-Swivel is looking probably the worst of everyone. A hardly recognizable scrap heap. That's what you get for trying to get a good look around... being slowly devoured by itty-bitty parasites. Not fun at all. She is cautiously... rather than desperately.... making her way back down to the canyon... "The slag---?" what an ODD site. Maybe she should have ignored orders and stayed put... at least them she's be a lot more whole.
-The gray wall parts a little to let Thunderstrike's laser bolt pass through without effect, and wavers in aggitation. A soft whisper shudders through it. Something that sounds like... "Fooood...."
-Enfilade hesitates, eyeing the Scraplets. "Why won't they come over here?" The questoin is directed as much to the Autobots as to the other cons.
-Thunderstrike leans up against the shuttle. "Expression calm before storm mean anything to anyone?" He loads up his rifle... "These things are sentient?"
-Wraith mutters something to the effect that its always tfs that look like a good meal to weird alien lifeforms...
-Ghost mutters to Starfire: "you ..."
-Starfire murmurs shamedly, "Sorry, ma'am. I'm not so steady on my feet right now. Or at least one of 'em." She tries to scramble up, putting most of her weight on her good foot.
-Phantom continues 'hiding' in his small alcove, hole in his chest shwoing some of his innards. He watches as the Decepticons 'descend' to their place on this world. Just like them to try and move in on what they've already claimed.
-Sapphire humms happily to herself as she blindly speeds through the two groops of Transformers anf heads directly for the gray wall of .. stuff.. its like she dosnt know its there
-Moonlight lands rather ignominiously on her aft. After a moment, she stands up and dusts herself off. She's rather embarassed to be seen in her present condition, for her appearances were always a small matter of pride with her. Her entire right shoulder down to the elbow has been consumed by the affliction. She turns around to look at the wave of critters. "Now /that's/ the creepiest thing I've ever seen," she comments to no one in particular.
-The wall changes shape, seems to condense on itself, writhing in indesicion. Something it fears, vs. something it desires. Finally it condenses into a vague copy of the creatures it's hunting: two legs, two arms, a recognizable head shape without features....
-Ultra Magnus just... gapes...
-Thunderstrike points his blaster. "Permission to tee off?"
-Swivel coughs. "Ahem.... IT'S A SLAGGIN MONSTER!"
-Wraith picks up on the things talking, and tries to talk back to it. "Hello?"
-Ghost nods, getting to her own feet, optics flicking to the wall of hungry then slowly tracking the point from which the laser bolt came from. "Now thats... unique.." she comments softly, holding one arm close to her. She lends the other hand to Starfire tohelp her slowly back away fromthe imaginaty line drawn inthe sand.
-Whiplash backs away a little, snarling - but at the same time, her optics light up in anticipation. This is a *shape* now, something recognizable, something to fight. Perhaps.
-The Scraplet Monster replies to Wraith's communications attempt with a deeper bellow: "FOOOOOD!" It takes a step forward toward the gathered robots across the imaginary line.
-Wraith tries to get a dialogue going, "What kind of food?"
-Sapphire skids to a hult as she sees the.. thing "Holy... what in the name of primus?
-Starfire is more than itching now that there's been a fresh infusion of scraplets. She shudders, then tries to focus on something else. Anything else. The monster, the... Autobots? Uh oh, Decepticons + Autobots = fight, and this is an *awful* time for it. Maybe everyone will fight the Monster instead.
-Thunderstrike selfslaps. "Wraith, hes talking about us. Kinly move so I can kill this blasted thing."
-Scattershot watches rather then in wonderment, in a slight state of boredom. A vain of interest opens as the wall of Scraplets moves apart to let Thunderstrike's blast go through it. He makes a mental note of that, even as the blasted miniature nuts and bolts pull together and make a slaving monster. "Huh." He mutters to himself, before yelling out at the top of his voice. "Eat the ones with the purple badges, first!"
-The Scraplet Monster orients toward Wraith. "FOOOD. YOU!" it thunders, and swings an appendage toward the Neutral mech.
-Ultra Magnus snaps out of his daze, but continues staring at the giant. He raises a hand above his head: the lock-and-load signal. "Autobots..." He wavers for a moment, not sure that it's a good idea, but quickly decides that he has no choice as it moves. His hand drops. "Fire!" He leads the charge by sending it a blast of his own, and also showing the warmongers that he doesn't mean the Decepticons.
-Wraith growls back, "I'm just trying to negotiate! Metal is a rather easy to obtain you know."
-Thunderstrike drops down firing a straight shot for the big uglies head. "Eat this, you overgrown pack of fleas."
-Wraith rolls away from what he knows is going to be a fusilade of fire coming his way
-Moonlight eyes the monster. Now /that/ is something to fight! It's ugly and stupid and preditory. She pulls out a blaster, but waits to see what the other Decepticons do first.
-Ghost continues to back up slowly, "Decepticons, regroup to.." She looks over her shoulder.. A slight shake of her head, "Towards the Autobots. Safetey in numbers. perhaps we can concentrate more firepower that way and be more effective."
-Swivel makes another coughing sound. She looks at Wraith. "I don't think it cares. Perhaps it enjoys the thrill of eating something alive..."
-Solar tries something new, he transforms this time standing on the ground and the powder and starts his intake to blow the white powder skyward "I have food for you" and he aims his jets at the scraplet commando
-This time Thunderstrike's blast takes out some of the pieces, though the "wound" closes in on itself leaving a faint ripple in its place. As the thing was moving for Wraith, it managed to avoid Ultra Magnus' attack - and its huge hand still swings at Wraith.
-Wraith tries to duck underneath and get behind the massive creature.
-Swivel shakes her head. She's the furthest away from that THING... but ti's time to go get it. She runs as fast as her battered and half eat body can carry to get to her fellow Autobots... and ends up tripping and rolling most of the way. "oof... umf... ugh.. gah... ow... fuggin...."
-Scattershot rolls his optics under his visor as Magnus once more dives head first into the face of mindless adversity. Still, if he wants firepower, Scattershot can amuse himself by providing some of that...
-Ghost nods, "Decepticons, to me!" She kicks backwards, hauling Starfire with her as she heads towards the Autobots. "Stay clear of its.. reach."
-Whiplash skitters a little over the rocks again, then digs in her claws and leaps toward Ghost, her tentacles lighting up around her, sending bolts of blue light toward the lumbering creature.
-Thunderstrike takes another shot at the big thing. "Decepticons are my bootlickers not yours. Now die. Back me up folks. Bigger they are ya'll." He tees off again, almost enjoying this target practice.
-Starfire is yanked backwards, leaning heavily on Ghost or she'd fall. She's getting a bit of anger now to counter the pain... If she could have a moment to clear out her ankle actuator....
-Moonlight is more than happy to rally behind Ghost. She quickly makes her way over to her.
-Swivel rolls to her feet and quickly joins her crew.... looking like she's ready for the trash heap. Well.... they eat metal... not glass. Her headlights should still be functional... and her gun... which is safe in subspace should work. She wonders if loud sounds will irritate it.... other than that...s he can't really DO ANY damage.
