"I'm coming!"
"Oh yeah, dat's comforting considerin' how fast I'm fallin' and I still don't see you!" the rat sarcastically shouted into his comm. link, his eyes constantly surveying the area for any more Preds and the flying cheetah. It wasn't until he was staring back down at the quickly approaching ground that looked so very, very hard and rough, that Rattrap suddenly felt two limbs wrap around his sides, holding him tightly. He was just as relieved as his catcher until he realized that it was still going to be a rough landing. He closed his green eyes and held his breath right before he and Cheetor slammed into the ground, the cat taking the brunt of the force and then somewhat "bouncing" until they slid along the dirt and came to a stop.
Once Cheetor's grip released the Maximal Spy-turned-leader, Rattrap rolled off of him, wincing a little from Steelclaw's wound as his back grazed the ground, and placed himself on all fours just as his partner had. Truth be told, but certainly not outloud, that maneuver was quite heroic of the kid. Rattrap was impressed that they were still alive.
"We're still online!"
Ah, the stars were finally smiling upon them! Certainly good news for them both. Rattrap couldn't help but grin at Cheetor's observation.
"Are you o.k.?"
"Eh, nothin' a hot oil bath can't cure," he answered him gratefully.
"Uh... Nice moves back there, kid. I wasn't worried for a second," he lied playfully.
"We've gotta bail."
"Yeah, well, dat's what I was tryin' ta do before dat good fer nothin' dog freak kidnapped me!" Rattrap explained.
"Let's get de heck outta 'ere!" Reverting back to his vehicle mode once more, he spun his rear wheels and took off in the direction of the
Axalon before they let anything else happen to them.
-----
"Cheetor to Maximal base," "do you read me? Rattrap and I are bringing some party guests, so if Sentinel could lay out a welcome mat, uh..."
"I read you, Cheetor. Its a shame that I wasn't able to get the place presentable for our party guests."
Rhinox's attention immediately turned toward Cheetor's voice that came through the ship's communications. He wasn't quite sure how Saber-Fang could play a joke off of it but perhaps she didn't understand the situation and how dire it was. Typing in a few quick commands with his busted fingers, the engineer brought up Sentinel's diagnostics and the progress on the shields, which were only holding steady now at 70%. Although relieved to have finally heard from Cheetor, a slight frown crossed his face, his processor frantically searching for other ways, other outcomes, other solutions...
"Hey, Rhinox,"
He turned and looked up at Orcariner, as joyful as he could be under the circumstances, to see him again. Like Optimus, Rhinox saw a lot of potential in the large Maximal; even moreso now than before, and not just because he was a TransMetal, but because he could see his confidence had grown tramendously and he had turned so many negatives into positives. This was definitely a good sign. Another interesting observation was the way the orca addressed him; so casual yet warm. Optimus had never been so strict on military conduct like that and never enforced it. In fact, he always perferred it casual. And perhaps that made everyone friendlier or closer to each other, especially since many of them were
not soldiers. This was quite a break-through with Orcariner. Rhinox was proud. And it seemed he had led a successful mission since there was someone new joining their team.
Tigatron watched quietly from the console he had parked himself at, happy to see Orcariner as well, sitting in one of the charred chairs that Inferno had so happily burned in his fiery mayhem.
"We couldn't get to the pod before the Preds got to it. Real big guy, too. He roughed me up a bit, and Airazor's in my CR Chamber downstairs.
That was unfortunate, but Rhinox's main concern was just how big was this new baddie? Big enough to beat up Orcariner, he said? Not quite the news he was expecting but they would deal with it. No matter the size, everyone had a weakness.
It's not all bad news, though. A new player to the game showed up and helped us escape. His name is Aerostriker and he's a pretty unique fellow with a Targetmaster unit attached to him. A bit wild in the battlefield, but I think he's trustworthy."
"A Targetmaster?" the rhinoceros repeated. This obviously peaked his interest. But before he let it get the best of him, he allowed Orcariner to continue without anymore interruptions.
"Dinobot never showed up to the fight. In fact, he fell off my radar while I was distracted and has been out of radio range since. He's not someone who gets lost easily, so it's possible he was intercepted by the other team."
Now that was rather... unexpecting. Why would Dinobot do such a thing? Perhaps he was captured or badly wounded. All Rhinox could do was shake his head in frustration and hope that the raptor was all right. He knew his way around and could take care of himself, but it was so odd of him to just vanish. Did he have his own agenda? Of course the last thing to ever cross his mind, which would be the first thing in Rattrap's, was Dinobot rejoining the Predacons. Unfortunately, they couldn't spare their own for a search party when they would have no idea where to begin looking for Dinobot and with the entire Predacon faction soon to be on their front door for one last battle...
"Thank you, Orcariner. A successful mission, nonetheless," he commended him with a confident nod of assurance.
Unit Stag reporting, currently requesting access to ship terminal for update to personnel records and signature information necessary for combat support.
A curious smile creeped onto Rhinox's lips for a moment as he watched Stag make his appearance, Aerostriker in tow. How one acquired a Targetmaster unit he did not know. He didn't recall one being on the stasis protoform roster. Maybe it had been deemed classified for Primal's knowledge only? Before he could answer him, the very lean and smaller fellow maximized and introduced himself.
Aerostriker reporting sir. Er.. that stuff Stag was mentioning was for avoiding friendly fire, but if you're too busy that can wait..
"Access granted," Rhinox replied, typing in a command on a nearby console to prepare it for Stag. Of course, restrictions were still in place for certain and private information, but otherwise he could upload everyone's signatures, general bios and weapon abilities, as well as access to Sentinel and the ship's general information.
"I'm Rhinox," he politely introduced himself to them.
"Our current leader is still out in the field but while he is gone, I'm responsible for our ship and its occupants. Now, more importantly, I recommend you upload all of the information on our enemy that we have procured in our data tracks from our past confrontations and missions. I fear you're going to need that a lot sooner than later." His gaze slowly returned to Orcariner.
"Rattrap and Cheetor will be returning shortly," he told the TM orca in a calm voice, allowing Aerostiker and Stag to meet the others and take a look around the command center that was still very much a mess ever since Inferno's attack.
"And by the sound of it they won't be alone. Megatron is going to make a move on our base, it's inevitable, and she doesn't have the power to defend herself for heavy gunfire. Not to mention nearly half of our team is wounded," Rhinox expressed his concerns. He avoided trying to sound grim but there was a great deal of worry in his red optics.
"Greetings, Aerostriker and Stag. I am Tigatron," he said warmly, getting up from his seat and extending his hand to Aero for a friendly shake.
-----
"Optimus? Optimus! I'm here!"
His optics illuminated. "Whitegrazer?" Her voice was so clear now. What did that mean? Was he hearing things? No, he couldn't be. Her presence felt too stong but he couldn't determine from which direction. Was there even direction in this place? Sparks were everywhere as Optimus maintained his somewhat translucent form from the previous body he used to have.
"Optimus..."
Primal was certain it was her, but as she got distracted, her presence felt weaker to him. Concentrating, he said, "I'm here, Whitegrazer," and sent her a powerful emotion to help each other. Holding on to his appearance, he slowly drifted off to find the energy he knew so well from her. Granted, he wasn't quite sure how he'd find her, if he could even see her, and if so, what she would look like, so he relied mostly on his spark and the connection they shared. "I'm coming. I can feel you. Do you hear me?"