Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Decepticon destroyer Burning Justice

Within the privacy of the captain's quarters, Scourge found the subspace frequency already primed for his use. With a couple of simple access codes, he was directly linked with the Commander of the Second Expansion Fleet.

>>"Lord Scorponok, I bring news. I have tracked Omega Supreme to the Sol system. The limited Decepticon intelligence I have been able to access indicates this was a major front for the initiation of Megatron's latest infiltration protocol. I have every reason to believe his final destination will be Sol-3 and reuniting with the Prime and the other Autobots in this region. My forces will intercept and cripple the Omega Guardian soon."<<
___

Combat Shuttle Longevity--Bridge

When Sunstreaker had inserted himself into Sandstorm's operations, the recon expert just smirked and stood back. Odds are the goldenrod wanted to get to their objective just as quickly as he did.

When the screen flipped to a close-up view of Omega Supreme, Sandstorm's vocalizer dropped just a little again. He really was looking at living history.

"Sandstorm. Adjust sensor frequency to Lam El Four Seven. Filter with known impulse ion signatures. Getting some readings that aren't registering as 'naturally occurring'."

"Aye...'captain'," Sandstorm scoffed, but still did as requested. "Hmm...hard to tell what they could be. I'll keep an eye on them-wait-something else coming through..."

>>”Yes! Yes, I can hear you! This is Rung, Autobot Psy-Ops Specialist. Omega has slipped into stasis. We’re here after escaping from Garrus 9. We believe we may have been followed by Decepticons,”<< Rung's voice echoed once more through the cabin.

>>"We read you, Rung. We're on your starboard now, I think. Anyway, we're about to dock and board. Don't shoot, please. We'll have you out of there in a microklik."<<

Sandstorm then turned to the others.

"He thinks they're being followed by 'Cons," he said, looking over at the rogue signatures Sunstreaker had pointed out, tapping the console idly. "I bet that's them."

Autobot Shuttle Longevity – Combat Casualty Care Unit

The beast-former stirred within his CR chamber as the nanite-rich fluid drained through a port hole in the bottom of the unit. His optics came to life in a crimson glow as the CR door slid open with a hiss. It had been a long healing cycle for the Autobot tracker. The second one, in fact, having left the first CR cycle too soon in order to get back into battle. That had been a mistake, but thankfully not a deadly one. Now, he was fully repaired and ready for the next mission, or whatever assignment he would be given, if any at all.

Howlstrike stepped forth from the CR chamber and out into the CCCU. His optics scanned the room and found it to be completely empty. All other patients and medical personnel were gone, having been transferred off the shuttle and likely onto one of the two Autobot vessels in orbit, either the Ark-22 or the Guardian, depending on which ship the Longevity had docked with. The former Predacon let out an angry sigh. It seems I have been forgotten again, Howl thought inwardly, not really being surprised as many 'bots still did not trust him or view him as one of their own. His Predacon past would forever haunt him, leaving him with few real friends besides Kup and now....

“Blindside!” Howlstrike exclaimed as he glanced over to the only other remaining CR chamber in the room. Apparently, the tracker wasn’t the only one left behind as this CR unit was still functioning with the disabled mech secured within. Perhaps it had nothing to do with Howl’s past. Maybe they were just the unlucky ones to pick CR chambers located in a far off corner of the CCCU and were simply missed. After the battle with the Fallen, things had been pretty chaotic within the casualty care unit. It would’ve been easy to miss a CR chamber or two.

The former Predacon stepped up close to Blindside’s CR chamber and peered in through the small, square window on the top half of the door. “There you are!” Howlstrike stated plainly as he began pounding on the outside of the unit. “Hey, wake up, Blindy!! Rise and shine already!! I think your goose-bot is done cooking. Hahahah!!”

Howlstrike’s laughter was cut short when he felt a sudden reverberation course through the shuttle followed by the unmistakable sound of a docking boon connecting with another vessel. That’s strange, the tracker thought as he stepped back and away from Blindside’s CR unit. We can’t just be docking with either the Ark-22 or the Guardian. Everyone would still be in here waiting to disembark. What the frag is going on?

Allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, Howlstrike left the CCCU and headed towards the front of the Autobot shuttle where he could here the sounds of several mechs talking. Not being able to immediately ascertain who they were, the former Predacon drew out his energo sword just in case a group of Decepticons had managed to steal the Longevity. If that was the case, they would soon be in for a rude surprise.

Autobot Shuttle Longevity – Bridge

Howlstrike stopped at the threshold of the bridge and looked inside. It quickly became obvious that Decepticons had not hijacked the shuttle and it was just a squad of his fellow Autobots at the controls. Why they were still in here was another matter and where they were exactly was also a question that needed to be answered. However, before the former Predacon made himself known to the others, he quietly put away his energo blade and stepped through the doorway onto the bridge, pausing at the very back.

The Autobot hunter glanced around at all who were present. Springer, Sandstorm, Noise and Graphy were all ‘bots he recognized. Arclight, however, was a new face he was not familiar with. Howlstrike hadn’t met that many femmes in his time with the Autobots, and the ones he did mostly shied away from him as he could be more than just a little imposing and intimidating. Maybe this one would be different and give him a chance that so many other mechs declined to do. Wishful thinking on the tracker’s part.

Howlstrike’s optics then settled on the final pair of Autobots on the bridge - the twins. Terrific, those fraggers are here, the former Predacon thought as the sight of both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe filled his optical sensors. It had been a long time since Howl had last found himself in their not-so-wonderful company, and it had not gone very well to say the least. That past encounter happened way back before all of the Fallen slag went down and even before the tracker left to go on the mission to revitalize Cybertron.

The whole mess had occurred in the medical bay on the Ark-19, before it was taken by the Dinobots, where the twins had gotten into a fight with each other. Kup and Howlstrike tried to break things up, but it only made matters worse as both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe turned their aggressions away from one another and on to the former Predacon. Being a Decepticon reject made Howl a prime target for their hostility. There was a brief fight between the twins and Howlstrike, but in the end Kup stepped in and broke things up. Ultimately, everyone went their separate ways with Howl eventually leaving the system for Cybertron.

Now, the tracker was back in another enclosed space with the twins, and he was sure that both would remember their little altercation and likely give him a hard time. Unfortunately, Kup was not present to help keep Howlstrike from losing control of his anger. The former Predacon would have to keep himself in check this time and avoid another unnecessary mess. Regardless, he wasn’t afraid of either Sunstreaker or Sideswipe. Howl could dish it out as good as he could take it. Bring on their stupid quips and insults. The hunter would be ready with baited breath.

Stepping further into the cabin, Howlstrike cleared his throat loudly as a way to announce his presence to everyone. “So, what the frag is going on around here? I wake up from a CR nap and everybody’s gone but you guys. Where are we?” The Autobot tracker then focused his optics on the forward view screen. “Wait, what ship is that out there? Is that....Omega Supreme!?”

