Time Is But A Window

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: I'm not sure how long everyone would prefer this episode take place after the last one, but how about at least a day or two so just about everyone is repaired and rested and Zodiac is settled in his cell? We can adjust it if you prefer it to be later.

Winter, Rhinox is going to mention something unusual with Wintersong to Optimus but it'll be vague so that you can dive into the details more if you'd like. I hope that's okay.

Wildfire, feel free to put Onyx anywhere you see fit, and to bring in Quickfix's pod activation whenever you'd like if you plan to have him join in this episode. ))

At the Axalon, the Maximal leader was joined with his oldest friend among his crew, Rhinox, as they strolled down the corridor side-by-side toward Primal's quarters. The engineer held a data pad in his hand that he gave to his commanding officer as they walked.

"During Wintersong's repairs in the CR, I found some abnormalities that don't match with her prior scans and original TransMetal schematics," Rhinox explained.

Taking the data pad, Optimus looked it over while he limped in his robot mode and read the information in question. "Is it influenced by the Vok?" he inquired.

"Most likely, but I ran the data that I've managed to decipher from the alien disk, and it doesn't entirely coincide. Well, not enough with the limited understanding I have with their language." He sounded a little frustrated with himself not being able to comprehend and break through their secrets or bypass their encryption.

Primal grew thoughtful over the rhinoceros's findings but also a little sorrowful for what she must have endured all alone with the aliens. He hadn't been able to question her about it yet since she had required extensive repairs along with Whitegrazer, so hopefully he'd have the opportunity soon to discuss this matter with them. He nodded to his friend and said, "It must be. I felt them through her. I just want confirmation or proof before I pass any judgments. Poor Wintersong..." He shook his head with resentment for allowing another one of his Maximals to fall victim to the Vok and their constant torment to those they had personally invaded so far. But for what purpose? "We shouldn't have left her there," he blamed himself most of all as he handed the data pad back to the Maximals' chief medical officer.

"There's no point on dwelling what we can't change. All we can do now is keep our observations on her just as a precaution. There's always the possibility that it may not have any affect on her," he tried assuring Optimus as he took back the pad. "On the bright side, she and Whitegrazer have pulled through their surgeries and have been well on the mend. And I've restored Aurora's identification chip."

Unfortunately, from personal experience, it was never that easy with the Vok. Optimus still suffered from nightmares, flashes of mental images, voices that whispered in the back of his mind and the psychological impact of past encounters. It wasn't pleasant. "I'm glad to hear that," his scarred mouth stretched into a light smile, ever grateful for Rhinox's expertise and knowledge in the medical field. Even though they had lost some friends, they had also saved several more. He truly was one of a kind, and he was proud to have him on his crew. "What's the status on Zodiac?"

"He's under strict surveillance by Sentinel and our own eyes, but he's been quiet, probably because he's still weak and hasn't had anything to replenish his energy."

"No one speaks to him alone in the brig, and no one speaks to him without my consent," Optimus told him so that he could reiterate it to the others if anyone asked for visitation with the shape shifter, especially Whitegrazer. Primal wasn't going to risk any mistakes or accidents this time even with the newly improved cell that Aurora and Whitegrazer modified against his nanotech. Zodiac was far too dangerous to be lenient with.

Rhinox merely nodded before he changed the subject. "Have you looked at Nexus's journal yet?" Judging by Optimus's current emotional state, he guessed that he hadn't.

Primal stopped in the corridor just outside of his room and bowed his head thoughtfully for a second before looking at Rhinox. "No. I'm... I'm not sure I can bring myself to view it... to hear his voice again after everything..." The glimpse Zodiac had given him in the Viper had flooded his spark with so much emotion that he could barely contain it. And it wasn't the shape shifter's "warnings" that made Optimus reluctant to sit down and take the time to listen to his entries. It was a combination of everything that had transpired and came to light ever since Zodiac had arrived on Earth.

His friend placed his free hand on his shoulder and looked at him. "You may not be ready yet, and that's okay, Optimus. If you need someone there with you when you do decide to look, I'm more than willing to be by your side, and I'm sure Whitegrazer would be too."

"I know. Thank you, Rhinox," Optimus said with a small smile. "How is Tigerhawk adjusting?"

Rhinox took his hand off of his shoulder and answered, "Well, I think. I gave him his own quarters, and he has been fully repaired. We were fortunate he arrived when he did."

"Very. Let's hope he sticks around a little longer this time," Optimus said in his more confident and firm voice. They could use the Fuzor's help, especially after proving how valuable he could be.

The engineer nodded. "I'll return to my duties for the day." And with that, he turned around and headed back to the bridge.

"Aurora, please report to my quarters," Optimus hailed for her over his comm. link as he walked into his room and left the door open. He paused for a moment as his orange optics scanned over the etchings and carved drawings of the Vok symbols and sites that still decorated his walls, the floor and even his desk. He had recently added some new ones, particularly a small, strange orb that he had kept seeing the day Aurora had almost been killed, and the cocoon that Wintersong had been encased in for a long time while the rest of the Maximals had dealt with the Metal Hunter, Rampage's activation and Zodiac stealing the Viper, which clearly showed that he was still being probed and prodded mentally by the mysterious alien species. For his crew's sake, he usually did his best to disguise or hide the continued invasion on his already troubled mind.

Primal then went to his desk and sat down behind it. As he waited for Aurora, he unlocked and opened a secured draw where Nexus's journal had been stowed. And he stared at it as he fell victim to his own mixed emotions and overthinking. How could he be so confused or even a little frightened to see what Nexus had to say? His mentor, his father figure, who had been murdered by Zodiac disguised as Optimus... He picked up the journal so he could feel it in his hands again as his thumbs gently traced the edges of it.

"I think we should just put Zodiac's feet in cement blocks and dump 'im in the deepest ocean trench so he can drown and rust away," Rattrap said to Rhinox who had returned to the command center. The rodent was leaning back in his chair with his fingers laced behind his head and his ankles crossed on the console underneath the monitor that was playing real-time video feed of the pretender in his cell.

"That's a little sadistic even for you, Rattrap," Rhinox commented as he walked by and glanced at the monitor to make sure Zodiac was behaving while the rat complained.

"I'm just sayin', what's de point of keepin' him around? It makes us a bigger target for Megajerk because he already hates us AND he hates Zodiac."

"This is the best we can do with what we have. Besides, it gives Whitegrazer the opportunity to reach out to him."

"And do what?!" the rat argued. "Miraculously change his mind and make 'im our new best friend? I knew bots like him, and it ain't gonna work."

"But you've never known one like Whitegrazer," Rhinox objected with certainty. None of them had. She was a unique member of their team. "The least we can do is give her a chance."

"A chance fer him ta take advantage of her mercy and escape some how," he muttered with disappointment.

Rhinox sighed as he sat down at his research console and started reviewing Wintersong's data again with the information they had on the Vok.

-----

Megatron, who had been fully repaired now, was beginning to plan out his day while he studied his golden disk. All he required was proof of the power he held in his hands that no one else was even aware of. And if his calculations were correct, it could turn the tide in this war and the future, or rather the present. Despite his eagerness to find out, he remained calm and secretive about it in his quarters.

Then he couldn't help but glance down at the two scars on his chest. The one Primal had given him seemed insignificant compared to the one Zodiac had left behind when he had disguised himself as Rampage and impaled him with his sword nearly killing him and forever ruining his glorious armor. That blasted, cocky shape shifter... Now he was protected by the Maximals. Megatron slammed his fist on the arm of his chair in hatred and anger. Would he risk a full-scale assault on the Maximal base just to try and retrieve Zodiac, or somehow infiltrate it to get inside and kill him? Was it worth the resources and ammunition? Not exactly, but he wanted him out of the picture for good before he might possibly interfere with his grand scheme.

He stood up, stowed Rampage's spark in his subspace, along with the golden disk and the alien orb, and stepped out of his room as it secured to the fullest when the door slid shut. Megatron walked down the dimly lit corridor as he headed to what was left of the Darksyde's command center that was extremely hot and mostly illuminated by the lava that had consumed the flooring a long time ago to find out where and what his little band of misfits were up to.

"Spineback, has everyone completed their repairs?" the Predacon leader inquired over his comm. link to her.

Inferno was outside patrolling the perimeter of the Colony, ever alert and at attention with his large weapon leaning against his shoulder as he cradled it vertically in his arm and marched on the ground where he could avoid any liquid magma.

(( OOC: Hopefully this works well enough for everyone to join in. ))

[Wintersong]

((Gonna go ahead and reply here then the last episode to help with wrapping things up there. And mostly because I'm eager to give a small image of the horror show! ))

Wintersong herself hadn't inquired to the extent of what the Vok had done to her internally, only knowing that something had changed. Perhaps better described as added at the Vok's own discretion.

Beneath her now clean and repaired armor was an odd network of mutated vegetation, a flower no different from those identified at the valley where the Metal Hunter now lied in ruins. This unbloomed flower, whose petals had faint green glow on the inside, was carefully enclosed around most of the casing housing her spark except for sparse openings in between the petals being visible, the stem connected to her main energon veins. Small vines grew from this central stem, tightly woven among her inner workings and seeming to creep along at a presently sluggish pace. The fluid coming from within this flower not only invaded her very energon, it seemed to intermingle with parts of her frame, causing a dark ethereal green covering to appear on the areas the vines had grown thus far. In all, she was a walking internal horror show, prepping for a yet unknown finale.

The only visible surface sign anything was occurring was the same green ethereal lines that had appeared earlier when taking on Rampage and the Viper, now pulsating in a rhythmic manner in time with her spark.

And the Transmetal tigress absolutely loathed the Vok for the change. Since her surgery a day or so ago, she had taken time to rest up on some much needed recharge, which was hard to come by when she heard the invading whispers of the Vok in her audios and the back of her mind, her helm throbbing from trying to block them out. 'Why won't they shut up?' She thought to herself with irritation, sighing as she lifted herself up into a sitting position on her berth, presently having been resting in beast mode. But she knew why they wouldn't leave her thoughts be, sensing them compelling her to return to where she had just broken free. They want her to return to the valley, to retrieve something vital to their newest plans, plans she didn't want any part of.

Fed up attempting to get further rest, Wintersong stepped from her quarters, hissing as their voices seemed to ring in her audios yet again. "Get what we need, prepare for the next steps." The voice whispered, their presence becoming somewhat more aggressive. Feeling her resistance fade entirely for a few minutes and allowing them to take control, she was directed to the storage room, giving a brief glance around before stepping in, directing herself to finding a small container that could be easily hidden away before stowing it in her subspace for the time being. Once her task was complete and she had left the room, Wintersong shook her head as their hold finally receded, leaving her with a throbbing helm and confused what had just occurred with the Vok leaving no trace of what they had just done.

"Ugh, what have you skull faced freaks done to me?" She muttered, finally making her way to the Axalon's bridge where she heard Rattrap and Rhinox, her amber optics drawn to the real-time video feed of Zodiac. "I have to agree with Rattrap, hardly seems worth keeping around. Far as I'm concerned we seem more than justified giving Zodiac a taste of his own medicine." She growled softly.

"Would that not make us no better than our enemies?" Tigerhawk spoke up, the large fuzor having finally taken time to get fully settled within his new quarters before coming to join them. He was good as new and found no trouble in getting settled in, having taken the time to get use to the layout of the long since crashed exploration ship in the meantime. "As dangerous as he may be, our renegade friend may yet yield some useful information." Tigerhawk pointed out to the two, but looked thoughtful for a moment, "But worse case scenario, we have a bargaining chip in our favor."

It wasn't quite the most positive remark he had made since joining the crew officially, but certainly wasn't something to overlook either. He had not personally interacted or fought Zodiac himself, but given how the situation with the Viper had turned out it was obvious Zodiac had caused the crew, and the Predacons, quite a bit of grief.

In speaking of growing in numbers, a familiar signal popped up on the ship's monitors for the first time in weeks from her long tour of the planet, attempting to not only see what more Earth had to offer but mapping out spots for where the stasis pods had crashed since. "Hmm, least the kids haven't blown up the house while I've been away." Airazor mused as she soared towards the second place she called home aside from Earth itself, finding it rather unchanged since she had last been there. "Airazor to base, coming in for a landing." Airazor commed to the bridge, diving down towards the ship.

+++++++++++++++++

It had been a couple days since the fiasco with the Viper, but things had settled since then.

Since she had some free time on her hands once more, Spineback had taken time to work on a new little research project since Rampage had joined their ranks. Considering his rather unique healing capabilities, which seemed to surpass even Nemesis' own, she had started to consider if that ability could be put to practical use for the Predacon side. First though, she had been examining some samples she had gotten from her tail lance, looking deeper into the properties of their new recruit's cells, testing different methods to see what they could handle and what they couldn't. For the time being she stepped away to take a break, logging her findings at the time when Megatron commed her, "All healed up and mission ready, sir." Spineback answered, not looking up as she wrote her findings on a personal data pad.

"Actually, I'm glad you called my liege. I might have an interesting idea to discuss with you when there is time." She added before such a thought slipped her her mind. Knowing this war, just about anything could happen.

Terrorsaur in the meantime grumbled as worked on the monitors, staring boredly at the monitors that had shown nothing of great interest, no Maximals, no aliens, no nothing. That was the downside to monitor duty. There were some days things got interesting and popped up right away and others nothing happened to the point the flier had lost track how often he had dosed off at this station, all because he had found nothing happening. Though he was in a far more sour mood with the fact he was stuck here rather than doing at least a patrol or something far more productive.

