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Our host is betterbox.net as of 9/20/2000 Our server is PennMUSH version 1.7.4 patchlevel 1 ==============[ Telnet address: bb13.betterbox.net, port 5000 ]============== Elita One has arrived. Hyperdrive has arrived. Phantom is a pile of little bits. Elita One sets Phantom's laser back up on a table, close to his remains, while medbots are still working to piece him back together as best they can with what they have. Hyperdrive frowns as he watches from the doorway. A flicker of light can be seen at his optics and before one can figure what it was he suddenly flicks his visor into place. Elita One is very serious and intent, giving orders to those around as they attempt to piece together the Autobot, having to build him nearly from scratch. Hyperdrive doesn't speak. He just watches and after a few moments begins to back up. Elita One gasps a little at some of the charred internals when a layer of fused armor is finally pulled away, though her voice is calm as she mutters instructions to the medical staff. Words like "...replaced" and "...discard..." drift through the conversation. Freefall arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Freefall has arrived. Elita One is supervising a team of medbots who have been working on repairing Phantom. So far, the prospects do not look good, and many members of the medical staff have already tapped out, drained of energy at having to deal with such thourough and meticulous repair and restructuring. The doors to the medical bay with a hiss and there is almost a chill as the hulking form of Freefall enters the bay. He stalks in like one who is not in a very good mood. His head pans about looking over the room codly. Hyperdrive is standing by the door appearing to be ready to back out of it. Freefall halts his advance on Hyperdrive and his look becomes one of disgust. "What is a con lover like you doing here you filth!" Freefall states to Hyperdrive. Elita One snaps out of her intense work-mode, hearing a shout from somewhere near the entrance. Hyperdrive looks up and GLARES at Freefall, "WHy don't you get yourself out of here now." Elita One walks over as quickly as she can to diffuse this argument. "Gentlemen... NO." She looks at Freefall. "Freefall, why is it that every time I see you, you're getting ready to murder someone?" Freefall glares down at Hyperdrive. "I'll bet your spying for your Decepticon friends worm... its you who has no right to be here." Hyperdrive looks at Freefall, "This is NOT the place to discuss this." Freefall says, "Oh its ther perfect one unless you got something to hide." Resonance has arrived. Hyperdrive glares, "Someone I care fer is in here dead and hopefully these guys can bring them back. But they can't do that if yer insistin on actin more like a kidlet then I am." Resonance enters the Outside <-O- Out>. Resonance has left. Freefall snarls at the kidlet. "Why the hell do you think I'm here. Phantom was my CO. You on the other hand like to help the types that put him here!" Hyperdrive says, "Oh? How do I know yer not the one that pulled the trigger and got him killed so you can up your status. Yer violent enough to do that sort of stuff." He turns to head for the door, "But I ain't gonna argue in here. Phantom meant too much ta me ta cause him ta possibly not be repaired right cause you want to be mean."" Elita One ignoring Freefall for now and almost getting off-topic in an attempt to defuse the situation, says, "Hyperdrive?" Freefall snorts. "You think this is about rank? Then you are even more dense than I thought. Had I been there in Phantom's place I would have pulled the trigger my self." Freefall is in the doorway btw. Hyperdrive stops his attempt to leave AROUND the clog in the door drain and turns while right in front of Freefall, "Yes Elita?" Elita One states, "I have determined that 'But, you did not ask,' is not an acceptable excuse for not offering complete intelligence information. Especially since I am constantly bereft of it. If you should encounter ANY situation where you gain information that might be helpful to the Autobots, you should relay it to a commander IMMEDIATELY." Freefall crosses his arms glaring at hyperdrive. Hyperdrive gives Elita the most hurt expression he probably has ever had. "Perhaps you should just give Freefall the okay to execute me now ma'am unless you feel it is necessary to prolong my torture." His voice is deadly calm. Elita One shakes her head. "No." She looks at Freefall, and, very calmly, says, "Freefall...stand down. Now." Freefall wants nothing more than to rip Hyperdrive limb from limb at the moment. oO(That punk will be the death of us all.) "Yes Ma'me." Freefall steps out of the doorway. Elita One says, "Hyperdrive, get together with Scour about compiling those maps of Tarn, and the information you both have about the Exodus. I also believe you may be of some help to him with his threat assessments." Hyperdrive nods, "Yes ma'am....I'm sorry." Elita One nods. "I have work to continue. Try to keep it quiet, please." Her last look is at Freefall, before she turns back to continue with Phantom's operations. Freefall says, "Yes Ma'me I have some Turbo Foxes to hunt I'll be on my way." Freefall turns to leave. Hyperdrive transmits a radio message. Freefall receives a radio message. Freefall glares at hyperdrive. "You know telling me to shoot my self ain't too nice. Elita One is