Fleet steps in and walks briskly to the control unit, feet barely taking the time to touch the floor before they're in motion again. The seeker scans the room as he walks, searching, as usual, to see if someone intends to attack him. He reaches the control console and looks down at it before his crimson optics flash in surprise. Hmmm. This thing has received an upgrade...
Scrapper has heard about this 'upgrade' that the drone has got. Supposedly, it can reach gestalt level power. He has his doubts. Anything can be big and hurt a lot when it hits, but no drone can match the mishmash of minds that makes a true gestalt. At any rate, Scrapper's curious if dubious, and he'd like to see what the thing can do.
Astrotrain isn't here to check up the new upgrades. He's here to stretch his limbs, and get a bit of a workout. He's still feeling puffed up after the whole fight with Rodimus. Sure it was 4 on 1, but he came away without a scratch! That's something to brag about.
And Astrotrain is just the one to brag about such things.
Training Drone comes alive with glittering lights as various weapons arm themselves. "Skill level set to gestalt. Prepare for combat."
Compile arrives from the IHQ Troop Hall to the south.
Compile has arrived.
"Gestalt level?" Fleet asks, a bit dubiously. He looks around at the others present and then snorts softly. "Dare I try it?" Then he pauses and shrugs. "What the hell. Better to take one on in here than outside, right?"
-- Compile walks in and loosk aorund, "So, the drone has a new abilitie." he states. "This will be fun.
Astrotrain adjusts his rifle, giving a glance towards Fleet, then towards the....drone, as it starts to shift and grow to some image that probably represents Defensor. Or is it Superion? Really, when it comes to the gestalts, other than their colors, he dosen't really keep track of them, they just always look -big-. "What the f...." he begins, just staring up, before glaring towards Fleet like he's a few transistors short.
Scrapper is in here to see this mysterious gestalt level, so it's fine by him if the pastel Seeker wants to play with the gestalt level. Here, they can all go home without severed limbs, no matter how brutally they get torn limb from limb. Isn't that a cheering thought! Scrapper glances to the others, "Shall we all play?"
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Fleet chuckles as he hits another two buttons, setting the environment to resemble Magnaron East. Why not? It's where a lot of the fights have been lately. "I certainly can't take the thing on myself." And with that he leaps up and over the console, kicking off the console itself with his left foot as he goes over it. Once he's reached a good height he flies past it, firing his shoulder mounted weaponry as he goes.
Fleet strikes Training Drone with Shoulder-Mounted Laser Rifle <Pulse Mode>.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone misses Fleet with its G_Cannon attack.
Training Drone has been frozen.
Scrapper looks up at the drone. Well, it certainly does 'big' well, at the very least. Boy, does it do big. Scrapper decides that maybe he'll just stay back a bit, take a quick potshot, and leave the heroics to others for the time being. Virtual pain still hurts, after all.
You strike Training Drone with Constructive criticism through superior firepower.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
-- Compile nods, "Lets." and he looks, "Hey A-Train, give em a A-Train Special." he states as he stands and looks at the huge thing, and he is technically an ant compred to it. And not just any ant, but a tiny red fire ant. And this ant cna get under the skin of all Transformers, and well, this is going to be a good example of no matter how big something is, the fall will be much bigger. So, he runs over the the thing as it fires on Fleet with the big ass G Cannon. "Damn Fleet, you would have been spare parts if tht would have hit." he says as he fires a cable out of his arm and attachs it to the leg of the gestalt, and begins to climb the leg. As he goes up, his other arm alters and controts into a Rocket Launcher and then he fires ont he Gestalt drone, while standing on it's leg.
Compile strikes Training Drone with Mini Tape Rockets (HE).
Training Drone emits, "5 points of damage done."
"What the frag do ya expect us to do with it?" Astrotrain's response comes a moment later as he just glares...up at the thing for the longest moment. "We need a bigger fraggin gun!" As the thing fires it's cannons at Fleet, he shields his optics, before grumbling and raising his rifle towards the form, unleashing a low yield blast, as if to test the waters for the moment.
