The Intergalactic Highway

(( OOC: Well, Phoenix, that's just prime.

I'm going to let Blazemane and Alak catch up before continuing with Rattrap and Tigatron. ))

I'm detecting no remaining positronic energy other then your own..

Typical. She truly was a Decepticon. It was just one lie after another. Optimus was wasting his time. But what to do? Tell her to either surrender or retreat? Let Nightmist's death be in vain?

"And shooting me will solve matters somehow? Will that bring your friend back? Or give you some lame sense of justice?" "I do appreciate the attitude, however.. Many Autobots would not even consider firing at an unarmed female. Perhaps you would have made a good Decepticon if things had been a little different.."

No, Primal wasn't going to shoot her, although her killing Nightmist was a good reason to retaliate. It didn't matter that she was female, but it did appear that she was unarmed. How could he know for sure? He was uncertain if she had any tricks up her sleeves. The shot he fired at the ground near her was simply a warning shot, but she tried twisting around his intentions. Optimus decided not to play her game and didn't bother explaining himself to her. After all, it didn't really matter. She didn't care. All she wanted to do was to find more weaknesses and mess with their minds. Why didn't she just run away in the beginning? While all of them were firing on her. Why stick around and bother lying to a bunch of heavily armed strangers?

What happened next was like slow motion even though it probably went by in mere seconds. Optimus watched the 'Con's leg move, kicking at Rhinox and knocking his large weapon out of his hand. Why did he have his weapon drawn when he was so close to her?! No... It wasn't his fault. Optimus shouldn't have let him scan her. He should've known better! FOOL! he screamed at himself inside of his head. As if things couldn't get worse, the Decepticon caught the weapon and held it point blank to his friend's back. Primal was so close to firing as soon as he saw her flinch. His cannon was charged but at the very last milisecond, he hesitated to shoot because Rhinox had gotten in the way.

Now the rhinoceros was being held hostage. If she opened fire on him, the result would not be pleasant. And right now, Optimus couldn't bear to lose another Maximal. Not another one. Not before his eyes. He didn't have a shot on her as she ducked behind the large green and brown engineer. This wasn't what he wanted. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. They weren't even supposed to be on this planet. He wasn't supposed to be a leader in a war. Exploration was all he knew. He lacked the experience for such dramatic scenarios.

Fearing for Rhinox's life, Primal's outrage was washed away by concern. He saw no choice but to stand down, hoping the Decepticon would not pull the trigger. Slowly lowering his arm to his side, Optimus asked her in a calmer voice, "What is it that you want? You could have retreated before we gathered here." He was at a loss, but if he could do anything, he would surrender himself to save his friend. Anything to spare another Maximal's life under his command. He had no idea how long it would take for her dampers to fail blocking the energon radiation, and if she even knew about that little problem on this planet, but they couldn't do this all day. Maybe if he could buy some time, she'd short out and have to back off, or face stasis lock if she ignored the surges and didn't convert to her beast form.

I'm detecting no remaining positronic energy other then your own..

Saber couldn't help but smirk.

"And shooting me will solve matters somehow? Will that bring your friend back? Or give you some lame sense of justice?" "I do appreciate the attitude, however.. Many Autobots would not even consider firing at an unarmed female. Perhaps you would have made a good Decepticon if things had been a little different.."

Saber growled not buying that for a second, she rolled her eyes. Then everything seemed to happen in slow motion and she didn't how it was possible but the freak had Rhinox hostage! She growled again wanting to rip her apart.

"What is it that you want? You could have retreated before we gathered here."

"She's a Decepticon, Optimus all they know is how to destory things without mercy, there is no point trying to talk to them." Saber growled trying not to pant, as she took a small step forward toward the Con.

"She's a Decepticon, Optimus all they know is how to destory things without mercy, there is no point trying to talk to them."

The Maximal leader wanted to believe that it was capable for a Decepticon to show some mercy. If not, then this fembot was unlike any other Predacon he had ever encountered. ...Well, very few might make an exception. Predacons often offered their prisoners or victims an opportunity, even they spent it gloating too much. But even now, Optimus would rather be facing Megatron. At least he knew him better.

