The Intergalactic Highway

(ooc: My work weekend is coming up, I won't get another chance to post until Tuesday evening. So I didn't want to leave everyone waiting that long.)

"Irony or destiny? Lord Megatron set all of this in motion long before the tragic end of the war, he KNEW someone with the guile to carry out his vision would emerge one day and put his longterm plan into effect in defiance of time and space itself. We're all here because of that plan, and together we shall undo the horrors brought about by an autobot ruled Cybetron" Deathroll replied, raising a clenched fist in defiance of the Maximal Elders, Cybtertronians he had never met and who certainly could not possibly know of his existence, but who he saw as enemies in need of being defeated either way.

"Given time, all of these injustices and indignities that our faction has been forced to endure will be undone, history be damned, I swear it by my own spark!" Deathroll vowed, eyes glowing brighter than usual, as if fueled by his rage and his passion to set right the wrongs done to his people.

"Strong words Sub-Commander, but don't be too quick to offer up your own spark just yet, I still have use of it, and I'd rather have those of the maximal elder's instead anyway, yyyyyessssss" Megatron interjected, pleased by Deathroll's devotion to the cause, it was nice to have loyalists under his command driven by true patriotism rather than delusions of being an earth bug serving his queen like Inferno.

Nemesis remained silent while Megatron and Deathroll discussed the progression of the Decepticon race, although her silence did by no means indicate that she wasn't interested. If anything she was contemplating the situation, taking their every word into consideration.

Indeed, the Maximal Elders had obtained many enemies by their ruthless decisions and Maximal favoritism. Truth be told she probably would not have gotten this advanced nanotechnology installed if the Elders hadn't caused so much friction. Or at least through the same methods and urgency the process had been implemented. Perhaps it wouldn't have been such a hellish experience if the scientists had more time to perfect the new technology before trying to merge it with their subjects? If she played her cards right, she might just be able to find out for herself..

Deathroll's response was hardly unexpected. He had served under the original Megatron and was, in fact, the only member of their existing crew who had that honor. The original Megatron had earned himself quite the reputation as a conqueror and had in his own rights shaped the future more than any of their kin.. thus far. It wasn't strange at all that Deathroll had maintained his enthusiasm through his reformatting.

Megatron's reaction, however, made it clear that he had his sights set on taking down the Maximal Elders. Of course how successful he was to become in that venture would depend on how proceeded. The Elders were heavily guarded so Megatron would require a considerable army if he planned to fight them straight on. The project she and Zodiac had been a part of had planned to take on their enemies from within, by infiltrating them, essentially becoming them, and taking them out one by one. She was curious to find out how Megatron planned to accomplish it.

"Ah yes Umbra, my ever reliable ninja, a mech of so many talents" Megatron said, making a mental note to keep closer tabs on the octopus in the future, he trusted that Umbra was a professional who faithfully served the highest bidder, but still, one did not rise to power by being overly trusting, nnnnoooo.

A fair assumption. There were times Nemesis wondered if Umbra's loyalty ran any deeper than the pockets of his employer. But as of right now he was certainly proving useful.

"I approve of your plan, and of the feelings behind it as well, yyyyeessss" Megatron stated, hate was often a very reliable emotion when you wanted someone to carry out your bidding, and added "Shall you require a strike force for this mission? We wouldn't want the maximals to suspect your true intentions, and truth be told, I HAVE been curious as to how they've kept themselves occupied while we have kept busy with our own projects."

Nemesis shook her head. "No strike force is needed. If at all possible I'd like to avoid the attention that would attract. It would be best if they all remain unaware."

"That is the plan Commander, yyyyyyeessssss."

Nemesis merely smiled at that. They seemed to be getting close to finishing up their little meeting and she, for one, was eager to get back into the field. The base was entirely too cramped for her tastes.

Meanwhile..

"Yeah? I kinda wish I coulda seen it," the rat snickered. "At least yer okay."

"Yeah.. I'm fine," Aurora agreed, forcing a smile. Truthfully the mark on her neck was nothing compared to the ache in her spark after realizing that Whitegrazer was obviously someone very different than whom she'd proclaimed to be. But thus far Rattrap didn't know about this and Aurora didn't want to be the one to tell him. Not until she had all the facts herself.

The team split up in groups, one intending to sabotage the jamming towers and the other heading back to Axalon. Whitegrazer followed Aurora and Rhinox, seemingly willing to explain her actions, but now it was Rhinox' turn to act hostile towards her. Seeing Rhinox angry, or at least close to it, was a rare event. Usually he kept his cool longer than anyone, but it was clear the white mare had angered him as well.

"With all of your unique Empath abilities, Whitegrazer, I don't find you any less dangerous than Zodiac right now."

Harsh as his words were, he did have a point.. The former shapeshifter was badly injured and had no weapons to hurt them right now.. other than perhaps his words. Whitegrazer had proved herself to be a lot more unpredictable than she had seemed to be.

Aurora glanced briefly at Whitegrazer to see how she'd react to that kind of harsh accusation.

"Wintersong stays. Whitegrazer, come with us. I want an explanation, as will Optimus."

Aurora nodded, not saying anything but her ears were perking up to reveal hat she was listening intently.

"You want us to delay any information we may have acquired so far with Aurora's sensors after you put us in danger, and how we've noticed that her device sounds its alarm when you're in range? Whitegrazer, you are asking a lot from us now. You better have a good explanation, and you had better be truthful."

"You know.. we still have the truth serum..," Aurora reminded Rhinox quietly, although they only had enough for a single dose. So the question remained who the bigger liar was.. Zodiac or Whitegrazer.

Meanwhile Zodiac was starting to wake up, or at least enough to take in some of his surroundings. He was still way too weak to try to move much and certainly wasn't in any shape to escape, but he did register enough of the ongoing conversation from the Maximals surrounding him to get an idea of what was going on. Chuckling slightly to himself, he looked to Whitegrazer. "Your secrets.. catching up.. with you?"

