The Intergalactic Highway

((OOC: Sonar's Endurance is a 6, but he is a complete light weight when it comes to drinking. Three cubes and he's wasted. Lol.))

After two more cubes Sonar felt relaxed as well as tipsy but he felt good and that's all that mattered to him.

"You know," Sonar slurred, walking over to Starshadow and the others nearly tripping over a chair in the process. "When we first met, I hated you, I really did. But now after all that's happened, I kinda like you."

* * *

Saber paced in her room, trying to figure out what she was going to tell Optimus. She doubted he knew what the Maximal Elders were capable of when it came to her condition, she shuddered slightly at the thought, that was one of the reason why she joined his crew to avoid being prosecuted for some thing she had no control over.

What am I going to do? She wondered for the tenth time.

"Of course I'm normal! Are you saying I'm an uncivilised mindless bot?" Starshadow sighed and took another mouthful of her drink.

After hearing what Sonar had just said, she almost spat everthing out of her mouth but swallowed it, "Excuse me?" she was smilng like a drunk lady. "Did I hear ya say ya liked me?"

Cecaelia was quite surprised that the bat has just said he liked the cat. "Wow...some guys..never fail to surprise me.." she said and took another cube, drinking it.

(( OOC: Where did everyone go? ))

Hrm.. I'll need to run some tests to fully understand but your wound is repaired..

Effortlessly getting to his feet with Rhinox's assistance, Optimus nodded and could feel his systems gradually relax from the sedative. He glanced at the others before returning his attention to the rhinoceros.

Uh.. Well.. I'll save you the dramatic details but.. after the Nanomachines died out, we attempted to try to rebuild Nightmist's fragmented spark, the project was failing and Icebreaker.. pulled one of his stunts, to make a long story short he'll recover and sort of..

Primal lifted a curious brow as he listened. Why was Icebreaker always so wreckless? He wasn't sure attempting to rebuild a broken spark was such a good idea, but it was too late now to say otherwise. Seems it was a pretty dangerous and risky maneuver that nearly killed the penguin.

That is to say.. what's left of Nightmist..the body was altered, it looks and is partially Nemesis in spark and cna structure, but it's also.. regressed in age.. Who and what we know of Nightmist is gone, and inadvertently Icebreaker..made a new life form with a portion of his own spark energy.. You know, I think Orcariner explained it easier. Icebreaker's a daddy now.. sort of.

"An extremely dangerous thing to do," Optimus commented, lightly shaking his head. Little did he know that that "trick" would come in handy later on. Hopefully this bot will not be as wreckless as the one who saved what life was left of Nightmist's spark. This was certainly a peculiar situation.

You don't have to worry about them, just worry about yourself for now. I'm going to take you down to the lab and run some tests, you can see Icebreaker and his kid when we get there.

That was unfamiliar territory for the selfless leader. He was incapable of worrying about himself. "All right," Primal agreed. He had to admit he eagerly awaited to see the new bot even though it wasn't quite functioning yet. And perhaps give Icebreaker a talking to, though he knew the ice bird only did what he thought was right; to save the former medic. Now they had this unknown bot in their hands. Who knew what allegiance it held and what abilities it was bestowed. "If anyone needs anything else from me," he addressed the others that were in his quarters, "follow us to the lab. I suspect my tests shouldn't be prolonged." He feared that the results would show there was nothing wrong. Then what? Would they think he was starting to go crazy? The pain was gone and he felt better now.

-----

"Unfortunately I don't now much else after that. Perhaps it is best to ask Feralnight right now since she seems the only one left from Rattrap's team still outside." "I'll see you two later, some time in the CR chamber might good right about now or before Primal gets onto my tail about it."

Tigatron nodded to Wintersong, watching her leave before he glanced at Dinobot.

"If you bots don't cheer up soon, i'm going to need to call the Predicons to help!"

The tiger chuckled lightly. "Airazor, I presume? I am Tigatron. It is a pleasure to meet you." He bowed his head in courtesy of her new company and arrival on this planet.

"Think your going to compete with Rattrap on jokes Airazor." "Come on you two we have Airazor on our team and we all came back safely. That should be victory enough."

Tigatron let out another chuckle at Feralnight's comment. Airazor did seem to have an older style of wit. He liked that. "Agreed. You are correct, Feralnight. That is victory enough," he smiled.

