"Other Visits"

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: This next episode, loosely based off the show's two-part episode "Other Visits", and it will take place approximately two weeks after all of the events of Zodiac and the Vok receiving the signal from the volcano machine that Zodiac activated. ))

Optimus... Nexus Prime's voice echoed, as if reaching out to Primal. There was a flash of him looking down upon him, saddened or seemingly lost.

It was then when Unicron's voice flooded his dream, a mockery and a reminder of what the aliens were capable of. It is too late. You and your enemies have already contaminated the project. There was an echo on "project", as if it meant something significant. Begin termination sequence.

He saw Whitegrazer there in their green meadow, who had been helping him the past couple weeks gain control of his mind again, deteriorating that awful voice and overcoming the anguish and psychological damage Megatron and Zodiac had put him through. It was a long road to recovery but they had been making great progress while the Predacons still remained quiet... but probably scheming anyway.

Then there was Megatron and Zodiac laughing together, watching Optimus's hope crumble and his life sucked out of him. There was a fiery explosion, like a combination of the one that killed him in Earth's orbit and the volcano that Zodiac had set off. And in the fire Whitegrazer's face was forged before it was quickly snuffed out and replaced by two unknown faces that his mind conjured up of what the Vok might have looked like.

An agonizing pain throbbed in his head, forcing him to wake up. Short of breath, feeling warm, and panicked, Optimus immediately sat up on his recharge bed in his quarters in robot mode, grabbing his head with his hands and hunched over. He squeezed his optics trying to cope with the headache, trying not to scream. Eventually it was subdued and the pain left him but not without a strong sense of the aliens being present. Primal looked around his room, the scar across his mouth still evident. It was silent and the sun was just starting to rise. In his mind, he suddenly started seeing symbols; a language perhaps? Why? They were foreign to him and he had a pressing urge to get them out. He couldn't organize them in his head, he couldn't focus on them individually, so he started scratching them on to his metal walls, on the floor, on his desk, writing them down every where there was space. Many of them repeated; numbers and letters. Some of the symbols matched the ones on the alien gold disk, and some of the words appeared to be a different or ancient Cybertronian dialect. He couldn't stop, he just kept writing them and drawing them, none of it making any sense to him. He had lost Zodiac and all the answers he might have had about the Vok. Just gone. He blamed Megatron for delaying them and thus causing his death, that fool! Slag Megatron!

A couple hours went by and the solar system's star was a little higher over the horizon now. Knocking came at his door, followed by a familiar, deep voice. "Optimus?"

"Enter," Primal acknowledged Rhinox without stopping what he was still doing.

The engineer stepped in, the door closing behind him, and he stopped in his tracks while he took in the overwhelming oddity in his friend's quarters. His crimson optics quietly but alarmingly surveyed the symbols and drawings that were all over the place. "Optimus, mind telling me what's going on here...?" he finally inquired.

"It suddenly came to me. All of this. In my head. I have to get it out," Primal said quickly without looking at Rhinox. He just kept writing the symbols, some smaller and some larger.

Rhinox watched him obsess over it. He knew that Whitegrazer and Banshee had been helping Optimus a great deal lately, but he wasn't expecting this kind of an outcome. Had they inadvertently triggered something in his mind to make this happen? "Does... Whitegrazer know about this?" he asked slowly, cautiously.

"No. It just hit me this morning."

Big Green ventured closer to one of the walls that was full of these intricate and unfamiliar letters and words. He curiously traced one of many that was scratched deeply into the metal with his fingers, unable to understand its meaning. Then his sight drifted downward to the floor where he found more before he watched his friend again. "Optimus."

Primal ignored him, concentrating on a diagram he was diligently drawing.

Rhinox walked over to him and grabbed his arm, repeating his name, "Optimus," to get his attention.

The Commander stopped and looked at him. "They're coming back," he said. Judging by Rhinox's slightly confused expression, he elaborated by saying, "The Vok. In some form or another."

The chief medical officer grew thoughtful and worried at the same time. "Soon? For certain? How do you know this?"

"I don't know. I've had so many wonderful encounters with them," he added sarcastically, "perhaps they've left something behind." He tapped the side of his head with his index finger.

Studying him and the symbols, Rhinox sighed and grew a little more concerned about this. They were still unprepared for any more alien attacks, and who knew what they were going to throw at them next. Was Optimus right, though? Was he certain? Or was this just a hunch brought on by recent events and fear with the turmoil that had been rotting his mind. He supposed the real question here was, could they trust their leader's judgment? "Well, they're not here yet. And there isn't much we can do until they arrive, if they arrive," he seemed to correct himself. "For now, let's just get done what you had planned to do this morning. Alright?"

Optimus looked from the graffiti all around his quarters back to Rhinox and nodded. "Aurora, this is Optimus. Please report to my quarters," the leader sent over his comm. link. It seemed difficult for him to do so, but he managed to pull himself away from the "work" he was doing, walk to his desk with his slight limp and sit down behind it, logging on to his encrypted computer and opening his crews' files.

"Don't you think some of this might intimidate her? Or bring back painful memories?" Rhinox walked over to a diagram Primal had drawn on the floor of the Vok's last visit with their fake moon. The drawing was basically what their center console computer had shown while Optimus was in the stasis pod: it had Earth with the projection of the planet-buster's destruction and the beam cascading down on to the planet. Another nearby had the tower from the floating island that Blackarachnia had hijacked, almost destroying the Axalon. Some of the symbols from that fiasco were also etched into the metal walls around his room. There was also something resembling the standing stones.

Optimus glanced up from his computer to peer at his "artwork", realizing how it might be a bit of a surprise but there was nothing he could do about it now. He was feeling much better since he had transferred the majority of it from his mind to physical planes of existence where it could be seen spanning across more area. "She'll be fine. We should get Blackarachnia in here afterward. She might recognize what some of it means." Without Zodiac and without the alien disk, the black widow was all they had to help decipher anything if she could. And what if... what if they could have Tarantulas see it through her optics? No, he couldn't use her like that. They either had to leave it be or get him there in person. And why would the tarantula help them anyway? Or trust the Maximals not to harm him or imprison him? It was an extremely unlikely scenario to happen.

Meanwhile, Rattrap leaned back in his chair and stretched, yawning with boredom while he fulfilled his monitoring duties on the bridge. A part of him couldn't help but wonder what Blackarachnia was up to, assuming she wasn't sleeping. Despite her stopping Umbra from attacking him again a couple weeks ago at the alien volcano site, possibly saving his life, he still didn't trust her. Because of both of their reputations for scheming, spying, web-slinging and sneaking around, spiders were a lot harder for him to keep his eyes off for security purposes. He was fairly certain that she was up to something, that she was still working for Megatron. He just didn't have any proof. Yet. And, unfortunately, he didn't have the time or orders to keep an eye on her. For some illogical reason, Optimus was a lot more trusting of her than he felt he should be.