Shuttle Longevity – Bridge

It didn’t bother her that Sunstreaker distinctly ignored her. No. Arclight was above that. And the feeling was quite reciprocated. It was only when he made the comment:

"You know, if you four had spent more time actually narrowing down those comm signals to a proper point of origin, instead of diving down memory file lane for the sake of someone not versed in modern mythology, we would have already been docking with Omega Supreme by now."

-did she get a touch miffed. Arclight drew out a little mini-wrench and began to twirl it around in one hand as Sunstreaker flew them into docking position with the apparently famed omega sentinel. She leaned over to get a look. Was a kinda…small ship. Hrm. Was Omega inside? Arclight’s optics flicked over to Sunstreaker. Well, she wasn’t going to ask that question quite yet. With the slight thump of the shuttle docking with the somewhat larger craft, Arclight seized her opportunity.

She grabbed her mini-wrench, and with a little flick of her wrist, Arclight sent it spiraling through the air…at Sunstreaker’s head. Whoops, Arclight thought, turning back to her station very innocently while trying to hide the smile tugging at her lips.

>>”Yes! Yes, I can hear you! This is Rung, Autobot Psy-Ops Specialist. Omega has slipped into stasis. We’re here after escaping from Garrus 9. We believe we may have been followed by Decepticons,”<<

Arclight burst out into a genuine smile when she heard the reply over the comms. She was about to handle the response when Sandstorm took the honors. Just as well. He handled it better than she could have. She hopped up from her seat, turning to Sandstorm at the mention of Decepticon pursuers. “We should probably book it then. Bring Rung, Omega, and whoever else might be onboard and just go? It’d be easier than towing this ship along with us,” she suggested.

“So, what the frag is going on around here? I wake up from a CR nap and everybody’s gone but you guys. Where are we?”

The weapons engineer turned at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Huh. There was a mech she didn’t really recognize. Arclight smiled and waved at him regardless. “We were out here to do some weapons testing, but found a weird signal, which turned out to be-“

“Wait, what ship is that out there? Is that....Omega Supreme!?”

“Well, he…” Arclight’s optics narrowed momentarily. Why would Howlstrike think that a ship was Omega Supreme unless…? Her jaw dropped. Arclight hastily zipped over to the forward view screen with optics as round as disks. “THAT SHIP IS OMEGA SUPREME?! He’s! He’s…! Ginormous!” Arclight pointed looking back at the others. “That’s amazing! I’m…I’m at a loss…”

Arclight frowned slightly when she saw a fist rise up behind Howlstrike’s head. It bonked into the back of it as a weary looking flier with…no optics…slung himself over his friends shoulder.

“You’re a goose-bot…” Blindside mumbled groggily. He narrowed his optics as he tried to process what he had heard. “Wait…” He scanned the room his sonar. These were bots he mostly recognized, but the rest of the shuttle was deserted. The tactician moved over to the wall, sending a sonic pulse through it as well as using radar to detect nearby objects. No…that wasn’t the Guardian or Ark-22.

Blindside darted over to Howlstrike, moving to grab his friend by the chest plating. “Howl, where the frag are we?! Where’s Vee?! I have to get to him!” Blindside shouted, giving Howl a little shake as he spoke. He looked at the others, releasing Howlstrike, “What the frag is going on?!”

Autobot Shuttle Longevity – Bridge

Howlstrike didn’t really take notice of Arclight when she waved at him like a protoform still wet behind the audios or when she mentioned the reasoning for them all being out in space for weapons testing. No, the former Predacon’s focus remained on Omega Supreme whom the Longevity was now docked with. The image of the massive Autobot was a sight to behold and not many Autobots got to see him up close like this. As for Decepticons it was usually the last thing they saw before becoming one with the Allspark. So, for the tracker, it was a true privilege as before this moment he had only seen archival video footage of the Autobot giant.

It wasn’t until the weapons engineer suddenly hurried over to the forward view screen and realized that the vessel outside was Omega Supreme that Howlstrike finally noticed her. The femme seemed genuinely surprised by this realization as though she had no idea that Omega turned into a space rocket. “Of course that’s Omega Supreme,” Howlstrike responded to Arclight with a shake of his head. “Who else would it be? He’s an Omega Guardian and quite massive and powerful. And if you think he looks impressive now, just wait until you see his base and robot modes. Your jaw will really drop then. Heh.”

A quick bump to the back of Howlstrike’s cranial unit drew his attention away from the silly femme as the newly awakened Blindside swung his arm over the former Predacon’s shoulders, calling him a goose-bot in the process. “Hit me in the back of my head again and see what happens to you, no-eyes,” the hunter said with a deep growl as the sightless tactician quickly moved away to a nearby wall. Blindside seemed to be doing something, but Howl wasn’t sure what it was. It appeared as though the disabled mech was trying to ‘see’ the wall, but of course that couldn’t be the case. Probably sending out that sonar of his to ascertain his immediate environment. What else could it be, after all?

Once Blindside was done he rushed back over to Howlstrike and grabbed the former Predacon by his chest plate, demanding to know where they were and where Veneer was. The tactician shook the hunter for a moment before releasing him and turning back towards the others wanting to know what was going on. “What’s going on is you’re losing control of yourself, Blindy!” Howlstrike yelled, grabbing a hold of Blindside by both shoulders and yanking him back towards the wolf-former. “Now, get a grip! We’re on the Longevity still, something about weapons testing and now they’ve found Omega Supreme. I don’t know much else since I, too, just woke up. As for Veneer, I’m sure he’s fine back on the Guardian with Ratchet and the other medics seeing to his care. Regardless, there’s nothing you can do about it right now except wait until we get back.”

After a few astroseconds, Howlstrike let go of Blindside once he had determined that the sightless mech had calmed down some. “Now, I suggest you control yourself before I sic this little femme over here on you,” the former Predacon said with a straight faceplate, motioning towards the weapons engineer. “Don’t let her size fool you. She can rip you apart with her bare hands if she so desires. Isn’t that right, sweetspark?” Howl asked as he glanced over at Arclight with a wry smile and a knowing wink before returning his attention to Blindside. Hopefully, a little infusion of humor would help keep the disabled Autobot from freaking out again, or it would make matters worse.

Shuttle Longevity--Bridge

Sandstorm looked at the others, including the newly-arrived Howlstrike, and absorbed their conversations while also thinking about the situation they were facing. It was tricky to figure out what exactly they should do. He stepped back from the console and allowed himself to think. It seemed like they had more than one option but he wasn't sure which was the best. Fortunately, he wasn't in charge, so that wasn't really his problem either.

"Wait...we're docked with the big guy now, and I know I told Rung we'd rescue them and bring 'em over here...but what about the big guy? We obviously can't just leave Omega here for whatever space-faring creepies happen to come across him, to say nothing of the likelihood that he's going to be swarmed by Decepticons at any point. So....I dunno. What do we do? Do we have enough energy on board to to give him a jumpstart? We gonna tow him back to Earth?"

