"OC Episode #2"

[Wintersong]

"Just look outside, I'm just one bound away from the Axalon." Wintersong replied over the com-link, glad to hear some were awake. Flicking her tail she gazed up at the ship looking at how it had become stuck as she awaited for Ocariner to reply and was now curious of the mining mission. She could only guess they might be going out to an energon deposit of some sort. either way she was itching to do something for once and thought coming to the Maximals for a little while might prove to do something, and it seemed her timing had been right.

[Alak]

Orcariner replied, "Copy that. We definitely have room and could use the help if you're willing. As of now it's just a mining assignment, but there are chances that we may have some Predacon interference. Hope that doesn't deter you. Over."

Looking back at his briefing, the Maximal scrolled down towards where team data was listed. Unfortunately, all that was said was "Any available" for the team members. With Wintersong, they would have four members total, but considering the average Predacon strike force it was still relatively small.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Holy cow! On the second page already. Am catching up! Christmas kind of delayed me. I'm going to fill in for some canons; not sure if LJ will be around for Rattrap. ))

Rattrap had appeared in the control room right when Cheetor jumped out of his chair. As it slid backwards on its track, the maximized rat casually set one of his feet on the track on the floor which stopped the chair from moving back any further. And in the next instant, the spotted feline was gone. "Easy, Flash," Rattrap muttered outloud to himself while he pushed the chair back up to its station. Sitting down, he started flicking through the different cameras that fed into the monitor.

"Any Maximals alive in there?"

"Orcariner here," "We're just waiting for the team to get together for the mining mission. How far off are you?"

The rat quietly observed the video feed and the audio communications. He made notes on people's whereabouts and glanced over his shoulder at the holographic map behind him on the main round console that sat in the center of the room. The map was of the location of a huge energon deposit that was recently uncovered thanks to the minor meteor shower the night before. Unfortunately, it was located pretty much between both the Axalon and Darksyde bases, so it was very likely that the Predheads were going to make a run for the energon as well. Yeah, this is gonna go smoothly, he thought sarcastically.

"Just look outside, I'm just one bound away from the Axalon."

"Copy that. We definitely have room and could use the help if you're willing. As of now it's just a mining assignment, but there are chances that we may have some Predacon interference. Hope that doesn't deter you. Over."

Rattrap momentarily saw Wintersong in one of the external cameras before she disappeared out of its line of sight. He didn't have a good feeling about this day. It was extremely risky running after that much energon and probably battling over it. Remember the mountain? They barely made it out of there alive.

"You sure this is a good idea, Boss Monkey?" the rat asked when he heard the leader's footsteps enter the room.

"I never said it was a good idea," Optimus answered him as he walked up to the center console. "But the Predacons want that energon just as much as we do. We need to get there as quickly as possible to keep it out of their hands." He turned his head toward Rattrap and asked, "What would you rather us do? Not defend it and disappoint them?"

Looking over his shoulder again, the rat replied, "No. I say nobody gets any of it an' we just blow it sky high. Nobody gets the energon, nobody gets hurt, and we all stay home safe an' sound." He looked back at the monitor while Primal shook his head.

"Is Orcariner ready to move out?" inquired the Maximal leader.

"Almost, me thinks." Rattrap answered. "Cheetor and Wintersong are headin' to the hangar right now. And Saber ran off on 'er own; don't know what she's up to. She didn't bother to leave a note on the door for us," he joked. Opening a channel to Orcariner, Rattrap asked, "You guys ready to rock 'n roll or what?"

-----

The beauty of the meteor shower had intrigued Tigatron's curiosity despite how far away he was from it. In his beast mode, he had traveled a long way on foot to get near the proximity of where many of the burned up space debris had landed. It was daylight now and only a few spots were left smoldering from where he could see. "There are many mysteries about this planet," he said to himself. The white tiger continued to walk toward the area with caution. He couldn't yet see what laid beyond the higher obstacales in his way. It was peaceful, though. This was the first time he wandered so far away from the arctic terrain he was used to. Here it was sunny, green and warm. It was pleasant. He had left his friend, Snowstalker, back in the frozen land where she would be safe. After all, who knew what unknown could harm her here.

[Wintersong]

A mining mission huh, so there was something going on. Vaguely the tigeress wondered if it had anything to do with the meteor shower from last night, which she thought had been one of the most beautiful displays on this planet. Shrugging her shoulders she walked towards the ship yet still was wary of the other Maximals when she was approaching the hanger with the feeling of not belonging to this team. Pushing back the doubt she peeked around the corner surprised to find the vehicle inside, "Nice terrain vehicle, that'll get you around pretty quick." She observed finally coming into the hanger.