[Wintersong]

The few weeks following the incident with Zodiac had felt like an eternity. It had felt like time dragged on and moved slower than that of an Earth snail, making it irritating for some and meaning a long time to process the events for others. There was no denying many of the Maximals had to be shaken from the events that transpired thanks to the Predacons and their short lived alliance with the shapeshifter, but some were more shaken than others.

Wintersong herself had been trying to process someone's deep need for revenge would go so far as to mentally torture one bot and nearly destroy his entire crew just to get it. It was insane and would have been unfathomable but at the same time there was no telling if Zodiac's deepest desire for revenge would be the only lengths any one being could go to. There probably was worse methods out there, or he could have made the process much, much more slower, making it all the more painful. Still, the ordeal was over and they had all been making their recovery in one way or another. But Wintersong wasn't one of those who had partaken in the battle at the volcano and therefore hadn't taken long to recover really, but she had stayed behind just in case.

Though, that didn't mean the Transmetal tigress wasn't troubled by something else even after this span of recovery.

Her thoughts had been focused on one mech in particular, a certain badger who she had already by now heard was...different. To what extent though she wasn't sure, having only maybe caught glimpses of Ironclaw here and there but not having had much chance to really make time to speak to the mech she cared about nor did she know if she should. If he had changed she was deep down afraid to know the full extent of it and always found something to keep her occupied. But nothing exactly helped for long, not even a few hour morning stroll like she had decided to take earlier that morning just as dawn was approaching. But by now. Wintersong found herself returning to the Axalon after being gone for a few hours, approaching the downed ship as the lift lowered and she stepped onto it.

Once it brought her up, Wintersong shifted her amber optics around the bridge and found Rattrap there looking like he was ready for a nap as she stepped off the lift, "Not falling asleep on the job again are you Rattrap?" Wintersong teased, transforming to her robot mode and taking a seat at another monitor, stretching a little. "Don't think the boss would be too thrilled if you did."

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

On the Darkside things hadn't seemed to be much different in the Predacons needing time to recover. Maybe the only real difference was they weren't shaken by really anything save for the virus that affected maybe half the crew. But that hadn't prevented them from doing what was necessary to get revenge and get back to base with their mission accomplished. It would have been worth for celebration even if there hadn't been other matters to tend to.

In fact, Spineback had found herself rather busy the past few weeks in helping to repair the Predacons when the CR tanks were occupied, doing the best she could in repairing majority of their wounds before the CR tanks handled the rest. The former Decepticon was actually thankful for changing her decision at one point of being a soldier to almost being nothing but a medic after being given amnesty which had allowed her to acquire a skill that the Predacons seemed to greatly need from time to time considering how some literally were blown to pieces, namely Waspinator. She couldn't help questioning the luck of that bug sometimes, even in disbelief at how he survived such beatings so often without getting his Spark snuffed somehow. But it seemed to prove that these Predacons could be tough for the most part, and Spineback couldn't be more proud to be part of a powerful crew, although that also didn't mean she wasn't being cautious as well.

But with the repairs to her comrades done she had turned her attentions to finishing repairs on the base, doing so without question and following any additional orders Megatron might have given. Though even with the few weeks of repairs, she couldn't help being a bit picky about them,often checking the systems to make sure they were working properly. And that was what the saurian femme was doing now in checking the monitor systems again, mainly making sure they were up and running perfectly once again before the little virus issue had trigger more damage being done to their base. "This is going to drive me up a wall." Spineback grumbled to herself as she closed the panel to another monitor in the main bridge after what felt like the hundredth time she had check them.

(( Guess whose back in the game as promised.))

[starshadow]

Banshee had been busy setting up her new cave base located in the dense jungle not too far off from the Axalon with wild flowers she could find for expedition studies and decorating the entrance and inside the cave itself. She even had a table, a hovering stool, a small energon dispenser and her portable computer. It was like...a second home. She stretched her wings after watering the plants and locking up the cave entrance with a barrier so no monkey could steal anything from her again. Otherwise she would scream them off the trees again, rendering them disoriented. The bat activated her jet thrusters and flew to the skies. It only took her 20 minutes to reach the Axalon, noticing Wintersong heading up in lift. She dived down and waited for the lift to descend before stepping in. Once she ascended to the command center, she realized she needed to address a few issues to Optimus. So far the weeks they had spent was to recover from the chaos that occured recently so it slipped her mind. "Morning everyone." she greeted them with a smile, showing her fangs, "I need to have a few words with Optimus. Is he around?"



Starshadow had already escaped from her chains a few minutesand is in the armory, maintaining Mortem, quickly polishing up her armor and carrying a few of Cecaelia's old equipment. She had to be hasty before the others or that disgusting sneaky octopus finds out she was missing. She slightly opened the door of the armory and peeked around before sneaking through the shadows. Of course, being a white and blue glowing feline against a black ship and having an ozone scent would easily give her away, so she had to be careful.

[Phoenix]

The morning sunlight shining through a small window in the lab was the only indication that the night had passed and had now given way to another day on this beautiful planet they lived on. Well, for the fuzor Earth was the only home she had ever had. She knew some of the other Maximals were still longing to return to Cybertron, in fact most of them probably did, but Aurora had no such ties to a world far away. Besides there was plenty to keep her preoccupied on this planet.

Her green optics drifted to the light shining in through the window, her mouth dropping open a bit in surprise that the night had gone by so quickly. She had stayed up the entire night working on a new project so now that morning had come she was starting to feel somewhat exhausted. She had been working on the project for a couple of weeks now, initially working out the concept after the other Maximals had returned from the volcano, but she still had a long way to go.

Then again it was no simple feat she was attempting to accomplish. In the aftermath of the destruction of the alien weapon which had resulted in a mysterious beam shooting off into space, it had become clear that the purpose of the beacon was to notify the aliens of their technology having been activated once more. Which definitely posed a risk of them turning their attention back to this planet and its inhabitants.

It was for this reason that Aurora had been spending a lot of time in the lab, working on a new detection system to help notify them in case the aliens, these Vok, returned. The process had turned out to be tedious, the alien technology so complex that even if Aurora could get her hands on some of it she wouldn't have a clue on where to even start. However she hoped her sensors would be able to detect the unique signature of the aliens' technology, so if she could just get it to work right the sensors should be able to detect any alien visitors along with any remaining hidden alien weapons within the detection range of the sensor.