Decepticon destroyer--Burning Justice

Scourge's gaze intensified, staring so intently at the comm array that if he were possessed of such abilities, he would have incinerated it. The silence was truly deafening. But also only temporary.

>>”Excellent news Scourge. Keep me updated on your progress. If Prime intervenes, do not risk your men for naught and call for reinforcements.”<<

Indeed. He and the High Commander were thinking along the same lines. Scourge had no intention of allowing the Prime to intervene. His assault on the damaged Omega Guardian would be so swift and thorough that by the time Optimus Prime got wind of it, it would be too late and the Aequitas Core would be in their possession once more.

>>”And while you are at it, reach out for the Decepticons forces in the system. I wish to have a word with lord Megatron. After all, we have some good news to share for once. And Cyclonus. Have Fortress Maximus brought to Amphitheater to witness first hand what his failure in defending Garrus-9 allowed us to gain.”<<

>>"It will be done,"<< was Scourge's curt but efficient response as he stood to depart the command quarters. Stepping onto the bridge once more, his priorities were clear.

"Establish a new Priority-1 transmission link, this time with Megatron's lieutenant--Soundwave. He will be the one most capable of receiving it and overriding any local interference."

The Sweep Decay tapped a few new commands on his console before turning back to Scourge.

"Link established, Tracker."

>>Decepticon Soundwave--this is Chief Huntsman Scourge, from High Commander Scorponok's Second Expansion Fleet. The High Commander requests a direct connection with Lord Megatron, Slagmaker of Tarn and Emperor of Destruction."<<

Longevity - Bridge

So much was happening all around the green and yellow Triplechanger that it was almost hard to focus on one specific thing at a time. Wouldn't be a Wrecker if he wasn't used to this level of chaos though.

"Arclight, take Howlstrike and Blinders through the boon and try getting the big guy back up and running. The Longevity should have been filled to the brim with spare fuel, so give all we can to Omega Supreme without running us completely dry."

"What about us then?" Sideswiped interjected as he swiveled in his chair. "We gonna sit around and twiddle our actuators while whatever chased Omega across the galaxy homes in on our signature?"

"Until we pull whomever is trapped inside Omega Supreme there aren't many options for us. Last case scenario, we break off with him and distract whatever is out there while he gets refueled." Springer gazed over towards the rescue party. "So we better make this snappy."

Longevity--Bridge

"Real snappy," Sandstorm said, adding on to the chatter that was happening between Springer and Sideswipe.

"Those weird signals I picked up don't appear to be on any kind of intercept vector--yet."

Sandstorm gently massaged the temples of his cranial unit. He could feel an ache coming on.

"But we all know that could change in a microsecond."

Autobot Shuttle Longevity – Bridge

“Of course that’s Omega Supreme,” Howlstrike responded to Arclight with a shake of his head. “Who else would it be? He’s an Omega Guardian and quite massive and powerful. And if you think he looks impressive now, just wait until you see his base and robot modes. Your jaw will really drop then. Heh.”

Arclight’s optics practically turned into disks the moment Howlstrike mentioned other modes. Her green optics lit up and she glanced out at Omega Supreme almost adoringly. This was the best cycle of her life. She was meeting a Cybertronian legend! Ooh! The engineer bet he was old! Maybe old enough to even know Caminus herself. She had so many questions. Arclight whipped out a datapad and began to type them frantically out on it.

“What’s going on is you’re losing control of yourself, Blindy!”

“Huh?” Arclight paused a moment in her question scribbling to glance over to Howlstrike once more. The mech with no optics was freaking out for some reason. Hm. She supposed waking up someplace other than where you thought you would was a little jarring but certainly nothing that warranted that reaction.

“Now, get a grip! We’re on the Longevity still, something about weapons testing and now they’ve found Omega Supreme. I don’t know much else since I, too, just woke up. As for Veneer, I’m sure he’s fine back on the Guardian with Ratchet and the other medics seeing to his care. Regardless, there’s nothing you can do about it right now except wait until we get back.”

Blindside’s initial panic ebbed slowly as he focused in on what Howlstrike was saying. He stopped struggling and stood still, lifting an actuator to his face to cover it. Yes. As long as Veneer was with Ratchet and the others, he was in good hands. Blindside shook his head, disappointed in himself. He was better than that, yet he had gone and lost his head.

“Now, I suggest you control yourself before I sic this little femme over here on you,” the former Predacon said with a straight faceplate, motioning towards the weapons engineer. “Don’t let her size fool you. She can rip you apart with her bare hands if she so desires. Isn’t that right, sweetspark?”

Arclight pointed to herself as Howlstrike indicated her, looking as taken aback as one could be. However, the former Predacon’s wry smile and wink informed her that he wasn’t being quite serious. Arclight grinned evilly as Blindside seemed to glance over to her. She didn’t know if the tactician could see it, so she decided to add in a little derisive jab as well.

“Oh, yesssss,” Arclight hissed out with a diabolical chuckle before folding her arms over her chest, trying to appear disdainful, “You’d best watch yourself.”

“I guess I better keep myself in line then,” Blindside replied, glancing at Howl with a wry smile, “I wouldn’t want to arouse the wrath of that little femme.” It was a fairly swift recovery from his earlier rather drastic freak out. To be honest, Blindside was a touch ashamed of himself. Still. It was best not to linger on it.

In the spirit of that, Blindside lightly punched Howl in the shoulder and smiled, “Thanks, Howl.”

"Arclight, take Howlstrike and Blinders through the boon and try getting the big guy back up and running. The Longevity should have been filled to the brim with spare fuel, so give all we can to Omega Supreme without running us completely dry."

“Aye-aye, Springer,” Arclight quipped, hopping to attention almost immediately with a big smile plastered on her faceplate. She was so excited. She was going aboard Omega Supreme! Ooooh, she wondered what kind of things made him tick. “Hehe…”

Blindside glanced over to the little teal femme that was supposed to take them through the boon with something of an exhausted smile. She was practically radiating excitement and energy. It was a little draining to even look at, yet also a bit refreshing. “Ahem. Shall we be going then, Arclight?”

“Ah!” Arclight perked up, looking over to Howlstrike and Blindside. “Yes! Let’s go!” Marching toward the pair, she pointed forward toward the bridge exit. As she reached them, she bounced on her heel struts and tried to wrangle the pair with both arms to push them toward the door. “Hurry, hurry! I can’t wait!”

Autobot Shuttle Longevity – Bridge

At first, Arclight’s response took Howlstrike a bit by surprise as she agreed with the former Predacon’s assertion that she was, in fact, dangerous and hissed that Blindside better watch himself, letting out a diabolical laugh that sounded almost demonic. The Autobot hunter turned and cast the tiny, evil sounding femme a quizzical look, but quickly realized that she understood the joke and was simply playing along. “Indeed,” Howl muttered, impressed with Arclight’s acting ability before returning his attention to the sightless mech.