Noticing the saber tooth taking a step forward, Primal ordered her firmly, "Stand down, Saber-Fang." What was she thinking? She was in no condition to attack. Not to mention the Decepticon could fire at Rhinox a lot quicker than the cat could pounce on her in hopes to stop her. She was risking Rhinox's life.

Rattrap wrote:What's the sitch, Spots?

"I haven't heard anything back from the other 'bots," Cheetor said. "Maybe they're too far outta... Wait, nope. They're heading in right now." He pointed to the screen in front of him showing the Maximal signals headed towards base.

He didn't know if the group outside had heard him the first time, and if they hadn't, they couldn't know for sure what situation they were coming home to, so he repeated himself on the radio.

"Northern crew, this is Cheetor. We've got a Decepticon near base. Optimus says to be on high alert."

* * *

Of course, Dinobot thought bitterly.

He wasn't convinced that the weapon the Decepticon now possessed could truly pose a lethal threat to one such as Rhinox, even though it certainly could cause temporary damage. So he wasn't afraid for Rhinox' life. He was, however, extremely frustrated with having his line of sight obstructed by his own comrade's frame.

All the same, time was on the Maximals' side. Unless the Decepticon was completely reckless, which did not seem likely given her attempted lies and the strategic move she had just executed, she would not fire at Rhinox, for then there would be nothing to stop her other three enemies from rushing in and completely overwhelming her.

He hated to admit it, but for the moment, the most sound action was to wait for her to succumb to energon radiation. At the very least, he could hear her answer or attempt to answer Optimus Primal's question, which had piqued Dinobot's curiosity.

Rhinox tilted his head slightly as he looked towards Nemesis, dropping his scanner to the ground and raising his hands slowly. He has a point.. unless you haven't figured out how to transform with our technology yet..

"Stand down, Saber-Fang."

Saber relaxed and stepped back away from the Decepticon, but her eyes never left her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dinobot and could tell that he wanted to attack as well.

He has a point.. unless you haven't figured out how to transform with our technology yet..

Primus, how long is it going to take for the energon build up to take effect? Saber thought her eyes narrowed.

Nemesis impatiently poked Rhinox's backside with the barrel of his weapon. Although she did enjoy a powerful weapon, this particular one was a bit heavy for her liking, as she felt it impeded her movements a tad. Nevertheless it would serve its purpose well, considering how these Maximals seemed so terrified of hurting one of their own to get to someone. Nemesis would not have given the same consideration if she'd been in their shoes..

"What is it that you want? You could have retreated before we gathered here.

Even now the monkey boss, although using a less demanding tone of voice, was sounding like he was trying to lecture her. And Nemesis certainly did not feel like she owed any of them an explanation. Truth be told she had not intended on killing their friend, yet she had little to no feelings of regret that it had happened. Her original intent had merely been to use the lone Maximal as a way to get some weapons and equipment she needed to get off the planet. That was her original plan anyway, before this unexpected series of events had left her stranded in a body that had as much chance to make it off this world as any of these Predacons or Maximals she had encountered.. So basically she was now stranded here, without allies to assist her.

Her unexpected change had left her bewildered and confused. Her new body required a bit getting used to, especially the new alternative mode. Although she realized she was a bird of some sort, the wings looking a lot like that decoy bird she had killed earlier, flying as a bird wasn't quite the same as soaring through the sky in her old vehicle mode.

Yet another unfortunate side effect of this planet had left her with precious little time to explore her new abilities or to take advantage of the situation she had managed to turn. The energon surges she had been feeling earlier were once again increasing in strength. Not as rapidly and intense as they had been in her Decepticon form, but definitely increasing in intensity by the minute. She would rather not have to wait any longer to find out what would happen next time it knocked her out, considering the shock she had the first time.

"Maximals," she finally said, attempting to hide the strain of the incereasing energon surges, "If you want your friend to make it out of this in one piece, convert to your animal forms now, turn around and start walking away.. Once I am satisfied you are out of range, I will let your friend here go."

As calm as her voice appeared, a sudden surge caused her to twitch in pain, thus shoving the weapon even harder against Rhinox' back.

"Do it now!," she demanded.

He has a point.. unless you haven't figured out how to transform with our technology yet..

Primal shifted his optics to Rhinox who had dropped his scanner, then moved them back to the female who targeted him point blank. It seemed she might have been struggling a little, whether it was the weight of the weapon and the position she was in, or if it was possibly the energon fields finally taking an effect on her, he wasn't quite sure.