Well.. maybe she'd have better luck if she tried to get some rest before she started calibrating the remaining sensors. Sleep wasn't something she afforded herself very often. Yes, that would be the best approach to..

"Aurora, this is Optimus. Please report to my quarters,"

... Or not.

The fuzor yawned and tried to rub the sleepiness from her optics. She wondered what Optimus wanted from her so early in the morning, deciding it would be best to go there and find out for herself. At least Primal was doing better now than he had been right after whatever happened at the volcano. Their leader had been a bit .. off.. the first couple of days after the team had returned from their mission. Aurora had never asked him for any specifics of what had transpired while they were gone, but whatever it was, it had clearly affected Primal deeply.

"On my way," she responded to Optimus' hail and started making her way there.

Upon arriving, she knocked briefly on the door before entering. Rhinox was there as well, an ever soothing and stable presence for the sometimes more emotional Optimus to rely on for support and guidance. Aurora smiled at both of them before suddenly becoming keenly aware of the many symbols now decorating the walls in Optimus' quarters. Some of them made no sense to her while others had a striking resemblance to events that had already taken place. The sweet smile swiftly gave way to a look of genuine concern as Aurora merely took it all in, not saying anything until her optics finally locked with Primal's. Yet the expression on her face made it clear that she wasn't sure what to make of any of it.

"Did you make these?," she finally asked aloud.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"On my way,"

After aurora's response, Primal looked over the reports they - but mostly Landslide - had gathered about their interactions with Deathroll, the new Predacon. Where exactly he came from was still a mystery, but he was certainly a powerful bot and a very fast traveler underground.

"Landslide and I have been making a lot of progress on the base's repairs," Rhinox then stated.

Nexus would have been proud, Zodiac's words still replayed in his mind. "Sorry?" Optimus excused himself from being distracted. "Oh, yes, I know. I know it's been a lot of work."

"The melted, weakened and warped floors have been the most difficult but all of the auto-guns are back on-line, as well as the external and internal cameras. The shields are fully operational, functioning at one hundred percent. Scanners and communications are good to go. We've reinforced the holes in the hull," he listed.

"That's some great work considering the time both of you have spent on it so far," Primal said gratefully. Though he and some of the others had offered their labor as well, it was the beetle and the rhinoceros who put in the most time and man-power repairing the Axalon and stabilizing it after all of the earthquakes from the alien machine that Zodiac had deliberately activated.

Both Rhinox and Optimus smiled back at Aurora as she entered the room, though Rhinox could detect the fatigue in her optics. Optimus was too preoccupied thinking about the Vok coming back to notice as he scrolled through the files on his computer and made some revisions.

"Did you make these?,"

"Yes," Primal answered the young Fuzor, pulling his attention away from his monitor and curiously watching her study his cave drawings. "I'm not an artist," he admitted. "I just... I had to see everything on a broader scale," he said, greatly lacking in further explanation. Because of the recent project she began, he wanted to tell her about his strong sense of feeling that the aliens were coming but without causing panic. He decided to save it for later. "Have a seat," he offered her across his desk from him. "Aurora, your skills in micro biology are unmatched by anyone else, even Rhinox."

The engineer nodded, smiling softly to her.

"You developed that gel that could repair wounds quickly, an antidote for the virus Zodiac unleashed on everyone, you were successful in reversing and deactivating Zodiac's nanotech, and you and Rhinox were in the developmental stages of a 'truth serum' project that would have been beneficial had we been able to bring Zodiac back with us." It seemed a little easier for him now to accept and talk about Zodiac's death and the information that was lost with him. Despite having nearly killed all of them more than once, Primal seemed like he was gripping better with reality now and was much more focused on the present and the impending visit from the Vok rather than the past and all of the pain. Well, the nightmares didn't help... Or did they? "That's no easy feat, and because we are both impressed, it hasn't gone unnoticed. You clearly have a talent in this field. So, after some consideration and deliberations with Rhinox, I've decided to reward you for your efforts and give you a bit more responsibility around here. I believe you deserve it. You will now be the Chief Biologist of this crew, putting you in charge of the research, and viruses, infections, and any other unfamiliar biological abnormalities we're forced to encounter. But you'll also need to continue sharing the medical job description with Rhinox. As often as the Predacons injure us, having two medical officers is better than one, especially since Rhinox isn't in the field as often as you are to handle emergencies."

Rhinox walked over and gently patted Aurora's shoulder as positive reinforcement. "Well deserved. We have every confidence in you."

Primal nodded. "Absolutely," he firmly agreed. "Now, how is your new detection project coming along?" he inquired, perhaps a little more eagerly than he had wanted to show. It might not have been difficult for Aurora to put together that Optimus knew or felt something was on the rise with the alien language that was recently etched, drawn and scattered all over his quarters and the slight anxiety he was trying to disguise, and wanting to know how her progress was going with a device that could potentially alert them ahead of time of the "extraterrestrials" approaching. Of course, as far as Rhinox was concerned, his friend's sixth sense was just a hunch.

-----

"Not falling asleep on the job again are you Rattrap?" "Don't think the boss would be too thrilled if you did."

"Oh, good mornin' ta you, too, Winter," Rattrap said with a teasing face as he spun around in his chair to see her. "Eh, it ain't nothin' new ta him. Besides, he's got bigger things ta worry about," he told her dismissively. "Have a nice morning stroll?"

"Morning everyone."

"Hey, Ban-ban."

"I need to have a few words with Optimus. Is he around?"

"Haven't seen 'im yet. I guess he's still in his quarters," the rat shrugged. "He seems a lot better ever since you an' 'Grazer started helpin' him. ...Is he?" He looked for reassurance that their leader was definitely on the mend, or was doing as well as he could be. Optimus was strong but he had recently been broken in more ways than one.

[NaitoKage]

Landslide stepped out of the hanger with heavy steps, carrying a pile of what would seem like gratting or shelving panels on his shoulder. Walking to the side of the Axalon with Cheetor walking next to him, he looked towards the smaller cat bot and spoke up Alright. So we'll install these like I said on the supports. You'll take one end and I'll take the other. Shouldn't be too heavy.

