June 16th, 2003 ~Dirge(D), Swivel(A), Springer(A), Thunderstrike(A) Iron Glacier Edging against the industrial complex to the north, this 'glacier' is actually a huge, kilometer tall ridge. A mostly smooth wall of iron and other ores shines brilliantly. A number of small mines and tunnels have been cut into the huge wall, marring its otherwise spartan face. Swivel [Robot] [A] Dirge [Tetrajet] [D] Obvious Exits: -U- Up leads to Sky Above Iron Glacier -N- North leads to Neurex Industrial Complex -S- South leads to Wastelands -Dirge is in tetrajet mode, and is flying from a northerly direction. He makes no attempt to hide his arrival, and allows his engines to drone loudly. -Swivel is walking towards the glaciers, still a good distance away, looking around every once in a while for anything out of the ordinary or something to be alarmed of. La la la -Moonlight is just inside one of the tunnel entrances, standing guard. Well, she isn't so much standing guard as she is acting as a living alarm system. -Dirge rapidly makes his way to the tunnel entrance Moonlight is guarding, and circles the area several times before rapidly descending. He transforms just before he hits the ground - in the typical Seeker fashion - a short distance from the femme. -Swivel looks up seeing that non-trying-to-be-sneaky tatrejet land by the entrance. Oooooh this might be important or something. She ducks behind something big and convenient and spies. -Moonlight has seen this all before and isn't impressed. Then again, she and Dirge have never really gotten along. But she grins widely at the mech anyhow and nods her head. -Dirge nods back in greeting to Moonlight, then walks up towards the entrance. He peers into the darkness with curious optics while saying to Moonlight, "Where's the electrum?" -Moonlight arches an optic ridge. "Inside of course," she says drolly. -Swivel attempts to remain hidden while she makes a very short dash to a slightly closer barrier to hide behind. -Dirge steps away from the entrance and directly addresses Moonlight. "Really," he replies in a deadpan voice. Dirge then walks around the tunnel entrance, appraising his immediate surroundings. "What's the actual deal with this 'electrum'?" he says over his shoulder to Moonlight. "Wild rumours abound about this substance." -Springer creeps in slowly and stops while he's still pretty far from the Decepticons. He looks around for some cover, then finally lies down prone, hoping the Decepticons won't spot him if he's hugging the ground. Apparently he's not too experienced at sneaking around. A pair of telescopic lenses slides into place over his eyes and he peers at the Decepticons, trying to read their lips. -Moonlight shrugs. "I've heard things, many things, but I've never actually seen the stuff. All I know is it's some kind of powerful and rare metal. But I'm not really up on my technology." -Swivel is still just lurking and listening and watching, like a good little scout. -Dirge glances up towards the top of the entrance, while replying to Moonlight, "Powerful and rare. That's the general consensus." He then glances back at Moonlight. "I was sitting in the Wild Surge yesterday and heard two neutrals saying that it can make anything invulnerable to attacks." Dirge tilts his head at the femme. "I wouldn't mind trying some on myself, if that's true." -Moonlight tilts her head slightly. "Of course you wouldn't? What better thing to do to a warrior than make him invincible?" -Springer finally spots a boulder large enough to offer some cover and crawls slowly, carefully towards it. He seems to get impatient as he gets closer, rolling the last few feet. He's still far enough away that distance is probably doing more to keep him hidden than his limited skill at stealth. After a while he gives up trying to watch the Decepticons and scans the area around them instead, trying to spot Swivel. -Swivel is hidden much closer behind a big boulder that has a huge chunk chipped off of it. She peers around every once in a while, but then her head seems to dissapear as she crouches low. She's listening obviously, as well as watching. -Dirge replies to Moonlight, "If I were invincible, the first one who will feel my wrath is Thunderstrike." His optics darken with malice, then Dirge suddenly frowns and spins around. He takes a few steps away from the entrance, and peers at the nearby boulders. "Why do I feel like I'm being monitored by someone?" he asks, while moving towards the large boulder with the missing chunk. -Moonlight shrugs. "Cause you're