"Yes I am. I hope to live up to his potential."
"Eh, you'll do fine," Rattrap assured Ironclaw as they walked over to Optimus and Airazor. Personally, Rattrap wasn't worried about being as great as someone else once was no matter who they were related to or who their name sake was. He was who he was and would remain that way throughout this war. He was relieved that their leader was his own 'bot, too; quite different from the legendary Optimus Prime. But it probably helped that he wasn't initially trained to lead in a war, just to lead an exploration crew. While in the beginning Rattrap had his doubts about his leadership, it was clear now that Primal had all the potential and confidence in being just as great as Prime was but in his own way. Like many of the Maximals there, the rodent actually appreciated how personable the monkey was and how lenient he was on military conduct.
"On it Optimus."
Primal glanced at Feralnight with a nod while she stepped onto those lift and exited the base. Then his optics were drawn to Whitegrazer. He very much wished he could sit down some where quiet with her and just talk. He enjoyed their indepth conversations, and her company always made him feel at peace, which was a feeling he could use a great deal of right about now. Unfortunately, there was no time for that, and apparently she wouldn't be hanging around for much longer.
"Optimus, there is something I must do. I might be awhile, but if there is anything that I'm needed for during that time, I will come immeidately."
Expecting a more elaborate explanation than that, all Primal could do was watch the white mare leave. A bit of sadness but mostly disappointment crossed his face for a moment. What was she doing? Where was she going? Perhaps it would take too long for her to explain her intentions to him. If that was the case, then maybe it was best she go and do what she felt had to be done while he, too, stopped wasting time and moved on with his duty. There was something in her optics that told him everything would be fine and that she would have left whether or not he forbid it. Optimus trusted her, though, with all his spark, so there wasn't much he was fighting inside about her sudden leave of absence. When she returned, he was certain she would explain everything.
Sighing, he then watched Ironclaw and Rattrap stroll over. Optimus stood still when Ironclaw approached him closely and then whispered to him.
"I know you might not listen to me but I don't think you should take Aurora with you. It's dangerous and she's emotionally unstable."
A sudden but short, dark and unusually cynical chuckle escaped Primal's mouth as he responded to the honey badger,
"And what makes you think I'm not?" It was not meant to patronize the badger nor demean him; the chuckle almost seemed involuntary. But Primal was by no means perfect. He was just like the rest of his Maximals. He mourned, he can get angry, he can laugh, he could feel loneliness, he was vulnerable. He was not invincible, and he had no trouble making sure his crew was aware of that. However, at certain times, it was his job to surpress those emotions and get the job done, which always took a toll on him in the end. But it was not their problem; it was his own, and he usually dealt with it as such. Well, that was until he grew closer to Whitegrazer and as her spark had a tighter grasp on his.
Rattrap hadn't heard Optimus react like that before, and he glanced at Ironclaw with a concerned look for a brief moment. Was the monkey starting to lose it after Icebreaker's death? It wouldn't surprise the rat because 'bots can only be pushed so far to the breaking point, but on the other hand, maybe he was just tired of people undermining his decisions. In any case, Rattrap, with his excellent hearing, thought Ironclaw brought up a good point.
"This crew and I have been thrown into this war that we were not prepared for," Optimus went on to explain with tension in his voice.
"I have lost two great Maximals under my command already with no end in sight of stopping Megatron or going back home to Cybertron. Words can't even express what I feel inside right now, but I can tell you that there is point beyond instability and I've already crossed it." Taking a quiet breath and seeming to relax as his expression mellowed, Primal said,
"And yet, for the sake of my crew, I have to press on and keep my emotions in check to the best of my ability. You see, Ironclaw, Aurora may be emotionally unstable but most of us are after losing a comrade, including me, but unfortunately we can't put everything on hold to grieve. I could use her company to help keep me focused and vice versa."
Rattrap stood there listening with his arms folded over his chest, waiting. Optimus was right. A death of a friend hit everyone in one way or another but they were in a war and they had to keep moving, keep fighting. Aurora was probably suffering a great deal from Icebreaker's loss; after all, he was like her father, but it would be unwise to let anyone just sit in their quarters and dwell about their death all day. They should be kept busy. Also, the ermine Fuzor needed more experience out in the field, and it might be a more positive thing to get her more interaction with Megatron. Might as well do it now during a truce so if she ever faced him again under fire, hopefully she wouldn't be as intimidated and freeze in her tracks, not that he was certain she would.
