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Shockwave's Tower - 'Arena'

"Decepticons ain't what they used to be" Bane complainted. Surprisingly it wasn't targeted at Blackguard, but at Cyclonus. Bane didn't like anyone in the entire universe, but he did like the way Blackguard had fought. Back in the day he could have become a Corrupticon, but he was forged in the wrong era. It seemed most of the new Decepticons were over-serious and dull, 'qualities' embodied by the new Air Commander.

Bane knew Bludgeon well enough to know that this warrior of honor wouldn't strike at his back. Like the Sweep, he burnt his wound to stop the fluids. It didn't halter him much, but every little thing could prove fatal in a fight against one of Bludgeon's caliber. What Bane, in comparison with Bludgeon, didn't have in martial combat skill, he had in speed and agility, which were perhaps the best in the Decepticon army at the moment. Also his very versatile repetoire of different kinds of hand-to-hand combat could be an advantage against the master of Metallikato. The Black Death grabbed his other sword, which had sliced through the floor and sat there and vibrated violently, and pulled it out.

"Had fun?" he asked his adversary, still with his back towards him, but with his head turned. His optics were still burning with something that could best be described as dark sickly green hellfire.
"I have saved the best for you hehehe"

Thanatos--Main Bridge

The three components of Reflector each efficiently made their way to one of the operating stations of the ship, as Shockwave had commanded. With the Military Operations Commander aboard, the vessel would practically fly itself to their intended destination. But they would make themselves available in their usual fashion should he decide to have some alternative task for them to complete during the journey.

"Positions established," Reflector reports as each of the units calls up a different information screen.

Shockwave's Tower - 'Arena'

"Obviously... you have had fun so far" Bludgeon stated matter of factly. "We have had our 'warmup'." he stated "Now... let us test each other's mettle according to Decepticon tradition... brutally!" he said and he dashed forward, the swordwielder's blade stabbed forward after a short dashing jump. He then slashed down and upwards. Probing blows as he wished to let the initial onslaught of Bane's attacks take place, before he himself would react. Bane was one of stamina and destruction, only by weathering the storm, abusing his mistakes and keeping calm could one bring the fast and agressive Decepticon down. The odds were more even than Bludgeon would like to admit... but then growth did not come from facing inferior foes... .

Shockwave's Tower ~ Arena

A series of displeased grunts and frustrated cries could be heard as Thrall continued watching Bane battle Blackguard. Havok too watched on, enthralled at the spectacle, though not quite as frustrated as his fellow Corrupticon.

"Patience Thrall.." Havok commented without taking his gaze off the battle "Grrr, Patience! I'll give ya bloody patience in a klik, when's Bane gonna rip this little slagger's head off?!" Thrall replied, raising his voice somewhat. As Havok contemplated his reply, Bane and Blackguard slammed into the ground, the Seeker now one arm lighter, and the Black Death utilising his large amount of experience to great effect against the young Decepticon.

"Well.." The dark grey 'Con began "..There's an arm, that good enough for you?" The reply came in the form of a deep bellow of approval from the Minotour as he raised his huge axe high above his head "..I'll take that as a yes" Havok thought to himself as he took a moment to watch Bludgeon make short work of Battletrap "Why do these amateurs insist on making fools of themselves" he continued to muse to himself, shaking his head, before his quiet contemplations were interrupted by Cyclonus calling a halt to proceedings.

His celebrations cut short, Thrall looked to the Air Commander with what bordered on contempt. Like Bane, he too appreciated the way that Blackguard had fought, with a surprising amount of honor and skill, and showed his appreciation as the Seeker took his leave of the Arena by once again raising his axe above his head and hitting his chest with his other hand. Havok too showed his appreciation, though much more restrained, with a simple nod of his head "Not bad" He thought to himself, as he allowed himself a small smile at the sight of Battletrap being dragged away.