Cheetor gave a nod, transforming to his vehicle mode he flew up into the air, then came down for a landing on the Axalon's roof. Landslide's own thrusters kicked in as he hovered into the air, then flew down landing on the Axalon's roof. Setting down the pile of panels, Cheetor transformed to robot mode and lifted at one side while Landslide lifted the other, then slotted the panel down on some posts that seemed to have been welded on the exterior of the ship. Cheetor pulled out a portable welder and started to weld the panel to the post, Landslide's Electro laser flipped out from his arm, in the past two weeks he'd modified and refined it some so it would also act as a welder again. Feeding some wire from it, he then started to weld his side of the panel.

Finishing installing the panel, they then moved on repeating the process. Are you sure these things are really going to work? Cheetor asked, Landslide gave a nod mounting and welding the next panel in. Yeah.. it might seem strange, but basically the concept is simple. The panels ere' cause the missiles or plasma shots to explode prematurely, the haul remains fine but might get burnt from the gases washing over it. It's not a perfect solution, but it works if the base runs outta power again to keep the damage down.

Cheetor looks at the panel and shrugs Guess that is better then nothing. the two then continue installing the panels, which from inside the ship almost looked alot like they were installing a cage around the ship itself.

____________________________________

Umbra worked quietly in his room on a makeshift bench, soldering some small components together. As he worked, he looked up at his medical tablet, noticing some movement on the live security footage, tapping the screen with two tentacles to zoom in, he watched as Starshadow made her way out of her room and into the armory, stocking up on weapons. Activating his comlink he sent her a message Surely you have better things to do? In anycase, if you try to leave, I'll detonate the collar.

Umbra resumed working on the tiny device, using a pair of tweezers to hold a small resistor to solder it onto a pcb. Well hopefully this works.. might have to make two of them.. Umbra thought to himself, then looked up at the screen again making sure Starshadow wasn't crazy enough not to listen to his threat.

[starshadow]

"Haven't seen 'im yet. I guess he's still in his quarters,"

"I see. Well then, I should get going. Have a nice day!"Banshee smiled and nodded before making her way to Optimus' quarters. There are still a few unresolved problems yet. The stasis pod of Protoform X, the leader of Hellfang on the loose whom is now under Megatron's leadership. Priorites first, she has to convince Optimus that he has to take Starshadow captive no matter the cost. Once she reached outside her leader's door, she knocked.

"Optimus? It's Banshee. I need to have a few words with you."




Starshadow's focused look turned into a grumpy cat frustration when Umbra started to speak. Busted.

Surely you have better things to do? In anycase, if you try to leave, I'll detonate the collar.

"Wouldn't that be domestic abuse...?" she replied, heading to his room and opened the door, walking in, "Besides...you won't be detonating anything once I severed your head from your body..now get rid of it.." she activated an electroblade, putting it across his neck.

[Phoenix]

"Yes," "I'm not an artist," "I just... I had to see everything on a broader scale,"

Aurora's optics darted from Optimus to the writing on the wall the leader had drawn as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. It was true she was tired, but her curiosity over these symbols did wake her up some more. Some of these symbols resembled events that had recently taken place, such as the second moon that had turned out to be an alien weapon of mass destruction.. The same one that had taken Optimus' life. His old life, the way he looked before his upgrade. And yet somehow he had returned to them, his spark taking up a new residence in another body. It had been nothing short of a miracle and Aurora would love to have known more about the process. A small part of her, perhaps somewhat selfishly, still held onto a small home that Icebreaker could be brought back in a similar fashion.

Yet somehow she doubted it was possible to do it again. So for the time being Optimus remained the only miracle she had witnessed.

He had changed from the experience, however. Although she supposed that was to be expected given the traumatic way it had happened. Aurora had spent a lot of time thinking about what happened, trying to figure it out in her head to replicate it. But unfortunately her expertise was limited to biological and chemical engineering. And Optimus' miraculous return was not a product of either.

Are you alright?, she wanted to ask Optimus, more than a little concerned about his mental well being since he'd resorted to decorating his walls with alien symbols now. But she didn't say the words out loud, even though the look in her green optics were all too telling of what she was thinking.

There was something dark and somewhat frightening over some of the symbols and drawings that Optimus had obviously spent several hours to make. They felt ancient, in a way, but also like they held meaning to this day. Aurora hesitated, merely glancing over them all without responding to Optimus' remark for he longest of time. She didn't understand what they meant even though she recognized a few of them as depicting places and scenarios she had seen.

Suddenly her gaze fell upon one particular symbol that looked eerily familiar. And when she remembered where she had seen it before, the creepiness factor just shot up a lot more than it had.

The symbol looked similar to the one that had decorated the pod from Nexus' ship. The same pod that had contained the bomb that nearly wiped them all out. It wasn't an exact match to the original symbol, true, but it was still close enough to send chills down the fuzor's backside. Nemesis had informed them that the symbol was from an ancient Decepticon language that they had been using as a code of sorts since nobody could read it anymore, but upon seeing the symbol decorating Optimus' wall along with hundreds of other markings, Aurora questioned if there could be more to the story.. and the meaning of the symbol.. than Nemesis had told them.

The one..


That's what the avian Predacon had translated the symbol into. A pity they hadn't been able to bring Zodiac back here for further questioning so that he could elaborate on it. Aurora was sure the former shapeshifter could have provided them with some valuable information.. and answers to a lot of looming questions.

"Have a seat,"

Well.. it didn't sound like Optimus was going to provide them with any answers either. Although part of the little fuzor wondered if he truly knew why he was drawing these things.. much less what they meant!

She nodded and hoisted herself up into the chair. Being so small had a number of disadvantages and the difficulty with most furniture being just a bit too tall for her was one of the minor nuisances she struggled with on a daily basis. Most of the time she was working on things in the lab, she was standing on a foot stool to be able stand comfortably at the table.

Sitting in the chair with her feet dangling off the edge, she folded her hands in her lap and waited for Optimus to explain why she was here. She suspected he merely wanted an update on whatever progress she had made lately, which truthfully wasn't as much as she would have liked.

"Aurora, your skills in micro biology are unmatched by anyone else, even Rhinox."

Aurora's face lit up into a smile, her thumbs fiddling together a little faster than they had been.

"You developed that gel that could repair wounds quickly, an antidote for the virus Zodiac unleashed on everyone, you were successful in reversing and deactivating Zodiac's nanotech, and you and Rhinox were in the developmental stages of a 'truth serum' project that would have been beneficial had we been able to bring Zodiac back with us."

"Thanks," she told him, genuinely grateful that he had taken notice of her efforts. "But I really can't take all the credit. Rhinox and Landslide have been a tremendous help."