Though his mood was likewise soured by the fact of all the individuals he had to be stuck with, Rampage was lingering around the control center, possibly assigned to the same area just in case the crab attempted something funny. This was an area the Predacons often congregated after all and one wrong move could mean an unfortunate fate for Rampage. Perhaps a seemingly unfortunate fall into the lava.

[una]

The surgery had gone without a hitch, thanks to both the efforts of Rhinox and Aurora. Whitegrazer never had any doubt, and following the orders of Rhinox and Aurora, she made sure not to do anything too taxing as her systems repaired and healed themselves after a quick session in the CR Chamber. She decided to go and see Wintersong, and see how the female tigress was faring. Though the female tigress was now and up about probably, Whitegrazer was still worried about her, especially since freeing herself from the cocoon her people encased her inside, during the same time they had choose to possess her body as well as use it to almost singlehandedly try and kill everyone. The Vok had remained quiet with her, especially TyCross, but the problem was, despite the fact they weren't talking to her, they still stalked and watched her from afar. She sensed it through her own spark, and every night when she recharged, she could feel their eyes gazing down at her, judging her, anger seeping through their glares sharp enough to pierce through her. But then, for a moment, their stares read words, words she should have gotten used to be calling by now. Traitor. Yes, she heard them. You have chosen your side. Why? Why couldn't they understand? No more mercy. No more forgiveness for you. She pleaded with them. I'm not your enemy, they are not your enemy.Tried to explain to them. We need to work together in order to save ourselves from that virus. This could be a huge building block, a chance to prove to you all, a chance to show that they aren't what you believed them to be. But like Optimus and the others have said before, the Vok never talked, never listened, and despite the fact that she was one of them, it seemed they were through seeing her as one of them. Whitegrazer shook her head, shaking away such distressing thoughts as she continued to walk through the hulls of the Axalon, trying to find Wintersong.

She thought about visiting Zodiac beforehand, but Optimus had made it clear to everyone, to her, especially, especially, her, that no one was to see Zodiac without permission. She had thought about using her connection to talk to Zodiac regardless, but that would just be wrong of her to do. Not to mention, underhanded, disrespecting Optimus' wishes. She decided to let Zodiac have some time and space to dwell on the events that happened a day ago, and then maybe, maybe later, she would ask Optimus permission to see Zodiac.

She was about to turn a corner. but then she felt like a force pushing her back, hands, optics of purple, green, and yellow optics glaring daggers at her, an otherworldly growl pounding in her spark and sensors. Shocked, and insulted by such an intrusion of her actions, which they never directly did before. What? What is the meaning of this? I hope you just haven't become schoolyard bullies. Never thought you three were comparable of acting like petty children.

"You made your bed with them, Whitegrazer. Now, you sleep in it."

TyCross, always so crude and harsh in his metaphors, but nonetheless, they had made their point clear.

As she turned a corner, she noticed Wintersong heading to the bridge. The female tigress seemed preoccupied with something, so she continued on her way to greet both her and Tigerhawk along with Rattrap and Rhinox who were discussing Zodiac. Rattrap seeming to not believe that the shapeshifter would change, a belief shred by Wintersong it seems, Tigerhawk seemed willing to give Zodiac a chance yet the thought of sending zodiac back to the Predacons unnerved her a bit, her spark aching, not wanting this perfect opportunity to give Zodiac a chance, , and Rhinox seemed to believe that maybe she would have a chance to get through to him. "I thank you for the vote of confidence, Rhinox." She smiled at him. "I know it would take a lot of patience and compassion, but I am willing to try and help him. It's the least I can do for him, since I am indirectly responsible for what was done to him." She looked at Wintersong and smiled, "I'm glad to see you are up and about. Wintersong, do you have anything pressing to do right now?" She asked the female tigress softly, wanting to give the female tigress a chance to back out if she wanted to. She didn't want to pressure her. "If not, may we talk?"


Blackarachnia was lying down at her quarters assigned to her, dwelling on the events of what happened in the Viper. It angered her to see such a useful ship be destroyed. A ship that could help her win an advantage, a security away from both Maximals and Predacons, an escape, but now, she was still trapped in this tug of war. The knowledge inside her head was the only thing keeping her alive. She knew it. Megatron knew it. So did the Maximals. She wondered if... one day, these Maximals tried to persuade her to give up her insurance, the backup of the golden disk inside her head. No way, she would never agree to it nor would she give the Predacons the made good on their threats to terminate her. It seemed no more comraderie existed between them and her. She burnt her bridges, and here she was, working with the Maximals, becoming weaker by the minute. Oh, if the day ever came that she wore a Maximal insignia, she will shoot herself in the head. What happened to your bite, widow? What happened to it?"

[Wildfire94]

Onyx wanted to feel like he had made the right call joining this Maximal crew, about betraying Megatron like he did. The black and gun metal gray mech wanted to be certain to himself that he had just betrayed one crew with overly ambitious and delusional goals rather than his entire faction as a whole. He wanted to feel like he hadn't broken his own code of accepting the Maximal philosophies.

Yet, Onyx still struggled with his decision. The stallion meant his words, that he wanted to change Cybertron for the better, where both sides had a say in what happened with their home, had equal chance for opportunity than what he saw with the Predacons, but that didn't mean he had found it an easy transition. Due to such an internal conflict in his decision, no matter how sound he had attempted to be in his words, Onyx had fallen off the grid for a time to do some soul searching, attempting to assure himself this was the best decision and had only recently returned to the Axalon. And had things changed by then.

He had returned the following day after the events with the Viper, being caught up to speed of what had occurred since then. And for the moment, Onyx could only wonder what would happen from there, the equine mech for the time being taking to doing monitor duty after having done an early morning patrol, slowly reintegrating himself back among the Maximals. Hearing them speak behind him, Onyx made a thoughtful hum, "Say you do change Zodiac for the better, you would have a better chance giving him a fair trial yourselves than with any of Cybertron's governments." He commented, turning his chair to face them. "They would probably sooner eliminate a liability than keep him alive."

Giving a wide yawn and stretching his limbs, Cheetor sat up from some much needed recharge, having been covering several shifts of monitor duty and keeping an optic on the base. With taking several shifts of either, the Transmetal cheetah hadn't had much recharge time as a result.

But given recent events, he had been more than willing to do his part for the Maximals while more important matters were attended to. Though, that didn't stop him from being relieved to have had some decent sleep at last. Feeling his joints pop as he moved, the young mech moved from his recharge slab made his way from his quarters, perking up slightly as he heard some voices ahead. Though it sounded more like a debate among his teammates than really talking, overhearing their concerns seemed to be about Zodiac.

Suppose he couldn't blame them for feeling as they did, but at the same time it would hardly be their place to say what happened with the shapeshifter. "Ahh, come on guys! Can't hurt to give Big Bot and Whitegrazer the benefit of the doubt." Cheetor tried to point out, offering his usual bright and encouraging smile. "I'm sure Optimus knows what he's doing, we just have to give it a little time." At least, he was hoping. The Transmetal feline had all the faith in the world Optimus would figure this situation out, all of them would. He was sure of it!

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

Quickstrike couldn't help but give the occasional nasty glare towards the king crab as he aided Terrosaur in watched the remaining monitors, finding his presence both intimidating and unnecessary. Rampage was a homicidal psychopath that made even the most insane of their group almost normal, and the fuzor was itching to get payback for the damage dealt from the immortal mech during their confrontation.

Unfortunately, with Rampage now considered being an official Predacon among their ranks, there was little Quickstrike could do to protest the decision. But, that didn't stop him from complaining, "Why do we have that murderous tin-horned crustacean among our ranks again? Far as I see, he's just askin' to be trouble." The fuzor complained, "Couldn't we jus' have him on permanent guard duty or something. With his firepower, who needs defense systems." He snorted, finding it far more practical to have someone such as Rampage worth nothing more than being a glorified guard dog.

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

As if timing couldn't have been worse, or perfect, depending on perspective, a new pod signal popped up strong enough to be detected by both sides.

Having been wedged carefully in a small dip of the mountain side, it had gone undisturbed for months since crashing from the Quantum Surge. That was until a few boulders, loosened by erosion over time, became free of their spot, slamming into the pod on their way down the steep side, causing it to slide down further towards the ancient river still running through the area, the pod coming just short of its banks. But the force had been enough to trigger the systems into rebooting, a feminine computer voice speaking up, "Systems now online, commencing DNA scan." Emerging from beneath the console, the DNA scanner projected its four luminescent yellow lights, scanning for a suitable form.

Beneath the surface of the river, the scanner picked up the fossilized remains of a raptor, bigger than that scanned by Dinobot earlier in the isolated war. "Life form found." Retracting back into its storage, the malleable liquid within began to alter and take shape, the individual inside taking but a few minutes to form before the seal around the top of the pod gave a low hiss, slowly opening with the formation sequence complete.

A transmetalized clawed hand curled around the edge of the pod, slowly pulling upwards to reveal the transmetalized Utahraptor, armor a shiny dark forest green with olive green and cream highlights, who took a moment to examine his surroundings, giving a few sniffs at the air before leaping on top of his pod and his claws digging into the surface slightly. "Well, I'm certainly not on Cybertron anymore." He observed, optics curiously eyeing the mountainous area before dropping onto the river bank with a small splash. "Strange place to be dropped off at too." He murmured to himself, moving to the console of the pod in the hopes he could discover where he was.

But the moment Quickfix attempted to access it he gave a pained hiss, sparks coming off the console and sending a brief painful shock through his hands. "Warning, system overload detected." Just his luck. Quickfix gave a sigh, of course there would be a problem the moment he emerged, but it appeared the beacon for the pod still seemed intact, so perhaps the Axalon crew would come to pick him up. In the meantime..."Suppose nothing passes the time than exploring a little." Confident he would soon be found, the young mech left the pod for the time being, trekking into the nearby brush to have a small peek.

((Thought I would go ahead and make Quickfix come online early on. That way the side story can go right into the main one.))

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Oh dear, I'm the last person out.. Sorry for the wait! Work's been brutal..)

Enough time had passed since the Viper was brought down and the aftermath of that whole mess that Aurora had been able to complete her repairs as well as get her identification chip returned to her. Rhinox had done a splendid job as always, and the only residual physical evidence of what had transpired was now a small scar on her head that was well enough hidden by the wild patch of long fur. Emotionally, however, the little fuzor still suffered from nightmares about what went down. These dreams, or fragments of memories as they were, kept returning every time she tried to get some rest, with the end result that Aurora had started giving herself low doses of medication to allow her to enter a deeper level of sleep and as such manage to get a precious few hours in a day.

It wasn't ideal, of course, but her mind tended to be too active anyway.. whether she was sleeping or awake. So by reducing this activity, she had been able to overcome the more lasting effects of the ordeal.. To a point.

Of course one of the side effects of these medications was that she had less control over sleep and wake cycles, so she would often end up sleeping in whereas she'd normally be up before sunrise. As a result she'd started reporting in for her duties late and far more tired than normal. This was the case this particular morning as well, in fact she was still sound asleep when Primal's message first came through.

"Aurora, please report to my quarters,"

The familiar sound of Optimus' voice caused the fuzor to stir a bit, but it wasn't until the repeating annoying chime letting her know she had a message that Aurora's optics flickered on.

Groaning as she woke up, she looked around with some confusion before realizing she was in her quarters.

Ugh.. What time was it? How long had she been asleep for?

Upon realizing it was past noon, the little fuzor immediately stood up so quickly that she almost knocked over some of her equipment in the process. She managed to catch it just in time and took a moment to safely secure her gear while her head started clearing.

She was late. Again. Well, maybe they wouldn't notice if she hurried!

That's when she realized that the chiming alert was still intermittently beeping, trying to catch her attention. So she brushed her fur out of her face as she played back the message.

"Aurora, please report to my quarters,"

Oh.. Great.. The boss himself and she'd kept him waiting. Not a great start for the day.

"I'll be right there, Optimus!," she replied as she rushed out the door, ignoring the fact that she must have looked a bit of a mess still.

She paced quickly through the corridors of the Axalon towards Primal's office. Fortunately the ship wasn't that big, so it didn't take her very long to get there, but as she rounded the final corner she did stop briefly before approaching a bit more hesitantly. Hopefully Optimus wasn't mad at her about anything.. It generally took a lot to set their commanding officer off, but he did carry the burden of leadership on his shoulders. And at times that could be a heavy weight for anyone, even him.

Unfortunately Primal's office door was already open, so she couldn't take a moment to mentally prepare when she got there before entering. So she let out a quiet sigh to herself before she entered the room.

Optimus was sitting at his desk, a decorated journal in his hands, and pretty much the entire room was filled with carved symbols. There were more of them each time Aurora set foot inside, a fact that made the fuzor question if Optimus was struggling even more with sleeping than she was. Not that she could blame him if that truly was the case, nor did she think any less of him for his compulsions.

She stood there in silence for a moment, waiting for Optimus to acknowledge her presence.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Axalon, the source of so many discussions among the Maximal crew sat quietly in a corner of his personalized prison. Aside from some initial banter when Primal had first taken him into custody, he had soon come to realize it was pointless to fight it or try to persuade his foe to let him go. So by the time they had reached the Axalon, Zodiac had pretty much been a model prisoner. Perhaps in part this was the reason Primal had taken some small mercy on him and had removed his cuffs when they had reached the modified cell that was to be the renegade's new home for the unforeseeable future.

Since the point Primal had closed that door and effectively sealed the shapeshifter inside, he had been left alone. Even Whitegrazer had remained silent for the duration of his stay, which was a blessing he supposed.. Or was it? Honestly, he wasn't really sure. He didn't mind being alone, but being by himself while locked up was causing him to have to relive certain memories he tried so hard to suppress. Yet he had too much pride within him to try to open the link himself to talk to her, especially since he didn't believe he would be able to manipulate her to inadvertently set him free this time.