"C'mon Bane!!" Thrall shouted, his attention back on the serious matter at hand "..Let'im 'ave it" Havok said nothing, only casting a glance over in Swindle's direction, as it was now a direct battle between the 2 expected winners "And now, the fun begins" The Corrupticon quietly said to himself.

Thanatos--Main Bridge

Skyjack walked forward and sat down at one of the control panels, and activated it. The panel lit up, with various options, related to scanners. Ok... I know how to use this... Right? "I'm ready," He reported to Shockwave. Now he just had to wait for everyone else.

Shockwave's Tower - 'Arena'

Cyclonus stared back at Bane as he offered his little insult. To Cyclonus, it was little more than a statement of fact. “No, they aren’t what they used to be. They are far better now, as you can see with the conquering of the Tagan Heights.”

With that said the air commandant moved to the side to observe this battle. It would be interesting to see if Bane maintained his sloppy and overconfident manner in this fight as well. Bludgeon was an efficient and skilled warrior, but was possibly physically outmatched here. He would have to remain calm and use that skill to overcome Bane’s more improvised methods.

*

A new figure entered the makeshift arena. Most Decepticons made a path for him and those that didn’t found themselves unceremoniously shoved off to the side. With one last shove to Thrall and Havok, Hun-Grrr arrived at the front of the crow watching the impromptu match. The Terrorcon commander took in the combatants before letting out a snicker. “When does the real fight begin?”

He recognized Bludgeon from various battles. The Decepticon was brutally efficient and highly skilled. He usually left a good number of bodies on the field if you were foolish enough to engage him in close combat. He recognized Bane too, vaguely. He led some little band of Terrorcon wannabes. They had a reputation among the lower and weaker Cons as being powerful warriors, but an entirely different one among the higher ranks. They were little more than cannon fodder that built up an impressive kill number against the weaklings on the other side.

They also seemed to always brag about their gladiatorial days, which made Hun-Grrr laugh. The best gladiators had fought on Megatron’s personal team, and he never saw any of these second stringers on the team. They must have paid in the secondary matches or the warm-up matches before the main event.

He turned his gaze down to Havok and Thrall, two more of the Terrocon-wannabes. “Is a real gladiator going to fight after this match or do I have to watch the two of you have a tag team match against Rumble and Frenzy?” A smirk appeared on his face. It had been far too long since he had a fight, and there weren’t any Decepticons around. He would just have to settle with throwing around some of the second stringers. Better yet, he could earn some money at the same time, assuming Swindle was up for taking the bet.

*

Drydock Omega - The Thanatos

Darkwing and Dreadwind looked at each other but remained silent. The infiltration protocols had been established many vorns ago but had never really been used. This meant they weren’t just going to die in space. They were going to die on some alien world, likely killed by whatever primitive natives were there. It wouldn’t just be a grisly death, but it would be a humiliating one.

The doors opened to the bridge and the two fliers stepped onto it with the other Decepticons. They quickly assumed stations best suited to their function.

“Weapon systems online and ready. Will stay on standby until needed,” Darkwing spoke up from the weapons console.

Dreadwind spoke from the defensive control panel next to Darkwing. “Defensive systems ready, shields on standby until take off. All other systems are green.”

The skies of Polyhex ~ Near Iacon Border Region

Thundercracker chuckled softly at Skywarp. No doubt his friend was just itching to lay his hands on some Autobots.

>>Nah... everything's quiet here. Even my wingmen haven't got much to say. They're probably just... wait... what's that.<<

His attention was diverted to his radar which was picking up something big headed from Iacon toward Nova Cronum. He reasoned that it could only be one thing, an Autobot cruiser.

>>'Warp I'll talk to you later.<<

He switched his comm-link over to communicate with Cyclonus.

>>Cyclonus, this is patrol team 1 reporting Autobot activity in Iacon. It's something big, most likely a cruiser, headed toward Nova Cronum on vector 352.7. I think Skywarp is in the area with his team.<<

As Thundercracker's attention was devoted to communicating to the commander of the air forces, he failed to notice three smaller blips on his radar that were approaching the border at high speed. On their current flight path they would rendexvous with these three blips in approximately 1 breem.

ooc: I'll be adding in Reforge soon.