already walking away, back to the medics who are huddled over Phantom's remains. She immediately goes back to delegating resources, and tells them to discard the majority of his ruined armor. Freefall says, "Elita you want me to lurk around the Dead End at all anymore?" Elita One turns back to Freefall. "Are you signed up for the games?" Hyperdrive starts walking toward the door now that it seems that freefall is out of the way. Freefall says, "I'm ya I am." Elita One says, "And have you heard from..." She looks over as a med-gumby offers her a clear glimpse of Phantom's shattered fuel-injector, and she sighs. "Scrap that, too. We'll have to go from scratch..." She doesn't seem to like the idea. "Have you heard from any of the authorities there?"" Freefall says, "nope." Firesong arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Firesong has arrived. Elita One shakes her head. "Best to stay out until you do, then. We don't want another mass firefight on our hands. Not while we have THIS to worry about." Freefall has left. Elita One has disconnected. Hyperdrive has left. Firesong has left. ***Time Passes*** Outpost - Storage/Repair Area A huge, open room, holding enough supplies for a few months. From wall to wall, it's loaded with octagonal crates of every size, stacked neatly and tightly together. Tracks on the floor facilitate the movement of supplies, with drone lifters sitting idle beside the cargo lift, waiting for an order. A neat path has been made heading from the hatch near the Command Center to the two large doors, which slide open, allowing for three transport carriers to enter and get old cargo or place new cargo. Elita One [Robot] [A] Backup Laser Core [#4163 n] Small Medical Center Cell Obvious exits: -O- Out leads to Outside. -W- West leads to Outpost - Command Center. Elita One walks into the storage area, overlooking the complex procedure of Phantom's repair. She notices that his frame has been mostly peeled away, and the pile of circuits and rework he's become barely resembles an Autobot at all. Phantom is still nothing more than a pile of parts, but this time, it's at least a sorted pile of parts. Elita One approaches one of the Autobot medics, trying to get a response without interrupting anything too complex. "Having any luck?" she asks. Rustbucket looks up from his dismantling work to see the Autobot leader standing in his presence. He seems flustered suddenly, as he begins, "Uh..well ma'am. It's uh, work, well, kinda." He takes a moment to get over his hero worship and compose himself. "We're almost done with the salvage part. That pile over there is useable, though, as you can see, it's the smallest pile. I tell you, when this guy hurts himself, he makes sure to do it right." Elita One nods gravely, looking at the smallish pile. She surveys the medical supplies. "We will have to go back to salvaging after this, it seems. Our supplies were already dwindling. Now, to undergo something this difficult..." She frowns, and kneels next to the pile of discarded parts, digging through to make sure nothing has been overlooked. She sets aside some of Phantom's wrecked armor. "This we can at least try to remelt." Rustbucket nods, "Um, yes ma'am. That's what that pile is for. Probably gonna go back on this guy. Just needs to be remolded and resealed. The it'll be good as new." He lets out a short snicker, "Actually, it will be new. But, we wanted to ask you something. What kind of body do you want him to have? We could remake the old one pretty easy, but since Phantom was rarely in here, we don't have a complete reading on his structure. Or, we can try and get a new, better one. Only thing is, we'd need to get some of those salvaged parts from the fallen station. Have we found any good ones that can be used?" Elita One stands up again. "As a matter of fact, we might. Let me put in a radio call and see if our salvage crew has found anything new." Elita One transmits a radio message. Rustbucket nods and flips down his welding visor while she finishes her call. Elita One receives a radio message. Elita One transmits a radio message. Elita One receives a radio message. Elita One finally speaks out again. "It seems the salvage team is still searching. I will help you out with what I know about his structure. But..." She raises a browridge a little... "If you can improve it... DO it." Rustbucket flips up his welding visor and smiles, "I was hoping you'd say that." He puts down the welder and heads over to a terminal. Pressing a few buttons, a schimatic comes up. Lots of techno-things like power output are listed. "This is something we've worked up. Upped his armor, and his reflex sub-systems. And we remodeled him a bit." Elita One takes a good look at the new schematics. She seems to be very impressed by the new design. "Good work." She browses down the list... VERY good work. But, then, she frowns. "The bottom line. Do we have the resources to accomplish this?" Rustbucket smiles even bigger now, "Actually, yes. And, with everything this guy had in him before, we're gonna end up with some extra bits. He must have been around since before the Great Wars started." He takes a moment to look at Elita, "Do you know how old this cat was? Or what he did before he joined up? Cause he had some defunct scanning equipment that is so out of date, it won't work with what we're rebuilding him with. So we're gonna update it." Elita One frowns a little. No...she