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Corridor of The Lollipop

"Damn it!" Starfire cursed to herself.

The big Decepticon in front of her got out of the way of her headshot, and she doubted she would get another, even though she did hit him. So instead she grabbed Pipes's good arm and pulled him backwards, while Ironhide moved up and fired his blaster in Lock On's direction, not really aiming, just trying to push the Seeker back.

"We gotta try somethin' different." Ironhide said. "We can't..."

"No!" Starfire snapped back, her temper getting the better of her. "I'm not retreating! Then they'll know they got us! I hit Starscream, and now I hit this one! You keep shooting and as soon as I pull Pipes back, I'll join you! We gotta get to the cockpit and take control of this crate!"

"I guess ya got it all figured out!" Ironhide said and kept firing in Lock On's direction as Starfire dragged Pipes back.

---

"I'm...tuh...trying..." Starscream mumbled as he pushed himself up with the others' help.

The fluids still flowed from the wound, but his internal systems stabilized, and his self-repair kicked in. The wound would close soon, even if it had to be tended to later. Had it been bigger, Starscream would have needed medical attention.

"There...uhh..." he still had trouble speaking, as he retreated back towards the cockpit. "There were...3...I think..."

"There's three." Feedback confirmed as he sent targeting coordinates to Lock On and Vertigo.

--

Lock On ignored the pain in his shoulder and turned his attention to the Autobots. "Get your sorry afts out where we can see them, Bots!" He shouted before lowering his voice to speak to Vertigo. "Vertigo, stop playing nurse and get your aft up here..." He cocked the shotgun. "This is war." A smirk slipped onto his faceplate.

---

With Starscream retreating back, Vertigo got out his gun. He was not confident in his fighting skills... or Feedback's by what he had seen when he brought up the Interceptor's file... though Feedback seemed unaware of that particular fact. However he moved closer to the other two Seekers.

"Are ya gonna make it?" Ironhide asked Pipes.

"Yeah, just hurts." Pipes answered. "I got limited use in my arm, but my right cannon is worthless."

"We have to get to the cockpit." Starfire said. "We need to take control. We're in a shuttle, flying who knows where."

"So do ya have a plan?" Ironhide asked.

"Putting one together right now." she answered. "Since I'm the fastest, I should make a try for it while you two cover me. We just have to figure out how to draw their fire away so I can get past them."

"How many are there?" Pipes asked.

'Uh..." Starfire said as she counted. "Three, I think, including Starscream."

"The others are Thundercracker and Skywarp?" Ironhide asked. "Those are the losers Starscream usually flies with."

"I don't think so." Starfire said. "They didn't look anything like Starscream. And they weren't purple or blue."

"Heh." Pipes said. "Maybe Starscream finally pissed off the Decepticon brass enough that they kicked him out."

"Okay, enough." Ironhide said firmly. "We can't hunker down here forever. We need to move, either foward or backward."

"Alright." Starfire said. "You two lay down cover fire, and I'll get across as fast as I can. The cockpit should be just up ahead, we're almost at the end of the corridor. Once I get past them, only Starscream is left, and I wounded him pretty good, I doubt he'll be in a mood to fight."

"And if we can't follow you?" Ironhide asked.

"Once I get past them, they'll be in a crossfire." she said. "If they have any brains, they'll split their attention, which should allow you to overwhelm them on one side."

"And if they stay on us?" Pipes asked.

"Then I'll shoot them in the back." Starfire said, dead serious.

"Well, it's as good a plan as any we gonna come up with." Ironhide said. "Let's do it."

He and Pipes stood up and took aim down the corridor as Starfire transformed into her motorcycle alt mode. As she revved her engine and took off, Ironhide and Pipes unleashed a barrage down the corridor with everything they had.

---

Retreating back into the cockpit, Starscream let the others to do the fighting. His neck and right arm were killing him, and he couldn't turn his head. The fluids have stopped flowing, but they were still seeping a little. His internal computers reported a 33% damage to his hydraulics in his neck and chest. The shot must have his some main line or something, one shot shouldn't cause that much damage, he thought. As he sat down in the command chair, Mars came into view.