It was true she had helped out a bit where she could, but it was honestly the least she could do. Aurora was not a fighter like most of the others. She wasn't powerful, strong, especially brave, or extremely fast. She couldn't even fly, not technically, much less carry anyone if they needed to get somewhere. And she attributed the fact that she hadn't cut any limbs off while doing some minor practicing with Optimus' sword to pure luck. Granted, the sword was too big for her as most other things were, but she still treasured the fact that Primal had let her hold onto it for as long as he did.

She shifted a bit in the chair when Optimus proceeded to compliment her on some of the things she had been working on. Sure, most of them had turned out all right, at least to some extent, but she honestly had no idea if the truth serum would even have worked or what kind of side effects there would be. It wasn't like she could simply test it on any of the Maximals so thus far it remained untested and was little more than a hypothesis.

"That's no easy feat, and because we are both impressed, it hasn't gone unnoticed. You clearly have a talent in this field. So, after some consideration and deliberations with Rhinox, I've decided to reward you for your efforts and give you a bit more responsibility around here. I believe you deserve it. You will now be the Chief Biologist of this crew, putting you in charge of the research, and viruses, infections, and any other unfamiliar biological abnormalities we're forced to encounter. But you'll also need to continue sharing the medical job description with Rhinox. As often as the Predacons injure us, having two medical officers is better than one, especially since Rhinox isn't in the field as often as you are to handle emergencies."

Her gaze had drifted to the floor, a faint shade of red visible on her cheeks since all the praise was making her a bit uncomfortable. She really just wanted to help out and it felt good, if a bit strange, to receive such recognition for her work. Yet the unmistakable grateful and a little awkward smile on her face showed how she felt all too well.

Chief Biologist? Wow, she'd never anticipated getting a title before! Unlike some of the others who were decorated war heroes and what not before signing on as part of this crew, Aurora had no such achievements to brag about. She'd been created here, on Earth, and had as such no recollection of past life on Cybertron or any legacy that would come with such a life.

"Optimus, I..," she started but her words failed her so she looked up, looking very bashful and every bit as young as she was. Not knowing what to say, her smile merely widened as she told him, "Thank you!", and literally jumped from the chair and up on Primal's desk to give him a hug. It wasn't common for her to be at a loss for words but at this exact moment she was just that.

Finally releasing Primal after a long hug, she looked at him again with a sparkle visible in her optics. It took her a while longer to realize that she was still, indeed, standing on top of his desk.

"I promise I won't let you down!," she told him with the kind of enthusiasm and innocence that only a youth is capable of.

Rhinox had come over to show his support as well by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Well deserved. We have every confidence in you."

Removing herself from the desk, Aurora couldn't help the grin on her face which would probably stay there for the rest of the day. All of a sudden she wasn't tired at all.

"Absolutely," he firmly agreed. "Now, how is your new detection project coming along?"

"A bit slower than I'd like," the fuzor admitted after a brief pause. "But I'll get the glitches out as soon as I finish calibrating the system," she promised.

"But we're almost ready to start the testing process. When we get the sensors in place some distance from the Axalon, they will form a security grid that can tell us if any alien devices or signals are located within the sensor range."

There was a knock on the door followed by a female's voice.

"Optimus? It's Banshee. I need to have a few words with you."

Aurora turned back to Optimus. "It looks like you have company. We can finish the discussion about the technicalities later if you'd like? Although I wouldn't mind borrowing Rhinox to help."

[NaitoKage]

"Wouldn't that be domestic abuse...?"

Umbra raised an optic ridge as he heard Star respond on the radio, as if either of them cared about laws. Though Umbra had rules for his methods, Starshadow simply saw everyone around her as food.

"Besides...you won't be detonating anything once I severed your head from your body..now get rid of it.."

Finishing the last connection on the device he was working on with a red led lighting up on it, Umbra calmly set down his soldering iron, his optics glancing towards Starshadow So you can die? Well if that's what you want so badly..

Umbra flicked the device towards Starshadow like a paper football. It spun and landed on her chest, the light shifting to green, then releases a sudden small blue electro magnetic pulse pulse from it. The glow from Starshadow's body fading with the electricity from her weapon seeming to deactivate, a sudden rush of dizziness, weakness, and nausea being felt by Starshadow. The collar around her neck switching off from the pulse. Well.. Your wish has been granted for 20 seconds.. Enjoy them.

Umbra's turned as he stood up, four of his tentacles coiling around his right arm into a massive fist swinging it towards Starshadow as he activated his jets, slamming the fist into her and rushing out of his room knocking her into the hallway wall, pinning her to it. Cutting the thrust,he pulled his arm back to let her fall to her feet, Umbra's optics narrow staring her down. Well.. seems this design still needs some work.. Umbra then said, picking up the micro emp device from Starshadow.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

Optimus watched Aurora linger over a small section of the symbols on the wall, taking note, before she had finally taken a seat across from him. And while she sat there as he explained why he called her there, he observed her facial expressions and body language. He was happy to see her excited and joyful for this decision; it warmed his spark. Yes, she was young and somewhat inexperienced even though by now she gained much knowledge and encounters with the Predacons, but she showed a lot of effort and selflessness. She was a quick learner and got along with just about everyone on the team.

"Thanks," "But I really can't take all the credit. Rhinox and Landslide have been a tremendous help."

"I am aware of that," he commented softly, smiling at her humbleness. Rhinox smiled, too.

"Optimus, I..," "Thank you!"

Primal was taken aback when the smaller Maximal suddenly leaped from her chair and across his desk, practically landing in his arms to hug him. He wasn't expecting that much of reaction but he certainly didn't object to it. Instead, he wrapped his long arms around her and held her a little tight - just a slight squeeze - for as long as she wanted. "You're very welcome," he said quietly into her ear. This young life in this embrace was his responsibility. She had nearly died, as all of them had by now more than once, and for a brief moment he pondered how much longer they could keep cheating death. But that thought was quickly washed away as he focused on her hug where everything else was forgotten; everything from the pain of losing Nexus, and Zodiac and the Vok to Megatron and his thugs. He was so glad that she accepted her new rank and the responsibilities that came with it. He released her when she started to let him go with her still standing on his desk, which didn't seem to bother him at all.

"I promise I won't let you down!"

Rhinox chuckled at her excitement while Optimus told her, "You needn't worry about that, Aurora." She reminded him so much of himself when he was her age and never wanted to disappoint Nexus. Even though mistakes would be made and lessons would be learned, his youngest crew members like Cheetor and Aurora could never disappoint him. In fact, he was more concerned with disappointing them, especially in light of them recently finding out about some darkness and cruelty in his past. He probably wasn't the brightest beacon of innocence and compassion anymore to everyone who once thought that when they arrived on this planet. However, they seemed to forgive him for it, and that they knew he wasn't that kind of a Maximal anymore. His freedom from the control of the High Council allowed him to think for himself and truly follow through on his beliefs without any influence from a higher and corruptible authority.

