The Intergalactic Highway

(( OOC: Impressive posts, guys! I'm finally back and ready to rock and roll. Thank you for not going crazy during my absense.

at NK ))

Optimus had stepped aside for the others to pass and make their way down the corridors and eventually to their quarters, taking in their somber expressions. Airazor had exited through the roof hatch and he assumed Tigatron would take his leave outdoors as well.

"I will be meditating in my room." "I have alot to talk to you about, but I hope you can get some rest before we do."

Primal gave Whitegrazer a faint smile in acknowledgement and watched her leave the command center. As most of them had departed, he approached the rodent who had returned to his seat. "Rattrap, keep a close eye on Starshadow. You know the drill."

Rattrap sarcastically saluted his leader and nodded. "You got it, big guy." But this needn't be done at the command center. The Maximal Spy had his quarters rigged up with all kinds of ways to "keep an eye" on someone. Nothing that would intrude privacy, but he was, after all, a rat. Standing back up, Rattrap followed the rest and headed to his quarters, stepping in and locking his door behind him. Here he tapped into the corridor cameras and brought up the feed that interested him the most after spotting Starshadow and Wintersong just before the Pred panther entered a room. Rattrap squinted an optic and waited to see what Wintersong was going to do. And in the back of his mind, Feralnight's behavior still creeped about. He'd have to dig deeper into that as well when he'd have the time.

Looking around the large room and activating Sentinel just in case, Optimus sighed, exiting the bridge, and made his way to his own quarters. What a day, he thought, exhausted and emotionally drained. Walking into his room, the door closing behind him, he was greeted with peace and quiet. The lighting was dim, and his personal effects were all organized and put in their proper places to avoid clutter. Sitting down at his desk, he activated his computer and began logging data and information about the most recent events since his last entry. It was an attempt to keep his mind occupied but it was about to fail. Working on Icebreaker's loss brought everything back in full force, and he sat there in his chair recalling all of the close encounters with his Maximals whom he had almost lost and those he has lost already. All of the sorrow and grief flooded back in its entirity, causing Optimus to lean forward on his desk with his elbows and hold his head in his hands, sobbing lightly. Now, in the privacy of his quarters, was his time to let go and mourn alone to expell the sadness that had been bottled up for so long that he had to hide in front of his crew. I'm so sorry, Nightmist, Valkyrie... Icebreaker... and Glowstick. What have I gotten us into?

It was then that an odd feeling poked his spark and caused him to lift his head. For a split second, Primal feared it was a similar feeling that he had encountered in front of Cheetor that made him collapse because of the alien influence inside of him that he had acquired after all of the experiments and scans they had run on him thus far. Fortunately, this wasn't the same. But something was wrong... with someone... somewhere. Wiping his tears, he tried gathering his thoughts and understanding what this was that he was feeling. It was probably just because he was so exhausted and fatigued. Yes, that had to be it. No. Sitting up straight in his chair, Optimus tried clearing his mind and finding peace, the way Whitegrazer had taught him and some of the others. ...Whitegrazer? Perplexed, after securing his computer, he stood up and walked over to his door, stepping out and closing it behind him. Silently his crimson red optics looked both ways down the uneventful corridor before he started walking in one direction. He didn't quite know where he was going until he stopped some ways down the hall in front of the white mare's quarters. Standing there in hesitation, he gently rubbed his scarred left hand as it ached a little on and off before he turned himself to face the equine's entrance to her room. Lifting his right hand, he softly knocked on her door. "Whitegrazer?" said the Maximal leader in a soft voice so as not to disturb anyone else. "Are you all right?"

(( OOC: I hope this is okay, una. Might as well get their talk in now before something happens. There's no sleep for the weary! Well, she probably got some before OP came, but he's too troubled to sleep himself. ))

-----

"Have a good night everyone."

"And a pleasant evening to you, m'lady," Tigatron returned to the female falcon. Watching Airazor gracefully revert to her beast mode and take to the sky after she had cleared the roof hatch, the white tiger also transformed to his beast form and nodded to the rest of the Maximals still present before leaving the base down the lift and stepping off once it reached the ground. Stealthfully, Tigatron trotted off into the darkness that was progressively growing lighter now with the approaching dawn, picking up the peregrine's scent in the air and following it until it no longer lingered on the light breeze. Here he settled down in a dense forest and laid on the cool grass, listening to the heart of the night with the crickets, peepers, kateedids and clicking bats. To him, this was home. Laying down on his stomach, he crossed his front paws and laid his chin on them, slowly closing his eyes as he allowed himself to be emersed in the surrounding noises.

