The Intergalactic Highway

After releasing Tarantulas, Starshadow crossed her arms as she listened to the scientist.

"After all, transwarp cells are very delicate and one mistake...boom! and I trust you all want to get out of this alive!"

"Hmmm...we could use the Leviathan as an escape ship but- no..."

"but...shall we ladies take our little slave to where we need to go? Yes, maybe you can provide some use for us. Amusement, perhaps? We can always use extra hands...legs really."

She took a seat and just watched, "We'll just wait and see what happens.."

Ironclaw grabbed a flare gun before he left, he holstered the gun on his thigh plate. He gave Aurora one last lookthen stepped onto the lift. As thelift decended he transformed into beast mode and waited for Airazor and Rattrap outside.

He saw Feralnight outside talking to another fembot, he found himself transforming back into robot mode as she spoke to Feralnight. He just stared with intrigue at her physical appearance.

"Well guess for the most part we've had a few new recruits since the Primal clone incident, which in fact one of them came down the lift just now." Feralnight said glancing sideways towards Ironclaw before looking back at Saber-Fang,"His name is Ironclaw and sure it won't be long before you get to know him and I wish I could say for one other. And well we recently have had two predacon prisoners in the short time of your absence, which are Nemesis and just today Sonar." She explained knowing that was about most of the good news.

But telling the bad news took her a little longer before she spoke,"For the worse of the news we lost that one recruit called Arachnitron, there was a Predacon surprise assault earlier today, thus the reason Sonar is prisoner and well some of us were damage." Feralnight's eyes then showed a bit of sadness,"But we also lost Icebreaker during the fight, Steelclaw and Snow Trix snuck in without us knowing and Steelclaw shot Icebreaker. We don't know if it was meant to just incapacitate him or to kill him purposely."She said knowing this would be difficult news to take in even for someone who had been gone for a while.

"But I am not sure what you would consider this but we have a truce with the Predacons right now as well, but Optimus is leaving to go speak with Megatron with about the attack."She finished.

Whitegrazer wrote:Hmmm? Oh! I deeply apologize. I told Onyx neutral ground but I was such in a hurry I forgot the coordinates. I'm located in coordinates thirty-six-zero-seven of Grid Zexon. Again, I apologize.

Steelclaw stood wordlessly for a short space of time, letting it hit home that she really was expecting him to come now, and that he had somehow invited that opportunity.

...And she handled it as such a matter of course. It was all a little surreal.

"No need to apologize for that," he finally answered. He flicked the switch off and the green light disappeared.

* * *

From coordinates thirty-six-zero-eight of Grid Zexon, Steelclaw was able to get a view of the valley Whitegrazer had selected through the scope on his sniper's rifle. It was the natural result of years in government work- he had learned that, whenever it was possible, it was his responsibility to not take anyone at their word, and instead verify their claims himself (and whenever it was not possible to verify their claims, it was worth considering whether or not to wait for a different situation where it was).

Steelclaw had just infiltrated the Axalon, threatened Frilla, put Icebreaker in stasis lock, and, in part, caused Arachnitron to run away from the Maximals and straight to the Predacons. While Whitegrazer had requested the meeting through Onyx long before she knew of the attack on the Maximal base (by Steelclaw's estimation), it was not inconceivable that some number of Maximals would demand a change in her plans and ask to come along and change the meeting into a chance for revenge. Or... "justice."

But a visual observation of the land showed only Whitegrazer, and he wasn't registering any others with his signature detection either. It was time to take his chances.

About 10 cycles later, he made it into the valley, walking through a screen of foliage and coming into plain view. All of his weapons were stored away on his person so he could be as non-confrontational as possible. But he was ready to draw them in the shutter of an optic should the need arise.

He stopped about 25 paces (Whitegrazer's paces, for his were too short) away from her. His face was blank and observational.

"So. We're both here, somehow. What's up?"

(ooc: Oops, hope I wasn't the one holding things up! I had read the post days ago, made a mental note of replying, and then must have forgot all about it!

Una; you make a good creepy spider!)

Aurora could not help overhearing Rattrap and AirRazor debate their upcoming mission. In fact, saddened and upset as she was after the ordeal with Icebreaker, the witty comments by her comrades helped lighten the mood even if ever so briefly.

