"More Than Meets The Eye: Part III"

[NaitoKage]

Megatron to Umbra, never mind the commotion from earlier, simply welcoming a new recruit to the fold, but I'll have to ask you to send Starshadow down here later to do a little cleanup duty in the lab, yyyeessss. In the mean time, have everyone report to the command center, I have introductions to make and important news to announce. There are to be some changes around here, yyyyessss. Megatron out."

Umbra came to a stop as he heard Megatron on the radio, he then headed to the command center and turned on the radio to broadcast on the remaining predacon signals. To all Predacons, report to the command center for introductions and important news.

Umbra then looked at Megatron, Deathroll, and Nemesis giving a nod.

"You tell Megatron what went down, it was YOUR command bug breath, and you lead us right smack into the middle of a big, steaming pile of slagging DEFEAT, and if you don't I WILL!"

"You will mind your tongue drone lest I burn it from your throat!"

Waspinator looked at the two arguing, then walked over to a CR tank tossing Quickstrike in like a bag of garbage. Bzzzz.. Least Antbot and Terrorsaur get to fly back to baze. Wazzzpinator had to walk back dragging two head'z body. Now if you excuze me, Wazzzpinator like to get wingzz back.. Waspinator walked towards the CR tank, only to be interrupted by hearing Umbra on the radio. Why Ninja hate wazzpinator? he said to himself, then walked to the command center.

Tarantulas started to crawl back towards the Predacon base Now what?! he said to himself rather annoyed at the prospect of Megatron wasting his time when he had scheming to do.

[una]

((OOC: Sorry for taking so long with writing BA's reply. ))

Y-yeah, I'd guess so.

Blackarachnia was going to have some fun with much of the Maximals' ignorance. She smirked.

Looks like they sheared at the joints, they aren't too different from how my own work.. so not a hard fix, though if they break again might need to make some new joints or run ya through the CR chamber.

Blackarachnia entered the hangar bay and sat on table. She was surprised with her "surgical" precision when she, fighting over control of her own mind, ripped them off. "Let's just hope I don't have to rip them again."

So yer a tech type I'm guessin', since you wanted to do some salvaging. Any fields ya specialize in, or more of n' all around sorta gal like Rhinox?

She contemplated for a moment about what to tell the big Maximal beetle. She didn't want to give too much of herself away to any of the Maximals. After all, if she started conversation, she didn't want her to get too close. But why would that be a problem for her evil Predacon self. "Well, let's just say, my skills is equal to Tarantulas."

That might be an exaggeration, but it wasn't like she hadn't beaten Tarantulas on one or more occasions despite her limitations.

"Except you Maximals wouldn't have to worry about me leaving animal parts scattered around here. I have better manners than he does."

Though, she really wanted to test how much she could get away with. Heh. This would be fun.

[NaitoKage]

(Don't worry about it, you had to reply to walls of text. Also I wouldn't call it surgical, it's just usually joints are the weak point of a structure. If your pulling or twisting an arm for instance, it's more likely to pop out of socket at the shoulder or elbow. Very common for attacking joints with Whitegrazer's style of fighting. )

"Let's just hope I don't have to rip them again."

Well.. if ya do make it a habit, we could make them detachable.. The beetle smirked slightly.

"Well, let's just say, my skills is equal to Tarantulas."

"Except you Maximals wouldn't have to worry about me leaving animal parts scattered around here. I have better manners than he does."

You haven't seen Rattrap's room yet then.. he's got enough pieces of Waspinator in there to make a duplicate.Now he'll probably be collectin' the transmetal parts n' start over. Tarantulas huh? I dunno much on alot of the Preds to be honest. Been on the planet fer awhile, but spent most of it in diggin' up the land and eating energon and puttin' resources together in a cave. Takes awhile to build a base outta scratch after all.. But I have heard tales of this Tarantulas though.. So you'd be more then a welcome addition round here.

Landslide then finished reattaching Blackarachnia's spider legs, pulling out a rag to wipe the chalk off, then set the rag down on his work table and leaned over, pulling a coffee pot shaped container out from a small machine on his table and poured some liquid energon into a cup, then handed it to Blackarachnia. Well, hopefully we can help with yer situation. That should cover yer repairs fer now.

Landslide then started to remove the heavy damaged plate from his side, pulling out some of the twisted and broken pieces. Ug, I swear that grub was more a walking battleship then a cybertronian.. Landslide muttered, turning to his bench and started to cut and shape new parts from thick plates to replace the broken armor plate. Probably a rather unusual sight to Blackarachnia as the beetle was performing this all by hand with more primitive machinery, not unlike their ancestors would do.

[DarkSpark]

NaitoKage wrote: Umbra came to a stop as he heard Megatron on the radio, he then headed to the command center and turned on the radio to broadcast on the remaining predacon signals. To all Predacons, report to the command center for introductions and important news.

Umbra then looked at Megatron, Deathroll, and Nemesis giving a nod.

Megatron looked quite pleased with himself as he flew into the command room, arms folded behind him, his new top officers at his side. Deathroll had been impressed by the Darksyde as they had toured it on their way here, for despite its shipwrecked state it was far more advanced than the Decepticon technology of yesteryear, despite being a much smaller vessel than the legendary Nemesis that he had been fortunate enough to serve upon...Megatron was almost jealous of the transmetal gator for that.

The sight of the lava pit that had eaten away the bottom of the ship was something that took Deathroll by surprise even more, perfectly understandable seeing as it was not an ideal locale for a base, but alas it was a safety hazard they had to live with since the Darksyde would never fly again with the damage it had suffered in the crash, much like the Axalon base. Deathroll had been skeptical of the hover platforms the others used to traverse the command room safely but ultimately hopped on and was able to pilot it just fine, it pleased him that Deathroll was intelligent enough to pick up such basic technology quickly, made adapting him to the predacon ranks that much easier. Megatron took his seat, the others noticing that not only was Megatron in higher spirits than before, but that he was carrying himself differently...More...Lordly? He always acted as though he was Primus' gift to the universe, but for some reason he seemed more regal in how he presented himself than usual...And this made some of the predacons present nervous.