Blindside commented that he best keep himself in line in order to avoid the wrath of the devilish femme. The disabled tactician seemed to be in on the joke now, as well, giving Howlstrike a light punch to his shoulder plate. The wolf-former glanced down at the spot where his friend “hit” him and then looked back up at Blindside, returning the love tap with a slightly more powerful punch to the jet-former’s own shoulder. “You’re welcome, Blindy. Heh.”

Springer then interrupted their friendly little exchange with new orders for Arclight to take Howlstrike and Blindside over to Omega Supreme and help get him up and running again. There was the mention of plenty of spare fuel that could be used to get the job done. The small femme was all too eager to get started, marching towards the former Predacon and the sightless mech in an attempt to wrangle the pair with both of her tiny arms.

“Are you seriously trying to push me towards the door?” Howlstrike asked Arclight as he peered down at her. The weapons engineer gave it all she had, but Howl’s big frame didn’t move an inch. “You know, you remind me of a pet cyber-rat I once had. He was kinda pushy, too, especially when he wanted food. Things didn’t end well for him, I’m afraid,” the Autobot hunter said, keeping his optics fixated on Arclight. “I got hungry, myself, during a long mission and ended up eating him. Heh.” Howl then leaned down towards the tiny femme and gave her a wide, tooth-filled grin. “He was delicious!”

A deep chuckle escaped Howlstrike’s vocalizer as he stood back up to his full height and returned his gaze to Blindside. “Now, let’s get over to the big guy before those 'Cons out there find us, shall we?” Not waiting for a response from either ‘bot, the wolf-former took the lead and exited the bridge.

Longevity – Docking Boon

Traversing the combat shuttle didn’t take very long and before anyone knew it, Howlstrike and his two compatriots were down at the docking boon. Wasting no time, the former Predacon entered the tunnel and quickly approached the closed hatch of Omega Supreme. Howl stopped directly in front of the locked door before glancing back over his shoulder at both Arclight and Blindside. “I guess I should knock, huh?”

Howlstrike then returned his attention back to the hatch and immediately began banging on the grey metal with his right fist. When no response came within a few astroseconds, the wolf-former started pounding on the hatch harder. “Hey! Open up in there! Nothing to be afraid of out here! Just us blind tacticians, tiny femmes and former Predacons wanting to pay you guys a visit!” The impatient hunter resumed banging on the hatch and would continue to do so until someone inside the Omega Guardian finally responded.

Autobot Shuttle Longevity: Bridge

Sunstreaker optics barely shifted downward at the foot of his work station, at the small metallic silver crescent moon shape of a bolt knocker's wrench as it peered out from underneath his foot where it had skittered after impacting with his glorious finish. Anger seethed just beneath the surface, not at the instrument's audacity to dare touch his premier and pristine polish, but at the engineer who... his tactical computer had confirmed, dared to damage. The warrior thirsted now for revenge as he ran a comprehensive diagnostic on his paint job, if he found even the slightest molecule of paint chipped, hell would be raised and...

The diagnostic was half way completed when the doors leading towards the passenger cabins shifted and retracted back into their respective bulkheads. Through them a familiar rank odor pervaded and invaded Sunstreaker's olfactory sensors, to the point that it almost knocked his self diagnostic protocols for a loop and forced them to reset. Sunstreaker barely broke his gaze at the tactical console, shifting his optics away from the wrench on the ground and glancing towards the doors where the turncoat and the blind one entered.

"Oh great, if this trip didn't need to get more crowded. Now we have wet canine to deal with." He shifted his icy glare at his brother. "This is all your fault Sideswipe," he said in a low voice so that only his twin could hear... and maybe Howlstrike's superior hearing... but 'Streaker didn't really care.

Instead of waiting for his brother to defend the actions that had lead to their current situation, of rather watching Prowl and Grimlock rend each other limb from proverbial limb, he instead returned his attention towards Howlstrike. "Well look who crawled out of the kennel. Surprised you didn't go running back to Razorclaw with that mechano tail between your actuators there Barky. So long as you're on board, try not to mark the furniture... this thing's a rental and I don't wanna hear Magnus complain about the pet stains."

Sunstreaker's diagnostic completed itself with an internal beep and flooded the H.U.D. in his left optic with the appurtenant information regarding the impact site where Arclight's wrench had connected. A small micro scratch was discovered around where the edge had first collided with his finish. It may have been nearly microscopic but to 'Streaker it was an unforgivable blemish that required immediate retribution.

As Springer began dividing the now bolstered crew, Sunstreaker forced a back door access to the bulkhead door controls. He entered a few commands into the door's sensors, uploading a sensor profile of Arclight into the system. He them set the sensors to trigger an immediate closure of the doors through out the ship every time the engineer walked up to the threshold. The first time the weapon's designer would cross the threshold, in theory the doors would close on her, pinning her in between them until a pressure sensor triggered and they were forced open... Sunstreaker adjusted the timer on those sensors as well, changing them from immediate release to a good thirty seconds. Through out the rest of the long range shuttle, doors would simply close in her face. After Sunstreaker was finished with his temporary modifications, he backed out of the sub files and covered his tracks before securing the subsystem.

He then brought up a tactical display of the surrounding ice field of frozen interstellar bodies. The warrior plotted the detected sensor ion signature on the screen and pivoted in his chair to face the ship master. "Soon as those three are off the ship and survivors are thrown into whatever kennel, the mecha flea factory crawled out of, I recommend we use our thrusters and get the big lug into a stable orbit over one of the larger ice cubes. Once that's done, we disengage and go hunting."

Decepticon destroyer Burning Justice--Bridge

"Still nothing, Tracker. We're getting interference. I can't work around it."

Scourge stood at the rail just in front of the captain's chair, his crimson claws digging small indentations into the steel.

Interference? From what? There would be few things that could interfere with a Priority-1 signal when it involved a fleet commander and Megatron. Something was off...

"Increase our velocity to Sol-3. Keep scanning for those ion signatures I showed you earlier. Eventually Omega Supreme's trail will reveal itself, the closer we get. And find a way to override that interference," Scourge growled.

Longevity – Bridge

“You’re welcome, Blindy. Heh.” Blindside chuckled and lightly rubbed the spot where Howl had punched him in the shoulder. Not enough to actually hurt, but it was notably more forceful than Blindside’s own punch. Hm. It was then that the femme tried to herd the two larger Autobots toward the door. Blindside merely stared down at her, mildly amused, glancing over to Howl to see his reaction.

“Are you seriously trying to push me towards the door?”

