The Intergalactic Highway

Terrorsaur, wobbling on his beast mode's feet, journeyed down the hallways of the Predacon ship. The truce made everything so much more boring. It was merely sitting around and waiting for Megatron to give them orders. What was worse was that the leader himself was gone and there was no one around to tell them what to do. Terrorsaur would try to have a little fun, but considering what happened to Glowstick when the latter tried to take matters into his own hands, the pterodactyl thought better for himself. Instead, he digressed to guard duty. Patrolling at least gave him something active to do. Turning the corner, Terrorsaur blinked at the sight before him.

"A Maximal?"

There, with a jack in the terminal, was a furry looking creature. It was not anyone he recognized from the Predacon team, and anything that adorably fuzzy must surely be a Maximal spy.

"Stop right there!" Terrorsaur yelled.

Running down the hallway, the Predacon flapped his wings in a threatening manner at Ironclaw. He knew he could not transform and shoot the badger, but he was sure he'd find a way to stop him nonetheless.


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


Rhinox gave an acknowledging look to Wintersong. Orcariner had mentioned once in private that he held Steelclaw with higher regard than the other Predacons. The senior officer had doubts as to whether or not those two would be considered as friends. Yet, he knew that somewhere down in that labyrinth, a camaraderie of some sort was formed. It would certainly do more harm than good if the orca would find out that his closest Predacon acquaintance was directly responsible for his closest Maximal friend's death. It was a twist of fate that made even Rhinox feel a twinge of pain inside.

"Well," he said out loud, "That certainly complicates things."

He contemplated over this revelation for a few seconds. Looking back at the group of younger Maximals, he told them what was on his mind.

"I don't want anyone telling Orcariner the details of Icebreaker's death. That goes for everyone until Optimus or I say otherwise."

Rhinox had enough experience to recognize even the most subtle details. Such details included the giant Maximal's change in behavior after Nightmist's death. Rhinox was not even sure if the younger bot had overcome his revenge-like inclinations towards the Predacon known as Nemesis. He could not fathom what this news would do to Orcariner's psyche. The killer whale was smart, and Rhinox knew there will be a time when he would discover the identity of Icebreaker's killer. He only hoped that Orcariner would refrain from doing something stupid. Otherwise, Rhinox would have to personally intervene.

Steelclaw listened carefully. Whitegrazer made some interesting points, but he realized she was, again, saying one needed peace to make peace. Perhaps he should have just answered her questions and let her go where she wanted to with the conversation- then they would have had more information to go on now that they were speaking of this again.

"I... still say that in order to have all of these wonderful qualities you speak of with in one's self, one ought to have others not trying to take them away. If a persons suffers another's aggression, and anger, and contempt, it is a great achievement not to react in kind. But it isn't a great surprise if that person does react back with all of those feelings.

"That's in addition to the fact, of course, that no one should have to suffer that kind of oppression unless they bring it upon themselves. But I've already spoken of some persons' peace depending on providing peace for others.

"So tell me, since we seem to disagree on this crucial aspect of peace... why do you say someone needs all of these qualities to provide them for others? What evidence do you have? And what exactly do you mean anyways, to say one should be free of all of these qualities? How free? Do you mean to tell me you yourself are at peace, and devoid of all contempt, and never angry, or aggressive? If this is all true, you have my congratulations."

"You are akinning peaceful to being perfect which it does not. When you call someone peaceful, you are saying that person is not disturbed by strife, turmoil, and war, so a peaceful person is not devoid of those emotions but accepts them, understands them and puts them aside for the greater good. When a person of peace like a diplomat or meditator goes to settle disputes, in his or her soul, there is a battle. What if the other side has done unspeakable horrors to his or her side? There are moments of anger and contempt, but his or her soul knows that he or she has to let go of those feelings, clear his or her mind because a dipolmat is to understand each side's goals and motivations to achieve peace to avoid more hurt, more heartbreak, and war. To bring peace, one must be and know peace, but also, understanding."

"You raise a valid point that one has to battle those who take it away. One is responsible for oneself and you are right when one reacts to violence with peace is peaceful, but if a person who fights for peace answers aggression with aggression, anger with anger, hate with hate, they are responsible for their actions in those states. It is no great surprise, but that is no excuse to react in such a matter. One must be the bigger person or there is no right or wrong because they both reacted in violence to prove that they were right. Anger begets more anger. Hate begrets more hate."