OOC: I contemplated having Megatron remotely detonate the jamming tower instead, but thought this might seem like a more likely or less OP security precaution. Do let me know otherwise whichever you guys would prefer. Hope this checks out, I've got babysitting duty tomorrow :3

Phoenix wrote:
Nemesis shook her head. "No strike force is needed. If at all possible I'd like to avoid the attention that would attract. It would be best if they all remain unaware."

"Fair enough, Sub-Commander. I think we've covered just about everything that needed to discussed this meeting. Deathroll, you may return to your duties, and Nemesis, you can...One moment..." Megatron began to say as personal computer received an emergency signal from one of his new jamming towers, installed to inform him if his new constructs were destroyed or tampered with by the maximals.

"Is something amiss my liege?" Deathroll inquired, curious as to what had interrupted his leader.

"It would seem the maximals have learned of our little jamming tower project, it was inevitable really" Megatron confessed, brow furrowed as he looked over the incoming signal.

"Whatever they destroy, we can replace later, at a different location if need be" Deathroll advised.

"They aren't destroying the tower, rather they appear to be reprogramming it to do THEIR bidding instead of mine" Megatron said, taking this information more in stride than one would have guessed given the implications, as the tower began to block Predacon frequencies instead of maximal, vanishing from the map display, but still broadcasting the nigh untraceable subspace emergency signal, whereas if it had been destroyed it would have simply sent one signal before going offline.

"Wretched autobot spawn, they're as irritating as their ancestors" Deathroll growled, not caring if his choice of words made him sound old, it just vexed him that something he'd put so much work into was being turned against him this soon.

"No doubt" Megatron replied as he contemplated how to proceed, the maximals were certainly at least attempting to be more cunning than normal.

"I shall rally our troops to retake the tower and destroy these saboteurs at once, Lord Megatron" Deathroll announced, rising to do just that before Megatron stopped him and said "There's no need for that Sub-Commander, I believe that a more subtle approach is what is needed here in this case. The maximals chose to reprogram the tower rather than destroy it, a process they will no doubt attempt to repeat on all the others currently in the field, that is until they realize the futility of such a gesture as I dispatch a scientist to undo their reprogramming, and then we'll be back where we started."

"...A wise course of action my lord, I should have come to the same conclusion myself" Deathroll admitted in embarrassment, feeling that he had shown his own inexperience at command by rushing to battle so quickly.

"Quite alright Sub-Commander, under normal circumstances that would have been the correct approach, these towers are meant to confuse and inconvenience our maximal neighbors while we prepare for the larger battle looming over our collective heads, whether they're destroyed or reprogrammed I didn't expect them to last forever, they were designed to be useful but replaceable, but it was still worth it to test their strategic viability for future campaigns" Megatron said as he opened a comm to contact, for better or for worse, his resident computer expert, Tarantulas, and said "Tarantulas come in, this is Megatron, I have a task for you."

Megatron waited in silence for a few minutes then asked again "Tarantulas come in, this is Megatron, respond!"

Megatron growled in anger as he realized the wretched arachnid was ignoring him as he instead contacted Umbra and said "Umbra, is Tarantulas at his station? Or on base for that matter?"

As he awaited Umbra's reply, Megatron inquired "This is not the first time an arachnid has ignored my command, but it WILL be the last if that gluttonous spider doesn't show himself SOON. Have either of you seen him recently?"

"No milord, I have had little contact with the male spider, he was not part of my construction efforts, I had assumed he was busy working in the lab or aiding in repairs" Deathroll said, concerned that they had another deserter in this midst.

"Never assume ANYTHING when one of those spiders is involved, not ONE of them has been truly loyal to the cause since day one" Megatron retorted, slamming his fist into his fancy new meeting table, his secretary drone cowering in fear as it beheld the sight of its master's fist indented into its surface.

Optimus Primal wrote:"Showing a little gratitude toward Landslide would be the appropriate reaction, Ironclaw. Would you have had him and Wintersong let you expire out there instead? Why bother dragging yourself back to the Axalon if you're unwilling to communicate and be a part of this team? If you're angry about us having left you behind, then you can take it up with Rattrap. He was in charge in the last mission, and it was his decision, not mine. What would you have had us do? Because you are so intent on secluding yourself and taking matters into your own hands, we didn't know your location or if you were even present at the volcano when we took the battle elsewhere with the Predacons. You didn't answer our transmissions and we couldn't detect your signature. We only had so much time before the volcano erupted and the alien weapon exploded, and we had to evacuate."

Landslide merely let out a sigh, shaking his head watching. Perhaps he could of searched more for Ironclaw at the time, though with the lava molten ash and lava raining down on them and carrying most of the maximals at the time, it probably would of put them all at risk. Given the situation, I could also take the blame.. I was transporting almost everyone at the time we escaped. Even Optimus since his body became so damaged. Guess the only good that came out of it was Zodiac sinking into the lava pit..

___________________________________________________________________

Rattrap wrote:"Come on, guys, let's hit the first tower,"

Cheetor gave a nod and followed Rattrap off towards the tower, landing he looked around as Rattrap climbed up the tower to work on it.

Rattrap wrote:"What if dese jammin' towers are just distractions?"

Cheetor tilted his head Lotta work to build those for just a distraction... Maybe they are? Megatron and his crew have a few screws loose. the cheetah bot was unsure if the predacons were that willing to waste resources on multiple working jamming towers for a distraction, and what sort? Something to do with the golden disks? They still didn't even know what those did. For all anyone knew the disks could just be some old MTV music video clips, or a blue print to some sort of ultimate weapon.
_________________________________________________________________

Megatron wrote:"Umbra, is Tarantulas at his station? Or on base for that matter?"

Umbra responded on his comlink, a very light sound heard in the background as Umbra applied a polish to his poison short sword. I haven't seen him awhile to be honest, perhaps a week? If it's a task of importance I'm sure miss Spineback or myself may be able to handle it my lord?

Umbra then wiped the poison sword clean, a mirror shine coming off the purple glowing edge showing a reflection of himself in it.

I'd like to see Ironclaw when we get back," she commented, her optics still fixated on the renegade. "If Wintersong is planning to stay here, he needs a friendly face when he wakes up after his repairs are done. We all know of his feelings towards Optimus.."