Arclight looked up at the pair that she was trying to push to no avail. As Howl spun the woeful tale of his pet cyber-rat, the weapon’s engineer faceplate fell almost into a very sad pout with almost comical speed. “But…it’s Omega Supreme…” Arclight glanced to the side and away. “Even though I just learned that he existed…He sounds and looks amazing!” Arclight flailed her arms around. “I need to meet him! Now! Please?”

Blindside uttered a soft sigh. The teal femme’s energy was exhausting him for some reason. It had been a while since he’d been around someone quite this excitable. He inclined his head slightly toward Howlstrike as his friend returned his gaze to the blind tactician.

“Now, let’s get over to the big guy before those 'Cons out there find us, shall we?”

“Yes, let’s get moving,” Blindside concurred, falling into step slightly to the side and behind his friend.

Arclight simply looked at the two larger mechs who, for the most part, had ignored her after teasing her thoroughly. “W-Wait for me!” She trotted after them through the doors only to get suddenly stricken by something. It was a moment before she realized that it was the door. “Huh?” Wiggling around a bit, she fought futilely against the door’s tight hold on her.

“Uhh…I…” Arclight muttered after a moment too long had passed. The doors should have opened by now. Why hadn’t they opened by now? “Help?” she called out a bit pitifully to Blindside and Howlstrike. The former paused in his stride without looking back at the weapons engineer. “I’m stuck…”

Blindside turned half-way, head angling around to stare with two empty optical sockets. It was kind of unnerving. The tactician looked a little creepy without any optics. Oh, but maybe that was a mean thing to think. After all, Arclight knew that probably hadn’t been his choice. As Blindside moved to assist her, the doors abruptly opened, causing the weapons engineer to tumble out of them awkwardly, hopping on one foot to catch herself.

Seeing the problem had resolved itself, Blindside merely turned back around to catch up with Howlstrike. Arclight followed…but a door instantly shut in her face, causing her to smack her face into it. “Ow…what in the name of Solus Prime…?” She tried to get the door to open again, but couldn’t seem to manage it. It was then she began to be suspicious. The doors hadn’t had an odd agenda against her earlier.

While she was fiddling with it, the door hissed open, revealing Blindside staring down at her accusingly.

“It’s not me!” Arclight exclaimed defensively.

“Do we need to hold your hand and guide you around like a protoform?” he asked somewhat coldly.

“Don’t you…!” Arclight choked on her comeback. She was so frustrated. “Just! Let’s go!”

Slipping through the open door as it shut immediately behind her, she jogged to catch up to Howlstrike. She placed a hand on his back, huddling close to him, eyeing the doors suspiciously. Blindside followed behind silently.

Docking Boon

Arclight remained huddled up close behind Howlstrike as the former Predacon approached the locked hatch leading to what must be the inside of Omega Supreme.

“I guess I should knock, huh?”

“It might save the occupants from a minor spark attack,” Blindside replied. Wasting no time, Howlstrike got right to work. He sure was giving that hatch a beatdown. Blindside wondered vaguely if Omega could actually feel it. The blind tactician’s mind drifted toward the injured nurse with some worry. No. It was pointless worrying himself about Veneer now. All he need to be concerned about was returning to the nurse safely.

“Hey! Open up in there! Nothing to be afraid of out here! Just us blind tacticians, tiny femmes and former Predacons wanting to pay you guys a visit!”

“Well, at last two of those three things sound relatively harmless,” Blindside commented, looking over to Howlstrike, “But we both know the truth behind the door-challenged tiny terror.”

“I’m not tiny!” Arclight protested, “You two are just freakishly huge. And I’m not door-challenged either…I have a sneaking suspicion…”

Omega Supreme

Rung let out a relieved sigh as he stood from his spot in front of the terminal and worked his way to stand beside Streamlight who was now slumped in his chair. The young guard slowly looked up at him and smiled lightly. “I hope they get here soon because we’re out of fuel. We’re pretty much dead in space.” He shrugged and attempted to straighten up, but Rung’s hand kept him down. “Just relax. You did really well, Streamlight.”

The psychiatrist looked over his shoulder at the door. “I’m sure they’ll be here any minute.”

“Hey! Open up in there! Nothing to be afraid of out here! Just us blind tacticians, tiny femmes and former Predacons wanting to pay you guys a visit!”

“That didn’t take long at all.” Streamlight said as he stood up. Rung smiled and followed the guard to the door. “No, it wasn’t” He pressed his hand to the control panel but nothing happened.
“We’re gonna have to pull it open.” Streamlight said while he positioned himself on one side of the door. Rung followed suit but on the opposite side. The little orange ‘Bot wrest his digits into the seam of the door while Streamlight did the same with his one remaining hand.

“Ready? On three. One! Two! Thhhhhreee!” Both mechs pulled and slowly the doors spread apart. Once the space was large enough Streamlight squeezed his body between the doors and pushed with his back.

“Welcome aboard.” He said to Howlstrike, Blindside and Arclight as he braced the door open.

Docking Boon / Omega Supreme

Howlstrike’s pounding on Omega Supreme’s hatch door grew louder and more intense with every passing astrosecond as Sunstreaker’s spiteful words reverberated through his processor. The former Predacon had clearly heard the golden rod’s taunts when he was back on the bridge, but the wolf-former chose to ignore him at the time. Instead, he remained calm and focused on his friend, Blindside, as well as Springer’s new orders for them. Kup had once told Howl that there were those who would just try to get a rise out of him in an effort to get him to respond in a violent way. Those particular mechs wanted to prove that Howlstrike was still a Decepticon deep down and they would do anything to try and bring that dark side out again. Kup said that if Howl simply ignored their attempts they’d eventually stop.

Of course, that was all easier said than done especially with a ‘bot who had ongoing anger management issues. Naturally, there were also mechs like Sunstreaker who wanted to torment others like Howlstrike and even Arclight just for the fun of it. For instance, the weapons engineer kept getting caught between closing doors as she followed Howl down to the docking boon. Only by huddling close to the former Predacon was the tiny femme able to make it without getting stuck anymore. She had her suspicions as did Howl.

“It was Sunstreaker,” Howlstrike growled as he stopped pounding on Omega’s hatch for a moment. “The doors didn’t close on anyone else but you. It was clearly intentional. Personally, I’m surprised he didn’t try that slag with me given our violent history. Of course, I would likely have eaten him the next time he came within biting distance. As it is I think I’ll just evacuate my waste tank onto his leg instead. Think he’ll mind? He only said not to mark up the furniture. He said nothing about himself. Heh.”

Howlstrike looked down at Arclight with a wide, toothy grin plastered across his devious visage. “I’m not kidding, either. I’ll do it!” The former Predacon confirmed as he turned back to pound again on the closed hatch. However, before he could begin once more, the sound of straining metal started to emanate from the other side of the door. An astrosecond later, the hatch slowly split down the center as the pair of Autobots within the Omega Sentinel pried the two halves apart with their bare hands. The larger ‘bot then squeezed himself between the doors and held them open with his back pressed against one side as he welcomed the trio aboard.