"If Megatron still wants this truce to happen, Aurora and I should be safe meeting with him, whether or not he brings some of his Predacons," Primal added.
"There shouldn't be any gun fire. Now, as for what I have planned for you three," which included Airazor, Ironclaw and Rattrap,
"Megatron has clearly acquired some valuable information and we need to know what that is. Since he'll be expecting me to send in Rattrap to infiltrate the Darksyde and gather said information, that's exactly what we're going to do." Again, a very small smile tugged at a corner of Primal's mouth at the end of his sentence.
Rattrap squinted a suspicious optic at their leader, attempting to figure out his plan before he revealed everything.
"Airazor, you'll carry Rattrap over to the Predacon base and attempt to secretly leave him somewhere hidden. Their scanners will detect you, so you might be confronted by one of the Predacons or their automated defense system. Just be as pleasant as you can and hold your fire. They will likely assume that you weren't just casually flying by and that you brought Rattrap along, so they'll eventually find him," Optimus explained.
"Once they do, you two will retreat as a failed attempt and hopefully they'll think that'll be the end of it."
"But wouldn't any of this be in violation of a truce?" asked Rattrap.
"Not if you're unarmed," Primal answered him.
"Oh, great, that makes me feel a lot better," the rat sarcastically replied. To part with his gun was a big deal for the master marksman.
"This is where you come in, Ironclaw. While the Predacons will be distracted with Airazor and Rattrap, I need you to sneak by somewhere else undetected and get inside their base. Once you're inside, you'll need to tap into their computer files and find out what alien information Megatron has discovered. If you get caught, and it's likely that you will because you'll need to be in robot mode to connect to their computer, do not open fire, just escape as quickly as you can. Make sure you take a flare gun with you because when you get out, you'll fire it off once and that will be the signal for the rest of us to move in and cover your retreat."
"Airazor and Rattrap, you'll remain behind at a close enough distance to watch for Ironclaw's signal but far enough out of the Predacons' scanner's range. In the mean time, Aurora will escort me to meet Megatron on neutral ground. We'll find out exactly what transpired here today, and at the same time we'll keep him distracted from your mission. We should return before Ironclaw is finished. And for those of us who are not already injured from this morning's attack, we'll converge on the retreat and fight off the Predacons who might chase Ironclaw."
((OOC: Which will mean that another Predacon, probably Scorponok (you know, someone a little more clueless), will answer to Airazor's and Rattrap's attempt of sneaking in, essentially taking Megatron's place on the show, but Megs will warn said Predacon about Primal's predictable plan before he leaves to meet with Optimus. Savvy?
))
"All right," the rodent in robot mode agreed.
"Sounds easy enough, eh?" He grinned at Ironclaw and Airazor. He obviously did not doubt Ironclaw's ability in accomplishing such an assignment. Clearly Rattrap couldn't do the job because he would be the one the Predacons would be expecting. He felt that this plan could work out rather nicely. And hoepfully Ironclaw would be able to hack into their computer and find out what's going on with the alien info.
"Thank you.."
Looking over at Aurora who joined their group, the Maximal Commander gave her an assuring, worry-free smile with a gentle nod.
"Any questions?" Optimus asked them. If not, those three could move out immediately, and he would speak with Frilla next, and briefly. Aurora would have to wait for him just a little longer.
-----
While the others had been distracted with their orders from Optimus, Tigatron took Airazor's hand and kissed the top of it, smiling at her.
"Be safe on your mission," he told her caringly in a soft voice before he let go of her hand and followed Dinobot and Cheetor to Frilla.
"What do you need?"
"Think the first thing we should work on are the shields, I've about gotten through half the bug issue Glowstick implanted into the systems so there shouldn't be too much there. But we get those running first and we do face trouble it'll save us some time at least if repairs are still under way."
"I'm afraid I'm not all too familiar with our shields," Tigatron admitted to the others, but now was as good a time as ever to learn more and help repair them. With all of the time he spent on reconassiance outdoors with Airazor, it did have its disadvantages when it came to learning the ins and outs of the
Axalon.
"Where should I begin?" he asked them.