"A bit slower than I'd like," "But I'll get the glitches out as soon as I finish calibrating the system," "But we're almost ready to start the testing process. When we get the sensors in place some distance from the Axalon, they will form a security grid that can tell us if any alien devices or signals are located within the sensor range."

The Maximal Commander looked curiously to her about the glitches but he was certain she knew what she had to do. It was more of a relief to know that the device was well underway especially since he had a strong sense of the aliens returning very soon. He didn't know when or how, but they were coming. It made him nervous and fearful, like every visit and trap the aliens had set on them thus far, but Optimus hid his fears for his crew's sake. These Maximals would survive, thrive and prevail, with or without him.

More knocking came at his door, unexpected this time, which interrupted his thoughts on Aurora's explanations. Optimus supposed he loitered long enough in his quarters as the morning was slipping away and that he should get out and face the day head on.

"Optimus? It's Banshee. I need to have a few words with you."

"It looks like you have company. We can finish the discussion about the technicalities later if you'd like? Although I wouldn't mind borrowing Rhinox to help."

"Certainly," Rhinox accepted without hesitation. After all, Cheetor was helping Landslide with the new paneling and infrastructure of the hull. Optimus may be able to disguise his anxiety from most of their teammates, but to the engineer his old friend's uncertainty in his orange optics about the Vok stood out to him like large, flashing neon signs, and he thought it wise to work out the kinks with this detection device as quickly as possible.

Primal nodded to Aurora and Rhinox, approving their notion. He obviously didn't want this delayed. "Keep me posted on your progress," he asked of them. He stood up from his desk and limped over to the words Aurora had been studying on his wall realizing then that they were very similar to the ones that were on Zodiac's pod. He found it interesting how these stood out to her and that she recognized them.

Rhinox escorted the smaller Fuzor to the door as it opened to let them exit with the psychologist on the other side. "Good morning, Banshee," he greeted her with his friendly smile as he and Aurora stepped by.

"Come in, Banshee," Optimus allowed her with his back toward her. The one... The one what? Like Aurora, he recalled Nemesis being the only one able to decipher these words in this ancient dialect. At that moment he wished he had a professional or historical linguist on his team. Not being able to understand any of this strange language and "hieroglyphics" frustrated him. He had even etched out the Vok-like symbols that triggered traps when some of his Maximals were underground traveling the tunnel system set up by the aliens some how. You and your enemies have already contaminated the project, he recalled in Unicron's voice. Primal shook his head, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, unable to put all of it together if it went together at all.

-----

"I see. Well then, I should get going. Have a nice day!"

Rattrap blinked and glanced at Wintersong before he gave a small wave to Banshee who left without answering his question. "Is it just me or did she sound like she wouldn't be seein' us the rest of de day?" he asked the TransMetal tigress. "By the way, are you okay? I know we, uh... we lost track of Ironclaw back at the volcano," he tried to put delicately. At least, it was assumed that the badger hadn't made it. He was no where to be seen during the middle of the battle and at the end when everyone was forced to evacuate the area. There was nothing left that they could do. And he had no idea what would happen between him and Optimus if he did show up by some miracle. Yes, he had unknowingly saved their base from the earthquakes that Zodiac tried killing them with, but he had also violently and callously killed Dirge.

[una]

((OOC: Finally! I got this post written out. I don't know why I had so much trouble for this. I will post for BA later. ))

"It is time."

"TyCross?"

Whitegrazer was meditating inside her quarters, getting some rest. Banshee and she have been for the last two weeks helping Optimus deal with the trauma he endured by both Megatron and Zodiac. As Banshee tried to use her psychological expertise, she used her connection with Optimus to help silence the voices inside his mind, to quieten them enough so they wouldn't overwhelm his mind or thoughts. It seemed day by day Optimus was getting better, more like himself. Of course, it had been only two weeks and getting over what he had been through would probably take months, years, and that was normal. She would know. She had dealt with her trauma in her own way since bacon on Cybertron, she had no one but her master. She was just happy that Optimus had frends, loved ones who would help him in his darkest moments.

"Whitegrazer, remember what I told you about why I wanted you to go on this Axalon mission?

Yes, I do. You said you wanted me to see something.

"If I can recall, you didn't want to come to this mission.

That was true. She, at first, didn't She had so much to do still on Cybertron. Leaving was abhorrent to her. Cybertron was a ticking timebomb and she wanted to diffuse it. Not just delay the inevitable. But TyCross was persisent, egging her on. Telling her that getting inside the pod would give her the answers to questions she still had lingering inside her soul. They were so personal and deep that she never let anyone know. Even Optimus. She didn't like it. But it was a necessary evil.

She was glad she took on this mission. She had met some good people. Everyone in the Axalon had their own dark pasts, but she could see that they were not bad people. They made mistakes. But they wanted to redeem themselves. On the Predacon side, she met her equal, Nemesis. Even if the woman probably didn't understand why she saw herself like. She didn't know. That was fine. She had seen life die tragically, but she also, seen life reborn. Aurora. she prayed that Aurora survives this war and goes to Cybertron. she would make sure of that. But there was one thing Whitegrazer didn't account for. she didn't think she would fall in love with her leader, Optimus Primal. He was the one who intitated it, but she realized she had formed an unconscious bond with him. There was something about him that drew her to him and vice versa. she never felt that way before. For anyone in her entire life. she didn't want to disappoint him. she wanted to help him, protect him, and give him the love and compassion he had shown her. She enjoyed the sensations, the emotions coming together.

"Whitegrazer, this wasn't what I wanted to show you."

"Too bad. though, but thanks for pushing me into the pod. The thiings I had experienced here. I don't wnat to lose or forsake. I missed this companionship. This camaraderie."

I know. But when the time is right, you would have to let go."

"I won't."

Listen to me, Whitegrazer, they are coming and they aren't going to give you guys any warning, but since I'm a nice fella, I will warn you. Go check at the bridge. Search these cooridnates. 15-31-10. That is where you must go. Alone.

"TyCross, what are the aliens planning on doing?

TyCross didn't respond. He was gone.

Whitegrazer would remember these cooridnates. If TyCross was right, she needed to move and warn-

"Come alone"

TyCross returned.

"Why?"