-Whiplash snarls and promises herself to finish off Thunderstrike at a more convenient moment.
-Solar kicks it up a notch and lauches portside tube. Woohoo Star Trek
-Ultra Magnus fires another blast at the creature, but frowns as it is quickly consumed by Scraplets. He looks down at Swivel briefly as she arrives, and just frowns more. "You'll just get killed standing if you try to fight it." He nods over his shoulder. "Go find us something to fight it with. Find a spot the Scraplets avoid. And hurry!"
-Swivel frowns and pulls out her rivet gun... then pauses. It's metal. It's bullets are metal. They'll just eat it. She puts it away. "Awe slag! I'm useless against this thing!"
-Thunderstrike staggers back as a massive maw tears into him. He looks up pissed. "Oh sure. thats cause I actually hurt you isnt it?"
-Wraith thought he was going to get slammed when the torpedo slams into the beast.... and he quickly sprints 'behind' it to cover it if it decides to resurrect itself.
-The Monster turns against the source of its latest annoyance by reaching out at Thunderstrike, the individual componants detaching themselves and impedding into his armor - but as Solar's torpedo disrupts the creature's integrity, the whole thing seems to disintegrate - individual scraplets pouring in all directions toward each robot on the scene.
-Thunderstrike glares at Solar, "Its' cause I softened it up, and dont you forget it, hotshot." He acks as they get showered in ICK.
-Sapphire darts away as she makes fro the back of the robot mass.. there has to be someplace to hide
-Ghost gets to the Autobots vicinity, pushing Starfire behind her defensivly. Heroptics narrow and refocus on the creature, noting others placement, movement and evidently the sheer amount of firepower they're spending. Then the monster dissolves.. "Slag.." a soft mutter, "Starfire get under cover!" A pause thenshe drops to shield the young femme with her own frame,wings out. "this just gets better and better.."
-Swivel looks like she's about to freak when she sees the large blast and scattering of scraplets and runs behind the shuttle. Fat good that will do.
-Solar says, "I didn't do it you can't prove anything"
-Moonlight flails her arms madly in front of her as she's assualts by many, many scraplets all at once. "Ewwwwwww! Get away!" Okay, so, she can't /always/ be cool or witty.
-Whiplash snaps wildly about herself as thousands of scraplets imbed themselves into her already damaged armor.
-Thunderstrike drops to a knee as the buggers dive into a gapping hole beside his cockpit. "Arrghhh." he writhes in aggony.
-Swivel just remains hidden on the side of the shuttle that has less of those little scraplets. Good thing she wasn't in the front firing. Her uselessness came in handy.
-Wraith tries to knock the dang critters off, being rather untouched by them, he isn't hurting as much... yet.
-Solar just sighs and wonders how much a paint job is gonna cost this time
-Scattershot mutters as the Scraplet beast explodes and goes everywhere, much like Strafe in a shoot gallery. In some form of angry defiance, he opens up with every small arm weapons system he has in this mode, exploding a shower of incendiary shells around his frame while pondering the virtues of getting a force field installed in this mode. His little barrage of firepower doesn't do a great deal, other then make him feel slightly better as he feels the nasty bite of Scraplets for the first time.
-Like a swarm of furious hornets, the tiny sharp-edged bits of living metal drive themselves deep into the armor of everyone in the area. The chittering whisper rises up again: "Foooood!" - coming from all directions this time.
-Whiplash lights up the tentacles again, sending a barrage of electric bolts in all directions, slashing out with the claws against an enemy she cannot strike.
-Ultra Magnus drops to the ground, one arm supporting his weight while the others protect his optics from the Scraplet blast. Hundreds of the creatures dig into his already weakened elbow joint, and in moments, his forearm clunks to the ground. He groans deeply, but seems more interested in knowing if that's the end of the thing. And then, he knows it's not. "Swivel," he repeats. "You should be elsewhere very soon. Find us a cure, and fast?"
-Wraith says, "Ah smeg! These little smeggers are just getting into us one by one, instead of en masse!"
-In a fissure near the parked Autobot shuttle, something stirs ... a faint whisp of steam.....
-Thunderstrike drops to the floor completely bowed in pain, practically spasming from the hurt now. He attempts to crawl back to the others.
-Ghost's frame shakes as the scraplets burrow into the weak portion of her armoring already affected on her back. having an ablative exoarmoring, mostly ceramic ocmpounds, she doesn't outwardly look that bad off. But she canfeel them chewing ather endostructure, fromthe inside out.. "Hnnk..."
-Swivel is about to freak... then just nods. "I'll do anything to find hte cure, Ultra Magnus. ANYTHIGN to rid us of this... huh?" Swivel goes silent, but it's difficult to see what she is doing, hidden ebhind the bullet magnet of a shuttle examining something.
-Starfire is somewhat protected by Ghost's own form, and bitterly so. She knows she's their transportation away from this terrible place, and if she dies, there's no escape for any of them. Still, some get through, and she whimpers quietly as they chew into her armour. She doesn't offer to take them away from there, though. No point in leaving; it's a slow death versus a quick one. If there's no cure to be found here, they die. It's that simple.
-Moonlight thinks she's going to be sick. "Oooooo, this doesn't feel good, not good at all." Wildy she slaps herself all over, trying to get rid of these horrid critters. And if things weren't bad enough, the stupid bugs can talk. She looks rather panicked, but that's really not surprising.
-Wraith takes his laser pistol and attempts to vaporize the creatures burrowing into his armor, wincing with pain as he tries to root them out...
-A larger puff of steam hisses out of the ground and drenches Swivel in moisture. The rock of the valley floor rises rapidly in temperature. Something is pushing its way up from underneath.
-Ultra Magnus looks toward the shuttle in confusion, and with a nod to the others to tell them to stay alert, he hobbles around it. "Swivel!" he exclaims upon seeing the scene. "Are you all right?" Keeps his own distance, though.
-Thunderstrike hobble crawls towards Swivel. "Swiv..you okay?"
-Scattershot transforms slowly, gears grinding as they're already starting to get chomped on. He finally gets to his robot form, grimacing in pain but not yelling out, that would truly ruin his macho image. The small vestiges of an idea start to form in his mind but are blanked out at a radio call, and with heavy steps he starts towards the shuttle that he managed to park in the right place, it seems.
-Sapphire is in a panic.. she wasnt made to be an explorer...
-Swivel is wet.... she is a little jumpy too... but doesn't seem overly... hurt from the steam. Other than it being hot. She takes a few steps away from the steam... but is covered in moisture. "gazooks!"
-Solar thinks the pain here is just second to having his optics burned out by acid and third to having his fuel pump removed by Ultra Magnus
-Wraith drops to his knees in pain, and from the tremor
-As the Autobots start converging on the location of the ship, the vent in the valley floor suddenly releases a plume of scalding water that showers the ship and the nearest Autobots.