"I do believe Ironclaw is done with his repairs," Whitegrazer said with an awkward expression on her face before she shook her head, smiling down at Aurora, "Though, I do believe he wouldn't mind your company. He likes you. It seems you and Wintersong are the only ones who can get through to him. Maybe, someday, Optimus and Ironclaw can get along as well as others who seems to be on his bad side." She referred to herself. But if Ironclaw found this out, if he didn't already know from the High Council, she had no doubt that Ironclaw might do whatever it took to keep her... locked up. That was what the High Council would probably want.

"If he does wake up, I'm sure Rhinox will be more than wiling to administer another dose of his especially formulated sleeping medication."

She was just glad she never got Rhinox that mad at her...

"With all of your unique Empath abilities, Whitegrazer, I don't find you any less dangerous than Zodiac right now."

Whitegrazer was hurt by Rhinox's words, but she tried to remain solemn. Tried not to show any weakness, any slight hurt expression on her face. Those same words were told to her many times by multiple people over the course of her lifetime. Those words burned into her soul greatly, shattering any hope of those people to actually show any trust in her. After all, how could anyone trust someone who could read their emotions and drew on situations to figure out what they were about. Seeing through the souls of others made others seem vulnerable and violated near her. Even if she didn't use her powers on them, she didn't need to read their emotions when they gave her the wary eye down a hallway, the whispering behind her back, the cold shoulder, or the change in shifts. Back during the war, she frightened people. They didn't understand her. They didn't even get the chance to know her. Some didn't even try. But... though it was hurtful, some was partially her fault, and she knew that now.

Extraordinary

She remembered how Optimus described her abilities when they were escaping the volcanic eruption, embracing. He... He didn't fear her. He saw her abilities as wonderful even, especially in the last two weeks. Looking at Rhinox and Aurora now, their optics stated at her with doubt and uncertainty, fear, and, but most about of all, anger. Now, she wondered if it was all worth it.

She just hoped things would be different. Since she was different.

"Wintersong stays. Whitegrazer, come with us. I want an explanation, as will Optimus."

"Optimus mustn't know," Her optics showing a bit of fear and horror before returning to normal swiftly. Rhinox might well, but he didn't understand why she was so secretive, and she will tell him. But Optimus and the rest need to remain unawre. For their own safety. She took a breath. "I don't wish to involve him in this or anyone else on the Axalon. The less people know, the better. " Especially, Optimus. "You would understand after I explain myself."

"Can we trust you to be honest with us?,"

Whitegrazer got down on her knees, it was her way of trying to regain back the little one's confidence, by getting down in a submissive yet respected position, and looked at the little one straight in the optics, "I promise, Aurora." Then she stood back up with a warm smile.

"You want us to delay any information we may have acquired so far with Aurora's sensors after you put us in danger, and how we've noticed that her device sounds its alarm when you're in range? Whitegrazer, you are asking a lot from us now. You better have a good explanation, and you had better be truthful."

"You know.. we still have the truth serum..,"

"Your secrets.. catching up.. with you?"

Zodiac was awake. Oh boy. She really hoped Zodiac remained unconscious. No doubt that sight of Zodiac could send Optimus through a relapse, and she didn't want that to happen. Not to mention the fact she had to deal with Rhinox and Aurora knowing... who she was. She sighed. She heard what Aurora said. Truth serum wouldn't work on her. The fact that Aurora suggested it towards Rhinox, after she already said she was going to explain it to her, left her feeling... well, shocked. A bit...appalled. If truth serum didn't work, what would they do? It took her a moment before she began to speak again, remaining calm despite her inner turmoil.

"There is no need for threats, Rhinox, nor is there any need for any of you to use different methods of coercion towards me." Whitegrazer kept steady, remaining calm and focused. "I could have took the information while you two were too busy speaking to Rattrap and Cheetor. I was actually by Zodiac's body, and all I had to do was sabotage. But I choose not to. I choose to talk to you both. Why? Because... it was the right thing to do. Because I trust you two. I know it is asking a lot, but all I ask is that you two trust me."

Whitegrazer looked back at Zodiac, "Right now, though, we need to figure out how to break this to Optimus. I could tell him through the link. Maybe to prepare him?"

Wintersong glanced back after Rhinox, Aurora, and Whitegrazer, wondering just how bad of a situation that would turn out to be considering Whitegrazer finally seemed to reveal she had secrets of her own. But could they be any less dangerous than what they'd discovered thus far? The tigress doubted it and couldn't help feeling that they had come across far more dangerous things lately, much less a certain someone they were transporting back the Axalon.

"Could be a bit of both." Wintersong suggested after a little bit of silence on her part, which was a bit out of character for the Transmetal tigress since she normally was quite chatty these days. Or at least not afraid to state her thoughts. "Can't put it press the Predacons anymore not to have multiple things in mind at once." She pointed out as she looked at her fellow feline and Rattrap who was busy at work reprogramming the tower. By now, it just seemed unlikely the Predacons wouldn't have something up their sleeves, or several things for that matter. They had gone through too much not to rule out several possibilities, much less maybe it being a trap.

"Fair enough, Sub-Commander. I think we've covered just about everything that needed to discussed this meeting. Deathroll, you may return to your duties, and Nemesis, you can...One moment..."

Nemesis stood up and was ready to depart for whatever assignment Megatron would bestow upon her when the tyrant appeared to be distracted for a moment. She tilted her head, curious what the seemingly distracting news could possibly be, but she got her answer soon enough.

"It would seem the maximals have learned of our little jamming tower project, it was inevitable really"

The avian female wasn't too surprised to learn the Maximals had detected the jamming towers. She had spent time with them and knew them to be resourceful.

"Whatever they destroy, we can replace later, at a different location if need be"

It didn't sound like a typical Maximal solution to merely destroy something like that. Most of them might not be as opportunistic as the Predacons but they were certainly learning enough to throw a curveball now and again.

"They aren't destroying the tower, rather they appear to be reprogramming it to do THEIR bidding instead of mine"

She shook her head slightly at that. Indeed, they were learning..