"Not much longer." Starscream muttered to himself. "If they can take care of the Autobots before we land, or at least hold them off, everything will be fine."

Corridors of the Lollipop


"Incoming." Feedback said unemotionally as Starfire started into motion.

---

"WHAT THE WHAT!?" Lock On yelled as Starfire sped towards them.

---

Feedback and Vertigo artfully dodged out of Starfire's way, both firing on the motorcycle as she sped by them. Lock On kept firing at Pipes and Ironhide.

--

"Stay on those two, Lock." Vertigo said as he continued shooting at Starfire. "You have better firepower for them."

The Lollipop's Corridor

In her bike mode, Starfire was a smaller target than she would have been in robot mode, but the shots from the Decepticons still hit home somewhat. Her armor prevented serious damage, but she still took the hits which knocked her off balance, sending her careening into the walls. She made it past Lock On, as the big 'Con was busy with Pipes and Ironhide, and she also managed to squeeze by the other two, but not without taking damage. She finally crashed by the cockpit's entrance, transforming as she rolled to a stop. Her rifle automatically came up, and she began returning fire to the other two 'Cons in the hallway, at the same time backing into the cockpit, trying to see if there were any more to deal with.

---

"She's past them!" Pipes said to Ironhide. "Keep shootin'!"

"What does it look like I'm doin', junior?" Ironhide snapped back.

They kept up the fire against Lock On, trying to move closer to the cockpit themselves, step by step. But the big 'Con wasn't budging, so they had to count on Starfire to do something. And soon.

---

In the cockpit, Starscream sat in the command chair, momentary relief on his mind. It was short-lived, however, as Starfire crashed into the entrance, transformed and immediately started shooting. Apparently, she didn't notice Starscream, who jumped out of the chair, and attempted to shoot her in the back as she backed into the cockpit, but the pain in his neck and shoulder prevented him from raising his arm.

"Aaarrggghh!" he screamed in agony.

Starfire heard the scream and snapped her head around.

"Starscream!" she shouted, and with one hand holding her rifle, still pointed down the corridor towards Vertigo and Feedback, she pulled her sidearm, aiming at Starscream.

Without a word, she pulled the triggers on both weapons.

Corridors of the Lollipop

Lock On kept firing on Ironhide and Pipes, despite their shots hitting. He was tough, but not that tough, this was going to have to end.

After Starfire zipped through, he took a quick look back to see what she was doing.

"Aww scrap!" He let out as Starfire drew out a weapon at Starscream and Vertigo and Feedback and began firing.

He started backing up. "Vertigo. The little Bot his going to hurt the Air Commander, move towards the cockpit, I need some cover!"

He continued shooting as he backed up, picking up the pace the best he could.

---

Feedback was trying to avoid getting shot, but as Lock On pointed out, there was a lack of cover and he may be quick, but not quick enough to dodge everything, Starfire's shots were connecting more than he liked.

He figured out what was going on instantly, seeing the Bot holding two guns, one pointing into the cockpit where Starscream was.

One of Starfire's shots connected with one of his jamming pods under his wing, sending a torrent of pain through him.

"Scrap! You little slag!" He shouted at Starfire, pushing on Vertigo to get him moving.

---

Vertigo's exact thought was 'oh hell no.' as Lock On's warning registered with the irrationally loyal Seeker looked to see Starfire raiding her weapon and shooting into the cockpit.

He completely forgot about Ironhide and Pipes, didn't register Feedback being hit and cursing, and barely heard Lock On order them to fall back.

He simply rused at Starfire as Feedback pushed him into motion, intending to knock the small Bot down.

Corridor of The Lollipop

Ironhide and Pipes were taking hits from Lock On, trying their best to keep the big Seeker's attention on them instead of Starfire. But it wasn't working, as the 'Con started to back up, giving orders to the others to do as well. If they let them retreat into the cockpit, Starfire was trapped.