Shockwave's Tower - 'Arena'


Reforge was glad he got out of repairing Battletrap, although it also meant he would not personally see to Blackguard's injuries. Oh, well if he's using a CR chamber I can check the logs and glean what i need from it. It's not like I haven't repaired a sweep before...

He didn't stop to address Cyclonus thinking If his leader wanted him to leave, the surgical sweep would have already known. With two warriors of this caliber a few compromised coreframes are bound to need some fixing. Besides, someone has to look under that archaic, if not secretive, chassis of Banes and I still know next to nothing of metalikato.

As Reforge caught his winnings a smirk crossed his features. "This match promises to be even more rewarding. Care to double it on Bludgeon's win Swindle?"

He really didn't care about the credits but It could serve as an added deterrent to Cyclonus calling him away.

The skies of Polyhex ~ Near Iacon Border Region

Turbulence was enjoying the altitude and it's imposing air currents when he noticed a series of blips on his radar. Are we reconnoitering with Skywarp's team? That would almost defeat the purpose of two patrol teams. I'ld better ask. As he started to ask the senior blue tetra jet, his radar gave him his answer.

>> Thundercracker I have three blips on my peripheral... and they don't have seeker signatures. <<

The blue and bronze seeker diverted additional power to his targeting and weapons systems. >> Incoming hostiles, from vector 284.9 and fast approaching. Recommend formation break. <<

Too bad it's not the Aerialbots. I was hoping to test my torque turret against the rifle it's based on.

Shockwave's Tower ~ Arena

Rampage was very happy to see Blackguard loose his arm; he had nothing against the sweep but Rampage thirsted for spilt energon and he was very pleased to get to see some. Even if Cyclonus did have to stop the fight just when it was getting interested. Giving a semi-respectful nod towards Blackguard as he left Rampage turned to watch the two remaining combatants.

Rampage refrained from growling at the rather forceful Hun-Grrr who had barrelled his way in. He found it highly aggrivating but refrained from saying anything...simply because he felt it wasn't worth the time and trouble. He was rather irritated at all the useless banter, but knew there was nothing he could do about it so he kept quiet; watching the fight unfold.

Thanatos

Wildrider's life had been something of a daze in the aftermath of their recapture of the Tagan Heights. They had done good, right? Then why did it seem as if his wheels had gone horribly out of skid in the time since? He remembered doing some extra...artwork...within the halls of the new Deceptibase, running in to Motormaster, and then darkness.

Too many of his encounters with the Stunticon Commander had shared that similarity.

Now he was wandering aboard the ship in something of a daze. Nothing, hurt, really, but it just seemed as if everything was not altogether there.

Maybe something just needed to explode.

Drydock Omega - The Thanatos

Motormaster almost couldn't believe his audioreceptors. Shockwave - out of all possible Decepticons... was taking his team on an infiltration mission. Of course there was a chance they could pull it off but the Stunticons weren't notoriously unstable just for show. It was going be difficult to keep his own destructive tendencies under control, let alone his men - especially Wildrider's and Drag Strip's.

As the group of Decepticons led by Shockwave entered Thanatos' command deck and a command to man the stations was issued Motormaster began barking orders to his own men.

"Breakdown, Drag Strip! Man the sensor arrays! Dead End, cartography! Wildrider! Stop wandering around and sit down!"

The large Stunticon had no doubt that there was better pilots arounds so he settled on supervising the other Stunticons. And in the end, who else was going to keep an optic on them?

The Thanatos - Bridge

Infiltration protocols? Dead End had to take a few moments to process that. Certainly, he was aware of them, but they had never been put into effect, to the best of his recollection. What had seemed like a bad idea from the start now had all the makings of an unmitigated catastrophe. No wonder the Stunticons had been reassembled and assigned to this mission--Megatron undoubtedly wanted only expendable troops to take part in this ill-conceived experiment.