paranoid?" she asks. She pulls out a gun and fires a few random shots around the area. "Well, I didn't hear any screams, so it must just all be in your imagination." -Swivel notices Dirge coming closer and looks around for somewhere else to hide and not be noticed. She was about to crawl somewhere when a few random blasts blocks her retreat, so she flattens up against the broad side of the boulder. -Springer freezes where he is at the shots and watches carefully. He notes the boulder Dirge is approaching, but his angle lets him see Swivel hiding behind it. He hesitates, then leaps into the air and transforms into his 'copter mode, rotors filling the air with dust and that echoing chopping sound. -Dirge glances back at Moonlight, his frown deepening. "It's called 'being alert'. Never underestimate your enemies or surroundings." He watches the random blasts hit the ground and is about to glance around the boulder when he hears the sounds of a rotor. Dirge has a shocked and incredulous expression on his face as he sees a copter hover into the air not far from him. He shields his face from the dust with one hand, while the other is outstretched and with the laser primed for action. "How dare you spy on us," he roars, his voice just audible over the sounds of the Springer's rotors. -Moonlight turns to Dirge with a mildly amused look on her face. "I guess I owe you an apology Dirge." Then she turns to the 'copter. "Answer the mech. How /dare/ you spy on us?" She doesn't quite look serious as she makes this demand. -Swivel remains as hidden behind the boulder as she can possibly, be, watching for a chance to relocate herself to a better hiding spot during the distraction. -Springer banks and begins to head away, carefully headed away from Swivel's boulder and the direction he originally came in from. He shouts back, "Next time I'll call ahead, to make sure it's alright!" He leans forward and speeds off, flying close to the ground, staying low enough that his rotors kick up lots of dust. -Dirge staggers away from Springer and towards Moonlight, coughing as his ventilators fill up with dust. "Fragging...*cough*...Autoblot..." he gasps as he coughs out the dust. As he coughs, Dirge sends out several haphazard laser shots at the copter, none which land anywhere near the copter. -Moonlight chuckles, but it turns into a half-cough. She clasps her hands together. "That would be just /wonderful/! It would make things /so/ much easier on me." She's still holding her gun at ready, but she doesn't shoot quite yet...that's what the warriors are for after all. -Swivel races to another boulder before the dust completely settles and hides. She almost gets shot with a misfired shot, but manages to conceal herself safely. -BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Sonic booms echo as a blur of blue lightening blurs right by Dirge going roughly mach 5, and lands in front of the seeker, transforming to reveal Thunderstrike. "Good evenin' old friend. Mind spending the night with a more familiar dancing partner?" The teen wonder has his arms tucked into his ribs, if he had a cape...he'd be Superstrikes! "Let my buddy up there be. He's a good fella." -Moonlight folds her arms. "I didn't know you prefered mechs Thunderstrike," she comments, only slightly startled by his sudden and /loud/ appearance. Where you find one Bot, you find more...unless that Bot is Nosecone of course. -Dirge peers through the dust, still coughing. He stares at Thunderstrike for a long moment before finally registering the mech. Dirge's optics narrow into two malicious pinpricks of light...well, as malicious as possible, considering the coughing fits. "What...*hack* do you want?...*cough*," Dirge snaps unpleasantly. -Springer wobbles a little at the sonic booms, then regains control and continues to head off. He knows he's slower than any jet, so he's trying to get a head start. He's still thinks things are under control and going according to plan... -Swivel is almost glad for Thunderstrike's flashy appearance for a change. It gave her time to get herself to a new hiding spot without notice. -Thunderstrike looks to the Seeker "Ya know..I think the years of gettin your aft kicked are finally catching up to your voicebox." He glances over at Moonlight. "Darlin...mechs ain't my thing, but you could be." She get's the good old lift the visor and and blow a kiss at the femme. Stupidly, he turned his back to Dirge. -Moonlight winks back at Thunderstrike, but it's a wink with a gun pointed in his general direction. "Glad to hear