"We gotta move!" Ironhide said. "Now!"

"But there's no cover!" Pipes answered. "We'll get..."

"NOW!!!" Ironhide shouted and started running towards the Decepticons, his rifle discharging as fast the autoloader could keep up.

"Aw, scrap!" Pipes cursed and took off after Ironhide, even though he was dragging his right side and limped on his left leg after a couple of Lock On's shots hit their mark.

---

Command Center of The Lollipop

Starfire was firing out into the corridor, but she wasn't looking that way. Those shots were just to keep the 'Cons out there busy. She made it in here to take control of the bridge. Starscream, however, was a prime target, and she couldn't pass up the opportunity. She was looking at him as he struggled to stay on his feet, the previous wound still taking its toll, even though he looked like he was recovering. Starfire didn't say anything. Her temper was getting the better of her, as it often did. She was furious at Starscream, her memories of the Decepticons' destruction from the past coming back to her. Destruction that can be attributed in large part to the Air Commander himself. Despite Megatron's might, he could never have achieved as much carnage as he did during the war if it wasn't for his air force, commanded by this despicable pile of bolts in front of her. Starfire was too angry to even try to speak. She knew in the back of her mind that she should barricade herself into the command center to prevent the other 'Cons from coming in. Starscream was wounded and thus easily controlled, and she could fly this crate either to Earth or back to Cybertron, or wherever. But...

Starscream had to PAY!!!

She pulled the trigger on her sidearm and the blast hit Starscream square in the chest as he propped himself against the back of the command chair. The impact spun him around so he was huddled onto the control console. Starfire, now filled with rage, aimed at the back of his head. She was going to finish this worthless pile of scrap execution-style. But as she pulled the trigger again, Starscream fell off the console, and the shot went right into the shuttle's power-controls. The blast scrambled and fried the circuits, and the boosters went into overdrive, lurching the shuttle forward with speed.

The damage to the console also knocked the autopilot out, as well as the navigation system, and with the boosters out of control, the shuttle wobbled at first, then, as they were close to the planet Mars, began to nosedive towards the planet's surface due to its gravity's pull, now that there was no force from the shuttle to counter it.

As the command center tilted around Starfire, the shocking realization of what she had done broke through her rage, and she froze with shock and fear. She tumbled inside the command center, away from the door, smashing against the back of the chair where Starscream was moments ago, flinging over it, and crashing into the wrecked remains of the control panels, causing further damage. The impact hit her in the back of the head, and caused her to lose consciousness. Her last thought before blacking out was that she just killed herself and two of her fellow Autobots.

---

The out of control Lollipop made a straight line to the planet's surface, as if someone had aimed it. Without the buffers to counter the planet's gravity, it was dropping like a stone.

Outside the Cockpit

Feedback and Vertigo started toppling towards the cockpit as the shuttle lurched. Vertigo grabbed a girder in jutting out from the bulkhead to stop himself, only to have Feedback crash into him, sending the two crashing towards Starfire.

Lock On was only a moment behind them, staying a little more under control since he hit the bulkhead as the shuttle started lurching. He continued firing on Ironhide and Pipes as he scuttled backwards with the motion of the ship.

The Lollipop hurtled towards the planet's surface, seeming to aim for an area with a lot of rocks, cliffs, and even smaller mountain peaks. It was on a collision course with the surface, nose first.

Corridor of The Lollipop

Lock On's barrage took both Ironhide and Pipes straight on, with the smaller bot unable to withstand the impact along with the shuttle's sudden change in direction. He smashed against the wall and hit the floor of the corridor, and began sliding forward towards the command room. Ironhide, still taking the hits, managed to stop himself a small distance from Lock On. He slung his rifle on his back, as he needed both hands to hold on. As the shuttle careened towards certain destruction, the corridor tilted into a shaft with the command room at the bottom. Ironhide was now dangling by his arms, holding onto the side. Pipes couldn't hold on, and went crashing down to the bottom, into the wall next to the entrance. Lock On was now directly under Ironhide. After taking a moment to collect himself, his armor doing its job by withstanding Lock On's blasts, even though it wouldn't last much longer, Ironhide knew what he had to do. He put his feet together, aimed himself at Lock On, and let go of the wall. He dropped straight down, his feet aimed at Lock On's massive chest.