-Ghost pushes herself up with one arm, the other held tightly to her side. "Starfire, get to the Autobots shuttle. Keep yourself as safe as possible." She turns, pushing to a knee, then to her feet, her back an open network of lacy armor patterns with faint flickerings of electrocal light cast by opened systems withen. "Decepticons, sound off... Need to regroup.. "
-Solar says, "Sol...ar...rep....ort...ing"
-Thunderstrike keeps crawling amid the chaos..amazing noones stepped on him. He's statting to close in on the shuttle, slowly.
-Sapphire blinks as she starts to think.. water, vent,.. someplace to hide?..
-Moonlight makes her way back towards Ghost, trying to keep herself calm enough to do so. This is worse than any attack she's faced yet...and she isn't sure which is worse, the pain or the panic. "I'm...here...for the time being anyhow." panic. "I'm...here...for the time being anyhow."
-Whiplash shakes out her tentacles furiously, scraping herself against the nearest rocks to rid herself of the parasites - leaving a white chalky coating along one side. In response to Ghost's call, she leaps forward through the buzzing cloud of bouncing scraplets.
-Ultra Magnus is blasted with steam and falls on his back from the shock. Fantasies of this being the end start flashing through his head, but as he looks at his chest, he sees the embedded creatures popping off and splattering on the ground. "That's it..." he mutters. "Oh, Swivel, you're beautiful. Autobots, over here! We have the cure!" Yeah, he doesn't care that the Decepticons can hear.
-Wraith drags himself towards Ultra Magnus in agony.
-Starfire pauses long enough to dig a forefinger into her ankle and pry a fragment of metal out, then she's at least able to support some weight on that foot, even if it's still not working properly. She moves towards the shuttle as ordered, now trying to bring her arm-lasers online. Only one is working, though, and it's not like lasers do any good. Other than make her feel better. She fires back towards the scraplets as she goes,
-Solar switches over to secondary speach proccess "I'm ok....kinda. Ghost Look at the steam."
-Swivel steps a bit away from the water to help other Autobots. "C'mon! This stuff is surely killing off those pesky critters! It has to be what they were avoiding earli- a-wha?" she lokos at herself as there is a chalky film all over her. "The slag?"
-Thunderstrike practicly falls into the crevice, he just looks down into the abyss, taking in the steamshower.
-Starfire mutters, "Evaporated water, that's all."
-That first explosion was only a warm-up, a practice session. The eruption seems to subside for a moment - and then blasts forth anew, showering the entire valley with boiling water and scalding steam! Where the droplets hit, Scraplets fall off of armor plate or drop in mind-bounce, a high-pitched whispering cry of agony shuddering through the entire valley as its drenched in hot liquid.
-Ghost sways on her feet, one arm going limp now as internal damage continues. She glances over her shoulder at the words from Ultra magnus, optics flickering wildly. Then she looks back at her troops, "Need to get everyone over there. Who needs a hand?"
-Wraith crawls up beside thunder, and lets the steam stream across his frame
-Swivel starts to scrape at the chalky film left on her from the steam. "Not just normal water...." she frowns, but it repels scraplets... therefor it is good!
-Solar transforms mid shower gets all that nice hot water into his systems and all over his armor "Ah now that feels better
-Scattershot brings a hand up on instinctive reaction as the steam erupts, the heat of the steams not so much of a bother really, and with the feeling of the nasty little varmints popping out of his body, it's something of a relief. In fact, with things not eating him any more the slightly wider picture of the enemy on its knees and vulnerable... Up until he's rocked backwards by the second geyser of water and watches as he flies through the air the Decepticons get covered in blessed relief. There goes that idea.
-Starfire is drenched along with everyone else and siiiiiighs as the pain, well, it doesn't subside, but it at least doesn't get any worse. "Water, fragging *water*," she grumbles. "Some planets are almost entirely made of water. Well, I guess the scraplets don't visit *those* places."
-Whiplash shies away from the scalding liquid, flattening herself behind cover. As such she only gets a few droplets. She snarls, having lost track of her companions amidst the steam.
-Wraith gets to his knees again as he sucks in the pain...."Ok, who needs to be patched?"
-Moonlight finds she's able to calm herself as the heat washes over her. At least the heat she can understand...but wait, it's helping. Moonlight has no complaints there. Of course, she'll mostly likely complain later, when the actual danger is behind her.
-Ghost gets knocked right back over with the subsequent explosion of water. She lies there, feeling less than graceful but a moment of relief at not having to give a final report is felt. She winces as water gets into her internal systems from the fragile armoring left on her back, the panles breaking with the impact allowing the water inside.. "G>. kk... #$^#^^###$!!!!"
-Whiplash spins around and snaps at her tentacles, the ones that didn't get a dose of water. Being on the edge of the group, she's not really sure what happened to the others, still unable to see through the hot haze.
-Ultra Magnus rolls himself over, and pushes shakily to his feet. He brushes the loose Scraplets from his body and looks around. "Well," he states plainly. "We got what we came for. I believe it's our time to head out." He glances at Ghost and continues, although she seems... preoccupied. "Let's keep the cease-fire intact until we get out of here, hmm? I don't think your lot is any more in the mood for a fight at this point than ours." He sheaths his rifle, scoops up his lost arm, and makes toward the shuttle.
-Thunderstrike sits there enjoying the moment. "Load up time." He grabs a canister or two from the shuttle, following on Swiv's lead.
-Swivel heads into the shuttle and grabs a large tank almost around her size and heaves it out, dragging it towards the errupting sprout of water. "C'mon! Gimme the command to fill it up so we can LEAVE! I mean... pressure equals bad stuff, right? Like KABOOM?" she looks at THunderstrike as he helps her fill up.
-Sapphire watches the whole scene unfold befor her.. then sees Lash.. not thinking strate and takes off her helit and scoops up the wiierd liqued, with her dark blue hair flying about her she runs over and splashes Wiplash
-Wraith grabs a container, and fills it with some of the powder and water
-Ghost takes several moments to regain clarity of thought.. Although she isnt feeling all to pleased. Slowly, with as much grace as she can muster, she gets to her feet, replying to Magnus, "The ceasefire is in effect until we're both back where we belong Magnus." A shake of her head, "Whiplash! Starfire! Solar! Moonlight! report! have you ceased being eaten alive?"
-Scattershot mutters under his breath about Ultra Magnus being a pansy and also a wuss. But still, he goes about collecting the water like a good little soldier...
-Moonlight just stands there, feeling the relief, until someone tells her not to. She overhears Mangus' comment to Ghost. Since when has she /been/ in the mood for fighting? She turns to Ghost at the sound of her voice. "Yes!" she says, much louder than she meant to.
-Swivel starts noticing everyone else getting the same chalky residue after being splashed by the water as the tank gets full.