((OOC: I don't know. =O I have Whitegrazer meditating since I didn't know what she could do that's why I haven't posted. XD ))

"Sustaining one's self in war is a feat that hardly deserves congratulations," Dinobot growled. "Still, I am glad for your introduction to our group," he said, acknowledging Airazor. Without another word Dinobot, stepped off towards the Axalon.

* * *

Cheetor stood quiet, even after Optimus said he was sorry. There was nothing for him to be sorry for. He watched to make sure his leader was really o.k., and when things seemed alright, he shuffled off to the side to make sure he wasn't in the way of the door.

And he was curious about the new Maximal downstairs. He'd go look when Optimus left.

(Been waiting for you guys. )

Frilla was relieved to see Optimus back o his feet but remained quiet and stepped aside. Though she said nothing about Rattrap and the device since they'd likely pass the rat on the way to the lab. And she was quite curious about this new spark and bot it had made despite the recklessness of Icebreaker.

----------------

Feralnight smiled at Tigatron being positive, at least he was though Dinobot didn't seem to agree all that well. Watching the raptor leave she shook her head, "Doesn't seem much of a good day for him or much of a victory as he was hoping for." She commented before looking back to the two. But it still made her curious to how the others, even the Predacons, all had one animal form yet her's was a combination of two animals. Pushing back her thought, making a mental note to talk to one of their team scientists she finally spoke again, "So how was your mission Tigatron?" She asked.

Rhinox put one of Optimus's arms around his shoulder, then helped him walk into the hall heading towards the lab, the sight probably making any onlookers wonder just what was going on in the axalon today. As they made it to the lab, Icebreaker looked up noticing Optimus's condition, rather surprised to see Rhinox helping him in. He leaned up slightly about to help as Rhinox suddenly pointed towards Icebreaker Sit down. Your in no shape to help out Icebreaker. he then looked to Optimus Now Optimus, just try to relax and stand over there, if you feel like your going to fall over you can grab the scan wall for support. he stated leading him towards the device seen to scan transmetal bodies in season 2.

___________
Glowstick raised an optic ridge looking towards Sonar, he then looked towards Starshadow Uncivilized? Er..No, Just..unique.

"Excuse me?" "Did I hear ya say ya liked me?"

Sonar gave her his best charming, drunk smile. For some reason his wings felt heavy and he was having problems keeping his balance.

"You heard me. Now, if you excuse me... I have a date with the floor..."

Sonar made a strange noise before hitting the floor with a thud, one of his wings folded over to cover his face and he was then dead to the world.

Starshadow's ears went back and shook her head. "Have fun, Loser..." she took another sip of her drink. Then, she lifted her cube and spoke,

"NAO, wit da power of this drink, I AM PRIMUS!!" her cube slipped of her hands and dropped on her thighs. "Dohhh, I made a messy messy!!"

Her blue optics looked at the drunk bat then blinked. "Batsy kissin da floor?" the drunk catbot stood up and left the hangar. "Bedtime nyaaaaaa~"

Exiting his quarters, with or without anyone else following them, and walking to the lab with Rhinox's support, Primal had to admit to himself that he was scared. Scared of what might be found wrong with him, or if nothing was found at all. Which would be worse? Hundreds of things flew around in his mind. Why was this happening? Why was it his team that had to deal with all of this? But he supposed he wouldn't have wanted any other to be in his position if it was entirely unavoidable.

Sit down. Your in no shape to help out Icebreaker.

Optimus peered at Icebreaker who looked like he wanted to help, but Rhinox quickly shot down his gesture. Well, he would've done the same thing. After what that penguin did, he was sure he was going to need a lot of rest. Wreckless bird!

Now Optimus, just try to relax and stand over there, if you feel like your going to fall over you can grab the scan wall for support.

The damaged leader nodded and walked over to the location in the room where the engineer indicated. Optimus took a deep breath and managed to stand up straight without wobbling from the sedative. Glancing around, he spotted the new body that laid dorment on a nearby table. Primal squinted slightly with curiosity. Could they really bring it on-line? And if they did, who would it be? ...Besides Icebreaker's "child." "Congratulations," he smiled lightly at Icebreaker. No one could be sure if he was being sarcastic or not. It wasn't normally Primal's style to crack jokes like that. Maybe it was the sedative having an affect on him.

-----

"Sustaining one's self in war is a feat that hardly deserves congratulations," "Still, I am glad for your introduction to our group,"

Tigatron listened to Dinobot's words before the raptor took his leave from the group. He understood what he meant but in the tiger's eyes, this was not just any other "war."