“Hey there, name’s Howlstrike,” the former Predacon said to Streamlight with a nod. “This little spitfire here is Arclight and the optic-less one is Blindside. Say hello, you two.” Howl gave a quick look at each of his companions before returning his gaze to Streamlight. “Here, let me help you with that.” The Autobot hunter then stepped forward and grabbed one side of the double doors, using his larger body to hold it open while the prison guard continued pressing his back against the opposite side. “So, we were told you guys needed our help in getting Omega up and running again. We have spare fuel on the shuttle, or so I’m told. Hopefully, it’ll be enough.”

After a few more astroseconds of helping to hold open the hatchway, Howlstrike glanced over at Arclight with another mischievous grin. “Guess you’re not interested in being a doorstop again, huh?” The former Predacon asked with a chuckle. “Didn’t think so.”

Decepticon destroyer Burning Justice--Bridge

With every passing breem that the Burning Justice tore its way through hyperspace, Scourge sat in the captain's chair coldly watching the vectors of their trek along with other bridge readouts. Waiting.....waiting......

But he could only wait so long in silence when there was so much to be accomplished.

"Report!" the Tracker barked. Macabre looked up from his helm station and back at the Chief Huntsman.

"I see nothing from Sol, nor anything regarding the whereabouts of the Omega Guardian....yet."

"I tire of this," Scourge growled in response, rising and approaching Macabre's station before forcefully shoving the Sweep out of his position. "I had thought your skills more advanced."

Scourge's crimson claws began entering energy readings he had picked up from their encounter with Omega Supreme back on Garrus-9: the energy derivatives were so subtle that Scourge had not thought them relevant. Surely his vaunted Huntsmen would find him on their own. That was clearly not to be. He should have taken the scanning controls from the beginning.

None escaped him.

As the destroyer continued its progress towards the Sol system, Scourge began to fine-tune the ship's sensors. It was now looking for specifics of Omega Supreme's trail that only Scourge himself would likely be able to recognize.

And yet still he waited. Still they pressed on toward the primary Autobot base of operations in the known universe with no sign of their prey.

...

...until...

"There," Scourge hissed quietly, pointing at an obscure region of space identified in Decepticon intelligence logs as the Kuiper Belt. Several of the other Sweeps, including Macabre, huddled around the terminal. "I have him. Adjust our heading."

Docking Boon/Omega Supreme

“It was Sunstreaker.”

“That glitch! I knew it,” Arclight grumbled spitefully.

“The doors didn’t close on anyone else but you. It was clearly intentional. Personally, I’m surprised he didn’t try that slag with me given our violent history.”

“Violent history?” Arclight echoed curiously. “I mean, I can see why…Sunstreaker certainly doesn’t endear himself to others, does he? I’ve half a mind to bop him one but good!” The teal femme lashed out with an uppercut to the air. She nodded, pleased with herself.

” Of course, I would likely have eaten him the next time he came within biting distance. As it is I think I’ll just evacuate my waste tank onto his leg instead. Think he’ll mind? He only said not to mark up the furniture. He said nothing about himself. Heh.”

“I’m sure he’d taste awful anyway,” Arclight commented with a dismissive wave of her hand. As Howlstrike looked down at her with a wide, toothy, devious grin plastered across his face, Arclight looked up to him from her position near his back.

“I’m not kidding, either. I’ll do it!”

A happy smile spread across Arclight face as she giggled. “Can you imagine his face?! Teehee!” Arclight tapped Howl on the back lightly as she returned his devious grin. “But I think we can do better than that!”

Blindside let out a soft sigh as a gentle smile worked its way onto his rather impassive faceplate. These two certainly were handfuls in their own unique way. He found himself somewhat relaxing in their presence. However, the sound of straining metal brought his attention back toward the hatch in front of them. The hatch split down the center, allowing two mechs, one familiar, one not, to hold the doors open for the newcomers.

“Hey there, name’s Howlstrike,” the former Predacon said to Streamlight with a nod. “This little spitfire here is Arclight and the optic-less one is Blindside. Say hello, you two.”

“Hiya!” Arclight chirped.

“Greetings. Good to see you again, Rang,” Blindside said with an incline of his head toward the smaller of the two mechs. Moving to assist the psychotherapist, Blindside helped to relieve the pressure of the door with his larger body.

“So, we were told you guys needed our help in getting Omega up and running again. We have spare fuel on the shuttle, or so I’m told. Hopefully, it’ll be enough.”

“Yes! I’m an engineer! So I should be able to speed things along!” Arclight said with a wave. “Well, not really a ship engineer so much as a weapons engineer…but…you know…I’ll do my best, heheh…”

“Guess you’re not interested in being a doorstop again, huh?” The former Predacon asked with a chuckle.

Arclight’s optics widened with surprise. Her face fell comically almost immediately after the surprise had faded, a pout replacing her former grin. “No…” she practically whimpered.

“Didn’t think so.”

Perking up hopefully, Arclight bounced through the open hatchway as quickly as she could to allow the mechs holding it open some relief. Blindside glanced down at Rung, waiting for him to move clear of the hatch before letting go.

“Move away, Rong, I have this,” he said with a cordial smile.

Longevity-–Bridge

Sandstorm stared intently at the screen. Every so often he checked the ship's engineering readouts just to ensure that everything was functioning properly. That weird signature that had been pointed out earlier still seemed to be on an approach vector with Earth, which was all well and good. There were a lot of intelligent species roaming the big, wide universe. Any number of them could have a reason to pop by and see how the funny little species on the third rock from Sol-3 was doing. And so he kept watching, while the others did their thing and rescued the derelict Autobots and figured out how they were going to get the mighty Omega Supreme somewhere where he could be patched up.

*bleep*

A quiet chime went off, indicating that the signal Sandstorm was watching was no longer on the predetermined course he had plotted for it while the others were boarding Omega. It was no longer heading for Sol-3. It was heading for them.

"Um, chief," Sandstorm said with a smirk, not scared in the slightest of whatever it might be. Wreck 'n' rule. "Whatever that signal was we picked up earlier--"

He pointed at the screen.

"--it knows where we are and it's coming."

OoC: For the time being, and with the consent of the owner of the following characters, I'll be carrying Springer and Sideswipe for a little bit until the player is capable of taking the reigns.

Combat Shuttle Longevity: Bridge

"Of course they are, Sandstorm... of course they are," Springer quipped as he paced around the back of the center command chair. He stopped briefly at the right edge of the broad armrest, a testifier of the massive figure that typically filled the small combat craft's captaincy position. A silence fell over the bridge as the triple changer commander's fingers interlaced themselves around the rest, nearly warping the duranium steel. "Sunstreaker, tactical display... main viewer."