NaitoKage wrote: Waspinator looked at the two arguing, then walked over to a CR tank tossing Quickstrike in like a bag of garbage. Bzzzz.. Least Antbot and Terrorsaur get to fly back to baze. Wazzzpinator had to walk back dragging two head'z body. Now if you excuze me, Wazzzpinator like to get wingzz back.. Waspinator walked towards the CR tank, only to be interrupted by hearing Umbra on the radio. Why Ninja hate wazzpinator? he said to himself, then walked to the command center.

Tarantulas started to crawl back towards the Predacon base Now what?! he said to himself rather annoyed at the prospect of Megatron wasting his time when he had scheming to do.

"Oh slag, what's he up to this time? He discover the Key to Vector Sigma or something?" Terrorsaur groaned inwardly, not at all happy to see Megatron this pleased with himself, since it either meant he was about to reveal another of his grandiose schemes, which he of course would get dragged into, or that when he learned of their failure to capture the base, he would be that much more furious.

Also...Why was Nemesis standing at Megatron's righthand side as if she belonged there? And who, or rather WHAT, was that massive behemoth towering over them both from the shadows?!

"Where the Pit did you find THAT?" Terrorsaur inquired, unable to hold the words back, pointing rudely at Deathroll, the decepticon titan glaring down at the needle nosed flyer with the sort of disdain one might expect from someone who found a scraplet in their CR Chamber.

"Ah Terrorsaur, always one to make a good first impression, I'll be getting to that in a moment, be patient" Megatron assured, even Terrorsaur's rudeness not being enough to bring him down as he quickly surveyed the room to ensure everyone was indeed present, meaning none of them would have to die...Yet...And said "For starters, allow me to introduce to you all our latest recruit, Deathroll, say hello Deathroll."

Deathroll then revealed himself, taking his spot at Megatron's left, his footsteps shaking the platform upon which they all stood, the true size of him being made clear to them all as he loomed over them like a mountain, simply growling "Greetings, comrades."

"Right back at ya big guy" Terrorsaur stuttered as he backed away a bit, not at all liking the looks of this...Monster, Megatron had brought into their base so soon after the last few.

"Welcome to the Colony! I am Subcommander Inferno, I'm certain you will serve the Royalty well! Congratulations Royalty on your...Ugh..." the ant said, wincing in pain as his injuries acted up at that moment, Megatron's mood seeming to sour somewhat as he took in the sorry state of his former second in command and his raid team and said "I take it the attack on the Axalon did not go well?"

"....It...Could have progressed better Royalty, but we did inflict considerable damage upon the maximal base, and the traitor Dirge is no more" Inferno stated, the ant looking desperate to appease his leader and make up for the shame of his defeat.

"And did you or the maximals do Dirge in?" Megatron inquired, resting one hand upon his cheek, looking suddenly bored, as though he already knew what Inferno was going to report.

"...The maximals did, regretfully" Inferno replied, looking more sheepish by the minute.

"And is Zodiac dead as well?" Megatron inquired, not caring who had done the deed so long as the shapeshifter was no more.

"...Regretfully, no, Royalty."

"Did you, or Primus forbid, HE manage to destroy ANY maximals?" Megatron asked, tapping his fingers upon his throne impatiently.

"No Royalty..." Inferno said, the insect expecting the worst as he braced himself for a beating he himself felt he deserved after failing his leader so utterly, only to be surprised when Megatron instead replied nonchalantly "Very well, thank you for your efforts, Inferno."

"....You're welcome, Royalty" Inferno replied in confusion, unsure why his master wasn't more visibly upset with him for his failure, but relieved he hadn't been shot on the spot.

"Now then, with that unpleasant business out of the way, on to more pleasant news. It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce the changes in the chain of command around here" Megatron said, motioning to both Nemesis and then Deathroll, "You may now pay your respects to Commander Nemesis and Subcommander Deathroll, my new second and third in commands."

With that bombshell dropped, every predacon in the room fell quiet, Megatron smiling at the reaction his news had gotten, almost as satisfying as slagging the lot of them for their latest failure might have been, the looks on their faces, priceless.

[una]

((OOC: I will posst for BA at least. I will work on responding to Zodiac.))

Well.. if ya do make it a habit, we could make them detachable..

Blackarachnia suddenly got an idea of replacing her thin legs with thicker ones. Hands meld at the ends. Then have them pop out as she transformed. Freakish, and yet, totally her. Though cool they would be, her beast mode would probably be messed up. She shrugged.

"Hopefully, that won't be a next time."

You haven't seen Rattrap's room yet then.. he's got enough pieces of Waspinator in there to make a duplicate.Now he'll probably be collectin' the transmetal parts n' start over. Tarantulas huh? I dunno much on alot of the Preds to be honest. Been on the planet fer awhile, but spent most of it in diggin' up the land and eating energon and puttin' resources together in a cave. Takes awhile to build a base outta scratch after all.. But I have heard tales of this Tarantulas though.. So you'd be more then a welcome addition round here.

She wondered if she should attempt a little peek at Rattrap's room. She smirked, staring out the hallway. Though, she wondered if Rattrap had a parts of her. Then she narrowed her optics. She would have to see because she would take those back. Hopefully, she could take a tour when Rattrap was too busy or unaware.

"Trust me. Tarantulas' room is more like a horror show. Complete with traps and unsavory stuff if you have a weak fuel tank. He never uses it, though. He has a lair." She had been in Tarantulas' room several times. So has Megatron. Well, Inferno anyway. They were the only two brave enough to venture in there. The rest were scared or just didn't care to get slaughtered by the spider's twisted mind. "Have you ever faced Tarantulas in battle yet?"

Well, hopefully we can help with yer situation. That should cover yer repairs fer now.

Ug, I swear that grub was more a walking battleship then a cybertronian..

Blackarachnia eyed the cup of energon suspiciously before she took it. Maximals weren't ones to poison things, but what if they wanted to drug her or something? Make her more complacent? She scanned the cup with her sensors before she ventured a taste. A small one, just to be sure. Once she realized it was fine, she took another one, watching the Maximal beetle fixing himself.

"Wouldn't it be better with two more hands?" she sat the cup down and put her spider pincher out.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"You do realize I will gladly kill you to get you out of my head,"

Whitegrazer sighed inwardly. I will not advise that course of action. Though, Zodiac was planning on destroying them. She didn't know how far or deep the connection between Zodiac and her went. Because of this forced connection, either of us dying would effect the other. If you try to kill me, you might do great harm towards yourself.