The Corridors of The Lollipop

"Whoa!" Lock On let out as the pitch of the shuttle quickly became steep. He continued firing as much as he could until he needed to grab another outcrop of bulkhead as the corridor was no longer a corridor.

He ignited his thrusters to allow him to continue firing at Ironhide, but still had to hold the bulkhead with one hand as the ship was moving, he was not if he wasn't holding on to it.

He laughed hysterally as Pipes went flying past "Stupid Bo-" He began, only to be hit squarely in the cockpit by Ironhide. "Oof! Slagging Bot!" He growled at Ironhide, letting go of the bulkhead, unintentionally, Ironhide's weight pushing him down, somersaulting out of control, the increasing gravity having hold of him.

---

Feedback, being slightly heavier than Vertigo, passed his fellow Decepticon and crashed into the bulkhead to the port side of the cockpit door. His head smashed into the bulkhead leaving a Seeker shaped imprint in the metal. His optics flickered.... and Vertigo hit him on the back, bending his wing and sending him into momentary unconsciousness, as well as freeing the 'borrowed' faceplate from his head, revealing the mono-eyed head that was his own. The faceplate clattered down into the cockpit.

---

Vertigo bounced off Feedback and straight for Starfire, unable to control any motion. He desperately tried to grab the door frame as he fell, failing miserably.

As Ironhide smashed into Lock On, he wrapped his arms around the Seeker's shoulders, trying to hold on as they went tumbling down. The Seeker's thrusters helped the fall, but they were the two biggest bots on The Lollipop, and gravity was dragging them down.

...

The Lollipop was nearing the end of its death spiral, as the rocky surface of Mars came up faster and faster.

...

The Command Center of The Lollipop

Starfire began stirring and opened her optics. The sight that awaited her was jarring: she was looking not ahead, but straight up into the corridor, with Pipes and Feedback caught by the entrance, and another 'Con...falling straight at her!

Starscream was also trying to hang on. He had pretended to be knocked out, so that the crazy fembot would stop shooting at him, but it seemed the situation required any feint to be discarded. They were all in the deep end of the smelting pool now. Starscream knew if the shuttle crashed at this speed, there would be nothing left of it, or them. He had to do something. But the controls were destroyed.

"Autobot..." he mumbled. "We...uhhh...have..."

Then he saw Vertigo...falling straight down into the command room.

Falling through The Lollipop's Corridor


As Ironhide grabbed on to Lock On, the Decepticon tried hard to push him off.

If there had been enough room to transform, he would have. Instead he was left with hitting Ironhide with the butt of his gun. "Get off you filthy Bot!" He growled.

Though he had enough thrust for both his own and Ironhide'so weight, he did not want to spend the energy holding them up... and Ironhide was heavy.

Cockpit

Vertigo slammed into Starscream, who very conveniently broke his fall, though it still hurt like a frag.

--

Feedback came around, whincing from the pain, but pushed Pipes out of his eay. He peered down into the cockpit as he brought around his gun, prepared to shoot Starfire if he needed.

The Bridge

"We...uhh..." Starfire started to say. "We...have to...stop...the shuttle..."

She turned around so she was facing the mangled remains of the controls.

"Hey!" she said. "One of you needs to help me, or we all die!"

Starscream and Vertigo were at arm's length from her, in a pile of arms, legs and wings. (Like a bucket of KFC. ) Starscream was now knocked out for real, the impact of Vertigo smashing into him and sandwiching him between him and the control panel. The impact, however, brought a few indicators to light on the panel.

