The Intergalactic Highway

((OOC: Okay! I'm here!

Oh darn, I dunno my line.

Well, I do but I need an excuse to pop my DVDs in! 8D lol
Tell me if I'm off, I'll fix it gladly.
Here I go! ))

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Catching a nice thermal, Terrorsaur pulled himself into the sky at an easy clip. His beast mode was still new to him, and while it seemed pretty fragile, he was mostly pleased with it. It was obviously built for gliding but that didn't mean it was a weak flyer.

He pushed past Waspinator with a flap, speeding up to keep pace with his jerky insect movements.

"Why are you moving so slow, Waspinator, get moving!" he yelled over the wind in a commanding and urgent tone.

Paying no mind to the land far below, only idly wondering what the stone thing was, he soared along on the wind, the various currents sending him up and down and around, but his eyes were focused on scanning for the Maximals.

"There they are..."

He spotted them under an over hang in the cliff face and zipped forward, going silent. Still unsure of the Maximals and what they were capable of, he wasn't willing to 'relax' so to speak. He'd go in and just do what Megatron said to do, nothing else.

Somewhat grim, he started his descent, keeping mindful of his fellow flyer's position...

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((OOC: And a Megatron post...)

Meanwhile, across the way, Megatron hurried at a fast walk to conserve his energy. He took long, confident strides, glad his minions had quieted, leaving him to his thoughts, but Starshadow's remark bothered him enough to say something.

"They are not meant to stop them, no. They're merely meant to distract them and to scout their position. We cannot see them from here, if you haven't noticed."

He estimated that by the time they'd reach the mountain, it would be dawn. Good. While night gave them cover, the early morning light would aid them in the battle that was inevitable.

---

(There we go. :3 Much shorter than I expected/wanted but it's kind of a lull in the RP, right here, rather than anything actiony... n_n Yet.)

Starshadow wrote:Just kidding!! I only do that to slagging Minimals.

Steelclaw glanced at the insignia spinning around slowly in his computer enhanced vision. He checked his ammo supply one more time before reverting to a normal view of the world.

To whom had Starshadow addressed that comment anyways? It puzzled Steeclaw to hear her speak as though she could read his mind. Maybe he had let on a little more nervously than he had attempted.

But then, nervous was never his style. Perhaps she meant it as a hasty explanation to the entire team after making such a grotesque comment beforehand.

Well, either way.

Steelclaw let his mind drift to the potential battle ahead of the Predacons. Energon caused the radiation that made them hide in their beast modes. They were after the biggest crystal he had ever seen in his life. So... the entire fight would have to take place while everybody remained animals. And no weapons.

Steelclaw allowed himself to fall out of pace with Megatron, and went to Venatrix. While his honest demeanor did sometimes place him as victim to those of less than honest intentions, at least there was a benefit in that he was trusted by anyone. Surely even one so carefully trained as Venatrix wouldn't bear him any ill will just because he approached her, or so he hoped.

"Venatrix- how practically can the martial arts you've learned be applied in combat while you are in your beast mode?" he asked her.

* * *

Cheetor felt bad. Embarrassed. Earlier in the day he had disobeyed Big Bot, and in so doing brought the opposing armies face to face. As if that weren't enough, he had to shoot the Predacon leader and actually start the conflict too.

But... it had made so much sense at the time. There was Megatron- the bad guy. And he was definitely talking about defeating the Maximals on Cybertron. He had taken the Golden Disk and shot the Axalon down.

So he was the guy everyone was supposed to shoot, right? Cheetor could see looking back that Primal was trying to avoid fighting, and that made the shot beyond stupidity. But would Megatron really have listened anyways?

The point was to stop Megatron. And the point was to listen to Big Bot. And... boy the world didn't make much sense.

But then later Cheetor tried shooting Dinobot on the bridge. He still didn't understand why that was such a bad idea. Maybe he would later. But the rather humiliating reprimand from Rattrap made it sure sound like a terrible idea. Apparently, it was mistake #3.