He'd lost his golden disk, Nexus' journal, and even Rampage's spark (no matter how short-lived his possession of such had been). Worst of all he had lost that freedom he so desperately craved. And for what? Some stupid stunt that had backfired completely, where he had underestimated Primal's desperation to be at his Maximal's side in a moment of need. He should have listened to his own hesitations prior to doing it and perhaps he wouldn't have found himself stuck in this situation now.. It was certainly not an easy realization to swallow, but deep down he knew it was the truth.

Ever since Primal had shut that door, Zodiac had a seemingly infinite amount of time to think. He had avoided sleeping due to the nightmares that tormented him, and there frankly wasn't much else to do in this cell. The coating that they had covered the walls with was impossible for him to absorb, he had tried everything he could think of the first few hours here to do so but to no avail. And he couldn't even carve in the material, or he would no doubt have found himself recreating the Vok symbols again.

Across the room sat a still full tray of food that one of the Maximals had brought him. He didn't know who it was, since they had rigged up a mechanism that would bring him his meal through a concealed hatch in the floor that promptly closed when the food had been served. Such strict security measures.. It almost brought a small smile to his face to think about that, as it proved just what kind of impression he had left on the Maximals.

As he glanced over at the food, he let out a slight sigh and the smile then faded. Part of him was hungry, of course, but at the same time he refused to eat. What was the point? Sooner or later they were bound to notice all the full trays that came back and would hopefully send someone to check on him in person. Hopefully.. Not that he was entirely sure what he'd do if they did. It would be great if they did and this individual let down their guard so he could use them to bargain for his freedom, of course, but it was doubtful he'd get the chance to do that. Still.. He could go a bit longer without sustenance.

Meanwhile Nemesis spent as much time away from the Darksyde as she could, as was her norm. The heat inside the base and the overwhelming sulfuric smell wasn't something she could tolerate for too long at the time. Of all places for the vessel to come to rest, it had to be in these volcanic surroundings. She had even moved her quarters to the slightly cooler section of the ship, not that it mattered much. Still, she preferred being elsewhere most of the time. So it was a pure strike of luck that she happened to have been at the bridge when the pod signal suddenly appeared on the monitors, accompanied by the alert they didn't hear nearly as often anymore.

Nemesis tilted her head as the computer triangulated the signal's origin, before she opened a hailing frequency to her leader, being smarter than letting him find out via a ship wide message along with everyone else. "We've detected another pod's signal, Megatron. Want me to assemble a team for retrieval?"

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"I'll be right there, Optimus!,"

While being engrossed and indecisive with the Admiral's journal now in his possession, Optimus seemed too distracted to notice how much time had gone by while waiting for the youngest Maximal whom he had summoned. Eventually, he heard her walk into his quarters and he set the journal down on his desk and started to speak before looking at her, saying, "Aurora, I-" He stopped himself when he peered up and noticed her disheveled lock of fur and lack of grooming. Had she just woken up, or had she been so preoccupied with her research that she had failed to compose herself before entering his room? Judging by his internal computer informing him when he had hailed her and noting the time that she had finally shown up gave him an indication of her tardiness which seemed to be happening more and more frequently according to the others' reports. It concerned him more than it angered him. So, instead of diving into the intended topic that he had initially planned to discuss with her, he decided to go with his compassion first since she was like a daughter to him, much like Cheetor who was like a son to him. After all, that approach to all beings was probably what he was best known for.

Then, very briefly, Primal looked distracted as his orange optics seemed to stare through the walls in the command center's direction where the rest of the Maximals started to gather. There were voices, whispers. But it was like they were speaking through thick cotton, so they were too muffled to understand. They were speaking over each other incoherently but not intentionally. And not to him, to someone else. Optimus could feel the presence of the Vok, but for once they weren't targeting him. If not him, then who? Whitegrazer, most likely, especially since they were currently connected to each other, but there was someone else. Well, since he couldn't comprehend what was being said, and the voices had gradually faded away, he disregarded the odd occurrence and returned his attention back to the young Fuzor before him.

"Have a seat," Optimus kindly offered her across from him. And then he studied her quietly for a moment before moving on. "Are you alright, Aurora?" he inquired with a soft tone in his commanding voice. Then he elaborated in order to clarify the meaning behind his question before she might have opted to deny anything. "I've been receiving reports of your prolonged punctuality lately, which is very unlike you." She looked exhausted, as if she had just finished a ten mile marathon. Or she hadn't slept for days. He didn't want his Maximals to be fatigued like that since a battle could happen at any moment, so he wanted to help her if he could, but he needed to understand what was going on first. Was it because they had Zodiac imprisoned on board? Or was it all of the recent traumatic events that had transpired with her? He hadn't even been able to speak with her about those yet, but that would be next.

"I have to agree with Rattrap, hardly seems worth keeping around. Far as I'm concerned we seem more than justified giving Zodiac a taste of his own medicine."

Rattrap pointed at Wintersong with excitement - not just for her agreeing with him, but also glad to see her up and about and looking back to normal - as he dragged his feet off of the console and sat up straight in the chair while she entered the bridge. His index finger quickly shifted to a thumbs up. "See? Let's put it to a vote," he said eagerly. The sooner Zodiac was out of there and at the bottom of the ocean, the better off everyone else would be.

Rhinox adjusted his monitor to the ship's external scanners when he heard Wintersong appear, but he kept her CR chamber readings up on his data pad. It was a great relief to see her healthy and fully repaired after everything she had endured just days earlier, but knowing about the strange anomalies within her sat just a little bit off to the side in his mind, so there might have been a hint of skepticism in his crimson red optics. He didn't bother responding since Tigerhawk soon showed up after her and offered his opinion on the matter as well.

"Would that not make us no better than our enemies?"

The Spy rolled his eyes. Of course the Fuzor had to take that route. "He's almost killed us like ten times," he exaggerated. "He ain't worth the trouble."

"As dangerous as he may be, our renegade friend may yet yield some useful information."

"Exactly," Rhinox chimed in.

"But worse case scenario, we have a bargaining chip in our favor."

"Dat should be our only scenario," Rattrap emphasized. "Since Optimus's got the journal now, I don't think dere's any more 'useful information' dat Zodiac can give us, assuming he'd even be tellin' the truth."

Rhinox shook his head in disagreement with his friend before noticing Whitegrazer walking in. Although her physical appearance was quite odd, her presence still gave off that aurora of peace and tranquility that seemed to blanket everyone's moods, at least temporarily.

"I thank you for the vote of confidence, Rhinox."

The engineer nodded to the Vok/Empath/Maximal. She had already established a connection with Zodiac, so why not let her use it to the best of her ability? Who knows, maybe she had already made some headway with him from past encounters and communication. It was worth a shot to Rhinox and Optimus.

"I know it would take a lot of patience and compassion, but I am willing to try and help him. It's the least I can do for him, since I am indirectly responsible for what was done to him."

"Pfff. Come on, 'Grazer. No one should be takin' blame for it except de ones who thought of the idea in the first place, which don't include you, Optimus or any of us," the rat pointed out before the equine turned her attention solely on Wintersong. And speaking of equines, Onyx decided to spin around in his chair and get involved in the conversation. The Predacon-turned-Maximal had been gone for quite some time, which the rodent had found to be very suspicious as usual simply because he was a Predacon under Megatron's command before he joined them. As far as Rattrap was concerned, Onyx's opinion didn't hold much value to their discussion.

"Say you do change Zodiac for the better, you would have a better chance giving him a fair trial yourselves than with any of Cybertron's governments." "They would probably sooner eliminate a liability than keep him alive."

Unlike the paranoid rat, Rhinox was happy to extend friendship toward Onyx so he would feel more welcomed among the Maximals. And he valued his opinion just as much as everyone else's. The stallion's words held more truth to them than he might have realized though. He couldn't help but think of how Optimus might be treated if they ever returned to Cybertron. The Maximal exploration captain was determined to face the Elders and question them about their motives behind several events including the happenstances that lead to them being stranded on Earth and facing the Vok. But like Onyx said, the High Council would sooner silence anyone who dared to confront them and challenge them, especially if that someone was going to accuse them of conspiracies, unethical experiments and murder. But Optimus didn't fear them or their threats. He would do what was right and stand up to them, even at the cost of exile or his own life.

"Ahh, come on guys! Can't hurt to give Big Bot and Whitegrazer the benefit of the doubt." "I'm sure Optimus knows what he's doing, we just have to give it a little time."

"Oy... Kid..." Rattrap muttered when Cheetor made his voice heard. He failed to see the point in going further into his disappointment as he planted his elbow on the console and used his fist on his temple to prop up his head.

Rhinox nodded to Cheetor. "Well, if you wanted a vote, Rattrap, that's five against two in favor of Zodiac staying and being questioned. Six, if you include Optimus," he declared knowing where he stood.

"Six ta three if you include Aurora too," Rattrap corrected his bulkier friend since he was certain Aurora wasn't comfortable with her attempted murderer being there as well, not that it mattered because one additional vote wasn't going to turn the tide. Slag, he cursed to himself as he dramatically let his face hit the console in defeat.

Rhinox shrugged his broad shoulders since it didn't matter. Not that Optimus ruled with an iron fist over them because he always took everyone's thoughts and ideas into consideration, but he was the commanding officer, and he had the final say. And since they were on the topic and everyone was present, he thought it was a good time to remind all of them, "Optimus doesn't want anyone speaking with Zodiac without his permission or alone. This will help prevent any accidents or mistakes that might lead to an escape." Hopefully everyone understood and would abide by the rules.

There was no objection from Rattrap who didn't plan on ever seeing the shape shifter again. ...Except on the monitor from a unique camera that was keeping surveillance on Zodiac's cell but also out of his reach.

"Airazor to base, coming in for a landing."

"Airazor!" the rodent suddenly lit up. They hadn't seen or heard from her so long during her escapade. As thrilled as he was to hear her voice again, Rattrap wondered if there some apocalyptic reason for all of them suddenly showing up now and coming together. He also recalled a few of their experiences that they had shared a few years ago, both in the air and on the ground. He respected her as she was a bit older than a lot of them there, but her emerging from her pod thanks to Rhinox and Cheetor saving her life was epic and she was a force to be reckoned with when it came to her speed and agility in the air. She was a fighter, and often Primal's best aerial-combat back-up.

Rhinox was just as taken aback to hear Airazor's voice come through on the Axalon's frequency, but he didn't hesitate to open the roof hatch for her. And hopefully that alerted the others to stand back and give her some room for her to effortlessly land inside. "You're cleared for landing, Airazor," he returned over the opened transmission.

"ATTENTION," Sentinel announced to the crew occupying the command center. "Stasis pod activation has been detected. Sector 3-1-1-7."

"Whoa. Now, a stasis pod?!"

Rhinox had the same thoughts as Rattrap. Where did this pod come from? Maybe it had been hidden after it was forced down to the planet by the Vok's weapon. And what activated it? Was it damaged? What about the protoform inside? "Optimus, Airazor has returned," he informed their leader, "And an active stasis pod has just been located in sector 3-1-1-7!" he alerted him over his comm. link.

Airazor? Primus, that was such a relief for him. He had almost thought that she might have fallen victim to another alien site. But he had remained hopeful for her return one day. And it looked like that day had finally arrived, with impeccable timing similar to Tigerhawk's and Wintersong's. And a stasis pod? It had been so long since they had any alerts to one of their missing comrades that this came as a surprise to the TransMetal ape. He thought they had lost the rest of them as they had been scattered around the planet and likely damaged thus exposing and expiring the vulnerable protoforms inside. It was a sorrowful thought but also reality. Except for this survivor. Who could it be? No one could know until they rescued him or her. "Send a team for rescue and recovery. And try opening a transmission to the protoform if he, or she, can be reached through the interference," Optimus directed his second-in-command without having to abandon his conference with Aurora in his quarters, whom he returned his undivided attention to since he was confident that the others could handle the pod.

"Copy that," Rhinox confirmed before ending his transmission with Optimus. Sending some fliers would be the quickest way because if the Predacons were receiving the same alert, then they would no doubt be racing for the protoform as well. "Airazor, I hate to throw you right back out into the fray without catching up, but I need you to go with Tigerhawk and Cheetor, and head to the pod's coordinates. Rattrap, you and Onyx will be the ground unit in case they run into trouble."

Rattrap complied with the order albeit reluctantly, but at least it was just a stasis pod retrieval. They usually only ran into a handful of Preds for those, and they were usually the dumber ones. So, it might not be so bad. Of course, most of them had a great deal of firepower to contend with, and he was paired up with Onyx, no doubt on purpose. Great. I gotta trust an ex-Predacon ta watch my back, he thought with the typical stereotype. He dragged himself out of his seat and headed for the lift to take him down and to the exterior of the ship.

"This is the Axalon attempting communication with whomever is out there," the Maximal's engineer sent. "Our scanners indicated that your stasis pod has been activated. A team is on their way to assist you. Do you copy?" Rhinox left the transmission open in hopes that the Maximal receiving it and able to respond if they survived.

-----

"All healed up and mission ready, sir."

"Excellent," Megatron happily confirmed with Spineback.

"Actually, I'm glad you called my liege. I might have an interesting idea to discuss with you when there is time."

The tyrant reveled in the respect she consistently showed him. Such loyalty and devotion. At least he had a few of those Predacons under his thumb. While he listened to her, his optics scanned over the control center and picked up those who were present and those were missing. He was about to answer Spineback when Nemesis spoke up.