Astrotrain strikes Training Drone with Ion Rifle <Medium>.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
The tape did the most damage. How very sad.
Dronimus doesn't even seem to notice the attacks made by any of the participants, nor the rocket wielding tape that is climbing his leg. So why does it fire at Fleet? Because of all the foes, Fleet is the one flitting about in the sky, and thus the flashiest target presented. The drone raises his massive gun and pulls the trigger. And is that a faint smile on its faceplate?
Not that it matters, because Fleet easily manages to twist out of the way of the poorly aimed blast. The pastel wonder doesn't even bother to hide his sigh of relief as he continues to dart around, this time moving closer to the head to aim for an optic. "Hopefully that's an indicator to how it aims the rest of the time," he observes before firing again.
Fleet strikes Training Drone with Shoulder-Mounted Laser Rifle.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Astrotrain sighs a moment later and takes to the air in a roar of thrusters, adjusting the setting on his rifle. He barely even scratched it, didn't even do that much. And that was on his medium setting. "Razzin frazzin..." he can be heard muttering, before suddenly lunging to one side, aiming for the thing's 'face' and firing off a high yield blast that kicks his arm back with the recoil.
Astrotrain strikes Training Drone with Ion Rifle : <Full>.
Training Drone emits, "4 points of damage done."
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
-- Compile looks as the thing ignores him, and then he just moves around to behind the knee joint. He looks and then begins to work on the knee, by firing a laser at it.
Compile strikes Training Drone with Tape Gamma Laser.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone misses Compile with its G_Punch attack.
Training Drone has been frozen.
Scrapper notes that this thing, thus far, seems to have massive endurance and underwhelming aim of most gestalts. Or maybe Fleet is just hard to hit. It could be that. No reason to, say, run up and kick the gestalt. Scrapper grips his gun, sighs, and looses a shot once more. Despite using a far higher setting on the gun, he doesn't expect it to do much.
You strike Training Drone with Devastating blast.
Training Drone emits, "6 points of damage done."
Dronimus continues to not be expressive as it continues to shrug off the attacks. Amazingly, it actually manages to seem dumber than a real gestalt, if that's at all possible. Scrapper and Astrotrain both manage to hit the behemoth for almost noticeable amounts of damage, but for some reason it decides to concentrate on the flea - er, sorry, ant - that is on the back of its knee. The monster bends its leg as it reaches downward, making a futile wild swing in the direction of Compile.
Astrotrain continues to fly for the moment, floating around the huge frame of the gestalt-drone in circular patterns, up until he comes to a halt behind it. "Well, that sorta did a little better..." he comments, noting just how -much- of the thing there is to still go through, even as he lunges up straight at the thing's back and lashes out with a large foot at the back of its head...or shoulders.
Astrotrain strikes Training Drone with Blow.
Training Drone emits, "3 points of damage done."
Fleet dodged last time and got ignored this time. This makes for a happy Seeker, yes indeedy! Fleet, not an ant and not a flea, but more like a gnat, continues to dart around mega-drone's head. This time he flies behind the thing and his weapon 'clicks' before he fires, indicating a switch over to solid ammunition. "Our only hope, really, is to run this thing out of energon!" he shouts. "Or maybe trip it up?"
Fleet strikes Training Drone with Rail Gun.
Training Drone emits, "3 points of damage done."
+gtalk Hrm. Would it be twinky to use special?
-- Compile sees the hand and he jumps and pushing off, swings a la Spider-Man like around the leg and begins to wind in the cable into his arm. As he moves up farther, the others fire on it and Compile moves and then begins to climb up to the back of the drones neck area. As he gets there, he smiles as he mags locks himself to the area and his arms alter as he sends the pile drivers to the things neck. "Knock Knock." he emits.
Compile strikes Training Drone with Tape Supersonice Pile-Drivers.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Scrapper is going to continue with his plan of standing back at a distance and shooting at the gestalt. It may not be the most effective, but this far, the drone has also ignored Scrapper, and unlike some people, he doesn't have an irrational need for negative attention, especially if it involves his mechentrails being smeared across the floor. So he goes for another laser potshot!