I don't have to protect Dirge from unwanted attention," she says. It's unclear whether she's trying to annoying Dirge or Thunderstrike...probably it's both, knowing the femme. She tries to keep a good optic on Thunderstrike and Springer each. -Springer is almost out of the area when he slows to a stop and hovers there. Maybe things aren't going according to plan after all...he turns back and tries to see what's going on between Thunderstrike and Dirge. -Dirge coughs some more, his body bent double, then finally manages to remove most of the dust from his ventilators. He glares at Thunderstrike, and a small smile develops on Dirge's face as he notes Thunderstrike is doing something very foolish - underestimating the enemy. Dirge leaps up and throws himself onto the AUtobot, and places Thunderstrike in a chokehold. "Stupid Autobot," he hisses into Thunderstrike's audio receptors. "Arrogant piece of waste." -Thunderstrike claws at Dirge's hands as they envelop his throat...but the size difference means he wont be able to out power the mech. Feverishly he claws, trying to break the vice like grip encircling his throat, and slowly he begins to gag. -Springer heads towards the confrontation at full speed, firing a barrage of laser bolts as he goes. At this range it would be almost impossible to shoot at Dirge without risking damage to the Autobot in his hands, and in fact Springer seems to be aiming at the ground at Dirge's feet anyway. Or maybe he's just an especially lousy shot. -Moonlight gets the feeling that Thunderstrike won't be much of a threat for longer. Springer, on the other hand seems to be getting to the violent part of the encounter. "Want a hand with that fella or should I leave Thunderstrike to you Dirge?" she asks. -Dirge jumps away from Springer's closer shots and ignores the others, while maintaining his hold on Thunderstrike's throat. Dirge shoves a sharp elbow into Thunderstrike's face, and snarls darkly, "Beg for your life, Autobot. I told you I'll be the face of your doom." He then tilts his head towards Moonlight and replies, "Deal with the copter. Thunderstrike is mine." -Swivel remains a watchful optic on teh 'battle' but keeps very still so not to draw any attention to herself. -Moonlight chuckles. "Time for some copter on copter action, eh?" She isn't overly fond of transforming, but it seems fitting in this situation. She leaps up and transforms into her rarely seen second form. Once finished she lets lose with a laser. -Thunderstrike begins to fade, his arms going limp..."I wo-wont give you the satisfaction." He's losing it as his optics flicker slightly....but he brings a swift boot towards Dirge's crotchplate, in a desperate attempt to break the hold. -Dirge gasps as the boot makes contact with a very sensitive part of his chassis, and his grip on Thunderstrike loosens - not enough for the Autobot to wriggle free, but enough for Thunderstrike to ventilate. He hisses back, optics flashing in pain, "You have annoyed me for far too long. Your lasercore is mine." Dirge then throws a mild punch towards Thunderstrike's face. -Springer jerks around erraticly in mid-flight, barely managing to avoid the laser. He's forced to abandon his attack run on Dirge and dives for the ground instead. "Another copter, huh? And here I thought I was one of a kind..." he swoops around, trying to get behind Moonlight but holding his fire for now. -Mmmmm hiding. -Thunderstrike relishes the little air he gets back into his system, and manages to deflect most of the blow with his forearm, and throws a headbutt right to Dirge's faceplate. " Will you please shut up?" -Moonlight wishes she could grin, which is why she rarely transforms. "You still are. I'm much prettier than you are. Still, I wish I could feel bad about putting marks in that nice green paint you have there." And with that she fires again, changing her tactic only slightly...combat isn't her specialty. -Dirge dazedly staggers back this time and falls to the ground on his aft, completely releasing Thunderstrike. He shakes his head several times to clear his optics, then glares at the smaller mech. "I'll have you permanently silenced, you pathetic Autoblot." He says in a tightly controlled voice, "You and your pathetic faction will never get their hands on the electrum. But I'll make sure you'll feel my wrath once I'm coated with that substance." -Thunderstrike pulls his spike from subspace, the tip of which glows electrum. "Electrum? This stuff? Yea...I went on a little expedition...and lookee here what I found!" Insert