"Am I?," he retorted back to her as he made a few calculations. "What if I tell you I don't have the vaguest idea what you are talking about? Now end this foolishness. Disable the connection."

She wondered if Zodiac was just toying with her or trying to make her doubt herself. But if he was aware of such devices, he must known of such a connection. He must know that the nanomachines.... weren't of Cybertronian origin. Some part of you must be aware of the technology you carry within yourself.

She saw something once she finished her sentence. It was a flash of an explosion. The explosion was in space. Wait, was it hers or his? It looked like the planet buster they dealt with. Hers? But the planet looked... different. Why did she see that? Why was she still questioning it?

Despite what you think, I don't like this connection either. I'm sorry. But what is done is done. You must realize this isn't so simple of turning it on or off. Because of it, it is going to take a complete concentration. Deep focus. She was telling the truth. Connections took time to disappear. She tried to block it, and yet, she couldn't. Must be what was going on around her.

She needed to be in deep state of meditation.

[NaitoKage]

( OOC:

Blackarachnia suddenly got an idea of replacing her thin legs with thicker ones. Hands meld at the ends. Then have them pop out as she transformed. Freakish, and yet, totally her. Though cool they would be, her beast mode would probably be messed up. She shrugged.

If you want Blackarachnia "upgraded" you could even go for the TF legends Blackarachnia look. Least then she'd have fingers. LOL )

"Hopefully, that won't be a next time."

"Trust me. Tarantulas' room is more like a horror show. Complete with traps and unsavory stuff if you have a weak fuel tank. He never uses it, though. He has a lair.""Have you ever faced Tarantulas in battle yet?"

Landslide looked over to Blackarachnia shaking his head Nope, don't believe I have. My first battle in years was up against Terrorsaur n' you guys earlier.. before that.. may have been a couple Vorn.. back when Decepticons still ran around. Well.. unless bar brawls count. Landslide chuckled a little, remembering some of the times at the oil house.

Finishing up on the heavy plate for his torso, he looked at her as she spoke again.

"Wouldn't it be better with two more hands?"

Landslide pulled out a small mysterious squirt bottle spraying the metal plate, then put it away. Well, this part is done.. but there is an area you could help with since you have nimble manipulators there. he then said, his right arm opening as he pulled the exterior armor plate from it, then pulled the broken grenade launcher out of it setting it down on the table. He turned and shook some of the broken metal from the grenade launcher out of his arm, then turned it looking inside. When I was electrocuted, the wires got damaged. If you can patch some new ends, that'd be great. He then pulled a box with multiple drawers on the table closer that had various ends, crimp connectors, solder, and so on.

He then placed the newly made plate against his side, one of his insect legs holding it down as he started to bolt it back on with his left arm, holding up his right arm for her, the cavity inside being surprisingly big enough for Blackarachnia's own launcher to fit inside, with some mounting hardware seen inside for attaching equipment like the grenade launcher he pulled out. Similar accessory rails were seen on the long beetle horns on his shoulders.

______________________________________________

"Where the Pit did you find THAT?"

Umbra and Waspinator looked towards Deathroll, it was a valid question.. though neither really questioned much of what happened around the darksyde anymore from their own experiences.

"Ah Terrorsaur, always one to make a good first impression, I'll be getting to that in a moment, be patient" "For starters, allow me to introduce to you all our latest recruit, Deathroll, say hello Deathroll."

"Greetings, comrades."

Umbra observed rather calmly, so far the titan that was rampaging earlier seemed to have calmed down, it might turn out he could be more stable compared to some of the other bruiser types that the Predacons have had in the past.

Umbra then looked towards Inferno as he greeted Deathroll, then made his abismal report on the attack of the maximals. This didn't entirely surprise Umbra, though the fact Dirge was destroyed by a maximal had surprised him. Perhaps the darkness in Optimus had taken root? He didn't like this prospect.. as it would make fighting the maximals later on more difficult.

"Now then, with that unpleasant business out of the way, on to more pleasant news. It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce the changes in the chain of command around here" "You may now pay your respects to Commander Nemesis and Subcommander Deathroll, my new second and third in commands."

Waspinator blinked Antbot haz been replaced?

Umbra smiled looking towards Nemesis Congratulations on the promotion. While the Octopus had no interest in rank, having someone competent leading the forces would make his job easier in the long run, and as far as he could tell, Nemesis was one of the more competent Predacons on the ship. Perhaps now he wouldn't butt heads with Inferno as much, or get the strange vibe of Inferno acting like Megatron's jealous lover.

Tarantulas mostly watched the scene of boredom.The Spider gave little interest in these politics. Umbra glanced over towards him, then looked towards Megatron Lord Megatron, I was wondering.. Spineback seems rather busy at the moment, perhaps Lieutenant Tarantulas could help with the task I was going to have her perform?

Tarantulas optic band widen as he heard Umbra What?!

Umbra looked towards Tarantulas Considering your skills, it shouldn't take much time at all.


(And no, this has nothing to do with the bomb collar.)

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw stood by as Optimus was joined by his friends, or more... He watched idly by as it appeared that Optimus almost embraced Whitegrazer as they stood together. The sentiment, it sickened the badger to the core. To think that Optimus would indulge himself, with someone under his command no less. Another reason why he should not be in the position that he is. He grunted at their closeness still waiting for everyone to go back into the Axalon.

However yet again both Whitegrazer and Aurora protested. This time the badger decided not to dismiss the young one, the inexperienced one, the naive one. "It's not mutiny. I am Optimus' superior officer and I am within my right to assume command." He paused thinking what would Aurora actually know what this anyway? Ironclaw then looked over to Optimus. "He knows this"

"And this is not a democracy Whitegrazer, whether you like it or not." Ironclaw saw no point in entertaining her anymore.

[una]

"Thank you,"

Whitegrazer smiled lovingly when Optimus grabbed her outreached hand. She was only able to step a few steps forward before Optimus gave her his signal, saying that was close enough. He seemed to be wondering what was going on with her and why she was glowing blue. When he placed his palm on her face for a short time, happy to see that Optimus was willing to allow her and the rest of his crew to help him heal, she could tell he knew what blue glow meant as they have seen and witness it from Zodiac, Nemesis, and with him, Optimus. But she didn't want to tell them. Not yet. Not now. Until this was resolved. She really disapproved of the situation here, watching as Optimus broke eye contact not sure of himself. What was being spoke of here. The idea of Ironclaw tacking charge, forcing Optimus out. Forcing them to abide by his orders when Ironclaw had shown to be particularly make ruthless actions. Even Aurora was standing up to him. She knew Aurora liked Ironclaw, but now, she was shocked at what happened here between Ironclaw and Optimus.