You strike Training Drone with Mixing it up with a Masterful shot.
Training Drone emits, "3 points of damage done."
Training Drone strikes you with G_Kick for 9 points of damage.
Training Drone has been frozen.
Scrapper may not want to run up and kick Droniumus, but Dronimus wants to run up and kick Scrapper! As if taking a page out of the mecha-soccer championships, it strides forward, ponderous steps shaking the simulated environment. Then, before the Constructicon can boldly run away, it strikes. Goal!
Astrotrain winces slightly as the drone proceeds to smash someone, until he realizes it was a Constructicon. "Haw!" he suddenly exclaims, even pointing for good measure, floating back and behind the gestalt still as he amps up his power reading again. "How's it -feel- little green man!?" At this, he levels his rifle at the back of the thing once more, unleashing a low yield blast a moment later, just to help buy some time for powering up again.
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Astrotrain strikes Training Drone with Ion Rifle <Low>.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone has been frozen.
Ouch! That looks like it hurt! Oh, well. At least it wasn't Fleet getting hit! The seeker turns on his thrusters to give himself a little altitude before bending forward at the waist, arms up, and going from climbing to an angled dive. As he dives he transforms and, once he's at the right distance, he unleashes his rockets before veering away.
Pyramid Jet (Fleet) strikes Training Drone with Rocket.
Training Drone emits, "5 points of damage done."
Scrapper is knocked into a wall by the kick, smashing the canopy on his back and bending his shovel. Scrapper slumps to the floor. Well, at least it didn't get his purple wing. He narrows his optic band, and fiddles with the settings on his gun. Well, if his accuracy holds out, this ought to give that big doofus some pause. Scrapper stands, green pieces (not Green Peace!), falling from his frame, and he snaps off his shot.
You successfully strike Training Drone, who is now temporarily incapacitated.
Astrotrain's luck runs out in short order as the gestalt turns and literally swats him out of the air. Or rather -up- into the air, crashing against the ceiling and entering freefall for those few seconds before he gets himself righted again, wincing as he holds his chest. "....ow..."
Another one swatted. Fleet would grimace, but he has no face. The Seeker transforms as he rises to correct this deficiency, and when his face can be seen one can see he's rather concerned now. Those attacks look like they HURT. "Well, if this is what fighting one of these things is like, remind me to avoid them on the real battlefield..." he mutters as he flies at Dronimus again, fists in front of him to attempt a rather foolish fly-by punch.
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Fleet strikes Training Drone with Fleet Fist.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone strikes Fleet with G_Cannon.
Fleet falls to the ground unconscious.
Training Drone hovers over to Fleet and revives him with a quick zap of energy. "You require additional training to defeat this unit at this skill level."
Compile has disconnected.
Training Drone has been frozen.
Astrotrain continues to descend, until he lands with a harsh *CLANK* of metal on metal. He glances up, just in time to watch as the seeker is...well, pretty much annihilated in short order. "This is ridiculous...." he mutters aloud, narrowing his optics, before abruptly transforming and slamming down on his eight wheels. Several chugs issue from his boiler as he gets himself warmed up, then begins to thunder forward, aiming right for the back of the gestalt's leg. He may not be able to dent it much but he'll sure as hell try to knock it over!
Astrotrain's body spins and expands outwards, shifting into the form of a large locomotive.
Locomotive strikes Training Drone with Locomotive Smash!.
Training Drone emits, "11 points of damage done."
Scrapper just stares for a moment as Fleet gets shot down. Slag, that had to hurt! Better the Seeker than Scrapper. Much better. Also, Astrotrain just rammed the gestalt. So maybe it is safe to run up and kick Dronimus back. So Scrapper tries exactly that, against his better judgement. Well, his gun needs a rest. Maybe he should look into adding some more settings to it.
You strike Training Drone with Kicking the enemy to Scrap.
Training Drone emits, "2 points of damage done."
Eye-beams! No one warned Fleet that the drone had eye-beams!