"Steelclaw, you misunderstand me. I apologize if I gave that impression throughout this conversation that people shouldn't fight for peace or you have to be perfect, which will make this conversation utterly pointless because none of us are. Peace should be fought for. It's a very noble cause to fight for but in this whole universe, peace is tangible yet as we fight for it, we have to be careful to tread lightly, to not let our souls forget peace and reside ourselves to war and violence. We must keep the peace in our soul to remind us what we fight for and against. It's not easy. It's a very hard lesson to experience." Her optics seemed to gleam with sorrow and understanding when she said that, but then her optics went back to her neutral expression, "That type of evidence you want for me is from personal experience, but there is one evidence that I believe proves my theory on most of what I have been conversing with you: Cybertron. Our own home planet and the state it is in now."

((OOC: I just wanted to post for Blazemane. Not to rush, but I didn't want to lose what I written because of my screen, which has been carrying on lately. I hope it is all right. ))

After Frilla had listened to the others and watched Orcarnier leave instead of sticking around she just merely gazed at them for a long moment, finally she spoke with a solemn tone,"We shouldn't have even brought it unless he had asked. It's obvious a shock to Orcarnier to know he lost his best friend, none the less by a shot from someone he likely respects since those times when the Vok Primal struck us again. Personally I don't think Steelclaw meant for a kill shot, and call it from spending time around him enough that he might not aim to kill but to disarm, but it just seems it was an unfortunate chance Icebreaker had a serious injury that he couldn't heal in time." She said softly before sighing and looking towards the monitors for a long few moments.

It was still a little hard to think of all mechs Steelclaw would even be a killer, he had always been one of the saner Predacons and had a lot more dignity from what she had seen when she was a Predacon. Frilla just felt Icebreaker hadn't been lucky this time to escape a fatal shot. "Right now Rhinox is right, we got other things we need to be doing instead of continuing to mourn, and even Optimus said it himself we need to try and save it for when we aren't in such tense times. And right now we got some auto-guns to repair."She said looking back at Tigatron, Cheetor, and Dinobot before moving towards the hall leading to the hanger but paused,"And Sentinal should be back at full power soon Rhinox, we were able to get it unjammed and running again." She added with a brief smile to the older transformer before heading out towards the hanger.

Upon reaching the hanger Frilla stopepd at the storage to collect a few parts and tools, placing them in subspaces before she came outside,"Beast mode."She said and moved to the rocks, climbing up a few to reach a higher places of the Axalon and clambered up to the roof, the hull being smoother then rocks or bark of a tree for her claws which was a little difficult to climb smooth metal. Transforming once more the frilled lizard came to some of the destroyed auto-guns, sighing at the sight of it."Figures that the Levianthan would take most of them out. Maybe I should make the virus shut down the basic defenses too."She muttered before she took out what she needed and went to work.

Yo, kitty! You still in this or what? We are leaving."

"You girls go ahead, something's fishy is going on and I want to check it out myself." Starshadow replied from the comlinks and walked into the Darksyde. It was strange for the maximals to enter in predacon territory, unless they have a purpose to be here. Stepping on one of the hoverboards, she pushed the throttle andmade her way to the corridoors of the quarters then to the other areas.

There he was, the newest maximal she met. It seemed that he was trying to obtain information, but what kind of-

"A Maximal? Stop right there!"

Terrorsaur? Great...alerting the maximal without being close to him was a stupid move. There was little choice left, Starshadow transformed to her robot mode, drawing out her blaster as she walked towards the badger and aimed the barrel behind his head, "not...a single movement hun, or you will lose a head." she whispered and then turned to Terrorsaur, "I'll take it from here, sweetie. Now go be a good guard while I handle our furry intruder."

((Don't worry people, Star's not gonna put Ironclaw in a brig or something.))

Primal suddenly took a different approach and Megatron watched him for a long moment, observing his now more relaxed posture. The gorilla brought up a good point and the t-Rex would have to be careful, much more careful to answer. "If I were to order a full scale assault Primal I would have been leading myself and I wouldn't have allowed for such insubordination. Even you should know that by now Optimus."He answered steadily, looking slightly to the small ermine fuzor hiding behind him.