As he awaited Umbra's reply, Megatron inquired "This is not the first time an arachnid has ignored my command, but it WILL be the last if that gluttonous spider doesn't show himself SOON. Have either of you seen him recently?"

"No milord, I have had little contact with the male spider, he was not part of my construction efforts, I had assumed he was busy working in the lab or aiding in repairs" Deathroll said, concerned that they had another deserter in this midst.

"Never assume ANYTHING when one of those spiders is involved, not ONE of them has been truly loyal to the cause since day one" Megatron retorted, slamming his fist into his fancy new meeting table, his secretary drone cowering in fear as it beheld the sight of its master's fist indented into its surface.

Nemesis watched with some amusement as Megatron not only managed to put a sizable dent in the new table he had requisitioned for these meetings, but her amusement only grew as the drone covered in fear as a result. Although it was true Megatron's fury was something to be feared, at least it was directed towards something inanimate this time.


"I haven't seen Tarantulas lately," she responded, knowing better than to keep the tyrant waiting when he was in one of his moods, "Not since the evens at the volcano when the alien signal went out."

She then sighed slightly, finding it a bit disappointing that the spiders were always spinning their own webs. Although Tarantulas was smarter than to openly defy Megatron's wishes, she certainly didn't trust him. Granted he had proved helpful in recreating more of the cure for the virus based on the sample she had provided, but at the time it had been in his best interest to see the Predacons cured of the ailment. Since then he had essentially vanished. The female briefly wondered if the alien signal had something to do with it.

"Do you want me to track the spider down or focus my attention elsewhere?," she then asked.

Phoenix wrote: Nemesis watched with some amusement as Megatron not only managed to put a sizable dent in the new table he had requisitioned for these meetings, but her amusement only grew as the drone covered in fear as a result. Although it was true Megatron's fury was something to be feared, at least it was directed towards something inanimate this time.


"I haven't seen Tarantulas lately," she responded, knowing better than to keep the tyrant waiting when he was in one of his moods, "Not since the evens at the volcano when the alien signal went out."

She then sighed slightly, finding it a bit disappointing that the spiders were always spinning their own webs. Although Tarantulas was smarter than to openly defy Megatron's wishes, she certainly didn't trust him. Granted he had proved helpful in recreating more of the cure for the virus based on the sample she had provided, but at the time it had been in his best interest to see the Predacons cured of the ailment. Since then he had essentially vanished. The female briefly wondered if the alien signal had something to do with it.

"Do you want me to track the spider down or focus my attention elsewhere?," she then asked.

"No, you see to your own mission, there are others who can track that spider for me, yyyyyesssss" Megatron replied, not wishing to waste Nemesis' scheme in favor of hunting down yet another wretched spider, before adding "Deathroll, return to overseeing the base's maintenance, keep the slackers on task, but be prepared for deployment if needed, I have a feeling this calm before the storm will be coming to an end shortly."

"As you command, Lord Megatron" Deathroll replied dutifully with a slight bow before leaving the room, his orders received, and more than ready to carry them out!

Terrorsaur and his "pals" would soon have their work cut out for them, especially if he caught them slacking off on the job.

NaitoKage wrote: Umbra responded on his comlink, a very light sound heard in the background as Umbra applied a polish to his poison short sword. I haven't seen him awhile to be honest, perhaps a week? If it's a task of importance I'm sure miss Spineback or myself may be able to handle it my lord?

Umbra then wiped the poison sword clean, a mirror shine coming off the purple glowing edge showing a reflection of himself in it.

Megatron then turned his attention back to his communication with Umbra and said "As a matter of fact you can, Tarantulas has been absent for too long, I will not have another renegade spider afoot, track him down and return him to base, I want everyone on deck for what is to come. Bring Starshadow with you, I won't have her left unattended around the base, and she may be useful to you if Tarantulas proves uncooperative. Also, inform Spineback that she is to venture over to one of our jamming towers, the maximals have reprogrammed it to jam our signals instead of theirs, she is to undo the maximal's handiwork & restore it to normal. If she cannot, destroy it. That is all for now, Megatron out."

Megatron then ended the communication and sighed in annoyance, why couldn't these fools behave themselves long enough for his plans to go off smoothly for a change? Honestly, he looked forward to the day he had far better Predacon forces at his command than the rabble he made ends meet with currently.

He looked down at the desk he damaged in his rage and turned to look at his drone secretary and growled "See to it that this is repaired before our next meeting, understood?"

"O...Of course, Lord Megatron" the drone stammered fearfully, nervous as a mouse cornered by a snake as it went about its duty, its AI no doubt dreading that its sparkless form would be the next piece of expendable equipment Megatron would turn his ire towards next if it was not careful.

"Truly" Megatron thought to himself, "It is not easy being king."

Megatron wrote:"As a matter of fact you can, Tarantulas has been absent for too long, I will not have another renegade spider afoot, track him down and return him to base, I want everyone on deck for what is to come. Bring Starshadow with you, I won't have her left unattended around the base, and she may be useful to you if Tarantulas proves uncooperative. Also, inform Spineback that she is to venture over to one of our jamming towers, the maximals have reprogrammed it to jam our signals instead of theirs, she is to undo the maximal's handiwork & restore it to normal. If she cannot, destroy it. That is all for now, Megatron out."

Umbra listened to Megatron as he gave his commands without any time to interject, not that it mattered. Though Umbra didn't like the idea of leaving the Predacon medic to go on her own to deal with the maximal meddling. Storing away his weaponry, Umbra glanced towards the small screen he was looking at earlier, seeing Starshadow had returned and was wandering the ship once again. She must of gotten hungry. Umbra said to himself quietly.

Exiting his quarters, Umbra made his way to the main control room which Spineback went to. Upon noticing her he waved with a smile. Hey Doctor, Lord Megatron just reported that the Maximals are hacking his jamming towers. Tarantulas is missing, so he's instructed for you to go check on the jamming towers and see if you can bring them under our control again, if not destroy them. Seems a bit dangerous for you to go alone though, so I'd suggest asking about taking Quickstrike or Waspinator along with you.