That would certainly explain Starscream's presence.

Wildrider and Dragstrip were about as subtle as a photon grenade up the tailpipe, and Motormaster . . . well. Defensor probably stuck out less than that one-mech demolition derby. In short? They were doomed. Completely. The best they could hope for was a swift end.

Nonetheless, the dour warrior was quick to respond to his leader's commands--vorns of conditioning had made his compliance almost instinctive. As soon as the order was bellowed, Dead End assumed his station, activating thing console and familiarizing himself with the somewhat antiquated information readout.

"Cartography online," he reported dutifully--if dully. "Awaiting course projection."

The leader of the Seekers, meanwhile, had assumed the secondary command station on Shockwave's left. It seemed like the natural place for him, given that he was the second highest ranking Decepticon present. And none of the other wrecks that had been tossed aboard this colossal purple barge of the damned had the intelligence or the expertise for such a position.

"I assume you'll brief us on the mission specifics en route?" Starscream asked his cycloptic commanding officer mildly, though his smirk was undimmed. "Or were you planning to make it a surprise? Though Primus knows, we've certainly had more than enough of those over the last megacycle or so to suit most of us throughout the rest of our operational lifetimes."

Shockwave's Tower - Arena

Onslaught only grunted noncommittally in response to Swindle's admittedly slick efforts to justify this useless expenditure of energon. Whether it was the best of a number of unacceptable options was really beside the point. It bespoke a severe lapse in military discipline that the troops should require this kind of fuelthirsty pandering to their lowest instincts. If they were really this desperate to have their chassis caved in, he was sure he could organize a few punitive forays into Autobot territory.

It would help rid them of some of the dead weight, if nothing else.

Still, Cyclonus didn't seem to have any kind of meaningful objection to the proceedings, so the Combaticon Commander decided to keep his opinions to himself. Gainsaying a superior was an even greater infraction than the present exercise in mindless barbarism.

"I certainly hope they get this over with quickly," he grumbled.

The Thanatos - Bridge

Skyjack groaned as he heard Motermaster's orders. While he worked scanners, having the paranoid Breakdown and the victory-obsesssed Wildrider work the sensors while he used the scanners was going to make this flight a very unpleasant one. Who am I kidding? I should have known that this flight was going to be painful the moment I saw those nutcases. Out of sheer boredom, he decided to give the scanners a test run. He hit the big "Scan" button on the panel. the results came to him as a shock. He spun his chair around to face Shockwave. "Sir, I've picked up multiple hostile signals inbound. It looks like they're going after the seeker patrol, but that's not all. I've also got something big. vrey big. As in big as the Thanatos big. What should we do, sir?"

Shockwave's Tower ~ Arena

The arrival of Hun-Grrr was... Difficult to ignore. The uncouth Terrorcon Commander seemed to take an instant dislike to both Thrall and Havok, something that confused latter as he coludn't exactly remember many instances in which their paths had crossed, at least not recently. Still, regardless of his well documented battle prowess, Hun-Grrr's entrance didn't sit well with either of the 2 Corrupticons, not with Thrall becuase A) His view of the ongoing fight was now blocked by one of the Terrorcon Commanders ugly heads and B) His reputation and abilities as a former Gladiator were being insulted. He was in fact, half tempted to try and remove the offending head from his view via a well placed axe strike, but a look from Havok reminded him that it probably wouldn't be looked upon very favorably.

Havok too didn't particularly appreciate having his skill and abilities questioned, but he had a bigger reason for disliking Hun-Grrr; His lack of dedication to the Decepticon cause. The almost mercenary like attitude Hun-Grrr displayed a lot of the time just grated at Havok, he often found it difficult dealing with other Decepticons who had their own agendas, even his team leader, Bane, would sometimes intentionally push his buttons on the matter. But now he was being intentionally insulted by a 'Con he held no allegiance to, had no connection to what-so-ever, other than a respect for his reputation, it was a shame that it seemed the respect only went 1 way.