"Of course you have the maximal sentimentality in you, so your way of handling things is...different."He said in a neutral tone, one edged with disgust of the way the Maximals were. It made him sick to see them with friendships or forming close bonds, Soemthing the tyrant found unneeded and nothing but weakness.

============

"This is Predacon warrior Onyx Airazor, though I must kindly ask you to leave."Onyx said in a curt tone, finding something a little off for a single Maximal to be here. Though he began to type a few things to look at some other cameras to find anything out of the ordinary."It was Megatron's order Cecaelia, and Hm seems the falcon wasn't alone."The stallion rubbed his chin when he thought he saw some movement in one camera and switched the view.

Sure enough Airazor hadn't come alone after all, Rattrap seemed to be hiding and the use of the Predacons placing cameras in unexpected places was useful."Though I could also ask your companion to also leave maximal, we are under a truce so I am certain there is no need for sneaking." Onyx's tone remained polite since he didn't see any reason to be rude. Still it would come off as odd for someone from a side who's suppose to hate Maximals, heck he had been programmed to be in the military force that would have fought the Maximals on Cybertron if he had stayed.

((I wasn't sure if you guys wanted Rattrap helping Ironclaw but he did get caught in the series so improvised with it. ))

(( OOC: Poor Orcariner. Optimus will need to give him a pep talk, eh? Heh, what's going to happen to Orcariner when the monkey dies?

Wow, Mystrea! I'd like to see more posts like that from you in the future. ))

"If I were to order a full scale assault Primal I would have been leading myself and I wouldn't have allowed for such insubordination. Even you should know that by now Optimus."

Optimus almost had to hold back a retorting chuckle at Megatron's words. "My point exactly, Megatron. As deceptive and manipulative as you are, I can't really know you or how you operate at all. This is why I come highly suspicious and on-guard about your 'cease-fire', moreso now than I was in the beginning."

"Of course you have the maximal sentimentality in you, so your way of handling things is...different."

Was that a compliment? Doubtful. Although, it did make Primal wonder if he came off a little more unpredictable to Megatron than the usual military-trained Maximal authority the Predacon rogue might have been more familiar with back on Cybertron. Realizing how much time had gone by already, perhaps they should be wrapping this up so that Optimus and Aurora may assist Airazor and Rattrap in Ironclaw's escape, assuming everything had been going to plan so far. "However," Primal added, "you did make an effort to meet me here and discuss this peacefully. I suppose I can recognize your 'dedication' and desire for further peace between our teams, assuming I can trust your word that today's assault on the Axalon was in fact a 'mistake' taken place unbeknownst to you. As a sign of good faith, I'll give this truce one more chance," Optimus said in a lighter tone before his voice immediately made a one hundred eighty turn and now sounded deeper and darker as an image of Icebreaker's shattered head flashed by in his mind, adding with narrowing eyes, "But I warn you, Megatron, another violation like that, and my crew and I will retaliate with extreme force." The gorilla had his reasons for avoiding mentioning Icebreaker's death to Megatron that was caused by the assault, and he wasn't sure Aurora would protest about that. So far, she had obeyed his recommendation commendably despite of everything. Primal also avoided discussing the two Predacon prisoners he had acquired. As far as he was concerned, this meeting was over, but he remained standing there before the t-rex in case he had anything to add.

-----

"That's better."

Rattrap, waiting patiently and quietly in the rocks not far from his aerial partner, watched as Airazor handled the situation rather gracefully. The gunfire stopped and she was the focus for the Predacons.

"So, who is it that I am speaking to?"

"This is Predacon warrior Onyx Airazor, though I must kindly ask you to leave."

Ah, the Black Stallion, thought the Maximal spy. He still couldn't make heads or tails with that Pred. But had Rattrap been detected as well? He didn't physically see any other Predacons exiting the Darksyde or wandering around from his view point.

"Though I could also ask your companion to also leave maximal, we are under a truce so I am certain there is no need for sneaking."