Umbra's leg compartment then opened pulling out two demo charges and handed them to Spineback If you need to destroy the tower this should make things a bit easier. Since it's actively jamming, you wont be able to use the remote detonator, but it's not too difficult to set up. Just squeeze the detonator to arm it, that should bring the magnetic plate on the back on, then use the center button to set a time in seconds, holding it makes it jump in intervals of 10, after you release the button, it'll start to count down.

Umbra then gave a wave and closed his leg compartment Now I need to get Starshadow and see if she can track Tarantulas's scent.. Good luck with your mission. Umbra then walked away towards Starshadow's location.

Upon Arrival Umbra looked towards Star with a blank expression crossing his arms We've been ordered to track down Tarantulas.. If you cooperate, I can make it worth your interest.

Starshadow landed infront of a nearby river and transformed into her panther mode to take a rest, looking at her reflection on the water before spotting a fish. She crept closer and knelt down slightly in the water and smacked the fish off the water and into dry land. The cat quickly jumped out of the river and claimed her delicious prize by eating it. Her early lunch was then disturbed by the arrival of Umbra. Oh joy...

We've been ordered to track down Tarantulas.. If you cooperate, I can make it worth your interest.

Starshadow's ears flattened in annoyance, "pffft...you already lost my interest by showing your face around here. I doubt your offer is going to be as delicious as my fish," she transformed into her robot mode, "but very well, I shall take one of Megatron's pets on a walkabout since he wishes. It's such a real shame I don't own a leash just for you..." she smirked, trying to antagonize him.

starshadow wrote:"pffft...you already lost my interest by showing your face around here. I doubt your offer is going to be as delicious as my fish,"

starshadow wrote:"but very well, I shall take one of Megatron's pets on a walkabout since he wishes. It's such a real shame I don't own a leash just for you..."

Umbra glanced towards the fish, then looked towards Starshadow I see.. And here I was going to give you some mech fluid. You "Netherzarians" do require that due to your unique disease I've been told, though perhaps that is wrong. I'm not a crypto-biologist after all. Umbra gave a slight smirk uncrossing his arms In anycase, finish your fish and return to base. We'll track Tarantulas from there..

Perhaps now she'd be a bit more motivated, or at the least she'd finally snap and I could use the detonator already.he thought to himself. Either seemed fine to Umbra,as his patients had grown thin with dealing with her, the rest of the crew holding similar sentiments from her trying to eat them. Though he did have some surprise as to what the creature standing before him was.. He'd heard legends of vampiric creatures, and even met some Cybertronians that had modified their bodies to siphon energon during battle to extend their time in combat if they had powerful energy weapons or a particular nature. But unlike them with a simple fang or suction system, Starshadow's seemed more primal.. and unusual. the concealed split mandible seemed more like something a insecticon or one of the creatures in the depths of cybertron would develop. So perhaps there was some truth to what he'd been told.
_____________________________________________________________________

He then remembered a few nights earlier, while working on the device for Nemesis, he received a strange call on his comlink of a familiar voice.
I see you put a leash on a devil.. the voice said in a emotionless tone, static heard in the background of the radio signal. Come to offer another job? Umbra responded quietly No, your work is done for now. Just some advise.. Beware of Starshadow, she's a biohazard to the crew and should be exterminated.. but you don't have the proper means just yet.

So far all she is, is a pain in the siphon.. Specially how many times she's attacked the crew and myself. Umbra responded, the voice responding back She's bitten you? Any wounds should be treated with UV light or electricity at once. Umbra raised an optic ridge At once? You make it sound like she's really a vampire from the kid's stories.

Technically, she's a netherzarian.. And she isn't the only one. There's more out there.. Due to some flaw in the virus that runs through their nanomachines, they require cybertronian mechfuild and CNA, likely to repair their own CNA. Even with the documents I have, I wasn't able to obtain enough information from the samples collected from her.. after a few hours exposed to UV light the cells evaporate leaving merely garbage. In anycase.. Be careful if you set off that collar..Even if you do take her down, you'll awaken the creature inside of her..Since you can't emit bright light, it wont be an easy fight for you.

Umbra simply blinked That.. makes no sense.. And even if what you're saying is true, why tell me? How do you even know of the collar? he asked quietly, but only heard static as the radio went quiet once again.

I see.. And here I was going to give you some mech fluid. You "Netherzarians" do require that due to your unique disease I've been told, though perhaps that is wrong. I'm not a crypto-biologist after all. In anycase, finish your fish and return to base. We'll track Tarantulas from there..

Starshadow's optics widened when she heard "Netherzarians". How did he?! She pounced on him, pinning him to the ground by straddling on his chest and placed two electroblades across his neck.

"How did you know about them?! Talk!" she wasn't in the mood to play games, especially when he knew something about her, her weaknesses and maybe her tech. Of course it won't be easy to get him to spit out valuable information. She might need to silence him for good.

((Time to work on me 3D project. Sorry I can't write much.))

((Doing a quick response for Spineback, might not be until Monday I reply again since got some things going on this weekend, tomorrow in particular going to be stressful so apologies in advance for delays.))

Spineback had returned to the control room once she had been done organizing and cleaning what she could of the med bay, left partly in disarray when repairs had been necessary for those who didn't get a turn in the CR tanks. What a messy few days that had been and Spineback couldn't recall a time she was so exhausted since the Great War so long ago. Just the memory of long days of fighting had been conjured up thanks to the virus and followed by the extensive wounds she saw on those who had partaken in the battle at the volcano.

Upon Umbra coming in though her attention was drawn to the ninja octopus, listening to what Megatron asked of them. "I'll make sure it's taken care of." She told him as she took the detonators in hand, watching him leave to retrieve the nuisance Starshadow. The panther was lucky she still had any use among the team, but if the order was ever given for her to be terminated Spineback would gladly be one of those who volunteered first to do so. But, that would be something to worry about later as she put the charges into a subspace of her own and contemplated who to take with her. Though Terrorsaur could have been option due to his Transmetal qualities and aerial support he was less than trustworthy, most likely resort to leaving her to die anyway and ignore her liege's orders.