[Blazemane]

"You got that right," Cheetor said after Icebreaker's comment. Then he turned to the Nomad. He had seen it before, but only when once when it was still being constructed, with all sorts of exposed circuitry and a frame you could look through at some parts. Now it looked amazing.

"So this is what you guys have been working on?" he asked in astonishment. "This is ultra gear."

* * *

Glowstick didn't get through either?

"Oh, o.k., so it isn't just me," Steelclaw remarked. He wondered if it was even worth knowing what went in on Sonar's lair.

"Yeah, I probably should test those guns out. If you're sure you don't want any more help getting people together..." he said, trailing off and turning around to get to the hangar.

((OOC: Sorry, Night Hunter. Steelclaw- and I'm not saying this jokingly like I had been earlier- wouldn't disobey Megatron on an order like this, so he'll be going with the ship. But if Saber comes on the energon collecting mission with the Maximals, I'm sure they'd have enough opportunity to meet with each other. ))

[Night-Hunter]

Sonar placed the syringe in a bucket. "It should take affect on your way back to the Maximal base. And like I said, try to avoid getting into fights."

"Worried about my safety?" She said with a smirk.

"No, I could careless if you got the slag beaten out of you, I do how ever if you got yourself killed. For if that happened, coming to this blasted planet would have been for nothing." Sonar replied.

Saber didn't say anything more then transformed into her beast mode and headed toward the entrance of the lair.

"That will last for at least six weeks, but the side effect will only last eight hours. So, I'll see you in six weeks for another injection, until then we are enemies." Sonar said, turning his gaze back to his computer.

She nodded then left the lair.

* * *

Saber was almost a mile from Sonar's lair when the side effect took place, she felt like she had been running without stopping for a week and felt like she had taken on an entire Pred fleet. She was sure that some one had been on Monitor Duty when she left, just to be sure she would have to come up with a story for why she was gone. She deactivated her singal and COM link dampener, so that she showed up on the Monintors on the Maximal ship, she slowed down when the Axalon came into view.

Here we go. She thought, as she walked toward the lift and into the Maximal ship.

((OOC: Sorry, Night Hunter. Steelclaw- and I'm not saying this jokingly like I had been earlier- wouldn't disobey Megatron on an order like this, so he'll be going with the ship. But if Saber comes on the energon collecting mission with the Maximals, I'm sure they'd have enough opportunity to meet with each other. ))

((OOC: That's alright, once Saber is done being chewed out by Rattrap or Optimus or who ever she runs into, she's coming with the Maximals.))

[starshadow]

Few cycles later after she was done eating, Starshadow was running to the Darksyde.

Seriously, everytime when I was about to relax, something pops up. Sheesh... she thought with a low growl while jumping over the large rocks.

She rushed inside the base to the hanger and jumped in mid air, transforming into her robot mode. "Am I...late?" she smiled seductively as she landed on her feet.

[NaitoKage]

Glowstick floated into the hanger with Steelclaw and Snowtrix, with Moonshine soon catching up.He looked towards Steelclaw for a moment Hm? Well who else did you have in mind for this sorta thing? I heard in the hall Megatron requesting Scorponok and Tarantulus to come with us. We can start testing the guns outside while they get here to save time.
He glanced towards StarShadow as he set his paintgun down with a raised eye ridge Not really..Why are you covered in blood and smell like you've been rolling around with a dead carcass?..Er..Nevermind, just don't make a mess in the ship or else I'll make you swab the deck.

Glowstick then looked up towards the Leviathan. Compared to it's previous form it was now twice the size with a aerodynamic egg like shape with two thick stubby miniature winglets on the lower front sides, the rear of the craft having two large tentacle like structures protruding from the back folded along some metal. Near the front was a small automated heavy machine gun turret, while near a more flatter back was the massive dual barreled quasar turret. The craft seemed more combat focused then before, though showed a strange two tone blue paint job with a lighter coating along the bottom and a dark coating along the top. The sides of the craft showing the Predacon insignia, but much like pinup art of a WW2 plane of earth showed the image of a fembot with a serpent like monster in front of the Predacon insignia using it like a background of sort.