"I don't know what all this is!" Starfire continued. "If it was all in one piece...I need one of you to tell me what is what on this panel, so I can land this thing, or at leats level it out!"

She noticed a counter on the screen. The number was decreasing at a quick pace. Then she realized what it was. The altitude meter. They were falling like a brick, and the ground was getting very close.

"Now, dammit!" she shouted.

---

The Corridor

Ironhide took 3 of Lock On's shots to the face, (that reads so wrong) and finally let go. With all the blasts he had taken previously, he couldn't withstand his face getting pulverized as well. He fell straight down, crashing into Feedback who was next to the bridge entrance.

Bridge of The Lollipop

"Oh seriously..." Vertigo muttered at Starfire as he shook his head to clear the noise caused by crashing into Starscream. "Flying is simple!"

----

Feedback oofed as Ironhide fell on him. Scrap that Bot was heavy. He pushed the decrepit old Bot off of him, then dropped into the cockpit with a wiggle, trying not to land on anything as he did. His one optic drifted from Vertigo to Starfire before to the wrecked controls. "She's got a point, you idiot." He said flatly to Vertigo. "The inferior ground based machine can't control a simple shuttle, yes, her fault, but all our lives are at stake now." He said as fingers flew over the controls trying to suss out the problem. "We'll have to take it in really manually. See if you can get power to that control over there. " He waved at a panel a bit off to the right.

---

Vertigo didn’t bother arguing, just followed instructions. He slid under the board and tried to reconnect it. "No go, it is beyond quick fix." He said. "This thing have a stick?"

----

"I don't know!" Feedback shouted. "I have a great dislike for shuttles... I never go in them!"

He kept tapping away at the controls as Vertigo made the panel he was at start sparking and popping before it flickered weakly on.

---

"If I hold the wires-ouch! It keeps a connection." Vertigo said between shocks.

---

Feedback turned his head to look at Starfire. "Go over there." He ordered her, pointing to the panel Vertigo was under. "And do exactly what I say, don't try to comprehend... or question me, just do it or we're all dead."

The Lollipop's Bridge

Starfire glared at Feedback, her hand on her just-holstered sidearm. She was trying really hard not to lose her temper.

"Inferior?" she asked in a low, simmering voice. "How about I snap off those precious little wings of yours, and we'll see who's inferior?"

But then she remembered her own words, and slowly took the steps to where Feedback pointed.

"Okay." she said, her tone remaining the same. "Now what, scrapheap?"

...

The Lollipop's Corridor

Ironhide groaned as he shook off the impact of hitting the wall. He didn't even register Feedback pushing him off. His whole back and face were hurting. Damn that big Seeker can hit! he thought to himself. He turned over and peered into the cockpit. He saw Vertigo, Feedback, a seemingly unconscious Starscream, and Starfire. He immediately pulled his gun and aimed at Vertigo's back.

"Ya Decepticreeps make one bad move, and yer done!" he said loudly. "Starfire, are ya alright?"

The Bridge of The Lollipop

Rodimus Prime wrote:

"Inferior?" she asked in a low, simmering voice. "How about I snap off those precious little wings of yours, and we'll see who's inferior?"

Feedback's single optic drifted to Starfire. "Touch the wings and I rip off that little face of yours." He growled lowly.

Rodimus Prime wrote:
But then she remembered her own words, and slowly took the steps to where Feedback pointed.

"Okay." she said, her tone remaining the same. "Now what, scrapheap?"

"We want that little line.." He pointed to a display. "To be just above that little line. That is your virtual horizon, and we are no where close to it... meaning we're nose to the ground, though that is obvious to even you. Pull the slider down." He pointed to a touch screen on the panel.

"Meanwhile..." he said tapping vigorously on the panel nearest to him. "I will try to get the radar working... so I can see where we are and where to land."

----

"Hurry-ouch!" Vertigo yelled.

---

The Lollipop's Corridor

Rodimus Prime wrote:
Ironhide groaned as he shook off the impact of hitting the wall.

He immediately pulled his gun and aimed at Vertigo's back.