Quickstrike was likewise good in terms of firepower but she held concern for his hunger for battle and being absent of some restraint. Maybe if Blackarachnia had been around and not deserted them she could have enlisted her help to convince the cowboy acting, western talking fuzor to do just that. And Waspinator...well where to begin with him at all. But at this rate the Transmetal wasp seemed the likeliest of choice in his aerial support and likely show more restraint than Quickstrike, and not as likely to stab her in the back. "Spineback to Waspinator, meet me at the front of the Darksyde, we have some meddlesome Maximals to take care of at the jamming towers." Spineback finally commed, moving her platform towards the hallway entrance and stepping off it heading out to the front of the base. Once there she let out a growl as she transformed to her Spinosaurus form while awaiting a response from the Predacon bug.

(ooc: I'm only off school until September.. and then I'll be going almost fulltime at school while maintaining a work schedule. So I'm running short on time here. Also hoping the slowpokes will post soon. You know who you are. :p)

"I do believe Ironclaw is done with his repairs,"

Well.. That was a relief at least. Aurora may have had her disagreements with the transmetal badger but he still meant a lot to her. In fact she owed him her life. Granted it was at that point that she had come to realize there was much more to Ironclaw's history than she had imagined. He was not who she thought he was. Much like Whitegrazer, she supposed, but the white female's admission of such had come as a bigger shock to the fuzor. Perhaps that was due to the position Whitegrazer held among them, as a mentor of sorts.. a mother figure almost.. someone to be trusted, cherished, loved..

Yet the white mare had not been honest with them about her past and reasons for sending them to this place... this alien site.. And the dangers within that she could have prepared them for. When she had told them to come here, Aurora had trusted her judgement.. Believed in her willingness to help. And here they were, having discovered that Whitegrazer wasn't only a liar but that she had been willing to put them in danger. And for what reason?

For a moment Aurora questioned if Zodiac's influence on the mare had been greater than she initially expected. For it had been Zodiac who greeted them here.

"Though, I do believe he wouldn't mind your company. He likes you. It seems you and Wintersong are the only ones who can get through to him. Maybe, someday, Optimus and Ironclaw can get along as well as others who seems to be on his bad side."

So.. pretty much everyone then? Ironclaw hadn't exactly made many friends with his mood swings, bad temper, and tendency to question Optimus' decisions any chance he got. Aurora had attempted to remain neutral about it, feeling a certain gratitude to the badger, but she was still keenly aware of what had been going on between their present leader and his challenger. Of all of Ironclaw's shortcomings as a team player, that was truly the more unforgivable of them.

"I'm not sure that can happen.. as long as we keep so many secrets from each other," Aurora mused. Indeed, the comment was directed towards Whitegrazer.

Unknowingly the fuzor placed her hand on her still aching throat before casting a glance over at the former shapeshifter who was stirring. He was awake now, but hadn't attempted to move much. Aurora watched as he touched his jaw, ever so briefly testing its strength and perhaps to soothe some ache after Rhinox' earlier onslaught. The ermine fuzor didn't feel sorry for him at all.

"Optimus mustn't know,"

Aurora immediately dismissed Whitegrazer's request with a shake of her head. Optimus had to know. It wasn't right to keep him in the dark about who one of his most trusted supporters really was.

"I don't wish to involve him in this or anyone else on the Axalon. The less people know, the better. "

"Know what exactly?," Aurora demanded, getting a little annoyed with the white mare's reluctance to speak up.

"You would understand after I explain myself."

The fuzor sighed. Yes, it was obvious that it was difficult for Whitegrazer to find the words to explain, but Aurora so wished she would just come out and say it.

Then the taller female did something unexpected. She got on her knees, putting herself on an even level with the fuzor, leaving Aurora a bit perplexed.

"I promise, Aurora."

Her smile almost broke the fuzor's angry stance. She shifted uncomfortably before glancing over at Rhinox, hoping he'd take a charge position so that she wouldn't have to. She was quite angry with the equine female, but she also cared about her a great deal.

"There is no need for threats, Rhinox, nor is there any need for any of you to use different methods of coercion towards me." Whitegrazer kept steady, remaining calm and focused. "I could have took the information while you two were too busy speaking to Rattrap and Cheetor. I was actually by Zodiac's body, and all I had to do was sabotage. But I choose not to. I choose to talk to you both. Why? Because... it was the right thing to do. Because I trust you two. I know it is asking a lot, but all I ask is that you two trust me."

The renegade didn't know whether to frown or laugh tauntingly at Whitegrazer describing him as if he'd been dead. He chose the latter option, yet his laughter wasn't nearly as loud as he had intended. He was weak, wounded from his recent experiences, and his jaw ached quite a bit from the earlier punch that had been powerful enough to knock him out. In a sense it had been a blessing, really, giving him a moment to rest. He partially sat up, using his arm to support himself, as an act of defiance even now.

"Right now, though, we need to figure out how to break this to Optimus. I could tell him through the link. Maybe to prepare him?"

"Something tells me.. I'm not the.. only one Optimus will need.. to prepare for," he called back to them. "Or perhaps.. you would prefer it.. if I told Primal the .. truth about you.. myself? .. You know.. how persuasive.. I can be."

The smile that followed showed that despite his injuries, the renegade had not lost his sometimes insolent attitude.

Aurora's green optics narrowed but she refrained from saying anything in response. Truthfully she was still somewhat weary of the former shapeshifter and what he was capable of. Even in the position he was in now. And his words were a painful reminder that the renegade and Whitegrazer had something in common.. something she still hadn't explained to them.

"No, you see to your own mission, there are others who can track that spider for me, yyyyyesssss"

Nemesis nodded, grateful that she didn't have to deal with even more untrustworthy spiders. There was something about Tarantulas that left a bad taste in her mouth, perhaps it was his thirst for using just about anyone and anything in his dreadful experiments. And if Megatron had allowed it, she was certain the creepy spider would love to have seen how she worked on the inside. Honestly he just reminded her too much of the scientists she had grown up around. Only worse. Far worse.