The silence was breached ever so slightly as the golden elder brother tapped on the transparent steel control panel of his station. A muted curse punctuated the effort as the view screen was slaved to the tactical display. "Alright Springer," The illumination of the bridge was immediately cut in half as power was transferred away from basic luxuries to fuel more vital systems. "Sandstorm's little discovery is on the forward monitor."

Springer glanced out of the corner of his left optic, barely noting Sandstorm but delivering the most subtle hint of an annoyed sneer towards his defacto tactical officer. His line of sight shifted back to his friend and offered a brief roll of the optics behind their protective shielding. It was a simple gesture but conveyed a plethora of silent pleas for mercy. It wasn't that he disliked the current members of his operation, but he had no idea how the likes of Prowl or Optimus himself, managed to handle the barely contained bloodlust of Sunstreaker, or the unrelenting mischief that broiled beneath the surface of his twin.

"Lets see it," he commanded as he turned around enough to guide himself into the Captain's Chair. For a brief moment he shifted himself a few times in a vain attempt to find a comfortable position. I miss my old chair on the Ark 22. Through the dim lighting of the confining cockpit, a thin green hue began to coat the forward surfaces. A chart of local space, complete with asteroids, planetoids and stellar eddies highlighted the magnified region of the star chart. At the bottom right hand side of the screen, two Autobot symbols hung lodged in a nearly three hundred and sixty degree cocoon of stellar debris. At the top left hand corner, a Decepticon emblem slowly began to change course in an almost predictable search and destroy pattern. "Range?"

"Before or after the round about course they'll need to set to avoid those ice chunks?" Sideswipe snickered as he plotted a hypothetical squiggle course onto the forward screen. "Straight line, no worries. They'll be nicely splattered carbon scarring on one of those big cubes there."

Sunstreaker turned over so slightly towards his brother, a scowl of irritation tugging at his lip. "Shut up and focus Sideswipe. We don't have time for your games, unless you want to get out and wave those idiots away from the prize."

"Yeash, lighten up Bro... can't have us going into battle all tensed." A rebellious smile followed as he proceeded to finish his doodle on the forward viewer. "Besides, gives me time to do this."

Springer simply shook his head and began to phase the two brother's banter out of his audio receptors. Instead he simply did the basic calculations in his head and sent a silent command to wipe the screen of Sideswipe's artistic flare... much to the prankster's chagrin. "Sandstorm, take over the Helm position."

"WHAT!" Sideswipe immediately began to protest. "You're going to play favorites now just before the fun begins?"

"Hate to admit it there 'swipes, gotta see the logic there with Springer here. Barnburner there is a better pilot than you are."

"Shut up," The red soldier raised his fist angrily at his brother, ignoring the potential lethal response of the gesture. "I am perfectly capable of dogging it out with a bucket of Deceptibolts."

Springer shook his head. "I am pretty sure you are... IF this were any other Decepticon vessel. Check those Ion markers again..."

As Sideswipe logged his protests, Sunstreaker shunted the ion frequency through the shuttle's primary data base. It took all but a few moments to prove yet again that this vessel was indeed Ultra Magnus' personal craft. The Longevity was armed with the most up to date data tracks and information possible. Thus it did not surprise the warrior when the identification codes flashed up on his screen "Says here is the... Decepticon Destroyer... something Justice."

Sideswipe stopped his protests long enough to turn to his brother. "Doesn't sound like one of old fleabag's support ships."

"That's because it isn't," Springer's brow furrowed. "It belongs to one of the bugs. Sideswipe take over Engineering and Communications... Send a priority message to Howlstrike, let him know as to whats going on. Try and keep us in one piece. Sandstorm, prepare to release docking umbilical to Omega Supreme on my mark."

Sideswipe grumbled as he abandoned the helm station for the back of the bridge terminals and began constructing a snarky text message to the tracker, Howlstrike.

"Helm, as soon as we get a response, from Omega Supreme's repair and recovery unit, release the docking locks and move us away at one quarter thrusters. Sunstreaker. As soon as we hit five hundred meters off of the guardian's port bow... release a burst of ionized plasma radiation. It should disrupt the sensors of that destroyer and give Omega some cover." Springer sent a command to turn the image to the port hull of the guardian and the faint reflective glint of a large turning block of irregular ice orbiting the distant Sol.

"Using that tactic will render our own sensors down by eighty percent. Same level as the Decepticon warship. Not that I mind getting up close and personal, but I prefer to see the enemy as I carve out their fuel pumps and stuff 'em on my mantel." Sunstreaker began to bring the ship's weapons online.

The wrecker commander nodded. "As would I Sunstreaker, but at least the con's will be in the same proverbial boat. To be honest, I hate the idea of dancing toe to toe with an arachnid destroyer with a pleasure craft isn't exactly what I had in mind when I accepted this assignment..."

Sideswipe transmitted his warning to the crew of Omega Supreme as well as redirecting a loader droid carrying five energon cubes down the docking boon. "... Let me guess, we're here to protect the big guy till the smelly ogre and the petite weapon designer gets him operational."

For the first time Springer smirked as he turned his gaze forward. "That's an affirmative Sideswipe. Looks like you four are going to get a crash course in Wreckernomics. Sandstorm, lets get going."

Burning Justice--Bridge

"Do we have a visual?" Scourge barked.

"Not yet, Tracker. The distance is still too great," Toil hissed.

"Remedy that," was Scourge's cold response. "The rest of you--battle stations."
___

Longevity--Bridge

Sandstorm smirked. Ah these twins. They were sure full of--something. Sandy didn't quite know what. But he shared Springer's momentary roll of the optics.

"Sandstorm, take over the Helm position," Springer added, after getting his fill of the signal that Sandstorm had picked up on. Then the brothers got into it again. As if that was anything new.

"Don't worry, Springs just knows talent when he sees it," Sandstorm teased Sideswipe as he adjusted his position and started refamiliarizing himself with the ship's controls.

"Helm, as soon as we get a response, from Omega Supreme's repair and recovery unit, release the docking locks and move us away at one quarter thrusters. Sunstreaker. As soon as we hit five hundred meters off of the guardian's port bow... release a burst of ionized plasma radiation. It should disrupt the sensors of that destroyer and give Omega some cover."

"They know what's up, I'm releasing the locks now. That thing is picking up speed."

Docking Boon / Omega Supreme

Howlstrike smirked slightly as Arclight literally bounced through the propped open hatchway and into Omega Supreme. She seemed so giddy with excitement and enthusiasm it was almost like she was a newborn protoform getting to see the world for the very first time. That wasn’t the case, of course, but the thought made the Autobot tracker chuckle under his breath. “Careful there, sweetspark. You don’t want to trip and fall flat on your faceplate. I’d rather see that happen to Sunstreaker. Heh.”