Guess he thought too soon. Upon hearing Onyx's peaceful request, Rattrap looked around for anything that might've given him away. "What the...?" he said outloud as he searched. Then he found it. A hidden camera that had activated either by his signature or his motion, and there he was on center stage for the Predacons. "Slag!" he said, trying to play up his surprise of being discovered and throwing his fist into his other open-palm hand as he turned his back to the camera, pretending to shake his head in self-disappointment and failure. "Beast mode." Returning to his rodent form, he climbed up on one of the boulders and waited for Airazor to pick him up.

-----

"How'd the fight turn out? Anything important we need to be updated on?"

Tigatron had turned from Saber-Fang to see Rhinox and Orcariner join them. At first, he didn't know what to say, but Cheetor had quickly jumped in to help. A little bluntly, though.

"Icebreaker's gone." "He got shot, and he couldn't get repaired fast enough."

Those words made the white tiger in robot mode frown again. It was like losing Icebreaker all over again. However, Cheetor could have been a little more subtle on the very sensitive and delicate subject. This was going to hit Orcariner very hard.

"That's terrible news," "We should probably make funeral preparations. Do something to remember him by."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to get things done around here as efficiently as possible."

"Wouldn't want to have the younger ones panic over this."

That... was not the reaction Tigatron was expecting. Maybe he didn't know Orcariner very well because he wasn't around the Axalon very often, but he knew that he and Icebreaker had been very close friends. Perhaps the news just hadn't really hit him yet. Either way, watching the largest maximal turn around and exit the commander center so solemnly, Tigatron thought it best to keep him company and help him. If the orca would welcome it, of course.

The white feline didn't know how many it would really take to repair the auto-guns, so after Wintersong and Frilla gave their explanations, Tigatron looked toward Rhinox, who would have now resumed command of the Maximals in and around the Axalon, and asked, "Shall I instead assist Orcariner? I don't believe he should be left to prepare Icebreaker's funeral alone." He certainly would not discuss the details of the penguin's death. Like Rhinox had demanded, that would be left to him or Optimus.

"This is Predacon warrior Onyx Airazor, though I must kindly ask you to leave."

"Oh, very well." Airazor said before transforming into her beast mode and turning in the other direction. Rattrap had still been undetected, and she planned to leave without him for the moment. He could be an important asset to the mission if hes able to get inside. However, as Airazor began her flight back to base, Onyx's voice came through her communicator once again.

"Though I could also ask your companion to also leave maximal, we are under a truce so I am certain there is no need for sneaking."

With a deep sigh, Airazor turned back towards Rattrap and picked him up. It looks like Iron Claw would be on his own! After grabbing the rat in her talons, she took off once again for the Axalon.

---

"Hmph, with the way Megatron has been acting today Manterror I doubt he would give a care if you were shot or not, by one of us or the computer. He's been so focused on something else he isn't even bothering with our bickering, so put away your little toy and shove off."She said in an annoyed tone, taking a step back slightly. "Besides you aren't really worth the time, only reason Megatron is keeping some of us around is for pawns and that's it so regardless if you frame me your just going to end up dead one way or another."

Reflecting on the others words, Manterror backed off and thought for a second. Since when did he care about Megatron or any of his pawns anyway? He was only part of the Predicons for their resources, not because he liked them! Perhaps Snow Trix was correct, he would leave the situation alone... but if Megatron ever asks, he would still say it was Snow Trix!

"Bah! Manterror will never end up dead! I am immortal!" He yelled back towards the other who was now flying away. Pfft. Whatever. Unsure what to do now, Manterror activated his wings and flew off into the hallways of the ship. It was pointless to continue his hacking attempt. Perhaps he'll find something interesting to do elsewhere.

Saber transformed into her robot form and quietly headed to her quarters.

Icebreaker will be missed. She thought as she unlocked the door to her quarters.

After stepping into her quarters she paused for a momet.

Its like nothing has changed.

Ironclaw felt the barrel of the gun tothe back of his head. He heard the fembot's voice and dissconnected the cables from his head and from the access panel. Another situation he had never been in before, thinking this everytime was not getting him anywhere. Not anymore. "You can't shoot. We have a truce, remember?" Ironclaw said grtting this teeth.