"We've detected another pod's signal, Megatron. Want me to assemble a team for retrieval?"

While this minor inconvenience reported by Nemesis wasn't part of his plan today, it wouldn't hurt to gain a new Predacon. "Perhaps at a later arrangement, Spineback," he addressed her first over his comm. link with minuet interest. Megatron was curious about her idea despite how vague she left it at, especially if it was going to benefit the Predacons, but right now he would need to split up his troops.

Then he responded to Nemesis in person. "Yes. And be sure to take Spineback with you so that she may reprogram the Maximal protoform to join our merry, little band."
((OOC: I'm recruiting Spineback for that since Tarantulas is still absent in case no one wants to play him.))

"Rampage," Megatron called to him loudly and clearly to gain his attention, "let us take a stroll." He smiled a little mischievously as he could barely contain his eagerness to find out the true power within his grasp. Leaving Nemesis in charge of the stasis pod retrieval, he turned away from the large, warm room and started to head for the Darksyde's main exit. Was it wise for him to venture off with the allegedly invincible crab? Probably not. But he had the other half of his spark with him to keep him in line in case he decided to try anything to harm the TransMetal t-rex.

[Wintersong]

Wintersong couldn't help giving a skeptical look towards the rest of the Maximals as they entered one by one, each giving their opinion on the matter of Zodiac. She was quite surprised to find most of them favored attempting to change the renegade's views and ways, something that had seemingly failed up to this point and seemed like a lost cause. To say the least it hardly seemed worth further trouble on their part.

"Cybetronians like Zodiac don't change." She said with disbelief. "He would probably sooner trick us into getting free again than extend a hand of friendship." Such a thought seemed highly unlikely, unless there was something Zodiac could get out of it, something in it for him. That was how most Predacons worked right? But she didn't need to be told twice about even going near that cell of his. "Trust me, had no intentions to go near that reptile freak. Had more than enough near death experiences to last my entire function."

If anything, Wintersong would sooner see the dragon shapeshifter perish than walking about free as if the Maximals could truly forgive him for everything he had ever done. She had already grown a great dislike for the mech since the problems he had caused all of them, but that dislike extended even further to his attempts against herself and Aurora, thankfully prevented due to the timely actions of the young fuzor and Rhinox. Though she didn't dwell on these thoughts much longer before Whitegrazer inquired to her if she was busy, causing Wintersong's angered look turn to one of hesitation and uncertainty, eyeing the Vok/Maximal hybrid she had known for quite some time.

Ever since feeling the negative feedback from the white mare back at the Viper's crash site, she had been hesitant to be remotely close to her friend, worried such an event could happen once again due to the remaining Vok's own disdain towards her. Yet, Wintersong couldn't deny they would have to talk sooner or later. Besides, Whitegrazer was a dear friend, it wouldn't be fair to her to avoid her because of what the remaining Vok had done. "We just got out of surgery Whitegrazer, I couldn't do anything pressing even if I wanted to." Wintersong attempted to joke, giving a half-hearted smile as she turned her attention fully to the mare, shifting aside slightly as the falcon femme made her landing.

"Ah, I wouldn't completely count out the possibility." Tigerhawk pointed out towards the rat, understanding his reluctance to have Zodiac around but there could yet be of some use from the imposter. "If there is still an avenue to turn a perpetrator around and build a case you should not squander the possibility, no matter how farfetched it may sound. Whether we take him back to Cybertron," Tigerhawk glanced towards the other equine, another individual he had just met and became aware of, "Or perform the trial ourselves, further evidence may do us some good. We may have to take it with a grain of salt, but at this point what more do he have to lose by lying?"

Tigerhawk was all too familiar with such cases himself, eyeing the monitor for a long moment before turning his attention back to Rhinox, nodding in understanding. He himself had no reason to speak with the renegade to begin with.

Hearing she had the all clear, Airazor smiled to herself before she lowered down through the roof hatch, landing gracefully among those gathered in the ship, giving a quick glance at faces new and old. "If I had known you guys were having a party, I would have brought decorations." Airazor chuckled, trying to lighten the rather tense atmosphere she had landed into.

Honestly, she was curious to what the tension was in the air, eyeing her friends and teammates curiously before the sudden alert about the pod came up. Well that was interesting, she didn't recall any active stasis pods when she had given more of the areas a look. But then again, she could have missed several places for all she knew. "Well, duty calls, and I am pretty behind on my mission quota." The falcon however gave them a quick smile, "Don't worry about it though Rhinox, we'll have plenty of time to catch up after." She assured the rhinoceros, whom she felt rather close to aside from Cheetor, viewing him as almost an uncle figure.

Turning back to look at those who were coming, she merely cast a look of mischief towards Rattrap, "Look at the bright side though Rattrap, least I don't have to drag you halfway across the world again." She teased before she took to the skies.

Tigerhawk was quite surprised to hear about the pod, wondering if this was the first in some months since his own had activated just before the events of what had occurred wit the Metal Hunter. And quite frankly, he didn't mind a good distract right now with all the tense talk about Zodiac and what the present situation put the team in. "We'll be back in no time." Tigerhawk spoke before the large fuzor followed after the falcon femme, shifting to his beast mode once he was outside, eager to get to know some additional new faces along the way.

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

"Take all the time necessary sir, still getting some things together as we speak." Spineback assured him, not minding in waiting.

She could be patient with those who she respected, especially her commanding officer so this time she didn't mind the wait. Any of the other Predacons that was a bit more of a stretch, more so with Tarantulas and Terrorsaur, two of the Predacons she most loathed and was wary of since months earlier. After an earlier attempt at nearly sending her in the lava pits below the medical bay she was quicker to strike out at them than any others at the present. But since that stunt, she had taken the necessary precautions to ensure the destroyed open areas had been patched up to some degree, lessening the chance of something similar happening again or any patience that came within taking an accidental deadly spill.

Finishing logging her current findings, the veteran finally withdrew the samples she had been examining, placing them gingerly in a safe she had, sealing it off with a specialized locking mechanism formed from the shape of a Decepticon symbol that she stowed away once more. Placing it in a safe spot, Spineback finally left the medical bay, reading through her findings once more as she made her way towards the CR tanks, intending to some standard maintenance on them, not realizing she was about to be needed elsewhere.

"Oh quit your bellyaching cobra butt," Terrorsaur snapped in annoyance, finding the fuzor's complaining to be far more of a nuisance than his usual partner Waspinator. Maybe he was just use to the wasp's ramblings and incessant whining but it was hard for Terrorsaur to keep his own bad mood in check after their rather poor performance a couple days prior and now having a maniac looming over them. Something he seemed to to delight in without attempting to hide it.

Though upon hearing Megatron's voice calling to Rampage, the transmetal flier couldn't help turning from the monitor for a moment, suspiciously eyeing his leader, wondering where he would be off to. "You're only taking the freak of nature along? Probably might be your worst mistake yet." The flier spoke with skepticism and slight sneer. Although a part of him didn't quite mind the idea of Rampage snuffing their leader's spark.

Despite the king crab's irritation of having to play an apparently obedient soldier, Rampage was entertaining himself in looming rather close to those in the bridge, primarily Terrorsaur and Quickstrike, the two who seemed the most uncomfortable and vocal about his presence. In a odd way, it was almost amusing to the giant transmetal to cause them discomfort and anger, sensing it quite clearly without Quickstrike bemoaning about the whole thing. Not that his fun would last.

Green optics narrowing slightly when Megatron made himself known, the king crab turned to him when the t-rex suggested of taking a stroll. "Hmph." Making his way over to the transmetal t-rex, he reluctantly followed a little behind Megatron, his somewhat bigger size making it difficult to follow at his side. "Just what sort of stroll are we taking, hm? Negotiating just where I lie in your grand scheme of the future?" Rampage inquired, making no move to hide the mockery in his voice.

[una]

Hearing what Onyx said about the Cybertron government, she had no choice but to agree with her friend who shared the same beast mode as her, "You are right, Onyx. Zodiac has a better chance with us than with the Maximal and Predacon governments because they would have ulterior motives, no matter what ruling they passed down, and none of their motives would be for Zodiac's benefit but for theirs. They would see him as more of a weapon, a tool to be used in whatever political games they played, not as a being with rights." Whitegrazer refused to allow that to happen to Zodiac or to anyone. She herself had been in the hands of governments, especially those of the High Council of Elders, and that was how she was viewed. Despite knowing who she was, they didn't care. All their optics saw was a weapon to throw at their enemies. That had been made clear to that day when they took advantage of her and took sample of her spark, her abilities, her power, to be used in their experiments that created Zodiac and Nemesis, and killed and tortured Primus knows how many Maximals or Predacons.

Rattrap, as always, she smiled inwardly, didn't approve, and despite the fact she disagreed with Rattrap's pessimism, she appreciated his view of the situation. Rattrap wasn't a person who easily forgot or forgiven previous transgressions, especially, if said person, has harmed or killed someone who he viewed as a friend or a loved one, but Rattrap's opinions did give her a cold slap of reality to keep her ground in her idealistic views. She wanted to help Zodiac, changed him for the better, but he has proven to be dangerous, ruthless and opportunistic at any turn. Zodiac despised being in the brig that Aurora and her created for him, but it was better than him outside doing what he has always done and been doing. It was better for him to be in that brig where they could have a chance to talk to him and keep a close eye on him rather than him being outside, with one of his own plans, putting her and her loved ones in a situation where they might have had no choice but to kill him in order to save others. "I am not taking responsibility for his actions, but I do have a responsibility to right a wrong that has been done to him because of mine."

Whitegrazer couldn't help but smile in amusement as Rattrap placed his head on the console in defeat and frustration. Rhinox reminded them of Optimus' order about asking permission. "Don't worry, Rhinox, I will respect Optimus' wishes."

Airrazor had returned, but only temporary as Sentinel's voice spoke of a stasis pod. She was just as surprised as Rhinox was as it had been sometime that they had gotten a message or signal from any stasis pods as of late. After the Planet Buster knocked them all down from orbit, with no messages or any signs of contact, it made them all fear the worst of the fate of those protoforms. But it seemed not all was lost as clearly some fought to being themselves to life. "Hopefully, the Predacons are unaware of this, and our friends get to them first." Wishful thinking on her part for hoping that the Predacons didn't catch the signal also, but she wanted to be optimistic.

Wintersong seemed willing to talk to her, which she was glad. She smiled at the female tigress, "I was just giving you out, just in case you weren't ready." Whitegrazer raised her arm as in motioning wintersong to follow her. She wanted to talk to the female tigeress in a more private setting, which she believed her quarters would be. Also, hopefully, the peaceful, tidy setting would help ease Wintersong and make it easy on them. Before she left, she turned around and, "Stay safe." To those leaving to bring back their comrade.

She walked beside Wintersong towards her quarters, and once they entered, she beckoned for Wintersong to make herself comfortable as Whitegrazer sat down indian-style where candles that burnt soothing smells circled around her, "Wintersong, I know I have said this before, but I'm glad to see you are all right. Back at that site, when they placed you in that cocoon, I couldn't begin to imagine what they must have put you through. I was worried, and I'm sorry, I wasn't able to help you then. But I can help you now, and I want to. What happened to you in the cocoon? Were you conscious at that time? Did they speak to you?" Whitegrazer paused to let her friend speak.


Blackarachnia had heard of the signal. A pod? Now, that was something that she had heard about in a long time. Maybe it would do her some good to get out there and do some old-fashioned-catch-the-pod-before-the-other-side-gets-it to clear her head and focus on something else rather than her thoughts kicking her own self in the head for her predicament. Heh. What irony for her to go and catch a protoform for the Maximals rather than the Predacons. This would be the first, if she wasn't mistaken. The black widow jumped off her metal bed and went to the bridge to see a bunch of Maximals in the bridge, "Wow, did I miss some kind of meeting or is there a line for volunteering to go on this pod scavenge?" She smirked at the Maximals, showing that she was willing to go on this mission with whoever they were sending.

[Wildfire94]

The equine mech couldn't help the faintest smile of amusement spreading across his face at Rattrap realizing he was outvoted. He was probably more amused than he ought to be given the situation, but with the hard time Rattrap had given him the last time he had been at the Axalon, and the times before that upon joining their team, Onyx felt some satisfaction knowing the rodent had lost this argument.

Though Onyx turned his attention towards his fellow equine, her half skeletal appearance strangely fascinating to him. Yet, he was polite enough not to make a remark on it. "Given the amount of trouble I have heard Zodiac has caused, I would hardly say being a weapon would be at the forefront of their thoughts Whitegrazer." Onyx gave her a thoughtful look. "Given the choice, the Predacon Alliance would probably sooner have him terminated than risk his behavior again if he has proven to be more trouble than he's worth. My faction by their view would look bad if someone such as Zodiac acted out too much." Onyx made no hesitation to make it clear that despite being among the Maximal crew he still very much viewed himself as a Predacon.

He was about to further remark on the politics of Cybertron before the stasis pod alert quieted him, sharing the surprise with the Maximals any pods were functional! But of course, he had to be paired with the rodent. Onyx actually shared Rattrap's reluctance to work together, finding the rodent the most intolerable of the crew, but at the moment they had no choice, Onyx merely getting up from his chair to follow the transmetal rodent. Though as he went to follow to the lift he actually did a double take when Blackarachnia arrived, recognizing the spider from Megatron's crew but having not interacted with her very much. "You missed a good talk Blackarachnia, but we're already heading off to get the pod." Onyx told her swiftly before he nodded a good bye and jumped down to the lift next to Rattrap. "Hope that engine of yours has some decent horsepower rat, otherwise I'll be leaving you to eat my dust." Onyx teased as he shifted to his beast mode before taking off to head for the pod.