Wintersong's fur stood on end and her armor crawled at the shriek, staring at Starshadow with a little shock and wonder. But before she could say a word the white tigress found herself being shoved out and yelling "Hey!" as she stumbled back. When she tried opening the door however Wintersong found it locked and could only assume something was going on with Starshadow, something very weird but she didn't want anyone to know. Was there ever a time the panther wasn't so odd or insane? Sighing Wintersong for now decided to leave Starshadow be, not about to argue with the other femme on the matter and just left before the scuffle within had started and heading to the bridge.

"Beast mode."As she headed to the lift upon reaching the bridge Wintersong transformed and stepped onto it, letting the lift take her down. She didn't feel like bothering the others and was just glad to have a chance for a long run to clear her thoughts. After all that had happened she needed time to clear her head and calm her nerves and grief.

Feeling the lift stop the white and black femme gave a quick look around before taking off towards the forest. Being too restless to sleep she wasn't planning to rest out there either and only enjoy a good long run.

Ironclaw was in his quarters dreaming, he was peaceful until his dream turned. His badger eyes screwed up and he struggled. He tossed and turned until he fell from his bed. He yelped and transformed into his robot mode and yelled at the top of his voice. His weapons deployed and he shot the ground. He looked at the hole and the burn mark left on the floor. He grunted and fell to one knee putting his head his hand. His oversized weapons still powered and humming.

DarkSpark wrote: Indeed my dear, though as I explained earlier, we'll need...Slag"

Arachnitron followed Tarantulas' gaze as another female spider came into view. The Predacon had been in control when she had first met Blackarachnia, so the Hybrid had no recollection of ever seeing her before. She wasn't sure how she should react. Was this other femme friend or foe?

"I got it. Sorry it took so long."

She gave Tarantulas a glare, "Someone loves to booby trap their stuff." Then she smirked, "Oh well, enjoy the mess I left you. Sorry, if you find a few of your slave spiders nonfunctional."

Letting out a chuckle, she glanced at Arachnitron, "Well, we have wasted lots of time. We better start installing this and get it rolling." She was about to get in when she smirked at Tarantulas, "Be a gentlemen and help me." She noticed the leash on him was gone, "Looks like I have to make a new one." She winked at Arachnitron.

Arachnitron looked down at the leash on the ground. She remembered Tarantulas snipping it with his pincers earlier when she had first regained control of the body. She was probably not supposed to have let that happen. If the Predacon programming had been present she would have chastised her for being so careless. In fact, the Predacon probably would have noticed Blackarachnia long before she came out from hiding, but the Hybrid was much less cautious than her alters.

Though generally the Hybrid spoke with little emotion or inflection in her voice, she did, from time to time, respond with the same sass that the Predacon often voiced. This is the tone she took with Blackarachnia now as she shrugged nonchalantly in the widow's direction and responded: "Guess you better get started."

The Hybrid wasn't quite sure if she should be playing along with the femme or letting her know she sided with Tarantulas now. She looked towards Tarantulas for guidance and noticed him rolling his optics.

Gentlemen typically only give assistance to ladies, not wenches like you, Blackarachnia" Tarantulas said, his words dripping with venom as he added "And personally, I think the leash would look more flattering on you, don't you agree Arachnitron?"

Tarantulas pointed his spider turrets at Blackarachnia waiting for her to flinch. Arachnitron did not have this weaponry on her spider legs in robot form. She, instead, unholstered her energon pistol. She didn't point it at Blackarachnia, she merely pulled it out and held it by her side with her trigger finger at the ready.

"Indeed," she agreed, again with a voice that contained a slight hint of sass to it. "In fact, that's the best idea I heard all day."