The seeker's punch to the face is rewarded with said eyebeams, which knock him out of the sky and unconscious all in one go. Good going, Fleet! And does the behemoth actually take a moment to gloat? So it would seem. The gloating is quickly cut short, however, when a locomotive slams into its right foot, knocking the monstrosity off-balance. As it lies there, Scrapper runs up and kicks it, leaving a dent that the thing probably doesn't even notice.
Locomotive continues to thunder past as he quite literally smashes the gestalt's foot out from under it. Even with the thunderous roar of its impact onto the ground, he chugs around in place, until he's facing the behemoth again. "Haw haw haw!" his voice rolls out then, apparently uncaring for Fleet's situation, even as he unleashes a thick blast from the end of his boiler at the downed giant. "Not lookin so tough now eh? EH!?"
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Locomotive strikes Training Drone with Ion Burst: <High Power>.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone misses Locomotive with its G_Crush attack.
Training Drone has been frozen.
Scrapper quickly backs away, despite the fact that he has not been righteously smitten because of his kick. He'd like to keep the situation at least at arm's reach. His sword will work neatly for that purpose, and so he withdraws the blade. Scrapper then slashes at the gestalt, no finesse to the strike.
You strike Training Drone with Instrument of Construction.
Training Drone emits, "5 points of damage done."
As if in answer to Astrotrain's taunts, Dronimus pulls itself into a seated position and looms over the triple-changer, taking no notice of the attacks as it pulls its hand back, palm flat, and slams its hand down at the spot where it judges Astrotrain to be. There is a deafening clash of metal on metal, but the attack misses, only the deep indention in the metal ground near the triple-changer there to provide any indication of just how much that would have hurt had it connected.
Locomotive slams into reverse as he sees the huge hand comes in towards him, giving a startled, choked sound in the process. The very impact launches him into the air, lifting him upwards before he transforms, blazing a path up and past the behemoth's head, unleashing a thick blast of power from his nosecone in the process to strike against the gestalt's frame.
Astrotrain's body spins and reconfigures until it swells out into the shape of a large, purple space shuttle.
Shuttle strikes Training Drone with Ion Blast: <High Power>.
Training Drone emits, "6 points of damage done."
freeze off
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Scrapper shakes his sword at the drone. Yeah, take that almost-scratch, you big brute! He reverses his grip on the pommel and aims to smack it right where the sword nicked its thick armour. Dronimus has been ignoring Scrapper since it kicked him, and so he feels somewhat safe now, but pride has a way of coming before a fall.
You strike Training Drone with Looking to Scavenge some Autoparts.
Training Drone emits, "4 points of damage done."
Training Drone strikes you with G_Blow for 23 points of damage.
Training Drone has been frozen.
Although the drone's face doesn't look angry, it roars anyway, a hollow roar with no real fury behind it. A simulation. Both Astrotrain and Scrapper's attacks hit true, and they even look like they did, well, more than a gnat's bite, anyway, although not much. This time, through some sort of decision-making process that appears more random than anything else, it chooses to pick on Scrapper. The thing stays seated as it balls up its fist before swinging it towards the Constructicon, a pendulum approaching with the inevitability of time.
Shuttle continues to gain height after the strafing run, before looping back again, watching as Scrapper gets nailed again. To his credit, he's no longer making fun of the constructicon. He's more or less paying attention to his suddenly very dwindled energon supply. "This is crazy." He complains audibly, deciding what to do next. "I mean, I can keep -ahead- of it but I'm gonna run myself empty before we can even drop it! Sheesh, it's like I'd need to stop in the middle of a fight just to top up again!" Complaints aside, he transforms, again...in mid-air. He descends then, like a rock...a giant train-shaped bullet aimed right for the behemoth's face.
Astrotrain's body spins and expands outwards, shifting into the form of a large locomotive.
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Locomotive strikes Training Drone with Locomotive Smash!.
Training Drone emits, "15 points of damage done."
Training Drone has been frozen.
Scrapper is muchly owied. Pride does indeed come before or a fall... or being smushed into the floor. Oh, that smarts. That smarts indeed. Heedless of Astrotrain's fate because life hurts too much at the moment to care about such irrelevant details, Scrapper folds over into his payloader mode, raises up his shovel, and tries to smack Dronimus one.