Then he almost let Primal fall off the bridge because he assumed he had already gone over. At least that was an accident. And none of the other six Maximals around him had noticed it either. O.k., so he could breath easy about that one. ...Or maybe not.

So when Dinobot came and Primal accepted him into the fold, and Cheetor's fur bristled, he knew it was time to shut up. In fact, he was now sauntering, fairly certain that anything he would say would just be further embarrassment. So he sighed.

Actually though, in the intervening time since Dinbot's arrival, Cheetor began to think the Predacon might not have been such a bad addition to the team. He was obviously very skilled in combat, which was something Cheetor knew the Maximals would need.

Just then, he thought he heard something flapping...

No, it had to be the wind. Cheetor returned to his thoughts. He heard himself shout "you mean like this!" and very nearly grimaced.

Rhinox spoke up again while traveling along with the group as he pondered over the strategic values and dangers at the moment. The opportunity seemed too good to pass up to him. Hmm.. I was thinking..Your flight in robot mode and Skyfire could make it to the crystal before any of us.

Dalgaroth wrote:"Why are you moving so slow, Waspinator, get moving!"

Waspinator indignantly rotated his head around to face Terrorsaur, feeling let down that his fellow Flyer didn't have any kinder form of greeting for him. He replied waspishly, "Wazzzpinator not too zzlow, Terror-bot juzt in too much of a hurry. Wazzpinator goes at Wazzpinator's pace. If Terror-bot not like it, Terror-bot can go face Maximalzzz without Waspinator's help."

Nonetheless, Waspinator increased his wingbeat tempo. No matter what he said, he didn't want to be left alone OR face Megatron's displeasure. The brief time period planning for the theft of the Golden Disk had taught Waspinator how to obey Megatron unquestionably and if he didn't... Well, Waspinator had become a jigsaw master.

Dalgaroth wrote:"There they are..."

"Ooohoo!" he burbled, "Wazzpinator sees them!" Looping his partner, just to prove that he could fly fast, Waspinator zoomed in on the Maximals, "Wazzpinator call spotty-bot!" he pointed at Cheetor, who to Waspinators chargin had escaped termination on the plains earlier.


(Alright, Dalgaroth, I'm thinking we should pause on Waspy/Terry so we can let those pokey Maximals catch up. )

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:"Ya mean, Chopper Face is goin' with?""We're all gonna die."

Dinobot snorted, half in pleasure of the 'compliment' (assuming that the rat was refering to him as the cause of death) and half in annoyance that he, Dinobot, was now throw in as 'we' with the rest of the Maximals.

He kept a steady past near the back of the group. Again he was pleased that the Maximals did not pester him for information about the other Predacons. Particularly Venatrix, whose sneak attacks had grown rather routine, and oddly.. comforting. The relationship could be described as teacher and student, but Dinobot supposed that Venatrix was the closest thing he had aboard the Darksyde to call an ally... perhaps even a friend. But the memory of his ungracious exile still made him recoil from admitting that fact. None of them, including Venatrix, had come to his aid when he had needed it the most. And for that, they would suffer.

NaitoKage wrote:Hmm.. I was thinking..Your flight in robot mode and Skyfire could make it to the crystal before any of us.

It seemed that all his inner strife had left him unawares of the conversation between the tech and Primal. Dinobot frowned at himself. Constant vigilance was a rudimentry skill. He saw the wisdom in Rhinox's words, and fully supported the idea, but, as a former Predacon, his views would more likely bring the plan crashing down; Dinobot kept his mouth shut and audios on full.

(( OOC: You did just fine, una! And Dal as well! ))

"Hey Rattrap let me give you a word of advice that helpped me when i was growing up in the roughest part of Cybertron. You don't have to out run the thing that chasing you, you just have to outrun your buddy."