-Whiplash spins around with all fangs bared and optics blazing as Sapphire dumps a helmetful of hot water all over her. Only an instant later does she notice the last of the horrible parasites are dropping away from her. She comes to a dead stop in mid-lunge, dances sideways a little, and stares at the twitching, dying things on the ground. Stares back at Sapphire, then at the parasites.
-Wraith pauses as he hears the 'con yell orders at people he thought were unafils... "strange" he thinks... "why are they under orders?'
-The geyser rift bubbles and steams a while longer, as the eruption slowly withdraws - leaving a residue of gypsum dust over everything it touched.
-Starfire straightens up as much as she can on one foot and reverses course, moving away from the Autobot shuttle and back towards the sound of Ghost's voice somewhere in the steam-created mist. "It's stopped, ma'am. I have a good idea of what did it, too."
-Thunderstrike seals up a jug, lays it ons its side and rolls it up the ramp. "Lets move yall, this thing is building to a crescendo. Time to haul aft!"
-Ghost's optics flicker as she gets call backs fromthose involved. "Excellent Starfire. Is it something we can recreate or do we need to carry a supply with us?"
-Moonlight actually has a reason to dust herself off for real, and attempts to do so. What /is/ this stuff anyhow? But in reality, she doesn't want to know, just in case the thing that saved her is less than pleasant.
-Swivel hauls her big tank onto the shuttle. "Shouldn't we give the 'cons some of this stuff so they can get rid of the parasites on their end therefor not infecting us in next encounter?" they can get rid of the parasites on their end therefor
-Sapphire blinks as she realisess what she just did, with one hand covering her mouth she drops the helm "Oh Lash... i'm sorry" she stutters
-Scattershot mutters as he walks up the ramp behind Swivel, a large container over his shoulder. "No."
-Whiplash finally relaxes a little from the 'caught between attack and dead stop' pose. "No," she decides, with the slightest of appreciative nods to Sapphire. "Don't be sorry."
-Thunderstrike gets a tad frantic. "No, they can go down in flames for all I care, lets get our afts back to Cybertron before this gets messy..or more messy, or messier...is that a word?"
-Starfire peers around, grateful for something to concentrate on instead of the pain. "The water, we don't need to take with us. I know where there's some in the Cybertron system. The powder, I'd like to take some samples back, at least. I can take a guess at what it is, but guesses aren't worth much."
-Ultra Magnus shrugs, as he heads into the shuttle as well. He sighs a little, upset that he can't help with the loading, but he is missing an arm. "Let them deal with that. We can take care of ourselves if another outbreak occurs."
-Ghost nods slowly, holding herself stiffly. "Then we'll get some of this powder tocarry with us. Are you flight capable?"
-The floor of the valley is still decidedly hot. The geyser rift emits another cloud of steam.
-Swivel looks at Starfire, then at the other Autobots with a slightly angry face. "BUT IF THYE DON'T GET RID OF THE SCRAPLETS THEY ARE INFECTED WITH WE'LL GET INFECTED ALL OVER AGAIN!"
-Wraith finishes gathering up a container full of the powder and water, and seals it up.
-Moonlight stops mid dusting. This stuff might be useful later on? Sure, why not. Carefully she makes her way over to her fellow Cons...and Starfire. "How long before we can go home?" she asks.
-Ghost hnns softly, optics narrowing, "Run a systest to be sure. Let me see what I can do with some talk.. "she looks around, "Moonlight! Find whiplash." Her footfalls begin to carry her towards the Autobot shuttle.
-Starfire glances back at Swivel and almost smiles. "That makes too much sense, Swivel. Let's see if anyone listens."
-Thunderstrike stands by the door to the shuttle, optics locking on Ghost. "What..you gonna count to three again?" He growls angrily.
-Moonlight nods, "Sure thing Ghost." She turns around and starts looking for Whiplash, hoping that she's okay.
-Whiplash hears Ghost's call, and nods again to Sapphire. "Might want to scoop some more of it up, so we have a sample to work with back home." She emerges from behind the gypsum formations and calls, "Over here!"
-Scattershot growls, not in the mood for a philosophical discussion. "Get in the damn shuttle Swivel so we can congratulate you on finding a fraggin' cure. You'll be a hero when we get home, now get in the damn ship!"
-Ghost stops and simply peers at Thunderstrike, "Kid.. " a pause, "Thunderstrike. You were warned, that is now past. I hold no personal grudges, why should you? I simply wish to speak to your commander."
-Moonlight grins as she spots Whiplash. "Glad to see you're okay. Now, let's get out of this place."
-The geyser steams and puffs ominously. Maybe that second blast was just a warm-up too?
-Wraith gets his container onboard the 'bot shuttle
-Thunderstrike leans back in the shuttle, "We need another jug of the stuff or are we a clear to take off?" Then another plume of steam arises. "Slag it..lets move!!"
-Ultra Magnus pushes his radio transceiver back into his headset - as it won't retract automatically - and grunts. He stalks out of the shuttle, giving the geyser a wary look. "We'd best make this quick," he tells Ghost.
-Swivel looks at THunderstrike and frowns, shaking her head dissaprovingly then scowls at Scattershot for a moment, then calms a little. "Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" she sees the steam and hurries in the shuttle.
-Whiplash says, "I'm with you on that one, Moonlight." She glances back to make sure Sapphire is coming as well.
-Swivel pauses a moment, waiting for Scattershot and Ultra Magnus. "hummmmmm............"
-Starfire looks around and sees no easy place to transform. The valley is too rough. That means a near-vertical transformation. Great, just great. She steps away to get clearance, then transforms and lies pointing upwards on the incline.
-Ghost nods, "I've got two unaffiliates traveling with me. One's a kid. This.. infestation is a planetwide concern, not just a factional one. I am coming to you as a fellow Cybertronian, we will aid in ridding ourselves and the planet of this threat together.. but in order to do so.. we need your aid in returning home."
-Sapphire walks slowly over to the geyzer and waits.. she'll try to save some of the water.. maybe it can be synthetically made back home
-Moonlight watches Whiplash and Sapphire for a few moments, the starts heading towards Ghost. The Bots aren't seeming very cooperative, and althought Moonlight knows she isn't much, at least Ghost won't be alone.
-Scattershot turns and glowers a look towards Magnus as he trots of to talk to a Decepticon. Oh great, well maybe he can get a lift back to Cybertron with them as well. Snarling something distinctly nasty under his breath he stomps inside of the shuttle to get the bullet magnet flight ready.
-Ultra Magnus nods slowly. His optics settle clearly on Ghost, and after a moment of deliberation, he repeats, "You need a ride." He glances around the Decepticons' cadre, pondering whether they can handle the load.
-Whiplash steps over to rejoin Starfire, and glares across the open space where Ghost is talking to Magnus by the Autobot shuttle. "What's she *doing*?"
-Swivel walks over to Ultra Magnus and just stands beside him, looking up. "Good choice Ultra Magnus! See... you aren't an idiot like everyone says you are behind your back! Unless this is another trick, but I am -certain- even Decepticons won't put the war in front of the safety of all of Cybertron!" she er.... smiles? No.. SMILES.