didn't really know. Not really. Confusion is evident on her face. After a moment, it clears. "Yes, I suppose it is best if you replace it, then." She looks at the schematics again. "...And a stealth system?" Rustbucket says, "Well, it's actually his old one. We're gonna have to repair it, but with the new power couplings, we can have it work in both modes as opposed to just his vehicle mode." He smiles confidantly. Elita One nods. "This is excellent design work. Point out where I can help out." Rustbucket says, "Well, I can do the building of the frame and get the armor ready. But, the actual wiring and the programing is beyond me. After all, I'm an engineer, not a medic. We need someone with that kind of knowledge to do the internals." Elita One says, "Well. Let's see what we're ready to do, then." She walks over to the pile of organized parts, and kneels down among the sorting line. She shakes her head a little, and tries to put aside the idea that all of these pieces were once someone living and speaking... Rustbucket walks over to the parts closet and starts to pull out already constructed parts. First are the leg structures. Placing them on the table and recrossing the room and getting another. "Well, best pace to start is at the bottom and work your way up." He places the other leg next to the first, "We had these made last cycle. Figured we'd need them sooner or later." Elita One nods. "It is definitely a start." She gestures to some of the larger parts. "Also best to get started on some of the more complex systems first. Repair the power conduits... And I do not want to take any risks with this circuitry. A leg we can replace. It doesn't need to process." Rustbucket pauses for a moment. "Well, actually, um. Well," he heads over to the diagram, "From what we can tell from his former construction, most of his processors /were/ in his legs. His core was actually stored in his shoulder. Not the most targeted area when you're in battle. Who ever did his construction must have known how he was going to act. Always getting blasted and stuff. They put the needed systems in odd places." He shrugs and returns to the table, "Anyways, we are going to need the starts of the neural network. I can do that. It's nothing more than running wires and such." Elita One frowns. "If you put it back in the shoulder, be sure you armor it up. I don't like the idea of one good body-check taking him off-line. Interesting about the legs, though." Rustbucket smiles, "Well, we can secure it pretty well. But if we armor it too much, it won't be a working shoulder. Maybe we can move it to some other place. But for now, we don't have to worry about that as that's the last thing to get connected." Elita One receives a radio message. Elita One is still busy inspecting Phantom's newly constructed legs, her expression puzzled. "I wonder who built him..." she thinks aloud. Elita One transmits a radio message. Elita One receives a radio message. Rustbucket shrugs, "Usually the creators keep a general pattern. For instance, Razelore and Fortress looked completely different outside, but on the inside, they were pretty much the same. It's like signing a sculpture. But we have never found another one like Phantom. He's unique." Elita One says, "I will have to ask him about it. ...When he's back on line, of course." Elita One transmits a radio message. Rustbucket heistates for a moment. "Ma'am, you know that these backups are kinda small for the ammount of information that the average Cybertronian carries around. And Phantom was nothing but information. If he kept all th current important stuff, he might have not copied the past stuff. He might not remember." He sighs, "And we don't know when this backup is from. He might not remember the last few lunar cycles if this is old enough. He was out in space for what a cycle before he did what he did. He probably won't remember that. And he almost certainly won't remember how or why he destroyed the Exodus." He pauses and lets that all sink in. "Point is, he might not be the same Phantom that we knew a few cycles ago. It might be Phantom from a while ago. He might not even remember capturing Ghost or our former shuttle, or things like that." Elita One closes her eyes, and nods for a moment. "Yes. I understand. We will simply have to do everything in our power to restore whatever we can. The good news, however, is that our salvage team will be arriving with some new parts soon." She stands. "I need to make contact with Freefall, and we can see what he has found." Rustbucket nods, "When we get something, I'll put it to use." Elita One nods. "Excellent. Keep up the good work." Rustbucket nods, "Yes Ma'am." Elita One enters the Outside <-O- Out>. Elita One has left. ***Time passes*** Elita One arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Elita One has arrived. Arcane arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Arcane has arrived. Arcane walks into the area, using a cane for a support. He stops and takes a long look at the back-up core. His optics flash and he shudders for a moment before walking over to where Elita is standing. Here, the floor has been cleared away, and many of the medical 'bots work diligently around several piles of sorted parts and what looks to be the beginnings of a newly constructed Autobot... or, more likely, the beginnings of a reconstructed Autobot. Elita nods to them one by one as she passes into the