"Bah, you wouldn't know a good fight if it smacked you in both your faces.." Thrall grunted at Hun-Grrr as he moved around to the other side of Havok so as to once more have a clear view of the fight "..Speaking of which, keep both your fat heads out of my way, I'm trying to watch here" The Minotaur added. The dark grey Corrupticon waited until his comrade was done before adding his reply "I'm assuming that from your tone, I'm to take it you don't approve of the level of skill currently being displayed in the Arena Hun-Grrr? That's a shame, I'll be sure to pass that information onto someone who cares. Personally, I thought that for an impromptu arena battle, it's not half bad, I mean, it's not like you're fighting is it?" Havok commented, his tone not changing too much from it's usual pitch, a comment that drew a laugh from Thrall.

Pausing as he took a look around, Havok noticed that the other Terrorcons were conspicuous by their absence, a fact that gave him an idea "..It's a shame that none of your fellow Terrorcons are present Hun-Grrr, we could have had ourselves a little 2 on 2 once Bane is done with Bludgeon. Just out of curiosity, why aren't the rest of your team with you? Still in CR after another botched mission perhaps?"

Thanatos--Bridge

Wildrider was snapped out of his commander-induced delirium by the words of the very same mech that was likely responsible for most of it in the first place. Not that Wildrider wasn't prone to off wandering every once in a while, but he almost always had a purpose for doing so: an explosion here, some carnage there. It all added up in the long run.

At the moment, though, Wildrider immediately follows the much larger Stunticon Commander's instructions. He had found out firsthand what even a little delay could mean for his operating systems.

Pain.

He wasn't exactly sure what station he had chosen, but it didn't really matter at this point, either. So long as he wasn't bothering Motormaster, his continued functioning was a much more likely eventuality.
___

The head units of the three Reflector components stationed around the bridge of Shockwave's ship turn and watch the rather chaotic arrival of the Stunticons and the other members of the crew that would be partaking in the current mission. Two of the units then quickly return their focus to the given stations that they had been assigned.

One, however, continues to watch. Much valuable information could be obtained through simple observation. He had learned that lesson long ago.

Shockwave's Tower - Medbay

Blackguard handed Battletrap off to the waiting repair drones, then sat down blearily as the drones got to work on his arm. Reattaching the limb would be difficult, mostly due the damage he himself had done sealing the fuel lines, and CR treatment couldn't begin until that was done. So Blackguard had a painful few breems ahead of him.
That was ok. Pain was a truth of existence, and one had to master it, whether it was bearing it or inflicting it. Bane had taught him a lot in their fight: the agony of the medbay was a good place to muse on those lessons.

Shockwave's Tower - Arena

Onslaught, having less interest in what was going on within the the crudely-delineated circle of combat than in making certain Swindle kept the worst of his acquisitive tendencies under control, had not missed Hun-Grrr's belated arrival, nor his subsequent abrasive remarks to the Corrupticons. It was the sort of behavior to be expected from a Terrorcon, really. They were weapons of fear, to be wielded on the field of battle with precision and force and avoided as much as possible at all other times. The same qualities that made them an effective combat unit also made them something of a hazard to their fellow Decepticons, although Megatron had always considered the risk well worthwhile.

The Combaticon Commander was hardly in a position to argue the point.

In any event, he doubted there would be any trouble. Hun-Grrr was attempting to bait the pair of former Gladiators into taking some sort of provocative action, but surely the Terrorcon's superior rank and the presence of Cyclonus would keep them from doing anything foolish. Challenging a creature like that was tantamount to marching straight into the sm--

Oh, Primus. What were those idiots doing?

"I thought you were the intelligent one," Onslaught snapped at Havok, his visor flashing with irritation. "Please keep your impulses toward self-destruction in check until they can be put to some productive use against the Autobots." He then turned to Hun-Grrr, taking on the thankless and likely impossible task of calming him.

"Perhaps we should adjourn to the command center and begin planning the next foray into enemy territory, hm? That's certain to be a more engaging activity."