electrum tipped spike with stabbing action in Dirge's direction. -Springer veers away from Moonlight, armor smoldering where the laser hit him. "NAHhhh! That hurt!" he tilts backwards until his underbelly is facing Moonlight, then increases power to his rotors. The wind picks up incredibly, and before he's pushed off in the opposite direction a huge funnel of wind and air forms, the wide end reaching for Moonlight. -Moonlight thinks that Dirge would make a great novelist...he's certainly wordy enough. But as interesting as watching him and Thunderstrike fight and battle words is, she has her own opponent to deal with. Since she's never fought him before, she doesn't know what he is and isn't capable of, and that doesn't comfort her one bit. It's even less comforting when the force of the windfunnel slams into her and forces her back. "Owwwwww...." She takes a moment or two to reorient herself. -Dirge's optics widen with alarm at Thunderstrike's comments, then he raises an arm to ward off the attack. He was expecting massive damage, since electrum was such a powerful substance...but he barely felt the spike. What an anti-climax. He glances down at the barely perceptible scratch the spike left on his armour, then laughs in Thunderstrike's face. "Nice try, moron. Those stupid tricks won't work on me." Dirge lashes his foot out at Thunderstrike. -Thunderstrike chuckles..."Ah primus...let's brawl." Thunderstrike takes the kick in stride, pulling his blaster and firing vat the Con. "Admit...I'm your superior. They will have to pull me off your slumped form." -Springer takes a moment to recover from the recoil of his own attack. He watches Moonlight briefly, then turns back to Dirge and Thunderstrike once he's satisfied that the other Copter is out of the action for the moment. "Thuuunderstrike! Aren't you forgetting something?!" -Moonlight idly wonders what Thunderstrike is forgetting as she rights herself and gets ready to take another shot. Well, at least she hit her opponent, that's always a good sign. Unlike most Cons, she doesn't fight by insulting people and proclaiming her supremecy or how dead a mech will be once she is through with them. She just wants to make it out alive. Without a word, she fires off another series of blasts. -Dirge moves to the side as the shot comes towards him, in a reflex attempt to dodge, and the plasma burns into his shoulder. He holds the shoulder for a moment with one hand, then points his arm at Thunderstrike and sends forth a stream of purple energy, while snidely replying to the mech's comments, "Last I remember, some femme did just that to you." -Thunderstrike takes the shot in the chest and losses his cool. He's screaming as he leaps into the air. "NOw..you DIE!" Transforming and firing a single salvo, intending to maime. -Springer shudders as the bolts slice into his back, carving off bits of armor and singing the delicate mechanics and circuitry underneath. "Thunderstrike, that's enough! We are -leaving-!" He opens up with the small autocannons built into each wing, trying to make Moonlight keep her distance but not really aiming. -Dirge watches as Thunderstrike transforms, anticipating the attack. The slight lag between the transformation and the salvo is just enough for Dirge to launch himself into the air to avoid the missiles. The missiles slam into the ground instead, almost directly beneath the Seeker. Dirge glances at the crater left by the missiles, then at Thunderstrike. He smirks at the smaller mech, while wagging a finger in disproval. "Tsk tsk. Bad attempt." Dirge then transforms, and sends his own salvo of missiles. "Now YOU die," he emits. -Moonlight manages to avoid Springer's attack; she's much more interested in dodging than hitting anyhow. When she hears Springer's words she transforms back into her prefered shape. "Awwwwww, but we're almost at the point where we sit down and share a cup of energon," she says with a mock pout. -Thunderstrike is just that DAMN GOOD...well thats what he'd tell you as he pulls the old tuck and roll. He proceeds to strafe Dirge as he calls out..."Go ahead old mech, I'll cover you. I'm faster, I'll catch up to you in a few nanos.." let's do the is Springer guilible check! -Swivel remains where she is keeping an optic on Thunderstrike, plotting many ways to torture him (all of which involve childish pranks) if he messes this up and doesn't listen yet again. -Springer peels off and heads to the South, making another lazy 'break' for the Wastelands. He flies low to the ground and veers