"I get nervous when I fly, an' when I'm nervous, I eat,"

"Just try not to eat your ride over there!," the ermine called out after them, before giving them a quick thumbs up for good luck. Though from the sound of it, Ironclaw would be in greater danger than the other two. She hoped he'd be okay, and was just about to tell him to be careful when the badger disappeared down the lift. Sighing, she muttered a quiet "Come back in one piece..," to herself before turning her attention back to Primal.

The leader had finished telling Frilla of her part in all of this and was already looking at her as the fuzor faced him.

"I don't know how much flying experience you've had recently, Aurora, but we'll need to make up some time here. So I'll have to ask you to revert to your beast mode and hitch a ride on my back."

"Not as much as I would have liked," Aurora admitted as she trotted after him, "But I'm sure we can make due. Do you mind if we make a quick stop by Icebreaker's quarters on the way out?," she added, nodding to the door which was close to the exit anyway.

She quickly poked her head in, having been in Icebreaker's quarters many times before when the penguin was still around, and grabbed a hold of a smaller version of the grappling hook that the recently departed Maximal had shown her shortly before the attack which ultimately ended his life.

Upon walking back out of the quarters, she held up the device for Primal to see. "He told me he wanted me to have this.. It might come in handy."

Holding the item in her hand, the memories started rushing her again. Yet she fought them off, for now, not wanting Primal to reconsider his decision to bring her. At least this assignment gave her something else to focus on.

"Beast mode."

"Just try not to eat your ride over there!,"

Rattrap was rather surprised to hear that from Aurora after such a terrible tragedy to their team; one he thought had really torn her up inside. Still, it was a pretty slick tease she threw in and he couldn't help but let out a laugh as he started following Ironclaw to the lift. "Hah! I like my chicken fried, not raw," he called back to the ermine/butterfly Fuzor, returning a thumbs-up to her.

Exitting the Axalon right after the honey badger, Rattrap said, "Beast mode," and converted to energon-protected alternate rodent form. Glancing over he saw Saber-Fang with Feralnight and simply waved one of his front pink paws at them. There was no time to chat, so while he waited for Airazor, he gestured to Ironclaw to hurry along as he told him, "She's just a big cat. We gotta get movin'." The badger had a long trek ahead of him on foot.

-----

(( OOC: Ah. So Aurora and Optimus are going out the back way of the Axalon? Otherwise, Icebreaker's quarters would not be on the way to the lifts. Just want to make sure since once they leave, Saber-Fang and Feralnight won't see them at all until they're high in the sky heading off to meet Meggy-poo. ))

"Not as much as I would have liked," "But I'm sure we can make due. Do you mind if we make a quick stop by Icebreaker's quarters on the way out?,"

Optimus was a little disappointed by Aurora's first statement. She should be getting as much time in the air as she can. He understood how busy things had been the past several days, but now it seemed they were only going to be getting busier. There wouldn't be much free time left depending on what Megatron could figure out with the alien device he obtained and what it could do.

"No," Primal answered softly. Of course he didn't mind. "But be quick." Stopping by Icebreaker's quarters, Optimus stood outside his door while waiting for Aurora. He didn't know what she was doing; perhaps paying her respects to him in her own way before they left. There was still a strong presence of his existance contained in his quarters. Whatever the case, it gave the leader another moment of silence and a chance to remember their recently fallen comrade in honor. Knowing he had lost another Maximal was still unbearable for him. He tried remaining calm as past images, memories, and voices flooded his mind about the penguin. How were they ever to get home, or stop Megatron? Although he was not one for hopelessness, it was slowly beginning to creep ever so closely over him the longer they waged these Beast Wars. But he couldn't let it consume him, for his crew's sake, he had to remain optimistic no matter how dark their war got.

"He told me he wanted me to have this.. It might come in handy."

Aurora's voice suddenly snapped Optimus out of his thoughts and he looked down at the device that she was holding in her hands. Curious, he wasn't entirely sure what she would do with a grappling hook, but it seemed as though she knew and that was good enough for him to have full confidence in her. The more devices she had on hand, the better he felt for her own protection and improvisations.

"Beast mode."