"You're the one that wanted the vote." Cheetor remarked towards Rattrap, not quite surprised by his negative outlook. The rodent always had one. But, that was often not without being warranted, after all with how Zodiac had impacted their lives up to this point it was no surprise why anyone would want him gone, especially Optimus and Aurora.

The moment Airazor had landed however, Cheetor was all too eager to change the subject, brightening when the falcon greeted them. "Glad to have you back Airazor! You wouldn't believe everything that's happened since you've been gone!" The young cheetah was all too eager to be the one to catch Airazor up to speed, especially with how long it felt like they had seen one another. The two had a close bond since the day she had emerged from her pod, largely thanks to his own parts he offered to save her life those few years ago. But with the alert for the pod and Rhinox assigning them to retrieve it, the transmetal cheetah could only frown in slight disappointment. "Well, later it is then." He agreed with her.

But the disappointment didn't last as he quickly brightened once more. "Hopefully our new pal is as gun-ho to help against the Preds as others have been." He spoke with great enthusiasm, shifting to his own beast mode and quickly following the falcon and the large fuzor.

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

Terrorsaur reprimanding him for whining caused Quickstrike to turn his full attention towards the Transmetal pterodactyl, giving him a nasty glare in response this time rather than Rampage. "Sure, like you're much better ya flying featherless chicken. You're jus' too scared to voice it." The small fuzor retorted, point an accusing leg-finger at him to emphasize his words.

He would hardly call the Transmetal a model of hiding emotion. With his several glances back and forth from the monitor to Rampage and back again, he had seen the anger and sourness etched into Terrorsaur's expression. Not that he would ever admit it. The flyer was far too proud for that. "Course, ya are a spineless, yellow-bellied coward, so shouldn't have expected much."

But Quickstrike quickly went quiet upon Megatron speaking up to get the crab's attention, causing him to straighten himself and attempt to turn back to his work. Last thing he wanted was for Megatron to turn his fury upon him in case he was in a bad mood, which was pretty often. And Terrorsaur's next words being directed towards their commander didn't exactly help in that regard.

Lurking in the shadows of a distant cave, one Predacon had his own plans he was tending to.

Tarantulas had taken to his hidden lair for sometime now, plotting his twisted schemes, especially in regards the Vok. Such a matter always had him on edge despite the virus he had introduced in keeping them linked together and less of a threat, for the time being. But what he wanted was a far more permanent solution, one that yet evaded him. "Sooner or later, I will find a way to exterminate your kind once and for all from this planet." The psychotic spider muttered, looking over the readings he had gotten from the Metal Hunter and past sights, trying to find a solution, anything, to crack the code of the Vok.

Yet, he was alerted to further activity going on within the Darksyde, interrupting his current project. "Oh? Now what do we have going on back at the mothership?" the transmetal arachnid cackled, rubbing his hands together as he came to peer at the monitor which had a live feed of the entrance.

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

Quickfix was somewhat startled by Rhinox's transmission, freezing in his tracks for a moment from observing his surroundings before registering what the rhinoceros had just said. Relaxing his stance, Quickfix responded after a minute or two had passed, "Copying you loud and clear." Turning on the spot, the young Predacon began making his way back towards his pod some yards away. "I will be waiting near the pod for extraction. Though I have to say, you lot sure picked a strange planet to explore." Quickfix responded, his voice clearly indicating his youth.

Upon getting closer however, Quickfix was still taking a precaution.

He didn't want to be out in the open in case anything or anyone hostile decided to reveal themselves before the team would arrive and therefore leaving himself a rather ideal target. Instead, he used his coloring to his advantage to crouch among some of the thick vegetation, being just enough to conceal his Transmetal frame but allowing him to have a clear view of anyone approaching.

((And I will be taking up Tarantulas from here on out. I needed to rewatch "Code of Hero" and a few episodes in Season 2 as a refresher before I could post with him.))

[Phoenix]

"Aurora, I-"

The ermine fuzor remained standing in the same spot when Optimus took notice of her having entered the room, his optics immediately focusing on her rather messy appearance. The fuzor was aware that she looked a little frazzled, but she failed to realize just how noticeable it truly was. Now that she knew, as revealed by the expression on Optimus' face, she started to feel a little bad she hadn't taken just a few moments more to freshen up a tad before rushing over here.

Oh well.. Too late now.

Keeping up her composure, she smiled a bit at the primate who had been thrust into a leadership role he never truly wanted. "Sorry I'm a little late," she excused herself, "But reporting for duty now," she continued as a reassurance that she was ready for whatever it was he had summoned her for.

But Optimus was no longer looking in her direction, instead his gaze seemed to have fixed on a spot on the wall as if he was just staring through it. The fuzor shifted her weight a bit as she waited patiently for Primal to address her again. All the writing everywhere made it abundantly clear that Optimus had been fighting his own demons after all, so she wasn't going to openly question any such little behaviors. Her leader was probably not sleeping enough either, as was the case for at least a handful of cybertronians who called the Axalon their home.

After a moment, Primal seemed to regain his focus and offered her a seat. Aurora tilted her head a bit, realizing there was more to this meeting than Optimus having an assignment for her or a simple get-together. She slowly nodded as she did as directed and slid into the chair he was offering to her.

"Are you alright, Aurora?"

Prompt and to the point. The fuzor looked down to her lap as she twirled her thumbs and felt her feet dangle in the chair that was too big for her since it was designed for the more average size of her crew mates.

"I've been receiving reports of your prolonged punctuality lately, which is very unlike you."

Well, that part was more to the point. Of course she wasn't surprised that he would ask.

"Yeah..," she said in a low voice. No, she wasn't really okay but Optimus had enough on his plate and she didn't want to bother him with her seemingly trivial problems.

"Just a little tired, that's all."


Noticing that her thumbs were twirling quite intensely, she stopped herself from doing it and let out a sigh.

"No that's not entirely true," she then added, knowing Optimus was too smart to buy such an obvious white lie. "But something tells me I'm not the only one who is struggling to sleep right now," then then quickly added, uncomfortable with having his attention drawn to her.

Of course she wasn't expecting Optimus to open up and talk about it. He was more the listening type, someone who didn't often bare his own soul. Or at least not to anyone but Whitegrazer. The white mare/vok was the keeper of a tremendous amount of secrets, yet she never betrayed the trust of any of those who confided in her. It was a bit mind boggling to think about, and perhaps her willingness to listen was at least part of the reason Primal was so drawn to her.

Aurora was about to continue when Optimus suddenly relayed a message to someone else, leaving the fuzor listening intently.

"Send a team for rescue and recovery. And try opening a transmission to the protoform if he, or she, can be reached through the interference,"

She felt her spark pulsate just a tad bit quicker when she realized Primal had just referenced a new protoform. A potential new comrade..? That was exciting news! Yet it seemed like Optimus intended for her to sit this one out.

So she impatiently waited for Optimus to tell her why he had summoned her.

At the Darksyde, Nemesis was pleased to hear Megatron sounding much stronger now that his repairs had been completed. Truthfully she wasn't quite sure what he would emerge from the medical pod like, given the sorry state he was in when their chief, and only, medic and Nemesis herself had placed him there.

"Yes. And be sure to take Spineback with you so that she may reprogram the Maximal protoform to join our merry, little band."

"But of course," the current second in command replied. Indeed, they could use an additional Predacon to join, especially now that a couple of their own had defected to the Maximals. The fact that BlackArachnia had done so was perhaps the greatest surprise, given her history and more so personality. Onyx, on the other hand, had always been a bit of an outsider as far as Predacons go.. Just someone who tended to disapprove with Megatron's goals and methods, something even the avian female was guilty of from time to time. Yet she was in no position to argue the point with their leader, so despite the fact she sometimes didn't entirely agree with his ruthless methods, she had to admit they were effective.

Megatron could be quite persuasive when he wanted to be, and she certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of his rage.. again. And more importantly, he had showed her glimpses of what was on that disk.. and had told her about his goals. So despite her reservations about his methods, she still kept those doubts to herself and remained loyal.

"Spineback, you're with me for the introduction to our newest member," the avian female informed their medic via comlink as she started making her way through the corridors to personally extend her invitations to the rest of the crew.

On her way she also hailed Tarantulas, with whom she had tasked an assignment after their return to base a couple of days prior. "I know you can hear me, spider. How long are you planning to hide out before you get back to me?," she inquired via private com link. As usual the creepy spider had slithered away as soon as she had provided him with the schematics for the equipment they needed to be able to apprehend the traitorous renegade and bring him to justice for the chaos he had caused. The female was starting to somewhat regret her decision to get the spider involved, but despite her own as well as Megatron's misgivings as far as the crawler was concerned, she had to admit to his brilliance and expertise. Besides.. when had the spider ever been able to resist the chance to obtain new technology for himself?

Up ahead she could hear Terrorsaur's voice as he loudly debated with other crew members and tossed out insults to others. Nemesis shook her head briefly at the foolishness, but unfortunately it was a necessary nuisance to bring the loud mouthed pteradactyl along.

"You're only taking the freak of nature along? Probably might be your worst mistake yet."

"That's none of your business, Terrorsaur," she told him bluntly now that she was close enough, "Instead get ready to depart. You're coming along for the new protoform mission. And your verbal sparring partner here," she added, indicating the cobra fuzor, "Is coming with also."

She then paused for a moment as she opened a channel to Inferno, informing the loyal fire ant to join in as well.

Meanwhile Zodiac remained silent in his cell, barely moving as he sat leaned up against the back wall. Once in a while his gaze focused on one of the cameras in his cell, but thus far he hadn't done anything to try to sabotage any of them. Physically he hadn't done much of anything at all, really, after he had gotten through the first few hours where he searched frantically for a weak spot in the structure of his makeshift prison. The walls were all coated by the same substance they had used to create those cuffs for him earlier, but since the material wasn't metallic in nature he wasn't able to absorb it. And sadly it was strong enough to withstand whatever physical force the renegade was capable of exerting on it.

As was their custom, and wisely so, the renegade's weapon systems had been disabled before he set foot inside the Axalon. He may have been capable of assimilating technology to create his own weapons in addition to the ones he normally wielded, but like all Cybertronians he was equipped with a chip that controlled his weapon system and like anyone else this chip could be deactivated with the right frequencies. Well, not that it mattered much. Somehow he doubted his weapons would have been of much use in here anyway..

While his ability to change his shape remained intact, he saw no reason to do so. He was alone, with nobody to pull his antics on, nobody to fool or manipulate. That's not to say that he hadn't tried to make the time pass a little more quickly by masquerading as one of the Maximals from time to time, if only to make fun of them in view of the camera, but that too had gotten boring fast since none of them had shown up to try to correct him on his mischievous behavior. All in all, he was getting bored.

Still, he refused to let himself sleep. The dreams that haunted him were not welcome, especially not now that he was in plain view of the cameras. He didn't want his foes to see him frantically wake from the nightmares, didn't want them to know such intimate details about his psyche. So he tried his best to remain awake, despite the fact he hadn't slept since those few hours after indulging on Rattrap's booze. Frankly, he felt foolish for having wasted those precious few hours. Perhaps things would have ended differently if he hadn't.

Of course staying awake for so long had left him exhausted and given him plenty of time to reflect upon his predicament.. and future. He wondered what the Maximals planned on doing with him. Would they put him on trial themselves? Would they trade him to the Predacons for a favor? Or what if they somehow made it back to Cybertron one day..? As disturbing as the other options were, being returned to Cybertron in chains was one of the worst things that could possibly happen. He was a wanted bot by either faction, after all. At least Megatron would end it quickly, but he was certain both sets of Councils would question him for hours, then torture him, experiment on him, and finally kill him. There was no doubt in his mind about it. So regardless of the outcome of his capture, it wasn't going to be in his favor.. Not unless he could figure out some way to escape.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Sorry I'm a little late," "But reporting for duty now,"

Well, Aurora sounded more upbeat than her appearance had initially indicated to Optimus. Nevertheless, he pressed forward on the matter as she took a seat across from him.

"Yeah..," "Just a little tired, that's all."

His gaze lowered toward her hands on her lap as her's fell as well, twiddling her thumbs nervously or anxiously. Either way, her body language told him that she was uncomfortable or bothered, and he didn't want her to be if he could help it. He certainly hoped that she wasn't afraid of him. Although he could lose his temper sometimes, he often tried his best not to take it out on his crew. "That's all?" Primal repeated her words unconvinced.

"No that's not entirely true,"

He raised a curious brow at her sudden honesty as she appeared to notice her own thumb twirling and immediately stopped it with a sigh of defeat.

"But something tells me I'm not the only one who is struggling to sleep right now,"

Optimus straightened himself in his chair and narrowed his optics at his Chief Biologist accusingly. "Tardiness, and talking back to your commanding officer," he stated in a stern tone while he pretended to count how many times she had been insubordinate lately. She was right, not that his sleepless nights were a secret to anyone, but he didn't want her to try and project her guilt on to him so all of the attention wouldn't be on her anymore. Although he appeared to be serious about his sudden mood change, he wasn't. No, Optimus was in a relatively good mood on this day all things considered, especially since Tigerhawk, Wintersong, Onyx and Airazor had all returned to them safely. So, after "intimidating" her a little, he moved on with their meeting with a different approach. His face and body promptly relaxed as he sat back in his chair and studied her thoughtfully for a moment in silence. Then Primal stood up and limped over to the metal wall near his desk, cupping his hands behind his back that now faced the ermine while his optics looked at the alien orb he had engraved on it.