"What are you doing?!,"

"Wait..," the fuzor finally uttered when she finally managed to clear her mind enough say something, "This is mutiny, Ironclaw! You can't do this! Optimus may not be himself but he's still our leader!"

Whitegrazer nodded, agreeing with what Aurora was saying.

"You've lost your mind!," she shouted after Ironclaw as he proceeded towards the Axalon. "We are Maximals. We don't settle disputes by battling out our differences. That is the Predacon way, not ours!"

There was a difference between fighting and bullying people to submit to someone else's will when the other person didn't wish to. She understood the idea of fighting to knock some sense when the person hasn't listened to reason and has put others at risk or worse, but that was not what she saw here. Nor did Aurora it seemed. Optimus may have made a wrong move in pushing and pulling out his weapon, but it seemed like Ironclaw waited for that chance. Just waiting for Optimus to snap, so that he could take over. Wanting to be right.

Sounded exactly what the High Council usually did.

"She has a point. Both of them have valid points."

"It's not mutiny. I am Optimus' superior officer and I am within my right to assume command."

"And this is not a democracy Whitegrazer, whether you like it or not."

"This isn't or wasn't an military operation at first. Like Optimus said, we were an exploration crew." Whitgrazer shook her head. "Many of us didn't know how to fight a war. Didn't want to. Some... just wanted to get away from it all." There was some truth to her statement there. When she took the Axalon mission, she was hoping from some new perspective. Some time to think and reanalyze the situation she was having. She didn't realize the troubles would follow. Maybe she made the wrong decision in leaving, but part of her now realized that leaving was good thing. For many reasons.

"I'm glad you finally regain what was lost to you, Ironclaw. It may be your right to take command. That doesn't mean we would follow. That is our right." Whitegrazer stood her ground. "I used to be a soldier for the High Council too, Ironclaw. Though, you probably were already aware of that. I used to say the words you have just spoke to us. But the High Council isn't here. For you or us. They can't help us. The only thing we have is our principles and each other. Our own instincts and beliefs. You may say this isn't a democracy, but what is a leader without the people behind him?"

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Sorry for the delay on my part. Combination of waiting for a select few and life being ultra busy..)

I will not advise that course of action.

"Of course you wouldn't," Zodiac responded, almost casually as if he was talking to an old acquaintance. "It would hardly be in your best interest if you did."

He slid his hand across the surface of the console, his fingers leaving a bluish trail as his nanomachines and the alien equipment reacted to each other. It was rather fascinating, honestly, and if he had the time to spare he would have loved to experiment for a lengthy period of time. Still, a trace of a smile appeared on his face as he saw the way the alien machines seemed to respond to his very presence, how they appeared to recognize him as one of their own. Of course he wasn't. Not really. But he had discovered the origin of the nanomachine technology a long time ago, so he had been curious about how the alien machines would react to him.

Because of this forced connection, either of us dying would effect the other. If you try to kill me, you might do great harm towards yourself.


His hand stopping its movement in an instant, Zodiac contemplated her words. Her argument seemed valid, almost logical in a sense, but the shapeshifter wasn't overly concerned regardless. He had experienced pain before and he was certain such an effect would be temporary at best.

Might be worth it to end your endless chatter, he thought, only realizing she probably heard his rather childish mental remark as the thought had already crossed his mind. No matter.

Some part of you must be aware of the technology you carry within yourself.

"I am very aware!," he suddenly snapped back at her, growing more than a little annoyed by this unwilling link they now shared. He had discovered his own involvement in the use of alien technology the day he had gained his transmetal form, the same day the base had been obliterated by the quantum surge. The day the truth about what he was had become apparent to him. And for a moment he let his guard down as he attempted to force the connection to close again, only to get overwhelmed by the intense nagging headache once more.

Flashes of an explosion entered his mind, from a time long ago. A suppressed memory perhaps? Why he'd be thinking about it now, he didn't know.. Perhaps he didn't want to know. The base in the flashing images looked familiar, similar to the one he'd been at moments before the quantum surge had swept over them.. leaving most of the base destroyed in its wake. And him forever changed.

It was at that time that he had come to realize that his nanomachines had a connection to the alien technology, making him immune to the alien defenses. Had this not been the case, the alien defenses would surely have attacked him as he entered the cave system to get down to the control center. A peculiar blessing, but a blessing nevertheless. Now if only he could find a way to rid himself of his most recent problem..

He grabbed his pounding head with one hand as he flicked a few switches with the other, wishing he could control this connection well enough to make her suffer much the same way struggling against the link was causing him discomfort.

This had to stop. She was distracting him from completing his plan.

"She has a point. Both of them have valid points."

"It's not mutiny. I am Optimus' superior officer and I am within my right to assume command. He knows this"

The fuzor stared at the taller soldier, her confusion by what was going on easily detected on her face. She brushed a lock of white fur away from her face as she answered him. "His superior officer? Since when? Back on Cybertron?," she asked, genuinely confused by what the badger was telling them. Optimus didn't have a military background.. or at least not in a soldier kind of way. At least she didn't think he did. Nexus Prime, sure, she had read the accounts of the old admiral's great accomplishments in the battlefield. But she had always thought Optimus had stayed away from the military life, seeing him more as a man of science. So at what point could Ironcaw possibly have been his superior officer?

As far as she was concerned, Ironclaw was a stranger to her now. Everything she thought she knew about him, had been changed in a few short cycles. She had no idea who he was or what he stood for. He spoke of being the Elder's emissary. The Elders.. Aurora knew very little if anything about them. She'd only been activated here on this planet, on Earth, so this was the only home she'd ever known. The thought of a council of Elders running the show back on Cybertron was strange to her.. and a bit creepy.

Ironclaw has merely dismissed her concerns without offering an explanation, a fact which angered her a bit. But it was becoming obvious that the badger was not playing by their rules.. Was he even a Maximal still..? Were any of them?