-The shuttles engines start to whine as they begin to spool up to take off speed.
-Ghost does a quick 'head count'. "If not myself and Whiplash, then Starfire and Sapphire. This is not their war. I will not risk Starfire to the stress of such a trips return." She frowns, "This isn't a trick, nor a ploy to gain anything. This is an officers concern for those in her care. And a cybertronians concern for her homeworld."
-Sapphire wanders how mutch of this stuff she can hold in car mode, she can pop her top and ler her hollo cockpit fill with the stuff... though her shocks might not like it the added waight
-Moonlight nods her head, just to back up Ghost.
-Swivel nods looking up at Ghost. "I'm also concerned for Cybertron! What good is this war if it destroys what we are fighting for? If it destroys Cybertron? Wouldn't that be ironic..... um I'll shut up now." she sort of cowers a little for talking too much. People don't like it when she does that to high-ranking people of the opposite faction.... nooooo... baaad....
-Ultra Magnus gives Swivel a quick frown. He looks over the Decepticons once more, then gazes into Ghosts' optics to read her sincerity. He emits a comprehensive sigh. "Come on," he decides. "It'll be a squeeze, but there's room for all of you." He takes a step toward the shuttle, and waves Ghost to gather her troops and follow.
-Ghost lifts a brow, glancing at Swivel with a little smile of her own. "perhaps you and I could debate war ethics another time, little one. Now is not the time nor the place for such things."
-Starfire isn't happy at being the protected child again, but this isn't her decision. She *might* make it back, she might not.
-The hot air has allowed the gypsum-rich water to rapidly form a fine white layer over Whiplash's armor, giving it a gray cast. She coils her tentacles against each other and throws off a powdery cloud of dust. "What *is* she doing?" she demands again, more to herself than expecting any answer, and stalks forward to see for herself - just in time to hear Ultra Magnus' words. She stares at Ghost in outraged amazement. "What does he mean, *all* of us?"
-Moonlight folds her arms. "Actually...it's a bit of a trip back, and there /is/ a cease fire. When else is it a good time to talk Ghost?"
-Swivel appreciates the non-angry or patronizing attention from even a Decepticon... but sin't going to show it. She'd get in trouble for that. What with being branded a security risk by Cloak and all.
-Ghost looks over her shoulder, "Get the wounded, we're going home." she thumbs towards the shuttle, "Decepticons report to the shuttle." A pause as Whiplash lets her feelings become known, "All of us. Starfire, while highly capable, has suffered severe structural damage. In a shuttle,such things could cause damage and possibly death on travels. Now, get on the shuttle and no electrocuting our hosts."
-Whiplash takes a full step backwards, staring at Ghost, aghast. "You have *got* to be kidding. You're going to trust *them*?"
-Swivel lets out a shy giggle. Decepticons and Autobots stuck on the same shuttle? That will be hectic.
-Ghost lifts a brow, "Do I look like I'm kidding? If they start anything, which I doubt aside from veral, then they suffer the same consequences as we would, death in space. I think we can continue to be civil for but amomentlonger in order to continue to live, yes?"
-Starfire transforms, hardly believing what she's hearing either, but her first glance is for Whiplash. Trooooooooouble, coming right up.
-Sapphire pops her top amd rolls closer to the geyzer, leting the water pour into her open roof.
-Moonlight shrugs and climbs on into the shuttle.
-Whiplash stays rooted to the spot. "Not with me," she decides.

Autobot Shuttle <The Freedom>
     Spartan would be the first word to come to mind about the interior of the shuttle. Command and control seats line the forward part of the ship. Large control panels are on all sides. There is a single central command chair, dedicated to the mission commander.

Contents:
Swivel
Scattershot
Thunderstrike
Wraith
Control Panel

-Thunderstrike screams "HES GOTTA BE FRAGGING KIDDING!!!"
-Moonlight walks into the shuttle, looking about herself with interest. Yup, it belongs to the Bots, but it still looks like a shuttle.
-Thunderstrike growls. "I'm not grumbling Im screaming! This is idiocy!"
-Swivel walks over and steps on THunerstrike's foot. "Shush! No grumbling! Or yelling. That's an order...."
-Thunderstrike chuckles. "Well..if we need to Jetison any weight, be sure to let me know Scattershot. I got a few choice canidates here."
-Moonlight walks over to Thunderstrike. She remembers him as the young trouble maker. "I hope you're not talking about his decision to leave such defenseless people, such as myself, on this horrible planet...are you?" she asks, with forced sweetness, her face a look of mock helplessness.
-Whiplash stalks right over to Thunderstrike and settles into a corner opposite him, fixing him with a furious predatory gaze. "Give me an excuse to rip your optics out, 'Bot," she says.
-Ultra Magnus steps calmly through the shuttle and drops into the copilot's seat again. He begins flight preparations as he responds calmly to Thunderstrike, "Keep yourself restrained. It's a long trip home." He nods to himself, then Scattershot. "All set."
-Sapphire humms to herself as she fills up past her windows, then seals herself up tight.. "ready to go" she says with a slosh
-Swivel is standing, one foot firmly planted on Thunderstrike's foot while her rants and raves in an outrage. She looks up at Moonlight and tries to hide her need to chuckle. "Oh Some on Thunderstrike... you can't deny Moonlight is TOO sweet to leave behind to be eaten alive." she chuckles, obviously joking.
-Sapphire drives up and trys to find a small spot to park
-Starfire limps on board, wincing as she comes into sight of Scattershot. There's someone she never wanted to see again. She reminds herself that if worse comes to worse, they can bail out, and she has long-range radio.
-Scattershot shoots a look over his shoulder towards the entrance ramp, optics visor glimmering dangerously. For a moment he looks as if he's going to say something, do something rather violent, before he swivels back around and keys the loading ramp shut. "Every one better sit down... This is gonna be a real bumpy ride..."
-Wraith looks concerned and introspective as the 'cons and other unaffils file in,
-Moonlight seats herself next to Swivel and buckles in.Moonlight seats herself next to Swivel and buckles in.
-Ghost gets on the shuttle, shaking her head in a moment of wry amusement, "This.. is going to be a very..interesting trip." Settling herself into whatever seat is open, she manages notto wince as her open back makes contact with the seat. "Decepticons, buckle in and lets get a rest rotation going. Whiplash and I will take first watch. The rest of you.. sleep."
-Thunderstrike looks up at Moonlight.. "Gee ma'am...uhh im sorry." He looks over To Magnus, then to Ghost. "Honest answer, the two of you. Roles are reversed..are we getting a ride? FRag no! theyd let our afts rot. We play the sucker part to a T dont we?" he rolls his optics.
-Ghost considers, "Same situation, reversed? Planet in danger. Yes. You would get a ride home. We are still under a cease fire." She smiles wryly at Thunderstrike.
-Swivel elbows Thunderstrike VERY hard. "DON'T vex our guests.... or things WILL get messy. I don't want any fights... please? pretty pelase?"