room, then she looks to Arcane, and gestures to the new construction. Arcane walks over and peers over the construct with a clinical look. He then looks to Elita and says "And what would you like me to do?" Elita One kneels down next to Phantom's legs, which are mainly constructed and set up for reattachment to the still partially dismantled torso. She bends one up at the knee, and opens a panel, showing the unusual amount of processing power that they carry. When she speaks again, it is a bit haltingly. "I was wondering... since you... seem to know... A lot about..." She trails off, grows softer. "Well... Do you think you could tell me: who built this?" Arcane looks at the leg for a moment. His optic ridges furrow together deep in thought and he strokes the "goatee" on his chin for a moment, trying to think of what to say. "Well... I have no clue who could have constructed him this way, but I have a pretty good idea why..." Elita One looks very sad and serious. "Yes, yes, so do I. But... You honestly do not know?" Arcane shakes his head "I know individuals who could be capable of such things, but none of those persons have a reason to build an individual in this... way." Arcane says "He's built like his creator expected repeated attempts on his life. Systems in unusual places like that... makes for a very difficult to kill mech. So, obviously who ever built him is somewhat paranoid, or built this mech for a very dangerous and specific purpose." Elita One nods. "He IS, for a very specific purpose. But, perhaps I did not realize just how dangerous." She sighs. "Regardless, then." She sets the limb back in place, and rearranges it slightly. "Do you think you could offer some aid in the repairs?" Arcane nods "Yes, I believe so. As unusual as his systems seem to be arranged, they still appear to be the same systems we all have." Elita One stands, walks over to a terminal, and brings up a set of schematics: a 3d wireframe that spins slowly, followed by a painted version. "This is what we are working from. A few changes, to be honest, to the original. We were not able to find a complete set of blueprints." Arcane gestures to the Laser Core "And the patient, he is... in there, currently." Arcane asks "Correct?" Elita One nods gravely. "Yes. A backup, at any rate." Arcane shudders "We should work quickly. I wouldn't wish that existence on anyone for any length of time..." Elita One shakes her head. "No, nor would I." She looks at Arcane. "Thank you." Arcane waves his hand dismissivly "Do not thank necessity. For when one is thankful for Fate's help, one is not thankful for Fate's hindrance." He turns his attention back to Phantom "But enough philosophy from this old one, this poor mech needs my help." Elita One nods agreement, and walks back over to the piles of parts in order to put in her own work. Arcane looks at the legs of the broken mech "Well, first thing is to figure out what is where... I'm quite sure the connection of leg to torso remains the same..." Elita One nods, and kneels next to the reconstruction as she replies. "Yes, we are working on that. It looks like the fuel system is ready to be connected in." Arcane asks "And where is it on his body?" Elita One looks up and over at the diagrams, then points to the lower torso of the reconstruction. "A bit lower than normal." Arcane nods "Not surprising. Most aim high, not low. Alright then, Elita, do you have a Mono-Splicer handy?" Elita One looks over at a pile of instruments, then blinks. "No. I-- do not believe so." Arcane shrugs "No matter. I can probably install it... manually." He chuckles grimly "It's a good thing he is offline, this would not be a comfortable part of the procedure..." Arcane begins to lean over to work on installing the fuel pump, shaking his head at what he has to do to do just that... Elita One winces. "No. I cannot imagine that it would. If there is anything you need... anything common..." she amends, "don't hesitate to ask." Arcane remarks as he is working "A flask of Icee would be pleseant..." Arcane then looks up at Elita and says "Disregard that. You're not a waitress. I apologise." And with that quick statement, he goes back to work. Elita One laughs a little: it's not an out-of-line request, and it wasn't one she thought he'd meant for her to fill personally. She taps one of the low-ranking med-gumbies on the shoulder, and nods in his direction. "See if you can bring him something cool to drink." To Arcane, she then says, "I will leave you to it, then." ***Even more time passes*** Silentlight has arrived. Silentlight walks over to a small display screen next to the Autobot unit Phantom, or at least what has been rebuilt of him, and reads the list of systems that is left to be installed. Starting with the tope on the list he examines the stealth system current installed in the frame. The screen above where the head would be shows the schimatics of where to place everything, and the new design for the Wrecker CO. He has been streamlined, and his older systems have been updated, leaving room for better, newer systems. Silentlight shakes his head at the horid craftsmanship of the stealth cloaking device and gently rips it out of the frame and sets it down on a table for enhancements. He quickly adjusts the anti-radar field projector so that it fits Phantom's dimensions perfectly for both modes and adds the switch that is necessary for it to change specifications as Phantom transforms