"Come on.. ," Aurora finally said, gesturing towards the Axalon as she did, "Let's meet up with the others and decide where we go from here."

Nemesis remained silent as she followed Megatron in and remained at his side while the other Predacons gathered. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for this sudden and rather unexpected promotion, but rather that she was more than a little shocked by the sudden change. Not just her own promotion, but that of Deathroll as well. A quick battle between Megatron and the new recruit, and the comman.. lord of the Predacons had decided to promote him to one of the highest ranking members. Of course she was aware that certain of the members of the team were not going to approve of this. She was expecting it. And no doubt some would start whispering among themselves about why the newbie and herself had been promoted. There would likely be some distrust, jealousy, perhaps even an attack or two. That was all right by her. She hadn't asked for this position, but now that she had it, she was certainly going to make use of it.

"Where the Pit did you find THAT?"

Terrorsaur's remark brought out a slight chuckle from the avian female, but she decided to let Deathroll fight his own battles. Of course Megatron decided to speak up and intervene before things had a chance to escalate. Almost a pity, she thought, as even though she almost enjoyed her fellow flyer's company at times, his attitude could use some adjustment.

Inferno spoke up next. His brief discussion with Megatron revealed that his most recent attack on the Maximal base had not gone well. Of course Nemesis suspected part of the reason Megatron had sent them there was to keep them out of the way while he finished his work on Deathroll.

"Now then, with that unpleasant business out of the way, on to more pleasant news. It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce the changes in the chain of command around here" Megatron said, motioning to both Nemesis and then Deathroll, "You may now pay your respects to Commander Nemesis and Subcommander Deathroll, my new second and third in commands."

Everything went silent, but Nemesis could feel everyone's optics fall upon them. She could even hear a few mouths dropping open in surprise. Still she said nothing, merely meeting their gazes with a confident stare.

[DarkSpark]

NaitoKage wrote: Waspinator blinked Antbot haz been replaced?

Waspinator's careless words were enough to snap Inferno out of his shock, the ant backhanding the unlucky transmetal with enough force to send him flying head over heels backwards!

"SILENCE DRONE!" Inferno snapped, taking all his anger out not on the Royalty, never him, but instead those who were still beneath him.

"Replaced? Perish the thought! I am merely reassigning Inferno to a position where I think he can better serve my will, play to his strengths, simple as that" Megatron lied smoothly, not caring if any of the smarter predacons could see through his deception or not, it was merely to alleviate Inferno's fears and ensure his continued loyalty, which continued to be one of his greatest assets, but devoted through and through or not, the ant simply was not cut out for officer material, for that one needed common sense and imagination and sadly those were not among Inferno's many good qualities, he was an enforcer, a leg breaker, a living flamethrower who existed to burn whoever he told him to, and in that role he had no equal and would remain secure in his position...But now he had two former decepticon soldiers with actual military training and who understood and believed in his cause, THESE are the sorts of bots he needed in his inner circle, not mindless zealots who couldn't tell the difference between a transwarp ship and an anthill.

"I...Believe I understand Royalty...But..." Inferno began to say, his rage subsiding at his master's words but still perplexed by what SEEMED like a demotion, but Megatron cut him off by saying "No buts! I insist that you return to your rightful place as my royal enforcer, Inferno, I won't have it any other way, your Royalty Commands!," making it sound as though he were actually promoting the ant.

And with that Inferno mindlessly snapped back into old form with a crooked grin on his face and said "As you command, my Queen!"

At that Deathroll had to stifle a laugh, with IMMENSE difficulty...He meant no disrespect but it simply was not something he expected to hear come from the lips of this bizarre insectoid creature, its compound eyes wreaked of madness and its teeth were the stuff of nightmares, and yet he appeared as clueless as a primitive, loyal, but clueless. Megatron in turn rolled his eyes and face palmed at that, fighting back the urge to shoot the damn ant for using that most hated of his titles in front of the new guard, but he supposed it could have gone worse, other predacons would not have reacted as well to being demoted as Inferno had, and despite being somewhat dated compared to the transmetals and fuzors he was still an asset he wasn't ready to part with just yet.

Naitokage wrote: Umbra smiled looking towards Nemesis Congratulations on the promotion. While the Octopus had no interest in rank, having someone competent leading the forces would make his job easier in the long run, and as far as he could tell, Nemesis was one of the more competent Predacons on the ship. Perhaps now he wouldn't butt heads with Inferno as much, or get the strange vibe of Inferno acting like Megatron's jealous lover.

Tarantulas mostly watched the scene of boredom.The Spider gave little interest in these politics. Umbra glanced over towards him, then looked towards Megatron Lord Megatron, I was wondering.. Spineback seems rather busy at the moment, perhaps Lieutenant Tarantulas could help with the task I was going to have her perform?

Tarantulas optic band widen as he heard Umbra What?!

Umbra looked towards Tarantulas Considering your skills, it shouldn't take much time at all.

Megatron raised an optic at the idea of Umbra and Tarantulas alone together, but so long as Umbra was well paid he had little reason to fear betrayal from him, plus the spider's reaction to his request had been priceless, so he replied "Very well Umbra, I don't see why not. Make yourself useful Tarantulas, for once."

Phoenix wrote: Everything went silent, but Nemesis could feel everyone's optics fall upon them. She could even hear a few mouths dropping open in surprise. Still she said nothing, merely meeting their gazes with a confident stare.

"Whoa whoa WHOA! Hold up! Bug brain here may be stupid enough to just accept all this at face value, but are the rest of us seriously just gonna let this go? First he put that halfwit Scorponok in the first officer seat after his oh so loyal warrior Dinobot turned turncoat, then Inferno, his tactical genius is truly needs no description, and now a complete NEWB?! Nemesis is one thing, but why is the giant handbag getting a promotion over those of us who have been fighting in this war since DAY ONE?!" Terrorsaur finally snapped, stepping forward and pointing at furious that Megatron's latest lumbering brute of a flunky was taking the Subcommander position instead of himself, heck, even Nemesis was now the Commmander...Wait...What?...

"You're out of line, soldier, stand down" Deathroll grumbled, arms crossed and optics narrowed, stepping forth once more to make his size difference with the others again more apparent, reaching a hand out to push the unruly flyer back, only for Terrorsaur to slap it away rudely, and then point a clawed finger in his face as he spat back "YOU back off ground pounder, I have seniority on your scaly skid plate!"