back and forth in evasive patterns to make a harder target. "We'll have to do this again, Decepticons!" -Dirge rapidly climbs into the air to avoid the shards of metal flying towards him. The attack slashes through the air just below his undercarriage and slam into a nearby boulder. Dirge flies right over Thunderstrike, then decides to stun the smaller jet. "The only place you'll be heading is groundward," he snarls. -Moonlight shakes her head with a look of exasperation. "Oh, would you just shut up already." It's hard to tell whether she's talking to Thunderstrike or Dirge. She lets Springer go without a last shot...she figures it isn't worth the effort. -Thunderstrike sighs, and easily avoids the blow..."Consider this a forget me not." Missile away! "I'm coming Springer..I'm coming. Everyone treats me like a kidlet...Primus." He veers away, giving Dirge a clean shot. -Springer is still heading to the south. By now he's just a small green shape in the distance. He hasn't had much experience with Thunderstrike so he's assuming the other Autobot is going to catch up any second now. Aaany moment now... -Dirge dodges, then banks and turns away from Swivel before speeding back towards Thunderstrike. "Are you trying to attack ME?" he sneers in a derisive voice at his opponent. The undercarriage opens and a rocket launches itself through the air. "Feel the pain of losing." -Moonlight SIGHS! "Mechs!" she mutters to herself. But she doesn't move to interfere with Thunderstrike and Dirge. But her gun is always at the ready and she keeps her optics alert for trouble. -Thunderstrike jams the airbreaks, taking the rocket in stride. Oh well. "Tag you're it. Flyboy aftrust." Plasma is Cybertronian for love! -Dirge watches with satisfaction as his attack makes contact, then tilts to one side as the plasma heads towards him. The plasma bolt glances past the tip of one brown wing and disappears. Balancing again, Dirge emits a cold, mocking laugh at Thunderstrike. "You are more pathetic than I thought you were." The lasers hum loudly, then Dirge releases two streams of purple energy towards the Autobot. "I'll teach you the meaning of sorrow, moron." -Swivel remains all hidden, W A T C H I N G Thunderstrike. -Moonlight stays in place up in the sky. "Now what Dirge? My target has gone bye-bye. Should I just sit here and look pretty, or do you want a hand?" -Thunderstrike gets slammed again, and is noticibly limping....He fires his third missile, leaving one at his immediate disposal. At this point, he's about to jetison the missile and write acme missile co. a very nasty letter about the substandard quality of this batch! -Dirge is heavily shaken by the attack as the missile slams into him, sending layers of armour spiralling to the ground. The tetrajet is tipped over its side, and Dirge decides to transform rather than attempt to regain control. Before hitting the ground, he sends out another salvo of lasers at Thunderstrike, then drops onto the ground. There doesn't seem to be anything on the ground...or is there? Dirge lands squarely onto Swivel's back before toppling to the ground. -Thunderstrike crash lands hard, transforming as he spatters around. He dioesnt get up either. -Swivel looks up. Erf? A shadow? Oh no... Dirge was falling her way. About to panic.. no dashing away would grab attention for sure. Swivel tries to wedge herself ad close to her hiding place as possibly and braces herself. Maybe if she stays perfectly still she won't be noticed? UNlikely, while she is processing the possibilities, the dash idea as nulled out anyway for she ran out of time. SO she braces herself and hopes for the best, as flast as she can get and wedged next to a boulder with a slight overhang. Overhang = shadow. She's no Silhouette, but she'll have to make do. -Moonlight makes a face. "Oh sure, you mechs have all the fun beating on each other and leave the femme to pick up the pieces." Shaking her head, Moonlight decends towards where Dirge fell. She may not like him that much, but he looks hurt and he /is/ a fellow Decepticon. -Dirge bounces off Swivel with a deep frown on his face. "The frag!" he exclaims, then looks at who acted as the cushion for his landing. His optics squint. "Swivel?" Dirge says, his voice surprised but not unfriendly, for he still remembered the encounter he had with Swivel in the Wild Surge. His face then takes on a harsher look and then yells out, "Moonlight, we have another spy. Keep an optic on her." Dirge picks himself up off the ground, then looks into the air. "Where's