(( OOC: Yay! They're coming back!
at New Moon. I can just imagine Frilla running quickly on her hind legs like that. Funny, but cute!
))
"I know Optimus and it's more of the thought of being dead the same as Nightmist that day is what bothers me. It was a bit foolish on my part to charge head long at Glowstick without thinking."
That bothered Optimus as well but Wintersong hadn't been alone during her confrontation with the Predacon squid. Nightmist was with Nemesis. And that had cost her her life.
"Well," he began,
"you are still with us now, and I'm grateful that I didn't lose two friends that day." Losing one was horrible enough; he wasn't sure if he could handle losing two in one day. And he was grateful for Glowstick's mercy, although it never would've had to be that way if the Predacons weren't so ruthless in the first place.
"I understand you and some others hate to be trapped inside or around the base and would rather be roaming the planet, but all I ask is that you check in when you're supposed to. It's dangerous out there," he said softly, looking at Wintersong,
"And I don't want another repeat of the day Nightmist was killed." Honestly, Optimus didn't think he was asking for too much, especially considering after what happened with their aerial medic. He couldn't keep them cooped up in the
Axalon, and they had a right to explore the planet; that
was their original mission after all, but he couldn't bear to lose another comrade, another friend. It was a simple rule: Check in before you go out, and check in while you're out and about, especially if you run into trouble.
"Sentinel, activate external lights," the commander ordered. No need to keep struggling in the darkness.
"Acknowledged." Several bright spotlights mounted on the
Axalon illuminated the ground and surrounding area so everyone could see everyone else as well as the destruction and debris from the storage faclility.
"We're doing alright Opimus, heading back right now and shouldn't be much longer." "And to give a brief summary we ran into Glowstick, Sonar, and Starshadow on the Levianthan but we didn't have any luck retrieving the ship nor the pilot. Turns out it's someone Starshadow knows and we had a bit of confrontation. But also we were wondering if Rhinox is back by any chance."
Someone Starshadow knows? Interesting, of all Predacons. While it was unfortunate that they couldn't stop the Preds and that they gained another ship
and another member, at least his Maximals were all safe. These days that was all Primal wanted to hear. Succeeding and failing would come and go in these missions, but to return to the base alive was the most he could ask for.
"That news is well enough for me," Optimus responded to Feralnight in a neutral tone.
"Rhinox?" he repeated her, and just as he glanced around in the darkness beyond what the spotlights covered, his audio sensors picked up repeatitive thuds on the ground heading their way, and he noticed Whitegrazer galloping into the proximity with Cheetor and Orcariner close behind.
Thank Primus. "His team is returning as we speak. Shall I have him contact you as soon as he arrives?"
"Optimus? What happened?"
Despite the mess around them, Optimus smiled to Whitagrazer and Cheetor when they approached, happy to see them return. It faded away at the equine's inquiry, and he sighed lightly.
"Nemesis happened," was all he said at the moment, putting out the last fire before dropping the now empty extinghisher. Wintersong, Frilla and Optimus were still showing battle damage even if some of it had been repaired internally; meaning they had had a rough day. Even though they had returned to base, they still hadn't had time for repairs in the CR chambers. Primal looked at Whitegrazer and Cheetor with his only good optic sensor, the other one just barely lit now with it covered in a few cracks, and that whole side of his face nearly looked smashed with the dents and scratches as if a brick had made brief but fast contact with it. The odor of fuel still smelled strongly on the leader, and it had begun to stain and etch his external metal armor as it dried. His team did not have a good day, to say the least, and since it sounded like Rattrap's didn't either, he was really,
really hoping for some good news from the horse, cheetah, and Orcariner who soon followed.
"The pod is Nightmist's Optimus but it's intact and there doesn't seem any damage besides being slightly scorched."
That was somewhat good news. Not so good that her body may have been exposed, but good that that's where her freezer had ended up and they could move on with her from there.
"No damage?" he asked Frilla, turning his attention to her.
"Hm. We'll have to wait for Rhinox to return and examine it before we try to move her and contain her body again. Thank you, Frilla."
"Woh... the storage facility... it's totally slagged."
"We have a storage facility?"
"We used to," Optimus corrected the orca.
"Please tell me all of you have returned with good news," the gorilla in robot mode pleaded while his gaze fell on the group. A little doubt started creeping up on him when he didn't see Rhinox yet, nor the new Maximal from the pod they raced to get. However, Whitegrazer, Cheetor and Orcariner did appear to be in good spirits, so he held on to the last bit of hope he had left for that day. Turned out their team had been successful after all! Upon hearing a falcon's screech, Optimus looked up and watched the large bird swoop in and land beside him.
"Maximize!" "I"m Airazor. I hear this is where the good guys live. May I join?"
The new Maximal! And she's a flier! Yes, Primal was pleasantly surprised. Finally something had gone right on this day for them, but little did he know how close it was to losing her before she even came on-line.
"Certainly. It's a pleasure to meet you, Airazor," the Maximal commander smiled and extended his hand to her. By this point, he didn't care what he looked like, but he did wish he could see from his crimpled eye. His perception was a little off without the combination of both working red optics. She looked fast and gave off a confident independence about herself.
"I'm Optimus. This is Wintersong and Frilla," he introduced her to them.
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