Glowstick then spoke up Glowstick,terrorize! he stated transforming to his robot mode floating in the air still, he landed with a soft moist squish like noise as he walked towards the transport, then slided open a panel on the side entering the passcode. Moments later the front of the ship slid forward, then raised up revealing it to be a heavily armored door. A ramp lowered and slid out as Glowstick walked towards some cart like boxes in the room, he then lifted a large device and loaded it inside one of the carts, then pushed the carts towards the ship.

[Wintersong]

Snow Trix stepped into the hanger looking at the vehicle that had been modified by quite a bit since she last saw it, "Wow, the piece of junk actually looks like it will last a while." She remarked, flicking her tail. She'd never admit that the craft actually looked pretty impressive and battle worthy then when they had first come to the planet, it might even prove to last against the Maximals if they ran into a fight.

[Alak]

Receiving Rattrap's message, Orcariner replied, "Just about. Nomad is fueled up and fully mission capable at this point. The only things we will have to worry about are unforeseen complications that don't show up in the simulation runs. Other than that, she's ready to roll out."

The Maximal made a quick head count around the room.

"Thus far," he continued, "We have myself, Cheetor, Icebreaker, and Wintersong. The sheer concentration of the energon field will force us to take turns. Cheetor and Wintersong can alternate operating the drill while Icebreaker and I can mine separately on different shifts. If we can get more team members, it would be appreciated so that we can have more workers as well as escorts to protect them from any ambush attempts. I understand that you yourself were considered a great miner back on Cybertron, Rattrap."

Despite his wishes for Cheetor and Icebreaker to hold active roles as scouts and escorts, having a four member team would limit their possibilities. Those who were able to work in their beast modes would provide an exceptional advantage. It was one that Orcariner was unfortunate enough not to have.


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Scorponok gunned the hoverboard as he proceeded towards the hanger bay. He saw the massive remodeled version of the Leviathan as well as Glowstick standing below observing it. Snowtrix and Starshadow were also nearby and the latter appeared to be drenched in the blood of an animal.

"Megatron has commanded my presence!" exclaimed the descending Predacon.

He stepped off the hoverboard and observed the immensity of the craft.

[New Moon]

Frilla arrived shortly after Scorponok, looking over the new Levianth only keeping silent though as she looked towards the others. There were a few from the last mission and it seemed they would have an extra help from the scorpion transformer, though she had not yet learned everyone's name. "Wonder if the basic defenses will even be enough for this." She muttered as she looked at the craft again, not really convinced her program would be that effective.

---------------------------------

Fealnight stretched as she made her way to her door of her quarters and stepped out, looking around the ship briefly. It was something to get accustomed to but she was eager to help the Maximals and scrap a few Predheads if she could in the process. Walking off to the main bridge she was aware of two others finding Rattrap and Optimus Primal were already there, and it seemed something was already going on too. "What's going on?" She finally asked curiously as she came over to the two.

[NaitoKage]

Glowstick pushed the carts inside of the transport, then stepped out speaking up It'd better last longer. It's not made of junk parts this time, I had to do a bit of mining just to get the materials for this thing.. but I will admit, the haul is 40 times thicker then when it first flew. She'll take even one of Scorponok's Mega missile barrages and still fly.. in theory anyway. Speaking of which.. Glowstick turned looking to Scorponok and Frilla Excellent. So the majority of you are here. I guess I'll begin explaining. Essentially, Megatron has ordered us on a mining mission in the Gamma sector.

A large deposit of energon has been uncovered due to last night's meteor shower, and we've been tasked with recovering it. However.. since the Maximals are about equal distance, it's likely we're going to be having trouble with them. So in all likely hood, we're probably going to split up into two teams. One will be working on the mining effort, the other acting either as a defense or recon squad against the Maximal forces.

As Scorponok has the best firepower and Recon capabilities,.. not to mention higher rank. I believe he should be leading the Defense team. However do keep in mind that this is a energon radiated zone, your transformation times will be limited worse then usual,even worse stray firepower into any of the energon can cause a chain reaction which while having the benefit of killing the maximals, will also likely take us all with it. That is not a option, even has glorious as some may find that.

Now are there any questions or disputes with this? Glowstick then looked around the room for a moment, then walked towards a few more carts, starting to push them into the cargobay of the Leviathan.


____________________________________

Rhinox turned in his seat rubbing his chin pondering the situation. Hmm.. This is problematic..Other then Icebreaker, none of them can really operate the mining machine in their beast forms. And I don't trust Icebreaker not to screw up.. Maybe one of you two should join them? he then looked towards Optimus and Rattrap.