The rodent actually snickered at that. The rat imagined him and, with a shudder, Dinobot running from whatever could be chasing them but of course Rattrap could run faster, leaving the Predacon behind to be mutulated or eaten alive. Heh heh! Stupid Predacon, he chuckled to himself.

Rattrap grew quiet again until he glanced at the cheetah. Then back to Saber-Fang, then to Skyfire and Dinobot. I'm surrounded by carnivores! he yelled in his mind. Ugh. Setting that aside, though, he noticed Cheetor looked pretty gloomy. What was he so depressed about? The rat had to think back to the beginning of their first day on the planet. Oh that's right, he went running off after ignoring Optimus, shot Megatron, got trapped so Optimus had to risk his life and pull him out, and then... Well, that was about all Rattrap could remember. Not that he was one to talk because he disobeyed some orders in disagreement and whimped out. But in some unimaginable way, he felt kind of bad for Cheetor. It must have been embarrassing to have messed up that many times already. Ah well, it happened. Rattrap was sure that by now, Optimus had forgotten all about that while he was focused on what they had to do then and there. And in the near future.

"You okay, kid?" asked Rattrap. A sad or embarrassed kitty was a distracted kitty, and there was no way he was going to get shot because Cheetor wasn't paying attention or watching his back, if the Predacons attacked. Maybe it would help the cheetah relax if he talked, although Rattrap had a feeling the cat wouldn't bother confiding in him. He didn't exactly come off as the wisest of Maximals or the one everyone approached to talk about their feelings. That was more of Rhinox's and Optimus's place, but they were busy chatting up front.

"That's good to hear."

The gorilla glanced back over his shoulder at the sabertooth and gave a quick nod of confirmation.

Hmm.. I was thinking..Your flight in robot mode and Skyfire could make it to the crystal before any of us.

The idea had crossed Primal's mind but he disagreed. "No," he stated, looking at Rhinox while they walked. "We have to stay together. The Predacons could attack at any moment," he explained, looking straight ahead again. "And there may be other surprises on this planet."

Rhinox looked down from the cliff as they came to a stop There are.. down there, look! he then stated, looking over the stone henge like structure pillars of rock placed in a strange circular like pattern with unknown purpose. Very unlikely to be a natural structure at all.


(Fun fact time. If Cheetahs former range of habitat was africa and middle east/india and White rhinos come from south africa(which overlaps cheetah's range) and Gorillas come from eastern and western mid africa, that means the maximal ship should of landed around the southern to middle end of Africa with a DNA scanner range of roughly 1,000 KM or more..

Now take into account Stone Henge which is in Wiltshire england, in the southern area..

That basically means Scorponok's missiles have intercontinental range, like a ballistic missile.. And the maximals and predacons went VERY far just for a giant chunk of energon. Geography is fun.)

There are.. down there, look! he then stated, looking over the stone henge like structure pillars of rock placed in a strange circular like pattern with unknown purpose. Very unlikely to be a natural structure at all.

Skyfire looked in the direction Rhinox was refering too, and saw the stone structures. "I wonder what those are and what there's for? Since it looks they probably built, I can't help but wonder if there are other inhabitants on this planet besides the animals."

SkyxDB wrote:

There are.. down there, look!

"I wonder what those are and what there's for? Since it looks they probably built, I can't help but wonder if there are other inhabitants on this planet besides the animals."

Dinobot cast a disdainful look down on the Standing Stones. His lip curled into a sneer, "As do I. The creatures on this planet are unquestionably under-evolved." A rolling snarl emitted form his mouth, as the contempt in his eyes intensified. "Miserable primitive planet. Cursed are we to land here of all the planets in the universe."

"No," "We have to stay together. The Predacons could attack at any moment," "And there may be other surprises on this planet."

Aside from the Preds i wouldn't be surpised She thought with a small sigh.

There are.. down there, look!

Saber looked to where Rhinox was looking and she tilted her head and raised an eye brow, she never saw some thing as strange as that and she grew up in the roughtest part of Cybertron.