He didn't know what was going to happen next, he realised that he hadn't acheived much in his life and thought dieing now would be a waste of potential. His mind then betrayed him again and thoughts of Aurora and Saber-Fang entered his mind. He had barely gotten to know Saber-fang, she carried herself cool and confident. She made him feel untterly defenseless yet utterly intrigued. Aurora on the other hand didn't work out to plan, not that there was a plan in the first place. He knew he would have to make it up to her. He had a soft psot for her indeed.

These thoughts were then suddenly stripped away from him as he head the fembot's voice again. Starshadow.

"You idiot!" Terrorsaur panicked as he kept running in his awkward beast mode.

Everyone already saw what Megatron did to one Predacon who crossed him. Now, Starshadow appeared to be on the verge of doing something equally mindless. Knowing his luck, she'd probably place the blame on Terrorsaur himself. The pterodactyl dove forward and tackled both Ironclaw and Starshadow with his enormous wingspan.

"Megatron's not killing me because of you," he squawked.

His body was not strong enough to hold the two together, and the three of them ended up sprawled on the ground.


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


Rhinox listened to Tigatron's proposition and nodded.

"Go ahead," he replied, "Just approach him gracefully. Don't give him an excuse to become volatile."

That was the last thing Rhinox wanted. He doubted that Orcariner would intentionally hurt a friend or damage the ship. Yet, the Maximal was still young. All it took was one involuntary outburst to create an irreversible situation. The orca's size made this risk very real from Rhinox's perspective. Despite the tragedy of the day, the senior officer found himself thankful. He was thankful for his past experiences, both good and bad, and how they helped matured him. He was thankful for the wisdom that came with age. Rhinox was not old by any means, but he was old enough to know how to keep himself under control. It was a trait that helped the team in combat, and it has certainly helped Rhinox during more personal moments. Approaching the computer terminal, the Maximal spoke to Tigatron.

"He's three corridors down from the south bridge exit that he left from. Ship's not picking up any movement from him."

He turned to face the green and white Maximal.

"Remember, approach with grace."


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


Meanwhile, Orcariner found himself slumped against the wall. He did not recall how he got into this position, but it was not really a predicament he cared for at the moment. His massive body blocked the entire hallway but since no one was around, the orca did not care for that either. Orcariner was unsure of how to act. Getting up alone was too complicated for him. Thinking about where to go was too complicated for him. All that remained in his head was a slideshow of memories. Memories of Icebreaker. Despite his optics darting from one part of the wall to the other, Orcariner could not register what was in front of him. He could not focus on anything else except for the memories. There were times when they swam together. There were times when Icebreaker rode on his back while the killer whale hovered across the terrain. There were times when they fought together. Times where they joked together. Times where they grew together.

So much time, he thought, and yet... why does it seem so... little?

Icebreaker was the third friend he had lost in the Beast Wars, but this death was so much different.

But why?

He did not know. What he did know was that it felt different. There was no emotion in his spark. He wanted to feel sad such as when Ice Sight died. He wanted to feel the fury that accompanied Nightmist's death. Yet, there was none of that. He only had confusion.

Icebreaker's a fighter, he continued to argue with himself, There's no way he would go out this soon in the Beast Wars. He could take on anyone Megatron threw at him. He couldn't have died. There must be a mistake.

He wanted to see the body. Orcariner needed proof that Icebreaker was truly dead and could not be resurrected. Yet, he found himself unable to move from his spot. Instead, he succumbed to his complacency and fell back into the warm embrace that the memories gave him.

OOC: Sorry for the delay. I was alot busier than I expected this week between Valentines Day, a friend of the family falling ill, fencing and other various things....but it's no big loss I suppose with DarkSpark taking over as Tarantulas, I'm sure she (he????) has a lot to catch up on....so hopefully the delay gave him (her???) time to read over what's been happening with "tall, dark and gruesome."

BIC:

Before they left Tarantulas' lair, the other black widow contacted Starshadow.

una wrote: "Yo, kitty! You still in this or what? We are leaving."

starshadow wrote: "You girls go ahead, something's fishy is going on and I want to check it out myself."

Arachnitron shrugged. "Whatever. One less passenger we need to worry about." she muttered emotionless eager to write the furry femme out of the equation. She led the trio to her fallen ship that served as her escape route from Cybertron.