Deathroll growled angrily, a low rumble that felt as though it could erupt into thunder at any moment, furious over this grunt's disrespect in the presence of their leader, such behavior had never been tolerated back in the original Megatron's presence, it was inexcusable!

Just then, Megatron said "I take it you disapprove of the new chain of command, Terrorsaur?," the tyrant looking bored but unsurprised by Terrorsaur's defiance.

"You bet your motherboard I do! I...Wait..." Terrorsaur said as he recalled his earlier confusion and said "If lizard lips here is Subcommander, and Nemesis is Commander now...What does that make you? Megatron?"

And with that Megatron gave Terrorsaur the smuggest, most content and confident smile he had ever bestowed upon the traitorous flyer and replied simply "Lord, of course."

"Lord...Megatron?" Terrorsaur whispered in disbelief, amazed that the arrogant dinosaur actually had the nerve to finally officialize Umbra's little nickname for him, actually take the original title of the first Megatron for himself along with his name, and actually expected them to call him by that title from now on.

"ALL HAIL MEGATRON! LORD OF THE PREDACONS! ALL HAIL!" Deathroll shouted at the top of his voice box, looking Terrorsaur dead straight in the eyes as he did, Inferno quickly joining in as he too proclaimed "ALL HAIL LORD MEGATRON! ALL HAIL!"

The two of them continued their chant "HAIL LORD MEGATRON! ALL HAIL! ALL HAIL!" over and over again, their zealotry growing in intensity with every utterance, surely the rest of the crew would not give in to this madness and join in? Would they?

OOC: Can anyone tell I was a VR Trooper fan from this post? >;3

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"What de heck are they doin' out dere?" Rattrap asked Rhinox when he paused his work to take a peek outside through the hole that the rhinoceros was working on.

His inquiry prompted Big Green to momentarily stop as well and see what the hold up was. The group was too far away to hear their discussion. "Seems they're just standing around talking. Maybe it's something serious. I don't think Optimus won the scuffle with Ironclaw."

"Then dey should get their skidplates in here and help with repairs," the rodent commented with a pinch of irritation. "And what scuffle?"

"I don't know who or what instigated it, but Optimus seemed to be the aggressor." Which told Rhinox that he was not well at all. He was not himself. Optimus needed time off from everything to focus on himself, so the engineer assumed that he was likely going to have to step up and take point with the Maximals. After all, he was second-in-command.

"It's not mutiny. I am Optimus' superior officer and I am within my right to assume command." "He knows this"

"His superior officer? Since when? Back on Cybertron?,"

"It's not mutiny because, as it turns out, you were technically never under my command," Primal corrected them. "You are not my superior officer, Ironclaw. The only ones I answer to are the ones who entrusted me with this mission to retrieve the golden disk, the High Council. There is no one in between. Since we're not on Cybertron, and the Council isn't here and have no control over this war, I am the commanding officer for this Axalon crew. You do not have the right to disrupt my chain of command because you are the outcast. We don't know anything about you. For all I know, you could be a Predacon spy. You've certainly acted like one ever since you arrived."

"And this is not a democracy Whitegrazer, whether you like it or not."

"This isn't or wasn't an military operation at first. Like Optimus said, we were an exploration crew."

Now this debate was just getting repetitive and monotonous. A part of Optimus wanted to give up and see just how well his Maximals would not cooperate with the stern, callous brute. But giving him the opportunity might result in more injuries or deaths. Not that Optimus could prevent all of them either, but he had proven himself to be a commendable leader and he had gained the trust and respect of most of his Maximals over the years of the dangers dealing with Megatron and the Vok. He was quite capable. Maybe not right now considering his condition and suffering, but he would be again once he defeated his illnesses. In any case, his Maximals didn't have to follow Ironclaw. He had no authority over them. Primal stood there, gently rubbing his jaw that still ached, listening to the others trying to reason with Ironclaw.

"Many of us didn't know how to fight a war. Didn't want to. Some... just wanted to get away from it all." "I'm glad you finally regain what was lost to you, Ironclaw. It may be your right to take command. That doesn't mean we would follow. That is our right." "I used to be a soldier for the High Council too, Ironclaw. Though, you probably were already aware of that. I used to say the words you have just spoke to us. But the High Council isn't here. For you or us. They can't help us. The only thing we have is our principles and each other. Our own instincts and beliefs. You may say this isn't a democracy, but what is a leader without the people behind him?"

"Come on.. ," "Let's meet up with the others and decide where we go from here."

Aurora, so wise in her youth. Agreeing with her, Optimus lightly placed his hand on her shoulder and offered a small but warm smile with a nod before glancing at Whitegrazer and Ironclaw again and walking with his limp to their grounded base of operations.

Going up the lift into the command center, the TransMetal gorilla examined the extensive damage and sighed. "Damage report," he asked Rhinox and Rattrap.

"About time you guys showed up. We could use the help," the rat said. He looked at Optimus and frowned a little. "Guess you'll be needin' the CR, eh?"

"Soon. Where's Blackarachnia?" he inquired.

"In the hangar with Landslide," Rhinox answered, also looking disappointed at their leader's injuries from battle and Ironclaw. "They'll be leaving soon to recover more scrap metal and parts we could use in reinforcing our ship. It should also be mentioned that she assisted in getting our power back on-line during the Predacon attack with Rattrap's cooperation."

That was rather surprising. By her own will? Interesting. Well, he wasn't going to make a big production about it, but he was grateful for her help. Her allegiance may be Predacon, but that didn't mean she couldn't stay with them. Besides, they had had far more potentially dangerous bots find refuge with them, like Nemesis, and yet, incidents with them had been minimal. He wondered, briefly, how she was fairing back under Megatron's dictatorship. He hoped in some way the Axalon crew had proven that not all Maximals were the same just as Nemesis and Blackarachnia had proven that not all Predacons were the same. What exactly separated them, sometimes in extreme measures?

"With the power restored and shields regenerating, it's really just a matter of repairing the hull breaches here and in the brig, reinforcing them, and repairing the autocannons," Rhinox explained, answering Primal's first request.

"What's up with you an' Iron-gnaw?" Rattrap asked.