(OOC: I will use Firebat as an NPC just to support the action.)

The Skies of Polyhex ~ Near the Iacon Border

Thundercracker broke off his transmission to Cyclonus.

>>Copy that Turbulence. Prepare to engage at attack speed.<<

Locking in on the lead craft - which would turn out to be Scattershot - Thundercracker launched a drone rocket which he expected to pare down the Autobot's numbers. Increasing throttle he began to climb, knowing through his experience in battle that in aerial combat altitude offered a significant advantage. He also knew that few Autobot fliers could keep up with the speed of a Seeker.

>>Watch each other's tails. And make sure you call your targets.<<

We'll see what these guys are made of.

Shockwave's Tower – ‘Arena’

Hun-Grrr didn’t laugh out loud at the brave noise the Corrupticons made but inside he found it all very comical. It was almost too easy to bait them. His initial impression of them had proven correct. They were far dumber than they even looked.

The Terrorcon commander transformed to his robot mode, still towering over the other gathered Decepticons. He looked down at Thrall and Havok. “You never saw me fight in the arena, wannabe. You and your canon fodder comrades were the opening act. You spilled a little fuel before the big guns came in. While you were busy getting your innards welded back into you, Megatron and his gang were fighting. I fought under his command in the arena before this war even started. I’ll make sure to pass on your views of our fighting ability to him next time I see him.” He smirked as he spoke the last bit.

“As for the Terrorcons, we aren’t all welded together like your team is. I don’t need them to cover my aft for me. I’m not afraid to walk or fight on my own. They can take care of themselves too. Guess the same can’t be said for you guys huh?” The Terrorcon snickered. “As for fighting 2 on 2, what’s wrong wannabe? Can’t fight me on your own? Need to hold one of your teammate’s hands before you can fight?” He looked Havok right in the optics and let out a chuckle.

He heard Onslaught say something to him but he ignored him. He was a good soldier, not a bad strategist, but not much fun. Hun-Grrr was hungry and since energon was low, violence would have to do.

*

Cyclonus’s posture and expression did not change, but the message from Thundercracker startled him. The movement of a cruiser size vehicle was major news. The expenditure of that much energon by the Autobots indicated something major was going on.

>>”Thundercracker, take your squad and parallel the course of that vehicle but avoid entering Autobot airspace if possible. We don’t have the numbers deployed at the moment to deal with a vessel of that power. I will inform Lord Megatron of this immediately. Keep me updated on the vessel’s course. Cyclonus out.””<<

The air commandant swiftly left the makeshift arena. He wanted a more secure channel and surroundings before contacting Megatron about this new turn of events. The command center would be well suited for that.

Shockwave's Tower – ‘Arena’

Ramapage was torn between watching Bludgeon and Bane fight or watch Hun-grr bait the two Corrupticons. Even with his level of psycopathy Ramapage knew that where fighting was concerned; certain people were off limits. Switching his gaze between the two Rampage looked just a little peeved. Of course Onslaught did have to speak up and try to disolve the situation; which seemed to fail utterlly. Not that he was surprised Hun-Grr came in spoiling for a fight and it didn't seem that he wanted to leave without one.

Rampage moved slightly out of the way being as he was standing a little too close to the leader of the Terrorcons and his seeming chosen prey for his own comfort. As a Predacon Rampage understood leaving the strongest to fight it out and to never get in the way; it was more of his predatorial mentality than any fear.

Eeee, no sigs in RPG forums! ~J

The skies of Polyhex ~Near Iacon Border

>>I read you Cyclonus. Disengaging from the Autobots to follow the craft toward Nova Cronum on bearing 163.7.<<

Thundercracker was a little let down that they weren't headed for a little action. Surely the Autobots wouldn't be dumb enough to follow them through Polyhex airspace. He launched to more drone rockets at the remaining blips on his radar.

That should take care of them.