so that maximum stealth can be maintained during the transformation process. He also adds a variability control that Phantom can use to expand his anit-radar feild if he wishes to cloak two other comrades as well. Lancer says, "Autobot base, this is Lancer, come in." Resonance says, "Reading you loud and clear, kid. What's up?" Lancer says, "Freefall and I are home, safe and sound. Permission to enter base, sir?" Resonance sounds a tad amused at the request,"Sure. Knock yourselves out. I'll do my best to hold the autocannons back." Lancer says, "Okay, Lancer out." Silentlight turns from the table with the improved cloaking device and places it in its proper position so that it will not be crushed during transformation. He places all of the relays in their correct places. The skilled medic then looks up at the display for the armor specifications. He shakes his head and changes it. He quietly mutters, "Why they always want conventional armor will always be a mystery to me." He then turns back to the table and pulls out a small multipurpose projector that he was working on earlier. Silentlight tinkers with the device, so that it would positively ionize Phantom's exostructure, no matter what form it was in, thus strengthening it. He attaches a small, yet powerful, battery and generator to projector. Silentlight then runs relays into the device so that the ionized exostructure would absorb a fair share of any energy blast and and use it to charge that battery of the device. Silentlight turns and places the device into a an open space in the shell and marks it on the specifications to show any other medics the what alterations and enhancements he had done. Lancer arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Lancer has arrived. Lancer enters, and sighs, pulling up a chair to see Phantom..."Hey, I'm Lancer. I'm the new 'Bot here." Phantom is laying on a med table, half completed. His armor has been added, and some systems are still on the table next to what there is of him. His head is the most noticable that is missing. That and his feet and hands. There is no response to the statement made by his new trooper. Lancer nods. "I understand. I'm certain Silentlight and Revamp can get you back online in no time." Phantom remains unmoving, as his laser core, the very thing that gives him life, is sitting on a counter across the room. Lancer says, "maybe if they get that laser core back into you, you would talk." Lancer says, "Well, I hope you get back on your feet, big Bot." Lancer has left. Elita One arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Elita One has arrived. Elita One wanders into the room to reivew the repairs. hmmm...much improvement. Phantom is only missing his core, his head and his hands and legs. He is almost complete. The new armor that has been reinforced by Silentlight is gleaming silver, new and never painted or used. He looks more streamlined, like he could slip through the air without making a noise or move it much at all. Hyperdrive says, "So what's goin on?" Lancer has arrived. Elita One surveys Phantom's form, nods, pleased that the extensive project is coming along. She then looks over to Lancer. "One of your commanders. Looking much improved." Lancer nods. "I wanted to talk to him, but his laser core is not operational yet." Elita One shakes her head. "No, not yet. We need to attach his arms still." She inquires a passing medbot for an update on the situation, and he brings her some schematics to scan over. Lancer nods. "What can I do to help?" Elita One, still perusing the schematics, says, "Do you have any repair skills?" Rustbucket walks in from the storage area, examining an upgraded power-coupling. As he approaches the table, he looks up, "Ah, ELita. Just in time. I was about to pump up our boys power output. Should allow him to amplify the voltage of the energon he's using, effectively giving his weapons systems more kick while using the same ammount of energon." He offers the part to the pink Autobot, "Would you like to do the honors?" Lancer smiles under his faceplate. "Looks like we will get to bring this Bot back." Elita One takes the coupling, and examines it, then smiles. "Certainly." She kneels down next to the frame, and inspects the gap near his still-missing arms, then re-opens the new armor on his torso and looks for an installation point. "Estimated time to activation?" Lancer says, "Need any help?" Elita One looks up at Lancer a bit apologetically. "This is pretty delecate work. If you're not trained in repair, it's probably best you just watch." She takes a small wrench from one of the gumbies. Rustbucket shrugs, "I couldn't tell you. Silentlight was just in here finishing his armor. Just connecting the extremities and of corse the head, that just leaves the core to get him done. Quarter cycle at the most. But that rehab afterwards will take a while." He looks over to the core, "We checked the core. It's got a date on it. 2 cycles before he...decided to be stupid, he made it. He won't have a clue what happened or why he looks different. Any visuals of what happened that we can download into his local memory would probably help." Lancer nods. Elita One nods. "And make him that much the wiser not to attempt such a manuever again." She fits the coupling into the chest, and begins the attachment. Freefall arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Freefall has arrived. Lancer waves to