"Maximals," "If you want your friend to make it out of this in one piece, convert to your animal forms now, turn around and start walking away.. Once I am satisfied you are out of range, I will let your friend here go." "Do it now!"

Optimus didn't move, except for squinting a suspicious optic at her. After all of this, they were supposed to just trust her? A Decepticon? They were to just convert to their beast modes and walk away, leaving Rhinox in her hands? Seeing her flinch from the energon radiation, he had a better idea, although it may hurt her "pride" or "ego." If they lingered too long, however, she might panic under the stress and pain of the energon surges and shoot at their comrade anyway, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. So the commander, doing what he always tried doing best to avoid gunfire, sought to negotiate with the stranger. After all, it would be easier for her to trust them and Primal's word than for them to trust her. If they really wanted to, they could attack her, let Rhinox take some bullets for the team, and overpower her, taking her as their prisoner. But at this point, a long as the day had been already, some damaged from the previous battle, Optimus didn't want anymore injured or terminated.

"What if you lower Rhinox's weapon and step away from him? We will not harm you," the Maximal leader said in an honest voice. "I know the energon radiation is disrupting your circuitry, and if you back away now, we will allow you to retreat without further injury. You have my word. Either way, you will need to transform to your beast mode to protect yourself from the raw energon before it places you in stasis lock." He was not one to lie, unlike her, but he didn't know if she'd think he was trying to trick her. That's not how Autobots were, and that's not how Maximals are. If it would help the situation, he was ready to convert to his gorilla form to "prove" to her that he and his Maximals would not fire upon her and her vulnerability. Although it hurt Optimus to let Nightmist's murderer go, he knew she wouldn't have wanted any more killed. Justice could still be served, but revenge was a darker side to one's spark that Optimus Primal refused to turn to. He retracted his wrist cannons and shoulder-mounted missiles, disarming himself.

-----

"Rattrap, what's going on? And who is this and why the slag is a PRed here?"

Rattrap had been in such a rush, as hard as it was to believe with the lazy rodent, that he had missed Feralnight and her question, sprinting to the command center.

"I haven't heard anything back from the other 'bots," "Maybe they're too far outta... Wait, nope. They're heading in right now."

Standing behind Cheetor, Rattrap observed the signatures on the monitor that the cat was talking about. "Icebreaker's group? Good, at least they're back in one piece. Where's Optimus an' the others with the 'Con? Can our scanners reach dat far?"

"Rattrap!"

"What's going on?"

Rattrap turned around to face Frilla and Feralnight. "Oh, hey. Uh, didn't mean ta ignore ya back there, Feral. Uh, Frilla's with us now. Optimus brought 'er back from the battle over Whitegrazer, the new Maximal from the stasis pod." He motioned to the tall white female behind them. ...They certainly had a lot of females on their team now.

Whitegrazer greeted Feralnight a wave, "Hello!"

She noticed the amount of females on the crew, she was quite pleased to know that she wasn't the only femme or that there were too few. That was nice to know as she never liked being the only femme or one of a couple. Though, being around mechs wasn't all bad.

((OOC: Sorry for the delay, I was in Vegas for vacation for the past couple of days.))

Orcariner transformed as they neared the Axalon but paused before entering the base. He checked his radar and took note of the high concentration of Maximal signatures not far off from their location, as well as another symbol that bore resemblance to that of a Decepticon's.

"The 'Con is here," he told Icebreaker, "It looks like Optimus and the crew have her surrounded."

He checked his radar once more, and saw that Rhinox and their nemesis were in awfully close proximity to one another. Perhaps they were dueling while the others watched? Maybe she is holding him hostage. Rhinox was a rather large Maximal to begin with, but dealing with a being as large as a first generation Cybertronian may be harder than it seemed. Then again, she had no weapons on hand and Rhinox had one of the toughest armors out of the entire team. The orca had heard of times when his teammate went toe-to-toe with Megatron and emerged victorious.

"Looks like we're going to need you two," Orcariner motioned to Icebreaker and Tigatron.

The plan they drafted before seemed sound in theory, but applying it to a situation he had never encountered and never dreamed of encountering was a completely different matter.