When they reached the ship, Arachnitron, for the first time, seriously assessed the damage that was done. She gazed at the charred components from the earlier fire. She was not the personality in control at the time. So she hadn't remembered the space debris that had damaged the ship's flight mechanisms or the heat dampeners that had malfunctioned upon entry into the planet's atmosphere. Not to mention the transwarp cells had been depleted as well as the fuel depositories. She was just now, for the first time, seeing the extent of the damage to her escape pod.

They could most certainly fix certain parts of the ship and put in Megatron's transwarp engine in place of the pod's original. But complete repairs were not possible with the few parts Tarantulas had collected. The transwarp cell would get the ship airborne, but it wouldn't get it to travel beyond the current planet's atmosphere. Even if they could get beyond the pull of gravity found on the planet, they most definitely needed the heat dampeners to protect the pod from future entry into other planets' atmospheres. Not to mention the fuel tanks had been almost completely destroyed...they'd need to fix that too and the pod would need to fit more than one now that the other widow and the male spider intended to travel with her.

Arachnitron realized the chances of getting her ship functional again was merely a pipe dream. They just didn't have the supplies to fix all the pieces that needed to be fixed. Her spark sank, but she was too stubborn to admit it out loud. So to save face, she looked back towards the male spider. Surely he would feel desperate enough to leave the planet that he would just make something up to fix so that he could stay on the "crew" (so to speak). Then, once the other widow realized their predicament, she could credit it to the things they did at the suggestion of the Tarantula and not to the state of the ship before his involvement.

Arachnitron smiled deviously. "So I think it's time Tarantulas earned his keep. What do you think?" she said turning towards the other black widow. "He claimed to be the expert in all of this. Let's let him prove it by coming up with a plan of action." She winked at her cohort.

Steelclaw briefly realized that somewhere in the middle of his conversation with Whitegrazer, the sun had completely set. A weak, but noticeable glow of moonlight had settled on the clearing, casting subtle patterns of shade from the surrounding woods onto the ground and shining on the few spots of metal exposed on the arms he held folded across his chest (he imagined that the rest of his alloyed frame was being illuminated the same way, but the arms were all he really took the time to glance at before staring back at the Maximal).

You are akinning peaceful to being perfect which it does not.

No, I never had. But it sure sounded like you were.

When you call someone peaceful, you are saying that person is not disturbed by strife, turmoil, and war, so a peaceful person is not devoid of those emotions but accepts them, understands them and puts them aside for the greater good.

Who wants to be a peacemaker without being disturbed by war?

When a person of peace like a diplomat or meditator goes to settle disputes, in his or her soul, there is a battle.What if the other side has done unspeakable horrors to his or her side? There are moments of anger and contempt, but his or her soul knows that he or she has to let go of those feelings, clear his or her mind because a dipolmat is to understand each side's goals and motivations to achieve peace to avoid more hurt, more heartbreak, and war. To bring peace, one must be and know peace, but also, understanding.

A warrior can't be a "person of peace"? Mediation ends all fights? Some 'bots can't be persuaded away from their bad ideas.

You raise a valid point that one has to battle those who take it away.

So you justify fighting, just not the fighter?

One is responsible for oneself and you are right when one reacts to violence with peace is peaceful, but if a person who fights for peace answers aggression with aggression, anger with anger, hate with hate, they are responsible for their actions in those states. It is no great surprise, but that is no excuse to react in such a matter. One must be the bigger person or there is no right or wrong because they both reacted in violence to prove that they were right. Anger begets more anger. Hate begrets more hate.

I never said it was good to respond to evil with evil. Only that we shouldn't expect a person or society to respond to evil with good. Of course hate breeds hate, and anger, anger, just like you said. That's the problem. That's why there's an entire race on Cybertron right now which needs to end its cycle of prejudice.

I apologize if I gave that impression throughout this conversation that people shouldn't fight for peace or you have to be perfect, which will make this conversation utterly pointless because none of us are. Peace should be fought for. It's a very noble cause to fight for but in this whole universe, peace is tangible yet as we fight for it, we have to be careful to tread lightly, to not let our souls forget peace and reside ourselves to war and violence. We must keep the peace in our soul to remind us what we fight for and against. It's not easy. It's a very hard lesson to experience.