"As you command," she said politely, starting to make her way to the door while Megatron addressed his other concerns. Meanwhile she was going to focus her attention on another, more immediate threat. BlackArachnia. That traitorous she-spider could cause all sorts of problems if she spilled her guts to the Maximals. And now that Nemesis held a commanding position, she actually had the power to change the future. Provided Megatron played along, of course, so she'd have to give him every reason to do so.

She waited but a moment in case Megatron had something more to say before leaving the room. From there she went to pick up the trinket Umbra had gifted to her, before finally making her way outside of the base.

(Joint post.)

Umbra glanced up towards Starshadow with a smirk "Well, you really don't know how to bluff do you? Thanks for confirming the information anyhow.." Starshadow's collar then started to beep as the sequence had been activated.

Okay?! What do I do?! What do I do?! Starshadow was screaming internally as the beeping starts, unable to think straight for a moment. Fortunately, she had an idea of how to stop it, if it even works, she stood up, withdrawing her electroblades, pulling Umbra up with her, putting her arms around his back and leaned in very close to him.
"You're gonna taste good later~" she smirked with her fangs showing, her optics turned red and the cat bot kissed his lips, emitting off a high voltage of electricity from her body. Hopefully, Umbra becomes a dead grilled octopus.

Umbra's optics widen in surprise, not from Starshadow turning her electroblades off, but suddenly getting up and pulling him up, only to throw herself at him and electrocute him. Umbra clenched biting Starshadow's lip, then using mustering his strength threw her off himself. Wiping his lips with his forearm, his body sizzling with steam from the sudden flash fry "Ug.. Crazy cat. I don't have time for your nonsense! Besides, even if you destroy me, that information wont disappear." Umbra then turned the detonator on Starshadow's collar off.

Starshadow landed on her feet and licked her injured lips. She drew out her gun, Mortem and aimed it at him, "that's the reason why I can't lie. I won't allow that precious data to fall in the wrong hands so that I'll be dismantled on a lab table alive for scientific experiments and Megatron's amusement," her gun started lighting up, "now you're going to tell me everything I want to know or you'll see your whole life flash before your eyes!"

Umbra shakes his head " Futile effort.. Though if you really want to know. There's.. something else on this planet. Not the aliens.. not with the Predacons or Maximals.. To be honest, I'm not sure who or what it is.. Just that it uses strange radio signals and is always watching.. The base sensors can't even detect whoever this is." Umbra crossed his arms looking Starshadow's gun.

Starshadow narrowed her optics at him, "LIAR!" she fired three times at him. A fool would trust a sneaky ninja such as Umbra.

As her finger went for the trigger, Umbra swung out his tentacle around the gun directing it to the side as the shots went off. "Choose what you wish. " Umbra pulled the gun away from Starshadow tossing it to the side. "Now.. Either I can blow that collar and go on without you, you defeat me and still have that collar on since you have no clue how to take it off, or I don't tell the other Predacons your little secret and you start to comply."

Starshadow calmed down for a bit. So far the third option is the best out of the other two for now. She sighed and picked up her gun, putting it away, "Fine...let's go."

________________________________________________

Spineback wrote:"Spineback to Waspinator, meet me at the front of the Darksyde, we have some meddlesome Maximals to take care of at the jamming towers."

Waspinator was soon seen flying out front of the Darksyde in his beast mode towards Spineback. Waspinator gave a nod Wazzpinator help Doctorbot with towerzz he responded, flying along side Spineback. Waspinator really didn't have a problem with Spineback, she wasn't as creepy as Tarantulas and rather work focused. The trip might be a bit slower walking to the jamming towers, but with luck the Maximals would be gone and they could just fix the problem without being fired at..though even Waspinator doubt he had such luck.

(( OOC: Alright, Preds, if that's how you want to play. ))

Given the situation, I could also take the blame.. I was transporting almost everyone at the time we escaped. Even Optimus since his body became so damaged. Guess the only good that came out of it was Zodiac sinking into the lava pit..

"No," Optimus firmly told Landslide. "You are not to blame. None of us had the time for a search and rescue. You followed orders. Ironclaw is the one who decided to intentionally venture out on his own because of the ignorant mission appointed to him by the High Council and lost contact with us." He turned his attention back to the badger again.

"Ironclaw, whether or not you know that your actions attacking Zodiac and the alien weapon he activated saved the Axalon, I am grateful for that. If you hadn't stopped him, we wouldn't have a base or shelter and we would be susceptible to the Predacons. That being said, it doesn't change the fact that you still went off on your own to hunt Zodiac down by yourself after you fought me to try and gain leadership over my crew, leaving me to be repaired and putting your own life in danger once you tracked Zodiac down. What happened at the volcano could have been dealt with differently if you had remained in contact with us. Once we learned about your whereabouts thanks to Whitegrazer, Rattrap sent us out to help you, stop the Predacons, and retrieve Zodiac. It put all of our lives in danger. Despite all of that, you still came back here. Why? Just for repairs?"

-----

Lotta work to build those for just a distraction... Maybe they are? Megatron and his crew have a few screws loose.

"True," Rattrap agreed with Cheetor. "I hate ta admit it, so don't tell anybody else, but a couple of 'em are actually kinda intelligent despite dey're, uh, insanity and bein' psychopaths." He sat there another moment in thought before deciding on what to do with these towers. For a moment, thinking back to Zodiac now that he was still alive and apprehended once again, the rodent recalled what he had said to him about his friends back on Cybertron and that they had long since perished. If he was being honest and they were truly gone, then the only friends he had left that still had his back were the Maximals of this crew. It was a weary thought, a bit depressing, but it wouldn't stop him from fighting. Not just for his life, but the lives of his friends.

"Could be a bit of both." "Can't put it press the Predacons anymore not to have multiple things in mind at once."