Thundermoron?" -Thunderstrike is holding the back of his head, leaking pretty good. He's clearly dazed, even though he's face down in the ground. He stumbles awkwardly for a bit..clearly not in the right frame of core at the moment. -Swivel curses and snaps her fingers having been discovered. Oh what a story, her rear tires cushined a 'con's fall. That is one she'll never live down. Good thing no one saw that. She just sort of... lays there. She didn't expect to be LANDED ON! This spoiled the plans royally... -Moonlight shrugs and points out the fallen Autobot. "Sure. Though it doesn't look like he's in such good shape. Shouldn't take you long to finish this." She points her gun almost negligently at Swivel. "Oh, and don't move Swivel, it will make things a lot easier for me." -Swivel looks up at Moonlight. "Yes yes of course, why would I want to go and make things difficult for you?" take that however you want, her tone doesn't give away any sincereity or mocking... She props herself up on one elbow. "Ow... Dirge is heavy... I think he flattened my tires!" -Dirge's optics follows Moonlight's arm. Oh. Dirge smiles with satisfaction, then strides towards Thunderstrike. Without further ado, he punches the Autobot in the head. -Thunderstrike falls foward. He quickly pulls his laser out from under his aft, as if he was waiting for Dirge's cheapdhot. "I aint done just yet buddy." Click. BZZT! -Moonlight grins. "Glad that we're seeing optic to optic on this." She looks at Swivel's rather awkward position. "Okay, you can move a little bit. It would be cruel and unusual for me to make you stay that way. Just as long as moving doesn't involve guns or those flashy headlights of yours." She looks over at Dirge and Thunderstrike. "You'd almost think all that yapping you do actually /accomplishes/ something." -Swivel shakes her head and sighs, sitting up and stretching. "No comment, Moonlight, no comment." she looks over at Thunderstrike. -Dirge sidesteps the attack, the laser beam glancing past his arm. He shakes his head in mock disapproval. "You'll be done soon. Maybe Swivel will have to carry you home again." He laughs at Thunderstrike, then with delighted expression on his face raises one arm and lets his own laser attack loose. -Moonlight looks rather amused at Swivel's commment on not commenting, and falls silent for the time being. She's pretty sure that Swivel is going to do something; she's not the type of femme that would let a comrade take the abuse that Dirge is dishing out to Thunderstrike. In fact, she'd be really disappointed if she /didn't/ try to save her friend. -Swivel stands up and stretches. "It's been fun playing gun pointing and making demands, Moonlight, but I gotta take Thunderstrike home. It seems I have to kidlet sit him everywhere I go..." she casually begins walking towards Dirge and THunderstrike. "Stop it now!" she snaps at Dirge. -Thunderstrike's ego is bruised, much like his torso. But give up? That's not in his vernacular. CAUSE HE's STUPID! He knocks the blast askew with the barrel of his laser, and puts it to Dirge's chest and fires. "Have I ever clarified I really Really Don't like you?" -Moonlight shakes her head. "I knew you were going to say that, or something like it, Swivel. And you're lucky that Dirge just said you could take him home, or I'd have to stop you." She doesn't stop Swivel, but she does follow the femme closely, keeping her gun pointed at her. -Dirge turns around to Swivel. "Why?" Distracted, he doesn't see Thunderstrike until too late, and falls to the ground with a smoking, melting hole in his chest. "Uggghhh," he says, optics blinking in pain as he clutches his chest with one hand. The laser barrel on his other hand whirs and extends into an ion rifle, then Dirge points it at Thunderstrike. He gasps once, ventilates heavily, then says, "The only thing we'll need clarifying is your parts, after I've finished destroying you." Dirge fires. -Thunderstrike watches as the shot goes through his cockpit...and he blinks, looking down, and fading into unconsciousness, right hopefully into Swivel's grasp (if she still cares for her annoying little buddy at this point). -Swivel perches her hands on her waist, ignoring Moonlight. She's about to say something, then sees Thunderstrike knocked out cold and rushes over, and fixes Dirge with a stare. "Why? Because he's like a little brother to me, and I take it upon myself to be responsible for him. Strike him one more time when he's down, and I'll be forced to take you down with or without Moonlight's