"Ya Decepticreeps make one bad move, and yer done!" he said loudly. "Starfire, are ya alright?"

Lock On cut his thrusters and aimed for Ironhide as he fell.

He missed the Bot, landing at the edge of the door, inches from Ironhide. He leveled his rifle at the Bot. "Put the gun away, Cranky Old Bot, Feedback and Vertigo are trying to save us, hurt Go, you won'the survive." He warned.

Bridge of The Lollipop

Ironhide stared right back at Lock On, his gun trained on Feedback's back.

"Ya picked the wrong bot to play chicken with." he said evenly. "I've been around so long and seen so many things, I ain't scared to die. The point stands. Feedback makes a bad move towards Starfire, I pull the trigger an' he gets his spark blown through the control panel. Ya pull the trigger on that peashooter, I pull the trigger an' he gets his spark blown through the control panel. Bottom line is, one wrong move by any of ya Cons, he gets his spark blown through the control panel. Ya dig?"

Inside, Starfire was too busy trying to follow Feedback's instructions. She was keeping up, but the shuttle was still nosediving.

"The ground's coming up fast!" she said. "You better know what you're doing, one-eye!"

The Bridge Of The Lollipop


"I become something that flies, I have an intimate and innate knowledge of landing a flying machine, I am one!" Feedback shouted at Starfire. "I land a lot! On tiny things like aircraft carriers as well!"

---

"This just isn't going to be a pretty landing." Vertigo grumbled from below them.

---

Feedback was watching the altimeter, though they were leveling out a bit, they still we're heading for a nose first crash. "Keep trying to level the nose." He said as calmly as possible.

The radar was pretty much out, just weakly sending out a low signal that he could get a limited picture of what was going on. He reached over Starfire's arm so he could steer them a little to port.

---

Lock On smiled wickedly at Ironhide. "I barely know the guy, I don't care what you do to him." He said gesturing to Feedback. "In fact... Vertigo! Is the commander conscious?" He yelled while looking straight at Ironhide. "Because we're close enough to what this planet considers an atmosphere, we could just abandon ship... and Bots."

---

"I'm a bit busy!" Vertigo shouted.

"We're crashin'." Ironhide replied calmly to Lock On. "Ya don't have time to get to the exit and get out."

Inside, Starfire was trying her best to bring the shuttle out of the nose dive, but it wasn't happening fast enough. Suddenly, the entire shuttle began shaking and shuddering.

"Brace yourselves!!!" Starfire screamed, as the ground came up very fast.

The Lollipop was not in a straight dive, but it wasn't level enough to skid to a stop on the ground. It made no difference anyway, as the ground wasn't level. They had the bad fortune of flying into a mountainous range of Mars that was full of peaks, valleys and razor sharp cliffs. The 1st peak the shuttle smashed into with its right front, crumpling the front end and kicking the nose of The Lollipop higher so that now it was gliding more than diving. But the impact also took away a lot of their speed, so now it began dropping once again.

Inside, the impact jarred Starfire away from the console and threw her forward into the monitors, then straight back into the wall. To add insult to injury, Starscream's unconscious body was flung right on top of her.

Ironhide managed to hold on to the doorjamb with one hand through the 1st impact, while he lowered his gun from Feedback and smirked at Lock On.

"Looks like this is it, 'Con." he growled. "See ya on the other side."

He then let go of the door and let the impact carry him down the corridor.

The Lollipop smashed into the side of another tall mountain with its right side once again, finishing what the 1st impact started and completely collapsing the right side of the shuttle. The impact also turned it sideways 90 degrees along its length so now they were flying with the left side on the bottom.

Inside, the 2nd impact threw Starfire down to the left side of the bridge, with Starscream once again following. She didn't know where the other Cons were, but she noticed Starscream's optics began flickering. The impacts had jarred him awake.

The Bridge of The Lollipop

"Uhh..." Starscream groaned as he regained consciousness. "What...the...hell...?"