"None of us have been spared from the trauma and causalities," he began sorrowfully without looking at her. Then he pivoted to face her as he added, "This war has affected all of us in one way or another, both mentally and emotionally. And even physically." Optimus had not only referred to their beast modes which were unique to Cybertronians, and the TransMetals, and the Fuzors, but their scars and his permanent limp as well. "It has changed us so much that no one on Cybertron would even recognize us if we showed up." She might not have been able to relate to that the way he did, but it was merely an observation he had made some time ago about this war of survival that they were stuck in.

Stepping toward Aurora, he knelt down in front of her on one knee and reached toward her forehead to gently hold up her lock of fur with his hand so he could see her scar. He frowned a little before pulling his hand away and planted his optics firmly on her's. "Even though you had disobeyed a direct order by leaving the base and failing to tell any of us where you going or what you were doing, what happened to you was the callous actions done by others, and you didn't deserve any of it. What Zodiac and Megatron did was vile and abhorrent. And I'm sorry, Aurora." His voice was sincere and empathetic. He wished it hadn't happened. And if had to have been that way, he wished he could have taken her place to spare her the pain and suffering. His leadership was supposed to keep them out of harm's way, and his instincts inherited by his silverback gorilla beast mode were to protect his crew - his troop - at any cost. He had failed to do that for her. Although she had been confined to the base as a disciplinary measure, he felt she had already served her "punishment" in the cruelest way possible, which obviously wouldn't have been his choice but it was what it was and it couldn't be changed. "Please talk to me about it, if you want to," he encouraged Aurora giving her the opportunity at that very moment to tell him what she was enduring and what she was feeling. Primal wasn't a psychologist by any means, but he made it a priority to understand what his Maximals were going through in this war because he cared about each and every one of them. And this had proven to be a very tiring, dreadful and drawn-out war. Some bots handled it better than others, and some just handled it differently.

"Cybetronians like Zodiac don't change." "He would probably sooner trick us into getting free again than extend a hand of friendship."

That was exactly how Rattrap felt, and he was glad he wasn't the only one. Thank you, Wintersong! he thought.

"Trust me, had no intentions to go near that reptile freak. Had more than enough near death experiences to last my entire function."

To that Rhinox frowned a bit since no one should have to go through those kinds of experiences. Being stuck at the Axalon on the majority of the missions had left him isolated from the events and trauma that a lot of the other Maximals had endured. It wasn't that he felt it difficult to empathize with them, but he felt as though he hadn't been doing enough for them to help alleviate that stress and pressure, except for the surgeries and other miracles he performed once in a while. His thoughts drifted to what the Vok did to her since it hadn't been disclosed to him. Maybe she hadn't even discussed it yet with anyone. But the unusual readings during her time in the CR suggested that something was going on with her, so hopefully she would be willing to talk to them about it at some point. ...Assuming she was aware of it herself.

"Don't worry, Rhinox, I will respect Optimus' wishes."

Good, he thought as he nodded to Whitegrazer. They had to take her word for it with her ability to communicate through sparks, but she was a trustworthy and honest Vok-turned-Maximal so he wasn't too concerned about her reaching out to Zodiac when she shouldn't be.

"Ah, I wouldn't completely count out the possibility." "If there is still an avenue to turn a perpetrator around and build a case you should not squander the possibility, no matter how farfetched it may sound. Whether we take him back to Cybertron," "Or perform the trial ourselves, further evidence may do us some good.

Rattrap had rolled his optics at Tigerhawk's reply as he brushed off the slightest possibility of Zodiac changing. No way. He was incapable of it.

We may have to take it with a grain of salt, but at this point what more do he have to lose by lying?"

"Well, if he's a pathological liar, which I'm pretty sure he is," Rattrap crudely presumed, "den we can't really listen ta anything he says, can we? I don't think so. He's got nothin' left ta offer us. He's atta dead end. Case closed."

"You're the one that wanted the vote."

The rodent just stared at Cheetor with slightly narrowed optics. He liked the kid, but sometimes his comments got under his paint.

"If I had known you guys were having a party, I would have brought decorations."

"Like what, Bird Lady? Sticks, berries an' pine cones?" the rodent joked with Airazor.

Rhinox chuckled at them both despite the rat's earlier comments and attitude. He was so glad to see Airazor again as she dropped in as graceful as ever with her landing. It was too bad that she had to leave right away without even seeing Optimus, but it was important for them to rendezvous with their lonely comrade before the Predacons did, and she was the fastest flier on their team.

"Glad to have you back Airazor! You wouldn't believe everything that's happened since you've been gone!"

Rhinox nodded in agreement to Cheetor's comment while Rattrap said with exasperation, "Ain't dat the truth."

"Well, later it is then."

"Well, duty calls, and I am pretty behind on my mission quota." "Don't worry about it though Rhinox, we'll have plenty of time to catch up after."

"I look forward to it," the engineer returned to Airazor with a soft smile.

"Look at the bright side though Rattrap, least I don't have to drag you halfway across the world again."

"Got dat right!" he agreed. "You know how much I hate flyin'," he shuddered. Fortunately, he didn't do too much of that anymore. Ever since he had "evolved" into his TransMetal body, he had his own fast transportation now. And it was a lot safer than buzzing around in the sky where one could be shot down and crash.

"I am not taking responsibility for his actions, but I do have a responsibility to right a wrong that has been done to him because of mine."

Rattrap just didn't understand Whitegrazer's fascination with blaming herself for what the pretender had gone through to make him what he was presently. Of course, it was difficult for him to accept that Optimus had anything to do with it as well, AND Rampage.

"Given the amount of trouble I have heard Zodiac has caused, I would hardly say being a weapon would be at the forefront of their thoughts Whitegrazer." "Given the choice, the Predacon Alliance would probably sooner have him terminated than risk his behavior again if he has proven to be more trouble than he's worth. My faction by their view would look bad if someone such as Zodiac acted out too much."

Onyx provided an interesting perspective considering his prior allegiance, and Rhinox agreed with his testament.

"Hopefully, the Predacons are unaware of this, and our friends get to them first."

"It is within their scanner's range, so you're likely to encounter them. But if you make haste, you can beat them to it," the rhinoceros encouraged the retrieval team.

"Hopefully our new pal is as gun-ho to help against the Preds as others have been."

"Eh, if he's smart, he'll make tracks," the Maximal Spy smirked at the TransMetal cheetah.

"We'll be back in no time."

Rhinox nodded to Tigerhawk and hoped they wouldn't run into too much trouble.

"Stay safe."

Rattrap gave a wave to Whitegrazer as he walked to the lift. He wished Aurora had been there since she was like his good-luck charm before he ventured out and likely faced death, but he hadn't seen her all morning, so he didn't know where she was. Optimus had been missing as well. Maybe they were having a talk.

"Wow, did I miss some kind of meeting or is there a line for volunteering to go on this pod scavenge?"

"Not this time," the Maximal's science engineer replied to the black widow with more respect than Rattrap was about to offer.

"You missed a good talk Blackarachnia, but we're already heading off to get the pod."

"Sorry, she-spider, de spot for an annoying Predacon has already been taken for dis mission," the rodent said snidely and grinned since he was happy to leave her behind this time even if he had to deal with Onyx instead. Although Rattrap and Blackarachnia had actually worked pretty well together in the past when they had to, he was still very paranoid of her and how she often turned up at places or meetings that could only benefit her in the end if she was able to participate in them. At least Onyx wasn't a spider.

"Hope that engine of yours has some decent horsepower rat, otherwise I'll be leaving you to eat my dust."

"Tah!" Rattrap scoffed at the black stallion. "I'll show ya real horsepower, Black Beauty!" As soon as the lift lowered to the ground outside of the Maximal base, he converted to his vehicle mode, revved his engine loudly as flames blew out of his exhaust pipes, and he drove off easily catching up to Onyx.

As the team departed to meet up with the new arrival to the Beast Wars, a young voice came through the ship's radio in response to Rhinox. It was a pleasant surprise for something to work correctly for once on their behalf. And hopefully he hadn't sustained any damage. Since he was speaking with him, he could only assume that he had already been given a beast mode, and he had to be TransMetal since the quantum surge had swiped over the planet along with the remaining and exposed stasis pods that had been scattered about the planet.

"Copying you loud and clear."

"This is Rhinox," he told him so he wasn't such a stranger on the other end of their transmission. "Can you identify yourself? Are you injured?"

"I will be waiting near the pod for extraction. Though I have to say, you lot sure picked a strange planet to explore."

If only he knew. "It wasn't exactly a choice," the engineer corrected him with a light tone in his deep voice.

Since Whitegrazer had exited with Wintersong, that left the black widow with Big Green, so he decided to give her something to do. "Blackarachnia, keep an eye on Zodiac there." He motioned with his index finger for her to sit down at the console that Rattrap had been occupying and watch the monitor that aired the live feed of the shape shifter in his cell.

-----

"You're only taking the freak of nature along? Probably might be your worst mistake yet."

"Your fraudulent concern for my well-being is precisely why I exclude you from my most crucial forethought, Terrorsaur," Megatron addressed the flier's objection and jealousy.

"That's none of your business, Terrorsaur," "Instead get ready to depart. You're coming along for the new protoform mission. And your verbal sparring partner here," "Is coming with also."

A snarky smile of pleasure crept onto Megatron's purple face as he took a moment to observe how Nemesis handled Terrorsaur's insubordination. It was to his satisfactory. Snapping his finger to gain her attention, he motioned her to come to him. "When your team has procured the pod and the protoform, devise a plan of attack on the Maximal base. I wish to extract Zodiac and terminate him. If Rampage and I do not return by the time you depart, then we shall rendezvous at the Axalon." It was a hefty responsibility to bequeath her with, but he knew she could handle it. The most difficult part would be bypassing their defenses and drawing the Maximals out, but perhaps Tarantulas would be willing to offer his services for such a chore. Megatron's destination was a bit off the grid, so his absence was going to be inevitable. And with Zodiac as the primary target, it should keep Nemesis focused and deterred by any Maximal sentimental nonsense in case she still harbored any feelings for them ever since she had sought refuge with their enemy.

"Hmph." "Just what sort of stroll are we taking, hm? Negotiating just where I lie in your grand scheme of the future?"

"Perhaps, in one possible future, my dear Rampage," the tyrant grinned at the crab after they had stepped away from the rest of the Predacons and made their way down the corridor. "I am sure we could both use some fresh air, and get to know each other a little better. Yesss."

"Coming." Receiving Nemesis's order to join the rest of the Predacons, Inferno turned around and ignited his engine to propel him toward the Darksyde.

(( OOC: Phew. I think I covered everything... XD ))

[Wintersong]

((Going to be real slow getting this response up, last week has been busy but I should have this done tonight!))

“I know you did Whitegrazer.” Wintersong acknowledged in a kind tone, assuring her friend she knew well and good she had that opportunity. But if she didn’t speak now or waited too long, she was worried that she would only be more reluctant with each passing day to say something or the Vok’s influence would become too strong for her to be able to speak freely.

Following beside the mars to her quarters, the Transmetal tigress took the bit of time to collect her thoughts, trying to push pass the small throbbing at the back of her helm aside to focus. But those few minutes didn’t feel like enough time, and even if she had an hour or a whole day it never felt like should would have her thoughts in order. She could only let out a deep sigh as she stepped into the mare’s room, her senses struck by the smell of several incenses and for a moment she found herself taking a few deep whiffs of the smells that seemed to work their way into her systems, to her very core. Strangely it was calming, more so than Whitegrazer’s presence.

Stepping further into the room, Wintersong moved to sit on her knees, resting her hands in her lap to keep from fidgeting as Whitegrazer began speaking. “Everyone seems relieved.” Wintersong began, her gaze shifting to the floor. “And worried, I know that much. But I don’t know if it’s because they don’t know what the experience will do in the long-term or if the influence has made me a danger to everyone.” Wintersong though hoped it was just concern and not the latter. She herself hoped it was nothing and that their influence was rather minor. However, Whitegrazer’s further inquires made her silent for a long few minutes, trying to recall all she could but her memories were spotty and blurred, as if she had been in a coma and remembered so few of those conscious moments.

In retrospect, she probably was in a coma. “I only remember bits and pieces Whitegrazer, like it was all one prolonged nightmare. I was mostly unconscious of the process but there were times I was aware, just not as much as say Optimus or others have been.” She began to answer, her usual self quickly fading to a more defeated, exhausted, and vulnerable aura to her, her shoulders sagging and frame looking as if it carried a heavier weight than it should. “When I was I just know they were examining every inch of me, my memory banks, my frame, my very core...I could feel them worming themselves throughout my entire being.” Wintersong brought her amber optics up to meet Whitegrazer’s, fear and vulnerability evident in them, a look she had never shown in her entirety of being a Beast warrior. “I don’t recall them talking to me often, if they did I remember very little. I just know the mentioned needing a new plan and for someone to make sure that plan came to fruition.”

But that was the extent to what Wintersong remembered. She clearly remembered being extremely fearful as she was encased in the cocoon, unable to tear free before she was forced into stasis. Then the next thing she knew her struggle had allowed her to break free. “Look, I don’t know the extent of what will come of being back Whitegrazer. I just know they tampered with my internal systems.” The Transmetal feline recalled the green fluid mixed with her energon when Zodiac had shot her, just seconds before she had fallen into stasis lock. “And I don’t think I will maintain my free will for long.” But that seemed the extent Wintersong could, or would, tell her. If she mentioned blacking out, Wintersong was concerned she would be permanently taken off missions for the Maximals until they knew the full extent of the changes.

The last thing she wanted was that or the risk of being left idle.