In a simple, utilitarian transformation, Scrapper becomes a payloader. His lower legs fold over his thighs. His arms tuck along his sides. His head retracts into his body, and his shovel folds down into place.
You strike Training Drone with slap.
Training Drone emits, "4 points of damage done."
Alerted by the noise of an incoming train, Dronimus looks up just in time to have a locomotive smash into its face, breaking its nose and distorting the rest of its faceplate. The mock-moster emits another programmed growl and reaches up, grabbing hold of the annoyance as it works to get itself standing again. Once on its feet the drone throws Astrotrain, hard, towards the ground, ignoring the pathetic attack of the Constructicon as it does.
Locomotive bounces...yes, bounces off of the ground, two of his wheels flying off in the process. Though he transforms on the second bounce at least, landing with an audible, "Hnf!" as he crashes to the ground. "...yeeech...I'm...runnin on...empty." he mutters, slowly, and very painfully getting to his feet. There's no more power left in his rifle, so he just simply throws it at the gestalt.
Astrotrain's body shifts and spins as he stands upright into his robot form.
Astrotrain strikes Training Drone with Blow.
Training Drone emits, "9 points of damage done."
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Astrotrain strikes Training Drone with Punch.
Training Drone emits, "2 points of damage done."
Training Drone misses Astrotrain with its G_Blow attack.
Training Drone has been frozen.
Payloader (Scrapper) has to admit that he's happy that the Dronimus is again paying more attention to Astrotrain than it is to him, but he dare not hope that it will hold out too long. As such, he again lowers his shovel, hoping to push himself away from the drone so that he can get some space and transform.
You strike Training Drone with Power Shovel.
Training Drone emits, "5 points of damage done."
Somehow, through some quirk of programming, the drone manages a mindless smile on its broken face as it continues after the bouncie triple-changer, although not nearly fast enough to avoid Scrapper's shovel smackdown. As it nears Astrotrain it raises one huge foot as it attempts to stomp down on the other robot.
Astrotrain is, nevertheless a speedy object, hard for most to hit, and damnably fast, even to a gestalt. He leaps forward under the foot and crashes with a harsh impact, rolling in the process and slowly getting to his feet once more. Though he more or less gets to one knee, and proceeds to stab out with his blade at the back of the drone's knee, as if trying to wedge it in somewhere that it'd hurt. He's out of juice...literally.
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Astrotrain strikes Training Drone with Blade.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone misses Astrotrain with its G_Blow attack.
Training Drone has been frozen.
Payloader (Scrapper) transforms. Staying in payloader mode too long is a bit risky, after all. Payloaders aren't military grade machines and thus do not wear military grade armour. He's still too close for comfort, so he channels his unease into a punch. Ahh, the Punch of Uneasiness. Only comparable to the Kick of Slight Discomfort!
The payloader unfolds into robotic form. His lower legs rotate away, revealing his upper legs. His arms come out from his side. His shovel flips onto his back. Finally, his head emerges from his torso, completing the transformation.
You strike Training Drone with Left Hook.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
It seems that Scrapper and Astrotrain are out to pinprick the drone to death! And yes, Fleet did TOTALLY steal that from Astrotrain. Dronimus doesn't respond to the attacks although, truth be told, the continued attacks /are/ beginning to wear on it quite a bit. For its own reasons does continue to focus on Astrotrain, again leaning back to swat at an ant - no, Compile was the ant, Astrotrain is a, uhm... oh never mind. The drone just swats at him.
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
Astrotrain has barely enough juice left in his rifle for a mid-yield shot. But that's it. And all that's it. So he manages to scoop it up from where it landed, and turn it around at the ready, aiming up and...yes, between the gestalt's legs.
The irony of this? He did more damage by throwing the stupid thing than firing it off.
Astrotrain strikes Training Drone with Ion Rifle <Medium>.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone has been frozen.
Astrotrain quickly learns why it's a bad idea to stand UNDER a gestalt as he's squashed flat.