A very hard lesson to experience? Is that a warning? A note of sympathy from the enlightened Whitegrazer? Like you just can assume I'm obsessed with war, and don't want an end to it. "Oh, if you would only heed my words, Steelclaw, your life would be so much better..."

Steelclaw briefly wondered if she would ever dare to give this same lecture to a Maximal- or, rather, a Maximal she knew was a Maximal. And what was going on with her optics? Was she getting that emotional over her own speech?

Suddenly, Steelclaw realized he had no idea how to actually respond. He had a half mind to start shouting at her in his anger, except he had no idea what he could even begin to say.

Whitegrazer wrote:That type of evidence you want for me is from personal experience, but there is one evidence that I believe proves my theory on most of what I have been conversing with you: Cybertron. Our own home planet and the state it is in now.

Now that was something he could respond to. He spoke carefully, deliberately, trying to not start ranting.

"Alright. Tell me about Cybertron."

* * *

Cheetor was a little bit confused. Why couldn't Orcariner know who killed Icebreaker? He trusted Rhinox enough on this one, so he wasn't gonna go dashing off and telling Orcariner the whole story, but still... what was going on here?

"Got ya," he answered Rhinox. Upon seeing Frilla get ready for going to the exterior of the ship to repair the guns, he turned to his side. "Hey, are you coming, Dino-..."

He wasn't on the bridge anymore.

"bot?" Well, anyways. "I'm coming, Frilla."

* * *

Dinobot's footfalls echoed in one of the Axalon's hallways as he walked unhurriedly down it. Finally, he stopped at Saber-Fang's door and rapped on it with the claws on one of his hands.

Blackrosefencer wrote:
Arachnitron smiled deviously. "So I think it's time Tarantulas earned his keep. What do you think?" she said turning towards the other black widow. "He claimed to be the expert in all of this. Let's let him prove it by coming up with a plan of action." She winked at her cohort.

Tarantulas glared quietly at Arachnitron, the witness widow's childish antics and jeers reminding him of an ignorant schoolgirl in sharp contrast to Blackarachnia's more mature countenance, yet even her charms no longer enticed him. There had been a time back when he first created Blackarachnia that he had entertained the notion of her being his companion, selecting her beast form specifically for that purpose, finding her quite lovely. Now he realized that had been a mistake, all spider based cybertronians seemed to be inherently devious and treacherous just as he was, next time he'd have to take precautions when reprogramming a maximal protoform, perhaps go for a different beast mode or take the time necessary to alter the Maximals personality circuits before they came online. He didn't need a partner or a mate, what he needed was a way off this doomed planet. The Vok would dispose of Primal's Maximals and Megatron's Predacons without him having to lift a pincer, the Tripredacus Council's will would be done, the threat to their rule neutralized...He merely needed to ESCAPE to report back to them.

Tarantulas took a quick glance at the ruined vessel and scowled, he could probably repair it if he had the resources and parts to do so, but the widows had made the mistake of being blatantly obvious about their intentions towards him once he'd outlived his usefulness, much like that fool Terrorsaur always stupidly voiced his desire to lead the predacons out in the open and acted surprised when Megatron countered him. What he needed to do was get away from these witches or take them out so he could go about making his own escape by whatever means necessary, not wait for them to shoot him in the back or pump him full of cyber venom and leave him for dead. Stasis pod or space ship, it didn't matter, he had no time to waste with them and their teasing, he had work to do that could mean the difference between life and death and their power plays had delayed him long enough.

Arachnitron, the bimbo with the personality disorder...He'd love nothing more than to SLAG HER for her insolence, but he sense she was the weak link on this "team" of strong willed femmes, perhaps he could get her to side with him over Blackarachnia if he could convince her that he was capable of solving her personality issues...Assuming he could get her to stop playing around with him like he was a toy for her amusement. He was risking alot by doing this, but he was desperate and clearly these widows weren't going to listen to reason and he couldn't manipulate Arachnitron properly if Blackarachnia, the brains of the outfit, was there watching them, which meant he somehow had to get her alone...something he could accomplish if he either took out his treacherous creation and held Arachnitron at gunpoint long enough to extend his offer, or if he could think up some menial task that would distract Blackarachnia long enough for him to sway Arachnitron's loyalties, perhaps something technical she wouldn't trust Arachnitron to handle it herself...