"I wonder what those are and what there's for? Since it looks they probably built, I can't help but wonder if there are other inhabitants on this planet besides the animals."

Saber didn't want to think about what else was on this planet beside the animals. She scrached the earth with her claws she always did some thing like that when she was nervous or uncomfortable about some thing.

"As do I. The creatures on this planet are unquestionably under-evolved." "Miserable primitive planet. Cursed are we to land here of all the planets in the universe."

Saber ignored Dinobots comment it was better if she remained slient.

(( OOC: Oooo. Interesting, NK. I always thought they were in that general area of the planet but thanks for the clarification and fun fact. ))

There are.. down there, look!

The Maximal leader stopped and stood up straight when Rhinox halted and looked below at what his friend was talking about. This caused the rest of the Maximals to stop because there wasn't much room around the gorilla and the rhinoceros. However, there was a little cove into the mountain that would prove to be very useful to them soon.

After thoughtfully stroking his chin, ideas and suspicions whirling inside his mind, Optimus came to the conclusion that the stonework was unfamiliar. It tugged at his curiosity, though, and his thirst for knowledge. Unfortunately, they didn't have the time to study it. "Unusual," he finally said. "Any opinions?" he asked Rhinox.

"I wonder what those are and what there's for? Since it looks they probably built, I can't help but wonder if there are other inhabitants on this planet besides the animals."

Rattrap placed himself near Cheetor and Skyfire as he peered over the edge and looked at the stones. So they're rocks. What's the big deal? he thought, bored. "Hopefully we won't be here long enough ta find out," he said. He wasn't sure but he thought that something about those rocks gave him an uneasy feeling. They're just rocks!

"As do I. The creatures on this planet are unquestionably under-evolved."

Oh, was somebody talking to the Pred? "This comin' from a Predacon," Rattrap smirked, pointing a little rat claw in Dinobot's direction but looking at Skyfire while he said it, "who aren't much farther ahead in evolution than the animals who live 'ere."

"Miserable primitive planet. Cursed are we to land here of all the planets in the universe."

If Saber wasn't going to comment on that, Rattrap was definitely going to take advantage of it. "Well, Lizard Lips, it's you and your Predhead friends' fault that we're here! I could think of a hundred different places I'd rather be right now than here smellin' your scaly butt."

Rattrap wrote:You okay, kid?

Cheetor was startled out of his thoughts by the question. He looked over and saw that Rattrap had asked it.

He was half glad that someone noticed, but he quickly figured out that the embarrassment would only probably get worse if he talked about it- especially since he'd be admitting he'd been an idiot. It was probably better to keep that fact to himself.

And yet, Rattrap had asked, and maybe saying he knew he had messed up would at least show everyone that he knew the difference between bravery and stupidity.

And all of these ideas raced through his panicked mind, making him stutter, because he knew he had to say something, but couldn't figure out what to say.

"Um, I- I'm." Realizing the mess he was making, he cleared his throat, hoping it would look like that was the problem. Then he looked at the ground.

"Well, I guess... not. I mean, I know I'm not always the brightest shard in the energon container, but I think I almost got everyone killed." He looked back to Rattrap again. "I just didn't think things could get this crazy."

((OOC: When I first looked at this, I couldn't at all seem to justify Cheetor opening up to Rattrap- it was just way too out of character. But then I remembered "The Web", and since we're skipping that episode, I figured it might be wise to at least salvage the part at the end where Cheetor opens up to Rattrap, and Cheetor goes from seeing Rattrap as a nuisance to a pal, even though there isn't anything nearly as dramatic here as Cheetor almost dying, and getting saved.

In fact, ironically, this is Cheetor almost killing everyone. Maybe that is a good enough excuse. Anyways, I'm done ranting.))

This comin' from a Predacon," Rattrap smirked, pointing a little rat claw in Dinobot's direction but looking at Skyfire while he said it, "who aren't much farther ahead in evolution than the animals who live 'ere."