An idea came to him as he suddenly started to work diligently again. Grabbing some gizmos and parts, and wires and tools, he assembled a tiny motion detector attached to a demolition charge, and put everything back to together. Grinning, proud of his work that appeared as though it had never been tampered with, with the motion detector too small to be noticed until it was too late, he happily rubbed his hands together as if cleaning them off and looked down at Wintersong and Cheetor. "Even if the Preds know we messed with deir dumb jamming towers, and try ta reverse the frequencies again, dis little motion sensor will detonate after two seconds of detectin' anybody in front of it up here. If we can't use 'em to our advantage, den nobody can, and dese towers will just explode rendering them useless ta everybody. Then we don't have ta worry about wastin' our time and ammunition comin' back and destroying them. Win win fer us."

Leaping off of the tower, Rattrap reverted to his dragster vehicle mode in mid-air, landing on his wheels as he hit the ground and glanced back at the other two as he said, "Next!" He then sped off to the next tower and performed the same operation on that, and the next and started working on the next one as he sat up high in it.

(( OOC: I just wanted to get ahead with the towers since some Preds are already on their way and probably won't take long to get there and interrupt the Maximals who deserve an advantage for once. The more towers Rattrap can add motion sensors to, the more Preds he might be able to disable if they investigate the towers individually. ))

-----

"You know.. we still have the truth serum..,"

Rhinox raised a gold brow at Aurora, intrigued at first, almost as if he was considering that option, but then quickly discarded it.

"I do believe Ironclaw is done with his repairs,"

That was quick, thought the rhinoceros, a little skeptical.

"I'm not sure that can happen.. as long as we keep so many secrets from each other,"

Big Green understood Aurora's point. Secrets sometimes divided the closest of friends and deteriorated trust. And all of them had secrets. However, most didn't interfere with their survival on this planet, and some were deemed "on a need to know" basis. Protoform X, for example, was Primal's burden and mission to dispose of. It was separate from their prior exploration purposes. And with it, his involvement of creating such an allegedly indestructible Cybertronian. That was the nature of a Commanding Officer; beholden to top secret and classified information and keeping it that way until his last breath. Of course, wherever X was now, Optimus was going to have to confront all of them about him eventually, whether they would stumble upon his body if he was still in stasis lock, or if he would somehow be activated and roaming the planet and would inevitably bump into them, before something might happen to someone. In Whitegrazer's case, especially after recently putting Rhinox and Aurora in danger, her secret seemed to involve the Vok, and that was worth knowing in their predicament for all of their survival.

"Optimus mustn't know," "I don't wish to involve him in this or anyone else on the Axalon. The less people know, the better." "You would understand after I explain myself."

The Chief Medical Officer immediately flashed his crimson optics to Whitegrazer, offended or distraught. Perhaps curious. Just what exactly was she hiding that she thought would put everyone in danger? And what danger? What else did they face at the present time on Earth other than Megatron, Zodiac and the Vok?

"Know what exactly?,"

Even Rhinox was growing tired of the suspense that Whitegrazer was needlessly keeping them in. "Do tell," he encouraged her with a little impatience. What was she waiting for? Once they returned to base, there would be more people around to eavesdrop, so why wait?

"I promise, Aurora."

Rhinox looked down at the females as the mare got on her knees in front of the Fuzor and promised to be honest with her, stopping them on their way. He watched Aurora's reaction who seemed desperate to maintain her anger toward the Empath, unwilling to be smoothed over by her smile and reassuring words. And rightfully so. "Let's keep moving," he told them. "Whitegrazer, if you wish to explain to us alone, I think it would be best done now before we reach the base where anyone might be able to listen without us knowing and where cameras are everywhere." Although she didn't want Optimus to know whatever she was hiding, he would decide whether or not it was worth telling him alone in private. He understood that some things were best kept secret to maintain the honesty and innocence of others who didn't need to know about it if they were to ever be questioned or interrogated. He wondered what could possibly be so secretive that she wasn't willing to put Optimus's and the others' lives in danger. Instead she would do it to him and Aurora? Were they some how granted amnesty from any punishments of the information she was withholding from everyone else? He was far too curious now to let it go.

"There is no need for threats, Rhinox, nor is there any need for any of you to use different methods of coercion towards me." "I could have took the information while you two were too busy speaking to Rattrap and Cheetor. I was actually by Zodiac's body, and all I had to do was sabotage. But I choose not to. I choose to talk to you both. Why? Because... it was the right thing to do. Because I trust you two. I know it is asking a lot, but all I ask is that you two trust me."

"Despite these revelations, we can't allow this to wreak havoc within our ranks. The last thing we need right now is to fall apart and not trust each other while we're still facing the Predacons and the aliens are on their way back. We need to stick together," Rhinox urged them calmly. They had found trust in Whitegrazer before, and with as the only "slip up" Rhinox was aware of, her first offense so to speak, he felt as though they could continue to have faith in her despite recent events. After all, Rhinox and Aurora were still alive, and what was done was done.

"Your secrets.. catching up.. with you?"

The engineer's body stiffened upon hearing Zodiac's voice, alerting them that he was awake, ready to instinctively defend the two females from the renegade in case he tried anything. Fortunately, Rhinox relaxed a tad when he observed what little movements Zodiac could make for the time being with his now fragile body that could no longer repair itself. So he continued forward with their vehicle toward their destination. It didn't surprise him that even Zodiac seemed to know more about Whitegrazer than they did since she was sharing a connection with him before. Had it since been lost or disconnected? And had she shared it voluntarily with him, or had he stolen the information from her? Another interesting development indeed.

"Right now, though, we need to figure out how to break this to Optimus. I could tell him through the link. Maybe to prepare him?"

"Something tells me.. I'm not the.. only one Optimus will need.. to prepare for," "Or perhaps.. you would prefer it.. if I told Primal the .. truth about you.. myself? .. You know.. how persuasive.. I can be."

"Even he knows more than we do?" Rhinox inquired, feeling somewhat insulted. But he moved on. "No. I don't think preparation is necessary. Optimus has enough on his mind at the moment. Hearing about Zodiac's survival now would just distract him from what he needs to be doing. He doesn't need to be dwelling on this when there's nothing he can do about it until we arrive. He'll be fine when we bring Zodiac in. And if not, then you can help ease him," he directed his last sentence toward Whitegrazer.