"WE'RE CRASHING!!!" Starfire screamed right in his face.

"Ah, damn it, not so loud!!! I just...wait...WHAT?!" Starscream replied.

"We're going down!" Starfire repeated. "The shuttle is already crippled, now all we can do his pray to Primus we survive the impact!"

"But we can..." Starscream started to say, but another impact cut him off and threw him across the room, with Starfire following and smashing into him.

"Aaarrgghhh!" Starscream cried out. "Get off me!"

He pushed Starfire off and tried to get to the entrance, but the shuttle's final impact threw him straight back into the console, sending parts and sparks flying everywhere. The shuttle had smashed left-side (which was now the bottom) first into a rocky cliff, and the impact was so powerful it snapped the shuttle in half. The back half of she shuttle, with the cargo bay and the engine thrusters, down where Ironhide now was, bounced back up and over the mountain on which the cliff was. The front end, with the bridge and everyone else in it, dove nose-first into the side of the mountain, which to their luck was a little softer. The Lollipop's nose dug up the loose sand and gravel as it carved a line into the mountainside. Finally when it hit the harder rocky lower parts of the mountain, it flipped over and came to rest with a hard slam onto its topside. Inside, everything was now upside down.

...

The last flip of the shuttle front flung Pipes, who was still unconscious, out of the shuttle, and his prone body crashed into the rocks at the foot of the mountain. His right arm and left leg were severed, and his entire chest seemed pulverized.

...

Starfire banged around in the control room, until she finally hooked the door frame, just in time for the final flip, at which time she herself was flung outside. She saw Pipes' prone body go flying, but there was nothing she could do, as she had to worry about herself. Not being able to fly, she had to time it just right if she were to escape without serious injury. She braced herself, and when she thought it was the right moment, she transformed into her motorcycle mode and activated her engine's boosters. The extra speed allowed her to hit the side of the mountain with her tires and not lose her balance. Still, she wasn't fully in control and began wobbling anyway. As she made it around some rocks, she tried to slow down as much as she could. After a few seconds, she transformed and tumbled to the bottom of the mountain. A bit banged up, but otherwise unhurt, she groaned and pushed herself up. She had to go find Pipes.

...

In the shuttle's wreckage, Starscream was sprawled out on the floor (which used to be the ceiling). Over him was the wreck that used to be the control console. Bits and pieces of it were dropping down onto Starscream. As he looked around for the others, he heard a groaning from above, followed by metal tearing. The larger pieces of the console were coming loose and were going to crush him if he didn't move.

...

On the other side of the mountain, the back end of the shuttle careened down the side of the mountain, shredding and ripping as it slid and tumbled through the rocky terrain. Finally, it came to a stop at the foot of the mountain, nothing but a torn and tortured hunk of metal. Inside, Ironhide was crumpled up in a corner, upside down with his feet hanging down into his face. He was unconscious.

The Cockpit of The Lollipop

Lock on didn't want to admit it, but Ironhide was right. He has no time to get out and the Autobot knew they shared the same fate.

He frowned as Ironhide dropped down the corridor. Looking back into the bridge, he maneuvered himself closer to Vertigo and Feedback as the shuttle nm pitched and lurched and crashed.

---

Vertigo slid from under the console despite his attempts to hang on. Power be damned, he knew as he detected bodies flying all over the cockpit there was no point in trying to control the ship.

He flopped as the shuttle flipped sending him careening into Feedback first, crashing them into the incoming Lock On, before coming to a rest with a lout crunch and thump.

---

Between the sparks and pops from the wreckage, Feedback noticed the movement of the equipment as well, the sickening groan of the metal making him cringe.

"Can anyone move? Because we should move." He moaned.

On The Mountainside

Starfire knelt down next to Pipes, whose prone body was a mangled mess. She was able to find both his leg and arm, though reattaching them was impossible. She had neither the equipment nor the skills to do it. With all due respect to First Aid, only Ratchet would be capable of fixing this she thought. He was small enough to be scooped up even by her and she began walking with the body towards the back half of the shuttle which landed not far from her. She hoped Ironhide would be either inside it or at least near it. She couldn't afford to lose both her fellow Autobots. Not against 4 Decepticon seekers.