help. I dislike violence..... but for some situations..." she trails off. -Moonlight wonders why Swivel puts up with Thunderstrike anyhow. But that's not her problem now. Dirge is looking pretty beat up. She moves to stand next to him. "I think it's time a certain fly boy went home," she says quietly. She glances over at Swivel. "Just take him out of here and don't let him out again until he's been muzzled. And I really think I'd have to protest if you attacked my fellow 'Con here." -"Do you think I care?" Dirge replies to Swivel as the barrel of his weapon retracts back into its default position. He snaps emphatically, "No! How dare you spy on us, attack us, then go on a self-righteous rant?" Dirge glances at Moonlight, then he glares at the unconscious Thunderstrike. He lets loose with a stream of cold, purple energy. -Thunderstrike spasms slightly as the blast rips through his allready battered and unconscious form. No movement, but another nasty injury! -Swivel pulls a nasty face and turns towards Dirge. "You'd do the same, Dirge. It's factional differences. You get orders you carry them out like a cold mercenary. That's what war requires, right? Self righteous rant, yeah, I'm full of those, I'm a self righteous femme and I like ranting, but at least I don't hit people when thye are down and don't resort everything to violence. Yes, I was spying. AS my orders say so. And now, one 'con orders, your going to shoot me. it's all the same crap day after day." She picks up Thnderstrike and does the stupidest thing.. she turns to two 'cons that have guns, and begins to walk off. -Moonlight watches Thunderstrike fall into a truly unconscious heap and is glad that Swivel is smart enough to just pick up his beaten body and take it away...she can't really accomplish anything by fighting her and Dirge. Of course, Dirge is just plain mean to blast an unconscious mech. Oh well, there's no point in complaining about it now. "Let's go Dirge. Unless you /really/ want to make a point of it," she says with some impatience. -Dirge looks delighted as the laser slams into Thunderstrike, then turns two blazing optics at Swivel and Moonlight. "What's this? An ETHICS class?" Dirge hisses, "In combat, it doesn't matter what condition the opponent is. The opponent is fair game. If you engage in combat, death is the consequence for the inferior." He smirks more at Thunderstrike's body, then turns to Moonlight. "I'm going to need a transport. And don't call me flyboy." -Swivel snorts and makes a comment about 'cons being a lot more amiable where there is alcohol involved as she walks off with Thunderstrike in her arms. -Moonlight shrugs. "Why not? I'm sure you'd be more upset if I called you flygirl or landbound..." She looks around. "As for transport, I don't think I'm much help in that department. Unless you can make yourself much smaller." -Dirge's optics narrow at Moonlight. "You owe me something for today. You said so yourself. Don't renegade on your words." He grimaces, then slowly staggers to his feet. "Fine, I'll make my own way back to Darkmount." With that, Dirge hovers into the air, then transforms into a battered-looking tetrajet and wobbles into the air. -Moonlight sighs and follows after Dirge. "Oh, don't go off in a huff. I didn't really meant to /upset/ you. I'm just in the habit of teasing everyone. But now I'm really curious why you don't want to be called /that/." -Dirge emits back to Moonlight, while plotting the fastest way to Darkmount, "Because I don't. Good enough for you?" He ventilates with frustration. "I don't call you 'femme', do I? I've got a name." -Moonlight arches an optic ridge before transforming. "True. Well, actually you did call me femme, but I also objected to it. But if you don't like it, I won't call you it. And, as I said, I owe you an apology. You were right about being watched. Just as well you were aware, or that could have gotten ugly." Sighing she transforms back in an attempt to keep up. -Dirge does not reply, but instead flies upwards and towards Darkmount. Darkmount - Repair Bay Much like the adjacent research lab, the equipment here is showing signs of age, but is kept in a serviceable condition. Two automated repair drones lie against the far wall, though each is obviously missing a few parts...apparently they've been salvaged for someone else's benefit. The once well-stocked parts closets now contain mostly empty shelves and bins. Several dozen repair tables of various sizes are arranged in rows in the middle of the room. Dirge [Tetrajet] [D] Drone