Just come alone. It won;t make any difference. Hurry. Clock is ticking and Optimus or anyone won't have the time to go up. Though, they would be going up this time.

"TyCross, I have to tell them." Then she realized it. Wait a minute. They plan on destroying the planet again?

"Different method. Same results." TyCross made a boom sound and then chuckled. Just listen. Go to where I told you and go alone. You may yet redeem yourself in their eyes.

Whitegrazer stood up. Sighed heavily. The Vok. When would they learn? Well, she wasn't going to let them kill those she cared about and this time no one was going to die. She balled her fists. Yes, she was aware of Optimus' nightmares. It pained her. Maybe just this once she could end those nightmares herself. For them. For him.

She went out of her room. Passed the medical bay where she saw Rhinox and Aurora. She entered inside, smiling at the two. Noticed the device on the table.

"Hello, how is every-"

The device went off.

[Wintersong]

"I suppose you're right." Wintersong said, managing a slight smile. By now, it wouldn't have been very surprising if Rattrap fell asleep on the job, he probably had done it often enough it wasn't much of a bother, but his smell was still another thing entirely. Everyone probably had learned to ignore it or pay it no mind after so long of being together and often working with the rodent. It honestly had become a thing of the past for the crew when they already had many other things occupying their concerns.

But the tigress was drawn to the arrival of Banshee, the bat femme having for a time been someone Wintersong also didn't want to bother with at first. Though, this mainly came from the accusations the psychologist had aimed towards herself and Ironclaw when Zodiac was trying to destroy them all from the inside out and blow the entire place to smithereens, the Maximals along with. But with two weeks since the incident she had dropped that annoyance quickly and simply left that alone as she merely gave the bat a greeting nod. But like Rattrap she hoped in time Optimus might recover after what happened during that time. She had never seen him in such a state before, leaving her like the other Maximals concerned for their leader.

For the time being though Wintersong simply turned back towards the monitors, noticing Cheetor's and Landslide's signals showing up outside the base as they were redoing the infrastructure outside but no enemy signals or alien ones. Again though her attention was drawn back towards Rattrap, giving a slight shrug at his first words. "Knowing her probably not. When she's done with Primal who knows what she'll do after." She said but seemed to go quiet for a long moment at his inquiry if she was alright following Ironclaw's unexpected disappearance during the battle. It probably shouldn't have mattered by now as it could be assumed the mech was dead from the the earthquakes, cave ins, and lava flows but deep down Wintersong had doubts he was dead, maybe more of a feeling or a hunch.

"I'm...holding up Rattrap." Wintersong sighed, looking to the monitors once again, almost half now expecting to see the badger's signal popping up then and there, but there was nothing. "I know I should maybe be sad, devastated even but I can't bring myself to view Ironclaw as being dead. Lost maybe, but not dead." The Transmetal femme admitted, looking back at the rat with uncertainty but a hint of hope in her amber optics. Just the news of him being different was what had really shocked her but his callous killing of Dirge had not exactly changed anything. Callous killing had been common in the slums where she had resided, so it was something not new to the femme and the way Ironclaw had been before she wasn't entirely surprised he had done such a thing.

No, her main concern was of how much he had truly changed. Would he be the same mech she knew and loved? Or was he an entirely different person altogether?

[Phoenix]

"I am aware of that,"

Aurora's smile only widened by hearing Optimus' remark. It was nice getting recognition when mostly it was the fighters that were the most visible in this ongoing and sometimes futile war against the Predacons.. and now the Vok. This planet was a statement to the aliens' presence, even eons after they had departed and left the planet and all its lifeforms to their own merit. Of course they had littered the planet with traps in case other, sentient, beings tried to settle there.

"You're very welcome,"

Of course she was smart enough to realize this new position was one that Optimus had just invented for her, to prove to her that she was valued as much as any other member of the crew. Since she hadn't been an original part of the Axalon crew nor had she emerged from a stasis pod like the rest, she'd always struggled a bit with finding her spot among them. Sure, she was on good terms with most of the Maximals, but she had never officially been trained as a scientist, spy, warrior or what not. Sure, she'd learned some skills from Rhinox, Landslide and before them Icebreaker, but most of her training she had done for herself. Where her endless curiosity and thirst for knowledge came from, she wasn't sure. Most of the records about her creation had been sealed away, probably to protect her she gathered even if she couldn't quite understand why they felt the need to do so.

Could it really have been that traumatic?

"You needn't worry about that, Aurora."

Aurora hadn't dropped the grateful smile for even an instant. Although part of her was a little worried about the responsibility and expectations that came with the new title. She knew her way around the lab, sure, but most of her experiments required a number of adjustments before she could declare them successes. Some never got to that point. With a lot of them it was all a little know-how and a lot of luck. So despite Optimus' encouraging words about how she could never disappoint him, she feared it was only a matter of time before she did. How still remained to be seen.

They were interrupted by Banshee's arrival. Since there seemed to be some urgency in whatever message the bat psychiatrist had come to give Optimus, the fuzor thought it best to leave them to it. Also she needed just a little more time to perfect her latest invention so that she could demonstrate it to Optimus rather than simply explain how it worked. And Rhinox was the perfect Maximal to help her.

"Certainly,"

"Keep me posted on your progress,"

Rhinox and Aurora slipped out the door, passing Banshee on the way. Aurora gave the other female a quick nod, briefly glancing past her to the written symbols on the wall as she left. Once in the hallway, she lead Rhinox to the lab.

"Do you think he's alright?," she asked the larger Maximal when they were far enough away to talk privately. "Those symbols.. I don't know what they mean, but some looked very familiar. That one symbol was the same one that was on the pod Nex.. Zodiac brought with him," she corrected herself. It was still hard to wrap her mind around how the Nexus that had showed up on Earth was never the real deal. Despite never having met the real Nexus Prime, he still had managed to leave an impression on the young fuzor.

They arrived at the lab and went inside. Aurora immediately showed Rhinox over to a machine with an elongated sensor that she had left sitting on the table. "They are mostly done," she explained as she flicked the switch to allow the device to power on.

"The sensors themselves were actually not that difficult to make. The hardest part, by far, was using whatever information we've managed to gather about the alien technology so that the machine could be attuned to those signals. Whenever it detects something of alien origin within its range, it'll alert us of the location of the technology.." She tapped the wrist-mounted computer monitor on her arm which briefly showed a map of the region the Axalon was in. "Once I get it hooked into Sentinel's systems, we can monitor all the sensors right here from the Axalon."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"It also gives off an audible sound to alert us if the alien signal is in the immediate area. That's where the glitch has been popping up a few times. Sometimes the alarm has just been going off for no reason."