Now that she was taking her cues from Tarantulas, she felt a sense of belonging (no matter how false it may be) that inspired her to let some of her previous inhibitions down. The inhibitor chip, of course, would keep her from acting in certain ways. She didn't have access, for example, to the Predacon's ruthlessness or aggression. Nor did she have access to the Maximal's compassion or friendly demeanor, but she did share some of the same traits as the others. She hoped now that the others were gone, she could finally show her true self.

OOC: This was definitely a challenging post. I hope I'm able to pull off what I'm trying to do here with the Hybrid. The Hybrid, before, was much more withdrawn than the other two and antisocial. She rarely carried on a conversation with her peers. My goal is for the Hybrid to slowly gain some self confidence thanks to the inhibitor chip. It helps her to realize her true potential, but it also helps her to see the parts of her she lost without her alters' influence. It is the Maximal that interacts socially....so without the Maximal she will always be anti-social and withdrawn. So, in other words, Wintersong or any of the other Maximals may not connect to her in this state like they could previously when the Hybrid had the Maximal inside her head talking her through things. She also does not have the independence or aggression of the Predacon which she finds will keep her from leaving the safety net of the other spiders. She relies on the guidance of others (ironic for a neutral character). I dunno...I hope I can pull it off.

((OOC: NK, you just figured that out? Of course she's insane. Who goes into a battlefield with nothing? Except now she has Icebreaker's weapons that he had given her. What a crazy Maximal.

@OOP: Awwww poor Optimus. I just wanted to hug him when reading that post.

Yeah, Whitegrazer has alot to talk to him about. Be ready. ))

Despite the fact that she had shut off, her spark jumped inside her chamber, making her optics brightly lit. There was a feeling inside her like a tug, forcing her to wait until she heard the soft knock on her door and without hearing the voice she knew already who it was. Looks like he couldn't get any rest. She knew how that feels.

Lifting his right hand, he softly knocked on her door. "Whitegrazer?" said the Maximal leader in a soft voice so as not to disturb anyone else. "Are you all right?"

Did he feel what transpired here or maybe he felt something wasn't right? She stood up before she answered with a calm, soft tone, "I'm fine, Optimus." Then she added with empathy and concern, "You can't sleep either, can you?"

With a sad smile, she looked herself over especially at the long crack on her chest plate and poked the right optic glass which was still shattered. She was going to ask Optimus if he wanted to come in despite the fact that she knew the reaction he probably have. Well, it seemed like everything pointed to her telling Optimus now, and she was going with that feeling. Her head suddenly turned to the direction behind her towards the wall that separated from the other sections of quarters where her comrades were or at least those who decided to rest from the troubles of the day. There was a feeling of surprise then horror-or that's what she could deduce as it was hard to read and many Maximals she worked with were difficult to read sometimes. But with no danger except for her instinct to find out what, she decided to speak to Optimus first. Something told her this was the only chance they had.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked him then added with a slight chuckle softly, "Don't be alarmed by my appearance. It's okay."

________________________________________________________________________________________________

((OOC: Before I post for Blackarachnia, I just want to be clear on what stragety we are planning. ))

Cheetor didn't really feel like "resting", but he could at least handle going to his quarters and thinking to himself. So he started back that direction.

He never did end up telling Optimus that he didn't like Nemesis being kept so cold in the barracks. Though it... really didn't matter anymore.

He wondered what the aliens wanted this time, just like everyone else seemed to be wondering. Part of him wished they would show up in person like Ironclaw was saying, but like... really up close in person. He thought about them trying to take over the base-- maybe even getting far enough to crash in through the elevator glass-- and how good it would feel to just shoot them right there and win and make them stop coming.

But really, for all the trouble the aliens had caused, they hadn't actually done anything all that bad so far. Unlike the Predacons, the aliens hadn't killed anyone. It was the Predacons who Cheetor was really worried about, and who he really wanted to beat once and for all.

Cheetor was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a muffled boom coming from behind the door he was standing next to on his way down the hall. Curiously, he knocked on it.

"Ironclaw?" he asked. "You alright in there?"

Feralnight twitched slightly in her sleep, turning over on her side as her expression showed turmoil, sadness, and slight anger. All of this developing from her dream of her past, something she had been trying to surpress for some years now but it seemed to still be hunting her...

