brilliant violet, indicating she's surely thinking of someone, maybe several someones. -Moonlight suddenly dreads to find out what would happen if Swipe actually showed up on Cybertron, alive and well and wanting her to rejoin him...."Is it just as evil to join the Empire from another faction?" -Whiplash snaps, "Who'd want a reject Autobot? Would *you* trust that?" -Moonlight shakes her head. "Not really. But I'd feel sorry for them if they found out they were wrong and couldn't do anything about it because no one would trust them. It's hardly their fault if they were made that way." -Whiplash bares her fangs in a flash of serrated white. "What could you possibly think of someone that would betray their own friends and family? You don't think they'd betray you too? You're right, I'd never trust that." She seems unable even to comprehend the notion. -Moonlight nods. "I could never betray anyone myself. Though I am worried about what would happen if Swipe ever came back for me..." -Whiplash restrains herself from making a snide remark about untrustworthy fence-sitters, although Starfire has wandered off to consult with the engineers; she might still be within earshot, after all, and that would rather scuttle her plans. Instead she forcibly settles down again, though her optics burn a little brighter and her tentacles thrash a little faster around her. "Who's Swipe?" she asks. -Moonlight stands up. "My mentor back on Monacus. The one who told me to come here in the first place. I'm sure I've told you..." -Whiplash says, "Ah, right. So ... if he did show up, why would that be a problem?" -Moonlight fidgets slightly. "Well, it would be a conflict I guess. If I know him at all, he'd want me to go back to Monacus with him..." -Whiplash says, "I thought he encouraged you to come here in the first place. Be among your own kind, and all that." -Moonlight shakes her head. "He told me to come here to drown myself in annonymity. Having galactic gangs looking for you on multiple planets isn't very safe. Strangely enough, he sent me here for safety." -Whiplash says, "Well, think about it. That makes sense. Who can protect you better than a whole Empire? We protect our own." -Moonlight nods. "That was part of the idea, though being in a war zone isn't really safe either. But most likely, if he /is/ still alive, he'd want me to go back to smuggling with him. It would be a hard choice." Moonlight knows that saying this might not be wise, but it would be even worse to hide the fact. -Whiplash looks at her intently. "And ... what would *you* want?" -Moonlight nibbles on her bottom lip as she thinks. "I'm not really sure. Swipe saved me from being nothing more than a gutter thief. He saved my life and made me what I am. But coming here, the Empire saved me too. But it's hard to see who I owe more to." She sighs. "The Decepticons are something much bigger than I am, but Swipe, he was like a father to me." -Whiplash doesn't really have a reply to that beyond "Hmm." She lowers her head to her forepaws, her optics glowing steadily. -Moonlight shrugs...there's not much to do about it. And, since she's heard no word from Swipe or any of the gang, it's unlikely such a problem will ever arise. But it does bother her sometimes. "Well, I'm going to head back to Darkmount for a bit, just to get ready for this whole opperation down here. Enjoy your watch." -Whiplash says, "Yeah. I'll be here. Someone's gotta make sure the planet stays in one piece." The optics flicker faintly at those last words, betraying a trace of humor. -Moonlight grins as she heads off. "And I'm just glad that you're the one doing it." ================================= Decepticon ================================= Message: 10/14 Posted Author More Hellpits Fri Feb 07 Whiplash ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Update on the Hellpits area. Novastar and Starfire have done some additional scanning, and it turns out there's an entire lake of energon deep under the surface out there, just below what used to be the Quadrilithium mines. The stuff that's seeping up through the ground, maybe an aftereffect of the Triumph crash a year back, is contaminated and highly explosive - a single misfired shot could send the whole region into orbit. So those of you being assigned to patrol, watch your step, and make very sure no triggerhappy Autobots get past you. For those engineers being assigned to work on the problem, talk to Starfire about where to set up your equipment, and where to start using acid instead of drills. You don't want to generate heat. We'll need to siphon off the pure energon in one area and the contaminated stuff in the other. Oh, and the Autobots have some idea what's up, they just don't know how big this is. Publically, we'll want to downplay the danger, so we don't get some hotshot barreling in to blow us up along with himself - but if we do end up in a confrontation, it might be good to make that threat if the 'Bot in question seems ready to be intimidated. Otherwise keep it to blade weapons. Good luck, and let's harvest this energon quick before something goes wrong. ==============================================================================