Emotions were still high, the Maximal Commander could see it in the young Fuzor's eyes, as well as inside himself, and they had the right to be. Losing Icebreaker was still fresh but they needed to focus on their journey. The war and the world couldn't stop to mourn; they still had a job to do. As Aurora converted to her unique beast mode, Optimus stepped out of the Axalon's hangar and greeted the outdoors. Taking in a deep breath of air, still feeling a faint grasp of Whitegrazer's hold on his strong spark, he leaned down for a moment to let Aurora hop up on his back before standing up straight again. "Hold on," he warned her, realizing this was the first time he was carrying her. "Prime jets, on!" Primal commanded and his thrusters immediately ignited, blasting them off into the sky within seconds.

-----

Watching Dinobot and Cheetor's conversation, Tigatron couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the two. Observing how well this group of Maximals stuck together and pulled through even the worst of events, he was honored and grateful to be a part of this crew.

"I'll show you how Tigatron, it's not that hard when you get the hang of it."

The taller Maximal smiled back at Frilla and waited patiently for her while Optimus stole her for a moment to discuss something with her.

You certainly did get past one step Dinobot, think there's just one more thing we can try." "Let's see if this little program works."

Tigatron watched them closely, studying what they were doing and learning a few tricks about this computer hacking and debugging. Frilla was so focused and determined, she was incredibly skilled with these computer problems and resolving them very efficiently. He was fascinated watching her work.

"Now we can start getting Sentinal back online, getting rid of the virus first was a must."

"Quick thinking with quick hands indeed," the tiger commented, returning the frilled lizard's smile of accomplishment. "What else does Sentinel require at this point?"

((OOC: Thanks, Phoenix ))

As she waited for Steelclaw to come, she wondered if she should stand up or stay in her position? It was a sign of courtesy to stand up, but because of her towering features compared to the bear, she didn't want to seem intimidating or threatening for a conversation that was to be friendly.

So she decided to stay where she was.

"So. We're both here, somehow. What's up?"

She lit her yellow optics finding the black bear standing a safe distance away from her, which she understood as this meeting could be anything.

"I thank you for coming and I know you are probably wondering why I asked for this meeting between you and I." She gave a smile. not wanting to keep the bear in suspense, "The answer is simple: peace." Dimming her optics, she continued, "What is peace? Is there a such thing as peace? Is it a thing that can be achieved? What do you think about it, Steelclaw?"

She waited for his answer patiently and in curiosity, eager to see his views on such a simple yet challenging cause that to this day has herself in the dark if true peace can be achieved. Despite all she has been through, she still believes in it.

((OOC: I hope this post is all right since Whitegrazer and Steelclaw's conversation doesn't affect what is going on. I hope it's okay. ))

Frilla wrote:You certainly did get past one step Dinobot, think there's just one more thing we can try.

Dinobot was just the tiniest bit smug with his small accomplishment, especially after Cheetor had given some such a hard time about it. But he knew better than to pretend like he'd made some huge accomplishment, so he wore his usual scowl.

Frilla wrote:Now we can start getting Sentinal back online, getting rid of the virus first was a must.

"Hey!" Cheetor shouted, "something I might actually know about. Hey, lemme through." He brushed past Dinobot into the next available chair.

* * *

Whitegrazer wrote:I thank you for coming and I know you are probably wondering why I asked for this meeting between you and I.

Steelclaw nodded once, silently encouraging her to continue.

Whitegrazer wrote:The answer is simple: peace.

Wo, ho ho. The answer was not simple. Or rather, the answering of the question was simple, but the answer itself was not. At least she was being straightforward- this meeting was to be a discussion of philosophy and convictions, he knew it, and she knew he knew it. So she addressed it from the very beginning.

Whitegrazer wrote:What is peace? Is there a such thing as peace? Is it a thing that can be achieved? What do you think about it, Steelclaw?

Steelclaw met her curious gaze, and crossed his arms, weighing his answer carefully.

"If I may assume we are speaking of societal peace," he began, raising an optic ridge, and then lowering it. "...Peace a condition for a group of individuals in which they are able to live without fear because there is no violence brought upon them, and because they do not have to meet some extortionately proposed measure to ensure that violence is kept from them.

"And I must believe peace is achievable," he asserted. "Mustn't you?"