"We probably should flank her, too. Give her no way of escape except up," he added.

Feralngiht nodded at Frilla, remembering the lizard a few times before looking towards Whitegrazer. "Nice to meet you Whitegrazer I'm Feralnight." She said with a brief mile before transforming, folding in her wings before looking forward again. "Though seems we have a situation with the Con." She said, her worry returning as she looked towards the monitor.

Glancing towards the wolf bird r bird wolf, whatever Feralnight was Frilla nodded before looking to the others. This was still new and odd to her despite the seriousness of the things going on and she wondered a bit how the other Predacons were doing. At least the ones she had not minded at least.

Optimus Primal wrote:I know the energon radiation is disrupting your circuitry, and if you back away now, we will allow you to retreat without further injury. You have my word. Either way, you will need to transform to your beast mode to protect yourself from the raw energon before it places you in stasis lock.

Dinobot was simultaneously gratified to see his leader refuse to hand control of the situation over to their enemy, and angry to hear him offer her a retreat without consequence.

And suddenly, Dinobot realized he wasn't sure what he was going to do if she did retreat. She had killed one of the Maximals' own- a death that should not go unpunished. Was it truly more honorable to follow through on a promise that Optimus had made for the rest of the fighters present, or to shun that promise, and in so doing, administer the justice due Nightmist? He was not certain.

* * *

Rattrap wrote:Icebreaker's group? Good, at least they're back in one piece. Where's Optimus an' the others with the 'Con? Can our scanners reach dat far?

"Yeah," Cheetor answered, pointing to a corner of the screen where four Maximal signals stood close to each other. "They're right here."

Rattrap wrote:Uh, Frilla's with us now. Optimus brought 'er back from the battle over Whitegrazer, the new Maximal from the stasis pod.

Cheetor noticed Rattap sounded like he trusted Frilla. Maybe that meant he did.

The scene outside grabbed his attention again. He was worried.

"You sure it's the best move, sitting here and letting Big Bot and the others handle things?" he asked Rattrap. "The more we have out there, the faster we can wreck the Decepticon. Besides, Nightmist might need repairs, and then we'd have her in a CR chamber faster too."

((OOC: Saber's gonna step out of line and challenge Optimus' authoritah. *evil laugh*))

"Maximals," "If you want your friend to make it out of this in one piece, convert to your animal forms now, turn around and start walking away.. Once I am satisfied you are out of range, I will let your friend here go." "Do it now!"

Saber's ears went back as the Con made her demands. If she could flank the Con without being seen she might be able to get Rhionx out of danger.

"What if you lower Rhinox's weapon and step away from him? We will not harm you," "I know the energon radiation is disrupting your circuitry, and if you back away now, we will allow you to retreat without further injury. You have my word. Either way, you will need to transform to your beast mode to protect yourself from the raw energon before it places you in stasis lock."

Saber looked at Optimus eye wide, had he forgotten that the con had killed Nightmist? She couldn't just leave unpunished. She activated her private Com link so she could talk to Optimus in private without the others hearing it.

"Optimus, she killed Nightmist, you just can't let her leave! Let me out flank the Decepticon then ambush her fron behind leaving Rhionx umharmed." She said still looking at the Con threw narrowed eyes.

Whitegrazer looked at Cheetor, eyes shone in understanding towards the cheetah's worry.

"I say wait ten more minutes before going outside. If anyone goes now with no knowledge of what's happening, we may inadvertantly could make the situation worse. If we don't hear anything by then though, I say a few of us should go." Whitegrazer suggested, "That is my suggestion, of course."

She understood the others' anxiety but with eyes blind, they could rush into something bigger than they inspect.

Wintersong glanced towards where the Decepticon and other Maximals were out of sight, itching to go help yet knew she wouldn't be ready to fight yet. Growling in frustration the tigress walked towards the hanger and used the the fit to come inside before walking to the main bridge, hearing an unfamiliar voice. Ears perking forward she came into the room glancing towards Rattrap and Cheetor then towards the other three. Feralnight had made it fine, but what really caught Wintersong's attention was Frilla and the new Maximal.

"Guess the mission was successful for you guys seeing as we got two new allies." She remarked not bothering to ask why a predacon was there. Surely the others had a reason for it.