Freefall. Rustbucket pauses a moment. Torn between defending the actions of an obviously disturbed mech, and the leader that he has followed for vorn, the former wins out. "Um, ma'am. Had it not been for him, Pyre might have won that battle. Two of our biggest guys against that station sill wouldn't have been enough. They would have been destroyed, and we would be fixing them instead of Phantom." Lancer says, "So Phantom sacrificed himself for the team." Elita One nods. "Of course. I am aware of how Phantom's sacrifice turned the tide of this battle." She closes a connection, starts on a second. "More than aware," she adds, a bit mysteriously. Lancer nods. "So, we have a new medic, besides Silentlight and Revamp..." You paged Resonance with 'Not as of yet. I could think of one, if you needed. But if you have one, I'm for it. I just want a cool, scary TP sometime this week/weekend. ;)'. Elita One says, "It takes a lot of staff and energy to get a 'bot back on-line," Elita says, moving on to another connection on the coupling, moving around a little to change her angle on her work." Lancer says, "When will we get his head back on?" Elita One replies, "Right before we install the core." Lancer says, "Okay." Elita One finishes installing the power coupling, and re-closes Phantom's armor, then stands and surveys the still-headless 'bot. She suppresses the urge to shudder at the notion of him wandering around without one. "Arms next. Are there other modifications in those?" Or vitals, she wonders to herself? Rustbucket turns and heads over to the counter, where the newly constructed arms live. As he picks them up, the newly designed head becomes visible. It looks different from the face that is normally associated with Phantom. Turning, he returns to Elita, "Nothing really new. Same things we discussed the other cycle. Again, more armor. Other than that, not much." Elita One looks at the new head, and, almost inaudbily, "Wow"s. Lancer nods. "I hope we can rebuild him, Commander." Elita One tears her optics away from the rather strange sight, and takes one of Phantom's arms. She matches it up to the hole in his side, and begins to meet the wiring together. The new head of Phantom, at first glance, is what gives mechs like Hyperdrive bad dreams. The head is all black with a silver faceplate covering the lower half. But, what is new is that there is no visor on him anymore. Where it once was there are two optics, also dark at the moment. Over the left one is a translucent 'monocle' that seems to have taken over the functions of the visor. Well, all but the function of hiding the optics of this now darker mech. Elita One finishes with the wiring, and begins to attach the armor to the arm. Lancer says, "How long will it take to get Phantom back online?" Elita One looks up at Lancer, then moves over to aid in attaching the other arm, which the gumbies have already set up near his shoulder. "Hopefully.... not long." Rustbucket returns to retrieve the head that is now on the counter. Using the upmost care in moving with it, he treats it like a work of art. Placing it ever so gently on the table next to the slot that it is intended for, he takes a step back. With a sigh he says, "Almost done." Lancer nods and waits for Phantom to come back online. Lancer says, "So, we have Phantom's body, arms, legs, chasis, and now, his head. What about weapons systems and personality grid?" Elita One looks again at the head, looking at it sideways, scrutinizing it. So this is Phantom now. She walks over to the side of the table, and matches the head to the neck, and lines them up. "The personality grid is the backup core you see sitting there." She glances toward the table. "THAT.... is Phantom." Lancer says, "I see. Well, what's left is to install the laser core and he will be back online!" Elita One begins patching the wiring in the neck. "You make it sound so easy..." Rustbucket attatches a few wires from the head to the torso, and the optics flash a deep red before quickly going back to the unused state. In that split second, the monocle also lit up, not showing any color other than the black cross hairs that will now serve as Phantom's better systems. He cracks a smile, and then leaves the actual connecting to the frame to Elita. Walking over to the power core, he pauses and takes a breath. Lifting it up, cradling it in both hands, he walks over to what can now be called Phantom. "Install this, download the visuals, and switch him on. Almost done." Lancer nods. "It's really complicated then?" Elita One nods to both of the 'bots, then goes back to scrutinizing her work in attaching the new head. She twists it a little, and there is a rush of pressure as it locks firmly into place. Lancer says, "The head is now secure." Rustbucket carefully hands the core to Elita, "Here ya go, ma'am. Second to final piece." Lancer looks at the piece. "What kind of piece is this?" Elita One takes the core into her hands, carefully cradling it. "As I said. This is Phantom. Everything else..." She looks at the body. "is just detail." Silentlight walks out of the the small med lab as Elita One starts to work on Phantom Rustbucket takes a step back as an actual medic approaches, not just the engineer that designed the body. "Hey, Light. You're just in time. We just need to install the laser core, download some memories into local memory, and turn him on. I'll leave it to you." Elita One steps aside to give