"I'm stepping down from my command," Optimus said bluntly. "Temporarily," he quickly added. "I hope. I'm... I just... I can't do what I need to do for everyone," he stammered, trying to keep his emotions under control. "I need time to heal."

Rhinox put down his equipment and walked over to Optimus, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "And you'll have that time, Optimus. We know you've been wounded, deeper than most of us could understand. So we'll do whatever it takes to stay afloat while you recover. You're allowed that time off," he assured him.

Primal nodded and gave his old friend a light smile, returning a gentle hand on his shoulder as well. "Well, Ironclaw is insisting that he take command in my absence."

Rattrap busted out in laughter at the absurdity of that notion.

The chief medical officer took a more serious approach as he withdrew his hand from his friend. "Why?"

"I think it would be more appropriate if he explained it himself," Optimus said, as they waited for his arrival.

[Mystrea]

(I give up, I can't be bothered)

After all the the arguing and having to hear everyone's point of view, Ironclaw decided to turn around and walk away. He would leave these so called Maximals to their own demise. He grabbed Dirge and dragged him into the forest.

[una]

((OOC: I will post with Blackarachnia for now. ))

Nope, don't believe I have. My first battle in years was up against Terrorsaur n' you guys earlier.. before that.. may have been a couple Vorn.. back when Decepticons still ran around. Well.. unless bar brawls count.

Blackarachnia raised an optic at the giant Maximal then shook her head, "Well, if you do, make sure to never let him get inside your head."

Well, this part is done.. but there is an area you could help with since you have nimble manipulators there. he then said, his right arm opening as he pulled the exterior armor plate from it, then pulled the broken grenade launcher out of it setting it down on the table. He turned and shook some of the broken metal from the grenade launcher out of his arm, then turned it looking inside. When I was electrocuted, the wires got damaged. If you can patch some new ends, that'd be great.

She didn't know what to think about Landslide just letting her help him. She was expecting him to say no. "You're going to need a new grenade launcher." She observed the damages that the Maximal. Made her glad that she wasn't as huge. There were advantages to be a small target rather than a big one. She looked at the wires. It looked like he was hit with a good of amount of voltage.. Gathered what she needed from the toolbox Landslide lended to her. And started on the delicate process. It was quiet on her end for a bit. She tore her attention for a bit, hearing voices coming from the bridge and huge laughter. Sounded like Rattrap. She wondered what was so funny. "Heh. I guess you can replace it. Though, despite the fixes on my legs, I will have to do my own work with my Cybervenom. Unless you guys have poison I can use?"

She smirked at the big Maximal before continuing on her work.

[NaitoKage]

(I think we all used to watch VR troopers with some exceptions. Heck.. I used to watch alot of Kamen Rider and other Tokusatsu, same with Starshadow. )

"SILENCE DRONE!"

Waspinator fell over with a buzz noise, rubbing his face after being smacked by Inferno. He then listened as Megatron explained to Inferno the change in position, which even Waspinator could figure out was because Inferno was simply too incompetent, even compared to the bumbling antics of himself.

"Very well Umbra, I don't see why not. Make yourself useful Tarantulas, for once."

Umbra gave a nod, while Tarantulas tried to hold back a angered snear. Umbra and Tarantulas then looked towards Terrorsaur as he interjected.

"Whoa whoa WHOA! Hold up! Bug brain here may be stupid enough to just accept all this at face value, but are the rest of us seriously just gonna let this go? First he put that halfwit Scorponok in the first officer seat after his oh so loyal warrior Dinobot turned turncoat, then Inferno, his tactical genius is truly needs no description, and now a complete NEWB?! Nemesis is one thing, but why is the giant handbag getting a promotion over those of us who have been fighting in this war since DAY ONE?!"

"You're out of line, soldier, stand down"

"YOU back off ground pounder, I have seniority on your scaly skid plate!"

"I take it you disapprove of the new chain of command, Terrorsaur?,"

"You bet your motherboard I do! I...Wait..."

"If lizard lips here is Subcommander, and Nemesis is Commander now...What does that make you? Megatron?"

"Lord, of course."

"Lord...Megatron?"

Umbra observed, not saying anything at the moment. The reason he'd called Megatron "Lord" Megatron, was mostly out of honorific habit from his cyber ninja training. (And also because I tried to roughly have Umbra speak stereotypical ninja in English, the closest thing to calling him "Megatron-sama" without getting weird is "Lord Megatron")

However, Lord did work in this instance. In a normal cybertronian military.. the highest chain of command was "Supreme Commander", but this Predacon group was hardly a proper military.Beyond the usual titles of Emperor of destruction for Decepticon and Predacon generals of mass forces, the one that fit Megatron best was "Warlord",an aggressive regional military commander with individual autonomy.

"ALL HAIL MEGATRON! LORD OF THE PREDACONS! ALL HAIL!"

"ALL HAIL LORD MEGATRON! ALL HAIL!"

Umbra blinked, then looked towards Tarantulas So, shall we? Tarantulas looked towards Deathroll and Inferno with a raised optic ridge, then glanced back to Umbra Eh.. Yes.. I suppose we shall.. he responded. Between doing the cephalopod's task, and listening to those two idiots shout he'd already decided one would be the lesser headache. Umbra and Tarantulas then walked away towards the medical bay, with Umbra slipping away for a moment, then returning.

Tarantulas glanced towards Umbra raised an optic ridge as he noticed in his hands and tentacles three rocket motors. Two were rather small of unknown origin to him, but the third larger one seemed to be a modified stasis pod engine. Well.. I thought it was strange you needed my expertise.. but perhaps you do. With that much thrust.. I can only assume the fish is trying to fly? Tarantulas said with the thought of Umbra falling out of the sky or exploding coming to mind. He was indifferent to the Cephalopod, though he did enjoy someone else's suffering..

Umbra gave a nod setting the engines down on a table, then pulled out a medical computer, a display showing up with a schematic of Umbra, though strangely alot of areas seemed censored out on the schematic. Just continuing the progression. The engines have already been set up and tested. So I just need you to install them.

Tarantulas tapped his chin with a claw, looking over the schematic. Very well.. looks simple enough. But how well do you think you'll be able to control it? You may have a jump jet.. but you've never flown before have you?

Umbra blinked, one of his tentacles moved toward, then expanded and flattened out, the webbing along the tentacle stretching to a surprising size. I glide rather often depending on the situation. How else did you think Spineback and I got through the jungle so fast?