Medic Redline's Side Office AutoMedic Dartboard Serdidymus Medical Terminal Obvious Exits: -S- South leads to Darkmount - Regeneration Spa -E- East leads to Darkmount - Medical and Science Level -W- West leads to Darkmount - Cryochamber -Moonlight is usually so good at getting along with others. Well, you can't win them all, or so the saying goes. She's rather relieved when they finally touch down at Darkmount's landing pad and make their way into the repair bay. -Dirge staggers into the repair bay, dripping mech fluid on the floor, and with one hand covering his chest. He frowns when he sees the place is devoid of medics. "Where's a medic when you want one?" he mutters under his breath as he lies down on the nearest restbed. -Moonlight shrugs. That is one of life's great mysteries, and it seems unlike that anyone will solve it soon. "How do you feel?" she asks. -Dirge glares at Moonlight, and raises an optic ridge. "Fantastic," he replies in a sarcastic voice. He looks down at the hole in his chest. "I can't wait for someone to blast a hole in my chest again." His voice turns morose as he frowns. "I feel like a bunch of spare parts," then Dirge perks up as he remembers the damage inflicted onto Thunderstrike. "At least I can lie here content Thundermoron is doing worse." Dirge starts sniggering. -Moonlight arches an optic ridge. "That's /quite/ the consolation. I thought you warriors liked getting the scrap kicked out of you over and over again." -Dirge stops sniggering. "No. That's Thundermoron. Real warriors only like destroying their opponents." He ventilates, then sits up and leans back on the headrest. "Those sneaky, stupid Autobots. Who was that copter?" -Moonlight frowns slightly. "Some mech named Springer. I've only ever seen him a few times. Why?" -Dirge shrugs in response. "Just wondering. He's more stupid than Thundermoron." He shakes his head. "I can't wait to get my own hands on the electrum. Then we wouldn't have to put up with more idiots." Dirge glances at Moonlight and tilts his head at her. "Are you injured?" -Moonlight wrigles her hand back and forth. "Yeah, a little. It's not /too/ bad, but I don't like get hurt even a little bit." -Dirge looks at Moonlight's hand, then scoffs at Moonlight's comment. Dirge notes, "Pain will happen regardless. It doesn't matter whether you like it or not." -Moonlight shrugs. "The way I see it, like has to do with everything. If I like something I'll fight for it and protect it and seek it out. If I don't like something, I avoid it. Sounds like a pretty good system to me." -Dirge listens to Moonlight, then says, "And all that involves an element of pain. Correct? Regardless of where your motivations lie." -Moonlight considers this. "Maybe, but some things lead to more pain than others, and I'll avoid what I can if I have any choice. When I don't have a choice, I'll content myself with complaining about it." She takes a seat semi-close to Dirge. "The more things I care about, the more I have to put myself in a situation to protect those things. Fortunately for me I'm shallow enough not to care for too much." -Dirge strokes his chin with one hand as he considers Moonlight's words, while the other is still clutching his chest. His internal repair systems has contained most of the smaller damage and he has stopped leaking as much mech fluid as before, but his chest is still trickling. Dirge says, "Lesser pain is still pain. Even though you can attempt to minimise the experience, it still remains. There's no point in complaining if it doesn't remove entirely remove the experience." A small, humourless smile appears on his face. "And being shallow is something to be proud of?" -Moonlight smiles slightly. "Only sometimes. But I complain just so no one mistakes my feelings on the matter. Not that my feelings ever change anything. I just want people to know." She shrugs and looks around. "It really /does/ seem like the moment someone is hurt, the medics disappear." -Dirge follows Moonlight's gaze with an unhappy frown on his face. "It doesn't help when we have ONE functioning medic in the ranks." -Moonlight nods. "True enough." She stands up. "I'm going to go see if I can track her down." -Dirge glances morosely at Moonlight. "Good luck in finding her," he says, without much euthusiasm. "She's probably overenergizing at the Wild Surge." Dirge ventilates. "I'm going to need several Omegaritas." -Moonlight chuckles as she exits. "If I don't find Skydagger, I'm sure I can find the other." And with that she makes her rather mirthful exit.