-Whiplash has no intention of sleeping, so Ghost's decision was an inspired one. She keeps her gaze locked mostly on Thunderstrike, though does not entirely ignore the other Autobots. Secretly, she's just hoping for an excuse. At Ghost's words, she flashes her another outraged look, then snarls and gives Thunderstrike a view of her fangs.
-Ultra Magnus simply ignores Thunderstrike, and taps a button overhead. "Passengers secure yourselves for takeoff, please."
-Starfire nods slowly, approvingly at Ghost's words. Things may change now, and the future is open to new possibilities with recent events.
-Moonlight chuckles at Thunderstrike's apology, which she finds rather amusing. Yup, even after Iacon, she still has that magical touch of hers. Of course, she's still horribly ashamed at her eaten away bits. She's /got/ to get that fixed. "I think you should throw out all your anti-Con propaganda pamphlets and learn to know us for who we are," she says to Thunderstrike.
-Sapphire honks from the back of the ship "er.. i would be deeply happy if we could just get home without killing one another
-Starfire secures herself quickly. A ship herself, she's not as confident of others' piloting.
-Wraith glances at the other two unaffils with discomfort, and shifts in his seat, then resumes tapping his fingers on his armrest
-Ghost gets settled and asks with an air of abscence, "Anyone have a deck of cards? This is going to be a long trip."
-Which is when Scattershot grabs a fist full of throttle and rams it into 'Emergency take off power' setting. The shuttle lurches and heaves off the ground with the tortured wine of its engines and airframe.
-Swivel secures herself and relaxes. "Well... it's going to be an interesting ride home indeed. At least we've done somehting about the scraplets, ne?" she smiles and nods to Moonlight, then nudges Thunderstrike not hard... but playfully. "It doesn't hurt... pretend we are in a bar where no fights are allowed... just without drinks or any entertainment!"
-Thunderstrike watches Whiplash give him that look for the umteenth time. "Your welcome..ingrate." He then looks back at Ghost. "Next time I'm on patrol, I'll swing by Darkmount's cafeteria for a drink since we are such cozy friends." He looks back at Whiplash and gestures to his fist. "Keep showing me those chompers you. I'll give you a knuckle sandwich."
-Swivel frowns and reaches into subspae, producing a rather large pack of compressed but tastey energon goodies. "No cards, but I have some sweets if anyone would like some."
-Moonlight pulls out a bottle of enerwine and a deck of cards. "Who said anything about no drinks or entertainment. You /are/ in the prescence of Moonlight after all." She tosses the deck to Ghost.
-Whiplash promises, "And I'll take your hand off all the way to the shoulder."
-Starfire ooooooooooos, still young enough to be delighted with a violent takeoff.
-As the shuttle rises up out of the geyser valley, it can be seen on scanners and viewscreens that the highlands are still infested with scraplets - waiting to catch the wind for their nomadic journey through space.
-Ghost's easy smile goes thin lipped as the shuttle slams into movement, sending her into her seat with a definate level of discomfort. "Thunderstrike, nevermind. You're not one of mine. Magnus is more than capable of handling his own." She turns her head, simply ignoring the youthful Autobot now. "Don't think mixing damage and booze is a bright idea.. Not with the fire..erk.. works.." she hsises, closing her optics for a moment...
-Sapphire sighs as water sloshess about her intearier... "my leather setes are going to need to be replaces when I get home...
-Wraith looks at Starfire inscrutibly.
-Moonlight glances over at the unrecognized Unaffil. "I don't believe we've met," she says.
-Starfire would poke at that itchy corrosion in her ankle, but can't reach it right now. Ouch.
-Wraith nods, "Some call me Wraith."
-Ghost mutters sotto voice, "What I wouldnt give for poker night with Inertia and the girls right about now..."
-Swivel looks at Ghost. "Iner-awhutta?"
-Thunderstrike gives Whiplash a mock round of applause. "You think you'd grow tired of this useless banter." He tosses his blaster to Swivel. "Hold this please before I shoot us out of the sky for the greater good." He looks back at Whiplash. He smiles. "You know your kinda cute when your angry? in a mentally imbalanced petrorabbit sorta way." when your angry? in a mentally imbalanced petrorabbit sorta way."
-Moonlight grins broadly. "What do the rest call ya?"
<Decepticon> Ghost says, "Whiplash, just ignore the child-bot."
-Swivel takes the blaster and oogles at it. "Don't worry... I'll keep it safe." hmmm... de ja vu......
-Wraith smiles slightly, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
-Moonlight chuckles. "I asked didn't I?" She inclines her head slightly since she's too buckled in to bow. "My name's Moonlight, as you've probably guessed by now."
-Ghost shakes her head, optics brightening. "Inertia. One of.. " she trails off, "Sorry Swivel.. One of those officially classified sorts of things. In any case.. someone I used to play poker with." She contents herself with watching over her troops, occasionally glancing at thosethat suffered the most..
-Scattershot silently pilots the ship towards Cybertron, keeping very, very focused on his job, to the point of dislocating his knuckles he's gripping the helm so hard.
-Scattershot silently pilots the ship towards Cybertron, keeping very, very focused on his job, to the point of dislocating his knuckles he's gripping the helm so hard.
-Starfire sighs and hesitantly looks around the shuttle. Who would have thought it. Scattershot is piloting, and she's happy with that. The last time she saw him, he was trying to kill her. Ultra Magnus... well, she shot at him years ago. Swivel, she doesn't know much about, except that she sits in doorways. Thunderstrike is another of those guys that attacked the Hellpits. Wraith.... she thinks she's seen him around somewhere, but can't remember.
-Sapphire sighs to herself and in a fit of boardum starts to sing to herself
-Whiplash simply keeps an unflickering predatory gaze locked on Thunderstrike.
-Wraith shakes his head, "I know very few 'cons, and most of them are dead, or gone."
-Moonlight cocks her head to the side slightly. "Since you arrived with the Bots, I take it you see that as a good thing?" see that as a good thing?"
-Thunderstrike chuckles to himself. "A petrorabbit with big teeth, that got runover a half a dozen times. But charming nonetheless No inflight film or food? Next time we go first class eh Boss?"
-Wraith shrugs, "They gave me a lift... there are a few unaffils in crystal city with critter infections you see."
-Ghost hnns, "Moonlight, no grilling the civilian." she says lightly, "he walks whatever path he has chosen. Leave it at that until you have a less explosive situation."
-Swivel nods her head. "OH! I understand. Can't tell me, I won't pry." she shrugs and leans back in her seat. "I don't see why everyone is so grumbly... I mean... we're all... um... people.... none of us are any less than others... right? and there is a no-firing or killing of eachother thing going on....." she gives up. Someone is gonna unbuckle and beat her over the head or something and she slumps in her seat.
-Whiplash replies almost calmly, "I'm going to take a lot of pleasure in dismantling you a little at a time, 'Bot. You'll wish for those scraplets back."