Tarantulas frowned slightly, so much for watching the ninja get himself killed. I see.. more resourceful then you look. Alright, get on the table, lets get this done.

Umbra climbed onto the medical bay table laying down on his stomach, the octopus eye on his leg observing Tarantulas he started to work. You'd best go into stasis mode, this could get painful. Heheheheh.. Umbra turned his head I'm sure I'll be fine.

Tarantulas frowned and started to open up Umbra's back, noticing as he was being watched by the Ninja's strange anatomy.. It would seem he doesn't take his guard down at all, something Tarantulas could agree with in most circumstances.

_______________________________

"Well, if you do, make sure to never let him get inside your head."

Landslide gave a nod, as he didn't have plans to have anyone get in his head. He thought it was strange enough whatever the heck Whitegrazer was supposedly doing with Optimus.. Not many bots would be comfortable with that sort of thing, outside of Headmasters or combiner teams..

"You're going to need a new grenade launcher.""Heh. I guess you can replace it. Though, despite the fixes on my legs, I will have to do my own work with my Cybervenom. Unless you guys have poison I can use?"

Landslide thought for a moment and gave a nod. Aye,the grenade launcher is trashed. But I have the electro laser as backup fer now. I guess later I could build a new one.. As fer Poison.. Dinobot probably has some Rat poison.. but fer stuff I usually use is this. Landslide finished bolting his torso, then set down the ratchet and leaned down, picking up a large keg sized drum, setting it down on the table. It's a tranquilizer. Pretty potent stuff normally. I mix it with oil to bring it down a little..but I might need to start increasing the dosages.. Normally most maximals wouldn't even say such things, but Landslide didn't really care. Blackarachnia was harmless, well.. to him she was harmless under most circumstances.

Landslide activated his comlink calling Rhinox. Things are almost set down here, how's the situation over there? Do you need help with repairs, or do you want to give me a shopping list,location, n' we'll head out?

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Sorry to hear you're sick, Una. My son caught the flu from kindergarden also, so I'm expecting the whole family to get sick. Well.. I might escape since I had the vaccine, all depending how accurate it was this year.

Also I meant to add this to my most recent post but got distracted and then others posted so..)

Congratulations on the promotion.

Nemesis glanced over at Umbra, returning the smile ever so briefly. She still wasn't sure how this had all come about or even that she truly wanted this position, but she was not one to turn down an opportunity such as this. In a matter of a few days she had gone from being forced to seek shelter with the Maximals to all of a sudden holding the title that Megatron once bestowed upon himself until he decided to go with an even greater name for himself. Not that it mattered much to her.

It was rather refreshing to see how quickly Megatron disbursed with Inferno's concerns. Of course the fireant had a simple mind so it was not very difficult to convince him that his demotion had actually been a promotion. The avian female decided to keep her thoughts on the subject to herself, not wishing to discuss the topic in length.

"Whoa whoa WHOA! Hold up! Bug brain here may be stupid enough to just accept all this at face value, but are the rest of us seriously just gonna let this go? First he put that halfwit Scorponok in the first officer seat after his oh so loyal warrior Dinobot turned turncoat, then Inferno, his tactical genius is truly needs no description, and now a complete NEWB?! Nemesis is one thing, but why is the giant handbag getting a promotion over those of us who have been fighting in this war since DAY ONE?!"

It had not taken Terrorsaur long to get over the initial shock and as predicted he was less than pleased with the more recent changes to the hierarchy. Not that she blamed him, not in the least. Appointing a brand new Predacon to such a high ranking position was unheard of.. some might even say uncalled for. Had Megatron not decided to make her rank higher than the newcomer, she would likely be protesting along with the others right now. But knowing Megatron's temper, having felt it recently, she was long since past the point of expecting rational decisions from their leader.

"You're out of line, soldier, stand down"

"YOU back off ground pounder, I have seniority on your scaly skid plate!"

Seniority.. perhaps.. Loyalty.. doubtful. Megatron's actions were often unpredictable. But he was clearly intelligent enough to value loyalty.. and intellect. The first of which was Terrorsaur's downfall whereas the latter was Inferno's. The fact their leader had deemed her capable of both was an honor. If a bit confusing still.

"ALL HAIL MEGATRON! LORD OF THE PREDACONS! ALL HAIL!"

As the new and former subcommanders started praising Megatron, Nemesis merely watched in silence. Despite the fact the commander, or lord as he now referred to himself as, was certainly not above a bit of flattery, she knew he didn't require such attention to remain confident in his abilities.

"You are not my superior officer, Ironclaw. The only ones I answer to are the ones who entrusted me with this mission to retrieve the golden disk, the High Council. There is no one in between. Since we're not on Cybertron, and the Council isn't here and have no control over this war, I am the commanding officer for this Axalon crew. You do not have the right to disrupt my chain of command because you are the outcast. We don't know anything about you. For all I know, you could be a Predacon spy. You've certainly acted like one ever since you arrived."

Aurora cast a weary glance back at Ironclaw. It wasn't that she believed he was a Predacon spy, exactly, since a real spy would certainly try harder to fit in than the badger had been doing lately. Kind of like Nexus.. No, exactly like Nexus. She briefly wondered what happened to the real Nexus Prime, the one Optimus clearly looked up to like a father figure. But before long her thoughts wandered back to the badger, now standing by himself against all the Maximals. Despite Optimus' erratic behavior as of late, his troops remained loyal.

The fuzor sent Ironclaw a saddened smile, understanding that he did not mean any harm to the Maximals. But his mission and values was obviously very different from the one that had brought the Maximals here to this planet. Aurora had never set foot on Cybertron so she knew nothing about the Elders.. only what she had read through reports and heard from her older Maximal family. A family she once believed Ironclaw belonged to as well.

She saw the badger hesitate, lingering behind as the rest of them started regrouping back at the Axalon. Then he began moving away, dragging the corpse of Dirge in his wake. Aurora stopped and reached out her hand, as if that gesture alone was enough to stop the larger badger in his tracks. But he didn't stop, didn't slow down. That's when she called out his name, not wanting him to leave like this. He may not have their confidence as a leader figure, at least not yet, but he clearly had skills against what had appeared to be a few unstoppable Predacons.

"Ironclaw, wait!"