"Doesn't seem much of a good day for him or much of a victory as he was hoping for." "So how was your mission Tigatron?"

"Successful," he briefly smiled at Feralnight before he added, "considering all of us have returned alive." The temporary playfulness subsided as he continued. "Megatron had apparently sent all of his heavy artilary to the stasis pod we chased. A new Predacon, a praying mantis named Manterror, reached it before Optimus and Frilla," Tigatron explained. "We do not know when he arrived on this planet but Optimus seems to hold some history with him. A long story short, we had a difficult battle with Megatron, Nemesis, Venatrix, Steelclaw, Tarantulas, and Snow Trix. We were completely outnumbered and were not able to keep Tarantulas away from our stasis pod despite Optimus's and Frilla's valiant efforts. The spider reprogrammed the protoform as a Predacon who called himself Inferno. I believe his name speaks for his personality." The white cat paused for a thoughtful moment before looking back at the Fuzor. "We sustained heavy damage and were forced to retreat. I must say, I have seen great improvements with our leader's skills in battle. He does not ignore the abilities that his beast mode also carries in his robot mode. And his opportunistic nature proves to be an advantage. However, I do fear for Frilla's life. Manterror was very intent on harming her." He shook his head. "I do not know why, but I would suggest that someone watch her back. Her firepower is nothing compared to his and his merciless nature. He will be a problem and a threat to her."

"Airazor, I presume? I am Tigatron. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Airazor simply nodded in reply. She couldn't help but wonder if Tigatron and Wintersong were related in some way. Perhaps brothers and sisters? They both looked similar, yet at the same time, completely different.

As Tigatron continued to talk and explain his mission to the rest of the group, Airazor began to feel a bit tired. It had been a long day for her with a lot to take in. She tried her best to focus on the Tiger's words, but couldn't help but let her mind wander ever few seconds. Still, she was able to catch the general gist of the story. His ability to get straight to the point was a blessing for the tired falcon. She was beginning to hope the Optimus would come down soon to show her to her quarters. If he didn't, she would likely fall asleep right where she stood.

Frilla followed after Rhinox and Optimus to the lab and glanced towards icebreaker who seemed to still be in somewhat bad shape but she didn't say anything before looking at the body. This new bot seemed far younger then the medic she had met earlier that week. But like the others she was still wondering what this younger looking transformer would be like later when he or she actually awoke.

Feralnight frowned at the news, this was quite worrying with three new Predacons on their side."That makes three press and one Maximal today but we were lucky not to have too much trouble." She said. But to hear one of their Maximals might be in danger was troubling. They had lost one Maximal the last thing they needed was risk losing another life. Yet at the same time the fuzor thought about the device from before,"We actually are wondering if Frilla is just playing us right now sadly. Glowstick gave Icebreaker a device for for her so we are a bit suspicious though Rattrap mostly."

(( OOC: I was waiting for Ven with Rattrap but I'm moving on because I'm curious as to what this device is that Glowstick wanted Frilla to have. Sorry for the wait. ))

Leaving Valkyrie, Rattrap wandered into the Axalon through the hangar, dropping the parts off at his quarters to add to his Waspinator collection, and headed down through the ship. Stumbling upon the lab and hearing some voices, he stopped at the opened door and looked in to find just the bot he was searching for. "There you are, Fearless Leader," he said entering the room and glancing at Frilla, Icebreaker and Rhinox. What were they doing in there, anyway? "I got somethin' to show ya. Glowstick gave it to Icebreaker ta give ta Frilla, but we thought you betta take a look at it first." Stopping near Optimus, he held out the device in the palm of his hand to show the commander. "I showed it ta Frilla but she claims she's got no idea what it is."

Primal examined it as best as he could with his one optic before sighing. "Is it a threat?"

"I don't think so. It doesn't look like any kind of explosive I've seen," answered Rattrap. "But dis is Glowstick we're talkin' about."

Nodding slightly, Optimus said, "Rattrap, I don't think this is a good time for this right now."

Raising a brow and cupping the device in his hand to lower his arm to his side, the spy asked, "Why not? What's goin' on?"

"Rhinox needs to run some tests on me, and we're all very exhausted," he explained.

"Okay. Well, it can wait. Or maybe Rhinox can get an idea on it," Rattrap suggested, looking over at Big Green. That was when he finally noticed the unfamiliar body nearby. "Whoa! Who's the freak?!"