Silentlight some room. "You have done some excellent work here." Lancer nods. "It's all up to you now." Lancer enters the Outside <-O- Out>. Lancer has left. Silentlight looks over to Rustbucket and nods and takes the laser core from Elita. The strange crystal on his forehead gives off a golden glow onto the core as he scans it. Finding no major errors in it, he procedes to place it in the head of the exostructure on the table. Lancer arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Lancer has arrived. Lancer says, "How goes the repairs?" Hyperdrive arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Hyperdrive has arrived. Lancer watches as the medics reapir Phantom. Hyperdrive sneaks in to find out what's going on. Silentlight makes sure that every system is shut down before he continues working. His crystal glows red now as he does the detailed work of connecting many neural fibers from the main neural net to the main core. Peice by peice he meticulously works. Lancer still waits for Silentlight to repair Phantom. Elita One watches intensely, keeping quiet during the fascinating procedure. Hyperdrive looks at Elita after smiling at Lancer, "Maybe ya should make im a kidlet...." Lancer looks at Hyperdrive. "Nah..." Silentlight's crystal now prduces a golden glow again as does a final scan of all the systems and their upgrades. Seeing that they are all functional, he turns to Elita and says, "Where are the memories and such that you wish to download into his main core?" Rustbucket looks to Elita, "How do you wish to do this, Ma'am? Direct download, or through a memory chip? Elita One steps forward and looks at Silentlight and Rustbucket. "I will do it. The memories..." she points to her head... "are here." Hyperdrive grins, "Oh why not....we'd have someone ta play with." Lancer nods. "Elita's ready to download Phantom's memories into his new body." Silentlight steps back respectfully after Elita stated her desire. "Do you know what you are doing?" Elita One nods, and swallows a little. "Just the last two days of his life; it is all we need. And I was there. It would be more vivid...to hear it from me." Lancer says, "So he will just get a clean slate, huh?" Hyperdrive frowns, "So will he at least remember us?" Silentlight's crystal glows gold as he monitors the transfer, ready to stop it if any thing goes wrong. "So he will not remember the past and things that we have done for him?" Elita One shakes her head. "No. Of course not. The core is backed up to..." she looks to Rustbucket "Two days before. Right?" Rustbucket nods, "Almost to the minute. You'll need a direct connection." He pulls out some cabling, "Here ya go. Connect your core to his. It's like your basic interface, just one of you is unconscious, or dead as the case may be." Lancer says, "Good Luck, Commander." Hyperdrive sighs, "I hope we'll still be friends.....I don't have many..." Lancer says, "You got me, Hyperdrive!" Hyperdrive smiles at Lancer, "Thanks." Lancer nods. "Anytime." Silentlight turns his head to Hyperdrive, and says, "And what about that time we went to the Golden Blaster" Lancer says, "Golden Blaster?" Elita One accepts the cords, then sits on a nearby stool. She opens the panel on the front of her heavy helmet, fiddles around with something inside the little box, then, removes it from the front of her head and sets it aside. Attaching one of the wires into her own head, she then plugs the other into Phantom's. Hyperdrive nods, "ITs a bar in crystal city...." He then turns to look at Phantom, "Least he'll have friends around when he wakes....." Rustbucket looks on in silence. Silentlight continues his vigilance, making sure that no errors are forming. Lancer says, "Yep. After he awakens, we need to go tell the other Autobots that Phantom is back online." Silentlight nods. Elita One closes her eyes, muttering to her internal computer. "Commence download." The connection point on her head glows faintly blue, and, a moment later, so does the end plugged into Phantom. Phantom's body arches just slightly as the information is quickly downloaded to his memory matrix. With his core offline, Elita has a clear path to everything Phantom has in memory, from the begining of his life, to the time of the backup. Hyperdrive mutters a phrase in ancient Cybertronian. In his tone of voice one would think it is a prayer. He looks back up toward Phantom and waits. Silverstreak arrives from the Outpost - Command Center. Silverstreak has arrived. Silentlight waves offhandedly to silverstreak as he observes the download's process. Elita One gasps a little at...something...and her closed optics tighten. Silverstreak steps in slowly, looking about at everyone and everything. His armor is still painted dark, several bits of it having been replaced to give him a bulkier look. His red optics gaze upon you all with a bit of anger in them. Silverstreak has left. Elita One's optics finally open. She looks to where her mind is still wired into Phantom's, and whispers, "I see." Then, she reaches over, puts a hand on his forhead, and...disconnects the pair. Rustbucket looks to Elita, then to Phantom, then back to Elita. "You okay, boss? You look kinda spooked there." Elita One nods mutely, and, without really looking to him, hands him the cord. "Bring him online," she says to Silentlight. Silentlight nods and a thin red line starts to run up and down his crystal as he turns sets the systems to slowly