Rhinox looked towards Feralnight A energon deposit of great size has been discovered, we're sending out the Nomad to collect and counter the Predacons Feralnight

________________________

Icebreaker nodded in confirmation with Ocariner. Fine by me man. I guess you and I will try to keep a look out for Pred signatures? Or is Cheetor and Wintersong going to alternate radar duty on the Nomad? he then stated.

[starshadow]

A mining mission? Sounds a little boring to the catbot. "Rrr..How about sending someone to reduce the amount of energon mined by the maximals?" Starshadow suggested as she climbed on the Leviathan like a cat.

"Okay...here's my plan. Snowtrix and Frilla will be in Scorponok's team. Glowstick, you, Steelclaw and Tarantulas will do the mining while I wreck their equipment and reduce the amount of energon they've mined." she sat on the transport, waiting for an answer.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Oh, suddenly Rhinox is there as well. Does anyone want to play Dinobot? ))

"Just about. Nomad is fueled up and fully mission capable at this point. The only things we will have to worry about are unforeseen complications that don't show up in the simulation runs. Other than that, she's ready to roll out."

Rattrap silently raised his hands in the air and wiggled them as if to say, "Hallelujah!" Primal simply shook his head at his sarcastic gesture.

"Thus far," "We have myself, Cheetor, Icebreaker, and Wintersong. The sheer concentration of the energon field will force us to take turns. Cheetor and Wintersong can alternate operating the drill while Icebreaker and I can mine separately on different shifts. If we can get more team members, it would be appreciated so that we can have more workers as well as escorts to protect them from any ambush attempts. I understand that you yourself were considered a great miner back on Cybertron, Rattrap."

After lowering his arms, the rat slouched in the seat like a turtle who wanted to hide in its shell. "I don't know what you're talkin' about," Rattrap denied.

Hmm.. This is problematic..Other then Icebreaker, none of them can really operate the mining machine in their beast forms. And I don't trust Icebreaker not to screw up.. Maybe one of you two should join them?

Primal nodded to the rhinoceros and said, "It already crossed my mind." With all of that unstable energon, they would have to be confined to their beast modes most of the time. Those, like Optimus, who had hands and fingers and were able to grip things in their beast forms would be very useful for this mission.

"Didn't cross mine," Rattrap lied in a mutter. So it was inevitable. He'd be doomed to join the mining mission after all. What a drag.

"What's going on?"

Optimus turned to see Feralnight but it was Rhinox who answered her.

A energon deposit of great size has been discovered, we're sending out the Nomad to collect and counter the Predacons Feralnight

"Feralnight, you're with us," ordered Optimus. Then he opened a comm. link to the Nomad team, and said, "Feralnight, Rattrap and myself are on our way, Orcariner."

Looking to Rhinox, Primal told him, "See if you can establish Saber-Fang's location or any communication with her. I want her back here at the base with you and Dinobot." There was irritation in his voice about the matter. Why a few Maximals always ran off and vanished for days without telling him where they were going and what they were doing was beginning to take its toll on him. He understood Tigatron's reasons, the only one who gave him an understanding, but Wintersong and Saber-Fang never offered any. Did they not realize how dangerous this planet was? How dangerous it would be if they were ambushed by Predacons and had no way to communicate with another Maximal for help? They were Primal's responsibility.

"Let's go," the Maximal leader ordered Rattrap and Feralnight as he turned around and headed to the hangar.

With a long and loud sigh, the rat in robot mode got off of the chair and followed after the ape, casually glancing at Feral as he walked past her.

[New Moon]

Feralnight looked excited hearing that but she held her tongue in offering to go. Unless Primal said it was fine she would not offer it unless they needed more extra hands in which she was glad to hear Optimus order her to come along. "Great! Besides we might need the aerial support or recon if we get there before the Predacons." She remarked and followed after them though tried to keep her eagerness down the best she could. Ever since the last mission she wanted to get some revenge on the scrap heaps for nearly risking her comrades lives and for losing one to them. It really got under her armor.

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"Less you all want to keep your afts here on this planet and make it back to Cybertron in one piece instead of many I'd advise not to be too eager on energy weapons as Glowstick said. Do that we might as well prepare for a one way trip to oblivion." Frilla muttered. But she didn't like the idea of being on the defense force since she really didn't have much use in battle but if she had to there was no choice.