-----

"That makes three press and one Maximal today but we were lucky not to have too much trouble." "We actually are wondering if Frilla is just playing us right now sadly. Glowstick gave Icebreaker a device for for her so we are a bit suspicious though Rattrap mostly."

Tigatron simply nodded at Feralnight. "I guess we will find out soon enough. I do believe, however, that Frilla is true to her new allegiance to us. Perhaps it is all a ploy."

Looking back to Airazor, who seemed to have a difficult time concentrating now, the tiger asked her, "Airazor, do you need rest? Have you been assigned a room inside the base?"

Airazors eyes had slowly begun to dim as the Tiger talked. Every few seconds they would light up again and she would be alert for a time before falling back into the pattern once again.

"Airazor, do you need rest? Have you been assigned a room inside the base?"

The tiger addressed her and snapped her from the daze she was in. Her eyes lit back up to their usual bright green. She had gotten really close to falling asleep right then and there. Turning towards the source of the voice, she shook her head. "I was waiting for Optimus to finish his repairs and give me a tour. I could use a small nap though... "

Icebreaker laughed a bit nervously as he heard Optimus congratulate him. He could tell Primal was probably a bit mad.

Rhinox looked towards Rattrap That freak is our newest crew member, if I can get her datatracks sorted out. She's not exactly made from off the shelf parts. Rhinox then looked at the device in Rattrap's hand, he leaned over picking it up and looking it over ... This is a miniature video player. If it was a bomb, it'd least be a bit bigger. Might as well play it as we do the scan. Rhinox then set the device down hitting the play button, he then moved to the computer and hit enter, causing the scanner to activate around Optimus Primal.

the video player flickered, then a light shined displaying a holographic image of a dark room, a eerie glow was then seen in the dark of two optics, then the rest of the glowing points and photophores on Glowstick's body giving a rather creepy and obscured image, though some could say the display was almost beautiful at the same time.

Greetings.. Frilla.. and Maximals. It's been awhile my dear.. I trust if you are viewing this, the Maximal which took it is either a fool or as kind as you sometimes claim yourselves to be, doesn't matter either way. So I'll just get down to this. The others may miss you, but don't let that weaken your resolve. The next time we meet, we will be enemies, if you stand in the way of my objectives, I will defeat you. If you stand aside, then I don't care what you do. But you already knew that..

In anycase, considering how much you have done for me as my assistant, it feels even wrong for someone like myself to not at least reward you in some way, so call this your bosses' severance package.. On this device is a backup of your data you left in your room, the Alien turrets are in a locker in a location that nor Megatron or you will ever be able to access.. Even I don't trust that tyrant with a scrap of that technology, The Aliens are a threat to us all and those blinded by ambition will only lead to their own or their allies destruction.. Though I suppose I use that word loosely..

I also suppose I should thank you in a sense.. When I first met you, we didn't touch your stasis pod at all.. your function as a data analyst, it was obvious you were a Maximal.. but even surrounded by cannibals and idiots, you still joined us. I always assumed it was because we were the only Cybetronians you met at the time, which is why you ran away when we met up with Megatron's group, only to be found by us again low on energon and forced into a mission which was likely against your beliefs.. I tried my best to try to make you comfortable among our ranks, but.. considering you are not a fighter, that really wasn't easy. So in a sense, there is some relief now.. But I have learned from you, and Steelclaw that at least not all the maximals are bad.. just the majority.

Glowstick leaned back in the video Well I guess I'll end this, take care of yourself Lizard girl.. and try not to stay up so late, a young lady shouldn't be leaving drool puddles on her desk because she overworks herself. I'd say be seeing you.. but considering I've never even seen Optimus Primal even when I recruited back on Cybertron, I doubt I'll ever see you for awhile.. probably due to patching up the mess your new friends tend to leave for me. Glowstick then made a pointing gesture with one of his tentacles as it light up Bang! the video turned off, not that the camera was destroyed, but probably sending a light pulse signal from his tentacle..like a tv remote.

Rhinox raised an optic ridge Well.. that was.. odd. he then looked towards the computer as the scan stopped, showing the test results ... Huh.. I'm not detecting anything Optimus. Your vital signs a perfectly fine. Hrm.. That wound is the one that Alien gave you right?.. Might be a result of some.. alien technology. he rubbed his chin pondering as he looked at the readouts.

_______________________

Glowstick looked towards Sonar on the floor, then watched as Starshadow left. He sighed shaking his head and handed the rest of his drink to Cecaelia Well so much for that. he then said to himself, picking up Sonar and floating to take him to his room.