As if on cue Whitegrazer entered the lab. Aurora's smile returned upon seeing the other female.

"Hello, how is every-"

An obnoxiously loud alarm suddenly went off, originating from the sensor. Aurora immediately turned the sensor down before sending an apologetic look to the others present.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why it's been doing that. I've been trying to locate the exact problem, but haven't had any luck so far."


Picking up a couple of the sensors, she turned to Whitegrazer once more.

"It could just be the close proximity of all the sensors combined? Rhinox and I are about to take them outside for a field test."

She gathered the rest of her equipment, handing some of it to Rhinox since he was far more capable of carrying the load than she was.

"You're welcome to come with, of course. But I have a feeling Optimus might need you more right now.. He's acting a little.. strangely. Drawing weird symbols on the walls and such. He doesn't seem to want to talk about it but maybe you can get through to him?," she addressed Whitegrazer.

[starshadow]

Banshee walked in to Optimus' office, giving Rhinox a nod and looked back at her leader, "Since I've been looking at the past records in the computer data systems, I think it's time to discuss my place in this war. I intended not to participate in it but...a bigger threat has exposed herself," she activated a hologram image of Starshadow, " which is why I'm going to take up arms once again. You may not understand why I'm saying this but I assure you, Megatron is just a meer obstacle compare to what she can do," the hologram faded out.

"There is still the matter of Protoform X. I'm sure you have some questions."



Starshadow was still recovering from the punch Umbra gave her. But it should not affect her for the rest of the day. She stood up and walked to the command center slowly, pressing a button to open the doors to outside and made her way to the entrance, "I'm heading out for some fresh air. The smoke and heat here is choking me..."

She needed it. She need the fresh cool vapors from the waterfalls with the smell of freedom instead of being cooped up in a volcanic base.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: I'm in the game! Bit of a work in progress though until I hear back from Phoenix, sorry for the wait guys.

It had been some time since the "Zodiac Incident," and Megatron had not been idle since then, nnnnooo. Though the traitor Zodiac had been justly executed for his actions against his own kind, the fact remained that he had triggered an alien signal that would no doubt bring his old friends the Vok back to earth for a not so friendly visit. Despite feeling a degree of kinship to the Vok for their methods, as well as his interest in their technology, Megatron would have preferred it if he had been allowed more time to establish his power base before the aliens became aware of his continued existence once more, but one could sadly best laid plans would often go awry, especially when fools who thought themselves masterminds like Zodiac got involved.

Megatron had been busy overseeing a great deal of new projects undertaken by his crew, from the simple task of repairing the damage done to the Darksyde by the virus to upgrading the base's defenses and sensor array to better their odds against future threats by maximal and Vok alike. Megatron himself had been studying the alien disk they'd recovered from the maximals day and night, deciphering and memorizing alien hieroglyphics that would confound some of the best and brightest minds of Cybertron, hoping that his restless nights would pay off with a better understanding of the Vok and their technology when the time came to face them, it had certainly helped in regards to upgrading the sensors to better detect alien signals ahead of time at least. By learning the Vok's language he hoped to uncover more of their secrets and either replicate their technology or be able to harness it himself at the next opportunity, unlike how he'd been forced to order the destruction of the Quake Maker rather than use it as a weapon against the maximals. Megatron had been roughing it as of late as it were, sleeping less and over energizing to stay awake longer, but it was proving to be worth it as his understanding of the alien disk's secrets and how it could benefit his plans were growing clearer all the time, already reviving hope in him for a long abandoned pet project he had recently returned to working on thanks to the disk's knowledge. Regardless of what Terrorsaur liked to say behind his back, Megatron had been working as hard and diligently as the rest of his crew to ensure their survival, harder even if you considered he was by far the most competent one amongst them...Waspinator alone would probably overheat his sugar addled brain if he even attempted to read one syllable of the Vok language.

However, while his rank and file minions toiled away at their tasks, he had his two top officers gathered together in his private quarters, Nemesis and Deathroll, each of whom had been assigned specific tasks to carry out and were now here to provide their reports. The two of them were the only Predacons he trusted with even the tiniest speck of his more intimate knowledge and long term plans...Inferno was loyal, but not the wisest of bots by far, hence why he'd been demoted to Enforcer and was even now overseeing the efforts of the others around the base while this meeting took place.

"I call this meeting of the Predacon Chain of Command to order, yyyyeeesssss" Megatron said, rapping his gavel as he sat patiently at his place at the head of the round table, which he'd had prepared specifically for these debriefings, complete with comfortable seats for him and his inner circle.

Megatron did not need to wait long to gain the attention of his officers, so he proceeded to say "The secretary shall now read the minutes of the last meeting," a tiny diagnostic drone he'd created himself floating into view with a data pad in hand, speaking in the same voice as the Predacon's ship computer as it said "As you Command, Master. At the last meeting of the Chain of Command, Lord Megatron charged Commander Nemesis with the task of tracking down more stasis pods to bolster the ranks of the Predacon Revolutionary Army, as well as new alien sites to exploit for the benefit of the Predacon cause. Sub-Commander Deathroll in turn was given the duty of overseeing the construction of a series of new jamming towers to limit maximal communications and sensor range as much as feasibly possible. Lord Megatron in turn committed himself to the study of the alien disk and several side projects he deemed potentially valuable to his longterm plans..."

"That will be all, Secretary, I think we can take it from here. Do keep track of today's meeting's minutes as well, would you?" Megatron instructed the drone, the sparkless machine bowing servilely and doing as it was told, "As you command, Master Megatron."

"Splendid. Now then, Commander, Sub-Commander, I would hear your reports, yyyyeeesssss" Megatron said, the drone writing away at his data pad as it kept track of the meeting's criteria, which would be available ONLY for Megatron in his private data tracks, & the drone was programmed to delete all relevant data from its memory should anyone attempt to tamper with it, ensuring that this convenient new tool did not pose a real security risk, but rather made its Master's job easier and helped to better organize the rabble of rogues he'd assembled.

Deathroll was third in rank and took the chain of command quite seriously, so he waited in silence for his superior, Nemesis, to report her progress ahead of him, or at the very least give him leave to speak first. Ordinarily Inferno would be stationed outside the door to keep watch against unwelcome ears listening in on their discussions, but he had seen to it that everyone should be too busy doing their jobs around the base for that to be an issue, and he was confident of his own security measures...Plus, NO ONE entered Megatron's room uninvited, no one...Even Tarantulas had yet to violate that rule.