((OOC: Did some Googling and found some interesting maximum dive specs on our marine beast forms:
Killer Whale: 900 feet (Tested by
Sea World)
Firefly Squid: 1200 feet (According to
Wikipedia)
Emperor Penguin: 1755 feet (According to
Wikipedia)
Icebreaker might actually be able to compete with Glowstick underwater. Then again, they’re also Cybertronians and not just animals so the durability specs will differ from their natural counterparts. Also found out that killer whales are faster than penguins which I never would have guessed, and firefly squids only live for about a year… *insert sadness*))
Orcariner continued to stare at the Decepticon body not knowing what he should do. If he brought her back to the
Axalon, there was a strong possibility that she could thaw and awaken. Then again, the femme bot looked damaged to the point that the orca could even presume she was deceased regardless. The damages on this one’s body were strong indications that she was in terrible shape long before crashing into the arctic. Orcariner did not know how a Decepticon made it to this planet, but he was confident that it was not intentional. Still, he just could not simply leave her here for the taking. If Megatron found a way to somehow revive this machine, he would have yet another weapon in his arsenal. Then again, what would the Maximals do with the body if they managed to retrieve it?
“
What would Optimus do?” Orcariner asked himself, “
Destroy it for good? Force a reprogramming chip into its system? None of those are his style.”
His radar was now indicating that the Predacon signatures were breaking away from the Maximals. It seemed to him that the Maximals had lost that fight. The giant was now on a timer. The falling snow was strong enough to slow Glowstick and Snowtrix down as well as give Orcariner somewhat of a visual cover. However, snow can only do so much against Predacons who were adept to water and cold.
He asked himself once more, “
What would Optimus do?”
Unsheathing his energo blades, Orcariner stood over the corpse.
“
I can’t let you come back to be used as a weapon against us,” he tried to explain to the Decepticon, “
I also can’t bring you back to base where you could destroy us from within. Sorry, girl, but I have to do this.”
Bringing his luminescent swords to the body’s neck, the Maximal prepared to remove its head. He could at least return that to the
Axalon for study and leave the Predacons with a non-functioning body. He exhaled as the two enemy signatures were a little over 800 meters from his location. Spark pounding from within, Orcariner closed his eyes and flexed his jaw. Opening his optics to look at the Decepticon in the face, he saw that his swords had withdrawn. He could not kill this Cybertronian. She was not yet a soldier in the Beast Wars, and striking her down now while she was at her most vulnerable point would be textbook murder. It was not the Maximal way and Optimus would not have wanted this.
“
Primus help me,” he whispered.
Time was running short and the orca had to decide what to do. The Predacons were not taking any breaks in their advancement and the Maximal signatures were still not moving from their location. His friends needed help and he needed to do something with this body.
“
Someone once told me that Primus has a reason for everything that happens,” he told the unresponsive femme bot, “
You made your way to this world through means I probably can’t even fathom. If you have a role to play in this war, then I will be there to witness it… and I will gladly greet you in battle should that be the case.”
Wrapping his arms around the Decepticon, he hoisted her slippery figure upright. With a grunt, Orcariner dived into the water bringing the body with him. With the current temperature of these regions, he would not have to worry about her defrosting underneath sea level. Using his robot mode’s vents, he propelled the both of them deeper away from the surface. His scanners had not picked up the
Leviathan in the vicinity and as far as he knew, Glowstick was the only one of them who could swim. Orcariner alone had trouble moving the Decepticon’s frozen body on the surface. He could only hope that the considerably weaker squid would have just as much, if not more, trouble bringing her out of arctic depths. With a muted roar, the Maximal pushed the corpse as hard as he could downward towards the dark abyss.
“
See you later,” he said, informally saluting the fading body.
Now, there was another matter at hand. There was no point in trying to delay the Predacons. Even if he did manage to defeat the both of them, Megatron would undoubtedly send more troops the next day and Orcariner was not in the position to play body guard that frequently. The killer whale left a very noticeable hole in the ice where the Decepticon was lodged in, so once they find it the Predacons will know where the body is resting. Realizing how futile it would be to struggle against the inevitable discovery, Orcariner chose to swim in the direction of his comrades rather than make his presence known to his foes. Now was the time as good ever to start coming up with an explanation as to why he was returning empty handed.
))