>>Patrol team one, we have new orders to follow that Autobot craft. DO NOT enter Autobot airspace.<<

Thundercracker broke formation and barrel rolled to the new coordinates. It seemed unlikely the Autobots wouldn't notice them following. Along the way, he open a comm-link to Skywarp.

>>Hey buddy, watch your tail. Patrol team one is coming your way. We should rendezvous at sector Beta218, over.<<

Thanatos--Bridge

Shockwave waited with no uncertain degree of patience as the assembled Decepticons assumed the positions that they had been required to take and reported back. His thought processes were on other matters, even as the Seeker Commander had addressed him with another of his insincere queries. Shockwave estimated that it was not, in fact, an attempt to gain real information. Instead, it was an attempt to show the other Decepticons present that he was somehow ahead of the curve in terms of evaluating Megatron's latest mission. And while there could be potential merit in such a course of action, Starscream was far too blunt a tool to be questioning the validity of Megatron's approach--however indirectly. The two mechanoids, had they not come to possess such a profound distaste for one another, could almost be said to have been formed from the same proto-batch initiator.

Regardless, the Seeker's question had not gone unheeded. Rather, it was ignored until all pre-operational launch initiatives had been engaged.

"Declarative: Decepticon Leader Megatron has determined outlying planet designate 'AC488' as being worthy of further study. Mission parameters will include, but not limited to, infiltration in to the planet's activities, observation and--primarily--the assessment and acquisition of local energy sources for additional refinement. All infiltration protocols will be followed exactly. Deviation will be grounds for termination."

Given the Decepticons that had initially been assigned on this mission, Shockwave calculated that such mention of the final fact would be a useful reminder of how seriously the Decepticon Command approached missions of this nature. Their work would be much more expediently achieved if the native inhabitants of the world had no knowledge of their presence.

Megatron had requested direct contact when the assigned group was prepared to leave. Shockwave had suspected that their could be further imperatives that Megatron may have originally withheld until full reactivation of the Thanatos had become a certainty. Regardless of the motivations, Shockwave would oblige with the given command and update the Decepticon Leader of their status. He could offer any additional directives at that point.

>>"Hail, Megatron. The Thanatos is functioning within acceptable parameters. Infiltration unit to planet designate AC488 ready for departure."<<

On the ground in Polyhex - Near the Iacon border

Once Bluestreak had crossed the border into Polyhex, he immediately transformed into 'bot mode and took up a position behind a small metal structure. He looked skyward to see the lead seeker, Thundercracker, launching a drone rocket directly at Scattershot, who was moving in on the seeker’s position. “Slaggit!” Bluestreak quickly targeted the drone with his shoulder-mounted launchers, but before he had a chance to lock on, Thundercracker fired two more drone rockets before breaking formation and heading in a different direction. That’s strange, Bluestreak thought to himself. It’s not like seekers to tuck tail and run. Unless, of course, they received orders not to engage.

However, Bluestreak had no time to worry about that now. He had more pressing matters to worry about. Bluestreak opened a comm-link to his comrades in the sky.

>>> Scattershot! Strafe! Bravo! Watch out, guys! You’ve got rockets coming your way! <<<

The Autobot gunner then quickly targeted the three drones, and once locked on, he launched a single shell high into the air. On it’s way up, the shell broke open, releasing four independently targeted warheads. Three were aimed at the drone rockets, while the fourth headed towards the retreating seekers with the hope of hitting one of them as an added bonus. Bluestreak watched as three of his warheads found their targets, destroying all of the drone rockets in a trio of explosions that lit up the skies of Polyhex.

>>> You guys okay up there? Those explosions didn’t rattle your circuits too much I hope. <<<

The fourth warhead continued on towards the seekers, as Bluestreak waited for a response from his skyward friends. He also turned to see where Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were at.

(OOC: AxiomScion - I thought Thundercracker fired three rockets. Your rocket would make four if I'm reading the posts right.)

ooc: SmokieGT how did you know I was shooting the third missile

The skies of Polyhex ~Near Iacon Border

As the first drone rocket shot off, Turbulence encircled its path with a ring of wide bursts from his torque turrets. His aim wasn't as true as his leaders but he was hoping to nail any flying autobot that was breaking formation.