...Aerialnight, Feralnight's former name before she had been reprogrammed in the Beast Wars, walked to the brig of her gang's ship, looking somewhat saddened and distraught at the task she had ben given. Their task had been simple enough, just to smuggle out some weapons from an outpost they had raided and get them back to Cybertron to give to the sellers who bought them for illegal purposes and needs for a profit. Though it wasn't something she had signed up for Aerialnight had gone with it for the last four years being among them and now she faced a dilemma: having to possibly terminate an old friend she had back when she had been much younger of a sparkling's 'age' before they had wound up separated some time ago.

But her friend was within a cell from a small group trying to stop them and was one of the last ones waiting to be killed and despite the flier having tried to talk with her friend there was obvious hurt and betrayal from him and with no signs of changing his mind she had to terminate him. Least her leader had given her that order when he refused to cooperate and finding out their connection, which had been a reason for her hesitation to kill him back at the outpost but when she had come to the cell, seeing him sleeping she still couldn't bring herself to do so. "Aerial kill the mech so we can go, this is getting irritating."One of her gang-mates said, two having accompanied her to make sure she did the job. But her sadness soon turned to anger,"No! I refuse to do so and I've already said I wouldn't! Four years of smuggling,murder, and raids is enough but I won't murder my best friend, especially a n unarmed cybertronian as well."She snapped but yelled out as a shot tore through her right shoulder making her back off. One of the members had shot her instead,"Then your as weak as you look."He scoffed before his companion finished off her friend and Aerialnight could do little to stop it.

After the task was done the two mechs left, leaving the femme flier there with her 'bleeding' wound knowing it might kill her or leave her weakened. Aerialnight though waited, ignoring the pain that tore through her body as she leaned on the wall and when she no longer heard them nearby she took a deep breathe and pushed herself up, no longer wanting to have to continue where her life was going at this point in time. "Time I left and started over."She muttered, drawing her firearm and shooting at the wall knowing that around here there were no halls or other walls between there. A small explosion occurred from her firing but Aerialnight wasted no more time to fly through the hole in the hull, dropping her gun as she took the chance to desert the ship...

Optics shooting open as her dream jolted her awake, Feralnight sat up and looked around the room with a small sigh, hating to relive that last moment with the small band of different rogues and loners, having come together as a small time gang. Of course abandoning them had spelled her death sentence but she had used some of her skills to elude them until she could make a new life for herself. Now the fuzor was beginning to wonder if karma was knocking at her door again.

(( Little more hint of what Feralnight's life was during the missing part in her profile but at this point I got nothing in mind for Frilla yet.))

(( OOC: LoL I'm ready, una! Let's get through this as quickly as we can so the others don't beat me to death out of boredom.

Interesting indeed, New Moon! Feralnight has been through quite a bit it would seem. ))

"I'm fine, Optimus." "You can't sleep either, can you?"

Something told him Whitegrazer wasn't being completely honest as her voice carried through her quarter's door. "Can't or won't," Optimus commented on her inquiry, lightly shaking his head but letting it go.

"Do you want to come in?" "Don't be alarmed by my appearance. It's okay."

A muffled thud much further away from his position made Primal's head snap in its direction before he answered Whitegrazer. What was that? Staring down the corridor, there was only silence that followed. Perhaps it was just the broken and battered ship's creeky noises. It sounded like it had come from the deck below where other Maximal quarters were located. Not overly concerned about it since Sentinel was on alert, Optimus returned his attention to the mare on the other side of the door that he faced. "If you don't mind," he replied. Don't be alarmed by your appearance? He wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. "I need to ask you about something Ironclaw saw earlier. You were meeting with someone." The leader stood there patiently, whether she'd open her door or not.

-----

"What the...?" Rattrap watched from a corridor security camera as Starshadow locked herself in the room and Wintersong took off. What was that all about? Huh. Maybe she wanted to be alone now and rest. It didn't seem too far out of the ordinary, so the rat tried to relax and hopped up onto his berth in beast mode, curling up in a ball with his pink tail wrapped around him and covering his nose and feet. His black beaty eyes could see over his tail to the screen from where he was but they slowly began to close and his ears relaxed as he drifted off to sleep.