Dropping the handle on the cart and pointed to the webbing ensnaring his mouth parts, feigning an inability to remove it himself, a stall tactic that would inflate their egos and buy him time to decide what to do next...The direct approach or the subtle approach?

(OOC: Hey, sorry for taking so long to post something gang, took me a while to read through the more recent posts and I can already tell I'm gonna have to read through the older stories to learn all there is to know about ALOT of these characters lol. Una and Blackrose are welcome to PM me if there's anything wrong with my performance of Tarantulas or his thoughts on his captors or his plans to get himself out of this mess he's in, just trying to restore some of his menace and dignity without having him go "postal" out of the blue on my first day playing him XD. I'd also appreciate it if anyone can show me how to swap my Rampage avatar for transmetal Tarantulas lol)

Whitegrazer saw how the sun seem to fall and the silhouette of Steelclaw loomed over her position. Her thoughts ran as she waited for Steelclaw's response, but to her, it seemed like he was steaming from the way he looked and his optics. Maybe it was just the atomosphere, but to her, the peace that they were having in the conversation eariler was more or less disappearing. She could feel it through the vibrations. The area was darkening around them, giving it an omnious appeal. Ignoring it, she wondered why Steelclaw was angry at her? What did she say specifically that angered him? Should she address it or will he just blow it up at her, leaving? She would at least try to avoid anything that may offend him, but that's the problem. It seemed she already did and he's not telling.

"Maybe I should tell him how to-no, he would probably get offended."

All she could do was wait for him to say something...

"Alright. Tell me about Cybertron."

That was it? Oh well, at least he was continuing the conversation despite whatever misgivings. Maybe she would find those out sooner than she thought. She hoped.

"Cybertron is living in a lie. A cold war I think is the proper term to describe what our planet is going through. A cold war that is heating up with this war and will continue until the cold war becomes a boiling hot one," she shook her head mournfully before she continued speaking in a calm tone, "not if the soul can be whole again. Maximals. Predacons. We are each a part of the whole. What happens to one will affect the other. In order for the soul to be whole, each part must look at each other with understanding and acceptance. Right now, it doesn't matter who wins this war we are having here. Maximal or Predacon. There will still be segregation, hatred. Endless cycle of war and violence. Each part must learn to co-exist with each other because that is the only way this cycle of war can broken. No more of this the victor goes the spoils, people slaughtering each other when they wear the insignia of a different alleigance, corrupt politicans using a document that was supposed to stand for peace to keep themselves in power, it has to end or more people on both sides will die."

____________________________________________________________________________________

Whatever. One less passenger we need to worry about."

Blackarachnia just shrugged. Arachnitron was right about that.

Dragging Tarantulas with them, she saw the escape pod. What a mess, but it could be durable if they are careful.

"We will have to see how the pod reacts to the modifications our friend will have to put on them. Let's hope it doesn't blow up on our faces."

"So I think it's time Tarantulas earned his keep. What do you think?" she said turning towards the other black widow. "He claimed to be the expert in all of this. Let's let him prove it by coming up with a plan of action."

Dropping the handle on the cart and pointed to the webbing ensnaring his mouth parts, feigning an inability to remove it himself, a stall tactic that would inflate their egos and buy him time to decide what to do next...The direct approach or the subtle approach?

Blackarachnia snickered at Tarantulas, looking back at Arachnitron with a big smirk. She had her hands touch Tarantulas' shoulders and had one stroking his chin, "Aww, do we have to take the muzzle off? He looks adorable with it on, don't you think?"

Because of how sticky the muzzler web must have been, Blackarachnia tore it off with glee.

She will be watching Tarantulas. She knew he will try anything so she better keep herself alert, watching every little thing he did or said. This pod could fall apart, but she knew a little sabotage could delay something Tarantulas would do. Looking at the transwarp cell and the supplies, it made her wonder how long they had. She didn't and she sure as the Pit wasn't going to burn with the rest of the planet.

((OOC: Loved your post, Darkspark. I thought it was good. ))