"This will give them less room to maneuver our skies."

As Thundercracker broke skyward the lesser blue seeker recognized the make of his renowned squad leaders arsenal. A rocket with a range of 500 miles that behaved similarly to a cruise missile and boasts a concussive force of 3000 lbs. of TNT. Strong enough to set off near by missiles; this gave the fellow air warrior his plan. Then came new orders which were reluctantly received but adhered to.

If we're not engaging them we better keep them from engaging us.

So as the second drone rocket came forth Turbulence locked on with his own cyclone missile to trail it. Unlike most rockets meant for hard targets, the cyclone missile was meant to force opponents out of the sky with it's high-velocity sonic-powered winds. With the drone rocket's explosive force to there to detonate it, accuracy was not a necessity. Hoping Thundercraker's aim was better than his own, the blue and bronze elite launched his missile and changed course to match with patrol team 1 to sector Beta 218.

That aught to slow thew down at least until we catch up with Skywarp's patrol...

>>Between my sonic and your kaboom, I think we could make a formidable team Thundercra... Glitch! Incoming S.A.M!<<

As Turbulence evaded, a warhead continued past his nimble underframe towards the seeker, finding a stronger heat signature in Firebat!

(OOC: Thrall is actually taller than both Bane and Hun-Grr, or at least he's supposed to be. Guess HardHead forgot to change it from the old specs. Only a cosmetic thing, but just something I noticed when looking over his spec again)

Shockwave's Tower – ‘Arena’

"Right" Bane said to Cyclonus with a sarcastic undertone "they're so much better than us oldtimers that they're wacking us all over the pit... oh wait..." the Black Death laughed. Being a of a newer design didn't mean anything in battle. Only meant you had one or more advantages, not that you are any better. Both Bane and Bludgeon had proved to be superior to their 'newer' opponents, despite being quite old in comparison. Though Bane had constantly improved his and the Corrupticons designs over the vorns, it was their experience and skill that had brought them first through the gladiatorial games, then through the war in one piece.

Bane parried the initial attacks of Bludgeon with relative ease. The ancient gladiator quickly noticed that his opponent was holding back a bit, merely testing him or trying to provoke him to attack. It was now that Bane's sublime understanding of tactics could be needed, and should be used. Against Blackguard he had been too overconfident, which had cost him a bit of body-liquids and some unnecessary scratches and cuts. Bane was too clever to do that mistake again, and he actually had no intention to underestimate Bludgeon in the first place. This guy was much better than most he had fought before and should be dealt with with caution.

"You aren't fighting an amateur... show me your skills"

From the corner of his optics, he noticed that the big savage Hun-Grr had joined the crowd. The Terrorcon leader had many qualities that the Corrupticons liked, but also a lot of stuff that they didn't. The big metaphant was trying to get the other 2 Corrupticons to fight him. He knew Thrall would respond to his taunts, but had not thought that it was actually the more calm Havok who was doing most of the taunting back. Onslaught was once more trying to meddle in Corrupticon business, but this time the Black Death had nothing against it. Bane needed his team-mates battle-ready in case their commando-skills was needed, and while believed they could do severe damage to, if not even kill the big Terrorcon, he didn't want to repair their complex internal machinery. By Primus, it had taken Decepticons vorns to fix Havok becourse of his unique internal design that only its creator, Bane, had any understanding of.


Quantum had enjoyed the match so far. Good fights, no deaths or severe damage and the troops was in good spirit. Ofcourse someone had to ruin it and it didn't really surprise him that it was a Terrorcon. Well, they had that name for a reason, but still. The big Hun-Grr was ruining it for everyone who tried to watch an entertaining duel between two of the best close-combat specialists in the entire Decepticon roster. The black and white seeker remained quiet though. He was sure Cyclonus would step in if it went out of hand.