((OOC: I'm sorry that I haven't been on, my power has been out for almost a week. Its back on and hopefully it will stay on.))

"Well guess for the most part we've had a few new recruits since the Primal clone incident, which in fact one of them came down the lift just now."

She looked looked at the new mech, she had to admit he was rather handsom.

Just another person I have to worry about should the creature surface. She thought with an inward sigh.

,"His name is Ironclaw and sure it won't be long before you get to know him and I wish I could say for one other. And well we recently have had two predacon prisoners in the short time of your absence, which are Nemesis and just today Sonar."

The former general's ears went back at the mention of Sonar, it nearly caused her spark to stop. She unintentionally took a step back away from the fuzor.

,"For the worse of the news we lost that one recruit called Arachnitron, there was a Predacon surprise assault earlier today, thus the reason Sonar is prisoner and well some of us were damage."

She bit back her retort on the bat and kept it to herself.

,"But we also lost Icebreaker during the fight, Steelclaw and Snow Trix snuck in without us knowing and Steelclaw shot Icebreaker."

Sorrow filled her optics at the mention of Icebreaker, he had the makings of a great medic and the last time she had talked to him it hadn't gone well, he had caught her with Sonar and she had snapped at him. Now she would be able to ask his forgivness for her rudness...

We don't know if it was meant to just incapacitate him or to kill him purposely."

A sudden fire blazed her in dark green eyes. "They're Predacons, all they do is kill. They kill to win." Saber growled the fur rising along her spine.

"But I am not sure what you would consider this but we have a truce with the Predacons right now as well, but Optimus is leaving to go speak with Megatron with about the attack."

A truce with the Predacons? Saber wanted to laugh, what good would a truce do with them after what happened? "Megatron better have a good reason for it, we lost a great Maximal and a friend, because of them. Icebreaker will be missed..."

(ooc: I think I need a map over the layout of the Axalon.. Just wanted to make sure she managed to bring the hook since in order for her to 'fly' she needs to gain a certain altitude. The way I see it those thin butterfly wings will not be able to lift her ermine form off the ground but instead can be used for gliding through the air, so she'd need to get high enough up to catch an updraft. The hook can help her do that.)

Aurora dug her claws as far into Optimus' furry parts as she could without scratching him, trying to hold on for dear life. It was not easy given the excessive speeds the Maximal commander was capable of. Her wings, which could easily function as a parachute and throw her off at those speeds, she folded back as much as she could. Still she kept the magnetic grappling hook handy, just in case she'd need it to tow herself behind him if holding on proved too difficult. But she didn't want to do that just yet if she could avoid it.

Although scary at first, it only took a few moments for her to feel a certain thrill with being able to move at speeds like this. Primal's flight speed was much faster than she could glide on her own, especially since she lacked any form of propulsion system in beast form and thus had to rely on currents of wind to move herself. It hadn't been the most ideal choice for a mode, perhaps, but at least her form allowed her to glide in more quietly than most of the others.

Ironclaw could hear Rattrap trying to rush him on but he ignored him and went towards Saber-Fang. Yes that was her name. He had lisented to everything Feralnight and agreed with Saber-Fang, 'they just kill to win' he thought to himself. He moved past Feralnight and put out his hand to shake. "Hi"

Feralnight nodded slightly at the mention of Icebreaker being missed but she didn't know what more she could say. Though Saber-Fang's words of how Predacons way of winning was to kill made her ears go back slightly, looking down at her paws as it did sting a bit to know that was mostly the truth. She hardly even acknowledged Ironclaw being there or Rattrap nearby as she shifted her wings, now getting an uncomfortable feeling of sticking around the Axalon.

Despite her damaged wing the fuzor was very tempted to go for a flight and clear her thoughts, anything to avoid the nervousness showing visibly. "I'll let you two talk for now, there's really nothing more else I can tell you Saber." She said as she turned and began to walk towards the waterfall, wondering if Saber was right about Predacons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before Frilla could reply to Tigatron Cheetor was already hopping up to the task which surprised Frilla a little bit but she hoped he would be able to do it. "Think we should give Cheetor a chance, if not I'll show you what we can do." She assured them and kept back to watch the cheetah work and was ready to help if needed.

((Apologies for being gone but been busy at school and some family stuff.))