“Rattrap, you might be surprised what a few pine cones connected to some vines might do. Maybe might give your room a little sprucing up, Primus knows you could use a few air fresheners in there.” Airazor teased towards the rodent before she had taken to the skies. She knew not all the Maximals were nature lovers or saw the benefits of using nature to some extent, but that didn’t mean there weren’t some good uses.

Tigerhawk though chimed in regarding the flight scenario, “He mentioned making a few saddles when it comes to flying. I’m surprised he hasn’t started the measurements yet.” The large fuzor chuckled as they flew towards the site, Airazor shaking her head slightly. “I’ll have to tell him no thanks, far too tacky for my tastes.” She spoke with a mix of amusement and distaste at the thought. But the large fuzor merely gave a small grin, “I don’t think anyone else would be able to wear a saddle but myself, every other flier seems rather small in comparison.”

Peering down below them, Airazor made sure all the retrieval team was present, seeing Rattrap and Onyx not too far behind. Nodding to herself she opened a com. channel towards Rattrap,“Rattrap we’re going to get ahead of you and Onyx, make sure the pod is secured. See you shortly!” Of course if she wanted to, Airazor could easily have flown ahead of the whole team, even Cheetor despite his new jets that made him sufficiently fast in the air. But she would maintain and steady pace for the remaining two fliers, “Lets fly Maximals!” She spoke up before quickening her pace, Tigerhawk quick to follow.

+++++++++++++

It took every ounce of his will for Terrorsaur not to outright attempt to fry the Transmetal fuzor, growling at his insult.

Terrorsaur knew he wasn't the more courageous or loyal of the Predacons, but he absolutely despised being called out on such matters. He would like to think he was far from the most cowardly in their forces, especially in comparison to the likes of Quickstrike who just lacked the brains to go with his brash bravado. Far as the Transmetal 'dactyl was concerned he was well a cut above the insects in their group such as the fuzor and Inferno with the only differences being his questionable loyalty. But Megatron responding to his words made Terrorsaur narrow his optics, which seemed to glow a tad bit brighter.

Unfortunately, Nemesis picked the opportune moment to cut in, making it abundantly clear neither commanding officer was about to spill the secret of what Megatron was intending to accomplish. "Why bother with ground forces. Me, you, and the insane ant could get there quicker without the additional baggage." Terrorsaur grumbled, pressing a button to switch the monitor to idle mode, a green Predacon symbol taking over the screen before taking to hovering in place thanks to the twin engines on his back. 'Where's a mountain of energon when you need it.' The flier thought bitterly, itching to set the record straight once again when it came to situations such as this.

Meanwhile, Spineback had only just reached the CR tanks when she got the call from the second in command, tilting her head slightly with surprise. A new protoform was active? Interesting. It had been sometime since a new face had been around in this war, and perhaps they would be fortunate enough to reprogram the protoform to their side. "On my way, Nemesis." Spineback responded, making her way towards the entrance of the Darksyde, but swinging by the medical bay to grab a few things for the reprogramming before she arrived to the entrance of what remained of the bridge, already reverted to beast mode.

Rampage glowered at Megatron, his vagueness about his part in his plans once more irking the transmetal crab. But yet again there was little he could do in this situation when Megatron held all the cards in his hands. More specifically, the immortal mech couldn't do everything he pleased when the transmetal t-rex literally had his life in his hands, allowing the tyrant to manipulate him as he pleased if he did not comply.

But, this wouldn't stop Rampage from trying to find the opportunity to turn the tables in his favor.

"Fresh air is hardly my concern, saurian." Rampage growled softly, holding back his deep rooted need to tear the t-rex limb from limb and not only get his spark back but also bask in the joy of the agony he could bring from getting revenge on his so called leader. And once he had done that, his attention could turn to others who were on his list that more than earned the same treatment.

[una]

((OOC: Hey, I meant to say this when I first posted on here, so I guess better late than never? Anyway, welcome back to the game, Wildfire!

Also, is there any more characters I can help and RP with? Does anyone have Tigatron? XD ))

Just like Rhinox, Whitegrazer had always enjoyed and appreciated Onyx's input on certain situations, especially when it dealt with Predacons, and she knew that deep down that Onyx viewed himself more as a Predacon rather than a Maximal, but it never bothered her.

Whitegrazer, for a brief moment, wondered about how Zodiac was fairing in that cell. She had took a peek through the monitor at some of his shenanigans, especially when he shape-shifted as some of them, and with their voice, make fun of them for his amusement before he got bred again. She could tell he was trying to keep himself sane, something to do, but it is clear nothing worked. She still believed he needed sme time to think about what had happened, but soon, she will have to ask permission from Optimus and talk to Zodiac.

But right now, she needed to talk with Wintersong. Since she was a Vok herself, hopefully, she will be able to help Wintersong come to terms with what happened and figure out what happened to Wintersong in that cocoon.

When Wintersong sat down in front of her, getting comfortable, or as comfortable as the female tigress could get, especially with what has happened to her, and listened to her as talked, just listening. Wintersong talked about others people's opinion about her and Whitegrazer nodded, wanting to comfort and yet give her honesty about what has happened. "With what the Vok have pulled on all of us on the past, it is only natural that there is concern about what the Vok might have done to you during your time in that cocoon." Whitegrazer understood, empathized with what Wintersong felt. After all, she had went through a similar situation recently with the Vok, but despite how they used her abilities against the ones she loved, she also lied about herself, kept secrets that she should have told them earlier. Even if she feared what the knowledge of her true self would do to them once they returned to Cybertron, she still should have told them. In a way, she pulled something she always disapproved of with the High Council and she was ashamed. Not to mention, how they used Optimus' own appearance created a clone loyal to them, forced a connection between them in order to make it difficult for them to defeat the clone, causing more harm towards Optimus and themselves. "They have shown us through multiple incidents to use whatever means they have in their disposal for their own goals." Those memories of past battlefields still painted on her as they did with everyone else.

As Wintersong continued to talk about what she experienced, or what she could remembered, the Vok seemed to kept her unconscious, not wanting her to know or when she escaped tell them what they done to her. She watched with pure sorrow and pain as the female tigress, her friend, looked so defeated, exhausted, scared, and violated by what may or may not happen to her. She remained silent, listening intently to what Wintersong was telling her. The way Wintersong's optics looked up at her. They had made many attempts to break Wintersong out of that cocoon state but to no avail, even with her knowledge of Vok technology, it wasn't enough. The Vok made darn sure that Wintersong stayed in that cocoon until they hatched her... or when Wintersong broke her own self out. They had all been determined still after so many failed attempts. They hadn't given up, but to have Wintersong break out on her own, to see her here alive and well touched them all, especially after the days they had, but they all knew it wasn't over. Especially for Wintersong. A shiver of anger boiled in her spark at her people, at what they did to Wintersong. "A new plan?" Oh no, not again. She hoped that maybe they would be more focused on saving themselves rather than vengeance. After all, they were supposed to be above such trivialities, but of course not, they were just as imperfect and spiteful as any other sentient species, physical or energy based. She... No, they couldn't allow this madness to continue. One way or another, they will stop whatever plans they have, especially ones by using Wintersong.

The pain, the fear of the unknown, the knowing that some part of her wasn't herself, that some piece of her had been stripped away, taken to be used by the Vok. Her yellow optics trembled with compassion and warmth towards her comrade, her friend. But she sensed that Wintersong was holding something back. Whatever it was, she won't force it out of her, no, but she hoped Wintersong will trust them enough to help her. It could be important, no matter how small a detail. "Has there been anything abnormal? " she asked the female tigress softly.


Blackarachnia put her hands on her hips towards the rodent and smirked, "Oh? And what spot do you fill in? The stinkiest one?" Onyx, you lucky you down have to go downwind." Blackarachnia fanned one of her pinchers in front of her face.

When Rhinox asked her to go and check on Zodiac through the monitor, she shrugged. At least, it was something. She sat down on a console next to Rhinox and pulled up the screen, watching Zodiac, who seemed to behaving, "So has Optimus or Whitegrazer or anyone talked to him yet?" She didn't get why Optimus and Whitegrazer or anyone wanted to keep this shapeshifter alive. she could understand herself, but him? She hadn't heard the little conversation between everyone here about agreeing or disagreeing about keeping Zodiac alive and imprisoned. Blackarachnia remembered the time when Optimus, because of Zodiac, who disguised himself as Darkwind at the time, and also, Optimus old deceased mentor, Nexus Prime, had been psychologically and physically tortured.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Sorry, Wildfire, due to work obligations I can't wait any longer to make my post. It's already been 10 days for me. I don't think it'll change anything for you though so post when you can! )

"That's all?"

Aurora's ears flattened a bit against the white fur on her head when Optimus made his very doubtful response. And his reaction left her wondering why she was so transparent to him and certain of the other Maximals. Those closest to her always seemed able to read her like an open book, for better and worse. It wasn't that Aurora thought herself a great liar or anything, and certainly not that she wanted to be one. But it was almost a bit scary just how quickly Optimus could tune in on these subtle changes in someone's demeanor that suggested they weren't entirely honest with him. And of course he was very quick to call them out on these things.

Instead of immediately responding, she broke eye contact and let out a slight sigh. Something told her Optimus hadn't simply summoned her here for a mere social visit. Well, she had already known that from the way he had asked her to meet him in his office, but still part of her had hoped this encounter wouldn't turn into a confrontation of sorts.

"Tardiness, and talking back to your commanding officer,"

The little female shook her head as she uttered a surprised response, immediately feeling the urge to defend herself from whatever her commanding officer was accusing her of.

"But I wasn't..," she protested, almost sounding a bit hurt by such allegations. "I mean I meant no disrespect, Optimus, but it's pretty obvious what you're doing while most of the rest of us sleep.. or at least try to!," she then said, attempting to clarify, while indicating the state of the Maximal leader's office. But while making her defense, as useless as it might be, her tone did sound a bit accusing. Optimus was her friend as well as her leader, so she genuinely felt a bit hurt by the fact he refused to discuss these issues when he was so quick to point the finger at her.

She quickly caught herself, however, and lowered her gaze once more. Meanwhile Optimus' stern tone seemed to soften a tad, as he briefly sat back down in his chair before seemingly changing his mind and making his way over to her. Limp and all. Aurora couldn't help but stiffen up a bit when Optimus came closer after the talking to he had just given her in such a short period of time. She honestly wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but she was all too keenly aware the commander held himself responsible for most of the bad stuff that had happened to the Maximals since their arrival on this planet before Aurora was even given life. Whether it was the stress of such responsibility getting to him, or if he was merely trying a new scare tactic on her as part of his crew.. she couldn't quite tell.

"None of us have been spared from the trauma and causalities,"

This much was true.. The little fuzor was all too keenly aware of it. A lot had changed, and so very little of it for the better. And it wasn't just an ongoing war with the Predacons anymore, now there were Vok and other wrong-doers to consider as well. Was it ever going to end?

"This war has affected all of us in one way or another, both mentally and emotionally. And even physically."

Most of us anyway.., the fuzor thought a bit bitterly to herself. She, too, bore the scars of this conflict, even if hers was a little more subtle than Primal's obvious limp. Yet there was one individual in their base who didn't seem to carry any scars at all, despite the terrors he had put everyone else through. It was fortunate he was locked up in their brig, true, but part of the fuzor wondered what they should do with the shapeshifter in the long term. He did pose a fairly massive security risk and pretty much put the Axalon in the sights of both Megatron and the Vok.. as if they hadn't already been a target.

"It has changed us so much that no one on Cybertron would even recognize us if we showed up."

At this point, when Optimus mentioned their home planet of Cybertron, Aurora slowly shook her head. She was still determined never to set foot on that cold and seemingly sterile husk of a planet the others called home. Yet despite the beauty of this wonderfully versatile planet she called home, the others all seemed to hope for a return there some day.

"Then why return there?," she asked softly, her voice so quiet it was barely audible. "I'm not even a citizen of Cybertron, I have absolutely no ties to that place, so if the rest of you go there I won't be coming with. I can't," she then continued, her voice revealing her determination on this matter. It was hard on her that the others always spoke of Cybertron with such desire to go back there, when she absolutely hated the idea.

Yet, like with so many other things, the fuzor had very little say in the overall consensus about this matter.. She was trapped between her love and loyalty to her family, the other Maximals, and the planet she called her home. As far as Aurora was concerned, she hoped they would stay here and never go back.

Optimus had knelt down in front of her so they could be more at face level. Aurora resisted the urge to wrap her arms around him, since honestly she was a little weary of Primal's apparent mood swings. She loved him as a father figure, and respected him as a leader.. But that didn't mean she always agreed with his rules and regulations. At times she felt he could be a bit needlessly strict with the crew, perhaps especially the younger generation such as Cheetor and herself. Granted it had only been a few days since she had been quarantined to base, and she did at least partially understand why he had deemed it necessary to place her under house arrest like this.. But she still didn't have to like it.

"Even though you had disobeyed a direct order by leaving the base and failing to tell any of us where you going or what you were doing, what happened to you was the callous actions done by others, and you didn't deserve any of it. What Zodiac and Megatron did was vile and abhorrent. And I'm sorry, Aurora."

She tried to stay strong, to keep her resolve calm, but as much as she tried to keep her emotions bottled up it was the slight quiver of her lip when she partially opened her mouth to say something, that revealed what kind of impact Primal's words truly had. And just like that, the tension in her shoulders.. her entire body for that sake.. left her in the form of a single tear drop trailing down her cheek. The fuzor quickly wiped it away, but it was too late. It was clear she wasn't as okay as she tried to make herself out to be.