-Moonlight ahs. "Sorry for making assumptions then." She looks at Ghost. "What? I'm just being sociable...well, sort of." Then she turns to Thunderstrike. "Um, do you have a death wish or something fella?"
-Ultra Magnus simply sits with what remains of his arms folded, his chair spun around so that he can keep a good watch over the situation. His mouth is folded down into a frown, but his optics show that he is pleased with the situation. He remains relatively motionless for minutes at a time, just watching, listening, and (unbeknownest to the others) recording.
-Swivel looks at Whiplash a moment or two. That sort of 'oooo... she's so scary!' kind of look.
-Thunderstrike grins to Whiplash. "Funny..Ive never seen you without your little running buddies. I'm done bickering. I'll merely file this away Ma'am. I'm always lookin for a tune up bout. I'm sure I could...I mean Eh, I'm sure I would....what I'm trying to say is...yeah Okay." Subtle! "Yea well...I don't run from anyone..we shall see. Now..if you'd stop causing such a commotion, I'd like to enjoy the quiet time." He grins. "You'r among friends after all."
-Sapphire sighs happily "just drop me off at Crystal City Hospital please
-Swivel looks at Thunderstrike. "You do realize she probably could bite off your head in one try, right? And then torment your frame while it's still functional from the shock of losing it's main circutry control system with many volts of electricity and constant agony fromt he whipping of her tentacles, right?"
-Whiplash stays crouched exactly where she is, coiled as though to spring. "No, let me lay it all out for you, so even your tiny little mass of cerebral circuitry can understand it." Her tone is entirely conversational now, even pleasant, as she warms to her subject. "See, after I rip your fuel pump outta your chest, I'm going to decorate my guard post with your neurocircuitry, and use your internal support struts to sharpen my fangs on. And then-" she catches a glimpse of the viewscreen, almost in disappointment now, to find they're almost home.
-Moonlight shakes her head. If she, a Decepticon, can't get Lash to see reason, then Thunderstrike sure as hell won't be able to. The attempt has been kind of amusing though.
-Swivel listens to Whiplash. "Or that will work too.... don't bite off more than you can chew buddy. WHo else am I going to paint happy faces on?"
-Moonlight winces. "Very graphic 'Lash."
-Thunderstrike grins "You do that to every mech? That your idea of a pickup line? I mean I know every femme wants to bring me home, but sheesh. Control yourself." He turns to Swivel. "I aint going anywhere." He winks.
-Wraith watches the shuttle penetrate the atmosphere.
-Starfire keeps her optics pointed down at all the attempts at conversation, the exchanges of insults, the bickering.
-Swivel gives Whiplash a sort of 'I give you permission to hurt him. A lot.' sort of look, then chuckles and baps Thunderstrike playfully on the head.
-Moonlight hasn't insulted or bickered /yet/, thank you very much.
-Whiplash says, "Yeah, I'll bring you home alright. A few bits and pieces of your armor might be decorative, properly shredded up."
-Thunderstrike chuckles. " I love it when they play rough." Push buttons all day long. "You should, I mean at your age...have more control over your instincts by now. Not every femme can be blessed with a true mech of a mech like yours truely."
-Swivel looks at Whiplash. "You certainly are colorful in your descriptions on how you go about slaughtering things, aren't you? Either you're really experienced, which I'm assuming so form your reputation, or you have one vivid imagination...."
-Whiplash responds, still almost conversationally, "At *my* age, I've learned the best way to prolong a kill."
-Sapphire says, "hay Lash?.. do the decepticons need any of this water stuff befor i head to crystal city?"
-Whiplash snaps at Swivel, "And *you* can be the next to find out yourself!"
-Moonlight sighs, wishing she could gag the three of them.
-The rough bump of re-entry rocks the Autobot shuttle once more, it's old frame creaking again as Scattershot brings the craft down into a landing, a very rough, heavy landing, just to shake every one up again and himself from a days flying non stop.
-Thunderstrike grins. "Keep playing with your food miss, and one day it'll bite you in the aft." He growls. "Don't be threatening Swivel. Thats not sporting. I'll hand you your aft, you'll limp back to DM with your tentacles between your legs, and tell your compatriots your sad sob story."
-Moonlight is jostled in her seat, spilling a bit of energon on Swivel. "Awww, I lost some!"
-Wraith nods to the 'bots onboard, "thanks for the lift...'
-Whiplash digs her claws into the surface beneath her as the ship lurches down roughly.
-Swivel stares at lash a moment or two. "Um... I think I'll pass." she looks at Moonlight. "SO.... um.... still have any of that enerhol handy?"
-Swivel hurtles forward, but is kept stationary thanks to her buckles! Yay!
-Whiplash lurches to her feet at that last from Thunderstrike, jaws gaping.
-Sapphire realy hopes someone will open the door soon.. she dosnt want to die
-Thunderstrike reaches into subspace for his blaster...UHOH! "Uhh...." He leans back, Loading up a right hand.
-Moonlight stoppers her enerwine and tucks it away again. She glances at Whiplash...sees the danger and..."Whiplash! Don't!"
-Swivel still has his blaster. And she isn't going to give it back. Thunderstrike walked himself into it..... and she expects SOMEONE will pull lash off of him before he's a meal.
-Starfire is jolted by the rough landing. You won't see *her* come down that badly unless she's injured or something. She immediately releases herself from the seat restraints and rises ungracefully to her feet. Ouch. Steadying herself against the seatback, she looks around for the others just in time to see Whiplash go after Thunderstrike. Uh oh...
-Scattershot thumbs the boarding ramp open with a tired hand and starts to swing around in his chair, to get the Decepticons the hell of his ship, to see Whiplash leaping through the air. With a flash of subspace his rifle is in his hand, the sound of the rounds being chambered into the breach echoing over the confided walls of the shuttle. "Don't be an idiot Whiplash, you'd never leave this shuttle alive."
-Sapphire begains to quiver in fear "i want to go home" she whins
-Whiplash's jaws snap shut with a metallic clang that resonates in the interior of the ship, calculated to land her just microns from Thunderstrike's throat. Her blazing-violet optics burn into his with the promise of horrible death. "You piece of trash 'Bot," she snarls. "You come out from behind your companions, you loudmouth coward, and we'll just see about your little fantasies!"
-Moonlight rapidly approaches Whiplash, and says something softly to her in, what she hopes, is a soothing tone.  "... ... ... ... ... ... ... not give ... ... ... ... ... ... ... It's ... ... ... ... we ... keep ... ... ... He's ... ...  and ... ... your time ... ... Now let's ... home." ((There will be another cycle Whiplash.  Let's not give them reason to believe we /are/ evil.  It's a cease fire and we should keep it that way.  He's not overly bright, and I'm sure your time will come.  Now let's get home.))
-Ultra Magnus pushes himself from his chair, and steps slowly toward the confrontation. "That's enough." He throws his remaining arm between them, and looks from one to the other. "We brought you home," he reminds Whiplash. "The ceasefire is nearly over. You'd be wise to be elsewhere when it ends." He motions toward the airlock with his head.