Wintersong listened to the others but didn't speak as they were beginning to leave or going about their other assignments, her's being more of a waiting game. There really wasn't anything she could say but silently hope the others would be back safely, and hope they didn't lose someone else. So while she sat there the white tigress watched the monitor, thinking and reflecting quietly on what had occurred that day, but to think of losing Icebreaker still hit hard as she had seen the penguin as one of the few she really found a friendship with.

Though the others were still her friends some of them she wasn't quite that close to or never felt anything close to kinship with in anyway, save for maybe Tigatron. Sighing softly she quietly gave the command to transform and shifted to robot form before sitting in the seat, reclining back a bit before looking towards the other four as they worked to get Sentinel back online but her expertise would be little use there so she didn't comment on anything. Honestly she hadn't talked since the meeting and it wasn't like her to be this quiet for long.

'This is far more then I ever bargained for from a simple dare, and now I'm in something I was being trained for. Maybe being in war wasn't exactly the best choice.' She thought, frowning slightly as she looked back to the monitor knowing there was much she still had to learn or hadn't paid attention to. Now she regretted not listening to her instructor more, save for rare instances and let out a deep sigh, 'Learn as I go I suppose, least I'll have war stories to tell when we get home.'

OOC: Sorry for not posting this weekend. I was very busy. Weekends are pretty much hit and miss for me. Also, Worpex is out of town until tomorrow. I'm sure he'll post once he gets back.

BIC:

Arachnitron could sense the other spider's feigned response. Though she was not surprised in the least....she probably would have done the same if she had been the unfortunate one in his place. They all were aware that in order for them all to get what they wanted (which was a working ship that would get them off of this planet), they all needed to work together....at least for the time being. None of them could risk calling any of the others' bluff at this point or none of them would be any closer to having a way off the planet. But once the ship was complete, she figured that the other Predacons would jump on the chance to make the number of escapees significantly smaller. She'd have to keep her eye on them.....especially the other spiders.

"Wait, I can make the necessary modifications because none of you have that type of expertise." He squirmed, motioning for the demon cat to let him go, "After all, transwarp cells are very delicate and one mistake...boom! and I trust you all want to get out of this alive!"

"I do though, Tarantulas." Blackarachnia chuckled, making him look at her with false gratitude, "but...shall we ladies take our little slave to where we need to go? Yes, maybe you can provide some use for us. Amusement, perhaps? We can always use extra hands...legs really."

With that, the other black widow shot her web at the Tarantula's mouth and wrapped him up inside a web restraint. Arachnitron echoed the other spider's chuckles and mocked," The muzzle suits him." She walked over to him and playfully laid a hand on his torso. "All dressed up and no where to go," she winked. She walked away gazing back at him seductively.

As she listened to the other femmes, she decided it best to approach the Hybrid about what her role in all of this would be.

"This is not easy for me to ask, but I need your help."

"I expected as much."

"You need to try to hold the Maximal back. You and I both know that the best course of action for all three of us would be to get off this planet and get away from everything. We do not belong here and we cannot stay."


The Hybrid was surprised at the Predacon's tone. She was civil and seemed to have put a lot of thought into this. She wasn't usually so methodical. The Predacon acted on impulse, she was not a strategist. But there was much truth behind the Predacon's thoughts. The Hybrid knew that the three of them were too Maximal to be Predacon and too Predacon to be Maximal. And it was only a matter of time before their psychosis worsened.

"Dysfunction over faction." The Hybrid agreed voicing her thoughts.

"Well said, but the Maximal will disagree."

"I'll take care of the Maximal."

The Predacon was pleased with how this was going so far. Now that the Hybrid and Maximal were out of the way, she could concentrate on the task at hand. How would they get her escape pod functional and how would it fit four Predacons?

She had no choice but to voice her concern to the other femmes so she lowered her voice so that only they could hear her. "My escape pod is small and damaged. Tarantulas probably has been planning this for quite a while and has some spare parts lying around that we can use to make the necessary adjustments. Maybe we can get him to help us and then ditch him just before we leave." She had no doubt that the other two femmes were thinking the same thing about her....

(( OOC: We probably have enough pages for part one, no? I'm going to close this topic and open "Part 2". Everyone, please continue in the second part right where you left off from here. Thank you! ))