As Blindside then stepped in to assist holding the doorway open, Howlstrike let go of his side and fully entered into the Omega Sentinel. The former Predacon looked around briefly before receiving a Priority-1 text message from Sideswipe. It had its usual snarky tone as was expected from one of the wonder twins, but the contents were still very serious in nature. Once the hunter had read the communique in its entirety, he turned to address the rest of the team. “I just got a message from Sideswipe. Apparently, a Decepticon warship is in the vicinity looking for Omega. The Longevity is about to disconnect from Omega to intercept. “Everyone get inside now!”

Before a response could be sent to the bridge of the Longevity, Howlstrike could hear the sounds of the docking locks disengaging one by one around the hatchway. Not waiting for anyone to react on their own, the Autobot tracker grabbed a hold of Rung and pulled him back inside Omega. Howl then did the same for both Streamlight and Blindside, grabbing them both by the arms and yanking the pair across the threshold just as a loader drone carrying energon cubes rolled quickly inside. Once everyone was safely within the Omega Sentinel, the hatch slid shut with a loud thud followed by the sound of the docking umbilical disengaging from the outer hull. “That was a little close.”

Howlstrike then opened a comm line to the Longevity:

>>”The repair team is safely inside Omega. We’ll have him up and running by the time you get back. Oh, and make sure Sun-licker doesn't hurt himself. I don't want my shiney new scratching post to get damaged before I've had a chance to sharpen my claws on his hide. Heh. Howl out.”<<

With his message sent, Howlstrike turned towards the rest of the repair unit. “Okay, let’s get the big guy fixed and powered up. Where do we start?”

Omega Supreme

“Careful there, sweetspark. You don’t want to trip and fall flat on your faceplate. I’d rather see that happen to Sunstreaker. Heh.”

“You betcha, Howl!” Arclight replied with a cheerful grin at the tracker. She leaned forward a bit toward the interior of the legendary mechanoid, optics wide with wonder. “This is so amazing! Eee!” Arclight squeaked with excitement and glanced back to the others, eager to see more of the ancient giant. However, Howl soon had grim tidings.

Blindside’s optical slits narrowed, but before he could react further, Howl yanked him out of harm’s way. Blindside staggered back, recovering after a moment, staring at the closed hatch uncertainly. A Decepticon warship…He should be over on the Longevity, helping to coordinate strategy…but. Things being as they were, he’d simply have to do what he could from here.

“Okay, let’s get the big guy fixed and powered up. Where do we start?”

“I’m not sure myself. I’m a tactician. Not an engineer or a medic,” Blindside said, turning his head to indicate Arclight who perked up as he turned to her.

“Me? Oh! I guess so. Well, we should definitely start with restoring power to the big guy, which means checking for damages – er, injuries, I guess? – to his power conduits and stuff…Temporarily binding leaks and actually fixing what we can…Then pumping him full of energon. That’s priority one if we want him conscious. After that…We should repair what else we can if we’ve got the time and the materials. But, um…with Decepticons nearby…we should probably worry about power first…”

It struck Arclight that she had never actually been in an engagement like this before. It hadn’t really hit her. That you know, she was in danger of being killed. It didn’t really feel like it. Hm.

“Alright, sounds good,” Blindside said, moving over to one of the walls. “I suppose I’ll get started. What do the conduits look like?”

“Uh…they’re a big tube surrounded by protective material…But…what are you going to-“

“Got it…” Blindside said, sending a sonic pulse through the wall. It was an effective tool for mapping out areas of a ship quickly. “Hm…I see some leaking ones on the outer hull…some in holes on the inner hull. You might be able to get at some of the broken conduits through the inner hull below decks…Omega took a bit of a beating.”

“How did you…” Arclight tilted her head slightly, rather confused.

Omega Supreme

What a relief to see their own standing right outside the door. Rung relaxed ever so slightly as he took in their good fortune. This little group could stay here while he boarded the ship they arrived on to make his call.

“Thank you for coming. But right now I need to…” Rung was just about to pass by Howlstrike when the former Predacon grabbed him and pulled back into the room. The psychoanalyst let out a surprised squeal as he landed on his side.

Streamlight landed hard beside him unable to control his fall without the use of his missing hand. “Hey!”

“Wait!” Rung shot back up to his feet and started back towards the door. He wasn’t fast enough as it closed completely and he heard the docking ring disengage. “NO!” He slammed his balled hand against the doorframe.

He whirled around and looked at all three of their saviors. “I need to speak with Optimus Prime. It’s of the upmost importance!"

“Ugh. Yeah. This is really important. Prime needs to hear this.” Streamlight said as he struggled to a standing position. “The ‘Cons made their move.”

Inside Omega Supreme

Blindside didn’t know what the next move was any more than Howlstrike did and, instead, turned to Arclight for answers. The weapons engineer seemed to know what she was doing and began explaining how they needed to restore power to Omega first, talking about checking for damages, power conduits, binding leaks and all that. Howl just stood there and let the more tech savvy 'bots figure out the specifics.

“I’m not really sure what any of that means, but if there’s anything I can help with just let me know,” the Autobot tracker said to Arclight as Blindside moved over to one of the walls and sent a pulse into it, which seemed to confuse the femme. Before Howlstrike had received any kind of response, a frantic Rung suddenly demanded to speak with Optimus Prime. The other mech called Streamlight then added that it was really important because the ‘Cons had made their move.

“Oh, you want to talk to Optimus? Yeah, about that,” the former Predacon began, rubbing the back side of his cranium before fixating his gaze on Rung. “He’s dead. Well, no, I guess that’s not entirely accurate. He’s missing and presumed dead. Apparently, there was some kind of massive explosion at an old ‘Con base on Earth a while ago. Both Prime and Megatron were caught in it and haven’t been seen since. No bodies were every recovered so it’s possible Prime is still alive somewhere. I wasn’t in system at the time so I don’t have all the details. Regardless, Ultra Magnus is in charge now. So, you’ll have to talk to him instead.”

Howlstrike flashed a toothy grin at Rung before realizing that he had probably been a little too blunt. “Um, sorry. There was no easy way to say it.”

Decepticon destroyer Burning Justice

"We're encountering debris," Macabre said, as icy and stony chunks of space flew past the viewscreen. He looked over at the Sweep who bore the same name. Debris' optics simply narrowed in response.

"Obliterate it," Scourge said, not even pulling his optics away from the sensor suite in front of him. With all the Sweeps already at their battle stations, it was a straightforward matter of engaging the space obstacles the same way one would destroy a sentient attacker. Laser fire erupted from various ports of the ship and huge, potentially damaging obstructions became exponentially more navigable. All the while, their position on the stationary Autobot signal was closing.

"We should have a visual," Scourge growled.

The Sweep at one of the secondary terminals hunched even more determinedly over his station.

"There! Yessss," the Sweep hissed. A moment later a visual of Omega Supreme and another Autobot vessel close by came into view.

"Deploy Sweep assault force," Scourge ordered, his gruff tone reverberating throughout the comm systems of the ship.