-Thunderstrike stands up, and moves out from behind everyone. "You see me running, Deceptiwench? I dont run." He walks to the door. "Lets go outside, then we can /DANCE/."
-Whiplash draws back very slowly and deliberately, and gives Ultra Magnus and Scattershot an equally murderous glare. "Don't expect gratitude. I *knew* you lot weren't to be trusted."
-Starfire looks at Sapphire and silently points to the boarding ramp.
-Sapphire speeds to the airlock and ramps out of the ship
-Starfire hobbles towards the exit herself, still not particularly agile right now, but better to be outside and clear instead of trapped in a shuttle with a Decepticon fighting an Autobot.

Dead Zone <West>

     Before the Great War, this was the largest lake of crude energon on all of Cybertron. On this lake and the great rivers of Cybertron, numerous families and merchants lived on boats, sometimes forming floating open-air markets selling everything from art to souvenirs to parts and supplies. During the War, these merchants and families cruised away from the cities, joined by homeless refugees who found shelter in abandoned boats at marinas and boatyards, and earned a living by trading with civilians ashore. When the Great Lake finally dried up, this massive flotilla was run aground. They struggled to exist, but attacks by marauders and scavengers finally forced the group to scatter, leaving their stripped-down ships behind. That was when the historians began to refer to this area as the Dead Zone.


Starfire [Robot] [U] 
Whiplash [MedusaSaur] [D]

Obvious Exits:
 -S- South leads to Great Gouge <East>
 -W- West leads to Mercury Bogs
 -U- Up leads to Sky above the Dead Zone
 -E- East leads to Dead Zone <East>

<Cybertron> Thunderstrike says, "I'll be sure to see you around Whiplash."
<Cybertron> Whiplash says, "You can bet on that, scrapheap."
<Cybertron> Con Lieutenant Moonlight says, "You'd better hope that you don't."
<Cybertron> Thunderstrike says, "I don't cower in fear. I'm not a decepticon."
<Cybertron> Swivel says, "ENOUGH."
<Cybertron> Whiplash says, "You're damn right you're not a Decepticon. You'd be laughed outta the lowest ranks of the cadets."
-Starfire ponders transforming. She should at least be able to make it to Darkmount...
<Cybertron> Thunderstrike says, "Take that excessive, pompous ego of yours and shove it up your aft."
-Whiplash rakes her claws across the ground, leaving long gashes, as she glares in the direction in which the Autobot shuttle left.
-Moonlight moves to stand beside Whiplash. "Come on, let's get out of here."
<Cybertron> Swivel says, "save it, all of you. I don't think all of Cybertron need to be hearing EITHER of you boasting about slagging eachother."
<Cybertron> Whiplash says, "Oh look who's filling the broadband with their spew?  You come talk to me when you're ready to fight.  I'm not about to waste my time with you otherwise."
-You transmit 'Just so you know, making Whiplash angry is very stupid. Your people were nice enough to give us a lift when we needed one, so I'm giving you this advice freely. Don't seek to fight her, it will only end in grief for you. And I'm not saying it to be boastful.' to Thunderstrike.
<Cybertron> Thunderstrike  Clicks his radio off after the colorful use of a few words inluding 'bar hoping, depraived, pyscho, sadistic, assinine, aft guzzler'
-Whiplash glances at Moonlight, then at Starfire, and slowly settles down. It's clear she's still not happy with any of this, but she decides, "Guess you two could use some patch-up to your armor."
-Starfire notes, "There's frozen water around the colloqually-named Planet Y. Hundreds of thousands of tons of it, and not all that common a thing, either, but I've poked around there for fun. The powder... could be a number of things, but easy to check once I can get my scanners working."
-Moonlight nods, not wanting to mention to Whiplash that /she/ needs it as well. "Yes, and there's safety in numbers. Let's just go home and get some rest after that /horrible/ place."
-Starfire shivers, recalling the lovely sensation of being eaten alive by metallic piranha.
-Whiplash twists her head around and nibbles at her left shoulder briefly - it's quite perforated from the holes bored by the scraplets, and it's still not moving as it should, but she forces herself into the semblance of a trot and starts out in the direction of Darkmount. "That'll be good, Star," she says as she heads off. "We should have enough to cure those that were left behind, then."
-Thunderstrike transmits: ' Am I supposed to take her threats do nothing and cower in fear?'.
-Moonlight follows Whiplash back, rather silently.
-Starfire says, "After I make a trip out to Y."
-Whiplash says, "Get yourself patched up first, Starfire. Then I'll even ride with you."
-Starfire says, "And we're probably gonna get reinfected first, too."
-You transmit 'You're newish, I could tell from when I was in Iacon. Whiplash is a veteran and very skilled fighter. Don't think that any of your abilities could match hers. And taunting the enemy like that is just plain stupid. And if she /does/ kick your aft because you're too block-headed to use common sense, then you'll get what you deserve. Wait till you're older before taking on someone like her.' to Thunderstrike.
-Thunderstrike transmits: ' I'm sick of being disrespected. She's all tough..fine. I refuse to run from someone cause their bigger then me. You don't earn my repect by jumping me with your friends or belittling me.'.
-You transmit 'If you're tired of disrespect, then treat others with respect. When you insult people, all they see is a mech with a big mouth.' to Thunderstrike.

Gates to Tarn
     High up in the Bismuth mountains is the legendary Decepticon city of Tarn. Impressive thick walls bar the entrance from undesireables, and powerful cannons line the upper rim, defending it from attack. From the ground, the walls are nestled between the sharp faces of Cybertron's two tallest mountains. Beyond, towering beyond even them, is the tower of Darkmount itself.


Whiplash [MedusaSaur] [D] 
TransOrg Head 
City of Tarn <CoT>

Obvious Exits:
 -U- Up leads to Sky Above Tarn
 -S- South leads to Bismuth Skyway
 -E- East leads to Wastelands <South>

-Whiplash accompanies the others to the gates, and then slows her steps. "You know where to find me for the next trip," she calls after them, as she turns and heads back in the direction of her guard post.
-Thunderstrike transmits: ' Her and various associates have jumped me three times! Its never one on one! Shes a big phoney!'.
-Moonlight sighs as Whiplash leaves, not about to point out to Whiplash that she needs medical care...that would be tempting fate.
-You transmit 'All I'm saying is, increase your skills, and decrease the loud-mouth act. You'll fare much better. It's always the young ones that get in trouble.' to Thunderstrike.
-Thunderstrike transmits: ' Thank you for the advice...I appreciate the thought.'.
-You transmit 'One more piece of advice...listen to Swivel, she's one of the few sane people left on this planet, despite her oddities.' to Thunderstrike.
-Thunderstrike transmits: ' Thankyou, shouldnt you stop radioing me fore somebody gets nosey.'.
-You transmit 'Very well. Moonlight out.' to Thunderstrike.