(( OOC: We can do a small time skip. If we want to follow the show's timeline, the Vok mushroom dome thing doesn't show up until the evening, so since most Maximals have slept through the morning now (because it was already dawn by the time they went to rest), it could be late morning or early afternoon now, and people can start meandering around and talking to others while una and I work on our own little conversation. Imaginations, people. You don't always need battles to interact. Besides, we're under a cease-fire. Some Maximals might end up on patrol or reconnaisance. Most of them need to be out of the base by the time Optimus leaves to assist Rattrap and Airazor with the Vok so the spiders can invade the Axalon. Also, it doesn't necessarily have to be Airazor and Rattap who investigate the giant dome. una, Whitegrazer might benefit by taking Airazor's place, if you know what I mean; so she has some kind of a "connection" or "target" on her back, if I may, for season two. But I don't know what WorpeX would like to do. Just tossing out ideas here. ))

( Well, if we need them out of bases.. We could drop a stasis pod or two as something to do for the ones on patrol, then let them figure out how to settle things peacefully..)

((OOC: I will go as fast as I can. XD

Hey, I have an idea. Why not we make another RP thread? Maybe set in the past or future maybe? A place people can post on when they are waiting for people to post on the main one? Just an idea. XD OOP, that sounds cool. I was thinking about Whitegrazer being there, but If I do want her to be there, I don't want to take Airazor's place or Rattrap's XD. I just planned for Whitegrazer to be doing mostly talking before Optimus' death, but I wouldn't mind her going, but I don't think it would be necessary for her to unless she goes with Optimus to help them get Airazor out of there. XD ))

If you don't mind," he replied. Don't be alarmed by your appearance? He wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. "I need to ask you about something Ironclaw saw earlier. You were meeting with someone."

Whitergrazer widened her optics at what Optimus said. Ironclaw saw Steelclaw and her's conversation? The door slid open as she pushed the button next to it to reveal the patiently waiting Optimus who she knew wanted answers now; answers she was prepared to deliver and much more. She held a greeting, warm smile, stepping back to allow Optimus through before she shut the door again. This time she locked it to give them privacy for their talk.

"Yes," she motioned for Optimus to join her sitting down across from her, "I said I will explain it to you. During the time I was with Rattrap, Cheetor, and Aurora, we were visited by Onyx, the Predacon who visited our base with peaceful intent. Of course, there wasn't time for anything as we had to return to the Axalon, but I asked him to give a message to a Predacon. It was Steelclaw I requested as like Onyx, he seemed to be a reasonable sort like Glowstick. I didn't know if he would accept it." Whitegrazer still didn't know of Glowstick's death nor Steelclaw's part in the death of Icebreaker.

"Did Ironclaw say who I was talking to?" Whitegrazer had to know. If she had known...hopefully, Ironclaw didn't and she still had time to ask that Steelclaw not be mentioned or named like she promised.

She paused for abit before continuing, "My reasons for doing this was, honestly, spur of the moment, Optimus. When Onyx came to us, I remembered what he proposed to us about working together with the Predacons. I decided to take an initative to..." She thought of what word or words she should use to convey what she was searching, "...sort of an evaluation of motives or to see if they believe there can be a peace between our sides."

"The talk between us was very interesting, but also disquieting."

Bowing her head, memories of the conversation between Steelclaw and her had reminded her of the pain of their species was going through. Deep issues and wounds that have reopened with a vengeance. There was no concrete answer about what happened in that conversation as it was clear Steelclaw and her didn't reach consensus on what needed to be done despite their agreement something had to be. It was the matter of how to approach the problems and solve them. She needed more conversations with him.

Ironclaw heard Cheetor at his door, he stood up and retracted his weapons. He opened the door and said "I'm fine" he said looking at him for a second then glancing down the hallway. He pushed past him and went to the bridge.

Ironclaw walked into the bridge. He looked around and saw various Maximals but not the one he was looking for. "Where is Wintersong?" he asked aloud and waited for someone to answer him.

((Sorry, I would like to RP Airazor's part. Would much prefer if she didn't get replaced.))

(Ooc: I don't quite understand why Whitegrazer should replace AirRazor's part in the mushroom story either. That storyline is already part of the 'canon' storyline so unless you play specific characters who are actively involved in it, you're probably just waiting for it to be over so you can move on. AirRazor doesn't have much else going on so why exclude the character from the fun? Are we bringing entire teams to the event? )