Scrapper just watches at Astrotrain is squished flat. After a moment, he winces sympathetically. To be truthful, he's probably wincing because he's thinking about how abysmal it would be to have to repair that mess, but we'll be charitable for a moment. Moment's up. The cowardly Constructicon scurries away from the gestalt and withdraws his gun once more. Maybe a low-powered shot will avoid drawing its programmed ire?
You strike Training Drone with Constructive criticism through superior firepower.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Dronimus squishes Astrotrain flat? Hey, that works for Dronimus. The pretend-gestalt continues to shake off the pinging of Scrapper and Astrotrain as it raises it's heavy foot, again bringing it down towards the triple-changer whose luck is bound to eventually run out...
Astrotrain is decidedly flattened a moment later. Yet somehow, by some miracle, he remains operational...barely. Crawling out of the hole in the ground which he was literally driven into, he raises one hand, which is hanging off by several threads. "...I quit!" he announces in short order.
Fleet is lying unconscious on the floor.
Scrapper is standing a decent distance away from the drone, and... he's the last mech in the fight? What a strange turn of events! Scrapper chuckles, despite himself. Not so much victory as a show of survival, but he'll take it. Looking pleased with himself, he moves to smack the drone one.
Training Drone has been unfrozen.
You strike Training Drone with Bonecrushing Smash.
Training Drone emits, "1 points of damage done."
Training Drone strikes you with G_Crush for 43 points of damage.
Your systems are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the damage.
Scrapper falls to the ground unconscious.
Training Drone hovers over to Scrapper and revives it with a quick zap of energy. "You require additional training to defeat this unit at this skill level."
Astrotrain still lays where he was, getting his breath back as he watches Scrapper show all that defiance to the drone, only to be crushed in short order. "...slagger had it coming." He mutters, before letting himself fall back with an audible *CLANK*. "I just ain't got enough juice to keep throwing that sorta firepower at it."
With the simulation over, the scene fades, the drone seems to move into semi-shut-down, and the injuries of those present vanish. Fleet sits up and shakes his head several times to clear it before pulling himself to his feet. "That /hurt/," he observes, a statement of the obvious.
Scrapper feels like Long Haul landed on him in dump truck mode. And then the rest of the Constructicons decided to jump on Scrapper's head for fun. And then poured acid all over his broken body. And then... one gets the idea. He pulls himself into a sitting position and shakes his head. Finally, he declares, "My brothers and I have *got* to face that thing as Big Green."
Astrotrain grunts as he sits up slowly. His rifle is back beside him, and he picks it up, to check for any damage. There is none of course but well....he's paranoid when it comes to his weapons. He hears Scrapper's words, then grunts. "Great, s'hard enough to get some rest around here...now every team's gonna wanna take a turn at that thing. The whole freakin base is gonna be rumbling worse than a landquake."
Fleet walks over to the controls to see how they ('they' in this case being Astrotrain and Scrapper, since Fleet did almost nothing of note himself) did against the drone. He nods his head once in response to Astrotrain's comment. "Maybe I should request quartering in Polyhex. It's close enough for a commute, after all."
"Ah-ah-ah," Scrapper says slowly and dismissively, ideas forming. He declares, "We'll just soundproof this place... and vibration-proof it, too! It'll be a fun project." By 'fun project', Scrapper of course means 'lots of unneeded work'. Astrotrain and Fleet are just lucky they aren't green.
Astrotrain can apparently detect the air of 'mad builder' starting to form around Scrapper, even as he gets to his feet. "Uh huh...well, you have fun with that. And if anyone wants to rumble with this thing again..." he points to the inert drone. "...let's get a few more mechs rounded up, so there's more targets ot be picked on, huh?" With that, he's already starting to move towards the door to head on his way out. Evidently, he's done.
Astrotrain moves south to the IHQ Troop Hall.
Astrotrain has left.
Fleet nods after Astrotrain leaves. "That sounds like a good idea to me. But I, for one, have had enough with getting myself beaten senseless. Good cycle, Scrapper." He inclines his head politely towards the Constructicon before turning and heading out the door, walk just shy of a dance.
Fleet moves south to the IHQ Troop Hall.
Fleet has left.