turn on over the course of 30 seconds. Rustbucket takes the cord, tosses it to the side, and looks on in awe as Silentlight works his magic. All his hard work, all the time spent planning, for this one moment. Silentlight steps back from the body and waits as life slowly begins to flow through it for the first time. Hyperdrive keeps watching. "Come on phantom...." Silentlight looks to Hyperdrive and says, "It will take a little time, if he became fully functional instantaneously, his processors would over load and he would go insane." Phantom's systems slowly start to come on. Internal chronometer, backup power supply, so on and so forth, until it hits his neural net. As his mental functions come online, his reflexes go through their test phase. Almost every joint in his frame flinches for a moment, then relax. Everything seems in order. As his optics slowly fade from black to deep red, his audios come online, and his vocals do the same. As his optics reach their full coloring, the start to move, slowly at first then they start to fix themselves on each person in the room, finally resting on Elita. His voice is raspy, and leaves much to be desired in the seduction department. "So I finally got the guts to blow that thing up, huh? Damn, that was stupid, no?" He smiles behind his permanent faceplate, something he'll have to get used to in his new body. Hyperdrive smiles, "Hey....welcome back to the land of movin parts Phanty...." Elita One nods slightly. "Perhaps. But...effective." She looks at him...even he SOUNDS different. Still Phantom, though. Right? "How are you feeling?" Silentlight stands off to the back as he does final diagnostics. Phantom's voice is slowly clearing up, "I feel...different. Like new, but like new in a different way." He raises his head and looks down at the new body that he now inhabits. "Wow. I look different too." He looks around the room. Optics again taking in Silentlight, "This looks like your work." He again looks at himself. "Thank you. It feels great. A bit lighter than before, but that's a good thing." He lays his head back on the table, and looks to the ceiling. An eerie sound escapse his audios. Phantom is laughing, and it's scarry. Amid his laughter, he lets out, "I feel great!" Elita One responds with, "That's...great." She's still getting used to the idea of seeing him this way. Silentlight nods, "You might want to check out some of the upgrades that were placed in you. You might find them more efficient that your originals.: Hyperdrive grins and approaches. He chuckles a little, "THis mean we get ta go joyridin ta break in yer new form?" Silentlight shakes his head, "Let him get used to it first." Phantom continues to laugh. The thought of being better than he was, after all these vorn of being him, is rather disconcerting. But, in true command fassion, he keeps a strong face for his troops. Calming himself down for a moment, fighting against the pure panic that is coursing through is circuits, he stops laughing. "Thank you again, Silentlight. I will do my best to get used to things." Silentlight says, "It will take some time, but you should adapt faster than most." Phantom nods, then takes up his most official tone, "Silentlight, request permission to leave the med bay." Silentlight says, "On one condition, we first test your new systems for errors." Phantom nods, "As you wish." Silentlight says, "Follow me."" Silentlight enters the Outside <-O- Out>. Silentlight has left. You enter the Outside. Outside Ruined Outpost Where once stood a pyramid, war-torn and marked with the age old emblems of factions still engaged in combat now stands a large crater. Deep and lined with the shattered and melted remnants of the outpost, it serves as a reminder the destruction and desolation that the ongoing war leaves behind. scarring the very planet itself with wounds too deep to cover. To the south the spires of Crystal City reach to the sky, a bastion of guarded neutrality. To the west, a deep gouge weaves across the surface, the trench continues its march westward, a definite border marking Decepticon territory. To the east several ground routes cross, a guarded point marking the beginning of Autobot territory. Silentlight [Emergency Hover-Transport] [A] Cargo Skimmer Autobot Border Outpost Obvious exits: -W- West leads to Deadlands. -U- Up leads to Sky above Ruined Outpost. -E- East leads to Crossroads. Elita One has arrived. "Initiate Stealth Mode." is emitted from the Hover Transport. Hyperdrive has arrived. Phantom mentally flips a switch and his systems seemingly turn themselves off. He is still visible, but invisible to radar and audios. Now the words "Transform" are emitted from the Transport The Hover Transport stops and transforms into the black and red robot known as SilentLight. Phantom looks around, "So, doc, do I pass the test?" Silentlight says, "It seems everything is operational, but if you have any problems, just contact me." Hyperdrive grins at silent, "I'll keep an optic on him....." Phantom nods, "Will do." He rubs his hands together and looks to Elita, "Lieutenant Phantom reporting for duty, ma'am." Silentlight nods in affirmation to Hyperdrive. Elita One returns his salute. "Good to have you back in operation." Phantom nods, "Thank you ma'am...Elita." He sends her a look that says he knows something. Silentlight turns to Elita and says, "I'll be in the lab" ***What's next? Only Primus knows that for sure.***