Quote:
"Miserable primitive planet. Cursed are we to land here of all the planets in the universe."


If Saber wasn't going to comment on that, Rattrap was definitely going to take advantage of it. "Well, Lizard Lips, it's you and your Predhead friends' fault that we're here! I could think of a hundred different places I'd rather be right now than here smellin' your scaly butt."

Skyfire sighed and shook her head, and if it were possible she probably would rolled her eyes as well.

"Are you sure you wanna say that around a Predacon?" she asked the rat, thinking he was idoit who possibly had a death wish. She had her doubts about having Predacon on thier team, but at least she was smart enough to keep her mouth shut.

Rhinox looked towards Optimus Just one, we didn't build it and neither did the Predacons. his head then glanced towards the others, while wondering what sort of lifeform could lift 2 or 3 ton blocks and arrange them in a strange pattern and why they would do that. What purpose would that shape make? A landing site? A religious importance?


(Yep. I assume that means alot of the cold areas they went to were probably Siberia, which explains Tigatron's accent.

Oddly most the group for the OC rp landed in South america, with some differences as one came from Canada, one japan,one Antarctica and one randomly in the pacific ocean. But their means of meeting the maximal and predacon bases has all been covered more or less..)

(( OOC: Excellent, NK, yesss. ))

"Are you sure you wanna say that around a Predacon?"

"What's he gonna do?" the rat asked bluntly. "He isn't gonna try nothin' on me while being outnumbered." Besides, Optimus would stop the brawl if it even came to that, not that he needed their fearless leader to help. Without bothering to see Dinobot's reaction to all of this, Rattrap looked back at Cheetor.

"Um, I- I'm." "Well, I guess... not. I mean, I know I'm not always the brightest shard in the energon container, but I think I almost got everyone killed." "I just didn't think things could get this crazy."

The rat's ears folded down for a moment, actually feeling a little bit of pity for the cat. It was quite a different side of Rattrap that he didn't show often, and a little akward to go to that right after taking a verbal jab at Dinobot. "Well, Spots, lucky fer you, we ain't dead. Not yet, anyways. Heh." For a moment, he saw the mountain they were heading for and knew battling in their beast modes was coming. It probably wasn't going to be a great outcome. "But since ya know now how crazy things are, try not ta run off next time, would ya? I don't wanna keep chasin' after you."

Just one, we didn't build it and neither did the Predacons.

Then perhaps there were other life forms hiding on the planet as was suspected, but Optimus would not underestimate their intelligence or level of evolution. Anyone, or anything, could have put those stones there. And it was rather an odd structure in such an open location. Hm.

As Rhinox grew quiet, Primal's audio sensors focused more on the others chatting behind them. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and see what was going on. Most of it appeared to be Rattrap purposely attempting to push Dinobot's buttons, which Optimus did not want to deal with right now, so he gave the rat a glare before his brown eyes shifted to Cheetor. But before he could say anything, something was about to interrupt them.

(( OOC: Hint, hint, Terry and Waspy. ))

Rattrap seemed to be ready to say something, but...

where the spotted heck was that flapping coming from?

Rattrap wrote:"Well, Spots, lucky fer you, we ain't dead. Not yet, anyways. Heh." "But since ya know now how crazy things are, try not ta run off next time, would ya? I don't wanna keep chasin' after you."

Hearing that it was luck which got everyone out alive didn't do much to relieve Cheetor's guilt. Then it him that Rattrap probably was saying 'it wasn't as bad as you thought.' Maybe that was true.

But Rattrap made a lot of sense- Cheetor promised himself not to run on his own anymore.

"Well, I'll-"

That flapper was going to die. Cheetor looked around frantically, accidentally abandoning his moment with Rattrap. Then he finally saw them!

"GRRaaour!" his lately received instincts kicked in. "Heads up!" he shouted to the whole group while looking into the sky with alarm.