...

Bridge of The Lollipop

Starscream rolled out of the way just as a large section of the control station gave way and crashed down next to him. He didn't make a sound, instead got up slowly and surveyed the area. The other 3 were still around, still functioning. But were they still willing to listen? Starscream knew that if they turned on him for whatever reason, he couldn't hold his own against all 3 of them. Especially the big one. He stared at Lock On, anxiously waiting what the seeker's next word or movement was going to be.

Bridge of what is left of The Lollipop

"Never let an Autobot land a shuttle." Feedback's voice said from under debris.

Lock On just groaned and Vertigo could.be heard swearing softly.

The Ass End of The Lollipop

Starfire carried Pipes' prone body inside the mangled cargo hold of The Lollipop. The outside was crumpled and torn, but the inside was still in one piece, more or less. It wouldn't stand up to an assault from the Decepticons, but it was minimal temporary shelter until they could figure something out.

As she was setting down the unconscious Pipes, Ironhide groaned as he came around. He rolled backwards and once on his hands and knees, tried to stand up. His systems were still in the process of rebooting, so he wasn't stable. He held onto the wall as he stood slowly.

"Uhh..." he groaned again. "That...was fun."

"Are you together?" Starfire asked. "We need to assess the situation quickly, before those 'Cons recover as well, and come after us. We should..."

"Whoa...WHOA!" Ironhide interrupted. "One thing at a time, young lady. How is Pipes?"

"Young...what?" Starfire asked. "Pipes...he's done. I mean, he's not dead, but he's in stasis lock. He's no longer functioning. and unless we get rescued, he will stay that way. His spark didn't suffer any damage, but he won't come out of it without..."

"I know what stasis lock means!" Ironhide snapped at her.

"Oh...yeah...I know..." she answered timidly.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I wasn't tryin' to be mean, it's just...this whole situation is a bit weird. An' that's comin' from someone who's seen it all."

"I know...starting with how we ended up on the shuttle...and what about Arcee? I hope she's alright...wherever she is."

"Hopefully she stayed on the Autobot ship." Ironhide said as he walked to Starfire and Pipes. "But now we have to get ready. Like ya said, the 'Cons could be on us at any moment."

---

Pseudo-bridge of The Pseudo-Lollipop

Starscream looked at all 3 of the others. He was trying to assess the situation, but they weren't giving him much to go on. They weren't very talkative. This was a weird bunch, for sure, Starscream thought. Skywarp and Thundercracker had their quirks, and the coneheads were...just weird, but these newer seekers are out there. Were they still allied to him? Starscream wasn't sure, and he didn't know how to approach the situation. All he knew was he couldn't show any weakness now.

But as his systems finished rebooting, he realized that's exactly what he had. Weakness. There was something wrong with him. His internal systems were giving him a warning. He wouldn't be able to fly.

What's Left of The Lollipop's Bridge

Lock On sat up finally, shaking off some of the debris that had fallen on him. He looked around. Fantastic, this place was a mess and there were Autobots lurking around out there that weren't exactly happy with them.

"Hey, Go." He said to Vertigo. "What we do now? We're crashed on some dumb planet with some dumb Autobots."



"Very eloquent assessment." Feedback muttered towards Lock On and he shifted carefully through the debris looking for his faceplate.



"Shut up, one eye." Lock On growled back. "We need off this rock."



Vertigo sighed. "Well, except for Commander Starscream, we lack the ability to leave this planet's gravitational pull." He pointed out. He looked to Starscream. He figured the Air Commander would leave them behind, honestly, he wouldn't blame Starscream for doing just that. "I guess my first suggestion to Commander Starscream would be to scout for the Autobots. Fortunately for us... we have surveillance drones." He brushed the dust off the drones mounted under his wings with a small smile.