"Please talk to me about it, if you want to,"

"I'm sorry..," she whispered, "And I promise you.. It won't happen again. Believe me, I didn't mean to cause so much trouble, I .. I think about it every day, and I can't sleep because of the nightmares.. I just wish I could reset time, to make it so none of it ever happened."

The words came flowing out of her like a river, words she had been keeping to herself ever since the nightmare the last few days had been had started.. and she started trembling as a result. It only lasted a few seconds by this planet's time, but it was still enough to get some frustration out of her system. Upon calming down a tad, Aurora fixed her large green optics on Optimus again. She wanted him to understand, so she tried to explain what had happened. Due to the repairs and everything else that had been going on the last couple of days, she hadn't been able to fully explain herself.. until now.

"I really didn't want to cause any trouble, Optimus.. You've got to believe that. I only wanted to investigate what that strange signal I detected was all about.."


Meanwhile at the Darksyde, Nemesis was already growing tired of the childish antics of certain of her fellow Predacons. Terrorsaur was being his usual self, yet again letting his mouth do the talking before his processor had the chance to catch up. Frankly Nemesis had put enough effort into trying to protect her fellow transmetal flyer in the past, yet he still didn't treat her with any more respect despite the fact she had likely saved his miserable life on more than one occasion.

Well.. sooner or later Terrorsaur was bound to learn his lesson. But it was starting to seem more and more likely that he would ultimately get himself killed as part of that lesson sinking in.. But at least this time the pterodactyl seemed to back off a bit as he settled by a console.

"Why bother with ground forces. Me, you, and the insane ant could get there quicker without the additional baggage."

"Because the Maximals are bound to bring ground forces as well," the avian female remarked as way of response, "And we won't be carrying them, they'll take a transport. Now stop your whining and get your skid plate in gear. We're leaving momentarily."

Megatron himself seemed to be taking everything with stride as he had made his own plans of action.

"When your team has procured the pod and the protoform, devise a plan of attack on the Maximal base. I wish to extract Zodiac and terminate him. If Rampage and I do not return by the time you depart, then we shall rendezvous at the Axalon."

"I've already anticipated your needs as far as acquiring the traitor," she told Megatron without giving out too much information since the crab and pterodactyl were still within earshot. She didn't want to share the information with either of them since they had both proven to be quite opportunistic and less than trustworthy in nature. But her words held true, she had indeed made plans on how to deal with Zodiac. Of course part of her was a little hesitant about including Tarantulas in these plans, but sadly he was probably the best option they had given his scientist background.

Did she trust him? Primus no, she didn't. But as long as he fulfilled his mission, which she believed him willing and capable of considering his interest in obtaining new technology for himself.

Zodiac deserved whatever was coming to him for what he'd done. However unpleasant, however painful, but still necessary. Megatron wanted to extract revenge for what the renegade had done to him, but when he was done.. After he had received his lesson, provided Megatron allowed him to live and even if he didn't, Tarantulas would be able to take the remains for his own amusement.

"I'll see you soon," she then told Megatron with an added nod as she started heading outside. While on her way, she received the confirmation from Spineback that she would be joining the mission as well.

"Excellent. Take the transport if you need assistance with getting there quicker, "
Nemesis responded, eager to get this mission on the way. No doubt the Maximals were assembling their own rescue mission so they needed to get there fast.

"Coming."

Ah, the ever loyal Inferno.. So eager to please Megatron, yet so oblivious to most things going on around him. Albeit Nemesis valued the ant's strength and loyalty, he wasn't exactly the best conversationalist the Predacons had to offer. Indeed, not many of the Preds could handle intelligent conversation, so Nemesis rarely bothered. Spineback was a welcome exception to this rule, and also the only other female Predacon now that the black widow spider had made her intentions clear.

Well.. at the very least she could respect Inferno's prowess in the battlefield. Most of their enemies knew better than to go face to face with the insane fire ant. If only the others could show the kind of respect the ant did towards his commander though.. Perhaps especially their newest, somewhat unwilling, recruit.. Rampage could spell trouble, as he already had while temporarily siding with the traitorous renegade. Although part of Nemesis understood all too well why the crab would make the choice he did at the time, given her own experiences at being held captive for a large chunk of her life.

Sure, he wasn't in physical chains, but he was still very much so a slave forced to obey Megatron's every whim. All thanks to that spark their leader so carelessly had cut in half. But the cruel act had served its purpose, she supposed. It both assured that Rampage would show some semblance of loyalty, as well as proved just how indestructible he truly was. Truthfully the avian female couldn't imagine anyone else surviving such an ordeal, in that regard the crab's resilience surpassed even her own.

Was it wise to drag someone like Rampage along like a pet? The female wasn't so sure it was, but it was in her best interest not to question Megatron's decision. She had learned that lesson a while back, and she hadn't even done anything to warrant his wrath at the time. It had all been a setup by the shapeshifting renegade.. who, by the looks of it, was about to learn the penalty of his betrayals. No Maximal prison would keep him safe from Megatron's wrath.

Making it outside, Nemesis swiftly converted to her flight mode and took to the air in the direction of the pod's signal.

Back at the Axalon, the sole occupant of the brig shifted his weight uncomfortably from where he sat against the back wall. He was getting quite bored with prison life already, despite the fact he had experienced far worse conditions for most of his existence. But that was before he had gotten to sample the wonder that was freedom.. The freedom to choose his own actions, the ability to race across the sky, to stimulate his senses, to entertain himself with his manipulations, and to extract his revenge on those he felt had wronged him.

It was all gone now.. And the longer he mulled over it, the more he was plagued by a relenting, unforgiving thought. That ultimately he only had himself to blame for his predicament, that it was his own actions that had landed him here. Again and again he tried to shake the thought whenever it would emerge, yet the longer he was stuck here the more he kept analyzing the events that had lead up to it.

He thought about the Viper, once considered to be the upcoming jewel of the Maximal fleet, now merely a burnt husk on the ground. While it was true Zodiac had not been the one that caused the magnificent ship's demise, being stuck in a cell left him with nothing but time to consider how the ship that was supposed to bring him home had ended up playing a part in his downfall instead.

Nexus Prime..

Zodiac's optics dimmed a tad as the influential admiral crept into his thoughts like he so often did. He remembered the last moments of the aging warrior's life so vividly, how he had seemingly just given up at the end. After going through the journal Zodiac now knew this had been the admiral's last ditch effort to keep the young shapeshifter's attention on him in an attempt to protect his pet pupil.. The renegade snorted a bit at that, seeing a certain irony in the fact the admiral's plan had backfired so completely. And as he mulled over this, he pulled out the tiny item the Maximals had missed during their body search before locking the renegade up.

Not that he had expected them to find the tiny chip in their haste to get him stashed away in their brig. Optimus had barely been able to contain his fury for the entire walk back, and eventually even Zodiac had stopped talking after realizing how futile it was and that it wasn't helping his case any at all. But at least his endless chatter had helped distract Primal enough to not question him about the identification chip's whereabouts.

So he still had it. Of course it wasn't of much use to him now. Initially he had wanted to use it as a bargaining chip, but he had abandoned that idea quickly enough when it became clear Optimus had no interest in playing his games. Of course it wasn't in the Maximal commander's nature to endorse a capital punishment, but that wasn't to say he couldn't be persuaded to let someone else do the dirty deed for him.

In fact, there were no shortage of ways the renegade could end up facing the worst of penalties. The Maximals could put him on trial here on this planet, or if they ever made it back to Cybertron he would surely have to face the wrath of the Council of Elders. Needless to say that outcome wouldn't be any better for him, considering the efforts they had made to try to kill him already for his misconduct against them. Then there was his old master, Cryotek, who would no doubt have a select few words to say about the renegade's behavior.

The shapeshifter chuckled ever so slightly as he considered what fate would greet him back on Cybertron. And none of it sounded pleasant. It was a humorless chuckle, one reflecting the absurdity of the situation the renegade was in.

Even if he was to remain in Maximal custody here on Earth, he was certain many of the Maximals wanted nothing more than to see him hang. After all he was well aware of the things he'd done to them. He wouldn't have showed them mercy had the roles been reversed, so why would they do it to him?

Then.. perhaps worst of all.. there was Megatron. The purple tyrant was no doubt more furious with the renegade than he had ever been. After all, the shapeshifter had left him in a pool of his own mech fluid after sabotaging his cryo chamber to prevent his survival. Exactly how the tyrant had managed to survive after all was really of no consequence, but the fact that he did meant that sooner or later he was bound to come after the renegade. And as things were, the normally so elusive renegade was conveniently trapped. And both he and the tyrant knew it.

He studied the small chip between his fingers, taking note of how the light in the cell reflected off its surface, while he thought about how this tiny little object had enabled him to do so much.. and cost him so much as well. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to impersonate Nexus Prime for as long as he had without getting found out, nor would he have been able to access the Akira and then the Viper later on, and certain parts of the old admiral's journal would have forever remained a secret to him without the chip as well.

Such a frail little thing.. He could simply crush it and thus forever be rid of Nexus Prime, he supposed, yet he didn't. Maybe, just maybe, he could still use the chip one last time to improve his odds a bit.

[Wildfire94]

((Yea, deeply sorry for being so slow. I was not expecting to be this busy, but with everything going on I just now got around to catching up and reading everything.))

Onyx actually chuckled this time at Blackarachnia, a slight grin now forming from his previously faint smile, "More relatable company would be greatly appreciated Blackarachnia, but perhaps another time." The stallion spoke, surprising even himself at how prepared he was to risk teaming up with the widow rather than dealing with Rattrap and the Maximal fliers. Perhaps that was the Predacon in him talking or the fact he was just relieved to have a familiar face around he could somewhat relate more to than anyone there thus far, but regardless she would have been far more pleasant company than the rodent in his opinion.

As they made their way to the pod, Onyx couldn't help rolling his eyes slightly, "I don't know rat, they say black is rather slimming. But I suppose the overdose of glamor is rather fitting in your case, I hear its rather trashy." Onyx commented snidely in response. Ordinarily trash talk was far from anything Onyx would resort to, but Rattrap was doing a decent job drawing out his annoyance more than anyone the stallion had ever known. Typical Maximal, the former soldier thought to himself as they moved, his one ear swiveling towards Rattrap as he overheard Airazor's transmission.

Cheetor couldn't help shuddering at the thought of a saddle being strapped to his frame. His dignity and pride would never allow such a thing, no matter how unlikely such a thing was to happen. Rattrap had am knack for making someone question if he was serious at times or not. "Yea I'm with you Airazor, no way in the known universe would I be caught dead wearing one." He said, curling his upper lip at the thought.

At least Tigerhawk seemed to take such a concept in stride, something Cheetor had to commend his fellow flying feline on. "Salute to your willingness to deal with it Tigerhawk." The younger feline said with a lighthearted teasing tone and a mock salute with his paw towards the large fuzor.

When Airazor mentioned they would be going on ahead and encouraging them to follow, Cheetor focused back on their mission and flew after his fellow fliers with additional power to his jets. "Lets hope luck is on our side this time."

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

Quickstrike laughed at Terrorsaur being not only reprimanded by their commander but also their second-in-command, more than satisfied the yellow-bellied coward had gotten his fair share of verbal punishment. The rascal of a flier was always pressing his luck, never learning his lesson and trying to one up everyone in some way, but it always backfired in his face.

Sadly, that satisfaction quickly faded when the fuzor was told he would have to accompany them on the mission, which meant being around Terrorsaur more than he wanted to be. Letting out a low mumble of inaudible words, the scorpion/cobra fuzor reluctantly turned away from the monitor he had been at and moved to accompany the retrieval team. "Maybe you're too high up in those clouds to see what use we have chicken boy." Quickstrike remarked smartly, missing no chance to insult the Transmetal flier one more time before he came to join the spinosaurus femme who awaited them. "Lead the way scales."

Letting out an annoyed growl, Tarantulas could not ignore the hail to his private com. link with Nemesis. As much as he wanted to deal with the matter on containing Zodiac at a later date he doubted the avian female would stop prompting a response from the spider until she either tracked him down or he finally gave her an answer. Quite frankly, it would be better to handle things now than later.

"And here I thought you were the calmer commanding officer, Nemesis. Getting impatient for progress with the little side project already?" Tarantulas rhetorically asked with his usual maniacal cackle. Nevertheless, the cackling voice quickly shifted to a more serious, business like tone, "These sort of schematics take time to work on Nemesis, and if you wanted them done in a timely manner I will hide for as long as I so please. But, I have a few choice weapons you and your ragtag bumbling fools can make use of." He answered her, pressing a button on the console of his personal monitors within his lair, bringing up the schematics before him.

"Of course, I took a little extra time with...additional modifications you might find handy. That is if you don't mind Zodiac suffering some internal troubles in the process." The spider added, having a specialized virus whipped up especially for someone of Zodiac's nature. Not that Tarantulas was devoid of his own underlying agendas.

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

"Pleasure to speak with you Rhinox, my name is Quickfix and no, I'm uninjured despite the overload my pod took. Seems a decently powerful surge really messed with its systems." Quickfix answered, moving aside some of the bushes for a better view of the pod, examining it more closely the more Rhinox spoke with him. The stranger sounded awfully concerned for his well being, causing him to wonder if such a concern was connected to the power overload his pod had faced.

Well, least he was functional, lost but otherwise working at full capacity far as he had discovered.

Though Rhinox's next words caused him to raise an optic ridge in wonder, "Ran into trouble along the way, huh?" He inquired curiously, partly assuming since he had been in stasis since they left Cybertron, so the young raptor had no way of knowing the full extent of what had occurred, but the would change soon enough.